Time to get to it

Apr 18/12 4:16pm

Thought I'd check in with you guys. The obligatory weather info is that aside from that rain last week we've been back to solid sunshine, day in and day out. The winds kicked up overnight but it's still warm and sunny. I am really a big fan of autumn down here! We haven't been in NZ yet between April and August and so far it's beautiful. Possibly unseasonably lovely but I'm enjoying it either way! They didn't really get a good summer we've heard so it's come late.

Dustin is up on Mount Taranaki right now. He's hiked up for an overnight in one of ths huts up there. I decided I'd rather go once we had an idea of what the huts are like. Luckily we met an American traveler who was also volunteering at the surf fest who was keen to hike which meant Dustin wasn't going by himself. It's supposed to be about 5 hours to the hut and then about 7 hours out tomorrow so not too bad really. Hopefully they get some stunning sights with the clear skies - it's usually quite cloudy up that way.

We were kept busy last week with the festival - they had amazing conditions at Fitzroy so we didn't end up having to take the show on the road. (A huge stroke of luck!) There was a lay day on Friday but it finished up on Saturday. Steph Gilmore took the final against Carissa Moore and unfortunately the local, Paige Hareb, had been knocked out but she had a personal best finish in making the semi-finals.

Overall it was good to have something to keep us occupied and we met a few people but it was a funny mix of retirees and travelers so we didn't end up meeting many locals in our age group but hopefully it could lead to some job luck for me. There are a couple organizations that put on the fest so I have contacts now with both of those groups and applied for a position with one so far.

The last few days have been quite chill. We are still waiting to get our phone and internet hooked up so that's stunting the job hunt. It just makes it that much more challenging when we have to go to the library to use their internet. I will get myself there this evening though. Also our MS Word is acting up but we haven't had success in repairing it because the repair needs an internet connection and the wireless one at the library doesn't seem to be strong enough to get that sorted. It came pre-loaded on the laptop so we don't even have a disc to try to reinstall it.

We did go get a printer though because many companies here have an application form they want you to complete and there are also places that want your CV mailed in so it was getting to be an annoyance to not be able to have quick, easy access to printing either. Oh the things we take for granted.

I am planning to volunteer for this organization that helps people learn to budget their money and get out of debt. It's funded by the government but the bulk of the personnel are volunteers. I saw an ad in the paper and went down there today to sign up. There's a training course you go through before you start helping so if it all goes well that will be done at the end of June. (It's just Saturdays and Tuesdays.) It's something I'm actually very passionate about as nerdy as that is. I'd love to teach people good money habits and the organization even does some seminars and presentations so once I'm into it, that would be quite cool to do those bits.

So at the moment we're just plugging along, not into the desparately-needing-work zone but still wanting things to kind of get started over here. I'm glad Dustin went hiking because as soon as the snow starts up there, it definitely changes the opportunity to hike. I would be posting a few surf pics but Dustin has the camera with him so maybe that'll be the first thing we do once we're online at home! (Hopefully by the end of this week but it's not really clear how long after the phone line hook-up it takes for the internet - they have to send us a modem still.)

The official NZ Olympic team song was released today and people aren't that keen on it. It is a bit slow but the message is there I guess. Ok, time for me to sort out my dinner and get down to the library for another round of job hunting!