Today is a public holiday here called Queen's Birthday. Which is what I thought Victoria Day in BC was celebrating but it's a good 2 weeks apart so now I'm not sure. Worked out well for Dustin because it meant his birthday weekend was 3 days long.
So on the agenda for Saturday: surfing, dog walking, playing with kittens, dinner out, comedy night! We checked out this restaurant called The Good Home and both of us enjoyed our meals. We had company too - the couple we first stayed with back in 2010 when we got to New Plymouth and her parents were in town so they joined us too. Dai Henwood and Ben Hurley did not disappoint and the other guy on the bill, TJ McDonald had us laughing as well. Turns out that buying some of the last tickets available translates into being seated front and centre! Dustin's nightmare - especially on his birthday, and being a foreigner. Luckily there were some blokes who took the heat off by being disruptive in the front left. Such a shame though, I am always curious about how they would make fun of Canada, or us. haha. The bar that hosts comedy nights here is tiny so has maybe about 100 seats which is great.
Dustin's finished his first week of work and so far he's seeing lots of the region and learning how to be a learner again. Definitely a new scenario for him on the job as he's been in building for ten years now. He still has to get his safety training before he can pick up a chainsaw or climb trees so until then he assists and watches how things work. They do a lot of tree-clearing around power lines so he'll have to go out of town to get that training from the power company - hoping it works out that I can tag along and we can make a mini trip out of it. Plus it would be sweet if it was scheduled around the time of an All Blacks game - they have about 6 games in NZ over the next few months so we'd really like to check them out in person. So we'll have to head to Hamilton, Auckland or Wellington for that. His training is possibly in Hamilton which is also the closest of the 3 so we're keeping our fingers crossed!
Myself, well, it turns out that I am going to have to make my own work here. I have not met luck on the job search yet. Talking with a friend who works in HR here, she said that they've been getting nearly 100 applications for positions that typically received less than 50 applications. Plus, the postings have really dwindled in the last couple of weeks. I am working on my website to start up offering virtual assisting and hands-on organizing on a larger scale. I nearly published it last September but I ended up busy enough with Canada Post that I didn't have time to take on anything else. They don't use craigslist widely here which is as far as I went with advertising back home but it did turn into a couple of clients. So it will be interesting to give the website a go and see what type of work I can drum up. We picked up a desk from the op-shop (what they call secondhand stores here - short for opportunity shop) and created an office space for me at home so that I didn't spend all waking hours at the kitchen table (between working and eating) but open plan apartments are very tricky to rearrange! Especially when the TV antenna only works in one corner! Oh New Zealand.
I reckon the next few months will be the more serious test of how we like it here. Settling into a work routine and braving the cold weather. Which isn't as cold as we're used to as far as numbers on the thermometer but feels colder because of the housing. Wouldn't you know it - single pane windows let out all your heat! Even if your walls are insulated! They are still learning these things here. Plus we're getting moisture on the windows overnight so it's getting rather humid inside. Ick. A heat pump is being installed soon so that should help. (It's basically a heater and air-con unit that most NZers rely on to keep their houses warm because they don't have central heating here. It's supposed to be more efficient than a portable heater and I sure hope it helps with the moisture inside. At least we'll be able to have it set on a thermostat.)
Hope you all have a lovely week!
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| Birthday waves at Fitzroy. Fancy breakfast took too long so the conditions had deteriorated by the time we got there. |
So on the agenda for Saturday: surfing, dog walking, playing with kittens, dinner out, comedy night! We checked out this restaurant called The Good Home and both of us enjoyed our meals. We had company too - the couple we first stayed with back in 2010 when we got to New Plymouth and her parents were in town so they joined us too. Dai Henwood and Ben Hurley did not disappoint and the other guy on the bill, TJ McDonald had us laughing as well. Turns out that buying some of the last tickets available translates into being seated front and centre! Dustin's nightmare - especially on his birthday, and being a foreigner. Luckily there were some blokes who took the heat off by being disruptive in the front left. Such a shame though, I am always curious about how they would make fun of Canada, or us. haha. The bar that hosts comedy nights here is tiny so has maybe about 100 seats which is great.
 |
| It's not a birthday without cake! This year it was carrot cake. Last year it was pineapple upside-down. Weird choices for a chocoholic. But that's ok because I requested chocolate for mine! |
Myself, well, it turns out that I am going to have to make my own work here. I have not met luck on the job search yet. Talking with a friend who works in HR here, she said that they've been getting nearly 100 applications for positions that typically received less than 50 applications. Plus, the postings have really dwindled in the last couple of weeks. I am working on my website to start up offering virtual assisting and hands-on organizing on a larger scale. I nearly published it last September but I ended up busy enough with Canada Post that I didn't have time to take on anything else. They don't use craigslist widely here which is as far as I went with advertising back home but it did turn into a couple of clients. So it will be interesting to give the website a go and see what type of work I can drum up. We picked up a desk from the op-shop (what they call secondhand stores here - short for opportunity shop) and created an office space for me at home so that I didn't spend all waking hours at the kitchen table (between working and eating) but open plan apartments are very tricky to rearrange! Especially when the TV antenna only works in one corner! Oh New Zealand.
I reckon the next few months will be the more serious test of how we like it here. Settling into a work routine and braving the cold weather. Which isn't as cold as we're used to as far as numbers on the thermometer but feels colder because of the housing. Wouldn't you know it - single pane windows let out all your heat! Even if your walls are insulated! They are still learning these things here. Plus we're getting moisture on the windows overnight so it's getting rather humid inside. Ick. A heat pump is being installed soon so that should help. (It's basically a heater and air-con unit that most NZers rely on to keep their houses warm because they don't have central heating here. It's supposed to be more efficient than a portable heater and I sure hope it helps with the moisture inside. At least we'll be able to have it set on a thermostat.)
Hope you all have a lovely week!
Happy (belated) birthday to Dustin! Sounds like a fab night - and too bad about the roasting, I too would be curious to see what they would say about Canada!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear about Dutin's job and good luck with your entrepreneurial efforts! I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to look over the website - things here have taken a turn for the nuts, but in the next little bit we should have some time to cool off.
Be well!
V.