Hmm am I excited to get on the road? Yes. I was going to write yesterday but realized I was just a walking timebomb. I was dealing with the car warrant and the previous night our neighbours decided to stay up late playing music loudly. I called the council to complain and about half an hour later they were quiet. However, I realized at 3:30am when they came crashing home it was only quiet because they probably went out. So I wasn't able to get back to sleep after that. They were still playing music and then of course drama erupted and I hear them outside yelling at each other... who knows. But the whole day I was just so tired and full of frustration. The car is finally finally finally sorted. A $200 lesson later. After the shop didn't have the part on Monday I had rebooked for Thursday. Then at work the guys told Dustin to just take it for a new test at the guy they take theirs to. So I dropped in to ask if he saw an issue with the doors and he said he didn't. So I booked a test for Thursday and hoped like crazy that he didn't see an issue with something else that the first guy overlooked. I had to go cancel the body shop and of course the part had already come in and he wouldn't return it. So we had to buy the door hinge pins and bushings - $184! I didn't really see a way around it if he wasn't willing to send the part back. I've contacted the supplier but have no response yet - the invoice was stamped "not returnable" and of course we won't even get back what we paid because the body shop has a hefty markup for the parts. However, it still ended up being cheaper than going ahead with the repair work which would have been about another $150. The car passed the test at the other shop. Not a moment too soon as I was ready to set the car on fire. And our rego expired yesterday and I think you need a current valid WOF to renew the rego. So now we don't have to think about it again until May 18th - but that will be for the new owners to work out because we'll be gone! And the guys at that shop were so friendly and laid back so it was a much nicer experience. They conveniently pointed out that the radiator is leaking water and it was perfect timing because it was absolutely empty. Oops. They recommended a stop leak to sort that out. I had thought I smelled a burning smell driving home the other day but it didn't stay around so I thought it was someone else. Luckily the neighbours were quiet last night so I got a good sleep too.
Today I went to check out a gym in town. They had mailed a free visit voucher and until I saw it I didn't realize how much I actually missed going to the gym. I mean it's lovely to exercise outside with running and walking and hiking but I don't feel the same result without the weight lifting and other exercises. I've been doing a little workout at home with push ups, sit ups, etc but it's still not the same. Of course though I had to sit through the sales pitch before they let me work out. That was fine though because the girl was nice and that's how desperate I've been for outside interaction with people haha. It's quite a nice gym and the room they do the classes in has a stage and it's a huge room. Is Zumba big at home? I can't remember if I had heard of it before we came here but it's all over and the infomercial is always on tv. So I did my workout but doubt I will sign up - even if we stayed it's like minimum $80 a month and signup fee is like $99 and an admin fee of $39.... yikes!
So I work this weekend but we might try to go check out this waterfall about an hour away one day. Dustin was talking about going in to see some car racing in a town called Stratford about 30 minutes from here. So we might do that tonight. New Plymouth sure comes alive when the weather changes. There are all sorts of exhibitions and shows that come through and in the last few weeks there's been a boat show, a gun show, tons of school gala/fair days, and this weekend there's a digger competition and big rig show! So I think someone I know might be curious about that one. Sadly we are leaving town before they start their big summer attraction the festival of lights where they light up the beautiful big park in the city and it's supposed to be gorgeous. Then they have summer concerts all the time through the festival which runs for about a month. It starts on the 19th so we'll miss it. Oh well! But there's a Santa Claus parade next weekend and the start point is like 5 blocks from us so I'm making sure that we go!
We've arranged our first WWOOFing stop. We go straight there from New Plymouth. You can check it out at http://www.rangitikeifarmstay.co.nz/ and see where we'll be spending about a week or so. They are near the city of Palmerston North so we'll just drive down for Rhys Darby and not be too far.
So now it's just counting down the next few weeks until freedom! At work this one girl that was always cheery has left so one less person who smiles a lot. And she was much closer to my age than the majority of employees there. But at least I was there on her last day so there were goodies for all of us!
The surf is supposed to pick up this weekend finally so hopefully Dustin gets some good waves. He went out one night this week and it was still small out there. So we are learning that even in places with surf described as some of the most consistent in New Zealand, there are still major lulls. He went fishing one night as well but no luck with the fish lately. He tried to go down to the spot you have to hike into and there was nobody on one of the rocky points. He found out that after you got past this big rock, a massive seal had taken up the passageway and was not happy to let anyone pass. So everyone had to go to the other rock and it was a bit crowded.
Dustin's Christmas party for work is a day of golfing! They work a half day and then head to the greens! So luckily we're in town so he can enjoy it! My work party was supposed to be last week but was cancelled for lack of interest...
Here's hoping the next few weeks fly by!
Today I went to check out a gym in town. They had mailed a free visit voucher and until I saw it I didn't realize how much I actually missed going to the gym. I mean it's lovely to exercise outside with running and walking and hiking but I don't feel the same result without the weight lifting and other exercises. I've been doing a little workout at home with push ups, sit ups, etc but it's still not the same. Of course though I had to sit through the sales pitch before they let me work out. That was fine though because the girl was nice and that's how desperate I've been for outside interaction with people haha. It's quite a nice gym and the room they do the classes in has a stage and it's a huge room. Is Zumba big at home? I can't remember if I had heard of it before we came here but it's all over and the infomercial is always on tv. So I did my workout but doubt I will sign up - even if we stayed it's like minimum $80 a month and signup fee is like $99 and an admin fee of $39.... yikes!
So I work this weekend but we might try to go check out this waterfall about an hour away one day. Dustin was talking about going in to see some car racing in a town called Stratford about 30 minutes from here. So we might do that tonight. New Plymouth sure comes alive when the weather changes. There are all sorts of exhibitions and shows that come through and in the last few weeks there's been a boat show, a gun show, tons of school gala/fair days, and this weekend there's a digger competition and big rig show! So I think someone I know might be curious about that one. Sadly we are leaving town before they start their big summer attraction the festival of lights where they light up the beautiful big park in the city and it's supposed to be gorgeous. Then they have summer concerts all the time through the festival which runs for about a month. It starts on the 19th so we'll miss it. Oh well! But there's a Santa Claus parade next weekend and the start point is like 5 blocks from us so I'm making sure that we go!
We've arranged our first WWOOFing stop. We go straight there from New Plymouth. You can check it out at http://www.rangitikeifarmstay.co.nz/ and see where we'll be spending about a week or so. They are near the city of Palmerston North so we'll just drive down for Rhys Darby and not be too far.
So now it's just counting down the next few weeks until freedom! At work this one girl that was always cheery has left so one less person who smiles a lot. And she was much closer to my age than the majority of employees there. But at least I was there on her last day so there were goodies for all of us!
The surf is supposed to pick up this weekend finally so hopefully Dustin gets some good waves. He went out one night this week and it was still small out there. So we are learning that even in places with surf described as some of the most consistent in New Zealand, there are still major lulls. He went fishing one night as well but no luck with the fish lately. He tried to go down to the spot you have to hike into and there was nobody on one of the rocky points. He found out that after you got past this big rock, a massive seal had taken up the passageway and was not happy to let anyone pass. So everyone had to go to the other rock and it was a bit crowded.
Dustin's Christmas party for work is a day of golfing! They work a half day and then head to the greens! So luckily we're in town so he can enjoy it! My work party was supposed to be last week but was cancelled for lack of interest...
Here's hoping the next few weeks fly by!
The place you guys will be staying on your first WWOOFing stop looks awesome! I hope you get to see "Dude" drink a beer! Katherine, I hope the next few weeks go by quickly since your job doesn't seem to be too exciting for you! Have an amazing time at the Rangitikei Farm.
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