Uh yeah, we aren't bears. Oh the local paper always makes me laugh. I wonder if that girl ever imagined 30,003 people would watch her stuff her face with cinnamon buns.
So last night, as has happened a few times now, the wind and rain woke us up. That's the fierceness of the winter storms. And we haven't even had a real bad one yet. But, I do appreciate that it's over and done with quickly. And most times it waits until nighttime to attack which means it doesn't hang around all day.
We realized that we've hit the 3 month mark of being in NZ. Which is quite depressing considering I'm still not working. Dustin's job has been so-so and I think he's considering whether he'll stay with them or not. I've been able to keep positive until recently. I don't know what's shifted but it's much tougher to get motivated and be happy about the current situation.
Two things that always shock me here when thinking of cost is power and car repairs. I am sure we noticed it last time too, but oil changes are expensive! The cheapest I've found is $70. We would do it ourselves but even that's got to be about $40 and we still have to dispose of the oil and get a few tools to do so. Electricity is probably about four times the price it is in BC. In the past we've had 2 one bedroom apartments and I don't remember a bill ever topping $40 - and I am pretty sure the bills were bi-monthly too. We just got our recent bill for power and gas (I think the only thing the gas is for is our hot water) and it's $113. And that's not even full on winter yet. It sure makes you consider leaving anything on and how you use your appliances. Hopefully the heat pump won't be a big hit on our monthly bill because we've definitely been using that a lot.
So folks, we'll be plugging along here in the wind and rain and deciding how much longer I can handle being unemployed... maybe a holiday is in order!
Sorry to hear about the slump, I hope you find a job soon and that things will turn around for you guys!!! And wow $70 oil change...
ReplyDeleteThanks Becca, yes we are due for an upswing I reckon! :)
DeleteThat is crazy expensive for an oil change. It's always strange to learn about the things that cost so much more in different areas of the world - or what costs so much less.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine what big storms will be like! I feel like I straddle the opinion that storms are cool/terrifying. Let us know about them.
Sending positive thoughts down your way!
V.
Yes it's often things you can't make a lot of sense of either! The mechanics don't have a higher shop rate really and the parts are somewhat comparable to home.
DeleteDefinitely, storms are scary excitement! They do have tornadoes here on occasion and the other night the wind was so loud I was actually going through a thought process on what to do if a tornado rips off your roof. I actually didn't have a very good game plan... Today it's been seriously windy with rain coming through in short falls.
Thanks for the positive vibes!