



Hi friends and family,
It's been awhile since we've written. I wish I could say that it's because we've been massively busy and have jobs and a place to live and friends...but I can't. It's been a pretty low-key week. We both are slowly figuring things out: Rory knows where WETA is located, and also knows that the video game company is currently recruiting. I know that NIWA is NZ's NOAA, and that their Wellington office is just down the hill from us in Hataitai. I also have found some other charities and wildlife sanctuaries that I can annoy with visits and e-mails, when the time comes. I've got some other jobs bookmarked on my computer, as well, and my CV has been updated with our new address and mobile phone number. Rory is writing his CV as we speak.
So then what have we been doing? Well, the weather has been AWFUL, and when you are on the top of a mountain with no car and spotty bus coverage, you don't feel like doing much. I've never been susceptible to seasonal depression, but having two winters in a row just might do it. The price that the house pays for having an amazing view is that is it also exposed to the elements. Winds have gusted to 60 mph and beyond, and the house is freezing. Really, we can see our breath in the living room, and we huddle around a tiny heater. The picture of Punch and I under the blanket says it all: that poor dog is always shivering. She has been sleeping under the covers with us when Sam isn't around.
I'm really trying to like Wellington, and to dig in, but it has been more difficult than I thought it would be. It is a nice enough place, there is nothing wrong with it, but I find myself constantly comparing it unfavorably to Brighton (and sometimes Edinburgh, our possible next home). It just doesn't have much culture, and it doesn't feel unique. People say that it has a biting alternative feel to it, but we've lived in Brighton: the city where gay men in assless chaps make out on the street corner. I loved being shocked and surprised all the time, so Wellington seems a little boring. And did I mention the weather is terrible?
There aren't many other houses popping up that meet our requirements. We need a furnished room in a nice part of town with wireless internet....and they have to accept couples. This has been pretty demanding so far. One ad even said "no couples or engineers," so Rory was doubly screwed. We're trying to decide the order we should do things: jobs, permenant housing, and then maybe a car. There isn't a clear way forward, so it has been even a bigger adventure than I had planned.
I'll tell you a funny story. We decide we need to take the bus down to get groceries, and it is raining too hard to walk 30 minutes down a muddy hill. So we check our bus schedule, and go out to the bus stop, and the bus is already sitting there. We knock on the door, and a startled man in drag and big gaudy earrings opens it. He abruptly says that the next bus isn't for another twenty minutes. We show him our schedule, and check the timetable on the bus stop, and the driver says that all of it is outdated, that there is a March 2008 schedule. We finally give up and head back into the house, and then we see the bus take off down the hill without us. Sam gives us a ride, and we catch up to the bus, and he is doing his rounds, as normal. Turns out there is no March 2008 schedule, and we don't know if he was just ill-informed or if he decided he didn't like the look of us. This is kind of how things have been going.
We did see Indiana Jones and liked it. We went to the Embassy Theatre, which is where Return of the King had its world premiere. It was really grand. We've also visited the Botanic Gardens before the weather turned, and those were lovely. We walked an hour each way to Pak N Save one day, and carried our groceries all the way back up the mountain. Some days we haven't left the house, and just take turns scouring the internet for jobs and leads on things.
So, in closing, things will progress, but they haven't much yet. Rory and I are doing well, even when we're frustrated. We've got Punch to hang out with if nothing else. I do miss everyone, though, and I've felt more homesick here in the last week than I ever did in Brighton. I hope that things improve once the ball is rolling.
Love you. XXX.