Severe gales

Hi all,

So that plan for visiting parliament? Scratch that! There are severe gales to 140/km per hour in the city today. I believe that is the second strongest storm we've had since we arrived. Looks like we'll have a day of painting and video games inside instead!

Love, Ames

Now a PT and Contract worker

Hi everyone,

I ended up working a full day yesterday, and it seems it'll be happening quite often until Christmastime. Barry, the consultant, and Lynda, the CEO, have asked me to work for them on an as-needed basis in the afternoons. This means I'll work my normal hours for Michelle, and then switch gears and work at an hourly rate after 1.30pm. I'll be working on more graphs and charts, as well as Excel spreadsheets for Barry. Surprisingly, Barry wants me to help him analyse the business structure of the company! I'm not an expert, but I'm taking it as a compliment.

I wasn't prepared for the longer day yesterday, and I was exhausted. Unfortunately it was Halloween, too, so we didn't do anything except go to the Mexican Cafe for dinner. It actually wasn't bad at all, and my shredded beef burrito was awesome. Good ol' Newtown.

We had lovely sunny weather all week, and now that it is Saturday it is gray and blustery. We are considering taking a tour of the Parliament buildings today, and visiting the galleries around Civic Square, but we'll see how energetic we are. Tomorrow is forecast to be better, so hopefully we'll be able to play outside then. :)

Love, Amy

I'll soon be a trained writer!

Hi everyone,

I start my training next week for my job at Write. I get to work my way through our course offerings over the next several months, starting with Advanced Reading in November. In December I'll take Business Writing, and then Editing and Proofreading in January, as well as Letter and Email Writing.

I am very excited. Not only will they be fun and informative, but I'll get paid for going (as in, the time will count towards my 20/hrs per week). I could have never afforded them otherwise, as every course runs over $600 apiece. So I feel very lucky and very motivated to make the most of this opportunity. They will all look fantastic on my resume...every job requires writing skills, and I'll soon have great ones.

It is almost the weekend again already! Tomorrow is free smoothie day at work, and we all get to partake in a one hour 'Brain Gym' session in lieu of our normal staff meeting. My boss's kinesiologist has been hired, and we've been instructed to wear comfy clothes (Friday is casual anyways) and shoes that we can easily slip off. Another thing to look forward to!

I seriously think I have the best part-time job in the world.

I'm not sure how we'll spend the weekend yet. It came so fast that we didn't have any time to plan! I'll keep you posted.

Love, Amy

The end result

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Matiu Somes Island

Hi everyone,

We had a great day on the island. We caught the ferry from Queen's Wharf downtown, and in about 25 minutes we were disembarking on Somes. We almost missed the boat, but we also saw a penguin swimming by the dock, so I guess that all evened out.

We had to go through biosecurity once we arrived. The island has been used for all sorts of things: Maori village, prisoner of war camp, quarantine, animal quarantine, and now it is a predator-free wildlife sanctuary. This means that it has no rats, mice, or (most importantly) possums. Within 100 years it will be completely rid of non-native plants, as well.

Rory and I had packed a picnic, so the first thing we did was find a sunny bench and ate lunch. The weather was perfect for a day of hiking, and it was clear enough to see all the way back to Welly and the surrounding bays. We trekked along the outside of the island and then walked to the summit to see the old buildings and gun encampments. It is both historical and ecologically impressive.

We stayed for about two and a half hours and then caught our return boat back to the city. All of the hiking had made us thirsty, so we stopped at Mac's brewery for some pints and chips. From there we caught the bus back to Island Bay and made a big pot of vegetable soup.

Today it was back to the grind. I've been tired all day, so hopefully I'll be fully recovered by tomorrow. Tonight I'll be making pizza for dinner. Here is my recipe for the best pizza sauce in the world:

1 little can tomato paste
2 or 3 fresh tomatoes
1 small onion
4 cloves garlic

Blend all that together, and add olive oil, garlic salt, and oregano (or other Italian herbs). Cook it on the hob for 15 minutes or until the onion tastes cooked. It makes a really tangy, tasty pizza base. :)

Love, Amy

Saturday

Hi everyone,

We spent Saturday in town, watching 'Up the Yangtze' at the Paramount and then out to a sushi dinner. The movie was really good, and so was dinner (except for the eel and squid, pictured).

Not sure what we'll do tomorrow...probably chores around here. There are supposed to be southerly gales (again). Monday is forecast to be nicer, so we'll plan something for then.

Love, Amy

Massage day at Write, and the beginning of the three day weekend

Hi all,

It's been a pretty good day. It is Friday, the start of Labour Day weekend, and I had a free professional massage in the middle of work. It is one of the many perks of working at Write (others include free smoothies, weekly prizes, Tim Tams, and social events.) It was my second massage since I started there, and I felt all woozy and relaxed when I got back to my desk.

We all dressed up as labourers to celebrate the holiday. I went dressed as a gardener, with a bandanna, pigtails, a jean skirt, a peasant top, and gardening boots. We had a lot of construction workers, an electrician, and a rice paddy worker. It was pretty funny. We all brought food for a "smoko" as well...I had a scotch egg, a sandwich, posh cheese, a scone, lollies, chippies (not to be confused with chips!), and some Turkish bread. I had made coconut cookies for my contribution, but there was so much food that they sort of got lost in the shuffle.

Tonight we are going out to Cafe Istanbul for some Turkish food and bellydancing. Like lots of other restaurants, it is BYO, so I'll pick up a bottle of wine on my way back into town.

I'm pretty happy with things at the moment. I've become the resident IT and graphics expert at work, which I find humorous. I really don't know very much, but it is still more than most people, I guess. It has been a huge boost of confidence for me.

Love and miss everyone,
Amy

General update, and a pledge!

Hi everyone,

I've gotten slack on the blogging, and I need to fix that. I guess when you fall into a routine, it is easy to forget to share your thoughts and stories, since you don't feel like you have any. But I am still learning new things, meeting new people, and seeing new sights every single day. I think I just needed to remind myself of that.

Last weekend we stayed around the house. Our activities are always dependent on the weather, and it was rainy and blustery. We left the house just long enough to go to the grocery store, and we did manage a quick picnic by the sea on Sunday. We bought salad and fruit and some rolls and ate in Shorland Park, so I guess all was not lost.

It is a three day weekend here this weekend (NZ's Labour Day). It sort of snuck up on us, and so we didn't have anything planned. We were considering a last minute trip back to the Tongariro Crossing, but once again, the weather looks like poo. It is an eight hour hike, so if you get wet and cold, it would be pretty miserable. So our Plan B is Martinborough, the wine region. Plan C is an island in Wellington Harbour and a day trip to Days Bay. We'll see what happens.

In the meantime I'm busy planning for my parents' visit. I can't wait to see them and show them around! We booked the ferry, which will be all of our first trip to the South Island. We are spending two nights in the sunny, arty town of Nelson, and the day in between will be spent at the Abel Tasman National Park.

Work is going well. My boss and I have agreed on my schedule, which means I'll be working from 9 until 1.30 for the foreseeable future. The buses from Island Bay can be pretty unreliable in the mornings, so at least I'm able to continue taking the express bus. It easily cuts the communiting time in half. I also get to wake up after 7am and catch the bus with Rory, which makes the mornings pleasant.

Rory just had his first performance review, and it went very well. So it seems that we are both settled in our jobs for now.

It is windy out at the moment (surprise, surprise). I need to walk to the grocery store and cook dinner...my usual late afternoon activities. :)

Love, Amy

P.S. My thoughts go out to the American couple that was attacked in Ecuador. You are always at risk when you are traveling, and it could have easily been Rory and I. In fact, reading their blog (sudamericadventure.blogspot.com), they were just in Guatemala a few weeks ago. My best wishes to them.

Pictures from the weekend

Guess I should finish this post!

It was a sunny, relaxed weekend. Saturday we took a long walk (about 9km) around to Lyall Bay and back over the hills to Island Bay. Sunday we went to Scorching Bay and also took a daring hike up a hill. It was probably a bit too daring...it felt a bit dangerous, and there were open mine shafts around. I was glad to get down to the beach again.

Love, Amy

Permanent employee of Write

Hi everyone,

I signed my contract today, which means I will stay at Write for the foreseeable future. They know that I'm still looking for a job in my field, but the ball is now in my court. At least I can count on having a job, and I like working there.

So everything here is going smoothly. I joined Democrats Abroad and watched the debate in an Irish pub last night. The entire upstairs was turned into a theatre with a bar in the back, and it was really good fun. We'll do the same thing for the last debate next week, and then have an all day-all night election Marathon on November 5th (which is really the 4th for all you North Americans!).

That is all my news. I'll try to write again soon.

Best regards,
Amy

A few pictures

Hi everyone,

I took these yesterday. They include my desk, my view, the view from the training room, and bowling at Lanes (in that order).

Love, Amy

Stormy Saturday

Hi everyone,

Rory and I are just hunkered down in the house for the evening. There are severe gale warnings (equivalent to a storm warning in the US) and also a heavy rain warning. Some places could get 5 or 6 inches of rain overnight...so we have decided to stick to indoor activities.

We went to the store and stocked up on groceries. We'll make Moroccan food and naan bread, and maybe some chocolate chip cookies. Cooking is always fun, especially when you have nowhere to be and can put on some good music. The only thing that could put a wrench in our plans is a power outage, so we have candles and matches ready.

I had an accomplished week at work and celebrated by going out last night with my coworkers. It was Leigh's leaving do (party), so we went out to Lanes. Lanes is a bar/nightclub/bowling alley and it is awesome. I only had enough time to bowl four frames and it was time to meet Rory for dinner, but I had a great time spending some social time with my coworkers. Rory and I then went out to Calypso for some Caribbean food, which was very nice.

We're hoping that the weather improves for tomorrow, so that we can go on another long Sunday walk. We'll see.

I also wanted to wish good my mom good luck in the walking marathon tomorrow! Love you.

Hugs,
Amy