Two Years - Two Months - One Week - One Day
And it's been.... ehh... Not too bad... Not too great either.:o
With saying that we have absolutely NO plans on moving back to the US. It hasn't really felt very different from our lives in the US. A few ups and downs... Here's what's been going on in Ponyville...
I was able to find work about a month after we arrived and started on 18/May/09. I didn't have to clock in or out! I could wander off for a few minutes around 10am and 3pm with out anyone giving me the evil eye or having to clock in/out. I have been with the same employer since we arrived, moving once internally from Finance(fixed term) to Payroll (Perm). I LOVE my coworkers!! Well... Most of them... Even NZ has office Grumps! :laugh It's sooooooo much more laid back here which is more my style and I love it! Things get really boring at work when it's slow but we try to liven it up with some quizzes (Pub trivia books) during afternoon tea or 2 hour lunches with the whole team. We having morning teas for birthdays, holidays or just a Tuesday (actually we've decided to keep them to Fridays cause we just stuff ourselves all day then can't move to get work done).
OH found work a few months after we got here as an IT help desk tech (or something like that). He loved his coworkers but would still have to deal with your average amount of cranky people...and yes I used loved in the past tense for a reason...
A few months into OH's working he decided to go back to school. He's certified in Audio Engineering and wanted to get into Park Road but that was getting him nowhere. So he wanted to see about doing Animation and try to get into Weta. (He's very creative and can't stand having an office job) So now he had to find a school that offered Digital Animation but didn't take 4 years to do it in. He's getting old (his words not mine!) and doesn't want to spend time taking English classes and all that other crap that he wouldn't need... He found a school here in Wellington and signed up for a Digital Video and Animation course. After being out of school for soo long it was difficult getting back into things and being the oldest 'kid' in class. He had his ups and downs but he passed the course and decided to take the next course, Advanced Animation. He wasn't able to reduce his hours at work anymore so he had to resign. So now he's at the same school with a new Tutor that doesn't teach and isn't enjoying it anymore, but has until 21/Dec before the course is over. On a good note he's made friends with a bloke that works at Weta and is able to give him CONSTRUCTIVE criticism on his school work which has been a big help... :clap
We first found a super fancy & modern 1/1 flat in Kelburn. I could walk to work, the shops, the cable car all with in 5 minutes! It was great! Until the landlords moved in above us. Then we had elephants playing with the pet dog... (after leaving our dog with my parents in the US this was getting increasingly difficult on me) The place was awesome but we never really felt at home there... So once OH started his second year at school we knew we had to move someplace cheaper... so we packed up and moved out to the hood! J'ville in da house! And we LOVE it!!! It's an older townhouse that's bigger (2/2),not so flash but quieter and has bit of grass!
Things were getting a little difficult for me mentally and physically (with my Lupus) during the first 2 years but things seem to be getting better now. The furthest away from my family was 2 hours in the US so not being soo close has been hard. I didn't visit my parents every weekend but I was always with them during the holidays. So being here with no family has been hard/weird/different. Along with no family here we had to leave our dog with my parents in the US. Leaving her was harder than leaving my friends and family. The only time I cried was when I had to leave her with my parents... I'm getting a little misty eyed just thinking about it now... And she's the only one I've cried about since we've been here. Our Kelburn flat wouldn't allow pets - even though they had a dog and the flat behind us had a dog...grr! Since I lived soo close to work I was just coming home right after and be home alone for hours before OH would come home. OH thought it might help to volunteer at the SPCA so I would be able to be around some animals which might help cheer me up and get me out of the house. So I started working with the big dogs once every 3 weeks and I'm really enjoying it. They stink, jump on me and bark too much but I love it! There are soo many sweet dogs there I wish I could take them all home! When we were looking for a new rental pets were a must! We now have 2 kittens that we adopted from the SPCA and couldn't be happier! I think this house and the kitties have really helped me. I feel loads more comfortable in this house and the kitties help keep me company when OH is doing school work in his man cave. I've also got a regular Rhuemy now and I think we've got the right meds to prevent another flair up.
We haven't been able to explore very much since we've been here. I wish we would have taken a month or so to travel around the island before we started working.( Hint! Hint! Do this if you're planing the move!) We did take a long weekend trip to Otaki, Napier and Akitio though. Little by little... Hopefully when OH is done with school we will be able to take some more trips. We'll be doing less this year since we're living off one income but I do feel like things are getting better.
Anyways... enough of my rant... Glad we're in NZ and you can't get rid of us!:laugh
