Countdown to Christmas

I can't believe it's now 2007 and I've been away from home a whole year! A lot has happened in these last few months. I've become really lazy and domesticated again and have totally neglected my blog.

The last month has been absolutely jam-packed. Work got incredibly busy in the lead-up to the summer (i.e. Christmas) holidays but it was worth it to have a full 3 weeks off to do whatever i wanted. I was so excited about Christmas because Mam and Dad decided around late October that they were going to make the long long trip over to spend the holidays with me. I spent the month before they arrived planning a trip of the country and the weeks turned into days, it felt like Christmases of old with the level of anticipation that built up. I was slightly disappointed that my two brothers had decided not to come (for various reasons) but figured that it was a hell of a journey and would put a pretty big dent in their pockets. I had NO idea of what was coming.......

One Monday morning in mid-December, I made my way to work as usual, sleepy and not really relishing the day ahead. As I was walking up to the main entrance of the hospital I heard a male voice behind me calling me. I turned around and saw a young guy with blonde hair and, not being fully awake, thought to myself "He's the head off Brian..." Next thing, my older brother Kieran stepped out from behind him and I nearly keeled over with the shock!!! It took me at least an hour to take in the fact that they were here. I had NO CLUE of what they were plotting, but it was the best CHristmas present I could have asked for!

Unfortunately, while they were here, I had to work - right up until 22nd but we did manage to pack in some fun stuff at the wknds. I'd been meaning to do a skydive since I arrived in NZ, and when Brian got here it seemed like the perfect time to do it. So, we headed off to Taupo one weekend to do the 15,000ft jump - the highest you can do! We had an absolutely perfect day for it, the sun was shining, the sky was blue and there wasnt really any wind to speak of. We had to spend an hour before the jump getting ready, watching a DVD and getting kitted out. We were introduced to our instructors and had to saying stupid things into their camera before hopping on the plane.

As we climbed higher and higher and the ground became a distant blur of colour, the adrenaline started pumping. Peter, my instructor, was really helping by saying things like "Hmm...Im not really sure where this strap goes, but we should be okay!!" LOL! I was first out of the plane. The door opened and the air rushed into the plane deafening me. Peter gently eased us towards the edge and before I knew it we were off! The next minute is indescribable - we dropped through the air at a ridiculous speed. The force of the wind whipped my cheeks back to my ears. In my DVD it looks like I'm enjoying every minute of it, but I was really TERRIFIED!!

Once the chute was pulled, we wheeled slowly in circles back down towards the jump centre. Lake Taupo looks so beautiful below us, glinting in the sun. I was on a complete natural high after! It was one of the best things Ive ever experienced! It was a really bonding thing to do with Brian also. He loved every minute of it as much as I did. The rest of the weekend was a come down from those 3 minutes. I took Kie and Brian to Roturua to the geothermal park that myself and Andy visited back in August, and they loved that! It is a pretty spectacular place when you first see it. We also visited Huka Falls. The next morning was spent in the Polynesian Spa - I love this place!

We spent the week before Christmas just catching up and swopping stories, hanging out with my friends here, me still not fully believing taht they were here. As the 22nd approached, the feeling of excitement started to build again as I got ready for Mam and Dad's arrival!!!!!!

Once You've Gone South East Asian, You'll Never Go Caucasian

Sunday morning. Wellington is wet and grey this morning. My friend Steff seems to have taken the last few days sunshine back to Oz with her.

But it would take a lot more than the weather to dampen my spirits today! There's nothing better than facing into another week at work knowing that you've made the absolute most of your weekend. And that's what we did!

On Friday evening, I skipped off work early (perk of being The Manager ) and raced back home to gather up a few bits and pieces into a bag. Simon, my flatmate, arrived home early too and said that he would drive me out to the airport which was great! Saved me having to trudge into town and find an over-priced airport shuttle. My flight was only an hour to Wellington and when I landed at 9:30pm Steff was aiting for me in the arrivals hall! It was great to see her again. We headed out of the airport in search of a bus into town and ended up getting a lift from a baggage handler called Ray who was on his lunchbreak and ran us into the city out of the goodness of his heart! THANKS RAY! I dumped my stuff and we didnt waste any time hitting the town. Friday was Steff's birthday so we started proceedings with some cocktails and outrageously expensive red wine! lol. (Tip: never let the waitress pick the wine for you!) Then we hit the bubbly and it turned into a great night, hopping from bar to bar in Wellington's hio COurtenay Place. We met lots of great people and found a couple of obliging Irish men to abuse. The photos speak for themselves!! ROFL!!

When I finally crawled into my bunkbed at 6 in the morning it was bright outside. Ugh. Wait, Im supposed to be living a detox lifestyle in NZ...? Arranged to meet steff at 2pm and crashed out for a few hours. That afternoon, we were both a bit wasted and thought "Hmmm..wouldnt a facial be lovely right about now?" So we tramped the streets of Welly in search of beauty therapy but none was to be found, and instead we found a coffee bar and sat on our asses for a couple of hours writing ridiculous postcards and solving the world's problems. Cinema seemed a good way to put down the evening, and we went along to The Embassy, probably the nicest cinema I have ever been in. I could happily have hung out in the ladies bathroom for the rest of the wknd. The movie was excellent, "Water", GO and see it soon.

It wasnt long before our minds turned towards food yet again, and Steff knew this great Malaysian restaurant that she had been to 3 yrs ago. The food was amazing and I had something called Mangolassi - bascially a non-alcoholic cocktail with mangos and other delicious things. YUM! We emerged hours later stuffed and unable to walk for the weight in our tummies! Ugh. Overdid it .....again!! Back to the hostel for a little rest before heading out. We went to a bar called Matterhorn and happened to walk in on a live gig with a band called Big Egg. Perfect. Live music, comfy leather couch, a few "quiet" drinks. Just what we needed. the bad were great and had a fantastic sound. Barry White meets rap music meets funk or soul or something. The whole bar was grooving and the atmosphere\ was deadly!

Three oclock saw us wandering back towards the hostel for Steff to catch her shuttle to the airport. Both of us had a great wknd and vowed to do it all again soon! Hopefully, Ill be catching up with her again before she goes back to the Northern Hemisphere.

And so, its back to Auckland for me tomorrow at the ungodly hour of 5:30a.m. I have to head straight to work when I land. UGH!

Somewhere to Call Home...for now

Found somewhere to live! One thing Ive realised in the last week traipsing around viewing various rooms for rent is that the letting market is NOT THAT BAD in Ireland. I wont be so quick to whinge again at home. What you get for your money here in Auckland isnt great really - almost all rooms are totally bare and you have to set about buying a bed, wardrobe and whatnot. Luckily, I found somewhere that comes with a nice big bed and a wardrobe, so with a few chosen bits and pieces, I think I can have it looking pretty cosy soon.

Im going to be living with two Kiwis which is what I had hoped for. I did have an offer of a room with a friendly Irish bunch, but it seemed a better idea to try and live with some locals. So, I move in tomorrow! I'm telling you, it feels good to be moving out of this hostel finally. Im going to be living right beside the rubgy grounds in Mount Eden too!

So, that's it for now. Im tired tonight after a long week's work, and looking forward to my bed. x

Working Nine to Five

So, Im now in charge of critical patients going for heart surgery. Feel free to give a loud snort! Started new job last week, thinking I was taking on "a bit of typing" (to use the doctor's words at the interview). It turns out Im now the Suite Manager.

It's not as fancy as it sounds. Its lots and lots of responsibility, a 6am start in the morning (bit of a jolt after my average 3pm rising in BA!), not to mention coordinating a busy practice with 6 doctors, two nurses and three secretaries.

Im only pretend moaning really though. I'm actually thrilled and it feels really good to be doing something relatively challenging again. The day flies because it's so incredibly busy and that's always a good thing! It beats the pants off working in the Council. Im working in a private hospital in a lovely quiet suburb of Auckland. It's actually a really peaceful place to work (so far! ) and I never mind getting up for work in the morning. Hopefully, it will stay that way!

I NEED TO GET OUT OF THIS HOSTEL THOUGH!!! God, I'm turning into part of the furniture here, and I dont even like the place. Its just total laziness that I havent found somewhere to live yet. The problem is I now value my weekends too much to spend them flat-hunting. This last wknd I really enjoyed. The Auckland Documentary Film Festival is running for the next 2 weeks, and I literally hopped from one screen into another this weekend. Saw some pretty interesting flicks, and there are more to be seen. I'm turning into a serial cinema goer here. This week there's a Harold Pinter double bill on in the theatre so Im looking forward to that too.

Got my first wages this week since last Decemeber! so of course I went straight out and blew the lot! lol. I had a pruning and chucked out some of my old rags that Ive been lugging around in my backpack since January.

The weekend after next, Im flying down to Wellington to meet up with Steff (of Madrid fame!) I cant afford it, but as I said to her, this is why I got out from behind my computer screen and hit the road, right! Really looking forward to going back to Welly! and hopefully this time around the weather will be better. When myself and Andy visited it was CCCCOLLLDDD!

What else....hmmm....no nothing else to report really, apart from the fact that Im excessively happy and loving every minute of my life right now. Things are really falling into place in my head about the future and what I might eventuallly do when I think about going home again. My head feels clear for the first time..ever...

Downing My Backpack for a While

Hi everyone,

By some magical turn of good fortune, I am no longer crunching numbers at the City Council! Today was my final day working there. How did this happen? Well, during the week, as I sat at my desk, work-less, face mashed against the palm of my hand, gazing moronically at the on-screen invoice in front of me, I was startled into reality by the sudden vibrating of my phone on the desk. Figuring it was one of my unemployed hostel cronies buzzing me out of boredom, I let it go. It vibrated away until it fell off the desk and I eventually decided to answer it.

"Heelloooo" I droned, then nearly fell of the chair when the caller identified himself. Hurray! It was Dr. Bowbys from the Ascot Hospital here in Auckland. "Evelyn, we'd like you to come and work for us", he said. Were is possble, I would have transported myself down the telephone line and hugged him fiercely. My saviour. He didnt delay and just told me to call his secretary to arrange the details. I was like a baby for the rest of the day at work. As my boss explained the intricacies of land subdivision processing, I hugged my little secret to myself. I NO LONGER HAD TO CONCENTRATE ON ALL THIS BORING CRAP!

So, what's so great about this other job? Well, I know what I'm doing to start with, the pay is great, and I'm really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, the good people at Auckland CIty Council were less than enthused at my news the next day. I cant blame them I suppose. They were understanding about it really, and said they would have done the same in my position. So, I worked my ass off for them for the last couple of days and tried to get as much done as I could.

I start in Ascot Hospital tomorrow. Fingers crossed for me that it all goes smoothly.

Other than that, I'm settling into life in Auckland, although that's not really easy to do when I'm still living in a hostel. Ugh. Im sick of the sight of this place now, even the iron doesnt impress me anymore! and I'm really looking to the day when I can move into an apartment. Auckland wouldn't blow you away, as cities go. It definitely has its plusses though, and this weekend it looked particularly nice. On Sunday, myself and my friend Calum got up late and went down to the harbour for brunch (it's an Auckland thing! "Everyone does brunch on Sundays, hey!"). We lazed over eggs benedict and a bottle of white wine, read the paper and just watched the sailboats going past. Auckland is known as the City of Sails. On a sunny day, the harbour is impressive with superyachts and sailboats filling the docks.

I hear a lot of travellers complaining about the boredom factor here in Auckland but I havent experienced it yet. It's probably not as arty as Wellington or as fun-filled as Queenstown, but I think it has its own charm. Regardless, I'm here to stay now for a while, so "I might as well acquire a taste for it!" ;)