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!" ;)

Life as a Council Worker

Who'da taut it! The county council for Ev. Well, city council, but it's all the same thing. Council workers around the globe are the same species of individual I am now convinced! They sit around all day on their gradually expanding asses, nursing half cold cups of tea and pissing and moaning about their lives! Is this to be my fate??? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

What's happened, I hear you ask? Well, I got a job, basically, with Auckland City Council processing land subdiv...ZZZZZZ..ision...ZZZZZ...claimsZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

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Well, it's a job and it's literally two blocks from where I'm staying so I can roll out of bed at the last minute in the morning. I started yesterday. So far, it seems like a replica of 'The Office' - phantom phones that ring and ring and are never answered, office clowns sticking post-it notes on each others backs, The Boss faffing about and being "approachable" and, of course, "hip"! I already have developed an intense hatred for the guy sitting on the other side of my partition and have had several muderous tendencies today alone. Yes, yes. It's back to the daily grind!!

I had another job offer today and have to sneak off to an interview tomorrow, but the position is in a hosptial miles outside the city which would mean parting from my pillow at a considerably earlier hour in the morning, BUT if they pay well enough I can do it! So, we'll see how it goes.....watch this space, if you're interested.

Very little else has been happening. Have had a few crazy nights out on the town with various people - Auckland's not a bad spot to go out in. However, I dont see myself staying here for longer than a few months. It's got a bit of a sterile feel to it, and I think Wellington will eventually beckon a bit closer to the summer.

This weekend, I have to go and look for somewhere a little less "hostelly" to live. A girl I know here in Auckland called Fiona picked me up last weekend and gave me the grand tour of the city in her jeep! which gave me a really good idea of where I might like to settle for a while. I'm also thinking of getting some work in a bar or restaurant in the evenings to keep the cash rolling in!

So, that's it for now. Blog entries will probably become less and less as I descend into the gloom of 9-to-5-dom. In case, I become trapped forever in my cubicle processing claims someone PLEASE! COME AND RESCUE ME!!!!!!!!!