Mmm, this daily blog thing has gone to bi-daily and almost weekly - sorry about that, but there is a noticeable lack of things happening here over the last week or so. This is doubly weird for me at this time of year, as back in the UK you will be on the run up to Christmas with all the present buying, parties to go to and even scrapping the frost of your cars in the morning...with the exception of the parties, I am finding myself without any of the other things, however at this stage I am not sure if this a bad or good thing!
Well today is Friday and it is now well and truly into the afternoon. The weather has been grey but bright for the last two days with a low cloud hanging over the mountains and hills behind Wellington, still it has stayed warm and mostly dry. The locals have been noticeably increasing their Christmas preparations, so that of an evening you can see the occasional house with fairy lights twinkling outside it - not to the ridiculous levels of the UK ones mind you, but a more subtle celebration - there are also a few decorated Xmas trees in the bay windows of Mt. Vic. houses.
But, apart from this and the two cards I got from the UK (Thanks Mum/Dad and Auntie Iris), my apartment and mood is decidedly un-festive...but I did spend 10 mins in 'Charming Christmas' shop yesterday, looking at fibre optic trees but deciding the NZ$60 would be better spent on food! The shop just across the street was happy to take this and more but did offer home comforts such as Maldon sea salt and tiptree jam, all carried home in my new hessian sack bag :)
So my mood is still in holiday mode as sitting around in shorts all day, wearing sandals at night, applying sun cream before going out, and watching people playing on a beach from my living room window, all reinforce the summer holiday feeling for me...the only down side is the shadow of not having a job, leading to the dark place of no money and the damp feeling of failure...
Wow, not sure where that came from, maybe it is a side effect of finding out today that I did not get through the final selection of the Ministry of Education job! I called them up yesterday and left a message, but by midday today the 'not hearing' was unbearable, so I called again to hear 'Ah Kevin, I was just about to call you!', being buoyed up by this introduction was just enough to make the 'We have selected someone else, also from the UK, as they had more recent leadership experience...' hurt a little more than I wanted it to. I had decided if given the choice between the two positions, I would not have accepted this one anyway, unless something else was much better such as terms and conditions or money.
So now I am in a position of maybe, possibly, slight chance of being offered the other position with the other government department - Therefore I have contacted them for an update (something I do not normally do), but without speaking to either of my two HR contacts, I resorted to an email...arrgh I forgot to put the return receipt thing on it!
Over this coming weekend I will rev up the old 'Kev getting a job' engine again anyway - still that is enough on the job front....
Social news - Well yesterday evening was a quickly thrown together evening of the comedy club (yes I know again, but I do not mind becoming a regular at the place as it has a very nice atmosphere, drinks, food and laughs - what more do you need on a night out?) Anyway Caroline and I walked in from '3 bloody steep hills' apartment, and met up with Charlotte on our booked table. I had vouchers for 4 pizzas, and Charlotte had a spare friend to make up the numbers - Abi, another lovely pom, and later on, Devon or token Kiwi chap ;) - so that was our side sorted, what did the other side have to offer?
Ewen Gilmour was the main act for the evening and being the generous sort that I am, I filmed some short sequences for you all again - however I must warn that they are a tad, erm, un-PC in places - so if you are in an environment with sound and policies, you may want to watch this later on at home. Actually to get the most from it you will also need 6 pints of Mac's Sassy Red which was a strong lager with a deep red colour and smooth finish - ahh...lovely - our drinks were supported by the free pizzas and bowls of wedges - and the main act was supported by two other comics and a funny Iraqi host.
An interesting mix and I must say I did laugh a fair bit, in fact the last two acts had me laughing more than my previous visits combined...however this could also have been because, for the first time, I was relaxed and really enjoying the company as well as the show...and yes it is possible to eat, film and hold hands at the same time - mmm, unless that was not my hand after all ;)
Well there you have it, a brief update of the last day and Christmas preparation. At the moment I am considering all of my options and one of them is what to do for the 25th. New Zealand really enjoys the traditional Christmas and has a long and extensive shutdown, similar to what I knew as a kid in the 80's UK, but this one comes with sun, fun and warmth. Having said that I did briefly think of buying some camping gear and, with Charlotte, going to the mountains of the South Island to camp in their foothills...mmm, erm, fresh caught salmon for Xmas dinner anyone? The alternative (and already discussed - unlike the tent idea) option is to have a BBQ on the beach or patio overlooking the beach, as we have all decided that slaving over a hot oven for a roast is not the important thing.
On the flip side of things I have always held onto a romantic image of travelling 'home' over Christmas - through wind, rain and snow - to turn up at some distant door...but this is impractical from a money and time point of view...at least this year anyway ;) - Sorry Mum :(
Oh bugger, I could have ended this blog on a funny note, but instead I seem to have brought the mood down a bit...hang on....*Kev changes the music on the stereo*.....
Well one thing to note is some news about Caroline - it seems that her Steven King homage of an adopted Carrie persona for her online dating profile (her idea!) has actually caught someones eye. I cannot remember the chaps nick name - something like Toucan or Tuscan? - but he is a Kiwi and looks OK from the little I have seen of his profile...Caroline will be able to fill in more details tomorrow as she - wait for it - she has a morning coffee date with him!
Well I have to go now as I have just thought that Charlotte and I should practice our tactics for Pictionary!