Paid!

Ah ha - a simple title for my latest blog update, and one which also makes me pretty happy. Yes, after 6 months of credit card bashing, I have finally been able to spend money from a current account. Moreover it is Kiwi dollars which I am spending and in a non-hassle, just like the locals, way. No more signing bits of paper, holding up ques or dances with chip and pin cards! Yay!

Like many of the jobs here I am paid fortnightly and it could not have been a day to soon. Having said that my first purchases were flat whites for Charlotte and I, some snacks and then a $10 book which mentioned Borley. Mmm, maybe the book was a rash purchase, but at heart I am a bit of a spendaholic and it is a very nice book.

A coincidental, I think, way of thinking has also taken hold - which is I no longer convert back to pounds for most items. OK, the recent household items like fridge and washing machine which Caroline purchased after Charlotte and I got good deals on, yes, those I converted back to ensure fair pricing. But $20 now feels like $20 to me, not just under a £10. Everyone said it would happen once I started to earn dollars and I guess they were right.

So Caroline's new house? Well I am currently lying on my new futon mattress in the bedroom I am renting from her. It is on the upper floor and has a balcony over looking the cook straight. In fact here is a photo from the very same spot.

The hills on the other side of the straight are part of the Rimutaka range and form an impressive and ever changing canvas between the sky and sea. The passing ships provide focus and at night their twinkling lights and chugging propellers can be soothing to the soul. Of course sea passage is not without its hazards and indeed 40 years ago next Thursday was when the Wahine ferry from Lyttleton founded on the rocks whilst coming into the cook straight on route to Wellington. Dozens of lives were lost that morning in storm conditions and several events take place next week to commemorate it. If I get the chance I may slope off of work for an hour to see the display in a local museum, as I find the subject interesting especially since Charlotte did a press release about the Hikitia crane ship (which helped after the disaster) and I met a survivor in an art gallery.

Even though there is no furniture in the house, apart from the TV and some camp chairs/table, it is now starting to feel like a home to me. I do enjoy the fact it is not part or attached to another property and is not overlooked. The weather is becoming a little brisker this last week, but I will continue to sleep with the balcony curtains open and the window ajar, as the freshness and views of starry skies and sunrises cannot be beat.

Work is going well now and I am starting to feel like I am adding value. The 'didn't we do well' atmosphere is also rubbing off on me so I am even enjoying the latest edition of gold star helium balloons to each desk! As I mentioned before, I also like the fact that the company has a long history in New Zealand, which includes a former government or crown ownership. The remains of this lineage are scattered all around the office and I hope my future request for a 'government life members rules' plaque will go down well.

I shall end this Friday night blog with a few more photos from the new house and one of the mad dash which was the cleaning and packing of last Sunday back in oriental bay. I turned up for the inspection and key return on Monday afternoon - only to be told that whoever had dusted was clearly not a professional cleaner - so I then spent 2 hours with a feather duster and hoover under the direction of two middle aged ladies...still some people pay good money for that sort of thing!