ny2nz

2010-11-16T12:52:00.002+13:00

Things keep moving along.

Since my last post things have become clearer. Portland is definitely the destination as I was offered a job there. The position begins 13 December so I am on my way very soon indeed! I've resigned from my current position and am making the preparations for departure.

Let and I have been doing tons of work around the house. We originally planned to sell, got briefly excited by the idea of keeping it and renting it out, ran the financials on that option and have returned to selling. We have a realtor and it should be out in the public domain by tomorrow (and hopefully sell by the following day :-)).

There is a lot of work to be done and I am quite committed to getting as much possible before I fly off to the States so that Celeste has minimal hassles to deal with while she prepares to follow me. Selling the house is a big one, but just as big and perhaps more of a hassle really, is getting rid of everything within the house. We have collected much more than we should have over these 2+ years in the house. Made much easier by having a little boy that we adore so want to buy him lots of things and keep everything he has ever made.

For now, we just keep plugging along working to get us all back together as soon as possible. Hard to fathom the hole left in my life without Liam here to fill it.

More soon...

2010-10-31T09:06:00.002+13:00

nz2pdx

It's been almost two years since I've typed in this space...What has happened in that time? Massive amounts.

Liam is now going on 3 years old. At this time he is having an extended holiday with his family in Manila while we prepare to move to the US, hopefully Portland, Oregon. Portland is my hometown and though most of my family live far and farther from there, it would still be a lot closer to most friends and family than NZ is.

It's a hard choice to make. In many ways we had created a great life here in NZ. We both have good jobs that pay relatively well. We live in a nice house in a great location. We enjoy many aspects of life here. So, why the move? I am the impetus. Many things have come together in my little brain over the past year or so that make it feel imperative to move back. A major aspect of it is career prospects (and career satisfaction).

One issue is the job itself. Though I very much enjoy working with students, 4.5 years doing the same job has taken its toll. Not just the job, but the instability in it. I have had three different colleagues and a long stretch of doing the job totally on my own with no administrative help since my first year in the position. It makes doing a good job difficult. I never intended to be in the same position for this length of time, but there is very little room for progression on a small campus.

The university has also been going through a lot of change, not necessarily bad in the long-term but has been a nightmare in the short term. A lot of good people have either lost their jobs or have left out of fear or frustration. The new hires have often been head-scratchingly bad fits for the positions they were hired to fill and motivation around the university seems to be very low. Unfortunately, I am not immune to this.

But the careers issue is not the only reason I feel the need to repatriate. Family, friends, support and history have become surprisingly important to me since Liam came into my life. My mother and sister both have chronic health problems that have me concerned for their long-term stability. I feel that I should be closer in case the worst comes to pass. I've also realised how much I miss having the opportunity to see them, even if only on an annual basis. In the 4.5 years I've been in NZ I only just this year finally went back for a visit.

Then there is Liam, he has still only met my father from my side of the family. My dad actually came to visit in time for Liam's first birthday! It was great, but I can't accept Liam not having a connection with my mom and sister and niece and nephew. I also realise that I want him to have a greater sense of his history. Not necessarily specifically as an American, but definitely as part of the northwest and Portland. He has no risk of not having that from his mother's family and culture as he has already been to the Philippines four times (and for several months this time) before even reaching his third birthday. But my family is not able to travel here and our finances do not allow for us to make regular big trips to the US to see my widely dispersed fam.

So, a lot of instability for the family while we make the plans and the changes necessary for the move and until we manage to get settled. While this is all in process Liam will live in Manila and hopefully become fluent in Tagalog while getting closer to his family there. With luck, early in the new year we can all be back together in a nice new home in Portland.

That's a little bit of a catch up...

2008-12-20T10:23:00.002+13:00

It's Saturday in NZ and tomorrow at high noon we fly to the Philippines. We are a bit nervous about the flight with Liam, his first time on an airplane and at a very precarious time in his life. He is now 10 months old and is very mobile and does not like sitting still for long. He is also very vocal when he is not happy (quite vocal when he is happy too). I am hopeful that he will do alright. We just need to be able to walk him around a bit and keep him involved so he doesn't get bored.

It's quite exciting to be getting away from it all for a whole month. It will be a lot of fun to hang out with the in-laws. They are all very excited to have Liam around. I'm hoping to spend a day just hanging out with Gil (he doesn't know that yet) and I am sure we will spend plenty of time hanging with Van and Kim. More than anything else though, I'm excited for Let and me to have some time together alone. Time to go to movies or out for drinks or even out of town for a couple of days, that has really got me happy.

Life is good!

2008-11-29T07:40:00.002+13:00

Hope everyone in the US of A had a lovely Thanksgiving and gave lots of thanks for the Prez-elect!!!

We didn't have the forethought to get a Turkey early enough for it to thaw in time to eat on Tday so had a roast chicken instead :-)

Today I am manning a stand at a mall for our Engineering programme. I've never done such a thing before so it will be interesting to see how it goes. Not a big fan of malls, but so it goes.

We tried to add another dog to our family but it did not work out. He terrorised Samson and Liam was not so fond of him either. It didn't help the situation that he was marking the entire house as his territory in the only way dogs know how. BLECH! So he went to another home that would have more time to provide the guidance he needs. He was a very cute and sweet little guy though.

2008-11-23T09:03:00.002+13:00

Oooops, another unexpected hiatus.

I must admit, plenty has happened since I last wrote.

We have now been living in our very own house for over a month. Unfortunately, our old place did not get rented until...officially today I think. So we paid about 6 weeks of extra rent, not fun, but worth it to have our house!

The house is great. Of course it has issues, but nothing horrible. The funniest part of it is that we have a white picket fence! How cheesy is that? It is also one story sorta ranch style. Those of you that know me would know that I would never have expected to buy a ranch style house in the 'burbs. I love it though, it's a cool little suburb that has a great café called Aunt Daisy's. They even have life music regularly (which we've yet to attend).

We have a massive back yard! We just bought ourselves an EnviroMower. It has a rechargeable battery and is quiet (for a lawnmower). It seems to work quite well in it's first use yesterday.

Work has been quite busy, we have our national liaison seminar for a few days last week. Luckily it was here in Wellington so I didn't have to travel to attend. I always enjoy the times when we are all together for a few days. We have a couple of events coming up that I've been busily planning as well.

Liam is now 9 months+. He's a master crawler now and is just an awesome little boy. He's becoming so much more aware of everything around him. Unfortunately that also means he is hitting the stage where he gets upset when one of his parents leaves the room. That has just happened in the last week or so. He just does a little bit of a grump right when we walk out but we'll usually just pop our heads back in and make him laugh then he is okay with it (so far). I really worry that he will become one of those children that cries their head off when left at childcare. I'm hoping because he has already been there for so long that it will not happen (fingers crossed).

More about the house? 3 bedroom, bath with separate toilet, some storage space under house (not sealed like basement though). We get all day sun, have a little view of Porirua Harbour from the back yard. We have a few trees. I've done a little DIY work so far. Replaced the separate hot/cold taps in kitchen and bathroom sinks with single mixer faucets.

Also, as we are going to be in the Philippines for a month we were looking for housesitters (yes plural as we feel the house is big enough and it gives more attention to the house and Samson. Well, one of the housesitters we found had just moved to NZ from the states and was staying in a motel in Porirua. So, we offered to let him stay with us until we leave for PH and he just moved in yesterday. He's a really nice guy with a husband and twin (almost) 5 year old boys. The fam is still in the states figuring out their move. It's a bit funny having a housemate but I think it will work out fine, plus we are just so relieved to have people to take care of Samson while we are away.

2008-10-03T14:11:00.003+13:00

Hey, it's Friday! We still haven't found someone to take over our lease, but we will survive this. And we are still very excited about the new house.

It is a beautiful sunny day here in Wellington and I am hoping to take the dog to the beach when I get out of the office. He loves it so much and gets so few good walks these days.

One change I want us to make after we move is to give him two walks every day. Perhaps I can take him in the morning and Celeste can take him when we get home. I think he will be a much happier and better adjusted dog if he gets some good regular exercise.

I thought I was all healthy when I posted last but then I got sick again, still very sinusy and coughing up all sorts of unfortunate things. YUCK!

Work is good, school visits have mellowed but we have quite a few visitors and campus tours as well as planning our year end events for younger high school students. That is a bit of fun because we work with people all across campus to make it happen.

Who is reading this these days? I know penguindevil continues to hang out, any others around?

2008-09-27T06:12:00.002+12:00

Just watched the sunrise on what looks to be a beautiful Saturday in Wellington.

I'm feeling healthy after about two weeks of, what felt like, a losing battle against a sinus infection. I had never had such a painful infection before. There were hours at a time where I literally felt compelled to hold my head (some subconscious fear it might explode?) from the pain. It made being productive at work a very difficult task indeed. So, for the past week I have been taking my antibiotics and a lot of codeine laced pain killers.

Last night Celeste went out for after work drinks with her friend Kym. Apparently she only had three glasses of wine but arrived home at 7ish extremely...tipsy? Slurred speech, difficulty walking :-D It was quite amusing. She is always very loving when she drinks though, that's nice. She is still in bed this morning while Liam plays by himself in his 'exersaucer'.

Things continue toward taking possession of our house. We have hired movers to not only move us but to also pack our things. As I mentioned in my previous post, I have never hired movers before, but with a little boy and a dog, it just seems worth the expense to have it all done by professionals. It will save us heaps of difficulty on the day. Celeste's drinking buddy Kym has offered to come help us on the day (I think she realises that will not entail much work). We are very excited for the new place.

The only negative to be seen at this point is that we have yet to find someone to take over our current lease. Our agreement with our landlords is that we find someone to take over our lease, otherwise we are still responsible for our rent. Hmmmmmmmmm

In other news, Liam is still a happy healthy baby. He does have this tendency to fall over/down. This is probably due to his immense love of standing up though he is a bit too young and uncoordinated for it. He has bonked his head a few times now. Celeste stressed that a whole lot, I figure it's just another part of growing up. He usually only cries from the surprise of it and if I put him back in position to enjoy himself he is promptly okay again.

Enough for 6:30am.

2008-09-14T09:36:00.003+12:00

It's a sunny Sunday in Wellington. I think I shall take the dog to the beach. Hopefully Liam and Let will join in the trip. We're still waking up and we have a very messy house to deal with. Hmmm. Definitely need to go beaching though.

Last night we went to Stokes Valley (aka Stokes Vegas) for dinner with some friends. Three little boys of different ages, Liam at 7 months, Jos at 1 year and Olivier coming up on 3 years. It is fun to see the differences and realise what we have to look forward to. Besides that we got to eat a gourmet meal cooked by an Englishman (whose wife is French and doesn't cook, doesn't drink much and does NOT like CHEESE!!!). Yes, a strange family indeed :-)

We went unconditional on the house Friday. Yes, I am a homeowner now. It is very exciting. We will move in after the 10th of October. We both can't stop thinking about the house and what we'll do to it over time. First we just have to get all of our possessions from point A to point B, for the first time in my life I think we'll hire someone else to do the moving for us. I think the time has come, we have too much stuff to bother friends with.

Now we desperately need to find some nice people to take over our lease in the house we live in currently. Less than a month to get that all sorted...eeeeek.

Life is good down under!

2008-09-07T00:40:00.002+12:00

Hmmm, about three months with no updates. I guess nothing worthy of writing about has happened...

Liam just gets cuter and cuter. Now he is three months cuter than when I last wrote, that's a LOT! He loves and is loved at his childcare centre. The other day we were dropping him off and the mom of a little girl said, "Oh, my daughter is always talking about Liam" :-P He's popular with the ladies.

We did get the Wii and Wii Fit. We used them a lot for about a month and then we've gotten so busy lately that we have not been good about using them. I do love it though. My favourite right now is Tennis, but a lot of the games are really enjoyable. Hopefully we'll get back to using it regularly soon.

Our time at home consists of entertaining the boy, feeding the boy, getting the boy to sleep, running to the boy when he wakes up, cleaning up the boy's dishes, dealing with Samson's needs and then trying to do everything else we need to get done in between (along with some sleep somewhere in there).

Honestly, I would not trade this life away for anything. That little boy makes me smile so big and has taken such a chunk of my heart that I can not even imagine being without him. When I have to leave town for work trips I miss him very much. Every day I feel I learn more about him and that he becomes that much more his own person. He is now crawling (backwards). That is exciting. Today for the first time he pulled himself up on the inside of his cot/crib. He is a strong Liam ;-)

Along the way we have also decided we wanted to buy a house and in fact found one to buy. It has been a bit of a whirlwind process. We almost bought one well outside of our range (physically and financially). Luckily it did not work out and we have found one much closer to affordable and though it is in the outer suburbs of Wellington it still is only about 20 minutes with no traffic and has a lot of amenities handy to it. It is not officially ours yet but it seems the largest hurdles have all been jumped and it is just the details being worked out now.

Enough for now, we are going through a cold snap here (down to 1 celsius tonight and only 13 here in the lounge/living room). I need to crawl back into our nice warm bed :-)

2008-06-12T09:47:00.003+12:00

Only a little more than a week left of being stay at home dad! That is a bit sad. I enjoy my time with the boy. We have really gotten a feel for each other over this time. I have a much better feel for his wants/needs and he is more comfortable sleeping with me.

He is taking his morning nap now and then we will go for a visit to his child care centre. We were very lucky to get a spot for him! The average waiting list time is 15 months, I'm not sure when Celeste put our name in, but the spot just came up a couple of weeks ago. It is a great little place and much closer and more convenient to our place than where I thought he was going to end up.

I know that I am old and out of shape, but jesus, I am tired ALL OF THE TIME now. Every second he is asleep I feel like I should be sleeping too! But there are so many other things to be done. Washing bottles, our dishes, laundry, other general housecleaning. Plus trying to keep Samson from feeling lonely and bored. I also want to play my scrabble/scramble/pathwords games :-)

Speaking of which, we are buying a Wii + Wii Fit. Since winter seems to have arrived (a bit early) and we will be spending a lot of time inside I'm sure, we decided that this would be a good way of getting our exercise in. Of course, there are no Wii in stock in Wellington, but hopefully we will get it within the next week or so.

The week that I am back at work will be spent on the road in the Nelson/Marlborough area. The wife is not very excited about being on her own for a week. I'm not too excited about being away from her and Liam and Sammy either. Such is the life of a student recruiter.

Life is enjoyable, we are not seeing friends as much as we would like, but things are going well. I will try to write again soon.

2008-05-16T09:59:00.003+12:00

This is my last day of work for five weeks. I will practice being a stay at home dad. I must admit that the thought overwhelms me a little bit, but I know it will be a great experience for me and hopefully for little Liam as well.

Celeste's parents leave on Monday, I think they are very nervous about me being the full-time caregiver of Liam. This morning I was playing with Liam a bit and Celeste's dad says "I hope you will have the patience to deal with him" I think he was referring to me having patience with Liam, but it might have been the other way around. Either way, I think we will be ok. I have always had good patience with children.

I actually think it will be easier for me with no one else around. I do not like feeling as though my every action is being judged...maybe judged is not the right term...hmmm, let's try again. I do not like the fact that everyone is paying such close attention to my behaviour with the boy, always ready to offer advice and to take him away from me if it seems I am not succeeding. It will be better for me when it is just the two of us figuring things out. Does that make any sense?

Things are very good though. The boy is happy and healthy. Last night he only woke up once in the night for feeding. That was wonderful! Hopefully we can have many more nights like that and then move on to no wakes per night. Sigh, that will be the day :-)

We have gotten very close to purchasing a very small section of land on which to build a house. It seems we are leaning against it now because of our extreme lack of finances. I am still pretty into the idea but I think the more budget-minded half of this marriage will likely win out.

I am excited for the five weeks with Liam, I am hopeful we will get out of the house and do fun things together. Hopefully the weather will cooperate a bit. I would like to take daily walks with Sam and Liam, hopefully at the beach or at least around the neighbourhood.

I suppose that is enough of an update for now. Hey, why don't you check out my newest blogging project greenlinksnz.blogspot.com and tell me what you think so far.

Cheers,

Jon

2008-04-10T17:10:00.002+12:00

Hi, I seem to have missed March. Though I was definitely busy, I was not so busy that I couldn't have written. Just not up for it apparently.

Liam is doing very well. Just turned 8 weeks old and is happy and healthy. He smiles quite a bit and is awake all sorts of hours through the day and night. Celeste's parents are still providing the bulk of the housework and keep Liam overnight. That will have to change soon as they are flying back to Manila on May 19th.

Celeste and I got married on Monday of this week. Very few people knew about it beforehand. We just had a quiet little ceremony at the Department of Internal Affairs. Patrick was my witness, Didith was Celeste's. Celeste's parents, Liam and Clark (husband of Didith) were also present. We had some bubbles and snacks afterward.

We then brought some beer home and hung out for awhile. Celeste was asleep by about 8pm! She hadn't had alcohol for quite some time. :-)

At work I have a full team for the first time in a year! It is quite nice to be 3 strong in the office instead of just me. It has been very busy without and it is still busy with the team but much more enjoyable and manageable. We will definitely be able to do more events and be more streamlined, organised and effective with the new team in place.

Samson is doing very well as well. He's a good boy. He really wants to play with the boy Liam, but as of yet we aren't allowing much contact. Another few months and things will be better for the two of them I think.

Cheers.

At work

2008-02-23T09:57:00.002+13:00

Hi,

We are ten days into the experiment that is parenthood. So far the baby seems to be surviving pretty well.

Right now Liam is sitting naked (plus diaper) in his mom's arms. She is telling him what it will be like when he grows up.

The naked part is me asserting my parental prerogative. I hate him being in clothes all the time while the Lafavillas apparently feel it is a sin to ever show baby skin to the air. Now he is getting dressed again, obviously my parental powers only go so far. Last night Liam slept in the same bed as us, only the second time he has stayed in our room since we got him home. Celeste's parents have been taking him at night so that Celeste can get much needed rest.

In the hospital they were debating giving Celeste a blood transfusion from low blood count after labour. We all decided against it, but it has meant that she needs a lot of rest.

Last night went pretty well though. He is pretty easy still at this point. If he wakes up he just needs to be fed and/or changed and he tends to go right back to sleep. If nothing else a quick walk around the house tends to get him ready to sleep again.

I have been trying to do a good amount of assisting. Mostly that has involved washing/sterilising breast pump and bottles, changing diapers and clothing and carrying him around. Oh, I also feed him sometimes (expressed milk or formula).

Otherwise, not a lot to do with baby. We all spend a lot of time staring at him and commenting on how cute (guapo) and handsome (and hairy) he is. This is one furry little monkey, arms, back...you name it he's got fur on it.

Samson is handling it all pretty well. He is always sniffing around the boy, but he is usually pretty understanding that if he licks he gets removed from the area so avoids that in the main. Whenever baby cries he tends to run to check out what the problem is. When baby slept on the bed, Samson was very good about staying well clear of him. It will be great once the kid is old enough that he and Sam can spend more quality time together.

For now, that's about it.

2008-02-17T17:30:00.000+13:00

Maybe you should read this for more Liam info, written by his mother...

2008-02-15T09:43:00.001+13:00

Some pix for your enjoyment. Someday the whole birth story will be told, right now though, I would like to sleep.

2008-02-13T07:49:00.000+13:00

Liam is born! It was a long slog and Celeste was exhausted by the end of it, but Liam is healthy and happy at 3.78kg. He's beautiful!

More later...

2008-02-06T09:56:00.000+13:00

Hi All,

We are still waiting for the bundle of joy to unbundle. Some of us less patiently than others.

Celeste's parents are here now. At this moment they are outside pruning (deeply) some trees that keep the sun from shining on our back lawn. They are so committed to their pursuit that I am slightly concerned for the well-being of the trees. Well, I suppose it is worth it to keep them busy :-)

Today is Waitangi Day here in NZ, that means no work for one and exists as recognition of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. We are reflecting on this day by hanging around the house. Celeste is not interested in doing anything besides pushing the baby out as soon as possible (and with as little effort as possible, good luck with that).

Things are interesting at work as I am trying to get organised and plan a couple of events, but I am also knowing that at any day a baby could be born and I will not be in the office for a couple of weeks so it is hard to start new things and make meeting times or appointments.

I am tired, unfortunately I think that will continue to be the case for the foreseeable future.

Cheers all...

2008-01-27T07:45:00.000+13:00

Stuff. I've gotten a little mini sickness of some sort. Sore throat, a little achy, tired. Nothing serious, just annoying.

Playing Tegan and Sara, they always make me smile.

Brought Samson in with me today so that Celeste can rest without interruption until we get home.

The baby is still holding on to his happy life on the inside. Celeste is pretty sure that it won't last much longer. I think it's just wishful thinking since she is soooooo uncomfortable (sure I've not written that before ;-)).

Work is keeping me busy.

Celeste's parents arrive on Wednesday. That will be different for sure.

My 12" PowerBook met with a hideous accident, but luckily I have Home Contents insurance which covers the loss. I've replaced it with a MacBook that I am waiting for Apple to send me. I am a bit excited for the speed upgrade but I am sad to have lost the old workhorse. That computer put up with a lot of abuse from me.

Looks like the family (minus samson) will be spending next x-mas in the States. Anyone that has extra room for us in the US please let us know. We will be trying to make the trip as inexpensively as possible. Our current itinerary has us flying in and out of San Francisco, driving to Portland, finding our way to Charleston and then NYC then back west to fly home.

Oh, please share in comments all advice for labour and the first few days of life with a newborn!!! I'm very curious!

Yups.

2008-01-20T08:35:00.001+13:00

In the studio being a DJ again :-)
Yesterday was supposed to be a Baby Shower for little Liam, the organisers of the event ended up unable to attend and because it is a long weekend many others were off to more exotic places as well.

Luckily we had a few people come by and it was very enjoyable. Celeste probably would not have enjoyed tons of people anyway, she originally did not feel comfortable with the idea of a baby shower at all. We had a few people from Celeste's work and then our friends Rosie and Guy.

Guy and Rosie came over with little Jos (4.5 months old). He's a very cute little guy and I held him for quite awhile :-) I decided that if by some crazy universal coincidence that both Jos and Liam end up gay, they can hook up :-) Sorry Midge!

Life is good here in Wellington. We had a major cleaning in preparation for the festivities yesterday, that was good. Cleaned up about a ton of leaves from around the outside of the house, that ended up doing a bit of a number on my old-man back. Feeling it today for sure. Nice to have the house looking good though.

We still have a bit of organising to complete before baby and parents arrive but we're really getting close now!

Oh, Baby Shower Gifts, one of my favourite baby toys! The square plastic with different shapes that you fit shaped blocks through. Love those :-) Some baby wipes, baby soap, baby massage oil, baby oil. Good stuff!

Blazers are keeping up the fight! 2 and 2 so far on the road trip

2008-01-17T16:44:00.000+13:00

Hi,

Just watched the Blazers lose to the Celtics. Seemed like a good game, just did not have it in us to take it at the end.

Still waiting for baby Liam, I hope I am not writing that repeatedly for the next 4 weeks!

Saturday we are having a baby shower that Celeste's friends at work are putting on for her. There is a lot of cleaning around the house for me to do before then. We have about a ton of leaves around our house that I need to clean up. Plenty of cleaning to do inside the house as well.

This is a long weekend in NZ so many people will be vacating Wellington for the weekend. Not us, we will be here to watch over our fair city. We will take Samson to the beach so he can frolic about. He has been enjoying the beach more and more. He now will run into the water just for the fun of it, we find it very cute!

Well, back to waiting for the baby...

2008-01-10T18:05:00.000+13:00

Listening to the Blazers put their new streak to four.

Yesterday Celeste had another scan on the baby. According to the scan little Liam is ready to be born at any moment! So...we need to get ready! We need to pack bags to take to hospital, we need to wash all of his clothes and bedding and things so they're fresh and ready. We need to make his cot. We need to clean the house. We need to organise all of his stuff! Ack :-)

Today Celeste had to renew her passport. That took much longer than it should have.

That's really about it, just wanted to mention the scan.

2008-01-06T08:59:00.001+13:00

Hi All,

Well, the Blazers finally lost a game, was bound to happen sometime, no? But they've gone on to win two since then and have their chance for revenge today against the Utah Jazz (streakbusters). Let's see if we can get our current streak up to 3 in a row :-)

Things are good. Had one scare in the past week. Samson managed to get his paws on a tray of X-mas chocolates while we were out of the house and ate about 200 grams of milk chocolate treats. Luckily we was still very much alive when we returned. He did end up quite ill however. Diarrhea and Vomiting were the order of the next 24 hours. Silly boy doesn't learn his lesson though, he still very much wants chocolate. Sigh, he takes after his dad for sure.

Speaking of being dad...before sleeping last night I really started to think about this new commitment that is about to be born. It is very intense to think about. This little human will be 100% dependent on Celeste and me for quite a long time. Especially the first few years there is a lot of time and energy that needs to be focused on the little beastie. Really cool and scary.

Also starting to realise he could be born at any minute now. We have got to get everything ready to go! He's very active (causing his mom all sorts of misery already, once again, definitely takes after his dad). We need to organise his clothes and a bag of stuff to take to the hospital with us and get his cot ready to be slept in (though I still believe he will be sleeping in our bed). Celeste finished painting his dresser yesterday, bright red! Isn't that just asking for ADHD???

Haven't even thought about how to deal with other logistical issues, haven't let my Health Insurance company know about the impending addition to the fam. Haven't dealt with citizenship issues...hopefully that's not so urgent to deal with.

I have been pretty good at taking over many of the household chores but am still very much reliant on Let for meals. I know that's not good of me, but I enjoy her cooking so much! I did make fresh salsa and guacamole the other day. Man, it's so good. I had to make salsa just cuz the salsa here is not very good at all! As it was the first time I have made salsa in years it wasn't brilliant, but I plan on making this a regular thing, I will get better.

Tomorrow it is back to work after 2 weeks off. It's been a good break, had some productive days and lots of lazy days. Pretty good combo. Samson spent many hours playing with other dogs at the beach which makes him a very happy pup.

Oh, Jaws was on TV last night and so I watched it for the very first time...not sure I should admit this, but I thought it was a very well done movie. The dialog was generally quite good and the story was well done. Looked quite good too, especially considering that it is 32 years old. So, yes, I enjoyed the movie my mom would not let me see when I was 8 years old :-P

Went to the cinema to see Kite Runner the other day. It was a fine movie but much was lost emotionally compared to the book. So much of the story is internal angst and the movie was not effective at bringing all of that feeling across in my opinion. Still, well shot, beautiful and mostly quite faithful to the book.

Saw Deja Vu (with Denzel) on DVD Friday night. I actually liked it quite a bit. I still have some questions about the timeline aspects of it (I suppose everyone does after these types of movies), but liked the twists and ideas in it.

OK, back to the radio thing...

2008-01-01T01:35:00.000+13:00

13!

2007-12-30T09:54:00.000+13:00

12 Straight Wins by the Portland TrailBlazers, the Youngest team in the NBA and the longest streak by any team this year! Enjoy great basketball!

2007-12-30T08:13:00.000+13:00

Christmas is over and we are almost to the New Year! Wellington becomes a quiet little city this time of year. Many of the residents are away visiting family or taking holidays elsewhere in the country and the world. The streets are quiet.

Yesterday was a beautiful day and we took Samson to Lyall Bay where he got to meet many many other pups! He was particularly fond of a pug mix that he spent some time hanging out with. I feel like all of the people left in Wellington must have gone to the beach, it was surprisingly busy.

Gifts? Celeste bought me a very nice robe. I think she's telling me she's tired of me walking around the house in the nude, :-P especially since her parents are going to be arriving in less than a month. I love the robe though, super soft and comfy. And yes, I did get her a gift too, I was just trying to keep her guessing by my last posting. She does not enjoy the wind around here so I got her a nice, pretty jacket that will block out the wind. That's really about it. Very mellow Christmas, it is a very low key holiday here which suits me fine, Celeste is not quite so comfortable with that though. She is used to the same big commercialised fest that we have in the US.

We finally bought the kiddo a cot/crib yesterday. We put it together in the lounge and then were taking it to the nursery when we realised that it would not fit through the doorway! Then we thought, well, Liam will be sleeping in our room the first few months anyway, so it is better to have it in our bedroom. Didn't fit through that doorway either. So, we have to disassemble and then reassemble in the bedroom. Ooooops. We love the cot though! It can be a bassinet, then a regular cot, then it can be a first bed or a little couch too. Hopefully it will serve us well for the next 5-7 years.

Last night I was feeling him moving around, he's getting big and strong! Celeste told me I wasn't even feeling him in an active mood. Zoiks! I just can't imagine having that inside of me. I really do sympathise with how tired and sore that Let is feeling, but I'm still a bit of a grump about it sometimes. I'm just not good at being 100% 24/7 supportive. I am trying to take on more of a load to get things done around the house. I also brought Samson with me to the radio station this morning so he won't bother Celeste while she's trying to sleep.

Not much else to share really. Things are good here. What did you get for x-mas eh?

2007-12-23T08:14:00.000+13:00

Two Sleeps 'til Christmas

My Prezzie from Celeste arrived the other day and still sits in its box on the dining room table (along with far too much other crap) waiting for opening on x-mas day. I wonder what it could be??? She offered to let me open it early, but I am a good boy, I will wait.

I don't think I will give her a present this christmas, don't you think the miracle of a child inside of her is more than enough of a gift? No? Well...hmmm...I'll think of something perhaps.

I will not be back to work for two weeks. That means I should really be able to get a lot of housecleaning and straightening done as well as random other house-related jobs I could take care of. We did buy a weed-whacker (seems to be the most common lawnmower in nz). We only have a small patch of weeds/grass in our back yard that just needs a bit of chopping down once in awhile.

Feb. 8! Will that actually be the date? People tend to think it will be sooner, we need so much more stuff so much more prep! We washed all of his clothes and blankets. Hmmm.

It's a beauty weekend.

Yesterday we went to see the movie Enchanted, silly disney goofiness. McDreamy was in it. Susan Sarandon. Watched Bad Santa on TV last night, first time I've seen it. That is a funny and messed up movie. I do enjoy watching Billy Bob Thornton act though.

If you are on facebook, let's play scrabulous :-)

jon

2007-12-09T07:48:00.000+13:00

hi,

We were just in Sydney for 8 days.

We managed to see quite a bit considering how lazy i am and how pregnant Celeste is. if we walked more than 5-10 minutes straight we would take a few minutes rest. that actually worked out well most of the time, it allowed us to take in more of our surroundings. the weather was not ideal. it was quite warm and humid (as Sydney is expected to be), but it was also cloudy a lot with some rain and thunderstorms (as is less common this time of year).

It was a bit stunning for me to finally be in Sydney. Of course the city probably first entered my consciousness because of the Opera House. According to Wikipedia, the first planning for the Opera House was way back in the late 40s (slightly before my time) but building did not begin until 1959. The Opera House was completed and opened in 1973. As I was only six at the time, I am assuming I did not become aware of it until a bit later. It was definitely part of my awareness for a long time and I could never have imagined I would be standing next to it in person. Looking across the harbour at it the magnificent structure led me to ponder the paths of my life that brought me there.

We also took a ferry ride around the harbour, a lot of incredible buildings built along the shore. Many many multi million dollar homes. We went to a wildlife centre and an aquarium. Ate dinner at a private club overlooking the harbour and the Lowenbrau restaurant. Spent the weekend in Kiama famous for its ocean blowhole. Had a couple of great meals there as well. We were both stunned by the size and beauty of the pelicans hanging around a harbour restaurant. Sydney is also home to one of the few Lindt Chocolates Cafes in the world. Unfortunately (and quite rarely) I was not much in the mood for sweets when we visited so I settled for a scoop of Lindt ice cream. We also spent a day at Manly beach, quite touristy with lots of young beautiful people which made me feel old and made Celeste feel gigantic :-P Had a delicious vegetarian lunch at a local all natural cafe.

All in all I think we both enjoyed the trip quite a bit. http://www.flickr.com/photos/xoxo214/

Since being back I have been a bit overwhelmed catching up with email and phone messages. Did manage to attend the Massey-Wellington X-mas Party and also an X-mas lunch with the DVC's office.

We have about 8.5 weeks until our little boy's due date! We really need to buy him a bed :-)

Anika Moa is playing at the San Francisco Bath House tonight, I would like to go to the show, but do not know if I can justify the cost and don't know if my laziness will win out.

2007-11-25T07:54:00.000+13:00

For any Americans visiting the site, how was Thanksgiving? I did not celebrate the day. Apparently on Wednesday the American embassy had some kind of Thanksgiving meal at a local church. Thanks but no.

Friday I was in Palmerston North for my PRP (job review). Thankfully such events cause me no anxiety. I believe I do my job well and I really like the people I work for, no reason for any stress, eh? The only part I didn't like is having to drive to PN and back. Otherwise it was quite enjoyable. It is a chance to discuss the year past and the year coming. A good opportunity to talk about possibilities for the future, ways to improve work and all. I continue to talk about going back to study for my Doctorate, that will definitely have to wait awhile with the kid appearing soon.

I think we have taught our pup how to be lazy. We went to the beach yesterday and he ran around a fair amount, but not excessively. When we returned home he pretty much passed out for the remainder of the night! Lazy Sammy :-)

Tomorrow is our final Antenatal class. It is a bring-a-plate night. We will take brownies I think. Celeste makes some good brownies. In fact, time for a shout out to Celeste's cooking overall! She always manages to make very nice food for us to eat.

Need to let you know that I am playing Pump Up the Volume by M/A/R/R/S now :-D

I have found that Kiwis put up with my 'inappropriateness' as well, or better, than Americans. Anyone who knows me knows I can push the boundaries a bit and my friends here seem able to keep right up with me, quite enjoyable! I had worried about that quite a bit. Even some of the most unexpected people can be pretty edgy by American terms.

Tuesday we fly. That means 9 days in kennel for Sam :-( hopefully he enjoys himself.

And then our first visit to Oz. I must admit I am very excited to check the place out. Can't believe that the weather report shows rain for at least the first four days we are there! Still, it will be warmer than it has been here and hopefully it will be intermittent and we can still get around and see things. I know, I'm from Portland why would I let rain slow me down?

Carrie is in Paris! Though maybe on her way back now. She happened to be there during the worst transit strike in over a decade. Probably wore out her shoes :-) Sounded like she was having a great trip. I can't wait to take another trip to Europe.

Celeste and I have so many plans for travel but not sure when we'll be able to realise them. The plan is to be in Europe for Christmas '08. We would be seeing Vanessa (Celeste's sis) in Copenhagen (and the rest of the fam would be there also). We would also visit Jason in Scotland. Hopefully make our way to Ireland for a quick visit and then I would LOVE IT if we could rent a car for a couple of weeks and drive around Eastern Europe. I have wanted to do that for about 15 years or more.

Then we have also been thinking about our USA visit and of course we want to do travels in Asia and Africa plus back to Manila and the Philippines.

Much to do and no time nor money to do it with :-P

Time to concentrate on being a DJ

2007-11-18T08:18:00.000+13:00

Hi, Church of Bush is on the air spreading the gospel in both German and English! Are you not traurig that you are missing it?

Today Sammy and Celeste are in the studio! After this we will probably go to the market and get some veggies. Then maybe the beach or some such so the pup can run around. Oh, also there is some Santa Parade this afternoon that Celeste wants to attend so I suppose I will be roped into that exciting activity.

Last night I went to a friend's place and watched his slideshow of pix from his two month trip to Euroland. Made me miss the travel there. One of these days we will make our way...

Also been thinking a lot about a trip to the USofA to visit friends and family. Have to introduce little Liam and of course Celeste to all the peeps. We have a lot of traveling to do and no money nor time to do it! Hmmmmm...For now we are thinking of landing in Vancouver BC and then renting a car to drive down the coast to Seattle, then Ptown, then San Fran then to Charleston and up to NYC, maybe to Vermont and Mass. if we have the time...

Australia is only about 10 days away though. Excited for that trip, pure vacation time! We will get an idea of what it's like across the ditch. One good thing is that because we are "permanent residents" of NZ we received one year multiple entry visas to OZ so we can go back as often as we like for the next 12 months, not that we'll have the time, but nice to have the option. If I find a need a weekend away from Celeste and Liam :-)

Work is finally calming down. The high schools are all finishing off the year and the students are done at Massey. The only thing I really have remaining are Prizegiving ceremonies at schools. Those are a combo of fun and boredom, but overall I like all of these new experiences. It is also a chance to meet more people at the schools which is definitely a good thing.

We bought a dresser for Liam off of Trademe. Only $30. Celeste wants us to repaint the entire thing, I think it looks good the way it is. The only issue is that it has the name Emily painted on the top, but that's small and we can just sand and repaint that little spot. I also suggested we could just remove the Y and name our boy Emil in honor of my teacher from MLC oh so many years ago :-)

We have yet to purchase a cot but we are getting closer to a decision in that realm. I really want to buy one of the "4 in 1" solutions that can be a bassinet, cot and bed (don't ask what the fourth option is). Though they cost a bit more it seems as though the useful life is so much longer than the average cot that it is worth it.

And so it goes...

2007-11-11T09:12:00.000+13:00

Hi, we were in Auckland last weekend so no new post.

I had to go up for a seminar with my fellow SLAs throughout NZ. Celeste came up for a bit of a vacation and we spent the weekend checking out a bit of the Big City. After having heard that Auckland was the NZ equiv of Los Angeles I was ready to not like it at all before I even moved to NZ. Then the people I've met in Wellington were pretty negative about it as well. After visiting, I must say, I am not certain I would want to move there, I certainly have better feelings about the city than I did before. Yes, it is a sprawling city and I don't enjoy that, but the CBD does not seem as bad as was implied and seems to have some really nice neigbourhoods close by. Central city public transport appears to be pretty good with bus stops that tell you precisely when the next bus will arrive (Portlanders already have that).

We ate some good food, walked around quite a bit, hung out with friends of Celeste's, saw a lot of parks and slept in a very comfortable bed for the weekend. It was quite nice.

Samson was in a kennel for the period. He seemed no worse for wear when we returned.

Next trip is to Sydney Australia. Quite excited for that one. 8 days of fun in the sun? I'm not a sun worshiper but should be nice none-the-less. We will be staying with Ange and Daniel friends from work here that have moved back home to Sydney. That trip is at the end of this month.

The downstairs neighbour is now moved out, that is a relief. Now hoping that the next tenant is a little more accepting of living below a dog and two humans.

Happy Birthday to Ash, Cait, Misha, Saul, Vanessa and Marti. Anyone else I'm forgetting? Sorry!

Life is quite nice, no?

2007-10-28T08:32:00.000+13:00

What to say today?

Spent most of the past week in Nelson. Very pretty area, flat lands surrounded by hills next to the ocean. A great combination. I went for a few little walks in the nature but not as much (nature or walking) as I would have liked.

I found a Beastie Boys vs. The Beatles mash-up album that I am playing on my show this morning. I like it quite a bit. I do not like it as well as the Jay-Z/Beatles Grey Album so far...

Next week is NSR seminar in Auckland. We leave for that Tuesday and Sam has to spend from Tuesday to Sunday in a kennel!!! I am feeling some real guilt about that. I am sure he will enjoy himself but I really feel that I am deserting my pup. Then the next month we are having our 8 day stay in Sydney so he will be kenneled again. SUCKS, I wish we could take him everywhere with us.

Yesterday was quite stormy. Just a lot of wind and little rain showers but we took the pup out for walk on the beach and then parked for a bit just looking at the waves on the rocks. Quite beautiful. Before that we grabbed milk shakes from movenpick shop. They like the milkshakes much runnier in nz than I prefer.

I've been hearing from some peeps I've not talked to in a long time lately, I always (almost always?) enjoy that.

Man, ate at a place called the Smokehouse Cafe in Mapua(?), really really good seafood. Had smoked fish chowder and pan seared scallops in a vietnamese style salad. It was soooooooo gooooooood :-)

Indeed.

2007-10-21T09:27:00.000+13:00

OH SHIT! I forgot to mention my Brush With Fame! My first one since living in NZ (and one of my few ever). While at the airport awaiting my flight to Blenheim, some slightly rowdy folk start flying down the stairs to our gate area. I notice that at least one of them is carrying a ukulele. They are just being goofy, trying to cut each other off on way to go through the gate and things. So, of course I am looking at them and as they are walking out the door onto the tarmac I notice that one of them looks quite familiar. Turns out it is Brett from The Flight of the Conchords. DAMN! I then saw one of the airport workers taking his and the other folks (probably other members of the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra) picture, I'm a little jealous. Cool Nonetheless!

2007-10-21T08:34:00.000+13:00

Hiya,

If you like reading blogs and like movies why aren't you at penguindevil.com? That man knows movies, and many other things as well, check him out wouldja?

My nominee for best song title goes to Interpol's "No I in Threesome" it's definitely a classic.

We are having another lovely weekend here in Wellington, the wind has definitely been whipping about, but the sun is shining and I can wear shorts. Good stuff.

Yesterday we took the pup out for some adventures. We went to Animates (the big local pet shop chain) where he got to stare at bunnies and other pups and met a couple of dogs. He also wanted to mark the territory constantly, that was fun...After that we went to a filipino bakery in Petone and Celeste had breakfast (which she shared with me cuz she's so sweet). That wasn't so fun for Sam cuz he had to wait in the car, but I think he enjoys watching the world go by, but not as much as he would've liked being out playing with the world. Fortunately for him, that came next. We took him to the Petone shore and he got to run around for awhile on the windy beach. He also took one of his first runs into the water (without mom helping him). Celeste very much wants him to play in water but he has been quite hesitant, it now looks like he is getting a bit more interested.

Oh, during our visit to Animates we were trying to get some help choosing toys for Samson because he has a tendency to destroy everything we give him within a day or less. So this woman shows us quite a few things and we keep talking about how he destroys things. To illustrate the point we mentioned that he recently tore apart a golf ball, her mouth dropped. At that point she pretty much just said, we don't have anything that will stop him, but perhaps a couple of things that will slow him down!

So, we bought the thing we thought seemed sturdiest but also like Sammy would enjoy it. Well, before last night was over it was in pieces. The dog is very determined to see the insides of anything we give him and nothing stops him from achieving that goal...hmmmm. Now I want to take the toy back to the shop and show it to the woman, just so she knows we weren't kidding. We spend a lot of money to keep that dog entertained.

He is also now climbing into the neighbours yard, that's not so good (not our downstairs neighbour thankfully). Not sure how to keep him contained without putting up a fence, not really willing to take on that expense for a rental house. Blech! Is having a dog more trouble than it is worth? How am I going to take care of a kid when I can't even control my pup?

Speaking of which, Sam also got sick last night, probably from eating the toy, or drinking salt water at the beach (or a combo?). He threw up more food than I though could even be inside his little body! It was sad (and really disgusting). He was just sitting there shaking and wouldn't walk or lie down or anything. Finally we just took him to bed and wrapped him in a blankie. We all went to sleep. This morning he seemed pretty normal when I got up.

We interviewed for the other SLA on Thursday, 4 people and 2 of them seemed like pretty good options. Definitely one is the favourite so we will see what happens next. It will be nice to have someone, and it will be interesting training someone. Definitely looking forward to it.

I've entered into a travel phase. Yesterday I spent down in Blenheim visiting a couple of schools. That was nice, went to the beach and did a little (very little) walk. This week I will spend three days down in Nelson visiting schools. The following week is the SLA seminar up in Auckland (first trip up there). Celeste will go up as well and we'll spend the weekend exploring a bit. Then the end of November we are going to Sydney for our first visit to Australia. Also our last trip before we are parents. CRAZY.

Celeste's belly just keeps getting bigger and bigger, it's very cute. I will look at her and obviously I just get a silly look on my face cuz she'll say, WHAT??? And I just say, you're so big and adorable :-P It is all very exciting, and I can feel his little movements sometimes. We have done just about nothing toward preparing for his arrival, soon we must start purchasing stuff and stuff.

We did begin antenatal classes last monday. that is good. very interesting stuff. they just start telling you the hundreds (thousands) of ways you can kill your baby! Aaaaargh.

I could go on and on, but I think that will do for now!

2007-10-14T07:51:00.000+13:00

It must be Sunday!

The Church of Bush is now in session!

If you aren't listening, why not???

Hey Kurt, at this point you have to ask which player is Sam Bowie, the obvious is Oden, but now that Roy is having the continuing problem with his foot...

But I don't live in Portland anymore so I am giving up on skepticism and having faith in my team :-) We rocked the first pre-season game and I feel like there were positives in the second (from what I read, I didn't listen to the second).

Oh, this is an exciting development, apparently the NBA is going to allow me (and you too if you wanna) to listen to every single game this season for free! Now that is exciting news for me. The NBA is FANtastic...

My new toy is the iPod Touch. I like it, much! Now that I am using it as my DJ sidekick I am noticing a few things I do not like so much though. I do not believe there is a "on the go" playlist feature. that came in very handy when I did not make up a show playlist before coming to the station and I could just put one together on the fly. also, old school ipods automatically default back to showing the currently playing track (along with time remaining in song) after a few seconds of being on any other screen, not the case for the Touch. which just adds extra steps to my morning, not good at all! web browsing on the thing is almost perfection. websites rock, it's fast and smooth and all that. very intuitive to use.

No new drama with the neighbour, well, not that we have had to deal with directly. The landlords are apparently still hearing from her regularly though. They are tired of it. I am hopeful that she will realise the place just does not suit her needs and will find another. Hopefully we can find someone we know to take the place over, or maybe someone who is deaf and loves dogs. Hmmmm...

We do love our place though. It feels so cozy and comfortable (is that redundant?). Our pup likes it a lot too. He has now taken to exploring the hills behind the place. This means that if we let him into the backyard unattended we have no idea where he might end up. This is a bit unnerving and creates a bit more anxiety. We thought the hill was too steep (see: Cliff) for him to get up, but he is a persistent explorer and has found his way around.

We took him to the beach yesterday to let him explore a new place. He loves new environs to check out. He ran around for an hour or so then we drove around a bit, got the parents some ice cream and headed back home. It was a beautiful Saturday in Wellington.

Work continues to be crazy busy. Still doing a lot of enrolment visits to high schools along with many visits and tours of campus and the ever present email correspondence. Supposed to be interviewing for the vacant office next to mine this coming week hopefully someone great will be hired. I will be on the interview panel so I better choose well...

Okay, I will concentrate on being a dj for a bit, perhaps I will write more before the morning is over (perhaps not).

2007-10-07T08:12:00.000+13:00

Doin' my show.

Still in love with the new Iron & Wine album, The Shepherd's Dog.

I have given in to my Apple Techno Lust and purchased an iPod Touch. Now I just have to impatiently wait for it to get to me, they are saying about 2 weeks...

The neighbour situation has not really improved. Friday night she showed up at our door at 10:30pm semi-hysterical because our dog was running around playing on the wooden floor. I feel for her, but I also think we have a right to LIVE in our home. We are looking at buying a large area rug for the living room ('lounge' in kiwi) in the hope that it will help dampen the noise for her. So now our adjustments include unplugging my subwoofer so the bass doesn't bother her, listening to TV and music quieter than we would like, buying a makeshift fence to help keep Samson from going down to 'her' area of the house, trying to keep our 8month old puppy from playing too loudly in the living room...woohoo! Nothing like having neighbours.

I really worry about what it will be like when we have a baby! Thankfully the landlords are very understanding of our side of things and are being quite cool about the whole situation. Nonetheless we are enjoying the new house quite a bit. It is a great little place and such an enjoyable location. We just discovered how close we are to Kilbirnie which has a lot of shops we can take advantage of.

Anybody out there want a bedsit that doesn't mind a little bit of puppy noise? I am starting to get the feeling that a place may be opening up soon. Oh, for those that are not aware, a bedsit is what they call what we americans call a studio. A living space with no separate rooms, just one living space a kitchen or kitchenette and a bathroom/toilet.

Work is still manageable though I am a little overwhelmed with doing two jobs. Hopefully that situation will be changing quite soon. The position closing date is this Monday so we should be having interviews pretty soon.

The All Blacks are playing France right now and NZ has taken a 10-0 lead. The funny thing about this match is that it is probably the biggest match for the 2007 Rugby World Cup hosts France, but it is being played in Wales for some obscure reason. I can imagine the French fans can't be thrilled about this. And I wonder how the French fans will greet the All Blacks when (if) they beat France and then show up back in France for the semifinals. Could be ugly, though the French rugby fans do seem to love the All Blacks. Hmmmmm...

BTW much love to my hometown bball team. Having some injury issues during training camp and have lost our #1 draft pick for the season but I am looking forward to an exciting TrailBlazers season nonetheless!

Right, the finally song from the I&W album is about to end, I need to be a DJ

2007-09-30T07:37:00.000+13:00

As is clear, I skipped an entry last week. The Church of Bush was so exciting that I had no time to type an entry...or at least that's my story.

We love the new house. All in all it is just what we wanted. We feel we fit in it much better than we did the other place. We are going to have a housewarming on the 20th. If you would like to attend just leave a comment and we will consider your application :-)

Right now I am playing the second of two songs by Big Audio Dynamite. I can't help but love them. Last week my entire playlist was dictated by Celeste. This week it is back to my music.

It is only 7:40am and since we just switched to DST it is actually only 6:40 in my brain, got about 6 hours of sleep, not too bad.

Oh, the only issue with the new house is that there is a bedsit downstairs and we are having a couple of problems with the tenant down there. We have wooden floors and no soundproofing of any sort between us and her and she is very noise sensitive, problem #1. That will supposedly be fixed this coming week by the landlords putting in soundproofing insulation (which will also probably make her place a bit warmer). The other issue is our little dog (of course). When she was moving in he ran into her apt. and she got quite upset. Then this weekend he snuck out of the apt. when I was taking out recycling and made his way down to her place again. That would have been not so bad had she not chosen to open her door while he was running around and he went right inside again. So, everything that happens that bothers her she seems to call the landlords about which is making my life and theirs a little unpleasant right now. Hopefully it will all work out, but our first week with the new downstairs neighbour has not been particularly fun.

We found out about a week or so ago that we are having a little boy. We think we have already decided on a name but I'm not ready to share that with the world yet. He looks pretty cute in his ultrasound pictures. Celeste is constantly trying to decide who he looks more like :-P

I just voted in my first New Zealand election. It is just local election so nothing too exciting about it, but interesting to vote in a non-American election for sure.

Speaking of which I should update my address with the US so I can vote in our upcoming elections.

It is great living in a new area. Mornington is not such an exciting area in itself but is quite close to Newtown which is quite young and diverse and hip. That is about the opposite of Karori which is close to nothing but Karori. Many more food and shopping choices.

Oh, check out the new Iron & Wine album, I LOVE IT.

I only get one cup of Milo today cuz there isn't any more milk in the radio station, very disappointing!

Right then...enough for today methinks.

2007-09-16T08:13:00.000+12:00

Here I am at MUNTFM doing my Sunday morning radio show. 88.5fm streaming from muntfm.co.nz!!! Listen from 8-10am NZ time. Eclectic music from the 80s 90s 00s and whenever...

Shifted house yesterday. I have left my beloved Karori behind for Kingston/Mornington. About a 3 minute drive from work (doesn't that mean I shouldn't be driving?).

The day was long and much sweat came out. Why is it that I am never as prepared as I should be for a move? It always takes longer than expected and I always forget things. But it is over now (sorta, still have a few random things to grab and some cleaning to do). We have the place for another two weeks though, so plenty of time to get things done.

Nothing much to say today. Woke up at 4:30 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep, better off than Celeste who woke up at 3 and so far as I know is still awake. YUCKY.

A shout out to Le Moulin, a great, and very popular little bakery on Willis Street in Wellington CBD.

Oh, many many thanks for Andrew, Malcolm and Patrick for helping with the move yesterday!!!

I had to drive a truck, not too big, but bigger than I feel comfortable with. And then I am always paranoid because I am never willing to pay the extra cash to lower the excess (or deductible in american english) so if anything happened to the truck i could have been charged $2500. That would've hurt.

So, both last night and this morning we used our new fireplace. Love that.

Ok, that's it for today, too tired to think. I will just keep playing my music :-)

jon

2007-09-08T06:41:00.000+12:00

This may be on the Move to Wellington website in the near future, any thoughts? I am misquoted like crazy, but the gist of the meaning remains :-P

Name: Jon and Celeste.
Nationality: American and Philipino.
Profession: Jon- Student recruitment. Celeste- IT.
Migrated to Wellington: 2006.

“I’ve been surprised by how open it is, how welcoming people have been. I’ve been here less than one and a half years, and I feel like I belong. That’s awesome.” Jon Rousseau has been made to feel at home in Wellington.
The very enthusiastic New Yorker moved here with his Philipino fiancée Celeste Lafavilla in 2007. “I love it, I really do”. A big change to New York, Jon says it feels like his hometown of Portland, Oregon. “Café culture and laidback, it’s like going home, though there are some cultural differences”.
Jon admires the music, theatre and other cultural opportunities the city provides (“not that I take enough advantage of it”). He appreciates Wellington’s environment, citing the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, Otari-Wilton’s Bush and Botanic Gardens. “Nature is really close by in the city. On the weekend you can go to the Wairarapa or Marlborough Sounds”.
A particular favourite is walking round the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary. “It’s so peaceful and relaxing”.
Jon says Wellington is a convenient, friendly city, with most of the amenities you could ever want. He responded instantly to Wellington being a liberal, cosmopolitan, diverse city. “Overall, it’s very accepting of other people and other cultures. I like walking down the street and hearing different languages. You constantly meet people from all over the world”.
“Ah good, you escaped,” Jon jokes with other Americans immigrants. He is relieved not to be in George Bush’s frightened America. “It’s not as terror driven here”.
Jon works for Massey University in student recruitment. He says the university is a great, welcoming employer. “The university is a family atmosphere, with cool programmes like their design courses. I work with everyone to do my job, it’s very collegial. I’m allowed to be independent, creative and come up with new initiatives.”
He says Massey is very supportive, and has been touched by their support on hearing Celeste was pregnant. “I look forward to this Kiwi- accented kid running into our home”.

2007-09-02T08:29:00.000+12:00

It's September, that means it is officially springtime down under. Funny thing is, the weather has been quite springlike for awhile here unlike last year...

News...Jason starts his new job in Scotland on 1 October. For now he is still working hard to pay his way across the ocean. His work permit has been approved.

Mabel's Cafe in Portland is no more but is about to transition into a butterfly with much work from Ash and Cait.

Celeste and I found our new home, hopefully one we'll be in for a few years. Really like the place and the location, check it out http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Property/Residential-Property/Houses-to-rent/auction-115758678.htm?key=43465

I can't be bothered embedding anything, i'm too lazy.

We will be moving in two weeks. Also, this week Samson starts training again. He is really getting the hang of things, but I think it will be very useful for Celeste and Samson to realign their relationship. It seems as though Sam really thinks they are on an equal footing so does not feel compelled to listen to her when she commands him to do anything.

2007-08-22T14:55:00.000+12:00

what and stuff.

wow, much life is happening for friends.

my friends in Portland have just closed down their knitting cafe (transforming soon into something new) and are struggling with the issues involved with having a new child and a dog in your life. many decisions, and not easy ones, for two of my favoritest peoples in the whole wide world.

another of my bestest mates who currently lives in Colorado (or is it Wyoming at this mo'?) is preparing to move to Scotland in September to live with his partner and her child. This is a big change for a man who spent many many moons as a single man.

as i've already mentioned multiple times, my co-worker is about to start a new job and have a child of his own.

transitions are afoot.

celeste and i are struggling with what we are to do about a place to live. the owners of our current house bought it to refurb and sell. they only guaranteed we could stay for 6 months. we would very much like to stay there for a few years I think, but we have to roll with the punches. we need to decide whether it is worth sticking it out as long as possible with some uncertainty in this house or whether to really start looking for another place that we will be able to stay as long as we want before having our own baby to take care of.

personal training is going well and my back is behaving itself. i go to another session of training in about half an hour.

2007-08-19T08:37:00.000+12:00

Back in the DJ booth so it must be time for an update.

Listening to a song off the new Stars album. I love them. The song is called Personal which you would be hearing if you were listening to my radio show right now! Why aren't you?

The past couple of weeks have been very busy work-wise. Mellower outside of that.

My back is still being problematic. Very frustrating because this past week I have begun working with a personal trainer twice a week in the hopes of getting into better shape, but it is going to be hard to keep up with workouts if my back keeps spasming and causing me misery. Gggrrr.

Hey, thanks for the comments from Kurty and Cait! My readership is double what I thought :-)

Oh, I have a couple bits of fame to report. I was asked by Schmap.com to allow them to use a photo of mine on their online travel guide for Wellington. If you want to see the photo it is in the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary portion of the Wellington travel guide. My other shot at fame is upcoming. The government is updating their immigration website and want stories of immigrants and I have been asked to share mine. We will see what develops from that.

On the work front, my co-worker Guy (we started at the same time and have very much created our office in our image) is leaving at the end of the month. I am having a hard time with that. Not only do I not know when (if) his position will be refilled, but I have really come to enjoy the way we work together and like him a lot as a person. I am a bit nervous to have full responsibility for the running of our office. Well, it will be time for me to get my ass organised and do some hard work for awhile.

I look forward to hearing more about the trip Midge and Mom had to the Kingdom and hearing more about Mabel's transition!!!

Kiwisms: everything is sweet as... or good as... not sure what they are sweet as or good as, that is left to the imagination.

Enjoy the week all!

2007-08-12T08:45:00.000+12:00

Hi, just to make clear, thought it will start out as a complaint entry, it will move on and become more pleasant. OK?

So, yeah, a couple of days after turning 40 (ouch) I woke up and started getting ready for work. As I bent over to pick up something (a shirt?) I felt a big crunchy pop sorta thing in my back and spent the rest of the week in quite a bit of pain. Not only that, after a couple of days of the back pain I started having big time digestive issues (that's the nicest way I can think to say it). I had three days of non-stop (well, not quite literally) diarrhea. NOT FUN!!! So, that was my welcome to being 40.

Another thing to complain about is my co-worker. And I am not complaining because he isn't good at his job, quite the contrary. I'm complaining because we began the job at the same time and have worked quite well as a team (i think) putting the office together and creating quite a good atmosphere in which we work. Well, he's leaving at the end of this month and it is causing me anxiety. First of all I worry if our friendship will last his leaving. I think he's a great guy, but I don't know if we've developed a relationship that will last past his leaving. Second, this will leave me all alone with full responsibility for the running of our office. We had already lost our administrative assistant and there is no guarantee how soon Guy will be replaced. It will certainly increase my workload but it will also focus the spotlight on my performance whereas before it was shared between the two of us.

Mostly I think it will be fine, but I would rather he was not going. It is an exciting opportunity for him and I am happy for his future.

One more complaint, but with a happy ending (hopefully they all have happy endings really). Last Sunday Celeste and Samson came with me to the station for the show and about 40 minutes into the show Samson disappeared. Off we went wandering the campus looking for the pup. We spend around 45 minutes including looking around the streets to see if he had become roadkill. Thankfully he wasn't found in that state, unfortunately we didn't find him at all. So, very upset we went home not knowing what more we could do. I pretty much went comatose and decided to sleep. Celeste was a little more active and put up a lost notice on petsonthenet. An hour or so later the phone rang and it was the Animal Control. Had they found us from the microchip we were required to have inserted under his skin? NO. Had they found us from the registration tag he was wearing around his collar that we are also required to pay for? NO, in fact, they tried entering the number into the database and it did not show up at all. How did they find us? They used petsonthenet. So thankful that Celeste put that on immediately! Such a good girl.

So, they told us he was found around College St. and Cambridge Terrace when he ran into a bakery. That's my dog, always looking for something to eat. It is a little amazing to me that he made his way that far without becoming roadkill. Admittedly it was earlyish on a Sunday morning, but he had to cross a few busyish streets. I am just glad that he was safe. We had to pay $100 to get him out of puppy jail.

Okay, enough complaints perhaps?

How about the good stuff? I feel it is safe to announce that Celeste is pregnant again, now about 14.5 weeks along. Of course, my only blog readers (penguindevil and celeste) already know this. It is very exciting though! Also, Celeste just had her 30th birthday. it was a low key affair. My stomach was still quite fragile so I vetoed going out for dinner. We did get some incredibly good Italian takeaway and she got gifts and cake and ice cream. Not so bad, eh?

Otherwise, life is just humming along. Work is quite busy which has made for multiple 12 hour days lately, but I took a day and a half off when my back and intestines were complaining. This coming week will also be quite busy and much more planning needs doing for the future.

Enough for now...

2007-07-30T09:03:00.001+12:00

Just passed/past another holiday, yes, the 40th anniversary of the day of my birth. Kept it mellow with just letlet, the puppy and movies to keep me company. Quite an enjoyable combination really. We watched Hot Fuzz, that was quite good. We had dinner at Floriditas, that was incredibly good. I had the rib-eye steak and it was amazingly tasty. I'm not usually much of a red meat person, but since living in NZ I have been eating a bit more.

Otherwise, work is keeping me quite busy. Planning events, visiting schools...the usual. I am still enjoying it quite a bit.

Sorry to be so brief, but there are other things to do.

2007-07-04T12:51:00.000+12:00

Wednesday. The 4th of July. Independence Day. Though it isn't yet the fourth in USA. I have nothing more to say about that, just noting.

I have now been working for Massey for one year, have been in Wellington almost exactly 14 months, Celeste has been here almost exactly 8 months. Yups, fascinating details.

I still feel new in NZ, Wellington, Massey. Still learning. Still figuring things out. I enjoy the process. It slows things down a bit that I'm a lazy hermit...

Oh, after my radio show where I last wrote in here Malcolm, who I work with at Massey, appeared on my doorstep. It was a beautiful day outside and he decided it would be good to force me to go for a mountain bike ride with him. I am relatively certain that he now regrets my willingness to go. We went riding, but I found my fat old 39 year old body unable to keep up with his 50 year old body. I was often to be found walking my bike up the hills. Nonetheless I enjoyed myself, but am assuming it was not as much fun for Malcolm.

Coming down started off much more promising. I'm fairly good at going down hill, but as it was my first time really doing mountain biking I was a bit shaky with how narrow the trail was with some big dropoffs to the sides and tree branches often times in my way. Still though, I was riding quite quickly and enjoying it immensely with the added fear adrenaline making it that much more fun. Then one of the branches swiped across my face and into my eye. That was not enjoyable at all. I soldiered on with my eye in pain, watering, squinting...

The next event was when I steered (or didn't steer???) my front wheel a bit closer to the edge of the trail than I ought have and it caught some damp, loose soil and slid into the ditch. I came off of the bike, all of my weight being caught on my left knee before my hands began assisting by scraping along the rocky trail. That really did not help my appreciation of the bike ride. I crawled around on the ground squealing in pain for a bit while Malcolm made his way to me and wisely convinced me to get off of the trail and lie down for a couple of minutes. I took his advice and lay there cursing repeatedly and testing my knee to be sure it was still operating. Luckily it seemed to be in semi-working order and I managed to ride my way to the bottom of the track.

My knee is still rather black and blue and hurts somewhat regularly. When the weather agrees, I would like to ride again. Not sure I'll find anyone at work willing to go with me however. I might need to be a solo rider...

Other than that...just been working and watching DVDs while trying (with mixed success) to take care of my lovely letlet.

2007-06-24T09:12:00.000+12:00

back in the booth. brought samson with me today. he is finally starting to lose his baby teeth, can't wait for those little razor sharp things to be gone!!! would love to keep more of my blood on the inside. he's been rambunctious as usual but has finally mellowed out and is lying down at my feet. He just got a haircut yesterday so is a pretty boy. His face is almost all...well, if not white, at least a rather light colour whereas when we got him it was pretty much black. wacky ;-)

life has not been too exciting lately (hence no updates). A few things have been going on though...Celeste has been quite busy with work and quite tired and icky feeling at home. Me, being 100% lazy have been a bit of an ass about this, but am trying to be better and to take care of my partner like a good boy. Still can't help being a brat sometimes. She beat me up last night cuz I wanted her to get me ice cream and wouldn't give her a blanket until she did (she never did, she just beat me until I gave up). So, of course I ended up getting me ice cream and her too :-P

Also, I have been having a few dreams about a girl I worked with 20+ years ago so had to do the internet stalker thing and find her information and contacted her. Her name is Margot. I've always thought she was great, we dated briefly (a couple of times if i remember correctly). So, I have a lot of questions I would like to ask her, but I am afraid I would seem a little crazy if I did.

Funny though, she shared current pix of herself and in some I could swear she was exactly the same as 20 years ago and in others it's obvious the woman she's become. Life is weird...

Just about another month and Celeste can get her PR, that will be very nice indeed!!! Then we will be able to travel outside of the country (if ever the opportunity presents itself).

Winter has been interesting so far. We've had a couple of mornings of frost on the cars and grass. Some torrential rains but also still getting a fair amount of sunshine.

How about all of you? anything to share?

2007-06-03T08:33:00.000+12:00

hey, i'm playing dj right now. right now i'm broadcasting 'architecture in helsinki' i love them. and since i can't be bothered to make real playlists for my show we're going in alphabetical order. so far we're just in the 'a's but will be moving into the 'b's relatively soon i think. i don't believe today's two hours get us past 'c'.

so, yeah, sunday morning in wellington. we had a little rain last night but really it's not been too bad around here considering we are rapidly approaching winter.

i'm drinking Milo which has become my radio show ritual. yumyum.

still loving the new house. we finally slept our first night in our bed in the bedroom last night. that was more comfortable than the living room (lounge)in my opinion. haven't yet used the fireplace cuz we are waiting for the chimney sweep to ok the usage.

ouch, just looked at weather report and the high today is 12 celsius and low tonight is 4...bbrrrr! a quick shot of winter!

anyway...back to the show

2007-05-29T12:20:00.000+12:00

Hey, we've moved. House is big. Central heating is a wonderful thing. I hope it is efficient. We are quite happy there so far but are barely using half the space! one room has sat completely empty while two others are pretty much just storage for the moment. We really love our kitchen and new fridge.

Samson loves running around the house and the back yard. Of course he has already found the weaknesses in the fencing and is no longer confined to the property if he does not want to be.

We have had to do much shopping for the place. We got some great bargains from our friends Ange and Daniel who are moving back to Australia. We bought a bunch of stuff from them for only $65, and that's NZ dollars to even less US. That includes a nice set of dishes, iron and ironing board, toaster, welcome mat and many other items.

We also bought a nice new set of silverware. It was on big discount so we've really been doing well, spending a lot but only on needs and usually with significant discounts. We are still waiting for our lounge set to arrive (sofa and loveseat). Hopefully get it before June is over.

The transfer of phone and power/gas went smoothly, but apparently our broadband will take another week to catch up to us. Yet another example of why the internet is having some troubles really penetrating the market in NZ, sometimes they do not make things simple. Not such a big deal for me, but a little frustrating not to be able to just call and have service transferred within a day or so.

Oh, instead of moving house, here it is called shifting house. I like that.

2007-05-11T13:30:00.000+12:00

Here is a picture of my beloved Samson who has been badly neglected lately. I was out of town for a couple of days for work and now that Celeste is working he is spending many many too many hours alone each days. I intend to take him for a nice long walk when I get home today. He deserves some good exercise! He is a lot bigger now than he was in this photo, he just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

2007-05-06T08:08:00.000+12:00

366 Days, but who's counting?

I'm in the booth DJing at lovely MUNTfm (streaming from www.muntfm.co.nz) right now. Playing all kiwi music cuz this is NZ Music MUNTh :-) I do not know most of the music, i just piled it on my ipod and told it to shuffle. Playing a song by Odessa right now which I think is pretty good actually.

To celebrate our one year/six month anniversaries in NZ yesterday was pretty fun. Nothing was really planned as celebration, but it turns out it was my perfect kind of day. We even fit a little argument in, that's always fun.

The day started with us just hanging out for a bit, then we went to see a house that we had already checked out from the outside. It is in Karori, I had been wanting to move closer to work (and to flatter land), but this place is in our price range and once we saw the inside we were both pretty well sold on it. Sold being figurative as we will still just be renting. It is quite good sized which we wanted. There is tons of built in storage, that was very important for me. Allows us to keep the place looking sparse while also having places for all of our crap...nice. It also makes it much easier to puppy proof and later, child proof. Seems to have a lot of power outlets as well, I hate having to run cords all over the place because there is only one outlet in a room. Three sources of heat, gas duct heating, a few electric baseboards and a fireplace. One full bathroom and a half. A good sized backyard for the dog. So, tons of good things. Drawbacks are rather few and mild, still in hilly Karori too far from work; a bit dated and a little rough paintwise; tacky light fixtures; will take a lot of work to make yard really nice; no fridge or washer/dryer so we'll have to purchase those. Honestly though, those are pretty minor. After looking at a place in Khandallah later we decided that we were going to get the place in Karori. I do like Karori, this will be my third place in Karori in my time here. Hopefully this will be it for a few years.

While in Khandallah we had a very nice lunch at a cafe called Taste. After that we went home and had our little argument about choosing a place to live and decided on the Karori place.

The big event for the day was seeing Herbie Hancock in concert last night. I never thought I would see him live, though I've followed his career a little since Rockit was a big hit in the 80s. It was an awesome show. Really really good, just so much talent in the four people on the stage. An awesome combo of styles.

That was about it for the day, not bad not bad.

2007-05-05T09:00:00.000+12:00

One year in NZ, Wellington, Karori. Today is the day.

So, what has this year been like? Mostly just comfortable. Things have gone quite well. I got a great job, found a great apartment and have settled in quite well. Six months ago when Celeste arrived a new chapter began. From two years of long distance relationship to living together in one day. Quite a change.

It was also frustrating for us that she had received a Work-to-Residency visa not permanent residency so her staying in NZ was predicated on her finding a job. We soon learned that would be complicated by the time that she arrived in country. Turns out I had arrived at a very good time whereas she seemed to arrive at the worst time. November is too close to the x-mas holidays and everyone pretty much puts hiring on hold until sometime in January. So, nothing much happened on the job front. Then just as she was getting more interviews and things the Easter holiday arrived and things stopped again! So, it ended up with her not having a job offer before her visa was set to expire. We then spend some hectic times figuring out what new visa to apply for. This was complicated by the fact that the situation for WTR visa holders was in flex because it was not just Celeste having difficulty finding a job in the time allotted. After we finally tossed the application in the immigration drop box she was at last offered a great job. Of course when we contacted immigration to update them we found that they had lost her application (and passport that was with it). Very last minute it all came together and Celeste started her job Monday and in three months she should have her Permanent Residency taken care of! PHEW!!! It's been a hard time for her but it all works out.

Compared to that everything else has been pretty easy. The hardest adjustments are for her because she's having a difficult time dealing with what a lazy bastard I am. Now that she is working I am really trying to get better though!

And then on March 21 we brought home a little puppy who was born on January 22. He was named Samson by Celeste after a Regina Spektor song we both like a lot. He is a very cute little Australian Terrier/Maltese cross. He has grown from about 1.5kg to 3.3kg in the 6 weeks we have had him. Celeste is very committed to teaching him tricks. He will now sit/lie down/shake/jump up/roll over for treats. He is still learning to "stay" and "drop it." Unfortunately he does not like being left alone and our neighbours have complained to the authorities about his barking when we are away during the day. We are now looking for a house where he can bark his little brains out. Hopefully we will also be able to train him not to be quite so upset while we are away. Unfortunately I think that will be some work.

Hmmm...those are the things that jump out at me to write about for now. All in all, I am very happy about my first year as a NZ resident. I am working out and taking long walks regularly. Really trying to get healthier. Celeste and I want to have a child within the next year or so and I would like to be an active healthy parent!

If anyone manages to fine their way back here, please feel free to let me know!

2007-05-04T09:28:00.000+12:00

One year ago I flew out of NYC on my way to NZ. Leaving New York was always a mixed bag for me. One year later I still feel the same way. There are a lot of things I really liked about being there. Maybe the thing I liked most was just that, Being THERE! 6.5 years in the Big Apple. Being the hermit that I am, I never took advantage of it like I could/should have, but still...the energy of that city is different than anything I have experienced and I enjoyed many aspects of that. I liked the diversity most of all. Really every type of person you could ever expect to see you would see in NY on a daily basis. Walking down the street hearing the kaleidoscope of accents and languages was so great.

I never got over the intensity of feeling when I would see the skyline of Manhattan when driving in Queens. All of the different neighbourhoods with such distinct personalities. The unmatched variety of food. All of the little and not so little dogs.

Of course, beyond that were my friends I left behind. Not that I had so many, but I had a few that it is hard to be away from. Carrie was my best friend for 6 years and very difficult to walk away from that support and love. Paul was a great buddy and was almost enough to motivate me into being a healthier person. I think New Zealand itself has taken over for him, I'm really trying to stop being a couch potato. Nina, my friend that I would never see, but we always meant to spend more time together. Also, all of my other friends all over the states, it just feels that much less likely we'll see each other now that I am on the bottom of the world.

Honestly though, this was a move I still feel I had to make. Not just because I needed to be with Letlet (though that is more than reason enough), but because I needed to get away from it all. I have always wanted to really live somewhere else in the world and though in some ways Wellington New Zealand feels a lot like home (home being Portland and the pacific northwest), it is also a very different experience. I have not yet made close friends after a year here, but I do feel connected to people. I think I can belong here, that I can happily spend my life here.

2007-05-02T10:05:00.000+12:00

I am returning to semi-regular posting. Will I still have any viewers?

The past six months have been quite full, so of course I did not blog any of it. Now that things seem to be mellowing I will return to the world of blogging. It is so much more fun to write when you have nothing to say.

The short version of the past half year is this, letlet arrives, looks and looks and looks for work, began work this very Monday with assorted wackiness in between. There is a new addition to our happy home name of Samson, I will put in pictures soon. I am still working in same place, we are all still living in same place but the home situation is likely to change before too much longer.

This is enough to get me started back. I will expand on all of these areas and more in the near future.

2006-11-11T10:37:00.000+13:00

we're almost a week into the letlet and jon show. so far things are very very good. celeste has seen more of wellington in her first week than i did in my first month. we've been doing a lot of running around and she has been going to a lot of job interviews. the weather hasn't been great, but she's surviving, just wearing a lot of layers.

we've been shopping a bit for the apartment. getting the place more personalised by rearranging also.

today is a beautiful sunny day so we'll go to the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary and check out the wildlife (mostly consisting of birds). then tonight we're going to go see the Allah Made Me Funny show.

that's the story for now...

2006-11-05T06:44:00.000+13:00

The day has arrived! In about 8 hours letlet will arrive in Wellington and one and a half years of planning will come to fruition. It is very exciting. I am taking the week off of work and renting a car so that we can have the freedom to do whatever appeals. The weather isn't quite what I hoped, but I suppose she better get used to some grey and rainy weather.

I was also on a jury a couple of weeks ago. We found a man not guilty of assault with a machete. That was an interesting introduction to the New Zealand justice system. Just a few days after that, I was driving up the motorway and this guy was really tailgating me closely. Finally he was able to get past me and then all of a sudden this truck seemed to be tailgating me too. I thought, what the hell is going on!!! Then lights started flashing and I realised that the truck was driven by a cop. So, long story short, the original tailgater and I were pulled over. I was a little confused as to why I was pulled over. Turns out that the cop wanted me to demonstrate how close the guy had been tailgating me. Another interesting introduction to NZ legal.

Otherwise it's just been work and laziness mixed in with trying to get the apartment presentable for letlet's arrival. Hard to imagine how completely different life will be starting today. I welcome the change. Though it is easy for me to become a hermit, I do not think it is the best lifestyle for me. At least now we can hermit together.

I hope everyone is doing well!

2006-10-15T11:48:00.000+13:00

Just received the new Wellington region telephone books today. I am in the phonebook! Makes me feel like I really do live here. Also noticed there are only three people with my last name in the phonebook, even more interesting is that two of those three people work at Massey University.

That's about all I have for now...

2006-10-07T14:28:00.000+13:00

Here I am! Didja miss me?

Okay, here's the news! In less than a month, if all goes as planned (and doesn't it always?), Let will be here to live out the remainder of her days in hellish cohabitation with me! I'm lazy, i'm a slob, i'm irritable and smelly. I don't like to leave the apartment for any reason and I snore! She is SOOOOOOO excited to be on her way to this!

I, on the other hand, am getting a great deal out of this. Not only am I going to be cohabiting with an incredibly hot, smart, motivated, successful woman, she also wants to cook for me! It's almost like i'm stuck in some crazy dreamworld.

The scary part for the future of New Zealand and the World is that she also wants to have a baby with me! What will come of this tri-cultural abomination? Born in kiwiland of an ami and a flip? I don't think it bodes well for the future of civilisation.

Other than that, working and enjoying it, scooting and enjoying it, watching movies and enjoying it. Waiting for the 6th season of the Sopranos to make its way to me somehow so I can enjoy it. I've been watching a lot of Colbert Nation and The Daily Show over the last few days to catch up on the fake news situation back in the states. I've also been listening to and watching Flight of the Conchords to see how two guys from Wellington are preparing to take over the USofA.

Today is probably the nicest day we've had in a few weeks. This just means that it's not raining, the temperature might be in the double digits, the wind isn't blowing my recycling bin down the walkway and the sun is making brief appearances from behind the clouds. It's progress! Spring will be here in no time. Proof of that is from my little mutant potted apple tree i have on our patio. It is growing many a leaf now, it makes me happy. Kinda wish it were inside though!

Wow, what a pile of...typing this is.

Thank you for your support.

jdr

2006-09-16T04:02:00.000+12:00

My favourite NZ Bookmarks

feed://wellurban.blogspot.com/atom.xml

http://zoomin.co.nz/wellington/

http://www.wellingtonspca.org.nz/

http://home.nzcity.co.nz/tvnow/tvguide.asp

http://www.trademe.co.nz/category_index.htm

http://wellingtonista.com/

http://www.stuff.co.nz/

http://www.pricespy.co.nz/

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,0a15a33,00.html

http://www.turners.co.nz/Branches/National/tabid/285/Default.aspx

http://www.solarhouseday.com/index01.shtml

http://www.move2nz.com/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fmember%2fmymove2nz.aspx

http://firstin.co.nz/splash/index.php

http://www.ferrit.co.nz/home.asp

http://apple.co.nz/

2006-09-15T03:38:00.000+12:00

Coming Soon!

A list of my favourite NZ links.

Also, today I get my scooter back. I visited it yesterday and it seemed happy. Now I will see if I can go more than 9 days without hurting the poor thing again. I believe it needs a name, if anyone has suggestions, please share!

Cheers,

JDR

2006-09-09T15:01:00.000+12:00

has it been another month already? 4 months in NZ 2 months on job and all is well.

the biggest recent news is that letlet has heard from her visa officer and was offered a work-to-residency visa. she now needs to send in passport, a few docs and fees. then it will be processed and her visa will be sent back to her. she has booked a ticket for Nov. 4th which would get her here exactly 6 months after my arrival. quite exciting! i have to see if i can get that week off from work!

the other news is that i bought a little 50cc scooter. it's cute. of course not much power but it gets me around. well, it got me around. the other night it was dark and rainy night and i got all the way home no problem. then there is a steep driveway to my apt. and i kinda gunned it up the driveway and me and scooter kinda fell over :-P the scooter got the worst of it and is now in the shop being repaired. i banged up my knee a bit and tweaked my back somewhat.

i was stupid, it was really just a dumb thing to do. that's what i get for playing with new toys :-P

otherwise, still enjoying work. i've been going out to schools to tell students how to go about enrolling in university and things.

still nothing going on socially. i'm sure that will change once letlet is here.

oh, i have fallen in love with chocolate caramel slices here though. definitely my favourite sugar item right now.

also have plenty of family drama but i don't really feel like broadcasting all that.

cheers all,

jdr

2006-08-05T16:06:00.000+12:00

Today marks 3 months in Wellington and one month on my new job. I feel it is all coming together quite nicely. I've received two paychecks now and feel almost like I'm in good financial shape again. Have been up to Palmerston a few times during the month. Have attended three different high school functions (career events) so far. Starting to have conversations with schools about my individual visits. I'm getting to the point now where I can actually answer some student questions. Still though, Massey has a lot of diverse offerings, it's difficult to get my head around all of the things I need to know. The comforting part is that many of the SLA's that have been at Massey for years still list "product knowledge" as their weakness, so I feel I'm doing okay only a month in.

We have our new administrative assistant in our office. She's a youngster, only 27. She has been involved in setting up a couple of offices before though, so I think she will be very good to have because we are essentially starting our office from scratch. All three of us are new and two of us are new to the country. Even my co-worker that is a Kiwi had spent the past six years away from NZ before coming back the end of last year and he's new to university admin. I think it's great. We all enjoy what we're doing and get along quite well.

After living in the apartment for a month I finally bought drying racks for laundry. Now I just have to catch up on my laundry that I had been avoiding washing for lack of a place to dry it. I did some today and will wash some more tomorrow. I must admit, I miss having a tumble dryer. Just had groceries delivered today so I am set for food for awhile. I think i'll make nachos for dinner tonight, i even bought ground beef. i don't have any beans, i've not been able to find black beans here yet, not that i've searched extensively though. the few places i've checked haven't had them.

Oh, I don't think I ever mentioned that I joined a by mail DVD rental service. It's about nz$10 more than it would be in the States, but it still seems reasonable. I'm trying to get through the Sopranos. So far i've completed season 2. Also watched what is one of the most popular NZ movies ever called "Goodbye Pork Pie," it is a funny road movie from 1981.

Today is an overcast, cool day here with a bit of wind. Supposed to rain tonight.

I've been having a lot of dreams lately about Gisela. I think I miss having a dog. I'm not going to rush to have another though, not until i'm really comfortable with my schedule and know that I will have enough time to take care of it. Would be nice to have a dog though...especially in these months of waiting for Celeste to get here.

Speaking of Celeste, she is in India right now for work. Why don't they send her down here :-P. Well, hopefully it won't be too long. The latest target is by the end of October. We can celebrate Halloween together ;-)

If you are working on coming to NZ, I wish you much luck! I have not yet had a moment when I did not want to be here. It is everything I hoped it would be. That's not to say that there aren't problems with this country, but I think overall it is just where I want to be. Hopefully at some point I can start working toward helping with some of the social ills that are hurting the young people here.

Take care all,

Jon

2006-07-24T20:01:00.000+12:00

Work Work Work. That's about all i've been doing so far. Just been trying to learn as much as possible and become prepared to visit schools. Spent three days in Palmerston North for a seminar last week. Having meetings with different people across the university every day. Busy busy.

Other than that, not much new and exciting. I did join the university gym today.

Honestly, not much else to say at this point. I did get my first paycheck, that was a joy!

2006-07-06T20:07:00.001+12:00

Massey University

Just about to complete my first week of work at Massey. Spent the first day in Palmerston North meeting people and exploring that campus. The past three days have been meeting people and exploring the Wellington campus. It has been hectic and exciting and overwhelming. My co-worker Guy and I were hired at the same time and will be the Student Liaison Advisers on Wellington campus and recruiting in the Wellington region.

We will have a lot of autonomy but also a lot of responsibility. I'm excited for both. Guy is a really nice...guy. We get along well and I think we'll be able to work well together. Tomorrow (Friday) will be our first day in the office just the two of us. I think we will try to do some organising of the tons of paper we have in our offices and also break down who will have which schools for recruitment.

Over the weekend I think I'll try to do a lot of reading regarding the different programs that Massey has to offer students. If you look hard enough on the website of Massey you can find me (including a picture!).

My love and wishes for a speedy recovery go out to my dear Letlet. She's come down with the flu and is not a happy camper. All the more so becuz she's not getting the attention she deserves from me. Poor girl.

2006-06-24T19:20:00.000+12:00

saturday. i've been practically bed-ridden for two days now. all of a sudden my back decided to go into spasms yesterday and has been a disaster since. yuck.

my job doesn't begin until july 3rd, so i have another week to recover, hopefully that will not be a prob. wish i was starting sooner, i'm excited to get going. not to mention that i'm completely broke so it would be good to have income.

just went through a crazy week or so of trying to buy a cute car. i bought a blender off of www.trademe.co.nz (nz auction site). turns out the people selling the blender are selling everything they own and moving back to the US. they had a very cute Daihatsu Sirion car from 2003 with only 15.5k km on it. they were selling it for only nz$10k which is 2-3k less than i could find a comparable one for. but, as i mentioned in previous paragraph i'm broke. and i have no credit in nz. so, i applied for a loan and they were only willing to cover 80% of cost and i don't have the other 2k. so, someone came along who was willing to pay the full amount and i missed out on the cute car i wanted. probably better anyway. i'd rather be paying for things in cash as much as possible and not building up debt. just fell for the car in a big way :-P

otherwise i'm trying not to spend the money i don't have and figuring out how to pay rent until i get my first paycheck. it's interesting.

that's about it for now...

jon

2006-06-18T08:59:00.000+12:00

AIM IM with saulxavier.
8:20 AM
J:hey! how's it going?
S:good how are you?
J:good!
J:so, you're gonna come visit in a year?
i have an apt. with a spare room and everything
S:we're staying in toronto for another year and going to save up to travel for up to a year
J:oh wow, plans have changed, sounds good though!
S:starting next may
J:sweetness
that's supercool
funny, there was just an article in the NYTimes about people doing just that!
well, not "just that"
but taking breaks between jobs for travel anyway
S:yeah we didnt get any interesting jobs, so rather than leaving, we're going to save for a year
J:shmart
S:so we might come to New Zealand!
J:that would be nifty
S:did you get a job?
J:i did indeed!
S:I read the blog
J:start the 26th
good
it's a brilliant blog, dontcha think?
you never leave comments you bastard
i beg and plead and only celeste ever does
S:no...it's too brilliant for me to leave comments
Jha!
just say "gee, you smell pretty"
that's as brilliant as my blog
S:are you liking it there?
J:yes
i enjoy sitting in my room on my computer 24/7 here, just as much as i did in nyc the air is better here and you hear more birds
and when i do venture out, people have cute accents
plus, the little money i've held in my hands is prettier than US money
and since i've been here there have been earthquakes, a tornado, a snowstorm that has trapped a gajillion people on the south island and a blackout in Auckland
S:everybody's money is prettier
the blackout in Auckland is the biggest deal though, cuz it will make other countries think we're third world but really, other countries don't notice us enough to care
i should really write this stuff in my blog, it's BRILLIANT
in fact, i might just cut and paste this chat into my blog
S:you should!
8:30 AM
J:OK
sweet, you will make a guest appearance in the brilliant ny2nz blog
S:People excellent!
I mean excellent
J:oh, if you wanna see my new apt. you will find it here http://web.mac.com/jonno/iWeb/JonLet/Welcome.html
how did excellent become "people excellent"???
S:and people are crazy for that World Cup here. Nobody cares about soccer in the US, everybody does in Toronto
J:so, yeah, i just need to get a paycheck before my meagre checking account dries up
S:I was starting to write about soccer
J:yes, world cup gets news here, but not as much as rugby and netball
S:people have flags from their home countries and drive around honking when their team wins
J:awesome
i'm sure that's happening a little in nyc too
people like their flags and horns in nyc
S:US and Italy are playing right now
J:well, lucky US gets past this round whether they win or lose i think
S:There are about 500k Italians in Toronto
J:becuz some team beat the czechs? something like that
S:Italy will probably beat the US
J:yes, they're euro
all euros should beat the US

8:35 AM
J:so, are you already planning your route around the world?
the Tui (a nz native bird) has the coolest bird call ever!
S:We haven't started yet. Learing about round the world tickets
J:yes
S:The apartment looks nice, The view is great!
J:not bad. unfortunately only get morning sun
would rather just get afternoon sun
S:Is Let there yet?
J:hell no, probably not until september
though sometimes she sounds like she'll just fly over tomorrow
S:are her papers all worked out?
J:everything is in now, she's just waiting to hear
S:I'll keep my fingers crossed for you
J:danke
they sound cooler in person but... http://www.kiwi-wildlife.co.nz/Sounds/tui.mp3

2006-06-14T20:37:00.000+12:00

Here it is almost a week later. Much has transpired since last I wrote, for instance, I now use the word transpire. But I've not gotten any funnier, oh well.

I was offered the position at Massey. The same day I was offered the position I was called and offered an interview at Otago. Then today, I was offered an interview for a position at Auckland. I'm going to stick with Massey as it is here in Wellington, is a sure thing (though still not official) and I think it pays more than any of the others would. I had originally asked for NZ$50k and when I was offered the position was told I would receive NZ$55k. I don't mind that so much.

Before I was offered the job, but after interviewing and all, the people I'm renting room from told me that they were going to start renovating the house in early July and they would need me to move out by then. I felt a little bit unloved. Like they were shoving me out the door, especially since I didn't actually have a job yet.

When I'm being logical I just understand that they really will need the space and they were giving me more than a month of notice. Not bad. So, at that point I started looking seriously at the ads online (I've been looking at them obsessively for months but without much intent). One day I ran all over Thorndon and Kelburn to see a few places as well as looking at a place here in Karori.

The places in Thorndon were too small and dingy for my tastes. The place in Kelburn was cute, but still a bit small and expensive while being inconvenient for work. The place in Karori I only saw from the outside, but it looked nice, it was clean and looked like it had some nice furnishings, but didn't look lived in so I assumed the furnishings might come with.

I had walked a lot that day, so much so that I was sore the next day. Now, when I lived in NYC I walked quite a bit as well, the difference is, no hills in NYC. Here when you walk around you are doing a lot of up and down, it really can be tiring.

That running about was on Sunday, then on Monday I was unofficially offered the job and told about the salary, that improved motivation. Unfortunately a storm hit Sunday night through Monday. It was incredibly windy and rainy so I just stayed in and did more apt. research online, I also had an appointment to see the inside of the Karori place that morning. Then Tuesday I did another day of running around. I was in the central Wellington area for around five hours just walking and walking and walking (once again, remember the hills). Most of that time was spent visiting realtors to see what they had. I also had a couple of visits planned. I visited one place on Kent Tce and it was obvious that I wouldn't like it from the outside and it was too far from Massey so I didn't bother trying to see the inside. Then I saw a very funky cool cottage in Te Aro but it was also too far from Massey and a little small and maybe too funky for the $350/wk they were asking.

I then went and saw the outside of another place that was quite close to Massey but it just seemed a little small and also more money than I really wanted to pay, though not too bad. After that I wandered around a bit on Massey campus, trying to kill time until the next place I could see which was an hour and a half later. After walking for maybe 20 more minutes I decided I was not going to make it. I was tired and hungry and burnt out. It was time to go home.

I walked awhile more to catch the bus. At the bus stop I ran into Jun, a friend of C&D (who i am renting from) and we talked for the bus ride home. During that time on the bus I started to come to the conclusion that I wanted to take the place in Karori. As I mentioned before, it is furnished, has 2 bedrooms, a deck with bbq, a dishwasher and good-sized fridge. No dining room, but a decent living room. One of the bedrooms is relatively large with big closet and then a smaller room that would be good as guest room/study. I is nice. The two things that were making me hesitant were the distance from Massey and CBD plus I found out that Telstra, the best provider of Cable and Internet services in Wellington, doesn't provide service to the apt. Finally I decided that commuting isn't so bad for the price ($250/wk) and I can live without Telstra for now. When letlet gets here we can decide whether we want to stay or move somewhere new.

Now I have a job that begins on the 26th and an apt. I will move into this weekend. Tomorrow my phone and internet will get connected. My power will start on Saturday. I'm excited to have my new home and even more excited for when letlet arrives to make it our home!

Quite a week.

2006-06-09T14:26:00.000+12:00

If you're managing to follow the plot of this blog, you'll recognise that this is the episode/installment where I have had the job interview. And yes indeed, it is true, I had my first actual New Zealand job interview. The job is in recruitment.

It was a little challenging. I received papers in the mail and they told me (well, I'd also been warned on the telephone) that I would need to prepare two things for the interview. One was a written paper about how I could get us into two schools that they'd been trying to get into but had been reticent to speak with us. The other was a five-minute oral presentation as though they were the professional development people at an employers and they wanted me to sell them on Massey professional development programs.

I actually found it all interesting. Also made me nervous as hell, but I actually enjoyed preparing for it. I've never had to do anything of the sort for an interview before. Celeste looked over them the day before my interview and seemed to think they were alright. I honestly couldn't tell what I thought. I assumed it was okay, but since I've not been trained really in recruitment formally, I just wasn't sure.

So, the interview was supposed to be at 11am on Wednesday. I, as usual, was quite early, walked in the office at about 10:40. They took me in immediately, I was a bit surprised by that! Kind of nice though, kept me from sitting around getting nervous (or ill). They were very nice, did some introductions and then had me do the oral presentation. They seemed to react pretty well, nodding appreciatively and taking notes (which I assumed was a good thing). I was so very conscious of trying to speak at a normal speaking rate. When doing that sort of thing, like many people, I have a tendency to speak at double speed. I really tried to keep it down and felt I did that pretty well. So, after that they went down a list of questions. I talked A LOT! Really, I started feeling self-conscious about it and actually made a comment like "I really do run on don't I?" but they were very nice and said it was interesting. We also talked a bit about my written presentation. The interview was supposed to last until about 12 and I don't believe I left before 12:15, so it went a long time.

Oh, one other thing they asked was why I had applied for fixed-term instead of permanent position (there were two identical positions advertised but one was listed as permanent the other as 13 month fixed-term to cover for maternity leave). I told them that it was for both of our sakes. That I assumed universities would be a little bit hesitant to hire an American with no NZ experience so applying for only the 13 month position gives them an out if it weren't to work well. I also said that the same held for me, since I don't have experience here I didn't know how I would feel about the position so it gave me an out as well. The part I didn't tell them was that I also kind of hoped that fewer people would be applying for fixed-term so that would help them consider an American a little more closely as well.

They said I would hear by the end of the day or sometime Thursday if I were invited to the next stage which would be psychometric testing at an agency in the CBD. I came home feeling pretty good about the whole thing.

Got online with letlet and told her about it all. Then just chilled out for the rest of the afternoon. Then just a little after five I received the phone call from Massey telling me that they were "very impressed" with my interview and could I go to Psychometric testing the following day (Thursday). I said yes, of course and thank you very much.

So, yesterday (Thursday) I went and did the tests, some logic stuff and personality stuff. It went pretty well I thought, nothing frightening or too difficult. The personality tests always seem silly to me, but apparently they work for something.

Now I am waiting to hear back about whether I am actually going to be offered the job or not. If it is offered, I think I'll accept. Should pay around NZ$50k, translated into US$ that's not so very much, around $32k I believe, but here it is pretty good. I think I could move to higher salary pretty quickly.

That's enough for now! Write me a comment wouldja?

jon

2006-05-31T18:06:00.000+12:00

today was a good day.

after a couple weeks of increasingly bad insomnia, peaking with being awake from 1am to 6:30 the night before last, I slept pretty much the night through last night. That was with the help of leaving the heat on and taking my last sample dose of Lunesta. Lunesta leaves a very strange taste in your mouth...hard to explain but it isn't pleasant. When I asked my friend who tried it how it had worked for her, the first thing she said was, it gave me this horrible taste in my mouth :-P For me it's not such an issue, but definitely bothersome. So, I slept, happy me.

Then this morning I decided that I would do one (or more) of three things with my day. First choice was something I've been wanting to do since before I moved here which is to visit the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary. It is mostly just a bird sanctuary but they have removed all predators and are trying to reintroduce endangered species there. Second on the list was going to the Wellington Zoo, I like animals, what can I say? Third option was going for a little shopping and getting a fleece and maybe some warm socks or something.

Turns out I chose the first option. So, after doing a little straightening around here I drove down to the sanctuary. My third driving experience in NZ and my furthest drive. I wasn't expecting much excitement, really just getting myself out of the apt. and into nature was enough motivation. The entry fee is $8 and i also bought a little bird booklet for another dollar.

I spent a few hours wandering about looking up and down and all around to see the creatures. Saw quite a few birds, most of whom look like the birds I see outside of my apartment. They have a special little hangout they built for the Weta an insect that has apparently been around, pretty much unchanged, since dinosaurs were hanging out http://www.kcc.org.nz/animals/weta.asp

My biggest realistic hope was to see the Kaka (a New Zealand species of parrot). My unrealistic hopes were to see a Kiwi bird and the Weka another flightless bird in the sanctuary. They are both quite rare and quite skittish and the Kiwi pretty much only comes out at night, so, unlikely they were to be seen. The parrot seemed a little more likely though.

I reached the far end of my walk without a parrot being seen. I was a little disappointed and a little damp when I turned back. It didn't take too long though before I came back to a feeder I had seen on the way up and there was a big brown parrot getting himself something to munch on. It's a little embarrassing to admit just how happy this made me. Unfortunately this was a little in the day and the lighting was not good. Also, when I tried to get close enough to use flash, the parrots would head further away. That was a little frustrating. So, after probably ten or fifteen minutes of watching the parrot (and a friend of his that came along a bit later), I continued my walk back to the car happy that I had finally seen a parrot in the wild. I then heard quite a bit of noise off to my left and when I looked out there were four or five parrots sharing a feeder. Of course I had to stop and stare at them for another 10 minutes or so. Once again lighting and distance made pictures unlikely. I've not yet gone through the 103 pix I snapped, but my guess is no pictures of birds will be worth looking at. It was quite an enjoyable afternoon nonetheless.

I then drove back home. Right after coming in the door the house phone started ringing. I don't usually bother answering as not many people call me, especially on the house phone. This time I thought I would in case it was one of the roomies needing something. It wasn't one of the roomies. It was actually Massey University asking for me. I have a job interview on the 7th of June for the position of Student Liaison Adviser. Not necessarily my dream job, but a perfectly acceptable entry into the uni world in New Zealand. It would also be based here in Wellington which would make me most happy.

I'm very excited to have finally received an interview. Even if I do not get the job, this is another step and adds to my experience.

That is about all I have for now.

I am very much enjoying New Zealand still.

2006-05-25T16:37:00.000+12:00

I've been a bad blogger. Really, I have no excuse. Actually, that is soooooo untrue, I have the perfect excuse! I'm LAZY.

This week I've received two rejection letters for jobs. My recruitment agency I am trying to get temp work through has yet to find me a job. This means I have a lot of free time. I've applied for two more jobs this week though. So, what have I been doing with all of my free time? Sleeping quite a bit, walking around Karori Rd. (the main drag in my neighbourhood). I go to the library semi-regularly as well as the post office. Been to downtown Wellington a few times. I like it down there, I don't go down there often cuz it makes me want to spend money and I can't really afford to do that until I have a job.

I've been mostly reading, watching movies and following the NBA playoffs. I also spend a significant amount of time chatting with letlet. I was downloading some shows online until I realised that I had very quickly used up the entire months allotment of broadband downloading so our internet speed has been reduced to dial-up speed for the remainder of the month. Oooops. I can't get used to this limited internet thang. Suffice it to say that downloading is a thing that will have to wait until I have my own internet though. Luckily both LOST and Grey's Anatomy had their season finales already.

I get along quite well with my roomies. They are rather Catholic, so that is a slightly uncomfortable situation sometimes, but mostly they are quite accepting of me and my non-religious ways. They feed me quite well, in fact maybe a little too well. I'm afraid that the weight I lost before is making its way back.

Oh, as I mentioned in my last entry, I went to see seals. That was fun. A really nice hike and it rained a little, but not so much to make it unpleasant.

Letlet had her interview. It sounds like it went quite well. She has a few more documents to turn in and then it's just waiting for the results. I feel good about it all.

Now I want to get a job, get an apt. and get a dog. Then the dog and I can wait patiently for the arrival of letlet.

Take care all.

2006-05-07T11:42:00.000+12:00

Hi, here I am. New Zealand, Wellington, Karori, Monaghan Ave., in my room, on my computer tapping! Arrived safe and sound on Friday morning after many hours in airports and on airplanes. Picked up by Mon a friend of the couple I'm staying with who is also familiar with Let from an e-group for filipino/nz expats. He drove me to the house where Didith was on her way out but had left us breakfast waiting on the table.

We ate breakfast and Mon left to go about his day. I just sat around for awhile trying to get my bearings. After a bit I decided I should walk down to the main Karori street (Karori Road) and find my post office/bank. Went and did that, had to finish the opening of my account that I had begun back in NYC. Also went to a convenience store to buy myself a soda and a chocolate bar :-D, things haven't changed much.

That first night Didith and Clark planned on taking me to meet the filipino community but I was not feeling quite up for it and begged off. My stomach was protesting all of the adjustments and I decided it was best to just rest for the night.

So, yesterday afternoon a friend was having a house warming party and that was my coming out party for the filipino community here. The house is very cute, all the people I met very nice. Getting my ears more accustomed to hearing Tagalog (why else would I move to NZ than to learn Tagalog :-P)? It was a great night of beer, food, laughing, singing (even me!!!).

Then we came home and I was asleep by about 10 and didn't get up until after 10:30! A long long night of sleep.

This afternoon I am joining a trip to the coast to see a seal colony. That should be fun as well. Then tomorrow I must start working on the job search and getting to know Wellington a little better.

It feels a little bit unreal still. But I also feel very lucky to have landed with these very friendly, welcoming people who have been most helpful during my first few days. Next step is Let having her interview and getting her to join with all the other filipinos here in Wellington.

I miss all of my US friends already!

jon

2006-05-03T00:24:00.000+12:00

Oh Shit! I'm leaving TOMORROW! The most amazing part is, I'm really ready to go. A couple of errands left for today, a couple loose ends that will need cleaning up, but really, I could walk out the door for the airport now and feel okay. WOOOHOOOO.

This has been an amazing year of making this happen. I have so many feelings inside. I have a niece that I'm having a very difficult time leaving behind. Family I've not been able to visit, friends that I don't know when I'll see again. There is some guilt and sadness mixed in with all of the excitement of this new adventure. Concerns for the future and how it will all turn out, not in a bad way, just wanting to be certain that I am doing everything in my power to make it a great experience.

The passport adventure ended smoothly and with me parting with about $300. Nice part is that I could be a NZ citizen before my passport expires again. I have five years to consider that possibility...

Oh, I know I should have so much to write, but the thoughts are whirring so quickly around my head that it is hard to catch them and put them on paper. Hopefully Friday I'll be able to catch a few more and share my first thoughts on being in Karori, Wellington, New Zealand.

Hey, if you read this, leave me a comment wouldja???

Regards,

Jon

2006-04-21T12:16:00.000+12:00

See, the thing is, the time is fast approaching and i've lost much motivation. just getting myself through work and dealing with all the remaining steps that will get me to the plane in less than two weeks is overwhelming my little little brain.

Passport troubles. It only took three days for my passport to get from NZIS London to beautiful NYC. Unfortunately, NZIS used my old address. The passport wasn't delivered and was, so they say, sent back. Three weeks later no one seems to know where the passport is. USPS says that it "would have been returned if it was undeliverable." unfortunately they are unable to say with certainty what happened to it, even though they know it was "undeliverable as addressed." The Royal Mail isn't any more helpful. All they've been able to tell me is that they handed it over to the USPS. Nothing about it coming back into their possession.

NZIS hasn't been particularly keen to help out either. Quoting me the same information I was able to get from the Royal Mail website multiple times.

Anyway, after finally finding all of this out (before i found it out my Visa Officer just kept making swipes at the USPS and saying it would probably show up sometime, well, unlikely since you sent it to the wrong address).

So, with 15 days before lift off i figured all of this out. With all common knowledge saying that getting a passport replaced was going to take at least two weeks paying expedited fees (making $157) i was a little nervous. Then there was the info that there were private companies you could pay that could get you the passport within a day or two, but that would cost an additional $150 or so. I wasn't too keen on the idea of having to pay $300 or more to replace my passport.

But that wasn't the least of the issue. if i were to get a new passport, of course it still wouldn't have my residency visa in it. and, as my substitute VO pointed out (regular on third vacation since december), i can't enter the country without a plane ticket out of the country if i don't have a work/residence visa. so, i was thinking i would have to pay $300+ to get my passport and then however much more for a ticket to Australia (woohoo vacation). All becuz NZIS used the wrong address.

Luckily while looking at the travel.state.gov website i saw that they had an expedited passport agency located in downtown nyc. you can only use the agency if you are within fourteen days of flying (or needing to submit for visa). That was when I was fifteen days away from flying, and i hadn't figured out the visa part yet.

So, i waited until yesterday (wednesday) and then called the appointment line to reserve a spot to visit the agency. i was (and still am) hoping not to have to utilize the appointment. i keep hoping that by some miracle the passport will arrive at NZIS in london and they will overnight it to me and i won't have to spend this money. Luckily though, oftentimes they will give you your passport same day at this agency ($157) and so that would give plenty of time for me to overnight the passport to london for them to re-visa it and overnight it back to me. Voila. I should still be able to leave on May 3rd as planned.

I still have a room full of possessions. I still have to pack some things. I have absolutely no motivation to work/plan/pack/stuff. But, in 13 days i will be flying away. And that is a very good thing.

jdr

2006-04-04T00:40:00.000+12:00

Hi, exactly one month until lift off. That's exciting. My passport was sent to me on March 20th and has not yet arrived, that makes me a little nervous. I've been practicing packing, that's fun and exciting, to realize that I have WAY too much stuff! Someone want to come over and take all of my possessions away? That would make me much more comfortable :-D

Happy Monday!

2006-03-21T11:47:00.000+12:00

today i made a visit to http://www.immigration.govt.nz, signed on to my account, and what did i see? a residency visa staring back at me! "Visa Resident 207724058 - Please apply for transfer of this visa when the passport expires. The holder may travel to NZ and on application shall be granted a residence permit. This returning resident's visa is current for two years from the date of issue of the original residence permit"

wooohoooo, it's even more official now :-P then i went to my bank account online and saw that they have charged me the migrant levy! that's it! now i just have to wait for my passport to find its way home. this was a bit exciting for me.

otherwise, not much new going on. i have been continuing to sell things. a lot of trying and not as much selling, but slowly things are going away. i will probably have a yard sale in a few weeks to try and clear things out. i went through a lot of clothes over the weekend. i'm really getting rid of a lot, i probably need to get rid of a lot more, but i've made a good start.

oh, i found a cheaper place to start off in NZ! Newtown Heights Lodge has rooms for only nz$140/week. This involves shared bathroom and kitchen, but my own private room. they also have tv room. i think that is a pretty good deal. i may be there a few weeks, it just depends.

yes, i think i will leave it at that for now.

jon

2006-03-15T10:33:00.000+13:00

My Passport is still in London (best as I can tell) but everything is still progressing smoothly (as best as I can tell) with receiving my Passport and Permanent Residency. So...what do I have to write about?

First, a little on progress. The job search is going nowhere right now, so let's just leave that out. But the living situation seems pretty good. I've been in touch with a few real estate agents about rentals. It's too early to get something, and one agent strongly suggested I wait until arriving before deciding on anything. I will probably take her advice. That is one of the nice things about the agents as well, they really seem to be helpful. The same agent that suggested I wait until arriving to find a place also referred me to another agent (with another company) because she thought the area she covers would be better for me. I found that to be refreshing and would never expect the same here.

So, now I've found a motel pretty close in to downtown that has $210nz weekly rates. That is probably cheaper than the weekly rates I'll be paying for my apt. when I find one, so seems like a pretty good deal. Of course, it may not be the nicest motel ever, but it does sound as though it will be okay.

My other progress is in trying to get rid of all my possessions before moving. That is progressing slowly, but progressing nonetheless. I sold my 20" LCD monitor and my Osterizer Blender to a co-worker. I have sold almost all of my DVDs and a decent chunk of my CDs. I think starting tomorrow I will take my CDs in to my work and try to sell to my co-workers and hope I don't get in trouble for it. I made a little webpage with many of the things I'm trying to sell pictured. Soon I need to start going through all of my clothes and trying to cut down on the clothing load I'm taking with me. That will be difficult. I like my clothes.

What else? Well, the emotional strain of the move is starting to show itself. The idea of leaving family and friends (even though I never see them here) is starting become more real. I was IMing with my niece the other day. She is coming down for a couple of days on her break in April. That will be our goodbye. I started getting a little teary eyed thinking about it. I'm still trying to find the time and money for a trip down to SC to see my mom, sister and nephew before I leave.

All in all, things are going quite well, the most disturbing trend is insomnia. I've had insomnia for a long time, but it had been improving over the past year or so. Now it is getting much worse. So many thoughts are constantly whirring around in my head, it is definitely a challenge to herd them all into their little corral to allow me to sleep.

It is a very windy afternoon here in NYC. I hear that Wellington gets a lot of wind, so this is just more practice.

Take care all,

Jon

2006-03-09T07:48:00.000+13:00

Hello my thousands of dedicated readers,

I have taken the big step. I bought my one way plane ticket. I will fly away on the 3rd of May to start my Kiwi life. I arrive in Wellington on the morning of the 5th. Still trying to figure out where I will be living when I arrive, but that is progressing. The job thing...I'm more or less resigned to showing up without work. I will apply for some more jobs before getting there, but I figure it will probably have to wait until I'm there and can attend in-person interviews before I actually get offered work.

Things are good.

Jon

2006-03-05T13:51:00.000+13:00

NZIS received my Passport. They said final visa stuff should be processed within 2-3 weeks. Hopefully that means by the very beginning of April I will have my Passport back.

My plan now is to leave either the 3rd or 10th of May. I believe I'll be able to get a one way ticket for about $900. I think i'll try to buy it before the 12th of March on Air NZ so that I get the larger baggage allowance. It is being reduced for all flights purchased after the 12th.

Still no job. That will be dealt with in time though. If I have to move without a job, it will be okay. I can temp.

2006-02-24T08:22:00.000+13:00

Today I sent my payment and my passport to NZIS. Hopefully within a month I will receive my passport back with the blue stickers I've heard so much about. Then, the only thing keeping me from NZ will be myself. That is an exciting thought.

In other news...I am fostering another little Maltese dog. The first boy I've had. He's a great guy, very sweet and cuddly but he's aggressive to everyone else. He also has diabetes and HATES getting shots and isn't fond of his diabetic food. So, it has been a bit of a struggle and I feel that maybe he would be better off with a foster parent that doesn't work. It is fun having a little dog around though.

Just a quick update.

2006-02-08T02:14:00.000+13:00

The next day, still excited and overwhelmed how much i need to do in order to prepare for liftoff. I really hope to be in NZ by the first week of May or earlier and the logistics involved are somewhat overwhelming (i find myself close to hyperventilating often).

What am I going to take with me? How am I going to take it? How on earth do I figure out how many cubic metres of possessions I own and wish to have shipped over. Not to mention where I will be once I get there...

So many things to figure out and I'm sure I will keep posting more and more of them on here. It is an exciting time. All of these things, in spite of how frightening they may be, still make me smile. In the end it will all be worthwhile. Especially once ms. lafavilla finds her way as well.

2006-02-07T05:22:00.000+13:00

Hello,

It has happened! This morning, I received (after one more prod from my email stick) an email from NZIS telling me that I have been approved for residency. I need to send in one more document, and my fee and my passport they will put little stickers in the passport, send it back to me and that's the deal!

NOW I HAVE TO FIND A JOB!!!

I am a little bit excited today.

jon

2006-02-03T06:40:00.000+13:00

Still no news from NZIS, I have decided that if I hear nothing before Monday noonish, I will give them a call. That is, indeed, the plan.

So, i've decided that this is, "the Winter that Fall met Spring" in New York. I feel like we've not had a true winter at all. We have had a some cold days, we've had a sprinkling of snow, but that's about it. Plenty of rain, and plenty of springlike days.

I am a little disappointed by this (not that there isn't still time). As this may be my final winter ever in the City I was looking forward to some blizzards. I have to do some research on google to find out if anyone has a SnowDance I can co-opt or whether I need to create my own.

and the beat goes on...

jdr

2006-02-02T07:18:00.000+13:00

Hi All,

As I've still not heard back from NZIS, I decided I should write something to keep you all coming back for more whining.

I just went on a little sampling spree of enzed music. I found out that a hit from about a million years ago was by an artist from New Zealand. The song is Sway and it was on the American Pie OST album. It was quite popular in the US. The artist's name is Bic Runga. If a name like Bic Runga isn't enough to make you fall in love, then there is still the music. She has just released a new album, it hasn't made it to these shores yet, but I've heard it's quite good. I like what I have heard from her. A couple other bands I've been listening too are Fat Freddy's Drop and Scribe.

I have also been spending a LOT of time at move2nz.com, if you are interested in moving to New Zealand and have not yet visited that site, you are really missing out. People ask and answer many questions you may not have ever thought of, but you will certainly enjoy learning the answers to.

Beyond that, trying to sell all of my worldly possessions. Hoping to lighten the load before moving and trying to pad the bank account as much as possible. This is not a bank account you would want to use as a pillow, the cushioning is really more like a sheet over a rock, don't lay your head on that!

So, the wait continues. Still no word on my official status. I will restrain myself until Monday, if still no word I think I'll make a phone call to London and see if I can get anything concrete.

And that is about that...

jdr

2006-01-26T01:59:00.000+13:00

hey all, brief update! i have been impatiently awaiting word from nzis. i wrote a couple of email requesting update and finally this morning i received this:

Sorry for the delay, I have been unexpectedly swamped with urgent
applications over the past week. I will be making a decision on your
application in the next couple of days so will be in touch soon.

hopefully this means that i will know before this weekend what my status is. everyone keep their fingers crossed!

and if you haven't already, please visit the links along the right side of the page, these are other pages, friends, nz folk, more me...and PICTURES

jon

2006-01-19T09:17:00.000+13:00

...and it's been like a hundred years and i've still not heard anything back from them, why do they choose to torture me so??? what have i done to deserve this??? now i'm convinced that i completely aurally hallucinated the interviewer telling me that declination wasn't an option at this point. or maybe it wasn't at that point, but as soon as she got off the phone, all of a sudden it was an option again!!! what am i to do? wait patiently? i can't do that!!! ack.

so, my plan, assuming i still have an opportunity here, is to move in april or may. my mind has now started focusing on may 3rd as my move date, not sure why, just that's where my brain has settled. and, why haven't those paypal emails of offered monetary assistance started rolling in yet? obviously, my audience is not made up of the generously affluent crowd i was hoping for...well...well...well...

2006-01-10T11:54:00.000+13:00

had my interview today. as best i can tell, at the end of it the woman said that i will either receive permanent residency or work to residency (in which case i receive a work visa and have to keep a job for three months to qualify for residency). i will find out which officially within the next week. then i send in my passport, get my stickers and that's it! now i just have to get a job and/or save up enough money to move there and look for a job for a while. if anyone has extra money they want to send my way, just let me know.

thanks...jon

2005-12-31T02:32:00.000+13:00

NEWS ALERT NEWS ALERT NEWS ALERT NEWS ALERT

This morning I received an email from NZIS telling me that everything was in order with my application and that they would like to interview me via telephone during the week of the ninth of January.

That is the last step! After the interview I should receive my residency.

More news at eleven on this breaking story!

2005-12-10T11:49:00.000+13:00

Hi, well, somehow I've passed 1,000 unique page views. Or so the counter claims. That's almost enough to make me want to update more. Actually, I'd love to have more to report, unfortunately, nothing much is happening.

I plan to apply for a couple more positions this weekend if I find suitable ones to apply for. Other than that, really not much new to share. Just keep hoping that I will get residency and a job offer sooner rather than latter. I am still very much hoping to be in NZ before May.

2005-11-29T13:30:00.000+13:00

Updating...I have been looking for jobs to apply for. Actually applied for two over the weekend and am in contact with someone at University of Auckland who has been very nice and might be helpful in getting me there (NZ) sooner than I might otherwise.

Other than that, trying to figure out a way to get to Manila cheaply before mid-January. Was hoping to go for New Years, but the cost is too much and the income is too little to make it that soon. Sad.

Still fostering the little dog. She had to have surgery to remove a bunch of mammary tumors. Now she is a few nipples lighter and is stuck wearing a lampshade for 10 days so she isn't able to tear out the stables holding her belly together. I am amazed at how well she is handling it all. This is one sweet little dog.

Thanksgiving was uneventful but nice. My niece was here for the weekend and so we went to the Met and also saw the new Harry Potter. Spent a lot of time just chilling at home too. Had not spent time with her in quite awhile so that was nice.

My newest joy is playing online Scrabble. I'm not great but I find myself winning more than losing, and even when I am losing I really enjoy it. Yes, I just let people know how much of a nerd I am a little bit at a time.

Enough...

2005-11-19T14:12:00.000+13:00

Hi All,

I do not have any new news to report, but I do not want to disappoint my 919 fans (what??? that's what the counter says, right?).

I received an email from U. of Auckland about a job that I was considering applying for. The person I wrote sounded encouraging about applying, so I will do that this weekend. Anyone want to write a cover letter for me?

That is the closest thing to progress on my end. Well, that's not entirely true, I have been getting my financial affairs in order so it will be easier to jump on the plane when the time comes.

I am also fostering a dog for a rescue organization. What does that have to do with my move to NZ? Well, how can I connect it? Oh, here's a couple ways: I am not able to adopt this incredibly cute sweet dog because I think it would be unfair to put her through the hell of transporting to and living through quarantine in NZ, so I will have to get a dog after I move. And the other way it's related is that having this sweet little girl around makes it clear that I want to have a yard and a dog once I am settled in NZ.

Also, Celeste is almost ready to send in her application, just a few more steps and she'll be in the same waiting game as I am.

Hope all is well with my hundreds of faithful readers.

2005-11-03T12:31:00.000+13:00

The Application is in, the $925 fee has been paid, now I wait and wait and wait. I was told via email that I will hopefully be assigned to a case officer within "the next four months" after which time, if everything is deemed to be in order it will be another 1-3 months.

Of course the one thing that would speed the process up immensely would be a job offer. Lately I have not even found positions available that I am qualified/interested in to apply for. Must keep on that though, now that my application is officially being processed maybe the universities will take my application a little more seriously (hopehopehope).

Otherwise, still being a temp for the Rockefeller Foundation. It is really great, the work is not the most intellectually stimulating, but it does keep me busy and some of it is interesting. The people I work with are great, the organization is great. I am pet-sitting two crazy terriers for one of my co-workers for 11 days.

And off I go...

Here we go again

2005-10-22T16:45:00.000+13:00

More silly NZIS Drama. Because i'm a flake i had not been paying very close attention to when the four month limit for turning in my application for permanent residency was coming to an end. The main issue that was delaying my sending it in was cash. The application fee is 520 pounds, that is more than a hair over $900 U.S. Shockingly for those who know me, I don't have that money handy. So, I was waiting for the last possible moment to send in the app in the hopes that someone might just give me a thousand dollars to cover it.

I started to realize that time must be running out, but I had received an email on September 23rd saying I had a month left so was kinda basing my schedule around that. Then I was going through my application to be certain all was well and saw that on my original ITA letter the date was June 13th and in the letter it said four months from that date. I saw that letter on Saturday the 15th of October.

A little bit of panic set in. Having to completely redo the entire application process was not appealing (my medical info would have to be redone as it is only valid for a certain period of time, plus another few hundred dollars). I wrote NZIS on Sunday night explaining my situation (minus the cash issue, i figure they don't really want a poor person moving in and wouldn't understand that i really am getting my money under control).

So, luckily when I woke up at 4:30 (or so) on Monday morning I had an email saying that my application was officially due that day and so long as it was in the mail before the end of Monday and arrived in their offices by the end of the week all would be good. Phew!

But still issues of course, I had to send it Fed-Ex express service which cost about $65, OUCH. And still, no money in the bank to cover the application fee. I figured though that I would get paid on Thursday and that would get me enough money in the bank to cover the application fee. So, of course they tried running the debit card on Thursday before I could get the check into the bank. Luckily they just sent me an email saying I should talk to my bank about the charge not going through and let them know when it was ready to go :-P So, Monday I will call and hopefully everything will be cleared up.

Then the waiting begins. And that isn't even likely to be it, I will still likely have to have an interview if I am not able to get a job offer before they finish processing my application. Craziness. I just want to get to the end of this tunnel and see some light.

In other news, I heard back from the owner of Kitsault (www.kitsault.com) and I will have to be in touch with him to see if I can be involved in that project (at least while i'm stuck waiting to hear from NZ).

Enough for now? Yes, me thinks. Write me!!!

2005-09-26T10:25:00.000+12:00

So much to share! Firstly, have you seen the iPod Nano? I know that iPods don't have much to do with my move to NZ, but I love them and plane rides are much more enjoyable with an MP3 player don't you think? I own the U2 black version, very nice methinks. I think the Nano is a beautiful little creature.

This past week I was in Berlin. I applied for a position as a Residence Life Officer at the European College of Liberal Arts-Berlin (www.ecla.de) as sort of a lark. They asked for a phone interview and then flew me out for an on-campus interview as well. I think the position would be a challenge, but hopefully I am up for it. I know Germany is not quite New Zealand, but ever since I studied abroad in Berlin oh so many years ago I have dreamt of returning. Celeste is supportive of the idea and thinks that she might be able to find work in Berlin also.

I flew to Berlin on Aer Lingus through Dublin. I thought that I might stay in Dublin for the weekend on my way back to the U.S. but I caught a bit of a cold and decided to days sick spending money I don't have in Dublin wasn't the best of ideas. I came directly home instead and have been sleeping a lot. Hopefully I will feel all better for work tomorrow.

On the NZ front, I am quite close to sending in my application, I need certified copies of a few things. Hopefully I can find a Notary Public through my temp job that I can use for free. Then I need to figure out how to pay the application fee which is around $800 I believe. I do not really have that kind of cash hanging out. Ooops. If all works out I may be able to send it in within two weeks or so.

The biggest news for NZ is that Celeste's status finally changed to ITA (invitation to apply). Of course, since she is about 10,000 times more organized and motivated than I am, she will probably have her application turned in before I do. It is exciting to think that one way or the other we should be together within three or four months.

Oh, my temp job is pretty cool so I will mention it as well. I am doing pretty boring office type work, but it is for the Rockefeller Foundation. Great organization and really beautiful offices.

I feel that is enough of an update for now. Thanks for reading.

2005-09-10T23:10:00.000+12:00

Hey, I'm back in the U.S. of A. Though it was sad leaving Let, it is good to be back to clean things up. I returned to my FBI report, happy to see that I have no arrest record with them! Now I need to get some copies of documents certified and then scrap together the application fee and all can be sent off.

2005-08-31T18:06:00.000+12:00

here i am in Manila. the work toward new zealand is limited to conversations between myself and my love about when we can make it happen! impatience is the theme.

Manila has been nice, too hot for my northern blood, but enjoyable nonetheless.

just thought i should type something...

2005-08-17T06:50:00.000+12:00

Tasty

Brief update. I am leaving tomorrow to Makati City in Manila for three weeks. Off to see my partner in the quest to move to New Zealand. Three weeks of rest, relaxation and life planning :-D (plus reacquainting ourselves).

It is very exciting. The travel itself is not quite so exciting. I must be getting old, but flights have gotten to be much less interesting to me. I just want to be where I am going. Back in the old days I loved flying for its own sake.

Once I return from the Philippines I figure it will only take another week or so to get everything ready to send in. Then the real waiting game begins. Ack!

2005-08-12T09:00:00.000+12:00

Today was my last day at my current job. What this allows me, at least theoretically, is more flexibility in my life with which to work harder on getting to New Zealand. We will have to see how that aspect of it works out in the end. Nonetheless, it is a great stress gone from my life. It still has not all left, but hopefully, before the end of this weekend in Vermont, the stress will have melted away.

I feel very close to complete with all of the application materials.

So, Vermont for the weekend. Then on Wednesday I fly to San Fran then on to Tokyo and finally to Manila. I will stay for three weeks. By that time Celeste should be so sick of me that she will never ever move to Enzed to be with me.

Not so in to writing right now...so i'll stop.

2005-08-08T13:21:00.000+12:00

Visit the Philippines

Today I applied for three jobs in NZ with three different universities. I really would like to be in Wellington or Dunedin and those two jobs seemed most likely, but I also applied to a position in Auckland. I am sure Auckland wouldn't be so bad either.

The jobs are all good fits for what I want to do, though they are mostly a big step down from the responsibility I have in my current position. I am willing to take that though, it would be nice to have more contact with students and be working in a larger institution.

Finally made some more progress on application materials. Portland State was totally simple, just faxed me a letter. I also had Barbara write me one from IPSL. Also received a fax of my immunizations so I was able to get that info completed.

The other step was to get the money order finally for sending my fingerprints to the FBI. They are in the envelope and will be on the way tomorrow!!!

I am moving forward. And next week I plan to go to the Philippines for a couple of weeks. :-P

2005-08-02T14:31:00.000+12:00

Today I called to try and get proof of employment from my job at New York University to send with my application. They contract an outside agency to provide proof of employment. I call to ask what I need to do and they tell me that I am not allowed to get it myself. Whoever wants it must call and request it themselves. I am not able to verify my own employment? What on earth is the logic behind that? Am I going to find out that I wasn't really employed there? Seems very very odd to me.

Not only is it odd, I worry that it might cause issue in that it seems pretty inconvenient for NZIS to have to call this employment verification agency to prove that I had this job. Blech!

In my last entry I mentioned the email I had received from someone I had written a thank you note to at a NZ Uni. Well, I have not heard back from the woman at Otago that I wrote hoping she would look at my resumé. No big rush at this point is there?

Life has been throwing me enough curves lately that I am willing to take NZ slow for a bit. Though I have to be careful not to let too much time pass before sending in the completed application as the medical forms expire after a certain amount of time.

It is fun having chest x-rays to look at though. I was trying to find where I broke my collar bone as a high schooler but can't seem to place it.

2005-07-24T11:49:00.000+12:00

The Rest of My Life

Nothing new other than thoughts to share really. Had I mentioned that at the NAFSA conference I had spoken to a few people from New Zealand universities? When I got back in the office I wrote them all to thank them for speaking with me (that's called networking). It did not look particularly successful. One person wrote back a short little, yeah you too sort of response. That was about it.

Then, this week I received a very pleasant email from one of the women I had spent quite a bit of time speaking with. She apologized for taking so long to respond. She also said that she would be more than happy to help me if she could (or something like that). Well, being desperate as I am, I will probably try to take advantage of the offer.

Mostly I am hoping that she might take a look at my resumé and give me advice. Let me know if it is appropriate for New Zealand and if she has any advice on how to make myself more attractive for universities in NZ.

Let and I have been talking quite a bit about when and how we will get there. Who will be first. What will the other do...those sorts of things. We are both pretty willing to settle wherever jobs are to be had. We also both are resigned to job searching wherever the first person gets a job.

It is exciting and scary and i'm so impatient to get there. Yet, I still have so many things to take care of here.

I think that is it for now.

2005-07-16T11:35:00.000+12:00

The Best of the Best

A productive week and a very productive day.

On wednesday this week I was able to get my medical forms for New Zealand Immigration mostly filled. Then today I went to get my x-rays. The x-ray offices were really nice. If you've had to go to medical offices in New York some of them are not very pleasant you will know. Quest Diagnostics has some of the ugliest offices I've ever been to. Though to be fair, their office in Forest Hills was pretty nice. The nurse that took my blood in that Quest was really good too. I have the veins of mystery, nurses/doctors can never hit them the first time when trying to draw blood. So, I am always turning pale as they dig in my arm with the needle trying to find a vein to drain. I have never been a fan of needles, why such a curse?

At any rate, I get the x-rays taken and they tell me I am done. I say, well, I have a form that I need filled out by the radiologist. Oh, I don't believe the radiologist is in. Hmmm, when I called I said that I had a form that needed filling out by the radiologist and was told that would be no problem. Well, let me find out where/or when the radiologist is expected. Me sez, "OK."

Luckily the Radiologist was found and my forms are complete. I still need to get a signature from my main physician but my medical forms are just about good to go.

The other thing i did today was get my fingerprints taken so that i can request my background check from the FBI. That was a pain becuz I had been told that I would be able to go to any NYPD precinct and have it done. One phone call told me they would also have the forms I needed. So, this morning I go to my local precinct office and am told that not only do they not have the forms, but the NYPD does not do FBI fingerprinting. Oh? Really? Well, who does? Nobody seems to know.

Back to the apartment goes I. Look up the main number for the NYPD and call up to ask what I can do. Luckily, after being transferred a few times, I am told that I can indeed get my fingerprinting done by the NYPD, I just have to go to an office in downtown Manhattan.

Being lazy and afraid of humidity as I am, I choose to drive back in to Manhattan (I had already driven in for the X-rays). Now it is a bit late (it was around 7:30 am when I drove in earlier) and the traffic is nightmarish. I thought I would miss rush hour traffic at it was after 11, I had forgotten that all day is rush hour in NYC. It took me awhile to even get near the office. When I got close I realized that the streets in the entire area are reserved for officials parking only. Not only that, I'm not really used to lower Manhattan and there area a lot of little streets that go nowhere and it is a bit confusing.

After far too much time I finally find a parking meter, not horribly far away from the police station. I drop a couple of quarters, my last, into the meter to realize that one only gets 10 minutes per quarter and decide that i will just have to risk it. Luckily the finger printing was relatively painless once I got into the office. Of course, it being what it was it still took about 40 minutes. They do the fingerprinting electronically now so no ink stains to show for my effort. The machinery is pretty cool though.

My luck held out and as I walked back to the car I saw no ticket in the window. PHEW!

Then, back home came I to eat thai food, ice cream and then take a nap. Ahhhhhh.

2005-07-14T10:55:00.000+12:00

Go Bananas

Hey, so today I went to the dr. and finished most of the medical requirements for immigration. I still have to get some proof of immunizations and my chest x-ray. Chest x-ray i will have done this friday. The immunization proof is going to be a bit more difficult. I have never had a regular pediatrician or doctor before, so it isn't as though I can just call up good old dr. meineke and get my immunization records. What I am going to try to do is see if my old school district (Portland Public Schools) has proof that I can use. That would make life a bit easier.

On Friday i also hope to get my fingerprinting done so that i can send in for my FBI background check. Then I will be able to send in my application! Excitement.