Move In Day

Moving Day

What is worse ? Packing or unpacking ?

I had collected the keys on Friday afternoon having taken the day off to deal with any last minute unforeseen catastrophes. There were a couple, but nothing major and just like that we were homeowners.

During the day I had tried to reorganise the storage unit to make it easier for the moving guys the next morning. Some things were coming to the storage unit, others were to be removed to go to the new address. While doing that I had loaded the car with some boxes, which we intended to take over after Lauren finished work; and to make several more trips.

That done, and takeaways for dinner we went to bed, planning to be up bright and early to dismantle beds. We are pretty whizzy with allan keys these days.

With the car loaded and the truck packed we were off to the storage unit to supervise the “what goes to storage and what comes out” manoeuvre, and then meet them at our new home for the unloading.

All done before lunch ! Well the big stuff anyway – the endless trips to bring other stuff in the car seemed to go on forever. By the end of the day we had had enough and left the last couple for the next morning when we needed to go back to meet the cleaners anyway.

During the afternoon, we had reassembled beds and begun emptying boxes. Somewhere to sleep and knowing whereabouts of the kettle, cups and tea and coffee doings are priorities we have come to appreciate in this recent gypsy life.

We got a delicious takeaway locally – healthy too – and then carried on for a few more loads. While we were at the old place, the sky burst with an amazing display of fireworks. They marked the end of school fair in the park just over the road. We felt it was a fitting farewell from the neighbourhood to us !

We fell into bed and next morning made the last two trips while the cleaners did an amazing job on the rental. Still not good enough for the real estate though. We have never had so much trouble getting bond back at the end of a lease as we have in Australia this time. The property was 100% cleaner than it had been when we moved in, but they still disputed it.

If we had opted to clean the rental ourselves and then apply the same, if not more, elbow grease to clean the new place properly we would have been even more annoyed. If only the same fastidiousness applied to vacating homeowners. YUK.

But it was done. From now on there are just decisions to make, where to hang art, where to put furniture.

Home Sweet Home.

Goodbye Bendigo, Hello New Opportunities

Well, it has been just over a year.

When I got here, to this little city in the middle of nowhere, with its great architecture and hints of bygone goldrush times I had big hopes. But they haven't really come to fruition for me. It has been a nice enough place to live, but it is a bit far from the hustle and bustle which I have become accustomed to.

Sure, it is only a couple of hours to the big smoke - but actually that is four hours travel on crowded trains in a day with very early starts and late finishes. I did consider moving, but there is that whole chicken and egg thing again - can't get a job without and address and can't get a rental without a job. Oh well. Not even when I was willing to commute in the short term.

I'm going to miss the walkability of Bendigo, the trams and the view from up high in the backyard. I'll miss the rosellas too, coming to visit in the trees outside the window; but I am sure we will find some more feathers friends. The bats too with their little spats in the trees at the park when you would expect them to be asleep and then chattering outside the window at night. I love the style of houses and would have bought one and stayed if the job thing had worked out.

 Chancery Lane

Can't say I'm going to miss anybody, because I haven't actually met anybody to miss. Even my occasional ventures to join in meetings with the family history group did not find a coffee buddy, and fellow students living locally seemed to not be inclined to be social either. I will miss the Farmer's market, and the local coffee and goodies at Hustle.

Vahland Drinking Fountain & Conservatory Gardens

Still, I have been lucky to stay as a house guest mostly while I have studied and it has been great to be able to focus on all of that. I didn't anticipate when I began this journey in August last year that I would be submitting my final assignment in the next couple of weeks.

Wildflowers in the back lawn before the lawnmower man came

So now, it is onward and upwards. This has just been an obstacle in the pursuit of happiness, but nonetheless an obstacle which has allowed me to study and made me more determined that I can make this all work.

Bright yellow canola fields

I am looking forward to being a bit more connected, and being able to walk down streets which are a bit busier and filled with people.

Parsley anyone ? Ours has turned into a jungle

So where to now ? You will have to wait and see.

So this happened

Today a truck arrived bright and early and brought all this !!

No more living out of a suitcase. 
No more thinking "I could do this"...and then "oh no I don't have that right now"

Luckily the spring weather hasn't warmed up overly fast and we've been able to get by with the clothes we bought with us. It will be nice to choose something different though.

What else has been going on ?

I have completed my first unit for my Diploma and submitted my assignment ahead of the closing deadline. Now I have a few weeks before the next one starts.

In between study, and walking back and forth to the shops (no car) I've been applying for jobs, sometimes hearing nothing, sometimes just getting rejections - but once getting an interview ! Still have a few in the pipeline to hear back from so watch this space.

Tomorrow is a public holiday. For Grand Final Eve !! What the ? 

Sport is a big thing here, especially VFL/AFL. I quite like footy - I don't get all the rules, but I like that there isn't so much stoppage time (if any). When I worked in Adelaide we would have a sweepstake every week to pick the score for the match of the week. I used to just pick numbers (no clue) and won quite often which annoyed the boys no end. I'm a Swans girls though, so I have no idea who might come out on top on Saturday. The colours don't help me either being originally a Chiefs girl and now a 'Cane's supporter.

Dustin Martin (part Kiwi) is the star player for Richmond (Tigers) and won the Brownlow this week - so I'm kinda leaning that way. And actually the Crows aren't quite Chiefs colours so - we'll see.

Then, on Sunday it's the NRL grand final in Sydney. Storm vs Cowboys. Again I have no clue 'cos my Sharks aren't there ! also, it doesn't seem right that it is Queensland vs Victoria - where are the New South Wales teams ?

It is also daylight saving changeover here this weekend. Summer must be on the way.

Oh - and the next public holiday here is also a sport related one - Melbourne Cup ! 

Hello from the other side

 - of the Tasman, that is !

The last few weeks have been a blur of boxes and sorting and selling and packing. I'm glad that part is over.

After farewelling workmates and saying goodbye to the stress of packing and cleaning we headed south for a couple of days in Wellington. Time to catch up with friends and family there as well before that early morning flight.

On the way we stopped in Taupo and caught the sunset - and got up early in the freezing morning to catch the sunrise too. 

In Wellington we were reminded of the weather we had left behind. Idyllic one day, horrendous the next; but that is what makes it great at the same time. Not enough time to see everyone though. Maybe on the next trip.

We were up bright and early 3.30am ! and off to the airport for a relatively smooth trip arriving in Melbourne at 8.00am. We needed to visit the bank where we had opened our accounts, so we caught the bus into the city and found a great place to get some breakfast (no food on the plane for our fare option).

It had been awhile since my last visit to Melbourne - maybe 12 years ? surely not that long. But it all still felt so familiar. We enjoyed wandering around in the sun before catching the bus back and picking up the rental car. 

Bendigo (new home town) is just 90 minutes from Melbourne and has regular bus and train services, so I KNOW we will be back that way to catch a show or two, or to just wander the streets.

Life takes you on a surprise journey sometimes

When you least expect it something falls into place and life gets taken on a wild ride. That is what happened to me last week. I’ve been umming and aahing. To move or not to move. Or more like; to move but when to move.

I’ll tell you when – 4 weeks from NOW ! Get your skates on ! There is no time to be shell shocked there is masses to do !

I have been contemplating some online study with an institution across the ditch. Online you say, sounds fairly simple, you can do that from anywhere. Apparently not. You must be resident on the Island to the West of where I am now.

So while I was contemplating that, and where to settle, someone else changed tack and decided to look at roles which were specifically recruiting from these fair shores. No worries about gaining local certification prior to applying which had been stymying earlier applications. Hey presto – snapped up in an instant. Like a fresh worm on the hook.

It began like a pebble rolling down the hill gathering speed and size, but in truth it grew into a boulder pretty instantly and it has just been 7 days. The wheels are in motion, I just have to keep up.

All those plans to sort boxes and downsize that have been disregarded and casually postponed have come crashing home to roost. The race is on now. Maybe I will finally find some of the things which have been lost since the 2014 move. Hope so. Although, do I really need them ?

Anyways, that is why I have been fairly quiet recently on all fronts - I'm quietly panicking and getting organised and time is short.

I'm enrolled in my first paper as well - let the fun begin !!

Farewell Auckland, hello Bendigo.

#52Stories, Week 7, Who was your first best friend ? Are you still in contact with each other ? What do you remember about the friendship.

I really am running behind schedule with this !! But I WILL complete the challenge,

Anyway, who was my first best friend ? 

I had friends at kindergarten and at school who I used to have play dates with after school and in the holidays, and there were the girls next door who I played with mostly at weekends.

But, best friends ?

I think it would be Jo. 

We were buds at Miropiko Kindergarten, she was Joanna then. We went to different primary schools, not miles apart - but far enough that we didn't bump into each other at all.

At Peachgrove Intermediate some seven years later we met up again. By this time she was Joey, she still is to my Dad.

We had lots of fun, in class, at lunch times, after school and at weekends. At Intermediate we got to take cooking and sewing class. Jo was a whizz at sewing ! I was extremely jealous as it seemed I had inherited my Mum's genes and sewing frustrated me. Like Mum I did a lot of "negative sewing". Later though, away from school I did manage to overcome some of the frustration, and these days, if needs must - I can sew with the best of them. (well maybe not THE best, but there isn't as much negativity going on).

When we moved to Wellington, Jo and I became pen pals. In the school holidays she once came and stayed with me, and another time I went and stayed with her. If we visited at other times, I always made sure to meet up with her. 

We continued to write letters all through college, and our early working life. Our first overseas holiday (without parents) was to Fiji for two weeks, just us.

When I moved to Australia we continued to write, I must have used up all the pages in the "D" part of her address book with all the moving around I did ! (Ashfield, Artarmon, Campsie, Hurstville, Werris Creek, Bexley, Oatley, Clontarf, Margate)

When I moved back to NZ briefly in the early eighties, we actually saw each other again. Both married, and Jo with two little girls. I think we still wrote when we were here - long distance phone calls were an extravagance back then, and it was at least a decade before cellphone (bricks) or the internet.

Then it was back across the ditch for me and the writing resumed. Swapping recipes and news from Adelaide and then Sydney again. Then I joined the Mum club and we had more to share and compare. When I visited NZ we caught up again and the girls met each other too.

And so it went on. When I moved back to Hamilton we saw each other more, and then I moved to Wellington. The writing continued, and phone calls too on the odd occasion. New Zealand Post must have LOVED us. Some school holidays I rented a car and we managed to visit.

The internet came along and letters were replaced a bit by emails, and phone calls became cheaper - then text messaging too.

Today, we email, text and facebook each other to keep in contact AND visit.

Jo is the only friend I have constantly kept in contact with for most of my life. Whenever we see each other, it is like we had only seen each other the day before. Nothing is ever awkward. We still laugh about the same things, our interests have changed a little, and our lives have taken different paths, but our friendship has been constant. 

I hope it stays that way.

Changing horizons

It would seem that constantly changing living locations has become as much a part of my life lately as it was when I first left home back in the late 70's and went to live in Australia.

It is happening again this weekend - still in the same country, and the same city - just moving from one side of the bridge to the other. We're quite looking forward to it, though the actual packing and doing it is a bit of a drag. We've broken our lease where we are and the agent has been able to find new tenants relatively quickly. The new place - which only I have seen from the inside - is closer to work for both of us now.

As well as changing residences, there has been a change of roles for one of us. Exciting times.

Once we are there and the boxes have been dealt with I promise this blog will be getting more attention.

In the meantime, there are a few things I'll miss from this side of town. The sunsets - and just lately the sunrises too. (I'm sure we'll still get to experience them post move though) The singing on Sunday mornings at the Tongan church at the end of the road, and the proximity to lots of shopping. Won't miss the neighbours who set off fireworks at all hours of the night, the cars with stereos so loud they set off people's car alarms as they drive past and the hours spent sitting in traffic each day to get to and from work.

We have a whole new suburb or three to discover and from the little I have seen there are a multitude of cafes and stores to browse and try.

I've been busy with a few other researchers helping people on social media with family tree brick walls - very rewarding - and hopefully one day a money-making pastime. I've also been updating my family tree with new babies arriving over the last couple of months and contacting cousins who have been matched through that DNA spit test we did last year.

I saw a post today along the lines of my last one - 5 generation migration and location -  but this one is 5 generations causes of death. Watch out for that popping up here when I have more time on my hand.

Plus, accommodation has been booked and days partially planned for our holiday which is rapidly approaching. Just rental cars, visas and spending money to sort out now.

So while you wait in anticipation for my next post enjoy these pics of some of those sunsets with Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill) on the horizon which we are leaving behind.

Change

I'm being a bit rubbish about keeping up to date with all the happenings lately.

So, here goes:

1. Christchurch is no longer my home - it was great while it lasted, but circumstances made it hard to want to try and stay. Jobs with a predetermined end date, rents which were out of my reach if it was just going to be me.

2. I think Marlborough/Nelson/Tasman could be my home one day - so much amazing scenery.

3. Auckland is my home now. Just as expensive as Christchurch for not as great quality, so we are still housemates for as long as it takes to get on our feet separately.

4. There are new places to explore.

5. My life is still in boxes...

So anyway, today we went on a bit of an explore because we have to go driving to get used to the traffic, and check that the Navman can cope with it even when we can't.

So first we went to Parnell for Pizza. At Sals. We'd tried it once before on the Shore, but this was closer, and we just wanted one slice. 

'Cos that is all you need believe me.

Then we went for a walk up through the shops. It still has that village feel which is nice, so close to the craziness that is the CBD. We happened upon these guys painting a mural. SO clever.

 then we had us some gelato

and went on a l-o-n-g drive to find the lighthouse at Manukau Heads. 

It would have been prettier on a nicer day, but it was on the list of free things to do in Auckland - so we have done it now. It was free (well a donation to go in to the lighthouse) but there isn't anything else much to do once you get all the way there...and then there is the cost of petrol. Hmmm.