Advertisement
Ok, so this is a city (make that a capital city) that has public toilets I am happy to use (although the auto-flush is a bit disconcerting if you are not expecting it)and does the road works in the middle of the night at the weekend to minimise rush hour disruption. The public transport is generally clean & on time, not to mention reasonably priced. City centre car parking is free on a saturday and free and unlimited on a sunday. How bloody great is that?
It has been a bit hectic recently, as I had to move house a wee bit earlier than first expected. However, it has all turned out well and the flatties, moggies & I moved into a great little place in Ngaio 4 weeks ago. The move itself was a bit exhausting, but nothing that a beer in the new local, whilst watching the All Blacks trounce France, wouldn't fix.
The place was unfurnished, so it has been a great excuse for some serious shopping, and it has made the place seem a bit more 'mine' than living in a furnished place with someone else's stuff all around.
I now get discount from the
cat door man, for being a frequent-flyer. Luckily the moggies settled in really well. I was planning on keeping them in for the recomended week, but that proved impossible when Nina escaped (don't think she intended to) after about 18 hours, closely followed by Barney (who definately intended to).
I have lost my harbour view, which is a shame, but the new place is surrounded by greenery. There is a reserve at the end of the road and we are just a few minutes a way from heaps of walking trails. Waking up on a sunny weekend morning to the sound of Tui in the trees is really quite wonderful.
I am waiting for a nice sunny day to take some pictures of the house and garden to post for you. In the meantime here are a couple of the inside on a cold & blustery night.
The social side of life continues to be good.
Have had lots more trips to the cinema, theatre and ballet. I don't know why, but it jut all seems so much more accessible here and I feel compelled to make the most of it! I think the cultural pinnacle was going to
see Dana's amateur dramatic group's production of 'Adventures in the dark forest', a 30 minute version of 'Mid-summer night's dream'. Wicked!!!
The rugby season continues. Unfortunately the Hurricanes were not on top form this season and didn't even get to the semis of the Super-14. My lead at the top of the table for the virtual tournament was short lived, but I did do quite well for a rooky (and an english girl rooky, no less!). The Tri-nations has just started, but there was doom & gloom this weekend as the ABs lost the Bledisloe cup match against Oz (deservedly so, in my humble opinion). I enjoy wearing my England t-shirts (thanks Bhart & Catherine) and am looking forward to World Cup mania!!!
The America's cup contest is a bit of a sore point at the moment.
I still enjoy the rock climbing, and if I went more regularly would probably be quite good by now!
I have sort of started running - yes, me! Amazing! But preparing for the move kinda upset the routine and now it is too darn cold! I did actually really enjoy it, so am hoping to get that started up again
soon.
I have been out on the bike a couple of times, but not as much as I'd like. I guess I have been a bit lazy. I was seriously contemplating cycling to & from work, but the hill home is a bit of a mission. And the public transport works just fine! That's something else to work on!
Knowing that I'd have to give up the car when I moved out of Newlands, I tried to make the most of having wheels and was pottering about as much as I could, including a lovely trip up to Martinborough, just perfect for lunch and a (driver's) glass of vino, sat outside in the sun. There are heaps of nice beaches nearby, but there are a few where a car is a definite advantage, so they moved up the list!
Fortunately there is so much going on in Wellington, that although a set of wheels is nice, it is by no means essential.
Last weekend I went for a walk around Karori wildlife sanctuary, which is just huge and well worth a look if you are in town. The bus goes straight past the entrance. Sweet.
Work continues to
be enjoyable, which is still a slightly odd concept for me to get my head around! Although the past 2 weeks have been a bit taxing as my computer has been well & truly buggered, by my buddies in the IT department. Having no computer is a slight disadvantage at the best of times, even more so when you are supposed to be the sytems administrator!! Oh well!
Work funded a trip to Christchurch (can recomend the jailhouse hostel) a few weeks ago. Bloody hell, it was cold. There was an oncology & nutrition study day, which was good stuff. Although I am slightly disturbed to know that there are people in this world who are 'very excited'by the addition of fish oils to TPN and describe glutamine as the 'ultimate' nutraceutical! They should probably move to Wellington and get out a bit more!!
Not only did I learn a bit about oncology & nutrition, I also learnt to play poker. Alas, I didn't get to use my saudi halala coins, which I have been saving for the past 9 years for this very purpose, but was gambling with bits of shredded newspaper. Hey, it does the job. As
do rolled up bits of toilet paper! My enthusiasm to study the art of poker has forced me to re-watch Casion Royale for a few top tips. Might need another refresher in a couple of months.
The ski season is sort of here and as the holder of a season pass, I am looking forward to heaps of trips up the mountain. The plan is to start next weekend, conditions allowing. I'll let you know how it goes.
Hopefully having internet at home, I can be a bit better at a) updating this & b) keeping in touch with more personal e-mails. If any of you are doing the facebook thing, I am on there to.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.087s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 10; qc: 52; dbt: 0.058s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb