no more packing, hurrah!!

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hello everybody, sorry about the delay writing a new blog but we've been spending the last few weeks getting sorted with jobs and a place to stay. i'm working in a fish and chip shop on cuba st (i've discovered that i am now called pauly malone, thanks very much brendan lynch). my job involves selling loads of fresh fish that i've never heard of and battering scallops and muscles, making various kinds of burgers, etc. my boss is a bit crazy, she spends alot of time shouting at customers, she's had 2 heart attcks and is working very hard on making it a hat-trick. she kind of reminds me of a chinese verion of 'momma' from the film 'throw momma from the train'. having said that, she's not the worst boss i've ever had. there's an irish fella that works with me. john o'connor is his name and he's from blanchardstown but lived in cabra on carnlough road til he was 16. he says he knows a few beattys. triona registered with 5 or 6 temping agencies but there's very little work going for temps here at the moment (there's a recession here too). last week she started work in farmers which is a department store on the same street where i work.

we found a gaff about a month ago. it's only about 5 km south of the city centre but it feels like it's in the countryside. we're right on the south coast of the north island up on a hill overlooking the sea. we live with 3 sound people, a couple called mayu and josef, and another guy brett who just moved in a few days before us. mayu is from japan, josef is from indonesia but has lived in new zealand since he was 8. they're both just finished their exams in college. brett works for the company 'weta studios' who did the special effects on the lord of the rings films. rent is alot lower here than in ireland (so is the minimum wage, just over 5 euro!). wellington is much smaller than i thought it would be. the population of the wellington area is only around 380,000. the third most populated area after auckland and christchurch. the amount of hills here stop it from from becoming very developed. i must go now and make food for hungry kiwis

'A Divided Paradise: An Irishman in the Holy Land' by leixlip's own david lynch is out on the 9th of december, available in all good bookshops (maybe even a few bad ones). it's the perfect stocking filler, if you have a really big stocking.

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Photos

our gaff
ours is the white house with the blue paint beneath the balcony

a gift from chile
it only about 5 feet tall, cheapskates.

lyall bay
the view from our bus stop

Paul's workplace!
Paul Hartnett's place of work

Farmer's
Triona's place of work

Bucket Fountain
This water feature thingy is on Cuba St just outside Triona's work

Comments

[Erika]

Wellington sounds and looks divine. A million times better than the rainy wintery part of Japan we're currently in. And you should look out for a church called Old St. Paul's cathedral--I've just learned it was designed by my great great great grandfather in 1866. Who knew? It's part of a dark family secret that may bore you to death but I promise to tell you some day. And I will be first in line in Northern part of the Eastern hemisphere to buy Mr Lynch's book--sounds fascinating! Keep having fun!