rambling on about our move to new zealand
“you’re telling me that if i put some devil ears on my head and knock on doors folks will give me candy?”
halloween is just a minor novelty here with a few kids making the rounds in some very basic costumes. we had 6 at our door – but we are off the beaten path quite a bit. there is a sizable portion of nz that is pushing back on halloween as just another bit of american culture forcing it’s way around the world.
(us stats from 2003)
one more step in the moving process complete today. we checked out of our apartment in the city (my home for the last 10 weeks), i began my last walk to work and jackie dragged the last of our belonging off to the car and then drove to our rental in island bay.
during the day we got phone, tv & internets connected (same company) and our rental furniture (bed, couch, dining table & chairs) delivered so by the time i got home it was beginning to feel like a home.
but the highlight of my day was taking the bus home for the first time. the island bay line runs right past work so catching the bus couldn’t be easier. during rush hour the buses run every few minutes so i only had to wait 4 minutes before i was on my way. and then the great kiwi moment. when passengers get off the bus they declare “thank you bus driver!”. and not just quietly as they pass the driver and exit the front door. most exit out the back door so they have to really belt it out for the driver to hear.
we went up to see gromit today. i’m making the trip once each weekend with jackie and she’s doing it on her own twice during the week, so gromit gets 3 visits during the week.
gromit is continuing to do very well. when we arrived he was lounging on his cot out on the patio.
after bouncing around for a couple of minutes (no dental damage this time) gromit was ready to play. he went full steam for 45 minutes until he collapsed in exhaustion on his cot.
one happy dog.
family portrait
7 days until we move from our apartment to our rental home. with our container not due until the end of november it will be our very empty rental home. no furniture, no linens, no appliances, no nothing. as much as i’m looking forward to moving in to a home and settling in a bit i do need to remember it will be a bit dodgy until our stuff arrives. plus we did sell most of our family room furniture so today we went looking for a new sofa.
most everything fell into 2 camps – cheap (both in cost and quality) chinese and quality italian & kiwi made. our strong desire is to buy nz made but no surprise it is the most expensive. we were talking with the sales rep about the materials and he said it was top grain leather. now i’ve seen and heard that phrase countless time and always assumed that it just meant that it was top quality. now i found out that they are slicing a cows hide into several layers to increase their yield – just like they do with lumber to create wood veneer.
i guess top grain leather sounds better than cow veneer.
whut?
no real surprise that jackie was quite eager to get up to quarantine to see gromit after his big adventure. added bonus is that is real is a spectacular drive.
when we walk into gromit’s room just like yesterday he is bouncing around beside himself with happiness. jackie sits down on the floor to be on his level and then i hear the sound that makes my blood run cold. it’s a crunch that i’ve experience myself (with cosmo about 10 years ago) and has no happy ending. gromit has just bounced under jackie’s chin and that crunch was her teeth. i look over and she is now spitting our little white bits.
(artist interpretation)
now a brief pause while jackie take’s inventory of the damage and we decide if we get to experience nz rural sunday afternoon dental care.
best we can determine 4 teeth have minor chips but nothing serious.
the rest of the time with gromit was great and he seems to be settling in well. we brought him 2 of his favourite toys (snow kitty and a tug toy) and that made him *very* happy. after an hour of serious play time gromit was exhausted and we were on our way back to the city.
all committed to 30 days at a private remote treatment facility
a bit distracted all day waiting for news about gromit. i was keeping an eye on the nz air website for updates on his flight from auckland to wellington. at 1200 after he had been on the ground for 30 minutes i couldn’t wait any longer and called shado-lans to ask when gromit would be arrive at quarantine. turns out my call was forwarded to one of the owner’s cell phones who said that she had already picked up gromit and was on the way to their facility. hats off to them for being at the airport for gromit’s arrival. that saved almost 90 minutes off gromit’s time in the shipping crate. i packed up my things and asked (more like told) my boss if i could head out and was on my way.
about 2 hours later i arrived at quarantine, signed in, donned my paper booties (a rule for all visitors – don’t know why) and was taken back to gromit’s new home. all the residents are kept in solitary confinement individual accommodations with two rooms. one interior room with tiled floor, table, 2 chairs, radio, heater & dog bed. there is a sliding door that connects to the second room that is has one one wall that would be open to the outside save for a floor to ceiling chain link fence. there is another dog bed outside along with his food and water. when i arrived gromit was sitting at his fence looking outside. he had the look of “where in the world am i and what has happened?” from his perspective he was enjoying his road trip with jackie and the old people (her parents) and then all of a sudden he is locked in a box, bounced around, driven, flown, in darkness and in light, in loudness and in quiet, and finally released into this strange place all by himself. when i walked in he barked and then when he recognized me bounced around with uncontrolled happiness for several minutes.
it was great to make him happy and for me to see him after almost 10 weeks.
we played for quite a while and then he flopped down in exhaustion. one tired dog.
i stayed from about an hour and then headed back to wellington. i made the mistake of looking back as i was getting in my car and there he was watching me from his cell porch. mental image burned into my brain to weigh on me for the drive home.
nz now has one more permanent resident.
gromit landed in auckland at 0605 local time.
no official update until he arrives at quarantine at approx 1300.
we knew this would be by far the hardest part of our move – and so far it has lived up to expectations.
today at 6:30 pm pacific time jackie dropped gromit off for his flight to nz.
it is now 10:42 pm pacific time and gromit is on board nz 1 just off the california coast.
he is due to arrive in auckland in about 11 hours – 0552 local time. he then has a 5 hour layover before his flight to wellington. shado-lans will then pick him up and drive him to their quarantine facility. after a local maf vet has signed off he is allowed out of the shipping crate. that should be about 1 pm local time. 18 hours from now.
that is going to be a very long 18 for me and the jboss.
i would give anything to be able to explain to him what is happening and that it will ok.
i feel sick.
we’ve been going back and forward between looking for a place to rent and place to buy.
if we could find the right house in the right neighborhood at the right price that would be ideal, but a home search here in wellington is much harder than any place i’ve bought previously. there are dramatic differences from one street to the next. sun & wind exposure, age & condition of house, amount (if any) of insulation and heating (most houses have neither), type of street (some are narrow twisty routes up mountainsides), local amenities, distance to the cbd, dog friendliness, etc.
we had looked at probably 20 houses or so over the span of a month but it became clear that we wouldn’t have time to feel confident about any decision, and it was logistically challenging with the jboss in the states and me here, so we switched to focusing on finding a rental.
the initial week of the rental search was very depressing with few places that would consider dogs, and few of those that would were places that i would want to live it. the small number that passed those 2 tests were all very pricey and were gone almost immediately. there was a bit of stress since we needed to have something lined up by the time that gromit returned from his holiday in quarantine in mid november. i had seen a few places that weren’t horrible, but i was really hoping that that wouldn’t be the benchmark.
jackie passed along a new posting of a nice looking place in island bay, but it said no pets. so i wrote my nicest possible email explaining that we had a well behaved dog, and that we would put down additional bond (deposit) & have the house professionally cleaned when we left if they would consider waving their no pets criteria. i wasn’t optimistic that i would get a yes so i went off to look at other potential places.
fortunately they called me and said we wouldn’t have to give gromit away, so i rushed over to confirm the place measured up to the listing. it was actually better than the listing so i told them that i was very interested but would like to confirm with my partner back in the states. the owner was very generous and said that she would consider us first in line and allow me get back to her the next day. fortunately i was able to connect with the jboss soon after and was able to call back the owner and said we would like to take it. another bonus here was that the owner then said the place was ours pending a deposit, a lease and employment verification. most rentals here just accept applications and then pick the best from the stack.
after an exchange of paperwork (and money – once again all electronic, no dirty cheques here) we had a place to live as of october 27th.
small bonus. the owner sent me an email asking if it was ok if they left the fridge and washing machine. nice to avoid that expense for a while.
gardens (yards) are surprisingly uncommon. many of the island bay sections (lots) have been subdivided surrendering all their green space. gromit’s bedroom (with a guest bed for slumber parties with his new friends from the neighborhood). great views.
southerly view of the ocean (island bay) out the bedroom window.
25 Tiber Street, Island Bay
3 bedroom house with 2 bathrooms.
Simply stunning family home.
Be welcomed into the famous Island Bay community!
Luxurious yet practical and comfortable. Super sunny, light and warm. All day sun with french doors opening front and back, and gas central heating to warm you cheaply through the winter.
Stunning polished floors downstairs, stylish new carpet upstairs. Kitchen with modern European appliances and stunning concrete bench. Open plan kitchen/dining/living, with additional separate lounge.
Two double bedrooms, one single bedroom and office/kids’ playroom. All with internet/phone connection points etc, sunny, seaviews and open outlook. Also floor to ceiling wardrobes/shelving.
Upstairs bathroom has luxurious family sized bath/shower.
Flat, sunny and sheltered backyard with swing set, sand pit and herb garden. Entertainment deck, amazing indoor-outdoor flow and wonderful entertainment options indoors and out.
Fully fenced and child friendly, located in a quiet cul de sac 200m from two good schools and 400m from kindy.
Enormous storage options throughout house.
make that money and *no* guns
in the cbd many of the bank atm’s are located in non-bank storefronts, with the bulk of the atm extending back into the shop. two significant difference to the states – the back of the atms, where they are serviced are not enclosed in a protective room and the guards who service them don’t carry guns. (very few handguns here – the police don’t carry either). one example is at espressoholic – one of my favourite coffee shops. to service the atm the guards enter the shop and do their work right out in the open.
there does seem to be a security system that involves codes being transmitted to a wireless device that one guard is carrying, but i was amused by the satchels that the other guard is carrying with “ALARMED – DON’T TOUCH” written on the sides. don’t think that would work in the states.
contrast this to the recent trend in the us where thieves brazenly are crashing cars/trucks/vans into storefronts and dragging entire atm machines away.
Older Car Foils Burglars In ATM Theft
Burglary Suspects Learn Old Car Doesn’t Have Enough Juice To Drag ATM Machine From Drug Store
KINGSPORT, Tenn., Sep. 26, 2007
(AP) Two Kingsport men learned that an older Honda Accord didn’t have the juice to drag an ATM machine from a drug store in a burglary attempt, police said.
Pablo Ibanez and Keith Tester are accused of breaking a window at a Walgreens pharmacy and trying to use a logging chain to pull the machine outside early Sunday morning.
They were found at their apartment after a witness identified the car used in the unsuccessful attempt.
Police said Ibanez confessed to the crime and also took responsibility for a separate burglary earlier this month. He was charged with two counts of burglary, theft and attempted theft.
Tester was charged with burglary and theft.
Recent Comments