So Much Going On It's Hard to Remember to Blog!

There's been some not-so-subtle hinting that maybe we've been neglecting our blogging duties of late (the last 10 days or so). Now, looking at it from our dear readers' points of view, it must be quite frustrating. Here we are, announcing a whole bunch of changes and exciting events and BAM! that's the last you hear from us. Apologies all around.

So what has been happening?

First off, Wes. He's here, he's living on our couch, all things point to the fact he thinks this country is gorgeous and very cool. Jet lag is a bit of a problem, though mostly taken care of at this point. The two of us have been going crazy getting our models put together, painted etc. We're really feeding off each other for creativity.

Carly's new job has started. She's posted up a few entries on that topic already so I don't have to cover it here.

I've gotten really serious about Kitesurfing. I've had two lessons, bought some gear (kite, wetsuit, board so far) and have been obsessed with checking the weather to get out to the beach. Watch for another post on the topic soon!

My job hunt has started in ernest. So far I've contacted 4 recruiting firms, but the market is slow. A few jobs have been interesting, but so far no leads. At this point, I'll be staying with my current employer until the end of my contract regardless (there are financial reasons for doing so) but I'd really like to land something reasonable in town sooner rather then later. I think going to an office regularly and having that social interaction would really speed along the integration process. It would also get me out of the apartment which has grown uncomfortably cramped.

A few very cool things happened. First, I got to chatting with one of the authors of a blog I've been reading for a year+. This was one of the few blogs about moving to New Zealand that rang true to the realities that Carly and I were going to be facing. Most of the other blogs I'd read were by families with kids or older couples. Anyway, it turns out there's a dresser that's hanging out in their garage that would fit perfectly in our bedroom. Hazzah.

I got asked not twice but thrice for directions by various people around town. I'd read that one of the first major milestones to becoming a "local" was when people think you can help them navigate the area and you're actually successful in leading them to where they want to go. Granted, these three were looking for fairly simple things (courtney place, Uncle Chang's restaurant and Cuba mall) but still, I knew where they were :)

Finally, climbing has started up again. Wes has always been a big motivator in this sport and since we've both been slacking for the last couple of months, we're hitting the gym more often now.

There. All caught up. At some point I'll actually remember to bring my camera around with me...