A right sunny day this morning, so I thought I ought to take the opportunity for a bit of exercise. I ran into town and round the Mount via the footpath. I didn't use the Garmin, so I'm having to guess this was 10K or so. Running round the mount is quite interesting as the scenery is fantastic, and the combination of ups and downs in gradient mean you need to pay attention. It's not too arduous and I expect I will repeat the route in the near future.
Checking the UK bank account today, we spotted that HMR&C have managed to give Di a tax rebate. Scarily, it was exactly what I'd calculated it should be. No sign of mine though which is odd as they were applied for at exactly the same time. Perhaps it'll turn up next week.
We continued to unbox various items and generally try and find spaces for everything. The family PC was plugged in and seemed to work, although after applying the inevitable Windoze patches, updating Firefox and AVG, AVG jumped up and complained about a couple of trojans which it complained it couldn't remove as there was a process attached. Several hours of safe-mode scanning and rescanning seems to have sorted this out. Naturally, they were all lurking in Craig's download folder. I have yet to pluck up courage to visit his internet history to find out why he's more afflicted than others.
The other irritating thing to be unpacked was Phoebe's CD player. Not the player itself, more the JLS CD single which she just sticks on repeat *endlessly*. I guess it's my fault for sticking NZ stylee plugs on everything. Some things should have been excluded, no matter how loud the whining got.
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Thursday, 29 October 2009
It's Like Christmas
I waited in all day as we weren't sure when the container would finally arrive. When it turned up at 2PM, it wasn't a container, just a big truck full of boxes which the three cheeky chappies NZ Van Lines sent with it happily unloaded. My job in all of this was to tick off the box numbers as they brought them off the van and give some vague direction as to whereabouts in the house they ought to go. The garage got more than its fair share, as some of the boxes labelled "toys" could have gone anywhere. Glass and china were more obvious, as was the bed. Yes! we have our Freecycle acquired bed on the other site of the planet. There's a certain irony there I suppose. The customs people (or was it MAF) had had a good look at the Dyson. Everything else was pretty much untouched.
I was pleased to find that my three bottles of Frog have made it intact. The rest of the day was spent opening boxes with various squeals of delight from small persons upon discovering long lost treasures which naturally had to be played with all at once. You have not seen such a mess as this. I was beginning to think that most of the stuff would end up staying in the garage, but it does seem to have dispersed for the most part around the house. There are still several boxes of glasses which are seldom used (why did we bring them - a long period of theft from public houses, mainly;-)) and these will probably stay boxed until we move to a more permanent location.
On the job front, I was disappointed to receive a call from the agency - apparently my prospective employer is still prevaricating and won't have made a decision until later next week. Sigh. I'm sorely tempted to just start doing my own thing and see what happens. As long as it brings in more than nothing, I should do OK. Just need a unique easily Googled name to use I suppose.
I was pleased to find that my three bottles of Frog have made it intact. The rest of the day was spent opening boxes with various squeals of delight from small persons upon discovering long lost treasures which naturally had to be played with all at once. You have not seen such a mess as this. I was beginning to think that most of the stuff would end up staying in the garage, but it does seem to have dispersed for the most part around the house. There are still several boxes of glasses which are seldom used (why did we bring them - a long period of theft from public houses, mainly;-)) and these will probably stay boxed until we move to a more permanent location.
On the job front, I was disappointed to receive a call from the agency - apparently my prospective employer is still prevaricating and won't have made a decision until later next week. Sigh. I'm sorely tempted to just start doing my own thing and see what happens. As long as it brings in more than nothing, I should do OK. Just need a unique easily Googled name to use I suppose.
Wednesday, 28 October 2009
Impending Delivery
We all walked into Bayfair this morning, Craig to set up his kiwi saver (pension) and Sam to find out why her wages were short. It transpires that in the absence of an IRD number, she'd paid almost 50% tax. Much sulking was evident later on, particularly when asked for some housekeeping.
NZ Van Lines rang to say they would be delivering our stuff tomorrow afternoon. Woo! Not sure where we're going to put it all but we really can't wait for our own bed.
A phone call from the dentist - Imogen needs two fillings replacing and a new one. Rhiannon also went to the dentist this morning, and the strange arrangement of teeth (courtesy of extractions and orthodontic treatment) resulted in another set of week-long-to-process X-rays.
We received a letter from the Ministry of Social Development inviting us to apply for a community services card. Apparently the Inland Revenue had told them we were entitled to one. No such thing as data privacy over here apparently. As it entitles us to "the full subsidy for your health care costs" we applied straight away. It does seem to be related to having children but I guess it's also income related. As we don't have any income right now, we'll take any help we can get. This is I suppose pay back for the hundreds of pounds we've handed to the NZ government just to get over here. Don't feel guilty at all.
NZ Van Lines rang to say they would be delivering our stuff tomorrow afternoon. Woo! Not sure where we're going to put it all but we really can't wait for our own bed.
A phone call from the dentist - Imogen needs two fillings replacing and a new one. Rhiannon also went to the dentist this morning, and the strange arrangement of teeth (courtesy of extractions and orthodontic treatment) resulted in another set of week-long-to-process X-rays.
We received a letter from the Ministry of Social Development inviting us to apply for a community services card. Apparently the Inland Revenue had told them we were entitled to one. No such thing as data privacy over here apparently. As it entitles us to "the full subsidy for your health care costs" we applied straight away. It does seem to be related to having children but I guess it's also income related. As we don't have any income right now, we'll take any help we can get. This is I suppose pay back for the hundreds of pounds we've handed to the NZ government just to get over here. Don't feel guilty at all.
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
Still Lurking
Kids were back at school today - phew. Silence is golden. I received a call from the agency in relation to the interview last week - they'll still deliberating, and I won't hear anything before Thursday. I'm still not sure that I want the position, as the salary puts me back 20 years. We'll see if they want me first and we'll try haggling.
Got a text from Wayne, apparently the laptop is "Awesome". Not quite the words I'd have used to describe a Vista laptop, but he seems a happy bunny, so I guess I'll be on his Christmas card list.
I bought a copy of the PHP study guide with a view to getting Zend certified. I've been mucking about with PHP for a while, and it's kind of difficult to say what I know, so maybe having the certification would be a definitive measure of my capability. I might even learn something and possibly it might help the job search.
Not much else to say - Rhiannon's arm continues to improve, but she's playing on it still. No more skateboard casualties so far...
Got a text from Wayne, apparently the laptop is "Awesome". Not quite the words I'd have used to describe a Vista laptop, but he seems a happy bunny, so I guess I'll be on his Christmas card list.
I bought a copy of the PHP study guide with a view to getting Zend certified. I've been mucking about with PHP for a while, and it's kind of difficult to say what I know, so maybe having the certification would be a definitive measure of my capability. I might even learn something and possibly it might help the job search.
Not much else to say - Rhiannon's arm continues to improve, but she's playing on it still. No more skateboard casualties so far...
Monday, 26 October 2009
Labouring on Labour Day
Today was Labour Day - a bank holiday so no school for the girls. We drove into the Mount today since Di wanted to score a couple of pink skateboards for Christmas (No! Please God No!) for $60 a pop, without the girls noticing. I took them to the play park and played Frisbee while Phoebe went on the swings. As often happens when we're in the Mount on a nice day, we bumped into Vicky and her kids. Wayne was apparently doing battle with their laptop in a fruitless attempt to make it run faster. I put it to Vicky that it never would, since it's running Vista.
Fortunately the skateboards had already been sold (phew) and we watched the kids play for a bit before they started to fall asleep. Vicky departed and we went home. Not long after this, I got a call from Wayne with his a*** in his hands - the laptop was running so slowly as to be useless. He didn't have an install disk or it was in transit from the UK, so I tried to find one on the net. It turns out there's some sort of restore utility available which I downloaded and then ran. It restored the beast to its status in July 2008, and as a consequence was *much* faster, although still slow. Turning off all the interface effects helped a little more, but not much. Of course, there were a shed load of updates to install, and I spent several hours chatting and watching the downloads proceed really slowly. I guess most of NZ was on the net that afternoon.
Fortunately the skateboards had already been sold (phew) and we watched the kids play for a bit before they started to fall asleep. Vicky departed and we went home. Not long after this, I got a call from Wayne with his a*** in his hands - the laptop was running so slowly as to be useless. He didn't have an install disk or it was in transit from the UK, so I tried to find one on the net. It turns out there's some sort of restore utility available which I downloaded and then ran. It restored the beast to its status in July 2008, and as a consequence was *much* faster, although still slow. Turning off all the interface effects helped a little more, but not much. Of course, there were a shed load of updates to install, and I spent several hours chatting and watching the downloads proceed really slowly. I guess most of NZ was on the net that afternoon.
Sunday, 25 October 2009
A Cunning Plan
Di took the older girls into the Mount to wander around and watch/listen to some of the buskers. I had been nagged to participate, but as the guitar is not the loudest of instruments and outside it can be barely audible, I'm glad I didn't. I would have been competing against violins and electric guitars, so it would have been rather pointless, particularly as the other buskers were themselves competing with each other and the various bars who had the volume up somewhere near 11.
I stayed at home and lurked on the Internet, and kept an eye on the to littluns, played Frisbee for a while and tried to keep them off the skateboard. Phoebe managed to take the skin off one of her fingers quite badly, necessitating lots of washing and a number of plasters being applied.
Rhiannon's arm was better, although when asked, it was hanging off, but casual observation from a distance revealed that it was definitely on the mend.
I have for a while been looking for somewhere that sells Laphroaig at a reasonable price. My efforts this far have been fruitless, and it's looking like $100 is the best price, which I refuse to pay. However, as a "Friend of Laphroaig", I get a 10% discount from their online shop, and it charges UK prices. It's possible to buy 6 bottles at a time, which keeps the delivery charge to a minimum. Also, in theory I shouldn't pay VAT as I am now outside the EU. If my calculations are correct, I would be liable for a 15.7701c/litre Alcoholic and Liquor Advisory Council (ALAC) Levy and GST, but on 6 bottles the total price comes down to just over $50, which even at $2 to the pound, works out at £25, which is a much more palatable price. Naturally I will need to check out whether this idea is actually going to float, or whether I'm stuck cursing my luck. Please note - all visitors must arrive with a bottle of Frog, if they wish to stay.
On a more unsavoury note, Craig's jacket got stolen from the pub adjacent to where he works. Apparently he left it on the seat while he went to the loo and it had disappeared when he returned. Fortunately there was nothing in any of the pockets, so it's more annoyance than anything else.
I stayed at home and lurked on the Internet, and kept an eye on the to littluns, played Frisbee for a while and tried to keep them off the skateboard. Phoebe managed to take the skin off one of her fingers quite badly, necessitating lots of washing and a number of plasters being applied.
Rhiannon's arm was better, although when asked, it was hanging off, but casual observation from a distance revealed that it was definitely on the mend.
I have for a while been looking for somewhere that sells Laphroaig at a reasonable price. My efforts this far have been fruitless, and it's looking like $100 is the best price, which I refuse to pay. However, as a "Friend of Laphroaig", I get a 10% discount from their online shop, and it charges UK prices. It's possible to buy 6 bottles at a time, which keeps the delivery charge to a minimum. Also, in theory I shouldn't pay VAT as I am now outside the EU. If my calculations are correct, I would be liable for a 15.7701c/litre Alcoholic and Liquor Advisory Council (ALAC) Levy and GST, but on 6 bottles the total price comes down to just over $50, which even at $2 to the pound, works out at £25, which is a much more palatable price. Naturally I will need to check out whether this idea is actually going to float, or whether I'm stuck cursing my luck. Please note - all visitors must arrive with a bottle of Frog, if they wish to stay.
On a more unsavoury note, Craig's jacket got stolen from the pub adjacent to where he works. Apparently he left it on the seat while he went to the loo and it had disappeared when he returned. Fortunately there was nothing in any of the pockets, so it's more annoyance than anything else.
Saturday, 24 October 2009
2 Hour Break
Rhiannon's arm wasn't much better this morning, so I drove her to hospital in Greerton to get it checked out. We wanted to avoid all the Saturday morning rugby injuries that we suspected would start piling up if we left it too late. We were seen very quickly by the triage nurse and then endured various waits while other nurses and doctors probed and prodded and X-rayed. Fortunately the hospital does not have to wait a week like the dentist for X-rays. The X-ray was inconclusive - there was a "blood effusion" into the elbow joint consistent with a fracture, but they couldn't see anything. We were advised that an appointment with the fracture clinic would be arranged next week for another X-ray which would hopefully shed a little more radiation on the matter.
Overall we were there a couple of hours or so. An interesting assortment of people turned up while we were there - a fat Maori woman with her son who was "coughing up blood", the bloke who had been bitten by a dog while trying to eject it from his garden, a whole family of emotional Indians wailing over some one's cling film wrapped foot, a freshly wounded cyclist and an an assortment of other minor ailments.
Later we walked along the beach into the Mount. The kids were fascinated by the millions of mussels/cockles sticking out of the sand and were pulling them out and squeezing them together before they could retract their "tongues". Freya found a dead starfish and several dead anemones. A little further on, Freya managed to stub her toe quite badly and pulled all the skin off. Fortunately a neighbouring householder provided a bag of ice and some plasters. The mount is quite a small place really, and it's not really a surprise that we managed to bump into Vicky and Wayne. We wandered back to theirs for a while, supped a beer or two and then nipped back home since Di and Vicky were supposed to be out on the last with Caroline.
Unfortunately by the time both the girls were dressed to kill, Caroline had cancelled. It seemed a shame to waste the faces so I dropped both of them in town and picked them up again somewhat more lubricated.
Overall we were there a couple of hours or so. An interesting assortment of people turned up while we were there - a fat Maori woman with her son who was "coughing up blood", the bloke who had been bitten by a dog while trying to eject it from his garden, a whole family of emotional Indians wailing over some one's cling film wrapped foot, a freshly wounded cyclist and an an assortment of other minor ailments.
Later we walked along the beach into the Mount. The kids were fascinated by the millions of mussels/cockles sticking out of the sand and were pulling them out and squeezing them together before they could retract their "tongues". Freya found a dead starfish and several dead anemones. A little further on, Freya managed to stub her toe quite badly and pulled all the skin off. Fortunately a neighbouring householder provided a bag of ice and some plasters. The mount is quite a small place really, and it's not really a surprise that we managed to bump into Vicky and Wayne. We wandered back to theirs for a while, supped a beer or two and then nipped back home since Di and Vicky were supposed to be out on the last with Caroline.
Unfortunately by the time both the girls were dressed to kill, Caroline had cancelled. It seemed a shame to waste the faces so I dropped both of them in town and picked them up again somewhat more lubricated.
Friday, 23 October 2009
Local Customs
Following a call from NZ Van Lines, which reiterated the conversation we'd had with NZ Customs on Thursday, we walked into the Mount and paid the customs department a visit. We coughed up the $91.75 import duty, and found out why it was so much. The GST element was $63, but then there's an import transaction fee, a MAF bio-security levy and GST on both of those.
We walked a bit further in to town and visited a cafe run by an expat who Di had got to know. A rather decent mug of tea was slurped while discussing life in NZ.
We wandered off home to pick up the kids. Later on that evening, Rhiannon managed to fall off Imogen's skate board. There was all sorts of noise and commotion, but then there generally is when Rhiannon is involved. However the blooded chin and scraped leg indicated it was more than just they usual drama. In fact it was worse than that, because she'd landed on her elbow and couldn't move it very much. It wasn't swelling up and as she could move here fingers, we put it in a sling and sent her off to bed. A large bar of chocolate seemed to help.
We walked a bit further in to town and visited a cafe run by an expat who Di had got to know. A rather decent mug of tea was slurped while discussing life in NZ.
We wandered off home to pick up the kids. Later on that evening, Rhiannon managed to fall off Imogen's skate board. There was all sorts of noise and commotion, but then there generally is when Rhiannon is involved. However the blooded chin and scraped leg indicated it was more than just they usual drama. In fact it was worse than that, because she'd landed on her elbow and couldn't move it very much. It wasn't swelling up and as she could move here fingers, we put it in a sling and sent her off to bed. A large bar of chocolate seemed to help.
Thursday, 22 October 2009
OUCH!
I fell out with Rhiannon while walking to school this morning, so I left her to it. It's not like she really needs me to do it, since it's just end of the road and turn right. It's useful exercise and it's one to one since the rest of the brood are at another school, but if she's going to give me a gob full..
I went to an interview today. It seemed to go rather well, but then they didn't ask me very much at all and most of it was explaining what they did. They asked for some more information on some of the stuff I'd done and I agreed to go home and forward it on. We'll talk again on Tuesday, Monday being labour day.
I finally had an email from Telecom about the port 25 issue. Apparently I'm using the wrong user ID in the router. They never actually told me what the original one was supposed to be, so I can claim ignorance here. Out of the box, the standard "user" and "password" values allowed me to connect so I just of left them. Apparently one needs to append ".xadsl@xtra.co.nz" to one's username (which I chose myself) and reconnect and bingo - my email woes are now fairly and squarely my own problem.
Today was Imogen's birthday. She decided she wanted a skateboard, so we took a jaunt over to Amazon in Papamoa and scored a starter board for $125. It seems reasonably robust and the wheels have decent bearings so it ought to last and remain serviceable for quite a while. Naturally, once we got it home it was tried out by all and sundry, including Freya.
There's a lot of concrete outside our house and the house next door. It slopes down from both houses towards a drain but the side effect of this is to accelerate wheeled objects quite effectively. Thus Freya took off and hurtled towards me. Unable to stop, she stepped towards the back of the board, almost breaking my leg halfway up as the board reared up. I hobbled inside and decided to leave them to it, and Freya crying.
The Inland Revenue very kindly wrote to us and promised to pay 2/3 of our rent every week. Hurrah! Technically this is child tax credit, but it's all money. They haven't back dated it to our date of arrival, so it appears that you don't get paid for the first 6 weeks. They giveth and they taketh away: NZ Customs called to say we owed them $91.75 duty. This is all on the vacuum cleaner on account of it being "new". A tip for anyone else contemplating doing the same thing - take it out of the box, plug it in switch it on, scare the kids/cat/dog and then put it in the container. This will make it "used" and not liable to GST. Don't actually use it, or you'll get all sorts of bio-security questions to wade through. They're paranoid about importing insects etc which tend to get sucked up in vacuums which is why we didn't unpack it. Damned if you do damned if you don't it seems. On the plus side, they could see from the dates of purchase I gave for the scotch, that these were more of a "wine cellar" than anything else, so there's nothing to pay. Had I purchase two crate recently it would have been a different story entirely.
We attended an open evening at Mount Intermediate school, where Imogen will be going next term. She seemed to like it, and was particularly taken with the possibility of drum lessons and also wants to play the ukulele. The school is apparently resisting pressure to merge with the Mount college, and I can see why they want to stay separate - they have a thriving school which is well equipped with lots of space. Amalgamation would reduce this considerably and having just the two years to worry about without all the high school kids muscling seems to be better.
I went to an interview today. It seemed to go rather well, but then they didn't ask me very much at all and most of it was explaining what they did. They asked for some more information on some of the stuff I'd done and I agreed to go home and forward it on. We'll talk again on Tuesday, Monday being labour day.
I finally had an email from Telecom about the port 25 issue. Apparently I'm using the wrong user ID in the router. They never actually told me what the original one was supposed to be, so I can claim ignorance here. Out of the box, the standard "user" and "password" values allowed me to connect so I just of left them. Apparently one needs to append ".xadsl@xtra.co.nz" to one's username (which I chose myself) and reconnect and bingo - my email woes are now fairly and squarely my own problem.
Today was Imogen's birthday. She decided she wanted a skateboard, so we took a jaunt over to Amazon in Papamoa and scored a starter board for $125. It seems reasonably robust and the wheels have decent bearings so it ought to last and remain serviceable for quite a while. Naturally, once we got it home it was tried out by all and sundry, including Freya.
There's a lot of concrete outside our house and the house next door. It slopes down from both houses towards a drain but the side effect of this is to accelerate wheeled objects quite effectively. Thus Freya took off and hurtled towards me. Unable to stop, she stepped towards the back of the board, almost breaking my leg halfway up as the board reared up. I hobbled inside and decided to leave them to it, and Freya crying.
The Inland Revenue very kindly wrote to us and promised to pay 2/3 of our rent every week. Hurrah! Technically this is child tax credit, but it's all money. They haven't back dated it to our date of arrival, so it appears that you don't get paid for the first 6 weeks. They giveth and they taketh away: NZ Customs called to say we owed them $91.75 duty. This is all on the vacuum cleaner on account of it being "new". A tip for anyone else contemplating doing the same thing - take it out of the box, plug it in switch it on, scare the kids/cat/dog and then put it in the container. This will make it "used" and not liable to GST. Don't actually use it, or you'll get all sorts of bio-security questions to wade through. They're paranoid about importing insects etc which tend to get sucked up in vacuums which is why we didn't unpack it. Damned if you do damned if you don't it seems. On the plus side, they could see from the dates of purchase I gave for the scotch, that these were more of a "wine cellar" than anything else, so there's nothing to pay. Had I purchase two crate recently it would have been a different story entirely.
We attended an open evening at Mount Intermediate school, where Imogen will be going next term. She seemed to like it, and was particularly taken with the possibility of drum lessons and also wants to play the ukulele. The school is apparently resisting pressure to merge with the Mount college, and I can see why they want to stay separate - they have a thriving school which is well equipped with lots of space. Amalgamation would reduce this considerably and having just the two years to worry about without all the high school kids muscling seems to be better.
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
An Interview
I spent this morning getting increasingly annoyed with Telecom broadband's paranoid blocking of anything on port 25 - meaning I am forced to use their poxy yahoo email, but only if I use their email addresses, and not the domain name I've used for the last ten years. No response to email queries and it's all damned annoying. Fortunately I was distracted by a phone call from a job agency with the prospect of an interview tomorrow. It was suggested I pop in and see them for a chat, which I duly did. Everything seemed OK, except for the salary, which was really low. I was prepared for a 40-50% drop on UK levels, but 66%? I'm beginning to think this really is a third world country.
I figured that I needed some clothes, as all I'd managed to pack was a shirt and a pair of shoes. It might not look too smart if that's all I turned up in. I went to Bayfair and raided a couple of shops and came away $200 lighter but with trousers, two shirts and a tie. We'll see tomorrow if they do the job, assuming I can summon up enough enthusiasm to be paid little more than a checkout operator working a little overtime. So much for 25 years working in IT. At this point it seems that I'm either going to have to accept peanuts, freeze in Wellington or cope with the stigma of being a "JAFA".
I figured that I needed some clothes, as all I'd managed to pack was a shirt and a pair of shoes. It might not look too smart if that's all I turned up in. I went to Bayfair and raided a couple of shops and came away $200 lighter but with trousers, two shirts and a tie. We'll see tomorrow if they do the job, assuming I can summon up enough enthusiasm to be paid little more than a checkout operator working a little overtime. So much for 25 years working in IT. At this point it seems that I'm either going to have to accept peanuts, freeze in Wellington or cope with the stigma of being a "JAFA".
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
The Wonder of Woolworths
Sam got a call first thing on Monday morning, from Woolworths in Bayfair. They had a vacancy for a part time checkout operator. She toddled off for the interview. Two ours later we got a call from her saying she'd got the job and was starting immediately. Hurrah - that's both of 'em working now. Part time apparently means 3 shifts per week, but it's a virtual certainty that she'll get extra on top of the contracted hours and could be doing as many as 50 hours a week if she wants to. The requisite IRD application was duly lodged the following day.
Di had an interesting moment with one of the mothers we met on Sunday. When she saw Di on Monday, she came bounding over, full of enthusiasm, complementing Di on being so slim after 6 kids and generally being super friendly. She was wanting Di to walk up the Mount with her Alas, Di was expecting Vicky to pop in so had to decline the offer. She appeared again this afternoon, with an exciting proposal. Apparently I could gain citizenship if I married her! The fact that I was already married and this wouldn't really help Di that much seemed to have escaped her, so keen she was to help us. I somehow doubt that we'll be taking up this generous offer any time soon.
I took Imogen to the dentist this morning. Most schools seem to have a dental clinic attached to them, but they seem rather poorly equipped, at least compared to the private dentist we used in the UK. For example, there's no "spit bowl" or any of that dubious coloured liquid they give you to rinse with, and the X-ray machine still uses photographic film which has to be sent of for processing and takes a week! Fortunately Imogen's grief seems to be down to sore gums and a salt mouthwash was recommended although the dentist had some concern about missing teeth and took a set of X-rays.
Di had an interesting moment with one of the mothers we met on Sunday. When she saw Di on Monday, she came bounding over, full of enthusiasm, complementing Di on being so slim after 6 kids and generally being super friendly. She was wanting Di to walk up the Mount with her Alas, Di was expecting Vicky to pop in so had to decline the offer. She appeared again this afternoon, with an exciting proposal. Apparently I could gain citizenship if I married her! The fact that I was already married and this wouldn't really help Di that much seemed to have escaped her, so keen she was to help us. I somehow doubt that we'll be taking up this generous offer any time soon.
I took Imogen to the dentist this morning. Most schools seem to have a dental clinic attached to them, but they seem rather poorly equipped, at least compared to the private dentist we used in the UK. For example, there's no "spit bowl" or any of that dubious coloured liquid they give you to rinse with, and the X-ray machine still uses photographic film which has to be sent of for processing and takes a week! Fortunately Imogen's grief seems to be down to sore gums and a salt mouthwash was recommended although the dentist had some concern about missing teeth and took a set of X-rays.
Sunday, 18 October 2009
Daylight Robbery
Nothing particularly spectacular has occurred in the last couple of days. We received IRD numbers in the post for all the kids. The kids are still getting on OK at school. Rhiannon has been moved up to a different maths group which is apparently taken by the deputy head. There are only about 10 in this group, so she ought to do very well.
We volunteered to count some "money" at the Primary on Sunday morning. They had a range of times when you could go in. I was a bit bemused that they'd need that many people but it turns out that it wasn't real money. It was in fact "BBQ Bucks", tokens used at various school functions throughout the year. Apparently it's a dodge to get round licencing laws that prevent beer being "sold" - but you can give it away and if you get given some worthless tokens in exchange, then that's just great. Tokens are of course purchased well in advance, so uninvited guests can't turn up out of the blue and cause a nuisance. We were rewarded for our work with a pie and a bun. Freya took the largest chocolate muffin you could imagine, but sadly I had to finish it for her.
I discovered to my annoyance that Telecom broadband blocks the outgoing mail port. This makes it rather difficult to send mail to more than a few people (don't know exactly how many yet) but it's damned annoying. There is an opt out form which I wasted no time in filling in, but as yet it's not been enabled, even after rebooting the router, which apparently one needs to do.
We've exchanged another £2k, but for a paltry $2.12 which is daylight robbery. The market rate at the time was $2.19, but you get a rubbish rate for a small transfer. The rate is still better than it has been over the last few days, the Dollar rising on the back of the Dow Jones hitting 10,000 again, we suspect.
We had Wayne and Vicky round for some nosh and a few beers. The girls made a fuss of Harvey and Lyla and a good time was had by all. I was persuaded to play a few tunes, which probably wasn't a good idea as the beer was beginning to show but I got away with it - and being applauded by a one year old made it all worth while.
We volunteered to count some "money" at the Primary on Sunday morning. They had a range of times when you could go in. I was a bit bemused that they'd need that many people but it turns out that it wasn't real money. It was in fact "BBQ Bucks", tokens used at various school functions throughout the year. Apparently it's a dodge to get round licencing laws that prevent beer being "sold" - but you can give it away and if you get given some worthless tokens in exchange, then that's just great. Tokens are of course purchased well in advance, so uninvited guests can't turn up out of the blue and cause a nuisance. We were rewarded for our work with a pie and a bun. Freya took the largest chocolate muffin you could imagine, but sadly I had to finish it for her.
I discovered to my annoyance that Telecom broadband blocks the outgoing mail port. This makes it rather difficult to send mail to more than a few people (don't know exactly how many yet) but it's damned annoying. There is an opt out form which I wasted no time in filling in, but as yet it's not been enabled, even after rebooting the router, which apparently one needs to do.
We've exchanged another £2k, but for a paltry $2.12 which is daylight robbery. The market rate at the time was $2.19, but you get a rubbish rate for a small transfer. The rate is still better than it has been over the last few days, the Dollar rising on the back of the Dow Jones hitting 10,000 again, we suspect.
We had Wayne and Vicky round for some nosh and a few beers. The girls made a fuss of Harvey and Lyla and a good time was had by all. I was persuaded to play a few tunes, which probably wasn't a good idea as the beer was beginning to show but I got away with it - and being applauded by a one year old made it all worth while.
Thursday, 15 October 2009
A Letter In The Post
I had a phone call from the tax people yesterday. Apparently the copy of the residence visa in the passports wasn't quite what they wanted. They needed the bit that showed the "residence permit", which apparently is the stamp applied by immigration when we landed, and in all cases is adjacent to the returning resident's visa which is stuck in the passport. Out came the digital camera and more photos were "scanned" by having Di hold the passports against the window while I went outside to photograph them. Don't knock it, it works and there are no odd fingers holding the pages open, which avoids all that tarting about with Photoshop. However before we faxed these over, a quick call to another Inland Revenue department revealed that they had indeed managed to allocate IRD numbers for the kids in 5 working days, and so we were able to quote these on the fax. Another call was received this morning confirming that they had everything they needed and that we would be getting a letter confirming our entitlement. The woman stressed that it was important to let them know when we start work, since more than 30 hours carries a different tax credit as well. It was again impressive that we were being chased up so that the government could give us money and that they were so helpful in the process, a point I made to the woman on the phone, who was appreciative.
The interview with the job agency wasn't particularly earth shattering and they have not a lot on their books right now. They had apparently already been contacted by the other agency I saw a couple of weeks ago, so it looks as if the balls are indeed starting to roll. I also had an email from a company that I found on the web who are local and do a lot of Linux work. They haven't any jobs just yet, but they wanted to have a chat anyway, so I'm going to see them on Monday afternoon.
Craig survived his first day at work, which was busy despite the inclement weather which has set in for the week. His only faux pas was to use the wrong coulis on one sweet. Nothing was burnt or sent back and as far as he knows no one complained. He's already begun sniffing around the waitresses and asking whether he count stay in the Mount if we had to move to Wellington or elsewhere if no jobs turn up here.
I have also upgraded our broadband to 20GB data allowance. The 3GB allowance simply was not going to work since it's not just office hours and also includes uploads. In the UK we managed on 2GB during office hours, 100GB off peak and unlimited uploads. Also the upload speed of the 3GB plan was pegged at 128K, which is rather sluggish. I have to say I've not noticed much of a speed increase, but at least it won't drop to dial-up speed when the data allowance is used up prematurely.
The interview with the job agency wasn't particularly earth shattering and they have not a lot on their books right now. They had apparently already been contacted by the other agency I saw a couple of weeks ago, so it looks as if the balls are indeed starting to roll. I also had an email from a company that I found on the web who are local and do a lot of Linux work. They haven't any jobs just yet, but they wanted to have a chat anyway, so I'm going to see them on Monday afternoon.
Craig survived his first day at work, which was busy despite the inclement weather which has set in for the week. His only faux pas was to use the wrong coulis on one sweet. Nothing was burnt or sent back and as far as he knows no one complained. He's already begun sniffing around the waitresses and asking whether he count stay in the Mount if we had to move to Wellington or elsewhere if no jobs turn up here.
I have also upgraded our broadband to 20GB data allowance. The 3GB allowance simply was not going to work since it's not just office hours and also includes uploads. In the UK we managed on 2GB during office hours, 100GB off peak and unlimited uploads. Also the upload speed of the 3GB plan was pegged at 128K, which is rather sluggish. I have to say I've not noticed much of a speed increase, but at least it won't drop to dial-up speed when the data allowance is used up prematurely.
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
Out of the Mouths of Babes
Craig accepted his job offer yesterday and promptly marched off down to the Kiwi Bank armed with his passport and letter of employment which allow him to request an IRD number. Hs first shift is on Thursday. No luck finding anyone else a job yet. There appears to be something of a dearth of IT related work in this neck of the woods. Sam is also being a little too choosy which is causing a bit of friction. Phoebe added to this by telling her to "just get a job".
The recruitment agency I went to see a couple of weeks back have apparently circulated my details to "almost all ICT (and related) businesses in the bay". We will see what drops out. I have also sent a couple of CV's out to a couple of places and I'm seeing another agency tomorrow. I have to admit to feeling somewhat bored and at a loose end right now. I've not been this idle since I was a student - and that takes some doing. On the plus side, I've learnt and committed two more pieces of music to memory and I *will* learn Rondo Rodeo if it kills me.
We've all just finished watching season one of The Fringe, which seems like a cross between Lost and the X Files. Not sure if it's aired in the UK, but it's worth a look if it appears.
The girls are setting in at school. Rhiannon appears to have hooked up with three other girls, has come second in a sprint race, joint first in a ukulele lesson and 2nd in a maths test which has apparently resulted in a change of maths class. She's also decided to go to the forthcoming school camp in Wellington at the insistence of her new friends, so we will be loosing here for a week. There is a god...Imogen has made quite a few friends, but seems to hate school itself (no change there). She's such a lazy bones and detests doing anything that involves more than minimal effort. Getting her to do her homework is a challenge and is frequently a battle of wills. The littl'uns have made lots of friends too, and really enjoy the national anthem singing and the "jump jam" aerobic work out that they do every morning. I believe playing the Madagascar theme music may have been an error that they won't repeat, such was the enthusiasm of the participation.
I rang the AA insurance bods to report our new address. It seems that as the Mirth Mobile is now garaged when not in use, I can expect a $20 refund on the premium. The bad news is that they're sending a cheque and this will cost a few cents to deposit. No such thing as free banking in NZ, although to be fair Westpac have only charged $10 each for the two debit cards so far.
The waste disposal thingy continues to provide amusement. Di dropped a spoon in it while it was doing its thing. Fortunately it landed cheap plastic handle down in the grindy bit and didn't do any damage. It merely sat in the mechanism and spun round with the spoon bit flinging all the teabags around the sink with the occasional one attaining escape velocity.
The recruitment agency I went to see a couple of weeks back have apparently circulated my details to "almost all ICT (and related) businesses in the bay". We will see what drops out. I have also sent a couple of CV's out to a couple of places and I'm seeing another agency tomorrow. I have to admit to feeling somewhat bored and at a loose end right now. I've not been this idle since I was a student - and that takes some doing. On the plus side, I've learnt and committed two more pieces of music to memory and I *will* learn Rondo Rodeo if it kills me.
We've all just finished watching season one of The Fringe, which seems like a cross between Lost and the X Files. Not sure if it's aired in the UK, but it's worth a look if it appears.
The girls are setting in at school. Rhiannon appears to have hooked up with three other girls, has come second in a sprint race, joint first in a ukulele lesson and 2nd in a maths test which has apparently resulted in a change of maths class. She's also decided to go to the forthcoming school camp in Wellington at the insistence of her new friends, so we will be loosing here for a week. There is a god...Imogen has made quite a few friends, but seems to hate school itself (no change there). She's such a lazy bones and detests doing anything that involves more than minimal effort. Getting her to do her homework is a challenge and is frequently a battle of wills. The littl'uns have made lots of friends too, and really enjoy the national anthem singing and the "jump jam" aerobic work out that they do every morning. I believe playing the Madagascar theme music may have been an error that they won't repeat, such was the enthusiasm of the participation.
I rang the AA insurance bods to report our new address. It seems that as the Mirth Mobile is now garaged when not in use, I can expect a $20 refund on the premium. The bad news is that they're sending a cheque and this will cost a few cents to deposit. No such thing as free banking in NZ, although to be fair Westpac have only charged $10 each for the two debit cards so far.
The waste disposal thingy continues to provide amusement. Di dropped a spoon in it while it was doing its thing. Fortunately it landed cheap plastic handle down in the grindy bit and didn't do any damage. It merely sat in the mechanism and spun round with the spoon bit flinging all the teabags around the sink with the occasional one attaining escape velocity.
Monday, 12 October 2009
Sofa So Good
It's Monday, and the first day of the new term for all the kids. Finally some peace and quiet! We set various alarms to ring at 7AM and woke and fussed and panicked and generally went through the chaos that happens when you need to get four unwilling little bodies out of the door early in the morning. Both schools are within walking distance, so there was no need to fire up the Mirth Mobile. I was tasked with aiding and abetting Rhiannon's transit to Mount Intermediate while Di took the rest to Mount Junior.
Despite having looked on the map, it became apparent as we walked up the road that we were heading in the wrong direction. Either that or all the kids with uniform were. Hmm. I was silently thankful that the Intermediate school kids do wear uniform! I decided that we ought to follow them, and then I asked for some directions, much to the amusement of Rhiannon (who subscribes to the men-don't-ask-for-help myth) just to confirm that we were indeed going the right way. We arrived on time and I deposited Rhiannon in reception where the deputy head girl took her off to class. Thinking through my mistake, I had mixed up the schools and was heading to the primary, not the intermediate.
Vicky popped in to check out our place, since she was round the corner at a toddler group so as Di had popped out to check the jobs board at the backpacker's hostel, it was down to me to make the tea. Di appeared not long afterwards and I left them both gassing. They were temporarily reseated as our replacement suite arrived and the old one removed. None of the kids noticed the change later on.
Di picked up the little girls and I wandered back to the top of the road to wait for Rhiannon. I had instructions from Di not to make my presence too obvious for fear of embarrassing Rhiannon if she had a friend in tow. Sadly, she didn't and was reduced to walking home with me. She wouldn't talk much, but I did get her to admit that the lessons were better than the UK, and overall she enjoyed it more. The only thing really bugging her is not having any mates yet. Once she has, I reckon she'll be OK. The others seemed to take it all in their stride, even Phoebe who had to be peeled off Di's leg first thing in the morning.
Craig had a phone call from a local restaurant asking him to come in for a trial this evening. I duly deposited him "down the Mount" and he appeared two hours later with a verbal offer of employment. He's not sure it's really what he wants, as it's really only one step up from Burger King, i.e. a set menu involving a lot of frying and grilling, but the important thing is it will give him experience in a pressured environment which he can then take to a proper sous-chef position else where. Also it means I get to extract house keeping from him. Huzzah!
I had an email from another agency wanting to fix up an interview on Thursday, so I agreed to pop in and see what they have to offer. It's still a long way from an actual job, but two agencies working for me is better than one.
Despite having looked on the map, it became apparent as we walked up the road that we were heading in the wrong direction. Either that or all the kids with uniform were. Hmm. I was silently thankful that the Intermediate school kids do wear uniform! I decided that we ought to follow them, and then I asked for some directions, much to the amusement of Rhiannon (who subscribes to the men-don't-ask-for-help myth) just to confirm that we were indeed going the right way. We arrived on time and I deposited Rhiannon in reception where the deputy head girl took her off to class. Thinking through my mistake, I had mixed up the schools and was heading to the primary, not the intermediate.
Vicky popped in to check out our place, since she was round the corner at a toddler group so as Di had popped out to check the jobs board at the backpacker's hostel, it was down to me to make the tea. Di appeared not long afterwards and I left them both gassing. They were temporarily reseated as our replacement suite arrived and the old one removed. None of the kids noticed the change later on.
Di picked up the little girls and I wandered back to the top of the road to wait for Rhiannon. I had instructions from Di not to make my presence too obvious for fear of embarrassing Rhiannon if she had a friend in tow. Sadly, she didn't and was reduced to walking home with me. She wouldn't talk much, but I did get her to admit that the lessons were better than the UK, and overall she enjoyed it more. The only thing really bugging her is not having any mates yet. Once she has, I reckon she'll be OK. The others seemed to take it all in their stride, even Phoebe who had to be peeled off Di's leg first thing in the morning.
Craig had a phone call from a local restaurant asking him to come in for a trial this evening. I duly deposited him "down the Mount" and he appeared two hours later with a verbal offer of employment. He's not sure it's really what he wants, as it's really only one step up from Burger King, i.e. a set menu involving a lot of frying and grilling, but the important thing is it will give him experience in a pressured environment which he can then take to a proper sous-chef position else where. Also it means I get to extract house keeping from him. Huzzah!
I had an email from another agency wanting to fix up an interview on Thursday, so I agreed to pop in and see what they have to offer. It's still a long way from an actual job, but two agencies working for me is better than one.
Sunday, 11 October 2009
BBQ Time
As predicted by the weather people, today was a glorious day. Bright and sunny with not too much wind and without being overpoweringly hot either. After yesterday's vigorous activities we all slept in rather late. We checked up with Wayne and Vicky, who we had planned to meet on the beach for a BBQ. We were on.
We went to Countdown in Bayfair and scored a large amount of shopping and various salad and bread related nosebag for the BBQ. We went to Farmer Jones Meat Market and picked up some BBQ steak, and some burgers.
Down to Wayne & Vicky, who live much closer to the mount than we do, and just yards from the beach. Mount Maunganui beach has several permanent barbecues which are free for anyone to use and are gas powered. You just press the button, the gas lights and it runs for 8 minutes before you need to press again. These worked like a charm, all the food was done to perfection and was consumed immediately. The rest of the afternoon was spent lazing on the beach, soaking up the sun and feeling a little too fat. Roll on summer.
The kids go back to school tomorrow, so we're going to have an early start which may come as a shock after today's lie in.
We went to Countdown in Bayfair and scored a large amount of shopping and various salad and bread related nosebag for the BBQ. We went to Farmer Jones Meat Market and picked up some BBQ steak, and some burgers.
Down to Wayne & Vicky, who live much closer to the mount than we do, and just yards from the beach. Mount Maunganui beach has several permanent barbecues which are free for anyone to use and are gas powered. You just press the button, the gas lights and it runs for 8 minutes before you need to press again. These worked like a charm, all the food was done to perfection and was consumed immediately. The rest of the afternoon was spent lazing on the beach, soaking up the sun and feeling a little too fat. Roll on summer.
The kids go back to school tomorrow, so we're going to have an early start which may come as a shock after today's lie in.
Saturday, 10 October 2009
Puffed Out Poms
Nice weather again this morning, so I went for a run on the beach. This time I took the Garmin so that I had an idea of how far I'd gone. Managed 10K, but only just. Running on sand is I think much harder than tarmac. Well it is if you're gravitationally challenged since you expend a lot of energy digging in and pulling out of the sand. Nice scenery though.
After I got back, Di had decided we were going to climb up to the top of Mount Maunganui. It took around 40 minutes to walk there, at which point Sam and Rhiannon wimped out of the climb. It took about40 minutes climbing some very steep steps to get to the top. Poor Di's level of fitness is nowhere near mine and she required frequent stops and gentle posterior pressure to get her up to the top. We managed eventually, and the view was fantastic. Di's feet had suffered though, and were rather badly blistered. The really annoying thing is the number of nutters who were running up to the top and down again. I can't say I was inclined to have a go myself though. The journey downwards was far less strenuous, although it was necessary to watch where you put your feet as the surface was rather slippery.
Sadly we ended up in Burger King after all this exertion but did manage to score 10% AA member discount. After this we wandered off to one of the kids' play parks and bumped into some friends of ours who we'd been trying to get hold of with a view to fixing up a barby or something. We went back to theirs and polished off a few beers and decided that a barby on the beach would indeed be good for tomorrow assuming the weather was up to it - the forecast is good.
After I got back, Di had decided we were going to climb up to the top of Mount Maunganui. It took around 40 minutes to walk there, at which point Sam and Rhiannon wimped out of the climb. It took about40 minutes climbing some very steep steps to get to the top. Poor Di's level of fitness is nowhere near mine and she required frequent stops and gentle posterior pressure to get her up to the top. We managed eventually, and the view was fantastic. Di's feet had suffered though, and were rather badly blistered. The really annoying thing is the number of nutters who were running up to the top and down again. I can't say I was inclined to have a go myself though. The journey downwards was far less strenuous, although it was necessary to watch where you put your feet as the surface was rather slippery.Sadly we ended up in Burger King after all this exertion but did manage to score 10% AA member discount. After this we wandered off to one of the kids' play parks and bumped into some friends of ours who we'd been trying to get hold of with a view to fixing up a barby or something. We went back to theirs and polished off a few beers and decided that a barby on the beach would indeed be good for tomorrow assuming the weather was up to it - the forecast is good.
Friday, 9 October 2009
Knickers
Our return visit to the outlet went without hitch. The manager didn't even try to argue about the suite and offered us a replacement. It was a similar style and I'm a little apprehensive that it's manufactured to similar standards, but we'll have to see I suppose. The suite swap takes place on Monday. On the plus side, it was a little more expensive but we got it for the same price.
Di was having trouble finding her one and only gold bangle. Phoebe and Freya both borrow it on occasion but efforts to make them 'fess up about its location drew a blank. We even went so far as to ring up the resort on the off chance that it had been found by the cleaners as Di could not recall wearing it since we moved. No trace at the resort, although there was apparently some mail for us. We headed off to Papamoa to pick it up, only to find that the two letters were notifications of our IRD numbers. There's obviously room for improvement in the postal system, since the letters were dated 26th September yet it takes them until the 9th October to show up. Having said that, there are lots of posties zooming around rather manically on pushbikes and mopeds, even in the foul weather we've been having of late. I can understand them hiding and not delivering on days like this.
When we got back, the bangle search continued, only for excited shouts to emanate from the bottom of a suitcase. Apparently said bangle had managed to secrete itself within a pair of knickers. There's a fair chance that this would happen, given the number of women lurking in this house. Anything missing from now on will start with an underwear inspection.
The new towels are giving grief. Despite having washed them a couple of times prior to pressing them into service, they continue to shed little bits of red fluff. In the bathroom this morning, all this fluff interlaced with residual shaving foam made me look like a bomb damaged Santa Claus, and it's only October.
Di was having trouble finding her one and only gold bangle. Phoebe and Freya both borrow it on occasion but efforts to make them 'fess up about its location drew a blank. We even went so far as to ring up the resort on the off chance that it had been found by the cleaners as Di could not recall wearing it since we moved. No trace at the resort, although there was apparently some mail for us. We headed off to Papamoa to pick it up, only to find that the two letters were notifications of our IRD numbers. There's obviously room for improvement in the postal system, since the letters were dated 26th September yet it takes them until the 9th October to show up. Having said that, there are lots of posties zooming around rather manically on pushbikes and mopeds, even in the foul weather we've been having of late. I can understand them hiding and not delivering on days like this.
When we got back, the bangle search continued, only for excited shouts to emanate from the bottom of a suitcase. Apparently said bangle had managed to secrete itself within a pair of knickers. There's a fair chance that this would happen, given the number of women lurking in this house. Anything missing from now on will start with an underwear inspection.
The new towels are giving grief. Despite having washed them a couple of times prior to pressing them into service, they continue to shed little bits of red fluff. In the bathroom this morning, all this fluff interlaced with residual shaving foam made me look like a bomb damaged Santa Claus, and it's only October.
Thursday, 8 October 2009
Hoki Dokey
We got a call from the tax office this morning, telling us that our claim for child benefit would be processed more quickly if we faxed through copies of the residence visas. I was a little taken aback that a government department would be that helpful on its own initiative. I simply couldn't imagine it happening in Blighty. Alas they couldn't accept email, it had to be a fax. It's not easy to fax a passport without copying it first, so I foresaw a trip into town. But then I thought I might try faxing from the laptop. I had annoyingly forgotten to pack a modem lead, but fortunately, I found I could take the house phone to bits and plug that lead into the laptop. Once that little hiccup was resolved, I whipped out the digital camera and zapped the required visas, inserted all the images in an openoffice document and faxed it. It seemed to go through OK, but time will tell.
We received an invoice from TrustPower, who wanted us to pay a $150 bond. Apparently we get this back in a year's time when we've proved we're credit worthy. It's a pain to have to lay this amount out, but that's they way it's done over here.
I tried to increase our data limit on the broadand with Telecom. The online form refused to accept my details, so I had to ring up. Alas the person I spoke to thoroughly confused me with talk of credits and back charges and all sorts of nonsense and basically said it would be better to do it at the end of the month. Not a very impressive experience. The guy wasn't a Kiwi and I began to wonder if NZ has it's own version of the much maligned Indian call centre.
We managed to get Rhiannon a pair of gym shoes from Rebel Sports! After a lot of mucking about and trying on different sizes, we finally found a set of pink ones in the reduced section for $40. We had been looking at anything up to $200, so $40 was a bonus. Di managed to find a couple of back packs as well, and was cheeky enough to get one reduced due to a small stain.
We've had some trouble with the sofas. First Di lent on one of the arms and it made a loud cracking sound and now has a dent in it. The chap from the outlet came out and had a look at it and said he'd be in touch with the manufacturer. Then this evening, Imogen did the same on the two seater. Hmm. I suspect the whole thing isn't very well built and we may have to send it back whence it came. I checked up on the appropriate legislation and it does appear to be quite similar to the UK so we should be able to get a refund or a replacement easily.
This evening, being Thursday, we had hoki and chips for tea. A very delicately flavoured and succulent fish. Yum. Also I had to take the waste disposal to bits since it seemed to have choked on all the spud peelings. When I had it apart, it was clear that banana skins don't get chopped up, they just turn into a big knotted mass that bungs the pipes up. Guess bananas will have to go in the bin from now one.
Craig has a trial at a restaurant tomorrow morning at 8AM. We think he's doing breakfast and if successful he could be the first one working.
We received an invoice from TrustPower, who wanted us to pay a $150 bond. Apparently we get this back in a year's time when we've proved we're credit worthy. It's a pain to have to lay this amount out, but that's they way it's done over here.
I tried to increase our data limit on the broadand with Telecom. The online form refused to accept my details, so I had to ring up. Alas the person I spoke to thoroughly confused me with talk of credits and back charges and all sorts of nonsense and basically said it would be better to do it at the end of the month. Not a very impressive experience. The guy wasn't a Kiwi and I began to wonder if NZ has it's own version of the much maligned Indian call centre.
We managed to get Rhiannon a pair of gym shoes from Rebel Sports! After a lot of mucking about and trying on different sizes, we finally found a set of pink ones in the reduced section for $40. We had been looking at anything up to $200, so $40 was a bonus. Di managed to find a couple of back packs as well, and was cheeky enough to get one reduced due to a small stain.
We've had some trouble with the sofas. First Di lent on one of the arms and it made a loud cracking sound and now has a dent in it. The chap from the outlet came out and had a look at it and said he'd be in touch with the manufacturer. Then this evening, Imogen did the same on the two seater. Hmm. I suspect the whole thing isn't very well built and we may have to send it back whence it came. I checked up on the appropriate legislation and it does appear to be quite similar to the UK so we should be able to get a refund or a replacement easily.
This evening, being Thursday, we had hoki and chips for tea. A very delicately flavoured and succulent fish. Yum. Also I had to take the waste disposal to bits since it seemed to have choked on all the spud peelings. When I had it apart, it was clear that banana skins don't get chopped up, they just turn into a big knotted mass that bungs the pipes up. Guess bananas will have to go in the bin from now one.
Craig has a trial at a restaurant tomorrow morning at 8AM. We think he's doing breakfast and if successful he could be the first one working.
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
The Numbers of The Beasts
Another nice day, and I actually managed to get out for a run along the beach. It seems like a lot of hard work these days. Either I'm getting old or fat (probably both) or the gravity on this part of the planet is greater. This latter theory does have some merit as the Earth's crust is undoubtedly thinner here, which puts me closer to the core and thus the inverse square that is gravitational attraction works against me.
It's a little harsh describing my little darlings as beasts, although to be honest they do have their moments. Having successfully acquired our IRD numbers, we needed to use them to get IRD numbers for the kids so that we can claim for child benefit. We filled in all the forms and jollied down to Bayfair and visited the Kiwibank. Kiwibank is one of the approved places to get your paperwork checked, as is the AA. They didn't have a photocopier we could use so we had to get all of our documents copied in InkWorks. Back to Kiwibank and we monopolised the place for about 15 minutes while everything was checked and stamped. A minor hiccup - I had only brought my passport and had to leg it back to the car for my driving licence (it's pretty much compulsory to carry it if you're driving) in order to prove I really was me. Apparently I am, which is either worrying or a relief, depending if you're me or not. I'll stop there, as there's a risk of a circular argument. After all the stamping, they handed us four envelopes with all the paper work in and told us to post them.
We went into K-Mart to look for some training shoes for Rhiannon and Imogen. Imogen was easy to sort out, with a pair of pink pumps for $30. While we were there we scored 4 lunch boxes for school next week. Poor Rhiannon was another story, her large feet being well past the sizes of most of the women's section. we were forced to look at the men's. She went off in a strop even though we'd found some white/black ones that looked rather inoffensive. We tried a more upmarket shop, they offered us a pair that cost $120. I nearly died of shock. Fortunately even they were too small. We'll have to shop around tomorrow.
We also visited Farmers since Di had decided two large towels on top of the beach towels we had taken with us were not enough. We bought a couple for $20. I also picked up a chopping board since I was getting fed up chopping vegetables on piles of newspaper.
We had a visit from our rental agent to check out the TV aerial or lack of it. According to the landlord, the house should have one. Hmm. It would appear that a previous tenant has replaced it with a Sky dish. The agent went away to report back.
Di had been having trouble with her Visa debit card and couldn't manage to get the TradeMe website to take it. After a call to Westpac, it transpired it hadn't been properly activated although it works just fine as an EFTPOS card. She was then able to score a microwave oven from someone on TradeMe claiming to be on the Mount. It was actually Domain Road, Papamoa but it was a worthwhile trip as the thing was only $30 and seems to work just fine, although it's a little basic. A pleasant enough drive in the dark, and we took Highway 2 on the way back enabling me to blast the Mirth Mobile up to (over ;-)) 100KM/h, which is something I've been itching to do for a while. I try not to be a hooligan, but sometimes you have to scratch that itch.
It's a little harsh describing my little darlings as beasts, although to be honest they do have their moments. Having successfully acquired our IRD numbers, we needed to use them to get IRD numbers for the kids so that we can claim for child benefit. We filled in all the forms and jollied down to Bayfair and visited the Kiwibank. Kiwibank is one of the approved places to get your paperwork checked, as is the AA. They didn't have a photocopier we could use so we had to get all of our documents copied in InkWorks. Back to Kiwibank and we monopolised the place for about 15 minutes while everything was checked and stamped. A minor hiccup - I had only brought my passport and had to leg it back to the car for my driving licence (it's pretty much compulsory to carry it if you're driving) in order to prove I really was me. Apparently I am, which is either worrying or a relief, depending if you're me or not. I'll stop there, as there's a risk of a circular argument. After all the stamping, they handed us four envelopes with all the paper work in and told us to post them.
We went into K-Mart to look for some training shoes for Rhiannon and Imogen. Imogen was easy to sort out, with a pair of pink pumps for $30. While we were there we scored 4 lunch boxes for school next week. Poor Rhiannon was another story, her large feet being well past the sizes of most of the women's section. we were forced to look at the men's. She went off in a strop even though we'd found some white/black ones that looked rather inoffensive. We tried a more upmarket shop, they offered us a pair that cost $120. I nearly died of shock. Fortunately even they were too small. We'll have to shop around tomorrow.
We also visited Farmers since Di had decided two large towels on top of the beach towels we had taken with us were not enough. We bought a couple for $20. I also picked up a chopping board since I was getting fed up chopping vegetables on piles of newspaper.
We had a visit from our rental agent to check out the TV aerial or lack of it. According to the landlord, the house should have one. Hmm. It would appear that a previous tenant has replaced it with a Sky dish. The agent went away to report back.
Di had been having trouble with her Visa debit card and couldn't manage to get the TradeMe website to take it. After a call to Westpac, it transpired it hadn't been properly activated although it works just fine as an EFTPOS card. She was then able to score a microwave oven from someone on TradeMe claiming to be on the Mount. It was actually Domain Road, Papamoa but it was a worthwhile trip as the thing was only $30 and seems to work just fine, although it's a little basic. A pleasant enough drive in the dark, and we took Highway 2 on the way back enabling me to blast the Mirth Mobile up to (over ;-)) 100KM/h, which is something I've been itching to do for a while. I try not to be a hooligan, but sometimes you have to scratch that itch.
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
I Am Not a Number
Thankfully today was a lot warmer than yesterday and the brass monkey's demeanour of testicular apprehension has faded. It's still not massively warm, however.
We took a trip up to Papamoa to recover two saucepans Di had bought at a car boot sale but we'd inadvertently left in the apartment. There was still no sign of our IRD (tax) numbers, so when we got home, I rang the tax office to find out what the score was.
Dealing with government departments in the UK is generally a nightmare. Over here it seems quite straightforward and you generally get through to someone who knows what they're doing pretty quick. Both of us have got IRD numbers, and we were able to change our address over the phone. Similarly when I rang the land transport office I was able to change the address on the Mirth Mobile's registration document very easily and with a minimum of fuss. It would have been easier if the online form had allowed me to do it, but as it's tied to the driving licence which I did not have when I bought the car, I guess it's understandable.
Using our new IRD numbers, we were able to put in a claim for the NZ equivalent of child benefit which varies with income. As we currently have no income and lots of children, the estimate is $266 per week.
We took a trip up to Papamoa to recover two saucepans Di had bought at a car boot sale but we'd inadvertently left in the apartment. There was still no sign of our IRD (tax) numbers, so when we got home, I rang the tax office to find out what the score was.
Dealing with government departments in the UK is generally a nightmare. Over here it seems quite straightforward and you generally get through to someone who knows what they're doing pretty quick. Both of us have got IRD numbers, and we were able to change our address over the phone. Similarly when I rang the land transport office I was able to change the address on the Mirth Mobile's registration document very easily and with a minimum of fuss. It would have been easier if the online form had allowed me to do it, but as it's tied to the driving licence which I did not have when I bought the car, I guess it's understandable.
Using our new IRD numbers, we were able to put in a claim for the NZ equivalent of child benefit which varies with income. As we currently have no income and lots of children, the estimate is $266 per week.
Monday, 5 October 2009
Uniformly Unseasonally Knobless
This morning was another miserable wet day. It's real "Pom" weather and the joke about us bringing it with us is beginning to wear thin. It's also quite cold and as the house has no heating apart from a couple of heating lamps in the bathrooms, everyone was complaining about being cold. The weather NZ is currently experiencing is apparently much more typical of winter and allegedly it's the most snow they've seen in central northland for 20 years. There's none here though, but it is damn cold.
We Skyped mother back in the UK. The new broadband connection seems to be much better than the free hot spot, which is not really a surprise. Mum was quite impressed by the house - I walked round with the laptop and gave her the virtual tour including a demo of the garage door.
We went into Tauranga to kit Rhiannon out for school which starts next week. $220 and 20 minutes later we emerged with the requisite attire, including the tartan green culottes, much to the chagrin of Rhiannon, who finds them completely anti-fashion. They're actually not that bad really, and as all the girls will be wearing them, there's unlikely to be any mickey taking.
Having sorted Rhiannon out (the rest are at Mount Primary, which has no uniform) we stopped off for a coffee and decided to try and find a fan heater or something similar. Unfortunately all the stores had recently flogged off all this sort of stuff in various spring sales, and anything resembling an electric fire was conspicuous by its absence. Di vaguely recalled seeing a pile of heaters in one of the many shops she'd visited recently, so having exhausted most of the shops in Tauranga, we went home to deposit Rhiannon who was beginning to protest. Craig seemed to thing the heaters had been seen in the Warehouse in Papamoa and a quick phone call indicated that this was indeed correct but that they were selling fast. We headed over and managed to score a radiant heater and a radiator style item. They were both reduced and we managed to get them for $30 the pair. This seemed quite good until we realised after we'd got them home that one was missing a knob which makes it impossible to turn the power up. It seems to be stuck on minimum but it has taken the chill off the hallway.
We Skyped mother back in the UK. The new broadband connection seems to be much better than the free hot spot, which is not really a surprise. Mum was quite impressed by the house - I walked round with the laptop and gave her the virtual tour including a demo of the garage door.
We went into Tauranga to kit Rhiannon out for school which starts next week. $220 and 20 minutes later we emerged with the requisite attire, including the tartan green culottes, much to the chagrin of Rhiannon, who finds them completely anti-fashion. They're actually not that bad really, and as all the girls will be wearing them, there's unlikely to be any mickey taking.
Having sorted Rhiannon out (the rest are at Mount Primary, which has no uniform) we stopped off for a coffee and decided to try and find a fan heater or something similar. Unfortunately all the stores had recently flogged off all this sort of stuff in various spring sales, and anything resembling an electric fire was conspicuous by its absence. Di vaguely recalled seeing a pile of heaters in one of the many shops she'd visited recently, so having exhausted most of the shops in Tauranga, we went home to deposit Rhiannon who was beginning to protest. Craig seemed to thing the heaters had been seen in the Warehouse in Papamoa and a quick phone call indicated that this was indeed correct but that they were selling fast. We headed over and managed to score a radiant heater and a radiator style item. They were both reduced and we managed to get them for $30 the pair. This seemed quite good until we realised after we'd got them home that one was missing a knob which makes it impossible to turn the power up. It seems to be stuck on minimum but it has taken the chill off the hallway.
Saturday, 3 October 2009
Great Auntie Di
Di's sister's son and his wife have successfully produced a baby boy this morning, which makes Di a great aunt, and I guess me a great uncle. Huzzah! All the kids become first cousins once removed. I'm curious how they become cousins when someone removes them, but I wish they'd hurry up.
We came to the conclusion, after various spillages that coping without a table and balancing dinner on the arms of our new suite wasn't going to work. Di suggested that we buy some garden furniture which we could use in the garden once our table and chairs arrived in three weeks time. We'll need something when we star barbecuing when the summer weather reaches us - it's early spring at the moment. We'd seen a table + 4 chairs advertised in a Mitre 10 catalogue that had been poked through our letterbox or fallen out of a newspaper so we headed off to Papamoa to pay them a visit. Di was thinking that a table + 4 would do, I felt differently - there are 8 of us after all so we need at least 6 chairs, 4 would be useless really. Eventually we ended up over at the Warehouse, and decided to buy a glass topped patio table with 6 chairs. The chairs were not flat packed which together with the larger table meant that the Mirth Mobile was not going to be able to get them back chez nous.
The Shell garage in Papamoa rents out trailers for $25 for two hours, so we thought that this would be a reasonable means of getting it all home. I'd never driven with a trailer before. Going forward is no problem, but reversing is like wrestling a drunken pig. The trailer immediately takes on the persona of a supermarket trolley and goes where it damn well pleases which is not in the direction you want it to, and certainly not straight back. This makes for a very interesting time when you manage to drive round a car park and find yourself in a dead end where a 5 point turn is the only way out. The only solution is to get out and unhitch the trailer. The trip make to the Mount was uneventful, unlike the assembly of the table which it transpired had been badly manufactured and had a hole drilled in the wrong place and thus one leg is secured by one bolt, not two. It all seems to hold together OK and doesn't wobble too much.
After all this excitement we walked down to the beach and then in to town. The kids played in one of the park areas, using their mother for ballast and then we went to Burger King where we managed to score 10% discount for AA membership. Di buttered up the Burger King manager and extracted an application form from him with the intention of placing it under the unsuspecting nose of Sam, who seems to need a prod every once in a while in order to motivate her.
And finally, Freya and Imogen have latched on to the fact that the town of Whakatane is prounouced with an F, and are now repeating it ad nauseum knowing they can get away with it because the man on breakfast news says it. The novelty will wear off....
We came to the conclusion, after various spillages that coping without a table and balancing dinner on the arms of our new suite wasn't going to work. Di suggested that we buy some garden furniture which we could use in the garden once our table and chairs arrived in three weeks time. We'll need something when we star barbecuing when the summer weather reaches us - it's early spring at the moment. We'd seen a table + 4 chairs advertised in a Mitre 10 catalogue that had been poked through our letterbox or fallen out of a newspaper so we headed off to Papamoa to pay them a visit. Di was thinking that a table + 4 would do, I felt differently - there are 8 of us after all so we need at least 6 chairs, 4 would be useless really. Eventually we ended up over at the Warehouse, and decided to buy a glass topped patio table with 6 chairs. The chairs were not flat packed which together with the larger table meant that the Mirth Mobile was not going to be able to get them back chez nous.
The Shell garage in Papamoa rents out trailers for $25 for two hours, so we thought that this would be a reasonable means of getting it all home. I'd never driven with a trailer before. Going forward is no problem, but reversing is like wrestling a drunken pig. The trailer immediately takes on the persona of a supermarket trolley and goes where it damn well pleases which is not in the direction you want it to, and certainly not straight back. This makes for a very interesting time when you manage to drive round a car park and find yourself in a dead end where a 5 point turn is the only way out. The only solution is to get out and unhitch the trailer. The trip make to the Mount was uneventful, unlike the assembly of the table which it transpired had been badly manufactured and had a hole drilled in the wrong place and thus one leg is secured by one bolt, not two. It all seems to hold together OK and doesn't wobble too much.
After all this excitement we walked down to the beach and then in to town. The kids played in one of the park areas, using their mother for ballast and then we went to Burger King where we managed to score 10% discount for AA membership. Di buttered up the Burger King manager and extracted an application form from him with the intention of placing it under the unsuspecting nose of Sam, who seems to need a prod every once in a while in order to motivate her.And finally, Freya and Imogen have latched on to the fact that the town of Whakatane is prounouced with an F, and are now repeating it ad nauseum knowing they can get away with it because the man on breakfast news says it. The novelty will wear off....
Friday, 2 October 2009
Satellite Solution
Today's priority, sad though it might be was to resolve the television issue. I managed to get a look in the loft by standing on our recycling wheelie bin. I couldn't see much other than lots of roof supports since the light emanating through the ceiling from the embedded spotlights wasn't brilliant. There was however half an aerial cable lying near the loft hatch and a distinct lack of anything looking like an aerial. Hmm. Di rung the agent who agreed to contact the landlord with a view to getting them to install an aerial.
I checked the download speed on the broadband, and we seem to be getting about 6MB, which is not too shabby. Strangely, the sync speed according to the router log is 18818 K/S so it looks as if the speed is being throttled somewhere. Talking of throttling, I logged on to the Telecom website to check usage, and discovered to my horror that we, or should I say Rhiannon, had used 750M in little under 24 hours. Apparently madam has been on youtube "not much" and has thus been banned from it until further notice.
We had our first visitor, Caroline who popped round for a cuppa and also brought us some spare pillows and sheets which we're going to borrow until ours arrive. She seemed quite impressed with the house, which from a rental agent has to be praise worth noting.
Having mulled over the aerial issue once more, we concluded that we could try a freeview satellite decoder. A quick google around indicated that such things are indeed available in NZ. We wandered down to Bayfair an checked out Harvey Norman. Hahahahahaha. Yeah, right, they had several, but $300 was not what we wanted to pay. Dick Smith, two shops down, had exactly the same box, but for $189. Better. Moving on a little further, we tried Noel Leeming. Again they had the same model, at $199, but also a higher spec model with extra outputs on a special offer for $199. Both Dick Smith and Noel Leeming pointed out that the satellite wouldn't give us HD like the freeview does, however as we're stuck as regards not being able to install an aerial, and this Leeming trousered $199 and we wandered back and plugged it in. Thankfully it was quite trivial to setup and worked just fine. An army of small and not so small zombies congregated to watch the ***** Disney channel. Argh!!!!! But we can get parliament TV now. Fascinating. There's nothing on. On the plus side though, we don't have to pay a TV licence fee or put up with those annoying phone calls and letters insisting we have a TV licence. Huzzah!
I checked the download speed on the broadband, and we seem to be getting about 6MB, which is not too shabby. Strangely, the sync speed according to the router log is 18818 K/S so it looks as if the speed is being throttled somewhere. Talking of throttling, I logged on to the Telecom website to check usage, and discovered to my horror that we, or should I say Rhiannon, had used 750M in little under 24 hours. Apparently madam has been on youtube "not much" and has thus been banned from it until further notice.
We had our first visitor, Caroline who popped round for a cuppa and also brought us some spare pillows and sheets which we're going to borrow until ours arrive. She seemed quite impressed with the house, which from a rental agent has to be praise worth noting.
Having mulled over the aerial issue once more, we concluded that we could try a freeview satellite decoder. A quick google around indicated that such things are indeed available in NZ. We wandered down to Bayfair an checked out Harvey Norman. Hahahahahaha. Yeah, right, they had several, but $300 was not what we wanted to pay. Dick Smith, two shops down, had exactly the same box, but for $189. Better. Moving on a little further, we tried Noel Leeming. Again they had the same model, at $199, but also a higher spec model with extra outputs on a special offer for $199. Both Dick Smith and Noel Leeming pointed out that the satellite wouldn't give us HD like the freeview does, however as we're stuck as regards not being able to install an aerial, and this Leeming trousered $199 and we wandered back and plugged it in. Thankfully it was quite trivial to setup and worked just fine. An army of small and not so small zombies congregated to watch the ***** Disney channel. Argh!!!!! But we can get parliament TV now. Fascinating. There's nothing on. On the plus side though, we don't have to pay a TV licence fee or put up with those annoying phone calls and letters insisting we have a TV licence. Huzzah!
Thursday, 1 October 2009
An Aerial View
We moved into our new house this morning. It took four trips in the car to move everything and everyone to the new house. Phoebe was most concerned that I'd left her car seat out while I was shifting all the suitcases and the bunk beds, but I promised I'd take her when there was nothing else left, which seemed to calm her down.
I was busy assembling the first of the bunk beds which had been pulled to bits in the middle of a horrendous downpour and thus needed a little concentration in the absence of any instructions, so I hadn't noticed my mobile ringing. The outlet place had been trying to confirm that we were ready for our delivery. Bring it on down I said when I rang them back. There was too much stuff for one truck, so they had to make two trips. Everything arrived and was carried in - the double bed being the most challenging, since the 4 bedrooms are arranged two either side of a narrow corridor and manoeuvring the bed through the door required it to be swung into the bathroom first.
Fortunately the fridge did indeed fit into the space in the kitchen, but it is a little bit too deep - not much but it's a couple of inches proud of where it ought to be. The major disappointment however was the TV. It arrived without an aerial lead, which necessitated a trip out to find one. We tried the Mount first, but this area seems devoid of any electrical type shop. We ended up at Bayfair, and were heading for Farmers, when we bumped into one of the beach party expats from Tuesday. She pointed us across the road to Dick Smith who were able to supply us with the required lead (same as in the UK which is annoying because I have several) for the princely sum of $13. I also picked up a cheap ($20) telephone as there wasn't one in the house.
There was a fruit and veg shop adjacent, so Di scored a massive sack of spuds for $3 and also picked up some mirror dory which was very pleasant with home made oven chips and home made batter (Craig putting his chefing skills to work!)
Having plugged the aerial into the wall socket, and then tried the other three wall sockets, there was a distinct lack of anything looking like a signal. Doing the auto tune thingy found just one analogue station, which looked like a snow storm and without sound. A quick look around the house did not reveal anything looking like an aerial, and as the house is a bungalow, the potential hiding places are limited. There is a monstrous satellite dish lurking on the roof, and its cable pokes out next to the aerial point. I'm wondering if the aerial was removed in favour of the satellite carbuncle. Our rental agent didn't know either. There is a small loft hatch in the garage which may prove worthy of further examination, however as I have neither a torch or a ladder, operations were brought to a premature end.
On a more positive note, Telecom have indeed connected our phone and it is operational for incoming and outgoing calls. Moreover, broadband is working! It wasn't supposed to be enabled until tomorrow. It's only working at a pedestrian 18K/S, which looks very much like the throttled speed they put you on when you've used up your allowance but as it's not supposed to be on at all, then I'm not minded to complain. Tomorrow may be a different story.
I was busy assembling the first of the bunk beds which had been pulled to bits in the middle of a horrendous downpour and thus needed a little concentration in the absence of any instructions, so I hadn't noticed my mobile ringing. The outlet place had been trying to confirm that we were ready for our delivery. Bring it on down I said when I rang them back. There was too much stuff for one truck, so they had to make two trips. Everything arrived and was carried in - the double bed being the most challenging, since the 4 bedrooms are arranged two either side of a narrow corridor and manoeuvring the bed through the door required it to be swung into the bathroom first.
Fortunately the fridge did indeed fit into the space in the kitchen, but it is a little bit too deep - not much but it's a couple of inches proud of where it ought to be. The major disappointment however was the TV. It arrived without an aerial lead, which necessitated a trip out to find one. We tried the Mount first, but this area seems devoid of any electrical type shop. We ended up at Bayfair, and were heading for Farmers, when we bumped into one of the beach party expats from Tuesday. She pointed us across the road to Dick Smith who were able to supply us with the required lead (same as in the UK which is annoying because I have several) for the princely sum of $13. I also picked up a cheap ($20) telephone as there wasn't one in the house.
There was a fruit and veg shop adjacent, so Di scored a massive sack of spuds for $3 and also picked up some mirror dory which was very pleasant with home made oven chips and home made batter (Craig putting his chefing skills to work!)
Having plugged the aerial into the wall socket, and then tried the other three wall sockets, there was a distinct lack of anything looking like a signal. Doing the auto tune thingy found just one analogue station, which looked like a snow storm and without sound. A quick look around the house did not reveal anything looking like an aerial, and as the house is a bungalow, the potential hiding places are limited. There is a monstrous satellite dish lurking on the roof, and its cable pokes out next to the aerial point. I'm wondering if the aerial was removed in favour of the satellite carbuncle. Our rental agent didn't know either. There is a small loft hatch in the garage which may prove worthy of further examination, however as I have neither a torch or a ladder, operations were brought to a premature end.
On a more positive note, Telecom have indeed connected our phone and it is operational for incoming and outgoing calls. Moreover, broadband is working! It wasn't supposed to be enabled until tomorrow. It's only working at a pedestrian 18K/S, which looks very much like the throttled speed they put you on when you've used up your allowance but as it's not supposed to be on at all, then I'm not minded to complain. Tomorrow may be a different story.
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