September 21st
It has been "change of routine" week this week for Nicky and I.
Nicky has started at Ranui Library, Tuesday to Friday (Saturday still at Henderson). It is a nice wee library, and she is still finding her feet with things which are specific to this library, but all is going pretty well so far. Also knowing that she is getting Sunday and Monday off makes planning easier. She is off to see Ruth Duffus tomorrow who is in hospital again having broken her other hip.
I have had my first week of reduced hours at Ubertec. I am taking Wednesday and Thursday afternoons off to make headway with being self employed again. I am going to try and get some massage work along with doing Mac support and trying to get more modelling work, but I think it is going to take time to get used to the new routine. At the moment, I get home, have lunch, and then just want to fall asleep - bit like in the evenings really!
The weather is starting to improve and I have managed some sunbathing both days this weekend. I did another modelling session at the Kumeu Art Centre on Saturday morning which was just as enjoyable as last time, even though there were fewer people. They are a very interactive bunch which just makes my job much easier.
Claire participated in a study this week of 18-20 years olds who were born prematurely. She had her body fat scanned (Rachel Cocker knows all about this), blood tests and a range of questions to answer. In recompense she was give $20 of petrol vouchers - very handy and very popular here at the moment. Even though the price of petrol is coming down, it is still significantly more expensive than when we arrived.
We had a very nice surprise in the post yesterday - a cheque for $320 from the Auckland Energy Consumer Trust. It is a dividend paid out in the old Electricity board region of Auckland agreed at the time of deregulation. We are just on the edge of the area that qualifies and I new nothing about it, but am very pleased as it will pay for most of this months' electric bill.
There is an election looming (November 8th I think) and we have all now enrolled to vote. You get two votes here, one for the party who you would like to run the government, and one for the person who you would like to represent you in Parliament. We haven't had anyone canvassing door to door yet but I shall be asking them in for a good chat if they turn up.
We have finished the week by having the new vicar round for tea. A lovely lass with Yorkshire ancestry who pronounces scones correctly.
I am still working on my "first year" missive - could take me a year to write it!
Bye for now,
Rick
PS: We have had problems with the blog updating and had to use the links on the right to see the newest items. Hope it is working OK for you.
Nicky has started at Ranui Library, Tuesday to Friday (Saturday still at Henderson). It is a nice wee library, and she is still finding her feet with things which are specific to this library, but all is going pretty well so far. Also knowing that she is getting Sunday and Monday off makes planning easier. She is off to see Ruth Duffus tomorrow who is in hospital again having broken her other hip.
I have had my first week of reduced hours at Ubertec. I am taking Wednesday and Thursday afternoons off to make headway with being self employed again. I am going to try and get some massage work along with doing Mac support and trying to get more modelling work, but I think it is going to take time to get used to the new routine. At the moment, I get home, have lunch, and then just want to fall asleep - bit like in the evenings really!
The weather is starting to improve and I have managed some sunbathing both days this weekend. I did another modelling session at the Kumeu Art Centre on Saturday morning which was just as enjoyable as last time, even though there were fewer people. They are a very interactive bunch which just makes my job much easier.
Claire participated in a study this week of 18-20 years olds who were born prematurely. She had her body fat scanned (Rachel Cocker knows all about this), blood tests and a range of questions to answer. In recompense she was give $20 of petrol vouchers - very handy and very popular here at the moment. Even though the price of petrol is coming down, it is still significantly more expensive than when we arrived.
We had a very nice surprise in the post yesterday - a cheque for $320 from the Auckland Energy Consumer Trust. It is a dividend paid out in the old Electricity board region of Auckland agreed at the time of deregulation. We are just on the edge of the area that qualifies and I new nothing about it, but am very pleased as it will pay for most of this months' electric bill.
There is an election looming (November 8th I think) and we have all now enrolled to vote. You get two votes here, one for the party who you would like to run the government, and one for the person who you would like to represent you in Parliament. We haven't had anyone canvassing door to door yet but I shall be asking them in for a good chat if they turn up.
We have finished the week by having the new vicar round for tea. A lovely lass with Yorkshire ancestry who pronounces scones correctly.
I am still working on my "first year" missive - could take me a year to write it!
Bye for now,
Rick
PS: We have had problems with the blog updating and had to use the links on the right to see the newest items. Hope it is working OK for you.
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