This has been the longest time lapse between posts since i started my blog.
There are many reasons why i have been on a blogging hiatus (without giving any notice) and i've planned to write a different post when i do blog again... until this happened yesterday.
Uh huh, i guess the news should have been reported internationally by now. We were hit by a rather strong earthquake yesterday after a swarm of minor ones starting on Friday. Just Google for news on "earthquake NZ" and you will see lots of news articles and photos on the quake.
All i wanna say is that I am fine and there was no damage at my rented place, but that big one really scared the hell out of me. I was very shaken (no pun intended) and couldn't sleep well last night. In fact, there were and still are constant aftershocks going on and i was awaken by a few too last night, after which i could hardly go back to sleep anymore.
I just hope the 6.5 magnitude one was the only big one and there shall be no more, but then earthquake is really unpredictable and no one can say for sure. Well, isn't everything in life the same too?
Anyway, my 3-week holiday will start this weekend. I will be flying back on Wellington-Auckland-Singapore route on Friday night. Will touch down in Singapore on Saturday. Even though i don't particularly look forward to the hot weather back in Singapore and Malaysia, i do look forward to having a break from the stress of worrying about when the next earthquake may strike again. Oh, of course, not to forget about all the delicious food and my dear family and friends too.
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A couple of days ago, the DJ on radio said that this weekend is a "long weekend" - that is longer by an hour.
Uh huh, tonight will be the end of daylight saving and we will be adjusting our clock backward by an hour.
So in a way, we gain one hour extra, well, at least for now until September when we will lose that one hour again. This means that we will be just four hours ahead of Malaysia from now on.
I guess this really marks the end of summer and we are entering the cold seasons. The weather is getting colder as autumn is approaching. I am having cold feet and hands everyday. Now i gotta turn on the new small heater every night.
I think i have not mentioned about the heater before. Unlike most countries with four seasons (such as North America), majority of the buildings here do not come with built-in heating. We would need to buy or install heaters on our own. I had been looking for heaters since i came here because i knew that i'd definitely need it when the season changed, but heaters are normally not sold during summer time.
Then last month, i went shopping and saw that the heaters were all out on display already. There are many different types and sizes of heaters. I didn't know how cold it would be and hence i bought a small 5-fin oil heater, thinking that it would be enough for the small apartment that i am staying in. Oh boy, was i wrong or what. There was practically no effect at all when i had the heater on in the living room. I then moved the heater into the small bedroom and switched it on before i am going to bed. I think i'd need another stronger one in the living room.
It is also about time that i unpack the thick clothing from my luggage and put the summer ones into the luggage instead. If there is anything i look forward to about the cold seasons, it will definitely be the outfits. I do love autumn and winter fashion, especially the mufflers, winter coats/jackets and boots. Even back in Malaysia and Singapore, layering my outfits is the style i love the most, as it gives a chic and cool look. I also love wearing boots. However, the weather is a tad too hot there for such styles. Now i can wear it all i like!
Well it gets you a heater in the room so you will not gonna catch cold in the middle of the night. And, gee, i can see the multilayer jackets and coats nice and cool style, but the laundry ...
Take care Pin, don't get yourself down with cold hor, you gotta stay in top form for coming week. Ganbatte pin, all the best for your go live system. Cheers :).
Just like that, my long weekend has ended. Basically i haven't done much over this holiday and had kinda wasted it away.
I attended the cell group gathering on last Thursday evening. We had an interesting Passover dinner and time of worship. Then on Good Friday, I didn't attend church and stayed in the apartment for the entire day. I was having mild sore throat and headache, which were symptoms of the onset of a full-blown cold or flu. I decided to have a good rest at home to prevent it from getting worse.
Hibernating at home for a day did indeed help. On Saturday, I was all well and went out shopping for almost the whole day. My main focus on that day was to shop for the items for my survival kits. So far I am only about 50% done. Some of the items will have to be purchased online.
Then on Sunday, I went to church in the morning as usual and then went to a church brother's home for lunch with another sister. He brought us to a nice hill top where there was this huge wind turbine and magnificent view of Wellington. Unfortunately it was a rainy and windy day and hence I couldn't take photos and only stayed for a short while. I'd definitely go back there again to snap pictures of the beautiful landscape.
Monday is then another stay-at-home day. I spent the day watching Taiwanese variety shows on YouTube to entertain myself. The system for my new project will be going live on next Monday and this coming four days will sure be hectic for me in performing system preparation and data migration. So I guess staying at home and watching some funny tv programmes is also a good form of relaxation before I start another week of hard work.
On an unrelated note, I just realised that in NZ, there is this 3.5 days of business non-operating law - all businesses must not open on Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas Day and ANZAC Day (half day). Unlike other gazetted holidays such as the New Year Day when the shops can choose to open if they pay overtime for the working staff, these 3.5 days are mandatory by law to be rest days and all shops much be closed except those with exemptions or in certain special areas (such as tourist places). Even for the shops that do open on that day, there are rules on what can be sold. Any shops in violation will be fined NZD1,000. Some businesses had actually intentional broken this law and opened on these days because they found that NZD1,000 is nothing compared to the earnings they could attain on these holidays. Frankly for a country that is legalising gay marriage and whose people are not particularly religious, I found this law to be really pointless.
Not really pointless ler, gay marriage is another thing. This one allows city council to earn huge bucks indeed. Imagine many many shops choose to open - when there are demands, there'll be suppliers too. If only the gov takes action on the customers, wait, this gonna be tyranny. Pin, you gotta eat more fruits to supplement vitamins to build up your immune system, gosh you really are weak with the change of season (I wonder if you really keep the promise of having fruits in the diet).
Last night at around 9:30pm, as i was sitting by my desk replying comments on FB, i suddenly felt a mild tremour; the feeling was as if i was sitting on a shaky boat. It lasted for a very short time only, something like 2 or 3 seconds. At first i thought i was feeling dizzy (since i am rather tired lately), but then when i looked at the water jar that was placed on the counter top at the kitchen, i saw the water wobbling. That was when i realised that there was an earthquake.
I then checked a website that keeps track of earthquake in NZ. Indeed, there was a mild earthquake at a place in south island (about 100+km from Wellington).
Actually after i came here since November, there had been two or three instances of earthquake that were felt in Wellington but most happened at odd hours and when i was fast asleep and didn't feel it. Hence this was the first time i actually felt the tremour.
Wellington is a city lies right on the fault lines and has the highest risk of a major earthquake in NZ. There are hundreds (if not more) of earthquakes every year around Wellington but most are not felt. I knew about this facts even before i came here, and i do wonder sometimes why i actually came to a place with such high risk of earthquake.
One of the important things that everyone and every household in Wellington (or rather, the entire NZ) must have is the disaster survival kit. There are civil defence websites and courses that provide guidance on what to prepare and what to do when disaster strikes. I have read the guides on the websites, but then for a person who grew up in a country that is relatively free of natural disasters, i think i'd switch to panic mode and all the theories will simply fly out the window when it really happens.
It is recommended that we have the survival kit at home, at workplace and also in the car. This means that i'd have to prepare three sets. There are a lot of stuff to be prepared for a complete survival kit, and it should last a person for three days or more. I have wanted to put together the kits but never got around doing it. Till now, i still have not assemble at least one for home. Of course, the quick way is to buy some ready-packed survival kit and save me the trouble from sourcing the items myself. Such ready-packed kit is of course more expensive than assembling one ourselves.
My friends have been bashing me for procrastinating this, as disaster may strike anytime when we are least expected (and least ready). Yes, i know, i seriously need a good smacking for not doing it.
Yesterday the small episode is kinda like a reminder to me, and i really MUST MUST MUST get one ready at home. I should at least get ready some of the essential stuff first (such as water, non-perishable food, torch light, radio, blanket/sleeping bag, first-aid kit, toilet paper and plastic bags), and then assemble a more complete one as i go along.
Alright, this coming long weekend is a good time to get this done.
(Yes, there will be four days of rest after tomorrow - Good Friday and Easter Monday. Am really looking forward to it!)
Updated: Just after i published this post, i read the news online and came to know that Taiwan just had a magnitude-6.1 earthquake today. Now that's another reminder for me!
glad you are ok Pin. such emergency preparedness shouldn't be taken lightly. it can be only "hope" disasters do not strike, no, no, i'm not cursing overhere. it's like one need to be aware for the toilets around (and papers too) in case if a diarrhoea would strike surprisingly. hmm bad example, natural disaster is an unpredictable event .. you have been using procrastination word for quite number of times already but when it comes to this you SHOULD NOT dilly-dally about it. gotta make sure you do have big torchlight(s) and don't rely on smartphones lights. in fact, it's not wise to lump everything on smart devices like radio, camera, etc when the battery conservation is vital for communication purpose. and do have some spare dry batteries around too. not only that, tools are important too e.g srcewdrivers, pliers, cutters, hammers though you are not using them regularly. a small fire extinguisher would be good too, if you chance upon one. water and food needed to be replaced regularly so even if you stock them, you need to be diligently maintain them too hor. i remember come across photos of japanese kids trained to hide under the table when there's earthquake. but for staying in apartment, i would opt to dash for emergency staircase and run for the open air ground, hmm ... if the kit is too big, wouldn't it'll be heavy for you carry around then, or to be kept inside a bag??
enjoy the weekend Pin, happy holidays to you. gotta take the opportunity to explore more about NZ :). cheers.
I would turn on the radio every morning and tune in to the morning show on radio while i am dressing up for work. Besides getting entertained and having some sound in the apartment, i'd also keep myself informed of some current affairs since there are new flashes every half-and-hour.
This morning, as one of the show hosts was talking, the other one suddenly shouted "white smoke, white smoke!" At first, i thought there was a fire in the studio. Then i realised he was referring to the white smoke that was coming out from the chimney of Sistine Chapel.
Uh huh, a new Pope had (finally) been elected.
Well, what amazed me was that when i read the news and took a look at the pictures on the Web, i saw thousands of people gathered outside the chapel, waiting for the smoke signal. They cheered and cried when the white smoke and the new Pope appeared. Ok, it must be very emotional and a historical moment for them, but let us not to forget that the one we worship is God and not the Pope.
My friends asked if he is handsome when i told them that i've checked out his picture on the Web. The thing is that looks is not one of the selection criteria for being a Pope. Apparently age isn't too. The new Pope is still very old. I told my friends that even if the newly elected is good looking, he would soon look old and frail too after a couple of years in this post.
There is a tough road ahead of the new Pope. The Roman Catholic church is beleaguered by series of scandals and problems such as child molestation, corruption and homosexual issues. To restore the reputation and faith of the religion will be a great and difficult task for him. May God's anointing be upon him to overcome all the troubles.
Then, there was another news that i heard in the morning which i took no joy in it at all, even though i know a lot of people are happy about it. The parliament here in NZ has voted for the second time on legalising gay marriage and it received a huge majority of supporting votes. This means that it is very likely that the bill will be passed and same sex marriage will be legalised here.
I guess you should be able to tell by now that i am against it. Much have already been said and written all around the world on this topic, from both the supporting and opposing sides. Of course I have my views and thoughts about it but i'm not gonna elaborate it here.
Just to make it clear though - i do NOT think homosexuals are any less human being than heterosexual, as no one in this world is worth any lesser than another. Everyone should be respected as a human being.
However, to me, marriage is another issue altogether and it is not about discrimination or what basic human rights. But then, i know that this is a trend that seems unstoppable and very soon all countries will be legalising it and the future generations will be taking this as a norm as well. Frankly, this does put me in doubt and confusion.
During one of my weekly cell group meetings, our group leader reminded us about the distinction between sins and sinners. God hates sins and sins will doom us; however, God welcomes sinners to His kingdom if we repent and transform. We are all sinners and he loves us all the same.
You probably do not understand why i brought this up and what has it got to do with same sex marriage. Well, never mind. That's all i wanna touch on for this topic. Let's move on to the last piece of news.
Wellington (in fact, i think it's the entire NZ) is having some sort of drought now. The last rainfall was back in early Feb and it wasn't enough to bring up the water level of the rivers, which are the main sources of water for the inhabitants here. A few days back, it was reported that the city now has less than 20 days of water supply, which is nearing crisis point. If there is still no rain anytime soon, we will be having serious water supply issue. The government will be imposing water restriction very soon if the water level continues to dwindle. I read that this is the longest dry spell since 1947!
I thought such situation will only happen in Malaysia, as we seem to experience it almost every year. As the weather is cold here, the water drying up may be less noticeable than in Malaysia when it is so hot. Let's just hope that the rain will come soon.
hmm, i can't imagine your friends raised the question on the look; i would ask which nation he's from instead. both are not relevant anyway, aha... the homosexual issues are big headache for the new pope given the trend the world is heading. well, in future who knows gay marriage will be a norm and acceptable thing, just like what in the past generation people have apprehension views on subjects that are acceptable today, like women shouldn't wear jeans, aha (or it still applies today ..., darn how do i get this idea). time will change indeed. and who knows it is marriage that deemed obsolete and abolished ... i believe in whatever other people do it is their choice of life and business unless it affects us. somehow it kinda gonna affect indirectly like psychologically. isn't that with more peers around one will tend to join into the group too. gee, better stop thinking about that .. then again, why the marriage ?? better really stop thinking about that. gotta hold strong to the self principles when it comes to such confusion. never doubt or argue and have faith :).
in malaysia the water crisis is more due to human management than nature, you'd even have water disruption even there's rain. and there was flood just after few hours of raining. summer just passed, hope there will be raining before winter comes. sigh, the weather these days are becoming more unbecoming. and life still goes on. so how's the lunch for this week? hope you still keep to the habit. even if there's water rationing, don't drink less water and neglect your health. cheers, and have a nice weekend, with rain :).
The carton that mom helped me to send from Malaysia arrived yesterday.
These were all the clothes and shoes that I could not bring over with me on my flight here due to the luggage limit. I shipped it by sea and the shipping company told me that the estimated transit time was 71 days. The carton was shipped on 21/12/2012 and it actually arrived about 10 days earlier than expected. The carton was provided by the shipping company (sent to my home in JB) and the door-to-door delivery cost USD189 for shipping & handling + NZD99 for NZ goods examination fee (all claimed from my company as part of my relocation allowance). The service is quite good and reliable. I may consider using them again when i go back.
The carton was packed mostly with my winter clothing. Now i have enough thick clothes and jackets to keep me warm.
Talking about winter time, my boss made a casual remark this morning about the weather while looking out of the window, "Ah, autumn is here."
To that, i asked in shock, "Huh? What happened to summer? I am still waiting for summer to start!"
"C'mon, we have had our summer. Autumn normally starts around end of February."
"But it felt nothing like summer at all. There were hardly any sunshine and hot days."
"You must be dreaming. We had lots of hot days."
"No, there was only ONE hot day, which was on Christmas day and that was it. I thought it is gonna get warmer but now you tell me it is autumn already?!"
"Well, you can't be expecting hot days like in Malaysia. This is our summer!"
Now, this wasn't really a serious conversation. My boss and I were just jesting with each other.
Yet, i wasn't kidding when i said it felt nothing like summer. Just look at the weather records for the past 30 days. The temperature hovered around 22C on most days; on days that it went higher than 22C, there were gusty wind that made it feel cold.
I am really glad that my stuff arrived just in time for the change in season.
Gee, 2 months to ship is quite long time. Probably get used to company shipping stuff with 3 days to 1 week lead time from US. 24- 27 degC is just nice, it would be like having outdoor with aircond mah, and nice nice walk enjoy the atmosphere ..MY summer can peak up to 40 degC, xiao one. But then, NZ is located at Southern Hemisphere, there's no way it'll be getting warmer when it's already feb liao and approaching equinox, either you tried to troll your boss and your readers :). And the wind at 90+ km/h, gosh, that's even faster than a car, I mean at moderate drive speed. Oops, gotta take back the enjoying outdoor walk part... look forward for your post on the first snowman and snowball you gonna build in NZ :). Oh wait, that's gonna be another season in June liao. I read when driving during snow do not switch on the windshield washer, it'll quickly turn into snow. Also the experience my colleague told me about pouring pail of water and immediately turned into ice ... Cheers.
The past weekend was supposed to be my birthday weekend but it was actually just the same as any other normal weekends. In fact, my birthday this year was also just another working day for me, and i didn't feel particular happy nor sad on that day.
Last Friday, i went to work as usual. My ex-subordinate informed my two bosses about my birthday (he knew it because he is on my FB) and so we went out for lunch on that day. We didn't have anything fancy for lunch but just went to the food court at a mall near my office and my boss paid for my order. I still worked in the office until 6pm+ and then the evening ended as usual as well. There was no cake, no candles, no birthday presents... but there were quite a number of birthday greetings from my friends and family on FB, emails and sms. Mom did make a hard-boiled egg for me (without the red colouring) as part of our Chinese tradition.
Frankly, at this stage of my life, not having a significant half or a family of my own, and also without any close friends here, there really isn't a need to make a fuss out of my birthday anymore. In fact, it is the day i get older and getting nearer to the age of 40, with not much of achievements in life. I would be lying if i say i didn't feel melancholy about it at all, especially with the situation i am in now. I did my best not to think too much about it lest i fall into self-pity. That was also why there wasn't any introspective birthday post on that day.
It isn't really easy to blog nowadays too. Besides mom keeps using my laptop to watch dramas, the lack of privacy also makes writing difficult. This is a very small apartment and mom is around all the time. I can't do anything without her noticing and even probing sometimes. To be honest, i have mixed feelings about her being here. On one hand, it is nice to have my closest family member by my side so that I am not really all alone here. At least i have someone to talk to when i return to this apartment, and i have someone to cook and take care of the house chores for me. However, on the other hand, i miss the freedom of being able to do whatever i want, eat whatever i want and go wherever i want, without having mom nagging at me and tagging along. I also miss sleeping on the bed and having the blanket all to myself, and not having to be bothered by snoring or awakened by someone waking up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet. Anyway, there is less than a month to go and i will be really all alone by then.
Alright, about the weekend - well, we went car hunting at a few car dealers on Saturday. I have hoped to get a car as a birthday present for myself, but unfortunately that didn't turn out well. All the cars sold at car dealers were over my budget, mostly over NZD10K in price. I would still stick to my budget for another week, after which i really need to seriously consider increasing the budget by probably NZD2k.
After my failed attempt to get a car in the morning, we spent the afternoon shopping and i got myself three presents that cost me over NZD400. I bought a blender and two pairs of shoes. The blender is for making juices to keep myself healthy (and slim).
As for the shoes, I had been looking for shoes for quite a while already since i need to walk quite a fair bit here and i can't wear the high heels that i've brought here to go with my officer wear. After much shopping, i finally got myself a pair of low heels leather shoes and a pair of leather boots. Those should be quite comfy to walk in, and i'd be wearing one of them tomorrow!
That pretty much concluded my boring birthday weekend, except that it wasn't really as boring for other people in the city.
The past week, especially the weekend, felt as if the entire city was in a carnival and huge costume party. It was the week of Wellington Sevens, the annual rugby sevens tournament that is held here every February. The Kiwis are crazy about rugby, which i guess is pretty much considered their national sports. However, the thing about this event is that the people would dress themselves up in different costumes to go to the game. They would also go drinking before and after (and perhaps even during) the game. I seriously wondered if their enthusiasm and excitement about this event was for the game or the partying.
Nonetheless, it was quite fun to see different characters walking on the streets for the past few days. I would have been out taking photographs of these quirky people if not for my mom being around (as she will not let me go out alone at all except going to work). Of course, if i have done that, i would not do it in the night because it would be really unsafe for a single lady roaming the streets amidst all those people with adrenaline rush after the game and alcohol.
The streets below where i stay were closed off on Saturday from 5pm to Sunday morning. At around 11pm on Saturday night, there were batches of crowd walking back from the stadium and passing through these streets to get to Courtenay Place, the street famous for nightlife here.
It was a very noisy night, as we could hear them talking loudly, shouting, laughing, singing and chanting down the streets, and not to mention the siren from the police cars that were more frequent than any other usual weekends. This morning when we were walking to the church, we saw some people still in costumes and some with those pubs' wrist bands on their hands. Apparently, these people had been out partying whole night (or probably couldn't drive after drinking) and were only going home this morning.
Frankly, if there is anything i notice about Westerners in general, it would be the unhealthy drinking culture. This is something i observed from my previous employments and having to deal with Westerners from USA and Europe. I do no think i can ever immerse in such culture, for boozing is never my thing even though there were times in my younger days when i did drink beer and red wine but in good moderation.
On an unrelated note, saw new Bearista at the Starbucks here but not sure what costume that is and for what occasion.
if only the ex-subordinate notified your bosses earlier and not the last minute .. it's ok Pin, it's just because you're still new in NZ (it's even < 100 days) and it will be surely better as time passes and more people get to know you :). And Pin, you did make a change in life when you switch career to NZ, and it's still in the initial stage. Plus, most of your friends, ex-colleagues station in MY, SG and internet space but not in Wellington only, it's not they did not remember your birthday and have forgotten you judging from FB, emails and sms. wait, sms ??? gee, that's doesn't sound good when it comes to bill ..... sigh, if only you manage to get a car or spot one within your target and budget that would be a great first birthday in NZ. don't give up Pin, and certainly don't get overstress for this. well, for the time being just treat taking bus as morning and evening exercise after long hours sitting in front of laptop and be discipline to get to bed on time, which is effective than the blender (what am i writing over here ler ...).
hmm, i know westerners "guys" are into boozing with beer be substituted as tea, but westerner gals ... i do hear some of my thai colleagues who are ladies are great drinker with lacquer, and lacquer is total new level away from beer and red wine, is like drinking ethanol like that. sometimes i wonder what's so nice with gulping down 65% alcohol content drink making the liver miserable. speaking of rugby, All Blacks is so famous, always synonym with kiwi NZ and their haka dance taunting the opponents in every match. so soon PinPin will be from basketball fan to badminton and later rugby fan :), ha. but rugby is so manly. Gee, the bearista dressed like british redcoat army, not cute. And Wellington did not beat Napoleon in February, he doesn't even wear a moustache. perhaps only locals would know the reason. Hopefully you'll find a car soon, and until then DON'T USE the TRAIN!!! Cheers :).
after google about it, the redcoat is from the fairy tale The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. it's a famous story, but how come i also donno, now i know ... cheers. -HY-
They say it take time to get use to Wellington,it can be a really boring place :) Give yourself sometime to like Welly. Young Kiwis just drink too much,it is a disgusting culture.I see you are living near Manners St, please be careful at night. A belated Happy Birthday to you :) Anonymous in NZ
Yes, initially i thought staying here is very convenient (which it is), but never did i expect it can be quite dangerously too, especially with all those people drinking near Courtenay Place...
The day i arrived in New Zealand was the world premiere of the film "The Hobbit", right in Wellington itself. Lots of people were flying in and going into the city centre for the premiere. The entire city was (and still is!) decorated with "The Hobbit" theme. The city, or even country, is just all about this film now.
When i was on board Air New Zealand for the second leg of my journey, i was pleasantly surprised by the safety briefing that was shown before the flight took off.
During the entire flight journey, the passengers were entertained by the quizzes on LOTR and The Hobbit.
There was even a lucky draw for "The Hobbit" t-shirts but i wasn't fortunate to get it.
The in-fight magazine also had a special feature for the film, which i took a copy home for keeping.
When the plane finally touched down at the Wellington Airport, i saw that even the airport was not spared from the craze about this movie.
There were also banners on the lamp posts along the streets.
The premiere was actually held at the theatre that is within walking distance from where i stay now, but i was too tired to join the crowd since i just arrived without sleep from a long-haul flight. Otherwise, i might have had a chance to witness the celebrities walking down the red carpet!
Seriously, New Zealand is really a place blessed with natural beauty. It is basically the natural movie set for the film without having the need to build artificial setting, of course except The Hobbiton. It is amazing to think that i am actually now living in the Middle Earth itself.
I had a glimpse of the scenery last week when i went to the client's site with my boss and we travelled on the road away from the city and passing by the country side. I will definitely be exploring the places during my time here.
ha, and why didn't you blog about the hobbit fever earlier on but rather the unhappy grumpy surcharge from the luggage, hmmm ... and can't see leh the famous giant godlum at the airport in the photo. it's certainly an awe to see the country throws all support for the movie and the whole nation is in frenzy mode liao. it's like almost having economic pie chart showing the gdp dependent on it. but then this is not just a mere movie hor. i wonder if your ex-colleague and boss received you were using this as pretext to actually drop by the premiere. gee, what an opportunity!! see, this lah the consequence of not eating nutritious food, sleeping late and seldom doing exercise and easily become bushed. but don't be sad pinpin, there's still 2nd, 3rd chance, so you better not to miss them next time. unless of course you insist you will not succumb to the fever.
oh, be sure to catch the movie first hand in NZ hor, and don't end up like what happened in london with the big ben even though you managed to visit it after the 3rd round (don't tell it's going to apply for the premiere too ....). enjoy, and have fun pinpin, and hope everything is smooth as it is in work for the 2nd week. cheers.
oh, i think you should changed the label to hobbit to commemorate the fiesta, or fever. cheers,
A week has passed by and it has been busy and rather stressful for me too.
At work, I had visited two clients and nothing too tough at this moment (yet). I have started some work on the small project and i will have to get myself up to speed on the new version as well as the customisations that have been done to the system.
Work is actually manageable at this stage. The bosses have been nice to me and show much understanding to my need on hunting for accommodation. The apartment hotel that i am staying at now is charging a daily rate of NZD95 and it is booked until 12/12. The room is a small studio apartment with all the necessary facilities with everything provided, even the laundry powder and detergent for the dishwasher.
The accommodation amount will come off the relocation allowance of NZD6K from the company. I gotta check out from here on 12/12 before 10am and my mom will be arriving on the night before. Hence i was actually under pressure to find a permanent place and mom will have to help me to move the stuff over on 12/12.
The rental here is quite expensive, especially when i intend to stay on my own (without housemates and landlord) and within the city area (since i do not have a car). I had viewed 5 apartments last week and have finally decided on a small fully furnished one-room apartment (it is really small!). The rental is NZD300 per week, excluding electricity and Internet (water is free here). That means i'll have to scoop out close to NZD1.5K per month just for accommodation and utilities. Actually on dollar-to-dollar values, the price is quite good considering the location - it is centrally located in the city itself. I decided to just sign a 6-month lease first and see if i like the place. If it is no good, at least i have more time to look for a better place and move out after 6 months, rather than being tied down to a year.
I am really looking forward to moving into the place so that i can finally settle down. Until now, i still do not have the feeling of coming here for years; it feels as if i'm here just for a short business trip, like i used to do in my previous job. I think it is probably because staying in a hotel room gives me a temporal feeling. After all, living environment does make a lot of difference and impacts our quality of life.
So far, i've not been eating well either. Eating out is expensive but i do not wanna buy too much food stuff now since i'll be moving soon. I haven't been cooking except making simple sandwiches or having instant noodles for dinner. Oh, and of course, fruits such as kiwis and strawberries are cheap here (which are my favourites!), and so those are part of my daily diet too.
Note that the golden kiwi fruits are selling at NZD3.99 for 10pcs. That is really cheap, as in SG it was selling at SGD6.99 for 6pcs. And i saw these at a supermarket nearby the hotel. I was told that these fruits can be even cheaper if i get it from the farms or farmer's market.
gosh, 12 is just 3 days away. to imagine you have to find accomodation (affordable and reasonable one) and at the same time need to build good impression to your bosses and clients, somemore the site is 1.5 hr drive ... that's insane and i don't think i can really handle that (and certainly crying i wanna go home liao ..). glad you have finally struck that out. one room as in 1+1 ? well, smaller place means you will not have the difficulty in tidying and cleaning up the space, and good reason to be active in outdoor activities. no, i mean not shopping, maybe window shopping, emphasizing the window. and resume jogging too , don't get bushed this time. even nz is >> safer compared to jb, low crime does not mean no crime (ring, ring, singapore). so pin, please always stay vigilant and never neglect safety and security. hopefully 6 months later you won't have another pressure from searching for new place when you become familiar with the environment and acquainted with more people to find even better place if you decide to move out. of course i hope year 2013 you finally have ridded off procrastination...
did i just read bosses as in plural form? seems you have just joined a good company with so many bosses concern about you. don't tell this time you are the only geeky girl too like the ex-company. all the best girl, with accomodation done (for 6 months at least), gotta focus back on work already. but then, reserve some energy for healthier worklife balance too - NZ is not MY, SG, US so hopefully workload is not so stress and child's play to you (but not to the level diminishing your skill). different individual views stress differently, so when things get heated up, always remember to stay calm when dealing with tough problems. you are at your best when you are not the short tempered pinpin. oh, since nz have so many nice nice fruits at affordable price, there's no excuse to skip them hor in diet -you can't fall sick because lack of vitamins!!! i wonder if you can get ingredients for steamboat in NZ, at least it's better than instant noddles for dinner when the food can be prepared by just boiling. no wonder your mom insists to come to look after you until you are at right track. and throw away the habit of sleeping late too - NZ gotta be a new chapter of your better life. stay healthy pinpin, look forward for more good news from you in NZ. cheers.
Here's another quick update while i'm still online (and my paid Internet connection is only left with about 150MB now).
The time is about 3am now. It is not that i do not wanna sleep earlier (as i had done so for the past two days); it's just that i have just completed the booking for my mom's return flight from Singapore to Wellington after spending hours on the Web and using up lots of the paid data limit. Since she is travelling during the peak seasons (Christmas and CNY), there was no more ticket available for redemption between these two cities. I would have to find alternative route, which is Singapore to Sydney to Wellington.
Unfortunately, not the entire journey could be redeemed via my SIA air miles. As SIA does not fly from Sydney to Wellington, this leg of the journey is operated by its partner airlines such as Air New Zealand or Virgin Australia. I managed to redeem the flight on SIA (from Singapore to Sydney) but to find the next leg of the round trip was a great challenge.
First of all, i gotta look out for the connecting flight timing. Then, i'd wanna use my air miles to redeem the tickets from the partner airlines as well so that i could minimise my cost.
However, as the airlines would have a quota on the seats for redemption, there was no more availability in December from the partner airlines. I would have to buy one ticket from Air New Zealand for the leg from Sydney to Wellington, which cost NZD395.95. In addition, the transit time in Sydney for this connecting flight is 8 hours!
Then for the return flight, i managed to find one that i could redeem with SIA air miles. Yet, all the redemption of the tickets only covers the ticket price but not other surcharges. I still had to scoop out a total of SGD527 for the surcharges and airport taxes. So all in all, i've spent close to SGD1K for mom's ticket as well. I guess i'll just take that as her Christmas gift then.
Anyway, she will be departing Singapore on 11-Dec-2012 and returning on 24-Feb-2013.
My boss is meeting me up for lunch tomorrow and i'd better go to bed now lest i couldn't wake up in time.
gee, that's quite a rush, 11 dec is just 10 days away, is like should have traveled together instead. well, because of the "challenge" you managed to save from the air ticket to upload another 1GB (am i right in logic ...). and it's not that you did not put much effort for this, you already tried your best to get possible ticket for your mom. unlike last time, you have your mom to accompany you for the dongzhi festival :), gotta make nice nice tangyuan in nz hor, compare to your ex-again-colleague who might just taste soup on that day (no offense, no offense).... wait, december is not winter season in nz, oh well, whatever, it's still a festival kinda celebrated in MY/SG too. gotta build good impression to your new boss hor, don't complain loud about the lunch if it doesn't suit your taste. again, all the best, pin. cheers, have an enjoyable first weekend in NZ :)
This is just gonna be a quick update. As i'm now staying at a serviced apartment temporarily, the Internet access is very expensive. A 7-day of 1GB access cost NZD45 - note that the 1GB is not the speed but the limit of data for the package. There is no unlimited data access package. Such limit can be easily exceeded; in fact, i've already used 600MB+ in just two days!
Anyway, arrived safely in NZ yesterday afternoon but not without some glitches. The SIA staff at Changi Airport kinda messed up the check-in and did not check me through to Wellington all the way. As i was flying from SG to Auckland, and then Auckland to Wellington, the second leg was a domestic flight operated by Air New Zealand. The baggage allowance given by Air New Zealand is different from SIA - SIA goes by weight limit, regardless of the number of pieces, whereas Air NZ goes by pieces. I would have no problem if the tickets were checked through from the start, but somehow the SIA staff did not do it properly and i gotta pay for one extra piece, which cost NZD30. I did complain to the Air NZ staff here but then she insisted that i must pay for it. There was a long queue behind me and i did not wanna make a scene out of it, and so i paid for it unhappily.
Besides this, i did not manage to sleep on board the plane at all due to the cramp seat of economy class. Well, i blame this totally on my previous company, which has spoilt me till the extent that i'm so used to flying business on long-haul flight and has forgotten how it was like in flying economy class for flight that is more than 10 hours. So, when i reached here, i had gone more than 24 hours without sleep. I am still exhausted even now.
One of my bosses and my ex-subordinate (who introduced me this job) came to pick me up at the airport. They were surprised at the weight and number of luggage that i've brought with me. They do not know that there are more coming. You may be wondering why i am moving so many things over. Well, i am staying here for three years (or at least that's the plan), and whatever things that i wear or use in JB will just be left at home during my absence and by the time i go back (if i do go back), the things may not be useable or out-of-fashion already. Hence i might as well bring it all over and put it into good use. After all, the cost of living here in NZ is really high; things are really expensive here, some even more so than SG.
In addition to the cost of living, i have some other observations about this country and this city, which i will not elaborate now. I would be lying if the thought of "gee, why am i here" never crossed my mind, but then i guess this is normal for a person who has come to a place where she is unfamiliar with and all by herself. I'd just term it as being homesick and i believe it will get better once i settle down in a more permanent way.
First, WELCOME TO WELLINGTON, NZ! Hope you settle down quick quick, and be able to secure affordable new place fast. And, gosh the internet is sure a ripped off, this is how we're being so pampered in MY/SG till that what are we going to do with life if it's without internet! Although awkward, how about turning off image in browser when logging fb, email, blogs, forums, news. You gotta control your urge from youtube - cut down, cut down, a single 3 min video can consume up to 15 meg.. But you stilll got to share your excitement with your mom and close friends. Is there any mobile telco plan that you can sign up? You probably have to consult this with your ex-subordinate and boss. Wait, your company might provide you one, so hold your horse. and after that you can surf net to the fullest :)
Hmm, at least the welcome is not a boring simple check in check out. The glitch gotta be the last misfortune and washed away before the good starts ahead, afresh. Be positive, pinpin and keep moving forward. And hope you have great plan till weekend before you ignite your engine. Dont just think about fun but also find new affordable place. And dont overspend too, even you have started work and earn first salary make sure you have saving and control your shopping temptation. And yes, everything will settle down as time passes, plus you are one friendly amiable person, so dont worry much for now. And for you being experience numerous first day on the job, i wish you cope up with the new environment quickly, and a start be a great player soon enough. Do your best girl, and you will be the best. Cheers :), and oh dont sleep late and take good care of your health. and enjoy your first NZ weekend (so envious).
I have been a silent reader of your blog since the day I was trawling on the net looking for information on how conversion of Malaysian driving license to Singapore's.
I like to take this opportunity to wish you all the very best in your new job and even newer environment. May this be another step to your successful career and life.
by the way for the extra cost for luggage u should write in to SIA to complain i think they will compensate u one. i think u should have already done that liao! right?
