Winter

Well, the shortest day of the year has come and gone, as has another birthday, and boy do I hate the proximity of those dates... It was a pretty quiet day for a birthday, but thanks to those who called, it was good to speak to some people back home.

Jo promised to take me shopping for the weekend - but I wasn't aware that looking at women's shoes properly met that criteria - apparently it does. Still, I did manage to get away with a Freeview receiver, which is a little set top box for the TV that picks up satellite free-to-air broadcasts and takes proper advantage of the widescreen TV (still not high-definition though, but very clear reception nonetheless).

Part of my main birthday present from Jo (the other half is coming next month) was already acquired* several weeks ago - a breadmaker that will be souped up for other duties (ask Steve). Still, to check if it was functional, we've baked a couple of loaves of bread and it works just fine - in fact Jo wants to get another for when I put mine to its "proper" use (that's deliberately vague, but I'll clarify in a few weeks).

*I say it was acquired because it was a $1 purchase on Trademe (broken paddle), and the seller didn't even take his dollar. Then another seller had a used bowl for that exact model for sale cheaply down in Wellington, so hey presto one $20 fully functional breadmaker, when most used ones are asking for about $70 :)

We also picked up a portable air conditioner/heat pump unit that will hopefully be a bit more efficient than the fan and oil heaters at keeping the house warm. We haven't properly got it fired up yet though, because we need to set up an in-fill panel in the wondow frame to keep the draughts out (it needs ducting out the window).

To keep in the shopping theme, we also now have (bought a week ago) a coffee table (the lowest thing ever, ony 18cm high), and a spare bed will be picked up next week, so now you have no excuse for not coming to visit us!

Well, that's enough for rampant consumerism! What else have I been up to? Work is as usual, and I often get a wet arse riding there. I'll be back in Australia next week, from 2-6th July, but I'll be up in Bandiana (out the back of Wodonga) for most of that time doing a vehicle survey (measuring up some tanks and armoured personnel carriers for equipment fitment). I might have some free time on Thursday night or Friday morning if anyone is around the Melbourne CBD and wants to meet up, but I'm not sure of the exact flight details at this stage and I'm travelling with 2 others, so it's a little tricky to plan. I should have my Aussie mobile switched on that week if anyone wants to call.

stay in touch! cheers all,
matt.

Matty gets licenced

I went and got my licence today, so I'm now officially a New Zealander, and I get a government issued pair of gumboots and the permission to keep up to two registered sheep on the premises.

Just kidding.

It's actually only one sheep. Nah, I took the test to get a NZ driver's licence, which coming from Aus is pretty straightforward - no practical driving test to do, just a theory quiz. The test form is a "scratch and win" type affair - you scratch off the box next to the right answer and reveal a tick; a wrong answer reveals a cross.

You need a minimum of 32 correct answers out of 35 - I scraped in with a score of 33. Honestly, who needs to know the minimum tread depth for tyres (that's what the wear indicators are for!), or how far overhanging the front of the car a load can be? (We don't have roof racks, so it's pretty irrelevant.) A couple of responses were an educated guess, and admittedly I hadn't looked at the Road Code website for a couple of weeks, but it was all fine in the end.

Ultimately, this means I can drive in NZ beyond the one year allowed on a foreign licence, and it also helps with insurance premiums and excesses. I'd scan and show you the goofy picture, but they post it out in the mail so it isn't in my hands yet.

Everything is pretty normal around here otherwise. The veggie garden is going berserk (particularly the lettuce, and we have a couple of little broccoli heads poking up!). I used a few herbs in the bolognese sauce tonight, should be good. The garden is doing well, the roses are coming on strong (we had to give them a pretty severe pruning when we arrived).

By the way, here's what we were in Australia for last week: to see Jo on a big TV!

Matty and Jo in Aus

Well it was a long week but great to catch up with everyone back across the ditch. As usual(!) we had a delayed flight to NZ, always fun when you've been out the night before and struggle to get up really early for an early flight, and it's delayed by 1.5 hours... better get used to those early starts though, back to work tomorrow. Thanks to the parents of the baby screaming in the seat behind us on the flight back. Needed that.

Oh well, we're back, and it's cold and wet. Not all that cold and wet, but moreso than Melbourne.

Congrats to Rob and Bec, we had a great time at your engagement party and you both looked fab.

We had a look through our house in Morton Rd on Saturday, and it all looks pretty good. Lisa and Rob are a great couple to have looking after our house, very friendly and easy to get on with.

I guess everyone who we caught up with has all the latest news from us, so there's not much point reliving every moment. Suffice to say, I had a fairly laid back week (though without enough time to really chill out), and Jo had a very hectic week and has been asleep on the floor for the last 3 hours...