settling in...

Where has the time gone?Apologies for the lack of updates (on the very brave assumption that you're interested in what we're up to!). Between work and moving into the new house and getting everything set up it's been a pretty hectic few weeks. So I'll try to bring you up to speed...

First, Happy St Patrick's Day! There was a bit of greenery on display on Saturday, and there's an Irish pub just down the road, but it otherwise passed us by. I got as far as buying a six-pack of Kilkenny, but didn't have any til tonight. Yum. We hit the Kingsland strip for some Indian food instead, but there's a row of popular restaurants along there, so our aim is to work from one end of the street to the other.

We moved into Gribblehirst Rd two weeks ago and everything has been relatively smooth. We have the important stuff set up (fridge, couch, dining table, bed) but lack a few important accessories (dining chairs and coffee table for example, which means we're forced to eat dinner on our laps...) There's a dampness in the house which isn't too bad but there's no vents in any room (significantly in the kitchen or bathroom) so it needs a good regular airing. Have been looking at dehumidifiers, which are pretty popular here.

The cats have settled in fairly well, and have resorted to their usual practice of sleeping about 25 hours a day, with occasional breaks to eat and go torment the neighbour's cat in stare-offs. Koba's eyes have flared up, not really sure of the cause as it's been a problem since he was little, but it's gotten worse in the last few weeks.

We did some gardening this weekend for the first time, which was aided by the fact that NZ also has Bunnings, so we went there to stock up on tools (love those cheapy ones!). Let it be said: Electric Hedge clippers Rock! And I'm just talking the cheapest one in the store ($40). I had to resist the temptation to shave the hedge back to a stump, such was the fun of powered pruning. Definitely getting one when we get back to Melbourne (and no doubt with all the hedge we planted we'll need it!). At least now we can open the car door when parked in the driveway. Jo also started a Herb/veggie garden in pots out the back. Hopefully they won't be eaten by the monster slugs that linger out there.

Speaking of cars, yes I did use the singular term above. I've decided to forego buying a car because a) traffic is a nightmare, b) I work only 3km from home, and c) there's sweet-f-a parking there anyway. You have to arrive by about 7:30 to get a parking spot apparently. So I gave up on the car hunting and found a nice bicycle instead. It's an Avanti Blade 8 if anyone's interested, which has a tricky 8-speed internal hub gearing system that's neat, simple and effective (though slightly lower gearing would be great for some of the steeper hills). It's only a 10 minute ride to work. The bus lanes are mostly free to use.

Jo bought the same model of bike, but has yet to take up the challenge of riding to work. Or riding it at all. But with reason, a bung (her word) neck that means she can't turn her head easily, which is a bit of a necessity when riding in traffic.

The other transport option I've looked at (because there was a shop just around the corner from my work that I dropped in to one lunchtime) is a scooter. It would be a bit nicer than the bicycle once the colder weather kicks in (which it is starting to). In this country you can ride up to a 50cc scooter on a car licence, with such a machine not allowed on the motorway, and limited to 50kmh (though the shop owner said he ritually removes the limiters anyway, making the top speed more like 70...). I'm sure Robbie would beat me over the head with a carbon fibre muffler at the thought of riding a 50cc beast, but hey, come over here and do that! ner!

Jo's work is pretty quiet it seems, and part of her role is now emerging to help develop an effective neuropsychiatry and ABI rehab service, which the current business should be, but isn't. She's working with a psychiatrist who formerly worked at the Oliver Zangwill Centre in Cambridge with some of the leading ABI rehab neuropsychs (Barbara Wilson etc for the neuropsych readers). He's pushing to get Jo's salary up to where he thinks it should be, which is a fair bit higher than where it is now (though currently it is still a good amount compared to Australian positions). Would be nice, but Jo's not holding her breath! However she's really enjoying the position and the team so far, which is a good change from some previous jobs.

From Jo: for my fellow aussie neuropsych's who may read this.... I have met a few of the NZ neuropsychs and now attend their meetings. It's a very ambigous title over here, you pretty much administer a WAIS once or twice and then call yourself a neuropsych!!! You literally don't need any formal qualifications here to practice as a neuropsychologist! Unlike our fabulous 3 to 6 (depending on thesis longevity, Dan, Lex, Mona's - you there yet?) years of clinical training torture in Aussie. Unfortunately, although there are some very good neuropsychs here, the lack of training is reflected in some of the work. I've read some very nasty reports over the last 3 weeks, and been asked by the psychiatrist to re-assess a number of people based on the quality of the first assessment (which of course I haven't given the time frames for retesting). Rather unfortunate. It's a bizzare feeling, still not feeling very confident with my own skills, then seeing the difference between my knowledge and approach, compared to some of these guys here.....wow...I think I learnt something over the past...how many years was that...?

Back to Matt.....
I started work two weeks ago (the day after we moved house) with a raging cold, courtesy once again of cousing Claire's lovely germ factory kids. I drove up to Warkworth while Jo was at work one day and hung out with the cousins, kids and friends. Big thanks to Claire for loaning us some kitchen accessories until our shipment of boxes turned up a week later.

My work is also a bit slow at the moment, though I'm sure it will gear up. I'm working on a Claymore mine simulator, though it's a bit hard to get the mechanics of it started when the main optics design hasn't been done yet. (I'm sure those at Varian can see the dilemma). And all this has to be packaged into something the size of a small bomb. (or a small book might be a better analogy). Anyway, the people are pretty nice there, though the company is scattered across 5 separate buildings in an industrial complex, so the layout is appalling. The lease just ended on one building, so the one I am in hasn't been set up properly yet, and stuff is piled everywhere.

They were doing some test firing on the on-site range the other day, which was amusing because every shot would set off a car alarm outside for a few seconds. They're only firing blanks of course, but even from across the road in a silenced room it was pretty loud. The range is well secured, which is just as well because it's stocked with a small militia's worth of weapons: sub-machine guns (eg M16), machine guns (eg M60), sniper rifles, and at least one RPG launcher...

Coffee:

Let it be said, Auckland is a great city for coffee lovers (that means you Steve). According to one guy I spoke to there's something like 52 roasters in this city, which means you don't have to go very far for a good drink. I've been researching and checking out what machines are available on the local market, and eventually I'll have something hogging the (limited) bench space. For now the plunger is working overtime...

TV:

So far we've made do without a TV since moving house. We bought an analog TV tuner card for the laptop yesterday, but it doesn't work as we don't have a slot for it (like the guy said we would...). The digital tuner card that we got with our laptop in Aus doesn't work either since NZ doesn't have digital TV broadcast (yet). So we've survived on a few burnt DVDs of favourite shows (thanks Liz!), and iTunes on shuffle for entertainment. Eventually we'll have something nice to watch and listen to, but it's lower on the list than the furniture mentioned above. It also seems a bit pointless getting a high definition TV when there's no broadcast signal for it, but on the flipside you don't want it to be obsolete in a year.

We drove up Mount Eden today, which is a (dormant) volcano in the middle of the suburbs (there's about 6 such peaks around Auckland). Cows grazing in the crater, and good views of the city and inner suburbs. I'm sure it would look cool on Google Earth if you want to check it out (and with the benefit of no tourist buses).

Well. That was a long read! Hopefully we'll have some brevity in the future, assuming we update frequently enough (or less happens). Best wishes to all, stay in touch, and come visit us! (though we don't have a spare bed... yet)

Lots of love to all,

matt and jo.