Blenheim in late June...

The days are getting longer again... Oh hurray! There have been a few dramatically chilly mornings here- at least by Blenheim standards. It was -5 the other day! I've decided that instead of the hassle of scraping my car, walking to work is a better option... (if I get out of bed early enough...) :) It only takes 45 minutes, and the other day I got a ride from a random elderly woman who passed me walking in the cold. Some of the Blenheim folks appear rather friendly...

I've managed to procure 2 "car scrapers". One is like a credit card that comes from the petrol stations... The other, my lovely friend Mandie managed to find at Bunnings... It's actually a plastic paint scraper- but they don't seem to have the real thing here.

I keep making exciting discoveries on differences here. Twist in lightbulbs are very rare... Push in ones are more the norm... Also tacks are called something entirely different. I can't remember the name. Tacks here are usually things you put down carpet with.

On the immigration front, immigration has issued my visa/permit and I shall soon have my passport back. Hopefully my criminal check will come in the next bit so they can do my residency... This would be very good, as my medical will expire eventually and I'll have to go spend a further $350 to get it done again... 4.5 months and counting on the criminal record check front...

It's Canada day this weekend and I'm keen to meet up with some other Canadians back in Nelson... There are a few of us over here.

Brr... in Blenheim

We've definitely begun to approach winter with the shortest day of the year pending. BRRRR. But- I'm happy to report that my co-worker managed to track down a car windscreen scraper. I think it might actually be a paint scraper- but it will do the trick! I have no burning desire to bring out water and pour it on the window, as so many of the local folk here do. I think I'm residing in a much warmer house than the lovely old villa of last winter. Hurray! It's still COLD! But with a warm fire that I've yet to have to light, things are going fine on that front.

There was some drama in Blenheim on Monday- when a plane was diverted from Wellington. It was a littler one carrying 17 passengers- and when it went to land in Welly the landing gear wouldn't go down- so they flew the 20 minutes to Blenheim and circled in the air to burn off fuel before doing a belly landing. They indicated landing in Blenheim would cause less disruption to plane traffic than in Welly. I flew to Christchurch last week on one of those little planes. They have two seats per row with an aisle down the middle- so yes EVERYONE gets a window seat. The co-pilot person does the safety demos- and you can see right into the cockpit. Anyhow, things turned out well- they made it down safely. The passengers had the option of bussing out to another centre for a flight, or a ferry. I think you'd have to go for the plane option- time to get back on the horse before fear sets in too deeply.

On Saturday evening the All Blacks played Canada's rugby team. Did you even know Canada had a rugby team? I watched the first half in a pub with a bunch of Canadians and it was great fun when we scored a try! HURRAY!!! It was a football like interception- I have no idea what the rugby term is- if there even is one. The score was very respectible in the first half, the Canadians scored 13 points and were down by only about 20. The All Blacks turned things around a bit and ended up winning something like 65-13. But a jolly good show for the Canadian team who were definitely underdogs!!

On the immigration front, still no criminal check. I've obtained travel insurance past the end of my current one. And NZ immigration shall be looking at my work visa/permit, instead of residency within the next week- before I'm expired. :)

I'm looking forward to days getting longer... :) It's almost that time.

A few photos... again

The law from the north, and the southern man. from team KiCan in the Great Marlborough Treasure Hunt.

Rita and I standing in our tipi... (see posts from several months back... Surprisingly un-smoky from the inside, where we toasted marshmallows).

Just a random NZ sunset, of which there are so many beautiful ones.

Heading towards the shortest day of the year- still yet to procure a windshield scraper- luckily no heavy frosts yet- warming the car with defrost on high for a few minutes- combined with the wipers has worked so far ... But as grandpa used to say "when the days begin to lengthen, the cold begins to strengthen." It's been quite nice temperature wise here so far.

Another update...

It was a stat holiday yesterday- the last for 99 days- or so I am told. It was "Queens Birthday". It was great to have a 3 day weekend.

I went in the Great Marlborough treasure hunt on the weekend. It was a one day amazing race like competition. There was an international theme and our team of 4 travelled out to Seddon, the Waiaru valley, and Picton as we made it to the 9 locations- by following a series of clues. Cool activies included doing a Samoan happy dance, and separating lavender into little bags. Our team was dressed up to represent the points of the Globe. I was a Canadian mountie from the north- stay tuned for photos... Our mascot was a travelling gnome. We didn't win any of the prizes- which were amazingly large for a town of Blenheims size... thanks to the generous sponsorship of Harvey Norman. Good times ! I would definitely do that again!!

update on the immigration files- they are awaiting my criminal check- they want it by the 25th of June. I sent it out 4 months ago this week. It takes a long time, clearly!!

We're heading into winter. But so far only one light frost. I think I heard it was the warmest May on record.

I recently was pleased to aquire a tire pressure guage- only to later learn that all the gas (er I mean petrol) stations have them on the air hoses. Convenient... this explains why they were so hard to find! :)

Differences in vocabulary continue to creep up... Read "full stop" for period. And that's that for this episode....

I rush off to art class now.

Another update...

My unprolific posting continues....

You would be shocked how many vocabulary and pronunciation differences continue to crop up. Car tires being spelled "tyre", seeing "learnt" appear in many a newspaper article, Herefords being spelled (Hair-eh-ford), etc.

An update from the immigration related files. It took a meagre month plus for the finger printing unit to reply via email that they haven't yet processed my application- apologising for the delay in responding. Current wait times are apparently 4 months. I'm over 3 now. I have put in an application for a general work/ visa. I've also recently submitted my residency form missing the record check; I'll have to forward that when I get it. I'm only 1 month away from my current visa expiring, so here is hoping I hear something back on this front soon!

The days are getting shorter here... and colder. My flattie was scraping her car wind shield (wind screen as they are known here) with a credit card. I can't seem to track down a real ice scraper. Blenheim does get frosts so it would come in handy. Now I've finally tracked down a pressure guage for my car tires at the car stuff store, only to find out that the guages are at all the air spots at the gas (err, I mean petrol) stations... :) Gas prices, for your interest are currently in the neighbourhood of $1.51 for regular. I can't recall offhand the diesel prices.

In the news, there had been several earthquakes overnight in the region. They didn't wake me up so I'm unaware if I felt them.

I can't recall if I've posted much about the vehicle rego process. Things are interesting here. Insurance is not mandatory (although there have been recent discussions about whether making this mandatory would help crack down on the "boy racer" problem that has been rather prevalent in the papers.) There are 2 types you can get, basically- 3rd party, and full. I've had various friends have trouble as they weren't covered by full insurance. Insurance discounts at the company I'm insured with (AMI) can be as high as 60% based on your driver record. I wish I had one here in NZ to save some cash...

When you get stopped by the police here you don't get asked for your registration - because it sits attached to the wind screen. When you sell your car- the plates are attached to it and you simply pay a fee of something like $10 to change ownership. The actual reg. carries with the vehicle. (I was lucky- my reg on the car I bought goes all the way to Jan 08!) Reg's are typically renewed for 6 month periods- luckily my car owner predecessors appeared to have gone for the one year option. The other thing mandatory here is a WOF (warrant of fitness). Depending on the age of your vehicle you have to get these every 6 months or year. They are mechanical checks for safety- and again these are attached to the wind screen for all the world to see. There are quite a number of foreign (esp Japanese) imports on the road here. The used car market seems much larger than back home- maybe because leasing/buying new cars just doesn't seem to happen as much here.

If you drive diesels, you also have to get RUCs (road user charges)- kilometers- which you can buy by the thousand at the post shop. The diesel price is lower than petrol- but it is partially offset by this charge...

In new and exciting news, the day of the Marlborough great treature hunt is quickly approaching. It should be great fun!! Hopefully the weather cooperates...

Until next time.

Unprolific blogging...

Okay- so I've been really really bad at posting...

First a wee update on the immigration tales...

I finally made it in to get my immigration medical form completed complete with urine test, blood test, and other standard tests. My birth certificate came impressively quickly from Saskatchewan (under 3 weeks!!!) and I have the proper one with both parents names... I continue to wait for my criminal check. They have not replied to my last 2 queries. All I know is that when I first inquired it was going to take about 4 months. It has been about 3. As such i didn't have time to get my residency application in before my visa expired. I have since put in an application for a general work visa/ permit. They sent me a text telling me they will get back to me within 60 days. Here is hoping. I'm in no great mood to leave the country...

I spent last weekend in Nelson... visiting the lovely Rabbit Island for the first time, as well as the market and going for a great walk to Tahuna beach with the girlfriends. I miss that walk so much... It was my running route- and I find it much harder to get motivated to run in landlocked Blenheim....


I'm into the watercolours now. I paid $50 for a special paintbrush, so I'm hoping I get into it hard core... :)

Ooh- this is a call for fun costume ideas for a team of 4. We're entering www.treasurehunt.co.nz - the Marlborough Treasure Hunt. Our team is kican (kiwi-canadian) ...Help with any sort of exciting costume ideas would be much appreciated.

Until next time...

More politics...

Isn't it interesting... . From stuff.co.nz:
"A bill that would have allowed shops to open on Good Friday and Easter Sunday was defeated 84-37 on its second reading in Parliament last night."

Another little interesting tidbit for Saskatchewanians reading this. The boys and girls here wear uniforms at school. You often spot the boys in knee socks and shorts, with a sweater - usually a school crest is contained as well. The girls more often are in skirts. I'm told that the highest forms (sort of like grades) don't actually have to wear uniforms, but the youngin's do. Apparently it is due to the british ties- which seem much stronger here than in good old Sask.

Today I spent $326 on medical tests to support my immigration NZ application... Blood/xray and checkup- all in the course of an hour. Impressive rate/hour, yes no?? There appears to be a wee bit of a doc (as in GP) shortage in Blenheim as well. I went to the accident clinic- but it is closing in a few months... As the paper noted yesterday it will leave a bit of a hole, and hopefully they will find ways to fill it elsewhere.