Anil turns 7

It is the big seven, the age that seperates the kids from the boys, according to Anil. At least it has been for the last few birthdays.

This birthday he wanted it to be a speacial birthday with no girls. Just his closest friends, Leo and Patrick.





After the birthday at home they all adjourned to their favourite restaurant for dinner. Guess where? McDonald's of course!

Letter from the North Pole

Since moving into this place, we often find in our letter box, letters addressed to the "New Owners" and sometimes letters addressed to us welcoming us to our new home! It is amazing how these people find us! A few days ago, a letter from Dominion Post (local newspaper) welcoming us to the neighbourhood and as a gesture giving us newspaper subscription for 13 weeks at half price!

So far, the letters have been addressed to the adults in the family . This afternoon in our mail box two letters of a different kind were there, to the kids. Anil and Ashwini received letters from Santa Clause and post marked North Pole!



Wonder how they found their names. Perhaps, Santa has connections in high places!

Summertime at the beach

The day was great and we just had to explore the many beaches around the city. We drove to a few only to find the sea too rough for our liking, until we came across this, just out of town in a place called Island Bay. Really pretty and nice litlle beach which is about 7 minutes from the city. From the pictures below you know how crowded it can get!



This is Anil getting ready for a spectacular dive!





We drove a little further to the end of the road and was stopped by this sign "4WD Vehicles Only". The rest of the track is along the sea against high cliffs and amazingly deserted beaches.



I need that Landrover Discovery now!

Vera's rose garden

Now that I have made my mark in the kitchen, it is time to show off Vera's ceration in the garden.







This is just part of it! There are still white and blue roses yet to bloom.

Cooking for dummies

Experiments from the book I borrowed from the library titled "Cooking for dummies". It looks better than it tastes, I think! But it is my creation!

This is a Pot Roast



And this is Baked Fish



Bon Appetit

Things that can cause a delay

As you would have known from my earlier threads, I take the train to work daily or at least when I am working in Wellington. The company that runs the trains in Wellington lets commuters know of delays by sending text messages to mobile phones.

I often get messages of delays stating reasons such as "a derailment somewhere", "technical fault on the line" or "mechanical fault". This morning (fortunately after I arrived in the office) I got this message which I thought was really funny - "The 0740 btwn Paraparaumu & Wellington is running up to 30 minutes late due to 2 staff members falling ill".

The close encounter with the Malaysian High Commission

We finally sold our property in Malaysia but that's not what this thread is about. Due to the sale, we needed to get our sale and purchase documents attested by the Malaysian High Commission in New Zealand. So we called the High Commission and made an appointment to see someone of authority to get the documents attested.

This was not the first Malaysian foreign mission I am dealing with but will be one I would remember for a while. I hope this thread does not end up like my other thread "5 Malaysians I met in Wellington". Am not sure why I am sometimes so critical but there are people who don't like it! Anyway, back to this incident.

Before I write about what I thought of the High Commission, let me say what it is like in New Zealand in general. It is so common for a cashier at the supermarket to say "Hi, how are you?" or a taxi driver to ask you "How was your day?". I travel quite a bit and each time I take a taxi and get dropped off, the driver will without fail say "Hope you have a good day" or "Have a good weekend". This is what the last 6 months have been. Was kinda taken aback initially but am enjoying the politeness and hospitality in general.

Now this morning, we went to the Malaysian High Commission and met this lady whom I was very sure is a Malaysian. Not a smile not a greeting, nothing. It reminded me so much of going into a Malaysian government office to get something done. My daughter being herself was so chatty but nope, not a smile, not a frown not a single word! She charged us NZ$56 for attesting the documents when there was no mention of a charge anywhere. She said she could not give me a receipt but promised to mail me one and took down my address. I said "Thank you" but she just walked away.

On the contrary, we were talking to the driver who was sitting in for the receptionist, whom I believe is a Kiwi, and he was real polite and we actually had a conversation! We found out when the High Commission was opened and why he was sitting as a receptionist and if we were there for another hour, probably where he lived!

When I visited the Malaysian Embassy in Indonesia, I thought they were friendly and warm but then I realised today that what I felt was perhaps in relation to the surrounding. Indonesia is quite similar to Malaysia in a lot of ways and worse in some, so I felt I was being treated well. But here in New Zealand everyone is extremely polite and because of that I felt the High Commission staff was so cold!

While driving back, I was telling Vera that I still can't get over the fact that she can be so cold!

Wonder what it will be like, if and when we return to Malaysia!

Circus in town

The Weber Brothers Circus is in town. They are currently performing at Paraparaumu which is about an hour away from where we live. They are scheduled to be in Wellington next week but we were not sure what our schedules are going to be like next week, so we decided to drive to Paraparaumu to see the circus.

We paid $65 for a family pass and got us seated on an elevated platform and had real good views for the arena. The circus was packed to the brim. It was worth every cent as the show was spectacular. Unlike the circus we are used to back home, the only real animals here were dogs. The unreal ones included a mermaid, a lobster, a shark and some alien looking Jabba the Hut look a like.

The second half of the show was really good with lots of UV lights and fountains that give the circus a different feel to it.

Fireworks galore

Today is Guy Fawkes's day in New Zealand. This is I came to understand is celebrated throughout New Zealand, Canada and the UK. Every year for one week fireworks are legally sold here in New Zealand to anyone over 14 years of age.

In theory the event is to remember Britain's infamous traitor - Guy Fawkes, the Gunpowder Plot conspirator. He was caught red-handed in Britain's House of Lords cellar in 1605, in an attempt to blow up Parliament and the king in order to rid the country of its Protestant rulers and restore the Catholic faith. I have no idea why the country is celebrating the failure of a terrorist act, as it seems to be. Over the last 400 years, this celebration has evolved into signalling the coming of summer.

As tonight was the last night and the actual Guy Fawkes's Day, the sky around where we lived, lighted up in brilliant sparks. It was really beautiful especially since the sun sets at about 8.30pm and the sky was somewhat bright in the background of not a dark night yet.

There were firework displays at the harbour here in Wellington but we gave it a miss this time around.

I hope we are not starting to take this country for granted. I seem to notice that I take less pictures of places we go to because it is there and we can visit it anytime. And now we are missing events because there is always another one around the corner.

It happens to all of us...

It seems so surreal to think about it now, that about six months ago, we went through this! Starting a new life in a new country. This week we had two families starting theirs.

Vincent, Joo Bee and Junius from Singapore arrived last week and are now settled Palmerston North about 2 hours north of Wellington. And this week, we had Andrew Edwards from the UK doing his reccee of the North Island. He stayed with us the 2 days he was in Wellington. At the end of the two days, I just saw myself in him. He was so close to getting a job and was all confused because it just happened too fast.

I think we are so used to taking our time in getting things organised, regardless of where we come from, and when things start to happen, we panic! I remember in March this year, I was sitting on a couch in Wendy's B&B in Eastbourne, just returning from an interview, being told I have to be in Wellington by June. At that point, I had not even mentioned to my previous employer that I might be leaving. Actually, I haven't even mentioned to my parents that we were migrating. At that moment, everything was just happening too fast! Wendy was saying that a few months earlier, another couple Sarah and Ian went through this same feeling at her place!

Now, here we are all settled and enjoying life.

Anil and his friends

Vera sneaked in her camera to Anil's school this morning to capture what goes on behind the scenes.

This is Anil and his bestest best friend, Leo...



And here is one of his many girlfriends....



Hmmmm.... do I need to start worrying?

Work offsite in Taupo

This weekend, the bank I work with had an offsite in Taupo, about 400km north of Wellington.



Taupo is a major tourist destination and it has everything one could ask for from fresh air to snow, volcanoes, rivers, lakes to fishing!

Lake Taupo itself was created by the largest known eruption of the past 5,000 years, it was so big the sun went hazy in China. Today, what remains is a lake the size of Singapore and the largest fresh water lake in Australasia.

Trying to squeeze work in between a delightful break was indeed a challenge as the great lake and the awe inspiring Ruapehu mountains was just outside the window.



After the "gruelling" one and a half day, it was time to let the hair down, at least for those who still had some! I did things I never would have done elsewhere and it was tiring, exhausting, and even torturous but great fun! I played golf for the very first time and actually hit the ball, caught a trout, got myself a fishing license and mountain biked.







Due to the nature of this country there is so much that can be done in the outdoors. What's next? Need to get myself a boat or a kayak as the sea is just 5 minutes away!

Moving house!

No we are not moving again!

But moving house in New Zealand takes on a whole new meaning! To a another New Zealander or even Australian this is something common but not to those of us coming from Asia.

In New Zealand, one can actually buy a piece of land called a section, and then go to a yard and buy a house off the "shelf"! they then transport the house of your choice to the land you own and plant it there for you. Then fix the plumbing and electricity and bingo! You have a house to live in.

Strange but true!

This is a picture of a yard near a town called Bulls north of Wellington!

New interests in New Zealand

Both Vera and I have taken up new hobbies since coming to New Zealand. Probably it is having more quality time on our hands. Vera has taken control of the once forest behind our house which is now starting to look more like a decent backyard. She even had some roses bloom. Her next project? An orange tree in the garden.

As for yours truly, I have followed my dad's footsteps and starting putting my feet into the kitchen. I would not dare say taking control of the kitchen just yet or I may have to starve for a while.

I started with some roasts and my last leg of lamb roast actually was a sell out! This afternoon I tried my hand at baking muffins. It did taste not bad but did not look quite like muffins but more like cup cakes. It was a winner with Anil and Ashwini so I guess it wasn't all that bad!

First DIY Project

Living the Kiwi tradition, yours truly embarked on the first DIY project, renovating the shower! What a disaster it almost turned out to be. Taking the old shower down was a piece of cake but putting it back together again was another story altogether!

This was the good part... wrecking the existing shower...





It cost me $423 all in and three whole days to get it all up as opposed to paying $800 and getting someone else to do it Of course that would have meant I had three days to do something else and the shower would have been up a lot faster and would have looked a lot more professional.

And after all that sweat and pain...



Almost looking good...



But nothing beats doing it yourself!

The grass needs cutting

Back home when the grass needs cutting, it is the friendly neighbourhood grass cutter on his trusty motorcycle that comes to mind. Although there are people who mow their own lawns, it is usually far and in between. Then there are the ones who believe in low maintainence lawn, aka concrete the whole thing! The only tool you need is a broom!

Here, it is the reverse. There are still the friendly neighbourhood grass cutter but they are not a common sight. Almost every home has a grass cutter of some sort. There are the huge buggy cutters where you can sit on and drive around. There are the petrol grass cutters that you "drive" from the back and there are the electric variant of the same sort. Then there are the Malaysian version which is called weedeater. And finally there are the hand powered ones like the one we got.

Almost every weekend, we hear one blaring somewhere in the neighbourhood but since we already polute the neighbourhood with my trusty chain saw cutting firewood, we decided to get something that is quiet.

It is really easy to use, even a 5 year old can handle it!

Holiday in the mountains

Our first NZ holiday. We heard that winter decided to come back for the school holidays. There was massive snow fall in the mountains which is only 3.5 hours from Wellington. So, we decided to go for it before it all melts away.

After about 3 hours drive, the imposing Mount Ruapehu came into view! It was majestic. All that snow was awesome.





This is the highest point in the mountain road called the Desert Road. Just a week ago, it was closed to traffic as it was completely covered in snow. It is the desert road because it is totally bare of any vegetation for miles. I read in a tourist brochure that Mt Ruapehu (which is an active volcano) last erupted in 1995 and the lava burnt much around it.



As we were climbing the mountain to the Turoa ski resort, the roads were starting to be covered in snow. It was a little like a winter wonderland.



And after about 30 minutes uphill, we were finally there! We did all that is expected which included snow sleding, snowman making and the family potrait...just to prove we were there.









If you thought the snow capped mountains were a sight to behold, look at the sunset, which was just as impressive.

Going back in time

We were driving up North this morning and just past Parapaumu we came across this beauty, waiting to fill up and move.



We pulled over, just like others driving by, and took photos. A ride on this beauty will cost about $120 but will definitely do it!

Ain't she a beauty?

Spring cleaning

Have been doing a lot of cleaning up around the house these few weeks that I did not have the time to post anything or was it just an excuse? Well, spring just kicked in and yes I was a teeny weeny bit lazy!

This is how the backyard looked like. We just realised we bought a jungle with the house...



Realised that with a wood burner, a chainsaw is essential. Soon the trees on our front and back is going to take the resemblence of my head!





And it is springtime when we need to start preparing for the next winter. And where would I store all that wood I am cutting? A woodshed of course. So, this is the SG design for a woodshed under our deck.



From this...



to this...



and there's still more...

Clifford is in town

With Spring comes fun and activities.

This morning we had the Tawa Market where the whole main street was turned into a fun place with stalls and activities. And we had surprise visits by...

Spring is here

Spring is finally here.

The colour yellow takes a backseat and the colour green flourishes.

This is view of our home with the hills on the back. Our home is on the left.

The smoking roof

Last two nights we had frost and what that means is that the rest of the day...it is nice and warm! The definition of warm here is around16 deg C.

And in the early morning, when the sun rises and warms the surrounding, you see smoking roofs!





And that's not the chimney!

Discovered a world of literacy

We joined the local library in Tawa, which is where we live, about a month ago. My initial impression was "wow"! They had books, magazines, video tapes, cassettes, CD's CD-ROM's, DVD's and all for borrowings. They have PC's connected to the internet. They even have a section where you can bring children to play. There are toys in the library. Which I think is a good thing. Then kids will start to like going to libraries and eventually start to love books.

This morning I visited the Wellington City Library which is supposed to be the mother of all libraries. And it is one heck of a library! There are all those things I mentioned above here but multiply that by a 100!!! The whole library is 3 storeys high and each floor is about 3 times the size of the Tawa library! Can't really say how big in words but it is BIG!



There are close to 12,000 CD's alone of every genre of music, classical, opera, instrumental, even international. I even saw a CD of Siti Nurhaliza's music here! As for DVD's there are complete sets of Friends, Sex in the City and almost every movie and documentary released. Go to fiction and every novel of almost every author is there!

Vera will be happy my book buying will come to a halt now! Having 4 weeks to read to book or listen to a CD or watch a movie, why would I want to buy?