Mental Notes for Myself - Part I

1) When renting a car, regardless of country, before driving away check to see which side the gas tank is on.  This MAY prevent the inevitable embarrassment of pulling up to a pump, getting out, and then getting back in to go to the other side of the pump.  And this will always happen regardless of having the little gas pump icon on the gasoline meter.

2) "NZ" is pronounced "En Zed," not "En Zee."

3) When renting or acquiring a car in a country where one drives on the left side of the road, and you choose to go with a manual transmission, remember that the stick shift will be to your left, not to your right as you are used to.

A Confession

I’m terrified.

There, I said it.  Because it’s true.  How could you want something so badly, and then when you actually get it (or are well on your way to getting it) you become almost paralyzed with fear?

Apologies ahead of time – this will be a bit of stream of consciousness.

As I’ve said, Bobby and I have been wanting to move to New Zealand for a while now.  And after being on the ground here for 4 days I got a job.  And I honestly thought that was going to be the hard part.  But as I was sitting in my recruiter’s office, with this piece of paper in front of me waiting for me to sign, I was just awash with so many conflicting feelings.  But sign it I did.

The rest of my time in Auckland was fairly uneventful, except for the anxiety of everything that was going to have to be taken care of.  On that Saturday, my B&B host Martin invited me for a bike ride on one of the Auckland area bike trails, and I went along.  And I was so glad I did.  It was nice to get out of my own head for a bit.  I got to meet friends of Martin, 2 of whom had immigrated from England.  And the bike ride itself was a reminder of why we want to move here in the first place.

I left Auckland on Monday, and stopped for the night at Lake Taupo.  We had spent a night there in January, and its beauty forced me to return.  And I was not disappointed.  It is one of the most breathtaking vistas I know of.  A beautiful lake with mountains rising in the distant background.  The photo here really does not come close to doing it justice.

The next day, I drove to Wellington, where I still am.  I had booked a room at a B&B in a really funky house high in the hills overlooking Wellington.  What I didn’t know when I booked was just how remote this place is.  How difficult it was to even drive to.  How it’s a tough 30-minute walk to the nearest restaurant.  How the host would be leaving the morning after my arrival and wouldn’t return for 2 days.  How I would feel absolutely lonely and stranded.

When I planned my trip, I had expected to be doing some interviewing here in Wellington as well, but after securing the position in Auckland, that was eliminated from the itinerary.  So I thought I would use my time here to file my work visa application.  I sat down in a café today to start filling out the form.  I soon discovered that, contrary to what I believed, I still had more personal documentation that I need to gather before I can actually file the application.

And on top of everything – I miss Bobby and the kids terribly.  I’ve been managing fairly well.  But my time here in Wellington, the city that HAD been my first choice for a destination, really has sent my emotions into a tail spin.

The oddest thing happened tonight though.  While I’m spending my final evening in Wellington, I did some laundry.  When the dryer finished, I got my stuff out and started folding it to get it ready to pack.  And the oddest feeling of calm came over me.  A feeling that once we’re here, and we establish routines, things will be ok.  Which they will.

A lot of people have congratulated me on fulfilling a dream, expressed jealousy, been in awe of the guts I have.  But I think I’ve got a lot of people fooled into believing I’m a lot braver than I really am.  Because I am scared.  But I do think it will all be ok.

Coming Clean

So, I need to share more about this trip than I have. And now I think I can. For at least 10 years, I've had this weird thought stuck in my head about living in New Zealand. You know when you get a thought in your head and it just sticks there? Last year, Bobby and I started talking more and more about New Zealand. And we started thinking that the timing might be right. Our trip to NZ in January of this year was part vacation and part scouting trip. If we were entertaining moving across the planet, it might be a good idea to actually be there to see what it's like. So we did just that. And we both love NZ. It has breathtaking beauty. The people in this country are bizarrely friendly. At one point in our trip in January I actually started thinking that everyone here are actors hired to see the country to tourists. The food is good. The pace of life seems a bit more natural. As soon as we got home from that trip, I started looking for a job, off-shore. I had a few leads, several phone conversations, a couple of Skype interviews with hiring companies, but nothing was panning out. My recruiter friend in Wellington flat out told me that I was going to have to be on the ground to interview. Apparently NZ companies are a bit gun-shy working with people in my situation, because they've extended offers only to have the candidate back out at the last minute. A month or so ago, I determined that due to being at the tail end of one project at work and prior to the beginning of the next, that the timing was right for just such a trip. So I booked the flights. And told my recruiter friends in both Wellington and Auckland that I would be here in NZ to talk to companies. At the point, it was like the doors flew open. To jump ahead a bit, I landed in Auckland 4 days ago. I had my first face-to-face interview on Tuesday morning, with a development manager and a team lead. This was a company with which I'd already had a phone call technical screening interview a few prior, as well as taking a couple of psychometric tests for. I had a second interview yesterday. First up was a product director and another development lead. After them, I met with another product director and the CEO of the company. After that, I took a technical test. This morning I got a call from my recruiter that they were offering me the job. This afternoon, I signed the offer letter. So, I will be moving to New Zealand in a few weeks. For those of you wondering why I came by myself without Bob, you now know this wasn't just a vacation trip. And Bobby will be joining me at some point in the future. We have a lot of stuff to figure out, and he'll hang back for a while to get some things settled while I'm getting settled here. We are both excited, scared, happy, and terrified. And I think I may still be in shock a bit. This happened so fast. Have you ever thought about visiting New Zealand? You'll now have someplace to stay for free in Auckland. And the other thing - it's currently mid-winter here. And the sun is shining and the temperature is 12 degrees. Celcius. It's 54 Fahrenheit.

Getting Settled

I made it safely to New Zealand! The flight arrived around 5:15 am this morning. Since I couldn't check in at my first b&b until this afternoon, I made a booking at the airport Novotel hotel. Once I made it through immigration and customs (which took about an hour), it was just a short walk to the hotel. Checked in, went upstairs, and slept soundly for about 6 hours... Now I'm at my b&b, it is 4:19 pm, the sun looks to be lowering in the sky - and I think I will take a nap before going for a walk and dinner. I will try to post more later.

The Travel Gods Smiled on Me, Then Took a Lunch Break

My trip started off at 8:30-ish at Port Columbus. I was booked on United to go to San Francisco, routed through Houston. (My flight to NZ is on Air New Zealand, which has a direct flight from SF to Auckland). When I checked in, I learned that I had been rebooked, and would now be going through Chicago O'Hare, still arriving in plenty of time for my NZ flight. My first pleasant surprise - I was marked as a TSA Precheck. This means a much simpler security process. No taking off shoes, removing belts, emptying pockets, or taking out laptops. The only thing I had to do was put my phone in my bookbag. The same thing happened to me when we were returning from NZ in January. Bobby, Mike C, and Todd were in front of me in line, and then when it was my turn the guy took a look at my boarding pass and routed me directly to the pre-check line. I got through and waited 5-10 minutes on "the other side" for the other three to get through. I board my first flight, to Chicago. Middle seat - yecch. But when the doors were finally closed on the plane, I looked to my left, and there was nobody in the window seat. So I slid over. I got to Chicago, and after a bit of confusion (I had been told in Columbus that I wouldn't be changing planes, but I ended up having to), I got to my next flight. Again, middle seat - yecch. But then I noticed the little sign on the bottom of my fully-upright-and-locked-position tray table - "Reserved for Economy Plus." That was when I noticed I had a LOT more legroom, and that made up for being in the middle seat. And then I discovered the other little sign about our seats having electrical outlets available. Woohoo! Charging up the laptop! When I checked in in Columbus, the agent was not able to check my bag all the way to NZ. I had booked my NZ flight directly with Air New Zealand, but my flights to and from San Francisco on United. No biggie I thought. I'll just get my bag in SF, and go check in again. That was the point at which the Travel Gods went on break. I got my suitcase. I made it to the International Terminal. I found the aisle for Air New Zealand. And then I found the sign that said that their window didn't open until 6:00 pm. So, I've been sitting in the food court for a few hours with my book bag, my CPAP carrying case, and my suitcase. But as of this writing, I only have 30 more minutes to wait before I can check in. If having to have my suitcase with me in a food court with wi-fi access is the worst thing that happens on this trip, then it will be a pretty freakin good trip. And, oh yes, the wi-fi in the San Francisco airport is free! So, time to hit the "facilities" and head to check-in.

To Begin...

I've decided to start a new blog to document my adventures to New Zealand. And here it is. I'll try to post at least daily with happenings, observations, realizations, and some photos too. So... Let's Begin!