Gail Dickson .. my blog from Down Under

Just thought I’d let everyone know that we’re all fine.   The big earthquake that hit ChCh this morning didn’t reach Auckland so we’re all good.   Terrible news though and there’s been a lot of structural damage down there … government have called a state of emergency.   So far, only a couple of people seriously hurt … let’s hope it remains that way.

I’ve joked a lot of times about us living in a very big hut and now I realise why!   The majority of photos I’ve seen are of bricks/stone falling as buildings made like that can’t really cope with that kind of force.   The older style wooden houses are built with a special nailing structure that is designed specifically to withstand earthquakes … ie it allows them to move.   Mind you … I’d rather not test that theory out!!!!

About a year ago NZ government sent out leaflets to all households advising them to have a “natural disaster emergency kit” in the house … food, water, blankets etc etc.   Maybe I should find the leaflet ….. :o(   I have done something towards my emergency procedures though … now at least work on the same side of the bridge as the kids are … jic!   That whole tsunami thing worried me a bit … how would I get back to them if I couldn’t get over the bridge???   Sorted …

Four years since my mum died … I still miss her loads and really wish she was here to see the kids growing up and also to enjoy NZ which I know she was really looking forward to before she found out she was ill. August is a hard month even after all this time as I keep remembering what happened …. It was such a horrible last few weeks. It’s daffodil day in NZ today .. a day to raise funds for The Cancer Society in NZ. Kyle asked for more information on what it really meant today (as he knows that it’s something to do with Gran) and when I explained it to him, he got really upset. He’s old enough now that he understands illness and death so much more so I guess it meant a lot more this year. He’s such a great kid … and I know she would be so proud of him!! (and obviously of Regan too … but unfortunately she never met her)

Week 4 at new job just finished. Have to admit to being REALLY bored for the first couple of weeks … I am so used to being flat out 100% of the time that having little to do was really bad! Got more work to do now (infact one of the projects is going to be HUGE) and starting to get my head around the new processes so enjoying it a lot more.

Now getting an extra half hour in bed every morning and manage to get the children up, feed them and say goodbye every morning so it’s great (although have to admit, much more stressful than getting up and out when everyone still in bed! ;o) ).

Re the last post … didn’t end up getting a week off as Regan was off sick the whole week so got absolutely nothing done and felt even more exhausted at the end of it. :o( She’s all better now though so that’s the main thing.

The weather has been really yucky too so weekends have been spent indoors for the majority. We did manage to go walking one weekend to a local reserve. Kyle and Bobby had been before with Keas and it was a fairly tough walk for kids … Regan lead most of way and getting up some very big hills. She was absolutely exhausted by the time we got back to the car. Typical kiwi bush so got lots of piccies of ponga trees which kept me happy! :o)

Last Sunday was quite a nice day so we decided to make the most of it and take a trip to the city. Drove to Devonport and then got the ferry over to the CBD where we pretended to be tourists for the day. Wandered around, went to one of the city parks and decided to go up the Sky Tower as it’s been a long time since we’ve been up. It was a really nice day and lots of photos on Flickr.

This weekend, the weather is supposed to be much the same so not sure what we’ll get up to ……

Well it’s done … I no longer work for VF. After 3 years, 2 months I have left the first company I joined since coming to New Zealand. Was working right up till home time and then went off to the “local” for my leaving drinks.

I will admit to shedding a few tears … will really miss working with the online team, they are a great bunch of guys and we’ve been through some tough (ie extremely busy) times together. They made the effort to get a lovely bunch of flowers and a card on my desk for me coming in on Friday morning (I get in around 7am, they tend to be nearer 9am) which was lovely.

As per previous post … I’ve got a week off next week so looking forward to the rest before starting again.

And if my dad is reading this anytime soon …. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!

As the post name suggests .. this is just a quick update to tell you about my change of plans!

As you all know, I’m working my notice at VF … well actually, it’s my last day tomorrow!! And I mentioned that I’d got a new job in a small consultancy in the CBD … hmmm, that’s kinda changed as of yesterday. I’d applied for another job on the Shore with a large insurance company back in May … hadn’t heard anything so assumed that I hadn’t got through the first stage … then just after I’d signed the contract with consultancy, they called me to go for an interview. I guess the Shore bit is the reason I went but when I got there and met the people, saw the building etc I realised it would be a really good move as well as being so close to home. A couple of interviews later and I was offered the job.

It was still a really hard thing to do though as when I commit to something I normally always do it! Spoken like a true project manager ;o) Anyhoo, had to tell the consultancy I’d changed my mind which was really hard as they were a really great team and would have been good to work for too.

So what does it really mean?

• The working hours are half an hour less a day
• The commute is 15 to 20 mins max whereas at the moment it’s only that long if I leave at 6am. Leaving anytime after that means at least an hour.
• No motorway … and no bridge!
• But most importantly … I’ll get to see Kyle and Regan every morning which I don’t do very often at the moment (only when I’m running late!).

Really looking forward to my week off .. have a few trips planned for lunch, gym, shopping and some meetings with the homeless charity. Rest of the time will be spent sorting out the house!

I am now working my notice at VF… one week to go till I leave and my boss has only just found my replacement so I’m guessing my last week is going to be busy! To combat that, I’ve got lots of lunches planned so it won’t seem so bad. Having some drinks on the Friday night at the Viaduct to say goodbye to all the friends I’ve made while I’ve been there.

Then I’ve got a week off before starting my new job. Going to spend some time in the house as we never seem to have enough time to get everything done so the aim is to finish lots of stuff off … will see how that goes! ;o) I’m going to try and keep doing the voluntary work with the homeless charity as I’m really enjoying it so have scheduled some meetings with them over my time off too. Will post the website for the fundraising event (the Big Sleepout) once it’s up and running … working with the media people now to finalise content etc.

It’s also going to be my last week with Shel … I will really miss her and my sessions. I never imagined that working so hard that it hurt (a lot!) could be so much fun. I’m going to have to find something else to replace it … though we do have the new treadmill for the time being. Going to have a look about for yoga/pilates/boxing classes near home.

The school holidays are over again! Kyle went to holiday club for the majority of the time – except the middle weekend when we all went to Ruapehu so he could see the snow. I’d been concerned ever since I agreed to go that I was going to be really grumpy the whole time I was there … as I REALLY don’t like the cold or the snow! However, although I was a little bit grumpy the first night when we got there and I was freezing … it got better. On the Saturday, we went up the mountain with sledges and the kids absolutely loved it. People had often told me that when skiing it was actually quite warm (didn’t believe them) and they are right. I wasn’t cold at all while we were sledging so it was actually quite fun! Regan decided that she wasn’t walking anywhere so I spent the whole time pulling her around on her sledge! :o) And I have to say it’s awesome to think we were sledging on an active volcano!!

On the way back up the road, we popped into Waitomo and went to see the glow worm cave. To be honest, it was all a bit too commercialised for me as you were guided through the cave and couldn’t really wander about yourself … however, some of the rock formations were really good and the sight of the glow worms once you get in the boat was amazing! Kyle loves David Attenborough DVDs and he has one of him going down the same cave … so he was even more excited at the prospect that David Attenborough had been in the same cave looking at the glow worms!

Last day of the holiday was spent back in Auckland so we headed off to Crystal Mountain on the Monday which is a kind of a theme park (kiwi style!). Regan was in a weird old mood and all the animals and birds were scaring her … Not many photos of her because of that. Kyle enjoyed it though .. he was on the rollercoaster, the bungy trampoline thing etc etc.

This weekend, Kyle had a sleepover birthday party at Righard’s. He’s had a bit of a cold recently but seemed okay … but overnight he got much worse so Sunday morning, we got a bit of a mess home! He’s been on the couch all day since …

Regan’s preschool class has an award where if they are good all week then they get to take a soft toy named Bumble home for the weekend (they also get a little gift) and then have to do a photo diary of what Bumble has been up to over the weekend (I’ve uploaded the photos to Flickr incase you wonder what they are all about!). Due to Kyle being ill, we ended up not doing too much unfortunately but managed enough for the diary.

In a couple of weeks time, Kyle and Bobby are off to Kea camp overnight so the girls have a weekend of fun planned! One of Regan’s friends at preschool is 4 that weekend so we’re off to Charlotte’s party on the Saturday followed by a girl’s night in. Then we’re off to see Leanne & Millan on the Sunday morning before the boys get back.

Kyle is really enjoying Keas and is starting to work out which badges he wants to do first. He’s even started being extra helpful .. setting table etc … I knew there was a good reason to send him to Keas! ;o)

Another month goes by with no blogging …. Oops!

Where did I leave off … oh yeah, Queen’s birthday … we went to a bach half way between Leigh and Matakana which is about an hour north of Auckland. It was dark by the time we got there as we left after tea on the Friday. First issue was finding the drive in the dark on the windy road between the two places. Think it was on attempt five that we finally found it! Drove down this very long drive, through the forest, and came out into a clearing with a small(ish) bach on it. As I said, it was dark, so couldn’t’ see anything other than the bach.

When we woke up in the morning and opened the curtains …. Wow, what an awesome view! Saturday we headed off to Matakana farmer’s market … very nice. They’ve got some great stuff there and the little stalls selling food are really good too. Over the rest of the weekend, the weather was yuck so didn’t really go out and about much (other than a short walk in Tawharanui). Kyle was supposed to be going tree planting nearby with the Keas but the weather was so horrible and he was getting over a cold, that I decided he wasn’t going. Despite the weather though … it was a really nice weekend.

The weather in general is getting much colder now …. The coats are most definitely out.

Work is still as bad so decided it was definitely time to do something about it. Sent my CV in for a PM job in a small consultancy last week …. Interview with agency on Friday, first interview on Monday, second interview on Wednesday, contract hand delivered on Thursday and handed my notice in on Friday!!!! All very quick and hasn’t really given me much time to think about it! My new role is client facing and working as a vendor so more of what I enjoy. Being part of a small company will hopefully mean that I have to deal with a lot less politics and egos … so I’m hoping that my future is much less stressful. Actually stressful isn’t the right word … more frustrating I think.   Have to say that it’s not all bad in VF … just need a change.   I’ve been in VF since I arrived in NZ and don’t know what the rest of Auckland job market is actually like.   We’ll soon see ….

At the moment, my gym visits are on the up (slightly) … now managing three times a week … twice with my personal trainer and once on my own. I’m supposed to go for a run once over the weekend too but haven’t been managing that due to the weather and being busy. However, the new job is in another part of the city so won’t be close enough to continue with current gym so will have to give up my P/T aswell! :o( Decided to look for a cheap treadmill to combat that and managed to win one on Trade Me (NZ equivalent of Ebay) the other day. Will pick it up sometime over the next week.

Regan is starting to get a bit better re the clingy phase and is starting to sleep through again most nights. She has also moved up to Pre-School 2 at nursery and Bobby managed a good drop off for the first time in months last week.   Even in the short time she’s been in PS2 you can see the difference in her so it was definitely the right time.

Kyle is doing well too … trying to talk him into doing the kids marathon this year (2.2km). Have promised to run with him and he can practice on the treadmill … he’s kinda agreed but still not sure he’ll do it! School holidays coming up again at the end of this week too …. Where does time go??

I finally gave in aswell …. Bookings made for school holidays … we’re going to Ohakune for a long weekend so that they can go and play in the snow. I really dislike the snow so I’m not really looking forward to being all cold and wet … but Kyle REALLY wants to go and Regan has never seen the snow.

Since it’s my birthday tomorrow, we spent this weekend down in Rotorua. The weather on the way down was horrific with roads flooded all over the place. Luckily, yesterday cleared up and the day was really nice (if cold). Spent a while in the hotel leisure suite … in the sauna, hot pools etc. Did forget to take my jewellery off when I went in the mineral pool though so now my lovely silver ring is a strange bronze/black colour … hoping it wears off!! Went out for dinner last night for my birthday as Monday night is the final night at Keas before the school holidays and we’ve all to go … so will be spending my birthday night with a bunch of 7 year olds! Had a really nice weekend and also off on holiday tomorrow.

It was Kyle’s 7^th birthday the other day … I don’t know if it’s just me or if all mothers (parents?) go through the same thing on their children’s birthdays? Although you love seeing them growing up and learning new things, at the same time when the next birthday is coming around … you realise that your baby is getting older and it’s kinda sad.

One of my developers at work has just returned from bereavement leave (his dad) so I guess my mum has been on my mind quite a bit over the last week or so … and it dawned on me on Kyle’s birthday that he’s now been without her longer than he had her about …. And that made me kinda sad too!

Saying that we had a great day and last weekend we also had his birthday party. He wanted to do the same as last year so we invited 5 of his friends to go to the movies and then back to ours for play/food. We went to see ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ which is a really good movie. Had the usual herding cats moment getting them to and from the cinema but apart from that everything went really well.

Work has been a nightmare recently … we deployed the big project (finally) then my boss went off on paternity leave so I had to do his job and mine for the last two weeks. We are also completely replanning the online workload at the moment so it’s hectic. Thankfully my boss is back on Monday so it’ll take a bit of the pressure off.

Last time I blogged I mentioned my application for the Vodafone Foundation work … I got accepted! I am working with a homeless charity in Auckland to plan a fundraising event where we’re asking CEOs, celebrities and politicians to sleep rough for the night to gain an understanding of what the homeless endure every night … plus to raise some money for the cause. It’s really interesting working with a completely different kind of business and managing this is also completely different to anything I’ve ever done before … we are even trying to get the event televised.

Didn’t get elected to the school BOT but to be honest … I can’t do everything! Will go along to the PTA meetings though …

Regan is doing great … she’s getting much more grown up in her actions and discussions ….. however, she is going through a really clingy phase just now that I’m unsure of how to bring her out. Bobby bears the brunt of it at drop off in the mornings … whereas it’s me she wants when she wakes up in the middle of the night (which is quite often at the moment). Very tired Gail! She’s moving up to the final room in nursery in a couple of weeks so I’m hoping that the whole new environment and different activities will help to bring her out of it.

Kyle’s keyboard lessons are going well … he’s really good at it when he puts his mind to it. My practice has kind of ground to a halt though due to everything else. Need to get back in to it.

On a similar theme, need to get back to my full gym routine! Only been managing my two p/t sessions recently due to work (and everything else!) so have promised my trainer that I’ll get back into it. I really enjoy going to my sessions .. especially the boxing! :o)

Next weekend is Queens Birthday so we’re going north for the long weekend. Kyle’s Kea troup are off planting trees in a reserve near where we’re going so we’ll head there on the Sunday (think he gets a badge for it so we’ll have to go). He’s really enjoying Keas …. And was very proud of himself when he got to lay his poppy at the monument on Anzac Day.

Hi all! Back again …

Work has now stabilised a bit and have realised that the working grass is not so green out there! :o) End result is that I’ve decided to put the effort in to make my pain points at work go away … feeling a lot more positive about it all at the moment. VF have a charity thingie as well that lets you have x number of days paid time where you can go help out in a charity – have looked a couple of times at this but they never want PM types … it’s always marketing or web design or the like. Saw one the other day which was a mix of PM and marketing so have applied to help out … not sure whether I’ll be accepted, I guess that will depend on who else has applied. Will let you know!

Have also applied to be a board member at Kyle’s school … it’s a bit like the gym with that one … if I don’t sign up for it, I never seem to find the time to help out so it’ll make me go! Again, not sure if I’ll be selected since I haven’t had the time to do much before now but I will try anyway. If not, then I’ll join the Parent Group instead. PTA is a bit different down here though … Parent Group only really looks at fund raising and stuff whereas real decisions are made by the Board.

On the subject of the gym … ankle is a bit better and have just started running again. Have taken Kyle with me a couple of times too … not sure whether I can cope with the “my legs hurt!” everytime but I’ll keep taking him with me sometimes. Still not managing more than my two days at the gym for loads of reasons so really must try harder!

Today is the final day of Kyle’s school holidays … he must be getting bigger as he turned round last night and said he wanted another week’s holiday as he wasn’t ready to go back to school yet! Normally he’s desperate to get back! :o)

We went up to Whangarei Heads over the long weekend … bach was lovely with a huge kitchen which kept Bobby happy! :o) Didn’t do too much as most things close over Easter in NZ and any cafes etc that are open, charge a surcharge for being open on a public holiday so it’s quite expensive to eat out. Anyhoo, we did some painting, went in the hot tub and went on the Easter Egg hunt! The kids love Easter … running about the garden searching for little chocolate eggs. Problem is when the “Easter Bunny” can’t remember where she’s hidden them! Oops! :o)

Clocks went back over the holidays as well so much darker at nights now and it’s getting quite cold during the night too. Daytimes are still warm(ish) though so not so bad. Had to go on a major shopping spree last weekend to get the kids warmer clothes … summertime in Auckland involves shorts, t shirts and swimmers and that’s about it …. As soon as it gets cold, have to go out and get a whole new wardrobe x2!

Will go now but will let you know how my two applications go!

A lot has been happening since last I blogged …

The work situation has stabilised (for me at least) and I still have a job. Unfortunately, my boss is not in the same position so he leaves next Friday. It was a hard time though … lots of HR interviews and uncertainty. Still as busy as usual with two (maybe three) deployments this month so it’s not going to get any easier till April.

Gym has not been going very well either unfortunately … the work situation has taken its toll on my attendance and I managed to go over on my ankle again a couple of weeks ago and it’s aggravated my fracture …. Back to flat shoes and bandages! :o( Must start again next week!!!!

Bobby’s work have started this fitness thing … 10,000 steps …. The aim is to ensure that you do 10,000 steps or more every day. They give you a pedometer and measure it over 10 weeks. I got one too and am keeping him company. Unfortunately, the ankle issue hasn’t helped with my steps but Bobby manages an average of 12,000 a day.

Have now become a great aunt! Wow … just the name makes me feel old! I’ve been an auntie since I was 10 so it shouldn’t have any impact but that little ‘great’ word seems to make such a difference! Danyl was born last weekend … it’s very strange though …. Haven’t seen his dad for nearly three years and have never met his mum. Congrats to you both!

Other than work … life is good. Coming to the end of summer now and you can tell the difference in temperature already. It’s nice though as February can be really muggy in Auckland so it’s just at that nice temperature now … mid 20s.

There was another tsunami alert after the recent earthquake. Still find it very weird … Luckily, we only saw an increase in water level by around 1.5m by the time it got here.

Been working on the house/garden recently too …. Redecorated Kyle’s bedroom, got him a new bed etc so he’s quite happy now. Also got a skip and cleared the garden … chopped lots of trees and pulled up lots of ‘stuff’ … still not sure whether they were weeds or NZ native flowers! :o) They are gone now anyway!

Kyle has now started keyboard lessons so I go along every Friday afternoon with him. He’s always loved keyboards and seems to enjoy this better than he did guitar, which hurt his fingers too much! :o) I realised very quickly that I didn’t remember anything about music from when I was learning the clarinet at school so have decided to join him in learning the keyboard. Teaching myself at the moment (and listening in at his lessons) and will see how it goes.

Regan has taken to giving us little dance performances … complete with bow afterwards (very cute). Need to find a dance class or gymnastics class for her as she’s very graceful and can do perfect forward rolls etc.

Can’t believe it’s February already … where did January go?

Work is horrendous just now … can’t talk about it on the web as I’ve been sworn to secrecy for the moment. Let’s just say that I may be moving jobs in the near future … That’s kind of had an impact on the rest of my time unfortunately.

However, managed to get away from Auckland for the anniversary weekend … headed off to Raglan on the west coast. Never been there before so didn’t really know what to expect … had heard that it was a bit of a surfy/bohemian type place so was interested to see it. Arrived in the dark on the Friday night so didn’t see very much. Woke up on Saturday morning, looked out the window and the bach overlooked the estuary .. the sun was shining … and immediately I felt chilled out. Saturday weather was stunning .. too hot so we ended up in the garden with the garden hose!

Raglan village is a nice little place too … lots of nice little shops and cafes. Nearby are some amazing beaches … west coast beaches in NZ are always much more wild than those on the east. Much better to look at but they generally have very strong rips so you have to be very careful (especially with kids) if you go in the water.

Sunday was very wet which spoiled our plans for going to the beach however it was lovely just hanging out in the bach reading/playing.

My personal trainer is now back so have started going back to the gym … we’ve now defined my goals for the next few months and the new programme has been written. As of Monday, no more excuses … four times a week to the gym plus a bit of cardio at the weekend. Now that my ankle is finally better, running is a must. Not sure whether I’m ever going to enjoy running but I have to get past this hatred of it!

Kids are all back at nursery and school now …. they are doing great! Can’t believe how much of a girly girl Regan is turning out to be … she loves pink and wants to wear “pretty dresses” all the time! At the moment, she is sitting in the washing basket with her pillow and her blanket, while Kyle is making her breakfast in bed using her new kitchen stuff … it’s kinda cute!