You may ask why I'm awake and using my laptop at 0700hrs local time when I didn't even wake up this early on work days? Because Neil gets up at 0600hrs and he turned the bl**dy TV on too loud and I couldn't sleep... grrrrrr. He's only getting a half-decent dinner cooked for him tonight. I might give him brussel sprouts.
We got here OK, but the trip over was certainly eventful.
We woke up at 0500hrs - I'd like to say with a spring in our step and a buzz of excitement, but honestly, I was just tired and wanted to get back into bed! We stayed at a friends house the night before - they don't know that, they're away on their honeymoon, but it was nice of them to have a vacant house for us to use... :) As a result, they've now been gifted with all the cr*p we couldn't fit in our suitcases - a LOT of leftover duty free and several different bottles of sauce... along with an air-force-issue black bag and the new carry-on I bought Neil. We'll be claiming those back on our next visit if they haven't sold them on Trade Me to pay for our night's accommodation. And the can of coke that I stole from their fridge.
We left at 0525hrs, stopping to see Torika to say goodbye and to drop the keys off. How many friends would set their alarm for 0530hrs to give their mates a hug goodbye I wonder? She's awesome except for the part when she cried and nearly made me cry. We then carried on to Nikki's house as she had offered to drop us off at the airport. Actually, quite a few people offered to drop us off which is insane - if someone asked us at that hour I'd be showing them the train timetable.
Texted Nikki on the way to let her know we were running on time. Didn't get a reply so I figured she was busy making coffee (as she'd said she'd be doing) or in the shower. When we arrived at her house and it was pitch black I figured she probably wasn't making coffee.... I knocked on the doors and windows for a few minutes, then realised it was the kitchen and lounge and that there was a whole other part to the house and knowing her, she'd probably have her bed in a bedroom. So I wandered around the back of this house that is perched perilously on the edge of 100 metre cliff in the pitch black, and found some more windows to knock on.
OK, so it's not QUITE a 100m cliff but I swear it's pretty close.
We got here OK, but the trip over was certainly eventful.
We woke up at 0500hrs - I'd like to say with a spring in our step and a buzz of excitement, but honestly, I was just tired and wanted to get back into bed! We stayed at a friends house the night before - they don't know that, they're away on their honeymoon, but it was nice of them to have a vacant house for us to use... :) As a result, they've now been gifted with all the cr*p we couldn't fit in our suitcases - a LOT of leftover duty free and several different bottles of sauce... along with an air-force-issue black bag and the new carry-on I bought Neil. We'll be claiming those back on our next visit if they haven't sold them on Trade Me to pay for our night's accommodation. And the can of coke that I stole from their fridge.
We left at 0525hrs, stopping to see Torika to say goodbye and to drop the keys off. How many friends would set their alarm for 0530hrs to give their mates a hug goodbye I wonder? She's awesome except for the part when she cried and nearly made me cry. We then carried on to Nikki's house as she had offered to drop us off at the airport. Actually, quite a few people offered to drop us off which is insane - if someone asked us at that hour I'd be showing them the train timetable.
Texted Nikki on the way to let her know we were running on time. Didn't get a reply so I figured she was busy making coffee (as she'd said she'd be doing) or in the shower. When we arrived at her house and it was pitch black I figured she probably wasn't making coffee.... I knocked on the doors and windows for a few minutes, then realised it was the kitchen and lounge and that there was a whole other part to the house and knowing her, she'd probably have her bed in a bedroom. So I wandered around the back of this house that is perched perilously on the edge of 100 metre cliff in the pitch black, and found some more windows to knock on.
OK, so it's not QUITE a 100m cliff but I swear it's pretty close.
Poor Nikki must have woken thinking she was the victim of a home invasion, but to her credit she was dressed and in the car in about 90 seconds. In hindsight, maybe because the Police were on their way and she didn't want to explain her phone malfunction to them. When I say "malfunction" what I really mean is an Avionics Technician bought a new phone and the date was set one day later - so really, we saved her from being woken at 0500hrs on Monday morning... :-D
Trip to the airport was uneventful, Nikki was great company and I learnt more about her on that car ride than I have the entire time I've worked with her!
Once at the airport, check-in - Neil had his roll bag packed to capacity to get every gram of his 30kg allowance. He was a bit worried that it was under so much pressure it might explode and send undies and hankies flying everywhere, but so far so good.
It wasn't until we'd walked away and looked at our boarding passes that we realised something a bit stink - he got upgraded to Business Class and I didn't, so we weren't even sitting together for the trip. We he boarded, he asked the hosties if they could upgrade me too, but apparently they were full. So full in fact, that when I finally boarded - and had to walk right on past him sitting in his flash chair - I saw that there were three empty seats. But apparently they would have had to move people around in order for me to be up there, and we can't have that now can we??!!
Trip to the airport was uneventful, Nikki was great company and I learnt more about her on that car ride than I have the entire time I've worked with her!
Once at the airport, check-in - Neil had his roll bag packed to capacity to get every gram of his 30kg allowance. He was a bit worried that it was under so much pressure it might explode and send undies and hankies flying everywhere, but so far so good.
It wasn't until we'd walked away and looked at our boarding passes that we realised something a bit stink - he got upgraded to Business Class and I didn't, so we weren't even sitting together for the trip. We he boarded, he asked the hosties if they could upgrade me too, but apparently they were full. So full in fact, that when I finally boarded - and had to walk right on past him sitting in his flash chair - I saw that there were three empty seats. But apparently they would have had to move people around in order for me to be up there, and we can't have that now can we??!!
He came and visited me in steerage for a while - but only after having his yummy breakfast and turning down a glass of champagne - I mean honestly, this seat was wasted on him! Qantas do have a seat-to-seat chat function, so he messaged me several times during the flight to ask me how I was.
As we took off, he messaged "hold on Murms!" and only then did I remember that she was on the same flight as us, below us in fact in her little transport crate. When we arrived, however, we realised that we hadn't been given any information on where to pick her up! Qantas Baggage handling had no idea, neither did the information desk (really, they have no right to call themselves that any more) so we spent two hours trying to get hold of the company in NZ that exported her over - no luck.
We rang their work number, after hours home number, after hours mobile, emailed them, emailed the consultant that we dealt with... nothing! I was a bit peeved about that, it cost us over $1,000 to get her here and I thought that was pretty slack service. We finally got hold of someone at Qantas freight who could a) understand our accents and b) eventually understand what were trying to pick up. We were using Skype on my laptop to call them, so me yelling "a PUSSY cat, my pet, I'm trying to find my pussy" while sitting in McDonald's surrounded by a bunch of Asian people made for a pretty awkward situation :)
As we took off, he messaged "hold on Murms!" and only then did I remember that she was on the same flight as us, below us in fact in her little transport crate. When we arrived, however, we realised that we hadn't been given any information on where to pick her up! Qantas Baggage handling had no idea, neither did the information desk (really, they have no right to call themselves that any more) so we spent two hours trying to get hold of the company in NZ that exported her over - no luck.
We rang their work number, after hours home number, after hours mobile, emailed them, emailed the consultant that we dealt with... nothing! I was a bit peeved about that, it cost us over $1,000 to get her here and I thought that was pretty slack service. We finally got hold of someone at Qantas freight who could a) understand our accents and b) eventually understand what were trying to pick up. We were using Skype on my laptop to call them, so me yelling "a PUSSY cat, my pet, I'm trying to find my pussy" while sitting in McDonald's surrounded by a bunch of Asian people made for a pretty awkward situation :)
Neil had a shuttle arrive to pick him up, and they'd been asked if they could carry Murms and me as well. He was otherwise empty, Neil was his only pax, so that was no problem. Until we got to the motel and he told us that we owed $80 for my fare. We were totally shocked, and I even said to him "wow, SERIOUSLY?? That's a whole lot more than I expected. I would have jumped on the train if I had known that". He stood his ground and seemed unfazed as I fell to his feet and sobbed, so Neil had to get a cash advance which then cost him another AUD$12 - so all up we paid pretty much my week's wage on a freaking van ride!
We were allowed to bring Murms to our room just while we got settled and sorted a vehicle out - we let her out of her cage and she hid behind a bed the whole time. Except to occasionally poke her head out and let me pat her, then she'd run back under again. I felt real stink poking her back in the cage to take her to the cattery, and when we got there, there was no hugs and tears and lovely farewells - the lady grabbed her, popped her in her little cell, and said "yep, OK, she's all good, ring me when you want to visit". Don't get me wrong, the place is lovely, heaps of room for her to run around in in her area, and a bigger area as well that they get turns in, but it's still not home and there's no Mum and Dad's bed to sleep on. :( We're going to visit today after work, hopefully she remembers who we are.
We were allowed to bring Murms to our room just while we got settled and sorted a vehicle out - we let her out of her cage and she hid behind a bed the whole time. Except to occasionally poke her head out and let me pat her, then she'd run back under again. I felt real stink poking her back in the cage to take her to the cattery, and when we got there, there was no hugs and tears and lovely farewells - the lady grabbed her, popped her in her little cell, and said "yep, OK, she's all good, ring me when you want to visit". Don't get me wrong, the place is lovely, heaps of room for her to run around in in her area, and a bigger area as well that they get turns in, but it's still not home and there's no Mum and Dad's bed to sleep on. :( We're going to visit today after work, hopefully she remembers who we are.
After we dropped her off we went shopping just to quickly grab a couple of things for dinner that night, the plan being that I'd come back down the next day and grab more. $180 later we loaded our car up with all our goodies and I was as excited as a kid at Xmas - the prices here are AMAZINGLY cheap, I still can't get over it. We really are going to be able to eat so well.
Big bags of salad for $2 and grapes $2.48/kg - Ty is going to be in heaven when I tell her she can eat all the lettuce she wants. A few more examples, chicken wings $1.99/kg; boneless skinless chicken breast $6.99/kg; premium mince $5/kg; milk $1/litre.
I'm going to go for a wander today and see if I can find some part time/casual work. Yesterday was fun, I wandered around the shopping mall getting my bearings and window shopping, but I'm not sure I can take six weeks of doing that. If I can find something that will at least cover Murm's boarding fees it will be worth getting up in the morning. I can't afford to buy a new wardrobe if I become a Couch Potato and balloon to a size 24.
Which reminds me, I'm about to have some potato chips for breakfast, they've got real yummy flavours over here and it's all I can reach from my bed....
I'd better go and get up now, heaven forbid, it's 0800hrs... what a lazy biarch.
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