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Ok so I’ve ended up staying in Auckland and relinquishing my travelling status for the foreseeable future as my backpack is currently deflated and stuffed under my bed in a modest sized room in the flat I recently moved into in the centre of the city.
I’m sharing with a couple of kiwi girls (Lejanne and Carla) and me mate Carter whom I met in Keri Keri picking mandarins. We both jacked it in at the same time and traveled back to Auckland together.
We came back to look for work in a nice warm office and save some money for exploring the country in a few months when the weather gets better down south. The weather in Auckland has been better than I expected actually. when I first got back here about a month ago and the nights got bitingly cold I thought I was going to have to see out a full winter, after managing to avoid one for the last four years or so, but after that cold snap it’s been surprisingly mild - and pleasant except for the torrential downpours almost every day.
I’ve been trying to gauge from some of the locals I’ve met just how bad it’s going to get but they all seem to come out with something different. I think it’s going to be pretty mild compared to home because after almost a week in the flat I realised there weren’t any radiators in it. When I asked Carla about this she said they don’t really need them here and that most accommodation in Auckland doesn’t have central heating which sounds encouraging although it is a little cool in the kitchen most mornings.
I’ve got work for the next few months a pleasant (when it's not raining) half hour walk through Carlow Park to a suburb called Newmarket. I’m working in an office for the ANZ bank along with 4 other temps from the same agency and probably more soon because they’re moving their offices down to Wellington in the spring so the permanent staff that aren’t prepared to make the move are dropping like flies as they all get other jobs. I’m in the collections department just working on the computers and making phone calls and there is an awful lot to learn which is not helped by the pre windows computer system they use which isn’t designed specifically for the department.
After a couple of weeks training we knew the basics and were let loose on the phones. That was about a week ago and so far it’s going ok. I can see as more and more people leave it could become a bit of a nightmare but the money is really good and I can always jack it in if I feel like it.
Auckland itself is not as bad as my first impressions. It helps that I’m living with kiwis because they know all the good nightlife and other useful info and if I manage to get round to it I’ll plan a few weekends away to visit some of the attractions within driving distance to break up the monotony of the working week and make some use of the car.
It currently sits virtually unused a couple of miles away down the closest street I could find that doesn’t have road markings (so I don’t have to pay for parking).
I just hope it doesn’t get stolen because It’s not insured fot that. It’s one defence against theft though is that it looks like just another cheap piece of shit backpacker car that gets used and abused and passed from traveler to traveler like a hot potato, each hoping they won’t be the ones that it finally dies with. Of course that’s pretty much what it is and I just hope that I’m not the one to lay it to rest. Surely given my unlucky history with beaten up old vehicles in the southern hemisphere the statistics have to be on my side!
The world cup has started and as we don’t have sky in the flat it means I’m forced to go and watch England in one of the many pubs on my doorstep – it’s a hard life.
The first match was ideal because it was on at one o’clock Sunday morning but the one just gone was at 4 in the morning on a Friday which made for a tough day at work.
previous travel blog entry
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