Hey guys and gals,
Sorry I haven't been around much.
But don't worry, your not the only ones I've been neglecting. I've also neglected friends in NZ, work, and just NZ in general (I've only been here for 18 weeks so far this year). You'll be happy to know I haven't been neglecting family though (which is the main reason for my general absence this year).
Lets see, where to start. I suppose the beginning would be good.
There was a bright light as I emerged from my mothers womb, everything was very blurry, and I was of course crying but looking cute all at the same time......
Err, wait, not that far back. Lets try the beginning of the year
January - South Island for a road trip with mates.
Then the remainder of the next 7 weeks I spent working in Wellington (but seemed to be out of town every weekend, whether for a wine festival in Marlborough, or the A1GP race in Taupo, etc).
That's when things got crazy. I went home (Orlando) for 7 weeks. I also happened to be at the courthouse in Fort Lauderdale at the time of the whole Anna Nicole Smith fiasco. I wasn't up on charges for being the mastermind of Al Sheepa thankfully, but lets just say it involved a family member and asbestos.
The next 7 weeks I was back in NZ.
Then the next 2 weeks I was back in Orlando again (very unexpected trip....semi-related to my trip in February).
Then I was back in Welly for a week....right in the middle of winter, having come from 34 degree heat in Orlando.
Then I went to Australia for 8 weeks. It was supposed to be 3, but I was enjoying the sun too much. But in my 7th week there I figured out that I HAD to come back to NZ within 2 weeks if I wanted to keep being eligible for citizenship.
And now I've been back in NZ for 3 weeks, and in my 2nd week at my new job (which I'm very fortunate to have).
So without giving too much detail.....It's been a challenging year, filled with lots of frequent flier miles, not much working, and lots of catching up with people now that I'm back.
To make up for it, I've got 2 monsterous posts to make (even longer than this one) thanks to personal experiences (i.e. citizenship eligibility) that I've kind of had to do a lot of research on this year. If you've been in NZ for a while like me, then these topics may be pretty relevant for ya.
BTW, someone please stop me if they have already been done. A. Eligibility requirements (superannuation pension, having children for free, KiwiSaver, indefinite residency, citizenship, etc....with timeframes, contact numbers, and such). And B. An overview of KiwiSaver.