No, I'm not in Spain. Quite the opposite hemisphere, actually. But if the rain in Spain falls gently on the plane, then the rain in New Zealand pours heavily on the ground, against the windows, up on the rooftops, and under the umbrella. During this time, world is covered in a heavy mist; just enough to soak you. About five seconds later, the rain stops and the sun is out as though the rain were never there.
Sometimes the rain is so light that you're not sure if it's even raining. Maybe it feels like you're walking through a cloud, but by the end of it, you still manage to be soaked. And again, the sun comes out, and you feel as though it were only a dream.
Island living.
But the rainbows here are beautiful.
_______
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Exhausted!!
Whew! This week has been ROUGH!
In a nutshell, we found out that we still have to pay the $1100 electric bill because it's a "grey area" with the department of housing. They said as more cases come up, the laws may change to define it more, but as it stands right now, tenants basically have no rights (put in my words). We also learned it's better to speak to them in person instead of over the phone because you can see what the law says and actually speak with a mediator. What gets me is that everyone around us said that it was wrong and were shocked that the property owner wouldn't pay. We were offered by the landlord (the Actual Landlord who we just met last Saturday) $400 towards helping pay for the bill, or 1 month free rent. We took the latter because it would save us $800 although we'll still be paying too much. We told them we were leaving in three weeks and didn't have to pay last weeks rent. Meanwhile, Our Water heater is still acting funny, and charging us too much.
This past week we've also gone to our first young adult Bible Study called 18ups! We were able to meet more young adults, and connect with God in a small group setting. Last week was an off-topic week, so this next Tuesday we'll be studying in Daniel.
Campbell (the pastor at church) wanted Tiana and I to work on prayer stations for Sunday's service to give people the chance to reflect on the message. There was communion, a place to write prayers to God, a place to pray with someone, a cross where people could write there sins down and lay them at the foot of the cross, etc. It was a lot of work, but many people were able to reconnect with God because of it. It was also good to be involved in a church again!
Campbell also gave Tiana and I a car to use for three months. AWESOME!!!! So, we are happy about that. The first thing we did was drive to Temple Mount where the big Mormon temple stands. Haha, we kinda got there by accident (it's in the middle of the country, outside of the city, but we drove up in it and took a picture. At night they have lights shining on it, so it looks like it's glowing. It was also sad to see, because of the false faith that lay inside.
We'll be house sitting for a family from church in July-August, about 5-6 weeks. Rent free!!! This will allow us to find a flat or apartment that is really good for us, in a good neighborhood. We may have a flatmate from Canada during this time as well. Also, we may be able to have heat for a change!!!! It's freezing over here!
Yesterday, Tiana and I went to the Biggest Agricultural Fair in the Southern Hemisphere!! Fieldays!! Basically, it's a place where farmers and families can go to learn about the latest farm equipment, buy different large farm things, there were competitions,a tractor pull race, a fashion show (of outfits made out of things/materials found around a farm), petting areas, demonstrations of products and food tasting, etc. It was kinda like a walk through telecommercial for some things. Haha. It was an experience for two city-girls such as Tiana and I. Pictures to come soon.
There's a lot more that's happened this week, dealing with job opportunities, and then them being withdrawn, etc, etc, etc. Tomorrow (Monday in NZ) we start applying at hotels as housekeeping or something.
Please pray for us. It's been a difficult, yet rewarding week. One can only imagine what this one will be like. Also, we REALLY need jobs.
In a nutshell, we found out that we still have to pay the $1100 electric bill because it's a "grey area" with the department of housing. They said as more cases come up, the laws may change to define it more, but as it stands right now, tenants basically have no rights (put in my words). We also learned it's better to speak to them in person instead of over the phone because you can see what the law says and actually speak with a mediator. What gets me is that everyone around us said that it was wrong and were shocked that the property owner wouldn't pay. We were offered by the landlord (the Actual Landlord who we just met last Saturday) $400 towards helping pay for the bill, or 1 month free rent. We took the latter because it would save us $800 although we'll still be paying too much. We told them we were leaving in three weeks and didn't have to pay last weeks rent. Meanwhile, Our Water heater is still acting funny, and charging us too much.
This past week we've also gone to our first young adult Bible Study called 18ups! We were able to meet more young adults, and connect with God in a small group setting. Last week was an off-topic week, so this next Tuesday we'll be studying in Daniel.
Campbell (the pastor at church) wanted Tiana and I to work on prayer stations for Sunday's service to give people the chance to reflect on the message. There was communion, a place to write prayers to God, a place to pray with someone, a cross where people could write there sins down and lay them at the foot of the cross, etc. It was a lot of work, but many people were able to reconnect with God because of it. It was also good to be involved in a church again!
Campbell also gave Tiana and I a car to use for three months. AWESOME!!!! So, we are happy about that. The first thing we did was drive to Temple Mount where the big Mormon temple stands. Haha, we kinda got there by accident (it's in the middle of the country, outside of the city, but we drove up in it and took a picture. At night they have lights shining on it, so it looks like it's glowing. It was also sad to see, because of the false faith that lay inside.
We'll be house sitting for a family from church in July-August, about 5-6 weeks. Rent free!!! This will allow us to find a flat or apartment that is really good for us, in a good neighborhood. We may have a flatmate from Canada during this time as well. Also, we may be able to have heat for a change!!!! It's freezing over here!
Yesterday, Tiana and I went to the Biggest Agricultural Fair in the Southern Hemisphere!! Fieldays!! Basically, it's a place where farmers and families can go to learn about the latest farm equipment, buy different large farm things, there were competitions,a tractor pull race, a fashion show (of outfits made out of things/materials found around a farm), petting areas, demonstrations of products and food tasting, etc. It was kinda like a walk through telecommercial for some things. Haha. It was an experience for two city-girls such as Tiana and I. Pictures to come soon.
There's a lot more that's happened this week, dealing with job opportunities, and then them being withdrawn, etc, etc, etc. Tomorrow (Monday in NZ) we start applying at hotels as housekeeping or something.
Please pray for us. It's been a difficult, yet rewarding week. One can only imagine what this one will be like. Also, we REALLY need jobs.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Moving...again? and FYI # 5
Yes. Our property manager is being...uh..well...a jerk. Read Tiana's post to better understand.
http://attraction-within.blogspot.com/2007/06/trouble.html
It's a good thing. This time we'll really be able to view an apartment before we rent it. For now, we still are looking for jobs. Some leads, but nothing final yet.
FYI #5 The Noise Patrol
These are a little behind, but I always MEAN to write down FYI's, there's just too much going on.
Did you know that New Zealand has a 24/7 hotline that you can call for their Noise Patrol people? Apparently, if people are being too loud and unruly, or there is a problem with excessive noise on a street, etc, you give these people a call, and they will send a "Noise Patrol" officer down to investigate and deal with the problem.
For example, if the neighbors in the flat nextdoor to any given person decides to have a party with tons of drunken people cursing and screaming at the top of their lungs, complete with loud music that reverberates across the neighborhood and is so loud that any given person can barely hear themselves think, yet can hear the announcer on the radio nextdoor breathe; and all the people in the surrounding areas are annoyed, but waiting for someone else to do something because they can't get to sleep because it's late into the night....well, any given person can call the Noise Control Hotline and have someone come over. If, when the Noise Patrol officer comes and the flat nextdoor argues with them about the issue, the stereo and amps can be forcibly removed from the premises and a hefty fine left behind.
I only know this because we checked online last night as we found out the laws of the land about noise control...
...right before we called the Hotline and had the Noise Patrol come out and eliminate the noise.
http://attraction-within.blogspot.com/2007/06/trouble.html
It's a good thing. This time we'll really be able to view an apartment before we rent it. For now, we still are looking for jobs. Some leads, but nothing final yet.
FYI #5 The Noise Patrol
These are a little behind, but I always MEAN to write down FYI's, there's just too much going on.
Did you know that New Zealand has a 24/7 hotline that you can call for their Noise Patrol people? Apparently, if people are being too loud and unruly, or there is a problem with excessive noise on a street, etc, you give these people a call, and they will send a "Noise Patrol" officer down to investigate and deal with the problem.
For example, if the neighbors in the flat nextdoor to any given person decides to have a party with tons of drunken people cursing and screaming at the top of their lungs, complete with loud music that reverberates across the neighborhood and is so loud that any given person can barely hear themselves think, yet can hear the announcer on the radio nextdoor breathe; and all the people in the surrounding areas are annoyed, but waiting for someone else to do something because they can't get to sleep because it's late into the night....well, any given person can call the Noise Control Hotline and have someone come over. If, when the Noise Patrol officer comes and the flat nextdoor argues with them about the issue, the stereo and amps can be forcibly removed from the premises and a hefty fine left behind.
I only know this because we checked online last night as we found out the laws of the land about noise control...
...right before we called the Hotline and had the Noise Patrol come out and eliminate the noise.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Uh-Oh!
So...
We need some prayer. We may have to move out of our apartment and start the whole apt search again. Our landlord is acting tricksy. Here's the situation.
Last week we received our first electricity bill. In was $1100 nzd due by the 15th!!!! About ten times more than it should be! This was incredibly wrong and we found out that the water heater was leaking onto the roof. It's as if we had hot water running constantly for 1 month. The landlord then tells us it's our responsibility to pay and makes up some things that aren't in our tenacy agreement (yes, we savde a copy for our records and such times as this).
After seeking advice from different people, the electric company, and the Department of housing and building who deal with housing law, we know the landlord should pay most of the money to the power company, and we, after monitoring the meters for 7 days, would pay the amount that we should have payed normally if it weren't for the faulty equiptment. Normal monthly payments would probably be aroung $100. We have to call the landlord back today, and if he still refuses to pay then we have to take it to the Dept. of housing (which is what you do instead of taking them to court) who acts like a mediator between the landlord and the tenant in resolving issues. Of course if we take it that far, we can't stay here, because relations will be shaky after that.
Tiana and I don't want to move because we're settled a bit, have everything hooked up here with phone and internet, but we also feel like this landlord is taking advantage of us because we're not from here, and also female. They think we don't know how things go here. And there have been a few other things that have been pretty bad here (including the apartment not being cleaned up before we moved in) and things like this that violate what the landlord was supposed to do.
So anyway, we could use the prayers. And thank you, mom, for raising us so that we know how to get the facts and handle serious situations, and do research so that we aren't so easily fooled. We truly are having an abundance of "experiences" here, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's all apart of life, I suppose.
We need some prayer. We may have to move out of our apartment and start the whole apt search again. Our landlord is acting tricksy. Here's the situation.
Last week we received our first electricity bill. In was $1100 nzd due by the 15th!!!! About ten times more than it should be! This was incredibly wrong and we found out that the water heater was leaking onto the roof. It's as if we had hot water running constantly for 1 month. The landlord then tells us it's our responsibility to pay and makes up some things that aren't in our tenacy agreement (yes, we savde a copy for our records and such times as this).
After seeking advice from different people, the electric company, and the Department of housing and building who deal with housing law, we know the landlord should pay most of the money to the power company, and we, after monitoring the meters for 7 days, would pay the amount that we should have payed normally if it weren't for the faulty equiptment. Normal monthly payments would probably be aroung $100. We have to call the landlord back today, and if he still refuses to pay then we have to take it to the Dept. of housing (which is what you do instead of taking them to court) who acts like a mediator between the landlord and the tenant in resolving issues. Of course if we take it that far, we can't stay here, because relations will be shaky after that.
Tiana and I don't want to move because we're settled a bit, have everything hooked up here with phone and internet, but we also feel like this landlord is taking advantage of us because we're not from here, and also female. They think we don't know how things go here. And there have been a few other things that have been pretty bad here (including the apartment not being cleaned up before we moved in) and things like this that violate what the landlord was supposed to do.
So anyway, we could use the prayers. And thank you, mom, for raising us so that we know how to get the facts and handle serious situations, and do research so that we aren't so easily fooled. We truly are having an abundance of "experiences" here, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's all apart of life, I suppose.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
FYI #4 A Trip to the Bookstore
Books.
As some of you may know, I worked at Barnes & Noble Booksellers for about 7 months. I've had a lot of training on types of books and pricing. Mass Markets are usually around $6.99 OR $7.99 USD (united states dollars). These are the smaller paperback books. The paper quality isn't the greatest and tends to yellow over time, but it does it's job which is to get thousands of copies of a particular book to people for an affordable or cheaper price. This is especially important in comparing to it's sister book, the Trade paperback. Trade PB's tend to be a little bigger with a finer grade of paper. These run around $12.00 or $14.00 USD at B&N. Most people when getting paperbacks, especially in fiction, romance, or sci-fi/fantasy novels, tend to get the Mass markets. This is good, too, if there are a lot of series of a book. Blah Blah Blah. I'm sure you care. Here's my point. I used to think that B&N was a little expensive (I go to the library or used book store a lot, so anything not free or under a dollar is expensive to me). But a few weeks ago, I was putting applications into book stores in the malls around here, none of them as good as B&N and Borders. I decided to see what prices were like here, so I picked up a Mass Market book that I had seen many times when I worked at B&N. I was expecting the price to be a little more than in America, just because of the exchange rate of the money. But I was not prepared to see this book at $28.00 NZD (new zealand dollars). Now, American money is worth a little more than New Zealand's, but even with the money difference, that's still like $22.00 USD. That's like $15.00 more! I was shocked! I didin't even look at the hardcover books! I spoke with someone who told me that pretty much all of the books in NZ are shipped from overseas, so the shipping is really expensive. Crazy. Be happy that books are less expensive in the U.S. I sure am!
As some of you may know, I worked at Barnes & Noble Booksellers for about 7 months. I've had a lot of training on types of books and pricing. Mass Markets are usually around $6.99 OR $7.99 USD (united states dollars). These are the smaller paperback books. The paper quality isn't the greatest and tends to yellow over time, but it does it's job which is to get thousands of copies of a particular book to people for an affordable or cheaper price. This is especially important in comparing to it's sister book, the Trade paperback. Trade PB's tend to be a little bigger with a finer grade of paper. These run around $12.00 or $14.00 USD at B&N. Most people when getting paperbacks, especially in fiction, romance, or sci-fi/fantasy novels, tend to get the Mass markets. This is good, too, if there are a lot of series of a book. Blah Blah Blah. I'm sure you care. Here's my point. I used to think that B&N was a little expensive (I go to the library or used book store a lot, so anything not free or under a dollar is expensive to me). But a few weeks ago, I was putting applications into book stores in the malls around here, none of them as good as B&N and Borders. I decided to see what prices were like here, so I picked up a Mass Market book that I had seen many times when I worked at B&N. I was expecting the price to be a little more than in America, just because of the exchange rate of the money. But I was not prepared to see this book at $28.00 NZD (new zealand dollars). Now, American money is worth a little more than New Zealand's, but even with the money difference, that's still like $22.00 USD. That's like $15.00 more! I was shocked! I didin't even look at the hardcover books! I spoke with someone who told me that pretty much all of the books in NZ are shipped from overseas, so the shipping is really expensive. Crazy. Be happy that books are less expensive in the U.S. I sure am!
Saturday, June 02, 2007
The Party Bus and other Tales of the Gabriel Two
Wouldn't it be sweet if you were jobless for over a month AND got a electricity bill in the mail that says you owe $1000+ nzd in less than 14 days!! Meanwhile, phone and Internet bills are on the way!! And in two weeks, more rent!!! Exciting!!!
Oh wait. No....! That stinks! Gosh, who's life is this?
Oh yeah. It's MY life. And the life of my sis.
Hard times now, but growing times. The sis is taking it a bit harder than I am. I guess I did all my worrying before I got to New Zealand. And anyway, Satan loves to get under the skin of a worrier so, yeah. I should know. The way I figure it, God's brought us here, specifically for some purpose, to this exact location, at this exact time. He cares for the birds, the flowers, and all of creation. He's got us covered.
The good news is, we've found out that we can work pretty much anywhere again. We decided to clarify our visas with immigration and they said as long as we don't work anywhere past the expiry date of our visas, so that includes full time AND part time work. Great! No one has called us yet from all of the temp agencies we interviewed with and took tests for. We're going to call some of the other places where we put apps in too. And also, there seems to be a good amount of hotel staff and housekeeping needs.
I'm not sure why our electricity costs more than monthly rent, considering we don't have a t.v., don't turn on a ton of lights, don't really use the heaters, don't have a big flat etc. But we do have a washer machine, electric oven, hot water, and a laptop. I guess it adds up. Plus, this kinda stuff in NZ costs more than in the US.
We're broke, but we're gonna make it. Please pray for us. For encouragement and trust.
FYI#3 The Party Bus
Yes. I know. I already wrote about riding the bus. But this is necessary. This past week, Tiana and I took a bus to pay our rent, and got a BusIt! card that you load like a gift card. The benefit of it is that you don't have to search for the exact change when you're on the bus (unless your card is empty) and you pay about a dollar less for bus fare. Some parts of America have this, but Cleveland sure doesn't! At least, I've never seen it. I payed standard fare every time I took the bus to work, counting out the change that was at the bottom of my purse. Pre-paid fill-up cards are a must! Not a 10-ride card. Just a card that has $15.87 or whatever amount on it so that when you're in a jam and need to get home, you can pull out your handy dandy BusIt! card and get home. Or, If you have a $20 bill when approaching a bus, give it to the driver and they will add the extra onto your card, instead of you asking everyone if they have change. Of course, NZ buses have cash registered on the bus, so they would be able to give you change if you needed it, but anyway.
On our way home, we rode a Party Bus home. It was not called "party bus." That is a label that I gave it. But come on! I walked on the bus and there's music playing overhead. Not music from someone's headphones turned up too loud. No! Overhead speaker, music. And not just any music. Prince! Michael Jackson! Some other older stuff that I didn't know the name of, but was upbeat! The bus driver was happy, dancing in her seat. People on the bus were smiling, diggin the beats. What more can you ask for, after a hard day? My thought is, if they CAN play music, they should ALWAYS do it! A bus equipped with speakers means Fun Fun Fun! And even though I don't necessarily like (the artist formerly known as) Prince, or Michael Jackson, I had fun, and I enjoyed the ride.
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