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Month: March 2010

  • March 19, 2010

    Apartment tour

    One side of the room

    Other side of the room

    Wall to wall cupboards - these, plus another two

    Bathroom's actually quite big - the other half is all floor space

    And our super awkward kitchen

    The rooms are pretty small and hard to photograph in one shot, but I tried!

    As you can see, the kitchen is absolutely insane – the one thing we were wary about. but otherwise, it’s a neat little place and the timing (and price) were right).

    I do miss our dishwasher. Like everything else in the kitchen, the sink is tiny and the counter is really low. There’s no cutlery drawer! And I don’t know where we’ll store our pots and pans, either – maybe time to buy some hooks to hang them on?

    But never mind…  we’ll just appreciate having our own home one day so much more. One with a bathtub. Dishwasher. Garage. Workshop. Walkin pantry. (None of which this place has, but it is warm, clean, well located, has TONS of wardrobe space with built in drawers, a small covered deck outside and OSP for our little car.) My parents had their house built for them, and although I’d like to do the same, land is pretty darn scarce in Auckland.

  • March 18, 2010

    Paying tribute

    I’ve been employed at my company for just about three years now, with the vast majority of that as a part-timer, fit in around classes. And I would quite possibly be unemployed right now if it weren’t for my boss.

    I was absolutely devastated to hear he was leaving. I wasn’t surprised – a few things had led me to think he might not be with us much longer – and it turns out my instincts were right. Sometimes, though, being right is bittersweet.

    I’ve had a lot of jobs in my time, mostly menial PT jobs, with grumpy or tyrannnical supervisors to match. But for what it’s worth, my boss is by far the best boss I’ve ever had. Easygoing. Flexible. Supportive. Always puts his team’s best interests first and goes in to bat for us. I can safely say I wouldn’t be where I am right now otherwise; he recognises people’s strengths and does his best to accommodate them, and gave me a chance to prove myself.

    So, to my boss: You’re leaving some massive shoes to fill, and you’ll be sorely, sorely missed. You’ve been the best manager anyone could have asked for and our loss is their gain.

  • March 17, 2010

    Surviving on a fluctuating income

    When I first started trying to budget, I didn’t know how to deal with irregular expenses. I didn’t know how to deal with the fact that our income fluctuated (sometimes as much as a couple of hundred dollars – not enough to seriously derail us though). I can’t tell you how many times I gave up before realising that budgets are not static: they need constant tweaking, and adjusting mine week by week is the way to go.
    Life is easier now that our incomes have stabilised. But not everyone has the luxury of being able to count on a regular paycheck. So I asked myself: what would I do if I was facing having to live on a freelance income?


    Working out realistically the minimum I’d expect to make, and budgeting the essentials from that amount.     In the past I was always been able to count on getting my student allowance, at least ($190 a week). If nothing else, that was enough to pay rent and buy food and a bus pass. Money over that amount would then be allotted to other things in order of priority.


    Save as much as possible in the flush periods and build a hefty slush fund     – not just a fund for emergencies, but one to tide you over between late paychecks and unpaid invoices. If need be, you could borrow from yourself in that in-between period.  You can also get idea about how to save money by visiting geld sparen.

    Cutting expenses as much as possible – especially the fixed ones. Rent, utilities, insurance. Big, regular bills are the enemy of an irregular income. Then again, so are big irregular bills, hence the need for the aforementioned slush fund. It might be worth investigating whether your utilities company has a bill-smoothing option, where you pay the same amount each month based on your estimated annual bill.

    In short, most of the things anyone starting a budget should do – getting out of the paycheck to paycheck cycle and getting ahead, rather than always trying to catch up on bills. Just with a lot more emphasis on saving.
    What are your tips for budgeting on a freelance/irregular income?

  • March 15, 2010

    Thoughts on our new home

    So, here we are in our new place. It’s still a bit of a bombsite; I’m only about half unpacked and there’s a lot of rearranging going on. Expect a photo tour coming soon!

    I love the fact that my commute has literally been halved. It’s especially awesome on weekends when I work a later shift and am in a rush to get home.

    I don’t love the fact that the craziness of our PT system means that I don’t actually save any money by moving closer. If I was still studying, I could get rides for a lot cheaper…but that’s not the case. (I’m tempted to blatantly use my friends to buy me tickets on their student IDs…what do you think?)

    The way monthly passes work is by giving a substantial discount on travel, pretty much eliminating any difference between those who live two and three stages away. I may keep buying the same pass I always have – especially if I end up using my days off to catch up with my friends on campus.

    Although, I have just found out that by walking a little further on the Mt Eden route – I have three main routes to choose from – I could be paying for just one stage trips. Walking FTW.

    I love the fact that we live in a really safe (okay, downright posh) area. A far cry from two neighbourhoods ago. I think it’s safe to say we’ll probably never live anywhere as nice again.

    But I don’t love the fact that we are now JUST beyond our comfort zone. We’ve always lived on the central western side of the city. I know my old area like the back of my hand – almost every street, every park, every bus stop. It’s a big shock to the system! We have to find a new butcher and grocer, too :sadface:

    If our new house was literally just a few blocks over – more Mt Eden than Epsom –  it wouldn’t feel so far away or so alien. Aucklanders are very territorial; what can I say? (And turns out two of my best friends – the two who aren’t currently still at uni – are going overseas.  Result: I don’t feel so bad about moving “far away” now!)

    I love that the place itself is nice, it’s right next to an awesome park, and close to TONS of restaurants and cafes. We’ll get to indulge our love of food and try lots of new eateries. Unfortunately, we’re still near Burger King and Wendy’s (two of T’s weaknesses).

    What do you love/hate about your place?

  • March 12, 2010

    But I don’t feel like a grownup

    This year I turn 22. Which puts me firmly in the ‘twentysomething’ camp.

    WTF? When did this happen?

    Can I still wear short shorts? Am I too old to eat popcorn for dinner? Will I ever be able to park properly, enabling me to drive on my own? Why do I not own an iron? Or know how to deal with any cuts of chicken, barring the trusty chicken breast?

    You know what brought this on? The fact that I was trying on a dress – and yes, I did end up buying it – and thought that it was TOO SHORT. (It wasn’t, by the way. And I’m not the kind to wear belt-sized skirts that don’t cover my ass.) The temporary insanity has mostly passed, but I can’t quite shake that feeling of time marching on.

  • March 11, 2010

    Enrolling for medical care

    Possibly the lamest thing about no longer being a student is once again having to pay for doctor’s visits.

    After my most recent medical mishap, I was all set to march over to the boy’s GP and sign up with him. Only I didn’t quite get around to it, and a good thing too considering we’re moving house and will no longer live near the practice.

    Luckily, the other day I happened to be on campus and picked up a copy of the student mag. Lo and behold, there was an ad for a medical practice in town now accepting new patient registrations!

    What does this mean? It means paying $15 for an appointment, rather than up to $50.

    It also means my eczema better play nice, because $15 to get a prescription is just outrageous.

    I was lucky as a child and rarely got sick. When I sprained my ankle and hurt my eye we made emergency runs to the Blockhouse Bay clinic up the road; otherwise we went to a somewhat random doctor in the Royal Oak mall probably once every few years (a 20-minute drive away).

    Once I got to university though, it was hayfever and eczema all the bloody time, and occasionally a real ailment. The campus service wasn’t great for urgent care (the doctors were usually booked up to a couple of days ahead) but suited my needs just fine.

    How long have you been with your doctor, and how did you find him/her?

  • March 9, 2010

    Hurrah! We’re not going to be homeless

    I won’t lie. I’m a worrywart and an overreactor. So despite a calm facade, I was harbouring fears in the back of my mind that we would end up homeless and living in a tent.

    Thankfully, it’s not to be. T and I are moving to Epsom, of all places (one of the most affluent suburbs in the city) to a cute little ground floor apartment at the bottom of a mansion. Yes, the one with the super awkward kitchen I tweeted about.

    We don’t have to pay rent for our last week here, so we’re moving at the end of the week (and will probably come back to sort out loose ends/clean at some point). The place we’re moving to is vacant and the landlord wanted someone to move in ASAP, so that worked out rather well.

    Things with our new home did NOT get off to a good start, however. I called the LL to tell him we were keen. He didn’t remember us.

    Then we got there, and he wanted the bond in cash. I’ve never come across that before – normally you sign the paperwork and arrange to pay the bond plus any advance rent through bank deposit (and get irritating calls from them until the money finally goes through two days later, because they’re always with a different bank entirely).

    So off we go to find an ATM. We end up in Newmarket, 10 minutes later, and race to the nearest cash machine. It rejects my card.

    Around the corner, we find one of my bank’s ATMs. I jump out of the car, he screeches away and loops around the block while this ATM tells me that my PIN number is wrong. Even though it’s not. Three tries later and I’m locked out of my account. And if that wasn’t already awesome enough, it SWALLOWS MY CARD to boot. Bye bye all hopes of withdrawing cash.

    That was Saturday, and I still can’t laugh about it yet.

    (ETA: Yes, he did write us a receipt for the money!)

  • March 8, 2010

    Review: Alice in Wonderland

    Rating: * * * *
    Good fun, but lacking that magical touch.

    What can I say? This is Tim Burton. And as always, he delivers a visual extravaganza. Depp’s Mad Hatter tucking Alice safely into a teapot for hiding. Alice riding a bloodhound on her way to save the Hatter. The White Queen concocting a potion made of buttered fingers, among other things.

    Some of the original elements are still here: the shrinking potion and the growing cake, the Cheshire Cat and the caterpillar, the flamingo croquet and the mad tea partiers. But it’s not a remake: it’s a retelling, based on the original but set in the future on her second visit to Underland. A visit that turns out to have a very important purpose – restoring the White Queen to her rightful throne.

    And that’s where it gets a little boring. After all, that”s not exactly an original storyline. Cute lines like “Sometimes I believe as many as six impossible things before breakfast” help break the monotonous charge towards the grand finale, but not enough to stop us fidgeting a little more than should be expected.

    Helena Bonham Carter as the bulbous-headed Red Queen is the standout – a lonely, insecure dictator who wrestles with the question: Is it better to be loved, or feared? Surrounded by a fawning court – all of whom wear prosthetics in order to avoid upstaging her – she gets a giggle out of her two “fat boys” (Tweedledee and Tweedledum), shouting (what else?) “Off with their heads!” and her Jabberwocky.

    There’s also plenty of humour peppered throughout – a lot of which centres around the unfortunate ginger lord with  food allergies who proposes to Alice and sparks her escape to Underland. Personally, I think she should have stayed there.

    Although we paid the extra to watch this in 3D, neither of us were impressed. I wouldn’t recommend it; it’s unnecessary and even a little distracting. It certainly doesn’t add anything to a movie like this – especially when there’s movement on screen which only ends up looking out of focus.

    In short, Burton’s Wonderland isn’t as mindblowing as I might have hoped, but it was an enjoyable, if not entirely wild, ride. Now I have to go and rent the original to enjoy all over again.

  • March 7, 2010

    Working round the clock

    I really enjoy going on holiday, and yet, I always feel uncomfortable being waited on. I know I’m paying to have our rooms made up and our meals made, but I still feel awkward about it.

    They work every day, 7 days a week. They cook and bake, do laundry, help people plan out their trips,

    They provide a service, and they have to be on top all the time or they risk building up a bad name.

    In the same way, I feel sad when we go to a takeaway shop and see a young boy/girl working behind the counter (presumably a family business). Or the council guys who run around town emptying the rubbish bins on footpaths. Yeah, I’m a sop.

    I could NEVER do it. I value my down time too much, and I’m not the kind who can put on a pleasant face and a smile when I don’t feel it. Sometimes T talks about starting his own business one day, but thankfully that would be more along the lines of making and selling things, which would (hopefully) not be all-consuming. I can’t see myself manning a deep fryer every day, but I could possibly see myself helping out with things like marketing and customer support.

  • March 5, 2010

    A little extra never hurt

    Turns out I’ve made an extra $130 this week! Sweet.

    Monday saw me giving up my evening for a two hour focus group on frozen foods. I walked out $70 later and with a somewhat fuller tummy. (I guess spending a couple grand on face to face research is a drop in the bucket, although the fee seemed pretty generous to me.) I’m always a bit nervous going into those kinds of things; I always worry I won’t have anything to contribute to the discussion, but this was a small group and they were all really friendly. Seriously, you’d think I was still 11 instead of 21 sometimes.

    Also, it turns out I was $60 in credit on my old Telecom account. I only found this out when the new tenant at our old house called to tell me that she couldn’t get a phone line set up, because apparently I hadn’t properly disconnected our line when we left. But I had. And somehow, that account was in credit, which they transferred to our current account and halved this month’s bill 🙂

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