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Feel the power!Posted on Tuesday 24 July 2007 at 08:39 - Post Comment
So, there you go - 6 months in and a promotion already. To say I'm chuffed would be an understatement
It's great news for us both, as I can now have a major part in choosing who I want to work in 'my' team (that is *so* cool to type!) and I am busy interiewing a few likely candidates tomorrow and on Friday - 7 in total so it'll be pretty hardcore. Am looking forward to it, just to dip my toe in the water of who is out their looking at the moment.
Anyway, we went off to 'The Mexican Cafe' last night for a elebratory dinner, and although we had good reports about it from others, it was distinctly average in my opinion. The thing that REALLY got me though, was that they charged me $5 for a titchy bowl of jalepeno peppers, and then had the audacity to charge T $2 for a wee bowl of sour cream. I mean, it's a frickin' MEXICAN cafe,right? And they are charging me for the basics. We were not amused.
I managed to overcome it all though, and the Margaritas were great!
We've been pretty quiet really so not a huge amount to report. At the weekend we went out together on Friday to Valentino's and it was a great evening. I went ahead so that Toni could make herself even more beautiful, and I could relax over a Peroni or two. Then we sat at a window table for 2, so watched the world go by, ate, drank and were merry for a good three hours or so. All in all it was fantastic - the food was excellent (the calves liver for me,cooked rare - my absolute top favourite! Thank you God for lickle baby moo cows) and the wine was great too. Best of all though was the atmosphere as the place was rammed and that really gave it a good vibe. We had a great time, and for three courses, 2 bottles of decent wine and a great time, I didn't begrudge the modest bill that came our way at the end of the evening.
And the best bit of all? Walking out of the door, turning left, walking 500 yards and then being home. No cabs, no 'I thought YOU were driving' arguments, just a smooth golden gravy evening. Sweet.
Saturday was an easy one, and we did pretty much sod all really. That evening we went babysitting with Olly - sitting her baby sister - which sad though it sounds, was great fun as we just sat, ate and drank, and watched random rubbish on Sky. The house itself (her mum's) was stunning, up in the hills above Sumner. Fantastic views, a massive deck, and on Sunday morning the sun was shining on the snow capped mountains behind Christchurch city. As Bernard Matthews so famously says: 'Bootiful'! This picture is admittedly crap but gives an idea:
Olly's mum has a mental dog called Chilli. She is really lovely, but very very mental. How mental? Well, walk-in-the-door-dog-keeps-jumping-up-making-unnatural-noises-and-then-pisses-itself mental. After a couple of hours she finally calmed down, and Toni came back off the edge she had been teetering on as she is by no means a lairy mental dog kind of gal. Here's a pic of her (the dog, not T you silly folks) - probably sitting in her own wee:
Ah, int she sweet? In a word - NO. I've wanted a dog for years, but she has now put me right off and I think we'll stick to cats for the time being.
Sunday itself was another easy one, although I got a 'must clean' moment - maybe a hangover from my days in McDonalds as a front of house guy (yep, the one with the mop!) - and spent a good few hours hoovering, tidying up and dusting. How the worm has turned! Toni mucked in too though, so nothing like a bit of chore sharing to strengthen the marital bonds.
I think it may be because our new paint job has made me all houseproud - yes, I have the promised pics:
Before
After
And the lovely kitchen too:
Before
After
Ahhh.... much better. Paint was paid for by the rental firm, and they were more than happy for us to choose our own colours and do it in our own time. It all went well and the results make the place look so much better, so we are loving it even more.
You know what, writing this blog has given me insight into day to day life here. There are so many things every day when I think 'I simply MUST relate that humerous incident on our internet web log this coming eve to captivate and titilate all 2 of our beloved readers' and then promptly forget, or else get home, flop in front of the TV and think 'Sod it, I'll do it tomorrow' and then never bother.
My point... erm I don't think there was one. Oh, hang on, here it is.... ah yes, so I will try to relate one 'Kiwi Observation' with every post, to try and spread them out a little.
Observation of the day: No real moral advertising boundaries. The Kiwi's have none. Want your kids to ask you what 'erectile dysfunction' is? Want them to enquire what 'going hard (Kiwi phrase equivalent to 'caning it') in the bedroom' means? How about asking why daddy would want to 'Leave the wife at home and come to see beautiful ladies at our discreet club'? Come to new Zealand! Every 20 minutes on local and international radio, ads with pretty much exactly these statements (I kid you not!) are on the radio. Mum - you would not be impressed, believe me.
And don't get me started on supposed 'curries' but I'll save that until next time.
So, that's me for this evening. Love and respect to all. |
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. Saying that though, my boss had little choice as with my 2 colleagues leaving, I was the only one to choose from! Gawd - imagine if I hadn't got the job?!
