Lori's NZ Blog

First day at Weta, Owhiro Bay house

On Thursday, 19/10/2006, I was picked up at the hotel by another runner, Mattie, who took me to the bank to open up an account, then took me back to Weta. I met up with Jeanne, the relocation coordinator who gave me the low-down on NZ health care, the tax system, buying a car, and a lot of other stuff I'll need to sort out. I also met Shawn (my new boss) and a couple dozen other people, and saw where I will be sitting.


Here's my desk. I have a view of some green trees out my window.

















If I peek over my monitors, I have an ocean view. You can't really tell from the picture, but you get the idea. There are three other Animation TDs in the room. It's nice and quiet, and close to the coffee. Pretty ideal.

Another runner, Spike, took me back to the airport to pick up my rental car and give me an informal driving lesson. I did OK staying on the left side of the road, but I had trouble using the blinker (the blinker and windshield wipers are switched, so I kept turning on the wipers every time I wanted to turn) and I also keep going to the wrong side of the car to get in. Other than that, it's pretty easy. I just have to be mindful when I turn, because the tendency is to turn into the wrong lane.

Weta set up a bunch of apartment viewing appointments starting around lunchtime, so I hopped in a car with Mattie and Christoph (another new guy) to check them out. They were mostly in the city, and I'm keen on a more secluded spot, so they weren't really what I was looking for, but it was good to see what was available and how much they cost.

We stopped for lunch, which was quite tasty, but I think it might be difficult to stick to a diet here. I got a roasted vegetable salad that I thought would be light, but was dripping with olive oil. I think I may be cooking for myself a lot.

Thursday night I took dinner in the hotel restaurant. When the host seated me, I told him I was alone, and he offered to join me. !!! Is that a New Zealand thing?? I was all, "uh... that's OK." I ordered salmon for dinner. I've had salmon pretty much every day since I got here. It's so nice to not have to worry about mercury poisoning.

Friday was more apartment searching, and I found a place I wanted to live on Owhiro Bay. The landlord is doing some work on it at the moment, so there are construction materials and piles of dirt and rock laying around, but it's pretty stunning and has some gorgeous views of the bay.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lori.smallwood/03_Owhiro_Bay_House

It's relatively far out of the way (in fact the road ends around the bend) but still only 10 minutes into Wellington and maybe 15 minutes to Weta. After 16 years of living in urban centers, it will be really nice to live in a quiet, secluded spot with clean air and no noise but the lapping of the waves on the beach.

posted by Lori @ 10:05 AM