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Tuesday 2 June 2015

Back to Reality, Again

My two days off flew buy in a haze of too much sleep (if there is such a thing) though I did accomplish one thing. I sent money home to pay off my UK credit card so I could start the year off debt free. The third of the month rolled around too quickly and it was back to business. Most of my staff were still on leave and Wellington was still pretty much shut down for the weekend following but wonder of wonders by the Monday most of them were back. Everyone seemed to have a good break and came back eager to earn more money, I mean serve more customers, of course. Soon most of Wellington was back to business and usual and boy did we notice. We went from being rushed off our feet to cleaning, lots and lots of cleaning. Summer in Wellington is quiet and this time when they said that they were right. Fortunately summer had finally arrived in style and the weather was gorgeous meaning that my staff were eager to head home early to enjoy the sun. Quiet as it was I was still a member of staff down so I set about finding yet another full timer. Having had success with younger inexperienced staff before we quickly hired a young local girl who asked all the right questions and I thought would be an asset once she figured out our tills and customers and gained some confidence. This meant that whilst work was quiet my supervisor and I were busy with training. When we weren’t showing the new girl the ropes we were going over my job and all it entails. Though she was quite young I firmly believed that my supervisor would be an excellent replacement for me when I left in 5 months. Of course it didn’t hurt that training involved me leaving early and taking it easy for once!

January also meant the return of my newest hobby Ceroc. Sadly the pre and post Christmas craziness caught up with me and I missed the first week due to illness but I managed to return the following week and was delighted to discover I hadn’t forgotten everything since we stopped for the holidays. My return to health also meant that I finally managed to go diving with my friend. She had booked us in previously but since I had been ill with a cold we had to wait for my sinuses to clear before it was safe for me to dive again. It was absolutely worth the wait. Previously I have only been diving in the Great Barrier Reef therefore being told that I was welcome to pick things up as long as I put them back was a novelty I soon took advantage of. The scenery was completely different from anything I had seen before. The colours were muted with more greens and blues but beautiful in their own way. The bottom was covered in seaweed and kelp which swayed in the current giving the optical illusion that the grounds itself was moving. The highlight for me though was when I was sitting on the sea bed surrounded by fish that were completely unperturbed by our presence. One started to swim towards me so I slowly put up my hand and pointed my finger. The fish swam right up to it so I gave in to temptation and gently bopped it on the nose, its reaction? It gave me one last disdainful stare then calmly swam off to see what other weird things were invading its home. I am happy to say that I love diving as much as I remembered and that Wellington exceeded my expectations as a place worth diving. As if dancing and diving weren't enough I was also fortunate enough to enjoy one of Wellingtons concerts in the park. A friend and I took some wine and nibbles and sat in the crowded botanical gardens to hear a live band play some excellent tunes. It was extremely civilised despite the challenging gradient of the hill we chose to sit on and much fun was had by all.



Of course the main thrill of January was the planning and the countdown. My Australian visa was approved so I started seriously looking into what my parents and I could do in one month in Australia. Mainly though it was the thrill of the question “How many days?” and seeing the number get smaller and smaller on my countdown timer until finally it was into single figures. Yup by the end of the month it was only 5 days before my big brother and his wife would arrive in Wellington. January had been good but February was set to be legen................wait for it...............dary!




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