Landing on Our Feet with Our Heads in the Clouds

After years of dreaming, months of travelling, and a few hours of flying, we landed in Auckland. We finally arrived in New Zealand.

Thankfully we were well prepared for the temperature change. Everyone that had come through New Zealand before Australia had warned us of freezing conditions, arctic winds, and basically the weather you'd associate with making eunuchs of brass monkeys. I can only assume these people were talking in relative terms to that of Queensland, as it wasn't cold compared to an English winter. I'm glad we were expecting the worse though, as it was a pleasant surprise being warm in just t-shirts and hoodies.

One night in the hostel behind us, and we had another suspected reason for everyone's warnings. It seems that the innovation of central heating is yet to be embraced by the people in New Zealand. Fair enough, this is the coldest winter in 35 years, but you'd still think they'd have more adequate heating. We could rest in hope that this was only indicative of it being the cheapest accommodation in town.

Our 4 months of extensive travelling around Australia had caused critical damage to our bank accounts so immediate resuscitation was needed. Now we faced the problem of the order of which things must be arranged. We needed bank accounts, but to get those we needed a tenancy agreement or service bill in our names. We needed a flat, but would need to know about about potential employers, before knowing where to base ourselves and what rent we could afford. We needed jobs, but in order to get paid, we would need to give companies bank details.

After a little stressing, we decided the first and most important thing to do was find a suitable apartment. Despite the price of our hostel, it was still costing more than many flats would. We also decided that in order to seriously think about subjecting ourselves to working again, we would need a comfortable place to retreat to at night and during the weekends.



Our search (as with many searches in life) started with the one we would eventually select. Not through any laziness on our behalf, just the simple fact that this place offered substantially more benefits than the others and the asking price was 'cheap as chips'. The next week we moved into our new apartment on the top floor (save for the penthouse) of a building in the city centre. Our room is separated from the rest of the 3 bedroom apartment by a flight of stairs and has a walk-in wardrobe (more of an attraction to Lucie than myself, although more for dreaming about filling it with new clothes rather that what we possess at the moment), and an ensuite bathroom. From our bedroom, we can climb onto a ledge / area and enjoy a sky-high view of the city with a couple of drinks. The apartment is fully furnished with everything we need, including SKY TV & Playstation 2. One of the other tenants is there around 1 night a month, and the other works nights, so we have the place to ourselves virtually the whole time. We had landed on our feet, with our heads literally in the clouds.

Now that we had a base, we both explored avenues of work. Lucie registered with all the city agencies, attended interviews, completed various IT & psychometric tests, and craved the return of the non-working lifestyle we had become accustomed to. I researched potential employers, and registered with an agency for 'extra' work for film and television. It's something I'd considered for years but I never had the guts to just go for it. This seemed like a perfect time. A few days after registering with them, I had to attend a photo shoot for my new CV. After that, it was just a question of waiting for a call.

I'd actually found an advert for our apartment on a website before we even left Australia. During the course of a few emails with the tenant that was leaving, we established he was working in recruitment, his company would be looking for a replacement, and they would be interested in talking to me. This line of thought continued and accelerated once I was in New Zealand and it wasn't long before I was meeting with a division manager. Although this was happening slightly faster than I expected, and wasn't leaving much room to explore my future in the film world, it worked as a catalyst for me to start approaching other companies. Now it was time to don the suit from 'Nam & attend some interviews. Over the course of the next few weeks, I met with 4 different companies, met various representatives, took part in my first video conference, and completed psychometric and intelligence tests.


While I was discussing numbers with these companies, Lucie landed her first job with a swanky solicitor firm who's employees go so hungry that there is a full-time chef in the office kitchen. She also discovered on her first Friday that the company buys booze for everyone in the office at the end of the week. New Zealand was looking better and better. If only, I could find a firm that employed a chef to keep my hunger at bay.

It was about this time that I received an email from TNT Magasine (one of the main publications for travellers around Australia and New Zealand). I'd sent them a photo for a competition and despite no mention of my standing, they wanted me to fill out an electronic interview for the magazine. Soon after this, I received an email from 'The Word' magazine (the other magazine for travellers in this region). The traveller's tale I'd emailed them, had won a competition and would be published in the July / August edition. I'd received 100 Aussie dollars for the recognition and was taking my first steps in following after my ma, and becoming a published writer. I have since heard from TNT again and they're printing the same story for their magasine.

I'd now signed an employment contract and agreed on a starting date for my new position. I delayed starting for a couple of weeks as there was something I needed to do. The coldest winter for 35 years signalled something very positive to me - Great conditions on the mountains for snowboarding. There was no way I could start work without sampling a taste of New Zealand snow.

As luck would have it, my delay also meant I was available for my first work with the 'extra' agency. Sadly, it wasn't a film role, but a client of theirs wanted me for some modelling work. Nothing too complicated, nerve wracking, or anything that would be seen by millions of people. Just a picture of me and another model, dressed casually and chatting in the city centre, that would go in the report brochure for SKY employees. $200 for 2 hours work (I use the word 'work' here very loosely. The experience on the whole was interesting and a good laugh and I'm very glad I eventually decided to just give it a try. Just a shame I didn't have more opportunities before I would start the proverbial 'day' job.