Done with work til 2011!

Today was my last day at Curl before Christmas break. I finished the 22 page spread they had me do and they thought I did a really good job! I still have some editing to do and I'm still waiting for more text.. but other than that it's done! It was kind of difficult getting into it since I've never worked on a magazine before, but I'm getting the hang of it now. They gave me another 6 page article to work on over break, and I have another to do when I'm done with that.

My night working at the bar went really well! It's an older crowd, but they play live music and people start dancing and having a good time. All the workers are around my age too, so we have fun. I'm the "glassy", which means I go around collecting empty drinks, wash them, and help restock the bar. My boss is teaching me some bartending stuff too, which is cool. Hopefully I'll get a chance to do that before I go. Unfortunately I can't get my work visa for another MONTH... which means I can't get paid. My boss says he'll try to help me out however he can, but he could get into a lot of trouble doing it... Baaahh.

It still seems so weird that it's Christmas... doesn't feel like it at all!! I don't have any plans yet.. Hopefully it's sunny and I can go hang out at the beach. I'm heading to Tauranga on the 27th to stay with Michelle until New Years. There's some concerts we want to check out and a beach volleyball tournament on the 29th. Time to teach some kiwis how California plays volleyball. :)

:)

Just moved into the flat! I already feel soooo much better. It's so nice to have a safe place where I can come to and keep all my things. The girls are really nice too, I know I'm going to have a good time here. As I was moving in, I met a guy who owns a bar right below where the flat. I asked him if he had any bar work available, and he does! I start tomorrow! AWESOME!!!!

The search for work continues...

I quit the hostel today. Well I didn't really quit... I just didn't show up to work and left with all my stuff. Same thing, right? Housekeeping turned out to be horrible... and the hostel was SO disgusting. I met some cool people though! They showed me around some bars downtown... where I ran into a girl that I studied design with at UC Davis!! So random!!

I'm back at Marcus' now, and will be moving in with some of his friends tomorrow... 2 girls my age who seem really nice! I'm lucky to have this house to fall back on.. Or else I'd be sleeping in my car tonight! I'm going to be paying rent now though, so I've been looking for a part-time paying job. Probably a waitressing job or something... NO MORE CLEANING BATHROOMS!!!!

Curl is AWESOME!! I'm working on a 20 page spread right now... I'm loving it! I'm basically in charge of designing the whole magazine. They just give me the images and text, tell me what goes on what page, and I put it all together. There are some requirements, like fonts and stuff.. but other than that I get to do what I want! Everyone is so nice there too. My boss even made some calls today and got me an interview at a restaurant. I don't think I'm going to be able to do it though because it's so far from where I'll be staying... But I'll go and check it out anyways.

Ok, back to work! More to come soon :)

Great day!!

I went by the hostel this morning and got a job! I start tomorrow at 10am as a housekeeper, haha! In exchange, I get free accommodation (shared room with 3 other people) and dinner every night. The people there seem like a lot of fun.. I'm sure I'll make a lot of new friends there! I work 10am-2pm, 5 days a week. Kind of an awkward schedule to balance with Curl, but I'll figure it out.

After figuring out the hostel situation, I said goodbye to Michelle (who left to nanny in Tauranga, about 2.5 hours east of Auckland) and went to work at Curl. It was not at all what I expected!! It's a suuuper small company... as in about 6 people. I got a chance to look through some magazines though and I really like them. The only designer is on maternity leave until next year, so they have lots of work for me. It'll be fun to see my designs published in a magazine!

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera cord in California and have been using Michelle's. I'll have to wait until I see her next to upload more pics unless I find one around town. I should see her for New Years, so expect pictures then!

I'll keep you posted on how the hostel situation goes...

Churbro!

(Cheers bro)

Getting settled in Auckland...

Kia Ora!

I've finally arrived in Auckland! I'm staying with Michelle's friend Marcus at his flat in central Auckland. The flatmates are all really welcoming and have been showing us around town... So far we've explored central Auckland, Tatharanui, Takapuna, and Mission Bay. Auckland reminds me a lot of San Francisco, so not much culture shock there. Tawharanui is my favorite so far. It's a beauuutiful beach about an hour north of Auckland. Not a lot of people know about it, so we were lucky to have a local show us around.

I've found that kiwis love 3 things: coffee, ice cream, and drinking in parks. Lucky for me, I love all of those things. New Zealanders pride themselves on their coffee so there's really good cafes on every block. Too bad everything is ridiculously expensive here :(

Tomorrow is a big day!! I'll (hopefully) be moving into a hostel in the morning and then starting work at Curl at noon. I'm soooo excited!!! The office is in Whangaparaua, which is a 30 minute drive north of where I'll be staying. Since the public transportation is horrible here, I decided to buy a car. 1992 Honda Civic hatchback. I bought it for $1,600 (about $1200 US dollars) and should be able to sell it back for that much (or maybe more). It also gives me a lot more freedom to explore different parts of New Zealand. Driving on the left was crazy at first but I think I got the hang out it. Now where should I drive off to next???

More to come tomorrow!