Nine more sleeps

There are nine days to go until I move to Melbourne and I have to admit I am a little scared. 

I am scared, not just because of the prospect of snakes and spiders, but because it is all a little unknown.  Sure, I have spent the better part of six weeks in Melbourne in the past three years so I know it pretty well, but this whole new city / new country / new life thing is bigger than Ben Hur!

I am also very excited. It is like a permanent working holiday, so I am going to treat it as such for the first few months in a bid to avert any homesickness.  In case of homesickness, I’ll just find some pineapple lumps and read the list below:

What I hate about Auckland

• Traffic
• Auckland drivers.  What a bunch of deekheads!
• Distance from Aussie.  Four hours on a plane to get to Sydney or Melbourne? Pah!
• Weather (particularly the sheer amount of rain).  
• The humidity.  Weeks and weeks and weeks of 100% humidity is not fun.
• Pathetic public transport.  Seriously, it's a joke.
• Price of airfares - it's cheaper to leave NZ than to go to the south island.  That's crap.
• The upcoming rugby world cup.  Get me outta here!
• No tri club within cooee of where i live.  I don't want to have to travel 30km to train with others.
• Not feeling like home (home is where the heart is, and mine’s in Aussie)
• You cannot go anywhere you want to without a car, or without catching at least two buses, or a bus and a train, or walking for hours on end.
• The millions of two dollar shops.  Do we really need more mass produced crap?  NO!
• Lack of scrapbook shops (like three for the whole city and none near me)
• Most of my friends have left and now live in Aussie
• Cost of living – we are absolutely “done” over the price of public transport. 
• All the nice staff are gone from my gym
• Feeling unsafe at night walking down the main street.  
• Insular Peninsula feeling – can’t walk down the street without seeing at least one person I know
• Everyone knows everyone else.  Ugh.  See above.
• I have lived here my entire life and I need a change!
• Not fitting into clothes in the mainstream shops, seriously people, learn that not everyone is a size 6 and make and stock more clothes in size 12 and up!
• There are MANY people I will not miss.

Got my tattoo touched up tonight, and number two is booked for next Tuesday.  I'd tell you what it is but only my triathlon event support crew manager and tattoo artist Nigel know, so you'll just have to wait and see!