36 hours of traveling later

Could it be we're tired of sending out group mails to all the folks who make up the footsteps of our thoughts (they probably are too)? Could it be we want to remember the paths we have walked and the things we have done (and save some paper in the process)?. Could it be a deep-seated, long-nurtured need to be extroverted to the extreme? Who knows? Well, you probably do, since you're reading this.

To save a semblance of being cool and catchy I'll stick to the simplest reason for starting our blog - I CAN!

After arriving in NZ a week or so ago, I have done most of the tasks required of a Non-Immigrant visitor looking for a partner-sponsored work permit under the "Family" Stream. Completed the forms and attached the documents and added the pics to prove we are actually "loving partners in a committed relationship" and sent them the 250m across Cathedral Square by registered post for a mere NZ$10 (= R50)! I have also applied for a few jobs, only to be told that I should wait for my permit to be approved. So, in the meantime, I have gone surfing, twice, travelled to the airport by bus (via the looooong way) to pick up newspapers and see a bit of the city, watched some flicks (Amelie most noteable amongst them), made a little food and ate a lot, gotten too drunk and sobered up too fast and fell asleep in my rugby socks one evening.

We are living with Greg and Cecile, who became engaged the Friday after I arrived (23/03/2007), at 81 Retreat Road, Avonside. It's a sweet little house and I can see why Caila was so grateful for the opportunity of living there. I doubt one could do much better; both location-wise and price-range. In our "House of Engeagments" we share the responsibilities of cooking, cleaning, buying groceries and trying to outdo each other in silent snogging (thin, thin walls).

I wrote somewhere (else) that the guilty disappointment of my ill-fated familial farewell from SA was contrasted by my fiancee's wacky welcome. After living together for more than a year, and then not seeing each other for almost 5 months, it takes some time pushing the straws into their rightful spots in the nest again - especially when it is not your own nest. Ironically I was pre-warned about (and therefore pre-pared for) some head-butting in the beginning, and even though Caila managed not to target my broken bits this time, she DID redo my whole MS Word document (the horror). In pre-emtive reply to said outrage I made her breakfast and accused her of not hanging out her gym clothes (double the horror). But we kissed and made up and the last 15 minutes of typing this has been great...

Many of our "catching up" conversations have involved our ideas for the future. Where to go? What to do? Who to blame for not having any money? Serious reality checks seem to set in around 30 seconds after these chats start, when we recognize the futility and insecurities of "keeping our options open" vs. the "not having real plans". The one thing we both agree on wholeheartedly is that, no matter what we do, time is not going to wait for either of us (stupid time) and we have to therefore accept it and try to act care-free, cool and catchy (it's not so easy, you know).

"ONE DAY AT A TIME." Our communal catchphrase. Learn it. Love it. Live it.

On that note...