The Belfast Eye

Just a quick post to say that we got a trip on the Belfast Eye today! I suppose that's what it's called anyway. It's a big ferris wheel type thing parked beside City Hall, with great views all over Belfast.

Most of the photos I took were facing east, towards home. You can't see our house in this, but it's there somewhere.
The city centre towards Royal Avenue:

A cheery grin from yours truly!
It was a nice way to say goodbye to the city, I have to say...

Bleak House

My little house is now just a shell. It hardly feels like home any more, with nearly all the contents removed. We're giving away a few last things today and then dumping whatever's left (like the old mattress we're currently sleeping on). I am so sad to think that tonight is the last time I'm going to sleep here in the first and only house I've ever owned. Hopefully whoever ends up living here next will love it as much as I did...

As you can tell, I am still feeling very emotional, and have spent most of today on the verge of tears - and it's only 11.30am still, so there will be a lot more of that to come! It is so hard saying goodbye to everybody, and although it's lovely to have such great friends and family and we do enjoy all the lunches and dinners and coffees with them, it is painful when the end of the event comes round and we won't see each other again for a long time. I seem to be fine until that last hug or wave from the doorway, and then I go into floods. Oh well, at least they know I care!

Off to the post office now to post off the teapot that my mum requested, and then into town to meet friends for lunch. I may update again later with more tales of emigration-related happenings.

Packing woes

So Pickford's, who came out months ago to assess our possessions and arrived yesterday to pack and remove them, have decided that we gave them the wrong information about what we were moving, or something. We told them exactly what was coming with us, and they gave us an estimate and a price ages ago, but they must have measured it up wrong or something. Either way they are here for the second day now, wrecking our plans for a relaxing afternoon with friends, and I bet we'll get a huge bill as well for the "extra" stuff that was here all along.

On the plus side, the guys that are doing the packing are very thorough and it's saving us a lot of hassle to have somebody else box everything up. It would have taken us ages to do it all ourselves, and I'm hoping it's worth it to just throw money at the problem and have it solved. It's just annoying to have to spend all this extra time in the house supervising work that was only meant to take one day and is now taking two. Skry bore the brunt of it today and let me stay in town for the afternoon, which was great, but it has been a real inconvenience for both of us.

As I write, the Pickford's team is clearing away the last of the things from downstairs, so I'll have to go down now and make sure they haven't packed away our suitcases by mistake! It wouldn't do to have our passports put into long-term storage two days before our flight. Fingers crossed...

The Last Hurrah, and the Last Supper

On Friday night we had our going-away party, in Madison's basement. This is the same venue we used for our post-wedding party just over a year ago, so we knew it was perfect for our purposes, and there was the added bonus of being able to do our own music. I threw a selection of my music and Skry's onto my iRiver, and all we had to do was plug it in and hit Play. We got exactly the music that we wanted and nobody else was able to interfere or make us change things, which was perfect!

The party itself was loads of fun. Lots of our friends turned up, some travelling quite a distance to get there, and we both really enjoyed chatting to everyone - until it came time to say goodbye, anyway. That was sad, and there were definitely tears shed. By the end of the night we were both a bit wrung out, and headed home by ourselves rather than lalting it up at a house party.

Then on Saturday we had our final meal in the Jharna. This is our absolute favourite restaurant in Belfast - we both love Indian food anyway, and they do that particularly well, but the staff are all lovely too and the service is always excellent. We're going to miss that place. It certainly was a memorable night, though! First of all, there was a photographer there taking photos for a magazine or website or something, and we were asked to pose at the bar. Well, Skry was asked, and he was told to bring some friends. Four of us posed at the bar for a while, drinking our complimentary Cobras, and the photographer took loads of photos. I wonder where and when they'll get used...

Nor did the fun end there. After our meal, our waiter came down with a full bottle of Sambuca for us, on the house! By this stage half the party had already left, so it was really down to six of us to finish the whole bottle. That stuff was nasty, but it was really funny as well.

After dinner, we headed over to Ryan's Bar for a bit and met up with some other friends, and then on to the Pavilion. It was a really great night, and I had loads of fun despite blubbing at the end. Luckily I had "Mommica" there to dry my eyes and wipe my nose for me - thanks Mon!

Only a week to go.

Only one more week left in Belfast! I am feeling very mixed emotions at the moment. Of course I am excited to be visiting Japan and then starting a whole new life in a different country. But it is really hard saying goodbye to people, but it's not just the people, and at least there's a chance they'll come out to visit us. But every time I'm in a place that I enjoy, like a restaurant, I think, "This is probably the last time I'll ever be in here". And I'm really sad about leaving my little house in Sydenham. I have been so happy here for the last six years, and I get quite tearful to think that I'll never be back in it again after next Friday. I fell in love with this house when I saw it on the internet, before I even visited it in person, and as soon as I stepped through the door I knew that it was the house for me. It has been my cosy little home for so long, and I'm really going to miss it.

Of course it is very stressful at the moment trying to get all our things ready for packing, and there is still quite a bit to do there, so that isn't helping me feel any cheerier either. It's all the annoying stuff like clearing out the storage area under the stairs, and sorting out what is to be left in the house after Pickford's have been and gone on Tuesday, that has to be tackled still. I'm not even sure how to approach that, because we don't have a single empty room or area where we can put things aside, but it'll have to be done somehow.

I guess this post is mostly about the downside to exciting life changes. Sadness, stress, and deadlines. So, you see, it's not all good!

My dream home

So, on the bus coming back from Derry yesterday I made a list of my requirements for my dream home. Today I found it on the internet!

This is the Oakwood Mk III design from Energy Efficient Homes. It has three bedrooms, one with en-suite, a bathroom, lounge, living/dining room, kitchen, downstairs toilet, utility room, and a library. *drool* It's all kinds of energy efficient too, so it should be easy to heat and that kind of thing.

Seriously, this is my dream home. All we need is the land to put it on and the money to have it built. So if anyone knows the winning Lotto numbers for this Wednesday, please let me know now so I can buy a ticket to enable all this!

From Gorey to Derry, and points in between.

I am not long home from a lot of travel. It's that time of year, where we are going round our friends and relatives that we won't see for a while, saying cheerio.

First of all, Skry and I took the bus to Gorey on Thursday to see my family. We bussed it because my eyesight still isn't great at night, and I was scared to drive in case we got stuck in traffic or otherwise delayed and it got dark while we were still travelling, because I would have just had to pull in on the side of the road until daybreak. Not ideal! So, it was public transport all the way. We travelled to Dublin in a very nice Bus Eireann coach, with loads of leg room, seats that reclined back far enough to feel like we were almost lying down, and very few fellow passengers. After meeting my sister in Busaras, we travelled from there on to Gorey in a clapped-out Bus Eireann coach, with minimal leg room, narrow seats, and every place filled. It wasn't quite as luxurious as the first leg of the journey!

However, we did make it to our destination in a mere six hours or so, and were collected and taken home to the farm. It was really good to see everybody. My mum had made a special meal for us - roast chicken, vegetables, mashed and chipped potatoes, and all the trimmings, and a vegetarian quiche for Skry. It was lovely - thanks Mum! My brother and sisters had all come home for the night, and we had a really enjoyable evening chatting and just hanging out together.

The next day there was a lunch of tasty left-overs and some family photographs before Skry and I headed on. It was a bit emotional, because I don't know when we'll be in Wexford next or when I will see my family again, but we tried to keep it cheerful. New Zealand isn't as far away as it used to be, and with the internet and e-mail they'll probably see more of me after we move than they do right now.

My brother drove us up to Wicklow (stopping off at Avoca Handweavers on the way, where I picked up a lovely purple mohair throw) and Skry and I spent a couple of hours in Greystones with my granny and uncles. That was good too - I don't see them very often, and my granny always makes me laugh. She has now got the address of this blog in her Favourites so I hope she reads it at some point.

After saying another round of goodbyes, it was off to the Dart station and thence to Dublin to get our bus back to Belfast.

The next day, I was on the bus again, this time up to Derry to see my friend Wendy. I don't see her very often either, and it's always good to meet up. We had a nice night in the house, stuffing ourselves silly on crisps and Indian take-away, and I felt like I was in a hotel with the lovely comfy bed, and all the breakfast food that was plied on me this morning. I've never gone hungry when I've stayed in Derry!

A Meat Feast

Last night I went out for dinner with a couple of friends. We went to the Point, which is a wine bar/restaurant not too far from here. Since I'm not likely to eat in the Point again because we're moving so soon, I decided to push the boat out and have myself a meat feast with a difference. Here's what I had:

Safari Game Brochettes
Individual Ostrich, Zebra & Wildebeest skewers served with sumo chips and Piri Piri dip. Recommended medium rare.

It was So Very Very Good. Wow. I have never eaten zebra before, but I'll happily eat it again! The whole thing was just delicious.

I have to confess, though, that I am very curious about where this zebra came from. They're not indigenous to Northern Ireland, and I'm not aware of any zebra farms in this country - or wildebeest farms, come to that. Where does the Point source its safari game? Should I care?

Hmmm. I think not. The meal was delicious and the company was great and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Up with this kind of thing.

My change of phone number.

Most readers of this blog probably got a text message from me earlier today about a change to my phone number. Much as I'd love to think that the whole world reads my blog, I suspect it is mostly friends and family, and I already have your phone numbers, so I will already have texted you about the change.

The reason that I had a change of number two weeks before I leave the UK is this: I was under contract with O2. Specifically, I was under contract at £40/month with O2 until December 2008. Understandably, they were unwilling to compromise when I contacted them to say that I wanted to leave my contract early - in fact, they said that the termination fee was more than £520. Ouch!! Of course I emailed them and begged for clemency,but I didn't really expect anyway. In fact, I merely stated my situation, said that I wanted to make things as financially painless as possible, and asked what my options were. Imagine my surprise yesterday when I got an email saying that, as a goodwill gesture, they would waive my termination fee if I sent back my phone within seven days.

I love my phone. I don't love it more than £520 in cold hard cash, but I love it. What was a girl to do? EBay, that's what. I bought a second-hand phone in the same make and model from eBay for £100 and sent that back to O2. The eBay phone came with an O2 pay-as-you-go SIM, which I am now using. My original SIM and the eBay handset are now on their way back to O2. So long as they get the same make and model, why should they care if it's not the same phone? I'm hoping they don't care, anyway. I get a new number and I have to pay as I go, but I get to keep my phone without paying a huge termination fee. Win:win, I hope!

One down, one million to go

I can tick one thing off my to-do list now, anyway. Chris is buying my car! The arrangement suits us both very well, and I'm relieved to have a buyer for it. Since we'll probably have to pay a mortgage for the next few months even though we're not living here any more, I'm glad to have a little bit of money coming in to cover the first few payments at least.

I've got lots to do tomorrow morning when people open up their offices again. My project plan is back in action, with task lists and percentages complete and everything! This move is so huge that I can't cope with anything if I think of it all at once, so I'm hoping that individual tasks will get me moving.

Oh, and I'm learning Japanese now as well. I know we'll only be on Tokyo for three nights, but I want to be able to say things like Please and Thank You at least, even if I just get laughed at or ignored. So far I can just ask if somebody speaks English, tell them I understand Japanese a little but not very well (huge exaggeration), and ask the way to Shinjuku station. Of course I won't have a clue what they say in return, but at least I can ask the question!

Our first kiss.

I installed Picasa today, and it did two things for me. First of all, it found all my photos, including this one from a couple of years ago, and secondly it asked if I wanted to blog. I didn't realise that I could blog directly from Picasa, so I'm trying it out.

This photograph is of the first time my husband ever kissed me. I am so happy to have it on camera! It was several years ago, and we were both with other people at the time so it was just platonic, but it still counts as our first kiss. I love it.

Our flights are now booked.

This is really happening. The flights have been booked, and we leave the Emerald Isle on Friday November 30th. That is less than four weeks away!

We are flying to Tokyo first, to spend a few nights there. I already have us booked into a hostel, and there is an acquaintance of mine living there at the moment who will hopefully be able to meet up with us and show us around a bit. We arrive in Tokyo on December 1st and leave again on December 4th. By the 5th we should be in Christchurch.

I can't believe it's only four weeks!!!!

Houses! Houses! Get your houses here!

3 bedroom terrace, Sydenham, offers above £185,000.

This modern red brick townhouse is situated in a quiet cul-de-sac location in the suburb of Sydenham, which is approximately two miles from Belfast city centre. With three bedrooms, a large living/dining room and separate kitchen, this is the perfect starter home for a couple or young family.

Through the entrance hall, the kitchen is at the front of the house, which is unusual but makes washing the dishes much more sociable as you can look out the window at the neighbours! The kitchen is 10' x 7'11" (3.05m x 2.41m). The breakfast bar faces a hatch opening into the living room - this arrangement means that the person doing the cooking is not completely isolated from those in the living room, which is great for dinner parties. The kitchen is plumbed for a washing machine and dishwasher, and also has a single drainer stainless steel sink unit.

The separate lounge/dining room measures 14' x 13' 3" (4.27m x 4.04m). There is a natural brick fireplace in the living room with a quarry tiled hearth. The living room has double doors opening onto the rear garden, which is done mainly in lawn with a paved patio area.

On the first floor, the landing opens onto three bedrooms:

Bedroom One is 11'7" x 8' (3.53m x 2.44m).

Bedroom Two is 11'9" x 8'1" (3.58m x 2.46m).

Bedroom Three (currently in use as a home office) is 7'9" x 7'2" (2.36m x 2.18m).

The fully tiled bathroom has a white suite comprising a panelled bath, Mira electric shower unit, low flush WC, and pedestal wash hand basin. A spacious cupboard on the landing provides extra storage space, as well as room for the gas boiler unit.

New carpets and vinyl have been recently laid throughout, and all the walls are freshly painted in a neutral colour scheme, so no decorating work is necessary. The house is easy to keep warm all year round, with Phoenix gas piped in for radiator heat and also hot water on tap, and an open fireplace in the living room. The house has been completely cabled for broadband internet access and cable television, and is also wired for a BT landline.


At the front of the house is a large private driveway which can accommodate up to two cars, and there is also shared visitor parking nearby.

This house is perfectly located for all types of transport. The Metro bus service to the city centre stops outside the entrance to Inglewood Court, a Translink train station is within two minutes' walk, Belfast City Airport is accessible on foot via a free shuttle service from the train station, and the M3 motorway is within five minutes by car.

The sellers are not part of a chain.

I got my passport back!

Thank you NZIS for being so speedy with the processing. I got my passport back today, with my visa in it, and Skry's went in the post today and should arrive tomorrow. We are good to go!!

With that in mind, I have spent most of today shopping for flights. It looks very likely that we will fly out to Tokyo on November 30th, spend three nights there, and fly to Christchurch on December 4th. I wasn't terribly excited by the thought of visiting Japan until I realised that I have an acquaintance over there, and she has been giving me all sorts of advice. She will also be able to meet up with us there if we keep to these dates, so that would be fantastic! I am quite excited about it now, and am just waiting to see if we can get a better deal on the flights before I go ahead and book them.

Oh, and we had an absolutely fantastic anniversary dinner at Beatrice Kennedy's last night. The service was wonderful as always, the food was delicious, the staff encouraged us to take as long as we wanted over our meal, and we got a window seat view of the Hallowe'en proceedings. It was perfect. I hope all our anniversaries are that good!

Things are getting better.

Good things that are happening today:

It's our first wedding anniversary: one whole year of being a respectable married couple. Well, a married couple, anyway! We are heading out to Beatrice Kennedy's tonight - it's the same restaurant where we had our post-wedding feast this day last year, and I expect it'll be just as good tonight.

I got an email from my immigration officer, letting me know that my final payment is being processed, so it should only be a short while before I get my passport back.

We finally took delivery of the kitchen unit doors and worktop, which were meant to be here over a month ago.

The estate agent came out to value the house. We will have to put it on at a much lower price than we could have done a few months ago, and it probably won't sell for a while, but he said it should actually be a good thing that we are leaving in a few weeks and the house will be lying empty, because it'll look bigger when people come to view it.

And, last but not least, I found a cool-looking spider sitting in his web outside our living room window. I have no idea what kind of spider he is, but I like his pattern.