Re:
So this is pretty much my first time on the forum since getting to NZ, got into Auckland last Wednesday just in time for rush hour to get to my friend Sarah's place, which is on the 'north shore' , I didn't feel tired and as Sarah and her family weren't there I built my bike and went out for a ride, did about 20 miles on the road, super windy! Got lost a lot! Was a good blast though.
When I finally got back Sarah was just walking in so we had food, got introduced to her kids, both of which were loads of crazy fun which is weird as usually I really struggle to tolerate kids!
The following day I got a bus down to Wellington, 11 long hours but to be fair it was a good trip, plenty of stops etc so it wasn't that bad, once in Wellington I was met by my friend Alex who said we'd stash my bike and main bag where he works so we could go to his work Xmas party! So 10 minutes after arriving in Wellington I was in the beers!
On Sunday I headed down to the shoo I'd be working at, Burke's cycles, its bloody massive! Its the size of an average halfords, and that's just the shop floor! There are 4 fulltime mechanics and about 5 fulltime shop floor staff. As it was Sunday the shop opened at 10am and by chance the owner Peter was in that day, usually he isn't so I stayed the day and worked. It was hard though, I have all this knowledge but I don't know the till system, where stock is, unfamiliar with the brands, and the workshop was alien to me as I didn't where tools were, so a bit of a nightmare but hopefully in the next week or so I'll get my bearings and it'll become normal!
I currently living with friends Alex and Monique and their 3 kids, they're fun aswel and it's nice to be with friends as they've helped with the mundane things like getting a tax code and recommended good banks etc which has been a massive help. So tomorrow, Tuesday, is my second day and apparently I'll be in the workshop which I think I'll prefer until I get used to shoo and the way they do things.
The commute is crazy though, it should be 9km mostly downhill but I got lost, really lost! Did about 20km getting to work but it was a nice ride, again going home I got lost, climbed up the wrong mountain so I had to descend it only to climb the next one so I really need to get my directional bearings sorted, use your GPS I here you cry, well my phone isn't working here until I get a new sim card and no one seems to have the nano type which us frustrating! Luckily various people took pity on the stupid English guy!