[Rizak]

Hey all. I've been reading this forum for quite a while and have been hoping to dive right in. Unfortunately, my desired username was considered a hazard and we've agreed to shorten it. Thanks for the advice Douglas.

Here are the vitals so far.

- I'm Canadian and so is my de facto partner. Let's call her the Dragonlady. She likes that.
- I'm going to be the primary on our application, though she has a BA and I only have a college certificate.
- I work full time at a government agency. She works part time in a bookstore and a library.
- I contacted the Migration Bureau through their website and paid NZ$190 for their experts to run my stats through the mill. I came out with a healthy 135 points and with a job offer in my field that number rises significantly to between 210 and 230! Armed with this information, I've decided to give it a go on my own.
- I contacted the $government_agency in NZ that is the equivalent of where I work and they have an international recruitment program! How nice. They are in some need of people with the specific skills that I have and we're talking about a job with them somewhere, probably in Auckland but with possible travel to Wellington and Christchurch as well. They also say that they are affiliated with INZ and can fast track the application to as soon as 4-5 weeks with no problems at all (pending certification of all other documentation). No worries there.

Right now everything is only seen as a nebulous possibility and I'm driving the Dragonlady up the wall talking about it all the time. Money is tight for her right now, so all this talk of moving expenses and selling the house, mortgages, travel, resettling, etc. is kind of causing her extra and unnecessary stress. That's why it's good to finally be able to talk things out here in the foræ.

Oh, just to keep you amused, it was -30°C here today and we are expecting another 10 cm of snow.

I snapped a couple of quick pics of how I tend to dress for this kind of weather.
pic 1 (http://rizak.info/PIX/winterkilt1.jpg)
pic 2 (http://rizak.info/PIX/winterkilt2.jpg)
pic 3 (http://rizak.info/PIX/winterkilt3.jpg)
pic 4 (http://rizak.info/PIX/winterkilt4.jpg)
pic 5 (http://rizak.info/PIX/winterkilt5.jpg)
pic 6 (http://rizak.info/PIX/winterkilt6.jpg)
I only really have to wear that Merino sweater a couple of times a year. This was one of them. You see, my body temperature is measured in BTUs. ;)

[Moorf]

Hello and Welcome Rizak the not-so-horrible ;)

I think you'd fit in just fine in that outfit here in the South Island... except you'd need to swap that footwear for jandals! :laugh

Snowed in last year and the neighbour was still walking around in 2ft of snow with shorts and jandals on...

Altho, having come here from Scotland I must say I do rather like men in kilts :nice1

Hope we can help you and yours make a successful move here.

Moorf

[Rizak]

I've been wearing kilts for about the last 5 years now. They are just so much more comfortable than pants. Yes, even at these extreme temperatures. I'm a 10 minute walk from work (shorter when it's really cold), so it isn't much of an issue.

I keep my delicate little knees warm with my fancy leg warmers. Makes me look like an extra straight out of Flashdance.
Okay, maybe not.

I do wear my TEVA sandals in the summer. I'm suppose I'm going to have to find out what "jandals" are.

[Moorf]

Jandals = sandals ;)

[Moorf]

Although I guess the term jandals applies more to sandals like flip flops....

[Rizak]

Although I guess the term jandals applies more to sandals like flip flops....

... or do we call those thongs? No, that would only be more confusing.



And potentially embarrassing.

[Sue]

Rizak,
Great to see that you made it on to the forum. I sent you Douglas's mail as well. all the best with your plans.

[Sam B]

Well Rizak, I reckon that if you're struggling to find a job, you'd be snapped up as a catalogue model in a menswear magazine! Welcome.

Sam

[wilson182]

Love the pink knees though....... Great pics and welcome

[Caroline and Dave]

Welcome Rizak.
I wondered why your name appeared at the bottom of the screen regularly and yet you never posted. The mystery is solved now. My cousin lives in Orillia, Ontario and she is snowed in at the moment. We all tell her she should move nearer town but she likes the isolation. The good thing is she can work at home if she has too on line. Back in the UK the whole of the UK seems to grind to a halt with only 5 cm of snow.
Anyway I hope your plans go well

Kindest regards

Dave and Caroline

[Jenny & Mark]

From a fellow Canadian, welcome to forum Rizak.
We were just up in Ottawa last weekend to visit friends and take in Winterlude. We needed to skate the canal before it was too late. :).

Mark.

[Ana&Steve]

Hiya, welcome to the forum!
Ana

[dean1968]

Rizak I like your pictures. You would be well suited for Dunedin city.. you would fit right at home. Check out Larnach Castle very ecentric man who brought (built) his ancestral home to NZ

[Rizak]

Rizak I like your pictures. You would be well suited for Dunedin city.. you would fit right at home. Check out Larnach Castle very ecentric man who brought (built) his ancestral home to NZ

I'd heard about that. Sounds like a wierdie to me! ;)
I looked up the Wikipedia entry on NZ and it has a short description of the early Scottish settlers and their influence on the region. Then it shows a nice picture of a group of pipers, saying this is a common sight. At long as it isn't a common sound I'll be fine.

Actually, I might want to take the pipes up just for fun. Now I just have to find a house far enough away from civilization as to not bother anyone.