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... they say ....
Last October, my Kiwi partner's father was diagnosed with cancer. Although the prognosis is no longer as bad as the doctors originally thought, it's bad enough to get my partner to leave Scotland - which has been home for her for last 7 years and decide to fly back to her family in NZ. I did some serious thinking, packed in the IT contract I was working on and started filling in paperwork.
Last week, the New Zealand immigration authority granted me residency.
In just over three weeks, we've got to finish re-decorating the flat, sort out all the rental details, pack everything we can't take with us into storage and board a plane to Auckland. Now I'm no stranger to New Zealand, having been there three times before and having toured around most of both Islands - and I always thought that one day I might move out there as I really love the place. However the one thing I hadn't bargained on - was the grip that my home country might have on me.
This cold, wet, misty land that I was born and brought up in and have walked, driven, skiid, hiked, climbed, scuba dived and cycled my way around seems to be rooted in my very bones. Leaving Scotland - not knowing when or even if I'll be coming back - is without a doubt the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.
In my youth, I had no concept of the sort of things I was going to get up to as I grew older - I imagined that life would be stable, settled and predictable.
Now I find myself about to start over again - at the opposite end of the globe... find a job, get a bank account, build up a credit rating, find somewhere decent to stay, make new friends ...
I turned 40 six months ago.
I may be off-line for some months until I can get settled - build a new PC, sort out an internet connection and finally find my way back to Norrath ...
... but I WILL be back
Last October, my Kiwi partner's father was diagnosed with cancer. Although the prognosis is no longer as bad as the doctors originally thought, it's bad enough to get my partner to leave Scotland - which has been home for her for last 7 years and decide to fly back to her family in NZ. I did some serious thinking, packed in the IT contract I was working on and started filling in paperwork.
Last week, the New Zealand immigration authority granted me residency.
In just over three weeks, we've got to finish re-decorating the flat, sort out all the rental details, pack everything we can't take with us into storage and board a plane to Auckland. Now I'm no stranger to New Zealand, having been there three times before and having toured around most of both Islands - and I always thought that one day I might move out there as I really love the place. However the one thing I hadn't bargained on - was the grip that my home country might have on me.
This cold, wet, misty land that I was born and brought up in and have walked, driven, skiid, hiked, climbed, scuba dived and cycled my way around seems to be rooted in my very bones. Leaving Scotland - not knowing when or even if I'll be coming back - is without a doubt the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.
In my youth, I had no concept of the sort of things I was going to get up to as I grew older - I imagined that life would be stable, settled and predictable.
Now I find myself about to start over again - at the opposite end of the globe... find a job, get a bank account, build up a credit rating, find somewhere decent to stay, make new friends ...
I turned 40 six months ago.
I may be off-line for some months until I can get settled - build a new PC, sort out an internet connection and finally find my way back to Norrath ...
... but I WILL be back
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