Brilliant

What a great day.  It is surprising how the little things make a difference in a day.

 

It started off this morning as I drove from the hotel to work.  It seems petty but the fact that I found my way quickly and only taking the wrong turn once was quite an accomplishment.  I really felt like I belonged in the crowd of commuters, it was a good feeling.

 

Then there was work when I put in a full day's session to really earn my keep today.

 

Then my apartment came through and what an apartment it is..... see pics.  Sorry they were taken at night but it gets dark here at 6:00pm so it was difficult to get them done in sunlight.  I'll redo them over the weekend but for now this is what you get!  The apartment is spanking new with me as is its first tenant.  Air con in both bedrooms, fully fitted kitchen and even its own laundry room.  Ensuite bathroom in my bedroom, cable TV and spectacular views across the bay and a beach at the bottom of the hill... look who's boasting today!

 

So much have I liked the apartment that I've stayed in tonight.  The lady who fixed things for me even prepared for me a welcome basket with some fresh fruit, wine, crackers and the like.. so I am here watching CSI Las Vegas, drinking a glass or two of Australian wine, snacking on crisps (sorry they call them chips here) and some crackers and writing this e-mail before I get to unpack my suitcases.

 

Also paid a visit to the local supermarket which is about 5 mins away and I was so surprised by the quality and variety of goods on sale.  This is a little supermarket by any standard yet all the produce is up to date, there is a great variety and you can find almost everything that you after from the best UK and US brands so it is no different to shopping back home except it is [a] cheaper, [b] served with a smile and [c] no queues!  Managed to ratchet up $200 worth of shopping as I needed to get a lot of the basics for the flat but worth every penny.  Loaded up the 4X4 and drove home in the dark and managed to find the flat in no time.  The Police and Fire stations are also just minutes down the road from the apartment....

 

Met the landlords who are great people... turns out she works at the FSC as well, a couple of desks down from me.  As the flat is so new they still need to check a couple of things (like the gas on the oven) so it should be finished tomorrow.. but who cares.

 

The flat is about 10-15 minutes away from work depending on the gridlock and I get a choice of two routes to get there by- mountain or coast.  The decisions that I am going to have to make every morning and evening :)  Mountain takes its toll on the car engine, it does struggle to get up the steep hill (not to mention the brakes) and the coast road is the busier of the two routes... decisions, decisions :)

 

OK guys, if you had second thoughts about coming over, don't...... I have a great apartment where you can stay.

 

See you soon.