Sharing a house with 12 strangers

bed count: 33

So - have moved into a house in Ponsonby and all seem to be well. The people we're sharing with (all 12 of them) all seem really nice. There are two flats in a very large, beautiful, colonial-style house and it appears to be a regular thing that everyone heads to the the basement flat for tea on Friday night. Spag bol last night was v good and I think we have managed to meet everyone now (and win them over with my garlic bread?), though whether we will remember everyones names is another question!

There's a really good range of ages here - from 20 to 38 with most people being about our age it would seem, which is a bit of a relief as I thought we would end up being the oldies amidst lots of travellers in their early 20s. Slightly more boys than girls (it's all blokes other than me on the top floor) and we're the only couple.

The house is lovely and in pretty decent nick considering the number of people we reckon it's had through its doors over the last few years. We had a choice of a room in the upstairs or the downstairs flat, the latter of which has a bigger communal area and better kitchen. However, the bedroom in the upstairs flat was bigger and has it's own fridge and a little room off it with a sink and cupboards in, so we plumped for that.

I will put some pictures up at some point - both of the house and of the latter stages of the SE Asia trip. I promise!

On the job front, Alec was offered a helpdesk contract at ASB bank which was great pay but meant commuting to the outskirts of Auckland everyday. It started off as a 2 month contract with a 2 week notice period, which sounded okay as it was short term and easy to leave if he hated it. However, at the interview he was told it was a six month contract. Then, when he was offered the job it turned out to be a 1 month notice period.

In the end the job was turning out to be more like what we'd left back home and what we are trying to get away from so he turned it down. There's no point coming half way round the world and just slipping back into what you were doing, especially if it's not making you happy.

And, just to confirm that this was the right decision Alec was offered a months admin work for Auckland city council pretty much as soon as he'd made the decision not to accept the ASB bank job. So - we're both off to work next week!

Anyhow - off to explore the Ponsonby a bit more and enjoy our last few days of jobless freedom!

p.s. - Happy Birthday for tomorrow Fiona.