Survivor

There's Subway on the IOM??? When did that happen? Has it affected many sandwich shops? A bit off the subject here I know - sorry

I don't see anyone anymore - not even dead people

Thanks Ean - i'm sure things will go our way. I'll keep you posted

SO! What a great few weeks it's been. Carl arrived about 3 weeks ago and we have been having an absolute blast. Been zipping round the country visiting people and places, and having a laugh along the way. When we were in Rotorua, Carl decided he wanted to do a Zorb. Now, for those of you who are not familiar with Zorbing, its where some crazy arse person decides to chuck themselves inside a massive see-through globe and hurtle off down the hillside going round and round, upside down, or you could follow the link Here But doing the simple version wasn't good enough for Carl, oh no, he had to go, down the hill, unharnessed, with water thrown in and there he came, swishing down the mountain on the zig-zag stretch, arms and legs flailing about. Now when it comes to exiting this pods, i can say that there is no graceful way to do so. It's almost like watching someone getting re-born with water swishing out first followed by a pair of pale legs and body which was covered in THE most sexiest wet suit ever (haha) to follow! I however thought i looked much more refined sitting on the deck with a coffee watching the shananigans going on. But, there was one more exciting thing to occur on this trip - i got proposed to!!!! Yup, that's right, so now we are engaged and looking forward to a life here in NZ. As to how easy it will be with immigration remains to be seen, but we have had positive feedback from them already. Of course once i had told my mother, she had the wedding all planned within a day, down to the catering, venue, flowers, the only left for her to sort out was her dress - haha, nothing like a bit of forward planning. We don't plan to get married until about Feb 2008 as i refuse to be a fat bride and need the time to lose the weight, otherwise i'd do it tomorrow if i could. So that's all i have for now, as i am feeling down in the dumps today as Carl is heading back home and again we will be apart, but hopefully not for too long this time.

Heya Lisner - lol yeah i know what you mean - no need for me to google Norman Thelwell, i was a fan as a kid - and when we first saw her on it, we thought exactly the same

God, i have just realised how utterly boring my life really is. I wanted to come write in my blog about all the interesting things i have done, and came up completely blank. I'm going to have to get myself out into the real world soon and actually get a life. I'm off to a party this friday in "the city" whoo hoo, so hopefully that should open up a few more channels for me. Living in the country really can have it's set-backs. I love that's safe and quiet and fresh and lots of greenery around, but it can be dull as hell. Plus, everyone knows everyone, not disimilar to the isle, but it's a much smaller village and far more gossips about, so i have to be on my best behaviour. One thing that has happened, is that my 22 month old neice Isabella has been given her very first horse - i am not kidding!! It's a miniture pony at only 86cm tall and it's called Tinkerbell - or bebebell as Isabella calls her lol. Every morning she wakes her mum up to take her out for a ride, she's completely horse mad - just as well her mum is an experienced horsewoman herself. You should see the size of the saddle, boots and hat she wears, it's just the cutest thing ever - in fact, i'll add a few photos for your perusal. And the only other thing is that i have turned into a Mouse Murderer! I killed one yesterday and one this evening, it was actually still twitching when i turned round after hearing the god awful snap. That's one of the other problems of living in the country, when the weather turns, all sorts of destructive creatures appear out of the woodwork. But having to dispose of the mice is not a nice job at all, and thank god i never wanted to be a vet or dr or have to disect anything cos i do not have the stamina to do so. Anyway, hope you enjoy the pics -

fixed. cheers!

i don't see anyone anymore - not even dead people

Hurrah! I've bought myself a new car! Well, not new exactly, 2nd hand, but new to me anyway. I had an absolute blast at the auctions. I walked around and looked at a few cars and took a couple for a test drive, but ended up bidding for only one car, the one that seemed to scream BUY ME everytime i walked by. It's a VW Golf CLI, 1997, 1.8ltr and only 84,000kms on the clock. The mechanical report looked sound so what the heck i thought, and sat down ready for the lots to start. Mine was no. 63, so had quite a way to go, but as my lot got closer, my calmness turned to nervousness, which then turned to giddiness. When i saw other people bidding and eventually winning, they sat stoney faced, calm and collected - not the case when I won my bidding war. I jumped out of the seat with a big whoppie - much to the amusement (or horror possibly!) of the auctioneer. I only went $50.00 over my budget as well, so was pretty pleased about that. I've since had the car serviced and thankfully nothing wrong with it, got a couple of electrical probs to sort out, but certainly nothing major, and everyone thinks i got a good deal - so HURRAH for me. Now that i have my independence back, i've been zooming all over the place and it's good to be able to get out and about and visit friends. I've definitely settled back in now and feeling much happier about things, although, I do miss my friends and Carl (my bf) very much and only wish they could all move over here with me, then i'd be as happy as a pig is shit. But not to worry, Carl is coming out to visit in May, and i'm very excited about that, gonna be a great 3 weeks! I also have an old friend from my days living in Brighton, who is now living in Perth, coming over to visit for a couple of days in July, and another mate from London looking to visit before the year is out, so i have things to look forward to - all I need now is to get Jane (sweet cheeks) over here and i'll be well chuffed. OK well, thats it for now, going to go back to my sick bed (summer colds are the worst!) and snuggle up with some lemsip - will write soon.

Seriously - has it really been almost a month since my last post?! Bloody Nora! Well, what can i say? Not much has happened in this past month (well, nothing i can post just yet anyway ) I'm settling down ok, bit tricky at first, but i'm slowly easing my way back into kiwi life. One thing that has caught my attention is how slow and laid back things are here. I mean, I thought the island was slow, but sheesh, you guys are the hare to our turtle! For example, i went to the bank the other day as my ATM card still hadn't arrived. Was supposed to get to me 5-7 working days but it's now been 18 working days. So, i call up the bank on the phone, i'm asked for my access number and pin, so i oblige, only to find out that the code i use for online banking is not the same as for telephone banking, and after pressing 2 for this and 4 for that and several 3's later, i finally manage to speak to a real human being. I tell them of my problem with the ATM card, very apologetic they are, cancel it and tell me i must go to my branch to order a new one, can't possibly do it over the phone. Now this might not seem like a problem to you, but when you're stuck in the country with no car and your nearest branch is probably a good days walk away, i'm not exactly a happy camper. Anyhoo, thankfully mother allows me the loan of her car for the day and off I go to the bank. Now because the Kiwibank is just a small bank, it shares itself with the post office (this should've been my first warning!) so I queue up and when i finally get to the teller, i ask to order a new card "oh you'll need to make an appointment, we can fit you in in about 3 days time" - WHAT? why the heck do i need to do that and why so long? the teller looks at me blankly and replies "because you do" i ask why and again i get "because you do". I can see i'm dealing with an intellectual here. So again i ask why and this time she says "because it's the rule", at this point i ask to speak to her teacher manager. After long conversations he fits me in and we order a new card - apparently because it's a different computer, that's why i needed to make an appointment! sheesh! So, a couple of days later i check my account online - the bastards have only gone and charged me $5.00 for a replacement card, for the card i never even received in the first bloody place! So on the phone i go again - i'll spare you the boring conversation, needless to say my $5.00 is getting credited back In other news, i'm off to the auctions this week to buy myself a car. The car my sister was going to lend me has seriously deadly brakes which cannot seem to be fixed, bummer really, could see myself driving a Range Rover! Never mind. I went to the auctions last week to see how it all works, and you can get some cracking cars at a really cheap price. Most of them are 2nd hand imports from Japan, but because they dont' drive their cars all that often, the mileage is pretty low and cars last much longer over here than in Europe because of the decent weather (nice dig that i thought lol). So i'll let you know how i get on with the bidding - should be fun. Exciting news about my mate Sweet Cheeks - aka Jane - gutted i missed it on the telly, but i've managed to catch some clips on the GMTV website - hope she's having the time of her life. I myself have managed to lose 1½ stone since i got home. Think it's the hot weather and all i seem to do is eat fruit, and if you eat enough, it's a natural laxative LOL - nice! Anyway, if you're reading this, you're probably bored by now - so i'll sign off and not leave it so long next time.

Bugga me!!! i'm absolutely shattered. So much for me thinking that working for my sister would be a piece of piss! My working day began at 9am, but at least i didn't have to leave the house, my sister dropped my niece in for me to look after. Fortunately I had my mum at home so she was entertained by the two of us, until 11am when I had to walk her back home. Now, this doesnt seem so difficult, but............ when the walk takes 1 hour and your fitness level is not at its best, or even remotely ok, then it is a bit of a struggle. However, off I went, pram in hand, child asleep, sun beating down on me and a cool breeze just to take the edge off. I'm surprised i did it in an hour considering my much slimmer, fitter sister manages to do it in 45 mins, so i'm kinda pleased with myself to be honest. One thing i will have to remember is to wear a hat and some sunscreen - got a bit "pink" today, so better watch it and "slip, slop, slap" as they say. Once I had arrived at the farm, i put Isabella to bed for her afternoon nap (well, it she was pretty comatosed anyway) and put my feet up for about 15 mins before Emma (my sister) returned and then we got stuck in to some pretty heavy duty paperwork - boring!! Then once Isabella had woken, we had a bite to eat (marmite on toast) and headed out to the fields where Emma brought the horses in to train for about an hour. This allowed Isabella and I to explore the dark and damp depths of the horrid barn - all sorts of creepy crawleys about and she absolutely loved it. Then it was back inside, more paperwork and then off to the shops to close up for the day. It felt really weird working like this. I'm so used to getting to the office by 8.30am, lunch from 12-1 and then out the door at 5.30pm. My days never really changed and i was sat on my fat arse all day working on the pc - now i'm outside all the time, and it doesn't really feel like work, feel like i'm cheating a bit, but what with the pathetic amount of money i'm being paid (it's family, what can you do??) i'm sure i'll cope. So by 6.45pm i'm home through the door, ready to cook some tea and relax................. but oh no, can't do that can we - no. Mother has decided to make her lunch, prepare my tea (can't really complain about that one) and left the place in an absolute tip. So now i have to bring the washing in off the line, tidy the lounge, wash the dishes, dry the dishes (turn the dishes over, old childhood song, sorry) fold the laundry, and only now, 1 hour later can i think about doing what i originally planned. So, there we have it - working day no1 out the way, and i'm already looking forward to my day off never happy aye!

Well, 6am and i'm the only one up! Mother is fast asleep snoring her head off and after having opened my stocking from Santa, i'm looking at the presents under the tree and drooling. Is it too early to wake her? Better not i think, and after being online for an hour, i pop back to bed and wait for christmas to begin. 9am she gets up - so i bounce out of bed, into the lounge smiling and wishing all the joy in the world and can we open the presents now? shock bloody horror, the woman says NO! NO???? NO??? WTF - has she gone strark raving mad - what do you mean no!!! Apparently, because we are having lunch at my sisters, we have to wait till then so we can all open them up as a family Bloody hell, christmas isn't what it used to be in our house that's for sure. 12o'clock, car is packed with presents, and the cooked ham, prepared veg and a raw turkey - off we drive to the farm (only 5 mins away thankfully). It is stinking hot and i'm not sure i want to slave over a hot oven in this weather - so i don't Instead, i leave mum to it and i go outside to the pool, take the flip flops off and cool the feet down. My niece joins me and we have a little splash about. Then i hear the call "Pressie time" and we both go running into the lounge GIMMIE GIMMIE GIMMIE - not that i'm a child in any way shape or form lol. Watching my niece rip open her presents and the laughter and smiles she gave was the best thing ever - god i love that child. Presents were the norm really, towels, photo albums, oddly tho an embroidered shower cap from my Grandma - bloody nutter! and apparently I gave 2 pigs to a village in Vietnam (my aunt lives there) which was bloody nice of me i thought! 3pm - dinner is served, YUMMY. Stuffed myself stupid of course, got overheated and just HAD to go and cool down by the pool again - it's a hard life here you know! 6pm - back at home and ready to kip. things are getting better, i do of course still miss everyone back in the IOM, but i'm beginning to finally fit in. Boxing Day Mum is back at work, but has lent me her car so i'm not stuck in the house all day - so after dropping her off i went and did some retail therapy. Bought myself a webcam so i can see people all the way across the other side of the world - cost me $100 - bloody hell i thought - forgetting that was dollars, not pounds!! so i'll wire that up tonight and see what kind of mischief i can get up to lol. I start working for my sister tomorrow - well, when i say work, i'm looking after my niece and helping out with the paper work for her stores (she has 3 right now, another 2 being set up in the new year) and she seriously needs some organising, so think i have my work cut out for me! I'm going to do this for about 6 months I think, then i'll start looking into getting a proper job. well, that's it for now - hope you all had a great christmas - chat soon x

OK, so after a 28 hour flight, which actually wasn't all that bad, i landed at Auckland International Airport at 5.30am (much to my mothers annoyance lol). After queing for what seemed like eternity, i finally got my bags and went through arrivals at 6.15am!! There she was, my dear old ma, greyer than i remembered and oddly, shorter The drive home only took about 25 mins and waiting for me at the door was my Grandma who had come up from Wahi (about a 2 hour drive to Auckland - well, 1½ hrs if i'm driving!). Along with her was her dog pal Andy, who has gotten decidedly greyer as well. After all the hugs and welcome backs, i was shown my room. My mother has moved house and this was the first time i had seen it. A cute old house, built in 1886 and it has real character to it, but it also has unbelievably small bedrooms. I have now gone from sleeping in a super-king sized bed to a bloody single!! There isn't room enough to swing a cat in there, and the wardrobe doors cant open cost they hit the bed when you try. I think i'm going to have to do some re-shuffling here. Next, i hear a tiny little "hello" and there she is, my adorable little neice Isabella (photo's to follow soon). She has the biggest smile and she melts my heart immediately. My sister has been teaching her to say Caroline (my full real name) and she can say what seems to be "carroine" bless. As we are all sitting in the lounge, everyone starts talking and gossiping away like most women do, and i realise i don't know who, what they are talking about - then it hits me - OMG, i've made the wrong decision, what am i doing here?!! I should never have left the IOM, i don't fit in, i never will - WTF HAVE I DONE!!!!!!! Needless to say, the rest of the day was spent mainly in tears. All i wanted to do was speak to my friends, get the b/f over and have some familiarity for gods sake. But that wasn't going to happen and that just made it worse. That night i went to bed early, BIG MISTAKE! Wide awake at 3am, so I thought, text my mates in the UK, see what they're up to, and it was nice to get some replies back, but then i just started crying again. Back to sleep i go, but BOOM 5.30am, wide awake again, this time, no going back to sleep. So up I get and go online, Manxforums will sort me out, and sort me out it did. The next couple of days were the same - problem is, i'm stuck out in the country, my car isn't ready as it has a flat battery and it's not exactly high on the priority list as there are so many other things going on in my family, what with my sisters business (fruit & veg stores) going crazy at this time of year. But then I get a call from a friend of mine who lives just 15 mins away, and she and her husband immigrated from the IOM last Jan. She offers to come pick me up and go round theirs for dinner and drinks. Thank GOD! Now i'm beginning to feel a bit better - not so isolated and with people who i can talk to about the perils/jubilations of moving countries. Christmas is in a couple of days - hopefully things will be better then.

i did indeed - how the hell i forgot about that i don't know