Winter in Wellington

Hello everyone. This week is gonna be kinda a lame post in terms of the visuals (no pictures) but hopefully have a bit more substance in terms of the writing...

About now, those of you back in the Northern Hemisphere are probably enjoying really hot temperatures and balmy, muggy summer days. Meanwhile, winter has settled in here in Wellington. It actually took quite a while to get here. Up until a few weeks ago, we were enjoying mild temperatures and frequently sunny days. This past week has really marked the change, with almost constant rain and temps in the mid-40's (F). The city actually reminds me very much of St. Louis in the winter time, except without the threat of snow. About the worst you will get here is a hard freeze.

We've been pretty busy lately, mostly with social activities. We've normally got a pretty full slate of activities and have met a lot of fun, interesting people. "MeetIn" (a social event/ networking web site) has kept us particularly busy. Tonight we're going to a party hosted by some friends from California who have recently moved here. The party theme will be card games and such, so I'm gonna bring the Werewolf card game which is usually pretty fun. Tomorrow morning we're going to Yum Char (Dim Sum) and then I have some guys coming over in the afternoon to play Dungeons & Dragons. So, lots going on.

There are rumours that our apartment building is being sold. Hard to know exactly what is happening. Our understanding is that the apartments may be sold off individually as condos, and if this happens we may need to move soon. Our lease ends at the end of September. Not sure what will happen or where we'll go. Accomodation prices in Wellington are astronomical, which includes housing prices. Interest rates keep getting raised by the government as the Kiwi dollar continues to climb and the exchange rate against the US dollar is at an all-time high (.78 to 1). So, we don't want to buy anything now since it would mean transferring our US savings at a particularly bad time. That means we're gonna be renting for at least another year. It feels wrong to be dumping money into rent, like throwing it out the window, and I know this comes from being a home owner and knowing what it's like to build equity in property. But, for now, it's a necessary evil.

Also on the money front, I am in the midst of trying to figure out my New Zealand taxes (the US taxes are done). Gonna try to make this really short and general, but the gist of it is that I LOATH the process of filing taxes and am totally confused and it's like trying to understand an alien language. And now, I have two of them to file every year. Most frustrating is that everyone around me says "how easy NZ taxes are to do, so much easier than the US!" Yes, well that is true if you are in a regular full-time job where they deduct your taxes, but try being an independent contractor for a partial year...it gets a little more complicated. And I don't care what anyone says...NZ's tax system (IRD) may be smaller but they've got just as much of a love of forms, acronyms and legalese as the IRS. One of our friends is a tax accountant and she has kindly offered to take a look and I think I'm gonna have to take her up on it. Either that, or just hire someone and suffer the financial consequences. Friends report that you can expect to pay $600-$800 to hire an accountant for a tax return here. Ummm...OK...and do I also get some sort of hot sex with that tax return? I should, for that amount of money. (Sorry, Mom, block your ears...)

What else have we been up to...

Well, it's not Earth-shattering or anything, but I've actually been doing a little bit of drawing lately. With an actual pencil and not a computer, too. I've wanted to get back to creating art, and it was one of the things I hoped to have time to pursue once we got to New Zealand. Drawing is like speaking another language or writing/playing music. Some people come to it easier or more naturally, yes, but you still have to practice. I am way, way out of practice. Computers are one of the worst things to have happened to my artistic abilities. I rely on them too much. So, my goal is to break away from them at least 2-3 times a week and do some old-fashioned drawing. I take my sketchbook out during my lunch hour and doodle. They are sad little drawings, of random things. Sometimes it feels like I lose control of the pencil, while at other times it does exactly what I wanted. I can at least feel myself getting better. I may even post some of the sketches on here someday when I feel they show enough improvement.

I am not abandoning computers entirely though. I am enrolled in two short courses coming up at the Dowse. The first is a Photoshop class and the other is a sculpting class, both being put on by WETA workshop alumni. I am especially looking forward to the Photoshop class, and have even bought a wacom drawing tablet to practice with (something I never had). The course will be taught by Greg Broadmore who was one of the key artists on King Kong. He developed a lot of the concept artwork for Skull Island including scenery, creatures, and (most important) the dinosaurs. He sounds like a person who is right up my alley and I can't wait to see what he is going to show us. I'll be sure to post about the workshops and what I learned, so keep a lookout for it.

I guess will stop there for now. For those of you lurkers out there who occasionally pop in and check on us, thanks for stopping by. Be sure to write now and then and let us know how you are doing. We are not as good about calling as we should be, I know. The business of life, and the time differences, often contribute to our failings. But we could do better, and will try. Hope all is well with everyone back home.

-William