Work, Winning, and Weather

My second full week in Wellington saw as many changes as the first. It was my first week of work at the café, which allowed for some regularity. Settling in has been pretty easy, partly because of the number of hours I worked from the start, but also because I've worked in a similar place before. My coworkers are generally motivated to get the job done well, but are very relaxed when business slows down. That being said, things were rarely slow this week. Chris, the owner, says the place was bankrupt about two years ago when he bought it, and it is now starting to turn a profit. Of the six days I worked this week, five were consistently busy. It is normal for Chris to be working alongside us, and it's a nice motivating factor to have the owner so close to the action.

I'm not working full-time, however, and Wednesday saw my first pub trivia night in Wellington. In a strong debut performance, my team took second place and I personally won a little keychain (with a TV on it that makes noises like the one in the movie Poltergeist). The bar in question was fairly alternative - in between the rounds of questions, the quiz master gave away "spot prizes" to the person who could identify which song he was playing on his trumpet, and the team with the best name won a prize, which ended up being Whoopee cushions.

This week also saw my housing situation resolved. One of the apartments I had looked at contacted me to say I had first choice if I wanted it. When I explained my financial situation, they were still eager to have me. We've worked out a deal that will allow me to move in and pay later, which is a huge load off my shoulders. I moved in this weekend after my two longest shifts at the café. The new place is not centrally heated, which presents some interesting challenges, but I have a large room to myself and three friendly flatmates in a nice location.

There's a certain amount of irony in my move from a centrally heated hostel to a barely heated apartment this weekend, as New Zealand is currently being blanketed with snow. Wellington's climate doesn't really allow for the snow to settle in the city itself, but the cars coming down to the city from the nearby hills tell a different story. The precipitation can't seem to decide if it wants to be snow or rain, which makes for pretty nasty conditions. My reaction has not been entirely negative, however. When I arrived, people told me it was winter and it really didn't feel like it. Now that it finally feels like it, I have put on my mental snow tires and long underwear and actually quite enjoy it. However, it is odd to think that a little less than a month ago, I was barely able to move due to the heat in Chicago. From one of North America's worst heat waves to one of New Zealand's worst winter storms in less than a month...sounds like a book.

If you want to read more about the weather - which I believe is historic - check here:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/5442971/Wellingtons-once-in-a-lifetime-polar-blast

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/snow-reaches-auckland-winter-blast-bites-4351436