Buy a van. Drive to Auckland.
When I was in Wellington last weekend I was reminded of these South Island school-goers I once met who, at the age of 15, wanted to buy a van and drive all the way to Auckland. When I first met my girlfriend two years ago I was going to Wellington, though as of yet I haven't arrived. We moved in together after a month and then got our own place and then moved to her family trust's farm and a rent free house which was about the stupidiest thing I've ever done (more than responding to retarded metro guy). The house isn't a nice place to live.
When laying in bed at night I can't have my feet upright with toes pointing at the ceiling as the severe weight of the layers would hurt my toes. Those layers are required to keep me warm. Being cold is being here.
The rats ate a hole in my girlfriend's car (a cute red Cynos). From a hole above the carport rats often watch me in the bath (they're better behaved than some landlords I've had - har! har!). The ants 0wn the benches and swarm with uncanny pace. For example: When boiling water I check for dead ants and when present thoroughly wash out them out and clean the inside of the jug. But by the end of the boil there are floaties.
I can't stay clean here as there's no shower. The bath - which initally took half an hour to fill - this morning took one hour twenty. Because of this I think nothing of sharing bath water. A full bath's depth exposes the greenish tinge in the tap water. I have been told the water here is unsafe to drink. The inside of the house has had a fresh coat of paint, but a fresh coat of paint won't hide that.
This house eats money. Our power bill is over $200 a month - double what it should be for a couple (I'm suspicious of the hot water cylinder and the fridge). The power goes out once a week causing the TV to lose it's tuning. We live five minutes down from the top of the Kaimais so to get anywhere... petrol. I'm practically unemployed. All work and no play makes Matthew a dull boy. And I wasn't getting out any time soon.
So I borrowed $2000 from my parents and finally got out, and we went to Wellington last week for a few days. We drove around and examined some dingy flats. We laughed and played and giggled that our beds were warm with two duvets. We found a place with a nice backyard and the trickster landlord, Kim, didn't manage to trick us out of too much rent (I think). I met my sister but didn't give her the mandarins.
Before leaving there is a lot of stuff to get rid of. Living near Cara's family brought out the goodness in them to offer shower curtains and vegetable peelers! (no offence intended). We caught the rat. Bills are paid. I'm planting lupins and "potted colour"(?) around the house because it's pretty. We are told that the poor would want our rocking chairs and stereo but they'll have to do without. My nemesis is the Waipa Delta and I'm seriously considering droping some of this on it. I really hate that thing.
So we'll leave in a week and I apologise for the grammar (patches accepted). We're moving to Wellington and maybe I'll have something to talk about then. But probably not (Har! Har!)
A "Draw your saturday night in MS Paint" thread at SA.