Jones NZ

Currently working on a new application to record and display family trees, will let everyone know when it is done.

This should allow personal details and thumbnail photos to be uploaded.

Will also look at creating a photo gallery where comments can be added by logged on members so we can identify people.

Long time no blog eh.

After 2 wonderful years in China we went back to NZ for me to try and make a living doing online stuff with mixed results.

Managed to make a living but with the sudden big downturn and IB being buggers about online workshops (pulling two at no notice) things got a little to loose for comfort.

Anyway, while I was contemplating "next moves" The Southport School got in touch with me and gave me the oppo to apply for eLearning Coordinator.

It was a great couple of weeks. I sprung a surprise on Hania by secretly picking up Vicky at the airport. However, the kids sprang a surprise on me by having James arrive and collar me at the airport cafe.

We hung at home and played Settlers of Catan, obviously. We also visited Napier and Gisborne which was fun too.

James is on a plane back home now and Vicky is staying on for a couple of weeks more. We will be in Wellington for the next few days.

Just re-arranging the furniture, normal service will be resumed "whenever".

Didn't know about this unit until the visit to Apple. I bought one back for Hania as it runs Windows and Mac Tiger (I got Parallels as well to see how that is).

It's a compact little unit with no screen or keyboard, a front loading DVD drive slot and all the usual ports on the back (including 4 usb and firewire).

It worked out of the box and recognised the Logitech wireless mouse and the keyboard after a couple of simple tests.

Connecting to the internet could have been tricky as it kept asking for the password (WEP) when I had to enter the SSID hex key - eventually tracked down the required setting but this would not have been easy for Hania to sort. The dialog box gave no indication of what sort of data was required here or where to go for more help.

Well, here we are after 6 months of thinking about it and 3 months of preparation and packing.

It was hot and humid the night we arrived and the air was somewhat thick. We found the apartment everything we expected and the locals almost invariably polite and kind.

We took our first few steps into the world of Beijing Shopping and found it hectic and confusing - everything is in Chinese, how strange! Never mind, we managed to get survival goodies and a driver who spoke English - very good investment for an afternoon.

Settling in at school and at least everyone is pretty much new here as the campus is just opened and almost everyone has been here just one year; the newbies also outnumber those "old hands". Getting some "survival" Mandarin - how to order beer and direct taxis - essentials.

Arnie, aka ARN709, my 2002 Ford Ka, to a good family. Missing you already.

Ah, the times we had; that drive to Gisborne - a 10 hour round trip for a 2 hour meeting and a couple of bottles of James & Annie Millton's pale yellow nectar. You and me missing the jams on SH 1 with a side trip to the Glen Murray and River Road. That trip out West we always planned to take; you'll go to Port Waikato with somebody else now.

Trip to UK
This was quite productive and I managed to see almost everyone in the family which was great.

A big thank you to John and Mary for organising the barbecue.

Hope to see some of the family in Beijing before too long.

Gold Coast
We had to see our kiwi expat buddies Angela, Michael, Zamon & Finn before heading to China so we went for a week to Southport. Great fun and good company. We met Bruce, Dan, Penny and Hannah who we remember fondly. Got some pics, maybe I will put them on the site soon.

South Island
This was awesome in terms of lack of connectivity (my mobile phone mysteriously would not charge) with internet cafes only once in a while. No TV either.

Hey

If you are passing by for that cuppa and want to know where we are, look out for a bright yellow mailbox.

This is to see what happens when I try to add a picture...

Sold. One apartment in Grafton, Auckland. Boutique block, the agents said; nice view of the Sky Tower (if you hang off the balcony and crane around 60 degrees).

We'll miss it and the easy walk to the city centre, the Domain and the Turkish Restaurant (no more vodkas with Sameh) next to the dairy on the corner of Park Road and Grafton Road.

Nice neighbourhood is Grafton - if you move to Auckland you could do worse.

We've been three years here in the city but we won't be sad to go back to the Waikato - bit colder, can be foggy, but not so much pollution (oh yes, here in clean & green NZ we have smog too).