Tag Archives: love

So I might have gotten slightly engaged….

You may recall that this time last year I met a very lovely lady and becoming somewhat attached to her. On the 29th of January it was our 1 yr “official” anniversary, which we spent in Wellington.

I realised there’s nobody that I’d rather spend the rest of my life with than her, so last night I asked Lisa to marry me. And she said yes. :’)

Whilst this ring is not as pretty as a Linux server, I think Lisa did approve of this purchase more.

I love you Lisa – spending the rest of my life with you is an amazing, scary, exhilarating feeling all at the same time.

Realising that there’s someone in my life who cares about me as much as I care about them just continues to amaze me every day and I’m so, so happy I met you.

 

So yeah, I now have one very surprised but happy fiancé and about a million tweets from followers, friends and family. As we were in Wellington for the weekend, it worked out well, being able to see and catch up with many of our friends and my side of the family. (Thankfully she said yes, it would have been a very awkward weekend otherwise). ;-)

Still a lot of stuff to figure out and sort out, I had kind of assumed at this stage my work was done,but turns out there are weddings, life plans, cake testing and getting something other than seans to wear to sort out. :-/

We haven’t really made plans yet, but we’re thinking engagement of at least a year, before we make that final step (or she’ll get sick of me and leave by then and I’ll become (more of) an alcoholic reclusive geek), so it would be a wedding in early 2013. Unsure where, but sounds like Wellington or Hawke’s Bay

I know a few of you want to know how it came about, how I proposed, etc, I’m hoping Lisa will blog that in the next day or two along with some horribly cute couplesy pics once we get someone to take a pic that’s more public appropriate than the content of my phone’s camera.

I’m sure I’ll blog something more in the next few days, just wanted to get something up ATM. :-)

Getting a move on

Just got back from AU this morning, been an awesome trip which I’ll probably blog about next week, as this one is far too busy.

Started this morning with a dead car battery when I went to take Lisa to the airport and a txt from the movers advising that the truck had broken down, not the greatest way to start my day.

Fortunately Lisa managed to get to the airport in time and the AA battery replacement service was pretty fast – turns out the battery in my car dated back to 2002, infact it even seems to run better with the new battery whilst driving and starts even faster, wonder if the old one was impacting the motor.

The movers arrived and took away all my furniture to Auckland, it arrives on the 26th and I’m up in Auckland 26th & 27th for work projects so can help Lisa start setting up the flat.

After I return on Thursday, I’ll be living on an air mattress for Thur, Fri and Sat nights. Not really wildly excited about the air mattress part, but have to just live with that till the drive up to Auckland on the Sunday.

Somehow I have to fit all my computers into my car, along with clothes and various other items, it’s looking like it will be tight squeeze TBH – and my brother is coming along as a passenger for his first Auckland roadtrip, so there’s not going to be much room by the time the car is loaded up.

Clearly this is a sign that I should have less things…. anything that doesn’t fit and that I don’t want ASAP will have to go to parents for now.

Slowly morphing into an Aucklander

October is shaping up to be a pretty insanely busy month, I haven’t even had the time to update my blog for a while or finish some of the project I’ve been hacking away at. :-(

This month is pretty much non-stop travel around both NZ and AU – I have 5 days over in AU in Melbourne and Brisbane, as well as a number of flights to and from Auckland for work projects as well as the impending move up to be with Lisa.

Infact, based on hours spent in different cities this month, I’m going to be around 30% Wellingtonian, 20% Australian and 50% Aucklander…. before becoming an official Aucklander from the 30th of October.

Whilst it’s pretty hectic, it is somewhat good timing. Work is flying me to Auckland a bit for an important project that’s underway, so far I’ve already spent an entire week in Auckland, and likely to spend another week or maybe more up there whilst Lisa and I hunt for a flat – plus it means Lisa and I don’t have too many huge gaps without seeing each other.

(I’ve literally just landed in Wellington and expect to spend (at most) two nights in my own bed before flying back out).

We haven’t confirmed a flat yet – really not a fan of flat hunting, always so many different flats to sort through until you find something that isn’t entirely disappointing, and then there’s all the fun of working with agents and owners to actually get an application in and approved.

The fact that NZ rental stock is utterly crap also doesn’t help towards this goal – far too many hours lack any insulation, have kitchens or bathrooms last renovated in the 70s, are way over priced and have horrendous terms like 12 months fixed term, renewing in blocks of 12 only.

We’ve submitted an application for one place, which the agents appear happy with, but haven’t had final confirmation yet, so there’s a bit of limbo currently – hopefully we get it, as it does look like an ideal place for us and they can do an 8month contract with flexible renewal.

I think Lisa and I have pretty much settled on the shore now, looking at places around Takapuna – there’s a good selection of food and other shops, good transport to town if needed, and we can actually afford enough space to live out there, unlike in the city with tiny apartments.

I’ll be back up next week, so I’m sure further updates will follow by the end of that week. :-)

Auckland, here I come!

As per my recent post, @splatdevil has now obtained a job in Auckland! And because I can’t resist her snuggles, I’ve decided to move up there with her!

We’ve been dating since Janurary and most of this so far has been spent with Lisa down in Wellington with me, so it’s been pretty intense, going from single life to living with someone almost full time in a relatively small place.

There have been ups and downs, some fights, growing pains as we settle into a different sort of lifestyle, but it’s been totally worth it – we both feel a great connection and can see a long term future, so we’re giving it a go.

And I’m pretty smitten TBH, I love her, maybe even more than my awesome KVM server. ;-)

Lisa will be starting work on 10th October, so we’re in a bit of a hurry to organise a place to live and get setup so she can be comfortable – I’m a bit more flexible and aiming to be moving there around early November as I have a few commitments in Wellington and conferences to attend. Hopefully with the work I have on ATM, I can spend most of October up there with her.

We will need to organise a leaving Wellington party and welcome to Auckland party, but just waiting to see what the plans for travel will be before doing so. :-)

Will keep you all posted.

Hastings Roadtrip!

At the request of @splatdevil, I’ve headed up to Hastings for the weekend to be with her during a difficult personal time.

I always like an excuse for a roadtrip, the Wellington to Hastings drive is pretty nice and isn’t too long at only 4 hours.

Interesting statistics from the trip:

  • $30~ fuel consumption in Toyota Starlet 1.3l petrol car
  • 800ml coke consumed.
  • 1 chip in wind screen. Going to be a hassle to go and have that fixed now :-(
  • 2 wrong turns.
  • 1 fuel stop.
  • 0 toilet/snack stops.
  • >9000 angry swear words at traffic queues whilst trying to depart Wellington on a Friday afternoon.
  • 6 uses of the over taking lane
  • 4 sets of roadworks.
  • 1 police car on traffic duties.
  • 3 ambulances, only 1 active.