Well, I didn't go to the food and wine festival. Instead I went to the next town to where I stay. I love going there becuase it has a pet shop which sells puppies and kittens. It has lots of puppies, and they are all so cute! I can easily spend half an hour in that shop ooohing and ahhing over them. I really, really want one!

I also went for a walk on the beach. That was very enjoyable.

Had a job interview the other day for a contract position. It went well...I have a second interview next week. Dunno how that will go though. I have a tendancy to muck up the second interview, especially when it happens to be with the CEO of the company.

Apart from the job search, not been up to much. The weather has been pretty bad. We've had very heavy rain. A lot of places further south have been flooded and a lot of people's houses have been washed away into swollen rivers. Seems to be a bit brighter today though.

Boyfriend is at a hockey tournament today, so I'm at a bit of a loose end. There's some kind of food and wine festival on at a little coastal town called Devonport. I might go there for a looksee. Only problem is needing to get 2 buses to get there...either that or get one bus and then the ferry (much more fun).

Only problem with leaving the house though is that I leave myself open to attack from whatever little sods have been biting me. I have about 10 bites on each foot (especially around the ankle), 3 on my stomach and 3 on my left arm. They itch like you wouldn't believe.

Woo hoo! Got a job interview next Monday. Pity it's so far away as I'm very aware of time running out, but the people who want to interview me are in Wellington for the week at meetings or something.

Had a very romantic Valentines day. I got a lovely necklace with a little sapphire and diamond pendant, and a nice card with a beautiful message inside. We went out to dinner to a gourmet pizza place and I had the best cheesecake ever for dessert (even better than the caramel cheesecake I had at a place in Glasgow when I went to lunch with some work mates...) Then we went into the Auckland domain for a big open air concert....'symphony under the stars' it was called. There were fireworks, a laser show, lots of singing and classical music also. It was a good night.

anyway, spongebob squarepants is on tv, so I'm off ........

Things are looking up on the job front. Have 2 interviews with agencies on Monday for specific positions. They both asked my visa status, and neither seemed too concerned about the fact that I didn't have a work permit as yet. Fingers crossed!

Went into Auckland yesterday to have lunch with my old flatmate. It was nice to catch up. I also went for a wander round the shops and got a valentines gift for my other half. Was going to get something silly, but then I saw something practical which I thought he'd like, so I ended up getting the practical gift along with some wee silly gifts.

It always amuses me around this time of year to go into lingerie shops and see the number of bemused men trying to casually look through the underwear as if it's the kind of thing they do every day. Card shops are the same.......man stands at valentine card section, hand scratching top of head, eyes scanning for not too lovely dovey, not too rude, not too funny card. Choosing a card, the 'right' card, can be difficult though, so I fully sympathise.

Day 3 of the job search. Today I sat around the house in my undies (it's sooo hot) and applied for 4 jobs. Still trying to stay positive and to not think about the short time period in which to get a job before the working holiday visa runs out.

On the plus side of being unemployed....I get to sit in the garden every day and sunbathe. Slowly turning from blue to pale white with patches of red sunburn.

Day 2 of the serious job hunt, and it's not going well. Not much there to apply for today at all. Had a phone call yesterday from a guy at an agency who wanted to know my visa status.....he quickly hung up when he realised I didn't have residency or a work permit. I don't even want to think about what will happen if I don't get a job offer. Positive thinking tells me I will get one.

Thought I'd go out for a walk to the local supermarket today...almost turned back after I'd been out for 2 minutes. It was boiling hot. At least I remembered to put sun cream on and to take a hat and a bottle of water. Boyfriend is having to educate me in all this summer weather malarky....not used to it at all.

Was excited to read in the tv guide this week that one of the channels here have just picked up Eastenders, and it's only a few episodes behind where it's at in the UK. Saves me from reading the bbc website every day to find out what's happening. (sad, I know)

Finally arrived back in NZ after 2 very long flights. The one from LA to Auckland was pretty terrifying I have to say. We had our seatbelts buckled for most of the flight and were tossed about in our seats like ragdolls. According to the pilot we flew through several jet streams, whatever they are.

My first night back was very lovely and romantic I have to say. My man and I had dinner on the beach, went for a moonlit stroll across the sand, and then lay on the grass and looked at the stars. After a lovely weekend together it's now Monday morning and time for some serious job hunting.

Better get started.......

Stressing out now. Trying to fit as much as possible into my suitcase whilst trying to keep in mind the 20kg weight limit is very difficult. Packed and unpacked about 3 times now and still 5kg over. Also worrying about whether my flight will be cancelled or not due to the terrorist threats. I knew I should have tried to get a flight round the other way and not through LA.