Wellington is certainly wild and woolly today... there's gale force winds here in excess of 120 kmh!! It's been raining buckets as well. I've got one of those lovely storm-views outside of my window. The harbour is full of white-capped waves, and the storm clouds are racing by at a great speed... wish I had a video camera.

I went hunting for a gun today with a friend who's introduced me to indoor rifle shooting (it's like indoor cricket, but more exciting). We went to a gun shop owned by a friend of his who regularly lets him borrow rifles. We picked out a rifle for me to use tonight. It's only a .22, 'cause you can't shoot a heavier calibre indoors (but I'd LIKE to make that target disappear in one shot!), but it has a scope and everything... Last time I went shooting I was using a semi-automatic. The rifle I borrowed today is a bolt action. Apparently the trigger is a lot lighter and makes it more accurate 'cause the pull is lighter... so I'm seeing how I go.

Weapons are cheap here... I feel almost like I'm in America or something. .22 calibre rifles are between $300 and $1000, with the majority of them being around $400. I saw this awesome looking camouflaged shotgun for $999, with a sticker on the bottom saying "Only one lady owner" hehehe. New Zealanders are strange...

It's funny, but after getting into this new country, I'm meeting new people, seeing new sights, and getting new hobbies. Is that how it's supposed to be? I've never lived outside of Australia before, so this is my only experience with it.

I think the weirdest thing about this new shooting hobby is that Michelle seems more into it than I am!! She's talking about buying a rifle for xmas, as well as a Playstation. There's a line from Saving Private Ryan which occasionally describes my life and seems appropriate right now... "Things have taken a turn for the surreal" (or something like that).

The latest news from the NZ front is that I started my new job yesterday. It's going to be great, 'cause it's an internet-support role inside a corporate support company. Basically, the support I have to offer is for home users with their internet access and their computer. Now, because Computerland have never provided home user support before, they don't have any procedures in place to facilitate the support. So yesterday I went through the computer manufacturer's website and accessed all their support information for the computer in question. Now I can easily say that we provide the same support that the manufacturer provide, and if they want any more then they can go back to their supplier. My bosses are happy with that already... I only need training now in their job tracking and logging software, which is probably the hardest thing I have to learn. My work starts on Tuesday, so I have only Monday left for training.

The next news is that Michelle might get a contract in England for 6 months, and if she does then we're going over there to live for that time as soon as my contract with Computerland is finished. That's going to pretty awesome if it goes ahead... 6 months in England... wow!

We're going to a relationship seminar tonight, which is similar to a self-development seminar but applicable to relationships... it should be fun.