Moving Time

So, it is officially less than a month before we fly away from London for life in Wellington.

AHHHHhhhhhh.

On May 5th, after 2+ years for me and 10+ years for R, we fly back to New Zealand. We have a week in Auckland with R’s family and friends before heading down to Wellington to start our new life. R has a job which starts on the 16th – which is fantastic – but currently I will be unemployed. And living with my parents. Dealing with my second winter in a row. Talk about stressful!

There are a couple of things still left to do – the boxes get picked up on Monday, so we’ll be saying goodbye to the computer, xbox, books, pasta machine etc for up to three months, which is quite a long time! We also need to finish up financial stuff – cancel the Sky subscription, move out, close down bank accounts. We have to say goodbye for now to the friends and family we have here – including Ange, who’s only been here for 6 months, and R’s 3-y-o niece. I’ll probably cry a lot. It’s different moving this time – when I moved to London it was always only temporary – there was always an end date on my visa. Moving back is permanent.

I am looking forward to going home – I haven’t seen my best friend in over two years, and I miss my family. I also miss New Zealand’s significantly cheaper rent, and a city in which buying a house is not a complete pipe dream.

There are lots of other exciting things to look forward to – R’s buying a car while we’re in Auckland, so we can road trip down to Wellington, and go on lots of little day trips. We’re planning to do the Otago Rail Trail in October-ish – ride a bike at a leisurely pace for three or four days while enjoying LOTR-type spectacular scenery.

In the meantime, we’re trying to see as much on London as possible – Royal Albert Hall tomorrow, Cambridge next weekend, York last weekend – and I’m trying to get fit before we leave. After all, the best way to see the beautiful New Zealand countryside is to be in it – which means tramping, long walks, and camping. I ran 5km in March, but I haven’t really done anything since, so it’s time to kick it up a notch!

All my lovely books are packed into a box – anyone want an ikea bookcase?

I ran a 5k race!

Yesterday Ange and I ran our first 5k race. It was at the Olympic Park in Stratford, and it was the first time I’ve ever run 5k. I ran it in just under 40 minutes – I honestly probably could have walked it faster, but I ran the whole thing without stopping which was my goal.

It was absolutely fantastic (although I of course felt awful during the race!). I would highly, highly recommend anyone attempting the Couch to 5k program to sign up for one- it was such a great motivator, and although running 5k in and of itself is a massive achievement, it felt fantastic to have that acknowledged by having an actual finish line to run over!

Have a picture of a very sweaty Ange and myself after the race. Next stop, 10k!!!

 

Things I’m Loving Right Now

Grease Live. Oh my god you guys it’s just so good. This may be sacrilege, but it might be better than the original. Aaron Tveit! Keke Palmer! Vanessa Hudgens should just play Rizzo for the rest of her life. Or at least keep the hair and the style. The whole thing is just so so well done. With so many pretty costumes – did anyone else immediately start browsing the Vogue Vintage patterns?

Piecing together my own underwear! Even if it doesn’t work, I’m really enjoying the process, and for me that’s at least 70% of why I sew. Yay!

Catching up on my favourite London haunts before I leave – this weekend we went to the V&A (which is my absolute favourite), and the Tate Modern (which was as fun as it is weird. I don’t really get modern art, but I do enjoy it. Except for Rothko, I don’t think anyone enjoys Rothko)

RUNNING. I finally conquered Week 5 Day 3 of the Couch to 5k program yesterday – which is (not including warm up and warm down) 8 minutes running, 5 minutes walking, 8 minutes running. I’ve never managed this run before – I have infact stalled at exactly this spot twice already, so finally beating it felt absolutely fantastic. Now to see if I can do the 10 minute runs that come next…

The Ticket To Ride Pocket App. Ticket to Ride is a board game I’ve loved for years, and recently (this weekend) discovered there’s an app for that. And it’s super addictive. £1.30 very well spent!

Things I am both loving and hating: planning our final months in London. We both handed in our (three month’s) notice last Friday, so no backing out now (not that I could anyway!). There are so many things I want to fit in over the next three months – including going to Motown the Musical (amongst others if possible), visiting York and Cambridge, taking R to the Changing of the Guard (10 years in London and he hasn’t seen it…), there’s at least three museum exhibitions I want to see, along with spending as much time with friends and family here before we go. Plus, we need to pack!

Couch to 5K – Look Mum, I’m a runner!

I have always detested running. Until recently, I think the most running I’ve done in my life was the dreaded beep test in High School. In September, some kind of switch just flipped for me, and I was raring to go for the Couch to 5k program. I’m sure you’ve heard someone talk about this in the last couple of years, it’s responsible for thousands of people – my mum included – becoming runners. You know, that friend who comes to the pub, and tells you how fantastic they felt after their 35 minute run this morning. Yeah, the one you roll your eyes at (not judging, I did too). Running can’t make you feel that good, can it?

Well, get the eye roll ready, because I’m about to become that friend: it really does.