Hello from Portland!

I'm not back but I'm around. I'm sure Sense knows that! :)

It has been 6 months since I moved to Portland, Oregon and I thought I could share a bit of an update.

It was not a good transition from summer to winter in less than 24 hours, but I enjoyed my first snowfall. Portland is a wet place to be in winter time. I got lucky to land a job in a month's time. I'm contracting at the moment, which started as a 3-month stint that got extended to the end of the year with possibility of extending further into 2012. I'm ok with that because our benefits, like medical, are through my husband's employer. I get paid a lot here and it is so enjoyable! Such a big difference from what I got in NZ, despite the fact that I was in the highest tax bracket. We just feel much better here financially.

Happy to report that our NZ debt is being paid more and steadily. We received tax refunds over $3k combined that we decided not to use to pay off a NZ card because our primary focus right now is to replenish funds that got depleted for the move. With our improved financial situation, we've managed to save $8k in just 3 months. We'll keep saving until the end of the year, then move to paying off our NZ debts.

Shopping here is great! No sales tax in Oregon!

Our life here is lived as minimalists. We have plenty of space in our rented house because we only bought essential furniture pieces. We made the decision in NZ not to buy a car in our first 6 months here. We still don't have a car and we don't know when we'd get one. I met someone who's sort of friends with my husband who ALWAYS asks us when will we buy a car every time she sees us. I'm not exaggerating. She also introduces me to new people with the by-line: they don't have a car. WTF? At first it was annoying, but now I just laugh at her because I didn't know that was an interesting subject.

We have bikes now though and we use them to get to work. Who knew that biking could lose me some fat?

Also, I had to contact my Kiwisaver provider and IRD for not crediting me my Member Tax Credit as scheduled in July. I was in NZ until February, a month short of the 2011 tax year, and yet I only got credited half of the MTC. I'm still waiting for IRD's response to that because why would I not get at least $1k right? I don't expect to get anymore this year and the next while we live overseas, but last tax year's MTC is something I believe that I deserve. My husband, who left in December, received $300 more than I did. WTH?

Summer is awesome here. I never expected American summer to be VERY BUSY and FULL OF HAPPENINGS. I found myself declining a few invites already.

Til next. Cheers!

No strings attached anymore

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The car is sold and there's nothing else that's tying me down here in NZ anymore. Sigh of relief.

It was a challenge for me, mostly because I was worrying too much about the car. As you might know, we had a Prius. It is not a cheap car but it is efficient. However, here in NZ, most car buyers/users are more inclined to buy a cheap car eventhough it may not promise petrol efficiency. The buyers have been driving Priuses since 2000. They bought our Prius as a replacement for their gas-guzzling Vitara that they will sell soon. After our experience, my perspective on cars has changed. I can't and won't even consider a car that's not petrol efficient.

Hours before the transaction occurred, I felt sad about selling our car. I think it symbolized the last significant thing we've owned, enjoyed, and what tied me here. All I need to do next is to buy my ticket to Portland and pack my bags. I have 2 weeks left at work and a few days after that I plan to fly. It sounds so easy, isn't it? The fact in leaving NZ is too imminent and too fast!

Money-wise, there are no more insurance payments to pay, no more petrol to buy, cheap rent of $200/week including all utilities and internet (thanks to friends), and no bus fares to pay. So far I've only spent $70 on food since last week. Wallet is happy!

While I have these few weeks left, I'm going around Wellington to enjoy and appreciate the town that will form a significant part of our history. I will miss this country.

Choose a phone for me, wouldja?

Having enjoyed being provided my mobile phone for me through work for 7 years, choosing my own for Portland is proving to be a difficult task!

Image via Wikipedia

J has his own iPhone and got himself a month-to-month plan until I get there and we figure out whether we'd take on a family plan. Neither of us is willing to be tethered to a 2-year plan so I started looking at different companies for a phone and service.

Now I'm tired. The plethora of options are just brain-draining. I repeat the cycle of shifting from wanting a simple phone that can make calls and text to something in the lines of iPhones and Androids, and back.

As of writing, I'm resolved to just wait it out. We already have a VOIP phone gifted by my father-in-law and we'll have internet at our new home. I'm guessing that would be adequate until I get a feel for things there. I'm still hoping that my new job there (when I find one) will provide me a phone, which should solve my problem.

The thing is, with a child who's about to start school, I will need to be contacted in case of emergencies.

$23 movies

Image via CrunchBase

Having no cable right now re-introduced me to the joy of renting movies again. For $23, I've enjoyed 23 movies that I would have otherwise missed, or completely ignored, if I had cable.

I even went to the cinema one day and backed out of it when I was at the ticket counter. I thought it was funny.

New year, old movies. I've made the right choice. Maybe I shouldn't subscribe to TiVo when I get to Portland? What about House? Bones? I have BIG problems. :-P

Living on my own

I've noticed that I buy less grocery when I'm on my own. Food seems to last longer -- obviously -- but also it's easier to take into account just my diet. When I shop for my family, I have to take into consideration their own dietary needs. Then there's dessert. I can buy one cupcake-size cheesecake and I'm set for days, sometimes even for a week.

Moore Wilson's is the best for buying desserts! Thanks to Floriditas who provide them! I've always liked shopping at MW, but I find them expensive at times especially in the meat section. Their meats are of great quality though, so can't really complain.

Anyway, I have a co-worker who lives next to my apartment who I share food with sometimes. Well, it sort of started out that way when I first moved in with her. I think she just liked the set up. As for me, I'm ok with it but not on a daily basis! So far, it has worked out well; but I generally don't enjoy her cooking because it lacks variety. I can't even begin how much meat she cooks. Ugh.

It looks like $40/week for me works. Hormone helps too. A week before my period I just gorge in food! It's so gross how much sugar I'd consume and all that fluid that my body retains. Then a day after my period starts, I deflate and lose appetite. It's a cycle that no matter how I resolve to not eating much prior to my monthly period, I just get sucked in. I hate having periods sometimes.

I'm enjoying Wellington in my last month. I forgot how vibrant it can be. Still unsure whether the gusty winds will be missed, but I've started feeling some sort of separation anxiety when I went into a gift shop today. I always bring my camera with me cos there are just things that can't be missed, like this:

Gusty winds can really do this in Wellington. Isn't that just scary?

Despite the joys of living alone, I miss my family very much. I keep thinking about next month when I reunite with J, and then another month when the whole family is together.