things are moving

As the title says, things are moving along now, with plenty of twists and turns punctuated by periods of condensed hyperactivity followed by tedious will-sapping lulls of NHS-inspired boredom... somehow I feel we're on the home straight without having anything resembling the finishing line in sight.

For my own sanity I think I'll just write a short-ish list of where we're at and I'll link through each item at a later date.

where we're at

1. I've got a job! This was the main reason why the blog has been so barren recently as I didn't want to jeopardise matters with any potentially ill-conceived comments.


2. We've been sent to Invitation To Apply (ITA) by New Zealand Immigration. This means that they're happy in principle with the job offer and things can now really start to happen.


3. I finally received a reply from Sheffield Hallam University which was underwhelming to say the least. Despite their best efforts, the system has really let me down.


4. We've had our medicals - and paid out a hefty amount of cash to do so. There's a few more final bits and pieces to sign-off (which may unfortunately take a couple of weeks).


5. I'm aiming to start a month's work (training and familiarisation) in September. That's right, September - which means that the tight schedule is getting tighter by the day...


6. Our house goes on the market in a couple of days. This in itself isn't stressful, but having builders, joiners and decorators in the house for the last couple of weeks has been. I'm glad that bit is over, believe me, but I fear there is more hassle to come...


7. I've also had a meeting with an independant financial advisor (IFA) in order to work out the best way to move monies over to NZ without either government getting any more than their due

Far from being the cathartic self-help exercise I envisaged, writing all that down has made me need a drink or two. I think I'll take a break before filling in the many gaps in the above.