Hello everyone. Sorry it has been so long but there is not much to write about since my last entry. I continue the job search without much luck. I have enrolled at the Mahurangi Technical Institute to get my STCW95 Basic Training Certificate. This is a qualification that is getting more and more required for working on large yachts. It is also just a good thing to have. It stands for Standards of Training Certification and Watch Keeping for Seafarers and is endorced by International Yachtmaster Training Inc., the international body that sets the standards for seamanship training. Most Coast Guard organisations (if not all) have approved of this training.
I did mention alot of this in my last entry but now I know my dates. March 29 through April 6. The coarse is also approved and accredited by the NZQA (New Zealand Qualifications Authority) which overseea all the educational standards for the country. This may help to get me an extended visa or enhance my abilities to get a work visa. Time is running out
I am getting tired of Auckland. Getting bored here. Would rather be somewhere pretty. When in Warkworth I may look around there or even up in the north (closer to the equator too) for work and a place to live for awhile. It will be cheaper for rent out of the city too. Cheaper for everytrhing. It is soooo very expensive to live here, especially in Auckland.
The winter is starting to creep into the air. The temperatures drop down to 14C overnight now and we never get the expected highs of 22C during the day. Over this past weekend it never got above 18C. I don't have much in the line of cold weather clothing with me. I had been planning to be on a sailboat in the Indian Ocean where the temps are considerably higher right now. So there is another reason I need a job... to be on a boat closer to the equator... or to buy clothing to stay warm in. I prefer the yacht job idea myself.
I have been doing some arts and crafts too. Finished one painting last week and started another. About a week or so ago started on a counted cross-stitch project. For Christmas my friend Michele F. gave me a small one to keep me from getting bored on the boat during long passages/crossings. It may be small but it is complex with 28 different colours. You can see a picture by following this link http://www.sewandso.co.uk/cgi-bin/find/db.cgi?db=zoom&uid=&Prod_Code=3388&ww=on&do=search_results to "Ocean Friends" I am about 3/4 done... at least the hardest, most complex bits are done. Those being the bottom half of the picture. The upper half is about half done now too and the rest is pretty simple and straight forward. I hope to have it done in the next couple of days. I have become obsessed with completing it in fact. I am actually anxious to get back to the painting. I am trying a new technique with the acrylics and gloss medium. I quite like the affect. It all starts with laser prints of black&white digital photos.
Posted by gailene at March 16, 2004 05:04 PM