Linda's First Week At Work

Greetings All,

Well my first week at NZ Police National Headquarters, Operational Services Group, went really well. There is an overwhelming amount of work to do. So much so that my boss is probably going to look for additional resources, but none of the tasks appear to be beyond my ability at this point.

The focus of the work is actually really interesting - concerning how police employ the various tactical options at their disposal in order to resolve a situation. I will be responsible for the on-going development and maintenance of the database which records all uses of force by Police, then drawing that data out, analyzing it, and making it useful for a number of stakeholders.

On my first day, after a bit of time in HR, I was given a whirlwind tour of the high rise building where I work, then taken to the Wellington Watch House to see how subjects in custody are brought in and processed. Then the Inspector assigned to show me around drove me all over the region to show me some other Police facility locations of various sizes, the Royal NZ Police College, and the Police Dog training facility. At some point I will get to go on a ride along with Police, and will also get to observe tactical training at the college first hand.

I am blessed to still have the woman I am supposed to replace working with me until the Christmas holidays. She is frantically finishing up her projects, but squeezing in some time to show me the ropes. I feel good about my new boss as well. John is an older man, but still quite energetic and passionate about his work. He is supportive and sensitive to the fact that our group is frequently given so many divergent tasks that it is hard for anyone to actually finish something. He wants to give me plenty of time to get up to speed, and he is zealously protecting me from demands on my time that are not directly relevant to my job focus.

The only complaint I have so far is the workplace layout is not really conducive to intense concentration. I am on the third floor of a high rise surrounded in windows, but to fit a number of people onto the floor and ensure that everyone has natural light, they have an open-plan layout with half-wall dividers. You can sit at your computer and look across the wall to the next person sitting at their computer. Noise and distractions can be hard on an analyst, so when I asked if I could schedule a workday at home each week (Tuesdays), just so I can read all the materials I need to read, my supervisor was very supportive. In addition, I have scheduled another day a week (Wednesdays) to go out to the Royal NZ Police College in Porirua and work with the analyst out there who is most familiar with what I will be doing. I will also be getting a laptop, so that I can go wherever I need to go to concentrate on my work.

In addition to this kind of workplace flexibility, I was thrilled to see the number of holidays given. As many of you know, one of the big selling points to us when we decided to move to NZ was that they have a mandatory 4 full weeks of paid vacation for every full-time employee, regardless of job. But in addition to 4 weeks of annual leave, there are something like 11-12 national holidays as well. When I arrived at Police, I discovered that government employees also get a few extra holidays (Stat or Statutory Holidays, as well as individual Commissioners give their employees holidays). For example, without having to take ANY of my annual leave time off, I will only have to work 1 day between December 21 and January 3rd, thanks to all the National/Commissioners/Stat Holidays given to me as a Police employee!

So, for 37 hours and 50 minutes per week (don't ask me why it isn't 40 hrs per week, I am not complaining), I will be extremely busy at work; but, I will get the schedule flexibility and more time off than I have ever had with any job before.

Since Eric hasn't started a job yet, he has been fantastic about walking Connor to and from school on those days that I take the car into town; or, driving me to work and Connor to school on the other days. He has done the grocery shopping, housework, cooking, laundry, Connor's homework and fixing his lunchbox, etc. It has been a joy to come home at the end of a long day and know that I don't have a ton of little household tasks to perform. He has been such a great "House Husband" it almost makes me not want him to find a full-time job, though I know we need the income.

Thanks again to those of you who have prayed on my behalf for just such a career fit. Please keep up the prayers on Eric's behalf. If he can find a fit that is equally as nice as mine, we will be in fantastic shape!

Take care and, for friends and family in the U.S., know that we love and miss you all and can't wait for you to come over for a visit!

Cheers, Linda

A Picnic and Tramp (Not What You Think)

For my last Saturday as a "Stay at Home Mom" we decided to have a picnic and hike, (or "tramp" as they say here in Kiwi-land), in Belmont Regional Park. This huge reserve lies between our Hutt Valley Hills suburb of Maungaraki and the Tasman Sea coastal suburb of Porirua. The park's hundreds of acres contain dozens of trails for "tramping", biking and horseback riding, as well as sites for picnics and tent camping, and it is all nearly at our doorstep - just a block up the hill from our home.



The trail we took on Saturday was really beautiful and felt like a totally different world from the one just over the ridge facing the harbour. This trail wound deep into a canopied rain forest. Though it was a nice trail and a fairly easy walk going in, we knew that every step we took would mean another step UP HILL coming back and the clouds were promising rain later in the day, so we didn't go too far into the reserve this time around.



Connor had a ball learning about nature and orienteering, and we really felt invigorated and refreshed when we were done. So far, knock on wood, I am not even all that sore. I am sure this convenient wilderness area is going to become a regular haunt for the Gross family as summer approaches.

Cheers, Linda

Halloween in Spring?

You would think that, after growing up in Florida, I would have no trouble with celebrating Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years holidays with warm and sunny weather outside; but, you would be wrong.

A lifetime of American advertising, years spent in Oregon, Arkansas and even North Florida, have convinced me that Halloween should include pumpkins, and trees covered in red and orange leaves. If Christmas and New Years are not "white", they should at least be cold and crisp, with an overcast wintery sky.

But, here I am in the Southern Hemisphere at the height of SPRING! Needless to say, I am not feeling particularly "Halloweeny" today, on the 31st of October. While most plants in New Zealand remain green year-round, you can still see a distinct increase in the number of flower blossoms at this time of year. The skies are blue and the sun is warm, though a storm can come in and change things on a moments notice. The flowers our landlord planted are blooming, though there has always been some flower in bloom here ever since we moved into the house in the middle of Winter.
But if my sinuses are any indication, there has been a marked increase in blossoms these past two weeks.



From what I understand, Halloween hasn't really caught on much in the New Zealand - not like in the U.S. anyway. So, instead of taking Connor trick-or-treating around the neighborhood, he will be attending a "Halloween Disco" at school tonight. They will have costume competitions, games, goodies, and music, and he will get to spend the event with his school friends.

For those of you keeping track, we have tried to chose a difference costume for Connor every year:

2003 (16 months old): A BumbleBee

2004 (2 yrs old): Bob The Builder

2005 (3 yrs old): A Firefighter

2006 (4 yrs old): A Waiter, with dress shirt, black slacks, black tie, and even a classy black apron and notepad loaned to us by our favorite Searcy restaurant - Doc's Grill.

And this year, 2007 (5 yrs old): A Pirate!




We couldn't even find a pumpkin at the grocery store yesterday! Though I did notice some Christmas decorations at the mall for the first time last week and saw an ad for a fake Christmas tree, $50 NZD. I hope that we can find and afford a REAL tree for Christmas this year; but, either way, I am definitely going to have to dig out all our Christmas decorations this year if I am ever going to convince myself that it is Christmas in the middle of SUMMER in the South Pacific!

Have a safe and fun Halloween!
Love, Linda

Gift Giving Options

Kia Ora!

First of all, I wish to thank all of you who baked and shipped us NINE POUNDS of homemade cookies recently! When they first arrived I thought we would have to share them with the whole neighborhood there were so many; but, shamefully, I must confess that the three of us have already managed to eat almost all of them ourselves.(blush, blush) They were DELICIOUS! It was very kind and generous of you to send us such a thoughtful gift, but please don't make a habit of it - or we will burst!

Seriously, we do not expect people to send us gifts - especially not now that we are living on the other side of the world and the cost of shipping is so high.

But, for those of you who insist on sending us something for birthdays or the holidays, you may wish to note that each member of our family has their own "Wish List" on Amazon.com. The only items that Amazon will actually ship to NZ at this time are books and dvds; but, luckily, we all REALLY LIKE books and dvds. Especially since we got rid of all our old VHS tapes before our move, we now need to restock our "classics" collection with dvd versions; and, Connor is learning to read and needs more books at his skill level for his library.

For those of you who just can not imagine Connor going through a gift-giving occasion without toys, you may wish to visit www.playdays.co.nz. The owner of this toy shop, Debbie, happens to live next door to us. If you wish to buy something from her shop, (online, via e-mail or by phone), I am sure she would have no trouble delivering it to our home free of charge. Even if you don't see what you want to get on the store's website, send Debbie an e-mail and she can see if it is something she can get. The prices of toys in NZ are somewhat higher than they are in the states; but, keep in mind that the prices quoted are in NZ dollars. (There is a link to a currency converter along with the other links listed on our blog.) If you use a credit or debit card the currency conversion will be done automatically, and usually at no extra charge.

Finally, if you just want to send us money - always a welcome gift - please drop us a note and we will arrange for it to be deposited into our U.S. bank account. It takes too long for U.S. funds to clear our N.Z. bank, so it is easier that way.

Thanks again to all of you who are so thoughtful and generous. While it is certainly a thrill to see a package at the door, your prayers and periodic e-mails and phone calls are really all the gifts we hope to receive.

Best Wishes, Linda

Job Confirmed

Kia Ora!

I just wanted to follow-up to a previous post to say that my job offer has been confirmed. I start work at NZ Police National Headquarters' Office of the Commissioner, as a Research Analyst, on the 5th of November, 2007. (Very ominous to be starting so close to Parliament on Guy Fawkes day.) Still no word on Eric's job options yet, but will keep you posted.

Take care, Love, Linda

Kapiti Coast Outing

Kia Ora to our friends, family and any fans of our blog that we have yet to meet! I hope this finds you all well and happy.

We just got back from an afternoon of train travel along the Kapiti Coast and the Tasman Sea. We had lunch in a little cafe in Plimmerton, where we took a walk along the shore, before riding the Tranzmetro (Wellington Metro Commuter Train) to the end of the line in Paraparaumu. We then rode back to Wellington, then re-boarded the Hutt Valley train home. Connor enjoyed the ride, but was clearly pretty tired by the time we got home.
Cheers to you all, Linda

Linda Found Work!

Hello friends, family, and total strangers with nothing better to do than read the exploits of an unknown American family living in New Zealand.

I got a job! At least, I am "recommended for appointment" to the position of Research Analyst with NZ Police National Headquarters' Operational Services Group, in the Office of the Commissioner. They will publish this recommended appointment in their internal newsletter this week and, assuming no one appeals the appointment and wins, I will be starting work the week of November 5th!

The job will involve doing both quantitative and qualitative research and writing reports for use in policy-making decisions. The research topics will be varied, but will definitely include the analysis of police "use of force" incidents and making recommendations for changes to relevant policies, training and equipment.

I will have the independence and flexibility to structure my own day, and the constantly changing priorities and wide range of issues should keep me interested for quite some time. I am looking forward to sinking my teeth into the challenge.

We are still waiting to hear back on several jobs for Eric, but nothing has firmed up for him just yet. Your continuing prayers in that regard are appreciated.

In other news, Connor has been on school holiday this week and last; but, he starts back with the Fourth Quarter next Monday, the 8th of October. Unfortunately, much of these past two weeks we have had some unpleasant weather - rain, cold, strong winds, etc. This made for some cabin fever; but, you would be amazed at how much fun you can get out of a large cardboard box. We did have a few days here and there that were quite warm and sunny, so were weren't stuck inside the entire time. Still, we are really looking forward to the coming months - our first New Zealand Spring/Summer!

Last weekend we took the train down to the Wellington CBD (Central Business District) and walked along the Queens Wharf area, had lunch, and watched the big passenger ferry set out for the South Island, before we took the train back. I am including a couple of pictures of our outing; and, since so many people have nagged me about not ever posting a picture of myself, I am finally including one that Connor took of me. (He is 5 yrs old, so pardon the fact he cut a bit off the top of my head.)



Connor also went to a movie at a real theater for the first time ever! We took him to see "Surfs Up", about penguins surfing, because it was the only thing out at the moment that was "Rated G". Connor did quite well, sitting still and not talking for about an hour and a half. Even though I am not certain he grasped the entire story, he seemed to really enjoy the experience.

This coming Saturday Connor will be going to a friend's sixth birthday party. Samuel is a friend in his class who lives across the street from us. The two seem to have a real "love-hate" relationship, and frequently find themselves making poor decisions when in each other's company. But, we are trying to encourage Connor to remain friends with Samuel and recognize when their judgement starts to slip and correct their behavior.

Well, I think that covers the latest news. Our next goal, before I start work, is to get our NZ driver's licenses. We have to take a written test, but no practical driving test thank goodness. We are getting much more comfortable driving on the wrong side of the road, though I still say a couple of their right-of-way rules are counter-intuitive. Anyway, we bought the rule books and will be studying them and taking our tests later this month. Wish us luck!

Best wishes, Linda