Well Oppo, it seems like it is going to happen. The interview went tell on Monday for the kiwi land gig. First offer came in Wednesday morning. It's been a lot of back and forth with the Missus but we are going to make the leap. We are looking at this like an extended working vacation. We'll stay for a few years and then come back. Store our stuff here and rent out the house. Sure it may be beat up a bit when we get back but our rate is 2.875% and I want to hold onto that for dear life. We won't lose any real equity and we won't lose 30K in commissions.

I've responded with a very reasonable - to me - counter offer. Nothing ridiculous or insulting and something I think they will agree to.

We'll see what they say over the next day or so. At that point it will be working through the Visa process. NZ or bust.

In honor of putting the horse before the cart, post pics of RHD I should get over there. I've got my eye on that V60R polestar from the other day. I hope no one buys that before I get there.

Anyone want to buy a Ram, TourX, an 09 Daytona with a new motor, or an 01 bayliner with a whole bunch of water toys?

Well, it's finally happened. The lovely government of New Zealand said come on over. Now I can officially quit. It was quite the annoucement at a dinner party last evening with a lady from New Zealand. We've been attempting to leverage our little network to interrogate gain some insider knowledge prior to going.

Which also means the Tour X is officially going up for sale as of today. I need to do some research but low 20's seem to be the sweet spot. Post to follow.

Between quitting and New Zealand comes a trip to Sweden for two weeks. Lots of time in airports and on airplanes over the next six weeks.

I should be in Christchurch at the end of July just in time for the worst of the winter to be over.

for my auto loan. Sayonara sucker. I sent in a check last week to pay off the TourX and I just got the email that GM has begun processing the title.

Feels good to be loan free. There was about 7,500 left on the loan. I could have waited but the TourX will be gone in a few months and I don't want to deal with title issues from half way around the globe. The bank account is a bit smaller but it'll be fine.

I've also just sat through a day long meeting to create the mission statement for my division. I've earned a drink.

Tales from the Blackbird was a good one.

Getting a bump from Oppo onto the front page was always a nice touch.

Mergio Sarchionne was great.

Fancy Kristen was amazing towards the end.

Oppo being legitimately the back page and referencing the FP.

I remember....

It's been a weird spring. It has kind of felt like Covid where we are in this do we go or stay. Can't make plans until we hear more. Hurry up and wait. When are we leaving.

Then in June I got all excited after getting preliminary approval two days before a three week vacation. Then ten days give or take to get the passports verified and now the official email has come through. Two weeks notice has been given. A proposed start date has been sent to the new employer.

It all ramps up from here. We have an appt on Saturday to sell the TourX to a local dealer. The only people that have called on the Buick have been from dealers. Considering we paid $25,500 five years ago, it's not a bad return.

It all ramps up from here. Now the final pack up of the house. Set a date with the property management company. List the Ram. Anyone want a 2017 Ram?

Does anyone want a couch? How about a Schwinn Ranger? @MUSASHI66 I heard you could use free bike to abuse! A bed frame and spare bed need to go as well. Winter tires on a set of rims?

This has been a good day. It's the 15th anniversary of Mrs. Future next gen and mine second wedding...It's a long story. Weirdly enough, it links into visas as well.

Anyway, for your time. Comes in left and right hand drive!

Settle in and let me tell you a little story. A couple years ago, in the before times of Jan 2020, I interviewed for a small company in New Zealand for a mechanical engineering position. It didn't go anywhere but they said I interviewed well and while my experience was about as directly related as possible, they went with a local candidate. Covid hit a couple months later so that was probably a good thing that I wasn't attempting to move halfway around the world in the middle of a pandemic where borders weren't exactly "open".

Fast forward to last week. One of the guys I interviewed with reached out to me on linked in to connect and asked how are things going. I commenced the small talk and said more of the same and I'm open to work down in New Zealand. I didn't expect much of anything but.........

I have an interview tonight, for a job that isn't posted, and that I didn't apply for. I'm on this weird inside track where I feel like I found a shortcut that is only accessible to people on the "inside". Except now, I'm on the "inside". It's all very weird.

Anyway, the company seems to be growing even though it isn't a very large firm. They have more people listed on their website, have more services offered, and have branched into oil/gas in the past few years.

Now the wheels are turning and I'm trying not to get ahead of myself but I couldn't help but look at some cars available in Christchurch. I found this. This is the easiest sell to my wife in the history of all mankind. I taking it as a sign.

Anyway, I just wanted to tell somebody other than my wife, who is on board in a big way - Not about the car, yet - but the move. That's all. Enjoy your Monday, Oppo. Send good thoughts this way.

Update: Turns out I'm a hell of a salesman. Or a con artist. I guess we'll find out! The last 24 hours have taken a hell of a turn.

Last night I come home to the missus opening a bottle of champagne. It's Valentines Day so nothing special. She tells me her job may or may not be going away in the next 6 months. I won't go into too much detail but Company A and Company B got together and had Company C. Company B doesn't like the fact the Company C seems to be playing favorites benefitting Company A over them and want a divorce. My wife works for Company C. Who knows how that will all shake out. We toast to a good interview from Monday and let the future come to us as it may.

I wake up this morning to a tentative offer for the job in Christchurch. Holy balls batman. There will be a deep dive with the missus about time lines and actively hoping she gets laid off. A severance package would come in handy for the logistics of moving halfway around the world. Salary is good. Just need to iron out a few details before accepting but it appears I'll be heading to the land of the kiwi.

Does anyone need a boat? Some power tools? A TV or two? Maybe an old surround sound. I may need to offload a few items.

In other timing. I just finished this damn thing and I'm not sure I can bring it. At least the dishwasher doesn't leak!

True story and I'm still a bit jumpy as my heart was racing. Buckle up. This'll be fun.

I get a local Denver number calling me saying that my Excel account is delinquent and that I'm about to have my services shutoff. Well that's not good. I assumed it was a scam and I was going to screw with them. No Indian accent, clearly native to the US. Maybe something is amiss. The guy seems friendly, they changed their billing services and something must have happened in the switch. They sent out a bunch of stuff. I never got anything. Seems odd but okay, shit happens. Starting to panic a bit. Excel runs my gas and no heat would suck. He says he'll start an investigation and transfers me to billing. The lady is nice, says I need to come down to their office with cash or pay with Zelle. Cash I get, Zelle is odd and wouldn't take a CC over the phone. Weird but okay, if an account is in arrears, maybe.

I ask where can I go with cash. Address checks out as an Excel building. Okay worried a bit now. I trying to sign up for Zelle as I can't make it before five and she keeps telling my the order will be processed once I hang up. Mmmm. Who should I send the money with Zelle to? Clark West huh. Not a corporate account. Okay fine. Can I call you back with the confirmation number, I have to sign up? No? I have to do it immediately to this random person? The phone number comes from New York.....something is off...

I'm panicked a bit at this point. I've really bought in. My log in shows my old address. My wife signed us up from our current house. My name isn't on the account. Her info is. According to the increasingly pushy lady, I'm on the account with my number. How long has my account been overdue. She says 2 months and the bill is 469.xx. Something smells fishy at this point. Excel only provides gas to my address and my bill is usually around 50-75 per month. 2 months at 75 plus the next month would only be like 225. I tell her something doesn't add up. I furiously trying to log in to my bank account, I can't find the excel drafts. Maybe she is right? I'm pushing back on her, I never got anything how come you are going to cut me off. She says you didn't pay your bill, we are going to shut off your power. She back tracks heat and what not. At this point I'm in my wife's Excel account. She says my name and phone number are on the account. Now you slipped up lady. I don't use Excel for power, just gas and I'm not on the account. Would you look at that, the website shows out monthly drafts went through.

I tell this to the lady on the other end and she stonewalls me. Says she pay or you can get shutoff and wait for the investigation.

Shut off my gas then. I call her bluff. I'm still half convinced that I owe money but I'll have electricity and I have enough firewood to last a damn month. I'll wait for the investigation.

I hang up. I call up the 1800- number for Excel I find online. While on hold I hear this...."If you get a call threatening to shutoff your services without an immediate payment, hang up. It's a scam." I talk to a much more real sounding person who hates their job and can't wait to get off. My account is current, and autopay is all good to go.

I was legit panicked for a moment but I'm calming down now. I was thisssssss close to send a scammer almost 500 dollars.

There's no reception or wifi here. I'm not sure this will even make it onto the interwebs. This is my happy place.

Enjoy your week Oppo. I'm on vacation.

I've picked up a new to me MB down here in NZ. We attempted to not have to have a second car. However, booking to school in decent weather resulted in tears so we'd avoided that on the second day. Second day with a public bus resulted in very few hours worked for the missus. It's cheaper to get her a reliable car than it is to take the bus and lose her current gig through know productivity.

So, first it was a C200, which we both really like. Now her run about is.....a A180. This variety is a 2014 vintage. Decently optioned with heated seats, Bluetooth, and a back up camera.

For Oppos sampling pleasure.

https://www.blackwells.co.nz/vehicle/mercedes-benz/a180/999692968/

Buying this one site unseen as it'll primarily have. 8km daily mileage total put on it. I think I'll swap cars every other week to give it a good run and build up heat.

Two Germans in one week. Oof. Currently in negotiations. Wish me luck.

Edit: Price agreed to, put down a deposit. Victory is mine?

Government - you can't use your cell phone in your car it's to dangerous! Here, use a tablet instead.

End rant

This is a nightly installment of increasingly old man rant. Please continue about your day.

This is good Oppo.

@HammerheadFistpunch I have fond memories of a WK with the 4.7. I'll take that.

Did you know, if you crank the wheel hard and hammer the gas in a WK in a snow covered parking lot, it'll spin in its own footprint. Maybe not its exact foot print but damn close.

@Mazda616 I usually get 3%.

@ash78 This. Cutting the CEO's pay by 25 million doesn't go far across ten thousand line workers. The optics are far more important even though most of their pay is stock options.

Be wild and run without a front tag. They're dumb anyway. Screw the man!

Yes, you are asking for too much.

Daily the Bentley
Track the Boxster
Burn the i8

@ash78 The glorious attempt to move up market. The GTI has always been good but the 3 was coming into its own.

How does one order five guys at in n out?

@functionoverfashion I need a wood boat in my life.