Bye Bye City of London

The morning of the drone's
last day in the office.

Yesterday was my last day at Deutsche Bank. That concludes almost 8 years worth of contracting for corporate investment banks.

It's a very strange and frequently surreal world, but all the same the world I've lived in for a long time.

I have nothing to complain about, though. This is what I chose to do and even though it's a challenging environment to work in, I've met loads of great people.

Deutsche Banks was a very good example of this; the working environment produced quite a few challenges, but I had an excellent manager and a few really great colleagues that made it all worth it.

Farewell City of London, it's been... interesting ;-)

Yet another reason

I had to sell my car, but there was no way I had time to sell it myself, so I decided to use WeBuyYourCarToday.

They gave me a quote and the sale would be 15-20 minutes.

Great, I'm 20 minutes from work, so I can even do this during my lunch hour.

I could give you the full story with loads of expletives, bit I will spare you that.

The first time I went over to my old place where I had my car, no-one showed up. I called them and they pretended that they never said anyone would be there (I'm not kidding!).

The second time, I had to wait for 30 minutes after the 30 minute time slot I've been given. It then took over an hour instead of 15 minutes to assess the car.

When they finally called me, then they had reduced the agreed price because of complete nonsensical "errors" they found.

The only time I received an apology was from the guy who came late to the appointment and he wasn't even working for the WeBuyYourCarToday.

I've managed to calm down now and will write this down to yet another reason to move to another country. Anyone who has lived in the UK for any period of time know what I mean when I say "Customer Service" but this was pathetic. Crooks.

An utter shamble wasting almost 4 hours of my day and not a single excuse - Business As Usual.

I have my VISA!!!

I finally have my visa!

The confirmation just came through.

It's getting seriously real now!

Leaving do

Thank you all who came to my leaving do!

I had such a brilliant time. I hope you all did as well.

I can't believe it took me four attempts to get the Merovingian right!

Nom de dieu de putain de bordell de merde de saluperie de connard d'uncule ta mere.

How difficult is that?

I'm so glad I managed to focus on having a blast rather than getting a serious case of melancholia!

It's after all one single thing that completely dominates the con-side of moving: all my fantastic friends I've made during my 14 years in London.

Wellington dwelling

I still don't have my visa, but the immigration agency that I've hired has assured me there is nothing to worry about and that it's expected in the begging of next week. New Zealand immigration has confirmed that they have what they need and are happy to issue a visa, so it will work itself out.

I've gone ahead and booked a hotel in Wellington (Halswell Lodge, 21 Kent Terrace, Courtenay Place) for Wednesday-Sunday (4-8 November) with the intention to move to a hotel in Petone (Lower Hutt) closer to work on Sunday, at which time I'll return the car as well. That should work well I think.

My leaving do is tomorrow and my work leaving drinks on Thursday next week - it's all getting very definite now!

Farewell Sweden

I did what will be my last cheeky quick-stop trip to Sweden (Fri 16 Oct - Sun 18 Oct) for quite some time. It'll be slightly more involved than a weekend trip for £150 return in the future.

I managed to fit in everything from quiet chats with my parents to wild partying at Bishop Arms (we'll we didn't dance on the tables exactly, but still...).

It was wonderful to get a chance to sit down and talk about good old time one final time before I'm off.

I'm not going to be able to just pop over in the future, but I will make a point of visiting London/Sweden at least once a year and most likely for a few weeks, so you will definitely not get rid of me that easily.

Chores

I'm doing my best to sort out the remaining todo list for the old apartment this week as well.

I stormed off as quickly as I could to put up the mirror, secure a wardrobe and a few other things.

I arrived and realised I forgot the only really important part: the drill I borrowed from Linda.

I had to get to Wickes in Greenwich to get a replacement shelf before 20:00 and make sure I've done all drilling before setting off, so forgetting the drill meant a less than legal trip in the car to Greenwich.

Mirror, Wardrobe, towel rack, coat hanger and even light bulb were all fixed.

Tomorrow: plumbing!

Boxing

It may not be New Zealand related, but I joined the local boxing club today.

I have to go back to my military service to get to the level of physical intensity. Wow. Absolutely incredible.

I will not be able to move tomorrow. No way.

...but the amount of fun compared to running or lifting weights? It's a no-brainer.

This is definitely something I may take up in New Zealand.

That and surfing, track racing, astronomy, tramping, neuroscience, whisky and of course sailing. Time to live life ;-)

Crossing Rubicon

Well, I'm now officially living out of two suitcases in a temporary accommodation. The vast majority of what I own is on it's way to New Zealand.

It started at 06:30 and I just got home (23:30 BST).

Yesterday was hysterical. Today was long and intense.

Most of the day was packing everything up. I had 4 guys from PSS that were brilliant. It was like having a lads night out, with exception of just drinking tea. Great guys. Very skilled, fast and efficient.

I rounded off at 17:00, when I decided to have lunch and then return to 3 Douthwaite Square to assemble IKEA furniture and make it ready for the cleaners that arrives at 08:00 tomorrow morning.

Up until now, I've had 18-19 hour days to cram it all in, but it should FINALLY calm down now. At least that's what I'm hoping.

You have no idea how glad I am that I decided to open that 1999 Listrac-Medoc when having my belated lunch ;-)

My leaving do

My leaving do will be on Saturday the 24 of October, kicking off at 6pm (18:00 GMT).

It's been a bit difficult to find out exactly how many people that are coming, so I've not been able to arrange for a venue.

So I've decided that it will be at my Shadwell flat. It's very close to Shadwell station (DLR & London Overground). I'll pass on the exact details via email and Facebook or anyone who get's in touch with me.

The tentative plan is to meet up for drink and snacks at 5pm or 6pm. I may arrange for us to go to a restaurant, perhaps I'll Bordello in Wapping (one stop on the Overground) if people are keen.

Please let me know if you're planning to come as it really helps me to plan the evening.

The new pad

I now have access to the new apartment where I'll be staying my last three weeks in London.

The estate agents (ea2) arranged this fantastic apartment on the 15th floor in Shadwell, less than 20 minutes walking distance from work. Perfect!

My vertigo goes into overdrive when I go out on the balcony, but the view is fantastic:

The north facing view from the balcony

...and back on track!

I just received the call from the migration agency I've hired with very good news: My medical exam has been approved!

That means that as soon as I've provided my Swedish criminal record check (for the second time), I'll be issued a e-visa and allowed to immigrate to new Zealand! :-)

Party!

It'll all be alright...

It may not have been a peaceful last few days, but the important boxes seem to have been ticked when it comes to rescheduling my departure:

• Employer in London: OK
• Employer in New Zealand: OK
• Somewhere to live in London: OK

I hope it'll be possible to re-arrange the flights for my new target date: Sunday 22 November.

In other news, I broke my personal best in the total amount paid in bills today as well.

It's funny how people you owe money will send the bailiffs after you if you're just a day late, while people who owe me money can sit on it for months.