The Morning After

Five years ago, for reasons I still don't know, the only relationship I ever had ended. The last five years I have been alone. There was the brief thing with -her- this time last year, which crashed and burned around my ears. But that has been it. And it has left me, understandably I think, scared of things. Coupled with the twelve hour graveyard shifts I am doing, and my mind is in overload, my body is going all weird on me, and I am having certain difficulties. I know that she is right for me. I have never felt so comfortable with someone. It feels like I have known her forever, and yet it has only been a short time.
Half of me is screaming yes and the other half is going wait ... hold up ... is this right?
The answer is yes. But it will take time, and patience, and a period of adjustment before everything runs smoothly. I hope she will have that patience with me. In fact I am sure she will.
But that doesn't stop the fear

My Life. New Chapter

Her name is Nicky. I met her through Findsomeone. I had given up on Findsomeone. I had been on a couple of dates, but they were pretty blah. Just no connection when we finally met in person. She was definitely different. There was none of that foreplay that normally happens. No real getting to know you messages. Just "How about a date?". So we did. I had coffee, she drank lemonade and we talked. I felt a definite connection, and at the end of the date I asked if I could see her again. She said yes, but qualified it. She was going on another date the next day with someone else. I walked away feeling a bit crushed. Until the next morning I got a text. She had cancelled her date that day. Did I still want to see her? Definitely yes.
Date two was at the Gardens. We ate a picnic and lay in the shade and talked. I thought it a bit strange that we had to keep moving as the sun crept around. Until we realized it had been over two hours. Rather than end the date, we moved to cuddling on the couch at her place watching the Losers.
The third date, and subsequent ones, are definitely adults only reading material.
Which leads me to a new problem. I have an issue. She scares me. Or more accurately my feelings for her scare me.
More on this later.
I am still trying to deal with it.

Project Spa Pool, Part 4

Having fixed all the leaks, the next step was wiring everything up. Fun and games when all you have is a 20 year old diagram of what it used to be. But Darren to the rescue and much experimentation (mmm experiments with electricity, shocking stuff) and everything was finally working. Except the damn hot water heater. It sucked so much juice it kept blowing the fuse. That problem has been temporarily solved by removing one element and wiring the remaining one to a separate plug. The trouble now is that the spa has difficulty maintaining temperature. This was also the time when , despite the best efforts of Mitre 10, I finally got some pipe to fix the broken water jet, a task which involved copious amounts of glue, goo and a hairdryer set on high.

Finally, success as we all piled in for the inaugural spa. And fifteen minutes piled out again as it was discovered that Darren had wired the hot water heater to onl
y come on when the pump wasn't working, which in turn caused the pipe connecting pump and heater to melt due to extreme heat. It took another five days before we were able to fix that last little hiccup, and then it was time for a real spa. Three bottles of wine later, it was declared a rousing success by all.

Project Spa Pool, Part 3

Next it was time for a google session, to find out how spa pool plumbing normally worked. A few searches , much examination of the pool, and some crudely drawn diagrams later and I had it pretty much sussed. So off to Bunnings and Mitre 10 Mega in search of the parts. The plumbing for the bottom drain hole and the bubble blower were carefully attached, the contraption lowered in and bugger.

Up it all came so I could check out some sections of the frame it rested on to feed the pipes through. Then back into the hole. And check the light. Naturally, not working. So back out of the hole it came. Sorted out the issue, and back in the hole it went. This time I got it all sorted, plugged in the light, flicked the switch.

Everything was working fine. I toddled off into the garage in search of the camera, and when I came back the damn light had blown. I spent ages trying to get it all sorted. In the end I had to pop the little blue dome at the bottom of the pool to remove the old light. And I got to go spend some more money at Repco.

But at last I had the new light plugged in and working. Into the hole it went and part filled it with water to check the blower was going to work. It did. But a couple of hours later the water level had subsided suspiciously. Bail out, out of the hole again and lets play find the leaks.

In the pictures James, John and myself must have levered the pool in and out of the hole eight times in a single day. An important lesson was learnt. Check everything before you put it in the hole.

Project Spa Pool, Part 2

Some discussion ensued, and it was established that the previous tenants had had a spa pool. Sure enough, the deck showed where they had cut through it to put their own spa. A crowbar, hammer and saw later, my own spa pool was ready for installation. I dug the hole it would sit in slightly deeper, and lined it with polystyrene as insulation. With everything in place, the spa pool was gently lowered in and checked to see it all fit.

Project Spa Pool Part 1

So on and off Ange, my landlady, has talked of installing a spa pool, a status symbol. And so one evening I found myself eagerly bidding on a pool on trade me. Engaged in a bidding war with a fixed maximum ($45). The upshot was that at $41 I won the auction and found myself the proud owner of a slightly damaged, 2 meter diameter spa pool, located in rural Auckland (if that is not an oxymoron). A pickup time was arranged and Ange, her partner Darren, myself and Ange's daughter Laura set off one drizzly morning to fetch our prize. We dragged it back to Hamilton on a trailer, and for a cpuple of days it sat in the corner of the deck.