END OF WEEK FOUR/ONE MONTH!

GEOCACHING GEOCACHING AND MORE GEOCACHING!! 

And comics, of course!

Most of this week has been taken up with a large amount of comic work as my comic 'buffer' had gotten down a little since all this moving and adventuring guff started happening, but it's mostly all back up to date! My comic is also about to become fully freehand (for the characters anyway) as I have always drawn my characters off a template of sorts to help me draw them accurately, but no more! The first comic is this style is going up next Thursday UK time and I am super happy that I have finally gotten to the stage where I can draw like this as I am no longer restricted to preparing comics on the computer. I can do it on paper like they used to do it back in the day so comic production should go up a little bit hopefully! YAY FOR GOOD STUFFS!

We geocached LOADS this weekend and we walked about 9-10 hours this just exploring around the place and caching it up! I know I have said it before but if you can go Geocaching freakin' DO IT, especially if you have a buddy to do it with! IT'S SO MUCH FUNS AND IT'S EXERCISE THAT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE EXERCISE AND IT MAKES YOU THINK! In the second image above, for example, the little pink capsule was suspended up in a tree, held up there by a little log that Tasha can be seen holding and you can see a few more images below of some peoples handiwork of hiding their caches around. And also, if you are a clumsy muppet like me, you could even fall over and tear your hands and knees to pieces! :D Tasha, being the big caring dork she is, patched me all up super good so I'm all better now. I was super lucky to not wreck my DSLR camera that I was carrying with me at the time as it had it's lens cap off and I fell pretty badly, but it only came out with a little scratch on its case which is cosmetic so it's all super good!

We also came across a house that had a couple of really grumpy alpaca's in their back garden munching on their trees...I think we should perhaps phone Peru in the morning to let them know D:

I also had my first ever hot dog ever this week which was a thing! They were Quorn hot dogs which are meat-free (I can't even tell the difference with Quorn products, honest to glob) and I can say is NOM NOM NOM! They are a thing in my life now which is not going away any time soon. It's just another thing that Tasha has made me addicted too, as well as tiger bread which is probably the yummiest bread I have ever eaten.... CURSE YOU TASHA! CURSE YOOOOOOOOU!! She had also told me off a couple of times because I may or may not have eaten half of it before we even made it home <_<;

Other than that it's pretty much been life as normal (as normal as life is here) and soldiering on with day to day things! Boring stuff like playing Star Wars Battlefront on the PS4 and destroying rebel scum dramatically. Y'know, day to day stuff! (SERIOUSLY THOUGH THAT GAME IS SUPER MEGA FUN I MAY BE ADDICTED AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH). OH! We are also up-to-date now with the Walking Dead :D We watched the last episode of season 6 last Tuesday and GHFJDKGHSDKLJGHJFKSD DANG THOSE CLIFF HANGERS!

I now leave you with these lovely images from using the app FaceSwap <3

WEEK, THE THIRD!!

I'm officially all set to go for being a working joe here in the UK! My National Insurance Number came through which means I can officially work now, so the great job hunt can really begin! I am not really rushing out to get an office job straight away considering there are so many opportunities for all kinds of different work here so I am keeping my eyes open for anything that may catch my fancy, but I am really unsure as to what my fancy is at the moment.... WE SHALL SEE!

This week has been rather quiet adventure wise as THE Tasha has gone back to work and stuffs, and it wasn't even a full week because of Easter! DX Still, we are still making the most of the time we have together! We have both wrecked our feet a little (AGAIN) after a walk we did yesterday to the beach. My little toes were like little cherries and Tasha's shoes just EXPLODED, so we will need to go buy her some new ones, WON'T WE EGG?? HMM?? >__>

My bank account for the UK is finally all sorted too! For some reason they failed to fill it with money. I will call them on Monday to sort that out...

To reward ourselves for maiming our feet on Saturday we spontaneously went to a Thai restaurant for lunch (I actually had the brochure for it up on my bedroom wall back in NZ for the past 5 months, it was just by chance we decided to go there). And, well.... IT WAS SOME OF THE YUMMIEST THAI FOODS WE HAVE EVER HAD EVERNGJEHOIHGKEHHGRWJKN!!!! It was only a small portion, being lunch, but HOLY MOLY IT WAS SO SUPER YUMMY!! It was called Sakuna Khrua Thai and DANG GO THERE IF YOU CAN! I can recommend it to the moon and back, because it will send you there with it's yumminess...  >U>

My mums fish tanking business all the way over there in NZ is all in full swing too and Tash recently designed this super freakin' amazing logo for it!

Not too shabby if I don't say so... UwU

If you click on this link it will take you to her Facebook page, so if you know of any places in Whangarei that need an amazing fish tank or if you have an existing tank that needs a darn good spruce up, then you know what to do!

We have also acquired two new additions to our little family just today! Two tiny little hiss cockroaches named Red and Flynn (based off our super mega awesome webcomic pals who do the equally amazing webcomic Liar's Dice). Tasha's sister TK owns the two hissing cockroaches shown in the photo on this post and we don't think they are old enough to start hissing yet... but we are waiting patiently like two strange, proud parents for the day Red and Flynn hiss their first hiss!  >w<

SPEAKING OF WHICH, THEY ACTUALLY MADE A COMIC ABOUT IT! They also demand that you listen to this song as you read the comic, which is indeed very fitting! :D

Tash and I have just finished our monthly gaming hangout with our Patron's who support our work on Patreon and I am completely knackered for some reason so I am going to it the hay. All I can hope is that Red and Flynn don't crawl into our brains as we sleep.

ALMOST AT THE END OF WEEK ONE!

WOOOO!! So we are coming up to the end of the first week here in good ol' Blighty and I have enjoyed it a lot! Just seeing all the different places, people, and tasting all sorts of kind of  strange yet yummy food has been amazing! To sum up the past three days, here's some bullet points!:

• Chameleons
• Playstation 4's
• Pastries
• Forests
• Tiny deceased geckos named Merry 
• Super energetic three legged dogs named Marley
• Burritos
• Jet streams
• Re-setting up of computers from scratch
• Freezing cold bus stops
• More silly kitties
• Skyping families
• Heathlands
• DELICIOUS YOGHURT!!! @W@

It hasn't all been exploring pastries and tasting new forests though. We've been making our way through the last of the visa guff, and heading towards getting that pesky National Insurance Number sorted. I have just filled out a form that was sent to me to keep the ball rolling (they said form was meant to get to me within 7-10 working days, but it pretty much arrived a day after calling up the Job Centre, HOORAY!) Now we are back to just waiting and cleaning up a bed full of burrito crumbs after last nights gaming and 'Walking Dead' session!

Yesterday we tested out the bus system here to give me some independence while Tasha is at work, and it seems pretty straight forward to get around. My only concern is that 90% of the buses sound like they are on the brink of snapping in half and before flying a mile into the air and exploding, but I'm sure they are safe enough...

I have also recently learned that it can get FREAKIN' COLD here in the UK. Yesterday it was a high of 7 degrees Celsius with a nasty wind chill, and even my almighty jacket, single glove (Tash and I had to have one glove on each because we only have one pair!) and my slightly feminine Tasha-pre owned scarf was not enough to stop me from dying.

That's right. I'm dead.
I'm actually physically dead.
I'm actually totally joking.
I am not dead.

Despite the grey skies and bitter cold, I am still having a complete blast! Knowing that I have made it this far, from that little skinny kid hiding from the world in his bed in small town in New Zealand, to the other side of the freakin' world is something I would have never have predicted, and it is all finally sinking in. It just makes you fully realise that life can really just take you pretty much everywhere if you just take some risks and keep a look for those opportunities.

Also, being with your ultimate bestie is by far the most amazing way to spend your life and I wouldn't change it for anything, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Tasha really had just made this transition of my life so easy and smooth and I cannot thank her and her amazing family for making this that it is right now. <3

We are now going to get ready to head off to get some food for the cupboards as they are growling, and then zip to watch Deadpool together! Odds are we will come back and either snuggle up and watch something or play a game or something (SHANE IS A LITTLE ADDICTED TO STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT ON THE PS4 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!)  It's another cold day out there so I can't think any other amazing way to spend the beginning of the weekend. <3

SO THEN-

As I type this, it is 9:49pm on Wednesday the 16th of March using Tasha's absolutely horrible keyboard which was no doubt made in the 1800s. We both woke up at 2am this morning we presume because of jet-lag from the flight two days ago, or maybe because we are just amazingly synced up together. We also accidentally slept 6 hours together at lunchtime because of this so now both our clocks are messed uP HORRIBLY AND I'VE ACCIDENTALLY HIT CAPS LOCK AGAIN FOR THE 5TH TIME IN TWO MINUTES BECAUSE THE KEYBOARDS HERE ARE DIFFERENT FROM NEW ZEALAND ONES. Tasha also just walked by with a bucket of water from her pet Axolotl tank while grunting 'WWWHYYYYYYY'.

I am fairly happy with how the move has gone from NZ to the UK, it's pretty much what I expected. The weather is a lot colder than New Zealand (NZ is just coming out of an amazing hot summer!), there are pigeons, and I keep waking up in a web of Tasha's hair every morning so far, so YA!

Today we went down to a tiny little miniature post shop to pick up my Biometric Resident Permit which is the very last step of the whole visa process, so it's finally all done and dusted and I can now focus on making a life here! It's super nice knowing that thAT'S IS ALL DONE AND I HAVE HIT CAPS LOCK AGAIN HAVEN'T I.

I also called up the Job Centre to get my National Insurance Number (NIN) application started! It will take about 6-8 weeks in total to complete because the David Cameron has to hand write every application form, or something like that.

Tasha also called up the Council to get me onto the Council tax bill, WHICH TOOK AGES BECAUSE THEY ACCIDENTALLY HUNG UP ON HER FIRST TIME ROUND!

Word of warning to anyone who want's to move to the UK...YOU NEED PROOF OF ADDRESS FOR EVERYTHING! Such as registering for the NHS, opening up a bank account etc. So having your name on a Council Tax bill is super handy. Get that done ASAP if you can!

The next big thing to start focusing on is a job for me! I have a feeling that I am going to end up on a IT helpdesk like I was previously but I think I might end up dabbling in some random jobs first just to test the water a little while I can. Here are list of jobs I would like to try:

• Book shop worm
• Finger food collector
• Food storAGE UNIT CAPS LOOOOOOOCK
• Light shade mechanic
• The newest member of Moulin Rouge
• Tasha tamer

If anyone has any of these positions open then please message me ASAP.

Photo credit to Tasha Dancy 2016

About

What's this blog all about???

I've just moved to the UK from New Zealand for two years on a Youth Mobility Visa and have decided to make a blog to keep a diary of my adventures here, as well as hopefully provide a useful insight to others who might want to do the same.

Who Are We?

We are Shane and Tasha, a couple of crazy asexual comic artists who have a hunger for adventure! Originally meeting online, we instantly struck up a friendship, where we would talk for hours about the places we wanted to visit and what we had on our bucket list. 

It had been settled that we definitely had similar interests in what we wanted to do, and that it would be flipping awesome to do it together, the only issue? We lived on the opposite side of the globe from each other. Literally...I come from New Zealand and Tasha's from England.

So to make a start, Tasha booked her ticket to New Zealand, a place she had wanted to visit for over 10 years now. We thought it'd be cool to do it during her birthday, plus it gave us an excuse to do something a bit more crazy, so we settled on Skydiving onto a traditional North Island beach!

After that our taste for adventure grew, soon after Tasha arrived back in the UK I booked my ticket to spend a month over there. We had 6 months to plan, so we knuckled down and started booking what we could. 

Tasha did a LOT of driving, we explored a lot of Dorset and around London. I saw my first grey squirrel in Hyde Park! (Yes, I was VERY excited by this!) and my first red squirrel at Brownsea Island waaaayyy down south (Even more excited by this!). The culture in the UK amazed me too, it made me realise just how young New Zealand really is. 

To say the least, I felt one month was not enough. Tasha and I grew closer by the end of it, and decided to make it official and become life companions (our asexual alternative to 'boy/girlfriend'). It was pretty painful leaving, but we kept positive and thought about looking into me getting a Visa to stay in the UK for longer.

Tasha then contacted me and told me about the Youth Mobility Visa which is available for people aged from 18-30 in selected countries, where you are able to stay in a country for 2 years and work. Perfect!

My Visa was thankfully successful, and now I am finally living in the UK with my best friend!

I hope you enjoy reading through my blog as we continue our adventures together, and that perhaps it will inspire you to do the same. There's a LOT of world out there to explore, it's a shame to let it go to waste, and let's face it. It's so much more amazing when you can share it with your best friend :)