Planning progress thus far...

...So where were we? Oh yeah, planning for New Zealand. Well, the biggest change thus far was selling our condo. We were fortunate considering the market, as it sold in 6 weeks. However, we do miss our "nob hill" neighborhood.

That set us up for renting for a bit. In that we were lucky as well, finding a rental agency that would rent month-to-month. We were even able to find a place in a trendy neighborhood, two blocks North of Hawthorne, Portland's answer to Haight-Ashbury. (Yeah, I'm not digging the "vibe" here to say the least.) But parking is easier!

We've also had to update our passports, which were due to expire in 2009 (NZ requires passports to be valid 6 months past your expected departure date). Additionally, we had to have our passports updated in order to apply for a Working Holiday Visa. Having the Visa gives us two key advantages: the ability to stay up to one year and the ability to work legally. One significant hurdle is you can only apply if you're 30 years or younger. (I [Corey] turn 31 in September!) Fortunately we've received word that we've both been approved.

We also joined WWOOF, a fantastic organization which allows you to trade daily work for room and food. Their focus is on Organic and Sustainable farming and gardening practices, so we're looking forward to adding to our skill level.

And then there is that other detail, we went ahead and bought our tickets this week. We're on Air New Zealand again. They had fantastic service the first time and will be direct on our return to SFO. It's nice to have that detail out of the way.

So what's next for us? We'll we have a laundy list of things to work through. Including:

• Selling quite a few items we don't need to store (anyone want an awesome Kenwood stereo?)
• Set up a New Zealand Bank account (Bank of New Zealand being the top candidate)
• Find a place to store my car
• Arrange Medical Insurance
• Arrange for phones while in NZ
• Register so we can vote prior to our departure.

And that's all before we consider packing! Should be exciting!