Research makes the heart grow founder

More and more research. The first few weeks we are spending looking into the big picture items. We are trying to figure out the first steps for Visa application, getting our passports renewed, and looking into some basic services, and currency exchange rates over in New Zealand. Jen also just got accepted to Otaga in Duneeden and now she has to decide between two schools. We are leaning towards Auckland because we are both city people and are a bit snobbish about good food, good beer and living in a place with culture and good entertainment (not to imply Duneeden doesn't have these as well).

It looks like passports should take 6-8 weeks and Jen's is good for a year or so, but we are planning on being there for about 2-2.5 years minimum, so we are trying to cover all of our bases and not have to try to do things from New Zealand that we can do now. My passport is expired in 2005 or 2006 so I need to renew mine. I went to the San Francisco City Hall today at like 2:30 on a Tuesday and it was like a 2 hour wait to talk to a slow city employee that I swear processes like 5 applications a day. While waiting for about 30 minutes, I read most of the forms in the place and decided that we qualify for a Mail-in renewal and that we would have to pay like $35 per application to renew on site, but free to send it in. With the long wait ahead of me, I just decided to go home, fill out the updated forms and mail it in.

Matthew