Wargh.

So. Some of you will already know about this as it affects you personally. Some of you will already have heard others talk about it. Some of you will have no idea. I'll try to make this understandable to all!

So. We currently have a week (or just under) to make applications for Husbink's job next year back in the grand old UK. These applications can't be made to specific jobs but just to areas of the country in which there may be a number of jobs, some of which will appeal, some of which won't. The majority of jobs do not take into account that you may want a life outside work or indeed have a family who equally need lives. You are expected to move over really quite large areas every year or so, basically never allowing for you to buy a house, settle into a community...as most of these posts run for seven years, chances are we need to consider our children in this decision too. Husbink can only apply to four areas.

Today, I am sad because we have pretty much had to count Yorkshire out of being one of those areas. The actual jobs there just look so much like not what we are looking for that we don't think we can apply there. We may still because it is quite hard to say we won't.

The East of England jobs, i.e. near my parents, require a lot of moving about and so don't appeal.

The Northern jobs, near Husbink's parents, look like they could well be in with a chance. They *seem* to be fundamentally based in one centre with short forays to other hospitals for specific reasons. Should we even be as lucky as to get a job in the same city as Husbink's parents, I would have family to look after me when he went on these forays.

The South Yorkshire jobs are pretty good. All centred on one place (and that being a place that already has a good friend living there - we shall call her Anne (with an "e") and see if anyone can work out why :) ). South Yorkshire is the only definite so far.

The Severn jobs appeal. And there are other good friends in that region, we shall call them Mad Medea and Husband for fairly obvious reasons. But we start to be a long way from my parents.

And so it goes on. There is no "ideal" out there. There are also very few "goods" and rather a lot of "bads".

We at least have the confidence that God brought us to New Zealand for a reason and so He can take us somewhere else for a reason to. But we have to make the applications for Him to be able to act on them!

Apologies, this is perhaps the most boring post you've ever sat through but I needed to get it out of my system. So I shall leave you with a pretty picture from my garden to make up for it and a promise that tomorrow or the next day I shall write about the lovely weekend we have had with a wedding, frisbee on the beach and generally good times.