Photos from the United States

Finally got round to uploading some photos. Haven't got round to New Zealand ones yet as its taken bloody ages because the computer is so slow. These are the photos from my month in the USA from when I started my travels on the 4th September to when I flew out of LA on the 4th October. Anyway here is the link.

http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/dizeestroudy/album?.dir=/5dccscd&.src=ph

I didn't have a blog then so I'll briefly explain what I did. I started of going on a 10 day bus trip through Las Vegas followed by the deserts and canyons of Arizona and Utah. Probably the highlight of the trip, as you can see from the scenery it was absolutely stunning. Also great fun spending 10 days on a bus with lots of other people of various ages and nationalities. Half the bus was covered with mattresses which we could sit or lie down on and chat to others as the panaramas unfolded. Did all our cooking and drinking together and slept under the stars or on the mattresses in the bus. Downsides were a lack of sleep, especially the 2 night we slept on the bus as it drove, one night no sleep at all, and people's stinky feet! But overall brilliant. Then went to San Francisco were I met up with lilians (my dads wife) relatives and spent 10 days hanging out in the bay area, pretty chilled. Then hired a car and drove to Yosemite and down the West Coast through pretty towns like Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara back to Los Angeles.

Tick Tock goes the Clock, another week

Well last weekend yet again had to work Fri and Sat night, so thought sod this I'll go out for a few beers Sun night. Hadn't drank any alcohol for 3 weeks, so it wasn't suprising given my track record, that I ended up hammered. This resulted in me waking up at 5am thinking where the hell am I, then realising that I was in what appeared to be a stiffling hot garage. Needless to say I didn't make it to work that day and spent the day sick in bed feeling sorry for myself, with family hassling me for not going into work. Made me think yet again that drinking is crap really. 3 weeks of feeling healthy then one night out made me feel sick for a whole day and reacquainted me to heartburn and junk food.

Anyway this was my last week in the factory, move onto better things and that. Bugger all to do the last few days which makes time pass more slowly, so I used my skills in the art of "looking busy when doing absolutely nothing". Striding purposefully through the factory when really I'm going nowhere. Standing there with a broom in my hand waiting for someone to come into sight so I can start sweeping. It's all about "location location", you need to stand somewhere where you'll see them before they see you. Anyway it was better than lugging round heavy garage doors and carrying metal poles that cut into your shoulder. Will also be glad to see the end of Brett, like the Harry Enfield character, "you don't wanna do it like that you wanna do it like this". Some thick as shit redneck who's worked in the factory for 20 years and got nowhere but who thinks he's a Real Man and has got on a power trip. Critisised everything everyone did and tried to belittle everyone to big himself up. Needless to say he was the one that suffered as everyone hated him, but bloody hell was he irritating! Otherwise it was a pretty good bunch of people, most of the lads were nice, even if I didn't really have much in common with them. Why do I always feel like an outsider?

I never seem to learn my lessons, like don't get smoked up on a school/work night, as these days it keeps me awake deep in thought when trying to sleep. So last night had a little puff before bed and couldn't sleep till 5am because had too many things on my mind and ended up analysing my life and going way too deep man. Mind you it does make you see things in a different light and is somewhat beneficial, like I sort of saw clearly where I had messed something up. Anyway a little kip after work today sorted me out.

Not working tonight and got no friends to go out with hence writing this. Working tomorrow and Christmas Eve in pub then a few shifts next week and probably, sadly enough, I'll be working new years eve as its double pay and I need the money. Then start estate agent job on Wed 3 Jan. To be honest I'm fed up of starting new jobs!!!! In the last 4 years I've probably started 30-40 jobs, I always get anxious and stressed the night before. Then its always more difficult in the first week or two as you don't know what your doing and you have to appear to be hardworking and dilligent to make a good impression before you can slack off.

I'm ready to settle down and get a job that will last for years. I don't want to, there's no jobs I wanna do that I'd be good at. But I haven't won the lottery and unfortunately I'm not pretty enough to marry someone rich so I've gotta do something and a career its gonna have to be. So maybe I'm gonna have to get some dull job like accounting after all and join the bleeding rat race. Shit. Oh well I've got till July to have fun in Aussie and then China and maybe India :-) Then I'll sort my life out.

Barman then Labourer now Estate Agent

Been in Perth just over 2 weeks but it feels like months. Am pretty knackered what with lugging metal doors in the factory and working behind the bar but its all good. Got 2 pay checks this week so starting to claw my way up to financial respectability again.

However I realised that I couldn't be doing with carrying garage doors for months on end, its getting a bit tedious. So today had an interview at an estate agents. Well 1 woman who works from home. Got the job and start 3rd January. I'm gonna be her assistant! Very wierd! Its good pay and a lot of responsibility and as well as looking after her office and stuff I get to drive round and look at properties, sell to clients, take courses and get to know the business of selling houses. Its all strange, I'm only gonna be here a few months. I would of thought she'd want someone for longer but she didn't mention it and so I didn't bring it up. I asked the agency that got me the interview and they said that they'd told her. Oh well its exciting really. Anyway next week I'll still be at the factory and working at the pub over the christmas/new years hols before I start the job in the new year.

Other than that all work and no play makes a dull Tim. Haven't really had time to have a social life or do anything interesting really. Too tired from working, so haven't met people outside of work. So a bit lonely and miss people. But thats life. Oh yeah someone did give me a free ticket to see the cricket today, some ashes game, england vs australia, the cricket was so boring though and anyway you couldn't even see the ball. But watching the crowd entertained me for an hour or so, the atmosphere was great, but wasn't much fun being there on my own so left after an hour or so. Pretty tired really now, did 12 hours in the factory yesterday so I could have today off for the interview, then sorting bank and tax stuff out then got ticket for cricket then shopping, so sorry if this blog is a bit rambly and waffly.

Work is good though, after being span out at the nightclub during my 1st shift, during the 2nd shift the chaos left, everything fell into place and I was able to control everything and do it all with relative ease. It felt like being Keanu Reeves in the matrix or is that me tripping out? Anyway its a laugh and people behind the bar are mostly fun and friendly, if a little stressed at times.

The factory job isn't so bad. At times I sort of like doing repetative things for hours on end, no stress and I sort of enter a dream like state where I zone out and drift into my own little world. Scary really. You have to be able to turn your brain off to cope with the boringness of it all and I think I've become too good at it. That's why I can't stay there for long, I'll turn into a zombie. Got practise I suppose from my teenage years working down the pie factory in Forest Green. But I was smoked up all the time then.

Another great thing is having a car, it might be an old banger but it gives me such freedom. I may have passed my test when I was 17 but I've never had my own car before, always been too poor and my parents were shit when I was studying. It's amazing to be able to just zip off to wherever I want whenever I want. Wanna go to the beach for a jog, no problem. Need to pop out and go shopping, no worries. All I need now are friends!

It never rains but it pours

Well... managed to get labouring job. Just done first shift today... 8 hours of lifting and carrying heavy boxes containing metal garage doors... in the swealtering heat. I ache all over, but its good healthy physical work and will now give me big muscles. So I followed my own advice and got more manly work, go me, aren't I butch!?

Then got home and the nightclub had left me a message saying I've got the job and can I work tonight, Friday and Saturday? And another message from the office agency saying they've got me a job lasting a week starting tomorrow, so its all happening at once.

This labouring job is full time for 3 weeks and then 2 week factory shut down for christmas and then full time for as long as I want it basically. Its down the road and easy money so thought will do it for 3 weeks guaranteed full time work then 2 week break to look for something better. Pub job can do odd shift next 3 weeks for extra cash and then will have work set up for 2 week factory shutdown also. So phoned up nightclub and told them can't do tonight but will do Friday and Saturday. Then phoned office agency up and said can't do tomorrow but available again in 3 weeks, as might be fed up of labouring soon?

Gonna be a hard slog working in factory full time and nightclub job at evenings/weekends but will be bringing in lots of hard earned money at last. Lots of people don't like their jobs but at the end of the day you've gotta earn money somehow haven't you. So you've gotta grin and bear it I'm afraid. Or get another job or be lucky enough to fall in love with someone rich or win the lottery. OK I'm off to dream now.....

Hired then Fired?

Well I started work yesterday 2 days after started looking for work. But then may have lost the job already. Basically manager's still assessing my performance in yesterday's shift and will let me know Wednesday if i have the job - wanker!

Anyway after last blog entry I went home. Then Friday was all rush rush rush. Got up at 6:30am and was at the agency for 8am to do the usual computing tests, filling in of forms and meeting the consultant. Went OK. Then opened up a bank account. Then applied for a tax number. Then met a friend for lunch. Then went round more agencies. Left my CV or filled in forms but no consultants would see me. The secretaries dissapeared, came back and were all like the consultants will look at your CV and give you a call. This basically means sorry mate but we don't want you. Perth is quite backwards and one women even said its a bit unusual for a man to be looking for PA/admin work, employers want women for this type of work. I was thinking maybe I should become more manly and start looking for construction/labouring/mining work.... hmmmm.

So was a bit despondent and thought sod it I'll have a pint on the way home. Stopped off at this pub and got chatting to some blokes outside and they said oh they need workers here and went and got the manager and hey presto..... I got a job. Sorted. Just goes to show doesn't it if I hadn't stopped off for a pint I would have gone home dissapointed. Also bar work pays well here, $20 an hour, which is more than London and living costs are cheaper. And anyway this is the same rate as temp office work and its more fun, so the agencies can go stick their jobs up their a*se. Women can blooming well keep their temping jobs. So went home happy.

Next day went to the beach, was paddling in the sea and saw what I thought were sharks just a stone's throw from me. Blimey - oh err! Actually turned out they were stingrays wallowing in the shallow's with their flippers turned up like tailfins. Mind you what with that Aussie nutter who got killed by a stingray recently I didn't get too close.

Then went to work, started at 9pm. Bit tired but redbull and adrenalin came to the rescue! Was plonked in upstairs bar next to DJ and dancefloor so couldn't hear a bloody thing. I received 2 minutes of training and was then thrown into the lions den, a busy boisterous Saturday night bar. I told them I had experience, I failed to say that it was 6 weeks work in a quiet pub 4 years ago. Also I didn't know the currency , so had to keep squinting at the coins to see what they were worth. Obviously I messed up quite a bit and the other barman was exasperated and stressed. But I thought I did pretty well under the circumstances and picked it up quite quickly. Always best to get thrown in at the deep end. Trouble was I had to leave at 1:30am to get the last train as I didn't have use of a car. Everyone else stayed till 3am so it didn't look good that I jumped ship early. But main thing was that I didn't get a chance to have a chat to the bar supervisor I was working with to fight my case, explain that I was knew to it all but keen to learn etc. Can use the car as of today, but might be too late?

So today took the initiative, popped in and spoke to the manger. However he said that he needs to speak to the barman first and will get back to me by wednesday. But I won't rest on my laurels, oh no, I'll continue job hunting tomorrow. Better to have 2 jobs than none. You have to have this attitude in life, otherwise you'll get dissapointed. Moral for the day kiddies - Hope for the best but expect the worst. Anyway if he doesn't give me the job there'll be a few bricks flying through his window...... only kidding! Going home to relax now. Then tomorrow a busy bee again.

OK Serious moaning finished, enough is enough!

OK just to say sorry that my recent entries have been so negative! But I don't know why after 2 months of happy travelling I have to start my blog when things all start to go wrong. Ill health, money trouble and relationship heartache. OK I know that I caused it but it still hurts! So will resume my lighthearted moaning as opposed to my serious moaning :-)

Anyway arrived in Australia 2 days ago (Tuesday). Flew Auckland to Brisbane and had a 3 hour stopover, got tired of the indoors so walked out of the airport and found a small grass mound overlooking the barbed wire fence into the runways. Thought nice place to plonk my arse and chill out and watch the planes taking off/landing. Except the whole mound was teeming with huge poisonous ants (they had illuminous green sacks on them so must have been poisonous, right!). Pah! Thought can't live in a country where you can't even sit down in the grass! And thats not to mention the deadly spiders, snakes etc. Had to go back and wait in the airport so people watched instead and bought a book about a mass suicide attempt that bizarelly cheered me up as it made my life seem better than their rubbish ones.

Then it was a 5 and a half hour flight to Perth, yes it takes 5.5 hours to fly across Australia. Perth is the most isolated city in the world, my new home. My dad and his wife kindly picked me up from the airport very tired and jet lagged. Almost gave my nan a heart attack, she arrived the day before and they kept it a suprise that I was coming. Then slept and slept and slept.

In the morning I went jogging, gotta get fit after a week of eating comfort junk food and drinking too much beer. And in the park I almost jumped out of my skin as I came round the corner and practically ran into a kangeroo, yes a wild kangeroo, how wicked was that. And there was a whole pack/herd - whatever of them round another corner. Safe mate. Then my dad said he'd treat me to a Macdonalds for lunch (almost had a heartattack, he's got money in his wallet, he is a changed man!), I said can we make it a subway as I'm trying to eat healthy, he said too expensive! God he's classy isn't he, some things never change! Anyway sorry I'm taking the piss dad if your reading this, I couldn't help it, I did persuade him to get me a subway anyway, posh I know. After that I bought some black trousers, shirt and tie and did my CV, no rest for the wicked, gotta move quick. Today got myself dolled up and went into town and have been round all the emploment agencies. Most just took my CV and said we'd be in touch (never promising) but one of them told me to come back tomorrow at 8am for computer tests and registration (promising). My dad had lent me some black shoes which were unfortunately 2-3 sizes too big, so I was walking round like a clown, feet flapping on the floor, hmmmm no good. So just had to invest in some new shoes (got cheapest ones for $20, not bad) and also an Aussie mobile phone for the agencies to contact me on.

My new phone number is +61 406114061. I won't be using my New Zealand number anymore, or my UK one for the time being.

Trouble is to get a job I have to invest in all this clothing, phone cards, travel passes, food etc. So I'm getting into debt looking for a job to get me out of debt! Oh well thats life. Hopefully first pay check will be soon. This evening after writing this in the internet cafe (no computer at home yet) I'm gonna go round all the bars to see if there's any jobs going there. Got to keep my finger in as many pies as possible! Also tomorrow got to open a bank and get a national insurance number.

But although Perth is a bit isolated it is a beautiful city, loads of nice beaches, permanent sunshine and friendly people (so far). It is wierd living in a suburb 20km out of town, just realised I've never really lived in a suburb before. Grew up in a small cotswold town nestled in the valleys and full of history and character, then lived in Sheffield and even when living in zone 3-4 of London its still built up and urban feeling. Its wierd, a lovely upmarket suburb and nice although a bit lacking in character, but it feels like I'm living in a movie set. My experience of suburbs like this is all from American films! And last night was playing football with my baby brother (4 years old, ahhhh) and these cockatoo's came screeching down into the tree tops, its all so out of this world! So its all a bit dreamy and strange at the moment.

But saying that its nice to have a goal. Part of my trouble the last few weeks has been that I knew I shouldn't have been travelling and should of been working. Reaslied today my plan was to travel NZ for 2 weeks and get a job, hmmmm, I didn't stick to this, travelled NZ for 2 months, spent all my money and got into debt. So its now nice to be correcting this, on a mission, sorting things out and with a goal to get a job ASAP. When I need to do something then I'm very committed to get it done, blimey it sounds like I'm writing my CV now.

OK gotta go, things to do, people to see, cheerio.

Getting Cross Now!

Argghhh! Getting a bit irritated now. Wrote a passionate blog entry which took me ages, well a while anyway, and it crashed as I pressed publish. Then went outside for a breath of fresh air and bought some refreshment in the form of red bull and a sandwich, just come back to the internet centre and my refreshments have dissapeared. The last few weeks have been a right nightmare in lots of ways, maybe I'll have a nervous breakdown. Or maybe not, have got no money left, so I can't afford it.

Anyway I'm going to write this entry again to get it off my blooming chest! I'm not having it just disappear like that! So I apologise if it sounds a little stale, things often do if they are being repeated - grrrrrrrrrrr!

Bye bye Kiwis, Hello Kangeroos, Snakes and Spiders

Have completely changed my plans. Am now flying off to Perth, Western Australia to live with my dad, his wife and my baby brother who have just emigrated there and my nan who is going to be living with them for a few months. Employment opportunities are very good there. Will be able to see family and earn some money to replenish my bank account. Also its very hot and sunny. So bye bye New Zealand, I fly off on Tuesday.

Anyway since last entry, I moved on up from Dunedin to Christchurch, apparantly a very English City, with lots of rose gardens, punting on the River Avon, and streets named Gloucester, Worcester, Oxford, Cambridge etc. Didn't get up to anything particularly exciting because of the huge boil (finally getting better now). Did go up the hills in a cable car and went for a nice walk. Also went to the beach for a day. Went out to bars without getting drunk (am on antibiotics). Said goodbye to some of the friends I'd made travelling for the last few weeks. Then got to Auckland, things went a bit pear shaped and thought I've had enough of this, I'm going to bugger off to Perth.

Hmmm

If you've read my blog over the last couple of days you might have noticed a few wierd entries and updates. That wasn't me.
Two days ago someone used my password, logged on, wrote entries and updated my profile in what some might say an unsavoury way.
I've now delted those entries and got my blog back to "normal".

Not a Happy Chappy

Pah! Had blooming boil on one of my butt cheeks for the entire week now. Swollen painful huge lump of redness, can't sit on it as in agony. This means I have to perch on one cheek when I sit down which is
a) very uncomfortable
b) means I look like a bit of a freak, people probably think I've got piles or got something shoved up my ****
c) is making my lower back ache.
Also can't sleep very well as keep waking up when I turn over.

Finally had enough yesterday and went to the doctor which cost me another $100, more money gone, got myself some antibiotics which will (hopefully) clear it up and reassurance that I will make it and am not dying.

Also means I can't join the others going out partying in the City of Christchurch for my last weekend of freedom before working next week. Oh well I'll save money I suppose and it'll be good for my health, every cloud has a silver lining! Being a bit melodramatic really.

Must keep my chin up and grin and bear it! Still got 2 legs and 2 arms (no offense to the disabled), most of my body is functioning reasonably well and I still have some of my sanity left. Got food on the table and a roof over my head.

Ok I'm rabbiting on now, haven't got much else to say, so bye bye, hope alls well in Blighty and God save the Queens!

Penguins, Sea lions, Parrots and Boils

Anyway by the way I was only joking that I hate new zealand and it people on Sunday (some people thought I was being serious), I was just hungover. Actually had a great day, did a bus tour of the south coast and saw wild rugged coastline and got to see yellow eyed penguins (rarest in the world) on one beach and sea lions (again a rare variety - forgot name) on another. This is added to the Kea we saw on Friday in the mountains, one of the biggest, most intelligent and rarest parrots in the world and the only parrots that live in cold Alpine areas. They were funny and even attacked the rubber seals on the skylight in our bus. Spent last two nights in Dunedin, a city of supposedly Scottish heritage, its OK, doing a brewery tour today, which I might need as

To add to my woes of receiving the $350 fine I now have a huge boil/insect bite/ingrowing hair? on my arse cheek which is extremely painful and swollen and means its almost impossible to sit down.

Oh dear I need a holiday, oh I am on holiday, oh dear......

Credit now running out, bye

Blooming Americans have fined me $350

Found out today that the Merced SUPERIOR County Court of California has fined me $350 - the sods.
I was only doing 86mph in 55mph zone for crying out loud!

I wrote them a lovely letter explaining that I was a poor innocent tourist who was only going that fast as I was overtaking a lorry on a clear straight road and that the radar caught me when I was at the point of peak velocity and so clearly I wasn't doing 86mph for more than a few seconds......

But it was obviously to no avail.

Oh well now my money really has run out. Am off to Auckland on mon 20 Nov, 6 days and then I have to get a pretty well paid job pronto!

You can take the Offer out of Toffer but you can't take the Toffer out of Offer

Ugh! Hungover as hell this morning, whats that saying, beer before wine makes you feel fine, wine before beer makes you feel queer, whatever, I obviously did it the wrong way round.
Changed my mind, New Zealand and its people are crap, in fact everybody and everything is rubbish.

You can take the Offer out of Toffer but you can't take the Toffer out of Offer!

Photos

In a few weeks, when I'm in one place with a job and can get myself organised I will try and upload some photos to make this blog a bit more interesting.
Sweet as bro (A popular Kiwi expression which translated to English means Lovely Jubbily)

I've found the southern most city in the world - allegedly

Kia Ora (Maori for Hello)

Well today am in Invercargill, southern most city in World, apparantly full of rednecks which I will be testing out tonight when I go out to the bars to get pissed - well it is Saturday night! Its raining again, suprise suprise, I've finally gone somewhere that has more unpredictable and changeable weather than the British Isles. Its never more than a day before it changes from rain to sun to rain to sun, cold to hot and usually several times in the same day.

Semi annoyed as this last week I keep leaving things behind in hostels, thankfully nothing important like passports, credit cards etc. First a torch, then a towel, now a hooded top, oh well. Also fell in a lake Wednesday so had to go out clubbing (well to a bar with people dancing) in flip flops and shorts as my only shoes and jeans were wet. But I'm not too bothered, the scenery is keeping me happy, yesterday amazing fjords and mountains, day before that huge lakes and mountains, before that glaciers and mountains. Yes lots of mountains in the south island, plus sheep (The Welsh would love it) and not too many people, so been getting in touch with nature again.

Last few weeks have been spent in small towns and villages and the locals are extremely friendly. Apart from the time when they wanted to fight me when I fell of a bar that I was dancing on and caused spilt drinks and smashed glass. Bought a bus ticket that tours new zealand, where I can get on and off when and where I want, its cheap as. And if I want to go somewhere it doesn't go to I just hitch, I think the longest I've had to wait was when the 5th car that went past picked me up. The rooms don't even have locks on in a lot of the hostels I'm staying in and people have offered to put me up for a night. The last time I was in a city (Wellington - the capital) was on my birthday (21 Oct) and I left my camera behind in a nightclub after celebrating. I sort of remembered in my sleep and woke up in panick (had all my holiday photos on the memory card) and ran back, thankfully it was still open at 6am and someone had kindly handed it in behind the bar, lady luck was shining down on me I reckon.

So having a good time although bit fed up of dormitories by now as I'm a light sleeper. People snoring, snuffling and wriggling around making the bunk squeek and shudder. People coming in pissed late at night crashing around and people getting up early packing their bags etc. Think I am ready to stay in one place for a while now. Although the prospect of work doesn't appeal after 2 months loafing around. Gotta get a job soon though as my savings are running out big time and I can't find a money tree.

Better cook my dinner (steak and vegetables) then neck a bottle of wine before heading off to the bar, still the cheapskate Toffer of old!

Ta ta

Why use a blog?

Finally started using this blog today as thought its a bit pointless repeating the same thing to people in emails when they ask what I'm upto. So thought I can write a brief account here and then if people are interested they can see what I'm upto. Just easier and as I'm lazy the less effort the better! I'll still reply to emails but just won't have to repeat all the same stuff about what I've been upto.Cheerio

This is the first time I've done a blog. This will be it for the moment