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.