Thursday, 28 June 2012
Amit
Ok I've had this entry on the back burners for quite a while now, but it's time for show and tell!
Amit is a bloke from New Zealand, with Indian heritage, that I met while in London when I first arrived there for my overseas trip.
We hit it off straight away. He was at the end of his trip and about to head to Germany to continue working and travelling. I was at the start of my trip and still unsure where to head, where to live, what to do or where to work.
It was around this time that I was starting from scratch again. I had 2 jobs lined up to start the next week, but after meeting some Aussie boys at the hostel pub, I was invited to Amsterdam for a flight very early that morning. Not one to shy away from a bit of randomness, I agreed, went along for 5 days and needless to say, didn't have the 2 jobs to come back to when I returned to London.
Queue Amit.
After a few days of partying and generally mucking about, Amit starts to show me pictures and tell me about Edinburgh and the awesome time he had while living up there. Well after not too much convincing I was sold and bought a bus ticket leaving for Edinburgh the next morning.
Upon arriving things just clicked. I stayed at the best hostel Ive ever been in, and lived in it for 6 months. I met a good group of mates all in the same boat and have stayed friends with them ever since and still consider them close friends. I met a girl and shared some good times together. Things got better and better.
After a while the hostel closed and everyone went their separate ways. I broke up with the girl and in my down time went to Cardiff for a holiday to get away. After some travel with friends through continental Europe, I decided to move to Cardiff for work. After more good months, and hooking up with my flat mate which eventually became a relationship,
Arriving home I set out for a trip to Canada which eventually changed to a trip to New Zealand.
Long story short, if it wasn't for Amit, I would be in a completely different position, possibly in another country with other people. Every choice I've made since then and the people Ive become close with and fallen for is indirectly because of that split second choice to head to Edinburgh.
Right now I'm happy to be overseas in Canada, meeting the people I'm meeting and seeing the things I'm seeing. Ive always wished I could thank Amit for changing my course and getting me to where I am now and who I have in my life (or did) now. Unfortunately we met before the days of facebook, and we never traded emails, but whenever I'm feeling nostalgic or happy, I think of Amit and hope he's doing just as well as I am.
In some religions they consider these chance encounters with people changing your lives forever as a meeting with God. I'm not going to go that far, but all the good times, bad times, heart ache and strength has led me to this point in my life, feeling these feelings for people, and experiencing all the things I've experienced I can trace back to that time in London. For me, that's when life really started.
I guess the moral of the story is to enjoy yourself and those around you when you're happy and try to understand the lesson as quickly as you can when you're not. Every choice we've made has led us to where we are now, and all those experiences new and old are leading us to places we don't even know of yet.
I am so very very thankful for whatever forces are out there that led me to where Ive been and who Ive met and the people I shared time with. I am one of the luckiest blokes on the planet.
:)
Amit is a bloke from New Zealand, with Indian heritage, that I met while in London when I first arrived there for my overseas trip.
We hit it off straight away. He was at the end of his trip and about to head to Germany to continue working and travelling. I was at the start of my trip and still unsure where to head, where to live, what to do or where to work.
It was around this time that I was starting from scratch again. I had 2 jobs lined up to start the next week, but after meeting some Aussie boys at the hostel pub, I was invited to Amsterdam for a flight very early that morning. Not one to shy away from a bit of randomness, I agreed, went along for 5 days and needless to say, didn't have the 2 jobs to come back to when I returned to London.
Queue Amit.
After a few days of partying and generally mucking about, Amit starts to show me pictures and tell me about Edinburgh and the awesome time he had while living up there. Well after not too much convincing I was sold and bought a bus ticket leaving for Edinburgh the next morning.
Upon arriving things just clicked. I stayed at the best hostel Ive ever been in, and lived in it for 6 months. I met a good group of mates all in the same boat and have stayed friends with them ever since and still consider them close friends. I met a girl and shared some good times together. Things got better and better.
After a while the hostel closed and everyone went their separate ways. I broke up with the girl and in my down time went to Cardiff for a holiday to get away. After some travel with friends through continental Europe, I decided to move to Cardiff for work. After more good months, and hooking up with my flat mate which eventually became a relationship,
Arriving home I set out for a trip to Canada which eventually changed to a trip to New Zealand.
Long story short, if it wasn't for Amit, I would be in a completely different position, possibly in another country with other people. Every choice I've made since then and the people Ive become close with and fallen for is indirectly because of that split second choice to head to Edinburgh.
Right now I'm happy to be overseas in Canada, meeting the people I'm meeting and seeing the things I'm seeing. Ive always wished I could thank Amit for changing my course and getting me to where I am now and who I have in my life (or did) now. Unfortunately we met before the days of facebook, and we never traded emails, but whenever I'm feeling nostalgic or happy, I think of Amit and hope he's doing just as well as I am.
In some religions they consider these chance encounters with people changing your lives forever as a meeting with God. I'm not going to go that far, but all the good times, bad times, heart ache and strength has led me to this point in my life, feeling these feelings for people, and experiencing all the things I've experienced I can trace back to that time in London. For me, that's when life really started.
I guess the moral of the story is to enjoy yourself and those around you when you're happy and try to understand the lesson as quickly as you can when you're not. Every choice we've made has led us to where we are now, and all those experiences new and old are leading us to places we don't even know of yet.
I am so very very thankful for whatever forces are out there that led me to where Ive been and who Ive met and the people I shared time with. I am one of the luckiest blokes on the planet.
:)
Friday, 1 June 2012
Couples Everywhere!!
Wow, what hasn't happened in the last month???
Ok, so Mandy came back for a few weeks. We went up to Tofino, which is a surfing, beach area of the island. It was shitty weather the first day but the second day was amazing so we hired some bikes and rode towards the bomber trail. The Bomber Trail is a non-council track which basically leads to where a world war 2 bomber crash landed back in the day. We rode for a few hours to get there and then realised that after a week of heavy rain, the track was too muddy to walk. So we headed back and hiked a trail to another beach.
Back in Victoria it was all about the Dutchies. We played Edward Scrumpy Hands and I managed to lose so had to shave my legs. GAY. Basically, Scrumpy Hands is a Kiwi uni game where you strap two bottles of high percentage cider to your hands and you're not allowed to take them off untill both bottles are drunk.
It's a ridiculous game.
For one, in NZ the bottles are 1.5 litre. Over here they only have 2L bottles and they're pretty feral. So it was a hard slog to begin with, but both Dutch boys finished strong and won the game. We had to hire a private room to drink in because I was warned I would get kicked out of the hostel if I got caught drinking in my room again. Luckily everyone chipped in and it only cost us about 6 bucks each for the night.
A few nights later it was Queens Day, which is a national holiday in The Netherlands. The group went shopping and bought a whole heap of Orange gear and charged up for a big night at the club. Many shots were had and after a pretty intense walk home, we all survived with only massive hangovers.
A few days after that I moved out of the hostel! I loved my time there, but it was getting expensive and I think it was time to move on for a bit. So now I have a pretty schmick flat with a few cool dudes I met in the hostel and things are pretty good. Mandy moved in with us too until she left a bit later.
So now that we are all settled in, everyone has left! Basically my massive group of friends that I had in the hostel have all left Victoria. Some have gone home, some have gone East, others have left the country to travel elsewhere. So now it's getting a bit lonelier and boring here, but we're making the most of it. The plan now I think is to settle down on the drinking a bit after 5 months of non stop partying and spending all my savings (pretty much everything) and concentrate on finding another job and enjoying the summer. The job I have at the moment is easy, but quite boring and the hours are shit. It was always going to be temporary anyway, so it's time for a change.
I'm sort of locked into this flat for a while so I can't leave for the time being, but I am getting itchy to move again. Now that everyone has gone and the party is over for a bit, it's getting a bit boring. Plus it's quite depressing working night shift for 11 bucks an hour and dealing with crack heads and wankers all the time.
I'm undecided at the moment, but I think I will work and save a bit for a few months, then when my tax comes back from home, I might move around a bit more, do some wwoofing and see the sights, then maybe come home early next year. The plan was Canada for 1 1/2 years then Asia, but I can't travel Asia any more thanks to my drinking habits. I won't leave Canada until I'm ready, but the thought of working poor on minimum wage for the next two years when I could be earning double or triple back home is a hard thought to hold. Play it by ear and see what happens in the next few months I reckon!
So that's about it! Things are slowing down a bit, but it's not a bad thing at the moment. The time will come again when it will be all systems go, but for now summer is a few days away, and I'm looking forward to it!
Laters!
Ok, so Mandy came back for a few weeks. We went up to Tofino, which is a surfing, beach area of the island. It was shitty weather the first day but the second day was amazing so we hired some bikes and rode towards the bomber trail. The Bomber Trail is a non-council track which basically leads to where a world war 2 bomber crash landed back in the day. We rode for a few hours to get there and then realised that after a week of heavy rain, the track was too muddy to walk. So we headed back and hiked a trail to another beach.
Back in Victoria it was all about the Dutchies. We played Edward Scrumpy Hands and I managed to lose so had to shave my legs. GAY. Basically, Scrumpy Hands is a Kiwi uni game where you strap two bottles of high percentage cider to your hands and you're not allowed to take them off untill both bottles are drunk.
It's a ridiculous game.
For one, in NZ the bottles are 1.5 litre. Over here they only have 2L bottles and they're pretty feral. So it was a hard slog to begin with, but both Dutch boys finished strong and won the game. We had to hire a private room to drink in because I was warned I would get kicked out of the hostel if I got caught drinking in my room again. Luckily everyone chipped in and it only cost us about 6 bucks each for the night.
A few nights later it was Queens Day, which is a national holiday in The Netherlands. The group went shopping and bought a whole heap of Orange gear and charged up for a big night at the club. Many shots were had and after a pretty intense walk home, we all survived with only massive hangovers.
A few days after that I moved out of the hostel! I loved my time there, but it was getting expensive and I think it was time to move on for a bit. So now I have a pretty schmick flat with a few cool dudes I met in the hostel and things are pretty good. Mandy moved in with us too until she left a bit later.
So now that we are all settled in, everyone has left! Basically my massive group of friends that I had in the hostel have all left Victoria. Some have gone home, some have gone East, others have left the country to travel elsewhere. So now it's getting a bit lonelier and boring here, but we're making the most of it. The plan now I think is to settle down on the drinking a bit after 5 months of non stop partying and spending all my savings (pretty much everything) and concentrate on finding another job and enjoying the summer. The job I have at the moment is easy, but quite boring and the hours are shit. It was always going to be temporary anyway, so it's time for a change.
I'm sort of locked into this flat for a while so I can't leave for the time being, but I am getting itchy to move again. Now that everyone has gone and the party is over for a bit, it's getting a bit boring. Plus it's quite depressing working night shift for 11 bucks an hour and dealing with crack heads and wankers all the time.
I'm undecided at the moment, but I think I will work and save a bit for a few months, then when my tax comes back from home, I might move around a bit more, do some wwoofing and see the sights, then maybe come home early next year. The plan was Canada for 1 1/2 years then Asia, but I can't travel Asia any more thanks to my drinking habits. I won't leave Canada until I'm ready, but the thought of working poor on minimum wage for the next two years when I could be earning double or triple back home is a hard thought to hold. Play it by ear and see what happens in the next few months I reckon!
So that's about it! Things are slowing down a bit, but it's not a bad thing at the moment. The time will come again when it will be all systems go, but for now summer is a few days away, and I'm looking forward to it!
Laters!
View from Mount Douglas
The Edward Scrumpy Hands champion
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