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.

:)

Damn Touch

Damn song has been in my head for days.....

Sand In My Shoes......

Rightooooo!

This one will be pretty short sharp and shiny!

So I went to the states for a few days! I never in my life thought I would go there. Obviously a few days over Easter doesn't do it justice, so I will have to go back again properly, but I couldn't believe how much of a giant stereotype it was. Seriously, poor black people standing on corners, booty dancing in clubs, over the top insincere customer service, fat people, everything.

Not to say it was bad though, Seattle was quite cool, plus I got to see RADIOHEAD!
On the way back though I sort of got boned over. 90% of the time things always work out for me when travelling. This time not so much. After copping shit from people at the hostel for only booking my buses and ferries the night before I left (and 1 hour before going out) I got to America with no dramas. On the way back though, I mistakenly presumed that America would be like every other country in the world and the transport system would link up with each other. This is not the case in the states....

So after catching the very first bus from Seattle to Port Angeles (tiny ferry town on the peninsula) I had missed the very last ferry to Victoria by 2 hours. So I had to stay in hicksville on Easter weekend. Exciting times were had.... :/

Ok so after that I came home and worked a few arvo shifts and tried to spend time with Mandy for her last few days in BC before she headed off on Friday.

People tend to think that if you're travelling, you're either in a long term relationship travelling together, or you're screwing around whenever you can.
As most people that know me would know, I'm not one for one nighters, I enjoy things a lot more when I get to know girls a bit more and make a connection.

Either way, it's a nice feeling to share time with someone you like, even if you know it's not going to go anywhere or get serious. When you do finally go your separate way's, it can still feel like a break up, even if you never went out officially in the first place. It's a weird feeling, but an awesome one.

Looking back in years to come, hopefully both people will only have fond memories, and even if you never speak to or see them again, you can think back and enjoy what you had for what it was and nothing more :)

Soppy shit but it's true.

Anyways, time for bed, night shift on a saturday night has this little duck tired!!

It Begins....

Time for some ramblings....

So it was my birthday on the 26th. I had to work at 6am wwoofing in the hostel, but woke at half 5 to find that 3 of my mates had cleaned up the whole kitchen for me the night before (as a birthday present), effectively giving me no work to do!
From then on the day only got better......

So after a bit of a kip, I got a call from a convenience store about starting work the next day. So I have a job now!! Well it's a shit job but its a start until summer hits and better jobs are available...

ANYWAYS..

So after a bit more sleep, some lads took me out to a nice Irish pub for a few beers about half 3. When we got back (pretty tipsy) I went to my friends room because someone said they wanted to see me. When I got there, I opened the door and the whole room ( a very cramped elevator shaft) was chockas with balloons and half the hostel jumped out from behind the wall, screamed surprise and sang happy birthday to me with a birthday cake. I was speechless. After that the party started and the free shots began. I don't remember too much after leaving the hostel, but I had one of best nights ever. So big ups to the people at the Ocean Island for making it the best birthday Ive ever had... Much love.

So my birthday was my last big night here. The next day I started work (struggle town) and into routine I go.
My mate Adam and I are currently flat hunting, just need to find the right one. We've seen a few nice ones, but they get taken pretty quickly. We have a favourite pub in the Cook Village, so we want to live near there for that sole reason (and its a nice area).

The hostel is still kicking arse. The prices are going up a fair bit for summer, so everyone is moving out. There is so much crazy shit around here. From drunken Germans running around naked on the street, proposing to his girlfriend and offering to wheel her to Vegas to get married in a McDonalds wheelie chair, to alcoholics in the hostel, talking to kettles and claiming to be "The new sherrif in town".

It's been fucking awesome.

Now I have 6 days off work, and in 2 days I am heading to Seattle to see Radiohead.

Life sucks right now.

Victoria

Been a bit slack of late with this thing!

The last few weeks have been flat chat. I've finally broken out of Vancouver!! Now I'm happily settled in Victoria, which is the capital of British Columbia!

I don't even know where to start to be honest. The city is beautiful. There's a wicked harbour 10 minutes from the hostel which has seals and a wicked view. Beacon Hill park is 10 minutes away as well and you can chill out, feed the ducks/geese and peacocks and see a bald eagle or two. The legislative building is AMAZING! Architecturally its beautiful, large and imposing. At night it lights up and can be seen from over the harbour.
I'm starting to fall in love with the place.

I've been lucky to find a hostel that I love. It's called the Ocean Island Inn and its the closest hostel Ive found to The Travellers Inn in Edinburgh. The place is more giant flat than hostel to be honest. Two thirds of the people staying here are long termers, and I reckon half of those are Canadians from other provinces looking for work.
The Aussie ratio here is at a wicked level, myself being one of three (the other two are chill too)
The people staying here are more family than friends, and we do a lot of stuff together as a big group.
I am loving it here so much at the moment that I have decided to live here until I leave Victoria.
I started working at the hostel for free accommodation and food a few weeks ago, and with any luck, I can find myself some night work so I can do both and save tonnes of cash for summer.

The work front has been slow. All the pubs I have applied at have told me to wait until the start of April when the cruise ships start coming in. I have been pretty lazy to be honest, and going out most nights probably doesn't help. I really do need to get my arse into gear soon though as I just checked my funds, and half of my Asia funds are gone!! Going to have to work hard when I finally do get a job...

We had a 90's night at the hostel the other night. Everyone dressed up, there was a dance off and the music was banging. Anyone who knows me knows I love my 90's music so this was right up my alley. I went op shopping with a couple here and Blair managed to find some MC Hammer pants. You just can't compete with that haha.......After the bar closed we went off to a regular haunt called Sopranos which is a karaoke bar. I vaguely remember singing Mr Jones by The Counting Crows with a mate before we were rescued by a bloke from the hostel.

Not sure what else to report. We've had bonfires on the beach, basketball games, karaoke nights, club nights, hikes, and tonnes of other nights here, it's been wicked.

So glad I came to Victoria......

Hey There Cookie, Why Are You Crumbing Everywhere??

tl : dr

Well I suppose an update is overdue!

The last few weeks have been up and down. I have had a few shitty days, mainly due to not hearing back from jobs and being a bit anxious about tapping into my savings.
My thinking at the moment is that I'm going to stop looking and worrying about getting a job for now and just enjoy the nice weather and get out and about. To be honest, I'm a tad over down town Van, especially living on Granville street where you get woken up every night to either sirens, homeless people screaming at each other or people fighting after being in the pubs, which is usually followed with sirens of the ambulance.

So yeah, I have almost a week left here in the hostel which I had pre booked, then I'm going to head to Victoria on Vancouver Island and scope out the work situation and the general vibe of the place. I've been a lot happier since I've made the decision anyway.

Ok what's been happening? Well partying/sight seeing/partying/sight seeing and a small amount of resume chucking as well. After having some dodgey room mates, Ive developed a cool little crew of people to hang with regularly, sight see and party with. It's been amazing. I'm making friends really easily and I feel well and truly in the swing of things now.

Alright, so apart from one very dodgey night coming back from a midnight snack (where I was grabbed from behind by some massive bastard with a cut on his face from the top of his forehead, across his eye and down his cheek, yeah there's a story there) everything has been safe and sound around here.

As far as sight seeing goes, the last week I have been a busy shutter bug in some pretty fucking awesome places.
Earlier on, a group of us headed out to Lynn Valley, which is a short bus ride out of North Van. Out there they have a wicked rainforesty area, some cool walks and a 50ft high suspension bridge. The first picture is of Rice lake, which is a frozen lake on one of the walks there. It was silent and eerie but beautiful. There were even a few blokes doing some ice fishing.

Mike (pommy mate) and I hired some bikes the next day and rode the sea wall of Stanley Park and down and around the harbour where we saw some otters, a baby seal, squirrels and lots of cool diving birds. There's no better feeling than getting on a bike and reverting to a kid again. I think I had a six hour smile, that or a mild stroke (which would explain a lot)

A few days ago three of us made use of the awesome blue skies and headed to Grouse Mountain, which is a short ferry and bus ride. Vancouver gets voted in the top ten of most livable cities quite regularly, and the reason is you can do pretty much anything you want and it's only 30 minutes away. Skiing, hiking, beaches, it's all there, add that to a very very mild climate and Bob's your aunties lover, most livable city in the world!

Anyway..... Grouse Mountain was wicked. They were charging $40 to get up the hill, which we ummed and ahhed about as we were only going up there to hike and take photos. Luckily an English lady saw us in two minds and let us tag along on her members pass thingo and we all got in for half price! What a diamond.
It was well nice up there, unlimited visibility of Vancouver and around and it was actually warmer up there than in town thanks to the sunshine.

Well that's about it for now. Eventful partying last night and now a repeat tonight means this weekend should be killer!!

Buffalo!

Thank You Brissie!!

Coming to Brisbane was a good idea.

Not only did I get a chance to catch up with some awesome people and have a heaps good time, but it was the perfect stepping stone between home with friends and travelling alone.

I have been tired and hung over for most of it, but still made friends in the dorms and gotten used to talking to strangers again.
I have been given the name 'Bear' by the guys in my room as I sleep so much apparently.

I would also like to express my love for the Normanby for their drink specials. The downside was that after getting there at 19:10, we were told we had to use our drink vouchers by the time the deal ended at 8. So 6 beers and 1 1/2 pizzas in 50 minutes. Doesn't sound so bad now it's written down.

Bob On!

Big thanks to the blokes and sheilas who made Brissie worth stopping over for and helping me remember how good the people you meet traveling really are. Cheers for making the effort people!

Small Things......

Awesome Things About Blogs.....

- Writing is relaxing, therapeutic and enjoyable.
- You can keep track of the random shit and thoughts that whirl through your head and be able to look back on them later and see your progress and see where you've been and what you've done.
- You can allow your inner monologue to get the better of you and your wasting no one elses time but your own.
- Sometimes posting pictures or music can describe your mood way better than a 250 word essay
- Feel like Dougie Howser writing after a long day of being a teenage doctor.

Negatives

- Sometimes it's easy to fall into the trap of venting negativity all the time.
- Publicly airing your thoughts and hopes can be daunting, regardless of who and how many people read it.
- You have to come to terms with the fact that yes you are a bloke, and yes you are writing a blog..

The next post I write should be about me having begun my trip.
This excites me :D

Finally!!

Well my last day of work is finally over. Now the nervous excitement is kicking in...Reality is about to shovel me in the face!

Straight away the doubt starts to surface. Do I have enough money? Am I ready to go? Do I WANT to go? Will I have trouble meeting people and making friends?? Everything has been thought and re-thought. At the end of the day, it's nothing but fear getting in the way of things changing....

Change is the most inevitable and natural thing in life, yet no one particularly enjoys it, and it boils down to fear. Fear of the unknown, fear that things might be worse, or make things worse. Fear that things will never be as good as they once were. Fear of failure, rejection, regression, fear of getting out of our comfort zones and doing things. It's easier said than done.

I have been back home now for two years. In that time change has been an almost permanent part of my life.
When I came back from my last trip in NZ I was heartbroken. I was miserable and depressed. I was completely spent, worn out, anti-social, and void of any energy to start again. I was completely unable to let go and move on.

When the fear that you've lost the best thing that has come into your life enters your head, the hopefulness that better things are out there disappears. When that hopefulness goes, you stop trying. When you stop trying, nothing happens. When nothing happens you feel worse and the cycle continues.....

Eventually though I regrouped, made a plan and tried to slowly get stuck into life again. It took a lot longer than I had hoped, but I finally got to where I wanted and needed to be.
Contentment.

I have a lot more self assurance and confidence which before I thought I didn't have.
I have people who I didn't even know existed a few years ago and now I consider them like family. I have relatives and a clique of close mates who I can trust and be myself around and would do anything for. For that reason  alone coming back and regrouping was worth it.

Ironically, the very thing I needed when I returned home, is now a roadblock to my development.
For years I saw contentment and comfort zones as a form of stagnation. The easiest way to get into a rut I thought, is to be willing to live in the bubbles we create for ourselves and never push our boundaries.
How can we find out about ourselves if we never test ourselves??

According to my toilet door, you shouldn't confuse comfort with happiness.

I have learnt that contentment and stagnation are poles apart. It is essential to keep that support in place and hold onto those roots, wherever you are. But I think it is also critical to strive to push ourselves, and not be scared to reach out of our comfort zones and pursue our goals.

It's all about balance, and really, that's what life is. Timing and balance.

The last two years have gotten me to where I need to be. But now it's time to explore, find adventure, learn,  live and experience what's out there.

But for all those people in my life. Thanks for making my time back so special (even if I did hibernate a lot while I was working)
I love you.

I could not be happier and more excited.

:D

Honourable Mention...

This is now a positivity thread :D

Boom!

Total Life Forever - Foals

I was just listening to one of the BBC's 'Essential Mixes' with Pendulum taking the reins. I love these essential mixes, especially the drum and bass sets. Triple J do a few here as well (Shock One being a sexy sexy example) but the BBC can simply grab the larger European dj's due to vicinity....
I can still listen to them though so I'm happy...

About 20 minutes into their set, Pendulum slowed it down for a bit and played a sample of  'Total Life Forever' by Foals.

You know those songs that just always get you pumped, happy and excited every time?? That's this song for me. I remember listening to this album on the bus on my way to work. Total Life Forever would always come on just as I got off and started walking the ten minutes to the shop and I must have looked like quite the dickhead singing and shuffling along the whole way. You don't care though, because you're just in THAT good of a mood.

I realised that those are my favourite times during the day. I am happiest listening to my tunes on the bus, train or plane to somewhere. Walking and taking in the scenery. I like the journey much more than I like the arrival.
I guess this is a form of procrastination, that would explain why it's taken me nearly a decade before I am even close to starting uni.

Is it wrong to be anxious about reaching the destination?? What if you get there and you miss the events opportunities, freedoms and general hopefulness that comes with the journey itself???? Right now I have so many options and choices, the term 'world is your oyster' really seems to fit. I'm slightly scared of being unhappy again when I get there. What if the oyster I end up with doesn't have pearl in it?

It's thoughts like this that make me want to stop worrying about the future and concentrate on right now, and right now I have a massive smile on my face listening to Foals...........