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Well well well...look who it is.
The latest data seems to suggest that I am incapable of keeping a budget....there I said it. Much like the Magpies is drawn to shiny things, to place in their nests, I find myself drawn to things that cost me a fortune. So once again I must profess my upmost thanks to my parents for allowing this trip to continue, as I found myself broke...or nearly so... in Hong Kong. I assured them that their financial infusion was not wasted, as I will hopefully prove in this months blog.
Jan 30/2009
After a 12 hour flight, that flew by...thank you valium!..I found myself in jolly old London, a city which dates back, if memory serves me correct, to the mid to late 1960's when the Beatles first colonized a small finishing community. But enough about history, for my real mission was far more exciting...partying down with my friends Marcus and Chloe, whom I had not seen in more then a year and half. I had met this dynamic duo all the way back in New Zealand where we all worked as Lifties at Coronet Peak. I had endless adventure with these two
back in NZ, so I was assured that they would show me all that London had to offer.
Jan 2nd 2009
Let us pray that London never receives the snow we get back in Canada....for if that day ever arrives the people of London...and possibly the entire population of Britain will die.
- Amen
With only several inches of snow falling in downtown London.... the entire infrastructure of the city came to a standstill. A bus system that has not shut down since the blitz...you know the blitz of the second word war!...STOPPED. I had to laugh as even the London underground shut down, for it seems, unbeknownst to me, that trains can not function when there is a dusting of powder on the lines..hmmm. It was all the more fun as I watched much of this unfold through Chloe and Marcus' living room window, as I drank O/J in my nice warm sleeping bag. But I didn’t let the day go to waste, as I eventually got up and started making snow men in the park across the street. I was later helped by Chloe and their flatmate Nikki after they walked for 2 1/2 hours
to work just to be told to return home.
Feb 4th 2009 aka Monopoly Pub Crawl Day
Excitement could not properly describe how I felt when this day finally arrived, so lets try the word Megaexcited (a real word), on for size. Having not even heard of this pub crawl several days before hand, Marcus had assured me that this would top all other crawls I have done thus far. The crawl was set up, funny enough, to coincide with the London version of the Monopoly board game. The 26 squares of the monopoly board each acquired their names from 26 stops on the London Underground. At each of these stops bars had been designated as the ones one must attend in order to complete the crawl. It had even been determined how long you were allowed to stay at each bar, down to the minute, in order to do them all before they closed at around 12 at night. Not happy just to 'do' the crawl me, Marcus and our other lifty friend Zanda decided that we had to properly dress for the occasion. After three hours of hard work, four rolls of tinfoil, and 10 huge
cardboard boxes later, we emerged from Marcus' dressed as three of the pieces from the Monopoly game. As we trudged through the slush left by the 'mother of all blizzards' I came to the conclusion that we should only have a half pint at each pub, in order to steer clear of any hospitals along the way. Now I am no stranger to dressing up when i go out on big nights, but I found that I got stopped far more often when I was dressed as a car, then any other costume I have dawned thus far. The day itself was hilarious, and actually made me love London, far more then when I had been there in the past. The pubs themselves were amazing, unlike their bathrooms or stairwells, which I often got stuck in with my costume on. And though we only made it to 23 of the 26 pubs I, along with my liver were quite pleased with ourselves, especially since we started 3 hours late.
Feb 5th 2009
With my head pounding and my bank account screaming, I awoke to Chloe informing me that she had acquired tickets for us to be in the
audience of the Jonathan Ross show (the David Letterman of the UK). Apparently half of Chloe's family works for the BBC so we were able to get Vip tickets which would take us into the green room, where the stars sometime hang out before or after the show. We even got free food and drinks...though i wasn’t going anywhere near the booze. Having never been a member of a studio audience, I found the whole experience quite exciting, especially since I realized that millions of British would be hearing the sounds of my hands hitting against each other (ref: a clap). The guests for Jonathan Ross were also amazing, that being Sir Tom Jones and Benicio del toro...one of my favourite actors. Though we all waited in eagerly in anticipation, sadly neither star made it into the green room..something I am sure saddened the girls more so then myself. But what the hey..it was FREE!
Feb 7th 2009
After I said my goodbyes to my my English chums, I jumped the wee pond over to Ireland to see my friend Janet who I met while in Thailand. With only a phone number and the name of her town,
I made my way from Cork to the wee town of Tralee. From here over the next week I was given a crash course in the history and people of this most famous of watering holes. To be honest I didn’t do much parting here as their was just too much to see and do. The land, though only an hours flight from London, was sparse and rugged. I really could not imagine how, or why, any civilization could possibly want to stay in a land that is both devoid of trees, and contains more rock then soil, making the planting of crops, seemingly impossible. But these questions did get answered whenever the sun came out, which was more often then I had expected, as a stunning landscape would reveal itself. Few countries I have been to were more beautiful then Ireland on a sunny day.
March 11
As you can probably tell from the lack of blogs over the last few months, I have been somewhat busy as of late. It seems that I have failed to win the lottery and thus have had to hang up my party hat, and put on the dreaded collared shirt.
But all is not lost as I have finally completed my trifecta of perfect jobs that has taken me nearly 3 years to complete. From being a lifty in New Zealand to the desk jockey in Sydney, that gave me the time to surf every day, I have now become a bartender in one of the coolest and well known pubs in Edinburgh. Being just touristy enough to keep out the alcoholics and low lifes, yet down to earth enough to get in some great locals, I find myself far from bored at work. Yet the job itself is far more difficult then I had always imagined it would be. There are so many things you have to be keeping an eye on at this place in order to do your job well. Not content to just being a pub, the owners have also made this place into a restaurant, so I find myself dawning the hat of a waiter as often as that of a barman. But I am not complaining as I am quickly saving the money necessary for my next adventure which begins in October, before I 'sigh' make my way back home once and for all...well
maybe.
Well thats all for now
Catch ya on the flip side
-Ryan
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