yeesh…england made u stupid

On October 23, 2006, I did something that I haven’t done in years. I didn’t go outside for an entire day (even though I DID leave the flat). I had to go downstairs to let someone in, but I didn’t put on my shoes and I didn’t get any fresh air, so it counts. How could I possibly stay home in London? I agree: it IS silly. But responsibility has taken over and the job hunt has officially started.

There are tons of jobs available here, but the only problem is that I’m completely under qualified for every single one of the fun sounding ones (and that’s being generous!). I was thinking about just being stupid and working in pubs all year, but then I learned they only get paid like 4.5 pounds per hour and unless you're working in a restaurant, there's no tipping whatsoever...not even on something that costs 2.99 and you give 3. It means pockets full of change (including 2 pence pieces, which are my most hated of all currency pieces). It's sick. But so far I think I’m enjoying my job search here more than I did the one I did last fall. In three days I’ve already received more rejection letters than I did in all of 2005! Prospective employers sure are courteous here…

Last weekend I was able to give my cousin a rest from me piggy backing off of her friends. A friend of mine from Calgary who is going to school in Nottingham came down to London for the weekend with some of her schoolmates. Unfortunately, we started too late in the evening and all of the pubs were closed, so we headed out in Soho. Since Soho is the closest London has to a red light district, we spent most of the night dodging gay bars and packed clubs, then eventually gave up. But it was fun anyway. The second night, after they all had extremely successful shopping sprees Oxford Circus, we went to one of London’s biggest clubs, Fabric.

If you thought clubs were retardedly busy and/or expensive during The Stampede, come to London. People bribe Canadian bouncers less on a super packed night than one person pays to get into this place on a normal night. It's alright though; I’m practically made of money…or at least I was. That is no longer my slogan.

Also, for those of you who were worried, you were correct in doing so. There is no Halloween in the UK. What that means is that I won’t be able to dress up as the notorious Kim Jong Il and as such, I will not be able to display my nuclear arms – but it’s probably for the best. I don’t know if London’s ready yet.

I am currently working on a way to download pictures off of my camera. I forgot my USB cord in Canada. So yes, I’m stupid…but you can’t blame England. I’ve always been stupid.

Progress Report...or so to speak

I figured I should be in a slightly goofier mood to write these things, but all I’ve done all day is…pretty much nothing. As such, I’m having a sort of writer’s block of sorts.

I’d like to start out by apologizing for not writing more about what I’ve seen, where I’ve been, and who I was with, but I always get kind of annoyed when people feel the need to outline day to day activities step by step in ultra-precise detail:
“So I went to the grocery today and it cost 7.39. As I paid with a 10 note, which was strange because usually I only have 5s and 20s. I left the store, the bum asked me for some change, I said no, then walked 43 steps to the apartment. I could have done it in 38, but my footing was off and because I was holding bags, I couldn’t skip any steps. I then sat down on the couch and watched paint dry for 62 minutes until I fell asleep. I was enthralling. And watching paint dry is about as interesting as a blog would be if it were laid out like that.”
That's just not me.

So I do in fact have a mobile phone, but it seems I have a huge lack of friends. Not that I’m necessarily encouraging your calls (technical difficulties receiving - apparently reception's not so clear coming from North American phones). But procrastination seems to be the trend, I spend most of my time on MSN with my friends from home, probably avoiding the task of making new and real friends. I DID come close though...

Yes, I went to the bar by myself the other night. No, not to “sarge” (and if you don’t know what sarging is, don’t worry about it, it’s kind of an inside thing), but because the rest of my party decided to bail halfway through the “pub-crawl” we had created. (Brits couldn't keep up with the Canadian Kid) It was actually surprisingly fun. I made some temporary friends (temporary because I’ll never see them again), some different temporary friends and nearly made some enemies of young hoodlums (who threatened to beat me up) accusing me of being a snitch (aka a cop), which, for those who didn’t know, I am not. All in all, good time, but if you ever consider doing it, make sure you’ve been drinking. Maybe one day, hopefully…

Two nights ago, I had one of those “Holy-shit-I’m-in-a-different-country-and-I- don’t-have-a-job-or-a-plan-and-I'm-not-running-out-of-money-yet-but-almost-because-England-is-so-bloody-expensive-for-a-Canadian…” and it just hit me that I should figure things out. This is what I came up with:
No, I still don’t have a job.
No, I still don’t have a flat.
No, I don’t have many friends.
No, I still don’t have a bank (and if they ask me to call again just to do the preliminary application, so help me God, I’ll burn down their head office.)
BUT,
Yes, I’ve done a fair number of touristy things in one week.
Yes, I’ve been partying a lot.
AND, all things considered yes, it's been fun, and surely, the best times are yet to come.

So that’s that. And for the record, the freak out progress has been resolved on all fronts.

For more on my non-day-to-day life, check in when I’m feeling goofier!

Ps. If you’re thinking that stopping in was a waste of good reading skills, you’re probably right. Nothing is new because nothing has changed. But thanks for stopping in.

London!

So I realize this is the first post I've made since arriving in London... currently, I am watching American TV, wondering how many people I care about are actually reading what I've put my hard effort into creating...feels like I've barely left.

So far, I've been hanging out with my cousin, who has been gracious enough to put me up until I can find a job/bank/flat, all which need each other before they can come into fruition. (you need a job and/or a bank statement to get a flat; you need a flat and/or a job to get a bank; and you need a flat and/or bank to get a job... Luckily, she knows the ropes and has figured out the outs and gotten in the ins.

I've been trying to follow a "spend-very-little" regime, but turns out when you eat nothing for a couple of days, you get really really hungry the day after, and you end up eating sub-par mcdonalds and you settle for camden town chinese food. (that is where i'm staying, camden town, a borough of north London.)
Guiness calories can only take you so far.

As far as the forecast for the day I flew in, the bbc was wrong. Weather was crappy and it rained all morning. Luckily, it got partially sunny (which means that if you look up in the exact correct part of the sky, you can ALMOST see blue sky...). Turns out the day I got in it was the worst weather of the month so far. (on a side note, the day I left Calgary, a friend of mine got fired, and the day I got into London was the day before an announcement was to come that my cousin's company was to be downsided in the next few months. Good luck? Apparently...) Of course, turns out the next few days weren't so bad "weather"-wise, but "whether" Janis's company is moved and/or downsided is still up in question. Like the play on words? I did.

Today I walked approx 10 km, from Camden (chalk farm (for those counting)) all the way to westminster bridge/bigben/london eye, and back to holburn (...long walk). Took about 3 hours, but realized how close together all parts of London can actually be! Look on a map. It looks more impressive.

I also picked up a mobile phone today. Incoming calls are free, and if I miss a call, I can call Canada for only 5p, so call me if you feel like it. If you want the number, email me.

And of course, if you're bored, just email me. kai451@yahoo.ca

The Final Countdown

So this is the final countdown, and no that is not an allusion to the 1986 hit by the band EUROPE, although maybe the name is more fitting than when I was orignally just being stupid and needing a quick title...

This is it I suppose. I'll be in the air in less than one hour. Luckily, my last minutes in Canada (at least for this round) will be spent stealing internet from an insecure network here at good old YYC, where a great deal of my flights do originate from. I also just realized that by now putting my blog entries directly onto the website, you are, in fact, reading my unadulterated, unedited, and unplanned thoughts as they go through my fingers. Alright, so that might be kind of an exageration. I realize now that in the one week countdown (entered last week) I indictated that THAT would be my last entry while in canada. Well, for those of you who are better than I am at predicting the future and being able to foresee that I would be able to get the only seat in the entirety of gate B23 with a plug in, la-de-da.

The plan goes like this: get off the plane. That is all. No plans. No holds barred...except maybe prostitution. That's gross.

So as the title of the blogpage goes, I am, in fact no longer in Canada. How long? Well, aside from being back at christmas for a family trip, unknown (although I do suppose coming back is kind of a cop-out, and really interrupts the flow of living outside of the country. but hey, what are vacactions for but to realize you have to go back afterwards? Taking a vacation from a vacation. Why, that's unheard of.)

Forecast for arrival day according to CNN.com: H: 64F, L: 54F. Rain. So I though, hmm. That's nice. Or is it? I was never really good at math. I know the formula for calculating C to F, but I'm lazy.

Forecast for arrival day according to BBC.co.uk: H: 20C, L: 11C. Light Rain Showers. Southeasterly winds, 7mph. Now, for those of you counting, 64 is actually 18C, so if it's alright, I'll go with the BBC predictions. That way it's nicer, and light rain sounds a lot more accomodating than Rain. Either way, weather's not horrible. Plus, the rest of the week looks alright: sunny periods and highs around the same temperature. That sounds like a fairly bright outlook. (Pun intended..hehe)

I could probably write more, but meh. That's all for now.

Oh, and again, for those of you who had no idea, I'm going to London, England.

The one week countdown

So this is the first test run of the new blogspot dealy thingy. Tomorrow also marks my one week departure countdown. More to come from places outside of Canada. Bye for now.