Well, i'm off then!

Thats right kiddies! It's all set!

The visa is being delivered to my house tomorrow, and then i'm flying the next day! Yeah thats right! Saturday lunchtime i'll be up in the air, flying the 4000 miles to my favourite job i've had so far. Everything is turning out ok, finally! It's taken me (since i finished camp in the summer last year) eight whole months! But, in two days time, it'll all be done. Phew...

So, seeing as how i'm going on my next adventure, i thought i might share some travel tips with you guys! (seeing as how i'm such an experienced traveller and such!)

So, here they are, under different catagorys!

Air travel

• Most important thing when you're traveling by air, for gods sake, dont mention guns, knifes or anything else terrorist related! My brother once bought a toy gun in spain...which he left in his carry-on luggage...
  
  Alarms sounded, men with guns surrounded us... fun for the whole family!
• I don't care what people say, there is no better seat than the isle seats! Sure, everyone loves a window seat. Only problem is you gotta climb over everyone to get to the toilet! And while we're on that subject, dont get those seats with "extra leg room" near the emergency exits. Thats where everyone stands to queue for the toilets!
• Oh and lastly, food. If you're gonna order a vegetarian meal, be prepared to be fed everything healthy under the sun! Wereas the meat-eaters will get white bread, decent butter and a chocolate cake for desert, you will get a wholemeal bun, some kind of "i can't believe there's no taste" margerine, and an apple for dessert. Y'know why? 'Cause everyone knows that people who are vegetarians are health mad freaks!

Train travel

• First things first! NEVER FALL ASLEEP! Not only can you miss your stop, but you'll probably wake up robbed.... and naked...
• If you're riding some kind of subway, such as the london underground, DONT MAKE EYE CONTACT! When people get on underground trains, things can get... unnervingly close especially during rush hours. Just don't look anyone in the eye, and keep an eye on valuables!
• Know where you're going! When you're travelling through a forigen country, names can sound very similar. What starts out as a simple trip across paris can turn into a horrible mess of different coloured lines, odd accents (even on letters!) and seemingly only paying 50p each... :S

Walking places

• If you gotta walk somewhere, use a damned map! You can never depend on locals (although most "locals" in big cities are infact, tourists!). If worst comes to worst, you know that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west... right?
• Blend in! Who's the street robber gonna mug? The guy ambling down the street confidently, or the guy in a hawaian shirt and shorts combo, who has a camera around his neck and a badly unfolded map in his hands? Think about what you're doing. Someone once said, "failing to plan, is planning to fail!"

General tips

• Wear a hat when travelling! That way it dosen't matter how your hair looks after an eight hour flight, during which you tried to sleep, but only ended up turning all night. And not just any kind of hat either, it's gotta be a beanie hat! They're soft, so they wont leave any kind of ring on your forehead which can cause spots the next day!
• It sounds lame, but put some money in your sock. No-one ever checks the socks! And while we're on the subject of money, if you're traveling abroad, leave a sensible ammount in sterling in your wallet. That way you're not likely to spend it unless you really need to.
• If you gotta pee, most train stations will charge you (hence the phrase, spend a penny!), but what they dont think of is that there is most likely (in the big ones at least) some kind of fast food outlet that'll let you use theirs, without even buying anything. (not like those damned pubs!)
• If you arranged to meet someone at a certain time, but you don't have your watch, and say, your phone died, then just walk alongside someone with a watch on, and subtley check the time! (digital is easier).
• Mainly, just keep your cool, no matter what happens. Think about it logically, and avoid talking to strangers!

I think thats enough for now, dont you?

Keep it safe kiddies!

Jamie
Veg
Banana

Yeah... I know... I suck...

Howdy blogettes!

Yeah, i lost... without even really putting up much of a challange... I blame iton the fact that i was too busy... or something like that...

anyhoo, i'm gonna work on a comic to try and compensate!

Keep it safe!

Jamie
Veg
Banana

Well, It's on!

Here's the beef kiddies. The challange has been thrown down! Some of you may remember some guy called Cap'n B. Well, we were bored last night and decided we need some kind of compitition to make thigs a little more fun around here...

So, here's the challange. We both have to post at least once a day, with content. Should be a laugh... If I win I get a teddy in a bottle like he has, only with red water insted of green, and if he wins i have to make him something new using the arts and crafts shack on camp...

Oops.... did i forget to mention that?

Yeah, I GOT ACCEPTED!

Yup, just 5 days or so and then i'll be flying to the good old U.S. of A...

All i gotta do now is pay for the flight. Might have to take out another loan with the "bank of dad". They seem to be pretty fair about lending.

The embassy today cost me so much though. I had to pay £66 before i left to cover the application or some bollox like that, and then i had to pay £25 for my ticket there, because it was rush hour (damn you commuters! Mark my words, i'll have my revenge...) And then i had to pay ANOTHER £63 to cover... ahh hell i'm not gonna pretend i know what it was for! They just said i had to pay it or they wont give me a visa...

oh, and then another £9.50, to have my passport sent back to me via a courieor. Y'know, by the time i've done all this and got out there, i'll have to work for 2 1/2 months before i even break even... I hate the government and money...

I think i will have spent around £500 after all this. It's not fair...

On the good side though, i now have nothing left to do (y'know, except tidy my room...) before i go! I can literally kick back, and just wait for the post each morning.

... Untill mom decides i'm being lazy and makes me tidy things.

But thats another story for another day!

Oh, and make sure you leave nasty comments at Cap'n B's page.

Go team Veg!

Keep it safe kiddies,

Jamie
Veg
Banana

"And i'm not sure which way to go, because all along, we've been going in the same direction.

"How to loose your ambitions in an hour"

Just a quickie kids, The visa documents came through today, so i set up an emergency appointment for tomorrow!

Wish me luck!

I'll post more tomorrow after they decide my fate... (kinda literally... if i dont get this visa i have nothing... :S)

TTYL!

Jamie
veg
banana

The green fairy cometh!

Well, tonight was my first time trying absinth. I think thats how it's spelled. Anyways, the deal tonight was that Martin (an old school friend) was turning 19, and seeing how everyone was back from their respective uni's, we went out!

We started at a very nice little bar near the upper end of town, which was where i was introduced to this drink... the "Death Chamber". Just so you know how strong this drink is, i Still feel the effects of it now as i type this. It's one bad mo-fo!

Anyways, what it includes. You take a wine glass, add a shot of two kinds of absynth (if you don't know what that is, just know that it's illegle in most American states because it's so strong.), Where was i?

Oh yeah, two kinds of absynth. Then you add two more kinds of spirit, probably vodka and whisky, and then set it on fire. Yup thats right. Burn it! Then pour the still burning liquid into a slightly smaller glass on the bar. You gotta make sure you spill some, so that the actual bar is on fire too!

Once the original wine glass is empty, set it upside down on the flaming bar (so you catch some vapours i guess) and blow everything out. Drink the small glass quickly, repress the instant vomit feeling, and then once you've composed yourself, you gotta inhale the fumes they trapped.

Repress the tidal wave of vomit that ensues, and behold! You've finished one of the most dangerous drinks in chelmsford!

It does cost £5, but when they put an ice bucket next to you while they serve a drink (y'know, for the chunder) then you know you're getting something legendary!

Aside from that, it was a pretty normal night! I went to the fleece to meet the guys after everyone went to dukes, we had some beers, insulted some drunks...

A good time was had by all!

The only downside was that i couldnt get into dukes to meet everyone after all my skater friends went home. Ah well, i'm sure i'll see them some other time!

Right, i'm tired now, so sleep is imminent!

Keep it safe kiddies!

Jamie
Veg
Banana

(No quote tonight, just sleep ;) )

It's a long one... comfy?

Hey y'all.

First things first, I'm sorry about the quality of posts thus far. Sometimes i forget that quality is better than quantity. I'll try and post more interesting (and, if you're lucky, Relevant!) things from now on.

Speaking of which... I have a question. Why does everyone feel the need to state the obvious?!

Recently, i've noticed that people are pointing out the most obvious of things! For example, The last few days i've been trying to learn a new trick on the halfpipe at central (the local skate park) and the kinds of comments you get...

Things like "Oooh, you almost had that one!" when I land it one footed, Or something like "Yeah, you gotta turn a bit more" When i might land only halfway around.

I mean, i'm not the first guy to notice this! If you havent read "The hitchikers guide to the galaxy" (which incidently, is a trilogy in four parts), then aside from being utterly literally challanged, you're depriving yourself of hundreds of laughs. Real ones. As in "i just shot milk out my nose" funny.

But I digress, In THGTTG, One of the main characters, Ford prefect, makes a note that Humans seem to feel the need to comment on everything. Otherwise their brains might start working.

Y'know what? it'd be funnier if you read it yourself... go buy it now. You won't regret it!

Aside from people I havent seen for almost a year telling me that i'm loosing my hair ('cause, y'know, it's not like it's on my head or anything) I've been just surviving. The papers i need to aquire my visa should be arriving tomorrow, and then i can book an emergency appointment... and with any luck i should be flying 5 working days after that. So, woot for me huh?

I'm only 10 days late so far. Not too bad...

Anyhoo, i have a new thing to finish on. Seeing as how i've been blogging for quite a while now ( This one was first Then there were two, and More recently, this one.. If you're bored on the internet, read these. They have some good posts in there. I'm hoping for some good content like that when i finally make it to America!)

Again, I have strayed from my point.

The new thing i'm gonna finish my posts on (until I think of something better) Is that i'm gonna use my D in media studies to analyse a line or two from a song. See, I have hundreds of songs that mean a lot to me(lyrically that is) and i want to share some of those meanings!

We'll start with something nice and easy, real puddle-deep stuff. Just take this on face value...

Robbie williams - Strong

"And you know and you know, 'cause my life's a mess... and i'm trying to grow, so before i'm old i confess,
You think that i'm strong, you're wrong, you're wrong..."

This means something to me, because it talks about a time of my life (as most of these will do!). This is exactly how i felt just before i went off to America the first time. Everyone was praising me, saying how proud they were. When all I was feeling was that I had to change something. Life was going nowhere. I could honestly see myself working in TKMaxx for too long... Hence the "before i'm old" part.

I dunno, thats just how i feel about how i felt... (did i just type in the first and third person at once?)

Anyways, Keep it safe kiddies,

Jamie
Veg
Banana

Not even Fallout Boy can cheer me up!

Escape - Hoobastank

Another day goes without any change,
The feeling we live with still remains,
We're stuck in a hole and we're searching for anything, to hold onto,
There has to be somewhere that we can be safe, from the lives we live each day,
There has to be somewhere that we can be far away...

We have to escape, and I will go anywhere if you just lead the way,
Escape to a place where we'll be together, together everyday
We have to escape....

We could living how we wanted to,
Instead of doing things we're forced to do,
With no one to tell us that we should be going through, what they went through,
There has to be some place that nobody knows, somewhere we can only go,
There has to be some place that we can be all alone....

We have to escape, and I will go anywhere if you just lead the way,
Escape to a place where we'll be together, together everyday,
We have to escape...

Yup, that's exactly what happened!

Yeah you gotta click on it, as always, but thats how it happened!

I was feeling bored and low tonight, so i thought i'd do something i enjoy. Insted of browsing through all my usual sites, and looking for new things, i decided to make another comic! Enjoy!

Huh... I found a googlewhack...

The googlewhack
Yeah, and it's about me! Kinda...

Damn you cap'n B...

I'm fairly sure it won't be one after this post... hence the photo goodness!

Keep it safe kiddies!

I've got another confession to make... I'm your fool...

Hey kiddies,

Well, as most of you know, i'm back in England.

Crap.

By the time most of you read this, i should have been starting my new job in Michigan. But no... Everything with this application seems to be taking so long, So i have had to come home.

I was realy loking forewards to just flying straight from Florida to Michigan, Starting my new job, meeting old friends. I had my heart set on seeing katie. But now i've got at least a weeks wait, And odds are it'll be more like two weeks.

But hey, every cloud has a silver lining right?

It was nice to come home and see the guys, and I have to get this stuff (my visa application) done in the UK. So it's not all bad. I have some numbers to call tomorrow, try to get some information.

I just wanna get this all done, y'know? This wait is killing me. It's been so long.
I want my new life, and i want it now.

Keep it safe kiddies,

Jamie
Veg
Banana

"Save me from drowning in the sea... beat me up on the beach..." Robbie williams, The road to Mandalay. It's kinda how i'm feeling about this whole thing. It saved me from a life of monotomy, but it's constantly kicking me in the teeth by not letting me know anything.