Shredding the pow

Here is my first attempt at writing a meaningful blog full of wondrous insight and the intricate workings of my fabulous mind. Off to a brilliant start. Dogpoo.

Since I last posted I've got quite a lot done, learnt a lot about the world, myself and how to ride a snowboard. I'm trying to organise my thoughts as I write, since all I have been taking note of is what I've done thus far. I am also aware of how much shite has come out of my 'mouth', generally regarding other human beings. Whilst I won't make any apologies in regards to that being my honest opinion of these people, I do however think it unfair to have written these things about them on t'internet. It seems that I, for whatever reason, am more careful not to badmouth others when possible. Which should be always... but I am only human. I know, surprising.

Having lived in the house I had just moved into when I last posted for two weeks, I have found a strong passion for lovely people and tried to be a better person. Almost everyone in the house has become a friend and I got on very well with the majority of them. I discovered cooking with others is rewarding and that a mutual give and take is required for a happy living environment. The most important thing I learnt though, is that you can't fucking please everyone. I have strived to get on well with everyone I've met so far on my trip, and maintained a positive attitude throughout. The problem is, not everyone in the world has a brain as developed as mine. Nor are they rational, understanding individuals. You just need to roll with it. I'm staying at the hostel in town and, so far, am having a very pleasant stay. Having honestly, HONESTLY, not let it bother me once, and not really wanting to write out the whole sorry saga, I'm hoping to remain friends with them and visit often. Let's just say I did absolutely nothing wrong and leave it at that.

Snowboarding is friggin awesome. I had three lessons in total Wednesday-Friday and then was up on the last spike (green run) alone from that moment onwards. I love it. I've managed to get 6 days in so far and have another 3 still to go... these three will probably turn into more. I just can't believe what I'm able to do now from where I started. The main issue now is financial. Before Revelstoke I was fairly frugal. I had barely any expenses beyond travel and food. Now I've spent a fortune on gear, lift passes, lessons and now accommodation. The board and bindings I had acquired from kijiji are now broken/useless with the replacements costing me further. I am happy to do it... but need to curb spending in other areas. Namely going out. Once a week suits me fine. For one reason, financial benefits. But also because I just don't get it - drinking so much you're sick, waking up the next day feeling sick as a dog, definitely not getting laid because of all the dudes, music so loud it makes your insides skip around and then there's the fact there's no reasonable way of approaching women. It's worth mentioning twice. I just want to be able to talk without having to spit in someone's ear. That shit is unhygienic. Having said that, I did have a killer night with Luke, Kara (good housemates) and a chap called Mitch who knew Kara from work. We all had a blast.

I definitely feel content. I wish I was able to do some snowboarding as I continue my travels in Vancouver and the north of the U.S.A. It's possible, but I need to make sure it doesn't cost too much. We shall see what happens I guess. Which should really be the tag line for this blog. I've made as few plans as possible and just gone along with others/done things because I want to. I've messaged Ollie in Whistler in the hopes I can spend a day or two there. I'll try to probe hosts for friends or themselves if they want to spend a day at a nearby ski resort. 

Finally, I have a wondrous tale to tell you that will both make you laugh and brighten up this miserable dross. Today was my third day in the hostel and I took some time off from boarding. I hung out with a girl from Australia who had hurt herself so didn't go either. I skyped home, cleaned up my room to look fairly respectable and tried to find a reasonably priced snowboard online. I'd arranged to go swimming with Amy and invited the other people from the hostel along. It was a decent time and I had fun. The Aussies seemed to be a strange clique and didn't really engage myself or the other European guys in their antics. We tried, and joined in, but I sensed the others thought the same and we ended up hanging out separately. Once I'd had enough, and the others agreed, we left to go home. However, when we got into the changing room, I couldn't find my bag. I literally looked in every single locker in the room. Nothing. Pure cold dread. Some cunt has stolen my fucking bag. Here in Canada? In a town like Revelstoke?! What the shit. The Aussies couldn't have cared less. They didn't seem to even realise and had left long before Steve headed back to the hostel with the two Swiss guys to grab me some clothes so I could get back. So I'm stood there like a gimp as more people come in to get changed. They probably thought I was some kind of pervert. I was cold, miserable and trying to think of everything that was in the bag. Wallet - there goes my money. I.D - great. Underpants. Well, another fella comes in and goes to a locker very close to where my stuff was. Opens up his locker and there we have it; my bloody bag is there at the bottom. I was too relieved to be angry. He tried explaining something about his friends but I was barely listening. I practically floated home. What a bloody knob. How can you possibly put your stuff on top of someone else's and then lock it up without noticing?!

Fin.

Oh, and a merry christmas to you. And a happy new year.

Calgary - a city of decisions

Oooooook! I finalised my Winnipeg post yesterday but I want to keep on top of things so everything I write is relevant. When possible I'll jot things down on the day so I don't forget something that might actually be useful or interesting as opposed to just boring day-to-day events.

I was pretty mopey yesterday as I knew I had to leave. I finished off the blog post and sat around watching trailer park boys. Nobody was really around and I still didn't feel well enough to go for a walk. I'm not sure if I mentioned I'd finally succumbed to the cold weather or not? Well I did. But I'm nearly better already. When Christa got home we played ticket to ride one last time and hung out;  chatting and watching things on the net. She kept asking what was wrong and I'd say it was mainly having to leave. Which it was... mainly. Dale got in around 10. We exchanged gifts, took some selfies and packed my stuff into the car to head to the bus station. It was such a hard goodbye because they'd been so amazing to stay with. They kept me laughing right up to the point I was getting on the bus. And that was it. Winnipeg was over just like that. I really hope to stay in contact with those guys as well as Marilyn & co.

Boogedy boogedy boogedy amen!

On the coach I slept for a while and listened to a lot of music, whilst watching the world drift by. I had my two seats to myself and extra leg room in the cripple department. I read a little bit but wasn't in the right frame of mind. I just continued thinking about everything I'd done in Winnipeg and whether Calgary would be anywhere near as fun. When you have time to think, it is very rarely to appreciate the present. You are either making plans for the future or pondering past mistakes. Which is what I did for quite a while sat on that bus. But to be fair the landscape is pretty mundane. Then a big fat black lady ruined everything by parking her massive rear end next to me. Squashed up against the window, I endured what seemed like an eternity of elbows and farts. I'm fairly sure it was her anyway. Once I arrived I Calgary I struggled over to the train station and got a train to Peter's. I managed to balls it all up and spent about half an hour more than I needed to, but I got there eventually. So far Peter, his sister and the other couch surfer here seem nice. Can't fucking remember their names though. I'm such a dick.

This morning I've lay and convinced myself I'm recovering from being so tired after 20+ hours on the bus. That is partly true, but I'm also struggling to work out what it is I want to do. Both short term, medium term and long term. My problem is I'm constantly looking ahead. The possibility of going to Banff is knocking around my mind, as well as what to do with my time here in Calgary (short term). B.C is just on the horizon. Heading south to California and then home in the new year. Whether James and Caleb will be up for travelling in March (medium). Do I want to go back to teaching when I'm done? That's a conversation that has cropped up quite a bit in discussions with people. I think I'm set on supply work to get a feel for if I want to get back into it full time. So I guess my long term plan is fine. 

Short term is what's pissing me off. I didn't come travelling to sit around doing nothing. However, what can I do with my time if there are no attractions that interest me? I will check out downtown tomorrow and Friday, but besides my aimless wandering there isn't much to do. That's why Banff is only a possibility. Do I really want to hike the trails? Yes. Will I be able to get there/stay there cheap? Doubt it.

Today Peter and I walked around the downtown area and he showed me some cool spots/new things. We went and got poutine which was delicious once again. He showed me the bakery he works at and nabbed us some free cupcakes. We walked along the river and through the downtown area to a huge second hand bookstore. The amount of books in there was staggering. I ended up buying one, even though I really should finish some of the books I already have before getting new ones. We got bubble tea in china town. It's a fruit flavoured beverage with tapioca balls at the bottom. I found it fairly disturbing but it seems to be quite popular here. We walked through more of downtown and around a mall. There was a tropical park... inside the mall. It was certainly different to see something like that in the middle of all the snow and freezing temperatures. We took the train back. I'm fairly sure, even with all the boring crap I've written, that is the dullest sentence I've written so far in the blog. 

Friday - I went to the mall to see if there are any Black Friday shoppers around. I know the majority of them get in early but it's always fascinating to watch people and such an event can't be passed up. Sadly it was just like any other day. I got some trousers, as I managed to tear a giant crotch hole into my only non-skinny jeans. I also got myself a natty new haircut as I was sick and tired of having a giant bowl of crap on top of my head. Peter and I hung out for a bit before his friend came over and we played some board games together with his sister and another couch surfer who turned up a bit later. She was German.

Saturday was a nice day. Peter had work but Alida, Maria and I went to the mall. It was around -20 out, so we didn't want to journey too far. We checked out more of the shops for a while before meeting Peter and heading home. Two new couch surfers turned up today. They're Aussies and have been travelling for quite a while. They are here to snowboard. Lucky bastards. However, they've spurred me on to doing it myself. I'll buy gear second hand and talk to people in Vancouver. There must be someone I stay with or at the hostel who can come with me. I'll persevere. 

Sunday - Maria left in the morning. The two Aussies left early to snowboard for the day. I went to the mall but it was too cold to explore further. Another couch surfer arrived that evening. She was a Chinese girl called Summer. She was here to study international business but missed the start of the course. She's travelling until the next semester starts in January. 

Monday I awoke with a banging headache and full of snot. I spent the morning feeling sorry for myself and then went shopping with Peter in the afternoon. We all hung out for a few hours before Peter and I helped the Aussies to their new host with all their boarding gear.

Tuesday saw me waking up a early and buying 200 dollars worth of snowboarding gear. This is happening! I will snowboard to the ball! The guy I bought the stuff from seemed really cool and chatted to me about the basics of boarding. He gave me a good discount and I later found out a decent deal (Ollie looked over my board and said it was OK). An hour later Ollie showed up and we set off towards Vancouver. We had a good start and swapped over just outside Calgary. That's right. I drove. What a fucking trip. I experienced my first view of the Rocky Mountains whilst driving myself towards B.C. It wasn't even as weird as I thought it would be. I've driven on the right in France but never in a left hand drive. Nothing remarkable about the drive beyond the astounding view. We got to Banff and stopped off for something to eat. Further along the road we got to lake Louise and took some tourist selfies. The ride didn't seem too long as we took turns driving. Eventually we got to Revelstoke and stopped off for some dinner at a cafe called 'la baguette'. The girls serving in there were very nice and chatty. Ollie's friend Theresa joined us in the cafe she'd suggested and we hung out chatting for a while. Eventually it was decided we'd stay the night at hers and snowboard the following day. Fuck. Yeah. I'll pay for a lesson and hopefully start a long and happy journey on the way to being competent at snowboarding. I am so unbelievably psyched it is unreal. We went to the pub for a few drinks with Theresa and her friends. It was alright, I chatted to a few people and watched some insane snowboarding videos being shown.

So Wednesday morning rolled round and we woke up early around 8. We packed our stuff into the car and headed up to the resort. It was only 5 minutes away. Ollie lent me a coat and some padding so all I needed was boots. I forgot my wallet so he had to pay for me, luckily he's such a cool guy and sorted me out plus some money for lunch! We popped into the cafe for a spot of breakfast and coffee. One of the girls from the previous la baguette was there!! How strange. 

There was only one other girl taking the lesson called Grace. We chatted whilst we learned some basics. It was incredibly fun. Our instructor, Singa? Singer?, was pretty hot... and lovely. It was a really enjoyable time and I've definitely found something I enjoy doing. Discussing plans etc with Grace she offered me a place of of stay for a little while as I mentioned I liked the town and wanted to take some more lessons. I thought it over for a while and then took decisive action. I phoned her up having taken her number, said I'd love to come by. Ollie took me there once we'd packed all out stuff up from Tree's. All the people living here seem really cool so far and there's a pretty Canadian girl who seems delightful. It's Thursday morning and I'm going snowboarding again. Booyah.

 

I've got soul but I'm not a soldier.

Hooooooly boop. It's been two weeks and I've forgotten many of the intricate details about my time here in Winnipeg. Also, I find writing down what I did daily has become fairly boring; I'll try to write down more of my ridiculous thoughts as they pop into my tiny mind as opposed to mundane daily events. Having said that, brushing my teeth this morning was frightfully exciting!

For the most part my time has been spent doing the usual mixture of meeting people, talking with them and learning from them. In the same way I loved Thunder Bay because of the people I met, so too have I loved Winnipeg because everyone has been so amazing. Both sets of hosts have been more than welcoming - I've felt so at home here, which is why it's so hard to leave. Let me just add before you read any further that I'm not a bad person. Promise!

 Last Sunday (9th) I sat around doing nothing much. Skyping, banking and watching a film. Nobody was home. Essentially I recovered from my ordeal the day before and sorted myself out.

On Monday we went to IKEA. That's right. IKEA. Just some oak, some pine and a handful of Norse men. It was a lot of fun because I got to chat to Marilyn and Thor about all sorts. I've really enjoyed discussing a variety of subjects with both of them and hearing about their lives. Thor seems to have a story for everything, and has done a fair bit of travelling in his life. I certainly feel like a more open minded person having spent time with them. Slightly less cynical. Just slightly.

Tuesday saw me heading out for a walk around the area. I went to Safeway to replace my toothbrush which had fallen on the floor. I figured one of life's necessities is a clean toothbrush that isn't covered in crud and oomska. I've spent very little, comparatively, since leaving Toronto so I allowed myself a treat.This was the first day I really experienced the start of the cold weather. It was only -6 or thereabouts but it took just 15 minutes outside before I turned tail and headed straight back inside.That evening we played Scrabble and taboo. I, of course, won both games. It's hard to be one of life's winners but I guess these positions need to be filled by someone. Hah. I would love for someone who didn't know me to read this one day - they'd think I'm such a conceited wanker. Which I'm not! Promise!

Wednesday was thrift shopping day. Huge charity shops full of weirdos and tons of stuff to look at. Like a loony bin with the odd diamond in the rough to pick up for a bargain. Smells like old people. I got a brand new hardback comic of Scott pilgrim vs.the world. Did hope to pick up an awesome coat but I couldn't find the type I wanted. It's all a game of chance in these places. 

The next day I took a bus downtown and checked out the shops. I walked around one block, then another, and continued until I found a mall. I ended up making a game of the skywalks. Since it's cold as balls here, they build their shopping centres into the basements of buildings or connect them with skywalks. I walked for as long as I possibly could staying inside the whole time. I managed to walk for half an hour until Marilyn messaged me explaining we were going for lunch with her friend Sam. Luckily I was in a noteworthy convention centre and was able to get a lift with them. Sam was from India and studying international business here. It was very interesting to hear about the cultural differences between us in the west and north India. Class is still very much recognised in daily life there and society in general sounds very different. He was great company. That evening I showed Marilyn and Thor 'Alan Partridge - Alpha Papa'. I think they liked it... they laughed so I'm guessing they can't have hated it.

On Friday I went to the forks to look around with Thor, Keira and Echo (Marilyn's daughters) and Meredith (a fellow surfer). It's a newish development right where the two rivers meet. There are craft shops, fresh food stuffs and other random shops inside a collection of buildings. We checked out an antique shop and some other shops before heading on home.

Swedish night was held that evening at Marilyn's and consisted of watching a film titled 'sweaty beards'. There were about 12-14 people there who are of Swedish descent. Plus Robin who was a German guy? Bit odd that. Everyone I met that night was really lovely, and I even gave my email to a lady named Laurel who's sister lives in Vancouver. She was very enthusiastic about couch surfing and said she'd pass my details on. No contact as of yet... early days.

I had such a wonderful time with Marilyn and her family. They were all such nice people it was difficult to leave. I feel as though I will keep overstaying my welcome if I stay with one host for too long just like Thunder Bay. This experience was far more enjoyable than Thunder Bay simply because it was my hosts who were so fantastic, not just their friends!

Saturday was the big move as I was going to Jon, Dale and Christa's. Meredith was also leaving Marilyn's that day so she very kindly agreed to drive me to their place. Unfortunately, the roads were being prepared for the Christmas parade, so we had a bit of an ordeal attempting to get to the right part of the street. Fuck you Santa. It's not even December yet! When we did finally get to our destination, Meredith needed to use the bathroom so we both headed up to the door. Locked! Christa told me it was unlocked! Meredith, the intrepid explorer, went round the back and to see if there was a door there. Christa let me in a while later and I began yelling to let Meredith know we could get in, to which Christa quickly replied 'she's already inside'. Sure enough, when I get upstairs, there is Meredith appearing from the bathroom. Decisive action seems to be the way to go these days if you want to get anything done! She was such a character. Meredith left shortly after and we all introduced ourselves. I believe we played some games that evening but I can't be sure. These guys are amazingly kind people who enjoy a good board game. I've learnt at least 7 new games whilst I've been here and there are probably more I've forgotten. There's a certain perception around board games as being nerdy, but I'd happily take an evening with these guys, or any other wonderful group of people, playing board games over going out to a club. Which is handy, since we spent a good few nights this week doing exactly that. I genuinely feel as though I've changed in the short amount of time spent around these three wonderful human beings. Anyway, let me continue with my boring tale before I start to write a poetry book about Jon, Dale and Christa in my blog.

There was another couch surfer who I met slightly later on staying here. His name was Brendan. He had travelled from Nova Scotia to Winnipeg in search of work. His initial plan was to head to Edmonton, but a chance encounter led to him applying through the union for a job here. He got it. Now he was apartment hunting. On Sunday we hung out and walked around the area a bit, checking out shops and such. Later on he found out that the apartment he had set his hopes on was no longer available, so he started checking for more. He called a lady and set up a viewing that very evening. He asked if I wanted to come along and I agreed - thus begins my considering the possibilities of just becoming a yes man through and through. We spent what must have been the better part of an hour trying to find this place on the outskirts of the city. It was farm land and country lanes. When we finally got there Brendan said, 'well I'm going to need a truck if I'm going to stay here'. As we pulled into the drive there was a truck in the drive, and Brendan said jokingly that he'd buy that one. We knocked on the door and his lovely soon-to-be landlady Lou showed us around. One of her sons was an artist as was she, so the place was filled with loads of original pieces of interesting art. Brendan's bachelor pad was incredible. The bathroom alone sold it. Jacuzzi tub, separate shower and marble decor. The bed was a sofa bed but could easily be replaced. The mattress was fine on it anyway. Lou asked if I thought it was good enough, to which I hastily replied 'oh nonononono I won't be using it!' I think I just give off a very gay vibe.

Brendan handed over a down payment there and then. Our last exchange was about how he would need a truck to commute. Sure enough Lou offers to sell him the one out front! He has got to be one of the most fortuitous people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. We grabbed Tim Hortons on the drive and then raced back to tell the others of our semi-adventure.

The following week was very enjoyable. Besides Monday, where I relaxed on the sofa watching boondock saints, Christa and I went out every day to do something different. In the evening of Monday we played some games and visited Christa's friends for a bit. On Tuesday we walked around checking out all the second hand bookstores nearby. That evening we went to a new board game cafe with a load of Dale, Christa and Jon's friends. It was very enjoyable and we played some great games. The girl sitting next to me did cause the 'bastard within me' to rise to the surface... but as I have said - I'm a changed man! Besides a slight roll of the eyes I did nothing. She began by saying we should look at the boxes of all the games and count the amount of females on them compared to men (and then tally up breast sizes). Brendan said, 'well it is a very sexual world we live in'. She responded with this gem,

'You say sexual, I say sexist'.

What a knobhead. We're all here to enjoy ourselves playing some games and chat. I really don't need you spouting your over the top equal rights crap in my ear. Go and look at all the board game boxes if you want. Better yet, tally up how many men there are on the boxes with huge muscles and chiselled jaw lines. Then we can pair all the ludicrously overtly sexual fictional characters off with each other, and the ugly ones can debate whether or not sexism is as big a problem as you think it is. I'll be at home not talking to you. Bore off.

Ahem...

The next day Christa and I walked around osbourne village. Which is just a street with a few 'hipster' shops on it. We returned to a shop I'd been in with Brendan to check out some nice shoes I'd seen and wanted to buy. No shoes?! They'd been stolen the DAY before. Just my luck. I really do need to shake this feeling that the world is conspiring against me though. It's becoming a problem.

We checked out the Manitoba legislature building (just a posh government building with hermetic masonry involved. No biggie.) I only had my crappy Canada phone with me so the photos are potato quality. Later that evening Christa went dumpster diving. Literally rooting around in garbage for products that are still OK but larger companies have tossed. An interesting pastime. Say what you like though, dumpster garlic and herb philly is delicious.

On Thursday we went to the Manitoba museum, just to explore the man and nature exhibits. It was interesting and a good way to pass the time.

Friday was an eventful day. Mmm yes. And such a polarity between events. We walked around some shops to get stuff for Christa and check out some more book stores. I made Banoffee pie. That evening we were going to a party for a guy's birthday. We hung out playing games and drinking beforehand then walked round to the bar/pub called cousins. We hung out and met some cool new people. I even made it onto Canadian Instagram... Brilliant. After cousins had emptied we walked round to a party being held for the birthday of someone else Dale knew. He is part of a band named royal canoe. They seem to be mildly famous around these parts, having had some radio play time. I spoke to a couple of guys from the band and they seemed really down to earth and humble. For a while I felt a bit awkward, roaming around between smoking and watching Dale play drunken ping pong. After a while I saw two girls standing chatting, one for whom I'd spoken to briefly earlier with Brendan near the record player. The other I had noticed earlier because she was so fit. Dale happened to be in the vicinity so I grabbed him and dragged him over as my in. "Hey this is Dale - he's the one who has all the awesome records!" Bam. Just like that I'm in. He wandered off but I kept chatting to them for a while. We got a drink, continued talking and so on. It got later and later, and I was left with the gorgeous girl to continue talking. At this point we were both fairly drunk... so I forget what we discussed in general. I think I accused her of being conceited at one point, as I'd told her she was beautiful and she agreed. We ended up getting a cab back to her place. Which turned out to be her parents place. She was 28 and had a kid. Who was upstairs. I knew some of this information earlier. Some. Not all. I am so terribly ashamed of myself San Diego. I'm not sure half assed anchorman quotes will even cut it here. The problem is, I'm sat here and all I can think about is how I forget to ask for her number. I think what actually happened in my tiny drunken mind was I figured I was leaving in two days and there would be no point in getting it, but it's genuinely eating me up. Admittedly, if I cared enough, I could walk to her house and politely ask for it... but I'm not sure that would be particularly well received. Either way, this is one of those times in life where it's hard not to regret a decision I've made. What's truly disgusting though; what will float around in my mindtank for days to come is the truth about why I really wanted to get some form of contact information. I know getting it wouldn't have led anywhere for a multitude of reasons, but, plain and simple, I wanted to have proof I'd slept with someone so incredibly good looking. Logical sense and reason is overshadowed by insanity. Thoughts like, 'perhaps she'd want to go on a date,' or, 'she'd be happy to see me turn up,' are beginning to piss me off as they are so friggin nonsensical. I hope that my honest disgust at myself will deflect some of your own hatred towards me. The act of simply writing it all down in itself has been relatively cathartic. I guess. The Killers 'all these things I've done' played whilst I was writing all of that out and it was eerily resonating with the subject matter.

On Saturday I was unable to wake up, possibly because I only got in at 6:30. I missed out on a Mennonite mens breakfast with Dale and Jon which annoyed me. I wanted to go badly but, on reflection, I cannot physically function on half an hour of sleep. I hung out with Christa, Dale and Jon going shopping and such until the evening when we went to Josiah's choir show. He is Christa's boyfriend. It was magnificent. Truly amazing. The choir was fantastic and sang some terrific songs. Although I have a short attention span concerning music, I concentrated very hard on not allowing my mind wander onto other ridiculous subjects. I'm pretty sure there was something that I'd thought of worth typing here, but apparently not since I can't think it anymore. I guess that's just a positive for Josiah's choir and not a negative for my stupid brain. 

So finally we reach where I am now. Yesterday I went for dinner at Marilyn's because she messaged me asking how I was getting on. We texted a while and arranged one last get together. It was lovely to see them again before I left. I had to get Jon to pick me up, as I said I'd take the bus, however when I got to Safeway to get some change it was closed. I felt terrible asking but it was either that or freeze to death walking home.

I've written everything up now and will be hopping on a bus to Calgary tonight. Hopefully I keep better track of my thoughts as I travel, otherwise there is little point in continuing this damned blog. 

Don't kill me? I ain't gunna kill ya, I need a sprinkle you onion.

I had to write this all down as I would end up waiting for more exciting things to happen and forget bits.

On Saturday I was resigned to leaving whether or not I had to pay for greyhound. I'd had some good times with Corey & co. but I needed to move on and away. The Friday night was great fun and just highlighted the dichotomy of my stay there. Not feeling comfortable anymore at the apartment because of Mariah whilst enjoying my time with Corey, Svetlana and Mike. We went to Mike's sister's house for a 'potluck'. Everyone brings a dish for dinner - simple. The people there were nice and talkative. Felt a bit awkward at times but just powered on through. Got talking to a nice, attractive girl whose name was Rose. She said she was leaving on Monday and could give me a lift to Winnipeg (so I always had a backup). Rose had also explained, along with Mike's sister, that I could have stayed there. Heartbreaking to only hear now as I was leaving that I could have potentially stayed two other places that week! Rose left fairly early, which was a damn shame. Corey later told me she had a moustache. I'd still have gone there.

Svetlana and Corey wanted to go to a different party and I followed, not wanting to repeat the mistake I made on Halloween. Corey kept telling me to just talk to people and not be so shy. Say things in my funny English accent and let the conversation flow. When we arrived we talked to a few people and I did my best. A very young looking Canadian girl was pretty intense. Up close and giving it the best English accent she could. Corey kept trying to egg me on but she just looked too young, even though he assured me she was OK. I had a good time and chatted to a guy I got a cig from. He didn't know anyone and had been dragged there by his girlfriend. I figured I was doing better than him and it was cold as balls outside, so I headed back in to chat to more people. Towards the end of the night Svetlana saw me on my phone and I explained I was talking to a possible ride share to Winnipeg. He hadn't replied in a while. She said I should just hitchhike. I scoffed at the idea... but it planted a seed. We left with two girls who had a car and dropped us all off which was nice. 

So Saturday was here and the rideshare hadn't contacted me. I got all my shit together, raided the recycling for a piece of cardboard to make a sign, and headed up to the highway to see if I could catch a ride to Winnipeg. Halfway there I realised that it was far colder than I had originally judged. The wind was making me want to cry. I got my coat, wooly hat and mittens on rather than freezing to death and carried on what seemed like an endless trudge to the highway. Once I got there, I dumped my stuff a little way down the highway and stood/shuffled about holding my sign. With my thumb raised and a smile on my face I gave myself 2 hours of this hell before returning home and finding out about that free ride on Monday with moustachioed Rose. I sang to myself for a while but realised that it probably looked as though I'd gone mental to those passing by. I stopped shortly after this realisation. About an hour and a half into my mental breakdown, a guy finally pulled over and said he'd be going through Winnipeg. Success! His name was Dan and he was heading north for work. I threw my bags into the truck and we headed off on our merry way. "You don't mind the smell of weed, right?" he asks as we pull away. Hmm...

It turns out Dan is an incredibly interesting fella. He smokes weed like it's going out of fashion and throws coffee down his throat in a similar manner. The conversation was actually really interesting, albeit slightly terrifying. He regaled me with stories from the past. His boxing, his martial arts, how he'd knocked this and that guy out with one punch. His drug dealing and abusive ex-wife (she abused substances, not him).

Not once, in spite of his smoking copious amounts of marijuana, did I feel unsafe with him driving us. Which I can assume sounds surprising. Even when he sat driving with his knees whilst rolling a joint. I guess his confidence led me to feel a sense of security in his abilities. The guy was very kind and well mannered. He gave me half of his Tim Hortons sub. He even offered me some of his own personal weed. That's the thing. Despite all his weed smoking, knee driving, violence filled stories of days gone by, conspiracy theories about the world leaders and our current dependence on capitalism, he was on the whole a kind, caring family man who has clearly made some poor choices in life and allowed his emotions to control him. He was passionate. As we came into  Winnipeg and got gps, he followed it to the address I'd given. However the gps on his phone was crap and took us everywhere but our destination. He eventually started getting pissed off and pulled into a 7-eleven. I figured this was a fairly reasonable time to part company and I thanked him for everything. He even took my number and said he'd get in contact with people from a sister-company who travel between Winnipeg and Calgary. 

I phoned Marilyn, my current host, and asked what bus I could take from my current location to get to her. She came and picked me up. She's lovely. 40 something, two kids, charming Swedish boyfriend and a lovely house. It's been a wonderful stay so far. And so ends the tale of how I hitchhiked and didn't get bumraped or die in a flaming pile of twisted metal on the highway.

Should I stay or should I go? Go. Please now let me go.

I've tried typing this out so many times and each time I try it gets deleted. It's all so incredibly boring I myself got bored of typing it, so I draft it but they don't save since I lose the internet. I'll try and make it nice and interesting to read... good luck.

Having left the coffee shop in Sudbury I walked up to the lakeside trail. There was a little park/gardens area so I had a little wander around. Unfortunately it must have rained the night before, as I ended up in a very soggy patch of grass at the bottom of a slope. Like a true Englishman, I carried on through as if nothing was amiss and plopped onto the path below. With a beautiful tide mark on my shoes, I headed off along the lakeside trail towards science north. The scenery was wonderful. The sun was shining and I had as much time as I wanted to meander along beside the lake. Science North, my destination, is a science centre based in Sudbury. It was conveniently located right beside the lakeside trail so I headed in to look around. Sorry Sudbury, but it was crap. I think my expectations might have been raised due to our earlier trip to the Ontario science centre. As I write this I'm struggling to think of things I found interesting. A whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling, a butterfly room, a Mars rover-style remote controlled car, some smelly native animals and the toilets. The toilets make it onto the list because I went for my first public poop since I was 8. A remarkable achievement I think you'll all agree.

Disappointed and relieved in equal measures, I headed back into Sudbury. On the way out from the little park/gardens area, I came across a dog with nobody in sight. It was a Doberman cross. I'm not afraid of dogs, but this thing was giving me the eye and had that 'I may attack' look about it. It made its way over to me and to my relief began wagging its tail. I patted it and went on my merry way, looking around for a person as I went. The dog's owner I did not find, but my pace was matched by a guy on rollerblades who struck up conversation. He was very polite and I think a bit autistic. We chatted about the differences between American and Canadian money and other mundane things. Once we hit a downhill road he zoomed off. 

I took the bus to the cinema and watched Fury. The comfortable chairs and excitement of watching this film really distracted me from the reality that I had gone to the cinema alone. And these chairs were fucking comfy. Plus the screen was huge. The film disappointed me somewhat but it wasn't terrible. Dave very kindly picked me up from the cinema and took me with him to an appointment, where I sat in the waiting room chatting to the lovely receptionist about my travels. Afterwards we went home to get some sleep, as I needed to be at the coach station by 7:15. Dave once again provided me with a lift to the bus terminal in the morning, without which I would have certainly missed my coach. Another great couchsurfing host.

The coach was a complete shitheap compared to the one I took from Toronto to Sudbury. No wifi & no chargers, so I was stuck alternating between sleep, reading my book and listening to music. The scenery was lovely, but trees and lakes can only interest anyone for so long. Also when the drivers switched, the new guy was a complete dickhead. He had an argument with one of the passengers up front and wouldn't let me do a wee at one of the stops. I had to wait til the next one; I may have done a poo at the science north but there's no way I'm using a coach toilet... for anything. Speaking of which, luckily everyone either had earphones in or was asleep, as I'm fairly sure I farted loud enough to wake myself up at one point.

So I arrive in Thunder Bay on Friday evening. It's so late I have to take a cab to Shandelle's apartment. She wants to go out with her friend so when I get there, we chat for a while and then they're off. I go to bed.

Saturday morning and Shandelle is at work, but her room mate Mariah is home. We chat for a while. She doesn't really seem very talkative... but she does have massive boobies. When Shandelle gets back she has her friend Corey with her. We all go out to grab some late breakfast downtown. This is a Saturday afternoon around 2pm and nothing is open. I don't just mean for breakfast, I mean nothing is open at all. We ended up in a hotel restaurant for food. Luckily the waitress was chatty and we got good service. The food wasn't great... but it seemed as though they catered mainly to pensioners. It smelt like old people in there. Corey and I have similar humour so we had a good laugh. We went out that evening and played pool. I told Mariah to come meet us at the bar and she said she'd meet me back at the apartment. Back we go, only to chat for 10 minutes and then head off to bed. How disappointing!

Sunday I went and played discgolf with Corey and his friend Mike who also seemed like a really decent guy. Discgolf is awesome; it's a cross between golf and frisbee. Very fun. I've already looked up courses in England. We went back to his and chilled for a bit before heading out to a different bar to play more pool.

Monday was a wasted day of watching parks and recs. In the evening Shandelle came back and played with photobooth on my iPad... the most eventful part of the day.

On Tuesday I walked around the downtown area to see if there was anything I had missed. There wasn't. I did manage to sample the Finnish pancakes I had been told were good. There is a large Finnish population here in Thunder Bay, and so there are saunas and other Finnish cultural buildings.

Annie, who hosted me for two nights, walked down with her dog to meet me at Shandelle's. She was very chatty and interesting, so we talked all the way back to hers. Quirky but comfortable, her house was quite near Corey's place. We went and got food at a local pub/bar. It was good. She was very interested in people. Just talking about people she had met and all the places she'd been. We went home and to sleep.

I couldn't be trusted to stay in her house, which wasn't a problem, so I went with her to walk the dog. We picked up hot drinks and walked for ages. When we got back we headed out to a different pancake place. I had too much... which is unfortunate because later on we went for a free unicycling session. It was great fun but hard work. I was sweating balls once the hour and a half was up. I'd managed to unicycle half of the hall we were in and of course look like a massive wanker the whole time. The guys running it were incredible and showed off some impressive stunts. Annie's friend came and picked us up and came back for a glass of wine. They carved pumpkins. Annie had been in an accident after which she found farts incredibly funny. I was happy to keep her entertained for the evening.

The following day saw me head back the Shandelle's thinking we were going out. We did not. On Friday Mariah dropped me off at the intercity mall and I grabbed some stuff for a costume. Being the savvy, sharp-minded geezer that I am, I managed to get items I could use again. A Clark Kent costume comprises of a superman T-shirt under a buttoned shirt and some glasses. Aside from the glasses, I can wear those items again. We went to a girl's house before heading downtown. It was disappointing to be honest... no prospects, no fun conversations with strangers. Just loud noise and jostling people. 

On Sunday I walked into town to visit Shandelle's shop. It wasn't really a shop...  it was a room above a tattoo parlour with some clothes in it. Obviously I didn't say that whilst I was in there, but it was almost funny how crap it was. There were some girls there from her uni course who took me to the coffee shop so I could use the internet. I stayed there a while then headed home. Corey came by with Svetlana and we went to play discgolf with Mike. That evening we went back to Mike's for dinner and to watch the leafs game. Leafs win!

Monday saw me do nothing much other than playing pool at shooters again with Corey; this time Mike joined us.

Tuesday I went to the college to see where Corey works, as he told me it's easier to explain if I'm there rather than just telling me. It was a production company, manufacturing parts for contract. The machines were cool and he explained how they work. Seeing how things are made can be fairly interesting. It does pose the conundrum of how the very first production machine was created. I suppose smaller machines build bigger machines, and the smallest machines are hang crafted?

We went to the cinema to watch maze runner. 5 dollars. Less than 3 quid to watch a film... luckily, since it wasn't very good.

I'm desperate to move on now to Winnipeg. If Winnipeg and Calgary are similar in experiences to Thunder Bay then I'll go to Vancouver pretty sharpish. My dream of learning to snowboard whilst volunteering has been smashed. I spoke to a very nice man from a ski resort who explained even volunteer positions require a visa. I guess I'll just have to find something else to fill my time there. I'm just moving from wifi to wifi, hoping a rideshare comes up. I'm leaving Saturday with or without a rideshare. 

#live#life#love#hipster#hashtag#irony

Tis Thursday 23rd of October. I am in Sudbury, Ontario. I am sat in a coffee shop sorting out my couchsurfing and possible ride shares to save some money. I'm beginning to realise this trip will end up costing me a fortune if I don't start saving. The coach fares are pretty reasonable but will still add up to hundreds by the end of the trip. I have contacted a guy about possibly ride sharing to Winnipeg from Thunder Bay. Hopefully it comes off as he's said he might go Sunday and I want to go Tuesday. Alternatively, he might be a serial killer and end up chopping me into lots of little chunks, freezing said chunks and using me to survive the harsh winter of 2014. More on paranoia later.

What's happened since Monday? On Tuesday Sarah began drinking at 2pm. I have decided she is a colossal cunt. Sorry to those of you offended. It's just she is a total fucking shitbag. I'm sure I sound ungrateful, as I mentioned to Dave (my current host), when I explain the tale.

So she had barely said a word all day. In fact, I don't think we've had an actual, meaningful conversation all week. And I tried. I was as cheerful and engaged as I could be... to begin with. She just didn't want to respond. So on Tuesday I just reciprocated the silence. She went in and out of her room simply to get more wine or use the bathroom. That was it. I sat on the couch watching TV and talking to Connie about the evening to come. She has a phone and nobody else does, so I was able to keep in contact about what our plans were. Joscelyn messaged me and said she was coming over. Well... sure. By the time she got to Sarah's, it was about 6 and I wanted to head to the hostel about 8/9. Joscelyn and I shared a cheeky kiss when Sarah was in her room but it was perfectly clear nothing would happen. I ate dinner with them but they kept going into Sarah's room, so I just got ready and said I was heading out. 

I asked Sarah to let me know when they were going to be back as I'd overheard them  making plans to head out. She then pipes up, asking how much I'll be giving her for staying. Groceries etc. What the actual fuck? I had previous offered 20 dollars. She asked me, 'so do you think that's fair?' I said sure but if she wanted more I could give her more. Now I was properly pissed off. I politely mentioned how I'd gone and got groceries and she hadn't asked for anything else besides the basics. Plus I'd bought drinks the other night and paid for the taxi home. She probably didn't remember belligerently stating that I could pay for it because I'd not paid for the groceries I'd used. SHE THEN PROCEEDED TO EXPLAIN HOW MUCH ACCOMMODATION WOULD HAVE COST ME FOR THE WEEK. Thunnnnnnnndercunt. If she thinks I have eaten more than I bought, fine. But I hadn't. If she thought I had not pulled my weight when we went out, fine. But I did (when Cy wasn't paying for everything). If she thought I should replace the few squeezes of shower gel I used, fine. But she didn't ask me to grab it from the shops. To offer me a place to stay and then turn around and quote me on accommodation costs for the week? Shit. Don't offer a free place to stay if you are going to begrudge me of my stay. Don't offer me a couch as a family friend and then take a huge steaming dump of bad manners all over it. Please, let me know if I'm being ungrateful. I appreciated her letting me stay but this was just the limit. Not to mention all my clothes now stink of fags. Thinking about it, during my time there I ate a box of cereal, a loaf of bread, half a pack of cheese, two apples, two portions of pasta and sauce plus some salad. I bought a carton of milk of which I used some, a new loaf of bread, a dozen eggs for her and a big bag of crisps. She ate half the crisps. Now I'll admit my grocery shop doesn't meet what I used perhaps, but 20 dollars would have covered the difference. And what else is there to pay for? Her wonderful company? Do one.

I just have one more thing to get off my chest before I continue with my tale. In fact the two are interwoven so bear with me. I got to the hostel and Shehab was waiting in the common room. Connie and Tami showed up and Juan shortly afterwards. We sung happy birthday to Connie and had cake. I had contacted Cy about good places to go but he ended up not responding after a while. Never mind, he's a busy guy. We went to a bar/club type place with karaoke. Oh good. I got the first round for Shehab as he was leaving tomorrow as well. We chatted for a while and Barry the Irishman had come along with his wife, so we were a fair crowd. Sarah phones me around 10 or 11 and asks if I have somewhere I can stay. What? Her boyfriend is staying over. What? WHAT? So not only do I not have a place to stay, but you made Joscelyn feel like she couldn't get with me by saying you like me. Even though you still considered John to be your boyfriend. Thunnnnnnnndercunnnnnnnnt (last one, promise). Juan got me a rum and coke having discussed the matter of staying with him, what a gent. Shehab got the next round and Barry got the three of us jaegerbombs. Time to karaoke! Juan, Shehab and I did that song which goes something like, 'ba da da da da da bamba'. I don't think that's the official title though. Barry did chasing cars by snow patrol. Not a bad pair of lungs. 

When the place emptied about 2ish, we headed back to the hostel and chatted for a while. We said our farewells to Shehab and he went to bed. Connie and I headed into the common room and Juan and Tami stayed in the foyer. I ended up staying with Connie. :)

Yesterday was fairly arduous. I woke up late and had to say goodbye swiftly. Goodbye kiss and cuddle then out the door and fast walk to the subway. I got to Sarah's, grabbed my stuff, dumped 40 dollars on the table and left with a courteous goodbye. I ended up making it to the coach station about an hour early. The journey was fine.  Slept for an hour or so and woke with a crick neck. I watched a ton of parks and recreations episodes and probably disturbed most people on the coach with my laughter. Love this show. Arrived on time and Dave picked me up from the terminal. He seems like a really nice guy so far. He gave me a quick driven tour of Sudbury. We then went and had gourmet pizza for dinner (see below, yes I did take a picture of my dinner,  I am that guy) and watched some extras on Netflix. I'm not sure he enjoyed it that much. Went to sleep on the comfiest thing I've slept on in weeks - a sofabed. 

Going to explore the town now. Science centre and beachfront walk. Hopefully catch 'fury' at the cinema later as well. Sorry for the rant. Ciao for now.

Go to response: laughter

What the actual fuck is happening?!

It's Friday today as I write this. God knows when I'll be able to publish it as there is still no internet in this hole. Don't get me wrong; the apartment is nice. It's just it stinks of fags and has no internet ever. There aren't any big windows to open to get some air in here. 

So what's happened since I last wrote here...

I went out with Connie the argentinian girl. We walked around the eaton centre for an long while and chatted. I bought some cologne (the cheap-ass marks and spencer's one that came free with my wash bag smelt like dad). Afterwards we went and got a burger at jack actors. What an expensive day. I don't even like her that much. She's just a nice girl to hang out with. I'm not saying the money was wasted... that would be horrible. Just stating it was expensive. I did originally organise to go see the new brad Pitt film 'fury' with her. I'd have gone on my own I want to see it so bad, but I thought why not invite company. More on that later.

Yesterday was Thursday and was absolutely mental. Probably the weirdest and best night I've had in a very very long time. In the day Sarah and I went downtown. I changed my coach ticket to Wednesday and we walked along the beach front. She's so fucking awkward. On the subway she purposely sits so I can't sit next to her. What does she think I'm going to do? I don't actually like her that much anymore, after realising she's a total nut job. She walks about 1000 miles an hour and never responds to my questions or wit. We had lunch and went home. She went and sat in her room. A while later she comes out and announces her friend is coming over and I'm welcome to join them. I said that'd be great but I wouldn't intrude if she didn't want me there. Her friend arrives and they go straight into Sarah's room for about an hour. I sat and watched parks and recs on my own. Pretty mundane and anticlimactic evening.

In comes a hurricane of insanity. Total fucking chaos. They've come out and are pouring red wine down me like it's going out of fashion. We're chatting about teaching as it turns out Sarah's friend Joscelyn is a teacher too. And she's fit as a fiddle. Sarah manages to get us round to this guy Cy's place. It's insane. Huge apartment. Loads of cool shit. Now we're on the vodka cranberries. Joscelyn is all over me like cream and jam. She's telling me how much she like me but can't do anything because Sarah said she likes me too. I just laugh hysterically like Sock from Reaper. Cy then arranges for us to go to a little bar downtown. We hang out there for a while. I continue conversing with Joscelyn and meet an actor from Montreal. He's doing a new McDonald's advert... keep your eyes peeled. What a sell-out. Cy pays for everything and is so cool about it as well. Must remember to get his number from Sarah. Edit - got his number and messaged him a lovely message. No reply. Dickhead.

When were back at Sarah's Joscelyn and I sneak a few cheeky kisses in whilst Sarah goes to the bathroom or her room. I figure she is just jealous and doesn't actually like me. If you like me why do you ignore me most of the time and act weird when you're not? It's not as if she was even giving any kind of subtle hints. What a psycho. I genuinely think if I get off with Joscelyn, Sarah will burn my stuff.

Update - it's Monday now and I got internet at the appartment finally. 

Saturday was pretty hardcore having already drunk ourselves silly on Thursday. Joscelyn came over after Sarah had gone to a wedding. We drank a nice big bottle of wine together and fooled around. Sarah kept saying she was/wasn't coming home so we were afraid to do anything. I could weep at the thought of it.

We set out to go to Joscelyn's place. She is, however, taking us to meet Sarah. Treacherous fiend! Now I don't know what to think. We've literally crashed a wedding. It's a little awkward. We end up chatting to people and it's fine. Lots of drunk people. I fork out an extortionate amount for 3 beers. We all head back to Sarah's but Joscelyn stays with Sarah and I go to sleep. Noooooooooooooooo.

Nothing happened Sunday I just moped about. Went to the shops and skyped from starbucks.

 Today I went and met up with Shehab and Juan. We got coffee (hot chocolate for me!) and chatted for a couple of hours. Then we headed back to the hostel. Connie and her sister joined us for some card games. She was in a terrible mood. We went and got subway. I think we're going out tomorrow for a farewell and happy birthday for Shehab and Connie respectively. 

I don't know whether to laugh some more or cry. Tomorrow is a new day I suppose.

So close so far

I know I updated yesterday but I'm just chilling in front of the TV and thought I'd write about today.

This morning I packed up my stuff and walked from Bens to Sarah's (stopping off at Casa Loma to wait for her). It was very muggy and I was sweating like a fat girl's thighs as she heads for the cake stand. We got here and I took a shower. You know those really unsatisfying showers when you're on holiday or it's very hot? You can't cool off after and just end up all sweaty and uncomfortable just like before? No? Just me? Fuck my life. 

We went for a walk and checked out a local shopping mall style place. They all seem to be underground in the city. 

I headed to Starbucks and Sarah headed to work. I sat for a while on whatsapp and Facebook messenger. Juan said he'd come and meet me in 10 minutes. 50 minutes later he turned up and we went to the hostel to get Shehab. Argentina 1&2 showed up too. We went and got some more drinks and took them back to the hostel where we played bullshit until 11. I'm going to invite Argentina out tomorrow. I have nothing better to do, right? This is from Friday.

I went home on the subway. Got home and counselled Sarah on her relationship. She's definitely a bit mental.

Thanksgiving

Yesterday was Sunday 12th October. Today is Monday 13th. Thanksgiving for Canadians. Everything is closed and it's a bank holiday.

Yesterday Ben went to work all day so I sat around on the iPad sending out more requests and relaxing after Friday/Saturday shenanigans. 

We went for dim sum with a couple of guys Ben knew through c.s. One was a friend of someone he had hosted and the other was that guy's colleague. Anatol and Clemence. Food was ok but I can't use chopsticks to save my life. Asked for a fork.

Afterwards we went to a place called 'Castle'. It's a coffeeshop/cafe where they have a ton of board games and you play them... obviously.

We played cards against humanity. Very amusing. 

Saboteur. Would be amazing with more than 4 people but it was ok. 

Flux. This game is the shit. Easy to play and really engaging. Definitely enjoyed that the most.

Today we went and grabbed some lunch from Korea town. Just before, we watched Scott pilgrim. This is because a majority of the film was shot in there area. I saw lots of different places which were used as film sets but I forgot my camera. 

Must make a mental note: I no longer have a sister around to take photos of stuff for me. 

We later went for dinner with a Korean guy who is travelling using couchsurfing. He had apparently been without money for the past 12 days, relying on people giving him lifts and handouts. I have to say I admired his bravery. 19 years old and travelling in a foreign country with little English. It was a bit awkward because they spoke Korean for quite a bit since, as I said, had little English. I had a very filling dumpling soup.

After dinner we headed to another board games cafe. It was good because we played games that didn't rely on much talking. Strategy and reaction based games. It was a good laugh.

Tomorrow I am leaving Ben and heading to stay with Sarah for a bit. Hope her couch is comfy!

Been texting Argentina as well so maybe I'll have something to do instead of lying around sending couchsurfing requests. 

The next guy I'm staying with looks like a real sweetheart; I can't wait to see his caravan. He mentioned something about only having one bed but I'm sure he just means he only has one SPARE bed... right?

Friday night fever

Soooo it's Saturday night now. On Thursday I spent a lot of time sending out couch surfing requests for further along in my journey. We played pool I think? I can't remember what day we played but I think it was Thursday. I can't really remember what I did Thursday.

Yesterday I left the hostel and walked (check it on a map) from widmer street in downtown Toronto all the way to 93 spadina road. When I got there I was sweating balls. I had a jumper and my big coat on because it's too fucking big to carry on top of my massive backpack and smaller pack I strap to my front. I'd managed to sweat through the jumper. Next level disgusting.

I met Ben who I'm staying with. He seems like a genuinely nice guy. His previous surfer had messaged me not to stay, as he had made sexual advances towards him. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and heard his side of the story. He tried to snuggle with him one night. I think I can handle that... if not I'll just run screaming. We went for sushi and it was pretty nice. Beef teriyaki with sushi and there's lots of little bits and pieces with it. 

Yesterday evening marked the beginning of my travelling adventures, in the sense that I had an my amazing time. I took the subway back to downtown and met up with Shehab and Juan at the hostel. We went and got a bottle of sailor Jerrys and took it back with some coca cola. The Argentinian girls and a Korean girl joined us when we were drinking, and later a Japanese guy and girl showed up too. 

We got pizza, fags and headed round the corner to a nightclub. Tenner to get in. 25 dollars spent all night. I'm drunk and fed. We were up on the platform in no time dancing badly to bad music. Stopped a guy trying to fight Shehab. Did some dancy dancy with Argentina. We all headed back to the hostel and hung out in the common room until about 4. By now it's far too late to get home as the subway stops running at 1:30. Sooooo I just stayed with Argentina. We played baseball. Only got to second... plenty more time though.

This morning I took the subway into Union and met Pam. We went to st Lawrence market and the distillery district. It's a pedestrianised area of the city which is all independent food and clothing shops. It's very small and... indy? We had a nice lunch. Mexican chorizo sandwich. Here I am suffering from the night before and my lovely lunch. 

Headed back up here to Ben's and we've just chilled this evening. Got some indian food and watch English comedy shows. 

Thanksgiving tomorrow so we'll get pizza pizza! Haha.

Edit/update: I'm fairly sure blogger is not uploading everything I write or edits I make. I remember writing certain things only for them not to be published... The plot thickens.

Leafs suck

Not what the title leads you to expect, although as I write this very sentence I form in my mind another moment from today causing it to be of great relevance.

No headache today, Wednesday, so I went on a little excursion. I can't remember what I did yesterday so it can't have been very exciting. Perhaps it never happened. Oh I went to the supermarket and bought some food. That's right, I managed to turn a trip to the supermarket into a day. My entire day was my trip to the supermarket. What a spastic I am. Admittedly, it was a fairly productive evening on the whole 'try talking to people instead of being a miserable c**t your whole life' front. (Bleeped it out for you :p.)

I was reading my book when Caroline and Stewart (the British) came in and we chatted for a good while. She's lovely. 

(As a side note, this blog is a horrible and terrible beast that will one day come back to rip my insides out. As I continue to mention more and more attractive girls from my actual life, the chance of catastrophe increases. It's not as though I'm mentioning, in passing, a famous actress or something. That's normally acceptable. But to continue to comment on all these real people? Someone is going to end up seeing this and thinking I'm a right pervert. You lot are ok, you already know me. But god forbid someone who thinks I'm normal eyes this crap.)

So we ended up all cooking our pasta dinners together. I know right, I done a cooking. It was literally just:

pasta

Tomato and basil sauce

I though 'fuck, slow down, basil?' Don't run before you can walk. 

No in all seriousness, it was actually alright. 

We went back to the room and watched ted. I fucking hate that feeling when you're watching a film and the people with you don't laugh at funny parts. It literally hurt to hold in my laughs. I had to ease them out slowly whenever they laughed, like a huge fart you're worried will blow a wall out. You let it out a parp at a time, ever slightly reducing that incredible pain in your stomach.

I got Caroline's Facebook and told them I'd be around next Friday if they're about for a drink/meal. I now have to find a way to stay around next Friday. For more context, they left this morning to go to Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec and then back to Toronto for Friday.

Finally back to today, which was my original thought train. I went for my little trip around Toronto looking for the air Canada centre to check out the leafs store. That's the hockey team. I walked for a good 3 hours today I would guess. I left around twelve, found the air Canada centre around 2 I think and didn't stop walking until I got back. I really wanted a sweater in the style of a hockey jersey... but they had none I liked. On the way back I got attacked by a leafstorm as it got windier and windier. Once home I popped out and got a subway. That doesn't count as junk food so you can all do one.

I got in and read some more of my book. I began thinking about how yet another day was wasted on inactivity based on interactivity (oh yeah), when Shehab (formerly known as ash) comes in and says he heard about some event. I had already been told by Mike about it and wandered around it earlier whilst roaming the city. The road had been closed and stalls set up. The screens and nf stage were set up in the square itself called Dundas square on the corner of Yonge and Dundas.

"They're showing the first Toronto maple leafs hockey game on big screens"  I said.

"Wanna go?"

"Sure," I reply casually. Now my philosophy so far in life has been 'sit on yer arse and it will come to you'. I really wanted to change that mindset when travelling to meet new people. Hadn't put much effort in though... my old mindset appears to be working fine though.

We headed down there and it was packed. Managed to grab free oh Henry! bar (what a name) and free scarves! I love free stuff. Free hat? Sure it looks shit, but it's free. Free. 

We got caught in a scrum of people and stood for a while until less patient people just started barging through. Everyone just started moving again and we ended up in Dundas square at quite a good spot to view the biggest screen. All I could think of was chief wiggums', "the harder you push the faster we all get out people."

We watched the maple leafs vs. Montreal canadiens on big screens. Saw a band play during one of the breaks. I think they were called the tragically hip. They were a bit country rock. Leafs lost.

We got Burger King (damn it -.- ) and went back to the hostel. I went down to the kitchen and caught Juan speaking Spanish to two Argentinian girls. We chatted for a while and eventually Juan left. I made my excuse and followed suit. Nevertheless, I have done what before had seemed like a distant dream; I interacted with people outside of my room for longer than 5 minutes.

Leafs suck. So do leaves. Goodnight.

Hostel

Have you seen the film hostel? Me neither. Apparently I don't want to.

Got here on the train yesterday. Tried to make a hyperlapse of the journey but I dropped my iPad so it didn't really work very well. Also you could see the lens in the window reflection so it was fairly poor. 

I got in and met my room mates. A spaniard named Juan, an Israeli named Omri (I think), two Brits who I've completely forgotten the names of and an Italian named Ash (I think).

I talked to Juan for a while and found out he was here to study English. He chose Canada because he wanted to reduce the chances of meeting anyone who spoke Spanish. I thought that was pretty intelligent. The Brits turned up a bit later whilst Juan was asleep. They are nice and easy to talk to. The brother has come over for two weeks and the sister is travelling to Vancouver and the west coast after he has flown home. I've not really spoken to the other two.

Sarah, who is (wait for it) mike's cousins husbands sister, came out with us for a few drinks. It was a nice enough evening. I got a headache though. The others went back to the hostel earlier whilst Sarah and I stayed out to listen to a live jazz band. She proceeded to tell me about a guy she had just started dating and showing me the texts she'd sent him. Fuck right off.

Today I woke up with a slamming headache. I managed to crawl out of bed and grab some shitty pancakes and a cup of tea. I went back to the room and lay down with my platypus water bottle draped across my head. Eventually I got hungry enough to go and grab some food. I headed over to yonge street, the longest street in the world, and just wandered along for a while looking for something that took my fancy. I ended up stopping for a pizza. On the way home I gave the last two slices to a homeless guy. I didn't really feel any better about myself but he was probably grateful. 

*Edit* Also, as I failed to mention when I first published this, the hobo who accepted my kind offer of lukewarm food was not the first I encountered. Oh no. The first was my original target standing just outside the shop. He said no thanks when I offered him two slices. Turns out beggars really can be choosers the ungrateful prick. 

Some strange lady tried giving me a little star sticker, 'for all the handsome ones'. I thought you can fuck right off, giving me that schpiel and then forcing your disease ridden sticker upon my person.

I'm now sat in the lounge type area typing this out. I'm not really sure how to engage any of the people here in conversation, so I figure I'll just browse reddit and occasionally glance around. I need a poo as well. God help me. There was a smoking hot German girl here a while ago but she left with her friend. I think I love her. 

The most depressing place on earth - guess before reading?

Im not writing what day it is anymore because I can't remember.

Yesterday we went to the Toronto zoo. Zoos by their very nature should be educational and beneficial for sustaining dwindling wildlife populations. I get that. But the sad truth is these places are so miserable when you stand and watch these poor animals pacing up and down. Tigers, lynx, grizzly bears and other animals just gazing off beyond their enclosures whilst they trudge along the perimeter. An otter which has clearly gone mad. Lethargic cheetahs and polar bears lying so still I'd be surprised if they weren't drugged. Some arsehole goading the animals trying to get them to move/perform. This place was soul destroying. Cool to see certain animals in the flesh, but not at this cost. Perhaps my face belies my true feelings.

We went for a lovely meal at a restaurant/bistro nearby. Tasty steak.

Today we went to Montanas for a farewell lunch for mum. Delicious chorizo flatbread. This was after heading over to the farm once again to unblock the culverts as the beavers had dammed them up once again. Mike, angel and I all working hard.

Go Gens Go!

I thought I had posted this already but it disappeared so I've reposted.

Day 10

In the afternoon today Patty and Nick had family round for a gathering. They do it a few times a year and on major holidays. It was a bit weird... bit awkward. Everyone was very nice though. Lots of people asked me about my trip and where/how I was travelling. It was an incredibly hot day and I ended up sweating balls without realising it. I'd been slow roasting myself on a sun lounger. 

In the evening we went to the first home game of the Oshawa Generals. It was excellent. All you could ask from a hockey game. Fast paced action, 4-0 to the Generals, a fight and delicious refreshment after the second third. Brilliant atmosphere there. We watched the 'immortalisation' ceremony of John Tavares, as his number was retired as a mark of respect for his achievements. He's the same age as me which is a bit of a downer. Did get a bit boring after a while but I guess it was cool to be there to witness something like that.

Science

Day 11

Today we went to the science museum of Ontario. It was incredibly fun! In fact ,we had so much fun that we ran out of time to go to the zoo.

There was tons of interactive stuff to do - something I can't really see happening in England... but perhaps I've just not been to the science museum for a long time.

Glue guns and scissors around a weird craft table upon which you are challenged to make shoes or hats.

Paper litters the floor around a huge air chute in which you place the folded paper to float down. Similarly around the paper aeroplane area.

Mike and I competed on a number of fun activities such as rowing (win), pedal race (win) and heart pumping (win). I guess it wasn't fair of me to not mention I am the best at everything. I let him win on the stupid space car thing.

Once we'd left ,we did originally head over to the zoo but realised we'd run out of time. Instead we went to the Oshawa centre, grabbed some lunch at the food court and then went shopping. I was a man on a mission. New pants so I can chuck all the shitty old ones out. They aren't literally shitty, just don't fit.

New jumpers so I can send the ones I brought with me back with mum.

Portable speaker (Sorry Han, didn't have the heart to tell you I forgot the one you gave me).

Blue jays cap.