So it begins

Nuttin'

Published Date : April 16, 2004

It has been a bit of a struggle adjusting to being back at work this week.  It’s amazing how quickly you get used to not working!  They’re finally sorting out my work contract after about a month and a half, so I’ll be getting paid for the Stat holidays and the two extra days I took off over Easter.  Excellent!  And now I can actually work some overtime and start saving my money in a big way.  I’ve fallen off the saving wagon a bit lately.  It’s most definitely time to climb back on!

6 months and counting

Published Date : April 22, 2004

Exactly 6 months from today I’ll be starting my journey with Phoenix Expeditions through the Middle East, Africa and and hopefully SE Asia (money permitting!) on my way to Australia.  It will be time to go before I know it, which means I really need to start saving my pennies.  I’m going to need about £7000-7500 for this little adventure and I’m only at about £2000 so far.  The good news is that I’m earning more than I thought I would under my new contract, and I’ve got twice the holiday time I was expecting, so I’ll get paid out more when I leave.  The bad news, that’s also really good, is that I’ll be doing a couple more weekend breaks over the next 6 months and they’re going eat into the funds.  The weekend breaks are a necessity though.  They’re the only way I’ll survive the next 6 months!

My parents are coming over next month for a couple of weeks.  I’ll be seeing them for a weekend in London, then they’re going up to Scotland for a tour, and I’ll be meeting up with them again in Glasgow for a weekend in June.  It will have been just under a year since I last saw them.  It doesn’t seem like that long at all.  They’re also going to be bringing me over some of my clothes and things I’ll need in Africa, as well as a digital camera.  I found one that I like, Pentax Optio S40 (brand new – only been on the market for 2 weeks!), and it’s almost £100 cheaper for my parents to buy it in Vancouver than it would be for me to buy it here.

I’m going to try and get into a medical trial in June/July to give me a quick £1000+.  I’m also thinking about going for a weekend in Paris around that time.  Gray and I have both been there before, but only for a couple of days between us.  It would be nice to get over and see all the things neither of us got to see on our last visits.  We’ll see if that one happens or not.

There are no definitive plans at the moment though.  We’ll maybe do some trips around the English countryside if we get the chance.  Otherwise we’ve just been keeping ourselves entertained doing a few London Walks, a company that offers cheap, guided walking tours in/around London.  They’ve all been great so far.  You get out walking and seeing the sites and learn a bit of history while you’re at it.

Getting organized

Published Date : April 29, 2004

Another month draws to a close.  Things are starting to come together.

I started the odyssey of booking my flights a couple of days ago.  I submitted my itinerary to AirTreks and now I’m waiting for them to get back to me to start confirming dates and prices.  Based on their online TripPlanner, for the ridiculously cheap price of US$1550 I get all this:

London, England
fly
Ljubljana, Slovenia (yeah, try and pronounce that one!)
fly
Istanbul, Turkey
overland
Johannesburg, South Africa
fly
Port Louis, Mauritius
fly
Singapore
overland
Bangkok, Thailand
fly
Bali, Indonesia
fly
Darwin, Australia

For some reason by adding the stop in Slovenia, the price dropped by US$150 – makes no sense to me, but I’ll take it!

My contract is completely finalized at work now, so I’ll be looking into getting all my free vaccinations from occupational health.  That will save me about £200.  Once I’ve got my vaccinations and travel insurance sorted I can make the final payment to Phoenix Expeditions.  Then it’s just a downhill slide from there, nothing to do but make the most of my last couple of months in London and save as much money as I possibly can.  Five and a half months and counting…

Goodbyes and Gossip

Published Date : May 5, 2004

Last Sunday was Dougal’s going away party back at Olave House.  He’s off to Prague, Germany, and a few other places for a month or so.  The party was actually supposed to be at The Richmond (big surprise there!) but it ended up migrating to the back garden of the hostel instead.  It was a pretty good night overall.  I got to catch up with a few people, check out the old digs.  Every time I go back to that place the happier I am that I left!  Nothing has changed at all.  All the same people still parked in the lounge vegged out in front of the TV in a haze of cigarette smoke when it’s sunny and gorgeous outside. Actually it’s not all the same people.  Sam left and went to Spain.  I’m very happy to hear that.  He was miserable in London.  Hopefully his new environment agrees with him.

What I really don’t miss is the gossip.  10 minutes after I walked in the door, the text messages were already flying.  Apparently I wasn’t as happy to see some people as they thought I should be.  The meaningful looks were being exchanged before I even made it out of the room.  The text messages were hitting the airwaves pretty soon after that.  That’s the thing about text messages – it’s so easy to send them to the wrong person if you’re not paying attention to what you’re doing.  I’m not fussed though.  If their lives are that boring that they need to get their excitement talking about me, I’m more than happy to oblige them.  Means I’m actually doing something worth talking about doesn’t it?

Gray and I went and saw another play last Saturday, Bullie’s House, a story about Australian Aborigines living on a mission in the outback.  It was a very good story, entertaining and educational.   We went to the Women’s FA Cup final on Monday.  Excellent game; Arsenal won 3-0 over Charlton Athletic.  The weather was absolutely miserable, but the stands were covered so it was all good.  The best part was that it only cost £1.  Yeah you read that right.  £1 for an FA Cup final!  Imagine paying that for the mens games!

I’m still waiting to hear back about my flights.  It was only supposed to take 2-3 days and it has been over a week now.  I’ve sent two emails and phoned once, but still no reply.  I don’t know what’s happening there because they’re usually pretty good about replying.  It would be nice to have some sort of an answer since my entire trip is hanging on these flights.