Long time no update

10 days is plenty enough time. In 10 days nations were conquered, seeds ripened, people change.

Just come back from the local pub, feeling like drunken laddies after a few pints with the mates.

Work has been an all-consuming all-powerful entity in my life, like a drug addiction. Its like my whole life-force is centered around it. What do you have to show after working so hard? Beside personal vindication and maybe some extra cash in your back pocket you've literally wasted yourslef away doing something seemingly worthless.

Whats the difference between and porsche and a porcupine?

With a porcupine, the pricks are on the outside.

So, I started gymming. Something I've abhored for many years thinking gym is for jocks and self-centered pricks. Granted there are many pricks that do gym, but it made me realise just how unfit I really am. I remember at school PE periods being able to easily do 10 pull-ups and outgunning the rugby tossers who packed on so much weight they could barely do one pull-up. Now I can barely do one - that will change.

Having Gareth around is great motivation. We spend about 3 days a week at the local Gold's Gym with our complimentary tickets doing some aerobic and weight training. I feel like such a weed at times, barely being able to bench-press 20 kilograms in 15 sets. But then I think about how I was such a n00b at Tribes 2, and that with persistence even the greenest of n00bs can become flybois. :D This one is for you Jian :)

So, its been focusing on the week, eating well, gymming often and having a positive outlook on life.

Work has been total crap actually. I successfully managed to step on the head-UI-developer's toes by suggesting an update to his IDK with my new markup example. Well, I thought I'd never seen pride in the office but this guy was just not interested in any improvements to his little project. So be it ignoramus - - your loss. Now I'm slaying bugs, a great warrior with shiny silver armour and a maiden to rescue. Granted, she's a tired old wench but she puts out better than those skanky londonium whores. Together, Patriot and I have seen the four corners of the earth, stared death in its hollow face and cut his nose off with a giant cleaver. Fear me.

Otherwise, I'm looking forward to a weekend spent in Boston for the first time since arriving here. We've sorta planned to go visit Six Flags New England and maybe go catch a Red Sox game. The countryside around here is amazing, just pine, spruce and maple forests for as long as the eye can see. Definately worth a sojourn or two.

The trip to New York City

So we decided to go see one of Gareth's friends in Queens, New York, New York. After 3-4 hours driving we arrived and were toally lost. New York is HUGE. Gareth's friend Gareth Gareth was drunk when we approached NYC, the very man to give us directions. I just laughed.

After 1 aand half hours of driving in circles we managed to reach our intended destination, Gareth was getting tense. I just smiled.

So we had a few beers, and Gareth had a few more. I was merry enough to still have my wits about me when it was time to leave for a good-nights-sleep. There we were, 5 of us, limping and laughing back home, feeling tired after a day of work and driving. On our way home we learnt of the quality of street-shopping, as many new yorkers throw stuff out onto the street that is worth quite a bit of tom. Low and behold, a king-size mattress was on our route, to any half-drunk person yearning for a few zees it was manna from heaven. But there had to be a reason it was out on the street.

The next morning we woke to tea, cereal and an itenerary any newcomer to new york would plan. We took the subway to Grand Central station and amazed ourselves under the huge dome. Truly grand. I spent about 10 minutes in a sports-store (10 minutes is a lot for a man in any store) looking for a hockey jersey for Neill (oops, did I mention Neill? My bad! :D) From there we walked through to Times Square and some jaw-dropping times. Times Square is amazing, the hub of New York, its almagamtion of culture and melting pot of races. After a few photos and seeing the steaming cup of noodles we walked up to the Empire State Building.

An hour spent in queues is quite good for the Empire State Building. It was an overcast day, but our fears of poor visibility were put aside when we reached the top to see a panaroma of concrete and steel. Visibility was 15 miles, enough to see all the rivers on all sides and the many bridges that spanned them. No cent is spared in America when it comes to hurdling an obstacle such as a 200m wide river. After many happy snaps and feeling like a total tourist we left for an epic pub-crawling-adventure the likes of which I'd never imagined. In the end we were stopping off at pubs just to take a leak and therefore have another beer. I felt like one of the manne. After a stop-off at one of the more dodgy strip-clubs and walking for miles to get something to eat our journey truly ended when we met up with the girls and a few other mates to go have an evening in the Gotham Comedy Club. A select set of comedians were presnting a stand-up dig in front of a select group of people, and we were invited. For some reason, these guys and gals were actually funny! (This week, I noticed 2 of the comedians on TV - these are not small time comics). We lef the show with sore stomach muscles and grins imprinted on our faces.

After sleeping in a bit the next morning, overcoming the tenderness perpetrated by a drinking hang-over, we set off for Paragon Sports, the biggest sports store I've ever seen. (A recurring theme here folks, everything here in the States is just bigger and better than anywhere else). Gareth bought some fancy new climbing boots for his trip to the Andes at the end of the year.

On our return joruney we stopped off at a Denny's and finally had a semi-decent restaurant meal. Avoid McDonalds and Burger King - nasty stuff.

10 days later?

Gareth is still scratching at his bed-bug-bites from that infested mattress. Theres a lesson here: If someone throws a mattress onto the street in New York, and in your drunken state you want to use it, forget it. Gareth looks like he's got hives its so bad. I still laugh.

Till the next update. I'm so tired I'm squinting.

A traveller.

Feet blistered from many a mile, face scorched from sunshine. To know the road is to know yourself. Out here in the blistering heat you only have your own mind to talk to, its like a drunken brawl trying to persuade your psyche to wake up and see the tar for what it is, black, lifeless, something beneath your feet. Yet you plod on, left right, links regs. The travelling is not about the pacing towards the end of the road, its about seeing everything on the way and learning about it. Learning more about yourself.

The weather can be harsh, or pleasant. The road can be steep, or flat. (Steep represents downhill too.) Each step is a step forward, a journey each one of us should take, often neglected.

An oracle.