Mission Failure aka Boooooooo

So I’m currently writing this on my computer in my room, at home, back in Mandurah, Western Australia. It’s been over a week since I left London to return home, after failing to find work within a reasonable timeframe before my funds became non-existent. I had been to London before on a holiday with my parents back in 2005, and had clearly forgotten just how expensive the city, let alone the rest of the UK, is. I was fortunate enough to stay with a friend on my arrival in the megacity for a couple of weeks, giving me time to settle in, adjust to the tempremental weather, and to try to get some resumes out and around, mostly looking at bar work or other retail jobs. The rest of the plan was to then rent out a room in a share flat/house, then use whatever remaining funds to get around Europe and the rest of the UK over the summer and autumn periods, while experiencing what life would be like in another country.

It wasn’t until after about two weeks into the search that I came to the sudden realisation that my funds would not carry me on much longer. After eventually moving on from my friends hospitality and back into hostels while still trying to find work, I realised that while I had plenty of money stockpiled, it was nowhere near enough to survive in London alone. With the combined expenses of hostel accommodation, food, and the ridiculously expensive transport, my money would only take me so far before I would only have enough to survive and not much more to live. It also didn’t help that the money I spent in Japan was the money I didn’t have to keep me going in London, although that said I would never had skipped Japan for anything in the world, having had such an amazing time there. An expensive and expansive city, London seemed to be characterised (money wise) by its unusual sets of priorities. Essentials such as rent, food and bills were painfully expensive, far more that what you would expect in Australia, yet non-essential items such as alcohol (come on, let’s be serious here), DVD’s, CD’s, video games etc were significantly cheaper. It was frustrating that such things were the way they were, if only because I, like many others, were simply trying to live and earn, and not just exist.

I had blanketed half of the city with resumes in a number of different jobs and places, but to no avail. Often the case was that there was about 200+ applicants per job and only a small few who had the attitude, experience and ability to do it up to their standards. I also doesn’t help being an overseas worker, as it makes far more sense for an employer to hire someone from the UK, or at least a country that’s a part of the European Union, particularly during these difficult economic times. Perhaps it was because back at home I was still living at my parents (no rent) and already with gaurenteed work that I failed to notice just how bad the Economic Crisis is, particularly in the UK, who is argueably suffering the worst of the fallout. All in all, it meant that things were not going my way.

So after a considerable amount of deliberation, I decided to bite the bullet and admit defeat. After spending a frustrating amount of time trying to change my pre-booked flight from the end of the year to much sooner, I eventually made my way home, but not before going north to Edinburgh to see some more friends who were also doing the working holiday scheme. Back in London, I caught a flight back home, tail between my legs, now anxious to return back to my ‘normal’ life in my boring old home town. By a pure stroke of luck, my parents, who were on their way to California and Canada for a holiday, were also in Sydney at the same time as me, giving me an oppertunity to catch up with them and have days rest before flying back to Perth the next day. Arriving at 6am Sydney time after more that 22 hours flying with only 4 hours sleep, not to mention loosing an entire day due to the time difference, I solidered on through the day before finally passing out at 8pm watching TV in a hotel room. The next day I lazily awoke before going back to the airport to return home.

Which brings me back to here. Even now I feel a sense of loss having missed out on the oppertunity of a lifetime to experience all of  the UK and Europe. Instead I spent a few weeks feeling the full force of the Economic Crisis and, in a small way, what I must mean for thousands of unemployed individuals trying to survive. At the very least, it gave me some perspective about how fortunate I was at home to have work and a stable life, and would better prepare me for when I return.

That’s right, I plan to go back to the UK next year to find work and complete the rest of my mission, only this time I’ll be ready. Or so I hope. Either way, it seems stupid to waste the money and time I spent trying to get a work permit of the UK and not use it. So in the words of Scar from the Lion King, Be Prepared! Only I’m not trying to kill the leader of a pride of lions. Just trying to find some work and getting some money to travel.

Note to self; prepare for everything as well, including writing for this blog.

A Quick Note…

Apparently it hasnt been explained properly that is blog is, as a matter of fact, always behind schedule. It always annoys me when a website that I enjoy doesnt update on time, or as frequently as I would like, however it looks like Im going to be just as bad. Apologies for those who frequent this website, however I make no promises to how often, or when, youll see this website with new posts.

Right now Im working on my blog about Kyoto, however it should be noted that my first day there was on April 27th. In other words, this blog is currently 2 weeks behind the times, but I did (honestly) spend about 2 days worth of trying to update the hell out of this thing.

As a result, Im going to try to remember to put in the dates of the days blogged so that you fine people know when Ive been to these places. You can also then look at the date of the post and marvel at how inconsistent my updates are.

That about rounds it off folks. I will keep this blog updated, however as to how up-to-date it will be remains to be seen. Stay tuned!

Preparation…

After a couple of boozy nights out in Mandurah and catching up with friends, I now come another step closer to my little adventure overseas. On Tuesday I’ll be leaving to go on the experience of a lifetime, and frankly, I can’t wait. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous, especially considering my first destination is a country with a very different language to English. Oh sure, they say the Japanese youth learn English at school, but if it was anything like when I was learning some of their language during school, practical application is a whole other story.

Also, I lie when I say my first destination is Japan. In fact, my first flight is to Sydney, from which I then get a flight to Hong Kong. Say what? Yep, that’s right, Hong Kong. Unfortunately flights directly to Japan were difficult to obtain because we were using frequent flyer points, which limited our choices of destinations. Even better, one-way flights out of Japan to London was going to cost a phenomenal $8000 AUD. You really have to ask yourself what the hell is going on when something like that happens.

So instead, the easiest way was to fly to Hong Kong for a month layover, from which I would then take a return flight to Japan, before then going back to Hong Kong to go to London. Which it’s certainly a more convoluted way to do things, the fact is that it was cheaper, and when you’re trying to save money, it’s worth it.

So now after months of preparation and organisation, I’m finally nearly on my way. Now nursing a wonderful hangover, it’s time to do my last minute planning before making the final voyage. I will miss my friends and family, and frankly I wouldn’t be anything without them. But at the same time, the bonds I have made with these people go beyond the boundaries of land and sea. And space.

Anyway, it’s about time I started to do some final organising. How awesome would it be to forget my passport?

….I don’t even want to think about it.

And hey, look, a test photo to see if my flickr account is working!

These are my friends pretending there is a bench, when there isn’t.

L-R: Chris, Ellen, Luke, Sandy and Matt

The Beginning!

Hello, and welcome to the start of my personal blog.

I’m assuming that if you’re reading this, you actually know who I am and have some vague interest in what I’m doing. If not, whatever, it’s a free world. Either way, the point of this website is to have somewhere to write down my thoughts, feelings, and other assorted bullsh*t that most normal people don’t want to listen to. A personal website, after all, is mostly a self-indulgent outlet for someone’s opinion and experiences, which I intend to use liberally.

So what sort of experiences? For those who don’t know, I’m about to head off from my hometown of Mandurah, Western Australia, to go on my own little adventure around the world. Starting next week, I’ll be flying to Japan for a month holiday, travelling from Tokyo all the way to Nagasaki and back. Afterwards, I spend a few nights in Hong Kong before finally making my way to London, which I plan to use as a base to get to the rest of Europe. The fun part will be looking for work in the UK, especially at a time where the unemployment rate is through the roof for most first world countries. Either way, it’s an experience I’m looking forward to.

With only less than a week left in Australia, most of my spare time is going to be spent doing last minute organising, catching up with friends and family, and making sure everything is all prepared. Oh yeah, and drinking significantly large sums of alcohol.

So for now, look forward to updates about my travels. A fantastic way to waste five minutes of your life! Or less depending on how often I update. Don’t hold your breath.