Happy 11:11:11 11/11/11!
Showing posts with label coincidence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coincidence. Show all posts
Friday, November 11, 2011
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Pictures are worth... making up for not posting?!?
Well I don't have the internet very often! So it's not easy!
But here's a quick snapshot of what I've been up to these last few weeks...
I was filmed for channel 5 and the BBC...
It was a travel show around some of Europe's more eccetric locations. I got to be in it at a monkey sanctuary where I had been volunteering. I think they're going to make it look like there is an ostrich there who's in love with me!
This is a garden that I've landscaped for fun and profit out in Connemara. This isn't the best picture of what I've done but it's better because it's got the mountain in the back!
And this is me enjoying one of the 3 new toilet plungers I've recently purchaised, so that I might juggle them!
But now I have to go to a VIP concert down at the docks. I won tickets on a radio show Fiona signed me up for! The band is from Dublin and are called Aslan. I have no idea who they are, but food and drink is provided!!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Yesterday
I had wanted to leave the 'farm' yesterday, hitchhike into Koblenz and then catch a train to Hamburg in order to chance a meeting with a friend who said they could host me. I figured I'd find a way to get in touch with them so no biggy if I had nothing really arranged ahead of time.
I arrived in Koblenz (after a free bus ride and 1 car) and the weather was wonderful! Sunny and warm in a way not typical of October 23rd! I was feeling good so I went to a shop and got my watch battery replaced (the one that controls the 'globlu' function, because as it turned out my watch has 3 batteries.) and grab a kebab for a quick lunch outside the train station.
That's where things went wrong.
A ticket to Hamburg was €80. I decided screw it I'll head straight to Berlin. But that would cost me €100. So now I have a dilemma the likes of which can only be sorted with the help of the Internet. So that's where I went, a cafe just outside the Hauptbahnhof to search for cheaper bus lines and to ask for a ride share. I found nothing. So I talked to the Moroccans outside (this is when it's good to know a little French even in Germany) who told me I should go to the homeless shelter for 1 night and then try to get a ticket tomorrow.
I didn't do that.
Instead I went back to the station to see when the next 'cheap' train fare would be available. Turns out if I waited until Sunday I could get to Berlin for only €64. Still far more than I was expecting if I wanted this rate I would have to buy the ticket at some point before 8pm that night. So I had some thinking to do. I posted some last minute requests on Couch Surfing and now I had to play the waiting game.
I'd been told Cologne had more and cheaper hostels but the Internet revealed that this was a lie. So I did what any traveller in my situation would do. I bought some cheap beer and sat on a park bench.
Behind me there was a skate shop\record shop that I thought might be nice to check out, so I finished me beer and took a walk inside. I looked around, and on my way out asked if the store clerk (a 24 year old named Geronimo) if he knew of any hostels in Koblenz. Turns out there is only one and it's €18 a night. But he said he'd let me use the Internet at his shop if I wanted!
It was while surfing the net here that I got a call from a CS host who said she could host me, but not until the following evening. So now I had to find a place for tonight. The search was one and I was diligently running through all of my options when Geronimo politely informed me that he was closing the shop. I was screwed, but Geronimo told me to wait a moment while he made a phone call. Homeless himself he had nowhere he could let me crash, but after a phone call to his boss he assured me I would not be out on the street, I could in fact crash in his store's back room where he would be spending the night.
Crisis averted I went back to the station to buy my €64 ticket at which point I was told I could go to Berlin for a mere €25 if I didn't mind taking the slow train and having the 6 hour trip stretch into an 11 hour trek. I didn't mind and so with ticket in hand, I set off to the Circus Maximus to buy a burger and relax.
6 hours after arriving in a strange city without anywhere to stay and no idea where I was going or what was going to happen to me the Universe once again smiled upon me and I was spared a chilly evening on the banks of the Rhine.
I arrived in Koblenz (after a free bus ride and 1 car) and the weather was wonderful! Sunny and warm in a way not typical of October 23rd! I was feeling good so I went to a shop and got my watch battery replaced (the one that controls the 'globlu' function, because as it turned out my watch has 3 batteries.) and grab a kebab for a quick lunch outside the train station.
That's where things went wrong.
A ticket to Hamburg was €80. I decided screw it I'll head straight to Berlin. But that would cost me €100. So now I have a dilemma the likes of which can only be sorted with the help of the Internet. So that's where I went, a cafe just outside the Hauptbahnhof to search for cheaper bus lines and to ask for a ride share. I found nothing. So I talked to the Moroccans outside (this is when it's good to know a little French even in Germany) who told me I should go to the homeless shelter for 1 night and then try to get a ticket tomorrow.
I didn't do that.
Instead I went back to the station to see when the next 'cheap' train fare would be available. Turns out if I waited until Sunday I could get to Berlin for only €64. Still far more than I was expecting if I wanted this rate I would have to buy the ticket at some point before 8pm that night. So I had some thinking to do. I posted some last minute requests on Couch Surfing and now I had to play the waiting game.
I'd been told Cologne had more and cheaper hostels but the Internet revealed that this was a lie. So I did what any traveller in my situation would do. I bought some cheap beer and sat on a park bench.
Behind me there was a skate shop\record shop that I thought might be nice to check out, so I finished me beer and took a walk inside. I looked around, and on my way out asked if the store clerk (a 24 year old named Geronimo) if he knew of any hostels in Koblenz. Turns out there is only one and it's €18 a night. But he said he'd let me use the Internet at his shop if I wanted!
It was while surfing the net here that I got a call from a CS host who said she could host me, but not until the following evening. So now I had to find a place for tonight. The search was one and I was diligently running through all of my options when Geronimo politely informed me that he was closing the shop. I was screwed, but Geronimo told me to wait a moment while he made a phone call. Homeless himself he had nowhere he could let me crash, but after a phone call to his boss he assured me I would not be out on the street, I could in fact crash in his store's back room where he would be spending the night.
Crisis averted I went back to the station to buy my €64 ticket at which point I was told I could go to Berlin for a mere €25 if I didn't mind taking the slow train and having the 6 hour trip stretch into an 11 hour trek. I didn't mind and so with ticket in hand, I set off to the Circus Maximus to buy a burger and relax.
6 hours after arriving in a strange city without anywhere to stay and no idea where I was going or what was going to happen to me the Universe once again smiled upon me and I was spared a chilly evening on the banks of the Rhine.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Good thing we didn't tear the universe!
The physical manifestation of my constant struggle with my inner child.Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Canada IS a great country!
Yesterday I got roped into moving my brother out of University. Not normally a tragedy in any sense but I had other plans I was eager to get to so this mammoth move (it took us almost 12 hours to get everything loaded and the flat tidied up) I was ready to get home and then head back out.
This didn’t exactly happen as on our drive home the right wheel of the trailer behind the van decided to lock up and we had to pull over.
No matter what we tried (we drove both forwards AND backwards!!) We couldn’t seem to make this stubborn wheel turn, so we were just resigning ourselves to our fate and getting ready for a long walk to the closest phone when a friendly stranger and good Samaritan (both the same person) pulled over in their pickup truck and lent us his phone to call for a tow truck. As it turned out this helpful gentleman happened to hail from Caistor Centre and only a hop, skip and a jump (and perhaps a final lunge) from where I’m situated. We only chatted briefly but during this time I excused my appalling geographical knowledge of the area by saying that I’d been away for a long time and was just coming back.
After we’d called the truck and our new pal had driven off we were all sitting in the van chatting about how fortunate we’d been to have him stop, when who should come driving back towards us but the man himself. He got out of his truck and walked up to us and said something along the lines of . . .
“As I was driving away I was thinking. You said you just got back, and that probably meant you don’t have a job yet. Do you want a job?”
I of course accepted, shook hands and exchanged information before he headed off again. It’s a landscaping position which is good because I’ll get to be outside, doing different stuff all the time, getting to travel to different areas, and it pays well enough that I’ll be able to save up some money during the work season and then bugger off again once the season turns.
Cha Ching!
This didn’t exactly happen as on our drive home the right wheel of the trailer behind the van decided to lock up and we had to pull over.
No matter what we tried (we drove both forwards AND backwards!!) We couldn’t seem to make this stubborn wheel turn, so we were just resigning ourselves to our fate and getting ready for a long walk to the closest phone when a friendly stranger and good Samaritan (both the same person) pulled over in their pickup truck and lent us his phone to call for a tow truck. As it turned out this helpful gentleman happened to hail from Caistor Centre and only a hop, skip and a jump (and perhaps a final lunge) from where I’m situated. We only chatted briefly but during this time I excused my appalling geographical knowledge of the area by saying that I’d been away for a long time and was just coming back.
After we’d called the truck and our new pal had driven off we were all sitting in the van chatting about how fortunate we’d been to have him stop, when who should come driving back towards us but the man himself. He got out of his truck and walked up to us and said something along the lines of . . .
“As I was driving away I was thinking. You said you just got back, and that probably meant you don’t have a job yet. Do you want a job?”
I of course accepted, shook hands and exchanged information before he headed off again. It’s a landscaping position which is good because I’ll get to be outside, doing different stuff all the time, getting to travel to different areas, and it pays well enough that I’ll be able to save up some money during the work season and then bugger off again once the season turns.
Cha Ching!
Monday, February 11, 2008
Still alive.
I'm still alive and kicking.
I tried to post something on my blog yesterday, from this very computer but timed out. Then today, when I came back HOURS later I sat at the same computer. I turned on said computer and executed the firefox program. At this point I was presented with the choice to either open a new session or restart the old one. I selected restart because I'm a curious bastard and guess what popped up?
My blog, logged in, ready to post a new entry.
Good thing I checked it or someone else might have had a bit of fun at my expence!
I tried to post something on my blog yesterday, from this very computer but timed out. Then today, when I came back HOURS later I sat at the same computer. I turned on said computer and executed the firefox program. At this point I was presented with the choice to either open a new session or restart the old one. I selected restart because I'm a curious bastard and guess what popped up?
My blog, logged in, ready to post a new entry.
Good thing I checked it or someone else might have had a bit of fun at my expence!
Friday, August 03, 2007
Unrelated events call for unrelated images.
Last night Martin (the German who's now leaving my in charge of his flat in Dublin while he goes on vacation to Albania) and I went to see a free outdoor screening of the movie Totsti about South African thugs. It was fantastic, if you ever get the opportunity, watch it. If you never get the opportunity, get off your ass and make it happen, it's a good film.Immediately following that I walked into the street and some Spanish woman looked at me and said 'red'. I responded with 'Huh? . . . Wha . . ? Are you talking to me?' Then things went more or less like this . . .
Spanish Woman: You have red hair.
Confused Grayson: Yes, that's right, I do.
Spanish Woman: I want to have a baby with red hair.
At this point she puts her arm around mine and starts walking beside me in the direction of the closest pub. Within the next few steps she starts telling me about Spain and asks me if I know it well. I confessed that I didn't know Spain very well at all, and also that I was Canadian. Upon hearing that I wasn't Irish, she unlinked our arms and the whirlwind romance was over. Martin and I continued on to a different pub, and the Spanish folk (although they did still invite us to join them) continued in the direction they were originally heading.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Galway City
Traveling is really all about flexibility. You make plans, and then they change.
Well, Galway has changed my plans for a while. I wasn't even going to visit the city when I was planning my trip in Canada, but I'm glad I did. I've got friends around town now, a flat to live in, a way to earn a couple of euros and I'm having a ball. I've been here a week already and now (Thanks to Shabudabu and her sister's friends) I've got a flat to stay in for the next 10 nights.
I felt a bit guilty though, so I'm sharing the place with an Italian guy I met in the hostel. He is a funny funny man. Today we walked around and ended up in a sea side casino/amusement hall. We were feeding 5 cent pieces into a machine, and we ended up winning some silly colouring sheets and some markers to go with them. I'm going to give one of mine to Karol's (The Shabudabu contact) daughter, just to be nice. The other one I might colour and try to sell it to some tourist on the street. We'll see how it goes.
Where I am in Salthill there is a sandy beach less than 5 minutes walk from my front door. There are mountains in the backgrounds, palm trees, and sailing ships on the horizon. The Australians, Italians, and Floridians have all been taking the piss out of it, but I think it's fantastic! The weather here has been wonderful, and I'm all tanned up. You'd have no idea I was in Ireland.
Last night was your man Jarod's last night in Ireland before he went to London and then back to Australia, so we had a bit of a piss up. We snuck into a nightclub after drinking some Buckfast (a drink brewed by monks as a cure for constipation) some Polish vodka and some beers. It was grand. People here are REALLY friendly and even if you have no plans, and you're out by yourself you'll have a fantastic time. I've been to parties on rooftops, dance offs in the streets, drinking beers by the Spanish Arch 'till 6am when the Guarda came to chase everyone off.
It's been a pretty wild week, and I'm having a blast. I have to return someone's bike I borrowed yesterday because I was so far away from where I was staying. I only met the people that night and already they're giving me their bikes and buying me wine and Gyro burgers.
Anyway, as you can tell, there are TOO many stories to post here but rest assured, since my arrival in Glaway, the craic has been mighty.
Well, Galway has changed my plans for a while. I wasn't even going to visit the city when I was planning my trip in Canada, but I'm glad I did. I've got friends around town now, a flat to live in, a way to earn a couple of euros and I'm having a ball. I've been here a week already and now (Thanks to Shabudabu and her sister's friends) I've got a flat to stay in for the next 10 nights.
I felt a bit guilty though, so I'm sharing the place with an Italian guy I met in the hostel. He is a funny funny man. Today we walked around and ended up in a sea side casino/amusement hall. We were feeding 5 cent pieces into a machine, and we ended up winning some silly colouring sheets and some markers to go with them. I'm going to give one of mine to Karol's (The Shabudabu contact) daughter, just to be nice. The other one I might colour and try to sell it to some tourist on the street. We'll see how it goes.
Where I am in Salthill there is a sandy beach less than 5 minutes walk from my front door. There are mountains in the backgrounds, palm trees, and sailing ships on the horizon. The Australians, Italians, and Floridians have all been taking the piss out of it, but I think it's fantastic! The weather here has been wonderful, and I'm all tanned up. You'd have no idea I was in Ireland.
Last night was your man Jarod's last night in Ireland before he went to London and then back to Australia, so we had a bit of a piss up. We snuck into a nightclub after drinking some Buckfast (a drink brewed by monks as a cure for constipation) some Polish vodka and some beers. It was grand. People here are REALLY friendly and even if you have no plans, and you're out by yourself you'll have a fantastic time. I've been to parties on rooftops, dance offs in the streets, drinking beers by the Spanish Arch 'till 6am when the Guarda came to chase everyone off.
It's been a pretty wild week, and I'm having a blast. I have to return someone's bike I borrowed yesterday because I was so far away from where I was staying. I only met the people that night and already they're giving me their bikes and buying me wine and Gyro burgers.
Anyway, as you can tell, there are TOO many stories to post here but rest assured, since my arrival in Glaway, the craic has been mighty.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Aujourd'hui
The day started out at 5:10am.
I woke up, got ready, went to work, started work and was in the process of not really enjoying myself when I found something. Someone was throwing out a figure of a really cool looking green monster. I decided it was too good to pass up so I took it. Then a few streets over someone was throwing out a tiny red guitar. I took it and gave it to my monster. I can’t find my digital camera at the moment but when I do you’ll see just how awesome he really is!
Following that things just got great! I found ANOTHER scooter, a Canadian flag, an English flag, a German flag and a plant holder made of sea shells, bamboo and old coconut shells (kind of ugly, but in the best possible way!)
But wait! It gets better!
So then I’m picking up this guy’s garbage, and he comes over and asks me if he can throw out a bunch of lawn stuff as well. That would put him over his limit so he went to talk to my driver. APPARENTLY he bribed the driver with 4 cans of Guinness! What’s even better is that my driver didn’t like Guinness so he gave them all to me!!!
Then we sat at the dump for an hour and the day was over.
I woke up, got ready, went to work, started work and was in the process of not really enjoying myself when I found something. Someone was throwing out a figure of a really cool looking green monster. I decided it was too good to pass up so I took it. Then a few streets over someone was throwing out a tiny red guitar. I took it and gave it to my monster. I can’t find my digital camera at the moment but when I do you’ll see just how awesome he really is!
Following that things just got great! I found ANOTHER scooter, a Canadian flag, an English flag, a German flag and a plant holder made of sea shells, bamboo and old coconut shells (kind of ugly, but in the best possible way!)
But wait! It gets better!
So then I’m picking up this guy’s garbage, and he comes over and asks me if he can throw out a bunch of lawn stuff as well. That would put him over his limit so he went to talk to my driver. APPARENTLY he bribed the driver with 4 cans of Guinness! What’s even better is that my driver didn’t like Guinness so he gave them all to me!!!
Then we sat at the dump for an hour and the day was over.
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