I talked to a guy the other day in Antigua who told me he liked the idea of liking on the road than the actual book itself, which I found quite sad.
Obviously it is not a conventional book and as such does not follow a standard narrative structure, and I think this is why some people find it hard to read. The stream of consciousness style that Kerouac would use is in my opinion quite innovative for it's day (even for these days) as well as suitable for for content of the book, that being travel.
Life isn't broken up into chapters, it's a constant flow and I think the book accurately portrays that, my thoughts on it anyway. The themes resonated with me a lot as I spent time on farms in North America and really felt many of the same things Kerouac did, I think every solo traveller does.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
It's funny
The things that infuriated me when I first arrived don't bother me as much now, in a scary way they even seem normal. I guess I accept things for what they are now rather than fight the unwinnable battle, this can only be a good thing and is actually a really good life skill.
At the end of the day I see the positives of this experience and don't worry as much about the small stuff. I think shovelling shit and working on a farm has humbled me a bit and adjusted my attitude to what it needed to be to survive here. It still does frustrates me that no matter how hard I try the chance of getting design job will still be incredibly slim. I think if anything I wished I knew what I know now so I wouldn't have wasted so much time and money.
I guess this is the problem with undertaking a working holiday when you are in your late twenties and a bit more establised in your career, it becomes harder to go back to the jobs you did when you were 20 as you feel you've been there, done that and moved beyond on to bigger and better things. I never wanted to be the 27 year old guy waiting tables or working in a retail store.
To put things in perspective though you are not your job, your clothes, etc (insert fight club reference). I'm here to experience this beautiful continent, expand my horizons and meet new people. If I have to shovel a bit of shit in order to do that it's a small price to pay.
At the end of the day I see the positives of this experience and don't worry as much about the small stuff. I think shovelling shit and working on a farm has humbled me a bit and adjusted my attitude to what it needed to be to survive here. It still does frustrates me that no matter how hard I try the chance of getting design job will still be incredibly slim. I think if anything I wished I knew what I know now so I wouldn't have wasted so much time and money.
I guess this is the problem with undertaking a working holiday when you are in your late twenties and a bit more establised in your career, it becomes harder to go back to the jobs you did when you were 20 as you feel you've been there, done that and moved beyond on to bigger and better things. I never wanted to be the 27 year old guy waiting tables or working in a retail store.
To put things in perspective though you are not your job, your clothes, etc (insert fight club reference). I'm here to experience this beautiful continent, expand my horizons and meet new people. If I have to shovel a bit of shit in order to do that it's a small price to pay.
Feeling a bit worn out
Woofing is tiring. It'd be really nice to get some paid work, at least something indoors. Getting a place to live and a job would allow me to build up a social life here which is the only thing I really feel I lack at the moment. Woofing means my status is always somewhat transient, it's a bit like backpacking but you meet fewer people.
I think mentally I wasn't in a good place when I first got here, I didn't adjust very well to life on the road at first, and I definitely had to eat some humble pie and face the reality of what my employment situation would be like. I knew this before I came but I think the reality took a while to sink in.
I think at the moment my attitude is I really don't give a fuck if I get work here or not, I've done almost everything I wanted to do in BC and if I get a job that's great, but I don't want to piss away the rest of my money trying to find work here. The time spent not earning money is the only thing that concerns me, only because of the cost of living is so high here.
I'd much rather spend it seeing California and Mexico. That's how I feel about the whole thing now anyway. I think I care less and less about having to go back to Australia, if I did I'm sure I'd have enough money left over to move to Melbourne and I know enough people there I'm sure I could get design work (would actually have a chance at finding work instead of battling against this Canadians before foreigners headache).
The way I see it now is woofing allows me to stretch my money further and gives me the flexibility to move around, and that's good enough for me at this stage.
Will be interesting to see where I end up in 3 months time. I think in retrospect a job placement would have been really good when I arrived. It would have given me the stability and peace of mind I needed when I first arrived, it also would have saved me some cash even if it cost an extra $500 through the agency.
I think mentally I wasn't in a good place when I first got here, I didn't adjust very well to life on the road at first, and I definitely had to eat some humble pie and face the reality of what my employment situation would be like. I knew this before I came but I think the reality took a while to sink in.
I think at the moment my attitude is I really don't give a fuck if I get work here or not, I've done almost everything I wanted to do in BC and if I get a job that's great, but I don't want to piss away the rest of my money trying to find work here. The time spent not earning money is the only thing that concerns me, only because of the cost of living is so high here.
I'd much rather spend it seeing California and Mexico. That's how I feel about the whole thing now anyway. I think I care less and less about having to go back to Australia, if I did I'm sure I'd have enough money left over to move to Melbourne and I know enough people there I'm sure I could get design work (would actually have a chance at finding work instead of battling against this Canadians before foreigners headache).
The way I see it now is woofing allows me to stretch my money further and gives me the flexibility to move around, and that's good enough for me at this stage.
Will be interesting to see where I end up in 3 months time. I think in retrospect a job placement would have been really good when I arrived. It would have given me the stability and peace of mind I needed when I first arrived, it also would have saved me some cash even if it cost an extra $500 through the agency.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
5 Things I learned from Commando (1985)
1. If you are Arnie bullets bounce off/miraculously miss you
2. Jumping shirtless through glass windows or smashing them with bare fists never results in any cuts or gashes
3. All bad guys have handlebar moustaches and have terrible aim
4. Machine guns have infinite bullets, handguns run out of ammo just in time for fistycuffs
5.The most effective way not to be seen is to run around with no shirt on wearing body paint firing a machine gun wildly
2. Jumping shirtless through glass windows or smashing them with bare fists never results in any cuts or gashes
3. All bad guys have handlebar moustaches and have terrible aim
4. Machine guns have infinite bullets, handguns run out of ammo just in time for fistycuffs
5.The most effective way not to be seen is to run around with no shirt on wearing body paint firing a machine gun wildly
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Things I've done so far
1. Worked on an organic vineyard
2. Went to a Canadian rodeo
3. Stayed in a log cabin near a lake, saw mounted animals
4. Drove a tractor, lawn mower, and ATV
5. Saw Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise, Kelowna
6. Saw a bear in the wild
7. Went to a bar where you throw the peanut shells on the ground
8. Hitch hiked to San Francisco
more to come later
2. Went to a Canadian rodeo
3. Stayed in a log cabin near a lake, saw mounted animals
4. Drove a tractor, lawn mower, and ATV
5. Saw Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise, Kelowna
6. Saw a bear in the wild
7. Went to a bar where you throw the peanut shells on the ground
8. Hitch hiked to San Francisco
more to come later
Currently woofing on a vineyard
Interesting and good experience, but I need to figure out what I'm doing next :)
Thursday, July 8, 2010
6 Annoying things about Canada
1. Probably the only continent that doesn't use the far superior metric system. Oh and measurements vary too (US vs Canadian gallon) and they sometimes decide to use metric just for kicks. There are also 2 differnt kinds of pints. Make up your fucking mind Canada, either use metric or don't.
2. Many people here don't 'get' dry/sarcastic humor or irony.
3. They have their own 'special' paper system (I think the people who came up with it were a bit special). Hey let's ignore the beautiful ISO 216 based on the fibonnaci sequence the rest of the world uses and implement parochial archaic measurement systems.
4. The hidden cost of everything, no wonder people hate advertisers. Coffee is 1.60 + gst + pst + tip = 2.10 = Fucking bullshit.
5. Tipping, it's bullshit plain and simple. Tipping means more attractive employees (particularly attractive females) will get earn more money, additionally it also means employers can weasel out of paying people a proper wage and results in passive aggressive behaviour when you don't tip (or don't tip much). Personally I think it's kind of retarded to let customers evaluate wait staff on their service and pay them accordingly.
6. High cost of living, comically low wages. Minimum wage in Vancouver (one of the most expensive cities in the world) is 8.00 an hour. How the fuck does the government and more importantly the people allow this to be so?
2. Many people here don't 'get' dry/sarcastic humor or irony.
3. They have their own 'special' paper system (I think the people who came up with it were a bit special). Hey let's ignore the beautiful ISO 216 based on the fibonnaci sequence the rest of the world uses and implement parochial archaic measurement systems.
4. The hidden cost of everything, no wonder people hate advertisers. Coffee is 1.60 + gst + pst + tip = 2.10 = Fucking bullshit.
5. Tipping, it's bullshit plain and simple. Tipping means more attractive employees (particularly attractive females) will get earn more money, additionally it also means employers can weasel out of paying people a proper wage and results in passive aggressive behaviour when you don't tip (or don't tip much). Personally I think it's kind of retarded to let customers evaluate wait staff on their service and pay them accordingly.
6. High cost of living, comically low wages. Minimum wage in Vancouver (one of the most expensive cities in the world) is 8.00 an hour. How the fuck does the government and more importantly the people allow this to be so?
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