Fax résumé for what?

"During episodes of unemployment I find it rewarding to sleep as much as possible - anywhere from twelve to fourteen hours a day is a good starting point. Sleep spares you humiliation and saves money at the same time: nothing to eat, nothing to buy, just lie and dream your life away. I'd wake in the afternoon, watch my stories on TV, and then head over to the sofa for a few more hours of shut-eye. It became my habit to pick up a newspaper just after five o'clock and spend some time searching the advertised positions: vault verifier. pre-press salesman, audit technical reviewer. Show me the child who dreams of being a sausage-casing inspector.
What sort of person is going to raise his clenched fist in victory after reading "New Concept = Big $!
High energy = Return + Comm. Fax résumé. Fax résumé for what?"


The paragraph above is from a book called "naked" by David Sedaris. 
One of the funniest books I've ever read. And at the moment I can sort of relate to it.
Although, I'm actually trying really hard to find a job and to keep myself busy. 
This book reminds me a lot of "Youth in Revolt". It's like the non-fiction version of it
"Youth in Revolt" is wicked and has killer humour by the way. The film is sweet but doesn't really capture the real insanity (or brilliance) of the range of characters in the book.

Arrested development

Once again it feels like my life is going nowhere.

I'm between existences. I'm busy doing nothing, is the right answer to what have you been up to?

People have the nerve to say that looking for a job is a job. Well, let me tell you it's not.

The only place to look a job these days is online. So everyday I send my CV to a few new opportunities that pop up on my screen, and everyday I wait next to the phone for hours, until the next day comes.

I've tried to take it out to the streets, but no one wanted to talk to me.

I've been told to go back home and send my CV by email.

"we will call you" (dumbass!)

There is no point to go outside, and frankly it is depressing out there.

When you don't have a job (or a life for that matter) all you see outside are busy people hurrying to their work place. And even if those people are just sitting outside it's probably their day-off or cigarette break.

You're just absolutely sure that everyone is living a full meaningful life  but you.

This blog is all about the journey. 

But since my life is in suspended animation, so is the journey.

How many times can I write about having nothing to write about?

Inspiration and imagination get positive expression when I'm challenged.

I feel like a child without any toys, or colour crayons, or even a rotating mobile above my head.

It's like watching a national geographic show about the life stages of a moth, and you're watching the cocoon part but it is not fast forwarded. 

I believe they call it "arrested development".

So by writing about having nothing to write about I hope to do the opposite, and actually inspire myself to write more. This is the only technique I know that might work.

And on that note I think I'll hit the gym, the most uninspiring place I know. 

Only Britain is great!

I <3 British everything.

I like British Films, telly, slang ("I like clunge" =) ), accents and the bloody weather. 

If it's grey with a drizzle or even scattered showers then I'm psyched. 

I think it is brilliant saying the word 'brilliant'. 

I can answer almost all the questions on the weakest link, hell, I luv Anne Robinson. I think she's adorable.

I know that the answer to a question about a kids TV show is always 'Blue Peter", and I've never watched Blue Peter in my life.

I get a hard-on every time I see Rowan Atkinson and Steven Fry together on Blackadder, and let's not forget Hugh Laurie (our beloved grumpy House)

I can't even write the word 'favorite' because I have a British dictionary installed on my computer.

So my favourite afternoon form of entertainment is going to the pub (god forbid I should have a local one).

And I haven't even mentioned the music and the literature, and wait... I also love the food and the fashion. 

It truly is a love story. 

I drink my cup of English breakfast tea (with milk of course) that I made with Twinings (of London) and me kettle.

Don't you just love the word kettle? Don't forget to put the kettle on. 

I read my Nick Hornby novels and watch a Simon Pegg film on the telly. 

Cheers! - such a useful and fun term to use.You can say cheers hello, and cheers goodbye, and cheers to that, and cheers (wham bam) thank you ma'am, and cheers mate! 

Unlike your lame Shalom (by Jewish people) or Aloha (by fat people).

Even my thoughts have their own British accent, and sometimes it's Irish.

I know that GB is comprised out of England, Scotland, Wales (LOVE the accent. LOVE Rob Brydon) and northern Ireland. 

But to me Ireland is a magical place as well. I don't discriminate.

Irish are red hot brilliant drunk magnificent people. They gave us whisky and lepricons, and Guinness - I'll have a pint please. 

Guinness - it's good for you! it is!

Everything is hilarious and everyone likes to drink, but "desperation is the English way" (Pink Floyd) which makes it so fucken brilliant.

I've been to London more times than the number of women I've shagged.

Embarrassing, but it's the truth.

Fancy a shag luv ?

Let's talk fashion and character.

Goth teen, punk adults, posh ladies, a cock in a Jag, running suits and high heels - you can find all of these and other hip combinations of outfits standing together to buy tickets for a Cliff Richard concert

or just at the Natural history museum, sometime even holding hands. "I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND!"

Everybody is smart looking in his or hers special way and that is customary.

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!

I need a pint.

The complete album (working on captions)

A brief message

It's now 4 days before I board my flight back to Israel.

I'm at my last stop, NYC.

These last 25+ days have been really good, fun and interesting.

I'm sorry I didn't write more, but I didn't feel like it. 

maybe I'll fill you up with some more details later on.

I'll definitely post pictures here when I get back, and probably on Facebook and Picasa as well.

Gonna-nuke-you

I can't seem to write, and it is either because I'm having fun or because I'm really bored.
And let's face it I am having a good time.
We are doing something new every day, and if there is nothing to do we will just keep going forward until we find something.
A couple of days ago we rented a small boat and sailed through the Thousand Islands in Canada. We rented the boat from a small place called "Misty Isles" which was next to Gananoque ("Gonna-nuke-you") were we spent the night before. It actually sounds like "gana-nok-way".
And yesterday we went on a really evil hike up hill. An old lady from the information centre sent us there, probably to be eaten by a bear. It was a beutiful scenic route up the mountatin but it was really hard, almost equivalent to rock climbing at some parts. It was a hiking route called "The Brothers" near Lake Placid, NY.
Needless to say we didn't finish it due to lack of water and way to many rocks to climb.

I didn't get a chance to meet people from Couchsurfing yet, because we seem to end up in really small towns where there are almost no CSers.  We almost got to meet someone in Toronto, but she did not make it.

I just woke up so I'm too lazy to post photos.

Don't know much about history

On a serious note, one I usually avoid, I'd like to mention the fact that Israel has somewhat good health care and social services. I don't know much about the subject of social care in Israel, but when you see so many homeless people in America,  you realize how important that is.
And yes, I'm probably speaking mostly from an egoistic POV because seeing people sleeping on the sidewalk makes me feel bad in general, but for them as well.

And on a happier note, we've made it all the way to Toronto yesterday.
There are so many things going on in this city: festivals, flea markets, sci-fi conventions (fan expo), free concerts all day long...etc
The atmosphere here is brilliant, lots of good vibes.
For now we are only staying for a couple of days, but we are thinking about prolonging our stay.

It's morning time, 8am, and I've already went to the gym at the hotel and took a shower.
Ron (my mate) is still asleep. When he wakes up I want to go to a coffee shop I saw last night, called "the second cup", for a cup of hot chocolate and a muffin.

I'll upload some photos soon, and write about the past week later on.

America v1.01

So we've decided to skip Detroit, and go to Niagara falls via Buffalo.
I'm writing from Cleveland (Rocks!), Ohio.
Tomorrow I'm going to Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, OH. It has 17 roller coasters and much more.
I'll update with details from the trip so far in a few days.


Miss you all.

I've gone to look for America

So, tomorrow is the night we take off back in time to the east coast.

I'm still in the process of packing and organizing my things, but I'm almost done.

I'm excited and my stomach is playing tricks on me.

Here is a partial list of things I'm going to do while I'm there:

• Whale watching on the east coast (Portland, Boston or cape cod).
• Boating or canoeing in the thousand islands.
• Visit Niagara Falls.
• Go to Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, OH.
• Go to Comedy Clubs.
• Buy exceedingly large bags of potato chips.
• Look down through the glass floor of the CN tower in Toronto.
• Go on day hikes in national parks.
• Meet new people with the help of Couchsurfing.com
• Have my picture taken with Summer Glau in the Sci-fi fan expo in Toronto.
• Get soup from the Soup Natzie in NYC.
• See a Broadway show
• Go running in Central Park
• Visit the Strawberry Fields memorial in Central Park.
• Pay 30 dollars rent on Bleecker street.

and the list can go on and on and on.....

to my few readers, you may comment and add things you'd like to do or think I should do.

America v1.00

View our route in a larger map


Taking off in less than a week.
August 19th - September 18th
~1800 miles round trip from and to Philadelphia, PA.
Driving 2/3 of the way.

That's all folks (or is it?)

I took the train from Manchester to London, and boarded a plane back home.
thinking : "what the hell am I going to do with my life now?"
but before we get to that (if we ever get there).
here are a few more things I have to share:
1. My 1 person tent was water-proof but not wind-proof.
but can you really expect something to be wind-proof when you keep the window open?
I almost froze to death at the first night because of it.
The second time around I closed the window so it was nice and warm inside.
I woke at 5 am to the sound of rain on my tent and not a single drop went in.
It was also easy to set-up and fold back in.

2. The guide book is for backpackers that only carry themselves and maybe a couple of power bars.

3. I like vegetarian English breakfasts.

4. Maybe I should go back to Glossop in the future. Those things are never the same though, so maybe I should leave it to chance.

And to my current plans: I'm leaving in 2 weeks for a month long USA & Canada trip with one of my best friends. And now that I think about it maybe I'll keep updating the blog with this new journey.

and here are a couple of pictures to end this part of the blog:

Next to my tent at the camp site

The long and winding road

Credits

The Old house B&B (Torside) - a comfortable, warm place to sleep. Run by good people that serve good food.

"The Globe" (Glossop) - best English pub experience. lovely people. 

Standford's (London) - travel shop heaven 

Vodafone - cheap SIM and internet connection. 

To all the people on the way that said Hi or Hello to me.

Glossopian - keeping it live!

Hash browns

From my journal

(click to open a larger version)

The Old Nags Head

My next journal entry takes place 3 days later, but I'll fill in the blanks for you now.

I woke up the next day feeling fresh and toothpaste minty. 

I gathered my things and said good-bye to Keith, my hostel room-mate for the night.
I was back at the train station and I went into Marks&Spencer to equip myself with food for the next few days. After browsing for a while I picked up the essentials: bread, pasta, jam (GOOD) and vegetables.
I also bought myself one of those triangular sandwiches with egg&cress for my 3 hour train ride. I had only 10 min to catch the next train from Sheffield to Edale, and my train to Sheffield was 6 min late. also I had no clue to where the train is departing from, and there were more than 4 platforms to choose from.
by sheer luck I managed to board the train a second after they actually closed the doors.

In Edale:

I've found myself a nice patch of grass at the camping site, unpacked my tent and was off to the only pub there -

"The old nags head" - it also marks the beginning of the trail. had a couple of pints and a jacket potato with baked beans.

The place was kinda of empty which was disappointing, though the beer was good ('Nags black') so I quickly found myself back in my tent.

and tomorrow is D-day, I'm excited, but I'm also starting to miss home and my friends. 

I'm tired, and there is no signal here, so I can't phone home.

Jack Dee moment:

איך אתה יודע כשאתה בטיול בטבע?

החרא שלך מתחיל להריח כמו חרא של כבשים.

(הכל מריח כמו חרא של כבשים)

first day (arrival)

[note] This is not a rerun but it's obviously not live either.

I'm actually back home. but if you still wanna hear about my short trip up Mill hill, you're more than welcome.

it feels a bit pointless now to keep this blog going, but I want to finish posting my short tale of the events that took place this last week.

p.s.

sorry if you're only finding out now that I'm back.

it feels bad to call people up and tell them I'm back from what was supposed to be 

my long and wild adventure to Europe.

---------------------------------------------

I was up the entire night prior to my flight,
trying to get some sleep. The airport was in a post-volcanic eruption state - busy and packed.

I spent my last few shekels on a big and expensive sandwich.

I sat down to eat at the food court, while waiting to board the plane.

Except for being extremely tired and for some reason not being able to get any sleep on the plane as well, I was happy. about 4.5 hrs later I was standing on British soil, I mean Luton airport.

next I took the train from Luton airport to St. Pancras station, where my first destination was - the youth hostel.

At the moment I'm sitting at the youth hostel lounge, writing this down.

They also serve food here, so I've ordered a Pizza. I'm also drinking a "Stella".

I spent the day making a few essential arrangements like getting a new Vodafone SIM for my phone, buying gas canisters and maps for my trip.

I went down to new Oxford street to look for supplies and I've been told to check out a shop called Stanfords, in Covent garden.

Stanfords is like Mecca for backpackers. I bought my maps there, and small pieces of paper that turn into shaving cream (just add water).

The Pizza is tasty and I'm still really tired, so I'll stop writing now and move to concentrate on eating.

Also the weather for the next few days is excellent for outdoor activity according to the forecast.

London, here I come

My stomach is on a roller-coaster and my heart is in tachycardia.
I'm leaving in approx. 7 hours.
I can't wait to be on the plane, have my VGML (veggie meal) and stare out the window,
mainly to see the wing I'm sitting next to...
I hope there is nothing wrong with the plane's left phalange

I'm gonna try to get some sleep now.
see ya on the other side.

Volcanoes are not cool (they're HOT)

Well it's official: I'm grounded. Flight LY315 is cancelled.
DAMN YOU ICELAND!
I've decided to set up a tent in my backyard and get wasted, if you wish to join me:
BYO booze, tent and sleeping bag.
adopt a foreign accent
good imagination

and a valid passport.


cheers... =\

P.S.
Has anyone come up with a giant vacuum yet?

I hope it will clear out soon

There is literally a massive grey cloud hovering over my plans at the moment

     image courtesy of Boston - the big picture

[update] you can now follow me using RSS (google reader.. etc.)

Eight (six now) days before I say goodbye

I sat to write this post the other night but I had absolutely no inspiration.
that's the problem with writing a blog, I can't seem to complete my sentences and I start writing like a boring robot (or would that make me an android?).
INSPIRATION, MUSE - that is what I hope to gain from this trip among other things.
wow, this paragraph is quite fluent (after a few minutes of editing). I was actually able to write something true.
So.. I think I can contribute this sudden adequate burst to the fact that I've just finished watching a movie.
When I really enjoy a movie and it does not matter if it's a drama or a comedy, I lose myself in it. and afterwards I become different. It's like I absorb certain attributes from the main character/s,
and I find it fascinating.
The feeling can last for a few minutes or a few hours.
I can turn sarcastic (more than I already am),  I can adopt a foreign accent and sometimes even fight crime.
I like walking around knowing that I'm a different character with new abilities. it is also fun being the only one who realizes that.
now the problem is that I can't use this power when I want to, I always find myself in the situation where this feeling is long gone, and it's just me against the world.

The best 'high' I've ever had was from a sleeping pill (can't remember much of it though), but the second best one is that feeling I get when I'm fully absorbed and lash out.

p.s.

it works with books as well 

A friend of mine once said that men are like refrigerators, I hope she knows now this isn't true.
(you know who you are) Did you happen to change your mind in the past couple (maybe more) of years?
oh, if you don't know who you are, then you were probably drunk when you said it, but you still meant it.
I usually remember my drunken conversations.
are you with me?


the original post:

The cliché song by John Denver comes to mind "All my bags are packed I'm ready to go..."
I've got a few more minor details to sort out and that is it.
My plane leaves on the 19th at 10:15 to London, my favourite city in the world.
I'm excited and scared, and I can't wait to start my adventure.
I'm looking forward to flying alone, it seems like fun.
I love flying, I love the flight itself and the fact that I'm going to a far away place.

I'll be staying in London for 1 night, at St. Pancras YHA.
On the next day I'm going to hop on the train to Edale, the little town that marks the beginning of the "Pennine way" - setting out on an adventure of 429 km (that is a lot of day-dreaming).

cheers then...

Shopping

I'm now the proud owner of an Osprey 70L backpack (green, 2.27kg(!)). I hope it will serve me well, and I've got a new tent, the Exped Vela 1 which was quite a bargain really, a rare single import.
I didn't expect to find a tent at all, apparently it's very hard to find a good (or at all) single person tent in Israel.
I also picked up a few other items: a compass, an ultralight towel, a radiant-yellow cover for my backpack and a spork - from Maslul, awesome shop in Tel-Aviv. The Salesperson was a cute red-headed girl (big plus).
I had a good feeling about this shop, guess I was right.

They have arrived!

Only 3 days by (The Royal) airmail.
I love receiving packages and especially by airmail.
Casually reading through the both of them I think I made a really good buy.
The maps are 1:20000 and are hand drawn to tell the story of the trail.
Both guides contain information about everything one might need (from hiking gear to sleeping arrangements) to know. The PW guide even has GPS waypoints.
Tomorrow I'm going to look and compare backpacks at Kalgav.


and for now it looks like I have some reading to do.

Introduction

Beginnings are always hard. So I'm going to jump right to the present, and I'll fill in the blanks for you when necessary. 

I've made my first small step towards my adventure by ordering 2 guide books from trailblazer.

The first part of my journey is in England - walking the Pennine way, which is Britain's national trail - at 412 km, from Edale to Kirk Yetholm. 
This will be my first LDP, and I believe a major one. 
For the next part I'm going to walk the West highland way in Sctoland - at only 152 km, from Glasgow to Fort William.


I think I'm gonna make a more detailed page about the entire journey, that will be easier to walk through.
The plan is still forming in my head, so changes are expected and welcomed.


Since I don't have infinite funds, I'm currently limiting this trip to 6 months.
I want to travel to different countries in Europe, including:
England, Scotland, Ireland, Netherlands and Germany.
The first three are a sure thing.
I might add more or change it all together, but it's a start.


I'm collecting information about interesting long hiking paths through Europe, so feel free to share your recommendations.