Where in the World is Tom?

Lithuania

2012-02-13T00:29:00.000-08:00

Thought that Odessa was a lot nicer city in the Ukraine than Kiev! Maybe cuz it's smaller & by the Black Sea so it's more chill!!!

2011-11-18T12:30:00.007-08:00

Ok so when I left Kiev and missed my flight cuz I was late well had to wait 7 1/2 hrs and pay approximately $90. So had to wait around the airport seats the only place that there was before we checked in! Thank Christ there was there as the Departure and Arrivals were in the same area!

So I just mostly slept but did read a bit of my book to pass the time! So anyway the check in counters seemed to open about 1 1/2 hrs before departure and closed about 45 mins before! This was for a domestic flight as don't know about international flights!

So my flight left on this Ukrainian airlines left Kiev at 930 pm and got to Odessa about 11 pm! It was dark of course and dam cold but the airlines just brought our bags off the plane on a big trolley and left them outside! We couldn't go inside the terminal building so everyone just searched through all the bags looking for their bags! It was the strangest thing I've seen at an airport even in poor African airports! But this didn't happen in Kiev on my flight from Budapest!

So anyway got my bag and since I didn't know if the buses were running any longer well decided to grab a cab! I bargained with the driver and he only charged me about $5! We went about 15 mins but the guy couldn't find my hostel even though he said he knew where it was when he picked me up! I finally showe him on my paper that it was close to the Cathedral Square (can't remember the Ukranian name). Then he knew where it was and he got me there! But the guy still wanted a tip but I didn't budge on not giving him one!

The place he took me to didn't seem like it was a hostel! Cuz guess in Odessa the hostels have to stay underground like in no advertising that it's a hostel!

The apartment buildings in former Soviet countries all look like they're slum buildings from the outside! The building the hostel was in looked that way too! The front door to the building was wide open and the stairs smelled like someone urinated there all the time which they probably dig given the doors were wide open! The windows in the stair wells were either broken or open! So it was cold as hell in the stair cases and it was dark!

I got to the door and I was late as thought I'd be there on the 2 pm flight! So I'd be in Odessa about 4 pn or so! But the guy running the place was up as it was Sat night!

One thing about traveling in the late fall is there are few travelers or tourists! I had a reservation so I knew I had a bed in the dorm! There were only about 3 others in the 12 bed! Then the next day they left leaving me alone until an Australian guy came to stay!!!!

Anyway will update this posting later as have to go and catch an over night Bus!!

There's a wide gap between the transportation people use in the Ukraine! There are old beat up Russian Lada's that look like they're remanents from the Cold War! Then there are the corrupt rich people driving Merecedess! The rich Ukrainians are really arrogant as they drive fast and think they can park anywhere! Reminds me of the Arabs in the Middle East plus rich people in India! Basically I guess there are rich assholes everywhere who they that money makes them important! Asshole corrupt politicians and business people!!

You'd never believe how the Odessa airport baggage carousel works!!! We arrived at 11 pm in the cold and dark & we couldn't enter the terminal! They brought the bags to us outside on carts! Then it was a free for all grabbing out bags!!! Modern technology and method - NOT!!!

Thought Kiev was a bit of a shit hole but that maybe cuz I was sick & couldn't do anything there but walk to my hostel on a dreary & cold day!!!!!

2011-11-18T12:30:00.003-08:00

Yeah had a miserable time in Kiev as was sick which doesn't give a person a positive impression of a place!

It all started out when I left Budapest as decided to fly to Kiev to save a day of train or bus traveling. I had originally thought of going Budapest - Lviv - Kiev - Odessa! But found out that to go to Lviv (in western Ukraine) from Budapest well I'd have to fly to Kiev, stay over night and then fly to Lviv! So I figure well going to have to give Lviv a miss this trip! But had heard that Lviv was a nice city as it was more European than Russian (for a lack of a better description). I guess this is because they speak more Ukranian than Russian!

So anyways I had booked my flight online with this shitty booking website eDreams! I had also booked a multi destination booking with them from Istanbul - Addis Ababa - Abu Dhabi - Istanbul in Dec. So hope they didn't fuck up those flights too!

Anyway back to my flight from Budapest to Kiev. Well got my booking reference number so went out to the airport and found out that I didn't have a booking or ticket! So that sucked as I thought hell now what? So I went to Customer Service and the lady said I could buy a ticket for the flight! Thank Christ cuz I had visions of returning to the hostel for another night and come back later! So I paid probably paid $250 for a one way ticket from Budapest to Kiev! Luckily I know now that I didn't get charged for the originally booking! But shit eDreams didn't have the decency to tell me there was a problem or I didn't have a booking! So I got on the flight OK after all that shit!

When I got to Kiev well I had a booking for this hostel there! So of course I printed out the directions of how to get to the hostel! What I didn't realize was that all signs in Ukraine are written in The Cyrillic script (play /sɨˈrɪlɪk/) or azbuka is an alphabetic writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School.[1] It is the basis of alphabets used in various languages, past and present, of Eastern Europe and Asia, especially those of Slavic origin, and also non-Slavic languages influenced by Russian.

So of course the directions I had were in English and I couldn't make out what word was what! hell it may as well been in Arabic, Chinese or Japanese characters!

I did manage to catch the airport. bus into the city for about $4 CAD. There was a Sudanese girl in the seat next to me that could speak English and Russian! She was there to study medicine for the past few years so she learned Russian (but not Ukranian) which most Ukranians in Kiev mainly speak! She told me there were quite a few Sudanese studying in the Ukranian cuz it was cheaper and easier to get a visa! She had a hard time when she arrived to study 6 years before! Cuz all the people expecially the kids were calling her the N..... word! Hell they weren't used to black Africans in Ukranian! Hell I even feel that people are staring at me but not cuz I'm Japanese descent but more cuz I got piercings and tattoos! But shit it was so cold that wore a Nepalese/Tibetan/Ecuadorian wool hat with tassles hanging down! Got the hat when I heard the Dali Lama speaking in Toronto last year! So everyone probably thought I was the second coming of the Dali Lama or something! Cuz doubt they could see my tatoos as I wore a hoodie!

Anyway the Sudanese girl said she'd help me catch my city bus when we got to the Railway Station which was the where the airport bus was dropping us off at!

The Railway Station in Kiev was a zoo like in most developing country cities! I had the directions and the bus to catch to the hostel! But lot of good it did cuz couldn't find the bus, where to catch it or even ask anyone or read the signs! On top of that it was like Rush Hour!!! I had no idea how far we were from the hostel! So the Sudanese girl asked around and didn't have much luck finding my bus! The people didn't seem too helpful like in most large cities!! My direction said to take the bus or subway! Hell there was no way I wanted to take the subway cuz took the subway in Tiblsi Georgia last year! They use the Cyrillic characters and was with a couple of other guys there and we got lost trying to find the correct line and direction as couldn't make out the words! So knew if I went to the subway I'd be lost for sure! So after asking and looking for 10 mins the Sudanese girl had to catch her train back to the university city she lived! So she suggested that maybe it be best to bite the bullet and pay for a taxi this time! It's against my principles as dislike taxis and taxi drivers with a passion as think they're all crooks and assholes in every country or city!!! But wtf I was feeling really sickly with a cold so thought shit that warm bed sounds great! So we manage to find a taxi driver to drive me to the hostel for about $20 CAD. He said he knew the place but the f*ckin liar didn't know where it was so he ended up driving around for an extra 10 mins!

The only way we found the hostel was that the directions I had said the hostel was near this hostel! So once I showed the taxi driver this well he found the hotel and let me off there! So I asked the lady at the hotel but she couldn't speak English! It seems only about 10% if that of the population knows English in the Ukraine(even the young kids can't speak it which is completely different that most Eastern European countries as most kids learn English in school). What is surprising about the English and Latin characters, etc is Ukraine is Co-hosting the 2012Euro Football championship next year along with Poland! Must say that Poland is light years ahead of Ukraine in preparations! Hell most of the guests to Euro2012 will be coming from England, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, etc. Hell the people won't be able to speak Ukrainian so the next thing they'd want to speak in English! But shit no one hardly speak it and the signs to anywhere are not in Latin Characters! So it's going to suck to be a spectator in the Ukraine for Euro2012! Poland is rushing to update it's train system at least in Warsaw! Didn't see the metro system in Kiev but doubt if it's in any other language than Russian! Hell even the hotels (except for say the Hilton speak English) and the restaurants don't! It's going to suck next year as I'd hate to be a fan!!!!

Anyway I was walking down the street trying to find the hostel when I took a chance and ask a young guy! Well my lucky day as he spoke broken English but knew the hostel as his girlfriend worked there parttime and he was actually headed there! So that's how I made it to the hostel on that dark, cold day!

The people at the hostel could speak English as it's a requirement cuz they know us English speaking people are arrogant and don't hardly try to speak Russian (no one speaks Ukrainian in Kiev). The hostel was OK as it seemed like some fancy apartment converted into a hostel!

The guests at the hostel weren't the typical travelers I meet at most hostels! There were 2 Russian guys, 2 Dutch guys learning Russian and an English girl! The 2 Dutch and English girl left the next morning after the English girl came home drunk that night! They were on their way to Lviv for the weekend! Then later an Irish guy came for a few days! Then 2 families of 7 people came to stay! They were quite nice and spoke English so I had someone to talk to other than the Irish guy!

I had to go to an ATM machine to get some Ukrainian Hryvnias which is about 7.2 Ukrainian Hryvnias to a CAD. Then the girl at the hostel told me there was a store next do.or. But it turned out the store next door was one of those old style Soviet stores! Where a miserable looking woman stood behind a counter and picked out the food for u! But shit not knowing Russian well all I could manage to buy was a couple of sweet buns, can of corn and bottle of water! So that was my gourmet dinner for the evening! But I didn't care cuz all I wanted was to get into bed and try to shake my cold!!

So the next day I wanted to go make a long distant phone call to find out wtf happened to my plane ticket the day before plus make sure that my booking to Abu Dhabi and Addis Ababa were actually OK! I had emailed them but they never replied so figure would be best to call them! Plus I wanted to go back to the train station and buy a ticket for the overnight train to Odessa on Sat!

So I took a map (not that it helped cuz the street names that I could find were in Russian characters! So I had to go check land marks to find my way to the Main Post Office! I did manage to phone the Customer Service of eDreams and they said they'd email the eticket and itinerary of my Abu Dhabi and Addis Ababa ticket! They didn't give me a reason why my Budapest to Kiev ticket wasn't booked! But shit that was water under the bridge as I was only concerned that I got my Abu Dhabi and Addis Ababa ticket/booking!!

So found my way to the main post office and back without any incident! But I did see a restaurant with a sign on the window showing a bowl of Borscht and a plate of potatoes for about $4 so thought shit I'll try it! So I took the server outside to show them the sign and price to ensure that it was that price! Yeah it was that price she told me in broken English! So I had a sign and price and u agreed that was correct! Now I get a bill for $12 so she said well that was a special for the bank next door! Well shit the stupid douche bag could have told me that when I showed her the sign to make sure the price was correct! It wasn't going to break me but it did piss me off that she agree on the price but when I went to pay it well it was a lot more!!

So welcome to crazy world of ripping off the tourists in good old Ukraine!!!

The next morning I got up still a bit sick but determined to get the f*ck out of Kiev! So got online and found a real sweet price on some Ukranian discount carrier I think to fly Kiev to Odessa that afternoon! Wow I was all over that cuz wanted to get the f*ck out of Dodge so to speak!

The flight was a2 pm and it was about 1130 so asked the girl working at the hostel. to call me a cab! Cuz didn't think 2 1/2 hrs was enough time to make it to the airport by bus! No she said it's a domestic flight so u should be able to make it OK! So like a fool I listened to her plus I hate cabs and also I'm too tight to pay $30!

The girl wrote me the instructions on how to get there by bus! So I left to catch a city mini bus (Marshrutka ) to the train station (again).then I had to find the airport bus which actually stops and picks up on the opposite side of the railway station from where the Marshrutka stops which is why I couldn't find the Marshrutka when I arrived in Kiev from the airport!

So I manage to catch the airport bus and thought yeah I made it on $5 and saved $25. But dam when we got to the airport the check in counter was closed! It seems they open the check in counter about 2 hrs before even a domestic flight and close it about 30 or 40 mins before the flight departs!! That sucked cuz they don't think of making sure a delayed passenger gets on the flight! So I went to the airline ticketing office at the airport to ask! Well the check in had closed and the next flight to Odessa was at 930 pm and it was not 140 pm. So had to pay $90 to rewrite my ticket for the 930 pm flight which was like 7 1/2 hr wait!

So idiot me missed another flight cuz I listened to the girl working at the hostel who probably didn't take into consideration that the check in counters closes 30 or 45 before departure as the same person that checks in people has to hustle over to work the boarding gate too!

Well I didn't pay an asshole taxi driver $30 but paid $90 to the airlines for another ticket and ended up waiting 7 1/2 hrs. Shit I had a sleep at that shitty airport as the waiting gate to get checked in was open to the main door of the terminal! So shit had to sit in a drafty room for that time! Sure didn't do my cold any good! Shit guess could have taken the long bus ride as probably would have arrived at the same time as the plane and cost a f*ck of a lot less!

Another shitty experience but did I learn a lesson? Probably not cuz "Once a fool, always a fool"!!!

So wandered off to Tallinn in Estonia as didn't want to over stay my welcome staying with my beautiful friend Arta & her family in Riga as they were so sweet to let me stay at their home!!!! Oct 2012

2011-10-29T15:50:00.004-07:00

Well it was time to head out from Riga cuz well couldn't over stay my welcome! So after all I did stay for 4 days and had an awesome time!

So chilled on the Monday and the next day Arta's (my Latvian friend) dad was heading to this small city near the Estonian border! So he was nice enough to give me a ride there! But hell had to wake up at 6 am to get on the road! Enjoyed the trip as got a chance to talk to Arta's Dad as he told me about the life they had in Latvia under the Soviet rule! He never spoke about Arta's mom who he's divorced from now! But she lives close to their home by herself! I kind of feel sorry for her tho I didn't meet her! I guess it just seems she lives by herself in an apartment while all the other family members live together in a big house! I don't think it's on purpose cuz Arta's Dad doesn't seem to be the type to make anyone feel bad as they all live in a big house and leave his ex wife in an apartment so she'd feel bad! I guess he got to the position in life where he had his own Management company so he could afford to finally build a home! I guess prior to that they lived in an apartment like most people in Latvia! I remember Arta's brother Karlis saying that since Arta returned from her working holiday in Canada that she's been living with her family in the house until she gets on her feet to maybe move out with her boyfriend! So this past year had been the longest time he's lived with her! Cuz Arta lived in a different town as she had asthma and had to get treated and go to school! Then she had lived with her grand parents for a while due to maybe living space with her parents! Arta's sister Krista has a room in her Dad's home but she is married to a Portuguese guy and lives with him and her son in Portugal! Then Arta's Dad's GF's daughter lives in London studying law so there's also her room vacant in their house! Also Arta's Dad's Girl Friend's son lives in the house with them but he's younger and spends all his time in his bedroom playing video games or something!

Arta's Dad was driving to Valka Latvia for a 9 AM meeting! So he was nice enough to drive me across the border to the Estonian city Valga! He didn't have much time as his meeting was at 9 AM so he could just barely have time to drop me off at the bus station so I could catch a bus to Tallinn, Estonia! It was odd that he had to speak English to the Estonians as he didn't speak Estonian and the Estonian people don't speak Latvian!

The bus station in Valga Estonia reminded me of one of those old Soviet bus station or something I've seen in movies! The bus station was cold as I had to wait from 9 am till 1230 pm for the next bus to Tallinn Estonia! No one spoke English in that bus station so had to keep asking everyone until one guy did so that helped me know when the next bus was coming so I could buy my ticket to Tallinn! I found out that Estonia had started using the Euro at the beginning of 2011! So luckily I had some Euros or I probably would had been F*cked cuz doubt if they would change Latvian Lats at that bus station!!!!

Estonia was also allowing people to use the Estonian Kroon, denoted by EEK, in parrallet to the Euro! The EEK was introduced in 1991, and since 1993, has been pegged to the euro at a rate of 15.64664 Krooni to 1 Euro. It has been stable since. Estonia became the 17th member of the eurozone - the first ex-Soviet state to adopt the EU single currency The changeover from the kroon to the euro started at midnight (2200 GMT) in the small Baltic nation of 1.3m people. For many Estonians, 20 years after breaking away from the Soviet Union, the Euro is proof that they have fully arrived in the West. The Estonia's government says the Euro will attract foreign investors because devaluation is then ruled out. To avoid a last-minute rush, Estonians were able to swap Kroons for euros commission-free from 1 December. In the past year Europe's debt crisis has hit Estonia severely. The tough cuts in state spending, necessary to join the eurozone, have pushed unemployment to more than 16%. Kroons will be used in parallel with the euro for the first half of January. Banks will swap Estonians' kroons for euros until the end of 2011 and the central bank will carry on doing so indefinitely. However, poorer Estonians feared that prices would be rounded up, and that food will become even more expensive. And the prospect of having to contribute to bail-outs of richer eurozone countries is hard to stomach.

The bus when it finally came only cost me something like less than 10 Euros or about under $13 or so! The bus took about 4 hrs to get to Tallinn. Then found the tram line was down for some reason so decided to walk from the bus station to the hostel in the old city of Tallinn.

I had been accepted to be hosted by an American guy (Brandon/Jack or whatever as he didn't use his real name) who was traveling but ran out of money so he got a job running a hostel! But he still hosted people! The hostel had only about 6 beds and a couple couches! So I slept on the couch behind the manager's desk by the front door! There were 6 people staying at the hostel and 3 of us couch surfers at one time!

I had brought a small amount of BC Bud with me to reminisce and share with my friend in Latvia! So after we indulge & had an awesome time having a bit & then chilling and laughing! Well I still had a small amount left so also shared a couple hits with Jack! He liked doing it too so we got wrecked a couple of times!

Then another night the 2 of us got wrecked with Mike, a American guy who told me had been traveling for 12 years! He was an ex-military guy who lost his leg in motorcycle accident! He was a bit of a bull shitter but otherwise a nice guy! He told me that if a person took a ferry to St. Petersburg for 72 hrs they didn’t need a visa for Russia! So he was going but unfortunately I only found out about it the day I was leaving Tallinn so couldn’t go too!

Yeah had a good time in Tallinn as it's a pretty great place! Especially the Old town as spent most of my time there! One night was off to a Couch Surfing to meet this Estonian CS chick met thru CS! But unfortunately I couldn't find the bar the meeting was being held as got friggin lost for a hour! By the time I made it back to the hostel everyone had gone off to another bar! But Mike the American was around so the 2 of us went to the bar! Then when I left the bar well got lost again for another hour!

Another day I spent walking around enjoying the fall colors of Tallinn! Well I ended up near the docks where the ships were. So I checked and found out that there were ferries going to Helsinki daily! So I booked a trip to Helsinki the next day! I looked up Mathias as we met in Tobago and Trinidad a couple years ago! I also was hoping to see his girl friend Sara but she had to work! But while I was waiting for him and his buddy to meet me! Well it was quite cold and I only had a hoodie and short over top of my zip off pants! So to keep warm I went to the public library and sat around browsing the internet most of the day! The only food I probably ate all day there was at the outdoor market! I bought a bowl of real tasty soup which still cost me about 6 Euros or $9! The guy running was a cool black guy who told me he came over from the US to play basketball 30 years ago and stayed in Finland! It was so cold there that I broke down and bought a pair of sheepskin gloves for 20 Euros which come to think of it wasn't cheap!!

So I couch surfed in the hostel in Tallinn for about 3 nights! Then I went to Helsinki for a day trip to check it out! I could only afford to go there for 1 day as it was dam expensive

All in all I kind of enjoyed Tallinn! The one thing I regret is not meeting up with an old traveling friend Lisaa who I met in Barcelona and again in Morocco! She was traveling with Mathias a Dutch guy as we all partied in Morocco! Lisaa rocked as she was probably the craziest fun loving chick I met in my travels as she was game for anything! It would have been cool to meet up with her again. She used to live in Amsterdam but sent me an email saying she was working on a contract in southern Estonia! Too bad didn’t meet cuz would have been cool! Maybe will look her up when I make it back to the Baltic countries when I do the Trans Siberian Railway! I know if I do the Railway that I’ll come thru Latvia as really want to see one of my all time good friends Arta in Riga!!!

Then took a day trip to Helsinki cuz dam couldn't afford to stay longer!!!

So glad got a flight to Riga, Latvia from Istanbul to visit my friend Arta cuz it was Awesome!!! Oct 2012

2011-10-29T15:50:00.001-07:00

Wanted to get to Latvia to visit my Latvian friend Arta who I met when she was in Vancouver, Canada on a 1 year working holiday visa! I was going to come back to Istanbul after visiting Eastern Europe so wanted to fly north and work my way back south by bus or at least overland thru the remaining Eastern European countries I hadn’t seen! So got a cheap 1 way ticket to Riga which meant staying overnight in Budapest!

So left Istanbul on a Thur so would make it to Riga on a Fri! Then I’d be able to hang out with Arta on the weekend when she didn’t have to work! So she sent me a msg to invite me to stay with her & her family which was cool! She was living with her family until she got settled back into the Latvian lifestyle as she just recently got a job after returning to Latvia!

I arrived on a Fri afternoon and made my way downtown in Riga as she would meet me there! It was kind of cool & windy that day but it was all good but wtf didn’t matter as I waited outside! Cuz it was so awesome to see her again as it had been over a year since I saw her the last time! I had been doing a road trip across Canada when she left Canada so didn’t get a chance to really say a proper goodbye!

When got into Riga I had to exchange my Euros for Latvian Lat (LVL). Latvia had set 2010 as a new target date for implementing the Euro, but with the global economic crisis, which has hit Latvia hard, it is clear they will not reach this target. Unofficially 2012 is already being discussed as a new target. Latvian Lats are used. Latvia plans to join the Eurozone in 2014.

Arta had given me direction on which bus to catch from the airport to downtown! So I got downtown to this main Shopping Mall and the big clock where she suggested we meet! So after we met we walked around a bit of Old Riga as we went for a bite to eat & a drink! Then she showed me some of Old Riga but couldn’t see much as I was carrying my back pack! So Arta suggested we come back the next day to see more!

Arta spends a lot of time with her boyfriend who she’s known for a while! Then she left on a 1 year work visa to Canada! But they kept in touch and he came to visit her around New Years! Then also again they met in Mexico for a vacation! I never had an opportunity to meet him in Vancouver cuz probably they wanted to spend time alone which was cool! Then when I came to Riga he was busy working as his company was shutting down and he had a lot of finalizing to do for the company! But I did get to meet him the night before I left Riga! Artis is a real nice guy a little quiet but that’s cool! It’s a coincidence as his name is Artis and her name is Arta! They get along great and make an awesome couple! So hoping that it all works out for them as really wish all the best for the both of them!

Arta is not a big partier or drinker so doesn’t spend a lot of time exploring the Riga night life! But I didn’t mind cuz when I travel I can do anything (yeah I do fall into the night life scene a bit but wtf) so yeah can take it or leave it! The main thing I do is meet cool interesting people regardless of their interest, nationality, gender, age or education! It’s about meeting people! So yeah can always find things to talk about with Arta and her family! We got to her home in the dark but I was really impressed with the quiet nature neighborhood and how nice their house is as wasn’t expecting it! Met Arta’s Dad Jan?? (think is his name) is a real nice guy who I think is cool & easy to talk with! But so is his girl friend Elina ?? (not really sure of her name)! Arta’s Dad has a good sense of humor too so know where Arta gets her’s from! Arta’s Dad is partner in a Management Consulting company so he does pretty good career wise but sure that with the turmoils that’s happened in the past 20 years that he’s worked hard! Arta’s Dad’s GF works for Arta’s Dad and is a computer expert & works from home! Arta’s Mom and Dad are divorced and though didn’t ask too much she lives by herself fairly close to her Dad’s home! I’m sorry that I didn’t get a chance to meet her! But maybe it’s just as well as think she doesn’t speak English and my Latvian from Latvian 101 isn’t that great ha ha!

Arta’s Dad’s home is fairly impressive but don’t think he built to show off what he could afford like some people! He’s a real down to earth family guy who wants his entire family to live together! I guess when the kids were growing up they lived in an apartment like most Latvians! Of course Arta lived a few years in this other city where she could be treated for her ashma! Then she lived with her grandparents for a while I believe! So she never really lived with her entire family for a very long time! Arta’s younger brother Karlas who is going to university said he had hardly lived with Arta! Arta’s older sister Krista met a Portuguese guy while traveling! They got married and had a baby boy and moved to Portugal. Arta’s Dad built a fairly big house with 5 bedrooms on 3 levels and basement! It was so his family and his GF;s family could all live there! They all have their own bedrooms plus her Dad has an office on the 3rd level (by his bedroom ) so his GF could work from home even tho he has an office in downtown Riga! So Arta’s Dad’s GF has a daughter who is studying law in London so didn’t meet her! She also has a teen age son David who I hardly saw around as he usually stayed in his room playing video games!

I kind of feel sorry for Arta's mother tho I didn't meet her! I guess it just seems she lives by herself in an apartment while all the other family members live together in a big house! I don't think it's on purpose cuz Arta's Dad doesn't seem to be the type to make anyone feel bad as they all live in a big house and leave his ex wife in an apartment so she'd feel bad! I guess he got to the position in life where he had his own Management company so he could afford to finally build a home! I guess prior to that they lived in an apartment like most people in Latvia! I remember Arta's brother Karlis saying that since Arta returned from her working holiday in Canada that she's been living with her family in the house until she gets on her feet to maybe move out with her boyfriend! So this past year had been the longest time he's lived with her! Cuz Arta lived in a different town as she had asthma and had to get treated and go to school! Then she had lived with her grand parents for a while due to maybe living space with her parents! Arta's sister Krista has a room in her Dad's home but she is married to a Portuguese guy and lives with him and her son in Portugal! Then Arta's Dad's GF's daughter lives in London studying law so there's also her room vacant in their house! Also Arta's Dad's GF's son lives in the house with them but he's younger and spends all his time in his bedroom playing video games or something!

They’re house besides having 5 bedrooms on 3 levels also has a sort of basement which opens up to the yard on this bottom floor! When I was there they had someone come over to lead them in yoga on Sat morning! I think Arta, her father and his GF participated In the yoga for somethink like 2 hrs or so! Their bottom floor also has a small indoor pool, a sauna and hot tub! But I never saw anyone use any of them probably cuz it was sort of cool outside even tho they’re all indoors! I don’t usually get impressed with homes but I was with there’s! Probably cuz I never expected a nice place like theirs in Latvia!! Mainly because Valdis my other Latvian friend always told me there were a lot of friends of his trying to find jobs! But those are young people in their early 20’s and not people more established like Arta’s father! I figure that Arta will be successful in her career path one day too seeing how much she likes her job & how conscientious she is about it! So guess she’s a different than most people I know as she has a good job, enjoys work and doesn’t party a lot! Yeah have to say that’s why I probably admire her!

So yeah Arta’s Dad liked watching hockey as Riga has a team in the Kontinental Hockey League! This league plays good hockey as it is a professional league which has a few Russian teams and players of course! I believe the league is just a step down from the NHL in North America! Earlier this fall the league experienced a disaster as one of the team was in a terrible plane crash which destroyed the entire team! It was funny as Arta’s Dad was watching a game between the Riga Dymanos and the Moscow Dynamos!

Then on Sat after Arta cooked me breakfast she suggested we go downtown and see Riga during the day! It’s funny cuz we caught a bus to go downtown but didn’t pay much attention to the bus number! So we caught the wrong bus and ended up having to get off down by the ports where all the ships unloaded their shipments! Then we had to walk to catch the bus we were suppose to catch! So when we were walking to catch the original bus we were to catch! Well we went behind this old building and had a smoke of 420! I had brought a small amount of 420 with me (yeah I know people will freak out that I did it but shit man I only brought a small amount to share with my cool friend Arta!). We only probably had 1 puff but the stuff was so wicked that we both got really wasted on this one toke! Arta at first said I don’t feel anything so we walked to the bus stop and sat down! Well the next thing I know we were just talking when we both got the laughs about nothing! Wow we were both pretty wasted and took the bus into town! Well it was so funny got we both got the munchies and Arta had to show me where the best hot dogs were in Riga! The thing about these hot dogs that I like was the buns were heated in a sort of oven and tasted so good or maybe I was just wasted or both lol! Anyway we walked around Old Town taking pictures! We also went to the Market place which is a happening place on a Sat afternoon! But when we were down there some guy who was obviously drunk came up to talk! So he came up and hugged me but Arta thought he was trying to pick pocket me or something! So she wanted to get away from him so we kind of hurried away from the Market! So we wandered around the New City the rest of the afternoon and made our way back to Arta’s place! But must say we really had an awesome day hanging out doing a bit of 420! It brought back memories of when we got together in Vancouver and had 420 and chilled at the beach! So yeah really enjoyed hanging out with Arta and enjoying her company!

I hope one thinks that Arta is a big stoner like me cuz that’s simply not the case! She just likes to chill and enjoy herself ! Arta is an awesome chick who is not a big partier but likes to just chill and do her own thing! I don’t know how we became friends as we definitely wouldn’t have met if I hadn’t hosted her 2 Latvian friends Valdis and Eva! Actually I don’t have a lot in common with Valdis and Eva either except maybe traveling! But they’re an awesome couple and good couch surfing friends! I’ve found out by being Arta’s friend that friendship isn’t always about having a lot in common all the time! I know that think I enjoyed her company a lot as she liked to laugh and tell bad jokes lol! Also during her stay in Vancouver I went traveling for 6 months ! Then when I came back she wasn’t living with Valdis and Eva but was living on her own plus had lived with some other people too! I’m not fully sure but think she met a couple of people I know (Ian and Maxx who are both crazy but nice) too thru her good Latvian friend Eiiva! So not sure but think they introduced her to trying the great ?? Canadian pastime for most of doing 420! So of course I’m a big fan of 420 as got my doctor to sign a form so now legal to purchase 420 & smoke it for medicinal purposes! We decided to say that I had a problem with depression which 420 helps me handle and function! I think that 420 is not a downer or something that puts a person in an aggressive or bad space! In fact some people get paranoid or sleepy after doing it! But it’s the opposite for me as I get a bit hyper, talk a lot and want to go and do something outdoors which I normally do! Another thing I like to do after doing 420 is listen to music and especially dance! So I have a couple of favorite places in Vancouver that I like to go to chill and dance! Not saying it does that for all people as it affects everyone differently! Alcohol on the other hand gets me sleepy and if I drink enough makes me vomit! Not to say I don’t drink at all but do it in moderation as I do 420! Cuz to me 420 is a social think as I only do it with someone as maybe only don’t it about 3 or 4 times by myself even though some may not believe it! I have a couple of friends that I like to do 420 listen to music and go dancing! I guess I kind of gravitate to people who chill, do a bit of 420 and not drink a lot of alcohol to get really drunk! Not that I’m opposed to drinking as do end up getting a bit drunk at times! But I like to do 420 and go for a bike ride in a park or to the beach! So yeah I have friends who also like to do the same as me! I found out Arta (though not a big indulger like me) enjoyed chilling doing a bit and enjoying herself! So we did it a couple times in Vancouver and thoroughly enjoyed our selves as we went to a beach and chilled! So guess that was one thing we had in common! But guess we also like to talk about our experiences traveling and seeing new places! Arta is quite intelligent, classy and likes to read a lot! She told me when she was growing up she had bad ashma so she had to go to a school in a town where her ashma could be treated! It was probably a bit tramatic for a young person but in a way it probably helped to become independent and handle stress in life! So I admire her for that! She told me she spent a lot of time reading books & she could read an entire book in a couple hours! She may not remember everything about the book in a few days but it was probably useful in her studies which is probably why she graduated with a masters and scored a challenging fulfilling job in Riga!

On the Sun Arta used her Dad’s car and Arta, her brother Karlis and myself went to this city by the sea! She showed me the beautiful old houses in the city! which it seemed a lot of Russians buy and fix up! The houses are massive and are painted some odd colors! We went for a walk by the sea and also went for a bite to eat at this city! It was a real pleasant day and it was so cool to spend some time with Karlis even if he’s quite quiet! But guess next to me anyone is quiet as I don’t give most people a chance to talk!!!

Then the Monday Arta had to work so I stayed in bed late then spent my time blogging! Also researching where and how I was going to head to Estonia and wherever! I then wanted to make some chilli for the family as sort of a repayment for all their hospitality and kindness! What was really cool was that Arta’s boyfriend Artis came over to eat some dinner! Artis is a real nice guy and is easy to talk with even if he’s also kind of quiet! Shit doesn’t any Latvians talk or does a crazy Canadian have to do all the talking lol!

Then the next day had decided to leave Riga and Latvia as didn’t want to overstay my welcome! So Arta’s Dad had a meeting in this city by the Estonian border so he said he’d give me a ride there which was cool! So woke up at 6 am as Arta’s Dad had to be at this city for a meeting at 9 am! I must say I thoroughly enjoyed myself staying with Arta and her family in their home! I didn’t do a lot of drinking or seeing much night life which was OK with me! Cuz hell get more than enough opportunities to do that in other cities or countries! As far as I’m concerned I had a far better time in Riga than I do in places that most people say is a great fun city – like Barcelona or Amsterdam! But guess it all depends who u’r hanging out with cuz to me it’s the people u meet traveling that make my trip so awesome! I just hope that I can return to Riga one day to meet Arta, her boyfriend and her family again one day!

I just hope that one day we can get together to enjoy each other’s company again in the future!

So on another trip originally to visit UAE & Abu Dhabi! Then scored a fairly cheap ticket to Istanbul so will use it as a base 2 go north & south! Oct 2012

2011-10-29T15:49:00.001-07:00

I started thinking about going on this trip in August! Then I came across a ticket from Vancouver to Istanbul for $1100 for 3 months which I thought was a sweet price! After that I got greedy in my travel plans (as usual) & thought wtf if I pay that much for a tkt I may as well check out a few other countries close by that missed in 2010! So now about all that is guaranteed on this trip is that I’ll be leaving Vancouver on Oct 15 and return on Jan 15!!

Then after I decided on a ticket well still wanted to go on a trip promised myself I'd do to Toronto & Montreal! So that happened from Sept 15 to Oct 4 which was a day after my crazy trip to Tofino a cool chill place on Vancouver Island with my good fun close friend MJ (a real sweetheart)!

So anyway back to my current trip to the other side of the world! So tho been to Istanbul a couple of times! I'll be checking out the remaining Eastern European countries that missed last year! If u check this map u will see the countries that are east of Germany & Austria! Cuz really love the people from Eastern Europe and the countries are more interesting to me than Western Europe!!http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/europe_map.htm

My flight took me to Amsterdam where I had a 8 hrs stopover after an all night flight from Vancouver Canada! Well being from Vancouver where BC Bud is King so normally I’d be off the plane running to hit the coffee shops in Amsterdam! But I used my better judgement (yeah I still have some) & decided to hang out at the airport to catch up on my sleep seeing as I just got off a night flight! I also knew from a previous trip to Amsterdam that if I went to a coffee shop well have u heard the expression “like a kid in a candy store”?

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=like%20a%20kid%20in%20a%20candy%20store

Well then maybe u’ve heard the expression “pigging out” then change the word “food” for “weed” in the following definition http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pig%20out
Anyway u get the idea that I'd over indulge & probably end up missing my flight! Duh "No shit Sherlock!! I also knew that on my return flight back from Istanbul that I had an overnight stop in Amsterdam! Then I could maybe indulge to make up for missing out for missing on this flight!

So my flight made it to Istanbul at 1230 am so by the time I got my bag it was about 2 am or so! Also as a Canadian I was dinged $60USD for a 3 month multi entry visa! That sucked but what could I do? Tell them to screw off and get back on the plane?

But I knew before I left that I’d be sleeping at the Araturk Airport in Istanbul the first night! On the second night thought that I’d stay at this hostel that my friend Jasmina works in Istanbul! Jasmina is a Serbian friend, who lives in Istanbul & is a friend of a good Serbian friend of mine in Vancouver! Jasmina and I had been communicating on FB since she lived in Istanbul & I wanted to meet her!

(A bit of useless information is Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey with 8,8 million inhabitants, situated on both sides of the Bosporus, making Istanbul a city of two continents, Europe and Asia.There are 3 major parts of Istanbul. On the European side lies Stamboul and Beyoglu, divided by the Golden Horn a drowned valley about 7 km long. On the Asian side lies Üsküdar (ancient Chrysopolis) and Kadiköy (ancient Chalcedon). Larger Istanbul is 45 km wide and 35 long from south to north. The city continues all along the strait of Bosporus, which connects the Black Sea to Sea of Marmara and the Mediterranean further south.)
So anyway Jasmina worked in a hostel on the Asian side of Istanbul so thought I'd stay there! But a couple days before I was to leave she told me that unfortunately her hostel was fully booked for the night I wanted to stay! So decided to book a bed in the Harmony Hostel on the European side where most of the tourists hang out! I had stayed at the Harmony Hostel when I was in Istanbul last year as someone recommended it to me!

So the first night I surveyed the Araturk airport for a comfy place to crash! But first I had to grab something to eat cuz they didn't feed us on the plane from Amsterdam! So I settled on a Chicken joint to eat & then I noticed that the Burger King next to it had nice padded bench seats! So I decided to sleep on one of those benches! But before I went to sleep I heard a couple of chicks talking with a Canadian accent near me! So I found out that they were a couple of nurses who worked at VGA hospital in Vancouver & lived close to where I live! They had been on vacation in Turkey for a couple weeks & had a late flight out on the same KLM flight that I came on! Anyway I had a so so sleep at Burger King!

The next day I paid 2 Lira (60 cents Canadian) for a Metro ride to the Tram line to the downtown area of Istanbul! Then when I got to end of the Metro line I was suppose to go to the Tram line! But was discombobulated and couldn’t figure out where the Tram line was located! So had to ask this one guy who asked around & walked me to the tram line! I paid another 2 Lira to get on the tram! Unfortunately it was morning rush hour! So I had to wait for 4 trams to come by so I could get on! Well next time I plan to get off the Metro earlier & catch the tram so it wouldn’t be so busy & I could get on! I was amazed that I could still figure out how to find the hostel from memory in Istanbul!

I was really disappointed in the Harmony hostel on this trip! I guess last year it was spring & the weather was nicer! I got to the hostel in time to have the free breakfast! The kitchen is on the roof of the building but shit I noticed that one of the walls was missing so it was like friggin cold with the wind blowing thru! Well got a dorm room with 4 other guys so I laid down and had a short nap in the afternoon! I was kind of disappointed cuz last year thought the hostel was cool! But in Oct it was kind of windy & there was a hole in the window & one of the windows didn’t close as it was broken! So had to get the guy working at the hostel to tape up the window cuz it seemed they were going to replace the broken glass!

When I got up I decided to try and call Jasmina to say hi! So I got the guy working at the hostel to call her and I spoke to her! She asked me if I wanted to come over to her place as she lived on the Asian side of the Bosphorous River! I had to walk down to the ferry dock and catch the ferry to the Asian side. Well that seemed easy as got the right ferry and made it across OK! But when I got to the other side Jasmina told me to take a cab to her place as it should only cost about 15 liras / $7 CAD! But the crazy driver didn’t know where he as going and got lost & kept drving around asking people! When we finally got to Jasmina’s place the meter was up to 25 lira which Jasmina said was a scam!! But hey hell had no idea where we were so at least we finally found the place! Jasmina lived in a nice little place that was quite modern!

We sat around and had some tea and she apologized for not having any weed to smoke! Well surprise surprise I had brought a bit of my own weed! So we had a smoke and Jasmina got wasted & guess I did too! Then she told me that her husband played drums in a jazz band and they were playing at this club in the shopping side of Istanbul! The main part of Istanbul is separated by the Bosphorous river and one of it’s tributaries in to the Touristy side with sights like the Blue Mosque. The shopping side with the bar & club scene around Tazim Square! Then there was the Asian side which was more chill & a cooler place to live! Not to mention it was cheaper!

Jasmina said we c take a mini bus to the Jazz Club in Tazim Square which is where the night life seem to happen! They didn’t start playing until 11 pm and lasted a couple hours! Then they could give me a ride back and wasn’t very far out of the way!

So we took one bus to Tazim Square to the Jazz Club! If u imagined a Jazz Club should be in a little dark bar place in an older building! Well u were correct as the Club was up stairs in a little place! The group was awesome as love Jazz music cuz it’s all so creative! The dude playing the lead guitar wrote the music but just for his bit on the guitar! The drummer (Jasmina’s husband), the saxophone and bass player all added creative parts of their with their instruments!!!!! Yeah so had a couple beers & enjoyed the music for a couple of hours! Then Jasmina’s Darin sp?? gave me a ride back to my cold dank dingy hostel on the European side!

The next couple days in Istanbul I spent trying to book a cheap flight to Riga, Latvia! Cuz wanted to visit a friend who lives in Riga that met while she was on a year work visa in Vancouver Canada!! Actually I was excited about going there cuz she invited me to stay at her parent’s house! Hell when I travel I like to do it on the cheap & nothing beats couch surfing especially in a local’s home!!!! So thought hey maybe I should take a small gift cuz tho I’m tight when it comes to myself! Well I do appreciate it when someone does some thing for me so like to repay them in some small way!!

So took a quick trip to the Grand Bazaar to check out something to get them something ! Then thought they will probably think “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts!!!” So I thought all piss on it as I’d wait to see how hospitable they were first before spending any $$ - now u can see that I’m quite cheap with my coin! Lol

Anyway as I was saying I thought the Harmony Hostel kind of sucks now! Shit the only common area to sit, talk, eat our free breakfast, read, use ur computer or the hostel’s computer was on the top floor! I thought it was a cool place when I was there last year in the spring! But shit in the fall when it was getting chilly well it was Cool as in cold! The room’s 4th wall seemed to have disappeared so it was now a cold windy room with 1 wall missing! But as the guy told me it could be worse cuz it could have been the wall facing the Bosphorus River where the cold winds would blow in from!!! Duh!! But hey it was either sit there or in the dorm room to socialize, read or eat!! But shit the Wifi didn't seem to work in our dorm which sucked! But we did pick up some unsecure network sporadically!

The good part about the Harmony Hostel and why I’d probably stay there again (when I come back to Istanbul in Dec & Jan) is the cool people working there plus the easy access to the Araturk airport! The other thing is the free breakfast provided plus in the evenings they always cook up a Pasta meal which they do cuz they want to not cuz it’s part of our hostel fee! The woman cooking breakfast is a no fuss, no nosense, lack of humor, non English speaking Turkish woman who had worked there last year too! But the dude who worked days there Insham or whatever was a real cool funny guy! One of the other guys working or at least hanging around there remembered me from last year!

Yeah they always cooked up a different pasta meal in the evening which was great! So guess I never ate at a restaurant or bought any food during my stay in Istanbul!! Which is why I'd brave the cold dingy rooms cuz the price was right!!

Noticed that it was kind of breezy in our dorm room the first night! So checked the windows and noticed that there was a small hole about 10 cm wide! Also the window didn’t close cuz the hinge was broken! So told the guy there and it was fixed up with a bit of duct tape- good old duct tape!!!! Then it was nice in the room!
There were basically 4 of us staying there for the 3 days I was there! A Polish dude Kris who was cool, a Mexican guy Fernando who was kinda young & a socially awkward American Max! There was also some Asian guy who kept to himself who could speak English but he was as friendly as Cancer! When I met him I asked where he was from just to be courteous and friendly! But the dude said he didn’t want to tell me – shit that was a first!! So we all just left him alone after that!

One night Ishan or whatever the dude’s name was said he’d take us to a bar! So the 4 of us and a couple of chicks were to this bar, restaurant, club kind of place! I figure the dude got some kind of kick back from the bar for bringing people to the establishment! But shit who cares cuz that’s the way business is done in a lot of places in the world! Anyway we all got a bit drunk and wasted so had a good time hanging out there with the others from the hostel!

So yeah the next day I woke up with a bit of a hangover! But shit had to catch my cheap flight to Riga! The flight was one way and meant I had to stay over night in Budapest! So a normal 3 hrs flight took me over 24 hrs!! Going to the airport cost me 4 Lira (about $2 CAD). I took the tram part of the way and then caught the Metro which took me straight to the Araturk airport (my hotel the first night in Istanbul)!

I was planning to sleep at the Budapest airport for the 1 night! But I got there about 4 pm which was too early to sleep! Also found the airport was quite small so there were a lot of people sitting in the few benches that were available! Plus the seats were all made of steel with no padding to sleep on! So it was not a great airport to sleep at - http://www.sleepinginairports.net/list.asp?region=1&country=Hungary&city=Budapest&terminal=International !

Like found this about the Istanbul main airport “Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul is a modern and spacious facility that has a lots of space to sleep in both before and beyond the security gate. The airport, which see 29 million travelers each year has been recently renovated and has cafes with large comfortable couches, free wi-fi, and a number of shops that remain open 24 hours.The airport itself is quiet between the hours of 10pm and about 4am when traffic really picks up. An airport that has the bulk of its flights scheduled for the daylight hours make that airport a great place to crash overnight.”

So thought shit man what am I going to do from 4 pm until midnight when I wanted to sleep! I had tried to book a bed at this hostel in Budapest that my friend Jasmina worked at in the city! But shit they needed a 2 night min stay so that wouldn’t work! Plus shit it was raining like hell plus windy! So I kind of wimped out (as it was near the start of my trip when I had still had a lot of $$ plus had to get my feet wet & then would take on any kind of thing to save money) & got the lady at the Info desk to find me a cheap room at this local hotel with free shuttle service! So basically got a hostel dorm style room & a shared bathroom & shower down the hall for about $50 CAD! So yeah got picked up taken to this sort of motel / hotel with free Wifi & breakfast! Then they gave me a free shuttle ride to this cheap restaurant a wanted to eat some Hungarian goulash & dumplings which I love!!! Hmmmmm

So yeah then spent the evening catching up on my travel blog ! Met an American couple who were doing their once in a life (their words not mine) trip for months! They had been to Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda so we swapped lies about our adventures in Africa! lol They seemed quite well to do (he owned a small IT type company & she was a lawyer) but anyone on a lengthy trip can only do it if on a tight budget cuz I know as do it all the time! They had to pay for a cab to get to and from the airport so they asked if I wanted to share a cab since we were leaving around the same time! But man I had negotiated a free shuttle to and from the airport so had to pass on their offer!

So that was my short sweet stay at a motel/hotel which will be my first and only stay like that! But hell sometimes a person has to stretch their pocket book to include something more! I don’t do it often but if I really needed to well can afford it but shit man like I say I’m frugal/tight!!!

Then it was off to Riga, Latvia to visit and hang out with a nice chill Latvian friend of mine Arta!

Yeah guess should post some pictures but that takes time & a good internet connection so hey stay tuned & keep checking back cuz will do it soon insha’allah!!!

What the Hell went down during the Spring & Summer 2011 !!!!!!

2011-09-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

BTW: Here's an addendum (I put it @ the start not the end) which I add periodically to some of my Postings! Cuz if u think maybe that my postings are too long, unclear, bad English or whatever! Well all I have to say is "Fuck You" this Blog is a Journal for myself! Also it's to let my family & close friends know when I'm traveling in some crazy country that I'm still alive & not dead in some back alley or in some jail! Most don't really read what I write anyway & if they do & get some meaning out of this then cool! I personally don't give a shit about what the others think!!!

Shit in Feb was planning to go to the Philippines, Laos, China, Tibet, Mongolia & maybe North Korea! Well all dependent on getting visas of course but already had the Chinese visa which unfortunately had to let lapse since didn't go but wtf could I do! Cuz realized it was a bit early to go to Tibet as it was still winter!! So kept putting it off to wait for Spring to start! So in the mean time decided to go to Jamaica with my Jamaican buddy Hugh/Huge!!

Then had to hang around for May as was scheduled to get eye surgery ! So yeah had arranged to get my eye lids done! In 2010 had trouble with my eyes as couldn’t see very well for some reason! My vision was kinda blurry similar to when I think back at my life! No didn't do some crazy wild drug in Africa (I wish) but thought it had something to do with being in the Sahara desert area of West Africa! Shit I had also gotten a bad rash & itch (think it's a heat rash as still get it ocasionally now when it gets hot) so had to get my ass out of Mali so headed to Lebanon & Syria in the Middle East!!! So that ended my journey south to Bakino Fasi, Ghana, Nigera, etc so guess another time insha'allah! Instead of course ended up going to a few other countries like the Balkan countries in Eastern Europe, Georgia, Armenia & Germany & Holland!!! But that’s all history now!!!

So anyway found out that my Eye Doctor had to only zap my eyes with some laser to clear up the haziness in my eyes!! But what he also told me was my eye lids drooped a lot more than should do! So he said that I could get surgery done for free to have them lifted! Shit here I thought that I was stuck with these friggin’ eye lids cuz I was Japanese descent! But shit man if it was free why the hell not get it done! But the down side was had to wait for an opening which didn’t happen until May 2011!!!

So there went any plans to go traveling in the Spring of 2011! The spring weather was the shits as it f*ckin rained a lot! But did get the surgery but hell did the surgery ever hurt as they had to cut the shit out of my eye lids! Man the skin of the eye lids are really sensitive as I found out! Shit if I had to do it again I would pass on it!! Hell looking back I got it done cuz it was free & to improve my field of vision & not for appearance cuz that ship has sailed lol! As the doctor told me my field of vision should open up about 20%!!!! It was like looking thru a peep hole in a door & then finding I was looking thru a window!!! Well maybe not that much but wtf u get the idea!! It was an improvement as f*ck I didn’t get it done for cosmetic reasons!! Shit I was way beyond worrying about appearance !

So anyway there went most of the Spring! But will say wish the f*ck I had gotten the hell out of Vancouver for the spring of 2011! Cuz the Vancouver Canuckleheads got to the Stanley Cup finals! I don’t dislike hockey cuz grew up playing and watching it! But it wasn’t the Canuckleheads!!!! When I moved to Vancouver years ago I was impartial as to my view of hockey! Cuz was a closet Canadiens & Oilers fan! But soon grew to fuckin hate the Canuckleheads cuz that’s all I heard about in Vancouver! The crazy thing is most people were going ape shit over the Canucks but knew fuck all about hockey!!!!!

Saw a funny thing at the Sasquatch Music Festival speaking of the F*ckin Canuckleheads! At the festival a bunch of these crazy Canuckleheads fans wearing their jerseys! Well they were running around yelling "Go Canucks Go". The equally crazy Festival goers were thinking they were yelling "Grow Coconuts Grow"! So a bunch of the festival goers started yelling that!!

Anyway as the series went along I felt sorry for all the fair weather fans who were so desperate for a Stanley Cup!!! So I hoped that the Canuckleheads would win a Cup for the Fans & not cuz I liked the f*ckin idiots!!! But of course they did what they’re famous for & always do (which is why I have no respect for them) and that was fuckin CHOKE!!!! Cuz they’ve done it over the years! So the Stanley Cup finals went down as another choke, so maybe they should rename the team Vancouver Chokers!! But this time the fans got all drunk and rioted!!!! They tore the shit out of downtown Vancouver & gave the city a bad rap!!!! There were pics of people protesting to get rid of Mubarak in Egypt, Gaddafi in Lybia, demonstrations in Syria & then hockey riots in Vancouver! What a f*ckin joke as it make Vancouver look ridiculous rioting over friggin hockey!!!!
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/06/15/bc-stanley-cup-fans-post-game-7.html

So after the Stanley Cup playoffs and riots it was mid June & the start of Summer! But shit the weather was still the PITS!

But hey did make it to a few festivals & concerts!!! Also hosted a bunch of Couch Surfers from all over the world! Also met some new friends who I hung out with doing weed, drinks & going to various venues to dance a passion of mine!!! Also on Sundays went to the Hindu Temple close to my place in East Van to get some free Indian food!!

One of my fave people to hang out with in the Winter & Spring of 2011 was my Serbian friend Sanja! We get along great as she is really cool as nothing fazes her!!! She wanted to go some place together but with a Serbian passport she was limited without getting a visa. So one country she could go to was Cuba but I wasn’t keen on it cuz had just gone to Jamaica in the Caribbean already in Feb. So she went to Cuba with her husband (marriage to get a visa) at the start of June! Then she went to Serbia & Turkey for 2 ½ months or guess the entire summer!

At the start of summer around June 25 weekend my Jamaican friend Hugh/Huge had a Beginning of Summer Reggae Dance hall party. Hugh/Huge is a personal trainer and has a small gym across the street from my place! He invited a bunch of people he knew from teaching personal training at UBC plus others! He also had me invite some of my friends which I did! I got a bit shit faced and don’t remember much as usual. But figure the party was a success cuz his neighbors got pissed & asked him to shut it down around 2 am! Here I thought he had invited all his neighbors except a Barbados neighbor who he doesn’t get along with. But shit he really had the music pumped up so the entire neighborhood could hear it!

I decided to go to the Sasquatch Music Festival http://sasquatchfestival.com/ at the Gorge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gorge_Amphitheatre an awesome venue in Central Washington east of Seattle when I saw the line up!!! Anyway got a good deal on a 3 day pass as it was the Memorial Day long weekend in the US! Then found a rideshare with a guy for $25 both ways so couldn’t lose!! All in all had a good time there tho the people I went & camped with weren’t the kind I’d hang out with!!! But hey for 3 days they were OK as could handle anything!

So camped for a couple nights, got shit faced & got to hear some awesome groups play! Foo Fighters, Death Cab for Cute, etc. So guess the weekend was a success as also met a bunch of cool people who were camping next to us!! One thing that sucked at Sasquatch & will prevent me from going again is there is no In/Out! In other words once u go into the festival u can’t leave and come back for the day! They’re so fucking anal about bringing outside booze in. They want u to buy booze there then gouge u $12 a beer! Like fuck them cuz don't want a beer that bad plus u had to get a new wrist band every day if u want to buy booze! The f*ckin douche bags!! It’s basically a big drunk which is the opposite of what I enjoy doing at a music festival! Cuz to me music and chillin usually go together even if the genre is Punk! Tho have to say went to a Punk concert stoned once and it was strange to have all the pent up adrelaine jumping up and down on the dance floor. Shit got my toes bounced on a lot as I wore friggin flip flops duh!

Another thing that found strange (& disliked) is at Sasquatch u camp in one area & the festival is held in another area so u had to go thru a security check every day! The asshole security would tackle & be all over ppl at the festival if they thought u were smuggling liquor in to the festival! It's sucks to be stoned @ a festival & watch some poor schmuck get torn apart by the friggin Gestapo! But the camping was cool so can’t say it was a loss as enjoyed it but won’t go again unless they had 50 awesome groups!!

Then on the July 1 long weekend which is Canada Day went to Deadmonton in Alberta (the province next to BC) for a family gathering! Had an awesome time visiting and seeing family members from parts of Canada and the US!

The weekend following my weekend after Canada Day long weekend went to check out Ky-mani Marley http://www.kymani-marley.com/ one of Bob’s many kids! The concert was awesome as I went with J.M. a friend of mine who likes to dance, smoke, drink & enjoy herself! J.M doesn’t know many of my usual friends as she travels in a different circle than me!! But it’s all good fun hangin out with her as she's a hoot to be around as we laugh, dance, drink & smoke! In fact she got to be my fave person to hang out and party with tho she lacked the stamina to do it for more than 1 or 2 days like moi!

Hosted this American Nurse from the southern states as she worked in Seattle. She was a lot of fun and up to try a lot of new things! But she did like to do 420 & dance some reggae so we got along great! I get along great with Americans but dislike their countries foreign policies (doesn't seem to matter who's administration it is) & heavy handle tactics to protect their national security cuz not everyone is a potential terrorist or whatever!

AS usual I rode my bike a lot during the day & at night when ever I went somewhere! Would meet some people at Trout Lake a man made lake in East Van http://vancouver.about.com/od/beachesparks/p/troutlake.htm
which was a cool 2 hang out for things like Full Moon parties, etc. Also would head down to either Wreck Beach or 3rd Beach on the west side of Stanley Park! Hell would go hang out in the day time but would still be there until late at night! So of course had to ride my bike home in the dark without lights, wearing sun glasses (shit have no other place else to put them), listening to my mp3 player, usually wasted as take wine, music & 420 to the beach! So the ride is usually epic but it's all good fun as always made it home OK or at least wake up in my bed in the morning!

Wreck Beach http://www.wreckbeachcanada.com/wreckbeach.htm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvNZB_VkJ4Q
was always fun as meet some of my Thur night Astoria friends! A couple latinos and a mix of others who were always up for drumming, guitar playing or whatever! One of my Latino friends had a food booth ?? there! It was always a riot going down there to hang out! But the friggin ride back was painful as it was like 10 km back in the dark while usually half in the bag! So the same routine as returning from 3rd Beach but further to ride!!!

Then some time in July there was the Vancouver Folk festival at the Jericho Beach Park! http://thefestival.bc.ca/ Of course went to listen to the music but a lot of us went to the beach & never paid cuz why pay when u could hear the music on the beach! Many of the people came with drums and had a Drum Circle there on the beach!

About the last weekend in July there was the Caribbean Music festival at Waterfront Park in North Vancouver! http://www.caribbeandays.ca/ I always volunteer there cuz love the vibes & people working there! My Jamaican buddy Hugh/Huge always has a booth there! So this year I helped at the Beer Garden – mistake!!! Well enjoyed working at the Beer Garden as all my co-volunteers were cool and easy to get along with! However my trouble started when I started testing some of the Vodka coolers, etc as I never drink that shit! Hell I hardly drink that much at the best of times! But it was a hot day and so after drinking an assortment of stuff I was getting pretty shit faced! Don’t tell anyone but there was a long line to buy tickets and get drinks! So whenever someone said "oh shit do I have to get back in that long line again?" Well I’d give them a couple extra drinks so they wouldn’t have to get back in line! Shit made a lot of friends but that wasn’t my intention in giving freebies as just shit happens! My theory is always believe in having a good time & if a person(s) is cool & fun well I’d like to help them out! Made a couple of new friends from Caribbeans there so sure will meet them there again next year! Insha’allah!!

It wss an odd coincidence that a cool nice friendly American chick that I met in 2010 in Zagreb Croatia was in Vancouver that weekend for a wedding! So when she called me well I invited her to the festival! She found her way to the festival so left the Beer Garden to hang around the stage to get into the awesome music! Then when the music ended we packed up and went to the Rusty Gull pub about 3 blks away!
http://www.rustygull.com/
There was a Reggae band Mostly Marley playing there on Sunday evenings! So we checked that out and enjoyed our selves! http://www.clubzone.com/events/18891/vancouver/rusty-gull-neighborhood-pub/live-mike-henry-the-mostly-marle

The first Monday in Aug is always a holiday in BC which made for a long weekend! So of course there were a lot of things going on! There were music groups playing at my favorite haunts! The Anza Club which is about 10 blks away as they usually out the place for groups to have Reggae parties on Fri & African parties on the last Sat of every month!
http://www.clubvibes.com/vancouver/nightclub/anza-club.html
Then there’s the Astoria Pub which features the Thur evening Reggae Dance hall night with Ting who's DJ’ing! She lives in my 'hood so often see her around da hood with her young son! She's plays a lot of Reggae as her Guy lives in Jamaica!
http://www.clubvibes.com/events/vancouver/thursday-ting!.html?e=147662
Also go down to the Biltmore Club which is about 4 blks from my place.
http://www.biltmorecabaret.com/
It has a lot of Indie groups playing there so can always find cool music going on! But a lot of times if I don’t know the group it’s like Hit or Miss on whether I may be into it! One Wed night was walking home by the Club & heard some cool music going on! It was like “Toonie Tues” yeah OK so it was Wed but wtf! So paid my $2 and got to listen to 2 awesome groups & drink some cheap $4 beer for a couple hrs! Good value!!!!

Yeah so anyway had to be in Salmo in the mountains for the Shambhala Music Festival by Tues noon (to re-train but that was a waste of time plus shit got to find an awesome campsite & party for a couple days before the crowds invaded the festival) in far eastern BC about a 8 hr drive east of Vancouver. At first I had planned to volunteer there as I do most years so can free admission for the 4 day festival! But this year I figured shit why not get paid even if I had to do longer gigs! Cuz shit was going there anyways so why not get paid as could use the $$$ since I was hoping to go traveling in Oct! So I worked as a Stage Keeper (which I've done in past yrs) which is a person that hangs around the stage ensuring no one gets hurt or goes into the wrong part of the stage area! So worked 4 X 12 hrs shifts (yeah more work than done in a long long time)! But in reality it wasn’t really like work except getting up early was the shits! Cuz was usually half or totally wasted my entire shift as just danced around all day! I had 6 am to 6 pm gigs so getting up for 6 am was a drag! But have to be proud as always made it to work within 15 mins of starting! Plus we got our meals provided which helped so didn’t have to cook or buy food! There are no Beer Gardens or many ppl (that I know of) who get shit faced on booze! Cuz this festival is mostly for Stoners or on some other shit as u can buy anything anywhere any time there! So it’s like a smorgasboard of dope to be had!

I worked at the Fractal Forest stage which is built right in the trees & is the favorite stage for most ppl! I really enjoy it there but it can get very claustrophobic there at nights cuz the stages go all night & are f*ckin crowded! I also like to go to the Living Room as it’s on the beach (by the creek) so can chill in the water or lie under a tree! Also liked the Rock Pit cuz usually had groups playing as heard some awesome groups there from all over the world! Heard an amazing group from Russia, an Aborginial group from Aussie, etc. But in reality liked all 6 stages as each presented a bit of a different genre! http://www.shambhalamusicfestival.com/

Had to leave Monday for Salmo the ranch in the Kootenays mtns where the festival is held as it's about a 8 hr drive. Cuz wanted to get there before dark to set up camp!

So a German chick Sophia contacted me if she could score a ride there too as she was volunteering there! Also got a request from this Canadian chick who was traveling but would be back for Shambhala!! We left at 11 am Vancouver on Monday & didn't get to Salmo till around 1 am Tue due to a fuck up along the way! I let this Canadian chick (can’t remember her name) drive for a while – mistake cuz she was a real dildo! We got to Osoyoos and this idiot chick took the wrong hwy cuz she couldn’t friggin read the signs I guess! So we ended up driving to the US border crossing – duh!! Then she says what do we do now? Huh I woke up and thought shit where are we? We couldn't go back out cuz there were tons of cars lined up behind us! So we thought shit we’ll just explain to the US border guards what happened & sure they'd let us go back into Canada! This chick driving couldn’t drive & think at the same time! Fuck now that I think about it she couldn’t THINK period!! So we drove into the US and explained our situation! So they asked for our ID’s and of course no one brought their passports cuz who the frigg wanted to go to the US anyways!!! Well long story short it took us over a hr cuz Sophia was from Germany & she didn’t have a passport or proper ID. Well she got fingerprinted, photo taken and stamped an Rejected Foreign Alien to the US! So whenever she goes to the Excited States of America from now on she’ll have trouble! But she has no real desire to go there – smart chick! So we were happy when we got escorted back to the Canadian border crossing cuz thought Canadian Immigration officers were more human – wrong! Our mistake was telling them we were going to Shambhala! Cuz immediately they thought we had illegal shit on us!! So I was told since I owned the truck if I owed up to any illegal shit well it would be easier on us! So what the fuck was I going to confess to anyway cuz other than weed which I always carry on me! I thought we had no dope cuz knew can buy anything at the festival! So wtf was suppose to do even if we had some? Should I confess cuz wtf could they do throw us in the slammer, deport us or castrate us - well at least me duh didn't want that! Take oue dope away or give us a fine for any small amount we had, etc. Hell we were Canadians except Sophia but didn’t think we had any dope so I confidently said go ahead give it your best shot to find any dope in the truck! Well it took an hr and they didn’t find any thing! I have to say that Canadian border guards can be as big assholes too like Americans or any other place! But little did I know that the 2 girls had some ‘shrooms in their bags and were sweating! So anyway we got delayed and didn’t get to Salmo until real late! In fact couldn’t find the road into the ranch cuz they had no signs up that early as the festival didn’t start until Thur pm or Fri & it was only Tues early am! Well that Canadian bimbo left to find her friends to camp with & never saw her again which was no lost the friggin idiot! So Sophia and I camped together tho hardly ever saw her cuz we worked different shifts & jobs! But I kinda like doing festivals alone cuz then I don’t have to worry about staying with someone while at a crowded stage! Shit I like to dance or move around so don’t have to tell anyone if I go to a different stage or remain at the same one all day! I worked 6 am to 6 pm then went back to my truck to have a short siesta in the back of my truck as didn’t bother putting up my tent! Then partied from 9 pm to 3 am, headed back for 3 hrs sleep & woke up to do my 12 hrs work gig! When we drove back there were 3 of us again! As a chick Sophia was working with needed a ride back so thought hell why not help someone and get some gas $$ too! Had a good time and made $500 & my entrance fee paid plus meals (if I ever go again which I won't I may try to negotiate getting free dope too ha ha) which is a lot more than made in a while! But decided won’t do Shambhala anymore not cuz don’t enjoy it but have done it enuf so time to move on!

Plan in future years to spend my energy to go to Burning Man http://www.burningman.com/ at the end of Aug! I had a ticket already for this year but decided couldn’t afford to go to BM! As was hoping to travel in Oct for 3 months plus a trip to Eastern Canada so thought shit can’t afford to spend $350 on a tkt & another 1200 on getting to BM & other shit! So sold my BM ticket to someone a CSer I knew but don’t believe in gouging ppl so sold it for the same price I paid $350 which is still kind of steep!!

So to make up for not making it to BM decided to check out Alive at Squamish (had been there last year too) about the 3rd week of Aug. http://liveatsquamish.com/ So picked up a cheap tkt on CL and headed up to the 2day festival with J.M. my crazy fun lovin hangin out friend! She had never been to a musical festival so this was a new experience for her! Actually whenever we hung out it was a new or crazy experience for her (she usually drives her fancy car but went to a concert downtown once & took a bus which was a hoot for her & moi!!)! She was always up to smoking, drinking and having a good time! But she generally hung out with a different crowd than moi! She had some friends tat the festival that we met up with but unfortunately they weren’t too impressed with moi for some reason! Duh think they figured I was too weird , a Stoner or some shit! So didn’t hang out with them which I kinda felt bad about for her but met other random chill fun ppl! We slept in the back of my truck in the parking lot as didn’t have or want to pay the $$ for a camp site! But we met a few others camping there too so drank and partied most of the night with them! J.M. was a real trooper as think she enjoyed herself so I’d go to a festival with her again any time cuz as long as they like music it's cool! The funny thing is we had to leave before the last group Weezer came on which we really wanted to hear play on Sun night! But J.M. got a bad case of diahera (the runs) or whatever so we had to go! But u know wtf it’s all good as can catch the group another time! Insha’alllah! Cuz we realize that it’s about having a good time & not seeing all the groups! So we had an awesome crazy time!

Then on the Labor Weekend went to Seattle for a day to catch some groups at Bumbershoot! http://bumbershoot.org/lineup/ Went down with C a cool crazy African American chick that hang out with from time to time in Vancouver! C really knows her music and groups! She wanted to see this one group on Sat so we tried to make the 1 pm show! But we didn’t make it for various reasons! One being we got stopped at the border again for some reason! C thought it was cuz she’s American & I’m Canadian! So she thought the Asshole border guards (hate all border guards with a passion tho am polite to them I think) were thinking that she was bringing me into the US to get married so I could illegally get in the US! Didn’t want to burst ur balloon C but why the fuck would I want to become an American! I did at one time when I was younger and stupid but now I’m older and stupid but not that fuckin stupid! Shit I worked for Alaska Airlines in Seattle for 6 years when was married as I got free flts to commute as flew down to Seattle every Mon am and back to Vancouver every Tues PM! Loved the company, ppl and enjoyed my time there but become a citizen hell no!! I love Americans, Obama but hate their gov’t policies and foreign policies with a passion! But back to the festival! Yeah we had a great time as C introduced me to a group Little Dragon that loved! Also heard the Presidents of the United States of America & Starfuckers! Also heard this awesome marching band! So yeah had a great time as usual as think there are always a better line up at festivals in the US than in Canada! I notice that at both the Sasquatch music festival & Bumbershoot! Hope to make it to Cochella Music festival in LA area one day Insha’allah!

Then about a week after going to Bumbershoot on Labor Day went to Tofino http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tofino,_British_Columbia with J.M. my fun loving, weed smoking, liquor drinkin friend! Who I went with to Live at Squmish & have hung out to do other fun things! J.M. liked to surf so went there to do some! But shit we hardly got outside cuz guess we partied too much! Cuz had our share of beer, wine, liquor, weed, ‘shrooms, etc! We stayed at a cool cabin and made it to the beach for a run! Also made it to the bar in town one evening to drink at a local establishment! So yeah had a fun time hangin with J.M. as usual but unfortunately felt bad that she didn’t get to go surfing tho I encouraged her to go! So anyway fun was had as always!

Had to hurry home from Tofino cuz a day after had a flt to Toronto & onward to Montreal! But shit man that will be another Posting not this one!

Anyway don’t have any pics posted at this time but keep tuned!

Decided at the last minute to check out Jamaica as my Jamaican Canadian buddy Hugh or Junior was heading to his home in Jamaica!!!

2011-04-13T13:18:00.001-07:00

Just got my visa for China as hope to go for a trip to Philippines, Laos, China/Tibet and Mongolia. But then my Jamaican buddy Hugh (who's gym I go to work out) mentioned he was heading to Jamaica. So he invited me along so thought why not as I had never been there!

We both went on different flights so Hugh arranged someone to pick me up & had a place to stay there. So arrived in Montego Bay Jamaica & was picked up by Hugh’s brother Karl, his son and his buddy. This was kind of a first for me as usually find my own way. But had no idea where his family lived as it’s about a hr drive to the village Grange Hill where Hugh's family live. It's near Negril Beach one of the resort areas in Jamaica.

They took me to this Guest house which Hugh’s Mom and Aunt own even if they live in Toronto. Guess they bought this house as some type of investment or retirement home in Jamaica or whatever. It’s a good thing they took me to this guest house cuz that’s the only place to stay in that village. Unless of course I stayed at someone’s home but most homes are pretty small there!

I thought shit man these guys went out of their way to pick me up so figured I’d give them some money as a thank u! Cuz thought they were doing it cuz Hugh asked them to so I offered them $10 just as a thank u! But guess they had a reason to pick me up cuz the guy owning car says Oh I charge like $500 Jamaica or $60 Canadian! Duh I just about passed out cuz I thought shit no wonder he was anxious to give me a ride! Hell the guy used his car as a taxi service!! Hell if I knew has going to charge me that much well I would have looked around for a bus or some cheaper way! Cuz hell I’ve never paid that much for a taxi before. In fact I never take a taxi!!! Jamaica is a very poor country and I found out that a visitor to the country is expected to pay for things. We had to drive about 1 hr from Montego Bay to Grange Hill where Hugh’s family lives. I dam near fainted cuz I don’t usually pay that much for a ride, especially when I’m in another country traveling.

So that was my introduction to Jamaica and I wasn’t impressed. Of course my image was fuck man this country is expensive but poor! So everyone here is out to make a buck off foreigners! I’m tight when I travel cuz want to conserve my travel $$! Hell I hate it when I go to a place and can’t really chill and enjoy cuz the $ I’m spending is on my mind! Hell Hugh was the one who set this all up so couldn’t argue about the price. Hell he even arranged the Guesthouse cuz after all it was owned by his Mom! So he wanted me to pay him before I left which was like $420 CAD!! I have never paid that much for a place before but what could I do as he had already arranged it!

Hell he told me normally they charge $60 a night which is like the Hyatt or some place in my mind! So thought OK I’ll do this once but never again! The Guest house was nice by Jamaican standards but I would have rather paid less and shared a bathroom. Cuz shit man I normally do and how many times do u use a bathroom?? The people working there were all family friends and were nice! It was kind of hot so had to keep the fan on all the time as didn’t want to open the windows! Cuz the fuckin mosquitos were pretty bad and I usually get eaten alive!

Grange Hill is a farming community where they grow and harvest Sugar Canes. I found the village very poor and like Hugh called it a Ghetto where his family lives! But his mother and aunt who live in Toronto, Canada own a Guest House in Grange Hill. So he had me stay there but to me I didn’t care cuz I would have stayed anywhere. Also I found out that they were charging me $30 a night to stay there. Now I’m kind of a tight ass when I travel so I thought that this was too much. But of course the Guest House was nice for Jamaica and I had a my own bathroom and shower. Not that I wanted it cuz had no choice.

The next day I just wandered around to see what Grange Hill was like. Jamaica kind of remindsme of Africa cuz there’s as a lot of poverty. Plus a lot of people there were telling me that I shouldn’t walk around alone at night cuz a lot of guys liked to rob tourists!!! The young guys are cool during the day but get a bit more bolder at night! It was odd cuz I was probably the only Non Black person in Grange Hill so I stood out like a sore thumb! So everyone there was calling me a white tourist which of course I wasn’t. So yeah I walked around at night but made sure I wasn’t in sketchy areas!

So the second day drove out to the Montego Bay airport with Hugh’s brother to pick up Hugh! Of course after driving 1 hr to get to the airport we find out his flight is delayed 2 hrs. So we just hang around and I walk over to departures to check things out. But we did manage to pick up Hugh and return to Grange Hill as Hugh is excited to be back. He hadn’t been in Jamaica for 2 years so he wanted to see his family cuz of course families are pretty tight there.

Hugh is called Junior by all his family and friends in Jamaica. He was born in Jamaica but then his mother took him to live in Toronto, Canada. But guess he was getting into a lot of shit there so when he got a son well he cleaned up his act. But it’s hard to get out of getting into shit when all your friends are still into it and still want to hang out! So he decided to move to Vancouver and left his 10 yr son in Toronto with his mother. He came out to Vancouver on the bus with hardly any money and no friends. But he was determined to get out of the vicious cycle of hanging out with friends that were a bad influence and who he couldn’t say no to! The only skill he knew was working out in a gym and helping young kids in a community center. So he got a job working in a gym and selling some Jamaican things. He then opened his own small gym in East Vancouver which is across the street from where I live. I had met Hugh at an African festival a couple years ago and we chatted. Then I kept running into him around the neighborhood. My Bro Thomas was staying with me at the time. We both wanted to go to his gym and work out but we could never get our shit together to start going. But once Thomas left I decided in Jan to go to the gym and work out. We became friends and he told me he was making a trip to Jamaica and I should join him!

Well I had been thinking of going west to Philippines and to Laos, etc. But I had never been to Jamaica and I thought it would be cool to go and check it out! But one Sat I went to a travel show and found a flight to Montego Bay return for $600 so I bought it. I later found out that it was a day after Hugh/Junior was going but what the heck. He arrange a cheap place (relative I suppose) for me to stay in his village in Grange Hill. It was just as well cuz there were no hotels or anything in that village & hey I didn’t care where I stayed!

There’s not much to do in Grange Hill except to walk around and check out the people and place. Hugh never said it was a tourist place or had sights to see and boy was he right! Hell I got there the day before he did so by the time he showed up I had cased the joint and saw all there was to see which is like fuck all!!

But I will say that it was interesting to visit a remote village out in the sticks of Jamaica! The people were mostly quite friendly except most all stared at me!! Hell none of them have every seen a person of Japanese descent before especially with tats and piercings! Shit could feel all the people staring at me but oh well realize that most of them are pretty ignorant as have little or no education! Hell it was worse than Africa cuz hell in Africa the people were too busy trying to get something to eat so had no time to stare. While in Jamaica they had something to eat but that was about it!!!!

I liked the Jamaican food but it got a bit monotonous! Hell a person can only eat so many meat patties , fish and chicken! Or I could wait till the people at food stalls started their fires up to cook Jerk Chicken. But heck I’m not a big meat eater but couldn’t find a salad at any place! They don’t have regular sit down type restaurants where u can order a sit down meal. U can find a take out meat pattie place but I could only eat so much of that cuz a person can get fat eating that a lot! There are a lot of sidewalk food stalls which I frequented but a lot of that was kind of greasy food! I ate at Lydia’s food eatery or what ever the woman who owned it was called but u get the picture. I went to eat there every day cuz there was no other place in town! It was a combination food and bar so yeah that was where I’d go where ever I went out to eat! But hey when in Rome well …… and anyway it was all just an experience cuz not a fussy eater. But when I do eat I kind of like to eat healthy! I did notice that the Jamaicans didn’t eat healthy, they just ate!!! I could tell from the booties on the women! I guess the Jamaican men liked their women to have the big booties or something. But I think guys from other countries like the bootie on chicks to be a little bit less!!! So chicks were nice until they got to be 18 or so and then all hell broke loose!! Maybe it was due to the fact that most started having kids at that age!

I noticed that Jamaican chicks started having babies around 18! Someone told me they had babies cuz they had nothing else to do! Duh shit I can understand having sex if there’s nothing else to do. But shit man who the hell wants babies?

So once Hugh was in Grange Hill with me well we visited and hung out with his brother Karl and his family. He makes bedroom furniture so took us to some stores that sell his stuff. It seems that East Indians & Chinese run the stores in Jamaica!

We also went to visit Hugh’s brother Shaba who is a real Rasta! He lives in a simple house with only a bedroom. He cooks his meals on an open pit fire and grows his own food. The real Rasta are vegetarians and like their Ganja! Hugh’s brother is really a chilled guy who is always smoking Ganja! Hell people in Jamaica are always smoking a spliff (as they call them) but unlike Europeans they don’t mix tobacco in with the ganja, yuck!! In fact they all smoke their own spliff as they don’t roll one and share it like we do! Guess cuz they don’t smoke ganja as something social like we do! Ha ha! But hell I don’t even smoke spliffs as I like to smoke out of a pipe. Mainly cuz can’t roll a joint as don’t do it often as use a pipe, bong, vaporizer, etc. Also when a person gets stoned it’s hard to roll them! Shit I figure u waste a lot of ganja when u smoke a joint/spliff as pipes are more efficient! But that’s me a tight bastard!! Ha ha. These days I’m getting more into cooking with ganja as like to drink Ganja Tea or Ganja Cookies, umm! Anyway back to my story duh , now where was I??

Oh yeah the other thing Jamaica is known well for! Reggae music! Yeah So one day got a chance to see the real Jamaica which most ppl don't see. We went to a Peter Tosh Memorial concert at his old home. There was a lot of good music, a lot of people selling their wares and lots of cool people hanging out there, especially the Rastas.

We went to Negril Beach a few times as that was the closest beach. But we had to take a taxi to get there. The taxis in Jamaica are expensive if u take one alone and not with others. So we would catch a shared taxi there. Which means the taxi waits until the taxi is full before it leaves. So taking the taxi from Grange Hill to Negril Beach wasn’t too much hassle. But if u come back in the evening well it could be more trouble. Cuz not many people take the taxi in the evening so of course it takes a while for a taxi to leave. Another problem is since only a few taxis go to certain places well if u miss one than u’r going to have to wait a while for another one to leave. A funny thing that people do there in the evening is if the taxi is full well they climb in the trunk to ride otherwise they may got get a ride! One time we were riding back to Grange Hill (down a bumpy dirt road) when we could hear someone banging the car! I wasn’t aware that someone was in the trunk and think the driver forgot! Finally someone told the driver, uh u have a passenger riding in the trunk! Shit I thought that anyone riding in the trunk should get a free ride. But there are no free rides in Jamaica like everywhere else lol! Shit wonder what would happen if the driver completely forgot to open the trunk and no other passengers tell him?? Shit there’s no way I’d ride in the trunk cuz for 1 thing I get claustrophobia!!!

So after about a week I was getting a bit bored in the village. Hell u can only hang out with so many Rastafari (Rastas). Hugh’s brother Shaba is a real Rusta and lives a real simple life in the
woods. He said I could camp on his land if I come back again. But actually don't know if I'd go back to Jamaica again cuz it's too expen$$$ive for my taste! Shit I had to pay for everything cuz
everyone is sooooo poor! We had to take a taxi to the beach – my friend, his brother and me! Well shit I'd have to pay as they don't think any thing about paying when a foreigner is with them. It's only about $8 but shit that adds up.

So when Hugh left to come back to Vancouver well I had time so went to the beach to hang out! The economy of Jamaica is driven by tourists!! The tourists that come mostly stay at all inclusive resorts! So that leaves only a few cheaper places to stay. Well I was told the Yoga Center was cheap so headed there to stay about 6 days! Hell even there it cost about $50 to $70 a night! The rooms were nice and the $50 one had shared toilets while the $70 gave u indoor
plumbling of your own! They were kinda bamboo style built among the trees and gardens. There was an open air yoga center in the middle of the place! Shit I stayed 3 nights then had to move out for 1 night then returned for 2 nights. So I stayed next door which was more to my liking. The place had ppl that I could relate to and the price was more my style. I paid $25 for a room to myself with a shared bathroom. There were some people I could talk to who were nice.

When I returned to the Yoga Center I found out that the reason I got the boot was they were having a Yoga Retreat!!! I found out that people who got to these retreats are so friggin Booooooooooring people! Shit I would have stayed next door had I known that. Hell I'll never stay at a place that has a RETREAT!!!!!!!!!!!! They are so boooooring and WEIRD!!!!!!! I was out on my porch/patio listening to my mp3 with my external speakers having a beer and spliff. It was 3 pm and my speakers aren't that loud. But shit this girl next door asks me if I have earphones which I did. But shit it was Jamaica, 3 pm and I was listening to Reggae like most ppl there so it wasn't that loud. Shit she was weird as she was there for the Retreat! They are all so
quiet, do only yoga, don't smoke, drink or socialize except about yoga. Shit I found it so boring at that place. So I spent all my time down at this little make shift bar by the beach run by a Jamaican. I hung out with the locals who sell jewellery, carvings, t shirts and other ornaments, etc. They were more interesting and would talk to you. Shit must have spent most of my waking hrs there!

Met this Canadian guy and one day we decided to sneak into an All Inclusive Resort. We didn't want to stay or actually enjoy the food or drinks. But thought it would be kind of pay back to them cuz they charge so much. Well we'd help our selves to all the food and drinks that they had to offer! So we did and went and pigged out on food and drinks!

Shit all the people visiting Jamaica were either boring ppl staying at all inclusives or these weird retreat types. Not my style or fun as the locals were more fun and friendly! I have to say the locals are cool but get kind of tired of the one who are trying to sell their crafts! Most of their goods are good but the guys just sit in the shade and yell at u across the street to come & check out their wares! Shit I can’t be bothered to walk over to see their crafts cuz if they can’t be bothered than neither can I ! The chicks in Jamaica are a bit different than what we meet in Canada or other western countries. Can’t say as many ever did anything for me! I guess mainly cuz not much for chicks with big booties! I love black chicks as think they’re kind of hot but the difference killer are the big booties! But most Jamaican chicks over 18 had big booties! Yeah if a guy went to Jamaica well it could do wonders for their self esteem cuz have to say that that got hit on by a few chicks (like in Africa)! But hey don’t need an ego boost cuz know that all they want is a ticket out of their poor life style to Canada! The chicks in Jamaica aren’t as fussy about meeting a guy as in western countries! They don’t measure a guy by their bank account, fancy home, car or prestigious job or life style! Their measuring stick is which passport do u carry! All they want is someone to look after them and put a roof over head and provide food! They’;l have kids and look after them. I would want a little more in my life in a chick like compatibility and someone that enjoys life. But I know they don’t care about the same thing as Canadian chicks. Cuz hell I look in the mirror every day so know that shit why would a beautiful young chick see in me except my passport? Why would they want to hook up with a short, dumpy, older guy who is unemployed (by choice) and isn’t looking, doesn’t want responsibility, wants just to have fun, travels a lot, has no money or future, etc. So yeah a lot of Canadian guys may go to these countries to pick up or meet a young beautiful chick. But hey I want to meet a chick on who I am in real life and doesn’t mind! Shit there are lots of countries in Africa, Asia & maybe South & Central America where they can meet a chick for a partner. But dude I don’t want one that badly, in fact I don’t really care if I get one at all! Though I do love chicks but ones that think and are the same as me!!

I like Jamaica and how chill it is but don't think I'd go to Jamaica again unless I went with someone. But shit the tourists who go for a 7 day all inclusive vacation ruin it for others. Hell they don't hardly barter so the price they're willing to pay is the standard for all! Hell those people save their money for 2 yrs to go on a 7 day vacation at an all inclusive. So shit they are going to spend all their money in 7 days before they leave. They love suntanning & sleeping in lounges all day by the beach, then at night get all dressed up and pay shit loads of money for a meal and stock up on souvenirs that they pay a lot for!!!!

Yeah Jamaica is a beautiful country but very poor and the asshole tourists pay whatever is asked so the prices of everything is a lot!

Wow great timing as got home from a cross Canada Road Trip at end of Oct & my travel buddy Thomas came to visit for 2 wks & ended up staying 2+ mths

2011-02-10T23:10:00.000-08:00

Wow 2010 turned out to be a wild crazy year! In Feb I left Vancouver to miss the Winter Olympics being held here! It's so political & wanted no part of the gouging that was about to happen to visitors here (yeah the city was going to welcome the world & then charge people up $200+ a night to rent their homes, etc). So I said screw this BS and went travelling to get out of town and ended up traveling for 6 months as returned in July!

Well thought I'd be chilling, host travellers and just doing my usual partying & maybe find a cool job. But shit that was soon forgotten as spent the next 6 months continuing the wild crazy time! In Aug went to the Shambhala Music Festival and a couple other festivals held during the summer. Then hit the beaches and hosted a bunch of Couch Surfers for Aug & Sept. But got kind of bummed out as had to pass on going to Burning Man as couldn't afford the cost & taking a road trip to Nevada as didn't want to drive my truck there. But then kinda started getting withdrawals to do another trip. So at the end of Sept was able to score a Ride share with Alix, a sort of hippie dude, going down east to Ontario. Then spent all of Oct traveling across Canada & got as far as Quebec City! This cool as got to hang out with Thomas from France a travel buddy met in Ecuador & Peru in 2009! So had a great time hanging with Thomas and meeting his cool Québécois & French friends

So after having an awesome time in Eastern Canada well returned home to Vancouver at the end of Oct! But then what happened but a wk later Thomas, my French travel buddy & who I just visited in Quebec City, tells me he’s coming to check out Vancouver for 10 days! But Thomas kinda liked Vancouver & the fun we were having so he hung around with me for Nov, Dec & 1/2 of Jan! So instead of my usual Couch Surfing activity of hosting different people well I hosted and hung out with Thomas.

I should tell you that my apartment is a studio, which for the uneducated, has the living room, bedroom and kitchen all in one room! But hey since both of us are quite flexible & managed. However have to confess that we did have the odd disagreement like all Bro’s do cuz it’s gets quite congested for 2 peep to live in hang out in 1 room for 2 months as neither of us were working so we spent the entire day pretty much hanging out together!

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But shit we did our share of going out as must have checked out almost all the pubs, clubs, concerts and generally had fun! Hell the second day we went out so I could show Thomas some sights in Vancouver! So where did we end up but at the world-famous Marc Emery's Cannabis Culture Headquarters store located in downtown Vancouver, BC, Canada at 307 West Hastings Street. So of course we had to visit the Urban Shaman & ended up getting Hawaiian Baby Woodrose seeds! http://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/var021.htm Tthey were seeds from a plant growing wild in Asia. It kind of reminded us of Ayahuasca a drink made by Shamans in South America from some Amazonian plants!

So like kids we had to try it that night! But shit we ended up laying in a chair staring at the ceiling for a couple hrs until we could get our shit together to go out! Hey we didn't know the effects of these seeds except that it would keep us both fucked for a couple hours! We just had to peel off the hard outside coating of the seeds. Then leave it in our mouths for 10 mins so they soften then we chew and swallow it!

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The first weekend we went to the Fairview Pub to check this popular local Reggae group Mostly Marley. http://pa-in.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6611325923 http://turnerme.com/mostlymarley.shtml
Enjoyed the music so much that ended up going 2 nights in a row! The cool thing was not only the music great but a lot had to do with the chill atmosphere of the pub!

I later found out that Mostly Marley also play in the Rusty Gull Pub in North Vancouver which is a bus & seabus ride there on a Sunday evening! The trip is OK on a regular evening but on Sunday's the Powers to Be shut the Sea Bus down at 11 PM! However the music and pub close later that time. So have to catch a bus which only runs on the 1/2 hr! It's a lengthy run over the Lions Gate Bridge thru Stanley Park Causeway! So this is basically a night bus that brings u down town and then u have to catch another bus to where ever u live! So it got to be that on Sunday nights well had to go to the Rusty Gull to see them play there for probably 4 Sun in a row. Just got there to have a couple beers, listen to the music and dance! Would run in to some of the same people there every Sun like Paul, Muriel. Eve, etc a few times at the Rusty Gull. They all enjoyed the music, the beer & dancing too. Muriel worked as the rental manager at Seymour Ski hill! I also found out that Mostly Marley play on Tue evenings at the Yale Pub & the Lamplighter on Thur nights in downtown Vancouver! So you have more than one place to go to listen to the group if you love their music. I even suggested a Couch Surfing Tues Evening meeting one Tues so could listen to Mostly Marley play!

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On that same weekend there was also a Scavenger Hunt organized by a couple of ppl thru Couch Surfing! So Thomas and I tried it out with a bunch & It was a fun time as it was new to both of us. It was organized by Maxx and Ian who are from Winterpeg who all seem to hang together (almost like that there’s strength in numbers as feel they can only do things if together) even if they moved to Vansterdam! We also met Josh, Dan, Adam and a few others but can't remember their names. It was a lot of fun as we gathered at the Two Parrots Pub on a rainy Sat afternoon. We then setup teams of 5 or 6 in a group. Then for 2 or 4 hrs we ran around collecting all the items that we needed to get from the list we were given. We of course had our share of drinks and laughs. So except for some rain it was all great fun and we met some new friends!

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There are always Couch Surfing meetings every Tue evenings at different bars, etc so people involved in CS can meet locals and other newcomers to the city! So all a person has to do is login to the website and check the Community page for the local activities going on in the city! So of course Thomas and I decided to take a meeting in. Well the week we chose the meeting was being held at the Shennigan Bar a kind of dead bar on Robson St which is a hoity toity designer type shopping street that I never hang out. So we got there but couldn’t find any couch surfers so we had a couple beers and left! So I suggested hey head to the Vapour Lounge and do some 420 as love that more than drinking in fact cuz this is Vansterdam & 420 country!! http://www.mjguide.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=533

What I didn’t realize was that Tue night is Open Mic Night at the Vapour Lounge! The atmosphere at the Vapour Lounge at any time but it’s really cool and fun during Open Mic Nights! So anyone who wants to get up and play an instrument, sing, say a poem or whatever can just do it as all they have to do is get their names on the list! But basically it’s just an awesome Jam Session! We really enjoyed having a hit off a Volcano Vapourizer and listen to the guys just jamming but the longer the night the better the music sounded! But we realized that a person had to get there by at least 7:30 pm to get a good seat to see the guys jamming! Hell we enjoyed it so much and thought shit this is so much better than going to a bar like the Sheningan which is a dead bar! So we thought hey why don’t we suggest having a CS weekly meetling at the Vapour Lounge the next Tues. So posted on the CS Community page suggesting this however had to tell them that it would cost $5 for each hr u stay there cuz they have to make some money to pay their bills. But hey a person can pay $5 for a beer at a bar and have 2 or 3 an hr.

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So posted the following on the site!!!

OK we’ve done the CS weekly meeting scene at bars so now who’s up for a meeting at the Vapour Lounge Open Mic next Tue night Nov 16! Hey CS`ers don’t be a JamTart cus life’s about Experiences & Fun!!!!!!!

Yeah have done CS weekly meetings at bars!!! So for a hoot why don`t any 420 lovers & closet 420 ppl try a CS meeting at the Vapour Lounge (upstairs) 307 Hastings St W (next door to New Amsterdam Cafe) Vancouver? Head there quite often but Tues for Open Mic Night are especially chilled & fun with live music (u decide if it’s cool) & awesome vibes (guaranteed)! But if u go on Tue nights u have to be there by at least by 7:30 or 8 pm or u won’t find a seat as it’s a Vansterdam tradition! Also for anyone who’s too cautious to indulge well that's cool too as just come, hang out, chat & inhale!

Cus when in Vansterdam well u have to try the Volcano’s at the Vapour Lounge at least once especially on Tues for the Open Mic Night! Costs $5 / hr to use the volcano’s and/or bongs but have to bring ur own greens!!! But hell if u stay 3 hrs it’s still cheaper than downing ½+ doz cervezas! Figure both the vaporizers and music are awesome especially cus the more u use the Volcanos the better the music sounds. Plus if u have any talent u can sign up for a turn at the Mic as everything sounds so greeaaaaat when the vaporizers are working A OK!

http://www.yelp.ca/biz/marc-emerys-cannabis-culture-headquarters-vancouver

btw sorry but this is a BYOW (Bring your own weed) joint cus u can’t buy greens or expect distribution ppl running a business there. So get off your ass & get your stash around the city like most 420 lovers do in a new place!

Regardless my buddy & I will be there so may have to put on our own CS get together!

...................

So after I posted this on the Vancouver Couch Surfing group I got a whole bunch of negative feed back that totally pissed me off! I was really disappointed that there were so many Friggin Conservative people on the Vancouver CS group! I knew that Europeans living in Vancouver on a Work Visa are not 420 friendly. They are more alcoholic Piss Tanks who get pissed and rarely smoke! Some say they smoke but shit what they do is not really smoking 420 cuz after one toke they’ve had enough! Hell real smokers like to smoke more than drink given a choice!!

I wanted to tell them all to just fuck off as I wrote but didn’t post what I thought! Cuz thought wtf is it really worth it, fuck no ! Cuz whe the hell cares!!!!

Didn't realize that the CS Gestapo were monitoring this site. Shit think most people are old enough to decide what they want to do without u guys giving us a sermon! So lets forget my suggestion and u guys can go back to having meetings at exciting bars which I have no trouble going to. My CS buddy and I went to Shennigans or whatever on Tue but shit it was so exciting with ppl that ended up watching a hockey game for 1 beer and left yawn!

But hell I was just throwing out a suggestion (hope didn't overstep the CS Vancouver rules???) but won't damage the site or upset the stuffy ppl who monitor this site.

Hell 90% of the CS on this site are cool but hell the other 10% are friggin stuffy CS Gestapo's.

So forget my posting as a suggestion for a CS Meeting! Shit I'll keep saying what I want as don't give a Fuck (sorry CS Gestapo for my blastemy)! So will keep off this website with future suggestions for doing things & leave postings to the 3 or 4 stuffy ppl who seem to run this site!!!! I've bit my tongue cus like and enjoy most ppl but I could but won't name 3 or 4 ppl who I've never met but run this site (they deserve praise for what they do but like can u cut ppl some slack as most ppl are travelers who want to enjoy Van city and what the locals do. Hell wonder if maybe I posted for a church meeting instead that I'd be OK??? But if I use the wrong language or make the wrong suggestion then I may be striked dead or blocked from this group site for my view of life!!! So thought I'd join Vansterdam but was blocked by the monitorers!!

Sorry for saying what i think (shit hope we never meet up cus I may not be able to control my words ha ha) cuz like I'm just a fun loving freespiritguy who likes to enjoy life!! So anyway u guys probably mean well but does everything have to be monitored cus we already have 1 gov't! Like what would happen if a couple of bad words are used? Wondering can anyone create a CS Group maybe for ppl in CS Vancouver who just want to enjoy life and not be critized? Heck most ppl using this group site are new to Van city so are not familar with things here!

So after that episode well got pretty turned off with the CS Community group! But suck it up a bit cuz CS is about meeting & hanging out having a good time with cool people who like to meet others & scoring a free couch to save money is a far second!

Got the following msg got from the Vancouver Couchsurfers Monitor why they deleted my posting about a CS meeting at the Vapour Lounge on Tue Nov 16. Also some of the replies on the thread. God was pissed when I first read this but now I think shit don't really care cus there are narrow minded conservative thinking ppl in this town. Hell always thought Van city was one of the most chilled and liberal cities in the world. I was fuckin disappointed that ppl thought like this.

Your group post has been removed

Dear FreeSpiritGuy, Your recent post in the group Vancouver CouchSurfers, in the thread OK we’ve done the CS weekly meeting scene at bars so now who’s up for a meeting at the Vapour Lounge Open Mic Night next Tue, has been reported by a member as a violation of CouchSurfing's Terms of Use. For your records, here is a copy of the post:

Yeah have done CS weekly meetings at bars!!! So for a hoot why don`t those of us who are 420 lovers & closet 420 ppl try a CS meeting at the Vapour Lounge (upstairs) 307 Hastings St W (next door to New Amsterdam Cafe) Vancouver? Head there quite often but Tues for Open Mic Night are especially chilled & fun with live music (u decide if it’s cool) & awesome vibes (guaranteed)! But if u go on Tue nights u have to be there by at least by 7:30 or 8 pm or u won’t find a seat as it’s a Vansterdam tradition! Also for anyone who’s too cautious to indulge well that's cool too as just come, hang out, chat & inhale!

Cus when in Vansterdam well u have to try the Volcano’s at the Vapour Lounge & get Baked at least once especially on Tues for the Open Mic Night! Costs $5 / hr to use the volcano’s and/or bongs but have to bring ur own greens!!! But hell if u stay 3 hrs it’s still cheaper than downing ½+ doz cervezas! Figure both the vaporizers and music are awesome especially cus the more u use the Volcano's the better the music sounds! Plus if u have any talent u can sign up for a turn at the Mic as everything sounds so greeaaaaat when the vaporizers are working A OK!

http://www.yelp.ca/biz/marc-emerys-cannabis-culture-headquarters-vancouver

btw sorry but this is a BYOW (Bring your own weed) joint cus u can’t buy greens or expect distribution ppl running a business there. So get off your ass & get your stash around the city like most 420 lovers manage to do in a new place!

Regardless whether everyone bails or not well my buddy & I will be there to have our own CS get together! So be on time cus not into saving seats like nice ppl ha ha cus too many flakes who don't show!!!

CouchSurfing is a community, and we have removed this content at the request of CS members. When posting in the future, please be careful to respect the guidelines of our community. If you have any uncertainties, our safety pages have more information about website abuse. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, please contact us and explain your concerns. We protect our members' freedom of expression within the guidelines of our Terms of Use, and we're happy to review this post if you feel that it was not website abuse. Thank you for your attention, The CouchSurfing Team

Post removed.

This post has been removed by an administrator.

Here is some of the posts that other people posted in response to having my posting removed!!! Some of these replies made me wonder where the f*ck do these people come from (sure not Vancouver where people are pretty receptive to 420). Shit some replies made me wonder shit what year are we in- the 1940’s ??

I am at a loss. I sit shaking my head. Couch surfing IS for people who like to travel right?

The US still has its head up its ass when it comes to their draconic War on Drugs right?

You can be denied entry into the US (or US airspace for that matter which would REALLY limit travel) for any reason they deem fit. In fact, immigration laws for both Canada (yay sheep!) and the US (good job bullies!) state that persons who simply admit to past drug use can be excluded by the decision of the border guard they encounter; this decision will be supported by his/her supervisors. This will go onto your "file" and pop up each time your plate or name comes up in the system.

Ah, but surely the Internet is SAFE?

HA! Words like chronic, 420, blunt, weed, herb, kind, sativa... can be monitored for use - oh SO big brother like - Conspiracy theorist? No. Definitely not. BUT I have had been there when friends (sample size of 2) have been turned away at the border... and have had one friend turned away and BANNED for years!!! (admittedly she was going down there for a job... BUT the point is... the border knew she was going down for a job BECAUSE THEY HAD COPIED OF EMAILS SHE'D SENT AND RECIEVED!!! Note to those using email to procure illegal employment)

Again, I sit here and wonder... not being against those who use... but confused as to why those who do would be so reckless as to risk something that they hold so dear... travel.

I hope that you have a lovely lovely night, and that you consider what I have said. REMEMBER... you have NEVER USED drugs before... EVER! and that the dogs are probably smelling something from the previous owner of that bag that you bought at a yard sale!!!
:o)

Remember, marijuana is still illegal in Canada, and is DEFINITELY NOT legal in the USA. Please refrain from posting details about events like this on the public forums.

I have nothing against those who imbibe, or imbibing in general, but the CS website is not the place to post the details for this type of event.

1) Is the title of this post insinuating that a Jam Tart is an insult or otherwise undesirable? Cuz... I like jam. And tarts.

2) @ Rain; is "kind" a watched word now?? WTF I must be living under a rock, what is happening to our English language!? Next thing you know they'll be banning "the" :P

3) Cover charge at a weekly meet, noooo!! Mind that many travellers are on a budget, and need that cash for non-negotiable travel expenses like flights or buses. Drugs, gourmet dinners and 'must-see' experiences must be carefully evaluated. The Tues meets are often a networking opportunity to just talk and listen, and we don't require entertainment or 1/2 doz cervezas for that. BYO-anything parties are always cheaper, but we still factor in the cost of 'groceries'.

4) Whether one indulges or not, simply being in that environment will stink up our clothes and bloodstream for future border crossings, job interviews, military service or serious sport performance, or even taking a Greyhound. Some of us cannot afford to pollute our bodies with tracable substances.

5) This is likely too culturally-specific an event for a general meeting venue, like holding it at the opera or tea house. I hope all the 420-folk have a nice evening, and for the rest we'll perhaps call up a regular haunt and find an alternative. :) Options are nice.

Jennifer

P.S. I am not going to get started on the border-cop rant...

Wonder who the f*ck this Jennifer is?? Hope never meet her!!! So here’s some of what I wanted to post to tell these conservative assholes (but didn’t cuz thought what’s the use?)

OK Let's forget having a CS meeting like this cuz don't want to cause waves tho I love to as I've been labeled anti establishment and unconventional (yeah I know I probably belong on a deserted island or in dark Africa, I usually wish)! But like meeting CS ppl so don't want to be judged by ppl who don't know me or want to know me! cuz most ppl on CS are cool and the monitors do a good job and work hard.

My first thought was to reply to some of the Gestapo/George w comments and to correct misconcecptions but shit can’t be bothered cus will be raked over the coals for my use of words, etc!

Btw It may help if u re read the posting cus the so called cover charge is for the use of the equipment so they can stay in business as u don’t have to buy anything there like beer or drinks for $4 + at bars. So figure out how much us spend on drinks over a 3 hr evening!!!!

I would have posted this on the Vansterdam group but wasn't able to join cus maybe I'm too much of a jerk or something!! ha ha.

btw Jamtart means

A person who is unwilling to participate in what they perceives to be risky, embarrassing, dangerous or foolhardy activities.

Sorry if I sometimes use words that many don't understand but hey just write how I talk. Gutter talk!

So anyway this idiot is cancelling this idea so everyone can go back to having CS meetings at bars! Hey why don't we have them at coffee shops so we don't upset Non Drinkers or get blocked from going to the US???

But hell I was just throwing out a suggestion (hope didn't overstep the CS Vancouver rules???) but won't damage the site or upset the stuffy ppl who monitor this site.

Hell 90% of the CS on this site are cool but hell the other 10% are friggin stuffy CS Gestap's.

Sorry for saying what i think (shit hope we never meet up cus I may not be able to control my words ha ha) cus like I'm just a fun loving freespiritguy who likes to enjoy life!! So anyway u guys probably mean well but does everything have to be monitored cus we already have 1 gov't! Like what would happen if a couple of bad words are used? Wondering can anyone create a CS Group maybe for ppl in CS Vancouver who just want to enjoy life and not be critized? Heck most ppl using this group site are new to Van city so are not familar with things here!

So along the way wtf if I scared off peep so big whoop! Cus if someone doesn't come cus of me well so what?? Hell why do u think I say what I do? Cus trying to push peep's buttons as don't really give a f**k! I'm a jerk but don't mean to scare off peep but if a few words scare off peep well than sh*t they should stay home! Cus wouldn't want any stranger wandering into East Hastings cus there are derelicts and drunks there & we wouldn't want peep from out of town to know we have shit holes here in beautiful Van City! So hopefully the dude isn't a 16 yr old kid plus so if 1 possible visitor gets scared off BFD! Hell when I go to New York, London, etc I don't post asking what should I do there cus like adventure & experience of exploring and finding my own things to do! Why can't peep read a guide book or check the web instead of always asking what is there to do?

Not pissed or whatever but shit if have to be on my best behavior on this page than I better stay off & just use it for what it's meant to be used to couch surf & not as an entertainment source for locals! Hell most of the peep running these CS groups are locals with NO life maybe including myself! Heck in other cities it's for travellers as we don't want to scare off the polite visitors! Hanging with CS Van City group was fun for a while but was getting kind of tired of having to be told to be polite ! Cus "I'd rather be Hated for who I am then Loved for who I'm not"!

Hell I'm an A**Hole who says what he wants & too stubborn so starting in the New Years I'll stay off this page & go traveling! Addios!

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One week Thomas and I went to party at Flo's (a French friend of Thomas) for open house & met Flo's friends like Hanna and then to Anza club for Africa dance. It was there that I met Sanja a cool nice chick from Serbia. We became friends and hung out a few times cuz she liked to drink beer and smoke like me! The interesting thing about Sanja was that she was married to a good friend for convenience! They got married so they could get residence visa to Canada. The reason they did this is they tried to move to Australia but couldn't get a residence visa cuz they weren't married. So they got married and applied to get a residence visa to Canada. But they found out they didn't have to be married to immigrate to Canada. So now they're married and get along great! Actually they're both cool people! So hung out with Sanja for about a month and then she went home to Serbia for a month in Jan, 2011.

Thomas had 2 French friends come to Vancouver which I met as they were cool. So of course we had to party with them too!

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Hey so u want to go to unpretentious places to dance! Well my suggestion for what it’s worth is stay away from the downtown core area like Granville, Yaletown & Gastown & Kitsalano areas. They may be fun and good but they have expensive cover charges, lineups unless u kiss the door guy’s ass as they like to power trip! But the number one reason I dislike going there (tho have gone before) are the phoney, flakey people trying to impress everyone with their appearance and only talk to similar ppl or friends!

I’m not a big entertainment person but when I want to dance or hang out in a chill cool atmosphere with good vibes well I usually head to Astoria Pub. I'd go there on Thur nights after 11 PM and it was really chill to listen to some cool reggatone music and dance if u like cuz everyone does there!!

Yeah my favorite place to hang out, listen to music & dance is the Astoria Pub on Thur nights! The first time I went Thomas came along as we met up with Maxx and couple other people from Winterpeg. So would go to the Astoria pub on most Tue evening to listen and dance to some reggae/reggaton music.

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We put 4 days of insurance on my truck (usually leave my truck parked without insurance cuz dislike driving now) so Thomas and I went to Victoria and then Couch Surfed at SundanceCid and Bui's farm outside of Victoria. Then we drove to Naniamo thru to Tofino on the Sun. It snowed on at weekend in Nov. and hung out in Victoria for 2 nights couch surfing. On Sun morning it was snowing so we decided to leave Victoria& go to Tofino. But first we stopped in Nanaimo to have breakfast & called a couple of friends but no one was home! So after breakfast it was about 1 pm so we dropped into a pub for a quick beer! Well that was very interesting as there were a couple of characters there. There was the enibriated Native woman probably around 40 who was being hit on by 2 older guys! They weren’t too pleased when we arrived cuz she suddenly started talking to us! We mentioned that it was still about 2 hrs to Tofino so we didn’t think we’d have time to go there and back in time to catch a ferry back to Vancouver. So the Native woman invited us to stay over at her place! But we weren’t really interested in doing that cuz she was a bit too drunk for us! But the person we found interesting was the bartender! She told us she was from Fargo North Dakota which made me say “hell that’s a long way to come especially since u’r in Nanaimo”. So she said it was for a relationship & I replied well hope the guy was worth it! But she said Oh it wasn’t a guy but for a girl!!! This intrigued us cuz it seemed different for a girl that she was gay! Which made me think that she probably was Bi as she had alternated between chicks and guys in relationships! I’ve found that some girls who get hit on by guys tell guys that they’re gay cuz to keep guys at a distance! So after having a few beers and chatting with all the people there well we decided we should catch the next ferry! But before we left we decided to have a joint outside! So while Thomas had a cigarette and I had some weed and the bartender (think it was Melissa) joined me! The Native woman also wanted to smoke but never tried it so thought I didn’t want to be the one to introduce her to weed. So after getting a bit wasted we took off to catch our ferry.

We had a great time on Vancouver Island but didn't make it to Tofino which was a place that Thomas and I wanted to go to didn’t go. So we decided to head to whistler on one cold friggin day. We drove up one day checked it out and drank some beer and came back.

Since u 2 are kind of wanderers too well want to share a video that
want u to view as the music is very touching.

Heck this is what I’ve thought about life for years & when I got introduced to this video & song Wow it brought tears to my eyes!! (yeah I do have eyes between those tiny slanted slits!!)

So what this posting is about is to have u enjoy this video cus we're all travelers & latent Freedom Lovers! pls watch it and think about what it seems all people strive for in different ways in life – TO BE
FREE!!

I wrote a reference for Sundance Cid after she was so kind and nice to host us for 2 nights!

Hey u guys have to say 2 things to u!

First had an awesome time couch surfing with u 2 at your beautiful farm along with your 2 beautiful dogs Tia and can’t remember the older one’s name as u never mentioned her name cus of that wild & crazy Tia!!! Loved it all!

Second will finally figured out what why ur your CS nickname SundanceCid interested me! Love it as it it reminds me of one of my all time favorite movies “Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid”! Loved the movie and just thought heck I’d call u the Sundance Cid and Bui is Butch Cassidy! If u have a chance check it out cus it’s a kind of classic (Western but love them & it’s funny) from probably the 70’s!

So u’re the Kid and Bui is Butch! Hey they’re both cool like u 2!! Love your new Monikor but it’s just too bad that I just remembered it now! But hey better late than never!

Anyway we never made it to Tofino but did have a cool time/adventure in a bar in Nanaimo! Will tell u guys about it one day over a beer!

Thanks u 2 for being so hospitable and cool to host 2 idiots like us! Can’t say enough about the 2 of u – so won’t and will stop here!!

I have a good friend of mine Thomas Valmorin (from France as we met traveling in Ecuador & Peru in 2009 plus I visited him in Quebec City in Oct when he was working there) visiting me for 3 wks in Van City. So we did about all the damage we can do here in Van City ha ha! So figure hell let’s do a road trip to check out Victoria, Nanaimo, Tofino & the rest of Van Island to see what’s happening. So yeah thought I’d be a nice host (rare but possible when the moon is right in the sky & my CS buys me a beer), put some insurance on my truck and take the dude on the ferry to see BC!

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When I came back to Vancouver I found out that Roger Waters (the co-founder of Pink Floyd who are one awesome group who were at their peak in the ’70, have since disbanded but Roger Waters is touring to sell out crowds and is well worth seeing). I wasn’t in Canada when the tickets for the Roger Waters show was announced and tickets went on sale! So I was on the outlook to buy a ticket and found

ads like the following for sale on Craigslist.

Roger Waters Live - Single ticket - $190 (White Rock)

Date: 2010-11-24, 6:10PM PST
Reply to:

1 hard copy ticket for Roger Waters Live on Dec 10 Section 307, row 11, seat 11
Cash only, 604-xxx-xxxx

I replied to this ad to try and buy the ticket. So the person called me the day of the concert. But unfortunately Thomas answered and told the person to deliver the ticket to my place and I’d buy it! Well the person must have thought piss on him and I wasn’t able to get a ticket for the concert! What a piss off!

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Thomas got a job working as a promoter to get ppl to go to the Republic Club on Wed nights for free! I'd go there along with a few other friends would go to support him but really dislike that place with a passion! I find the people who hang out there are really pretentious and like to show off!

I'd usually just go there for about 30 mins and then head over to the Corner Pub which is more my style as it was laidback and had live music!

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There is a Hindu Temple not far from my place which I would go to on Sun afternoons (when I got up on time) and enjoy free Indian food. It actually reminded me of times when I ate in India with metal plates and vegetable food. So I'd have Thomas come with me and Sanja came with us one Sun afternoon after hanging out and partying one weekend!

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I've gotten to enjoy the Trans Siberian Orchestra around Christmas & have seen them once in Seattle when I was working there. But in 2010 it seem they were playing at GM Place (or whatever the name is now). So thought heck why not get tickets for the concert. It just happened that Thomas was visiting me when the concert was on. So even tho he had never heard of them he came along & really enjoyed the concert! It really helped that we had seats on the 5th row so we got a great view! Thomas really enjoyed the awesome chick playing the violin as she not only played great& looked great but really bounced around. He was so mesmerized by this chick that he found her on Facebook and became her friend! (not sure why anyone would want to be friends on FB with someone you haven't or ever will meet! )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHioIlbnS_A

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One thing that was getting on my nerve was the Locals in Vancouver who have no life and respond to every posting on the Vancouver Couch Surfing Group site! One posting that really got me was when some guys were traveling from Vancouver to Mexico by car and posted on the Vancouver CS thread. So they got a bunch of replies by various local CS who probably never do anything but just check what ppl with lives do and so they make some ridiculous comments like the following!

Hell chances are any problem crossing the Mexican border may be a quicker less painful way to meet your maker than the slow death by boredom crossing the Cdn-US border.

Hey TravelingMan know u mean well & u’r probably right so don't mean to make light of your concern, be a smart ass or have a Death Wish! So maybe should keep my views to myself but don’t know better so my opinion is those Gov't websites are like the Media & kind of blow things a bit out of proportion most of the time! Hell the border crossing may be a problem but bet thousands of ppl still drive thru every day with no problems! In most cases people need to have some Street Smarts & use common sense (which I may not have as once a fool always a fool). There were Gov't warnings about going to Mauritania but encountered no problems & many people were driving thru! Also warnings about Iraq but hitch hiked in Kurdistan Iraq with no problem & met Aussie riding his motor cycle thru Afghanistan! So yeah maybe our time may come as something could happen! But heck would rather take my chances that may have problems doing something (some ppl may think is a bit crazy) that I love & doing it my way than get run down by a drunken idiot or a gang shoot out while a bystander on the streets of Van City!

Cuz figure if it’s my time well it’s my time anywhere!

hell Dude u’r too polite as I think this twosome called Rain just need to get a life!!!! Feel that new comers to Van City should decide what to do as seems too many Vancouverites including myself interfere too much. Which is why I try not to attend many events even if I like to meet surfers & share cool fun places in Van City! Figure attending a few activities is great but there are a few ppl who’s entire social life seems based on this Group which is cool but we should let Surfers manage the group. Don't think there's this much interference in places like Toronto & Montreal when I visited CS groups there like we get from 3 o 4 ppl in Van City!

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Thomas introduced me to the song "Society" which I found very moving and posted it on CS to share it with other people who would enjoy it like I do! I found very moving and feel that in some ways it kind of symbolizes how I view my life and how I like to live my life!
Into the Wild! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRsu6802-RY&feature=fvst

OK for those ppl who think I’m a complete loudmouth Jerk well there’s a sensitive side of me too!!!

Yeah I know that I come across as a loudmouth Motherfu*ker! So I wanted to post this to those who I offend cus want u to really know where I’m coming from!! Heck this is what I’ve thought for years & when I got introduced to this video & song Wow it brought tears to my eyes!! (yeah I do have eyes between those tiny slanted slits!!)

So what this posting is about is to have u enjoy this video cus we're all travelers & latent Freedom Lovers! pls watch it and think about what it seems all people strive for in different ways in life – TO BE FREE!!

Into the Wild! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRsu6802-RY&feature=fvst

Then while u’r overwhelmed by this video want u to read some quotes I saw online (sorry for my Plagiarism) but they really hit home to me!

is there a more perfect song to represent a beautiful movie/man? NO

great movie, great song.....love the message. travelling is the best way to live

all of us can reach the limit. sometimes when you reach your limit, you explode. in the end we all are like time-bombs doomed to explode. but some of us don't live in the process. hopefully some of us do live

thats the way to live. great song really inspiirational movie and story

So what this movie is about is what I feel in life but it comes out expressed in my silly crazy ways (sorry haven’t seen the movie or book but will download it to watch & read while traveling insh'allah, yeah so slap my hand cus I download illegally too).

Heck if I pass on to the Big Highway in the Sky before my time well hope it’s doing something like that Dude did rather doing what society expects of us cus we do what Society expects most of our lives!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXomHHwha-w

so u have to watch this short video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahpfjb0YXg0

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Then in December there were a few parties happening so Thomas and I checked them out and really enjoyed ourselves.

Josh had a party for any 420 lovers and posted this on the Vancouver CS group.

Well Ladies and Gents, it's that time of year again: Emperor Jack Herer nipping at your nose with his Purple Kush robe, frosty temperatures that can only be melted with the tropical taste of Juicy Fruit and of course chrismahanakwansika (chrisma-hana-kwansika).

In celebrating this "joyous" time of year and for our monthly meetup, I'm opening up my apartment to you, my fellow tokers. This will be a POTluck as the title mentions, this means:

a) bring yo' pot cuz we's gonna smokes it
b) as with a traditional potluck, you are encouraged to bring your favorite munchies for everyone to try (they can be home made or store bought)

Start time: 7, 7:30, 8-ish? (we'll decide whats good for everyone)

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Then on the same night as Josh’s party well Kyle and his roommates in the Fun House in East Van decided to have a Bad Ass Santa party and posted this on the CS group. Well made it to both parties and they were both cool!!! Went to the party at Josh's place on Dec 17 along with Thomas, Sanja, Bollywood and their Serbian friend. Then went to Bad Santa party at Fun house of CS.

Santa is pissed because he is always giving presents but he never gets any!!! And no one ever recognized this injustice. So what we can do is make a party in the name of Santa and give him the opportunity to forget all this Christmas stress with a few drinks and people who love him. So help us give Santa the feeling that he is loved and come to our party.

To honor Santa it would be great if you dress like Santa Claus or if this is too much to dress red! This time dont think what Santa can do for you, think what you can do for Santa!

The party is at the Funhouse and it starts at 8PM.

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Don't know if this would work if a person wants to get loud & drunk. U sound like u'r not from Vancouver so probably have never heard of the Astoria Pub on 769 E. Hastings Vancouver. But it's the coolest place to go on a Thur night for dancing as it's so chilled! Most of the people go there just to dance & not drink too much cus they probably maybe wasted in another way.

So on Christmas Eve the Astoria put on a Free Turkey dinner dance!

Then tomorrow / Christmas Eve between about 7:30 and 9 pm if u pay the $4 cover well the DJ is supplying free Turkey dinner which is so cool! Kind of wish that I didn't have plans already!

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On Christmas Day evening went with Sanja to Orphans Christmas party at Erin's place in East Van. It was nice to go to a Potluck Christmas dinner with a lot of travelers/visitors to VanCity who had no family or place to go for dinner! Had a cool time cuz met a lot of CS people who wouldn't have met otherwise.

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One day while baking cookies, eating them & whatever well Sanja (a beautiful person & friend from Serbia who is a permanent resident of Canada now) and Thomas (a French buddy who is visiting?? My place for the past 2 months)

well we thought hey why not have our own Turkey Potluck Dinner & invite some friends! Thomas, Sanja, me, Bollywood, Josh, Christina & Lena her CS surfer & Dove came as we got wasted. Erin and Ana were invited but couldn't make it.

Sorry for the late notice but would like u to join us at my place for a small gathering for a Pot luck turkey dinner on Mon Dec 27 around 6 or 7 PM!

Hey Ana,

I know u'r probably having turkey today or going to the Orphan potluck on Christmas day but this one will be smaller as there will be only about 9 o 10 of us as my place is small! So Sanja (don't know if u met my Serbian friend), Thomas and I thought one afternoon of having a turkey dinner (before it was suggested about an Orphan dinner) while getting baked and baking grass cookies! So thought OK let's invite some peep who are friends and who have had us over so there will be me, Sanja, Thomas, Sanja's husband, Christina & then she told us she wanted to bring her CS'er too, Josh (who had the POTluck dinner), Dove (if she can make it), Erin and possibly you if u can make it. I don't have much room but just basically want to hang out & have a Pot luck turkey dinner! Plus maybe have some weed and drinks just to chill!

Sanja has to work till 5 or so on Mon so we can have the dinner when ppl come probably around 7 pm. Bring some thing to contribute if u can as it's basically just a get together to enjoy each others company!

Have a French friend Thomas (he’s a CS’er too) who came to visit at the start of Nov and the crazy douche bag is still here! We met while traveling in Ecuador & Peru in 2009 & then I visited him in Quebec City in Oct when he was living there. But he is from Paris and tho he is crazy as hell well love the guy like a Bro!! It's crazy as all the chicks think he’s kind of hot with his wild French accent which is great! While I’m a ridiculous looking idiot but learned in life we have to play with the hand we’re dealt!! So yeah we make a weird combination like our personalities!

I do have to say I have a small studio apt so have only invited about 10 ppl but can always squeeze a couple more so don't expect comfort but maybe more coziness! It’s not about having a fancy dinner party but to hang out and enjoy new company for some turkey! OK so this is the first time I’ve cooked a turkey as my friend has to work so she can’t cook it!

So yeah come by if u can for as long as u can and hang with us!

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Vancouver has a lot of rain in the winter but a good thing is that it gets warmer when it's overcast & raining. But the funny thing about living in Vancouver is when the sun does come out in the winter it's sunny and it becomes cold for Vancouver. But shit no one complains about the cold as they're also excited it's sunny!

Well on those day I would take Thomas out to ride a bike! I happen to have 2 bikes well one wasn't actually mine but I was kind of storing it as too lazy to return it! I think Thomas was really getting into riding a bike! Hell he'd always like to practice riding with out holding the handle bars! He was like a fuckin kid pedaling down the street without using his hands! The odd thing wasn't him riding without hands (hell the reason I didn't do it was cuz I couludn't!!) but seeing how much fun he was having doing it!!! awesome!

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I realize that Thomas can be such an idiot sometimes (well OK most of the time lol)! He knows he has to call the airlines to change his flt by today! So one day we're out bike riding and going to take the sky train back. But
he wants to stop at Subway's to eat! Duh he had to call quickly or pay for another tkt to Paris from Quebec. I get so fed up with his i ways like what the fuck did he learn in his life? So I said I'm leaving u go as can't be bothered to eat at Subway cus dude have a lot of left over
turkey at home why buy a subway espec when time is limited.

So when we get home he tries to call on Skype but the signal is bad so he wants to call on my phone but has to wait till 7 pm cus then my calls are free! So at 7 pm the Fido line is having problems so he wants to use my computer to call using Skype! But shit I don't have Skype on my other computer so he'll have to download and install it on my computer! So I said this a fuckin important call so why don't u go to a pay phone so u'll know it's going to work this time! But he says why don't u let me use your computer well it wasn't about my computer but
it was an issue about making sure the call he's going to make is going to work and using a pay phone is the best guarantine!
So I told him fuckin use my computer than but if it's important pay the extra 50 cents for the call! So he said but will have to go to the ATM to get money to make the call! Shit he never asked so couldn't tell him that he's probably making a 1-800 call which is free so the
call will cost him 50 cents so why go to an ATM to get money (shit we stopped at an ATM already today so what the fuck did he do there? Order a fucking pizza, but regardless he could have taken more than $20 out cus it costs him probably $1.50 for each transaction)

So he stomped off without asking me where he could find a pay phone as I could have told him all this shit!

Yeah so that kind of shit happens between Bro's especially after hanging out together for over 2 months mostly 24 x 7 in a studio apt!

So thought shit would go to the Kaeoke CS meeting at the Biltmore one night but thought fuck would go to the Vapor lounge instead and get shit faced! Cuz thought had enough of the CS scene for a while!

*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************On NYE party went to a NYE party open to anyone at a CS person Avi's friend's place by Joyce Station. Sanja came with Bollywood around 10:30 pm and stayed for 1 hr.Thomas and I went to Flo's for drinks around 6 pm and Melissa (MissE) and Mike her room mate joined us and we all went to the NYE party. The party went Ok except for Christina who came to the party very drunk and passed out! Luckily Josh and Jimena the Mexican chick helped her as I would have except they were busy helping her. Plus what's her Eeva this local Vancity chick was acting like the guard and wouldn't let anyone help Christina!

Attn: Vancouver Couchsurfers Re: NEW YEARS EVE 2011
Posted 10 hrs ago by Avi from Vancouver, Canada

Hello friends...

I've always seen lists of options for things to do in the city throughout the year... perhaps I've missed it.. but I was wondering what options people have for New Years... I fancy a party.. but I'm not fancying paying hundreds of dollars to go to some club... I'd rather spend it on booze.. and invite all you lovely people over.. I've got a house; couchsurfer friendly. If we've got some DJ's and some people who wanna come and have a memorable night... let's do it :)

Or not, the objective is to have a good time.. irrespective of where :)

xxBottom of Form

Posted 9 hrs ago by FreeSpiritGuy from Vancouver, Canada (Permalink)

Hey was sitting here staring on my notebook as got a bit wasted at Erin's awesome Orphan's Dinner last night. So saw ur posting and agree with your theory about New Years as dislike Clubs at the best of times & espec New Years. Actually I never give New Year's much thought as probably party 5 or 6 nights a weeks so hell if nothing happens on New Year's that's cool with me! But can relate to your ideas! Thx for the idea!!

Happy ho ho

greetings from another mt. pleasant cser. actually i guess my hood is technically called little mountain. just wondering what you are up to for new years? i have 2 groups surfing with me over new years, we were going to go to monmarte on main st. and the naam, but avi was talking about hosting a party? or was that you? anyway if you feel like coming along with us or you have any other ideas, let me know! hasta la vista, missee

OK this is like meeting a CSurfing so I checked the CS section in CS & found that u know ppl on CS who are cool and nice who know others who know u so this is what I found.

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Maybe scored a Gig to drive someone's car to Dallas, Texas. Not sure if I'll go or not so letting u know if u want to go or whatever?

I NEED MY CAR DRIVEN TO DALLAS, TX (Lower Mainland)
I am looking for a responsible person to drive my car from a Surrey/Abbotsford to Dallas, Texas.
If you are interested, please drop me a note.
Thanks.

So I replied cus it sounded like a fun gig like my road trip across Canada using whatever means I could and Couch surfing.

Hey

I'd be interested in driving your car to Texas! I have a couple of good friends in Texas who have wanted me to visit them. So this is a good opportunity plus have always wanted to visit the state.
I have a good driving record, responsible and careful driver. I used to work as a Software Developer with Alaska Airlines in Seattle, also with Saudi Arabian airlines in Jeddah Saudi Arabia, etc. So made some cash and made a few investments which resulted in me being able to quit working in the profession as got tired of the ppl in the industry.
Now I work at other jobs, volunteer in foreign countries and travel. So when I see an opportunity to do some traveling I check it out!
I realize that this isn't a job interview but am still sending u my resume to hopefully show that I'm not a vagabond looking to get a free ride some place.
Hope to hear back from u.

My email and sending my resume must have helped cus the guy sent me this reply

Hi,

Thank you for your impressive resume and introduction email.
Our family just returned from Dallas, due to health/medical reasons, we will be flying to Dallas, Texas. on Dec 31, 2010.
When do you want to drive our vehicle to Dallas?
What are your terms and expectations?
Regards.

I haven’t replied cus now realize that i have to go to see my Tropical Disease Dr in early Jan cus got this terrible itch from my trip to Africa in Apr and May. Also trying to get visas to countries for a trip from Laos, Tibet, Mongolia to Central Asian 'stan countries, Iran and UAE so can't use my passport. So kind of thinking if I do go it would be for maybe a week cus need my passport for visas and to cross the US border.

So wondering if I do go if any one wants to do a quick trip to Texas & find our way by Rideshare, hitching, bus or walking back! But to come U have to be an idiot & stupid too as well as being very flexiblethe way I travel cus to me it's all an experience and adventure. But may just have to pass on this gig as sure the guy wants an answer in a day or so. Just another spontaneous thing that I thought would be fun and different!

T

So I haven’t replied cus now realize that i have to go to see my Tropical Disease Dr in early Jan cus got this terrible itch from my trip to Africa in Apr and May. Also trying to get visas to countries for a trip

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We went to a Free Hug afternoon downtown during the Christmas season which was organized by Christina (an American Couch Surfing chick). Thomas and I didn't orginally intend to participate but rode our bikes downtown to hang out and watch them. But Thomas joined in while I basically just laughed and hung out! But it was a fun afternoon of laughing with Christina, Caio, Jimena, Josh, Dove, this German dude (can't remember his name but we met him at the Scavenger Hunt earlier), Dove, Thomas and I. We then of course retired to a bar later for some eats and beer!!

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Got invited around Jan 7 to a Serbian (Orthodox) Christmas dinner (tho it wasn't advertised as that). It was held by Bollywood's place (Bollywood is the husband of convenience of Sanja who are both crazy Serbs). So went there and had some awesome fish cooked by Bollywood. Of course Sanja wasn't there cuz she had left for Serbia to visit her family & friends for a month! But met up with Christina, Alesia, Lydia, Josh, Thomas, myself & this guy (think his name was Todd but regardless didn't impress me cus thought he was a bit of an arrogant jerk as didn't like him). Had a good time except gave the guys some special cookies to try & Bollywood kind of fell asleep! Think he should stay off the stuff tho he says he likes weed! duh guess he likes it so he can sleep!

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The 2nd party that happened at the Fun House was Jungle Party the night before Thomas left Vancouver. It also coincided with about 2 other parties - one at the same house as the NYE party. Also one party at these Brazilian guys place. But unfortunately I didn't go to either of the other 2 parties. But I had gone to this party with Thomas, Flo (Thomas's French friend) & this shit head American from Chicago (can't remember his name). Well during the party Thomas disappeared with Lydia as he was leaving early in the morning. So that was ok as there were a lot of ppl left. I was quite wasted but when I went outside one time. Flo and this American asshole (surfing at Flo's place) were bashing Alberto (a cool Mexican dude who was pretty drunk as he came from the Brazilian party). Guess this Irish guy who lived in the Fun House told Flo & his douche bag Surfer to watch the door. (can't understand cuz the idiot was standing there at the door anyway). However Flo and the fuckin American were telling Alberto that he couldn't come in cuz they thought for some reason that he was a dope dealer! (found out on CS the next day they said Alberto was going to attack them with a knife!) Shit I was pretty wasted but told the 2 guys (shit had come with them to the party) that Alberto was cool and wouldn't sell dope or use a knife to get into the party! Shit about a hr earlier I could remember Flo had talked to some friends of his to invite them to the party & shit they knew no one at the party! Well after all that shit I couldn't take it any more so left and went home!

I haven't had any thing to do with the CS bunch since that party in the middle of Jan!

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Hell Thomas had about 3 goodbye get togethers before he left Vancouver in Jan 2011. I organized one at the Cambie Pub which was well attended by about 10 people. Then Thomas didn't make his flight so he got a bunch to try and make it to the Library Club (a prententious club downtown next to the Main Library). But it turned out to be a Gong show as there was supposedly no cover till 9 PM. However they have to always have a line up to let people inside to create an impression that the place is really hopping (1 of many reasons I dislike Clubs downtown). So we couldn't go in but also cus no one wanted to pay the $12 cover entrance! I couldn't get in anyways cus I was wearing shorts! So then everyone decided to head to the Cambie Pub! However it was a Fri evening so by the time we got to the Cambie Pub there was also a lineup there! Plus they were charging a $10 cover to get in. So again no one wanted to pay it so we all split up and went our own ways! A bunch wanted to buy some booze and head to a park to drink outside! I'm not that desperate to drink that I'd sit outside to drink plus hell I could go home and drink so why sit outside in the cool rainy evening to drink! So I headed to the New Amsterdam Cafe to smoke! Then I found out that Thomas (who arrived late for a thing he organized) and a couple others headed to the Metropole Pub! But hell I didn't care cus it's getting that I dislike going to Pubs or Clubs on a weekend. I would much rather go to them from Sun to Thur as there aren't long lineups and stupid cover charges. Plus there aren't so many pretentious people out trying to impress one another!

Thomas originally only came to Vancouver around the start of Nov 2010 for 10 days! But he got into the fun times so decided to change his ticket to fly back to Quebec City & onward to Paris. So he changed it at the last minute to fly to Quebec City on Dec 6 (I think cus he changed the tkt a couple times). Then just before Dec 6 he changed it again to fly to Quebec City until Jan 12! Then had to change his onward ticket to Paris on Jan 30! But when Jan 12 came he decided he might change it again. However he got home late on Jan 12 and decided to change it again about 4 am when his flt left at 7 am! Well when he finally called he found out that his flt was actually for the day before like on Jan 11! But by some flukely miracle the airlines let him still use the ticket so he paid $29 and changed his flt to Quebec City to Jan 26. But the airlines later called him back to say the system was down so they couldn't process his money. So he never got charged his change fee. So at that time he decided to change his ticket to fly back to Quebec City on Jan 16 at 7 Am cus that was the cheapest ticket! Then we went to this crazy Jungle Party and all got shitfaced. But Thomas had met Lydia (a real young American chick) at a New Year's Eve Party and the 2 of them went to her place around 1 am. Then he slept in and if it wasn't for Alesia (a crazy sexy Swedish/Russian soldier in Vancouver for 6 months) who called him he would have missed his flight! She texted to tell me all this cus I had no idea this was happening! So she managed to call him at 6 am 1 hr before his flt left so he caught a cab to make his flt! So he finally left Vancouver 4 1/2 wks/2 months & 2 wks after he arrived for a 10 day stay!!! He stayed with me for all the time except for the last 4 days as finally needed some down time! But all in all we had an awesome crazy fun time while he was here. lol!!!

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Somewhere along the way I got this bad rash/itch that was driving me crazy. Actually I had since I had been in West Africa. I'm not sure but it could have started as a heat rash and so I'd scratch it. Then it got to become a bigger rash so it got to be a habit as I'd keep scratching. So it'd get itchy again so I'd keep scratching it & another rash would appear, etc. So it became a vicious cycle of itch, where I'd scratch & then it'd keep being itchy!

So in August once I returned to Vancouver well I visited my doctor. He referred me to an allergist who wasn't able to find anything that I was allergic to which would cause my itch! So he referred me to a dermatologist who was also useless in any diagnosis. So I asked my doctor if I could see a Tropical disease doctor as I was starting to be make my own diagnosis or suggestions of who I'd like to examine me! Well hell no doctor could tell me why I've got these itches so thought hell must be all in my head!!

So thought hell maybe I should go get hypnotized and get rid of that shit in my mind! So got the name of a Clinical Hypnotist and made appointments. It's not covered in our health care system but didn't mind paying cuz it was bothering me a lot. Cuz was starting to affect my sleep as woke u quite often to scratch. I found when I'm not hot but feeling a bit colder or after a shower that it wasn't as itchy.

I found going to a hypnotist was very interesting as he told me about his background and what the various patients he had dealt with over the years!

I always thought that the hypnotist would wave a watch or some object to put me under his trance. But actually he turns the lights off making it dark and puts on some soothing music (almost like a seduction except that I don't seduce or get seduce easily lol) and speaks in a soothing voice. I find that lately everything I've been doing or trying has to do with breathing and inhaling to exercise, yoga & now being hypnotiized!

What I found is I would either fall asleep or actually being hypnotized! But when a person is hypnotized there are 3 levels, light, medium and deep subconscious and then lower is sleep. So he would get to my subconscious and talk to it! Then if I would fall asleep he would pull me out of it to get to my subconscious. But it seems that his words can be heard by my subconscious when I'm sleeping!

So he gave me an audio of what he spoke at his sessions so I could listen to it at home. So I'd listen to this audio last thing before sleeping and usually fall asleep listening to it (I think but could be just hypnotized as coudn't tell). Also listened to it when I first got up in the morning or aftenoon well when ever I woke up.

My problem is I have a hard time focusing (use to have A.D.D.) so when listening to the audio or him well I'm sometimes thinking (yeah I do think sometimes) about something else! So asked him if this is bad but was told that the conscious often is thinking of more than one thing at a time. But the subconscious which he is trying to target hears what he's saying. It's like driving from point A to point B and not remember what u saw or doing it!! Not dangerous but your mind is off on something else not what is at hand! Dam hope he's correct cuz if u asked me what he said well couldn't tell u. This is why I had trouble in a conventional class or school. Which is why I studied and worked in IT software development cuz it was hands on and not reading, comprehension and listening!

But also I get bored quite easily as got bored/tired of software development (also got bored with the ppl I worked with as found them so borinnnnng) so got the hell out of the work! Also didn't help that have to keep retooling my skill set as it kept changing!

Hell it got to the point that about the 4th visit well found I was getting kind of bored with the same talk and line from the hypnotist that think was turning off from listening any longer. So finally decided for my last visit to smoke a bit & got a bit stoned! Just did it for the experience and not to see the results to cure my itch! He told me that I seemed a bit different on that visit but didn't tell him I had smoked! I found that I was listening to his words and the music as it was different but don't know if it made much different.

But hell found that being hypnotized wasn't any different than anything else I do in Tom's World! I do most things for the experience at least once but shit this experience was a bit expensive and had no medical plan to pay! But like what's money as to me life is about living, experiences, enjoying family and friends!

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My hypnotist suggested that it might help my itch if I participated in yoga and mediation. Well I tried mediation once but had a hard time focusing as mind kept wandering to think about other things cuz u're suppose to empty your mind! So thought why try to do it again even if I think it would be good to do! So thought I'd try yoga so went to 2 yoga classes with a friend who has been doing it for about 4 years. Hey if I wanted to see the results from doing yoga well only had to see this person. My friend exercises a lot and isn't a big partier like myself of even knows any of the others that I partied with before).

So this was a good influence on me to take a break from partying, smoking and drinking!

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Didn't realize it but had built up quite a group of guys and chicks that we hung out with. But after the Jungle Party and getting totally pissed at my self for letting those 2 asshole bash Alberto. Well I disappeared from the scene and just hung out by myself for a month!

But what I didn't realize was that I hadn't even seen any of my friends for a month. Then one day I got a text from my good friend Sanja wanting to hang out. So we did and it was cool and fun as thoroughly enjoyed it! I always got a long great with her as she was really cool and chill. It was then that I realize that I missed people like her so decided that I should get back in contact with my friends. But it may have to wait as I hope to go traveling for the next 3 or 4 months. I hope to go to Philippines, Laos, China/Tibet, Mongolia and where ever else my money and time limitations will allow me. My time limitation is I have to be back in Canada for a family reunion at the start of July.

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When I was hanging out just partying I got to think maybe I should do another volunteering gig in another country. But I realized that volunteering is cool but finding a NGO or group to volunteer through is difficult to find! So got to thinking about the fun time I had when I was volunteering in Kenya. But problem with volunteering in Africa when u take or want to donate money. Well the correct people don't get the money but the people organizing pocket some of it. So of course I have no time for underprivileged people getting scammed! So I told the organization I was volunteering thru what I thought (some people who know me probably understand that I can be very opinionated!). So long story short well was told that my services were no longer needed or in other words I got fired from a volunteering gig for telling the truth! So I decided to do some traveling and made it to Uganda and Tanzania. So well I ended up doing what I probably do best (no it was not just doing nothing but hanging out) which was raise shit, party and be a complete idiot!!!

http://www.projectskenya.blogspot.com/
********************************************************************************** Started going to this small gym across the street from my place which is owned by Hugh a guy I met a couple years back & then found out his gym is in my neighborhood.

We get along pretty good and talk while working out! He told me he's heading back to Jamaica for a week for business so he suggested that I should go too since I've never been there. He's from there so he said he could show me around the island country! So I took him up on his offer and got a tkt and will meet up with him in Jamaica but for 2 weeks + more if I really get into the place!!! So it's off to Jamaica to check out the reggae, 420 & the culture of the island!!!