On The Road To Findout

Because I'm just OVERLOADED with money (a banking error it seems!) I will be planning to go back to the United States around April time to stay a month with my loved one. You might be begging to ask "Cameron? But WHY would you want to do that after the last time you were there?". I would answer with "Well I'm glad you asked, loyal reader!". Then I'd probably trail off on a whole ton of reasons relating to love, the tyranny of distance and how often I get to see her vs. the density/quality of the stay. Basically those are things that a lot of you wouldn't understand! But anyway we'll all jump that hurdle when we get there. The rough outline is already planned in my head. Seems KLM is the airline to fly but reviews don't seem that amazing. Cheap airfare but shoddy service? I think I can deal with that. Especially after having spent 2 and a half days on a Greyhound bus from Nashville to Montreal. Oh, the fun I had then!

Hopefffffully I will be getting access to wireless internet and not have to use this dongle (snicker!). Then I can finally upload pictures of my Surrey adventure. Things are swinging pretty nicely. I am becoming satisfied with my life here which is kind of amusing considering my resentful comments when I got here. I said the same thing when I got to Cheshire though. AND LOOK HOW THAT ENDED UP! I wish this place had more of a bar area so people would come in and drink more. Shame that doesn't seem to be the case. However there is an Innkeeper's Lodge upstairs and too many rowdy drunkards wouldn't really sit well with the patrons upstairs. Like it or lump it, I think.

I would like to start building model aeroplanes. I wrote airplanes then. I'm somewhat disappointed in my semi-conversion to American words. I do, however, think it will be easier when communicating with people over there. I'll try and make a Yorkshire pudding for someone over there. Roast dinners, ahoy. Speaking of roast dinners or at least on the topic of food - I enjoyed a vegetarian haggis for the second time in my life but I boiled it? It was amazing! I included the neeps and tatties and they were just as good! Oh, Scotland. You call for me from the glens.

I'm pretty sure I should go and get myself ready for work now. Another eight hours of locking wits with cooks, people who drink Guinness and blackcurrant and the coffee machine. That machine is the bane of my life. Amongst many other things, come to think of it.

Take care, be ware.

Sick Again

Just as a short update - I am sick. Horrible bloody sickness. Something is up with my guts and last night my brain thought I should have a quick purge NOT once but in fact twice. Thanks body.

In other news I happened to go to Staines yesterday which is where that lovable scamp Ali G lived. It wasn't as run down as I thought it was going to be. In fact there was a lovely little pub that I went to with some colleagues. It was called The Swan Inn and is owned by Fuller's which is one my pub's biggest rivals. Curse their amazing pub! The view, the beer, the people. Everything was great. I'm not being delirious either.

I expect at least 10 notes of sympathy from EVERYONE who reads this (I don't really but it would be nice! I'll sympathise with you when you're sick!)

Kisses to everyone and their legs.

Back in the Saddle Again

Howdy folk! To make that a plural would be me being quite unrealistic. I guess it's just me reading this so I'm going to write as though I'm having a conversation with myself. These kind of things make me realise why I still own a haircut like I do.

I've been working pretty consistently at The Oatlands Chaser. It's not even a mark on the Midland but it's not so bad. The people I work with are alright but some of them are lugheads. Regardless I think I should be getting paid a decent penny at the end of the month. As it so happens I'll only get paid a couple of days before Australia Day and that will allow me to book my tickets overseas. Hopefully I will be gracing the shores of Belgium, France and Poland in the next three months time. It's part of my new 'get-the-hell-out-of-England' campaign. So far it's going well. Even going to London is amazing. It's new to me so I'm excited as a pig going to market to see new places. It's not so much that I'm getting to see them as it is that I get to see a new place. That's the best part! I want to go to the sea sometime. I forget what it looks like. I also want to go swimming in the Atlantic Ocean. I HAVE BIG ASPIRATIONS, OK.

Apart from that I'm going to be keeping my beard. I like it. It'll be a relic from the 70s. I really wish I could grow a moustache like my father but seeing as I can't/it's really weak I continue with it. If only people didn't hate them as much as they did I would be fine. There's a lot of follicle furore about this place but I don't care. I like it. Makes me look... older. I can deal with that. I have a baby face apparently so this is adding on the years that I so sorely need.

I want to move on from this place as soon as possible. That way I can see more of England. This place is nice but it's too rich for me. Money and I aren't amazing together. Although I am drinking champagne and eating caviar currently. I guess I'm being hypocritical. LAUGH.

Goodbye everyone. The point of the matter is to remain positive, love everyone and eat grilled cheese sandwiches.

Helter Skelter

Oh, it's coming down fast alright. I've been in England for nearly a week and it's been fairly exciting. My first 4 days of work were all double shifts. I went from quite easy working back in Canada to working all day. It wasn't too bad. It did take me a little bit to get back in to the swing of things but I think I am regaining my composure. Shame these Southern sorts are tighter than a duck's backside. Verily I do declare that the only time that I have been on the end of a tip was when I said I had no 20p coins left to give. Goodness gracious me. This saving thing is going to be harder than I EXPECTED.

I can't think of too much else to say really. I would like to alert everyone that now I have a bed, a washing machine, fridge/freezer AND a stove. I'm moving up in the world, people! I think I might buy myself a plant so I can water it, take care of it and talk to it. One time I dressed a guitar up so it was like a person. That happened to coincide with the time that I was alone for two days. Apparently I need constant attention.

Right, I should go for a wander now. I do enjoy this place more than Marple Bridge. There's a Sainsbury's nearby! AND MORE STUFF! Also a Lloyds bank and many other useful establishments that don't require me to mountain climb up just to be disappointed when I get there (I hate Co-Ops...)

Tallyho, everyone. Be good, eat your vega-tables and don't slide everywhere. Use it for special occasions.

Something About England

Unless you couldn't tell - I'm heading back to England. The pub I'll be working at is called The Oatlands Chaser. It's located down in Surrey and the job is courtesy of my old bartending buddy Jon Blundell. He is now the assistant manager at the pub I'll be working at. It is live in position and I'm really pleased about that. This way I can take pictures, come back, upload 'em and be back out soon. In between working of course. Oh yeah. I'll be working lots. That's the plan at least. If I plan to travel around Europe/America next year then I'll need to have some cash. Where did the bartering system go?!

I am alive and well. I recently went to Montreal in a flash of what seemed to be French lightning. It was good. It was amazing. It made me feel very needed and wanted by the folks at Reservoir when I turned up and had a beer in my hand within 10 seconds. That or they're supporting my alcoholism. Either way it was lovely.

Then I ended up in London, Ontario to see my old friend Kyle Reckman! That man made my last summer very bearable and introduced me to Christ so it was definitely win/win. He dived about 10 feet to come and hug me hello. It was very lovely. It is nice to feel loved by MEN. I'm not even making a euphemism. It's becoming quite apparent that people LIKE me? PEOPLE.

Well crazy as it seems I imagine the next blog entry will be from ENGLAND. Or just prior to going there. I've no idea what I'm going to say or do. It will be good.

Love to everyone.

5ive Gears In Reverse

 THIS POST IS BACK DATED SOMEWHAT!  

VOID VOID VOID

Seems whenever I get up to Canada the posts dry up? Is it because I'm leading a dull lifestyle, one prone to being repetitive? Well, yes. I consider it a perk of the job. I mean to do the same thing every 3 days it has to be a perk, right? Or a curse? I do not profess to knowing!

Currently I'm injured and meant to be typing this with one hand but in secret I am typing with two. It's not so much the hand actually that hurts but the wrist. To give this story some context:

"I was taking a teacher tray (conical shape on the bottom, flat surface on the top; filled with goodies) up to the other building of the camp site. I managed that successfully but when I was returning down to the kitchen I happened up a wet patch on the stairs, slipped, regained my balance and then decided to slip again. Keeping the teacher tray in mind I moved it to protect it from me falling on top of it. Sadly that wasn't the case and I managed to collect the top of the tray with my nose and mouth whereas the bottom collected my thumb. The back of my wrist hit the ground fairly hard and at some point I've hurt my ribs from over extending in the fall"

- Cameron Cuming as told to Cameron Cuming     

So it kind of sucked for all concerned. I tried to work but turns out that is not the greatest idea for wounds. Every minute or two I would be calling for another of the kitchen staff to be assisting me and that was extremely counterproductive so out I was rushed. There's a little bit of frustration on my behalf regarding worker's compensation. No working means no money, right? I would like a little bit of reparation. As hard to believe as it is - I would much rather be working right now than typing this. YES. I would. But instead I am not to be working so I can recover properly. I don't want an X-Ray either. There's no such thing as good radiation. Unless the result is super powers. Political super powers!

Apart from doing the same thing every three days for the last month, I have decided to go back to England in the middle of December. It's a good time. I've found a job that will pay me nicely and, especially during December, the tips will be flowly quite freely. My main concern is not having enough mental time off. Hopefully I will be able to take a whole lot of pictures while I am there. That's something I want to focus on. I'm not usually one for them but I'll be damned if I'm going to let my location dictate my photography.

So it will come about in an ugly way that I am returning to England. I'm returning to the place I so happily fled more than 18 months ago. I will go back with my tail slightly between my legs but I'm also quite open to the challenges this new venture will take. I am curious to whether or not I should continue OCamnada seeing as it was a blog set up to recount my adventures in Canada. Should I continue it as a personal blog or WHAT?! I am curious to what people think.

It has been a good adventure. 

I Still Miss Someone

Bonjour, eh? I'm back in Ontario. That's in Canada if you were wondering! So far it has been a blast. Well as far as Ontario's reputation goes for blast events that is. I stayed in Toronto for a couple of days, became reacquainted with the loathesome taste of dill pickle chips and sampled the night life of the capital. It was both boring AND interesting. Montreal and Vancouver traditionally have the party city labels (sorry Halifax, you didn't make the cut) while Toronto has the stern, business mentality of a 40 something executive. Still, when the sun goes down, the weirdness slowly creeps out of the flimsy cardboard box which restrains it. In the space of thirty minutes, I observed one gentleman attempting to derail a train, and another man trying to coax a dog to ride a bike. Both were met with extreme failure. Oh my. Still while I was out with my good friend Rick Danger (merely a nom de l'été!) we seemed to have quite a bit of fun and he helped me catch up on the doings of summer.

However, my intrepid and valued reader, the title of this post is I Still Miss Someone, not Some Place or Somewhere. Yes, that tyrannical feeling of loneliness has set in again. I could use all the appropriate words in all the languages in the World but it still wouldn't cover 1% of how I feel about her. I realise it seems completely selfish that I'm whining about how I miss my girlfriend when there's so much trouble in the world but I'd by lying if I said I could keep my feelings contained. This truly feels like the lowest I can go. Real low, man.

That being said I am back up in the Muskoka region working for my ticket out of Canada. It's all part of the master plan, you see. If I play my cards right I should be back in the UK for some part of December or early January. Then I'll be straight back in to working so I can travel Europe. I'm not sure if all or any of my friends are aware of this but I never actually set foot on the continent of Europe. The closest I managed was Brighton which is about 118km (73 miles). Couldn't even wave hello to France. So that will be a secondary little mission to achieve when I go 'home'. Strange as I never thought I'd call England home. It's a home as much as a place to keep my things. So I guess it's a house. Peter Allen was mostly correct. No matter how far or how wide I roam... I really still do call Australia home.

Oh, Johnny.

Now that syrupy portion of patriotism is out of the way, I feel I should give you all a reward for sticking through this long. According to blog stats there’s a couple of hits from Russia and Latvia. That amuses me greatly as I was trying to think why they might view my blog at all? Then it struck that I didn’t really care. A hit, for me, is a hit. I didn’t really think I’d become obsessed with people visit but I guess I am. Tell your friends, tell your family! Tell your deaf pets! So to this reward… you can figure to be a reward or punishment; whatever your fancy in music is! Just click on the picture to the left! You have only three guesses as to what this present might be! I'm quivering in anticipation!

But once again, brave readers, I must depart for greener grasses! It is raining and I fancy taking some pictures. I would have taken some earlier where it for lack of nice light. Oooh, look at me. Talking like a photographer. Very close by I can smell freshly cut wood and it's making me want to eat raisin bran. Off I go to take pictures and eat raisin bran! Until next time!

Cameron.