Scott's Here

I haven't been able to give an update for a while and I've got a lot to cover, but for this one I'll cut straight to the end (Donnie Brasko style) and fill in the gaps later...

I arrived in London at Heathrow on Saturday morning after an overnight flight (where I lost 5 hours) from New York City. I made it through customs really quickly as I was able to shoot through in the EU passport holders line - all thanks to Mum being born in Manchester. I was very lucky to have my friends Jase and Sonya meet me after I collected my backpack and drive me back to their most excellent 2-bedroom flat in Purley, South London. So I'll be staying with them for a while because I get my own room and even get to hook my laptop up to broadband!

So it's really going from one expensive city to another. They (the proverbial they) are right when they tell you not to start converting back to NZD or you won't want to buy anything. Now I know why they call it a pound, because it feels like your wallet gets a pounding each time you venture out!

Since I've been in the US for the last 6 weeks, I feel 'traveled out' somewhat and am ready to look for a job pretty soon. I had a meeting with a recruitment firm today that seemed confident of finding me something in the construction industry. I'll stay with Jase and Sonya until I get a job and find accommodation close to that.

Now I've caught up with the sleep I missed on the way over, I'll start catching up with the friends who I've been promising to for the last four years!

Seinfeld

What's the deal with paying $100 US for a ticket to see a stand-up comedian that points out what seem obvious idiosyncrasies of human culture? Umm - it's Jerry Seinfeld that's what.

TJ and I made the trek to Baltimore last Thursday to see the ultimate stand-up guy test our laughing muscles. He's been out of the comedy scene for a while now and he's been busy collecting more material. He got married six years ago and now has three kids. Jerry must have exhausted the amount of jokes he could get from the dating scene and decided to take the next step and start family humour. And I must say it paid off!!

He started with some more standard material (99% new) about cell phones, weather, garbage etc. which was all gold, but then he moved to fresh top shelf material about his marriage and kids. It was a little over an hour of really solid comedy with no filler - I guess that's why he's paid the big bucks (God knows he doesn't need it either!) I was actually hoping he'd pause sometimes as TJ had trouble breathing, she was laughing so much!

Jerry was much more animated on stage was really stretching his voice with that high voice he has when he tries to yell. It really was a break from his drier style we're more used to. Physically he was all over the stage and really getting into it. At one point he was on the ground trying what I think must have been lie-down comedy. Either way, horizontal or vertical, I was amoung the sold out venue that couldn't get enough.

So I can say I've seen the crème de la crème of comedians now and move on with my life...

Bible Belt

TJ and I left the home of:

"I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep on the soil of a friend." George W. Bush, on visiting Denmark, Washington D.C., June 29, 2005

over a week ago headed for the south. We've been to Winston Salem in Nth Carolina, Atlanta, Helen and Augusta in Georgia and many hours of freeway in between. The weather's been great, sometimes as good as a Wellington summers day. Although we've only scratched the surface on the Southern States - here's what I think so far:

• The further south you go the more annoying the accent
• There are more speed limits here on the freeway than I've had bad coffees in America. 55, 60, 65, 70mph to name a few. And the thing is no one seems to take notice most of the time anyway. Driving from Augusta to Atlanta yesterday, I was in the slow lane doing 80 with trucks passing me in a 65mph zone! One thing about driving on the open road here is it's so easy compared to NZ. It's all straight and quick. We're going to do 12hrs tomorrow back to DC.
• The vehicle of choice is a pick-up truck on steroids. Pick-ups are big enough to begin with, but here they have two extra wheels at the back, gigantic tool chests and suspension to carry a bobcat. The strange thing is you never see them with anything on the deck, hmm. Maybe they're on their way to pick up their mommas for church.
• Cars all have Jesus fish stickers on them.

Ok, I really only noticed stuff about driving - But we did do a lot!!

In between driving we also saw the worlds largest aquarium that just opened in Atlanta last November. It was pretty impressive with Whale Sharks being the best part. We also got to touch some of theexhibitss including a small hammerhead shark, anenomes, horseshoe crabs and rays. Unfortunately the starfish were on a 10min break!! Tough life.

We checked out the World of Coca Cola as Atlanta is the home of Coke. I don't know what we were expecting, but we basically paid $10 to be exposed to Coke's complete advertising history to be rewarded at the end with free samples of Coke products - along with 150 middle school children! Not my best purchase yet...

More to come soon.