Travel Diary day 5: The drive to Yosemite

Today we did something that only only crazy people do. We hired a car and proceeded to drive on the wrong side of the road.

We started off getting our hire car and driving across the Golden Gate Bridge twice and having Sam deciding to forget to drive on the right and nearly killing all three of us.

American highways are slightly more confusing than ours , so luckily for us we got a Sat-Nav that for some reason kept wanting to send us on the "scenic route" which culminated in us stopping and grabbing some snacks at a Gas station in Oakland, which was so dodgy that it accepted food stamps...

After several hours driving we stopped off at "Francho San Miguel" supermarket. And Boy was it super!! This place was fucking huge! I swear you could buy food by the pallet. We bought supplies (beer Malibu and Tequila) and possibly the greatest invention of all time. Bacon Cheese. Yes thats right. Cheese flavoured like Bacon.

Later on that day we pulled into Yosemite national park. It was like everytime you rounded the corner it became even more incredible. Words really dont explain how incredible it really was.

We pulled into the housekeeping camp and I discovered that I would be sleeping at an almost 90 degree angle. Awesome

Travel Diary Day 4: Hooters and Cable Car

Today was a very special day. Today was the day we set aside to go and visit the greatest restaurant America has ever produced. Hooters...

We started the day with a visit to Westfield San Fransisco. 12 levels of shops, all to find Sam some funky fresh shades and Al some new Kicks (sneakers). It was freaking huge! Riding the curved escalators was a frightening experience for me (I'm slightly afraid of heights and by slightly I mean extremely) If you feel my pain I'd avoid them like the plague.

We then caught a streetcar down to Pier 39. Just had a wander through the sports store to find a new jacket and boy did I find one! San Fransisco Giants Baseball Jacket. I have never had a jacket fit so well! (Editors note: The Giants later won the World Series) We adopted them as our Go to team while we watched the many and oftentimes confusing American sports on ESPN.

We couldn't go to San Fransisco without trying some famous Clam chowder (despite my dislike of seafood) So we stopped off at a place and within its outdoor seating area we had a huge "bowl" of chowder. I say "bowl" purely because it was served in a giant sourdough bread bowl. It was actually pretty tasty..

Now here is the highlight of my trip so far. We couldn't get tickets to the Giants game so we did the next best thing. We went to Hooters! I can honestly say I have never felt like I belong as much as I did there. Hot super friendly women, Beer and spicy chicken wings. I think I might secretly be American. Sam tried his hardest but surprise surprise in the manliest of all restaurants in existence he did not fit in...

On the way out of Hooters something a bit weird happened Sam and I were walking out of the restaurant and this girl walks up to us and asks us if we are from Perth. Now this being the case we replied with the affirmative and asked how she knew this. She too was from Perth and actually had the same Taxi driver as us just after us! He had actually described Sam's mohawk haircut and that he was hanging out with 2 other dudes. She recognized us and we ran into her in one of the biggest cities in the world... In HOOTERS!!

To get back to the hostel we caught one of San Fransisco's iconic cable cars. It was awesome! Hanging off the side while traveling the streets of San Fran was incredible and one of the must do things in a lifetime. We stopped halfway through to see the cable car museum. Learning about how it all works and seeing the machines that make them run was very interesting.

That night we were pretty knackered after a rich, full day of hard walking but we had a bit of a wander around and Al , for some unknown reason, announced that he would like to see a genuine SF gay bar. So Sam obligingly (and frighteningly quickly) googled Gay bars and we found one nearby.

Unfortunately for Al it wasn't what we could call a "stereotypical" Gay bar. So much so that it had a picture of a topless woman behind the bar! Which lead to one of my favorite comments of the trip so far. When the bar man inside the gay bar asked what we were after Sam replied with "just browsing thanks". Possibly not the right thing to say in a Gay bar.

After that dispointment we went back to the Hostel and drank and played Liars dice...

Travel Diary Day 3 Meet the Hippies!

Awaking up at 9am for a day of fun an frivolity in a brand new city is awesome! Unless you spent till 3am drinking, then it is not as much fun as it sounds... But we carried on anyways deciding to hit up Fishermans wharf and other such stereotypical tourist sites...

After catching a bus we came across Fishermans Wharf which is basically Mecca for fat tourists. We walked along most of the piers and boy did I pay for it... Even my Blisters had blisters... Walking through Chinatown was an effort.. So many people on the sidewalk! Everyone was packed in trying to buy fruit and whatever else was availble on the sidewalk! It was freaking nuts!

But whilst drinking last night we heard talk of a free concert off in Golden gate park. Now if Fishermans wharf is Mecca for tourists then this was mecca for smelly unwashed hippies. There was thousands of them!! There were more people than I have ever seen gathered in 1 place at one time! It was freaking epic! We forced our way to the nearest stage (banjo stage) and Al got himself yelled at by a woman for smoking despite the fact we were outdoors and she was like 10 people away but the smoke was getting to her so much she nearly died of a coughing fit...

So we sat down at the stage! Literally sat down at the stage! All of us! Thousands of people sitting down to watch Joan Bayez! (she played at Woodstock! Be impressed!)

By this stage it was a bit later on so we managed to figure out the bus route home and rested for a bit...

That night Al had recommended (via his copy of Lonely planet) that a great place in San Fran to go and drink was South Market St... There was nothing there! So we tried again this time catching a train down to Mission St. This was a bit better with lots of what they call "dive" bars. A "dive" bar is pretty much what you see on American TV. 1 Bar with lots of people standing around... These were exactly the same filled with people who wanted nothing to do with us...

Unfortunately we did not realize that the trains stopped at 2am. So we were forced to walk basically the distance of Osborne Park to Northbridge... It was harsh.

-Makin-

Just what I am listening to At the Moment

Travel Diary Day 2 (or day 1 again)- Save me San Fransisco!

After an epically long plane ride where all 3 of us got fuck all sleep and Al and Sam learnt that plane rides are made all the more fun when you are drinking Bloody Marys... (I did not like them) we arrived in the Foggy city of San Fransisco. Don't forget to wear a flower in your hair.

It wasn't the greatest of starts. We got off the plane all full f hope and wonderment of this mystical land and it was my job to figure out how to get to the hostel from the airport. Now being the super organized person I am I had looked into it a couple of weeks before and found out we could catch the "Bay Area Rapid Transit" (BART) train from the Airport directly to the Powell St station. As the train went along we suddenly got the delightful smell of burning... Now being Non Americans we assumed this was normal and that was just how Trains smelt over here... Apparently not as we were asked to disembark at the next stop because THE BRAKES WERE ON FIRE!! True story... We waited for 5 mins for the next train (no burning smell this time) and rode it to the station without incident.

Upon arrival at our new home at Globetrotters Inn I, with my Internet booking in my hand, went to check in. Whats that? Despite my Internet booking and the fact I have paid a $30 deposit you don't have a reservation for us? and you are full and cant fit us in? AWESOME! Luckily for us there was a hostel around the corner with some space so we didn't have to sleep in a cardboard box on the street.

Just coming off a 20 hour flight and not having slept for nearly 30 hours culminated in us all being super jet lagged. We walked around for a bit but deep down we knew that our excitement wouldn't keep us going forever and eventually culminated in a 4 hour nap.

Our first night in San Fran and we decided to hit a bar. Ironically we decided to hit an Irish bar that was full of Aussies as the Grand Final replay was going on.... I tell you what I can see why Americans are fat. The food is cheap and massive portions! Are you generally get a side of fries with it, and when I say a side a fries generally it is a whole plateful! Its crazy!

Plus Beers over here are super cheap. We were in a super packed bar drinking with a whole bunch of people and were buying Pitchers (jugs) for $15US! No wonder I felt like absolute arse the next morning...

And on possibly the most exciting note ever as you do when stumbling home drunk we passed our first American Maccas and of course nothing says drunk in America like Nuggets.
20 nuggets for... $5.99! And Dr Pepper on tap!
Dear God I may have died and gone to Heaven!!

Travel Diary Day 1

As many of you know I recently went on a month long tour of America Mexico and Cuba. I took down some notes and stuff, so I thought I'd share them with y'all.

Enjoy

Day 1: The Day of Many flights.

Waking up at 2.30am is never fun, unless of course you are off gallivanting around continental America with your two best mates...

After being woken by Al and his brand new ritual greeting of "This is it boys!" we were taken Via taxi to the Domestic Airport where we realized we were far far too early for our 5.45 am flight. After checking in and gearing up we realized that we weren't sitting together Al and I were sitting on the window side and Sam was in the middle row partially to the left. This did cause a slight pack mentality and left poor Sam feeling a little picked on after we spent most of the flight giving him shit...

Sydney Airport was fun, but not so much for Al, who apparently looked dodgy and was swabbed for explosive residue(a trend which continued for almost every airport) He was promptly cleared but not before some mocking from Sam and myself...

Duty free in Sydney had a very aggressive approach which clearly worked on me and Al, with both of us buying new cameras before we hopped on the plane for our epically long flight to San Fransisco....

-Makin-

Musically inclined

One day I'll wish upon a star...

I was watching Glee the other day and because I find myself enjoying a show, which for a rare change is different and has interesting characters... For some reason when you admit to people , particularly other males they call you hurtful names.

but the point is. In the final episode of season 1. Mr Shuester sing over the Rainbow. I have forgotten how much that song moves me. And all in all it reminds me of how much music effects our lives.

Certain songs can make you laugh, cry and make you remember thing you had once forgotten.

Over the rainbow. It makes me do both. Smile and cry at the same time. Its a beautiful song. Sung beautifully.

Listen and enjoy.

By the way Hannah is awesome
-Makin-

Hilarity

Do you know whats funny....?


Me either.

A third post? Surely not!

In the interests of keeping myself sane I decided to attempt a happier blog this time around. Maudlin doesnt suit me at all :P

But I was thinking the other day all what kind of mutant powers I'd like (Yes I am quite aware I'm a nerd but I'll deal with it if you can) and I seriously spent ages trying to figure it out, cause what do you base it on? Strength? Agility ? Power? Mind control? And then I thought about it. Speed.

I've never been very fast ( at 6 foot 2 and 100kgs are you surprised) and I thought I'd always like that kind of thing. Super speed would be awesome. No Cars no planes just run across the water at full pelt. Wind in your hair!

And then I thought about it this way. Mind control. Yeah bitches. The ability to cloud and control people would be a pretty sick power. Only problem is with that kind of power is you are almost guaranteed a villain. Can you image a good guy control someones mind? it really would work... Still it would be pretty cool.

Strength? Meh I'm already pretty strong I think I can handle that.

Super Intelligence? Bollocks to that can you imagine being that much smarter than everyone else? It would be like hanging around with a bunch of children all day.

I've got to say speed I think is what would win it for me. I mean look at the Flash. Quick legs and a quick wit. You cant go wrong!

-Makin-

2 posts in one day! It must be Christmas!

Before I get too excited and start my new story of life
friendship love and hope let me tell you about 4 very
good people. I had a rough weekend and for whatever
reason I decided on Sunday to take this out on
myself with drinking on Sunday. I know now its all me
being a bit mental and crazy, reading too much into things
and these people set me right with words of encouragement
and thoughts of hope.

So Kristy, Azmo, Ness and Hannah. This one is for you.

Now as you all know I am a single male and a bit of a
keeno. And I have tried everything to get the proverbial
ball rolling as it were. Now Thurday week I tried
Speed Dating. Yes I know! What a loser going speed dating
god! Well you'd be wrong. I had a great time met some
wonderful people and currently I have seen 1 a few times
which is really nice. Now I know there is a lot of stigma
attached to this whole speed dating thing but I think it
is a really great idea. Its was really well set up and it
went really well (for me anyways, I'll get into more later)
and I tell you what. Nothing is more fun than going on 10
dates in 2 hours. By the last date (hello Dory if you read
this!) I was really good at having the same conversation!
It was actually quite fun. You meet like minded people and
I was actually pleasantly surprised by the level of Talent.
and the nibbles they provide (provode?) were really good!
So yeah give Speed dating a shot, it is quite fun.

But here is the part 1 of 2 parts on my most recent
escapades.
Part 1: The perils of speed dating.

See I was quite lucky. I went with a couple of gal pals
so I got gossip about certain people and they gave me
advice on what to and not to do. Firstly there was a
gentleman who was nicknamed the muffin man. Purely cause
he had the personality of a muffin. He sat there and
stared at my friends breasts for all of 7 minutes.
Good times. That's a no. Do not do that. Whilst breasts
are great fun to stare at on the Internet in real life
I'd try and avoid it. And another fav of mine was the
gentleman who explained in vivid detail the layout of
the Curtin university. Including maps! Whilst that is very
helpful if you are a student at Curtin, if you are on a
speed date in Subi, it is a little less helpful. But good
on him for providing the amount of time it takes to get
from one building to another. Its just considerate.

I found that jokes were a hit and miss situation here.
Now as all of you whom read my blog know that I am
hilarious. Possibly the funniest person ever. Even
I struggled to get a smile from some of the girls.
One of them clearly decided she was there for business
only. Every girl I asked them how they would like
to hear about what I do  for a living either
1) the funny way- recommended or
2) the impressive way. Now all except one of the girls
said they wanted the funny way, and why wouldnt you?
Funny is good. Funny is fun! So joke can or cant go down
well depending on the girl. But in the end if you
are funny, go nuts. If your not I wouldnt bother.

Part 2: The aftermath

So I did alright out of speed dating. I got a couple
of yeses and I've been on a couple of dates with a
terrific girl. Now here is my main problem. I spend
far too much time inside my own head. I always think
the worst which is dumb but we all do it. I think I
have major trust issues from when I was crushed a
couple of years back. And yet I have no reasons to worry.
I have some great friends whom for some reasons have
encouraged me to start writing again (god help us all)
and right now all is right with the world.

Now the main point of this blog was firstly to start
writing but secondly to let people know a new segment
coming through. As of October 1st I am going to be in
America for 30 days with my 2 best mates. And we are
heading to what my mate Sam has wistfully called the
Bromance. As we travel through the United States Mexico
and Havana I am going attempt to keep updating a travel
blog, with thoughts and details of the places we visit.
It wont be updated while we are there prolly just dumped
on you when I get back, hopefully not sucking.

So until then keep blogging and keep writing.

And once again Cheers you guys.

-Makin-

Bring back the Standard!

For a while now I have preaching about what
the world should be like. Now I am attempting
to do something about it. On the old Facebook
I am attempting to create a new standard.
For too long people have been, well for lack
of a better word, arses. What ever happened
to being nice? Not because you have to or
because it will get you something.
Just nice for the sake of being nice. Saying
please and thank you should be a given, not
an afterthought. If I had a dollar for every
person who was shocked when I said those 3
simple words I'd be rich.

But thats not all I'm talking about. Remember
back when holding a door for someone wasnt a
hassle but the right thing to do? When someone
had something heavy to lift you'd give them a
hand? What happened? When did we become such a
group of selfish people? When did simple everyday
nice things become such hard work? If we all made
a point of doing 1 good deed a day we'd make the
world a billion times better. How hard is it to
hold a door for someone? It takes no time out of
your day and you know that person may not appreciate
it to your face but later on they will realise and
it might make them do something a little differently
too!

Its all about snowball people. If you do something
good for someone hopefully they will notice and the
next time they will do something good for someone
else. I mean we can only hope. Simple things like
this can change the world, We cant just sit idly by
and watch the world go to hell. Let's make a change.
Lets create a new standard. Join the facebook page.
Share stories, give people ideas. Or dont join the
page, just make sure you help that old lady across
the road you help someone carry their bags of shopping,
say please and thank you.

Its the least you can do!
Bring back the standard!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=100952633302142

-Makin-

Weird thoughts after a weird day.

After I got home from a shit day at work feeling nauseous and knackered. I decided there could be only one thing to do to make myself feel better and that was a fresh new start. And seeing how I'm saving for America both a new wardrobe and a sex change were out of the equation.

So I decided to clean and move my room about. Good fun. Boy was this the dumbest thing I have ever decided to do. I thought yeah I can do this it wouldn't be too much effort. Several hours later and a whole lot of aggravation and we have a brand new room. All nice and clean.


Though dragging myself through the piles and piles of dirty clothes that had to be washed and hung out I was constantly picking up socks that kept falling out of the washing basket. Now this lead me to a thought.

Do Socks like being washed? It always seems to me that they are jumping out of the basket and onto the floor to avoid the indignity of the cold unforgiving washing machine. Underpants never do... But then you'd want to be washed too if you were carrying around testicles and an arse all day.

But socks, whilst feet do smell, don't have the the horrible job that undies do. They get to be comfortably away from the world in the shoe, where it is nice and warm. Then after you get home they go into the wash where they are loped in with all the other washing, undies and all the rest of the smelly, common items, not us socks! We're going to do the only thing we can do and jump out of the basket before he can wash us! Ah ha!! Genius!
Oh wait. He saw us. We'll try again later.

Socks hate being washed. True story.

-Makin-

Ooo Bad chinese.

Word of advice for you. If you are feeling peckish and in the mood for some chinese, and you happen to be in the wonderful suburb of Osborne Park/Tuart Hill.

DO NOT GO TO ORIENT CHINESE ON MAIN STREET!

I dont know if I can state this as subtley as I just did...

The service was wonderful and friendly. They were happy and nice and glad to see me. And now I know why. Their shop was empty and people were not waiting for take out. The food was slop. Pretty much all it was was pre-cooked meat with GALLONS of sauce. literally smothered in sauce. God it was foul. And Expensive!

And boy am I regretting eating it now.

As gross as this is it makes me feel better to let people know...

Bon appetit.

-Makin-

Whoops...

Whoops. Its been so long I almost forgot I actually had this page to write on...

But seriously now it has been a while I have got something to write about.
Firstly I am single. Yes I know surprise of surprises but yet I am. Now going out to look for a woman in this crazy mixed up world of ours is hard. Very hard, and yet people such as myself put themselves through it every weekend in the vain hope that they might cease this eternal struggle for companionship... For those of you who are feeling this "Pinch" I have a very subtle piece of advice for you. Do not go to Subi.

Subiaco is the lamest place on Earth. Beers are expensive. The place is crap and you cant move even a millimeter let alone have a chance to talk to someone. Subi is not a fun place. I went along with my boys (and a few girls but not that kind of way) and it was like a fucking sardine can. Why do people think that they can have fun in such a small place? I couldnt even move let alone talk to someone. We went to 3 different places. All of which were the same. Small expensive and packed. Now packed may be good for business but is not good for me. I dont like crowds.

And my fav part was all the girls who dress up. Actually I do like that part but the bit I dont like is when they dress like hookers and if they do bust you checking them out they give you the old stink eye! I mean come on! Ladies if nothing else take it as someone saying that you look very pretty tonight. Jeez people do my head in.

But my point is. In struggle to find someone out there. Dont go to Subi. Go elsewhere. And if you are a pretty girl, dont judge people for looking at you. Just say thanks.

-Makin-

A oint to prove to Emma

Hopefully this works

Daniel Makin is a Nice Guy

Take that Emma!

Things I learnt on my walk

Sorry it has been a while since I last updated... I never thought I'd run out of things to say but I had... until now.



Right so I went for a an epically long walk today and I learnt a few truths about life and such and I thought I'd share them with you...

1. If you are going on a walk go to the bathroom first. I had walked for 30mins needing to pee. It was not fun.
2.When you get to said Pee point. Dont wear thongs. It is gross. 1 word. Splashback.
3.If some dude waves you down at a bus stop. He wants to sell you a stolen Ipod.
4.Thongs are not the best thing to walk for 60 mins in.
5. Cause you feel guilty about going inside a shopping center just to pee, you then have to go buy something...
6. Laughing while walking on your own walking is weird and people judge you.
7. People are mean. They will judge you for being a walker. They will yell at you out of cars.
8.Its hard to hear people shout out "lookout!" When you are wearing headphones.
9. A sunset is very pretty unless you are staring right at it. Then it is annoying and quite painful.
10. Woolworths are always opening lines when you are not quite at the front but are too far in to change lines. Fuckers