Journal Entry 28 March 2009

Time:11:30 PM
Location: Somewhere in the Cumbrian Mountains

It is dark. The wind is howling outside and I can feel the snow falling on the tent. I bravely popped my head out a minute back and in spite of the snow, the moon is out and the sky is clear. The moonlight reflects off the snow on the peaks around me. The shining mountains look both beautiful and scary at the same time.

I am cold. Four layers of clothing, a tent and a sleeping bag have done little to protect me. Twenty miles of walking, lack of sleep and the absence of hot food is taking its toll. I am shivering and only regular swigs of whiskey keep me going.

This wouldn't be so bad if we knew what tomorrow held in store. But that is pure fantasy now. We are lost and have no idea where we are or which way to go.

My Wont

So I was in the office yesterday trying to carry a hundred files at once. Seeing my predicament this associate politely asked me, "you okay there?" I answered, "yea I'm cool". Then one of the files almost fell down and only a my high school experience in goal allowed me to balance myself in time and prevent a huge mess. But that's not important, what is important is what I said thereafter: "oops, looks like I spoke too soon. As is my wont to do."

Wont? Who the fuck uses "wont" in a sentence anymore.

Anyway the only reason I wrote this is because my "How I met your mother" episode is taking too long to stream. But I gotta go, Ted's got dumped again.

Isle of Wight

This is a map of the Isle of Wight. Its a tiny island off the southeastern coast of England not known for much but its abundance of dinosaur fossils (even today fossil hunters swarm the island).
I had planned to walk its entire coastline, a reasonable 105 kilometers, over Christmas but basically came up with numerous excuses not to. So I'm doing it over the five days in Easter. Updates and photos to follow.

Globalsomething

Two days ago an Indian, a Brit and a Croation working for a British law firm, redacted the Greek in the documents of an Indian subsidiary of an US company.

I don't really know if that's a good thing or not.

Arundel to Amberley

In keeping with Sryon's tradition of describing walks by what not to do on them. Here's a list of what not to do when walking from Arundel to Amberley.

1. Don't just assume that trains in London are running on weekends. You'll end up staying awake till 3 trying to figure out a way (involving two train changes and a bus) to get to your train station at 5:30 in the morning.

2. Get more than 2 hours sleep the night before.

3. Don't scratch your head wondering why your tickets are so cheap only to realize that you are restricted to certain trains at certain times and you may have missed yours.

4. Sweet talk the station master if you fail to follow 3.

5. Don't walk straight into a castle, however tempting it looks, thinking "ooh that'll make for some nice pictures". You'll be rudely stopped and told "It's fifteen quid entry mate".

6. Don't entrust the map to you Bihari friend who confuses left and right. You'll be running from horses and being chased by dogs if you do.

7. Trust said Bihari friend when he tells you not to try and scare the animals which look like cows. He knows a bull when he sees one.

8. When being chased by said Bull do not think of yourself as Carl Lewis: Jumping over barbed wire, or going under it, is not easily done without ending up some sort of lasting physical reminder of your folly.

9. Don't stop at the pub before locating the station for your train back. Scrambling through a bog to make it in time is not fun.

For Personal Records

I am currently bringing in my twenty-fourth birthday by writing a report on the changes to the SCOP (Supermarkets Code of Practice) brought about by the GSCOP (Groceries Supply Code of Practice).

Just thought I'd put it in writing.

And, oh, - I swear I'm not making this up - I'm listening to Simon and Garfunkel's Leaves that are green.

City Boy

Sorry to keep harping about the recession but heard this on the radio today: Geraint Anderson, the Author of City Boy: Fear and Loathing in the Square Mile (story of a banker's life in London's financial district) says, "I think one of the good things about the recession is that it has led to the creation of great art and music...people are more relaxed about free stuff."

Seems as if my unqualified opinion can now be backed up by some more, ahem, "credible" sources.

The fact that I heard this at half past midnight in a cab back from office (with my cycle in it because I was too tired to bike) adds some irony to the incident.