I got an interview!

Well Hi there! I know it has been a while since I have blogged but really not much is going on that I haven't already told you about lol. So this will be a quick update but I just wanted to let yall know that I got a call from a lady who said she liked my CV (Resume) and she was forwarding it on to the hiring manager at this warehouse job about 10 minutes from where I am staying! So soon I am gonna go in for an interview and hopefully finally get a job! :) happy dance!

Other than that, I am going into the city with my mate and we are gonna just hang out there. Haven't done that in a while actually. We just saw the A-Team movie and it was pretty good. It wasn't great but we got cheap tickets so it was ok. That movie ( I think its already out in the States) "Get him to the Greek" comes out here on the 17th. I am pretty excited about seeing that actually it looks pretty good, Russell Brand is pretty funny!

When I was younger I played a game on the Internet where I used fake money to place bets on real movies. So, however a movie did in real life I got a corresponding amount of "money" in the game (if I bet correctly that the movie would do well or flop) well I just found out now they are gonna do that exact same thing for real with real money! I would be really good I think because I love movies lol. But I have no real money to bet haha. :(

The World Cup has started now and my mate Ben from Germany is going crazy over it! lol he is soccer crazy but I guess I just never really caught onto it. Its not hugely popular back home like it is in Germany. I have a feeling I will be watching a lot of it though lol. He is even getting up at 4am (our time) to watch the first game, hes a nut! haha

Well its winter here now and I don't like it! It isn't as cold as Sydney here in Brissy for sure but, at night time it can get down to 10C or below (that 40F and below) :( and I really want summer to come back so we can get warm again! Cairns stays warm all year round so I really wish I was there for the middle of winter lol. But, this cold is nothing compared to how cold New Zealand is! So I guess I am lucky :)

I just recently got a haircut finally so now at least my hair isnt so long and I can stop using so much shampoo all at once haha I am happy for that! and last night Ben cooked a new style of pasta I have never had before. Its called Noki (I think) it was ok but it was pretty doughy and the sauce we had wasn't that great but, it filled me up at least! We are like pasta addicts now lol I never used to eat this much pasta but it is cheap and filling so it helps!

Well I guess thats it for now. Signed, your hopefully soon to be employed again Traveling Texan Tyler

I just missed it!

Well I had planned to write a whole big blog on the day of my 7 month anniversary here but I missed it by a day! It totally just slipped by me and now I have been in Oz for 7 months and 1 day. Well this is close enough. So, 7 months has totally gone by super fast for me! I feel like I have just been here a month! It may not feel like that to those of you back home but it sure does for me. I have to leave Oz 4th of Nov of this year but whether I go straight home or not is up for debate. I haven't totally decided what I want to do or where I want to go next.

Today Ben and I paid 20 bucks for a guided tour of the XXXX Brewery here in Brisbane. Four X is a fairly decent beer brewed right here locally in Brisbane and lots of Queenslander's love it. The tour itself wasn't so bad we learned alot and got to tour the factory which has been in the same spot since 1878! After the tour we got 4 free beers which was a good deal I think and we even got to taste one straight out of an old school oak barrel which was pretty cool and tasted good too :)

Later tonight we will be going into the city to meet some friends and hang out for the weekend so its been good so far. Well that is it for now. Yall take care til next time,Tyler

Our Sailing Day

Well today Ben and I went sailing for free. Here in Brisbane at the harbour they have something called WAG's (Wednesday Afternoon Gentleman's Sailing) basically we signed up to sail with someone on their sailing boat. We got introduced to our skipper Michael and his crew. Everyone was very nice and they showed us the basics of sailing. What I didn't realise was that we were actually going to participate in a race and we got 5th out of 40 boats! It was just a friendly race nothing super serious but it was cool to get real sailing experience and for free to boot :)

After sailing we went back home and had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner really that was it. I will make this a short entry today. Talk at yall later,Ty

I finally got a new netbook!

Well I finally broke down and bought a new net book to replace the one that was stolen in Surfers Paradise, hopefully this one doesn't suffer the same fate! It has Windows 7 on it the newest operating system from (cough) Microsoft. I am not to happy about making the change ( I wish I knew how to use a Mac and could afford one) but, actually other than a few features missing or changed I actually like Windows 7 and it isn't too bad (lets hope it doesn't crash).
I did also buy myself a nice pair of new sandals after almost 7 months! I even got a 30% discount on them! I really have become the bargain hunter haha. Seeing as my 7 month anniversary here is coming up in 2 days I thought I would treat myself to new shoes and they look good!

We decided to forgo seeing a movie on cheap Tuesday since we are going sailing on Wednesday (today) and I also decided to wait on that haircut and let it grow a little more those hair cutting students take quite a while to cut it and they aren't going anywhere anytime soon haha. We also got a lead on a job offer! Well that is really I have to update yall on.

Your Aussie for a year,Tyler

My Free Day

The comedy show was free and actually pretty funny. They had a total of 6 comedians, some funnier than others but it was not bad at all for free. We even got to meet Anna Bligh the Premier (Governor) of Queensland. Surprisingly to me, the 3 female comedians were just as funny if not funnier than the male comedians. It has usually been my experience that girl comedians tend to try to hard and go over the top and be funny and then they end up not being very funny but, I was pleasantly surprised.

We also had free tickets to see a movie called "The Losers" it wasn't a great movie but it wasn't the worst movie I have ever seen either. All in All not a bad deal for free. After our free day we went out for a few drinks and wandered into a bar where someone was having a "Heroes and Villains" party. There was some interesting costumes haha. Someone even dressed up as Gumby!

Ben and I have decided we are going to start running and getting into shape. It has been a while since I have done any form of serious exercise but we are going to start and get back into good shape. Brisbane has been really good about having lots of free things to see a do, they really do treat their citizens well here. I did enjoy Sydney but it just seems here there is more to see and do here and they have a good transport system here too. There is also a free sailing thing we can do on Wednesdays at the Harbour. Apparently the rich people let us poor folk go out with them on their sail boats for a day of sailing so we want to do that, it should be fun!

As usual I had more to write but I have gone and forgotten what it is so I apologise in advance I really need to get a notebook or something to write in so I don't keep forgetting stuff after the fact. I am sure I will remember 3 days from now what I wanted to write now.

I did remember that cheap Tuesdays at the movies is coming up! :) and soon I will need to buy a new laptop to replace my stolen one along with haircut and a new pair of sandals after almost 7 months here this pair I currently have, are done! and my hair is getting pretty long so it is time for a haircut! I found a cheap hair cutting school that has students who do a decent job for a cheap price.

Talk at ya later,Ty

Well yesterday was full of surprises

Yesterday, Ben and I got FREE movie tickets to a new movie (well new to Australia anyway) called The Losers. We also got the chance to go see a free comedy show and not only that but I found a sweet shop where I could buy Dr Pepper and Reese Cups AND Pop Tarts but, the Pop Tarts were 10 bucks for a pack of 10 so I declined those haha. I love Pop Tarts but not that much! I could have bought a bag of Reese Cups (You know the bag that has like 25 or 50 mini cups in it) for 40 dollars! Back home that would cost what? 5,6 dollars? Crazy huh? well I went for the more reasonably priced 4 pack :) Anyway I was happy to have a taste of home.

We are still looking for work at the moment but I feel we are getting closer we have actually had some face to face interviews and next week should be a good week for us that is when I expect our callbacks. I didn't have this much trouble in Sydney getting work I don't know what it is about Brisbane. We will tough it out a little longer and see if we get any work here since we have invested so much time and effort here but  if we don't find work soon we will have to move on.

Currently we have a nice living arrangement and I really like the area so I really don't wanna cut and run just yet. I can't believe I am coming up on my 7 month anniversary here! Time has just flown! Soon Nov. will be here and I will have to decide if I wanna go straight home or go somewhere else in the world first. I have some thinking to do... I feel like I have just been here for a month! I am sure it feels a little different for those of you missing me back home though. I really do appreciate yall reading my blog and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it.

Take care yall,Ty

Just a small update

Well I am still here in Brisbane with my mate Ben. We are still on the hunt for jobs. I have applied with a lot of job agencies and actually made some headway with one of them. I talked to someone on the phone and hoping to get a face to face interview soon. We are giving ourselves until the 1st to find work here before we move on.

As I said before, we had our camper van broken into and I had my laptop stolen along with my digital camera and Ben's passport and alot of other stuff. I was lucky just to have those 2 things taken but it is a still a big hit for me and expensive to replace. I (Thought) I had insurance through my credit card to cover it but I found out they only cover damage to the van not the contents inside :( so I am back to square one and wont be able to afford new stuff until I get job :( I hate misfortune and mean people but, I still have my health and it could have been worse.

I did see Robin Hood with Ben at the cheap movie theatre and Iron Man 2 as well. Iron Man was better than Robin Hood in my opinion but both were good. So all in all life is just chugging along here in Brisbane and I am doing fine but hoping for work soon! Still staying at my mate's place just enjoying life. I hope yall are enjoying my blog and it isnt too boring. I will try and get some pictures on here soon to liven it up!

Yall take care, Your Traveling Texan,Tyler

Where I want to go next

Now yall are all caught up with my past travels and hopefully I didn't miss anything with my bad memory :) whoa that was a lot of typing! I do hope I didn't miss any countries that I have been too. They tend to blur together after a while. I have already caught you up on Asia/Australia/New Zealand (my current trip).

I dont want to come across as spoiled or smug. All the time people ask me "Tyler how do you get to travel so much?" I can answer that really easily.All I do is have a really good work ethic (Thanks  Mom and Dad!) and a really good idea of how to save money (Again, thanks Mom and Dad) so, back when I was in The States I would just set a goal of where I wanted to go and when I wanted to go and just save every penny I could until then and just go. The other major thing that allowed me to travel so much is I don't have what most people would consider a "normal stable life" I don't have a career,house,girlfriend,wife,kids or basically anything tying me down. This lifestyle definitely isn't for everyone but it is for me and I love it. It has allowed me to see things in the past 10 years that most people only dream of seeing. I have done more traveling than most people do in a lifetime and I know I am lucky.

I guess the only thing left now is to tell you where I want to visit. It will be easier to tell you where I DON'T want to visit because this world is a huge place and I want to see most all of it. I have no interest in Iran,Iraq,Afghanistan or any place where I have a large chance of actually dying. Nor do I have any interest in Antarctica because its too damn cold. Other than that I am open to going anywhere else in this world. In the near future I plan to either go back to Thailand (once it settles down) or spend some time in more of Europe and go to South America. I really want to go to Africa as well, although I don't want to see all of Africa just do the Capetown to Cairo route so I can see South Africa and then go see The Pyramids. I have lived in Texas my whole life and never even been to Mexico. Once all the drug violence settles down I would love to go there as well.

So there you have it you know my travel plans for the future. I hope to travel until I am 100 or until I get sick of it. But for now I am loving life and loving being here doing this. I am a lucky lucky man and I know it. I wouldn't change anything that has happened so far except for my computer and camera being stolen.

Yall take care,Tyler

Fiji/Australia

I went to Fiji in 2008 for 3 weeks and Australia for 3 weeks. I did an "Eco Trip" Basically I paid to go to an island called Vorovoro and help some islander's improve their village and in exchange they allowed us to stay for free and they fed us and took care of us. All we had to do was a little labour to help them out.

I landed in Nadi (the capital of Fiji) then flew on a unpressurized scary plane ride to an island called Labasa. Once I landed safely there I got picked up and we took a boat ride for about an hour to Vorovoro so we were really in the middle of nowhere. It took an hour to get to the mainland if we needed anything.
So we get to Vorovoro and the chief of the island (he was a big deal!) welcomed us there but we weren't allowed to talk to him directly, we had to address a little man standing next to him and he relied our message to the chief. All of the men were required to wear sulu's (basically skirts for guys) and we took a Fijian Language Class and did some tribal dancing.


The Villagers were the kindest most giving people I have ever met. We built them a functional shower for all the village to use (At the time I was there they didn't have any electricity or running water). After a hard days work we got to drink this drink made from a root called Kava. I am still uncertain what was in Kava but it did make your lips all tingly and just gave you a relaxed feeling. It didn't kill me so no harm done :) There was a traditional way you had to drink it. All of us sat in a semi circle and the Chief took a drink. We all had our legs crossed and we weren't able to uncross them until the chief said so. Once you were offered a drink of Kava if you accepted it you were required to drink it all in one gulp.

It was a great experience to see how really tribes still lived. I also slept on the beach in a hammock every single night we were so far in the middle of nowhere once the sun went down it was just like ink outside. no light except from our fires and you woke up with the sun like an alarm clock. the waves put me to sleep and woke me up it was amazing! We also got to do some snorkeling on the most beautiful reefs I have ever seen. We were so far out in the middle of nowhere they were just pristine. I did cut myself on a reef and was bleeding in the water and I really scared I was gonna get eaten by a shark haha but here I am :) We also got to go to a school and give gifts to the school kids (they had 1 school for 5 islands and it was just one room) they sang for us and played rugby with us (they kicked our butts) it was so cool seeing how happy they were to have us there. On the last night on the island we had a feast with a freshly killed pig and chickens and all the veggies we could eat. I loved it all! I really had a great time in Fiji.

Before I went home I had a 3 week tour up the east coast in Australia and that is where I fell in love with it and decided I wanted to come back again this year. I did the Sydney to Cairns route. Unfortunately all I have seen is the east coast so far. But I do enjoy it here and last time I was in Australia in 2008 I got to do my first sky dive in Cairns and see Sydney for the first time (It isn't so mind blowing for me anymore haha) I also got to go to Cape Tribulation in the North East corner of Australia and it is the rain forest!

 It rained so much in Cape Trib we almost got stuck there! It just rained and rained! But, I did get to go on a crocodile tour and do a really cool zip line tour of the rain forest over a raging river since it had rained so much. I even ate ants right off a tree in the rain forest that tasted like lime! I went out to the Great Barrier Reef there as well. I had my first experience with how amazing skydiving is and I fell in love with the rush. I love every second of falling through the air hurtling towards the ground and just seeing all the amazing scenery rush by. I love the heart pounding rush you get right as your parachute opens and you float down to the ground. I cant even discriminate how amazing it is you just have to try it! 

I really enjoy the east coast of Australia, in fact that is where I am now but I would love to see more of Australia and I hope I get a chance too. I am a backpacker after all, free as the wind :)

Hopefully I didn't forget anything important. -Tyler

Germany/Amsterdam

In 2007 I got to go to Germany for a 3 week tour. I stayed in  Braunfels Germany which is the original city to New Braunfels  in Texas. It was really cool to go to a place and have been to the sister city in Texas. I enjoyed hanging out with my friends there and got to see a lot of traditional German culture. I thought at first the language barrier would be a big problem for me  but honestly as long as you are in a even semi major city in Germany then finding someone who speaks English there wont be a problem at all so I didn't have any issues with that.

After I left my friends I was in Germany alone for the first time traveling. I was quite nervous being alone for the first time but I didn't have any problems at all. Now I have traveled alone so much to so many different countries it really doesn't even bother me anymore. I actually prefer having my own schedule and doing my own thing. I just meet tons of friends along the way. This year alone here in Australia has gone really fast so far (6 months already!) and I haven't ever really been alone for long. I love meeting new people.

 I went to Cologne,Hamburg,Munich,Frankfurt,Berlin and a few other cities. My favourite city had to be Cologne (Koln) I loved the cathedral and just the history and culture of the city. Not to mention the food and beer were great!  The other great city was Berlin. It is the capital city so it definitely has a lot of history there. I did a guided bicycle tour around the city called "Fat Tire Bike Tours" it was totally worth it and I loved every minute! We even got free beer at the end. We saw the Memorial to the Jews in The Holocaust. It was really powerful, you have to see it for yourself to adequately understand but, it is like a maze with these pillars of all different shapes and sizes and it is supposed to make you confused and disoriented just as the Jews were.

There is a big night life in Berlin and a lot to see and do. Really anything your into Berlin has got it. I also got to take a tour of what is left of the Berlin Wall. That was an interesting tour. Now they actually have a wall around "The Wall" ironic huh? When Germany was divided into East/West Germany the Russians changed the crosswalk signs to pictures of soldiers and you can still see some of them it is quite neat.

After Germany I met up with some friends and we took the train to Amsterdam for 3 days. We got to take some canal tours and museum tours along with seeing Anne Frank's House and alto of the typical tourist stuff but I really did enjoy it.

Well I hope I didn't forget too much,Tyler

England/Ireland

Back in 2007 I went to England for a bit then off to Ireland for St. Patrick's Day in March. It was amazing! I only had 5 days in London before we left for Ireland but I really enjoyed it. I remember doing the crash course sight seeing tour of London and hopping on a big red double decker bus and seeing The Tower Bridge and Tower of London and Big Ben and all the typical tourist sites. I also did a really awesome walking tour all about The Beatles and the music of Britain. I got my picture taken walking across Abbey Road just as the The Beatles did in the 60's right by Apple Studios and all the traffic stopped for me! ( It is still a functional road).

While on the walking tour I met an older American couple in the tour with me and we started chatting. They asked where I was from and I said Texas then they asked where at. I told them then asked where they were from. They said "Orange Texas" Well that is where my grandparents lived for 30 or 40 years. So I told them my full name and the name of my grandparents. It turns out this guy went to med school with my grandfather! It really is a small world huh? that was really neat

The only other funny thing I can remember is there was a Brazilian camera crew at Apple Studios for some reason and I guess because of my accent they decided to interview me since I wasn't British. So he asks me what football team I support and of course being a true Texan I say "Dallas Cowboys!" only  I didn't realise he was talking about soccer aka "football" for the rest of the world and it was a funny mistake we all got a good laugh out of it.  I had some great hosts there and they took good care of me. I would LOVE to go back to England again and take a proper tour of England and see more than just London.

After that, we flew over to Dublin for St. Patrick's Day on Ryan Air ( a budget airline in Europe) and this was my first experience with a true budget airline. I still don't know how this happened but I remember accidentally paying extra for "Priority Boarding" I didn't even know what that meant but basically I got to board the aircraft first and get to my assigned seat first lol. It was nothing special and I remember it cost me quite a bit along with all the other fees and taxes there was. Ryan Air charges you for EVERYTHING! This is the airline that was considering charging you to use the toilet on the plane! We got to Dublin safe and in one piece but they sure tried to nickel and dime us the whole way and we didn't get a single thing on the plane if we didn't pay for it. But I guess that system is working for Ryan Air because they still do it. But once we got to Dublin it was amazing! The whole city was alive with celebration! All the pubs were packed to the rafters! I got to see Irish dancers (think River-dance Style) had some amazing food and drinks and also got to go on a Guinness Brewery Tour and a Jamison Whiskey Tour. I loved all the accents and heritage in Ireland.

Again, I didst get to spend enough time there and I would LOVE to go back to Ireland and take a proper tour but at least I was with a great group of friends and got to enjoy myself.I do have a funny story about Ireland though. I remember where we were staying there was a corner store/petrol station close by that had breakfast food there. So every morning I would walk down there and grab some breakfast. So the first morning went like this, I ordered my breakfast of a bacon and egg roll I think. The girl behind the counter said something to me but I couldn't understand what she said so I just said yes. Then she hands me something that is totally not what I ordered  and totally not a bacon and egg roll. Well I didn't want to bother with it so I just took what I was given. The next day, same story! I order and again I get something I didn't order. It was only until the 3rd day did I find out they were speaking Gaelic which is an old language and is not even close to English! No wonder I couldn't understand them  lol. To this day I still don't know if they were doing it just to mess with me or if they really spoke no English.


Ok, time for my usual disclaimer: I have tried to remember everything but I am sure I am forgetting some amazing stuff so forgive me and my bad memory if I leave it out. -Tyler

Canada

I have actually been to Canada 4 times between 2006-2009. 3 times in winter and 1 time in summer. Those of you who know me well know that I HATE the cold So I MUCH preferred Canadian summer haha. I can remember the first time I went to Canada it was winter and I got off the plane and cleared security in the tiny airport of Regina,Saskatchewan. right in the bottom middle of Canada just above North Dakota.

My friend was there to pick me up and we go out the doors of the airport and that cold blast of arctic air hits me right in the face! Remember that scene from the movie Cool Runnings? Where the Jamaican bobsled team goes to Canada to compete? They go outside the doors and right away freeze! They run back in and put all of their clothing on before they go out again. Well that is exactly what I felt like haha.

So we get on the "Number 1" highway. It is the highway that goes all the way across Canada. It is only one lane in each direction. There was no one on the roads lol. There is more people in Dallas Texas than all of Saskatchewan. I do remember having a great time there though. I got to have my birthday there Canadian style. I went ice fishing. My friend and her dad really wound me up! They got me loaded up in the van and drove it out onto the ice. Looking back now I know it was super thick and perfectly safe but at the time they made sure to scare the crap out of me lol. They had the windows rolled down and the doors unlocked and they said if we crashed through the ice I had to get out quickly. I assured them if we crashed through the ice I would be the first one out of that car haha! They also really played it up with me ON the ice with all the creaking and groaning the ice does they were jumping up and down on the cracks in the ice trying to scare me and they did a good job haha I was terrified but it was super fun.

I got to play a Canadian sport called Curling. Basically it is shuffle board on ice. I built a snow man and made snow angels. I got to ice skate and play some hockey. Basically just enjoy what every Canadian does all winter haha. It really helped I was with friends and had a great family to take care of me since my own wasn't there at the time. The other 2 times I went there in winter were very similar but still no less fun. There was always something to do! We did take a few road trips one being to Banff ( the ski place) and that was really fun.

When I went there in summer the climate was TOTALLY different and I could not even recognize it as Canada. It was so amazing to be in Canada in shorts and a t shirt haha. I loved Canada in summer, not too hot not too cold. But sadly their summer lasts about 3 weeks lol. We got to go camping at Waterton National Park on the border with Alberta and British Columbia. We drove all the way from Saskatchewan to British Columbia with our stop at Waterton along the way. It was really beautiful camping there for two weeks. In the middle of nowhere with just the stars and nature and just relaxing away from it all. I also saw my first beer in the wild! British Columbia was much of the same with better weather and more mountains.

So, all in all I really enjoy Canada and hope to go back one day. Again, more amazing things happened I am sure but I am probably forgetting them so forgive me if I leave some out. -Tyler

Panama

I actually went to Panama twice. Once when I was 15 and once when I was 16. Keep in mind this was 10 years ago but I am going to try and write down everything I remember. So we landed in Panama City (I was with my church at the time) and I remember getting off the plane being real nervous as I was still a minor and out of the country for the first time even though I was with a huge group of responsible adults. ( I have come a long way since then huh? haha)

So we land and I remember having to pee really badly once we got off the plane. At that time I didn't speak any Spanish at all but someone told me how to say "Where is the bathroom" so I go nervously up to a Spanish speaking airport official and squeak out "Donde Esta El Bano?" they point and tell me where the bathroom is but somehow I must have got confused because I go to the door I thought they were directing me too and open it. Well once I open the door I hear screams, Apparently I had accidentally wandered into the women's changing room or something lol. I rushed out of there and managed to find the correct men's bathroom.

The next thing I clearly remember is how cheap Panama city was! I am quite used to 3rd world countries being cheap now but, back then I was totally amazed at the concept of haggling and not having a fixed price and being able to get full meals for under 10 USD. We had some great meals in Panama City. Soon afterwards we went into the mountains to build a church for a group of local native Indians called The Wymies (spelling?). We had to have a translator to go from English to Spanish,Spanish to Wymie before we could say anything so it was quite a process. I remember having a great time helping those people and learning from them. They didn't have much but they were the most kind,giving,caring people I have ever met. They lived 8 hours by truck from the city so they were isolated! But it felt really good to help them.

Next I remember looking out over the mountains and watching one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. I just remember seeing the ocean all around us on both sides and how amazing it was. Then we had a great ocean side dinner right on the beach as a thank you for our hard work. On a related side note, I did sleep through an earthquake there in Panama and I also fell asleep in The Panama Canal (It was so slow and boring!) My mom still likes to joke I have slept through an engineering marvel of the world and an earthquake so apparently I can sleep through anything haha.

I also want to tack one more thing on to this paragraph since it just looks like it will fit better here. Like I said, we had to ride trucks 8 hours into the mountains to build the church for the natives and those truck rides were some of the scariest of my whole life! They were almost vertical up sheer cliff faces and one slip and we would have fallen to our deaths. In the years since then, and all the 3rd world countries I have visited I have actually taken much scarier rides and much more dangerous forms of transportation but I wont bother you with those. Lets just say it has been scary but I am still here in one piece ya? Sadly since it was 10 years ago that is all I can remember even though I am sure a lot more amazing things happened to me. So there you have it, my Panama trip. -Tyler

A hopefully interesting idea

Well I have been thinking lately, I have heard from more and more people that I know that they really do enjoy this little blog of mine. That really surprises me as I don't think it is that good but I do enjoy just writing about my life whatever etc... Well I have even heard from a few that I should publish it and I already have a title haha. I will call it "Traveling with Tyler" catchy huh?

Well obviously I don't have enough written yet for a whole book. All I have written really is what has happened to me on this trip. So I decided I am going to try and reach back on memory lane and write about ALL my travels now. This is going to be hard because I first went to Panama 10 years ago when I was 15 and I hadn't ever blogged until now. But if yall will bear with me I am gonna try and randomly fill this blog in with a new blog entry for each of the countries I have visited.

This might be a long process that I will continually update but I am gonna start with an entry for Panama and go from there. I hope yall enjoy reading about the rest of my travels. -Tyler

My road trip

Ben and I decided to take a long weekend road trip. Basically just 4 days down the coast having fun. So we rented a camper van and off we went. Everything was fine for a while and going according to plan. We made it to Byron  Bay with no problems and hung out there then we moved down to Tweed Heads and had a great time there. Well on Saturday night (our last night) we were in Surfer's Paradise and just enjoying our time there. We had parked the van on a well lit main street in the middle of the day and locked all the doors. Done everything we could do right?

Well guess what? The damn van got broken into and they stole my digital camera and my laptop as well ( I KNEW I shouldn't have brought my laptop on the trip) but I did anyway. I actually got off fairly easy though. I had my phone,wallet,keys and sunglasses with me. Nor did they take any of my clothes. Thank God I left my passport at home! Ben on the other hand wasn't so lucky. They took his phone,passport,wallet,journal and other important documents.

So I have lost my computer (and all my personal documents and music and pictures on it, along with my camera) but Ben has lost a lot more than that. It really sucks when there is thieving jerks in this world.  I am hoping I can get insurance to cover my losses. We did file a police report even though I doubt they will ever find anyone or anything. Such is life huh? So long story short, until I get my own computer again I will be online less and blogging less.

Well I thought I would fill you in on a few more details about our road trip first we rented our van and drove down to Byron Bay. We had a good time there for the most part except for the part when we were sleeping in our camper van and got woken up at 5am by the police telling us we had to move or risk a 120 dollar fine. We explained to him that there wasn't any "no camping" signs where we were parked but he said we had to move anyway so at 5am we got up and drove somewhere else.

After that day was over we made it to Tweed Heads which is closer to Surfers Paradise. The only thing of note that happened there was we got to see a cool light house and we swam in the ocean. We we were in the ocean I got stung by something on my leg that hurt real bad but I didn't even see it!  There is a lot of stuff in the ocean in Australia that can actually kill you so I guess I consider myself lucky but, you can probably see a pattern of bad luck forming here since our stuff got stolen too.

We went to a really nice beach during the day and ate lunch on the beach. There was only about 4 people on the whole beach and it was great scenery. We decided to go for a little swim and the water was clear and beautiful with great waves and not too cold. Everything was great until I got stung by something on the leg and it hurt really badly. I never even saw what it was. Actually though I was quite lucky, there is a lot of stuff in the water here in Australia that can actually kill you so a sting that didn't kill me I am happy about. I really didn't catch much luck on this road trip though. Other than the sting the beach was great though. 

After The Tweed we drove to Surfer's Paradise where we went to the Wax Museum which was pretty cool. Then we walked around town and looked around. Things were fine until we got back to the van in broad daylight on the main road and realised that our stuff was gone and we had been broken into. Yesterday the police finger printed and photographed our van but they doubted they would get any usable prints off the surfaces in our van ( there was a lot of plastic etc). So I am not holding out hope but maybe they will catch someone. Even if they do catch someone the chances of us actually seeing restitution money is very very slim.

Anyway I was glad to get away and see some new parts of Oz even with this bad stuff that happened. This is when I wish I had travel insurance.

Your now depressed traveling Texan,Tyler

My big day

Well I did have a big day today. I went with my mate Ben into the city and we actually went shopping. I cant remember the last time I actually went out on purpose to spend my own money on clothes for me. But, I managed to get myself 4 shirts,shoes,socks,boxers,a belt,jeans a hat and some accessories all for under 200 dollars. It seems like a lot of money but I do consider it an investment in my future and honestly it feels good to have one total outfit that is nice and I like and can wear out and be happy with. That still doesn't mean I like shopping though lol. I was just ready to get it over with! But it was a good day.

I am still on the job hunt as well but, its only been a few days we just started applying at the end of last week. I am still confident I will have a job soon. This weekend Ben and I are taking a little road trip about 3 hours up the coast to another town to hang out and see the sites before we come back into Brisbane. It will be nice to get away for a bit. So far though I really like Brissy its a nice place to be it seems.

I have been cooking more than I ever have before in my life, so slowly but surely I am mastering the kitchen haha. I hope Mother's Day was great for all of yall back in the States we had a good one here. Well now all I need is a shave and haircut and couple that with my new clothes and I am a brand new man :)

I guess that is all for now yall take care,Ty

Life in Brisbane

So I haven't blogged in a while but I just wanted to update on my life here in Brissy. Ben and I are staying with a mate of mine outside of the city and things are good. We are in a quiet part of town outside of the craziness and we can see the stars. My mate is a real good guy who is letting us crash at his place until we get all settled.

Both Ben and I have been on the job hunt here in Brisbane, we just started but hopefully soon we will both have jobs. Brisbane is a great city that has a different "feel" from Sydney. It seems to be a little slower paced here and there is some nice parks and swimming areas etc. Lots to see and do and even an IMAX movie theatre that we can go to for 6.50 per ticket!

We have just been settling in here and getting to know the area so we haven't done too much yet. But tomorrow will be laundry day for me. Today we went to get groceries only we had to walk there since we dont have our own transport. We could have taken the train but, the train system here in Brissy is a little different than Sydney and we haven't got train passes yet and just buying a single ticket for that journey wouldn't be worth it since we were just getting a few things so we decided to walk there, it was about an hour walk there and back.

So we get there no problem (we had a good map) and we were just going to get a few things but the longer we stayed there the more we bought! We just kept grabbing stuff and by the time we got out of there we had spent 100 dollars! Then we realised we had to walk all that stuff back :(  haha it was not fun at all!  But we finally made it back and had us a good dinner and watched some tv.

I also want to add, are you ready for it....? TYLER COOKED A WHOLE MEAL! :) Yes you read that correctly I cooked an entire meal of eggs,toast,bacon and juice haha. I even did the washing up :) Not only that but, I also cooked a whole dinner meal of hamburgers and all the trimmings all by myself haha. No one died and we all had a good brekkie and dinner. So to sum this up, for now I am still unemployed but hopefully not for long and things are good here. Well I guess that is all for now so yall take care.

Tyler

Iron Man 2

Tonight Ben and I saw Iron Man 2. It was really interesting because it came out here in Australia before it came out in America, usually it is the other way around. It was a really good movie that we saw on a former IMAX screen so it was huge and we got the ticket for only $6.50. There was a ton of people there! We just barely got in the theatre. Luckily we bought our tickets in advance online and breezed thru the security check for the movie and actually got great seats. It was a really good movie and didn't disappoint. I dont have too much more to say tonight but tomorrow we will go into the city and take a city tour. Brisbane has been good to us so far.-Tyler

Brisbane

Well my friend Ben and I finally made it to Brisbane after two tries haha. We paid for 1st class on the train from Sydney to Brisbane and just imagined that paying the extra money would make our 15 hour train ride so much better. We thought we would have free Internet, an awesome bed and maybe even a butler. You know just everything you imagine 1st class to be. I have never taken first class anything in my life so I was real excited.

Boy was I wrong lol. We paid extra money for slightly more legroom and a chair that reclines 40 degrees instead of 28 degrees. That was it. No bed,no Internet,no butler. The seat didn't even go all the way down into a sleeping position! I was extremely disappointed with it. But, we did finally make it to Brisbane in one piece so I cant complain too much.

Now we are staying with a good mate of mine until we get jobs and get on our feet. I do miss my friends in Sydney and certain things about it but now it is on to new and different things. Hopefully next time I write I will have more exciting things to talk about haha. Until next time, Your traveling Texan,Tyler

Sydney

So, I am back "home" away from home for a now. I checked back into Wakeup Hostel (my favourite hostel) for 1 week and I got 1 day for free! I am back readjusting to Australia and not traveling just relaxing and getting my bearings back. I still remember where most everything is but, in one week I will be off to Brisbane to live for a while. I am traveling with a friend up there for work and stuff. I am also gonna try and work on my certificate for teaching English while I am there and it will just be nice to move to a new place out of Sydney and somewhere warm!It will be good to catch up with all my friends here in Sydney again though. All that traveling different countries for 3 months really took it out of me.

On Monday I leave with a friend for Brisbane we will start there looking for work and see how it goes, if we dont like it then we will be moving further north following the warm sun!  You know sometimes, just sometimes I forget I am like a million miles away from home and it feels like home over here even though it isn't.

I think this is one of the shortest blogs I have ever written but I really have nothing else to say. -Tyler