Back in Blighty...

Well I have been a real lazy bastard by not updating for a while. I have been in the UK for about 4 weeks now. The most exciting news is that Drgaoman have offered me a job and I hope to begin my 3 months training in Suffolk around the start of October.

I had a fantastic time during my two weeks in Debenham, I seemed to fit in with the people at Drago straight away. My two week assessment also took me to two festivals to help market the company, WOMAD and Lovebox which were both fun and interesting.

I can hardly wait now to return to start. The only slight problem is in sorting out a UK bank account, apparently my HSBC account of 5 years ago was closed as a bad debt and I may have difficulties opening another even though I have paid off the debt straight away. Hopefully I can get this sorted out before I leave but the British banking system is so antiquated and crap that I highly doubt it.

I am staying with an old school friend, Stephen Greenfield in his flat at Kilburn Park, London, just chilling out on the couch after a BBQ last night at another Kiwi's place and a few beers.

It is a beautiful day in London, don't really have too many plans for the last week I am here except for sorting out my bank account.... I need to save my cash as much as possible for my return here in a couple of months. Hopefully I can stayhere for a few days which would be nice.

Not much else to report

One more day left at work...

It's been a struggle for the last two weeks... getting up early and going to a job that I really do not want to do. The prime motivation for working the last two weeks wasto have a bit of additional spending money for the U.K. It has been difficult... the longest run in the branch which gets the most mail, plenty of posties calling in sick, strong winds and torrential rain and mega-mega-mega amounts of mail.

But now I have only one more day to go and it all seems worth it :) Funny how these things work really. Now I just need to get myself organised for my trip... trying to sort out what clothes to take and also sell my car tommorrow.

I also got me a fancy new camera as an early birthday present from mum. It is a Sony H-2, a camera from last year but had been discounted very heavily so was very worth it. I haven't used a camera for a long while and this one has many manual functions so I'll have to learn how to use all its features.

Funnily enough even though it is only 5 days until I leave it doesn't seem real yet. i guess because of the stress of exams and then straight into work 6 days a week I haven't had too much time to think about it. It is quite exciting though... I really hope my interview goes well, I want this job so much! Anyhow not much I can do now until the 16th - just going to enjoy my last few days here and London. Trying not to think about the 37 hour flight :(

Interview!!!

So I heard on Monday night just past that Dragoman want me to come over for an interview! Excellent. I have been frantically trying to arrange travel to the UK (in what is high season) and work out when Dragoman can see me. It is looking like I will fly over around 12 July and have my interview around 17 July. Then, if they like me I will go straight on to the two week interview that will finally determine whether I will get the job. So joy! Joy! Joy! Just waiting to hear back to confirm my interview time as the lady dealing with it is ill and then I will confirm my flight. Magic. Hard to concentrate on my final exams with this going on!

Not too impressed

I finally told mum today what I am planning to do regarding applying for the job at Dragoman. I don't think she was very happy about it but didn't say a heck of alot. I suppose there is very little that she can do apart from withdraw her offer of a free flight to the UK after I graduate. I will be slightly dissapointed if she and dad do not support me in this as it is my dream. It will be interesting to see what she thinks after the idea has sunk in after a week or so... stay tuned...

Last week I completed a course for my first aid certification. It is something I have wanted to do, not only because it is a requirement of the Dragoman job, but since I have been riding motorbikes I thought it would be a good idea to be first aid certified. The course was not too bad, most of the people attending had been sent rher eby there work and there was fair proportion of loud mouth know-it-alls on the course (me included :)). I received my certificate in the mail today so I am happy that is doen and one more think ticked off the list.

Also I have been going crazy selling stuf fon Trademe to raise more money. After two weeks I have made just over $2000, selling guitars and guitar amps as well as a heap of DVD's, CD's and books. I still have quite a bit to sell and hope to make another $2000 before i'm done. Basically I have already earned enough to complete my truck drivers course so I am very happy about that.

Finally, today was my last lecture in my undergraduate career. Didn't really feel much, just want to get the damn BA over and done with. I have one more major assignment to do and then 3 exams and that could be the end of my university career. I think that if I am not successful with the Dragoman thing I will probably return to university in 2008 and do my History honours. Just have to see how things work out.

Anyway, I am still waiting to hear back from Dragoman after I sent my application last week. I figure that it should be arriving in the UK from today onwards then I just have to wait and see what they say. I got a nice e-mail from the lady there I rang and spoke to regarding truck driver licences so I'm hoping that they will action things quickly and let me know whether I should be heading to the UK for an interview soon. Also, Debbie from Dragoman said they could arrange for me to have my intital interview and the two week interview scheduled at about the same time so I do not have to fly back to the UK in between. Sounds good.... I still can't wait... but I guess I have to try and concentrate on uni and motivate myself for my final exams.

Things get more confusing and a major step

I spent a fair amount today surfing the internet trying to figure out exactly what is required for the truck licences required for the overland driver job. The UK's system seems so wildly different to NZ's system that it may be better to try and do the licences there. The only problem is figuring out exactly which licences I need to take. And the cost!! Oh the cost!!! It looks upon initial inspection that it may cost around 3000 pounds which is about $10000 which seems to be a hell of a lot more than I've got. I guess I can cross that bridge if I come to it... they must be desperate for drivers if this is how much it costs!!

On a more positive note, I sent off my application form today after spending ages making sure it was as good as I can get it.... about the only thing I think that I am weak on is that I haven't done any travel over the last 5 years. Apart from that it is good. I think I will at least go to an interview in the UK if I am offered one and the two week interview if I can schedule it for the same trip and if they want me. Then I guess I will clarify exactly what licences are required, how much it costs and if they offer me a job figure out if I can afford to do it then. Phew!! This is going to be a bloody lot harder than I ever thought it would be.

Now I sent of my application I can't wait to hear back... I figure they will get it in a week or 10 days and I hope they are so impressed with me that they call me straight away to beg me to fly to England for an interview! I wish!! Fingers crossed... it's out of my control now.

What cost my dream?

Well I'm still breathing pretty heavily after signing myself up for an $800 course to sit the first stage of my truck driver license. That's a crap load of money for a poor student. I suppose that even if I don't succeed in obtaining my dream an ability to drive trucks is still relatively useful.

Best keep this expenditure to myself for a while. I don't think the family would quite understand why I'm doing this.

Think I might have a nice cold beer now.

Another small step and a concern debunked

Just a small wee step towards my dream today. I visited my doctor and he completed the medical certificate that I will need to obtain my heavy truck licenses. I also spoke to him about my plans and whether he had any concerns with the possibility that I could spend up to 9-12 months of the year in the third world. I asked because of the likelihood that I will develop the same PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) as my father and I need to monitor certain things. My doctor expressed no concerns what so ever with my plans as long as I continued to monitor blood pressure, protein absorption in urine and creatinine levels at least once a year. He also said it was an excellent idea to follow my dream now rather than waiting until much later in life when I may be unable to travel if I develop PKD and need dialysis in 20-30 years time.

A good day... I feel a lot happier now. I think I will book the first stage of my truck license this week after U have written an annoying essay for my politics class on war crimes.

Every Great Journey Begins with a Single Small Step

Well today I did the first thing towards achieving my dream. I booked my First Aid Course which is one of the requirements to becoming an overland driver. It feels good to actually do something substantial, rather than just thinking and talking about it. Pretty exciting eh? I also feel slightly nervous.... like I just started on something huge and I have no idea how it will turn out.

Next big step will be to book the first stage of my Heavy Truck license... now that's a REALLY big step, cause it will cost me around $800! Wow..... my only real concern about not being able to achieve my dream is health worries. I am sure I will be fine but I do have a nagging doubt that the blood pressure medication I am on may be seen as an issue by any potential employer. My blood pressure can be high but generally the only reason I have to manage my blood pressure is that it will help delay the onset of the PKD that my father has, hopefully to around 20-30 years from now. Maybe more. We will see. I guess all I can do is my best and not worry about the things that are beyond my immediate control.

First steps.... cool... i'm thinking this will be one hell of a journey.

This above all, to thine own self be true

It has been quite a while that I have considered having a blog. I have had a livejournal for quite some time but never get around to updating it. Perhaps it is because people that I know read it and maybe I just need somewhere to record my thoughts and work things out for myself rather than trying to write for a perceived audience.

Last night I was trolling through the boards on the Boots n' all forums and came across a post from a few years ago about a girl saving a puppy from being beaten to death by children in Mali. All I wanted was to see a picture of the puppy so I clicked on the link for her blog. What I read there moved me to a great extent. Kinga was fulfilling a lifelong dream, travelling around the world for five years before she succumbed to cerebral malaria in Ghana in 2006. Recently I have been giving a huge amount of thought to following my dreams and not trying to please other people in the choices that I make. Kinga's blog really confirmed for me that I have to follow my dream, or at least give it a damn good try.

To this end, I will be investigating how to become an Overland Truck Driver, I have sent off an e-mail to Dragoman to see how much of the recruitment process I can complete in New Zealand before I have to fly to the U.K. If I am successful in following this dream I will have to spend a huge amount of money whilst getting next to none in return if I get the job. That is simply not important to me, such a job will be a fulfillment of many desires I have had; I don't fit in to the "mainstream" of society that values success in terms of a dollar value, I have a huge passion for travel, for people, new cultures and Africa and can see this job making me very happy.

Probably enough now for an initial post, i'm thinking this blog will be a disjointed affair with infrequent posts on issues that are in my heart, mind and soul at the time.

If any one does accidently find what i've written I would appreciate you leaving a comment with your thoughts.