Time:Â Â 12:59am USA / 2:59am AUSTÂ
Went for a walk around the neighbourhood this evening just before sunset and noticed this fully sick pimpin’ ride …
The boys in Bankstown would be proud 
First day in the office tomorrow so I better get some sleep!
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Time:Â Â 5:29pm USA / 7:29am AUSTÂ
My first full day in the US of A. I managed to get a huuuuugeee sleep last night, and didnt end up getting out of bed till almost midday. I’d say that’s in part due to my travel as I was exhausted, but also jet-lag and the time difference screwing with my biological clock. However, for those that know me well, they know that I often sleep till midday
I went off to the Social Security office today to apply for my social security number, which is much like a Tax File Number - every employer who wants to pay you in local currency must have your social security number! Apart from the security guard sitting at the front door who asked us wether we were carrying any weapons, guns, or mace (!!!) it was a relatively painless process, but will take a few weeks for them to process the application and verify my credentials.
I then wandered across the street from the Social Security office to open a normal “checking” account with National City Bank into which I can get my employers to pay me into. For the first time since I arrived I had my first “i looooveee your accent” comments. haaaaahahahaaaaaaaa! I openned the account with my initial deposit of $60 US, and wandered back out into the street!
We then went to the supermarket, and I couldn’t find any V drink (!!!!!) only Redbull and this stuff - NOS in a CAN! I also saw some of the largest canned soft drink I think I’ve ever seen … 750ml can’s of drink! These cans are massive! Silly yanks!!
Tonight I’m going to go for a walk around the neighbourhood, and probably try and get a good nights sleep as tomorrow I’ll be up at 7am and heading into the office - my first day at my new job!
Oh, and I’ve got my suitcase back! They delivered it at 3am!! So everything is in-tact, and tonight I can sleep on my own pillow 
Time: Â 12:51am USA / 2:51pm AUST
Well, after what seems like forever, I’ve finally jumped into bed at my place of accommodation in Pittsburgh and have some time write down how everything went! After a short delay once I boarded the plane, and was soon off and away on a non-stop 13hr 30min flight direct to Los Angeles. The flight was pretty smooth, and I had just bought some new “Noise Cancelling” headphones in duty free which made it nice and quiet … apart from the two babies who were yelling and screaming for the most part of the trip!
Anyway, landed in Los Angeles about 30mins behind schedule at about 10am local time, and my connecting flight to Pittsburgh was at 12pm, and at another terminal, so I was freaking that I wasn’t going to clear customs, transfer my luggage, checkin, etc in time … but … as it turned out I had plenty of time! It was overcast in LA so I didn’t really get any pics, which sucks - oh well, it’s not so far these days
Onto the US Airways flight to Pittsburgh. I felt like a real stranger on this plane. As you travel deeper into the US you come across less and less travellers, and as Pittsburgh isn’t exactly a number one holiday destination I found myself for the first time entirely surrounded by Yanks. The flight was just on four hours, and I managed to squeeze a little nap in. Again it was overcast in Pittsburgh so I couldn’t see anything as we landed - which sucked! Anyway, I bolted through to the baggage colleciton area as I was very keen to get a move-on out of the airport and have a shower! I felt very yuk at this stage and just wanted to get out of the place.
Wating … waiting … waiting … more waiting … finally the bags started to come out some 40 mins after landing! I collected one bag, and slowly waited for all the other bags to come out and be collected by their rightful owners. I sat, and waited some more. 90 minutes had passed, no bag … I mean - NO MORE BAGS and the conveyor stopped. This was the last thing I needed! So, after much messing about, it appeared my bag had gone awal on it’s journey over from LA to Pittsburgh and they had no idea where it was. This bag has all my power supplies, phone charger, and most importantly MY PILLOW! It also has some sentimental items I took with me, that are priceless and if lost permanently I would be devastated! I left my details with the service staff from US Airways and hoped for the best.
I got picked up and taken out to my accomodation, which is directly south of the city. En-route I stopped at Macca’s and had my traditional 3 cheeseburgers no onion no pickles … which pleasantly enough tasted exactly the same as it does in Oz. I also saw a fully pimped out cruiser, no idea what it was, with at least 22″ spinners and neons, BIG stereo, etc … I wasn’t game enough to take a picture for fear of being shot
So here I am, sitting in bed waiting for my sleeping pills to kick in and aid me off to sleep - hopefully I’ll manage a good sleep tonight and not suffer too much jet-lag. Tomorrow I’m off to get my social security number (like a Tax File Number so I can get paid), and open a bank account! Night all!!
4:24am - why the hell am i still up? maybe i should have packed IN ADVANCE! always leaving things to the last minute … tsk tsk tsk! oh well, in other news I discovered that, in true American style where everything is bigger, you are allowed 2 pieces of luggage up to 32kg’s each! wooooohooooooo!
time for sleep … zzzzzzzz
Well it’s the day after my last hooorraayyy … and aside from a very sore throat from shouting all night, i’m not actually that seedy! I’d like to thank everyone that showed up, bought me a drink, gave me a hug, and took the time out to see me off - especially those who travelled all the way down from Sydney for it! I had a fantastic night, with a great bunch of people. I’ve just uploaded the first round of pics taken with my camera, but if you have any more that you want added please send them through to me at paul@houseofspa.org.
Just got back from a checkup at the dentist, had to make sure everything was in check with my teeth before leaving - it’s always so hard to find a good dentist! Thankfully everything was how it should be so I shouldn’t have a problem! Have been so bloody busy organising everything, finalising stuff, and today I also started to actually pack! This time next week I’ll be on a plane halfway across the Pacific Ocean, bound for LA. I don’t think it’s quite sunk in just yet!
Just got back from my 10 year school reunion … was good to catchup with old friends, and teachers! I found that alot of people had not changed much, but then others had changed dramatically! It was a pity some people couldn’t make it but hopefully next time with a little more notice they will be able to schedule it in! I’ve uploaded the pics, which can be viewed here.
Hello & welcome to the houseofspa.org … my official blog site for those interested in keeping track of my worldy pursuits!
I’ve got the TIGS Class of ‘96 Reunion tonight at the Lagoon restaurant in Wollongong, it should provide some interesting moments I’m sure, catching up with alot of people I haven’t seen for 10 years! For those that don’t know, I attended TIGS from 1985 until 1996. I’ll be taking my camera with me, so will add the pics to the gallery once its up and running (very shortly).
That’s all for now!