Today is going to be a good day.

It’s Saturday morning and I’m gearing up for a session of mammoth proportions tonight. To put things into perspective, I’ve worked every Saturday since JFK was shot and it is a well-known fact that my alcohol consumption of recent weeks has been well below standard. So tonight, I’m going to go out and get absolutely bloody mortal. Just as long as I can squeeze in a power nap beforehand. It’s Saturday night, let’s go and regret something.

It’s Valentine’s Day soon. In more interesting news, I just had a boiled egg.

In all seriousness, Valentine’s is a day to shower your special someone with expensive shiny things. Unfortunately, due to the restraining order, I can’t get my gifts to Aiden Grimshaw, so I’ll have to just treat myself. I could do with a new hoody (in hindsight I shouldn’t have been a cheapskate and bought the cheap imitation Harvard hoody and just plumped for a decent quality one), but knowing me, I’ll treat myself to a Double Steakhouse Angus.

And for the 5 minutes it takes me to eat that, I will be happier than any of these dozey couples.

So travelling is the flavour of the month. We’ve been quoted around £1700 for our flights, and here’s a very brief summary of the latest itinerary:

Sept 15^th: London >>> Boston

(Overland to Miami)

Oct 15^th : Miami >>> Bangkok (via Los Angeles)

(Overland to Singapore)

Dec 15^th: Singapore >>> Sydney

Then it ends. After Christmas and New Years in Sydney. I have absolutely no idea where life will take me. In an ideal world, I’ll meet a beautiful, blonde, bikini-clad Aussie and fall helplessly and hopelessly in love and live in a little beach hut in Australia for the rest of our lives. But I’d settle for a half-decent job in Oz and a good tan.

Or I could pay a cute, impressionable American chick a couple grand for a sham marriage and US Citizenship.

Of course I’m joking…

I don’t want to come back to Medway. Things might change, but right now I have nothing but my wonderfully huge family in Medway. And my Jack’s Mannequin Vinyls. Shit. But with all due respect to my family and the Mannequin, I have to find my own way and I know that Medway isn’t a place I want to grow old and senile in. 

I am absolutely buzzing for America. I’ve only ever been to Boston and I bloody loved it. I can’t wait to work my way down that east coast, staying in cheap hostels and motels and going to seedy bars. Originally the plan was to go from East to West but I just don’t think we could do it justice in that short space of time, so we’re sticking to the East, So if any of my American readers have any personal recommendations, tips, warnings, or a spare bed or couch, I’m all ears.

It’s abit gutting that it doesn’t look like we’ll be tackling the west coast. Especially since I found this little beaut.

http://www.seeing-stars.com/OC/

I even picked out a nice little hostel near Redondo Beach so I could go have Pancakes at the Pier Diner and see the Bait Shop. Absolutely gutted.

So it’s 10am, I’m in an eerily quiet office having a one-man silent rave to The Smiths, contemplating going out for my third cigarette of the day. Today is going to be a good day. For no other reason than I would like it to be a good day.

Much love,

Luke

My Racing Thoughts

My Saturday night was spent parading around a gay bar in a sailor hat. No joke. I have just about recovered. It's Tuesday evening. Fuck.

My beer of the week: Amigos. 

L to R: Me, Terry, Martin.

"Who's Your Daddy?"

Me and Stu.

Unfortunately Erin wanted the hat back at the end of the night.

Goose and Maverick - Wingmen in Action. 

To clarify (and hopefully save some face) It wasn't my sailor hat and we didn't intentionally end up in a gay bar. These things happen. I also didn't intend to smoke three cigarettes. Or drink that Black Sambuca. But somehow, I managed to stay off the poles, which is more than I can say for Martin. I must say, I do love a completely messed-up night out once in a while, and I have learnt to expect the unexpected when out with Tel and Stuart.

So I'm feeling good. I have my Echocardiogram at the end of the month and although the palpitations have come back the last day or two (they always do after heavy drinking) I am looking forward to getting the all-clear from the Doctors. Fingers crossed. Unfortunately I still have the elephant that is Annie in my room. 

It's funny what a break-up can do. One minute you're completely and utterly madly 'in love' with someone, and then the next minute you just want to rip their head off. Of course, I would never harm a girl unless she could bench-press more than me and she hit me first. The point is, this happens all too often (the bad break-up, not the hitting women thing). It's as if you have to experience the full spectrum of feelings. How is it possible to go from absolutely adoring somebody to then not wanting to spend another minute in the same room as them. Why is it so difficult to remain friends after a break-up?

I'm worried that it's getting to this point with Annie. I don't enjoy her company, despite spending four years glued to her every action. How can things change so drastically? She hasn't spoken to me since I told her about Boston last week. To get a better idea of the situation, here's a brief history lesson:

Ella was my summer romance from 5 years ago. She was my first ever 'romance' (in more ways than one if you catch my drift). She came over from the US to spend the summer with her cousin and we met in a local club, and then spent the whole Summer together. Unfortunately, we both knew she had to go back to the US at the end of the summers so we stayed relatively at arm's length emotionally. After she left, we would talk all the time on webcam and there were plans for her to save up and come over to see me again while I was at University in Liverpool, but then I met Annie over the Christmas period and fell for her big time. Naturally, Annie didn't like me talking to Ella and eventually gave me the ultimatum - Her or Ella. I chose Annie. I shouldn't have had to choose, and in hindsight it was unreasonable for her to say that, but that was the kind of person Annie was. Perhaps I was abit spineless in my young age, or perhaps I was just in far too deep. Either way, I cut Ella out of my life completely to save my relationship. It's what you do when you're in love and in the 'bubble' so to speak.

When I say Annie hates Ella, I mean Annie REALLY despises Ella. Ella is everything that Annie resents and everything she envies. Ella is incredibly intelligent, cultural, she is stunning and she liked me. A few months ago Annie found out I had been talking to Ella again and she wasn't happy. And now, I've just had to tell her I am going to Boston to see Ella for a week. No wonder the shit hit the fan.

Subtle, much?

On any given day, I estimate I spend at least 2 or 3 hours thinking, planning, researching or writing about travelling. My latest gripe: Why is it so difficult to get into other countries? Europe is fine, and that's an avenue I haven't really explored yet, but my ideal locations are mainly rock-hard to get into. Despite Mum having a Canadian Passport and that whole side of the family living in Canada, it's still not a formality that I can get in. Not at all. USA I will come to later. Actually emigrating to Australia is alot more difficult than anticipated and the prospect of working out there permanently is looking bleaker the more I research. I need to get out of the UK though, I don't think Scotland, Wales or even Ireland will be enough. This change in my life needs to be bigger than that.

Reasons why I want to leave the UK

Foreigners - I'm not a racist person. If foreign people are prepared to come into the UK and speak our language and have skills that we need then I am all for immigration. But I kid you not, the South East of England has become 'Spot the Englishman'. It is a disgrace. My taxes pay for these spongers.

Eonomy - My gas and electric prices have doubled in the last 6 months. My wages have stayed the same. You do the Math.

Political Correctness - Self-explanatory. Where's the fun at?!

Weather - I want snow!! I want sunshine!! I want extremes! I don't want sleet in the winter and muggy heat in the summer. Give me some proper weather!

Chav Culture - To the point where you can't talk to a girl in a club without being punched or bottled. Nearly. Maybe. Something like that.

1 degree of seperation - Having lived in this town for the duration of my teenage and adult life, I have grown tired of the same faces in the same clubs. Everyone knows everyone.

Women - Because foreign women are so much more attractive than British women. And ALOT more interesting. Right now I'm big on the Scandinavian girls.

America - Because I want to be a blonde 6ft 4 water polo-playing college jock who goes to Summer Camp to be surrounded by hundreds of bikini-clad American women with fantastic American accents. I can't see that happening in the UK. This would DEFINITELY happen in the US. Definitely.

I have an American friend who has an American friend who charged a foreigner £15,000 for US citizenship (i.e. marriage). Tel, Stuart and myself were discussing this last night, and that doesn't sound like a bad price at all to be fair, considering it is nigh-on impossible to get in any other way. Is this something that happens regularly in the US?

I have £3.57 and a packet of Monster Munch, any takers?

I could probably stretch to an Um-Bongo aswell.

In all seriousness, it's not something I would do. Call me old-fashioned but I don't think I could ever marry someone I didn't love. I don't think my parents would let me go through with it either. Marriage is a big thing for me. I'm talking 'taking ballroom dance classes' big. I want a big white wedding because I am a complete sop. My band will be Boyce Avenue and my best man will be Adam Brody. And there will be crab cakes. PROPER crab cakes. And lots of them. Oh, and my wife will be Zooey Deschanel.

"To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die."

To end, I have (literally this minute) just discovered Jack's Mannequin will be releasing 'My Racing Thoughts' as the first single off the new album 'People and Things' due out this Autumn. They are in my humble opinion the greatest band in the world and Andrew McMahon is a real inspiration to me. I have said before that for every mood and every scenario in life, there is a JM song which you can relate to. The music is beautiful, the lyrics are stirring and the hooks are addictive like hell, so I highly recommend checking out 'Mixed Tape', 'Swim' and 'Spinning' to name just a few. I can't liiterally imagine a better way of ending a post / day.

Luke

Booked

Boston.

Weds 28th September for a week.

BOOKED.

This time in three months, I will be in America. To say I am buzzing would be an understatement. I get to spend a whole week in this magical place full of wonderfully beautiful people who live in beach houses, go to Cotillions and speak like they do on the TV. A place where Man and Unicorn live in harmony. A place where everyone knows your name, and everyone has a smile on their face, a spring in their step and a song in their heart. Magical, wonderful America.

Yep, it's going to be exactly like that. If I don't end up at party one night with a bunch of water polo players, I am going to be severely disappointed.

Luke

Ella

I might get to see her in the next month or so.

I'M SO EXCITED!!

I know Annie won't be happy though. Annie and I have been getting on really well recently, and we had a lovely ASDA run last night (I love ASDA so so much). But I am absolutely buzzing for Ella, I can't wait to see her again, albeit under unfortunate circumstances. We had a lovely mammoth Skype session last night which was brilliant; we just chatted about rubbish (Morphsuits, women's clothes, South Park etc).

So here's where it gets a tad messy. Naturally, I'm there for Annie when she needs me, and boy does she need me right now. When we were a couple, she stopped me from talking to Ella. Ella was the first girl I ever had feelings for, and she had to go back to the States so we both stayed relatively at arms length. I guess Annie always believed that had Ella not gone back home, we would have still been together. Maybe she was right, who knows. The point is, I always believed I had commitment problems up until I met Ella. She was the first girl I could see myself being with for a long time. She was fun, sexy, intelligent, everything I ever wanted and more. Then of course there's Annie, who I fell for BIG time for completely different reasons. Apart from Ella and Annie, any girl I've ever dated does not compare. I lose interest very quickly. Everyone except Annie and Ella.

So if Ella does come down, I'm going to need to tell Annie this, and she's not going to take it well. I guess maybe she feels it's abit disrespectful that I'm seeing her when I stopped talking to her for Annie all those years ago. Behind the blonde hair and fake boobs, Annie is a very insecure person, and this is going to really grind on her. But then again, she's been known to show a complete disregard for my feelings in the past, and I do so much for her.

Regardless of any tantrums she throws, I really can't wait to see Ella and since yesterday it's put me in such a fantastic mood. I may be getting ahead of myself, there's a chance she won't be able to come over on account of her exams, but I'm optimistic. I worry so much about little things, and I'm a big thinker, but on the flipside I get super excited about things. One extreme to the other. I wish I was abit more relaxed at times, but it's a good feeling when you're eagerly anticipating something.

Overtime again on Saturday and Monday which takes me up to 50 hours for the month of April which is a ridiculous achievement. That payslip is going to be epic.

And I think a special mention to the parents, who celebrate their 33rd Wedding Anniversary today. What an astonishing achievement, I envy that! My parents are bloody awesome and I have no doubt they will last the next 33 years.

Luke