Amstel dam

The cold crisp breeze stirs through the park. A path of wavering grass and the rustle of leaves is left in its wake. Occasionally the sun will steal through the clouds, the rays warm the skin and the goosebumps subside. It's already quite late in the morning and the locals are awake. They are occupied with their usual Sunday morning park activities; exercising, walking the dog, strolling with kids or on their way to somewhere important. Then of course there's me. In a defiant protest I sit in the park for other reasons not so common to theirs. I've just woken up. In the middle of a park. In Amsterdam. I have stooped to a new level of homelessness.

In my defence, I was only asleep for 10 minutes but what a glorious 10 minutes it was. Rewind 24 hours. 3:30 am, my house mates are still out partying as I gather my backpack and head off to Baker Street to catch the National Express to Stansted Airport. One of the reasons for the relocation to London was having the luxury and opportunity to travel around Europe. This would be my first of (hopefully) many weekend adventures. This weekend's destination as you may have already figured out is Amsterdam.

The flight from London to Amsterdam took a little under 50 minutes. We were immediately greeted by a cooler than London climate, plenty of canals and the biggest collection of bicycles I have seen in my life. Our day was spent visiting the major tourist destinations each reached by tram: The Van Gough Museum, Anne Frank House, shopping around Kalverstraat and finally an early evening tour of the infamous Red Light District. The evening was capped off with the Sensation Black 2008 party held at Amsterdam Arena where we partied into the early morning.


Fast forward to 11 am Sunday, so having been awake for an unhealthy 31 hours I find myself sitting in Vondelpark. It should be noted that, some of us did not organise accommodation for this weekend adventure. Our lazy afternoon was spent in one of Amsterdam's traditional Coffee Houses before boarding our flight back home. I haven't quite got used to the fact that "home" is now London and have on many times re-corrected myself "I'm from Sydney, well London".

Waiting on the river

Over the course of the last couple of weeks I have invested the majority of my time sitting exams, participating in phone and on-site interviews with three main companies. The roles that I have been interviewing for are roles I probably wouldn't apply for if I were back home in Sydney but something a little different. Put simply, my current job situation is analogous to a game of Texas Hold'em Poker.

Thursday 3rd July:

9 am: Final round Interview with Company 1.

1 pm: Final round interview with Company 2.

5 pm: Job offer from Company 2.

I receive a call from one of my recruiters "Congratulations, company 2 wants to offer you the job, do you want it?". Awesome, my first employment offer. Still waiting for feedback from the other two companies I tried to buy myself some extra time: "Great, would it be possible to get back to the company at the beginning of next week with my decision". Couple of minutes later I receive a call back from the same recruiter "They want a decision by 3:30 tomorrow, they have another candidate that they want to offer your role to".

Friday 4th July:

9 am: Call my respective recruitment agents from Companies 1 and 3 to find out what's going on.
They both tell me that Company 1 recruiter is bluffing and that they just want to make a placement for the week. It's unreasonable for any company to force you to make a decision within 24 hours, or is it?

12:30 pm: Company 3 recruiter tells me they want to speed up interview period in reaction to the offer that was made. I'm called in for an immediate interview.

1:00 pm: Company 1 recruiter tells me that my application was unsuccessful. 1 potential offer remaining.

1:35 pm: Rushed over to Company 3, was 5 minutes late due to late notice. Interview wasn't crash hot, I'm not so confident about progressing.

3:00 pm: Get a call from recruiter representing Company 2.

"So what's your decision, they need to know". I thought about perhaps verbally agreeing and then waiting for the contract to buy myself more time. Conscious kicked in and I called his bluff. "I don't want it". Those four words escaped my mouth in slow motion, 7 weeks of job hunting and within the space of 24 hours I had gone from having an offer to having none. I've eliminated 2 of the 3 companies, now I wait for the river...

Walking my dog

Closing the backdoor behind me I grab the dog leash and casually I yell back into the house "I'm taking the dog for a walk!", this statement is received by raised eyebrows and wry smiles. Lets admit it, walking my dog isn't one of my more regular events. The main hindrance being laziness on my behalf. So what exactly prompted the decision to take him out? Well, my dog is starting to age and by dog standards he is quite sheltered. He occasionally gets to explore but I've seen him standing at the edge of our driveway on too many occasions him peering down the road with a look of curiosity on his face. So with that being said, today I've decided to take him out for a walk and let him dictate the route and direction.

I generally take him for walks in the early to late evening, he's reckless, he's inquisitive and he's extremely determined so the less people on the street the better. I exit through the garage with nothing in my possession bar the leash, a torch light and my keys. The sky is splashed with a purple-hue that melts into darkness as the sun retires for another day. Passing through the streets you can't help but pick up on the different cuisines being served for dinner, passing each house you catch a whiff of a difference aroma. Audibly the sound of cars pulling up into driveways and the clamouring of kitchens can be heard in the foreground over a base line of birds chattering. It's a senses wonderland.

Being completely absorbed by my surrounds I haven't really been paying attention to where my dog is taking me. It would appear that I'm being led purely on animal instinct or attention span as my dog guides me through the neighbourhood streets. A smell, a hazy object in the distance even a whim is reason enough to either go straight, left or right. Soon enough we're in a local park, he's curiously sniffing at a bush growing against a rock face. It's quite normal for dogs with their keen sense of smell and astute hearing to be completely captivated by things that humans just can't comprehend. Without warning he viciously begins to stamp at the bush with his front legs closely followed by a soft growl. Curiosity piqued, I shine the torch in the direction of his attention. The light from my torch disappears, there's nothing behind the bush except a small opening, it's a small cavity. A cave.

I push aside the branches to make a small clearing, unexpectedly my dog rushes into the now apparent crevice I get pulled along. It's considerably cooler in the cave, in the distance the sound of dripping water can be heard and it takes my eyes a while to get used to the darker settings. Unrelenting my dog with his nose pinned to the ground continues to pull me in onwards. I pull back on the leash and flash the torch around the face. There's a small tunnel which appears to extend far down. Suddenly the leash snaps free from my dog's collar and he escapes. Within seconds he darts off down the tunnel and disappears into the darkness. Shit, what just happened? Part of me had hoped for an excuse to explore this cave the other part now wanted to be at home.

I make my way down the tunnel, I can hear my dog in the distance panting eagerly. Desperately I call out to him, the only response is patter of his paws and the rattling of his leash. The torch does little to help me, the cave floor is slippery and littered with rocks, I stumble about feeling completely disorientated. My foot makes contact with a loose rock and I tumble face down into a puddle. Great! I pull myself up and continue down the now pitch black tunnel. How does my dog even know where he's going? After what felt like 20 minutes I eventually find my dog sniffing yet another foreign object, reattaching the leash I start to make my way for the exit. My clearly disobedient dog has other ideas wanting to explore more of this new found area. My decision to let the dog dictate the adventure remains fixed in my head. Stupidity on my behalf? Perhaps.

When you're put in a constant environment things begin to become monotonous to the extent you just can't wait until it's over. Your mind begins to play tricks on you, you think you see light, you think you hear sounds. Hope and expectation can be driving forces that have no substance. Most of all you start to question your decisions which got you into this situation. The fixture of time in a constant environment also warps your perceptions, it merely becomes a metric of concern.

I've lost track of how long we've been walking in this tunnel. It feels like it's only been 10 minutes but when I check the time it's been hours. Doubt creeps in yet I still have faith in my dog. His stride isn't as consistent or purposeful as it used to be and there are times he'll stop momentarily and look back at me for encouragement. Confidently he marches on.

How much battery does my torch have left? The last thing I want to be is stuck in the middle of a tunnel with no light. A plethora of feelings and emotions are rushing through my head: concern, hope, excitement, regret, anxiety and stupidity. When you cast aside all these feelings it really boils down to two options. Continue down the dark tunnel hoping to find light at the end or turn around and go back the way I came.

My dog wants to keep going...

Monthly balance sheet

"What's going on with your blog?" or less discreetly, "What's your current situation?". As you may have guessed there is a correlation between my blogging and my London experience. Unfortunately this update comes as an exception, I really have nothing to report other than the fact that I'm alive and still kicking. It has been just over a month of living in the United Kingdom. I don't even think 'living' is the appropriate term to describe my situation. Surviving is probably a better way to put it.

For those curious to know how my time has been spent here is a daily breakdown of a typical London weekday. Each morning I optimistically wake up at around 9 am, eat breakfast and check my email. The early morning is generally spent answering phone calls from HR and recruiters responding to the applications from the night before. 11 am rolls by which signals morning tea. Being in London I have become accustomed to have a cup of tea with either toast or biscuits. I then head down to the local shops for some groceries and fresh air. Being the only unemployed person in the flat share I've unintentionally assumed the housekeeper status. After lunch, I'll do the dishes and clean the kitchen (also the communal living quarters in the house).

The afternoon is house hunting time. I'll scour the Gumtree/ classifieds looking for a place to live making appointments for viewings for that evening. For the rest of my afternoon I'm usually studying or brushing up on my technical skills or pondering what to cook for dinner. Post dinner I either head off to any house/ flat inspections or apply for the interesting jobs that have accumulated throughout the day. For 5 minutes before I sleep, I worry my ass off and speculate worst case outcomes of my London experience; then I doze off.

That, essentially is all that has been happening in my life. I guess it's only a matter of time until I'll be able to publish something worthy. I can't believe an entire month has passed and I have made a more conscious effort to keep track of all things including time. Here is a list of numbers that bear significance over the last month.

• 600 pounds is the amount of money that I have so far spent in the UK.
• 490 days I have not washed my jeans.
• 100 phone calls I've received from Recruitment Agents and HR Consultants.
• 77 days since I've been away from Sydney.
• 50 Litres of Spring water I have consumed.
• 31 days I have been in London.
• 20 minutes is how long my laptop will last without a power cable.
• 12 viewings for flats and houses.
• 10 hours of actual sightseeing that I've done.
• 8 complete days of sunshine I've enjoyed.
• 7 loaves of bread I have eaten while being in London.
• 5 face to face interviews with recruiters.
• 4 days since I last shaved.
• 2 offers I've had to move in with existing tenants.
• 2 face to face interviews with companies.
• 2 times I've wanted to punch somebody in the face.
• 1 time that person was me.
• 1 time I have been drunk.
• 1 book that I have read since being here.
• 0 places I've seen I want to live in.
• 0 job offers.

I hope next month's report card is more promising...

Final Destination?

First and foremost, I am in the Mother Country, England. Word of advice, believe everything that they tell you about London: it's grey, it's miserable and it's exorbitantly expensive. The Sterling Pound is ruthless against the hapless Australian Dollar which stirs enough hesitation to think twice about that Kripsy Kreme donut. This aside, I don't mind it here, I can't exactly call it home yet but I can eventually see myself calling it home, if only for a little while.

I no longer introduce myself as a 'visitor from Australia' but now as an 'unemployed-homeless guy from Australia'. Which brings me to my next point. I have been for the better half of 2 weeks now, couch surfing my way around London. With this time I have been actively scouring the job sites looking for employment and browsing the classifieds for a new home. Both have been fruitless exercises, which also explains the lack of posts. This is where the real "nudie" or "nakedness" commences, which, from a reader's point of view will probably be very dry. Would you really want to hear about the countless number of terrible house inspections and the disappointing ends to job interviews?

Actually the etymology of the blog name Nudie Run was inspired whilst packing for my overseas adventure. A rule of thumb for traveling is, pack only what you need and pack items that will complement the lifestyle/type of travel. Every trip needs a pair of denim, but denim that does not require regular washing was obviously designed by a journeyman (or woman) or just spawned from the depths of shear laziness. So I decided as a little bit of novelty to wear my pair of Nudie Jeans to each and every destination eventually washing them ONLY once I had arrived back in Sydney.

So comes the end to my pilgrimage, the holiday adventure stops here but the test of adversity begins now. Ugh, I can't believe I typed that, it's all too cliched and/or something that would be plastered across a promotional movie poster. Stay tuned for my next installment, whenever or whatever that may be...

Buenos Aires

In my opinion the city of Buenos Aires isn't a city with a lot of iconic sights. Now before I get slandered for this let me try and explain. Sure there’s historic monuments which the city holds dear but there’s nothing that screams out uniquely Argentina. My claim is (most) probably ignorance on my behalf but to the unsuspecting tourist, without doing too much research the architecture and city lay out has a distinct European feel and you could be forgiven for mistaking Buenos Aires for any other city within the EU.

Not to say that Argentina isn’t worth visiting, on the contrary I would recommend it to anybody thinking of a South American holiday. After being here for around 5 days I think that was probably enough time to do and see the things that I wanted. Majority of them being walking tours, with, I think, the main reason to experience the atmosphere that is Argentina. Be absorbed by the city life, share a coffee at a cafe, take a walk through a park or a local neighbourhood.

Buenos Aires is quite a lot different to Rio and is exactly the reason for my extension in South America. Aside from the fact that I may possibly never be around this side of the world again I figured I might as well make the most of my South American proximity. Also having traveled, then volunteered (subjectively speaking) without making excuses I probably wasn’t ready to head immediately over to the UK and resume the daily grind (euphemism for procrastination perhaps). That being said, I think my intentions of a vacation in Argentina was exactly what I wanted and needed: Eye-opening experience and a nice way to wind down my travels.

Food wise there were only really a handful of things that I gorged myself with. You can’t come to Argentina without (diet warranting) trying an authentic Argentina BBQ piece of meat.

Day trip

One of the problems with traveling alone is not being able to make comments about sights that you get to see. Sure, you can exclaim, whinge, protest out loud but with nobody to provide feedback to your observations things start to become slightly one-dimensional. The trade off to this is having complete freedom, you're able to dictate each day and each decision. If you want to squeeze in that extra museum before sunset, do it. If you want to go back to the hostel and rest your feet, do it. Despite this freedom, the complete isolation of lodging and sightseeing alone is a test of one's mettle. After only 8 days of traveling solo I have devised a method for maintaining sanity. I have (without consciously enforcing it) made an effort to talk to at least 5 people a day, it's amazing what complete solitude will do to you. Conversation sure beats silence.


With that above rant being said today's activities consisted of a leisurely 1 hour ferry ride out from the port of Buenos Aires to the small Uruguayan town of Colonia del Sacramento. It was actually upon the advice of a British couple that I convinced me to explore this UNESCO World Heritage Sight. There are two type of vessels that provide access from Buenos Aires across the river to Colonia, a 3 hour ferry or the Rapid 50 minute ferry. I of course opted for the second option, 184 $A Pesos ($60-ish AUD) for a round trip ticket.


The best way to describe Colonia, would be picturesque. Definitely a haven for those who love photography or just like saying "Wow, look! Isn't that pretty!". Definitely felt like I had been transported back a couple hundred years and enjoyed a relaxing stroll through the old cobbled streets. I wouldn't say that you go to Colonia to see one particular tourist sight, it's more to appreciate the atmosphere or to get another stamp in your passport. However the main points of interests would be the shore and piers, the main city bridge and of course the lighthouse. It's definitely worth the day trip out and I spent just over 3 hours walking around Colonia. Most of the local outlets accept Argentine Pesos although I didn't really purchase anything from the smaller vendors.

Finally on a side note, I have just experienced my busiest subway encounter, ever! After disembarking from the ferry I walked to the nearest subway (Catedral) to head back to the hostel. Shock horror, the station was packed, people were queuing up on the staircase to get into the station, to get through the turnstiles and to get to the platform. Thankfully, the trains in this part of town are quite regular so I had to only wait for 3 trains (15 - 20 minutes) to pass before getting onto the train. Immediately after leaving the station the train pulled up to the next stop, which is when the carnage began. People were pushing their way onto the already full train, I have never felt so little control over my body. I was wedged in what would be best described as a manual attempt at conjoined bodies en mass.

Let me try to describe the situation. I was chest to chest with an old man, he was so close I could feel his breathing on my neck. Since I was in the middle of the carriage I had raised my arm to prop against the train ceiling, in the space that was had created there was a young girl with her nose buried in my left armpit (I felt sorry for her the most). To the right was a man with his back against my shoulder. Behind me another old lady pushed up against my backpack and I joke you not there was a dwarf pushed up against my right thigh. Honestly I expected the New York of Tokyo metro to be this crowded but Buenos Aires? I desperately wanted to take a photo of this, but I couldn't move any of my arms to even retrieve my camera...