Below are the 7 most recent journal entries recorded in L. J. Bean's LiveJournal:

Friday, August 3rd, 2001
11:24 am	Well I am finally travelling around. It has been very good so far. I am enjoying every minute and making the most I can of the time I have here in Canada. The people I am staying with a very friendly and hospitable. Everyone here seems to be very friendly and talkative. I wake up here sometimes confused about where I am, takes me a few seconds to realise I am actually in Canada. Freaky. To be quite honest I'm not missing home too much, I'm sure I will eventually though. I'm not yet used to people driving on the other side of the road over here. I guess I'll have to wait till I get to England to get back to normality ;o) The tax system over here seems to me to be a bit dodgy. Putting two types (sometimes three!) of taxes on after the actual price seems a bit illogical to me. Why don't they just include them in the price it would make things a lot easier for everyone, but hey. I'm also having a bit of trouble with the tipping system. I'm alright if I have people who know what they are doing around but when I don't I'm sure I'll stuff it up. I think I will probably be a bit mean, some of the people don't deserve any tips at all... then again some do a pretty good job. It is interesting to look at how other countries work anyway, having their own little intricacies. One thing I really like though is that pedestrians and cyclists have the right of way, the way it should be. They also seem to want to cut down on the amount of cars and their emmisions which is very good to see. Current Mood: mellow Current Music: supergrass (Comment on this)
Friday, July 27th, 2001
8:27 am	It is finally here! After waiting so long I'm finally going, nothing is going to stop me now! Weehheeeeeeee.... I have all my gear packed and managed to get it all in with a tiny bit of space left. I surprised myself. Anyway I better be off, I leave in a couple of hours. Things to do! Current Mood: chipper Current Music: hum of the hardrive (Comment on this)
Tuesday, July 24th, 2001
8:17 pm	3 days to go!! Had a pretty good day today babysitting Alex (nephew). He fell asleep in my arms just after lunch so we lay there in the sun till he work up an hour or so later. Its the simplest pleasures that are the best eh. And no I'm not feeling clucky. My tickets will arrive tomorrow by the sounds so pretty much everything is confirmed I just have to get out of the country now. I'm in LA airport for quite a while. I wonder what I should do. I am now excited, its getting very close and I'm looking forward to making the most of my trip and packing in as many adventures as I can. Current Mood: excited Current Music: Travis (Comment on this)
Monday, July 23rd, 2001
6:56 pm	another day down, 4 to go. Now its getting a bit freaky. I have this underlying feeling something crazy is going to happen before I get out of the country. I finally managed to sort my money out, yay! Now I just have to make sure I don't lose my wallet which some people may know I can be a bit paranoid about. I lost lots of money when I was overseas in Chile when I lost my wallet on the bus. I can be a dimwit sometimes. But no real harm done. I also bought a couple of bits and pieces for myself in town today which was a bit naughty but I got a good deal on a shirt I bought, so I'm sure that makes up for it ;o) But I did manage to control myself when it came to buying cd's I think I may be partly cured of my cd buying addiction, having no money is definitely a factor! But there is so much I want to buy :o( Apparently cd's in Canada are cheap so I may just have to buy a couple-a few- several.... we'll see. I have put all the clothes and bits and pieces out on the bed now ready to be packed. I had a trial pack last week and amazingly everything fitted in. But i have now added more clothes, one being the new shirt. So I'm thinking I will have to make hard decisions (its just not fair!) on what to leave behind to be stashed away somewhere. Current Mood: anxious Current Music: the clattering of utensils (Comment on this)
Sunday, July 22nd, 2001
6:56 pm	Poem I wrote this the other day, one of the few poems (if thats what you can call it) I have ever written. Someone said it was a good outlet so I thought I'd try. Life When will I learn How to play the game I learn rules everyday but are these rules the way I want to play (Comment on this)
5:23 pm	yappying 5 days to go, still not feeling too excited, I just can't wait to go though. It feels like I have been waiting an eternity. Went out to lunch with the extended family today and a couple of their friends. Man they can yap , I can handle it for a while but when they keep going on and on it gets a bit too much. I just block it out in the end and go into my own little world till someone evilly snaps me out of it. I have to remember to change my money over tomorrow or I'll be in big trouble, leaving the country without any money in my account would not be very clever, although something I would be capable of! Current Mood: contemplative Current Music: some crazy national radio song on in the background. (Comment on this)
Saturday, July 21st, 2001
9:26 pm	First Entry I accidentally came across this and thought it would be a good idea to have an outlet for my feelings, what is happening in my life and my observations. I have been having ups and downs emotionally lately so hopefully this will help! I am off overseas in 6 days, not quite amazingly excited yet but I'm sure I will be soon. Its gotta hit. I will miss everything I have here in NZ but I am looking forward to scratching my itchy feet and seeing other parts of the world and meeting new people. I haven't had the best year so far but now things are looking up! I have been feeling a bit lonely lately not having someone around really close to me to share (and snuggle) everything with, it becomes more obvious when things like this are happening. Maybe one day I'll find my soul mate. I just need to be patient. No worries. Life is too short to worry too much about things like this isn't it. 6 days to go. Oh wibble, I hope everything goes to plan. Current Mood: confused Current Music: St Germain (Comment on this)