Well today was my first day back at work since last Thursday so I`ve nothing really to report. However there are now videos of me on 3 of the rides at 6 flags magic mountain available at youtube.

Batman
Pretty good ride – small, but violent.

Tatsu – with the worlds scariest loop.

Goliath
Take a look just before we go over the edge at me frantically trying to find something to hold onto. Not funny at the time I can assure you.

Well it was only a matter of time before I made it to the famous muscle beach in Venice California - and today was the day.

Sadly I could not make it into the gym itself because it was already full of some really weedy guys:

These guys were gearing up for a bodybuilding competition held on the beach later that day. Its lucky for them that I turned up late, otherwise none of them would have stood a chance with me on the scene ripping it up and showing them all how its done.

The day got even more interesting when I found out that after the bodybuilding competition there was going to be a “guess who is the fittest fitty” competition - I think it was called something like that.

I quite liked that bit.

I stayed right until the end for that one

The weekend is proving to be a good one. Thursday night we went out to eat dinner at a place called Chomps. That was pretty good. I had the chicken tsunami - which basically was chicken served with shrimp and lobster - nice. Not bad either for less than 10 quid.

Then on Friday it was 6 flags magic mountain. Absolutely amazing. We paid an extra 20 dollars each so we could go straight to the front of each queue on every ride - even so we stayed there for nearly 9 hours.

We did every white knuckle ride at least once. Some were amazing. A ride called superman gets you from zero to 100 miles per hour in three seconds. Then there is Tatsu where the seat lilts you up so that you face the floor as you go around the ride and has the largest and fastest loop the loop in the world. That was pretty cool.

The biggest scare of my day was when I got to the top of a ride called Goliath - this is the tallest coaster in the world and shoots you four hundred feet down almost vertically at about eighty five miles per hour. This is me part way down the ride - do you think I look like I`m enjoying myself?

Its a good job I was wearing brown shorts that day I can tell ya.

And yes - I am wearing a superman cape - but thats another story

Gym of heaven

Well I got back from 6 flags magic mountain yesterday after I had been on every single sh*t your pants ride at least once. But I`ll get onto all that tomorrow after the pictures have arrived. Toady I`m going to tell you about my new gym.

This place is something special.

The place is called Meridian’s bodies in motion. Cool name.

To give you an idea of the size of this thing, last weekend I got so lost actually trying to find the gym from the locker room that I had to go back to reception and ask them the way – I was lost for 25 minutes (and yes I was wearing my glasses wise a*s). Seriously this place is huge – there is even an open top roof where you can go and workout. The place is also full conference rooms that would not look out of place in a gentleman’s club, full of leather arm chairs and oak furnishings.

The place has got a basket ball court – 24, yes twenty four racket ball courts, martial arts room, cardio rooms, quiet room (presumably for people who have not got any mates), canteen, executive massage room (way hay!), steam room. Sauna, hot tub, plunge pool, swimming pools you name it.

The gym itself is something special – just to make the point, tucked away in one of the far corners of the main gym is a full size boxing ring – you can barely spot it because the gym is so big.

Equipment wise its the mutts nuts. Everything anyone would ever need.

Add to that the fact that its half the price of the last gym I was a member of and you get free towels, things could not be much better.

I think I might just move in.

Tomorrow is going to be amazing.

Fact.

We have the day off so are heading on over to 6 flags magic mountain roller coaster park.

It looks awesome - the only problem that I can see is that we are about to shut up shop for the day and go out for an amazing drinking bender around the OC.

I have a feeling that on one of the loop the loop rollers tomorrow I may well be sick at the top and be able to catch it in my mouth at the bottom.

Thats called re-cycling.

Yesterday was top.

We headed out to Laguna beach for the day which is about a 25 minute drive out of Fullerton.

Tell you what, the views there are something special. Sadly I forgot to take my camera, but hopefully we`ll be there again in a couple of weeks time.

The sea was really bizarre, it was orange. Apparently this happens for about 2 weeks of the year when all the microbes get washed up on the beach and they give the sea an orange red colour. Even more bizarre is that at night if you kick the sand about it glows a bluey green from the microbes that have been left behind from the sea. Amazing.

So we followed that up with a bbq around at my apartment followed up with whisky and cigars on my balcony long into the night.

Sweet.

Next weekend should be fun – we`re gonna hit the clubs in Hollywood – might be expensive – watch this space.

Well, the wait is over. The grinch is back.

So we made it to Los Angeles international airport at about 8 pm on Saturday evening. Then spent 2 hours queuing up at immigration trying to convince some jumped up security guard that I was worthy of staying in the land of the free for longer than 3 months – despite the fact that I had a visa for 12 months – I put him right in the end, he had to be told.

So we had to find our way from LA airport to our place in Fullerton in our new cars at about 1am on Sunday morning after we had been awake for about 30 hours – not a trip I`d fancy doing again at any point. Our tom tom device was a bit confused about which side of the road we were driving on so kept saying things like “keep right – keep right” then “turn left now”.

Awesome. You dare not defy the tom tom lady – she gets so angry with you.
Anyhow, my apartment is pretty awesome, and the main building is great – swimming pool – jacuzzi, weights room – pah.

Restaurants in the local area are ace – and most seem to have their own micro breweries. One place I as at the other night had 119 beers on tap – I tried to get through all of them – but crashed and burned

We headed out on Friday night for a night on the razz – show em all how its done and I`ll tell you what – its been a good many years since I`ve had as much ale as I had on Friday night – shocker – kept getting shooters bought for me from the locals – because they all seem to think that I come from Australia.

Thats not a knife…….

Apart from one girl who thought I sounded like fat bast*rd from Austin Powers – great.

So I ve got to boost now because I`m heading off to Laguna beach.

Oh and one last thing – yes I have joined a gym – but that is worth a whole blog entry of its own……..

Well, the taxi will be here in about 45 minutes to make to the train station for my journey to London.

I fly out to LA on Saturday afternoon and dont think I`ll be able to write more until I get to America.

For those that I did not get a chance to say goodbye to, Ill be back in August. See you then.

Well, I`m back in Edinburgh after my first week in my new job.

On balance its been a good week. Firstly, my new company knew I was arriving to start work on Monday - which is a step better than the last place I was at.

Then I get put in the executive wing of the Swallow Churchgate hotel in Old Harlow which is very nice.

Then I find out that while I`m over in California, I will get every other Friday off work for free. Sweet.

On teh other hand I found out that my flights out to LA on Saturday will be in cattle class - not very impressed with that one I can tell you. In with teh great unwashed.

Also my company credit card has not shown up yet which means I`ve something close to 1000 pounds of expenses to claim back which is currently sitting on my credit card. Ouch.

Tuesday was fun too. I spent the whole day queuing up at the US Embassy in London. I had to queue up for 5 hours for a visa interview that lasted for no longer than 15 seconds.

I turned up with 250 sheets of A4 paper to prove that I`m worthy to live and work in the land of opportunity. My company annual report, my CV, letters from lawyers, a copy of the sex offender register ….. everything, and they looked at nothing – did’nt give a rats as*.

Good news was that I got approved.

Sweet.

Thing is I had to leave my passport with the embassy for checks. They told me that they are gonna send it back to me in the post.

I`m sure nothing will go wrong