Immigration in America

So.



I left on the 30th and we arrived in Houston for the change of flight after some crazy length of time. The plane was full of Alpha course freaks who wanted to talk to everyone. Robin only slept for three or four hours which is quite remarkable. I got really, really, really bored.

When we got to Houston the immigration service separated me from Robin and i had to sit in a room with a load of other people. The guy who sat next to me, a gun manufacturer from Abu Dhabi, said to me 'I know why we're all here... but why are you?' I was in a minority as they were stopping anyone Arabic or Mexican. We got along great... he was on his way to Vegas, we'd both missed our connecting flights and it seemed like the immigration people wanted us to be there till everyone else was processed.

Two hours later i got called up and the guy took my fingerprints... filled out a form... and that was it. We got a later connection to San Antonio and met up with Robin's dad and sister. From there we drove back to his house in Elemendorf. It was hot enough to wear a tee-shirt at night. Good ol' Texas. I think i ate something then slept for 14 hours.

We spent a week there in his trailer. That sounds bad but actually its a lot bigger and well thought out than most English houses. It had three bedrooms, a large from room with an open kitchen, and two bathrooms. It was about four times the size of my flat in Camden. I got drunk on Lone Star beer every night, played with the dogs and was re-united with my cat. On one of the last nights me and Lori (Robin's sister) got drunk and shot beer cans with a high-powered pellet rifle (with scope). I also won four bucks on the Giants on this years Superbowl. True! So i learnt im a great shot and a great gambler too.

On Sunday we went to Austin so i could get my next tattoo. I also designed a tattoo for Lori to get. Our tattoo guy's prices have gone up but he's still worth it. Every penny.

So anyway. We left on wednesday to travel 1375 miles in the Explorer full of boxes and cases. This was a two day journey of about 10 hours driving each day. We travelled on the I-10 from San Antonio, through El Paso, Tucson, Pheonix, to LA. During that time Roxy took a shit on my favorite Silas jumper, we ate at Texas Roadhouse and Cracker Barrel, and we stopped to visit 'The Thing?' in Arizona. In total we travelled four states - Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. At the end of the second day we hit outer LA where everyone drives like a maniac especially at night. Desert scenery and long-distance driving dont mix very well expecially on an Interstate like the I-10. If it was back roads it would have been more interesting but probably would have taken 4 days instead.

Since then we've been holed up in a Super 8 Motel looking at apartments and working. Robin got her job with Mac in Beverly Hills and i've researched a few galleries and things. We've found an apartment we like in Echo Park but we're waiting for our credit checks to come back. It's a 1920's apartment with shuttered windows and exposed brick walls. Im looking forward to living in a place where i can walk to the store and the park instead of driving. Im already sick of driving.

And that is that. There was a lot of stuff to put into the blog so its a bit non-funny but now we've covered that my next posts should be either funny or vitriolic. Either is good.

Recently i've been watching Robot Chicken on Adult Swim. Well worth checking out.

You can see photos and more stuff from our road trip and American exploits at my Flickr