Great Adventures of a Green Goddess

Friends and Fries

In Al Jedida I thought that we would get off the bus at a bus station, but The Gherkin was like this is it. Off we got beside a service station by a roundabout. I guess I shouldn’t expect to go to a luxurious place such as a bus station when the bus we were on was pretty damn close to a chicken bus. There were no live chickens on it but I wouldn’t have been surprised if there were. It was old it was crowded and it was supposed to take 4 hours but took 6 ½ long slow cramped hours.

Getting off I felt quite lost as there was only a creepy guy who would grab us wanting money. Yeah not the way to get me to cough up any cash. I was just like erk what kind of place am I in???

We walked in a random direction and found the bus station and then a nearby hotel.

We did try to find the sea but with an obviously impaired sense of direction we never came across it. We did find a supermarket with the most amusingly named Pringles type chips named Kracks. Yes I want to eat some Kracks. Don’t you want to taste some Kracks too?

 

The next day we caught a bus to Casablanca. It sounds so romantic but I have never seen the film (that wasn’t even shot there anyway). We went to an information centre to see what there was to do there and got talked into taking a tour.

We went to the mosque the next morning, obviously looking like fresh off the boat tourists since a taxi driver tried to get our business offering us the low low price of 10 Euros! As if!!

The Gherkin went for the mosque tour but I wasn’t that interested so I watched our bags and read my book (before and after) in the shade.

The Gherkin returned and we met our tour guide. He was a nice old fellow named Lucky.

The tour consisted of seeing:

• A spot to take photos with the mosque in the background across the water.

• The rich area, apparently the Beverly Hills of Casablanca!

• A church with some very impressive stained glass walls.

• Some government buildings to see the architecture

• Driving past the fountain, I took a sneaky free photo of a water bearer

• A souk that had a lot of olives

The guide gave us each:

• A Casablanca postcard

• A keychain

, The Gherkin’s was blue and mine was a shoe

 

At the end of the tour we were dropped off at the station to catch a train to Rabat.

It was a nice new train but when the Gherkin jumped off the train and I followed we found out that we were at the wrong station!

There are two and we got off at the first one instead of the second. So we decided to have some food at the station café. We ordered and didn’t get any food so ordered again. The Gherkin got his food but I didn’t get mine. So I tried to ask the waiter for my fries again. But the fries Nazi waiter had decided that there would be no fries for me! I was most upset and gave the chips czar the evil eye, I hope its international the Gherkin says the finger is but I wasn’t that brave.

I did ask why I couldn’t have fries, they were on the menu and the gherkin’s meal came with fries. But the waiter wouldn’t give an answer, I think he just didn’t know how to say “no fries for you”!

We got a taxi to the area we wanted to stay in (right near the other station of course).

At dinner I ordered cheeseless pizza and fries. The pizza arrived but no fries. It’s like the underground waiter network is conspiring to keep the fries from me. Damn you fries Nazi and your surprisingly long reach!

The Gherkin wanted to rest so I went for a walk alone.

I went to find the Hassan tower and mausoleum. It wasn’t as far as I thought it would be and as is my custom I met a random stranger on the way.

I was just past 1^st November square, where I ogled at the oddness of naming places after dates. The local guy was on the street and I was looking at my map and he asked if I needed help. I was just like that’s the mausoleum right? Where do I enter? So he walked with me and I got him to be my personal photographer.

He said he lived across the river in Salé and wanted to take me there but I do have my stranger following limits!

So we just walked along the waterfront to the Kasbah des Oudaias.

The nice strange man bought me a glass of the lovely Moroccan fresh squeezed orange juice. It got dark and we walked back to my hotel through the medina.

The guy was in the army and insisted on walking me to see the outside of the royal palace he guarded. It really wasn’t impressive from the outside and he wouldn’t sneak me in.

The next day the Gherkin was supposed to go sightseeing with me but he was in slacker mode and didn’t want to. I was glad I saw what I wanted to see the night before.

So we just got a train to Meknes. I got the tickets and just automatically got second class. So we were crowded in with our backpacks and no seats. It was a long game of sardines but I eventually got a seat in a compartment. The Gherkin had a longer game as he was stuck in the aisle the whole time.

Club Snark

I saw this babysitter’s club book at a used bookstall in Essaouira.

As you can see it is in French. I don’t know what the translation to le club des babysitters Melanie garde la tete froide is, probably not Melanie tries it with girls…

Anyway since it was french the character’s names were different too. I think that Melanie is the new name of Maryanne.

But wow I used to freaking love to read those books. The thrill I felt when I had a one I hadn’t read yet in my little hand. I used to scour the library shelves regularly. A couple of times I was even bought the new books! But that was a rare treat indeed.

I sometimes wonder how much those books affected me. For example in the babysitters club special edition when they went on a cruise (Babysitters On Board). Kristy was super excited and her stepsister Karen said how the air bridge when they walked on to the plane smelt like coffee. I swear that to this day every time I walk on an air bridge I smell it to see if it is coffee scented. So far it never has been.

In Mallory and the trouble with twins the girls all go to get their ears pierced.

Dawn got her ears pierced twice in each ear and I wonder if this influenced me to now have my two holes in each of my ears.

Yeah I’m just that sad.

So anyway my point and I do have one is that I discovered the babysitters club snark and ha! I nearly wet myself laughing. Its brilliant snark!

How did I not see how bad Claudia’s outfits were? That Janine was fucking Charlie when he drove Kristy over for the meetings? The cult like qualities of the BSC? Oh the sweet innocence of youth!

 

Two lovely London days

So the first day my new gay friend and I went out to enjoy an uncharacteristically sunny day in London. He does need a name, I shall call him hunnybunny which is much cuter and sweeter than what he wanted me to call him. Yeah I’m not calling him sexyboy like he wants (he is such a closet bi). He is my funny sunny little hunnybunny until I think of a better name.

We got a late start and went to Euston station where he had to buy a train ticket for a future trip, then to Tottenham Court Road where I had to go to the Crumpler store and buy a laptop sleeve. I paid far too much for a green Sir Gimp but I refuse to feel bad about it. My new baby needed protection so I got it the best gimp money can buy.

We then walked via Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square and the Jubilee Bridge to the London Eye. We took lots of photos, hunnybunny’s were much better than mine but hey he has a much better camera than I do. A big Japanese tourist special vs. my little compact camera.

There were lots of people about and many street performers trying to get their money. Everyone was enjoying the wonderful weather.

We bought tickets for the eye at 4.30pm but we were told they were selling them for 6pm and we couldn’t line up until 5.30pm.

So we wandered around. Going to the Dali gift shop and a souvenir shop to pass the time. Its fun looking for tacky souvenirs. Did not buy anything thou. Hell I had spent enough already with the Sir Gimp and the eye ticket!

We lined up at the end of a very long line for the big bicycle wheel and finally boarded our eye pod around 6.20pm. It was dark by then but still a very nice view. Big Ben was all lit up next to the Thames and you can’t see the end of London. It just stretches out forever.

The ride lasts about 30mins and afterwards we walked to embankment tube station.

 

 

 

 

The other day I had an appointment with a recruitment agency in the Kings Cross area. So afterwards I went to The British Library which is nearby.

I used The Rick Steves book as it has a tour to follow in it. Really the best things to see are in the one room, The Sir John Ritblat Gallery. I walked around consulting my book constantly in true tourist form. Saw the Magna Carta and actually learnt what it was all about. Feeling very educated me then walked around to see the big wall of books. On the way out I then found a poster and read Darwin’s debating of the pros and cons of marriage. I’m still undecided on the issue really…

I detoured from the Kings Cross Underground station to go into the railway station and find platform 9 ¾. It is a kind of hidden away spot where they have just put up a sign and have a luggage cart sticking half way out of the wall. I didn’t make it through to Hogwarts but did get a devil duckie photo just before he fell off the cart. Oh well am not a rabid Harry Potter fan or anything, I have only read the first 5 books so far. Not in any rush to read the rest. Not when I should be out enjoying nice days in the city like this.

London, lost and lots of planes

I had guidebook Chuck nagged me to get sent to Giselle’s place so had to get up way early one winter’s day to go pick it up. She wasn’t there as she had gone back to NZ for a couple of weeks so I had to go over before her flatmates left for work. The actual book wasn’t there of course, I had been left a card and had to catch the tube to another stop to find the place to pick up the book. But finally I had Rick Steve's London 2009 (plus I couldn’t resist getting Vegan a Go-Go too).

After skimming The Book I selected the Bankside Walk as my mission for that day. Took the tube to London Bridge and couldn’t find the exit the book said to take so got a little lost before finding London Bridge (it hadn’t fallen down). The visibility was not good and I could hardly see Tower Bridge. The weather was pretty crap actually. Still snow on the ground that had gone all icey and it was pouring with rain. Plus I felt crap as I was getting over a cold.

But I persevered with my mission. I found Southwark Cathedral and I sat on a pew and read The Book for awhile to rest and defrost before I had a look around. By the time I had done that the Borough Market was open and I had a good wander around and got a super veg burger for lunch.

Next I found the Golden Hinde replica. It’s actually a pretty small ship considering it took so many men around the world. I just looked at the outside and didn’t go in. Sorry rats, maybe when I become a real pirate I shall steal the ship and take it on a personal world plundering voyage. It would please the FSM.

The Winchester Palace is just a wall with a window in it now but I gave it a good look over as I walked past.

I skipped the Clink Museum on the advice of The Book and I didn’t bother with Vinopolis and The Anchor Pub since I don’t drink.

I considered the tour of the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre but decided that it would be better when there weren’t so many teenagers around (they were swarming) plus cheaper if I do it in with other sights in one go with a London pass. So saving that for a later date I made the choice to concentrate on seeing The Tate Modern.

I saw everything and even liked some of it. There was actually some interesting stuff and it was a lot less “looks like they gave a two year old some crayons” than I feared.

I was pretty tired due to my illness and early start to the day. I actually almost fell asleep next to one of my favourite displays. It was a whole lot of silverware that had been crushed and then hung in circles. There were a few little rooms that were showing films and had benches that looked rather comfy in them. I was so tempted to just have a little nap on one of them but didn’t think it would be a good idea.

Leaving the museum I walked across the millennium bridge (no swaying) and past St Pauls to its tube stop and the train home.

Another day I attempted to visit The RAF Museum. Unfortunately I didn’t make it as I got lost. This seems to be a chronic problem for me lately. My theory is that being in the Northern Hemisphere is confusing my sense of direction. Perhaps the sun shines from a different angle and my innate inner direction finder gets all messed up and can’t cope with the change.

Whatever it is, it doesn’t help when I forget to bring my A to Z and don’t realise that the turn I knew I had to make had actually been a gentle curve in the road I had already taken…

So the day I actually made it to the museum was a personal victory.

I am not that into military stuff (the whole trained government killer, getting up dreadfully early to be yelled at deal has never appealed to me) but the museum was free and it had some interesting stuff. I quite liked the wall of aviation history year by year and there was a nice little 3D movie of a fighter jet.

I was pretty good at the ATC computer game thing. I knew that I should land the biz jet before the 747 due to wake turbulence. The guy I was taking turns with didn’t turn his plane in time and it had a mid air collision. I tried not to look too smug when I didn’t repeat his mistake.

There was a Tri-Star cockpit simulator which was larger inside than I expected. Plus lots of old military aircraft to wander around a gawk at.

I ran out of time to see the battle of Britain hall, not sure that I really have any great desire to see it, but if I ever get the urge to see it I can always go back.

My Pot Perspective

Ok so my current reading has brought me to the area of illegal drugs. I just happened to find myself in that area of the library, officer…

The books were Reefer Madness by Eric Schlosser, the guy who wrote the excellent fast food nation (but the movie, not so great) and Drugs a User’s Guide which is part of a series of amusing little irreverent encyclopaedias. I have previously read Death a User’s Guide and Sex a User’s Guide. So I only have Drink a User’s Guide left before I complete the set.

I do want to see Reefer Madness which was a movie from the 1930s that showed marijuana as an evil devil weed that would steal your children and turn them into violent criminals. I bet it’s even better to watch it when high!

Plus it was also made into a play and then that became a movie musical that I’d love to see.

Have I tried the evil weed? Sure I’ve experienced the electric puha. Did I inhale? Of course. What’s the point otherwise?

But it’s not something I continue to do. I tried it, it was ok, made me feel horny which is not really a valuable side effect for an incel. But I don’t think I will do it again as I am just not that interested in developing a recreational drug habit.

But I do think that marijuana possession should be decriminalised.

Actually what I really think is that Marijuana should be legal and tobacco should be illegal.

Seriously what benefits does tobacco have? None that I can think of myself (a quick search tells me it has been used in tradition medicine and as a pesticide, thanks internet!). But really it is just totally addictive, kills you and makes you smell bad.

Now the good old maryjane does have some of these negative effects I know, but it’s not as bad as tobacco and it has good benefits too.

Marijuana has medical uses that don’t have the awful side effects of other drugs. Plus the plant is very handy. It is more environmentally friendly to grow and hemp has so many uses. You can make paper, fuel, cloth and even eat the seeds.

Hey we should make it the law for every household to grow it like it was in America in 1619!

 

 

Love in the Time of Cholera

This book had been on my list of books to read for so long I can’t even remember what prompted me to add it in the first place.

I finally reserved it at the library when Eggy told me how she was reading it for her bookclub.

When it was finally my turn for the book I went to the library to pick it up.

Then the librarians did not want to give me the book as it was old and stained. I was like do you think someone had cholera on it?

They told me that they just wanted to throw out the book due to its condition. I pointed out how long I had waited for the book, so they offered to get me another copy. But then when they looked it up on the computer they saw how many reserves there were for it. It’s a very popular book!

Therefore I was like well if you are just gonna toss the book out then chuck it in my direction. So they did. woohoo free book!

It took my awhile to get into the book. But I did enjoy reading it.

Although I am not sure I liked what it was trying to say.

Sure the idea that it’s never to late for love is nice.

But what the book really seems to do is prove that old saying that you can’t make someone love you, you just have to stalk them long enough that they give in.

The book seems to make you want to be sympathetic to Florentino Ariza and his unrequited love. But really when you think about it he is not a particularly nice character.

Sure he is romantic but I guess it’s just that no one is totally bad. They can have good sides as well as bad.

It seems cruel when Fermina Daza suddenly changes her mind about marrying Florentino Ariza. As it appears to be rather a harsh split second decision. But really it makes sense not to marry someone you have never actually spent any time with.

Ultimately she didn’t regret her marriage and was a good wife to Juvenal Urbino.

The things in the book I found most disturbing were that a woman would fall in love with her rapist and Florentino Ariza’s relationship with America Vicuna.

I mean seriously what was the legal age of consent there and then? Because that relationship was inappropriate in the least, if not total paedophilia.

Her family sent her into his care to be protected and he seduced her and then abandons her when Fermina Daza became available. This Lead to her suicide, and she wasn’t even the first of his lovers to die as a result of his actions!

That wasn’t even love, more lust in the time of dirty old men…

So in conclusion I’d say that it’s a good book about a bad person.

Fforde ffairytales

It been awhile since I mentioned any books I have read which is rather odd considering how much of my spare time is spent reading. I really am a boring old bookworm now. I just hide in my room and read. But I am making my way through the list of books I want to read. The library I go to doesn’t seem to have that many of them on their shelves but I reserved a whole bunch of books from other branches. Let’s just hope they don’t all come in at once that would be a bit of a book overload.

But for something different I picked up the book The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde from the free book shelf at the hostel.

It was pretty good. Rather odd but good.

In the book the police have a nursery crime division who are investigating the death of Humpty Dumpty (small time crook, womanizer and large egg).  It’s a weird world where nursery tale creatures, aliens and Greek gods all exist.

But it works. Also funny how detectives are judged not just on convictions but on getting the story published in Amazing Crime Stories.

The copy of the book I had was missing pages 123-132 and 135-138 so I just went to the library and read the missing pages from the book there. And by there I mean that I just sat on the floor in the book aisle and read it. The book did make a little more sense after reading those pages!

Sitting there did make me think about the fact that although the library had a copy I never would have read the book if it hadn’t had been left at the hostel. Makes me wonder what other good books I have just passed by without realising.

While I was at the library I got out the next book. It’s called The Fourth Bear and was about Goldilocks. I didn’t think that this one was as good as its predecessor.

Instead of trying to get published the characters knew that they were published and made jokes about which type of plot device they would follow. Amusing but not as funny. Plus the plot wasn’t as interesting as the first book.

There is quite an impressive website  for the books. It even has special features. I might have to go and have a look and see if it explains why the inside cover's description does not match the plot of the book to well.

Of course I knew what was gonna happen as I am dreadfully bad at skipping ahead to see what happens, impatient bitch that I am.

The Washingtonienne

This book was better than I expected,

A lovely, easy and oh so scandalous read. Although I found that the ending was a bit weak.

It was so very Sex and the City. Full of fun, fashion and fucking.

Jessica Cutler was defiantly screwed up but dammit she had an exciting life! Far more glamorous than mine.

Perhaps my problem is that I can’t drink.

Or that I spend my money on food not clothes while she did the opposite and therefore was super skinny.

Thus she had half a dozen men on the go and I don’t have a single man (well some of her’s weren’t single either…)

Well I did get sent one once recently.

Apparently a chick at the hostel (yeah still at the hostel, it is only a block from work…) went to have sex with one of the guys who lives here and they sent his friend to go talk to me. So he knocked on my door. Which was nice, delivered to my door (male order?) and all but for 2 things. 1) He was a smoker and I don’t do smokers (just a personal rule I refuse to break) and 2) it was 4am and I had to get up for work in two hours…

I think the inconvenient delivery time was probably due to the fact that I had woken up at 3am really thirsty and didn’t have any water so I went to the kitchen to get some and the chick saw me so probably thought that I was up anyway.

Anyway he was drunk and I don’t really want a stranger knawing off a limb in my bed the next morning in a bloody coyote ugly panic. So I sent him on his way and went back to bed like a good girl.

I saw the guy later in the sober light of day and he apologised and said that he was so drunk that they sent him to knock on another door and he did until he realised that it was his own door.

And that’s how it ends.

So there will be no tales of drug use, anal sex and sugar daddies on my blog, boring but much more comfortable for my tail!

The Space Tourist’s Handbook

How could I simply pass by this book when I spotted it near the travel books in the library? I mean as the trekkies say its Space the final frontier!

Although I think that I should really see more of this planet before I attempt to leave its familiar earthy bonds. With the fates of the Challenger and Columbia shuttles in mind it can’t help thinking of that old joke that NASA really means Need Another Seven Astronauts. Not that a space tourist trip is even available with NASA, Ya gotta go with the Russians who actually have a better safety record. (Who would have guessed with the dodgy Russian airliner stories I have heard!)

There are so many places I want to see on earth first before I go out of this world…

Plus I have to say I am reconsidering a space adventure after reading tips such as to eat porridge before going on the vestibular chair as it is easy to regurgitate. (Perhaps I am looking at it wrong, after all I puke when sick with none of the thrills of space travel).

The knowledge that pre-flight enemas are required and instructions on how to use space toilets and adult nappies did little to sell it to me either. (But I am sure that the information on how to appear sane in a psychological exam will be invaluable)

But perhaps I am just looking at the bad sides since I don’t happen to have $30 million to spend on a week long vacation in space. More in my reach are watching a space shuttle launch, a whirl in the vomit comet (the zero g plane) and a trip to the edge of space in a fighter jet. All of which just happen to be listed in 101 things to do before you die. (Pages 24 – see a space shuttle launch, 31- experience weightlessness and 90 – join the 16 mile high club) the book even mentions Dennis Tito being the first space tourist on page 8 -realise your childhood dream.

Maybe one day quick little space trips like Virgin Galactic will be within my financial grasp. Or I might have to resort to building my own rocket for my own grand day out.

I do have issue with the end of the book where they claim that we need to find new places for human settlements in the universe.

Ok so we could be obliterated by an asteroid by the other reasons like running out of resources, nuclear war, global warming and pollution just annoy me.

I think that we should concentrate on not fucking up this planet before we set off the ruin any others.

But I’m just an environmentalist that way. Hey I could use that as an excuse not to go into space too as I am sure a spaceship launch uses a heck of a lot of unrenewable resources, isn’t it better to be a greenie than green in the face?

Micronations: The Lonely Planet Guide to Home-Made Nations

This is a top notch book. Ya just gotta love the people who decided to just declare their patch of the planet to be a self governing state. It’s like screw you guys I’m making my own country!

Remember on Family Guy when Peter created Petoria? 

Yeah well I will try not to have a powerful hegemonious state declare war on me…

I think that I would self proclaim my own nation by buying myself a lovely private island.

Of course it wont be an easy search for a homeland as I don’t want anything too tiny, I don’t want my nation to be too micro as if I want to have a beer and an airline to be a real country like the Frank Zappa quote says in the introduction of the book then I need the space for an airport (and a brewery). Admittedly being the vain sort I want a decent airline with some nice widebody jets as opposed to a single rusting Cessna…

My nation would be a vegan utopia (no name yet but I am open to suggestions) where I could grow most of my food and eat it raw and freshly picked like the longest living people in the world do.

In the book Healthy at 100 by John Robbins I liked how BhutanThey have banned hunting and fishing and are dedicated to environmentalism. How very cool is that? I am so totally copying!

was described. Instead of gross national product (GDP) they measure gross national happiness. So they concentrate on retaining their culture and providing education and healthcare to everyone rather than economic development. They are also a Buddhist state so don’t kill animals for food which rocks!

The place is not perfect of course and the down side is how they have treated the Nepalese refugees. I feel for them being treated like outsiders and not being integrated into society. But then you do feel for the Bhutanese about not wanting to be overtaken by them, not an easy situation.

In the micronation book I agree with North Dumpling Island and Lovely about banning guns and bearing arms but allowing bareing arms or legs. I admire the gay rights stance of The Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands the abortion rights and legal euthanasia policies of the Empire of Atlantium, plus I love that there is no discrimination of species in Whangamomona in that they have had both a poodle and a goat as president.  Now I may be an egomaniac but I think I would want to be head of my state so everyone would have to respect my authority (or as I like to put it like Cartman Authoritah!) . Maybe ruling as a princess, mostly because I have always wanted a tiara…

I would like to find out more about the Ernest Callenbach novel Ecotopia as with its women in political power, 20 hour work weeks, elimination of pollution and worship of trees and plant life it sounds like my kinda place.