Day 10

Friday: open/chill out day.

This is the same as Monday and Tuesday only you start at 11, and bounce at 6. Everyones chilled out probably from the heavy night last night (that i didn't go to, on hind sight i did go, but it was only the pub, then i went home and left them to it).

This is the day i decided it would be my last day, since i went on the phones, and i hated the crap out of it. All day i was clock watching, whilst convincing people on the phone that we were "the nuts" as they put it. 5.56pm....4 minutes to go, brilliant, i can leave this hell hole and sneak out in the middle of the night and tell no one.....think again. The 3rd manager strolled in just before were about to leave and said "tomorrow, every one meet at Antonia Soria, its mandatory and we're taking you all paint balling and go carting"

My smile rose, but my heart sank at the same time, they were exploiting my greed for fun, but one more day won't hurt....right?

That night we sat down drinking sangria (0.95 euros, for 1.5 litres, and it taste like spicy ribehna) and watching family guy, then went out to a couple of loccal bars and then to the local bar/club o'connels.

We had a blast until one of my colleagues came along and thought it would be funny to tell my alcoholic house mate that a flyer distributer slept with his girlfriend.

He kicked off at a guy twice his size and us sensible ones had to keep pulling him aside, each time buttons fell off his shirt in the struggle.
We took a taxi to the next bar and he noticed he only had 1 button left so ripped it off and threw it out the taxi window.

Nothing really went threw my mind at that moment apart from do i really need to keep putting up with this?

day 9

Thursday: prospects day

Today is the day that we "deal" people. This is the biggest day of the week, so much so that lunch is free, a night out on the company is after, and we are allowed 45 minutes to "sych up" in the morning with any music we want. They weren't kidding when they said it was major, everyone full blast down the phone at the same time, and the boss continually chucking around incentives. First was the anyone get 3 clients first gets 50 euro, next was if 5 is got within a house then they get a tv and dvd player between them. We won the tv and dvd in our house and my flatmate won the 50 euro.

That night everyone went out but i stayed in.

The bullying which has been going on from the beginning of the week to one of my house mates keeps escalating. I step in when i can but i cant be there all the time.

i live with 3 guys : 1s an alcoholic and druggy, 23 years old the other has a 2 inch temper also a druggy, 24 years old, and the other is a heartbroken scot who gets bullied by the other 2 every day, we all work together 10 hours a day too.

The one that is bullied never sticks up for himself even though he's bigger than the other 2 and a former boxer, i tell him over and over if you cant talk to them, and you fear of losing your job then throw your weight around, but he doesn't believe in violence.....soon he'll learn, because i refuse to get involved.

day 8

Wednesday,
Today as yesterday i was listening to calls, and getting bits and bobs of training in what to do, only today i was nearly dying with the mother of all hangovers. My house mate got it in the neck though. It is understood that the boss really doesn't give a damn about the people he´s getting money from, he even goes as far to say to a worker "i dont care if his son is dying of cancer, deal him again"

Dealing is what we do on Thursdays and once we got them to buy from us already, they show them the profit they've already made, gain their trust and them get more money out of them because if they see that already its making them money then they might as well throw in near enough everything they got......right?

The angle we use is to tell them we have to make them at least 20% profit so that we get 1% commission, when in reality we are exactly like the stockbrokers we tell them we´re not, and get money weather the stock sells or plummets.

After work we pretty much had an early night but i watch transporter 2 on my laptop.

day 7

Tuesday.
I took the metro cross Madrid and William (my new boss) took me to the new work office, as you can see in the pictures it looked cool, then i found out the ins and outs:

Monday 11 - 9
Tuesday 11 - 9
Wednesday 10.30 - 9.30
Thursday 9.30 - 9.30
Friday 11 - 6

Exactly near death hours, i hated it, and thats before i knew what i had to do or seen the flat.

Package:

free rent for 3 months, 100 euros a week while living there.

The pay is fully commision so i can be poor (staying on 100 euros a week) or uber
rich (20 grand a month, and own a suisse bank account like one of the 23 year olds)


The job has me ringing up randoms to let them know who we are (s.a.g.i securities advice group incorp) and telling them (literally) that they will receive a phone call next week to say that we have a new investment share client and that we will tell them the details soon. This happens Monday,Tuesday, and Friday and are called open days. Wednesday is warm day were we call the customers from last week to say that its definitely happening tomorrow. Thursday is called prospects day, This is the major day we ring the clients to get them to buy shares.


Everyone seemed nice and are jokers and habitually take the piss every second.
The boss took us all out to Chinese for lunch where as in the pics, we eat at a table where the floor is glass and there are fish swimming in there.

After work we sat and the office drinking beer and watching episode after episode of family guy off this site: http://tvlinks.50webs.com/index.html . I then got home to a box room where the internet cant be reached unless i was in my colleagues room (its via wifi from someone else in the building)

The night ended with getting destroyed on barcardi and sangria on a "house bonding " night.

day 6

Monday, the interview!! I traveled to a part of Madrid that i haven't been to before, and it look alot like how America looks in the films. I took the metro and met the bloke. He was a Irish guy who boomed confidence out of every pour like Al Patchino in the devils advocate but more cocky. I got the job after an hour interview and he said if i want i could move my stuff in that night!!!
I went back to the hostel and watched a couple films and forgot.

He said i started tomorrow so i had to be in bed early and out early in the morning to catch the metro.

Not really eventful again, has the novelty wore off?

day 5

Sunday i woke up with the mother of all hang overs trundled into the irish bar o'neils and watch liverpool get abused by man united, not enjoyable then i went back to the hostel for a kip then woke up again for the real madrid vs barca game.

It was pretty uneventful but the atmosphere for both games especially the latter was immense.

day 4

Saturday, a day im usually very active, nope sat down all day speaking to an Australian girl about her travels around spain and pretty much the world. Interesting facts are she got her drink spiked in Barcelona and London, and Australians cant leave their country for more than 2 years at a time. We sat just looking at you tube and chatting and then she made me find the greatest discovery of my trip.......The supermarket!!!

Now.....i know your saying...supermarket?.....greatest discovery?...oh hes on crystal methhhhh....it all makes sense now. Well look at the pictures and see what the fuss is about...yup...thats right.....if i wanted to i could be an alcoholic for £5 a week!!!!! £1 = 1.45 euros, this means your seeing the price of a bottle of wine for 25p!!!

As from this moment I knew I had to learn discipline because without it im in serious trouble.

I toured the town for a bit and went back to the hostel for a siesta, when i woke up i saw the Aussie guys that nicknamed me weapon, I told them about the drink and we went down to get some.

Those crazy Australians eh? Sangria and vodka? how foul is that gonna taste?.....surprisingly well but when you drink 2-litres of the stuff it doesnt matter if it tastes like bleach....your gonna go blind anyway.

So somehow we end up at a club called kapital http://www.grupo-kapital.com/newkapitalsite/

but i might aswell be having an out of body experience because Ruined isnt even the word, all i can remember is flashing lights banging music multiple floors, seein nearly every spanish chica with a lip piercing to the side of their mouth, and staggering home on my own at 6.30 am.

day 3.

The morning was not fun at all, didnt know where i was and woke up in my clothes. Got downstairs to check email in the internet cafe and got a cuddle, look up and it was one of the Californian girls saying that last night was amazing* and hoping that it was gonna happen again tonight?

I told her i was dying but maybe.

Nothing much happened in today but i went on the net cruising for jobs and i found a telesales job that i phone up and the guy set up an interview for monday and said if i get it, i get frr accommodation for 3 months and 100 euros a week selling investments over the phone....result!!!

Found out that the hostel had a gym.

Plus met a new amigo who im gonna join to teach spanish people English for 15 euros an hour...Bonus.




update* the night was amazing nothing happened like that.

day 2: jurrel released.....jurrel evolved.

When i got to the hostel, I was loving it!! pool table, plazma screen, free wifi, 4 computers, sofas and rammed with every nationality under the sun.

It was all smiles all the way up to my room......the smiling stopped. 3 bunk beads is not funny at all.

Then I met one of the reasons for leaving England. His name is John, and he likes to party....hard!!
Within 10 minutes the chat turned to were are we going and how destroyed we're gonna get.
He ran out and got a bottle of vodka and i knew i was in trouble.

2 pint glasses
quarter bottle of vodka in each
the rest with coke

Jurrel came out quick and as you all know, people get sucked in.

First was 4 califonian girls passing through on student exchange with denmark, then were 5 portuguese guys also moving to Madrid, next a bristol boy on holiday, then a buch of guys from minisota, a bunch of guys from Austrailia, a guy from japan, and 2 girls from Alaska.

We all got mashed to photos and rolled to a local bar which was playing old school RnB and hiphop, John bought me drink after drink even though i said no. Got so mashed that all i could do was dance.

We then hit the street were we danced and sang and terrorized everyone along the way.
This is were i couldnt stop chatting to every group of people everywhere. Got into a club which was banging reggaton, hard hiphop, and slow grinds. I jumped into schools and schools of peeps, pretending i was a photographer, introduce near the entire club to everyone else in there, and got an Aussie guy a girl he was after. Got 3 numbers, found and gave in a mobile phone, and rescued a small Yorkshire terrier from a raging house fire (joking). After that night the Aussie guys called me"weapon" as now if they get me wrecked i can get them involved into any group in th club.

The name stuck and i am now the hero they call Weapon.

Day 2

Finally get in contact with Rob my mate from uni who gave my cv in for the job. More bad news in that he hasn't moved into his new place yet and even when he does this weekend, he hasn't got a couch, and its on the outskirts of Madrid. He took me round to the office and I spoke to the lady who took over from hector :

(hector is the guy who interviewed me, but I found out a day before leaving that he's left and has not forwarded my details in getting the job)

I speak to his replacement and she said the job has been filled (The Rage kicks in).The best she can do is keep my C.V and in a couple of months she will bell me.

Naturally this is not a good enough and now im trailling Irish bars where they speak English to get a quick job.
Still no place to go so I have to stay in the hostel again so I cant find a job by tomorrow, ill have to go back to England on Sunday and Re-group and try again just before or after Christmas.

Madrid wars episode 1: A new hope.

In the space of 6 hours totally on my own from my brother, my survival skills kick to touch
Basically he goes off to meet a friend of his while returning to thembassysy to see the latest, and leaves me on my tod...Which I i would be anyway if didn't fly out with me.

First while going in and out of and internet cafe i build a suedo relationship with the owner, who takes my details and forwards it on to another internet cafe job, then I go back there, and see 2 Aussies who forward me on to another hostel called Mad hostel (Pictures of the film "Hostel" start to creep in my mind) I check it out on the net and it seems more than fine since

1: its 17 euros a night,.
2: its got free internet, wireless and actual computers.
3: it has 2 bars.
4: it does breakfast .

Im screaming and laughing thinking yay this is brilliant..Until I do a simple schoolboy error and forget that i took the street name down in my phone so it takes me 2 and a half hours to find the place.
wasn't bad though because Madrid is so beautiful you cant help but constantly smile, and the chicas.....need a moment....Its just....A. a different planet! Its like Prague in they are beyond gorgeous and classy, and even though they know it, if you approach them calmly and attempt to speak Spanish they give you so much respect that if your struggling, they ask where your from and talk English to you (if they can) Everyone's beyond helpful (if you stay off the metro) and Madrid isnt even that big if you know where your going so most of the time you can just walk!!

In my travels to find this place i must of spoke to over 20 people for directions, and went into half a dozen Spanish bars for work. I met this one girl call Anna, who after speaking to her for five minutes, found out she could speak English and shes from Germany. She tried to help me find this hostel but an old guy insisted followed him to a near hostel we did and his hostel was full but at 69 euros a night he was having a laugh anyway Io i was glad. Anna and I exchanged numbers and email and she is looking for work for me as English teacher too.

In the end I went back to the internet cafe and found out that from there, The Mad hostel was a 5 MINUTE WALK!!!!

I just laughed and thought of the long walk as a tour.

This post getting beyond long so ill create the next events in a separate post because it deserves it.

Day 1

My gosh its not really going to plan. A day before I get here, I found out that that the guy that interviewed me (Hector) has left the company and his replacement knows nothing about me. I found this out by Calling Hector and she told me this. I told her that I will send her all my emails of the contact applications and confirmations. The response from her in the email shot me down, she said the space had been filled but she has still got my cv and will contact me in a couple of months when there's an opening. Naturally this is not what I want to hear but I went anyway to check face to face if there is another space.

Get here and its great but this get hairy: first my bro asks a lady at the airport in Spanish if she can speak English, she says yes of course in English, he asks her in English if he can buy a ticket for the metro, she replies in blisteringly fast Spanish. Rule 1: its beyond rude to come into someone's country and expect them to speak "your" language. Basically from then I knew I need to speak Spanish uber quick.
secondly my bro gets pick pocketed on the metro, passport gone, wallet gone, money gone. They almost had my wallet but the frayed string on the wallet got stuck in the zip and the kid Didnt get it thank God, (yes an 8 year old) they created an argument which my bro arouse to and almost had us both done. My amazingly wonderful amigo´s Af and Carla gave me the dimes to my account to sustain us till the weekend and my bro at this moment is at the embassy sorting out how to get home without his passport or wallet.We both stay in my hostel that night (47 euros)which was cool and we had free internet via my laptop.


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El bonito adventure

Well IM of to Madrid now. This will be the exploits for my fans at in what's going on and hopefully ill have time to constantly update. Ciao for now.