Pause: Rewind: Reflect.

In the light of recent distracting events such as Christmas, social events and a health scare in which I thought I might actually be having a proper bona fide heart attack, my breaking my habit of posting every week for a couple of weeks this month may be at least a bit excusable.

(I'm still not sure what my heart's doing, but having had a chest X-ray today and a blood test booked in a couple of days makes me feel more satisfied having done something pro-active about it. To be honest, for a 26-year-old young woman who loves exercise and good food to have a heart attack is just plain unfair, let alone very unlikely.)

Well, I think I've done myself proud this year in terms of taking life by the cojones. I've tried new things and made some amazing new friends in the process, as well as re-connecting with old friends and staying solid with current friends.

Mad/ funny highlights:

I joined a London Geek Girl group
I went to London Comicon dressed as Egewne Al'vere from the Wheel of Time book series
I gave speed dating a whirl
I had my first crash
I sang Japanese karaoke on stage in Trafalgar Square during London Japan Matsuri

Fun highlights:

I visited my friend in Berlin
I went on an afternoon tea cruise on the Thames with another friend
I went to the BBC Proms for the first time with yet another a friend
In fact almost every weekend this year has been spent with awesome people

Achievement highlights:

I sighed myself up for evening Mandarin classes for a year
I took a short travel journalism course
My baking has been further improved (check out this year's gingerbread house, incidentally!)


Of course, I still have a great deal to look forward to next year, too:

Things to look forward to in 2014 so far

A Northern Lights trip to Reykjavik, Iceland with a friend (literally next week! I need to get better by then)
A trip to KK, Malaysia to see my family
Visiting friends in Brighton and Ipswich for the first time
Making my first wedding cake for a colleague

So it looks like 2014 is going to be just as, if not even more, busy than 2013. Where on earth has this year gone? It seems like it's been a mad race- but it was certainly an amazing year, full of adventure. Here's to another adventure-filled year.  I wonder what mad situations I'll find myself in?

Happy New Year! xxx

Tube Troubles: Unsolicited Drunken Contact

The man sitting to my left reached clumsily into his trouser pocket, moving with his entire body. He somehow managed to simultaneously elbow, shoulder, knee and kick me all in one go. That was the fourth time during my short journey on the London underground.

When I boarded the train, weary from my after-work evening class, I hadn't noticed why there was an empty seat: I just saw an empty seat. I didn't register the young pinstriped businessmen sitting in the seat beside it. I should have: whereas everyone else was sitting in a prim, British fashion, he was slouched halfway down the seat, almost parallel to the floor, chin resting on chest. Somehow, this all escaped my notice.

I sat down, and was instantly hit by a solid wall of beer fumes. The drunken young businessman sighed loudly and laboriously, shifted himself into a slightly more upright position, and crossed his long, wobbly legs. This took a couple of goes before his legs obeyed him.

Me being me, I stood (or rather sat) my ground. I was sure he wasn't dangerous- just more than a little sozzled. Besides, there were no more seats, and I was exhausted. Why should I have to move?

Throughout the journey, punctuated by loud sighs, this man would slide down into his seat and then pull himself up again, only to sink back down- all in quick succession. Down, up, down, up, fail to cross legs, fail to cross legs in the other direction, down, up. His movements were jerky whenever he'd correct himself, like when your head snaps up as you catch yourself on the brink of sleep. At one point he very nearly did hit the floor- the entire carriage watched him in rapture, enjoying the 'Will he? Won't he?' pantomime. We were almost disappointed when he snapped himself back to attention. On several occasions his attempts at lucidity would result in me taking an angular limb to the ribs.

When the drunken businessman finally meandered off the train, the remaining original spectators in the carriage grinned at each other, in a rare moment of public transport unity. I think this alone was worth the experience.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This is my third consecutive post about things happening to me on trains. It's definitely not one of the only three on this blog, either. Which begs the question: what the bloody hell is it with me and trains?

Sarcasm Done Right: Today on the Tube

I laughed openly, and was surprised that I was one of only two that did, out of the ten people in my carriage. A third cracked a smile,  but that was all. I could only guess that either the others hadn't gotten the joke, or were just being awkwardly British about it.

Just before the doors of the train had closed, the driver's voice- female and sweetly acidic- had announced over the speakers:

'To the gentleman holding the doors open: this is not the last train. I repeat, to the gentleman holding the doors: this is not the last train.'