I really wonder what on Earth is wrong with me, sometimes.
On Wednesday we were split into small groups during dance class to learn the next part of the choreography. I was hyper from dancing, as usual, and was chatting to another class member with whom I've never spoken with before. At the the end of the class...
"Well it was nice chatting to you!" they said, smiling.
"Whee!!" I skipped off at high speed.
... Told you I fail at meeting new people.
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Friday, 22 August 2014
Sunday, 10 August 2014
Hey, I Just Met You, and I Am Crazy
"Sometimes, when I have a little left, I like to spray my hands and pretend I'm a robot." - Me talking about decorating cake with edible metallic spray about ten minutes into encountering a new human being.
I'm really bad at meeting new people.
No no, let me rephrase this: I'm really good at pretending like I know what I'm doing when I'm meeting new people at first, but I'm terrible at maintaining any sense of normality throughout the social situation. For instance, I'll start off seeming like a nice, normal person, and then only a few minutes in of talking to someone, sporadic flashes of crazy suddenly burst through the faรงade, like some sort of nervous reflex.
I visited a friend's house to play my first ever game of Dungeons and Dragons a few evenings ago- my character was a new addition to the campaign, and the group had already had two sessions of play. I already knew my friend of course, and I had already met her husband. It was the rest of the group I had to try to convince that I was 'cool'.
I had been talking like a nice, normal person to my friend's brother-in-law when the subject of what I'd used to make the cakes I brought silver came up (I'd sprayed them silver and gold like loot). Like a nice, normal person I explained how I'd done it. My friend's brother in law joked that he might end up looking like the tin man if he got any silver on him. And then, not at all like a nice, normal person, I cracked that remark about pretending like I'm a robot out.
At another point, we started discussing about how strictly we have to stick to our character's alliances and personality, and then ended up with a philosophical statement about how the inevitability of how our characters can and can't act could be a metaphor for life. And hastily and awkwardly added "Or not..."
During the actual game, I was absent-mindedly stacking the die up in a colourful tower. Another member of the group and pointed this out, amused. I felt a silly crooked grin appear on my face. "I like stacking things, stacking things is fun."
*Facepalm*
There were plenty of other moments like these throughout the evening, made worse by the fact that I was also trying to learn the rules of the game on the fly, stay in character and remember everyone's real and in-game names at the same time; and as the game commenced, I felt myself getting quieter and quieter. The group was fantastic- everyone was very welcoming and had the same cheeky, slightly avante-garde sense of humour as I did- but I was terrified of accidentally taking the joke too far, or stepping over the mark as the newbie. I started out being super friendly and slightly hyperactive, but by the end of the evening I must have seem very subdued, and perhaps even a little aloof in my awkwardness.
I used to be so painfully shy I wouldn't be able to talk to new people at all. Now I'm much better at pretending that I'm confident and at toning down my eccentricity to begin with, but this sort of suppression results in my eccentricity forcing its way out like water spewing from a cracking dam. Honestly, I'm not sure which one is worse.
Thankfully, the people that have stuck by me after these awkward first moments are both awesome and just as nuts to boot, so I needn't worry too much. After all, life is all about finding people with the same type of crazy as you, and those people become your friends.
I'm really bad at meeting new people.
No no, let me rephrase this: I'm really good at pretending like I know what I'm doing when I'm meeting new people at first, but I'm terrible at maintaining any sense of normality throughout the social situation. For instance, I'll start off seeming like a nice, normal person, and then only a few minutes in of talking to someone, sporadic flashes of crazy suddenly burst through the faรงade, like some sort of nervous reflex.
I visited a friend's house to play my first ever game of Dungeons and Dragons a few evenings ago- my character was a new addition to the campaign, and the group had already had two sessions of play. I already knew my friend of course, and I had already met her husband. It was the rest of the group I had to try to convince that I was 'cool'.
I had been talking like a nice, normal person to my friend's brother-in-law when the subject of what I'd used to make the cakes I brought silver came up (I'd sprayed them silver and gold like loot). Like a nice, normal person I explained how I'd done it. My friend's brother in law joked that he might end up looking like the tin man if he got any silver on him. And then, not at all like a nice, normal person, I cracked that remark about pretending like I'm a robot out.
At another point, we started discussing about how strictly we have to stick to our character's alliances and personality, and then ended up with a philosophical statement about how the inevitability of how our characters can and can't act could be a metaphor for life. And hastily and awkwardly added "Or not..."
During the actual game, I was absent-mindedly stacking the die up in a colourful tower. Another member of the group and pointed this out, amused. I felt a silly crooked grin appear on my face. "I like stacking things, stacking things is fun."
*Facepalm*
There were plenty of other moments like these throughout the evening, made worse by the fact that I was also trying to learn the rules of the game on the fly, stay in character and remember everyone's real and in-game names at the same time; and as the game commenced, I felt myself getting quieter and quieter. The group was fantastic- everyone was very welcoming and had the same cheeky, slightly avante-garde sense of humour as I did- but I was terrified of accidentally taking the joke too far, or stepping over the mark as the newbie. I started out being super friendly and slightly hyperactive, but by the end of the evening I must have seem very subdued, and perhaps even a little aloof in my awkwardness.
I used to be so painfully shy I wouldn't be able to talk to new people at all. Now I'm much better at pretending that I'm confident and at toning down my eccentricity to begin with, but this sort of suppression results in my eccentricity forcing its way out like water spewing from a cracking dam. Honestly, I'm not sure which one is worse.
Thankfully, the people that have stuck by me after these awkward first moments are both awesome and just as nuts to boot, so I needn't worry too much. After all, life is all about finding people with the same type of crazy as you, and those people become your friends.
Sunday, 27 July 2014
But... Why?
We all do things that we don't agree with or want to do for the sake of our loved ones. They can be tiny things, but we all do them to keep relationships running: it's called 'compromise'.
A friend challenged me the other day about one everyday compromise I make. It's a cultural/ religious dietary rule I follow without believing with it or really agreeing with it, but I follow it because 1) it's very important to my immediate close family and would deeply upset them if I don't follow it and 2) it doesn't harm myself or anyone else around me. My friend challenged me because I admitted that I wished I could eat some stuff, being a natural foodie, but I had long ago decided to respect my family's wishes. The conversation more or less went like this:
"But why?"
"Because it would really upset my family if I didn't do it."
"Why does it matter?"
"It matters because I don't want to hurt my family."
"Why are you willing to compromise your own beliefs?"
"I'm not as such, just keeping one of the precious few things that link my identity to my family's."
"But why do you need to follow someone else's way of identifying themselves for your own identity?"
This is one of the reasons I really respect my friend, who's not afraid to ask the tough questions. However I was also annoyed- the question 'why' can be used an infinite amount of times and a final root answer never found. And besides, why did I have to justify my actions, anyway? My friend was satisfied in my lack a sensible or logical answer to the final question. I did have a response in my mind though: how do we identify ourselves without other people to identify with? But I didn't carry on the debate,not wanting to answer a question with rhetoric that would lead to even more debate. Also, my friend is religious and I am not- a huge difference in mindset that puts all similar debates about the human condition at a stalemate.
It's a good practice to have though, if ever you are in a personal bind. Ask yourself why, and what your motives are. Or better yet, find a friend who isn't afraid to ask the tough questions. Just be sure that you're ready to face them!
A friend challenged me the other day about one everyday compromise I make. It's a cultural/ religious dietary rule I follow without believing with it or really agreeing with it, but I follow it because 1) it's very important to my immediate close family and would deeply upset them if I don't follow it and 2) it doesn't harm myself or anyone else around me. My friend challenged me because I admitted that I wished I could eat some stuff, being a natural foodie, but I had long ago decided to respect my family's wishes. The conversation more or less went like this:
"But why?"
"Because it would really upset my family if I didn't do it."
"Why does it matter?"
"It matters because I don't want to hurt my family."
"Why are you willing to compromise your own beliefs?"
"I'm not as such, just keeping one of the precious few things that link my identity to my family's."
"But why do you need to follow someone else's way of identifying themselves for your own identity?"
This is one of the reasons I really respect my friend, who's not afraid to ask the tough questions. However I was also annoyed- the question 'why' can be used an infinite amount of times and a final root answer never found. And besides, why did I have to justify my actions, anyway? My friend was satisfied in my lack a sensible or logical answer to the final question. I did have a response in my mind though: how do we identify ourselves without other people to identify with? But I didn't carry on the debate,not wanting to answer a question with rhetoric that would lead to even more debate. Also, my friend is religious and I am not- a huge difference in mindset that puts all similar debates about the human condition at a stalemate.
It's a good practice to have though, if ever you are in a personal bind. Ask yourself why, and what your motives are. Or better yet, find a friend who isn't afraid to ask the tough questions. Just be sure that you're ready to face them!
Monday, 3 March 2014
More Portioned Up than a Children's Birthday Cake
"Wow that's... really unusual for you. A whole weekend free! It'll be nice for you to actually relax for once."
"Yeah... you and I both know it won't last."
"Probably not, no."
This was a conversation I had with my friend Siu Yen a couple of nights ago, when she asked me what I'd be doing next weekend: we were also planning when out next meeting would be.
My diary is often more or less totally booked out for two months into the future. Every weekend I'm doing at least one thing: meeting up with these friends, seeing a movie with those friends, baking a cake for these guys, having lunch with those guys, and so on. Sometimes I'll have more than one thing going on in the same day, and have to limit my time with one group of people before meeting up with the second group of people (I call this 'speed friending': this doesn't happen often though as it doesn't make for quality get-together times). Now it's started to bleed into my evenings after work, not to mention I have my evening Mandarin classes on Wednesday nights. This pretty much makes me constantly exhausted.
It also makes me very happy.
Back in my school days, I was quite the loner. I was always awkward, quiet, nerdy- just not really able to fit in. When I did have friends, it was only one or two close ones at a time, which were sometimes intense and destructive (as is common when insecure people become too focused and reliant on each other). However, as time went on I got better at the whole making friends thing, and gradually discovered more and more amazing people that I cared about and wanted to keep in my life. The only things that changed were my attitude to myself and life in general.
This fast-paced lifestyle I've gained from hyper-socialising also seems to mean I've gained a weird, restless energy. This weekend one of the things I did was to visit my friend Vicky in Brighton (a fellow efficiently busy person), and at one point she tried to make me sit back into my chair instead of perching on the end of it. I physically managed it, but my efforts only made my friend laugh because apparently I still looked really stiff and awkward. In fact I felt really relaxed in Brighton, away from the shoving elbows and selfishness of London- but apparently my muscles were still tensed for immediate action.
Still, I wouldn't have it any other way. I remember what it's like to feel isolated, and now that I'm lucky enough to know so many amazing people, I'm more than happy to make the effort to give as many people as much of my time as I can. For some people it's not as much as I'd like, but then again there are only so many hours in the day!
I came back from Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium at around half past midnight last night, having visited for the first time as a guest rather than a volunteer since it's official opening on Saturday (it is, by the way, amazing). Once I'd finished posting a few pictures on Facebook, I was just about to go to bed when a message popped up from a friend I haven't seen in a while.
"Are you still in London? It'd be great to meet up again."
And some of my friends still wonder why I try to arrange things so far in advance.
"Yeah... you and I both know it won't last."
"Probably not, no."
This was a conversation I had with my friend Siu Yen a couple of nights ago, when she asked me what I'd be doing next weekend: we were also planning when out next meeting would be.
My diary is often more or less totally booked out for two months into the future. Every weekend I'm doing at least one thing: meeting up with these friends, seeing a movie with those friends, baking a cake for these guys, having lunch with those guys, and so on. Sometimes I'll have more than one thing going on in the same day, and have to limit my time with one group of people before meeting up with the second group of people (I call this 'speed friending': this doesn't happen often though as it doesn't make for quality get-together times). Now it's started to bleed into my evenings after work, not to mention I have my evening Mandarin classes on Wednesday nights. This pretty much makes me constantly exhausted.
It also makes me very happy.
Back in my school days, I was quite the loner. I was always awkward, quiet, nerdy- just not really able to fit in. When I did have friends, it was only one or two close ones at a time, which were sometimes intense and destructive (as is common when insecure people become too focused and reliant on each other). However, as time went on I got better at the whole making friends thing, and gradually discovered more and more amazing people that I cared about and wanted to keep in my life. The only things that changed were my attitude to myself and life in general.
This fast-paced lifestyle I've gained from hyper-socialising also seems to mean I've gained a weird, restless energy. This weekend one of the things I did was to visit my friend Vicky in Brighton (a fellow efficiently busy person), and at one point she tried to make me sit back into my chair instead of perching on the end of it. I physically managed it, but my efforts only made my friend laugh because apparently I still looked really stiff and awkward. In fact I felt really relaxed in Brighton, away from the shoving elbows and selfishness of London- but apparently my muscles were still tensed for immediate action.
Still, I wouldn't have it any other way. I remember what it's like to feel isolated, and now that I'm lucky enough to know so many amazing people, I'm more than happy to make the effort to give as many people as much of my time as I can. For some people it's not as much as I'd like, but then again there are only so many hours in the day!
 |
| A bit of wisdom from Brighton |
"Are you still in London? It'd be great to meet up again."
And some of my friends still wonder why I try to arrange things so far in advance.
Saturday, 15 February 2014
Best Valentine's Day Ever
"Geeeek!" A girl called out, pointing dramatically at the guy who had answered a particularly tough question correctly. The rest of the room laughed raucously. It was the right place for it: after all, it was Geek Quiz Night.
I have never done anything in particular for Valentine's day, even when I was in a relationship. I don't have anything particularly against it, but I don't see the point of it either- why do we need one official day to tell a special someone we love them, much less throw money at heart-shaped tat? Needless to say, my casual stance on the whole thing has me both celebrating neither the original Valentine's day nor anti-Valentine's day nor even 'singles awareness day'.
This year, in the spirit of embracing my new more sociable self and also to cheer up one of my friends who's special someone is serving in the force at the moment, three of us ventured out into Central London to grab food and see the new Lego movie.
After dinner, we still had almost two hours to go until the movie, so I dragged my two friends to MADD, a hipster geek-chic dessert bar that styles itself on serving its desserts with fresh mango while offering retro arcade games, newer Playstation and Xbox games and a huge selection of card and board games to play with- not to mention a great variety of retro video game-themed cocktails. The three of us being pretty geeky, we felt right at home.
A large group had gathered in the middle of the room, and we caught snippets of conversation about a geek quiz being held. That sounded awesome! Just as my friends and I were debating on asking if we could join in, the organiser stopped by our table and asked if we'd like to join in. Yes please!
The Lego movie now abandoned for some spontaneous geekery, we ended up having a slightly bonkers and entirely great fun night. During the charity raffle in the middle of the quiz one of my friends won a homemade nail polish, and I won a big, gorgeous copy of The Adventures and Memoires of Sherlock Holmes, which I spent the remaining duration of the quiz hugging (and which I am now currently devouring at terrifying speed).
What a great group of people it was, too: sometimes I'm wary about proclaiming myself to be a geek, especially as a girl, because sometimes people can get quite competitive and weirdly aggressive about it. The room last night was full of TV geeks, film geeks, book geeks, gamer geeks, baking geeks- all different kinds.
The night was full of good food, good experiences and good company, and out of all of the Valentine's days that have snuck past me, this one was definitely my favourite so far.
I have never done anything in particular for Valentine's day, even when I was in a relationship. I don't have anything particularly against it, but I don't see the point of it either- why do we need one official day to tell a special someone we love them, much less throw money at heart-shaped tat? Needless to say, my casual stance on the whole thing has me both celebrating neither the original Valentine's day nor anti-Valentine's day nor even 'singles awareness day'.
This year, in the spirit of embracing my new more sociable self and also to cheer up one of my friends who's special someone is serving in the force at the moment, three of us ventured out into Central London to grab food and see the new Lego movie.
After dinner, we still had almost two hours to go until the movie, so I dragged my two friends to MADD, a hipster geek-chic dessert bar that styles itself on serving its desserts with fresh mango while offering retro arcade games, newer Playstation and Xbox games and a huge selection of card and board games to play with- not to mention a great variety of retro video game-themed cocktails. The three of us being pretty geeky, we felt right at home.
A large group had gathered in the middle of the room, and we caught snippets of conversation about a geek quiz being held. That sounded awesome! Just as my friends and I were debating on asking if we could join in, the organiser stopped by our table and asked if we'd like to join in. Yes please!
The Lego movie now abandoned for some spontaneous geekery, we ended up having a slightly bonkers and entirely great fun night. During the charity raffle in the middle of the quiz one of my friends won a homemade nail polish, and I won a big, gorgeous copy of The Adventures and Memoires of Sherlock Holmes, which I spent the remaining duration of the quiz hugging (and which I am now currently devouring at terrifying speed).
What a great group of people it was, too: sometimes I'm wary about proclaiming myself to be a geek, especially as a girl, because sometimes people can get quite competitive and weirdly aggressive about it. The room last night was full of TV geeks, film geeks, book geeks, gamer geeks, baking geeks- all different kinds.
The night was full of good food, good experiences and good company, and out of all of the Valentine's days that have snuck past me, this one was definitely my favourite so far.
Wednesday, 15 January 2014
Adventures in Iceland: Discovering Reykjavik
Deciding to go to Iceland was definitely the most impulsive thing I have ever done as a self-confessed overthinker.
It was also definitely the best.
I've decided to do a lot of good things for myself in the past: Taking up Mandarin again, exercising more and eating less, writing more often- all things to build the awesome Tash 2.0 model that I want to be. Simply going on holiday wouldn't be what I usually count as self-enrichment, but this was the first time I'd ever arranged a holiday for myself. People always cite the Aurora Borealis as a 'thing to do before you die'. Well, why wait? I did everything: booking the flights, hotel, tours, transfers, the whole lot. My inner PA was giddy with glee, and my outer exhausted worker was glad to be getting a break at the end of it, so the process killed two birds with one stone.
My good friend Siu Yen was my partner in mischief during our three night stay- we'd often talked about having a 'girliday' (girly holiday) in the years we've known each other, so we were pretty darn hyped up when we got on that plane. Even the plane journey was pretty awesome- WOW air has now become my favourite airline of all time.
We saw some amazing things made by humans:
Some amazing things made by nature:
And ate some amazing food:
Soup in a BOWL made out of BREAD. How much of an awesome idea is that?
As for seeing the Northern Lights... technically we did. 'Technically' because although we were staring straight at them at the time, we had no idea what we were looking at. This was because they were in the grey spectrum, and sort of look like weird streaky clouds. We only found out that they were the Aurora when we saw a fellow tourist's photos from the same night: they had come out a faint glowing green. Apparently this is a thing. Who knew?
Even though I didn't catch the Lights on camera, I did manage to catch a rainbow corona around the moon:
And we got a pretty clear sky for star gazing, so it was still a great experience. Next year, either Finland or Norway! Although it's going to be hard not going straight back to Reykjavik, because I did enjoy the beautiful natural wonders and the easygoing people there.
In the meantime, I'm writing up a short piece for the British Guild of Travel Writers New Travel Writers 2014 competition. I have so many stories about the people I met out there, but this blog will have to wait until I've completed the piece. The deadline is the beginning of next week, so it won't be long!
We were sad to leave, but it was good to leave on a high. Anyway, when I got back to the office I found a box of tea and a bottle of coconut water a colleague had left for me, along with my Christmas present:
It was also definitely the best.
I've decided to do a lot of good things for myself in the past: Taking up Mandarin again, exercising more and eating less, writing more often- all things to build the awesome Tash 2.0 model that I want to be. Simply going on holiday wouldn't be what I usually count as self-enrichment, but this was the first time I'd ever arranged a holiday for myself. People always cite the Aurora Borealis as a 'thing to do before you die'. Well, why wait? I did everything: booking the flights, hotel, tours, transfers, the whole lot. My inner PA was giddy with glee, and my outer exhausted worker was glad to be getting a break at the end of it, so the process killed two birds with one stone.
My good friend Siu Yen was my partner in mischief during our three night stay- we'd often talked about having a 'girliday' (girly holiday) in the years we've known each other, so we were pretty darn hyped up when we got on that plane. Even the plane journey was pretty awesome- WOW air has now become my favourite airline of all time.
“On the left shoulder is a light to
make you look fabulous,” the head air hostess said as the life jackets were being modelled. “Also
great for attracting sailors.”
We saw some amazing things made by humans:
 |
| Hallgrรญmskirkja and it's massive, er, organ |
Some amazing things made by nature:
 |
| Strokkur geyser and Gullfoss waterfall |
And ate some amazing food:
 |
| Herring and rye bread, and soup in a bread bowl |
Soup in a BOWL made out of BREAD. How much of an awesome idea is that?
As for seeing the Northern Lights... technically we did. 'Technically' because although we were staring straight at them at the time, we had no idea what we were looking at. This was because they were in the grey spectrum, and sort of look like weird streaky clouds. We only found out that they were the Aurora when we saw a fellow tourist's photos from the same night: they had come out a faint glowing green. Apparently this is a thing. Who knew?
Even though I didn't catch the Lights on camera, I did manage to catch a rainbow corona around the moon:
And we got a pretty clear sky for star gazing, so it was still a great experience. Next year, either Finland or Norway! Although it's going to be hard not going straight back to Reykjavik, because I did enjoy the beautiful natural wonders and the easygoing people there.
In the meantime, I'm writing up a short piece for the British Guild of Travel Writers New Travel Writers 2014 competition. I have so many stories about the people I met out there, but this blog will have to wait until I've completed the piece. The deadline is the beginning of next week, so it won't be long!
We were sad to leave, but it was good to leave on a high. Anyway, when I got back to the office I found a box of tea and a bottle of coconut water a colleague had left for me, along with my Christmas present:
Those guys know me too well.
Sunday, 10 November 2013
Actually, I Rather Like People After All
Yesterday evening I met up with some of my fellow ex-contestants from the karaoke contest I took part in, just for a fun Japanese (and English, in my case) karaoke session together. I had great fun, and in the process got to know some new people a little better. I think my favourite moment was when I was chatting to the eldest member of the group on the way to the bar afterwards- a small, not-old-yet Japanese lady with a mischievous smile- and laughing about the sex shops we were walking past in Soho. She even quite knowingly asked me if I knew one particular shop in London aimed at ladies (to which I was just a tiny bit embarrassed and rather a lot more impressed!) She had up and left Japan at a young age, taking no friends or family with her, to start fresh in London: in fact a few others in the group had done similar, one even having lived in four different countries so far.
Recently I've been making an effort to go out and meet new people, and in the recent months I have met some awesome people and made some new friends along the way. It's occasions like this where I re-think the thing I have been telling myself pretty much all my life, which is:
'I hate people.'
Well? what does that actually mean? When I dissect it, it isn't a very nice way to go about life. I like lots of people- love them to bits, in fact. So when I used to say 'I hate people', I was directing this at the general public. In general.
But just who are the general public?
Potential friends. Potential enemies. Potential awkward but friendly chats in the queue or dirty looks after bumping into one another. A huge mix of human beings that are capable of doing the most wonderful and the most terrible things you can imagine, and every one as complex as the other.
There is a lot of cruelty in the world that I can't understand and that makes me sick, sad and angry. These things deserve hate, yes- but I believe that I've realised that it's not right to go about life hating the general public as a default. I'll try to be more open.
(Having said that, I hope I never have to work as a waitress or in customer services ever again.)
Recently I've been making an effort to go out and meet new people, and in the recent months I have met some awesome people and made some new friends along the way. It's occasions like this where I re-think the thing I have been telling myself pretty much all my life, which is:
'I hate people.'
Well? what does that actually mean? When I dissect it, it isn't a very nice way to go about life. I like lots of people- love them to bits, in fact. So when I used to say 'I hate people', I was directing this at the general public. In general.
But just who are the general public?
Potential friends. Potential enemies. Potential awkward but friendly chats in the queue or dirty looks after bumping into one another. A huge mix of human beings that are capable of doing the most wonderful and the most terrible things you can imagine, and every one as complex as the other.
There is a lot of cruelty in the world that I can't understand and that makes me sick, sad and angry. These things deserve hate, yes- but I believe that I've realised that it's not right to go about life hating the general public as a default. I'll try to be more open.
(Having said that, I hope I never have to work as a waitress or in customer services ever again.)
Monday, 7 October 2013
I Did It! The Nodojiman Karaoke Contest at Japan Matsuri London
On Saturday I got up there in front of thousands of people and danced and sung Tsukema Tsukeru ('putting on false eyelashes').
It was EPIC.
Even though nerves made my voice go horribly strained and wobbly from trying to escape my throat, I danced by butt off and felt pretty epic. I had an amazing bunch of friends cheering me on, my mum and dad looking on in pride and amusement, and the other amazing contestants lined up behind me cheering and clapping along too. Sadly my voice let me down too much to be in the running for a prize, but I didn't mind at all. The winners were incredible (the winner of the first prize had a truly jaw-dropping voice), and I felt like I had leveled up in life. I got a lot of attention outside the competitions regarding how I'd done my makeup too, which was funny (falsies- of course, rhinestones around my eyes and lots of pink and glitter).
When I posted the video on my Facebook, my friend Ruthie- who I've known since I was at school- commented:
'Wow. had strange moments of remembering how shy you were when we met...and watching this... amazing xxx'
I replied:
'This caterpillar sure turned into one crazy-ass butterfly, huh? xxx'
Honestly, if you'd have known me those thirteen years ago- hell, even as little as three years ago- I'd have never dreamed of getting up on stage in the middle of London and potentially making an utter arse of myself in front of thousands of strangers. Sure I performed all the time on the piano at school concerts all the time and one or two other things, but I always felt secure behind a piano- but even after years of singing, I never liked singing in front of people. But you know what? Saturday felt fantastic. I'm definitely going to practise so I can do a better job next year, if I'm lucky enough to be accepted a second time.
In the meantime, I feel like I'm ready to venture back into music again- I do have a dipABRSM in performance and two additional Grade 8's after all and it would be a shame to let them go to waste... if only I could find a way to squeeze it in between baking, writing and the Mandarin course and Google Analytics course I've recently taken up.
In any case, I turn 26 next weekend. Bring it on, bitches. I'm ready.
It was EPIC.
Even though nerves made my voice go horribly strained and wobbly from trying to escape my throat, I danced by butt off and felt pretty epic. I had an amazing bunch of friends cheering me on, my mum and dad looking on in pride and amusement, and the other amazing contestants lined up behind me cheering and clapping along too. Sadly my voice let me down too much to be in the running for a prize, but I didn't mind at all. The winners were incredible (the winner of the first prize had a truly jaw-dropping voice), and I felt like I had leveled up in life. I got a lot of attention outside the competitions regarding how I'd done my makeup too, which was funny (falsies- of course, rhinestones around my eyes and lots of pink and glitter).
When I posted the video on my Facebook, my friend Ruthie- who I've known since I was at school- commented:
'Wow. had strange moments of remembering how shy you were when we met...and watching this... amazing xxx'
I replied:
'This caterpillar sure turned into one crazy-ass butterfly, huh? xxx'
Honestly, if you'd have known me those thirteen years ago- hell, even as little as three years ago- I'd have never dreamed of getting up on stage in the middle of London and potentially making an utter arse of myself in front of thousands of strangers. Sure I performed all the time on the piano at school concerts all the time and one or two other things, but I always felt secure behind a piano- but even after years of singing, I never liked singing in front of people. But you know what? Saturday felt fantastic. I'm definitely going to practise so I can do a better job next year, if I'm lucky enough to be accepted a second time.
In the meantime, I feel like I'm ready to venture back into music again- I do have a dipABRSM in performance and two additional Grade 8's after all and it would be a shame to let them go to waste... if only I could find a way to squeeze it in between baking, writing and the Mandarin course and Google Analytics course I've recently taken up.
In any case, I turn 26 next weekend. Bring it on, bitches. I'm ready.
Sunday, 8 September 2013
The Tsundere Drawback
'Tsundere (ใใณใใฌ, pronounced [tsษฏndeษฝe]) is a Japanese
character development process that describes a person who is initially
cold and even hostile towards another person before gradually showing
his or her warm side over time. The word is derived from the terms tsun
tsun (ใใณใใณ), meaning to turn away in disgust, and dere dere (ใใฌใใฌ) meaning to become 'lovey dovey'.' - Wikipedia
Not necessarily in a romantic way, and not necessarily gradually warming up over time- it can come out in dribs and drabs, almost like a very mild and very annoying but possibly endearing personality disorder that only manifests itself around specific people, or a specific person.
You probably know a tsundere character, even if you don't watch anime. Helga from the cartoon Hey Arnold!, who acts downright abusive and cantankerous towards her secret crush; Sherlock Homes from the TV series Sherlock who needles his long-suffering friend John with smug superior sarcasm; even Grumpy from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, who's generally bad tempered about everything but has plenty of 'aww, so you do care!' moments.
My name is Tash, and I'm tsundere.
So is it as cute and funny in real life as it is in popular culture?
No.
Real life doesn't happen like that. Being tsundere is in fact very, very inconvenient, and in more than one way.
There's the first, obvious way: people (okay, guys in particular) that I take a liking to make my brain go weird. I go from being easy to talk to, fun, friendly and intelligent to not being able to make eye contact, aloof, even prickly. At best I'll be giving the silent treatment- not because I'm bored of someone, but because my brain inexplicably draws a complete blank- and at worst I'll come off as polite but frosty. Again, not because I want to be, but because my whole system goes into default defence mode.
It takes a long time for me to properly warm up to guys, even just as friends. I'm naturally guarded. Hell, it took me a whole year to fall for my now-ex (who was a close friend for a long time before we started a relationship, and who subsequently got bored of me after three years of being in a relationship). But once I eventually warm up, I'm the most loyal and caring person ever. See? Tsundere. Of course, however, this doesn't go down very well as a first impression.
Which leads me to the second downside. Making an effort to be warm from the outset in social situations that make me uncomfortable actually makes me come across as unnatural or just plain weird. Here was my internal monologue today (I was in a queue in one of my favourite geeky shops, and there was a guy with a pretty awesome Nintendo bag in the queue next to me):
'Wow, that's a cool bag. Maybe I should compliment him on it? Uh-oh, he spotted me looking, abort, abort! No, I should make eye contact. Don't forget to smile! Yay, he smiled back! You should look away now. I said look away! TOO MUCH EYE CONTACT!! Great, now he looks weirded out and is looking in the other direction. Way to go, dumbass.'
So training myself to be warm to everyone equally isn't going so well. Which brings me to the third and final downside.
Being friendly to guys and male friends who I'm not romantically interested in and them getting the wrong idea.
Before you cry 'bitch!' let me explain: I don't flirt, I don't tease, I just smile, listen, chat- you know, all of the normal friendly things- because I don't feel like I'm in an awkward situation. Unfortunately, it seems like merely being kind is a sort of green light to guys. I can count four guys in the past singular year who have taken my natural non-tsundere nature as a 'green light'- three of which I only met once! One is a little more unfortunate because he has been a friend for a few years and it's horrible to have to hurt his feelings, but what all four have (or had) in common is that fact that they don't seem to take 'no' for an answer.
'I don't see you in that way' seems to morph in their minds into 'I don't see you in that way yet.'
'I'm not interested in a relationship' becomes 'I'm not interested unless you change yourself.'
'You're like my brother' becomes 'If you show me a different side of you maybe I'll feel differently.'
No, no and no. And yes, as ball-crushingly soulless as it might seem, I have tried the 'brother' line in sheer desperation.
Tell them to their faces in cold, callous terms (or in some cases again)? Well the problem is, none of them have actually told me in plain terms to my face what their agenda is, and have therefore not given me the opportunity of doing so without making a fool of myself and them denying everything (despite two mutual friends clue-ing me up on two separate situations, which reassures me that it's not all in my head). Instead they (well, three out of four now that one seems to have finally given up) text endlessly, or message endlessly on social media.
Of course this can only end with hurt feelings. I've been on the other end myself, so I truly empathise (although I was much better at the whole giving up thing...) My empathy and sympathy won't help me or these guys- who really don't deserve this- though.
What do you mean, 'stop being so picky?' Isn't it even worse to humour someone when your heart's just not in it? Life isn't about taking anything and everything you can get at the expense of others- at least, it isn't to me.
So what should I do? Set my tsundere side as a default and freeze out everyone without discrimination at first? Stop being nice to my male friends and become a total biatch towards them (except for the friends who are already spoken for- funnily enough and thankfully I don't have this problem with them)? Try to be equally warm and friendly to everyone?
Probably the latter, I suppose. Easier said then done though: you saw the awkward-salad that was my non-encounter in the shop today.
I'll try to be more open with everyone, then. But only because I want to!! Got it? [/tsundere]
Not necessarily in a romantic way, and not necessarily gradually warming up over time- it can come out in dribs and drabs, almost like a very mild and very annoying but possibly endearing personality disorder that only manifests itself around specific people, or a specific person.
You probably know a tsundere character, even if you don't watch anime. Helga from the cartoon Hey Arnold!, who acts downright abusive and cantankerous towards her secret crush; Sherlock Homes from the TV series Sherlock who needles his long-suffering friend John with smug superior sarcasm; even Grumpy from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, who's generally bad tempered about everything but has plenty of 'aww, so you do care!' moments.
My name is Tash, and I'm tsundere.
So is it as cute and funny in real life as it is in popular culture?
No.
Real life doesn't happen like that. Being tsundere is in fact very, very inconvenient, and in more than one way.
There's the first, obvious way: people (okay, guys in particular) that I take a liking to make my brain go weird. I go from being easy to talk to, fun, friendly and intelligent to not being able to make eye contact, aloof, even prickly. At best I'll be giving the silent treatment- not because I'm bored of someone, but because my brain inexplicably draws a complete blank- and at worst I'll come off as polite but frosty. Again, not because I want to be, but because my whole system goes into default defence mode.
It takes a long time for me to properly warm up to guys, even just as friends. I'm naturally guarded. Hell, it took me a whole year to fall for my now-ex (who was a close friend for a long time before we started a relationship, and who subsequently got bored of me after three years of being in a relationship). But once I eventually warm up, I'm the most loyal and caring person ever. See? Tsundere. Of course, however, this doesn't go down very well as a first impression.
Which leads me to the second downside. Making an effort to be warm from the outset in social situations that make me uncomfortable actually makes me come across as unnatural or just plain weird. Here was my internal monologue today (I was in a queue in one of my favourite geeky shops, and there was a guy with a pretty awesome Nintendo bag in the queue next to me):
'Wow, that's a cool bag. Maybe I should compliment him on it? Uh-oh, he spotted me looking, abort, abort! No, I should make eye contact. Don't forget to smile! Yay, he smiled back! You should look away now. I said look away! TOO MUCH EYE CONTACT!! Great, now he looks weirded out and is looking in the other direction. Way to go, dumbass.'
So training myself to be warm to everyone equally isn't going so well. Which brings me to the third and final downside.
Being friendly to guys and male friends who I'm not romantically interested in and them getting the wrong idea.
Before you cry 'bitch!' let me explain: I don't flirt, I don't tease, I just smile, listen, chat- you know, all of the normal friendly things- because I don't feel like I'm in an awkward situation. Unfortunately, it seems like merely being kind is a sort of green light to guys. I can count four guys in the past singular year who have taken my natural non-tsundere nature as a 'green light'- three of which I only met once! One is a little more unfortunate because he has been a friend for a few years and it's horrible to have to hurt his feelings, but what all four have (or had) in common is that fact that they don't seem to take 'no' for an answer.
'I don't see you in that way' seems to morph in their minds into 'I don't see you in that way yet.'
'I'm not interested in a relationship' becomes 'I'm not interested unless you change yourself.'
'You're like my brother' becomes 'If you show me a different side of you maybe I'll feel differently.'
No, no and no. And yes, as ball-crushingly soulless as it might seem, I have tried the 'brother' line in sheer desperation.
Tell them to their faces in cold, callous terms (or in some cases again)? Well the problem is, none of them have actually told me in plain terms to my face what their agenda is, and have therefore not given me the opportunity of doing so without making a fool of myself and them denying everything (despite two mutual friends clue-ing me up on two separate situations, which reassures me that it's not all in my head). Instead they (well, three out of four now that one seems to have finally given up) text endlessly, or message endlessly on social media.
Of course this can only end with hurt feelings. I've been on the other end myself, so I truly empathise (although I was much better at the whole giving up thing...) My empathy and sympathy won't help me or these guys- who really don't deserve this- though.
What do you mean, 'stop being so picky?' Isn't it even worse to humour someone when your heart's just not in it? Life isn't about taking anything and everything you can get at the expense of others- at least, it isn't to me.
So what should I do? Set my tsundere side as a default and freeze out everyone without discrimination at first? Stop being nice to my male friends and become a total biatch towards them (except for the friends who are already spoken for- funnily enough and thankfully I don't have this problem with them)? Try to be equally warm and friendly to everyone?
Probably the latter, I suppose. Easier said then done though: you saw the awkward-salad that was my non-encounter in the shop today.
I'll try to be more open with everyone, then. But only because I want to!! Got it? [/tsundere]
Sunday, 1 September 2013
Worst Attempted Pick-Up Ever
After Siu Yen's birthday meal and the live comedy show after, we all headed down to a bar for cocktails. As we descended the stairs into the bar, some random guy caught up with me and walks beside me on the stairs.
"They say walking down the stairs by someone's side is bad luck, did you know?" He shouted over the din of the music and crowd.
"Huh?" I turned around as I walked on, at first not entirely sure that this question was directed at me.
"Yeah," he said seriously, "But I reckon tonight it's pretty lucky for me!"
I blinked, and laughed while quirking a single eyebrow.
"Really?" I couldn't hide the ironic disbelief in my voice. The poor guy fell back as my group carried onwards.
B+ for effort.
"They say walking down the stairs by someone's side is bad luck, did you know?" He shouted over the din of the music and crowd.
"Huh?" I turned around as I walked on, at first not entirely sure that this question was directed at me.
"Yeah," he said seriously, "But I reckon tonight it's pretty lucky for me!"
I blinked, and laughed while quirking a single eyebrow.
"Really?" I couldn't hide the ironic disbelief in my voice. The poor guy fell back as my group carried onwards.
B+ for effort.
Saturday, 27 July 2013
When Was the Last Time...
... that you were proud of yourself? Properly 'wow, I'm actually pretty
awesome aren't I?' proud.
I'd typed out a message to my friend Vicky (whom I visited in Berlin not too long ago), bemoaning all the stuff I've gotten myself into and how relentlessly busy I've become- partially to block out my fear of the future, partially because of the 'just say yes' policy I've come to loosely adopt in order to stop myself from being the social recluse I once was. I was just internally reflecting upon how I must be some kind of idiot to take on so much, when Vicky's reply popped up.
'I know you don't mean it but .... stop making me feel bad! I feel so lazy...'
I blinked. Lazy? Vicky? 'Mate', I thought to myself, 'You up and went to Germany for two years just like that to teach English, having known no-one in the country beforehand, became really proficient at German as a language itself, you're teaching yourself Russian now- successfully for such a difficult language, too- and you're also about to go to Peru to learn Spanish and travel!'
It's funny isn't it, the way we perceive ourselves? It made me realise how I'm just as guilty of ignoring my good points as anyone else (except for maybe two of my friends, who are unusually exceptional- especially for a couple of fellow Brits- at recognising their own amazingness; I say this with no guile).
I, like anyone else, suffer from that horrible, mean little thing called Envy. I envy Vicky, for doing what I've always wanted to do and travelling by herself to discover the world, carving out her own path by her own terms, whereas I'm too cowardly. I envy Lucia, who goes on trips away with their friendship groups in Birmingham that are too awkward for me to join in on, being in a different city. I envy Toria, who makes friends so easily, and keeps them. I envy all my friends who have their own houses while I'm a City Statistic still living with my parents, trying to save for an elusive place in London. And let's not even go into the envy I feel for people I don't even know.
If, up until just now, you'd have asked me when the last time I felt proud of myself was, I'd probably have replied '2006.' Now I know how ridiculous this is.
This isn't a brag post; I won't list the things I've found to be proud of for myself. But I have found some, all the same. The thing to remember is not to be the best of everything- that's impossible, and few even get to be the best at anything- but to be the best at being yourself. Clichรฉ, but no less true now than when you were told this in nursery.
It's pretty much impossible to see ourselves the way other people do. The best guide we can have is to try and understand the way our friends see us: after all, surely they wouldn't be our friends if we were as ineffective and silly as we thought we were, right? I know I'm proud of my friends, and know that they're all amazing people with their own amazing qualities. Logically, it stands to reason that the feeling is mutual.
So if ever any of you have a 'God, why am I so useless?' moment (as we all have, sometimes), remember how your friends see you, and know that even if you can't understand it yourself, your friends admire and respect you for a reason.
I'd typed out a message to my friend Vicky (whom I visited in Berlin not too long ago), bemoaning all the stuff I've gotten myself into and how relentlessly busy I've become- partially to block out my fear of the future, partially because of the 'just say yes' policy I've come to loosely adopt in order to stop myself from being the social recluse I once was. I was just internally reflecting upon how I must be some kind of idiot to take on so much, when Vicky's reply popped up.
'I know you don't mean it but .... stop making me feel bad! I feel so lazy...'
I blinked. Lazy? Vicky? 'Mate', I thought to myself, 'You up and went to Germany for two years just like that to teach English, having known no-one in the country beforehand, became really proficient at German as a language itself, you're teaching yourself Russian now- successfully for such a difficult language, too- and you're also about to go to Peru to learn Spanish and travel!'
It's funny isn't it, the way we perceive ourselves? It made me realise how I'm just as guilty of ignoring my good points as anyone else (except for maybe two of my friends, who are unusually exceptional- especially for a couple of fellow Brits- at recognising their own amazingness; I say this with no guile).
I, like anyone else, suffer from that horrible, mean little thing called Envy. I envy Vicky, for doing what I've always wanted to do and travelling by herself to discover the world, carving out her own path by her own terms, whereas I'm too cowardly. I envy Lucia, who goes on trips away with their friendship groups in Birmingham that are too awkward for me to join in on, being in a different city. I envy Toria, who makes friends so easily, and keeps them. I envy all my friends who have their own houses while I'm a City Statistic still living with my parents, trying to save for an elusive place in London. And let's not even go into the envy I feel for people I don't even know.
If, up until just now, you'd have asked me when the last time I felt proud of myself was, I'd probably have replied '2006.' Now I know how ridiculous this is.
This isn't a brag post; I won't list the things I've found to be proud of for myself. But I have found some, all the same. The thing to remember is not to be the best of everything- that's impossible, and few even get to be the best at anything- but to be the best at being yourself. Clichรฉ, but no less true now than when you were told this in nursery.
It's pretty much impossible to see ourselves the way other people do. The best guide we can have is to try and understand the way our friends see us: after all, surely they wouldn't be our friends if we were as ineffective and silly as we thought we were, right? I know I'm proud of my friends, and know that they're all amazing people with their own amazing qualities. Logically, it stands to reason that the feeling is mutual.
So if ever any of you have a 'God, why am I so useless?' moment (as we all have, sometimes), remember how your friends see you, and know that even if you can't understand it yourself, your friends admire and respect you for a reason.
Friday, 12 July 2013
In Which Tash Takes a Day Off
Well alright, most of the day off- but it's as close to a full day off as I've had in quite a while.
I've been very, very busy. I work full-time, manage five blogs altogether which involves a lot of baking, photoing and editing, writing and Going Out and Doing Stuff, I have a regular exercise routine, still occasionally try to keep up with music, and I have a very active social life from making sure I give my time to as many friends as possible. One of the downsides of being so busy all the time is that friends have gotten used to having to book me up to two months in advance, but at least my friends are also very understanding.
Recently I've been doing some voluntary online work for the up-and-coming Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium (London's very first cat cafรฉ), which is super-exciting! Of course it's been a challenge to juggle the mad amount of stuff I already do, but I'm so happy to be able to be part of it in some way, although it does mean that time management has become a fine art.
Which is why maybe it's a bit sad that having a relaxing day is novel enough for me to write about it in The Wacky World of a Weird Girl. In fact, I'm writing this right now as a break before I get back to work.
I booked a day off work today, originally because a friend was coming down from Birmingham to visit, but then she had to go to a medic's function (she's a doctor). I decided to keep the day off instead of cancelling it, because I suddenly realised that actually, I really do need a day to myself.
So this morning after a mini lie-in (but not too much because I prefer being productive), I got up, and started the day by visiting a cafรฉ I'd always wanted to try out for breakfast (reviewed in one of my other blogs).
I LOVE going into London just after the morning rush hour on a weekday. It's so quiet! I sat outside the cafรฉ with my coffee and breakfast, and for the first time in months I felt truly relaxed. Note that I don't mean happy- I've been very happy indeed- but it was the first time in a long time I actually sat back in peace and quiet, did nothing and didn't feel guilty about doing nothing. I sat slowly sipping my coffee and nibbling my cake until it was all gone, and sat watching the world go by just for a little longer before I reluctantly got up and continued with my day.
Even though I was reluctant to shift myself from my relaxed spot, I knew I'd enjoy myself at my next destination: Camden Town, one of my favourite places in London. Also another great place to be during those few hours between breakfast and lunch on a weekday.
Camden Town on the weekend- and even during lunchtime on a weekday- is always absolutely rammed. It's a trendy place to be for all ages, is a popular tourist destination, and is just an overall cool place to be. This morning I got the chance to walk around at my leisure, discover new nooks and crannies without being squeezed out of the way by more people, and actually be able to look around without my vision being blocked by bodies.
Whilst I was there, I bought a cup of tea from Yumchaa, and sat on the balcony outside which overlooks the canal and the Camden Lock West Yard world food market. There was still an hour to go before people would start trickling in for lunch, and it was bliss. There was one funny moment when a couple of French tourists walked past me, sitting with my cup of tea, and one said something to her friend like 'Ah, le typique anglaise!', gesturing towards me in a way which she obviously thought was subtle. Yes, yes, we do love our tea here. And I do understand a bit of French, lady.
Sitting there after Relaxation Time Stage 1 earlier in the morning, in view of the canal and the smells of food from all around the world wafting from the market below, colourful bunting for the coming evening's music festival billowing in the gentle wind, with tea in my teacup and a little more left in the teapot- it was zen. There was even a resident friendly kitty cat to play with: perfect.
I was quite sad to leave when lunchtime hit and the zen was broken by the oncoming crowds of people- but I was able to leave my quiet spot outside the tea shop knowing that there was more fun stuff to do, even if relaxation time was over. I had lunch, and headed off home to do continue with work before making dinner for the family.
This weekend I'm back to my old tricks, going out to meet friends and baking and blogging and going to events, and soon the memory of being totally 'at ease' will fade- but one thing I will remember to do is take time off for myself more often: sometimes it feels like I'm so busy making time for other people that I forget to make time for myself. Don't get me wrong: I choose to be busy. It's a way of life I enjoy. However, sometimes I need to be reminded that I need switching-off time to recharge (even if it's only once every two months). I can't wait to be able to have another day off where I can sit with a cup or tea with my favourite place almost all to myself, and literally do nothing else but drink tea, sit and watch the world around me.
In the meantime, I'll try to hang on to that memory of the feeling of zen for as long as possible, before the business of tomorrow and the day after sweep it away.
Anyway. Back to work.
I've been very, very busy. I work full-time, manage five blogs altogether which involves a lot of baking, photoing and editing, writing and Going Out and Doing Stuff, I have a regular exercise routine, still occasionally try to keep up with music, and I have a very active social life from making sure I give my time to as many friends as possible. One of the downsides of being so busy all the time is that friends have gotten used to having to book me up to two months in advance, but at least my friends are also very understanding.
Recently I've been doing some voluntary online work for the up-and-coming Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium (London's very first cat cafรฉ), which is super-exciting! Of course it's been a challenge to juggle the mad amount of stuff I already do, but I'm so happy to be able to be part of it in some way, although it does mean that time management has become a fine art.
Which is why maybe it's a bit sad that having a relaxing day is novel enough for me to write about it in The Wacky World of a Weird Girl. In fact, I'm writing this right now as a break before I get back to work.
I booked a day off work today, originally because a friend was coming down from Birmingham to visit, but then she had to go to a medic's function (she's a doctor). I decided to keep the day off instead of cancelling it, because I suddenly realised that actually, I really do need a day to myself.
So this morning after a mini lie-in (but not too much because I prefer being productive), I got up, and started the day by visiting a cafรฉ I'd always wanted to try out for breakfast (reviewed in one of my other blogs).
I LOVE going into London just after the morning rush hour on a weekday. It's so quiet! I sat outside the cafรฉ with my coffee and breakfast, and for the first time in months I felt truly relaxed. Note that I don't mean happy- I've been very happy indeed- but it was the first time in a long time I actually sat back in peace and quiet, did nothing and didn't feel guilty about doing nothing. I sat slowly sipping my coffee and nibbling my cake until it was all gone, and sat watching the world go by just for a little longer before I reluctantly got up and continued with my day.
Even though I was reluctant to shift myself from my relaxed spot, I knew I'd enjoy myself at my next destination: Camden Town, one of my favourite places in London. Also another great place to be during those few hours between breakfast and lunch on a weekday.
Camden Town on the weekend- and even during lunchtime on a weekday- is always absolutely rammed. It's a trendy place to be for all ages, is a popular tourist destination, and is just an overall cool place to be. This morning I got the chance to walk around at my leisure, discover new nooks and crannies without being squeezed out of the way by more people, and actually be able to look around without my vision being blocked by bodies.
Whilst I was there, I bought a cup of tea from Yumchaa, and sat on the balcony outside which overlooks the canal and the Camden Lock West Yard world food market. There was still an hour to go before people would start trickling in for lunch, and it was bliss. There was one funny moment when a couple of French tourists walked past me, sitting with my cup of tea, and one said something to her friend like 'Ah, le typique anglaise!', gesturing towards me in a way which she obviously thought was subtle. Yes, yes, we do love our tea here. And I do understand a bit of French, lady.
Sitting there after Relaxation Time Stage 1 earlier in the morning, in view of the canal and the smells of food from all around the world wafting from the market below, colourful bunting for the coming evening's music festival billowing in the gentle wind, with tea in my teacup and a little more left in the teapot- it was zen. There was even a resident friendly kitty cat to play with: perfect.
I was quite sad to leave when lunchtime hit and the zen was broken by the oncoming crowds of people- but I was able to leave my quiet spot outside the tea shop knowing that there was more fun stuff to do, even if relaxation time was over. I had lunch, and headed off home to do continue with work before making dinner for the family.
This weekend I'm back to my old tricks, going out to meet friends and baking and blogging and going to events, and soon the memory of being totally 'at ease' will fade- but one thing I will remember to do is take time off for myself more often: sometimes it feels like I'm so busy making time for other people that I forget to make time for myself. Don't get me wrong: I choose to be busy. It's a way of life I enjoy. However, sometimes I need to be reminded that I need switching-off time to recharge (even if it's only once every two months). I can't wait to be able to have another day off where I can sit with a cup or tea with my favourite place almost all to myself, and literally do nothing else but drink tea, sit and watch the world around me.
In the meantime, I'll try to hang on to that memory of the feeling of zen for as long as possible, before the business of tomorrow and the day after sweep it away.
Anyway. Back to work.
Thursday, 4 July 2013
In Which I Conduct a Social Experiment: Part 2
(Or rather the experiment has concluded and now the consequences commence).
So I mentioned that as a result of speed dating I friend-matched two people, and one sent me a message: Daniel-Does-Not-Do-Comicon, the one who seemed like an almost polar opposite to me interests-wise but still seemed fun. Part of his message read:
"You're very different to most people I meet // and I like that."
This made me laugh out loud- I thought it summed my efforts of the evening up pretty well! Part of my reply was:
"I got the impression that I'm very different to most people other people meet on Saturday, haha."
In short, we're meeting up on Sunday morning in town for coffee (no euphemism, literally coffee), which works out quite well because I'm meeting another friend for lunch in the same area after. So if he turns out to be a crazy person (and let's face it, we all know that between me and anyone I'm the most likely to be the crazy person...), I'll be in a very busy area with a friend nearby.
It's kind of a weird situation for me to be in. When I make friends it's purely 'organic' and happens gradually. In this case, it's more like 'Hey, I think we should be friends! Let's meet up at this designated time and place and try to be friends even more!' Of course, put like that, it sounds like an unusual situation for anyone to be in.
I guess the experiment's now on me, then. Let's see how a Socially Awkward Penguin like myself copes out of her comfort zone, shall we?
Haha that's ridiculous, a Socially Awkward Penguin has no comfort zone.
I'm screwed.
So I mentioned that as a result of speed dating I friend-matched two people, and one sent me a message: Daniel-Does-Not-Do-Comicon, the one who seemed like an almost polar opposite to me interests-wise but still seemed fun. Part of his message read:
"You're very different to most people I meet // and I like that."
This made me laugh out loud- I thought it summed my efforts of the evening up pretty well! Part of my reply was:
"I got the impression that I'm very different to most people other people meet on Saturday, haha."
In short, we're meeting up on Sunday morning in town for coffee (no euphemism, literally coffee), which works out quite well because I'm meeting another friend for lunch in the same area after. So if he turns out to be a crazy person (and let's face it, we all know that between me and anyone I'm the most likely to be the crazy person...), I'll be in a very busy area with a friend nearby.
It's kind of a weird situation for me to be in. When I make friends it's purely 'organic' and happens gradually. In this case, it's more like 'Hey, I think we should be friends! Let's meet up at this designated time and place and try to be friends even more!' Of course, put like that, it sounds like an unusual situation for anyone to be in.
I guess the experiment's now on me, then. Let's see how a Socially Awkward Penguin like myself copes out of her comfort zone, shall we?
Haha that's ridiculous, a Socially Awkward Penguin has no comfort zone.
I'm screwed.
Saturday, 27 April 2013
Unintentional Gluttony, Brain Freeze and Rest
I revisited one of my favourite places for cake today (which also happens to be the location that this post took place in). I always become a little over-ambitious when it comes to dessert, so I tried to go light on the drink- to no avail.
Also (see, this post isn't just a lazy repost!) the last part of this post's title should really be 'Lack of Rest'. I've been burning my candle at both ends lately, with a full-time job, writing for four blogs in total, baking and recipe-creating for two out of those four blogs, looking into more writing work on the side to build experience and looking into training and courses for myself in my spare time. Then I exercise nearly every day, and snatch a few moments here and there for other hobbies like craft and music (ah the days when all of my spare hours were spent on the piano...) There are, quite literally, not enough hours in the day.
I love being busy, but I thought I was fine with energy levels until today on the tube, when I wandered onto two wrong trains in a row to meet my visiting friend today, and then straight away led her onto three wrong trains in different directions to a place that I go to all the time.
I think it's a sign I need some me-time. Looking at my diary, I think I can book myself a time slot for that sometime in June...
Also (see, this post isn't just a lazy repost!) the last part of this post's title should really be 'Lack of Rest'. I've been burning my candle at both ends lately, with a full-time job, writing for four blogs in total, baking and recipe-creating for two out of those four blogs, looking into more writing work on the side to build experience and looking into training and courses for myself in my spare time. Then I exercise nearly every day, and snatch a few moments here and there for other hobbies like craft and music (ah the days when all of my spare hours were spent on the piano...) There are, quite literally, not enough hours in the day.
I love being busy, but I thought I was fine with energy levels until today on the tube, when I wandered onto two wrong trains in a row to meet my visiting friend today, and then straight away led her onto three wrong trains in different directions to a place that I go to all the time.
I think it's a sign I need some me-time. Looking at my diary, I think I can book myself a time slot for that sometime in June...
Sunday, 7 April 2013
Public Transport: Stuck in the Air
Next weekend I'm going to Berlin to visit my friend Vicky, and it'll be the first time ever I've travelled by plane all by myself.
I'm not scared at all- I'm rather excited actually. However there is just one small matter that concerns me, and it's the same with any form of public transport:
What the random stranger sitting next to me is going to be like.
Or even if I'm going to be stuck with a few choice weirdos, never mind if they're right next to me or not. Some of my best stories and strangest memories comes from tales of the general public whilst on a train or bus: from stoners performing magic tricks to get out of paying a fare, to stoners metaphorically crying on my shoulder about their life (I really wish I could remember enough of that bus journey to do it justice here), to massive guys stinking of rotten cheese and literally falling asleep on my shoulder and squashing me to being on a train full of drunken football supporters and dog show competitors (at the same time). Only this time I'm going to be stuck in a tin can thousands of miles up in the air with them.
Of course I've been on flights where there have been irritating people on board, from the classic screaming child and back-of-seat-kicker to, most recently on the way back from Australia, a guy who took his shoes off and put his bare (and smelly and quite dirty) feet up when food was being served. It's always different when you're by yourself though, as there's nobody to go 'Get a load of this guy!' to.
Maybe I'll come back and absolutely nothing wacky will have happened to me, which will go towards confirming my theory that weird stuff only happens to me in Britain. We shall see. To be honest, if the last time Vicky and I met up is anything to go by, anything crazy that happens will most likely be self-inflicted. In fact, my German doppelgรคnger out there is probably about to write a blog entry about two mad British girls...
I'm not scared at all- I'm rather excited actually. However there is just one small matter that concerns me, and it's the same with any form of public transport:
What the random stranger sitting next to me is going to be like.
Or even if I'm going to be stuck with a few choice weirdos, never mind if they're right next to me or not. Some of my best stories and strangest memories comes from tales of the general public whilst on a train or bus: from stoners performing magic tricks to get out of paying a fare, to stoners metaphorically crying on my shoulder about their life (I really wish I could remember enough of that bus journey to do it justice here), to massive guys stinking of rotten cheese and literally falling asleep on my shoulder and squashing me to being on a train full of drunken football supporters and dog show competitors (at the same time). Only this time I'm going to be stuck in a tin can thousands of miles up in the air with them.
Of course I've been on flights where there have been irritating people on board, from the classic screaming child and back-of-seat-kicker to, most recently on the way back from Australia, a guy who took his shoes off and put his bare (and smelly and quite dirty) feet up when food was being served. It's always different when you're by yourself though, as there's nobody to go 'Get a load of this guy!' to.
Maybe I'll come back and absolutely nothing wacky will have happened to me, which will go towards confirming my theory that weird stuff only happens to me in Britain. We shall see. To be honest, if the last time Vicky and I met up is anything to go by, anything crazy that happens will most likely be self-inflicted. In fact, my German doppelgรคnger out there is probably about to write a blog entry about two mad British girls...
Saturday, 2 February 2013
Moments with Friends- Part 1
I wish I could write down every single special (in every sense of the word) moment I share with each of my friends to keep for ever and ever- it's possibly a bit late to start now, since so many have already been all but forgotten.
Like the time Ruthie and I bought some snacks and were deciding who's bag to put them in, and a total stranger (a guy, for the record) walking past quipped to Ruth 'Put it in yours, totally.'
Or another time when Siu Yen, Josh and I were attempting a trio self-photo when a guy suddenly jumped over the fence behind us, exclaiming 'Yeeeah picture time guys, this is great!', got his phone out and self-photo-ed himself with the three of us before disappearing. (All three of us assumed that the other two of us knew this guy. No-one knew this guy.)
Or the time Toria and I were at Sidmouth folk music festival and she pulled me out of being run into when I blindly walked into a circle of Morris men weilding sticks about to start dancing.
Or even the time Lucia and I spent a good amount of time hand-making dryad costumes for a 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' costume party, painting on our faces and putting streamers in our hair and everything, when everyone else turned up looking normal (save for one rather half-arsed Lion and one guy who wore a box marked 'Wardrobe').
I think I need to start capturing more of these, starting from now.
Today, Siu Yen and I went on an afternoon tea cruise on the Thames. (Tea and cake on a boat- what's not to like?) We had about half an hour of a guided tour down the river just before food was served, and although a lot of other people were just talking through it, Siu Yen and I were paying attention. Mostly, anyway.
"Where's the dog?" Asked my friend.
"What dog?" I asked, frowning.
"He (the tour guide) just said: 'And on the right you'll see a wet dog.'"
"Siu Yen, I think he said 'wet dock'."
"Ohh! I did think that was a weird thing to point out."
Later on, we were trying to decide who wanted which macaron (there was a chocolate one, a vanilla one and a strawberry one): I find this sort of uneven rationing of food slightly irritating, and usually solve it with a game, wager or a song depending on the situation. Since neither of us particularly wanted one over the other, I went for a song. I pointed my finger at the closest morsel, and sang under my breath 'My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean', jabbing at each macaron with each syllable until the song had finished and I landed on the one that I'd end up eating.
As I landed on the final one ('Oh bring back my bonnie to ME') and plucked it from the tray, I caught my friend staring warily at me.
"Er... what?"
"What on Earth was that?" Asked my friend.
"What?" I asked again, macaron still hovering in mid-air halfway to my mouth.
"That song, what was it? It was a little creepy!"
"You've never heard of My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean? Old folk song, men going off to war, the women sing about it and the like?"
"Nope. But I'm glad it's 'Bonnie'. I thought you said 'Body'."
~Fin~
Like the time Ruthie and I bought some snacks and were deciding who's bag to put them in, and a total stranger (a guy, for the record) walking past quipped to Ruth 'Put it in yours, totally.'
Or another time when Siu Yen, Josh and I were attempting a trio self-photo when a guy suddenly jumped over the fence behind us, exclaiming 'Yeeeah picture time guys, this is great!', got his phone out and self-photo-ed himself with the three of us before disappearing. (All three of us assumed that the other two of us knew this guy. No-one knew this guy.)
Or the time Toria and I were at Sidmouth folk music festival and she pulled me out of being run into when I blindly walked into a circle of Morris men weilding sticks about to start dancing.
Or even the time Lucia and I spent a good amount of time hand-making dryad costumes for a 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' costume party, painting on our faces and putting streamers in our hair and everything, when everyone else turned up looking normal (save for one rather half-arsed Lion and one guy who wore a box marked 'Wardrobe').
I think I need to start capturing more of these, starting from now.
Today, Siu Yen and I went on an afternoon tea cruise on the Thames. (Tea and cake on a boat- what's not to like?) We had about half an hour of a guided tour down the river just before food was served, and although a lot of other people were just talking through it, Siu Yen and I were paying attention. Mostly, anyway.
"Where's the dog?" Asked my friend.
"What dog?" I asked, frowning.
"He (the tour guide) just said: 'And on the right you'll see a wet dog.'"
"Siu Yen, I think he said 'wet dock'."
"Ohh! I did think that was a weird thing to point out."
Later on, we were trying to decide who wanted which macaron (there was a chocolate one, a vanilla one and a strawberry one): I find this sort of uneven rationing of food slightly irritating, and usually solve it with a game, wager or a song depending on the situation. Since neither of us particularly wanted one over the other, I went for a song. I pointed my finger at the closest morsel, and sang under my breath 'My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean', jabbing at each macaron with each syllable until the song had finished and I landed on the one that I'd end up eating.
As I landed on the final one ('Oh bring back my bonnie to ME') and plucked it from the tray, I caught my friend staring warily at me.
"Er... what?"
"What on Earth was that?" Asked my friend.
"What?" I asked again, macaron still hovering in mid-air halfway to my mouth.
"That song, what was it? It was a little creepy!"
"You've never heard of My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean? Old folk song, men going off to war, the women sing about it and the like?"
"Nope. But I'm glad it's 'Bonnie'. I thought you said 'Body'."
~Fin~
Thursday, 27 December 2012
Friends with Sugar
My friend Vicky was visiting from Germany, and this evening we went to a dessert bar in Chinatown, where we ate a silly amount of cake. Vicky also gets a bit jittery on MSG, so having already been to another Chinese restaurant she was already getting a little bouncy. Me too- I'd just had a drink that was made out of 50% beans and 50% sugar. This didn't matter though- we were ready to tackle this magical place of cake.
By the end of it, we were giggling like idiots at nothing much in a cake and sugar-induced stupor. I was vaguely aware of Vicky beginning to stack the plates up neatly when I heard her declare proudly, "I shall be helpful! Ploop!"
The 'Ploop!' was accompanied by my sugar-crazed friend more or less slam-dunking the chunk of lemon from her half-finished lemon tea back into her mug- out of which tea shot out of in all directions.
I suppose she was helpful in the end, as she mopped all the spilled tea up- I was less so though, because I was too busy laughing like a hyena.
Thursday, 15 November 2012
QUEST! The Mystery of the Lost SD Card
 |
| Has anyone seen any of these guys before? |
My friend Gurpreet visited from Birmingham last weekend and found an SD on the tube with 421 of someone else's holiday images on it, and now he's trying to find the owner to return the card to them- aside from sharing and passing on this photo on Facebook (hoping the whole seven degrees of separation thing works somewhere down the road), here's m contribution to his quest.
A little background on Gurp- crazy things happen to me weekly. Positively insane things happen to Gurp almost every day. One of my personal favourite stories of his is the time he accidentally ingested antifreeze, managed to stagger to a wedding without dying, and accidentally found out at the wedding that whisky is a legitimate cure for antifreeze poisoning (no joke- but don't try it at home, kids). Just before he visited we were joking that with the two of us in the same place in the same time, something mind-blowing was bound to happen. In fact within the first five minutes of us and a few other friends meeting up a cash management van drove straight into a set of traffic lights right next to us.
Anyway, let's continue with the real story. It was after lunch, and five of us, mostly of battle reenactment stock, were strolling down Carnaby Street.
"Tash, did I tell you about the SD card?" Asked Gurp.
He, Drefan (otherwise known as Adam, and another friend I met through battle reenactment society- another story) and Drefan's girlfriend Julia were on the tube from Tooting Broadway to Leicester Square, on the northern line, when they found the SD card. We were all pretty excited, trying to guess what was stored on the little memory card- we decided that the most likely ones were definitely either holiday snaps, or a secret government mission that we'd have to take up on the demise of the previous owner/ secret agent and then the card would self-destruct as soon as we'd received further instructions.
Gods, we really hoped it was the latter.
When Gurp returned home he popped the card into his camera (reasoning that it was less likely to corrupt and destroy his camera than his computer if there was any bad software on the card), and found over four hundred photos. Gurp being Gurp, and never one to back down on a quest, began his detective work (which has already proven successful in the past when it comes to random lost items).
After looking through the photos for clues, landmarks and signs, he managed to deduce the following things:
-The photos were of a group of people backpacking in Venezuela
-The group of people seemed to range from 18-25 years old
- At least one of them belongs to C.U.L.N.C, the Cambridge University Ladies' Netball Club
- The SD card was (as mentioned) dropped on that Northern Line train
So. If anyone reading this happens to know anything, please tell these people to get in touch so we can return their awesome-looking memories. If you're the owner(s) of these pictures, so sorry we looked through them and I hope you don't mind me posting these two photos- I hope we can get the pics back to you!
Sunday, 4 November 2012
RANT: Answering the Phone
I think it's high time this blog had a rant tag- here we go!
Today, something happened when I picked up the ringing phone. Something that has been happening to me more and more frequently recently, and not just with one caller.
Ring ring.
Me: 'Hello?'
Caller: 'Hello?'
Whooooawhoawhoawhoa. Time out. Stop. Hold up. Wait a minute. Let's look into the whole etiquette of phoning someone, shall we?
When you call someone, unless you've arranged a set time with someone, have a personalised ring tone (and maybe a picture that pops up if on a mobile phone) for them or they're having a transient psychic moment, the other person isn't going to know who's calling. So, when the other person picks up and they (usually) ask 'Hello?', the logical and just plain decent thing to do is reply with 'Hi, it's *blank*'.
See? Simple, quick, to the point. Maybe if you're good friends you can add a funny noise or signature sentence, or another few words of your choice- anything that lets the other person know who's calling. What you don't do when someone picks up and goes 'Hello?' is to go 'Hello?' right back.
What the hell do you mean, 'Hello?'? You're the one that called me!
See, what you've done here is to answer a question with a question- which is not only maddeningly obstructive and confusing, but could also be considered impolite. When I picked up and said 'Hello?' I wasn't just greeting you, I was also very politely asking 'Who are you?' When you ask 'Hello?' right after me, to me you're just asking 'Well, who are you?'
Don't give me that, even if I'm not the one who you expected to pick up, you know who you're after and could at very least introduce yourself.
Now, this applies even to normal people. However, I also have the added fun little bonus of being a bit 'voice blind', or whatever you want to call it. In a nutshell, I find it hard to recognise people's voices, even people who I've known for years- and over the phone I find it pretty much impossible (a real head-scratcher, because I also have absolute pitch, which means I can identify any musical note without being told what it is, or sing back a note you tell me to sing without hearing it first). Anyway, the long and short of it is, I doubly don't know who you are when you call me. In fact this became a running joke at my last job, which partially involved having good links and relationships with suppliers and staff based elsewhere over the phone; my colleagues and the others I worked with learnt that they had to go 'Hi, it's *blank*' when I picked up, or at least teasingly 'Hey Tash, guess who it is?' (I did get slightly better at recognising everyone after almost two years there- slightly, but not completely).
Like I said at the beginning, the phenomenon of picking up the phone and being met with a 'Hello?' right back has been occurring more and more recently. I can't imagine why, especially when you tend to know when you're calling a home phone number as opposed to a mobile phone number, and especially when you're family or a friend. So today, a bit fed up of this nonsense (and already in a prickly mood from being patronised by a cashier at the supermarket over a type of apple), I just 'hello-ed' right back again to see how far it would go.
As the non-conversation progressed I did begin to recognise the family member of whom the increasingly confused voice belonged to, but I stuck to it to prove my theory that they knew exactly who had picked up the phone and/ or who they wanted to speak to. Let's take it from the top (and I sh*t you not, this is exactly how the call went).
Me: 'Hello?'
Caller: 'Hello?'
Me: 'Hello?'
Caller '... Hello?'
Me: 'Hello?'
Caller: 'Er... hello?'
Me: 'Hello?'
Caller: 'Hellohellohello? Is this Tash?'
Me: 'Hello!'
Caller: 'Can I speak to your mum, please?'
What did I tell you?
~Fin~
Today, something happened when I picked up the ringing phone. Something that has been happening to me more and more frequently recently, and not just with one caller.
Ring ring.
Me: 'Hello?'
Caller: 'Hello?'
Whooooawhoawhoawhoa. Time out. Stop. Hold up. Wait a minute. Let's look into the whole etiquette of phoning someone, shall we?
When you call someone, unless you've arranged a set time with someone, have a personalised ring tone (and maybe a picture that pops up if on a mobile phone) for them or they're having a transient psychic moment, the other person isn't going to know who's calling. So, when the other person picks up and they (usually) ask 'Hello?', the logical and just plain decent thing to do is reply with 'Hi, it's *blank*'.
See? Simple, quick, to the point. Maybe if you're good friends you can add a funny noise or signature sentence, or another few words of your choice- anything that lets the other person know who's calling. What you don't do when someone picks up and goes 'Hello?' is to go 'Hello?' right back.
What the hell do you mean, 'Hello?'? You're the one that called me!
See, what you've done here is to answer a question with a question- which is not only maddeningly obstructive and confusing, but could also be considered impolite. When I picked up and said 'Hello?' I wasn't just greeting you, I was also very politely asking 'Who are you?' When you ask 'Hello?' right after me, to me you're just asking 'Well, who are you?'
Don't give me that, even if I'm not the one who you expected to pick up, you know who you're after and could at very least introduce yourself.
Now, this applies even to normal people. However, I also have the added fun little bonus of being a bit 'voice blind', or whatever you want to call it. In a nutshell, I find it hard to recognise people's voices, even people who I've known for years- and over the phone I find it pretty much impossible (a real head-scratcher, because I also have absolute pitch, which means I can identify any musical note without being told what it is, or sing back a note you tell me to sing without hearing it first). Anyway, the long and short of it is, I doubly don't know who you are when you call me. In fact this became a running joke at my last job, which partially involved having good links and relationships with suppliers and staff based elsewhere over the phone; my colleagues and the others I worked with learnt that they had to go 'Hi, it's *blank*' when I picked up, or at least teasingly 'Hey Tash, guess who it is?' (I did get slightly better at recognising everyone after almost two years there- slightly, but not completely).
Like I said at the beginning, the phenomenon of picking up the phone and being met with a 'Hello?' right back has been occurring more and more recently. I can't imagine why, especially when you tend to know when you're calling a home phone number as opposed to a mobile phone number, and especially when you're family or a friend. So today, a bit fed up of this nonsense (and already in a prickly mood from being patronised by a cashier at the supermarket over a type of apple), I just 'hello-ed' right back again to see how far it would go.
As the non-conversation progressed I did begin to recognise the family member of whom the increasingly confused voice belonged to, but I stuck to it to prove my theory that they knew exactly who had picked up the phone and/ or who they wanted to speak to. Let's take it from the top (and I sh*t you not, this is exactly how the call went).
Me: 'Hello?'
Caller: 'Hello?'
Me: 'Hello?'
Caller '... Hello?'
Me: 'Hello?'
Caller: 'Er... hello?'
Me: 'Hello?'
Caller: 'Hellohellohello? Is this Tash?'
Me: 'Hello!'
Caller: 'Can I speak to your mum, please?'
What did I tell you?
~Fin~
Saturday, 22 September 2012
My Special Day
I've had quite a mixed bag sort of day- it'll work far better if I just bullet point this one or it'll be an even bigger mess.
Part 1: The Morning
Part 2: Late Morning/ Early Afternoon
Late Afternoon/ Evening
~Fin~
Part 1: The Morning
- Slip on unmopped patch of water when checking on baking muffins
- Drop half the muffins in the oven whilst slipping
- Successfully return now slightly misshapen muffins to pan but burn myself in the process
- Scald self trying to run cold water over burn because the last person to use the tap apparently ran it hot and there was still hot water in the faucet
- Leave house an hour too early after mis-reading the clock (but not yet realising it)
Part 2: Late Morning/ Early Afternoon
- Text friend that I've arrived, only to receive a confused call asking if we were meant to be meeting an hour later- I realise my watch has probably stopped since midnight the night before to make it look like the right time, I've only just noticed this at this moment, AND I must have left an hour early on top of this
- Go into Starbucks to wait for friend and don't realise that it's now become policy in the UK to call names out instead of order type
- Fail to recognise and respond to a repeated weird pronunciation of my name at the collection point ('Taaarsh' instead of 'Tash' like 'ash') whilst wondering what kind of coffee a tarsh was
- Only realise it's my name that's being called when the lady behind me pokes me politely and respond reflexively by flinging my arm up in the air and shouting "ooh, that's me!", causing Starbucks to go quiet for a few moments
- Choose a hot coffee and end up sitting by the window where the sun bakes me in my own skin whilst at first having no other table options, then feeling too awkward to poach someone else's table when they move, deciding I'd already made myself too conspicuous (and had a proper mug so I could go and take my coffee with me)
- Attempt to browse the new Primark without getting mauled by bargain hunters (I could just leave this bullet point as it is) and witness a woman with a load of clothes on hangers draped over her arms whilst wailing to her friend "this is what my life has become!!"
- Get out of Primark in one piece to meet aforementioned friend and have a beautiful lunch at Mildred's (a popular vegetarian restaurant in Soho), try not to eat all the cakes in the West End and think that the day is finally turning into a more genteel one
Late Afternoon/ Evening
- On the way to the Cake & Bake Show 2012, witness a lady walking the two biggest kitty cats I've ever seen down the street. Without a leash.
~Fin~
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