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.

“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:

Hallgrímskirkja 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.

RE Possibly Having a Bona Fide Heart Attack...

My results came back today. Tissue damage to my heart and chemicals in my blood indicate that:

a) I probably have pneumonia

b) I actually may have had a blood clot after all

c) I definitely have had a severe allergic reaction to a medication my GP insisted I couldn't possibly be allergic to

and

d) I definitely have/ had a, b or even both, as well as c.

As you can imagine, I'm not to thrilled about the less than concrete diagnosis, and even less thrilled that the options are, well, potentially deadly.

In any case, I'm not dead, and although I'm still suffering some symptoms I'm far from those couple of nights when I felt like I was actually dying (the 'joke' is that I was closer than I or the doctors thought).

So. I am now being treated for pneumonia, and I'm having another X-ray done- but in a week's time. The potential blood clot is being ignored and labled as 'probably unlikely', and the allergy is not being officially tested for- despite it being a common type of antibiotic that I may need to be aware of in the future.

The reason why I'm being treated in such a blasé manner? It' s because I'm young and (otherwise) fit. Long story short, I actually went to hospital over a week ago (you know, when I thought I might be dying) and suggested tests for both pneumonia and heart failure. I more or less got laughed at. I was refused an X-ray, and it took another trip to convince my doctor that I needed one. And whadayaknow, it turns out I was- very unfortunately- correct.

In any case... not a great start to 2014. However in a few days I am off to Reykjavik with a friend and I can't wait! I just have to remember to take it easy. My doctor said I should be fine to go.

Then again, my doctor has said a lot of stuff...

Pause: Rewind: Reflect.

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

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

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

Mad/ funny highlights:

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

Fun highlights:

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

Achievement highlights:

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


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

Things to look forward to in 2014 so far

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

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

Happy New Year! xxx

Tube Troubles: Unsolicited Drunken Contact

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

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

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

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

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

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

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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

Sarcasm Done Right: Today on the Tube

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

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

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

In Which I Act Uncharacteristically Starry-Eyed

As my train pulled into Euston underground station, I stood up and made my way to the doors. The doors opened, and I found myself standing in the direct eye line of a rather good-looking guy. We stared each other for the longest two seconds ever, and quickly diverted our gazes, embarrassed. I dodged out of the way of the oncoming crowd of people who were waiting to board the train with this guy, whilst I hopped off. As I sidled past him, I stole one last glance, as if to make sure he really existed.

I caught him red-handed in his own second-glance at me, just before we were both buffeted apart by the tide of the crowd.

Utterly disorientated, I turned around, walked straight into a wall and then proceeded to walk in the wrong direction.

The train, of course, left (and a few minutes later I found myself on the wrong platform having come to from my daze).

The unusual thing about this story is that I never act like this. This has never happened to me before- even in my last long-term relationship (RIP) it took me almost a full year to fully realise that I had come to be in love my friend rather than just love him in the platonic sense. Sure I can admire good looks when I see them, but I never go ga-ga over it. I don't even this this guy was what you'd call classically handsome or beautiful, or even particularly striking. But something about this guy caught my attention a couple of nights ago, and apparently him too. I didn't even have anything on my face- I checked afterwards just to make sure.

Well, all else I can say this: even though I still don't really believe in true love at first sight, I think I'll be more lenient about the idea of attraction at first sight- and I'll carry on hoping that no-one saw me walk into that wall. Especially not that guy,

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.)