Planning!

I can’t sleep, and for some reason the only time I can
actually force myself to write something is between the
hours of midnight and 1am.

Anyway, here’s what’s new.

When I booked my flight out here, I had absolutely no
idea what I was going to do once I arrived. I just figured
I’d sit out the winter and hopefully come to some profound
conclusion regarding what to do with my life.

Well, that hasn’t happened so far, but I have decided to
come home. I need to face reality. I need a job, and I also
need to find myself a husband. And obviously I'm missing
Max too!

But FIRST I’m going to Japan for a couple of weeks! I’ve
booked a flight and all my hostels, and now I just need to
sort out my rail pass. I’m ridiculously excited.

AND I’ve also persuaded my dad to meet me in India for
a 2 week holiday including a trip to Bandhavgarh National
Park to see real life TIGERS. Ohmygod.

I’m almost out of pages in my passport, I hope I have
enough to do India and Japan.

Sooooo, this means I need an Indian visa, so I’m going
to have to spend a while in Bangkok sorting it out. This
will be the fifth visa I’ve got in Bangkok. I like to make
things complicated for myself.

These two trips are dominating my life right now, you
have no idea how difficult planning these things from
Thailand in a short space of time can be. I mean, I
managed to orchestrate an entire overland trip from
Vietnam to St Petersburg from Thailand. I’m badass. 

I’m thinking I should organise holidays for a living, I
freaking love it.

In other news, I bought a kitchen knife, and it’s incredible.
What I didn’t realise was that it was double edged, and I
couldn’t work out why my hands were getting sliced to
pieces. So one side is serrated, the other side is a vegetable
knife, and the middle is a peeler. AND it has a bottle
opener. I’m bringing this guy home with me for sure.
In fact, I need to take a picture to prove how excellent
it is.

I’m not even slightly tanned. Not even A BIT. And everyone
I encounter comments on how PALE I am, and how I should
wear lots of cream. It’s annoying.

Oh yeah, I just realised I never mentioned that job I got
offered.Ha, look, I gave it a go, but when someones first
words to you are'this is not timeshare', you know you're
in for a fun time.

It was bullshit, and despite the fact that I could have earnt
A LOT of money doing it, I found it physically impossible
to pretend to act astonished and excited when tourists reveal
3 stars on their scratchcard. I never actually realised how
good these guys are at lying. And I was BAD at it, so I told
Stefan, the manager, that it wasn't for me. I half expected
him to track me down and murder me incase I reveal the
secret behind the tiny black dot on the winning scratch cards.

Tuesday

I was just riding my bike along and the car infront of me
hit a dog.

And nobody else stopped except me, so I carried it to the
side of the road. It was still alive but I think maybe it's neck
was broken. What the hell was I meant to do, nobody else
bothered to stop and I couldn't carry it on my bike, so I
just left it :( I feel bad.

Super brief post with zero emotion

So it’s now been 12 whole days since I left lovely safe
Dronfield!

Day 1 was a plane day.

Day 2 was also a plane day, but with an insane stop
over in New Delhi. I did make friends during this
though, which was nice.

Day 3 I got three hours sleep and then had another
plane day. And then I was back on Samui.

Days 4 and 5 were HOUSE days where I drove around
endlessly ringing about house for rent signs. This was
hard work AND I got really really bad sunburn on my
forehead and the back of my hands.

Day 6 was moving in day because I found a house!

Day 7 was lobster-lookalike recluse day:(

Day 8 was friend day, when brand new friends Andrew
and his bro Tom came and stayed at my house!

Day 9 was also friend day, although it was also friend
leaving day

Days 10 and 11 were exploration and internet days.
Someone fitted internet in my house, which worked
for an hour. Then stopped. Misery.

Today is day 12. Some German bloke approached me
in the supermarket and offered me a job. Swapped
numbers. I hope he rings me, I want a job! It’s for a
hotel called Dara, and they pretty much employ people
to be on the streets selling holidays to tourists. The best
thing about this is, I’d get an awesome tan. He also
invited me out with his friends tonight, winner.

It's the species disappearing...

.. all the birds fly south
In a January heat wave and a pulsing crowd

Ahh man, I have this huge gap where December is supposed to be!
I totally forgot to write anything. December tried to dissemble the
length of my working day.

December was a good month, too. I turned 24 and everything.

Well, anyways, I have a one way ticket out of here again.
January 26th is the official migration date.

My Christmas job at Toys R Us finished :( Gutted.

I've realised I have this problem where I buy multiple items
of the same thing. Recently I've been buying lots of hats,
slippers and pyjamas (this is a winter thing), but I also own
way way way too many photo frames, headbands, cameras,
and LUGGAGE.

Literally, the last 6 times I've been away, I've bought a new
bag, and I've just bought yet another one in the sales.

I decided to downsize, and bought a 50 litre backpack. This
means I can't take all my pyjamas, headbands and cameras.

I'm sure I had loads to write about, but it's late and I can't
remember anymore.

Hiii

Ummmmmm I'm only writing this because I MISS having
actual things to write about and I'm hoping some source of
inspiration will come to me as I type.

Oh man, this is gonna be difficult.

My parents have deserted me, and left me alone with a
full time job, a house and a dog. They are in ROME,
which I am highly jealous of, not least because I was
originally invited along, before they remembered they
needed a dog sitter.

It's no so bad, really, seeing as Ella and I pretty much
ignore each other. But this morning I had to get up at
6am because I have to feed her at least an hour before
I walk her (have you ever heard such rubbish? I think
my parents have this mixed up with the eating before
swimming rule) and it takes me an hour to get to work
for 9am.

And then I can't walk her before 5pm (for the same
reason) so it's DARK and I refuse to walk the streets
with her because she's your regular scavenger dog,
and it's a pain in the ass dragging her away from every
morsel of food dropped on the pavements.

So I have to go ON THE FIELD which is pitch dark
and scary! I swear I'm going to die this week, if not by
an axe murderer, then by starvation.

Hurry home parents :(

I don't think I actually have anything else to write, other
than as soon as my dole money comes through I am
buying another one way ticket out of here.

Hadrian's Wall

Soooo I completed all 84 miles of Hadrian's Wall!

I actually feel quite impressed with
myself, mainly because it got
REALLY tough at one point and it
would have been easy to quit.

But I pushed myself through it
and did it!

It sounds a bit lame, I know, cos
it was only like 15 miles a day, but
it wasn't the fact I'm totally unfit
(although that definitely
contributed), it was the evil
weather and my stupid blisters.




On day 3 and 4 we were way up on the hills, literally walking
directly into the clouds. So it meant we got soaking wet and were
walking against really strong winds. My feet were drenched, which
meant my plasters wouldn't stay on my blisters. I had to limp along
like a little old lady with my head down. I was the most miserable
person in the history of the world.

But, I swear to god some guardian angel kept planting puppies along
the route to keep me going.

My favourite night was when we stayed at a farm bunkhouse. There
was a little den with a roaring fire, and other people to talk to! A couple of
lads who were doing the entire 84 miles in 3 days, and another Australian
guy who was also pushing himself pretty damned hard. It was good to know
there were other people with blisters and wet feet!

Plus, the farmer and his wife were the most eccentric people I ever met.
Crazy posh accents and you should see their house!















Plus there was a labrador puppy which kept me amused for about 15
minutes, before he stole my shoes and sliced my arms up.




















Annnnnywayy, with this week done and dusted I literally have to start
thinking, now what?

Do I stay or do I go?

Back from Greece

I got back from Rhodes yesterday! I seriously needed
a holiday. This sounds ridiculous, but honestly, you
don't know the half of it!

A week of sunshine was nice. I did drink too much
though, but it was still good to get away again.

We went to a silent disco which was amazing!

Everyone wears headphones and there were 2
DJ's so we could swap channels. It's the funniest
thing ever, taking your headphones off and listening
to everyone singing and dancing along to different
things.

I haven't even unpacked yet and already I have to
pack a different bag and a different set of clothes
for Hadrian's Wall tomorrow morning. I'm really
looking forward to getting away with my dad for
a week and not having to worry about anything.

Except blisters, I guess.

I have about a million things bothering me right now,
and I think walking from one side of the country to the
other might possibly be the perfect cure!

I suppose writing about them could help, but getting my
thoughts into any kind of order or making them
understandable is too much effort right now. Maybe later.

What I will say, though, is that if you worked your ass off
through college and university, if you saved every single
penny you ever earnt since you were 10 years old, with the
single ambition of being able to live a portion of your life the
way you always dreamed, and you go ahead and do everything
you ever said you'd do, or hoped you'd do, or wished you'd do,
then that is an acheivement and no one can say otherwise.

And whatever that dream is, whether it be to have a family,
or become a doctor or lawer, or a hairdresser or a writer or
a mechanic, or to travel, or even just to be happy with who
you are and what you do, then it still counts.

What isn't an acheivement, is settling for what you believe
you've been dealt by some fate, or god, or social unfairness.

If you don't take control, what is the point?