The Kebab Hangover from Hell!

Thursday 6th May and Friday 7th May

Today I had my first hang over! Now before everyone starts freaking out, it wasn’t an alcohol related hangover, it was a Kebab related hangover! I didn’t even know that this was possible, but it’s the morning after the QUB Dance Showcase and I feel beyond rough! It was a miracle that I made it out of my bed and onto the train – I managed to miss my lecture but I just about made it to tutorial... It was touch and go when I was on the train, I truly thought that I was going to CHUNDER EVERYWHERE.YAH. (I hope everyone got the Gap Yah reference there, if no then please Youtube it so you can fully appreciate what I’m talking about)


After my tutorial I really should have went home, crawled into bed and slept off the mother of all Kebab Hangovers, but instead I paid 71C a wee visit. The occupants of 71C are my good chums Rachael Crilly and Rachel Davis, two vital members of Surf Club, who are collectively known as Cravis. Unfortunately Rachel “hardcore” Davis was at the library so I was chillin’ with Rachael “hung-over” Crilly and what a day we had! Crilly very kindly introduced me to an American style restaurant called Springsteen’s (goodbye student loan, hello gigantic potions of yummy food) where we spent a considerable period of time. When we rolled out of Springsteen’s, we decided that a trip to the cinema would be an excellent idea – sitting in a dark room, nursing my Kebab Hangover and Crilly’s Double Vodka and Redbull Hangover may not be an effective cure, but it sure is fun! We saw The Joneses, which was actually quite good – it was different and quirky, subtly funny and it had a very interesting message about consumerism. It’s one of those movies that you’ll think about for days to come, you might even re-evaluate some of your personal opinions/views/goals... or... you might forget about it as soon as it finished. Each to their own!



Today was one of those lovely one off days... or was it? Clearly it wasn’t. In fact, the next day I gave Crilly a ring and we went back to Springsteen’s, ate some yummy food and then we came back to Bangor to meet Davis and watch Iron Man. Cravis had never seen the movie (which had to be paused a few times in order to explain what was happening) but I think they enjoyed it. Actually, I know they enjoyed it. They’re a very vocal team and they managed to express every emotion/thought that they had during the movie. When Iron Man finished we headed over to Bangor Omniplex (not to be confused with a Multiplex) to see Iron Man 2 – yes, that’s right, two helpings of Robert Downey Jr. in one day. His face was literally sculpted by the angels and sent to us women as a gift from God. Well, perhaps that’s exactly accurate, but I think you get the picture; Robert Downey Jr. is a complete Babe! I actually really enjoyed the movie and I obviously enjoyed Cravis. They’re top notch girls and I’m actually quite glad I met them, even if they Fraped me in my own home ;)



Xx

Did that really just happen?

Wednesday 5th May

But really, did that actually just happen? Did I just purchase a Belfast Giant? Are you confused yet? Let me explain... The QUB Dance Society put on a showcase that a few Surf Clubbers attended and part of the night was an auction. Yes that’s right, a slave auction where you objectify people by placing bids on them. My dear brother, the Captain of the QUB Surf Club and his right hand man/Co-Captain Stephen Friel were the first ones to be auctioned off and they achieved a grand total of £65 – well done boys; you sold your “surf expertise” for a very respectable sum! In fact, they were only beaten by the Belfast Giant that Crilly and myself purchased for the bargain price of *cough*£80*cough*... Dad, don’t have a heart attack , that’s only £40 each and it includes a lesson on the ice, a chance to meet the team and four tickets to an actual match. Like I said, bargain. I truly see this as an investment as does Crilly, who wrote in her fantastic Blog that “once those giants see me and are instantaneously blown away by my charm and natural flair on the ice, I figure at least one of them are bound to fall in love with me! It will be no time before I become Mrs Belfast Giant and that £40 will seem like pocket change.” Genius? I think so...





After our exciting auction we hit up the after party, which was a 90s themed discotheque. The Backstreet Boys + Five + the Macarena + the original Gina G + some Surf Club legends = A very good night! When we eventually left we stopped by Gucci Chip, which might be lovely during the day, but at 2.00 a.m it is a bad choice. That “kebab chillin’ in my tummy” feeling will haunt you for days, causing a “food hangover” that cannot be cured. Ever. All in all, a very eventful night – Dance Club, you did well, you might be the second coolest club, right after Surf Club; the funnest club in Queens!



Xx

A Holiday, for Banks? Well that’s nice...

Saturday 1st – Monday 3rd May



Don’t you just love it when the banks take a wee holiday? Yes the economy is in ruins, which may or may not be your fault, but hey, everyone needs a holiday so I’m not complaining! I decided to make the most of this extended weekend and I decided to get my outdoor pursuit on by going wakeboarding and camping! Last week I gave wakeboarding a go and I wasn’t very good, in fact, I was rubbish – my mind couldn’t grasp the concept of letting the boat pull you out of the water, so I was trying to pull myself up too early, which resulted in a few graceful face-plants. However, it was a week on and I was determined to master the art of wakeboarding – I’m not a pro (yet) but I kicked the learning bar’s ass and then I proceeded to destroy the rope by standing on my first go. Like I said, I’m not a pro but I can stand and move about and there were far fewer face-plants, so I’m very happy. So happy that I’ll finish this paragraph with a smiley face :)



While the wakeboarding on Lake Muckno was really great, it was the “camping” that made the trip! We had planned to sleep in tents, but that plan lasted for about five minutes and we decided to sleep in the club house. As a true camper I only brought a sleepingbag – thankfully there were some sensible people who brought blow up beds. Now the Surf Clubbers enjoy the art of spooning, in fact, it’s not a Surf Club weekend until some spooning (forget about Surfing) occurs – this trip was no different. Our numbers may have been fewer, but we still managed to have five in a bed, spooning/suffocating each other. We had tickle fights, raspberries on tummies and pile-ons :) A vast amount of alcohol was consumed (apparently the young’uns like shots of Sainsbury’s own brand Cider) and very little sleep was had! The next day the boys rose nice and early, with Mikel resembling a child on Christmas morning, so eager to open presents/wakeboard that he wakes everyone up. Crilly and I decided that our time was much better spent in bed, so that’s where we stayed, until we were actually asked to leave at about 2.00 p.m :)





Surf Club weekends are the best – we visited a nice local pub, had a lovely sleep over which included spooning, a day of wakeboarding, a beautiful Sunday Dinner and far too much fun :) I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Surf Club is my absolute favourite!



After my very eventful weekend with the Surf Clubbers I spent my Monday chillin’ with the YSA on the North Coast! Obvioulsy JJ and I were late, but we met everyone at the Giant’s Causeway, had a little chat, walked around a bit, caught some rays, had some lunch and then spent the rest of the day on the beach around a campfire! Sunny days on the beach with good people and good music are why I love summer... It was lovely to see all my chums and it was lovely to see the Sun – Hello Mr. Tan, I’ve been expecting you!



Xx

I got 99 problems but a babe ain’t one.

Tuesday 20th April & Wednesday 21st April

Do you like the title? I thought of it all by myself. Not really. Emma Joanne Wood actually told me about this phrase, but before you give her a little round of applause, I feel that you should know that she didn’t come up with it either. A friend of hers used this as their team name during a pub quiz - she passed this information on to me and I chose to make use of it. I think it’s particularly fitting given my love of babes. But I’ll get back to that later!

Today began as a fairly lazy day, involving a lovely lie-in and the wearing of pyjamas. When I finally dragged myself out of bed I gave the British Embassy a ring to see what the craic was – apparently all the cool kids were paying 200 Euros to get a bus from Geneva to London Gatwick... Did I mention that this bus was leaving in less than three hours and I was still in my pyjamas? After a quick phone call home we decided to go for the ridiculously expensive bus and we got packing! We made it to the airport on time, only to discover that our bus wouldn’t leave until 6.00 p.m – the driver was probably a Frenchy, thus explaining the three hour delay. Our little group managed to commandeer the back row, so we were all close to each other, which really helps when you’re on a 16 hour bus journey through three countries! What also helps is a friend with a Macbook full of Disney movies and Glee episodes – I ran the risk of contracting Ginger-itis, but watching Glee and The Little Mermaid made that a risk I was willing to take. (Please note that Eric from The Little Mermaid is my new favourite Disney character – Prince Eric, giving women unrealistic expectations since 1989).



The bus journey actually went quite quickly and we were chillin’ in London Gatwick by 9.00a.m on Wednesday morning! As we’d just missed the next bus to Belfast we went to the easyjet desk and asked about the possibility of getting a flight from Gatwick to Belfast. Thanks to the lovely lady at the desk we managed to get on the 9.00p.m flight to Belfast (and it was totally free – easyjet, if you’re reading this, you’re pure beaut and I will never doubt you again/the next time I’ll just wait in Geneva for a few extra hours, saving myself 200 Euros and two days of travel time). Eventually we were allowed to board and soon we were on our way back to Belfast. Obviously I made it back alive and that’s all you need to know really!

Now, on to the interesting stuff – the Attractive Man Count! Before our bus had even left Geneva the count had reached 99, proving that Geneva is full of hotties and that airports are the places to be! When we were on the bus the count couldn’t increase, but it went through the roof when we hit Gatwick – I actually had to stop counting! I’m seriously considering investing in one of those little Lynx clicker thingys! So anyway, this is my theory – airports are full of men that are travelling for business or leisure purposes. If they are on their own and travelling for business then they must have plenty of money and “it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife”. The single men who are travelling for leisure purposes must have the resources to do this and even if they don’t, well travelled people are super interesting. Did I ever tell you about that time on my Gap Yah? Anyway, I digress – what I’m trying to say is that airports are the place to be! They’re full of attractive men (and probably women, but I wasn’t looking for them) and even if you actually have a life and don’t spend all your time counting attractive men, airports are still great for people watching, which is something that everyone loves :) Jack Johnson even wrote a song about it – it’s called People Watching (duh) and it’s really great, so give that a wee listen!



I feel that I should probably have some sort of conclusion to this Genevan Adventure... I don’t really know what to say, other than I had a really amazing time! Switzerland is a really beautiful country – it’s neat and tidy, everything is on time, the people are attractive, the weather is lovely and even though they all speak French, I would definitely go back! The volcano was a little set back, but we managed to get through it without too much stress (well, for me anyway, I was loving being stuck in Switzerland). We survived a good nine days without anyone throwing a punch or pulling hair, which is quite an achievement given the sharing of a bathroom and hairdryer! There was plenty of bonding time and I think that we all grew a lot closer - now I’m back it feels strange waking up and not having them around! I’m really glad we went on this little adventure – mucho thanks to Emma Joanne Wood for having us (you’re the only Frenchy I will ever love) and a big thanks to all the girls for making it so much fun! I only have one question – where to next?

Xx

P.S Attractive Man Count has stopped now that I’m back in the homeland – but Gatwick really helped boost the numbers into the hundreds! Ahh, Babes, you really stepped up your game this week! I look forward to my next European adventure!

Monday or should I say, Sun-day.

Monday 19th April

No, because that would cause a great deal of confusion. What I was trying to imply was that today was a lovely sunny day. We had a fairly laid back day (do you see a pattern emerging?) that consisted of packing (just in case) and sunbathing (because we can). I was truly in my element and I even managed to take a little jaunt to the shop to buy niceys. I have developed a real fondness for grape juice, the un-fermented type that is. It’s fast becoming my new favourite – pure orange juice (without the bits) should really watch out. I also bought foreign crisps because they’re just nicer, vast quantities of Swiss chocolate, because it’s just nicer and some crusty bread, because... it’s just nicer. It’s also a super cool European/holiday thing to do – eating crusty bread while you walk home. Maybe it’s not super cool, but it’s one of those things that you just have to do.

So basically I spent the entire day sunbathing/packing/eating food. We did spent a good bit of time on the BBC website, getting updates about the volcano and the various airlines, but it would take too much effort to write everything down, including the emotions. It was quite exciting really – getting all the updates, finding out we couldn’t fly, hearing rumours that the flights would be cancelled for weeks to come. It was like I was in Taken, except I hadn’t been taken and Liam Neeson wasn’t my ex-C.I.A father with a particular set of skills he had acquired over a very long career, who was coming to rescue me from sex traffickers. In fact, it was nothing like Taken. It was more like, “This one time I went to Geneva with some friends from Anthropology and our flights were cancelled, leaving us stuck in Geneva for a few extra days, which was actually really pleasant as the weather was perfect, the accommodation was free and the people were lovely and also attractive”. One day I will elaborate on the experience or maybe I’ll wait until they make a movie about it. Now that’s a movie I would pay to see. Over and out!

Xx

P.S The Attractive Man count did not increase today, mainly because I spent the day in a semi-conscious state while sunbathing. But that’s ok. You can’t have everything in life and today I chose to sacrifice my viewing pleasure in order to work on my tan, which will, in turn, improve the viewing please of others when the look at me. It’s the circle of life really. In fact, I’m pretty sure that’s what Mufasa was talking about.

Miracles Can Happen.

Sunday 18th April

Ah, Sunday. The day of rest. Or in my case, the day of rising early in order to take a 40CHF taxi to an English speaking church somewhere in Geneva. I feel that I’ve described my entire day in that one short sentence - I got up early and then I took a taxi to church. Feel free to stop reading right now. If you have decided to continue reading, you will discover that... going to new churches is one of my favourite things to do. When I say “new churches” I don’t mean a different religious organisation, I just mean a Mormon church, but in a different country. The big things are the same – the churches look fairly similar and each week, no matter what country you are in, the Sunday school lessons are the same. Buuuuut there are still some big differences. Each church tends to have something unique, its own character I suppose. The people are the same, but different (if that makes any sense) but they’re usually very kind. The people in New Zealand amazed me with how welcoming they are, which is really nice when you are away from home and completely alone. The Americans, not so much. No offence to my lovely friends (that’s for all you Orem residents) but American people usually express a great interest at first, but with little follow through – I suppose you could say they are superficial, at least in the welcoming and fellowshipping sense. I don’t know if that’s unique to my church, or if it’s just one of those things. Any thoughts? I feel that I should also say that while there are a great deal of “superficial” people, there are some really lovely people who would truly go out of their way for you – that is one of the things I really love about my church, that the people can be so genuine and caring – it makes me want to be a nicer, more approachable person! I suppose there is always a mix of good and bad, but overall my experience has been a good one (not including Singles Wards – do not even get me started on those bad boys, they’re quite the experience!) and again, you Orem-ites (?) are lovely :)

Just another really strange thing that I always notice is how the hymn selection changes in each country – in Northern Ireland we sing songs that are hardly ever sung in America or New Zealand (and now I can add Geneva to that list). Obviously this isn’t always the case, some songs will always be sung, regardless of the country you are in, but I just find it interesting that each place has their own favourite hymns. But that’s enough about that.

After church I got the bus home – what an adventure! Emma very kindly gave me instructions. In fact, she planned my entire journey; she even drew me a map with a picture of me getting off the bus, just in case I forgot. She also included some French phrases, some helpful and some not so helpful! I’m sure that at some point we looked at our various options for getting home, but all I remember is good food and good company! I could definitely get used to being stranded in Geneva!

Xx

P.S Attractive man count reached 94 today – I’m sure there were a great deal more roaming the streets of Geneva and normally I would have spotted them through the bus windows, however, I was so petrified that I would miss the bus stop and end up in Poland (or heaven forbid, France) that I was focused entirely on the task of finding the right bus stop!

P.P.S Miracles can happen is a reference to the fact that I was in church before it actually started. Yes, I can be in church early – I just need to be in an entirely different country.

Oh Eyjafjallajökul, what have you done?

Saturday 17th April

Well, today was supposed to be our last day in Switzerland! You’ve probably picked up on the use of “supposed to be” – that’s because we didn’t actually leave! If you’ve been keeping up with the news (and I presume you have been, because this news has been pretty hard to miss), you’ll know that a big old volcano in Iceland went bang. I would go into detail, but that requires far too much effort – all you need to know is that all flights to and from the U.K were suspended. Google Eyjafjallajökul for more information. Or use Bing. Or any other search engine. I must admit that I’m still a Googler (Google-er?) at heart, but this choice is entirely your own.

So yes. Volcano. Suspended flights and all that jazz. We basically spent our Saturday trying to find a way home – I however, thought that my time would be better spent sunbathing. So that’s exactly what I did. I’m really getting quite good at – in fairness I’ve been training for a good few years. I think I’m ready to go pro. If you don’t believe me then ask Emma’s neighbours – I bet they didn’t expect to find a sunbather in the communal garden, but what a lovely surprise they had :)

I’m sure that I’ve left a lot out – mostly details about delayed flights and alternative methods of transport, but that’s all really quite boring. All you need to know is that the day involved sunshine, sunbathing, yummy food, the collective viewing of Over the Rainbow, vast amounts of chocolate and at some point, sleep.

Xx

P.S – I have, for some reason recorded that the Attractive Man Count was at 90 by the end of Saturday. As I didn’t actually leave the house I find this hard to believe. The anthropology girls are good looking, but I’m pretty sure that they don’t equate to 23 attractive men. What I think has happened is that I’ve recorded the hotness in the wrong day. Let’s not argue about semantics – all you need to know is that Switzerland is full of babes and they keep getting better every day!