Gabby's Blog

Spain

I decided to put this on my list and have it be one of the first tasks I did this year after being told by various people that they always feel like they have to ‘push’ me to socialise or to go out and do things. I therefore decided to do this, firstly, just because I needed to get away from everyone and everything and have a break and secondly, because I needed to put myself out there and talk to people and make new friends without having others around me for me to ‘hide’ behind and do the talking for me. I figured that throwing myself in at the deep end would give me the motivation that I needed!

So armed with my passport, a bottle of suntan lotion and five bikinis, I took a flight by myself all the way to sunny Spain (Ok, so it’s not really that far, but it's a start!). It was the first time that I had been on a plane since I arrived in England exactly 20 years ago, and the experience was very exciting for me, if a little nerve-wracking! (especially since the plane was filled with drunk chavs going on their holidays to Benidorm!).

There’s not really much to say about the holiday itself. My cousin showed me around the first day that I was there and after that, I was left more or less to my own devices once I had acclimatised myself. I spent most of my time either, sightseeing, lounging by the pool or sunbathing and exploring all the wonderful beaches and nooks and crannies of Spain.

As some of you know, it was on the beach during a party where I met the lovely Vargas brothers (and cousin) and where I had possibly, the most fun I’ve had in a very long time thanks to Enrique. No one has ever made me feel so desirable or made laugh so much in such a long time. He and his family took me under their wing while I was there, introduced me to their friends, showed me around, and generally made me feel very welcome and at home. I feel like I really did make some new friends, and I think, thanks to Enrique, I will forever be known as ‘La Reina Divina’! Hopefully, I will be seeing them all again next year…

Here's a photo of some of the chums I made that were at the beach party. The photo was taken at a water park next to the beach where the party was held, hence the enormous fibreglass elephant. In that photo, Enrique is the one without a t-shirt on... and I think we can all see why Mr Calvin Klein likes him so much!

Cornwall

Last year, I had three weddings to go to (one in Devon, one in Northern Ireland, and another one in Northumberland) and I didn’t go to a single one as I was too scared to go by myself. This year, I was invited to one wedding and I decided not to be so chicken and go by myself. (Why should I be stopped from doing things that I want to do because I don’t have someone else to do them with? If I did that all the time, I would get very little done!) So again, I got on a another plane by myself and flew all the way to sunny Cornwall (somewhere I have always wanted to visit) and participated in a very long wedding weekend.

I spent my time going to rehearsal dinners, wedding breakfasts, surfing lessons, golfing lessons, boat trips and sight-seeing tours - all with people I had never met before. (I only knew the bride, her sisters and her parents). I ‘felt the fear’ and mingled with complete strangers and after a while, it was not as scary as I had always anticipated it to be. (I don’t really know what I have always been so scared of! Maybe it was just the fear of being judged badly, but I’m no worse and no better than anybody else, so I really had nothing to be scared of). By the end of the trip, I had been invited to visit various people in London and Cornwall (which I have accepted), I got offered a job in London (this is still tentative), and I had a genuine offer of marriage (which was politely declined!).

While I was there, I did also manage to do some sightseeing and exploring by myself. I took the ferry from Rock and visited Padstow, a very touristy village, now made famous by chef Rick Stein and his fish restaurant. I did get to eat some of his famous fish and chips (along with numerous Cornish pasties) and they were the best fish and chips I have ever tasted! They definitely deserve the hype that surrounds them and I recommend them if you’re ever in the area.

Here I am 'sightseeing' in Padstow (apologies for the hair, but it was very windy that day!)

If you don't like dogs, however, I recommend not going to Padstow as there are probably more dogs in that village than there are people! I don’t think I have ever seen so many dogs in my life! The strangest sight was seeing an old lady walking a collie cross and pushing an old-fashioned Victorian pram with a chihuahua in it. I wanted to take a photo of her, but she was too close to me, and she reminded me of the crazy cat lady from The Simpsons, so I thought it best not to.

Here's the ferry master's dog, a spaniel who always came of his master's hut to greet everyone that came by to buy a ticket.

Also, if you don't like seagulls, I recommend not going to Padstow either...

Overall, it was a very good trip which I enjoyed immensely and which I feel allows me to cross ‘Going on holiday by myself’ off my list as the trip fulfilled its purpose of getting me out there and doing things for myself and by myself, without anybody else’s help.

Some other bits...

- My parachute jump has finally been scheduled for the third of October 2009 and I can't wait! I'm very much looking forward to this!

- Out of the 60 books I have to read, I have so far read seven. They are:

Feel the fear and do it anyway - Susan Jeffers
Three men in a boat - Jerome K Jerome
Art of Living - K L Handa ( a book which merited being read again)
Art of Living: Volume 2 - K L Handa (as above)
The Shell Seekers - Rosamunde Pilcher
Animal Tropical - Pedro Juan Gutierrez
A short history of tractors in Ukranian - Marina Lewicka

- I have also been to the following new cafes/restaurants:

Cafe 21
Piccolinos
Cafe Vivvo
Great Coffe
Costa @ Northumberland St
Eye on the Tyne
Cafe Mal
La Floridita
Pitcher & Piano
Cafe Royal

I've always been a bit suspicious of people who have blogs. I've never really understood why they'd think other people would be so interested in their lives when their lives are probably not that interesting to begin with.

There are two main reason for this blog. The first one being that most of my close friends are not all in the same place, and rather than repeating what I have been up to, I figured that they could just come here and see what is new.

The second, and the main reason for this blog is that there are so many things that I want to do but I always procrastinate and in the end, I end up doing nothing and wishing that I had. Well, I say no more to that!I don't want to keep looking at other people and wishing I was doing all the things that they are doing. I will be making lists of all the things I want to do and actually doing them. And I am going to put those lists on here so that people know about them and that way, there is no way for me to back down and not do them! I'm hoping this blog will give me the motivation to do all the things I want to do.

I set myself a few tasks this summer and so far my list is as follows (Some tasks are rather silly, some are a bit dull, and some will sound odd to some people, but the thought of actually doing them scares the hell out of me!):

- Go on holiday by myself. (I have done this already, and will do this again in the next week or so too!)

- Pass my driving test. (I am half way through this task.I have passed my theory (I got 50/50 for the multiple choice, and a shameful 46/75 for the hazard perception test, which is two marks more than I needed to pass)and hopefully, in six weeks time, I will have passed my practical test. Here's hoping luck is on my side this time because I am still a terrible driver!)

- Do a parachute jump. (This is just something I have always wanted to do!)

- Read all the books that I have in my room that I have bought and never read. (I have counted, and there are 60 in total that I still need to read. Now, 60 books may not seem like a lot of books, but it is a lot of books to have bought and not read)

- Create a reading list and read all the books that I have always wanted to read. (This might take me a while! And obviously, I will have do to this after I have read the 60 books that I still need to read)

- Talk to at least 10 random strangers every week. (Some people will probably find this really easy, but I find talking to strangers terrifying and I hope that once I start making small talk with random strangers, I won't find it so scary to talk to friends of friends, people I have appointments with, etc)

- Learn to walk in high heels. (Now, I can actually walk in high heels. I just can't walk in them without looking like i've pooed myself! Also, I need to stop thinking of myself as a little girl, and start thinking of myself as a woman (and a grown up!). I'm not saying high heels are going to help me do this, but it is a start!)

- Take dancing lessons. (I've got rhythm, and I can dance (sort of). I just want to learn some moves so that I feel a bit more confident on the dance floor!)

- Go horse riding again. (I haven't been on a horse since I was nine and this is just something I loved doing and which I miss and that I want to do again)

- Overcome my fear of birds. (I'm not totally scared of birds, but I do find them a bit creepy. I'm planning to overcome my fear of birds by going on a falconry course. I figured once I've handled the biggest and scariest birds, all the other birds won't seem as scary!)

- Read all of Shakespeare's plays. (So far, I have read around 5 or 6, but I want to read them all. And understand them! Hmm. Methinks this task might take me a while...!)

- Eat at (or at least have a drink in) every cafe/pub/restaurant in Newcastle.

- Improve my Spanish, French and Portuguese. (Some of these languages I speak better than other, and some I speak fluently, but there is still a lot I don't know and that I have to learn. I'm hoping to one day speak as many languages as my dad (which was five). I'm not sure up to what level I want to improve my language skills though. Maybe up to the point where I can read a foreign novel without reaching for the dictionary...?

- Finish my MPhil. (Technically, this task is already completed (i've had my viva and passed), but I won't consider it finished until I have that diploma in my hand!)

- Stop doing crap jobs that I hate and finally figure out what it is that I want to do with myself. (I don't want a job. I want a career. I want to do something which I look forward to doing every day and I want to make something of myself. Again, I think this might take me a while...)

Well, that's all I have so far. It's not much, but it's a start! I will think of more things to do as I progress through and complete this list. If anyone has any more suggestions for me of things I could/should do, please email me.