Barbie visits Amsterdam

So, I figured it was time to catch up on some of the stuff I've been up to in recent months. Whilst I was off work I did a bit of travelling with the lovely Mr B, it was great to be able to really kick back and relax and one of the places on our hit list was Amsterdam.. so we did.


We stayed in a great hotel, which was just a short wander away from some open parkland with geese friends

We saw a lot of parks...

And canals..

And bikes..

More bikes

Obviously we had to visit the sex museum, it was a good giggle - once we convinced the guy on the front desk that Mr B really was an adult (long story - but needless to say he was a sharp dude with a very dry sense of humour).  I especially loved the reactions of the other visitors, from giggling groups of girls to a young guy in the over 18+ section who was really quite shocked!

This toilet seat is broken...

Like the new punch bowl?

 Overall, we had a really great time, we are already planning another trip over in the coming months.  I'll try and take more photos next time (of everything, not just the sex museum!) 

Just a little Japanese duty free

I love Japanese food so on my way home I did just a teeny bit of shopping...

Giant Pocky - in various flavours

Tokyo Banana - squishy deliciousness

Mochi Balls...

of many varieties!

Sakura Jelly

Yuki rice cakes - sweet and savoury heaven! 

Calpis candy

More hard candy - chocolate and caramel flavour I think!

Needless to say none of this lasted long after I got home...and now I want to find a place to get some closer to home!

Best review ever

I'm planning another trip - whilst I'm off work I may as well, right?

This time, we (Mr B and I that is) are going to Amsterdam.  It's not somewhere we've been before and we are both looking forward to it.  We have some friends there who we plan to visit as well as seeing some of the sights.

So, as usual, I am doing my bit on the planning and looking in advance for things to do during our trip.  Tripadvisor is always one of my first stops for reviews on activities and tours etc so obviously I headed straight there.  One of the recommended attractions is the sex museum, so I had a quick browse through the reviews and spotted this absolute gem (only the title and the first line are relevant)....

I do love how people can draw comparisons against absolutely nothing.

Ready for the next adventure!

Before I post about Japan, I have other news...One Wednesday a few weeks ago, my workplace announced redundancies, my job was one no longer included in the company after the proposed restructure so by the following Friday I had already put in my application for voluntary redundancy.

Also by that Friday, the information of which jobs were placed at risk had leaked out and people started giving me the side-head "I'm sorry" speeches. It was a bit awkward because I'm really not unhappy about it so I responded with a cheeky grin and an explanation that I view this as the universe simply giving me a nudge to go and move on to my next adventure.

I feel like I have the whole world at my feet right now and honestly, that's quite exciting. I know that I'm lucky, I have very few commitments, so this is a great freedom for me whilst I understand that for others it could certainly feel like their world is crumbling.

A few days before I left for Japan I got called into the boss' office and they gave me the best news - My application was being accepted and I was being put on garden leave from the following Tuesday (I needed to come in and see my direct boss before I could officially go anywhere and she was off on leave).  I admit that I didn't do anything from there onward that might have constituted work for the next few days.  My team were shocked at the speed of the process (from announcement to final decision in less than a week) but it was far better for me not to have it drag on.

So now, I'm free....

I'm feeling a little odd about it, if for no other reason than I've not been unemployed since I was a teenager. 

I often said that in this situation I might consider starting my own business - I still might - I've not even started to decide yet. At the moment, I'm planning on taking a few months off and going on a couple of trips with Mr B before I really start to think about getting back to the grind. 

Goodbye 2018...Hello 4th Decade

Well, 2018 was a bit of a rough year.  Throughout most of it my geriatric cat - Tori - was very ill.  A liver condition that we knew she wouldn't recover from.  She kept going until August when it all became too much.  She followed my grandfather who also finally gave into his illness at the ripe old age of 97.  I'll admit that both of these instances left me emotionally drained and it is taking a while to build up those reserves again - but I'm working on it. 

I turned 40 at the beginning of 2019 - yeah, I can't quite believe it either.  Hopefully, my 4th decade will be as filled with growth and fun as my 3rd but I'm not quite sure it's sunk in yet (whatever "it" is - I still seem to have the mind of a teenager so I don't think I will ever grow up now!)

Anyway, to help me get back to being more...me, I have booked myself a trip to Japan and a holiday to a sunny spot with the lovely Mr B in the coming months. I know that getting back to Japan and some good training will be highly beneficial and a sunny holiday always does everyone good.  I just have to brush up on my Japanese and dig out my bikini!

I will likely have lots of upcoming ramblings about Japan after my trip - if the excitement gets to me you may get some pre-trip too! - and probably some photos of the sunny holiday (not of the bikini though - no one needs to see that)

Twisted Barbie: Karaoke Queen

I love singing.  It was my ambition to be fully professional when I was younger.  Unfortunately it didn't quite work out how my young brain had planned so the best I managed was a few support gigs and some local pubs - I still love to sing though. 

The only opportunity I get now is at Karaoke.  It's a marmite pastime, some love it some hate it, but thankfully I have a few local friends and a world full of fellow ninjas who also love it!  I occasionally drag along poor Mr B, who seems to enjoy the atmosphere but wouldn't get up to sing if I held him at gunpoint!  He claims to not be able to sing...I know differently, but to get any better he actually needs to do it more often!

Everywhere I go there seems to be karaoke arranged...

Ninjas in Berlin

Dentists in Hong Kong

Proof the Mr B does come along!

The home of Karaoke...

Proof that I do get up too!

One of the things that I enjoy about it most is the look of surprise on the face of people who don't know I sing.   I must have a terrible speaking voice as people do seem awfully shocked! The group in Hong Kong are even demanding my return simply so they can get me on the mic again...maybe I shouldn't give up on that dream after all...

2018. What happened?

Wow.  It's July in 2018 already.  Holy Cow! Where has the time gone? 

In short, I've been working. Mostly, and that doesn't really give me much to say (that I can say on the open web without getting my ass fired anyway!). 

Part of my work is a great deal of fun, I get to travel to cool and exciting places - we will get to that later - but it is also dreadfully boring on the day to day for anyone not involved so it spawns less posts (and takes up my time). 

So, since my trip to Japan, where have I been?  New Delhi, Chennai, Fuertaventura, Berlin(twice), London, Dublin, a second trip to Chennai, and Hong Kong...Phew! now I'm out of breath, that's some miles!

My family have given up on trying to work out where I am at any one time and a friend recently called and his first question was to ask if I was in Scotland...I have lived in Scotland for 13 years but he thought he should check first before driving the 500 or so miles to come see me.  

As you could guess I have tonnes of photos from all of these locations - except Berlin - Here's a whistle-stop tour...

The only two photos(publishable!) I have from two trips to Berlin...

Danish training buddies in Berlin

The Berlin Wall - it is there, honestly!

Chennai

Henna hand

Love my sari...how does it go on again?

Delhi

Big palace (it has a Name, I just can't remember!)

Fuertaventura

Dolphins from below

My new little friend

Hong Kong 

Glass bottomed cable car

Dancing lions

Hong Kong at night

See? that's a lot of travel...

I know I promise to start posting again at some point soon, maybe 2018 is the year for it huh?

Barbies Big Adventure: Godan Test

So as I mentioned, for quite a few years now I have studied a martial art.  I love it.  I can't explain why, or how it makes me feel but I really do love it. 

 I recently had the amazing opportunity to go to Japan and train.  It was my first trip over and I was excited, nervous and honestly a little apprehensive.  It was a bucket-list type of trip for me, one I've dreamed of since I started at 17.  My teacher was there for the first few days, he showed me where all the important places were and made sure I was generally settled in. 

This trip gave me the opportunity to take my godan test.  It is one of the few formal tests within the organisation and is the only way to obtain a 5th dan grade. The test itself involves being struck with - or dodging if you're doing it right - a padded sword that is being swung at you from behind.  I arrived on the Friday and made my first attempt that evening.  I think I was too amazed at simply being there to be nervous or as scared of performing badly as I was before my trip.  I and thought that failing would kill my confidence, but surprisingly, when I got hit I was okay about it. Apart from the burning line on my head!...The next day when I finally got up (my teacher had taken us all out and we didn't get home until the early hours of the morning) I realised that I needed to fail on that first attempt.  It taught me the most valuable lesson - what I was supposed to be feeling.

At the Sunday class I tried again, this time knowing what I was looking for and I passed straight away.  I can't tell you what happened, it's honestly a complete blur, all I know was that I knelt, I moved when I felt I should, then there was a shout, some clapping and people congratulating me.

The rest of the trip I attended a large number of training sessions, often getting made to show techniques in front of the class by the teacher as the newest 5th dan in the dojo.  That bit was mortifying but everyone was very nice - I know I looked petrified.  Not as much as I did on the following Friday when the grand master himself pointed at me during class and beckoned me to punch.  I know I looked terrified because people told me so afterwards...but I did it and survived to tell the tale!  Students of my grade wouldn't normally be selected for that so I feel extremely honoured, I'm probably more proud of that experience than I am of getting my grade!

Barbie bucket-list trip ahoy!

We all have a bucket-list, not necessarily a physical one but a list of those things you would love to do...one day....well recently I fulfilled one of my items on this imaginary list and went to Japan.  It wasn't really for what most people would consider a holiday, I didn't do very many(or really any) of the standard tourist type activities because I was there for one reason.  Martial Arts. One in particular, that I have been training in for more years than I usually like to admit to (it makes me feel both old and like I should be better at it by now!)

So, I took a trip to what a friend described from my holiday photos as the ass end of Japan - not meant in a bad way but when you mention a trip to Japan people automatically imagine the bright lights of downtown Tokyo - I stayed mostly in a shopping district and travelled daily to small villages that often contained not much more that a few shops, houses and a dojo.  I have a fair number of photos but I spent quite a lot of time with Hiromi who is a selfie-obsessive so I also have lots of photos that look like this...

I have another post coming soon so I can ramble specifically about the martial art bit but here is the flavour of Japan as I saw it...

Dolls for Girls Day

buildings near Mabashi

Cute little box cars

Purple bunned burger...no idea why!

If you're going to groom dogs why not in a window?

Noda shrine

From what appeared to be the pork only restaurant - after some discussions with the waitress!

Typical breakfast in my hotel

"view" from my room, this summed up the oddity of Japan, the big highrises with the little shrine nestled between

More posts will follow about this trip...if only to make me stop talking about it constantly!

There's always a drawback..

I've not been well this year...since my trip to India in January where I caught a nasty bout of india-belly I've struggled to regain any appetite or eat more than a small child in any one sitting.  Those of you who understand my love of food will know just how terrible this has been for me!  Many people have commented on the plus side of it however...that I have dropped about 4 stone (and still counting at present) without even thinking about it. I've even taking to eating higher calorie foods in order to take in a decent amount!  It's not been a  fun and healthy way to lose weight but it has had that outcome. 

So, I'd be happy about that right?...Surely thats every womans dream, to be able to eat chocolate and still lose weight..

Kinda.

Theres always some huge downsides to losing weight like this...

1. I've had to buy new clothes...OK so to most women this isnt a chore, but I'm terribly picky and have a very specific style, so clothes I like aren't always that available (or cheap!)...and I'm still shrinking so the ones I bought six months ago are already a size too big.  That sucks when you do get something you really like!

2.  It's baltic all the time! I just can't get warm and stay that way, I've been wrapped up like a yeti since the weather turned and everyone around me thinks I'm crazy...I also haven't gotten around to buying many winter clothes that fit me yet either so more shopping required! (boo hiss!)

3. I have bones...they stick out and hurt when I bump into things.  I'm pretty sure they were there before but with a helpful squishy covering to soften the bumps!

Don't get me too wrong, I'm not completely hating the weight loss, I do have a nice figure thats emerged from beneath my old insulation...I'm just writing this post as a warning to all those people out there desperate to lose weight thinking that it will be the answer to all their problems...just remember, once the weight has gone you have more fun to look forward to!

Travelling Barbie

I've never been much of a traveller.  When I was very young my parents took me to the states a couple fo times but other than that I dont remember any other family holidays.  This last year has kinda made up for that though!

At the end of august I went to Colombo in Sri Lanka.  It was pretty amazing, and I hope that I get to return at some point and see a bit more than I did this time.  It was a work expedition so time off was pretty minimal, but I managed to make the most of it anyway.   I get rather spoiled when I'm away with work as its all posh hotels and high class restaurants (not that I'm complaining at all!) but it does mean that you can get an slightly skewed perspective of a place, so I try to get out and see a little for myself too.

View from a hotel walkway...

Rainy season wasn't quite what I expected...10-20 mins of heavy downpour and then back to wonderful sunshine

My Uncle asked me to visit a temple for him...this one.  apparently it was a favourite of my grandads when he was in sri lanka...(I never knew about this until he asked me to go.  It felt kinda special to follow in the footsteps of my grandad like that)

It was a big temple!  Unfortunately closed when I went but work the hours walk anyway, I got to see a lot of local culture during that trip!

Sickening isn't it? this was the view from my hotel room iteself

The hotel gardens were beautiful too..

and I love these trees...I took more photos of trees that anything else!

I took a trip out in a tuk-tuk round some local temples, the driver took me round as a guide and it made for a really nice afternoon, one of my only real touristy moments!

The baby elephant kept at the temple was in Kandy, but they have the old one still there for prosperity...(it was stuffed but still a tad daunting as you can probably tell by the look on my face!)

This is one of my favourite photos from the trip...on the way home I decided to open the window blind when we were somewhere over the middle east and was greeted by this amazing sight