Christmas 2017 Events...

Merry Christmas Eve!

December is always a busy month so I thought I would ramble about a lot of events that happened for me in December! This doesn't represent everything that has happened this month but thought I would go into detail with the main and most memorable events. I have been building this blog post in the drafts for the past 3 weeks, all these events have happened within the last 3 weeks and considering I work 40 hour weeks, I'd say I have been rather busy!

This is an extremely long diary type post, so if you don't like these then this post is not for you but personally I love making these and looking back on these posts in the future! And if you don't make it to the end of this extremely long post, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! The reason why I have decided to blog today is because I have caught a bit of a cold, sore throat and I just feel sick, so I am in bed all of today to hopefully feel better for Christmas which is tomorrow and so exciting!

At the beginning of the month, myself and Jordan went to a panto to support friends who were starring in the panto. The panto was Cinderella, one of my favourite fairy tales and we knew the girl playing Cinderella and the guy playing Buttons. We also wanted to check it out as Jordan has agreed to be in the next panto, which is Madness and it is being shown for a week in May. Anyway, we headed down to support and it was actually an amazing show, much better than we both expected! Highlights included Jordan receiving a hug from the ugly stepsister and being dragged up onstage (he was deliberately targeted but him rather than me!), and we all got soaked by the ugly stepsisters by water guns which was fun! And I had to go up as well as I had won the raffle prize of Marks and Spencer dark chocolates, which I will be giving to my grandparents for Christmas as they love dark chocolate!

Love a good bathroom selfie when drunk!

Next event was the Christmas London do for our team at work, which was on a Tuesday. We always have a London Christmas do and this was my second one, the first was alright but it was a bit unorganised with the table tennis element of the evening. So I was looking forward to this one more, I had to go into work for one hour in the morning and I had an absolutely awful day the day before. Everything I did just went wrong, it was definitely one of those days for me. I dreaded that hour as I needed to get some work done but it wasn't working out right and I felt like giving up. We had to leave at 10am to walk to the train station and catch the train, we arrived with a bit of time to spare so I managed to get myself a bottle of water. I then went on my phone on the train and started feeling sick on the train, which wasn't so good. I've never been train sick before! Once we were off the train, it was all ok as the fresh air was a life saver.

We then walked to the bowling place, which was called All Star Lanes on Brick Lane which was a 10 minute walk from the train station and we waited a good half an hour for everyone to arrive, so we started ordering our own drinks so I got a usual Rekorderlig and told myself not to drink too much. That worked out so well. We had wine on the table and like last year, I was mixing drinks, but this wine went to my head quickly. I was very happy as I managed to sit next to my team in my hometown, which meant I was more comfortable in the situation... I can get quite awkward in these type of situations but I got lucky as conversations were funny and we all had a laugh. Then the most embarrassing moment of the evening happened... our newer apprentice somehow spilt red wine over his white Ralph Lauren shirt! Which I later found out cost around £100! So he went off to a charity shop next door and bought a black checked shirt for £10, which actually looked nicer than the white one! Anyway, to the food. It honestly weren't the best. Most of us had the Christmas Burger. However, this burger was literally drowning in cranberry sauce. I don't like cranberry sauce anyway, but I managed to eat just over half of it but I had to leave it as it got way too sweet for me. Dessert was also a let down. White Rocky Road bars sounded nice on the menu. When we received them... they looked like two tiny breakfast bars and tasted worse than I expected. Me and my manager were like "what is this?!?" as we both didn't like them. At this point I could have definitely had more food at that point and the wine was kicking in. God knows how many full glasses I had, I just know I definitely had over a bottle over the course of the night.

My phone was taken!!

 We then moved over to bowling where I held the bowling balls wrong, managed to somehow score a strike and lose dramatically. I also got another Rekorderlig bought for me, which was incredibly nice and I stole a couple of paper umbrellas from the bar to make my drink look more pretty. We then socialised for a bit, selfies were took (I didn't want to add them to this post for privacy reasons of my other team members), arm wrestles were taking place, more wine was being drunk. It was really nice and chill, and then we got to the point of discussing about going home. And I realised how bad I really was... the night ended with us shouting bye to everyone, my manager shoving a bottle of more wine in my bag for the train journey, and me attempting not to fall over. One of the men literally had to help me get through the crowded restaurant and down Brick Lane, where there were all these men shouting at us making us go into their restaurants. Drunk Amy wasn't having that though, as I was shouting back saying "No thank you we have already eaten!" and they left us alone! My god, I can't even remember what I said really for the whole journey, nor the way back. I feel so bad for the people who I was on the train with, there were 5 of us in our team and I was easily the loudest and most tipsiest (note to self: don't get like this on the other one next week), and we also had Mcdonalds to help us survive the journey, as well as this wine that was snuck in my bag. Finally we arrived back and I got home safely!

Bonnie, snuggled up in my coat!

Next event was my friends homecoming party which was on the Friday. Basically with this friend, when I first met him, he was about to move out to Oxford in a caravan and now he is finally returning. So we had a get together to celebrate that. We first went to one of my favourite places to eat coincidentally, it was a bit out of the way but I had a massive burger and the best slice of chocolate cake ever. There were around 6 of us which was really nice and we were trying to win Spongebob out of the grabber machines as a homecoming present. After that, we drove back so I drove back after being chased by the girl I knew behind with insults being shouted and lights flashing. I then parked up for the night whilst we got drinks and then went back to the guys house. And he wasn't there yet so we kinda just let ourselves in and waited for him to arrive. Finally he arrived and a couple more people joined, one came from a work do and he had literally stolen a bottle from behind the bar as you could see where it was hanging from with the plastic. We played a few rounds of Bean Boozled and it was absolutely disgusting as I got two Vomit flavours in a row. And the guy whose homecoming it was got like 3 stinky socks in a row! After a few rounds we stopped playing that and I could literally still taste the vomit so I tried to wash it down the best I could when we started playing Jackbox, a murder mystery trivial game and as we moved downstairs we were also playing Overcooked where I sucked real bad. Its such a crazy game though, especially when you have a head chef aka the party host going in front of the screen with a walking stick ready to hit you if you did anything wrong! And we also played Ring Of Fire which was also fun as well and I also learnt I like a particular flavour of rum and I have forgot what it was now! Then we were thinking about takeaway which we were all up for and I said I'd have a small chips to share with Jordan. But the chips didn't arrive with the order so we phoned back and when they arrived half an hour later they were scrunched up in the most greasiest bag ever and they were definitely not cooked. By then it was like 2/3 in the morning so we were like don't worry lets get a taxi and go home as I was drunk... where one of the guys made conversation with the driver about air fresheners and we managed to actually negotiate a pretty big discount from the taxi fare!

Ryans Birthday group photo! Minus Paige and Josh!

The night after was Ryans Birthday get together, which included Ryan and his girlfriend Louise, me and Jordan, and Josh and Paige (who joined us later in the night as she was at her work do) Which actually started off in a crowded Spoons for food but it was clear we weren't going to get seated. So we ended up in Mcdonalds which was great and chill. We then headed over to a particular bar for cocktails. I didn't think I would enjoy them as this bar is not a bar I normally would go to, I've been there for food and the food was great, but the drinks were incredible. And we talked, chilled and chatted the night away until Paige was ready to join us so Josh downed his drink and went to meet her. It was great seeing Paige again and she was already tipsy as anything, and after a few of these cocktails I was heading the same way. Then we were talking about going out out and then we somehow ended up out after a very cold walk and we had a great time dancing although I was very tipsy and my energy levels were definitely more than my body could keep up with so I kept having to sit down and try and relax. It was great going out with Paige again though, and it was nice as it was Louises first night out too. It was still a good night, we didn't stay until the end but we definitely left on a high and we were actually the last couple to leave. The DJ which we knew was also playing so that was great to see him so went up on the DJ decks and he gave us a swig of some alcohol that was really strong, and he told us to come back more often which hopefully we will in the New Year. After that, we tried calling a taxi but all lines were busy so we walked down to a local taxi rank and waited there for a bit of time and actually managed to get a taxi before the guys who left earlier! From the work do, these past 3 nights out have been in the same week so today (the morning after) I am feeling very fragile!

Next, kurbing to the extreme happened on Tuesday and after that it was another Christmas do for work on Thursday. Which I have no photos of, but sometimes the most eventful nights happen when there are no photos! So we all had to work in the morning, then at 12pm we all made our way to the usual place we go to for our Christmas parties which is a 10 minute walk away. However I was feeling so so ill, I had a massive migraine in the morning and I almost didn't make it in, I also had a sore throat so my throat felt like it was on fire and I had the beginning of a horrible cold. But I didn't want that to stop me, so I told myself to take it easy. When we got there, we all got a glass of  prosecco. Which I had two sips of and I was already feeling faint and dizzy, because I was so ill I was overheated as it was and the fact the room was so warm didn't help. So I went into the bathroom for a good ten minutes just trying to regain my balance and strength to go back out and join the party again. However I couldn't do it, as soon as I walled back in again, I felt so faint so I just went back in, told one of the guys who I worked with that I felt so faint. He told me later that my lips were the same colour as my skin which sounds kind of scary. So he was like sit down and I almost passed out on the table, I was so bad it was insane and everyone was really concerned. Then I could feel people crowding around, my manager had got me a drink of water but I couldn't even lift my head up from the table (yes I was that bad). So my manager somehow managed to persuade me to go outside and get some fresh air, which is what I think I needed however as soon as I got up I felt like I was going to be sick. So we somehow rushed me to the toilet so I didnt get us chucked out of the place and I wasn't sick thank god. And we sat out in the fresh air for a bit, which really helped me feel better and I am so thankful for my manager actually putting up with me. Eventually I was ready to go back in and I said if I felt like that again, I'd go home. Which I didn't thank god! After the staff saw me almost faint, the temperature of the room was lowered and I sat next to an open window. I wanted to still remain cautious so I had a glass of water throughout the meal. The meal was very nice, I had turkey, potatoes and vegetables and a vanilla panna cotta for dessert. Then our head of Energy stood up and made a speech and I got a mention for a rude quote which I didn't realise was rude, and only found out the meaning when one of the guys explained it to me later that evening. Honestly I was ready to leave as soon as the meal was over, as well as the other new apprentice who wanted to go and made a sneaky exit pretty soon after. I just kept sitting down and one man managed to persuade me to drink wine so I had a bit and then a bit more and soon enough I was tipsy again as I am such a lightweight. I did generally feel better after the fainting dilemma and I wanted to enjoy myself  a few drinks at the christmas do. Then we got kicked out of the room at 5pm so we all moved along to the bar area where I got into a conversation with people who I hardly knew about what to wear to bed and electric blankets. Then my manager was like "how are you now? Are you ok?" And me being extremely tipsy I was like "yeah I am! I've had a few drinks!"And she was like "drunk Amy is back!" (I swear she likes drunk Amy much more than sober Amy). Then one guy came back over with a cider for me (to which my manager gave him a  disapproving look) and  I was comparing the colour of it to the head of Energy's nails and I told her what lovely nails she had (tbf she did have a lovely christmas manicure all red and silver). I was also talking with another guy about his Christmas jumper which was so cool and god knows what else, I honestly can't remember. He passed out later in the evening. Then for some reason another work guy was showing everyone a picture of me with a coke in my hand and with a London bar man at the bar from last Tuesday (I can't even remember this), I told my manager I was getting asked by another man what I wear to bed, and I got threatened by my mentor that if I didn't down the rest of my cider I'd be calling a scary London man up with bad news... he didn't think I would do it but I did, and he was even telling me to slow down! There were so many good conversations and laughs and I felt I should leave on a high, after all I was still ill and didn't want to get more tipsy than I already was. So I said my goodbyes and my manager wanted to make sure I got to my mums car ok (it was a pretty insane night) and my manager said she had already said hello to my dad on tuesday (again I have no recollection of this). So I got my car, said bye, my manager was approached by a homeless man and the same man approached the car and we had to quickly lock all the doors as my mum thought he was going to get in. As soon as I got back home I needed to close my eyes for a bit (it was only 7.45pm ish) and I fell sound asleep with the light still on. Woke up at half 10 to the switch the light off and fall asleep again until half 6 the next morning, when I needed to get up for work. You can tell I was very drunk and ill considering how much sleep I had, and I had to cancel a night out the next night due to how I was.

Cowboy and Cowgirl!

Once it got to the weekend I was so happy as I needed some recovery time. Not for long though! We were out again Saturday night for Jordans Western themed work do and I really wanted to be ready for that. Which I was surprisingly looking forward to, considering I didn't know anyone but I can easily adapt to my surroundings which is great. So we got ready (both of us wearing checked shirts, jeans and matching cowboy hats that didn't fit properly), took the bus down to the local football grounds and arrived at the party, where there was so many people! We got a professional photo taken and I met such a surprising amount of people there. There were literally around 100 people there! Again I had drinks even though I was still feeling quite ill, but it helped me adapt to the social scene of this party and when drinking/eating/talking it helped me forget the fact I was ill as I was so focused on having another great night! So we had drinks, I had quite a few early on and was talking with quite a few people and it really helped me out for the rest of the night. As we had food included, I had a jacket potato with cheese, chilli and rice. A guy tried to chat me up in the queue, tipsy Amy was completely oblivious when this happened as he was asking if I was the Sherriff and I literally gave a massive explanation of why I wasn't a sherriff and thankfully put him off me! Considering I was almost sick after my lunch at work the day before I didn't eat loads but wanted to eat enough to cope with alcohol. Then there was a bit of a speech from the DJ, and we bought our photo as it came out pretty good quality. Then we went on the bull, you know the type of bulls you get and you have to try and hold on for as long as possible? Yeah my second ever time on one of those and it was great when extremely tipsy! Jordan also had a go and he was cranked up to full speed right from the start!

Cowgirl! Took a selfie while Jordan was still getting ready!

 We then talked to more people, and I then wanted to hit the dancefloor for a bit, dragging Jordan up there with me who loved it . But as I was still ill, and wearing skinny jeans, I couldn't stay on there for more than 3 songs in a row as it was so warm and hot, plus ill! Jordan did pretty well though! We did all the classics from YMCA, Cha Cha Slide and The Hokey Cokey to the modern day hits like Despacito. But by that point, the night was near the end, it had gone so incredibly fast, I hadn't even checked my phone once as I was having such a good time. Somehow our hats had gone during the night and we never saw them again (RIP) and we were both still pretty tipsy so we walked to a taxi pick up point around 10-15 minutes away and the streets were so busy with drunkenness and mess. It was gross but we got to the point and some man was arguing his way through the queue and had a massive argument with a taxi driver, and we managed to recruit two new friends from the queue who work in the meat industry and they paid for our ride home as we shared a taxi! Overall, we only spent £20 the entire night between us... £6 was on the stupid hats we were glad to be rid of, £4 was the bus fare to get there and £10 was for the professional photo! Food, drink, entertainment and everything else was paid for! So a very inexpensive night in the city for us, and we had an amazing time!

The next day I made us both breakfast/lunch in bed as Jordan woke up extremely late, and we saw Star Wars: The Last Jedi with a couple of friends later in the day. Really good film, I think I still prefer The Force Awakens as it seemed like they tried to cram so much into this one!

Shots!

As for this week... I went out for a Christmas meal with one group of friends which was great, food was insane as we had chose an amazing restaurant. We had so many good conversations and laughs and it was such a lovely chill evening.

The best photo I got from the group meet up!

And of course, I will end this post talking about our annual friend meet up. I love and hate the friend meet up at the same time, its like 95% love it because its great, I get to see everyone and we are all in great spirits as Christmas. The 5% hate comes down to the organisation of it! We just don't plan very well. Anyway we had the perfect day, perfect plan except no booking. But super god Connor has a cancellation at work and saves the day for us all. And I was really looking forward to seeing everyone and having a catch up. I got tipsy extremely quickly after 3 cocktails and 4 vodka shots and spent like £80 on the night (£20 was on  a shot platter pictured above and I have no regrets) It was so worth it though, I was so happy to be reunited with everyone and I was with Lish for a good portion of the night who taught me how to contour, I feel like I danced along with Siobhan a lot despite being opposite sides of the table and I made Elli a Christmas ribbon bracelet! It was such a great night and it was great just being around everyone and having a good time, food, drinks and laughs! It was also great seeing Emily, Maddy, Emma, the triplets, Reid, Scott, Paige (who arrived later) and Matt and a special shoutout the drunkest person of the night which was hands down Giancarlo! We managed to get the last bus home, which was very much needed as I collapsed pretty soon after, I am definitely not a hardcore drinker but I don't mind!

Stolen from Lish but a group selfie at the group meet up!

This is the end of my December events post. As you can tell I have been extremely busy this month! No wonder I'm at home ill! Anyway I'm gonna try and shake this illness off so I can have a relaxing Christmas and New Years (no plans for New Years yet but I don't mind to be honest, need a bit of relaxation time!)

Merry Christmas everyone!

So yeah, it's all good...

Amy :)