Yalla yalla!

Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? I've resolved to try to blog more, in lieu of actually giving anything up for lent this year (technically I've given up chocolate, but in the past week I've eaten half a KitKat on the plane back from Egypt and demolished red velvet cupcakes with white chocolate icing...). I've also resolved to hit the wagon hard, and try out the Tracy Anderson method (thanks Jess!).

So, what have you missed? Christmas was great; my Aunt and Uncle hosted a big family gathering, so it was nice to open our presents at a leisurely pace and not have to worry about poultry cooking times and re-ironing the napkins. I also saw my MSc buddies, reconnected with friends closer to home, and just got some rest. I hadn't felt that relaxed since the first panic attack in August, which allowed me to go out and enjoy myself a bit, with far less of the anxiety and jitteryness that usually blights me.

Speaking of anxiety (ad nauseum), it's still pretty rough, but I've identified a few ways to reduce it; it's just a matter of sticking to these techniques and not reverting to the late nights/sleep deprivation/comfort eating/zero exercise pattern to which I've become accustomed. In short, I need to stop coasting. I've finished therapy, and while it did help massively, the onus is now on me to stop being such a diva and sort my life out. Harsh, but true. One great thing did happen last night though; it all started when my friend Jess and I went to a bar in Uxbridge, where as usual we were harassed by some drunk tool. He wouldn't take no for answer, started getting abusive, and I began to shake. It's my nightmare symptom, because it signifies a panic attack is no longer on the way, but that it's actually happening. I was gutted, and excused myself to the bathroom to go and have a word with myself. To my surprise, it actually worked! A few minutes later I was back in my seat, and the douchebag had been shown the door. Even better, the manager treated us to a free round to apologise. Yay! Getting my social life back on track is so important to recovery, and to claw my composure back from full-on panic was a massive step for me. I think having Jess there was crucial, because she completely understands and wouldn't have made a big deal even if that incident had cut our night short. I'm incredibly grateful to have friends like her.

I've also just got back from a very lovely holiday in Sharm el-Sheikh with my cousin Michelle. It was fantastic! Egyptian people are SO friendly, and a week of sunshine, chilling, and very strong cocktails was exactly what I needed. The title of this post comes from one of the animation team in our resort (an amazing Tunisian guy called Baboo, who greeted Michelle and I with a gravelly 'hello beautiful ladies' every time we saw him), who would shout 'yalla yalla!' every morning as we lounged around the pool. It means 'let's go!' in Arabic. I've tried integrating it into everyday conversation back in the motherland, but it's far less effective when spoken in a West London accent, alas. Anyway, I would love to go back there, definitely for a bit longer, so that I have enough time to take trips to Luxor and Cairo, pending governmental stability of course. However, if anyone is debating whether to visit Egypt given the political situation, I would certainly recommend the Red Sea resorts without hesitation. If you fancy Cairo, just be careful and follow travel advice, as you would with any other destination. As our rep Samir rightly pointed out, we wouldn't expect last year's riots in London and beyond to permanently scar our reputation among tourists. So if you're thinking about Egypt, do it! And try haggling, it's a brilliant experience :) Our technique was to offer half the quoted price and a cheeky wink. It worked a treat!

I don't think there's much more to update on other than that. I'm going to blog much more often now, so stay tuned!

Peace out :)