I’m scared but I’m doing it anyway!

Well, I've made it to Edinburgh, which is a good start. Took me a while to find the hotel (even though the front door is visible from where I got off the bus at Waverly station!!!) because for some reason I set off in completely the wrong direction. Idiot! Managed to walk down a nice steep hill before I realised I was going in the wrong direction. I'm looking on the bright side, and logging the slog back up the hill dragging a 20kg suitcase as my exercise for the day. Did I mention it was snowing?

 

I'm having a bit of a lie down to recover ;) Of course now I'm beginning to worry. I knew this trip was going to push me out of my comfort zone, but it's easy to say 'Oh, it'll be fine' when it's months and months away (I booked this trip last February!) and you're 300 miles away. Now that I'm here, it's a lot scarier.

 

I'm shy, socially awkward, bad at meeting new people, and I get extremely travel sick. Tonight, I'm starting with a Burns Night celebration where I've just randomly booked a ticket for a 3 course meal with entertainment and whisky tasting. Oh, crap! There will be strangers galore! Unless it's a complete flop and I'm the only person to have booked a ticket, in which case it will be just as awkward in a whole different way!

 

On Sunday morning I'm joining a group of complete strangers for a 5 day coach trip (I get sick in the car when other people drive. I always get sick on the bus!) to the Shetlands. The leg from Aberdeen to the Shetlands is an overnight ferry trip. Vomit. My boss almost cried with laughter for half an hour when he heard that. Not encouraging!

 

I've been buying every packet of travel sickness pills I could find. I think I might have overdone it a bit. But better safe than sorry, right? I'm not going to take them all, just to reassure you. It's only that I worry too much, and for some reason having four packets of travel sickness pills for a five day trip (plus the flights either end) makes me feel a lot better about the horrific sounding ferry journey. It doesn't have to make sense. It just has to work for me…

 

Right, time to get ready for Burns Night. I can't believe I'm not chickening out. And when I've just come down with this killer cold, too. A loud shouty part of my mind thinks the cold is the perfect excuse to just have a quiet night in with my kindle, instead of making myself socialise with strangers. And it's snowing and everything.

 

But the following argument wins: When am I EVER going to be in Scotland for Burns night, ever again? Probably never, that's when. So, of course I have to go!

 

Wish me luck!