Annie's Engagement @ Brighton

29 year old Annie got engaged to her boyfriend of 6 years.

And with every engagement comes an engagement party, and with every engagement party comes lots of booze and food.
In this country that is.

So Annie invited all the house officers to Brighton, her home city to celebrate her happy day. I know Annie, but not like incredibly well, but I like really like her.
And the fact that it was in Brighton - which I have never been to - Why Ever Not?!

The organised person among us booked 2 rooms in Jury's Inn and 7 of us made the 2 hour car journey down to the famous seaside town down south.

I was however in London the day before taking my driving theory exam. Right, this is a story.
Annie's engagement can wait.

So I booked an exam slot for 1.30pm in Southwark, London - thought I'm smart, I'll just go into London on Friday and spend the whole weekend there.
Then Annie's engagement came up and suddenly it's not that smart anymore because that meant I had to train it down to Brighton whereas if I stayed in Maidstone, I can get a lift from some of my other friends here.

Now, I got this amazing all-in-one 2010 pass your driving theory DVD that I managed to borrow from a friend.
How much I actually practiced is perhaps too embarrassing to mention here. My plan was to finish ALL the questions in the week running up to the exam but me being me, of course that so did not happen.

Sometimes I still wonder how I got through medical school.

Anyway.
The ultimate plan was to wake up on Friday morning at 9.30am, work on more questions for 1 hour, then pack and walk to the station at 11, catch the train at 11.23 am to get into London for 12.20pm and make my way to the exam centre at a leisurely pace.
See, I like all these things planned out.

Then of course on Friday, the alarm clock mysteriously turns itself off and by the time I woke to the world it was 10.30am.
Didn't practice any mock questions, packed in a rush and decided that I really would not be able to make it to the station if I tried to walk.

So I rang a cab.

Specifically informed them that I wanted a cab at 11.10, only to look at my watch in horror after waiting for an eternity that it was 11.15 and the cab had STILL NOT shown up.

WTF.

By then, I was in a state. If I miss the 11.23 train, I'd have to take the 12.23 one and arrive at 1.20pm. That would leave me 10 minutes to get to Southwark from Victoria, and everyone knows that that can NOT happen.
It's like getting to Sunway from Bandar Utama or something at rush hour.
Which means I would miss my test and forfeit the £39 I paid. Money isn't the problem obviously, but it was the fact I took a day off work to do it and do not know how soon I can book this test again.

Wah, so many hurdles and decisions to make.

Mr Cabbie arrived at 11.18 - and I spend a precious 30 seconds explaining my predicament - I mean I'm not going to take the cab there knowing I will miss the train and on top of it, have to pay the damn taxi fare.

But Mr Cabbie says we cant try.
So I hop in and it took 5 whole excruciating minutes to get to the station. I. Counted. Every. Second.

Arrived and the train was already at the platform.

Screaming like a mad woman, I raced across the flyover - WHY MUST THE PLATFORM EVEN BE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FLYOVER? - and the train driver must've seen me or something because the train pulled off the minute I stepped onto it.

They waited. Aww.....

You know right, I always get into all these shitty problems. It's mostly my fault I know, but honestly?? I thought my year of bad luck was over.

Anyway, I managed to get onto the train alright. Full stop. I made it. The whole 1 hour training into London I spent burning and swallowing the entire Highway Code which I just got off another friend the night before.

Upon arrival, I decided to have a Cornish pasty before heading off to London Bridge where the exam centre is.

A girl has to eat.

I finally made a move for the Underground just before 1pm, only to find that the tube is NOT stopping at London Bridge!!!!!!!!
Ok.
Can so sui or not?!?!?

No choice - got off at Southwark (although the exam centre is in Southwark it is not near Southwark station) and Google Maped the place - it was a freaking 20 minute walk away.

My watch then read 1.20pm.

So putting all my muscles into good use, I sped walked all the way there, only to be unable to locate the damn street it was on.
It was now 1.35pm.

Back and forth, up and down, and a kindly Samaritan finally took pity on this China girl looking completely bewildered and pointed me down a narrow alleyway that looked like the perfect spot where chaves and trash of the society squatted to snort coke and smoke weed.
No wonder I couldn't locate it!!!

By the time I reached the counter to sign in, I was a full 10 minutes late.

Thank goodness I was still allowed in - although I kinda guessed it wouldn't be too strict anyway.

I passed.

Obviously.

The amount of work I put in to get to the freaking place. If I don't pass, someone somewhere really hates me.

Ok, end of story - back to Annie's engagement party.

So Saturday comes and I make it safely down to Brighton.

We went to this pub/bar called Brighton Rocks - where I had a ridiculous amount of alcohol.
And food.

Was the food good or what?? Platters and platters of never ending finger food comes out and I spend an enjoyable time eating and drinking all of it. Ah, Life.


You know right, I have a serious problem with alcohol. I have tried explaining it to all sorts of people but no one really understands me.

Yes, I fulfill the CAGE questionnaire, I need it as an eye opener in the mornings, I chug down pints and pints of lager, I have felt extremely guilty, I really, really need to join the AA.

Of course NOT.

I lack the bloody enzyme - alcohol dehydrogenase.

It is completely unpredictable when I will have the nice, heady effect when I drink.
Most of the time, I will flush red, my pulse will race and I get a massive headache or feel like puking without even experiencing so much of a touch of the happy alcohol response.

Most people tell me that you have to drink more and push through - but hello, if you felt nauseous and feel like throwing up, would YOU be in the mood to push on knowing full well you are going to puke?
And if you have a massive headache, become tachycardic and cold at the same time, would you not want to lie down wrapped up and wait for the pain to go?
Remember, all these is MINUS the high effect.

So how to push on when I feel horrible?!


Don't understand.

But that night at Brighton was one of my lucky nights where I felt heady with no side effects. And I don't get alcohol amnesia or nonsense like that either so I remember exactly what happens all the time.

So time flew by and it was suddenly time to go to bed. Like how all normal people do regardless whether you had a night out or not.


8am, the bloody alarm of someone goes off.
My friends want to go sun tanning.

Oi.
Sun Tanning?! Want me to get skin cancer?! Worse off, want me to be darker than what I already am!?


Nevertheless, I go along and hide under a huge umbrella much to the annoyance of the others.

Whatever man.

Don't care ok, I never ever said I wanted to go tanning. Should've gone to the shops instead.

After an excruciating 2 hours of sitting in the freaking sun (under the umbrella), we move off to Annie's house for a picnic lunch.

In the sun.

Again.

This time, no umbrella to hide under so I had to brave it and pretend that I really do like sun tanning and want to be brown like everyone else while slowly feel melanin build up under my skin turning it darker and darker.
All the ang moh thinks I am incredibly weird for wanting to stay white.

That aside, Annie's flat is MASSIVE, completely rustic and homely. I LOVE IT.
The ginormous garden outside her flat is for private use of residents in that square and it faces the FREAKING SEA!!!
So right, from her flat, you have a patch of greenery outside and in the corner is the blue blue sea - life is so unfair.

Where is my beachfront property?!?!

We have roast chicken, chips, salad and strawberries with custard and cream to polish off a perfect afternoon.


I then come home well fed and watered with a tan line across my arms.

Perfect ending to a perfect engagement.

Need to apply Olay Whitener onto every inch of skin - stat.