The Valentine’s Day weekend was one of the most memorable ones I’ve had in a while, albeit getting absolutely no work done and consequently drowning in coursework the following week. On the 13th, I had tickets to see Hurts at the O2 Academy Brixton. This was my second gig in London, the first of which was Panic at the Disco which was at the same venue.
I’ve discussed this before, but going to concerts alone requires a whole new level of shamlessness + you really really really have to like the band. But when you do it right, lose your yourself properly and rave like the shameless loner you are, its AWESOME. Seriously Hurts was the second best gig I’ve ever been to. Heres a picture.
On the 14th I went on my second every cross country journey since coming to England. Oxford shivered at my impending arrival 😛 lol jks… I got hella confused, missed a few trains and eventually made it. I was there to meet up with a few primary school friends from HK who I’d basically never seen since I was 11. Tbf I’d barely spoken to them since then either, but you know the power of Facebook meant we were “still in touch” and one of them invited me then one thing led to another and… teehee just kidding. Legit though, 7 years of zero contact later, I literally got on a train and hoped I’d get along with them 😛
Best Day Ever. Those guys were the bomb, it was like we’d been friends for years, but had just been remarkably oblivious to all aspects of each others lives 😛 It surprised me how fun it was, we had great chats, made bubble tea and rapidly developed some inside jokes. I guess common history has this way of bringing people together. Its usually hard for me to find others who relate to my international student, culturally confused, academically stressed and professionally undecided issues, but these guys just got it – and that was nice.
I also attended my first ever posh-as formal dinner #OxfordLife, and blended right in with my borrowed gown 😛 As ever, we then took the obligatory “reunion photo”.
Now to the surprise ending… I got back to London late Sunday night, ate some of the AMAZING fudge I bought from the Fudge Kitchen (which doesn’t have branches in London = a crime) and awoke to a coursework overload. I was in a great mood, went to all my lectures, played some squash, got ready to do some work when suddenly I was in the health centre being injected with needles and fussed over by anxious nurses and doctors. Anaphylaxis. I don’t even have any known allergies, like what are the chances. Apart from the initial shock, the rest of the story is pretty cool. Because of the severity of the allergic reaction, I had to be given an adrenaline injection which then necessitated a trip to the emergency room. In an ambulance. Which arrived, flashing blue lights and everything. I was then taken to Chelsea Westminster Hospital to continue my treatment and for further observation, I even got a cool IV line for them to inject all the drugs and fluids into. All that stuff they say about the NHS… sure it might be overloaded, but I didn’t die so i’ll take that. Thank you NHS! 😛
As a result of that little episode, I am now considered “at risk” of anaphylaxis and have to carry an epipen. Hopefully I’ll find out what I’m actually allergic to so I know when I might be “at risk of death” 😛 All in all, a lovely weekend!
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