#BlogLife426 - Destination unknown - Stranded by Advance Cars Taxi driver

I slept ok I think but it didn't seem like morning when it was all dark outside, I hate getting up at that point, it feels unnatural.

But it was 8amish and it felt like a good time to slowly awaken and pack up everything before pricing cab fares.

Oof pricey. Last time it was about £20 and this time £26 grr. It's getting ridiculous but I just booked it and waited.

I actually did remember to pack everything needed, yay, go me! About 20ish minutes later I got a call to say they were here and I grabbed, the present bag, the laptop bag, the overnight bag and my handbag and slowly struggled to the door.

He looked and said my name and then said, Oh just throw your bags in the back.

It was drizzling and I was struggling to lift each bag high enough to get them in, with as usual no help from the idiot driver!

I try to explain that the postcode has two addresses and gave him the instructions mama gave me but he states rudely, I don't have time to waste, find out the precise location.

I said alright, I'll call her and put it on loudspeaker, he agrees and then rudely cuts her off saying, I'm driving, text your daughter the details.

He then states again, I'm really busy, you'll pay cash right, I'll drop you off when we arrive and I'm used to that attitude.

So I just say, yea that's fine. About half an hour later, we arrive, only I get the sinking feeling, we're at the wrong place.

I've been looking for road signs and I haven't seen a thing. I express my concerns staying seated and he looks around and says we're here, this is right place. 

I didn't see anything recognisable and he opens my door and ushers me out, again without bothering to help with the luggage. 

Then I quickly call mama and she says she'll come down to assist with the bags.

I'm sorry I know I shouldn't accept this help from an elderly parent but sadly with my health I cannot manage.

I walk a few feet and drop the bags in agony and exhaustion, going full blown panic that I'm lost and will have to trek but I don't have it in me to move at all.

She's now freaking out as well and then her housing manager, calmly talks me through the solution.

Gently enquiring if I can see any landmarks, which sadly I do not.

Eventually I see someone and she tells me the main road outside and I realise I have to walk for a few minutes with all this luggage and I am wondering how on earth I can do it.

I just take a deep breath and slowly walk ahead, while the manager and my mama is on the line.

My legs are buckling and I can barely stand but I make it and finally see that she lives nearby, the landmark supermarket Lidl is opposite her place.

I have to hold myself up on a wall because every bit of my body is screaming in pain, rest, rest, rest, you're gonna collapse if you don't.

I think probably less than 5 minutes pass before I see her and we are both relieved.

I explain that I had to walk up here, that this isn't the area he dropped me off and she is beyond furious.

As am I but she helps with the bags and I apologise for needing rescuing but she shrugs it off kindly.

She's giving me a guided tour of her new place and I am shuffling forward leaning on walls as the pain has spread everywhere and I can't even function at this point.

I apologise once again and state that I cannot sit on a sofa, I need to lay out on the bed with the laptop and phones and she doesn't mind.

I feel unsociable and she walked fast so easily but I realise my health is getting worse and I'm in need of a rest, for my body to completely lay flat and recuperate.

The pain is still horrendous at this time of 8.54pm. I can't wait to sleep but it's too early.

I moved out into the main room out of politeness and thank heavens the blankie arrived maybe at 8pm so will get to test it tonight.

Oh and the other crazy thing is my mouthwash bottle I thought I had screwed on tight spilled and water logged my clothes, my food, the presents and my charger plug.

Ugh most of it I salvaged but the plug will not dry out. I stuck it on the radiator and it still won't charge grr.

But I plugged the usb into the laptop and it's charged and those nutty sweets turned out to be white chocolate yuckity yuck!!!

Can't review those either I'm afraid. WIll give them as a gift to mama's friend who adores chocolates.

I did buy 2 bags though and Mama tried one and loved it and she's notororiously fussy so that's saying something.

I told her to keep one bag and give the other to her friend and she agreed.

Plus the stupid 2 day face wash didn't arrive so Ebay was useless in that respect as was the seller, pfft premium postage, yea right.

I went on Prime as I still have the trial until the 10th January and ordered some Biore wash.

The price was £4.66 and I selected next day so it will come tomorrow but the surprise thing was not getting charged for it.

"Promotion applied." No idea what that is about but I'll gladly take a freebie after the day I've had.

It pays to flirt

I had a bit of a rocky start this morning when I discovered to my horror that my oyster card had jumped ship from the safety of my cocoon handbag to somewhere else.

 I was rushing out to get the bus and thought I had just left it carelessly on the bed as I had tipped out my bag earlier to make sure all the essentials were packed.

I did an about turn when I found out it wasn't in the front pocket of my bag and quickly did a mini search as I had already missed my bus and the next one wasn't due for a good ten minutes but it was frustratingly nowhere to be found.

There was nothing I could do and I hoped the driver would take pity on my few bits of cash that I had in my purse.

Last time I had to pay £3 and I had just under that amount or a £20 note which I didn't think he would accept either.

Then I discovered that cash was no longer accepted and i just had to swipe a card against the machine which cost only £1.50. 

I'm not sure how they went backwards on that but at least I got my bus and wasn't embarrassingly kicked off.

The journey home was much easier as the machine on the bus wasn't even working so saved another few quid. 

Then I got home and really checked everywhere I could think of, my kitchen, my bathroom, my other bags, even my bed but alas either someone stole my card or it fell out of a zipped pocket.

I called up London Transport with low hopes that they would help me and the first woman I spoke to, did in fact think I was a child and wanted to charge me £10 for a new card.

Then I explained I was in fact an adult and she transferred me to a man who had a very deep sexy voice.

I played the frazzled overwhelmed victim to a tee and no fee was ever mentioned. 

In fact he went out of his way to explain the process while laughing hysterically about my naivety in not knowing that buses no longer accepted cash payments. 

Afterwards he remarked that I was the nicest person he had ever spoken to in his whole career working at London Underground. I then thanked him, wished him well and disconnected.

My shiny oyster card should be received within a week and the money will be transferred, which is a relief as there was just over £20 registered on it. 

The really strange thing is I had just given away my spare oyster card to my mum who said she wanted it for guests and then she found an old oyster card today so she will be returning my spare.

The day could have been much worse but I'm grateful that it wasn't.

*A little update (18/8/16)*  I've already received the replacement oyster card that was sent first class delivery. 

I assumed it would be standard as he said within a week It should arrive and not only did he include a complimentary wallet for my card.

He also paid the £5 new card deposit fee for me, so basically the man saved me £15 plus the cost of a protective case. 

It may not seem like much but to me it's these random acts of kindness by strangers that make the world go round.

You are my escape

From cheesy soap operas to lively tunes, when I've had a bad day they're just what I need to get me back on track and feeling less low. 

I hoped to have another long blissful sleep again tonight but the stomach cramps just won't let up at all so I think I'm gonna continue my Beauty And The Beast marathon until the pain subsides.

Life is so burdensome that there are times when I wish I could have this giant sleep and be unaware and unconscious for a few days just to get my bearings back.

Also to have a break from the pains, discomfort, constant stress and insomnia. I hate feeling tired all the time and close to emotionally breaking.  

I wish I was stronger, roboticish. I wouldn't want to be totally numb, been there - done that and that was ten times worse somehow.

I catch up on my soaps and all the unrealistic dramas and wonder if I'll ever achieve that level of greatness. How can I possibly write about love, when I doubt I'll ever experience it. 

Will my readers be fooled into thinking I'm writing about past experiences or will they see through the charade and think..  "She is blatantly unqualified to write..."

I am both physically and emotionally broken. Physically, well that's beyond repair but emotionally, I just keep trying to fight the feelings of despair and hopelessness. 

To be lost in some soap opera world is a breath of fresh air. Those minutes where I'm not haunted and my body is totally relaxed, why can't I maintain that same control and composure when the pain washes over me spreading everywhere? 

Why dammit?

Who am I trying to kid? I am not nearly as tough as I make out I am. I'm weak and despondent and tonight. . I just feel lost..

Where are you?

I used to be quite careless, even though I felt I was mostly responsible and alert. I would use something, cast it aside and then misplace it completely. 

It was if it magically became invisible because the spot it should be in was empty. I keep going back to it puzzled that it doesn't suddenly materialise.

That was my life constantly searching for trivial things and getting frustrated when they upped and disappeared. 

I read an article a few years back on this very subject which suggested a simple but obvious solution that hadn't occurred to me but I now swear by it, as it works.

Leave items in the same place all the time. I always lost my keys, so now I place them on the window sill.

My tweezers seem to play hide & seek a lot, so now I leave them in my handbag.

The world is a better place when I can reach for my essentials and be reassured it is exactly where it belongs, right where I left it. 

No more turning my home upside down mumbling curses and being unfashionably late.