Happy Birthday and The Fattening

It is my birthday today!! It's my silver jubilee, which sounds much more exciting (and far less terrifying) than 25.

Birthdays are only scary if you're not doing what you want to be doing. I was terrified at 24- working at the crappy gym in a job that didn't belie my two degrees and future potential. However, the fact that I am about to skip the country in 8 days time seems to have made this 25th birthday of mine far less worrying.

Yeah, I can't describe myself with the vaguery of "early 20's" anymore - but it appears most people seem to think I'm 21-22 anyway, so my plan of action is just to never mention my age and let people assume away.

I got some great presents for my birthday too - an awesome Kikki K travel wallet, Napoleon Perdis lipstick, an amazing dress, an almost-nautical-themed pashmina, an Oroton bracelet and I think my sister is getting me a pair of Tsubi shorts. All awesome things and all things I can take with me on my trip - all thanks to my wonderful friends :)

Having your birthday so close to your leaving date is something that I can definitely recommend (not that you can really plan for that) as it means I've had more than one excuse to throw parties, go out to dinner and catch up with old friends.

I've put on 4kg in the past 2 weeks from constantly eating meal after meal of delicious food with my friends. Nando's, Works Burgers from the chippo, Grill'd, Big Breakfasts, KFC, unnecessary thickshakes and insane party foods - you name it, i've eaten it in the past 2 weeks. But quite frankly, I dont really care at the moment- as every time I eat at a particular place, I can justify it by saying "but its the last time I'll be able to have it for 10 months" (except for places like Nandos and KFC, where I say "it's the last time I'll have this in AUSTRALIA for the next ten months).

The pre-trip fattening has begun.

But I don't care - I'd rather just get maximum enjoyment out of my time left in Brisbane.

I'm pretty confident I'll the extra weight while i'm at sea- I read an article on Musicanwages.com (an excellent site for anyone interested in working on a cruise ship in any capacity) that leads me to believe it won't be too hard.

Also, I know there are excellent gym facilities on all ships in the fleet I'm going to work for. I'm not sure what kind of group fitness they have - I'm hoping they have some cardio classes - but if not, I know for sure they have yoga, pilates and heaps of gym equipment. However, If I have a mirror and a step, there's nothing stopping me from spending an hour with headphones on doing Bodystep or Body Attack - gotta remember to scan some chorey notes to take with me.

Who knows- maybe I'll be teaching aerobics? I certainly have the music resources to develop my own routines- not so much for step - but definitely for body attack. I'll admit that with some songs I have, I've already thought of choreography- I hope they'll let me. I could even do a low impact class! I've always wanted to teach freestyle.

Only 8 days left until my journey begins. I'm so excited!