introversion

not knocking myers*brigs but i used to think people took the test, identified with a type then proceeded to use it as a universal excuse to explain away all manner of misbehaviour. without going into too much detail as to my type (scarily accurate and oh my i suddenly feel so understood - i can finally make sense of me, a self-awareness sorely lacking in my early 20s....) it's been an atypically social weekend and i'm wanting a week of peace and quiet to recover. 

the cabin fever got real and G and i decided to go away for the weekend. our third musketeer was house-hunting and we thought to meet for dinner saturday night, never mind the house hunt was in a city 2h drive away. ever-ambitious, we set off at 6 (!!!) am and squeezed in a day of thelma & lousie-esque adventure before meeting T for dins. of course the city was a complete nightmare to drive in (not that i was driving) and we literally ended up on a grand tour of the city because T was trying to find a secret (read: free) parking lot. i'm a great backseat driver so knew my place and kept quiet, while whatsapping reinforcements who suggested we ditch the car first chance we got and instead summon an uber to the restaurant. that didn't happen but the ever-elusive parking lot did manifest and we made it to the restaurant in one piece. there was a hairy moment driving through colourful part of town where i made the mistake of asking if we were in bradford yet. haven't lived that down... 

the restaurant was authentic and amazing beyond my wildest dreams. to be fair didn't have high expectations but trust T purveyor of fine cuisine to choose the best thai food outside thailand. everyone (except us and the thai ladies' local +1s) was thai (!!!) and the menu was in thai (!!!) and i might've gone crazy ordering but the food was absolutely wonderful and worth every excruciating minute i had felt carsick in our quest to locate the place. who'd have thunk. as if it could get any better - BYOB too. washed down pad thai, tom yum soup, fish cakes, green curry and more with award-winning chardy. the tapioca pearl in coconut cream dessert (thai bobo chacha?) was divine. 

as with all good nights, lost track of time and by the time we dropped T back and returned to our hide-y hole in the country (morning view above!) it was almost midnight! not bad for a 6am start.

lured out of bed by a greasy fry up this morning and day 2 of our girly getaway was even more social with familiar faces all around. particularly enjoyed deep meaningful conversation with friends i hadn't seen in months. these friends are fascinating types with varied interests who are incredibly engaging so it was sheer delight talking about non-medical things for a change (despite all being medics haha). hearing about what A is doing with a bucket load of grant money and the potential to revolutionise healthcare is quality defo the stuff of dreams. i also feel so inadequate in comparison but clued-in by proxy? quality  trumps quantity, less is more? continue to be grateful for low maintenance friendships but feeling the introversion set in and wanting to recharge on my own for a bit.