London Was Wild, Awesome and Crazy!

I stayed in London for 10 days and attended the two concerts I have mentioned in my previous post. Stevie Nicks was great despite her age. Harry Styles joined her for the two last songs and it was a nice surprise. That concert was on the 12th and I was seriously concerned about the Stray Kids concert two days later, when I saw the crowd and had to stand at the same spot for hours. 

Stray Kids were supposed to get on the stage at 8:10 p.m. and people (read very young crazy STAYS, the fandom name) were talking about getting in line at 5 a.m. Say what?

I had a Diamond VIP ticket but that was a standing concert so, no assigned seats or no way of keeping your spot. I went at 1 p.m. and once I got in, I took a spot with a good view of the stage and stood there for 9 hours!? You read it right. Nine hours... I only sipped about a liter of water. No food, no bathroom break, not even sitting on the floor.

The crowd kept pushing and closing in on us who were at the front and it was a somewhat hot day for London. I was determined to see them as closely as possible, so, I did not leave my spot till the last three songs. Then I was ready to move back and sit down somewhere. There were 65,000 people there and it was absolutely the craziest thing I have ever done. Any regrets? None whatsoever. 

When I moved back, I ordered a burger and a coke and enjoyed the last three songs watching them on the big screens. My feet were burning by that time and every part of my body was screaming at me because, I had never abused myself like that before. Lol!

It took me a while to get back to the hotel and I was afraid I would not be able to sleep because my legs were hurting so much. I took a Tylenol and luckily fell into sleep right away and was able to rest well.

During my time in London, I walked like crazy averaging 15K steps each day. I treated myself to nice Korean and Italian restaurants and enjoyed every single moment of it.

Best gift I had ever given myself. Stray Kids are such crazy, fun and beautiful young men. They are my happy pills and sunshines.

Thanks to them, I was finally inspired to get a grip on my health and lost 50 pounds since September. Those young little kiddos saved me from myself. It is a loooong story and I am planning to share what I had to go through. They made me face my demons and healed me.

Here are some clips on YouTube made by fellow STAYs at Hyde Park: Oh, and yes I love this noisy, hype music. I included one clip where one of them thanks a guard and the other thanking the sign language interpreters. They are genuinely great kids. Kudos to their parents. 

I have fallen down the Stray Kids rabbit hole and am so glad I did. 

QUICK UPDATE

 Hello everyone! I'm alive and kicking. 

Today is my 57th birthday. Isn't time so fast? 

Anyway, I am taking good care of myself and filling my days with things I enjoy. Currently, I am at my uncle's in Antalya. It has become so hot this week that I will be escaping the heat next week. 

I have an upcoming concert, actually two concerts in Hyde Park, London, UK in July. One is Stevie Nicks and the other is Stray Kids. I know, an odd combo but, hey that's me. I like the oldies and also the youngsters. Here is their latest song:

Wishing everyone a peaceful and fun summer.

BLOG HIATUS

I am well and busy. Just lost my mojo to blog these days. However, I don't want to close my blog yet. I may want to go back to blogging.

I am still around and reading your blogs. Not on a daily basis though.

I have been focusing on my health lately and am busy with eating healthy and working out. 

My 2024 focus is "MYSELF"

Wishing you all the best while I am away. Live Long and Prosper!

All Good

I have been in the US since January 10th. I have been helping my friend and we are also having a good time. She was gonna be busy Monday and Tuesday so, I took the opportunity to go downtown both days. I walked and walked and walked. It was cold but, sunny so, I took the opportunity. I love New York City. Each time I'm there, I wonder if I will be able to back in the future and each time I do go back, I feel joy.

Not much to report so, here is another song by one of my Stray Kids for you to enjoy:

Getting Ready

I am flying to the US on Wednesday. The weather channel was predicting snow that day but, they revised the forecast today. The new airport is too far from me. I wanted to fly out of the one closer to me but, could not find a good ticket. Turkish Airlines have 3 direct flights to NY every day but, they do not have Premium Economy or Comfort Class. Business is too expensive. Therefore, I am flying British Airways. I have a 3 hour stopover at Heathrow which is fine. Gives me a break to stretch my legs.

I have packed one suitcase and I do not expect to shop a lot this time.  SIS, BIL and uncle are all set with everything they need. I still have enough to wear till I lose at least 20-25 pounds or so. After that, I will need a new wardrobe but by then, I will be able to find my then size here in Turkiye too. Will still be a plus size but, much better than what I have been all these years. I can't believe how I let myself go so badly. 

My bestie and I will be sorting tons of collections of coins, stamps, artwork and jewelry, getting them appraised and selling them. M is completely overwhelmed by it and she is taking a break till my arrival. Her late BIL had collected so much stuff. Her husband is now too old to deal with it so, this falls all on her. We need a system and a strategic plan to deal with all of them. We may not be able to finish everything before I leave by the end of February but, I hope we can make the biggest dent possible. 

Today, it is butt-freezing cold here and is going to be like this for the next 5 days. M says it is the same in NY too. 

Gotta go and check my packing list once more.

Stay warm and healthy...

Here is a sad/romantic song from Felix(23) of Stray Kids suitable for this cold and rainy day over here. He is one of the two Aussies in the group. His vocal range is unbelievable. One might think 3 different guys are singing this one but, it is just him. 

Happy New Year! Welcome 2024! Please don't disappoint us

I have been feeling out of words to write recently. Thinking about closing the blog sometimes but, I have been blogging for so long that, I cannot bring myself to do it.

Anyway, here is what has been happening in my neck of the woods.

My SIS and BIL were supposed to come to Istanbul for celebrating the New Year but, SIS got COVID and they could not come. My uncle is visiting so, we had a nice dinner and did our own thing the rest of the night.

My bestie in the US is a bit overwhelmed these days with so much going on in her life, her husband, her daughter and other things, she asked me if I could go help her a bit. So, I am going to the US next week and will return late February. I am still planning to go in late Spring again because, my SIS wants to go too. We will see how it all plays out.

SIS is ready to pull the trigger on her retirement but, she just doesn't know when to do it. She is determined to not be working at the bank by her birthday this year, which is in April. Not a long time to go.

I have been concentrating on my health, fitness and weight loss for the last 4 months and for the first time in my life, I have been consistent. I found my inspiration in K-Pop believe it or not. Who knew?

It is a long story so, I will leave that out but, I am doing rather well. Just had a recent check-up and found out that my insulin resistance is getting better and the doc told me, it may be possible to get off the med if I continue this path. Also, my cholesterol is at a normal level due to tons of exercise. Fatty liver is getting better too. I have been pleasantly surprised to see so many positive gains in my medical report. Now, I know I can do this. 

I am at a point in my life that I only want to be happy and content so, I will keep on doing things that keep me happy. 

No new year resolutions because, I have set goals before the year end and doing well so, all is good. 

Closed the books on last year and financially, I have done well. Budgeting carefully always helps and some unexpected expenses did not really hurt because I made some money through my part-time consulting although, I am not going to be taking more projects this year due to planned travel. I still need to tweak 2024 budget a bit though.

With my travel date approaching fast, I looked through my clothes and purged some items which no longer fit well. This way, I also know what to get from the US. I need mostly tops and some exercise gear. When I come back, I am going to work with a Personal Trainer at a Gym close by. Cardio is easy on my own but, I want to strengthen my back and arms. As we get older, we need a stronger upper body. It is easy to hurt oneself without proper instruction.

I hope 2024 brings much joy, contentment, health and happiness to you all. 

I am leaving you with a wonderful romantic song of my favorite band. It is a bit softer than their normal vibe but, they are experimenting with a lot of genres. There are English captions for Korean parts.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I cannot write much these days but, I am here and well. Will probably post more after the New Year's.

Wishing you a wonderful, happy, healthy and prosperous 2024 with all your loved ones...

Here is a fun Christmas Song Video by another Korean Group: Stray Kids 

They write and produce all their songs and this one below pretty much sums up what they had to sacrifice to make a future for themselves. The youngest is 22 and the oldest is 26. They debuted in 2018. This much cuteness and talent should be illegal. Lol!

They collaborated with a well known singer and song writer LiSA of Japan.