Bad luck a.k.a A. Aquino

I have always considered myself as a person with a generally average amount of luck. Sometimes I’ve had my luck pull through and other times I’ve had my luck fall short. As of late, however, (let’s say the past 2 weeks) it has honestly felt like the universe has been shitting on me. I am currently the definition of bad luck.

Bad luck  |bad lʌk|

noun [ mass noun ]

Failure apparently due to pure chance rather than through one’s own actions – also defined as Angelica Alexis Aquino.

My friend Michaela asked me, “What have you done?! You must have done something really bad for all of this to happen… What did you do man!?”, and since then, I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out what I could have possibly done to piss off the karma gods so much. I swear I’m at least a semi decent person. I mean I don’t go out of my way to cause misfortune on others or anything like that, promise. The only other way she put it was that something fucking incredible is coming my way and this is just paving the way for that. I’m hoping it’s the latter.

Just to help you paint a picture in your mind of my life for the past two weeks I’ll list a few things that have happened to me:

• An overnight bus I took in Turkey got a flat tire in the middle of no where at 4am which turned an already 10hour bus ride into a 13hour bus ride… May as well have flown to Asia.
• I (somehow) lost my flight from Istanbul to Amsterdam. After frantically booking a new flight (which cost more than $500 AUD (!!!!)), it proceeded to be cancelled by the airline and I was then requested to pay an ADDITIONAL 90€ to secure the reservation. Yeh… Nah.
• When arriving in Amsterdam, I stood at the luggage carousel for a good 30 minutes in anxious hope that maybe, just maybe, my bag was the last to get loaded off and it was just a bit lag. Incorrect. I reported the lost luggage and was told I would probably have it back within 2 days. Cool. 2 days. No worries. Also Incorrect.
• I only had Havaianas on my feet and a thin denim jacket in a city whose definition of summer is 17 degrees and raining.
• I wasted more than 3 hours on hold, trying to get any information from the luggage people. I also wasted time and money going back to the airport (since the phone wasn’t a great option, nor was email apparently) just to be told that they had “no information about your luggage”.
• I lost 50€ (please don’t ask how because I do not know)
• I couldn’t get any checked in luggage fees refunded for the remainder of my flights
• I’ve had an ongoing cold since July. Some days it’s eased up, other days I feel like I’m dying
• I have lost my appetite (this is probably the one thing that has upset me the most. If you know me, you know that food is my life and that I always finish my meal – this has not been the case for over a week now… WHO AM I?!)
• I’m pretty sure I’ve also been suffering from gastro* the past week (is that TMI?)
• In the span of 2 days, I have stepped in gum twice. TWICE.
• It has now been over a week without my luggage. So without clothes, shoes, my toiletries and make up, camera chargers and laptop charger (HUGE thank you to Nadia and Michaela for letting me use your things .. repeatedly)

Now, I’ve realised that despite all of it, I’ve been pretty optimistic (?) or not necessarily phased (besides the appetite thing though, that shit’s getting to me forreal). And I mean, some of these are just real petty things. I’m alive, I’m safe, I’m still travelling around and seeing the world, I still have (some) money and I’m well.. minus my bowel movements. I mean, it’d be great if I had my luggage back by now but it’s not the end of the world either is it? And just for a small update, I am currently in Edinburgh with Mic, totally in my element loving the Fringe festival and loving life. There’s not long left of this European Summer Adventure which is sad, but there’s a part of me that also can’t wait to get back to my apartment in Madrid. Either way, know that I’ll make the most of it regardless of how many outfits I have to repeat.

Til my next post,

Besos para ti xx

*Self diagnosed. I honestly don’t know what’s wrong with me but it is not fabulous. Am I developing a gluten intolerance? Who knows.