Twenty

Birthdays have always been fairly brief, somber occasions for me; it is the time where I feel most down for I do that bad thing which isnlooking back over time and seeing what I have or have not managed to do since my last birthday. I feel the problem stems from the idea where one should live each day as if it's their last for you only live once, paired with my general laziness, for I am the guy who would much rather travel further from home on the tram, if only it means that I can walk down the hill rather then struggle up it. I suppose this should be obvious if I were to think back and feel I have not done all that I could. This year however I didn't feel that at all.

I did an equally as bad thing when I realised that this year was not so bad after all. I tried to think of things which should have been bad, looking for details which were not really there before as regrets in my mind, but still that could not get me down. I was thus forced to be positive about my last year, I could not be sinicle or negative or even pessimistic about nineteen, I had to be positive.

Whilst nineteen I took part in something I was interested in, I successfully lived with 8 people that were knew to me, I passed my first year at university, I had successfully driven my car without crashing it and allowed it to roll on to another good home. Ok, I may not have been living each day as if it was my last however I don't think I did too bad.

Things have been going well with the man I went on a date with all those months ago. It feels like a long time but it hasn't, even been a year. With our birthdays separated by just ten days (and several years) we decide that we would go away to celebrate. I wasn't in the know as to where we were going, until we got there. It was a surprise for me, which he took great pleasure in watching me form an opinion about a destination only for me to change it to being indifferent when I realised he could have planned something which I had said something against. I'm sure he thought it was fun watching me decide how it better not be something, however if it was to be that it wouldn't be too bad and actually I think I would quite enjoy it. Needless to say, after a few hours at the airport, we boarded a plane to Glasgow.

This was the first time I had flown internally, within the UK. It was interesting only passing snow covered homes and crops which primely cultivated snow. The 45 minuite flight felt as if the plane just took off and landed. It was faster and cheaper then the train.

I had never been this far up north before. Friends of mine would think that I understood England up to Sheffield, everything after that was just North. therefore, finding myself up north, I couldn't really pin where a bouts I was. To further disorientate me, we took a taxi to our destination where the driver was shown rather then told where we were going. The car ride took about half an hour and when we arrived I was anticipating Best Western, or well, the Northern equivalent. What stood instead may as well have been Scotlands school of witchcraft and wizardry. Cameron House cut through the snowy highland landscape, leaning towards lock Lammond. He had chosaen well.

I always find old houses are a little sad when someone like the national trust gets their hands on it. Quite why they are so insistent on letting a house hang about in the past, representing how the room was like when a late royalty had had to crash there, I shall never understand. Luckily Cameron house had been saved from that fate and had been kept very modern. It was like looking inside a house based on a Ted Baker shoe, modern and tastefully decorated. The right shades of gray to feel warm and enough puple to hint regal rather then Barney. The smell of smoke and old polish gave an atmosphere Ambi Pure just can't quite recreate.

Lush rooms, spa, treatment rooms, gym, restaurants, a pool... I asked my partner if this was basically just grown up Centre Parks. In a sence it was. It was a themed retreat, couldn't live there forever, but great to holiday in and take a break.

So my birthday present. I had an afternoon in the spa. It was great, having never had a massage like that before. Homedics chair dies nit quite compare to the hands of a woman with an NVQ in skin. Needless to say, both mine and my partners skin was branded a car crash of dead skin cells and blocked pores which should be rectified with £500 of products avalible at the spa shop. So that was lucky.

That weekend was very relaxing. I don't think we actually did anything other then eat, drink, relax and drink. We stayed long enough to enjoy our stay but not long enough to get a taste for whisky, tartan and crave the sound of the pipes.

It was a great surprise. Lastly, before we were to leave he surprised me with one last gift: an iPad.

I am now complete.

TWENTY