Can I turn 25 forever?

It's been a while since I last wrote a blog, and much happend since then. I had a lovely Barcelona flight, but the crew wasn't the best. You know sometimes you work with people and they have the same work vibe as you and sometimes you fly with people and they are the opposite. Oh well, you can't like everybody you work with right. Pretty hard to like 24.000 people!

The best thing about my job is that I can visit my friends all over the world. I met up with my old roommate Sarah in Hamburg. It is so nice to meet up with friends because then it doesn't feel like working sometimes, it feels like a little holiday, catching up with some good food and maybe even a cheeky glass of wine. After Hamburg I decided to go to the Netherlands for the weekend and spend it with my best friend Nikie in Groningen, which is a city in the north. However things didn't really turned out the way they were supposed to. After mom picked me up we went to the beach for a few hours and while I stood up I became dizzy and started shivering. We went home because I just didn't feel well enough to go for dinner with my parents and my brother and his fiancé. We had dinner at home and went to bed early. I hardly slept because I just wasn't feeling myself and couldn't fall asleep and when I did I was dreaming strangely. At 7am I went downstairs, covered in sweat and as white as a piece of paper, my mom checked my temperature and I had 39.6 degrees celsius, my normal temperature is 36.4, so you can imagine why I wasn't feeling well. Had to call Nikie that I couldn't go to Groningen, my whole body was in pain and I could hardly stand on my own two legs, let alone being in a train for 3 hours while it's 30 degrees outside. I was in pain, my stomach was hurting and my lower back. Saturday and Sunday I stayed in and mom gave me many tablets to decrease the high fever, however, it wasn't going down. First thing on Monday morning we did was going to the doctor, it took so much energy out of me to go in the car and sit at the doctors, all I did for the past days was lay down and try to sleep. Within 30 seconds the doctor told me I had a kidney infection and she prescribed me some strong antibiotics for 7 days. But I was supposed to go back to work the next day, but not a chance I could go on a flight, not even a chance they would accept me on the flight in the first place. The doctor wrote a sick note that I had to send to my manager and then I stayed for another 7 days at home. Because I had such high fever a few times a day I started shivering because my body barely could take it, it looked like I had an epileptic reaction each time. My mom used to work in the hospital so I was so happy to be home and that my parents could take care of me, and my mom just stayed calm. If I would be anywhere else I would have been in the hospital, a kidney infection is very dangerous. Because of the fever and pain as well I didn't want to eat, I was too sick, but I had to. In that week I lost 3/4 kg, and if you only weight 51 in the first place that's a lot. But it could have happend anywhere, I am so glad it happend while I was at home and my mom could take care of me, so grateful for that. She even said that if it happend in Dubai she would have flown to me, how sweet !!! When I feeling a bit better I went back home to recover then for another few days and see the doctor here. So many of my friends came by to cook for me, because I had to gain weight and get stronger to get better. In those times you realize who your real friends are, and men I ate a lot, so don't worry I'am back at my normal weight !!

My first flight after my sickness was Amsterdam again as well. Think I have never been in the Netherlands so many times in one month. It felt good to work again and get in the flow of having energy, sleep normal and be able to do something again. When you normally have so much energy and then all of a sudden it's gone it's hard to adjust, you want so many things but you just can't, you have to listen to your body. This all happend in June, and June is also my birthday month !! I was turning 25 and that has to be celebrated big. I had the days off from work and I could be anywhere in the world to celebrate it but I decided, after everything that happend already this year I wanted to be with the people I love, so it was going to be a dutch birthday in the garden at my parents house! Mom and dad were already preparing for days before I came, all healthy and happy this time. The weather was absolutely amazing, it was 25/26 degrees and the party was as beautiful and amazing as the people who came to the party!!

Old neighbours came to the party, people who saw me growing up, my parents friends who are all family to me as well. About 40/45 people came to this dutch bbq party, because that's how we do it. Amazing food from the bbq, nice salads, and of course a good glass of beer or wine !! We even played some beerpong!

Boys against the girls !!!! 

What a beautiful day it was ! Even some of my friends I met in Dubai came to celebrate!!! <3 My friend Juul came with a piñata for me to hit at 11pm. All I could hear was my mom saying, do not let go of the hockeystick. It would be a typical Merel thing to let go and let the hockeystick go through the window.

It already feels good to be 25, can't wait for the exciting years to come, they say between 25 and 35 are your best years, and I am already having so much fun, so bring on the next 10 years !! After this incredible party it was time to go back to work... However I felt I needed to throw one last 25th birthday party in Dubai for my friends here. I had a Bangkok Sydney trip first with the best crew I had since 3.5 years flying all over the world ! In Bangkok we went to the Hangover bar, and wow that one is definitely worth going to one day !!

So much for a quiet night in Bangkok, why can that never happen?! I went out till 5 in the morning with the pilots in some Thai clubs with cute little Thai ladies who were very interested in the men I was with, it was hilarious !! After Bangkok it was time for Sydney where I was meeting my friend Cameron, who I met in Croatia during yacht week, lives in Hongkong, met up there twice, he came to Dubai once and he's originally from Sydney, where we were meeting this time, now that's what they call international friendship !! After this amazing trip I had 2 days to organize my house party! I decided to make it a themed party so everybody had to dress up in sports clothes !! I was cooking and preparing for 2 days as well, from homemade quiche, little sausage rolls, jelly shots, pineapple baileys ice cream and getting all the party props ready in the living room. I will tell one thing, NEVER AGAIN! Lost glasses, chocolate cake went in my face and then the cake went flying through the sky and landed on the wall, somebody decided to make a handstand in the middle of the room where a picture frame fell down, apparently somebody was walking naked through the staircase which they saw on the cameras, but it was definitely worth it, but never again haha!

At least even the security had a good time watching the cameras of sumo wrestlers walking in and out! Good thing I could relax in Mauritius after this party, and after I cleaned the whole house!! 

June 2017 is definitely a month to remember, from being very sick to celebrating my 25th birthday in the garden in the Netherlands, and having a rememberable house party, where we will talk about for a long time !!

Even writing this blogs and seeing those photos again give me a big smile on the my face, a big thanks to everyone who made my birthday so special, love you all to the moon and back <3 And a specials thanks to my amazing parents who made it possible for me to have my party in the garden!!