Morning

This morning I was lying in bed, snuggling up to my scattered pillows, testing the coldness by exposing a toe from under the warm, toasty duvet and enjoying that safe, warm, grateful feeling you get, listening to the pitta patta of raindrops on the roof and the powerful wind blowing outside. Sookie-cat noticed me move and immediately jumped on the bed. She bit my toe. Then she came to sit on my chest. I moved away from her, turned my head to the other side, but she just came that side and pushed her moist, cold nose against my cheek. No escape. I put my head under the duvet and breathed in the warm, sleepy air. Sookie dug her nails into the duvet. She knows I can never keep my head under the duvet for long because I suffer from Claustrophobia. I pull the duvet away from my face and gulp the fresh, frosty air. Now, I'm awake. No more sleep for me.

I check my cellphone lying beside me on its pillow throne. It's 5:42. Great! I usually get up at 05:55 to switch on the radio - 5fm, my favourite radio breakfast show. Then I switch on my en-suite bathroom light, so it can flush my bedroom - not the bedroom light as it will be too bright. I still want to cuddle myself for 20 minutes or so and drift between sleep and awake. And then I open the door for Sookie so she can go outside and do her business. And then I open the window, so she can come back inside when she's done. This sounds like it takes about a few minutes but in reality it takes only a minute and then I jump back into bed, grateful for its warmth. I swim in it, indulge in it and then when my body heat is back to sleep level, just when my mind starts to leave the shore, just when my limbs start to relax again, just when my breathing become deep again, my alarm goes off. I try to ignore it but the irritating sound drills through my sleepy skull. I frantically search for the phone with my one hand. It fell off the bed. Now I actually have to move my whole body to pick it up and stop the alarm. Finally peace and quiet again.

I roll back onto my back. Sigh, yawn, and stretch. Today is going to be long day and its cold. What to wear? Before I get out of bed, I pray a quick prayer - Please give me strength to get through this day, Lord. I jump out of bed, get my gown on - it's old, dirty pink and I lost the belt but it's the most comfortable thing ever. First stop is usually the loo. Then I wash my hands and go to the kitchen. Check Sookie's bowls. Get my breakfast and lunch ready for work. Go back to the bedroom, get my cell and remote control out from under the pillows, put it on the counter where my lunch is waiting in the kitchen. This way, I have to take my phone when I take my lunch.

Make the bed. Pick out an outfit. Shower. By this time Sookie is back. She likes to sit in the bathroom, while I shower; I think it's the warmth of the steam. Brush my teeth. Moisturise, roll-on, put on clothes. Brush my hair. This is usually a mission. My hair never wants to do what I want it to do - NEVER! Then I apply a bit of eye-liner - without it my face always looks drab - sometimes I even add mascara and eye-shadow. Then I get my jacket. Spray some deodorant/perfume all around. I switch off the lights. Check that I take my phone, my lunch and take out my bus ticket, so I don't have to dig around in my bag, while I'm waiting on the bus. I switch off the radio, check that the window is open for Sookie and open curtains. Switch off kitchen light, lock my door and I'm off to the bus stop. It usually takes me 30 minutes to get ready every morning. I love my routine. While at the bus stop I usually chat with a friend I made who also takes the same bus. We share stories about stuff that happened the previous day. And when the bus comes - we don't even have to stop it because the bus driver knows us already - I take a deep breath! My morning starts here!

Shopping

A colleague and I started chatting the other day and at one point we started talking about malls. Now everyone who knows me well, knows that I don’t like malls. I prefer small shopping centres or stand-alone shops. Maybe because before I go shopping, I make sure I know exactly what I want. I go into this specific shop, I get what I want and I leave. Usually there’s no browsing through items, no fitting on clothes and (heaven forbid) no window shopping. My colleague responded and said, “How interesting. Because I’m the total opposite.” He told me that he takes his time when he shops. He likes fitting on clothes and he goes into every shop. Needless to say he loves malls. And then, I can’t remember if it was me or him who stumbled across this awesome metaphor (it was me) but someone said (me): “Hey, it’s almost like dating!” And a door opened up. It was! It absolutely WAS like dating!

He liked going to the mall to do his shopping – he liked going out to clubs to do his “shopping”. I am impatient when it comes to “shopping”. You get it? Anyway, when I walk into a store, I know exactly what I’m looking for and I don’t compromise. But every so often I get swindled by a smooth sales pitch or like most women I can easily fall for a pair of fabulous stilettos or fairy-wing-like underwear. Okay, back to him. He said he goes into every shop in a mall to take a look at the merchandise – I only go to the shops I usually buy from. Come to think of it, I’ve never gone into any other shops than the ones I’m used to. While my colleague likes looking at everything the shops have to offer. He loves fitting on clothes in the shops. I hate it! I like fitting on clothes at home and when it doesn’t fit, I return it. He likes taking his time with his items. I pick what I want, commit and get the hell out of there. Basically, I think malls are symbolic of social establishments people occupy in order to find their mates. I love it! It makes perfectly sense.

I have another friend who takes forever just picking out coffee or milk or sugar. She would read the labels thoroughly before she buys anything and she doesn’t even look at the Ricoffy or House brands. Only the best will do. And so it is in the dating world. For some reason this metaphor just works wonderfully. How you shop seems to be how you date. Okay, I'm not saying men - or women for that matter - is like cans of corn or bars of soaps of pairs of jeans. I think it's more to do with how we make decisions about things. Shopping means you invest in something, whether temporarily or long-term and I think therefor we tap into the same thing we tap into when we shop - when we date. Isn’t it funny? So next time you are in a mall or a shopping centre or a stand-alone shop, stop and think about the way you like to do your shopping – it might be exactly the way you like to do your dating too ;)

Stranger

I've got a secret. For a long time now, I have noticed that whenever I concentrate on someone or even just notice them - maybe I see them on the bus or at the office or while I wait in line to buy a bus ticket, may it be a woman, child or man - when I concentrate on that person for just a few minutes every time I see them, it's almost a given that circumstances will cause us to talk to each other at one time or another.

Of course I don't do it deliberately and of course I don't think I'm the only person that has noticed this. My conclusion? Certain people are just meant to be in our lives. We are meant to cross each others paths. It's written in the stars or it's our destiny or fate - whatever you want to call it.

Also - I would like to think that it's our energies that attract us to these people. When I notice someone, it's usually because that person did something kind. Because that person has a sad look on her face or because that person looks so darn familiar. And whenever I see the person again, the same emotion I felt when I saw them the first time bubbles up inside of me.

I am intrigued by the sad person's story or by the kind person's gesture or by the familiarity of a person I've never met. And then before long I bump into them at the grocery store and they start talking to me as if they know me because they have noticed me too!

Everything happens for a reason and people come and go out of our lives but I think they leave behind something that changes us, in a small way or in a big way, forever. It doesn't matter how small the mark is that, that person leaves behind. It just might cause another small thing to happen and THAT will cause another small thing to happen and another and another until a really big thing happens and boom your life is changed FOREVER!

People say don't sweat the small stuff but I love the small things because it has the potential to cause something BIG somewhere down the line.