Choccywoccydoodah in Brighton |
Coffee and chocolate are amongst my favourite things. When I need a pick me up, I make myself a coffee and when I want to wind down, I make myself a cocoa. For my choice of dessert, chocolate is a prime ingredient . Give me a few books, a laptop, an espresso coffee and a piece of yummy chocolate cake, I can while away my time in a café all day long.
I am also one of those people who simply cannot have enough of her solitary moments. I dread shopping malls where there is a sea of people and I avoid hypermarkets like a plague. Last October, when I went to the World Expo in Shanghai, I cringed when I saw the queues and the huge crowds hanging around the pavilions. On October 16, 2010 when the expo set a single-day record of having over 1.03 million visitors that day, I was glad to be away from the Expo and spend my day at Qizhong Stadium located in Ma Qiao town southwest of Shanghai. I was most delighted when I caught the Shanghai Masters semi-final tennis match between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. A superb match to watch between the tennis greats, I count my lucky star to have witnessed it.
Until recently, after the morning rush in getting the children to school, I would get myself ready for work and on the way to work, I used to stop by either Starbucks or Coffee Bean outlet between home and office. Apart from getting the caffeine boost, I felt I needed the time to decompress before arriving at the office. On such mornings when I treated myself to that half hour of break time, I was inclined to be carried away by reading the newspaper or novel which I had with me. Some clients who had been given my mobile phone number obviously did not realize that the number was intended only for use when they had to contact me on an urgent basis. Invariably such mornings might be interrupted by phone calls from clients. To them the mobile number is for their convenience, that is to say, mobile phone is no longer a secondary means of contacting you, it is your direct line. In a way thanks to these calls, I would otherwise not have made it to the office sooner.
Since it was easy to lose track of the time, there were times when I got out of the coffee place, spirits lifted only to be met by the parking attendant who had since placed a new ticket on my windscreen. I had earlier on paid for only thirty minutes as I wanted to set my break time for half hour only. As the parking attendant appeared with a smirk on his face, he commented in Hokkien that I had to pay another thirty cents. My watch showed that I have exceeded by one minute. When I got into my car tucking into the coins tray to get the exact change, the attendant walked away. I could easily drive away as I had seven days to make the payment and I really had to get into the office soon. However I did not want to be burdened with the task of remembering to pay later on and if I overlooked and pay after seven days, it would cost me fifteen ringgit. So I patiently waited for the parking attendant to return. When he reappeared, he babbled in Hokkien dialect about how he could not wait for me as I was too slow in getting my money.
Since it was easy to lose track of the time, there were times when I got out of the coffee place, spirits lifted only to be met by the parking attendant who had since placed a new ticket on my windscreen. I had earlier on paid for only thirty minutes as I wanted to set my break time for half hour only. As the parking attendant appeared with a smirk on his face, he commented in Hokkien that I had to pay another thirty cents. My watch showed that I have exceeded by one minute. When I got into my car tucking into the coins tray to get the exact change, the attendant walked away. I could easily drive away as I had seven days to make the payment and I really had to get into the office soon. However I did not want to be burdened with the task of remembering to pay later on and if I overlooked and pay after seven days, it would cost me fifteen ringgit. So I patiently waited for the parking attendant to return. When he reappeared, he babbled in Hokkien dialect about how he could not wait for me as I was too slow in getting my money.
Dragon boat race in Penang |
Qizhong Stadium |
So often we like to think that it is our destiny when things spin out of our control. Once a friend and I were supposed to meet up at one of the Starbucks outlets and she somehow had in mind a new outlet and got the venue wrong so we ended up at two different Starbucks outlets. She then said, “ Ah well just not meant to be , we are just not destined to meet up today.” When I narrated the incident to my younger daughter, she said, “ That is a misuse of the word “destiny”.” Recently I watched the movie called ‘The Adjustment Bureau’. Both my daughters and I love the movie. Who would not be impressed and love the movie that centers around the concept that you can actually change the destiny if you want something badly and what’s more the protagonist actually said, “ All I have are the choices I make, and I choose her.” The concept that a guy would forgo the presidential post of the United States just to be with the girl of his dreams was mind-blowing and that concept has kept our romantic hopes alive. My younger daughter reminds me that there was one time the "angels" were quoted as saying something to the effect : Not everything happens for a reason, some things are sheer coincidences. Yes I cannot agree more.Not everything that happens has a reason, a lot of times they are just coincidences. Anyway “The Adjustment Bureau” is definitely a feel good movie that says “ Free will usually wins”. Serendipitous encounters are just what I love even if they are random and amount to nothing significant. Whilst not everything that happens has a meaning, if we view life not too damned seriously, we may just enjoy each and every encounter in our daily lives!
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