“So, what else you got?”
She mouths the words and I just stare hypnotically at her beautiful smile and playful eyes. Her lips embrace the glass of pinot and I’m lost. I have gaps in thought just discussing simple matters. We’ve just walked the city streets and now sit talking.
She found me in the self help section of the book store. I saw her head swivelling and couldn’t help, but to approach her. Who meets people at book stores? Where do you go to meet people in adulthood? These questions perplex most, but I’m focussed, single and outspoken. The sudden wave of courage could be a product of Frank Ocean’s mixtape drowning out the surrounding noise. Who knows? I approach with the bravado of a 60′s movie star in a zoot suit.
“I recommend this one? Kind of wordy, but you’ll disregard that once the story starts”
She’s looking at me like Drew Barrymore when she discovers E.T.’s in the closet.
“This is the point where you’re supposed to say ‘Thank you’ and ask my name?”
She replies, “this is actually the part where I tell you my boyfriend is in the washroom and turn away from the creepy guy”
Ouch! She’s funny and beautiful. Wait a minute, am I really the creepy guy. I should give up now, but I’m stubborn and I know she isn’t here with anyone. I’ve been reading at Starbucks for two hours and I saw her enter the store. I cycle through many quick witted replies, but all I can muster is,
“Ouch! Sorry to bother you”
Not as slick as I am in my thoughts. I shy away and rally the troops for one more ditch effort.
“Listen, I know I was a little brash before. My name is…. and I just had to speak to you. Can I buy you a latte? “
Her eyes are replying for her, but she speaks anyway.
“How did you know I didn’t have a boyfriend?”
I smile and she discloses her name, her voice is sex and her humour is HBO worthy.
Hours pass and she is no longer a stranger, but a fly woman with the insight of someone much older than her years. Do kids still say “fly”? I don’t want to stop talking, so I ask her if I can walk her halfway home. This is a clever tactic and in most other circles it would be construed as creepy. We live in a big city that never sleeps, so she doesn’t need to fear me and I’m walking her halfway so she doesn’t have to divulge where she lives. This is genius…at least in theory.
“I don’t know. How do I know know you’re not serial killer-esque? I mean, this is how most movies of the week begin.”
She’s interested, but a little frightened. I get it, single woman with a total stranger, so I unburden her by removing the stranger stigma around me.
“Here’s my wallet, with all my money and identification. There’s tons of people around and it’s not dark, if you feel threatened at any point – scream “fire” and run for your life. Deal?”
She smiles and oh, what a smile it is. I feel like I’ve known her for years, but there is still an air of mystery. This is something I want to prolong and dip my feet in periodically. The whole story will come eventually. We sit in this jazz cafe/restaurant, pinot in her hand, Shiraz in mine.
“So, what else you got?”
Carpe Diem Que
“Hey, to each his own”
25 Jun“Life is like riding in a taxi. Whether your going anywhere or not, the meter keeps ticking”
~ John C. Maxwell
A short siesta transformed into a four-hour rem slumber. This is a byproduct of a great week and even better weekend, which I ran four days on sixteen hours sleep. This model is not to be duplicated and I wouldn’t recommend it – at all. I feel rested now and what better way to tap into some creative juices than to write.
To each his own, the bane of my existence due to the fact my close friends overuse it. This term used to infuriate me because it didn’t quite make sense. I thought when someone says something utterly fucked up, you were supposed to call them out on their foolishness. In my sage wisdom (mostly coming from turning thirty) I have learned to let things go and move on. It’s that whole school of thought that I subscribe, you know, “surround yourself with positive people who are better than you, in order to improve”. It’s one of many mantras I live by. I’ve learned in a short period of time that concerning yourself with other people’s issues will only hurt you. This doesn’t include people you care about and worry for their situations to improve through troubling waters, it’s quite alright to still do that. That’s what amazing friends do, they think of the well-being of others. What I’m talking about is steering clear of issues that don’t concern you and not even formulating an opinion on them.
It’s a known fact that I don’t watch the news, it’s depressing and rarely, if ever, good. I refrain from watching the news because if something was big enough to warrant my time people would talk about it anyway. I don’t need a “fair and balanced” prospective or a loud mouthed blonde woman condemning everyone she deems unacceptable.
“Hey, to each his own”
This is my process and works heavenly, plus it helps to cut down on greys. I’m not ready for the salt and pepper look just yet, I’ll save my Denzel Washington/Clooney haircut look for my forties.
When I was younger, I would watch my father come home rundown from work. He’d follow the same process everyday, get his dinner and watch the news. He rarely smiled during the week and had zero to no tolerance for foolish people. I feel this may have run him down getting so worked up about trivial matters and people who don’t even mean anything in the grand scheme. For instance, yelling at inconsiderate drivers and blasting his horn or being upset with the manner in which some people would address him. I respect my dad and consider myself a better model him, so I watch his actions and improve on them. He rarely gets upset anymore and has learned to let things go. At times he still goes into Hulk mode, but it’s not as often.
I guess what I’m saying here is, life is too short, so “hey, to each his own”. My circumference is only big enough for those compassionate people who support, inspire and love me for who and what I am. I don’t think anyone should concern themselves with matters that have no value. I drive thinking everyone will be inconsiderate, so I pride myself on being a offensive-defensive driver and allow for enough time (Plus, I may have been a pizza delivery driver). People who address me with condescension in their tone never upset me because I know who I am. My life is beautiful and I’ll be damned if my mood and demeanor will be affected by someone who’s having a bad day.
Carpe Diem Que