Mr Chocolate…

It’s a rainy day today and I had a flashback to one of my ‘love’ stories (blame it on the weather haha…) So here goes, hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed reliving it!

There are times I’d plan to just ‘pop’ in on social media but then end up spending a lot of time scrolling through Instagram stories of “friends”, celebrities, random strangers… and catching up on all the trending news… It was on one of those days it happened. My phone dropped! I was laying in bed with my phone in one hand and then BANG, DROP, CRACK lol… Felt like I dropped with it haha

You know how it is, right? You’ve dropped it so many times in the past and nothing happens… With each fall, you hold your breath hoping “it’s nothing to worry about”. (Especially if it’s one of those 4 digit costing ones *side eye*)Yep, for a while, that was the case… At least till that day! Guess like many things in life, I took it for granted for so long… I believed my phone was somewhat indestructible smh… Well, jokes on me now *rolls eyes*

So early the next morning, (thankfully it was a Saturday) I was out of the house to go get it fixed. I had no idea where exactly the repair store was.  All I knew was it wasn’t too far from home but dodgy enough for me to hide my wallet, anything worth anything lol…

En route, I stopped to ask for directions and decided to get some money from the cashpoint. I didn’t want to use my card in case I got a notification weeks later that someone on some remote island tried buying a 76″ tv with it haha. And there he was, Mr chocolate walking by… Like a knight in shining armour to the rescue! Pretty much accosted me. He said I had a frown on my face and as a good citizen, he stopped to offer some assistance. Yeah right! I didn’t believe it then and still don’t believe it now lol. We got talking and he kindly followed me to the dodgy phone shop. Yeah, he was nice which stood out, funny and quite attractive too hehe. Extra brownie points! We walked and talked… I felt something…

Weeks later, my phone now fixed and back to my online updates, I noticed Mr Chocolate had evolved into a prima donna… Nope, I wasn’t having it… Seemed he wanted a fan club and I sure wasn’t about that life! 

I guess I’m better off with some real food than chocolate. At least they stay humble no matter the appeal…lol

Cheers to my ever faithful buffet holiday spread!! Forever looking hot and tasty haha

Holiday.com

So I finally put in my leave request at work *rolls eyes*. To be honest I am yet to decide where I’ll spend it! This wasn’t a problem in the past… Oh, no… It was more about how many I could fit into 10 days hahaha. From Morocco to Turkey to everyone’s favourite *drum roll* SPAIN… (If you’re one of the thousands of bargain loving brits that is hehe)’

As it’s been a long while I last went on a vacation, I’m pretty much restless. I’ve never been the one to travel during the expected holiday seasons e.g. Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc.… Nope! Not me. I am more of a free spirit… It might sound weird but my soul at different times yearns for a different environment/experience and when that happens, my mind begins to wonder… ’Where next?

As soon as this happens I begin to search online for the best deals. I have several faithful ‘go to’ websites (sorry no one’s sponsoring this post so ‘mums’ the word lol) that usually pack a ‘deal’- Well we know they’re not deals per se, just a better bargain than others hahaha. I do this because I don’t want to spend all my ‘trust funds on a getaway. It’s all about priorities! At that particular moment, I might have the funds but I would have to decide if it will have to wait or if yes, it’s time to go… Decisions, decisions, decisions lol. But these holidays do come with their ‘issues’… *side eye*

Sometimes comparing holidays somewhat satisfies the longings. Strange I know! Lol. I have several cities/countries I intend to visit overtime… I start to pick one of them and begin checking hotels, flights, FOOD and most importantly- weather!!! I follow the sun in all my adventures… I never really got the memo about ski resorts and snow! Hahaha… Not for me… But never say never… All it takes is one experience to change my mind, but hey! Till then… Winter/snow is a different kind of experience for me…

From the holiday checklist, food is way up the scale when I go abroad… I try as much as possible to keep away from fast food I usually have back home (We know them…yep, the ones at the airport or close to the hotels with ‘meal deals’ and long queues lol). Once in a while, I do crave the familiar. I mean there’s nothing wrong in munching some Kentucky fried chicken on your way to having some authentic paella right?

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Not perfect…

Have you been in a relationship, found love, moved into a new home, started a new job, gotten married or had kids and it all seemed perfect at first? But a couple of days, weeks and months after it felt like the ‘honeymoon period was over…? Those things don’t feel or seem so exciting anymore… Maybe you begin to think you got it wrong somehow… You begin to see the ‘not so nice’ side and begin to wonder how you ever missed the signs…

Of course, we tend to believe the best in everything and everyone… But maybe we are so blindsided we focus on the roses and forget the many thorns that come with the package… Did we set ourselves up by believing what we were sold? No one tells you about the sleepless nights with the babies or the annoying habits of being with the ‘love of your life’ up close and personal… Those things they do that make you think of your life early in the morning over a nice hot cup of lemon tea lol. Or the colleague who suddenly begins to morph before your eyes…

Sometimes we think to run… Get out of the situation or just be so hard on ourselves for not seeing things or people as they are… Or maybe we have to manage our expectations in the future and so when anything bursts our fantasy bubble, we’re prepared and ready …

I for one would pick myself up… It’s hardly about me… Or is it? Never take it personally… Just keep being you and never let something or someone else determine your mood or happiness… You owe it to yourself and your peace of mind… Shake it off like water off a duck’s back they say.

Here’s to making better choices with eyes wide open and a heart strong enough to let things go…

Canteen…

So… Boris finally let the “cat out of the bag”…or shall we say, the government finally “let us get back to mingling and tingling”? Haha…Yep, they opened the “flood gates” of “freedom” today taking off restrictions… Well, most *side-eye”. I for one am looking forward to my Saturday Cinema treats… Weird I know, another post another day lol. 

But before we lose our minds on all the things we planned to catch up on, let’s take a moment to think of lunchtime at work!!! Yep, when we all get back to being in one space (strange feeling haha). Grab your hot chocolate, cat, mimosa, as I recreate a canteen moment long forgotten lol.

Lunchtime at work and everyone’s taking out their ‘cuisines from around the world’… I remove my meal from the microwave silently praying it doesn’t stink up the office…*rolls eyes*. It’s funny in hindsight, but never funny when you’re in the middle of a packed canteen… Was I ‘ashamed’ of the food or the smell? Or maybe it was all in my head… Sure my food might smell different from everyone else’s, but doesn’t mean it tastes awful… (depends on how long I left it out of the fridge lol).

Normally, I don’t have the time for questions like ‘what’s that? It looks like spinach, can I taste it, is it spicy, how spicy is it, did you cook it?’ Nope, not having it! Just eat your food, and I’ll eat mine so we can get back to work or whatever we pretended to be doing before lunchtime…lol

With time I realized it’s an opportunity to share the many wonderful tastes and our cultures. A lot of people are curious… I mean I’m curious to have tried octopus, frog legs and other different dishes from other countries… So spark peoples interest with something as special as food… It’s one thing that connects people the world over…

I remember how some of my colleagues were always happy when talking about their local dishes. How their parents prepared the dishes growing up, the farm life and how they grew their fruits and vegetables. A couple of them still had farms… Awesome… How cool is that! I understood their joy… Talking about food they loved from memory… If only they knew it’s going to be cow’s foot for dinner at my place when next it’s safe to come around *insert evil grin*

What if all our work lunches looked as fabulous as this (and smelt like roses… lol)

Do you have certain meals you’d probably think twice before eating at the office …? I do… lol

Exit stage one…

Remember long ago before Whatsapp did the ‘right thing’ by allowing us to have the power to reject or simply ignore group invites…? Yes, waking up to 398 groups pretty much not necessary… For example…. ‘Shannon added you to ‘what should I wear on my first date though I don’t have one yet but like to prepare ahead of time’ …. *confused face*. So in order not to offend anyone (at a point I didn’t care anymore cause the conversations were either rude, none edifying or just past its ‘shelf life’ lol), I’d be that silent observer popping in once in a while with the random “lol” or congratulations…

God forbid you dared to leave a group considered ‘serious or important! Your DM would be flooded more than the titanic with all sorts of questions trying to guilt-trip you or make you question if you did the right thing by leaving! At first, I put on a nice story about not having enough time to engage or family stuff… Some believed and threw in a few “awwws and ahhh” with a sprinkle of advice on how to handle life…. *rolls eyes*. Hold on Mark, I’m doing good… I just can’t stand how you gossip about people in the group chat… Rip them to pieces and then post on the main group chat how adorable they are… Pure evil if you ask me… The little cabals that form from main groups are the worst… You never know what’s going on behind those keypads… Or who’s hooking up with who…

Then seasons changed…. Or more like WhatsApp got the memo. Now, strangers can’t add you… Strangers to me are folks I don’t have saved on my phone. Yep, I Dont Know You… Lol. And the best part? You have to agree to be a part of any group… Music to my ears. Cuts down the list to about 2 now lol. And it’s pretty much family left

Well, I said all that to say… I recently exited one of those first generational group chats. Funny enough, in the beginning, I offered to join but with time it just lost its spark… People kept dropping off like flies… The group was meant to empower but I don’t think we quite hit the spot. I did my best to keep it going… (Like those dead-end relationships we refuse to accept is going nowhere….hmmm) but it just didn’t happen. So I did it… I left the group… Yep, them folks would wake up to an “xx left the group”. I had to do it late at night to avoid any backlash if you know what I mean lol. And guess what? I slept like a baby… I honestly can’t explain it… It felt like a heavy load was lifted off me. A load I didn’t know I was carrying strangely enough. Guess that’s a good sign that I did the right thing? And no one sent me a msg asking why… Lol. Unless they wanted me out of the group in the first place. We will never know, will we…? Some things are better left alone… Cheers to peace in life…

As I was able to get some good sleep… I was able to try out some recipe… Random pasta sauce. Here’s a pic of halfway before and after… Bon appetite everyone and a smashing weekend ahead (or the next day depending on where on the planet you are!)