“I felt once more how simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. Nothing else.” – Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

I’m fresh back from five days spent at my uncle’s beach house with a very dear friend of mine who came all the way from Dubai to see me. In short, I had a MARVELLOUS time! We did exactly what we planned to do – drank loads of wine, sunbathed, ate way too much seafood, and spent loads of time catching up. As the house had no Internet, I spent most of the time completely unplugged from emails, social media accounts and news sites, which was exactly what I needed. I did not, as my brother predicted, freak out and run for the nearest hotel with Internet. In fact, I enjoyed it and it’s made me determined to enjoy more Internet-free time in the future.

I was very sad to leave my friend at the airport yesterday; it had been a year since I saw her last, and as with every great friend whom you don’t see for a while, I’m pleased to say we picked up straight where we left off. We’ve both had a chaotic year, but I’m happy to see we’re embracing the future with both hands and are stronger than ever. Go us!

Now, my thoughts of the week.  

I Want A Beach House

One of my longest standing dreams (along with finally writing and publishing that bloody book) is to have a house by the beach someday. After spending the last few days living in one, I want it more than ever! In the evenings when we’d be sat outside drinking a glass of wine, we could hear the waves crashing against the shore – same thing in the morning while having coffee! It was, simply put, perfect.

Not only do I find the sea soothing, but I also find that it helps me creatively. So, you know, I need it in order to work better. Ahem.

The Next Four Weeks 

As of today I’m back at work 100%. I have two new clients who have already sent me a bunch of stuff that they need doing, and I also have a feature to write for Aquarius magazine in Dubai. All the travelling I’ve done of late has meant that I’ve only been working sporadically, and in all honesty I’ve missed just sitting at my laptop with a massive mug of coffee and getting shit done! Oh, and earning money – I need to get more dough in order to fund my next point, which is…

Christmas Markets in Germany

I had a brainwave the other day. I want to travel at least once more this year and I also really want to see a close friend of mine in Germany who has been begging me to visit ever since she left Dubai three years back. When I was thinking about this it quickly occurred to me that Christmas (my favourite time of year, y’all!) is only three months away, and what is Germany famous for? Christmas markets!

I quickly messaged my friend to see if she’s a) around at the beginning of December and b) interested in meeting up and going to one of the markets. And she replied: HELL YES! So, it looks like I’ll be in Germany early December. The plans have yet to be finalised, but it’s looking very likely that I’ll be hitting Munich! Bring on the Glühwein!

How Soon Is Too Soon?

I’m a bit puzzled by men and people in general. I’m relatively newly single, and in the three months since my break up I’ve already been approached by two guys who were apparently waiting in the sidelines all this time, wanting to know if I will go for drinks with them. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m totally flattered and they’re lovely guys, but I do wonder why anyone would want to get into a relationship with (or even date) someone so quickly after they’ve just come out of a long-term relationship? I know for one that I’d never be comfortable dating someone who is fresh out of a long-term, serious relationship – you so know you’re a rebound, or a short-term disastrous relationship at best. Love doesn’t vanish over night, nor do feelings, plus people have to heal first. So I could never be with a guy knowing that he perhaps still has feelings for his ex – who would want that?! Hmmm.

Plus, right now, all I want to focus on is me – me, me, me, me! Isn’t that what you should always do when you first come out of a long-term relationship?

So I got to wondering – how soon is too soon?

Vision Board 

I’ve decided I’m going to put together a vision board full of things I want to achieve both long-term and short-term! I think it’s a great way of helping you to keep your eyes on the prize so to speak, and also to gently remind yourself on bad days where you want to be in the long run. As I don’t have my own place at the minute, I’ve started collecting the photos I want on there and pining them on a private board on Pinterest, so that as soon as I have a pad I am good to go!

Things that will be on there? The aforementioned beach house. And Idris Elba.

What are your random thoughts on my random thoughts?

 

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