I was meeting a few friends to watch something in London. On arrival I found out that a couple of people who were supposed to be coming had dropped out, and we had spare tickets, but only 50minutes till it started. So I did a bit of a phone around to see if I could give the tickets away. My usual friends couldn’t make it, so I started to phone people who had ended up on my phone randomly! A few of the people didn’t remember me, and a couple of times I didn’t know who I was phoning either! One of the conversations went along the lines of:

Girl: Who are you?

Me: I was knew the german girl? Remember? You agreed to trade up a massage from me in exchange for painting me in oil colours naked?  Remember?

(more…)

Ugh, it is beginning to happen and I do not like it.  The slow and inevitable creeping of age.  Onward and upward but I have to admit I feel anything but happy.  No, this is one inevitability that I dread everytime that I wake up.  Peter Pan, say goodbye and all that I can feel is bits and pieces of me, slowly disintegrating into nothingness.  Is this what has come to me after years spent educating myself in the hope of a better life?  After listening and obeying in the spoils of my youth, just as I am about to attain financial and personal freedom, will my body let me down?

It was a few years ago that I first noticed the signs.  Pepper.  Yep the black stuff that comes in the condiment rack at any major or minor eatery up and down the country.  The next thing I found that was a no-no was cucumber skins.  Odd.  Two distinctly unrelated foodstuffs could have such a similar reaction on me.  Indigestion.

Food aside, my body is actually serving me very well.  What worries me isn’t my body caving in, but it actually stopping altogether.  For the first time, I feel mortal.  Don’t get me wrong, I never thought I was going to live forever.  But now I actually realise that this life will not go on forever.

And the scary thing isn’t my death but what I have done with my life so far.  A quarter of a century on this planet and nothing I have done has been particularly Earth shattering.  And now I feel that life is slipping through my fingers and all I have left are hopes and dreams but no hard results.  There is so much more I want to do, nay, I need to do and yet I feel so hopeless, being carried away on the wind of time.  However, I won’t let it stop me.  For what I want to do, my hopes and dreams is what keeps me going.  Only now I am acutely aware how much time has already passed.  Now the remaining years have to be lived to the full.

As we begin to lead ever more busier lives in order to stay ahead of the pack, one thing has to be asked.  Where is the love in all that we do?  London is a fast paced city.  Stand still and the crowd will pass you by, leaving you stranded with yesterday’s ideas and flawed mentality.  Technology has made us better connected with the world but most of us have barely spoken to our neighbours.  As the city becomes ever more crowded, we surround ourselves with a cocoon of gadgets and widgets in order to supplement and aid us through our busy lives.

However, when was the last time that you actually talked to someone, brand new, that had nothing to do with your line of work.  When you saw that someone attractive on the bus, did you pluck up the courage to say hi.  When you glanced at each the in a queue was there an exchange of smiles or did you both quickly avert your eyes.

It can be difficult to actually reach out to people in London’s urban environment.  It is true that when strangers actually talk to you, usually want something in your wallet rather than your personality.  But is it right for us to stop all forms of communication with the outside world just because of a fear of getting ripped off?

I am a naturally talkative person.  This helps in my job as a market trader as well as being able to write articles, blogs and scripts on a daily basis.  The thoughts that stream out of my mind.  But one thing I have to admit, even I am quite shy to approach that cute little smile or the fluttering of those eyelids.  I always kick myself and ask, ‘what if’, but come the next time I am still far too shy to approach someone new and just say, ‘hi’.

Maybe I take the phrase, ‘never talk to strangers’ a bit too literally.