A good start to 2007

Yesterday was a really nice new year's eve. Sonny and I decided to re-decorate our bedroom, clearing out the old ancient furniture and making space for nice cupboards and bookcases (we are both bookworms).

So we went off to Ikea. We got there pretty early - just before 12 noon and it was already packed! Then we did the smart thing - we ate first hehehe. With a bellyful of FastaPasta, we were all charged up to shop.

Found nice stuff, at ok prices and then I ran off to get a trolley. Hmmm, there were no more. So I waited. And waited. And a queue started building up behind me. The place was packed with shoppers! I think it was at least 20 minutes before any trolleys came. While waiting, I started chatting with the man behind me and another old lady. Chatting about nothing really, but it made the waiting nicer, and it made me feel human.

Finally, I got a trolley and managed to manoeuvre it back to where Sonny was waiting. We loaded it up and started queuing to pay. Another long wait. Then we went to arrange for home delivery : our number was 200, and the number being served was 127. Ok, more waiting...

We decided to load the rest of our stuff in my little Kelisa first and then come back. After Sonny heroically used the weight-lifting skills he learnt way back in uni to load our new cupboards, we went back up the waiting area - and found that the number being served was 135.

Hmm...

Sonny went off to look for his current favourite book "The World Is Flat" while I settled down on the trolley. I curled up and just waited. Funny, I didn't feel impatient. I was at peace, happy to just watch people and be with my own thoughts. The time was 3pm. I was surprised that we had spent so much time there already. My plan was to get home as early as possible and start fixing the stuff up. It's not often I have the mood to clean up and I didn't want to waste it.

But somehow, I wasn't anxious or stressed. I was in a happy bubble. I would listen to the people around me and we'd just smile to each other. They all became familiar to me. Eventually, we waited til 4.20 before our number came up. By that time, I felt so familiar with everyone there already - like we have become one small community. Isn't it strange? I think human beings by nature are communal creatures. And it is possible to be so connected to a crowd of strangers, even without saying a word to anyone.

Then I got rewarded for my patience and peace : Ikea wanted to deliver our stuff that day itself. Whoohooo... we can get our room ready all at once now! Yay!

When I got home at about 5pm, I was thinking that it would be nice if life could be like that every day : I wake up committed to do the important things. Do it without getting upset at hiccups. And then receive an unexpected reward. How nice. Perfect!

Later that evening, we went out with Mom and Dad. Dad's freemason lodge was holding their annual Ladies' Night on New Year's Eve so it would be a double celebration.

The lodge is an amazing thing. It is for men only. They meet once a month and practise strange rituals and ceremonies that are shrouded in secrecy. No outsider knows what they do. Dad once said there are two topics which are not allowed under their roof : religion and politics. And there are two criteria for men who want to join : must believe that there is a Higher Power (even if they don't call him God) and must have a trade or craft. At one of their functions, I heard them say their objective is to make 'a good man better'. They call each other 'brethren'.

Well, from what I have seen over the years, the men are very much like brothers. There is some kind of commitment to look after each other's families. When mom was hospitalised after her stroke, they would come and visit. Mom and I don't even know some of them, but they would come and sit with us or pray with us. There have been hints and subtle signs of their unspoken bond to each other. I think it's a good thing.

Last night at their Ladies night, it felt like a huge family gathering. Very warm and full of laughter. Very nice.

We came home just before the countdown and watched MPPJ's firework display from our balcony. Mom, Dad, Sonny, our maid Robena, Wabi and me. Then we hugged and kissed each other and happily went to bed. Nice...

I wish you a Hppy New Year. May you always see the Blessings around you, feel the Love that surrounds you, and may you receive as generously as you give.