Sunday Reflection!

This is my blog.  I got up one fine day and started this blog.  I took action and did what I wanted.  But how many times do we really get to do this? How many times do we have a say in what goes on in our life?  The positive person would say always, we always have control over where life takes us, or rather, where we take our life.  The negative person would argue in an opposite way.  We are at the mercy of life's situations.  I, disagree and agree with both.

I find myself torn between admitting that I am able to control what happens in my life, I am happy only until I let myself be happy.  I can be happy if I do not let the tough things effect me too much.  That's one approach I tend to like.  But then I also believe in destiny.  What is destined to happen will happen eventually and I really and truly do not have any control over that.

At this point I need to point out that, as I have mentioned countless times before on here, I am a horrible control freak.  Family and friends who know me well know what I'm like.  So you can understand how difficult it sometimes is to accept the fact that we are just not always able to control what happens in life.  But it can't be all bad can it? Letting life pave the way is sometimes so magical that it takes your breath away.  You might not see it at present, but you look back and say "Heck, this was the best thing that could have happened to me!"  This has happened to me once or twice, and let me tell you, the feeling you get after...yeah, it's magical!

Have a good week,
Claire xxx

Strictly NO parking,they say!

I've been pondering over this post for a while now and since posts where I rant about something seem to be quite popular, I'm going to take the plunge and Attempt (notice the capital letter) to understand the logic behind some people's parking decisions.

Living on such a tiny island means that every little change, even the smallest, will have a huge impact.  Cars have increased drastically and with it parking problems.  But what I shall look at today is not problems to do with logistics but actually problems which come about from a nation who is lazy and egoistic at best.

An issue I come face to face with often is that of having people parked in front of a garage.  My boyfriend happens to have a grocery store in front of his house, so what happens? People are too lazy to walk a few extra steps and so they park in front of the garage.  Now there will be ample empty spots to park in, but they choose to block the garage.  And if God forbid I get angry and go ask around, I will get nasty looks and complaints.

Next up, taking more than one parking slot.  As you know, I work in Sliema, which is in my opinion the worst place, after University, to find parking.  Parking areas are too expensive, they flood when it rains and they're a hassle to drive through.  So I look for parking on the street.  Now you'd be surprised to see that plenty, and by plenty I don't mean a couple but plenty, of cars who are parked in between parking spaces, which means that they take up two spaces.  Now I'm no St.Theresa, but I find it difficult to understand how people can be so egoistic as to do that.  If the case happens once in a blue moon I wouldn't say anything, but to have multiple cars doing it, it just frustrates me.

Next up and probably the worst of all is parking in the middle of the street like you own the place.  I suffer from horrible road rage and it's not the first time that I yell "Mela hallijielek Nannuk?" ("Was the road a gift from Grandpa?" - it's more effective in Maltese).  These people not only cause traffic jams, but they're also a danger to those driving properly. Oh and listen to this, another Sliema episode.  So I parked my car in a good parking spot, within the lines and everything and I go back to drive off in the scorching Summer heat to find a car blocking me completely. When I move closer, I find that this lovely driver left a note with her number so I could call her to come and drive away. Can you believe that? I was infuriated and I played a little trick on the person by telling her that I actually called the police and gave them her licence plate number.  She moved the car and the look on her face, priceless.

Please, for my sanity, stick to the white lines!
Claire

Once in a Lifetime!

http://youtu.be/KHy9mLJ7enk

I'm linking a song at the very start of the post because it inspired this post and it's a great, relaxing and romantic song, so enjoy. 

Just in case you didn't click the link is for a song called "Once In A Lifetime".  The song inspired me to write a post about stuff we do once in a lifetime which impact our whole lives.  I started thinking about little things you experience just once and you can actually think of the moment or situation and instantly feel the way you felt at the moment and chances are you'll remember this forever. 

So once in a lifetime item number 1: getting your car license.  This basically changes your life from either depending on people or using buses to completely free to go wherever and whenever.  I got my license at 18 and I remember the moment the examiner told me I passed.  I actually asked him, rather rudely whether I did pass because he was going on about some silly rule and i just looked at him and said " Imma ghaddejt jew?" Which translates to "But did I make it?" to which he replied, " oh yes, but this rule is really important". I have no clue what the rule was.  

Next once in a lifetime situation might be a bit too romantic for some, but I'm a silly romantic so here goes.  It's the moment you realise you really love a person and he/she is your soul mate.  Strictly speaking this may occur more than once but I believe that the soul mate thing happens really only once and when you realise that, the moment is, in my opinion, priceless. 

YOYO. Yes I'm going to be 'hip' and use this: you're only young once.  I know older people will say I'm only 21 and that's still pretty young, but how awesome is it to be young? You really do experience stuff that you only get to do when you're young, so being young and doing silly things is a once in a lifetime that really makes you think doesn't it? I think being young is the time that once in a lifetime situations really happen and I need to start embracing that idea more. At the same time, you may choose to make being young not a once in a lifetime thing and live young at heart.  Either way, embrace the moment. 

Song's almost over so I'm stopping here.  I'm sure I'll look back later and find that I missed a couple of moments, so share with me any ideas you come up with.

Enjoy Sunday,

Claire xxx

Bad Habits!

I've been thinking about this post for a while now.  I am always trying to self-evaluate in order to try and better myself.  And as they say, you can only fix a problem after you've admitted to having said problem. So here goes:

First bad habit I want to get rid of is talking to myself in the car.  I am terrible at this.  It's like my mouth realises I'm driving and there it goes.  It also has to do with the fact that I get great ideas whilst driving so I end up thinking aloud about a post or something I'm thinking about.  Now whilst driving it's not such a bad thing but when I'm in front of shops or in traffic lights, I get people looking at me like I'm some psycho.  Thank God bluetooth exist because I usually touch my ear a bit so people think I'm on the phone.

Next bad habit is looking at my phone, all the time.  I honestly don't know why I do it but I constantly check my phone, even if it doesn't ring or vibrate.  Smartphones don't help as there's always something to check.  It drives my boyfriend crazy when I do that and I realised it's a bad habit when he tried to make me not look at my phone and I ended up getting all anxious and fidgety...not cool Claire, not cool!

Next bad habit is especially bad because I am a bit clumsy (some might say I'm very clumsy, but I try to think of myself in a positive light).  It involves me putting glasses, mugs, anything which holds a beverage either too close to me or at the very edge of the table.  I knock down glasses on an almost weekly basis, and it's mostly my fault because of this nasty habit.  I thought it would all change when I spilled a whole glass of water on my iPhone but sadly I still keep on doing it.

I think three bad habits are enough for today, I'm sure I have plenty more.  What are your bad habits? Share with me so I don't feel too bad about myself. Please?

Claire

1 week of Summer Memories: DAY 7!

And here it is, the final post! This post has to be sentimental, doesn't it?  It's back to school on Monday and a whole week of reflection made me realise more how much I'm going to miss this Summer.  But, as my wise boyfriend says "All in good time". (whoever really says that I have no clue, but the boyfriend does so I'm quoting him)

This final memory has been looming over me all week but I decided from the very beginning to keep it for the last day.  I'm talking of the memory of feeling happy.  You know how in Summer...you do absolutely nothing much all day except lounge about on the beach, then hang with friends or family, eat more fruit and ice-creams (ok, mostly ice-creams in my case) than actual food and you're driving home in that Summer breeze and you're happy.  In your head you think this is one of those great days I'll never forget.  Of course, you don't actually remember that particular day, but I'm talking about that silly feeling that you get in your stomach when you think of the day you've had.  I probably sound like a little girl talking like this but I'm sure you've been in your bed, ready to sleep and you smile to yourself thinking about how life is sometimes very, very good and little things can make you happy.

Well, I was lucky to have a good number of moments like that this Summer and the memory of those feelings is the best memory of all.

All days won't be as awesome, if they were we'd never appreciate the really special days, so today, on my last Saturday of Summer 2013, I won't be sad over what has passed, but be happy that it happened!

Claire xxx

1 week of Summer memories;DAY 6!

I'm writing this off my phone so it's going to be a short post, just a quick little memory to keep the series going as promised.

As you might have gatherer from my other posts, I tried to do everything and anything possible! Something else I did this Summer was attend the Joseph Callejja concert. For those who don't know he's a Maltese tenor, known worldwide and often compared to the late, great Pavarotti.  The tickets for this concert are usually quite expensive but this year they made it free on the standing side.  

I loved every minute of it.  Classical music relaxes me so I enjoyed every second of the 3 hour show.  

Anyway, that's the memory before the last, and I just love it! Have a great night, 

Claire xxx

1 week of Summer Memories: DAY 4 & DAY 5!

So given that these two memories are rather simple I decided to mix it up a little and put two memories in one post.  That way, you don't get bored and I can get away with not feeling guilty for having to skip a day.

So 2 memories, one post.  Let's do this.

First memory: I usually hold back from talking about my results online, be it Facebook, my blog, Instagram, anywhere.  I try to keep school a private matter because it's something very serious to me so I don't feel it's appropriate to discuss stuff like results online.  But this memory is funny and one time won't hurt.  So a quick explanation for those unaware of how stuff works at the University of Malta.  So, results are posted onto an online platform called esims.  Hated by all, this little platform lets us view results and when a new result comes out it is in green font.  Now I was at Sliema heading home from work when I decided to check whether any results had been posted.  And I see a little green line of words.  Zooming in, I wasn't sure whether the grade was a D or an A.  Now this blessed esims, gives the result by giving only the grade and subject code.  Obviously, I had no clue what the code was.  Anyway so I check the code and it's a subject I worked super hard in and I was extra happy that I did so well.  Forgetting I was walking around in Sliema, I start skipping and saying "Yes! Yes!" aloud.  Realising that I was in the middle of the street I decided to go into my car and celebrate there.  So I rolled down my windows, sat down in my seat and screamed my heart out with joy, banging on the stirring and doing God knows what.  At one point I look to my left, and realise that I was parked right in front of a pub or bar of some sort with tables outside and people sitting on the tables.  Needless to say, I started my car, sped off and never, ever parked in that spot again.

Second memory is easy and simple.  A favourite of many, it's the memory of days at the beach.  I'm blessed with living on a tiny island so the sea is never more than 15 minutes away, no matter where you are.  I enjoyed Sundays at the beach with friends (and beer), quick dips with my parents, other days with my two boys (mentioned here) and my favourite days at the beach, days spent with my bestie and her daughter.  I got to be a little kid again playing around with my little 3 year old friend.  I rolled in the sand, threw water on myself, dived a gazzilion times, all to heae her giggle and laugh.  I probably had more fun than she did, being able to act silly and all that.

Enjoy!

Claire xxx