Wordsley, Stourbridge, England: 15 degrees, sunny and slightly overcast.
I’m dealing with a cold that doesn’t seem to be getting better, and the weather isn’t helping, with short bursts of sunshine trying to pierce the clouds and showers.
I’m unable to exercise because I’m suffering too much from the cold. It’s not that I don’t want to, but I am coughing too much. Early in the morning, I went to the café on the green to work. I ordered a pot of tea and used the Wi-Fi and electricity to prepare and publish a blog post for the day.
Then, I handwrote a journal entry.
Everything was good, which made for a productive morning. I gave a class and then thought about my Wise debit card that Yasmin had sent via express delivery more than ten days ago. It should have arrived by now. Yasmin had sent me the receipt with the tracking number. I had looked it up online a week earlier, and it was on its way.
Now, the tracking site informed me that they had attempted to deliver it, but due to weather issues — specifically England’s dreadful weather — they were unable to do so. It is now at the post office in Wordsley, located in the precinct on the green. I had just been there, and now I will need to go back and collect it.
Early this morning, it was raining, but now it is cold with the sun trying to break through. The post office is inside the Spa supermarket, next to the cafe where Julie works. It is located at the back of the supermarket. No one was there, and at the counter, Amy, the attendant, assisted me. I explained the situation, and within a minute, she found the small parcel.
I showed her my passport, and in less than a minute, I was on my way, opening it in the street. There was my new debit card, the last one having been eaten alive in the HSBC cash machine in Stourbridge.
Now, one more problem has been resolved.
It was about the time Julie would leave the cafe. I waited on the corner, trying to be discreet, but after 10 minutes she did not appear, so I decided to go home, give some classes, and have a relatively slow and light Friday afternoon.
The last class was at 10:00 p.m. Julie and I had been out for a curry the night before, so everything was fine. It wasn’t necessary to go out every night, and tonight, as I had to work, seeing each other every night isn’t necessary.
Sometimes on a Friday morning, I spend 2-3 hours in the café. I like to arrive early and secure a good strategic table so I can plug in my laptop and work as much as possible before it gets busy. When it starts to get busier, I sometimes feel a little guilty about using a table for such a long time, even though I am still spending money there.
This morning, it was pouring when I left. Still, I decided last night that I would buy some flowers for Julie since I hadn’t bought her any for a while, and I felt it was time. When a thought enters my mind, I have learned it’s better to act on it immediately, without hesitating or overthinking, but to do it.
Sometimes, overthinking can lead to inaction. When this occurs, we often regret it later. I have learned to trust my instincts to a certain extent when making decisions about my future actions. If a thought suddenly appears about a possible future action, I should do it, even if I feel insecure about it; I still go ahead.
I popped into the card and flower shop next to the cafe and bought a large bouquet. I then quickly returned to the cafe. Julie could see from afar that I had flowers, and she knew they were for her, obviously. At the same time, it was too late to escape; she wouldn’t be able to find a place to hide or bury herself.
Her shyness, like anyone’s, tends to dominate in such situations, but mine doesn’t. I went behind the counter and handed her the flowers, along with a peck—a quick kiss on the lips—and everyone saw it in the café.
It’ll probably be on the BBC News tonight, but it was good for both of us.
It was good for me because I wanted to do something daring for her, to show how much I like her, and to appreciate that being loved is truly valuable. When something like this happens, it benefits us all.
And nobody died!
I did not stay to talk, be watched, or seek some reaction from the situation through glancing eyes; I did what I believed was important for me, which is always to leave feeling it has been good for everyone, especially Julie, happy.
In bed by midnight.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.
Richard
