During the intermission

I went to the ballet with some friends, here in Rotterdam. This is not the story of the ballet but a small dance that very few people saw, in the intermission.
There were three parts to it and in the intermission we saw a man across the hall, dancing. He was in his late 50s or early 60s, and while people got up to get a drink or move their legs a bit, he moved his legs, too, and much more so. He danced. I know I certainly felt my blood warming up, but he actually did what most of us only joked about. He must have felt inspired and it was beautiful to see him follow his heart, despite strangers watching him with confusion, or laughing at him. Who cares if others laugh at you, your heart wants what it wants.
Like a very special person once said to me, when talking about acting, if you don't feel stupid while doing it, you're not doing it right.

Where do a lesbian and a straight woman have in common?

Here's a jolly funny moment for you:
My dad is coming to visit in a couple of days. I realised I didn't have any winter shoes here so I asked him to pick up appropriate shoeware and bring it to me when he comes to visit. And this is where a straight woman and a lesbian, (where I am a hybrid of both) cross: you can never separate a straight woman from her shoes. However, the fact that it is combat boots with steel toe caps tells you that you're dealing with a lesbian.
Ha, take that, feminists!!

Acts of Random Kindness

This is a story about the positive side of human nature.

I put my card next to the reader, the doors opened and I exited the subway. I felt a bit light and easy, about to go out after a long difficult day. Yet, I realised I was light in more than one ways. The penny slowly but surely dropped- I had left my bag on the subway. With all the cards, some money, ID, lecture notes. Shit.

The next day I opened my mailbox to find an email from a man who said he had found my bag and all of my belongings were in it. He had kept it with him, as he thought it was a better idea than leaving in on the subway, where its fate would be questionable. He gave me his details so we could arrange to meet up.

We met at Leiden train station, and of course, the least I could do to thank him was get him a cup of coffee. We chatted, had a few things in common, giggled and then parted ways.

You never know what life will bring to you but, surely, you have to try to see the silver lining and make the most out of it. No, this isn't the beginning of a soppy romantic comedy, this is real life and it is happening this minute. There are some true acts of random kindness, and it is lovely when they bring strangers together.

Hot chocolate and lemon cake

It is Halloween eve in Rotterdam. To me, it is also Deadline eve, so in an attempt to kick start my brain's creativity, I've retreated to a cosy Caffe and Pattisserie near my home, which carries an indescribable feeling of nostalgia in the air. I first came here 10 days ago, just after seeing Midnight in Paris, and the space was a real-life continuation of the film- it's like different times and spaces meet here, it is cosmopolitan, yet very local; it is big but it feels like each table is made just for you. It has that je ne sais quoi. 
And they make the most unbelievable hot chocolate- served with a separate dish of whipped cream to dip. Mmm.
As I sit and try to organise my thoughts, on my left a gentleman sat. He must be around- let me look again- around 60. He ordered in Dutch and soon they brought him coffee and a slice of lemon cake. And as I see him read a newspaper, enjoy the cake and then wash down the slight zest with good coffee, I was overwhelmed with such warmth. Warmth, firstly, towards him, and an appreciation of age, a desire to be as calm and distinguished as he seems, when I am 60. To be able to afford to go out to a caffe on a monday evening for a slice of cake.
If you think about it, ultimately, all we ever want is in this picture. Health, enough means to live calmly, inner peace and a piece of cake. That is all I want for my 60th birthday.

Strangers

Don't pass up on the opportunity to talk to strangers- it will make you feel better than most other things.

Conversations with strangers tend to happen in casual places, while waiting for the train, in queues, waiting to get served in the pub. Maybe you notice, often enough, there is waiting involved, and why not make the best of it? Other times, it is because we are upset or happy about something, and people around us share the same feeling. I once had the case of going to my mobile provider and complaining about my phone's touch screen refusing to work, when a loud woman next to me was giving them a hard time. I asked, what phone do you have? HEr answer was no surprise- the same as mine!

 I've learned that more often than we realise, people will experience very similar emotions to ours- be it frustration that the salesperson on the counter is too slow, or happiness that our team is winning, as we sip our beer in the pub. Even if we try, we cannot ignore that so much of our human behaviour follows the rules of psychology and to me, emracing it has made me friends. And another thing- ultimately, we probably all want food, shelter and companionship. This fact, combined with the fact that you are currently in the same place and time as someone else means that you already have so much in common, that a simple hi seems to be easiest thing to do. Last time I tried, I made a friend.

toilets!

People spend an awful lot of time being negative about others- and the reason why I know this, is because I am one of those people. However, I don't believe it is all nearly as negative and hateful as we sometimes make it out to be.

Beauty and love for others can be found at the weirdest of places! And yes, to asnwer the question which you've been wondering about since you read the title, toilets are one of those places.

The beauty of life is found in toilets. How many times i've sat on the can, doing my business, and time and time again, i discover that I am seeing love right in front of me. By far, what people write about the most on the door of the loos, is "I love....", or "A+C= <3".

And these love letters are not a privilege of one country: they can be found equally as often in The Soak in Birmingham, in bars in Sofia, in bars in Brussels, in clubs in Holland, in restaurants in Ukraine!

I challenge you to notice them. If you have any pictures, I will post them here, too. And, i wonder, how many of you have already written such love letters, about your crush, your best friend, your partner?

Before you die

One thing you should do before you die, one among many things, is to go dancing- dance your heart out- so much so that you can't take a  breath but you continue dancing! Going clubbing, where the music takes over and you're suddenly dancing on top of the bar, you're getting people cheering, you're getting free drinks, dancing with the bartender, throwing napkins (a new Dutch thing I discovered tonight), getting carried away... you have to do it at least once in your life.
It will give you the energy to carry on. I couldn't have had a better night.
Yours, and thank you for reading,
R.