The wandering soul ...

I had the best childhood. I remember the house always being full of family and friends. Always busy and exciting. I had the Barbie's, Cabbage Patch Dolls, My Little Pony and the Care Bears, went to a great school, did ballet, squash, swimming lessons, mini hockey, and tennis, had birthday parties and went on holiday every single year, sometimes twice. We weren't spoilt though and we had our fair share of broken wooden spoons and belts but we always had everything we needed. But what I remember most is how much love we were showered with every single day from my parents.

My parents brought us up with good values and respect and I'm so proud to be their child but I have given them their fair share of grey hairs. Along with teaching us about love, honesty and loyalty, they tried their best to teach me about settling down and finding a niche but to this day, it's something I never grasped.

My Mom calls me her "free spirit child", I call myself the black sheep, in a nice way of course. Because settling down is something I can't seem to do.

For me, what it comes down to is not settling for mediocrity. If I feel unsettled and have itchy feet in a job, I move. My thinking is, as cliché as it gets, life is just too short. Yes, my parents generation is all about finding a job and staying there until you get that fancy watch for working at the same place for a hundred years. Yes, this concept does work for most people and they probably are genuinely happy where they are, but it's not for everyone. I feel that if you not passionate about your job and stay just for the comfort of it, are you not doing yourself an injustice?

I have made some horrific choices in my life. But I've also made incredible life changing ones too. Once I packed my car with what I could, jumped in and moved to Cape Town. Some years later I left to work on a cruise ship for the best 6 months of my life. A couple jobs later I upped and left for Spain. Right now, I'm on a beach in Thailand. The only reason I could do this was because I have the love and support of the most incredible family and such beautiful friends, most of which don't understand why I am like this but are still there for me anyway.

My folks have taught me what they know. Settle down, get married, have children and be happy. It's what they did and they have been happily married for 40 years already, and it has worked for them. For me, being happy doesn't mean being settled down. Being happy means traveling and adventures and new people that come into your life. What my parents are saying isn't wrong, not by a long shot, but it just isn't right for me. Finding a place to call home is very hard for me because I always feel as though there is some new place that needs to be explored, home is not a physical place for me. Maybe it's cause I haven't found that thing to ground me or maybe I'm just not meant to be grounded.

Find some roots, they say. Find something you love and stick with it, they say. What if I love moving, what if I love the feeling of not having roots holding me down? I am a wandering soul. Is that really the worst thing in the world?

Two great reads I found after I got back from the holiday I was on when I wrote this. "Don't date a girl who travels" "Date a girl that travels"

My soul is wandering

Incomplete it is feeling

There is a part missing

That I am always seeking

By Iqra Tariq

Rule No.33 - Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day

Okay, rules are back and what a classic one! This quote is by Harry S Truman. He was the 33 rd president of America, historians call him “a controversial president”, the band Chicago wrote a song just for him and he has a commemorative holiday in his name on the 8 th May in Missouri. This is brilliant advise, not in the literal sense, well, that too, but if you having a seriously bad day, don’t make things worse by deliberately doing something that will bite you in the bum later. I did this the other day, so I am talking out of experience here. I went into a situation and then on the way out, after realising it was a bad situation, I kicked a fresh turd cause I was so mad. (again, not literally, although, that might have been a better idea in hindsight) My advise in this circumstance is to stay indoors that day until you have calmed yourself down. I’ll leave you with another quote from Truman : A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who ...

Rule No.59 - If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull.

"Bull", meaning nonsense, dates from the 17th century, while the term "bull*&$*" has been used as early as 1915 in American slang , and came into popular usage only during World War II . The word "bull" itself may have derived from the Old French boul meaning "fraud, deceit" (Oxford English Dictionary). The term "horse*&$*" is a near synonym. Worthy of note is the South African English equivalent "bull dust". Few corresponding terms exist in other languages, with the significant exception of German Bockmist , literally "billy-goat *&%*". Funny, Suze Original and I were talking about this the other day. She went for an interview and we were laughing cause we both do the same thing. They ask you a simple question that could be answered in a line or two but we both start elaborating so much trying to make a good impression that what started as "My favorite hobby is... right to.. and that's why I...

Rule No.6 - Don't panic

Panic is a sudden sensation of fear which is so strong as to dominate or prevent reason and logical thinking, replacing it with overwhelming feelings of anxiety and frantic agitation consistent with an animalistic f ight-or-flight reaction. It also rhymes with manic and tannic. Perfect example of when to not panic and then when to start panicking. My very first night in my new flat here in Cape Town, I was woken up by my curtain being opened from the outside. Odd, first of all, because I live on the first floor, and second of all, because there was a man, well boy, suddenly staring at me from my window. A little shocked and confused, but not panicked, I squinted through sleepy eyes and said "hello". He looked at me, a little confused as well and greeted back. Then I asked him what he was up to at my window so early in the morning. "Washing your windows", was his reply. Okay, so it's Monday morning, my first night in this complex, maybe Monday morning is washing...

Chasing Noodles

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