From Bad to Beautiful... Life is On

You don't need wings to fly... You need balls!

'To fly, you must let go of the world you are hanging onto'. Kurek Ashley.

Another two articles I read made me think deeply today:
1. Never waste your time explaining who you are to people committed to misunderstanding you. (I don't bother)
2. According to the Mayan calendar, December 2012 is the end of the world as we know it.

If we assumed the world would end, how would you live your last days on earth? All the worries about the future... Would you still put yourself through pain, judgement, misunderstanding, loneliness, and generally being unhappy? Or would you make every minute of your life count as the last? Enjoy every opportunity to be happy, surrounded by family and friends, or if you wish to be alone on a mountain or by the sea, so be it. Would you at least reach that dream?

Last week's evenings were filled, dining from Sushi to a BBQ prepared by Lukas on his houseboat, to Pantechnicon in Motcomb Street, The New Inn in St John's Wood, till came Friday's episode, which began on the fifth-floor bar of Waterstone's bookshop in Piccadilly. The last invite came from Youssef for a bite to eat before we headed to Momo's to meet my friend Donna for her belated celebration.  
I got dressed in a cloche lacy skirt, cream top, a shawl, Parisian high heels with a couple of flowers in my hair, and I must remember the pink coat. It is supposedly summer in the constantly rainy London in July! As a flamenco singer was performing at Momo's later that evening, I thought I would dress up for the occasion.

Youssef and I chatted and laughed before I asked about his friend Adem, whom I had met the last time we had dinner in November. He smiled and answered:
"Actually, he is coming to meet us. Without THE girlfriend this time."
Despite my cheerful attitude towards most, he had gathered that I had yet to warm up to Adem's girl the last time we encountered her. He explained that their relationship had ended up messy and broken up a while back.
As we were conversing, Adem appeared distressed, followed by the mentioned girlfriend, her eyes fixated on him. Youssef gave me a glance with a puzzled expression.
Adem offered to explain: "I was leaving the pub on my way here when Berna (the girlfriend) appeared in front of me. It was such a surprise! Really, I was quite shocked."
And he did have a somewhat dishevelled look about him.
I, who seemed least astonished by the scene, then asked: "So, you just bumped into each other by accident? After a long break?"
Berna quickly corrected me: "No, there was no accident. I went there hoping to find him."
Oh, I thought, not a good start, but we left the couple to their intimate dialogue while we ate and chatted until the time came to leave. Youssef could not stop complimenting me on how I cheer him up whenever we meet and accept people as they are.

To cut a long story short, the four of us went on to Momo's.
Our hostess, Donna, greeted us, surrounded by her friends, and the lady flamenco singer began letting her passionate voice out into the dingy basement bar. I was mesmerised by the music and almost went into a trance. Once the lady finished singing, the DJ started playing some familiar Latino and Arabic music, and we danced as a group. Youssef, who had been a friend of a few years and with whom we always used to enjoy dancing in a duo, seemed preoccupied with checking out other ladies from our crowd in a very open manner. It is a free world, and I am not one for jealousy, but there is something called respect, and there is also disrespect. Now, the latter does not work for me, and I do not accept it from anyone. I was also tired and ready to depart, so I turned to Youssef and simply said:
"I'm leaving; you do as you please."
And on that note, I said my goodbyes and left the club upstairs to go to the outdoor area. Youssef, who had followed me up, asked:
"What's wrong, Haldita? Sure, I'll take you home."
I seemed to have raised my voice, without any notice to the diners around us and told him:
"We're friends, and I expect respect from my friends. Leave me alone if you can't see the disrespect you showed me!"
While we were deep in conversation, Berna appeared and butted in to say: "I just want to say goodbye. Adem is not even bothered, so I'm going."
She was looking around as she talked to us, and why did it seem like she was putting on a show?
We bid her farewell, and I continued on to Youssef:
"You just spent the whole night saying what a pleasure my company is. You're out with ME and still manage to piss me off like this?"

At this time, Adem approached with a glass of wine in his hand:
"My wife has found out, and I think I shouldn't see Berna. What do you think?"
My expression was no surprise, and as I began to advise him to return to his family, Berna's face reappeared from behind Adem, standing there listening! What a cheek, I thought again.
While I was feeling suffocated by all the agendas going on around me, a tramp walked right beside me and stopped to forcefully ask for money. Could an evening get worse?!   
While almost shouting at Youssef, telling the couple to sort out their problems, I almost unconsciously saw myself shriek at the tramp, too: "Why don't you go sort out your life!"
He became rather aggressive in his words; I could no longer take my angry behaviour, nor remember the last time I got angry at anyone in such a manner! So, I left in a hurry.
The following day, I texted Youssef:
'My God, you brought the worst out of me last night. Could hardly sleep. Let's not be in touch for a while. Wish you the very best, always.'
Despite his text of apology with an excuse for being drunk and the difficulties facing him in life, I wrote back:
'Guess I felt disrespect and don't dwell well under such circumstances. Goodbye.'
I can disappear as fast as I appear. I show you respect; you do the same to me. That's all I am asking.

Thank goodness it was only Friday, and the weekend continued on Saturday with a visit from my PS buddies. Salar joined us this time for the spiritual experience of the Mexican truffle. The music was on, and we were talking amongst ourselves, which meant I did not quite allow myself to go into a trance and truly feel the depth of this philosopher's stone. After midnight, I looked at Salar and asked:
"Shall we do Fabric? I haven't been in almost three months!"
Salar replied: "Yes, let's. Haven't been for a while either."
And on that note, the cab was called. For me, it was like going home again. Haha.  Starting with the bouncers who knew me, to the manageress and the staff who had not changed, all gave me the warmest hugs, with the same question:
"Where have you been, Haldita? We've missed you."
Aaaah. Frankly, I had missed all my buddies there too. It was not long before Salar and I bumped into Nyla, who had recently moved to London, her boyfriend Darius and their enchanting entourage of four others. We grouped to dance and chat together till the early hours of the morning. I was on cloud nine, enjoying the music and getting connected to more like-minded free spirits. It makes me happy to talk to a younger generation of bright, worldly people who understand how the world could be free. We did boogie our asses off till 7:30am, then made our departure back home.  

One thing I have yet to mention is meeting Lance towards the end of the week past. You might have gathered that this was not just any meeting. After all the testing of words we had both passed, we met. At first glance, I was unsure whether I fancied him, but one thing I knew was that he had captured my mind through words in email and in text, and there was definitely something sexy about the guy.  
Once we chatted, I realised how unimportant looks can be in some, whilst a tool of approach in others. Lance's conversation skills were so engaging, and his charm with a touch of naughtiness soon made me look at him in a different light. We are all souls, and the body we are here on earth in is only a facade of who we really are and what we can achieve with our behaviour and understanding. People can be impressive with an open outlook and a smile towards their fellow earthlings. Chemistry begins in the mind, through words, and if it continues to be physically as exciting, then who's to question what goes on?

Dinner with Aisha and Alain at Kateh restaurant ended a week of learning with a beautiful finish as we swapped stories of their latest travels and my adventures in the city.

A very exhilarating weekend and a week to follow. Not everything we do in life is 'right' or goes our way, as we wish, but then again, how do we know what we want is best for us? How else would we learn our lessons in life? Let us go with the flow, cherish every learning, and try to stay on top and happy.

Spreading Love and Joy is true Happiness. And if anyone doesn't get it... You know what to do...
Ciao. 

Last week of sisterly fun... To Wimbledon finals

When you feel you are on the right path, don't worry; just keep going. 'I keep telling myself'.

The whirlwind of outings continued throughout the week past. All partied out! Well, not exactly.
If your life is sweetened with even half the spread of honey I consume daily, consider yourself a lucky soul. Am I grateful? You bet your bottom dollar I am.

It was Sis Hala's last week, and she had already extended her stay here due to the arrival of Elliot for a long weekend stopover from New York on his way to Hydra. He has invited me to join him on this beautiful Greek island next week at this magnificent residence he has been asked to stay at, but my travelling to the same country twice in one month would be too greedy of me. Trying to teach myself to consume less; instead of buying three yoga socks today, I came out with only two! So, the same goes for my travels. Besides, London is good to me, even in the wettest summer we are experiencing. Then again, we must take everything for what it's worth and the people around us for who they are, not what we expect. Life becomes so much sweeter this way.

When my visitors first leave, there is a profound emptiness, but life continues.  
We had a splendid last week with Hala and Elliot, who joined hands to participate in our outings.  
The weekend began on Wednesday (a little early, but why not?), dinner at Dylan's, one of our oldest mutual friends, where Hala and I were the only dinner guests until Jade, who happened to be in town, joined in later for a night of wining and laughter.  
Early Thursday morning, Elliot arrived from NYC to stay over the weekend. It was three years since he and Hala had last seen each other, and it was such a pleasure to spend time together again. We had lunch outdoors at the Lebanese Comptoir restaurant, set amidst the pedestrianised area of South Kensington, full of restaurants and cafes. London has certainly changed since the years when we envied les Francais for their cafes. We even managed to get a glimpse of the sun and blue skies. However, the clouds were never far off. Such a British habit to keep mentioning the weather! 

Thursday evening arrived before we knew it, and our aim to get to Robby's new home for a sit-down dinner party at 8pm was not accomplished as we got there one hour later than scheduled. Dylan and Troy had appeared before us, and conversation was in full swing over the absolutely mouthwatering lamb dish which melt in one's mouth, accompanied by a vegetable couscous, which I must have stuffed my face with. There was no question of everyone's appreciation of the mastery of our hostess's cooking. Still, I could not stop but wonder whether that strong joint Troy had rolled had affected my huge appetite that evening. If only I could remember some anecdotes going around the room filled with the best humour shouted from every corner. But I remember the dining area by the open-plan kitchen, filled with roars of laughter, occupying the space, already buzzing with Love and friendship.   

Despite the late night out, I made it to my favourite pilates class on Friday, followed by the hairdo, ready for fine dining on Lukas' houseboat. He had asked us to invite over some of our comrades, and everyone volunteered to bring the BBQ food and drinks to make another memorable evening for an ensemble of friends. Again, we got lucky with an outburst of sunshine instead of rain emerging through the clouds before it vanished into the dark of the night.  
Here are snapshots of the sunset.

Views of the Thames from the Houseboat

There was a chill in the air, but Lukas started the fire in the BBQ on the houseboat deck to cook the burgers and keep warm. Again, Hala and I, with our entourage of lovely companions, Ernest, Dylan, Robby and Jade, plus a girlfriend of our host who carried the sweetest of smiles but had to leave before the food was served, gathered for another terrific night to begin. At the stroke of 23:00 hour, we all jumped into two cars to head towards Notting Hill's Hurlingham Club to boogie away to the sound of a dear DJ friend, Stan, playing. Who joined us there? Hesse was meant to come to the BBQ with dessert (I had to mention that! Haha), but at least she did manage to appear at the club, deserts! Our group was scattered one by one, and only a handful of us left to return to 'chez moi' (my place) after the club closed at 2:00am.  
We were happily chatting and listening to music when Hesse announced that Sirena, Pedro, Laurence and some other friends were coming to ours. Brilliant! The more, the merrier. The party went on to the sun rising well into the blue sky before everyone headed home, and Hala, Elliot, and I went to our beds. How marvellous.

Saturday afternoon was spent in front of the TV, with the three of us tennis enthusiasts, watching Serena Williams beat Victoria Azarenka at the ladies' final. Dinner at Lady Saba's with another couple seemed a chore after all the nights of partying, but thinking of her fabulous presence gave us the energy to move and get ready yet again. Another wonderful fish dish with tamarind sauce, greens, and great company made it to another admirable evening, except for one flaw. When we fit all (5 of us) into my car and I began to accelerate, there was a strange limb in my vehicle. Having only recently recovered from two punctures, I got out to check the tyres and yes... Yet another flat one at the front wheel! That makes it three flat tyres in a row. We got out, left the car and cabbed our way home.

It was sad to see Hala leave for the airport on Sunday, but our good times had ended, with the excitement of many more to come. This time, Elliot and I were relishing the exciting men's tennis final. Watching Federer move elegantly on the court was as graceful as a male ballet dancer moving along a stage. Murray did make the Brits proud with his effort, which turned the game into an excitable pastime, to say the least. While the ball was being hit across the centre court on TV, my match of words with Lance, texting back and forth, doubled the excitement of a shorthand w of ski been during the game.  
Half an hour into the game, Lance wrote: "Federer's backhand couldn't be any tastier even if it was wrapped in bacon, grilled and served with a sumptuous raspberry jus!"
And I replied: "Mmm... And you are sounding sexier than those hot legs running around the courts!"
By the end of the game, and especially after Murray's emotional speech after losing, we agreed that although we are both fans of Federer, we have developed a soft spot for Murray. So did anyone watching, mostly in tears.  
Elliot pointed out that Federer and Serena Williams were both 30 years old, the winning of the veterans!
Two impressive comments I heard on TV about Federer were: 
'A silky underneath with a warrior exterior' and 'A man who can conjure cruelty out of beauty'.
Superb description and wording.

Monday was going to and fro: replacing the flat tyre, another pilates reformer class, and visiting a special sushi place. Must take some control of my food consumption; the next trip in the bikini is fast approaching.

Another new expression I learned from Elliot in the middle of the men's final, when the play stopped before the closure of the roof of the tennis court due to rain, was:
'It ain't over till the fat lady sings!'
He then explained that this phrase began from the Opera. It simply means...

It ain't over till it's over. 
Till next time... With Love

The Fairytale Wedding - Italia!

Under the stars of a thousand nights, assembled into one
The face of the bride appears with a white lace veil of a glamoured nun
In the bright light shining on the happiness of the newlywed
Their joy floating as sprinkles of love, oh how it spread.

On the night of the wedding, everyone was dressed to kill, all gathered in a courtyard of yet another destination to pick up the name tags of a scented wild flower selected to assign the seating from a  hanging tree made of green leaves spread across a wall. What a marvellously magical evening, with perfection glowing from every corner one looked. At this moment, a classical circus-like tune of a summer night's dream began playing on the speakers. The white, lacy mushroom-like creatures appeared under nets attached to off-white umbrellas, which they carried and moved around to allow a glimpse of the Louis-era dressed characters. Where was I at that moment in time? The only place I wanted to be, exactly where I was, as in every day and hour of my life.

The crowd assembled around them, astounded with the sound of 'oohs and aahs' crying into the night's open air, bewitched. We then followed a route, lit by candles along a path to view the lake-size swimming pool supporting a dance floor and the musicians on another side, with seating for all the hundreds of guests at designated tables under the trees. I honestly do not remember what we had for dinner, as the joy and love surrounding us carried all the food any appetite could possibly endure. The best word to describe the evening would be... Serene.  
One of the most elegant garments of the evening was worn by Aisha, the forever young mother of the bride, in a light-toned chiffon. Then the beautiful bride, in the utmost picture of purity of white lace, came out from a doorway bursting with flowers, with her father and handsome prince by her side. The wedding was nothing short of a fairytale.  

The night continued with a band, followed by dancing to the DJ, who had flown in from Ibiza to bring further sparkles of joy into the night. I recall having an excellent duo dance with Ramsy on a stool to house music and meeting a wonderful soul, Cadi, with whom I hung around for a while. Before we knew it, the sun was out in full blast, the DJ was still playing great tunes, and people were swimming in the vast pool in black tie! It's just the way a great party should end.

At some stage during the night, I got called aside by Hessa and Romel, who told me:
"Haldita, we've decided to call you positive endorphin."
And I answered in total delight: "You think I'm a dolphin? How cute."
They burst into laughter and repeated the words: "Positive endorphin. hahaha"
Hessa continued: "But I'm gonna call you dolphin from now on."

When I looked around in the morning, Aisha was the only partner in crime standing close by. We headed back to our hotel, and before heading to our room to get ready for the farewell brunch laid on the lawn by the beach, we pit-stopped at the boys' villa and jumped in their private pool for a skinny dip in only our jewellery, followed by a change into yet another swimwear and ready for lunch. 
After the food, consumed under large, white umbrellas protecting us from the sun, seated at the square tables especially set for the day, we lounged in the heat, being served cocktails, unable to go for a last swim in that temptingly blue sea! Pooped out on the sunbeds! Well, I sure was. I missed the Germany versus Italy football shown on the wide screen in the Piazza and took a long twelve-hour sleep on our last night in Puglia.

Since all good things come to an end, we are left with memories that will never end, filled with love, fun and happiness, as is my wish for the newlyweds for the rest of their lives together.

Almost thought I wouldn't make it to my date, arriving back that evening in London, but as Kristel reminded me, the Gods were on my side. Despite the announcement of a one-hour delay to Milan, we made it on time to catch the flight to London.  
Be positive, and yet again, things will work out as they should.  
And if they don't, it simply wasn't meant to.

Back in London, Hala got home from her trip to Paris, and we had a gathering on the Friday of some of the usual suspects of the circle of friends who had to leave prematurely as we had a club attendance awaiting. But by the time we got to the club, it was too late to make much sense of what was going on, and we headed back home for an early bird sleep at 5:00am.
Saturday, I got dressed up to grab a bite to eat at home from all the previous night's leftovers with Donna before heading to the circus-themed party where we both went as 'showgirls'. Everyone was there to celebrate the birthday of a man of many good deeds, with an entourage of lady friends who spoke extremely highly of him, taking place at Jane and Russ', where the fun continued dancing with Lola and Don to end another late night. The high heels were killing my feet, so I had to finally head home to bed.

The weekend closed with further excitement, watching the talented, smooth Spanish football players masterly beat the Italians. A grand finale in every way. 
It was quite a surprise to see Nadal lose to Rosol, whom no one seemed to have heard of before, at Wimbledon, only for him to lose his next game. 

Oh well... C'est la vie. You win some... You lose some. Life is full of surprises.