time for tea

i read in the papers the other day; it's wonderful to drop in unannounced on the homes of your friends. a little knock on the door, a friendly 'is anybody at home?', followed by a hurried putting of the kettle to boil and afternoon tea and cosy chat for the rest of the day.

nobody does that anymore. that's the problem with us. that's why everybody says that the world is becoming such a cold unfriendly place. because nobody cares to come a-knocking anymore. taking the time to visit, followed by an enjoyable get-together, to catch up and close the door for a little while to the fast paced world outside.

i can't remember the last time someone came visiting unannounced. the papers said if someone was to go visiting without an appointment nowadays, chances are the house-owner will be out, or at the very least, having to cancel a whole string of appointments to accomodate your visit. i can hardly argue with that. i myself am never at home during the weekends. for the friends who thought it will be nice to drop in since they are nearby, i can only say very sorry to them. they can entertain themselves with my maid or the security guards downstairs, i do not mind. my fishes are pretty amusing too, swimming around aimlessly in that small little box we call aquarium. kick your legs up on my sofa, help yourself to my mountain of snacks but keep your hands out of my knickers! only damper to the thing is, i'm not there to greet you. heck! i am never in during the weekdays either. the place i stay in; that's just a hotel. i come in just to catch my forty winks. which is really sad. i dream of staying in a place just like the television series 'friends'. where friends come and go as they please, dropping in and leaving round the clock. a place filled with laughter and conversations. only, i don't have that many close friends. it will mean having to be stuck in the house 24/7, rotting to a cob-webbed skeleton, waiting for a kindly visitor to discover my decomposed body. real-life is never like the movies.

i tagged along with my mum to visit my aunty today. granted, it wasn't unannounced. and it wasn't without an agenda. but sitting there, with my cup of hazelnut coffee, i really enjoyed taking the break from the boring pile of work on my desk. and listening to others talk. it was a far cry from the cold lonely work table, where my only companion was the endless hollow pounding of the construction nearby. sitting in her patio, watching her dog waddle by, her beautiful garden blossom, the melodious sound of the wind-chime, i wonder why i don't do it more often.