Karma

I realized that I left out an important moment from my last post. I suspect it is because it required a bit more time to process. It’s either that, or it just really needed its own post.

Before I left for Morocco, one of the coworkers who recommended the trip to me told me he had a contact for me. He explained that he had a good friend in Morocco who owned a spice shop near the Saadian tombs. He gave me that name and he asked me to record a message on my phone to give to the man. We recorded the message (in French) and he gave me the approximate location. He also told me that if I didn’t have time, he wasn’t going to be fussed, but he would appreciate it if I delivered the message.

Ever since reading The Crying of Lot 49 I have been curious about alternate mail deliveries. I think it is kind of interesting when you find other (non digital) ways to contact people. It worked for me when I got a student to deliver a message to a student who I had lost touch with in Kyoto. So, I sort of felt that this would continue the line of good karma.

On my second full day in Marrakech, along with two of the people from the cycling trip, I found myself outside the Saadian tombs. I explained my mission to my companions and they were game to help. Locating the shop was easy and I entered and was met by a young man professionally dressed and speaking quite good English. I asked to see the owner and explained my mission. He asked me to wait.

When the owner came out, I explained my purpose and who I was delivering a message for. In honesty, I don’t think he knew who I was talking about. Maybe time had erased that memory, so I prepared myself for disappointment. However, when I played him the video, you could see the recognition and the years peel back. It was like he was transported in a moment. His smile grew and his expression changed …softened …widened. He watched the video a couple of times. Reverie had completely taken over. We exchanged comments about how my coworker now looked and how time had clearly shown its effects.

One of my fellow travelers asked how long it had been since the man was there. I think she thought it had only been a couple of years, but had in fact been more than 20. As he talked about it, I could see that at that moment, those twenty years were floating around like they were yesterday. I took his contact information and recorded an emotional video for my coworker.

He offered us tea, but we had some sights to see before they closed. Then a Spanish tour group pulled up and I didn’t want him to lose any business. We went to the tombs and spent a quiet few minutes in the courtyard. It gave me a moment to reflect on the value of meeting people in our lives and creating memories.

Perfect Moon

I have a strange, yet surprisingly comfortable, ritual of getting home. I drop my bag full of books in the house, get the key for the mailbox and go and retrieve the key. The walk to the mailbox is shockingly close, and I could easily put the mailbox key on my keyring. In fact, it used to be there. I think I took it off and left it for my mother (who was staying in my house) when I went on vacation last. I guess not putting it back on the ring is what caused this ritual to start.

As far as rituals go, this one might hardly warrant a mention. I like getting mail, but outside of deliveries of stamps (see my other blog) any mail I get is very likely to be bills. In fact, an empty mailbox might be the best result.

Today, however, something interesting happened to make it worth mentioning. I had just retrieved my mail (a credit card bill) and turned around to make the brief journey back to my house. I peered between my house and my neighbour’s and spotted the moon under a cloud. It seemed so much softer than when it is glaring white like a cheap dollar store lightbulb. The wind, howling rather strong, rapidly pushed the clouds away and I could see that it was a beautiful full moon. I stopped in the middle of the street, just for a second, to admire it. It is amazing what Perfect Moments the Universe can dream up.

Nothing

I am sitting here staring alternately at the screen and the keyboard. I’ve got nothing. I want to write something, but there’s nothing in the tank. Rest assured, this is not a case of writer’s block. I’ve got lots of words. I just don’t have the Perfect Moment.

Being in lockdown, escaping only for groceries and medicine, doesn’t always leave room for Perfect Moments. How often can I write about the joy of seeing the mail truck, or a delicious cup of coffee as the snow falls outside my sliding glass doors? There are just going to be days when the Perfect Moment eludes me. I’ve got to accept that.

Hidden Amid the Junk Mail

The mail carrier arrived during my break time today. I grew up thinking that mail carriers had a pretty set routine. They wouldn’t arrive at exactly the same time every single day, but they would be within some kind of window. This does not seem to be the case with the delivery to my house–or more specifically to the group of mailboxes across the street from my house since I lost door to door mail delivery. The postal worker arrives at different times each day. The window for delivery seems to be between 10 and 4. This is not a complaint. It is merely an observation.

Today, the mail arrived early enough that I could go out and get it before teaching my next class. I am expecting some accessories to Zwift with. I also bought a bunch of stamps for the stamp collection. Sadly, none of those things came today. Instead I got an ad for a new housing development north of where I live and some coupons for pizza. A new house would be nice, but the payments would probably be astronomical. Pizza would also be good. You could imagine which coupons I kept.

In addition to this exciting mail, I also got a catalogue for Busy Bee Tools. I have been there before and you can read about it here. I guess I put my name on their mailing list. This doesn’t bother me because a catalogue full of tools sounds like a great idea.

I sat and looked through the catalogue while drinking a cup of coffee to finish off my break–it is quite a lengthy break. I poured over the pages and started reorganizing the fantasy shop in my head to accommodate all of these tools and the projects I would build. I spent my break in that fantasy world. Maybe it was my imagination, but the coffee tasted even better. It brought enough calmness that the rest of the classes were a breeze. I even told my students about it and one of them, who also happens to follow the blog, asked if it was Today’s Perfect Moment. I didn’t detect a note of sarcasm, so I told him exactly what I am writing for you. Yes, indeed. Getting deeply entranced by the catalogue is Today’s Perfect Moment.

In Conversation at the mailbox

Though the day is hardly over, I thought I would write about this tiny Perfect Moment in this post. I haven’t written as much as I would like, and I should keep those muscles working.

Since late last night, the snow has been falling steadily. On the radio, they referred to it as a “winter wonderland”, and to be fair, they were right. It was beautiful and anticipates Christmas so well. From my home office virtual classroom hub I could peer out the window and alternate between wondering if I should go out and shovel or whether it would melt. For the record, I shoveled, the remainder melted, and now it has started again. At least the sidewalks are clear……for now.

I went out to the mailbox, having skipped yesterday for some reason. I hit the combination jackpot with a magazine, an early Christmas card, a bill, and some junk mail. The only way the world could have gotten any brighter would have been to receive some stamps for my collection. Since I hadn’t ordered any, that was unlikely to be the case.

As I crossed the street in search of the box, with my head down bracing against the cooler temperatures–I should let you know that I was rather improperly dressed. I hadn’t even put socks on before jamming my feet into a pair of ratty gym. I had on my fleece, so I wasn’t too cold—I heard someone shout my name.

In one of those rare instances, when things work exactly as they should, I identified the person by voice and was able to recall her name. This is quite the feat because the last ten times I have seen her, I could not drag her name from the recessed parts of my brain until we had finished talking. It was my neighbour (down the street neighbour) Nina. We had a pleasant, chat standing more than the advised two metres apart.

If you ask me which of these things was the Perfect Moment, and you don’t already know the answer, you should probably read more of my posts.

Like Finding Money

I got a nice surprise in my mailbox today.  I had ordered a pair of bibshorts to add to my roster of cycling clothes.  I have enough jerseys (though I wouldn’t say no to another one) but I needed more shorts since I plan to get more riding done this August and September.

I bought the exact same pair that I already had.  I like them and this guaranteed both quality and size.  The only difference is that these have red trim on them.  I think they look pretty good.

I tried to buy them from my local bike shop, but they didn’t have any in stock and they weren’t letting anyone enter the store–yes, they ran the whole thing out of the parking lot.  I wrote about it here.  So, I searched online and ordered it from Ireland.  Of course this meant shipping costs and import taxes.  However, the total price was still much better than I could get here.  I also got a first time user discount and that brought the price down even more.

When I mentioned it to one of the club riders he warned me that I would have to wait a long time for it to arrive.  They promised a week, but it took about a month or maybe longer.  I really can’t remember when I placed my order.  I could blame Covid 19–anything else I ordered from overseas also took a long time–or I could rant against the system.  Instead, I am just going to be happy it arrived.

I remember going to the mailbox with some enthusiasm in weeks past.  I thought it would show up, but it didn’t.  My stamps from Bulgaria arrived, but the bike stuff didn’t.  As the days wore on, I completely let it slip my mind.  So today, when I walked to the mailbox, I was actually only expecting some fast food coupons and junk mail.  Obviously this was better.  It was like finding money in the pocket of your jacket.  It was Today’s Perfect Moment.

From the Mailbox

The mail carrier/postal worker arrived rather late today.  This didn’t bother me, but it did make for a good starting sentence to this post.

Long after work was done, I made the short pilgrimage to the mailbox.  When I got there, I was pleasantly surprised.  There was a small package for me.  As I walked back to my house, I mentally went over my recent purchases, trying to guess what it was.  I am expecting a number of things that, thanks to Covid 19, are overdue.  These include birthday gifts, stamps, and some cycling gear.

Then it hit me.  It must be the screwdriver I ordered months ago.  I ordered this particular screwdriver because it was better suited to adjusting the derailleur on my bicycle as it was “Japanese standard”.  I don’t know whether it will really make any difference, but I saw a video that featured the screwdrivers and how all the top cycling teams use them,  like the idea of having bicycle specific tools, liked the design of the tool, and probably needed another purchase to qualify for free shipping.

It has been so long that I was starting to think it would never arrive.  I had already started mentally composing my complaint letter to Amazon and the supplier of the screwdriver.  It felt pretty good when it showed up in my mailbox.  It wasn’t Christmas, but it was Today’s Perfect Moment.

Getting the Mail

If I were writing for a book, I would say that I taught from a loft, surrounded by multiple computer screens with a big panoramic window overlooking the water.  That would sound good and add an extra layer to the description of my day.  The truth is that I teach, these days and for the foreseeable future, from my street facing third bedroom with a laptop perched on a stand being held together by Krazy Glue.  That isn’t bad, it just doesn’t sound impressive.  It doesn’t  have a view of the water, or mountains.

What it does have is a view of my the mailbox (once billed as a “super-box”) for the street.  In addition to spotting my neighbours as they either stop on the way home, or make the enjoyable pilgrimage from their houses, I get to watch postal carrier (my older, less PC chided neighbours still say mailman) screech to a halt in front of the “super-boxes”, efficiently open them and load up the mail, and the slam the door closed before doing his best Indy 500 burnout to escape my street and get to the next “super-box”.

The schedule varies wildly, but I am usually teaching when this  happens.  Since I’ve got my window open, I am sure my students get the audio treat as well.

As for me, what I really enjoy now that I am home, is venturing across the street during my rather short teaching break to get the mail.  Although I am not really expecting a lot of mail (currently waiting on a Japanese spec screwdriver for my bicycle, and the complete set of stamps from Bulgaria for 1970), I check the box every day.  I like the sense of anticipation.  I like wondering if anything will be in the box when I swing it open and crouch down to peer inside.  I like getting letters, packages, and even sometimes I find the junk mail amusing.

Throughout this “lockdown” I have developed quite a few rituals which I am enjoying.  It’s only a minute out of my day, but it is an enjoyable one.  For that reason alone, it deserves the title of Today’s Perfect Moment.

Just Outside my Window

When I was writing yesterday’s blog in which I explained that I do not pay attention to weather forecasts, I managed to peek outside.  The sun was out and it looked gorgeous.  I didn’t exactly make plans to go bike riding, but the aspiration was definitely there.

Then I noticed one of my neighbours walking down the street.  She was wearing her winter coat and a toque (that’s a winter hat in case you didn’t know).  I found it hard to reconcile these things, but not impossible.  There are lots of times when I just don’t understand the weather.  I doubt that it is a Canadian thing, but my students so often wax lyrical about how predictable and/or consistent the weather in their country that they have me convinced it is a Canadian thing.

I had to go out and find a mailbox to return something to Amazon.  There is a mailbox across the street from me incorporated into the super-box that replaced door to door mail delivery on my street.  The problem was that the opening was too small for the item I was sending back.  I had to go and find one of those traditional giant red mailboxes.  If I were going to my office to work the next day, I would have waited because there are a few of them between the subway station and the building I teach in.  Since I’m working from home until at least the middle of May, this really wasn’t an option.

I took a stroll in the rather cool weather.  I found a mailbox outside the convenience store that also has a post office outlet inside–at least I think they have a post office outlet inside.  I haven’t been there in a while and I know they reduced their store size by about 50%–the space they gave up became a kebab place.  Maybe they gave up the post office franchise….

When I came back, I sat at my chair, searching YouTube videos for interesting videos of “makers” creating things and giving tours of their workshops.  Not the most productive way to spend the afternoon, but I had done the teaching part, I had gone for the cool walk, and now I needed something to just turn off.

From the corner of my eye, I spotted something weird going on outside my window.  There were a million flakes falling down in the bright afternoon sunlight.  I wasn’t worried about any of it sticking around, so I just chuckled inwardly and quite consciously decided that unless something truly remarkable happened, it would be Today’s Perfect Moment.

Good Omens in the Mailbox

I don’t want to bore you with all my trip stuff, but I need to share with you a coincidence that is Today’s Perfect Moment.

I usually write my blog posts at night and then publish them in the morning. The reasons for this are twofold.  The first is that this seems to lead to more viewers.  Like a lot of people, but not all, I am trying to grow this blog and when I publish might be important.  (If you think, or know, that another time of day is better, please let me know)  The other, and more important reason, is that I wait until I go to bed so that I can reflect on my day and choose the Perfect Moment.  This also helps set myself at ease and I have some nice thoughts to fall asleep to.

Last night, I was too tired to even really decide what was the Perfect Moment and had to wait until I woke up and made a list of great moments before choosing one as the Perfect Moment (you should see what I rejected). So, really, it was almost the afternoon by the time I wrote the post about my trip to South Africa.

By the time all that was done, I was looking out my kitchen window when I realized that I hadn’t put the compost and recycling bins away. One of my neighbours had kindly moved them to the front of my garage, but they still needed to be put away.  After doing this, I also considered that the mail carrier had probably already been by and there might be mail in my mailbox.

How surprised was I to find a new catalogue for Exodus Cycling trips? I quite literally had just published the post where I wrote about the trips I had taken with them and about the one I am going to take.  Like I wrote a couple of posts ago, the coincidences are piling up and I am taking them all as good omens.

There’s no way I can start planning for 2021, but I will definitely flip through the book during my commute to work in the morning.

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Just some questions for blog writers out there.

• Do You write your posts at the same time every day?
• Does it matter when you publish your blogposts?
• Do you see a difference in the number of readers if you publish at different times?
• Do you have enough time to read all the blogs you follow?