The (un)usual

What made me happy today? Getting a side of unusual with my usual!
It's Saturday. For me, that's another word for grocery shopping, chores and a trip into Leuven city. So I made my usual stop at koffie Onan first. By now, they know what I want. Latte of the week, to go. There was one other customer waiting for her drinks. Suddenly she says 'Invader Zim!'. Took me a second to figure out what she meant (didn't have my coffee yet). She was referring to the t-shirt I was wearing. The culprit is below, although mine has a black background.

So we talked about how great Gir and Invader Zim are for a bit. I don't know who she was, but she kind of made my day!
Then it was on to the Metalzone. Scored three new cd's: Sonata Arctica - for the sake of revenge, Queensrÿche - Queensrÿche (the new one) and Queensrÿche - operation: mindcrime. That made my day even more!
Yup, my Saturday was great! How was yours?

That knowing look

What made me happy today? Sharing that knowing look with a total stranger.
You know the one I mean. Not the one shared between friends, but the one shared between two total strangers.
Today is Saturday. Saturday for me usually has the same schedule. Get up at a reasonable hour, go to my Pilates class, have a sub for lunch and occasionaly do some shopping, then head on home to do other stuff. This Saturday was no different, but it was rather cold, so I decides to grab a latte at koffie Onan (I've mentioned them before: http://project365-oneyearofhappy.blogspot.be/2013/01/great-friends-and-great-coffee.html). Ok, it was only -1°C but the wind chill was terrible. With my coffee in my hands I was walking back home when it happened.
She and I crossed paths somewhere in the middle of the Diestsestraat. Both holding a take-away cup of coffee. Our eyes met, there's a little moment of recognition (noot because you know each other, but because you're doing the same thing), and we shared that knowing look and a tentative little smile. You know, the look that goes: yeah, it's cold, but the coffee is nice and warm for my hands and all the rest, so enjoy.
It happens on other occasions as well. I wear black clothes all the time. In the winter a lot of people do, but when you meet someone in the summer dressed in all black you may share that knowing look. Kind of like there's this bond between you, even though you don't know each other. Like sharing something, or knowing you're not the only one :-)
That makes me happy, because it makes me feel a bit as if I'm not the only one doing this. If that makes sense...

Also, koffie Onan's latte of the week is caramel. Really tasty! If you have the chance, go get one, it's worth it :-)

Kind strangers

What made me happy today? Coming across two stories about kind strangers.
The first one was a newspaper article about Spanish locksmiths refusing to help evict homeowners any longer (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/03/spanish-locksmiths_n_2401771.html). This was also published in a Belgian paper (http://www.standaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx?artikelid=DMF20130107_00424884 this article is in Dutch).
The second one was a story about a kind stranger on a subway: http://notalwaysright.com/homeless-is-where-the-heart-is/26293


There have been some kind strangers in my life as well, like the guys that stayed with me after I was hit by a car. And it does not even have to be as big as that. The small things matter as well. Like the people that stop to let you cross the street, or let you go in front of them at the checkout line in the supermarket because you only have one item and they have a shopping cart that's filled to the edge.
It's stories like this that make me feel the world is not such a bad place after all. They warm my heart and give me the idea that there might be hope for humanity after all :-)