I mentioned in my Hey 2023! post that I have been trying to work on my apparent tardiness and be on time to things instead of being late. I am refusing to accept that it could be a result of my parents’ growing up in a country (Indonesia) where traffic was just a fact of life and it was acceptable to be late. None of that, no excuses. It all boils down to the fact that, frankly, I just need to allow myself a tonne of time and plan to specifically be early rather than planning to be somewhere by a specific time. I think that’s what really helps: planning to be early rather than “on time” (which, to some people, doesn’t exist).

I made a reservation at a cafe for 11:15 today for my friend Lilian and I to catch up. I decided, and let Lilian know, that I was planning to be there early (LOL 😂) and would see her at 11am. So I planned to be there at 11am. I almost wanted to curse my bad luck when I left as early as I could, but the bus ended up running five minutes early, meaning that I actually missed it. Let’s face it, I actually could have left home a smidge earlier, but I tried to fit in a gym workout, and didn’t move as quickly as I could have, so I couldn’t make an earlier bus.

The next bus would get me to the cafe with enough time before our booking, but I felt bad that I was getting there five minutes after I said I’d be there, at 11:05! 😱 I guess something I’ve learned is that it’s better to leave more time in general, as it just allows for more room without any rush.

Anyway, it didn’t get in the way of having a good brunch and a nice long walk around Glebe, and then hanging out at the shopping centre for tea and coffee.

I spotted my vice—Mike and Ike candy—in a small candy pop-up shop for $4.99, before deciding to set foot in The Reject Shop (a dollar store of sorts, that we hadn’t really been in since we were young and frugal, and it was also a place I frequented with my parents in my childhood) and finding them for $3.50. 💀 Considering this American candy can only be found in select places in Australia, and are often expensive, $3.50 was quite the steal… 🍬🤤

I was also shocked we could find them in The Reject Shop when I was used to only seeing them in rural places or speciality shops.

I’m blogging every day in January 2023. Let me know if you’ll be joining in and trying to blog every day. 😊 The hashtag you can use on social media is #blogeverydamnday.