If I Were in Charge of the World

Photograph by AngelalalaChan

If I were in charge of the world, newspaper articles would be colour-coded, so you’d know not to read a grey article if you didn’t want to be sad, and to read a blue article instead.

If I were in charge of the world, your ears would have an internal Dictaphone, so you could record all unexpected compliments and kind words, and listen to them again whenever you wanted to.

If I were in charge of the world, there would be a social network for meeting people who loved to do the things you hated doing. So I could fill in your forms while you washed my dishes.

If I were in charge of the world, you would also be a synesthete, so you’d see Monet when Ella Fitzgerald sings Baby, It’s Cold Outside.

If I were in charge of the world, a sigh would be enough to expel any frustration, and all your fears could be swallowed and digested with a gasp.

If I were in charge of the world, there would be no food allergies, so you could eat peanut butter or avocado or cheese or butternut – if you wanted to.

If I were in charge of the world, you would receive a card every day of the year. Some cards would inevitably say ‘Happy birthday!’ or ‘Get well soon!’ or ‘Thank you!’ On the other days (those days that blur into The Everyday), the cards would remind you that you are blessed, or let you know you that you are loved, or tell you not to forget to pay that bill or buy toilet paper.

If I were in charge of the world, there would be a device you could use to feel (and therefore truly understand) another’s pain or joy.

If I were in charge of the world, you would be able to custom-make your car’s exterior, so your car could be fluffy or polka-dotted or covered in leaves.

If I were in charge of the world, there would be a photocopier for perfect days, so you could fold them up and pull them out of your pocket whenever you’d like.

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I owe this post to @joannapaterson who posted her version of the world if she were to take charge, and encouraged others to write their own.

Tea, My Valentine?

Photograph by Lummmy

Plenty of people express their love for tea every day. ‘I need a cup of tea.’ We mutter this sentence so often, it should soon be classed as an a term in itself:

I-need-a-cup-of-tea ~ adj. looking for a solution or needing to calm down.

We each have very personal preferences when it comes to tea. Some like it black. Some like it sickly sweet. Some like it sloopy (a bottle of milk and the entire sugar bowl). Some like it perfect (a dash of milk and half a teaspoon of sugar).

But how ever you take your tea, there’s no denying what that cup does for you. It makes you happy. It lowers stress levels. It satisfies your longing. Essenteally (couldn’t help myself), your relationship with tea is one to be cherished.

So, since Valentine’s Day is nearly here, I offer you three ways to express your love for tea:

1. Make it prettea. Drinking tea out of a beauteaful teacup makes your tea taste even better. If you’re lucky enough to have decent china, you should be using it. And not just when you have Important People over. If, like me, you’re still waiting to be able to put a dozen lovely tea sets on your wedding registry, pick the most delightful mug you can find. Your tea deserves to be dressed up a little.
2. Whether you like your tea loose, or you’ve got it in the bag, be snootea and get qualitea. I’ll save the full rant for another post, but I will say that Five Roses is the teenager of teas. Love may be blind, but it’s never tasteless (well ... maybe sometimes).  Anyway, get yourself some decent tea that’s worthy of your love. I recommend Dilmah. 
3. Finally, find a real, live person to be your Valenteane and send him/her a senteamental tea-card.

After all, isn’t that what Valentine’s Day is all about?