69 days to go...

Hmm, 69... an idea that doesn't fail to excite me.

Fourteen days have passed since I started counting down in my journey of rebirth. All were good, and some days were better lived than others.

Today I had no particular theme in mind. I floated.

I had a great time with my daughter, shopping groceries first, and later watching the movie Happy Feet about an unusual penguin who changed life in his Antarctic community.

We also went twice to our favorite bookshop, Fully Booked, on her request, before and after the movie. That made me happy. I love it when people love books. I guess it’s because books stretch your mind, broaden your horizon, and remind you how beautiful life is.

Visiting a bookshop is a wholesome thing to do for me. I’m glad my daughter likes it too. What surprised me today is the long time she took to select a book. She really loved browsing, and came up with quite a few books that I thought were still too difficult for her. She also showed me an entire section of Roald Dahl’s books, which she loves.

In the end, after almost an hour, we came out with a book for her age that she was happy to get, My Secret Unicorn - The Magic Spell. I let her pay for it at the cashier. And for me, I was aware of the need to be patient, knowing how important it was to her to take time, and I enjoyed the experience.

I saw something funny in the bookshop. The best book I know on dealing with procrastination, Eat the Frog by Brian Tracy, stood on the children’s shelf for intermediate readers. The title makes it sound like a children’s book, but it is really for grown-ups. Come to think of it, my daughter has little problem with tasks that she considers important. She is totally focused on what she does, very much “in the moment” like children of her age do naturally.

Also today, I started to get an itch to my declutter books, clothes, and old papers at home. Year-end is a good time for decluttering life and possesions. I’ll take some time daily to do this. And I will use the opportunity to regroup my books by subject. My house helpers group them by size, with I have endured over the years with frustration and a smile.

After the day’s sojourn, I feel good to get back to my trusted keyboard to write. Actually, my notebook computer is groaning, the fan is continuously and noisily blowing hot air, as if I am causing it to overheat. I will get it checked on Monday. I have already backed up my files to an external hard disk just in case.

As for me, I’m cool, not hot. Years of living in Thailand have taught me the value of Jai Yen, of displaying a cool heart. It is not about being cold, but about staying cool and composed when emotions rise.

I liked today. I value being “cool” yet from a warm heart with care and love, and I learned about the importance of having happy feet.

Photograph: happy feet.