Slices of Life

One day in my journalism class back in Junior year, my teacher suggested that we add a “slices of life” section to our school’s news blog but whether we actually did that or not, I can’t remember.

Basically, a slices of life section contains short things that…let’s say just happened. Maybe somebody said something very funny. If so, a journalist can write that funny quote down and here you have your slices of life contribution. Or maybe someone just did something funny or remarkable or whatever and you happen to have it videotaped. Well, you get the idea.

I have not been thinking about this type of thing up until today.

It was again coffee morning time and I made myself get up in the morning because of one of these things I have seen last time but didn’t buy.

Once I arrived at the full hall, with all the people already there, ready to spend their money on local stuff, I realized that the stand with the pictures was not build up yet and so I just kept walking around aimlessly.

I bought a lovely looking greeting card and went outside, just so I could escape the masses for a moment. Right there was a stand of a (most likely) Filipino lady, who was selling cupcakes.

“Do you want to try one?”, she asked, “don’t worry it’s healthy”.

Healthy cupcakes, I thought to myself. How does that work? But then the lady told me that she made them with olive oil, honey and whole wheat flour so that made sense after all.

Those cupcakes turned out to taste very delicious, so I said I would buy two of them.

And here is where I got the surprise of the day!

“Of course”, she replied and handed me the plastic box. “Help yourself”.

Then she looked at me for a moment and just as I grabbed the first one she asked: “Do you have kids??”

Slowly I put the second cupcake in the box and faced her with a smile on my face, trying to hide my confusion as well as I could.

“Kids? Oh…no, no, no. I am a student…”, I said, destroying her hopes of more potential customers from my side.

I mean I have been in a lot of situations where people thought of me as much older. I have been asked to sign petitions for Greenpeace and all that when I was 14. I have been asked if I was married because of the ring I used to wear and still do, on my finger, to keep away (Albanian) men who were very eager to ask me out for a coffee. In my previous schools, some people even thought I was a teacher but never in my life has anybody ever thought of me as a mother of children of cupcake eating appropriate age.

The funny thing is that I didn’t even have make up on today.

I celebrated my 19th birthday last week and my best friend messaged me, saying that now I was getting old. I guess she was right to some extent.

Well, at least I am smiling as I am typing this.

And while you enjoy laughing about my story, or maybe not, enjoy these two pictures I bought at one of the stands today as well.  They are a combination of digital and hand made art.  Feel free check out Arabian Moon for more amazing designs. 🙂