BeMused

Because he doesn’t want to do too much but call the shots.

Because she finds it too boring and menial but expects travel and techno perks.

Because his single mum worked three jobs to give him a home with his own room, own TV, BMX bikes and the latest Nintendo while he learnt to expect freebies from life.

Because her daddy splurged on his little princess and took a double mortgage to buy her an apartment straight after university so that she would not rent.

Because his mummy raised him to think part-time work while studying is beneath him but will gladly give her modest salary so he can trip around the world with his friends.

Because she insists on having Facebook at work or she’ll walk off the job.

Because management and recruiters are told to bow to the hype as if it is the new scientific management principle of the 21st century.

Because the media likes nothing better than to create a public backlash by boxing Gen X and Gen Y into predictable stereotypes.

Y not review our individual work ethics and practices, including our fleXibility and adaptabilitY instead of wearing a cheap designer label based on our birthdaYs.

About Postcards to the Past

Dear Cléa
Thank you for your lovely card. Things here are busy and the business is doing well so my dreams may well come true.

The weather is not too bad down here and Bali was fantastic. I only wished that I could have shared it with you.

I hope everything is ok and [my profession] is going as planned.

We shall meet again (I hope)

With lots of love
Alex
xxxxx

* * * * * * * * * * *

Dear Alex

What a thoughtful note on a classic card, but may I ask, who on earth are you?! I take it you’re male since you wanted to share Bali with me. But I confess that location has never appealed to me.

Everything is fine with me, but who would have believed I have given the profession the flick. I sincerely hope your dreams have come true, whatever they may have been and you didn’t turn into a workaholic. You sound like a genuine person. I wonder what became of you.

Obviously we never met again, and if we were to meet in the future, I would certainly not remember you. Can you at least give me a hint or a clue to your identity?

With lots of questions
Cléa
xxxxx

PS What is it with postcards and 5 x’s?

About Postcards to the Past

Dear Cléa

I was just thinking of you and all your cute ways and I thought I’d write and tell you. So many of your different habits and ideas make our relationship a really unique arrangement. I really don’t think I could imagine a girl like you if I tried. But by far the best thing about you is your love, which I have enjoyed for 16 months now. Who’d have thought we’d last through the many traumas we have survived! The secret is that we love each other and that alone makes anything bearable.

One day you may share with me all of the experiences detailed in the front of this card! I can see you now as a (snowball) determined skier, determined to stay away from the snow!! Well, I can only try.

All my love
D
xxxxx ->

* * * * * * * * * * *

Dear D

Your postcard touched me in so many ways, not in the least the surprise of finding it when I thought I had thrown away all your cards and letters.

“Unique arrangement” sounds like a mystery to me now. However, I can read the love in your words, and appreciate all the sentiments, even today. The fact that you praise my love is a beautiful validation, even in my present. I can see that I have not changed that much since we fell in love when we were both 18 years old.

16 months together…wow! Little we knew that they would turn into 4 years, that you’d propose on bended knee and we’d have a turbulent ending where we almost hated each other. But fear not, we’ll clear the air after our graduation with no hard feelings before you go your way and I go mine, content that we’ve made the right decision not to marry.

You speak of traumas, and I wonder what life has dealt you by now. I certainly had my fair share, just like the snowball you mention. I know you’ve tried to contact me a while back and after much effort you got there but somehow you didn’t pursue past the first email. I will always wonder why.

You were the first one I truly loved, as I was yours. We will always be each other’s first. Time and life events can never change that. I will always hold that place for you. And I’m sure you remember me today with equal fondness.

All my affection
Cléa
xxxxx ->

Do you recall the thrills of the past where you would open your mailbox and amongst AIR MAIL / PAR AVION stamped letters you found a colourful postcard sent from someone in far away lands?

During another attempt at cleaning out the garage, I stumbled upon a pile of old postcards, meticulously kept in a small box. As a one-time collector, sorting through them has taken me on a trip back in time, when handwritten snippet of holidays were the norm, when pictures made you dream of travel or the sender simply wanted to say, “thinking of you”.

The collection has inspired me to present a new and regular feature. Postcards to the Past will showcase some of these snapshots in time with a scanned image of the original card. While the content of each postcard will differ, I will be responding to each one, from the present, with an unexpected twist.

The inaugural postcard follows in the next post. It was the one that triggered archived sentiments which inspired this idea.

The Postcards to the Past series is dedicated to our memories, without which we would not feel whole.

“…memories continue to live, becoming part of the present, and the future’s past.”
Cléa in Martini Moments – 13 April 2008

A cloud is hanging over and I’m out of sturdy umbrellas.

Back in a couple of days to launch an exciting series.