Detour

I wrote this last March 30, 2010

http://www.flickr.com/photos/76761958@N00/32236938

I have proven that unplanned road trips make the happiest moments. Although I am an advocate of careful planning (as I was branded as OC), I think a detour once in a while won’t hurt.

I remember few months ago when all of us in the office were about to go home. It was Saturday afternoon, and everyone has shut down the computers. One of us said she’ll go to the mall; the other one immediately said, “I’ll go with you.” The third one said, “Me too!” The fourth one (that’s me), all of a sudden, just said “I’ll go as well.” It was surprising for me and for them too, as I am not the type who would go out unplanned. But then I thought: I would only spend time sleeping when I get back to the house, so why not spend the rest of the day with officemates-cum-friends instead?

The detour that Saturday afternoon was worth it – it was the time to unwind for all of us. We did not talk about work - we did not talk about what’s going to happen on Monday, which most of the things we wrote on our weekly planning schedule won’t happen, or who’s the latest people who have violated our kindness. Instead, we talked about ourselves – okay, I actually got most of the interesting questions – the real us outside work. It has solidified our friendship; it was something that even our 201 files can’t keep.

Last Saturday, I again experienced another detour. This time, I joined the ride with one of my male friends, who generously drove three of the nicest young girls to a nearby mall (they are student assistants in the school where I used to work). When one of the girls asked my male friend if we could go to their house, he simply just said, “Sure,” and changed directions.

Although my friend added that we could not enter his house for “the keys are with my brother,” I knew he was trying to pull out a fantastic prank against the three. But I was not able to give him the ‘what-are-you-up-to’ stare, as I might spoil the fun. All of a sudden, he drove the car straight to the gate of a plush suburb (he doesn’t live there). Just imagine the ‘what-you-live-here-I-didn’t-know’ reaction of the girls.

What seemed to be a prank house visit turned out to be a simple yet funny road trip, with stopovers to take pictures and sight-seeing the best houses. It was as if we have all the afternoon to ourselves. It’s as there were no worries and other concerns on our minds.

Such detours helped me learn a few things on how to appreciate life. Ever since, I have been trying to plan my days as I wanted them to be. I get frustrated if I don’t get what I wanted or get to do what I needed to do, because I know that even small changes will mean big changes. But in fact, sometimes, all I have to do is to “count every moment.”

It also made me realize that I need to stop and think about others – how could I make the best of times with them. It helps me rediscover again and again that I don’t need to do something grand for others – “quality time” is enough.

Finally, it made me realize that I may have fears, worries, even setbacks – but I am not alone in the journey. Detours have shown me the generosity and sympathy of friends. Detours helped me go back to the basics – life is simple. It is okay to live life with simple joys.

A detour may be an alternative route that we sometimes take, but I think they are necessary deviations of our journey. We need detours to somehow find ourselves back on the road.