Yay! I Won!

Back in March, Troy and I went to a craft fair-type event. There were a few tables set up with cupcakes, baby clothes, some adult clothes, toys, lotions and soaps and, my personal favorite, jewelry! There were quite a few lovely pieces of jewelry at several of the tables and I was tempted to buy all of them. I relegated myself to just two bracelets and left it at that. One of the tables was doing a contest for an undisclosed special prize and who can resist that? I entered the contest and promptly forgot about it because, really, who ever wins these things? I know I never do. It’s always the other lucky person. That day, though, the lucky person was me! Yay!

It really is exciting to win something, even if you have no clue what you’ve won. lol. I was contacted by the company, Stella Nomade, and told that I’d won an afternoon tea with the designer as well as a special piece of jewelry. They threw out a date, but I was going to be in the US on that day, as well as a week and a half prior and several days after, so it would be almost a month before I would be available to meet with the designer.

Yesterday, the day came. I met the lovely and kind designer, Cinzia, at Bangsar Village Mall where we sat and talked in a cafe for about an hour. It was a very enjoyable experience. Cinzia has lived here for quite a bit longer than I have and is very knowledgeable about Kuala Lumpur. She gave me ideas for different volunteer projects I could be a part of, suggested some places I could go during the day to see more of the country’s culture, told me how to get to a few places I’ve been wanting to go and gave me more insight into Malaysia’s culture. Her family has lived several places around the world, so it was fascinating to listen to her talk about the places she has been and some of the things she has experienced. She talked a little about her family and the volunteer projects her children have been part of. It sounds like she has some really great children and a wonderful family. It was such an enjoyable conversation and I enjoyed every minute of it.

I really want to say that both sides of the conversation were refined and elegant and that my part of the conversation was just as interesting, but we all know that’s just not my style. I’m happy to say that I conquered a few of my anxiety-invoking actions (going places in a manner I’ve never done before – i drove all by myself to this mall for the first time, meeting up with strangers – i had no clue what Cinzia even looked like before I got there, talking alone with someone i don’t know – i have a really hard time talking with people i’m unfamiliar with), but I still came across like a total airhead for half the conversation. Talking with people I don’t know is really hard for me. I’m not sure what it is about it, but I get a lot of anxiety and my mind goes completely blank when I’m around or talking with people I am unfamiliar with. Even people I’ve been around before are difficult for me if I haven’t talked to them a lot. Because of this, it takes me a really long time to get comfortable with people and able to act like a normal human being. I felt like I did okay during this outing, but there were moments when my mind just would not cooperate and I couldn’t think of what to say. So, I’d say the first thing that popped into my head, which usually wasn’t as eloquent and intelligent as I would have liked. Oh well. I’m not the first person who has acted like a blonde (haha) and I’m sure I won’t be the last.

Aside from the slightly stilted parts of the conversation, it was an enjoyable experience. I’m really glad to have been able to meet with Cinzia and learn a bit about her. She said that if I ever want to meet up for lunch or go do something during the day to call or text and we could set something up. It was very kind of her to say that.

Oh, and the special piece of jewelry she designed was very lovely. She handed it to me right after we said hello and I couldn’t resist looking at it right away. I had to put the lid back on the jewelry box because I knew I would keep playing with it if I didn’t. The earrings are so pretty! I absolutely love them. Earrings are probably my favorite piece of jewelry and I miss all the earrings I left back in the US. I only brought two necklaces and two rings with me because I didn’t want to risk any jewelry being stolen from my suitcase or getting lost while we are here, so I’ve really been missing my earrings. Now, though, I have a beautiful new pair that are just perfect! I love the little pieces of gold inside the glass that shine when the light hits them right. These earrings are very pretty and I’m very thankful to have won them. Big thank you to Cinzia for designing these and for letting me win them. Thank you very much for the beautiful prize!