5-to-9

A friend of mine went to Europe in the early nineties. In those days after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the chaos of Perestroika, Russian stores were see-through for the lack of products on the shelves. You would be lucky to buy a cheese if you needed one. Very lucky.

Back to my friend - he has never been abroad before for the Soviet borders were closed for the vast majority of the population. I don't remember which country was it in, but he was too poor to go to a cafe or a restaurant, so located a supermarket in the neighbourhood.

He says that he spent about an hour there, painfully trying to figure out how to buy cheese when there were so many kinds and varieties - and he left. Cheeseless.

The days of empty shelves are long since gone. Oddly enough, the feeling made a comeback. Only that as opposed to cheese-choice, now we get confronted with too much freedom. Take me - after years devoted to two immigrations, numerous devastating job hunts, mind-boggling language studies, overcoming challenges of new friends, building a family, working long hours - I finally climb to the top of that mountain of mine and find myself... stuck.

Happily married. Got a house. Have lots of friends - close and not so close. Travel a lot. I have a job. A career. I work 9-to-5.

What should I do from 5-to-9???

I have time, interest, and perhaps even money to do something with that free time of mine. The problem? There's too many choices!

I can go to culinary school just for the fun of it. Or join a group of plain-air artists (well, maybe not just now, it being winter). Or set myself to learn how to sew - and design clothes. Or become a home redesign star - at least for my own home. I can write a book, join a yoga class, a dancing class (be it belly- or pole-dancing, doesn't matter).

I can do whatever I want!

The thing is - each and every day, I stand in this supermarket aisle of choices, scratching my head, and then... leave. Too much cheese.