The Difference Between Chasing And Attraction - Part 1
Sometimes a small change in routine can lead to the most unexpected encounters
📍Da Nang, Vietnam
On one of my days in Da Nang, I broke my work routine, not knowing how surprising this day was going to be.
I woke up at 10, way too late for me. I decided to take the day easy - instead of getting ready and immediately heading to a café with my laptop, I'd first go for a nice breakfast, spend a few hours at the beach, and work in the afternoon. Trying to practice a different routine.
Breakfast was excellent. I'm a bit addicted to a place on the parallel street, both because of the food and, yes, because of the name - Bikini Bottom. It's a SpongeBob-themed restaurant - and it has literally everything!
Their burgers are the signature dish (and they're genuinely amazing!), but the menu has so many pages with breakfast, lunch, cocktails, and really everything. So I "indulged" in returning several times to eat all the amazing dishes I wanted.
After a croissant filled with scrambled eggs and shallots, I continued walking to the beach. As mentioned, a 3-minute walk.
In the middle of this walk, a man on a scooter stopped next to me while asking me "How's it going?" in Russian.
I smiled because he certainly doesn't think I'm Russian, but it's a nice way to break the ice and presumably declare his origin.
"How are you?" he asked again in English.
"Good, thanks," I replied, while he removed his helmet.
"You really caught my eye! I'd love to get to know you!" he was direct.
"I'm fine, thanks anyway," I tried to continue on my way.
"Wait! Hold on! Take my Instagram! I live here, I'd love for us to meet!" he insisted.
"What could it hurt?" I thought to myself, and we exchanged Instagram.
"I'll send you a message!" he declared as I started walking.
"Where are you going? To this beach?" (pointing to the beach in front of us) "Can I join you??" he shouted as I walked away.
"Not today!" I shouted back.
I continued walking along the promenade because I found my favorite beach in the whole city, Maia Beach. And not (only) because I'm emotionally attached to it, but because it's the only one with DJs playing good music!
I spent several hours as the sun peeked through the clouds intermittently, and the sea was particularly wavy.
When I approached my phone, it was open to his Instagram page.
14K followers. He's a travel blogger.
"Funny universe," I laughed out loud, feeling defeated that now he's suddenly interesting to me.
Afternoon came, and it was time to work. While sitting in a café, I received a message from him.
Well, it wasn't really a message. It was a flood of messages.
Over the next few hours, he simply showered me with a rain of messages about how much he wanted us to meet. And if at first I engaged with it, later I felt uncomfortable with his approach.
In a really strange way, I stopped everything and recognized it, and decided to tell him and set a boundary.
So uncharacteristic of me. Or maybe now it is?
He immediately apologized and explained himself, and another flood of messages arrived. When we aligned expectations, I agreed to meet.
"8 at Maia Beach?" I suggested, while remembering Maya who all she knew how to say was "whenever / wherever you want".
"Yes, excellent," he said, and it was 6 o'clock.
I arrived on time, because that's who I am. At the entrance was a sign that the place was closed for a staff party. "How nice," I thought to myself!
7 minutes passed before I sent him a message.
Another 5 minutes passed before I realized he wasn't coming.
I didn't know my evening was just starting. I'll tell you the second part of the story about the difference between chasing and attracting in the next post...
Your support helps me to continue experiencing new worlds and sharing them with you through my words. Sometimes, a single cup of coffee can make a difference.
Thank you for being part of this journey.
Who Am I? | The Journey Through Time | The Daily Journey
Looking forward to the second part. I am curious ☺️