Melancholy, Melody, and Men

Melancholy: I just finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife. I knew it would be a sad book because I was forewarned by others, but I still cried. I think it was partly because it did have sad parts, but also because I really liked the characters and I didn't want it to end. Overall, I would recommend it. I think that it's really interesting how throughout the book I mostly thought the time traveler was the "main" character, but in the end I would agree with the author in that it is truly the story of the time traveler's wife. This book really got me thinking about love though. (As did The Alchemist, which we discussed in our book club today). But, it made me wonder if I had met my future husband and love when I was six, if that would mean that you actually loved that person, or if by meeting them from the future you just knew that it was already going to happen. It gets me thinking about how time can be thought of in many ways: linearly, circular, or even as all happening concurrently. I think that's the word I'm thinking of. Anyways, it's just interesting to think about.

Melody: I found out today that one of my friends/co-workers, Tim, plays the piano, guitar, sings and writes songs. I listened to some of his music today and I really enjoyed it. It's very mellow and thoughtful and beautiful. There's one line he says, "I'm tired of dreaming of windows and looking for something I'll never see." So I just thought I'd share that because it's neat how even when you think you know someone fairly well, there's always something more to learn about them.

Men: what is there to say? I'm not sure. Maybe I'll have more to share on this topic later. Mostly I just included it because I've been thinking about the men I've been reading about in fiction and wondering if I'll ever find Mr. Darcy.

So something that was brought up today in our book club discussion was the idea of living life in a nonlinear fashion. Emily was saying that sometimes she feels like her life is very linear. Meaning that after high school she knew she would go to college and then after college you pretty much know that you're going to get a job and have a house and a family, etc. I don't think I like this. And it's not even so much the feeling/idea that I don't want to conform, but more of the feeling that this is not what I think will make me happy. I struggle a lot with trying to figure out how I'm going to go to grad school, travel, get married, create social change, have kids, find a meaningful/fulfilling calling, etc. How do I make all of this fit together and happen in some sort of reasonable time frame? What I realized about Emily's comment though is that maybe my life doesn't have to follow such a linear path. I'm not sure what this means exactly, but I think that I feel better about it just knowing that I have the creative option of choosing to do events in the order/manner that I want. And maybe this seems selfish, but I've always been a proponent of thinking out side the box, or in this case, outside the linear norm of middle class American lifestyles.

As for some simpler things in life. I really love chai tea lattes. They just make me happy in one of those small ways that only comfort food and warm drinks can.
I didn't take any pictures today, but I'll put up one anyways.
These pictures kinda show how all of this rain is making me feel.


thoughtfully yours,
Kate