Alone On a Saturday Night

It's Saturday night and I'm home alone - actually, I've been alone since 3 PM. Sometimes I really need human contact, and other times, like tonight, I absolutely love the solitude. The only noise I hear is the ticking of the clock and the occasional car driving past our cul-de-sac.

I knew that I was going to be spending the day and evening alone, so I made a bunch of plans - Target, grocery shopping, organizing the computer desk, going to the library, etc. I did none of that. I woke up with a killer migraine and while I was able to get rid of the pain within a few hours, I was left with the physical and emotional hangover. So, basically, I watched some TV (flipped between the NFL draft and the Cubs/Cards game). I did go to the grocery store, but only for a few emergency items.

I'm feeling much more awake now, so I ate dinner and decided to make some new plans. I went to the bookshelves (since I didn't make it to the library) and tried to pick out a new book to read. I'm torn between two - The Unbearable Lightness of Being, a book I read my freshman year of college and Ella Minnow Pea, a book I received as a birthday gift a few years ago. I love re-reading books from many years ago - it's amazing to see how differently you can interpret things at different points in your life. I was only 19 years old when I first read the Kundera book. I was in love. I was naive. I was curious about the world. I wanted to experience new things. I wonder if I would interpret it differently today. This book represents such an amazing time in my life, so part of me is hesitant to re-read the book. I guess I'm afraid that if I do read it again, I will lose that feeling of innocence and wonderment from that first year in college.

I think I will make up my mind this evening as I get into bed. I have no idea how I am going to decide which book to read - it most likely will depend on my mood. Whichever one I choose, I plan to stay up and read in bed for a while. It seems like forever since I've done that.

So what started out as a relatively crappy day has turned into a nice evening. Alone.