Rainy Saturday

     The rain is coming down in sheets outside this dimly lit bakery.  Its as if the Earth is playing a child's game with our weather: put the days in order, but make sure ones of the same color don't touch!  Monday was sun and warmth, Tuesday cold and a rain/snow mix, Wednesday snow, Thursday cool and cloudy with some snow, Friday sun and warmth, and finally today, Saturday with torrential rain.  If this continues it is likely that tomorrow will be a snow rain mix.
    Despite, or maybe because of, the weather I felt I needed to leave the house.  I spent the morning cozily in my pjs and robe, sipping my coffee and finishing 'The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore'.  The beginning of the book tells you where it will ultimately end, but the journey is long, winding, and verbose - and this isn't meant as a criticism.  The story Bruno tells is long (and according to him he leaves reams out) and winding out of necessity - he becomes cultured, gains language and deeper thought, something that doesn't happen over night for humans, let alone chimpanzees.  His evolving relationship with Lydia Littlemore may throw some and sicken others, but if you can look past it the story ultimately revolves around what it means to be human.  Bruno often calls us anthropocentric and muses on how this shapes our actions and beliefs.  I found it to be a very good book and one I will likely mull over for some time.
     Here in the bakery/coffee shop the couple next to me are reading trivial pursuit cards to one another while they eat.  I'm sitting on the small stage that when not supporting musicians holds two tables.  I face the room rather than the window in order to better people watch.  Immediately in front of me is another couple, older than the one next to me, chatting.  To their left a student, her tabled piled with an array of notebooks, a textbook, her coffee mug, pens, pencils, and her macbook.  Her earbuds close out the sound of us all.  To the right of the older couple is a solo man with his back to me.  Perhaps he too is people watching while he sops up his soup with a piece of bread.

    I opened a lab report from one of my students, but I can't quite bring myself to ruin this peacefulness with the stress that accompanies grading.  I would much rather write here or work on filling in my book shelf on Goodreads - a site a friend from B&N brought to my attention through Twitter.
     Since I have been sitting here all of the above described people have left except for, of course, myself.  Another student has come, also plugged into an iPod, and occupied the table next to me.  She faces the window with her textbook and notes.  The solo man's table stands empty. The older couple's table emptied and occupied and emptied again.  The student's table now has a pair of middle aged women who seem very good friends.  Glancing out the window behind me, my head just above street level, I see that the rain hasn't ceased.  It still drenches the streets, cars, people, and pets that dare to venture outside.  My coffee is nearly empty and I'm entertaining the thought of having more.  This particular dark roast has a hint of a carmel sweetness in the aftertaste.

     Time seems to be slipping away like sand through my fingers.  This entire month was a blur.  Monday comes around and it feels like it's then suddenly Friday and I've gotten nothing done during the week.  The stress and preoccupation of my thesis work has led to forgetfulness.  I forget to eat, I forget to call people.  Students ask me to correct their grades and I have to write on post-it notes in order for anything to get done.  I wanted my Master's degree to be my birthday present to me in July, but the rate at which time disappears and my seeming lack of productivity there within makes me think that I may have to wait even longer to finish.