Time in Between

 This quarter Wednesdays are long days for me. I have two classes, Survey of Decorative Arts from 1:00-4:00 and Project Management from 7:00-10:00. After my first week of class I realized that I would have to pay a flat rate of $8.00 for parking by school and I would hit rush hour traffic after 4:00. This realization led to my conclusion that leaving in between classes made little sense. Meaning, I would be gone from 12:00pm -10:30pm and have three hours to kill in between. Now, you must know that I am one who enjoys schedules and list, and three hours of free time in between classes was embarrassingly enough, daunting. I had to find something to do.

The first week I walked to a near by movie theater and saw a film. The following week I got my nails done and window-shopped, and another week I studied in a café while consuming a chai tea and toasted cranberry baguette. I was able to do all of the things that I rarely indulge in during the middle of the day, yet are so relaxing and restorative. While I write this I sit at a wonderful little coffee shop in Westwood, Espresso Profeta, which is the perfect place to spend moments in between. I actually read pages in a book today that I have been reading for over a year, just because I never take the time to find the time to pick it up. Sitting here reminds me of the times I sat in cafes in Florence while studying abroad. I would wonder the streets until I came upon a charming little café that would engulf me in quite Italian chatter as I wrote or read. There is something about cozy shared spaces and a warm drink that enables one to delve inward and reflect. I found that I do this a lot more when I travel, because there are often times in between the next activity, but doing it in my own town is new to me. I hope that reading this inspires some of you to take time in between your everyday hustle and bustle to read, write, walk around, paint, play an instrument, sit at a café, or just sit and see where your mind takes you. I know I will try my hardest to sneak 3 hours of me time in every now and then even after my Wednesday built in break is gone.