Turning Off the Lights and Slowing Down to Smell the Roses

I've always been a believer in fate and chance.

But what happened today cemented that belief.

I was listening to some Rise Against on the bus ride home, and I had just thought of all the reading I had to do tonight. I told myself, "I'll read if there is nothing else to do." Yeah, I know, terrible mindset, but alas, I thought it.

So when I got home, I decided to try and finish Metal Gear Solid 4. I thought, "I only have reading homework to do, so that should be relatively easy." I played for about an hour or so, then I got off to start my reading.

However, I got sidetracked again. A computer was open (a rare occurrence with three equally competitive siblings), and I proceeded to check my Facebook, catch up on my YouTube subscriptions, and all-in-all do really pointless, mindless things that are just wasting away hours of my young life.

Then, at 5:45, everything stopped. The power went out for some unknown reason. My mom was rather upset, and was calling the electric company, in hopes that our power hadn't been shut off. Fortunately, that was not the case. However, she did find out that the power wouldn't be back until about 10:00.

My sister had a paper to finish for school, so they went into the library. I chose to hold down the fort at home, just in case the electric company guys came out here. So, I proceeded along, with this schedule, as follows:

5:45 - 6:15 - Searched the entire house, trying to find the sixth volume of the manga series Death Note. I failed.
6:15 - 6:30 - Practiced the acoustic version of "Wasteland" by 10 Years.
6:30 - 7:10 - Continued reading The Hollow
7:10 - 7:20 - Made myself a peanut butter sandwich. (Peanut butter was hidden in the spice cabinet. Huh?)
7:20 - 7:30 - Continued reading The Hollow


Then, a quiet humming sounded throughout the living room. My sisters CD she had put in the player moments before the power had gone out sprung back into it's giddy tune, and it made me jump.

The power had somehow come back, even when all the resources said it would have been out for almost four hours, if not longer.

You know, it may just be superstitious nonsense, but I really believe that Fate was trying to teach me something today. It was telling me, yelling at me, screaming at me, to slow down, and enjoy the simple pleasures of life: reading a good book, enjoying your favorite music, the sounds of nature outside your window.

I'm aware that I this will probably change very little. I'll still check my YouTube subscriptions, and get distracted with stupid LolCat pictures. But I will always try to remember to slow down, and enjoy the simple joys while I'm still young and bright.

As Stephen King once wrote: "At nineteen, it seems to me, one has a right to be arrogant; time has usually not begun its stealthy and rotten subtractions."