Time is relative

This morning I got all gussied up and reported to my internship placement site only to find out there was no reason for me to stay. So, I drove to the downtown library and stuck a quarter in the meter only to get to the doors and find out they didn't open for another hour. I mumbled something out loud like, "It must be one of those days."

I sat at the stoplight waiting to make a left turn...and then at the last minute I decided to go right instead. I remembered I was out of fine silver bezel and I thought there was a chance my silver supply store would already be open. It was open.

I got to see two of my friends (I only see them there) whom I hadn't seen since the last time I bought silver, about 9 months ago. One of them, it turns out, is just beginning a battle with cancer. I put my keys and wallet on the table and sat down. We talked for 2 hours. He showed me the amazing cross sketches he drew while recovering from his first surgery (the second is coming soon). He carefully laid out gemstones on top of the sketches and told me how many years he has owned the stones.

We talked about what it means for him to be an artist and a businessman. We talked about how he grew up in that same business (before he bought it from his father). We talked about what it means to watch a piece of jewelry metamorphosize into the finished piece. We joked about the fact that none of us can afford to buy (let alone make) our own jewelry. The price of silver has doubled since I started buying from him.

I eventually went home and decided to set one of my grandma's mother-of-pearl buttons into a ring. I thought about how long the MOP button must have been sitting in that old tin before my grandma gave it to my aunt, who gave it to me ten years ago. This morning I made a ring out of it and now it sits on my right hand.



(That tiny spiral in the second photo is what I purchased from my friends today. $48!)