Book Blog: Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

I just finished this book last night and I'm not really sure what I think about it. It was one of those that I just impulsively grabbed off the shelf at the bookstore because the cover caught my eye. The back said nothing about the story, yet for some reason I felt drawn to it. It was a first person narrative that was composed mainly of memories so there was not really much of a cohesive plot line. Since I didn't know what it was about it took me a while to figure out what was going on. The story is about these children that were created as human clones to provide organ donations to "normal" humans with cancer and other diseases. They were raised in a sheltered boarding school environment, taught to do artwork, and eventually became carers and then donors. However, despite their sheltered upbringing, they still experienced relatively normal childhoods and adolescence, it was more just shrouded by a sense of mystery and unanswered questions.

I had a hard time with the seemingly lack of plot throughout the book, there was some but it was slight and slow moving. You have to read through the end to really get completely what was going on, and to really be able to step back and think about the depth of the point of the story. It's not really about the plot, it's more about the character's perceptions of reality and destiny. And also about how they and the project they were involved in was perceived by the regular world and their guardians that raised them. Now that I've finished the book I can appreciate it, but I wouldn't say I enjoyed it. More in a sense that I appreciate strange art because I know it's creative and thought-provoking, not because it's pleasing to my eye.

When I bought the book I knew there was a movie coming out, and I am proud of myself for waiting until tonight to watch the trailer. Carey Mulligan and Kiera Knightly star in it. I think this might actually be one that I like the movie better than the book because it will add a visual element. Here is the trailer if you're interested.

Can I get a sleigh ride?

Since I stayed inside basically the entire weekend (besides actually getting out for church), this morning was my first experience with the post-16+-inches-of-snow roads. My drive to work wasn't bad, but as soon as I got into uptown I was just amazed. I don't know how people live there with no driveways or garages. Parking on the street on a normal day is rough. With one side of the street partially plowed and cars buried or partially dug out on the other side, two way traffic on some streets is just not an option or you get yourself in quite the sticky maneuvering situation. Check out this car almost completely buried on Lyndale!

Most of the streets looked something like this today, the major streets with lines of cars going maybe a couple miles per hour. We were actually going slow enough on the way to lunch that the driver I was riding with was taking a video on his phone, some ladies in another car were waving, and we had time to open the car door and ask them why (the window was frozen shut). They simply wanted to wave for the video. Lanes disappeared today, only a couple cars made it through the stoplights at a time, and car engines were working hard to warm up.

It was below 0 all day today, but sunny and beautiful if you bundled up. And to think, I was supposed to be in El Paso this winter. I would have missed out on all this snow. That would be both a good and bad thing. I know I will miss it when I don't have it anymore. I think storms like this are exciting, it adds something interesting to life. However, it is COLD and it makes going anywhere so much work that it makes me just want to curl up on the couch and be lazy.

This was the front of my office this morning. You can't even see the street that the office is directly situated on. It's somewhere between the railing and the fire hydrant on the left. Hopefully it get cleared up a little more by tomorrow. Our parking lot was a challenge, people got pretty inventive with parking spaces including my sideways park in front of a giant snow pile.

Be Still

I had a whirlwind of a day. I had a 3 hour meeting on my schedule this morning, but before I could even join that I had to finish putting together an important file related to a client project. I then had to grab something to eat so my stomach wouldn't growl the whole 3 hours, grabbed my laptop, and made my way into the meeting late. That laptop gave me amazing multi-tasking ability, which I am already good at, but now I can do it to the max.

However, I got pulled out of the meeting for a call with our lawyer about a contract situation I've been working with. Then, I got side-swiped by our construction contractor on my way back to the meeting with some interesting news. With one of my coworkers out today, I was the go-to person for the contractors doing out remodeling across the hall. He took me over there, and apparently half of the ceiling had collapsed...which was not supposed to happen nor did we anticipate it happening. Luckily none of the guys were in there when it happened or this could have been a much worse problem, they had carried a load of scrap down to the truck and when they came back the ceiling was on the floor. And also luckily the section above the private office right next to it did not fall because there was someone working at a desk in there. Wouldn't that be a nice surprise? Apparently whoever previously put up the drop ceiling didn't bother to actually fasten them to the beams with wire as they are supposed to be. They were just being held up by the walls that we just ripped out. So...most of the ceiling tiles did not survive the fall, and only some of the medal grid. The only thing to do was fix it! The contractor was not very happy about that.

So back to the meeting I went, listening, participating, taking notes, emailing back and forth with our banker, answering questions on skype, and keeping an eye on facebook in case my hubby came online. After the meeting I had an equally busy afternoon which ended with me beginning to review some urgent legal documents after I had originally planned on leaving since I had tai chi tonight. So I had to rush to get those reviewed and sent on to the client, then grab some food and cram it in my mouth in 5 minutes, change in the bathroom, and go to class......to an hour where I am expected to shut off my brain and relax. Breathe. Get it touch with my chi. Move below the speed of habit. Going from this kind of a day to that is a challenge, but it is much needed. It's hard to remember to take time just to relax and breathe, and not worry or stress. It's hard to leave your burdens behind, to put your mind on hold, to trust that your problems will be resolved in time, to be still. On busy days and in life in general.

Breathe in, breathe out...

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; 

I will be exalted among the nations, 

I will be exalted in the earth.”

Psalm 46:10