I looked at my watch 34 times and met Sarah again

October 30, 2023. I got up at 7:30 am (looked at the clock once). Then I went to the library at 8:00 am (looked at the clock twice).

But when I stood in front of the entrance door, I read: "The library is closed until further notice due to a break-in."

Wow, I thought, okay. Then I'll chill at HanoMacke today. But a young, tall, blonde man standing in front of HanoMacke told me that HanoMacke was completely closed today because there had been a break-in there too. Great, I thought, then I'll go to my former favorite café in the city center, Kreipes Coffee Time, for the first time in a long while.

I got a decaf cappuccino with oat milk and sat in the corner by an outlet. It was the only table with an outlet that was still free.

I walked through the city and Welfengarten. I also went to Café Kopi and had a decaf cappuccino and a ciabatta with smoked seitan. Then quickly went home because the heating technicians were supposed to come today.

Lina was in the kitchen doing some calculations. She said she was there and I could do my thing. I was somewhat bored in my room, especially since the sun was shining outside. I walked to the university. HanoMacke and the library were open again.

It was already pretty crowded; my usual locker 389 was occupied. At my usual table on the fourth floor, two girls were sitting.

»Hey, is there still space here?« I asked the two of them.

»Yes,« one of them answered. I sat across from a blonde student with AirPods in her ears.

To my left sat a woman who was obviously a law student, as a thick red law book lay in front of her. The other seemed to be studying medicine. On the table was a book titled "Reproductive Medicine in Horses."

The medical student had curly blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes that looked past me into the distance. She wore a silver ring with a black stone on her finger and a silver necklace with a flower pendant. It could also be an atom. Occasionally, she would run her hand through her hair and glance at her tablet or phone.

At 3:50 pm, she inserted a time card set to "until 4 pm" and left.

It was 4 pm. I quickly went to the store to buy something to eat. When I came back, I met Robert at the entrance with a lunchbox. We walked around the block together, then he joined me on the fourth floor. The medical student was still there, typing on her tablet.

When I went to the bathroom to fill my water bottle, I met the tall blonde student with the mole next to her lip in the elevator room. I had asked her out once before, but she declined. I smiled at her as I passed. She smiled back.

Just before I entered the bathroom, I heard from the side: "By the way, I’m Sarah."

Surprised, I responded: "I’m Alexander. I don't think we introduced ourselves when you turned me down. Nice to meet you," we shook hands.

»I thought it was very brave of you to approach me back then. It wasn't awkward or anything.«

»I thought so too. If you change your mind about the date, you can Google me," I said as she got into the elevator.

A dark-skinned man got in with her.

"I’m about to leave. Will you be at the library soon?" she asked.

"I’m here often. We’ll probably see each other then," I managed to reply before the door closed.

With a smile on my face, I went to the bathroom and kept it until I sat back at the table. That had never happened to me before, a woman who turned me down changing her mind.

Robert and I stayed in the library until 7 pm, then we went home together. It was raining. We went to Christuskirche and took the bus to Jahnplatz. He got off with me and walked me to my door. He said he would then walk to Lister Meile. I find it remarkable that he is interested in minimalism and knows the same minimalist YouTubers as I do.

When I got home, I checked my emails and saw that Mom asked if I wanted to come over today. There would be cake tomorrow. I called her and said I could come today. She agreed. Mom picked me up with Julien. She was sitting in Julien’s car, practicing for her training to become a nursing manager.

At the end of the day, I had looked at the clock 34 times. Some were necessary to avoid missing the train; others were unnecessary, like right after getting up. Since I don’t have to be anywhere at a specific time, I don’t need to check the time after getting up.

I am curious to see how it will affect me if I look at the clock as little as possible. I can imagine I will go through life more relaxed, paying more attention to nature (now it’s bright, dark, afternoon, midday) and my body’s signals (now I’m hungry) instead of letting the time dictate when I should eat (e.g., fasting “breakfast” at 11 am) or when I should stop eating (6 pm). I think this will help me better perceive my body’s signals and align myself more with nature’s signals instead of my clock’s ticking.

Therefore, starting tomorrow, when I wake up, I will no longer intentionally look at the clock or note when I eat for the first time of the day. I will avoid two "I must now" moments, namely in the morning after getting up: "Oh, it's already so late, I need to go to the library" and "Oh, it's already after 11 am. I need to eat."

I hope I will need to look at the clock less often, rush and run less, to avoid missing things. Things will happen as they happen, not as I try to force them.