I often like to imagine what my life might be like in an alternate universe. I remember reading a book about quantum physics and it said that hypothetically, every decision we make or every possibility that exists is actualized in a parallel world... It's funny, but I take some comfort in believing that. Like when there is something I don't get to do, I reassure myself that at least parallel Melodie will get to experience it.

I like to think that in one life I took a path where I'm an art history teacher. In another life, I am a tattoo artist. And in another I'm still waitressing at a pub in Toronto.

I think it's kind of fun to imagine the endless possibilities that each day brings, as I contemplate where I would like to channel my energies in this life, without any regret for the things I may never get to be or see... because at least in some universe, I get to be/see those things.

I used to be scattered. I used to think I would have to live a million years to do/be everything I wanted to do/be. I had a ton of different creative projects on the go... half stated, half finished... I didn't really invest the time to finish anything, nor did I invest the energy to be the best at anything. Truth be told, I still have more than my share of unfinished projects. There is a half finished painting of a magnolia tree that has been sitting in my living room since March. But at least I'm more focused now than I used to be, thanks to J who asked me a few tough questions when we first started dating, which really got me thinking and forced me to prioritize my goals.

Another friend of mine also had some wise advice that sort of relates to prioritizing your goals. His words have always stuck with me -- "You can only do two and a half things well." It makes a lot of sense... But I'm afraid that I'll have to get into that story another time, because it's worthy of its own post. This evening I just want to talk about parallel Melodie.

Okay, so like I mentioned last week, we have to come up with some sort of excuse to tell our landlord what we're going to do regarding our chats. So while J conjures something up in the excuse department, I've been surfing around online just checking out what kind of rentals are available out there... y'know, just in case. Like I said before, there's certainly not much.

However, this evening, I stumbled across the most GORGEOUS house ever, that is actually within our budget! (Well, its cresting the outer limits of our budget... but still doable.) Of course, the house is over two n' a half hours away, smack dab in the middle of nowhere (which obviously explains why it's within our budget... a place like this in Kelowna would be astronomically unaffordable. Argh... damn this town...)

Despite J constantly joking -- with an underlying seriousness -- of how he craves to cut himself off from society, and live a Howard Hughes lifestyle (sans the Kleenex box slippers and jars of urine, of course) -- the fact remains that he would never consider living more than 10 minutes away from city conveniences like movie theaters and movie rental places, (it always comes back to the movies with him...)

So, that being said, this magnificent waterfront paradise I just discovered would simply never be an option... Of course, that didn't stop me from totally begging J, which he seemed to think was pretty hysterical. I started off by warning that we might get evicted, so we really should consider moving to this place. When that didn't work, I tried appealing to his movie buff senses, "We can be just like Johnny Depp in that movie where he's a writer and he lives in a cabin." (I left out the part where he goes crazy...) And when THAT didn't work, I worked on J's distaste for society, "You can be just like Howard Hughes! I'll even let you wear Kleenex boxes on your feet!" Still no luck. Ha.

J rationalized that we'll never get to see our friends or his family if we live over 2 1/2 hours away. Not to mention, the house is 20 minutes outside the nearest village. I tried pointing out that our friends could always visit on the weekends and that the village has hot springs... but that still didn't convince him.

J tells me to just wait and that someday when we achieve our career goals we'll be able to afford a house like that. I somehow don't see that happening anytime soon... but he has confidence in us and our future together, and so I guess I should too.

Sigh.

And so, I suppose this is one of those times that I'll just have to be happy knowing that parallel Melodie will get a chance to live in this beautiful home... while this Melodie continues hiding her pets.

But just so I'm not the only one left sitting here drooling over this lovely cabin on the lake... check it out for yourself.

Here's the write up:

"This new handcrafted 3 story 2BR Home is 20 minutes south of Nakusp - 2.5 hrs. away from Kelowna , 1000' waterfront, unobstructed lake & mountain view, hardwood floor, all new appliances , ~ 2400sqft , heating wood and partly electric + oil, incl. 1 garage , acreage partly fenced.
long term rental wanted, Non smoker, pets negotiable"

And well, the photos speak for themselves:








Sigh...