Quality Time | George & Hermione
The fight George and Hermione had the last time they met up had been put in the past, and when George had decided to pay Hermione another visit – with her permission, of course – he told himself he was going to make sure nothing would make them fight the way they did the previous time.
To express how sorry he was, George had decided to take a trip to a florist to pick up a bouquet of flowers; he knew it was a sappy thing to do, but he really was sorry about making Hermione feel patronized, and he wanted her to know this. The flowers weren’t the most expensive of them all, but they still looked nice, and he hoped Hermione thought the same.
Flowers in hand, George twisted in the air and disapparated from Diagon Alley, successfully landing in the hallway just outside Hermione’s flat. Clearing his throat, he hid the flowers behind his back and stepped up to the door, knocking lightly and waiting for Hermione to open the door.
Quality Time // Castiel & Samandriel
All that had happened at the ball was still heavy on Castiel’s mind, specifically concerning Samandriel. He was still shocked he had been so cool with him on their date, after his initial jitters. In retrospect, that definitely had to be Andy’s doing. Not that he regretted it; he and Samandriel had hit it off, and maybe Dean had been right that they made a good couple.
And so, when he later made his way into the common room, he halfway hoped to run into the other Hufflepuff. He wanted to talk to him, even though he wasn’t sure at all what to say. Or maybe he just desired his company. He had been absent when he checked for him earlier, after all.
“True connections between family, friends and colleagues can not be compressed down to tightly scheduled "quality time." The relentless logic of efficiency can unintentionally strip the most valued qualities of human life just as easily as it strips forests. In both instances what is left has been denuded and made barren. The irony inherent in this dilemma is how outmoded this punch-clock rigidity has already become. Fifty years ago people showed up on time to work because they lived in a manufacturing economy that demanded it. The assembly line turned on at 8 a.m., so that is when you got to the factory.”
—Beyond The Punch-Clock Life: The Tyranny Of Modern Time II : 13.7: Cosmos And Culture : NPR
I actually just want to quote this whole article. It’s excellent. It also makes me foam at the mouth even more at the thought of one day being able to make my own schedule, as a full-time writer.
