Hello and welcome to the future!
It has officially been (a little over) 200 days since my last time capsule blog.
If you are familiar with this phrase, isn’t it crazy we’re here already?!
If you have no idea what this means, I have a little tradition on this blog where, using FutureMe.Org, I send myself a set of 10 questions every 200 days, to act as a kind of time capsule/journal.
I started this project on a whim as I impatiently waited for the 2018 Olympics to arrive, and I’ve kept at it ever since. I’ve always been fascinated by time, and the way it can move both fast and miserably slow. In doing these time capsule blogs I’ve realized that, even when it doesn’t seem like it, time is always moving faster than I think.
Something special about this particular time capsule blog is that it’s my 10th one. TEN!
The first letter I sent with FutureMe was on July 9, 2017 which is 2,052 days ago.
So while I go about the usual practice of a time capsule blog, I also thought it would be fun to compare my answers from my first ever letter to my most recent one, which was August 6th, 2022, just over five years from the first one. Let’s see how things have changed, and how they’ve stayed the same.
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1) What day is it?
My answer from my first time capsule (7/9/17): July 9th, 2017
My answer from the last time capsule (8/6/22): August 6, 2022
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2) Describe yourself today
Note: for my first few time capsules, this question was, “what’s the weather like today” but I got bored of that question so I changed it. It’s pretty funny though, if you read the first part of my answer from 2017 in the context of “describe yourself today.”
My answer from my first time capsule (7/9/17): HOT. AS. HELL. Well, at least it was earlier. It’s actually not bad now. There’s a nice breeze happening and I’m here for it.
My answer from the last time capsule (8/6/22): I feel good today. Relaxed. Hopeful. Or at least trying to be. There are a lot of pieces out of place. A lot of pieces I’m desperate to figure out WHERE they fit. So I’m hoping that with some patience, diligence, and faith, I can find my way forward.
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3) What did you do today?
My answer from my first time capsule (7/9/17): Taught in the elementary class at church, went to Quiznos with my mom, then spent the entirety of the afternoon battling the swarm of ants that have taken over our house. #ant-pocalypse2017
As you will soon find out, “Ant-pocalypse” was a huge deal at this time. But what stood out most here was Quiznos. What I wouldn’t do for a Chicken Carbonara from Quiznos right now. BRB while I’ll Google the closest Quiznos. I have said Quiznos in the last three sentences. Quiznos.
My answer from the last time capsule (8/6/22): I submitted my application to the upper level writing class at UCLA Extension! It’s the first class I’ve taken that needs approval to be a part of, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed! I’m also getting ready to head out and do some errands with my mom. We have plans to hit the grocery store, dry cleaners and CCC for lunch, then get our nails done and (ideally) tuck in for the night. Maybe even watch a movie. Who knows! It’s a good, sunny, Saturday.
This is why I love these time capsules. I remember this day in flashes and it was in fact a good, sunny, productive and cozy Saturday. A month or two later, I found out I got into the writing class and was very excited!
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4) What’s your favorite song right now?
My answer from my first time capsule (7/9/17): Thunder by Imagine Dragons
Definitely listened to this song the moment after I reread this. I still love this song.
My answer from the last time capsule (8/6/22): I recently started listening to Meghan Trainor’s podcast with her brother and have a collective crush on their entire family, so I have been listening to some of her music. My favorite right now is “Ashes.” I’m also sending good luck into the universe that by the time this letter comes back to me, we’ll have new Taylor Swift music. PLEASE.
Still love Meghan Trainor and the fam. She ended up in the top 5 of my Spotify wrapped. Also, I definitely manifested that Taylor Swift album. She announced “Midnights” at the VMA’s 22 days later. 👀
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5) What’s the most recent movie you’ve seen?
My answer from my first time capsule (7/9/17): I think Broadway Melody. Though if we really want to get into the meat of my television/movie watching ways, LET’S TALK ABOUT GAME OF THRONES. How did Season 7 end? How are we doing with the way it ended? Oh my gosh I’m overwhelmed by all the questions I have.
I have ZERO memory of watching Broadway Melody. Zero. But reading “Game of Thrones” was almost a jumpscare. Past me knew so little.
My answer from the last time capsule (8/6/22): I saw Where the Crawdads Sing in theaters and loved it! And then I watched The Gray Man and Purple Hearts on Netflix and loved both of those as well.
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6) Who did you last text and what did you say?
My answer from my first time capsule (7/9/17): A text to Natalee & Rachel in our Roomie group text, in regards to #ant-pocalypse: “they were slowing down pretty good earlier, we found some minor survivors, but applied the appropriate force. I’d hold off on calling for now. Let’s see how the next couple days go.” Follow up question: how DID the next couple days go? Did we win the war of the ants? Did we have to call the Terminix guys and let them take our money?
You did not win and you happily gave away your money. You were also traumatized when the Teminix man said, “you have a huge spider population” and you think about it to this day, even though you no longer live in that house and you *knock on wood* haven’t had to deal with many ants since.
My answer from the last time capsule (8/6/22): Incredible timing for this one. I texted my friend Nicole “Hahaha right?! The fish is like, ‘hey guys, I would steer clear of the cove. There are some freaks over there'” This was in reference to a video she sent me where a guy gave mouth to mouth to a fish that was stunned after being caught.
(See below for fish trauma)
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7) What is your biggest goal right now?
My answer from my first time capsule (7/9/17): Publish a book
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My answer from the last time capsule (8/6/22): I want to find a great apartment. I want to finish my Creative Writing Certificate. I want to plan this trip to Italy! Love to find a handsome man to add to my life.
Creative Writing Certificate – *almost check* I only have one more class to take.
Italy ❌ postponed, but I do have a fun trip coming up in April that I’m very excited about!
Handsome Man 🔍 found some but not the right one yet.
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8) What are you most excited about?
My answer from my first time capsule (7/9/17): At this exact moment, this time capsule blog, but in general I’m excited about the possibility of getting a book out there in the world, I’m excited (and nervous) about my brother Troy leaving for college, and I’m excited about all of the possibilities the future holds if I work hard enough!
My answer from the last time capsule (8/6/22): I’m really excited about the birthday trip to San Francisco my friends and I are taking at the end of September! I also have a LOT of fun things coming up on the calendar. Especially in October. TBH I’m a little intimidated by October, but also very excited.
Our trip to San Francisco was so fun. I wrote about it here. Also, it’s wild to know that in 2017, my brother had never rock climbed, and now it’s what he does for a living. He was just around the corner from discovering his true passion, and I’m so happy for him.
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9) What are you most worried about?
My answer from my first time capsule (7/9/17): Not accomplishing anything I want to. Being sad, alone, and covered in left over ice cream. The ants coming back. The Dodgers never winning a World Series in my lifetime.
A lot to unpack here, past Kim.
-You will be sad to know that the ants DID in fact come back the following year. They showed up every summer at that house to say hello and push your sister to the brink of insanity. Luckily, you found a great pest control guy that always swooped in to save the day.
-You will be surprised to know that you now live alone! And you are not terrified! Anymore! You actually, shockingly, love it.
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-You will be thrilled to know that Dodgers do win the World Series in 2020. It is the strangest year of baseball to ever be played but it had a pretty happy ending for Dodger fans.
My answer from the last time capsule (8/6/22): I think my consistent fear is things staying the same. Which is funny because I love a routine, love consistency, love reliability and predictability. But I’m constantly worried about not moving forward. About being stuck in the same place, afraid of the same things.
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10) What’s the best thing you’ve eaten in the last 200 days?
Note: this is another question that has changed since the beginning of these time capsule blogs. My answer from 2017 refers to the old prompt: “Tell yourself a really bad joke”
My answer from my first time capsule (7/9/17): You know you still like the “outstanding invoice” joke from your book. Just admit it.
Unfortunately, my “really bad joke” from 2017 has been lost to time. “My book” was a collection of essays I believed were ready for publication. Spoiler alert: they weren’t. They were a bit rushed and a bit *not me.* I wrote what I thought everyone else was writing and didn’t quite have my own voice yet. Over the last five years, I’ve turned some of those essays into blog posts and let some of them drift into oblivion. The joke in question here is an oblivion inhabitant. It couldn’t have been that funny if I don’t remember it.
My answer from the last time capsule (8/6/22): Hmmm honestly probably the cookies at my sister’s backyard wedding. I know there is probably a meal in there somewhere that I just LOVED, but I can’t stop thinking about those cookies. I had one every day for like, a week.
I will dream about those cookies for the rest of my life.
At the end of each time capsule, I wonder what life will look like in 200 days. Maybe it will look mostly the same, or maybe it will look completely different. The same goes for life in 2000 days. I love imagining that we are right around the corner from something—something big and life changing, something that checks a box or answers a longstanding question, something you didn’t even know you wanted or needed. That possibility is always out there. I hope it finds you in the next 200 days.
You can check out this page to see the growing archive of all of my time capsule answers. And don’t forget to check out this post to find out how you can create your own time capsule.
Our next delivery date is: Friday, September 8, 2023!!
As usual, I will excitedly await the arrival of this next time capsule and the future it lives in, but I won’t rush towards it. Here’s hoping there’s lots to enjoy between now and then.
Sending you well wishes. Do your best and give yourself grace
Kimberlee K. 
Enjoyed this! ❤