Crazy Little Things

I noticed an interesting trend that came to light after watching the movie Crazy, Stupid, Love.  Quick summary for those that haven't seen it; Steve Carell plays an ordinary middle aged father who just found out that his wife, played by Julianne Moore, had an affair and wants a divorce.  He eventually meets Ryan Gosling, a self-assured playboy, who decides to help him find his lost manhood.  Now before you think this is a typical chick flick, keep in mind, the principal characters we are focusing on are the men. 

It's an interesting perspective to watch a man go through the transformation process in an attempt to make himself more desirable to the opposite sex.  Yes, at the core, this is a love story, but it is one filled with heartache, comedy, depth, and soul.  It looks at the different forms love can take and the different ways we try to capture and keep it.  For me, it was about the ways love can change us as we fall in and out of it.  Personally, I haven't really encountered many stories like this, and I have to admit, even though the themes explored aren't gender specific, I was enthralled.  The change of view was refreshing and it felt like the genre was getting a much needed breath of fresh air.

Soon after watching Crazy, Stupid, Love, I read the book Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby.  This is a great book by a best selling author who always manages to surprise me in so many small ways.  Juliet, Naked brings us two people who have settled for what was comfortable and the reclusive former rock star who unknowingly changed their fate with his music. 

Annie is the female protagonist and even though she was written by a man, she was a character I had absolutely no problem relating to.  We are similar in many ways and I can safely say I knew exactly how she was feeling throughout the book because I had come to similar conclusions about my own life even though we are completely different in that regard.  This is a story that speaks of loneliness, regret, and the consequences of our choices to run away or settle down.  It's amazing how your entire perspective can change just by stepping back and looking at things from a different angle.

*~~* SPOILERS UPCOMING! *~~*

There are quite a few parallels I could draw between the two stories but the thing that stayed with me long after they were over was the fact neither of them had a defined ending.  The outcomes were implied, but the audience was left to construct their own versions of the journey that would take these characters to where we think they will end up.  Most viewers or readers will assume that the characters end up together, happily in love, but as is the case in reality, there are no guarantees that is what actually happens.  See what I mean about new life and surprises?

These stories were more than just about falling in and out of love.  They were about falling down and learning how to get up and keep going; how to overcome the roadblocks in your life and become better people for it.  Most importantly, it was a reminder that our own happy endings are out there somewhere, we just need to go make them happen.

The Slippery Slope of Sickness

There is a saying that Vancouverites are quite familiar with; 'when it rains, it pours.'  Now usually this is a saying that people don't use to reference the weather, but an avalanche of good or bad occurrences that happen one after another.  It would be like getting your dream job, finding your soul mate and winning the lottery all in the same week.

While I've never had a week as good as the one I've just described, I've had some pretty good runs of luck over the years.  Coincidentally, I've had just as many bad streaks to even things out.  By now, my regular readers are well aware I've fallen victim to yet another case of the flu.  After relying heavily on cough syrup and orange juice for the past week, I finally went to go see my doctor with the hope she would just tell me to keep doing what I was doing since it was just the flu.

On the contrary, she took one look at the back of my throat and decided we need to test for strep throat.  I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at this point since it's become increasingly difficult to swallow and rest has been hard to come by since the hacking cough usually rears it's evil head when I'm in bed.  then she casually tosses out the possibility that even if it's not strep, it could still be some kind of infection.  Peachy news for someone about to start a full time position and is looking at her only extended break between now and sometime after the start of 2012.  Throw the fact that I'll be needing a new computer (and possibly a new phone) in the next month and that my car often sounds like it might die/explode on top of the pile and you'll see that even though the weather is beautiful in Vancouver right now, it's pouring where I'm standing.

But we're trying to look at the bright side of things right now so I guess I can say everything will probably only get better from here.  Fingers crossed that this prediction is right for once since I don't want to imagine how things can get any worse at this point!

So Long Summer

Today is September 1st.  While there is still one more long weekend for students to enjoy before heading back to classes, and another 22 days before the official start of autumn, it already feels like the end of our woefully shortened summer.

This summer was pretty work heavy and if I was forced to find a singular word to describe the rest of it I would have to say it was 'interesting.'  There were people falling in love, breaking up, hooking up, getting married, growing families, moving away, coming home, and generally causing havoc.  I won't go into details about who (including myself) fell into which category, but I will say it taught me a bit more about myself yet again.

When I was 18, I thought I knew where my life was going and who would be coming along for the ride.  Ten years later, I'm still trying to figure it all out because I never could have imagined what the past ten years brought me.  Earlier this summer I thought my life was starting down a new path but it was actually just a slight detour that finished with a dead end.  It was a bit of a surprise that would normally would have triggered a retreat, but this time I think it actually gave me a kick forward. 

It reminded me that I'm not a person who can settle for second best and consolation prizes so why should I let people view me like one?  I will never forget a tearful voicemail I received back in June from one of my best friends.  She was upset for me and vehemently stated that I deserved to be happy, which is something I forget to focus on sometimes. It's sometimes too easy for me to put my needs aside and concentrate on making sure other people are happy, even if it's at my expense.  It's that doormat quality that I've been trying to squash for the past couple of years, and might actually be close to kicking.

This summer reminded me that even though my life isn't anywhere near where I thought it would be, it's still pretty great.  I've loved, been loved, learned, taught, fallen down, gotten back up, cried until I laughed and laughed until I cried.  There have been dark days, bright nights, and friends that have come, gone, and sometimes disappeared forever.  I lost and found countless versions of myself and hope that all these things keep happening because it means I'm still growing.  I used to want to live in Neverland but not anymore because I know that even though you can hide to keep things the same, the world goes on changing without you.  It's not going to stop and check that you're ok, it will gladly keep rolling on as if you don't matter at all.

If you only take one thing from this entire blog, I hope it is this: You matter.  What you say, what you do, and how you live matters.  It may not matter to the entire world, but it matters to the people that make up your world.  If you ever hit a wall you can't overcome on your own, there is no shame in asking for help.  If you can't do it for yourself, please try and do it for those people in your life.  In a summer full of sad losses and global chaos, it's been a recurring theme for me to look back on where I've come from and hope that the days to come will be just as incredible.

Reading this post back, I've managed to deviate away from what I originally intended to write about, which pretty much sums up my life =) Apparently this is something I've been needing to get off my chest for a while so forgive the length of tonight's ramblings.  Getting back on track, I'd like to bid summer adieu.  It may not have been 'the best summer ever' but I'm positive it won't be one I forget easily.

Down to One

Sometimes one isn't the loneliest number, it's the perfect one.  It's been about four years since I was dedicated to just one job and I have to say it feels good to be back down to one after all these years.  Working seasonal jobs along with my full or part time jobs was fun but I can safely say I've reached the point where one job is more than enough to get me through the months.  As I've said before, when you love what you do, work doesn't feel like 'work' and you have more than just a simple job; you have a career, and most importantly, a life.

Today was sad in a way because I really did learn a lot as an office admin, but it was mostly happy because I'm on my way now and what could be better than that?  Oh yeah...not being sick anymore!  But that's something to work on before I get back to work after Labour Day =)

Swap

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to wake up in another person's body?  I know it's an odd question, but it's something I can't help wondering about as this flu continues to kick my a$$.  I know in the movies you never get to pick who you're swapping with (especially since it's not usually something people wanted to do), but I think it would be fun to be someone else for the day.  I'll trade my currently germ-ridden body complete with lead filled head, fiery throat, and runny nose with a Hollywood starlet for a day - it'd be nice to see how the other side lives to help me better appreciate what I currently have =)

I suppose it isn't really a fair trade for whomever I swap with, but I think it would be a good experience for them to remember what their life used to be like (if they didn't come from a famous family) or to see how 'normal' people live.  It would be fun to take over someone who is the complete opposite of myself (which is pretty much 99% of Hollywood), but if I could choose, I might go for someone like Emma Stone; part geek, part comedian, altogether awesome.  Although, swapping places with Diane Kruger would mean getting to hang out with Joshua Jackson, which means we have a winner!

 

Clearly I'm suffering from an overdose of Benylin 1...that's the only reason I can think of for today's random topic =)  Anyone out there have someone they'd wanna swap places with for a day (or several days)?  Sharing is caring people so show me some love...it might be what I need to finally get rid of this flu!

Mindlessness

Every now and then, you just need a night of mindless entertainment. I'm particularly susceptible to this when feeling under the weather so not only was the weekend full of movies like Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and Speed Racer, tonight I went to go watch Captain America and am closing out the night with Transformers.

There's something comforting about watching gratuitous explosions, ridiculous fight scenes, and what my younger sister detests most about action movies: unnecessary romance (i.e. when the hero kisses the girl in the middle of a fight scene). I like knowing how the story will unfold even of I'm not always right about how we get to the inevitable ending. If anything, being wrong is the best part because it means the movie was actually able to surprise ms by being unpredictable for a change.

That's it for tonight - I'm off to watch another "unexpected hero" save the world =)

A vs. F

In the ongoing saga of Angela vs. the Flu, I scored a point today by actually making it out of my house to go sit away from everyone else's in my grandmother's backyard. However, I AM STILL SICK so flu is still winning =( This should make for a fun last 3 days at work...

Angela: 1, Flu: 3