A Simultaneous High and Low

Well, folks, I’m happy to report that The Last Song has now officially been read listened to by me. Completely.

Turns out there are lots of miles to drive in Dallas, and some unpacking I needed to do, so between that and the 20 minutes I sat in my car after arriving home one afternoon, the audio book is over.

I think I’ve said this before, but I’m always a little sad when I finish a book. I’m a character person. I like learning the stories of others. [Incidentally, I think this might be what I like most about meeting new people.]

So, the book is over. And for the most part I really enjoyed it. It wasn’t suspenseful. There was no mystery, really. But it drew me in well enough. There is only one regrettable item to this whole affair.

Yesterday, after finishing the book, I researched the movie (due out in January) and realized the main character is going to be played by Miley Cyrus.

And I am so not pleased.

The book-turned-movie has now lost all credibility – turns out it’s being produced by Disney. No surprise there. As a wise old songwriter once said, 

“If that’s what it is, then that’s what it is.  At least until Disney can rewrite it…”

 

 

Why’d it have to all end this way, huh??

Roadtrip Review: Some Light Reading

You guys? My brother drove the ENTIRE way from Anchorage to Denver last week. That’s 3,400 miles people, and I promise you, the only stretch I drove was from dinner back to the hotel one night.

That. Is. It.

So, needless to say, I had some idle time on my hands. What did I do, you ask? Well, I updated a spreadsheet for work a bit, I listed to music and podcasts and took in the scenery, I even watched a couple episodes of gilmore girls. But mostly? I read.

The following 3 books, in fact.

 

HARRY POTTER AND THE PRIZONER OF AZKABAN

NEW MOON

HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE

To be fair, I’m only half way through Goblet of Fire. And I’ve read it before. But I never get sick of that series, and watching the most recent movie made me want to read it all again.

If I had to pick between driving forever or rereading HP and NM? I choose reading.

Not a bad way to spend a week, really.

A Reflection for Friday

I watched this movie tonight with my roommates and friend Jodi who is moving out of state on Monday. (See? Everybody’s leaving…)

And, it was good.

 

 

There. That’s my “something” for today.

At A Loss

Here’s the thing.. I just don’t know what to write about.

 

I want to tell you about MOVIE FRIDAY tomorrow (which I’m super excited for!).

I’m near giddy about Alaska right now, and how beautiful it is, and the great summer we’ve had. And I’m thinking maybe when I run out of money (and I WILL) I’ll just move back here.

I’m in LOVE with a song – “As We’re Reminded,” by Haley Dykes (and I would link you to her myspace except it’s not UP there so what’s the point??). 

 

But I just can’t formulate paragraphs today.

I mean, I’m a fan of ORANGE and all, but…

Is it weird to anybody else that everytime I buy striped, pink socks they always have strips of orange in them? I mean who says that pink and orange go together? Especially if I’m wearing a maroon sweater with a pink undershirt and PINK socks. Do you really think the accent of orange is gonna bring it all together?

I think Elle Woods said it best when she said, “Whoever said orange is the new pink was seriously disturbed!”

to die is gain

We saw a character last night – a character who was very real, and looking like he just stepped out of a movie. And there were dancers and people acting generally strange and making me want to put my head inside my jacket. Ahh… such a surreal evening – the kind that any really great storyteller would have turned into the best blog you’ve read all day. But my blog? Suffice it to say, we saw a character last night, looking like he just stepped out of a movie.

Once I was with my friend Ana in Waxahachie, Texas, and we were on our way to the hospital to see some friends who had just had a baby. We took a detour through a park as we were waiting for Preston to show up, got out of the car and sat on a picnic table with our feet on the bench. It was kind of damp and rainy; the trees and leaves around were all different colors. It’s like that movie you watched that one time, when the weather and the characters and the music made you wish you were there, or made your heart feel a certain melancholy you didn’t want to go away.

To paraphrase the most quotable movie on the planet (is that an oxymoron or what?) – So often I find that life reminds me of characters and places I’ve read about in books when, shouldn’t it be the other way around?

I’m feeling a bit of melancholy this morning, and it might just be the kind I don’t want to go away. Here’s a definition of melancholy for you: “sober thoughtfulness; pensiveness.” I’m soberly thinking that I have replaced God with every other thing, desire, and dream in my life. And no, not in an overt, “I don’t need you” kind of way. More in the “I’m pretty sure I’m doing okay for the moment..” kind of way. I have realized lately how much stock I put in my earthly perception – and how little grasp I have of what is “true” in this life. And even as I write and think on these things, I know I have much to learn – especially in the way of acting on these instincts. How to LIVE a life that truly reflects the fact that communion with God is the only thing that matters – and not just live life while professing to believe that communion with God is the only thing that matters?

I have spent my whole life putting stock in who I am, who I will become, what I will do, what this life is about – gleaning my idea of what matters from those around me, from my education, from media and entertainment. Now I’ve come to the point of realizing that those things aren’t real – that they don’t really matter. Not just knowing or believing it – but FEELING it. So why does it also feel like literally losing everything to lay it down?

Why doesn’t “To die is gain” ring a little more true?