Proof

We saw an amazing play Sunday night! The theatre group here on campus did Proof, a drama about family relationships. Not only was the play itself really well written, the actors did a great job. I was very proud of my fellow thespians.

The play is about a girl who has been taking care of her mentally ill father for several years. He was a mathematician, a genius, well known in the field. The play revolves around her questions as to just how much like her father she is - she's also a brilliant mathematician, but left school to care for him. She worries that she is going crazy, as well. It's an ensemble cast - the girl, her father, her sister, and an old student of her father's. The exploration of family dynamics is so intriguing, and very compelling. And the way the scenes are juxtaposed together, it keeps you guessing about her sanity the entire play.

The actors did a fantastic job, too. I got so pulled into their world. The way they balanced the humor with the drama was perfect. You could truly see their struggles, and how they dealt with them through humor, as anyone does. It was very natural, just very well done.

I love theatre. I'm so excited to be back here, hoping I get the opportunity to act again sometime soon. I love that the group here does plays that affect you - not just the "popular" plays. It's truly an intellectual experience, always challenging some part of life.

Twilight: The Movie

I went to see Twilight last night. My sister took me as my birthday present. I took her to see Sex and the City for hers, so it was a good trade off. And it enables us to spend time together, which is fun, ‘cuz we don’t do a whole lot together, just the two of us.

Note, I'm really talking about the movie ahead. Spoilers for the movie (and the book, too, I guess) will follow.

It was okay. It just wasn’t...realistic. And I know, vampires, not realistic, but that’s the whole idea of a movie. It makes you think that it’s real. And this one just didn’t do it for me. The special effects were almost too much. Special effects are supposed to look like they could actually happen. They help you suspend belief, but these just looked like special effects.

The whole movie was angsty teen. I thought the books had a lot of lightness and humor, and while a lot of the lines in the movie were funny, they were all said with a dark, ominous feeling, like at any moment the world’s going to come crashing down. The actors just couldn't lighten up and enjoy their own humor. They really were funny!

The movie did follow the story of the book very closely, quoting it often, but they left out some of the most important parts, to me. All of the questions and details about being a vampire were mentioned in passing, but never really discussed, as they were in the book, as they deserved. And the whole hotel scene...that’s where Bella and Alice’s relationship was really established and developed, and it was completely left out. I think they could have spent a lot more time on her developing relationship with the Cullens, and left out a lot of the process of her finding out what they are.

There were good parts, great parts, actually. I LOVE Charlie! I think he was amazing. The actor did a great job with that character, and the things they did with his character in terms of lines and direction were a perfect representation of what I think of when I think Charlie.

And I really liked Rosalie, too. I didn't really have a strong opinion about Rosalie from the books, one way or the other, but I really liked hating her in the movie. The actor just seemed to convey a lot of Rosalie's emotions in her few lines and just through her visual looks.

I am glad I saw it, and I will see the others. (Summit announced today that they're moving forward with New Moon.) Maybe it’ll be like Harry Potter - the movies only got better. And I do still love the story. It’s a love story at its heart. And a good one at that.

Twilight is for Lovers

For my birthday, I received the first three books in the Twilight series. I read the books about 2 months ago, having checked the first three out from my sister's library. But when it came time to read the fourth, I was 118 on the waiting list at the public library, and somewhere around 20 at my sister's library. I wasn't waiting. So I bought it. In hardback, of course, because that's the only way it's available. And, loving the series so much, I knew I had to have the first three. In hardback. (See strengths at right, under Input for further explanation.)

So, I was very excited when my birthday present consisted of the first three Twilight books, beautiful and black, along with the first four Harry Potter books (in hardback), completing both of these collections for me. Yea!

And now, Mark and I are reading Twilight together. It's been fun reading it with someone who hasn't read them, because he has so many questions that I didn't allow myself to ask - I devoured all four books within about a week. But reading them aloud to one another, we have to take time, and we can only read when we're both present, which is more difficult now that we're working in different cities.

And every time he asks a question, my response is "that's a good question." Really because they are, and because if I were to answer them, they would give away something to come, because he does ask appropriate questions to the story. Some of his questions:

If Edward bites Bella, will it kill her?
Has Edward ever killed anyone?
How do you become a vampire?
Why can't Edward read Bella's mind?
Does Edward's family hate Bella?

See? All very good questions. And I can't wait to read him the answers.

Twilight is truly for lovers, because when I first read them, it took me back to the early stages of our relationship, when everything was new and exciting. And it made me fall in love with him all over again. It's fun, reading them together now, because we get to fall in love with each other, all over again, again.

Sorry for the extremely personal post. Maybe all you married/dating people out there can do the same! And it doesn't have to be Twilight...just find a good love story, and read it together. It does wonders for your heart.

Halloween

I really appreciate the person who took this picture of me on Halloween. 

And in response, I offer this from lolcatz:

All Dogs Go To Heaven

Got this in an e-mail. According to the forward, these two churches are across the street from one another. I have a feeling it's generated, but still, it brings a smile to my face. Enjoy!

Searching For God Knows What

In my effort to occupy my time, I've checked out a bunch of books from the library and borrowed several from a friend. The first one I'm reading is Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller. It's been on my to-read list for awhile. I read Blue Like Jazz, also by Miller, several years ago, and liked it. I also saw a video a few weeks ago of Donald Miller preaching, and it was really good. He has a great sense of humor, and a realistic approach to, well, reality. I'm two chapters in, though, and while I think a lot of what he's saying is good, I'm struggling with some of it, which, I guess, is probably a good thing. I mean, I'm sure Donald Miller wouldn't want anyone to read his book and agree with everything he says.

So... one bone to pick with him. In the first chapter, he's talking about formulas, and how many people approach God with a formula in mind: do this, and this will happen. Pray for this, and this will happen. Give money to the church and this will happen. I'm with him 100% that this is the case, and that this is not the way to approach God. God is relational, and that's his whole point, that we have to be in relationship with God. God is not a snack machine, being one of my favorite parallels. We don't just put in our money, type in A2 and get our goods.

But one of the examples Miller uses is Harry Potter. In a brief example, he talks about a CSPAN show he was watching, where a literary critic was talking about Harry Potter, and wondering why it's so popular. The critic says it's "wish fulfillment." "He said the lead character in the book could wave a wand and make things happen, and this is one of the primary fantasies of the human heart." Miller agrees.

Okay, so he's making a bigger point here than why people like Harry Potter. But I feel I must make a point as to why people like Harry Potter, with the help of this article. Rather than using Harry Potter as an example of what people are wishing for that they shouldn't be wishing for, Harry Potter is an example of what we should be working toward: relationships. I believe that, within the backdrop of a magical world, JK Rowling has created a parallel universe in which people fight for what's right and wrong, and struggle to create and sustain deep, meaningful relationships that alter your existence. Sure, Harry's got a wand, and all he has to do is point it at the light and say "lumos" and there's light. But does that make everything easy? No one, and I repeat no one, could have created seven books about getting what you want that easy. 

No, I think Harry Potter is the perfect example of what Donald Miller is striving to share in the first chapter of this book. Relationships are the key. Sure, in Harry's world, just as in ours, there are formulas to get some of the things you want. Think back to tenth grade Chemistry. Or just walk in your kitchen and look at a recipe. But when it comes to the truly important things in life, those that shape us as human beings, there's no formula to create that. And throughout the Harry Potter series, this is exactly what Harry learns. He continually tries to go it alone, even to the last fight, only to discover time and again that not only can he not do it alone, he doesn't really want to. He needs his friends. We need God. And our friends, too, of course. 

A New Norm

So, a new norm is being formed in my life. Mark started his new job yesterday! I think it went well, but it was very hectic. He was very tired when he got home. Hopefully, though, he'll settle into this new routine and won't be as tired.

We're getting up at the same time, which is nice. What's especially nice for me is that now Mark gets in the shower first! I love this. It's the little things. I like being able to wake up and know that life is going on around me before actually getting out of bed. I had intentions to stay in bed until he was out of the shower this morning, but I decided to go ahead and get up and eat breakfast. I like not being the first one up. I feel so lonely getting up first... like I'm missing out on something. (Sleep! I feel like I'm missing out on sleep!)

So my new norm: driving to work alone, listening to my I-Pod on the way. (I feel like Bella Swan! haha...) I'm driving our "other" car, because our "best" car gets better gas mileage, so the weary traveler gets that one. The "other" car only has one CD holder (travesty!) and changing CDs while driving down the road isn't the safest thing. Okay, really, choosing which CD to put in next is what's not safe. I'm in a "fed up with the media" phase, and it seems every time I turn on the radio all I hear is commercials. And NPR is doing their fall campaign this week, and I quickly get sick of them asking for money.

My other new norm: lunch conundrum. For the past year, Mark and I have eaten lunch together every day. So, I miss him. Yesterday I got to eat lunch with Nikki, a friend from college (Martin, actually) who recently started working at the same place I work. That was really fun, getting to catch up and do some serious girl-talk. I'm considering trying to work out over lunch, like I used to do before Mark was close enough to eat lunch with. I need to desperately, as well as reign back in my appetite.

My evenings are quieter, as Mark doesn't get home until late now that he's commuting. Last night I had dinner ready. I was planning to just read for the few hours between me getting home and him getting home, but I ended up downloading a bunch of music from I-Tunes and playing it while I made dinner. Reading is on my schedule for tonight, though, as I have four books from the library, and four other books from a friend, and 3 DVDs traveling to my local library just for me! Hey, we packed all of our books, so I'm having to be creative in acquiring reading material. It is kinda sad that I'm really just now getting the hang of the library thing, just to leave.

We are putting our house on the market sometime this week, probably tomorrow or Thursday, depending on when the realtor gets the paperwork together, I guess. I have to say, it's in really good shape. We did a lot of work getting it ready, and so when I do get home, I can relax, and not feel stressed about having to do this or that, and can have no guilt in playing on I-Tunes or reading for hours on end.

So many news, and so many of them, I'm sure, won't be lasting. In my ever-changing world right now, I don't even really know where I'll be living from one day to the next. Okay, probably not that volatile. But still, changing. And the norms I establish today will be changed and re-formed tomorrow! What's going to be weird, I feel, is not going to church on Wednesday night... it's been years since I haven't done that! Times, they are a changin'!