a list for May

Today, a few days early, I flipped my Escher calendar page to face May. The yellow, interlocking-seahorse paradox made me feel that this month deserves my utmost attention and must not be wasted. Some goals of prevention came to mind.

- don't eat after 6:00 [a healthy habit my mother has been trying to put in place for years]

- wake up before 9:00

- run in the morning

- drink more tea

- listen to opera, like I used to

- write a good short story

- practice driving [conquer the scary highway!]

- get personal with my Elna

- start work on my grad dress [I have a flapper-style Simplicity pattern, stiff, dark blue material for the outside, and off-white, butterfly-strewn cotton for the lining]

- eat more vegetables

- finish all the books I've begun to neglect [and loathe]

- start new, fun books [very much not by Stephen King, but by E.M. Forster and Stieg Larsson]

- watch more films off the AFI 100

- wear skirts

- become re-acquainted with my Indian ink, fountain pen and parchment [what fun we used to have!]

- see more people

- continue watching 007 [they need to be watched before Bond 23 next year!]

- memorize Proverbs 3

a tribute to El Roi

" I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; I lay down My life for the sheep. " 43.10.14

" But he was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. " 23.53.05

" These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have tribulation, but take heart! I have overcome the world. " 43.16.33

" Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.' " 43.14.06

some weekend observations:

• even if a person is offish at first, as soon as I inform them that I have a job, I will suddenly become "part of the club," and be considered cool and worth-knowing
• Pearl Jam is a better band than I once thought [on par with Nirvana, even?]
• selling Amish action-figures at a homeschooling conference is not good for business [though it makes for a hilarious comic strip!]
• black licorice is delicious
• reading Dante and Homer only makes you look smart [the activity is truly not as difficult as it sounds]
• journaling just might be a teensy bit nerdy?
• checkered Vans are the best and most comfortable shoes [though I may change this opinion once I get TOMS...]
• an 80s coming-of-age film is only beaten by a good, black-and-white film noir
• Stephen King is starting to feel criminally overrated [but after The Stand, I'll know for sure]
• ice tea is a lifesaver!
• my sister is actually very fun to be around
• I need to make plans to see people I like, and soon

John Lennon, your art is good.

I'm a workin' woman!

Laura, the swimming instructor,

shows up on time,

gathers her clipboard and class-lists,

puts on her Crocs,

collects her students,

gets in the water.

She shows them the strokes,

hones their skills,

ends with a game,

sits in the hot-tub,

writes the evaluations-

she records her hours.

Lovely, lovely!

No matter how many times I watch this film, Pride & Prejudice still holds up as the most romantic film I have ever seen. Keira Knightley puts up a splendid performance, with the supporting cast keeping up quite nicely. You can feel the tension, the happiness, and the frustrations between characters, and you want them to make it.

The elements I most admire about this work of art (and possibly the biggest reasons I find the film so romantic) are Joe Wright's absolutely remarkable cinematography, and Dario Marianelli's brilliant original score. Honestly, even the costumes, hairstyles, storyline, and characters wouldn't be quite as fleshed out in their believable elegance without the glorious scenery and riveting music. Bloody gorgeous!

Even upon reading the book almost 5 years ago (after I first watched it), I still preferred the film on so many levels. Jane Austen was a real talent indeed, but her hugely famous novel simply lacked the gripping, colorful qualities of the film (you know, the arguments in the rain, the subtle glimpses and gestures, the vivid sunsets, Keira Knightley...)

In short, this is a film for the ages. The kind of film that gets -bafflingly- ignored at the Oscars, but is a favorite among the drawing-rooms of the laymen. Cheers, Mr. Wright! You have accomplished what all filmmakers brag of but never fulfill: a film that can truly be watched again, and again, and again.

April finds me:

- smiling at the melting snow

- teaching children how to swim (I'm a hired instructor now!)

- listening to The Rolling Stones

- working on Biology 20

- watching BBC's All Creatures Great and Small

- saving up for the Europe trip

- anxious for the heat of summer

- addicted to 007 (from Connery to Craig, indeed)

- with an Elna 5300 sewing machine in sight

- as the owner of 9 new books:

Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

The Elements of Style [fourth edition] by William Strunk Jr. & E.B. White

The Divine Comedy, Volume 1: Inferno by Dante

Complete Nonsense by Edward Lear

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket