Aug16

Not really about Eat Pray Love

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I saw the movie adaptation of Eat Pray Love this weekend. The elevator pitch is that it’s a privileged New Yorker lady traveling to different parts of the world to find herself after her failed marriage. Gun to my head, I actually like the movie. But I understand all the criticisms. The main character just feels shallow, entitled and whiny; there’s a false sense of empowerment and feel-goods with no real advice for the heartbroken.

To me, the movie is high on the emotion and low in logic. You have to emotionally be at a point where you can tolerate listening to Julia Roberts live out beautiful travel fantasies and go on oddball spiritual journeys in order to deal with her divorce. I haven’t read the book but I have a strong gut feeling that the book does much better in fleshing out the characters and capturing the moments and the grittiness and moral ambiguity. The movie is a glossing over of the facts and its more of a fairy tale for the naive modern woman.

I did enjoy it though. I’m in a place where I can look back and see that it was a good decision to break up. Even though I was the one who got dumped, at some point each person has to decide to let go, to forge ahead on their own, to look after themselves first and trust that the other person and the rest of the world knows how to look after themselves. I’m glad that we broke up because things were already broken. Some of these things could be fixed trivial but others ran deep, deep into the structure and the foundation of the relationship. I am thankful for all the lessons I’ve learned as a result. Hence, it was enjoyable to watch a movie about a person breaking up and leading a fantastic fairy tale life, I’d like to believe I’ll have the same fairy tale one day.

It’s been about 8 months since we broke up. When people hear me mention my ex-girlfriend, they assume it’s far in the past. In a lot of ways, it is.

I asked a girl out the other day; first girl I asked out since I dated my ex. A disarmingly cute and creative girl that just charms the pants off of me (literally). I don’t know her that well, the chemistry hasn’t really been established between us but she’s beautiful both inside and out and distraction I would readily welcome. She hesitated in answering, for a variety of reasons. I think she hasn’t really looked at me in that way. I’d like this to be an easy and simple seasonal romance but things are not really set up to be that way. Playing with fire perhaps but I’m tempted to try asking her out again.

Previously...

Jul 05

4th of July Weekend

In chronological order: Japanese class started again, difficulty has been turned up Filipino food for dinner Gin cocktail with egg white and pomegranate bitters (actually tasted good) Awkwardness of a friend having to deal with the presence of an almost-girlfriend (now an ex-almost-girlfriend) Two new shirts and a super soft sweater from J. Crew ($150)…

Jul 02

A Little Hungry

I’ve really been enjoying just being on my own for the past few months. Sure, there’s the uncomfortable situation of never meeting any single girls but that’s an issue that can be addressed in due time. The important part is that I’m ok with being alone. I’m not standing at the precipice of a gaping…

Jul 01

Apple Radar Bug #7836473

Summary iPhone Alarm does not loop, large gap between end and start Description Set an alarm on your iPhone Let the alarm start ringing Expected: Alarm tone should sound and continue to repeat until dismissed. When tone is repeated there should be no gap between the end and the start of the tone. Actual: Very…

Jun 12

Invitational Jack

Oh blogoblog, I’ve been afraid to stop by for a variety of reasons. None of them rational. But I did give you a fresh coat of paint, I hope you like it. I’ve been overdoing the going-out lately. Which is surprising because that is not something I have ever overdone. I’m a hermit, I’m resigned…

Apr 24

Ragu Bolognese

I cooked up a ragu Bolognese last night for the 3rd time. Don’t let the name throw you off, that just means a meat sauce originating from Bologna, Italy. Here is my mise en place: white wine, chicken broth, canned tomato puree, chopped onions and garlic, diced celery and carrot, pancetta, butter and a pound…

Apr 19

Gee

Ok, I’m a year late to this but I can’t get this damn song out of my head: Gee by Girls’ Generation It’s filled with cute Korean girls, it’s saturated with colors, the pace is frenetic, and the chorus is frustratingly catchy. I watched it and every time it just assaults my senses and I…

Mar 31

The Letter

I’m on the larger bunny hill somewhere not too far from the base of Whistler Mountain. It’s a peaceful two-minute ride up the conveyor belt and I’m exhausted after 2 hours of having my ass kicked on my very first day of snowboarding. Every muscle aches, my heart is pounding against my throat, I am…

Mar 10

I Don’t Like Growing Up

I’m drowning this week. Sleep has been bad, work has been dissatisfying, social contact has been lacking. I’m in the middle of an ocean and every direction looks as good as any other. I can thrash around and choose a path but the view never seems to change. I’m also stubbornly refusing to blame this…

Mar 07

Tellason Selvage Denim

This is one of those things that makes me love the fact that I live in America. I picked up a pair of Tellason raw denim jeans about a month ago from a boutique in Ballard and I’m loving them. I’ve worn them practically every day since I got them. First things first, what on…