Tokyo Godfathers

I just watched the movie Tokyo Godfathers yesterday and I must say, that is ONE GOOD FILM. I've noticed that movie in my local library for years now and I kept telling myself that one day I would check it out and watch it. Somehow, I never did. It wasn't until my friend Vincey mentioned it was good movie that I thought to myself, "All right, I should give it a chance." It was Christmastime and while the movie is not a Christmas movie per se, the story takes place on Christmas Day and so I thought I would give it a shot. Boy, am I glad I did. The film was so good.

Basically, Tokyo Godfathers is this animated movie about three homeless people who find a baby girl in a trash can and they go looking for the baby's mother. The movie follows the people through their many attempts at locating the baby's family and they run into an assortment of characters, trouble, and near-death experiences along the way. I thought the movie was well-animated and the pacing was brilliant. There is not a single wasted scene in the film (none of that filler stuff I hate so much), and there were a few unexpected funny moments. I wish I could make films and tell stories like that.This movie also reminded me of how much I liked to watch films. I've been a little apathetic about watching films recently, but truthfully, they've always been one of my biggest loves. This movie reminded me why--film making is such a unique and multifaceted way of telling a story. That's been my first love all along--storytelling.

Lastly, this film was very timely. I've been depressed a lot lately, but this kind of movie really puts things into perspective. For me, the movie spoke about what it means to transcend your own personal problems because there is something bigger at stake. I mean, here were three homeless people who finally found something outside of themselves to care for, to live for and possibly die for...Here were people who had so many more problems than I'll ever have and they still face each day with a fair amount of resilience. Maybe I can learn something from that.

As people may have guessed, I highly recommend this movie. And not just at Christmastime either.

Making Room

I was at Christmas mass today when the priest gave a sermon to all the children about "making room." First, he asked them what Christmas was all about. One kid said, "Giving." That was about it. Then the priest told the story of when he was a young child and he wanted to sit  at the adults' table when they had Christmas parties. In those years, he told us, children and adults were segregated into different rooms and seated at different tables. Well, he decided that he was going to have to be creative if he wanted to sit at the adults' table so he spilled milk on himself. When his mother rushed over to ask what had happened, he said that he had some milk spilled on his shirt. His mother, however, thought the other kids were making trouble and so she took him over to the adults' table where the adults made room for him to sit.

"What did they have to do for me to sit with them?" the priest asked.
A few children tried answering until one said, "Make room."
"Good," the priest answered. "They had to, what? MAKE ROOM for me. That's what Christmas is all about. Making room. So this Christmas, I want you to make room for someone. Someone you don't like. Someone you don't know. Someone you love."

What I interpreted from that was: You never know who you're going to meet in life and you never know how they may change your life so don't be so quick to judge other people or shut them out. Give them a chance, hear them, and make room for them.

At least, that's what I THINK he was trying to get across. I was never too good at these things.

Secret Santa creeper

So a classmate of mine has been sick for almost a week. She talked about how she felt as if she had the plague and then went to the doctor today. I've always thought she was such a cool person, and since she wasn't feeling well, I thought I would do something nice for her. I knew she liked princesses and so I bought her this book that was my favorite princess story from when I was a kid. Then I wrote her a get well card along with baking her cookies and adding a goodie bag of chocolate and candy canes. I took all this stuff and drove half an hour to look for her house. I rang the doorbell and no one was there so I left all of the things on the front step. The entire time I thought I was being a bit like a creeper. I felt so great about all of this at first. I felt like I was doing a good deed and being a secret Santa. The more I thought about it, however, the more I realized that I might be doing something extremely creepy. I mean, here I was baking cookies and buying gifts for someone I barely knew just because she was sick. Then I look for her house and leave stuff there in an unmarked bag? I suddenly became paranoid that I WAS being a creeper. A Secret Santa Creeper. Then I got paranoid that I left it at the wrong house. What if she doesn't actually live here? I thought frantically. What if she moved? Or what if this is the wrong street, the wrong house, the wrong TOWN? Oh, what to do? Someone might come home, see all the stuff I left, and be all, "What is this?!", then throw it out! Oh dear, then what would I do? Nothing, I suppose. Just be more careful next time. I drove all the way home worrying about this and it wasn't until I checked my messages later that I received some redemption. It WAS the right house, after all, and she liked my gifts! Yay, I did a good thing. Now I can sleep.

Of SantaCon and Vertigo

I've spent the last two days taking care of my vertigo-stricken boyfriend in New York City. I like this, it makes me feel like we are equals instead of my usual feeling of being weak and dependent. On the other hand, I'm stuck writing my term paper while I'm here and it takes some enjoyment out of being here. Then again, my boyfriend spends most of the day sleeping so I suppose it's the perfect situation to work on a 15-page policy paper.

I also love the Christmas feeling here in New York. I've always thought that it would be romantic to spend the holiday season up here in the Big Apple and now I can get a little slice of it. For example, while I was riding the bus into the city, the passenger next to me pointed out the window and said, "Santa Claus!" I looked and yes, there they were. Strangely enough, there was a whole parade of them. Men, women, and teenagers of all ages, races, and clothing styles walking down the streets of New York with furry red hats and Santa Claus suits. Some of the women were dressed like elves, too and I even saw a man dressed like a reindeer on 84th Street (Miracle on 84th Street?). Later on, I found out that it was part of an event called Santacon where people would dress up in Santa Claus or Christmas elf-themed costumes. I'm not sure if it's part of a charity event or something done just for fun, but it was fascinating to watch anyway. "It's like March of the Santas," I told my fellow passenger. I told Matthew about it and, although he wasn't able to get up and see the Santa's for himself, he said that he believed me. It IS New York City after all. Anything can happen.

Soup

Since Matthew felt so sick, he told me that he wanted some chicken noodle soup. I suppose he wasn't sick in the traditional sense, but he did have extreme vertigo and was bedridden so I obligingly went down to the grocery store and bought ingredients for chicken noodle soup. I found a shrink-wrapped packet that claimed to sell "soup ingredients." The package had celery, carrots, parsley, and a turnip in it and I was unbelievably tempted to buy it. It would make such hearty soup! I thought. Ultimately, I decided against it, and stuck to the shopping list Matthew gave me.

It turned out to be good soup anyway! I couldn't find any parsley, but Matt and I made the soup with his homemade chicken broth. The finished soup tasted so warm and comforting, exactly the way chicken noodle soup should. I told him that I wanted to make homemade chicken noodle soup from now on; it tasted so much better than that stuff from a can. Matt told me that he love soup because it was so versatile. Well, that and the fact that soup could be seen as both a working man's meal or something really classy, like French onion soup.

All this talk about soup reminded me of a Korean soup I heard of once. Koreans made it when they were sick and so I suppose it's the cultural parallel to American chicken noodle soup. I read about the Korean soup in a graphic novel once, but the novel did not publish the recipe and I could never find it on my own. Maybe some day I'll stumble across it again. Either that, or I could ask a native Korean person about the kinds of soups made in Korea.

Number 2: What You're Looking for in a Relationship

Frankly, I was not quite sure what I was looking for in a relationship until I got into my first serious one. Before that, I knew that I did not want kids or to get married (well, I suppose that takes care of #18: Getting married and having kids), but now I might sway on the marriage decision. As for more general relationship stuff, I was looking for someone who respected me, first and foremost. I don't believe I can truly love someone if I don't respect them. I believe this so strongly that if I had to choose between everyone in the world loving me or respecting me, I would choose respect. Also, here are my five must-haves in a partner:

1) Decent and honest. This means that they don't get in trouble with the law. They don't lie, cheat, or steal, and they are not manipulative or petty.
2) Respectful. Something I mentioned before, but my partner has to respect not just me, but my friends and family, and especially wait staff. They don't have to like or get along with all of them, but respect people who are important to me (and yes, wait staff are important to me).
3) Open-minded. Dear lord, I can't stress this enough. I would really love to be with someone who is open to new ideas and new experiences, someone who listens to other people's viewpoints and takes them into consideration. This also means someone who is willing to revise their own viewpoints in light of new evidence and not just hold on to their own beliefs. Lastly, it refers to someone who is willing to try new foods, go new places, and do new things.
4) I forgot, but I'll put it up as soon as I remember it.
5) Dark hair and dark eyes. These are the only physical traits I really like, evident in the fact that every guy I have ever liked has had dark hair and dark eyes. Maybe it's just my culture or what I grew up with. Maybe it's just what I'm conditioned to like, but I definitely like them with dark hair and dark eyes, preferably brown eyes. Aside from that, they have varied in every other variable: height, weight, race, personality, lifestyle, body size and shape, educational level, background, etc.

As for smaller things, I just want someone I can have great conversations with and who can show interest in my interests. They don't need to like them, but it would be nice if they could have some polite interest or at least not put down my hobbies and passions. It would be nice just to have someone I can spend lazy days with and interaction between us can be easy. I hope that's not too much to ask. So far, my current boyfriend fits this pretty well. :)

I'll probably go back to this list and revise/update as time goes by. Stay tuned for changes!

Visualizing Success

All of this visualizing success business made me wonder: what do I define as success? As I thought about it, I surprised myself when I realized that I didn't define success as being famous, wealthy, or rich. I defined success in very simple ways. For example, I pictured myself as a success and I immediately saw myself living in a small house sitting on a giant green field under a deep blue sky. I pictured waking up early every morning and taking my dog (because I will have a dog) for a brisk walk. I pictured eating healthy and being physically active--doing yoga and being limber. I imagined myself going to work counseling people and loving it, even the challenging and difficult moments (because I will have those). I imagined myself pursuing my passions. I would write every day and practice the piano. I would spend free time on my hobbies and cultivate my interests. For this, I would take dance lessons and cooking classes. I would sew and garden and do woodworking. I would learn how to design my own clothes and sew my own dresses. I would make my own furniture and assemble a computer. I imagined myself in a strong, healthy relationship (that's you, Matt!) and we could cuddle every night and watch goofy shows. I imagined walking or biking everywhere I went, using public transportation so I would never have to drive again (that's for New York!). I imagined keeping a journal and do self-reflections every day. I imagined going out to plays and pampering myself with deep-tissue massages (okay, so deep-tissue massages are just as much pain as they are pamper, but it's still a good choice!). Lastly, I visualized pushing myself and seeing what limits I can overcome. And, just as importantly, I will take care of myself and know when to rest. Like right now. Good night, world. I'm going to get my sleep so I can start on my way to becoming...A SUCCESS.