Fifty Shades of...Well...

    I'm really glad I didn't watch Fifty Shades of Grey as soon as it hit the big screen, because then I got the chance to hear about other people's disappointment and so lower my own expectations for when I did actually watch it, i.e. earlier today. It's been said to death, the movie is never as good as the book. As a former dedicated fangirl of the trilogy, this just didn't do it for me. I expected more intensity, more emotion, just...more. To be fair, I am a tad biased because I was never really that thrilled with the choice of cast. Dakota Johnson does a pretty good Ana, but Jamie...meh. I am probably gonna sound a little too critical, but...he smiled too much. Maybe it's just me, but when I read the book, the picture of Christian Grey in my head was this tall (sorry Jamie), dark, brooding, intense, devilishly handsome man who could intimidate you with one look. Him...not so much. He has a nice voice though!
    Some parts of the movie reminded me of Agnes  in Despicable Me 2, practicing her recital of her poem for mother's day in front of Gru, especially during the interview at their first meeting. I do understand though that it must be quite challenging to fit an almost 500 page novel into 2 hours of acting, more so one with so much detail. No one is more thankful than I am that they spared us the gory details of the tampon bit. Gross. I must say, the soundtrack is pretty cool.
    I'm not sure that I'd want to watch the sequels to that, mostly because I'm pretty sure the imagery in my head from reading the books would still be better. I am looking forward to reading Grey. It should be a refreshing change of pace from all the 'oh my' of Ana's incessant monologue. I came across a post on Tumblr that had me in stitches:

"This is Anastasia Steele every five seconds:"

       

So yeah...fingers crossed.
    I last read FSOG about 2 years ago, so it was kinda nice to relive it. I was also reminded about my change of heart concerning my love of the book, all things considered, and exactly why Ana was bat-shit crazy to not have ran away screaming from the word go, or at least dump his ass solely on principle of his enormous ego. "Rectify the situation." Pfft!
    Suffice to say I clearly lack the makings of an Ana, but me thinks next semester would be a good time as any to make buddies with journalism majors, yes?

Breathe In. Let It Out

    I think, probably, every parent's nightmare is the moment their child begins to have a mind of their own and forming their own opinion. Much as it's awesome to essentially 'be your own person' (delusions of teenage years), there are individuals like myself who don't always know what to do with that kind of freedom. I'm a self-proclaimed opinionated person (albeit not out loud, ironically), and ideally I'd like to be that 'IDGAF what you think' person, Big Sean in the background and everything, but, much to my ire, I do. Just a smidgen. Sometimes. Even when I want to post or share something on social media, a small niggling part of me is mentally doing a rundown of my list of followers, wondering if any of them might get offended, or might think differently of me.
    It's not a totally insane notion though. God knows the world today isn't all that great with greeting opposing thoughts with arms wide open. The immediate reaction is usually along the lines of "This is why you're wrong." and you can almost see them lifting their leg ever so gracefully as they mount their high horse. Personally, the worst thing that ever happened to the human race was the ability of anonymity in the internet. This is basically the domain of the bigots, racists, homophobes, and general assholes of the world. Lucky us.
    One of my favorite things about having this blog is that it's mine. Anyone who types in my URL does so to read about what I think about something, take it or leave it. That this is my forum. (Once upon a time I had a journal, then laptops happened. Big fan of the written word, but cataloging thoughts is exhausting!) Cathartic, if you will. I highly recommend it, actually. Writing, I mean. I read a quote once:

"You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better." -Anne Lamott

    So, moral of the story, don't be a pain in the behind then clutch at your pearls in horror when someone finally decides to call you out on your bull. On the other hand, be careful not to choke yourself in your valiant effort to hold your tongue. Sometimes things need to be said.  Stand up for someone who isn't 'like' you. Do what is right, not what is easy. Speak your truth.

   

Mid-Year Post...Or Something

    So...back in the 254 for summer vaycay (I will never say that again, I promise). Just enjoying not being ridden hard (hah hah) by assignments and all that good stuff, and embracing my new 'the cool fun aunt' role. It's all good. Not a fan of the showers though. Rain, that is. But, could be worse. BELIEVE me.
    I don't know about you, but I always have these blah-life crisis/crises where I get these random urges to do something spontaneous and/or dramatically different. Case in point, my big chop and hair dye last year, and my four sessions of piercings. Okay, so maybe that's not exactly up there with getting tatted up or buying a sports car (as if), but they usually do the trick. The mood struck again about a month ago (I kinda wish it was about a week agooo...teehee...I'll stop now), and Pinterest, the little temptress, put the idea of a fifth piercing in my head, which I got very recently. One word: OUCH. My cartilage is not very forgiving, and I kinda have to sleep positioned like a corpse now, but I'll deal.
    I'd like to think my subconscious is deeper than that, but not really in this case because let's face it, this is the crazy poking its ugly head, but no permanent damage so...meh. I'm known (to myself) for taking the phrase 'train of thought' and straight up Usain Bolt running with it. *clears throat* *prepares self for profoundness* I started thinking about the pursuit for self-growth (I don't know how I leaped to that either). First off, it's a testament to my age, or maturity if you will, me thinks, for thinking about my future in a way I've never had to, because to me that's always entailed career-family-30-year-old related stuff, and it's finally hitting home that the 'future' is fast approaching (2020 is 5 years away! Mind=blown) and I actually need to make decisions, important ones at that, concerning said future. Which freaks me out a tad since, from my new year's post about switching career paths, I'm more or less going down a much uncharted one. I've always been one of those people who function by making lists and schedules and having thought-out plans (textbook INFJ) so the pressure is on to formulate a clear concise plan post-undergrad. I'm in a fairly new and considerably wide major that has opened a world of possibilities, and it's kind of overwhelming. Y'know, the more the choices the harder the decision and all that.
    At the same time there's this whole world of adulthood. There is very much a kid in me, and it's a bit daunting that the government trusts me to vote, drink, drive, own property and a credit card, all the while acting sane enough to keep my behind out of prison. Is anyone ever really ready for it? God knows I occasionally meet people who immensely restore my faith in my ability to handle my shit. Can't run away from it, so might as well embrace it, and hey, maybe even have some fun while I'm at it. Carpe diem, always.
(Speaking of, the promised FSOG movie review is coming up soon).

Now that I've touched base, laters!