Films, etc.

I just finished watching Firefly for the second time. Man that was a good series! I don't know what Fox was thinking when they pulled it so early. The film version, Serenity, is only a few months away. Yea!

I also recently watched Garden State. I'm going to have to watch it again to get all the details, but I really enjoyed it. Kudos to Zach Braff!

Tonight I plan to watch one of my new favorite shows - Medium. I didn't expect to like it at all, in fact I think that all of that ghost-y, spirit-y hocus pocus is a bunch of nonsense. But, it's a really good show. It's actually inspired a screenplay idea for me.

Although I have yet to finish one, I have several screenplays in different stages of development. I hope to finish my first, a story of teens in a wilderness therapy program, in the next few months. After watching Medium and The Gift, I began to wonder how a deeply Christian person, such as myself, would react if their dreams or visions suddenly began coming true. Would this ability be a gift from God or a curse from Satan? To me the desire to be true to your faith in the face of contradictory evidence is intriguing. I'll keep thinking about it while I finish my current story.

On a final note, it's Girl Scout cookie time!! As a former Girl Scout Camp program director, I can tell you that cookie money is used to give a lot of girls a summer camp experience that they wouldn't otherwise have. Please support this worthy (and yummy!)cause!!

Unexpected Therapy

For those of you who don't know me, you should know that a large part of who I am comes from an event that happened almost eleven years ago, when I was 19. My mother (a beautiful, giving, intelligent, kind woman) died from a drug interaction when she took the allergy drug Seldane, which is now off the market. She died very suddenly, but was revived by paramedics and existed in a coma for 10 days before her body quit working. In addition to major depression and an eating disorder that is still ravaging my mind and body, my relationships with my loved ones became a major source of pain. I tried to handle everything on my own for about eight years, and when I finally realized that I couldn't heal on my own, I found an outstanding therapist while I was at school in Miami who really got me on the road to recovery.

A few weeks ago, I was watching Lost, which is definitely one of my favorite shows, and I was fascinated by Boone's relationship with his step-sister Shannon. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't have any pseudo-incestual relationships or anything like that, but I did realize that I've allowed a few of my relationships to reach a level of co-dependence that isn't healthy. So, thanks to Boone, I've decided to subtly re-define the boundaries of a few of my relationships so there will be a healthy balance.

Earlier this week, I read a children's book called Ida B. . . and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan. It is the story of a spunky, creative little girl and the way she reacts to her mother's battle with cancer. It is funny and emotional. Now, I didn't know that Ida's problem in the book was facing her mother's mortality, or I may not have read it as a light evening read. Once I was under Ida B.'s spell, however, my heart just ached as she went through the pain of her story. After I finished the book, I sobbed and wailed for about an hour. Now, if you don't know me, you should know that I am usually not an overtly emotional person, so this was really unusual for me. For years after Mom died, I refused to even begin to feel the pain that came with the loss because I was so afraid that once I opened the floodgates I'd never be able to shut them again. I learned in therapy that I can release the pain bit by bit, but each bit is still going to hurt. I'm always surprised by how raw and sharp the pain is. It's like my heart is infused with shards of glass - sure it aches as a whole, but removing each sliver causes a sharp pain that is even harder to bear.

I never expected to make therapy breakthroughs from Lost or a kids' book, but I guess you take life's lessons wherever you can find them.

A Trampoline World

I wish the world were made of trampolines. On Sunday mornings I teach a 10th grade life group (aka Sunday school)with one of the owners of AcroTex Gymnastics. This past Sunday we had our annual Gladiator Games at AcroTex, where the 9th and 10th grade classes compete in a wide range of games. It was so fun!! I have never been athletic or coordinated, but I have always dreamt of being able to play in a big gym (or ice rink, or dance studio). My favorite part was bouncing on a long, rectangular trampoline they use to practice tumbling runs. You could bounce from one end to the other like a kangaroo. I could have bounced on it for days. So now, I wish the world was made of trampolines so I could bounce and flip my way through the world.

Support Greg

Please visit Greg's site today to raise money in memory of his wife, Cheryl. You don't need to give money, just leave a comment. Please help!

Brad & Jen, Ben & Jen, Trash & Lies

As most of the country has, I'm sure, heard, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston have separated. Last night I saw that one of those entertainment shows was doing a whole 30 minutes on the breakup. Another led with it for, I guess, about fifteen minutes or so. The major questions these "journalists" attempted to answer were things like What caused the breakup? Was it a baby? (One wants kids, the other doesn't) Was it Angelina Jolie? Was there a pre-nup? (Who cares?) Are they dating anyone else yet? (Good lord! They just broke up on Friday!!) I also caught clips in the last few weeks of celebs like Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner. The focus on them seems to be all about if they're getting married and if she's pregnant.

Now, it must be said that I love entertainment. I love movies and television. In fact, I even have a few screenplays in progress. However, I think there is a very definite limit on what I have a right to know. I could watch a dozen shows a day on what movies are in the works, who's starring in what, and how movies are made. I also like shows like Inside the Actors' Studio. I think that when you choose a public career, that your work and talent are up for public critique.

However, some topics, like home life, marriage, children, illnesses, family members' troubles, etc. should be off limits. If someone wants to share their wedding pictures, great, I'd love to see them. If a celeb wants to show off their new baby or a new house, bring it on. Like anyone else, I hope they're happy, I pray they know Christ, and I wish them well. All other aspects of their personal lives are just that - personal, and none of our business.

The most troubling part of this whole Hollywood scene are the media. I've always known that supermarket tabloids were trash, but I used to think that magazines like People and US Weekly were alright. In the past few years, though they seem to cover pretty much the same topics the tabloids do. They all feed the paparazzi machine of lies and personal invasion.

So, in light of these events and realizations, I commit to even further scour down my entertainment sources. No more lifestyle shows and gossip shows. No more magazines that use others' pain as entertainment. I invite you all to look at your own sources of entertainment and do a similar bit of housecleaning.

Something in the Water!!

Hello everyone!

I hope you all had a great holiday break. I got a lot of sleep and saw a lot of friends and family, so I'm pretty happy. Before I left for Christmas, I knew that two of the teachers I teach with were pregnant. One is due in April and one in May. I now know of at least SIX others who are due at the end of the summer. That makes eight pregnant teachers, four of whom are on my hallway. What is in the water around here? No angels have visited me in my sleep yet, so I know I'm not next, but it will be interesting to see if any more Mommies pop up around here.

UPDATE I forgot one. There are NINE pregnant teachers in my school. Wow!