gone baby gone + inspiration + great expectations

Monday night Peter and I had our first date night in quite a while (due to our crazy schedule). We opted to have dinner and a movie at home because we were both fairly exhausted from our weekend trip. 

We watched "gone baby gone". And it was easily the best movie I have seen in a while. When it was over I sat in contemplative shock trying to work through what I had just witnessed. The alternate title I came up with is: "shades of gray". 

It's easy to sit around and analyze movies when they are over. It's also easy to take only the entertainment value from a movie. 

This movie required thinking. It required analyzing. If I was in the same situation I really don't know what I would have done. The movie posed this question: what if the right thing isn't really the right thing? what do you do when making a decision to not do something is still making a decision to do something by not acting? what do you do when there are only 2 choices, and the best choice for one person is the worst choice for the other? how do you choose between what is good and what is right?

It's nice when things are cut and dry. It's nice when there's an obvious right and wrong. The truth is though, that's not always the case. 

Here's a taste of the opening monologue spoken by the main character, Patrick (Casey Affleck). "This was a hard place to grow up...When I was a kid I asked my priest how to be good and still protect myself...He told me what God said to His children; 'Though I send you as sheep among wolves, you must be wise as serpents yet innocent as doves.'" 

Bottom line - if you've never seen the movie, you should.

Here ends my movie review...

In other news I'm trying to find inspiration and motivation to do something. anything really. More often than not I feel like I go through my days and weeks without actually accomplishing anything at all. So I'm trying to find something creative to put my efforts behind.

I'm going to try to work on my painting today. I'm currently in the middle of an Eames chair with a brick background. Thus far I really like the bricks, but the rest feels like it's lacking. 

There are other endeavors that would be fun to take on, but everything I think of I need to buy something in order to do it, so all of those things will have to be placed on the back burner until May.

My spending fast is coming along okay. I have had to stay strong through many sabotage attempts. The thing is I want to buy something if I see it and I like it because I'm always afraid it won't be there later if I don't buy it. 

In the recent past I have gotten better about thinking about things for a day or two before I rush to the cash register, but I simply want to act. Even with house stuff, I don't much like to just look for very long. I want to DO. If we're going to buy a house, let's buy a house. 

This desire to DO drove Peter nuts (and still does sometimes now) when I moved into our apartment and immediately wanted to buy all of our furniture. As soon as we would get one or two pieces I would be thinking about what came next. It was quite maddening for him. 

It was also quite maddening for me that he didn't understand the importance of having a place for everything and everything in its place. I don't relax very well if there are still things to be done. Which is why it takes me so long to fall asleep sometimes...

Lately when I can't fall asleep at night I've been reading my next work of literature: Great Expectations, another Dickens classic. Thus far I've enjoyed it immensely. I've discovered in the past few months how much I enjoy Dickens' writing, and Jane Austen's and the Bronte sisters, and even Hugo's (among others). 

Originally the next book on my list was to be Les Miserables. However, the rate at which I am reading Great Expectations may require me to read a yet to be determined classic in the interim seeing as I don't yet own Les Miserables, and I can't buy it for another 3 1/2 weeks. 

I'm off to search for inspiration.

wish me luck