Spirited Away: Take Two

I don't normally "get" anime.  I don't know if it's just over my head or if it breaks a Weird barrier that I just can't get past.  Either way, it's already hard enough for me to get through Max's movies when I'm not literally falling asleep... which is what was happening the first time I tried watching Spirited Away wiith him.  Needless to say, I didn't quite make it through and definitely didn't understand a bit of what I did watch.

But tonight, I have officially watched all of Spirited Away.  Phew.  Even sober and fully awake, this is one weirdo movie.  But, as I mentioned yesterday, I wanted to finish watching for Max.  Lucky for me, I had him as my own personal tour guide throughout the movie.  It started making a lot more sense when he started explaining the Japanese mythology behind the story.

Think of it this way: if someone from another culture tried watching Harry Potter, but had never heard of witches or that they ride on brooms, had never heard of vampires or that they are warded off with garlic, had never heard of warewolves or that they change on full moons... that person would be very confused and mark the movie off as weird and confusing.  Those mythologies would not be a part of their culture, so they wouldn't understand the context.

Spirited Away was that for me, but opposite.  I had never heard of "No-Faces" or that they have to be invited to come inside a house.  I didn't know that they can only eat you once you take something they offer you from their hand.  So the first time I watched, I thought, "What in the world is this creepy black thing and why does it keep offering everyone gold?!"  It made no sense, so I wrote it off.  Once I understood the context, I could follow the storyline.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still not a huge fan of anime... but it was defintely nice to see it from a new perspective.  I love mythology and fantasy, so with Max's help, I actually ended up liking the story a lot more than I thought I would.  It was a nice ending to our two-part date night.  :)

Reckless Tip of the Day: Don't be afraid to give something new a chance. Learn about another culture and appreciate it.  Don't just write it off because it's different.  Different is beautiful.

Thank You, Max

Max has been working so hard lately--long hours of actual labor.  He comes home tired every day, but he's the reason we still have our apartment right now.  Since we both actually came home in time to eat a real dinner together tonight, I surprised him with a special Stay-At-Home-Because-We're-Old-And-Tired Date Night!

I got into a fancy dress, set the table, and made barbecue chicken quesadillas (a mixture of two of his favorite foods).  I also got some pecan pie for dessert and movie snacks (sours gummies, of course) to eat while we watch one of his favorite animes.  Unfortunately, we were both much too sleepy for the whole two-hour movie, but we'll finish it tomorrow night.

It was the highlight of my week to spoil my favorite hard-working guy.  :)

Reckless Tip of the Day: Thank someone who works hard for you.

Red Lights of Death

If I see one more red light today, I think I will scream.  Nothing but red lights.  All day.  Stop lights.  Brake lights.  The lights in my head, that I may or may not be imagining...  My work commute this morning: red lights.  My work commute this evening: red lights.

Growing up in a small town but often visiting family in Tampa, I always said, "I will NEVER live in a big city."  Well, here I am!  And usually, I actually really love it.  There's always things to do and I know lots of people and I have a great place to live in a great location.

But days like these make me question my sanity when I made the decision to move here.

In Tampa's defense, at least I have only been stopping at red lights.  It's when traffic is stopped at GREEN lights (and yes, Small Towns, it happens) that I really lose my marbles.  You know, the flashing red marbles rolling around in my head...

Reckless Tip of the Day: Patience.  Patience.  Patience.

Castle Crashers

After job searching and getting and working and going a little crazy in life, sometimes you just have to DANCE.

Attempt 1: Melissa falls asleep at 9:00.
Attempt 2: Tiffany crashes on the couch for TV.
Attempt 3: Success!

We went to Castle for the first time, which is something else--let me tell you.  I loved how when we got there, hardly anyone was there, and yet there was dancing.  Usually no one dances until the place starts filling up, but the first girl up and moving was the only person on the dance floor.  She just closed her eyes and went for it. I loved it.

Thank you to my super-fun roommate for getting me out of the house for a much-needed Girl's Night Out!

Reckless Tip of the Day: Dance like no one's watching!

They are the Present

As someone who works with children every day, one of my pet peeves is when people treat children like children.  They are not dumb.  And they are not dogs.  So please stop using the Baby/Dog Voice when you talk to 10-year-olds.  They notice.

Children are extremely intelligent; in fact, I would argue that they are more intelligent than most adults.  (And no, I'm not taking a jab at dumb adults.  I'm being serious.)  They pick up new information and even new languages like sponges.  They think differently and problem solve in ways many adults would never think of.  The only advantage an adult has over a child is time on this earth--practice.

So I wasn't surprised at the intellectual conversation my class had about the Parable of the Seeds tonight.  I wasn't surprised when they analyzed it themselves before reading Jesus' explanation.  And I wasn't surprised when their explanations were different, but still reasonable.

1. "So... the good soil is like God and He helps us grow."
2. "When Jesus died on the cross for us, it's like He took away all the rocks and thorns in our way."
3. "This story reminds me of that verse where He is the vine and we are the branches..."

Reckless Tip of the Day: Don't underestimate children.  They are NOT the future.  They are the PRESENT.

Good and Bad News

Good News: I got the job!  I'm hired at Tampa Language School as an English teacher.

Bad News: They only have open classes during the hours I teach at the gym, so I don't have any hours with them yet...

I am now the proud owner of four jobs and going a little crazy.  :P

Reckless Tip of the Day: Just go for it.

Cleanliness is Next to Kindliness

Sometimes a random act of kindness can be as simple as spending the morning cleaning so your stressed out roommate doesn't have to worry about it.  It's the little things.

Reckless Tip of the Day: Do a random act of kindness!