M&Ms

I must've been six, and he was twelve. Twelve seems very old when you are only six. So, of course I believed him when he told me that the green ones are for wishes. "You have to wish the wish while you eat it," he said. His name was Clinton, and he would know.

Growing up, I even added my own interpretations to each color, pretending they were my pills to increase the amount of certain characteristics. The blue ones are for increasing hope; the brown ones for humility, the orange for endurance, red for love and yellow for sunshine and joy.

I still view each color as a reminder or a prayer. Blue, to remind me where my hope is placed. Red, a wish for love. Brown, for humility in my learning process. Orange, a prayer for endurance when the journey is difficult. And yellow, well, yellow is necessary all the time, especially after a Finnish winter!

And I'm far from six nowadays, but I still make wishes on the green ones.

update

It is a dreary rainy day, and I am warmly esconced in a cubicle at the language center at the university. I have studied my Arabic texts and I need distraction before I head to the store for some essential victuals and more studying. So I am updating. I feel like I have been extremely stressed over these finals, and then I reminded myself the other day that: I like to study. So I have then taken on a mentality that I will enjoy myself as if this immersion into Classical Arabic Literature and Grammar were a luxury and a joy. This attitude has helped somewhat, but does not remove the tightening in my stomach before an exam.

On a brighter note: in 10 days, I will be on a jet plane, with my heart and my sights set on viewing people dear to me and landscapes that include the Alps and the pyramids! I have a two week vacation coming up to two of my favorite places: Austria and Egypt. Not only do I get to see places I have longed for and my American family, but I also get to introduce my sister to these places as well!!!

Ok, enough procrastinating. I will skim some notes, buy some bread, and try not to get drenched on the way home. It would be nice to have the energy of the duracell bunny at times like these. Then I could just keep on going, and going and going and going and... (yeah, see the pictures: me as I am now, and what I could be with duracell...or maybe some coffee...)

Viele Grüsse!

Receive a bouquet of rosy greetings from me! Yes, you! I wish you a serene day, one bathed in peace and a stillness of the soul of the kind that comes upon a lake at dusk, like an existence at ease with itself and the wildlife around it and open to the vast expanse of cloudless sky that slowly darkens into a jeweled night of cool breezes touched with the scent of earthy growth. Yes my friends, the kind peace that comes in the presence of the Eternal Father in whose hand is the changing of the seasons, and the changing of your life!

Regarding the Cinema

A trip to the cinema is a vicarious experience. First of all, you sit in a row of comfortable chairs in a familiar generic media center, watching something that is meant to entertain you and evoke your empathy, persuade you of something, or further the agenda that the director intends. So you have a soundtrack that creates atmosphere, camera perspectives to focus on specific details and movements, and character development and plot sequence that either make or break the viewing experience. I am a fan of movies on the big screen, especially when they are artistically developed, true to the characters' natures, and fulfill the intention for which they were created or storytold.

But on the flip side, I always think about how you miss the reality of actually being "there" wherever the story is set. You can see poverty, rain, a beautiful sunset, a dusty street, a baby sleeping or a bomb exploding on screen. What you miss in those situations is the feeling of your skin getting pelted by drops, the flies buzzing annoyingly around your ear, the uncomfortable feeling of a rock in your shoe, the smell of children's skin or burning mass, your own indecision of what to do next, or your heart beating a mile a minute with fear or adrenaline from the adventure. Who's to say what you would actually be thinking or remembering in the middle of a river crossing or a pirate attack! If you were veritably in that situation, there would be no soundtrack rising in parallel crescendo to the drama or abating to violin sighs during a romantic moment with a handsome hunk who of course does not have bad breath! There would be no movie crew with cameras, no stunt double, and no director to yell, "Cut! Again, take Nº 365!"

But I have wandered. What I intended to say is that movies as a business are so successful because they provide a vicarious experience. There are so many styles and stories that every personality can find something it likes amongst the offerings of the cinema. Like a skillful novel or work of historical documentation, they speak to our imaginations, allow us to escape from our reality, inform us, entertain us or awaken thoughts in our minds on various levels of political inclinations, the dimensions of human nature, powers of superheroes or whatnot. We can live an adventure at relatively little inconvenience, without the danger and with popcorn and candy only an arm's reach away! :)

(In other words, I'm headed to the cinema now, where I will go and forget my need to study and my sore throat for a few moments while I wonder what the smells would actually be if the screen life were in 3D around me!)