The good, the bad and the ugly- November 2011

The good:

Recently, a dear friend and I saw Woody Allen’s ‘Midnight in Paris’. This film had a lovely understated quality about it. Yes, Woody Allen still writes for Woody Allen, leaving his male leads to imitate him, but Owen Wilson does get away with it better than most who have come before. One thing I like about Owen Wilson is that he is adept at using the space in between words to communicate, via a look, a movement etc…where Allen is sometimes too verbose and his wit, while still charming, is often too mature for these younger actors… still enough of these minor quibbles.. An important point is that the morning after watching this film, I awoke still feeling it's warm glow within me!

This film is Allen's love note to Paris and watching it, made me fall in love with the city as well. A huge feat given that my one and only visit to Paris in 2010, did not leave me  impressed. But after watching Allen’s opening montage….Paris and I seem to have now made up. The long glances we exchange, communicates the shared forgiveness for our past folly, as well as our hope for a brighter future together…ahhhh… Do you see what Allen has done to me??? The Parisian tourism board need to put him on their books! 'Midnight in Paris', the title itself is captivatingly romantic, as is the thought of walking it's streets in the rain... I shan't bore you by talking about the plot or the themes of denial, self-trust, honesty and one’s search for meaning and happiness (a regular theme for Allen), I will say that it was a delightful and in some ways a subtle film, which is well worth watching. Now, through the magic of the internet, allow me to present to you the opening sequence to 'Midnight in Paris' and prepare to fall in love!

The bad:

Having to choose between ideals and paying the bills.

Recently in one of my paid roles, I was presented with a situation where I began to question if my ideals are in-line with my employer. This led me to do much soul searching. I realise that no role will be exactly in-line with our ideals, or if it is at the start, the lines can shift over time. So here I sit pondering, if I am being stubborn, idealistic or am I simply being ‘true to myself’... perhaps I am being all three. But alongside that thought is the concern of how do I also ensure that I can pay the mortgage and eat. I ask you, do we change the world, or does the world change us?

So this month’s ‘The bad’… is dedicated to the uncomfortable struggle we face in our ongoing quest for congruence in our lives, between our actions and our ideals.. and the tightrope we walk between staying true to these ideals, finding a compromise and betraying ourselves and selling out.

The ugly:

Media personality Helen Razor once talked very openly about Mr Buzzy, her intimate ‘self-help’ friend… Which reminds me of a sad and in some ways an ugly tale. This is a tale of a man I had recently been seeing and how I inadvertently put myself out of a job.  You see, I was helping out at ‘that store’ again and this guy I was seeing, decided to visit me there. We talked about the products, pointed, giggled, made some jokes and then before you could say ‘batteries included’ I was selling a ‘self-help friend’ to this guy.. to my guy!
After this purchase, I have to say that it was a long time in-between hearing from him and now it seems that I have put myself out of a job! (if I can describe it that way).. Last I heard, he and the 'self-help' friend were very, very happy! So word to the wise.. if you are ‘involved’ with someone, try to avoid selling them ‘self help’ intimacy aides that will only make you obsolete…