The Enchanter

A couple of months ago, something kind of strange happened. It was my birthday. A former, casual sort of boyfriend of mine called to see what I was doing and as it happened, I was out with a girlfriend, but the evening was kind of a bust, being the night before Thanksgiving. 

My former casual boyfriend invited me to come to the bar where he was, telling me there was someone he wanted me to meet. Okay. We had nothing better to do. My girlfriend and I went. 

My former casual boyfriend introduced me to a friend of his: a retired English literature teacher. Said former boyfriend knew I was a sucker for intelligence. We listened to music, the four of us, danced, laughed, and went out for breakfast at 1 a.m. like we were still kids. 

So I started casually seeing the retired teacher and two months later, here I am in what appears to be a relationship.

Why?

Because this is not your typical boy. Forgive the following clichés, but they’re true.

This is a once in a lifetime boy whose feathers don’t ruffle, and yet his rivers run deep. He is wise and funny and understanding and caring and he appeared just when I was giving up hope that such a man existed.

He’s not a wine drinker, but I guess you can’t have everything.

So I just wanted to let you know, in case you’ve been following along, that things are looking up.

I have learned one important lesson in the last six months, and that is that life is short and precious and that it is lived one moment at a time. 

I’d rather live those moments with someone who matters to me or live them alone.

I’m happy for the former. 

You can follow me on Twitter: @CeceliaHalbert

"Her" - A Movie Review - Sort Of

Tonight, for a change of pace…  a movie review.  Sort of.

For the first time in my life, I went to a movie by myself tonight. 

That’s not a statement about my current state of affairs (or lack of affairs). It’s more a statement of how little time I have to go to movies, however, it’s interesting that this is the movie I chose to go to alone. Physically alone, anyway. 

I have a long list of films I’d like to see, but I went to see “Her” on the advice of my favorite sommelier, Ivan.

As you may or may not know, “Her” is a story, to put it simply, of a man who falls in love with his intuitive, interactive, intelligent operating system named Samantha.

That’s putting it simply. But it’s not that simple.

Most reviews I read talked about the unnerving possibility that technology could actually reach the all-too-possible point that it does in Spike Jonze’s slightly sci-fi feature. 

That topic, however, has been covered: 2001 A Space Odyssey. Wall-E. Among others.

Personally, I think Spike Jonze is smarter than that. He’s using the technology aspect to take a good hard look at what is important in a relationship and how difficult it is to move on after losing someone you love. He’s exploring the human capacity for love in some pretty unusual circumstances. 

It’s about moving on, moving through and just living. 

As Samantha said, “The past is just a story we tell ourselves.”

And “Her” is a story not to be missed. It’s stunningly beautiful, uncomfortably funny, and incredibly thought-provoking. Go see it.

You can follow me on Twitter: @CeceliaHalbert

The World According to Nicholas Sparks

Upon the insistence of a friend, I watched “Message in a Bottle” today. My friend said it would help me see things from a different perspective. It was a snow day. I have a wretched head cold.   It was on instant Amazon Prime. Sure. Good day to do it. 

My eyes were watery and my nose was running anyway so I probably didn’t go through much more Kleenex than I would have without the movie, but holy crap. That Nicholas Sparks sure knows how to get to a girl.

And I mean - a girl. I’m willing to bet my new guitar that men are not one bit phased by his philosophical-sounding one-liners and quick back and forth exchanges, 

For example:

Him: I don’t want to lose you.

Her: Then don’t. 

I actually used this line once: the “Then don’t” part.  I think Mr. Sparks stole it from me. However, it didn’t have the same pause-for-reflection effect it had in the movie when I used it. I’m pretty sure it pissed off the person to whom it was said. 

You know why? Because by saying such simplistic things, you imply that emotions are simple, that life is simple, that there is a simple and obvious choice and if that choice is not taken, the person not taking it is stupid, selfish, and short-sighted.

Here’s another:

“Choose yesterday or today and stick with it.”

Girls know what he’s talking about and can temper that black or white ultimatum but boys are more literal. Give them that sort of choice and…? Yes. They will be pissed off. Why? Because it’s not that simple.

But girls want it to be that simple. We do. And that’s why we fall for those lines of Nicholas Sparks. That's why we go through half a box of Kleenex watching his movies. That’s why we post Nicholas Sparks memes on Facebook and Twitter. Because we want life to be that simple.

It isn’t.

You can follow me on Twitter: @CeceliaHalbert