Seven

Seven years ago today, I was not in a good way.

I was upset over a boy (isn't that just typical?). I was 17 with low self-esteem that had been pushed even lower by rejection. Not even face to face rejection, but pure ignoring and avoidance. I was in need of alcohol and a good friend, and that is exactly what I got.

Lana dtagged me out of my res room, dressed me up in what must have been a nice, but is now completely forgettable outfit, and together we missioned from the top of the hill down to the Old Gaol. The place was packed. Bodies crammed together in the tight space leaving a little room at the front in anticipation of a mosh pit, and I distinctly remember the telltale scent of sweat and smoke that lingered at a lot of the events in my first year. I also remember praying that the heavens wouldn't open up on us, since we were completely out in the open. At the same time, that would probably have helped cool us all down and get rid of the smell.

Lana found us an old mattress that we pushed up against the back wall. From there, we could hear the music and escape the crowds. We were quickly joined by others, most of whom Lana knew, one of whom she didn't.

"Do you mind," he asked gesturing to the space beside me.
I smiled and nodded and turned back to my conversation.
"Puffy." He held his hand out towards me, and I shook it wondering what kind of person I had just come across. Who has a nickname like Puffy anyway?
"Lara," I replied shaking the outstretched hand. The shake lingered a little. It made me smile, and he just grinned back.

To be honest, I can't recall most of what was said that night, and I don't remember much of the music either. I do remember the scent of smoke becoming too much for me to handle, considering that I was trying to stop myself from smoking at the time. I bummed one off the closest smoker to me, which just happened to be Puffy. It got us chatting. Nothing like a cigarette to really start up a conversation.

Before I knew it, we were taking over the mattress. I was young, he was cute and I was out to have fun and forget about a guy. I suppose you could say that it was rebound, but rebound involves having a relationship, which thanks to the rejection was not something that I knew anything about. We spent the night bouncing around, dancing to Breach, heading to Friar's so that I could meet one of the bouncers and coming back to the Gaol to finish back where we started. I found Lana and was about ready to go, and he asked for my number. I gave it to him without a thought, and he must have thought that I had rattled it off a little too quickly.

"You're not giving me a fake number now, are you?"
"Of course not!"
He pulled out his phone and dialed just to double check, and sure enough the phone started ringing.
"Good! Now you have no excuse."

He left it at that, and I thought that was going to be it. One night of fun and nothing more. But when my phone rang the next day, I didn't think twice about answering it.
"I want to see you."

And so it began. From "rebound" to requited, my world began to change for the better. We saw each other almost every day for the first 3 months, what with living less than 5 minutes walk apart and all. Even when he moved further away and the walk became half an hour, we were practically inseparable. And now, 7 years down the line, here we are. Having just as much fun as that first night that we met (or I am at least) and knowing that this is just the beginning.

I love you, Grant. Happy 7 year anniversary.

Movie Review: The Princess Bride

I have always loved Princess Bride. I cannot remember the first time I saw it, probably because I was too young to remember, but it stuck in my mind for years afterwards and I have watched it many times in the last few years.

So why do I love it so much? Well, it has everything that you need in a movie – romance, comedy, action and adventure – and it does them all so well. Even though it was made in the 80s and the effects are absolutely terrible, the storyline makes up for it.

The movie starts off with a young boy sick at home playing videogames. His grandfather comes to pay him a visit and brings with a book (The Princess Bride) that his father used to read to him when he was sick. Begrudgingly the boy agrees to listen, complaining at points about how it sounds like just a gushy romance. But before long, the boy is captivated by the story and so is the audience. The story is about a beautiful woman and the farmboy who she falls in love with. The farmboy, Wesley, leaves to find his fortune early on and is kidnapped and killed by the dread pirate Roberts. The woman, Buttercup, pines over him for five years before agreeing to marry the prince of the country, Prince Humperdink. A few days before the wedding, she is kidnapped by a group of ruffians who want to start a war between two countries. What they don’t realise is that the dread pirate Roberts is on their tail and wants Buttercup for himself.

A few weeks ago we realised that two of our friends (Mike and Vicky) had never seen the movie, and so we invited them and Tom and Danika around to watch. Being the adults that we all are, we also decided to make the movie a little more fun by adding a drinking game to it. The rules of the game (similar to the rules of any other movie drinking game) are that when a character in the movie says a specific line, you need to drink. Some of the lines for Princess Bride include (but are not limited to) the following:

Buttercup
Farmboy
As you wish
Humperdink (the prince)
Boo
Inconceivable
Man in Black
My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.
True Love
Rodents of Unusual Size

You will find yourself drinking a lot in the beginning and at certain points throughout the movie (at some point, a witch says boo something like 15 times in quick succession). Of course, it’s up to you how much you drink and when, but these are just some guidelines if you feel like watching the movie with a group of friends and playing along.

Either way, drunk or sober, I give the Princess Bride 5/5 as a movie. It has got everything that you need and, even though it is a little bit dated, it is still a lot of fun to watch.

Life

I feel like I have aged over the last two weeks. There has been so much going on, not necessarily in my life, but in proximity to my life that is making me feel older than I actually am. Of course, there are factors that influence this - instead of being surprised to hear that I am as old as 23, as people used to be, they are now surprised to hear that I am as young as 23. That more than anything makes me feel like I am getting older, at least in the looks department. My style has certainly changed (at least during the week) in that I no longer wear a t-shirt and jeans to work, or if I do it is at least a sharp looking shirt or a t-shirt with smarter pants or a skirt. I have also taken to wearing dresses a lot more often, possibly because they are fitting me better than my t-shirts at the moment. A story for another day.

No, the reason why I feel like I have aged is that life is moving forward for those around me in both good and bad ways. There are some things that I am going to discuss that may feel very personal, and I apologise to my friends about that and will not use their real names to ensure their anonymity, but feel like I need to talk about the things that are on my mind.

It feels like there has been a lot of death recently. Some of the deaths are people that I have no connection to but affect me because of the pure sadness of the situation. One example of this is the death of Jamey Rodemeyer. I don't know how I came across his story, but it stuck out and is something that I have been thinking of a lot recently. A few months before his suicide, Jamey had taken part in the "It Gets Better" campaign, a campaign in support of LGBT teenagers that was formed due to the large numbers of suicides in America over the last few years. He spoke about how he truly believed that it gets better, that the support of family and friends overcomes the bullying that is experienced, that being proud of who you are will give you the strength to overcome the obstacles. I watched his video knowing the outcome, and it just absolutely broke my heart. The video can be seen here, and a tribute that was performed for Jamey by his idol, Lady Gaga, can be found here.

Then there are the deaths that have been slightly closer to home, like finding out on Tuesday that a friend's boyfriend had been murdered, brutally, in what was seen to be a hate crime. He was found naked, bound and gagged in his home, and even though my friend had only been dating him for a short amount of time, it really hit home just how horrifying the situation is. There is no doubt that, had I read about the incident without knowing someone involved, I would have been disgusted,  appalled and horrified, but it made it so much worse that my friend was suffering through the situation on his own, and most of all that I couldn't be with him in his time of need.

Still reeling from this knowledge, I found out later in the week that a friend's mother had passed away. I was utterly shocked to hear about it, to hear that it had been from a disease (an e-coli infection) that I recently had and that it had affected her so badly. And what struck me even more is that life goes on. It seems amazingly obvious, and yet, if I was in the same situation, I don't know how I would react. I don't know what I would be feeling, or experiencing, or thinking. But life goes on. You do keep feeling and thinking and experiencing and you have to get out and do the same things as you always did. You go on with your life, trying to remember that person who passed away as best as you can and in the best light that you can and you move on. Whether that takes weeks or months or years, I don't know. But it happens.

And in the midst of all the bad comes the good. There are weddings and celebrations of love. There are new years to bring in and good wishes to be sent to every family member and friend. New life is being brought into this world by those same beloved family members. And you have to remember that, while there is so much sadness in this world, there is also so much joy, and while you should remember those people that have passed, while you should feel sorrow and pain and sympathy, you should also celebrate every joyful opportunity that comes your way. And I intend to do just that.

So, while my deepest sympathies go out to the families and friends who are going through tough times, my heartfelt joy is going out to those with celebrations on the horizon and lives that are just beginning in all senses of the word.