to infinity & beyond

Hiya sweet peas, hope you weekend was fabulous! As you saw, Friday was a smashing success, I can tell you that Saturday wasn't too bad either, but Sunday, well, I've had better. I'm still trying to figure out why; there's not really any particular reason for it, nothing completely catastrophic happened at all, (besides the pitiful/painful USA and Mexico losses), just a lot of overwhelming thoughts. Please excuse me as I try to sort 'em out...

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing Toy Story 3 in all of it's three-dimensional glory with two of my friends from high school. I don't want to spoil it for anyone so here's a quick introductory synopsis courtesy of the Wall Street Journal: "Fifteen years after "Toy Story" burst upon the scene as the first full-length animated feature created completely on computers, the third film of the trilogy turns out to be gorgeously joyous and deeply felt. Only the toys are essentially unchanged, albeit scuffed and worn, in a family that's been transformed by the passage of time. Andy, no longer a boy, is college-bound. Buster, no longer a pup, is so old and fat he can hardly walk. Since no one seems to want the toys any more, they find their retirement prospects looking grim until they're consigned to a local day-care center called Sunnyside... Sunnyside provides a perfect place to explore some new ideas, starting with the perils of fidelity versus the benefits of emotional detachment. Woody, Buzz and the others, including a distraught Barbie, have suffered the pain of being cast off by their beloved Andy (though the facts of the case are more complex), but all of the toys at Sunnyside are castoffs and, as one of them says, no owners means no heartbreak."

I loved it, I did, and maybe it's just because I remember being twelve years old and going to see the first one in theaters with my uncle :). But I was also impressed with how closely they stuck with the original themes despite the fact that the story had so thoroughly evolved. As the Wall Street Journal (yes, again, sorry kids), said, "From the start its essential elements were friendship, innocence retained in the face of adversity, and abiding love dramatized with beautiful clarity."

I'd even go as far to say that it was moving, only a bit too much as it struck quite a few emotional chords... and that must be where all the thinking sprung from. For instance, why the hell do I feel the need to take a road trip? It's a great question. Not because I'm second-guessing myself (gosh no, my inner-globetrotter would not be able to handle that excitement-killer) but because I'm trying to figure out what it is I'm trying to run away from, or on the other hand, what exactly I hope to find. That's not to say, of course, that I know those answers.

I finished reading The Lost Girls earlier this week, of which has no doubt contributed to the wonder about my wanders. As I told Ashley in the comments a few posts back, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I love how talented the writers are (no surprise, but still) I love the way the chapters are organized chronologically but with insight into each author, and I love how every single part of their lives is threaded into their travel memoir... because in reality, that's how most life-changing foreign experiences are.

Thoroughly single and independent, with my brilliantly Quirky internship behind me, I will be completely free falling. I'm probably being dramatic when I say this, but I feel as though now every choice I make will influence the rest of my life. And it might, yet I do hope that isn't as threatening as it seems. So, on this grand ol' road trip of mine, I pray that my mind comes upon an inkling of my first career step, that my heart truly heals, and that I am able to have faith in a mapless life.

As one third of the Lost Girl trio, Holly, said at the book's end, "Floating there, I held on to faith. Because you can't know who might cross your path or who will take your breath away. You can't know what friends might actually become sisters because they stayed by your side. You can't know when there'll be an unexpected detour that'll take you to the place where you were always meant to be." And as much as I'd like to say that I can't wait to get there, I cannot let the destination distract me from enjoying the ride for all it's worth--bad days, good days, and all. 

[By the way, the majority of the photos above are from an exquisite dinner I had a few weeks back at Zengo, a Latin-Asian restaurant. Please note that the mojito was not made with the typical rum but with one of the 400 tequilas from La Biblioteca. Best innovative idea ever.] 

Oh and P.S. If all this isn't enough to quiet your own future fears, give my wise little brother's yearbook quote a try, "I'm sick of this phrase, 'the sky's the limit.' One day we're gonna be looking down at the sky and laughing. Be the limit." Okay, I'm done. Promise. See you at infinity.