August 20, 2005

Wu Xia

Wu Xia movies (martial arts swordplay, often with a fantasy element). Why do I like them? Because the flying and fight choreography are graceful and powerful. The costumes, settings, and colors are very expressive. They can be fanciful, historical, imaginative, scary. The themes of honor, friendship, strength, and good vs. evil are universal and inspiring. I am by no means an expert. I only really started watching them after I saw Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. But here are a couple of lists.

My 3 favorite:
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Hero
A Chinese Ghost Story

I did like House of Flying Daggers, but not nearly as much as Hero. I felt the story was not as strong. It was too convoluted, but predictably so. There was an amazing scene in the early part of the movie, though. I would almost buy the DVD just for that. Almost.

I haven’t seen yet, but really want to:
Green Snake
The Bride with White Hair
Iron Monkey
The Shaolin Temple
The Legend

Now this is not a swordplay movie, but Stephen Chow mixes Kung Fu and comedy with genius. Shaolin Soccer had me howling with laughter. The premise is that a group of Kung Fu trained monks form a soccer team and use their special skills on the field. He has a new one that I haven’t seen yet. It’s called Kung Fu Hustle.

I was inspired today because I caught part of “The Art of Action: Martial Arts in Motion Pictures”, a 2002 TV documentary hosted by Samuel L. Jackson.

August 19, 2005

Great News!

My brother-in-law got a contract job upgrading and replacing computers for a large aerospace company. It will last for several months. We are so happy for him. It is a good start and takes some pressure off of him. We went out to dinner tonight to celebrate! I brought half home, which is unusual. I don't usually let being full stop me from finishing everything on my plate when I'm enjoying it. This was an alfredo, so it was very cheesy and rich. I'll enjoy it again tomorrow. Today was the last workshop at WorkSource. They have been a helpful resource and I enjoyed the other job seekers. We had a good group this week and today especially was a lot of fun. I will write more tomorrow, What Not To Wear is starting in 5 minutes.

August 17, 2005

Worship Songs

Today has been busy. We have a new music director at my church and tonight was the first rehearsal of our worship team with the new leader. He is a great musician and I'm so excited. It is also the first time I've been to a mid-week practice in about 8 months because I started teaching evenings in January. The job has been over for a couple of months, but I was so out of the habit that I never started going again. It was also a good time to worship God. I love worship music. The words to several songs especially spoke to me this week. Here are the lyrics to one of them.

Lord Reign In Me
by Brenton Brown, Copyright 1998

Over all the earth
You reign on high
Every mountain stream
Every sunset sky
But my one request
Lord my only aim
Is that You’d reign in me again

Lord reign in me
Reign in Your power
Over all my dreams
In my darkest hour
You are the Lord
Of all I am
So won’t You reign in me again

Over every thought
Over every word
May my life reflect
The beauty of myLord
‘Cause you mean more to me
Than any earthly thing
So won’t You reign in me again

This song is not where I am living every day right now, but it is where I need to be. This song is my prayer. My eyes have been looking down again and I've been too occupied with myself and my concerns. Lord, give me your vision for my days, my week, my life. Take my goals and put them in the correct order. Just like the exercise, I have also gotten lax again about spending time in prayer and studying the Bible. I have been so frustrated because I'm having trouble focusing on what kind of career to focus on and where my skills and temperament fit the best. God, help me to see clearly and give me a vision for a purposeful and satisfying vocation. Take my frustration and cover me in your peace. Thank You!

August 16, 2005

I'm Writing Again.

I have been unable to write anything for the last several days unless it was whiny tripe. I've been feeling discouraged and blah. I'm writing tonight before I go to sleep because I want to get over this bump. It has been over a week since I have exercised. Today I went to another insurance interview. Those seem to be the only companies that are showing any interest. I need to get a focused vision of what I really want to do so that I can take effective steps and know where to look. I guess that is my agenda for this week. My sister has been having a terrible time in Oklahoma. Today we got the news that her car engine is deceased. One good thing happened today. I met a friend and we had a great Thai dinner. I ordered asparagus in a yellow curry (but dry, without the coconut milk) with chicken. It was delicious. We had a great talk about life. She is about my age and also single. We have a lot of things in common as far as challenges and how we feel about things. For example, we both set ages for ourselves to adopt children if we found ourselves still single. I gave myself until 35, she chose 40. I have passed my deadline, but had already changed my mind about volunteering for single parenthood after seeing several friends raise newborns and toddlers. They had husbands as active fathers, but even two people are stretched thin with small children. It truly takes a village. I enjoyed being "Aunty Cheryl" and helping out; I also enjoyed going home. I am totally over that biological clock thing.

One more day until the two-year anniversary of my return from Korea. No specific plans how to mark the occasion.