I’ve recently been in a strange foggy funk – an alternate universe – where the things that always make me happy instead elicit no joy. When my joy past times (watching movies, discovering new music, reading pulp novels, exercising, eating chocolate, planning the weekends, wearing cute clothes) stop producing joy, I start to shrink, a literal shriveling up process. I feel like I’m losing my mind.
It started with yoga class. Just as I felt like I was actually getting more flexible and building strength, actually improving, I walked into class and there was a young and flexible-looking girl IN MY USUAL SPOT. I had never seen her before and she just stared at me – probably because I was staring at her with anger/resentment/curiosity all over my face. I’m not even PMS-ing, I was just supremely irritated that my spot was taken. I flopped my mat down a few feet from her. The whole yoga thing is new to me and I love it, I finally get the whole mind/body breath/focus thing. I feel great afterwards. But since it’s new to me, I’m still forming my “safe place” mentality and part of that mentality requires that I have a specific spot to do it in – I’m visual and kinda territorial, so my spot is very important. Class starts and my mind is all over the place, can’t focus, can’t breath into the stretch. F*ck!!!! As I creak and twitch into a pose, one that requires that I turn my head basically backwards, I spot HER and she’s easily twisted into the pose like nobody’s business. It’s not enough that she takes my spot, she’s also yoga-advanced? Come on. I would have easily forgiven her if she was a novice like me. I couldn’t shake it the whole class. I have a long way to go, I realize, before I get to yoga nirvana.
When I get home and flop onto the couch, I just stare at the mini pile of Netflix envelopes and I have no interest. The last few nights have just slithered away, no focus and no fun. Consequently, I become a class-A bitch to live with, I’m sure. Last night it was just too hard to do anything other than cram some anonymous food into my weary mouth and climb into bed in a ball. It was a Thursday for Christ’s sake, that’s one of my favorite days of the week usually. I’d really like the fog to clear soon. Am I the only one who unexpectedly gets pinned to the floor like this out of nowhere? Just as everything eventually does, this too shall pass.
In the meantime, here are some quirky romantic movies that I really liked when I wasn’t feeling this way.
And as a bonus, if you haven’t yet checked out Mr. Cranky's Movie Reviews website, please do so. His reviews are usually scathing – he measures movies by how bad they are – and rarely gives a glow(er)ing review to anything, but when he does, you really know it’s worth seeing. The site is a little tricky to navigate but always cheers me up.