In the wake of a busy day of Waxy.org Links, my friend Andy wondered why he tends to post more links on Tuesdays than he does on other days of the week. I can think of a few simple reasons for this.
In May of 2003, while I was living with Andrew and Joshua in Sherman Oaks and keeping myself busy with web design projects, I sent a message to a girl on Friendster. The girl had dark hair, good taste in music and media (to me, anyway - The Muppets, Twin Peaks, and Interpol), a fondness for photobooths and a whimsical profile. In my message I tried to charm her with phrases like, "I made two cups of tea this morning" and "I would like to ask you out on a date." Much to my delight, she wrote me back.
After a few days of messaging, Jenny and I spoke on the phone. We made each other laugh. I told her that she "sounded tall", and she told me that I was right. (Tall people sound different, I explained.) There was a full moon out during our first date; we went to The Standard Hotel in downtown L.A. to take new photobooth shots for her collection. We giggled and went to Swingers on Beverly Blvd for food. Jenny ordered an ostrich burger, and I ordered apple pie. We kissed in the back of her gold Honda Civic coupe. It was a little cramped.
In anticipation of the forthcoming movies, I've been re-reading The Chronicles of Narnia, the beautiful series C.S. Lewis wrote following World War II. I first read all seven books in 4th grade, and I'm now reading them again in that same order - the order in which they were originally written, not the chronological re-order that modern publishers insist upon.
Re-reading childhood stories has a two-fold power for me. There's the nostalgic layer: I rediscover the excitement I felt when I first read the books; I'm reminded of moments when I empathized strongly with certain characters, tough spots in the narrative that I didn't understand. And I've discovered that the mental images and maps I made of the people and lands that Lewis describes have remained unchanged for the 18 years.
At the same time, there's the meta layer: my adult self gets to analyze the flow of the story, consider the author's writing style and technique (I had no English degree in 4th grade - each book paints a truly rich narrative in a short space), hunt for the Christian symbolism, and consider the challenges of writing for children.
Most impressively, it's a privilege to look back and understand why 9-year-old me loved the books, why I was drawn to certain parts of the stories more than others, and what made reading a treat for me as a boy. I still laugh at the samelines of dialogue, still like certain passages the best.
You know what's dumb? Not eating a proper breakfast, that's what. Jenny and I went grocery shopping last night, so there were plenty of eats this morning. I at a bowl of cereal, some fruit, a cup of tea and a powerbar, and I feel more awake and focused at work than I have in months. I don't remember sleeping that well, either. It's a reminder that I when the alarm hits I should jump out of bed, eat a bunch of healthy stuff, and get out of the aparment ASAP to get my day going.
Sixfoot6.com presents expermients in writing, design, photography, and hypertext. This weblog entry was posted by Ryan, the site's author.