A New Experience

A week or two ago, I wanted to see Rachel Getting Married and whined my husband into going with me on one of our shared "the stars have aligned" days off. This movie wasn't widely released, but he tracked down a theater fairly close to us that advertised "bargain rates" in the afternoon, so we went for the 2:00 show.

First thing: their movie posters are not paper movie posters- they are snazzy screens that change over every few seconds. And just inside the doors, past the ticket desk, is a beautiful glowing bar. It felt like walking into a swanky hotel or something.

And then we discovered that "bargain rates" = $9/ticket. WHAT? In what universe is that a bargain? And then the guy asked if we wanted to upgrade to VIP seating for an additional $3 each. My husband says, in all seriousness, "so why would I want to upgrade to VIP seating?" The guy gives him a look like, "are you mocking me? Because this is my job, and my boss is somewhere behind me so I have to offer you this nonsense." And my husband says, "no seriously, why is VIP seating so great?" So the kid mumbles something about bigger seats, and a server serving right up until the movie starts, and we say no thanks and move on.

A mere 20 feet away, we come across a broad, curved wall with these magical words: "COMPLIMENTARY POPCORN". Really. The pop and popcorn were FREE. And there, my friends, was the bargain. If you were planning on buying popcorn anyway, you'd totally break even. And then, inside the theater, we walked past the VIP section (very clearly marked), sat one row behind it, and gazed longingly at those cushy recliners with their wee beverage tables. It's like walking through business class on an international flight on the way to your half-the-size seat in coach. And you just know those suckers in business class FULLY recline for a restful trip, while you will most likely have the head of the guy in front of you right under your nose for 6 1/2 hours when he reclines his seat before takeoff.

All I'm saying is, the next time you come to Denver, we will go. And we most definitely will sit in the VIP section and sip cocktails (probably not so free) and stuff ourselves with complimentary popcorn.

Can it be true?!

Just scroll down a little to the video.

p.s. we are in East Texas and the food is unhealthy and delicious, and the air is sweet and thunderstormy.

a mere observation

After watching several months' worth of political media coverage, it's incredible to me just how many people seem to invest their money, time, hearts, and souls in a political figure. Any political figure. In a time where "religion" is deemed archaic and outdated, there is little left to place all one's hope in besides a politician, and sometimes that politician becomes a religion. This is heartbreaking to me- I can't imagine focusing all my hopes and dreams on a fallible human being who claims he or she meet all your expectations, but cannot be depended on to actually do so. Jesus is my only hope. Life is so bleak otherwise, and no politician, government, nonprofit organization, rock star, or celebrity is going to save us.

In a similar vein: have you ever been to a concert that feels something akin to a worship service? When a group of people who all love a band or an artist come together to just enjoy the experience, that mass of individuals can so easily become one entity. Concerts like that are mostly emotional, but sometimes spiritual, while worship should ideally be always spiritual, regardless of one's personal emotion. Often, it seems, the emotional and the spiritual blend and separate, and spring up in unexpected places. Does that make sense?