Sometimes The Juice Is Worth The Squeeze

Ever wonder if something is worth the effort? Of course you have, you wouldn't be alive otherwise.

I've been dealing with a few varied things lately--a pretty girl, my thesis, writing Mind & Machine, undue stresses at work. I told myself yesterday that I had to find a way to relax before Monday or I would absolutely go insane. My way of accomplishing this: watching the movie The Girl Next Door.

Surprisingly great movie. It's got some of the most absurd laughs ever in a movie. More than that, it has a serious dark side that lets to story grow in ways that a coming-of-age comedy usually wouldn't have. It's also a really good modern example of the Joseph Campbell's Cycle of the Hero. And it's a story about a guy who has big dreams finds the right girl, even though he has to confront "moral fiber" in order to be with her; a character I can obviously relate to.

Other news, I found a good beat to write on for Mind & Machine. I've been wanting to explore the tension of Commander and Kathryn's mental interaction in a physical scene (rather than trying to describe a dreamscape or an astral plane). I realized one of the key weaknesses Kathryn has in this story is her relationship with a man named James. I wanted to give her a good man to date, someone who would make the world a better place, if only by example. Kathryn, in the new scene, has just seen James' picture for the first time after going through her book-long ordeal and comes to understand not only what she's lost, but one of the causes for that loss.

Tomorrow should be fun. I gave myself two options. Option one is to ask the previously-mentioned pretty girl to go to lunch with me sometime. Option two is to have someone beat the shit out of me. Hopefully, I'll choose option one. After all, I think the juice is worth the squeeze. (If you've seen The Girl Next Door, you'll understand that line.)