mad & hot

Ezer and I watched Mad Hot Ballroom (it was a mad, hot day), a documentary about New York school kids who learn ballroom and compete in a city-wide competition. Overall I thought it was just okay, although a few of the kids were cute, it made me want to dance, and I recognized my old salsa teacher who worked with one of the schools (Rodney at PS 115 if anyone sees it).

Another Mad/Hot movie I watched (summer, don't you love it?) was When We Were Kings, the Oscar-winning documentary on the fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in 1974 in Zaire, "The Rumble in the Jungle." It was really good - what a brilliant mind game Ali (the underdog) played on Foreman (younger, stronger) and what a charismatic guy he was. Foreman sadly fell into a two-year depression after the defeat and re-invented himself into the affable guy he is today. It was interesting how even small things caused the nationals to side with Ali versus Foreman. For example, Foreman brought his German Shepherd with him, which reminded the people of Zaire of their former oppressors, the Dutch, and their police dogs.

Weekend recap: grocery shopping, laundry, cooking, putting up flyers for the couples study I'm running, friends from FCBC stayed over, the offering music Sunday was amazing (so lucky having Julliard students at Emmanuel),had a really long missions meeting, and really lazy Sunday afternoon. When I was walking back in the rain from Fairway, with a full backpack and carrying four more bags (overambitious), I realized that even though I might have a heart attack before I made it home, I didn't mind. Because someone has to get the groceries and because I love Ezer. Odd thought? I bet parents feel that way a lot.

This weekend I also had a chance to catch up a bit with my youngest sister, she's six years younger. She shared that the past couple of years (since college) have been hard, that she's had to do a lot of things she's never done before, had to grow up, had to have self agency (she's a fellow psych person)or things would never change. I would agree that that's one of the hardest challenges. If you don't purposefully do something, your life continues on the same path, if only because of momentum. That's why when I was dissatisfied at USC I decided to apply to PhD programs in social psych. I guess to me, sometimes it's better to make a change and take a risk, even if it doesn't work out, than to remain in an unsatisfactory, stable state. Of course, that doesn't always mean you have to change careers and move across the country. :) Some would even say that I embrace change for its own sake.

I put my dissertation proposal in my advisor's mailbox today so she can read it before we meet. Always nice to feel like something has been accomplished!