About a Boy

 

Family dynamics at holiday gatherings.

 

Even though the holidays are supposed to be a happy time when family can come together happily, for a lot of people, just the opposite happens. In the movie, Will goes to Christmas with Marcus and his mom. After Marcus gets nice gifts from Will and crummy gifts from his family, their holiday turns into an argument between what Will sees as best for Marcus and what his mom sees. The day is almost completely ruined when Will starts to mention a failed suicide attempt, but is interrupted by Marcus who turns the scent light hearted telling his mom about the duck he accidentally killed with a big loaf of stale bread. I feel like this is probably a common occurrence, two or more people in a big argument and someone is left to turn the situation around and make it feel like a holiday again. It's a shame that Marcus is the one who has to bring two adults out of it, but I'm sure that's not the only time a young kid has had to be more mature to keep things from falling apart. Luckily for me, my family is usually more civilized when it comes to holidays, although I have heard of an incident before I was born that I'm sure made things uncomfortable, but that was with extended family. My closer family; parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents are better behaved than the family in this movie.

If...

If I had two new baby sons, I would name one Jack and the other Adrian. I like the name Jack, because it just rolls off the tongue, and if I get mad at him, Jack sounds harsh when yelled. The name Adrian is different. It's a nice name, it really just popped into my head, and I decided I would be okay with naming a kid that. This is really the first time I've ever put much thought into what  I would name my kids, and probably the last for quite a while. Who knows if I would really give them those names when the time comes, but for now, they're fine.

Movies

 

 

My favorite movie at the moment is Hunger Games. It's not very original to like Hunger Games, but it's a movie I can watch over again and not get bored with. I don't really care for westerns, because cowboys and pioneers and things like that don't interest me. Sci fi movies are usually boring for me too, not because they're hard to believe, but because it seems the acting is so bad. The last time I went to the movies was last Friday, and the last time before that was back in June or July, so it's not often. I usually don't get anything to eat or drink during a movie, I don't want to hold a bag of popcorn for two hours and I don't want to have to go to the bathroom in the middle either.

The movie survey told me that I'm 25% extroverted, 75% agreeable, 83% conscientious, 67% emotionally stable and 75% open to new experiences. I scored hightst on nostalga and lowest on catharsis. I'm more of a pleasure seaking movie watcher. If my life story was made into a movie, I don't think it would do well in the box office. I have such an average life, it would just be me goint to school, coming home, eating, sleeping, using the computer, etc.

twelve/two

1. Sydney- Me and my friends have talked about going to Sydney for New Years Eve and how cool it would be to watch the fireworks over the harbor.
2. South Africa- A few years ago, South Africa was the number one spot I wanted to visit. I think I would take my friends Whitney and Jazmine, because a trip with them seems like it would be an interesting experience.
3. Spain- because I've take so many Spanish classes, I feel pretty comfortable going to a country with native speakers. I would take Desiree, because she's at the same Spanish level as I am in school, so she would be helpful, and Carissa, because I think she would be fun to have around on a trip.
4. Rio- I would want to go for the Olympics, but Rio also seems like the kind of place you could have a fun time in, so I would take Allison and let her take a friend (that I choose), because they would keep the trip from getting boring.
5. Rome- Because there's so much history associated with Rome, it would be a fantastic trip. I would take my nephews when they're older. There's really no special reason I would take them, I just think it would be fun.
6. London- London is like New York, one of those cities so unique and famous that you have to see it for yourself sometime. I don't really know who I would take with me, people who could put up with me taking so many pictures of landmarks, I suppose.
7. Paris- I wanted to go there a lot as a kid, and I still think it would be fun. I would bring my grandparents with me, because they'd have to be the ones to pay for it!
8. Dubai- There's so much to see and do in Dubai, so I would take Trevor and Liana, because they seem like two people who would have the energy to go and see everything there is.
9. Hawaii- I think my parents would appreciate a nice trip away from work.
10. Egypt- I would take my uncle and aunt with me, my uncle seems like the kind of person who would appreciate being somewhere so historical.
11.- Mexico- It's a common place for Americans to vacation, I probably wouldn't take the trip there until college, so I would take a couple of friends I meet later on.
12. India- My niece and nephew are both part Indian, so I think it would be an interesting place for them to visit.


Aug. 31, 1997- Princess Diana is killed in a car crash.
Nov. 19, 1997- Second known case of living septuplets born in Des Moines.
Dec. 19, 1997- Titanic becomes the highest grossing film of all time.
Jan. 22, 1998- Unabomber pleads guilty, gets life sentence in prison.
Feb. 7-22, 1998 Winter Olympics held in Japan.
Feb. 22- Massacre in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia starts Kosovo War
May 19, 1998- A satellite fails, leaving 80-90% of Earth's pages without service.
May 28, 1998- Actor Phil Hartman is murdered by wife at 49.
Jun. 25, 1998- Microsoft releases Windows 98.
Aug. 4, 1998- Second Congo War begins, killing 3.9 million in 5 years.
Aug. 7, 1998- US Embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya.
Aug. 17, 1998- Bill Clinton admits to inappropriate relations with Monica Lewinski.

Dan in Real Life

7. Can you know in three days that you love someone?

I think you can get a feeling that you want to stay with them for a long time or that you may eventually fall in love, but I don't know that it can happen in three days. But, because it's never happened to me, I couldn't say 100% one way or another.

10. Dan's family is very involved in getting him to date again. How involved do you think family should be in your relationships? Your involvement in theirs?

They want what's best for you, and want to help you when they see that you need help, but overall, it's not their place to choose what happens in you life.

15. What is something most people don't know about you?

You wouldn't think it, because I'm so quiet, but I can have really bad road rage. I get it from my mom.

22. Dan tells the kids at the abandoned Shack O' Shells that "life is full of disappointment." Do you think that's true? How do you feel with disappointment?

Yes, it's completely true. You don't get everything you want in life and you just have to deal with it. I try not to dwell on it too long, because it can really eat away at you if you let it fester there. You just get frustrated