Little Tuesday Dance of Joy

[talktooloose]

After an incredible retreat weekend with fellow soul searchers and dear ones in Syracuse, I came in to work and had my only worry in the world (other than global warming, arm pain, time management) alleviated. The President is happy with the company's new website which is set to launch Friday. Knowing him, it was possible that after all our work, he'd suddenly have a major new vision today. But no.

*does dance*

Really, this past weekend was awesome. It was a small gathering but there was incredible will to make things happen and everyone was really brave. That meant the workshops went deep and the learning was real. In one workshop, we reflected on events or people that had been pivotal in shaping our present. As I thought about it, I realized how much of my life I have stopped remembering, imagining that somehow I've always been who I am now and that it didn't take a lot of work and support.

Another workshop involved pairing off (in ever rotating pairs until you had been with everyone) and telling the other person in the pair what it is you value about them and how you think they contribute to community. While hearing praise about yourself, you could not comment. I find it very hard to listen to people praise me, but I'm learning to take it! I'm tough!

I reconnected with a guy I knew who has moved to Portland and now I can really say I have a new friend in the world and a new role model in many ways. Now I have four reasons to visit Portland including 33mhz and nekidwhiteboy.

We kidnapped nyahnyahnyah, who was also one of the participants, and dragged her back to Toronto over her strong objections and she is here for a week. Come out and play with her while I'm at work.

We watched Transamerica last night and I was quite impressed. However, the movie needed one extra beat at the end that it was missing.

I was very impressed with the fact that the movie didn't pull punches around the difficulty of Bri's course or how much she wanted to find any solution at the beginning other than actually taking Toby on as part of her life.

Toby's sexuality was handled very realistically and was a source of surprises, including the scene where he secretly turned a trick to get them money and especially the scene where he came on to Bri. To my inexperienced eye, his behaviour seemed consistent with his past history of sexual abuse. He believed, in that moment, that that was the appropriate way of making a commitment to her.

And that's my one problem with the movie. The last scene, where they are reunited, was a little too cozy and seemed to point to an "odd-couple" kind of relationship in the future. A bit goofy and freaky, but really okay. Instead, I think the movie needed to take seriously that there was some very difficult shit ahead in Toby's road to healing and that Bri herself had a lot of work to do to find her own path. The fact that they now had each other was extremely important for both of them, but I think it was important to make it clear that things were not going to be so easy.

Acting and directing kudos all around.

Comments

[lux-apollo.livejournal.com]

Still really need to see that movie.

[talktooloose.livejournal.com]

It's one of those movies I expected to be too Hollywoody until I saw it. I thought people's internal contradictions were really believeable and I seriously forgot that I was watching a woman playing a man transitioning to a woman.

Nice userpic.

[lux-apollo.livejournal.com]

Why thank you. Though, this morning afternoon I feel more like this one.

[nekidwhiteboy.livejournal.com]

Yay, come visit Portland! :D

[strumquill.livejournal.com]

let me know when you go, I have a reason to go down there as well, besided meeting you in a city I haven't been in before - his name is Cliffy of the CDP Podcast on iTunes.

Um, I'm assuming Oregon, are you talking of the same?

Cody