On Spring, Wuthering Heights, and a Few Personal Things

Long, long ago, before I decided to be more "serious" about personal content production, I used to do a lot of these — freeform life updates full of random thoughts and notes on passing interests.

It occurs to me that I should really try to do that more often.

Especially here, as this is supposed to be an old-school personal blog and a place for followers or passersby to go if they actually want to know a little more about me as a person. As someone who first fell in love with publishing online via LiveJournal, that's something I often miss, as social media just isn't the same for that sort of thing.

So, on that note...

I Finally Got to See Wuthering Heights

And I have to say that I truly don't see why this movie got so much hate. No, it's not a faithful, blow-by-blow adaptation of the original novel or anything, but I never had the impression it was supposed to be.

I saw another blogger describe it as Wuthering Heights fan fiction that a talented, creative teenage girl might have written after reading the novel for the first time, and that seems accurate to me. I almost had the impression that this was Emerald Fennell making the movie she really wanted to make, now that Saltburn actually has her on the map.

I'm here for that idea, especially in support of another female creative, and I genuinely enjoyed the film. In fact, I haven't stopped thinking about it since.

It certainly hit all the notes I really like in a film, especially one I know I'll probably rewatch many times in the future:

• Gorgeous settings, costumes, and atmosphere
• A unique, borderline-surreal take on a story I've gotten to know very well over the years
• Amazing performances from actors I've come to love
• Incredible music and an ambling pace

I put background movies on in my office while I'm working as often (if not more often) than music, so I'm always excited to discover a new favorite.

I shared a few more thoughts on this film over on Facebook not too long ago, and I don't appear to be in the mood to repeat all of them now. But suffice it to say, I really, really liked the film and feel comfortable recommending it to others who don't necessarily need it to be an uber-faithful adaptation of the novel to enjoy it.

See it if you can. It's lovely.

On It Somehow Being Spring

I'm finally starting to understand why my parents always seemed so dismayed by the passage of time when I was growing up. Time moves so quickly once you hit middle age.

I can hardly believe it's actually been a few months since our house cleanout. We've got a lot of our everyday essentials in place by now, including a new washer and dryer. I really need to get to work pulling the rest of the space together, though. There are still a lot of boxes to be unpacked and objects that need permanent homes before all the rooms are ready to enjoy.

Save for a few random hot days, spring has been cloudy and overcast for the most part. In other words, I've mostly had my ideal weather to enjoy so far.

Memorial Day will be here before I know it, which means Cali Roots is coming up quickly. I'm really looking forward to enjoying "music on the wind" season in tandem with a house that's clear, clean, and in the process of becoming a wonderful place to be on every level.

Life is finally starting to feel less hopeless and frustrating overall, and I'm excited to keep making the most of that.

On Becoming Less Personal Online in General

As I mentioned earlier, I've become a lot less "personal" online over the years, and I've been thinking off and on about the reasons:

• I had an e-stalking incident last year that left me very wary of posting much personal about myself, especially photos and that sort of thing. I'm not quite past it yet, even though it was a while ago.
• I've been actively trying to move away from the whole "helpful and approachable" reputation I earned back when AI Revolution was still a thing, and I was in charge of moderating it. That's not at all reflective of the real me, who's actually very introverted and to herself, and I don't want to reinforce it in any way.
• I think I'm just getting old. Because the older I get, the less I seem to care about other people's approval, and the more private I become as a result.

Hence, the targeted effort to try to open up, really share more often, and reconnect with what I used to love so much about publishing online in the first place. So far, so good.