John Hughes Movie Marathon

Owing to a hectic day at work followed by a farewell happy hour for our intern, I didn't find out about John Hughes until I got home last night, and I spent the next few hours realizing just how much of an impact his movies had on my teen years.

When I was younger, people often told me I looked like Molly Ringwald, who was already one of my favorite stars. As a result, I spent even more hours watching her and wishing I really did look like her. For an uncoordinated, brace-faced, bespectacled teenager, the fact that people thought I bore any resemblance to a movie star was like a ray of light in my otherwise awkward existence.

Pretty in Pink has always been my favorite John Hughes movie. Duckie Dale was the boy I hoped was coming to sweep me off my feet. Everything about him was perfect - he had his own style, he didn't care what other people thought, he was funny and cute, and most importantly, he was unendingly loyal to Andie, Ringwald's character in the movie.

The wrongness of the fact that she ended up with Blane at the end of the movie is another post for another day.

John Hughes' movies transported me. I never got tired of watching them, because each one gave me a different way of looking at things. Sixteen Candles gave me hope that, no matter how improbably, there was a Jake Ryan out there for me. The Breakfast Club made me realize that, no matter how different we all were, we were all fighting our own battles.

John Hughes hasn't been a part of Hollywood for some time now, but his movies still resonate. I came home today and watched Pretty in Pink, feeling so grateful that there was a John Hughes, who let me know that I wasn't the only awkward teenager out there trying to figure out how life was supposed to work. It's still nice to know that there was someone out there who understood. He's certainly gone too soon, but the outpouring I've seen so far just proves that the legacy he left won't just fade away.

Blog Resurrection and My New Resolve

I have this blog just sitting here waiting for me, and a lot has happened since the last time I had anything to say. New job, new apartment, even a new cat has been added to the mix.

Yet somehow, whenever I sit down to write, I feel like I have nothing to say. I mean, does anyone really want to hear about how hard it is for me to get up off the sofa and do things? How we’ve been in the new apartment for over three months and I still haven’t finished unpacking the bedroom? How I lost 40 pounds only to lose my motivation and start gaining it back?

And then I realized something. It doesn’t matter if anyone wants to hear it, because no one is reading this blog anyway.

So here I am.

We’re closing in our Disney trip – just over 3 months to go. We started planning this trip as soon as we got home from the last one in September of 2008. That was also when A and I started Weight Watchers together. We both dropped about 35 pounds in short order, and we decided that we would run the Expedition Everest Challenge on our next trip.

So it’s frustrating just how far off the wagon I’ve fallen since then. I was doing pretty well up until our move. Losing consistently, watching my food, trying to be conscious of why I was eating instead of just stuffing my face every time the urge overcame me. Then we moved, and although our new place is a hundred times better than the old one (dishwasher! washer/dryer! driveway!) we also moved away from the gym that I had gotten accustomed to.

It was easy from that point to skip Weight Watchers meetings and keep telling myself that it was okay, because I’d get back to it eventually. But really, it’s not okay, and I know that.

It’s time. New resolve.

I’ve done some jogging on and off recently, but I don’t have a routine like I used to. Last week we went and joined the Y. We have a book that lays out a three month training program for running a 5K, so I know that we can pull it off, but I have to start now. My husband is definitely in better shape than I am, so he’ll be able to get back up to speed faster.

The biggest thing for me – and part of the reason I so desperately need to get back into a routine – is that I don’t want to feel like I’m dying while walking around Disney. The photos from our last Disney trip were a serious wakeup call. I was the heaviest I’ve ever been. I was really uncomfortable walking around, and I got winded really easily, and I barely fit in the airplane seat.

And honestly? I LOOKED uncomfortable and winded. And sweaty. And I realized then, and still know now, that I really need to take care of myself, and that I’m not happy being this weight. I need to do something.

So tonight I’ll go and start training again. And I’m hopping back on the food wagon. And I’ll just have to take it from there.