This is probably my most random blog title ever (even more than THIS), and I’m sure those who clicked on the link and are now reading may be scratching their heads wondering where I could possibly be going with this. Bear with me.
I’m a member of a pretty awesome movie theater here in Boston called The Coolidge. It’s an independent movie theater that’s like four blocks from my apartment, and it’s not uncommon for me to make a cameo appearance every weekend to check out one of the new releases or to participate in one of their events like a midnight showing of Point Break (I. AM. AN FBI AGENT!!!!), a Lord of the Rings marathon (where freaking Aragorn himself actually showed up to serenade the audience), or a book signing by Kevin Smith.
It’s a pretty baller place and it’s essentially a second home for me.
Now, as you can imagine, it’s not a huge: there are four theaters (one of which is a ten seat screening room), and a small lobby that serves the normal movie theater fair, along with fine wine and booze. Holla!
Because of its size, the Coolidge has an un-spoken rule (kind of like not bunting in the 9th inning to break up a no-hitter) that they don’t start seating people until roughly 10-15 minutes prior to the show starting. Anything earlier and the lobby just becomes one massive clusterf***.
Last week I showed up a little early and was told by the guy accepting tickets to wait outside for a few minutes while the theater was clearing out and so that they could clean. Cool. No problem. It was a gorgeous night out anyways, and I had a book with me to read, so I could easily pass the time.
Another (older, presumably uppity a-hole) gentleman was right behind me, and the tenant mentioned the same thing to him (that he’d have to wait a few minutes……outside), and the guy went off. Like REALLY off.
“The thing is sir, we have a small lobby and it gets crowded as one showing is exiting and others are waiting to get in. Plus, we have concessions that need to be addressed, and it just becomes……”
“Yes I WOULD mind waiting ten minutes,” the guy said, in a “I’m more important than everyone else here” tone.
I was out the door before I could hear the rest of what he said. But in my mind, I couldn’t help but think to myself how freaking uptight and high-strung people are.
Adding fuel to the fire, when one of the staff finally came outside to announce that they were ready to seat everyone, another jerk went off because there was no inherent “order” to how they were letting people it. Essentially everyone was bum rushing the side door and there was no “line” of people waiting to get inside.
Mind you, there were like 40 or so of us waiting to get in, and it was a 400 seat theater. This guy was muttering out loud to anyone who would listen, “this is stupid. Why do they do it like this? I can’t believe this.”
All I wanted to say was,”dude, there are 400 seats. You’re going to get one. Relax.”
But I didn’t. I just chuckled to myself, handed my ticket to the guy, and walked in and got a seat.
For those curious, I saw Arbitrage starring Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon. About a rich dude who’s an a-hole. Ironic given the company I was in.
Good movie, though. I gave it a solid B.
Which parlays very well into the title of this post.
The other night Lisa and I watched the movie We Bought a Zoo – starring my man-crush, and BFF (he just doesn’t know it), Matt Damon.
Based on a true story, in it, Matt’s character’s wife dies (don’t worry, it’s not a spoiler), and as a result he buys a zoo. Literally. Throughout the movie he references his wife and how she was able to enjoy the simple things in life – two examples of which were red kites and blueberry pop-tarts.
It got me thinking: in a world where we’re so caught up in playing 17 different games of Words With Friends or making sure the barista gets our Frappuccino order just right (I said NO FOAM AT THE TOP!!!!!!!!), it’s no wonder we rarely (if ever) see the beauty in life.
Is it really that hard to press the pause button and enjoy some of life’s simple pleasures?
As I’m writing this blog post, CP is empty. I’m sitting here in the lobby on the couch with my feet up on the coffee table listening to some soft ambient music, and I’m perfectly content. To me, this is it. Just doing my own thing, relaxing, and writing to my hearts content – even though it’s something that’s completely not fitness related.
I realize some people prefer ostentatious things like a Ferrari, 55 inch plasma tv screens, or gold plated toilet seats. And that’s cool. But I still argue that it’s the simple things that count.
Things like:
– A perfectly succulent filet mignon cooked medium.
– Watching a red light turn green right as you’re approaching it.
– Hitting a PR in the gym and then giving everyone a high five within a two mile radius.
– Turning back to the channel the instant the commercial break ends.
– Telling someone close to you that you love them, and hearing them say it back.
– Snuggling up with your pet.
– Wearing a snuggie. Don’t worry, I won’t judge.
– Saying “eff it,” and tossing in a set (or ten) of arm curls at the end of your training session.
– Carbs.
– Reading a good book.
– Going to the airport and NOT having your flight delayed.
– Making eye contact with a complete stranger, smiling, and saying “how are you?” Dude, don’t be weird. You can look away now.
– The smell of freshly cut grass.
– Fenway Park. Granted the Red Sox are a walking pile of suck right now, but it’s still a beautiful place to watch a game.
– Sunday afternoon matinees.
– Beef jerky. Or any form of dead animal flesh.
– Coming home after a rough day and taking a loooooooooooooooooooooooong shower.
– Walking into a subway station and having your train be the next one to arrive. Score!
– Caffeine. Is. Glorious.
– A solid 8-9 hours of sleep. Seriously, is there anything better?
– Boobies. Boobies are way better.
– Deadlifts.
– Realizing that with your next purchase that slice of pizza is free because it’s the tenth hole being punched in your “buy ten, get next one free” card.
– Being able to look down and see your wang without a big, ol, gut impeding everything. This one courteous of Eric Cressey.
– Training at a gym that not only allows chalk, but encourages its use.
– And people. People are just cool. Except for Kanye West. He’s kind of a douche.
Those are just a few examples of “simple” things that I enjoy and allow me to realize that life doesn’t necessarily have to be so complicated and full of angst.
Believe me: I know that everything isn’t always puppy dog kisses and rainbows, and sometimes things suck. Like, a lot.
I just feel that if more people took a step back and didn’t take things – or themselves – so seriously, they’d probably see that life is kinda cool and that it shouldn’t resort to complaining about waiting ten minutes for a movie to start.
So with that, if you wouldn’t mind, do me a favor and do two things for me:
1. Share a few things in YOUR life that you enjoy below.
2. Pass this along – share it, like it, whatever it takes. I think this a message that more people need to hear/boobies are really, really awesome.
