CCXCV: Julie & Julia

I'm in the midst of a lazy sick day at home and had the sudden urge to watch a movie that has been sitting in my PVR for a couple of months: Julie & Julia. It didn't appeal to me when the trailers were on TV or when Meryl Streep was nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of Julia Child, and it's not like I had a certain desire to be exposed to copious amounts of delicious French cuisine visually rather than with my nose or taste buds (it's kind of a self-punishment, is it not?), but I must say, with 45 minutes left of the film to go, I am quite taken by it; and I don't know whether it's hormonal or a nod to Ms. Streep's fine acting, but I found myself teary-eyed and delighted by some of her scenes.

I've been finding some personal parallels with Julie Powell who wrote a blog based on her one-year Julia Child-inspired culinary project. For starters, she blogs every day. So do I. And she has a cat. Me too! And her blogging has taken a toll on her relationship with her husband. Well, if Sleep were my husband I could claim the very same thing!

Then there's her whole attitude about blogging and the happiness that a goal and deadline bring her, along with support from her readers (thanks, friends!). The ultimate gift of blogging is not the number of comments one receives (though this can often seem to be a personal gauge for success), but rather it is that through writing to the unknown, you are in fact building a bridge to self-knowledge, and it is one's hope that others can relate to one or more of your experiences as well.

I didn't start reading blogs until I started writing one, and if you were to count how many I do read, it wouldn't be more than the number of fingers on my hand. But of the few that I follow, I enjoy them each immensely for different reasons--whether it's to see the creative growth of a friend or the amusing and very real life of a stranger, I feel connected to them both and have made them a part of my daily rituals.

So yes, I am enjoying the movie and my Project 356. If there's one lesson you should take from reading my blog, it is that you should have low expectations. That way you will always be pleasantly surprised!