'The Collected E-mails of Charles Dickens'

In my first post (I think), I wrote about how I was blogging against type, for lack of a better phrase, since I'd always kept written journals and have a great love for old books and letters. Well, Jay Leno had a conversation with guest Keanu Reeves last night that was oddly similar to that first blogging effort.

Keanu (who is now 41, believe it or not) was on the show to promote his new movie "The Lake House," which is about two people, his character and a woman played by Sandra Bullock, who write love letters to each other although they're living two years apart in time. So Jay asked Keanu, "In real life, are you a letter guy, or are you an e-mail guy?" To which Keanu replied, "I'm a letter guy." Jay said he was too, and that he preferred letters because they were more real, that when you're sitting and writing a letter, things sometimes flow from your pen that you wouldn't necessarily say in an e-mail. "I think it's because you can go back and edit emails, and correct them instantly," Jay said.

From the way I portray it, it sounds like they were having a really serious conversation, and to an extent, they were, but it was done in fun as well. I particularly liked Jay's comment about the permenance of letters. He said, "I don't think we'll ever see 'The Collected E-mails of Charles Dickens.'" And isn't that the truth....very few people save emails, or print them out for safe-keeping like they do treasured letters.

I actually wrote an honest-to-goodness letter yesterday. My brother Ethan is at Air Force ROTC field training in South Dakota right now, and as a cadet there, he's not allowed access to the telephone or e-mail (it's a distraction, apparently). He can, however, receive letters. So I wrote and mailed him a newsy one yesterday about different family things that have been going on since he left, results of some of the early World Cup matches and the minutiae going on in my own life at the moment. And now that I think about it, it's actually the first letter I think I've ever written to my youngest brother (birthday cards don't count). And while I know the content isn't exceptionally compelling, I think he'll save it. That's just the type of guy he is.

I think that's something you should do; save letters, I mean. It takes much more time and effort to write a letter than it does to type an e-mail. People put elements of themselves into letters, and like Jay said last night (although I really don't think he was trying to be as profound as this came out), you do sometimes say things beyond your original intent. Unlike an e-mail, you can't erase what you've written completely, either. I think letters are just more honest.

And will I go see "The Lake House?" Hmm, I'm not sure. While the idea is compelling, it might just be one I check out as a rental.

Lean not on your own understanding

Without a doubt, one of the biggest faith challenges I have is giving up control and trusting in God, especially when it comes to money troubles or relationships (or a lack thereof...tho' I'm trying to convince myself that I'm too old to be worrying about boys...or I should refer to them as men now?).

Lately it's been a shortage of funds, and the only thing I've been doing for the last few days is to try my best to trust in His will and pray for the ability to trust more completely....because otherwise I'd get myself so worked up and stressed it would do me more harm than good.

And today, of course, everything has worked out and revealed itself to be prefectly fine. I feel gloriously free and I'm oh-so-grateful. But I have this sense that it's almost like God's up there laughing good-naturedly at me, saying "I told you so, didn't I? Come on Anne, when are you gonna learn to really give it up to me?" :)

Ok, ok, I get it, and I think the trust thing is slowly but surely working its way through my thick skull. Now if we could only get this guy-thing straightened out...... :)

Memories are made of....what exactly?

Well, I hardly intended it to be close to a year between posts, but frankly, I had practically forgotten I had this blog. Oh, it was there in the back my my mind somewhere, hidden away in some corner gathering dust, but by and large abandoned. So much so that I had to send myself a reminder email to recall my password!

What's funny, though, was reading the several posts I had left here and recalling how I felt writing them. I think I captured the cyclonic giddiness of my trip to Hawaii pretty well, looking back on it now. It was such a joyful trip, and I found myself laughing as I read my "Listing" post....I really could have left so many things out of my suitcases!

What prompted my return to blogdom? I was on my friend Joy's site, checking out pics of her son, and she had posted some pictures of her younger brother going to prom. He goes to the same high school we went to, and his prom is someplace glamerous, like Disney. When we were in school we had to stay in the county; no mean feat to find a decent venue in Polk County, Florida, I might add. So I posted a reply to her comment, trying to remember where our senior prom was....I probably have the ticket someplace, but honestly, it's only been 10 years. It's too early to be losing my memory, right?

Anyway, so much has changed in in the nine months since I posted last. I've moved and have a new job. I'm still writing, only full-time now for a daily newspaper, and consider myself so blessed to be doing something I love everyday. Sure, it's not the highest-paying gig, but I would rather love my work and be underpaid than be over-paid and miserable any day.

One of the reasons I started this blog (having looked back at my old posts) was to keep writing creatively, or at least somewhat artistically, on a regular basis. Well obviously I haven't kept up with that lately. But the intent is still there. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever write those books and essays that are occupying space in my brain (filed in a less cluttered corner than my blogger password), especially since I spend a large portion of my day at work writing? I hope that I will. In fact, just last night, actually, I sat here in my office at home and made some progress on a fairy tale I'd begun two weekends ago, a story inspired by my goddaughter, Nora, who when I visited her recently in Tallahassee, prefered to be awake than asleep.

Speaking of fairy tales, I wish I could remember the ones I used to make up for these two little girls I babysat for in high school (who are now both taller than me. One is even in college!). I would make them up as I went along while I was putting the girls to bed. The stories were probably rambling things that meandered through other tales I'd read, but I remember them being pretty good, even if they were made up on the spot. :)