It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times

I had a great day today. I marked it in my datebook.

All year I’ve pencilled a smiley face on dates I’ve enjoyed a good day or night. Usually, these kiddish evaluations accompany a dinner, picnic, movie or celebration I’d been counting down the days to. Or, it might be attributed to unplanned catharsis, discovery or productivity. Other cases, it’s unaccounted for and your guess is as good as mine.

My great Sunday began at 7.21am (I once read this is the best time to wake up of a morning) with a bright, blue sky and bowl of fruit salad. Leisurely reading, learner driving and sun-safe jogging until a shower before lunch. I was treated to a couple of movies at Brisbane International Film Festival as well as a chai latte, and had happy and unexpected meetings with friends. I spilt peach juice in my bag, waited 40 minutes on printing in Office works and was perturbed by a stabby-safety-pin train traveller. But who can complain when there’s ice cream and Beach House in the world?

 A big part of my day’s fulfilment came from good company. Here’s a little musing on friendship.

Remember there are lots and lots of little things (texts, notes, doodles, chuckles, outings, whispers, hugs, smiling glances and fond thank-yous) that we forget. These little wonders come and go in an instant; they’re archived, recycled and replaced in a blip; soaped and scrubbed clean in the shower; they fall behind furniture and get left on the bus; they’re motions so shameless they allude to trust, so predictable they affirm comfort and sincerity; they’re content silences, half-spoken but well-understood sentences, ironic-turned-instinctive kisses; they’re dunced by grand gestures, less photographed than special occasions, preambles to lifelong personal jokes. Insignificant and everyday things, but they still make up the friendship – signifying, if not rendering them dear, special and life-altering. Although we couldn’t possibly access each one of these minute memories, we carry them with us secretly and subconsciously . Because I’m feeling corny, I offer an analogy: the little things are like the stitch work that turn patches of sharing and fun into blankets of love.

It’s pretty well the time of year to reflect on personal accomplishments and resolutions. My year has been aimless, anguished and mediocre. But those smiley faces are all over my datebook. Some coloured, some with mouths agape, some as neon suns. It’s a simple way to remember there are many happy days and treasured things in my life, even if I can’t remember what they were exactly.

BIFF Films:

Take Shelter (dir Jeff Nichols; starring Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Kathy Baker)

Southern farm family, intriguing dualities, apocalyptic weather and strong performances

RECOMMENDED for those who enjoyed Signs, A Beautiful Mind, Twister???

Rating 7/10

Another Earth (dir. Mike Cahill; starring Brit Marling, William Mapother)

North American winter, guilt and forgiveness, gripping story, great dialogue and flawless ending

RECOMMENDED for those who appreciate 21 Grams, Sliders, Seven Pounds, this gorgeous woman

Rating 8/10