Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Love Letters

A couple weeks ago, one of my favorite bloggers, Cup of Jo, posted some excerpts from an interesting article about the lost art of the unsent angry letter. At the end of her post she briefly mentioned an equally intriguing idea of writing a love letter to a current, past, or future love. I'd have to say my relationships with my first boyfriend has probably had the most profound effects on shaping my understanding of a romantic relationship. Looking back it feels like I've really come full circle to the amazing type of relationship I didn't recognize in my first boyfriend but never doubted in my husband. So without further ado I thought I'd share my love letter to my first boyfriend and of course my wonderful husband.

To my first boyfriend,
First and foremost I want to apologize for the way I treated you while we were together. I was too young and stupid to have an inkling of appreciation for all that you did for me. I fell for you at first because I thought you were a bad boy through and through down to your outrageously saggy jeans (thank god that tend is over!) But once we were "official"...well as official as sixth graders can be...you turned into a nice guy. In fact you were a really nice guy. You treated me like a princess and showered me with gifts of flowers and poems of love. You were smart and always offered to help me with my math homework when I struggled. And in return for your kindness I pushed you away. This wasn't what I signed up for. I didn't want a nice guy...where is that bad boy I thought was so cute?
Feeling smothered by your attention I broke it off. We remained friends and you were always still there being that nice guy for me. You switched schools and we lost touch. I dated my share of real bad boys who probably never cared for me half as much as you did. Sometimes I felt like a bad ass rebel dating without a cause. But as I started getting older I realized how stupid I had been to let someone like you go so unappreciated. I began to wonder if I would ever find someone as good as you to spend the rest of my life with. I started to think that maybe I just didn't deserve a guy like you anyway.
And then I met my husband, a smart, kind, and generous guy. And because of you I knew. I knew that this was a good thing. I knew that I should appreciate all the things he did for me like taking 2 semesters of chemistry to help me study even though it wasn't a requirement for his major or surprising me with a giant teddy bear in my dorm room.
So I'd like to thank you. Thank you for setting the bar even when I didn't know you were doing it. At least partially thanks to you I have an amazing life with my wonderful husband who treats me like a princess. I know that you're also married and I hope that you're both very happy and I hope you treat her as wonderfully as you treated me.

To my husband,
Life has been kind to me for bringing someone like you into my life. You've stuck by my side and have held my hand through some challenging times and always believed in me, even when I didn't believe in myself. You're the most unselfish person when it comes to loving me, always putting me ahead of yourself. You're always thoughtful, anticipating my needs before I even think about them. You've been endlessly patient with me even when I haven't deserved it. You're amazingly generous and always spoiling me with lavish gifts.
I love you with my every being. And everyday I strive to show you how much I love you and how much I appreciate everything you do for me. You're an amazing man and we've had an amazing 10 years together. I look forward to whatever life has in store for the two of us. I know that with you the joys that life brings will be more joyful and that the challenges we may face will be more manageable.
Forever yours,
Mrs. Honda

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Venus in Fur: A Review

I can't believe it's been over 2 months since my last post. I can't even honestly say my mini hiatus has been because we've been crazy busy or anything. I think it's mostly because we've been going through a little bit of a challenging situation on the home front which has left my mind preoccupied with other things besides blogging. Hopefully getting back into blogging will help keep my mind off of things outside of my control.


A couple weekends ago hubs and I went to see Venus in Fur, which was a nominee for best play at the 2013 Tony Awards. It was our first non-musical play and we were a little aprehensive that we might not enjoy it as much as a musical. Luckily the Tony's have yet to steer us wrong.

Venus in Fur is a play made up soley of 2 actors. The premise of the play is a playwright/director who is trying to cast the lead female in his play based on the famous book Venus in Furs by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. If his last name sounds a little familiar it's because the term sadomasochism was derived from this guys name. If that doesn't give you a hint about what this play is like take a look above at the play's banner and hopefully you'll get it. As if the sensuality of the play weren't riveting enough there are plot twists throughout the play that keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

This was the first time we had seen anything in the American Conservatory Theater and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this theater. We've only been in the theaters that feature musicals (Golden Gate Theatere, Curran Theatere, and Orpheum Theatere), but the ACT is much smaller then those. It was definitely a much more intimate feel which I enjoyed. And even though the theater itself is much smaller they have a large open lower level with a bar and lots of seating which was a nice change from the cramped standing room only bar areas of the other theaters we've been to.

Overall I'd definitely recommend this play to first timers or newbies. I think it was a great way of dipping our toes into plays without drowning in something that would surely be over our heads like Macbeth. However, I must warn (as if it isn't obvious enough) this play is not for the prudish at heart. The play is oozing with sensuality and even a bit of gender play. But if you go into it with an open mind I'm sure you'll find it just as enjoyable as we did.