The Five Stages Of Grief

Loss is a natural part of life. We’ve all lost someone or something. I’ve been thinking about the five stages of grief and how it has become helpful in dealing with this loss and challenge that I am experiencing.

1. Denial-It couldn’t happen to me, I worked too hard for it to happen.

2. Anger- Why me? What did I do that was so wrong?  It’s their fault. It was a 50/50 relationship, I can only take what they have given me.

3. Bargaining- I would give anything to go back and undo the choice I made. Something inside of me knew it wasn’t right, but I took the chance anyway.

4.Depression- What’s point of all this? I try and try and all I get is rejection and failure. They don’t see the person who can accomplish the goals they set, they only see a few lines on a piece of paper.

5. Acceptance- There is nothing I can do, as much as I wish I could to go back and undo my mistake. I am proud of myself for trying, it was not easy. I took a risk and the risk did not turn out as I hoped. But  I learned a lot and I can only move forward from here. It sounds very cliche, but when one door closes another opens.

I just don’t know when that door will open and that is the scary part.

Advertisement

How Muy Thai Kickboxing Has Changed My Life

There are a lot of gimmicks and magical pills that claim to help with weight loss.

The truth is that there is no gimmick and there no magical pill.  It comes down to hard work and commitment.

Last May, after spending my time fruitlessly at a local gym, I decided to try out Muy Thai Kick Boxing.

It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

I will say that this is not the easiest work out, but it is totally worth it. It’s not the twenty minutes to a half hour treadmill or weights at the gym and then go home and have a big bowl of pasta. The classroom environment requires the students to do our best, even if we are not up doing our best.

I have gone down several sizes in clothing, I am more confident and g-d forbid I am ever attacked, I am able to defend myself.

I can’t speak for everyone that they will enjoy this kind of work out. But I do and I completely recommend Muy Thai Kick Boxing, if only just to try it out.

You can find out more information below:

Home

 

Throwback Thursday Part III- My Cousin Vinny

My Cousin Vinny is a fish out water story and an early 90’s classic.

Bill Gambini (Ralph Macchio) and Stan Rothenstein (Mitchell Whitfield) are college students from New York who received scholarships to UCLA. They decide to take a road trip to California. Stopping in Alabama, Bill and Stan stop at a convenience store for some snacks. As soon as they leave the store they are arrested. Not for shoplifting, as they think, but robbery and murder.

With little money in their pocket, Bill calls home to get a lawyer. The only lawyer than can found is Vincent Laguardia Gambini  (Joe Pesci), Bill’s cousin with limited court room experience. Traveling down south with Vinny is his long time fiance Mona Lisa Vito (Marisa Tomei).  Faced with a judge (Fred Gwynne) who is questioning the defense’s credentials, uncooperative locals and his fiance, Vinny has to find a way to prevent Bill and Stan from wasting their college years in an Alabama jail.

This movie is hilarious. Joe Pesci is perfect as the New York lawyer trying to defend clients in a very traditional southern court. Marisa Tomei earned her Oscar for the her portrayal as Mona Lisa Vito.    This movie is 22 years old, but it still holds up. If you only watch one scene from this movie, watch the scene where Marisa Tomei is on the stand. Perfection.

I recommend this movie.

Throwback Thursday Part II- Inglourious Basterds

Warning: May contain spoilers. Read at your own risk if you have not seen this movie.

Quentin Tarantino is known for making a very specific style of movie.

His 2009 not quite historically accurate World War II movie, Inglourious Basterds, is his own take on World War II.

The movie intertwines two different stories. Shosanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent) is a Jewish woman, whose family was murdered by Col Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) is an American servicemen whose company consists all of Jewish-American soldiers.  Their task is to kill Nazi soldiers.

Only escaping with the clothes on her back, Shosanna hides in Paris as the owner of a movie theater. Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Bruhl) is a Nazi soldier who is being turned into a hero by the Nazi propaganda machine. Zoller takes an interest in Shosanna, not knowing her true identity.  The Nazis plan to use Shosanna’s theater to premiere the movie about their war hero and the Basterds see the opportunity to complete their assigned task.

Is this movie historically accurate? Other than the massacre of Shosanna’s family, no. It is a typical Tarantino movie blood and gore? Yes.  But that is what makes it so good. Movies are meant to entertain us, and this movie is entertaining. And I will admit that as someone who lost family in the Holocaust, I can’t help but feel that the destruction of the movie theater is payback, if only on screen.

I recommend this movie.