Of New Years and Nancy

My wife and I aren't really "new years countdown" people. A few years ago, we decided to start ringing in new years with movies that would finish after midnight. Last night, with a couple friends, we settled on the 10PM showing of "Juno" down at the Wynnsong in Provo (more on this amazing movie in a moment). It actually ended five and a half minutes before midnight which turned me into a last-minute reluctant new years countdowner. Libby, our friends, and I gathered in the hallway as soon as the credits ended - less than three minutes before midnight (by my watch).

I should clarify, while I'm not necessarily drawn to new years countdowns, I do find myself throughout a day drawn into countdowns in general. For instance, I love that so many crossing signals now sport a numerical countdown. Sometimes, while crossing a street, I'll even slow down so I'll step onto the curb just as the countdown reaches zero. I also enjoy catching the odometer transitioning into patterns (thousand mile marks are big, of course, but not as momentous as 6666 or 1234 or 4321). Yes, odometer countdowns are technically countups, but trifle me not. Also, a movie (ANY movie) increases in enjoyability for me if it includes some sort of countdown (to an explosion or hostage deadline or election day or the big competition). Not that I conscientiously seek out movies with countdowns, I just know that when a countdown presents itself in a movie, I settle into my seat more comfortably and attentively anticipate the consumating zero-moment. So why doesn't this taste for ticking temporality transition to new years? I don't quite know. It could stem from my reactionary non-conformity (which I realize is stupid). But seriously, the new years eve countdown gets more people chanting in unison at one time than have all the mindless litanies throughout all of human history.

Anyway. So, in the theater hallway, gathering around my watch, we shuffled toward the door, waiting for the new year to roll in. I think we all silently agreed that any waiting for the new year would have to happen indoors since last night Utah met the coldest temperatures of the season thus far. Right at about two minutes to zero-moment, some theater employee around the corner vociferated his new year jubilation scaring a coworker. I know this because she screamed and said, "Oh my gosh, you scared me!" Then she said, "Is it new year already?" To which the howler retorted, "Yeah, it's like 12:02." To which I smiled. You see my watch is set to the clocks on UTA busses, which are the only clocks (within a five-minute margin of error) that really matter. About twenty feet from the door, my watch finally tripped over midnight. The one's position in the hour, both minutes positions, both seconds position, and all the date positions changed at the same time. Ah, chronological consumation. Better than any ball in any Times Square in any New York anytime.

Driving back to our place, we passed five kids alone (not a one over ten) crossing Orem Center Street (a five lane road) at an intersection without a light. Scary, right? We also passed the Orem Community Church in the parking lot of which two early teens (a boy and a girl) took turns sliding accross what looked like a two-foot square patch of ice. And then, of course, we passed the obligatory midnight jogger complete with reflective vest and headstrap light bobbing in the darkness.

But about "Juno."

Well, another aside first. 2007 has been a very good year for movies. I've certainly seen some keepers this year from "Stardust" (hands down the greatest romance/comedy/fantasy since "Princess Bride") to "Michael Clayton" (corporate crime drama with a conscience) to "Charlie Wilson's War" (with another jaw-dropping performance from Philip Seymore Hoffman - go see the movie just for his first scene castigating his CIA beaurocratic boss) to the beyond intense "No Country for Old Men" (Javier Bardem plays the SCARY-est villain I've ever seen in any movie - believe me I've seen some doozies) to the nigh-perfect "Sweeney Todd" (the best thing to hit cinematic musicals since "Fiddler on the Roof" - with "Moulin Rouge" close behind).

"Juno" was the perfect movie to end the year with. Just give Ellen Page an oscar now (assuming of course that oscars get handed out by virtue of talent and not by where in the hollywood orgy pile you happen to be at the time of ballot counting). Her performance and Diablo Cody's incredibly dialogue-driven script (this is really a writer's movie) convinced me to drop my "Nancy" story. It's kind of like that moment when I played trumpet in high school band and I heard a recording of Wynton Marsalis and realized that God gave that gift to someone else, so I picked up the guitar to blend in with the rest of the musically mediocre. "Juno" is probably the closest we'll come to the perfect dramedy of a young woman dealing with the full term of an unwanted pregnancy and giving the child away. You probably won't want to go see this for Family Home Evening, but go see it sometime.

Now about "Nancy." "Nancy" represents my first concerted attempt to write a female protagonist. Don't know if I totally like the results. For now, I think I'll step away from "Nancy" for a while. See reasons above. Besides, I don't know quite where to take the story (up to Alaska? I dunno), and there are some parts I'm not too proud of that I should probably rework (like more fully exploring her motivation - I admit, I cheated out of those parts), but I'll let them age instead. Maybe it would be best to let the story end here. After all, the story is really just a gimmick (put a surrogate mother on BYU campus, see what happens). Meh. I'll let it age.

Happy New Year, all.