I’m about your age, and I think our generation tends to overthink things as it is.

Having said that, I’m 35, and lately, I’ve done a lot of thinking about where my life has been, where it is, where I’m going. I think my biggest regrets are the things I left unfinished. Is it too late? Maybe yes, maybe no. I think in the next 12 months, I will have a better idea.

Also, at the risk of dragging politics into this, I think many of us are breathing a collective sigh of relief that Bush is out of office. I feel like I’ve been holding my breath for the last eight years, waiting for the other shoe to drop. (Excuse the mixed metaphor.) And with that collective exhalation, we’re looking around and surveying not only the national landscape but also our inner processes to examine and re-examine what the last ten years have meant and what damage has occurred, both nationally and within ourselves. Or maybe I’m just full of shit. ;-)

As for Sliding Doors, yes, saw it. Liked it. I like “What if?” stories. (I’m into graphic novels, and Marvel’s “What If?” series were always some of my favorites. “What if Spider-Man led the Fantastic Four?” and so forth.) They always present such a world of infinite possibility, unlike the linear, you may say “restrictive,” lives that we lead–no do-overs!

However, if presented with the choice in the film you introduced to us, I’d have to go with dim sum in Chinatown, if only because I miss Sunday afternoons in California and the endless number of places where I could indulge in some har gow and char siu bow at my leisure, with a nice pot of hot herbal brown tea at hand.

Mollena: Wow, I really love that! “[F]ear is usurped by curiosity, and a willingness to acknowledge the fluid nature of life often means you have access to new energy that would have been hidden from you while rolling in a rut.” Beautiful! Thank you for the VERY encouraging words!

dkzone: You said, “My belief is that we are totally oblivious to how our lives are governed by precious seconds and little inches.” I totally agree!! I’ve only been in a horrible car accident once. A friend from Paris was driving, and he got freaked out by the subtle difference between “yield on green” and “green means go.” On a divided highway, he turned left into oncoming traffic — leaving the passenger side door (with me tucked right next to it) staring wide eyed at a car approaching at 60 mi. / hour. I SCREAMED then closed my eyes and thought: “This is it.” He slammed on the breaks and it’s totally freakish that his car slid such that the other guy hit us head on instead of smacking into the passenger door. The front of the car folded like an accordion. My friend and I thrown forward toward the windshield, but  luckily because we were wearing seatbelts, rebounded back. Both cars were totaled, but it could’ve been uglier. The cops showed up and they were like, “You’re very lucky.”

cynthia: THANK YOU for the good luck wishes! :)

Pink_Thursday: I LOVE THAT, and yes you TOTALLY got the point across. I’m totally going to adopt that philosophy. Twanna 1.0, Twanna 2.0 …

Pen Pal: I think it should last as long as you need it to. I don’t think there are any absolutes.

Sarah: I think 2010 it going to be my year. Things have been going well for a while now. 2009 was TONS better than 2005 – 2008. It’s amazing what you can survive after you look back at it. If anyone would’ve told me: You first 3.5 years in New York are going to be as difficult as they were, I probably wouldn’t have moved here.

bwillz: Short of landing yourself in prison for the rest of your life or having a kid, I don’t think there’s anything you can do that could ruin the rest of your adult life. I used to think life was a multiple choice quiz: There were a bunch of options and I have to pick the right one. Now, I just see it as a journey.

Amina: Ooh, I hadn’t thought of “what if” in context of the past, I thought of it as in “what if” whatever happens in the future. In the end, I guess it’s the same whether you’re looking back or forward. In either case, you never know.

Lauren @ LifeStyler: Not a bummer at all. I think it’s actually GOOD to think about whether what we “think” we want is actually what we want. Don’t EVEN get me started on the time that I thought I was seriously going to spent my entire career as an car insurance administrator. Seems like that was worlds away. Nothing wrong with pursuing that career. It just wasn’t for me.

I’m starting to wonder if our generation is getting to a decent point in their careers and realizing that they’re just not happy, and everything that we’ve been taught about what we want for the future is just bullshit filler.

Sorry for being such a bummer.  :)

I try not to think about “what if I had done things differently” I just try to control what I can now. I can’t change the past, but I can take charge of the present in order to shape my future.