Yes, I will go to Nebraska with you!

I saw the movie Yes Man last night. And, unexpectedly, it inspired me. Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel play the lead roles as Carl and Allison. Carl is plodding through life, barely acknowledging his close friends and making a nightly trip to the movie store. He's merely existing. Then he goes to a "Yes" seminar and resolves to make some big changes in his life. He meets Allison by chance at a gas station and is attracted to her passionate, out-of-the-box philosophy on life. At 6:00 am once-a-week, she hauls herself out of bed and takes a group of photographers running through the park to capture blurry, scenic photos as they exercise. She's part of a band that has a five-person following, but continues to perform every week because she loves it. She rides a motorized scooter everywhere and always opts for the unconventional. She's exuberant, fun-loving and everything he isn't, and he finds her fascinating.

At one point, Carl and Allison decide they want to travel somewhere for the weekend, so they go to the airport and ask to leave on the soonest flight available, which just so happens to be middle-of-nowhere Lincoln, Nebraska. They look at each other for two seconds and decide that it sounds like an adventure waiting to happen. THAT. RIGHT THERE. That part of the movie made my jaw drop with jealousy. That's my idea of fun. I hope I marry someone who's spontaneous like that. Assuming we have the money and the time to do wacky things. :P


If I did a bunch of random things I've always--or just recently--wanted to do, here's what they'd be:

1. Learn how to Irish dance.
2. Go white water rafting again. Multiple times.
3. Run a half marathon.
4. Learn to play the violin well.
5. Take a photography class and then buy a very nice camera.

I'm sure there are more, but that's just a little taste. Although I don't really have the resources to do most of those things right now, I know what I CAN do. I can resolve to be dissatisfied with a boring old routine. I can resolve to stretch myself and think unconventionally at times. Life is meant to be lived not tolerated. That was the basic gist of the movie, and I couldn't agree with it more.