25 Things That Light Up My Life

‘Look at the stars, look how they shine for you, and everything that you do…’

                                                                                                    - 'Yellow', Coldplay 

'I think the thing to do is to enjoy the ride while you're on it.'

                                                                                                    - Johnny Depp 

Today I’m talking about gratitude.

A few weeks back, in a gloomy state of mind, I brought up expectations. I used to think life was supposed to play out in a certain way. It bothered me that things didn’t happen like I expected them to.

Then I saw this quote the other day. I like quotes. Not all apply, mind you. Some kind of apply. And some hit you like a bad metaphor. Suddenly you see the world in a different way.

I can tie myself in knots over my problems. The things I want, and fear, and haven’t done. But taken for what it is – my life is pretty great.

Maybe it’s the holiday mood taking over. It's New Year's Eve, after all.

Today I’m listing down all the things I’m thankful for. Life is both beautiful and fleeting, and too often we take it for granted. I said last year that life can be a constellation. Each of these adds just a little bit of starlight.

1.       I’m writing this in the first place.

Typing. Whatever. Same thing.

Laying out the inner workings of our minds doesn’t come naturally for everyone. It’s a skill. Like all skills, it takes hard work and dedication. Anyone could do this if they tried. My own writing has never seemed all that special.

But maybe I’m selling myself short there.

I’m inspired by great authors, thinkers, dreamers. Over time, I realized that I wanted to inspire people too, help them see the world in different ways. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like much of a dream.

The other day I complimented someone on their work. They said that was really encouraging, coming from another writer. What I didn’t say was that it was just as encouraging being acknowledged as one.

So, thanks. You know who you are.

I’m a writer, and that’s something to be proud of.

2.       I make bad jokes.

And occasional good ones.

Admit it. You’d find me way less interesting if I talked like a zombie accountant. And so would I. It’s fun being funny – or at least trying to be funny.

I appreciate my sense of humour.

3.       Functioning body parts.

Eyes to see with, legs to carry me, arms to hold you stuff. Health in general. Etcetera. These should not be taken for granted.

4.       Cats!

All right, fine, puppies too.

5.       Working with animals.

Like every job ever, mine can be tiring and routine. But it’s also kind of uncommon. I’ve carried pythons, petted a serval, held an orangutan’s hand. How many people can say they go to work to play with spoiled hornbills and a bearcat that rides on your shoulder and chews on your hair?

6.       Working at all.

I’ll be honest here. When I think about not working, it scares me. I need the structure, the sense that I’m doing something worthwhile. The early mornings are tiring, sure. But again, I work with animals. I meet new people. I work outdoors. And I’ve learned a great deal. About social interaction, public speaking, time management. Though I still need to improve on all of those.

I’ve learned about responsibility. I’ve had fun. I’ve made friends.

I wouldn’t say I’m passionate about my job. I don’t love it.

But I like it.

7.       My salary.

They say money can’t buy happiness. It buys security, though. There’s a certain peace of mind that comes from knowing you can afford things. Food, gifts, luxuries. You can pay the bills, handle emergencies, and set something aside for the future.

Money is a tool like any other. I’ve never cared about being rich. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t appreciate my income.

8.       Pizza!

And burgers. Cake. Pattaya fried rice. Tuaran mee. Peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches. Banana fritters. Lemon chicken. The asam pedas from one specific restaurant. Ice cream. I could go on here.

Who doesn’t love food?

9.       Milk tea.

Green tea milkshakes. Strawberry milkshakes. You know what, anything with milk in it. Including soy milk. Iced lemon tea. Mountain Dew. Starbucks green tea crème frappuccinos – but damn, those things are expensive.

Ahem. Drinks too.

10.   My metabolism.

I’ll have you know, there are downsides to being thin. I get cold easily. My BMI is just one point above being underweight. Gaining weight is a lot harder than you’d expect.

But it is kind of cool that I can eat whatever I want, with no visible difference in body mass whatsoever.

I appreciate that my stomach is a bottomless pit.

11.   My allegedly thick grey jacket.

I’m wearing it right now. Don’t judge.

12.   All Time Low.

And other bands I like. Green Day, Simple Plan, My Chemical Romance, Fireflight. Artists of other genres, when I’m not in the mood for rock. All the composers and musicians who make great scores and soundtracks for games and movies. I used to love the Pirates of the Caribbean orchestral pieces in my teens.

My life would not be complete without music.

13.   I can read sheet music.

One note at a time, at least.

I hardly ever play the piano these days. There is a faint sense of loss there. I used to have a jumbled repertoire of classics, transcriptions of modern songs, and video game soundtracks. Now I’ve forgotten them all.

Not to say they couldn’t be relearned. I haven’t forgotten everything. Considering I had no formal lessons or anything like that, I’m not bad really.

I’m glad I have some skill with a musical instrument.

(Fun fact: Square Enix has an entire line of video game sheet music books, the Piano Collections series. These are official arrangements for iconic songs from their biggest franchises, Final Fantasy and, you guessed it, Kingdom Hearts.)

14.   Karaoke.

Allow me just a little bit of pride here. I’m a good singer. Better with alcohol, but not bad sober, either. Like many things, I’ve come a long way with that. Some songs are meant to be smoky. Some are meant to be shouted.

Give me a Green Day song, I dare you.

15.   I can (sort of) draw.

Another artistic skill that could be better, but could also be much worse. Drawing my own cards doesn’t seem like the manliest of talents. It’s something else I hardly ever do anymore.

It’s still something I’m proud of, though. I believe in works of imagination. Designs in colored pencil count for that. And I’ve found that people will usually appreciate homemade gifts, and the time and effort you put into them.

16.   Books.

If this is a surprise, you really don’t know me at all.

I’ve written a lot about books before. So I’ll keep this short. I would never have started writing if I didn’t love to read.

17.   Video games.

If this is a surprise…

What I just said, with bright colours and explosions. I’ve been playing games since I was eight years old, wrapped up in Wario Land and Pokemon. All the way to present day, where I’m wrapped up in Dragon Age and Titanfall.

Life is more fun if you play games.

18.   Movies.

Have you seen Rogue One? You should see Rogue One. I’m too lazy to write a review, but this is what a Star Wars movie should be.

Though I rarely watch TV anymore, I’m actually watching more movies these days. Going to the cinema is a pastime that never gets old – and not just for bright colours and explosions. Like all good stories, the best movies will move you.

Seriously. Go see Rogue One.

19.   Authors, game designers, filmmakers, etc.

Something in me sparks whenever I come across imagination and creativity. Most of us forget that everything ever made started out as a light in someone’s head. Whenever I’m reminded of this, it blows my mind.

We’re taught that a dream coming true is a miraculous event, something that almost never happens. But we don’t see all the hard work and dedication. The real miracle is that someone believed in their dream enough to make it happen.

To all the dreamers out there – don’t stop believing. Your work is not unappreciated.

20.   Imagination.

I called it a light, but really, I’m not sure how to explain what this means to me.

If only I could put fireworks into words.

21.   The internet.

I’m probably a few decades too late here. The internet plays a central role in our lives: in our workplaces, finances, social activity. It’s genuinely hard to picture life without it. Go on, try.

It wasn’t always like this, though. The freedom with which information can be shared nowadays comes with a dark side. False news and hateful messages probably spread faster than any beneficial knowledge. But the knowledge is still there, a Google search away, just waiting to be found. 

We can communicate with anyone, no matter how far away they are. That’s pretty cool.

After all. Without the internet, you wouldn’t be reading this right now.

22.   Digital devices.

I remember reading about a boy who loved the original Star Trek. (Not me, obviously. Star Wars FTW.) The starships, the teleporting, the personal communicators that let you talk to anyone with the touch of a button. It was the stuff of science fiction. The boy grew up – 

And now everyone has a personal communicator.

Part of this post was written on a smartphone. The term ‘phone’ is misleading. These things are cameras, instant messaging services, flashlights, voice recorders, portable gaming devices and handheld computers. Oh yeah. They make calls, too.

And that’s only one device. Just think about the progress being made every day. Even a game controller having its own headphone jack amazes me.

Or maybe that’s just me. Come on. What kind of guy doesn’t like gadgets?

You have to admit. Modern technology is pretty awesome.

23.   The beauty of nature.

I’m not the most religious person. I go to church more out of a sense of duty than anything else. Faith comes with a feeling, and I don’t get it very often. But I do get it, or something close to it, with nature.

Reverence. That’s the word.

There’s a reason I take so many pictures of the sky and trees and so on. Beauty comes in many forms. Too often, people don’t notice when it’s right in front of them. I used to be like that. Ironically, it was only after I got a decent (smartphone) camera that I started seeing what was around me all along.

The natural world deserves your attention.

24.   Little things amaze me.

As they should.

You may have noticed I keep mentioning taking things for granted. That’s because I do, more often than I should. It’s a natural response. People get jaded; we start thinking we’ve seen it all before. The familiar becomes boring. Boredom leads to apathy. Apathy leads to the Dark Side.

No, seriously. Be excited about the latest movie, or that cute puppy on the sidewalk. Watch the sunset, feel the wind blowing, listen to the rain. Look around. It’s better to get wide-eyed at everything than to sleepwalk through your life.

If I could give one piece of advice, it would be this: never lose your sense of wonder.

25.   The ones who matter most.

Last but not least – my family, and my friends.

It seems like times flies faster each year. How can it be New Year’s Eve again already? When I think back over everything that’s happened, though, I know I’m not the same person I was a year ago. None of us are.

I want to be optimistic. To believe that in the coming year, good things will happen. That I can make them happen. Believing can be hard, though.

It’s been an eventful year. One of shocking twists and tragic losses. It’s also been one of adventures, progress and personal growth. Dark times have come and gone, and linger still. But despite it all, 2016 was a great year.

It was great because of you.

I don’t know what the next year will bring. What will stay the same, and what’s about to change.

For now, at least, I’m truly thankful for all we’ve been through together. More than anything else, you light up my life.

You know who you are.

Happy New Year 2017.

Fantastic Beasts

It’s finally here.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is the first of a projected pentalogy of films. The next chapter of the Harry Potter legacy, set long before the Boy Who Lived was even born. But can it stand up to the hype? Does the magic live on? Is the Niffler the cutest little kleptomaniac ever?

Yes, on all counts.

Minor spoilers - no plot twists - to follow.

Inspired by the textbook of the same name, Fantastic Beasts is set in New York City, 1926. Relations between American wizards and Muggles – err, No-Majs – are far more strained than in jolly old Britain. MACUSA, the American Ministry of Magic, enforces strict laws of secrecy. Across the pond, the dark wizard Grindelwald is on the rise, spreading his doctrine that magic carries the right to rule. Meanwhile, among non-magical folk, a fanatical group called the Second Salemers is determined to expose witches and wizards once and for all. And a series of attacks by a shadowy monster have raised tensions to boiling point.

Into this backdrop of fear and suspicion comes Newt Scamander, a young magizoologist, fresh off the boat from England. He carries an enchanted briefcase full of magical creatures. In a city already primed for chaos, several soon manage to escape…

I like Newt. He’s a different kind of hero, all the more endearing for his quirks. Though well-meaning and passionate about his creatures, he’s just not very good with people. Sometimes he can’t even look them in the eye. He’s an awkward guy, works with animals, means to write a book.

Hmm.

Yes, well. At his side are the jovial No-Maj Jacob; the straitlaced  Auror Tina; and her sultry sister Queenie. All three become embroiled in Newt’s quest to track down his creatures. Meanwhile, the distinguished chief Auror, Percival Graves, seeks the source of the attacks. He believes the key lies with the leader of the Second Salemers, and her poor, abused son, Credence.

Yes, abused. Make no mistake. This is a dark story. The grim tone of the later Harry Potter books is established from the beginning, with a tense montage of Grindelwald’s attacks in Europe.

That said, at first the movie oscillates between two very different tones. Newt and company’s misadventures are generally lighthearted, filled with magic and comic relief. Whereas the subplot surrounding Graves and Credence gets dark indeed. The two merge during the second half, but it’s an uneven mix at first.

This is, perhaps, evidence of J.K. Rowling’s writing. Unlike Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, the screenplay for Fantastic Beasts was written by Rowling herself. Her hand shows. The movie is written like a book, in alternating chapters. A slow buildup is fine on the page, but some more urgency from the start could have helped a great deal.

It took a while before I realized what was wrong with the opening: Newt has no personal stake in the greater story. He spends the first hour or so running around on his own, chasing his beasties, isolated from the bigger picture.

Eventually, he and his creatures are blamed for the shadow’s attacks. This is where things get interesting. Now Newt and friends have a vested interest; they need to clear their names. Plotwise, it would have made sense for this to happen early on. Not more than halfway through the story. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the chase. But by the Central Park encounter, even I felt like the movie was starting to drag.

What saves Fantastic Beasts is its sense of wonder. Magic is in abundance, from flying plates to enchanted buildings. Venturing inside Newt’s briefcase is one of the best parts of the movie. His creatures’ habitats range from savannah to jungle to snowy mountainside. The creatures themselves are fascinating and diverse, from explosive rhinos to giant dung beetles. The Swooping Evil is awesome.

The climax is satisfying, too. Newt sets off on a final, desperate, Apparition-heavy chase after the shadow monster – the Obscurus – rampaging through the city, before the inevitable confrontation. The ending wraps things up nicely. I appreciated this. Fantastic Beasts does not end on a cliffhanger, unlike other recent blockbusters I could name. You’d almost think certain characters are gone for good, if they weren’t confirmed to return in the sequel.

As you’d expect, Fantastic Beasts is filled with nods to Harry Potter lore. Newt wears a scarf of Hufflepuff colours. There’s an early Quidditch reference that went right over my head. Obscurus was the name of the fictional publisher which produced the Fantastic Beasts textbook. The sign of the Deathly Hallows appears – the symbol Grindelwald took for himself.

The wand, the stone, and the cloak.

And that’s not all.

Rowling had this story in mind long before the movie deal was made. Pottermore recently made it clear that the Obscurus is not a new concept. It was hinted at in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

It’s tied to Albus Dumbledore.

In Deathly Hallows, we learned that when Dumbledore was young, he was very close with another young man, as powerful and talented as he, the two of them destined for greatness.

That young man’s name was Gellert Grindelwald.

These movies are set to span nineteen years. It’s telling that this is the era of WWII. Grindelwald’s ethos was obviously inspired by Nazism. The master race, a once-harmless icon turned to a symbol of evil. (He's blonde, too.) The story will end in 1945, the same year as Dumbledore’s climactic duel with Grindelwald, when he overthrew the tyrant who was once his friend.

Long before Harry and Voldemort, Dumbledore had his own dark rival, too.

This first movie is Newt’s story, to be sure. But it’s been confirmed that Newt won’t always be the main character. And that a young Albus Dumbledore will feature in Fantastic Beasts 2.

Grindelwald is barely there in Fantastic Beasts, but he’ll be back. He’s played by Johnny Depp, one of the few big names I actually care about. Jack Sparrow? Sweeney Todd? The Mad Hatter?

I daresay this is going to be epic.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a dark story, a social commentary on intolerance, repression and being hated for who you are. Newt’s words ring sadly true: the greatest monsters are human beings.

It’s also a brilliant addition to the Harry Potter franchise, the first chapter of a much larger tale, filled with action, emotion, adventure, and yes: fantastic beasts. Go check it out.

It was worth the wait.