lights...camera...

Not so much action. Mostly just talking. But not too much, don't worry. Just check it out!

Oh, and I may have exagerated my editing skills... this hasn't been edited at all.

Aaaand, yeah.

:) Keep it real!

muay thai!

Have you heard of the new perfume by Chanel called 'Muay Thai'?! It's totally rad, man. I bought, like, five bottles the second they hit the shelves...

Not!

This blog is titled 'Muay Thai' because it's about Muay Thai - the real Muay Thai. As in, the mixed martial art that I'm told some people in the UFC are trained in. Oh, and me. Yep - I'm now going to make the list of people trained in Muay Thai. Yesterday was my first class. And can I just say,

Owww!

My ENTIRE BODY is sore today. Literally. Every. Muscle. Aches. Except maybe my fingers, which is why I'm even able to write this post.

But despite the stiff, ache-y muscles, I am in love.

We started off with a warm up. At least, that's what my instructor called it. I call it 10x more of a work out than I've ever done in my life. Forty-five minutes later (I was sweating buckets), we actually started in on the learning of fun martial art stuff.

To say it was intense would be putting it lightly. When we were doing our boxing stuff (like jab, cross, kick, etc), any time any class member dropped their hands away from their fighting stance, the entire class would have to do ten push ups. I can now say that I've been told to "drop and gimme ten". Which - contrary to most people, I'm sure - is something I've always wanted to hear. :)
So if you see me not sitting for the next few days, it's because it's too painful to move that many muscles at once. And the floor is so bloody far.

And yet next Saturday I'll be driving to my second Muay Thai class with a big fat grin on my face, eager for more.

There's just something about training the body - I find it fascinating. My instructor (his name is Kevin) doesn't make us do push ups and sit ups and crunches and skipping (and everything else under the sun!) because it will give us sweet abs or make us lose ten pounds. He does it to keep us in peak condition so that we can do more. Not look hotter or whatever other reasons people have for losing weight and getting fit. And when I find myself being able to do more, it feels so amazing. Just the fact that I made it through the entire warm up yesterday made me feel fantastic. Because I knew there was absolutely no way I would have been able to get through it if I had tried it a year ago. But since I've been training my body and keeping it healthy, I was able to keep up.

And then there's always the bonus of a certain confidence that accompanies most martial arts. Knowing that I could defend myself if I'm ever in the wrong place at the wrong time? Pretty dern sweet if you ask me.

So yeah. First archery, now Muay Thai. I'm loving all these new discoveries I'm stumbling upon.

Which reminds me.

General public, here is my statement to you: get out there and find something incredible to do! Make discoveries and go on adventures and just DO things. Because you only have one life. And it has so much potential for awesomeness.

:D

I'm still on a bit of a 'work-out high' I think. They're pretty much the best.

Anyway, I'm going to go write a book. So...

Keep it real!

curiosity killed the cat

And, quite unfortunately, it also killed my afternoon.

Remember that movie bucket list I spoke of oh so long ago? Well, I've been slowly but surely watching the movies from that list, but I'm beginning to think what started out as a fun idea is becoming a bit of a chore. And it's movies we're talking about here! They've never been a chore to me!

It started with Annie Hall a few months ago and culminated in the headache that was Breakfast at Tiffany's just this afternoon. Needless to say, I've made the discovery that I am very much a product of my time. I have very little patience - if I'm going to be staring at a screen for two hours of my day, there'd better be something worthwhile about it.

...Here's my idea of a good basic story: there's a clear beginning, a clear middle and an end. Within that there should be one or two likable characters - maybe even loveable, but I can deal with just liking them. At least one of these characters should have some sort of purpose to their lives and the story as a whole should probably have a conceise point. Sure, call me German, but I do like a little logic to my storytelling.

Annie Hall met none of those criteria.

And, the lingering headache confirms that Breakfast at Tiffany's didn't meet any of 'em either.

I know, I know - they're classics.

But I don't think I care about whether or not it's a classic - just tell me a good story and I'm yours, Hollywood.

I know I haven't dissected any plots in this movie review, but that's because there are no plots to dissect. Which is just hurting me inside. Both Annie Hall and Breakfast at Tiffany's had main characters who were all over the place in all the worst ways and the "plot" was much the same. One thing happened, then another, then another - no connections, no purpose, no nothing but a migraine on my part.

I apologize to everyone who loves the classics, and these two in particular... I know it's just a matter of differing tastes. But please never put me in the same room as either of these movies ever again.

At least Breakfast at Tiffany's had a dashing leading man. I can't say the same for Annie Hall, but I guess that's neither here nor there.

I need to go do something. After spending 2 hours watching nothing happening but pretty people having fun on a movie set... I need to get rid of some of this pent up energy. Apparently when high expectations come crashing down, it makes me a little wired.

I may have to wait a while before I take on the task of watching another "classic". Until then,

Keep it real!

summertime!

I just realized it's July 31st and I haven't written a post yet this month! I think it goes without saying that July has just whizzed by and that is probably because I've been having the most fun I've had in years. I mean, lazy days on the beach plus the discovery of the eliptical and spinning classes plus a new fall wardrobe plus Hugh Jackman equals my definition of an awesome summer. I can't believe I've still got another whole month before school starts. Crazier still, I can't believe how excited I am for school to start. It's like my horizon couldn't get any better.

Of course, the one and only pitfall to having such a full (and have I mentioned awesome?) summer is the fact that I haven't really done any writing. With only one year left of university, the fact that I'm not any closer to publishing a book is a bit of a weight on my shoulders right now. It probably shouldn't bother me that much, but it does. But then I'll somehow find an hour of free time, so I'll sit down at my computer, re-read the prologue of Broken Silence and then suddenly find myself watching yet another episode of Vampire Diaries... bad news all around.

But this weekend is a long weekend so I will absolutely, 100% find a chance sometime in the next two days to write at least one chapter in at least one of my projects. For sure.

...

And also watch Captain America. And maybe Crazy, Stupid, Love. And pick up my parents from the airport... It's going to be a full weekend...

But I think that's about all I've got to say this July 31st. Well, that and listen to this song (watch it too, 'cause that's half the fun). If it doesn't make your summer feel even awesome-r, then my name isn't Winnie the Pooh. Which it is.

Hope you crazies have some incredible long weekends yourselves :D

Keep it real!

whaaaat??!

For years now - decades even - I've been convinced I couldn't cook. I've bragged about it, complained about it, even blogged about it!

But today I made a discovery that I may forever refer to as life changing.

I can cook.

All these years I thought it was me. It turns out all I needed was new cookware!!

I'm sure none of you believe me. I mean, you've all heard the horror stories - or worse - tasted them. The last time I tried to make an omlette, it ended up looking like this:

Not exactly appetizing, I know. It looks a heck of a lot like messed up scrambled eggs.

But yesterday my friend and I were hanging out and she was giving me some healthy tips (since I'm such a health nut now - and getting nuttier by the day) and one of said tips was to eat protein before bed. Not right before bed, 'cause that's just gross - and counterproductive. But protein in your last meal of the day is apparently a good thing. More specifically, egg whites.

And here's something you might not know about me. I love egg white omlettes. Spinach and cheddar egg white omlettes. But I can only ever get those when I go out for breakfast (which is almost never). Because I didn't think I could cook, remember?

Anyway, skip ahead 24 hours to 8pm this evening when I was digging around my kitchen looking for the rumoured non-stick pan my mother keeps someplace hidden. Due to my awesome sleuthing skills, I found the non-stick pan and poured my concoction of egg whites (which you can apparently buy in supermarkets!! who knew??!) and cheddar (my fridge was all out of spinach and I'd already spent my life savings on the egg whites - I'm a student, what do you expect?) into the pan and stared at it.

I stared at it for a good five minutes. Worrying the whole time that it would burst into flames.

It didn't though.

Eventually my weird, slimy mixture started turning white. Another five minutes and it was almost completely solid.

And here comes the best part!!

Once the entire top of my omlette-to-be had solidified, I started carefully poking at the edges, making sure if I were to flip it, it wouldn't fall apart on me (like every other time I've tried to make an omlette). I then placed my flipper (I may be able to cook, but you can't expect me to know the lingo!) under my eggs and turned it over and it stayed together!!

Long story short - take a look at the final product:

I made that. I made that. I know, it's hard to believe. In fact, many of you may think I'm not telling the truth because of the stark difference between what I ate for dinner tonight and that previous picture of a more pathetic dinner I ate a few months ago. But alas, it's true. I made that glorious looking (and even better tasting) omlette.

Larissa Benfey can cook.

Dude, now I'm beyond convinced that literally anything is possible.

Keep it real!!

Write write!! Right?

There's nothing like a writing workshop to get you inspired to pick up that pen and paper (or in my case, computer) again. Don't get me wrong - I've been feeling mighty inspired lately anyway; in fact I find myself almost desperate for the chance to just sit down at my computer and write in longer than four minute increments... But today I went to a writing workshop that made me more than inspired. I think I'm actually feeling pretty optimistic.

The workshop was called "How to Write a Bestseller" and I learned a lot of really valuable information, met a best selling author and signed up for a creative writing class that'll take place in the fall - but none of those things were what really stuck with me.

What I really loved about today was something that happened during a writing exercise. We were given some pretty vague instructions on what our final product needed to accomplish and then were told to just start writing. So I looked around the room, trying to figure out what to write about. I kept thinking, it has to be something gripping, something people will want to read. Murder, mayhem, love... But I kept defaulting to ideas I'm already working on. And I couldn't do that. I knew I needed to make up something new. And suddenly a first line popped into my head. It had nothing to do with vampires, crimelords or valiant heroines... it had to do with a pen. A guy clicking a pen, to be precise. As soon as the first line appeared on the page, it's like everything else just spilled out until I found myself staring at almost two pages of writing.

I love writing exercises for this very reason. You think you've got nothing and then suddenly... you've got an entire scene playing out before your eyes that never used to exist.

Later on, we were asked to read our short scenes aloud to the rest of our table-mates. So I listened to the first lady read her work and it was pretty dern good. I looked down at my sheet and thought, my work is so juvenile next to hers. But it was my turn to read, so I did. And as I read I realized how different my 'voice' was than the lady next to me. Not better or worse - just different. And I think different just might work for me.

I keep reading all these books and try to emulate the way other writers write, but I think it's time to just accept my own style and move on. So I'm not the greatest writer of description - who cares? For some reason I seem to do the whole 'inside the character's head' thing to an extreme degree and focus almost completely on only the present circumstances said character is facing... and maybe nothing's wrong with that.

Of course, publication would really cement these wacky theories of mine - the whole 'my style is my style so just deal with it, world' theory, that is. But what can you do?

Oh yeah. Write. That's what I could do. People aren't too keen on publishing blank pages... so maybe I should hop to it, now that I'm done my random update/rant post.

I'd say 'keep it real!', but I'm actually going to end my post with that scene I wrote today. I'm kinda nervous about sharing it with a bigger audience than just my table-mates, but if I want to be a published author, I should probably get used to a couple more people seeing my work.

So... here it is. (Oh, and keep in mind, it's just supposed to be a scene, not a story...)

   He'd been clicking his pen for seven minutes now. Was is pathetic that I knew that? That I was keeping track? Well, what else was I supposed to do? I couldn't concentrate on anything else but that infernal clicking.
   He knew this was a library, right? I mean, he didn't look like the type to frequent libraries, but everyone had to know that libraries are meant to be quiet - noise-free.
   I glanced up at him again from my spot two tables away. His head was buried in a book; blond, shaggy hair falling into his face. You'd think he was sleeping if it wasn't for the small movement his thumb was making every two and a half seconds. Click... click.. click.
   Okay, I was seriously going to have a mental breakdown if this continued any longer.
   I pushed against my table to slide my chair back, but the legs of it must have caught on something because before I knew it, I was losing my balance and toppling to the floor -- making a hell of a lot more noise than his stupid clicking pen.
   My cheeks were already burning as I glanced around to see if anyone had noticed. Of course everyone's eyes were on me. The librarian at the front desk seemed to look as though she couldn't figure out whether to shush me or come see if I needed help. I'd much prefer the shush. I didn't want to endure further humiliation by suffering through any "are you okay"s.
   "Graceful," a voice suddenly scoffed from behind me and I felt hands being slid under my armpits. I was being hoisted to my feet before I had a chance to even wrench my neck around to see my unwanted rescuer.
   "Thanks, but I didn't need--" I said, turning to face -- Pen Clicker?! He was picking up the fallen chair now so I could only see the sandy mop on top of his head, but it was definitely him - one quick glance at his now unoccupied table confirmed it. I hadn't thought my cheeks could get any hotter, but they suddenly went nuclear.
   He straightened back up as he set my chair in its place. His pale green eyes were taking in my expression as a smile spread across his face.
   I cleared my throat.
   "--I didn't need help up."
   "Right. Because you did such a good job getting out of your seat the first time," he said, smirking.
   I opened my mouth, but snapped it shut again - completely at a loss for how to respond.
   "I'm sorry," he said, still smiling, though lowering his gaze, making his bangs fall back in front of his face. "I guess I should be asking if you're okay."

...yeah. That's all I wrote.

And now I'm going to go. So...

Keep it real!

First Class gets Top Marks

And not just in my books.

I've only heard good things about this movie - and, having already seen it three times, I can definitely vouch for it. X-Men: First Class rocked.

It made a modest $55 million since its opening on Friday and I'm hoping it'll stay in its top box office spot for at least another weekend more. If my movie attendance has anything to do with it, it will.

But enough with the vague compliments - let's get into the gritty details.

I guess I should start by saying that I am a huge X-Men fan. HUGE. So, sure, I probably have a bit of a bias, but I'll try to tone it down a bit. Still, being the big fan that I am, I very much appreciated all the small throw-backs to the previous three films interspersed throughout this one. Ashley Edward Miller and Zach Stentz proved their worth ten times over (they're the screenwriters, by the way). I mean, I actually left the theatre (the first time I watched it) thinking if there was anyone I could meet who worked on this movie, it'd be the screenwriters, because they did such a good job.

Of course, it wasn't just the throw-backs or the incredibly well-written characters - which, let me just say right now - for a comic book movie, these characters have no equal (except maybe Chris Nolan's Batman)... Add the fact that the plot (though a bit jumpy at times) was quite riveting and definitely entertaining and you've got yourself a script that I totally fall in love with.

Oh, and speaking of falling in love, I think it's time I give my two cents on some of the actors who brought these well-written characters to life.

Okay, I'll just come out and admit it. The actor who really caught my attention (and yeah, maybe my fancy too) was none other than Mr. Michael Fassbender - the one who played Erik Lehnsherr (aka Magneto). I thought he was amazing. And no, before you ask, it's not just because of his chisled jaw, leather jacket or sa-weet RayBans. I assure you, my legs go wobbly for a good performance just as much as they do for a good looking guy. So, let's just say I'm glad I was sitting to watch this movie...

Of course, there was Rose Byrne, whom I haven't seen since Troy, but that's just because I don't watch Nick Cage or Jonah Hill movies... Needless to say, I'm glad she's in better movies again. She's very good (in both this movie and another great one - Bridesmaids)!

James McAvoy plays a young Professor X... need I say more? We all know we've loved him since he appeared under a lamppost as Mr. Tumnus.

And one more definitely worth mentioning - Nicholas Hoult. Yep - the kid from About A Boy all growed up and only a year younger than me! When did that happen? He's actually kinda fantastic. In general. But especially in this movie.

If you could materialize two hours of a good time - it would look like a ticket to this movie. No joke and no exaggeration. Everything from the soundtrack to the interesting sets to the action scenes - it was all movie magic. I thoroughly enjoyed myself every time I watched it. So I have no doubt you - whoever you may be (and ps. you totally don't even need to be a superhero/comic book fan to love this movie) - will have a great time too.

Seriously - get out there and watch it!

:) Keep it real!

let go

Growing up, I was that weird kid that went along bike paths and soccer fields picking up snails and putting them out of harm's way. Worms got the same treatment... and pretty much any other critter that didn't know exactly how dangerous a place their prime tanning location was.

This morning I was walking from my car to the front door and I noticed a snail in my path. So, like old times, I bent down to pick it up and put it in a safer place. But this snail seriously didn't budge. I'm almost certain he sprouted hands and clung to his spot for dear life.

I tried to uproot him for a good three or four minutes but eventually gave up, stepped to the other side of the path so not to accidentally squish him and made sure to tell everyone within a ten meter radius to avoid the snail near the flower pot.

And strangely enough, this occurrence sort of mirrors something that's been on my mind for a little while now.

Sometimes I think I'm a lot like that snail. I'll feel something gently tugging at me, urging me to let go of whatever I happen to be clinging to at the time, but I don't wanna. Just ask my parents - I was a very stubborn child. I say 'was' as if that's changed, but, let's face it... it hasn't.

Little did the snail know, the reason why I was trying to uproot him was so I could put him someplace better. He was just focused on the path ahead of him, while I could see the entire street.

That got me thinking... when I feel that gentle nudge to release my kung-foo death grip on things like plans for the future, boy troubles, money and school worries... well, maybe I should try letting go.

I could name a thousand and one experiences I've had when I feel like God is nudging me to let go of my plans because he has something better in mind, but I'll refuse and hold on even tighter. I tell him how much I really like where I think my plan is going - how awesome it'll be when it comes to fruition and then I'll plug my ears and ignore anything he has to say after that.

I could also name a thousand and one experiences I've had when I did let something go, surrender control and find to my astonishment (every time) that God's plan really was better.

So lately I've been asking myself - why do I refuse what I know is best for me? Not only are God's plans better for my life, but they're also better for my sanity. I'm well aware that resistance isn't futile (hello? free will), but it's definitely exhausting. That snail was fighting me the same way I sometimes fight God's hand in my life and it takes so much more energy than just saying, "Okay, you win - where do you want me to go?"

And the best part is that the relief doesn't stop at the surrender - it stays with you. There's a comfort that comes with knowing that you're right where God wants you to be.

The moral of the story is obviously -- don't step on snails. If you didn't get that from everything I've just said, then I don't know what's wrong with you...

Just kidding.

Really, I just wanted to think aloud for a little while and I'm pretty sure I've now accomplished that. So I'm gonna go. (Can you tell I have no idea how to end this post? Can I use my new found surrendering of control 'lifestyle' as an excuse...?)

I'll just end it like this:

Keep it real!