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It took five days, but he is now grudgingly eating the pea flakes. He has silently promised me that he will never, ever perform a trick for one, but he will take it in his mouth and chew it instead of dropping it on the ground. It’s a small step forward in getting rid of 8 ounces of pea flakes.

The first time I tried licorice as a kid, I didn’t like it. I don’t know if I actually didn’t like it, or if I heard enough people say that they didn’t like it that I decided that I needed to dislike it, too. But soon after, I decided it was one of my favourite flavours. And to this day, I save my licorice jelly beans for last.

I am hoping that Quentin’s pea flake journey will take a similar route. From dislike to tentative curiosity to gusto.

We had a stranger do something super kind for us, and they live in another country. I had the thought that we should bring them a gift, something they couldn’t get in their country. But as I thought about it, I realized that I couldn’t think of anything that wasn’t super niche and therefore probably not enjoyed by people outside the area. (Root beer is an example of this.) Or anything mainstream, they already had there.

I can’t pinpoint when it changed. I know I used to bring a handful of candy bars or things with English on them when I traveled to give away. Or American entertainment magazines. It took so long for shows to air overseas that if you had those, you could know plot points before anyone else.

But the last time I remember doing that was 1995ish. After that, I traveled without items, except in rare circumstances when the gift was for a specific person I knew (and knew their tastes), rather than a stranger I encountered along the way.

The world feels smaller, but it made me sad to think about that sort of exchange and how I haven’t participated in a long time.

I saw this on Modern Mrs. Darcy, and it spoke to my heart. It was about setting a ritual for turning 50. The question asker made the assumption that people aren’t enthusiastic about turning 50, which isn’t true. I feel like there are a lot more “how did I get here?” moments around turning 40.

But I loved this question because when I turned 50, and now for almost two years after, I feel like my birthday focus has been to give my younger self the things she dreamed about as a child. Which makes me sound like two different people, but you know what I mean. I wished for things as a kid, and as an adult, I go and fulfill those wishes.

For instance, we’re planning a trip to Cornwall because 8-year-old Melissa has always wanted to go to Cornwall. 8-year-old Melissa also wanted a pet lemur, so she doesn’t get all of her heart’s desire, but I’m trying to give my former self the things I hoped for once I reached adulthood.

There is something emotional about coming full circle like that. In nodding to your past self and saying, “I’ve got you covered.”

What did you wish for as a kid? And have you given it to yourself?

Josh Wardle, the creator of Wordle, is back with a new game called Parseword. (Thank you, Austin, for the heads up!) It’s a single clue of a cryptic crossword, but a lot less frustration because hints abound. This game would be a great way to get good at cryptic crosswords because it helps you see the wordplay used to set up those clues.

Take your time moving through the robust tutorial. It removes all the frustration of getting into a new game. I like this game because you can start it, walk away, think about it, and come back. I’m not a fan of games with timers. I like to enjoy the experience and not rush through things.

Make sure you explore the “references” button in the top right corner if you get stuck.

Enjoy!

Josh and I have been struggling to remember the last movies we saw in a theater. We definitely saw A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood before the pandemic.

We saw Knives Out, and I thought we saw a second movie that weekend, but I didn’t write down what it was in my bullet journal. In December, we saw The Rise of Skywalker. Was that it? Did I end my long run of movie theater visits with those films?

We still go to live theater because it’s the only way to see live theater. But we’ve moved to watching movies at home.

It feels so strange to not be able to remember that last experience of seeing a film surrounded by strangers. To not know that was my last tub of movie theater popcorn. My final film out of the house.

We can remedy this and go out on a better note (or not go out at all). Josh suggested we see The Testament of Ann Lee, which looks amazing.

But then I saw that it would be released on streaming this week. And then I wanted to see The Drama, which I admittedly know nothing about but liked the trailer:

So we have to make a decision because I’d like to remember the last thing I see.

Have you been to a movie theater recently? And what did you see?