June 26, 2015: The day to clean out your Facebook friends list... Oh, and the whole gay marriage thing. :)

It was a good Friday. I was so happy to witness history. Gay marriage is legal in all 50 states. (I guess we can just call it 'marriage' now.)

I think I did a record number of "Likes" over the weekend as people were proclaiming their happiness and friends (both gay and straight) changed their profile pics to the rainbow filter.

Then came the hate.

Around 95% of the rude comments I witnessed came from people claiming to be LDS. Now, I can handle a healthy argument from both sides, but the comments and snide remarks I saw were the complete opposite of Christlike. I'd love for the straight, church-going, married-in-the-temple folks to walk a day in my shoes and see if their opinions would change. (Probably not, but thought I'd throw out the opportunity.)

I then realized - I don't need these negative people in my life. It was time for a Facebook Friend Cleanse, if you will. One by one, I unfriended these people, and it felt good. I was probably going to delete these friends anyway at some point, and this weekend was the perfect time to do so. My feed is now happier and much less depressing. Facebook is a good representation of my real life, too. The more and more I separate myself from the LDS Church, the happier I've become. (Full explanation of this separation is scheduled for a future blog post.) :)

Again, I'm happy for my friends who can now marry the person they love. And I hope to do the same someday. 

And to those former FB friends - seriously - how could you NOT shed a little tear for the above couple in their 80's who waited 54 years to get married?! I mean, that's pure love right there. 

That moment when you can't stop thinking about a movie on Netflix

I have a problem.

I am a constant multitasker, which means I always have to be doing more than one thing. When I'm at my desk at work, I'm usually listening to music or TV in the background and probably working on 2 or 3 projects at the same time. When I watch TV, I'm usually on my computer or phone. When I'm driving, I'm on the phone (not texting) and usually sipping a cold soda. When I'm reading a book, my mind wanders, and I usually give up after a few pages.

But a movie I watched last night on Netflix got my undivided attention and I'm still thinking about it the next day.

It was a slow Friday night. Work was busy all week and I was out late doing other obligations. So by Friday night, I just wanted a simple evening, alone. I treated myself to some Taco Bell (I know, so bad, but so good) and pulled up Netflix using my Chromecast. Now, in the past, I've had several Moho's suggest I watch the gay-themed movies offered, so that's where my search started. BTW, if you've searched for the gay movies on Netflix, you'll know that most look really cheesy and several only get one to two stars.

However, a movie called "The Way He Looks" got a surprising 5 stars on Netflix and a very impressive 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. Bingo. So I got comfortable and started watching. And I'm sure you're asking by now: how did this movie get my undivided attention? Well, it's in Portuguese so I had to read subtitles. :) This means no phone, no Facebook, no Twitter, no Reddit for 96 minutes. My eyes stayed on the TV the entire time, minus a 2-minute bathroom break.

But even if there were no subtitles, I still would be 100% focused - it's that good. Not to give too much away, because I think you, yes you, should see this movie. To summarize the summary from IMDB - Leo, a blind teen, is looking for independence. His best friend is a girl. But falls in love with new guy Gabriel.

When the credits rolled, I just sat there motionless. (This never happens!) I reflected on my own life. My own experiences. I thought about the impactful scenes I just saw in the movie. Movies don't usually affect me (I'm more of a series TV watcher) but this one I just can't get out of my mind. (And I have to give credit to the amazing actors. I thought Ghilherme Lobo, who plays Leo, is really blind in real life. Turns out, he's just really good at playing blind.)

I contemplated heavily after the movie because I missed out on so much of this 'gay' stuff, thanks to the darn church. As seen in the movie, I too developed feelings for guys while in high school, but all had to be squashed because, back then, it was wrong. I missed out on all this growing up and I got to live vicariously, for 96 minutes, through the actors.

Sigh.

I'm still hoping for the day I can eat Taco Bell on Friday's with someone special then snuggle up with him watching Netflix. (and maybe we'll watch a cheesy gay flick this go around.)

(And somebody PLEASE watch this movie so we can chat about it!)