I failed. In a typical London manner, it rained; and, in a typical manner in which I go about things I have serious personal apprehensions, I found it as an excuse not to try. Thus, in the typical manner that life imitates art, this rainy day became the backdrop against which an exchange of favors (my introverted self to put on the fangirl mask for the price of an autograph and small - miniscule - talk) failed to take place.

I could try again tomorrow.
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I was fully prepared for an onslaught of emotionally harrowing plot twists and revelations on the scale of Long Day's Journey into Night but it was surprisingly open to all sorts of hopeful trajectories, if one is optimistic. Many things struck me about it (not the least of which how truly amazing it was to be within meters, sometimes less, of James McAvoy) but what's lingering now is Ned's assertion that life in summary, can be seen as two pillars connected by an arch: what we want and what we get linked by guilt. Since it is a very Catholic/Christian notion - Ned himself confesses to believe in original sin - it is difficult for me to generalize it's significance without worrying what my own background adds to the picture. Yet for me there is a very real sense that between the things we intend to say/have/do and the things we do or don't get/say/do is the burden of responsibility. For what exactly, it is unclear. It could be a sense of responsibility for a small explanation of how things came to be the way they are or for actual missteps and misjudgments. Could we ever free ourselves of this burden?