The Butterfly Effect

Thanks to the shingles I am out of commission, apparently all week - that is what my boss expects. And this morning my consultant at the agency warned me I could be out for up to 3 weeks. No way! I was hoping to be able to wear something more formal than pyjamas by the end of this week! But I don't know, some of it is right along the bra line. Evil. And water on the skin? Forget it.

I am unable to go to a friend's birthday this weekend. I'm not contagious, but I don't want anyone to worry.

Well, the throbbing, pinching pain is mostly gone this evening, but there is a rawness, and the itching is becoming much more intense; there was even a little spreading yesterday, but it's definitely slowed down. It is easy to keep my hands off, but compression and warmth help, and when my hand is there compressing, the temptation to maybe scratch round the edges of the gauze and tape is sometimes too much...then there is a sort of stupid lingering pain under the whole area.

Oh! Must take my midnight dose. High dosage tablets, five per day for a week (probably because it's so poorly absorbed by the body). It's not hard to forget when you have something so pervasive. I almost watch the clock.

This thing is so wicked...more so than the original chicken pox. If you've had that then you must try to avoid developing shingles, ok? Which means, keep down your stress levels and keep up your immunity.

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On to better things. I saw a movie the other night that we might enjoy discussing.

It's The Butterfly Effect.

First off, I am no fan of Ashton Kutcher. No, not even that, he's not even an issue. The actors in a movie don't influence whether I watch it or not, I'm not critical in that way. (I don't like Cameron Diaz but have watched There's Something About Mary twice.) But I must say, young Mr Kutcher did a good job in this.

It was a fascinating premise and one that obviously interests me as a psychology grad and a lover of some things sci-fi.

A psychology student called Evan (Kutcher) with a troubled childhood finds a way of travelling back in time and into the body of his childhood to certain events in his life via his journal entries. In this way, he is world-wise enough to tweak the main events that influence his life in order to improve the long-term outcome. After each episode he returns to the present but often with drastic changes, and he must undergo a fit during which his memories are rewritten and he suffers some hemorrhaging. However, each attempt is detrimental to his life and the lives of the people who are closest to him.

Depending on which event he tries to control, the outcomes are wildly varying and he goes further back each time to find the root problem.

The final solution means he must return to a day when he says something that turns the love of his life, Kayleigh, away from him forever. And only then do their lives take a normal path. Of all the variables, it had to be her.

Finally, Evan finds himself at the college dorm, roommates with the friend Kenny who in all other scenarios had been tied to a bed in a mental hospital, but who is now studying architecture. He experiences the hemorrhage...Kenny asks if he needs to see a doctor...he insists everything will be alright now, then asks "How's Kayleigh?"
And Kenny says, "Who's she?"

Sad, but triumphant, ending.

Some years later, working in NYC, Evan passes Kayleigh on the street. They glance at each other the way you do when you get the feeling you've seen someone somewhere before, except he knows who she is. She then looks back at him but keeps walking. Then he looks back too, but shakes his head and keeps going. He has chosen to keep the solution uncompromised.

I hope you find the time to watch it.

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Oh my gosh!! 'Tis getting worse. Please tell me not to scratch it!!!