Brokeback Mountain is such a wonderful, powerful movie. As I do not have classes on Tuesdays, I went to catch the noon showing at the nearby movie theatre in my neighborhood today. There was hardly anyone there and I had the entire row to myself as a result. That turned out to be a good thing. I was tearing – actually, I was flat out crying – in some of the more moving scenes, and I’m glad that no one was sitting nearby to witness my histrionic display. I have not been this touched by a film in a long time. The last movie to have a similar effect on me was Schindler’s List (which came out more than a decade ago). I suppose the reason why the movie resonates with me – and with so many others who have watched this movie – is that loneliness – a recurring theme in the movie – is such a relatable feeling. And you don’t have to be a “gay cowboy” to understand what it feels like to be misunderstood, sad and lonely.

The weather here has been rather temperamental. Yesterday was gorgeous. It felt like we were in the middle of spring as opposed to the dead of winter – I shed both my coat and sweater so that I could sit out in Washington Square Park in between classes and bask in the warm sun. But today the gloomy, rainy weather resembles more of the New York winter days that I am used to. Oh well. All in all, we’ve been experiencing a rather mild winter thus far.