inspiring film

I went to see 500 days of summer last night and maybe because I saw it with Louisa, I really enjoyed it. I identified with the male lead. There were some interesting parallels with me
It got me thinking of episodes in my life and commitments.. and whether they stand up as decent stories. One which shows the most promise is my trip to the States when I was 21. I’d just finished my second year at Nottingham. My friendship with Michele was a distant –ish memory. I’d met Jan and knew it had the makings of a very enjoyable friendship, but I was a travellin’ man. I went to Italy after making some money. There I met Dan Jacobs and we explored Naples, visited Roman ruins and generally had a great time. He invited me to Harvard where he was studying. So later that summer I grabbed a cheap flight to New York, caught a Mink Deville concert at the Bottom Line, got a parking ticket and tipped up in Boston. It was a holiday of great characters and better experiences. Jed Corman was one of Dan’s room mates, Jed’s sister, Polly was a couple of years older than me and livelier. I watched ‘soccer’, saw Polly act, attended a tutorial about Yeats, generally intrigued and irritated people in equal measure. Got a lift back to NYC with an actor who was pals with Imelda Staunton ( by strange coincidence she ended up in Nottingham later that year)

When I got back to Nottingham, I met up with Jan and the rest is history. So what changed? What made a difference to my attitude?