Great Expectations

Gee Whiz, two weeks between posts? Welcome to the den of lavish slackery and subtle procrastination. I guess one of the things about having a blog is actually writing in said blog on a regular basis. Gadzooks!

So, I'll take a moment in between my rash of other projects/workings to say a few words about a random topic: expectations. They are all around us. They affect everything we plan for, and often stuff we don't.

Think about it - how often do you say something like "that restaurant was not nearly as good as I thought it would be" or "the trailers made that movie look way better, man!" or even "that movie was WAY better than I was expecting"?? I, myself, hate expectations. I deliberately will not watch trailers or read internet buzz about a film if I think I'll like it. Honestly - I even close my eyes or switch the channel if a trailer comes on. I like to go in blind and with my own preconceived notions about the film...which most of the time translates into open-mindedness for even the most dismal-looking of films (okay, I admit that I had bottom of the barrel expectations for Zombie's Halloween 2, and it more than met them, but rules were made to be broken, no?).

So whats the deal, then? Why is this so? It is so freakin' random...I mean, some films you know suck balls, but are a fun ride anyway...and some films are critically lauded and you think suck balls. I suppose personal taste has a big influence on this, but I also think it's how we approach things in our day-to-day life that matter as well. I tend not to get too worked up, unless its something special (even Christmas is fun, but not so outrageously exciting as in my early youth)...and whether this is pessimism or just laziness is open to interpretation. ;)

Anyway, it's just interesting to me that if I put a highly-anticipated movie off, or if it takes it's time getting to North America, then the more time I have to stew about it and get my expectations up...and in turn, how disappointing it usually is...hence why I enjoy searching out the 'diamonds in the rough' more often than not.