I really like the movies directed by Wes Anderson. I like the colors, the costumes, the direction and, above all, the ingenious scripts. I recently watched Rushmore, a turn-of-the-century Anderson.

The last of the titles I saw on my back-to-the-Wes-Anderson universe journey was The French Dispatch. To be honest, I was not really excited to see the movie at first. The fragmented structure of the stories did not seem very interesting to me in the trailer, but I am taking very seriously my attempts to return to the world of movie-wtachers and book worms. And being a person that eventually sleeps well, but I do not want to get ahead of myself.

Here is the story: I have always been a person surrounded by books and the passion for cinema is equally old, but for some reason or several reasons (I still need to elaborate further) in recent years I have strggled to keep a reading routine and completed distanced myself from films. New releases? No interest. Oscar favourites? Those did not even get my attention.

My disdainful attitude was such that even if, from time to time, I felt like revisiting a classic, something always got in my way and I ended up forgetting to return to the world of movies. However, given my current erratic sleep rhythm, I decided to apply a formula that often works: when the routine is not working, change the routine.

I started with Fassbinder, then Cassavettes, the Tarantino and to Wes Anderson it was just a matter of time. And from there to Feng Shui just a matter of words.

Despite my delight with The French Dispatch, I was still not quite sure about the meaning of the word “dispatch”. After a quick search, among the definitions I found, two fit the title perfectly:

1. the sending of someone or something to a destination or for a purpose
2. a report sent in by a newspaper’s correspondent from a far away place

That is, ‘dispatch’, used as a noun, has to do with movement. And movement is about change, and I really could use a change! A big philosophical change? I wish! I was going for a much more basic kind of change, one that is essential to sustaining life: the change between sleep and wakefulness states.

It has been a while since I try to improve the quality of my sleep (yes, I know, there are many of us out there, babe). After trying teas, breathing exercises and healing oils, I remembered a resource not used in a long while: Feng Shui! Or, at least, an application of the age-old technique in home decor. It consists of rearranging the furniture and objects in the rooms, in order to make the energy flow more efficiently.

I have spent the whole day moving furniture around, cleaning, throwing useless things in the trash. The whole process raised an admirable amount of dust, causing a sinusitis crises, but otherwise an immense amount of joy, as Ms. Kondo would say or “functionality”, as I would say.

An example? Long ago I had positioned an armchair and a small table near the window to be my reading corner. However, every time I sat there with a book, there was a problem (too windy, too sunny, too much outside noise) and teh reading would not continue. I tried many times and failed miserably.

The solution: my wardrobe, which was previously kind of hidden in the gap behind the door is now in the problematic area near the window. And the gap behind the door became my new, upgraded reading corner. It has now not only the armchair and the table, but also a lamp!

And did all this moving and dusting work? It sure did. By the time I sat down to try out the new ambience, I did not feel like leaving at all. Even better, now I have the reading corner close to the bed, which has also a new position.

Dreamy nights, here I come.

Be seeing you!

G.F.