My friend's other selves and other musings

This last weekend, I went with a dear friend to see Another Earth.  Now this next sentence may be shocking, but please stick with it.  Part of the plot involves the discovery of another Earth.  Now that bombshell has dropped, let me add some more detail.  This Earth-2 is identical to ours including the people.  So on these two Earths, there are two of me, two of you and two of everyone else.  This is a big deal in the film, causing a lot of pontification from people and philosophers alike (yes, philosophers aren't people).  This wasn't a big deal for my friend however, as he told me over a post cinema coffee and cake.  He's practically surrounded by other versions of himself.

Now, when he told me this over coffee, I was just as confused as you no doubt are.  Well, that's not entirely true.  At first I was thinking "wow, my friend is a closet egotist, I didn't realise he was so vain."  Before I could follow on from his bizarre remark, he very kind prefaced his next barrage with "I don't mean that in a vain, I see myself everywhere kind of way...".  Gee, silly me, what other way to take it?

So, my friend (let's call him C Eigeman to protect his identity - no, wait, too easy to guess, Chris E) enlightened me to his odd circumstances.  Let's paint the scene somewhat; Chris E is fairly easy going guy, which is what makes the insanity that follows seem a tad displaced.  He's okay looking, nothing spectacular, but very friendly, good to be around.  I think he works for a graphical design company but in an admin capacity.  I'm not sure, I really don't know him that well.  We met at party of a mutual friend and he likes films too, so I see him once, maybe twice a month for a cinema trip.

I relax my raised eyebrow and allow him to expand upon his opening statement.  I'm anticipating some nonsense about fashion adverts styling his style and how he wore plaid shirts before anyone else could have possibly heard of them.  So yeah, I'm anticipating the worst.  I take a long and bold sip of coffee as he opens his mouth.

"So, my reflection has a life of its own."

I put my coffee cup back on its saucer.  It's a large cup and, I'm not going to lie, I can admit I'm a bit out of shape, so I struggle to keep the coffee from spilling while I place the cup down.  "Sorry?"

"My reflection, like in a mirror, not me.  Looks like me y'know, but the dude has his own life to deal with."

"Nope, you've lost me."

So I sat there and had Chris explain things to me.  Turns out that he's face is strangely asymmetrical.  It just happens that when reflect, he looks like a young Adonis.  Chris first noticed the discrepency between his own and his reflections fortunes when he was around seven years of age.  His school had a competition for Chinese New Year.  Kids had to dress up in either traditional costume or as their sign of the Chinese zodiac.    Chris came home with a sticker for 3rd place, his reflection came back with a trophy for first.

It was pretty cool for a while.  Basically Chris had an extra friend when he was washing his hands or cleaning his teeth.  Things got a bit darker when he went to university (I'm going to say Leeds, but I was only half listening to details - I was eating a really fucking good cake at the time).  He remembered going through a pretty rough break up in his first year, so he went out to get completely smashed with friends, go clubbing, go flirting, "spread some oats" as he put it.  Anyway, not a successful night on Chris' part.  What made it worse was that Chris had a presentation to give at a seminar the next day.  He went to the bathroom to shave.  This proved difficult as his mirror was filled with all kinds of flesh and pieces of anatomy that would be blurred out if they were on television at that time of day.

"Jesus Christ man," Chris said to himself, "I'm trying to shave here!"

"I'm not stopping you," the other Chris replied, snorting coke off some privileged lady's back.

"Hopefully, those girls weren't missing their reflections," I commented, feeling very happy with myself at pointing out this bizarre inconsistency.

"Hey, you joke but I've had times when my reflection has disappeared for weeks on end.  I'm stuck in my shitty job, my supermodel reflection is jetting off to LA and back.  I've already come to terms with the fact that one day my reflection will pass out and choke on his own vomit.  It's fucked up."

"Yeah, I really feel for you."  Yikes, sometimes my sarcasm even surprises myself.  "Anyway, you said you were surrounded.  I hardly feel you talking to your own reflection justifies 'surrounded'."

"You remember where we met Ben?"

"Yeah, so much so I remembered to mention it early in this blog post."

"You remember seeing me drinking?"

I rewound my brain.  I certainly remember seeing myself drink a lot.  I remember speaking to Chris.  Nope, no idea.

"No?  Did I?" Hestitancy was the best I could offer.

"No you didn't.  Do you want to know why that is?"

"Not especially, but I'm sure you'll tell me anyway," I snapped back.

"Well, something happens when I drink, beyond just getting drunk.  I kind of change into someone else."

I could relate.  I am somewhat of a messy drunk.

Chris continued.  "I might physically turn into Rutherford Hayes..."

"Who?"

"What are you, uneducated?  The 19th President of the United States."

Well that's completely novel, I thought to myself.  "And what's that like?"

"It's a mixed bag really Ben.  At first he was really excited and besotted by new technology, so I ended up doing and seeing things I wouldn't have done otherwise.  Problem is I don't remember it.  As time has gone on, he's become more and more jaded about technology and modern life.  There is one thing he loves doing though.  He loves watching Jeff Goldblum movies on demand.  I stayed at a Holiday Inn once.  I don't know how he managed to watch five of them in an evening, but I had to pay it at the front desk the next day.  I couldn't look the receptionist in the eyes."

And this is the story of my friend Chris E (actually, I think I prefer C Eigeman after all).

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Other musings

I don't know Chris Eigeman, but after watching him for the better part of an hour and a half today in Metropolitan today, I thought I had to get a reference in.  I am in love with that film.  I need to see me more Whit Stillman.

In other exciting film news, I had a strange double bill of the Thing remake remake and Encounters at the End of the World, which made for lots of looking at snow.  One is much superior to the other.  I'll leave you to guess which.

I actually did see Another Earth with another human being and that was the lovely Ms Ella Hashemi (who can be found here http://apprentice42.wordpress.com/ ).  I thought I'd kindly remove her from the story as see is definitely not as mad as the fictional Chris.

I'm playing chess over the phone with a friend.  Five moves in.

This time next week, I'll be going to bed in preparation for my last day at work before Christmas.

This time tomorrow, I'll have made my return to the cocktail bar from a few posts ago.  A friend reliably informs me that the bar is actually a refurbished toilet.  The things one learns eh?

Now to bed!  I am so close to finishing my Woody Allen book!  Then I'll be moving on to either Hemingway or the Complete Book of Chess Strategy.  I have to work out a way to beat my friend at some point.  (I think he is up a career 3-0 on me).