Are you excited?

Another common question. Not a bad one .. just not quite right. A common mistake for English speakers speaking Spanish is to ask "estas excitada?" which does not translate to are you excited. It translates to are you aroused. "Estas emocionada?" is the correct way to ask.. are you emotional? This seems like a better question. Yes, I feel emotional -- full of emotion -- many different ones.

Here is my pregnancy metaphor:

Imagine one day, you and your beloved go to an art auction. On a whim, you decide to bid on a piece of art, and you win. This is no regular auction however. All you know about the art you have purchased is that it is art. You don't get to see it before buying. It can be from any era -- modern, renaissance, early Egyptian -- and take almost any form -- an installation, a painting, photography, furniture. You have no idea. You get home from the auction and you freak out. What if the art is too big for your house? You need a new house. What if you don't like it? There are no refunds and no returns.

Time passes and the auction house calls to say your art is almost ready. You go to a gallery and sit with your partner in front of a large black curtain. They can't tell you exactly when they will lower the curtain so you can see what you have bought. You just have to wait. While you are waiting, they remind you that you (the female) will have to complete an obstacle course before you get to take the art home. You'll experience the worst pain of your life.. there is also a small chance that you won't complete the course in a satisfactory manner so you won't get to take the art home .. and ( they're sure they mentioned this earlier) there is an really small chance, you'll die on the course.

But you knew that when you bought the art.

Plus, you're a person of faith and you've taken a basic stats course, so you're pretty sure you'll make it. So there you are waiting. Are you excited? Well, sure, that would be one of many, many emotional states you feel as you sit in front of your black curtain. You'd also probably feel terrified, thrilled, honored, a zen-like acceptance at how little control you have in life, doubtful, confident, strong, weak.. everything .. all at once. Emocionada.

There is one thing you know because you have friends who participated in similar twilight zone art auctions. No matter what work of art you get, you'll love it. Even if its 5 big screen tvs playing matthew barney's latest cremaster series and you've never really thought he was that great, all of a sudden, now that its yours, its genius. Why didn't you appreciate his art before? What did you ever do without it? You can't remember. Because once you have this art, you will protect it with your life and you will never be the same.