60 seconds left

(It was a choice of writing about Event Horizon, Jurrasic Park or this... Yeah. Apparently, I'm a real girly-girl at heart. I'll get to those movies in other posts another time.)

"What if your house was on fire! You have 60 seconds left before everything burnt down & you could save one thing only, what would it be?"

That was the question Declan (Matthew Goode) posed to Anna (Amy Adams) in one of their slightly deeper "I hate your guts but I'm stuck with you..." conversations and, for me, the clear backbone that made the movie Leap Year absolutely meaningful and riddled with insight.

Plot was simple enough: Boston gal Anna flies off to Ireland to propose to her cardiologist boyfriend on Leap Day (because an old Irish folklore allows that to be so), gets waylaid in Dingle while boyfriend is all the way in Dublin, asks a local barkeep to take her to the capital by Leap Day so such proposal may happen, and falls in love with him along the way. Of course barkeep Declan and Boston gal Anna end up together in the movie, that isn't much of a spoiler. Its a fluffy chick flick, you can't expect any less than happily ever after.

What stirred my soul, however, was the scene right before Anna and Declan got their happily ever after. Anna was back in the States with her cardiologist boyfriend, supposedly happily engaged to him. While contemplating her new affianced status, she sets off their apartment's fire alarm and realizes a sad fact: while boyfriend was fast to grab his laptop, saying "I haven't sent out the message of our engagement on facebook yet," Anna just stood there. She felt no urgency, no rush to save to anything in that apartment, in that life with the cardiologist.

It's when she realized what she needed was back in Ireland, and she had to go back and get it.

That scene got me thinking about what I would do if placed in a situation like that. If my house was burning down, what would I grab instinctively? I consider myself lucky because I know exactly what I'd save first.

And in order of importance, they are:

1. Papa, Mama, Achi, Marty, Tito Isat and our house help, although I'm hoping their legs will let them walk/run out on their own. Yet if I must, I shall bear them on my shoulders.
2. My dogs. Yes. My dogs. Belle, Bubu and Brandy. Oh, and our house turtle, Pagonggong. If I had the strength to carry my 80 gallon aquarium out, I'd do that, too.
3. My books. Egads, the thought of my collection... gone... I'd rather burn with my books than leave them to the flames.
4. My iPod. I have TONS of songs & movies in it: LOTR extended, Flight of Dragons, Snoopy Come Home, my glamrock and run playlists. Reminder to self: back up all 30Gs of it in iBook/Mac Mini... soon!
   
5. Lula and my Nike sports tops. Running essentials and major investments for me. 'Nuff said.
   
6. 5 fridge magnets. Four are yearbook photos of my brother's 4 beautiful daughters, and the fifth is a family photo. Wait a minute... this should be up in #4...
   
7. My purple bead necklace. Made of wood, classic, goes well with everything and passed on to me from my Amah.
8. My disc! Manila Spirits circa '06. She's white, worn out and well-used. She's had a great many throws and plenty more memories.
9. My bikinis! My family could never understand why I have to have so many, but I do and I love each piece. They've given me nothing but good vibes on the beach.
10. And my vintage shoes! They're all hand-me-downs, but still classically gorgeous. Bally, Ferregamo, Bruno Magli... they make my heart sing.
    

WHEW! That turned out longer a list than I'd initially thought it would be. This house had better not ever burn down.

So, here's looking at you now. If YOU had 60 seconds left before everything was gone, what would you grab to save first?