Yes, some dreams come true. And yes, some dreams fall through.

My favorite movie rendition of Dickens's Christmas classic is The Muppet Christmas Carol, hands down. It has the right characters and charming humor to deliver on the Christmas message without being sappy. There are other good ones too: I love the scene in Mickey's Christmas Carol where Bob Cratchit (played by Mickey) slices up a single pea as his family's holiday dinner. Regardless, though, the Muppet version is the best.

Do you remember the scene with Belle? She's young Scrooge's fiancée, and she's lost faith in him after years after passed and they remain unmarried. He gives excuses: business is poor, they don't have enough to buy a decent home. His excuses are lame, and she sees right through him, so he reminds her, "This is for you." He insists that all the thing he's doing that are causing her pain are actually things that will be beneficial to her. And she dumps him on the spot.

Watching this movie again today, I realized that I fear turning into young Scrooge more than anything. I fear becoming so engrossed in the technical details of something (anything) that I'll lose sight of what's most important (i.e., interpersonal relationships, esp. with my future wife). Most of all, I fear becoming that guy that has made his work so important that the other aspects of his life struggle. I have no qualms with doing that now--young and single is the time to lose myself in my work, so that I can afford to not do it later--but it rests on the assumption that I'll be able to live differently later.

And I wonder if I've made irreversible mistakes already.

There comes a moment in your life
Like a window, and you see
Your future there before you
And how perfect life can be
But adventure calls with unheard voices
Willing you away
Be careful or you may regret
The choice you make someday