Friday, July 9, 2010
Photos!
You asked for photos so here they are! The apartment is a mess as you can see... not too much time to get everything done, plus, being on the third floor in this heat? It's stifling. If you're not moving it's fine, so sleeping has been great, but other than that it's pretty bad. I'm not an air conditioner kinda girl but I think we're going to have to get one. I'll keep everyone posted on that! Anywho... ignore the boxes and mess everywhere and take a look at the new pad!
The living room.
The kitchen.
The bathroom.
Bathroom shelves for storage.
My bedroom.
Again...
My dresser and the closet, which is BIG! The other side of the wall behind the dresser is ALL closet!!
So what do you think? Pretty rad, huh? Once we are more settled and organized I'll take some photos of the finished project! Hopefully that will be soon!!
The living room.
The kitchen.
The bathroom.
Bathroom shelves for storage.
My bedroom.
Again...
My dresser and the closet, which is BIG! The other side of the wall behind the dresser is ALL closet!!
So what do you think? Pretty rad, huh? Once we are more settled and organized I'll take some photos of the finished project! Hopefully that will be soon!!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
What is this?
A butterfly or a moth? I saw this as I was leaving work this morning and thought it was pretty cool!
Monday, July 5, 2010
State Street: Where it's at.
I bet you thought I'd be writing this from the new apartment but when I wrote last week that Monday would be my first night in the new place I forgot that the electricity wouldn't be hooked up. So now I'm thinking that Wednesday will be my first night over on State Street!
We got all moved in this morning thanks to my Dad, Jared, Adam and Adam's friend, Dan. I cannot believe how quickly the process was! I think the guys were in a hurry to finish up since it was so hot. I barely did a thing and before I knew it everything was moved in! They even helped Beth with her heavy items so we offered to buy them some of their favorite beer and cook them dinner once the place is all set up! They were cracking me up- I've never seen people make moving look so fun but Adam, Dan and Jared were laughing and making jokes the whole time! It was great, I don't know what I would have done without all the help!
It was so hot today which made the apartment pretty uncomfortable while I was trying to get things organized but it was best to just suck it up and get on with it! I got all of my kitchen stuff unloaded and pretty much everything for the bedroom. I'm already in love with my closet and technically it's a walk-in because I can actually walk into it and turn around and stuff! It was nice to just toss my shoes and clothes in there just to get them out of the way. I'm not sure if I like the way that I set of the bedroom because it feels like one side of the room is really crowded and the other is empty so I'll see how I'm feeling once everything is put away and there are no more boxes in the middle of the floor.
We're realizing all of the little things that are missing or need to be fixed in the apartment. The bathroom lacks a towel rack and toilet paper dispenser, my bedroom door doesn't latch when you shut it, where the carpet meets the tile needs some work as well. Right now there are raw edges and while they don't look nice, the real problem is that I've tripped on it a couple times already. Speaking of raw edges, the cabinets have quite a few and there is a large space behind the counter that holds the sink which absolutely has to be fixed before the kitties move in. If Neve gets back there I'm not sure we'll ever see her again... Word of advice for everyone: If you check out an apartment WHILE it's being renovated, you might want to consider telling the landlord you'd like to wait until it's completely done before you decide that you want to rent it.
That being said we LOVE the apartment and can't wait to be settled. Beth and I hit Target today and bought a few things we needed right away. We got a really great shower curtain which we already hung and it looks fabulous!! We high-fived after it was up, that's how great it looks! By the time we got back from our Target trip it was nearly 4:30 so Beth headed home but I stayed about an hour longer just to get my room under control. I threw my comforter on the bed and laid down for a minute but found myself about to fall asleep so I figured I should call it a day. Not only was I tired but the heat was making me extra sleepy! I've planted myself directly in front of a fan while I write this and I'm finally cooling off although I have to admit I probably don't smell great and I look like hell... but who cares? It was a productive day and I can't wait to have all the little things fixed in the apartment and be moved in soon!
I thought about taking some pictures today but there was stuff everywhere so I'll wait until we get cleaned up a bit more and once we have electricity I can turn on some lights!
Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!
We got all moved in this morning thanks to my Dad, Jared, Adam and Adam's friend, Dan. I cannot believe how quickly the process was! I think the guys were in a hurry to finish up since it was so hot. I barely did a thing and before I knew it everything was moved in! They even helped Beth with her heavy items so we offered to buy them some of their favorite beer and cook them dinner once the place is all set up! They were cracking me up- I've never seen people make moving look so fun but Adam, Dan and Jared were laughing and making jokes the whole time! It was great, I don't know what I would have done without all the help!
It was so hot today which made the apartment pretty uncomfortable while I was trying to get things organized but it was best to just suck it up and get on with it! I got all of my kitchen stuff unloaded and pretty much everything for the bedroom. I'm already in love with my closet and technically it's a walk-in because I can actually walk into it and turn around and stuff! It was nice to just toss my shoes and clothes in there just to get them out of the way. I'm not sure if I like the way that I set of the bedroom because it feels like one side of the room is really crowded and the other is empty so I'll see how I'm feeling once everything is put away and there are no more boxes in the middle of the floor.
We're realizing all of the little things that are missing or need to be fixed in the apartment. The bathroom lacks a towel rack and toilet paper dispenser, my bedroom door doesn't latch when you shut it, where the carpet meets the tile needs some work as well. Right now there are raw edges and while they don't look nice, the real problem is that I've tripped on it a couple times already. Speaking of raw edges, the cabinets have quite a few and there is a large space behind the counter that holds the sink which absolutely has to be fixed before the kitties move in. If Neve gets back there I'm not sure we'll ever see her again... Word of advice for everyone: If you check out an apartment WHILE it's being renovated, you might want to consider telling the landlord you'd like to wait until it's completely done before you decide that you want to rent it.
That being said we LOVE the apartment and can't wait to be settled. Beth and I hit Target today and bought a few things we needed right away. We got a really great shower curtain which we already hung and it looks fabulous!! We high-fived after it was up, that's how great it looks! By the time we got back from our Target trip it was nearly 4:30 so Beth headed home but I stayed about an hour longer just to get my room under control. I threw my comforter on the bed and laid down for a minute but found myself about to fall asleep so I figured I should call it a day. Not only was I tired but the heat was making me extra sleepy! I've planted myself directly in front of a fan while I write this and I'm finally cooling off although I have to admit I probably don't smell great and I look like hell... but who cares? It was a productive day and I can't wait to have all the little things fixed in the apartment and be moved in soon!
I thought about taking some pictures today but there was stuff everywhere so I'll wait until we get cleaned up a bit more and once we have electricity I can turn on some lights!
Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Apartment: FOUND!
Howdy! I finally have some great, exciting news to report so I wanted to post it on the blog!
After nearly 2 months of searching I have found an apartment! The location is amazing... right in downtown Portsmouth! Walking distance to shops, bars, restaurants! My good friend Beth decided that she'd like to look for a two bedroom apartment with me so we began the hunt just a couple of weeks ago. We saw a few places that definitely weren't going to work out and one place that was so completely wonderful except that the only full bath was off of one of the bedrooms- we tried desperately to think of a way to work around this, but, in the end... it wasn't meant to be. Finally on Saturday we found a place to call home!
It's a 2 bedroom/ 1 bathroom on the third floor of a 5 unit building in the historic district of Portsmouth. The entire unit has been redone as the former tenant, an elderly woman, lived there for 18 years so no updates had taken place in quite some time. The bedrooms are not huge, but still a good size and the bathroom is completely redone and pretty spacious, with a skylight so it's nice and bright. The kitchen is big and there's room for my little white table. There's a dishwasher and all of the cabinets and counter tops are new as well. The living room is right off the kitchen and also pretty big. Because it is the top floor the ceilings are slanted so I'm not sure if anything too tall will fit against the walls but we'll think of something and there really is plenty of space. There are a couple skylights in this room too! Our rent includes heat and hot water but we'll be responsible for the cable and electric bill, even so, it's in my price range. Beth and I know nothing about setting up cable and electricity but that's what parents are for, right? We have off street parking, which is fabulous considering the close proximity to downtown. I have a feeling the street parking, which is metered, gets pretty crowded. Snow removal is taken care of in the winter, also a plus!
On Friday I'll go sign the lease and get the keys! I'll probably bring over a few things at that time as well but we officially move in on Monday. I'm working all weekend and Beth will be in Maine for the holiday but we both have Monday off, as do my Dad and brother, Adam. We'll get the heavy stuff in that day and since I'll have a bed in there, Monday will be my first night in the new place, with the kitties of course!
I'm so glad for Belami and Neve's sake that we found an apartment finally! They don't like being in the room when they can hear people (mainly me) upstairs and Belami scratches the door and the carpet in an attempt to get out! What a naughty boy!! They are really going to be happy in the new space!
We started shopping for the apartment yesterday and found some great deals on cute plates, glasses and some mixing bowls. I have a few kitchen basics- pots and pans etc- already so I think we'll wait until we move in to figure out what else we need. We didn't like any of the shower curtains we saw but that's something we'll need soon... can't take a shower without a shower curtain...
I'm glad that most of my stuff is still in boxes. That will make it easier to move and I don't have to do a lot of packing! I can't wait to be settled! I'll take some pictures and post them for everyone to check out. It'll be empty at first but as we get furniture moved in and start to accessorize I'll post new pics!
Things are going great! Good to be home but I really do miss Park City a lot :( The whole experience is starting to feel like a dream... like it never really happened... I wish things had worked out for me to stay at least a little bit longer. But enough about that! I've decided to live in the moment. Don't worry about the past, don't worry about the future, just ENJOY!
After nearly 2 months of searching I have found an apartment! The location is amazing... right in downtown Portsmouth! Walking distance to shops, bars, restaurants! My good friend Beth decided that she'd like to look for a two bedroom apartment with me so we began the hunt just a couple of weeks ago. We saw a few places that definitely weren't going to work out and one place that was so completely wonderful except that the only full bath was off of one of the bedrooms- we tried desperately to think of a way to work around this, but, in the end... it wasn't meant to be. Finally on Saturday we found a place to call home!
It's a 2 bedroom/ 1 bathroom on the third floor of a 5 unit building in the historic district of Portsmouth. The entire unit has been redone as the former tenant, an elderly woman, lived there for 18 years so no updates had taken place in quite some time. The bedrooms are not huge, but still a good size and the bathroom is completely redone and pretty spacious, with a skylight so it's nice and bright. The kitchen is big and there's room for my little white table. There's a dishwasher and all of the cabinets and counter tops are new as well. The living room is right off the kitchen and also pretty big. Because it is the top floor the ceilings are slanted so I'm not sure if anything too tall will fit against the walls but we'll think of something and there really is plenty of space. There are a couple skylights in this room too! Our rent includes heat and hot water but we'll be responsible for the cable and electric bill, even so, it's in my price range. Beth and I know nothing about setting up cable and electricity but that's what parents are for, right? We have off street parking, which is fabulous considering the close proximity to downtown. I have a feeling the street parking, which is metered, gets pretty crowded. Snow removal is taken care of in the winter, also a plus!
On Friday I'll go sign the lease and get the keys! I'll probably bring over a few things at that time as well but we officially move in on Monday. I'm working all weekend and Beth will be in Maine for the holiday but we both have Monday off, as do my Dad and brother, Adam. We'll get the heavy stuff in that day and since I'll have a bed in there, Monday will be my first night in the new place, with the kitties of course!
I'm so glad for Belami and Neve's sake that we found an apartment finally! They don't like being in the room when they can hear people (mainly me) upstairs and Belami scratches the door and the carpet in an attempt to get out! What a naughty boy!! They are really going to be happy in the new space!
We started shopping for the apartment yesterday and found some great deals on cute plates, glasses and some mixing bowls. I have a few kitchen basics- pots and pans etc- already so I think we'll wait until we move in to figure out what else we need. We didn't like any of the shower curtains we saw but that's something we'll need soon... can't take a shower without a shower curtain...
I'm glad that most of my stuff is still in boxes. That will make it easier to move and I don't have to do a lot of packing! I can't wait to be settled! I'll take some pictures and post them for everyone to check out. It'll be empty at first but as we get furniture moved in and start to accessorize I'll post new pics!
Things are going great! Good to be home but I really do miss Park City a lot :( The whole experience is starting to feel like a dream... like it never really happened... I wish things had worked out for me to stay at least a little bit longer. But enough about that! I've decided to live in the moment. Don't worry about the past, don't worry about the future, just ENJOY!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Newfields, NH- part 2.
As promised here is the blog I should have written yesterday but was just too wound up for!
We arrived right around 5:30 pm with the final mile count at 2436! Now you have to remember that a couple of those miles are driving from the highways to the hotels and back again, but only a couple. We figured out that we spent around $37 on tolls altogether which is a bummer but we forgot to bring the EZ-Pass along so there was no way around it.
On the final day of traveling we drove 473 miles and spent $55.65 on gas between the two times we stopped for it. Belami and Neve had another great day of driving! They slept the whole way and now they're settling into our temporary room in Mom and Dad's basement. They seem quite content- B is sleeping on the window ledge, perfect for a cat, and Neve is sleeping here next to me. There are lots of noises to keep them on their toes- mostly these noises come from the crazy Irish setters running around upstairs! So far Nellie, the Chihuahua, and Lacey, my parents' sweet Siamese kitty, have come in the room to say hello and I think we'll probably leave it at that for now. This is a lot for my little guys to take in and they really are doing swell!! We never did find Neve's collar so we'll make her a new tag at the shelter tomorrow morning.
I've begun the apartment hunt and I'm excited to see what the Portsmouth area has to offer! I think I've gotten past the fact that I really had THE perfect apartment and roommate in Park City and I'm trying not to compare the places I find to my previous digs on Three Kings. I saw a cute apartment today but it wasn't exactly what I'm looking for. Great location and they allow kitties but it's very small and while I'd have my own bathroom it was sort of down the hall from the rest of the unit and I think I'd have to walk by someone else's door to get to it. I didn't really explain that correctly but it just wasn't an ideal situation. There's another place I'll go look at on Friday so I'll keep everyone posted on the search for a great apartment!
I'm looking at one bedrooms/ studios currently. I really do like having a roommate but I don't want to end up in another roommate from hell situation like the one I found myself in when I first moved to Park City. I wouldn't have a problem moving in with someone I know or even someone that one of my friends knows but for now I'll stick to looking for places on my own.
Looking for an apartment is one of those things in life where you can't control any aspect of the components that go into it EXCEPT your own attitude so as long as I keep my chin up I know I'll find something great!
The weather is absolutely gorgeous right now! I want to make it to the beach in the next couple of days and enjoy the ocean, which I've missed! It looks like it's going to rain, but all day the sun has been shining and a slight breeze blowing. The temperature stayed in the seventies- perfect.
Tomorrow I'm going to pick up Jared at Keene. I'm excited to see my baby brother and check out the area he's been calling home for the past couple of years! I've been to the KSC campus before when Meg and some other high school friends were attending, but it's been years. Since Jared started his freshman year a few weeks after I moved to Park City I've never been able to visit him there so I'm really happy to go pick him up!
On Friday I hope to make a trip to downtown Exeter for a Serendipity run and maybe grab some lunch at either Blue Moon, The Loaf and Ladle or The Green Bean! So many choices for delicious, fresh food!!! I had my first Dunkin Donuts ice coffee since last July and it was yummy and refreshing and inexpensive! Haha. Today I started reading for book group which I am so excited to rejoin this month!!
It's great to be home! Definitely feels a little weird but I'm excited to start this next chapter in my life! We are in control of our own happiness and I'm taking charge! I learned a lot in Park City and I feel stronger and smarter than I did before I took the leap and moved out West without knowing a single soul! I have lots of wonderful new friends to thank for making my 20 months in the mountains so wonderful! Never fear my Utahns- I'll be back for a visit before you know it!
We arrived right around 5:30 pm with the final mile count at 2436! Now you have to remember that a couple of those miles are driving from the highways to the hotels and back again, but only a couple. We figured out that we spent around $37 on tolls altogether which is a bummer but we forgot to bring the EZ-Pass along so there was no way around it.
On the final day of traveling we drove 473 miles and spent $55.65 on gas between the two times we stopped for it. Belami and Neve had another great day of driving! They slept the whole way and now they're settling into our temporary room in Mom and Dad's basement. They seem quite content- B is sleeping on the window ledge, perfect for a cat, and Neve is sleeping here next to me. There are lots of noises to keep them on their toes- mostly these noises come from the crazy Irish setters running around upstairs! So far Nellie, the Chihuahua, and Lacey, my parents' sweet Siamese kitty, have come in the room to say hello and I think we'll probably leave it at that for now. This is a lot for my little guys to take in and they really are doing swell!! We never did find Neve's collar so we'll make her a new tag at the shelter tomorrow morning.
I've begun the apartment hunt and I'm excited to see what the Portsmouth area has to offer! I think I've gotten past the fact that I really had THE perfect apartment and roommate in Park City and I'm trying not to compare the places I find to my previous digs on Three Kings. I saw a cute apartment today but it wasn't exactly what I'm looking for. Great location and they allow kitties but it's very small and while I'd have my own bathroom it was sort of down the hall from the rest of the unit and I think I'd have to walk by someone else's door to get to it. I didn't really explain that correctly but it just wasn't an ideal situation. There's another place I'll go look at on Friday so I'll keep everyone posted on the search for a great apartment!
I'm looking at one bedrooms/ studios currently. I really do like having a roommate but I don't want to end up in another roommate from hell situation like the one I found myself in when I first moved to Park City. I wouldn't have a problem moving in with someone I know or even someone that one of my friends knows but for now I'll stick to looking for places on my own.
Looking for an apartment is one of those things in life where you can't control any aspect of the components that go into it EXCEPT your own attitude so as long as I keep my chin up I know I'll find something great!
The weather is absolutely gorgeous right now! I want to make it to the beach in the next couple of days and enjoy the ocean, which I've missed! It looks like it's going to rain, but all day the sun has been shining and a slight breeze blowing. The temperature stayed in the seventies- perfect.
Tomorrow I'm going to pick up Jared at Keene. I'm excited to see my baby brother and check out the area he's been calling home for the past couple of years! I've been to the KSC campus before when Meg and some other high school friends were attending, but it's been years. Since Jared started his freshman year a few weeks after I moved to Park City I've never been able to visit him there so I'm really happy to go pick him up!
On Friday I hope to make a trip to downtown Exeter for a Serendipity run and maybe grab some lunch at either Blue Moon, The Loaf and Ladle or The Green Bean! So many choices for delicious, fresh food!!! I had my first Dunkin Donuts ice coffee since last July and it was yummy and refreshing and inexpensive! Haha. Today I started reading for book group which I am so excited to rejoin this month!!
It's great to be home! Definitely feels a little weird but I'm excited to start this next chapter in my life! We are in control of our own happiness and I'm taking charge! I learned a lot in Park City and I feel stronger and smarter than I did before I took the leap and moved out West without knowing a single soul! I have lots of wonderful new friends to thank for making my 20 months in the mountains so wonderful! Never fear my Utahns- I'll be back for a visit before you know it!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Newfields, NH.
Hi everyone!
We made it home safe and sound this evening! I'll write an actual blog entry all about the last leg of the trip tomorrow so look for it!
For now, bedtime. Sweet dreams!
We made it home safe and sound this evening! I'll write an actual blog entry all about the last leg of the trip tomorrow so look for it!
For now, bedtime. Sweet dreams!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Batavia, NY.
Can you believe it? We're already in New York! We'll be home tomorrow afternoon!
Another great day of driving! A little traffic in the Cleveland area but nothing we couldn't handle. The roads are a little bit weird around there because there is an express lane and then there's a local lane and the AAA Triptik instructed us to drive in the local lane. We remembered this from the trip out as well, and were confused by it then just the same. There were a few little log houses being transported on the road in this spot as well and the guys driving the cars that said "wide load" were doing a TERRIBLE job!! One of them was probably 10 cars ahead of the truck with the houses! It was an old man and I doubt he even realized he's sped up that much but maybe he needs to think about getting a different job! We just had to pay close attention with the funny roads and speeding log cabins!
Update on last night's hotel before I move on to tonight's accommodations and stats. After writing my blog last night I was really thirsty but only had twenty dollar bills- nothing smaller. I went to the front desk to get change for the vending machine and the girl told me that she couldn't make change for me because she'd been giving people change all day. Now, you all know me, I DO NOT get irritated when it comes to customer service but I was really annoyed with the service at this hotel already so I could feel myself getting angry with this dumb girl. I just told her that all I wanted was a water so where could I get one. She acted like I had asked her a difficult question and she really didn't know how to help me when this other guy working at the hotel came out of the office and she asked him if he had change for a $20. Luckily he did and I got my water. But how stupid! I mean that was her only solution?? To ask some random guy if he had change? What would she have done if he hadn't had the change??? Just told me I was out of luck? This story does have a happy ending however. The Best Western of Hammond, IN redeemed itself when the much more capable and pleasant girl working the front desk this morning refunded my $45 without checking the room or anything. It would have been fine if she had since the kitties didn't damage anything but it was nice to not have to wait around while they did it.
You can all uncross your fingers now since we had a MUCH easier time finding a pet friendly hotel tonight. I called a hotel in Geneva that allowed pets but then we decided we didn't want to drive that far so I called this Days Inn in Batavia after that and they also allow pets! Yay! Speaking of pets and hotels, Neve has lost her collar somewhere in the room and it's nowhere to be found! What a goofball! It's okay, I brought an extra collar and we only have several more hours of driving anyway. Neve and Belami seem to be having a great time in the room, well B more than Neve, but she has certainly improved since the first night! They drove really well all day again so this trip has been a success as far as my little babies are concerned! I keep telling them that not all kitties are so well traveled- they're lucky! They do love their Grampy too! And I can tell the feeling's mutual!
We covered approximately 650 miles today- bringing us to about 1950 total! We're not sure of the exact miles and I'm not about to go outside and look- sorry- but this is a pretty close guess. We crossed into the eastern time zone this morning, making me feel that much closer to home! I have decided that I'm too fidgety for all this driving! I move around too much, not only while I'm driving but also while I'm in the passenger seat where it's a little easier to move around. Lucky for me, Dad likes driving so he's done a majority of it. Cruise control is my new best friend by the way- it's the best!! I like driving but sometimes it just makes me nervous and I get all tense and pick at my nails... ugh, I wish i wasn't like that! Oh well, I've done really well with it. It's nice to have such a calm co-pilot! For the most part our weather's been great which has also made things go a lot smoother and quicker. Thank goodness!!
Well I'm tired and want to rest up for the final leg so it's time for bed. I'm so excited to see my east coasters SOON!!!!
Goodnight everyone!! XOXO
Another great day of driving! A little traffic in the Cleveland area but nothing we couldn't handle. The roads are a little bit weird around there because there is an express lane and then there's a local lane and the AAA Triptik instructed us to drive in the local lane. We remembered this from the trip out as well, and were confused by it then just the same. There were a few little log houses being transported on the road in this spot as well and the guys driving the cars that said "wide load" were doing a TERRIBLE job!! One of them was probably 10 cars ahead of the truck with the houses! It was an old man and I doubt he even realized he's sped up that much but maybe he needs to think about getting a different job! We just had to pay close attention with the funny roads and speeding log cabins!
Update on last night's hotel before I move on to tonight's accommodations and stats. After writing my blog last night I was really thirsty but only had twenty dollar bills- nothing smaller. I went to the front desk to get change for the vending machine and the girl told me that she couldn't make change for me because she'd been giving people change all day. Now, you all know me, I DO NOT get irritated when it comes to customer service but I was really annoyed with the service at this hotel already so I could feel myself getting angry with this dumb girl. I just told her that all I wanted was a water so where could I get one. She acted like I had asked her a difficult question and she really didn't know how to help me when this other guy working at the hotel came out of the office and she asked him if he had change for a $20. Luckily he did and I got my water. But how stupid! I mean that was her only solution?? To ask some random guy if he had change? What would she have done if he hadn't had the change??? Just told me I was out of luck? This story does have a happy ending however. The Best Western of Hammond, IN redeemed itself when the much more capable and pleasant girl working the front desk this morning refunded my $45 without checking the room or anything. It would have been fine if she had since the kitties didn't damage anything but it was nice to not have to wait around while they did it.
You can all uncross your fingers now since we had a MUCH easier time finding a pet friendly hotel tonight. I called a hotel in Geneva that allowed pets but then we decided we didn't want to drive that far so I called this Days Inn in Batavia after that and they also allow pets! Yay! Speaking of pets and hotels, Neve has lost her collar somewhere in the room and it's nowhere to be found! What a goofball! It's okay, I brought an extra collar and we only have several more hours of driving anyway. Neve and Belami seem to be having a great time in the room, well B more than Neve, but she has certainly improved since the first night! They drove really well all day again so this trip has been a success as far as my little babies are concerned! I keep telling them that not all kitties are so well traveled- they're lucky! They do love their Grampy too! And I can tell the feeling's mutual!
We covered approximately 650 miles today- bringing us to about 1950 total! We're not sure of the exact miles and I'm not about to go outside and look- sorry- but this is a pretty close guess. We crossed into the eastern time zone this morning, making me feel that much closer to home! I have decided that I'm too fidgety for all this driving! I move around too much, not only while I'm driving but also while I'm in the passenger seat where it's a little easier to move around. Lucky for me, Dad likes driving so he's done a majority of it. Cruise control is my new best friend by the way- it's the best!! I like driving but sometimes it just makes me nervous and I get all tense and pick at my nails... ugh, I wish i wasn't like that! Oh well, I've done really well with it. It's nice to have such a calm co-pilot! For the most part our weather's been great which has also made things go a lot smoother and quicker. Thank goodness!!
Well I'm tired and want to rest up for the final leg so it's time for bed. I'm so excited to see my east coasters SOON!!!!
Goodnight everyone!! XOXO
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Hammond, Indiana
Tonight I'm writing from Hammond, IN!
We ended the day after about 600 miles- putting our total after the two days at 1300 miles traveled. We finished Nebraska, drove through Iowa and Illinois and made it just over the Indiana border. We got to the hotel around 7pm but we'd hoped to drive until 8pm. The problem came in the fact that we couldn't find any hotels that would allow pets about 60 miles east of here so we had to start calling places a little closer. As soon as I found a place that allowed pets we decided to stop there since I called about 15 hotels between LaPorte, Gary and Michigan City. I found one place that only allowed pets in the smoking rooms so we left that as a last resort but luckily didn't have to stay there.
Even though we aren't using the GPS to actually get home (I love my GPS but even I love having maps to look at) it really comes in handy when we start looking for a place to stay for the night. All I have to do is type in the city we want to stay in and look under lodging for the names of hotels. It gives the phone numbers so I just start calling around asking if they allow pets! If they say yes then I start asking other questions: any vacancies? AAA discount? How far off the highway? etc.
Tonight we're in a Best Western just like we were last night and it is a lot more expensive. We paid a $10 fee for the kitties last night and got a AAA discount bringing the total for the night to somewhere around $80. Here in Hammond they made me pay a refundable pet deposit of $45 (so I'm assuming I'll get that back-they inspect the room upon checkout) on top of a $10 pet fee and a higher rate to begin with bringing the grand total to $144!!!!!!! I asked about a AAA discount and she told me she was already giving me a discount because it's so slow... whatever! No complimentary breakfast either!!!! This place is lame, but at least they allowed kitties so I guess I shouldn't complain.
We hit some crazy rain in the Des Moines area but it didn't last long so we made it through alive! There has been some road work- actually just the set up, not many people actually working since it's Sunday. The terrain is a lot different- lots of farmland, some cities, not as many trucks, a lot more cars... We've been hearing the same songs on the radio, even the oldies the stations play- they're all the same. The two songs which are tied for the most plays at this point: "Hey Soul Sister" and "Use Somebody" although "Hey Soul Sister may have a slight lead. We saw our first Dunkin' Donuts today and tried to stop at the second one we saw since it was across from the gas station where we filled up, but it was closed :(
Speaking of gas we filled up 3 times today. We wanted to clean the windshield of bugs and check the oil first thing this morning so we decided to fill up then even though we didn't really need it so we spent $14.20, then later $24.20 and finally $38.25.
Neve and Belami are still doing so great. I'm so lucky to have such good kitties. I don't even want to think about this trip with cats who fuss the whole time. I can tell Neve is feeling more comfortable on the drive because instead of just laying in the crate looking scared to death she was grooming herself and looked quite comfy today. She is even doing better in the hotel- exploring more and not getting stuck in every little crevice she finds! Belami, as always, is being a clown and LOVING the hotel!
We reached our halfway point around noon today which sure did feel good! Can't wait to be home! I'll blog from a hotel tomorrow night. Keep your fingers crossed that we have an easier time finding a pet friendly hotel tomorrow!!
We ended the day after about 600 miles- putting our total after the two days at 1300 miles traveled. We finished Nebraska, drove through Iowa and Illinois and made it just over the Indiana border. We got to the hotel around 7pm but we'd hoped to drive until 8pm. The problem came in the fact that we couldn't find any hotels that would allow pets about 60 miles east of here so we had to start calling places a little closer. As soon as I found a place that allowed pets we decided to stop there since I called about 15 hotels between LaPorte, Gary and Michigan City. I found one place that only allowed pets in the smoking rooms so we left that as a last resort but luckily didn't have to stay there.
Even though we aren't using the GPS to actually get home (I love my GPS but even I love having maps to look at) it really comes in handy when we start looking for a place to stay for the night. All I have to do is type in the city we want to stay in and look under lodging for the names of hotels. It gives the phone numbers so I just start calling around asking if they allow pets! If they say yes then I start asking other questions: any vacancies? AAA discount? How far off the highway? etc.
Tonight we're in a Best Western just like we were last night and it is a lot more expensive. We paid a $10 fee for the kitties last night and got a AAA discount bringing the total for the night to somewhere around $80. Here in Hammond they made me pay a refundable pet deposit of $45 (so I'm assuming I'll get that back-they inspect the room upon checkout) on top of a $10 pet fee and a higher rate to begin with bringing the grand total to $144!!!!!!! I asked about a AAA discount and she told me she was already giving me a discount because it's so slow... whatever! No complimentary breakfast either!!!! This place is lame, but at least they allowed kitties so I guess I shouldn't complain.
We hit some crazy rain in the Des Moines area but it didn't last long so we made it through alive! There has been some road work- actually just the set up, not many people actually working since it's Sunday. The terrain is a lot different- lots of farmland, some cities, not as many trucks, a lot more cars... We've been hearing the same songs on the radio, even the oldies the stations play- they're all the same. The two songs which are tied for the most plays at this point: "Hey Soul Sister" and "Use Somebody" although "Hey Soul Sister may have a slight lead. We saw our first Dunkin' Donuts today and tried to stop at the second one we saw since it was across from the gas station where we filled up, but it was closed :(
Speaking of gas we filled up 3 times today. We wanted to clean the windshield of bugs and check the oil first thing this morning so we decided to fill up then even though we didn't really need it so we spent $14.20, then later $24.20 and finally $38.25.
Neve and Belami are still doing so great. I'm so lucky to have such good kitties. I don't even want to think about this trip with cats who fuss the whole time. I can tell Neve is feeling more comfortable on the drive because instead of just laying in the crate looking scared to death she was grooming herself and looked quite comfy today. She is even doing better in the hotel- exploring more and not getting stuck in every little crevice she finds! Belami, as always, is being a clown and LOVING the hotel!
We reached our halfway point around noon today which sure did feel good! Can't wait to be home! I'll blog from a hotel tomorrow night. Keep your fingers crossed that we have an easier time finding a pet friendly hotel tomorrow!!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Kearney, NE
Hello from Kearney, Nebraska!
This will be a quick entry as we had a long day, I didn't sleep that well last night and we want to get up early tomorrow to get in a lot more driving...
So here are the facts:
We drove for 11 hours today through Utah, Wyoming and now we're halfway through Nebraska. We are in a different time zone- central, than when we started- mountain. We covered 730 miles! We stopped for gas twice. $37 the first time, $40 the second time. I'm not sure if we saw more billboards advertising fireworks or the Little America hotels, but I do know that said hotels have a mechanic on duty, 50 cent ice cream cones and marble showers you'll "go gaga over." We saw SO many trucks on the road, way more than cars, it was weird.
Belami and Neve did GREAT!!! I couldn't have asked for better behaved kitties! Now B is running around the room and Neve is hiding under the covers next to me. She is a little freaked out but fine. She explored a bit and got stuck behind the bed a couple of times, made herself at home in a drawer but happily hopped into bed with me as soon as I sat down with my computer.
Sorry such a boring blog... I'm so tired. Hopefully I'll be able to write more tomorrow and upload some of the photos I took from the car!
I can't help wondering where all of my belongings are on their journey to NH...
This will be a quick entry as we had a long day, I didn't sleep that well last night and we want to get up early tomorrow to get in a lot more driving...
So here are the facts:
We drove for 11 hours today through Utah, Wyoming and now we're halfway through Nebraska. We are in a different time zone- central, than when we started- mountain. We covered 730 miles! We stopped for gas twice. $37 the first time, $40 the second time. I'm not sure if we saw more billboards advertising fireworks or the Little America hotels, but I do know that said hotels have a mechanic on duty, 50 cent ice cream cones and marble showers you'll "go gaga over." We saw SO many trucks on the road, way more than cars, it was weird.
Belami and Neve did GREAT!!! I couldn't have asked for better behaved kitties! Now B is running around the room and Neve is hiding under the covers next to me. She is a little freaked out but fine. She explored a bit and got stuck behind the bed a couple of times, made herself at home in a drawer but happily hopped into bed with me as soon as I sat down with my computer.
Sorry such a boring blog... I'm so tired. Hopefully I'll be able to write more tomorrow and upload some of the photos I took from the car!
I can't help wondering where all of my belongings are on their journey to NH...
Friday, April 30, 2010
Moving Day!
Well howdy folks! I thought I'd revive this blog of mine to document the move back east!
The movers arrived promptly at 8 am today- good for them. I overslept until about 7:30 am- not good for me. But I managed to throw some clothes on, brush my teeth and wrangle the kitties in time. Kelly was nice enough to let Belami and Neve hang out in her room while the movers are here since she is away for a weekend of camping. Lucky!
Speaking of Kelly, and the marvelous Maggie (or Margaret as Meg dubbed her) I'm really going to miss my roomies! I'm going to miss my great apartment here on Three Kings and my fabulous landlords Suzette, Glenn and of course, Henry- junior landlord.
But let's not dwell on the past! Onward and Eastbound! Looks like the movers are just about done and I have one bit of moving advice for everyone out there. Even though the coordinator and the guy who comes over to do the estimate tell you that it's okay to leave your clothes in your dresser drawers, it's actually harder for the people who do the moving. Luckily I had an extra box I could put all my clothes in and the movers were really nice about it, but I wanted to save y'all the trouble in case you come across this scenario!
All that's left to do is clean the apartment and pack up the car before I pick Dad up at the airport and we take off tomorrow. I hope the weather isn't too bad for the drive and that the kitties are okay. I'm just thinking good thoughts and so far so good! I'll be home in less than a week! WEIRD! Can't wait!
I'm going to miss everyone here in beautiful Park City. Today I get to see Lauryn, Carole and Kristi one last time before heading out. Sad :(
Well I just heard one of the movers say "Last piece!" So I probably have some business to attend to. Until tomorrow night then, when I'll blog from the road.
The movers arrived promptly at 8 am today- good for them. I overslept until about 7:30 am- not good for me. But I managed to throw some clothes on, brush my teeth and wrangle the kitties in time. Kelly was nice enough to let Belami and Neve hang out in her room while the movers are here since she is away for a weekend of camping. Lucky!
Speaking of Kelly, and the marvelous Maggie (or Margaret as Meg dubbed her) I'm really going to miss my roomies! I'm going to miss my great apartment here on Three Kings and my fabulous landlords Suzette, Glenn and of course, Henry- junior landlord.
But let's not dwell on the past! Onward and Eastbound! Looks like the movers are just about done and I have one bit of moving advice for everyone out there. Even though the coordinator and the guy who comes over to do the estimate tell you that it's okay to leave your clothes in your dresser drawers, it's actually harder for the people who do the moving. Luckily I had an extra box I could put all my clothes in and the movers were really nice about it, but I wanted to save y'all the trouble in case you come across this scenario!
All that's left to do is clean the apartment and pack up the car before I pick Dad up at the airport and we take off tomorrow. I hope the weather isn't too bad for the drive and that the kitties are okay. I'm just thinking good thoughts and so far so good! I'll be home in less than a week! WEIRD! Can't wait!
I'm going to miss everyone here in beautiful Park City. Today I get to see Lauryn, Carole and Kristi one last time before heading out. Sad :(
Well I just heard one of the movers say "Last piece!" So I probably have some business to attend to. Until tomorrow night then, when I'll blog from the road.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Sleep and GOOP.
Anyone out there having trouble sleeping? I am always interested in articles about getting a good night's sleep. This makes no sense considering that I have NO TROUBLE sleeping whatsoever, but for some reason I like reading up on sleep tips!
Gwyneth Paltrow has a website called GOOP. I signed up for her newsletter and every so often I get an email with some new info Gwyneth has decided to share with the public. Today I got this one about sleep. Getting enough sleep helps us stay healthy! On the few occasions where I've found myself unable to sleep it's been so frustrating, I can only imagine how awful it must be for people who frequently have a hard time snoozing. So read through this article from GOOP. And if you like it, check out the whole site!
Gwyneth Paltrow has a website called GOOP. I signed up for her newsletter and every so often I get an email with some new info Gwyneth has decided to share with the public. Today I got this one about sleep. Getting enough sleep helps us stay healthy! On the few occasions where I've found myself unable to sleep it's been so frustrating, I can only imagine how awful it must be for people who frequently have a hard time snoozing. So read through this article from GOOP. And if you like it, check out the whole site!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Tipping.
Ever wonder about tipping? I do! I feel like there are a lot of questions about it, and apparently so did these etiquette experts. Here's a little info on tipping...
To tip or not to tip.
I don't feel obligated to tip at a coffee shop, unless, like the article says, I am friendly with the people working and frequent that particular shop. Honestly, I do more work for most of my customers than the people behind the counter at a coffee shop do for me.
Do YOU tip at coffee shops? Where do you tip? Not tip? Have you ever had a moment like George on that Seinfeld episode where he wants the person to see him putting money in the tip jar and when they don't he tries to take the money out and do it again, but gets in trouble? Haha, I have to admit, I like people to see me putting the money in the tip jar!
To tip or not to tip.
I don't feel obligated to tip at a coffee shop, unless, like the article says, I am friendly with the people working and frequent that particular shop. Honestly, I do more work for most of my customers than the people behind the counter at a coffee shop do for me.
Do YOU tip at coffee shops? Where do you tip? Not tip? Have you ever had a moment like George on that Seinfeld episode where he wants the person to see him putting money in the tip jar and when they don't he tries to take the money out and do it again, but gets in trouble? Haha, I have to admit, I like people to see me putting the money in the tip jar!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Quick As a Cricket
I'm as quick as a cricket,
I'm as slow as a snail,
I'm as small as an ant,
I'm as large as a whale.
I'm as sad as a basset,
I'm as happy as a lark,
I'm as nice as a bunny,
I'm as mean as a shark.
I'm as cold as a toad,
I'm as hot as a fox,
I'm as weak as a kitten,
I'm as strong as an ox.
I'm as loud as a lion,
I'm as quiet as a clam,
I'm as tough as a rhino,
I'm as gentle as a lamb.
I'm as brave as a tiger,
I'm as shy as a shrimp,
I'm as tame as a poodle,
I'm as wild as a chimp.
I'm as lazy as a lizard,
I'm as busy as a bee.
Put it all together,
and you've got ME!
This book, complete with some beautiful pictures, by Audrey Wood was my favorite as a child. Pick it up sometime or give it as a gift if you know any youngsters with a birthday coming up.
Is it any wonder I liked it? The protagonist is obviously a total schizophrenic who relates his (it was a boy in all the illustrations) various character traits to different kinds of animals!
I'm as slow as a snail,
I'm as small as an ant,
I'm as large as a whale.
I'm as sad as a basset,
I'm as happy as a lark,
I'm as nice as a bunny,
I'm as mean as a shark.
I'm as cold as a toad,
I'm as hot as a fox,
I'm as weak as a kitten,
I'm as strong as an ox.
I'm as loud as a lion,
I'm as quiet as a clam,
I'm as tough as a rhino,
I'm as gentle as a lamb.
I'm as brave as a tiger,
I'm as shy as a shrimp,
I'm as tame as a poodle,
I'm as wild as a chimp.
I'm as lazy as a lizard,
I'm as busy as a bee.
Put it all together,
and you've got ME!
This book, complete with some beautiful pictures, by Audrey Wood was my favorite as a child. Pick it up sometime or give it as a gift if you know any youngsters with a birthday coming up.
Is it any wonder I liked it? The protagonist is obviously a total schizophrenic who relates his (it was a boy in all the illustrations) various character traits to different kinds of animals!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Holy sheet!
Look at my new sheets! About 2 years ago I won a gift card to Pottery Barn and I finally used it on these beautiful new sheets from PBteen! I love them! Belami is so nicely modeling them for you- one of his favorite things is when I make the bed. Animals are so weird...
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Winter
And for those of you who love winter...
Revival
Snow is a mind
falling, a continuous breath
of climbs, loops, spirals,
dips into the earth
like white fireflies
wanting to land, finding
a wind between houses,
diving like moths
into their own light
so that one wonders
if snow is a wing's
long memory across winter.
Revival
Snow is a mind
falling, a continuous breath
of climbs, loops, spirals,
dips into the earth
like white fireflies
wanting to land, finding
a wind between houses,
diving like moths
into their own light
so that one wonders
if snow is a wing's
long memory across winter.
-Steve Crow
Summer
For those of you who are, like me, sick of winter, here is a poem to bring a little sun into your life!
Summer
I like hot days, hot days
Sweat is what you got days
Bugs buzzin from cousin to cousin
Juices dripping
Running and ripping
Catch the one you love days
Birds peeping
Old men sleeping
Lazy days, daisies lay
Beaming and dreaming
Of hot days, hot days,
Sweat is what you got days
It's never too early to dream about summer...
Summer
I like hot days, hot days
Sweat is what you got days
Bugs buzzin from cousin to cousin
Juices dripping
Running and ripping
Catch the one you love days
Birds peeping
Old men sleeping
Lazy days, daisies lay
Beaming and dreaming
Of hot days, hot days,
Sweat is what you got days
-Walter Dean Myers
It's never too early to dream about summer...
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Oh Oscar!
Here's a link to the full list of Oscar nominations:
Nominated :)
Here's a link to the films and performances that various EW readers feel were snubbed by the Academy:
Snubbed :(
Thoughts? Are you surprised by any of the nominations? Or by anything that wasn't nominated?
Oh and I'd just like to say congrats to Colin and the rest of the incredibly talented folks at Pixar on the BEST PICTURE NOMINATION!!!!!! for Up!! Well done!
Nominated :)
Here's a link to the films and performances that various EW readers feel were snubbed by the Academy:
Snubbed :(
Thoughts? Are you surprised by any of the nominations? Or by anything that wasn't nominated?
Oh and I'd just like to say congrats to Colin and the rest of the incredibly talented folks at Pixar on the BEST PICTURE NOMINATION!!!!!! for Up!! Well done!
Movie Recommendations!
Know what I was thinking would be really fun? If once a week I put up a movie recommendation!
So I actually have two recommendations this week...
Bright Star
Rated: PG, 119 minutes
Directed by: Jane Campion
Starring: Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Paul Schneider
I saw this film when it was in theaters a few months ago and I loved it. It's about the poet John Keats and the woman he was engaged to, Fanny Brawne. Their love is a tragic one for reasons I won't go into in case you're not familiar with Keats' story. The film is beautiful with stellar performances from the young cast especially, but all actors do a fine job. If you like poetry, this film is for you. If you like fashion, this film is for you. If you like love stories, this film is for you. It came out on DVD last week so grab a copy and a glass of wine or cup of tea perhaps, sit back and enjoy. Also, I believe Abbie Cornish is one to watch. I have only seen two of her films but she is a talented young lady. If you are a fan of Avatar's Sam Worthington watch Somersault, a 2004 Australian picture starring Worthington and Cornish. It's not a great movie, but it's not terrible. And they both impress with deep performances of damaged characters.
The Hangover
Rated: R, 108 minutes
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms
I'm sure you're wondering why I'm recommending a film that everyone is already obsessed with. Well I still hear people say that they haven't watched this!!! Can you beleive it!? So on the off chance that someone reading this hasn't seen The Hangover, you need to stop what you're doing and watch it. NOW! I saw it again last night and I swear, it's as hilarious the 4th viewing (or 5th, or however many times I've seen it) as the first! I actually heard a funny line last night that I had never noticed before! I would not recommend a beverage to go with this film as you'll probably spit it out from laughing so hard.
So I actually have two recommendations this week...
Bright Star
Rated: PG, 119 minutes
Directed by: Jane Campion
Starring: Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Paul Schneider
I saw this film when it was in theaters a few months ago and I loved it. It's about the poet John Keats and the woman he was engaged to, Fanny Brawne. Their love is a tragic one for reasons I won't go into in case you're not familiar with Keats' story. The film is beautiful with stellar performances from the young cast especially, but all actors do a fine job. If you like poetry, this film is for you. If you like fashion, this film is for you. If you like love stories, this film is for you. It came out on DVD last week so grab a copy and a glass of wine or cup of tea perhaps, sit back and enjoy. Also, I believe Abbie Cornish is one to watch. I have only seen two of her films but she is a talented young lady. If you are a fan of Avatar's Sam Worthington watch Somersault, a 2004 Australian picture starring Worthington and Cornish. It's not a great movie, but it's not terrible. And they both impress with deep performances of damaged characters.
The Hangover
Rated: R, 108 minutes
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms
I'm sure you're wondering why I'm recommending a film that everyone is already obsessed with. Well I still hear people say that they haven't watched this!!! Can you beleive it!? So on the off chance that someone reading this hasn't seen The Hangover, you need to stop what you're doing and watch it. NOW! I saw it again last night and I swear, it's as hilarious the 4th viewing (or 5th, or however many times I've seen it) as the first! I actually heard a funny line last night that I had never noticed before! I would not recommend a beverage to go with this film as you'll probably spit it out from laughing so hard.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Beautiful cities.
Hey all you explorers! Here's Forbes new list of the most beautiful cities in the world. Start booking your next vacation!
Pretty cities.
How many of these cities have you been to? I've only been to three of them.
How many would you like to visit? I'd like to visit them all! I always say that there really isn't anywhere I wouldn't go!
I think Edna St. Vincent Millay says it nicely: My heart is warm with the friends i make, and better friends I'll not be knowing; yet there isn't a train I wouldn't take, no matter where it's going.
Pretty cities.
How many of these cities have you been to? I've only been to three of them.
How many would you like to visit? I'd like to visit them all! I always say that there really isn't anywhere I wouldn't go!
I think Edna St. Vincent Millay says it nicely: My heart is warm with the friends i make, and better friends I'll not be knowing; yet there isn't a train I wouldn't take, no matter where it's going.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Roses become cabbages.
Orinthia: ...Live a really noble and beautiful life- a kingly life- with me. What you need to make you a real king is a real queen.
Magnus: But I have got one.
Orinthia: Oh you are blind. You are worse than blind; you have low tastes. Heaven is offering you a rose; and you cling to a cabbage.
Magnus: (Laughing) That is a very apt metaphor, beloved. But what wise man, if you force him to choose between doing without roses and doing without cabbages, would not secure the cabbages? Besides, all those old married cabbages were once roses; and, though young things like you don't remember that, their husbands do.
Magnus: But I have got one.
Orinthia: Oh you are blind. You are worse than blind; you have low tastes. Heaven is offering you a rose; and you cling to a cabbage.
Magnus: (Laughing) That is a very apt metaphor, beloved. But what wise man, if you force him to choose between doing without roses and doing without cabbages, would not secure the cabbages? Besides, all those old married cabbages were once roses; and, though young things like you don't remember that, their husbands do.
George Bernard Shaw
I like this :)
Sunday, January 31, 2010
No, it's not, but it's fun like one!
I've only just discovered this photographer Tyler Shields. I think I've seen some of his stuff before but I didn't really pay any attention. He's got a pretty raw style, it's cool!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Sorry!
I would like to apologize for all of the grammatical and spelling errors, run on sentences or anything that doesn't make sense in my Sundance post! I was tired and just wanted to get it all up there for everyone to see while it was still pretty fresh in my mind. I thought about going through to fix mistakes but then... I decided not to!
Peace!
Peace!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Sundance... in RE:trospect.
The thought of this post is a daunting one. I have a feeling it's going to be long! Meg and I packed SO MUCH into the time that she was here that I never had a spare moment to blog. We were either out having fun, watching films, running around Main Street, trying to figure out which shuttle to get on, or... sleeping. Which we really only did so that we could get up the next day and have more adventures. I had such a blast I cannot even put it into words, but it's going to require A LOT of words...
Basically I want to work for Sundance, or work in film. I want to be a part of this beautiful process of taking an idea, a thought, a story and putting it on camera for the purpose of entertaining people, teaching people, showing the public a world they know nothing about, or a person they've never met, among other things. The collaboration of directors, actors, editors, composers, musicians, cameramen (and women), producers, animators in some cases, and most of all the audience, is so exciting! I can't describe the feeling I get while sitting in the theater watching a film at the Sundance festival. Take Skateland, the cast and crew were mere seats away from Meg and me, it was the premiere of the film and we got to be there while the people who made that movie watched it with an audience for the first time. Or Frozen, for example. That film is made to get a reaction, to scare people, and we were able to sit in the Egyptian theater with the director and cast and crew as they witnessed the audience squirming and gasping at the screen. Can you imagine the high a filmmaker must get off that experience? I love being a part of this.
Okay sorry to go off like that! Let's talk about what we did, who we saw, where we went... aren't you all dying to know?! I have sadly been back to reality for a little over 24 hours at this point and this blog will allow me one last dip into my Sundance Film Festival 2010 experience! It was AWESOME to have Meg out here to do this with me!! SO SO SO AWESOME and UNFORGETTABLE!!!!! I think we really made the most of our time. I can't believe it's all over and that she's back east again. When I got back to the apartment yesterday it was weird to be alone... too quiet, too boring, and then on top of that I had all this laundry and cleaning to do. Like I said, sadly back to reality.
Let's start this RE:trospect from the beginning. And if you're wondering why I keep writing retrospect like that it's because that's the Sundance thing this year- words with RE at the beginning. REbel, REnew, REvolt, REbirth. You get the idea. This is the... slogan, we'll say:
Basically I want to work for Sundance, or work in film. I want to be a part of this beautiful process of taking an idea, a thought, a story and putting it on camera for the purpose of entertaining people, teaching people, showing the public a world they know nothing about, or a person they've never met, among other things. The collaboration of directors, actors, editors, composers, musicians, cameramen (and women), producers, animators in some cases, and most of all the audience, is so exciting! I can't describe the feeling I get while sitting in the theater watching a film at the Sundance festival. Take Skateland, the cast and crew were mere seats away from Meg and me, it was the premiere of the film and we got to be there while the people who made that movie watched it with an audience for the first time. Or Frozen, for example. That film is made to get a reaction, to scare people, and we were able to sit in the Egyptian theater with the director and cast and crew as they witnessed the audience squirming and gasping at the screen. Can you imagine the high a filmmaker must get off that experience? I love being a part of this.
Okay sorry to go off like that! Let's talk about what we did, who we saw, where we went... aren't you all dying to know?! I have sadly been back to reality for a little over 24 hours at this point and this blog will allow me one last dip into my Sundance Film Festival 2010 experience! It was AWESOME to have Meg out here to do this with me!! SO SO SO AWESOME and UNFORGETTABLE!!!!! I think we really made the most of our time. I can't believe it's all over and that she's back east again. When I got back to the apartment yesterday it was weird to be alone... too quiet, too boring, and then on top of that I had all this laundry and cleaning to do. Like I said, sadly back to reality.
Let's start this RE:trospect from the beginning. And if you're wondering why I keep writing retrospect like that it's because that's the Sundance thing this year- words with RE at the beginning. REbel, REnew, REvolt, REbirth. You get the idea. This is the... slogan, we'll say:
This is the
renewed rebellion.
This is the
recharged fight against
the establishment of
the expected.
This is the rebirth
of the battle
for brave new ideas.
This is sundance,
reminded.
renewed rebellion.
This is the
recharged fight against
the establishment of
the expected.
This is the rebirth
of the battle
for brave new ideas.
This is sundance,
reminded.
That is what's written on the front flap of the festival guide I received with my pass and it is also what was displayed on the screens while you waited for the films to start. Pretty cool, huh?
On Friday morning I picked Meg up at the airport and when we got into Park City I drove her up to Main Street so that she could start to feel the excitement of the festival. I think it worked! After eating some lunch, resting a bit and a showering- Meg had been up since 4am eastern time, mind you, we decided it was time to get in on the action.
Apparently the free shuttles did not think it was time for us to head up to Main Street since we waited for almost 45 minutes in the (very wet and heavy) snow before finally taking a cab into town. We wanted to see The Fray at the Music Cafe, but after waiting another 45 minutes in the wet, heavy snow and hearing one of the event volunteers explaining that the cafe had been at maximum capacity for 3 hours and he really wasn't sure anyone else would get in, we decided to go across the street for some hot chocolate. Once we had warmed, and dried, up a bit we braved the huge snowflakes and started a trek up Main street. We weren't very far when we had our first celebrity sighting of the fest. The Sundance kid himself, Mr. Robert Redford!! He was talking to some people so we didn't want to interrupt but decided from then on to at least say hello to any film makers, actors etc. who we ran into. By this time it was getting dark and the snow hadn't let up at all, the streets were slushy and we were cold so we decided to call it a night since we had a very long day planned on Saturday. We headed over to the transit center and waited for over an hour for the bus to arrive, but it finally did. I think that between the weather and all of the people it was just really hard for the buses to stay on time, but hey, it's completely free so one can't complain.
Saturday morning we got up and headed to The Canyons, where Kristi works. She had gotten us lift tickets so that I could finally experience the "best snow on earth" after living here for a year and a half! We had such a blast skiing and riding- Meg decided to snowboard. We did pretty well except for Meg's little spill at the first chairlift, but we're blaming that on the chairlift operator who was too busy sweeping and chatting to slow the darn thing down! It was different to ski in the famous powder, but it all came back to me pretty quickly! When we were finished skiing we stopped by the Red Pine lodge to see Kristi while she was bar tending and then went to see my friend Ann and grab a bite to eat at Smokies, a bar and grill at the bottom of the mountain. Here we had our second "celebrity" sighting. I don't particularly care for this person, nor do I like calling him a celebrity, but Jon Gosselin was entering Smokies as we were leaving. Ewww. So after skiing we ran a few errands and then came back to the apartment to relax before our first film at 11:30pm.
We saw Teenage Paparazzo at the Prospector Square Theater. Adrien Grenier of Entourage fame directed this documentary about a 13-year-old paparazzo named Austin Visschedyk. Grenier befriended Visschedyk after being photographed by him in order to understand the world of paparazzi and the obsession with celebrity. It was a really fun and interesting film that looked at it's subject from all angles. After the screening there was a Q & A with Grenier, his crew and even Austin! It was so cool to see him and how much he has grown up since the film was made. On our way out the door we shook hands with Grenier and told him what a great job he had done! He IS as adorable in person as he is on film!
High off the excitement of seeing the first film we ran home to get some sleep before seeing Jack Goes Boating at 9:15am on Sunday! My friend and coworker, Nancy, was nice enough to let us park in her driveway anytime we wanted so we took her up on the offer that morning as her house is just a short walk to Eccles theater where our screening of Jack Goes Boating took place.
We sat next to a woman named Holly who is from Texas and comes to Park City to volunteer for the festival every year. She was really nice and fun to talk to. She volunteers at New Frontier, a venue on Main Street that houses exhibits and performances that experiment with traditional art, media and film making. She told us all about it and was explaining how often Joseph Gordon-Levitt was there for his hitRECord.org installation, and that actors had been stopping by to see him, like Parker Posey and James Franco. Meg and I had thought about trying to get into a screening of The Runaways that night but instead we ended up going to New Frontier and seeing Gordon-Levitt and the other film makers he's collaborating with explain their project. More on that later...
Jack Goes Boating was a funny, sad, touching film with great performances. It is Philip Seymour Hoffman's directorial debut and I think he did a great job. Following the film was a Q & A with Hoffman, Amy Ryan, John Ortiz and Daphne Rubin-Vega, the stars of the film. It was so neat to hear them speak about the film. After that we met one of Meg's friends for lunch. he lives in Salt Lake City but drove up to visit Meg while she's here! This was a nice little break from all the craziness of the festival, and we went to Red Rock, my favorite restaurant in Park City!
We went back to the apartment to take it easy for a bit but then we ended up taking the bus into town around 4pm with no real plan in mind except to explore Main Street and check out the venues to which our credentials allowed us access. On our travels up and down Main Street we saw Taryn Manning, Colin Hanks and Jason Ritter. I wanted to go talk to Jason Ritter but he was with people who he seemed to know and they were having a conversation so I didn't want to bother him, We actually saw him again later on but he was crossing the street, so we didn't get to say hello then either. We checked out New Frontier and saw Holly who explained once more what the venue is all about and gave us some info on the exhibits and panels. The exhibits were interesting and weird. There was one that was really cool called Cloud Mirror where you take one of these small panels that is on a string and put it around your neck, then type the number you find on the panel and your Facebook log in information into the provided computer and then go stand in front of a TV with a camera attached to it. Somehow things connect and you see yourself on the TV with little thought bubbles that have information from your Facebook profile in them!! I have no idea how this works but it's really cool! On the panel that you have around your neck you can see photos from your profile!
Other exhibits included something called Bordertown that had models of buildings that were about as tall as me and in the windows there were scenes from different films playing. Another exhibit was titled Post Global Warming Survival Kit and it was a room with no lights that had a tent in it with a screen that just showed an ocean and you wore night vision goggles to see. And yet another had a screen spanning the entire length of three walls with a really weird film playing on a loop. There were these pads, or mattresses I guess, on the ground where you would lie down to watch the film. This was called Lobe of Lung and the idea was to lounge inside the film. And as I said before hitRECord.org was set up down there so we got a glimpse of that as well. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was down there at one point while we were looking around but then we didn't see him again after that. We did see his brother, Dan, however, who looks exactly like him except he has dreads.
After we had explored all of the exhibits we decided to get a drink at The No Name Saloon. It was really packed and after ordering our drinks we finally got a table when these 2 older couples from Arkansas came over and offered to buy all of our drinks if we let them share our table. We told them that they could share our table but they didn't have to worry about our drinks. They were really fun and in the end not only did they end up buying us some drinks, they also bought us mozzarella sticks! Yum! We had to leave them after a little while though so that we could go BACK to New Frontier to see the hitRECord.org presentation. This was actually really cool!
They explained the whole idea behind the website which I will attempt to sum up... anyone can join and post things like videos, recordings, text, music, anything and you give everyone else the right to do anything with what you have submitted. And if at some point something you contributed to makes money, you get paid. I am not explaining it right so just go to the website and sign up to get the idea. There were maybe 30 people in the audience and we all got to participate in a few collaborations. They are making a film called Morgan M. Morganson's Date with Destiny and they needed some sound bites for a restaurant scene so they recorded the audience. They also filmed us all standing around Gordon-Levitt as he acted out a scene for a video they are putting together to accompany a song that Sean Lennon wrote for them called Nebulullaby. Pretty cool stuff! At the end of the presentation one of the film makers, Tori, came up to me and asked if she could film my earrings! I was wearing big red circular earrings and their logo is a big red circle, like a recording sign. I obviously said yes and then she wanted to interview me so we did that too. I don't even remember what I said- probably something dumb. But they are making a documentary about the whole Sundance experience so maybe I'll show up on there. I'm going to try and make the screening of it tomorrow night. After the interview I panicked because I didn't know how to sign up on the website so I just grabbed Joseph Gordon-Levitt and asked him. When I told him about Tori interviewing me he said "Yeah those are cool earrings" Haha, isn't that great?! I was stoked! Lame I know, but you'd be excited too!!!
We still had some time to kill before our midnight screening of Frozen so we headed to Java Cow, a cafe down the street, for some refreshments. There we ran into a couple of guys who I had met a few days earlier when they came into J. Crew. They work for an entertainment show in Toronto, Canada and they are here covering the festival. They are really nice so we chatted for a while before they had to go do press coverage of Frozen. We actually hung out with them for a little while as they waited for the cast and crew to arrive but then Meg and I noticed that the line was getting long so we decided to hop in it to make sure we got good seats. We met some people in line and one of the girls had lived in Portsmouth! We chatted with them to pass the time but we were actually waiting in line for quite a while. We jokingly wondered if it might be for affect since the film is called Frozen, but we found out that someone who was working at the Egyptian had actually had a seizure and had to be taken away in an ambulance! This is just what someone told us so I don't know the whole story. The film was pretty awesome, but a little gruesome! The Q & A was great too! Adam Green, the director, was so energetic and funny and he told some great stories about the filming process. Adam Green is from Massachusetts and Frozen takes place at a fictional ski resort in New England but it was filmed at Snow Basin, right here in Utah. My friend Anna's husband did lighting for the film and I remember her telling me about it when he was working on it. I did get a photo with the cast that you can see on my Facebook! The guys, Shawn Ashmore and Kevin Zegers (who I have a little crush on) weren't really paying attention while I was trying to get the photo. I would have rather been between them than all the way on the end next to the girl, Emma Bell, but I wasn't going to press my luck!
The next day Meg and I had a film screening at the Temple Theater- a Jewish Temple up the road that they turn into a theater for the fest. You cannot park there so you have to take a shuttle and we had a little trouble figuring out where were supposed to park and which shuttle we were actually supposed to get on. Four buses and many helpful festival volunteers later we made it to the venue where we saw The Freebie following a short film called Young Love. The short, made by a young Australian director, was really funny. The Freebie was directed by Katie Aselton who has been to Sundance many times but this was her first time directing. The film was really cute and funny and it starred Aselton and Dax Shepard who was hilarious! We got a ton of info in the Q & A, and Aselton was full of energy and seemed really excited to be showing her film. She explained that there was no script, only a 6 page outline she had written and the film was completely ad-libbed! Shepard wasn't there but other cast members and her crew were in attendance.
That evening we saw Skateland at the Racquet Club theater- you guessed it, a gym that they turn into a theater! You'd never know it though, they do a really good job with these venues! Another first time director, Anthony Burns, headed up this film about a group of teens in 1983, good year, don't ya think? It had a Dazed and Confused feel to it. This was the premiere so no one had seen the film before then and the whole cast and crew was there, except for Ashley Green, who thanks to the Twilight saga, is the most famous person in the film. Adrian Brody was also there to check it out, as well as Christopher MacDonald, whose name I just had to look up because I only recognized him as Shooter McGavin from Happy Gilmore! The film was awesome and funny and I loved it. Afterwards everyone came up on stage for the Q & A and Burns, very attractive FYI, was all nervous to be talking in front of the audience. It was so cute! Then someone asked Shiloh Fernandez, also adorable, and the actor who played the lead, a question and he was all cute and nervous too! It was very endearing to witness! After the Q & A I went over to talk to Shiloh and he was so cool and sincere. He seemed genuinely grateful and flattered that I liked the film and his performance. I introduced myself and he told me it was nice to meet me and when I asked if I could grab a photo he was totally cool about it and even acted a little excited that I had asked. Right as I was giving Meg the camera he saw someone he knew and started talking to them so I thought he had forgotten about the picture but then he excused himself and came back over, put his arm around me and we got a great photo! This can also be seen on my Facebook. I asked him if it was his first time at Sundance and he told me that he had been here once before for a film called Red with Brian Cox. I said I'd check it out and he warned me that it's nothing like Skateland. I looked it up later and he's right! looks like it's about some kids who kill a guy's dog and the revenge he gets on them. Yikes! I'm not sure if I can handle that!!
Late Tuesday morning we saw our final film, Howl. Loved it!! It's about the trial against the man who published the poem Howl and also about Ginsberg. Some of the film is in color, some in black and white and some parts were animated. James Franco puts on an amazing performance as usual. Most of the dialogue is taken directly from recordings and the transcripts from the trial. The directors, Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, were there to answer all of the questions about their wonderful film and even one of the actors, Todd Rotundi, who played Jack Kerouac, was there to talk about his role. No James Franco but oh well, I'll live.
That night Meg and I wandered Main Street one last time before she left. We went into the boutiques for some shopping and she bought some festival souvenirs to distribute back home. We lounged in the Lobe of Lung at New Frontier for nearly an hour and just talked, something we hadn't had all that much time to do with all the activities we had crammed into 6 days. We had a dinner reservation at The Purple Sage where my roommate, Kelly, works. The food was delicious and it was a nice ending to the trip.
I had a wonderful time at Sundance and I really hope to attend next year and every single year after that! I want to volunteer and who knows, maybe one of these days I'll work for the Sundance Institute and be a part of the programs that allow independent film makers' dreams to become realities. When an artist's vision become's a film we can all experience, everyone wins.
So that's it! Longest. Post. Ever. For those of you who made it this far, congratulations! The festival isn't over yet and I don't go back to work until Saturday. Someone gave me vouchers for 2 waitlist tickets which I'm going to attempt to use tomorrow. I'll let you all know how it goes!!
On Friday morning I picked Meg up at the airport and when we got into Park City I drove her up to Main Street so that she could start to feel the excitement of the festival. I think it worked! After eating some lunch, resting a bit and a showering- Meg had been up since 4am eastern time, mind you, we decided it was time to get in on the action.
Apparently the free shuttles did not think it was time for us to head up to Main Street since we waited for almost 45 minutes in the (very wet and heavy) snow before finally taking a cab into town. We wanted to see The Fray at the Music Cafe, but after waiting another 45 minutes in the wet, heavy snow and hearing one of the event volunteers explaining that the cafe had been at maximum capacity for 3 hours and he really wasn't sure anyone else would get in, we decided to go across the street for some hot chocolate. Once we had warmed, and dried, up a bit we braved the huge snowflakes and started a trek up Main street. We weren't very far when we had our first celebrity sighting of the fest. The Sundance kid himself, Mr. Robert Redford!! He was talking to some people so we didn't want to interrupt but decided from then on to at least say hello to any film makers, actors etc. who we ran into. By this time it was getting dark and the snow hadn't let up at all, the streets were slushy and we were cold so we decided to call it a night since we had a very long day planned on Saturday. We headed over to the transit center and waited for over an hour for the bus to arrive, but it finally did. I think that between the weather and all of the people it was just really hard for the buses to stay on time, but hey, it's completely free so one can't complain.
Saturday morning we got up and headed to The Canyons, where Kristi works. She had gotten us lift tickets so that I could finally experience the "best snow on earth" after living here for a year and a half! We had such a blast skiing and riding- Meg decided to snowboard. We did pretty well except for Meg's little spill at the first chairlift, but we're blaming that on the chairlift operator who was too busy sweeping and chatting to slow the darn thing down! It was different to ski in the famous powder, but it all came back to me pretty quickly! When we were finished skiing we stopped by the Red Pine lodge to see Kristi while she was bar tending and then went to see my friend Ann and grab a bite to eat at Smokies, a bar and grill at the bottom of the mountain. Here we had our second "celebrity" sighting. I don't particularly care for this person, nor do I like calling him a celebrity, but Jon Gosselin was entering Smokies as we were leaving. Ewww. So after skiing we ran a few errands and then came back to the apartment to relax before our first film at 11:30pm.
We saw Teenage Paparazzo at the Prospector Square Theater. Adrien Grenier of Entourage fame directed this documentary about a 13-year-old paparazzo named Austin Visschedyk. Grenier befriended Visschedyk after being photographed by him in order to understand the world of paparazzi and the obsession with celebrity. It was a really fun and interesting film that looked at it's subject from all angles. After the screening there was a Q & A with Grenier, his crew and even Austin! It was so cool to see him and how much he has grown up since the film was made. On our way out the door we shook hands with Grenier and told him what a great job he had done! He IS as adorable in person as he is on film!
High off the excitement of seeing the first film we ran home to get some sleep before seeing Jack Goes Boating at 9:15am on Sunday! My friend and coworker, Nancy, was nice enough to let us park in her driveway anytime we wanted so we took her up on the offer that morning as her house is just a short walk to Eccles theater where our screening of Jack Goes Boating took place.
We sat next to a woman named Holly who is from Texas and comes to Park City to volunteer for the festival every year. She was really nice and fun to talk to. She volunteers at New Frontier, a venue on Main Street that houses exhibits and performances that experiment with traditional art, media and film making. She told us all about it and was explaining how often Joseph Gordon-Levitt was there for his hitRECord.org installation, and that actors had been stopping by to see him, like Parker Posey and James Franco. Meg and I had thought about trying to get into a screening of The Runaways that night but instead we ended up going to New Frontier and seeing Gordon-Levitt and the other film makers he's collaborating with explain their project. More on that later...
Jack Goes Boating was a funny, sad, touching film with great performances. It is Philip Seymour Hoffman's directorial debut and I think he did a great job. Following the film was a Q & A with Hoffman, Amy Ryan, John Ortiz and Daphne Rubin-Vega, the stars of the film. It was so neat to hear them speak about the film. After that we met one of Meg's friends for lunch. he lives in Salt Lake City but drove up to visit Meg while she's here! This was a nice little break from all the craziness of the festival, and we went to Red Rock, my favorite restaurant in Park City!
We went back to the apartment to take it easy for a bit but then we ended up taking the bus into town around 4pm with no real plan in mind except to explore Main Street and check out the venues to which our credentials allowed us access. On our travels up and down Main Street we saw Taryn Manning, Colin Hanks and Jason Ritter. I wanted to go talk to Jason Ritter but he was with people who he seemed to know and they were having a conversation so I didn't want to bother him, We actually saw him again later on but he was crossing the street, so we didn't get to say hello then either. We checked out New Frontier and saw Holly who explained once more what the venue is all about and gave us some info on the exhibits and panels. The exhibits were interesting and weird. There was one that was really cool called Cloud Mirror where you take one of these small panels that is on a string and put it around your neck, then type the number you find on the panel and your Facebook log in information into the provided computer and then go stand in front of a TV with a camera attached to it. Somehow things connect and you see yourself on the TV with little thought bubbles that have information from your Facebook profile in them!! I have no idea how this works but it's really cool! On the panel that you have around your neck you can see photos from your profile!
Other exhibits included something called Bordertown that had models of buildings that were about as tall as me and in the windows there were scenes from different films playing. Another exhibit was titled Post Global Warming Survival Kit and it was a room with no lights that had a tent in it with a screen that just showed an ocean and you wore night vision goggles to see. And yet another had a screen spanning the entire length of three walls with a really weird film playing on a loop. There were these pads, or mattresses I guess, on the ground where you would lie down to watch the film. This was called Lobe of Lung and the idea was to lounge inside the film. And as I said before hitRECord.org was set up down there so we got a glimpse of that as well. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was down there at one point while we were looking around but then we didn't see him again after that. We did see his brother, Dan, however, who looks exactly like him except he has dreads.
After we had explored all of the exhibits we decided to get a drink at The No Name Saloon. It was really packed and after ordering our drinks we finally got a table when these 2 older couples from Arkansas came over and offered to buy all of our drinks if we let them share our table. We told them that they could share our table but they didn't have to worry about our drinks. They were really fun and in the end not only did they end up buying us some drinks, they also bought us mozzarella sticks! Yum! We had to leave them after a little while though so that we could go BACK to New Frontier to see the hitRECord.org presentation. This was actually really cool!
They explained the whole idea behind the website which I will attempt to sum up... anyone can join and post things like videos, recordings, text, music, anything and you give everyone else the right to do anything with what you have submitted. And if at some point something you contributed to makes money, you get paid. I am not explaining it right so just go to the website and sign up to get the idea. There were maybe 30 people in the audience and we all got to participate in a few collaborations. They are making a film called Morgan M. Morganson's Date with Destiny and they needed some sound bites for a restaurant scene so they recorded the audience. They also filmed us all standing around Gordon-Levitt as he acted out a scene for a video they are putting together to accompany a song that Sean Lennon wrote for them called Nebulullaby. Pretty cool stuff! At the end of the presentation one of the film makers, Tori, came up to me and asked if she could film my earrings! I was wearing big red circular earrings and their logo is a big red circle, like a recording sign. I obviously said yes and then she wanted to interview me so we did that too. I don't even remember what I said- probably something dumb. But they are making a documentary about the whole Sundance experience so maybe I'll show up on there. I'm going to try and make the screening of it tomorrow night. After the interview I panicked because I didn't know how to sign up on the website so I just grabbed Joseph Gordon-Levitt and asked him. When I told him about Tori interviewing me he said "Yeah those are cool earrings" Haha, isn't that great?! I was stoked! Lame I know, but you'd be excited too!!!
We still had some time to kill before our midnight screening of Frozen so we headed to Java Cow, a cafe down the street, for some refreshments. There we ran into a couple of guys who I had met a few days earlier when they came into J. Crew. They work for an entertainment show in Toronto, Canada and they are here covering the festival. They are really nice so we chatted for a while before they had to go do press coverage of Frozen. We actually hung out with them for a little while as they waited for the cast and crew to arrive but then Meg and I noticed that the line was getting long so we decided to hop in it to make sure we got good seats. We met some people in line and one of the girls had lived in Portsmouth! We chatted with them to pass the time but we were actually waiting in line for quite a while. We jokingly wondered if it might be for affect since the film is called Frozen, but we found out that someone who was working at the Egyptian had actually had a seizure and had to be taken away in an ambulance! This is just what someone told us so I don't know the whole story. The film was pretty awesome, but a little gruesome! The Q & A was great too! Adam Green, the director, was so energetic and funny and he told some great stories about the filming process. Adam Green is from Massachusetts and Frozen takes place at a fictional ski resort in New England but it was filmed at Snow Basin, right here in Utah. My friend Anna's husband did lighting for the film and I remember her telling me about it when he was working on it. I did get a photo with the cast that you can see on my Facebook! The guys, Shawn Ashmore and Kevin Zegers (who I have a little crush on) weren't really paying attention while I was trying to get the photo. I would have rather been between them than all the way on the end next to the girl, Emma Bell, but I wasn't going to press my luck!
The next day Meg and I had a film screening at the Temple Theater- a Jewish Temple up the road that they turn into a theater for the fest. You cannot park there so you have to take a shuttle and we had a little trouble figuring out where were supposed to park and which shuttle we were actually supposed to get on. Four buses and many helpful festival volunteers later we made it to the venue where we saw The Freebie following a short film called Young Love. The short, made by a young Australian director, was really funny. The Freebie was directed by Katie Aselton who has been to Sundance many times but this was her first time directing. The film was really cute and funny and it starred Aselton and Dax Shepard who was hilarious! We got a ton of info in the Q & A, and Aselton was full of energy and seemed really excited to be showing her film. She explained that there was no script, only a 6 page outline she had written and the film was completely ad-libbed! Shepard wasn't there but other cast members and her crew were in attendance.
That evening we saw Skateland at the Racquet Club theater- you guessed it, a gym that they turn into a theater! You'd never know it though, they do a really good job with these venues! Another first time director, Anthony Burns, headed up this film about a group of teens in 1983, good year, don't ya think? It had a Dazed and Confused feel to it. This was the premiere so no one had seen the film before then and the whole cast and crew was there, except for Ashley Green, who thanks to the Twilight saga, is the most famous person in the film. Adrian Brody was also there to check it out, as well as Christopher MacDonald, whose name I just had to look up because I only recognized him as Shooter McGavin from Happy Gilmore! The film was awesome and funny and I loved it. Afterwards everyone came up on stage for the Q & A and Burns, very attractive FYI, was all nervous to be talking in front of the audience. It was so cute! Then someone asked Shiloh Fernandez, also adorable, and the actor who played the lead, a question and he was all cute and nervous too! It was very endearing to witness! After the Q & A I went over to talk to Shiloh and he was so cool and sincere. He seemed genuinely grateful and flattered that I liked the film and his performance. I introduced myself and he told me it was nice to meet me and when I asked if I could grab a photo he was totally cool about it and even acted a little excited that I had asked. Right as I was giving Meg the camera he saw someone he knew and started talking to them so I thought he had forgotten about the picture but then he excused himself and came back over, put his arm around me and we got a great photo! This can also be seen on my Facebook. I asked him if it was his first time at Sundance and he told me that he had been here once before for a film called Red with Brian Cox. I said I'd check it out and he warned me that it's nothing like Skateland. I looked it up later and he's right! looks like it's about some kids who kill a guy's dog and the revenge he gets on them. Yikes! I'm not sure if I can handle that!!
Late Tuesday morning we saw our final film, Howl. Loved it!! It's about the trial against the man who published the poem Howl and also about Ginsberg. Some of the film is in color, some in black and white and some parts were animated. James Franco puts on an amazing performance as usual. Most of the dialogue is taken directly from recordings and the transcripts from the trial. The directors, Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, were there to answer all of the questions about their wonderful film and even one of the actors, Todd Rotundi, who played Jack Kerouac, was there to talk about his role. No James Franco but oh well, I'll live.
That night Meg and I wandered Main Street one last time before she left. We went into the boutiques for some shopping and she bought some festival souvenirs to distribute back home. We lounged in the Lobe of Lung at New Frontier for nearly an hour and just talked, something we hadn't had all that much time to do with all the activities we had crammed into 6 days. We had a dinner reservation at The Purple Sage where my roommate, Kelly, works. The food was delicious and it was a nice ending to the trip.
I had a wonderful time at Sundance and I really hope to attend next year and every single year after that! I want to volunteer and who knows, maybe one of these days I'll work for the Sundance Institute and be a part of the programs that allow independent film makers' dreams to become realities. When an artist's vision become's a film we can all experience, everyone wins.
So that's it! Longest. Post. Ever. For those of you who made it this far, congratulations! The festival isn't over yet and I don't go back to work until Saturday. Someone gave me vouchers for 2 waitlist tickets which I'm going to attempt to use tomorrow. I'll let you all know how it goes!!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Photobombing.
Has anyone heard of photobombing? I was introduced to this term recently when Michael Cera appeared on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. Does anyone watch his show? I catch it every once in a while and it's really hilarious! He always gets his guests to do crazy things and play funny games... I love it!
Anyway, back to photobombing. It's when you take a picture of people posed and then there is someone either deliberately or accidentally doing something funny in the background, or in some cases the foreground. Here is an example, thanks to Jared:
So after hearing Cera and Fallon talk about it I decided to check out the website and found a few through Google. It reminds me a lot of Awkward Family Photos, in fact I recognized some of the pictures from that site. But it's fairly amusing so check it out! If you decide to look through the sites notice the overabundance of photos bombed by animals (mostly dogs) gettin' it on ;) Oh and some of the photos aren't entirely appropriate so be careful, nothing too horrible, but just a heads up if I have any younger or easily offended blog followers!
Do you have any funny photobombs?
Anyway, back to photobombing. It's when you take a picture of people posed and then there is someone either deliberately or accidentally doing something funny in the background, or in some cases the foreground. Here is an example, thanks to Jared:
So after hearing Cera and Fallon talk about it I decided to check out the website and found a few through Google. It reminds me a lot of Awkward Family Photos, in fact I recognized some of the pictures from that site. But it's fairly amusing so check it out! If you decide to look through the sites notice the overabundance of photos bombed by animals (mostly dogs) gettin' it on ;) Oh and some of the photos aren't entirely appropriate so be careful, nothing too horrible, but just a heads up if I have any younger or easily offended blog followers!
Do you have any funny photobombs?
Friday, January 8, 2010
Always comment at your own risk.
Do you ever read blogs on popular sites where a lot of people comment?
I get updates from EW.com through email and read the blogs I'm interested in to keep up to date on all things entertainment. I always look at the comments posted because I find it very interesting that people say such nasty things to and about each other! There are so many criticisms about issues ranging from grammatical and spelling errors to a difference in opinion about the subject of the original blog. If someone doesn't agree with your opinion of the latest TV show or movie? Forget it, you're dead to them and god forbid you spell something wrong! Watch out!
We ABSOLUTELY and unfortunately live in a world where people are not always honest face to face. But the anonymity of this particular situation allows people to say whatever they want without backing up their beliefs or suffering consequences if any feelings get hurt. This is a realization I came to after reading so many blogs and blog comments, but that's just me thinking too much, as always. I liken my head to a dryer. My thoughts being the clothes, really noisy ones with lots of buttons and zippers etc, and they're just never dry, they keep tumbling around... But mostly reading these comments is amusing and EW.com is my favorite because they've got the goods!
And completely unrelated... Do you all know the song Tik Tok by Ke$ha? That's not a typo, she really spells her name like that. Well if you don't here it is:
This is a guilty pleasure if I ever had one!
So I really like this song, it's just too fun and catchy for me not to. Her CD was available on Itunes for only $6.99 and since the Tik Tok single is $1.29 I figured I'd take a risk and spend the extra $5 to get the whole thing. I have a gift card too so it was even easier to justify the purchase. Here's the thing... I totally LOVE the CD! This isn't exactly quality music here, but it's a lot of fun and with lyrics like "Wake up in the morning feelin' like P. Diddy" and "Dance 'til your pants come off" it's also good for a few laughs. I'm not insisting that anyone immediately go out and buy any of her tunes (not like Florence) I just love the positive outcome to this little story! Don't you get a kick out of having your doubts about something and then having those doubts shattered?! I certainly do!
Plus Ke$ha admitted to throwing up in Paris Hilton's closet. You go girl.
I get updates from EW.com through email and read the blogs I'm interested in to keep up to date on all things entertainment. I always look at the comments posted because I find it very interesting that people say such nasty things to and about each other! There are so many criticisms about issues ranging from grammatical and spelling errors to a difference in opinion about the subject of the original blog. If someone doesn't agree with your opinion of the latest TV show or movie? Forget it, you're dead to them and god forbid you spell something wrong! Watch out!
We ABSOLUTELY and unfortunately live in a world where people are not always honest face to face. But the anonymity of this particular situation allows people to say whatever they want without backing up their beliefs or suffering consequences if any feelings get hurt. This is a realization I came to after reading so many blogs and blog comments, but that's just me thinking too much, as always. I liken my head to a dryer. My thoughts being the clothes, really noisy ones with lots of buttons and zippers etc, and they're just never dry, they keep tumbling around... But mostly reading these comments is amusing and EW.com is my favorite because they've got the goods!
And completely unrelated... Do you all know the song Tik Tok by Ke$ha? That's not a typo, she really spells her name like that. Well if you don't here it is:
This is a guilty pleasure if I ever had one!
So I really like this song, it's just too fun and catchy for me not to. Her CD was available on Itunes for only $6.99 and since the Tik Tok single is $1.29 I figured I'd take a risk and spend the extra $5 to get the whole thing. I have a gift card too so it was even easier to justify the purchase. Here's the thing... I totally LOVE the CD! This isn't exactly quality music here, but it's a lot of fun and with lyrics like "Wake up in the morning feelin' like P. Diddy" and "Dance 'til your pants come off" it's also good for a few laughs. I'm not insisting that anyone immediately go out and buy any of her tunes (not like Florence) I just love the positive outcome to this little story! Don't you get a kick out of having your doubts about something and then having those doubts shattered?! I certainly do!
Plus Ke$ha admitted to throwing up in Paris Hilton's closet. You go girl.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Get reel.
Today I picked the films that Meg and I will see at Sundance! It was a little nerve racking as I did it online and some of the films and different show times we had picked out were no longer available. I really only had a half hour to do it because once you pick tickets for a specific showtime they are held in your shopping cart on the site for 31 minutes, but then you're scrambling around looking for 3rd, 4th, 5th choices when 1st and 2nd choices are sold out! I was prepared with back ups but apparently not enough! I finally committed to various show times and I'm relatively happy with the result! Actually I'm completely happy with the result except for one thing... all showings of The Runaways were sold out. That was our first choice film above all others but apparently we were not alone in that! That is the film about Joan Jett starring Kristin Stewart and Dakota Fanning. I know that K. Stew is super popular right now but I honestly didn't think she was as popular with the Sundance crowd- guess I was wrong! There is still a chance we could get into one of the screenings. They have a wait list where you go 2 hours ahead and give them your name and then come back 30 minutes before the film starts and see if you got a ticket. So we can try that!
Here are the films we'll be seeing, just click on the title and it will bring you to a little synopsis!
Teenage Paparazzo
Jack Goes Boating
Frozen
The Freebie
Skateland
HOWL
There they are! I told Meg that it doesn't really matter what we see to a certain extent because Sundance is all about the experience and excitement as much as the films!
While we're on the subject of films, here is EW's list of the 25 Films You Should See Before Oscar Night. How many have you seen? I put a * next to the ones I've seen...
Up in the Air*
Avatar*
The Hurt Locker
Precious*
Inglorious Basterds*
Invictus
An Education
Up*
A Serious Man
The Messenger
Julie & Julia
A Single Man
Crazy Heart
The Blind Side*
The Last Station
Nine
Star Trek*
District 9*
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Lovely Bones
(500) Days of Summer*
It's Complicated
The Young Victoria
Bright Star*
The Informant!*
Looks like I have some movies to watch! I'll have to end this entry here because Neve is sleeping in my lap making typing really difficult. She's just so cute I can't make her move!
Here are the films we'll be seeing, just click on the title and it will bring you to a little synopsis!
Teenage Paparazzo
Jack Goes Boating
Frozen
The Freebie
Skateland
HOWL
There they are! I told Meg that it doesn't really matter what we see to a certain extent because Sundance is all about the experience and excitement as much as the films!
While we're on the subject of films, here is EW's list of the 25 Films You Should See Before Oscar Night. How many have you seen? I put a * next to the ones I've seen...
Up in the Air*
Avatar*
The Hurt Locker
Precious*
Inglorious Basterds*
Invictus
An Education
Up*
A Serious Man
The Messenger
Julie & Julia
A Single Man
Crazy Heart
The Blind Side*
The Last Station
Nine
Star Trek*
District 9*
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Lovely Bones
(500) Days of Summer*
It's Complicated
The Young Victoria
Bright Star*
The Informant!*
Looks like I have some movies to watch! I'll have to end this entry here because Neve is sleeping in my lap making typing really difficult. She's just so cute I can't make her move!
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