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I introduced FrICTION which I loved, and director Cullen Hoback's Q&A went superbly.
I watched HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE which I also loved, though I started nodding off through in the beginning.

The long hours in the movie theater were starting to get to me.

When HIOP was over there were several celebration parties to attend, and I wanted to go to all of them because the filmmakers were my friends. I also wanted to attend the COMEDY SHORTS program at 10pm. 75% of my brain said I was wide awake and would be fine. 25% said I was running on auto-pilot and was about to crash.

I elected to forgo the parties and head home. I barely arrived and I was ready for bed. I was in bed and sound asleep by 9pm.
Woke up around 6:30am and got out of bed at 7am. I think and hope that I have been rejuvenated enough to get through today -- and the next seven days.

I'll be attending the documentary NO TOMORROW at 11:30am (in 30 minutes!) and then presenting PUCK HOGS and TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: KA SHEN'S JOURNEY and possibly be interviewing famous Eurasian actress Nancy Kwan (Ka Shen). I'll be through with films by 9pm today and have none tomorow morning, so hopefully I can get another good night's sleep and then some errands done tomorrow - I need to wash my Cinequest speaker clothes!

I also have a break this afternoon so Erin and I can have lunch together and we are both really looking forward to it. My brain has been too wrapped up in writing for Cinequest to give her the attention she deserves, and I so appreciate that she is patiently waiting for the festival to finish.

Seven more days. Somehow this year seems like the busiest festival so far.

Too tired to write tonight. No reviews until morning.
FrICTION was fantastic. Completely different from anything Cullen Hoback has done before.
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE was the sweetest loser movie I've ever seen. Audience laughed quite a few times. Loved it.

Missing the HIOP Premiere Party and the Comedy Shorts in order to try to recharge. My body is aching to get exercise. I am back in the theaters at 11am. Bah.

Sunday's movies:
NO TOMORROW
PUCK HOGS
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: KA SHEN'S JOURNEY

Good night.

Cinequest Day 4 - Surprises

Definitely a day of surprises.

I introduced the World Premiere of my friends' movie BABNIK. Although I love their previous films I totally understand why many don't, as they are very difficult to get through. I was bracing myself for 90 minutes of excruciating confusion -- and instead was presented with an accessible film which: 1) had a story! 2) had actual dialog! 3) went in a linear direction! 4) had an exciting ending! 5) was sometimes funny! And yet, still didn't provide all the answers, and required the viewer to think. WELL DONE, Alejandro Adams and Marya Murphy. You have made a film to be proud of, to be sure.

Also at the Repertory Theatre: Rhett and Candyce Lewis from BILLY WAS A DEAF KID!!! They made a surprise trip from Utah just to say Hi to Cinequest. They are two of the nicest people in the world and I was thrilled to see them AND brand new baby Stella.

Was supposed to see DEEP IN THE VALLEY but instead ran into @HappyFunPaul and we went to see PEEPERS instead. Hilarious fun.

Word on the street:

GABI ON THE ROOF IN JULY is excellent.
THE BONE MAN is excellent.
HOUSE OF FOOLS is excellent.

World Premiere of FrICTION is today.
World Premiere of HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE is today.

More daily announcements can be found at the Cinequesting website.

Not a hitch for this day.
Saw GREEN WATERS: Here is my review: "A big ball of WTF." That's all I have to say about it.
Saw THE ROBBERS: Loved. Go see it. Definitely a must-see.
Saw 1981: Loved. Adored. Go see it. Definitely a must-see.

Conducted the Q&A with Cindy Lin, producer of THE ROBBERS, and it went really well. The audience loved her film and she was happy to have come all the way from Beijing for the North American premiere of her film.

Overall it was an awesome night, with great films.

Tonight I introduce BABNIK, and hopefully make it to DEEP IN THE VALLEY and possibly SWEETGRASS.

And then sleep. Sleep Sleep Sleep.

This is where things got better.

Yes, both my films had technical problems, or I should say it was my theater that had the problems. Some sound card (acting as if I know what I'm talking about here) was messed up in my projection room, so the film was delayed while they worked on it. Finally I was told it was ready, I introduced the film and sat down.

And... nothing happened. I had to tell the audience we were having a technical delay, and they were very nice about it -- which is what I love about festival audiences, they understand these things happen (Grumpy Lady wasn't there). Some people were concerned about getting to their next movie, which was understandable, but still, they were nice. So we waited, and waited, and waited, and...

I was told to tell the audience we still weren't ready. I believe we were at least 15 minutes late at this point. I stood up and told them we had our best technical guy on the job, it could be fixed at any moment, but if anyone was concerned about getting to their next film we would be happy to refund their ticket price for this movie. The audience asked a lot of questions about what films were next, how long this one was, things like this, and I knew all the answers! Made me very happy, and from that moment on I knew I was going to do just fine. I had just had my first crisis at my first screening, and I kept everyone happy and was able to keep them informed.

Four people got up and left -- perfectly understandable. No one was griping or making a scene, they just quietly went on to a different film.

I sat down. The lights went down. The film started! Everyone was happy, it was a great film (SLOVENIAN GIRL), and I'm pretty sure everyone made their next film on time.

I also had difficulties at the next film with another delay, and then the projectionists insisting I introduce the film a second time... I haven't yet found out if this was a misunderstanding (they didn't realize I already did?) or just another technical issue, but I stood up with the mic, said "Shall we do this again?" and the audience laughed, and clapped every step of the way as we thanked the sponsors and announced the film again.

Unfortunately that film wasn't so great (LOW LIGHTS).

However, even though we had all these problems, even though one audience waited an extra 20 minutes and the second audience waited 5-10 minutes, people were extremely nice and understanding about it, and that's what made my night. Film festivals will have technical issues, and volunteers will do their best to make things better. The only duty the audience has is to relax, have fun, and go with the flow -- because there's going to be a reward somewhere down the line.

I can't wait for tonight!

Cinequest Day 2 - Rude People

Yesterday, despite a multitude of technical problems, went very well and I had a GREAT time.

It started off badly though.
I arrived at the theater to watch a film before my speaker shifts started, and just as I got there another couple arrived for the same movie. The Theater Manager was directing them to their line, which was empty because the film was 30 minutes away. Well, this lady didn't want to stand in line, she wanted into the theater. Which she couldn't do, because she wasn't an Express Line holder, she was a regular patron. Express Line gets in 30 minutes before the film, regular people get in 15 minutes before. She started raising SUCH A STINK. She was loud, rude, and obnoxious. She was berating the theater manager and loudly proclaiming she was going to "talk to Halfdan about this."

I wasn't working yet, but I wanted to tell her to settle down. In fact, if I wasn't a volunteer I probably would have. But now I have to be "professional" and deal with the public nicely. Errr. I forgot about that part. But I tried very hard to stay quiet and help the Theater Manager in charge, meanwhile going through my head what I would possibly do if this happened when I *was* on shift.

And all I kept thinking was, "Good grief, it's DAY ONE. It's the FIRST MOVIE OF THE DAY, and you're ALREADY CRANKY????" I mean, COME ON. You should be having fun, not griping because you arrived half an hour early to your movie, WITH NO EXPRESS PASS, and actually have to stand in line for a couple minutes. And you know what? She got let in afterall.

And continued bitching. All the way to her seat she was loudly complaining about the rules, and "those volunteers" (GRRR), and how incompetent everyone else was, and more about the stupid rules, and "Halfdan needs to hear about this." And as she sat down a few rows in front of me, I realized...

THIS WAS THE SAME LADY (second paragraph).

At that time I was furious that this woman was even back at the festival, because I saw her throughout the festival last year and she was CLEARLY unhappy with everything around her, so why would she put herself and the rest of us through all this misery if she hates us so much? But then part of me was relieved because it wasn't ANOTHER cranky woman, and maybe all I'll have to avoid is this ONE.

So.
1. Come on, People, TRY TO HAVE FUN.
2. It's way too early in the festival to be this grumpy.
3. Volunteers work their butts off, so don't badmouth them unless you've done a better job volunteering AT THIS FESTIVAL.
4. I'm going to try very hard to deal with these kinds of people in an appropriate manner.

That last one might be hard.

Lost another half pound, I'm on a roll!!! I will NOT over eat or eat (too many) bad things during Cinequest!! And luckily, if it stays nice outside, I can ride my bike Friday through Tuesday when I don't work.

Cinequest Opening Night

Last night was the best opening night that Cinequest has had in three years.

1. Last year Cinequest showed appreciation to Cinequest bloggers by giving us press passes. I was hoping (and praying) I would get one this year. Not only did I get a press pass, but they threw in a few extras that blew my mind. “You did a lot of work this year, and you got all those interviews in,” they told me. I do it because I love it, as you all know, but it was just amazing to be rewarded like this.

2. I didn’t have any volunteer duties last night so instead of wearing the sensible, comfy black shoes that I must wear at Speaker, I wore my favorite red heels. OW. Two blocks from parking to the CAL theater, two blocks back to the Rep due to some misinformation, two blocks back to the CAL, two blocks over to VIP party that a filmmaker was kind enough to invite me to, two blocks back to the CAL for the film. And then two blocks back to the closing party where my feet said “ENOUGH!” and I spent half the party just carrying my shoes. Today I am wearing bandaids.

3. I was a Super-Star again. It is VERY WEIRD having strangers know who I am. No one really recognizes me, but as soon as they hear my name it was “I know YOU! You’re THAT GIRL! Who writes THAT STUFF! On the INTERNET!” Most surprising this time were people who knew my name from the Cinequest program, where I had written a few film synopses. It was also nice meeting all the filmmakers who I had interviewed through email.

4. The opening film (The Good Heart) was GREAT. Yes, it was predictable, and yes you could see the ending from the very beginning, but the ride in between was laugh out loud enjoyable. The audience was cracking up through the whole thing, the acting was great, I loved the characters, and I was actually satisfied with how the ending played out. This is the best opening night film that Cinequest has had in three years (and some of us debated whether it was even better than Thank You for Smoking).

5. The opening party was also the best in years. The opening party is ALWAYS super crowded and loud and you don’t yet know anyone. But this year was at E&O Trading Company which is pretty big, and well lit. E&O also kept the food and drink at a constant flow; they actually were running out of drinks before food. It has always been very difficult to just grab one kabob from a passing server at other opening parties but everyone was satisfied here. It was super loud, but I knew quite a lot of people this year and we had fun. I did leave around 10:30 though, with a hoarse throat and angry feet. More parties at E&O!!

I think that recaps my night. One filmmaker friend got me into the VIP Party before the film where we were served free Mojitos. It’s never a bad night that starts out with a free Mojito and ends with a free Cape Cod. Tonight I will be seeing The Escape and then will be Speaker for Slovenian Girl and Low Lights. I am looking forward to all three!

And so it begins!

Tonight I'll be at the Opening Night film and party.
Tomorrow I'll be introducing the films SLOVENIAN GIRL and LOW LIGHTS.

Read my article about Cinequest and why you should attend.
Read my film reviews and interviews at CQ Central (they will also be at Metblogs).

I'll post the random stuff, my thoughts and comments, funny stories etc., here. When I have a moment for my own thoughts!

See you at the movies!

Today I went to my Speaker training for Cinequest, and now I'm super excited for the festival to start AND wondering if I will actually get through it all. Working 6 hours a day and then introducing an average of two films each night plus Q&A, PLUS taking notes to write the reviews when I get home. I have 40+ hours scheduled just for working Cinequest, not counting the extra movies I'll be seeing as an audience member. YIKES! The good news is I was blessed with another press pass that I am forever grateful for. In return, I review the films and post interviews with the filmmakers over at CQ Central. You should go visit it.

Erin took me on a super fun bike ride Sunday morning. She got me farther up the hills than I have ever been and I only stopped once. It makes me happy! I'm getting better at flying back down the hills, but the most fun is going up them. It was both fun and funny, I thought, with us both decked out in our bike kits riding with each other. Sometimes next to each other talking and laughing, sometimes with her behind me while I shielded her from the wind. I just want to ride my bike all the time now and I WISH IT WASN'T RAINING HERE now. BOO.

Cinequest starts Tuesday so if you want to hear from me you might need to head over to CQ Central and also Metblogs if you want to read what I have to say. I'll miss my bicycle, my diet, and Erin, but I'll be busy and happy watching film.

Good things that have happened today:

I have all clean clothes now.
I am just under 190 today.
My best friend is the best friend ever.
My kitties love to sit by me.
I get to stay home and do my work while watching crappy TV shows.
I have a ton of good food in the kitchen.

That's a lot of good things. I just needed to list them out. I was headed over the edge earlier, but I think I'm going to be okay after all.

Also, Cinequest is coming up on February 23. I think I'll keep most of my writing over at CQCentral this year to avoid making you all crazy. But maybe not. We'll see. I usually hate putting bad movie reviews over there, even though I shouldn't. So anyway, when/if I disappear from here around February 23, you'll know where I am.

You should be there too.

P.S. I'll be working 40+ hours as a speaker this year. This seems sort of insane to me. We'll see how well I hold up.

Day One

Ran four really great miles, super strong. Not super fast, but VERY strong.
Buffy wanted McDonalds for dinner, GROSS. I took her to Iguana's Burritozilla place instead and ordered a small taco salad: just chicken, black beans, lettuce and a ton of salsa. And lots of water.

Tomorrow morning is laundromat and grocery shopping (for all lean, no calorie, water/carrots/salmon, or whatever, heh). Yum. BOO.

A little birdy told me my blog is boring now. Well, no kidding. Probably wouldn't be so boring if I could actually write about everything that was happening in my life. But those anonymous days are over. And I don't really have a desire to share with the world the sometimes dumb decisions I make.

But... I'm still happy. I can't deny that. I make dumb mistakes every day, I make decisions that aren't the best for me and ones that I shouldn't be making... but I wouldn't take anything back. I wouldn't change one thing. Not one.

I shouldn't be, but I am. I am happy.

Weight! Problems!

Did I mention I've been gaining weight? I write in too many places, sometimes I get confused.
But here's the thing: I kept losing weight up until around Thanksgiving. At that time I sort of spiraled into one of my depressions, mostly brought on by the holidays. Eat eat eat. Cry cry cry. Eat eat eat. Eat eat eat. Cry. Eat. And not too much exercise.

So I gained around 5 pounds, which, not bad really, for the holidays. But then it's like my metabolism just stopped again. I've been working out -- I have NOT been working out like I used to but I'm certainly working out more than most of you reading this are. (Am I right?) And I'm heading back up that scale again, just like the last few years. And now I'm back up to 191.

I don't like this. I can see it in my face again, and my new pants are getting tight. I don't like feeling as if I'll have to keep up the crazy workouts for my entire life just to keep at a standard weight.

Oh, and it's NOTICEABLE. When I got fit for my bike they were filming me riding from the side, and I watched it on a screen in front of me. All I kept thinking was "OH. MY. GOD. WHAT is THAT. I have THREE ROWS OF BOOBS." So, you know, this needs to be fixed.

So. Back we go again. I suppose it's time anyway, there are only FOUR MONTHS until I'm running that next triathlon. So it's back to one hour workouts every day. Swim, bike, run, whatever, it's going to get done. And food? Sighh. I know I'll be able to eat a little more when I really am training hard, but for the next two weeks it's going to be the following:
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Turkey & Swiss, mustard, whole wheat bread
Dinner: Lean chicken or fish, brown rice or whole wheat pasta, as many veggies as I can consume.

And I suppose I'll cut out the alcohol, except for the few times I get to drink with Erin. For all my talk, we don't drink together that much, and I hardly drink at home. But cutting out my Mudslide desserts will help. :) I'm not giving up my occasional Bloody Marys with Erin, but I can cut them out for a couple weeks.

So that's it. Ultra kick-start diet for two weeks, and start the real triathlon training.

I also have a full bottle of Advil. So that will help.

So I got my bike in a day long shopping spree that makes me exhausted just thinking about it. Erin and friends at Concept Cyclery definitely set me up. I got a beautiful Twin 6 bike kit, a new Orbea Aqua bike fitted perfectly to my own body, new Speedplay pedals, new bike shoes, gel gloves, cute socks and numerous other accessories. I'm like a real cyclist now!

BUT, it was exhausting.

So this morning Erin rode over and we went out on our bikes. Oh, first I went out and practiced getting my shoes in and out of those damn pedals and it was pretty much just as insane as I had anticipated. But there was no way I was going to fall over in front of Erin, so I practiced and practiced.

Not really enough, because things didn't go quite so well with Erin. But mostly okay. :)
So we went on our ride, and the first thing I've noticed is that this bike is so much FASTER than my poor mountain bike. I weighs about 20 pounds less too I think, but there is a definite difference in speed. I could mostly keep up with Erin this time although my heart rate was going through the roof on some of our climbs and I wasn't comfortable enough on downhills to not brake the entire time. Oops.

But overall I loved the bike, actually I LOVED the bike. I love my kit and my gloves and my bike and my crazy bike-riding friend. We rode 15 miles of up and down hills and she says that she wasn't going slow for me, but she did have to stop for me to catch my breath at least once. But I'll get better at that. What made me happy was my legs weren't hurting at all and I had a fantastic workout, and I just need to practice a lot more with those pedals.

Then we drove to Gordon Biersch for a big lunch and some rewarding Bloody Marys. It was a very, very nice lunch, though I think we were both pretty tired. But lots and lots of laughter.

We went home and I eventually crashed into a nap on the couch. Now I'm up and all my muscles are aching, but I took some Advil and we'll see how I feel in the morning.

I can't wait to get back in the saddle, and I can't wait until our next ride together. I just want to be as good as she is, and be able to ride and ride and ride. With no fear.

HAPPY

I'm going riding on my brand new bike with all my brand new gear!
SEE?

Today I'm going to Concept Cyclery to get a road bike. I don't know what brand yet, just that it's going to cost a lot of money. Haven't made a big purchase for myself in a long time, and this will probably be the last in a long time, but it will be good for me in the long run. I can't continue with triathlons with my big mountain bike! If this bike could help me take 10 minutes off my time in the Mermaid Triathlon I would be really happy, but I was planning on taking 10 minutes off even without a new bike... so hopefully I'll be even faster! And the triathlon in June will definitely require a road bike.

I never really thought about paying this much for a bicycle before, but I never really spent much effort on the bike either. I'd say it's definitely my weakest leg, but maybe that's because I didn't have the road bike. It's the only leg that requires actual equipment.

And Erin promised we'll ride more together once I get it, starting tomorrow. While I always feel terrible that I'm so slow compared to her, maybe the bike will help me keep up with her. She's been doing great with her swim workouts, which she hates, and I am SOOO proud of her. She inspires me, and I know I inspire her too. We might get into a lot of trouble together, and I know I don't always encourage her to make the right choices, but in some ways we are really good for each other. I never dreamed I'd find someone who was as competitive as I am but who I wouldn't want to kill. Somehow we push the right buttons with each other, and that's not easy dealing with someone like me.

On the other hand, in the last six months I haven't been the irritable bitch I used to be. So something must be going right.

Have you been reading the interviews I've been doing for CQ Central?
Some of them are really good. For about half I've seen the movies already and that's why I contacted the directors. And there are more interviews in the works right now!

So it's Super Bowl Sunday and, like any other year, I really couldn't care less. In the past it meant that Scott and I could go to the Red Apple Cafe and it would be empty, but today it just meant that the grocery store was packed when I went to go buy some fish.

Tried to muster up some interest in it, but I have none, and probably partly due to a cold that is definitely getting the better of me, although Airborne has so far stopped it from going further. At the moment. I'm not averse to a Super Bowl party, well mostly, and if there were someone here who cared I'd cheer along. But there's not, so I'm not. Ok, I'm secretly cheering for the Saints because Erin told me to, but... meh. But Erin is home watching the game and doing her work, and I'm here fighting a cold and reading (TV is off)...

Which makes me happy because I'm re-reading The Penelopiad and remembering what an AWESOME book this is. It's one of those books that is so great you just feel like you're in love with it. And I am, I am in love with this book. Margaret Atwood can write some crap sometimes, but Handmaid's Tale and The Penelopiad will forever make her The Greatest as far as I'm concerned.

I'm supposed to be reading Flatland, by Edwin Abbott, but I printed it out from the computer and left it on the couch and THE DAMN CAT PEED ON IT, AGAIN. So instead of printing another copy, I'm taking some literary medicine in the form of The Penelopiad.

I realize this entry is all about "I'm sick," "I hate/am apathetic towards the SuperBowl," and "F***ing cat!" but still, all in all, I'm pretty happy, so that's the category this entry is listed under. On Friday I went to dinner with Erin, and we didn't have that much to drink, but somehow the combination of types of drinks we had was pretty deadly. Well, not deadly enough to prevent a couple hours of fun before we crashed in bed, but I felt very lucky to not feel any worse than slightly tired and cranky the next day. Then she made me a lovely dinner Saturday evening and we had a nice quiet time at home. Today, I am sick. We must pay for our happiness sometimes, I guess.

So drinking tea, reading my book, listening to the cat snore, and just hoping that I'm not really sick tomorrow. That is my update, that's all there is for now.

My toenails have the very prettiest orangey polish on right now. I have the most prettiest feet ever today.

Still sleepy, but...

You know what? I don't look half bad when I wake up in the morning.

So the good news is that Kathy had her surgery yesterday and her family says she is doing great. Of course, all the hard work is yet to come, so you should still keep her in your thoughts please.

I'm back on track with my training, after taking a week off and also gaining a pound or two on top of the 5 I gained over holidays. When the new small clothes are no longer fitting, it's time to head back to the gym. I supposed I'll have to do this the rest of my life if I want to stay fit. Oh well, I do like it after all.

Cinequest is in full-speed-ahead mode, and I'm busier than ever these few weeks before the festival. So many movies to watch and review, and I've gotten a lot of interviews with filmmakers this year. Some filmmakers are sending me even more screeners. I think the CQCentral site is going to be a great place for festival goers this year.

And now I'm waiting for Erin to get here for a visit. Haven't seen her in a week!
Everyone have a great day!

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