landlocked film festival

Yesterday and today I attended various showings of films at the Landlocked Film Festival here in Iowa City. I found it almost by accident while walking home from class Thursday night. I saw some posters outside of a theater and on a whim went inside to find out more. I got a program of all the films being shown and talked to this woman there who helps run the festival and she enthusiastically rattled off her recommendations (which was really most of the films). I ended up watching 5 hours of films yesterday and a little more than that today. Don't judge me! I also used the opportunity to make new friends.

Friday I called up this girl Gloria who's from the branch who lives near me and asked her if she was interested in going to one of the film programs that night and she was siked about it! Then, on my way downtown to meet her I ran into this kid Jared who also lives near us and invited him to come too. He had some stuff to do but agreed to meet us downtown when he was done. It was a huge success! There were lots of great films (and several experimental ones that we weren't big fans of) but mostly it was just fun to get to know Gloria and Jared better.

Also, funny story. So when Jared called us yesterday to tell us he was done with his stuff, we were at a program of documentaries and told him to come down to meet up with us and watch those. (One of our favorites was Boat Dreams directed by Sasha Andrew. The opening shot was taken close to the surface of a still lake, as if you were skimming just above it, but it was flipped upside down so the reflection was on top of the frame and what was being reflected was below. It was really trippy and amazing.) It took Jared a while to get down to the hotel where those films were being shown, and when he finally arrived there were only two left. The one he walked in just in time for? Called Period Piece (directed by Christine Robins). Yup, it was about menstruation. Good timing, Jared. Luckily it wasn't too long and he was a good sport about it. (Side note: it was also really funny and well done. If you are a woman—or a curious member of the male gender—you should certainly click on the link above and watch it: it's only about 12 minutes long.)

Between yesterday and today I watched 2 different programs of shorts (that's shorts as in short films, not as in short pants) and liked a fair amount of them. There was a pretty funny, though slightly crude one called Action World by these guys from FND Films (sort of like Barats and Barretta, but different). There was also this clever film called Lydia and Otto that Gloria and I liked a lot. It's tricky, though, you have to listen really carefully to the dialogue. And there was a Pittsburgh Neighborhood Narrative film that I enjoyed called Squared, directed by Jeremy Braverman (no, he's not related to the family in Parenthood. They're just pretend, guys).

Basically, what I'm trying to say with all of this is that I have had a fantastic weekend. I've started to build new friendships, potentially convinced Gloria to move in with me and help me clean up the backyard (she volunteered with excitement and enthusiasm to do that), and generally enjoyed myself in a plethora of ways.

As my mom said before she left, Iowa City is the mid-west's best kept secret. I agree.

the epidemic continues

People are still sick. So it was decreed that everyone—even those of us who are not puking or pooping our guts out—would stay home this afternoon and rest instead of going to shift. That means that, along with eating bananas, white toast with honey, and yogurt, we watched movies.

My favorite movie of the night was "Away We Go." It has John Krasinski in it, so I was already predisposed to love it, and I was not disappointed. It's all about this couple who is expecting a baby and they are trying to figure out where to raise their child. The travel all around the country visiting friends and family trying to decided if they want to move to any of those places. What it really ends up being, however, is the search for a family whose life they want to base their own off of. Eventually, of course, they realize that the only life they can live is their own and nobody else's lives or life decisions have to affect or influence the decisions they make about their own future together. Their story has not yet been written—only they can choose their own destiny. You know, all of that. It was fantastic. Aside from the f word and the awkward sex scene at the beginning it was a winner in my book. Why do movies always have to have those scenes in them that make them "So great! Oh, except for that one part..."? One day I will teach myself how to edit movies and then I will have a library free of such awkward scenage. One day.

facts about today

1. It is the death anniversary of Helen Keller.
2. It is Clarissa's Plimpton's 20th birthday. (Coincidence? I think not.)
3. I watched Gattaca for the second time in 3 days.
4. We made theater seating for our living room using cinderblocks. It completed me. (Though looking at the pictures I realize that it looks a little ridiculous because our tv screen is so small. Our only defense is that we're girls. Don't hate.)

5. I did not fall asleep in any of my classes.
6. There are new episodes of Pushing Daisies!!!
7. My comparative lit professor knows that I love Pushing Daisies and I'm not sure how he knows.
8. The Vest will soon be returning to Provo!
9. I sold my first book on Amazon.com. It was Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man by James Joyce.
10. My friend Brendan had a strange dream involving an intelligent talking globe, Princess Leia, an android, and the theme song of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
11. Sometimes people fill in blanks where there were none left empty. I won't name names.

tender mercies

Today is the second to last day of the month. So of course I haven't done my visiting teaching. And my companion Summer is harder to track down than a vegetarian at a hoe down, so I decided I would go on my own. Instead of baking cookies and writing a note that says, "Sorry we missed you, enjoy these cookies" I felt inspired instead to put together an elaborate cornacopia of produce and deliciousness that I acquired today at two of my favorite food suppliers: the food co-op and the Farmer's Market. (Anyone who knows me even a little knows that I love these two things very very much. And if you didn't, you do now.) So, if you'll kindly look below you will see my twin creations. I think they turned out pretty well. And yes, those are cereal boxes that they are in. Or rather, one cereal box cut in half and lined with grocery bags. I was pretty proud of myself indeed... Also included was a note slipped under the ribbon around the bread that said, "Sorry we missed you, enjoy this food" (well, not really, but kind of).

As I was on my way over to deliver said goodies, I was walking across the parking lot and I heard my name yelled from above. I look up saw that it was Celeste Cummings. Celeste used to live in Campus Plaza, but has since moved on to bigger and better things. And by that I mean she moved down the street which, by the way, puts her in a different ward and stake. Oh Provo. But there she was on the third floor of Campus Plaza yelling my name. So I said hi back and we chatted a bit from a far, then I went and dropped off my food to my girls on the south side of the building. On my way back home I decide to swing around to the north side of the building instead of just walking down the south side stairs so that I could actually talk to Celeste from a distance of less than 100 feet. Sadly, as I rounded the corner I saw her already walking away with John Taylor and another friend in tow. 

Normally, seeing that I was too late to catch her, I would have just let it go, but for some reason I hurried after them. I caught up with them at Celeste's car and she came over and gave me a hug and invited me to dinner. What? I was worried that I was intruding on a pre-planned dinner party (which I have learned in the past is never a good idea, even when invited) but when she said that it was all spur of the moment I said, "Sure!" and got in the car. My plan of saying yes was again put into action. 

So we went to Celeste's house. And made delicious tinfoil dinners which included potatoes, carrots, peas, onions, garlic, and BACON! They were so good. We grilled chicken on the side. While we waited for them to cook we played the card games Blink! and Zeus on the Loose. I liked them both a lot. And not just because I won. Celeste, John Taylor and Celeste's friend Carrie are fabulous people. They really are. They are the kind of people that you just love to be around because they are cheerful and encouraging and just nice. And that's just how they are. They aren't pretending. Celeste was always sure to include me in any conversation, explaining about people or events if I didn't know what they were talking about. I love people like that so much because I think that is just so considerate and I like feeling included.

After dinner there was talk of going to Celeste's ward activity to watch a movie in the park. At this point I almost excused myself because the movie was one I'd never heard of before (Paul's Neighbor, or something to that effect) and I was afraid it was going to be lame, but I reminded myself that I really had nothing else to do (and besides, I was having a great time) so I went. The movie ended up being Madagascar 2 (which was surprisingly good) and again, with Celeste, Carrie and John Taylor it was 10 times better. 

All in all it ended up being a great night. A fabulous night! One for the history books. Or rather, blog annuls...

Moral of the story? Always do your visiting teaching, even if you feel lame going by yourself with only food and no message. Okay, maybe that's not a great moral. What about: when people you don't really know invite you into their cars and into their homes, you should always go. That's much better.