I ♥ Film Festivals pt. 1

This week, I had the pleasure of spending four days attending my first ever film festival in downtown Orlando. Cheryl and I have been looking forward to this a lot and more went into it than you might think. Outfits had to be planned. New shoes/dresses/shirts/tights/whatever needed to be purchased (Good thing October is almost over, my bank account can't take much more). We put our schedules together with the film schedule and our list of films we wanted to see and set forth on making a time table. We also had to factor in in-between times, places to eat, you get the picture. All in all, this has more or less been consuming us for weeks now.

On Wednesday we got dressed and rushed off to the first and only film of the evening: Virgin Alexander (virginalexander.com). I highly recommend you look it up and watch the trailer. It was a delightful movie and I absolutely loved it. It was up for multiple awards and I'm still trying to find out if it won. After the movie, the filmmakers (husband and wife) came out and did a Q&A. I learned a lot about the film that really made me appreciate working on a budget. Your cheap film doesn't have to look cheap.

Thursday, we watched two groups of shorts: Animation Celebration which included Deep Blue Breath, Dissolving Destinies, The Birds Upstairs and the Jockstrap Raiders; and Artistic Impressions which included Dream Street Productions, Hallows' Eve and the Pumpkin Dream, Land of Blossom, NIQAB, The Fall of the Cutter's Mind, and Change. In the Animation Celebration I think my favorite was definitely The Jockstrap Raiders (thejockstrapraiders.com). It was a cute tale and was very well done. For Artistic Impressions I'd go with Dream Street Productions. It follows the style of a "Behind The Scenes" type of video only you realize it's the behind the scenes for the making of his dreams. Very cool concept, and again, well done.

Friday (my birthday), we saw 10 Years Later and Moleman of Belmont Ave. 10 Years Later (10yearslaterthemovie.com) was awesome. It followed a group of friends reuniting after 10 years (duh). Their reunion, however, is a bit rocky since one of them brings a tied up sheriff with them. It got really interesting and by the end you were rooting for the characters with unexpected veracity. Moleman of Belmont Ave (molemanmovie.com) was simply hilarious. The story centered around two brothers who owned their late mother's apartment building. After the mysterious disappearances of pets around the building, the brothers find out that none other than the Moleman is behind it. Their comedic timing was fantastic and I really enjoyed it. One of the brothers from the film was there (he was also the co-writer and co-director) and he did a Q&A. He was just as funny as his character and again made me realize what you can do with a tiny budget.

I'm cutting it off here since it's already kind of long as I have lots more to tell you. Pt. 2  coming soon.

20 Things I've Learned In Twenty Years:

1. Never grocery shop when you are A) Hungry B) PMSing.
2. Trying to force others to do something your way probably isn't going to work. Compromise, compromise, compromise.
3. There's nothing wrong with asking for help.
4. For some people, music soothes all. For others that may be riding their bike, playing video games, or watching trashy tv. Respect that.
5. Don't ever make a plan that involves doing it "even though you hate it". Chances are it won't work.
6. Always try to befriend the people you work with. It generally leads to a myriad of good things.
7. The fact that people like or don't like you may be completely out of your control. Move on.
8. You don't reap any rewards if you don't first take a chance.
9. Christmas shouldn't cause you stress. I mean, it does. But it shouldn't. Relax, have some eggnog, and enjoy the season.
10. Spending a little money to make your bed more comfy is money WELL SPENT.
11. Eating bagels for breakfast for two months straight will probably make you sick of them. The same rule applies to most things in life.
12. Realize that not every decision is life or death.
13. When in doubt-sleep on it.
14. Dealing with people you don't like is an invaluable skill. I'm still working on it.
15. If you are attached to an electronic more than you are a family member, it might be time to take a break from it. Or to get rid of the family member. Either way, you should probably think about it.
16. Organized life=less stress
17. Appreciate the fact that you have a home, money in your bank account (no matter how little, it's more than some), a bed to sleep in, friends, family, you get the picture.
18. Gifts should always be more fun to give than to receive. Check your priorities.
19. Safe is boring.
20. It's your life. Live it how you want to. And above all, strive for happiness. The rest will fall into place after that.

Some of those may be exclusive to me, but for the most part I think they're pretty good life lessons I've learned (the hard way) over the past two decades. I've been blessed with a wonderful life and sometimes it just takes me a little while to remember that.

Happy day, all.

What A Year For A New Year

(I'd listen to this song if I were you. I think it adds something. Ignore the video. Click here)

Is it really this time already? It's October. Soon, maybe too soon, I will be turning twenty. TWENTY! I won't be a teenager anymore. I won't have the excuse of youthful innocence anymore. I think I'm okay with it. Because, as we all know, I've never been one to relate to my age group very well. I get to enter a new era of my life, now. My twenties. Oy.

A lot is presumably going to happen now. There's a good chance I'll get married, have kids, maybe buy a house. All that, in the next ten years of my life.

And then there's the fact that it's almost the end of the year. It's October; a couple more months and BAM-2012. How does something so big sneak up on us every year? This means another year of my life will be laid down. I remember the resolution I made last year. I said I want to be proud of myself. I think I am. I've been doing pretty well in Orlando. Haven't starved, or gone completely broke, or locked my keys in my car. I think that's what success means.

I finished my school year at ECC and survived a bakery internship (which included Easter...holy crap). I made the decision to move home. That certainly wasn't easy. I made my first road trip sans Mom and didn't die. I got a new job and actually felt like I fit in from the beginning which has never happened to me before.

But let's not forget the most important thing of all. I'm going to be an aunt in a couple months. Our family is growing and I am so elated to think that I will have a new little one to love as if he were my own (but don't worry Rachel, I won't steal him). I relish in the thought of watching my nephew grow and play and laugh.

So there you have it. My year in a nutshell. Every year has seemed harder than the last. Then again, every year has seemed more rewarding than the last, as well. So here's to change! Here's to life and adventure and youth! Live to live, not to meet any kind of a quota. The world will be beautiful only if you make it.

P.S. If anyone has their year in a nutshell and wants to share, feel free. I'd love to read them.

A Picture Update

This isn't a "picture stories" or anything but I figured I'd throw a couple pictures up here to let you know what's going on.

This is my bedroom all decorated. I love it. I just finished it the other day and yes, as Cheryl likes to remind me, it looks a little like Grandma's cottage. But I don't care. It's just eclectic and homey enough to make me love it.

These are my roommates. The one on the right as you probably know is my best friend. Yes, we bicker. Yes, I'm so glad we live together. The one on the left is our new bestie. Thank the roommate Gods we got her. ♥

And this one is from fairly early this summer. It's not really an update I just wanted to share it because in this picture I was truly elated. That is no phony smile, no sarcastic grin. I was so purely happy right then and I think that alone makes it beautiful. Of course, shortly after this was the very worst part of my summer/year but that's beside the point.

So there you go. A little look at what's going on. Hope everyone is doing well. Goodnight, all.

You Never Know

I found out my friend lost her mother to a drug overdose last night. I don't even know where to start. My heart aches for her. She hasn't had the stereotypical platonic family ever in her life, as far as I know. And with all the trials she's been through she still has a solid head on her shoulders and a pretty face to boot. But losing a mom...this has gone too far.

Selfish me, I immediately began to put myself in her shoes. How would I feel if I knew I would never get to see my mom again? Never get another hug. Never call her to spill my week, even the dull and boring and never get turned away. How would I cope? How would I get up in the morning? I don't know that I would.

Eventually, of course, everyone must die. But not now. Not so soon. And my friend is two years younger than me to top it all off. Her mother will never see her high school graduation. She'll never see her daughter turn eighteen. How is that fair? How is that fair to my friend?

It's not. It's not okay. And if my mother ever did that to me I would hate her for it. But I know that no matter how much hate I would be able to muster it would be a grain of sand compared to the beach that just wanted her back.

Death is a part of life. It has it's time, it's place. And yesterday was not it. I will hold my shoulders a little lower today. Because more tragic than the woman that lost her life is the girl that lost a mother.

Carry on, young friends

So, as it always seems to happen, my life got busy and my blog got pushed to the side. I've lived in Orlando for a little over a week and it seems like a lifetime. Seriously. It feels like I haven't been home in months. I'm not homesick necessarily, it just feels weird. Never the less, I am settled in and it is time to start chronicling my life again.

School has started. Yikes. It's hard. Not hard. Rather, time consuming. I spend a lot more time studying than I have ever had to do (except college Macro Economics but I shudder just thinking about it, so let's not). I'm at a big girl school so I suppose it comes with the territory. It also probably didn't help anything that I spent the last year virtually homework free. I think I went soft.

All in all, I'm doing well. I've started my job and am loving it so far. I have not met one person I didn't like and it seems to be a small, tight-knit group which I revel in. I enjoy working in the Transfer and Transition Services Office because we are a sort of underdog that never gets credit. We serve a huge amount of UCF's 50,000 students and we do things no other office will do. I see everyone's eyes glimmer when they talk about so-and-so thinking about expanding our budget and whats-his-face finally taking notice of them. It's a very cool thing, and I'm glad to be a part of it.

My apartment is starting to really be home. It's cute, it's decorated, and it's clean. What more could I ask? I love my new roomie and have met her friends which are cool as well. Pretty much, I'm settling into this new college life and it's going pretty well so far. I'm working hard, but finding a little time for fun too. I'll keep you updated.

Goodnight, all.

I looked down my street today as I walked to my car. Something about the dark clouds and the vibrant greens of the trees was shocking. It was so saturated and deep. I stared down the street just as I have been for the last 16 years and for the first time in a long time I had to stop and admire the beauty of it. Hmph...weird.