A little bit like less-sickly butterscotch...

Okay, so spending so much time with so many family members that I haven't seen in ages (or even met, as with my nephews!) is still the highlight of my Thanksgiving vacation. However, my trip to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando today comes in a close second! A very close second...

Frozen Butterbeer

I'll probably have more to say about the experience, but in the meantime you can check out more photos here.

Lovely, Love My Family

There have been many highlights to my Thanksgiving trip, but seeing my nieces for the first time in ages & meeting my twin nephews for the first time may top the list.*

Ariel, Dillon, Lucas and Coral

The highlight for my mother was not only have her four grandchildren all together, but having her four children together for the first time in ~14 years.

Kyle, Scott, Dianna and Jodi

*This may change after tomorrow.

Dorkbake is quickly approaching. We lost a bit of prep time being away on vacation. We had pretty much completed a functional oven with a cool design before leaving and had even begun experimenting. Now we are in the finalization phase of testing our recipes, honing our presentation, and procuring a proper costume for me. Oh, the pressure of it all.

I swear I'm going to need a vacation to recover from this one. It has been loads of fun, but I dare not call it "relaxing."

Numbers Dance

• Miles we drove to and from Park City, Utah: 1, 399

• Mountain goats seen on the side of the road in Utah: 3

• Cowboys spotted herding cattle: 1

• New tires we bought in Beaver, Utah: 4
  

• Total number of people staying in our condo: 11
  

• Condomates who became very ill: 4

• Feature films that E and I watched: 11*

• Shorts programs we attended: 2

• Number of short films in each program that were good: 3

• Celebrity sightings: 1

• Free tickets that E and I got for screenings: 5

• Number of times I was called a 'stupid whore': 1

• Inches of snowfall in Park City during our stay: 0

*I'm short on time right now, but I will post info on the films we saw soon.

Still in Utah...still cold...in fact I'm scamming some free Wi-fi, but sort of sitting outside so I don't think I can muster up any kind of update or decent post yet. I saw a couple of good films today and am hoping to get in to another one at midnight tonight. Toes and fingers going numb.

Wimpy SoCal girl...out.

Live From Park City

We made it to Utah. It is cold, as expected. And I am tired. I also have very limited battery and am using the free Wi-Fi at Albertson's (grocery store). At some point I'll be connected near an outlet, will post some photos of snow, and will have possibly seen a film or two to report on.

My List Runneth Over

I'm officially on vacation and feel more stressed out than ever. I thought making a list of everything I have to do, clean, and buy before leaving for Utah on Monday would calm me and help me focus. It has wigged me out even more, leaving me feeling overwhelmed and like curling up in a ball.

I will not do that though. I have a few errands to run and even though the sneeze-inducing wind is blowing, it is sunny and beautiful outside. I think getting out, driving around a bit, playing with the dogs in the yard, and possibly even photographing the squirrels may be the pick-me-up I need.

That, a Diet Coke, and a Peppermint Pattie.

It's Hard To Type While Wearing Gloves

I don't know what's different this winter. Is it really that much colder than it has been the previous 11 years in Southern California or has my blood finally finished thinning out? I even broke down and turned the heat on last night, but still had to sleep in, and am currently wearing, gloves. My house is very old and drafty, but this is ridiculous. What would I do if I lived in Oklahoma or Seattle? More importantly, what am I going to do when I get to Utah in a little over a week? I've done okay the past two years, but am a little concerned about tolerating the cold this time. Wish me luck.

On the sunny side, while tomorrow is a "holiday" for many people, I will be enjoying the lighter traffic on my drive to work for the first day of my last week before vacation. In spite of not traveling somewhere warm and tropical, I am completely looking forward to my two weeks off. We'll be making our annual trip to the second week of the Sundance Film Festival. I had such a good time the past couple of years, so I'm really looking forward to it. Except for the cold air and snow thing. I will also have some days before and after the trip at home, which will be very nice.

I have had a good weekend. I've done a lot of sleeping, reading, and seeing some good friends I haven't seen for a long time. I plan to cap it all off with the season premiere of 24. Well, once E gets home in a couple of hours. Meanwhile, I think I'll go crawl under the covers for a while.

Stay Tuned

I've been wanting to find time to post, if for no other reason than to gush over Steve Carell's brilliant performance in Little Miss Sunshine. My 'vacation' so far has been very, very busy with movies, lunch with friends, partying a little too hardily, cleaning my back yard and house for a movie and barbecue party, attempting to meet a self-imposed creative deadline, considering buying a new car, watching fireworks and going to see Superman Returns. As if all of that wasn't enough, I've developed a fever, chest congestion, and a cough. So, I'm going to take some Nyquil, get some sleep, and catch up here at another time.

Finally...!

Okay, now I finally feel like my vacation has started. Well, it did about 12 hours ago when I left work around 3pm. I headed over to Westwood to catch a couple of screenings at the L.A. Film Fest. Eric met me there and we saw Right At Your Door and Quinceanera, which are both movies that are set in Echo Park. The first film was absolutely terrifying and absolutely gave Rory Cochrane a reason to say "What's with today today?"

I now understand why Quinceanera was one of the darlings of this year's Sundance. I really enjoyed it. It made me laugh and cry. I guess E's assessment of it being a "chick flick" may be somewhat accurate, but besides it getting to me for some personal reasons, it was really well written and executed. I liked it so much better than the other chick flick we saw.

E was able to snag a pass for me to get into the "Red Room," a place for film fest pass holders to hang out, socialize, have some snacks, and drink liquor for free. I had one drink, which was more than enough considering I hadn't eaten much and was going to be driving later. To combat the effects of the alcohol, we got some food at East West Sandwich. Quite tasty with the added bonus of Boba World being located within the restaurant. A banana smoothie with boba hit the spot perfectly.

We'll spend much of this weekend in Westwood to wrap up the festival. At some point we will need to get our house and yard prepped for a barbecue and back yard screening we're doing on Monday of Superman and Superman II. Plans are to catch Superman Returns on Tuesday. E is hosting a drive-in screening of The Puffy Chair on Wednesday. If you're local, come on out! It should be a lot of fun. Later in the week, we'll be going to the Hollywood Bowl a couple of times, once for Belle & Sebastian (with The Shins!) and possibly definitely catching Hedwig at The Roxy.

There are a few more things on my plate, including some project deadline. Um, can I get a few more hours added on to each day? It would really help.

I'M NOT EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE HERE TODAY!

I'm at work on my day off and technically, on my first day of vacation.

Maybe I'll just go play hockey on the roof.

Blah Blah Blah

It probably feels a lot hotter than it actually is since our a/c is broken.

I'm probably a lot more irritated than I seem since I'll be going in to work for several hours tomorrow. (I am usually off on Fridays and tomorrow is also the first day of "vacation" for me).

Home Where My Music's Playing

We arrived home last night to three very excited dogs! You'd think we'd been gone for a year, or that Ren had abused them while we were away. Eric and I snuggled with those canines a lot and caught up with our Tivo. We still have quite a few shows to watch. It was so nice to sleep, for the second night in a row, in a real bed! My back was just on the brink of getting really sore, but is feeling so much better now.

Our trip to Park City, Utah for the Sundance Film Festival (followed by a one-night stop over in Las Vegas) was awesome! Good, good times. Three of our condomates were the same as last year. Added to that mix were two new ones and a few (two friends of ours plus one) who only stayed for part of the time. Everyone seemed to get along and we made do with some cramped quarters. I'm looking forward to hopefully renting a bigger place next year and getting a full bedroom.

My time consisted of little sleep, watching a lot of movies, and drinking a fair amount of alcohol. I initially forgot that we were in the mountains and couldn't figure out why I got so drunk so fast at the Filmmakers Alliance party. Oh yeah, the altitude. Duh. I finally felt like I was living up to my New Years' motto of "Eat less, drink more!" Well, the drink more part anyway. I did eat quite a bit too.

Here's a list of the Sundance films I saw:

• TV Junkie
• So Much So Fast
• Wristcutters: A Love Story
• The Darwin Awards
• Forgiving the Franklins
• small town gay bar
• American Hardcore
• Destricted

It feels like I saw more than that, but I guess that's it. I'm glad I saw all of the ones I did. I was somewhat disappointed by both The Darwin Awards and American Hardcore, but I don't regret seeing them. Both films were quite flawed, but had positive attributes as well. My favorite was definitely Forgiving the Franklins, which I only hope gets some kind of distribution. I'm not much of a writer or film reviewer, so check out my friend Matthew's review if you are interested. He sums it up quite nicely.

I did get shut out of two movies I wanted to see. The World According to Sesame Street, which Eric saw and enjoyed, and An Inconvient Truth, a documentary about global warming that was narrated by Al Gore.

I shouldn't forget to mention CondoDance, a private party/screening we hosted at our condo. I did watch several short films there, including a hilarious one about two serial killers trying to off each other. I can not remember the title though.

All in all, the trip was well worth it. We had smooth driving both to and from Utah, aside from some high winds leaving L.A. last week. Luckily Eric, who was feeling quite ill a few days prior to and the day we left, feels better and is now only plagued with the lingering cough that all of us who have been sick this winter seem to have. I did lose my Jack Skellington skull cap somewhere in Park City and had to buy a new hat at Albertson's. It was much, much colder this year and snowed quite a bit more. I didn't mind it though, as I knew that I'd be returning to the warmth and sunshine of Los Angeles!

It's Cold In Utah!

I have really acclimated to Southern California "weather." I've lived in cold areas and went to college in Ithaca, NY which is known for its own special brand of winter hell.

We arrived in Park City for Sundance last night. We are crammed into a condo with a lot of cool people. None of us slept much. Eric and I saw one screening this morning of TV Junkie. It was great.

That's it for my first update from Sundance. I'm tired, I have a headache from the altitude, and I need to go get in a wait list line for the next film I want to see.

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

Well, so far my "vacation" has been unremarkable. I'm normally off on Fridays and yesterday was nothing to write about here. Eric and I are both getting sick, it seems, and I was feeling tired and generally blah. I am very happy to not be going back to work until February 6th though.

This past Tuesday, a friend hired me to work at a private screening of the film Live Freaky! Die Freaky! It's going to be shown soon on a few screens around the country and then come out on DVD at the end of the month. John Doe, a couple of the guys from Rancid, and several other musicians were involved with the movie. That's how I got to see John Doe and Rancid perform and acoustic show (and get paid for it!)

I can't say a lot about the film itself as I only saw bits and pieces of it. It is pretty rauchy and gory, so I know several people who will love it! It was a fun evening, but I was disappointed that no one from Green Day or Blink-182 came to the event.

I have tons to do before leaving for The Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Monday. Laundry, cleaning, etc, etc. I'd hoped to get a new camera before the trip, but it seems I just missed a bunch of sales and rebates and the prices are back up. So, I'm going to wait for a bit and see if I can get a better deal.

Depleted

I'm still exhausted from Tuesday night and from my asthma, which has been acting up like crazy for the past several days.

I did end up uploading a few of the photos-that-sort-of-turned-out-okay of John Doe and Rancid on my flickr site. They are in my Music Set if you are looking for them.

P.S. In just little over 5 hours, I will officially be on vacation until February 7!

Vacation Recap, Part 2

Wednesday, July 13th (cont.): I switched the clothes in my suitcase, made sure the dogs were all set and we headed down to San Diego. Due to my travel delays, we unfortunately missed Preview Night. Oh well. We had a great, cheap dinner at Fred's though.

Thursday, July 14th: Official first day of Comic-Con! We did have a bit of a snafu picking up our pro badges, but managed to resolve it and get in already. Started out as I always do...headed over to Keith Knight to buy his newest book. Passed out "I *heart* Jason Ho" buttons at the Bongo booth. We browsed the exhibit hall until Eric's short ("The Switch") showed in the Comic- Con Film Festival. There was a pretty good audience and a good response. After that, I headed over to Keith Knight's panel which was really enjoyable. We ended with the "Film Threat" panel. We headed over to Seaport Village for dinner at Buster's. I then made more I *heart* Jason Ho buttons back in the room.

Friday, July 15th: Highlights included the Jhonen Vasquez spotlight and the presentation on the upcoming "The Boondocks" animated series. We also attended the underwhelming Henson 5oth anniversary presentation. We had dinner with a big group (Ren, James, James II ("The Brit"), Angel and others) at Mr. Tiki's. Good drinks, good food, good friends, good times.

Saturday, July 16th: Up early to get to the ABC panel on Lost and some new shows. Afterwards, lined up for the Kevin Smith panel and then the Bradbury, Harryhausen, and Ackerman panel. It was great to see the godfathers of Sci-Fi, but it was pretty boring. They couldn't hear any of the questions and then didn't answer them when repeated. We were a little late to the King Kong panel and then stayed for the Tenacious D performance which was great. Dinner with Dave, Robin, and Sean at Buca di Bepo. Good food, good friends, good times. Dave crashed in our room.

Sunday, July 17th: Last day of Comic-Con! Rush to the floor to buy all of the cool stuff we'd picked out over the prior few days. We took one break for the film festival awards (Eric didn't win...boo!) We then did more shopping and headed out a few minutes before the exhibit hall closed. We did pretty well beating traffic and made it to Orange County in time for the Dishwalla, Gin Blossoms, and Tears for Fears concert.

All in all, a great time away from work. I missed my dogs though. Check out my Flickr link to see photos of the trip (and then some).

Vacation Recap, Part 1

I'm recapping my recent vacation so I can remember some of the details.

Friday, July 8th: Morning flight from LAX to Buffalo via Philadelphia. Some delays in Philly got me into Buffalo around 10:30pm. Rented a car and headed to Bill and Suzanne's (good friends from college) in Ithaca (~3 hour drive). Everyone was sleeping, but Bill and Suz got up and we chatted for awhile. I got to meet their sweet dog, Chimay, the fourth cutest dog I know.

Saturday, July 9th: Maura (yet another good friend from college) and Xavier were also at Bill and Suzanne's. I was so happy to finally meet Maura's sweet little boy. We went to the Farmers' Market and lunched at The Glenwood Pines (yum!) We headed back to the house just to hang out and alternated between indoors and outdoors as the rain came and went. We had a fabulous grilled dinner with some lovely sangria and cider. Good food, good friends, good times.

Sunday, July 10th: Went to the Ithaca Commons, drove around, photographed the Ithaca Falls, driving tour of IC campus. Lots of reminiscing of stupid college days. Maura and Xavier headed back to NJ and I napped before driving to Niagara Falls. Checked into my hotel.

Monday, July 11th: Day 1 of the conference I attended: the Annual Meeting of the International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ). Saw some old friends and made some new ones. Inspiring international research is happening in the field of human-animal relations. In the evening, I drove to Lewiston and met up with Susan (my college roommate for 3 years and great friend) and her daughters. She reminded me we met almost 18 years ago as college freshmen. Yikes! I was a little bummed not to see Chris, but I did get to see Aunt Joannie, Jeanine, Russell, Tiffany, Tommy, Joey and the dogs Ginger and Lucky. The visit was amazing and way too short. I'm just happy to have seen everyone!

Tuesday, July 12th: Day 2 of the ISAZ conference. Afterwards, I napped a bit and then walked around Goat Island to see and photograph the falls. It was very humid. I grabbed some dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and returned to the falls to see them lit up at night. What a sight!Since my flight was so early Wednesday, I just stayed up and packed.

Wednesday, July 13th: Drove to the Buffalo airport around 2:30 am. Returned car and waited in the lobby for the airport to "open" (!) I got on my plane that was due to leave at 5:30 am, but due to some kid who dropped a backpack, they evacuated the airport and held all planes. I missed my connection in Philly. I did get put on a later flight, but there were delays there too and I arrived much later than planned to LAX.

to be continued...

Back to Reality

Reality sucks. I'm heading back to work in a few hours after being on vacation for over a week. My time off was jam-packed and fast-paced with flying, driving, visiting, eating, drinking, conferencing, travel delays, more flying, more driving, lots and lots of walking and geeking out, all topped off with an outdoor concert.

I wish I could take one more week off to read the comics I bought at the San Diego Comic-Con this past weekend and my new Harry Potter book. Poo.