...In which our heroine is plains, trains, and automobiles.

Oskaloosa, Iowa:

plains

corn

pigs

horses

Kum & Go gas stations

wood stoves

Cracker Barrel decor

deer heads

gun case

bubblegum

Keomah Road

Ben & Jerry's Half Baked

Planet Earth - Deep Seas

Pokemon cards

Roo, Nerm, Buck

allergies

Elton John

Cruising a "grav"

marijuana

crunchy chicken potato burrito

Jaardsma's Dutch Bakery

almonds

Wu-Tang Clan

chili

naps at 7 PM

nothingness

boyhood bedroom

Veronica

Kirk

small talk

in god's country

geese

Marlboro 27's

pond scum

patchouli

Goodwill

peeling plaster

candles

Metra

Two Belmonts

green windows

Two Chicagos

the birthplace of Wayne and Garth

"In My Time of Dying"

munchies

mismatched cups

Girl Talk

down comforter

lipstick bar

mini horse

9 PM bed time

A few thoughts from the trip. Thought it might be more interesting than a traditional travelogue. Feel free to ask for explanation.

...In which our heroine is domestic.

Having the apartment to myself has been lovely. There's just so much less shit around - it is astounding. The first thing I did when everyone left Saturday was clean the place from top to bottom, and now it's much more livable. 

Pretty much everyone is gone from the building, which is nice since elevators come within seconds instead of minutes. Ben went home today, but the past two days we spent playing house in my apartment. Despite being together a lot of the time, we often don't get much time just the two of us. So to be able to share each other's sole company, make meals together, watch movies, it was awesome. 

Nicholas Plath, son of Sylvia Plath, committed suicide. How sad is that - Ted Hughes is a bastard and ruined five lives. Poor Freida, she's all that's left. Hearing that made me think immediately of "Child" and the beautiful section of her journals when Plath talks about giving birth to Nicholas...and the gas she received during the birth that put her at peace. What an unfortunate, brilliant family.

The new pictures from Where the Wild Things Are, directed by Spike Jonze, are swoon-inducing. 

This has been a ridiculously busy week and there's a moderate end in sight finally. Filming has gone pretty smoothly the past couple of days. There's been a lot of standing around by the rest of my crew, but then my AC (assistant camera) acts like I can't work the camera at all and is constantly second guessing me. I hate being looked at as stupid because I'm a female in the male world of film. But we're getting shots accomplished, and after about nine hours of filming, we only have one scene left for tomorrow.

A few shots from the set, taken by my producer Kyle. I sorta look like I know what I'm doing. 

...In which our heroine is ready for a break.

I am on spring break. Praise science, I am exhausted and it couldn't have come at a better time. The celebration after Production I was of course, a nap. 

I don't really have a break though - we shoot Sunday-Tuesday for my second film and then Iowa for a couple days. Meeting the parents...I'm a little nervous, but I think it should be okay. Plus, we get to see the world's largest truck stop on the way.

The new Decemberists album sucks. Like really sucks. Every song sounds the exact same. What a disappointment. 

The next week, I have the apartment to myself. Which will be more nice than lonely I imagine.

I'm going to try and get an internship at the Chicago Film Festival this summer, since I don't technically have to work and I might as well use that for some practical industry experience. 

And tonight, there's a party in Wrigleyville that's calling my name...

...In which our heroine has been negligent.

I have been a bad poster as of late. But this really has been the week from hell. 

After much consternation and annoyance, I've decided to just go ahead and live in the dorms next year. Well, I'll be staying the summer too - moving a floor up into a two-person apartment with only one roommate. I was driving myself fucking nuts because no one would make a decision on apartments for next year, and I was tired of waiting. So, as much I wanted to move out of dorms, I'll be here again. They aren't that bad, and certainly way cheaper than any other apartment I could get in the Loop.

On Sunday I did homework for eleven straight hours and didn't move from the same position for any of it. Luckily, after tonight my actual midterms are done and now it's just a lot of projects and whatnot. Screenwriting stuff is done, and now I mostly just need to focus on shooting my film over spring break, for which I'm staying here, then going to Iowa. I edited my first film today, and am quite happy with it.

We all need the break. Everyone is pretty annoyed and tired of each other, and I'll be glad to be alone in the apartment for a few days. We've all been at each other's throats, and a brief separation is greatly needed. 

A few trailers to tide you over:

Sam Raimi returns to horror with Drag Me to Hell. Locking on geek missiles in 3,2, 1.

The Sam Mendes directed, Dave Eggers written Away We Go. Gallacher, it has Jim!

The ensemble Explicit Ills

...In which our heroine has food for thought.

School is overloading my brain. I cannot keep a single thought in my head, except for some assorted thoughts.

-By some odd turn of fate, I have been chosen as one of the three directors for films in Production I. I am the only female doing so. I'm flattered, but I don't wanna direct so, we will see.

-Part of me is leaning towards getting a studio to myself next year. I'm not averse to the idea of roommates again, but no one will make a decision. I think it I'd be okay on my own...but it's a big jump.

-The idea of buying furniture for an apartment, if I was to live on my own, is staggering.

-Speaking of big jumps, I register for classes for next year very soon. The fact that I am almost done with my freshman year of college seems impossible. 

-I've become addicted to looking up dream interpretations. They are, as per usual, troubling.

-I'm in one of those phases where I hate all the music I listen to. Nothing sounds good enough.

-After Watchmen, my geek radar sees nary a blip for a while. Sigh...

-I am in love. I just haven't vocalized it yet. Writing somehow seems less permanent because those infamous little words are a big leap. 

-Parents having Facebook should be outlawed.

-I need new food to eat. I am so tired of pasta, bagels, and chicken breast. Suggestions for easy meals on a budget, please. I don't like to cook beef however, it grosses me out.

And now, homework. (!)

...In which our heroine talks "Watchmen," weekend.

I didn't go see Watchmen in theaters this weekend. I am a bad fangirl.  It was up on Watch Movies by Friday afternoon and I am all kinds of broke right now, so I decided to just watch it there last night.

It was good - not bad, not great. I was pleased overall with the adaptation. It was faithful to the material, looked cool, and was acted pretty well, although I was disappointed in the performances by mother and daughter Jupiter most. The first ten minutes were probably my favorite part, or Dr. Manhattan's journey to Mars. Much has been said about the choice of music, and I loved/hated it - at some points it fit amazingly well, then at other times, it seemed to be hitting you over the head. I also liked how everything looked so 80s - even the lighting and film stock looked old.

I wasn't crazy about the changes made to the ending, but I can see why they were made for a mass audience. Thank god the cut wasn't Snyder's original three hours and twenty minutes because I was definitely ready for it to be over at the two and a half mark. Don't worry, he left in plenty of fanboy touches - Gunga Diner, the newsstand players, a certain code name for Veidt's project - in and they all made me smile.

Another reason I didn't go see Watchmen in theaters was that Cassie was here this weekend. Things got off to a rocky start - I ended up at an urgent care Friday for chest pain. After an EKG, chest x-ray, and blood work, it seems I have an inflamed chest, maybe pleurisy, from the mono. Fucking rad! I've really enjoyed being sick for the past three months. But I was fine, and Cassie and I were able to shop our hearts out Saturday.

We also tried to get tattoos, and after a ten block walk in the rain, found that Taylor Street Tattoo is quite terrible. They couldn't do either Cassie's cheshire cat or my wheat penny, because they were sub-par artists. I'm just going to hit up Dana when I'm back in town. 

Cassie and I also went to Chicago Comics in Belmont yesterday. I'm not a huge comics fan by any stretch, but I really enjoy meandering through the racks of work. My dad would always let me tag along as a child when he was still reading regularly, and there will always be something comforting in that pulp smell and the brightly colored, muscled heroes that provide it. Chicago Comics is an awesome shop and features lots of independent work in addition to all of the traditional stuff. 

Another busy week is in store - midterms, yay! I only have one real midterm in Production I and need to start editing my first film as well. My first screenplay is due this week as well. As Penny Lane would say, "It's all happening."

...In which our heroine makes a movie.

I shot my first film in Grant Park today. It was a lovely day and unseasonably warm, so that made things easier. The shoot went pretty well and I was happy with how efficiently things got accomplished. I pick the film up on Monday - then the true test of how it looks will happen.

Cassie and JR come to Chicago tomorrow. I've missed her terribly, and the weekend looks nice in terms of weather as well. I think that we're going to get tattoos on Saturday, which is awesome since I've been talking about #2 forever. But that'll be it for a while. I think.

I feel inferior since I'm not going to see that one movie at midnight. I definitely am getting a geek demerit, but I have 8:30 class and no one else is devoted as me to go with anyway. This is the first major geek movie I haven't seen at midnight in a while. There was a guy dressed in a fabulous Rorschach costume in the lobby today - he didn't even have eye holes, now that's commitment. 

This is the best Watchmen video yet, as it parodies 80's Saturday morning cartoons. This is it, I'll shut up after I finally see the damn movie.

I'm looking forward to a nice weekend, and hope you enjoy yours as well.

...In which our heroine smiles.

I absolutely love the photo spreads that Annie Leibovitz does for Vanity Fair every year on some aspect of Hollywood. This year, we get the "New Legends of Comedy," featuring the love of my life front and center:

Paul Rudd isn't too bad either. Vanity Fair has the whole spread over on their site. Cassie introduced me to a couple past layouts too...the noir-inspired "Killers Kill, Dead Men Die," and a lovely homage to Hitchcock. 

...In which our heroine changes tone.

After the hot chicks post, this one is going to be a little more subdued.

In my life at least, I've noticed that when it rains, it pours as far as the bad. Friday was an epically bad evening. Kris's dad passed away very suddenly and he had to fly back to Texas. It is so strange to me to have friends with dead parents - I know it's something that happens and will only get worse, but it is still a strange concept in my young mind. I don't even know how I could deal with a situation like that.

As for me, it turns out that there are no clean breaks in life. As far removed as you are from a person, they can still come back in your life, in the most surprising ways. No details yet on that situation though, only that my complete and utter panic has greatly subsided.

The semester is almost at its midpoint and I'm beginning to feel the crunch. I shoot my first film this week in Grant Park while beginning pre-production for the second. I need to start the first draft of my screenplay as well. 

It's all karma - until Christmas, things were as good as they've ever been for me. Then there's been the joys of mono (my spleen still hurts), dealing with Ben's racist homophobe of a roommate, roommate tension, and now this. Things even out, and they could always be worse.