...In which our heroine gives a tour.

...Where Katydid sleeps

...What Katydid sees outside her bedroom window

...What Katydid sees from her living room

...Where Katydid types this

...Where Katydid plays

...Where Katydid noshes

...Who Katydid is spending time with (Julia, Emily, Kathleen, and I)

...In which our heroine is smitten.

This was going to be the picture filled post with all the views of the decorated apartment, but our internet is still down and will be so until at least the 31st, so instead I'll just talk about how much fun I'm having.

Yesterday I had two film programs, both of which encouraged me as to Chicago's place in the film industry, the experience I'll gain, and the rigor of the cinematography program that, the program director said, will allow me to be the most prepared to make a real film the day I graduate from college. Also, I met one of my professors in a seminar that told me all the places to see movies, the role of CCC in producing film students (it's the largest film school in the world), and where to rent movies. It was a lovely day.

I'm loving every moment of walking around the city to get from A to B. Monday was a tour of the Second City, complete with co-founder Sheldon Patinkin. The show was absolutely hilarious, as it was two acts of sketchs based on the best of Second City and the final act all improv. I really enjoyed the dank little club that gave birth to so much that entertains me, from Belushi to Tina Fey.

Last night we ended up going to the Chicago Outdoor Film Festival's closing night, which was Grease. Watching a movie under the canopy of a thousand city lights gave me the chills. The weather has been so beautiful, but I can already sense a chill in the air that gives only the faintest glimmer of the harsh winter to come. I also got introductory info about studying abroad, which seems fantastically daunting.

To quote Radiohead, "meeting people is easy," at least a lot easier than I thought it would be. We've been lucky to have cool people on our floor: Wes, Samson, Chris, Benny, Connor, Bugs, and Breanna have been roaming around with us four roommates and we've been having a total blast. It's so nice to finally be able to sit around in a group where people not only get my obscure references, but augment them. The fun has been totally G-rated so far...I called my Mom on Sunday and when I told her we were playing cards, drinking tea, and listening to Steely Dan, she didn't believe me. Columbia just isn't a party school--I mean it happens, but it's not keggers every night.

The roommates are getting along quite well. Emily's transparent personality is already on my nerves and everyone else's, but I was prepared for that. Julia is a little bit naive, but that'll fade and she's totally sweet and hard-working. Kathleen and I are the true soul mates of the group. It was an instant connection, and being both cinematography majors, we have so much to talk about. She brought a stunning collection of DVDs and posters that it makes it hard to want to leave the apartment. Our tastes are the same, as is our sense of humor and sarcasm. Even after five days, I can tell we're going to be close for a long time. Our personalities mesh so well, it's kind of scary.

Tonight's plans include a tour of Chicago's main hipsterville, Wicker Park, and movies with Kathleen. Tomorrow is Cinema Slap Down, a referee'd event over which two faculty members are arguing over Batman Begins. Friday is the first meeting of Film Club, the first rule of which is to tell everyone about Film Club. I also am going to try and tour Wrigleyville this week.

Everything is so surreal I wish someone would pinch me. I'm so damn happy, it's scary. To look out the window and see this on a nightly basis is beyond incredible:

...In which our heroine is stranded.

No, not in the city of Chicago, but without internet. This is currently being typed on my fantastic roommate Kathleen's Mac because I'm the only one of the roommates that is having issues with a signal.

I would love to do a real entry with pictures from my apartment, from which the view kind of looks like Bruce Wayne's penthouse. I would also to tell you about the cool people I've met that ended up in my room until 3 AM, or Kathleen's stunning DVD collection, or the adventures in urban grocery shopping. But alas, this isn't my computer, so it'll have to wait.

I can say that I'm throughly smitten with the city, the people I've been meeting, and how lovely the apartment looks. My new roommates, Julia and Kathleen, kick ass and chew bubblegum. 

The reality kind of hit me last night when I was standing outside Buckingham Fountain, listening to my new friend Benny play his ukele (yeah I don't know how to spell that) in front of the other nine of us. This is my new life and so far, wow.

...In which our heroine is getting the hell out of Dodge.

I leave for college in about ten hours. Everything is packed, too much stuff I fear, but all the essentials are there from iPods to teddy bears, bedspreads to bug spray.

I had a minor emotional meltdown last night, but today has been much better. As sad as I am to leave my family and friends, I know that I'm doing the right thing, the best thing for me right now. But still the leaving is hard, the most insignificant acts, like packing away t-shirts or looking at makeup with Mom at CVS, at the hardest.

Although I don't start classes until the 2nd, but I still consider summer in the traditional sense to be over. Columbia does an event called Weeks of Welcome that is meant to help you get used to the city. They offer everything from tango lessons to going to a White Sox game, and genuinely try and appeal to everyone. I'm most excited for the three film events and the Second City Comedy tour. It'll be nice have lots of time to get fully settled before classes start as well.

And as for summer...what a rollercoaster ride it's been. I guess I could say it's been the best summer of my life, but I feel like that's still yet to come. I did a lot of growing up, changed in subtle ways that I can't really explain, but can definitely feel. There's been a lot of new things and changes I've had to face, and all of it has just justified this being the crucible summer that I thought it would be.

Where to begin? I saw Cassie finally meet a nice guy who actually liked me as well. I fell in love with The Big Lebowski and Casablanca. I soaked in all the treats that the summer multiplex had to offer--Pineapple Express, Wanted, Wall-E, Sex and the City, Tropic Thunder, Step Brothers, and most of all The Dark Knight. I lived the rock n' roll lifestyle for a weekend in Chicago and saw Radiohead and Rage Against the Machine. I lost my virginity to, predictably enough, an English major. I shopped for jumbo sized packs of Oreos at Costco with a roommate that I'm going to get along famously with. I regained the trust of a friend the beginning of summer...only to have it broken by the end. I saw the true colors of people I've known for four years or longer exposed and questioned my friendships. I got my wisdom teeth out and enjoyed the perks of painkillers. I worked almost a normal, forty-hour work week and learned the true meaning of being busy as a server on Sunday mornings at Bob Evans.

I lived all the thrills and spills of a life coming into adulthood. And tomorrow, the adventure really begins.

As Penny Lane would say, "It's all happening."

...In which our heroine digs the fruit.

So I have these friends. And they're in a band. But the band's actually legitimate--as in records albums, tours the country, gets played on the radio.

Ladies and gentlemen (I just thought of Heath Ledger's Joker when I typed that) I present Pomegranates, comprised of my friends Isaac Karns on guitar/vocals, Josh Kufeldt on bass, Joey Cook on vocals, and Jacob Merritt on drums. Isaac and Josh both kicked around in other local bands while they attended Princeton, but it wasn't until they teamed up with some friends that the reality of creating genuinely good music stuck. I saw both of them in other bands--Josh by himself in the Moon Collision, and Isaac with his old band, the name of which I can't think of right now. Both were okay, but once Isaac and Josh started working together, I really got interested.

I've had plenty of friends in band, but the Poms are the first that I feel could have a legitimate shot at not even playing the fame game, but at least producing some fine music on a consistent basis. It has been really interesting for me to talk to Isaac and Josh about how exactly one goes about doing things like setting up a tour, recording an album, selling merch, and all the other stuff that being in a real band entails. I also salute them for their bravery in shunning the traditional model of how to operate after high school.

I've been lucky enough to get to hear from Josh a lot of the music before it gets released, and to see the band live at their album release party at the Northside Tavern and when the opened for Peter, Bjorn, and John. As a music fan, it's thrilling to me to get an insider's view of a band, especially one that I have friends in.

So go have a listen to the Pomegranates--the best place is over at their Myspace, but the two Lounge Acts they did for WOXY are also quite a good intro to the band. (Can I just mention what a thrill it is to know people being played on WOXY?) And if you really can't get enough, head over and check out the band's blog, Everybody Outside.

...In which our heroine has lost some wisdom.

My teeth are gone, and I can amazingly say so far so good. I haven't had any pain yet but am still mostly numb, which makes me not complain about my drooling. I never felt woozy, even when I woke up in recovery, not entirely sure how I got there, and the car ride home wasn't even bad. I've been able to eat yogurt and ice cream and was able to take my gauze out after about four hours because the bleeding has been so minimal. I feel a whole lot better than I thought I would, but apparently days two and three are the worst, so I'm just thankful to be upright and painless right now.

So here's what a toothless Katydid has been perusing with her head all wrapped up in ice:

• EW's Fall Movie Preview: I want to see most of these...Burn After Reading, Eagle Eye, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Quantum of Solace, Revolutionary Road, The Road (a Viggo movie for my birthday!), and most of all, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.


• Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince gets pushed back until Summer 2009...and a national of geeks lets out a dejected sigh. I'm willing to wait as long as it's better than Order of the Phoenix.


• Win a threesome with Scarlett Johannson: Seeing as she's my number one girl crush (or Angelina Jolie, it changes frequently) this made me smile, although it's just a promotion for Vicky Christina Barcelona.


• A lovely video of "Everything Right in It's Place/Fake Plastic Trees" from Radiohead's set at Lollapalooza.


• Every episodes of the divine Freaks and Geeks on Youtube. Hmm, I think I've seen some of these kids before...


• An extended, R-rated trailer for the latest Bret Easton Ellis adaptation, The Informers. I didn't like the book very much, but the trailer does begin with New Order and has at least ten actors I recognize, so it might turn out alright.


• Far Out T-Shirts: I want the "Replicant" and "Inigo Montoya" shirts...I see one that my favorite chemistry teacher would like. Lots of cool geek references.


• Triumph the Comic Insult Dog Does Comic-Con: No explanation necessary on this one, which made me cry tears.


• And this picture, courtesty of Cute Overload, which makes me hyperventilate at the cuteness on a daily basis:

...In which our heroine rides the express and questions more of her life.

After Emily's going away party last night, which was ironic since I'm going to be her roommate, I went to see Pineapple Express, a movie I've been excited for since the first R-rated clip hit the internet. The fanboys at AICN have been salivating over the preview screenings for like a year so I was further intrigued.

And with the film, Judd Apatow continued his streak of not letting Katydid down. Since The 40-Year Old Virgin, there hasn't been an Apatow written/produced/directed film I haven't liked. Express is very different from all the other films though--it's the first of the films to feature significant violence and not place the romantic entanglements of its man-boy protagonist at the forefront. The most loving relationship in this film was Seth Rogen's love for his dealer, James Franco, and it's a real buddy comedy. Instead of having big laugh moments like the chest waxing in Virgin, or Micheal Cera singing in Superbad, Express was filled with a lot more subtle moments of laughter throughout.

It wasn't nearly as serious as the other Apatow films either, but for a stoner flick it was pretty damn good. Most stoner movies run dry with jokes about munchies and laziness after about twenty minutes, but Express keeps it going, which was greatly aided by the fact that it's an action movie at heart too.

As much as I hate to admit it, Seth Rogen was probably the least interesting character, although I would still marry him tomorrow. James Franco was so good, so greasy as dealer Saul, but the movie was stolen by supporting characters. Danny McBride as Dale and Saul's frenemy and fellow dealer Red was so hilarious and so hard to explain--part redneck, maybe gay, delusionally gangster. He gets all the best lines in the movie. Rosie Perez and Gary Cole were under-utilized as villains, but as far as stoner flicks go, Pineapple Express is the new gold standard. (Sorry Coen Brothers.)

In going to the movie, Katydid reached another milestone in her summer of epiphanies. I was supposed to go with Paul, but ended up with Josh and Francesco, who were both at the party. As soon as I saw Josh, we had ten million things to talk about, from My Bloody Valentine to The Dark Knight. For someone I only got to know this year and then only casually, he's one of my very favorite people in the whole world. It's just so different to talk to him about cultural things because I don't get a blank stare, and he's totally removed from the miasma of bullshit that is the day-to-day of teenage life.

Being with Josh and Francesco made me think that maybe I spent high school with the wrong people. I don't want this to sound like I don't love my friends because I do, but I couldn't help but think that maybe there were other Josh Kufeldts within the halls of PHS that I never talked to because they weren't in the IB Overachievers Club. Since last night, I've been questioning the fact that I stayed in such a bubble. If I would have met people like Josh and Francesco when I was a freshman, I know that I'd be a different person today. I live my life without regrets, but I do wish I would have tried to expand more instead of what was comfortable.

I feel as if this is all summer has been: me reaching conclusions that have been there all along and questioning things I should have a long time ago. What's the name for that? Oh yeah, it's called growing up...