Ten Course Meals and Jason Schwartzman

Well, dear readers, September is finally here, which means that some of my favorite things are now upon us:  Pumpkin Spice Lattes, college football, Sam Adams Oktoberfest, and fall leaves, one of the absolute best things in the world (although those are pretty rare in Texas).   August is behind us (and I’m so thankful because it’s my least favorite month of the year - apologies to all of you August babies), and even though temps in Texas are still topping out at 100 degrees, I’m oddly hopeful for the cooler weather that should come around, oh you know, December (hey, this week’s highs are in the low 90s –that’s downright chilly).

I’m always excited about September because it means that fall is pretty much here (did you pick up from that first paragraph that it’s my favorite season?).  But this September brings something else with it – it marks my one-year anniversary in Austin.  Now, I’m not one really to put a lot of focus on those kinds of things – I don’t get particularly sappy about anniversaries and such.  But this is kind of different for me because I can’t believe that I’ve already been in Austin for a year.  I still feel like such a newbie (and I am, if you ask anyone who lives here).  I don’t know if any of you have experienced anything like this or not, but it’s kind of crazy to look back and realize that something you dreamed of and planned for so long is not only a reality, but one that you’ve been living out for an entire year.

For so long, Austin was this goal for me that I didn’t know if I would reach.  I thought about it, hoped for it, and then wondered if it would ever happen when life got in the way and started making other plans for me (hello, universe, did you not get my detailed itinerary for how things were supposed to go?).  There were times when I honestly wondered how or if I would ever get here. 

And, I know, some of you are thinking, seriously, friend? It’s Austin, Texas.  I mean yeah, it’s cool and all, but it’s not like we’re talking about space travel or climbing Mt. Everest or something.  And I totally get that.  But for me, this is what I needed to do for myself.  To go out on my own (well, with two friends) and start living my life for a while.  To jump ship from my small town and immerse myself in a place that celebrates all of the things I love the most and that just lets me experience being 20-something for a while. 

So it’s kind of weird to suddenly look back and realize that I’ve been doing exactly that for a year.  It’s amazing, really.  And now you’re thinking, “Ok, is this the girl who said she doesn’t get sappy about this kind of stuff?  Because clearly, she’s lying.”  So I’ll stop and quell some of this ridiculous internal dialogue that you don’t want to hear.  But I’ll leave it at this: it’s awesome to have that moment of realization every once in a while that the dream is now a reality – it’s your life. It’s rare, so enjoy it when you can.

If you muddled through those first few paragraphs without feeling positively ill and are still with me – thanks.  You deserve a gold star.  So here you go.

Moving right along…now that summer’s pretty much over and I, of course, didn’t write at all during the season, I’ll give you a quick recap of just a couple of the things I did.

One of the coolest experiences of my summer was attending my co-worker Timmie’s wedding in Houston.  It was my first time going to a Vietnamese wedding and let me tell you, if you think Americans know how to throw a good reception, you’re sadly mistaken, my friend.  A traditional Vietnamese wedding reception consists of a ten-course meal.  Yeah, you read that right.  Ten courses.  I’m talking shark-fin soup, crab balls, steak, crème brulee…and it just keeps going.  Are you miserable at the end?  Absolutely.  But it’s all delicious. 

I really enjoyed experiencing a different culture’s take on a universal event.  Timmie and Rocky, her husband, had a dragon dance team perform at their reception, and the wedding was done in both English and Vietnamese.  It was very different from any other wedding I’ve ever been to, and it was interesting to see something so common done in a way I’ve never seen before.

I also went to my fair share of concerts over the past few months because, hey, this is Austin and that’s kind of what you do.  In fact, I went to four shows in five days just last week, a record that I’m proud of but don’t intend to compete with/duplicate for quite some time.  What’s so great about Austin is you can find live music every night of the week.  Seriously.  Some of the shows I went to were bigger events, like seeing The Tallest Man on Earth perform at the Parmount Theatre, an absolutely amazing and unbelievably talented musician in an incredible venue.  Others, though, were just local acts playing in bars around the city, like seeing Shakey Graves and Whiskey Shivers perform at the Hole in the Wall.  It was a totally different situation, with  tons of people crowded into a tiny space, dancing and stomping their feet (Whiskey Shivers is a bluegrass band), but each was cool in its own way and says something about the fantastic music scene in Austin.  You can pay $30 or $5 and still see a great show on any given night of the week.

I went to San Antonio for the first time this summer, too, and it was a nice break from Austin (I know, I know – but for all that I love it, it can be nice to get away for a day or two).  We rode a boat down the river that runs in the middle of San Antonio, and I got to visit the Alamo, which was a pretty cool experience as well. San Antonio was a good vacation from my normal routine, and I liked seeing another part of Texas, but it also made me appreciate Austin even more, and I was happy to be back to my quirky city after a few days away.

Other than that, my summer was filled with the usual – work, weekends on the town (yes, I’m 90 and say things like “on the town”), and hot days that were surprisingly milder than I feared they would be (I was legitimately nervous about the heat this summer after last year’s record-breaking streak of 100+ degree days.  Everyone said I got off easy this year, and I’m completely ok with that).

And of course, Mustache Mondays, where I discovered that I have a mustache twin:  Jason Schwartzman.  I have to say, I’m pretty impressed with the similarities. 

So I’m just saying:  Mr. Schwartzman, if you ever find yourself in Austin on a Monday night, head over to Gibson Bar on South Lamar to meet your doppelganger.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.  

Wait...this thing is still around?

Wow…it’s been more than six months since I’ve updated.  Did you think this blog was dead?  Had you forgotten it even existed?  If either is the case, I can’t say that I blame you – I’ve definitely had moments over the past several months where I’ve completely forgotten about it and wondered if I’d ever resurrect this thing or just let it go the way of so many other blogs before it, begun in earnest but quickly forgotten once the writer realized the amount of work and maintenance required in the blogosphere.

If you’re actually reading this, I want to thank you for giving me another chance.  I can’t say I’d be so kind after such a hiatus.

But if anyone out there is reading this, you may be wondering what the catalyst was for me to begin writing again.  Truthfully, I’ve thought about it several times, but I just haven’t had the motivation to begin again.  But last weekend, I finally got the push I needed – my family came to visit me in Austin.  Since it was a long weekend, my dad and sister decided to fly out to see me and experience this awesome city that has become my home in the last nine months.  We’d been planning the trip for a long time, and I really can’t believe that it’s over already.

What I realized as they were leaving, though, is how many people I know and love  that haven’t really been able to share this experience with me.  It’s such an amazing thing when you move somewhere totally new to be able to share that with someone who lives in a different place.  And what hit me today is how many people I haven’t had a chance to really share this with.  And how I don’t know when or if some of them will be able to visit me so I can really show them.

And then I remembered this blog.  The whole purpose of it is to keep in touch with those from home and hopefully in some small way to allow them to join me in this incredible experience.  It’s about keeping those ties and bonds going by sharing with others what I’m doing.

The hardest thing about moving to Texas from South Carolina has been leaving so many people I care about behind.  Don’t get me wrong – I love Austin, and I’m having an awesome time here.  And day-to-day, things are great.  But it’s when I have contact with someone from back home, when I’m thrust back into the life I was living before this, and when I’m reminded of everyone that I’m missing that I start to remember some of the sacrifices I’ve made to get here.  All good things have their trade-offs.

This past weekend with my family was wonderful: we went on a brewery tour, walked around the capital, ate some good ol’ Texas barbecue, and even donned mustaches together.  But saying goodbye made me think about all of those who haven’t seen or experienced Austin with me.   And so I decided to revisit this blog.

My sister and my dad in downtown Austin.  Diggin' the shirt, Jim!

I know I’ve said in pretty much all of my posts that I’m going to be better about updating you.  And I think we can all agree that I’ve fallen through on that so far.  So I’m not going to make those promises anymore.  But I’m hoping that last weekend will really push me to make more of an effort to keep this thing going.

So instead of writing a 45 paragraph post recapping the past 7 months, I’ll end with a brief list of some of the highlights:

1)   I got a job as an office assistant at a law firm in town.  It may not be exactly what I wanted, but my coworkers are awesome, I have a guaranteed parking space in downtown Austin, and I get health benefits.  Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

2)  The roommates and I moved apartments in December.  The old place was great, but our new apartment has 3 bedrooms.  And no mice.

3)   In March, my roommates and I volunteered for the interactive, film, and music festival South by Southwest (SXSW).  It’s a crazy-big festival, but the highlight was when Briana Green came to visit!

4)   I attended a beard and mustache competition in Austin (for those of you who aren’t familiar, it’s exactly what it sounds like).  It. Was. Epic.

Joanna with one of the beard and mustache contestants.  That's the shape of Texas on the left and a star on the right. Can you believe this guy didn't even place?!

5)   I’ve now been to several roller derby bouts in Austin (one of my coworkers is on a team).  If you live in a city where there’s a roller derby league and haven’t checked out a game, you definitely should.  They’re awesome.

6)   Every Monday, my roommates and I go to Gibson bar for Mustache Mondays.  We wear fake mustaches and get cheap Maker’s Mark drinks (see the picture below).  It may very well be the highlight of my week.

Mustache Monday with a few special guests...shout out to the family!

 7)  Last week, the Austin City Limits music festival tickets went on sale.  The 3-day passes sold out in less than 45 minutes.  I got two of them:  one for myself and one for my sister.  I know you probably couldn’t care less about that, but I’m super stoked.

There’s so much more I could say, but it would be way too difficult to recap everything.  Thanks again for reading this, everybody - it truly means a lot to me. 

And you're welcome for all of the mustache pictures.

Kickin' It With James Franco (Sort of): AFF Part 2

Well friends, I promised you celebrity sightings in my last post, and celebrity sightings is what I’m going to give you.  I didn’t know this when I first volunteered, but the Austin Film Festival is kind of a big deal.  Like, celebrities come and show their movies.  Now for those of you who have never been to my hometown of Lancaster, you may not be aware, but celebrities don’t exactly flock to our humble city.  Shocking. 

But Austin is a bit different.  For all of the similarities between Lancaster and Austin (too many to count), there are a few differences, and I suppose one of those is the celebrity-attraction factor. 

The biggest star to appear at AFF was Johnny Depp.  Yes, Gilbert Grape himself graced us with his presence and premiered his newest film, The Rum Diary.  Unfortunately, the roommates and I had to work a theatre that night, and it wasn’t the Paramount, where Mr. Depp’s film was premiering.  But rest assured, we were able to catch a glimpse of dear old Johnny (don’t tell him I called him that).  Here’s what happened:  basically, we were stationed at a pretty slow theatre, so we had a bit of time to kill while our patrons watched their film.  So we decided to head over to the Paramount just to check out what was going on.  And it was crazy.  Seriously nuts.  There were people everywhere with signs and pictures, waiting for Johnny Depp to show up.  They even had a red carpet where he made his entrance.  And although we weren’t working that particular premiere, we were wearing our volunteer t-shirts so we were automatically corralled into helping with crowd control.  This basically meant attempting (and failing, if you’re me) to keep people out of the streets while, oh, I don’t know, cars came zooming past, and hoping that no one got hurt.

I’m going to be honest:  when Johnny Depp finally arrived, I was essentially useless.  Another volunteer and I totally fan-girled and started craning our necks to see him.  What crowd control?  We were just as bad as everybody else, pointing and giggling and ignoring the people in the streets.  But I don’t think I was as bad as my dear friend Joanna, who totally abandoned her post and joined the crowd, snapping pictures of Johnny with her iPhone (sorry, Jo).  You should thank her, though, because if it  wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be able to share with you the lovely pic below. 

Johnny Depp at AFF

Mira Sorvino joined us on the final night of the festival, premiering her film Union Square.  I was actually working that film, but the crowd was much more demure than that for Mr. Depp.  Surprisingly, not as many screaming girls were around to make a big deal about Mira’s presence.  Poor Romy.

But as I told you in my last post, friends, the highlight of the festival for me was James Franco’s appearance.  In case you didn’t know, I’m a big Franco fan.  Is it his charming looks?  His seeming ability to master every task man ever attempted?  His Oscar nomination?  Yes, it’s all of those things, but it’s also the nerd in me who is smitten with the fact that he’s getting his PhD in English and is considering pursuing a Masters in Creative Writing.  Yes, I’m a dork, I know. Whatevs.

Anyway, Franco came to the AFF to premiere his latest film, Sal.  He only has a small role on screen, but he directed, wrote, and produced the film.  You know, between his PhD classes.  Just your typical guy.  So he showed the film, and then there was a Q and A following with him and Val Lauren, the actor who plays Sal Mineo in the film.  And it was awesome. 

The film was interesting, although it’s not necessarily one I would recommend to everyone.  There were several interesting stylistic elements, and I appreciated a lot of the technical aspects of the film.  The story follows the last day in Sal Mineo’s life, so it’s one of those films where not a lot happens.  What’s interesting, though, is how much importance is placed on the mundane tasks that happen that day because you see them through the context of it being someone’s last day on earth.  I enjoyed the film, but I could see where the pacing might be a little slow for some people.

What’s crazy is that they shot the film in like, nine days or something.  I don’t even know how that’s possible.  But that’s Franco.  I should expect nothing less.

But I’m not here to give you my opinion about Sal.  I’m here to show you pictures of James Franco.  The quality's not the best, but it's still Franco.  Oh, don't be so picky.

The amazing James Franco introducing his new film Sal at AFF

James Franco with Val Lauren (right) during the Q and A at the Sal screening

You’re welcome.

Those were the biggest stars we saw at AFF.  We also ran into Fred Stoller on the street who was there to promote his latest movie, Fred and Vinnie.  Caitlin got her picture with him, which was pretty cool.  And kind of random.

In a nutshell, that’s basically our AFF adventures.  But lest you’ve forgotten, I also volunteered for the Austin Book Festival at the same time as the film festival.  My stint there was much shorter – only two days and like 3 hours each day, but it was still a cool experience.  The second day of the festival, my roommates and I helped out at the book-signing tent for a couple of hours.  It was fairly slow because there were more volunteers than necessary, and I think a lot of the patrons had already gone home. 

But my first day at the book festival was pretty awesome.  I was an author escort for Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Stacy Schiff.

I’m going to be honest with you:  I didn’t know who she was when I first got my assignment.  Clearly, she’s kind of impressive since she, you know, won a Pulitzer Prize or whatever.  But I had no idea.  All I knew was that I had to escort her to one of the chamber rooms in the Texas Capital without getting lost.  No pressure (especially given my since of direction - recall the bus debacle?).

It wasn’t until I learned that she’s written a book on the life of Cleopatra (fittingly titled Cleopatra:  A Life), that the wheels started turning.  And my age began to show.  I remembered watching an episode of The Daily Show a couple of months ago that featured an author who wrote a book about Cleopatra.  A quick Google search on my smart phone revealed that Stacy Schiff was indeed the author on that episode (I didn’t reveal this knowledge to Ms. Schiff, however, because I didn’t want to let her know that the only way I recognized her was through a show on Comedy Central.  I'm such a good English major). 

I started getting a little nervous because I was realizing that Stacy was pretty important and I was going to be responsible for making sure she got to her speaking session on time.  And I was pretty sure that I was going to get her lost.  Thankfully, I was saved by Kay, a lovely lady who had been assigned specifically to Stacy as her own personal escort, which basically meant I just got to tag along with the crew and sit at the front of the room while Stacy talked about her book.  Not a bad deal, if I do say so myself.

And that concludes my volunteer adventures thus far in this crazy city.  By the end, we were really tired and our feet were seriously hurting, but it was so much fun.  We saw some great movies, met a lot of random people we probably wouldn’t have met otherwise, and learned a little about what it’s like to work in a theatre.   

And did I mention I saw James Franco?

My Brief Brush With the Film Industry (AFF, Part 1)

And so, the world’s worst blogger returns yet again with more insight and updates into my Austin chronicles.  I hope, dear readers, that this entry will excite you, as it’s filled with much more entertainment than my previous posts (and no rodents).  You see, my lovely roommates and I spent much of the past two weeks volunteering at the Austin Film Festival.  We also volunteered for the Austin Book Festival, but our tenure there was much shorter, so I’ll save those details for post 2.  Yes, you are about to witness my first 2-part blog post.  Get excited.

When we signed up for both festivals, we failed to realize that they would be taking place at the same time.  Typical.  So it was quite hectic as we struggled to remember which shirt to put on each morning and where we needed to get off of the bus.

Yes.  You read that correctly.  We tackled the bus.  Now, some of you are scoffing at me now, I’m sure, since thousands, or perhaps millions of people take public transportation every day (I really have no handle on population statistics).  What’s so special about taking the bus, you may be asking?  Well clearly, you weren’t with Joanna and me last December as we attempted, and failed miserably, to make use of the buses in Austin.  You would think that two college-educated women would be able to read a map and determine a proper route for getting from point A to point B.  You would be wrong.  I think we took the correct bus and got off at the right stop once.  In four days.  So taking the right bus to the right stop was quite an achievement for us.  Sad, but true.

  But anyway, enough about my geographical challenges and utter lack of directional sense.  Volunteering at the Film Festival was pretty awesome.  I was crazy tired by the end, but it was definitely worth the lack of sleep to see a bunch of great movies and meet some cool people.  Our first shift was helping out with a panel at the Stephen F. Austin Ballroom in the Intercontinental Hotel.  Here’s the thing about the Austin Film Festival:  it’s more than just a bunch of movie screenings.  They have this big conference with panels that people who buy badges can attend.   The main focus of the festival is on screenwriting, so lots of the panels deal with that.  They bring in guest speakers, and the audience gleans pearls of wisdom from these experts and then generally gets a chance at the end to ask questions so that they can (hopefully) one day earn a sacred spot in Hollywood as a legendary screenwriter/filmmaker/director…you get the idea.

Basically, our panel day was pretty simple.  After being sent on a wild chase for the backs of two chairs that for some reason hadn’t made it to the conference room (and which we never actually found), we spent most of our time directing people to the bathroom, quietly letting them in and out of the conference room, and showing them where they could get a glass of water.  How exciting.  In all honesty, it really wasn’t bad, and it was probably our most low-key job of the festival. 

We also helped at registration one day, which was pretty crazy.  I spent most of my time making badges for people and then handing them out.  Of course, everyone seemed to show up and need a badge all at once, and then there would be long periods where I was sitting in a room all by myself with nothing to do, pleading with my sister through text to entertain me (thanks again, Sarah).  I did, however, get to make a badge for David Boreanaz, which was pretty cool; unfortunately, he wasn’t there to pick it up, so I never got to meet him.  Ah, the perils of grunt work.  All work and no reward.

Now you’re probably reading this and thinking, ok, she worked at a film festival, but she’s yet to actually mention any films.  Or working where films were even taking place.  What gives?

Well you can rest easy, my friend, because I’m getting to that.  The most exciting part of our volunteer work was when we got to help out at the theatres, which we did quite a bit.  A lot of this work consists of crowd control:  you’re making sure everyone has a pass or a badge and that they don’t block the way for passersby to walk on the sidewalk.  The nice thing about theatre work is that after you help get everyone into the theatre, you usually get to sit in and watch the movies for free.  So basically you get to see a bunch of films that you probably wouldn’t be able to go to otherwise because they’re pretty small and won’t be released in that many theatres nationwide.   Here’s a brief rundown of the films I watched while volunteering:

Butter:  A movie about butter carving.  Sounds weird, I know.  I was skeptical at first, too, but it was really funny.  Jennifer Garner plays the wife of an award-winning butter carver who decides to enter the annual butter carving contest herself after her husband is asked not to enter again.  Now that I think about it, how could a movie about a butter-carving contest not be awesome?

Martha Marcy May Marlene:  Elizabeth Olsen, younger sister of Michelle Tanner, stars as a girl who leaves a cult to live with her sister and her sister’s husband.  It’s a dark film that switches back and forth in time, but I thought it was very compelling.

Albert Nobbs:  Glenn Close stars as a woman pretending to be a man in 19^th century Ireland.  I thought she gave a great performance in the film.  There’s also a love triangle, which always makes for a good story.

The Artist:  A silent film about a silent film.  I have to say, I really enjoyed this movie.  I was a little uncertain about a silent film because I’ve always been a proponent of sound, but this was probably one of my favorite films I saw at the festival. 

Jeff, Who Lives at Home:  Jason Segel plays Jeff, a guy who lives in his mother’s basement and basically wanders around aimlessly, waiting for signs from the universe to guide his life.  Ed Helms plays his brother, who is caught in a strained marriage, and Susan Sarandon stars as their mother.  Writer/Directors Jay and Mark Duplass were at the festival and held a Q and A following the film, and it was really interesting to hear them talk about their the movie. 

Sal:  James Franco’s (!!!!!) film about the last day in actor Sal Mineo’s life.  Franco was at the festival to talk about the film, which was without question the highlight of the festival for me.  More about this (as well as pictures) to come in entry 2.

The Woman in the Fifth:  Ethan Hawke stars as a writer who moves to Paris to be near his daughter, who lives with his estranged wife.  While there, he takes a strange job at a hotel, and many weird things begin happening to him.  This film was intriguing, but it was very abstract, and I think a lot of the audience was confused when it ended.

Union Square:  Mira Sorvino stars as a woman from Queens who goes to visit her sister in New York City after 3 years without speaking.  The two women are very different, but a family situation brings them together.  I really enjoyed this movie as well – it definitely had some serious moments, but it also had a good bit of humor, and I thought Mira Sorvino did a great job.

I also saw Toy Story with my roommate Joanna because amazing Pixar guy John Lasseter was there, but I didn’t give you a rundown of that because I’m assuming all of you have seen it.  If you haven’t, rent it.  And then rent the next two.  Indulge your inner child.  You deserve it. 

Now I'm clearly no film critic, so these are just my thoughts on the films I saw.  If you feel like taking my word on the films, good for you.  If not, I don't blame you.  I'm not exactly the most critical consumer.  

In typical Lucy fashion, this post has gone on for far, far too long.  I’ll try to get part 2 up soon, where you can learn all about my time at the Book Festival.  And I’ll show you pictures of my celebrity sightings at the Film Festival.  That's the best teaser I have.  And it's probably the only time you'll read that in one of my blog posts.  Seriously.

Until then, stay classy readers, and try not to miss me too much.  I’ll attempt to do the same.