Not that my apartment is built for entertaining, as such, but today rounded out to be a nice Thursday, better than most. I spent a long time standing in line to get tickets for the Madison film festival (first weekend in April). I don't even know how many of the screenings I'll actually make it to because the festival overlaps with my conference at UChicago. I am really torn - it's a great opportunity to meet other grad students and rumor has it that some of my old school chums might be in the Windy City that weekend, as well. I so rarely get out of town that I am tempted to drag my heels in Chicago for an extra day, but obviously, I feel pressure to come back for several reasons. I want to soak up the festival culture, I like to watch movies, and of course, I don't want to be out of the loop while people discuss these films for the upcoming year. Regardless of what I actually end up doing, to my credit, the tickets are unusually cheap for students who buy in bulk. I could potentially see up to 8 films on the Thursday / Sunday I could be in town for. From the list I compiled for myself, nothing I am ultra-excited to see (the film I most wanted to see - Tsai Ming-Liang's "Goodbye Dragon Inn" only plays on the weekend) but I have a good sampling and will surely get my $17 worth. I picked a pretty good range - mostly foreign stuff and up to two of the James Benning films (he's the experimental film-maker attending the conference). I am especially bummed to miss a Chris Marker short, a documentary "Stone Reader" (Bordwell loved it, and since it's heralded as the next "Spellbound") there may be a future opportunity to see it, a Johnny To film called "PTU," and a Japanese horror film... nevermind a few others I'd surely see if I were to be around.
I digress. After the long and stuffy wait for tickets (it takes a long time to enter the info and print the tickets out on the spot) I ended up going out for a round of drink with some friends. We ended up at a bar close to town, and one I usually don't visit around 4pm. Just the same, it was fantastic. We ordered one pitcher, he poured something else, and made up for it with a round of free drinks, a drink later and I was comfortably into the realm of being entirely unproductive. Eric and Jen came back to my place - instead of eating out - we drank gin and tonics and ate gourmet pizza at my kitchen table (this felt very much the way that grad students "cut corners" at least the way I want to cut corners). It was fun and we ended the evening watching two experimental films that I procured today (a Daria Martin film shot by a friend and then the awaited Buky Schwartz tape that impresses all who see it). Good fun, I went to bed, drunkily, and just woke up for a drink of water and a more clear-headed blog / email check.
Although the cultural moment may have passed, more than ever, I am feeling more like what was once referred to as a "Bridget Jones" - parcelling out my time and money into units of alcohol, take-out, single-womanhood fabulousness, and dividing time between good friends, most of whom are gay men. I was just reading over my blog from the last week and I realize how many unproductive nights I've had - Oscar Party, Monday drinks, Tuesday haircut and Hong Kong film, last night's cinemascope movie, and tonight's debaucherie spectacle. Who needs spring break with weeks like this? Just the same, I am overdue for some literary pearls and library solitude, it's embarassing how I am carrying on.
It's going on 3am and I am sure that if I stay up much later, I'll pay tomorrow, royally. The goal now is to get to school early enough to sign out a digital video camera for all of spring break (to shoot my "scene" project). It would be much better to shoot over break than try to round up actors on any given weekend. Sign-ups begin at 8am and that might be physically impossible for me, but I should still aim for "early" to better my chances.
posted by lmjasinski at 2:43 AM
