monday morning... so it's back to work! i arrived at the office to see everyone and meet the new people. search & care has grown since i was last here and the office has been refurbished too - more offices for the new people and a slightly different layout... but things are much the same! robin introduced me to everyone and then we sat down and went through my client list, lots of new ones and a couple of old ones too!
back in 2010 i remember robin giving me my list and me being utterly terrified to go and call these people i've never met before. this year i was slightly less terrified, but speaking on the phone is still not my favourite thing to do. but, i just got on with it and before i knew it i had 3 appointments for monday and the rest of week pretty much full up too.
i walked uptown to my first appointment; ruth is blind, but also one of the most busy people around! she's a practicing pastor, so she lives next door to her church, but she constantly has people coming and going, all helping her out in their way. i managed to chat with her briefly, between her other visitors and many phone calls! then it was off to do some shopping for someone who lives in a particular building that has the worst elevators i've ever witnessed, basically there are only 2 in a huge building, and one of them is broken and has been for some time... and apparently is going to take another 3 months to get fixed... so it took 15 minutes to get to the 22nd floor - which is ridiculous when there are old and sick people living there... more about this later! this appointment took so long that i had to cancel my final appointment that day - which i hate to do, especially on my first day... feeling completely exhausted i headed back to the office as they were having a party to celebrate the office refurb. i struggled here if i'm honest, i was really tired, there was yummy bad food everywhere and lots of new people to meet and chat too. as i was escorting my other lovely host home, i stayed until she was ready to leave, but she was one of the guests of honour so we didn't manage to leave until 9ish - so i saw her home before heading back to my new home and falling into bed.
tuesday was crazy-busy! in my keeness i had arranged 5 appointments so there was really no time to do anything else... and it all came back to me about always knowing where the nearest bathroom is! as i wrote about in 2010, it can be awkward to ask to use a client's loo - so i always need to know where the nearest one is after i leave! starbucks are still the best places, as there are so many of them in the city... but, unlike in 2010, you now need to get a code to get in the locked doors...
on a different note, today i met the two little doggies that i'll be walking while i'm here. tiny is a tiny little white dog - a mini poodle maybe? but really small, hence the name! her owner is deborah, who's life has changed so much since having a stroke. she has a great apartment right next to the top of central park and that is where we took tiny for a lovely walk in the sunshine. the other little pooch i'm walking is called gizmo and he does look like the little gremlin! his owner is quite sick and although she does take him out, it's nice for her to have a little break while i take him for an hour. we walked over to my favourite nyc park, carl schurz park which is next to the east river. in the evening i headed back to pure yoga and joined until the end of july - yes, it was expensive, but i gotta keep cool, stretched and sane... and yoga really helps me with that!
wednesday was a little quieter, with just 3 appointments, a shopping trip, an escort to and from a physical therapy appointment and a visit to the most lovely man, mario and his kitty-kat alejandro. mario is a joy to visit, he's funny, interesting, arty, intellectual and just really nice to be around. it will never be a chore to spend time with him!
thursday was even quieter, i spent the morning in the office and the afternoon at 2 appointments. these were a step back in time, as both visits were to old clients of mine from 2010. elona is still looking amazing and her mind is sharp, i just wish she was happier... and then off to see lovely matty and her wonderful carer judith - these two gals are real sweeties! it was great to catch up with them all. but i have to say that this day was marred by the EU referendum result... i'm not going to dwell on it here, but what a disappointment! i'm glad i voted before i left london, but it didn't go the way i expected. amazingly, it's been quite big news here, although i'm not sure everyone quite understands the intricacies of the whole thing, i think we're already considered a part of europe by most new yorkers anyway!
after work i headed to midtown as there was a free screening of 'the secret life of pets'... which involved queuing for about an hour with a load of kids and their parents and me... grrrr! but the film was sweet and funny which made up for the wait
yeay - made it to friday! which started with another visit to mario, then to another new client, a lady who is blind but she reads so much! she has this great machine that uses digital tapes which contain the whole book - no faffing about with multiple cassettes or cds. she told me all about the great library they have and that they send the tapes and the machine free of charge to blind people so they can keep reading if they want to. i've worked in publishing for around 10 years and have never heard of this! we talked about it a lot... i think she thought i was a bit obsessed by it - but i just thought it was a great idea! my day ended with a walk to carl schurz park with gizmo, then i headed to yoga after i dropped him off.
Saturday, 9 July 2016
first days
ok - so it's saturday night and it's pouring with rain... time to sit down and write something. sorry i made such a big deal telling everyone to keep checking the blog and then not bothering to post anything!
my trip over to new york was about as uneventful as you want a trip to be! unusually for me, there was no drama and i arrived at JFK and made my way by subway uptown to the new place i'll be staying at at 96th street between 3rd and lexington avenue. i'm always so happy to come back to new york! arrived and met my lovely host, patsy who showed me to my lovely room which has become my new home here - and it has an en suite bathroom - so i feel like i'm staying in a hotel!
my first weekend is all a bit of a blur now that i'm thinking back... and of course i didn't remember to write anything in my diary about what i did! i think i took a stroll around the neighbourhood, seeing what was new and what has disappeared. but not a huge amount of change really, probably the most noticeable thing is the amount of new apartment blocks going up... so a lot of noisy, disruptive building work going on. also, if you can believe it, the 'new' 2nd avenue subway is still under construction! that had already started when i came over in 2010 and it looks no nearer being finished! the crossrail in london has pretty much all happened in that time and i'm sure it will open before the new subway here! it's crazy!
so, i think i mainly mooched around and shopped and ate bad food...
but i had made a date to see robin on saturday night and oh! what joy to see her again. i called for her at her apartment and we had a lovely catch-up over a glass of wine, before going out for italian food at a place nearby. she always makes me feel soooo welcome! it's weird how we can just pick up again after a couple of years!
my trip over to new york was about as uneventful as you want a trip to be! unusually for me, there was no drama and i arrived at JFK and made my way by subway uptown to the new place i'll be staying at at 96th street between 3rd and lexington avenue. i'm always so happy to come back to new york! arrived and met my lovely host, patsy who showed me to my lovely room which has become my new home here - and it has an en suite bathroom - so i feel like i'm staying in a hotel!
my first weekend is all a bit of a blur now that i'm thinking back... and of course i didn't remember to write anything in my diary about what i did! i think i took a stroll around the neighbourhood, seeing what was new and what has disappeared. but not a huge amount of change really, probably the most noticeable thing is the amount of new apartment blocks going up... so a lot of noisy, disruptive building work going on. also, if you can believe it, the 'new' 2nd avenue subway is still under construction! that had already started when i came over in 2010 and it looks no nearer being finished! the crossrail in london has pretty much all happened in that time and i'm sure it will open before the new subway here! it's crazy!
so, i think i mainly mooched around and shopped and ate bad food...
but i had made a date to see robin on saturday night and oh! what joy to see her again. i called for her at her apartment and we had a lovely catch-up over a glass of wine, before going out for italian food at a place nearby. she always makes me feel soooo welcome! it's weird how we can just pick up again after a couple of years!
Thursday, 7 July 2016
hey all
yes, finally getting round to posting on the blog... back in nyc for 5 weeks from mid june until the end of july 2016... sorry for not posting sooner, but i have been a) too busy, b) too hot, c) too sick, d) too busy! oh, and i couldn't get this blogging website to work... answer - try a different browser!
so, i suppose i better fill in what i've been doing for the past couple of weeks that i've been here and not been blogging - bad me!
right... let's go back to the beginning...
yes, finally getting round to posting on the blog... back in nyc for 5 weeks from mid june until the end of july 2016... sorry for not posting sooner, but i have been a) too busy, b) too hot, c) too sick, d) too busy! oh, and i couldn't get this blogging website to work... answer - try a different browser!
so, i suppose i better fill in what i've been doing for the past couple of weeks that i've been here and not been blogging - bad me!
right... let's go back to the beginning...
Monday, 10 February 2014
the last days...
oh dear, i can't believe i've been home for a full week already!!! i miss being in the usa...
so, the last couple of days in new york were super-busy but fun! i found out that there was some ballet on at lincoln center so i booked a ticket and headed down there for the matinee. the last time i was at lincoln center was in 2010 to see q-tip do one song at some free event that was going on... it was summer then and hot! i headed across town on the bus and then walked down broadway for a bit, then caught the bus down as i was running out of time! lincoln center was celebrating the chinese new year so there were two massive gold and red horses up in the portico and some huge chinese lanterns strung around the square. it was cold, so i didn't hang around outside... i picked up my ticket and headed inside the theatre - much different than the royal opera house - more modern, a bit 70s style actually! found my seat and was slightly dismayed to find that i was sat next to someone in sweat pants who quite obviously hadn't washed for a while... luckily i ended up having two spare seats next to me, so i slid over - phew!
the ballet was a mixed programme, all three pieces choreographed by balanchine though - which is all good! the first piece was lovely, called 'concerto barocco' with music by bach. the second piece was quite angular and spiky - called 'kammermusik no. 2' with music by paul hindemith. then there was an intermission before the second half which was called 'who cares?' with all the music by gershwin - i was in absolute heaven! it was perfect, gorgeous costumes, glorious dancing and wonderful music - the score was 16 gershwin songs smushed together - there was one section called 'the man i love' which was danced so incredibly beautifully - i was spellbound.
after the ballet i had a couple of hours to kill, so went off to get my nails done - well, it is new york!!! so i went and finally got a shellac manicure - and i love it! i still haven't got any chips... it's a miracle!
then i wandered down broadway for a bit, before jumping on the subway without looking and getting on an express by mistake!!! next thing i was up at 125 street and supposed to be at 74th... grrrr! found the non-express going back the other way, but it meant i was a bit late to meet ashley, a volunteer who i'd met at sundance who lives over on the west side, for dinner. she took me to this super-cool restaurant/bar called jacob's pickles... full of west-side hipsters with a line out of the door. but we got a great table and the food was amazing... so were the cocktails! highly recommended!!! so we had a fun evening in there - then ashley insisted on waiting with me for the cross-town bus, despite the fact that it was freezing cold!!!
i was up and about at a reasonable time on sunday, packing my bag and generally sorting myself out... don't want to leave - i stupidly thought that four days in new york would be enough... who was i kidding? my airbnb host let me leave my suitcase in the apartment for a few hours... my flight isn't until 9pm, so i have loads of time...
so, i had tried to make some appointments with a couple of my old clients, but without my phone and no phone in the apartment, i had to use public phones (yuck!) to try and organise some visits... i didn't manage to get hold of elona, but did make an appointment to see margaret at 11.15 on sunday morning. i took her some coffee and it was great to see her. i started off by finding the classical station on her radio before we sat down and had a good catch-up, then a discussion about film and art. she's lonely, but her mind is as sharp as a tack!
after i left her, i walked over to the neue galerie, a beautiful little museum a couple of blocks away which specialises in german and austrian art from the early twentieth century. it's pretty small in there, but there was an exhibition of modern german posters which was all in one room, but there were some gorgeous examples in there... there was also a kandinsky exhibition on, which was good - some great and not so great pieces in there.
then it was time to go and get my super-heavy bag and think about leaving... but i had a load of time left so i dragged my bag down the many stairs and off to my favourite neighbourhood place - the corner cafe - and had a leisurely lunch before heading downtown on the bus and then over to jfk... now the last time i did this journey was with pneumonia in a blizzard - this time was SO MUCH better! pootled around the airport with loads of time to kill - i was early for a change! so, i fired up the laptop to check email/facebook... only to find out that my very favourite actor, philip seymour hoffman had died... oh, what tragic news... he had been at sundance with two films (i only saw one - god's pocket) and he had been at eccles when i was working there, unfortunately i missed him. i'm just so incredibly sad that he will no longer be on the cinema screen. this event really marred the end to my amazingly brilliant trip...
over and out for now...
so, the last couple of days in new york were super-busy but fun! i found out that there was some ballet on at lincoln center so i booked a ticket and headed down there for the matinee. the last time i was at lincoln center was in 2010 to see q-tip do one song at some free event that was going on... it was summer then and hot! i headed across town on the bus and then walked down broadway for a bit, then caught the bus down as i was running out of time! lincoln center was celebrating the chinese new year so there were two massive gold and red horses up in the portico and some huge chinese lanterns strung around the square. it was cold, so i didn't hang around outside... i picked up my ticket and headed inside the theatre - much different than the royal opera house - more modern, a bit 70s style actually! found my seat and was slightly dismayed to find that i was sat next to someone in sweat pants who quite obviously hadn't washed for a while... luckily i ended up having two spare seats next to me, so i slid over - phew!
the ballet was a mixed programme, all three pieces choreographed by balanchine though - which is all good! the first piece was lovely, called 'concerto barocco' with music by bach. the second piece was quite angular and spiky - called 'kammermusik no. 2' with music by paul hindemith. then there was an intermission before the second half which was called 'who cares?' with all the music by gershwin - i was in absolute heaven! it was perfect, gorgeous costumes, glorious dancing and wonderful music - the score was 16 gershwin songs smushed together - there was one section called 'the man i love' which was danced so incredibly beautifully - i was spellbound.
after the ballet i had a couple of hours to kill, so went off to get my nails done - well, it is new york!!! so i went and finally got a shellac manicure - and i love it! i still haven't got any chips... it's a miracle!
then i wandered down broadway for a bit, before jumping on the subway without looking and getting on an express by mistake!!! next thing i was up at 125 street and supposed to be at 74th... grrrr! found the non-express going back the other way, but it meant i was a bit late to meet ashley, a volunteer who i'd met at sundance who lives over on the west side, for dinner. she took me to this super-cool restaurant/bar called jacob's pickles... full of west-side hipsters with a line out of the door. but we got a great table and the food was amazing... so were the cocktails! highly recommended!!! so we had a fun evening in there - then ashley insisted on waiting with me for the cross-town bus, despite the fact that it was freezing cold!!!
i was up and about at a reasonable time on sunday, packing my bag and generally sorting myself out... don't want to leave - i stupidly thought that four days in new york would be enough... who was i kidding? my airbnb host let me leave my suitcase in the apartment for a few hours... my flight isn't until 9pm, so i have loads of time...
so, i had tried to make some appointments with a couple of my old clients, but without my phone and no phone in the apartment, i had to use public phones (yuck!) to try and organise some visits... i didn't manage to get hold of elona, but did make an appointment to see margaret at 11.15 on sunday morning. i took her some coffee and it was great to see her. i started off by finding the classical station on her radio before we sat down and had a good catch-up, then a discussion about film and art. she's lonely, but her mind is as sharp as a tack!
after i left her, i walked over to the neue galerie, a beautiful little museum a couple of blocks away which specialises in german and austrian art from the early twentieth century. it's pretty small in there, but there was an exhibition of modern german posters which was all in one room, but there were some gorgeous examples in there... there was also a kandinsky exhibition on, which was good - some great and not so great pieces in there.
then it was time to go and get my super-heavy bag and think about leaving... but i had a load of time left so i dragged my bag down the many stairs and off to my favourite neighbourhood place - the corner cafe - and had a leisurely lunch before heading downtown on the bus and then over to jfk... now the last time i did this journey was with pneumonia in a blizzard - this time was SO MUCH better! pootled around the airport with loads of time to kill - i was early for a change! so, i fired up the laptop to check email/facebook... only to find out that my very favourite actor, philip seymour hoffman had died... oh, what tragic news... he had been at sundance with two films (i only saw one - god's pocket) and he had been at eccles when i was working there, unfortunately i missed him. i'm just so incredibly sad that he will no longer be on the cinema screen. this event really marred the end to my amazingly brilliant trip...
over and out for now...
Friday, 31 January 2014
oh shops... how i've missed you!
hey all
i am so happy to be back in new york... it's cold here but it's been fairly sunny today - oh! it even snowed a bit today.
so i got here on wednesday night as i lost a few hours flying from denver to new york. i took the bus from la guardia to the upper east side where i'm staying - see, i'm still trying to be a local! my airbnb place is great - my room is really big - although it's a 5th floor walk-up so dragging my bag up all those stairs nearly gave me a heart attack! but now i'm here i only need to worry about getting my bag back down again.
thursday was spent doing laundry (yawn!) and having a potter around the neighbourhood... some places are the same, some have changed and some have gone altogether. in the evening i met up with robin and we had a lovely italian dinner together. so great to see her and catch up on the last year and a bit. she always makes me feel good about myself - unfortunately, it never lasts very long...
today i went shopping!!! much as i loved sundance and park city - it's not a place for shopping, not that i had the time anyway! went up to target and old navy first - how disappointing... nothing to buy there... so went downtown and got loads of stuff! bought quite a bit in my favourite new york shop - brooklyn industries - then bought some new boots too... not sure where i'm gonna pack all this stuff as my case is already busting at the seams.
i tried to go to a film - but missed the showing of 'inside llewyn davis' and then when i went back to see 'wolf of wall street' it was sold out... wtf! i know i've seen a lot of films just recently, but really... i can't get to see a film in new york city?!?!?! so i went and bought nice food in wholefoods and came back to my room and watch old re-runs of 'frasier' and 'the golden girls' - back to the 80s!!!
can't believe this trip is nearly over... boo!
i am so happy to be back in new york... it's cold here but it's been fairly sunny today - oh! it even snowed a bit today.
so i got here on wednesday night as i lost a few hours flying from denver to new york. i took the bus from la guardia to the upper east side where i'm staying - see, i'm still trying to be a local! my airbnb place is great - my room is really big - although it's a 5th floor walk-up so dragging my bag up all those stairs nearly gave me a heart attack! but now i'm here i only need to worry about getting my bag back down again.
thursday was spent doing laundry (yawn!) and having a potter around the neighbourhood... some places are the same, some have changed and some have gone altogether. in the evening i met up with robin and we had a lovely italian dinner together. so great to see her and catch up on the last year and a bit. she always makes me feel good about myself - unfortunately, it never lasts very long...
today i went shopping!!! much as i loved sundance and park city - it's not a place for shopping, not that i had the time anyway! went up to target and old navy first - how disappointing... nothing to buy there... so went downtown and got loads of stuff! bought quite a bit in my favourite new york shop - brooklyn industries - then bought some new boots too... not sure where i'm gonna pack all this stuff as my case is already busting at the seams.
i tried to go to a film - but missed the showing of 'inside llewyn davis' and then when i went back to see 'wolf of wall street' it was sold out... wtf! i know i've seen a lot of films just recently, but really... i can't get to see a film in new york city?!?!?! so i went and bought nice food in wholefoods and came back to my room and watch old re-runs of 'frasier' and 'the golden girls' - back to the 80s!!!
can't believe this trip is nearly over... boo!
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
the end of sundance
i have left the sundance bubble! managed to get a lift back down to salt lake city with one of my room-mates - matt - who drove all the way to park city from ohio (that's a really long way!) and he's heading back to ohio, but taking a different route… anyway, he gave 3 of us a lift, the others were going to the airport to catch their flights home, but i had a free day in salt lake so we went and ate our own body-weight in food at a great mexican place called 'red iguana' that my boss at hodder had recommended to me before i left london. matt had eaten there before so we spent a good few hours eating and chatting then we went for a wander around the city, to the church, the tabernacle, the state capital building - the sun was going down and the smog was sitting over the city with the mountains all around - a pretty amazing sight! i'd left my camera in matt's car and then when he dropped me off at my hotel - i forgot to pick it up… what an idiot!!! i'm about to go on possibly one of the most beautiful train journeys in the whole world without a camera… and don't forget - my cell phone is also broken… i really could kick myself sometimes!
so i managed to shoehorn myself out of my cosy hotel bed in the middle of the night to catch the train from salt lake city to denver at 3.30am. i got on and pretty much went to sleep again straight away, but i woke around 7.30am to a beautiful golden pink sunrise in a long strip of cloud that stretched along the sky in the same direction as the train. so glad that i managed to see that!
utah is real cowboy country - lots of red rocks in amazing formations reminded me of a hundred different western films - the only place that i've been that is similar is the grand canyon. the train stops at a little town called 'grand junction' which has just the loveliest little old-fashioned station building - complete with gorgeous victorian-style lettering - sadly falling into disrepair - i think they should renovate it and use it for films!
the train travels through colorado and it is spectacularly beautiful, the colorado river runs alongside the train to my left. we've just passed an area where the hot springs run out into the river making it steam, but then moments further on there are big chunks of ice in the river. the mountains are patched with snow and a few trees and the sky is crystal blue with no clouds. the air is clean and clear and dry without a breath of wind - it really is breathtaking. there are many places where the river is completely iced over - there are little animal/bird footprints crossing this way and that - although i don't think i would step out onto that ice! i've seen farmed cows and alpacas, wild deer and 3 eagles soaring over the mountains when we came through the gore canyon. i'd love to see a bear - but they're probably hibernating right now…
suddenly the train is right on the edge of the rocky mountains and the flat plains of central usa are spread out before us - it's an incredible sight, the sky is a rainbow of sunset colours and denver is where we are headed. it's so strange how the mountains just stop and the plains begin… beautiful, just beautiful… the train has been pretty slow - 15 hours, but i haven't minded at all. it has been so great to have nothing to do for a few hours!
which leads me back to the last 10 days of sundance… i was unable to post up on the blog because i just didn't have time i'm afraid - it was all a bit of a whirlwind and it felt very strange to leave the mountain tops and come back down into the real world again! i can't remember what i wrote in the last blog post - but i think it was a bit of a rushed explanation of the first couple of days in park city. i can't get on the internet right now as there is no wifi on amtrak (they really need to sort that out!) so, i'm writing this and will post it up when i get to denver. i arrive around 6.40pm and think i will just go straight to my hotel and go to sleep! i fly out to new york tomorrow morning - i'm excited to be going back (and with much more sensible, warm clothes this time!!!)
actually, i'm now on the plane from denver to nyc - and i couldn't get the internet to work in my hotel last night either… grrrr! will finally post up this extremely long post when i get to nyc…
so, let's talk about films for a bit… i managed to see 15 in all - most in my limited spare time and a few while i was on shift - we could only do this if there were spare seats available after all the paying customers are in - eccles is a big theatre (1,267 seats) and for most of our screenings we were full. i have updated my imdb list with all the films i saw and i've rated them out of 10 - so have a look at that if you're a film fan!
to be honest, the first couple of days i really didn't see anything that really blew me away and i did start to think that i wasn't going to see anything brilliant… however, the last couple of days really made up for it as i saw quite a few that were really very good.
i'm gonna go through them briefly:
14/01/14 - the overnighters - a documentary about a pastor in north dakota who helps guys who come looking for work in the fracking industry that has sprung up there. this was a strange one, as there was a twist towards the end which kind of made me question all the stuff that had come before - it was ok.
16/01/14 - dinosaur 13 - we slipped into this one while on shift, so we missed the beginning and the director q+a afterwards. despite that, this was a fascinating documentary about a team who find a fairly complete t-rex skeleton and set about removing it from the hill where they found it so they can study it and show it in their town. however the government gets involved over the rights of the land and it all gets very messy and one of the team ends up in jail. interesting stuff!
17/01/14 - laggies - i really liked this quirky, sweet rom-com starring keira knightley, sam rockwell and chloe moretz - i reckon this one will get a release at home. it's a different kind of role for keira and she's really good in it. the director, the three lead cast members and various crew were there to do a q+a after the screening. after that, matt (one of my room-mates) and i went down the back corridor pretending to be on duty and it just happened to coincide with sam rockwell and crew coming out of the back door. my heart was about to jump out of my chest - i'm a bit in love with him and he is super-cool! we made eye contact but i was too embarrassed to smile or anything to we hung around for a bit until they left - probably to go some cool party! i think i went home and went to bed… not very rock'n'roll!
19/01/14 - young ones - this was on my list of films to see and i loved it… it's set in a dystopian future where water is heavily controlled but petrol and alcohol are not. it's not really that futuristic - it's set out in a dry country area and is the story of a family who are trying to get some water to irrigate their land so they can grow crops. it's divided into three sections - following the father, the daughter's boyfriend and the son. it's different in both the story and the way it's shot. i'd like to see this one again really - it's got a great story...
19/01/14 calvary - this is the second film by the director of 'the guard' - it's funny but pretty dark - i liked it. it stars the wonderful and hugely under-rated brendan gleeson, who unfortunately wasn't there for the q+a but chris o'dowd, who also stars, was. it's the story of an irish priest who is threatened by one of his parishioners. after the screening i was going down to the volunteers room which is also where the talent comes out through the side door to the theatre - i used the loo down there and it just happened to be when kelly reilly (who also stars) was using it - so we chatted for a bit while we washed our hands!
21/01/14 - hellion - an american coming of age tale with a wonderfully intense performance by a young actor called josh wiggins. it also stars aaron paul from breaking bad… although he's unrecognisable from his character in that, and juliette lewis who i haven't seen in a film for a long time. really liked this one - sad but powerful.
21/01/14 - the raid 2 - we got to go this film as we'd been outside all afternoon and into the evening and we were freezing cold! i probably wouldn't have chosen this film especially since i haven't seen the first one. it was seriously violent, eye-gouging, bone-cracking, gory fun! pretty full-on with lots of crazy stunts and about a million different ways to kill or maim. gorgeous young cast who were all there at the screening - probably the sharpest dressed people i saw throughout the whole festival - no snow-boots or thermals for them! as we were walking back down the corridor to get our stuff from the volunteer room the whole cast were coming the other way - i couldn't help but smile at them all - they all looked so sweet and innocent despite having just seen them rip arms and legs off in the movie! walking behind the main group alone was the star and i just gave him a big grin, and he grinned right back at me - it made my night!
22/01/14 - love child - i probably wouldn't have picked this film either but it was showing at the lovely, old-fashioned egyptian theatre on main street and i hadn't managed to get tickets for another film i wanted to see at the MARC theatre, so i went downtown to see it. such a shame really as the subject matter was so interesting, a documentary about a young korean couple who were so addicted to online gaming they neglected their own child who ended up dying of malnutrition, but the editing of the film just didn't really work for me - it should have been tighter and less repetitive.
23/01/14 - fishing without nets - ok, i have to admit that by this time in the festival i was seriously tired and feeling pretty burnt-out. i really wanted to see this film, but when the lights went down my eyelids started to droop and i ended up having many micro-sleeps through the first half until i found some sweets in my bag which managed to keep me awake through the second half. an interesting story about a naive young somali father who becomes a pirate to raise money for his family. i don't feel able to comment further on this one as i wasn't able to give it my full attention… my fault not the film's!
24/01/14 - jamie marks is dead - another one we got to watch while on-shift. a bit spooky for my liking - i did spend some time hiding behind my coat! an odd film about an unpopular kid who is found dead but he appears to two of his school mates who form a bond with him… ok, i'm finding it really difficult to describe this one… it was a bit slow and not spooky enough to be horror and i'm not sure quite who it would appeal to - not sure whether this one will get a release at home.
24/01/14 - rudderless - ok, now we're talking! this was great! fab performances, mainly from billy crudup and adam yeltchin. i don't want to give out too much of the story as it would be a spoiler alert! needless to say, this is a story about a family crisis that has long term affects on the father and just when he starts to get his life back together, things take an unexpected turn. directed by william h macy, who received a standing ovation on the premier screening that i attended, it's funny and very sad but best of all it tells the story from a different perspective - which is always a good thing in film and doesn't happen often enough!
25/01/14 - god's pocket - the one philip seymour hoffman film i got to see out of the two he had in the festival. this is based on book about a small area of urban philadelphia in the 1970's. it's difficult to describe but is another film about a crisis within a family which has far-reaching consequences. philip seymour hoffman again shows that he is one of the best actors of his generation and it was nice to see eddie marsan in there too - always good to see a british actor holding their own with the americans!
25/01/14 - the one i love - what can i say… this one has mark duplass in it and since he is part of the reason why i was at sundance to begin with (see 'safety not guaranteed'). he just doesn't ever pick a bad movie to be in… he deserves to be way more famous than he is now - he's just brilliant! a great little story about a couple haivng problems with their relationship who go away to a beautiful deserted retreat where things get pretty weird. it's clever and funny and strange - a great combination!
25/01/14 - whiplash - wow! this one is super-intense. a fairly simple story about a young jazz drumming student at a music conservatory in new york who is picked out by a mentor/teacher who makes his life hell. fabulous jazz soundtrack and great performances by the 2 lead actors - this film won two awards in the festival and pretty much every screening we did was a sell-out and nearly everyone loved it. a must see if it comes out in uk.
26/01/14 - alive inside - this film is a joy! a documentary about elderly people with alzheimer's or other debilitating diseases who find release in the music they loved when they were younger. this film will make you laugh and cry simultaneously. it won an audience award and it bloody well deserved it. you will never regret seeing this film.
over and out for now… will be back in touch when i get to nyc...
so i managed to shoehorn myself out of my cosy hotel bed in the middle of the night to catch the train from salt lake city to denver at 3.30am. i got on and pretty much went to sleep again straight away, but i woke around 7.30am to a beautiful golden pink sunrise in a long strip of cloud that stretched along the sky in the same direction as the train. so glad that i managed to see that!
utah is real cowboy country - lots of red rocks in amazing formations reminded me of a hundred different western films - the only place that i've been that is similar is the grand canyon. the train stops at a little town called 'grand junction' which has just the loveliest little old-fashioned station building - complete with gorgeous victorian-style lettering - sadly falling into disrepair - i think they should renovate it and use it for films!
the train travels through colorado and it is spectacularly beautiful, the colorado river runs alongside the train to my left. we've just passed an area where the hot springs run out into the river making it steam, but then moments further on there are big chunks of ice in the river. the mountains are patched with snow and a few trees and the sky is crystal blue with no clouds. the air is clean and clear and dry without a breath of wind - it really is breathtaking. there are many places where the river is completely iced over - there are little animal/bird footprints crossing this way and that - although i don't think i would step out onto that ice! i've seen farmed cows and alpacas, wild deer and 3 eagles soaring over the mountains when we came through the gore canyon. i'd love to see a bear - but they're probably hibernating right now…
suddenly the train is right on the edge of the rocky mountains and the flat plains of central usa are spread out before us - it's an incredible sight, the sky is a rainbow of sunset colours and denver is where we are headed. it's so strange how the mountains just stop and the plains begin… beautiful, just beautiful… the train has been pretty slow - 15 hours, but i haven't minded at all. it has been so great to have nothing to do for a few hours!
which leads me back to the last 10 days of sundance… i was unable to post up on the blog because i just didn't have time i'm afraid - it was all a bit of a whirlwind and it felt very strange to leave the mountain tops and come back down into the real world again! i can't remember what i wrote in the last blog post - but i think it was a bit of a rushed explanation of the first couple of days in park city. i can't get on the internet right now as there is no wifi on amtrak (they really need to sort that out!) so, i'm writing this and will post it up when i get to denver. i arrive around 6.40pm and think i will just go straight to my hotel and go to sleep! i fly out to new york tomorrow morning - i'm excited to be going back (and with much more sensible, warm clothes this time!!!)
actually, i'm now on the plane from denver to nyc - and i couldn't get the internet to work in my hotel last night either… grrrr! will finally post up this extremely long post when i get to nyc…
so, let's talk about films for a bit… i managed to see 15 in all - most in my limited spare time and a few while i was on shift - we could only do this if there were spare seats available after all the paying customers are in - eccles is a big theatre (1,267 seats) and for most of our screenings we were full. i have updated my imdb list with all the films i saw and i've rated them out of 10 - so have a look at that if you're a film fan!
to be honest, the first couple of days i really didn't see anything that really blew me away and i did start to think that i wasn't going to see anything brilliant… however, the last couple of days really made up for it as i saw quite a few that were really very good.
i'm gonna go through them briefly:
14/01/14 - the overnighters - a documentary about a pastor in north dakota who helps guys who come looking for work in the fracking industry that has sprung up there. this was a strange one, as there was a twist towards the end which kind of made me question all the stuff that had come before - it was ok.
16/01/14 - dinosaur 13 - we slipped into this one while on shift, so we missed the beginning and the director q+a afterwards. despite that, this was a fascinating documentary about a team who find a fairly complete t-rex skeleton and set about removing it from the hill where they found it so they can study it and show it in their town. however the government gets involved over the rights of the land and it all gets very messy and one of the team ends up in jail. interesting stuff!
17/01/14 - laggies - i really liked this quirky, sweet rom-com starring keira knightley, sam rockwell and chloe moretz - i reckon this one will get a release at home. it's a different kind of role for keira and she's really good in it. the director, the three lead cast members and various crew were there to do a q+a after the screening. after that, matt (one of my room-mates) and i went down the back corridor pretending to be on duty and it just happened to coincide with sam rockwell and crew coming out of the back door. my heart was about to jump out of my chest - i'm a bit in love with him and he is super-cool! we made eye contact but i was too embarrassed to smile or anything to we hung around for a bit until they left - probably to go some cool party! i think i went home and went to bed… not very rock'n'roll!
19/01/14 - young ones - this was on my list of films to see and i loved it… it's set in a dystopian future where water is heavily controlled but petrol and alcohol are not. it's not really that futuristic - it's set out in a dry country area and is the story of a family who are trying to get some water to irrigate their land so they can grow crops. it's divided into three sections - following the father, the daughter's boyfriend and the son. it's different in both the story and the way it's shot. i'd like to see this one again really - it's got a great story...
19/01/14 calvary - this is the second film by the director of 'the guard' - it's funny but pretty dark - i liked it. it stars the wonderful and hugely under-rated brendan gleeson, who unfortunately wasn't there for the q+a but chris o'dowd, who also stars, was. it's the story of an irish priest who is threatened by one of his parishioners. after the screening i was going down to the volunteers room which is also where the talent comes out through the side door to the theatre - i used the loo down there and it just happened to be when kelly reilly (who also stars) was using it - so we chatted for a bit while we washed our hands!
21/01/14 - hellion - an american coming of age tale with a wonderfully intense performance by a young actor called josh wiggins. it also stars aaron paul from breaking bad… although he's unrecognisable from his character in that, and juliette lewis who i haven't seen in a film for a long time. really liked this one - sad but powerful.
21/01/14 - the raid 2 - we got to go this film as we'd been outside all afternoon and into the evening and we were freezing cold! i probably wouldn't have chosen this film especially since i haven't seen the first one. it was seriously violent, eye-gouging, bone-cracking, gory fun! pretty full-on with lots of crazy stunts and about a million different ways to kill or maim. gorgeous young cast who were all there at the screening - probably the sharpest dressed people i saw throughout the whole festival - no snow-boots or thermals for them! as we were walking back down the corridor to get our stuff from the volunteer room the whole cast were coming the other way - i couldn't help but smile at them all - they all looked so sweet and innocent despite having just seen them rip arms and legs off in the movie! walking behind the main group alone was the star and i just gave him a big grin, and he grinned right back at me - it made my night!
22/01/14 - love child - i probably wouldn't have picked this film either but it was showing at the lovely, old-fashioned egyptian theatre on main street and i hadn't managed to get tickets for another film i wanted to see at the MARC theatre, so i went downtown to see it. such a shame really as the subject matter was so interesting, a documentary about a young korean couple who were so addicted to online gaming they neglected their own child who ended up dying of malnutrition, but the editing of the film just didn't really work for me - it should have been tighter and less repetitive.
23/01/14 - fishing without nets - ok, i have to admit that by this time in the festival i was seriously tired and feeling pretty burnt-out. i really wanted to see this film, but when the lights went down my eyelids started to droop and i ended up having many micro-sleeps through the first half until i found some sweets in my bag which managed to keep me awake through the second half. an interesting story about a naive young somali father who becomes a pirate to raise money for his family. i don't feel able to comment further on this one as i wasn't able to give it my full attention… my fault not the film's!
24/01/14 - jamie marks is dead - another one we got to watch while on-shift. a bit spooky for my liking - i did spend some time hiding behind my coat! an odd film about an unpopular kid who is found dead but he appears to two of his school mates who form a bond with him… ok, i'm finding it really difficult to describe this one… it was a bit slow and not spooky enough to be horror and i'm not sure quite who it would appeal to - not sure whether this one will get a release at home.
24/01/14 - rudderless - ok, now we're talking! this was great! fab performances, mainly from billy crudup and adam yeltchin. i don't want to give out too much of the story as it would be a spoiler alert! needless to say, this is a story about a family crisis that has long term affects on the father and just when he starts to get his life back together, things take an unexpected turn. directed by william h macy, who received a standing ovation on the premier screening that i attended, it's funny and very sad but best of all it tells the story from a different perspective - which is always a good thing in film and doesn't happen often enough!
25/01/14 - god's pocket - the one philip seymour hoffman film i got to see out of the two he had in the festival. this is based on book about a small area of urban philadelphia in the 1970's. it's difficult to describe but is another film about a crisis within a family which has far-reaching consequences. philip seymour hoffman again shows that he is one of the best actors of his generation and it was nice to see eddie marsan in there too - always good to see a british actor holding their own with the americans!
25/01/14 - the one i love - what can i say… this one has mark duplass in it and since he is part of the reason why i was at sundance to begin with (see 'safety not guaranteed'). he just doesn't ever pick a bad movie to be in… he deserves to be way more famous than he is now - he's just brilliant! a great little story about a couple haivng problems with their relationship who go away to a beautiful deserted retreat where things get pretty weird. it's clever and funny and strange - a great combination!
25/01/14 - whiplash - wow! this one is super-intense. a fairly simple story about a young jazz drumming student at a music conservatory in new york who is picked out by a mentor/teacher who makes his life hell. fabulous jazz soundtrack and great performances by the 2 lead actors - this film won two awards in the festival and pretty much every screening we did was a sell-out and nearly everyone loved it. a must see if it comes out in uk.
26/01/14 - alive inside - this film is a joy! a documentary about elderly people with alzheimer's or other debilitating diseases who find release in the music they loved when they were younger. this film will make you laugh and cry simultaneously. it won an audience award and it bloody well deserved it. you will never regret seeing this film.
over and out for now… will be back in touch when i get to nyc...
Monday, 20 January 2014
too busy to post!!!
hey all
i literally have about 10 minutes while my phone charges before i'm heading out to get down to main street to see what's going on and get some of the tons of free stuff that all my roomates seem to be getting down there!
this is the first morning i've had free, having spent the last 3 days doing the morning shift - from 7.30am - 4.30pm - so freakin tired i can't even explain!
have managed to see 5 films so far, 'the overnighters', 'dinosaur 13', 'laggies', 'young ones' and 'calvary' - my favourite so far is probably 'young ones'.
there are A LOT of famous people here!!! i chatted to kelly reilly in the ladies room yesterday - she was in 'calvary' and was really nice! robert redford walked right past me yesterday. i think i might have actually talked to mark ruffalo the other day... but didn't recognise him - now i'm not sure if it was him - i just know he was there for a special event...
stars in our theatre have been kristen stewart, philip seymour hoffman, elle fanning, nicholas hoult, rachel macadam and apparently bradley cooper turned up yesterday - not in a movie just a regular punter - but i was told he was incognito - hat, shades, etc. needless to say i didn't see any of these people - apart from elle fanning's back... i am out front of the theatre and most of the stars come in and go out of the back door...
having an amazing time - but tired and just don't feel very on-it!
laters
vx
i literally have about 10 minutes while my phone charges before i'm heading out to get down to main street to see what's going on and get some of the tons of free stuff that all my roomates seem to be getting down there!
this is the first morning i've had free, having spent the last 3 days doing the morning shift - from 7.30am - 4.30pm - so freakin tired i can't even explain!
have managed to see 5 films so far, 'the overnighters', 'dinosaur 13', 'laggies', 'young ones' and 'calvary' - my favourite so far is probably 'young ones'.
there are A LOT of famous people here!!! i chatted to kelly reilly in the ladies room yesterday - she was in 'calvary' and was really nice! robert redford walked right past me yesterday. i think i might have actually talked to mark ruffalo the other day... but didn't recognise him - now i'm not sure if it was him - i just know he was there for a special event...
stars in our theatre have been kristen stewart, philip seymour hoffman, elle fanning, nicholas hoult, rachel macadam and apparently bradley cooper turned up yesterday - not in a movie just a regular punter - but i was told he was incognito - hat, shades, etc. needless to say i didn't see any of these people - apart from elle fanning's back... i am out front of the theatre and most of the stars come in and go out of the back door...
having an amazing time - but tired and just don't feel very on-it!
laters
vx
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