It Must Be Love

My hair is blonde.  I came out of the womb that way.  But since birth, or some fifteen years thereafter, I would occasionally have to take the necessary steps to maintain my goldie-locks.  The process is expensive and time consuming, which is why I only do it a couple times a year.  

It was a chilly morning in the fall, some six or seven years ago, and I had arrived to work with freshly highlighted hues of gold throughout my long, blonde hair.  I was happy to be at work that day, despite spilling an energy drink all over myself in the car on the way there.  It will be okay, I will change my clothes when I get to work.  Shortly after I arrived, I was called into the office.  "There's a problem with her hair, she was supposed to be a brunette, but I think we can fix it."  

Fix it?? But I just had it fixed yesterday?? Then came out the spray paint.  Though it wasn't spray paint exactly, it did have that sort of effect.  I sat in my chair, and watched in horror as clouds of brown dye engulfed my head.  "Good enough."  I was worried to say the least.  But time is money and I had work to do.  I stepped onto the set, and the rest of the day was a blur.  

A week later, I called the agency to report that the brown dye still hadn't come out of my hair.  They felt terrible for the mix up and offered a handful of solutions. Whatever. No biggie... It wasn't a glamorous day in Hollywood, but it was a small step in the direction I wanted to go. 

A few weeks later, I had stumbled upon a different opportunity to play nameless nurse on the show Scrubs.  Each day I would show up and go straight to wardrobe.  I would decide between plain scrubs or ones with crazy patterns on them.  Oh, and lets not forget my stethoscope.  

Then I would go find my spot on a couch with the other extras and we would silently wait.  Five hours and five cream sodas later, it was time.  Time to walk down the hallway for 15 seconds.  Time to mime a conversation in the cafeteria.  Time to shine... if only in the background.  

Yesterday, as I held my place in the standby line to a sold-out screening of Austenland, I thought back to those 12 hour days on set.  I recalled how happy I was, just to be there.  And although, I never did utter a single word aloud on any of those shows back then,  the feeling I had experienced of sitting there waiting, was similar to that of falling in love with a boy who hasn't really noticed you yet... I was anxious and hopeful. 

I somehow managed to score three tickets to Austenland, so it was time to move to yet another long line.  The ticket holder line, that stretched for three blocks.  I walked to the very end and waited.  All the while, wearing a dopey grin on my face like I had a serious schoolyard crush.  Some people paced, sighed, fanned themselves and frequently glanced at their watches.  But all I could feel, were butterflies. 

This is how you know you're madly in love.  When all of the things that turn others away, are the very same things that bring happy tears to my eyes: the smell of popcorn from morning until midnight, the crowded theaters and standby lines to sold-out shows, wearing the same film festival t-shirt for three days in a row...

I've had a crush for a very long time, but after seeing three films yesterday that truly enriched my life, bonding with strangers over which films to see, erupting in applause as the credits roll and eating an oversized tub of popcorn, I can honestly say that I think it's starting to get really serious.  I'm ready to take the next step.  It must be love.  

Today: 

Mojito

1 oz light rum

muddle two lime wedges, 

three to four fresh mint leaves and

a splash of simple syrup

Add rum and shake. 

Splash of soda 

TCFF Q&A with Austenland DirectorJJ Fields 

and TCFF founder Michael Moore

One of the best films I have ever seen.