Odds and Ends: 5/26/09

For the longest time, I prided myself on not watching Jon and Kate Equals Trainwreck. But since I've now invested myself emotionally in their problems, I had to watch the season premiere of their show last night. What I already know of the show I've seen on The Soup, but basically Kate spent the episode whining about the tabloids and about Jon being away. A highlight for me was Kate talking about having to go to Party City "By. Myself." Quelle horreur, Kate! I feel more for the kids than for anyone. Having free things thrown at you is not a way to grow up.

Right now, I'm working on the Lesley Stahl panel, as well as making more edits to the movie. After the Lesley Stahl panel, I'm going to put off transcribing more panels until the movie is done...which is not that far off. I doubt anyone who reads The Film Panel Notetaker is too anxious about the follow-up on High Falls.

Finally, I'm re-designing the blog to suit my summer endeavors. Can't say when the new design will be up yet, but it's based on an old design I started on earlier this year.

My Kris Swanberg Interview

I've done a new interview at The Film Panel Notetaker with Kris Swanberg, whose movie, It was great, but I was ready to come home, debuted at this year's SXSW film festival. To read the interview, all you have to do is click on Kris!

Enjoy your Good Friday!

What Now?

I still have two more panels to do for The Film Panel Notetaker. I'm going to work on picking my memory for the Haynes/Linklater panel, but other than that, transcribing panels is taking a backseat this week. I'll be leaving for Binghamton Friday morning, and will be doing new interviews as well as their monthly "art walk". I am also working on a new interview for TFPN as well.

Lately I've been giving a lot of thought about relocating to New York to look for work. Right now, my main concern is working on the DVD. If I can score some type of temp work, that would be great, too. But I'd like to go somewhere else for awhile, and I'm not really keen on returning to Ithaca, especially not after SXSW. Also, it would be really nice to take another UCB class. If there's a time to make that sort of change, it's now, while I still have the safety net of unemployment.

It was great, but I'm happy to be home.

We left our hotel room in Tennessee just before daybreak yesterday morning, and drove for an hour before stopping at a Shoney's in Bristol, Virginia, where we ate their breakfast buffet. Afterward, we continued driving north, making many stops along the way for bathroom breaks and snacks. I filled that time shooting video, as well as devouring Filmmaker magazine, which we got in the SXSW Goody Bags for free. It was weird reading an interview with Barry Jenkins just days after speaking with him extensively. For dinner, we stopped at The Country Cupboard for dinner. I had some type of hot roast beef sandwich with onions and melted cheese. The Country Cupboard also has an adjoined store that sells candy, baked goods, and many other things. I bought a smidge of Peanut Butter Oreo fudge and ate it on the way home.

The last piece of video I shot was the sign that read "Welcome to New York". It was very dark, and my battery power was very low. I got back home around 10 O'Clock or so, took a shower, and went back to sleep.

Now that this is all done and over with, I'm more eager than ever to work on the DVD. The sooner I get this done, the sooner I can work on everything else. A big priority for me this week is to finalize getting the interviews scheduled. There is one thing that is of concern to me, however.

From the time I first saw Mutual Appreciation, I have wanted to make a narrative feature film. For awhile now, I've kind of set the idea aside because I've been preoccupied with putting together another documentary, and also, I couldn't find anything worth pursuing. Yesterday, somewhere in Virginia, I came up with a perfect idea--or at least one that for me would be worth my time. I don't want to abandon the documentary, but I feel like this idea comes from a much deeper place than anything I've pursued to date. If I'm able to get this one off the ground, it would the type of movie I've wanted to make since I was in college. An idea I had well before Andrew Bujalski and others were on my radar.

Right now, though, I have to go get my father's truck, help him e-mail pictures, and work on a panel for The Film Panel Notetaker.

Parallel Life

There's nothing like having your hands tied. On one hand, I have visions of a more exciting life ahead of me. Yesterday, I published the Ry Russo-Young interview, and next week, I'll be off to Austin for SXSW. Also, I have the Are You From Bingo? DVD project, and the other project I'm working on right now.

Today I was reading a memoir of the person I'm hoping to do a documentary on, where she talks about her experiences with her travels, and her relationships--romantic and friendly. I also peered through a travel guide on Costa Rica in preparation for another interview I'm hoping to do for The Film Panel Notetaker. When I was young, I wanted to travel the world, going this place and that place. Unfortunately, money and circumstance eventually tempered those ambitions, but now I'm entertaining those fantasies again. Costa Rica would be fun, but I'd love to visit Greece, Italy, the South of France, and Bali, among other places.

At the same time, I must contend with my current reality. I continue to look for work the way I always have--sending out resumes, going for interviews. It's never been particularly fun (unless I've gotten a job), but job hunting anywhere is becoming more and more out of place. With that being said, I'll be taking a test tomorrow with the possibility of working on the 2010 census. The job will start in April and last 6-8 weeks. If I get the job, I figured by the time it starts, I'll be ready for another job. It's only temporary, and it doesn't seem too dull, so why not?

My Ry Russo-Young Interview

My interview with Ry Russo-Young is now online at The Film Panel Notetaker. Click on the picture of Ry below, and it will take you directly to the interview.

I plan on starting to lay out the zine soon, but I don't know if I'll have a chance to start before I leave for Austin. I have an incredibly busy week ahead of me as I also begin to coordinate to shoot the new interviews for Are You From Bingo? DVD.

Catching Up

I've been incredibly busy the last few days. Thursday and Friday were in the 50s, and I took advantage of that by doing a lot of walking. Thursday, I put some finishing touches on Are You From Bingo?, and yesterday I taped an introduction that will go on the on-demand and the video download of the movie.

This morning and in the early afternoon, I readied the Ry Russo-Young interview for The Film Panel Notetaker, and I plan on posting it Monday morning.

Last night, I watched a press screener of Modern Love is Automatic, which is premiering at SXSW this year. (I'll write more about it soon.) This afternoon, I saw The Wrestler, which was very good, but the wrestling scenes were pretty gruesome. Good to see Mickey Rourke back in the game, though. Tonight, I'm going to watch Luis Bunuel's Simon of the Desert, which looks really good.

When I found out that they were cutting all temps at Emerson, I was a little disappointed. Two months later, I realize that it may have been for the best. I've gotten a lot of stuff done that may have been very difficult to do otherwise, like Bingo, and the other projects I'm starting on now. The time off has given me a real chance to clear my head, and I'm in a much better place now.

Erin's Stimulus Package

The verdict is in. I will be able to collect unemployment. The judge based my decision on me having admitted to making an honest mistake--that when I first applied for unemployment, I put down "discharged" rather than "fired". For most of the weekend, I had flashbacks to the worst parts of my work experience. I didn't really want to know the verdict, since I thought it would be "no" based on my incompetence. I will be conservative with the money and will continue to look for work, but this is a great relief.

Yesterday, I finally got a call from the person I wanted to do a documentary on. She raised a lot of valid concerns, such as what kind of audience this potential movie might have, and clearances I'll have to make in regards to taking a camera into prison. (I'll elaborate eventually.) But she seems to be interested. We told each other that we would stay in touch. Today I went to the library in Ithaca and picked up her memoir. This person isn't a big celebrity, but I'm not ready to disclose who it is, either.

I also interviewed Ry Russo-Young for The Film Panel Notetaker and the zine. My method I used to record the conversation involved holding my shotgun mic to my speakerphone, so some of the audibility is questionable. But I should be able to transcribe most of it.

Jesus Died For Somebody's Sins, But Not Mine

They did show up today, and I was outmatched. They had legal counsel. All I had was a packet on how to represent myself. My main argument was that they gave me no written warning prior to my termination.

The Bad:

According to Wegmans' employment policy, if I don't deliver good customer service, they reserve the right to terminate my contract at any time. I don't recall reading anything of the sort. I imagine I did, but it was probably a long time ago when I read it.

The complaint the prompted my termination involved me throwing a package of cookies. Apparently, they had asked me to bag the cookies seperately, and I didn't want to, so I threw them.

BULLSHIT. The customers in question behaved in a very patronizing manner toward me, I'll admit I behaved inappropriately. I was hesitant about packaging the cookies in a seperate bag because I felt they did not need a seperate bag. But I threw it at them? Puh-leeze.

When counsel made their closing argument, they said that I represented myself poorly, and that if I was in a bad mood that day, I shouldn't have showed up. I was tired, but I didn't show up in a bad mood.

The Good:

The original reply by Wegmans stated that I had recieved three warnings dating back to July 7, 2007. In fact, two of the "warnings" stated on their claim were, in fact, "conversation notes". I mentioned that I had recieved a warning on November 10, 2006, and that I had recieved no other warnings in writing prior to my termination. The judge asked my ex-supervisor if "conversation notes" were the same as a warning. The supervisor said "no".

When I initially filed for unemployment, I put "discharged/let go" rather than "fired". Oops! At least I was allowed to admit to making a mistake, and I did.

The judge asked my former supervisor if the company had a department where I could file a grievance and an appeal. My ex-supervisor was reluctant to admit it, but he said "no".

I will not know for sure the verdict for at least a couple of weeks. As I mentioned, though, that they had legal counsel, and I felt that they were at an unfair advantage. I did my best to represent myself, but I was very nervous. With the money they spent on legal counsel, they might as well just given me unemployment.

Obviously, I'm hoping for the best, but if they rule against me, I'm not going to file for an appeal. All I know is that I made a point to be honest, and had a chance to tell the judge that I didn't lie (which was one of the accusations). If I don't win this, I can always be comforted with the old rule of karma: What goes around, comes around.

This weekend, I'm going to start preparing for an interview I'm conducting next week for The Film Panel Notetaker and my zine. Also, I have the Patti Smith documentary Dream of Life coming this weekend, so I'm looking forward to watching that as well. And of course, tomorrow night, the final show of Late Night With Conan O' Brien. I'll post more about that in the morning.