Ithaca: Photoplay #3

Before I left for Austin last month, I travelled to Ithaca and took some pictures. This is what The Fall Creek Gorge looked like at the beginning of March:

And here's what it looked like last Thursday:

Here are some more pictures I took last Thursday:

This is a bridge crossing over Cascadilla Creek, between North Aurora and North Cayuga Streets.

Who's this?

A mural at Fall Creek Elementary School of what I believe is the Solar System. How pretty.

Another view of the Fall Creek Gorge, looking down the Creek.

Water running off the shale of the Gorge.

Finally, the Fall Creek Gorge from a wider angle.

I'm going to my sister's concert tonight, and I'm going to working on cutting the other interviews this week.

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!

Full Speed Ahead

Next weekend (April 3rd & 4th), I will be going to Binghamton to tape new interviews for the DVD. Right now, I am in the process of making the final arrangements for the interviews. I have two set in place for April 4th, but I keep getting the runaround from the mayor's office.

Not that it should even be on my mind right now, but I've been giving some thought to my book, too. I realize why it's been difficult for me to write the book, even if I continue to hold interest in it. If I'm going to write a book--any kind of book--I want to write the book in a way that's appealing to a reader with general interest in the subject. I want the reader to get the feeling that they couldn't help but pull it off the shelf when they saw it. Should I ever find the time and resources to write this book, the challenge in creating and writing this book will be in organizing and presenting the material and subject matter in a way people want to read.

Due to resources (or lack thereof), however, I may try it as a blog first. Today I ordered WordPress For Dummies along with a book written by my new documentary subject, and a book called From IX To V from Amazon.com. I will read the first book, then decide if it's worth my time.

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.

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.