Open Bar Situations

A post or so ago I mentioned the joys of volunteering.  Well, the message may not have been as joyous then but now that the LA Femme Film Festival has came and conquered, I can look back with with a smile.  My networking was a little weak, partially because I'm incredibly awkward, partially because I was busy setting up.  However, I did encounter a few peeps that may or may not lead to future meet-ups. 

I also found myself caught in an open bar situation.  

For a post-college girl looking for work, the open bar is a very, very dangerous place.  Luckily I was able to maintain a fairly composed performance.  Aside from hanging out by the DJ's, over indulging at the cheese platter, and having to call my roommate for a ride home, the film festival was heavy in fun and conversation.  

There was even a little celeb spotting of Sara Gilbert from "Rosanne", Diablo Cody, the writer of "Juno", and realizing after the fact that I took a picture of her and a friend that it was Angela Bassett (Stella never lost her groove - she looked great!).  Otherwise, it was a low budget film festival in West Hollywood, people watching was at an all time high.  

Of course catching the bus very early in the morning so I could get my car off the street before the City of LA did it for me was a painful aftermath.

For my first film festival, I'd say, keep 'em coming!  

Columbus Day PreGame

In honor of Columbus Day I hope to achieve excellent levels of productivity, particularly directed at propelling my career. Of course the best way I to distract myself from doing so is by fueling my energy into a blog post.

I do have some weekend story telling to distribute, so it's not a total waste of time. This past weekend I tried my hand at the northern lands of California in Napa Valley. Though I foresee myself with a wine hangover for the next month, the trip was vastly successful.

The decision came as a last minute thought after hearing a good friend from the wintry fields of Upstate New York would be shipping overseas to Iraq on the 22nd. With no other 315'ers on the West Coast and a shared amount of time off (for very different reasons obviously) we ventured to a half-way meet-up point which just happen to work out to be America's wine country.

As an Ithaca grad I've delighted myself on my fair share of Finger Lakes "grape juice", but I jumped at the opportunity to flee the urban jungle of LA and see what the rest of this state has to offer.

Predictably, Napa is one expensive neighborhood. For travel and expense reasons we only dabbled in three wineries. Considering ourselves anything but wine experts, little difference was noticed and even less knowledge was gained from the trip.

 Luckily I did discover, with the help of an intriguing commercial and advisement of the hotel clerk, a dinner joint fully in tune with what I love. BBQ, classy girl right?

Gracie's BBQ in Vallejo had all the great aspects of a quality BBQ joint.  Though I would have enjoyed some less expensive options, the rib/link combo plater I order came out within ten minutes.  Can't beat that kind of timing.  We we're on a beer schedule so I didn't want to mix but they did offer some traditional "swamp juice" or flavored sweet tea in mason jars.

As for sides, I had some quality slaw and perfect cornbread.  My friend enjoyed the bread, mac salad, and we both skipped over the unfortunately bland red beans and rice. I noticed some homemade pies that I was temped to order but price and fullness put me at a standstill.   

I know the links don't really look pretty in the picture but trust, very delicious.  To give the menu a look see or if you're ever in the area: Gracie's BBQ

Happy Columbus Day.

Back to NY with Lady Gaga

I love how strange Lady Gaga is. I also love NYC and miss my summer as a Lower East Sider very much. Now I present you with a video that made me both very happy and a little sad.



Rivington = excellence.

"Volunteering Doesn't Pay"

Some of you may be familiar with the harsh realities of volunteering.  Whether one is trying to cure cancer, overthrow Mid-East dictatorships, rebuild devastated areas, or help put on a film festival.

A film festival for women that is....

Alright the times are getting a little tough in LA so to keep myself busy I've taken on some volunteer hours for the La Femme Film Festival taking place in two weeks out here in Los Angeles.  The set-up is pretty grassroots, 5-6 people in the directors cramped apartment calling car services and hotels for group discounts.
I'm not exactly a film junkie so my passion isn't completely with the project but I'm always up for a new experience and some fresh contacts.  Plus, as a volunteer I can pretty much dedicate how ever much time I want so I still have time to send out 15-20 resumes a day and run errands.


Speaking of resumes, I have to take this time of blogging out to give a big thanks to the Star family for their help and support in my job search!  Starzynski's - the best Buffalo has to offer.  Chicken wings are an unbelievably close second.

 "those girls"