All Amanda Can Jet

And as of today, we are officially in pre-production for my first short film. The Line Producer, Producer and I all met today and they were incredibly professional and fantastic.  As a first time screenwriter and director it just made me all the more nervous but I played it cool like I was Nicki Minaj, “…no I’m not lucky, I’m blessed.”  We’re visiting a possible location this weekend and set a shoot date and went through crew choices and it was just strange to be working on a different level of film.

I have to sell my MBox 2 on Craigslist to pay for car repairs. I created four seasons of my college/post-college radio show with that MBox 2, interviewed Rian Johnson on it (an audio interview I still need to post here even though it’s 3 years old at this point), there’s a lot of good memories of me lugging that box through different security lines at various airports, messing ‘round in ProTools ‘til wee hours of the night.

I tell myself when I have the money again I’ll buy another one, but it makes me sad. In the end, it’s still just stuff.

Not burying the lede: Richard Ayoade is directing this week’s episode of Community, entitled Critical Film Studies.

Do you remember when The IT Crowd was going to be made in America? Joel McHale (taking over for Chris O’Dowd) and Richard Ayoade (reprising his role as Maurice Moss) were set to star.  They did a pilot in 2008, took some publicity photos and then the entire thing sank.  Ayoade went back to working on music videos and his debut directorial feature film Submarine (which opens this week in the UK) McHale went back to hosting and a show called Community came along right after.

Well, Ayoade is directing this week’s episode of Community and everyone should watch it because Community does theme episodes better than anyone else on TV right now, and Ayoade is absolutely the person to direct this one.  According to Dan Harmon, Ayoade isn’t actually in it due to some international red tape, but here’s hoping for a cameo.

“CUL DE SAC explores the chilling true-life story of Shawn Nelson, a 35 year-old plumber from Clairemont, California, who emerged from an eighteen foot mine shaft he had dug beneath his backyard in search for gold, stole a tank from a nearby National Guard armory; and went on a rampage through the streets of his neighborhood, crushing cars and lampposts until the cops took him down.”

Yes? Yes.

Over the summer I was grocery shopping, going up and down every aisle like I love to do.  I grabbed two bottles of champagne, tucking them under one arm, and made my way over to the contact solution.  Wasn’t wearing any make up, had on a dress from Anthropologie that had seen better days.  Really just there for my contact solution and my alcohol. 

I’m looking over the various bottles when a tall and good-looking guy who works at the store walks by, and then walks by again before asking timidly if I had a sister named Maria.  I have four sisters, but that isn’t any of their names.  Still, weirdly, I stopped and considered it, before saying no and going back to the liquids. He was speaking kind of quietly, so I turned back to him as he apologised for bothering me, I smiled and said it was fine.  Then he nervously said I was very beautiful and apologised for being so forward, which sent me straight into blushing and staring at the floor. I said it was fine, and he said “Are you married?” and I said no, then he asked if I had a boyfriend and I said no and turned back to the contact solution again.  I kind of wanted to make my selection right that moment. I’m selfish sometimes and don’t like being interrupted when I’m mid-thought which I think lead to what happened next. 

I said, “You are so sweet but I am only here for the Summer. Because I usually live in… Paris. France.  With my ailing Aunt.”  I have no idea why I did this, and as soon as I said it I regretted it deeply.  He was immediately appreciative of my fake life (as I would be too, IF IT WAS IN ANY WAY REAL) and said “Paris! That’s so neat, what are you doing here?”  I made up more lies about my parents living stateside, and me just there for a visit, and cringed inwardly. He introduced himself, I said my real name (because enough lies, already.)  He left, and I picked out the Bio-True eye solution, which to this day remains a daily reminder of my inability to have a normal human interaction. Soak your contacts in that lie juice, you crazy.

I panicked, is what it came down to, but for no reason at all. This isn’t the first time I’ve been asked out randomly, I would have gone out with him, too.  This guy worked up the courage to ask me out, probably against the rules of the grocery store for employees, did it impeccably, was very cute and I acted like someone who had only recently been let out of her room under the staircase.

Now and then, when girls complain that boys are impossible to understand, that they never ask girls out, I think of this incident and stare into space.