She wants to be a fairy, yeah, she wants to fly

she loves the way the golden leaves, twinkle over the light blue sky

and the way sunlight sprinkles through the trees

to drop into her grinning eyes.

She only smiles at strangers when she walks the streets each morning

and she holds herself calmly upright

with child’s eyes wandering – curious and bright.

She can stop to smell the roses now,

she doesn’t worry about many things

like the style of her hair or the clothes that she’ll wear

Those old obsessions take second chair

to the dreams she caters

and the faith that she has.

Sometimes everything’s beautiful

and she doesn’t worry when she doesn’t know why

she knows how to fall, so she’s not afraid to fly

It’s not the coffee that keeps her perky

or the rain that makes her murky

she is who she is; who she wants to be

every minute, or every day, in every single little way.

With a heart so big it could swallow the world

she’s in love with love

she makes happiness happen

Treasuring so much her childhood’s past

that at twilight you’ll see her cart-wheeling fast

and at dusk she’ll be writing ‘til light.

she knows who she is and she knows that’s alright

Shades of yellow and fuchsia adorn her pleasant grace

there are flowers and jewels all over the place

where she walks petals droop

and a penny drops, she’s likely to scoop.

She’ll tell you the honest, whole-hearted truth

then examine your face like a kind-hearted sleuth.

‘cause she knows who she is and she’s know that’s alright

Carrying the world of many upon her shoulders

she truly believes she can change it all

for something started first, surely isn’t small

She’ll try all she can, with every ounce of strength

work all night

work all day

Try as she will and try as she may

Climbing until all is right

And she’s still not falling, ‘cause, she’s still mid-flight

My Work Space in the unfinished basement that is our own little studio apartment

This has been a staple of my room for many years now and though it's not full yet, I am happy to have some pictures in my new world.

My desk in all it's glory. The chair is about the same height at the desk. Maybe I'll get a job and buy a chair.

Poor little Cricut machine has to sit on the floor....

So come visit our new location, ya know, online, where everything is still the stay

Ryan and I only had one option to see the movie, Monday at 9am. Since we didn’t have tickets, we had to waitlist it. Here’s how to waitlist at Sundance:

1) Arrive to the theater about 2 hours before the movie. Movie starts at 9am, arrive at 7am.

2) Stand in line to get a ticket with a number on it, which shows your place in the waiting list.

3) Return to the theater no less than 30 minutes before show time and get in line according to your number. Show time is 9am, you arrive at 8:31, and you don’t get in.

4) Once you’re in line you toggle between hope and failure while watching them let in small groups of people at a time. Will they get to you? Will you get in? Will this all be a waste?

That’s where we stood, in step 4, holding numbers 93 and 94. The average number of admittance was 61. Ryan keenly noted that they’d have to let in almost 50% more people for us to see the show.

At 8:45 am, the line began to roll. Not stop, roll. We were practically walking toward to the two ladies taking money & tickets. They announced, “Have your tickets in your right hand and your money in your left hand.” Soon, we were only 10 away from the front. The line stopped. Walkie talkies squawked, “We can take 15 more.” The line began to roll again. Within two feet of the ladies, I forgot which hand was which in my excitement. She smiled and said, “You have it right.” With that, we were in. We practically ran into the theater where Ryan, once again, had to pee. Why? Why does he always have to use the restroom as soon as we get in? It leaves me in a crowded room of 1,724 people looking for two seats. Overwhelming.

Sundance Film Festival screen

Right after Ryan found me, the screen dimmed and the MC walked out on the stage. He introduced the movie and said, “this film was written, directed and stars, Josh Radnor.” Cue the applause. Cue the confusion when he did not walk out on to the stage. “Josh will be here after the show for the Q&A.”

Yay, Ted!

And then movie started. Even from the get go, it was hilarious and brand new. I think Josh Radnor cast himself as the lead because he didn’t think that any other actor would be as willing to make a fool out of himself, because the main character, Jesse, is pretty original. First there’s this 19-year-old, then an ex-professor…Now, how should I describe the movie without *spoiler alert.* I’ll be brief: It’s hilarious and you can tell he’s really grown as a cinematographer. As Josh put it, “I was expanding my visual vocabulary.” The way the camera moves and the scenes, even the silent ones, make the movie witty and comical. Also, he portrays three stages of life, the college years, the early adulthood and the late adulthood. All characters in these stages are feeling similar thoughts and act in similar ways. Witnessing the characters shape and change as time goes on, gives the audience hope for themselves because these stages and feelings are universal. Sadness, depression, feeling lost and alone…it happens to everyone and in this film, Josh helped everyone cope and in the most interesting, unique and funny ways.

I could tell you my favorite scene, but please just watch it.

So after the film, as promised, Josh Radnor took the stage my face lit up with happiness. He began taking questions immediately and the first girl said, “I want to say that I love you on How I Met Your Mother…” Josh interrupted her and said, “I’m sorry, to what’s this you’re referring?”

In case you were wondering, yes, Josh Radnor is a big ball of light

Not only is he just as funny in person as you’d imagine, he also has perfect grammar.

My other favorite question occurred when a gentleman said, “In this film you have a relationship with a younger woman and in HappyThankYouMorePlease, you mentor a young boy. Why is that?” Josh replied with, “I did not notice that. Thank you, extremely observant guy. Hmm…”

Now, I could go on and on and frankly, I’m surprised I remember as much as I do, but all these posts lately have been long, so I’m going to move on.

Case and point – Josh Radnor is hilarious. I wish he was my friend.

After the movie, feeling SUPER good about our lives and the weather and everything in between, because a great film will do that to you, Ryan and I met up with his parents for brunch. We ate at The Eating Establishment. I like it, it’s obvious. I ordered veggie benedict – Of course I would. After eating, Ryan looked out the window and said, “Is that John Goodman. We all looked. I said, “No, that guy’s too skinny.” Though, his facial features were almost identical. We decided to use a process Ryan’s aunt taught us earlier that week – when you think you see a famous person at Sundance, just type into Google the actor’s name + Sundance 2012. I did that with John Goodman and found out – He’d lost weight! That was him! Sweet, we saw John Goodman.

Then Ryan and I napped for a while. Waking up at 6:30 am after a party will do that to you.

Later that evening, we ate dinner at Sabu. It is an Asian restaurant close to Flanagan’s Pub. We ordered two appetizers, Hot Rock Beef and Firecracker Shrimp. The beef came out raw on a board and served with a 500 degree rock on which to cook it. We had So. Much. Fun.

The meal itself was fantastic as well and I also really enjoyed my fruity cosmo and the purple haze drink we ordered. Purple Haze is chambor and sake. It’s served warm and made to be sipped.

We then we back to Flanagan’s for a few more drinks before calling it a night.

Pictures from Dinner:

Face

Beef Rock

Meal

*Oh, I forgot, we did see Eric Wareheim from Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show. Ryan was happy and I was confused. Welcome to Sundance.*

At High West, we each ordered some unique cocktails. I drank the High West Lemonade and Peachy Keen Tea, which was a warm version of a classic peach tea drink with vodka. Nothing makes me more pleased than some fun, fruity cocktails in the middle of the day.

The food was delicious also. The H.W.B.L.T had Ryan and I stumped for a while, but it just stood for High West B.L.T., so I stopped trying to make avocado start with an “H.” According to a local authority, High West has the best burgers in town. They came with bleu cheese though, so…umm….no.

A few short hours after lunch, we had to return home in preparation for the evening’s events. Scheduled to arrive at a house party around 8, we had to be ready and fed by 7. I’m still not sure how I ate so much after having all the food earlier, but I definitely made a dent in that southwestern chicken salad from Bandit’s.

Later, dressed in two pairs of tights and my jumper-style dress with two cardigans over it, we drove to this party. Ryan’s aunt warned us that it would probably be a bunch of pretentious old people sipping wine and being snotty. So we prepared ourselves for a night just hanging out with each other. Ryan’s uncle checked everyone in with the girl at the front door, as we took our coats to the closet. The coat-check girl took a glance at my large coat and her full closet and asked what I’d been guessing, “Can I fold it and put it on top?” Of course, I would let her do that. Save the hangers for the celebrities or people who are on the list or just anyone who has a job.

Next stop, the bar, which consisted of two card tables in the garage. The two bartender girls wore dresses that were so short, I kept expecting to get flashed or mooned every time I asked for a beer. They were super nice though. While the blonde one poured my first drink, she saw me eyeing the larger cups and immediately gave me an upgrade. So – party on.
With our coats stowed and our drinks fresh, we began to explore.  Time to check this thing out. Ryan and I walked over to his uncle standing in the den who told us two very important things: 1) There is a table of free Burt’s Bees products and 2) Eric Roberts is in the living room.

Sweet, chapstick!

So we commenced to wander and found Ryan’s dad standing near the stairs. As we sat there chatting, Mr. Roberts walked by. Now there’s some etiquette involved when you are a house party with famous people and that is: to pretend like they are not famous. So when he walked by, I knew Ryan didn’t recognize the actor from The Dark Knight, yet I couldn’t say anything.  Instead, I waited an appropriate amount of time before whispering, “That’s Eric Roberts.”  It took three times.

Turning around, we noticed Shawn Hook, our new favorite singer/songwriter from Canada. He was typing on his iPhone and we he saw us, looked up and asking, “How do you spell chateau?” I guess it’s safe to say, we can now skip all the prerequisites of typical conversation.  I also realize now that the party took place at the Koffeehouse Chateau, which is probably why he asked how to spell the French word for castle.

And as I’ve learned during Sundance, if Shawn is there, than Adam Gaynor from MB20 is also there. Ryan’s aunt confirmed, “That guy from Matchbox 20 is here again. Remember he only gives fist pumps. Some kind of weird germ thing.” Ryan’s aunt and uncle had been spending a lot of time with Adam at Flanagan’s and even though Shawn told me to tell him how much I admired his work in Matchbox Twenty, I had yet to work up the courage to say hello.  Maybe later…

So at this point the music started. Each of the 20 (or so) musicians could sing two songs. We found a great spot on the second floor by the stairs, where we could see the stage perfectly. It was at this point that I decided to facebook about my experience. I wrote: “At a house party during Sundance with Adam from Matchbox. Why is Eric Roberts here?” My friend and past manager at Starbucks saw this and commented: “My friend, Keaton is also at a party with Eric Roberts, you should go say hi.” Ok, I thought, I’ll go find this Keaton guy.

He was right next to me. After explaining who I was, how I knew who he was and why that mattered; we became friends. Soon it was Keaton’s turn to perform. And he was AMAZING. I haven’t heard music that good in such a long time. It was actually quite shocking since all the other musicians were labeled as “up and coming,” but he clearly had experience. The best way to describe his style is to say that he was able to rock out on an acoustic guitar, get the crowd going and sing with a fluid and unique style.

After this performance, Mr. Roberts left. Apparently he was only there to see his step-son, my new friend, Keaton. Small, small world.

There was a brief intermission, in which I ordered a hypnotic and tonic. Hypnotic Tonic – that’s fun to say. It was another huge drink (about 30 ounces), that is important later. The Ryan and I moved from our spot on the stairs to two seats next to his parents on the main level. As chance would have it, as soon as we got settled, I had to use the restroom. Luckily, I knew of the secret bedroom bathroom. Standing in line two other girls and I began chatting about our lives basically. One girl worked at the local coffeehouse and the other is an actress from LA. That’s the thing about Sundance, everyone is really friendly, willing to talk and probably “in the business.”  There is a strong sense of camaraderie between such a large group of people in one small town all for the same purpose.  To my recollection, there was never a time when someone treated me poorly.  Perhaps they thought I was famous and also part of this “business.”

Shortly after the intermission, Tyler Hilton took the stage.  I knew him from that elevator video he made to promote his movie, Charlie Bartlett.  Our friend, Madeline, recognized him from One Tree Hill.  So, he’s kind of a big deal. He was also incredibly good and incredibly nice.  He brought his friend to help sing and play with him and then after his set, helped her in her own performance.  How generous.

So that huge drink I mentioned earlier.  The Hypnotic Tonic.  I sat on the chair between Ryan’s mom and I while Ryan and his father went to wander.  I knew it was risky, but decided to just keep an eye on it.  Which is exactly what I did, when Ryan’s mom scooted across her seat and on to my drink’s. The whole 32 ounces fell on my right leg, the chair and the floor.  Luckily, nothing soaked in and paper towels were readily available.  Problem solved.

Many more performers went on as we sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the show.  I relaxed a little too much though and began to nod off.  Classic Jen.  If you know me, you know how great I am at falling asleep.  Yet, in a room of famous people, you don’t want to pass out in your chair, so I had to come up with a plan.

Adam was back from his own wandering, and now stood next to me.  I thought, “If I talk to the guitarist from Matchbox Twenty, that will surely wake me up.”  So I summoned the courage, which wasn’t a lot and stood up.

“Hi, Adam, I just want to say that I love Matchbox Twenty and adore all your music.”

“Thank you, that means so much to me.”

“Yeah, no problem.  If You’re Gone is my favorite song of all time and I pretty much listened to all your music from middle school through high school.”

“Thank you.  Can I get a hug then?”

So I hugged him and then said, “I’ve seen you around Flanagan’s all week.  Do you know Jeremy?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m his nephew’s fiancé.”

“Oh, congratulations.”

I did not expect that, but before I could be modest, Ryan walked up.

“Here’s my fiancé now.”

“Hey, man you have a very sweet girl here.”

Ryan said thank you and they spoke for a while as I climbed back to my seat.  Party on, for sure!

Soon after our convo, it was Adam’s turn to perform.  He played the song that he said he’s played 5000 times, but still doesn’t know the lyrics.  It was 3 am.  It’s only my 4^th favorite.  The whole song became a huge sing along and on Ryan’s video you can hear us “helping Adam out.”  I sound awful, so don’t watch that video.  Ok? Thanks.  And if I thought there was camaraderie before, it was even more evident now with the whole room singing along to 3am.

And as if the night could get any better, Collective Soul took the stage next.  They are known for their song, The World I Know, which they sang.  Another great feat of reminiscence and group singing.  Such nice guys, too.

Collective Soul

Unfortunately, they were the last act and the place started to clear out.  I’d been holding off on passing out, so once in the car, I was gone.

I don’t think I’ve ever hung out with this many people I could look up on Wikipedia.

End of skiing.

Maybe I let me fear get the best of me, but I was definitely not feeling it. More than fear, I felt lots and lots of guilt. I wanted everyone else to be able to have fun and I didn’t want them to waste their day coddling me. Yet, the decision to quit so soon brought on more guilt, because I’d used a limited supply of free passes and made Ryan pay $40 for my rentals. What a waste. I hope he had lots and lots of fun and I will pay him back so much money! Maybe that will make me feel better….

WhiteOut

So instead of sliding (falling) down the slopes, I sat in the lodge with Ryan’s parents and our friend, Madeline. Looking back, it was kind of boring, but I’m a sucker for being lazy and chatting, so it kept me occupied until The Fearless One returned for lunch.

Ryan and I headed to the cafeteria and began loading up our plates at the salad bar. Mhmm brie? Yes! Basil Chicken? Definitely! $16.95 for the large plate I was holding? Oh, crap! You’d think a cafeteria wouldn’t cost an arm and both legs, but I guess there’s a monopoly at a ski resort 4 miles from town. We switched the salad to a smaller $12.95 plate and avoided getting anything to drink or the chili that I’d been eyeing all morning. As we checked out, the kindest lady in the world, looked at us, looked at our sad plates and said, “I’m just going to charge you for a Caesar salad. You don’t have much more than that anyway.” Yay!

Ryan ate at the skier’s table and I remained with his parents. Eventually, they all went back to ski and we decided to check out another lodge. So, I in my ski boots, trudged through the 3 feet of snow and up to the lodge. I do believe though, it’s easier to walk in ski boots in the snow than in regular shoes. Either way, as we entered the lodge a free hot chocolate machine greeted us. Nicely done, Deer Valley. With our hot chocolates in hand, we went upstairs to the fanciest lodge I’ve ever seen. You could tell those people had some serious money. Well they were all part of the JP Morgan conference, but they also ordered champagne at 2 in the afternoon.

We found a seat near the fireplace, and settled in for just one drink. My Nutty Irishman, the perfect complement to free hot chocolate and warm enough for the cold day, was $14. Madeline and I played a round of checkers. It went longer than any game I’d ever played and in the end, I won 2-1. To be fair, by the end, we just wanted it to end, so that game will not appear in my official score book.

We finally exited the fancy place and headed back to the cafeteria lodge. On the way we found Ryan’s sister who was leaving for work and also ran into Ryan and his aunt. When I approached them, they fell down. I still don’t understand why they did this and I think that was the point. It was 3:30 at this point and I was feeling a second wind of bravery. I told Ryan that I might try to ski a bit, since my red skis and poles were still occupying the racks. However, the lifts close at 4:30 and Ryan had yet to find a hill where he thought I would be comfortable. We also noted that the wind was quite ferocious and it made conditions even worse. I’d later come to find out that on his next run, Ryan could not see at all. He had to remove his goggles to keep them from fogging up, but the wind was so strong, his face was nearly purple with cold. Thank goodness I didn’t go!

I did wear my outfit all day, though

Now, I’ve mentioned the conditions several times, but as we sat in the lodge enjoying our warm drinks, snow fell the entire time. I believe that about 1.5 feet of pure Utah gold landed in Park City that day. So the ride back to the lodge and subsequent ride back down the Main Street by bus, took longer than usual. How long, you might ask. We waited for 45 minutes, took a 25 minute ride down. Then, waited for about 25 minutes for a 35 minute ride down. For a total of 130 minutes! There were rumors of a closed road due to lots of tourists driving Chevy Cobalts through the deep, mountain snow. Yet, we made it. I nearly fell asleep, but we made it.

The obvious choice after skiing (or sitting) all day – a nap. After 20 minutes of solid laying-down-trying-to-nap, we awoke to the phone and a dinner question. Well, we definitely wanted dinner more than sleep….so onward.

Park City, during Sundance, at 7:30pm, is not an easy place to find a meal. Here are the resulting situations:

• $20 cover just to enter the restaurant. $80 for the ability to eat? No.
• Nothing is available until 10. Waiting 2.5 hours for a table outside? No.
• Thai food with the suggested meal of $55 a person. We don’t want Thai food that much anyway. No.
• A two-hour wait at least. The bar is too crowded to even pass the time. No.

At this point, we could either settle for the pizza & noodle joint or go back to the same place we’d eaten three times already.

Pizza and Noodle it is. Though my noodle was $18. Ya know, I’m going to stop right here and point out how often I mention the price in this Sundance blog. I know high prices are to be expected and it’s not all that horrible really, but it’s my old friend, guilt that keeps bringing it up.

It snowed a lot

After dinner, it was nearly 10 and so time to head out for the evening. Back at Flanagan’s, we sipped some drinks and waited on Ryan’s sister to arrive. So Ryan and I hung out with her for the rest of the night. We closed down the bar, which in Utah is 1am and then headed back home.

Final Thoughts: I saw no famous people today. I failed at skiing and now have guilt the size of a mountain. We walked around all night and still saw no famous people. Why am I even in Park City if famous people aren’t lining the streets?

Ok, I thought I saw Bruce Willis. Ryan says no, he was too fat. I still don’t know…

Therefore, when we began the day with a huge breakfast of burritos, sausage, bacon and strawberries, I was delighted.  A breakfast at home with friends and nice conversation sounded refreshing after that night in the club.

With our bellies full and our eyes drawn the picturesque view outside, we walked into town.  This walk, which I have yet to mention, is more like a two-road trek.  Park City is set up with Main Street on the lowest level, and then builds up from the sides.  So, if you take one long flight of stairs up from Main Street, you’re on Park Avenue and then you have to take another, equally long flight, to get where we’re staying.  With the altitude and the fact that we’re nearly always returning from drinking or eating, this trek literally takes your breath away.  However, on this day we climbed down the steps and watched fluffy snowflakes circle around the city streets below.  I kept yelling, “It’s so beautiful! It’s a real winter wonderland!  Look at those trees! Wow! Let’s take a picture! It’s like the North Pole!”

Something like this

Then we stopped in town at No Name Saloon.  I think about three of us had been craving bloody marys and Park City has so many great bloody mary concoctions.  This one had: lime, olive, lemon, and pickled asparagus, which sounds gross but just tasted like a pickle.  Needless to say, I loved it.  Yet, the best thing about No Name Saloon is their décor!  It was like a Christmas party in there which lights strung all along the antique original set up.  There were ornaments and wreathes still lining the walls.  So we basically traveled from one winter wonderland right into another.  Gorgeous!

While sitting and enjoying our bevs, Ryan’s aunt and her friends walked in to tell us that they’d been able to snag some wait-list tickets for a movie starting in about two hours.  Ryan and I decided to go even though it did not sound all that promising – a black and white Japanese flick with subtitles.  Hmmm.  We grabbed the pink tickets for the About the Pink Sky and waiting in the line as numbers 14, 15, 16, and 17.  Generally, they can accommodate about 25 people from the wait-list for any given show.  So our odds were pretty good.  We waited for only about 25 minutes before the lady in charge counted the line seven times.  Every time she counted far past us – another good sign.  Then, with 15 minutes left until show time, she announced that 15 people could go in.  As I held number 17, I worried.  Yet, she counted far past me again.  Apparently those suckers with 9, 10 and 11 came in too late and found themselves at the end of the line.  So we marched inside.  Ryan so kindly  surprised me with some pretzels, chips and our favorite Utah beer.  Yes, we drank beer in red solo cups at a Sundance Premiere.  The best part is that on our return to the seats, two people around us, saw our red solo cups and asked “What’s in that?”  “Beer,” we replied.  “You can get drinks here?! Will you watch my stuff?”  Our neighbor returned with her Utah beer, the three ladies in front grabbed glasses of wine as “Sundance Film Festival 2012” scrolled across the screen.

After a brief, translated introduction from a very nervous first-time filmmaker, the movie began.  I won’t bore you with the details, because even though I did enjoy the film, Ryan and I both took turns nodding off.  It was slow moving but still quite interesting and relatable.  The main character, a teenage girl with slutty friends, took a journey of self-discovery which included an extremely rich gay boy, his sick boyfriend, a poor old man and 300,000 Yen.  I’d recommend it, just bring some red bull.

The best part about watching a new film as Sundance is that the actors and directors speak about it afterward.  So as Ryan and I exited, we passed by the main character (wearing her outfit from the movie) and two other actors. Very cool.

To finish up our day, we had dinner and coffee at Flanagan’s, then did a bit of shopping (I bought a blue poncho) before trying to go see Robert DeNiro.

Here’s the DeNiro story:  He supposedly scheduled a red carpet interview for about 9:45pm.  Ryan and I took the bus from Main Street to Eccles theater and walked up toward the building.  The building, we soon realized, was the high school and there was no red carpet.  We made up some lies about waiting on friends (well they were in the wait-list line, but we didn’t need to see them) so that the workers would let us hang around.  Sadly, after only ten minutes, we saw several crews carrying cameras, walking out of the building.  Out was not a good sign.  Shouldn’t they be standing outside to do the interview?  We waited until 9:50 for good measure (another 30 minutes) and never saw Mr. DeNiro.

And on to another day of Sundance.