Reel scary....

Happy Halloween!

Okay so for most of you it's probably the day after Halloween as you read this so in that case.... Happy November!

In honor of the creepy holiday I was discussing scary movies with one of my coworkers, Anna. I asked what the scariest movie she had ever seen was and she said The Exorcist. This came as no surprise to me because for one particular age group this film was absolutely terrifying, like nothing people had ever seen before. I can't think of another film which has had quite that effect on people, can you?

The scariest movie I have ever seen is The Ring. I had nightmares after watching that, seriously, it just really got into my head. EW.com listed their top 20 picks for the scariest movies of all time and Carrie was on the list. The very last scene of that film was mentioned which I had COMPLETELY forgotten about!That made me jump like nothing else I have ever seen! Just in case anyone reading this hasn't seen that movie (doubtful?) I won't reveal the surprise, it's a doozie! What's the scariest movie YOU'VE ever seen?

While browsing the Internet this evening I found another interesting article. This one was about tattoos and how many areas and companies are beginning to ask employees to cover up their ink. Some employers are taking tats into consideration when hiring as well. Big surprise here: Bountiful, UT made a decision this summer that new employees must cover up tattoos. Chill out, Utah!

I do not consider tattoos offensive. I think that they can be depending on what they say or depict, but a tattoo is a work of art, a form of self-expression. Tattoos tell stories. Just today a girl at work asked about the tattoo on my foot which led to a whole discussion on studying abroad. You can learn about people through tattoos. In this day and age people are encouraged to look beyond appearances and judge a person based on what is on the inside, but rules like these force judgements to be made on nothing else but the look of an individual. I found my quote for the day in the article...

We don't allow discrimination based on skin color, yet we came up with a policy that discriminated against people with color on their skin.
-Steve Tufts, president of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City

Zack and Miri Make a Porno? Not in Salt Lake City!

I really should be going to sleep right now but I found an interesting article on Yahoo and I wanted to blog about it!

Movie theaters in Salt Lake City will not be showing the film Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Interesting as well is that these same movie theaters will be playing Saw V. The theater's spokesperson said that because of the graphic sex and nudity, Zack and Miri will not be shown, but had no comment as to why the violent and gory Saw V hasn't been banned. Let me just steer away from the main subject for a second and ask: will the Saw series EVER end?

The problem with the movie seems to be the title, according to the article, since the films Knocked Up, The 40-year-old Virgin and Sexdrive have all been shown at the same theaters. Okay, veering off again... has anyone seen Sexdrive? It looks funny, just wondering. Billboards, newspapers and TV stations in the area have refused to advertise the film because "porno" appears in the title. I'm surprised that the title Sexdrive didn't cause a problem. When Jared, Kathleen and I were watching the trailer for that film and Mom walked in she thought we were watching a porno!

I was also shocked to read that these same theaters refused to screen Brokeback Mountain because of the subject matter! The article did state that the owner of the cinemas has since said he regrets that ban. Good. What a close-minded son of a gun!

I've summed up the information pretty well, but cut and paste the address below if you'd like to read the article in its entirety.

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/zackandmiri_blog.html

The question is not what a man can scorn, or disparage, or find fault with, but what he can love, and value, and appreciate.
-John Ruskin

Clear your calendar!

I will be making an appearance in the New Hampshire area from January 11-17! We finally had a meeting to discuss time off at work and that's the week I got! I was also given November 7-10 off so I'm going to California in less than 2 weeks to visit with Katie, Steve and Colin! Woohoo! I can't wait!!! I will take a ton of pictures and I'm sure I'll have a lot to blog about when I return!

I didn't mean to worry everyone with my last blog, but I do appreciate that people are worried! Truth is, I'm doing fine, I feel so much better! You must have all been hugging each other yesterday because I had a really good day! Thanks! I actually meant for that entry to be somewhat inspiring and all together honest. I'm not sure if I accomplished the former.....

I write today as I cool off after my DWTS Latin Cardio Dance session! The gym here in PC is really expensive and I found this DVD on Amazon for only $11.99 and I just received it in the mail today! It's really hard to get the steps that they are doing (could just be me) but I definitely feel like I got a workout! It was fun and I got to look at Maks (shwing!) so I think it was worth the money. I'm sure the more I do it, the steps will become easier. I think this was the first time I have ever worked out in heels. What a deal- you get a workout and break in shoes at the same time!

I have some great furniture news! A woman I work with is part of a three-family yard sale happening this weekend and she's letting me come over the day before to get first pick of everything! And she said that there will be a dresser for sale! I hope it's not super-expensive because I really need one!

I have decided to add a little something extra to my blog entries. Since I love and collect quotes I will include one each time that I write and try to connect it to something I've written about. Too cheesy? Oh well, here goes....

If you hear a different drummer- dreamer, take a chance... the road you choose to travel means the difference in the dance.
-D. Morgan

See the connection?

Truth.

I feel as though I have not been completely honest on my blog. I vowed when I started this that I wouldn't write about 2 things.

1. Anything negative or confidential at work.

2. Anything that made another person look bad or stupid. This is meant to be a fun, entertaining and overall positive account of my life. I didn't start this blog to bad mouth anyone, and let's face it- they might eventually see it. Yikes.

By not writing about these 2 things a majority of you don't know that I'm actually having a very difficult time with one of my coworkers to the point where I've thought about leaving the store. I hate to do this to you, but I'll stop there. That's not what this entry is about. This entry is about dealing with a situation like that while you are all by yourself a million miles away from everyone and everything familiar. Truth be told, dealing with it is extremely difficult.

I am so completely happy that I took this big leap and moved to Park City. It has made me feel very good about myself. We all have these amazing moments every now and then where we fully realize our strengths and life just couldn't be better. We are, after all, our own worst critics, so when we're pleased with ourselves, it's a phenomenal feeling. But then there are moments where it is apparent just how human we are through the surfacing of fears, weaknesses and vulnerabilities we never even knew about.

I predict that I will be back on the east coast in a year. I have been thinking that for a little while now and I've just been too afraid to say it because I worry that people will think I'm weak and unadventurous. But you know what? I, like many people, have spent far too much time worrying about what others think of me. Recently I have allowed someone to make me doubt myself and my abilities- and no one should let that happen.

I learned a lot over the past few days. We must have faith in ourselves to get through the bad times, but having a support team close by certainly doesn't hurt and it's not something to be ashamed of needing. Sometimes all we need is a hug and I haven't been hugged in a long time. So do me a favor everyone, will you, please? Give someone a hug today and think of me. Just like I could sense when someone was talking smack about me behind my back at work this past week, I think I will sense that someone somewhere is giving a hug in my honor.

What did make me feel better at the end of a rough day? Belami. He's the best and he loves me no matter what. I feel the same way about him.

Remember, if people talk behind your back, it only means you are two steps ahead."
-Fannie Flagg

Damn!

I accidentally got the photos mixed up. The explanation of what I said is the first is actually what you're seeing in the second, and what I said you're seeing in the second is actually the first.

Sorry!!

Let me explain.

Okay ladies here is an explanation of the photos. The first picture I took while standing in front of the garage looking across the street. There is a line of trees in front of a field where some cows live, in front of, what else? Mountains... this is Park City, after all.

The second photo is from the same spot, just looking over to the left which gives you a nice view of my landlords' front yard and beyond. If you drive down that road it takes to you to some ski resorts and somewhere down there are the Sundance offices. The road also takes you towards Main Street, it's about 5 minutes away.

When you're looking at the house in the third picture you can see a door right next to the garage door- that brings you to my apartment. There is also a back door into the apartment. The house is built into a hill so even though you go down a set of stairs to get in from the front, the back door takes you right into the apartment from the ground.

Hope that clears things up!

Live from Park City, it's Saturday night! And I'm sitting at home writing my blog....

Possible good news: Stacie and I were thinking that we could split the cost of a package of tickets for Sundance! She got assigned a later time slot to buy than I did so we're going to research the options and decide if it's definitely something that we want to do! I'll let everyone know how it turns out!

I know how much you all enjoy photos so I figured I would post some pics of the outside of my apartment and there's also a photo of our kitty roommates, Pixel (torti... calico? I can never tell the difference!) and Sweet Pea (black and white) to get a better idea of my surroundings!

In other feline news Belami has started eating big boy food! He will be a year old in less than a month so I bought some adult cat food to mix in with his kitten food. So far he seems to like it more- but I'm not sure if I'm just thinking that. He loves the toy that woman gave me for free with the bench so the other photo is of him enjoying his little tunnel!

I hope everyone is enjoying a nice and relaxing weekend!

:(

I'm so bummed.

Today was the day that I could buy tickets to Sundance and I thought the purchase time was 10am, but it was actually 9am- Mom, maybe I really do have a time problem... By the time I was ready to go, the one package that applies to me that I can afford was all sold out!!! I think that there are other ways to get tickets later on so I hope that will work. This sucks, I was so excited.

I hope everyone else's day started out better than mine! Before my dream of going to a major film festival was crushed I had to plunge my toilet. It's been quite a morning.

Time for work.

Where have I been all your life... er... week?

Well hello again!

It's been too long since my last post. The delay is due to my computer being.... infected. Ewww, that's what the "Park City Computer Guy" called it when he fixed it for me. It's all better now- thank goodness! I felt so disconnected from the world without this little guy for a few days!

I have been working so much, make that TOO much lately. We are just doing so much more volume than anticipated so our original staffing needs have been upped! Luckily our fourth manager starts next week and we hired 7 new part time associates this week. That will make things easier and more enjoyable for everyone at work! Especially Kathleen, Stacie and me, who have been working way more than we should. Other than that work is going great!

I've obtained more furniture since my last post! Last Saturday I went out to the yard sales again before work and got a bookshelf and cute kitchen table for $25 each! We bought 4 chairs to match for $5 each. They need to be reupholstered so that could be a fun little project for me when I have some free time. I haven't taken pictures of the stuff yet but I will soon and put them up when I do!

Today after work I attended an orientation for the therapeutic riding program at the National Ability Center here in Park City. I really hope I can work it out with my schedule- should be able to with the new employees- but in retail it's tough to have a specific time off every week.

I love having a blog but since it is so public there are stories I wish I could tell everyone that I'm not comfortable posting if they make someone else look silly or even stupid! There's stuff going on that most of you don't even know about since the way you keep up with my adventures is by reading this! Email or call anytime to get the scoop! I'm like a TV show... you have to go online to get behind-the-scenes footage!

I have a confession to make: almost every time I get a phone call or email from someone I secretly hope they're going to say that they are coming to visit! So can someone just grant my one wish and buy a damn plane ticket already!? I may not have furniture but I did find an air mattress in the laundry room (I guess it's more of a laundry closet) the other day!

Wayne Pacelle's blog had some great news today that Ebay will no longer allow ivory buying or selling on their site! Read all about it to your right! And since I told everyone reading this to vote YES on Prop 2 in CA, I wanted to also encourage any Californians to vote NO on Prop 8!!!

Boring blog, but I wanted everyone to know what's up with me lately! I'll post pictures soon, promise!!

Bad movies.

You know how I usually recommend movies TO SEE? Well today I am going to recommend 2 movies TO NOT SEE.

I finally watched my Netflix this weekend and what a bummer! First of all, I had Iron Man up at the top of my queue and it was in stock but I hadn't changed my billing address to match my mailing address so I by the time I had that figured out it must have no longer been available. Instead I received Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and The Feast of Love.

I wasn't expecting Walk Hard to be anything spectacular but I figured I'd get a chuckle out of it. Jenna Fischer is one of the stars and I like her a lot, plus there were a TON of cameos. This was one of the worst movies I have ever seen! I have a rule to not turn movies off but boy this was pushing it. I guess you could say I kind of broke that rule when I started doing other things (some of them in the other room) while the movie was still playing. Honestly, do not waste your time with this- not that any of you were going to, but still.

The Feast of Love also tempted me with a great cast- Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear.... a cute Brittany spaniel. But this was a major letdown as well! I couldn't hear or understand anything the actors were saying and somebody really needed to turn on a light! I think one of the themes of the movie was to have most of it take place in poorly-lit spaces. It must have been a metaphor or something.

Sometimes I get into these film ruts where I watch a bunch of bad movies in a row. So can someone please recommend a decent movie to me?!? I'm so out of the loop without my Entertainment Weekly! I can't wait until I start getting that in the mail again!

Luckily I'm reading that good book. I was reading it while I had my snow tires put on today and hoping no one would look over my shoulder and think I was a creep with a book about a murderer who preys on young Italian couples having sex in parked cars!

Oh the weather outside is frightful....

Okay, so it's not frightful exactly, but it is SNOWING!!! It snowed hard all morning yesterday and then the sun came out and everything melted. I guess we'll see what happens this afternoon.... Oh yeah and my computer says it's 25 degrees outside! This is early for snow and mid-20s temps. even for Park City!

Yesterday I got up early and braved the weather to go yard sale shopping. I found 3 in the local paper so I went to all of them, and I saw a sign for a fourth while I was driving around so I stopped there as well. What I was really hoping to find was a dresser or a bookcase (or both!!) and I found neither. I know you're probably thinking "Didn't she buy a dresser the other day?" Yes, I did, but it's just a baby dresser as you can see from the photo so I still have to open a suitcase every time I need a shirt or pair of pants, and that's not fun. I did get my closet and suitcases all organized at least, but this is only a temporary solution. I spent all day getting my room in better shape yesterday so that I feel like I actually live here. I still have some more cleaning to do but I made a lot of progress!

I did find 3 things yesterday for a total of $15!! I bought the pretty flowered mirror for $5 at the first yard sale, nothing at the second and the bench with my TV on it for $8 at the third. I would have bought an actual TV stand at the fourth but while I was looking for a person to find out how much it was some loud-mouthed biotch asked and got it for $5. I was so mad I had to leave. I was mad about some other things too by the way and there wasn't really anything else good there.

I also went to that thrift shop I was told about. I actually went twice since when I went the first time they weren't open even though they should have been. I went back later and I was actually impressed with the furniture. The inside of the shop was awful! It was so cluttered and messy I could barely walk around. The furniture was outside which made it easier to look at, but it was still snowing pretty heavily so everything was covered. But there was a lot of decent stuff. The prices were really varied depending on what it was and what condition it was in. I found one coffee table that I liked but it was $60. I asked about a smaller, not as nice, white coffee table and the guy told me he'd sell it to me for $2!! How could I pass that up? It's not much to look at, but I'm on a budget here and it'll get the job done!! So the morning wasn't a total bust. I even got a little tunnel toy thing for Belami that the woman who sold me the bench gave me for free!

I was going to drive to IKEA and Urban Outfitters today for some more stuff for the apartment, but those are all the way in SLC and Draper, which is even further. With this snow I think I'll just lay low- go to the grocery store (I really need to do that!) and maybe watch one of the 2 Netflix I've had for a week now. I've been too busy and too into my book to watch any movies lately.

I'll definitely be too busy to watch any Netflix from January 15-25 since I'll be at Sundance!! I'm in the clear to buy tickets! It's a whole process and first you have to register for a time to buy and then you buy. My time to buy is October 23- see what I mean about it being a similar process to registering for college courses?

As I buy more stuff for the apartment I'll post more pics, but I have a feeling this is going to be a slow process. I snuck in a photo of Belami doing one of his model poses for everyone to enjoy too!

I live in pretty places.

I've had some blog requests so I decided to write a little something before I head off to work today.

Yesterday I experienced the joy of getting something done to my car without knowing anyone in the area. I had to spend the 2 1/2 hours it took to change my oil and fix something with my brakes sitting in the waiting room. Luckily I started a really good book yesterday called The Monster of Florence which is about Italy's own Jack The Ripper-type killer. Katie, I would recommend this book to you since you lived in Florence for a while. I bet you would recognize a lot of the places where the murders happened.

While I was waiting for my car I grabbed The Park Record (local newspaper) and found 3 yard sales happening this Saturday so I'm going to get up early and see if I can find myself some furniture! Yesterday I bought a small yellow dresser from a consignment shop here in town. It was $53, in a store where everything else was really expensive. When I told the woman who was working that I liked the dresser she asked if I had seen the similar red one in the back of the store, and when I said no she showed me a huge $800 dresser.... why she thought these 2 things were similar in look or price is beyond me but I quickly told her that was way out my price range so she showed me a much more reasonably priced dresser at just $300. WTF?!? I clearly wasn't getting through to this woman so I just told her that I have to furnish an entire apartment so I can't spend a lot on one piece. She told me to check out another consignment shop that I believe she said is connected with a church in the area, so I'll do that this weekend too. Plus, a woman at work will be giving me a few things for the apartment this weekend as well. By Monday we could be furnished! I'll just have to connect with Laura Lee and see what she wants to do because she said that she really hates wasting a Saturday morning with yard sales. I personally really like going to yard sales and I'm excited to do so, although the forecast calls for light snow. Anyway, I think we should go together so that we can decide who will buy what and she also has a much bigger car than I do.

I have another movie recommendation for everyone! If you haven't seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall, you need to! It's really funny and sweet! Beware of full frontal male nudity- it happens a few times! It's a pretty raunchy film all around, but I loved it!

There was a list on Yahoo.com yesterday of the prettiest towns in America. Park City and Portsmouth, NH were both on the list!! I'm certainly doing well in terms of living in beautiful places! There were a lot of other New England towns on the list and many more in other parts of the country. I thought it was cool that I have lived in 2 of them!

Time for work!

I wish I caught SNL last night!

Why, you ask?

Because maybe I would have recognized The Killers' drummer, Ronnie Vannucci, when he came into J. Crew today and bought a ton of stuff!!!

One of our other customers knew who he was and started asking him what it was like to play Saturday Night Live this weekend and what he was doing in Park City. Turns out he has a house here and apparently he didn't pack any clothes for the trip. So where did he decide to buy a new wardrobe? That's right, J. Crew! He was super friendly and nice and he even opened up a credit card with us!

Before today I wouldn't have known the drummer for The Killers if I'd tripped on him. I know this isn't quite the celebrity status you were all hoping I'd wait on here in Park City, but come on, that's a really famous band! He's no Carol Burnett, but I still thought it was cool.

*He's the one with his arms crossed in the photo- although he was sans handelbar mustache today. Looks a little like Jason Lee in that pic, huh?

Home, home on the (driving?) range.

Greetings from my new apartment! My new, empty apartment with the big hole in the window from the golf ball that came flying through it the day I moved in. Actually the ball must have bounced back out because we can't find it anywhere!

For those of you who may not know, my apartment is directly behind the driving range of the Park City golf course. My landlord told us that a window is broken a couple times a year. I would have thought it would be the higher windows because there are a bunch of trees and a fence right in front of our windows. There are also nets over most of the house, but this particular golfer must have been a really good (or bad, depending on how you look at it) shot. They have already made arrangements to have it fixed, but it hasn't happened yet. I hope they repair the window soon since we are supposed to get a couple of inches of snow tomorrow!

It has been an interesting past few days at work. Yesterday one of the lights in our stockroom caught on fire!!! One of our associates, Jared, was moving around boxes of hangers and one of them bumped the light and it began smoking, sparking and there was even a flame! I was eating my dinner and working on some stuff in the office when I heard Jared's worried voice.

"Uhhh.... Heather.... there's something wrong with one of the lights."

As soon as I got near it I could smell the burning and when I saw the sparks and fire I quickly turned off the lights and we called an electrician to come fix it. I am scared of our stock room when I am back there by myself and last night it was especially awful because with the lights off it is pitch black until you get to the office! I'm so glad we noticed the problem when we did, otherwise there would have been a real fire!

Then today we had our first celebrity shopper! Leslie Bibb, of Talledega Nights, Ironman, and for the Paul Walker fans- The Skulls, came into J. Crew today! She was quiet, nice and for the most part kept to herself. I talked to her a few times and helped her out- however, when asked who assisted her at the register she said no one did!!! I was, of course, the only person that knew who she was, but when the cashier, Matt, didn't recognize her zip code and asked where she was from she said L.A. and he could tell what her signature said. It was pretty cool, to me anyway, although the people I've told so far have been less than impressed. I'm sorry, when was the last time you told a famous person that you don't sell cashmere V-neck sweaters?

Yeah, that's what I thought. Just you all wait until Sundance, I'll have more celebrity sightings under my belt than you can shake a stick at! I may not have used that expression correctly.....

So, the posted pics are the only ones Ive taken of the new place so far. More to come soon, once we start getting some furniture in here. I didn't take a photo of my bedroom only because it is covered in all of my stuff right now since I haven't had time to organize anything.

I guess I jumped the gun on thanking everyone for participating in my CD... way to make me feel loved out here ALL BY MYSELF! Colin, I appreciate your prompt response, and good song choice. For anyone who would like to redeem themselves and actually play along, I'll extend the deadline to next weekend. It can be your favorite song of all time, or your favorite song of the moment. Katie, to answer your question I prefer upbeat to slow, but anything will do! Between everyone ignoring me about this and the fact that I am scheduled to close practically EVERY FLIPPIN' DAY so I miss DWTS each week and the damn player won't work on my computer even after I sent abc.com a desperate plea for help- I could use a little cheering up!