I Know I've Said This Before: When it Rains...

Man am I tired. :P Not exhausted tired, but energy tired. So tired that I don't even feel like playing WoW. Kinda sad, huh? There's Hawaiian-style pizza in the office oven (Office? Wtf? Told you I'm tired.) and soda in the fridge, and in 15 minutes both shall be inside my belly. So I'm good. :)

Today was fun, interesting, and kind of long. We went to the festival the movie project had a booth at, and bussed through some interesting parts of town on the way there. The festival wasn't that great; it was a film festival, so the films being shown were of course the main attraction, and there were also presentations/discussions on related topics. There was also obligatory section in the middle with vendors selling everything from hentai to bad gothic literature to, of course, movie swag.

Since we only had so long because of the bus schedule, we didn't watch any films. Sat in on some interesting discussions, but half the time the people were so mumbly or fast-talking that we weren't always sure what they were referencing. But it was nonetheless interesting to wander around and observe things and people. Part of the reason (well, the main reason, apart from it looking fairly cool) we went is because J wanted to at least have a little time to talk to us while he was in town. He both wanted to chat briefly about the website and have a little meeting with Makal, the guy who's directing, and himself. They were worried about Makal's ability to commit to the project as an actor, partly because of the distance factor. But everything got talked over and compromises were discussed, so I think it's all good. Besides, Makal really is the best guy for the role and everyone knows it (which is some of why they were stressing about his involvement).

Things are about to be picking up in that area (the one involving the actors, a.k.a. "filming") and I'm looking forward to it. This is the first movie project I've been involved in, and I've never been part of such a long-term project either. The sheer level of involvement I'm having with the website is definitely long-term because of how interactive and accessible they want the
process of creation to be for the public; as things happen with the process it will all be posted online. And so far, it seems like everyone else involved is really glad I'm part of it. One of the women at the booth today, an actress for the film, was like "Oh! I'm so glad I finally get to meet you!" and I felt like a doofus, because I'm standing there going wow, I had no idea your role was even cast yet... :P But yes, lots of raving reviews of the movie's website. I dunno, I just don't see it as that amazingly stunning, but of course (like I was saying yesterday) I'm so aware of all the stuff that could be going on with it (*ahem*PHP*ahem*) that I see what it currently is as just kind of "good", but not necessarily great. I'll rephrase my "forest" statement from yesterday: I can't see the awesome website for the meticulous coding. I wish I could have an outsider's perspective.

Speaking of web design, I had an awesome and promising email waiting when we got home. As I recently mentioned, someone on Eugene's craigslist had been looking for me, and when they didn't respond to my email, I posted my own "Here I am" response on the same board. No, sadly the email wasn't from that person. It was from a man I had worked with in Eugene when I was doing web/graphic work (and oh so much more...) at that women's boutique I helped start. This guy owned a sign company the store owner was contracting with, and has since started a "new & improved" design company, for which he needs a web designer for not only the business site but design packages as well. He said he remembers me as being confident, cool, and artistic--and hearing that made me feel pretty good after everyone at the festival seemed to fawn over the movie site.

In addition, the movie's director wants me to (eventually, when things with the movie have calmed down) work on two sites for him (one basic, one intense), and they've both been recommending me to other involved people who need a professional site. So I'm thinking that pretty soon here I'll have a steady flow of incoming (and paid!) design work. It's pretty cool to consider, and makes me pretty happy. :)