Monday, March 3, 2014

Oscarz Par-T

I had a late night last night and for the first time in a long time, I overdid it with the wine intake. Unlike most times when I find myself overindulging in the sauce, I didn't expect to nor did I set out to. I'll use my favorite explanation, which just happens to be the truth here: it just happened. I saw a wine I liked, and I went for it.

I volunteered to work at the Oscar viewing party at my local theater. This was the second year they had this event which is just what you imagine it is: the Oscar ceremony on the big screen, raffles, prizes, gourmet bites and unlimited booze. It is a great event that promotes the theater, brings together the community and gets a lot of support from local businesses, and one really famous local face, Isabella Rosselini (she is ethereal and a type of beautiful that is unreal). I had a great time last night but if I'm still living here next year and if they ask me to work the party again I will do it and I will take the next day off from work.

I had to get up at the ass crack hour on Sunday morning to help with set up and decorations for the evening. The theater was turned into a sleek dining room, covered in stars and our own giant picture of Oscar. I was cranky and unshowered but the whole setup took about two hours and was helped along by Louisiana blues being pumped through the speakers. I may start doing all my chores with blues in the background. Anyway, after we were done we all went home to get gussied up and returned, red carpet laid down, lights turned low and wine bottles opened. My mistake was having a glass early. It was like turning on a spigot.

My job was coat check girl. It was an easy enough responsibility: greet the guests, get their coats and direct them to check in at the back of the theater. I embraced so much fur and wool, inhaled so much perfume and felt a perma-smile forming on my face over the course of the evening. I deeply dislike fur and about 95% of perfumes on the market but damnit if I didn't feel just like a little girl hiding behind the sofa eavesdropping on her parents dinner party. I decided I liked that feeling and I liked working the coat check. Everyone was so happy to be out and about of an evening. I liked seeing couples dressed up,wives adjusting ties on their husbands, husbands helping their wives out of their coats...that I liked best. It seems like such a simple, thoughtful gesture. I may be worn out from this winter which refuses to quit, from shrugging in and out of layers upon layers over layers under coats. But it occurred to me that no one has ever done that for me. I carry fierce independence around with me all the time and by no means do I need any help with that sort of thing but I felt the tiniest hairline fracture in my heart. From...what? Regret? Jealousy? Wine buzz melancholy?

The ceremony was overlong but it was amusing. I had seen most of the nominated films and performances and most awards went as I expected them to. I didn't really expect Gravity to be so divisive a film. Some people in attendance really hated it and that is beyond me. I mean I hated American Hustle but I can see why people liked it. It just wasn't my cup of tea. The people in attendance last night who hated Gravity seemed to just hate it without seeing any redeeming quality. It's worst offense was that it was "boring" which perplexes me. Are we all so jaded now that a space adventure is boring?? In fairness, I had a pretty good buzz going so I may be misremembering the conversations. After about hour four, things begin to get hazy in my brain and if I was creating a timeline for last night I'd skip ahead to waking up this morning, fully dressed, my pillow my own personal shroud of Turin. I barely got out of bed in time to make it to work this morning and I've felt listless all day.
I can only thank winter (as unlikely as that statement feels to say) for sparing me the need to shovel my car out this morning. I would have turned around and come back inside.

Ironically enough, I got quite a lot of work done at work today. I had lunch with my grandparents, newly arrived from Honduras after a few months away to escape the cold and it sure was nice to see them. But by 4:30 I was checked out mentally and ravenous. My body made my decisions for me. Thai takeout, a few Law and Order episodes and cat cuddles. That's what it could handle and that's what I let it do. And it is now 9:30 and it is time for me to go to bed, in pajamas this time.

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