And The Winner Is…

This weekend has been just about the opposite of last weekend, and it’s been fantastic.

Last night I finally (okay, it’s only been out a week) got to see The Secret World of Arrietty, which is a good movie but more on that later. (Unless that whole attention span of a hamster thing kicks in… What was I writing about?) Then I went to IHOP for dinner with an awesome friend and was thoroughly amused by the high schoolers at the table behind us, and had several “Dear Girls Above Me” moments. My personal favorite: “Don’t go to prom, don’t have sex, you will get pregnant and die! Didn’t you read Twilight?” Cue Chelsea laughing so hard she missed the next part of the conversation and had to text that quote across the table. 11:11 and I wished that Saturday would go well.

I slept great for a change, then mom came to get me so we could go furniture shopping. We went a bunch of different places, looking at beds I’d already seen and looking for new ones. I finally found the PERFECT bed out by Turkey Creek. It’s a captain’s bed/book-case bed in black with lots of shelves and two drawers. It will be absolutely perfect if I can put the drawers on the other side. The only problem is the price. It’s a little, probably a lot, more than my grandmother is wanting to spend, so I’m hoping we can talk them down. If not, there’s a panel bed in a clearance center I could live with that’s only $199. I still have to get a mattress and everything so we’ll see. But I really want the captain’s bed…

We went home to get changed for the awards ceremony for the 54 Hour Film Fest, that I was really excited and nervous about. I had really high hopes for our team but I wasn’t sure. Mom and I got to Carmike barely before it was supposed to start, and Krissy and Adam were in the lobby waiting for us. The four of us headed on in and got seats down front since me and my four and a half-inch heels were trying to avoid the stairs. Krissy and I were swapping dog stories when a man sitting behind me asked if we were entered in the film festival. I said we were from a team and talked to him for a bit. He asked about my team and I explained I was a director, not an actress. Oddly enough I will pose all day long for a still camera, if it’s a video I run the other direction. And he told me I was gorgeous, which made me super happy even though it was random. Then James, guy running the festival, got up to start the awards, and the man I had been talking to got up to announce the first awards. Needless to say, I was shocked and beaming. They did Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Actress. Then he said, “And the award for the Best Actor goes to, and I love this name… I’d Like to Buy a Vowel Productions!” My jaw dropped open and I looked at the guys before I stood up, and then had to stand awkwardly while he finished his speech. Whoops.

I went to the microphone and started off explaining our name, which I still thank my mom for. I’m oddly good at public speaking but I talk too fast, especially when I get nervous. I sat down beaming and made sure Adam had got on Facebook to let Warren know he’d won. They started handing out more awards and it was nothing I thought we deserved, though I’d have loved to win. Then James got up again to hand out the elements awards. The line of dialog came first and as soon as he said, “And this was the best because you can’t understand it, but they subbed it so I knew that was it,” told me it was us. I got up beaming and explained we really were shoving food down poor Cole’s face. They proceeded to give out the rest awards and then James got up again. “Now for what you all came for, Best Film” or something to that extent. He explained the whole process for the voting, and that the winning team only won by one point so he had to give a runner’s up as well. The runner-up was the awesome 80s Chick Flick that I loved, and then they said they were just going to screen the winner. He said he’d have to call up there to get it rolling so the theater manager went to start it. James went through all his announcements and started listing announcements to fill the dead air, until he ran out. Then he started talking about swing dancing, which made me laugh. And then someone called for a demonstration, he said “Well, if there’s a girl…” I was about to volunteer when the lights cut out. “And here’s the winning film!”

And to my shock and joy, the slate for I’d Like to Buy a Vowel Productions: The Fudler Institute came up. I cheered and grabbed Krissy in a big hug, us both squealing excitedly. I think Adam was in shock and mom insists she was very pleased. (Pretty sure I heard her cheering too!) We got up to accept our plaque and I couldn’t believe it, gushing all over the microphone.

After the presentation was over, I started texting it out and hitting up Facebook to some very priceless reactions. Daniel and Tyler are tied for my favorites.

I still can’t believe it, and I couldn’t be happier. I am so proud of my team, and so grateful to everyone who helped us on this project. Thank you: Adam and Daniel for sticking with me on all these crazy projects I get myself into, Cole for making me feel better when I was beating myself up for being sick, Warren for a fabulous acting job, Emory for his toleration of us squirting him with a water bottle, Jaclyn and Red Paint for acting in my stuff for the last two years, Nathan for answering a completely random text and helping out even though he had no idea what he was getting into, Krissy for always having my back and helping with everything I do, Zach for trying to prevent me from running into a wall, my mom for putting up with our craziness, and Robin for helping us get the house. Last week I said I felt like karma handed me the ultimate win, and now it really did.

The extended cut of our movie, with the interviews we had to cut for time in the festival submission. http://youtu.be/zrzr6UU78Gw

Tonight at 11:11, I didn’t know what to wish for.