It felt like the longest week of work. I wondered if I would feel rejuvenated after the break or wishing for the week to end quickly. Well, feeling rejuvenated didn’t last too long. It almost felt like break didn’t really happen and we were just dropped into January without any warning. Thank goodness for this long weekend! (Hence me writing on Monday instead of yesterday.)
Yesterday, we watched the Niners vs. Cowboys game at our friend’s place. It was a good game that turned stressful in the fourth quarter but ended with a “W” for the Niners. THANK GOODNESS. I loved watching the game but I was hoping that me wearing Garoppolo’s wasn’t some kind of jinx and lo, I was glad it wasn’t! The end of that game was NUTS though and a bit weird but hey, isn’t that how the playoffs can be? I’m glad the 49ers won and I’m glad I actually sat there watched the whole thing.
Saturday evening my friends from my Festival Cinemas days got together for dinner. It was just six of us this time but we had a great time. We talked about threading movies, cleaning the auditoriums, selling concessions, carrying deliveries up those crazy narrow stairs, our old co-workers, and so many other things. It’s super wonderful to reminisce about those days and remember moments seemingly forgotten. Our theatre, Festival Cinemas in Hayward, no longer exists. It closed on January 26, 2003 and was eventually demolished in September 2005 [source]. There are some pictures after the theatre closed at this site.
On a side note, my last manager there was Neal Underweiser. He died back in 2001 and I just realized that Festival Cinemas closed on the two year anniversary of his death. Isn’t that a strange bit of coincidence?
According to the details on this photo file, I took this in April 2003. We must have driven by at my insistence so that I could take a few shots. It makes me a little sad that the building isn’t there anymore but even when I was working there, it was pretty dated and probably violated a bunch of workplace codes. Still, I wish there was video of it abandoned so that I could have something to watch and fill in with my memories. I was not a social butterfly in high school and working at Festival served that purpose in many ways for me. I made friends, went out and had fun, learned some life lessons, and came out of it with fond memories and an appreciation of the people who work such jobs because I worked such a job. It AMAZES me how young we all were, running the theatre everyday. Not to scare anyone but on any given night, the person in charge was usually under 23 or so. I worked there until I was 22 and ended my time as an assistant manager so imagine me being the one in charge at that age. (It didn’t happen very often, I don’t think, but I’m sure it happened a few times?)
Oh yeah, and I was Employee of the Month my first year there. I have that plaque somewhere in storage, I hope…
TV
The Book of Boba Fett [Disney+] – I’m still trying to work out my feelings about this show. It’s certainly following known tropes and I do like seeing the nitty gritty of the Star Wars universe but for me, it just doesn’t have the same feel as The Mandalorian, which feels more slice of life. Perhaps my previous indifference to the character of Boba Fett is what’s leaving me with this feeling neither excitement nor dislike of the show. It’s entertaining but it feels like so much set-up is going on and I just want to get to the meat of the whole thing. I’m going to keep watching it, of course…
Young Sheldon [HBOMax] – I don’t know why I’m so surprised by how much I enjoy this show. Sheldon is obnoxious a character whether a child or adult but as a child, the little boy in him comes out to remind you that he’s still a child and can be excused for his quirks. The other characters make me laugh so much and I love Meemaw navigating dating life as an older woman and a widow…
MOVIES
Eternals [Disney+] – This movie is now streaming and of course I had to watch it! I still enjoy it very much. I like it so much that I bought the 4K disk, which arrives next month. I’ll be excited to see all the extras. Apparently those aren’t part of the extras on Disney+ yet…
The long weekend is almost over and the best I can say is that at least it’s a short work week. Cheers!