Two more off my check list: Apartment and Smart Phone

This past Saturday was a BIG day for me. Not only did I seal the deal on an apartment in Manhattan, but I also joined the 21^st century, technologically speaking. 

My day started with a run, followed by some spiritual fellowshipping.  Both done in the attempt to calm my nerves for my 11am appointment with…my new roommates!

I picked them up from their hotel, as they were there visiting family, and took them out to Chicago Diner since both are vegetarians (yay for me!).  Besides loving the restaurant, I am pretty sure they fell in love with me.  Ok, maybe not love, but enough “like” that I was offered their extra bedroom for the entire year.

And I should probably mention these are the same women I have been writing about in my last five blogs or so.  Ends up their roommate DID need to leave the country and she told them on the very DAY they were leaving for Chicago.  One of my future roommates called me right away to see if I was still interested.  Funny thing is, she made it seem like I was doing HER a favor by taking the room and all I could think was how grateful I was to HER for calling me back and easing my anxieties.

With that settled, the afternoon was free for me and mom to get our manicures, as planned.  I received a call while waiting for the manicurist to be ready.  It was my sister, who had taken the liberty to go to T-Mobile and change her plan over from AT&T.  We are on a family plan and though this was definitely in the works to change plans, I had not planned for it to happen Saturday (love your spontaneity sis!). 

So, that night I went to T-Mobile and got my very first Smartphone – an HTC One.  Side Bar (and awkward promo): My salesman, Tom, was awesome!  Not only did he convince me to get an HTC over a Samsung, but I walked away with a case, headphones, and a screen protector.  It was buy two get one free, but still. Seeing how I did not want to even spend that much on a phone, spending extra = good salesman.

Anyways, the very next I was GPSing myself over the to the Evanston movie theater.  Not that I don’t know how to get there, but c’mon.  I HAD to use my new toy!  I mean phone….  

So, now I am sitting at work in my final 8.5 hours, googling Sports Bars that are Chicago Bear fan friendly.  I have found four:

Gael Pub

Overlook

Triona’s

Tavern on Third

I list them so I can refer back to my blog in September and choose where to go.  Probably Triona’s as they allow outside food and, like I said, I am cheap.  First game is not until September 8, so that gives me plenty of time to make friends and force them to BEAR DOWN! 

Fruitvale Station (2013)

Fruitvale Station is the story of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old man who was killed by a Bay Area Rapid Transit cop in the early morning hours of January 1, 2009.   Based on a true story, the film depicts Oscar’s last day of life leading up to the shooting, which occurred on the platform of the Fruitvale BART Station in Oakland, California. Police were responding to a fight on the train and while trying to restrain Oscar, Officer Johannes Mehserle shot the unarmed man in the back.

The dictionary defines ‘awe’ as, “an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like.”  I am in awe of this film, but not in the way I expected to be or in the sense I have read the critics to be.  My awe comes from fear.  The moment the credits started playing, I looked around and thought, “How many of these people are going to leave the theater with an intense hatred for the police?”  I fear a large percent will and did.

This extremely powerful film, mainly due to the phenomenal acting performances of Michael B. Jordan (as Oscar Grant) and Octavia Spencer (as Wanda Grant, Oscar’s mother), portrays Grant, a two-time felon, as a family man on the up and up.  Despite learning that he was in prison one-year prior, that he sells drugs, and that he has a slight anger problem, all signs point to a pleasant portrayal.

We watch as Oscar throws his marijuana into the river, vowing never to sell again.  We watch as he calls his mom on her birthday, promising to bring her crab for dinner (which he does do, though I think he stole it).  We watch as he calls his grandma to get her advice, displaying the loving relationship he has with her.  We watch as he interacts with people of all races, white, Hispanic, etc and treats everyone as equals.  We watch him with this daughter, the loving, devoted, doting father who three months prior had been sitting in a jail cell for 16 months for possession of a loaded pistol (I learned that on Wikipedia, not through the movie).

The latter half of the movie includes Wanda Grant’s birthday celebration and Oscar’s final hours celebrating the New Year with his friends and girlfriend.  The mood is happy and if anything, Oscar is shown in an even brighter, more appealing light.  It creates this whole air of peace and love, as if setting the viewer up to be even more upset with the police officers.  The police in this film are the enemy, the bad guys.

I am really not sure what filmmaker Ryan Coogler was trying to illustrate by making this film.  There is no doubt that the killing of Oscar Grant was unjust and the riots in the Bay Area following that shooting prove how upset and angry it made people.  So, why the hell did Coogler feel the need to revisit all those emotions and exaggerate the qualities of each character to make the emotion even stronger?  I literally feared my safety as I walked out of the movie on Saturday afternoon, scared that fellow movie goers were emotionally riled up and seeking some sort of outlet for that anger.

In this instance, the word ‘based’ when used in the phrase ‘based on a true story,’ really needs to be examined.  Was Oscar Grant really on the up and up?  Did he truly have such a strong bond with his family?  What about the ‘cheating’ incident his girlfriend keeps bringing up?  How often was he unfaithful?  Were the police officers really acting like assholes?  There is real footage shown in the beginning of the film, but it is hard to tell.  Plus, Oscar has this jovial meeting with a young woman earlier in the day at the supermarket where he helps her determine which fish to buy for a fish fry (or actually he calls his grandma to help her).  Then later at night on the train, she just happens to be there. And she happens to be the one who shouts his name and arouses the attention of the man who starts the fight.  Oh, and she is also the one who captures the entire thing on her phone.  Fact or fiction?  I have no clue.

The more I continue writing about this film, the more upset it makes me.  It is just a highly dramatized effort to cause an emotional impact on audiences.  And again, if it were not for the unbelievable performances of Jordan and Spencer, I would advise movie goers to stay away.  It is bad enough that this event happened and caused violent riots afterwards.  Why one man felt the need to “Hollywood” the situation and skew events to resuscitate that anger is beyond me.      

Shhh. Be vewy vewy quiet. I’m huntin apawtments.

One day after I wrote my countdown blog, I received a call from the woman I was going to meet about the apartment: her roommate decided to stay another year. The room was no longer available.  Bummer.

But, do not despair, this is positive Diana here.  I got right back “on the horse” (aka Craigslist and NYU housing website) and wrote email after email after email to potential roomies. How can I stress, via email, that I am clean (compulsively wash my dishes after, or even during, my meals), responsible (pay my rent at least a week before it is due), and quiet (if I didn’t have to say hi to you each morning, trust me I wouldn’t)?  I hate trying to represent myself on paper. Plus, I need to make sure to include the fact that “I can’t meet you in person, but Skype and phone are cool.”

The hard part will be not settling. I had my first Skype chat this weekend. My potential roomie delayed the interview two days in a row because she could not wake up on time (and that time was noon). The interview then lasted about 4 minutes before she said “Thanks Diana.  We will be in touch.” I am thinking that had to do with the fact that, out of my anger for the delays, I opened with, “I just want you to know I don’t drink or party, so if you are looking for a roommate to go out with, it’s not me.”  And in regards to settling, if she did offer me the space, I would probably consider it just so I had somewhere to live, fully knowing we are not a good match. That being said, I commit to NOT doing that (with her at least).

But it feels good when I walk away from my computer and have sent 5 emails to people. I compare it to applying for jobs. Just taking the actions to find myself a place each day is very encouraging. It is also making me a little anxious too, so taking time off from Craigslist is much needed as well.

I just had one woman reply and I will share, as it really was nice:

“Diana……………you sound like a great roommate to have………..so be choosey even though right now you may feel a little nervous……………and remember………..when you move in a place……….its your place too!   Don’t think about you being a BOTHER, it will be your home too!”

She denied me because she wants to meet the person face-to-face, but she said she would keep me in mind. I tried selling myself by saying I would be in my room studying, so I would not bother her.  LOL – guess I shouldn’t use that line anymore, huh? 

 

Let The Countdowns Begin…

11 days…Meet the women I may potentially live with for dinner

18 days…Last day of work

19 days…Leave for Las Vegas to party it up, Diana Ritter style, before two straight years of studying

26 days…Come back from Las Vegas and obsessively pack/worry for 10 days

36 days…Leave for New York City

37 days…Move to New York City

43 days…Say goodbye to my family and learn to be a big girl, all on my own

49 days…Graduate student’s orientation at Tisch

50 days…Cinema Studies orientation at Tisch

51 days…Choose my classes

57 days…First day of school

I cannot believe I am less than 60 days away from learning what is ahead of me at school and almost one month away from setting foot in New York City.  I just want it to be here already!  Not because I want to leave, but I just hate the anticipation.  I hate the unknown – what will moving be like?  What will my fellow classmates be like?   How much will I love living in New York City?  What will be my favorite class?  Which celebrity will I see first and how long will it take me to get used to seeing them around?  How many days will it take for me to figure out the public transportation system?  How many days will it take me to meet the man of my dreams?  Which Library will I use most often?  How much is my student discount on films?  I literally could go on and on with questions.  Feels good just airing them out.

Thank you for suggesting I blog Adrienne Ritter – it was like Bounty, a thicker, quicker, picker-upper.