Monday, November 8, 2010

Across the miles...

I'm just going to come right out and say that while I put on a good front, I'm actually a bit of a chicken. This won't come as any surprise to the folks that know me really well, ie anyone who has ever slept in the same room as me (hello nightlight!). Despite this, I have a penchant for scary movies. Not often and not of the torture horror variety, but occasionally one will come along that grabs my fancy. The Blair Witch Project was one of these. Most recently, it was Paranormal Activity. A low budget, independent film that concentrated on psychological suspense rather than blood and gore, I saw it last year during a girls' weekend in Tennessee and it absolutely scared the cuss out of me. A year later and I still have night terrors about it.

When they announced they were making another one, I was not initially enthused. Rarely, in fact almost never, do sequels of these kinds of movies turn out to be any good. But reports came in that the filmmakers were doing everything they could to avoid the pitfalls that have plagued so many other doomed sequels. And then  early reviews were positive and it looked like there was cause for optimism.

A couple of months ago, Lula, Brandy and I half joked about getting together to see Paranormal Activity 2. It was the three of us (in addition to our friend Heather) that saw the first Paranormal Activity last year and it seemed natural that we would come together again for the second one. Distance and responsibilities being what they are, though, it seemed about as likely to happen as Lindsay Lohan successfully completing rehab.

But then a couple of weeks ago, we took a serious look at our calendars and decided that we were going to make it work. We landed on a date and began plotting. It took a little coordination on our parts, both Lula and I had to arrange child care so we could leave early enough from our respective homes to make it to Brandy's house (4.5 hour drive for me, 3 for Lula) in time for dinner and the movie, but we made it work.

Finally, the day arrived and I hit the open road. It was a long drive, but my excitement (and a trough of Dr. Pepper) made the time pass quickly. The laughs didn't stop from the moment I arrived until I left the next afternoon. There were times I was laughing so hard, I could barely breath. We had a fabulously fattening dinner where we introduced Brandy to red wine, unsuccessfully; we saw the movie, which wasn't quite as good as the first but definitely had some chills; we stayed up until all hours talking; and after sleeping in, we hit Cracker Barrel for a breakfast lunch.

A couple days before I left, Neil commented to me that it was an awfully long way to go for a movie. And he's not wrong. But the truth is that while I did want to see the movie, I didn't really drive all that way just for that. I drove 280 miles to see friends that I haven't seen in person in a year. To sit across from them. To give them great big hugs because I miss their faces. The internet is an amazing thing. If it weren't for this ability to connect over the miles, I never would have met these great ladies, and it is a wonderful tool for maintaining these relationships. But it is no substitute for sitting down at the kitchen table with a great glass of wine (or four) and making lewd drawings at 3am with friends.

Miss you girls. Can't wait for Paranormal Activity 3.

By the way, have you voted for me today in the Baltimore Sun Mobbies? I'm nominated under the Family category and don't forget to select Land of Bean for Best Overall! You can vote once a day until November 12. Thank you!!

20 comments:

  1. That sounds like so much fun! I would absolutely make a 4 hour drive for an evening with friends. I absolutely would not watch Paranormal 2, but that's just me being a scaredy cat. Glad you had fun!

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  2. Twitter friends ARE real. I'm already making plans to meet some in San Diego next year where we swear that if we don't really hit it off in person, we'll fake it :)

    I've found that I can meet somebody in person, ever so briefly, but really develop a friendship through blogs and Twitter. Now, I even, gulp, talk to some of them on the phone! What a crazy world...

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  3. I have made so many friends on the internet. I am disabled so I probably couldn't make the drive to see them, but how lonely I would be without them on the internet

    It's not just meeting disabled friends either. It's an opportunity to know so many different types of people you never would have known otherwise. y internet friends are as much to me as my real life friends, sometimes more as they are somewhat removed in my life and you can confide in them things you can't tell your IRL friends.

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  4. We rule. I'm so glad we rule, too, because we are fun & good times & all that stuff.

    "What do you know about the latte?"

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  5. I love it! I just did a similar drive a few weeks ago (albeit mine was about 3 times longer). But it's so fun to know that we all make the time and the effort for those who mean something to us!

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  6. That is so awesome that you did that. I am glad that you had a good time.

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  7. I am so sad that I missed it :( Is it even worth seeing? Those were some good times last year, and totally worth a car trip to repeat (especially if it's less than five hours, and minus Gatlinburg traffic!).

    Sounds like you all had a great time! God bless bloggie buddies!

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  8. Blog friends are totally real friends. Wine, girl talk, and Cracker Barrel sounds divine. Hell, driving several hours in the car by myself doesn't sound bad either! I'll skip the scary movie though because I'm a scaredy cat. Glad you had fun!

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  9. Haha. The first thing I thought about when I saw the commercial for that movie was y'all. Iwondered if you all would be able to get together for it. Too bad there is no video of y'all or pics like the last time. Can still see you all standing around the computer at the table to watch the alternate ending. Glad you guys were able to do it.

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  10. That is a long way for a movie, but not for good friends, so I agree with you. With that said, I freaked myself out the other day on a episode of 'Afraid of the Dark' on tv. (one of those rare evenings when I was home all alone). lol.

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  11. Good times for sure & the red wine wasn't too bad. You're always welcome at La Casa Uwoodz where the doors squeak and it's dark as hell. :)

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  12. Oh I'm with you on the night light. And probably one of my biggest regrets in life was seeing "The Ring." Even for a fun night with friends...I would probably have to only half watch the movie to survive. Red wine would help.

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  13. How fun! Good for you for going. I've just recently gotten to meet some bloggers in my area.

    You are less chicken than I am. I saw Blair Witch but couldn't bring myself to see either of the Paranormal Activity movies.

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  14. I would go that far to see a movie ANY DAY. Good friends are worth long drives, long flights, and long waits. I'm so glad you got to do that, and see that movie. Because seriously? The first one made me kinda flip out...like I was emotionally traumatized and thought about having my house exorcised just from watching it there. But now I kinda want to see the second one...

    i have problems.

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  15. love the post, love the sentiment. and for the record, i'm a big chicken, too! :)

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  16. Sounds like such a good time. I haven't seen Paranormal Activity 1 or 2 yet and don't think I could handle it, either. Especially the second one because it involves a baby! The Blair Witch Project scared me silly as did The Ring and The Grunge. Can't handle scary movies anymore!

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