For those of you who don't know, Dennis Quaid and Sarah Jessica Parker have been filming a movie ('Smart People') entirely on the CMU campus and in Pitt. Quaid's character is a professor who has a very boring life and Parker plays his ex-student who falls in love with him (or vice-versa...)

Anyway, they decided to do some filming in my building over the last 2 days and I didn't think too much about it (except for the huge parking inconvenience which bugged me). So on Thursday night I returned home after part 2 of Tristan's 21st birthday celebration and was fast asleep by 1 a.m. At 2 a.m. I heard this incessant knocking which I initially assumed was either in my head or some weird noise from my fridge. When it didn't cease, I realized someone was at my door... at 2 a.m.! Talk about a night call. I walk to the door and see 3 men wearing flak jackets. Weird. I try to listen in on their conversations and it soon strikes me that they are part of the filming crew. I open the door and they inform me that they really need to install spotlights in my room near the balcony. Since they had already woken me up, I decided to let them in (that and my curiosity).

Over the course of the next half hour I learn that Sarah Jessica Parker's character lives in my building! They used a vacant room on the 3rd floor to shoot the indoor scenes. They now needed to shoot a scene where Quaid is standing outside my building and looks to Sarah's apartment, sees the light on and realizes she is still awake. Turns out the director decided that my apartment's balcony was the only one suitable for the shoot. :-)

So here are some of my musings from this amusing incident:

1) They actually chose my building and a room identical to mine for Sarah to live in. I think that says a lot about my choice of residence ;-)

2) The fact that it took me 15 minutes to open the door probably cost them thousands of dollars -- especially since they were 2 hours past scheduled wrap time. Who says you can't put a price on sleep ;-)

3) Apparently you can find the glamor of Hollywood, if you're able to look past the boring time spent re-shooting a scene over and over again.

So when the movie does come out and if the scene doesn't get cut, you'll see Quaid looking up at Sarah Jessica Parker's apartment window and you can say "My friend lives there" ;-)

Lol. To start off with, I apologize for the Borat quote in the subject line, but I can't help it! :-) If you've seen the movie you know what I mean ;-)

Anyway, I FINALLY got a chance to see the Broadway production of Mamma Mia! It was at this beautiful theatre called the Benedum in downtown Pitt. (see pic below) I've been looking forward to this for a very long time, especially after attending the Abba sing-along at the Alamo in Austin :-)

The musical began with a warning that parts of the play involved people wearing spandex. How funny is that? :-) And at the end, after taking a bow, the cast returned to the stage to perform 3 songs again for the whole audience to stand up, sing along and even dance to! What a way to say good bye!

So how was it? Simply AMAZING! I obviously loved singing-along to all the songs, but much more importantly, the play had a proper story line. I had heard complaints that there was no real plot and the creators just tried to squeeze in the songs anywhere they could. But that was hardly the case. The characters were pretty well developed, the songs were appropriately used, there was a lot of humor, romance and in some instances a tinge of sadness. This is definitely a play every fan of ABBA will love. And if you're ambivalent, I have a pretty good feeling that you'll like it too. :-)

Everytime I get on an airplane, I wonder who I'll be sitting next to. On my way to ATX I had 2 seats to myself which was supercool since I was flying early in the morn and this gave me a lot of room to take a nap :-) But on my way back to Pitt, I sat next to 2 very interesting people.

On my ATX-Memphis flight, I sat next to a Kendal from Ole Miss who is a senior studying Pol Sci. Both her parents are involved in the construction crane business which obviously got us to talking about Dubai (since 20% of the world's cranes are in use there). Turns out she spent a semester abroad in Argentina and her thesis topic is all about the relation between civilian and military governments in S. America -- a fascinating subject. We spent the whole flight talking about everything from the Argentine economy to Pinochet's trial that never seems to start. We also talked about Ole Miss. Turns out that guys wear suits and girls wear cocktail dresses to football games! How weird is that? Apparently the motto is "we may not win every football game, but we never lose a party" ;-) And like so many other people I know, she has plans of going to Europe this summer. She also subs at a high school during the hols which got us to talking about the American education system and whether it was easier to teach high school kids or middle school kids. Overall, I had one of the most intellectually simulating plane conversations ever! Thank you Kendal!

And then on my flight from Memphis to Pitt, I sat next to this nice lady who's lived in Pitt for the last 10 yrs. She helped get me mentally prepared for the cold winter ahead ;-) Apparently it took her 8 years to get adjusted to it. LOL. And, I also learned that tomorrow (monday) is a holiday for schools (not universities) in PA. Why? Cos it's the first day of the hunting season! LOL.

Anway, I'm now back in Pitt after a wonderful T'giving break, thanks to all my friends and family! 2 more weeks of school and then I'm done! Yay!

Borat: As a spur of the moment decision, my friends and I decided to go and watch Borat. How was it? Let's just say it was so offensive/bad/naughty/(any similar word you can think of) that it was very funny! There were a few scenes when I couldn't bear to watch what was happening. The fact that apart from Pamela Anderson, no one else was in on the joke makes it that much funnier. :-)
[Rating: B+]

After getting done with my exams mid last week, I finally got a chance to relax and get excited about my trip to Austin. What's a good way to relax? Watch movies of course! Here's a new installment of my movie reviews:

• Casino Royale: Bond is back! I strongly doubted that this movie could live up to all the hype. Not only did it do that, I came out feeling I had watched one of the best Bond movies ever! Instead of cheesy technology-driven plots, this time the focus is on the man. The female characters in the movie are no longer there just for their looks. In fact, the main female actor stands up to Bond the whole movie and doesn't mind talking smack. Loved it! This is definitely a must-see!!! [Rating: A]

• The Departed: Another movie I had heard a lot about. With a cast featuring names like Di Caprio, Damon, Nicholson and Wahlberg, I was curious to see how they would act together. The movie was action-packed, had a complicated plot that was well explained and overall lived up to my expectations. The only problem I had with it was the ending. Waaay too much happens in the last 15 minutes and I walked out dazed. Still, it doesn't take anything away from the rest of the movie. [Rating: A-]

• MI:3: I didn't catch this movie when it came out in theatres, partly due to my dislike of Tom Cruise. But after waiting several months for it to come out on DVD, I decided it was time to give Cruise the actor a chance and watch it, especially since I had seen part 1 and 2 and liked both of them. MI:3 is a pretty good movie. There's action, romance, some cool technology (not to mention a beautiful Lamborghini) and a few twists and turns along the way. A fun movie! [Rating: B+]

Apart from all the movie watching, Pittsburgh had it's annual Light-Up Night -- the official start of the holiday season. We're talking live music, carol singing, christmas trees, fireworks, the works! That was a lot of fun and while I'm running the risk of getting holiday-season weary soon, I'm glad I went for it :-)

And finally, I'm just 1 day away from my trip to Austin!!! I'll be leaving behind light snow flurries for 70s. Not such a bad deal ;-) I can't wait to see my friends again, walk around campus and go for the UT-A&M football game. I've been so caught up with work that I've forgotten how much I love Austin and all that I've left behind. It's definitely going to be hard to leave on Sunday to come back to Pitt, but that just gives me more reason to enjoy those 6 days :-)

Happy Thanksgiving and be safe!

Let me start off by saying there's nothing to worry about. I'm fine. It was more of me being a good Samaritan.

I was on my way back to class after coming home to take a nap. I was crossing the street right across from my home when I noticed a car at the intersection with the fender completely ripped off and 2 middle aged ladies sitting inside and talking. I wasn't sure what was going on as no one else seemed to be paying too much attention so I just stared at the car as I crossed the road. The second I was level with the car, the lady inside yelled "Someone call 911". Turns out her car had just been sideswiped seconds before I crossed the street. The whole call was surreal and thankfully neither of the 2 ladies were injured seriously. They were more shaken than anything and had minor cuts. Also, there was a fire truck parked just down the street (the firemen were doing some grocery shopping :-) ). They noticed the car and came to have a look and also called for backup. And just when I hung up talking to the responder, a lady walked up and identified her as the driver of the other car that had hit this one. So what seemed to be a hit and run wasn't that bad.

And in the middle of all of this (I was pretty much standing in the middle of the street the whole time) a girl walks up and says she was an eyewitness to the whole thing and then, out of all the things she could have said, she asked me if I went to UT. That caught me off guard even though I knew I was wearing a TX Astronomy t-shirt. Turns out she is a recent TX Ex too. Unfortunately, that wasn't the time or place for any socializing and I had to make way for the cops and medics.

Anyway, that was my interesting experience for the day. But I have noticed that I have been finding TX Exes all over the place. In fact, the night of the Red-river shootout, I was shopping at the local grocery store when a middle aged couple asked me if went to TX (I was wearing a burnt orange t-shirt, of course) and turns out they were TX Exes too... from 1960 or so! They hadn't watched the end of the game and wanted to know the final score. I was obviously happy to tell them UT had kicked OU's ass and gave them the website and contact info for the PA TX Exes so that they could come to our game watching parties.

And still on the note of the TX Exes, I've just been asked to take over as webmaster for the Western PA TX Exes network (soon to become a full fledged chapter)!!! Who would have known that UT would follow me everywhere! I am seriously considering becoming a lifetime TX Ex and think I'll sign up for it when I go to Austin in Nov.

Well that's it for now. I have to go back to studying for my 2 tests this week, one of which is a re-test for an exam I took last week (it's a long story but basically the class did so horribly that the prof felt compelled to give us another test). I am eagerly awaiting our midsem break which is a long weekend from the 20th-22nd of this month. :-) I'm thinking of going on one of the Fall foliage drives to see the leaves change color and maybe visit some vineyards and the like... Will make a post once I come to a decision :-)