Today has been one of those days when everything that could go wrong went wrong.
My cell phone woke me up but I didn’t get a phone call. It was a text message from my sister who didn’t feel like waking me up though she wanted to ask me a favor. So she decided to send me a text message instead. Silly chick, she ended up waking me anyway.
I logged into my laptop and the first thing popped up on my screen was someone sharing a link to the breaking news of Heath Ledge’s sudden death. I was shocked. He was such a young, talented and diligent actor. He’s a rare gem in Hollywood. My heart goes to his loved ones. It is truly a tragedy.
There was a film screening at 12:30. Since I got woken up early today, I was ready ahead of my normal schedule. But then someone reminded me over MSN that today’s screening was scheduled to begin at 1 pm instead of the usual 12:30.
I asked him, “How come?”
His reply was, “They are new at this and don’t know that the usual media screening is scheduled for 12:30. I know you tend to show up early. But today’s showing won’t start ‘till 1. You can take your time to get there. No rush!”
There’s something not right about what he said. For a second I wanted to go ahead and show up as I originally planned. I asked him for reassurance and he was so certain about the time change. So I didn’t leave my house until 12:15.
When I was waiting for the subway, I looked up and saw the time on the monitor. It read, 12:33 pm. I thought to myself, “Usually we’re watching the upcoming attraction trailers by now.”
Going from my house to the theatre takes about 30 minutes if I walk the escalators to speed up the pace. But if I am lazy and just stand on the escalators, my traveling time will take an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
Knowing that I had plenty of time before the film, I let everyone walk pass me on the escalators and even let a few old ladies cut in the line while in the lady’s room.
When I finally wandered to the theater, the publicist freaked out when she saw me coming out of the elevator, “What?! The movie started 20 minutes ago!”
I thought I was 10 minutes when in fact I was 20 minutes late!
She said she could let me in but I would be lost without watching the first 20 minutes of the film. I loathe people who are fashionably late for movies and I refuse to become one.
As pissed off as I was, I couldn’t let it show. But this really messed up my schedule for the rest of the day. Now I’m at least one hour early for today’s agenda. The next thing to do is to pick up premiere tickets from a film company. I had to wait until after 2 because it’s an American company in Taiwan and they embrace the lunch hour wholeheartedly until 2 pm.
With one hour to kill, I went to a vegetarian restaurant for a late lunch. Thank god that I am a slow eater. Yes, I’m slow. Anyone who’s ever dined with me knows that when it comes to enjoying food, I believe in the French way – every meal deserves to last for hours.
After lunch I slowly walked over to the US film company to get my tickets. I arrived exactly at 2 pm and there was no one at the front desk. That is not to say that I didn’t see anyone. Different people walked pass me and in front of me but never bothered to stop. They looked at me, the empty reception desk, and then the clock on the wall.
Finally I heard a male voice coming from behind me, “They’re on lunch break ‘till 2 but then I know that she will take her time.” He pointed at the empty seat behind the reception desk.
It was the courier delivery boy.
Eventually I had to call the supervisor for my tickets. But that’s beside the point. The point is that I stood by the reception desk for almost 20 minutes and not a soul cared to help me. At least 10 people walked in & out of that office and no one said a word as if I was invisible. What happens to courtesy? What about being a Good Samaritan?
In my day planner for Wednesday January 23rd, I was supposed to watch two films: one during the day and the other one at night. Since I already missed the midday showing, I was determined to make it to the evening show.
Then I received a text message from the person who was supposed to go with me to the movie. “Please forgive me. Something just came up at work and I can’t make it to tonight’s movie.” I guess she chose to text me instead of making a call. That’s a smart move. I would probably give her hell.
Like I said, I didn’t want to miss the movie again. So I showed up by myself because nothing could stop me now. Two seats were reserved for me and one was by the isle. As soon as the movie started, the man who sat on the other side of the isle began commenting on the film. It wasn’t just him making noises. The person who came in with him would join him in a chat. What happens to SILENCE IS GOLD?!
There’s nothing more annoying than people commenting on the scene or predicting the next move during a movie. And the worst is that they have absolutely no shame ‘cuz they didn’t bother to lower their voices and talked in normal conversation volume. They don’t know that they are disturbing everyone in the theater.
All this chit-chats aggregated me and I turned to him and shouted out loud, “SHUT UP!” They quieted down for about 10 minutes and started talking over the movie again. I gave him a dirty look in the dark and I know he caught it. When the film was finally over, everyone started moving toward the exit and crowded the stairs. I thought I would wait a bit in my seat ‘cuz I hate being stuck in the crowd. All of a sudden a man stood right in front of me with only inches away. When I was about to take a look at him, he disappeared in the crowd. Then I realized that he’s the one I yelled at earlier.
In Taiwan there are people who like to talk or speculate what’s going on during the movie. It drives me crazy. Look, if you must talk during the movie, watch it at home. You don’t deserve to be in the theater because you ruin the fun for everyone. Everyone has to pay for the ticket like you do and what makes you special that everyone has to listen to you bullshitting. Rent the DVD and watch it at home. DVD rentals are invented for jerks like you who have zero respect for common courtesy.
