today i received word that the screen house has gone under. the exact details i won't get into, but suffice to say, today was the last day for the few people still working at the screen house. maybe it's not my place to comment about the demise of another company, but since i've worked at screen house for 3.5 years, the longest time i've ever worked for a company, and since i was employee number 8 (at least according to my paystubs), i figured i have some what of a right to voice my opinions on the matter.

no, actually, i really don't have too much to say on the matter. the few people who got cut today, welcome to what the rest of the work force has been experiencing. i don't even know if i can comprehend what they're feeling. they've survived this long, you figured the company couldn't cut anymore people. and you're right, they didn't. the company went under, that's all. if it's any consolation, at least you were deemed essential enough by the company that they kept you for this long. what's essential for one company must be essential for another, right? that has to be at least worth something. in the layoff game, you guys are winners! winners and losers, the last remaining crew to leave the sinking ship.

what makes me a little sad is that someone higher up had to know what was going on. a company just doesn't collapse overnight. and that person higher up decided to keep this all a secret, and wait until the last possible moment before surprising everyone with the news. but can you really call it a surprise? in hindsight, there were clues everywhere. but if the boss looks you in the eyes and says nothing's wrong, who're you going to believe?

so the screen house is no more, but memories of the company will live on for all those who were lucky enough to have once worked at that mighty institution. something that good couldn't have possibly lasted forever.

* southern cheese is an anagram for "the screen house."

cherish is about a girl named zoe, stuck in the world of new wave 80's music, an outcast from her peers, who accidently gets framed for a police officer while driving drunk and has be put under house arrest, constrained by her electronic bracelet. robin tunney plays zoe, and let me just say right off the bat that sometimes she bares an amazing likeness to alexis bledel, "rory" on the gilmore girls. i've seen tunney in a few other movies such as end of days (1999), the craft (1996) and empire records (1995), and i think she has a quirky, distinctive look to her.

it's hard to put a finger on this movie. it's part comedy, part romance, part thriller. my favorite parts was when she used the grocery delivery boy as an escort service, the various ways she tries to increase the boundaries of her electronic bracelet, and the bracelet repairman, played by tim blake nelson (delmar, the dumb one of the trio in o brother, where art thou?), who comes to visit her and the flirtation that goes on between the two. i also loved the way she sort of decorated her living space (her dilapidated probation apartment), how over time it really took on her personality, it became her home. i like her sense of interior design, but unlike her, i would never throw a meat clever at the tv, no matter how much wolverines upset me.

for a theme song, the movie went with the association's "cherish" instead of madonna's "cherish." i guess madonna would be too mainstream and besides, rights to her songs are probably expensive.

talk about freaky coincidences: i went to go see cherish with eliza jones, and she recognized one of the bit actors as somebody she went to college with, and then later, at the house of the mystery man, she recognized it as the street she use to live on when she lived in san francisco. and since we're on the subject, eliza is one of those super reactionary filmwatchers, laughing when it's funny, groaning when it's disgusting, and jumping when it's scary. like a film response barometer, i know how to act appropriately by following her lead!

jason priestley has a cameo as the office lothario andrew, playing up to his good looks for some serious laughs. his career has sort of been in limbo since beverly hills 90210, but he was in a movie called coldblooded (1995) where he played a withdrawn assassin that i thought was pretty good (movie also had kimberly williams, janeane garafalo, and michael j. fox). liz phair also has a cameo in cherish, and i think she plays a bitchy boss to perfection. i believe this is her very first movie role, maybe she's trying to make it as an actress.

spoiler: is it just me or is that radio deejay stalker following zoe really hot? i mean, sure he's violent, but at least you know you're the object of his sick obsession so you'll never have to worry about him straying.

the ending was weird. why did zoe smash her ankle with a mallet to free herself from the electronic bracelet? the real culprit was just minutes away from being captures, why did she have to run then? maybe she didn't think she'd be able to get a fair shake at her trail, but that still seems like a lame reason for bolting. besides, wasn't she secretly in love with the electronic bracelet repairman? or was she just lonely, and he was one of the few people who visited her regularly?

i think once you fall in love with the character zoe, you just sort of follow her for the ride, curious to see what she'd do next. it's a nice little independent movie, if you like the premise of the film, then it doesn't disappoint. the music's not bad either, and if you lived during that decade, it's fun trying to remember the artists.

motorcycled to work, spent my day fixing up flash movies, had lunch from the trucks, and then i motorcycled home. a lot of people weren't in the office today, all the right ingredients for office mischief. earlier in the morning i called the bank attorney to find out what time's the closing on wednesday (10am). i also arranged for a walk-through of the condominium prior to closing, to make sure the sellers left the place in a relatively decent condition. wednesday wednesday wednesday. i remember a few months ago when the idea of owning a house was a million miles away. now, in less than 48 hours, everything will different. even after the house is mine, i can't move into it right away. there are little things i have to take care of, like make sure the place has basic utilities like electricity, hot water, and phone service. on top of that i had to call the cable company for my cable and internet service. once that's taken care of, a survey of the unit, seeing what needs to be fixed, what needs to be improved. walls repainted, floors resanded, ceiling reworked, maybe some items replaced. after that, i have to get furnitures. i don't expect to actually be living in cambridge until sometime in july. i have to do all this under the tightest of budget as well, because after 10am wednesday morning, i will not have enough money in my fleet account to prevent them from charging me a monthly fee because my balance is too low. june 19th i will own a house, but the bank will own me.

how do i feel? i feel like i have a knot in my stomach. i feel a little lost. you'll have to bear with me, it's my first time buying a house, i'm kind of new at this. everything i do seems to be reactionary, i'm not really sure what to plan for because it's never really happened to me before. thankfully not too much is happening at work, so at least i don't have to worry about projects.