1) I am a huge fan of Joss Whedon and Nathan Fillion.
2) One of my life long dreams has been to hold a Capuchin Monkey.
Okay, one more thing:
3) "Hold a Capuchin Monkey" is not a euphemism for anything. I literally have always wanted to hold a Capuchin Monkey.
In March, the U.S. premiere of Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing took place here in Austin at SXSW. I was so excited about this, that I sprang for a SXSW Film Fest wristband. Anyone who knows me, knows that spending money on anything other than the necessities or music or books, is a very rare thing. (For example, I once ripped the front leg of a pair of shorts, asked my friend Josh to help me staple them together and wore them for another three years before they finally fell apart to the point where they couldn't be worn in public. Why spend money on new ones, when they can still be worn?) But this was a Joss Whedon film, and Nathan Fillion was in this film and it was in my city, and it was announced that there would be a Q &A with the cast after the screening.........so I bought the wristband. I knew that having a wristband wasn't a guarantee that I would get into the panel, or even the screening. But I am nothing, if not a hope junkie.
On the day of the screening, I met up with a friend to wait in line. The group of people in line in front of us had been there since 1am. The screening wasn't until 3pm. I took a picture of them and sent a tweet to the Much Ado About Nothing Twitter account explaining that they had been there sincce 1 am . The Much Ado account retweeted it, and then a SXSW volunteer showed up and whisked those people off to interview the cast on the red carpet. I don't know if my tweet had anything to do with that, and I don't really know who sent for them. But the fact that they were being rewarded for their loyalty and commitment made me ridiculously happy. Me being me, I got all verklempt. It was the kind of magical thing that I associate with being a Joss Whedon fan. If my day had ended there, it would have been worth the price of the wristband- I had witnessed that little moment where someone was thoughtful enough to make those fans' day.
A few minutes later, a volunteer approached us and told us we wouldn't be getting into the screening.
Although I wanted to see the movie so badly that I would have watched through a tiny little peephole if allowed, I just thought maybe I had bought the wristband in order to see how happy those people were when they were chosen to interview the cast. That I was just supposed to see that little snippet of humanity. While discussing a plan B, the same volunteer approached us again and told us again that we wouldn't be getting into the screening. I sensed that we were annoying him, so I said my goodbyes and set out in search of lunch.
As soon as I was in line to grab a slice of pizza, I got a text from one of my friends that I had been in line with. "We got in!!!" it said. Huh. Okay. I typed a quick response "That's great! Have fun!" I would later find out that the reserved section opened up after some no shows. But I was still thinking about the group in front of us, and how happy they were. I just couldn't shake it. I was happy. I didn't get into the screening, but I was happy. This was how things worked out sometimes. I decided to call my sister Kris, because I knew she would like the story. She would get it .After I told her the story, she asked, "So I take it you didn't get in?"
"No." I answered, "But I think that just means that something really awesome is going to happen for me. Something even better."
She agreed, right before my phone died. I shoved my phone in my bag, turned the corner, and nearly ran into a couple who were holding......a Capuchin Monkey. I kid you not. Long story, short, they let me hold the monkey, who was named Mikey. They took a picture, since my phone was dead, and took my email address with the promise that they would send me a copy of the photo when they got back to their hotel that night. They informed me that it would likely be after midnight. I thanked them and went home to await the picture. I was so excited. I couldn't wait for my phone battery to charge so I could tell everyone I knew that I got to hold a Capuchin!
Around 12:30 a.m., I got an email notification on my phone. I opened the picture, and.......well, you know that awkward moment when you realize a lifelong dream and the only proof you have is......this?
In some very odd, Kirsten kind of way, there could not be a more appropriate image to document that occasion. To this day, it makes me laugh. Oh, and by the way, the next day, I got into a screening of Much Ado About Nothing, I met some really awesome people, and Joss Whedon made a surprise appearance to introduce the film. He was standing three feet away from me. We breathed the same air for a few seconds. So I am not really sure what I meant when I said something really great was going to happen for me. All I know is that looking at the image above, it makes me really happy and reminds me that sometimes things don't happen the way you had planned. Sometimes you are hoping to see Nathan Fillion, a man known for his photo bombing skills, and you end up getting photo bombed by a Capuchin Monkey's antics, and that is somehow what you needed.
That is a RIDICULOUSLY HAPPY picture!!
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