A Great Film, An Amazing Fundraiser and a March

Hello Sunday! Apologies for not writing sooner: it has been a wild week and I still haven't completely recovered. I went to brunch this morning for a friend's birthday and since I am on day 27 of my 30 day vegan challenge... I ate a lot of bread and I really really want to lie down. The brunch was at Yamm and for years I thought Yamm was an Asian restaurant. It's not. You learn something new everyday. That's all my mind can process right now. Ugh, so many carbs.

So much happened this week so I guess I will start at the beginning. On Monday I went to work and tried to focus. In the afternoon I picked up some more raffle prizes and then in the evening, a couple of friends came by to help set up gift bags and paint a sign. I took the day off on Tuesday and spent most of the morning watching Columbo and trying to nap. In the afternoon I brought a ton of prizes to Beaver Brewing Company, then took myself out for lunch, picked up another raffle prize and then met a friend for a drink at Cafe Gitarre. Around 6 I jumped onto the Ubahn and headed to Gasometer because I had been invited to the premiere of Hidden Figures which was being hosted by the Vienna Science Ball. I met Office Twin at the Gasometer Ubahn station (he calls himself a feminist and actually wanted to attend the event which is rare.) and we of course got lost as soon as we exited the station. We had been walking for about 5 minutes and I suddenly asked "Um. Do you know where we are going?" and he was like "I was following you!" We asked someone for directions and arrived at the oddly called Hollywood Megaplex. Of course we couldn't figure out where the entrance was so we ended up going into the parking garage and made our way into the "Mall". Or as Office Twin would say "This looks like it was built by someone who had heard of malls but had never been to one." Yes, the place was bizarre. We found the movie theater and picked up our tickets and hung out in the lobby. The incredibly dark, post-apocalyptic lobby. The film started at 7:15 and let me just say... IT WAS AMAZING!

And it made me cry. It made me angry and it made my heart swell and literally every single person needs to watch this film. And segregation is the work of the devil and jaysus I can't believe people are still fighting for their rights in 2017. So many things still need to change. And I will talk more about that in a minute but yes, fantastic film. Octavia Spencer is fantastic as is Taraji P. Henson and Janelle Monae. Kevin Costner is in it and plays Kevin Costner. It truly is an incredible film. And yes, alright, I totally tear up when people write math equations on chalkboards. Good Will Hunting? Kersplat, dead. Don't ask me why chalkboards and math give me the weeps but they do. But this film was not only about feminism and math, but truly about the struggles of African Americans in the US in the 60s... and the struggles sadly continue. Ugh. I got so so so mad during this film!

When the film ended, I was all cried out and also exhausted from making fun of Office Twin. He liked the film and finally agreed with me that it was truly a feminist film. I had watched Ghostbusters in the summer and when I saw him at work on Monday, I went on and on about what a kick ass feminist film it was. He watched it a couple of weeks later and tried to debate with me how it wasn't truly a feminist film and I said "Yes, white, straight man. Please mansplain me why." So finally he was agreement with me this time. I won't let him forget it, either.  After the film we chatted with a couple of people I know and then caught the Ubahn. The next morning I woke up with the nervous shakes. It was the day of the FUNDRAISER! I had only taken the morning off and I spent those few hours checking my self tanner and writing lists of things to remember. I headed to work around noon and spent the next 4 hours working and wanting to vomit. At 5, a friend offered to give me and another friend a ride to the Beaver Brewing Company and with that, we were off! We set up the prizes and the jewelry and I tried to stay calm.

At 7, people started pouring in and at 8:30 the raffle started. The longest raffle ever. Which means that there were sooo many incredible prizes to win! By 9:10 we were finished and I ordered another beer and talked to friends and of course made a complete idiot out of myself and I won't go into it here but let's just say that a very important person probably thinks that I act like I am on Spring Break daily. Sigh. Most people had left by 10:30 and then I finally sat down and took a deep breath. Done, finished, what a night! And in the end, we were able to raise 2,000 euros for the Beacon Beach House! I am incredibly grateful to everybody who donated a prize, who came and who have supported me these past few years. There are 98,000 euros more to raise but I am confident this will happen so see you all next week for another raffle? Heh. As I have said repeatedly, I am an optimist. And I have so many awesome people helping me fight. Now I just need a celebrity endorsement and then I will be well on my. I know that I am a bit of one, heh, but not on a global level... yet.

Disclaimer: I don't consider myself a celebrity. I was just trying that Secret stuff to get the ball rolling. VISION BOARD! VISUALIZATION! OPRAH! Cough. Anyway. It was an amazing night and I feel like a huge weight has now been lifted off my shoulders for the next day or two. Thursday I went to work and then Thursday night I passed out around 9. When the Husband came back from his evening out, he found the Kid wide awake, sitting in bed beside me as I snored. Fantastic parenting there, Tova. Friday... well, we know what Friday was. After work I met a friend at a Gasthaus that we are covering for Vienna Würstelstand. I drank a few beers to numb the pain of what was happening across the pond and then headed home. I had planned to avoid watching TV but the Husband had it blaring when I got home. I was sucked in and then invited a friend over to watch and bitch with me and drink wine. That was a mistake. The wine, I mean. The next morning I felt awful but I was also excited because Saturday was the big Women's March! Huzzah! I was lucky enough to secure a few "pussy" hats and with my fabulous new pink hat, I met a few friends at the Opern passage and then we all made our way to Karlsplatz for the march. It was freezing out but the crowd was fantastic! In the end we were over 2,000 strong which is wonderful. We only lasted a couple of hours and I ended up sharing one of my pictures on a popular Facebook page. Holy crap! I am now at 37,000 likes. I am totally going to be bummed from now on when I get like 3 likes on a selfie I post... because of course, it is all about me. The Women's March was epic on a global scale and I am so happy. I had planned to write about feminism in this post but I am running out of time so that will be in the next post because it is a very important topic and I am not sure I should really combine it with my delusions of grandeur of mentions of the Secret. Gloria Steinem would bitch slap me.

This evening I might meet a friend for a quick drink and then of course watch Pretty Little Liars with the Husband. Tomorrow will be a quiet day and then the madness will start again. On Tuesday the Husband and I are celebrating our 13 year wedding anniversary. I'm hoping for a rock that can also be used as a drill tip in mining (if you know what I mean. Looking at you, Hope Diamond). But I am pretty sure that I will be getting a paper weight instead. Him staying married to me for 13 years is probably enough of a gift. If I had to be married to me, I would probably smother myself in my sleep. If he has to hear "So I was thinking..." one more time, well, smother. He did say a couple of months ago that he never knows what to expect from me and that he is never bored so I guess that's a good thing. I think endangered animals might think the same thing too, though. Sigh. We are having dinner at Shanghai Tan and I cannot wait. On Thursday I am getting my picture taken and I will be gloriously awkward and uncomfortable. On Friday I will be at Flanagan's for a little bit for a friend's birthday and then Saturday is the SCIENCE BALL! Yay! I love balls... wait.. no.. dammit! Anyway, I better run but I want to end this post with the biggest THANK YOU in the world to everybody for the fundraiser on Wednesday. Please check out the Facebook event page to see the list of donors. Again, thank you and have a fabulous Sunday afternoon!

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