As many of you know, I am an unabashed geek. And as such I am always happy to be involved in any nerdfest. So when I heard that the next Twilight film, New Moon, was going to be showing in Salt Lake City at midnight on opening day, and that there was going to be Jacob and Edward themed theaters for this premier event, I was eager to sign up.

My friend Wendy also wanted to be part of this little geeky adventure. So we bought tickets for us, and our third wheel Jason, a few months ago. (The theaters were all already almost sold out.) Since Wendy is a big Jacob fan, and I like Jacob and Edward nearly equally, we decided to join the groupies in the pro-Jacob or “Fur” theater.

Wendy and I were pretty excited about enjoying this movie with all the screaming 13 year old girls and housewives. I even bought a Jacob shirt to wear to the event because my geekyness knows no bounds but I was out-nerded by Wendy; she made a New Moon countdown chain for us so we would know exactly how many days we had to suffer through our giddy anticipation.

The night of the premier the theater complex was completely packed with people, mostly of the female persuasion; it was the most crowded I have ever seen that building. But can you blame the girls for flooding in? This wasn’t just a movie; it was an event.

Lots of Twilight goodies came with our special (and especially high priced) tickets: candy, drinks, popcorn, shirts, posters, stickers, dog tags… just to name a few. The Fur theater also came equipped with its own flesh and blood Jacob. No, not Taylor himself, but an actor that was a darn close double. He was even shirtless and tattooed. I missed my chance to get a picture taken with him though because I was too busy running around picking up all of my free Twilight swag from booths scattered around the building. Dang it! Next time!

The movie itself did not disappoint. I thought its special effects were vastly superior to those in the first film. And as for audience response…there was a lot of support in our theater for Bella’s werewolf friend. During the scene where Jacob removes his shirt the shrieking was almost deafening. I think Jason’s screaming was the loudest though; I still can’t hear out of that ear. Just kidding, though I’m pretty sure he did giggle a bit.

It was a fun night and a unique experience; I enjoyed it despite the chaos and swarms of people. And if some of you wish to ridicule this nerdy activity – don’t bother – mockery doesn’t even slightly faze a shameless geek such as myself.

Play! A Video Game Symphony is a touring concert series that combines live orchestra music with footage from videogames. In essence you listen to videogame “soundtracks” while watching corresponding clips on three large screens.

Play! came to SLC last week for one night, with the cooperation of the Utah Symphony. Jason and I, along with a few of our gamer friends, decided to attend this event. Since I don’t really play videogames I was only familiar with a few of the pieces on the program but the boys in my group, and most of the crowd, seemed to recognize the bulk of them. The audience was very enthusiastic about their favorites.

It was a fun and strange night, a night in which the refined and the not-so-cultural became almost indistinguishable. The social confusion was uncanny enough to make me feel a bit like I had entered a parallel universe, one in which nerdy customs were considered the height of sophistication. Dang it! I just used the term “parallel universe”. Now I have revealed my geeky underbelly and ruined my credibility as a gamer defamer. Oh well, as the old adage goes, if you can’t beat them you better play nonstop until you can!

Last week I had to go to Park City on business. Jason decided to tag along and we made an overnight outing of it. A snowstorm hit Park City about the same time we did and the landscape was quickly transformed into a powdery wonderland. It may be my boarder’s biasness, but I think that’s the way Park City is meant to be experienced, under a violet sky filled with softly descending flakes.

We stayed at the Hotel Park City. It was beautiful and the staff was very accommodating. I would recommend it to anyone looking to getaway. Our room had a balcony and fireplace. Ahhh…relaxing. It probably would have been more relaxing if we hadn’t spent so much time shopping but I couldn’t resist a little “Christmas” shopping. Okay, okay…I bought more stuff for myself than I did for anyone else but I did purchase a few things for some of the people on my list. So there!

It was a nice mini-break from our daily routines. A bit more powder, enough to make some sweet boarding possible, is the only thing that could have brought the excursion closer to perfection.