CMF: Caitlin. Movies. Frabjous.

Last night we finished up at our last school of the fall tour. I don't think the reality has really hit me yet. I'm sure once we get on the road, tour will feel like ages away. CMF touring kind of does that to you; every week feels like its own separate month. Speaking of which, can somebody tell me how it's possible that we're already living in late November? Thanksgiving has completely crept up on me.

Before I jump into this post, I have to give a shout out to my boy, Max Meinhardt, who made some pretty baller album artwork for Team NorCal. Nate and Nishant starred in a rap video for San Diego State University's finale intro. Max broke out his photo editing skills and came up with this masterpiece to visually describe our work of art:
Thanks, Max - youdabest.

Our plan is to start our drive back to Atlanta today, which will take about 34 hours driving time in total. I'm not looking forward to fighting the time changes. We also only have 3 drivers to get 2 vehicles (van and box truck) back home, so that's going to be a real challenge. Please keep me and my team in your prayers and thoughts =)

Given that tour is wrapping up, I thought I'd give some closing thoughts about what this experience has been like. Firstly, it's been a lot of fun. I know that sounds generic, but I mean it. Tour life has given me lots of opportunities to laugh and have a good time. Making movies, eating great food, checking out wineries and breweries, hanging out on the beach, going to awesome festivals, listening to incredible musicians... I've enjoyed all of these things.

I have to give some credit to my team members who've stuck it out with me the whole way. Nishant has so much passion and energy, and it's a blast to watch him get excited and connect with students and people in general. One of the things I've really noticed with Nishant in particular is how extremely different our temperaments are; he's an extrovert to the extreme and I'm an introvert to the nth degree, but somehow we've managed to get along =) Nate has been my boss and my best friend. I admire his management and interpersonal skills as well as his goofy personality. Nate has made some of the more cringe-worthy moments of tour much more bearable thanks to his careful planning and control. Even though I've been upset/annoyed/etc. with these guys at multiple points over the past few months, I still love 'em, and I couldn't ask for a better team.

I also can't get past this point without mentioning Ish, our amazing promotions assistant. He might be the strangest guy I've ever met, but I love him to death as well. The students have really enjoyed working with him, and I've enjoyed getting to know him just as much.


This job is completely unique and such a cool thing to be a part of. Watching students work so hard and create so many great movies at each school has been really inspiring. I think some of the most meaningful moments on tour have been when students personally tell me thank you. Going to finales and having students stop me just to tell me they've appreciated my help feels really good.

Something I'm really carrying away from this tour is just how imperfect I am; I don't mean to say that in a self-deprecating way at all. I've learned a lot about my limits and how much I can actually get done, which turns out is more than I expected! I've worked so hard, and I'm proud of what I've been able to accomplish along with my team so far. In light of all of this, I've been really humbled by my humanity; I realize that I can't possibly be perfect, but I can do my best and make great things happen. Working and living on tour can get really depressing if you don't stay realistic and maintain a good attitude.

All that being said, I'm going to stop the introspective overload and start getting ready for road trip part two. Wish me luck!

Team NorCal has officially transitioned to SoCal! We arrived in San Diego on Wednesday night after an 8 hour drive from San Francisco. We are fortunate enough to be staying at a house in a cute little neighborhood called Normal Heights. I gotta give Nate some credit on the housing situation - this place is sweet. Fun fact: our house has 2 other homes directly behind it (1 lot, 3 houses). It's kind of funny to see a front door in your backyard.


I already have an affinity for San Diego - great weather, great food, great vibe. Everything feels much more relaxed here as opposed to San Francisco (much of this may be due to the decrease in severe parking restrictions). When we got in on Halloween evening, we stopped by the Blind Lady Ale House, a cozy pizza and beer spot. I was really impressed by the amount of people I saw dressed up in costumes - lots of dedication to the holiday in this part of town! Sadly, I kind of missed out on the grand Halloween celebrations this year... Good news though! It seems that we came into town right in time for San Diego Beer Week 2012! I'm pretty excited to get my hands on some craft brews and enjoy a beverage with some new friends =)

Before I get too pumped up for San Diego, I wanted to mention a few last memorable events from my last weekend in San Francisco. First off, I got to visit Lucasfilm (only days before the public announcement of Disney's acquisition!) - fantastic experience! Our big boss man at CMF hooked us up with a personal tour on family and friends day. This meant that my three team members and I got a private look around the offices led by a Lucasfilm employee (thanks, Ryan!). We also got to see a special film that showcases all the operations that go on within the company (quite an amazing and educational look at Lucas's special effects). The offices are basically a museum, full of movie artifacts and movie posters, and complete with a gift shop at the end of the tour. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to get to check out such an influential corporation in the film industry. Just wow. The Yoda fountain was a favorite sight of mine =)



Over Halloween weekend, Nate and I checked out San Francisco's Chinatown. It really is funny how one minute you're walking through all the big, expensive shops downtown, and the next minute you find yourself stumbling into a totally different neighborhood full of Asian architecture and cheap buys. We popped into a few of the souvenir shops (panda overload!); I didn't actually end up buying anything though. After about 50 minutes wandering the streets, we decided we'd gotten our fill. We got some dumplings and headed back to our hood. Fun times!






Even though I didn't really get to celebrate Halloween as festively as I'd hoped, I did manage to carve a pretty snazzy pumpkin. Nate and I stayed up until 3 am perfecting our CMF-themed jack-o-lantern (no joke). I cut the top, drew the stencil, and carved the design, while Nate scooped the guts, spray-painted the whole thing silver, and toasted the pumpkin seeds - quite the team effort! We thought it ended up looking pretty good... Thoughts?





Another awesome end to my stay in SF was watching the San Francisco Giants win the World Series. I was hanging out at home with the game on the TV when the Giants swept the Tigers. The effect on the city was immediate. Cars were honking, people were hooting - the energy was all around. Nate and I ventured out into the streets to check out the hullabaloo only to be met with a massive block party happening right in the middle of the street. Public transit was still supposed to be running, but that was a definite no-go. One house was blasting music through speakers from their windows, completely running the party on the street. Everyone was drinking, dancing, and congratulating each other. Police were stationed nearby making sure everyone was staying safe. Fortunately nothing dangerous happened in our neighborhood, but seeing the aftermath of the rioting that went on elsewhere in the city was really disheartening; I really don't understand why people take something that is meant to be celebratory and turn it into an excuse for destruction. Dumb. All that aside, it was really cool to experience the spirit of the city firsthand. A lot of people brought brooms with them, sweeping the sky while swirling in the streets.

The last thing I'll mention isn't actually a San Francisco-specific treat... I got to taste Jeni's ice cream for my first time. Amazing. Jeni's is an Ohio-based company that produces some of the best ice cream available in the US. Nate brought back some brambleberry crisp to the house, and it was gone within 2 days tops. The pint cost $12, but it was worth every penny. So so good.


San Francisco was a blast - let's see if San Diego can show me the same good times!

It's hard to believe that I only have a week and a half left in San Francisco. I've gotta say, I'm going to be a bit sad to leave. My team and I have to pack up and head down to San Diego on Halloween, where we'll stay for another two weeks.

San Francisco has been such a cool place to hang out. This city always has something cool going on -  always. Funcheap SF has been my trusty guide throughout my stay here - Atlanta really needs a website like this.

Good news: I made it through hell week! It truly was a challenge and a test of my will power and sanity. I cannot even begin to tell you how many hours I actually worked that week, nor do I want to think about it. I am so glad it's over and done with, and that all of our events went well!

Now that I actually have some time, I'm going to recap some of the awesome things that have happened over the past month. Let the long blog update commence...




I hit up Tour de Fat, a bike festival that occurs annually in San Francisco - AMAZING. One phrase can sum up my experience here: sensory overload. It was like a playground for adults. I was joined by my friend Daniel, Nate, and two of Nate's local friends. We got to see He's My Brother, She's My Sister, which was absolutely terrific. If you haven't heard of them, check them out. They'll make you wanna dance =)





Tour de Fat had a ton of weird sights all over the place, including an extra large kaleidoscope, life-size Jenga, a precarious wooden structure on which professional bikers ride called the Whiskey Drome, and an arena full of strange bike-like contraptions (check out the video).


I was also fortunate enough to hang out at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, one of San Francisco's largest festivals. It's basically a huge outdoor concert with a vastly impressive line-up of talented artists. I saw The Lumineers, The Head and the Heart, Glen Hansard, Nick Lowe, and The Civil Wars. A note about The Civil Wars: this was the first time I heard the duo sing, and without a doubt, they were my favorite performance. Even though the crowd was made up of some thousands of people, everyone was silent when Joy Williams and John Paul White sang. Their melodies and harmonies are so hauntingly beautiful, and I consider myself so lucky to have been able to hear them make music live.




Having Catherine visit was an absolute blessing. Nothing compares to spending legitimate quality time with a best friend. Catherine, Nishant, Nate, and I all went on a wine tour during her stay - one of my favorite activities so far. We found a truly delicious port at Homewood Winery - a 2008 Zinfandel. I don't even know how to describe to you how incredible this wine was... The bar tender was nice enough to let us sample the port with some of their homemade dark chocolate truffles - a match made in heaven.






Besides wine tasting, Catherine and I checked out a public battle royale in Dolores Park featuring a mob of people dressed up in various cardboard costumes, grabbed an animal style burger at In N Out, and watched Hook at a drive-in movie event by Fort Mason. I'd say it was a successful BFF visit.

My greatest accomplishment today was making chocolate chip cookies - best baked good I've concocted in awhile. Here's the recipe, if you want to make something delicious for yourself =)

Until next time!

HEY! It's been awhile...

CMF has been keeping me so busy lately. Finding a spare moment to blog has unfortunately slipped to the bottom of my priority list. We are currently entering our designated "hell week," and I will admit, I'm a little scared. We have 5 events this week, 4 of which are back to back. We are double-booked like nobody's business. I am going to be running, driving, and speed walking all over the place trying to get everything done for this week. Please pray for my team and their sanity.

I've done so many fantastic things since the last post, which totally deserve some kind of reference. I've gone to a San Francisco Giants game, watched The Graduate in Dolores Park, gawked at the outlandish attractions featured at Tour de Fat, consumed delicious horchata, eaten some of the best subs around, visited Muir Woods, and most recently, attended the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival where I saw The Lumineers, The Head and the Heart, Glen Hansard, and The Civil Wars. My life is INSANE right now. When I have more time, I will try to go into detail about each of these events... Such good life experiences.

Here's the good news: once I make it through this week, Catherine is coming to see me! I'll be done with my work week around 1am on Friday night/Saturday morning after putting on a finale in Sonoma. I could not be more thrilled that I get to come back to San Francisco to see my favorite redhead and spend the weekend gallivanting around town.

BRING IT ON, HELL WEEK.

So in the short time I've been in San Francisco, I've already started thinking about things I like and things I don't like so much. Therefore, I decided to make this blog post in list format. Enjoy.

Things I Like About San Francisco:
1. Food trucks

I had the immense pleasure of checking out Off the Grid, which is essentially a foodie's dream. A gallimaufry of food trucks pile together in one parking lot and people from all over the community come out to try a vast selection of different street food. I was overwhelmed by the abundance of choices at first, but I eventually settled for Senor Sisig's  California Sisig Burrito. BEST CHOICE EVER. My burrito was stuffed with chicken, shoestring fries, shredded cheese, pico de gallo, sour cream, and guacamole. I ate the whole thing =) Next time I'm going to have to check out Bacon Bacon.

In the past four days, I have traveled about 2,500 miles by car. Can you say junk food and hot beats?

The first leg of the journey included a stop in Oxford, Mississippi to visit Alex-Anna, one of CMF's past co-ops. We were greeted with warm smiles, swarms of sorority girls, and some bodacious Southern BBQ. A note on those sorority girls: they were virtually all wearing athletic shoes, Nike shorts, and oversized t-shirts. What is the deal with that? Anyway, AA treated us the with the true Southern hospitality that I'm sure we will miss in San Francisco.

I was introduced to a new road tradition by Nathan, our team's tour manager. Apparently every time he stops at a gas station during tour road trips, he does push ups. Check out his form!


The first night ended relatively calmly in Russelville, Arkansas at a Quality Inn.

The second day was a sensory overload. First, I started the morning off by driving the big box truck for the first time. I was nervous, but I think I managed to get the hang of it pretty well  (we made it to San Francisco, didn't we?).


We stopped off for lunch at Mama E's Wings and Waffles in Oklahoma City, OK, which was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Even though I've lived in the South all my life, I have never tried chicken and waffles. Needless to say, I was really excited to get the chance to chow down on this Southern staple. I was not disappointed. Both the chicken and waffles were topped with powdered sugar, just adding to the sweet joy of the experience.


After lunch, we headed to Amarillo, TX to check out Cadillac Ranch, a sculpture garden right next to the highway. This site is one of the coolest roadside attractions I've seen. Several old Cadillacs are buried nose-first in the ground and completely covered in graffiti. People are encouraged to bring their own spray paint and leave their mark.


We ended the second day in Albuquerque, NM.

The third day, we headed out of Albuquerque after a stop at Whole Foods, which was full of green chiles. We stopped at the Hoover Dam on the border of Arizona and Nevada, a truly beautiful sight. I can't imagine the man power it must have required to build such a huge structure!


After we were done soaking in the site's grandiosity, we drove the short distance to Las Vegas for a night on the town. Nate hooked us up with a room in the Monte Carlo on the Las Vegas Strip, where we promptly changed into our fancy clothes and headed out to the city. Nate and Nishant, our team's promotions manager, were daring enough to gamble in the Bellagio, indubitably one of the nicest and most expensive resorts in Las Vegas.