Tim Burton Owes Me 40 Bucks!

Twice this week the movies interfered with my desire to earn an income and not starve. On Wednesday I went out the the Queensway cinema (as far West out of the city as I am East) for a free advance screening of Sweeney Todd, courtesy of my good friend Monica. I thought the movie was one of the most pretentious pieces of garbage I've ever seen, but everyone around me seemed to like it. Then I got home and found a message from my temp agency, telling me to call them back for a four-hour job the next morning! I left my apartment at 4 to get to the cinema early, so I missed the call at home. Then I was in the cinema, and missed the calls to my cellphone. Needless to say, I didn't get that job - by the time I found out about it, it was far too late to call anybody back to get details. It would only have been for four hours at $10 an hour, so no great loss.

And it did mean I got a good title for this post out of the deal. No, Tim Burton, you do not owe me 40 bucks. Nor do I want my money back for that movie. It was a free screening, and worth every penny I paid.

Fast-forward to yesterday, when I went to George Brown College to drop something off for Violet, who was at work. I decided that, since I was downtown and close to a cheap Rainbow cinema, I would take myself to The Mist, which I've been wanting to see for a long time. This time I was clever and had my cellphone at the ready, and called to see if the agency had anything for me. They did not. But no sooner had I ended the call when I found I had a voicemail - from someone at the agency who'd been calling me at the same time I'd been calling them! After waiting ten minutes on hold I finally got through to him, and he told me I had an interview lined up for Monday! Excellent! I went off to see the movie in good spirits.

Those good spirits were dashed by The Mist, not because it was bad but because it was so very good. One of the best horror films I've ever seen, and one of the few to actually frighten me. When I got home, however, I found two messages not from my agency but from job postings I'd contacted on Craig's List, asking me to call back to them straight away!

The lesson here seems to be, if you're unemployed, never go to the movies. It's not disastrous, though - I'll call everybody back on Monday, and it seems I will soon have my pick of jobs. Good things come to those who wait... at home.