Just got back from the Animation Mentor BBQ Extravaganza! It was an awesome weekend of meeting up with fellow students from AM, combined with some much needed time away from home for my wife and I, AND the chance to connect with my brother and his girlfriend for some fun. It all started on Friday…
We dropped our son off at day care, secure in the knowledge that my parents would pick him up that afternoon and he’d be in good hands all weekend long. We headed to the airport, got checked in, boarded, took off, and landed in Oakland. A short trip on the BART plus a quick cab ride, and we were checked in to our hotel – The Argonaut on Jefferson and Hyde. AWESOME hotel. The theme is nautical, but very tastefully done. The room was spacious and clean, our particular room had giant exposed beams and an exposed brick wall – overall a VERY nice room.
My wife and I headed out for a bite to eat, the plan being to grab lunch, then take the BART back over to Berkeley for the AM Open house, which was running from 3-5pm. However, we lost track of what time it was and how much time it would take to get there. By the time we actually exited the BART station at North Berkeley, it was 5pm. Fortunately, there was still a crowd at the AM offices, so my wife and I were able to cab it there and got a chance to see everything. Thanks to Michael for the impromptu tour of the offices! Also bought a snazzy AM sweatshirt while there. Finally got to meet ALEXISS at the open house. She’s a kick in the pants that Alexiss. She’s a good friend too, and it was awesome to finally meet her in person after chatting for the past 6 months or so. Other students/AM Staff I met at the open house: Carlos, Jonathan, Ian, Jay and Toby. Probably there were others as well, but I honestly don’t remember – we were quickly out the door and on our way to see Ratatouille at a local AMC theater. I was with the students from AM, but also met up with my brother and his girlfriend at the theater.
I can’t say much about Ratatouille except that it blew my mind. I’m sure my wife is tired of hearing it, but there were a number of scenes that were just amazing – stuff where the acting choices and animation just made my jaw drop. I won’t spoil anything, but watch for Skinner’s snappy gesture while he talks with his lawyer about Remy, as well as one of Skinner’s final scenes in the movie where he so obviously wants to hate something in spite of himself. That’s pretty vague, I know. But since I would hate to have spoiled anything for anyone, that will have to do. Anywho – those two scenes were, for me, standouts in a movie that was FULL of incredible animation.
After the movie, my brother gave us a ride back to San Francisco. We dropped off my wife, who was very tired, and then hit the town. Once we made it to our first bar (don’t remember the name), we got in touch with the other AMers, who were still on the way back. They hooked up with us, and we all wound up hanging out and closing down the bar we ended up in. Good times were had by all, except when my brother ordered me a shot of Fernet Branca. I’m not much of a drinker anymore, and even when I was, beer was generally my drink of choice. A shot of Fernet was, quite possibly one of the worst things I have ever tried to drink. Literally even now, just thinking about it, it’s giving me the shivers. Good times.
Saturday I woke up with a hell of a hangover. By the time I had recovered it was after 11. My wife and I hopped into a cab and shot over to Crissy Field for the AM BBQ. Hard to describe the event, save to say I would estimate that at it’s peak, there were probably 150 – 170 people there. Most were students from all over the US, although Bobby, Carlos, Shawn and other animators also showed up. I think a good time was had by all, the possible exception being those of us who didn’t put on any sunscreen and got fried.
After the BBQ, I met up with my brother again and we went out to dinner, then just hung out for a real mellow evening. Went to bed with no chance of a hangover on Sunday, which was a good thing.
Sunday, we met with my brother again, went out to breakfast, hit a few shops, then it was to the airport and back home. Always good to get home, even after a short trip like this one. All in all, it was a great weekend, and a great way to charge up the batteries in anticipation of Term 5 starting on Monday. Very excited to get going now.