Film Fest Tour: Day 7

4:00pm Got up this morning and barely caught the deluxe breakfast. Apparently the weekday times are much shorter. Got ready to head to the airport, but then got a little concerned when no one picked me up. So I called in and apparently the transport guy is no longer working for the festival and he neglected to mention that I needed a ride to the airport. But the Edmonton guys stepped into action and I got to the airport in plenty of time. Landed in Calgary just after lunch. Picked up by a lovely girl (who had a card with my name on it!) and we talked about our children on the way to the Delta.
Got settled in and then walked over to the festival office, which was hard to find inside the mall. Each festival is quite a bit different. I tried asking about other filmmakers that were in town, etc… but I get the sense that they don't do the networking thing here, which is kind of a shame… There is a Fubar 2 party tonight, so I'm debating going to that, although there's a film I really want to see so who knows… And in the festival office they were giving away free copies of the True Blood comic book. Sweet. Also their program book is pretty awesome. We're in the 'Hump Night' section and I really like the write-up they did for the film. Wish we would have had something more like it in the write-ups for Sudbury and Edmonton.
I got back to my hotel and a little elf had left me a welcome note from the festival as well as a chocolate boot with chocolate bark inside. Partially flattered, partially creeped out that someone came into my room. But they left chocolate, so the flattered side of me wins :)
I was hoping to see a theatre show called Blind Date while I'm in town tomorrow night so I called for tickets and it looks like it's sold out. Which is a drag. So I guess I'll just see more movies…

11:21pm I came into my room. The lights were on. The radio was on. The television was on. My bed had been stripped of the fancy pillows and unnecessary covers. Also a bottle of water and chocolates beside my bed. Again, I'm creeped out… except… there's chocolate… I call the front desk:
"Hello, Mr. LaLonde."
"Um. I think someone was in my room. Lots of stuff is turned on."
"It's part of our complimentary turn down service."
"It's a little creepy."
"A lot of people think that at first."
"And then they think it's not creepy?"
"They find it comforting."
"They're comforted by all the wasted electricity?"
"… the chocolate."
So today was pretty tame. I treated myself to a nice dinner in the hotel restaurant. Tomorrow I'll be more adventurous and eat in the city. I walked around a bit and then took in Small Town Murder Songs and Bummer Summer, then had a nice walk back to the hotel, whereupon I was creeped out by my room.
I think I'm actually going to get to bed at a decent time tonight. Tomorrow I've been asked to come to the University of Calgary to screen my film for the students and do a Q&A.