a99kitten's Musings

…when you think about it, he just walked away leaving Anakin there burning up alive in volcano lava AFTER cutting his legs off. No mercy saber to the heart, nothing….

Guess Mace L. Jedi isn’t the only bad motherf***** in the galaxy.

Blurb about John Thain, the former CEO of Merrill Lynch, from “Too Big To Fail”…

“In his junior year at MIT, when he interned at Proctor and Gamble, he made a simple but highly significant observation of an assembly line he was supervising. The workers were making Ivory soap, and whenever technical problems forced the line to come to a halt, they would wait for it to start up again before getting back to work. The college boy persuaded the workers that there was no reason to stop – they could keep making soap and stack the boxes on the side until the line came back on. That way their bonuses, which were based on production, would not be affected.”

Ok. So…after re-reading this and having a “fist of fury” moment (as my husband calls them as I really do shake my fist in the air in fury) at the pure unbelievableness of it, I asked myself so it took this boy genius from MIT to convince these workers, whose bonuses were based ON PRODUCTION, to keep making soap and simply stack the boxes to the side until the assembly line was working again so they could load them up? Really? THIS is what the heck people do when left to their own devices? And there was clearly no better supervisor previously to instill this little nugget of wisdom.

This is the type of thing that infuriates me. Mind-boggles me. And makes me NOT sympathetic to the (typically but not always) union worker bee who feels entitled to corporate profits, lifetime pensions and health benefits and whatever else they can get. I guess businesses really do need those highly paid MBA types…that way work can still get done, and workers can make their bonuses, when the assembly line stalls.

Filing under #unfrackingbelievable

Been reading “Too Big To Fail” and the biggest nugget I have personally garnered so far (besides that Paulson TOTALLY allowed Lehman to go down in flames much like I always assumed) is that you can not ever trust anything said by the government or media. Now, I already knew that but wow – this really pushes that home. Yikes. It’s not like I ever felt the banks were 100% responsible because everyone had their hands in the cheap money pie, and I have about 4 blog posts in my head about mortgages, and banks and F the government AND idiot and unethical borrowers but we’ll see if I blast those out anytime soon or just let it simmer down inside. But grrrrrr. People that blame the banks and mortgage brokers solely for all the problems in their world need to get a fn clue (after looking in the mirror.)

Ok, cleansing deep breath….turning on my Zen music and finding my Chi (or is that Chew…bacca?! :) )

Another thing the book has done is make me re-evaluate my stock portfolio a bit. I have a 401k account that I check in on monthly but my stock account I watch daily. Not that I am a day trader because I am not. Do not have the time or energy to do that anymore. And most of what I own are companies that I know of due to personally liking them or brand recognition or some such thing. I did take a flyer on 2 small positions at the beginning of the year on companies that were not in the above categories and so far they are doing well. My intention is to keep them for the year though and not long term investing like the rest. I consider myself an investor and not a trader, even though that’s the way more fun side of it :)

I made a couple of small day (really several days) trades earlier this year and did well. But then I bought a teeny 100 shs of Pandora hoping for a quick pop and missed. Lost just over a point before I quickly flushed it but that annoyed me. I knew better. I know Pandora is crap (from an investment perspective – have never tried the service) but I thought it would be fun…like the old days! Was hoping for a 3-5 point in 15-20 minute turnaround to put in my Jimmy Choo fund :) Oh well. Wasn’t a big loss in cash but VERY annoyed by the fact that I did it even knowing 100% in my gut that it was a bad call. Like – totally knew it. Grr. Dummy. So I nicknamed my stock account DUMMY (online you can have a nickname) until I feel less dumb. And I hate feeling dumb.

No, this current market is making me keep my money in the safer stocks for the time being. Not that they can’t go down, but I have a fair degree of certainly they will all come back just fine short of Armageddon…and then I guess I will just need my gold and guns. Companies like MCD, YUM, TIF, AXP, BRK (B), AMZN, AAPL, SBUX, BP, VLO and some others. I also bought some fairly distressed GE and MS a short while back which hasn’t done too much but I think long-term they will also be fine and might even buy more under 20 and 24 respectively.

I do own some BAC and C which both stress me out a bit since they are technically too big to fail and yet totally can. But that’s the gambling side of my account I guess. I’m flat on both of them right now so we will see how I feel if I see much red. Although, I do tend to think they will go up somewhat at least, it will just take some time. That feeling thing. BUT, by the time I finish “Too Big To Fail”, I might change my mind and scream SELL MORTIMER as I can’t push the button fast enough!

I recently bought a healthcare stock – which I normally stay away far away from and also have a couple AG and commodity play stocks. I got rid of my ETF’s (except SLV) as I really prefer to own the underlying securities. ETFs are boring an way too many layers of even more people involved that you can’t trust. Though I do pat myself on my back for selling my USL at almost the very top of WTI prices. Genius oil speculator without even knowing it! I prefer to own the underlying asset in SLV too (and do) but I bought my shares at 17 so I’ll just keep it for now. Plus hoarding physical silver takes up a lot more space than gold so its OK to have both real and paper in that :) unless of course you believe all the conspiracy theories about silver (like the gold conspiracy theories) which honestly, after you read about the banks, are harder to just pushaw away. A good conspiracy theory keeps you on your toes anyway.

Yes, this investor went more Scrooge McDuck than Gordon Gekko during May and now June. Getting kinda ugly out there…and part of me says well, the fastest way to get Obama out of office is to keep it rather ugly out there so who knows….

The one I saw at ILM was an original. Those go for $1075 and I opted not to consider buying that. If it was a Han/Chewie…maybe….

Although, it was quite gorgeous. No – this one is good for my office. Love the look and the colors. AND Number #11 of 195!!!! YAY for low numbered collectibles!! :)

Now I *really* have to stop buying any prints/artwork until I take what I have in for framing.

I saw X-Men: First Class last weekend. GO SEE IT! I loved it!!! Now, I am a lover of the X-Men comics. But they did a really great job with this movie so even people who know nothing of the X-Men can enjoy it.

They concentrated on the story and acting much more than most comic book movies. Obviously there were a lot of special effects but I never felt that they were the center piece of the movie. They were merely part of it like any other actor.

The Hellfire Club storyline is my 2nd favorite after the Dark Phoenix saga so I was very wary of them doing it well. They didn’t really fully flesh out the Hellfire Club as it is done in the comics. I can only hope they take it further if they do a sequel and not just jump into another storyline – that would be cooler I think. I was also very suspicious of Kevin Bacon being cast as Sebastian Shaw. I like Kevin Bacon. But this character is a certain way and his physical attributes kinda help make him. And Kevin Bacon doesn’t have those. But he was GREAT.

All of the casting was fantastic. James MacAvoy was a great young Charles Xavier. Hilarious that they showed him being a bit of playboy in college :) Michael Fassbender, who plays Eric (Magneto) was, in my opinion, perfect. He plays the dark, handsome, super strong man who has his demons. Also = hot :) If Daniel Craig ever wants to stop playing James Bond, the producers needs to look no further than this guy.

All the younger mutants (the “First Class” were good. They do veer from, or “re-imagine”, the X-universe. But that’s OK. They did it really well much like the new Star Trek movie did. There a couple surprise cameos in the movie which are fun. Yes, I do think they could have found a much better White Queen than January Jones but she looked the part and didn’t have to emote too much. Although if they did expand on the Hellfire Club storyline and needed the White Queen to do more – they might consider replacing her. Or getting her acting lessons.

The bulk of the movie is set in the early 60s which is a gorgeous time period for costumes. Mad Men (and James Bond before it) shows us how cool they are dressed back then! They set this around the drama with Cuba, Russia and JFK. It works as a good backdrop and a useful story.

I highly recommend the movie!

Also…Michael Fassbender = HOT :)

Guy in turtleneck = yum :)

So my pinched nerve is still around and killing me. I get my (hopefully) final x-ray for my ankle on Wednesday, and while it gets sore after walking or doing my physical therapy, it’s nothing compared to the “I want to saw my shoulder and arm off to stop the pain” from the pinched nerve. 24/7 pain can wear you out. My husband seems to think it’s no big deal. CANNOT wait until he hurts himself and needs sympathy or understanding…

So far, I’ve been to a medical doctor (2), a chiropractor, physical therapist and an acupuncturist. They all agree I have textbook symptoms of a pinched nerve. Yeah, thanks – I got that by reading webmd. But there is no “cure” for that other than your body healing itself. Great. But the chiro and acupuncture did help to a certain degree. Next, I believe I will be trying a Wiccan spell…maybe some voodoo?

My regular doctor sent me to a “Physical Medicine” doctor yesterday who deals with sports and back/shoulder injuries and pain management. He prescribed me a home traction machine (think The Rack for your neck and head) and Prednisone for a week. I like the traction machine at my physical therapist’s so hopefully that gets delivered Monday or Tuesday. It literally stretches your head/neck/spine to relieve the pressure on the nerve. I’m also hoping it will make me a couple millimeters taller :) He also prescribed a drug used for nerve pain. I grilled him on what the drug was, side effects, what else it is prescribed for, etc and he assured me it’s one of the safest drugs out there. Uh-huh (I have a natural distrust of doctors…will never change my mind about that.) I read up on it before I took it because I’ve pretty much decided 90% of drugs pushed nowadays contain some form of psych drug which I want no part of. Get away.

I read the info sheet but then went online. First, most people who put their experiences up online seem to have bad ones. I learned that when researching Storm’s illnesses but man…people…we need positive stuff up online too! Sheesh. Anyway, a lot of psych drugs are pushed for pain nowadays because you are likely to be depressed if the pain is long-lasting. Of course I’m depressed you numnutz – I AM IN PAIN. And can’t do anything fun! But giving me something to F my brain up is NOT the solution. Stopping the pain and curing why I have the pain is. But the drug he gave me is not a psych drug. At least there is no place I could find online that it is prescribed for any type of mental crap and, in fact, people on message boards talk about how they take this for the nerves and something else for their depression. Nice. So I might try it tonight. I really hate taking anything for any reason.

I was watching TV and there was a Cymbalta commercial on. But before you know it’s for Cymbalta they show you people who are experiencing regular daily pain from back injuries, arthritis, etc. so you would assume it is for a pain reliever. Then they say “Cymbalta Can Help” (their wonderful tag line.) F.U. Eli Lilly. F.U. They now basically prescribe anti-depressants for anything: for pain, to quit smoking, weight loss. Frackin’ gross.

Yes, I get how being in pain for a long time can depress you. Of course it can. I haven’t been able to do anything fun for weeks. And just sitting and reading or watching TV hurts. And yeah, I get bummed about it. But I *will* get better. I refuse to stay in a mopey state of mind for very long. And when I get mopey, I know it’s because I’m tired. Tired of hurting and being tired. I don’t sleep much or well. And haven’t since I broke my ankle which then led to the pinched nerve. Plus being in pain simply wears you out. But there is not 1 part of me that would EVER consider taking an anti-depressant to “deal” with that. What is wrong with society that this is the only way you know how to deal with things. By not dealing and just drugging. Bah.

I also read the info sheet that they gave me with my Prednisone. Every side effect in the world is possible – excellent! But I like how weight loss AND weight gain were included. Huh? I’ll take the weight loss please…thanks!

But here is hoping with my ankle x-ray is good and the brace comes off this Wednesday, which will then allow me to walk more normally and not aggravate my pinched nerve so that heals and it all gets better. I need to be in good walking/running shape by Comic Con!!! And I need my husky walks again. THAT is a natural anti-depressant :)

Stormy had me worried a bit. He’s been fussy with his food/eating over the past couple weeks which is not a good thing. He gets his medicine in his food so he has to eat. So I decided to try just giving him chicken with no dog food. Ate it right up. Very excited about it too. So then I gradually gave him less chicken and more dry food (they both get some chicken or tuna in every meal) to get him back on his regular diet.

Then he started getting fussy again. So I tried more chicken again and he didn’t want that. Wha?? So I made some ground turkey. Ate it right up. Then I mixed that in with his food and he ate it. But then the following day ate a bit less. Then he ate some of the turkey but no nuggets. So then I scooped the turkey out and put it in a separate bowl and he ate all of turkey. But still no nuggets. So I gave him extra turkey to make sure he was getting enough to eat.

Meanwhile, Angelus thinks it is great to sneak in and get all the extra food, nuggets or meat, that Stormy leaves lying around.

I used all the turkey that I made for their dinner last night so I made them some chicken this AM. Storm ate a little but then left it. So I scooped the chicken out into a different bowl and gave him that. He didn’t want. But then he went and ate all of the dog food nuggets in his main bowl. No chicken, just nuggets.

OK, who has trained who here?

This is the Chewbacca plush I got to hug at ILM on my tour! And he RAWRs when you hug him!!!

Needless to say – ordered! And SO excited!! He will be here Friday!!!

You would have been 28 today.

I remember all the birthdays I got you Ducktales cakes, Teenage Mutant Ninja cakes, or GI Joe cakes. Of all the GI Joe stuff I put together with you on your birthday. And the Super Mario we played. As you got older, I realized you preferred money or gift cards, which isn’t nearly as much fun to shop for, but hope you always had a good and fun birthday.

I recently received a letter from the man who received one of your kidneys. He has a new life off of dialysis to spend with his kids. He said he had given up on ever getting a match. It’s sad for me to read but good at the same time. I hope he realizes how lucky he is. Pretty sure he does.

I was hoping to hike your ashes up to Hawks Peak today. I always wanted you out here in CA with me, and you finally realized, after your tumultuous teen/early 20s years, that it would be a good thing. I want part of you free in the mountain air where I know you would have loved it.

I am still sad. And think life is wickedly unfair and stupid. But there isn’t much to do about that other than recognize it and deal with it. Never think for a second I will ever forget you. That I won’t still laugh at all the funny stuff. I have the Chewbacca action figure you gave me 1 week before you died. It will always be my most treasured and favorite Chewbacca.

I hope you are enjoying a much easier, fun new life where you are now. Wherever that is.

I miss you dude. A lot.

Yesterday I got to tour ILM in the Presdio!!! It was actually my 2nd time there but this time, we got to see some areas/stuff off the beaten track, secret floors and rooms. No pictures allowed!

A friend of mine texted me Wednesday AM before 7am saying he got us a tour for that day!! Whheee!!! But wait! Nooooooooooo!! I had a meeting that I could not change. I was so, so, so sad. My friend was bummed for even telling me after seeing how sad I was – he’s a nice guy. But work is work and being an adult and responsible is important. I guess? Still debating that general thought actually but in this case it did work out! Wednesday afternoon, my same friend said the guy who took him on the tour was bummed I couldn’t go (?) so he said anytime I can make it up, let him know! WHAT?! So I wrote down my meeting/unavailable dates and friend got us in for Friday the 13th!! I have always been a believer of good luck on Friday the 13ths. Mostly due to the fact that I am not a dumb teenager staying in a creepy camp site…

Now, I still have a broken ankle. And I’m not supposed to walk around too much on it. BUT..come on! I’ll walk slow! And I have this pinched nerve issue (from the hobbling and cane use due to the broken ankle…good frackin’ grief) so I am not supposed to hobble much. But again – come on! When I woke up on Friday, I could feel the pain in my shoulder and arm but I thought to myself too dang bad. I am not missing this.

We got up there around 11am. It was a beautiful sunshiney day in SF (rarity.)  We parked in the underground garage and saw the UPS man there – we wanted to mug him – knew he had tons of fun packages! The lobby is small but airy and filled with very cool collectibles. Life size statues of Darth Vader and Boba Fett plus tons of light sabers, statues, busts, books, pictures, etc.

Welcome

Apparently, in the production “off-season”, they have some Friends and Family Fridays where employees can bring in their friends and families for tours.  This is off-season for them since all the summer movies are done and they have a bit of a production lull so people take their vacations now, not so crazed, etc. It was pretty quiet. But we weren’t the only visitors. A few families had kids and you could tell a few others walking around were like us – gawking in awe – so likely not employees. I overheard 1 lady say she had never seen any of the Star Wars movies. Everyone standing right there just stopped and looked. It was like a space alien had just landed and we were all trying to understand her. Then she added quickly “but now I will!” Uh-huh…Anyway so our friend said let’s have lunch in the Commons first and then do a backwards tour so we don’t run into other people. Plus he wanted to show us some “not toured” stuff and didn’t want anyone else following us. Umm – OK!

The Commons is their employee cafeteria. But a very nice one. And OMG – the food choices. If I worked there I’d turn in to a giant fattie! Fresh Mexican plates and burritos the size of a Jawa made for you with freshly grilled meats and the works, fresh pastas cooked to order, sushi, salads, a vegetarian station, paninis, burgers, and a whole dessert station! I opted for the daily special of 3 mushroom risotto. It was SO good. I would say 2nd only to Cipriani. Waaaay better than any restaurant in the Bay Area where I have tried it. The cafeteria is pretty big and has views of the Golden Gate and golden dome of the Palace of Fine Arts. Plus is was such a clear and blue sky day – amazing views.

Over lunch we asked the guy a lot of questions about working there and he was telling us the different things that he worked on. He told me a couple of books that I needed to read all about the early days at ILM, Star Wars, etc. He said I would totally geek out. I of course have forgotten the names of all the books with so much inflow yesterday but I know my friend will remember as he said he owned some of them already and will now read them. On of them (the one he thought I would enjoy the most) is Droid Maker: George Lucas and Digital Revolution. He said very few photos so Kindle friendly if they offered it (alas they do not.)

Also quite funnily, he had never seen an episode of Clone Wars! He said he was waiting to watch them all at once. He said he has been hearing how the show is getting more and more popular and season 3 was getting rave reviews. He asked how I liked it and I had to fess up that I’ve only seen season 1. I need to buy the other seasons on DVD – especially now that they introduced Chewie in the season 3 finale! I don’t want to give too many of his details away since he took us to some off-tour areas :)  My friend met this guy by buying something off of Craigslist from him. So he didn’t really know him that well other than a few conversations and didn’t know me at all. But he was an incredibly nice person. Who knew they still existed.

Finished lunch and off we went. We hit up the employee store to get that out of the way! I kept it simple – bought a Skywalker Ranch Fire and Rescue sweatshirt with the Falcon as the rescue vehicle in the center of the emblem. All of the Ranch or ILM stuff is apparently only available there (or at the Ranch) so I thought it was cool. We also went by Java the Hutt, their in-house coffee bar. hehehe.

As you walk down any hallway, there are cool movie props on display – on the walls, in cases, hanging from the ceiling, etc. There is so much to take in that you cannot take it all in. So it’s a good thing we all had to walk slowly to accommodate my hobbling :) Plus there are old, original movie posters from so many old movies. A really cool Elvis/Nancy Sinatra in go-go boots one – so vibrantly colorful and huuuge. Movie posters used to be drawn and were so much more artistic than the photos we generally get now. And there are so, so many! They line the hallways. Movies and stars you have heard of (giant Gone With the Wind) to foreign films or B movies I certainly had no clue about.   But the posters were all very cool.

Obviously, tons of Star Wars stuff. But keep in mind, ILM works on so many movies. Slimer from Ghostbusters was very cool :) The giant portrait of the bad guy in Ghostbusters. As was ET. So many cool things to look at. And of course Yoda and one of many Stormtroopers (although we decided this trooper looked battle damaged!) And tons if display cases everywhere that you try and soak it all in.

Slimer

ET phone home

Stormtrooper

Yoda. You seek Yoda.

Apparently the Yoda they used in TESB is in a warehouse (with the Ark?!) and it is pretty beat-up/degraded. He is pretty old though :)

They have a long hallway of all of the movie posters, in chronological order, that they have worked on. Godfather II? Who knew? We were discussing how they held a vote there about which was the best movie and it got down to a choice between TESB or Raiders. He couldn’t remember which one won though. Tough choice for sure.

Walking across a skywalk, it was lined with models used in various movies. One of the original Velociraptor models used for Jurassic Park. I mentioned how amazing I thought the effects were in that movie. The guy said it is commonly agreed in-house that the effects done in that movie are as good if not better than what is produced today. They are all in awe of the stuff from it. I do remember how amazing I thought it was when I saw it for the first time and it still holds up well now.

Also very cool was the blue lady from the end of A.I. And giant sized version of the Gentle Giant animated Leia (one of favorites – I have the small version.) She is about 5 feet tall I would say.

GG Leia

There were models used from Mission Impossible, Transformers, Starship Troopers, Curious George, Lemony Snicket and more. See – I can’t even remember there was so much to take in. He was telling us stories from when they were housed in San Rafael, before they built the Presidio campus, of when they would do the explosions for movies. The model guys would create these fantastic models and then it was explosion day. They would get a “5 minute to explosion” message and everyone stopped work, got up and went outside. Then they would blow it up! And I guess they film the explosions in slow motion, so sometimes they would see it didn’t blow up the way they needed so a new model had to be built for more exploding! He said the model guys loved it actually – when an explosion went right everyone cheered!

They had a couple big ships from Starship Troopers hanging from the ceiling. I was hoping for a Falcon but never saw one :) Did see Han in carbonite. It’s not the original from the movie though. There is also a Jar Jar in carbonite. Some kids there wanted their pics take with it and not Han! See – George wasn’t stupid when he made silly, kid-friendly characters. They act as a gateway drug. Horrendous pic of me but focus on how cool Han is!!

The guy said that the 501st actually made the Jar Jar one as well as one of George in carbonite (which I’ve seen pics of.) He said that they made them as gifts for George, who normally never accepts gifts from fans or groups as it can get weird, but did accept these and put the carbonite Jar Jar here and has the carbonite George at the Ranch.

After looking at so many different hallways and enclaves of models, posters, props, etc we got to go to the 7th floor. Apparently only 1 elevator has access to this floor. It’s the executive floor. It’s super pretty – lots of dark wood and glass. Like exec floors should be. If we turned left, you could people in offices down there. Ssshhh…don’t go that way (wonder what deals they are working on?!) Turn right and walk right past a nicely but simply decorated, unassuming office with my same Gentle Giant Chewie statue at the center of the table. The name on the office “Lucas/Spielberg”. I wanted to take a pic but no pics up there. Then you go to their exec dining area and it’s super nice and the giant conference room has a huge wall of glass overlooking the Golden Gate. Very quiet and serene up there. I did snap of a pic of these off the elevator before the no photo rule:

SW Disney

These aren’t secret though (so I don’t think bad posting!) since they are already released (2009 I think?) They are from the Star Wars weekends at Disney. I’ve just never seen them in real life before and now I need to get the Goofy Chewie and Donald Han in carbonite for sure! They are so cool IRL. The big problem with the tour was seeing so many of the collectibles that I *don’t* have in real life (although apparently I do have a lot) and totally loving them. I have a procurement list now. Oh boy…I better make some good stock trades :)

Then we went to the 6th floor. Also off-tour route. The receptionist desk had a giant “life-sized” stuffed Ewok sitting in the chair with a headset on and looking at his computer screen. Taped to the computer screen were pictures of Leia on Endor and Wicket. Very funny :) He had arranged with one of the execs up there (?she had her own office so I am guessing) unlock the secret doors for us. These are rooms where companies send SW products – some of them are unapproved so no pics were allowed. But walking into these rooms and just looking around at so, so many collectibles from around the world – some I’ve seen, some I hadn’t and some I never would (not and won’t be approved) was like a kid in a candy store. The entire area was licensing so there were just boxes and boxes and shelves and rooms of Star Wars stuff.  It was crazy. As we were walking out the lady asked if we wanted to see the new fluffy character hats (think all those asian girls wearing the cat ears beanies with long ear flaps) they were still in process of approving. Umm – yeah! Her office was a shrine to Chewbacca. She said he was her favorite. OMG. She said the Chewbacca hat HAS been approved (I NEED TO FIND THAT FOR COMIC CON!) and we got to see the Wampa and Ewok ones which was still mid-approval.

She also had a Chewbacca plush that was about 2 feet tall and super plush and squeezable. When you hugged it, it made the Chewie growl. I was thinking how fast I could hobble out of there if I swiped it and ran – thinking not too fast. Dammit ankle! She said they were a UK exclusive. ARGH! I need a friend in the UK so they can scour the land in search of grawring Chewie for me!

We went into another guy’s office that was lined with shelves of prototype busts, models, etc. Holy Hell. He even had the elusive Snow Bunny Padme by Gentle Giant. Wow…..never seen one in real life. So pretty. If he would have been there, I think I would asked if he wanted to sell it. Come on dude – you have so much stuff in here and she is stuffed away on the bottom shelf! You would never miss it!!! Sigh.

One hallway had ALL of the Sideshow, Gentle Giant and Attakus statues and maquettes. OMG. Some I had never seen IRL, even at Comic Con. They were all on these built-in shelves with cool lighting. That’s what I want at home for mine!  Need to work on that. I actually got some cool ideas for my collectible displays. Silly to have them if you can’t look at and appreciate them as the art they are :) The guy was showing me his most wanted Sideshow pieces and we were talking about how the female figures are always so great. He said he felt a bit odd buying them sometimes though since they are typically quite voluptuous. I said the female statues and busts are always the first to sell out BECAUSE the geek boys buy them :)

But if I had to pick 1 item to take away if given the chance (at least of what I saw), there was a painting about 2.5 – 3 feet tall of Greedo’s face and Han’s reflection in his eyes. It was fantastic. I SO wish I could have take a photo of it. I’m guessing the original art work on the walls were all used for something – trading cards, posters, Con banners/hangings, something. I need to find this image – it was very cool. Especially knowing that was the last image Greedo saw before Han shot first :)

Yoda fountain outside is pretty especially with the blue sky day. This is outside the lobby and anyone can come take pictures. There was a line to when I took mine. I think anyone can walk into the lobby and see the lobby stuff. It’s a decent draw in the Presidio for tourists. But no further. You get issued guest badges that work certain doors/turnstiles we had to go through. You don’t get to keep them when you leave though obviously but you can keep the ILM name tag they give you :)

Sun. And more Sun. There is no fog.

By now, I was hurting pretty bad but running on joy and adrenalin. My shoulder, arm and ankle were killing me. But I was going to finish! He took us to his cubicle area (past the sign were it said NO TOURS ALLOWED…oopsie.) Previously, when my friend told him how big of a Star Wars nut I was, he asked if there was any collectible I really wanted and still didn’t have. So he told him the ILM employee holiday gift of the Chewbacca bronze bust. He said oh – I can sell her mine, I am trying to clean out my collection to buy other things. WHA?? I would also like to add here that the cubicles and offices here had WAY more toys and collectibles than me (well..at least some of them) so I don’t want to hear any more “You could open a toy store” comments at work!

The first ones I saw of these busts were selling for $800-$1200 on eBay. Zoinks. I don’t even see them for sale anymore. My friend did find one via Craigslist for me but the guy had dripped model glue on it so it wasn’t perfect and overpriced for not mint. I had a bad feeling about it :)  Apparently, within 10 mins of the gifts being handed out, one was up on eBay. That guy was fired. Bad form dude. 10 minutes??

Our guy said he would sell it knowing it wouldn’t end up on eBay and it was in the hands of a true collector who would appreciate it. :) :) And he sold it at a way beyond fair price. Like – cheap.  The bust is not the best rendering of Chewie in terms of likeness. His nickname is Stroke Chewie due to the kinda sorta lower hanging lip. But I have always wanted it. Ever since I first read about them. It’s something very few people have. And now I am one of them. Squee!

Was a fantastic trip and fantastic day. I was in a LOT of pain for the rest of the day and night but there is not one teeny itty bit part of me that doesn’t think it was worth it. Plus the guy said he was trying to get us into Skywalker Ranch!! He said it’s harder to do now since someone took a friend up and they saw and took photos of some stuff from Iron Man 2 before it came out and posted it online. Bad, bad form. So they tightened up friends and family tours. But he said he was fairly sure he could arrange it. I have ALWAYS wanted to go there. So that would be an amazing experience that I would love. Crossing fingers:)