Scenes from a cinema

So recently, since it's been so stinking hot, I have been getting out of the house early and disappearing to cooler climates. This has included places like my car - when the A/C has had the chance to work it's magic - shopping centers and arriving at work early. One good thing about working in a cinema is that if you arrive early, you just go hang in a cinema for an hour and watch part of a movie.

Now, the whole reason I wen for the job at the cinema in the first place - apart from being desperate for a job - is that I'm a movie buff. But not just for the films themselves. I love the whole cinematic experience. I remember very fondly the local cinema in Penrith - the Hayden, I think it was - would have movies for $6 before 6 every Sunday. And I was there every Sunday. I'd get my huge cup of Pepsi and a packet of cheese Twisties, wander in, pick my best spot and wait. Eventually, the lights would go dim, the slides would come up, you'd get to see a few trailers and then it would go dark and the show would begin. I always used to get a little tingle of excitement whenever the opening logo would appear on screen, knowing I was about to be taken away from the world for a couple of hours.

The stupid part is, that now that I work at the movies, I never actually GO to the movies anymore. Work is a bit of a hike for me, and the last thing I want to do on my day off is go back to my place of employment. And going in early, even to see a film is . . ., well, how often do you want to show up early for work? And because I'm usually on the night shift, seeing things after work is out. We used to be able to play the movies for ourselves after work, but that got the kibosh put on it a while back. Also, the fact that I don't need to pay for movies at work, it seems stupid to go somewhere else and pay money. So, my opportunities to see movies are few and far between.

So, the last few days, when I've been able to sit in a cinema, not in uniform, not with a two way pressed to my ear in case someone calls me, has brought back all those memories of Sunday afternoons at the local multiplex. And like most good things, you don't realise how much you miss them until you get to experience it all over again. I remembering why I fell in love with the movies in the first place, and it's been melancholy but sweet.