There is an unofficial list of things that every person should do at least once in their life: see the ocean, sing and dance in the rain, go toilet papering, etc. I completed one of those things this week. I went to my first midnight showing of a highly anticipated movie. Somehow I managed to miss all of STAR WARS and THE LORD OF THE RINGS, but this week I saw HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE. Now, I will freely admit that I'm not perfect. That means that I did not line up at 2:00pm the day of to get the "best seats", but I did go to the midnight showing. Never in my life have I been to the midnight showing of anything. To be completely honest, the night I graduated from high school my father told me that he could count on one hand the number of times I had been out past midnight in my life. I was completely fascinated by the people I found at the theater. As I watched those around me, I found all sorts to observe: the teenagers at the front of the line dressed in the Hogwart's school uniforms using drumsticks for wands, the 12-year-olds just in front of us who were also "first timers", Grandma down at the end of the row munchin' on her dippin' dots, and the would-be entrepreneur who wandered around outside with wands for $5 (he entered the theater empty handed). There are all kinds. I'm not going to lie, I was a bit skeptical when I heard "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" and my first thought was "are you kidding me!?! who's going to be kicked out of the theater tonight?" to my pleasant surprise I looked up to Harry and Draco dueling in the aisle. Nice effect. I was amused. Somehow, I made it through the TWILIGHT preview (don't ask unless you really want to know) and found myself cheering with the rest of the crowd as the credits rolled and the familiar strains of the theme song floated through the theater. There is an energy that comes with the perfect crowd in the perfect theater for the perfect show. About an hour in, we had an "intermission". That's what happen when the power goes out. It could have been a highly awkward situation, but really it was nice to stretch my legs. I chuckled when the healer-next-to-me's wand came out for a simple "reparo" and soon thereafter Ron, Hermione, and Harry reappeared on the screen. Somehow, I made it through the rest of the night without so much as a yawn. I'm sure it was the energy of the crowd that got me through the night and the next day. As I shared my adventures the next day, one of the girls I work me told me "Hey! We should go to the midnight showing of TWILIGHT!" Nope. Not a chance. Harry Potter? Yes. Definitely possible. I've seen the ocean more than once. I've danced in the rain more than once. I could go to more than one midnight showing. Here's to November 2010.