Before Fantastic Fest 2011 began, I wrote an article offering advice to first time fest-goers (and you can find that here). Now, eight days, thirty six movies and a million years later, it's time to put my ravaged brain back together, fight back the urge to collapse on the ground and enter a comatose sleep and revisit my five key rules that I insisted you follow and see if I took my own advice. I'm pretty sure the odds are firmly against me.

The Rule: Eating Right

Did I Follow It: Nope

The Explanation: It's easy to say things like, "I think I'm going to keep a cooler full of fresh and healthy food products in the trunk of my car, which I shall visit between films so I can stick to my diet and not die before the age of 40." It's another thing to execute that plan. I learned that this is the kind of plan that dies before day three of Fantastic Fest. The Alamo Drafthouse menu is so tasty (and Fantastic Fest specials like the very popular soft pretzel so tempting) that you can't help but cheat. Not to mention, it's very easy to get caught up in a film and absent-mindedly order a milkshake and not realize what you've done until your check arrives. If any of my servers are using this job to pay for college, I'm glad my tips alone will buy them their textbooks.

The Rule: Regulating Your Caffeine

Did I Follow It: Nope

The Explanation: I have a personal belief regarding coffee and that belief is this: coffee is disgusting. Not a popular belief, I know, but I generally disregard this rule when Fantastic Fest rolls around because putting up with a mug of brown junk is a small price to pay to stay up for that midnight movie. This year, while I did drink coffee, I did a poor job of regulating my caffeine intake, jumping straight to espresso when things looked dire on the second day instead of following my own advice and slowly working my way up the caffeine ladder. From that point on, any sense of order was shot. My calm, zen-like caffienation plan was no more.

The Rule: Don't Be Shy!

Did I Follow It: Yep

The Explanation: I can't imagine attending Fantastic Fest and not being social, even if you're an awkward, bumbling doofus like myself. You have to work double-time to not be social: if you don't say anything, the guy sitting next to you surely will. Austin movie fans (and by extension, most movie fans who make the pilgrimage to Fantastic Fest) are generally kind, thoughtful and talkative. If you're not making with the small talk, you are very much in the minority. While I didn't double my social circle (both in person and online) like I did last year, I met more people than I could possibly count. This is important—next year, I can count on them to save me a seat at crowded screenings.

The Rule: Be Adventurous

Did I Follow It: Yep

The Explanation: If I only saw films I knew I wanted to see before the festival began, I wouldn't have seen an unsung gem like Snowman's Land. If I went to screenings solely on what sounded appealing in the program, I wouldn't have found myself so moved by Boys on the Run. If I only saw films that were receiving very loud word of mouth, I wouldn't have had sat down for Sleep Tight and would've missed one of the best thrillers of the year. Yeah, I'm also glad I saw hot ticket films like Take Shelter and Melancholia, but the real meat of a film festival always lies in the quiet discoveries.

The Rule: When in Doubt, Walk Out

Did I Follow It: Nope.

The Explanation: Although I saw my fair share of middling to bad films at Fantastic Fest 2011 (no one, not even the coolest film festival in the world, is perfect), only Penumbra gave me the urge to walk out...but once the film shifts gears in the second act and suddenly decides to become good, I was along for the ride. I suppose that's the biggest compliment I can toss the programmers of this year's fest: "Hey, none of your film selections made the hot Texas sun a preferable option to entertainment in a dark, cool theater." Congratulations, guys. This was a stellar year.