Pre-Birthday

I know I haven't posted in a while but I blame the relative lack of drama on this show - everyone working on it is basically nice and decent and normal. The only thing that has happened that was even the slightest bit exciting was the director getting sick and hallucinating last Friday. We wrapped early, he got sent home, and that was that. No one needs a helicopter to fly their clothes around, no one is taking home a fresh pair of cashmere socks every day, no one is demanding to make more money ('cause $9 million isn't enough). It's kind of nice to make my regular salary and not have to deal with all the crap. But I do miss the hoopla at times - it makes for good posts.

Now that the actors aren't going to strike, it'll probably pick up a bit. I'm hoping to be off until mid-April but I'm willing to haggle if the right project comes along.

The husband took me out today for my birthday. We went to an estate sale that was totally over-hyped and over-priced. Then we stopped by a used book store so he could use his credit. Then off to the mall in Arcadia for some shopping, where I picked up some makeup at Sephora and a calendar at Borders. We had lunch and played some games at Dave and Buster's (I now have 2000 points to buy some crap but I'm saving them up for something really good). We came home and got the Sof and went to the dog park, but since it's 85 degrees out it was too hot for all of us. Sofie was either standing in the puddle of water or lying in her dad's shade so we came home. Now I'm going to nap and the day will be complete!

Beautiful

The husband sent me flowers. No, he didn't do anything wrong. I was having a bad day and he thought I needed them. He's a keeper.

Resolutions

I'm not that big on making resolutions - too much pressure. But this year I've decided on a few that I think will make a difference but not be too hard to accomplish.

#1 - I resolve to give up all carbonated beverages. I'm going to stick to water and decaf tea, with the occasional bit of alcohol or fancy coffee drink.

#2 - I'm only going to eat dark chocolate. If someone makes something with milk chocolate, I'll have a bite, but if it comes down to store-bought with milk, not for me.

#3 - I'm going to continue to have ice cream every night, but only 1 scoop. Maybe I'll buy some of those tiny cups (demitasse?) to serve it in...

Aloha (Possible)

I got a lead yesterday on a show going to Hawaii in March. It's episodic TV so I'm not sure how interested I am, but the thought of Hawaii for 5-6 months is very tempting.

Social Networking

Ok, the cat walkway is done. I went to the hardware store this morning and got some metal braces that force the planks to come together evenly. I may get some nice trim for the front edge, but really all I need to do is paint the brackets to match the walls and then maybe paint the top of the planks a bright color so the cats can see it better. I think right now it just blends in and they are wary. It's not the best job, but it's not terrible. We'll leave it up and see if it gets any use besides when the husband or I force a cat onto it.

I don't have a MySpace account or a Facebook account and I've never really wanted one. I'm crap at keeping in touch with people and didn't really want the added pressure. Or is it a cop-out? Can I justify not talking/writing to people by simply updating a page? Is that what society has become? I'm not complaining, I'm just not up on all of it. So this weekend I set Sofie up with a Facebook account so I could check it out. I've done a bit of surfing and it all seems kind of fun and interesting, but not very personal. I think I should just do better at writing letters or calling.

Oh, the reason I was messing around with the Facebook: my uncle set up a site for the extended family so we can all connect and chat. It's a great idea and I'm kind of hoping to find some relatives out in my part of the country.

OK, now I have to start packing the decorations. I took down the ones outside (and was complimented on them by the neighbor). Got to get the rest of them going.

Shoddy

I've been putting up the cat walkway and sometimes I just don't know why I bother. The walls aren't even or straight so the planks are all wonky. Darby's already nearly plummeted to the floor and it's not even done. I have to saw about 4 inches off the last plank before I can put it up.

I have such high hopes for my projects, remembering what I used to be able to accomplish. Maybe I don't have the patience or the tools, or maybe I'm just not that good anymore. What's happened to me?

I was never sure what I wanted to do with my life, but I'm pretty sure this wasn't it.

2009

I'm sitting on the couch with a Food Network Cake Challenge on in the background. I really enjoy the challenges and would like to try my hand at some of the fantastic designs. Maybe I should take a class or something...

Anyway, I finally got the rest of the living room painted. It looks nice and I realized it's the first time I've managed to paint an entire room in any place I've ever lived. It's rainy and cold so I can't stain the media center and I do still have to paint the trim by the staircase, but that's going to be a different color so it doesn't count.

I'm also getting the cat walkway planks painted and plan on installing them tomorrow. There will be a 6 inch wide walkway 7 feet up stretching from the stairs to the cat tower (about 15'). I think the kitties will love it.

We were thinking about going over to Pasadena to see the Rose Parade floats but if it's as cold and rainy as it's supposed to be, then probably not. I tried to watch the parade on tv by the inane chatter of the hosts drove me nuts and I turned the channel.

So, we'll be shooting until Feb 10th in LA then in NY until Feb 21st. I won't be going to NY but I will probably have to continue paying the crew that travels from LA. I'm looking forward to this thing being over - as usual.

Antique Roadshow is on now - it's the highlight show and everybody's making a tonb of money off the old stuff they've brought in. I wonder how many people sell their item as soon as they find out the value? Not something they talk about, I guess.

I guess it's about time to start taking down the Xmas decorations. Isn't that just about the saddest part of the holidays? The weather has turned cold and rainy and the leaves are finally falling and now the sparkles and baubles have to be packed up and put back in the closet. Such a pain in the ass.

Ok, I'm pretty much done with this update. Not much is really going on. I'm not going to talk about the state of the world since I have trouble putting feelings into words. Suffice to say that although I'm doing ok, I feel like the world is still on a downward spiral. It will end and it will get better. It always does.