Ice Cream

Sofie and I went to an ice cream social tonight. It was at a nearby dog boutique and was for charity. Sofie really enjoyed her peanut butter dog sherbet and my chocolate chip people ice cream was good, too. She wasn't thrilled with the other dogs there since some of them were bigger but they were all pretty good. Especially the big bloodhound...

I Do Know What I'm Doing

I had another email altercation with a crew member. For your enjoyment...

Me: Did you guys really have 2 stand ins on Sunday 8/9? Because I never got vouchers...

M: Yes we did I gave them a call to get there info because D didn't have any vouchers with him on Sunday and they haven't called me back yet. I will try again on Monday and see if ML can give me their info so I can fill out a voucher for them. Thanks M

D: They should have gotten to you

Me: obviously they haven't or I wouldn't be asking about them

D: Easy. I asked for them to get done and m said she would do it. The 2 standins are on g.u. and didn't have their soc for the vouchers so I know she is waiting for the info

Me to D and M: whenever you get them please forward them to me for payment

D: Absolutely Also I just want to be sure you guys know production fee gets added for all 7th days thanks again D

Me:
D,
I know this is going to sound harsh and I mean it that way but if you tell me one more time how to pay the DGA I'm going to refuse to do it and send the cards to you. It's insulting.

D: I wasn't trying to insult you in any way it was something that came to my attention that I didn't know. And since you need to check something I told you about I am not sure threatening me is the correct response Sorry if I have made you angry because that was absolutely not my intention

Me:
D,
All you have done this week is tell me how to pay the DGA. That's my job. You don't approach me with the attitude of "hey, I got this info and wanted to see if it's correct." You bring it to me as if I don't know what I'm doing. Apparently you have had some shitty payroll people in the past but I am not one of them.
You may want to think about that the next time you find a tidbit of payroll info that you think needs to be passed on.

__
I'm really looking forward to the rest of this show... his comment about me needing to "check on something he told me about" really pisses me off. What he told me was bullshit and instead of arguing about it with him at set on Friday, I just told him I'd check on it. That was my polite way of saying "you don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

Yes, I Really Did It

and while I'm glad I did it, I don't think it's all that flattering. You were right about that husband.

Morning Blog

The Set Decorator was in the office yesterday. He looks great and is getting around as if he didn't just have brain surgery last Friday. I still don't know if they have details about his tumor, but it's nice to see him up and around.

Otherwise, the show is going ok. We start shooting on Monday with actors instead of just animals so we're in a push of hiring hair, makeup, and costume people. But that's business as usual.

We haven't had too much drama beyond the usual nepotism and political hirings. One of our producers will be an issue as he tends to make deals without specifics and then it's up to us to figure out how to make it happen. That's going to be fun.

Hard to believe it's the middle of August already. Harder to believe my 20th high school reunion is next weekend. I can't go, of course, but it would have been nice to see everyone. And unlike some people, I've always been overweight so it's not like that would have been something to dread. My tattoos might have made me stand out, though.

Anyway, I'm sitting here with Sofie blogging instead of going to the gym. I was up late last night with my belly dancing class and it's raining and I just couldn't do it. I could try and go tonight when I get home but I know I probably won't. I've been considering getting roller skates or a bicycle just to have something different to do. I can make it to my classes but going to the regular gym is getting boring.

I talked to my boss yesterday about my assistant. We've decided she may be a little OCD because her main problem is she gets focused on a course of action and it takes a real effort to get her to stop and change direction. She's going to have a hard time with payroll if she can't get past that because this job is all about switching gears at a moment's notice - depending on who is on the phone or has walked in the door. I'm going to have to try and talk to her about it at some point.

Set Decorator

Our Set Decorator had been having headaches for a while and his doctor told him he should get an MRI if they didn't stop. Well, they were getting worse from the job stress and last Wednesday he went to a doctor again. Turns out he has a brain tumor and had surgery on Friday to remove it. We haven't heard any more details yet but the surgery went fine.

Just kind of stops you in your tracks.

New Camera Phone

There's my Sofie girl sitting in the passenger seat while I drove us to work this morning. I wasn't really aiming but it's a good shot. Doesn't she look thrilled?

Payroll Asst.

I am not thrilled with my assistant on this show. A woman I worked with before recommended her as being just fabulous. She's a local and really wants to learn payroll since it's almost guaranteed employment, but I don't think she has what it takes. She's eager to learn and tries hard but it just doesn't seem to be catching on.

Part of the problem is that after 3 months, she still doesn't seem to know which questions to ask. The same situations come up over and over and each time I have to tell her to go back and ask something that she should have asked already. I'm having a hard time trusting her to do stuff on her own, which makes it even harder for me.

And even though she's nice enough, she's lacking in some office etiquette that I can't put my finger on - she walks into my office and starts talking without taking the time to see if I can even pay attention to her. Or she comes in and just stands there looking at me until I say something.

My biggest peeve right now is the fact she can't separate the paychecks into the correct departments even though they are 95% sorted to begin with...

But there's still time and I'm hoping I can train her on a few more things before we get any busier. It's in my best interest to get her as far along as possible before 8/17.

Saturdays Off

It's been a while, I know. I have gmail for my work email account and I can't log out of it to get into blogger.

Never friend a coworker on Facebook - you can never gripe about them. Which says something about a coworker - namely my assistant. She's smart and eager to learn but I don't know that she has what it takes to do this job. Some days I have to jump from one project to another w/o getting to finish. I have to prioritize and come back to stuff as I can. She doesn't seem able to do that - she gets very focused and doesn't always listen when I try and change her direction. I know I'm going to need the help it's just such a hassle to train someone.

The visual effects shooting of the animals is going ok. We're behind a little bit - mostly because of the rain but also because the bears don't like having the lions around. They catch the scent or hear the noises and it freaks them out to have another predator nearby. Then a lion stepped on a screw and wouldn't work anymore. It wasn't hurt just a bit wigged out.

The zoo set is amazing. It doesn't look like a real zoo in person but I know on screen it's going to be perfect and beautiful. We did get to meet some of the animals a couple of weeks ago (not the bears yet). We met Rosie the elephant - got to pet her and had her sniff my hand with her trunk (elephant snot smells BAD). Then we met Tweet the giraffe - fed him carrots and tried to pet him, but he was only in it for the carrots. We couldn't get too close to the lions that day but 20 feet is close enough. Then we met the African vulture, the Austrailian eagles (Sydney and Darwin), and the crow (can't remember his name). They were all beautiful and kind of scary up close. Those beaks are vicious looking.

Sofie and I care relaxing at home today. We worked 6 days this past week and will work 6 days this coming week. If this get settled then we'll switch to 5 days but for now I'm taking it easy on my day off.

I did sign up for a couple of classes at the gym. They have free ones that I haven't made it to, but I signed up for belly dancing on Wednesday nights and kickboxing on Saturday at noon. They just started this week and I love both of them. I'm not the most graceful dancer - having trouble with some of the steps, but I love making the belt jingle. And of course I love punching things. I just wish there were more people in the class - 2 in belly dancing and only me in kickboxing. But I'll go to all 8 and work my butt off (hopefully literally).

Ok, I think it's time to take a nice bath and either watch a movie or take a nap. It's getting late so it may be the nap.

Animals

The bear trainers invited us to come down and meet the grizzlies - Bart and Honey Bump. I met Bart while working on Evan, but I'm not going to pass up the chance to see him again. Not to mention his sister Honey Bump! Not that we can pet them or anything but we can get within 10 feet of them - plenty close.

Crystal the capuchin (not white-faced) has been back to the office a couple of times. I haven't gotten to have her sit on my shoulder yet - all I've done is shake her hand, played "tilt your head" with her, and gotten a high five - but everybody seems to think she's really taken with me. When the guys were walking her out she kept staring at me. I didn't think there was anything going on but other people mentioned it so maybe... Next time I hope to get a pic.

I think all of the animals have made it into town by now so I'm also looking forward to meeting the elephant and the wolf (hybrid, I think). And the giraffe although I'm not sure you can really meet a giraffe...

The Monkey

The monkey that's going to be in the movie was brought into the office today. The director's dog Spuz took one look at it and peed - then barked. When we heard the monkey was there, I debated going to the other side of the office to see it because it meant taking Sofie with me and I didn't know how she'd react. But I went anyway and waited to see what would happen.

I'm not sure yet what kind of monkey it was - maybe a capuchin but it wasn't the typical white-face - I'll have to ask. Anyway, Sofie didn't notice it at first. It was sitting on my assistant's shoulder eating some chocolate. It wasn't until it climbed onto Mimi's shoulder that Sofie realized there was something new in the office. She stared at it and then walked over to Mimi and started to stand up (not jump, just stand) but I told her to stop and had her sit. Then she just stared as if she couldn't believe her eyes.

The monkey was familiar with dogs, but having a strange one staring made it a bit nervous and it started making noise, which made Sofie's ears perk up. Luckily, though, Sofie never did anything aggressive towards it in the slightest. She was just super-curious and would have loved to smell this new thing. I don't know what would have happened if the monkey had started moving around - that might have been too much for her.

The rest of the time Sofie just wandered around with this look on her face of "What is that? I must try to get closer and get a good sniff."

Sofie's a good girl - much better behaved and trained then I ever thought.

Dad & Cordelia

He took her from Susan and started walking her around the restaurant. The next time we saw him he was in the bar surrounded by a group of women. Turns out Cordelia is a chick magnet!

It's kind of sad because this is probably the closest he'll get to having another grandbaby. He actually caught himself saying "come to Grandpa" when he picked her up. Maybe he can be the 3rd grandpa...

Saturday

Saturday morning we got up and tried to take Sofie to the dog park. Sadly it was closed due to the wet weather (it's not a real dog park, just a school's fenced-in baseball field that is a dog park from dawn to 1pm on the weekends). We ended up driving down to the gravel-filled dog park that Sofie doesn't really like then over to work so she could be off-leash for a bit out behind the building. When leaving we decided to do a bit of exploring and went down to Castle Island and walked around the fort. A man fishing off the pier caught a huge fish while we watched and we met some good dogs. I hope to go back soon.

The husband and I then walked over to the Museum of Fine Arts, where an old man and his wife cut the line in front of us (and yes I did call them out on it). We bought the City Pass which would have been a better deal if we'd thought about it before we went to the aquarium, but it still saved us money. Anyway, we didn't pay extra for the special exhibits but the regular museum was enough. The ancient seals were just about the coolest things, very intricately carved.

After the MFA, we drove up to doggie day care and dropped Sofie off for the afternoon so we could do some shopping. We hit the cd shop, a bookstore, Trader Joe's, a Flag Day carnival and got lunch before picking her back up.

Saturday night we walked over to the Prudential and went up to the 50th floor to the Skywalk Observatory. I had wanted to go to the restaurant on the 52nd floor but heard it wasn't very good and since it was mostly about the view and not the food and since we had tickets from the City Pass, we did that. It was cloudy out but it didn't obscure the view of the city at all. It was just getting dark and was very pretty. It's always amazing to see what a small town Boston really is. I know the suburbs go on for quite a distance, but the city itself is compact.

We decided to get some dinner on the way home and stopped off at a restaurant we'd walked past several times. It was loud but the food was good - salt and pepper calamari and lobster mac and cheese.

My Brother's Pets

Scarlet the parrot

Carmen the dog

My Sister's Car

Maybe now she'll buy a new one that doesn't beep randomly...

My Mom

I am up way too late considering I have a 5:30am flight but it's been hard to part company with my mom. I've known for a while she wouldn't be around long but since Ma died, I've been feeling it even more. My mom is going to be 85 in August and I still don't think I know her that well. I'm glad she has seen me succeed in my career, but I regret that she'll never see one of her daughters have a baby. There's a lot going through my head right now and I thought writing it down would help, but it's just making me want to cry. So I'll call it done and hope that I have enough time to learn who my mother really is.

Barbara Elizabeth Lomonaco

Ma passed away this morning around 6am. She got to meet her granddaughter and had her family around her.

I last saw her in person in March when she was in the hospital. She looked pretty good but we didn't get to talk like we both had hoped. I'll never know for sure what she wanted to talk about but I know I said what I wanted to say.

We Skyped in April after Cordelia was born and I was visiting and helping out. It felt like old times.

Ma always seemed to be about style, but she had the substance to back it up. If you got to hang out with her it always shone through.

Apparently I'm going to be responsible for helping to tell Cordelia about her Grandma Barb and making sure she knows about all the stupid things her mom did growing up.

I think I'm also going to take on the responsibility of buying Cordelia all the super-girly things Grandma Barb would have bought her. It may even be fun.

I'll miss you, Ma. I'm glad I knew you and I'm sorry you had to go so soon. I've had the privilege of having 3 moms in my life and now I've lost 2, both to ovarian cancer. I don't know what else to say. It's just not fair, which sounds childish, but it's not fair.

Wednesday

It's Wednesday. I don't have anything to do but wait for people on the west coast to get to work and call me back or send me stuff. It's my second week on this job and so far it's been fine. Everybody seems very nice and the director even brings his dog Spuz to work. Luckily, Spuz and Sofie get along. Sadly, Sofie does not like the director. It doesn't help that he wears a hat all the time.

We are going to look at apartments later today. We got permission to move out of the hotel last week and we've been trying to find something. It hasn't been easy, since we need to find something for only 6 months, furnished, that will take Sofie. I'm going to room with AH, who was a housemate last year. We've seen one place but it was a bit of a dump and the parking was ridiculous. $345 per month and they didn't even open until 7am. WTF?

The hotel we're staying in is very nice. Everyone seems to know Sofie by name and most of them seem to like her. I'm going to miss having her around, but I won't miss the random barking at people who walk by.

Despite the quality of the hotel, not having a kitchen is expensive. We have to get something out every night and I'm so over it. I actually want to make spaghetti again. Hopefully one of the three apartments we're seeing today will work out.

We had a great trip out here - stopped and saw so much. I'm glad we didn't have to make it in four days like last time. And since Sofie isn't staying with me, I can fly home in December and save the husband some miles.

I hope the guy from the studio calls me back soon. I need to get my computer fixed so I can print checks. I'm not sure what's wrong with it - it may have something to do with me installing my scanner or maybe something I picked up from the internet. It's not like I look at porn and crap but I do click on things that may be trouble. We'll see what happens.

I think I'll go and see if the boss' cat is in - Peewee is her name. She's about as old as Baxter and it's nice to pet her. I miss my kitties.

Last Day Driving

I'm in a Motel 6 in Sturbridge, MA this morning getting ready to go to the laundromat before finishing the trip to Boston. I don't know when I'll have time to do laundry again so I figure I'd better take care of it now. Especially since both the husband and I fell into the creek at Fallingwater.

Yes, I know you're not supposed to go down to the creek but I did anyway and took some pics. Then I slipped on the wet rocks and fell in and then husband fell trying to help me. Soaking wet jeans made for an uncomfortable tour of the grounds but since we didn't pay for the interior house tour, it was fine. We changed pants in the parking lot and continued on our way. But now we're both down to only 1 pair of jeans and that won't do. So it's off to the laundromat.

After that, I'm hoping to stop by Sturbridge Pottery. I think we'll have time since it's only an hour or so to Boston and the hotel probably won't be ready for us until 3pm.

Other than that, it's been a good trip. We are all three of us tired of being in the car but we've gotten to see a lot of sights and that's made it worthwhile. I especially liked seeing the baby kangaroo in the canvas bag at the animal park in Donegal. It was behind the register and they're having a naming contest. I went with Hamilton.

Again?

I like ABBA - I always have. I went to see Mamma Mia! in the theatre and enjoyed it, even singing along under my breath.

But now that my neighbors own the dvd and play it at least 3 times a day, I'm starting to hate them with a passion that is unholy.

If I wasn't going to Boston on Sunday, I'd probably need bail money soon.

Boston

Forgot to mention, I am going to Boston. I have to be there May 18th and we're going to start driving May 10th. We have a house sitter lined up and are getting the place sorted and cleaned. Have to get the cats groomed and Sofie needs a bath, too. She's going with us but I'm not going to be able to keep her with me. Right now I'm stuck in the hotel and while it's dog-friendly, I wouldn't be able to leave her alone in the room at all. So that's not really going to work for me if I can't even go to the fitness room or the store without her. Things may change after I get there but I'm reconciling myself to being alone until mid December.

The in-town show fell through when the actors passed so I didn't really have a decision to make.

Police Raid

The husband, Sofie, and I were taking our morning constitutional when a large group of police in helmets rounded the far corner coming towards us. We were in a very nice neighborhood of Toluca Lake, on the route we take almost every day, about four houses away from them. I asked "what is that?" and the husband replied "a raid".

We crossed the street and stopped, waiting to see what happened. The husband was all for turning around but I wanted to watch so we stood there while they approached a house and spread out around it, some at the end of the driveway, some at the side gate nearest us, and the rest going to the front door. We couldn't hear anything, but a man came out of the house and they put him in handcuffs. Then a woman came out, but I couldn't tell if they cuffed her or not. The dogs came out but they were all happy and excited to have the company so the cops didn't bother them.

When we were sure there wasn't going to be any shooting (we never saw a single gun even drawn), we continued on our walk. It was surreal, especially since the people who lived there had said hello to us the other day - nice as pie. I guess we'll find out from the news if it was drugs or something else.

Sped and Dilly

I'm sitting in Sped's living room, waiting for her to come back from her mommy support group. I came down yesterday to help out with Dilly for a week or so. She's still pretty damn cute but what a set of lungs! I'm sure it will get better for everybody when Sped can bottle-feed - at least then Dad with be able to take a shift in the middle of the night and Sped can get more sleep. Both mom and dad are super parents and I enjoy watching them interact with their little girl.

On a selfish note, I'm hoping being here will help me decide once and for all if I want a baby. I know this part may be rough but I also know it doesn't last forever. None of the phases, good or bad, last forever. What changes is the complete responsibility you have for another person for 18 years. That's a long time and shouldn't be taken lightly if you're ambiguous in the first place.

In other news, the Boston show may be back on with a different accountant. There's really not any reason to not take the show. Even if they don't give me the housing allowance there's still the possibility of making an extra $14k. Yes, I am talking to someone about a show in town, but I haven't said yes, just talked rates. I'm going to have to make this decision today because if I'm going, then I have a lot to take care of beforehand.

No Boston For Me

Well, it looks like the show in Boston has fallen through. I'm not sure exactly what happened but I do know it had nothing to do with me. Oh well. I'll make it to NYC eventually.

I do have another offer for a Disney show with an accountant and producer I've worked with before. I've told them my rate and asked where the office will be. I'll probably say yes depending on the answer.

One good thing about not having to rush out of town? I don't have to scramble to finish my to-do list.

Back To Boston?

Someone around town seems to think my vacation to Portland was actually me taking a job in Portland... no wonder I haven't been getting any calls.

M emailed me to ask where I was and what I was doing; she'd been told I was working in Portland. Turns out the accountant from Surrogates has an offer to do a Kevin James show in Boston and had called her. I wrote her back then immediately wrote the accountant to let her know I was still available.

I heard from the acct this morning and she's still working out her deal, but it should all be coming together soon. Looks like we may be heading back to Boston even though I said I didn't want to travel that far.

Maybe this time we can stop in Gettysburg.

To Do

I still don't have a job lined up but I am getting better at working on my to do list. I've gotten a few of the small projects crossed off and now have to buckle down for the bigger ones. I have about a week or so before I go down to Sped's house and I need to be done with as much as possible by then. I should post some pics, maybe that will help motivate me. Bragging usually does...

And to my sister, I'm sending mom a little package.

Cordelia's Nursery Part 3

Cordelia's Nursery Part 2

Cordelia's Nursery Part 1

Introducing...

Cordelia Elizabeth

7 lbs 4 oz

19.5 ins

Portland

The husband and I (and Sofie) went to Portland last week for a little vacation. We had a nice time, but it wasn't thrilling or anything.

We left on Wednesday and drove, taking 2 days so we wouldn't be exhausted. We stopped in Redding and went to a little used book store, where we got my dad some Zane Grey books. Then we tried to see the Sundial Bridge but there was a sign saying "no dogs" so we didn't bother getting out of the car.

After leaving Redding Thursday morning we stopped in Mount Shasta City to get a close-up of the mountain. I'd read about Shasta and always hoped to see it in person, but never thought I would. It's pretty impressive, even though it was shrouded in mist and clouds.

When we got to Portland, we checked in and went for a walk. The hotel was right downtown so we saw some of that area, including Pioneer Courthouse Square where we saw a man walking a cat on a leash. Sofie and it made eye contact, but nobody wigged out. Then we got some excellent Indian food from one of the carts in a parking lot and went back to the hotel to relax.

On Friday, we drove out to Powell's to drop off 12 boxes of books for trade-in, then took off to Fort Clatsop (the Lewis and Clark fort out on the coast). It was a scenic drive but it looked a lot like East Tennessee. After the fort, we drove down to Seaside and took Sofie to the beach. She was ok with it because the water must have been at low tide and was a distance away. The only thing that did bother her was a German Shepherd named Brutus who kept licking her. Then we had lunch at Bigfoot's Pub and Grub, which was probably our 2nd best meal after the Indian food.

Saturday it rained, but we went to the Saturday Market and had a look around then drove out the Columbia River Gorge and saw the waterfalls - Wayne's recommendation and totally worth it.

Sunday we drove up to Fort Vancouver just over the river in Washington. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Since it was a fort of the Hudson's Bay Company, it was pretty swank. I'm so used to the bare, stark military forts that it was a nice change. We also had lunch in Mt Tabor Park, which is an extinct volcano within the city limits. If I ever moved to Portland, I'd want to live within walking distance of that park.

Monday we took Sofie for her morning walk and went down to Voodoo Doughnut. We'd seen it on tv and had tried to go on Saturday, but there was a line. Luckily, no line on Monday and we got 3 tasty examples. Then we checked out and hit the road.

The drive back seemed to take forever, but you get a much better and longer-lasting view of Mount Shasta heading south. We stopped in Reading again and went to the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area. I got my passport stamped and then we headed a bit further south before stopping. We finally got home Tuesday around 3:30pm and that was it.

When all is said and done, I liked Portland and would take a show going there, but I doubt I'll go back on my own to visit again.

Job Hunt

I haven't had a call for work for a long time, then I go on vacation and get 3 calls in 1 day. 2 were for television and the 3rd was a feature, but they needed someone to start Monday. I don't even get back home until Tuesday!

I turned them all down - I really need my time off.

Updates

Lots of little things going on:

- Last weekend, I went down to Sped's and helped her decorate the nursery (I'll upload pics soon). It took longer than I'd hoped and I didn't get to help load all the baby stuff in, but they've gotten most of it done this week. It's super-cute.

- Right now, I'm in East Tennessee visiting my parents since I didn't make it home at Christmas. I'm having a good, relaxing time and my sister took off from work so we've been shopping and stuff. I made her buy red shoes and would have bought some for myself if they'd had my size. She says she enjoys shopping with me because I make her try stuff she normally wouldn't - I like that!

- Sofie has a bladder infection to go along with the inflammation on her side. At least now they've given her anitbiotics. I'm glad I wasn't home for that because the husband said there was blood and I would have wigged out. She's totally blown our budget but she's worth it.

- I got to visit with Erika and her kids yesterday and had a great time catching up. I'm always worried we won't have anything in common anymore and end up talking about nothing but what happened in high school, but I think we like each other enough to want to know what's going on now. And her girls were a hoot. I know they were putting on a show for company but I enjoyed it. I also brought them some hats and shirts from some of the shows I've worked on. It's stuff I never use and they get to feel cool with their friends.

- I sent out emails to all of the accountants I've worked with (that I liked) letting them know I'm available. I've heard back from most of them but no one has an offer for me yet. I'm not too concerned since it's still slow around town, but I would feel better if I had something lined up. At least the unemployment is good to go.

- It's weird to realize that LA is my home. I never wanted to move there but that's where my life is right now. I just really need to start exploring it more. When I'm there, I feel all fuddy-duddy but when I'm in East TN I feel absolutely cosmopolitan.

- The husband and I gave up our cable subscription. It'll save us $50 a month and a lot of wasted time. I'm hoping to catch up on my reading and movies instead of vegging out in front of the tube. Of course, I left town the day it got shut off and you know my folks have cable! Sorry husband.

That's it for now. Everybody went to 4:30 mass and I've just been killing time waiting for them to come home with dinner. I'm sure tonight will be spent watching tv, but that's how it is here and they are happy with it. Who am I to say it's a bad thing?

Only In LA?

This has been up for about a year and I finally had to take it down and post it. I wonder if they ever found the thing...

Headhunt?

I got "friended" on Facebook by an accountant I've never worked with before but we have some mutual friends. Please Dog let this mean I'm going to start getting some job offers... I've hadn't had a lack of offers like this for a long time. Friggen' actors.

Other Office Dogs Cont'd

This is Ouisi (Weezy). She's a 7 year old Boxer who belongs to the Construction Accountant Jerry. I'm told 7 is old for a Boxer and she shows her age, but she's a total sweetheart. And like Sonoma, she enjoys Sofie's bed.

Other Office Dogs

This is Kai (not sure of the spelling). He belongs to the sister of the Asst Costume Designer. She brought him into work on Thursday and he really seemed to enjoy it. He's quite a bit larger than Sofie and while she wasn't afraid of him, he did freak her out with his playing - he'd jump and lunge at her and that's a lot of dog coming at you! In the end, Sofie was mainly jealous and guarded. He ate all of her kibble, which had sat in the bowl for almost 2 weeks anyway, then stole Brad Pittbull, but I retrieved him and will wash off the slobber. The best part was Sofie going into the boss' office for her treat. She'd stand at the door, looking for Kai, making sure he didn't see she was getting food!

Antarctic Wave - Cont'd

Antarctic Wave

The water froze the instant the wave broke the surface.

Polar Bear vs. Sled Dog - Cont'd

Polar Bear vs. Sled Dog

Stuart Brown describes Norbert Rosing's striking images of a wild polar bear coming upon tethered sled dogs in the wilds of Canada's Hudson Bay. The photographer was sure that he was going to see the end of his dogs when the polar bear wandered in. The polar bear returned every night that week to play with the dogs.

Storm Over Greenland

Sofie Uninterested - cont'd 3

Sofie at Cedar Breaks National Park.

Sofie Uninterested - cont'd 2

Sofie at Field of Dreams.

Sofie Uninterested - cont'd 1

Sofie at Niagra Falls.

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.