After Effects is fun

Both created by yours truly :)

There and back again, part 1 - preparing...

As the leave date for sunny California approaches, I find myself more and more excited - and more and more small details crop up that I've forgotten about.

Not the least of which is that, no matter how extensive your wardrobe may seem, after enough travel, you WILL run out of clean clothes. I was teetering on the edge of acceptable in Ohio, then took another short 'away' job immediately upon my return.

I am now on my last set of socks that doesn't smell like old vinegar. (Why do dirty socks smell like vinegar when you put them back on - or is it just me?)

I've run into some snags or hiccups while uploading files of footage for my documentary - for some reason, the camera and computer don't wish to communicate regarding the long files! Ugh. I'll try a card reader tonight or tomorrow, before I postpone the rest of this issue until I return.

I've transferred most of the 'literary' files onto my netbook, so I can pound out some drivel while on the traveling portions of all these trips.

Can I just say how much I love that little wonder? Ten inches, fits in any backpack, about two pounds, and the keyboard is close enough to a normal size to allow me to write on it! I did try the nine inch model previously - while even smaller and lighter, the Lilliputan keyboard left me typing like a drunken epileptic - jittery and slurring. Not so useful.

If all you need to do is check email and maybe jot a quick note, and space is imperative, go with the nine. If you need a bit more beef, deal with the extra inch and few more ounces; you'll be glad you did.

Updates and adventures!

Back from Ohio!!!!

I'm packing again today to leave for another super short shoot (that's some painful alliteration, right there...)

Other news:

The short that I gaffed won the Stella Ortois short film contest - it was pretty n stuff.

Psyched about shooting this next piece in California. Psyched about the warm weather. Not so wild about having to leave the day after I get home (again).

I did join up with NaNoWriMo again this year - I doubt if I'll get out 50k words in between all this other stuff, but gosh darn it, I'm going to try. Already off to a late start...

Sometimes I feel like that cartoon racehorse that's standing in the gate backwards. I miss hearing the gun go off, realize that everyone else has already left, and then have to take the time to turn around and get pointed in the right direction.

Remember that prioritizing stuff that I talked about way back at the beginning? I need to follow my own advice.

Right now, the focus is on getting paid work - the dry season is coming up, and I have to be a busy little chipmunk. That focus will shift when the work gets hard to find, and having that cushion allows me to focus on the writing and the personal photography rather than panicking so much about the bills.

Get your 'gottas' covered, and it makes that productive 'leisure' time much more useful - you don't have to worry about those bills in the back of your head the whole time.

Maybe I should find some part time something when I get back, so I can concentrate more on the personal stuff...

Thoughts?

OOOOhio, where the wind goes sweepin -wait, that's not it

Anyhow, we're a go for the B unit trip to Ohio.

Truck stops, car mounts, and TONS of driving.

Tally - ho!

I'll be away for a week or so, with updates upon my return.

I met Death...he plays the harmonica.

Right after this last feature wrapped (yay!), I figured it was time to get some footage for a documentary I've been dying to make.

So, in 16 hours, I contacted my subjects, booked a hotel, figured out the logistics, oiled my car, tried (and failed) to get better equipment than I own, and high tail it to Salem, Massachusets. The week before Halloween.

(Insert not the sharpest tool in the chest joke here.)

It was a circus/zoo/amusement park all rolled into one small New England town! I think everyone should experience it at least once, and I do want to go back earlier in the season to absorb some culture without being so overwhelmed.

Some of the highlights:

Death sitting on the street with his hat out, playing the harmonica. Tunes included Those Were The Days, Austin Powers, and other tv hits.

Armies of little witches in blinking hats. I believe the oldest of them was around eight. No doubt in their heads, they actually were flying on their little brooms and hazing the crowd.

Boiled bagels. This may not seem like a big thing to you, but to me, and actual boiled bagel with lox and cream cheese is just this side of Nirvana.

Getting to meet some of the new magicians - these guys were great! Stupendous! Totally awesome! And I'm really psyched about the show, the documentary, and life in general.

Soooo tired - I'm going to sleep until I have to leave again.

What's in a name? More than I thought...

I am the MASTER of making myself look like an idiot.

On this last shoot, I kept talking about a movie that I had done earlier that's doing it's festival run, and doing pretty well.

Not considering that many others had not heard of or been involved with the film, there was some cognitive confusion as I kept mentioning the film's title.

I wonder how many people thought I was implying something quite different every time I mentioned -

Friends With Benefits.

Oh god, save me from myself.

Always read the directions...

I've been on a shoot in the cold and feeling under the weather, so decided to spring for some of those 'keep the colds away' pills.

So, I get back to the hotel room and call my mother after grocery shopping.

The pills look a little big (vitamin c - orange flavor) but I pop one anyway.

That's when the tablet starts fizzing in my mouth. A disconcerting sensation, to say the least. My conversation becomes muddled as I resemble a pet with rabies, and dig through the trash to find the box.

Apparently, these tablets are to be dropped in a glass of water rather than administered orally. Ooops.

I really have to start reading the directions when I'm tired.