Who Put the Mustard in My Custard?

Lots of updates

2011-05-06T18:29:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened since my last post.

1. We bought a new house. We're actually downsizing from a single family home to a townhome. People think it's weird that a couple in their 30s are downsizing, but we're very happy with our decision. For one thing, it's a smaller mortgage, so when my writing takes off, it'll be easier for me to leave the cube. And another, it doesn't require the annoying maintenance our single did, such as mowing the grass. It still has lots of space. I have an office to write in and hubby will be using one of the spare bedrooms to paint in.

2. We're getting a new puppy. We're calling her Holly Jane. She was born 2 weeks ago and will be coming home in 4 weeks time. YAY!

3. I got a freelance writing gig. I'm writing ad copy for small businesses in a local newsletter. I have to interview the client about their business and then write it up. I completed my first one as a test last week. The editor loved it and I'll be given some more clients soon. I think it's gonna be fun and of course won't hurt the resume.

4.My screenplay is finished and I'm really thrilled with it. I feel it's the best script I've written so far. It's now time to market it.

I will be back with a new post soon.

Great news

2010-08-04T16:01:00.000-07:00

Great News! The dog we rescued on our trip to Amherst has been adopted! :) I wish a long lifetime of happiness in her new forever home!

So, what else is new? I started sending my novel out today. And now the waiting game begins. I'm trying to restrain myself from obsessively checking my email for responses, but it's kinda impossible. I plan to jump into my next project tomorrow to keep busy.

I'll keep you posted on any developments. :)

Summer update

2010-07-25T15:13:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted since January, which is pretty pathetic, but the good news is that it's been because I have been mega-busy writing.

I finally finished editing my middle grade(9-12) novel. It has now grown to 44K words and I am really happy with it. I just need to put the finishing touches on the synopsis and then will start querying agents and publishers. I hope to start this within the next 2 weeks.

I already sent out the text for a children's picture book to 6 publishers and am patiently waiting to hear back.

The screenplay I was working on last year is coming along. By August 1st I should have a solid first draft. I have 3 other screenplays at different stages - two are in the outline stage and 1 I am 20 pages into already. I also plan to write a 60K word YA novel which I am outlining right now. My plan is to have all of these finished by May and then shop them at the same time.

In other news, when my husband and I were in Nova Scotia, we rescued a dog that was just left on the side of country road by it's owners. Don't even get me started on how disturbing it is that someone would do that. Anyway, we kept her for 2 days and then brought her to a shelter that does not euthanize and will find her a home. Will made a video of her, which he posted on youtube, hoping that someone will see how adorable she is and want to adopt her.

The rest of our vacation was chaos free, but wonderful. We visited family and got some sun. I visited with my dear friend Crystal! She is the best!!!

Now it's back to work. UGGH!

I am in looove!

2010-01-16T12:10:00.000-08:00

Hubby ordered me a surprise that just arrived last night. It was Dragon Speak software. You put on a head set, dictate into it and your words end up on the page. I set it up last night and used it in a Word Doc, a Final Draft Doc and my email. The accuracy was incredible and it averaged about 120 words a minute. Just think how easy my 1,000 words a day goal will be now. LOL. However, it can only write as fast as I come up with words to say - there is no software that can change that.

In other news, I met with the Dramaturg I have been working with on Sunday. She said my play was ready and helped me improve my synopsis and query letter. I plan to read through the play one last time for typos and will then start sending it out on Monday! Exciting times! :)

Writing update and new year goals

2010-01-02T14:01:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had a fantastic holiday!

I have used most of my holiday time to write. I am very pleased to say that on December 28th I finished a rough draft of my novel for 9-12 year olds! The draft is 27,000 words. The completed novel will be about 32,000 words, but I skimped on a few sections so that I could get the full story down while it was still in my head. It is a complete story as is but the 5,000 words I plan to add will be a sub plot (which I have already touched on in the story) that will add richness to the story. I also have come up with an idea that leaves the book open to a sequel.

I will now go back and revise a chapter or 2 a week and plan to send it to publishers in June.

So, starting Monday I will put the other 90% of my energy into finishing my screenplay.

Now that my play is officially ready, I have been researching play companies that I can query. I have narrowed it down to 100 but may not send it to all of them. Most ask you to send a synopsis and 10 page sample first, so I really need to get my synopsis ready. I feel very confident that they will like my play if they actually read it, so I need the write up to intrigue them so they will read further. I plan to tackle that tomorrow.

I have to say queries, synopsis and researching companies are the boring side of writing, but they are vital if one is serious about becoming a writer. What good is the greatest piece of writing in the world if it no one ever sees it? Too bad these things take so much time.

Christmas was fantastic. I got the iphone I wanted and have been having a lot of fun with it! We ate fantastic Indian food for new years and we have watched quite a few movies!

Happy Holidays! :)

Almost there

2009-12-22T14:49:00.001-08:00

I am at 21,000 words! Yahoo!

In other news, we still don't have our Christmas tree up yet. It is ridiculous, I know, but we have had so much going on lately.

Hubby bought my an i phone for Christmas and let me have it early, as you only have so long till it can be returned etc. All I can say is that I am in love.

I've been contemplating adding another doggie or a kitten to our family over the holidays. But then I think...what extra time do I have for it?

:)

1/3 of the way there

2009-12-11T18:10:00.000-08:00

Well I didn't write much this week, but the week before I did, so I am now up to 14, 247 words on my children's novel. I plan to have a draft of 32,000 pages by December 31st. I am a little over 1/3rd of the way there.

January 1st I will start rewrites of my screenplay which needs to be 100% done by May 1st as I am applying for a production grant.

I still have a lot of Christmas shopping to catch up on and I'm going to Florida for 2 weeks in February, which means 2 weeks of no writing. So in January my mantra must be WRITE, WRITE, WRITE.

A cute pix of doggie and pals

2009-11-20T17:31:00.001-08:00

Here's a cute picture of my doggie with her two stuffed friends....

The best made plans

2009-11-20T17:12:00.000-08:00

Well, I got off to a great start with **the plan** and then I came down with a horrible cold on Monday night and have been off of work all week. A.K.A. I didn't write for 3 whole days. Nothing like a good ole plan to say JINX. But I'm back at it again. I wrote a little over 1,000 words on the novel this afternoon and now I plan to spend an hour on one of the screenplays. I still feel that all and all I am on schedule.

I had a request for one of my short scripts and just sent it to the director. Will let you know what I hear back.

I cooked lamb for dinner tonight. Every time I cook lamb my dog cries and hides in the basement. We've never been able to figure out why. The dog food she eats everyday is lamb and rice flavored, so it can't be that she doesn't like lamb. She just doesn't like the smell of it cooking. Go figure.

My plan

2009-11-15T11:39:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy few months. I finally finished the rewrites on my play based on the feedback I received at the play reading. I plan to send it out to some theatre companies in January. And my private practice spec made it to the top 10% of the Austin Teleplay Competition.

All in all good news, but I don't feel that I have been writing enough. It's mostly because I am too tired to be "creative," after a long work day, but I know that is no excuse. So I'm going to keep track of my progress on this blog. Hopefully it will act as a motivator.

I plan to complete the following 7 projects by the end of May 2009:

A novel for 9-12 year olds which will be approx. 40, 000 words
A comedy screenplay which will be approx. 110 pages
A teen comedy screenplay which will be approx. 100 pages
A picture book for kids and three short stories for kids/teens

I plan to write everyday, but will probably alternate projects to keep things interesting. If I work on a book or short story I will aim for a minimum of 1000 words a day/ 6 days a week. If I am working on a script I will write a minimum of 5 pages a day/ 6 days a week. If I am working on an outline I will write a page a day (my outlines are usually 10 pages each but I do a lot of research which is what will take up the bulk of the time) / 6 days a week. Rewrites will follow the same word/page minimums. I really hope I will write more each day, but I want my goal to be realistic.

I am not including other research/query letters/ ideas and synopsis I write up.

This plan may look easy but don't forget it usually takes multipme drafts to get a script where I want it, so I will be going through this process over and over again.

This starts today, so I am off to write. :)

Tonight! Tonight! Tonight!

2009-08-18T21:06:00.000-07:00

I just got back from my play reading. It took place at a local director's house with professional actors and all I can say is that I am floating on a cloud right now. It was so great to see the play come to life!

Not only was it a LOT of fun, but everyone loved the play! They loved the characters! Compliments were falling like a torrential downpour.

And we had an hour to discuss it afterward, during which I received so much fantastic feedback to use for my next draft. My plan is to crank out the next draft in double time and have it ready to sell before Christmas.

As corny as it sounds, I left feeling like I was put on this earth to write and I can't begin to tell you how absolutely wonderful that feels!

A bit of everything

2009-06-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

OMG, I can't believe my last post was in March and I really can't think of a good reason for my laziness.

What's new?

I teamed up with a friend from film school. We created a few TV pitches together and sent them out to a producer last week. We've had interest in three and are pretty happy. They wanted more details so we're working on that right now. Working with someone else is great - keeps you motivated because you want to pull your weight and someone else is counting on you. It sucks because you have to agree on everything and that can be very very draining. It's a great learning experience and bottom line the world of T.V. and film is a collaborative one, so I might as well get used to it. Plus my writing partner ROCKS!

I finished my play and am having a play reading at the end of the summer which I am really looking forward to.

I am going to Chicago for a week in July. It'll be my first time and I am psyched. My must see list is so long I don't know how I'll cram it all into 6 days, but I shall try my best.

We got a free tree. The city offered each household one with free delivery. It is very scrawny and looks so lonely in our backyard, but it is ours and we adore it. Of course, so does the dog, who peed on it less than 5 minutes after we planted it. LOL.

I LOVED the prison break series finale and am awaiting the final break on DVD in July. Apparently it was on sky TV but I missed it! I bought seasons 1 and 2 on DVD and have devoured them in the last 3 weeks. Guess who I watched them with? My mom! Believe it or not she is a die hard fan. Hubby on the other hand hates the show which is weird considering it is more of a guy show. But Hubby hates the majority of today's T.V. shows, so don't take it personally prison break.

I'm sure there are a zillion other things I should be writing here....it's been three months...but it's not likely that I'll remember them so.... I'm heading to the fridge for a late night snack... I've been doing a lot of that lately.

Nite...

update on script

2009-03-21T08:22:00.001-07:00

Great news! I heard from that producer who was interestd in my script and she is still very interested! I am currently working on rewrites.

Nothing else to report at this time. :)

A mix of stuff - just like the weather

2009-02-06T16:10:00.001-08:00

I heard back from the producer who read my script and she said that she loved it and would get back to me soon, so now the waiting game begins.

I also sent my resume and writing sample to the producer of a local TV show that is looking for new writers. Again, I just wait and see.

In the meantime, I have started a desperate housewives spec to add to my portfolio.

I came down with a crappy cold at the start of the week. Everyone at work was sick...I had a mild sore throat last week that passed and I was like, Yay, I didn't get it and then a few days later I wake up sick. SUCKY!

Every year at this time, Will and I start complaining about the cold, the snow, cold season and all the other crap that winter throws our way. We start talking about moving somewhere warm like California. We've also looked at Vancouver...although it rains there an awful lot. This year I seem more serious than ever, but I also love my job so who knows...

Another first

2009-01-19T12:56:00.000-08:00

So, today I got a request for one of my scripts by an award winning director/producer. I just sent it off to her and I am psyched!!!:)

She liked my logline and it's the sort of story she likes to produce. Even if nothing comes of it, I feel I am moving in the right direction.

:)

Slowest fire drill in history?

2008-11-14T11:18:00.000-08:00

So, we're in a new building at work and today they decided to put us through our first fire drill. Now, before you think I'm all whiny, let me explain that I have been through many fire drills in previous buildings. None of them were like this. And this is the first time I've complained about a drill. Here's why:

You know how people often consider just hanging back and not leaving the building if they know it's not a real fire? Well this alarm was so loud people were running for the exit. I mean running. It also got louder and louder as we walked down the emergency stairs. People were covering their ears and wincing. That's how loud it was.

And if that wasn't bad enough. Guess how long it took me to get outside? In my old building I was on the tenth floor and got out within three minutes. Now, I'm on the 6th floor, so it stands to reason that it would be faster, right? Wrong.

It took twenty minutes!!!

The traffic in the stairwell was slower than molasses and people were joking that if there had been a real fire, most people would have been crispies before they got out.

So, probably not the slowest in history but maybe the most ridiculous.

Boo Rah

2008-10-01T17:41:00.000-07:00

Well, as you know, I was a semi-finalist in Page = Top 10. They announced the winner and second and third prize today and if I had been one of them, the title of this blog would have been woohoo or yay or something more creative and inspired, but all I could think of to describe my current state was ," Boo Rah."

I know I should be pleased I made it to the top 10, and as my husband says, that is an accomplishment in itself, but I can't help being bummed. As I sat at work today I fantasized about winning and what I'd do with the prize money...then came home and checked the results...boo hoo...anyway, this finalist thing may still help me sell the script.

And I was motivated to write. I just finished a one-pager for a kids show I'm gonna pitch to two children's networks. And I still have time to write a few scenes of my play before bed. Perseverance won the race, right?

The market recovered today... so there was some good news.

No longer a hermit

2008-09-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't updated in a while cause I've been tired and the reason is...

I am back at work. It hasn't been easy after being off for a year. And going back was a really hard decision. I told myself I wouldn't set foot in a cubicle again, but it was just too risky at this point. After all, outside of the world of fiction, we do need to pay the bills.

But I do feel grateful to have a good job. And they agreed to part time (3 days a week), so that I can have my Monday's and Friday's to work on my writing. Today I got up and went to a coffee shop and wrote all morning. Now I'm back home typing it all up...okay I'm procrastinating a wee bit with this blog, but only a wee bit.

The hardest things about being back at work are:

1. Getting up early. I think I forgot how to do that.
2. Functioning all day after getting up so early. I am a caffeine free person -- its just never agreed with me, but man it's hard to avoid coffee, tea and chocolate when you are trying to not fall asleep at your desk.
3. Office politics. No explanation required.

The upside:

1. Millions of screenplay ideas after only 3 days back. This far outweighs the 3 cons above.
2. No longer leading a hermit type existence. Is this a pro or a con? You decide.

I actually feel really positive. I've received great feedback on my writing and now plan to write like mad for a year. Next year I pound the pavement. :)

Mini-golf, ec-homes and pie

2008-09-01T15:59:00.000-07:00

What I did this weekend....

My dad flew up for a visit. Yesterday, even though it was a beautiful sunny day we decided to go play indoor mini-golf. I'd never gone before. It's very very dark and it's much harder than regular mini-golf because you can't see the gradations of the green. Even a hill appears flat in the dark.

Dad and Will both played well. I on the other hand played a very bad game. I pretty much whined the whole time and stopped trying near the end. Watching the three of us together is hilarious because we are all so competitive.

In the afternoon went to look at an eco-home that is being built near us. It's completely solar powered. In fact, you generate more eclectric than you use and can sell it back to the city. Isn't that cool? It would be great not to have an energy bill and even greater for the environment.

The previous day we took dad to Perth and this time I didn't mix up the directions. oh yeah, and Will got another pie. Gotta have pie.

I'm a finalist!

2008-09-01T15:54:00.000-07:00

The Page finalists were just announced and I made it!!!!

http://www.internationalscreenwritingawards.com/2008-final.shtml

:)

My blonde moment

2008-08-31T18:57:00.000-07:00

So, I had gone to both Merickville and Perth with my mom when she was on vacation a few weeks ago. They are both about 100 miles from home and make perfect day trips. I memorized the directions.

I thought Will would love Merickville as the town is full of artists and paintings which he adores so we decided to take a trip there yesterday.

He drove. I navigated from memory --no map. Part way there we turned onto Perth street as per my perfect memory and I said,"Isn't it weird that Perth street goes to Merickville and not Perth." And I truly believed that Perth street took us to Merickville. An hour later we arrived in Perth and I felt pretty stupid for mixing up the directions. Of course, Perth street should have been a dead give away that we were on our way to Perth. What a blonde moment.

Anyway, Perth was a blast. They had this awesome bakery and Will bought a pie -- Pie always makes him happy. Plus we found a great art shop and spent time basking in the sun by the water. We also bought some organic doggie treats for Huanne -- made by hand. She loooooves them!

Page semi-finals

2008-08-12T06:51:00.001-07:00

Just made it to the next stage of the Page screenwriting awards -- The Semi-Finals. Here's the link where you can see my name:

http://www.internationalscreenwritingawards.com/2008-semi.shtml

:)

More Contest News

2008-07-14T16:43:00.001-07:00

Just found out that both my feature script and one of my short scripts made the 1st round of the PAGE screenwriting awards. I am really surprised, but very very glad!

And this blog is really the only place that I can brag so: Brag, brag, brag.

In other news, our weekend was very very depressing. We have been considering selling our home, and downsizing to something way cheaper, so that I can focus on my writing, but the places we viewed were downright depressing. And each time we come home to our nice house and private backyard we like it more and more. So, I doubt we'll move. It's so hard to find that balance between giving your dream your all and trying to plan for the future esp. when you have no idea what's in store for that future. **SIGH**

And with that said, I'm off to start something new, my first Rom Com. :)

Googled

2008-07-11T07:58:00.000-07:00

My dad called me last night to say he googled me and all of my writing contest wins came up. He got a big kick out of it. So of course, I tried to hide my enthusiasm, but I was on the portable phone, so as we continued to talk I walked over to the computer and typed in my name. I couldn't resist. It was pretty cool.

Firecrackers, dogs and other stuff

2008-07-02T05:58:00.000-07:00

Last night, the neighbourhood fireworks were at their craziest causing our dog (you may recall she has a real phobia) to go even crazier. She was panting, pacing and hiding in the basement.

I forced her into the backyard so she could face her fear. The vet had told us she needed exposure therapy, but she squealed so loud, it sounded like she was being slaughtered, so we had to bring her in. We then took her for a walk and actually showed her the fireworks. This did nothing to minimize the fear.

She's really no different than a person taking a panic attack. Your convinced your not safe and your going to die and no amount of reasoning will make you think otherwise. I hate to see my baby suffer so.

In brighter news, I found out this a.m. that I'm a quarter finalist in the Bluecat screenwriting competition. I was really surprised on this one and thrilled! Keep em coming!

Good news

2008-07-01T06:21:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to find out that I made it to the next round in the American Gem short script competition. The qualifying round which was announced last month I made it to the top 250 scripts. Now I've made it to the quarter finalists which is the top 100 scripts. Next round will be announced in a month or so. Anyway, it was nice to wake up to good news like that. Now if I can just get writing again.

Where did the title come from?

2008-06-28T12:25:00.001-07:00

A few readers have asked me where my blog title comes from. In order to explain, I'll have to take you back to elementary school. Grade 4 to be exact. My best friend and I wrote a class newspaper. We charged 25 cents an issue, but of course due to some dumb school rule we were not allowed to keep the money. It's a shame really, because the money should have gone to our parents. My friend's mom typed all of our hand written articles and my mom had them photocopied. Aren't mom's incredibly supportive.

Anyway, the money had to go to something school related so we told the school librarian we would donate a book with the money we made. We were animal activists so we planned to buy a book about animals for the library. At the end of the year, the librarian told us there had been a change in plans. She would pick the book. And guess what it was called? Don't put the mustard in our custard and it wasn't about animals. A photo was taken of us, with the librarian and the book. We are standing there with scowls on our faces -We worked really really hard and didn't even get to pick the book- she certainly put the mustard in our custard that day. :)

Anyway, I've carried that saying with me throughout life. When anyone rains on my parade, I say they put the mustard in my custard.

The weed wasn't weed

2008-06-17T14:05:00.000-07:00

So, Will was weeding our backyard and found what looked like weed plants...five one night and another four the next. He was worried that if someone saw it and reported us we'd be charged for growing weed. You read about that stuff in the paper all the time.

He called the police and reported it. They came and inspected the "weed" plant and guess what??? It wasn't weed. Only a plant that highly resembled it.

So of course he was embarassed that he had called and we got a chuckle out of it when the officer said, "This isn't weed, it's just a weed."

Hardy ha ha.

Bitten by the baby bug

2008-06-08T07:17:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine that just moved to the other side of the country also just gave birth to her first baby....an adorable baby girl. I went to the mall yesterday to pick up a little something for her and what was meant to be a ten minute trip to the baby clothes section turned into an hour.

There were so many choices...everything was just so cute. And I came home bitten by the baby bug. This happens every so often, when I see a really cute kid or one of my friends announces she is preggie or I find myself in the children's clothes section. Are we programmed so that when others have babies or we are around baby stuff our biological drive kicks in?

The worst part is that when I showed Will the cute outfit I bought my friend's baby...he too was bitten by the baby bug.

Not good! Not good at all. I have scripts to write and things to do. I think I should go to a movie today. Yeah, that's what I'll do.

I'm baaaack

2008-06-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

Holy crap! I new it had been a looong time since my last update but I had no idea it had been a little over a month! Things have been YUCKY lately. My life has been in a scramble but I'm slowly but surely getting things on track.

School is done! And yesterday I found out my short script has placed in the first round of the American Gem short script competition. At least I know I have some talent or I wouldn't be placing in these things. Either that or half the entries were submitted by a bunch of monkeys in illegible hand scribbles. Who really knows?

Will has been mini golf obsessed this month (the real game, not the Wii one). And he's really out to win. He's also been practicing his wii bowling which sucks. It's the only game on the wii I can beat him at or should I say used to beat him at. He's always beaten me at golf, boxing, tennis and now bowling. BAWL. Now, being the spoilt sport that I am, I just don't want to play anymore. I mean if you can't win....maybe I should find someone who sucks more than me to play with?? Anyone want to volunteer???

Poor huanne. This month has been one of confusion for her. She's developed a phobia to firecrackers and the family down the street keeps setting them off. Hu anne goes crazy and hides under the bed. Her heart beats rapidly, like shes having a panic attack and no amount of hugs, kisses and soothing talk makes her feel any better. Ah, I love my huanne. I'll post some updated pics soon.

Networking

2008-04-29T17:57:00.000-07:00

This week was full of networking...

It started with a nomination I received for a screenplay award which was presented at a new club downtown. I got to hear the announcer read my name and talk about my script while I turned crimson. Didn't win but the nomination in itself was nice.

I spent the evening talking to people in the "Biz." A local director showed interest in one of my short scripts, so I've put a third draft together and plan to send it off to her tonight.

I was then invited to another "Biz" party. I'm an introvert and wasn't sure what the point of even going was. I'd probably sit in the corner like a wallflower all night....but once again I surprised myself by talking to a local producer about my script. We talked for an hour which I think was a pretty good sign.

But I am just not a party gal. I'm most at home hiking with my dog, staying home and watching a movie or TV...pretty boring stuff.

Today I entered two competitions - Nicholl and Austin.

School is OVER! And I am left with mixed emotions. I was so friggin exhausted but the thought of going back to work is not so good. I have three weeks off and I plan to do some heavy R and R after the following boring stuff:

my taxes
cleaning - my bedroom is piled high with clothes - I haven't cleaned in almost 6 weeks.
And as if I haven't had enough, I signed up for a one week script marketing course so that I can start marketing this sucker that has consumed my life.

I feel good

2008-04-13T17:35:00.000-07:00

So last night I checked my email when I got home and was delighted to read that a Spec TV script I wrote made the semi-finals of a Spec TV writing competition! YAY me!!!

I was totally not expecting this and really needed the moral boost as the last 2 weeks of my life have been hell.

They announce the finalists this week, so please cross your fingers for me. But honestly, even making it this far makes me feel good.

On another note, my beautiful dog was such a sweetie today. It was really windy and the front door blew open. This is very very bad when it comes to my doggie. She's a husky - very well trained inside but when it comes to outside she is as free as a wolf, A.K.A. if she gets loose outside we may never get her back.

Anyway, as I raced toward her, she looked at me, then walked out the door. I started calling her, my heart was racing, I pictured us searching for her night and day, putting up lost dog posters, the whole nine-yards, but a miraculous thing happened....she immediately ran back to me. She's getting soft in her old age but I like it.

I feel good today.

April fools

2008-04-01T11:31:00.001-07:00

So, today, I was home and all ready to go out for some boring errands. I got my boots, hat, scarf, mits and coat on - it's still freezing here, and then reached into my purse and guess what?

No keys.

I called Will at work and asked him if he had my set with him. He of course feigned innocence and suggested I check all of the mystery compartments in my purse. He's always complaining about how big my purse is and how there's a whole house worth of stuff in it, yada, yada. So, thinking he might be right, I dumped the whole thing on the kitchen table, rooted through my junk and still no keys.

He reaches into his pockets and then says, awkwardly, "I have both sets."

This after blaming it on my purse. Tsk. Tsk. "So, what do you have to say for yourself?" I ask.

"Umm, April, Fools???" he says. Yeah, right.

Snow Beauty

2008-03-22T18:54:00.000-07:00

Here's my baby sitting in the snow today. Isn't she pretty?

Buried under snow

2008-03-09T14:15:00.000-07:00

We had two more snow storms back to back. One Friday night, another last night. So much snow...I think the third largest snow fall in history...according to the newspaper. The scariest part was thunder and lightening...during a snow storm...never seen that before in my life and it was scary, felt like we were under attack when the sky lit up like that.

Today Will got up and shoveled for hours. There's 10 feet of snow piled up on the side of our driveway. If we get more snow there will be no place for it to go. The backyard has snow up to the fence. Our dog can literally walk right over the fence into the neighbor's back yard. YIKES. She's actually scared of the backyard now, just looks so foreign to her.

The fun part was that about 10 people didn't show up at the theatre rehearsal so I got to read two additional parts - what fun!

My big strong heroes

2008-03-05T07:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was just one of those days. Let me explain.....

I worked at my internship in the morning and when I went walked back to my car, guess what I found under the wiper, mocking me? A parking ticket. So instead of working for free yesterday, it cost me $40. Sucky.

Then I get in my car, start it, put my foot on the accelerator and guess what? It won't budge, I'm stuck on ice. A big guy that looks like a body builder knocks on my window, so I roll it down. He says, "You've got two big, strong guys here, ready to PUSH you out." I was like, "cool," and within seconds I was back on the road on my way to class. I have to admit it was kind of funny...I've never heard someone refer to themselves as big and strong. But they saved me so I will not complain.

At the end of the day, I opened the fridge to grab something and knocked over a bottle of medication. It cracked open on the floor and leaked out. Replacement fee: $26.

So today actually cost me $66. It's really expensive not to work. As I said, just one of those days. Here's hoping today will be better. But since the snow plow just went by and plowed me in...I'll keep you posted.

My V-day

2008-02-15T11:01:00.000-08:00

So, I spent yesterday polishing a few scenes in Act 2 of my screenplay. My protaganist is Southern, and I like to read my dialogue out loud but I don't do accents very well. My southern drawl was so overdone that my dog came prancing in with one of those looks that says, "What the hell are you doing?" I think she thinks I was howling instead of talking or something. But she couldn't even understand the howl. So she proceeded to scold me. Can you imagine?

Will and I had plans to go out for the evening but I've been sick the last few days so sadly we cancelled our reservations. But he picked up some great take -out - all my favs and brought me some beautiful flowers!!! He's sweet like that and then we decided to watch an older movie, but a fav, office space and basically laughed our asses off for two hours.

It ended just in time for lost. If it hadn't we would have stopped it as we can't live without our lost fix. The episode was a dissapointment AGAIN - all the episodes have been this season. But like most other addictions, we know it's bad but we can't seem to stop watching.

The writer's strike is over...YAY..this means I can dust off the spec script I wrote last term and send of my query letter.

That was my V- day.

Today Will and I are both off. We slept in. Beautiful. Had a lazy breakfast. How beautiful. And now are both hard at work. We don't really know how to take a break, at least not for any extended period of time but we like it like that.

Burning up

2008-02-07T09:40:00.001-08:00

I woke up super early to find out the house was over 30 degrees - I'm talking celsuis here. I was under a sheet, and thick duvet, so as you can imagine I felt like I was in an oven. Turns out the batteries were lo on the thermostat, causing the furnace to continue to go up and up and up.

I changed the batteries, but an hour later it was still at 30 degrees. So I called the oncall emergency pager guy, and was told it would probably go down a degree every 90 minutes or so. GEEZ! Slow furnace! So now, it's 1 pm, I'm leaving the house and it is at 26 degrees.

I hope huanne can survive it in her double layer of fur. Poor baby.

The worst part is how dumb I must have sounded explaining what I saw on my thermostat to the on-call guy. I mean I'm smart but I don't have a technical bone in my body. My explanations were like, 'ummm beside the little picture of fire there's this other thingy...and beside the red button, there's a circle - should that be there?' the poor guy was very patient and nice, but I'm sure he was thinking, 'what an idiot.'

The good news, was that the heat woke me up extra early...well early for a night owl like me...and I actually wrote the outline for a short script that I will be filming myself next week. Of course, I was so delusional that once the heat comes down I may find it to be crap.

a cool night

2008-02-05T06:28:00.000-08:00

Last night there was a reading of my play and well I am in awe of my actors. They really brought the story to life and I was really happy. The words sounded even better when they left the page.

The best part of my night was when someone approached me and told me that there were these three lines that really spoke to them... it was a realization they had come to about their own life and hearing it said on stage, knowing that someone else had thought the same thing as they had, gave them a sense of validation. My heart soared at the comment. That is after all why I write. If I can touch even one person with my words I feel I have suceeded.

What a night! What a motivator!

my turn

2008-01-29T11:08:00.000-08:00

So, I've taken off the horns of jealousy because today I had news that will actually make Will green with envy. I can't wait to see his face when he gets off the plane and I announce....

Today I was asked to work on a project as part of my internship that our fav comedic actor will guest star on. When I found I was just like, "oh, yeah?" to the producer but really I was pee my pants excited! And I may be there for the shooting!

Yeah, I'm happy!

Also, my new office rocks. The whole place is bright and artsy. Everyone is down to earth. We don't have to wear suits like in my old job. See up until now I've been working from home because I had NO IDEA how FABULOUS this place is. From now on I'll be the office girl.

green with jealousy

2008-01-28T17:26:00.000-08:00

Will just called me from New York. He was on the David Letterman show today. He's front row center so look for him when you watch tonight.

Jessica Alba was the star. I think he has a bit of a crush now due to the whole view from the front row.

He's in New York. I am jealous.

He's on Letterman. I am so jealous.

A job that lets you have the afternoon off to go be on a talk show - I am so so jealous.

Need I go on?

**SIGH**

Hard Cold Reality

2008-01-24T17:41:00.000-08:00

Well, I can officially say that I work in the TV biz. Well, I'm interning but no diff....

This is my second week. I'm working at a production company and loving it. I thought they'd have me fetching coffee or some other bottom of the barrel type thing but nope, they've already go me doing some writing for them.

Today I had to read a script the company received for consideration and then give them my opinion as to a) whether it was any good and b) how well I think it would do with today's viewers. Basically coverage, but more in depth. They had no time at all to read it themselves so if I gave it a big fat X, they'd simply throw it in the trash.

I suddenly pictured myself come April, mailing out one of my scripts -- you know, one that I have slaved over, to a production company, hopeful that I might get a positive response. But instead of anyone who is anyone reading it...yup, you guessed it, they pass it to the intern to read -- to make or break my life. And of course this is bad because:

1) the intern may have no clue what he or she is doing
2) I might be competition for said intern and he/she might put a red X through it faster than I put my stamp on the envelope
3) the intern might not give a shit about anything more than putting their hours in -- a shitty review is easier than a favourable one
4) the intern might have really crappy taste

BOTTOM LINE : As sad as it is, this nightmare scenario is very realistic. I like to picture the writing world in a very different light. Me --the introvert - sitting in my lovely loft writing up a storm and pressing send, not worrying about sales or anything else outside the world I've put down on paper, but it doesn't work that way. It's a BUSINESS. That means you schmooze or you lose, you kiss ass, you bug everyone you can. And your script better be so god damn good that it will knock the socks off of anybody -- even an intern who falls under problems 1 through 4 above.

So, I was a very very GOOD intern today. I treated the script with the same respect I hope mine will get. I wrote up a great synopsis of the show and a very thorough and honest critique...even did research on today's marketplace.

I'd like to say I did it so the universe would treat me in kind but I didn't. I did it because I believe that every script and every person deserves respect. Okay, this post is starting to sound like an after school special. I'm done now.

Nasty phone call

2008-01-20T08:14:00.000-08:00

Well, picture me on Friday, home not feeling well at all and getting the following phone call:

Me: Hello
Sales Lady : Hi. Can I speak to your mom or dad?
Me: excuse me?
Sales Lady: I need to speak to your mom or dad.
Me: (in a really sour tone) I happen to be the woman of this house, thank you very much.
Sales Lady: Oh ummm, well you sound like a teenager.
Me: Really? Well, I'm not.
Sales Lady: So, anyway, we're selling some....
Me: No thanks.
Sales Lady: But really, this will give you a chance to help...
Me: I said, No.
Sales Lady: But...

CLICK

Man, after the insult she should have just given up.

Mojo is back

2008-01-17T17:06:00.000-08:00

So, I just got my internship and I have to BRAG that I got the coolest one in the city. I'm gonna get to work on some scripts that are currently being pitched for funding and I'm gonna get to do most of my work from home.

First things I love most about scriptwriting is:

The writing itself - Duh!

But the second part is that other than a few face to face idea swapping meetings, you can work from home in your pj's. I Loooove working from home in my pj's for all the obvious reasons.

Oh, and my great news is that my mojo is back. I saw the casting call for my short script listed online and was like OMG - that's my script!!! and suddenly my mojo came running after me. I love it when that happens. Now I can just sit back and let it do all the work.

Mojo - where the hell are ya?

2008-01-10T11:29:00.000-08:00

Well, everything has gone askew for me in the last week. Usually my type A personality doesn't let me down but so far this week:

- I've been late for every class
- My furnace broke and we had to sleep with no heat in the middle of friggin winter
- Today furnace guy showed up late so I missed class
- Was supposed to enter my scripts in a competition but didn't cause I was lazy (still have like 5 days till the deadline though)
- Haven't walked doggy for a few days so she's in a sulk - poor thing - excuse on this one - I'm lazy

So, I don't think I've ever been lazy. I attribute this lack of mojo to the fact I misplaced my cell phone on Sunday and I've felt very lost without it.

The cool thing though is that a few minutes ago I heard the beep my cell phone makes when it is out of juice...followed the beep to a stack of papers and voila - my cell was under them.

So now that my cell is back -- I hope my mojo is attached.

Let down

2008-01-03T14:12:00.001-08:00

I had been looking forward to seeing Juno all holiday. Yesterday, we finally saw it. Of course it was only showing in the smallest theatre...

Anyways, it let me down.

What I liked:

the witty dialogue

Ellen page. I mean, she is from my home town.

What I didn't like:

the fact the majority of the characters especially the teenagers were completely unemotional and well I have yet to meet an unemotional teenager.

the subplots were lacking.

where was the dimension?

Will loved it. As long as something makes him laugh he gives it a thumbs up.

Anyways, I'm not saying I hated it. I had the whole thing worked up in my mind as the movie of the year or something and I guess with expectations that high I should have seen it coming. Note to self: New Years resolution - lower expectations.

X - mas tidbits

2008-01-02T07:29:00.001-08:00

Sorry for my absence from the blogging world...I have been in rural Nova Scotia, snowed in and loving every moment of it.

The first half of our vacation was spent at my grammies house where for the first time in five years we were all together. God we laughed and laughed and laughed.

The second half of our vacay we spent at my in laws and let me say I LOOOOOVE my in laws! They always make me feel like a real daughter and I always have a fab time with them. I got to see my three year old niece....three going on six, I swear!

Sometimes when I go home, I wonder if I made the wrong choice, moving to the capital city. I am a city girl but life in the valley is just so wonderful. I mean almost everyone makes a living with their own business, usually environmentally friendly and well, I think Will and I could do an awesome job at that. It would mean more time together and more time with family. Also, we looked at real estate - we could buy a place comparable to ours for half the price and food is 2/3'rds of the price. **SIGH** But where would I be without traffic, cineplex theatres, Thai restaurants, facials, manicures, yoga, etc.??

Ten tidbits from our holidays:

1. My three year old niece stays up later than hubby and I do. No joke. She is competition for the energizer bunny!
2. My three year old niece only eats salad, fruit plates, cheese and bread and just the odd bite of meat. You go girl!
3. My three year old niece can bake bread from scratch all on her own. I attribute this to the food she's eating....see number 2.
4. Apparently there are five levels to Alzheimer's and as long as you don't go past four you are fine....you'd have to be at our Christmas Eve blast to appreciate this one!
5. My dad just got back from working in Indonesia and got everyone an Indonesian Christmas present this year. And we all had to model....wish I could upload the pics. Indonesians are pretty small but this was the first year my dad found a store that carried size XXL for my uncle and was told it would have a slimming effect. Well, as he modeled it around the living room - the pounds - they just came off!
6. A friend of ours is running a completely organic farm. Totally awesome guy.
7. Will put together his first CD. He will start selling it online soon. It totally rocks and I am not biased at all. I've listened to nothing else in the rental car.
8. I've actually got a list of resolutions which I will post later.
9. I arrived home to an angry dog who chewed us out for being away even though her Grandma spoiled her rotten.
10. We gave our dog a finger puppet and a new cozy bed and we found instant redemption. Wish everything in life was that easy.

And the break begins....I think

2007-12-19T19:09:00.000-08:00

So, I am done for two and a half weeks! YAHOO!

Some of my accomplishments this term include:

straight A's
a short script that got chosen for production
was pushed to the Max and proved to myself just how much I can do

The major downside was having to put my life on hold for the last 15 weeks. So, I was looking forward to spending time with friends and had two lunches, two dinners out and a party planned when we got SNOWED in!!!!! In fact it was like a record breaking snow fall - I mean my dog ran out into the backyard and completely disappeared under the snow and she is not a small dog by any means. So, I had to cancel and reschedule cause tomorrow Will and I fly home for 5 days with my family followed by 5 days with his. It's been a year since we've seen them. Part of us can't wait and part of us is crying silent tears, I mean why do they call it Christmas break if it is all business and chaos and..... umm where can we find the break part of it?

We then come home to seven days of bliss in our cozy X-mas decorated home -- did I tell you we decorated a tree on Saturday??? Then a New Years party plus me rescheduling the party, lunches and dinners I missed-- so maybe I shouldn't say bliss, at least not relaxing bliss, more like crazy but I love it bliss! Make sense?

Nice to have a break. Of course I still have to do work for next term, but I looove to complain about it cause I love the work period. God, it is nice to finally be able to say that I love what I am doing. Couldn't be more simple than that.

Freaky timing

2007-12-03T12:58:00.000-08:00

So we just had a really, REALLY bad snow storm. It took me two hours to dig my car out of the driveway. **SIGH** My day was over before it even began.

Last year we had two major snowstorms. Will just happened to be away on business in San Fransisco for the first one and Minneapolis for the second one.

I attributed it to coincidence until...**drum roll**

Will is currently in Boston on business. He left yesterday. So, of course it snowed. It literally started one hour after his plane took off. No joke. Most of the airport closed after that. So I'm left saying WTF???

He called this morning cause he'd seen the reports on the news and was laughing.....

Does he have some sort of deal going with mother nature so that he can avoid the shoveling??? And if so, why pray tell is she on his side? Um, hello....what about me?

Next week he's in San Jose and I bet it will snow again. So, I'm thinking that since I've done all this shoveling, an extra awesome Christmas gift is in store for me this year. :)

evil tools of procrastination

2007-11-27T09:23:00.001-08:00

My husband is going to Boston on business next week, then San Jose, so it's time for me to put my coat of jealousy on again. **SIGH**

To make matters worse, he is taking our Wii with him to play in his hotel room. Umm, doesn't he realize he will be denying me my main form of procrastination? Oh, he just said that he does and that he is doing it on purpose.

Damn.

See, I have only 10 days of class left and a million projects due. He is being a very helpful husband.

Maybe I should ask him to take the Internet too and the TV's? Think of how much I'd get done.

Ya, right. Like I could ever go without Internet for 10 days. :) Evil tools of procrastination. Can't live with em, can't live without.

looking for a narrator and other stuff...

2007-11-24T08:50:00.000-08:00

So last night I finished editing my documentary. I think I did a good job at telling the story and the shots aren't bad considering:

- it was the first time I have ever held a video camera in my life.
- my teacher doesn't know how to use my editing software so I had to teach myself -- and well anyone who knows me knows that I am so not a techie at all!

The part I hate is my narration. I sound way to much like a news reporter which really does not fit the tone of the piece at all. So now-- I am trying to recruit someone to narrate it so I can cut myself out of the damn thing. Surprisingly, I've had two takers so far. Turns out a lot of people love hearing themselves on tape and the chance to be a voice movie star. LOL.

I think it would be great if I let my dog do it -- in her howly voice -- we might not be able to make it out but it would add so much to the piece. :)

On other news, the director for my short should be contacting me this upcoming week. They start casting soon. Surprisingly I get to be involved in the process the whole way through -- I see lots of rewrites in my future but I prefer that to handing over my script and having no say in the final product.

I'm in production baby

2007-11-19T20:06:00.000-08:00

Well I actually have some screenwriting related news and even better it relates to yours truly. One of my short scripts is being produced.

I had a shitty day, came home to an email letting me know my script had been chosen and have basically been bouncing off of my seat ever since!

More on it later as I am in desperate need of sleep.

The worse stink ever

2007-11-17T17:37:00.000-08:00

OK, so after seeing the two plays I actually have a new appreciation for people who wear perfume. Why you ask??? Let's just say that I discovered something even stinkier than stinky perfume.

Picture this. Friday night, we are crammed into this little theatre downtown and the woman beside us is wearing very strong perfume. We silently bitch about it. Come on, you knew we would. The lights go down, the play is about to start when suddenly...

We are hit with the biggest stench we have ever smelled in our life. What was it, you ask???

A SMELLY FART!

There was this old guy sitting behind us and OMG! As soon as the fart smell started to die down I could smell the perfume again and was like oh thank god. Than he farted again and we had to hold our breathe. Every time I smelled the perfume again I was thanking god, really I was. This went on for the WHOLE show...no joke. I wonder if he had beans for dinner?

OK, I know people fart and sometimes they smell but in close quarters like that...a smell like that just shouldn't be allowed.

I'm thinking next time, I will bring my own bottle of perfume and just sit there spritzing it in the air.

Scents

2007-11-16T08:19:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling quite cultured right now. I'm going to a play tonight and another one tomorrow afternoon. I'll try to get some reviews up Sunday.

The only thing I hate about going to a play at the National Arts Center is that people always show up dosed in perfume and dressed like they are going to a fancy ball. It's a play for god sake -- people are watching the stage...they are not watching you. And they most certainly are not SMELLING you!!!

You can probably tell how much I hate scents. Will hates them even more. In fact, he's very allergic and we left a play once because the person beside us had taken a bath in their perfume.

Hollywood North

2007-11-16T08:17:00.000-08:00

The strike has now reached Canada's hollywood north. And the rising Cdn dollar plays a factor too:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i9eeb82f00f69cdfddd1c9924be6636fb

She'll have to stay an only dog

2007-11-08T07:01:00.001-08:00

So, yesterday I was asked to review some websites...so of course given my love of animals I picked the humane society website. And, of course, I had take a quick look at the profiles of dogs for adoption. You can't go to the site without looking at the dogie pictures.

And guess what happened? I saw the perfect playmate for HuAnne. He has the same ears as she does and well I'm in love. So last night I tried to convince Will...he had to remind me of a few things:

Our dog HuAnne is a 40 lb Siberian Husky. Once, we looked after our friends dog for a few weeks. He was a male and bigger than Huanne. HuAnne did not like him at all and even though he was bigger by 15 lbs, god damn it, she was going to show her dominance. So she started eating like crazy and gained 6 lbs in only a few days. They fought constantly -- blood was shed. It wasn't pretty.

She's been an only dog for 8 years now and as much as I really really want another, I just don't think it would work out. **SIGH** But I do love my HuAnne.

Writers strike

2007-11-04T11:50:00.001-08:00

So it looks like tomorrow Hollywood writers go on strike. The issue: not being able to get a piece of the internet. It's gonna be a long fight and why shouldn't it be? The internet is bringing in big revenues. Why shouldn't writers get a piece of the pie? They have long been considered the bottom of the food chain but there is no basis for it.

Consider this:

1. A good movie can be made from a good script.
2. A bad movie can be made from a good script.
3. A good movie can't be made from a bad script.

The moral: do I really have to spell it out?

So one of my teachers is telling us that this strike is our chance to sell some of our work? Umm, hello is this prof crazy?

1. If you sell something during a strike you'll be lucky if any union will ever let you belong.
2.You'll never be able to put any of the scripts you sold during the strike on your resume. If you do, no on will ever consider you again.
3. You will be blacklisted. Believe me. This has happened to many.
4. The only point would be to make some $$$. And ya we gotta feed the monkey but as writers isn't it all really about the art?

That's all I got for now.

Youth

2007-11-02T17:38:00.000-07:00

I got my Wii age down to 35. Yahoo! And Wii sent me a message congratulating me.

So, from my excitement you can that the rest of my day was not to exciting.

C

Ding and Ditch

2007-11-01T06:40:00.000-07:00

Is there such a phrase as ' Ding and Ditch'? Just wonderin cause I used it last night and Will looked at me like I have two heads and was like, ummm, sweetie, what does that mean?

It was of course Halloween night and our front steps are closed off because of work we are having done so Will and I stood out on the sidewalk in front of our house to hand out candy to the kids.

By 8pm trick or treating seemed over so we shut down for the night. I was watching 'Private Practice' and Will was working on his art when I heard the doorbell. So I went to the door and no one was there.

This happened 4 more times. Invisible Hooligans I tell you. But better than our house getting egged.

Anyway, 'Ding and Ditch.' Anyone else familiar with this term??? Or did I just make it up???

Hard lessons

2007-11-01T06:35:00.000-07:00

I am sooooooo pissed off right now. Lets just say I'm gonna have to work on not being as nice a person or as open a person as I have been lately....Yup, I am gonna have to be far more picky about who I can trust...cause in this business, people suck up to you for the pure purpose of burning you.

I just learned the hard way.

Damn!

Obsession is a good thing!

2007-10-25T19:23:00.000-07:00

I'm obsessed with the internet, even more so now that I'm back in school. So obsessed that I get on here within 5 minutes of getting up in the morning. No joke. I get up, pee, then sign onto my computer.

So this morning I told myself I had to break the cycle. I'm going to read the paper and eat breakfast and then go to school.

I got to school. School was cancelled. We had been sent an email and if I had actually checked my email like I always do every morning, I would have known this.

The moral here is that the internet is a necessity and the universe doesn't want me to give up even one minute of it. YIPPEE!

So not a barber

2007-10-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

Will hates going to the barber. It isn't really anything against the barber and it isn't a money thing. It's more of a last minute thing, i.e. at midnight he suddenly realizes he needs his haircut for the next day but nothing is open...you know, typical guy procrastination. So, he recently bought a razor and gives himself a buzz cut every 6 weeks or so. One time, he was rushed for time and shaved most of it off quickly. I didn't realize he had made a botch of things till we were in the car and he turned his head and well....there were 2 large pieces of hair sticking out...wish I had a picture. I laughed the whole way into town. He then headed straight to the barber for a re-do. Too funny! And so much for it being a time saver!

He is now in California on business. The night before he left he decided to do his hair again and this time asked me to inspect. It didn't look good so he asked me to fix it. I got very nervous. See, I'm not good with scissors and I most certainly am not good at cutting in straight line. In high school, when Dad wouldn't give me money for a haircut, I attempted by own and lets just say, it was so bad that when I walked into my dad's study, he changed his mind and pulled a few bills out of his wallet for a haircut.

So, lets just say that I made Will's hair look worse...but not on purpose, I swear. He eventually fixed it and it looked perfect when he left for the airport the next morning. I told him I wasn't a barber, but he just wouldn't listen. I don't think he'll ask me again.

My first Shoot

2007-10-20T16:42:00.000-07:00

Today I just shot about 75% of my first documentary. I interviewed my subject and that went even better than I could have expected. His answers were very honest and thought provoking. I then got some live action scenes which turned out well.

Now I just need to get a few specific shots on my own - theme related - that will add to the overall feel of the piece.

I have A LOT of editing ahead of me but am looking forward to it! Will has offered to compose some music for it which will make it even better.

Today was a GREAT day!

Video game competition

2007-10-19T17:33:00.000-07:00

So Will has his Wii age down to 21. I just tried it again last night and my age has actually gone up.....to 77!!!!

In my defense:

Will has been practicing every god damn night while I've been busy writing so has a very unfair advantage.

I was just getting over this tsunami of a virus when I played and had been dragging my arse all day.

Somehow, these things don't make me feel better about my defeat. Maybe I should give up my running and replace it with Wii training. But see, the Wii, while fun doesn't keep me in shape, and more importantly doesn't give me the runners high, so, I think not.

The joys of being sick

2007-10-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

So, I have spent the entire long weekend plus the last few days in bed. And no, unfortunately, I don't mean having fun under the covers with hubby. I mean, in bed, sick with a tsunami of a flu/cold.

It has been years since I've had this kind of bug but I'm not suprised. The last 8 years in the working world, I was surrounded by people who actually stayed home when sick. Now, I'm back in school with people who come in sick and you know how that goes, everyone sits in a row packed like sardines, someone coughs on you, another sneezes on you, people don't wash their hands...you get the picture.

The nice thing about this was Will **SIGH** he made me a wonderful immune boosting soup from scratch and fruit smoothies - even brought me a few bottle of fiji water every hour. He was the ideal personal slave. I realy should consider getting him some slave like attire....hmmm.

The bad part was the fever that made my skin crawl, for a moment there I thought I was in drug detox, then I remebered that I don't do drugs. **SIGH OF RELIEF**But I can't imagine why Lindsay and all those other party stars that recently visited rehab would take up a habit that would make their poor bodies have to go through something like that.

What I'm missing right now:

Eating any kind of food other than soup
Being able to talk ( I have lost my voice)
Knowing what day of the week it is
Leaving the house
Being able to sleep

What I'm loving right now:

Watching trash TV and lovin it!

Ok, I'm done:)

Down with the fly

2007-10-04T16:52:00.000-07:00

So I gave a presentation today and through the whole presentation, there was this guy snickering at me. And it was really weird because my presentation was not funny, it was very very serious. He was rude! But then I started thinking, OMG, is my fly down? I just had this feeling about it. I really don't know why. But I couldn't check it, cause that would just be obvious. So I finished the presentation, took all the questions they threw at me and left and then the minute I left the room I checked.

Sure enough, my fly was down. Embarassed much? Yup, I was. And I only have two things to say:

1) He was rude!
2) Why didn't one of my so called friends let me know?

Oh and a third:

3) Was it really that funny? I mean I'm a girl so its not like there was anything hanging out there. Sheesh!

Prison Break - The Morning After

2007-10-02T09:05:00.001-07:00

ok, I always have to do my Tuesday Prison Break rant:

What I liked:

Sucre came back! YAY! cause he's my fav.

T-bag did the right thing for once, although I'm not sure you get any points if you only do it to save your own hide.

Loved T-bag's whole conflicting loyalties speil...very cool!

What I didn't like:

Is it beleivable that the leader of the prison would trust T-bag over his own men? I doubt that kind of stupidity would have kept him in power this long.

Lincoln, I've said it before and I'll say it again - not too smart!

Life is Beautiful

2007-10-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

While I doubt I'll be working behind a camera cause I am a far better writer than I am a techie...I am really liking this film course as I find it's helping me look at the world differently.

I notice things I didn't notice before and am always saying, oh, I should get that on video.

Last night Will and I went out and filmed the sunset. Very beautiful.

Thank god it was rat meat

2007-09-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

So last week when Whistler gave Bellick (sp?) meat and said "It's not chicken" I made the incorrect and disgusting assumption that he was talking about canibalism. I let out a huge sigh of relief last night when it was revealed that it was rat meat. Still gross but I bet he got a lot more to eat that way than some of the others.

As for the rest of the episode:

I am also really really glad that Bellick got some clothes!!!

Umm, did you notice Whistler could barely walk but at the end after a glass of water when he asks Michael, "How do we get out of here?" he looks like a soccer player ready for a game? Hmm, must be some miracle water.

Also I'm glad Linc couldn't trade places with his brother, cause lets face it, he doesn't have half of Michael's brains.

ok, my rant is done.

My first Camera!

2007-09-21T12:56:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! Today I went shopping for my first video camera. I will be using it to shoot my first ever documentary next week!!! Notice my triple exclamation.

I have it picked out and plan to buy it tomorrow...it's High Definition and has all sorts of cool functionality!

And I'm gonna be really camera happy so if you know me and are reading this you may want to stay clear of me for a while or else you may end up on candid camera...don't say I didn't warn you!

Desperate Housewives comes to life

2007-09-19T17:21:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning I tried to sleep in, and as I faded in and out of conciousness I kept thinking I heard a man screaming.

Finally at around 9am I heard a man yell "I'm going to die. I'm going to die." I jumped out of bed. I was sure I'd heard it and it wasn't a dream.

I ran downstairs and told Will about it and although he didn't say anything he gave me a look of disbeleif. But being the wonderful man that he is, he put on his rain coat(we were having a downpour) and walked up the street.

Well, turns out there was a crazy man in the children's park on our street that had gone totally crazy. Many of our neighbours were out on the street. The police came and took him a way. It felt like an episode of desperate housewives, really.

But I felt sad for the rest of the day wondering what had happened, what sent him over the edge. Did someone he love recently die? Did he find out he's sick? Did he loose his job and declare bankruptcy?Everyone was talking about the "Crazy man" as if he was so far removed from them, but I think any of us could one day could be him.

Safety in numbers?

2007-09-19T17:06:00.000-07:00

The whole "Safety in numbers" thing is supposed to apply to physical safety. So why exactly is it that our mind sometimes expands it to include things that just aren't logical? You know, like applying it to a problem you have in common with a "number" of people, isn't logical, cause it doesn't mean you are any less screwed...really, it doesn't.

Last week a classmate said that she felt like she had like missed a month of classes, didn't know whether she was coming or going. And when she said it I fsuddenly felt releived cause I thought I was the only one feeling that way.

But then when I was walking to my car at the end of the day I thought why does the fact that a second person is lost make me feel better? Is it like single people who don't feel bad about it as long as at least one of their good friends is also single because they can reassure themselves that they can be spinsters together???

Why does finding out someone else is suffering make it any better?

All I can say is thank god that was last week. This week I'm on top of things.

My first gig!

2007-09-13T17:19:00.001-07:00

So I got my first non broadcast writing gig today. I'm writing a Public Service Announcement for a non profit agency as well as a promotional video.

YAY for me!

I should probably add that I'm not getting paid for it, but that doesn't diminish one iota of excitement for me as it will look good on the resume. This is how I plan to make my living next year while I work on my scripts.

What a beautiful day!

2007-09-10T16:24:00.000-07:00

Had my first playwriting course today and absoluetly loved it! We spent the whole afternoon acting. Looks like that is what most of the course will be this term because if we can't understand how the actor interacts with the audience, we can't very well write for it.

So, I got to sleep in and then have fun all afternoon....

Love it!

I admit I was wrong

2007-09-08T18:03:00.001-07:00

so enjoy it while it lasts cause it will never happen again.

So...scratch that last post...this documentary thing is fun!!!

When do we get to write?

2007-09-08T14:04:00.000-07:00

I am working on a documentary - well just the script for it and the clips that will be used and it is taking forever. **GROAN**

So ya, if it looks like I'm complaining, that is because I am. It's just that I'm in a writing program and so far we haven't done any writing, well this documentary script is technically writing, but by writing I mean the fun stuff, which I usually work on at least 20 hours a week.

The fun stuff is coming, I have been assured and have already had to hand in an outline of my projects for the year, which I must warn you are pretty cool.

But until the time comes for the fun stuff...I think I might have to disable my internet...I am getting distracted by some crazy stuff. One of my profs introduced us to all these cool series on youtube and man I wish he hadn't done that :)

delay

2007-09-08T14:03:00.001-07:00

They were supposed to announce the results of the competition tomorrow but they just sent us all an email saying that there were soooo many scripts this year that they need more time. GAAAAH!

How structured should something be?

2007-09-05T13:16:00.000-07:00

I really have mixed views on the book, "Save the cat" in other words I have a love/hate relationship with it.

On the love side is the advice as stated in the title which that the protagansit must always save the cat or partake in some form of similar good deed. That way even if he's a bad guy but he does something good, ie. marlon brando doesn't do business with druggies in "The Godfather", we as the audience see the good in him and are able to root for him.

What I don't like about the book is how structured he suggests the beats should be. I know it works for some but for others is too mechanical and as a result the heart of the story can be lost.

I agree a sp must be structured in three acts, seperated by turning points and that the B story should contain these same turning points. All good screenplays follow this formula but whether the first turning point occurs on page 25 or 27, hmm not important, really. Now if
it doesn't occur till page 50, chances are you'll lose your audience to the popcorn machine.

Just an opinion.

Saturday Magic

2007-09-04T19:01:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post about our anniversary Saturday night.

We went out for all our favourite foods. Sushi, then Thai and then green door for dessert. If you're thinking wow what pigs right now, you would be about right. I had to do a major workout Sunday to make up for it, but it was soooo worth it!

And then we went to a movie, for a drive and then Will challenged me to a game on the Wii, which turned into three games, all of which I lost. I told him that since it was our anniversary he should let me win. Sadly he didn't agree.:)

But the coolest part was the magician that came up to our table at the Thai restaurant. He did some awesome tricks that looked legit, he even burned a hole in a pack of cards that stopped right at the card I had picked.

Student Life

2007-09-04T14:30:00.000-07:00

I survived day one. It went really well. Met some pretty cool people.

The class is 8 women and 20 men so that is interesting. I get along better with men anyway so am pretty happy about it!

The majority are like 22 years old, but there are a few people my age and maybe one person in their 40's

Someone thought I was 24 and was shocked to find out I was 30. I'm not surpised, I still get carded at bars. :) There was a time when I hated that but with each passing year I like it more and more.

My one school complaint is over the fact that we get marked for attendance which reminds me of grade school. I mean if we are paying for the program I think we should get to decide if we show up or not. But, since I don't plan on missing class I am not going to worry to much about that.

And I didn't have to get up till 10 am this morning so who really is complaining?

Happy Anniversary

2007-09-01T11:48:00.000-07:00

Will and I have been married 8 years today! Those 8 years have been the best years of my life!

So, Will, if you are reading this, "Happy Anniversary," and I can't wait to find out what you have planned!!!!:)

Where are the fall clothes?

2007-08-31T11:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I went to the mall, prepared to shop till I dropped. I was really looking forward to getting back to school clothes for the first time in 10 years and ecstatic over the fact I won't have to wear work clothes for the next 8 months!!!

I was super organized...even had shopping money saved up. And guess what? All the stores still had only summer clothes.

So weird, since last year in August I couldn't even find summer clothes, only racks filled with one sweater after another. Where oh where have the warm clothes gone?

Figures. Whenever you are actually serious about buying something, it's never there. And the reverse is true too.

I didn't come away empty handed though, there were three cute summer tops I couldn't resist. So now I'm praying it continues to stay warm and even for an Indian summer this October. :)

Canadian Myths

2007-08-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

I just found this great webpage that outlines all of the myths people have about Canada. Here is the link:

http://www.thecanadapage.org/Canadian_Myths.htm

One of my favs is:

Canadians do not speak "Canadian". The two official languages are English and French. Many Canadians can speak both and other languages. However aside from a few pronunciations (ie: Americans say "Z" as "zee" and Canadians say it as "Zed"), and spelling (Americans "color", Canadians "colour") the English between the two countries are identical.

This one is pretty good too:

Canadians enjoy modern technology in their lives. We have TV's, radios, refrigerators, computers etc. (You would be surprised to find out how many people who didn't know we had those things.) We don't live in igloos (Snow houses) and the VAST MAJORITY of us do not use dog sleds - in fact most Canadians have not used a dog sled.

Canadian produced U.S. programming

2007-08-30T13:21:00.000-07:00

Those of you who read my whole post totled 'The Best Years' about a Canadian production made for the U.S. might be interested in this book:

Canadian Television Programming Made For The United States Market: A History With Production And Broadcast Data

From the Publisher
This volume traces the history of Canadian involvement in America's television production industry and looks at the genres, time slots and viewing areas of the first Canadian television productions to appear on U.S. airwaves as well as the challenges that producers had to overcome to take their programming into American prime time. The book also discusses the reasons Canadian television producers have turned to a foreign market over their domestic one. The main focus is the factors which led to an independent television production sector in Toronto, Ontario, and the Ontario?based companies that have successfully competed in the U.S. marketplace. Alliance Atlantis Communications is given particular attention as one of Ontario's most successful production companies. Appendices provide a chronology of Canadian television production from 1926 to 2004 and a list of Canadian?produced programs sold to the U.S. market. A list of acronyms and abbreviations and an index are also included.

This info was cut and paste straight from the chapters website.

Scammed!

2007-08-29T16:07:00.000-07:00

I joined the Columbia House DVD club 2 months ago which was a very foolish thing to do. Everyone warned me against it too, but did I listen? If I had, there would be no need for me to write this post.

They send you something in the mail telling you what this months directors choice is. If you don't want it, you check off the no box and mail it back to them. If they don't hear from you, they send you the movie and charge you for it. It's a pain but straight foward right? WRONG!

Well 3 weeks ago they emailed me and said I could start responding by email. I did. I responded 'No'

Apparently responding 'No' by email is not the same as responding 'No' through the regular mail. Today a movie I said No to was in my mailbox. Now it's the movie 300 and Will and I did miss it when it was in the theatre but they charged me $37.21. Give me a break. I could buy it for half that price at best buy.

I should have listened. But I wanted movies.

I'm sending it back and next time when friends tell me something is a bad idea I swear I will listen.

Wee succeess on my Wii

2007-08-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

My Wii age is now 47!!!! I'm improving!

Orientation

2007-08-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

Just got back from orientation. It was very interesting!

For one thing an internship was added to term 2 so we will get to work for a local production house. YIPEE!!!

Secondly, there is a lot of scriptwriting work in this city that would easily allow someone to bring in 6 figures. I was really suprised by this. I am still interested in heading to the U.S. but this will give me another option.

Thirdly - this is going to be a lot of work. A lot of people will be using work already comnpleted and will just workshop it in class. I will be starting from scratch, as I don't want to use my existing screenplays, so I have a lot of work cut out for me.

Required projects include:

Spec TV show
original TV pilot
short treatment
full length treatment
full length screenplay 1st and 2nd drafts
3 Act play
Radio program
New Media broadcast
Training Video

This is in addition to weekly assignments, reveiwing peoples scripts, exams and time spent pitching to industry professionals.

Fourth - we will be picthing to some really cool compaines in T.O.

It's gonna be a very busy 8 months!

suzy homemaker

2007-08-27T13:39:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks Will has been back at work and I've been off relaxing, awaiting the start of school next Tuesday.

We've always been a two income household and not working, while wonderful, feels very strange.

Will loves it. We used to eat really late by the time we came home from work and worked out etc. Now, he comes home to find dinner ready at 5:30 and sometimes dessert too. The laundry is done, the yard looks meticulous. Need I say that I've turned into a little miss suzy homemaker. And it really isn't my style at all. It's isolating and I don't like cooking, I don't like cleaning so when I'm back to work next year I plan to hire someone to do it all. :) In my dreams, anyway.

Plus, I should be writing. Today I did a whole 6 hours of it but sometimes I get distracted, it isn't my fault really, the TV keeps calling my name, so do blogs and websites. :)

Next week I'm giving him the apron and will be offically on strike from domestic duties for the next 8 months. Now that will be bliss.

Sweet Devotion

2007-08-25T17:12:00.001-07:00

Will plays everyquest 2 obsessively and for those of you who aren't familiar with it, it's one of those games that you play live online with others from all over the world.

So, some of the players from the midwest are expecting a tornado. They told Will they were playing the game from their bunkers this afternoon, saying that the first thing they brought down there was their laptop so they wouldn't miss an online raid.

Yup, the tornado can take their home and other posessions so long as it doesn't mess with their everquest 2. Now, that is devotion.

Wii Fitness Age

2007-08-20T11:19:00.000-07:00

I promised Will a Wii for his birthday a few months ago, but everywhere I went was sold out. We finally picked one up on Saturday.

It has this fitness program on it, well as much as a video game can be considered fitness and you can take a test to detremine your Wii fitness age.

Will's was 80
mine was 64

I run 25 miles a week so all I can say is 64?! Guess I'm gonna have to get back on the Wii and practice practice. And oh ya, please don't tell anyone

:)

Pretty in pink

2007-08-19T15:33:00.001-07:00

Ok here is the picture as promised. Hideous. In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, it goes with the previous post.

The pink luggage

2007-08-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

So apparently there is a rule that checked luggage cannot weigh over 50 lbs and well we bought some things when we were in California...mine weighed in at 56 lbs and hubbys at 62 lbs.

The airline staffs suggestion? Throw out your shampoo. Umm, hello, I am pretty sure shampoo doesn't weigh 12 lbs.

Second suggestion was to buy another suitcase for the overflow.

So, and bear in mind here we were holding up the line, I ran to the gift shop to find they only had one type of suitcase for sale. It was bright pink with flowers and looked like something Barbie would travel with. So I bought it, what other alternative was there???

You should have seen hubby's face when he saw me coming back with it.

When we arrived at our destination, we are standing at baggae claim when hubby sees it on the carousel and is so embarassed he looks to the couple waiting next to us and says " This isn't ours. Well it is but only because they made us buy it."

I was LMAO, so were they. Too funny! And I made him carry it to the car. :)

The Best Years - What were they thinking?

2007-08-09T08:24:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I was channel surfing when I cam across a show called the Best Years. I guessed immediatley that it was Canadian. For one thing it just had that feel to it, then there was the fact that I recognized a Toronto location, add to that the lighting and the fact that an actress from Degrassis (another Canadian show) made an appearance and presto, Canadian.

I thought I'd give it a shot as I got hooked on Falcon Beach, another not too bad Canadian show last year.

So you can imagine my shock when a character was introduced as a foreign student from Canada!!!

Turns out the show is a Canadian production but is supposed to be an American show, set in Boston. There is one character who is supposed to be Canadian and of course the other characters are constantly dropping jokes about Canadians, you know - living in igloos, always saying we are sorry for everything and of course not undersatnding the real world....hello we are on the same continent, n'est pas?

Anyway, I really find myself wondering why a Canadian company would produce an American show, film it in Canada and then perpetuate a very incorrect and not to pretty stereotype of one of its own???

And even all of the above aside, my reaction to the show is : YUCK!

Rant

2007-08-08T16:07:00.001-07:00

Remember when I said I might rant?????

The car broke down. We got a boost.

It seemed to work until we stopped it again.

Long story short, it is in the shop again.

The mechanic was rude.

We had to take a taxi home.

I may have to buy a new car.

Boo Hoo.

Meet a few of my friends

2007-08-07T17:12:00.000-07:00

Two of these were taken at the museuam of man in San Diego, one of the few museums that still allow you to take pictures.

The Gnome we bought at Colums 1 and took home with us. He's a real cutie and is now sitting in our backyard enjoying staring contests with my dog whenever she goes out there:

Rusty nail meets his maker on the bus from La Jolla

2007-08-07T09:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, now I know exactly why I don't take the bus at home...

Picture this. We spend a nice afternoon at La Jolla beach and are headed back to our B & B on the bus when this man gets on. He is sweaty, loud, repulsive, carrying lots of boxes and sits at the front of the bus with a handful of huffs and puffs, on one of these seats that is reserved for the elderly, pregnant and children. He starts to talk to no one in particular and my hubby pinches me because he sounds exactly like 'rusty nail' from the movie Joy Ride.

Next stop, this crazy guy gets on. He sits across from rusty nail and starts talking to himself. Then he looks around at the same time my husband happens to be looking in his direction - wrong place to look at the wrong time, eyes lock and the guy zeros in on hubby. He starts to swear and scream at my hubby, his eyes a blaze and all I can think is "wholly shit".

Then rusty nail miraculously saves the day when he jumps in and bellows back "excuse me, what did you say?" The two start yelling, rusty nail wants to be the tough guy, how dare someone try to steal his thunder. They start this weird war full of facial gymnastics that believe it or not include a blowfish face. Then one karate chops the air, the other flips him off a few times. I swear we were in the twilight zone.

After the fight, the man starts glaring and swearing at hubby again. So what did we do? We got off the bus 5 stops earlier and walked the rest of the way of course. Did you think we had a death wish?

NYC midnight madness

2007-08-05T16:28:00.000-07:00

So, my last day of work was July 13th! After a few happy dances and dinner and drinks with some friends from work, I decided to kick off my freedom at midnight by entering the New York City Midnight Madness Screenwriting Competition, after all, trying to make it as a screenwriter is why I left, so I figured why even wait a day?

The competition was a lot of fun. They divided participants into heats and then at midnight each heat was assigned a genre and topic. We then had seven days to write a 15 pages short on that topic and genre and were encouraged to be as creative as possible.

Some of the genre/topics were really cool, like: a monster movie about smoking, a mockumentary about wealth, a fairy tale about a pageant.

I was assigned a drama about obesity and was pretty happy with it as I usually write drama or comedy so it wasn't something I haven't done before. The only realy challenge was not letting it turn into a comedy as it would be disqualified if it didn't stay on genre. I didn't want to write something morose and I definelty didn't but my first attempt on day one turned into an outright comedy so I went back to the drawing board and finally came up with a drama which had a few laughs and a good twist.

After sending in my script, hubby and I took off for the airport, destination California, where we are right now. Man this is going to be a great year!

In September they announce the first round finalists, then those finalists will all be assigned the same topic and genre that they must write in just 24 hours. I will keep you posted.