bird tales of traveling

as i made my way to florida over the past 2 days, i have had several encounters with having to do with fowl...

first sighting ever (atleast for me) of a rooster and his brood looking for lunch on the side of the highway...and we are not talking one of those 2 lane state highways, i am talking semi trucks roaring by at 80 miles and hour and there are 3 lanes of traffic going in either direction...the great 95 south and there they were. hunting and a pecking for something to eat under the pine trees that were flailing in the wind created by the passing cars.


later that day, i thought my eyes were mistaken as i looked over and saw a bird cage in the back of a mini van with a parakeet perched inside whiz past me at 85 miles and hour. because i had to make sure that i was not hallucinating, i put my foot to the petal and caught up....only to see that i was mistaken..there was not one cage and one parakeet...no no no

there were atleast 5 cages that i could count as i was trying to keep my eye on the road too...and there were no less than 8-10 parakeets to a cage....her back window was cracked and i could actually here the chitter chatter of this rather large accumulation of caged birds. all i can say is that i hope this woman was wearing ear plugs or really liked the chirped chirped noise of these little feather chatterboxes.

and my final bird tale is just a strange siting, that makes me wish that i had enough time to stop and snap a picture. image the sun setting in a humid evening in the middle of the state of florida. the sky is topped with those huge thunderhead clouds and the cow pastures are spralled out in either direction. as i look to my right to eye the "angus" cattle that the hand made sign boasted of, there they were.....cows and cows and cows- all grazing, taking in their evening meal with the strangest dinner guest i had ever seen. each cow had atleast one or two white egrets joining them for this evening ritual.

it was as if they were standing guard over each cow's grazing square..these skinny, long neck, and long legged, gracefully birds were each pair up with these mammoth, pitch black, clumpsy cows.....the oddest odd couple that i have seen...some type of codependent relationship maybe?

irregardless, it made for a very interesting site and brings my first installation of "bird tales of traveling" to an end.....(not that i am planning other installments...but one never knows, there are more birds in the world and lord knows that i have some more travelling to do)

beachtown here i come

today was the marathon scouting day for the feature that i will be on in lavalette,nj. this is a little town among many towns on small island in the barneguet bay. the entire island is only about 1.5 miles wide and actually probably about 10 miles long, maybe less.

cute, quaint, sunny,flat
rows and rows and rows of beach houses
tons of tan kids and parents
random local watering holes that you just know are full of interesting characters
boats and boats and boats and boats for as far as the eye can see

we saw 6 locations in one day.....photographed, measured and plotted out
we will hopefully be using the local fireman's hall for our soundstage space to build 2 interior sets and the local pizza shop will be magically transformed into a bait shop and a lovely family has offered up their amazing house on the water for a huge party scene that we have to do....

should be a lot of hard work, but i know that it is going to be great!

tag of the meme

so my fellow blogging buddy at the juneaujournal has officially tagged me with my first blogsite meme.....so in my search for reasons of not to got to bed yet...here are my answers

1. 3 stupidest things i have done in my life
-told a would be mugger that "NO, i will not give you my car keys-this is the only way i have to get to work"...yes even the DC police thought i was a moron for that one...but no one got hurt and i still have my car!
-letting my mom leave her coffee on the dash board of the car as i first learned how to drive stick shift....but no one got hurt, however my car interior never smelled the same again and my mom did not make the same mistake with my other sister's driving lessons
-realizing that the lord's prayer in the catholic church is much shorter than the lord's prayer in the episcopal church and having this realization during my sister, marlane's wedding ....in which i was the ONLY ONE in the church to continue on with "and lead us not into temptation...."(this might be more of an embarrasing moment rather than stupid, but at 13 i felt pretty stupid)

2.at this moment in my life, who has influenced me the most
-influence....hummmmm.....as i am really focused on career right now, i would have to say a fellow production designer of mine - yeah, chao you know who you are! she has been a great source of friendship, inspiration and is the person that dragged me into this career with my first film job!

3.if it was possible to pick any five people in the history of time to dine with who would it be
-john conklin (theatre designer extrodinaire)
-harriet beecher stowe
-chief joseph, nez perces
-george washington
-christopher columbus

however this is a close tie to having all my far away friends in a room together-
sarah, joy, binky, joanna, michelle (the five friends that have known me the longest)

4. if i had three wishes that were not supernatural, what would they be
-pay off all debts is my top one too ...probably would be for anyone that attended grad school or likes buying shoes as much as i do
-find a way to stop the abuse and killing of men, women and children in northern uganda(check out recent msnbc story if you are interested in see what terrible things are happening there....children as young as 10 being forced into militia service and subjected to killing their own parents-haunting and hateful that something like this is happening in the world)
-the means to travel the world and experience cultures for myself

5.what are two things that i regret that my hometown does not have and what are two things that unsuspecting visitors should avoid?

the missing essentials:
-we have NO department store for 30-40 miles...no target, no walmart, no kmart...i have to drive a 1/2 hour to find somewhere to buy underwear!
-we have no beach...being a florida girl, i have to say this is something that i never thought that i would miss, but i do

things to avoid:
-main street during the first week of school.... this is a college town and the main road that goes through town is jammed with moving trucks and cars packed to the brim with incoming/returning students by day and by night this same street is packed with drunken students playing with their first taste of freedom and a little too much alcohol.....and where there is drinking there is the side effects of too much drinking, aka lots of puke!
-the random deer, skunks,possums, and other random wildlife that want to inhabit the road at the same time that you want to be travelling down the road. there is nothing worse than the smell of a freshly squished skunk or a freshly crumpled car after a deer encounter!

6. one event that changed my life
i would have to say at this point, it would have to be grad school...a three year event that introduced to me a whole new way of thinking, indoctrinated me into the life of living in a BIG city and helped me cement a career foundation that the rest of my working life will be based on.

also my future move to LA could be considered the next event that will change my life.


it's done...it's through and in return for you having to read about me me me....i promise not to tag you you you.....but if you care to comment on any of these questions i would love to read what you have to say......you know my stupidest moments, shouldn't i know yours!

the signifigance of your first words

i have a few nieces and nephews...they range from i think age 10 to 10 months

i haven't been present for all of their first words, but the few that i recall were you textbook-

baba- for bottle (obviously a hungry child)
mama- mom (obviously a smart child who knows who makes the baba)
dada-dad (obviously a smart child who knows there are two people that can make a baba)

however, i have to say that my newest niece, emilee's first words could be something to be concerned about and also something that can't help but bring a smile to my face.....(the suspense is killing you, i know it)

i am sure, after much thought and consideration, emilee decided that the most important word to learn to utter first was not baba, not mama and not dada. her first words that she chose to share with the world were

"uh-oh"

so this child has either figured out life at the ripe age of 10 months and knows what is coming down the pike or she knows that this phrase will cutely cover a wide range of future little kid mistakes. i assume both theories are true and i know that this is not the last time i will be hearing these two words from this adorable child.

school clothes shopping

i have a theory, trust me on this... i think that it is a good one.

i have been out shopping for a show for the past few days and have been overcome by the urge to purchase a good number of new items for myself. mind you this is coming from a person that bravely quit her full time grown up job in order to follow her dreams in the freelance design world....aka, i am headed down the path on which most people are referred to as "starving artists".

so the guilt that i have in making these purchases is sitting somewhere next to my joy of scoring a great new pair of jeans and shoes. and as i wonder through the store, i found a place to pin the blame on my recent shopping expeditions....the time honored, american school kid tradition of school clothes shopping.

i remember back to the evenings and weekends before school starting and my mom having the patience and the courage to drag three girls into the local department stores for the ritual. I am the oldest by 2 years and 8 years, so there was a wide age range for her to cover and a complete array of fashion eccentricities to consider, as my sisters and i have VERY different taste.

GOD BLESS HER! but now i curse her, as the sudden urge to find the perfect "first day" outfit has become so ingrained in the fabric of my being that the road to becoming a "starving artist" seems to have gotten a little shorter. but atleast i can revel in the fact that i will a well dressed starving artist and there is something to be said for that!

oh yeah- i have noticed my most hated moments of school clothes shopping is also something that was not an exclusive practice to my mom...for those of you who were forced to try on clothes in the middle of store aisle or inside the clothes rounders at the stores...you know what i am talking about and i feel your pain.

i was witness to such an event this afternoon and just wanted to tell the mother that her child will NEVER forget this and may possibly be scared from this experience...i mean look at me! no, really, it is not so bad....no really it is!

recharged

for the past few days, i feel that i have been recooperating after my ohio trip and the lack of sleep that comes with every film shoot i go on.

it makes me feel a little lazy to sleep in for three days in a row and not really do much during the day and then snuggle up in bed at 11pm at night (which is early for me). but on the other hand, i deserve a little relaxation and sleep. now that i have taken that time for just me, i really feel recharged and ready to catch up on life and work.

so tomorrow it is time to reclaim my car from all the returns and stuff that needs to go to storage and time to shop for the costumes for the play that opens next week and prep for my little trip to florida.

mid day movie

it is not something that i usually do, but something that is a treat..the mid day movie.

today, i decided not to venture out into the "real world" and plopped myself on my bed to watch a recently rented dvd "the upside of anger"

i won't spoil anything for those of you that haven't seen it, but sitting down to watch was a commitment that i was happy i made. i think each movie teaches us about ourselves and this one was no different.

so if you haven't seen it, do...if you have seen it, you know what the upside of anger is.

the next adventure

and i am off.....to yet another oh so exotic place

in a few brief weeks, i will be making my way to lavalette, nj for my very first "romantic comedy"....i can not believe it, i get to work on a romantic comedy (sad but true that i love watching these crazy things)

better yet, it takes place at the beach ...yes, that means 4 weeks holed up in a beach town on the east coast.....just what the doctor ordered after spending the past week surrounded by farm land and not being able to spend a single day at the beach all summer.

granted i will be working most of the time, but atleast there will be sand under my feet and the sound of waves breaking in the background.

more to come..............

ohio sunset

the heartland

i have to say that ohio was an adventure....my most hardest working adventure as of yet. there was one day in particular that started at 6am in the morning and end at 4am the following morning...yes, a total of 22 hours of work and then up at 10am to start again.

in my time that i was there i had a wonderful chance to work with a very dedicated high school football team and their coaches. a school that was the most cooperative location site that i have every worked on and I learned to appreciate what the midland of this country provides for us.

one person with us made a very observant comment "Thank God for the Midwest, they provide our corn, our soybeans, and our future service men."

-everywhere i turned there were corn fields and soy bean fields and cattle. everything you ordered came with bacon and cheese on it, unless you specified otherwise.

-the town that we were staying was one of the most recently affected by the war in iraq. a recent roadside attach claimed 9 marines from this one town. morning after morning there were announcements on the radio of memorials, funeral processions and description of the lost boys (ages 19, 22, etc.....)

-there are people in this town who raise livestock for competitions at the state farm and a prize chicken can be worth as much as $650

-most stores still close on sunday so people can spend time with their family. however there is a 24 hour walmart and kmart within 5 miles of each other

-the area is in a drought and the economy is so stressed that the local movie theatre is closing and cattle grazing tips on the local radio station to make sure that the pastures are not over grazed and farmers don't run out of hay stock piles before winter

-one town has a pumpkin festival every year that makes the town population jump from 30,000 to 400,000 for one weekend. hence the pumpkin shaped watertower in the center of town.

-football is more than a past time there, it is almost a religion. a way to get away from town and see what else is in the world.

there are so many more things that i could go on and on about. and although my time in south central ohio was brief, i took away with me more knowledge of the world beyond the city, beyond the northeast and a gratefulness for the diversity that i get to experience because of my work. it is amazing to see what and who america is made up of, and if you have never travelled o the midwest than you are missing why people call that part of america "the heartland".

wi fi crap

so after a week long hiatus due to the crappy wi fi connection in the chillicothe, ohio hotel ...i am official able to get on the internet! (finally)

today marks that last day of the shoot for this commercial, it is 4am and i need to be back in manhattan by noon....so while i can access my internet and really want to write about the various mid west adventures- it will have to wait till tomorrow.

at this hour the bed and my pillow are infinitely more appealing than my keyboard. i wouldn't want to fall asleep while sitting at my computer...those keyboard imprints on the side of my face are not exactly the fashion statement i want to make with the actors that i will be costuming tomorrow.

until i type again.......good night

everyone's up for a conversation

i am not sure if this an ohio thing, a mid west thing, or maybe just a chillicothe, oh thing...but it seems like everyone is ready to have a complete conversation with you.

whether you are shopping at the grocery store, buying gas, stopping in for a newspaper they are ready to talk about anything and everything. i have had some run-ins with disgruntled workers, promising stand up comics and just some plain old interesting characters.

a collection of people so wide and varied that gives me a chance to practice my small talk and experience a little slice of america.

middle america

folks, that is where i am

i haven't been this far into middle america since i was a wee child living in memphis,tennessee, but even this is complete different than that river town.

corn fields for miles, nice people that want to talk to you, flat grounds, and big skies...
and as i found out today on our location scouting....they know we are not from here

the production company that i am with is all from nyc and the folks here all seem to know that we are out of place. it could be because we all "talk too fast" or because we all dress a little different or maybe our license plates and rental cars give us away. regardless, the people here make sure that they take care of us, free football tshirts from the highschool, a random "honey" used to address you as you make your purchase or the overly helpful hotel owners from india.

it is an interesting experience and it is only the first day

ps....putting cheese on everything seems to be the predominate food custom where we are

it's on its way

the first signs of my favorite time have year are slowly creeping up on this heat filled summer.

yesterday, i was housesitting for a friend of mine and saw my very first pumpkin of the season. granted it was still green and a little smaller than a bowling ball...but noneless there was the hope of a bigger orange pumpkin that would usher in my favorite time of year!

and if that was not enough, as i was driving over the mountain to ellenville this afternoon, i saw what i thought was an optical illusion....you see when the fall starts to come, you can see it in the tips of branches when the leaves start to turn a vibrant, bright red. there it was, as plain as day, a small sprig of bright red leaves.

at first i second guessed it, maybe it was just the sun hitting the yellow drought-ridden leaves in just the right way and that i just really wanted them to be red, but then there was another tree, and another tree, and another tree. i think a total of 4 by the time that i got to the other side of the mountain. mind you that is not exactly a ton of evidence that fall is on its way, but it is a small pile.

all i could think was of the upcoming crisp days and blue skies and colored leaves...i love the fall. just need to make it through the next few weeks and it will be knocking on my door. my last official fall in the northeast for a few years!

impending trip

i am so anxious to get on my way to ohio.
i will not be leaving for a few days, but the excitement and anticipation is maddening.

so why is it that i know that i have much to do...pack, do my dishes, do my laundry...but while i am ready to jump in that car as soon as possible, the slacker part of me keeps putting off packing, doing my dishes and my laundry.

procrastination....this might be considered procrastion...something that i am familiar with in my life, but have come to accept that is part of the person that i am in my personal life.....

thank goodness it hardly ever transfers into my business life.

maybe if i keep typing i won't have to face those dishes...or the laundy...or my empty luggage

first day of school

yesterday was my niece's first day of second grade...i can not believe that she is that old already, i remember her starting kindergarten and i think yesterday i actually turned up pictures of my first visit with her!

last night i talked to her on the phone and she was so excited about the day. about the new people she met and the old people that were there and her new teacher. her school is being remodeled, so they are in portables at the high school....crazy combination of little kids and high schoolers, but there were assurance made that the two species would never intermingle.

her only trying moment of the day was when she went to leave. i guess they file all the little kids into the cafeteria and then try to disperse them onto their after school care busses. my niece was confused- imagine a sea of elementary schoolers crammed in a room with no order, no instructions and their little mouths jabber, jabber, jabbering.......

my niece said it was loud, crowded and she did not know what to do and to that i asked her how she found her way to her bus.....she calmly stated that she found a teacher and asked.

it gives me hope that she has a good head on her shoulders...she didn't know how to find her way, so she actually kept calm and found someone that did...second grade ingenuity, don't you wish we all had that sometimes

hopeless romantic comedy junkie

this evening was an evening for romantic comedies.

i am not sure why, but this afternoon as i passed my video store, i could not help but make the turn into the parking lot thinking that i must find a romantic comedy to watch tonight.

so before leaving the store i managed to pick up maybe a few too many romantic comedies. my video list looks like a pathetic attempt to overdose on those girly movies that the movie makers know we love....

I rented ....
Hitch (and loved it)
Friday Night Lights (ok, not a romantic comedy, but research for the commercial shoot in ohio)

I bought (sad but true) some previously viewed dvds (ready for the overdose)......
Bridget Jones (the second one)
Little Black Book (please don't laugh)
Spanglish (the best adam sandler movie since punch drunk love and maybe not your typical romantic comedy)

this might all be to balance the last film i watched ...the sea inside...i won't give it away, but a truly sad love story about the life that each of us have to live.

whatever the reason, it does the heart some good to have a good laugh and a false sense of reality in the dating realm brought to us by the hollywood studios.