To Strike or Not to Strike

Life is good, I have no reasons for complaint. My day job has kept me steadily busy despite the WGA strike last year. Unfortunately, things have now come to a grinding halt. SAG ... what the !%#&*^ !!! I was keeping very busy up until 2 weeks ago when my last job 'pushed' indefinitely and now I'm in a tail spin.

I have to think positive and know that something else will come up. It usually always does. This time, I fear will take a little bit longer than normal due to the circumstances. My troubles are not my own. I have many friends in the same boat and it's just not good. I need someone to explain this to me. I work in an industry where most of the crew members do not make nearly the money as the director or the cast. It's hardly even a fraction which makes it sadder. Yet, in times when the entire industry should pull together... it seems like one group has to stand out and declare how poor they are and how badly they have things. If that really is the case, why drag out negotiations for months. Why not know ahead of time what is needed and go to the table fully armed. By the way, it's only a teenie tiny percentage of that membership making decent money and a nice living. Most of that membership is struggling too. So, I have to think that there are some very selfish people out there.

Now, I understand how I might sound. More than anything, I'm venting. More than anything, I just want to go back to work. I work hard for my money and I need every penny. That is strictly my problem and I understand it. My financial problem has nothing to do with anyone else. The fact that I can only stand to be out of work a couple of months is not SAGs problem. However, there usually is work to be had and if SAG were to figure out their contract issues and sign already, I can get back to work. No one is having fun with this. No one wins. Everyone has bills, rent, mortgage, car payment... whatever. But those bills do not pay themselves. Creditors don't care if there is a SAG strike or not.

I am begging the Universe, Cosmos and any other higher power involved... please please please help me, help us, help my industry. For all of us out of work and looking. For all of us hoping and praying that our phone will soon ring with a new job. For all of us who cannot afford another month without work. For all of us desperate to feed our families and keep from losing our homes. For all the vendors who are once again on the brink of shutting down because of lack of business. Please, I beg the Universe, I am begging Cosmos, I am asking the good Lord above... help SAG settle on a contract. Help push them along. Help us all get back to work.

AMEN!

YogaBodys

I must confess, I have stress and then I have YogaBodys. I haven't really tried, I haven't really made an effort. Everyday I think I will do something about it tomorrow. Every tomorrow, I don't. I want it to succeed. I want it to be everything Carlos thinks it can be.

YogaBodys has potential. It has a great product, yoga clothes specifically designed for men. For those of us that practice yoga and see what some of the men wear in class, you will agree... they need better yoga wear. My little internet store has the perfect yoga pants and shorts for the practice. What my little store needs is someone with the know-how to advertise it. Someone who can reach out to the consumers and advertise. Someone who has the time to do all the things that I cannot. Who???

Facebook

If someone told me to jump off the tallest building in Los Angeles, would I do it? Don't be silly, of course NOT! Yet, today I succumbed ... I joined Facebook. Everyone doing the Facebook... posting pictures, connecting with friends. I post pictures, I connect with friends. Only time will tell how much Facebook-ing I will actually do. Meanwhile, here I am.

Family Vacation 2008

Vickie, Rocky & Gracie at Lake Erie, NY

The truth is... this was no vacation. I dragged the puggers to Bradford Pennsylvania thinking we would be there for 3-4 months. I couldn't bare the thought of leaving them behind. As it was, Sonic couldn't come and I was pretty devastated. When it came time to leave Bradford, I had toyed with a few options for travel. One of which was to drive back to LA. The other - slightly more reasonable - was to take a direct flight from Pittsburgh. So, we set off on a 3 hour journey from Bradford to Pittsburgh. We went the long way and made a stop at Lake Erie, NY. I love these pictures!

Bradford, Pennsylvania

For the first time ever, I have taken a show completely out of town. Crazy, I know. From now until November, I will be in Bradford, Pennsylvania working on a little feature called "LITTLE CHICAGO". Although I wasn't hip on the idea of taking a location show, I must admit, it is quite lush and beautiful in all the areas surrounding Bradford. I say "surrounding area" because on a closer look, Bradford is depressed and dumpy.

It is an interesting place and I'm sure it has an interesting history. I'll explore what there is to explore and report my findings. It hasn't stopped raining since I got to Bradford. In fact, I'm pretty sure the storm followed me from Chicago... my first night mimicked my layover in Chicago to a teeeeeeeee. Loud, roaring and vibrating thunders and lightning... I've been told that if you have spent any time in the mid-west, you would understand. The pugs and I were scared shitless.

In any case, the first weekend yielded rain. So, I took the pugs for a drive...

Allegheny Reservoir was beautiful. The entire area was just this greener than green backdrop of trees and wildflowers and tall swaying grass. Absolutely breathtaking. We made it to this recreational park and thought about taking a little stroll. Then the sky opened up again and it started raining. So, we just kept on driving. It was a nice day and the puggers got some fresh air.

Fabulous at Forty

Carlos' surprised 40th birthday party was a success. So many friends took so many incredible pictures. Here are some entrance pictures... and boy was Carlos ever surprised!!!

Carlos thought he had walked in on someone else's surprise birthday party... then he realized that everyone looked 'familiar'

The room looked awesome. Everything was absolutely perfect... including the surprise.

Carlos' Surprise Birthday Celebration

Coming home from Miami, I knew I wanted to plan something special for Carlos' 40th. Let's face facts here, turning 40 is a once in a lifetime event. Not to mention, we were due for a kick-ass party and what better time to celebrate.


As clever as I am and resourceful, this was not going to be an easy task. First and foremost, I needed guests. In Miami, I had gotten Ed, Bibi & Trish's contact numbers. That was a good start. I wanted to make sure that Carlos' lifelong friends would be at the surprise party. I had an easier time gathering LA friends. Before I knew it, I had contacted well over 90 of his nearest and dearest. Next up, I needed a venue. After lot of phone calls and many a late night visit to bars, I settled on Benvenuto in West Hollywood (what a fantastic place! I highly recommend). Adding my friends to the mix, I sent out the invitation beginning of February.


I must admit, I had not been this excited about anything in a really long time. I had all kinds of scary thoughts running through my head as well. What if Carlos doesn't like surprises? That's a big one! Not everyone likes being surprised and what I had planned was not 'little'. Cross my fingers and keep on trucking. I still had balloons to order, 9 dozens of red & gold to be exact, 40th birthday decorations and decorative gags to buy, catering request and cake, my love wanted chocolate ice cream cake. Count down time started when Ken R. flew to SFO. By that point, I could hardly contain myself. I was checking the evite every hour just to see if anyone else had RSVP'd. I was desperately trying to catch any new names that Carlos would mention. By the way, did I mention that Carlos thought we were planning just a regular birthday party for him and his roommate for another week.


Well, Friday February 29th finally came and the show began... Ed & Marcy flew out from Miami that Friday morning. Luckily, we had planned for Carlos to know this. What he did not know was that Trish and Bibi were arriving that same night. Luckily, we had plenty of activity to keep us busy. That same weekend, we would be celebrating a dear friend turning fifty.


At that moment, I cannot say how everything would turn out. I could only cross my fingers and toes, pray to the good universe and continue the countdown...

Rockstar Superstar

My life is filled with love and joy. Every morning I wake up to the pitter patter of four paws... my Rockstar... my steadfast companion... 'it is time for pottie and breakfast!' Rocky came into my life only two and half years ago but he has made an imprint that is irreplaceable.

At nine weeks old, I brought home a four pound male brindle pug with the intention of gifting to my sister. I fell in love with him instantly and knew for absolute certain that I could not part with him. As stressful and busy as my life already was, this little boy was meant to be with me. He makes me laugh out loud, side splitting laughs. He brings the biggest smiles to my face. He fills my soul with warmth. My only hope is that I can give him the highest quality life. I take care that he is protected and out of harm's way.

From day one, Rocky has been my boy. He comes to me for affection but mainly he comes to me for food. Rocky loves to eat. He will sit quietly in the kitchen while I am preparing food and just stare at me with his big bulging brown eyes. I have not yet been able to resist giving him a treat. Since Rocky is on a raw food diet, I can give him most anything that I am concocting... carrots, apples, bananas, avocados, boiled chicken, artichoke, etc. If Rocky could talk, he would tell you, without a doubt, that his favorite room in our house is the KITCHEN. He might even go so far as to call it 'his' kitchen.

Not only is Rocky is the cutest brindle pug everrrrr, he is incredibly smart. Having graduated from two dog training courses, Rocky loves to learn and is very quick to pick up new skills. Being food driven helps, as well. Rocky is very attentive. He knows to watch me and pay attention to the commands. This way, he performs the commands perfectly. Of course, as soon as he completes a command, he looks to me for a treat. I call him my monkey.

We have a great life. We have each other. I have no other reason for penning this blog other than to simply express my affections for a little guy who has brought so much joy to my life.

Graciela

Her name is Gracie. She's a crazie puggie.
Though she looks so cute and sweet, she's a terror at my feet.
Her name is Gracie. She's a crazie puggie.
And if you have a cat around, she will chase it up & down.

Today is Gracie's birthday. She has been with us for two years. We adopted her out of East Valley Shelter. Apparently, she was found roaming the San Fernando valley with a diamond studded pink collar and leash. It has taken a long while for her to acclimate to our family but she is finally coming around. Just looking at her, you would think she is the sweetest little pug around. Then you get her with other four leggeds, and her 'alpha-ness' comes out. She rules the roost, for sure!


Happy Birthday little feisty one!

Happy New Year

It's hard to believe that we're now 8 years into the new millenium. I'm very optimistic for this year... 2008. All signs point to a most auspicious year and I'm ready to bask in this glory. As an added bonus for last year, I went to Miami with Carlos and spent the holidays with his life-long friends and family. We had an amazing time together... from just hanging out with friends to diving in the keys. The best time, I must admit, was our day diving at Key Largo followed by a gorgeous sunset drive down to Key West. As much as I enjoy being with friends, I find our alone time so precious.

The New Year always come with resolutions. I am happy to report that while my blog is a bit late, I have successfully achieved my first resolution... 10 days of The Master Cleanse. Also known as the Lemonade Diet, this is the liquid concoction of water, fresh lemon/lime, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. And yes, I did say 10 days. Today, Monday the 14th, marks the first day of getting back to food.

Just a few notes on my cleanse... I didn't do very well with the laxative tea (as suggested) as it caused me intense stomach pains and on a couple of occasions, I threw up, I was so sick. Nor, was I super thrilled about the morning salt rinse which I avoided altogether. I may have had better results, in terms of weight loss, if I could have done both of these on a daily basis. In any case, I maintained about 4-6 8oz servings of the lemonade drink daily and slowly inched my way towards my goal. I weighed myself at the half point as I had not intended for this to be a weight-loss program and didn't think about the importance of my weight. However, between Day 5 and the final end, I am happy to say I lost 4 pounds.

Now, I'm back to food and back to all that is hard... maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I must stay on my gluten free path which shouldn't be as hard this time around. I also want to continue losing weight which is Resolution #2. I'm allowing myself 7 days to recover from the cleanse in a healthy manner. Then, one week from today, I start South Beach Diet Phase 1 for two weeks.

There is very little in life that we have absolute control. I practice yoga but easily let it fall by the wayside when I become busy with other things in my life. I forget that yoga is also a part of my life and should never be deemed less important than anything I do. Certainly, it should be more important than 'work'!!! So, Resolution #3... practice my practice. Stay true to myself.

This is a great year coming! Happy 2008.

Merry Christmas

The holiday season is fast upon us. I think to a year ago... I was in London visiting Rizelle and my Pirates :-) Insane how time flies. Crazy how much can change in one year. Julie is married and gone to Brixton. I met a man in June who has changed my world. Life is good!

I am the person who's always waiting for the new year. I hope next year will be better than this year. I've been wishing the years away carelessly. I am definitely not getting any younger. It's taken many years to learn that I have to slow down. I can feel my body changing. I can feel the 'tired' and it's scary.

I am looking forward to 2008. I am ready to make more memories. I am also very grateful for the blessings of this year. Merry Christmas! & Happy New Year!

make this go on forever

We're heading into the second part of 2007 and I'm reeling from all the events thus far. I've had an amazing year. Everything is going well, both work and personal. I hooked up with Steven Brown in February for work on "Cane" and now have wrapped a feature "Not Easily Broken" as the production supervisor. Not only do I admire and respect Steven as a producer, he is also a good person.

I loved every moment on this show. Okay, maybe that is a slight exaggeration but close enough. There were a few moments I wish never happened. The overall experience of this feature was amazing. Steven is a great mentor. He is patient and understanding. He was willing to teach and actually took the time to do so. I find that truly admirable. Couple that with him being a man of his words... I have been blessed to work with him.

The best moments in life are the ones you least expect. Oh yes, we say this all the time. We even try to believe it most of the time. Truth is, while I can create my own destiny, the universe will always find a way to surprise me. My biggest surprise of all... Finding Nemo! My little nightly chants, my rehearsed mantra... I could never have imagined my gift.

Undeniable

It's no April Fools. It's my reality. I am tired of being "his lost". Ever get sick of hearing that. Why can't I be "his gain"? I laugh, but it's true. People move on, people move forward. I've moved on. I've moved forward. But wherever I am, I am stuck in this world of singledom. And I'M SICK OF IT!

He could have been honest with me. I asked him out only once. He never needed to have asked me out. But twice he did. And then he just blew me off. I don't understand it. I'm pretty sure I didn't ask for it. I don't want any of that shit. It's hard enough to just be me. And I certainly don't need the added stress and complication. Just a nice evening with someone interesting to talk to. With something cool to talk about. All this other stuff is such a drag. And I'M SICK OF IT!

2007

It's coming on February of the New Year. Remember when you were a kid, wishing time away. How badly would I give to slow things down now. It's a rainy night in Burbank. I'm putzing around, like I do almost every night. Check my emails, check out the world. Sonic is sitting my on desk, next to the computer. Both dogs are at my feet, tired of playing with each other, and wanting some attention from me. It's time for a little glass of vino and some dinner.

Oh by the way, one year ago today, I picked up Gracie from the community vet. Technically, her bday was yesterday... the day I adopted her from East Valley Shelter. I'm a bad mom for not celebrating it. We're still warming up to each other. And, it's like my friend said "for better or worse, she's a part of my family now" and it is indeed true. She and Rocky love each other. I know they would miss each other terribly if separated. I only wish she were a little less aggressive and a little less A.D.D. But then... don't we always wish for something different than what we have in our kids?

As for Sonic and Rockstar, they are both doing great. My little family. My reason why travelling is not the best idea. But... it is 2007, changes for everyone, including me.

This is me ... December in London ...

New Year's Resolution

who doesn't have these?

1. Lose 10 pounds (yea yea yea)
2. Find a nice film project with nice people to kick off the year
3. Clean my garage (get rid of the clutter)
4. Clean my house (holy cow, the amount of crapola!!!)
5. Find new home for Yin 2 and Yang (this is very sad for me but it's a must)
6. Paint the office (how? don't know yet, the space is a mess)
7. Sonic - dental appointment
8. Cut down palm tree
9. Start the remodeling process - yippeeeeeeee, hope I can afford it

okay, nine resolutions to start. not too shabby. some realistic, some will be repeated for 2008 (but why be pessimistic this early in the game).

here's to an incredibly auspicious 2007!

London

My journey begins... how long have I waited to visit the U.K.? I leave Sunday December 10th. Julie Fay will be joining me in the plane ride... she's going to visit Clive. As for me, slight change of plans but nothing I can't handle. I will have 8 days to play in London and I'm hoping to spend some time with Riz. Of course, there will be plenty of play time with the Pirates... including Andy's wedding.

London Tower Bridge (photo by Vickie). It was beautiful.

Sonic

Meet Sonic Boom Boom. She's my girl, my number one! There's no doubt in my mind that she and I were meant to be together. It is not only my responsibility to take care of her, it's my honor.

My ex and I rescued Sonic in December of 2000. We were on our way to a holiday parade in Montrose. My stepson was participating in the parade for the ROTC. Not only were we running late but we were forced to park quite a distance away from the main strip. As we walked underneath the 210 Freeway, I could hear a faint meow. I looked all around but it was dark and while there were homes in the neighborhood, I could tell the meow was coming from somewhere directly underneath the freeway bridge. It was several seconds before I saw the glow of cat eyes. It was distant and faint but it was there. Like I said, we were running late and had to bust a move if we were going to see any of the parade. As we left the site, I told my ex that if she was still there when we came back, we should try to rescue her.

She's almost six years old now. For the most part, she's a happy girl and she's thriving. As cats go, she's finicky and stubborn and incredibly shy. When I moved out of my house with my ex, it took Sonic almost a month before she would come out of the closet and start exploring our new apartment. I made a comfy cozy bed for her in the back of the closet and I remember joining her back there with a can of tuna. We would both sit in the dark, surrounded by my clothes and various other piles of crap. She would eat tuna and purr, I would cry about my ex. This was our ritual. This was how we both healed and learned to move on.

Sonic is my fabric and I can't imagine my life without her.

Force of Universe

Ever wonder what happens when people think? Ideas form, thoughts are shared. Suddenly, it's not such a strange phenomena. So, here am I... conforming to the mainstream. I'm blogging. What will I share? Who will I share it with? Who will care? Will I care?

My thoughts are both innocent and perverse. I can be crude and sensitive. Only time will tell how I blog and how I'm viewed. But no matter how I blog or how I'm viewed, this is my personal diary. I intend to share with everyone and no one. I will be honest. I will be emotional. I will write as if I'm in my head and alone.

Ever the Same

Another night, the darkness all around. I'm downloading songs onto my iPod for the road trip to Vegas. There's always a song. It moves you, spiritually, emotionally, physically. Once again, consumed by the rhythm. Touched by the music. Saddened by the words. I'm the biggest softy when it comes to lyrics. Oh, how it touches me so deep down inside.

The house is quiet except for Sonic moving about and me on the computer... the house is calm. Only a couple of hours in the evening can I get this quiet. Actually, it's the early morning. Funny, I wanted a fulfilling life. But I didn't imagine this. And I'm ready for more. I want it all. Like always.

This time, let it be real. Let it be mine.

Beautiful Sad Song

Did I disappoint you or let you down?
Should I be feeling guilty or let the judges frown?
Cause I saw the end before we'd began,
Yes I saw you were blinded and I knew I had won.
So I took what's mine by eternal right.
Took your soul out into the night.
It may be over but it won't stop there.
I am here for you if you'd only care.
You touched my heart you touched my soul.
You changed my life and all my goals.
And love is blind and that I knew when,
My heart was blinded by you.
I've kissed your lips and held you head.
Shared your dreams and shared your bed.
I know you well, I know your smell.
I've been addicted to you.

Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.

I am a dreamer but when I wake,
You can't break my spirit - it's my dreams you take.
And as you move on, remember me.
Remember us and all we used to be.
I've seen you cry. I've seen you smile.
I've watched you sleeping for a while.
I'd be the father of your child.
I'd spend a lifetime with you.
I know your fears and you know mine.
We've had our doubts but now we're fine.
And I love you, I swear that's true.
I cannot live without you.

Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.

And I still hold your hand in mine.
In mine when I'm asleep.
And I will bear my soul in time.
When I'm kneeling at your feet.

Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.

I'm so hollow, baby. I'm so hollow.
I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow.

-James Blunt
"Goodbye My Lover"