Thursday, July 29, 2010

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Film Shoot


I know what you're thinking: "Oh NOES!! Mister Man is in JAIL!! And the wedding is only one month away!!" Not to worry friends! It was only a film shoot!

You see, last week, when I wasn't working at the world's best day job, I was working with a friend on a music video shoot. Her name is Marie Clements and, well, frankly, she's brilliant. She weaves images into an amazing narrative tapestry and I would crawl over flaming coals, the railing of the Lion's Gate Bridge and a pit of snakes to work with her. So when she phoned and asked if I could join her on a music video shoot, I leapt through flaming hoops to say yes. We did the set-up and a bit of a pre-light last Tuesday night. We were shooting in a warehouse in the downtown eastside, so security was a bit of an issue. Marie and I decided we would sleep there. In our cars. Bless Marie's heart. Because, as the night fell, she cobbled together a little table for us.

And then she put a bottle of wine on it.

Years ago, Marie and I worked in theatre together. We used to love working as we lay about her living room, draped over the furniture like a well worn leather jacket. We fantasized about being able to go to work in our pajamas. We LONGED to work in our pajamas. We joked around that our theatre company would be called Theatre in Pajamas. And FINALLY, here we were, over a decade later, sitting in our pajamas. It was DELICIOUS.

However, as we sat there, we heard sounds. Little scritchy sounds. Not of the "Amityville Horror" variety.... no - more like the sounds from the the movie Ben. You remember the film in which Michael Jackson sang the title track? Involving little four footed creatures with long tails? In any event, Marie and I went screaming into denial. Thank God for the wine. It kept us from teetering on the edge of hysterics. And when the time came, we each retired to our vehicles which were now tucked inside the warehouse. I put earplugs in. Marie chose to go without the plugs. She reckoned that, in the face of a break-in, she should be able to HEAR it so that she could dial 911.

When the alarm went off at 5:30, I awoke to find Marie looking for something. She was searching high and low for her car keys, which had gone missing in the middle of the night. We mapped and re-mapped the route she'd travelled at oh-dark-hour when the sound of the little critters became overwhelming.

In the meantime, we had grand plans in which I drove to Starbucks to get us mondo coffees as big as our heads. And smoothies. And maybe even a muffin. And as the minutes ticked down towards the call time, we still couldn't find the keys.... and out went our grand plans of morning coffee.

Once I'd let go of the morning coffee, all I could think about was getting the first shot. And that wasn't QUITE possible when our vehicles were sitting in the first camera position. Here's a shot taken the night before (when Marie's vehicle hadn't yet been parked in the warehouse. But you can see my car. And I can assure you it's blocking the shot...)

After searching high and low for about 2 hours, Marie finally called the nice people at Hyundai, and they said "well, we're goin' tow that puppy to the nearest dealer so that we can re-key it for you." And sure enough, the tow truck driver showed up about 10 minutes before we were supposed to shoot.

And he towed Marie's truck away.

Bye bye truck. Bye bye!

And throughout all of this, Marie stayed focused and grounded. She spent time with her script and thinking about the day. This is yet one other reason why I admire her.... nothing was going to throw her off her game.

Yup. Nothing threw her off her game, including the phone call in which the nice people at Hyundai called to say "Um. Lady? We found your car keys." "They were on the roof of your car."

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Mike's Chili Parlor (Turn up the Heat Baby!!)

I'm skipping over a couple of Seattle events here (perhaps I can return to them when life grinds to a moderate waltz instead of a Russian saber dance.) But I just have to tell you the tale of Mike's Chili Parlor and Tavern in Ballard, WA.

When you drive up, you're greeted by this fabulous non-smack talkin' sign.

Here are the kids now! Just chompin' at the bit to go on in.

Well, what are you waiting for? Step up!

It's kind of like the bar on "Cheers". Only they serve chili here.....

.....and abuse (check out the second last item from the bottom in the centre column...)

They also serve a lot of love.

And chili. Oh my.... the chili.... did I mention the chili?

Monday, July 26, 2010

Mine!!


One of the missions we had to take care of when we went to Seattle was "the buying of the wedding shoes". Lisa and I went to Nordstrom Rack, where we started with the white and ivory shoes, most of which were either made for Cinderella's delicate teeny-tiny foot, or were just plum ugly. This was further complicated by the fact that, while I love to wear lipstick, I'm not so girlie-girlie in the shoe department. Nay. I'm happier in a pair of hush puppies or croc wedge sandals. I'm not used to teetering around on heels.

So after being defeated by the white shoes, we moved into the red shoe family, where we scored fairly quickly with a lovely pair of deep red satin sling backs. While they will require a little practice on my feet, I think they'll do nicely. (I also have a truly comfortable pair of sandals that I'll slip into when my dogs start barking.) Without further ado, here are the official wedding shoes.

And then Lisa found these:

Oh mommy! There was a fabulous customer there who was a true shoe afficianado (we could tell by her basket which was over flowing). She and her girlfriends were all a-shoe shopping, and we found ourselves seeking her advice. When Lisa held these up she said "Oh THOSE are CUTE. Get those. Yup. Get those."

And I put them on, teetered by and asked for her honest opinion about my ability (or lack thereof) to move while wearing them. She gave me some walking tips. And Lisa said that if they had them in her size, she'd get them for sure, and hence, she was buying them for me as a belated birthday present - so THERE!!

Now, before The Mums keels over thinking I'll be wearing these with that lovely wedding gown, let me be clear. These are not THE wedding shoes. These will be the "cocktail party shoes". On the day of the cocktail party that my cousins Grace and Nancy-Lee are hosting for the mainlanders, I plan to wear comfy crocs out to the car, and then when we arrive at Cousin Grace's for the cocktail party , I will slip these puppies on. And then I will have Mister Man drive me to the door. He may have to drive up over the lawn to the foot of the steps, but he will get me as close to the door as possible by gum!! And I will tiptoe out of the car, and up over the steps into Grace and Bill's. And then I will find a wall upon which I can casually and delicately lean for the duration of the party. I figger that, because I'm the bride, I MIGHT even be able to get away with asking people to bring me drinks and snicky snacks so that I can just perch.

The shoes are made by a company called "Naughty Monkey". Hellllooo shoes...... I think we will have a beautiful future together (even if it does unfold in 2 hour bursts). Well world? What do you think of my new shoes?

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Back to the Seattle Saga

Alright! I have made it through a very intense week of double jobbing with plenty of stories I can hardly wait to share. But before I regale you with tales from the crypt (AKA the warehouse in which we were shooting a video), let me pop back to Seattle and post a few images that tickled my fancy last weekend. We started our Saturday by heading for a Mexican Breakfast at Memo's.

We contemplated the menu.

Clearly, there was MUCH from which to choose!!

And with full bellies, we hit the streets. Seattle is a city full of things that are fun to look at.

I found this sign interesting, but caught heck from Paul and Lisa for loitering in front of the sign. Apparently this joint is bursting with characters who might have stepped off the set of a crime drama.

We hit a local farmer's market.

And again, I had an opportunity to enjoy some fabulous signage.

I sure loves me a farmer's market. The boys went home to put the brisket on the BBQ, and Lisa and I headed downtown to buy shoes for the wedding. And THAT, my friends, is another story entirely......

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

It Was a BUG-IN


We headed down to Seattle for the weekend to do some top secret wedding things and, to hang out with two of our favourite people: Paul and Lisa. They are spectacular friends and always have some great adventures up their sleeve. Last weekend was no exception.

We pulled in and Lisa went to work shaking up some brilliant Earl Grey Martini's for us. I love the fact that she can only handle cold things (like martini shakers) while wearing oven mitts. Later, I learned that she even wears oven mitts when she and Paul are sharing a tub of ice cream! We had these martinis first when Paul and Lisa were visiting us during that big winter sporting event some months back, and we stopped at Uva. The waitress gave us the recipe and Lisa has been perfecting the gin infusion ever since.

After drinks, we headed out to a bug in. That's right. A BUG-IN, in which all manner of VW vehicles are buffed, puffed and put on display for admiring eyes. Golly they were purdy....

Mister Man seems pretty pleased with the situation.

Some of 'em weren't spit and polished, but fabulously textured.

Spot the photographer:

But seriously, how could you go wrong when the Bug-In was held in the parking lot of a burger joint called Burgermaster? God bless America!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Playing Catch Up


There is SO much to share with you!!! The blessed tornado of busy-ness continues, so I am going to endeavor to put a few posts "in le bank" for the coming days, which will be filled with the flurry that can only be known as a film set!

So - 2 weekends back, Mister Man's boss handed him tickets to the BC Lion's season opener. I'm not one with the football, but I do love a good spectacle, so of course I went along for the ride. We invited Tamara and Andrew to join us. With regards to the rules of Canadian football, Andrew remains unconvinced. But Tamara and I were hopeful that there'd be good snacks. Besides, she grew up in a football town, so she, unlike me, doesn't have a hard time finding the ball. (I think they should just paint it fuchsia or lemon yellow so that at least you can follow the action!!!)

You see what I mean about Andrew not being convinced....??

Here's a home team fan. *roar*

Here's the enemy team.

Yes. Yes, he DOES have a watermelon on his head. (All we could think about was what that thing would feel like as the sun beat down upon it.) (Um - Eeeeeewwwww!)

The guy next to me was a real flag waver.

So were these guys.

We even got free tea towels!!

And we did have some of the best seats in the house....

While I may never be a die-hard football fan, I can say it was a hoot. (Even if Mister Man DID have to cue me when to cheer...)