Browncoats: Redemption

So, one of the most prominent activities that has been taking up more time than I've actually ever sat down and counted is the independent film I've been working on called Browncoats:Redemption. Well, since May 4th, which was basically the last real post, I've gone down to MD in excess of twenty times to help build, promote, and show off our set. We had an 8,000 sq ft warehouse in which we built the set for the ship. It probably was the most physically and mentally challenging experience I've been involved with ever. Whether it was the mental intensity required to plan and figure out just how we're going to build the cargo bay, or frame the cockpit window of the ship, or the physical endurance of raising a 12ft wide by 16ft high wall and holding it in place while it was secured to the wall, building these sets took everyone's abilities and forced us to operate as sharp as we ever have to get the job accomplished.

I've helped build the sets for high school musicals, even worked with a friend's construction company for a while, but the amount of confidence and new found ability I've taken away from this project is unparalleled. To quote Firefly, we literally "did the impossible, and that made us mighty." According to Facebook I've made 47 new and close friends from this project. Wonderful, amazing people that possess a dedication and loyalty that is all too rare nowadays. We all truly bonded over Redemption to the level that a score of us get together monthly for our "Shindig's" to keep the spirit and friendship we've formed intact until (and hopefully after too) the movie's official release at Dragon*Con 2010.

I could go on and on, but I'll leave it at that. Over the course of the next year I'll be periodically posting behind the scenes pictures, explanations of how we did what we did, stories, anecdotes, and memories from filming. I've no doubt that over the course of just building the set I've spent hundreds of hours driving to, from or working on this project, and as such is probably the biggest chunk of time that took me away from sitting at a computer typing. I suppose that's the trade off of living life, instead of letting it live you... or something like that.

This coming weekend I will be at Dragon*Con promoting the movie, hanging out with many friends, and trying to conquer the overwhelming scope of this convention so that next year, for the movie premier, I'll be like a pro ;-) If any of the handful of you have your interest piqued please head over to the website for Browncoats:Redemption for more information, behind the scenes videos, and the latest information about our project!!! For now, I leave you with the teaser to our Panel and Trailer release at Dragon*Con 2009:

Browncoats: Redemption Dragon*Con 2009 Panel & Trailer Announcement from browncoatsmovie on Vimeo.

Time passes....

I finally sorted through well over 500 blog posts clogged up in my reader from my pasts month's endeavors. I will go through what I've been up to, eventually. However for the moment, this will suffice. Hello again world.

I half wrote this so I don't forget what I'm doing....

So, it's been over a month since I've written here. Somewhere in there I caught a nasty stomach/sinus bug from hell (well before this swine flu BS), spent 4 weekends filming on an independently produces science fiction movie set in the Firefly/Serenity universe (of which I have a production journal from and will be released on here at a later date), got overwhelmed at school (which sucks because I'm not particularly motivated to learn APA format and how to write for a counseling/psychology degree) and had one hell of a busy April at work with my seniors graduating and wanting to know what's the deal with college. So yeah, free time = nonexistent.

As it is, on Wednesday I'm leaving for Los Angeles for the second and final Battlestar Galactica Prop and Costume Auction. I'm not sure what, if anything I'll bid on, because if I'm anything resembling responsible, I've got no money like that to really spend. That being said, I'll be sure to report what I do buy and how much my bank account will be crying about it. Also be seeing a good friend from a summer program we both volunteer at since he lives out there and I'm all about crashing on couches!!

Friday I head to Vegas for 4 days to hang out by the pool and do/think about absolutely nothing except where my next drink is coming from and if I want to jump in the water now or later. I anticipate a lazy, relaxing, awesome good time since our hotel just got upgraded to directly on the Strip down the street from the Bellagio!!! Also meeting up with some friends who will be out there already too.... it's a party in Las Vegas!!!

Then it's a red-eye flight back to work on the Wed after this one and back to the daily grind once again.... at least for two days and then I'm down to Virginia for the weekend when my fellow Browncoats and I invade a Dave and Busters for some good old mischief and mayhem.

Finally to round out the month, our 8th annual camping trip with all my closest friends from HS and starting work on building a spaceship called Redemption. Already purchaced and dumpster dove for items that we'll be using to help make her look awesome. When people ask me what I did after this coming summer... I can't wait to see the look on their face when I say, "Well, I helped build a space ship!"

If only I had a spare $35,000,000

I'd be moving to England and be called Lord of the Manor...

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE52F4RX20090316

Too much of a fun fantasy to pass up posting. Real post to follow later tonight.

Home till Thursday

I just can't shake whatever this secondary bug is that I got. I took Tues and Wed off from work because 1. I can, and 2. if I don't I don't see myself getting any better. Here's to 2 days of sleeping, soup, and ..... something else that begins with an "s" that I can't think of right now :-)

Blech

I'm not happy I'm still sick and unfortunately feeling like I'm getting sicker.

I'm not happy I'm single with 0 current active prospects.

I'm not happy I'm living at home and have to deal with nagging about going to sleep and saving my money.

I'm not happy that I have a stupid midterm test on Monday on information all out of a book that he expected us to just read and 2 power points he whisked through (... just a hint buddy, real life is open book, we can talk to the person next to us, and we don't typically have to answer all the questions in a 45 minute block of time).

I'm not happy my room is messy and things aren't where they belong because I'm still cramming my life into a room in my parents house.

I'm not happy that the highlights of any week consist of driving to Philadelphia and drinking copious amounts of alcohol.

Probably most of all, I'm not happy that if certain things don't pan out, I'm going to have to rent someplace again because I can't live my life where I am or the way I am right now.

But I'm doing fine... how are you?

Unproductivity and the like

I wish I knew why my time spent on the computer revolves around refreshing my Facebook home page. I would really like to be doing more productive things than that....

Speaking of not being able to be productive... I find it a sick joke that the universe decides to give me not only a Sunday free, but a snow day on Monday, while simultaneously providing me with the worst stomach virus I've had in 15+ years. I'll spare everyone the gory details but it's as bad as you could imagine, maybe worse for those of you with weak stomach's. I was incapacitated on Sunday to the point I couldn't even sit at my computer. It was laying on the bed or laying on the couch and that was it. But, on the upside I suppose, here's to loosing 10 pounds in 32 hours! I'm not sure how much of that was simple dehydration, but hopefully not too much.

Another things sapping my productivity are 4 episodes of 24 in my Hulu queue. And of course, it's not just the filler episodes, but the four leading up to what some might term a 'mid season cliffhanger'. This also means that my attention is riveted to my second monitor except for the 30 second Hulu commercial breaks, where I'm typing this post. One comment on the episodes... if FBI and others don't have waterproof and shockproof cell phones in real life it'd be the most absurd thing I've ever heard. Anyway... I'm going to stop near live-blogging my Hulu watching experience and end this post before I take any more characters to say absolutely nothing of substance or value...

Throwback

I had a spontaneous dinner today with the person whom I'd probably consider my first 'real girlfriend'. I met her Freshman year in our Freshmen English class. I remember seeing her sit across from me in the chair closest to the door. The classroom was set up in 4 long rows. Two with their backs to the window facing the other two rows with their backs to what was the hallway. I was two seats from the board in the first row.

(Anecdotal note: the guy sitting behind me in that class I was friendly with, but I don't know that I'd say we were ever really friends. He did football; I did basketball; We just ran in different circles. Always pleasant, friendly, gave a wave if we saw each other in the hallway or in the development where he lived and where E and I would play ball every summer. I mention this not because it has anything to do with the story, but because I feel I'd be doing a disservice to his memory if I didn't mention him. He died at Virgina Tech.)

Purl, as I'll call her, the two other girls and I always worked together whenever we had a group project of any kind. When we didn't have a group project, we competed to see who would get the better grade on each and ever assignment. We'd write a "B" or a "B-" on a sheet of notebook paper and flash it up at the other person, teasing them about the grade we thought they'd get. Quickly it progressed passed in class banter and we started hanging out outside of school. I'd get my parents to drop me off at her friend J's house where there would be another quartet of us who would spend virtually all of the summer btw Freshman and Sophmore year together. J&J and Purl and I. We went to the movies, hosted parties, walked around the neighborhood, lit sparklers on the fourth of july, spent a day at Dorney Park, or just stayed in, made popcorn, and watched movies, at least until we'd split off and do 'coupple things'.

So many different memories flood back writing this. The Exorcist (first kiss), Titanic (first other things), the Sprite bottle (J(male) and I pissed in it for some reason I can't quite remember, as a joke or to get back at someone's ex or something. We stopped them before they drank it though), the accident... (J (female) fell in the basement and severely hit her head. She had amnesia for days while in the hospital. I remember going to visit her, brought her a letter/poem I had written for her. Also never forget the moment she looked up at me and said my name because she finally remembered who I was.)

Anway, all these flashbacks played on repeat during the lead in time until our dinner. She looked exactly as I had remembered/expected her to. The wonders of Facebook and knowing more about someone's life than you can typically get from an hour conversation I suppose. Suffice it to say, it was like we were just going out for our weekly Friday dinner. Constant, meaningful conversation peppered with laughter, memories, and the insight that comes from knowing someone over a decade. As much as I figured that's how it would go, it was still nice to have it turn out that way. Married life was good, her house was coming along, and her labrador reminds her daily that she does not and can not handle children at the moment. Which, all things considered, I suppose is a good thing... it's strange enough knowing she's married and I'm just still here...

Not going to lie...

... totally shed a tear when Heath just won.

Too damn soon...

Grace in Small Things 3

1. Living yet another 365.25 days on this planet.

2. Alanis Morissette's voice and poignant songwriting.

3. Birthday wishes on Facebook that I can't keep up with :-)

4. An evening of the music of Simon & Garfunkel by the talented A.J Swearingen and Jonathan Beedle.

5. Meeting some of my closest friends after the concert to celebrate the "Havana's" way!

25.

No, not the Facebook meme.

That's the age I turn today at 2:08pm. I'm not sure I have any specific feelings on the age. I can now rent a car with no extra fees or questions, which I suppose is the last real milestone. From here on out it's counting every age that ends on a '0'. In brief retrospect it feels like the last 25 years were all entirely foundational making me the person I've become today. I'm not sure the process is quite complete yet, but I fully expect that sometime in the next few years I'll be able to live as me rather than continually looking to define a 'me' to live as.

I raise my proverbial glass... to making it this far. Here's to hoping that, at a minimum, I'm only a quarter done.

Zeke

Grace in Small Things 2

1. The healthy meals that I tend to cook for myself only when I'm in Philly.

2. My new Asus EeePC, because it's awesome and will perfectly suit me for grad school.

3. Birthday's and birthday parties.

4. A hot cup of green tea with honey and lemon first thing in the morning

5. Microsoft Songsmith, because it's awesome

Questions and Answers

The lovely and eloquent Hope posted a Q&A meme and invited her readers to be interviewed as she was, and of course... how could I refuse! Here's her questions and my answers.

If you would like to take part, here are the rules.

1. Leave me a comment saying you want to be interviewed.
2. I’ll email you five questions, of my determination not yours!
3. You update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Here are my answers.

1. Which line or section from President Obama's speech resonated with you?

"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers ... our found fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake."

I still am not sure I have words to explain the feelings behind the tears that those lines brought to my eyes. Those lines form the ideal that I believe that is/should be in the heart of the American Soul. I'm so overcome by such a varied feeling of emotions my vocabulary is woefully inadequate to explain what I mean. I will work to rectify this...

2. What do you think is the biggest or most important difference between men and women?

I think the most important difference is that men and women don't mature at the same time or at the same rate. Maybe I just see it more with the developmentally delayed students that I work with, but a girl at 15 or 18 can do much more than a (diagnostically) similarly delayed boy of the same age. Maybe it's why I've been noticing women 10+ years older than myself in a way I hadn't previously noticed them.

3. If you could have the job of any character from a TV show which would it be?

I'd want the job of Admiral William Adama from Battlestar Galactica. Not just to be out in space or to command a fleet of ships, but because there was never any question about his role in life. The Cylons, their enemies, destroyed their world, chased them from their solar system, and his only task in life is to find Earth; to find a home for those humans who are left. He doesn't have the luxuary to decide if he really wanted to be a gardner, or who to go on a date with. Circumstances never allowed him to throw in the towel and quit. He has to dig deep inside of himself to find the strength to do whatever it is that he needs to do to because there's no one else to do it; there's nowhere else for him to go. That responsibility and that inevitibility of purpose entice me to no end.

4. Choose one single man made object that represents your personality. What would it be and why does represent you?

I think I'd have to say that I'm a Swiss Army Knife. But, not the ones you can hook on your keychain or give a Boy Scout when he turns 13, but the huge, unwieldy 80 tool in 1. There are so many different things that it can do and is useful for, but there's nothing that it's entirely sufficient for. It doesn't really specialize in one thing or have a singular purpose that it can complete to excellence. It has to rely on doing a lot of things well enough in order to have any value to anyone at all...

5. If you could discover that something you thought was true was actually false, what would you wish it to be? And why?

Maybe this is just a bit of a cop out because it's wildly unrealistic but I'd probably most wish that it turned out that my grandparents were all still alive and just vacationing together somewhere on some resort beach with no telephone access. I want/love a big family, extended family, cousins, grandparents, even crazy aunt's... and I have none of it. Having my grandparents back would fill that void quite a bit and being older as I am now (10 days shy of 25) I'd love nothing more than to sit and talk with them. Ironic, in the Alanis Morrisette definition of the word, since now I have the time and desire to sit, listen, and learn... there's no one left to listen to.

Grace in Small Things

1. A Dirty Chai Tea Latte and Ziti Pizza

2. Starting graduate school

3. Philadelphia 76'ers, my best friend, and any excuse to spend time in Philly!

4. Text messaging, mobile internet, and the many ways to keep in touch with family and friends

5. Science Fiction television shows: Battlestar Galactica tonight at 10pm!!!


I read this on, Notthelifeiordered who got it from, Grace in Small Things

Entertaining text message of the morning

Me: What do you think of Benjamin Netanyahu? and prospects look sunny for releasing some of my sexual tension come New Years!!!

DS: With Dzia? And it's too early in the morning to discuss Israeli politics.


That amused me greatly and is probably a good reason why getting Twitter will happen sooner rather than later. Makes more sense to use one of their micro-posts rather than take up a whole blog post about a morning laugh. Also helps I have control over my own phone bills now.

Anyway, hopefully only a few hours more left at work, last revisions on the report, print 10 copies, and my extended New Years celebrations can start today!!!! Here I come Philadelphia!!!!!

Enjoyably Entertaining

I read this from the ever-eloquent and entertaining Hope and it just sounded too interesting to pass up!!!

The rules:

You leave a comment on this post, and I’ll assign you a letter. You write about ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter, and post it at your place. When people comment on your list, you give them a letter, and the chain continues on and on.

***
E
***

Edward James Almos
Or rather, Admiral William Adama of the Colonial Fleet. Few other television series' have captured my attention like the remade Battlestar Galactica. I'm a full on science fiction nut to begin with but this is the second series that has absolutely 'consumed' me mentally, emotionally, and every other '-ally' that I can think of. It brings me to the edge of my seat, or puts me into stunned silence; asks me questions I had never contemplated or leaves me in tears blurring the credits as they flash on the screen.

Eggs
Whether it's making breakfast at home, or ordering an omelet at a diner after a long night out, I love eggs. Scrambled, fried, sunny side up, Benedict, or poached; I haven't met a style yet I don't like.

E-books
In addition to my rampant science fiction addiction, I'm also a fan of new technology. I'm an early adopter of the Amazon Kindle and have read scores of e-books and various other writings on it and am absolutely in love. I don't see it replacing physical books, for the simple fact I could only fit so many authors' signatures on it, but for mass market paperbacks of books I'm only nominally interested in, the cheaper price and lack of clutter once I've completed the book are significant pluses in my book.

English
My major in college and my best subject throughout all the education I've had thus far. In fact, it's gone so far as to help me get through other classes seemingly unrelated. I had a statistics class once (math being my absolute worst subject) when I was at community college. I couldn't grasp the concepts the further we went into class, my brain refusing to process abstract math, but it was English that saved me. 75% of our grade in that class was on 3 huge group projects. There were 3 of us in the group, and to this day, it's the only group that we all evenly contributed to. There was an older Israeli man whose house we'd meet at and he'd provide the computer, quiet space to work and 'brain food' as well as a better grasp of the classwork than I , a Polish girl who loved math and understood everything exactly, and myself, an American with English as his first language. He provided the focused work space, she did the work, and I made everything sound sweet and clear. It was the best academic arrangement I was ever a part of.

Eyes
Staring into a lover, or sizing up an opponent eyes say so very much about a person, not to mention how cool they look under macro photography. At the same time though, I also find it amazing how much we actually can still do without them. From public services to adapted skills I could do everything I do now except for driving without them. One of my biggest fears in life used to be going blind, but with the work I've done with The Agency and so many blind friends and co-workers, it's a fear I can say I have no longer.

Echo
I mean, c'mon... who doesn't get into a cave or a big room and shout "Echo!" just to hear it reverberate around the walls. It's just cool.

Eagle
Specifically the bald eagle I suppose. It's just such a majestic looking bird. Strong, powerful, sleek, a lot bigger than you'd expect it to be. I mean seriously, what was Benjamin Franklin thinking... a turkey?? Sheesh...

Eel
Sushi, sashimi, I don't care as long as the Japanese call it Unagi. I swear I could eat eel for the rest of my life and never get tired of it...

Evanescence
Regardless of their wide reaching success there's few things as hauntingly beautiful as hearing Amy Lee's voice in person. The rich, full sound echoing (there's that echo again) throughout the concert hall perfectly in tune with the piano she's playing. Simply beautiful. I also count myself fortunate that in addition to her two major label albums, I also have approximately 50 or so unique tracks from her very early years, back as far as 1997 I believe. Some of my favorite tracks are those not on major label release.

Extra-Terrestrials
Last, but certainly not least, and more than likely tying into my science fiction obsession, I love aliens. Whether portrayed on television or the 'real accounts' I think it's one of the most fascinating topics out there. If they are out there, I'd be one of the first to volunteer and join up with them, no questions asked. Seriously, if a saucer appeared in my backyard and gave me 60 seconds to walk over and bean on up or they're gone, I'd be there before half my time was up.

Pre-Meeting Procrastination

We've got a huge meeting in about half an hour with all of the people from my particular unit spread out across the state. They're all driving here to the main office, where I work, and going through a day long meeting that will inevitably be filled with more hours of useless information and tactics to evade responsibility than productive dialog. Don't get me wrong, I do like my job quite a lot, but the typical demeanor of what seems to be most of the people I meet who are also state employees, well... it sucks. It seems like many of them never got off of the entitlement bandwagon and spend half the time complaining about what the State hasn't given them or has taken away from them and the rest of the time trying to get out of what they're supposed to be doing. The fact that my supervisor said the other day, "Well, I asked Person X to do this task, but we'll have to see if she actually does it." My jaw still hits the floor after almost two years of hearing language like that. "To see if she does it"?? Are you freaking kidding me!!! You were told to do it, so you do it damn it!!! There are so many people like that I've come across I can't imagine how my job isn't one of the most secure in the whole freaking Agency.

Ok, I'm done now. On to happier news, I was more productive yesterday than I've been in probably the last month combined. I wrote all 19 back case-notes from client visits, actually made a healthy dinner and my Teavanna tea, finished editing the wedding video, organized all 8,691 songs on my computer, and cleaned my e-mail inbox from 679 to 4. I don't know what came over me, but I like it.

So, if there's one thing that I've learned...

It's that any time I get a week to ten days behind in something I'm supposed to be doing regularly, it seems like too insurmountable a task for me to catch up. Most recent point in case: regular daily blog posting. I'd like to say I'll get to it, but that seems to repeatedly set myself up for failure. (side note: at this point I've written more in these 3 minutes than the previous 7 hours a post had been open for me to write in) I did discover some things today though. One of the most important being, that I think one of the reasons for my severe lack of productivity at home is because I do/did too much in my room and have developed habits (for lack of a better word) that I can't break. You know how they *expert people* say that sometimes people think of eating at night when they go to bed because they eat in their room, or a student can't focus on homework as well in his room as s/he can when sitting at a desk or table... well one or two things like that has never been an issue for me. However, I eat, sleep, play, work, create, film, photograph, talk, write, and have worked through a mild depression all in my room here at my parent's house. Somewhere, one of those must have been the straw because I routinely feel a sense of paralysis in that I can't do what I need or want to. Another reason, I want my own place, and soon.

I was able to write my case notes from visiting my clients at the library with very little trouble. Less than if I were writing them either at home or the office. The latter I need to make sure I get in check sooner rather than later. There were times, before I had my current job responsibilities, where I would be waiting for things to do, or on no specific project with any specific deadline and was more or less just there waiting for them to give me something to do, and I got in the habit of reading articles. And not just one or two, but like 20 or 30 a day. Digg, Google News, NY Times, CNN, AP, Reuters, and then I started reading blogs too... It's sure been one way to keep my Google Reader nice and neatly at '0' but tends to slow the start of my day, and after lunch. Probably something I should fix sooner rather than later.

This is a test...

To see if the new blogger gadget I added into my iGoogle home page will let me post to my blog while I'm at work, thus further decreasing what was otherwise a rather high level of productivity. More back-posting to continue tonight now that I finally have some free evenings to do them. Gotta live a life before you can write about one, yes?

November 14: Awesomeness and Confederate adventures pt. 1

So, Dzia stayed over last night. I really didn't expect her too, and it' one more reason that maybe this time is different than the last.... She had planned on coming over so we could go swimming at my gym and then maybe play guitar or watch a movie or something. Well, in a fit of Alzheimer's I left the free pass for her in my gym bag, in my car, locked in the Honda dealership. Awesome. Instead we went out for dinner with Surfer and his gf, both of whom I'll be heading to Richmond, VA with to visit Surfer's brother and sister. When we got back to my house, I stopped into my parents room to let them know she was staying (which they thanked me for and asked if she needed anything before they went back to bed. I love my parents) and then went to sleep. And yes, just to sleep.

In the morning she drove me to get my car since the part was finished being installed and then off to work. Work went by quickly with the anticipation of leaving for Richmond that night. I was supposed to meet Surfer at his parent's house and then we'd all leave from there around 6:30. Well, 6:30 somehow mutated into after 8pm and it started raining and being all sorts of foggy. We stopped for gas, Windex, and other necessities and headed to the Capital of the Confederacy. Around midnight I was done and since I actually had someone in the car whom I felt comfortable with driving my car, I let Surfer finish the drive. We pulled in front of his sister's place at 2:30am. We all had a Magic Hat #9, and were asleep by 3:30am.