far away lands

got to thinking at work today about interesting places i'd like to visit some day. Here goes a list of the top ones right now:

1. Holland. It's where most of my family comes from and where quite a few still live. It would be a big thing for me to see where my grandparents grew up and where they lived as little kids during the German occupation.

2. Tombstone, Arizona. My Great Grandmother was born in Tombstone. Her father was a banker and we were always told that he was in town the day of the O.K. Coral shooting with Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday. It would be interesting to see what that place looks like today.

3. Egypt. Firstly to see the pyramids and then a few museums. That place has an intriguing history.

4. LA. Because it is my dream to work there some day.

5. New York City. Closest I got to NYC was flying over it and sleeping a night in Jersey on the way back from Vegas. Would have went there that night, but we were advised it would be a bad idea...and I only had $20 left at that point.

6. Palestine. Seems to be hard to get into Palestine these days. Whether it be at the airport or coming in through Jordan. A lot of history there too.

7. Australia. I've known people who have gone there for a month vacation and others who have lived there for 8 months and it sounds like it would be quite an adventure.

8. Tokyo. Just...wow!

9. London. Just because it needs to be done. And because I love how they've allowed bars to be open 24/7. When that went into effect a few months back, I wish I could have been there to experience it.

10. Afghanistan. Though I probably will never go, I was in talks with some people last summer about a documentary they thought could be filmed there. It was a story about these people who live in caves. It was their home. The thing that scared me off a bit was when the other guys (who were muslims, one a filmmaker from there and friend of the creator of the film Osama)told me that you don't get security in Afghanistan, you get gunmen and you hope you pay them enough and that they don't get offered more by anyone else who might want to hurt you.

Some friends are talking about going to Cuba at the end of April, early May. I would love to go, but I think this is a non-international holiday spring/summer for me. There are a lot of weddings coming up and i've already volunteered to do film them and put together a nice little video for the couples.

Also, if I'm going to attempt a Vancouver trip for 2010, I better lack a bit more on other trips to make sure I can make it over for the Olympics. Either that or find a job somewhere so that I can get flown over to work!

Awesome

I am a terrible person. Evil runs through my blood. So much evil running through my blood will eventually lead to my domination of this planet. Through giving blood, I, in my master plan have actually been spreading my evil (blood) into others in a great master plan that will one day spread through the entire world.

Is it possible that you may have some of this evil blood running through you? If you do, it's far too late to turn back. You are already a victim of my evil. EVIL!

Evil is now a word that when said doesn't make sense anymore to me right now. you know when you say a word so many times so fast that the word actually loses meaning and just sounds nonsensical? Evil is now nonsensical. But that doesn't matter. Why? Because I am the demon god Gemini.

Interestingly enough, when I've read stuff about Gemini's, it's actually made sense to me. Its one of those things that when you read it, you can say its so vague and all, but it makes sense what they say about Gemini and by association by birth, me.

Constantly moving around, new things coming up all the time, go go go, motivated, hard working, forever changing environments. That pretty much sums everything up right now. I have no worries. If anything, it's time to make more random decisions and do crazier things. Because when you die, would you rather die rich or die poorer knowing that you lived it all for what it was worth and then some? Maybe i'm just saying that now because I don't depend on all that much money to get by right now (and i've had a few beers), but if I were able to do what I want to do in the future where others get paid thousands, millions even, I would be happy getting paid just enough to get by and then maybe a little bit to help any kids that might be around at that time through college, university, or whatever they're looking into.

Also tonight, two morons ate and left the bill for me. I had no idea who they were. They were interesting though and I egged them on with my persuasive acting skills (and bowhunting skills and nunchuck skills) which made the night that much more intersting until they left without paying the bill. Maybe i'm just upset because I didn't think of that first. Then again maybe it was because I was asking the one guy about his sister too much. Who knows. After all, I am an evil Gemini. Aren't we all? I never knew.

round and round

Between kindergarten and grade six I had a one hour and fifteen minute bus ride to and from school. We were told that we were five or ten minutes under the maximum length of time a bus could run one way before another bus had to be brought in to take half the load of kids. In that time we had three bus drivers. First one was an older farmer guy who knew my family so things were all right. Everything was fair and we were all generally good kids on the bus. Loud, as most kids are and a little fidgety, sometimes he'd yell his catchphrase, "TURN AROUND AND SIT! DOWN!" Then you knew you were getting out of hand. Then one day he retired. Replacement? A devil woman named Debbie.

Debbie had a daughter who was in my brother’s grade; two under mine and they both hated me. Not sure what I did, but I sure didn't like them either. I had the notion that if they stayed out of my business, I’d stay out of theirs. Debbie had this thing. I thought she hated kids. It might have been just that. Her rules were that you were to sit in arranged seating and that your back must be touching the back of the seat at all times and that you can only talk to the person beside you in your seat. No one else. She sat me, in grade 5 or 6 with a kindergartener who got on the bus three minutes before we got to school. So all the while, I was to not talk to anyone, which was hard for me to do on the bus ride home when I talked more than anyone before that.

Beyond that, busses work like a hierarchy. Oldest kids at the back. That's how it was always done. If you were younger and you snatched a back seat you better know the oldest kids or you'll have trouble. Every now and then Debbie would change some seats around and I always hoped she'd call for me because I was not happy where I was. Turned out she did call me....closer to the front, maybe 5 rows behind her. Her daughter? The one two grades under me, two grades under 15 other kids on the bus gets the back seat with all her friends. This was not random judgments. This was a conspiracy. The daughter would talk loud with her friends and give me dirty looks. I’d look up at Debbie to see what she’d say, because if it were anybody else being that loud they’d be yelled at something fierce. Enough to scare me good. Debbie just flashed a dirty look at me too. That bus with her was like military training, only with kids and lunchboxes. Only we all knew that it wasn’t fair. Every year for that first bus driver all the kids would give the oldest kids money to get something for him for Christmas. We did this for Debbie too, but we did it unwillingly. She never got anything nice, no bright colors. I think for three years straight she got a pair of brown work gloves, though we should have got her a copy of the newspaper with the classifieds circled nice and big.

For a while I had been thinking, in one of the front seats of that damn bus on how I could get back at Debbie. Even the score or one-up her even. I thought of something that at the time could be used as a big weapon. Swear words. So one day at home I made a mix tape and in the middle of the song put in another song that consisted of only swear words. I was sure she’d stop it pretty fast, but these words were pretty fast and I thought enough would play before she got to stop the tape.

So one day on the bus ride home I give this weapon-tape to a kindergartener to give to Debbie, because she wouldn’t actually think it was his, I thought. She puts it in and everything goes normal and then it starts. The bus suddenly goes quiet and swear words are coming out a mile a minute and about seven seconds in the tape stops and so does the bus. Some kids laugh a little then stop as fast as they started as Debbie looks raging.

I was a little nervous, but thought I wouldn’t get caught. Debbie took the tape out of the player, got out of her seat and faced all us kids in the back. Everyone’s quiet. Everyone’s looking at her. Some of the younger kids are covering their eyes. Debbie looks at the tape and reads out loud, “Jamie’s mix tape.” I freeze. The little kid next to me scooches away not wanting trouble by association.

I wonder how it’s going to go. In the time span of 4 seconds I think, “is she going to make me walk home, or worse, go back to school??” I just wanted to go home to my family. Stupid tape. I had used that tape for years putting new stuff overtop old stuff again and again and I forget the stupid name label.

I can’t remember much of that conversation with her as I was in a considerable amount of shock. If I had had a rock in my hand I’m sure I would have crushed it. Turned out I had to stay inside for a few recesses…community service….and sit alone at the front of the bus for a month….jail time…..and I always thought of why things didn’t go the way I thought they would.

The next year we had a new bus driver Debbie and her daughter left town. It was great. I liken the bus years with Debbie to a PG rated Shawshank Redemption. Get busy living, get busy bussing. That’s God-damned right.

first work day list

Things I learned at the new job:

- When the film breaks, tape will fix it
- 90% of the military in the 80's had a moustache
- the projectors name is Elmo
- instead of blowing on the film to get dust off, use compressed gas
- All the films are the negatives so it appeares that everyone who's seen these films are watching negatively.......yeah......that was stupid
- when watching a film negative, what's light is really dark, what's dark is really light and what's green are the people infected with Chlamydia

Not a bad job so far. Of course there was the moment everyone has (ok..only me) that I think I have all the answers I need and then 5 minutes after the boss leaves I get stuck with something. Luckily it was figured out.

Also, on the way home tonight, a car stopped and beeped at me as I was walking down the street. I thought it was a friend of mine, though I couldn't see him through the window. I got in and it was some muslim guy, "a taxi," I thought and didn't hesitate to pay for the ride home, as it was quite cold out tonight. Turned out it wasn't a taxi, which was kind of awkward as he asked me some questions about internet dating and if I liked to smoke weed.

So it turned out I still walked 9 blocks home as I didn't want this person knowing any street close to where I live. Come to think of it now...it might have been wise to report that because that isn't normal at all.

Note to self...never leave work at twenty after midnight ever again to make sure I never walk while that crazy is in the area.

good day for a slow day

Last night was pretty quite interesting. Started off with the downpour which almost changed my mind about going out. Followed up with overpacked bars, running into old friends and eventually finding us at the Dubliner. Probably the best place we could have gone. Really good live music, tolerable prices on the drinks and no cover.

These days it's all about having a blast with friends while being able to keep from spending as much money as you would have given your account balance. That, juggled with the absense of school and sustaining myself financially.

Talked to a few people who worked on the movies last summer and asked if I'd be interested in working on some again this summer, given that there are some coming. I said of course, trying to appear as sober as I could after nine beers and I think I did a pretty good job. Last summer I was in the art department, which i'd love to do again.

Saw an older guy on the bus tonight with a HUGE fur coat. It looked like you'd have to skin 10 wolves for the amount of fur that guy was sporting. Needless to say, he was pretty silly looking.

The Weekend Update

The week started off normal. As they usually do when things come to change that you don't see coming. I said a few weeks ago that i'd give myself three weeks to find somewhere else, a better job, something more in my field. And for the second time I've made this promise to myself, something came through.

It all started with playing euchre at work when the work was all done. That, followed with the boss finding out and firing our supervisor. The very next day I had plans for an interview at a local production company followed with yesterday, an interview and walkthrough of their facility and a job offer.

Then comes the fun. Go into the other job to tell the boss that it's my last day. The second time I did this to them, both times going to the film/tv industry for contract work. Surprisingly, the boss had no problem with it....which kind of made me nervous because he always takes things very bad and gets pretty angry about it. Not this time.

So come monday, i'm transfering 16mm film to another format for this production company who needs to get it done by March 31 for National Defence. Military footage from the 60's and 70's I believe. Should be interesting!

It's interesting how these things work out. When you're away from the business for a little while, you sometimes start to wonder if you'll ever get back in, or if you should just go away for a while to do something else entirely. Then one day, something comes together and everything changes. I have a feeling it's going to be like that for a while for me. The best thing about that is that it's all random, quick paced, mostly, and things change. I can't ever see myself doing one thing for the rest of my life. I need to have a constantly changing environment to keep me in check and to keep me motivated. I guess that's why I chose this industry. If it works out, it will do exactly that and if i'm lucky, I'll be able to make my own projects some day, as I have three that i'm writing off and on that I want to actually make.

For now though, i'll do the military footage. I'm interested in seeing what kind of stuff they have. After these film reels are dubbed, they're being put in a standard size box and sent to the Archives to be dumped somewhere, somewhere nobody will ever see them again. Makes you wonder what kind of stuff they have in that Archives warehouse in Gatineau...