Advanced Italian...ready or not here I come.

I haven't taken classes since Spring. My Italian feels very rusty to me. I was going to repeat Intermediate Level 2. While I was not looking forward to dealing with Passato Remoto or the dreaded Congiuntivo, my professor and friends from class strongly recommended I take the next level.

Now that Advance is broken up into Levels 1 or 2 I will try. When I read out loud at home I feel fine but in front of people I clam up. I know the only way to learn is to get in there and keep talking. It's okay if I make mistakes.

I was reading a great article in Vogue (seriously) about how our brain ages and learning a new language or playing an instrument is one of the best ways to keep your mind sharp, esp. after 40.

Speaking of over 40, I went to the eye doctor the other day and he said in couple of years I will start to have problems reading materials that are close up. Yes! Another thing along with peri-menopause to look forward to. Now I only need my glasses to read things far away/driving and my prescription is still pretty low. I went to the eyeglasses store and broke down and got a pair of very nice frames. I wear glasses part of every day, I might as well make an investment.

My boss was with me. Later she said she doesn't know why I complain about money. I went to Italy twice this year and just bought the glasses. First, I used miles for my first trip and I went to Venice during off season so my hotel was very reasonable. I was under budget on both trips.

True this year for the first time in my professional life I have some extra money because of the bonus from the movie. BUT I am moving overseas and that money with the exchange rate will not go very far. I worry about money because I am not 22. At this age I should own property, have savings/retirement funds. etc. I work in an unstable, creative field. Two years ago I decided since I have no job security what so ever I would rather use my money to travel than on eating out here all the time or clothes, etc. My apartment's rent at just over $1000 is low. My landlord can't wait for me to leave so she can jack it up to $1600 (which I think is crazy for a place with no character). My car is a used (oh my God! that is a mortal sin in Hollywood) Saab so I don't have a $500 lease payment on a Mercedes or Jag.

While the exchange rate is bad, there will be certain costs that will be lower in Rome. I won't have a car so no more car insurance, gas, repairs and valets. That will save me close to $250 a month. My gym is $120 a month, of course I will cancel that once I leave. That is almost $400 savings from those two items alone.

I am really watching my spending on non-essential items. Yesterday I went to get Chrismas/birthday presents. I didn't go off and buy things not on my list despite the tempations. ha.

Conde Nast Traveler has an "insider's" cover story on Rome.

I was walking past the newsstand and what did I see?


I'm curious with the exchange rate being so awful will fewer Americans travel to Europe in '08? I was very surprised at how crowded Venice during low season.

I still have jet lag. I keep getting up at 4:00 a.m. and by 8:00 p.m. I can barely keep my eyes open. I want to read the article, then will call it a night.

Day five and six: Ciao Milano.

I did make it to the train station despite the flood waters. I had a great time in Milan reconnecting with some friends and meeting some new friends (I know....very kumbaya).

My fantastic host (you know who you are) gave me a quick tour of Milano. I was only there for 24 hours. I almost lost my mind in 10 Corso Como. I didn't focus on the clothes but the accessories!!!! The shoes, bags, rings, and earrings were fantastic. I also liked the bath gels and other things in the "no one really needs this section." I didn't buy anything of course. Between the exchange rate and my soon to be unemployed status I had no business spending that kind of money.

Another thing that brings me great joy is food. We stopped by Peck's first floor. I could go crazy in there. It was very crowded and I noticed the prices there were not cheap.

Next stop the Duomo. Nothing I can say. Overwhelming.

We went to eat on the top floor of La Rinascente, a major department store. The floor has been recently renovated. It reminds me of the floor in Bloomingdales' flagship store where all the yummy food items are. There are several restaurants and plenty of delicious things to buy.

A shot of the Duomo from the roof patio of La Rinascente.


The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele has to be one of the nicest "malls" I have been in.


The view from my hotel room in Venice. I like the interesting external spiral stairs of a former palace.


I am still uploading photos to my Flickr page.

Venice day four: Photos of L'acqua Water (high water)

I had to leave the hotel from another entrance and getting to the station that day was not fun. ha. A siren went off at 6:00 a.m. that morning to warn of the high tide.

See the platforms in the background. When I heard San Marco flooded, I pictured some puddles.


Not this. Wow. The tide comes in around 9ish and the flood waters leave a couple hours later.


The view out the front door of my hotel. The water was gushing over the canal walls.


Shot from one of the platforms. Some places didn't have them so I had to wade through. Good thing I had my leather boots treated with water-resistant spray. I did get wet but at least my shoes were not ruined. I looked like big dork with my pants hiked up.

Day three in Venice: Get your art on at the Accademia and with Peggy Guggenheim.

Thursday was cloudy and cold. After lunch it poured the rest of the afternoon. It was still an incredible day.

I walked over to the Accademia home to the largest collection of Venetian Renaissance art. Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), Giovanni Bellini and Tintoretto (Jacopo Robusti) are some of the artists featured. The museum provides info sheets on all the works in English and Italian, which is great. I love reading the back stories (usually filled with much drama) about how these works came to be.

We saw restorers working on Titian’s “Pieta”. He was almost 90 when he finished it. It’s a really dark work reflecting the times. The plague was at its height killing his son and his assistant. He died heartbroken shortly after finishing the painting.

From the 1500’s I jumped in the 1900’s at the Villa of Mrs. Guggenheim. Met a very friendly intern from UCLA interning in Venice for three months. Peggy’s dad died on the Titanic (putting his mistress on a row boat, while he went down with the ship) leaving her an inheritance. Her wing of the family was not as wealthy as her uncle’s, Solomon Guggenheim, who built the famous museum in New York. Peggy was, I guess you can say a “free spirit”. She had several marriages and many lovers. She starting buying “modern art” early and really championed artists. She supported Jackson Pollack for two years in exchange for some art. Supposedly she never paid more than 10 thousand dollars for a work and usually spent less than 1,000. Her collection is worth over 350 million today.

Her villa is right on the Grand Canal. To stand in her bedroom with that view surround by art is pretty surreal. Today the names in her collection, Picassco, Pollack, Ernst, Chagall, Duchamp are pretty well known. Her grave is in the back garden, next to her dogs’. She also supported writers, composers, actors etc.

My parents will be happy to know I stepped foot into a church and the building is still standing. I went to the La Salute church (Santa Maria della Salute. Our lady of health). The church was built to honor the Saint Mary for helping Venice survive the Plague (1 out of 3 residents died, less than other cities). The large church is on the Canal. Outside seems imposing but the interior is relatively simple and just beautiful. A mass started while I was there.

I had lunch at San Trovaso. Good food and reasonable prices, for Venice anyway. The flirty waiter gave me a special glass of wine “for a special woman” haha. The rigatoni all’amatriciana was excellent.

My last stop for art was the Friar Church built by the Franciscan order. Stunning church with some incredible works of art. The tomb of Titian (Titiano Ferdinandus) is here.

The lions are original to the house which was started in 1748. Only the ground floor was built at first because of the family across the canal didn't want to be upstage. Peggy bought the house 200 years later and fixed it up.


Candles at Santa Maria della Salute.


Stain glass at the Frari church.

Flying coach on a transatlantic flight to or from Los Angeles, not pleasant.

When I fly to Rome next year, I hope I can use my miles to buy a Business class ticket. Today I sat on a plane for 12 hours ( after an 1 hour from Venice to Zurich) next to man who snored, loudly.  I was on the aisle seat and he kept getting up, leaning way over into my space, knocking my headset out of the socket so I would miss chunks of the movies I was trying to watch, etc.

I am back in L.A. There were fires in Malibu's Corral Canyon, which is one of the most beautiful areas in Los Angeles. Many homes burned down to the ground. I saw on CNN Europe the other day that the Santa Ana winds were around 90 mph. Residents had very little time to evacuate.

Ciao Venice

I have to leave first thing in the morning.

I had an amazing time. I just got back from Milano. I have so much to write about but I must pack and go to sleep.

Parts of Venice are flooded this morning

I looked outside the hotel door and the tide is crazy high! The hotel is along a canal and the water is overflowing. Not sure how the heck I'm going to get to the train station. I am off to Milan for Thanksgiving dinner.

I read over 130 milllion Americans are going shopping today. Glad I will miss that madness. I have seen maybe two Christmas shopping commericals here. I was talking to one of the hotel's concierges and she said no stores here are opening at 4:00 a.m. for shoppers. You're lucky if they are open by 10:00 a.m. When I told her people many sleep outside the stores the night before to be there when the stores open, she could not wrap her head around it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone is having a great day.

I am thankful for my family, friends, health and the ability to be in such a beautiful place.

I will write later about the incredible things I saw today. Really inspiring.

Tomorrow there will be a high tide (L'acqua alta) and Piazza San Marco might get flooded. We'll see.

Venice day two: Burano and "where the @%#* is the ristorante?"

I took the ferry to Burano, the lace making island. I wonder what it would be like to like on an small island of only 2,700 people, so far from the main land. Burano is also know for it's colorfully painted houses. The houses were painted that way so fisherman could identify their homes when they returned.

I was so looking foward to eating at "Il Gatto Nero" which I read about and saw on Samatha Brown's Venice trip on the Travel Channel. It was closed for vacation until Dec. 3rd. I figured I would eat when I returned to Venice. I took a 12:30 ferry back and this time went to the F. Nove stop which was closer than San Marco. There are quite a few great places to eat in that area (Cannaregio). I was starving. Unfortuantely I was lost for almost two hours. I did get to see a very residential area of Venice. A few times I was in an alley and very happy that it was daylight. I know Venice is relativly safe but those alley and canals can be hella creepy. I could not find a single one of the restaurants I had read about. I had two maps and they were pretty much useless. I finally gave up and followed the arrows to the Rialo bridge. I heard there was a great bar/restaurant call Bancogiro right near the bridge on the canal. Non touristy (meaning the food is good and not overpriced), I walked over there and what did I see? "Closed for Vacation". At this point I wanted to throw my guidebooks into the freaking canal.

I made dinner reservations for a place I read about Osteria Antico Dolo. The waitress spoke no English. I orginally wanted to eat then but my brain wasn't working and I said yes when she asked if I wanted it for that evening. I crossed back over the Rialto and followed the signs to San Marco. Again I must have taken the long way. It took 40 minutes. When I was going to dinner, I took another route which took less than 15 minutes. As a result I was very early for my dinner, so I walked around for an half hour.

Dinner was very good. After a long day I was excited to sit down and have a nice meal.

Houses on Burano.


Interesting saying.


Wow these are some bright colors. I took these photos on a cloudy day. When it's sunny these colors must really pop.


Local kids playing soccer in the island's main piazza. This sqare also has leaning bell tower. It was under renovations.

Day one in Venice. I have not fallen into a canal yet. It's all good.

I have been walking around Venice since 9:00 this morning. At 5:00 p.m. I came back to my room to take a break. I am trying to stay up until at least 10:00 so I will not have jet lag. Earlier today I thought I was going to fall asleep standing up.

It's so quiet in my room. Last week my new neighbor back in L.A. woke me up at 4:00 a.m. He was jumping around or something. My bedroom windows were actually shaking. WTF?! I think he was by himself, not sure what he was doing.

At 6:00 a.m. various church bells started ringing. It was nice and sunny but very cold.

I can't even imagine what the crowds must be like during high season. I think they are pretty awful now. Tons of big tour groups walking around following someone with a stick/umbrella, flag etc. Speaking of tours I signed up for the Secret Itineraries tour for the Doge Palace. The group size is kept small. There were seven of us. Our quide was great. We went to rooms that are off limits to the public, including the jail cell that held Casanova until he escaped. I really enjoyed the tour. Very informative regarding Venetian history.

Originally I had planned to go to La Zucca for dinner. What was I smoking? There was no way I would have found this place, in the Santa Croce part of Venice, at night. It took me almost an hour to find it during the day. That part of Venice has a completey different vibe than the area around San Marco. Very quiet with locals going about their daily business. I loved walking around the side streets, eventhough I had no idea where the heck I was. At La Zucca I had tagliatelle with a sausage ragu that was amazing. My glass of house wine cost only 1.50! Crazy. I stopped by a bakery, Majer, for a cookie. I might have to walk back there.

I returned to San Marco and went into the Basilica which is just beautiful...lot's of mosaics.

Did some window shopping, then went to Harry's Bar for a Bellini. I was warned. I heard it is very expensive. One American tourist paid 26 Euros for a piece of apple pie. He said it was the best pie he has ever had. That may be but I still think that is bananas. The prices are on the menu, there is no reason to pay that much for pie at Harry's. It is worth the price of a Bellini however. They are around the price you would pay in the States and Harry's invented the drink. I love Bellini, how could I come to Venice and not have one? It's like when I went to Naples, I had to have some pizza. You can tell they make the Bellini fresh and not from a mix. It was very good.

Here are a few pics:

The Grand Canal taken from the Rialto Bridge. Photos do not do it justice.


Some gondole hanging out.


I do not get the appeal of this all!! There was one man standing with his young son and they had pigeons all over them, including on their heads. Why? Also these pigeons must have gangs or something. I saw three separate pigeons fights. What the heck were they fighting about?



A traffic jam in Venice.

Finalmente! I have arrived in Venice.

The concierge has informed me that he will only speak Italian to me for the rest of the week. His English is better than my Italian but when I said a couple of words he said, in Italian "You know the language." Hello, that is a huge overstatement. ha.

It took forever to get here. L.A. to Zurich...I spent 11 hours sitting next to a man who snored loudly and was all up in my space. I know the seats in Coach are small but come on! Boundaries. I do like Swiss Air, I have never flown them before. The airport is so much easier to navigate than Charles De Gaulle and esp. freaking Heathrow. Then we took a little plane from Zurich to Venice only 45 minutes. Instead of paying 100 Euros for a water taxi (I will take one the way back) I took the ferry which was only 12 euros but hour ride.

When I walked into Saint Marks Square I just had to stand there for a minute, despite the freezing weather (to me). The long ass trip was worth it for that view alone.

My hotel is on a quiet side canal but close to everything. It's more of an apartment. I looooove it. If I could find a place like this in Rome I would be very happy.

Now I have to unpack. I was going to get something to eat but it's too late and I'm wiped out.

There is some prison show on RAI with a lot of yelling.

Italia week: food and wine

I could go on and on about two of my favorite things in the world but I won't. I need to start packing for my trip.

I have heard some Americans complain the food in Italy is not "Italian food". That statement confuses me. Each region of Italy has its own flavor (pun intended) so don't know how you can write off an entire country's cuisine.

I am looking forward to leaving a culture where food is seen by most people as a means to an end. Sorry, life is too short to be shoveling flavorless, mediocre food into one's mouth.

Here is a recipe and video from the Mestolando blog run by a couple in Florence. The recipe is for Penna Pasta alla Fiesolana. It's similar to a carbonara but uses a beciamella sause as a base.

Italia week: art

I could write about this subject for the next four months and only touch the surface. During my first trip to Rome I was floored by all the art and that it was so accessible.

Here is a close up on part of Bernini's masterpiece Apollo and Daphne.

Italia week: design

Italy is known for more than just red-tape. When is come to home design Italy is a major player in this world. There is section of Beverly Boulevard here that is home to several stores, like Alessi, Kartell, B&B Italia, Armani Casa, Cappellini etc.

I just love these Philippe Stark Louis Ghost Chairs from Kartell.



Based on a Louis XV chair this design works in almost any decor. They have chairs without the arms that come in a variety of colors. It doesn't make sense for me to buy one now (plus it's not in my budget) given my move. Maybe I'll get one for my desk when I move to Rome. Although with the poor exchange rate it will be painful.

Speaking of exchange rates, I went to the bank to get some Euros the dollar was at $1.53 to the Euro. WTF!! When is the slide going to end?

Italia week: a little fashion from Gucci

After a little music, calico (soccer), film it's time for some fashion.

I believe Frida Giannini was recently hired by Valentino. She had a tough time at Gucci following in the footsteps of Tom Ford. She was always being compared to him. However, since she took over, ready-to-wear sales have gone up. I loved Tom's designs but how many "regular" women could wear his clothes? I think Frida was head of accessories under Tom and I am huge fan of their bags (which is why I avoid all Gucci stores.)

I love Pat McGrath's work. She is the top make-up artist in fashion. British via Jamaica she is also a make-up consultant for one of the big brands here.

One downside of living in such a warm climate is, I don't get to wear fall clothes too often. It's going to be 82 today. Also L.A. is very casual and these kind of structured clothes look strange here. Of course I don't miss February in New York City, when it's freezing, gray and the sun doesn't shine for weeks. Rome doesn't get as cold as New York but the seasons are more noticeable. Fall is my favorite season. I can't wait to wear sweaters, tights, gloves and boots.

What is your favorite season for clothes and why?

Italia week: second Blogiversary, Cinema Paradiso

Two years ago I started this blog. I uesd to think blogging was weird. Why would anyone put their private thoughts online? I have to say, I am so glad I started this thing. I don't think I would have written my book or be moving to Rome had I not started to connect with people outside my insular little world. Here is my first post.

great now I have a blog
Very exciting. Have no idea who would read this thing but here goes.

This was actually a great week. "Hell A" seemed almost tolerable. I love my job but not a fan of the city I have to live in. I think it's getting better. Thank god, I've been here for 7 years. Voluteering and taking classes have really helped. In 2006 I am going to get out more. I know I said that in 2005 but that was before the company I worked for shut down. Hard to care about a social life when trying to pay the rent.

Now that the special election is over I can focus on really important things. For example Derailed. I am very conflicted about this movie. I love Clive and Vincent but never liked Friends. I'm a Seinfeld person. The commericals are not the most effective. Do I take a chance or just wait until Spike's movie comes out with Denzel AND Clive?

I wish I had Tivo so I could watch Oprah with Terry McMillian and her ex again. Fascinating.

Okay this post is boring to me and I wrote it. I am exhausted. I have a ton of reading for work this weekend and Italian homework I need to finish before class tonight.




Today's nod to all things Italia is the film. CINEMA PARADISO. This film won the Oscar for best foriegn film. If you love movies or movies about love, it's a must see. I'm going to watch it again this week. It will be a nice reminder of why I do what I do during this strike. The situation is getting very ugly. The studios are threatening to sue the television showrunners and NBC is thinking about having guest hosts fill in on the Tonight Show because Jay Leno refuses to cross the picket line (unlike Ellen...hello she is a member of the WGA. I can't believe she is still working). No new talks have been scheduled.

Italia week: Gennaro Gattuso

I have stated previously on this blog my appreciation for Mr. Gattuso.

I really have no idea what is being said in this clip from a popular comedy show. I do recognize some of the curse words. I think the body language sums it up. Around the 4:00 minute mark, the hand gestures are priceless. I don't know why the parking attendant thinks he can out run a soccer player. ha

This is it. Time for some Eros.

The reader just dropped off my ms. She said there weren't too many typos (phew) and that she really liked it.

I will be fixing the corrections this weekend and working on my query letter.

If I had not been in Toronto I would not have known Eros Ramazzotti has a greatest hits CD coming out this month (with a few new singles added). I heard this song on an Italian music station. It was the number one song on the countdown. Ricky Martin sings pretty well in Italian. I don't want to hear anyone speak ill of my Eros. I don't care if he is cheezy. He also records his CDs in Spanish and is huge in Latin America.

To celebrate finishing my book and my upcoming trip to Venice, it's going to be Italia week here at sistergirltales.blogspot.com. This will be much more fun than stressing about sending the ms out to agents or worrying about the writers strike.

Do you hear the sound of crickets? Day three of the writers strike.

Seven shows have stopped production already, including DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES. Without scripts they have nothing to shoot. All the late night shows started showing reruns on Monday. The two sides as of today are not speaking. Folks, we might be in for a long ass strike. I'm not going to get into the whole blow by blow but this is getting ugly. I am hearing from other execs that the studios are already letting assistants and junior executives go, and suspending talent deals. In eight weeks they can legally fire/terminate whoever they want and not have to pay out people contracts.

Many actors have joined the picket lines. They know when their contract is up they will be dealing with the same issues. The studio's rep is trying to paint the writers as greedy saying the avg. writer makes 200k a year. However, for every Paul Haggis who makes 2-4 million for the Bond sequel there are hundreds of writers who barely make guild minium every year. Here are some of the salaries of the studio heads. Disney's Bob Iger: $42.4 Million in ‘06. Fox's Chernin: $42.5 million in ‘06 and CBS's Moonves: $28 million in ‘06. Yes, this is with stock options and bonuses but these are people who are saying paying writers four more cents for DVD residuals is too much.

The office is so quiet. We left work early yesterday. I spoke to one senior agent who told me her phone rang only once. Yikes. I'm sitting here eating some chips and drinking Coke. I know I shouldn't but I eat when I'm nervous, cranky, stressed, romantically challenged, tired, worried, and bored so I have been eating non-stop since I returned from Toronto. The hold on my gym membership is finally up next week, that will help. I don't want a water taxi or gondola in Venice to tip over because I stepped into it. That would be bad.

David Rocco's "La Dolce Vita" and other things I miss about Toronto.

David Rocco's La Dolce Vita - This cooking show was on TLN (Telelatino Network). I think Food Network Canada was involved some how. David (I assumed he was Italian-Canadian) taped the show at his apartment in Florence. Each show would feature a few recipes and him and his wife and/or friends eating, drinking or shopping in Italy. The show was taped in English but there was voice over translating into Italian. I saw one that followed him during his vacation on the Amalfi coast...bellissima.

Serie A soccer games on Sunday - One of the Fox sports channel (here in L.A. you might see some U.K. games or Mexican games) would show the games, as would TLN. TLN had a show called Soccer Fanatics where two men and one woman would analyse the games. Very informative.

The Sopranos dubbed - I was so excited when the FBI agent said to Adrianna "dobbiamo parlare" (we have to talk) and I understood. Every other word was a curse word. I didn't realize they cursed that much. ha.

Foriegn news - There was more of it. They covered things going in the U.S. and all over the world.

Walking everywhere - I have already gained back some of the weight I lost. :(

The cast and crew (esp. FH man)

The diversity

Thick walls, not hearing every single thing my neighbors do

The view from the gym in my building of Lake Ontario

Friendly people

Jamaican pastries

Terroni - one is opening here in 3 weeks.

Bonjour Brioche

Normal looking people, instead of Botoxed to death faces

Fall weather and the leaves changing

One day I got lost and ended up on this road, 30 minutes or so north of Toronto.


The cow looking at the camera is posing.


Can someone tell me what the show "C'è Un Posto per Te" is about? Some celeb would sit behind a wall and the host, with a very raspy voice and lots of cleavage would talk, talk and talk. Is it some kind of "This is your life" type of show? The people on the other side of the wall would usually tear up as would members on the audience. Is the title's translation "There is a place for you?" I had to watch one day when Gennaro Gatuso was on. I had not idea what the heck anyone was saying.

I am almost done with my book, so why am I freaking out?

I am terrible with typos. I am trying to catch all of them but out of 93,000 words there might be a few that slip by. All weekend (breaks for meals) I worked on my manuscript.

Friday and Saturday were very frustrating. I woke up at 5:00 a.m. and by 8:00 there was major construction going on. There is a new condo building going up two lots over. Next door my landlord is putting in hardwood floors. All day there was loud banging in that apartment. I think she is having a hard time renting the space out (good!). I know she is asking some outrageous price. I guess she finally realized she had to change the old carpet. People are not that crazy.

The new neighbor upstairs must have 40 lb weights attached to his legs.

Saturday was just awful. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't go to a library because I was reading the ms out loud. It's the first time I have done that cover-to-cover (thank you Walter Mosley for that tip).

If I finish the corrections this week I will start sending it out to agents. I am not "going wide" just testing the waters first to see what kind of feedback I get. I am so worried but feel like it's time. If I don't do it now I am going to put it in a box and never take it out.

This whole process is so subjective. I hope one of the agents will respond to the ms.

To add to the stress of the weekend, my immediate boss and I had a very long talk on Friday about the writers strike. I asked her to please give me at least 30 days notice if they are going to let me go.

Writers strike called.

Just got home from dinner with a writer. The Writers Guild of America has called a strike, date and time to be announced tomorrow. The studio's rep was saying earlier today they had reached an impass because the writers would not back down from their DVD/new media demands (the studios want them taken off the table). Now that a strike has been called the same rep said they could work out this contract this weekend.

We'll see. Nobody wants a strike. The last strike was 20 years ago, lasted five months and cost the industry over half a billion dollars in revenue. Careers were destroyed. Back then flim/tv was not competing with video games, YouTube, Facebook, Myspace etc. I think the hard line taken by the studios is posturing. They must be concern about the low TV ratings this season. Having to resort to reruns or reality all the time is going to make it worse. Some of those eyeballs they will not get back. The writers are not asking for the sun and the stars. Without them there would be no narrative films or scripted TV shows. Don't brag to Wall Street about how your profits are higher than ever then come back to the talent saying, a four cent increase in DVD royalities would ruin your business model. I have an idea, stop paying "A-list" actors 25 million plus 20 percent first dollar gross and maybe your business model would work.

The studios need to step up on the DVD/new media demands and the writers should forget about trying to get reality show "writers" in the union (eventhough the host of reality shows are members of the Screen Actor Guild). SAG (the Screen Actors Guild) and the Teamsters have publicly stated their support. SAG's contract isn't up until June 08 so they can't strike but when they are not working they can picket. The Directors Guild has been very quiet.

Half a million people, crazy outfits, disco, and helicopters.

There are a bunch of news helicopters hovering over my apartment. I hope they are not there all night. Santa Monica Boulevard has been shut down to car traffic. Three radio stations have booths set up along the Boulevard and folks are dancing.

The big outfit this year, like every year, is anything that will show off a six-pack and a tight butt. I saw many very fit men but they were all gay. I did see one man dressed like Britney at the VMAs. He had two boy dolls on a chain and was dragging them on the pavement. There were several Posh and Becks couples, one was straight the others were not.

No comment.


I have no idea why the photo is this way. It was correct in iPhotos. Snow White was having a great time.


I thought this group was very creative. They had a car and everything.


This man's outfit was scary. It looked so real, especially that crazy thing below his waist.


I believe Batman used to wear more clothes.

Tomorrow is Halloween...my neighborhood is going to be insane.

I will have to leave work early so I can actually make it back to my apartment. The streets are closed off and the traffic is horrible on Halloween.

The West Hollywood Halloween Parade is one of the largest in the country. I'm not dressing up but maybe I will check out some of the festivities. If I get any good pics, I will post them.

Another break-in, Kitson West Hollywood, and a L.A. landmark.

Two more reasons why I'm happy about moving.

In the two months I was gone three of my neighbors moved. There are under fifteen units here. One of them told me he was robbed. The weird thing is there was no forced entry. He travels alot for work. While he was gone someone took his laptop which was on his bed and $4,000 in cash which was in a box in his closet. Okay, I'm not sure why anyone would have that much cash sitting in their apartment. He said that one of the maintenance workers had been in his apartment recently to do some repairs. He hasn't seen him since.

The kicker is my neighbor is going to move into another building our horrible landlady owns. That makes no kind of sense. She is "letting" him break the lease since he hasn't been here a year. Wow that is so generous of her. This is a very safe area and we never had any problems until this (____) bought our building. Last year another tenant had his laptop stolen when the her guys were here fixing something in his apartment. She said the two girls living next door had something to do with it. Yes, I'm sure the Tri-delt girls stole their neighbor's laptop. Once they moved out she refused to give them their securtiy deposit. She also did the same thing to another one of my former neighbors. This chick is a piece of work. I have to call her to find out wha my rent increase is going to be because she never gives us a 30 day notice. Then she will call you and say you underpaid. Technically without the 30 days notice we don't have to pay the increase but life is too short to deal with her.

My gym membership is still on hold so I have to work out by walking around. I know other Bloggers like to show things like The Pantheon, The Chrysler Building, The Golden Gate Bridge and things like that. I have other things to show. Travel and Leisure's current issue has their latest City Survey where readers rate their favorites cities. Los Angeles received high marks for luxury boutique shopping but low marks for accessibility/public transportation, friendliness, and intelligence (ha!! even I think that is mean).

As I was walking down Melrose I saw something that shook me to the core.

This part of Melrose gets pretty congested. Great, now that this store is opening, we will have even more paparazzi craziness. Kitson on Robertson is the spot where Lindsey, Paris etc. go to shop. I used work around the corner and always thought it was a fantastic place to get nice gifts. I'm not sure how or why it turned into such a Us magazine staple. I think it's funny the Bohdi Tree Bookstore, a crunchy, new agey store is right across the street.


Kiki de Montparnasse is a lingerie brand started by Toronto native Jennifer Zuccarini. The art major opened her first store in NYC and now is opening one in L.A. Her stuff is gorgeous. This was the sign in the window. I don't really get it. Joking.


Paul Smith's store really stands out.


Where it all started. There is a cute cafe in Fred Segal. If you are in L.A. and feel the need to see celebs, you can come here and see them not eat.

The number one question I was asked at an Italian dinner party.

How old are you?

Followed by disbelief then, "Yes, you must move to Rome."

As some of you know, I spend my Friday nights reading some scripts, watching Clint and Stacey on TLC's WHAT NOT TO WEAR and then I'm in bed by 10:00.

Yesterday G tells me at 5:00 p.m. the friend he is staying with decided to throw a dinner party at the last minute. If I want to come it starts at 8:30. In passing he had mentioned this guy (let's call him G#2) was an artist, they grew up together in Milan and he lived in Beachwood Canyon. You can find some deals/rent stablished places in the flats of the Canyon but the Hills are very expensive. Most artists barely eek out a living. G neglected to tell his friend lived in the Hills of the Canyon. I drove around for almost an hour trying to find the side street off Beachwood Drive. Of course I forgot my cell phone at home. There is nobody on the street, because it's L.A. and nobody walks here. I finally drive down the to bottom of the Canyon and the gas station attendant couldn't be more rude when I asked if he knew where the street was. At this point I was very frustrated. There was a pay phone in the back. It looked like it harbored several infectious diseases. Thank God I had some change. I dialed G's cellphone and what did I hear? His outgoing message. ugh!

Back at the station, I asked a woman if she knew the street. She asked her boyfriend. They live in the area and it was still difficult for them to tell me how to actually get there. It turns out the house is at the top of the ridge. For any folks who live in L.A. you know what it is like trying to drive in the canyon hillls at night. Pitch black, sharp turns on narrow roads, coyotes walking in front of you and staring you down, and getting lost.

I finally make it to the house and the host G#2 is gorgeous (and married with two beautiful children). He is a perfect host greeting everyone who comes in and getting them drinks. I see G by the stove and he yells out "you made it. We were so worried about you." Then he starts laughing at my message (I used a lot of the"F" word). He had his phone with him but the reception up there is spotty.

This house was bananas. Views of the Hollywood sign and the reservoir on one side and expansive views of L.A. on the other. I almost cried when I saw the walk-in shower in the master bedroom. It was the size of my living room.

The pasta was delicious. I was talking to another American, who had just moved to L.A. from San Fran to pursue her acting career. She had lived in France for 3 years. She said she was shocked there was food at this party (she arrived around 11:00 and it had turned into more of a party, instead of a sit down dinner thing) and more importantly that people were eating. ha

G told all the Italians I was moving. Two of them I have met before and they work in the Industry. Since I'm over 35, the Italians, esp. those in the biz, got where I was coming from right away. One woman C, said "it's good for you to be so positive but I want you to call me after you've tried to set up your Internet, especially since you will be trying to do it in English. I'm curious to see how you will feel about Italy then." G said, "Come on, why are trying to scare her?" Then they started arguing in Italian. She did say I could find a place for less then 1000 Euros. Her friend has a nice one bedroom in Trastevere for 800.

It's funny, what C mentioned are the things that keep me up at night. Not walking away from a great (but low paying) job but trying to do basic things. When I rented an apartment in Trastevere last year I ruined two shirts because I didn't understand the washing machine directions. I couldn't switch my cell phone to English instructions by myself.

The friend, S, who introduced me to G couldn't be more helpful and said I should call him regarding any production jobs in Italy. He has lived in America for 17 years and is torn. He wants to move back to Milan but he just signed a production deal with an indie company based in NYC. He told G he better look out and take care of me. G said he is on the apartment search and then will try to find me a boyfriend. haha. S knows a black American woman who worked in banking with him in New York. She took a 3 month sabbatical to Italy. She is still living there seven years later with a husband and two children. He mentioned another American expat who is a book agent in Milan that I should meet. C told me to call her the minute I get to Rome.

The party was very fun. I learned some new words and met some very nice people. I was laughing with the other women because there were maybe 6 men at the party and over 30 women. What the hell? We gave G a hard time about it. One woman, a Roman who was born in L.A., just moved back to America and works at this production company that is a super tough place to work (because the people there are crazy, in the truest sense), we will go to lunch/drinks soon and I will try to stop by her Halloween party tonight but I have plans.

Okay, now I have to stop by my office and deal with my desk. I was so backed up at work this week I didn't have time to get organized.

Mi dispiace, non ho capito (I'm sorry, I didn't understand)

This is a sentence I said often today. I met with G an actor friend who lives in Rome. He is from Milan via Sicily and is out here for meetings.

G is the first person I met in Rome. We went to lunch at 'Gusto Osteria. He asked how I knew his friend and I said I didn't. We met through a friend of his who is a friend of one of my friends (the one who moved back to NYC and has the Swedish fiancee). We had a three hour lunch that day and then I must have spent another hour talking on the street with him and half of Rome. Every block we bumped into someone he knew. My last day in Rome we went to see a Peggy Guggenheim exhibit and walked all over the Monti area. He is a great guy.

Today he was speaking Italian so quickly, I had no idea what he was saying. He told me I could call him when anything in my apartment-to-be in Rome breaks. G has been so encouraging about the move. He is going to ask friends about apartments since word of mouth is the best way to find a deal. I would like to stay in the 800-1000 Euro a month range because with the low dollar I will be actually paying much more. ugh!!! He said 800 would be tough, even 1000 is pushing it. I said I would love a place with a little terrace. He busted out laughing. Hey, it doesn't hurt to ask.

I told my parents today. My mom was super quiet. My dad said he had to process the info and would call me back. They knew I wanted to move but were surprised by the earlier date. I still have to see what the post-production schedule is on the movie before I can nail down a date. I'm thinking March or April, which will be here before I know it.

Speaking of Italia, I ordered some books on Venice from Amazon. I just realized I will be there in four weeks!

Under the Parisian Sun...a story

Thanks to yesterday's comments I decided to write a little story to take my mind of the fact that I am sitting here looking at stack of scripts. Today was my first day back at work. My immediate boss called me and I'Med me from France, saying the crew misses me esp. FH man, and thanks for respresenting the company well. Apparently the hotel they are staying in is very nice unlike the not so great place in Hamilton. Sigh, once again.

Yesterday it was suggested I pack my stuff send it to my family and just move overseas. Or go to the airport and fly to France with the clothes on my back, like in a typical Rom Com (how we in Hollywood refer to Romantic Comedies). Picking up from that idea:

I would need a sassy best friend to drive me to the airport. The sassy best friend could be a smug married or a gay man offering all types of advice to their single straight friend. Of course on the way to the airport there would be major traffic and I would almost miss my flight. Cue the montage of wacky L.A. road rage, me hyperventilating, an officer pulling us over, the sassy best friend saying I needed to get my man and the officer replying YOU GO GIRL! eventhough we are not really saying that phrase in that context anymore (it has gone the way of OH SNAP!)

I arrive at the airport in France after flying all night and I hop into the cab of a driver who hates Americans. I get to the hotel. The snooty concierge tells me the crew has checked out of the hotel, zut allors! In reality I would call the Toronto production office or my office for the number but that is not rom com movie logic. Instead I freak out.

I wonder the street of Paris crying as a light rain falls. I sit on a bench wondering why did I fly all the way from L.A. At that moment a very aggressive mime starts to bother me. Turns out he is not a mime but a mugger and steals my purse. I am now a foreign city without my passport or money. I look up at the sky and ala Nancy Kerrigan I scream "WHHHHYYYY?!" I find a police station and there is a kind officer, who tries to help me. He too knows disappointment. He used to work security at Hermes but got fired after Oprah had, as she called it, "her Crash moment." He wasn't the one who wouldn't let her in but he was let go like everyone else on that shift. "Fate can be a cruel mistress," he said. While he tried to call the American Embassy, I took a nap on one of the hard benches.

I woke up to a major commotion. The streets were filled with chaos. It was a strike protesting the opening of a Pinkberry. First Disney Paris, then McDonalds and Starbucks and now frozen yogurt? A line had to be drawn. The Parisians were against eating a substance called yogurt that had no milk in it. What would happen to the French cows if Pinkberry conquered France? The police station cleared out, they had more important things to worry about. I walked outside and tried not to get trampled. In the distance I saw the mime eating a large Pinkberry yogurt topped with strawberries. I gave chase. We ran through colorful markets and bumped into French people who said Merde!

I almost caught up to him but he was too quick. I crossed the most beautiful bridge in Paris and yelled "Help, stop that mime!" A tall, very handsome guy grabbed him. It was FH man! He walked over and gave me my purse. He didn't ask how or why I was there. We kissed. There were fireworks, literally. True, it was not a holiday and the middle of the day but a rom com ending practically demands such things.

The End.

Fires, the movie ONCE, annoying neighbors

I am back in Los Angeles. It is hot and it's going to be 92 degrees tomorrow! I guess I won't be wearing the winter jacket I bought in Toronto at Mountain Equipment Co-op any time soon.

There was/is a massive fire in Malibu. A church and a 17 million dollar home were among the structures that burned down. The Santa Ana winds are fierce which is a problem. As we flew into LAX we saw that the entire basin was covered by smoke. As bad as the Malibu fires are, San Diego county is in big trouble. Over 250,000 people had to be evacuated. One town pop. 36,000 has been demolished. There are also fires in Big Bear, Santa Clarita and north of us.

On the plane I watched the movie ONCE. I wanted to see this little gem of a movie earlier but missed it. It's an indie movie from Ireland that won the Audience Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival. I loved this movie. The music was great and moving. Fox Searchlight distributed the movie here in the U.S. and I assume it will be out on DVD soon. I guess you can say it's a romantic comedy/musical.

I have been gone for two months. Why when the car service dropped me off was my annoying neighbor sitting where I left him? I bet he didn't even move from that spot. He lives in the building next door. His balcony looks down unto my patio. He does nothing but smoke all day and yell at his wife. I'm not sure where he is from, he moved here recently. He speaks very loudly to my next door neighbor (the one with the little tea cup dog that barks non-stop) and carries on a long conversation.

Oh well, what can you do?

FH man sent me an email from France wondering why I wasn't there. Sounds like things are going well and everyone I've heard from said the food is amazing. sigh.

The write stuff.

Today is my last day in Toronto. I am flying out tomorrow morning back to Los Angeles. It is sunny and mild today. I think I will go out for a walk this afternoon.

Yesterday I started the final rewrite of my novel. I have not touched it in almost two months. I must have been crazy to think I could write during production. I was waiting for my freelance editor to send me her line edits but she just had a baby. Hopefully I will get the ms next week. In the meantime I can continue to write.

I created a playlist on my iTunes with 120 songs for this rewrite. Most of list is compiled of songs I heard when I was in Italy or when I was working on earlier drafts.

I am excited to be writing again. I reread Walter Mosley's book on writing and got inspired.

Said good-bye to FH man.

I am sad. We might meet up in L.A. or Rome. Who knows. He leaves tomorrow and we had lunch today.

(Okay, I am not making this up. Al Green's "Tired of Being Alone" just came on my iPod. I think I will go slit my wrists now.)

FH and I talked about his break up with his ex-wife. I get why he is not going to be in a serious relationship any time soon. It was a brutal split for him. Personally I don't know how anyone comes out of a situation like that and not be bitter or closed off.

I starting thinking of how we read people. Because of his looks and all his traveling, food, friends, music interests, I thought he might be a player at first but he isn't at all. He is actually from a small Canadian city, down to earth and while extremely flirty is kind of traditional. I don't think he knows how other people (esp. women) see him. He was with his ex for a long time, so he has been out of the dating scene for a long time. To hop back in at 37 when you thought you were going to be with your best friend for the rest of your life, most be difficult.

I remember a conversation I had with my friend's fiancee. She left L.A., moved back to New York City and met him shortly thereafter. He is Swedish but has no accent. People assume he is very well put together American (ha). I asked him what surprised him about living in the States. One thing he mentioned was dating. He is in his late 30s. The women he went out with here were under tremendous pressure to get that ring. He said back home, people go out in groups a lot and once your relationship is serious you have a pretty strong foundation. He felt it was the reverse here. People get very serious quickly before they really know each other. They put very high expectations on the relationship that most cannot meet or sustain.

I think he has a point. I wonder why I had a moment of "what is going on here?", I mean I just met him a few weeks ago. I had some friends saying to me, "you need to close the deal." Really? Why? Anyway, I had fun, he said he enjoying getting to know me and going out.

BTW, we went to Beer Bistro on King Street. He had this butternut squash ravioli that was amazing. They have a very wide selection of beers and offer pairing suggestions on the menu. My beer was excellent, of course I can't remember the name.

(Now U2's "Beautiful Day" is playing. Someone is messing with me today. :)

It's a Wrap.

Today was the last day of shooting. We were in the middle of a farm. Very beautiful.

Last night we had the official Toronto wrap party. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. I had two pints of beer, which was a pint and a half too many. My boss kept walking over to our table because we (five women) were somewhat loud with our laughter and he wanted to know what was so funny. One of our most innocent looking and classy co-workers was telling us some of her dating stories. All I have to say is...there are some freaky men out there. Haha

We got into a heavy conversation about religion, spirituality, and relationships. Several members of the cast and crew were playing poker. I stayed away from the table. There is no need for me to lose money. FH man did okay and I enjoyed the walk home.

After the last shot today, everyone was hugging each other and saying good-bye. This has been one of the nicest and hard-working crews I have worked with. One of my co-workers heard me mention the new John Grisham book PLAYING FOR PIZZA. Of course I have to read it because it is yet another book about an American expat in Italy. When I went back to set yesterday, she had bought it for me as a gift. What a nice surprise.

Clubbing, Niagara Falls, and a few tears.

I had a great weekend.

Saturday night I met FH man and some other members of the crew at Circa. It used to be called Lucid. It's on John Street, 4 floors, with 9 bars and a capacity of 3,000. It was quite a scene. Each space has its own DJ playing different genres of music. At first we were upstairs then went down to a VIP room to hang out. The music was fantastic. I danced with a few of my co-workers and had so much fun. There was a bouncer who was a little too touchy feely but he was nice. He introduced me to one of his co-workers, a young college student. His parents were from Senegal and the Congo but he grew up in Italy and spoke 5 languages. We talked for a while and he was so sweet to not laugh at my crazy Italian/English conversation. Around 2:30 (after a few drinks) I was wiped out and walked with FH man. He said he wanted to come to the falls with me but he had to pack up his apartment. He is going to be traveling in the Middle East after the movie wraps.

The Falls are incredible. If you are in Toronto, it's well worth drive but get there early. The crowds are insane. The area around the Falls is pretty tacky. Lots of wax museums. I drove to a cute town called Niagara on the Lake for lunch. I ate at Shaw's Wine Bar, not cheap (my burger was $20) but the food was good.

This morning as I drove on the Don Valley Parkway on my way to set, I remembered I'm leaving a week from today. Some tears where shed. :(

A shot of the Horseshoe Falls which are on the Canadian side. The Amerian Falls are more narrow.


Uhmm, that is a lot of water


I declined to take this boat ride. I can't swim.


Look how high the mist rises. At first I was bummed that it was so cloudy but I now I think the photos look interesting in this light.


Standing on the edge. The sound of the water is deafening.


I wondered what happed to Taylor "Tell It To My Heart' Dayne.

Miracles do happen...I went on a date.

Okay so most people would think "so what, big deal. I have dates all the time." Since I am not doing online dating my options are very, very limited. I did not have a single date in '06 and I believe I didn't in '05 either. Could it be possible I didn't have one in '04 either? What the hell? This could give a woman a complex or something.

Let's see I have been in Toronto for less than two month and I have had more dates here than the last 3 maybe 4 years in Los Angeles. I wrote the following on New Year's day as one of my resolutions for '07:

"Go on at least one proper date. Not sure how I will accomplish this goal but I figured it wouldn't hurt to say it out loud. I am so ovah this "strike". My mom asked my brother in law during the holiday about fixing me up with one of his friends. Between my hairstyle and my single status she is very concerned about me."

FH man and I went to Hiro's on King for lunch. Hiro Yoshida is considered one of the best sushi chef's in Toronto. FH loves to eat and is a lot more adventurous than I. He ordered the Omakase style menu. Hiro makes several courses and you eat what he makes for you, including monkfish liver (FH insisted I try some of his and it was was very good). I ordered from the menu, included a couple dishes FH recommended. Of course he knows Hiro. I wish someone had told me the wasabi is put in the sushi, not on the side like most places I've been to in L.A. My eyes were watering. At one point I grabbed FH's arm for support. It felt like I had snorted the wasabi. haha

We had sake and talked for hours. The food was so delicious. When the bill came I reached for my wallet but homeslice whipped a card before I could even see the check. We might stop by a party tonight.

After lunch I went to set. I had to sit outside all night because our location (a restaurant) was too tight for the video monitors. We wrapped the indoor location at 2:00 a.m. then I was in a van following a camera rigged car for the next three hours as we drove up and down Lakeshore Blvd. By the time I got dropped off at base camp and drove home it was almost 6 in the morning. I tried to sleep in, still work up early and just got back from the gym. If I am to stay up at all tonight I will have to take a nap or something this afternoon,

Women's Murder Club, FH man is quite fit, Jude and Drew

Tonight is the premiere of Women's Murder Club on ABC at 9:00 p.m. (check your local listings). The show has good buzz and is based on a series of James Patterson books. However, the only reason I'm writing about it is because Nichelle Tramble is one of the writers. She is a very talented novelist and this is her first TV writing job. I will be working but wanted to spread the word. Go Nichelle!!

Yesterday was a very interesting day. These split days are killing me! I still wake up early but our call time was at 12:30 p.m. and we shoot unilt 1:00 in the morning. We were on a stage at a studio for half the day. All the stages were busy. The HULK was next door, REPO MAMBO was on the other side, GREY GARDENS was shooting as well.

FH man gave me a big hug when I arrived on set. He is 6'2 so in the past the hugs were more like a shoulder to shoulder thing as he would bend down (I'm 5'2). Yesterday was a full on hug and he was wearing a T-shirt. As my British friends would say "he is quite fit", meaning hot, fine however you want to call it. He is not too cut, just athletic, like a soccer player or swimmer. He is in his mid 30s and works out. I am very happy about that.

Last night we were shooting on a rooftop. It was FREEZING and started to rain. FH came over and gave me another hug to try and warm me up. At one point I had to go inside. I couldn't feel my toes. Meanwhile our Gaffer (a native Canadian) was wearing shorts. Tonight is supposed to be even colder and we are shooting today from 4:30 p.m. to 6 in the morning. I do not like night shoots. To make things worse, FH man won't be there (maybe it's for the best. I get very punchy without sleep. I start singing, acting out scences with co-workers, anything to stay up.) FH man and I are supposed to meet for lunch today. We'll see.

I stopped by the REPO set to see if Forest was back in his trailer. One of our ADs is now working on that movie. When I was talking to him Jude Law walked out. He had a crazy hair-do for the movie, it's set in the future. I am more of a tall, dark, and handsome kind of woman but damn, pictures do him no justice, he is stunning. I was with a co-worker and we said "Jude is very attractive." The AD said "Copy that, do you want me to tell him?" To which I replied "Yes, go tell Jude Law we said he is fine." ha

I haven't seen Forest since he won the Oscar for LAST KING OF SCOTLAND. He was amazing in that movie. He kept telling me I looked happy, great etc. He is one of the few people I know in L.A. who has seen me up here and he couldn't believe the difference in my attitude. Last time he saw me, I was, perhaps, kind of bitter about how our company had shut down. Now I realize had I not lost my job two weeks before Christmas, and had all that drama going on in my life I would not have starting writing again and I def. would not have had the same experiences in Rome.

After our conversation, I went to watch my boss's photo shoot for a potential poster for our movie. He knows Forest and I wanted to see the shoot and tell him Forest was next door. While walking over I saw Drew Barrymore (She looked very glam in her costume. I missed Jessica Lange). HBO is shooting GREY GARDENS based on the famous documentary which was turned in a stage play. If you get a chance to see the doc, please do. It is so bizarre! One of the women is Jackie Onassis' aunt. It's about a mother and daughter (Big Edie, Litte Edie) living in this huge mansion in the Hamptons that is falling apart. Many art directors, fashion designers, and other creative people reference this doc.

I tried to sleep in today. I still woke up early. Just got back from the gym. I have no idea how I am going to stay up tonight. I am too old for all nighters. haha

Writer's striking November 1st? Nooooooo

It is not looking good in Hollywood. One friend told me she heard the studios will "lock out" the writers. The studios have already put the word out, they are not buying anything until they see what happens with the strike. The two sides are so far apart, everyone was assuming there would be strike, but in June '08 when the directors and actor's contracts were up.

The writers would actually cause more damage if they strike now. TV would be screwed. The entire season would come to a grinding halt until the strike was over. Any feature film shooting now or 1st quarter next year that needs any kind of script work would also be in trouble.

Most members of the Writer's Guild are not rich Hollywood players who make $1 million a script. Writers are treated like crap in Hollywood. I have had several projects where writers were hired and fired like it's not a big deal. I think we forget without a script there is no movie.

If this strike lasts long, the business will take months to recover. Personally, I will be out of job. The company said they would try to pay me part time or something but that would barely cover my rent. I am not going to stress out about it. If they go out November 1st I hope I could keep my job until at least the end of the year.

This would move up my timetable for Italy. There is no need for me to stay in L.A. without a job.

Finally, back in Toronto.

We were shooting in Hamilton last week. So was the HULK, which seems to be following us everywhere. Their movie has a massive budget compared to ours. One of our crew members joked that he saw a producer of the HULK driving around Toronto throwing cash out the window.

Hamilton is a steel town and very, um interesting. One night FH man and I went to dinner and bumped into a bunch of the crew. We ended up eating with half the camera dept. which was fun. One person said to me "Can you get crafty (craft services) a new blender? We need our protein shakes in the morning. You're powerful right, can you take of it?" ha.

FH did walk me back to me hotel (what a gentleman). I am salty at him today however, because I don't get what the hell is going on. Long story. We'll see what happens this week.

I took some photos using natural light. I turned off the flash and increased the ISO (our set decorator has the same camera and showed me how to do it).

Sunrise over a steel mill. The smoke and flames remind me of MAD MAX.



Lights, camera, action. We wanted to make this shot look like a rainy day in Halifax. We had a rain machine and a camera on a crane.



Creepy. This is in an old glass factory. We had to wear masks for two days. I cannot imagine working in a place like this. All the controls boards were in English and Portuguese because of the large number of immigrants who worked there.

"Are you going to be depressed when you come back?

After all you were in pretty bad state after you returned from Rome and you were only gone for a week. How are you feeling after two months in Toronto? Will you be able to come back here?" said by my boss.

I replied, "I can't predict the future. Who knows how I will feel in two weeks?"

If I worked for a bigger, more impersonal company I doubt we would even have these conversations. The production company I work for is small and my two immediate bosses are women. One is from NYC married with two young girls. She feels about L.A. the way I do despite living here for years.

My other boss is a native Angeleno. Grew up in Beverly Hills and both parents were a big deal in the entertainment business. She has two older kids. Both of them couldn't be nicer and caring. We talk about eveything, which can be a bad thing sometimes. I don't want to be seen as a lame duck executive but they can read me pretty well. At some point I have to tell them I am going to move to Italy.

I don't think they will be surprised. The day I received my French Passport, they asked me when I was moving overseas. Ha.

A good friend sent me the link below. This guy is a friend of a friend and was on Big Brother (I never watched the show but I have met him a couple times with my friend.) He was listed in some mag (Us or People?) as a hot bachelor. He is part owner with Ashton Kutcher of a bunch of restaurants in L.A. I have been to two of them and never need to go to any of them again. The food is horrible yet the places are packed. I do not get going to a bad restaurant because one of the owners is a celebrity. There are too many incredible places to eat in L.A. for me to spend any money at a place like Dolce.

I watched part of this. I couldn't stomach the whole thing. This quest for fame at all cost is bizarre to me. Why would someone think is was a good idea to go to his doctor/friend on national TV to removed a wart from his penis? ugh. I can't believe women throw themselves at this guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q18a8V7xcoo

I am calling an end to the strike.

At least outside of Los Angeles. Due to improved conditions I have decided to end my strike. For those new to this blog, I called a "strike" because of the deplorable dating conditions in Los Angeles. I felt I was taking charge of a situation that was forced upon me.

However, since I have been in Toronto, the talks have been going smoothly.

I cannot speak as to what will happen upon my return to the city of Angels. I was speaking to another producer who is up here for her film and she tells me the situation is unchanged.

She thought I was making things up about Toronto. Once she stepped off plane, she knew I spoke the truth. She has extended her trip. She must get her date on before she returns. Who knows when she will have one again?

It's fall...Venice, new shows, new movies, new clothes, very exciting

FH man is looking especially handsome and rugged today. We are shooting on a boat and it's cold.

This is my favorite season. I am so happy I get spend part of it in a city where there is actually a climate change.

Fall always meant new beginnings to me, more so than spring. I think it's because of the school calendar. I loved back to school shopping despite conversations with my mom like this:

8th grade

Me: "Mom can I get a pair of Guess jeans?"

Mom: "No. They are too expensive."

Me: "No they're not. All the girls have them."

Mom: Sucks her teeth loudly and looks very annoyed. "Why do I care what the other girls are wearing? You are going to school to get an education, not for a fashion show. Don't bother me with this foolishness again."

Me: Not crazy enough to argue with a salty West Indian woman. I let it drop and dream of the day I can buy my own clothes.


I was one of those geeky kids who salivated over the Mead notesbooks and binders. Something about the clean, blank pages made me excited...as if the new school year would bring great things to write down. In high school, fall meant football games on Saturdays and band competitions on Sundays. I got to spend the entire weekend out of the house after a long summer.

In the film world fall is the season of the smart and/or adult movies as we gear up for the awards season. I cannot wait to see P.T. Anderson's THERE WILL BE BLOOD, with Daniel Day Lewis. I think Anderson is a very interesting director and Mr. Lewis is one of the fiercest actors on the freaking planet. He hardly acts anymore but when he does, even when the movie is flawed (GANGS OF NEW YORK) you cannot stop watching him. He really commits, to the point where it must be a little scary to star opposite him. I wonder what Cameron Diaz (who was completely miscast) thought about working with him.

Being in production, I haven't had a chance to see all the new TV shows for fall. I did catch DIRTY, SEXY, MONEY and thought it was hilarious. The mean, snarky Episcoplian priest cracked me up. The show is like DYNASTY but with better clothes. Great cast and writing.

I caught another ABC show, PRIVATE PRACTICE. What the hell is this? Why are grown people acting like children? It's too silly.

Speaking of grown people, according to the mags, fall clothes are going to be more sophisticated. Finally! I wished I lived in a cooler climate so I could wear tights, gloves, the wool pencil skirts etc. I am so over the baby doll dresses (which look horrible on most body types) and the weird child-like clothes that have been popular the last few seasons. With my body type I like clothes that have more structure.

One new thing I am very excited about is my "post production/I am done (I will be by then) with my book" trip. I am using my left over per diem money to go to Venice for Thanksgiving. The weather will be a crapshoot but there will be fewer tourists and hotels are cheaper that time of year (however the low dollar is still killing me and it keeps dropping!) I have to stop looking at the exchange rates online and just enjoy the trip. I hear Venice can be pricey but I'm sure I will find good places to eat that will not break the bank. I am going for a week, instead of for only a 3 or 4 days (that would be a very long flight from L.A. for such a short period of time). I am looking forward to taking it easy and not running around trying to see everything on a checklist. That is the one big advantage of traveling by yourself to big cities, you are own your own schedule.

Nuit Blanche in Toronto w/FH man

Toronto had it's 2nd Annual Nuit Blanche (white night) last night. This all night affair was started in Paris and is also very big in Rome (Notte Bianca). I don't think any American cities do this specific event. In Toronto the focus is on contemporary art with galleries and many bars/restaurants open all night. Several streets were closed to car traffic and there were installations in the parks.

After we wrapped for the day yesterday, FH man asked me if I wanted to check out some art and maybe get some dinner. We went to Olive and Lemon for dinner (more on that later) and then walked for miles. The streets were packed. FH man said the crowds were much bigger this year as more people become aware of the event. We saw some good, bad, and just bizarre works of art. We bumped into a bunch of his friends and two actors from our movie.

I had a great time but I don't think it was a full on date, date. He did say after he walked me home (which was out of his way) we should go to this sushi place next. The kiss was a kinda weird cheek/lips hybrid. Haha Maybe he is just super flirty for the sake of being flirty, which is fun and fine with me.

One thing I thought was interesting was when we were walking through the massive crowds, sometimes he would end up in front of me and kept walking. I could have been trampled to death and he wouldn't have noticed. We went semi-dutch on dinner, with him paying more but then he had more food.

Perhaps I have been completely spoiled by my male Italian friends. You can't even cross the street with them without them holding your arm. And paying for dinner? Please, I have to beg them to let me pay sometimes.

Speaking of Italian, Olive & Lemon is owned by chef Giancarlo Carnevale who is Sicilian. The food and service were amazing. FH man does know the chef so maybe that had something to do with the service. The bruschetta was so simple, bread grilled with olive oil, garlic rubbed on it and some sea salt but so good. There was a fennel, olive topping on the side....outstanding.

I had grilled squid w/lemon and olive oil for my starter and the scallop risotto for my main course. I passed on dessert. I could not eat another bite. The risotto was so light and flavorful. FH introduced me to Giancarlo. He said that next time in Rome I need to look up a journalist friend of his who is fantastic. He warned me that she is "very Roman"...meaning blunt. FH man knows her as well and thinks the world of her. She used to live in Toronto.

Today on my only day off, I am meeting a producer in from L.A. for brunch and later a former agent who quit Hollywood and moved back home to Toronto. The latter is a friend of a friend. I have a zillions things to do including packing because we are shooting way out this week and most of the crew is staying overnight. I am going to for the first two nights then see how I feel about the long drive. We are staying in blah hotels (everything is sold out because of all the other movies shooting here now) and I'd rather stay in my own bed. I don't mind a long drive when I'm going against the flow of traffic.

Yesterday we were shooting in Miississauga and were right by the lake. Very pretty area.