I had an enjoyable week away in the big smoke. Strangely it has taken me several days to gather my thoughts on the events of the week… in order to relay them to you here in some sort of cohesive form. I still haven’t nailed it… but have decided to just start writing and perhaps (hopefully) the words will come. Like I said somewhere else… there’s nothing like a week away to put a hole in your “process” (grin)
It was a crazy week of ups and downs. E (middle daughter) & I set off on the early flight. The worst thing about this particular flight was having to get out of bed at that awful hour on a cold winter’s morning. But our considerable effort was soon rewarded… if not with the breakfast (which would have surely prompted any self-respecting able-bodied coeliac to retrieve their life vest from under their seat and run screaming for the nearest exit row window)… then surely with the dawn which heralded one of the most glorious winter morning sunrises on the planet! I’m sure the sun rises like this pretty much every day of the year… but it’s not every day I am at 30,000 feet to enjoy it!
As the plane landed we hit the shops running. First stop was (of course) the shoe department under the guise of needing “sensible” shoes for all the walking we were about to do. Huh… yeah right. Any woman reading this will know the truth… which is (as they say) out there… err… somewhere! ~grin~
Next stop was the Gold Coast… an hour’s drive south of Brisbane. I love the Coast. It is a happy mix of bright lights, big city and beach. Not too busy. Not too slow. Just right. A bit like Goldilock’s porridge eh? I have many happy childhood memories there… and a few grown up ones too.
It’s a great place to chill out and relax… although this time we chilled out a little more than expected with the temperature plummeting to a cold daytime maximum of 12 degrees C with misty rain driving in on a searingly cold south westerly wind. It IS however “winter”… so what did we expect? Though I forgive myself (in part) due to the fact that we DO live in the tropics where for most of the year it’s nigh on impossible to even imagine what it’s like to be cold. To add insult to injury… Melbournians who had flown up from the south for the winter seemed to be running around in little more than a loin cloth!
Moving on… we stayed in and cooked up a storm. When it fined up a little we rugged up and walked the beach with frozen toes and wind whipped faces. It has always fascinated me here… how close the high-rises are to the beach. Some of the tallest buildings in the country stand just metres from the sand in places. Whatever happened to building your house on a rock? *wink*
Around Wednesday the peace was shattered with a phone call urging me to check my email. A Hollywood production company had apparently contacted me about using some of my paintings in an upcoming TV series and wanted to talk with me urgently.
NOTE TO SELF: Don’t ever leave home without your laptop. Even if you think nothing’s going to happen while you’re away and you won’t need it… sure as God made little apples… if you leave home without it…something will happen. Same theory as life insurance… if you have it you don’t need it!
Long story short… it took me the next two days or so to establish what they needed from me… and then to endeavour to supply it. Figuring out how to get them what they needed in the fastest most expedient way without laptop… access to my digital files… landline or fax was a challenge. The time difference was a nuisance and the deadline was impossibly short. But I made it. Just. (Time for a Starbucks)
But then… in rolled the fickle and ever shifting sands of the entertainment industry and… pfoof!
The universe may move in mysterious ways… but she continues to prove time and again that she also has an enormous sense of humour!
The post production supervisor’s email, which went something along the lines of… “as is often the case there has been a change of plan”… and “I love your work so maybe next time”… came (surprisingly) with more relief than disappointment. After losing two days of my precious time away with all the running around… now at least I could relax and enjoy the rest of my holiday!
Ahhhh… c’est la vie… there’s always next time… (chuckles)
TO BE CONTINUED…
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
All of us here in L.A. involved in this business know that “Hooray for Hollywood” is uttered with more than a little bit of irony. Lovely account of the trip, but the best part of it was the photo of the sunset from the plane. Spectacular photographs of spectacular sunsets are far rarer than spectacular sunsets themselves, but you’ve hit the nail on the head with this one. A prizewinner for sure!
Thanks John! I liked that one too. I managed to get around five of them over a period of several minutes in various stages of the sun rising. There is some reflection from the perspex in the aircraft window but I’m sure that could be “doctored” out with a small amount of effort.
I love sunrises… although I see far fewer of them than I should! LOL I once caught a spectacular sunrise while staying right on the beach… and almost smashed the camera tripping over myself to get there in time.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned the hard way… it is that nothing’s ever lost… and that everything happens for a reason… opening doors to other (different) possibilities… sometimes possibilities we could never have imagined. The trick is in learning to let go and trust the process. That’s the hard part. I’m slowly getting better at it (grin)
Ah Jean..I had to have a giggle when you mentioned the “cold” temperature!!! We here in Orange have been having tops of 3 and 4 degrees, overnight lows of the same numerals but in the minus form! Going with the flow is something that is hard to “let” happen. We do have our imaginations and aspirations to contend with! How exciting to be contacted in the first place – I see that part of your story, as an inspiration and message to you that your work IS out there and IS being considered for other uses other than what you first perceived..well done!
The Gold Coast…..hmmmm. It has been over 20 years since I visited the place. Yes I agree that it is a shopping mecca and there is the blend of many choices with a different pace, an interesting and exciting place to go. But….being a “country girl”, it is not the place for me. Bring on the sunrises and the sunsets I say!!!
Thanks Jools
Believe me… it was cold (((LOL))) and I wouldn’t wish it any colder that’s for sure. Funnily enough I have been in Europe in the middle of winter and not felt so cold.
I have a theory about why it feels colder in places that are usually warm. Places that are usually “warm” simply aren’t set up for the cold… (no central heating… no pot bellied stove or warm fire… in fact no heating at all) and lots of glass and not the double glazed stuff either. I think also it’s knowing how to dress warm. We are so used to dressing cool… it takes time to get your head around the need to layer up! LOL
Oh I totally understand that!!! Lol! Being a southerner, layering up is a part of life here (at the moment we are expecting more snow…bbbrrrr!) And when the weather warms up (anything over 15 degrees!!) off come the layers with great gusto!! While I was in Darwin, it was such a treat to get around in just a cotton top and cool airy skirt or pants…aaahhhhh, I’m sure I left a pool of defrosted icicles – Lol!! With our brick homes here, built with the intention of retaining heat..if the heater is left off, it takes hours to warm the home up again, but once it is – no one wants to leave it! There is an absolute sense of “hibernation”!
I have a hard time rationalising that the water coming from the tap is actually “freezing cold” and not the tepid variety we are so used to. Rain is the same. In cold climates the rain is icey… here it’s just like stepping into a warm shower! (((LOL))) On the flip side it does get impossibly hot and humid here. I’d imagine living here in the summer without airconditioning would be akin to living there in winter without heating. Who knows… one day soon we may just have to do it!
Brushing ones teeth, washing hands and face is always a real “wake up” Jean!!! And a cold drink of water comes straight from the tap..not out of the fridge! Yes…I do think that ‘soon’ our ways of dealing with different climates will change – just as the climate is! Memories of ‘the old ways’ and stories handed down from generations past will surely be conjured. To make less of an impact while still remaining comfortable in our quest for survival, is the key.
I have seen far more sunrises than I have missed. I love the subtlety of the colors.
You’re a morning person then Roger? Not me I’m afraid. In fact it’s the sun that generally wakes me and by then it’s all over. The sunrise at 30,000 feet was pretty spectacular. I took as many photos as I could before wearing out my welcome with the people sitting behind! Each time I thought I had it… then the sky changed again… and the colour and light effects just kept getting better.
Every sunrise is a new beginning. Every sunset is the end of that day. I love the symbolism of that.
And all this in (what seems like) the blink of an eye… not fair that time should fly so.
Aha…but fly it does.
Sounds like you had a real break! I love sunrises too but am not a morning person. Now though, I try to get up for at least one every season. It’s a good compromise for me. Often during the holidays I will get up early to see it in a new environment if I am away. Then I can have a nap later in the day to compensate!
That’s a good idea Joh! At least then we could say (with all conviction) that we have done it (occasionally)! LOL
I found a lovely blogsite recently called “Thank you very little”. Colie is a photographer working with polaroid film. She also is one of the best little philosophers I’ve ever stumbled upon. Her grassroots accounts of lying flat on her back out in a lonely field under the stars or getting wet in the rain for the heck of it… put a reality check on life unmatched by some of our deepest academic thinkers. Reminds me that life may not be simple… but it’s the simple things we do that give it depth beyond measure. A paradox… I know! LOL