$ydney, Day One

I left Los Angeles Friday night just before midnight. I’d been trying for a week to figure out how best to prepare for the 17 hour time difference. I decided it would be best to mentally stay on Los Angeles time until I arrived in Sydney, at which point I would just stay awake until a reasonable bedtime and thereby be incredibly sleepy.

I slept fairly solidly for the first seven hours of the flight. Don’t get me wrong – these were not seven hours of good, restful sleep, but they were better than nothing. So when I woke up, it was nearly 8am on Saturday Los Angeles time, which meant it was about 1am Sydney time on Sunday. I decided to stay awake, and I actually felt pretty good. I napped on and off for the rest of the flight, but for the most part, I was awake.

Allow me to say here that Qantas is the best airline I’ve ever flown. Moving on…

Upon arrival in Sydney, I was so excited that I didn’t really care what time it was (it was about 8am Sydney time on Sunday – 3pm Los Angeles time on Saturday). I made my decision firm to live on Sydney time starting then. I went through customs/immigration, got some cash, bought some postcards, hailed a taxi and reached the hotel. Feeling good, I imagined it must be noon by now. Nope. 9:15am.

Since breakfast is included in the cost of my room, I decided to take part in the buffet. I reasoned I should eat at that point, thereby not having to spend a nickel on lunch, and then I’d just eat dinner at a normal time. Breakfast was uneventful and a little too European for my liking (they sure like roasted tomatoes and lunch meat for breakfast), but I managed to find some stuff I like. Satiated, I went upstairs. It must be noon by now! Nope. 10:45am.

I chatted with gina for a bit – she suggested I take a nap. I was very nervous about napping because I really don’t want to be awake all night. I decided I’d go explore the area of Sydney where I am. Of course, I never get the cool skyline view. Here’s the view from my room:





I think this is the town hall:



Kind of construction-y and tame, but I like it nonetheless.

Here’s the heated outdoor pool. It’s fall here, so not too many people are swimming. And by not too many, I mean to say that no one is swimming.



The weather is gorgeous here – the leaves are orange and the sun is shining. Upper 60s. I ventured outside and around the corner and saw what would undoubtedly keep me busy until the evening:







Shopping, shopping, and more shopping. So much shopping. And this is when I thought this area of Sydney should be called $ydney. I don’t even like to shop that much, but when I’m in a city by myself, there’s not really much else to do. And this was so bloody convenient. To my dismay, a lot of the stores were stores like Borders and… um… other stores native to America that I can’t think of right now. But I managed to walk into quite a few stores. After much deliberation, I bought this bag:



As I was heading back to the hotel, I noticed there was an entrance to what looked like an underground mall or something. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before I found myself underground walking through this mall that seemed to never end. I was getting a little claustrophobic and a lot dizzy. I only managed to snap this one shot, but this is what it looked like, for what seemed like miles and miles, and levels and levels:



I managed to make it outside to what I think is the town hall, and I saw this older couple feeding this crazy Australian bird:



Also:





I had to go back into the crazy dizzying mall to get back to the hotel, so I managed to make it through and buy a smoothie on the way. I snapped a few more shots outside – close-up shots of this guy painting the sidewalk:





And these cute kids playing their instruments:



I got back to the hotel, convinced it was about 5pm. Nope – 2:30pm. To pass the time, I went to the gym for an hour, came back to my room, took a long bath, uploaded the photos off the camera, wrote this long blog entry, and it’s now finally 6:00pm, which means I can feasibly order dinner and give myself two more hours before I can finally go to bed, of course not before popping a Vicodin. Please oh please let me be able to sleep.

Lessons from down under.

I just landed in Sydney this morning (Saturday afternoon in USA, Sunday morning in Australia) for my next international adventure. I was thrilled to be coming here for many reasons, but mostly because the country's official language is ENGLISH! Woo hoo!

I haven't explored much yet, but I have perused the hotel's restaurant dinner menu and have decided what I will NOT be ordering:

Kangaroo loin with bush spices

Maybe the first language isn't English, because in English, that sounds disgusting.

Today's (funny) ridiculously cute video

This might be officially the cutest thing I've ever seen. Be sure to watch the whole video - the best part is towards the end.

I wish I was [sic] a little bit taller.

I have a few tall girl-friends, ranging from 5’11” to 6’2”. At 5’7” (maybe 5’8”) I’ve always sort of prided myself on being kind of tall. And then I met these girls. No longer do I ever think I’m tall.

I was talking to one of the shorter of my tall friends Joey, who stands at a mere 5’11”. Joey often wears heels of some sort, and on those days, I would bet my life she’s just about 7’ even. In any case, as I’m sure it often does, her height came up in conversation at work yesterday when myself, Lisa, and Joey were chatting. Joey mentioned that she was the smallest one out of her siblings.

-How tall is your sister?

-6’0.

-How tall is your brother?

-6’4.

-JESUS!

-Well, my mom is 6’2, and my dad is 6’6.

-You’re KIDDING me!

-They did meet at Tall Club.

Lisa and I looked at each other. ”Tall club?!”

Just when I thought Joey could not get any cooler.

Joey was surprised she hadn’t told me, because it’s apparently a story she shares with a lot of people. She went on to tell us that her parents met at a Tip Toppers Tall Club mixer back in the day and well, the rest is history. She then told us that she tried to become a member but she’s too short! Women have to be 6 feet and men have to be 6’4”. She reminded them that she was born of two card-holding members, and shouldn’t that make her a legacy? Nope, too short.

We felt bad that someone as cool and as tall as Joey would be denied membership to any club, so we made her an Honorable Mention certificate for being ALMOST tall enough. We also put a tag line – Drink your milk and reapply next year! She loved it, and I believe she takes comfort in the fact that to us, she’s practically the president of the Tip Toppers Tall Club.

The world is a better place.

Here's gina holding Brady Stewart! Mama Kim is healthy and happy to not be pregnant anymore. Brady is huge and cute as ever, with a head full of strawberry blonde hair. He was in a hurry to get out - four hours once labor was induced, and only a mere 45 minutes after I got to the hospital.



Amazing.

UPDATE (already)

About five minutes after I hit "publish" on the last post, Kim called me. She's getting induced! Yay for the Peanut! Stay tuned for pictures of the new boy.

Playing God.

My friend Kim is about to give birth to her second son. I was at her first son's birth two years ago, which was easily the most amazing experience I've ever had, and I can't imagine anything being better except the birth of my own child. So naturally, I was thrilled when she invited me to be present at the birth of Baby Number 2, aka, The Peanut.

The Peanut is due on April 22nd. With my work schedule being as unpredictable as it is (it's not totally unimaginable to be asked today to leave tomorrow for a shoot on Friday), I've been carefully scheduling things in my life so as not to miss The Peanut's birth-day. I booked a shoot at the end of April so that it would make sense for me to stay in town this weekend. A group of old friends picked this coming weekend as the weekend to go camping because it was the only weekend I could assure them I'd be in town. I warned them I might be in the hospital with Kim, but I would try my hardest to make it to Woods Valley Kampground with a K.

Well, the date is fast approaching. Two weeks ago, Kim's doctor warned her she might go early. Kim was all for it, as long as it was after the 15th. The doctor warned her it might even be earlier than that. It's the 18th, and still no labor. I am sending all energy possible to the world for the Peanut to arrive early, because... well, because it would just be so convenient if he came before Friday. Also, it's not totally selfish - Kim is on the verge of miserable, completely ready to not be pregnant anymore. But mostly, I'm impatient and very eager to meet the new baby.

The reason I'm posting this story today is that today is her doctor's appointment, in which she will ask to be induced. The doctor's appointment was at 9am, and it's pushing 10am, and I still haven't heard from her. I'm on the edge of my seat with my phone in my hand, waiting. Excited, thrilled, and wondering if I'm this antsy about my friend giving birth, how I will be when it's my turn.

Today's Funny Video.

This is a new segment here at It's Katie, everybody! wherein I post a hilarious video that I've come across for your enjoyment. Please don't get too excited - this might be the only time I ever do this.

Rent's due

Universal language.

Found at the base of a statue in Curaco.

Enjoying baseball games with other people's children.

Gina and I went to a Dodgers game this weekend with two of Gina's friends. Gina and I loooove baseball games, and we're always looking for new traditions to start. We decided to go big this time and we got the $25 tickets instead of the cheapy seats. We had fantastic seats behind home plate - kind of up high, but they offered a great view:



We sat next to this 4 and a half year old little boy and his dad, and right around the fifth inning, this little boy decided that he really liked Gina. He had his eye on her ever since she bought a bag of peanuts in the 2nd inning. When he finally got the courage to ask for a peanut, the four of us had already finished the bag. Even though he was bummed out, he didn't hesitate to chat it up with us for the rest of the game. He even played along when we were giving bunny ears to the people in front of us as they tried to take pictures of themselves. He also helped Gina flag down the cotton candy guy, by standing on his seat and yelling, "Hey cotton candy guy!!"

A few minutes after we made our newest friend, another little boy came down to our seats with his mom and introduced himself to our little boy. The new little boy and our little boy were the same age, and they were talking about how they're going to kindergarten in the fall. As the conversation waned, the new little boy started saying, "I know lots of stuff. I know the baseball player's names, and I know all the signs and stuff..." The mom smiled and put her arm around him and said, "And the next thing we're going to teach you is humility. Enjoy the game! Nice to meet you all."

Because the Dodgers were losing so badly, Gina's friends asked if we would be willing to leave early. I said no way Jose, as I bought the tickets and growing up as a Cleveland Indians fan, I'm wired to think that the best baseball happens in the last inning. The little boy overheard our conversation and looked up at Gina: "Are you guys leaving?" We promised him we'd stay until the end and he informed us that he was staying until the end, too.

Well, the Dodgers failed to pull anything out, losing 7-2. We sat for a little while after the game, letting people file out before us. The little boy said his goodbyes to us, and his dad picked him up to carry him to the car. As they were walking away, the little boy grinned and waved and called out, "Let me know if you dream about baseball games!"

Movies

We went downtown this weekend, taking public transportation the whole way! Gasp! Per usual, we learned that public transportaiton in Los Angeles isn't really ideal. We waited for 20-30 minutes for a bus that metro.net said would come, and it never did. I have a feeling it was because three blocks of downtown were blocked off because of a film shoot. This annoyed me at first, until I noticed they were filming a rainy scene, and then I was riveted by the rain crane and all of the extras walking around carrying umbrellas. I couldn't stop looking.



If you click on the photo, you'll be directed to flickr.com, where I've added a few notes on the photo.

View from the Jewelry District in downtown Los Angeles.

I never get sick of that skyline.

Before & After.

I finally have a day off and have decided to post some before and after pictures of the apartment(s). I took quite a few pictures at the old apartment, but looking at them, there are very few I'm willing to share. I'm not sure how we managed there for a whole year. But boy-oh-boy, it was worth it.

Here is the "computer desk/dining room table" which lived in the kitchen in the old place. The table was given to me by KTP about four or five years ago, when I was making very little money and living by myself. It's been a great table - we have no plans to get rid of it. But it's moving to storage for now.



Here's the printer, on top of a lovely rubbermaid drawer set I proudly purchased in my younger days:



In the new apartment, we actually have a separate space for eating:





...and working:



And even some room for the Mana Mana guy and the Snowdens:

Sedative.

We finally bought a dining room table this past weekend at this fantastic furniture store called Target. It's a beautiful dark wood, counter height table with ridiculously comfortable chairs. Since it's arrival, we've been enjoying dinners at it every night. We set the table, the salt and pepper is accessible, and we actually talk to each other, instead of staring at the television while we eat. There have been significantly less spills because, well, a table is actually meant to hold food and drink, unlike the arm of a futon, which virtually promises bi-weekly spills accompanied by unnecessary but obligatory cussing.

To celebrate the new table, we opened a bottle of wine, a yummy Shiraz. We've been each having a glass of wine and a glass of water with dinner. This makes us both very pleasant to be around... I'm not sure if the heavenly feeling in the apartment is the result of the table or the wine. In any case, there is a very significant side effect to this increased wine drinking. I have been falling dead asleep on the couch at 9pm every night. This is what a half a glass of wine with dinner is doing to me.

Meanwhile, it took an Ambien AND a Vicodin to put me to sleep in Holland, and only for six hours at that. I'm thinking I should start requesting a higher per diem when I travel internationally, solely to support the glass(es) of red wine I'm convinced I need to start ordering with dinner.

This Charming Man

I finally got a chance to play with iMovie. Here's a little thing I made using the video feature on my Canon Power Shot.

Dutch treat.

I got back from Amsterdam late Tuesday night in what marked my very first trip out of the country (except for a quick trip to Toronto about 8 years ago, which really doesn't count, because it's only just across Lake Erie, and then Lake Ontario, and it was very much like America except for the whole Metric system thing). A better writer would be able to fully describe the emotion that accompanied this trip. I can only attempt such a feat.

Our plane landed in Amsterdam, where a 115 mile drive to Venlo awaited us. Venlo is a small-ish city on the border of Holland and Germany. I learned that the countryside of Holland looks just like Ohio, except with a lot more Dutch street signs, and rush hour is the same no matter where you go - it sucks. It took us over three hours to get to our hotel. Sick with fatigue, I laid down in my bed, expecting sleep to rush over me like a flood. It never came. Well, not until 5am the following morning, and my alarm went off at 7am. Fun!

I'm sure the lack of sleep contributed greatly to how emotional I was the whole trip. I was overwhelmed to be in a place so far away from home, so far away from anything I know. I was immediately homesick, even though I was thrilled beyond belief to be there, and so grateful for the experience. Almost everyone in Holland speaks English, but not to each other. I learned that no one else in the world speaks Dutch, so when Dutch kids are growing up, they're forced to learn English. However, they don't speak English to each other. All day every day was hours upon hours of white noise - walking around and hearing people talk but having no idea what they're saying. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, but I certainly didn't expect it to affect me the way I did.

This was a work trip, but I was blessed to be able to spend a lot of time with Gina's brother, sister-in-law, and their son Giovanni. I posted a bunch of pictures of him when he was born a YEAR AGO. Here he is now:







The whole time I was there, I was just so taken aback with how beautiful all of the architecture was. I took A LOT of random pictures of EVERYTHING. Here are some shots from Venlo:













Here's a shot outside of our hotel in Venlo:



At the end of our trip, we headed back to Amsterdam to shoot some scenics there. Amsterdam is officially the coolest city I've ever been to. These pictures do not do it justice.











There are more bikes than cars in Amsterdam:




Craziest language ever.



Every minute I spent in Amsterdam, I couldn't get over the thought that I was walking through a history book. Just imagining all of the things that have happened there, specifically in relation to World War II, I was so humbled, and felt a reverence I've never really felt before. And the whole time I was there, I couldn't help but think over and over again how grateful I am, that this is my job, to travel all over the world and meet new people and have interesting experiences. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought I'd be this lucky.

Mmm... coffee.

I've been meaning to write about our BRAND NEW APARTMENT and how UTTERLY ENORMOUS it is, but it's been a very, very busy week. We did move and we're just about all moved in. I can't wait to be able to post the before and after pics I have planned. In the meantime, I am entering the month of March with hesitation and excitement. Here's why:

Currently in:
Seattle, WA

Fly back:
This weekend for gina's marathon - more commonly known as The LA Marathon

Leaving for:
Holland, next Thursday

Flying back:
To LA the following Tuesday

Leaving for:
New York City on St. Patrick's Day

Returing to LA:
March 20th

Possibly leaving for:
Buenos Aires on March 21st.

Returning to LA:
March 27th

Leaving for:
Palm Springs on March 30th to see Sandy! again at the Dinah Shore Weekend.

See? Hesitation and excitement.

Nowhere. That's where.

There's this bizarre phenomenon I've noticed about Los Angeles - it seems to only rain when no one is watching. More specifically, when everyone is sleeping. I love the rain - it's what I miss most about seasonal change in Ohio - and am always sad when I wake up and I've completely slept through a rain storm.

Today is different. They forecasted rain, and lo and behold, it rained. It rained my whole way to work, and when I was just about there, I thought - "Do I have an umbrella in the car?" Luckily I did.

Turns out, I didn't really need it. My production company doesn't have a ton of parking, so most of the time, the employees have to park on the street - unless you're a supervising producer or some other high-up. This certainly isn't the most convenient, but it's not that big of a deal. Today, when I got out of my car and rounded up all of my stuff, being careful to shove my book in my purse so that it didn't get wet, a familiar blue minivan pulled slowly up beside me. A girl I recognized from work was sitting in the passenger seat. "Want a ride?" The owners had instructed the PAs to drive the company minivan around the block and pick up any wet producers and drive them the 3/4 mile to the office.

Where else in the country will you find a company that as soon as it starts sprinkle some rain, they send their folks out to pick up their employees in a warm minivan?

See the answer in the title of this post.

And that is why I love this city.

Come back to the five and dime.

Britney is really in the middle it. I mean, she is really going through some stuff right now. Checking in and out of rehabs like they're hooker hotels.

I got to thinking about Ms Spears today on my way to work, because of course, KROQ in Los Angeles can't stop talking about her. The images of her bald head flashed in my mind. Now, I'm all about girls shaving their heads. I'm all about girls doing whatever the hell they want to do. But it's always better when you can actually pull off a shaved head. I have to say, a few years ago, she probably could have pulled it off, with her rock hard stomach and her perfect ass. But now? Not that she's not still cute as a button (when she's fully clothed and not drunk or showing off runny eye makeup), but she does not have that 21 year old body anymore.

Thinking of this, I got kind of sad. Gone are the days of Britney kissing Madonna. Gone are the Baby One More Times, and the Oops I Did it Agains, and let's not forget the In the Zones and the SLAVE 4 U-S! She was so incredibly sexy in those videos and in that time in her life. The only relief is that I thankfully own Britney's Greatest Hits, on CD AND DVD. And whenever I'm feeling a little down, a little lonely, or a little straight, I can just pop in that DVD and all will be right with the world, a world frozen in the time of sexy Britney.

California Adventure - The Return.

It's so great to come home from vacation to a three day weekend.

We had a blast on our California Adventure. Gina even straightened her hair for the occasion:



We realized that the party is 24 hours in Gorman, CA:



We enjoyed coffee:



But nothing compared to the end of Wednesday:





We enjoyed breakfast at a trendy little place across the street from our hotel:



We spent a good part of the day Thursday driving:







We noticed some fog ahead:



And then we drove right into it:





We stopped to take pictures and saw the politics of the edge of the country:



We eventually stopped off in Monterey:















After Monterey, we drove, and drove, and drove some more, until we stopped off to see some wildlife, several miles north of our Cambria destination:



They're seals! Don't worry - they're alive. And mating. We saw the big males having their way with any female they wanted.

We also saw some cute moms and pups:



As planned, we arrived in Cambria just in time for sunset:







The next morning, we got up in just enough time to order the Magic Bullet from an infomercial, have breakfast, and go see Hearst Castle:



Just so you know:



The castle itself was pretty amazing. Lots of art, history, and breathtaking views - and also a famous pool that had NO WATER IN IT.



View from the castle:



This is one of the guest houses on the property:



This is a 3400 year old piece of art:



This is the main house - Casa Grande:



Apparently, William Randolph Hearst used paper napkins:



Here's the indoor pool, with 22k gold at the bottom:





After the Castle, there was more driving. A lot more driving.



My turn signal kept going out on account of some loose wiring. We found ourselves fixing it every time we stopped:



Loving the self timer function on my camera:



We finally made it home at 8:30 last night, and were treated to some pretty skies on the 101 by Santa Barbara:





Fin.