I'm too busy being fabulous....

Oh my goodness me.

I am listening right this moment to the new Eagles album.

*sigh*

It's called Long Road out of Eden, but goodness I think I'm in Eden right now. New Eagles music... Don Henley... Timothy B. Schmidt (sexiest bass player ever!)... "Busy Being Fabulous"... "I Don't Want to Hear Anymore"...

You see? It must be good, if it inspired me to blog for the first time in so long!

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In other news...

I'm really fascinated by the WGA strike in the States. I've been following it on John August's blog , Craig Mazin's and Ken Levine's.

It will be so fascinating to see if it really does "shut down" Hollywood, and if they can stick it out for long enough for the producers to even care.

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Speaking of Ken Levine... Noel recently bought a box set of the entire 11 seasons of M*A*S*H (written by, amongst others, Levine, who apparently never sees a penny from the years and millions of sales of the show!). He is up to Season 6 I think. I have been watching bits and pieces. I love the show, I just can't watch that much of anything the way Noel can! And if I have to listen to Major Hoolahan's screeching voice for much longer I might just go completely insane. But Hawkeye, oh Hawkeye. There can never be too much of the charming Major Pearce.

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I snuck out for a rare night to myself last night, and completely wasted it by seeing Good Luck Chuck. I thought it was going to be a really funny, sexy kinda comedy. Well, there was lots of sex, and there were lots of jokes! Some of them were funny actually. But... eh. Waste of time.

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Deliver me from writers who say the way they live doesn't matter. I'm not sure a bad person can write a good book. If art doesn't make us better, then what on earth is it for.

Alice Walker

There are two types of people -
those who come into a room and say, "Well, here I am!"
and those who come in and say, "Ah, there you are."
~ Frederick L. Collins

Stephen Fry

Heydie ho....

Just popping in because I just came across Stephen Fry's blog and wanted to link to this... http://www.stephenfry.com/blog/?p=19 . Some really cool, and kinda funny, ramblings about fame and celebrity. I like it.

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Love the actor, for he gives you his heart!
~ Bela Lugosi

It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

(Sorry for posting nothing but quotes lately. There's just not much going on. Pregnancy is going well, children are beautiful, husband is working hard, the job is boring but fine. Planning the big post out to agents in the next couple of weeks. Um, that's about it. la de da....)

Kiss your life. Accept it, just as it is.

Today. Now.

So that those moments of happiness you're waiting for don't pass you by.

~unknown

Hey!

So, we've changed ISPs and have had no internet for a week. Didja miss me? Huh? huh?

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I got my new headshots done - yay! I look all sophisticated and actorish...



He took about 150 photos. that was the best one and he edited it to make it all beautiful (ahem, I mean, to enhance the natural smoothness and lustre of my skin...).

And just because he's the coolest, here's a plug for Jom, the photographer - http://www.jom.com.au/ Go see Jom! For all your photographic needs!

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I also got my Showcast submission in on time (Jom emailed them my headshot directly - told you he's the coolest!), so go on, find me on Showcast... there's a link on the left and you can search for me. I just have to find a way to put in my internet profile that I'm pregnant - so that all those directors looking for a pregnant actress can find me!

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Noel had a bit of an Impulse Purchase moment this week and bought a very new, very fancy Hi-Definition digital camcorder. So, boo to Noel for spending so much money!

However, Yay for Noel now being able to record me acting and make a showreel to send along with my photos to agents! It's a seriously good quality camera and has seriously tricky editing *stuff* so we should be able to make something fairly decent. I'll do a bit of a hello and a monologue and a bit of a scene and some super-dooper acting and we'll make it look all gorgeous and the agents will love me darling!

*giggle*

No really, they will.

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I don't pretend to be captain weird. I just do what I do.
~Johnny Depp

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

~Maryanne Williamson

Spring!

And oh, it's devine! Warm sunshine, cool breezes, fragrant fresh air - the last few days have been the perfect start to spring.

My girls are wearing their favourite pink dresses and spinning around playing Princesses. My nausea seems to have gone! Hooray! All is well with the world.

Today, among other things, I'm off to an Eco Sustainability Fair at a local park. That should be fun and interesting.

Hooray for Spring!

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Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.
~ Ashley Smith

Phew

I found a different photographer, who charges about the same and sounds really helpful and lovely, and booked an appointment for next Wednesday. So yeah, I have to work in the morning and then fight my way through the "George Bush Wednesday" crowds and hordes of protesters into the city. What fun.

It means I'll have my new headshot just in time for next year's Showcast submission, which is due in by next Friday.

Hopefully I can still look nice enough, after 7 hours of driving for work, to take a fabulous photo. :-)

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Oh, and the ridiculous pay situation continues. I received a cheque today for ONE WEEK's pay (the first week I did, a month ago). I called Manager and let him know how frustrated I was and how ridiculous his system is. He assured me another cheque, for the 2nd week, was sent today, and then I'll get the next week's pay the week after that. He insisted that was a "fortnightly turnaround", just as he had promised. Um, no, buddy, look at your calendar - three weeks does not a fortnight make!

Grrrr.

Anyway, at least I have petrol money. Next week I'll have Showcast money. One day I'll have money that is not allocated within an inch of its life before I get it! I won't know what to do with myself!

~~~~

Problems are opportunities in work clothes.
~Henry Kissinger

Too fat for the 40's.

You know how, back in March, I went to a casting for extras for that feature film? They just measured me and took a photo etc. Well, yesterday I heard that there were more castings happening this week. So I emailed the casting guy saying I'd love to be considered again, if possible. I told him I'm pregnant, but not showing yet.

He emailed back, very friendly and diplomatic (and congratulating me on the pregnancy), saying the biggest consideration they've had to make for this film is sizing, because all the costumes they have (it's set in the 1940s) are very small. He doubted that there would be any to fit me, especially in my "happily growing condition".

Ha! I'm too fat for their costumes! At a whole size 12! Well, I guess spunky young nurses in the 1940s were pretty thin.

Anyway, I was just happy that he didn't mind me emailing him again. :-)

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Oh, and this promotions job... jeez louise... I've been getting one or two shifts a week, which is fine. They haven't been paying me, which is NOT fine. I should have received a cheque two weeks ago for the first fortnight, and I should be receiving another this week for the 2nd fortnight.

Yesterday we turned up to work and found the water main had been turned off and locked with a big water company padlock. Not good. One manager said the water company was flushing out the pipes, the other manager said it's something to do with APEC. Yeah right, what ridiculous lies.

So anyway, I finally get an SMS today saying a cheque was sent today, "sorry for the delay". It had better bloody well be a cheque covering both fortnights, because they owe me over a grand!

Why do I always get the terrible managers???

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AND, I was supposed to be getting my headshots done this week. I asked the girl (by email) if I could have an appointment Tuesday afternoon, but she never got back to me. Not entirely her fault, I could have phoned her to properly make an appointment, but gah, I just want to get it done! Hopefully, will get an appointment leter this week or next week.

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"The universe is dynamic. When we are creative, we are the most alive and in touch with it."
~ Brad Dourif

"Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark.... Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours."

~ Ayn Rand

Johnny Addiction

So, Nic gently reminded me that I'm being a slacko blogger... sorry... will try to be interesting...

Pregnancy goes well, morning sickness continues to thrive. Work is fine, and if their *insert expletive* accounts department actually start paying me I'll be very happy!

The two guys I've been working with are actors and singers, so they're great fun. They do a bit of TV work and a few commercials (they're brothers so they always work together). AND, their favourite actor is Johnny Depp, so guess what we spend all our breaks talking about? Yep, Johnny's movies, Johnny's acting, Johnny's tattoos.

My first shift I only met one of the brothers, and a few of us were talking about celebrities owning islands, and he said "Johnny has an island". Of course I knew exactly who he meant but he obviously thought he needed to correct himself and said "Johnny Depp". I knew right then I'd found a fellow Johnny lover. tee hee.... anyway it's so much fun chatting with those guys... we do talk about other films and actors too, I promise. :-)

We had a bit of a debate this week about paparazzi photos... I have a personal policy of never looking at pap photos, because I despise the paparazzi and most famous actors do too, and I really feel strongly that it's wrong of me to join in the invasion of privacy... J and H agree with me that they're wrong but "if they're there, I"m going to look" - to which I just rolled my eyes and told them they're evil, evil, EVIL! :-) They were also concerned that I was missing out on all the best photos - like drunk Johnny being arrested (over a decade ago!) or, recently, Johnny half naked on his yacht. *sigh* That's the point, people, the world is not supposed to share those moments!

What do you think about paparazzi?

Just thought I'd pop in and say hello to you, my millions and kajillions of faithful blog readers... tee hee...

The pregnancy thing is really the only interesting thing going on with me lately. Threw up for the first time last night, after weeks of just feeling nauseous. Although, the only thing I'd eaten was neopolitan ice cream, and very recently, so it was definitely the pleasantest vomit I've ever experienced!

Ahem. Sorry.

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The "Fun Promotions Job" turns out to be not all that much fun at all. It is well paid, though, and uncomplicated and flexible, so I'm happy with that.

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I got my tax return, yay! Enough for the rest of the year's preschool fees, car service, Christmas and birthday pressies, and HEADSHOTS! Woohoo!

I still plan to get those done and do the big send-out to agents and casting people. I'll just have to write a letter accompanying them that somehow makes the fact that I'm pregnant the most exciting prospect ever! Who knows, hey, just maybe there's something going on in December or Jan that will need a pregnant lady. The chances are pretty small, I know, but the chances of getting anything if I DON'T do it are far, far smaller.

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I've been surprising myself by how sensible and philosophical I'm being about having another baby right now, while in the middle of a struggle to start a career. I really didn't want to get pregnant this year (though we were thinking about it), because I was so worried of losing what tiny little momentum I've been gathering with the acting and work stuff. But now that I'm here, I just feel like it's all on the right track, and that things will happen just right if I keep working hard.
I read a quote yesterday, can't remember who said it but it was something like "the harder and longer you work, the better the payoff will be when you achieve you goals". Not that I've been working all that hard in the general scheme of life, but by the time I do get some acting success, I'll have worked at it for a long time and I'll be so very proud to have finally done it.
So there. Even if I have a few detours and baby-raising breaks along the way, I will keep this dream of mine alive, and I will get there.
I have all the time in the world, after all, and a big fat baby bump never stopped me before!

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I'm loving this quote, too... just a nice little reminder...

A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~

Morning sickness

Whoever invented that term must have been a big fat liar and, obviously, male. I feeeel aaawwful... moan, groan, whimper...

Turns out I was wrong when I joked about the film being Knocked Up, and not me. Perhaps that's why I didn't like the movie as much as everyone else does.

Baby Brown #3 is on its way. :-) Well, it's not really on its way anywhere, it's just floating around all blob-like, with teeny tiny arm and leg buds and a microscopic heart thumping away at 161 beats per minute.Growing, growing... set to arrive in early March 08. Excitement!

So, let's hope there are a few productions requiring a woman with a big baby belly going on in Sydney towards the end of the year... that would be fun. :-)

No news...

I feel like posting, but I have nothing to say... nothing happening.

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I haven't heard back about the waitressing job, so I assume I didn't get it. I posted off my info for the Fun promotions job, so as soon as I hear back from them I'll call and say no thanks to the Not Fun promotions job.

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Noel and I watched Underworld last night. For the first half we were just saying to each other "what? who's that guy? why do they need to do that?"... but once the film actually got around to telling us what was going on, it was good. Bill Nighy is just the coolest, even if there were far too many "Davy Jones" moments to make us giggle. (though this was made way before Pirates 2 and 3 , so I guess it's really the other way around. Davy Jones is one big expanded and more evil "Victor" moment perhaps.) Especially hilarious was when Kate Beckinsale's character sliced his head with her sword, and it looked like his face was just cut all the way across, until half his head slips off sideways! Hilarious yes, but also nearly made me gag.
Anyway, a good film if you love vampires and things like that.. and if you don't mind pretty poor sound mixing.

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!

Tomorrow! Eeeek! What's going to happen?
My most gorgeous of the gorgeous friend J is buying me a copy, isn't she just delicious? I will have to send her chocolates and do her housework and marry her and love her forever!

:-)

Still cold!

Yesterday was apparently the coldest day in Sydney since 1986. It got down to 3.7 in the city, but out at at Richmond? Minus 3, thank you very much. And at 9am when I was in the car on my way to the city, it was still minus 2. And that was after I'd spent 5 minutes on my driveway trying to unfreeze my windscreen.

I was going to convert those numbers to fahrenheit, but 27 degrees just doesn't sound as impressively cold as minus 3 degrees, does it?

Anyway, enough about the weather.

The "interview/training session" yesterday was great. The manager is a really nice casual friendly guy, and the general vibe of the company seems so much more fun than the other company. He was kinda talking as if we all already had the job, but he didn't actually say that, so I'm not 100% sure. Why didn't I just ask? Cos I'm stoopid, obviously. But I shall call in a couple of days to confirm, and then if I do have that one, I will tell the other promotions one "no thanks". This one is purely advertising and samples based, so no sales at all. Driving around little tiny cars covered in advertising or going to shopping centres and events to hand out free samples. Lots of fun!

I'm donating blood later today. Be nice to me! :-)

Jobs, jobs, jobs...

Still no acting jobs... darn it! Darn you all to heck! (what am I quoting there? I can't remember.)

However, I did get the promotions job for which I trekked into the city today. Hooray! I don't think I'm going to like it much, as it seems to be more sales than anything, and I am the #1 most reluctant salesperson on the planet, but HOORAY anyway! I don't start for a couple of weeks, and it's pretty variable casual shifts which will hopefully work out nicely with other stuff.

Other stuff being, hopefully, other jobs.

I have another "interview and training session" tomorrow for another promotions job, one which is not sales-based, but more stand-around-wearing-branded-clothes-giving-stuff-away type promotions. Oh and they also have those cute little advertising-covered cars that need to be driven around and shown off to the world.

Now, to me, "interview and training session", and the fact that he said I'd be needed for about an hour and a half, sounds pretty positive to me. Surely, if there wasn't a fairly big chance of being hired, he would just say "interview" and not mention the training session?

Anyway, who knows. Will be doing the trek again tomorrow to the exact street in Alexandria that Noel used to work, years ago, when we were young and freshly in love... ha. rambling.

The restaurant trial shift went well, I thought. The worst thing I did was almost seat a couple at a table that was already reserved, and then switched to another table that was also reserved, requiring the other waitress nearby to gesticulate wildly across the room and then run over to apologise for me being new and ignorant of table-reserving procedures. Oops, but nothing dramatic. The supervisor said I'd done well even though I'd been thrown into the deep end (didn't feel deep to me at all actually!), and she'll call me sometime this week.

Blah. I really wish I had some actual proper exciting work (ie ACTING work) to report about, but still, this is all good. :-) Positive positive positive.

I'm so cold!

Not that that's got anything to do with anything, but hey, I am. It's freezing. But HOORAY for the yummy wet watery dam-filling rain we've been getting lately.

Anyway...

I have a trial shift today at a restaurant for a waitressing job. I'm so nervous, it's ridiculous. It's just waitressing for goodness' sake.

It's been at least 7 years since I've waited tables. (gasp! I feel old!) I told the man on the phone that I've had about two years' experience but that it was a few years ago. Then, afterwards, I thought about it and realised that the last time I actually waitressed was 1999 or 2000. Oops!

Oh well... how hard can it be... I always get ridiculously nervous at the start of a new job but then it always works out fine. She'll be right matey.

I weighed in again this morning and, yay!, lost weight again this week, so I'm back under 80kg again and feeling much better about that. My body fat percentage went down again too. It probably helped that this week I didn't eat a litre of chocolate rocky-road ice cream.

Knocked Up

No, not me. (Well, I don't think so, but you never know...) The movie.

Noel sent me out to see Harry Potter the other night, but it was sold out, so I saw Knocked Up instead. I've heard lots of great reviews so I was expecting it to be really funny and have a great story. And, well, it was kinda funny, and had a fairly dull story, speckled with moments of just "why the heck did they do that?". (for example, showing the crowning of the baby's head, three times, but not the actual birth of the baby. What the?) The acting was great, the leads were good, with some interesting characters, but the story just wasn't compelling enough for me.

So, yeah. I knew I should've just watched Pirates again. Damnit.

I have an interview on Monday for a promotions job, and someone calling me back today, apparently, about a waitressing job. Promotions sounds much more fun than waitressing, yes?

Bits and pieces...

I know I haven't been posting much. Real life, you know...

* I spoke again to the lady organising the drama classes at the rehabilitation centres. Her manager is concerned that I don't have insurance (personal liability/injury insurance) and they want me to get it. Blah. So she's going to send me some info about that, because I can't actually find a company that offers the kind of insurance they want me to have. Craziness.

* Applied for another boring just-need-money job, waitressing at a resort restaurant. Blech.

* Am reading David Copperfield at the moment. Charles Dickens. I really like it.

* Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix starts showing on Wednesday. I don't love the movies, but I do love the books. So, far more exciting is that the final book is out soon. My fingers are all crossed that I will actually be able to get a copy at the library.

* Weight loss project continues. I actually put on weight the last two weeks, but my body fat percentage went down a fair bit. So that's gotta mean something.

* Still feeling pretty depressed and cranky about the lack of progress I'm making in just about anything. Also feeling lonely and unloved. Sucks to be me. Lucky you're you!

* Although, a general community announcement; when you're curled up on the kitchen floor crying (seriously, one of the best places for a cry - try it sometime), nothing beats having two gorgeous little girls come running from upstairs to see what's wrong... "cuddle will feel you better Mumma".

* Ray of hope on the horizon; as soon as I get my group certificate in the next week or so, I can do my tax which means I will get baby bonus money, a little itty bit of tax refund, and hopefulyy a little chunk of family tax money. Woohoo! Headshots to have done, children's birthdays and Christmas pressies to buy or lay-by, carpet to steam-clean, bills to pay.... hang on, this is getting less fun by the second...

and finally...

Philosophers have argued for centuries about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, but materialists have always known it depends on whether they are jitterbugging or dancing cheek to cheek.
~Tom Robbins

Go placidly amid the noise and haste...

Because it's been on my mind lately, and because it's always worth sharing...

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

Hilary Swank, and counting my blessings...

I just watched The Black Dahlia, and was impressed with Hilary Swank. I remembered being impressed with her in Million Dollar Baby too. So I looked her up and found this quote from her:

"You need to study and work on your craft. If you're not prepared when that dream audition comes, you are not going to get that opportunity. To me, the definition of success is when opportunity meets preparation. So I really recommend that actors always work on their craft and their skills. Obviously you can't make a living doing that, but you can get a lot of joy from it and learn and be inspired by the people you're working with and by your teachers and by the material. As long as you're still being inspired by it, you're going to find joy. Then hopefully the role will come along. I just want every actor to know to keep chipping away at it." - On giving advice to beginning actors.

(Now I just need to find ways to learn and be taught and work on my craft without having any money for classes... How I would LOVE to be attending regular classes and workshopping with other actors and playing around with skills.)

Anyway, it was a little moment of joy for me to watch her performance tonight in Dahlia, because I was just thinking today about my list of actors that I admire the most. The three I always think of are men (Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Alan Rickman), and I was bemoaning the lack of any female acting inspiration in my life. So there you go, now I have one. Hilary Swank.

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I realised that yesterday was Winter Solstice. Perhaps that's why I was in such a cranky mood... or perhaps that's why I got so much bad news, which put me in a cranky mood... either way, the universe is probably out to get me, don't you think?

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I said yesterday that I would count my blessings sometime... so here are some I managed to scrape up from the deepest recesses of my tired cranky brain...
* My beautiful daughters are awesome and amazing and healthy and, the most brilliant part of all, they love me (me! really! people love me!).
* My darling Noel who also loves me, and provides a roof over my head and all that good husbandly stuff.
* I'm wealthier than probably at least 95% of the world's population. I have a life and opportunities that millions of people could never dream of having.
* I have some wonderful online friends who make my days a little bit more shiny.
* The gorgeous darling J who I met recently and is one of the best friends I've ever had.

Five'll do, right? Life's okay, after all. ;-)

Cranky post

I'm always so positive on this blog, what's with that?

Today, I'm not. Consider yourself warned.

In the mail today I got:
1. a letter from the manager at Luna Park, saying that "because of the high calibre of applicants, I am unable to offer you a position". Jeez, thanks. I know that's just a standard thing to say on rejection letters, but I don't like it. I don't like being reminded so deliberately that everyone else there was way better than me.
2. A letter from my bank (credit union actually, banks are EVIL!) saying my account is overdrawn and I need to rectify the situation ASAP. And that perhaps I ought to consider applying for a VISA Overdraft. Yeah, cos I'm sure they'd offer me stacks of credit while I have NO JOB and my name on a MORTGAGE. That looks wonderful on paper to credit people. "Oh, your only income is Family Allowance from the government, and you're half responsible for a $300 000 home loan? Excellent!"

I'm so cranky! Don't know who I am cranky at, but that's not the point. I've been trying really really hard, as hard as I can while staying committed to my kids, for over a year now and I'm getting NOWHERE. I still haven't had ANY paying acting work and the only agents who will take any notice of me are the ones with 6 million desperate hopefuls on their book who all paid exorbitant amounts of money for the privilege. I HAD money saved up to get professional headshots and then had to spend part of it when the car battery died for the THIRD TIME in as many years. I still haven't heard back from the lady about the darn teaching job at the rehabilitation centres. I missed out on the cafe job because of that stupid worthless sale job.

Okay, listen, I know my life is pretty darn good really. But I shall count my blessings or something NEXT post, today I'm just cranky and miserable and frustrated.

I just want to act. Please?????

I am disinclined to formulate an encapsulating title

As of right now, I am still processing and replaying At World's End. It's really stuck with me after the 2nd viewing, and I am desperate to see it again (who wants to shout me a hot date at the movies???). I'm giving up on writing any kind of detailed and analytical review, though, because of the way it's still floating around inside my head. When I get the DVD I will sit and take notes and write a REALLY good one!

Some friends were around last night. We played Charades (fun fun!) and then watched Once Upon a Time In Mexico - chosen, I must add, by one of the blokes, NOT by one of the three Johnny Depp fangirls in the room! I'd never really realised how funny that film is. Agent Sands is really quite hilarious!

~~~~~

I had an audition last week at Luna Park in Sydney, for street theatre and kids' entertainment work. Has to have been the most fun job interview I've had! There was a group of 9 auditionees; we played theatresports games, did some improvs, learned a dance (I haven't danced properly since I was about 12! But I managed fairly well, I thought) and each had to perform a one-minute piece. I did an excerpt from Winnie-the-Pooh, with a cute Liverpool little-boy accent for Pooh. They laughed at the right places, so I guess it was alright. I felt good about the whole thing, anyway. I should hear from them sometime this week.

I'm still waiting to hear back about the rehabilitation centres job. Originally it sounded to me that they were offering me the job, but now it seems they're considering me, and the manager of the person calling/emailing me keeps wanting to know more information about me. So that's still up in the air.

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Noel and I are challenging each other in a "biggest loser" challenge. Which basically means we're nagging each other about eating less and being more healthy. I have had to do far more nagging than Noel has, so far. He even ate McDonalds this week. McDonalds! And then he lost more than I did! How rude is that.
Anyway, I lost more than him the first week so I'm winning overall! I've lost 2.8kg in two weeks, and am under 80kg for the first time in almost 5 years! Barely - I'm 79.9 as of this morning, but still, that's less than 80! That is a very nice feeling. My goal is 70kg, which is how much I weighed before I fell pregnant with T. When I got married I was 67kg, but I don't think I can or need to be that skinny again.
I'm 5'10", by the way, for those of you thinking that only gigantic beasts could weigh 70-something kilos!
Anyway, the point of this far-too-informative ramble is - yay! I'm getting thin again! Perhaps in a week or two I will post some before and after photos to encourage myself.

Not quite a proper post about Pirates yet.

I saw At World's End again this morning, by myself, and just now is the first chance I've had to sit down at the computer. But alas, it is late and I am sick and so I shall again be brief, but come back again soon with a much more better post.

I LOVED it. I'm SO glad I saw it again by myself. I have quite a thing about other people's opinion of things which makes it nigh impossible for me to absorb something alongside someone else. I am too concerned with what *they* are thinking of it so just take it in for myself. Ergo, it is always better for me to see films on my own.

I LOVED the wedding scene and was awestruck and impressed by *part of* the Calypso transformation, both of which surprised me. I think Merlin's ideas about both those things in his comment helped. :-)

I'm still not entirely convinced by the locker scene, I guess I just have a hunch that it could have gone further in exploring just *why* Jack so hates the idea of spending eternity with only himself for company. Oh and I think I've reversed my opinion on the body-double issue. The body in question (the Jack that gets stabbed) didn't look terribly un-Johnny-like at all this time. I think I was wrong about that.

Keira impressed me more than annoyed me. I still noticed plenty of issues with the tension in her face, but there were quite a few moments when I really believed her and liked the choices she'd made. The scene with her father, for example. I cried.

Oh let me just point out that I cried about fifty times. Beginning from that young boy's first steps onto the [what's the word for the platform they use to hang people? - EDIT - GALLOWS!] at the beginning.

Some WONDERFUL acting from Johnny. One moment I noticed in particular was when he and Barbossa are on the beach next to the dead Kraken. Jack is contemplating whether to join the fight or avoid it, and he thinks on what the world's coming to. There is some delicious uncertainty and fear and sadness in Johnny's eyes in those moments, especially as he says "The world's the same; there's just less in it." (cue another teary moment for Sumara!)
And again when he has Jones' heart, about to stab it, when Will is stabbed, and Jack hesitates with the heart. Just a small moment but reveals so much about Captain Jack's character.

I totally love Jack and Elizabeth's relationship. We see them as really great friends who trust one another despite so many apparent reasons not to, who depend on one another and , literally, cling to one another when they need to.

Ok that'll have to do for today. I can't remember any of the other things I so urgently wanted to mention... I'll remember them at about 2.30am, no doubt.

*Ooh, remembered one thing - I'm loving the score. Gorgeous music! Somebosy buy me that soundtrack!!!

Merlin, thanks for your awesome comment. I promise I will address more of what you mentioned, in the next few days.

Connor - I'm hanging out to hear more of what you thought, too. :-)

Holidays, Pirates, Jobs...

We had a fabulous holiday. Yay for holidays!

We did manage to go all the way up to the Sunshine Coast to meet my most darling-est online friend... you may know her as either jkr2 or mrsramjet3kids... we spent a couple of days with her and her hubby and 3 kids, and we all got along so beautifully and it was just awesome. My girls LOVED the kids and they all played like old buddies. Yay for friends!

We did the whole beachy thing (Noosa Beach, mingling with the Beautiful People), and the Waterslidey thing (Wet 'n' Wild, on a rainy day!), and then some plain old relaxing (at some friends' holiday house in Diamond Beach). Yay for relaxing!

~~~

Yes, I have seen Pirates 3... I saw it on the 25th, the day before we went away. I shall write more about it after I've seen it again, but my initial reaction (I shall avoid plot spoilers for now in case you haven't seen it);

I loved all of Captain Jack. I think Johnny did some really excellent acting work in this one and took Captain Jack to new places we haven't seen him before. I was surprised and a bit disappointed by the "locker" scene - I was expecting that to be alittle different and a bit deeper perhaps, but I suspect I will understand and like it more upon a 2nd viewing. Plus, the film was out of focus up until that point (until I sent Noel to tell a staffmember and it was corrected), so perhaps watching that scene properly focussed will help.

I loved Will Turner too, which I haven't much in the first two. I think Orlando did awesome work in this one. And, (fangirl moment!) he looked incredibly hot at the end in that bandana. :-)

Elizabeth kinda annoyed me. I think her acting had some great moments, but mostly, Keira's inability to use her face or body very much is frustrating and annoying to watch. She needs to losen up a bit and get more comfortable in her own skin. Her mouth, in particular, seems really tense and frozen all the time, and I really don't think that's all due to character.

Geoffery Rush was amazing. He had quite a few pretty stupid moments, but he has this amazing ability to go from deadly serious to ridiculously funny without any loss of character or believability. Bit like Johnny really. No wonder those two top my list of favourite actors. :-)

Keith Richards was fabulous. It was a bit of a geeky silly scene, but hey, it's Keef. That last little moment between Jack and Teague was beautiful. (oh and incidentally, dricing up the coast last week we crossed a bridge over Teague's Creek. That gave me a great giggle.)

The transformation of Calypso was ridiculous. Blow-up doll, anyone? Surely they could have come up with a better way of transforming such a beautiful, powerful goddess.

I was frustrated with the maelstrom scene. It felt like it was about to be the big climax but then wasn't really. The "will you marry me?" etc was completely ridiculous. It would have been funny if it had lasted maybe 2 or 3 lines... but not the whole ceremony. There were quite a few little silly bits that I thought it could do without.

And then we hear that there were some lines cut that would have made the whole Davy Jones/Calypso/Dutchman/Curse thing clearer - they had to be cut for time (and now we're left with a confusing and questionable "curse" resolution) but the really silly groanworthy moments didn't? *sigh*

Anyway, so I left the cinema feeling a big disappointed and deflated, mainly due to the anti-climactic nature of the last few scenes, but maybe that's my fault for having such high expectations. I will see it again and I bet I understadn things better and therefore like it more.

(golly, that was a big ramble for "initial thoughts", wasn't it?)

~~~

I've been offered a job teaching drama classes to developmentally disabled adults at two rehabilitation centres. I've worked at one of them before, a couple of years ago, and I didn't think I'd done all that well for them, but they must have liked me because they want me back. It'll only be two hours a week, but I can charge $65/hour so that's just fine. :-) It'll be challenging work and I'm SO glad to have been offered something that'll be meaningful. The groups range from fairly high-functioning to very low-functioning people, so it'll be harder than last time, when most students were high-functioning. So if anyone knows any info about rehabilitation/education/anything for developmentally disabled people, I'm keen to learn all I can!

I didn't get a part in that play from a couple of weeks ago. Eh. Life goes on.

I'm applying this week for work at Luna Park - character "hosting" and street theatre. That'd be a fun job if nothing else.

Oh and that retail job I was doing? Boy oh boy. I only ended up getting 5 days work (out of the 14 I was offered), the manager just stopped contacting me and when I finally got a hold of someone it turned out the sale had gone caput. It took them 3 weeks to pay me despite endless promises of being paid "in a few days". I called the company's office in Melbourne and found out that it was that manager's first sale, and it kinda sounded like she was already in trouble - before they started getting all the phone calls from all of us annoyed casuals. Sheesh. THAT was an ordeal. Never again. But, it did pay this term's preschool fees. So that's something. :-)

~~~

Ok, it's very late. I shall try to catch up a bit with my "online life" in the next few days, but I am avoiding spending too much time here, in favoiur of getting my "real life" a bit more organised.

Toodles!

I love drugs.

Seriously. The only reason I have survived the last five days of work is my beautiful combination of ibuprofen and paracetamol. Neither of them work alone, but together, they are magic. My back has been agony from all the hours of standing up on a concrete floor.

The pay is terrible, the managers are awful and incompetent, the location is a big pain in the whatever, but at least the other casuals are lovely so I do have some nice people to talk to.

Oh and something funny - there was one guy who spent a whole day flirting like a dog on heat with me - he was whistling and following me around asking to help me, making suggestive jokes... He was seriously standing around watching me instead of working. Flattering, but I really didn't know what to do with myself, having not dealt with such attention for many years. (But like Noel said when I told him about it - "well, you've still got it babe.") Anyway, he has not returned since that day so I think the managers may have noticed that all his effort was in the wrong direction.

~~~~

Um, what else... my copy of Masked Man arrived but I can't get it to work in our DVD player or PS2. Bugger.

~~~~

Callbacks for that play have been postponed for a week, so I won't hear until sometime this week I assume. I'm not very hopeful, though, because the reason for the postponement was to audition some more people - which, to me, says that she wasn't happy with anyone she saw in the first round. Ah well.

~~~~

Happy Mothers' Day all you mummas out there! I've had a very ordinary day but Noel did buy me a voucher for a massage, so that will be much wonderfulness when this crappy job is finished. And lots of socks, which I desperately needed. And chocolate - kiwi fruit chocolate! It's yum!

~~~~

Noel got a big payrise (yippee!) and his holidays were confirmed for next week, so we're going to Queensland! Yay! SO much excitement!

But first, to get through 6 more days of this job.... please, someone, remind me never to work in retail again... I hate retail...

It doesn't rain...

So, I've been looking for any kind of paying work for, what, a year? With very little luck. (I've earned a grand total of $100 bucks so far since last July).

This week Noel and the girls and I were supposed to be going away for a holiday up the coast. At the last minute Noel's boss had to postpone his leave because the wife of one of the other drivers gave birth, and the dad obviously wants time off with new bub. Fair enough.

So, 1. I got an email from Myer after a ridiculously long online "selection process" saying that I am appropriately skilled etc etc blah blah to be put into their "talent pool" and they will now match me with a suitable vacancy.

2. A lady from a local cafe called and I have an interview this afternoon for a casual job.

3. I had an interview on Saturday for two weeks' full time work at some kind of massive jeanswear sale in Sydney. That was easy-peasy, got that job and I start tomorrow!

4. Yesterday I auditioned for a local-ish profit-share production. I think it went well. I will find out tomorrow if I get a callback.

5. Noel got an extra day of work on the weekend which paid a nice extra bit of cash.

So wow! It's all been happening this weekend. And I've been running around organising babysitting and timetables and logistics! How do mums who work fulltime do it? I haven't even started yet and I'm stressed.

I'm sure it'll be fine. I do work best under pressure, after all. My house is always cleanest and life more organised when I'm really busy.

Oh and I got my copy of Masked Man in the mail. I haven't been brave enough to watch it yet but the cover art and the printed disc look great. And my name is on the front cover sleeve - I had to giggle at how excited I was about that!

So, I'll be working full time until the 20th, then on the 21st I have the shoot for that short film I was approached about, and after that we're going away for a week or so. Cross your fingers for me that I get a callback for the play!

Masked Man Trailer

The darling people at Powered Productions have completed a trailer for Masked Man. You can see it here.

It looks pretty good, I reckon. I even managed to not cringe too dramatically at the sight of myself on screen.

Brad (the director) assures me that the film will be completed soon. Yay! I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out... but I doubt I'm ever going to enjoy watching myself on screen. I'll stick to the acting, thanks, and let the audience take care of the watching. :-)

[untitled]

Well, filming has begun on the feature I was hoping to get extra work on... so, well... better luck next time hey?

Anyway, random little updates.... I'm auditioning on Sunday for a local profit-share production of After Dinner by Andrew Bovell. And I'm quite excited about it; I'm rather itching to do some "proper acting".
I'm also submitting an audition (as soon as I figure out how to make a voice recording on my computer) for a voice role in an animated short film. That just sounds like fun.
I submitted my headshot and CV to another casting place in Sydney. Hopefully a casting person will open the email and think "Wow! Check out this chick! Where has she been all my life?", and jump on the phone to cast me in some fabulous gig.

*snort*

Well, I can dream...

The Number 23

It's been simply ages since I last saw a thriller at the cinema... can't even remember the last time I did. So, yesterday, Noel and I had one of those "hey, let's ditch the kids and go to the movies" moments, and I was rather excited at the prospect of sitting in the dark, all comfy and enjoying the suspense of a great story.

Everything bar the "comfy" lived up to my expectations (Hoyts have fancy new seats that look big and comfy but are just big. When are cinema designers going to learn that people like to lean back slightly when sitting for 2 hours, not be held up straight as a broom?).

The Number 23 has a great story, great acting, and just the right amount of "thrill" for me. Jim Carrey is an excellent actor when he's not just pulling faces; I wish he'd do serious roles more often. All the supporting actors play well too and the story is told very naturally, despite the thematic weirdness.

The film did all the right things - drew me in, fascinated me, scared me, and tricked me. I really liked it. Visually it's intriguing, thanks to quite natural, unobtrusive lighting combined with so much of the set design incorporating the scrawls of a number-obsessed madman.

Thankfully, the ending is great. I thought for one disappointing moment that it was going to have a typical Hollywood "ignore the bad stuff and get on with our perfect life" ending, but it doesn't. It's still wuite Hollywoodish, but at least honest and realistic.

Plus, Noel and I very quickly became adept at rapid-fire mathematics and were picking out all the "23"s in car number plates, birthdates etc. On the way home it was hard to stop pointing out 23s and calculating all the numbers we passed.

I just tried adding all the corresponding numbers to the letters in my name. I tried a few different ways of adding and dividing, but couldn't come up with 23 at all. Oh well. I guess I won't go crazy.

A book meme and an itty bitty ego boost...

I've been tagged by Nic...

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next three sentences in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don't dig for your favourite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.
6. Tag five other people to do the same.

Okey dokey... the book is Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman.

"Now, she is powerful and he could have been discarded. But she gave in. Because (1) she wanted him to do the picture and (2) he was young and hot and he didn't care if he did the picture or not. "

(from the chapter on movie stars and how much shit they bring with them to film projects.)

Now I shall blatantly break the rules of the meme by not tagging anyone - because of the four people I know who read my blog; one is Nic, one is extremely busy at the moment, one has already done this meme elsewhere, and the other one doesn't have her own blog anyway.

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And, the little ego boost (when I say little I mean it!), I received an email today from a producer of a short film who found my profile on Showcast and wants me for a role in her short film. It's a fairly small part in a very small film but hey, it feels nice to be offered a role without even trying. Now, where are the paid roles...

Believe it or not...

I'm actually a bit sick of watching movies. Been watching far too many lately and my brain is a bit fried.

Macbeth
We finally hired this one. I did like it, mainly for the visual splendour and atmosphere (the same reasons I love Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet), but some parts felt a bit forced and complicated. The leading performances were really wonderful but there were a few smaller players that looked a bit out of place amongst the leading talent.
The witches - I know this was a bold artistic choice and all that (they were made into teen witches who pretty much seduce Macbeth with their bodies as well as words), but I just didn't think it worked. The nudity felt gratuitous to me. I think it would have worked better if it had've been an implied or almost-seduction rather than some full-on naked orgy-esque revelations. (Oh ok, and I was just jealous of the three actress's perfect beautiful boobs!)
Anyway, definitely worth seeing. It is a little bit hard to follow if you don't know the story all that well, but my Noel (who doesn't like to read anything, let alone Shakespeare) still understood and really liked it, so it works well enough.

~~~~

Little Miss Sunshine.
This film deserved all the attention it got, and more. (well, ok, I'm not sure Abigail Breslin really earned the Oscar nom, but still...) A beautiful little portrait of a really fascinating family dealing with a bunch of pretty odd (and yet pretty standard) issues. I particularly loved Paul Dano's performance as the teen who has taken a vow of silence until he achieves his goal of joining the Air Force. He played the role so naturally and beautifully, and the moment where he finally snaps, in his own way, just left me agape with shock and awe.
The portrayal of all of the characters' weak points or difficulties was so gently and kindly done that I really felt like they were real people, not just movie-people, and it was really eays and comfortable to join each of them on their own journey.
As for Breslin's character, Olive, I thought she was wonderful. She was an awkward, slightly chubby young beauty-pageant wannabe. She's had the idea of being a "winner" drilled into her head by her motivational-speaker dad, and is just dealing with all the usual kid stuff. I was so pleased with the way she was written and the fact that, in the end, she didn't suddenly become the super-mature kid that teaches all the adults a lesson. So many films do that and it's nice, but eh, sometimes kids just stay kids. Olive never had that big "beauty pageants are so stupid and I am above that" moment, which would have been an easy trap for the writer/s to fall in to. She stayed the hopeful, young girl with slight delusions about her own talent, while the adults around her were the ones learning the lessons. It was just very nice to see a more realistic treatment of a kid being a kid.

~~~~

The Namesake.
I escaped all by myself last night and saw a movie I knew Noel wouldn't be very interested in. I'd heard lots of good reports of The Namesake, and they were right. It's wonderful. Very long, but very watchable all the way through, and a story that's quite heart-wrenching and beautiful. All of the actors play beautifully. The story moves from one section to the next very cleanly and draws the audience into the very intersting lives of these characters.
It's about a young Indian girl, wrenched from her home and family when she is married to an Indian man who now lives in the US. They have children and grow as a family and the story unfolds as the children grow up etc, dealing with the cultural differences and all the issues that immigrants deal with. It really is a very compelling picture.

~~~~

I really wish I had some interesting news to tell.

I'll be getting my hew headshots done in a couple of weeks (if I ever remember to call and make an appointment!).
Still crossing my fingers to hear back about the film extra work in May.
If I can figure a way to manage rehearsal times etc, I'm planning to audition for a local profit-share acting group's play. I'm really hankering for a good bit of acting, and getting back on stage would be a wonderful feeling.
There are also, hopefully, a few more short film auditions coming up.

~~~~

My Pop gave me a Lotto ticket for my birthday. Let's hope I win!

John Travolta as a woman

Check out the website for the new Hairspray movie!

John Travolta as a woman (Edna Turnblad), married to Christopher Walken (Wilbur) - and they look fabulous together! The story is about their daughter, Tracy Turnblad, who dreams of being a dancer despite her "plus-size" figure.

I'm really not sure if it's my kind of comedy, but I'll be going to see it anyway (not out till at least July though) because it looks like fun - and who'd have thought John Travolta would make such a great woman?

Donnie Brasco

First of all. I couldn't look at Johnny Depp with that moustache without thinking of Freddie Mercury. Nice mo', Johnny. No wonder people were spreading rumours that Johnny would play Freddie in a Queen movie.

Anyway, Donnie Brasco. I really like it. Al Pacino and Depp work so beautifully together, and the characters were actually quite fascinating. I am always especially intrigued by films that are based on a real person's life, and this one was no exception. What a life. I am amazed at the fact that the actors and director got to meet with Joe Pistone himself, and meet with quite a few real mafia men, despite the fact that Pistone still has an open contract on his head. That blows me away. Imagine meeting with a guy, and then later meeting with the very people who want to kill him, and would do anything to find out where he is now. I assume they wouldn't have told the actors the family's new name or where they lived etc, so they wouldn't be in danger, but still. What an experience.

The acting from all players is natural and very watchable. The mafia guys are portrayed in such a way as to make the audience feel they are just ordinary men, in a particular line of work, oding the best they can - but all with supreme egos and a level of everyday worry that most ordinary folk don't deal with. I was surprised by how much sympathy I found myself feeling for Pacino's character, Leftie, and especially all the other, somewhat lower-down mafia men. By the end of the film I was really conflicted; wanting Pistone to get back to his normal life, but also wanting Brasco to succeed and impress his new colleagues.

That is why real stories fascinate me so much - these people are/were real people, and their lives were so complicated and conflicted and just *real*. Sometimes we get so caught up in our own little life and it's easy to forget that other people out there have such different experiences. I guess that's why I love acting; I love exploring another person's existence, experiencing snippets of new and very different experiences.

Anyway, blah blah. Not going to get philosophical about it.

~~~~

Just a quick note - if anyone's reading here, please drop in a quick comment once or twice to let me know. I like to know what people think, and I also just like to know whether anyone's even reading. Thanks to the people that do comment - I appreciate it. :-)

Depp-a-thon

First of all, I was given another bunch of roses yesterday. I have two vases of fragrant roses within smelling distance of my computer chair. Ah, this is the life.

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Secondly, turning 26 is kinda boring and sucky in terms of people doing anything special. BUT! In terms of gifts - I received 10 DVDs!
~ Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi trilogy (El Mariachi, Desperado, Once Upon a Time in Mexico)
~ From Hell
~ Dead Man
~ Benny and Joon
~ Japanese Story
~ Blow
~ Donnie Brasco
~ Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Yes, you read correctly - that's 7 Johnny Depp films. Methinks my darling husband and mum have noticed my Johnny fangirl tendencies. (Speaking of which - Sondheim himself has said that Johnny's work in the currently-filming Sweeney Todd is "the performance of a lifetime" ! I am so squeeingly fangirlingly excited!)

And the others are - well, Robert Rodriguez, who is the coolest director. If only I could get El Mariachi to play without the commentary! (as much as I LOVE Rodriguez's commentaries, I would like to watch the actual film properly first! Bothersome DVD!)
And Japanese Story is a beautiful Australian film with Toni Collette and a Japanese gentleman whose name escapes me... hold on, Gotaro Tsunashima... beautiful Australian-outback story.

~~~~

Oh and aforementioned darling husband also gave me "Adventures in the Screen Trade", a book by William Goldman about Hollywood/moviemaking/film industry. I'm told it's a great read, although I'm not sure how out of date it may be now.
And "Dirt Music" by Tim Winton; I have no idea what it's about but everyone raves about it, so it must be at least a bit good.

~~~~

So, in the last few days I've watched....

Dead Man - a beautiful film about life and death and goodness knows what else. This was only the 2nd time I've watched it and I haven't yet decided what I think it's about, but I have decided that it's a compelling piece of art. Johnny's performance is what he does best - all eyes and hands and gestures and just *being there*.

From Hell - I just can't get out of my head that this film has Bilbo Baggins in it. During the character's first few scenes I was thinking "Ah, who is that?", then it clicked that it was Ian Holm, who played Bilbo, which made the rest of his scenes rather amusing in my funny little head. Anyway, it's a good film. Not amazingly brilliant, but quite a few nice moments. Directing felt a bit shoddy, but I don't know very much about directing so I can't really comment. This was based on a graphic novel which I thought was really interesting - a lot of the characters are certainly quite comic-book-ish.

Benny & Joon - Oh my lord! Wonderful film! Johnny is totally brilliant in this, I can just tell it's going to become one of my watch-a-million-times films. His Buster Keaton/Charlie Chaplin-esque moments are beautifully, heartbreakingly hilarious. Depp and Mary Stuart Masterton work together in such a gorgeous, natural way that the falling-in-love of their two characters is effortless and amazing to watch. LOVE it - can you tell? (And why has nobody ever made me watch it before???)

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Ok, enough raving for tonight. :-)

Photos and flowers...

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. I sure did. My girls and I are suffering from the various behavioural after-affects of too much chocolate!

Powered Productions have some photos up from the filming of Masked Man. You can see them here. There's a cool one of me looking directly upwards into the camera. And lots of the wonderful Powered Productions team - Kylie, Brad, Rebecca, Darren and Ange. (Thanks for having me, guys, it was great fun!)

In other news... erm... well, there isn't any.

I've been writing a lot lately, some short stories and children's book ideas. I'd like to write a script and I have a character in mind but I think I need to write it in story form first or I'll lose track too easily.
I've joined an online book club too so have been discussing and analysing books - at the moment it's What's Eating Gilbert Grape by Peter Hedges. A really great book; I was surprised at how different it is from the movie considering Hedges also wrote the screenplay.

I've been given two bunches of flowers recently; a colourful mixed bunch from my dad and his wife, and some gorgeous, fragrant, old-fashioned, dusky pink and white roses from my parents-in-law. It's so lovely to have fresh flowers in the house!

Anyway I'd best go finish off the last of the Easter chocolate, and what better film to eat it with than Chocolat?

Okay, 10 things...

... I hate about you!

Ha ha! Of course not!

10 things "you" don't know about me (though probably one or two of you know a couple of them) ... tagged by Connor...

1. I have a livejournal on which I talk about completely different stuff, under a completely different name which you will never find! Mwa ha ha ha!

2. My first acting role was as the "Sailor's Wife" in a play in Year 3. I dressed in a fat suit and a really ugly red tent dress and sang the "Skipping Rope Hornpipe" while skipping and eating a Mars Bar.

3. I have a nephew and his middle name is Rain.

4. Since having kids, I have developed heaps of new freckles on my hands from all the time pushing a pram in the sun.

5. I grew up a good Catholic girl and my confirmation name was Monica.

6. I am an awesome cook. Last night I made sausages with gravy and my husband was in raptures. Honestly! (I do cook really good, more interesting, stuff too.)

7. You know how at the Oscars n stuff you see fairly new actresses saying "I never imagined I'd be at the Oscars/Golden Globes/whatever"? Well, I reckon they're having themselves on, because I imagine it all the time. I don't know any aspiring actor who doesn't. I have my speech, autograph and dressmaker all figured out.

8. It's my birthday soon! The 11th April. I'll be 26. Oh my goodness, that sounds older than I should be...

9. I've never had a dream that I was flying or falling, or naked in public. Lots of weirder dreams though.

10. I really struggle to not care what other people think of me. I try really hard to just be my own comfortable self, but then I also try really hard to impress other people with my looks/intelligence/opinions. I even try to impress people with how much I can not care if they're impressed. A dilemma, to be sure.

~~~

There you go! 10 points for each one you already knew. The winner gets... the joy of being the winner!

Nearly Easter!

Not that I have anything much to say about Easter; I just couldn't think of a post title.

Today, though, I did attend my first "Easter Hat Parade" (first as the mum, anyway) - at my daughter's preschool. What a bizarre little cultural tradition that is. Very cute, though. Even if my daughter is the one always talkign and telling everyone what to do. *sigh* I'm such a socially-backward person (in real life, it's true!), and yet I get the extroverted chatterbox daughter! Perhaps she's here to teach me how to socialise.

Anyway, enough about noisy daughters and Easter hats.

~~~

Masked Man is all finished. Well, unless they need to reshoot something. Or they decide I was crap. Or something.

No really, I'm sure it's all done and now will be edited and soundtracked and all that good stuff and I'll get a copy.... sometime. We did the stabbing/dying scene and it was great fun. I felt good about my "death" in terms of the acting. It felt good to me anyway. My hands and tummy were stained red for quite a while from the fake blood (gravox with water, red food colouring and a little bit of blue!), which was pretty icky but looked good.

Plus, they mustn't think I'm crap because they asked me to be in their next film, which will be filming in June or July. It looks good actually, a more challenging and grown up role than this one was, so I shall look forward to that.

~~~

I haven't heard anything about the film extra work, so I'm kinda thinking I missed out on that one. Damnit. (Still got my fingers crossed though! Film doesn't shoot until May.)

~~~

Oh, and we watched Godzilla yesterday. The 98 Roland Emmerich one (is there an earlier one or am I imgining that?). Oh, my goodness. So bad. Bad writing, bad acting, dodgy sequencing. Awful in so many ways. And yet, some parts made me laugh, so there you go. Not all bad.

~~~

Connor tagged me to do a "10 things you don't know about me" meme. I'm still thinking. I keep thinking of completely inappropriate things. I'll try to do that list tonight or tomorrow.

Yay for experience and learning and fun!

The first night of filming for Masked Man on Saturday was a great night. I had a good time and also learnt a bunch of stuff about acting for film that I've not really had to deal with before.

I discovered some of my weaknesses in terms of film craft. Continuity, for one. In one scene I had a mobile phone on the table which I then picked up and took with me. Only after a few takes did I remember that I should've been making sure the phone was in the exact same position each take. Oops! They did take quite a few angles though so even if the phone jumps around the table a bit between the different takes, they'll be able to hide it in editing.

Of course in a production with an actual budget there would be a continuity person, or at least an assistant or two who would take care of those details, but even then the actor needs to be aware of it.

Similarly, I had to be especially careful to make sure that I matched the same actions to the same line of dialogue. In the first part when leaving the table I had to ask the director to look back over the footage to remember on which word I had stood up. In another part I had to speak while walking from one room to another, and by then I was getting used to the memorisation of position/dialogue so when I got the timing wrong it felt really wrong.

The director didn't give me much feedback on my actual acting so it was hard to know how I was doing. Some moments I felt really good about and others I really wasn't sure. But every time I asked if something was okay everyone seemed happy enough so I guess I was doing okay. One moment I wasn't sure of was a sequence where I opened a door to find a gunman on the other side, who then follows me back inside and shoots me. However after the first take, the director (who was playing the gunman) told the cameraman to come round behind him to get the shot of my face reacting to the gun; he said "I need you to get Sumara's reaction, it's really good." That was very nice to hear. (I hope he was right!)

There was one part where I had to lie on the floor (having just been shot) while the gunman ran past me to chase the other girl. It was a bit of a challenge to lie there with my eyes open and staring blankly while heavy boots stomped right past my head!

Overall I really enjoyed myself. The production team (Powered Productions) are all lovely fun people who just love filming and I got along well with everyone. The screenwriter/actor Kylie made yummy dinner and we mucked around and the cameraman snuck around catching us being silly on camera. It was fun.

There's one more night of filming (this Saturday), and I get to be stabbed to death this time, so that should be fun too!

Updateyness...

Ok, sorry. I hate it when people don't update their blogs for ages but I think I'm the worst offender!

It's only because my life is so darn boring!

Ok, no, it's wonderful and fulfilling and a great big exciting Journey of Life. Is that at all convincing?

Anyway...

The casting for the film extra work went fine. It was just a case of filling out the forms and being measured and having a photo taken. One of the requirements was that extras must be prepared to have their hair cut to suit the period - which means pretty short. Sounds fun. It will be a couple of weeks before I hear about that. Keep those fingers crossed!

We've had one rehearsal for Masked Man and shooting starts this Saturday. I'm really looking forward to it. The team are all lovely and friendly and hardworking. They were even happy for me to bring the girls to the rehearsal; they had a great time.

Other than that... losing weight in the lead-up to Easter is just such a lost cause. I am hopelessly addicted to chocolate. I've already had to replace the easter stash for the kids once (doesn't help that Noel's been away so I'm lonely and he's not there to stop me!). Terrible, I know. I'm still doing heaps of exercise though so hopefully there's not too much damage being done.

On the mental/emotional front lately - I've been freaking myself out with how much of my emotional energy has been going into "starting an acting career", to the detriment of my darling family. So I'm going to be trying to not focus on it so much. I figure these kiddos are only small for a short time, and I plan to be alive and kicking for quite a long time yet, so what's the hurry? (I know, I've said things like this before! I occasionally have issues with perspective in life, don't I.) Plus, we maybe want to have another baby next year so basically, that's more important for the immediate future.

I have no plans to stop acting or working or anything. Besides anything else I'm still desperate for paid work of any description (well... not any), but if I can get a little bit of momentum without trying to move too fast, I'll be a happy girl.

Let's see, what movies have I seen lately...

Blood Diamond... loved it. It made me think "this kind of film is why I want to be in films". The story is fairly average and predictable (compelling nonetheless), but the characters are beautiful, and beautifully acted.

Leonardo DiCaprio's accent only had a few irritating moments - he sounded Australian every now and then... but nothing that detracted for more than a second from the character and his story. I admit I was sceptical of all the reports saying Leo's all grown up and improved by leaps and bounds.. but it's true, he has. I actually believed that he was an adult, despite the still-baby-face looks, who had gone through all that history.

Djimon Honsou deserves every bit of praise he's been getting for his role, it's brilliant. I kept thinking how hard it would be as a native African to portray that story. His "devoted father" moments were great but his "unsure partner" moments were even better.

Jennifer Connelly was just your standard charming-American-girl, but you get that. Every film needs one of them, apparently. I did think she and DiCaprio worked together very nicely.

Overall, the film made me cry - a LOT. If you have kids and this film doesn't make you cry, then seriously, you have freaky emotional control. There are some very very disturbing images and sequences - and I was crying not only for the real children that the film depicts, but for the child actors who somehow had to portray all those awful things. I will be very interested to see a "making of" featurette and find out how the children did what they did.

Secret Window ... a Depp one from 2004. Loved it! I love Mort; don't care if he's psychopathic, I love him anyway. Johnny is brilliant in a very understated, everyday way. And John Turturro is wonderful. I'm going to have to start looking up other Turturro films because I'm really liking what I see of him.
My favourite thing about the film is that Johnny did his own driving for the crazy-maniac-reversing-through-a-carpark opening sequence. Loved it.

The Little Mermaid ... (and The Little Mermaid II )... ha, well, I do have two little girls. And their daddy loves to buy them movies! Plus, you can't beat Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian for a lovely little sing-along.

Anyway, I'm going to get back to Harry Potter - that's what's been keeping me away from the computer lately... ah, Harry... and Ron, and Dumbledore, and... etc etc...

Good news!

Ok, I finally have some actual news about some actual progress!

I scored a lead role in an amatuer short film called "Masked Man". I get to die - twice! (one death is a dream). That's shooting towards the end of March. If nothing else, it'll be a decent bit of acting to put on my showreel.

~~~~~~~~

I'm a bit excited about this one - I have a casting this week for extra work on a pretty big film in Sydney. Yay! As I said ages ago I was resisting doing extra stuff but this is one of Australia's biggest upcoming films, and plus, I need to start doing pretty much anything to get some paid work. Cross all your fingers and toes for me because this would be an awesome opportunity to experience a big-budget film set in action.

I still don't have an agent so I was very lucky to get a casting. I emailed the casting guy directly and hassled him, politely of course, a few times for information. Just call me Miss Assertive. If they like me they're going to refer me to one of the agencies they deal with. Keep those fingers and toes crossed!

~~~~~~~~

I went to a meeting last night of a "Working Actor's Group" at my old drama college (Wesley Institute in Drummoyne). There was an agent there I was keen to meet, Elvis Joseph. The organiser, my gorgeous friend Sarah, and I were the only ones to turn up but we managed to talk with Elvis for almost 3 hours about marketing, headshots, CVs, agencies, the current state of film in Sydney, and Christian film which Elvis is currently researching. A lot of it was very helpful and I got some good feedback on my current headshot (which is great because I'm getting new ones done very soon).

Sarah and I had a bit of a play in front of a camera, seeing which was our "best side" and the ways different angles look. I reckon my right three-quarters (halfway between front-on and profile) looks best. But overall I was a bit shocked. The camera really does add 10 pounds, as they say, and I felt really fat and ugly - especially compared to waify thin Sarah. Normally I'm quite happy with how I look, but I have been trying to lose weight and I have about 10kg to go to my "ideal weight". Hopefully the camera will like me more (or I'll like myself on camera more!) then. It was good motivation though - I dragged out the old aerobics DVD this morning and did two workouts today. Watch this space for the return of the old skinnier me!

Aarrrgghh!

I'm so annoyed! I just want to tell the whoel institution that is The Media to stick it. somewhere nasty.

Why, you ask? Well, of course, there are about a kazillion reasons for wanting the media to shut up, but the current one is the announcment I just heard on the news...

"Stripped bare... rave reviews for Harry Potter's daring stage debut."

followed by " Harry Potter is all grown up" and a couple of minutes talking about Daniel Radcliffe (yes they did eventually get around to using his actual name) in the play Equus,a dn how he smokes and appears nude. Not one mention of the other star of the play (Richard Griffiths), supporting castmembers, or even the plot!

Now I'm sure this was all expected and I'm sure Radcliffe and the cast are dealing with it graciously. But geez louise, I'm so sick of hearing "Harry Potter" this and "Harry Potter" that, as if he's not just a fictional character reappearing every couple of years. If the media keep up all this craziness, it's sure going to be painful when all the films are finsihed and Radcliffe et al start doing other films.

Craziness.

Blow

I watched this last week, so I shall try to remember what I loved about it.

I think this was one of Johnny Depp's best performances (well, of those I've seen which is probably just over half of his films). It's more of a typical-Hollywood-leading-man role than many of his other characters, and he does it so darn well. One of Depp's great strengths, I think, is his ability to move his character through time, to portray a long timeline of a character's life as they age - keeping the essence of the character but changing in those subtle and varied ways that people do as they age. And if you try to ignore the not-so spectacular old-man makeup, the last part, as an older George Jung is prison, is beautiful.

Penelope Cruz impressed me too. It's not easy to play someone who's always stoned with resorting to boring cliches, but she did it well. I really liked her character but I didn't feel sorry for her, which is good I think because it menas they just told the story as it is, without trying to impose feelings on the audience.

All the supporting cast members were great, the characters all played their part and all meant something to the story as well as emotionally.

Anyway, yes, I loved it.

Plus: Johnny with blonde hair. What is there not to like?

My Oscar Predictions

I honestly don't care much for the Oscars, but I have nothing else to talk about lately, so, just for fun... let's see how right or wrong I am...

Actor, leading role: Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
Actor, supporting: Djimon Honsou, Blood Diamond
Actress, leading role: Penelope Cruz, Volver
Actress, supporting: either Cate Blanchett, Notes on A Scandal, or Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Directing: Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Best Motion Picture: either The Queen or The Departed
Animated Film: Happy Feet

Art Direction: either Dead Man's Chest or Pan's Labyrinth
Cinematography: Children of Men
Costume Design: Marie Antoinette
Best Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth
Visual Effects: Dead Man's Chest

Adapted Screenplay: William Monahan, The Departed
Screenplay: Guillermo Arriaga, Babel

The rest of the categories I don't know enough about to hazard a guess... but let's hope Saviour from AFTRS wins Live Action Short Film. That would be cool.

EDIT - Well, I got 8 right! (If you count the ones I had two options for!) Here is the list of winners. And check out the "Thank You CAM" where winners have to deliver their thank you speech - backstage I think it is, with dozens of people milling around getting in the way - how NOT classy is that?! Ah well... I guess the Oscars were classy once upon a time...


I saw Rocky Balboa last night. I was surprised by how much I liked it. It's a really great film and about so much more than boxing (which, I guess, all the Rockys were supposed to be...) Together with Million-Dollar Baby, which I watched a couple of weeks ago, it's made me want to take up boxing! (ok, well, not really... but I do sometimes really want to punch people and it would be cool to be able to do it properly, yes?) Anyway, Rocky sure is a great character and the film was an excellent "goodbye" for him.

Romantic-esque-ness in Sydney

I went all the way into Circular Quay today to do a commercial proposal for a freelance director/photographer type person. It was fun. It was another montage type deal, so the scene was very quick but far more interesting than that last one I did. The theme was about Sydney being a romantic city and my scene was to laugh with and kiss a guy.

Yes, my first screen kiss. Oh the excitement. Ha ha. I was actually quite nervous and so was the lovely Josh, but once we started shooting it was easy and fun. We had to do, oh, at least 10 takes (director couldn't decide on angle and shot size) and after a few it was getting pretty funny. We both got the giggles at one stage - yes, terribly professional I know! Plus, I was taller than Josh, so I had to take my shoes off and bend my knees a little, so it was really quite funny. The concrete was burning hot so in between takes I was jumping up and down and running to stand on my shoes.

People kept stopping to watch (we were right near the Opera House so lots of tourists), and there was this one old guy that stood and watched the whole time. Weirdness.

Then there were a couple of shots for a different scene, just close ups of my face and hands. It was a good day, met nice people and it only took a bit over an hour. Plus, the director/photographer girl is going to give me a good deal on photography for my headshots (my mother in law has offered to help pay for them so I should be able to get them done in the next month or so. Yay!) and she's got other projects coming up that she might want me for.

So, let's hope that the companies involved love these ad proposals and decide to go ahead, PAY for them and put them on TV! *crossed fingers*

New Template

A change is as good as a holiday!

Wuthering Heights

*sigh*

No, not one of the half-million Wuthering Heights films. I just finished reading the book. Goodness, it's a good one, isn't it?

I read it years and years ago and had forgotten most of the story so it was such a pleasant surprise to read it again. I was particularly surprised by how much I dearly cared for Heathcliff by the end. Just imagine a love so strong in a man so crazy!

In the various films' threads on IMDB there's endless discussion of which actor could play Heathcliff if they made it agian today. Suggestions range from Daniel Day Lewis to Orlando Bloom to Joaquin Phoenix... Johnny Depp... Colin Firth... Hugh Jackman... Heath Ledger... hmm, I don't know about any of those. I think Depp could have done it 5 or 10 years ago but he is starting to age a bit now (finally!). I think Orlando as Heathcliff would make me laugh (but you never know!). Heath Ledger's an interesting idea.

As for Cathy, apparently there are rumours around that Angelina Jolie was interested.... um, no. Not good. Besides, dear Cathy dies at about 19, so you need someone pretty young don't you. (I'll do it! Pick me, pick me!) I can't think of anyone.

Any ideas?

Ponderings on the future of film... etc...

I just read this post by John August (the screenwriter of Go, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory... and I'm not sure what else...), about the new technologies in entertainment and the possibilities of writing films specifically for 2-inch screens such as iPods, mobile phones etc.

This comment literally brought anxious tears to my eyes. The idea that large-format film could fall by the wayside, cast off in favour of miniature technology and short attention-spans totally freaks me out. Not only because I want to make a career out of said film, but because... well, can you imagine *not* seeing movies at the cinema? Imagine the largest screen available being your own TV, imagine spending hours staring at a screen so small it might as well be Elmo's Let's-Pretend Movie Theatre.

Now, I am biased I guess because I dont have an iPod, never used one. I only use my mobile phone for making phone calls (oh and occasional photography when I've forgotten the camera) and YouTube actually kinda annoys me. But hey, I reckon there are plenty of people just like me who can't bear the thought of even fewer great films than we get now.

I am greatly comforted by the fact that live theatre still exists, and flourishes in some ways - in fact seems to be growing again in popularity, so it's fairly unreasonable to think that film as we know it would disappear completely. I can see it reducing somewhat to a more "arty" pastime, much as live theatre is now - for the more wealthy and/or artistically-minded people.... but that sounds good to me! I can live with that.

who needs guns...

Okay after my big rant in my last post about guns and children shooting each other with them... I suddenly remembered that this stabbing, with a small knife, happened at a high school near me this week. The 16-yr-old boy was not killed but required emergency surgery.

Wow. My brother and my husband attended that school.

See, these are the kinds of things about which Aussies say "only in America..." Whoops. No longer only in America hey. Scary stuff.

Bowling for Columbine

Sorry I haven't posted all week. I've been stuck in a bit of an "I'm such a failure and I'm not getting anywhere" kind of funk, so obviously I haven't had anything constructive to say.

On Thursday I went into Paddington for a "featured extra" role for a student short, and boy was that frustrating. 2 hours to get there, half an hour to park, 10 minutes doing make up for.... wait for it.... 2 seconds! of shooting. It was like a montage scene of various people wearing these certain t-shirts with slogans so each of us only had to stand and look at the camera for 2 seconds and that was it.

*sigh* Definitely no more freebies for minor parts.

Anyway. Watched Bowling for Columbine a few nights ago. I'd seen bits and pieces of it before but not the whole film through. It's a powerful documentary because it raises questions, offers *possible* answer, but hinestly doesn't answer them. Michael Moore is seemingly left with no idea why the USA has so many more gun-related deaths than any other country and he's happy to admite he really doens't know. I think he just wishes some more people in power would try to figure out the answer.

The opinions of the gun owning people were pretty frustrating. It seemed that their only reason for owning several guns (as opposed to one for self defence) was "it's my right". Whcih is a really stupid reason. Of course it's your right. It's also your right to do handstands on your roof and eat your dinner off the floor... and any other number of ridiculous things, but you don't see people doing all that just because they can, do you? Nutters.

I was particularly unimpressed with Charlton Heston. The man has the sensitivity of a lump of dirt. He held NRA gun rallies in the Columbine area and in Flint, Michigan, both within weeks of very disturbing gun deaths in both places. He didn't apologise for that, nor would he admit that it was an insensitive way to treat grieving local people.

I just don't know how you can hear about a 6-year-old boy shooting one of his classmates (that's what happened in Flint), and still think that it's okay to have guns in a family home. The idea of everyone having a gun is just so foreign to me that I can't comprehend the thinking behind it.

Anyway sorry, I wasn't going to start ranting about guns n stuff.

Bowling for Columbine was an awesome doco and I'm glad Moore made it. I only wish someone could find the sense and the answers in all those questions.

Back online.

I've been absent in the Land of Broken Computer. Sorry. But it's all better now. I haven't been up to anything exciting anyway so nobody's missed anything.

While the computer was off, though, I read Shantaram, and about half of Wuthering Heights. I LOVE Shantaram. I can't even describe it; it's just beautiful, beautiful writing and such a compelling story. I thought at first it was an actual autobiography but apparently it's a fiction based on Gregory David Roberts' real life. Brillliant novel. Definitely read it if you can.
I've been wondering, though, how they'll get it into a film. It's 930 pages and I can't easily think of which sections they could leave out... but I'm sure they'll manage. GDR is co-writing the screenplay himself so I'm sure he'll figure out which parts are most important.

Acting-wise I haven't done anything lately. I've applied for a role in a film (not sure if it's a short or a feature) in Sydney but the auditions haven't been announced yet. I helped at a playreading as "stage manager" on the weekend for a group who want to put on a musical. They're hoping to sell to somewhere like Riverside or Glenn St for their subscription seasons. If that gets off the ground it'll be proper paid work so hopefully it will.

I've been applying for millions of part time jobs, waitressing and housekeeping and such. No luck so far. *sigh* REALLY need some cash.

Okay, to make up for the week's lack of posting, here's a really long (potentially very boring but hey, I like weird details about people, so why not...) questionnairre... got it from Connor...


1. Is your second toe longer than your first? nope

2. Do you have a favorite type of pen?nope

3. Look at your planner for March 14, what are you doing? taking T to preschool.

4. What color are your toenails usually? toenail colour.

5. What was the last thing you highlighted? ads in the positions vacant section of the local paper.

6. What color are your bedroom curtains? we have awful apricot-ish holland blinds.

7. What color are the seats in your car? grey I think.

8. Have you ever had a black and white cat? nope.

9. What is the last thing you put a stamp on? a letter to the debt recovery office! (for noel's parking fine)

10. Do you know anyone who lives in Wyoming? Not that I know of.

11. Why did you withdraw cash from the ATM the last time? groceries.

12. Who is the last baby that you held? If two-year-olds count as babies, then my daughter B. If not, I can't remember... I don't tend to hold other people's babies.

13. Do you know of any twins with rhyming names? Nope.

14. Do you like Cinnamon toothpaste? Never had it but I think I would hate it.

15. What kind of car were you driving 2 years ago? none. I'd just had an emergency caesarean.

16. Pick one: Miami Hurricanes or Florida Gators. Are they sports teams or ways to die?

17. Last time you went to Six Flags? I wonder what Six Flags is.

18. Do you have any wallpaper in your house? Nope.

19. Closest thing to you that is yellow: stripes on my shirt and beads on my bracelet.

20. Last person to give you a business card? Real estate agent. Ages ago.

21. Who is the last person you wrote a check to? I don't think I've ever written a cheque.

22. Closest framed picture to you? a picture with two people drinking tea with text: "Friends. Hold a true friend with both your hands".

23. Last time you had someone cook for you? Ha! Mum cooked for B's birthday last week.

24. Have you ever applied for welfare? I've been on Austudy when I was at uni and now that I have kids I get family tax benefit. Is that welfare?

25. How many emails do you have? Who would know that sort of thing?

26. Last time you received flowers? Last week. Mum brought them.

27. Do you think the sanctity of marriage is meant for only a man & woman? Honestly undecided but leaning towards no.

28.What happened to #28?

29. Do you play air guitar? Nope. But I play air piano, saxophone, drums and microphone. Not all at once, that would look weird.

30. Do you take anything in your coffee? Coffee is evil.

31. Do you have any Willow Tree figurines? No but Noel has "Father and Daughter" and B has "angel of prayer".

32. What is your high school's rival mascot? Whaddya think I am? American?

33. Last person you spoke to from high school? Jocelyn!

34. Last time you used hand sanitizer?About 6 years ago when my American friend M brought some to uni.

35. Would you like to learn to play the drums? Oh yes.

36. What color are the blinds in your living room? Same horrible apricot-ish as the bedroom one.

37. What is in your inbox at work? Work? huh?

38. Last thing you read in the newspaper? Positions Vacant.

39. What was the last pageant you attended? see question 32.

40. What is the last place you bought pizza from? Macquarie Pizza.

41. Have you ever worn a crown? Yes. I played the Queen of he Night in Snow White once.

42. What is the last thing you stapled? goodness knows.

43. Did you ever drink clear Pepsi? huh?

44. Are you ticklish? Yes. You seriously don't wanna go near my feet!

45. Last time you saw fireworks?Last week, at the school across the road.

46. Last time you had a Krispy Kreme doughnut?at least a year ago.

47. Who is the last person that left you a message? My Avon region manager.

48. Last time you parked under a carport? years ago.

49. Do you have a black dog? nope.

50. Do you have any pickles in your fridge? nope.

51. Are you an aunt or uncle? yes. my nephew is one week younger than my B.

52. Who has the prettiest eyes that you know of? my daughters.

53. Last time you saw a semi truck?My husband drives one.

54. Do you remember Ugly Kid Joe? I remember the name.

55. Do you have a little black dress? yes.

**Fav-ology**
What is your salad dressing of choice? anything'll do.

What is your favorite fast food restaurant? Well, the best of a bad bunch would be Macca's I guess.

What is your favorite sit down restaurant? I dunno.

What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? chocolate.

What are your pizza toppings of choice? chicken, mushrooms, pineapple, spinach, cheese, tomato.

What do you like to put on your toast? margarine, vegemite, jam, peanut butter, creamed honey.

What is your favorite type of gum? Extra spearmint.

**TECHN-OLOGY**
Number of contacts in your cell phone? heaps.

Number of contacts in your email address book ?heaps.

What is your wallpaper on your computer? Photos of Noel riding his mountain bike through a stream.

What is your screensaver on your computer? basic black.

How many televisions are in your house? Two, but one is under a pile of stuff and not plugged in.

What kitchen appliance do you use the least? electric juicer.

**BI-OLOGY**

Are you right handed or left handed? yes.

Do you like your smile? I like all smiles.

Have you ever had anything removed from your body? My babies. By caesarean.

Which of your five senses do you think is keenest? touch. or smell.

When was the last time you had a cavity? Never.

What is the heaviest item you lift regularly? my 4-year-old.

Have you ever been knocked unconscious? Yes. by a telegraph pole, it jumped out in front of my bike.

**MISC-OLOGY**
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?No.

If you could change your first name, what would you change it to? I wouldn't, but I would change my surname if it wouldn't upset people.

How do you express your artistic side? I just do.

What color do you think you look best in? Blue or yellow.

How long do you think you could last in a medium security prison? As long as I needed to.

Have you ever swallowed a non-food item? Probably.

How often do you go to church? every few months.

Have you ever saved someone's life? not that I know of.

Has someone ever saved yours? Well the doctors who recommended my first caesarean thought they were, but I beg to differ. I think I've saved my own life once.

**DARE-OLOGY**

Would you walk naked for a half mile down a public street for $100,000? yep.

Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100? yep.

Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000? don't think so.

Would you never blog again for $50,000? definitely.

Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000? Yes, in certain contexts.

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? I would try. Not sure that I'd manage it though.

Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000? no way in the world.

Would you run over a dog or cat for $1,000,000? My initial respone is yes, I would. But maybe I couldn't. I would if I could give most of the money to children's charities.

Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000? Yep.