I arrived in LA two days ago for my two month acting-work-study-gig. I know it's passé to say you are studying acting in LA, but I still can't believe I am here!
I was fortunate to be able to stopover in London for four days and spent an amazing time with my brother and his family who live there. My sister just relocated to the UK from Cape Town and is staying with them so I got to see TWO of my siblings!
My sister landed her dream job at some multinational food science factory the day I arrived... this girl has A+++++++ grades and knows how sodium decompresses with gluten to form bio synthetic waves that keep crisps fresh and stuff like that. She worked incredibly hard to land this job - so it was big news!
I wanted to inhale every moment with my family - the last time we were together was 2 years ago! I loved holding 12 week old Kaiyah in my arms and did not want to put her down, which of course ruined her mom's sleep training, but I could not help myself -she is after all my first niece! The house was a hive of activity with a 2 year old, a 12 week old and a hyperactive dog, I realized how quiet my life is in comparison, but was relieved to know that I could return to my peace afterwards!
When it was time to leave, I shed a few large tears - even the thought of a dream holiday/work gig on the other side of the plane journey could not close the floodgates. My family are so special and there is nothing that can ever replace time spent with them. Love you guys!!
So with a drizzle in my eye I left for LAX - after a 4 hour plane delay and a 2am arrival with no one to meet me at the airport except my budget sardine can rental car, I felt really tired, grumpy and wanted my own bed. Because of the delay I had to kill time till 9am to do the key pick up for my apartment in Beverly Hills, so I drove around in the middle of the night and suddenly all grumpiness left me as I realized what an amazing opportunity I had to drive around the LA streetlights for the first time in my life and get familiar with my new neighborhood.
The last two days have been about getting organized and I now have my class schedule for Edgemar Centre for the Arts - I'm doing 4 classes a week (Scene Study, On Camera Cold Reading, Improv and Voice Classes) and then I have 4 x 5 hour work slots in between classes each week where I will be working for Producer/Director and Acting coach, Michelle Danner.
I pestered Michelle for 4 months to give me this work study opportunity after doing one of her courses in Dubai and honestly said I'd walk her dog or babysit her kid if it came to that, but luckily she has a very exciting movie coming up that she is directing so I have been roped in to do pre-production and casting for that, so am really grateful that I will get the opportunity to actually work on prep for a movie in LA - that's supercool.
To start - I've got a movie script to read, a 140 page musical to review and improv class tmrw. But right now - I am off to the park down the road for a jog. I hope I see a flashing LAPD vehicle - it's still a novelty that I have only seen in the movies!
I just can't help wanting to jog down my street while the afternoon autumn sun sparkles through the maple trees. Aaaah maple trees, what a beautiful site after 2 years of deserts and palms!
Thursday, 5 August 2010
Sunday, 18 July 2010
I used to be a daredevil - now I'm dork
I was sorting out all my pics on my mac the other day and came across this pic taken when I was 21 at Bloukrans Bridge in South Africa, where I did the "highest commercially operated bungee jump in the world" - a whole 216m of it.
And that got me thinking about all the other crazy things I have done in my life - most of which were quite disastrous.
In 2002, when I was 22, I took my 1953 red Vespa, named Chippie, and decided to attempt a trip from Cape Town to Villiersdorp to visit my mom (alone I might add). It's a 90 minute car drive, but took me about 3 hours full throttle late at night and I arrived with a freezing blue face and all my other bits frozen solid. The trip back at the end of the weekend was even more fun - I placed a sarong around my shoulders and pretended I was superwoman as I sped down the pass, only to have the tassels catch in my engine - which nearly ended my life. Luckily my brother followed me this time in his car so I had one witness to my stupidity.
That did not stop me. I went absailing in the Knysna forest which was the second coldest experience of my life, no one told me I would have to hike for 4 hours in freezing cold weather to experience a 20 minute absail down an also freezing cold rock-face. Knees bruised and battered, I vowed I would never do it again.
Then came scuba diving - pool sessions were all good, BUT after that we had to get into the freezing Muizenburg ocean in a 6mm wetsuit that makes you feel like an astronaut. I clung onto a piece of seaweed at the bottom of the churning ocean for a full 45 minutes and then vomited.
Last but not least, my cousin decided to marry a UK army officer and we go.......you guessed it - GLIDING. I got flung into the sky by a canon like device and then after 10 minutes of the pilot showing off how many stunts he can do in the aircurrents to the point where my stomach flipped out of my ears - I begged him to please land.
Stunt days are over. Coming down from a 5 hour adrenaline high is way overrated. Now I just take other risks that don't involve bruised knees and cold bits or spattered body parts on a highway.
I do miss my Chippie, but after one too many close shaves (because I was a young hazardous fool on the road)...sadly, I decided I had to grow up and I sold him.
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
ShoeBox - the prep for my trip begins
It's so glamorous to say "I'm searching for an apartment in LA" for my 2 month acting internship at Edgemar this summer, but the truth is it's a pain in the rear to make a decision online from a few low res pics.
I've never been to California before so i have NOOOOO idea what to expect either!
I'm completely Craiglisted to my eyeballs - I feel as bad as when I first got my new iphone, which by the way gives you goggle eyes, but I can't help it - I'm addicted.
I digress again....so how did this acting internship and apartment search come about?
1. I sent many e-mails to the point of being certified a stalker to some acting schools
2. I received a yes from an LA acting coach who I did a workshop with in Dubai
3. I started saving
4. I stressed endlessly about getting a visa on time to duck the Dubai summer (when production dies down) or having to face the disappointment of postponing my internship for a WHOLE YEAR.
5. I am now searching for an apartment - my current predicament!
Between "no drug users" as if "drug use" is an option for certain tenants applying, to females sharing their...BEDS?! and ridiculously overpriced "arty" dumps, I think I will just take the plunge and find something when I get there. (Gosh I sound like a prude ha ha)
I'm going to be studying 24/7 - All I need is a neat shoebox and I don't mind if it's a desiger shoebox.
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Scaredy cat smelt a rat
Just the other day I went to a supermarket to buy a lettuce. I locked my car and walked into the shop.
When I came back and started the car, it smelt different. I smelt a strong perfume, like the type the Arab men wear here in Dubai. So I got out and checked in the boot to see if there was a robber inside.
Happy to see I was alone I drove off and realised it was probably the man behind me in the grocery store queue who just got too close and left a waft on me.
My odd paranoia continued when I showered that night and I noticed as usual that when I wash my face that I can't close my eyes because I always wonder who is in there with me, I'm now talking spirits, not people.
I did not become a scaredy cat overnight and I do laugh at myself checking the boot of a LOCKED car, but it's the aftermath of a combination of seeing spirits when I was younger and being mugged in South Africa, burgled twice and having my mobile grabbed off my lap at a traffic light, when my window was only a few centimeters open!
By spirits, I am not talking tequila...I have always sensed the other world - and sometimes it can be nasty.
So watch our for those boogey men! And if you want to read a blog that is not just rambles about ghosts and robbers....well the previous one is pretty good and it's NOT about me!
Friday, 25 June 2010
Sharks and eating ants
My mother taught me a very important lesson in my life and that was that you ALWAYS have something to give to someone, no matter how you feel emotionally, what your current situation is or where you are financially.
I have created guidelines I like to follow in my life and in summary: I give a certain amount of my time, talents, income and efforts to causes I care about. That is Heather Grace's giving framework.
Along came Ernst Van Der Poll, founder of Tawasul, and made me rethink my entire belief structure on giving when he said the following: "I want the majority of my time to be giving, while I work on the side."
I love meeting people who really are an example of the better person you can be, so let me tell you how this all came about.
In October 2009, I attended TEDx Dubai with Nick, my boss. We had been talking about getting involved in creating video content for charitable causes in 2010. While we watched a host of inspirational speakers, TWO really made an impact on me. They were Masarat Daud and her 8 day academy and Ernst from Tawasul.
Perhaps both touched me as they involve children, and I really miss my youth back in South Africa! So we approached them both to make videos of their work. (I will talk about Masarat in another blog).
We had a few kick off meetings with Ernst and he explained that Tawasul is all about creating a platform to re-connect kids with the environment, so we decided to film his "Week Without Walls Program" and Tom Savage kindly offered to film the workshops for teenagers while I led the interviews and we watched as these teens learnt about everything from sharks and turtles to creating environmental awareness via social media platforms in the classroom; Then we followed their confined water training and finally the very exciting scuba dive in Dibba.
This whole experience inspired me to write a blog about Ernst and to find out what motivates him and where he gets his constant stream of social entrepreneurship ideas from. It almost seems as if there someone chasing him to give back and I was interested to find out why his life is all about helping others.
He tells me "Time is a commodity and I tell these kids everyday that you are going to wake up and suddenly be in your 40's and I want you to ask yourself if you have done everything you can to maximise each day you have?"
Of course I was curious to know when giving became part of his life, and he shares an experience when he was 14 and he volunteered at Marfogo Farm in Mozambique, an orphanage for war orphans. Some of the volunteers were playing with the kids one afternoon and one of the ladies who managed the place was watching them and she started to weep. They ran to her and asked what they did wrong and she told them that one of the little girls that they were playing with saw both her parents shot in front of her. This little girl had apparently been emotionless since she arrived and while she was playing games with the outreach team, she smiled for the first time.
"You can change someone's life by doing something as simple as bringing a smile to someone who has experienced a lot of pain.” Sobbing movie stuff I tell you! Sniff.
His enthusiasm about the environment and making a difference in people's lives is clearly what he lives for. From Tawasul in Dubai to starting an art and education initiative for the impoverished fishing community of Sea Gypsies in Mabul to teaching Palestinian child amputees to dive, Ernst just seems to seek opportunities to make a difference wherever he goes.
When I asked him why he chooses to work mainly with kids? His answer "Kids have wild imaginations, they are full of adventure and they will even eat ants!" he laughs and tells an animated story about a kid who ate ants at a talent show.
I am not intimidated by intense people and some may be thrown by his fast paced way of thinking and the way he constantly generates ideas about changing the world. The difference between him and most people I meet, is that he is DOING something with his ideas. I think Ernst is one of the most grounded social entrepreneurs I have met and that is probably because he is literally in touch with nature in almost all that he does. The other common trait I find in people who give is the word PASSION. He describes passion as “the long distance fuel that is going to change the world” and he certainly has enough passion to keep hundreds of people inspired.
Ernst - you really are a powerhouse. VAVAVOOM.
Here is a short clip of Ernst with Khalil, a 16 year old double amputee from Palestine during the disabled divers instructor's training in Dubai on 27 June 2010.
I have created guidelines I like to follow in my life and in summary: I give a certain amount of my time, talents, income and efforts to causes I care about. That is Heather Grace's giving framework.
Along came Ernst Van Der Poll, founder of Tawasul, and made me rethink my entire belief structure on giving when he said the following: "I want the majority of my time to be giving, while I work on the side."
I love meeting people who really are an example of the better person you can be, so let me tell you how this all came about.
In October 2009, I attended TEDx Dubai with Nick, my boss. We had been talking about getting involved in creating video content for charitable causes in 2010. While we watched a host of inspirational speakers, TWO really made an impact on me. They were Masarat Daud and her 8 day academy and Ernst from Tawasul.
Perhaps both touched me as they involve children, and I really miss my youth back in South Africa! So we approached them both to make videos of their work. (I will talk about Masarat in another blog).
We had a few kick off meetings with Ernst and he explained that Tawasul is all about creating a platform to re-connect kids with the environment, so we decided to film his "Week Without Walls Program" and Tom Savage kindly offered to film the workshops for teenagers while I led the interviews and we watched as these teens learnt about everything from sharks and turtles to creating environmental awareness via social media platforms in the classroom; Then we followed their confined water training and finally the very exciting scuba dive in Dibba.
This whole experience inspired me to write a blog about Ernst and to find out what motivates him and where he gets his constant stream of social entrepreneurship ideas from. It almost seems as if there someone chasing him to give back and I was interested to find out why his life is all about helping others.
He tells me "Time is a commodity and I tell these kids everyday that you are going to wake up and suddenly be in your 40's and I want you to ask yourself if you have done everything you can to maximise each day you have?"
Of course I was curious to know when giving became part of his life, and he shares an experience when he was 14 and he volunteered at Marfogo Farm in Mozambique, an orphanage for war orphans. Some of the volunteers were playing with the kids one afternoon and one of the ladies who managed the place was watching them and she started to weep. They ran to her and asked what they did wrong and she told them that one of the little girls that they were playing with saw both her parents shot in front of her. This little girl had apparently been emotionless since she arrived and while she was playing games with the outreach team, she smiled for the first time.
"You can change someone's life by doing something as simple as bringing a smile to someone who has experienced a lot of pain.” Sobbing movie stuff I tell you! Sniff.
His enthusiasm about the environment and making a difference in people's lives is clearly what he lives for. From Tawasul in Dubai to starting an art and education initiative for the impoverished fishing community of Sea Gypsies in Mabul to teaching Palestinian child amputees to dive, Ernst just seems to seek opportunities to make a difference wherever he goes.
When I asked him why he chooses to work mainly with kids? His answer "Kids have wild imaginations, they are full of adventure and they will even eat ants!" he laughs and tells an animated story about a kid who ate ants at a talent show.
I am not intimidated by intense people and some may be thrown by his fast paced way of thinking and the way he constantly generates ideas about changing the world. The difference between him and most people I meet, is that he is DOING something with his ideas. I think Ernst is one of the most grounded social entrepreneurs I have met and that is probably because he is literally in touch with nature in almost all that he does. The other common trait I find in people who give is the word PASSION. He describes passion as “the long distance fuel that is going to change the world” and he certainly has enough passion to keep hundreds of people inspired.
Ernst - you really are a powerhouse. VAVAVOOM.
Here is a short clip of Ernst with Khalil, a 16 year old double amputee from Palestine during the disabled divers instructor's training in Dubai on 27 June 2010.
I must have a fix or I get the bends
Just the other day I was interviewing someone for a blog for my company Alchemy Films and ended up having one of the most interesting conversations I have had in a long time.
Dennie Pasion is a hair & make up artist with Bareface in Dubai and we recently did a beauty shoot with her. I wanted to have a chat to her about what inspires her creativity and ended up having dinner and a long chat with her at a restaurant in JBH hotel. The football was obviously on, but we had tea and chatted about life, God and all things spiritual with not even a single glance to the match on the 4 screens that surrounded us. My kinda gal!
Dennie lives in a world of shapes, colours and sounds and if I had to describe her, it's as if a 14 year old girl inside is swinging gently on a swing in a beautiful white dress while the sun beams through the trees and dances off her face. She describes things using words such as "tumble, gurgle, scratch, shy, unaffected, capture, ooze, sensual and magic".
Coming from a person who loves sounds, shapes, smells and colours - it's refreshing to sit with another person for a few hours while they describe their experiences in a language that you can understand.
Dennie is involved in all sorts of creative projects including Petcha Kutcha - this is a creative platform which means "The sound of conversation" in Japanese. The image above comes from her Fame Virus series shown at the event.
When I asked her what keeps her inspired in the concrete jungle, she tells me about how she loves to surround herself with young people. "The truth is when people reach a certain age they start conforming and then I move away and find myself surrounded by a newer, younger group of friends, until THEY start to conform!". She continues to tell me that "a series of life experiences encapsulated in a single word, hairstyle, lip colour and she is a compelled addict that must have a creative fix or she gets the bends."
"It's up to YOU to make things interesting, create your OWN magic."
We end off talking about the griffin dragons surrounding London, her experience of being blessed in a church and why she gives beggars money in London just to hear them say "God Bless you darling" because she appreciates receiving the blessing from them so much!
Oh how I love interesting and refreshing people.
Sunday, 20 June 2010
Narcissism equates to becoming a literary artist
I'm sure this happens to all narcissists at some point.
They run out of ideas to blog about. Ideas about themselves, of course.
Now I've been doing some online research about free writing courses. This is to improve my personal writing skills and also for the writing I do for work newsletters and social media updates. I found a site that offers free writing courses from various universities.
I poured through the course descriptions online and found this interesting write up:
"But an equally vital purpose of this particular creative writing course is to offer the student a space in which to explore the mysteries of his or her self. In fact, it is largely by means of self-exploration and self-reflection and self-expression that the best literary art is produced. And for at least the next several months, this is exactly how I would like you to view yourself: as a literary artist."
So they have a nice way of saying that narcissistic blogging is not just ok, but it's GOOD for the creation of a flourishing creative artist. But as I said I have run out of my own stories, so I am probably not destined to be a literary artist, I am probably just going to have to be happy with a blog with 7 followers.
So what to write about? My original aim when I started this blog was NOT to talk about work, I wanted to write a personal blog that was completely and absolutely random and unique to me and had nothing to do with work. Having said that I have met so many incredible people via my work that my next few blogs are going to be about either tremendously inspiring or downright creative and interesting individuals I have had the pleasure of meeting........
I live to meet people that move me and I really can't be bothered with randoms. I know it's very unchristian and all, as you should love your neighbors, but I don't know my neighbors. All I know is I can hear them through the walls in the villa next door, but I do however know some really interesting people that I like and that I want to blog about because they inspire me to want to be a better person and to be more creative.
For a start, why don't you subscribe to my Youth Care Centre Blog - the next few write ups will be about the inspirational volunteers who sacrifice so much of their time to help change the lives of the youth in Durban.
Toodaloo
They run out of ideas to blog about. Ideas about themselves, of course.
Now I've been doing some online research about free writing courses. This is to improve my personal writing skills and also for the writing I do for work newsletters and social media updates. I found a site that offers free writing courses from various universities.
I poured through the course descriptions online and found this interesting write up:
"But an equally vital purpose of this particular creative writing course is to offer the student a space in which to explore the mysteries of his or her self. In fact, it is largely by means of self-exploration and self-reflection and self-expression that the best literary art is produced. And for at least the next several months, this is exactly how I would like you to view yourself: as a literary artist."
So they have a nice way of saying that narcissistic blogging is not just ok, but it's GOOD for the creation of a flourishing creative artist. But as I said I have run out of my own stories, so I am probably not destined to be a literary artist, I am probably just going to have to be happy with a blog with 7 followers.
So what to write about? My original aim when I started this blog was NOT to talk about work, I wanted to write a personal blog that was completely and absolutely random and unique to me and had nothing to do with work. Having said that I have met so many incredible people via my work that my next few blogs are going to be about either tremendously inspiring or downright creative and interesting individuals I have had the pleasure of meeting........
I live to meet people that move me and I really can't be bothered with randoms. I know it's very unchristian and all, as you should love your neighbors, but I don't know my neighbors. All I know is I can hear them through the walls in the villa next door, but I do however know some really interesting people that I like and that I want to blog about because they inspire me to want to be a better person and to be more creative.
For a start, why don't you subscribe to my Youth Care Centre Blog - the next few write ups will be about the inspirational volunteers who sacrifice so much of their time to help change the lives of the youth in Durban.
Toodaloo
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)