Still Alive

Hey there!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and are enjoying the blissful relaxation of the holiday season.

It's funny... even though we're fortunate enough to no longer have the kind of jobs where you have to save up your vacation days for that precious week or two off at Christmas, Jim n' I are finding ourselves in a different boat this year. We haven't been able to take any sort of break yet -- with the obvious exception of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which are so busy with preparation, bustling around, and spending time with friends n' family, that they hardly count as actual holidays at all.

Instead these last few weeks have been jammed with work. I'm only taking this two second break to blog while Jim runs across the street to the IGA to pick up something quick to eat over the next couple days. Our cupboards are almost bare, but we haven't the time to do any serious grocery shopping - not that we have the time to cook a proper meal anyway. We live on soup n' buns. Seriously.

However, I'm not going to complain. We should be done this final draft within the next day or so.

We both acknowledge that as much as we talk about it, NO ONE will ever know how much work we have really poured into this thing. We work from the time we get up until 10 or 11 at night. We'll spend over an hour on a single page just to ensure that the words are right and the message we want to convey is crystal clear. Every sentence counts. Is it necessary? If so, is it believable? How can it be better?

Not to mention, during this crunch time for every draft, we also tend to get a little grumpy. We're pretty good at not taking out our irritability on each other, as we recognize that we're both under the same pressure... But when stress is high, our patience for b.s. runs dangerously thin. (Which is another reason why it's good that I've abstained from blogging lately. It just would've been one big bitchfest about eggshell egos, give-me-a-friggin'-break martyrs, and the most drama I've seen since the 10th grade. Honestly!) Oh, woe to those who have managed to piss me off over these last couple weeks. While I did my best to choke back the worst of my venom, if thoughts could kill, we'd have a mighty massacre on our hands. Okay, well, perhaps not "mighty", but there'd be a few casualties, f'sure.

So yes... otherwise, Christmas was a lovely momentary escape. We were both spoiled rotten by everyone and each other. It was absolutely wonderful to get to sleep in our own beds, and enjoy a couple hours here at home opening stockings n' such, before heading out to Cheryl n' Jay's for brunch.  Of course, come Boxing Day, we were cloaked with the weight of pending deadlines once again.

Anyhow, we're getting there! Like Jim says, "The last thing we can do is resent the fact that we have to work on making our movie over the holidays. We are so blessed."

Ain't that the truth!

Besides, by NYE, all will be right with the world once again, and THEN maybe we'll get a bit of a vacay!

In case I haven't told you (actually, I know that I haven't), Jim n' I got tickets about a month or so ago to that big Mardi Gras themed carnival at the Kelowna Community Theater. I've been really looking forward to it, especially since our last three NYE's have been a flop, a bummer, and a low-key drag. This should definitely make up for it!!

Actually, I was just reading in the paper today that Toronto Star's Lifestyle Magazine has ranked the event in their top 10 unique New Year's parties to be held in Canada this year. It's going to be such a blast!

Plus, because I know getting a cab on NYE will be a total nightmare, I decided to look into hotel prices, just to see if anything is available. The closest hotel to the theater is the Delta Grand. Anytime we've ever stayed at a hotel here in town, I've never looking into the Grand, because I've always assumed that it was overpriced, given that it's a swankier waterfront hotel n' all. But, considering it's proximity to the theater, (it's only about a block or two away), I decided that just for kicks I'd check out their rates. Anyhow, I got a surprisingly awesome deal. As if I wasn't excited before, I'm SOOO excited now. Our NYE will be the perfect reward for all our hard work.

Speaking of which, our soup n' buns are ready... so I better eat up and then get back at it.