S'More

Movie Terminology
Before I continue on with what I wanted to write about in my last post, I thought I'd begin with this little terminology tidbit. I finally learned the story behind this term on the day we wrapped. It immediately replaced "chicken in the gate" as my new favourite...

M.O.S. - Whenever a scene is being shot, but sound is not being recorded, the First AD will shout out "M.O.S." This usually only happens if it's a close-up of an object or something being shot in slow motion, where the sound will be added later on.

Now, what M.O.S. actually stands for had me confused until our very last day when I finally asked a few people what it meant. As the story goes, apparently in the 1920's there was a German Hollywood director who would always yell, "Mitout sound!"-- that is to say, "without sound".  From then on, the saying stuck. And so to this day M.O.S. is what's called out before shooting mitout sound. Funny, huh?

Okay, and now on to other stuff n' things...

Our Retreat
The only time I've ever stayed in a B n' B was about ten years ago when my dad was having bypass surgery. My family stayed at this place a block from the cardiac unit, which catered to heart patients and their families. The experience was exactly as one might imagine - it was like spending the night at some dusty old great aunt's house. Only there was no great aunt. Just old strangers. Of course, we weren't exactly there to unwind, it was more of a practical choice.

And while Jim has never stayed in a B n' B himself, his impression is exactly as I described above: staying with strangers, and being forced to make awkward conversation around the breakfast table. But I knew that all B n' B's shouldn't be painted with the same brush. So when I started looking for cabins to stay at for our little holiday, I gradually opened my search up to include B n' B's with a more private atmosphere.

I scoured the internet looking for various pet-friendly places on any of the islands, thinking that a little distance might make it feel more like a get-away, without going too far. But then Kerry provided us with the generous offer to kitty-sit, and also passed along a brochure for a place in Port Moody, that was given to her by one of her lecturers the week before.

Port Moody isn't that far at all (only about a half hour drive), but the location was right on the water, the suite offered a cozy fire place, sauna and hot tub... and best of all, it was completely private. The only time we interacted with our hosts was when we awoke to their quiet knock on the door in the morning, letting us know that our always-delicious breakfast was waiting outside. Now that is the way B n' B's should be! None of this B n' BST (Bed and Breakfast Small Talk).

Despite the best of intentions to decompress, besides sleeping in good n' late, our first few days didn't feel quite as agenda-free as I would've liked. On our first day there, we received an email at 2 in the afternoon informing us that Telefilm's Christmas party started at 4, and that it would be good politics for us to attend... y'know since they funded our movie n' all. So. We quickly headed back to Maple Ridge, grabbed some nice clothes, and then were off to the city to get our shmooze on for an hour or so. Not a big deal, but not exactly a relaxing evening of nothingness either. (BTW, I'm not complaining, I'm just sayin'....)

Then because Jim n' I had been so tied up in the days before going on our wee retreat, we didn't get to do any laundry - so we ended up packing a bunch of hamper clothes. This meant that day two was spent trying to find a laundromat. I suppose we could've just driven back to Maple Ridge again, but we were supposed to be vacationing. How is it vacationing if we're just gonna drive home every afternoon? (Then again, how is it vacationing if you're driving around looking for a laundromat?)

Day three I was asked to do an interview for the Pembroke Observer (although I guess they call it The Daily Observer now... but it will alway be the Pembroke Observer to me). My mom had spoken to a gal there, who then contacted me with a whole bunch of questions about DE n' such. I emailed her once to say that I would have my answers for her by the end of the day. She responded to say that she looked forward to them. Later that night, after spending a couple of hours answering them all, I emailed her again. (Twice actually - because I wanted to mention my wonderful high school English teacher, Mr. Vijay). Anyway, I still haven't heard anything back from her. So I dunno... maybe how I became a writer and how we got DE made is a snoozer of a story, and therefore didn't warrant a reply. ;P

I've thought of following up again, but I don't want to seem lame, like I'm trying to push for self-publicity. I mean, I think it'd be cool for my parents, because I know they would be excited to see something in their local paper. But in the big scheme of things, it's not important to me. I can always send them copies of the papers from out here. However, I will say that if the Observer doesn't end up publishing anything, I'll be kinda miffed that I wasted a whole evening of vacation time answering all those questions for nothing. (Again, I'm not complaining. I'm just sayin'...)

On our fourth day, Jim n' I did an interview with Event in Kelowna, who I believe Cheryl had contacted. That one was pretty fun because it was much more interactive as it was over the phone, and Jim n' I were able to bounce off each other's responses. It only took a half hour, so we had the rest of our day to lounge and watch many, many episodes of Cheers on DVD, as well as explore the quaintness of Port Moody. I think the interview might be published this week, but since Jay n' Cheryl are in Vegas until Thursday, if it comes out before then, can I ask some of you Kelowna peeps to please grab us a copy or two?

As for the rest of Saturday along with Sunday and Monday, we had absolutely nothing going on. Those days were as they should be. Movie watching. Magazine reading. Hot tub soakin'. Good, good times.

We'll Be Home For Christmas!
Even though our producers wanted Jim to work up until the 22nd, he's managed to twist their arms and let him go in time for his birthday on the 18th. Our only pickle, (which also impacted our ability to relax those first few days on our retreat) was how we're going to get home. Our options were to fly, rent a car, or take our car. Unfortunately, each mode of transportation came with its own set of challenges.

* The White Knuckle Option: Taking our own car  -- The mechanic told us that this was probably our last winter with these snow tires. They're fine for booting around town, but as we discovered a couple weeks ago, in snowy conditions they're not as good as they could be. That being said, making the four hour drive to Kelowna, going over the snowy, icy Coq in a small hatchback with less-than-perfect tires... well, it's doable, but definitely not the most ideal.

* The Expensive Option: Flying -- Besides the fact that it's more expensive this time of year, we have two cats to consider, which would add an extra $200+ tax onto our return ticket price. Not to mention, over the holidays pets cannot be kept with checked baggage, and instead must be included as carry-on luggage -- which would be fine, except that they need to be in 'soft' pet carries, and not the hard-shelled kind (ie: the kind that we own.) So, add up the price of return flights for the both of us, plus cats, plus new carriers, and it comes close to $1,000. Seriously, $1,000 round-trip for a 35 minute flight? That's crazy talk.

* The Even More Expensive/Impossible Option: Rent a car -- To rent a good-sized/4-wheel drive vehicle for two weeks would cost us over $1,000. As for renting a vehicle just to go one way, and then renting one again when we plan to return, I only found one franchise that exists in both the lower mainland and Kelowna who will do that. And as luck would have it, they have no cars available for the dates we need.

So even though it's not the most ideal option, it seemed that our only choice was to pack up the silver bullet, pray for good weather, and just drive as slow as we have to. Blegh.

But as soon as we had made this yucky decision, Jim's dad stepped up with a surprise offer that completely unburdened us of all our stress. He very, very kindly volunteered to come pick us up on Friday the 17th, so we don't have to worry about driving through the mountains during bad winter conditions. I can't tell you how much we appreciate him going out of his way like this - especially since he had hip surgery only a few months ago! Jim asked him a number of times if he's sure, but apparently he feels he's fine to drive, and is happy to help us out.  What a saint! (And what a sigh of relief!)  :)

Okay, I guess I still have more to say in regards to our plans for the new year... but I'm tired of blogging tonight, so I'll leave that for another post.