Woke up and liked/hearted/thanked all the well-wishers on Facebook, twitter, and instagram. Cleaned the dog poop off the patio (Note: I originally wrote "Cleaned poop off the patio" but ultimately felt it was advisable to be specific). Had lunch at Schmaltz Appetizing. Took a stroll. Picked up substitute birthday cake. Heard from two of my favorite…
October 15, 2016: Phasing the dog dislikers out of my life!
I was leaving the farmer's market when I ran into an old friend. It had been years since I'd seen her and, clearly, much had changed. She was married, had a son, and had just moved into a new house. "We should go out for dinner and catch up,"she said. "Great,"I said. I loved the…
October 14, 2016: Apparently, I function best on 3 hours of sleep!
Last night, Akemi and I had dinner with Melissa O'Neil and Vanessa Piazza. We went for sushi and I over-ordered. Even more than usual because I mistakenly assumed I was only ordering single pieces of sushi. Halfway through our meal, when Akemi asked the waitress what else was coming, the waitress replied: "Tuna, eel, and…
October 13, 2016: Early Prep Commences on Dark Matter’s 3rd Season!
The Dark Matter Whisky/ey Club is back in session! Line Producer Norman Denver and Executive in Charge of Production Robbie David - all chummy and smiles. For now. Script Coordinator Alison Hepburn got me a bottle of hot sauce from Barbados! Fantasy Football Consultant/Exec Producer's Assistant Elliot Sokolsky stays hydrated and caffeinated. The Locations meeting!…
October 12, 2016: And so it begins! Dark Matter Season 3!
Alright Fandroids, 2Crew, 5Hive, 4Clan, 6Pack, 3'sCompany - prep on Dark Matter's 3rd season officially gets underway tomorrow! We kick things off with a 10 a.m. Season 3 Overview meeting which will, I suspect, consist of our line producer sounding the alarm on how overbudget we are on our first three episodes. Fortunately, the back half of…
October 10, 2016: Here we go again!
Well, after a fitful night's sleep, we woke up at 3:45 a.m. this morning so that we could catch the first Westjet flight to Toronto. Bubba and Lulu were even less happy about it than Akemi. We once tried taking the red-eye with Jelly in the mistaken belief that she would be tired and sleep…
October 10, 2016: Oof!
Oh, man, this is going to be a brutal 20 hours. My flight out of Toronto was delayed hour. I was seated across the aisle from a kid who cried through most of the 5 hours in the air. When she wasn't crying, her mom kept her entertained playing music videos without the benefit of earphones.…
October 9, 2016: Family Time! And socks!
Today, I celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with my mother and sister in traditional fashion, with a dim sum lunch and sushi dinner. Lai Wah Heen is, in my opinion, the best dim sum in the downtown area - and mom agreed. Pictured above: the lobster dumpling and the crispy pork belly. After dropping mom off at…
October 8, 2016: Toronto Thanksgiving Weekend! With Special Guest Star Brian J. Smith!
You'll never guess who I ran into this morning! Unless, of course, you happened to read the title of this blog entry. Yes! None other than actor Brian J. Smith (Stargate: Universe's Lieutenant Scott) who is in town shooting something. I can't believe it's been almost five years. In that time, Brian has been very…
October 7, 2016: Toronto Day #1!
So, I'm halfway through this fairly comprehensive rewrite when I get a call from the lovable Robbie David back at the production office who starts off the conversation with: "I just got an email. You're not gonna like it." And boy, was he right. Although I understood the sentiment behind the message Robbie received, I really…
October 6, 2016: Travel day, while back on the home front…
Woke up at 7:30 a.m., got to the animal clinic for 9:00 a.m., left with Lulu at 9:30 a.m., got back home and had a quick bite at 10:30 a.m., closed the sale and dropped off the car at 11:15 a.m., left for the airport at 11:45 a.m., flew out at 1:30 p.m. I'm flying…
October 6, 2016: Visiting Day!
Oh boy. I'm trying to arrange for the sale of my car, Lulu's pick-up, and my Toronto departure tomorrow - and it's gonna be tight! After much prodding from Akemi, I've decided to sell the car rather than pay insurance on it while it sits in my Vancouver garage during production of Dark Matter's third season. Granted,…
October 4, 2016: The Lulu Update!
Well, this was a nerve-wracking day. I slept fitfully thinking about the surgery and Lulu seemed to sense something was up. She was atypically needy, snuggling up to me throughout the night and then not wanting to get out of bed this morning. We dropped her off at 8:30 a.m. and the waited for word.…
October 3, 2016: Dogs!
Well, tomorrow's the big day for my frenchie, Lulu. In the morning, she goes in for the surgery that will, hopefully, arrest and maybe even reverse the effects of the spinal issue that has been affecting her hind quarters. I've noticed that she's having an increasingly trickier time walking. She'l drag her back legs, stumble,…
October 2, 2016: Akemi’s Tokyo Video Diaries! And assorted clips!
Weird Food Purchase of the Day = Bitter Melon Chips! Osaka home cooked breakfast. "I wore pants for you guys". Hibiya Park, Pizza Seirinkan, J.P. Hevin, pet spa, museums. The streets of Shinjuku on a holiday weekend. Tokyo street musicians. And this one's for Jodelle!