Thursday, December 29, 2005

The Force is strong in him. I can feel it....

I haven't had much time to write anything for a few days, but this story cannot go unnoticed.

As a child I have always taken the idea of Psychic capabilities very seriously. I remember thinking that I could talk to people with my mind, or predict the future, or anything else that a true JEDI would be capable of. Hell, I still do. Very much in fact. Its a frequent thought in my mind, and the scary thing is...I have a very high percentage of intuition. Small things though, like knowing the time before looking at a clock, or waking up right before my alarm goes off because I hated the sound of it. Its not something I consider a rarity, I think everyone has something like that. I guess its just a matter of how you can tune into it, and the world is getting louder and louder every day.

I flew back to Calgary today after a nice 4 week Christmas visit with my mom and sister. I left my car in White Rock because I will only be staying here a week and then its back to BC to start training for the new job (yay me!). Because of this, I now have to travel around by these two things I think are called "feet". This could not have come at a better time, I think I gained about 10lbs of turkey around my midsection and I really do not wear it well.

Anyways, my Jedi story...

Since I have been gone for 4 weeks, I took all my perishable food with me to BC and therefore my cupboards are bare, so I ran down to 7-11 to grab a quick bite to eat (Everything was closed already, I will hit up Safeway tomorrow LOL). On my way back I remembered that I brought home "Lost: Season 1 DVD" and I have the last half to watch (best damn show out there at this moment by the way. After a few more minutes of walking I came up to the Blockbuster Video and thought to myself "maybe you should go in just to see what is there"....."what the hell Mike, you just said that you wanted to watch Lost, don't waste your money"....."ya but just go in...you might find something of interest, Mike...trust me" (Inner Monologue....ain't it a bitch?). I remember thinking something very important was in the store and I had to go in....so I did.

As I walked in, there were a lot of people in line, and as I kept walking to the New Release area I noticed something.... two women were ripping open the factory sealed "For Sale" DVD's and stuffing them in their jackets. I played like I didn't notice and grabbed the first movie I saw and walked up to the front. I looked back cautiously to see if they were staring at me, and naturally they were. As I continued to wait, they continued to stuff movies in every pocket they could. Finally, when it was my turn at the counter I said to the teller "Excuse me, do you have a pen and paper? I am not sure if this is the movie I want, so I am just going to use my cell phone and call my friend." I pretended to call someone (and actually faked a conversation too I might add... look for me in next year's Golden Globe nominees), and as I did I wrote the following on the piece of paper:

"There are two women stealing at the back of your store wearing (blah blah blah). Here is my membership card if you need to contact me about this later. I will be back tomorrow to pick it up. thank you."

I handed it to the woman at the counter and walked out (without the movie....I am reporting thieves, not becoming one LOL).

I will update this when I go back tomorrow to get my membership card.

" just go in, Mike...you might find something of interest...trust me"

(insert Jedi song here)

Friday, December 23, 2005

Christmas A Day Early...


Due to the fact that my mom is a nurse in the ER, and was kind enough to work for another person on Christmas Day, we are bumping the festivities at our house one day earlier. We really don't mind, Christmas is about being together, and so what if its on a different day? It also made me feel good that my mom did that, because I bet that normally it would be very hard to switch shifts with someone on Christmas Day.

So tonight, December 23rd, is TECHNICALLY "Christmas Eve". I am just about to have an afternoon nap, and mom is cleaning up. Then, when I wake up, I have some last minute wrapping to do (as I always do). My sister and Sean and Kaia (niece) should be here in around 4 hours, and thats when the par-tay starts. It just never really seems like a 100% Christmas unless there is a child bouncing off the walls. I am sure that for most of the night I will be running around the coffeetable with eggnogg in hand, chasing a 29-pound three year old, and an 80-pound two and a half year old (the last one is my Doberman, if you were wondering).

When the night winds down, we will all say our goodnights, and get settled for bed. Mom, on the other hand, has one last important task before she goes to sleep. Santa. He still doesn't know about our change in nights (or "eves" as it were). So, I imagine a few phone calls will be made (Reception at The North Pole, Vancouver Air Traffic Control, etc.), and then finally she can head off to bed.

When we wake up in the morning.......there will be coffee, juice, slippers, music (ain't no Christmas like a Bony M Christmas!), lights, love, warmth, laughter, oh ya........and chaos.

You havent' seen me open my presents :)

I'm Sai-ling A-wayyyyy...

I got the job! I am an official Photographer on a cruise ship! I am going to be paid money to travel to exotic locations all around the world, doing what I love to do! Talk about a great Christmas Miracle, eh? I really thought I would get the job, I just ....didn't really think I would actually GET the job! (if that makes any sense...maybe I am just rambling)

Now I have to get all the necessary info back to "my people" down in Los Angeles, and then they will notify me of when and where I will be going. I gave my availability as Jan 15th, and I have to come back to Calgary for a week or so at the end of December to grab some documents, but I could very well be on the other side of the planet by this time next month! (hell, as long as its somewhere warmer I am happy) I really hope to see as many people as I can while I am in Calgary before I have to come back to Vancouver for departure. Please email me ike1@hotmail.com if you are free before and after New Year's ok?

"Good things take time. Great things happen all at once."

Someone buy me a lottery ticket ;)

Monday, December 19, 2005

Snippet #1 of my X-men 3 Experience...

I just spent 25 of the past 36 hours on the set of X-men 3. Due to a confidentiality agreement that I signed, I can't tell you anything about the movie, but what I CAN tell you about are my personal experiences that I had while waiting in the "Extras Holding Tent".

I arrived on the set Friday night at around 6:30pm. After I signed in, I had a chance to look around at all the people. There were about 150 Extras (the politically correct term so as not to offend anyone is "Background Performer"), and they were split off into two groups: Soldiers and Mutants. Yours Truly was not only a Soldier, but (and this is the honest truth, you can even ask anyone) I was the sexiest soldier in the tent. Seriously! In fact, when you see the movie, and you see a sexy soldier run past the screen, thats me. Promise. Anyways, after I got suited up, stared at myself in the mirror for 5 minutes (thinking to myself that I would gladly give up every one of my childhood Halloween's dressed as vampires, rockstars, and ghouls for just ONE dressed in this get up), I found an empty chair and sat down. And stared. At everyone.

After about 4 or 5 hours of staring, I decided to go for some fresh air.

Now, as some of you may or may not know, winters in Vancouver and surrounding area have a very deep, different kind of cold. If the temperture is -4C (and it was), it will feel like -40C (and it did). Call me wimpy, but I stand by my statement. I was born in Winnipeg. I know what cold is.

So, after about 30 seconds of fresh air, I went back inside.

More Staring.

As luck would have it, I managed to nod off for a few minutes.

Have you ever woke up from a deep sleep and not known where you were or what was going on? You know, when you go for an afternoon nap and wake up at around 8pm, thinking its 8am and that you are late for school or work? Or how about when the phone rings, and you have no idea what that noise is, where its coming from, or what the hell you can do to stop it? Now, picture me waking up, noticing I am in a soldier uniform, then seeing 150 soldiers talking and running around in this HUGE tent, and to top it off, throw in a few fireball explosions outside only a few hundred feet away. You see, apparantly while I was sleeping, they had picked a small handful of soldiers to go to set so they could film a few scenes (hence the fireballs).

I thought I was actually a soldier, actually in the army, and actually under attack.

I jumped to my feet, almost scaring nearby soldiers into seizures, and almost knocking a full board of scrabble to the floor.

To back up for a second: On my way driving to the set earlier that night, I imagined things to go a little differently. I thought I might steal an innocent glance or sweet smile from Halle Barry, or maybe get a "G'day" from Hugh Jackman. I pictured the weather to be slightly ABOVE freezing, with zero waiting time and immediate calls to run to set to start shooting scenes. Ah, Ignorance is bliss.

Ok. Back to the present. Now I have four or five complete strangers staring at me like....well.... like I just jumped to my feet and almost scared them into seizures. Now What? All I could do was took a deep breath, glanced around at everyone, and calmly and carefully said the first and only sentence that came to mind:

"Would anyone like anything from the Snackbar while I am up?"

My seat was taken when I returned. Its probably for the best, though. They were beginning to weird me out, and I was just about to go out for some more fresh air.

Friday, December 16, 2005

It was a Full Moon last night...

and my sister and I had our little "Moon Meditation". Every full moon (or NEW moon), we will get together on the phone and talk about what we want to see happening in our lives in the near future, and then take a few moments to sit and just imagine as if it were already happening. This time however, since I am in White Rock (where my mom and my sister live), we had a chance to talk about it in person. I imagined the following: I have been waiting for a callback from the Cruise Line position as a Photographer (yes, touring around the world on a cruise ship, as a photographer, getting paid UBER amounts of money), so I thought it would be great to get a phone call today (Friday) saying I got the job, and then I would work for six months touring the world, building up an amazing portfolio of my own, saving TONS of money, and then when I got back, I would use that money to work towards an acting career in Vancouver.

Sounds easy right?

So today, I wake up. Coffee is made, and a photography magazine awaits (I went to London Drugs last night and found a $20 bill in the parking lot, so I treated myself to the December edition of Outdoor Photographer, and a tin of Tiger Balm. Bad Back.) So I open the magazine, and the phone rings. "Hmm.." I say to myself. "I thought I predicted the Cruise Line call would be around 2:45pm today...and its only 11am." It was a talent agency here in Vancouver that I applied for a few days ago. Apparently I am working on X-Men 3 tonight and tomorrow as a Soldier. Holy $#%!

I guess the Moon got the order of my meditation wrong.

Meh. =)

Thursday, December 15, 2005

First Introduction...

The first introduction that I shall have the honor of doing on this blog (other than my own of course) is my partner in crime, Adobe. Adobe is a 2 1/2 year old purebred Doberman.

The scarf was my niece's idea. Not mine. Or Adobe's for that matter, although in my opinion, she seemed to like it.

"I am ready for my close-up, Mr. Deville!"

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

It begins...


So....I have been wanting to create a blog for quite some time now, but was too afraid that I would have nothing to say. Not that I see myself as an uninteresting or unintelligent individual, I just didn't think that what I had to say was of any interest to anyone else. Finally today, as I sat there on a patio chair (very uncomfortable might I add, and not suitable for an office chair), in my pajamas, empty coffee mug in hand (A purple Eeyore mug. Thank you Disney Store. Thank you.), sitting in front of my laptop (as opposed to beside or ON my laptop).......it occurred to me: Who the @#$! cares if anyone reads my blog? By definition, BLOG (noun) means: "an online diary; a personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page". PERSONAL! It does not say "for everyone to see and be a part of"...though it would be nice if I had a few blog followers. We could decorate this little place with little thoughts and ponderings together. Who knows how often I will publish my "personal chronological log of thoughts" anyways. Hell, they might not even be chronological thoughts at all! What if I have random thoughts of my childhood that I would like to share? I can do whatever I want in here, so long as it is with reason. That is my one rule. Everything in here has to be written with reason, whatever that may mean. It is after all, my blog. It all begins.....right as soon as I press this publish button, and post my first lil' snippet o' thought.....with reason.