Part IL: My last day.

Hello readers,
Today was my last day of Canada's Greatest Summer Job. I know I haven't been blogging like I'm supposed to be I have been working so hard to get my movies done... and they are. Finally.
Today was a day of last minute preparations, frantic closed captioning and last minute audio checking. At 2 P.M. I presented the videos to the office and they seemed to like it. Thank goodness.

But today is only one day in what has been an incredible experience. This summer has flown, it feels like yesterday that Sheila was watching me jump around the living room with the excitement of getting the job. Going to Banff, making the news that I was selected out of 900 applicants for this job real, was incredible. Being in Alberta for the first time and meeting the other 31 students (you guys are incredibly talented) and the amazing mentors including Ashely Hoppin, Craig Colby, Albert, Downy and Eva Karvonen, Fiona Currie, Louis Lavoie and others that I'm forgetting.
The Banff experience was truly incredible, the mountains inspiring and the company couldn't be beat.

From Banff I made my way to Tadoussac, in Quebec's Cote Nord, a place I had never been before. I continue to be blown away from the beauty here, the cliffs, the fjord, the whales, everything about this place is spectacular. I seriously wouldn't even believe I'm in the same province.
Tadoussac and the Saguenay St-Lawrence Marine Park has given me some amazing memories. Tanya, Rosemary, Kevin and Genevieve have made this summer great from playing scrabble and pool at Chez Sam, to climbing over rocks at the dunes, to getting drunk on company whale watching tours (the truth comes out!!).
The St-Lawrence and Saguenay have given me some incredible adventures. Some of my favourites: flying in the sea plane for aerial footage, kayak trip gone awry, kayaking normally, whale watching trips, swimming at l'Anse a l'Eau, dune trips and walking around Pointe d'Islet.
I've had my ups and downs with my videos (crashes and re-builds) but in the end, I am proud of what I've made despite minor audio blips or wonky cuts.

Then there was the Torngats. What a unique and crazy experience in Canada's North. Never thought I would be there. So many crazy hikes, plane rides, first helicopter ride, first iceberg, first polar bear, first caribou (seeing and eating) and so many unique and unforgettable experiences.

So all in all, this has been an unbelievable summer. Truly is Canada's Greatest Summer Job, and I wouldn't have traded it for anything. Thanks Parks Canada, the Saguenay St-Lawrence Marine Park team, my friends and family for the support and in the words of one Kourtney Tyndall: See you on the other side!

Part XXXVIII: Adobe: My arch-nemesis

I remember my first time using Adobe Premiere editing software. It was a sunny day in Banff, Alberta. I remember thinking how many cool things I could do with it. How Concordia's FinalCut didn't compare to it.
That was three months ago.
Now I sit in front of my computer for at least half and hour every morning waiting for my projects to load... that is if they do at all.
Adobe crashes at least four times a day which means I have to restart my computer and re-load the project. For all the great feature it has, the system isn't worth all the time and heartache its given me.
I've never had FinalCut crash on me and take so long to so simple tasks. Only six more days of Adobe until I'm back to FinalCut.

Part XXXXVII: Rendering the night away

Name: Kelly Greig
Status Update: Editing
Since the Torngat Mountains (the long update is coming up) I've had a revelation. This job is supposed to be fun. I'm supposed to be having an amazing experience. When my computer crashed and I lost my premiere files, I drove myself into the ground trying to make up what I lost. Now, I have accepted the fact that I will only complete two movies and have gotten myself back on track.
I'm enjoying my job again, not freaking out at every minute. I look forward to seeing my movies done, and will get them done on time.
Work=fun!

Part XXXXVI: Back from the edge of nowhere

Hello readers.
It's been awhile. How's the family? Anything new with you? Me? Well, I have been trekking through Northern Labrador, meeting the minister of the environment and eating weird animals. No big?
Details?
Unfortunately I have neither the stamina nor the photos uploaded to share my experience at this moment. But so you know, it was an amazing experience!! Loved every minute of it! Fantastic!
More to come...

Part XXXXV: Picking up the pieces

Hello dear reader.
In the wake of my computer apocalypse I am doing what survivors do. Starting to pick up the pieces and move on. I have accepted that I will not fulfill my goal of three videos. I will produce two.
One is currently trapped in my co-workers computer and the other one is still in pieces. Whatever.
I can and will do it.
I've been surprisingly optimistic about the whole situation and Fiona Currie from National Office is a god send.
One more day until I leave for Montreal!

Part XXXXIV: Sunday editing marathon

10:04- Start up the computer. Yes, I slept in a bit. Woke up at 9:30. Sue me.

10:40- Massive set back, the video files from the Adobe were all on the desktop so when I tried to open my old file it was all media offline

11:10- Movie Two is really interview driven and rendering the interviews is taking forever.

12:06- Twenty minutes of rendering and 13% done.

2:11- STILL RENDERING, thank goodness this is a really interview driven video because in about 30 minutes I'll have all interviews rendered. Ugh

Part XXXXIII: Saturday morning editing marathon

9:15- Just arrived at the office. It's a beautiful warm Saturday morning. Not a cloud in the sky, and I'm cooped up in front of a computer

10:24- Rendering is taking FOREVER on this computer. Seriously 1 second of footage is taking about 13 to render.

11:51: About 48% complete

11:54- Waiting for a huge chunk to render. Blasting Don't Stop Believin' on my laptop.

1:00- First Adobe crash of the day, sure to be more to come. Almost have all the images in sequence. Still to do: audio, supers, music, credits

1:15- Listening to Hanuka Matata from the Lion King while getting the last of my clips together

2:23- Snack time

3:31- Holy hell this computer is slow. Everything is do take twice the time as my old computer.


4:22- Recording script. Almost done. Just supers and credits left to do.

4:46- Wow, my French is awful. Should I get someone else to record this?

5:59- Really almost done, just need to tweak some audio.

7:15- Exporting. Phew. Time for a break. Haven't decided whether or not to get going on video two.

Part XXXXII: Crash and Burn

Today was probably the worst day I`ve had on Canada`s Greatest Summer Job. I arrived in the office this morning and my computer wouldn`t start. It would freeze and send me to the blue screen of death everytime. I remained calm.
I called the IT guy for the field unit. He worked on it for an hour and a half. He said it had something to do with the hard drive. I remained relatively calm.
Four hours later after taking out my hard drive and playing with it he said that my files were lost. I started to panic.
After re-installing Adobe on another computer and starting up my external hard drive with my source files, I realized how much this sucks. Two finished movies. Gone.
Three weeks of work. Gone
My sanity. Gone.
It`s currently 6:27 PM and I`m here by myself at the office. I have to re-edit my movies over again and edit the third entire movie by Wednesday. This is the true test of my patience and journalistic mettle.
Bring it.

Part XXXXI: Storms

Well I finished my first movie today. I mean 99% finished all I have to do is re-record my script in French which will take 10 minutes done. Trouble is, it took a pound a flesh to get this thing done.
It all started with the music. I have two piece in this movie, one composed by Sean, one taken from the Internet. Now we got this list of music websites where you can listen to demos and then purchase and download the tune. So I browsed a site and found a piece that matched Sean's piece and the mood I was going for. I eagerly downloaded and cut and fixed and perfected and everything. When I went to go put the credits in a figure out how to credit the music I came across disclaimer. The piece I selected was not blanket licensed outside of the United States.

Twenty very angry minutes later I sat back down at my desk. I actually had to take a walk around the church beside the office to blow off some steam.
I found one piece I liked (took about 45 minutes to find) I could surely do it again. And I did.

Twenty minutes later I had a new piece of music, forty minutes later it was thrown into the film and an hour later it was cut the way I want it.

Phew! As the stormclouds brewed outside, they also brewed over my head. This was the kind of motivation where you actually get mad at the project and then it was done.

So all in all, a weird day with a cool result.

Pointe-Noire: One of the Parks Canada sites!

Part XXXX: Roughtcut Two Finished!

There is no better feeling than watching the little Canadian flag in the government of Canada logo stop waving and cross dissolve to black. It's a feeling of elation, pride and satisfaction.
Today I finished roughcut two. It is about what is underneath the waters of the St-Lawrence and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. Eventually, the movie will be entirely in French which is kind of scary because I have to record some seriously French script soon.
I am starting to get used to this English/French scripting and working environment. Tadoussac is pretty uni-lingual French and so initially it was hard to switch.
Short post tonight after a day of editing, I don't really want to keep looking at a computer screen!

Part XXXIX: The Twelve Steps

I am not an alcoholic. The closest I've ever come is my European binge drinking semester and being considered a regular at Peel Pub on Tuesday nights. No, I am not an alcoholic, but I am going through the stages.

That's right, I'm making a euphemism for editing. Editing is now my alcohol. Also kind of explains my decline in social life too eh?

Stage 1: Footage
Wow. I have a lot of footage. Some of it terrible, some of it not-so-terrible but all seems in excess. I know I have at least fourteen shots of my feet or legs somewhere in the never ending list of clips. The giant list seems overwhelming but also reassuring. I must be able to patch some of these clips together to make something right?

Stage 2: Cutting
No, I don't mean the emo cutting yourself for pleasure way. I mean transcribing (extremely time consuming) and cutting up interviews and looking for b-roll that you'll think you'll use and realize is crap in a later stage. Now that I think about it, by the end of this stage I did feel like cutting myself.

Stage 3: Storyboarding
This stage can be likened to taking a 5000 piece puzzle and dumping it over all over the dining room table. All the pieces are the right size and can fit together, but you just have to figure out how. Let's just say I was never one for puzzles. I find this stage the hardest because there are so many places you can start. Do you start with the edges (the beginning and the end) or do you try to fit some pieces together that seem to make sense (nesting)?

Stage 4: BRoll
Remember when I just said that stage three was the hardest? I lied. I always feel like it is when I'm doing it, then I get to this stage. In stage four you realize you have to cover your cuts with broll that sometimes you have, sometimes you don't. Sometimes it makes sense, some times it doesn't. There is always that cold chill you get when you realize: 'I need to re-shoot this'.

Stage 5: Re-shoot
So far for this project I've had to re-shoot two interviews and endless broll scenes. This is one of the most frustrating things for me because camera operation is not where I excel. Sometimes I come into the edit suite only to find things are out of focus or shaky or the colour temperature is wrong. Often times you can fix these things in post but re-shooting is sometimes the only choice.

Stage 6: Agitation
By this time you are getting mad at the project, like it set out to personally get under your skin. Everything you do, even the most simple tasks, seem like carrying the world on your shoulders like Atlas.

Stage 7: Paranoia
Okay, this project defenitely is out to get me. It is at this stage that it seems like Adobe crashes seconds before you hit save and you wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat because rendering, importing and encoding have been reoccuring characters in your nightmare. You swear that everytime you leave your chair to go to the bathroom someone has pressed apple Z about twenty times to lose a half hour of work. All you can think about is your movie.

Stage 8: Depression
OhGod! This movie will never get done! Everyone's will be better than mine and I'll never make it as a journalist. Why did they pick me for this job! How can I salvage this so people will not look down on me and scoff? This is the stage where heavy drinking starts and can actually lead to the real 12 steps.

Stage 9: Fury
"I swear to God, I am going to throw this computer down a flight of stairs." By this stage you are getting mad at the project. Your behaviour towards innocent coworkers and friends becomes very nasty. You snap at people using the photocopier too loud or sipping their coffee too early. Lights are too bright, so bright that you want to punch them out. This stage is similar to stage six except more extreme.

Stage 10: Hope
The funny thing about the fury stage is it's also the most productive stage. The rage that consumes your veins also drives you to work longer hours and edit like you're on speed. So once you emerge from the haze of fury, you realize that you've actually gotten a lot done. Nay, you are almost done. Instantly your mood lifts. You are nicer to your coworkers who are often cowering in fear, you carry groceries for old ladies instead of trying to mow them down with your pick-up, you feel a smile coming to your face instead of the perpetual grimace.

Stage 11: Jealousy
You're feeling good until you notice other people's roughcuts up on the video sharing website. You watch. Your smile fades slowly. You realize that their movies are good. Really good. Better than yours good. Damnit... This is where you want to sabotage everyone else's project somehow even if that means travelling across the country a breaking into various Parks offices.

Stage 12: Completion/Satisfaction
You focus all your energies on making your own movie as great as everyone else's. Two hours fixing camera shake? Completely rational. A day spent exactly matching colours and designing a title? Totally fine. This is the OCD stage, where every single flaw seems like a Montreal-sized pothole. You go through your movie with a fine toothed comb until you see that final government of Canada flag stop waving. You are finished. You feel both happy and empty at the same time. You psh your baby bird out of the nest and into the world.

So you see, I have been consumed by the twelve stages. Waiting for August 5 when I can go back to Montreal and break out of the stages. Summer? Didn't even notice the past two weeks. I only realized today that July is almost done. Where did all the time go? Well, better live it up now and go out and have a drink... don't worry, I won't become an alcoholic.

Part XXXVIII: YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finished roughcut two! Finished roughcut two! Finished roughcut two! Finished roughcut two! Just thought I would celebrate!
I sent off roughcut two to my music guy to add a nice original composition to accompany the underwater magic of the St-Lawrence. I am so proud and I really like this video. I just hope it can compete with the other beauty videos from across the country. After seeing another underwater video I was taken aback at the quality of sound and so I am trying to match that. I want people to just stop and stare at the awesome below the waves- it makes it a bit easier when the life below the water is crazy beautiful.
Right now, sans music, the movie seems really empty. I am hoping that with a sweet soundtrack, it will transform, nay, evolve into a higher species.

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS!

Part XXXVII: Mysteries of the deep

I've been scanning through underwater footage all day so when I left the office in bright sunlight I felt like I was waking up after a dream. My eyes were bleary and I was slightly disoriented.
But it was worth it, because roughcut two is mere hours away from completion. From there my music guy will score it and then off to be critiqued by Craig Colby! Hooray!
Also, I got feedback on my first roughcut today. I was told to focus more on Nadia and her life instead of the research she is doing this summer. I think that she has an interesting story because she is from this area so it's like coming home to work here. Her words, not mine. Also, she knows how to goof around and have a fun time so that helps a lot.
Seeing everyone else's work is really motivating me to step my game up.

Part XXXVI: Roughtcut Two: Bon Jovi Style

Ohhhhh, I'm halfway there... Ohhh! Living on a prayer! That's right everyone by tomorrow at 1:29 PM I will be done roughcut two. How do you know it will be 1:29? Well because I say so, and I'm the boss.

Sue me, short entry. It's not like anyone is reading this anyways!

Part XXXV: Roughcuts

There are exactly 15 days until my movies are due. 15. Not a lot compared to the entire summer but when I think about how I work at school, 15 days is an eternity. Thus far, I have completed roughcut one and am in the midst of roughcut two. It feels good to have all the shooting done- defenitly takes up the majority of the time, but sad knowing that I`ll be looking at a computer screen for the next two weeks. Alas, the life of an editor. Today was a day to sort through some amazing underwater footage for my beauty of the parks film and check to see if there were any comments on my parks employee film. Still waiting for Craig Colby to critique what I submitted but judging from other people`s work, his comments are extremely helpful.
So this is it: the last push. These next two weeks will test my stress level, organization and efficiency as well as my sanity. Bring it on!

Part XXXIV: Busy bee but bad blogger

Hello blog devotees. I have been very busy with work but s-u-c-c-e-s-s! I have finished roughcut one! It needs a lot of work but the story is set up and I like it. So what is left to do for this video:
Make any changes based on feedback
Fix audio levels- right now some parts are louder than others
Colour match so all the interview clips look the same
Add some more BRoll
Credits
Branding (the fancy Parks Canada beaver logo)
Fix supers so everyone has the same

Sounds like little things but this whole job will probably take me 1-2 days, especially the colour match.

I am so happy that I have finished this for more than just the feeling of accomplishment. My other two movies have solid plans (unlike this one) so I should be done both roughcuts by the very latest next Monday. This leaves two weeks to do fine cuts.

Now I can actually relax. Finally a day off after 12 days straight of work!

Part XXXIII: FREAK OUT!

Well it's T minus 23 days until the final deadline. That includes Saturdays and Sundays. I'm freaking out about the lack of time there is to script, storyboard and edited my films. It's officially go time. Sorry social life, rest in peace.
Today was spent transcribing and cutting up Nadia's interview. I am doing some homework scripting because I want this to be a natural sound piece (no narration). It's a bit more difficult but I hope I can pull it off.
Also, I got my translated script back from National Office so it's full steam ahead for the exploration of the fjord shooting and script. That piece is completely planned all I need to do is follow that perfectly crafted approach. (Modesty is overrated)
So everything seems so close and so far away! Looks like this is going to be a very long three weeks.
No photo because of the rain and I spent the entire day in the office.

Part XXXII: Aerials

Here is what I did today:




That's right. Your eyes do not deceive you. This is a plane.

I rode in a plane today. It is the smallest plane I have ever been in and it was spectacular. Nadia told me about this flight company that offers 20 minute flights over the marine park's heart. So I inquired last week about getting some sweet aerial shots. Turns out, today was the first day of their season. So I kind of felt like a guinea pig but luckily we didn't go down in flames or crash horribly into a mountainside. It was really smooth and I hope I got some great footage. I got to sit in the front of the craft because with five passengers I was the only one who wasn't in a couple. Actually worked out great because I could film through the biggest window.

By far the best part is when we circled over a pod of belugas at the surface. Seriously they were so beautiful, no pictures because I was taping.







Also I had a run-in with a marmot today. This little guy lives around our office and as I came out the door he from and hissed at me. So I took his picture.


The proximity between the door and the marmot- he is on the right at the top of the grass.

Part XXXI: Workin' for the Weekend

Sorry Loverboy, I'm going to have to change those lyrics to Working on the Weekend. It's a beautiful Saturday in Tadoussac, and I'm working. Luckily, it's a day of entirely shooting so I've been outside all day. It's 6:16 PM right now, and I'm still not done my day. One interview today quickly multiplied into seven. Seven interviews!! The shortest of which is five minutes, the longest is 30. It's no two hour behemoth I did yesterday but it's still work.

My day started at 9 AM when I got into the office to recharge my desperately low batteries. I also unloaded everything I did yesterday and emptied out my camera for the day ahead. My first stop was at the Cap de Bon Desire (the Cape of Good Desire) to film an activity called 30 Pieds chez Neptune. What happens is that divers search around the area to collect organisms in the water and bring them up in buckets. The buckets are then transported over to big blue kiddie pools where visitors can learn about starfish, anemonies, crabs, mussels etc... Best part: you get to touch them.

After that activity I jetted down the road to the Centre de Decouverte Marin to interview one of the divers for the St-Laurent-en-Directe program before it began. We talked about the riches of the sea floor and how people think the St-Lawrence is one huge garbage can. After out interview was the program itself which I filmed again. Today the visibility was pretty bad so the divers had to get really close to the fauna and flora. It was really cool to get like massive zoom ins of sea anenomes and other creepy crawlies of the sea floor. Of course the spider crab freaked me out... stupid spiders.

After the show I got two streeter style interviews about the show. One was taken in the theatre and kind of has this really nice atmosphere. Then I interviewed two more divers in Explos Nature. These were 10 minute power interviews. Fast-talking, quick questions and short anwsers were the name of the game. Overall though they had really interesting stories and things to say.

So now I'm back home, taking a little break before my last interview of the day. I made the supreme mistake of sitting down on the couch. Now I really don't want to get back up. But alas, the work, she beckons, and I must answer her call. AWAY!

Part XXX:(RACY!) Crazy days

It's 10 PM on a Friday night and I'm exhausted. That's right ... I've turned into an 80 year old woman. I'm legitimately lying on the couch right now watching television by myself. The joys of youth.

Today was a crazy cray day on Canada's Greatest Summer Job. This AM Nadia and I made the snap decision to do her interview today while it was sunny. I grabbed my camera and she brought along her fresh new Parks Canada shirt and we were out to Pointe Rouge to shoot her interview.

Nadia is a natural talker. In fact, she's pretty ideal as an interview. She changed between joking and serious perfectly and had lots of little antecdotes. One good interview=one happy Kelly.

So after my two hours and change interview I tore off to les Escoumins to go to St-Laurent-en-Directe. It seems like on my half hour journey the clouds rolled in a killed the stifling heat. Downside- it looked like it was going to storm. So I watched the divers' presentation with trepidation, because the clouds were menacing. The show began, I was filming the people in the room and not really paying attention to the screen. When I looked up, I realized how fantastic the footage is. I feel a little weird about taking the footage from Explos-Natures (the Parks partner who runs the program) but I really like the story I have. So, full steam ahead.

Part XXIX: A pocket full of AWESOME!

What a fantastic day today was. I spent about 30 seconds at my desk where my butt was practically levitating over my seat. As soon as I came in, Nadia swept by my desk telling me to be ready in twenty minutes to go into the fjord. So after popping into the bathroom and checking my e-mail (I missed the teleconference call) we were heading our to the Tadoussac marina. The thick fog that has been blanketing Tadoussac is still here in full force.
Our destination today was Baie St-Marguerite. A site notorious for beluga sightings. Nadia and her helpers started the echolocation and I was trying to figure out how to get a more exciting, different view of her rather than just sitting and looking for whales. This allowed me to climb onto the front of the boat where I was splashed and thrown around a bit but it was pretty exhilarating. Fantastic!
The second part of my day was spent at the CDMM recording the St-Laurent-en-Directe program. Divers go underwater with a camera and stream live video of the St-Lawrence floor to a viewing room. It was the first time I had seen it and it was fantastic. Seriously, so colourful, so surprising and so interesting. I never knew how not-ugly the floor of the St-Lawrence is. I got some pretty cool footage and some pretty cool interviews. Yay!

On a tangent here but today while on the boat I realized how awesome this job is. Seriously, even if my movies are less than stellar, I'm having so much fun this summer. I meet new people almost everyday and hear some amazing stories. I'm so happy I decided to take this job instead of working as a customs agent (sorry Meredith). We got out outline for the Torngat mountains trip in August and it looks SO FREAKIN' COOL! Seriously, like there is an electric fence around the entire base camp to keep bears out.

So now I am here on the couch, reveling in the amazing opportunity that I am living.

Part XXVIII: Boats and Burns

I have a sunburn. Not just any old sunburn. A raging scarlet red face sunburn. I got home looked in the mirror and started laughing hysterically. The burn is a result is of day one of a two day boat shoot extravaganza! Try saying that five times fast.


I am on the Alliance (the Parks Canada boat) following Nadia around like a puppy dog. She is the marine biologist at the park and I'm shooting a movie about her. Following a pre-determined course, we cruise along mapping the predators in the area while at the same time using echolocation to track the prey. Today was a special day. This is because for the first day ever, we didn't see over five marine mammals. It was a foggy foggy day and the mammals were all hiding. Sad for footage but hilarious in another way. There were lots of birds out today and we were all discussing the names of them in English and in French. Well, one of the species present on the St-Lawrence was the booby. Yes, the bird. So energetically Nadia starts calling out, "Booby! Booby!", in an effort to get them to come closer. It was hilarious. Once the translation of the other use of booby in English was passed around the boat, it was even more hilarious.

Nadia is a great character to profile. She's really passionate and energetic about her work. At about 3:00 when I was crashing she was still running along the top of the boat, binoculars in hand. Also, her English is fantastic and I can finally make my English film! She's open to any suggestions I have and is really excited for her interview (to be shot next week).

All and all, a great day on the St-Lawrence.

Part XXVII: Fog & Troubleshooting

Today is day three of crazy fog. Seriously, it's like walking through a cloud. It reminds me of skiing in the Rockies/Alps where you suddenly enter the clouds, can't see a thing, then pop out again at the bottom. In Tadoussac, it seems there is two layers to get through. From my house on the hill I pass through one layer about 10 feet down from the front door then stay in the second cloud that surrounds the office and the water. So I spend my days not being able to see out the windows- which is kind of depressing but still kind of cool.

Since the fog is stunting any possible shooting I started putting pieces of my first movie together. I realize it's actually pretty far along- farther along than I thought. That is until I accidentally renamed some clips that I have used and can't get the edits back the way they were. So I basically just added another three hours of work to my list- all because of my own blunder.

Don't worry dear reader, it's not all doom and gloom. I'm actually in a great mood because ... the sun came out! It burned up all the fog and my worries that I could never shoot! Also, Nadia (the marine biologist who is the focus of a film) came back from vacation. So we talked and have plans to shoot tomorrow, Wednesday, next Monday, next Tuesday and next Wednesday. Phew!

So busy busy busy and excited to get our there and shoot! Keep your fingers crossed for some sun!

Random photo for today. My truck at a milestone!

Part XXVI: AWOL II a.k.a Fun with Editing

Dear readers, I am sorry. I know that on Thursday morning as you were celebrating the nation's birthday you looked to your trusty blog and ... nothing. I left on Wednesday and booked it back home to Ormstown/Montreal for a truly amazing weekend. I saw friends and family, made some sweet Canada Day money coming second in a foot race and enjoyed copious amounts of delicious food.
So that's that and today is back to work, back to reality and back to freaking out. Actually, when I woke up today it was rather zen. Tadoussac was covered in a think fog, everything was still and silent. It was like waking up in a dream, and boy did it ever calm my nerves. That and the 10 degree weather, seriously, it's 10 degrees out, stop complaining Montrealers. Maybe it's because I'm still exhausted and still recovering from the weekend and slightly hopped up on cold medication (yes, I have a cold in July) but the end seems close. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Don't get me wrong, I love this job. Everyday I'm learning something new about editing, storytelling, scripting and my own abilities and having lots of fun, but I am looking forward to that moment when I type the last word and hit save. I'm proud of what I have so far and since I'm not in film production and by no means a technology expert, I hope that the storytelling/journalistic ability will really come through for me.

With a exactly a month left I have a game plan. Video One will be shot by Sunday and the only thing left after that is a little archival footage. Video Two will be shot for the most part by Saturday and video three is slated for next week.

On a totally unrelated topic, I finally got my photos from the kayak extravaganza this weekend. They were being held hostage in a foreign phone but I pulled a little Noreiga magic and removed them.
So today features a little scrapbook of the experience but cannot accurately depict the crazy. So, enjoy!

Sean's car never looked so good


ADVENTURE!


Campsite at Anse a Tabatiere


Sean cooking with his homemade oven mitt. It's two socks.


In tune with nature... as a tripod.

Part XXV: Tik Tok

No, I'm not talking about the song by Ke$ha. I'm talking about just over a month left and still zero movies made. Today was a milestone though, I started editing my first film. Granted it was just cutting up the interviews, a pretty simple task, but it felt great to get Adobe Premiere open and import some clips.
Another big task done today was getting a second script banged out. Not just a second version of the same script, but a whole new script. The kayak trip mayhem totally threw off my entire film and so now I'm kind of back at square one. So today was a big one. In television class at Concordia, scripts seemed kind of easy. Write your lead, throw in some quotes, have a catchy sign off and your done.

This is not news.

This requires a lot more work. I'm trying to blend two stories, keep the storyteller feel, give the info and not be too obvious and direct. Wow. So I drafted a new script and then some. I started on my second movie script. It's really really rough right now, but I hate sitting in front of a blank document. The minute I actually have something down it feels much better and I start to build.

So that is what I did today. No shooting because it is crazy foggy out. Seriously, like hit a pedestrian that's two feet in front of me foggy. Tomorrow is another big day. Shooting early in the morning, work all day then drive to Montreal after work. Phew, I feel tired alright.

Since I didn't take any photos today because my battery charger is in the bowels of my messy room. So here is a picture taken from another day: Kelly with boats in Tadoussac harbour.

Secret

Here is something I feel I can reveal:
I secretly wish I was from the Maritimes. Except not from New Brunswick. Seriously, you Newfs, Islanders and Bluenosers have all the coolest shit. Jealous.

Part XXIV: Going AWOL

Hello everybody,
I'm sure you've all been wondering where I have been after this long absence. Well I have had an extremely crazy/fun/stressful/cold/tiring weekend. Let me tell you, I don't think I've been this relieved to see Monday... ever... only so I can do a whole bunch of laundry, shower, clean my room and generally get my life in order.
So this weekend actually started mighty early. Tuesday night Sean broke the world record for the Montreal-Tadoussac stretch of highway and came to visit me. Seriously, I don't know how people drive that fast and don't get pulled over or die.
So on Thursday I morphed into tour guide Kelly and we saw the sights. The dunes, Tadoussac beach, Pointe d'Islet, Escoumins, Bergeronnes and highway 170 were all stops on the grand tour. It was actually a pretty nice day but alas, there were no whales to be found.
Thursday night was the main event in Tadoussac. Seriously, it was like Christmas came early. With more fire. And explosions. St-Jean-Baptiste Day is a HUGE deal. So HUGE you have to write it in caps whenever you reference it. There were all the elements of a good party. Beer was flowing, fireworks exploding and the fire was burning hot. Seriously, this was a HUGE bonfire.

Since we had a little pre-drinking party with other PC staff (shout out to Tanya, Rosemary, Gen and Kev) it was well into the early hours of the morning when we walked home... uphill.

On Friday we had a super busy day. Picked up kayaks from Baie St-Catherine in the AM, drove to Anse St-Etienne to drop off my truck, drove to Baie Eternite to start our kayak trip. Now day one had some high winds. Some really high winds. You really don't notice until you get out there how high. It was only until we were getting soaked by one metre waves and our hands were all cut up from launching did we realize how stupid we were. We ended up making our 13 km journey in 4 1/2 hours when it was supposed to take 5 1/2 because the wind was pushing us.

We got to our campsite at Anse a Tabatiere completely soaked and exhausted. Luckily there was still a lot of daylight left for us to pitch our tent and get some food into s before crashing. My sleeping bag had been part of the soaked material so I froze until Sean was extremely gallant and switched so I got his nice warm, dry one. Ahhh heaven.

The next day was supposed to be calmer but boy were we in for a surprise. About 2 km after starting the day Sean and I got seperated because I stopped to film. When I found him he was on this beach waving me down to stop. With really rough waves his rudder had broken off and he had been smashed into the rocks. Luckily he didnt get swept out to sea or die or drown. We stayed stranded on a beach for two hours until the tide went out and try to make it to the nearest town. Luckily we were stranded next to the only town on our route: Anse St-Jean. So after a very stressful half hour paddle into a really strong headwind, we made it. Exhausted, hungry and desperate we got a lift to our cars, grabbed the best hot dogs and hamburgers ever, and came back to Tadoussac.

Our three day journey had become two, and boy was I ever sore, cut up and tired. Needless to say, gorging on junk food and bad TV ensued.
So today I reviewed my footage and checked out what we managed to get. Today was spent re-writing and re-focusing script to fit the change in story. A crazy weekend but now it's time to relax. Ahhh.

Part XXIII: De-Stressing Day

Another day mostly spent at the office scripting and logging tape. I did manage to get out into the sunshine today and get a little tiny bit of shooting done. Just the small stuff that really needed to get done. I got some great shots of some unknown geese (I have my field guide and I've been looking) and some shots of the ferry that are kind of boring but will come in handy.
While filming around town I was feeling good. Had a freezie, it was nice out, good times. Unfortunately by the time I got back and looked at my footage. The dead kitten windsock was in about half the shots. Damn. All I could see in the top right hand corner are these little wisps of hair. I think it's time to visit the barber.

Still gearing up for this weekend's kayak trip mentally, physically and logistically. I feel like I have everything I need but I know that as soon as I get out there I will say, "if only I had ...", and then will kick myself for not having it. Which is kind of hard in a kayak.

So today is just another regular day in the world of Canada's Greatest Summer Job. Which, is still pretty amazing.

Here is a picture of me looking doofy in a kayak... a little preview of this weekend

Part XXII: Worries, Frustrations, Insecurities and Hope

Confession: Behind the awesome facade, I am secretly quaking in my boots. So much is hinging on this weekend's kayak trip. My entire first video is framed around it and I'm going to be using a lot of footage for the second video. Also, where has all the time gone. I'm now down to making three videos in a month. Whoops, at least I have my plans set but the last two weeks are going to be a marathon of editing. I hope it rains the entire time so that I won't be feeling like the Wicked Witch of the West.

I'll get you my pretty and your little dog too!

So, this short three day work week I have a lot of taping to do, scripts, logistics and tomorrow I'm on the Parks Canada boat. So all in all I have to get my act together. Today was spent scripting, logging tape and double checking kayak rentals.

Never fear Parks Canada. I can do this. Even if I take me until 11:59:59 on August 4, 2010. These videos will get done.

Also, congrats to all grads today.

Part XII: Funny Sign Day.

It's Friday and it's time for some comic relief. Here are the funny signs that I have encountered thus far in the month in Tadoussac.

How cute is this? Unfortunately whilst pulling up to take the photo I brutally crushed a family of baby ducks.


This photo was taken right in the centre of town at the Tadoussac docks. First time I've ever seen a speed limit of 16 before. Weird....


Mmmmm... Tachos


Well sorry readers for wasting your time with that but I really didn't do much worthwhile today. I only worked for three hours because of the overtime I booked on other days so I went out an enjoyed the beach all afternoon.
Next week is a big one, lots of filming on the kayak trip, a special guest and St-Jean Baptiste!

Part XXI: Here fishy, fishy, fishy!

Today I touched my first krill. It was small, it was squishy, it was dead. I spent 10 hours on the Calanus II today, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Coast Guard boat. It was quite the experience in the French language, smoking and 'les hostie filets'. This isn't your momma's fishing experience.

Fisherwoman Kelly, taking a break


Apparantly you need to smoke this many packs per day to be a real fisherman.


Welcome to my office.




Not a long post today, tired. Also when I told the fishermen about the Halak trade, I've never heard so much French profanity.

Part XX: I got 99 problems but a pitch ain't one

Today I was purusing my blog, looking over all the amazing posts, pictures and things I've done. I've come to realize that I haven't shared the pitches for my films a.k.a what the films are about.
So here they are!
Theme (given out by Parks Canada): Jobs at Parks Canada
I am going to be following Nadia Menard, a marine biologist, who is in the midst of an extensive research project this summer. She is trying to determine why there is a fluctuation in the number of whales that visit each year. Since the whales are pretty much the Park's rasion-etre, her research is especially important in the conservation and economic domains (tourism is the number one industry because of the whales). She is using echolocation to track the whale's prey and track the whales, seals and birds that all feed off of it.
She has a great personality. Today when we were on the boat looking for fish shoals, she leaned over the railing of the boat and started chanting, "here fishy, fishy, fishy!" Also, she speaks English. Bonus.

Theme: The natural beauty of the Park
Now this one can come off as just a series of glory shots but I have a storyline that will be interesting to stick to. Most people see the St-Lawrence as a huge garbage can. They think it's full or pollution, corpses and snowmobiles, but that's really not the case. The St-Laurent-en-Directe program run by Parks Canada shows people the wonders of the sea floor. They send a cameraperson and a biologist diving into the St-Lawrence to show the tourists a live feed of the creatures of the deep. The best part is that the visitors can ask questions to the biologist underwater and ask the cameraperson to go left, right, up or down.
Combined with the beauty on top of the water that the tourists usually see, it should provide a pretty nice picture of why this area should be protected and respected.

Theme: My own choice!
For the video of my choosing I was really helped by my Intermediate TV professor Jacques Grenier. He turned me on to the idea of doing a Globe Trekker style video. This is a kind of adventure into the unknown (except I know all about it, the viewer is discovering along with me) that is the Saguenay fjord. I'm going on a three day kayak expedition down the fjord learning about the history, geography, industry and ecology of the fjord. Since the fjord is often overlooked by the tourists and largely untouched by man (there are no roads along the fjord, only boats and walking paths really have access) it's kind of a journey into the wild. I will of course have a trusty assistant/cameraman/pack mule to aid me.

So what do you think?
Also, I am feeling massively dizzy because I was on a boat all day. I still feel the waves hitting me.

Don't have a good picture for today so here is a shot of the fjord stolen from CBC.

Part XIX: Sunrise

This photo was taken at 3:46 this morning. It was exactly 36 minutes after I had gotten out of bed. I woke up this morning with a goal: time lapse sunrise.
Although this was the goal, I realized something about myself today. I cannot do math ridiculously early in the morning. For example: should I put it on a 10 second or 30 second time lapse. Well here is the math behind the decision. There are 30 frames per second of tape. If I put it at 10 second time lapse then it will take one frame of video every 10 seconds. Follow? So how long will it take to get one second of tape? Well 10seconds x 30frames = 300 seconds. 300 seconds divided by 60 seconds equals 5. So what does this all mean? It will take 5 minutes of footage to get 1 second of tape in time lapse. Now this seems simple right? Okay, now wake up early. You're groggy, you're trying to figure out where is the best camera location, you're trying to do math. Ugh.

Turns out the footage isn't so bad. I would like to try it again with a 30 seconds lapse to see the difference and then have some more choice in what I will be using.

So there I sat in my pickup, watching the sunrise over the St-Lawrence and wrapped up in a sleeping bag. Eventually I fell asleep only to arise with the sun beaming in my face and the clock reading 5:15. I collected up my equipment and headed back home. Went back to bed at 5:30 and woke up at 9:30 fresh and ready for work!

I feel like if I don't use this clip it will be one of those ones that only you realize how much work goes into filming only to come up with nothing.

Part XVIII: Sand Dunes

Hello dear readers, sorry for my absence. I took the advantage of this weekend's nice weather to return to Ormstown and Montreal. Went to the Ormstown Fair, St-Laurent street festival and saw a band with a very talented lead singer/guitarist/bassist/pianist. A 14 hour round trip but well worth the exhaustion.
Unfortunately the trip left me in a stupor and it was so hard to drag myself out of bed this morning. The day passed in a daze, I didn't get much done and found myself surfing the web for kayak trip tips with no real objective. I was content to sit in my plush office chair and read for most of the day, broken up by sending e-mails to co-workers and scanning personal e-mail accounts.
The real fun came after work.
Rosemary, Tanya, Kevin (the new guy) and I went out for coffee at cafe Boheme. We had all been cooped up all day and were looking for adventure. Adventure we found, in the *Not actually me, taken from Internet*

form of sand dunes. The Tadoussac Sand Dunes are huge cliffs of sand, bigger than your grandmother's dunes. They are really steep and the beach below looks like a little sand bar. I heard that a fun Tadoussac activity is to throw yourself down the hill and roll to the bottom. That's exactly what we did.
I reached the bottom, dizzy and discombobulated and covered from sand from head to toe. All the while laughing hysterically and trying to catch my breath from the rush.
I was soon followed by the others and we all explored the beach. We ended up climbing over some rocks and finding a hidden beach where we sang as loud as we could. It's like I was drunk but without a drop of booze. One rendition of Stop, As Long as you Love Me, Make a Man Out of You and Don't Stop Believin' later. We faced the dunes again, this time going up. It was a trek and a half, I had to stop about eight times to catch my breath. Came home to a nice sand-free shower.

Tomorrow I am planning to wake up at 4:00 AM to film the sunrise. We'll see if it actually happens.

Part XVII: A regular day... which is still pretty awesome

This morning came quickly. After sea kayaking yesterday I was exhausted. Seriously exhausted. Like watching Dawson's Creek in PJ's with wet hair tired. So as I came into the office this morning I was kind of in a daze. Threw my co-workers a quiet, 'Bonjour,' threw all of yesterday's clips onto the computer and re-charged the battery and opened my e-mail. Went from about 0-60 in 10 seconds because Craig Colby had sent me the feedback on my footage. I eagerly jumped down the list of available positions within Parks Canada (why do they send me those things?) to the title of, "Kelly: Feedback."

Craig is one of our mentors for Canada's Greatest Summer Job. He works for Oasis HD, a nature channel based in Toronto. Pretty much he's the guide in terms of content. So when I opened my e-mail today I was really happy to get some guidance. Craig told me that I need to connect with my first story. He referenced another student and what they did right and how I can improve mine. Trouble is, I'm not sure what connection I have to the fjord. I've never been here before, I don't have any history with fjords or whales or Saguenay. I'm trying to figure out how to make the story mine. The story only Kelly Greig could do.

The rest of the day was spent back in the stupor because I needed to log tape.

Another thing that I've been thinking about: baby animals. Everyone loves baby animals. They appear in commercials, the news as kickers and in nature shows. It makes everyone go 'awwwwww!'. Have you seen a baby beluga?

Am I the only one who thinks it looks weird? I mean it's like a gray pogo, and I love pogos but don't like the looks of this guy. Even harder, they live in water. It is soooo hard to get good beluga footage.

Part XVII: Sea kayaking

Another day of beautiful sunny skies in Tadoussac. I figured screw the office, I'm going out into the field. Good idea but I don't think I got much good footage from it. Unfortunate in terms of useable material but good in terms of learning how to sea kayak.
It was also another opportunity for me to wear another ravishing outfit.

Looking good eh? I'm going for the human-kayak meld there, once again in a ravishing yellow life vest, this time with matching yellow kayak.
The fjord is really beautiful and the weather was perfect for kayaking, but because the tide was coming in there were some huge waves. It was actually a lot of fun being buffeted around but I was worried for the welfare of my camera.
All in all our group kayaked 8 km (3 hours).
Here is me at the turn around. Notice the look of elation (a break!)

It makes me confident that I can actually do this kayak excursion planned. Our longest day will take about 4-6 hours of paddling depending on the weather. It will probably be longer with the stopping to get footage, but still a do-able day.
Post-kayak I am surprised. My arms are fine, what hurts most are my knees and inner thighs from working the rudder.
More kayaking Friday!


No cameras were hurt in the making of today's footage.

Part XVI: BEST DAY EVER!

... well so far.

The cheery tone of my cell phone alarm was quite infuriating this morning as I had to arise a half hour earlier than normal. A half hour of sleep is a gift, it's like when you wake up early and look at your clock and say "YES! More time." It's one of those things you really appriciate when you don't have it.

Anyways, I dragged myself out of bed and make it to work for 7:30. I had to be there early so that we could catch the ferry from St-Simeone (an hour from Tadoussac) across the St-Lawrence to Riviere-du-Loup.

Now you may be asking yourself, "Kelly, I've carefully studied the map of the Marine Park and Riviere-du-Loup does not lie within its boundries. Whatever were you doing there?" Well, this is what I was doing there:


Beauty, isn't she? This is the l'Alliance, the Parks Canada boat. It was being fixed in Riviere-du-Loup so I came along for the ride to bring her back. Luckily, it was a sunny day and we got her into the water quick (I helped!). I felt like a waterbound, not as awesome, Indiana Jones. As we were bringing her out onto the fleuve, I was standing on the top deck, camera at the ready and raring to go.

Here is what I looked like:


You may have noticed my extremely fashionable yellow jacket. It is actually more than just a regular jacket, it is a coat and life jacket all in one. Technology, I tell you.
Along with the orange helmet from yesterday's post I think that I have a strong future as a runway model.

Since I hadn't actually see the Haut Font Prince; Tadoussac's famous lighthouse (or phare re:French word of the day) we passed by it. Here it is.




And just for kicks, here are some pics:
Captain Kelly (I wasn't actually driving)


On shore leave?

Part XV: From Basques to Belugas

Do you remember Schoolhouse Rock? It evokes memories of a childhood Kelly sitting on our brown carpet in the living room in PJ's on a Saturday morning. I loved it. I didn't even realize I was learning while watching because it was all fast and musical and before you knew it it was over and all of a sudden BAM! I knew about conjuctions and grammar. It is possibly the sun that shone on the sprouts of my illustrious journalism career. More recently I legitimately watched Schoolhouse Rock while studying for POLI 322: Politics of the US. I love the part when they are sitting in committee and then they vote and the fat guy runs the bill over to Senate.

Anyways, after today I feel like I could pen a Schoolhouse Rock spot. I did an hour and a half interview about the history of the region. That's right from glaciers to whale watchers, from Europeans to tourists, from whalers to... well you get the idea.

I think maybe if I have enough time and can somehow steal the Schoolhouse Rock music I would be a very successful rip-off film artist. I can see my future now.

Here are some of the fun facts about Tadoussac that you maybe didn't know:
The first winter the French tried to stay here. Five out of the 15 lived.

Tadoussac was founded eight years before Quebec City. Take that!

Tadoussac originally had a dirtier name. The french sailors nicknamed the town after the town hills on either side of the Saguenay fjord that looked like breasts.

The more you know.

Part XIV: Via Ferrata

Hello dear readers? Did you miss me? Were you outraged on Friday when you checked in with your favourite blog only to find no new posts? I apologize but I am very busy and important you know and my time is very valuable and in high demand.
The excuse for the lack of posting was an apres-work 5 a 7 that required my attendance. Afterwards Tanya, Rosemary and I (the three summer students) stayed after and partook in some genteel discussion accompanied by lite beverages (some more than others).

Back to the real reason of my post. I took full advantage of Friday's beautiful weather to have an adventure. I went rock climbing. Yes people, welcome to my life.

The climbing took place at Cap Jaseux, about an hour away from Tadoussac. It is an adventure camp for kids and adults alike. During my visit about 150 elementary school aged children suddenly appeared from the bush from their camping area. It offers rustic camping, cabins and most interestingly tree houses. Like entire houses (space for 5) held about 20 feet in the air by posts.

I jumped at the chance to do the Via Ferrata, Italian for Iron Way, with the head of the camps Jerome Gouron. We had a nice little interview on the beach beside the Saguenay. The entire time a loon was calling in the background, I hope it doesn't screw up post-production. After the talking we set out on the adventure. Suited up in a very fashionable Dior harness with matching orange safety helmet (I predict a trend for autumn 2010) we set out on a hike to the cliffside. Along the way we discussed everything from the French Alps to Stephen Harper's new energy policies to my distinct preference for cake over pie.

Once at the cliffs it was all business however. To stay alive and not plunge into the freezing cold (four degree) Saguenay river you have to be hooked onto a cable at all times. Then while climbing over rocks and up mountain faces you have to stop and re-clip yourself when a new cable starts. Sound alright but try doing it with a movie camera. Yup, I was trying to do this thing one handed. A challenge indeed.

Fortunately Jerome understood my plight of trying to film with no tripod (couldn't set it up anywhere), climb and talk. We traded off filming each other and his stuff wasn't bad, a little shaky but overall I am surprised at how useable it is.

On the downside I totally forgot to put on sunscreen and now have a nice red face. It is reminiscent of my high school basketball days where my red face would provide a lovely compliment to my blue and white uniform.

Here are some photos of the awesome.

Climber extra-ordinare


Jerome scaling some rocks

Part XIII: Kayak Excursion

Sometimes you just love your job. Especially when you have Canada's Greatest Summer Job. Example: today I spent the entire day planning a three-day kayak excursion down the Saguenay river. Yes people, I am getting paid to do it.

After backpacking across Europe I've kind of gotten into the mentality of, "ugh, planning... things will just work out..." Often times, they do and everything is thumbs up. I think that this trip might require a bit more effort than the simple, "meh," that has become my catchphrase lately.

Some of the things on the "to-bring" list:
Sunscreen
Wet suit
Sleeping Bags
Sean's Power Box (doesn't that sound amazing. A box of power. Comparable to his Achille's heel)
A kayak
Waterproof Camera Bag
Tide charts

Yes people, I am a boy scout. I am so prepared that I could probably get stranded in the middle of the river and make an airplane and fly home. Wrap your mind around that.

So the weekend of St-Jean Baptiste I will be kayaking down the Saguenay. I feel like Magellan, or Lewis&Clark, except not as brave or discover-y. (See what I did there?)

Alas my dear readers, I bid you adieu. I must fly, free whale-watching cruise awaits!

Today's French word of the day: rafale. Meaning: gust.

Since I don't have a picture for the day, here is a random one. It still doesn't exist

Part XII: When Everything Comes Together... Only to Fall Apart

As a journalist, you spend half your time chasing down interviews. Phone calls, e-mails and even in-person visits sometimes don't even make a dent in the armour of the non-responder no-commentor. Sometimes you just want to bang your head against a wall or throw yourself down a flight of stairs. Then there are those days. Those days where everything falls into place perfectly. Your interview subjects agree to interviews are enthusiastic and having a flexible schedule. The perfect storm of awesome. Today, was one of those days.

So far this week I've secured nine interviews for the next two weeks. Nine. In three days. Not counting the time it took to do the first two yesterday. A feat unto itself. I've scheduled them all in nicely, including three interviews on Friday. Sprinkled around this copious flapping of gums are activities like rock climbing and sea kayaking. All in the name of the film of course. Ahh, thank you Parks Canada.

Where the magic happens. Tres messy.


By 1:30 my day was going swimmingly. I got my pitches finished and sent out for feedback, had a pre-interview with a resident of Tadoussac and author, and was flying through schedule organization.

Then it happened. (DRAMATIC PAUSE)

Right before the big first conference call I met with my supervisor, and boy, was he ever not enthusiatic about my ideas. This one kernel of doubt exploded in to a popcorn of worry. How's that for a metaphor.... now I want a snack.


**10 minutes later**

Mmmm.... nachos. Where was I? Oh right, the downfall of my day. So I went into the conference call a little worried about my pitches. Would they be rejected? Would my Parks Canada life as I know it be over? Ugh, I felt like I needed some sort of hearty shake and a slap across the face. "You got this far," I can hear my voice of reason saying, "you got this job for a reason. Now just DO IT."

So from now on, I'm going rogue. A commando unit. A lone wolf in the wolf pack. I'm just going to throw myself into my stories and PROVE that I belong here. That's right world, I'm going to kick down your door, put you in a headlock and take your children hostage. Watch out, here I come.

So as I always try with my roommates at the end of the day, I'm going to focus on the awesome. So, I'm kickin' back, havin' a glass of wine and looking up the world's address.

Bring it.

A musical rendition of my mood. Thank you Disney.