Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 332

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 through the flight.  Instead, she cried up a storm and kept the other passengers from sleeping. And so, this time around, we thought = Let’s go as early as possible so that the dogs won’t be as hungry on the flight (wrong!) and hopefully be tired as well (wrong!).  While Lulu was her usual laid-back self, Bubba moaned and wailed every time the food tray rattled by.  By the time we got into Toronto, Akemi (who was up in her seat and down on the floor consoling him through most of the flight) was even more exhausted.

I also got another ten pages (of dubious quality) complete in my addled state.  Our assistant directors love the low scene counts (as does our line producer Norman as it usually makes for easily boardable, highly affordable episodes) and, as I started Act 4 on a very economical scene 42 I thought “They’re going to love this script”! And then I realized that I don’t really have a fourth act.  Damn these 5 act structures!

Spoiler Alert!

We finally made it to Toronto.

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. And the internet didn’t work on my laptop.  So, I put my time to good use by streamlining Episode 301, doing yet another pass on Episode 303, and getting another 12 pages done on Episode 307.   Tomorrow, we’re up at 3:30 a.m. to get ready for our 4:30 a.m. pick-up enroute to our four and half hour 6:30 a.m. flight BACK to Toronto…with the dogs including Bubba, the cranky flyer, and Lulu whose steel-reinforced spine now make her, technically, a cyborg.

Oh, and my Snow Monkeys lost, dropping them to a record of 1-4 on the season.

On the bright side, I’m so exhausted right now that I’ll probably be asleep my 9:00 p.m., allowing me to get in a solid six and half hours tonight.

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 the hotel, sis and I did some extreme sock shopping.  We stopped by Nugateau for an eclair stop (pistachio and maple eclairs) and then, fortified with cream and pastry shells, we resumed our perusal of Toronto’s best sock shops.  In the end, Andria and mom bought me several awesome new pairs (Chewbacca, Darth Vader, sharks, dogs, and clouds) for my every-growing sock drawer.

Nothing compliments a three piece suit, tie, and matching cufflinks like a pair of dog-riding-a-bike socks.

Tomorrow, everyone heads home – mom and sis back to Montreal, and yours truly back to Vancouver…for all of most of a night, then back on a 6:30 a.m. flight to Toronto with Akemi, Lulu, and Bubba!

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 busy on both stage and screen, earning a Tony Award nomination and most recent feature performance on Netflix’s Sense8.  Very happy for his success.  As Ivon’s always said: “He’s an easy guy to root for”.  Another Stargate alum I’d love to work with again.

Check it out.  There’s a Star Trek film fest happening at TIFF.  I was super excited to see they scheduled a marathon screening of five episodes from the original series and was going to suggest any locals with five hours to spare head down for a group viewing.  Sadly, however, the screening was held September 24th.  Too late.  :(

Next awesome marathon, maybe?

Having mom and sis in town has been a good excuse to revisit some of my favorite culinary haunts.  Interestingly enough, I was having a conversation with Andria just the other day about restaurant disappointments.  I told her that I usually have no trouble excusing a bad night at one of my favorite places UNLESS it’s an occasion in which I happen to be there with guests.  Back in Vancouver, I crossed two restaurants off my “regularly frequented” list after two disappointing meals there with visitors.   This weekend, scrutiny has turned to my Toronto faves.

Last night, we went to my favorite Toronto restaurant, Buca, a place that has never failed to impress.  And it kept its record intact, delivering yet another great dining experience: perfect pastas, pizzas, and the best tiramisu ever created.

Dinner at another old favorite, R&D, was, on the other hand, a disaster.  The house fried rice and short ribs were great as always, but the various dim sum plates were hit and miss.  And then there was the eggplant dish.  Woof.  It came to our table half raw so we sent it back.  It returned to our table cooked through, but even that wasn’t enough to save what I can honestly anoint the worst dish I’ve had this year. 20 minutes after leaving the restaurant, my mother was still complaining about the taste in her mouth.

Nothing a little chocolate can’t solve.  Ah, good old dependable award-winning Soma.  How I’ve missed you!

On our way back to the hotel, we passed this sandwich board and I got all excited until I realized they weren’t offering coffee-espresso ice cream cupcakes but “Coffee, Expresso, Ice Cream, and Cupcakes”.

Back on the other home front, Akemi reports that Lulu hates the cage and doesn’t appreciate not being allowed on the bed, but she seems to be healing nicely.

Good news on the other dog friend.  Scrappy received a death row reprieve and is headed for rescue!

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 objected to the phrasing.  So much so that I wondered whether the person who drafted the email was drunk when he wrote it because, holy crap dude, you didn’t just burn the bridge, you blew it the hell up.  No call? No personal email?  No polite and respectful inquiry?  THAT’S what you decided to lead with???  It’s particularly galling because I was in your corner.  I had your back!  It probably could’ve worked out!  Instead, I’m looking at an even bigger rewrite on this script – and now, several more.

But the rewrite will have to wait until after this Thanksgiving weekend as mom an sis are in town!

This morning, I swung by my storage locker (aka my office) and loaded the car with everything from winter gear to doggy beds.  The plan is to haul everything back to the apartment and have everything set up nice and neat for Akemi’s arrival.  Well, nice anyway.  Nice-ish.

While I was at the production offices, I met with freshly promoted to Production Manager Brandon Tataryn (former 1st Assistant Director who shares names with the horrible disease that claimed THREE’s beloved Sarah) and Production Designer Ian Brock to discuss our first three episodes.  Apparently, episode 3 may be a little too HUGE.  And Ian’s got a terrific game plan for our second stage which presently houses the Marauder and Ishida cruiser bridge – and soon, much much more!

Dark Matter Production Designer Ian Brock (left) and Production Manager Brandon Tataryn (right).  I missed these guys!

Before picking up mom and sis at the train station, I got in a quick lunch with my favorite on set Supervising Producer Ivon Bartok at my favorite taco joint, Campechano.

Meanwhile, back in Van, Akemi is holding down the fort – and taking care of the dogs.  We can’t risk Lulu trying to jump up on the furniture, or worse, fall off the bed, so I picked up two cages for her – one for downstairs, and one for the bedroom.  Apparently, last night, she was NOT happy to not be on the bed.  And then, at some point this morning, Bubba wandered into the cage and started to cry because he couldn’t find his way out – this despite the fact that the door was wide open.  Brilliant, he aint.  But lovable all the same.

Prisoner 3X36557.

The downstairs set-up.

Out in the rec yard.

Speaking of dogs in bad situations, I’m trying to find a rescue to pull this old guy. He has until noon tomorrow!

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 WestJet which, unlike Air Canada, offers internet service (for a fee).  I was planning to sit back and work my way through a backlog of comixology purchases but got distracted by a rewrite and have spent much of the fly working on this second act.  I came up with a great idea for this script last week and, quite frankly, the only thing more exhausting than copious script notes are “great ideas” because they both end up resulting in major changes.  Still, as exhausting as these changes are going to be, when all is said and done they’ll be worth the effort because they’ll shed some interesting light on one crew member’s backstory – and offer up some interesting fodder for future stories.

My girlfriend is awesome.  For many reasons.  But one of the biggest – which I greatly appreciate – is her love for the dogs.  Although she wasn’t a dog person when she first came to Canada, she fast became one, falling in love with the gang: Jelly, Maximus, Bubba, and Lulu.  And she has taken amazingly great care of them – when Maximus got sick, when Jelly struggled in her later years, and now with Lulu as she recovers from surgery.

To keep Lulu comfortable an ensure she not slip and slide, Akemi constructed a chain of dog bed islands throughout the kitchen, then consulted the internet on those rehab exercises.

And then massaging those sore hips.

Our poor girl was extremely lethargic.  She kept drifting off in a sitting position but, whenever she’d fall over onto her bed, she’d sit up with an annoyed snarfle…then slowly drift off again.

But Akemi reports she is finally asleep!

Today’s entry is dedicated to blog regular Drea.  Happy Birthday!

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, I have no way of knowing, year to year, where I’m going to be working next, but it just doest make sense to hold onto the Q7 – especially since my four-dog days are over…for now.  Who knows?  Maybe I’ll downsize to a modest A4.  Or simply rent a car while I await news of my next move.  In any case, if I’m going to off-load it, the time will be a very narrow window between Lulu’s (hopefully) early discharge from the animal hospital and my early afternoon flight to Toronto.

We went to visit my poor gal today and she is looking rough.  I mean –

Stitches and staples to say nothing of the steel implant that currently buttresses her spine.  Going through airport security is going to be all sorts of interesting. I’ve asked the neurosurgeon to write me a doctor’s note explaining Lulu’s deal. He’s also offered me x-rays to take as well.

Apparently, she’s progressing nicely but will be sore for a while as she continues to heal.

Bubba, all dressed up for visiting hours.

When I sat down on the floor beside her, she jumped into my lap.

Pug down!  Rather than leave Bubba behind while we ran our countless errands today, we brought him along – to visit Lulu, to set up the sale of the car, shopping, back to the vet clinic to get instructions on Lulu’s home care.  By 7 pm, the old man was down for the count.

Okay, I think I’ve got it all figured out for tomorrow –

9:00 a.m. – Pick up Lulu from the animal hospital

10:00 a.m. – Finish packing

11:00 a.m. – Drop off the car and close the sale

12:00 a.m. – Catch a cab to the airport

1:30 p.m – Fly out of Vancouver

9:00 p.m – Fly into Toronto

And then on Friday, things get really busy!

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.

And waited.

And waited.

She went into surgery a little after noon and, between the soft palette reduction and the spinal micro-procedure, she was in there for most of the day.  I didn’t hear from the surgeon until a little before 7 p.m.  Apparently, it went well.  He had to remove a little soft tissue, but he’s confident it won’t affect her long term recovery. He expects her to be mobile and see some improvement tomorrow and, if all goes well, she should be able to come home in a couple of days (I’m aiming for Thursday morning as I have to get on a flight to Toronto that afternoon).  The main thing is she get a nice, comfortable night’s sleep and continue her steady breathing.  No news is good news tonight and, hopefully, the first all I receive will be around 10 a.m. tomorrow morning with an update.

Bubba seemed lost today all by his lonesome, so we treated him to a little trip to Granville Island.

For my part, I spent much of the day rewriting – another 15 pages today with some surprising backstory elements for one of our beloved crew members.  Oh, I think you’re gonna like it!

Tomorrow is my last full day in Vancouver.  I’ll no doubt spend it packing, rewriting, scrambling and, oh yeah, worrying.

Aw, man.  I just know I’m going to forget something.

P.S. Snow Monkeys fan rejoice!  We eked out our first win of the season and now our record stands at 1-3, in a 4 way tie for last place, but only 1 game out of a playoff spot!

 

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, and, occasionally, even fall over.  My poor gal.  Hopefully, she makes a speedy recovery – speedy enough that I can pick her up before I head out of town Thursday afternoon.

Akemi is really attached to Bubba.  I mean REALLY attached.  She wasn’t a dog person before coming to Canada but all that changed when she met my dogs, and Bubba in particular.  The two are inseparable.  She dotes over him – fixing him home made meals, dressing him up, cuddling with him for hours.   And he can’t stand to be without her, wandering desperately about when she’s not around, crying like a baby when she leaves.  On the one hand, it’s really sweet.  On the other hand, I kind of worry.  I mean, Bubba is in great health and hopefully his best years are still ahead of him, but he is 14 and, well, he aint gettin’ any younger.  I keep suggesting we could, maybe, adopt another pug to add to the pack, but Akemi insists that, for now, she’s perfectly content with our twosome.  Hmmmmm.

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!

 

Tagged: Japan