Welcome to the last Wally Wesnesday of 2008! Charles and I went to Big Bear Sunday for the night and I left the dogs with Madeline who was already dog sitting Toby, the Golden Retriever, for another friend of ours. The house she was at has a big pool and it took Wally all of about 10 seconds before he jumped right in and commenced swimming. Here are some photos from the week. One is Wally swimming, one is Wally shaking off, and one is Wally playing tug of war with his new friend, Kraut. Dogs galore!


I have no plans for New Year's other than to get the hell out of Pasadena. I live three blocks off the Rose Parade route. At one time it was sort of cool. Now, it's just annoying. This way, I won't get woken up tomorrow morning when the F-16's fly down Colorado Blvd at 8am.

I had quite an eventful 2008. Much of it wasn't good and I've been waiting for this year to be over so I could start fresh with 2009. I also don't want to make a list of resolutions because I never seem to get any of them accomplished. I do have some plans for 2009. One involves learning to ride a motorcycle with more confidence. I already know how to ride, in a very general way, but I'm buying a sport bike early in the year and plan to ride it often to cut back on gas. I'm also hoping to eventually get to Iceland some time this year. We'll see how that goes if I ever get my vacation approved.

My 20 year high school reunion will happen in 2009. I'm not sure if I'm even going to go now, since Facebook has allowed me to catch up with many of my classmates and I've more than covered the 5 minutes I would have spent catching up with each of them at the reunion. I wonder how many people feel the same about their reunions and will end up not going.

I hope everyone has a happy, safe and sane New Year. Wally, Gracie and I wish everyone the best!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Life has been extremely busy recently with work leading into the holiday break. They were trying to get the show I have been working on to the network on Friday (last day of work before the break). Needless to say, I was working my ass off all week, not taking lunch, and have been missing hockey games in both leagues as of late. At long last, hiatus started which means I don't have to go back to work until January 5. However, I have a short film to edit in that time so it will hardly be a vacation. At least I can wake up whenever I want and will have time to fit some snowboarding in.

Some friends and I went up to Mountain High yesterday morning. It was extremely busy, and probably one of the busiest days of the season. 4 feet of powder got dumped up there in the last week due to the recent storms, and with the kids on break and the television industry on break - there was a ton of people up there. With all the runs open, it wasn't crowded on the slopes, but there were long lines for the lifts. Charles and I are going up to Bear Mountain either Monday or Tuesday so hopefully with the middle of the week, the lines will be a little shorter, even if it is during the holiday.

It's hard to believe Christmas is this week. Time seems to be passing more and more quickly the older I get. I have all my shopping done. Pretty much. I still need to get something for the dogs. (Yes, I buy gifts for the dogs. I think there are tennis balls in Wally's future). I still haven't gotten something for my dad. Hardest person to buy for - EVER.

I've been so busy I haven't had time to take any cute photos of Wally. I meant to post my Christmas card here, but I don't have it with me right now (or a scanner) so it will have to wait. In the meantime, here's a photo I posted on Facebook earlier. I like to call it "Three Dogs Eating." This is what happens when you try to feed three rather large dogs in my tiny condo kitchen.

Hiatus starts in another week and I can't wait. Working in the office has really cramped my sleep-in-and-work-in-my-pajamas style. I have work to do on a short film over the break but at least I'll get to do the work on my own schedule, and hopefully have some time to get out and snowboard and such. Madeline and I hit the mountain for the first time this season yesterday morning. We went up to Mountain High with the expectation that it would be really crowded and the coverage would be really crappy (it was), but at least we got our passes so we don't have to wait in line for the rest of the season. We made a few good runs before the mountain got ridiculously crowded and we headed home early. It's supposed to be snowing most of the week up at Bear Mountain, and Charles and I are hoping to get up there the first Monday of hiatus to ride in some real snow. By then, hopefully the whole mountain will be open.

We went and saw Australia last night. Once I got past the fact that it was narrated by an aboriginal kid in dialect, I liked the movie well enough. It's certainly epic, and a good story, although a very LONG story at almost 3 hours. On the up side, there was a nice shot of Hugh Jackman shirtless, pouring water over his body, which made the price of the ticket well worth it. For you girls who haven't seen it yet, Hugh definitely bulked up for this film. Holy cow! The best part of seeing this movie in the theater was getting to see the longer trailer for Marley & Me, which opens on Christmas day. When I read this book, I was constantly struck by how much Marley, the Labrador in the book, reminded me of Wally when he was a puppy. I don't think I've ever seen a funnier trailer and I look forward to seeing the movie when it comes out.



We got home and watched Milk on DVD. (***SPOILER ALERT***) Somehow, I got a screener of it even though I'm not part of the Academy and have no way to vote one way or the other. In 10 years in the union, this is only the second screener I've ever received. The movie tells the story of Harvey Milk, a political activist for gay rights in San Francisco in the 70s who ended up being the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California. I enjoyed the movie and thought Sean Penn did a good job, but I've never been a terribly big fan of Gus Van Sandt's directing style. I did find it horrendous that Dan White, the man who very deliberately shot and killed Harvey Milk (and then San Francisco Mayor George Moscone), was only found guilty of manslauter and sentenced to 7 years. He served only 5 before being released.

I didn't forget yesterday was Wally Wednesday, I was just too busy to sit down and blog. Here's the little guy from a week or so ago when we enjoyed an afternoon at the dog beach. I think heaven for a Labrador probably includes a beach with lots of tennis balls.


I've been really busy with work and it's hard to believe it's already December and Christmas is just a couple of weeks away. Thankfully, I have a small family and very few people to buy for. Still, I really need to get off my ass and get a bunch of gifts sent off.

I'm staying in town this holiday season with plans to edit a friend's short film over my work hiatus. What is everyone else's plans for the holiday?

After the holiday weekend, it was certainly hard to go back to work on Monday and hit this show again. I'm looking forward to to the next three weeks being over so I can enjoy my two unpaid holiday weeks off. (Merry Christmas! You're laid off without pay for two weeks!) I'm used to it. It happens every single holiday in the industry, at least everywhere I've worked. Usually, you're so burnt out by Christmas that you're more than happy to just enjoy your time off.

I usually go home for awhile, but decided against it this year. When I was looking for tickets earlier, they were too expensive. Also, the short film I'm soon going to be editing shoots this coming weekend and I'm hoping to work through the holiday to get a cut out. At least I'll be working on something interesting that I WANT to work on, and I can sleep in and work on my own schedule. Oh, how I miss working from home!

I haven't forgotten it's Wally Wednesday. Charles and I took all three dogs to the Huntington Dog Beach on Sunday. It was Grace's first time at the beach ever. She had a great time running all over the place, once she got over being terrified.


Introducing Kraut, Charles' German Shepard!


Wally is right in his element:


All the dogs and Charles as the sun starts to set: