Monday, August 15, 2005

from the "empire strikes" dept.

Arrived back in Vancouver late last night after a most excellent weekend in Seattle.

What a great city that is! Not once did I get grumpy over politics. In fact, I thought the piano playing busker at Pike Place Market summer it all up with a sticker on his instrument that read "Impeach Bush."

Quite a liberal city, I would say.

Randy and I headed to Seattle for 2 reasons: one - baseball. On that note, we had great seats at Safeco field on Saturday. 15th row along the 3rd base line. The weather was perfect, although blisteringly hot. I think I had 4 beer to try and keep cool. Only the beer was US$7 a pop. Good Lord! Land of the Free? Ha! And two - meeting about the documentary project.

Crossing into the US was no problem at all. No fingerprints or chips. Just a few questions, and away we went.

The rest of the trip included visiting favourite haunts: a Mexican restaurant in Freemont for a NAFTA meal (Canadians in America eating Mexican), Bottleworks - the best beer store in the land, the Apple Store, Pike Place Market, the Left Wing Bookstore, and the Washington State liquor store for a bottle of Ron Zacapa Centario - 23 year old Guatemalan rum.

We headed home on Sunday, via La Conner for a nice twisty drive up Chuckanut Drive. Wonderful part of the planet.

We were a little concerned at Canada Customs on the way back. First, there was a big line-up to contend with. But because we'd been away more than 24 hours, but less than 48 hours - we were limited to $50 CAN goods each.

The fellow in the booth was nice enough.

Where do you live?

Vancouver.

How long were you gone?

Since Saturday morning.

What were you doing?

Watching baseball.

Did you meet anyone?

(Odd question that) Erm. No.


And with that, we thought we were free and clear. We were going to announce our items, only if asked. Then:

Are you bringing any goods into the country?

Yes. About $50 each.

Have a nice day.

That was it. Which was nice, not having to pay huge taxes on our purchases.

Our work on the documentary project (we call it The Christa Project for now) focused on the focus of the project and the development budget. To do it the way we want to (just development), our budget is around $115,000 CAN. Sounds like a lot, but it really isn't. Research is a huge cost. Plus travel to California, Florida, and Poland. And salaries for us. When it's all laid out, it makes sense.

It also means the budget for the film will be in excess of $1 million. But, again, nothing isn't justified. We're not buying cars and hookers and beer with that. We're telling an amazing story.

It makes me think I should start a side blog about the project.

The other big news to blab about is the CBC Lockout. I was scheduled for 3 days this week at the Corp. But last night at Midnight eastern time, the CBC locked everyone out. Me included. So I am out a fair chunk of change. Luckily, I have lots of work at CTV... so it's no huge concern. But it could last for a while.

Well, I should get rolling... I want to see how I can earn strike pay on the picket line. Which means heading down to the CBC.

Cheers!

No comments: