Happy Holidays 2004!!!!!
I love this cartoon. I got it from The One Ring Net's scrapbook.
This year has been a hell of a ride. It started out just fine with last Christmas out of the way and a full New Year's Eve Party under our belt. Work was plenty and we were beginning on a road to financial recovery and final settling into BC. Then it happened.
Work came to a halt. Martin's now ex-boss broke the news to him that there was no work and that there was going to be a long gap. Martin's ability to trust others shone through as he said 'Okay. Call me when it's all a go.'
We didn't think much of it and headed back to Toronto for a visit. Even though we did the trip on next to nothing we had plenty of fun. We got a tourist package that saved us a ton on attractions and bombed around the city. We saw as many friends as we could. We drank Second Cup coffee every morning as there are only a few here in Vancouver and more than enough in Toronto. We managed one day at Anime North (courtesy the Simmons brothers) and that was a fast paced madcap way to see as many people as we could. Steph threw a BBQ for us in Oakville and Lloyd made sure we were up to date on the Pubnight. We hooked up with Peter (who is now married) and stayed with Nancy. Morgan, Cathy, Melissa, Chris, Lou, Andrew, Viv, and numerous others. For such a short visit we actually saw a lot of people. It was wonderful seeing so many people and wish we could have seen the rest but we only had so much time that we could afford to take off.
Family was also on the list. We spent one weekend in Brantford with Martin's family and got to see one of Martin's old homes. As a kid Martin lived in this one old farm house. It has now been turned into a bed and breakfast so we dropped in with his parents and took a tour of the house. That was wonderful. We also went to see the Native Indian Long House that Martin has neglected to tell me existed. Silly boy.
We had Dinner one night with my parents at Mr. Greek. That was fun. We got to see my little brother Bruce and his new wife. We had missed their wedding so it was good to be able to see them that night. Dad met up with us for coffee the next day. A visit is not a visit without sitting across from my father with a big cup of black 'Joe' in front of him.
I guess some of the big things for us was seeing places we have connected to memories and stay in our hearts. We visited every special building and park that we could cram into the trip.
We were disgusted to see the neglect of the Guild Inn. The Amphitheatre is fine and so are the pieces of sculpture on the grounds but the building itself is in need of help. The Royal Ontario Museum has begun building, what we think, is the most hideous addition anyone could add to one of the most classical pieces of architecture Toronto has ever seen. YUCK!!! The least they could have done is added to the BACK of the building. I think it looks like a Taelon ship (EFC) threw up on the building. The Gallery renderings are just as bad. They're getting rid of the wonderful diorama atmosphere and replacing it with stark white platforms. I hope I can visit Toronto and the ROM once more before they do the final change over. It's just a shame we didn't get back before they tore down the terrace.
Our last night there we watched the sun set from the top observation deck of the CN Tower. We have never done that before. It brought a tear to my eye.
You know. No matter where I live on this planet a large piece of me will always reside in Toronto.
Then we headed back here to Vancouver to discover that there was still no work. Eventually Martin discovered that he was being lied to and his faith and trust in his previous employer left him unemployed. We have been informed that this sort of Entertainment Industry deception is common out here in BC and that we are to trust no one. Feels kind of suspicious and creepy to hear that. After six months of no work he is on a low paying construction site in Port Moody. He is enjoying restoring the old historical house but the pay is tiny in comparison to his prop work. We can't wait until the new year and HOPEFULLY a rise in production and industry work. It's all up to the big guys now. If the work won't come to us we're going to have to figure out how to go to the work.
The employment problems did not stop Martin from throwing me a little Birthday Party. Friends came at different times of the day so we had a lovely steady flow. Martin even snuck out to get me an ice-cream cake from La Casa. He apologised for the tacky decorations but the ice-cream inside was perfect!!
In order to keep our spirits up friends made sure that we knew about Illuminares. I spent the day with the topless fairies as 'crew'. It's a little difficult to carry cell phones and water bottles when you're topless so I stepped in with a backpack over my shoulders and every pocket filled with a cell. Martin joined us later on in the day and we stayed for the lanterns. When the lanterns came out that evening we decided that this festival was the thing to do every year.
Hallowe'en brought a challenge. What to wear and where to go. By using pieces of Martin's 10th Anniversary outfit and cheaply adding parts to it was easy to dress him up as a 'Ranger'. Rummaging through fabric that had come across country with us I had enough to make an Elf Archer's outfit. LOTR became this year's theme. We realised that I could not carry my real bow and arrows with us so we made a 'fake' set of arrows Elf style and a quick Elf style Bow. We never expected any of them to actually fire. They didn't fly straight but they did fire... Whoops. ^_^ We've added some of our pics to Alleycatscratch.com. It's a great page and worth checking out for our costuming friends. PUMPKINS!!!! Can't have a Hallowe'en without pumpkins. Since we weren't going to be at home this Hallowe'en we carved tiny pumpkins and mounted them to the dash board of the car and ran one of those battery powered X-Mas light sets into the bottom of them.
The night before we headed down to The Parade Of Lost Souls. Hallowe'en night itself we met up with the newly arrived Dom Abrams (man that boy is tall now - We blink for 10yrs and he goes and grows) and hung out on Granville, getting a drink and meal at Doolin's Pub. That day I face painted, dressed as an Elf Archer, for Electronic Arts' Staff Hallowe'en Party. It was great being surrounded by the people responsible for the LOTR game and their kids are so creative. The next night we spent at Final Draught's Hallowe'en party. Linda joined us for Hallowe'en night and the Final Draught.
One step to success is to keep active. Partyworks has used Martin on the occasional weekend to set-up and run much of their games/rides while this Christmas Season I've been occasionally face painting for them. Theatre In The Raw is using Martin and I for Tech for their Festival Of One Acts and Radio Plays. Martin has thrown himself back into lighting and is doing some of the stage props as well as designing and building the rotating back panel. I've custom burnt all the CDs required for the plays as well as assisting Martin on lighting. At the last minute I also wound up doing some Media/PR for the Festival. I also opened my own Cafepress store. I have so many photos hanging around I thought I'd put them to good use. Drop on by and take a look at ALL my stores.
With the support of friends we have successfully stayed emotionally on our feet. We are still alive and determined to return to our careers. I just finished putting together a demo DVD and CD and look forward to getting back out there again. Martin's Demo disk is next on the list of things to accomplish. I am hoping we can afford to buy copies of all the movies Martin has worked on so if anyone out there has any for sale cheap... Let us know. If you are wondering what we already have, simply ask. If you need to see what Martin's worked on click here.
I guess that's it. We wish you the best for the New Year and hope to see you all in the near future. May 2005 bring us all happiness and joy and may we plunge forward with determination and delight. Keep in touch and stay strong.
LOTS OF LOVE
Christina and Martin
Click on card image for a 300DPI version for printing.
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