My first week here.

I feel confidant that I will make it out here. It is all very different. I am learning about myself everyday by looking at the things I react too. I've never really felt like a minority before, but I am ever aware of how much I stand out. It will take some getting used too. I have more respect now for the people I've know that have gone through this in Canada. It is very hard, and yet strangely simple. By accepting that "yeah I'm different out here so what?" it just goes away. It seems kinda landmarkish, and maybe it is, but it works for me.

I now have a cel phone here. and eventually I will figure out how to use it well enough to get some pictures posted again. All this talky talky and not enough flashy flashy makes for a boring blog. It will get better.

The new job is going well. I'm amazed at the quality of people out here. They are all very young and in experienced, but very sharp and talented. I have enjoyed meeting Amir and Matt in person. They are not what I expected at all but I am very pleased.
I have just eaten a sardine and peanut dish with white rice and a red spicey goo. I can't remember what the dish is called but it was very cheap. I also had a squid otah (I think that is what it was called). It was a squid in some kind of paste wrapped in a banana leaf and baked. Very tastey. ;)

I've enjoyed the food here (though I miss breakfast. They don't seem to have one here, or at least not one like I've known). There is a huge mix of western and eastern foods. I've had lasagna, Macdonald's, Burger King, all the normal stuff, but I've also had lots of new and different things that I can't even name. Every once and a while (Yes I know it's only been a week) I taste something and say, "I have no idea what this is but it's good!". Then I don't ask what the crunch was. It's better I don't know yet.

I've set a personal goal to double the number of shots that go out for final for next week. It will probably mean I will have more time at work to update this blog!

Day one...

March 24

I checked into my temporary apt yesterday. It is very nice, but so small compared to home. I haven't lived in a building since college (11-maybe 12 years ago?). It is going to take some getting used too.

I crashed pretty hard last night around 6 o clock in the evening. I thought I'd just take a little nap, and didn't wake up until very late. Then I forced myself to go back to sleep, and the process of balancing out my internal clock begins.

Jen you would have been very proud of me. I did my own laundry from 6-8am in the morning. I'm reminded how much I miss you.

San Fran to Singapore..

I wrote this after I had arrived in singapore in a small note pad that I bought in mill valley ( in marin county).

March 23

Flaying to Singapore from San Fran was quite an experience. After a great send off by Athena, Andrew, Stephen and Angie, I arrived at the airport with less than an hour to spare (that doesn't sound too bad but they had suggested giving two to three hours for customs and such). I actually got lost on the way to the airport and ended up in a town/village named Pacifica, but that doesn't really matter. I consider Toronto to be multicultural, but even it's diversity did not prepare me for Singapore. I was the only white guy in the economy class and no one around me spoke English. It made for a very long flight. On the plus side the food on the plane was actually very good. I had... hmm. I can't remember what it was called, but it was composed of three sides, white rice, beans with flax seeds, and a peas and tofu mixture (might have been some kind of cheese). I also had a "chicken bun" that was strangely sweet, and an omelet with caramelized onions and tomato sauce, and a chicken sausage.

*** TWO THINGS OF SPECIAL NOTE***
-Do not bother to order a coffee on Singapore airlines. It is not worth it. Even when free.
-When flying, stay on the plane for any stop over less than an hour. Hopefully you will have that choice. If you get off the plane you will have to go through security again, and it dawned on my that I had no idea about the rules of Hong Kong (thats where I stopped over) and was very nervous that i might inadvertently break some of them. Oh yeah and it sucked to have to wait too!

SOOOO Much to update!!

I apologize for the delay in my postings. It's been a bit chaotic and I've not had a lot of access to computers.

I have spent a week in Marin county, just north of San Francisco. It is soo beautiful there. I stayed at a nice hotel on a small bay, not too far from the golden gate bridge. I should point out that the bridge is HUGE. Like really really big. Really big!! I will post my pictures of my time in San Fran as soon as I get them developed ( I left my digital camera at home with my family so they could send me pictures). Over the course of the week I met many many talented people. It was quite intimidating, until I realized they liked me and respected what I was bringing to the production. They had accurately assessed my weaknesses and valued my strengths, and decided that I was the right guy. Even though I had miss spelled lighting on my demo reel dvd case. (I will forever be ashamed of that. I'm telling you now photoshop needs a spell checker!!) It is quite an ego boost, even as they told me how hard it was going to be.

I have made a decision while I was there too.

I want to work for lucasfilm in Big Rock Ranch. It will take time, and a little bit of luck for the right project to allow for it. But it is now my goal. I completely fell head over heals in love with the area, and the studio.

My good bye lunch

My friends at Starz took Max and me out for a good bye lunch. He is leaving for Detroit, and of course I'm off to Singapore. We went to a local (Toronto) Indian restaurant. It was tremendous. My good friend Ian Woo took many photos of the occasion. He is such a multi-talented guy. I've watched him paint beautiful paintings on his laptop while waiting for renders on his work machine. He reminds me, and inspires me, to never stop learning and pushing the envelope creatively. I hope I get to work with him again someday. Anyway, Here are some photos.

Jing Steve and myself. I will miss you guys. You have been great friends.

This is Jing Max and Jeff. What will Jeff do with out his Max? He will be so lonely.

Chris came out for the lunch. I hadn't seen him in a while, and it was great to talk to him. Ian had some fun with this next one. He did a great job. ;) There is Anna (with her son Lauren), Marnie, and Irit in the back row. Doms back is beside me. The other two you know already.

A Great Success!~

The last few days have gone by like a blur. My goodbye party has now come and gone. We had about 30 people come to say good bye at the house. I was a bit worried about it because there were a number of people that didn't show up, or said they couldn't make it. I will try to call them and say good bye, but time is short, and there is so much to do.

It was a lot of fun. Much like our last Christmas party it was strange to have members from both sides of the family together. They mixed really well and our friends that came helped bridge the gaps. There was lost of great food.

Jen made a chicken biscuit casserole dish that was fantastic. There were chicken wings, ham, meatballs, salads, and lots of chips. Good food makes for good parties right?

To everyone that made it out, Thank YOU! I am so glad I had the opportunity to say goodbye. I hope you had a good time.

I've received my flight details and will be flying out on March 18th. It's an early flight, and I will have to leave the house around 5:30am. I'm sooo not a morning person. I can't believe I'm actually going. Saying goodbye to my family will be very hard. I love them a lot and I will miss them. It's so exciting, but a bit daunting at the same time. I've been speaking to my accountant trying to find the best scenario to reduce my tax bill once I'm gone. He says that the best thing I can do for my taxes is to become a non resident of Canada. That seems obvious since I won't be living in Canada but apparently there are forms I will need to fill out and take to the Canadian consulate in Singapore. I hope there are no long term ramifications of giving it up. I will still (and always) be a Canadian citizen.

We are having a good bye party!!

March 10th, 2007, our house, whitby, Ontario, Canada.
4:00pm

Come all and be merry.

Be warned pictures will follow!

my first reservations...

Last night I had my first serious second thoughts about going to Singapore. I received my first bit of flight info, and it freaked me out a bit. I'm sure it's just nerves, but a knot grew in my gut, and festered for a few hours. It took a lot of deep breaths to calm it down. I had read some travel books about Singapore earlier in the day, and was reminded again how very different it is. Marnie was with me, and she looked up if they had horses or horse clubs. It did of course. I didn't really care. I'm quite sure it has everything I will need, or at least an equivalent substitute. Except of course for my family. I think it is going to be a long two or three months until they get there.

Snow, trains and ice

There was a train wreck today that messed up my commute home from work. I left as soon as I found out, and it took more than 2 hours to get home. The trains only took me half way and then Jen picked me up in Pickering. Andrew and Alexis were with me so we drove them to Whitby. We got some pictures of the wreck as we drove past it.

I have just given my notice. Now it is time to pack.

For the last year I have been working at Starz Animation in Toronto. It has been a great experience, and I will remember it fondly. Lots of good, talented people. Our movie was less than success full, but that wasn't a result of anything we did, so I don't let myself take that personally. I have accepted a job in Singapore working for Lucasfilm Animation. I am extrememly excited and full of dread at the same time. This blog will be my sounding board. I hope it will give me a place to note the good and the bad. Plus, it will allow me to keep in touch with my family until they can join me there.