Mississsippppi

So here I am. One more state to check off my list.  Mississippi.  Funny enough, so far it looks a lot like Texas.  And Illinois.  And Missouri.  And Indiana. 

I had a very nice month and a half off.  Hung out at home with the new man, went to Hamilton and Sooke/Victoria to visit family, and had a very nice low-key New Years Eve.  All in all the perfect holidays.

I have to say I arrive back on the road with some torn feelings.  Having a new relationship at home doesn’t make for the same sense of excitement about leaving home for long periods of time, but one does have to make a living…  I have only been in Mississippi for three days and already my thoughts are at home, with my man, and my family.  There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than with them.

That, and it’s freakin cold and nasty here.  So much for some southern heat!  I had to buy gloves yesterday so my hands don’t freeze to my tripod.

Luckily, I have the good fortune to be on this trip with Ken.  We flew into Jackson together, and even though we are shooting different properties, it looks as though we are within driving distance of each other for quite a few days. 

So far we’ve eaten dinner together every night, and last night even spent an hour at Walmart shopping for laundry detergent and oranges.  Good times.  Dinner at the South Grill as you can see was rather exciting.  They didn’t seem to care that we were a couple of dorks, but I’m sure they were wondering why we were so fascinated by all the condiments on the table.

For the next three days I’m in a pretty central area, lots of restaurants and whatnot.  Walmart, as usual.  Then I start heading northeast for a few days and then who knows.  I don’t know how long I’ll be out for.  Sometime between four and twenty-four days. Your guess is as good as mine!

And before I sign off here, I have to mention a very special little lady’s birthday today.  My little sister, Jenna is officially 15 years old (going on 25 of course).  Happy birthday little flower!  May all your hopes and dreams come true in the next year.  I love you so very much- so much that I have to put up this dorky photo of you to remember the 14 year old you’re leaving behind…

First lesson as a 15 yr old:
Being cool isn’t everything…

Smile and Keep Going

So, as we all know by now, there’s lots of situations that can be difficult on this job.  It’s rare that a shoot goes off without a hitch, and I admit I’ve been one lucky girl this trip- for the most part I’ve been fortunate to have contacts who are organized and ready to go.  I like to tell these uber-contacts stories about other shoots that didn’t go so well, and the one that always gets them going is the ‘my hotel forgot i was coming’ story.  This is also a very rare occurance, but it does happen.

This hotel forgot I was coming, I had no shotlist for the first two days I was here (no contact info either), and the contact I did finally get pretty much wants nothing to do with the shoot.  I missed one day of shooting, they lost my laundry (got it back though), and I’ve had a headache for two days.

And you know what? 
NONE of it matters because I’m coming home tomorrow! 

*happy dance, jump on the bed, booty shake*

Nearly there…

So, only two more sleeps in this hotel- plus one on the plane and I will be home!  I’ve been drinking way too much coffee and spending way too much time on my computer in the hopes that it will make time go by faster.  I’m so excited to go home that I hardly sleep through the night and can think about little else.

Not a lot to post about this week- I’m back in Sao Paulo where the best thing to do is shop, which I’m trying not to do. 

Hugs and kisses, and see you all soon

The Clouds Have Parted

It is official, the ticket has been purchased- I start my trek home on the 24th of this month and arrive the morning of the 25th.  Roughly 16 hrs of flying time, but it won’t matter how long it takes or how tired I will be, I’m comin’ home!  Yay!

I leave Brasilia tomorrow morning for Sao Paulo.  Hoping to be in a better area than the last hotel I shot there so I can get out and explore.  I will attempt to get out a little this afternoon- 30 minutes outside shooting the pool today and I’m already sunburnt.  Suffice it to say, I will not be coming home with a tan!  I think I’m paler than when I left.

See you all soon! 

Brasilia

This is what my last 6 weeks have looked like.  This isn’t including my flight in three days to Sao Paulo, and then after that either home or South Africa, then home.  That still has to be confirmed, but I’m hoping I’ll be home sooner rather than later.

I’m at that point in the trip where every day feels like an eternity, and all I can think of is home.  There’s lots of reasons I’d like to be home right now, but to be honest the biggest one is someone who I am missing very much.  I feel like a giant PAUSE button has been pressed on my life- and while at first it wasn’t such a bad thing I now feel like I’m losing my mind!  Not knowing a solid date for return is just making it worse. 

My delightful mess.

As you can see, I locked housekeeping out of my room today.  You can only see the clean part of the room- on the other side of the bed is my suitcase where it sorta ‘exploded’ on the floor and there is no place to walk around it without stepping on clothes.  They’re gonna hate me tomorrow when it’s twice as bad. 

Is it a bird?  A plane?  Superman?  No, it’s just Brasilia.

What I’ve seen of Brasilia so far is quite nice.  Of course, everything is brand new.  Interesting to see an entire city that is so new- but I guess bulldozing a rainforest and building from the ground up will do that.   As you can see they made it to look like a plane, or a bird or something.  Kinda neat from an arial perspective, but not exactly easy to walk around.  Everything is very sprawled.  I’m hoping to finish up early on Sat. and do some sort of city tour and see the city.

Mendoza!

Churchyard Tree

I had a fabulous weekend!  My wonderful contact Daniel took me on a winery tour on Saturday.  We visited the Weinert Vinyard, and also another called Baudron.  It was a perfect sunny day, and we had a lot of fun.  The tour also took us by an old church- they had these beautiful friezes outside (see pic below) and this SUPER tall tree in the middle of a little courtyard.  I couldn’t get the whole thing in my shot- the base of it had a little fountain and a staff/scepter marking something or other.  I had a lot of fun, definitely the perfect way to spend an afternoon.

On Sunday, Daniel invited me to a special art opening at a vinyard where his sister works- they produce champagne/sparkling wine.  Delish!  We perused the artwork- some very important artists to Mendoza, and some really amazing stuff.  Good combination of paintings, sculpture, and *incredible* iron work.  We were joined by another friend of Daniel’s- Alejandra who I had fun chatting with.  Everyone down here is always apologizing for their ‘terrible’ English- but to be honest I have yet to meet with anyone who doesn’t speak it well, just as well as many Canadians I know for that matter.  We sipped champagne, watched the sunset, and 4 glasses later called it a night.  It was truly fantastic- thank you again Daniel, for taking such good care of me, and making my time in Mendoza so wonderful.  I can’t wait to come back here one day.

Champagne with Daniel!

So, tomorrow I head to Brasilia!  Should be very interesting indeed.  It’s the capitol of Brazil, constructed in the middle of a desert.  I’m there until the 19th, still don’t know what’s happening after Sao Paulo… I’ll either be home or off to South Africa.  SA would be incredible- but ya know, so would my own bed!  Ha.  Well, whatever will be, will be.

hugs and kisses!

How many hotel managers does it take to make a bed?

This is a trick question. 

Among the 5 people in the above photos, only one of them is actually a manager.  At one point, for our first location, I had the Director of Rooms, Housekeeping Manager, Head Housekeeper, my contact Makarena, and the Director’s Asst.  They all came in after I had shot my pano and decided to change the bedding around, and make a few minor changes.  I wasn’t too bothered, as we had just started and quite frankly had plenty of time- plus I’d rather them fuss now than when they see the images and they’re not up to standard.  All I could do (and Makarena) was giggle.  At one point, everyone was giggling.  It was insanely entertaining for some reason.

View from my room

My contacts at this hotel- Makarena and Daniel- have been wonderfully helpful and organized for our shoots.  When I mentioned I’d like to go check out some wineries on my down time, Makarena got on the phone and freed up some time for me, Daniel booked the tour and will even come to keep me company.  All I can say is that I’m feeling very well cared for at the moment!  It’s very nice indeed.

Andes Mountains (view)

On the 14th I head to Brasilia for 5 days, then on the 19th I’m back to Sao Paulo.  Still awaiting confirmation on what happens after that- I’ll either be heading home to Van on the 24th, or over to Johannesburg and come home on the 1st as originally planned.

Buenas Dias from Buenas Aires

Por Dario, Boca

The first day I arrived, I had pretty much a free day so I decided to take a bus tour and see the city.  It was great to get my bearings and see some of the monuments and tourist attractions.

Room 806- It’s home for two more days…

Photoshop so bad it’s good…

I head to Mendoza in two days, and I’ve been told to enjoy the ‘wine country’.  Ha, ok if y’all insist…

I met up with a friend of Ken’s down here- Leon, for coffee today.  It was so nice to spend time with someone outside of work, and to chat about anything and everything.  It was lovely, thank you for trekking across town to see me Leon!! 

So, on that note, time to do a little more work.  Love to all.

Yeah, That’s Me…

This made me giggle today.   It happens so often, but for some reason it always makes me laugh.

So, the bad weather has kept me indoors for my last day in Brazil.  I had a nap, cut my hair, and did some work on the computer.  Watched some really bad tv.  I love days like this.

Another one down…

So, officially finished shooting this property.  I couldn’t be more relieved.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to see a whole lot while I was here.  As a few people told me not to go off anywhere alone, and one can only entertain oneself at the mall for so long.  I’m looking forward to Buenas Aires immensely.  I’ve heard the hotel I’m shooting is nice, and there’s lots to do and see in and around the city.  Will be good to get back out and take more photos like a good little tourist

Speaking of which, I’ve put up pages of photos for Morocco (Maroc), Chile, and New York.  There’s not a lot from Chile, but a ton for Morocco.  Most of them were from my day off that I spent in Marrakesh.  Good times.