About Me #1
I reserve the right to follow up with more in this series. My cats deserve an honorable mention.
Non-pushy American, but also European, not showing up late for anything, not overpaid (although I wouldn't mind because I’d give everything to education programs — there are way too many stupid people out there) and over here. In Europe. I’m also bilingual. Which makes things different. One is never quite at home anywhere. When I’m here, I miss there. And vice versa. It’s a bit of a dilemma. I know I know what you’re thinking: that’s a dilemma I’d like to have. I know. I do. I’m lucky in many many ways.
On the bright side (which I generally am always prone to see), I tend to feel at home everywhere. Languages are kind of a superpower of mine. Or, to sound less of an ass, I love speaking languages which means, one is generally good at what one loves. I got linguistic dexterity from my dad. Luck of the draw. He spoke five languages and then learned the sixth language — Japanese — because he loved the country and the culture. I may follow in his footsteps but steady. First, there are a few other things to finish.
Excellent movie quotes are also a thing of mine. I could use quotes from Chicken Run pretty much for any occasion. I’d love to meet the writers who come up with such brilliance in a short sentence or phrase.
The exits are located here and here. In the quite likely event of an emergency, put your head between your knees… Fetcher: and kiss your bum goodbye! ~ Chicken Run
For reasons of serendipity, I’ve been fortunate enough to have traveled to every continent except Australia. All expenses paid — it was always for work. How awesome is that? I have actually lived in Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Cologne, London, and now, Vienna. It all started in Vienna, kind of, because that’s where my parents were originally from. They immigrated first to Canada — Montreal, then to the US. Baltimore. Where I came along. We moved to Thousand Oaks, California when I was 3 years old.
Babs: Morning, Ginger. Back from holiday? Ginger: I wasn’t on holiday, Babs. I was in solitary confinement. Babs: Oh. It’s nice to get a bit of time to yourself, isn’t it? ~ Chicken Run
I have always thirsted for intelligent conversation and lively real-life exchanges. Talking to my devices while listening to Trevor Noah or the crew from the News Quiz or Jennifer Keishin Armstrong’s excellent podcast for writers (she’s here on Medium — highly recommended) doesn’t quite cut it. Not the same as in-person heated discussions about everything. But hey, that’s kinda our world now.
Lots of smart stuff on the podcasts and blogs and all that, for sure, and honestly, I’d have gone mad without that invigorating brain food. A special mention to my sanity savior: my bestie who lives in New York. He is coming to visit. And me him. Travel. Friends. In-person. Woohoo!
Rocky: Now, the most important thing is, we have to work as a team, which means: you do everything I tell you ~ Chicken Run
Let’s see: what else is worth knowing about me? I was spoilt rotten by my parents. I did not come to the full realization of what that meant until they passed away. Died. And left me alone to actually grow up despite my large-in-numbers age. I guess one could see that as an asset but I don’t. Some parts maybe, like being able to buy as many cookies as I want, but generally speaking, I’m totally d’accord with the below.
Buttercup: We’ll never survive. Westley: Nonsense. You’re only saying that because no one ever has
But survive I shall. Despite what Westley from Princess Bride says. We all will. Don’t you worry. We, humans, are good at that. Just go back in history. Which I do effusively, passionately, and am also getting my degree. A late bloomer degree. Counts just as much only I could be all the other students’ mum. That’s okay. They’re so cool — my fellow students — they’ve accepted me as one of them. And it’s so awesome to be back in the auditoriums for in person learning. The good thing about the pandemic fallout: options. Quite a few professors offer their lectures on their YouTube channels. Love it.
Vizzini: I can’t compete with you physically, and you’re no match for my brains. Man in Black: You’re that smart? Vizzini: Let me put it this way. Have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates? Man in Black: Yes. Vizzini: Morons.
The thing that has influenced my life the most were my parents’ quiet accomplishments of love, allowing me to follow my passions. One good grownup thing I have learned: gratefulness and pinching the pennies a bit more. Yes, I wouldn’t go so far as to say I save money, but I do recognize I don’t need every shiny object.
On my 7th birthday, my mom took me to see The San Francisco Ballet perform “The Nutcracker” at the UCLA Theater. That was it. From then on, I didn’t have stars in my eyes, I had pointe shoes in my eyes. Somewhere in between, I did entertain the desire to write. I found a note in a book I had written in second grade. Wow. I did not remember that. Ever. Subconsciously, I’m guessing that desire returned when I was complimented by my boss (much much later in life) that I write good emails. Hey, now if that isn’t a reason to get into writing, I don’t know what is.
After I stopped being a professional ballet dancer, I worked as a tour guide in Spain, and then through a friend of a friend, got a job as a replacement for script supervisor on a small independent production so I moved over to my other passion — movies. I worked my way through a few departments: Camera Assistant, Assistant Director, Producer. Ads, music videos, and a couple of movies. Hence, the traveling.
I have a son. His name is Max. He’s quite handsome. I am very proud of him. But I think he holds a grudge against me because I was away a lot, working. But he did get to meet his superhero absolute favorite football player, Thierry Henry (we shot an ad with him). That has to count for something. I’m writing a book for him. Hopefully, one day, he’ll understand better the whys and hows and aways. And that, no matter how famous I don’t become, he’ll always be the best thing I’ve accomplished.
Books, Movies, Music ~ The perfect trifecta.
I always read a lot. Like a lot a lot. And watched tons of movies, from all eras and genres. I do believe this taught me a lot about how to tell a story. I’ve been infused with that knowledge. Osmosis.
After I wrote my first book, which I still haven’t published, I actually began going through all the information out there on how to write. Big mistake for the most part. It overwhelmed me. Don’t get me wrong. There are so many awesome helpful tips and books and blogs out there, with people so generous, sharing their expertise. But now, after ten years of submerging myself in the how-to, I’m done. I just write. And will continue to do so.
And out of all the advice — the best advice is — just do it. And read a lot. Good books. Classics. From Aristotle and Plato to Shakespeare, Capote, and Orwell. My favorite authors are Patricia Highsmith, Truman Capote, and George Orwell. Oh, and Stefan Zweig. But in German. I’ve never read him in English. How he writes and what he writes about is so intrinsically Austrian — from that time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a stew of an empire, the Fall of the Empire, Post WWI, roaring Twenties, with awful racism on the rise, that I imagine the subtleties are completely lost on people who’ve never been here. On the other hand, does it matter? Wes Anderson discovered and based his Grand Budapest Hotel on Stefan Zweig’s works, and his interpretation, what he got out of it, is way more upbeat than anything Zweig actually wrote. There’s a veil of melancholia over everything Zweig wrote. It’s a Viennese thing. Melancholy. Oh, and being misanthropic. In other words, kind of depressing. I hate depressing.
I like to laugh. And I hate that the current state of the world often makes me really really sad. I’m just stalling now. I’ll get over it. We all will. Promise.
Thank you.
