AUGUST 29 - THE WAITING VS. COTW or OOPS, I BOUGHT A HOUSE!

AUGUST 29 - THE WAITING  VS.  COTW

Well, I’ve been in ZA (Zuid Afrika) 9 weeks now. And the plot is thickening. So let this blog be an overall update of my exploits and possibly some bad decision making on my part. Talking to my landlord this morning who moved here from Switzerland and literally bought the farm I live on, he reminded me that moving to another country and starting over from scratch is never easy. I’ve kind of hit the proverbial wall here 9 weeks in. here’s my stat…

Visa appeal

Still waiting on the work visa appeal process. It’s been four weeks and it's in the hands of Home Affairs. You can check your status online so every day or two I hold my breath and check my status. No decision yet. They said 4-6 weeks. So maybe next week. But due to recent events (to be explained below) the work visa looms larger than ever!

I’ve never had my entire life so dependent on a piece of paper. But most expats abroad are familiar with the anxiety of getting all your papers in order so you can live and breathe and function legally. It’s not for the faint-hearted. Here’s a few reasons why it matters immensely that I win the appeal…

Work: I like to work. I want to work. I even have a reputable theatrical agent (power agent?) lined up to represent me here in Cape Town and submit me on auditions as soon as I’m greenlit. And there are 2 blockblusters film shooting here this summer (your winter). And Homeland is shooting here. Surely they could use an American actor on occasion for a walk on or more. In short, I think I can work as a Yank actor as many productions are foreign. I’m not ready to retire yet. I got a lot left in the tank. And it’s what I know. Just need my papers. would love to act and direct and make some jack!

Staying here: if I lose the appeal I have to travel every 90 days to a non-neighboring country to renew my tourist visa…that means beyond Namibia, Botsawna, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Otherwise it’s only a 7 day visa if you go neighbouring.  That’s a pain. And a visit to my jockey friend in Zim isn’t far enough away. So that’s something to factor every three months. travel costs for new 90 day tourist visa. work visa solves that.

Retired person Visa: the other option if I lose the appeal is to apply for a Retired Person visa…which is based on financial viability. Luckiy my monthly SAG pension amount is enough to qualify for this visa. One problem: I must fly back to Los angeles and apply in person at the South African Consulate, have an interview, and wait up to 12 months for their decision. And I’m not 100% sure yet, but I THINK you are not allowed to visit SA in the meantime while you wait for the outcome of the visa status. which is big deal because...

Possible bad decision time: the reason this is all of bigger concern is because I decided to buy a house. In the loan app phase at the minute. It’s a cowboy house with a lap pool in sleepy Stanford village 90 mins out of cape town. On large grounds. Something I could never afford in California or even Kenya. And I’d like to believe the house found me. (when you visit I’ll tell you the whole story.) but maybe it’s a terrible idea IF I lose the appeal and then have to fly home and not be allowed to come back for a year! Oops! Some people see taking risks as a plus as they are generally against it. My problem is that I love taking risks, and nothing can wait. i act first and think it through later. hope this doesn't backfire on me. i know i may be creating my own drama, but this a high end problem i'd like to have. i miss not having a house, and this one is all me son. the work visa would solve this.

So instead of playing it all safe, I tend to dive in and sort out possible problems later. Not the mature thing to do. So yes, I am gripping here a bit. There’s still a chance I crap out on the house loan AND the work visa and then maybe I’m not meant to be here after all and I move to Thailand, or Italy, Botswana, or who knows where. IDK. But I have believed all along that doors were opening for me to migrate here and as the doors were closing in Kenya I had to make a move. Sometime you just have to make a decision, even if it’s a bad one. And then try not to look back.

I look fondly back at Kenya now, with a romantic nostalgia. Plus I’m reading (and highly recommend) my friend Roland Minor’s book A LOT OF LOOSE ENDS, tales of a vet in Africa. Great read. But also pulls at my ranger heart-strings for the bush and real Africa. Why is harder...sexier? why is bush life and general third world living conditions that are so much more difficult to survive so romantic? The Out Of Africa syndrome, which I’m sure played a large part of me moving to Kenya in the first place. My Robert Redford looking for my Karen Blixen.

In all honesty Slingshot Productions was, to quote jimmy carter on a failed rescue mission in iran when a sandstorm downed the helicopters, “an incomplete success”. My prod co. was not viable nor sustainable. Yes some good came out of it, but it’s hard to swallow the pride of a failed business, even though most small businesses fail. So in the last 9 weeks here in ZA I’ve had plenty of time to reflect on the Kenya chapter. 

I spent as much money launching Slingshot Prods as the cost of the house here. So do I regret it? All the time and energy and dollars spent in Kenya? Chasing so hard after something that was never going to fly? Well, you have to try, don’t you? I’m wired to take risks, to bet the farm. So I did. I did Kenya the best way I knew for as long as I could. No regrets. Only great memories of memorable people, places, and adventure. And being a real ranger for a season, with a safari vehicle and living the Kenyan Cowboy dream. As coach john wooden used to say, “you’re only responsible for the effort, not the outcome”. So, I tried. No regrets. But like the Israelites looking back at Egypt, somedays I miss it and wonder ‘what if I had stayed?’.

Medical update: as some of you know, I battled prostate cancer in 2010. This week I had my blood tested for my PSA levels for the first time in 3 years. Hold your breath time, as I wasn’t sure I could go through all that again. Well, normal PSA range for my age is 0-5.0. my PSA was .22. relief is an understatement. Across from the blood pathology lab is a dermatologist. I’ve had enough sun for 3 lifetimes and hadn’t seen a good dermo since zurich early last year when I had some surgery done on my back to remove some cancerous bad guys.

Also relieved to have no cancerous growths, although he did freeze some 50 spots with liquid nitrogen. But very happy with this skin doc and glad to have quarterly checkups with someone I trust. And SA prices are most affordable. My skin should be looking good after one more freeze session. He said the sun is 3x stronger here than in Europe. It’s true. You can get nasty burned outside here in no time. Better do my laps in the new pool early morning or late afternoon! Aside from that, other blood tests looked good. Nothing alarming. So I’m good.

The bigger question has been WHAT AM I DOING HERE? Still figuring that one out. The house made sense for me as it has a pool (my best exercise and i do wanna get fit again!) and the house is a major project. I’ve done well in the past buying property and having a vision for it and making it better. So I look forward to fixing this one up. I need a project. I’ve also been polishing and organizing a play read for a play I wrote in 2010 about my dad’s suicide with some local actors. Should be interesting! And I’m tinkering with a period cowboy screenplay I’ve been working on for 20 years! 

i also have been submitting photos to Image Brief. i don't need a work visa to take pictures and upload online that pays to my PayPal account. and since i love taking pictures, hopefully it will work out and pay something. problem is l love shooting with my iphone5 and i'm not sure my file sizes will be large enough. but with the "death of print" maybe my smaller files are perfect for banner ads and online stuff. and image brief is non-exclusive. could be fun. and they want jpeg, not RAW so it might just work!

But with the work visa appeal hanging over so large, it’s hard to be very productive and I find lately it’s getting worse. i'm paralyzed.  I need an answer. I also realized I’m the kind of person that needs movement. I need things to move forward. Like a shark needing water through his gills. So waiting and waiting has been hard. BTW, buying the house also solved my housing problem for January when I get evicted from Papyrus Lodge. I kinda need a place of belonging, a place to call home, and I my friends The Chanceys in Stanford I met in NBO are from the states. And I met a cool guy named Johan who is a builder, at Triggerfish the local brewery. He will help with the house remodel.

I know you all have been enjoying summer, and I wish I had been at the Wedge in Newport for this last hurricane swell! Bu's it's freezing here in cape town! It was a cold wet 7C last night. That’s 44F. and coming from equatorial Nairobi, that’s bloody cold. It’s been a long winter and I look forward to a warm summer myself! Albeit, the seasons are nice to have again.

So that’s about it. A longer entry than normal, but lots of moving pieces at the moment. I’m making friends here, even shot 2 music videos a couple of weeks ago, but still looking to plug into something that feels productive and has community. Stanford will provide some of that, but the desires of my heart is to win the appeal, book some acting work, and get back to directing narrative films, TV episodic, and even commercials. Something where I can work with a crew and direct actors. If there is one thing I truly believe I was born to do is direct. I long for more opportunities to do that, here or abroad. 

one minor beef with SA is the internet. so slow and very costly. Telkom has the monopoly and fiber is a foreign concept. internet in kenya was 10x better. SA is like Ethiopia as far as internet, way behind the times. and it's annoying to spend well over $100 a month to be connected, especially via a slow USB dongle.

The Sea Turtles of Lamu is still looking for a home. Had a response from Earth Touch in the UK, but now they have gone silent. Selling this doco will also be a huge relief. And as much fun as it was to make it, I still prefer the narrative world. So as you can see, this appeal is a big tipping point in my life journey. 

A YES would mean a world of opportunity here. A NO would demand a serious Plan B. well, we try right? I’m one man trying. And you see how the chips fall. But if you wanted to say a quick prayer or light a candle on the work visa appeal, I wouldn’t be mad at ya!

Now for some pics! And please write me a short hello if you get a chance at ddmafrica@gmail.com or on my FB page. Would love to hear from you on what you’re up to! i miss you all!

That’s all from COSW (Citizen of Somerset West). picture time! again in no particular order!

cowboy house with a pool. that's me alright.

Surfer's Corner in Muizenberg, across False bay from on the cape.

tracks in Muizenberg. CPT could have awesome light rails system, but the rail lines are still kinda rough
neighbourhood wise. 

saw this poster, went to their gig, shot 2 videos for them. still cutting them, will post soon!

my sister heidi died of gall bladder cancer, my pops also had lung and prostate cancer. 
his broken heart after mom died of pancreatic cancer did him in.

my office. pretty much daily end up writing here.

my flat during the music vid shoot.

where i'm headed.

Ganbaai. up the coast from stanford for coffee and whale watching.

Army Ranger Craig whitlock and wife dayna i met at the Chancey christening in Stanford. cool couple.

my new countryside.

cowboy hearth. chili anyone????

seller avril and realtor ros.

my house view of the hills.

upper attic will give way to 21 foot vaulted ceilings from below! end room will be an open loft.

there's a front lot i plan to buy as well.

2 connected units. 

ros and my bud matt chancey.

kind of a clutter fest at the moment. think OPEN.

i only see potential.

the high ceilings will be WOW.

turtle plate? turtle doco? i took it as another sign to buy.

Ros's newly remodelled home.

ros's bathroom. hope she doesn't mind if this ends up on Image Brief!

The Strand. near somerset west. 

sound engineer Nic at Triplane. i bought an old mac tower from him. waiting on a new power supply unit! 

Art walk, first thursday of the month in cape town.

Harmonia. bronze.

bronze sculptor Stas Trzebinski, a relative of a friend in lamu who lives in CPT.

space bar. DTCT.

Mozart Cafe, church street. DTCT.

my friend Andre at another art opening 

nice space. posh vibe.

out for a sunday cruise. Franschoek.

table at Triggerfish Brewery, every friday.

one walk i do in a local vineyard has these chickens flocking to you

my theatrical agent, emma ress, founder of ERM talent. we're ready to go!

digby engineered a voice over session for me.

i had a deal to buy this bike. agreed on, sold. then got outbid the next day. not fair. c'est la vie.

post video shoot concert at my crib with darren and rouchel

modern church. hillsong somerset west.

my lake, my usual hang on sunsets.

de Brasserie on the strand, a belgium bistro with a good vibe!

Eddy comes with the house. okay. 

another sunday putt putt up the coast.

i like the beer here.

yes, i live here. for a few more months.

my hood. endless vineyards.

bliss.

Honey Blonde at Birkenhead brewery in stanford.

finally got my number plates. love the 7's and 4. 

CL is Stellenbsoch. like the 0's.

ALL FOR NOW! WRITE ME!