THE YEAR IN REVIEW
a year of surprises & more adventures.
some movie-making & memories with friends.
some hellos and some dear goodbyes.
& settling in as an expat in south african.
for starters the biggest surprise was the chance to housesit a flat in the medieval town of Spoleto, Italy for the month of May. sidebar trips to Assisi, Rome, Naples, Cyprus, and Sardinia we're all plusses. and the Italian Open was a treat. so great to be immersed in Italy for an extended period. definitely a country i could live in! and had a great visit with my composer friend Paulo in Sardinia.
also, visiting Hatem in Cyprus has led to teach my master class there next month in January...in Alexandria, Egypt. fly into cairo and take a train up to alexandria on the Med. that'll be fun! more adventure and a new country for this ole COTW. then off to Grand Cayman islands in Feb with a stop in Alabama to see the Chancey family, friends from nairobi back in 2011! and more recently in stanford!
after Italy i had my nephew Danny Jim come and visit for a couple of weeks in cape town and we saw the Addo elephant park. plus 2 extra nights in port elizabeth while the TT got some deserved maintenance. we did so much together and even rented a penthouse in the heart of the CBD to watch The World Cup! it was great to have him and catch up!
it was such a relief and continues to be everyday getting my 4-year work visa last december in LA at the ZA consulate. i'm totally good here to live and work through 2021. and Yoda my cat is also relieved. being an expat, immigration and home affairs is always a stress! nothing guaranteed! next step is getting my permanent residence visa permit. then i'm sorted for life.
and so far, the western cape is going down rather well. an amazing place on the planet & the exchange rate from USD$ to the Rand is very favorable! so the pension goes quite far here. which is another relief. and getting my ZA driver's license was also a breakthrough. i flunked the driving test the first time around but finally passed. i no longer need my bogus int'l drivers license in got online from New York for $20. i have a legit south african license. so cool! another relief!
i honestly do not know where i would live in the states. haven't a clue. probably safe to say i won't be living in the USA again. i like being an expat and ZA has all the best parts of california, UK, and Europe, with fantastic weather and such friendly people. a very polite culture. sure there is some political unrest and uncertainty, but that is true the world over.
i'll take my chances here. again, western cape is fairly insulated from the rest of the country. we have the occasional land protest, but homeowners i feel are fairly safe from the fray. and if bad things happen i have a US passport so i'm free to leave anytime, not everyone has that luxury. but i think are safe and manageable for the most part.
and having the flat in city centre has really energized me. more stimuli than just the country cottage living. much needed, plus work has been busy! been on first option for a few big things, but alas, they went away. still keen to book something big! a big global commercial and a nice movie or series. and the flat is so handy for all the castings and callbacks! it's a perfect little studio flat for city life. and walks at sunset.
besides the surprise of getting a flat in town, 2018 also brought a fun gig on the UK spy series Deep State. only 2 days, but great to be back on set and in the fray. and I shot one morning on an ABSA bank spot that will in aire in ZA. i also made a few short films this year, Last Call, the 48-hour film project Disowned, and more recently ABOUT ANDREW which i am hoping might get into some festivals.
we had a private village screening of About Andrew with about 40 folks at La Tratorria and it was such a special night, a real community experience. cast and crew and Q & A. we all enjoyed it! i also continued to teach my monthly Hollywood Acting Master Class but have decided to give it a rest for a spell and concentrate more on screenwriting.
so all in all 2018 was a great year full of surprises and good stuff! luckily i have more travel and adventure lined up for 2019. and i'm still keen to do that 10 day canoe trip down the Zambezi river! one day we'll tackle that one! and the sailing courses and buying the catamaran for the final act of life is still on hold!
lots of good things going on here at the present and choosing more and more to live sober with an occasional drink on special occasions instead of everyday.
i always appreciate new years and now 2019! i made it another year! my sister heidi passed on 2008 at age 53. next year is promised to no one. so i'm thrilled i made it this long! 2019! wow. and like my uncle Ginks said at age 90: "if i knew i was gonna live this long i would've saved more money and taken better care of myself!" so true. need to improve my diet, live sober, and get more exercise. take care of yourself, kids, unless the planet melts first, we're gonna be around a while. and tell your loved ones you love them. often.
now for some pics! i'd like to think my blog shows you a slice of the earth you don't get to see. people, places, how folks live, landscape, culture, architecture, another view of the planet. so enjoy this month's collection. and drop me a line when you can!
much love from cape town & all the best for a special new year!
one more lap around the sun together! enjoy!
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https://vimeo.com/304294350
password: beach
kindly do not post or share
such a great experience. and hope it festivals well! |
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| had a wonderful sail on this one, looking forward to more! |
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i love watching this channel and i even support them: La Vagabonde - life on board
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZdQjaSoLjIzFnWsDQOv4ww |
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| scenic stanford |
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| Deep State...US congressional hearing set in cape town |
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| director Joss Agnew watching A-cam and B-cam feed. |
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| 1/3 third of our Cape town Trio...annie kirke of More than Peace. #peacevicar |
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| back in the old hood on parliament street by The Piazza, my old building. |
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| K-04 doing the trick. simple town living. |
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| partitioned studio bedroom. |
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| The Cartwright condo building looms overhead! |
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| a balconey is key! such a perk with a view of the lap pool and fountain. |
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| Table Mountain is so flat...it never gets old! |
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| cape town has a charm unto itself. |
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| wardrobe fitting for About Andrew with ruby and dirk. |
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| ruby and dirk, test shoot. |
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| playing Pops in the Absa spot |
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| seattle coffee basement lounge in cape town. |
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| grand beach cafe in granger bay, near the VA waterfront, in season |
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| my friend's house in malibu was spared in the terrible fire. what a photo! this is his house! |
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| The Marina village in cape town |
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| anri, kirsten, and annie. ddm's angels. |
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| lots of laughs found here. |
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village life at Maison de carnivore. tablecloths and candles in the country, feels like paris!
steak pom frites! |
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| matt chancey and grant nale, both close buds! matt stopped in to visit! |
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a duel to pay the bill...with Butch and Matt chancey. matt's renewal visa was denied and boom,
he and family of 12 were out! back to alabama! |
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| Yoda is more relaxed with my visa sorted thru 2021! |
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| cutting About Andrew in my edit suite. |
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| Ruby Walne is a find! |
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iPhone Plus: check, passport: check, wallet: check, plane tickets: check!
good to go see the world with my new man bag. |
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the annual Toy Run at christmas where bikers bring gifts and
gather together on the pitch in stanford |
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| A cool couple with my favorite motorbike...the Honda Rune. |
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| close friend jan troost on his stoep! great position in the village! |
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| a view from Clifton with the twelve apostles mountain range in the BG. |
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| walking into camps bay from Clifton. |
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| camps bay. |
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| best nachos in cape town at camps bay cafe caprice. |
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| golden hours camps bay |
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| the in-crowd, ibiza kinda vibe. |
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| the very spacious camps bay beach. the water is normally very cold! |
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| looking down onto Clifton beach |
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| Another beach at Clifton |
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| Bantry bay. |
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| seapoint pool eating spot |
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| walking the promenade at sunset! |
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| grand beach cafe gets hectic! |
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| LoJ was flown to Germany this year, then Uganda. she's doing well! Go Lorella! |
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| my dad was remembered this year with all the celebrations! |
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| i made a photo book. |
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| my friend willem made his first beer under how his own label...Bezwil. |
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And i shot a video for my friend carmen who owns the zesty lemon.
https://youtu.be/RsNQI1NWb0I |
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| the huge annual sit-down christmas eve dinner at the Nales. party of the season! |
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| sporty sam with Grant Nale |
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| the host with the most...Ros Nale! ab fab! |
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| love these old vehicles that remind one you are in africa. |
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| Hermanus...down the road |
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| cute and quaint! |
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| cape cod kinda vibe. |
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| outside at Belgian Waffles. the best. |
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| monster view of Walker bay. |
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| my favorite brekky place. banana and bacon waffles with maple syrup. |
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| secret restaurant down on the rocks. |
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| Joanine and Willem, my peeps! |
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| kite surfing at grotto beach. i'm keen to learn! |
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| and it's a wrap! so long 2018! it's been grand! cheers all! xxxooo ddm |
