Dropping anchor!

Yippee...

I have finally moved into my new place! Sheesh. I have had a crazy couple of weeks trying to get approved and moved, so I have a lengthy update to cover all that time! (So, this will be a long one!)

My new apartment is in Astoria, 3 blocks down from Leese, and just big enough for me and my two cats. I would show you pictures, but I am going to be painting the whole place and would rather unveil the space when all the work is done.

At the moment, I am living without quite a few important things:

1. A bed. (I'm using Leese's airbed).
2. A coffeemaker. Yes, I heard you gasp in disbelief. How can this be so! Don't worry... it's the first item on my list of things to buy.
3. An iron. I have to steam things out in the bathroom by turning on the hot water and closing the door.
4. A couch. Using fold-up chairs for now.
5. A TV. Thank god for Netflix, the internet, and good friends who let you borrow their DVD players.
   
6. The internet. Sheesh. This one is really hard. I'm going to have to live without it, though, until I get my financial situation solidified.
7. A microwave. Guess I'll just have to wait 45 minutes for my Amy's frozen dinners to heat up in that old-fashioned oven.

Hmmm... those are the big things. There are a million other small things that I'll have to get one day, but can do without for a while.

Once the place is clean and painted, it will be wonderful. I am already loving the solitude! I kept my promise to myself and waited until I moved to read Harry Potter. I started it the first night I slept there by myself. There's nothing like a little brilliant fantasy to take one's mind off the fact that the person they have slept beside for the past 5 years is no longer warming that particular side of the bed.

Speaking of that whole development, I promised to post pictures of the Image Campaign I did for First Wives World. Joe and his crew have done a magnificent job editing the footage and I can't wait until they launch with the new FWW website! These photos just don't do the campaign justice, but here they are anyway.
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Me looking not-so-bad against an orange background.
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On set . Since I am friends with some of the crew, they decided to use me as the guinea pig to get the ball rolling. I don't mind being a guinea pig, really, as long as it's not for the trial run of a new amusement park roller-coaster or an (ahem) reformulated feminine product.
... Joe and Julie make a great team. I can't wait to see them in action on a feature.
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This a me with some of the other major FWW players: (from left to right) Joe, the image campaign Director; Jonas, an invaluable producer; Akillah, another "First Wife"; and Danielle, producer/art department head.

Like I said, I can't wait for you to see the actual image campaign spots. They really give you a sense of the amazing women who are out there and their wildly different experiences with divorce. I'll post the links as soon as they are available.

I am also doing a "vlog" or video-blog that will document all the highs and lows of the process. That will be coming out with the new-site launch as well. More on that later...

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In other exciting news, another wonderful site has launched and I am very proud to have been a small part of the production team for the video element.

It is called Panwapa.

It is a website that was constructed to help kids gain awareness of the wider world and all of the worlds rich cultures. The website is set up like a social network. Kids can join, design an online "avatar", build their own Panwapa house, and contact kids from other countries. Panwapa, itself, is a floating island with it's own inhabitants who navigate all the issues of cross-cultural relationships. If you clink on the TV on the home page, you will see segments of a muppet-styled show much like Sesame Street with different characters. As a matter of fact, Sesame Workshop created the site as part of their award-winning outreach effort to educate all the world's children.

I have already created my own avatar! If you visit the site look for USA1058. That's me!

Thanks to C. Boyd for bringing me on as the Art Director. She is the one behind the lovely production design of the island world in the videos and she also designed most of the icons you'll see in the "flags" section.

Let me know what you think of the site if you happen to visit.

OK - that's all for now. I'll try to track down another internet connection for another post soon. I have a feeling you'll be seeing much more of me now that I'm settled!