RETURN FROM THE WILD

Back in my home state, at least physically. I'm not sure my brain will ever be entirely here again. Asia was wild. A complete mental, emotional, physical drain. Not necessarily in a bad way, just in a takeover way that changes how you think and what you notice.

I'll never take for granted living in the USA again, that is for sure. The freedoms we have here are spectacular and I never even thought about it. There, women cannot even choose what clothes they wear, let alone careers and entrepreneurship. There, travel like I just did is a total impossibility: travel is too expensive to even be a dream. With exchange rates like 35 Baht to 1 American Dollar, I'm able to explore their countries while they will never be able to explore mine. Oh, and most of them have never voted in free elections, and are so accustomed to constantly changing political landscapes they don't know or care who is making the rules of the lands.  That is just for starters. The United States is an incredible, incredible place, and through no talent of my own I just happened to be born in the land I can practically do ANYTHING I want, at any time.

I saw beautiful, beautiful sights, and I studied cultures completely unlike my own. I went on 16 flights over 6 weeks. I rode boats, trains, tuk tuks, overnight buses, motorcycles, hot air balloons, ferries, taxis, and about a billion subways. I explored 6 different countries, each unique and special and its own challenge to my brain and understanding of how life is.  I will never be the same. And I am glad of it.

Later I'll post some pictures, and hopefully even more I'll be posting teasers from the footage that we got.  Being on camera after traveling hundreds of miles on overnight buses and sweating in the 103 degree weather without a makeup artist means that this footage ain't gonna be as pretty or as clean cut as some may like, but I hope it captures the true adventure of what it is like to see new things and be put in new circumstances. I hope y'all will enjoy it!

Oh the Adventure!

February 1- March 10  2016 I return to my gypsy love. I will be spending a month traveling Southeast Asia-Thailand, Myanmar, Tawian, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore- and I will return with the first footage for an upcoming pilot.

This reality/travel doc combo gives a millennial take on both traditional and unusual festival celebrations throughout the planet.  The first episode will feature Chinese New Year Celebrations in Bangkok, Thailand. WHERE I WILL BE TO EXPERIENCE THE JOY FIRSTHAND!

I can't wait to share our adventure. Check the blog for updates!

Me on my last other-wordly adventure to Iceland, Summer 2015.

Enter the New Year

The New Year is always a tough time for filmmakers. It's cold out and our opportunities for work are few. We sit nervously pacing, feeling broke from the holidays, and hoping someone will call.

So....lets just remember that right guys? This year, don't let the winter months come as unexpected slowdown. Save for it, prepare for it, and then ENJOY IT! That's precisely my plan, and precisely why I'm headed to ASIA. Instead of stressing about those rare winter phone calls, I'm packing my bags for Thailand, China, Myanmar and Japan. I've got a camera with me and I'm out for stories. I promise to return to you tan, energized, and ready to take on this years projects. Will they be movies? TV? We shall see! My 2016 is already looking bright.

Here we go!

Apparently I've reached the place in my career where I need a website to advertise and brag my credits. Strange feeling thinking that just a few years ago I was cocktail serving and paying off Belmont University loans. I am happy every day with my career choice, happy every day to be a freelancer, and leave a large portion of my daily life a constantly changing roller coaster. 

Sometimes I spend the day deep in preproduction, a hundred emails and a hundred phone calls and excel sheets. Sometimes I'm somewhere I've never heard of, on set with a group of capable and skilled film workers documenting a story. Sometimes I'm sleeping till 1:00 pm on a Tuesday and bingeing Mr. Robot and baking monkey bread. I love how every week presents its own unexpected events.

I love what I do, I love the new lessons that constantly come, I love the curveballs, the chance to choose my own adventure.

I can't wait to share the stories.