Blazing a Hollywood Trail: Intimacy Coordinator Rachel Flesher

With Rachel Flesher- an international intimacy coordinator whom I graduated from stunt school
with back in 2011.  

So, it's not that often that I use this blog to write about other people; but every once in a while you get to spend time with someone who is doing something that's so unique that just worth writing about. In this case, the person is question is Rachel Flesher, a friend of mine whom I graduated stunt school with back in 2011. While teaching fight choreography and Japanese weapons work at the Paddy Crean this past winter I had a chance to catch up with her, here what she was up to, and actually take a few classes from her in a field I had never even heard of before: intimacy direction.

As aforementioned, Rachel graduated from stunt school with me 8 years ago, and also had a strong stage combat background, but in recent years, she had taken her training in a completely new direction, and was now doing intimacy coordination for Netflix and CBS. In hearing that she was doing this, in one respect I was surprised, but in another I could see the parallels:

- An action director’s job is to map out an action sequence to best tell the physical, action-oriented parts of a story, and to do so in a way that keeps the actors/stunt players safe.

- An intimacy director’s job is basically to map out sex scenes in the same way to make sure that no one is getting traumatized or taken advantage of. 

While an action director maps out the course of the action and how the camera will be used for it, the stunt coordinator’s job is to work with the stunt people themselves to make sure that everyone is communicating well and that everything is done in a way so that no one is harmed. 

While a stunt coordinator's job is to make sure that a stunt performance runs smoothly with no physical injuries
an intimacy coordinator's job is to make sure of the same things in intimate scenes with no emotional abuses or injuries. 

An intimacy coordinator’s job again is to do the same thing; to work with the actors to make sure boundaries are set, expectations are met, and consent has been properly granted for every step of the way- so that both parties can relax and do their jobs without feeling like they are being taken advantage of- by either their partner or the director.

While one might question the need for such a position (in contrast to stunts where people can get seriously physically hurt), it’s important to remember just how mentally traumatizing film work can be and for all the same reasons. At the end of the day, the director just wants the shot, and oftentimes, they are willing to go to any lengths to get it. For example telling a small child that his dog has died in order to get him or her to cry, or like in the Alien movies when actors were suddenly sprayed with animal blood with no forewarning to get a "real" reaction.  

In the same way that you wouldn’t want to ask a war veteran with PTSD to re-live a scene of getting shot at or watching his friend die, you also wouldn’t want to ask a person who has been raped, sexually abused or molested to re-live something similar without forewarning and the proper mental preparation. This is particularly true because so many people can carry sexual trauma without being open about it. 

While I was only able to take a few classes on it, I got to work with both Rachel and Alicia Rodis, both of whom work with and represent Intimacy Directors International. The perspective Rachel (coordinator) and Alicia (director) offered was absolutely fascinating; and applicable to not just intimacy direction, but stunt work and just better dealing with people in general. There was a lot of discussion on things like the difference between permission and consent. (Permission is given from someone from above like the director, and consent is given by the person engaging in the act themselves)and how to best get everyone into a mental space where they can open up to portraying intimacy organically without anyone being coerced for forced into something they don't want to do. I am a huge fan of life-long education, and I found this really enlightening. It was also fascinating because it's such a new field or set job, but it makes so much sense that you wonder why it was never there in the first place. But this is exactly the challege for Rachel and the others working in this field- they are creating it, defining it, and standardizing it as they go. I would encourage anyone who works in entertainment to learn what they can about this; I also applaud Rachel for her amazing work and look forward to the chance that I can work with her in the future.

More on Rachel and her work:
http://www.kokandyproductions.com/rachel-flesher/
https://www.writerstheatre.org/rachel-flesher-biography
Intimacy Directors International

Impressions of Shanghai 2019

So this weekend, I had the pleasure of going to Shanghai to get my Octagon Core Fitness training from IHP. (Will write more on this later). While I had been to Shanghai before, it had been almost a decade since the last time, and given how fast things are progressing in China, I was really curious as to how the city would look. 

My first impression coming in is that it looked more like Bangkok than Tokyo; but that was just from the drive in. Once in the city, the sky line was really impressive and for lack of other words, colorful. In Tokyo and Seoul, the streets are packed with neon signage and as such, are mega-bright and colorful on the ground. From the highway however, it looks super clean, but conservatively black. Shanghai is the opposite; the streets themselves are pretty drab (and actually really similar to Beijing), but the skyline is more the high octane; the tops of buildings all seem to have different color lights on them; and the skyscrapers themselves often illuminate in different colors. 

Also like Beijing, the local housing leaves a lot to be desired from the outside, but is super clean and nice on the inside. I guess that’s a Chinese thing? (I’ve also noticed the same thing in Taiwan). 

The air was still not as clean as Tokyo; but way better than Beijing, and even Seoul. Then again, I may have just lucked out while I was there. I kept getting a runny nose if outside, but I couldn’t figure out if that was from the air or the cold. 

It was also really safe in the same way that Beijing is; and equally, super dark at night. I guess this was another marker as to how safe it was. If there is no one around to hurt, rob or steal from you, then there is no reason to leave the lights on everywhere, I guess? The subway was bi-lingual, comprehensive, and really easy to manage, so that’s a good thing, I guess. Like a lot of temperately warm places (like Tokyo as well), the insides of the homes are comparatively cold in the winter (compared to Michigan homes for example) but overall, it was a really nice place to visit. Pretty much the only issue that presented difficulty is the fact that China blocks pretty much all western SNS services (FB, Insta, Twitter, etc), and any and all things Google related. While I used a VPN to get around this, it was frustrating that you have to either pay for it, or find a "free one week trial" just to use google maps. A minor grievance, but something that could be an issue for others nonetheless. 

In terms of people, I found pretty much everyone to be friendly, honest and helpful. A marked difference from the last time I had been to Shanghai about a decide ago. (At the time, I had heard that Shanghai people were the rudest in the country and it really seemed that way). It may be a function of my own maturity as well; or it may be the that that in general, with it’s exponential economic growth, China is undergoing rapid cultural evolution as well. In any event, it was just really nice; and a sharp contrast to experiences I had had in the states during the past two years. (Although admittedly that was much better the last time I was home as well). 

In any event, given all the cities I’ve been to just the past year (Manila, Beijing, Seoul, Bangkok, Banff, etc), at this point, I feel really comfortable going pretty much anywhere on my own. New or not, foreign-language based or not, big cities are big cities, and one great benefit of the amount of travel I am doing is that I feel like I can pretty much show up and “plug-in” to any of them. At the same time, I am very very much looking forward to getting back to Tokyo and having a bit of time where I just don’t have to go anywhere, and can spend some much needed time with my little guy :) 

Saying goodbye to my mother

With Mom, and my son Ty. 

Two days ago, my Mom passed away. Earlier on in the tour, when I found out that she was terminal, I flew home to see her, tell her that I love her and that I’ll miss her, but also to let her know that when she is ready to go, she should go, without any feelings of guilt or worry about who she is leaving behind. Despite that, being who she is, she still hung on until I was just about done with the tour and I will always be eternally grateful for that.

She went the same way my Dad went; painlessly, peacefully, relatively quickly, and surrounded by love, respect and admiration. She deserved that.

My mom has been sick my whole life. I remember her telling me that before I was born when she was in her early 30s, during a medical examination, a doctor asked her “How are you still alive?”

Despite continual health problems and constant pain, not only did she manage to have me, but she went on to become a doctor herself, graduating from medical school at a time when women were unheard of, and black women even more so. (She was one of only two black women in her class). As an emergency room doctor, she saved a lot of people’s lives and working in the occupation health field, she never stopped believing that everyone can heal, mental, physically and spiritually. She was that one doctor that would never ever give up on a patient; and who wouldn’t let patients give up on themselves. In her personal life, when people were too weak to stand, she would carry them. I can’t recall how many times in my life we had people who were down and out living in our house; and how many of them I saw go on to do amazing things afterwards. She stayed this way literally right up until she passed away. And even though no one- not even the people in our family- though she would last this long, she lived long enough to see have 10 grandchildren and to know her first great grandchild, who was named after my Dad. (Sitting on her lap on the left)

With Lonnie, her first great grandchild and my son Ty. 

In closing, I’d like to paraphrase something she told me about working in an emergency room. “When people are depending on you, you can’t lose your focus. After all is said and done, and the dust has settled, then you can cry, you can mourn, you can buckle at the knees, or you can scream out at the top of your lungs if you have to. But until then, you just gotta grind.” Love you Mom. Thank you for making me who I am. 

Capturing the perfect moment: Sunset & Night view on Mt. Inasa in Nagasaki

People gathered at the top of Mt. Inasa in Nagasaki to take in
one of the top three night views in the world. 

So, we have arrived in Nagasaki; our final destination for the Dinosaur Zoo tour. I have been here before when I first visited Japan (about 15 years ago), and aside from remembering that it really reminded me of Hong Kong, I can't even recall what had brought me here or how I managed to get here. Just that I was here at some point.

In any event, being there were two things that I really really wanted to do: 1) was visit , the abandoned Island fortress where they filmed the end of 007: Skyfall. The other thing was to see Nagasaki's mountain top night view, which is in the top 3 in the world, (alongside Hong Kong and Monaco).

Tried to make the trip out to Gunkan during the day, but unfortunately the weather was quite disagreeable, continually oscillating between blue skies and downpour. For reasons unbeknownst to us, our boat actually left 5 min early, and we missed it... but then we found out that there were two other tours that tried to go, but couldn't actually land on the island. As such, alongside the folks I was going with, we decided that it wouldn't be worth the 4500yen ($45) it would cost to "try", and we decided to let it go.

When I visited Nagasaki about 15 years ago, all I remembered
was that it reminded me a lot of Hong Kong. 

As for the night view, the weather was still a bit unpredictable, but it seemed to be holding, so I thought it was better to try than not, so I went off on my own. That was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I made it there while there was still plenty of daylight, so I got to see it during the day, take in the sunset from the top, and then see it at night. The weather was simply perfect, and I can't even begin to describe the sunset. The pictures just don't even remotely do it justice. The fact that I was there alone actually made it all the better because there was no one to talk to, and nothing to distrct from the moment. There were other people up there, but they weren't talking to me, so I could just put on my headphones, listen to my music of choice and fully, quietly and peacefully completely embrace the moment. On my facebook page not too long ago, I posted a TED talk about the difference between joy and happiness. For myself, this moment represented perfect joy.

The view did look like the more remote areas of Hong Kong, and it reminded me of when I used to live there, climb a different mountain every weekend, and sit at the top reading books by myself all day.

It also reminded me of this time when I was sailing around the world on Peaceboat we were in really rough waters. About half of the ship's 1000 passengers (myself included) where absolutely sick as dogs, and just laying all over the floor trying not to vomit. One of my friends (at this point, I don't even remember who), suggested that we go up to the top deck to film something, but I was so damn sick, I didn't want to move. Nor did I wanna get soaked. Finally, as watching the waves does actually alleviate seasickness I decided to heed his words, and the two of us went up to the top deck while everyone else stayed below. When we came out the door, the storm had stopped, and the world's most epic cumulus cloud ocean sunset was unveiling itself. What's more, unbeknownst to everyone else, we were in the middle of a Dolphin Superpod. There had to be at least 1,000 of them. Jumping, flipping, twisting and playing as far as the eye can see. There were even a few sea turtles swimming alongside the ship. Nothing in life has ever beat that, but this sunset was an easy #2. As my Taekwondo teacher from Korea used to say, even when the olds aren't in your favor, or it may not make sense to anyone else, "Trying is important."

A small slice of Nagasaki's epic and hyper-panoramic night view. 

The night from the the top of Mt. Inasa in Nagasaki is considered
one of the best in the world. 

The equally epic gate to the Nagasaki ropeway. The ropeway actually starts
at the back of a temple.

Kobe: Wealth, Gangsters, and Breathtaking Cityscapes

While the past 2 months of touring with Dinosaur Zoo has given a chance to see a lot of Japan's countryside and cityscapes, in terms of the latter, easily the most striking stop has been Kobe. While working for Peaceboat, a Japanese NGO that sails people around the world about a decade ago, I had a brief stop in the Kobe's port, but I wasn't there anywhere long enough to make an impression of the city either way. As such, I welcomed this chance to see the city again, and quite frankly I was blown away.

Living in Tokyo, which according to Finance Online, is currently the wealthiest city in the world, I'm not a stranger to seeing clean streets, amazing architecture and constant supercars. All that being said however, when you get into Tokyo's back streets, and away from it's shiny main streets, you still see grime. There is still graffiti, crows digging through garbage, and cockroaches scurrying in it's hyper-narrow back alleys. While carefully tucked away and generally out of sight, all of the city's major areas have back streets and a grimy underbelly that is there if you look closely.

When I was in Kobe, however, I didn't see any of that. Major or minor, every street was pristinely clean. Granted, I did only have two days there, but try as I might, I couldn't even find Graffiti. Talking to our tour manager George, he told me that Kobe is actually known for that. (Coincidentally, it's also known for having beef so good that Kobe Bryant's father named him after it.) In general, Japanese people take an incredible amount of pride in outward appearance, and pretty much anywhere in the country you won't find trash on the street, or so much as a spot of rust on a car... but Kobe seemed to take it to another level. As one of the country's older port cities, it is also known for cosmopolitanism, and fashion, and the Japanese themselves say "If you can't go to Paris, you go to Kobe." 

Oxymoronically however, one of the other interesting things about the city is that despite how clean it is, it also harbors the country's largest Yakuza organization, Yamaguchi-Gumi, which is one of the largest criminal organizations in the world. With over 20,000 members, and activities stretching to other areas of Asia and even in the US, the Yamaguchi-Gumi makes billions of dollars per year and has a higher income than a lot of small countries. That could explain some of the wealth.

Even the theatre we performed in, the biggest (and nicest so far) illustrated the wealth and the class of this city. 

Recently, as there has been a splintering in the Yamaguchi-Gumi, many have feared that this would lead to violence in the city, but if there was any, the city certainly didn't show any scars from it. Would love to come back here and explore this place again sometime. Maybe next time I can find some graffiti.

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaguchi-gumi
https://financesonline.com/10-wealthiest-cities-in-the-world-its-not-new-york-or-london-at-the-top/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe

Hokkaido vs. Michigan: Comparing and Contrasting

A view of the central avenue in Sapporo from our theatre venue. 

So after 15 years in Japan, Ive finally managed to make it to a city I've always wanted to visit here- Sapporo. It's in Japan's northernmost prefecture, Hokkaido. As it's on the same longitute and is equally as green, wide-open and natural as my own home state of Michigan, so I've always wanted to compare and contrast. Upon arrival, from the airport in Hokkaido, we had a long drive to Sapporo, and looking out the window, sure enough, it was basically indistinguishable from the side of the road in Michigan- low rolling hills, and nothing but deciduous greenery (or farms) on either side of the road for as far as the eye can see.

Driving through the countryside in Hokkaido, mountains aside,
it looks just like Michigan. 

There were a few differences though. For one it's actually a lot colder. In August, Michigan is still fairly hot with temps between 20-30C (70-85F) where as here was pretty cool at15C (about 60F) degrees). That may be unseasonal however. Anyway, it was cool enough that you need a light Jacket and pants to be comfortable- especially at night- and seeing how Tokyo is about 100F right now, that was pretty shocking.

Another big difference I have noticed is that the sun still sets quite early. In Michigan, in the summer it doesn't get dark until 10pm or so; here, it gets dark at about 6:30pm; only about a 10 min. difference from Tokyo, despite being considerably farther north. After puzzling on this for a while, I thought a googling was in order, and came to find out that the reason is because 1) there is no daylight savings time in Japan, and 2) the tilt of the Earth's axis causes vastly different sunrise and sunset times depending on where you are. So apparently being father north does not automatically guarantee a longer day as I always assumed it did.

Sapporo itself was a cool city. For starters, it was considerably bigger than I thought; all I needed was to take the cable car up Mt. Moiwa on the edge of the city to see so. From where we were staying downtown, it was only a 15 cab ride there, and then 6 min. up in the cable car to get to the top, so it was easy to do in about 2 hours or so. It was only more time consuming coming down because we stayed for the night view (which is apparently one of the top three in Japan), which EVERYONE seems to come for and was super packed on the way out.

The view of Sapporo at dusk from Mt. Moiwa

While the day view was cool, what people really come to
Mt. Moiwa to see is Sapporo's night view. 

Sapporo's TV Tower

Rainy Day View from the TV Tower

As it was raining for our first new days there, I didn't do much in the city, but tried to make it out to the Sapporo TV tower, the only other main attraction in the city. Not a bad view at all, but I got drenched walking there. I didn't realize that much like Toronto and Chicago's Pedway,  the city is filled with underground tunnels for getting around in the winter when the city is slammed with snow. I was really grateful for them on the way back, although I wish I wasn't already soaked. There is also a moderate subway system; although not nearly as comprehensive as Tokyo's. Taxis were also not too difficult to catch and started at 690 yen.



Given the fact that 90% of the time, I don't really go out, party or doing touristy, it was fun to take in a bit of the city. I could really see living here...if it wasn't for the fact that there is no film/ entertainment industry, (which constitutes half or more of the work I do), and without it I think I would just get bored. Haven't seen the winter here either, lol. One other start difference between here and Michigan is that this place is just covered in mountains. And while we do get snow for a good part of the winter, this place just gets slammed, and it's more or less all powder snow. I've heard time and time again that Hokkaido is a skier and snowboarders heaven- so much in fact that the town of Niseko is apparently largely populated by Australians. lol

Hokkaido's winters are intensely cold, so Sapporo is filled with
underground tunnels to walk around in and connect the subway
stations. 

Seeing as how I haven't touched my snowboard in at least 3 years now (due to the knee injury) I think it might be time to dust it off and make a trip up here again to see how it is in the winter ;)

Another interesting city was Obihiro. While Sapporo felt a bit like Chicago, Obihiro with it's low skyline felt a lot like Lansing.

Could the Space Force actually be a good thing?

One of the proposed logos for the Trump
Adminstration's
Space Force Concept.

So, I’ve been thinking about the Space Force thing, and I think it could actually a good thing.. and here’s why. If you think about it, as a species, everything that we have, everything that we are, and every single one of us is all here on Earth. Everything. 

For a moment, let’s ignore the fact according to NASA, 97% of the world’s scientists agree that we are already on a crash course to ruin our environment. The fact of the matter is, there are still a lot of other things that could wipe us out. An eruption of the super-volcano that makes up Yellowstone National Park is one of them. (Granted, there isn’t any evidence to say that that will happen in the near future, but there are a range of factors that could potentially trigger it- for example powerful earthquakes or tectonic movements elsewhere). Another extinction level event could be a giant meteor, like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. Apparently, when that one hit it sent so much rock and debris out into space that it literally rained fire planet-wide afterwards. One could argue that that would be less than pleasant as well.

There’s also the fact that as a species, we came about in a particularly pleasant spell in the middle of an ice age  (which we are still in) and that will naturally come to an end sooner or later…even if it wasn’t for the fact that we are grossly accelerating the process. The fact of the matter is, for the sake of insuring our survival as a species, getting at least some of us off of the planet’s surface isn’t just a cool thing to do, as far as I'm concerned, it’s an absolute necessity. 

Now, let's look at how this pertains to the Space Force. If you look at history, traditionally, a lot of our greatest technology has come from military research. You will simply never find a better funded institution for that than the US Military. I do have great faith in Elon Musk’s peaceful efforts in the private sector, and maybe I’m just being optimistic… but I do think the technological advances that would come out of this would be beneficial in getting us off the planet. Particularly if this triggers another space race with Russia, China or both and that fans the fire even more.

Granted, aside from the fact that Trump is already trying to sell “Space Force” gear, there’s nothing to say that it’s actually going to happen just yet. There is already a space command in the air force with 30,000 employees, and given all the other things that the government needs to figure out and/or pay for at the moment, (like healthcare) it may not even get approved by congress. But if it does, it may actually turn out to be a good thing. 

References:

https://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/ice_age.htm

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/aug/10/space-force-everything-you-need-to-know

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_Caldera

https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2018/07/25/a-few-cracks-appear-near-yellowstone-and-suddenly-everyones-shouting-supervolcano-eruption/#13fe25f44107

Highlights of Hiroshima

Had the pleasure of trying Japanese Nabe cooked in Sake at
a restaurant called "Francia" in Hiroshima.

Pretty good day working in Hiroshima for the Erth promo tour. We had two mini-shows at the Hiroshima airport, and then another photo session with the Triceratops at a different venue. Given the sheer size and weight of the triceratops rig, the Hiroshima airport show was tricky; part of the "magic" of the show is that we never let the kids see the dinosaur puppets disassembled; but there were literally hundreds and hundreds of people around the open stage. We got around this by assembling her in a tent next to the stage, but her size made getting her out of the tent one issue -which we got around by squatting as we walked out (if you can imagine that with a 70kg rig on your back), but then having to walk her up the ramp onto the stage was a different issue entirely. In any event, at the end of the day, it all went well. Getting better at vocalizing with the voice distortion box; (the dinosaur's "voice") is based off of my own, and the more I do this, and get used to carrying the weight, the easier it is getting.


As the actual show only has two shows a day, I think it should actually be easier than the workload we have for the promo tour; except for the fact that it will be for two months straight. I guess we will have to see.

Actually had a chance to eat raw mantis shrimp... pretty good,
but I kept wondering what it would taste like cooked, lol. 

Anyway, after completing all of our promo activities for the day, we went to restaurant in the Saijo area of Hiroshima (known as the #1 place for brewing Sake in the country) to eat foods that had all been cooked in Sake. While I'm not a super huge fan of traditional Japanese cuisine, this was fantastic. I actually had cheese that was cooked in Sake... that (quite naturally) tasted like cheese and sake at the same time. Couldn't quite get my head around it, lol. All in all, I really threw down. (Although that may just have been because I was hungry as hell from supporting the rig all day, lol. Still... no complaints.

Still hoping to visit the Peace Dome again to pay my respects... but afterall, I am here to work, so I guess that has to come first ;)

Each of the towers in the photo represent a different Sake brewery.
As Saijo is known as the best area for Sake brewing in Japan, the area is covered with them. 

On the promo tour with Erth

Yutaka and I with the Triceratops Rig.

Just arrived in Hiroshima, our first stop on the Erth Dinosaur Zoo promo tour with Yutaka, who will be operating the back legs of the triceratops rig I'll be driving for the full Japan tour in a few months. The last show/presentation we did was in the Australian Embassy in Tokyo, and this one will be in Hiroshima airport. In general, I love Tokyo, but it's always nice to be able to get out of the city sometimes and see other areas of Japan. Especially if my official excuse is driving a robotic dinosaur, lol.

For only having a few hours of rehearsal with the rig before our first show, Yutaka has done an awesome job. As the full rig weighs about 70kg (the operators wear it like a tandem backpack) I was a bit concerned that our height difference would mean I would be bearing a disproportionate amount of the weight, but thanks to his keen scene of movement and his body, it wasn't an issue in the least.   I'm really glad to be able to bring him with me on this one. Looking forward to the show tomorrow!

On our way to Hiroshima.

Our producer/director, Scott, showing my son the Triceratops rig. I still don't think he knows that his Dad is inside, lol. 

10 Ways You Know You Are the Parent of a Toddler.

With my son Ty just after his 3rd birthday. 

So, after posting my last blog on my trip to Australia, I noticed and re-read another blog I had written just after my son was born, called 10 Thoughts I Had While Watching my Son's Birth. Coincidentally, my son has just turned 3, which means it's been almost exactly three years since I wrote that. As such, and given how much has changed since then, (my son is now a toddler) , I thought it might be time for my next "Daddy" post. For those who are still taking care of babies, here, my friends, is what you have to look forward to.

10 Ways you know you are the parent of a toddler: 

10. When the fresh box of tissues you put on the kitchen table in the morning has been replaced with a massive pile of crumbled tissues by the afternoon... and or tissue shreds... everywhere.

9. When the same thing happens to the fresh roll of toilet paper you put in the bathroom.

8. When you say to your wife:

"Yeah, he has diarrhea. But don't worry, he's good. I already changed his clothes, and diaper and flushed the poo down the toilet."

and she responds:

"Oh my God!!! That's the sexiest thing you've ever said!!!

7. When your son takes a massive dump in his diaper, and you are so proud of his man-sized turd that your wife has to stop you from sharing photos of it on social media.

6. When it's 5:00am and your son thinks it's important enough to wake you up to tell you that the thing on your wrist is a watch. Over and over again... until you are wide awake. And then he goes back to sleep.

5. When the songs that are constantly stuck in your head have choruses like:
"Lots of words begin with the letter B! Open a book! How many words do you see? Beginning with the letter B."

4. When your Youtube playlist consists of titles like "Rubber Duckie Monster Truck Colors".

3. When you start to worry because no one storms into the bathroom to interrupt you while you are trying to do a #2.

2. When a "fantastic meal" is any one that you can actually finish in the restaurant without worrying about yelling, crying, or having to apologize to random strangers getting hit in the face with a flying lego.

1. When you have this little creature that is sick as hell, coughing constantly, and sneezing snot rockets everywhere staring at you with outstretched arms that say "Daddy, pick me up." ...and you know that if you do, you are gonna get sick as hell too, and it's going to ruin your life for the next two weeks... but you still do it anyway; because you know that little creature is your little creature, and if it makes him feel better- even just for a minute- it's totally worth it.

Australia: First Impressions

After seeing it in so many movies, I finally got to see the Sydney
Opera House for myself. 

So, this morning I arrived in Australia for trial rehearsals for a production I may be working with later this year called Erth. The job came my way via my fireburn instructor from stunt school. He had worked with them before on many occasions, and as they had recently begun to do a summer tour in Japan, he suggested that they get in touch with me as not just a performer, (I'm slated to operate a giant triceratops rig), but also somewhat of a local liaison.

Long story short, this opportunity has finally given me the chance to get to the only continent I have never been to- Australia, so I am super happy to be here, and it's really interesting for a myriad of reasons.

As a city, it reminds me of Seattle a lot. Lots of water, rolling hills, and lushy green- but more tropical and "jungley" instead of deciduous...and apparently you can buy boomerangs everywhere, lol.  As any Aussie will tell you, the people are incredibly laid-back. More so than pretty much any big city people I have ever met. As an example, after my host picked me up from the airport, he pretty much threw me a key to his house, and said "Right. I've got some meetings. Take today to do whatever you like." and left me to do my own thing. This is in stark contract with the Asian sense of hospitality I'm used to where people will bend over backwards to show you around, take you out and be the best hosts you can imagine. But it was really nice.

All the trains are double-deckers. 

As I spent almost a decade wandering all over Asia by myself, I welcomed the freedom, and set about to make it out to the Sydney Opera House. As something I had seen in a million Hollywood movies, seeing it up close was a must; and looking at the map, it was only a few stations away.

 The train system took a minute to wrap my head around, (but literally just a minute) and then after that, getting around was cheap and easy. As aforementioned, people are super easy-going, so asking directions from strangers was no issue at all. My only complaint was free wifi was harder to find than I expected it to be. And I still haven't seen a single starbucks. It's fall here, (and cool) so a hot coffee would have been really nice. Another interesting thing is that yesterday when I left Japan, I was in the spring. Today, when I arrived in Australia, I am in the fall.  It's really weird sometimes to see just how different of a world you can go to on a single flight.

It was spring when I left Japan a few hours ago; but it is fall here. 

My first Aussie meal- A double patty, double cheeese, double-maple
bacon burger with a bun that was an enormous glazed donut. EPIC. 

Syndey looks shockingly similar to Seattle; but more tropical. 

And there are boomerangs for sale everywhere, lol.