A YEAR IS TOO LONG

I made it over from the Island to the mainland. I got a call from the Production Manager (PM) from the new show and she said that transport would contact me soon. Not long after, a nice guy called Dean rang me up and said they would be sending someone over from that side to bring me back. That was a huge relief but I felt bad about the cost and time it would be for someone to do that. At lunch the next day, the EPK (Electronic Press Kit) crew were there and I sat with them as Lynn McNamara is a good friend. It turns out that they were heading back the next day - the day I needed to go back. So I arranged to get a ride with their sound guy. I called Dean back and told him that I just needed a ride from the ferry to my rental car. He said, 'no problem' and that was that. I lost sleep over trying to figure out how it was all going to work out a few nights previous, but now here it was all sorted out. I need to practice what I preach to my kids: Worry changes nothing but your health and more than half the time it all works out.

Jack, the producer of the show I am on, isn't happy at all that I am leaving early. I understand how he is feeling. I wouldn't be happy either if the person who is supposed to make sure that the continuity of the whole show isn't going to stick around for the last three days. The PM explains to him that it is more work for me and they like to keep their people busy if they can. I find out later that he went to the head of the company and complained. I feel badly when I hear it. I really like Jack and hate letting him down like this. It isn't what I want to do. It was all arranged behind the scenes and I kind of just went along with it as it does mean a lot more days of work for me. But I hate leaving things unfinished. When Laura shows up on Friday afternoon to see what is going on on set, Jack seems somewhat mollified as she has worked for him before and he likes her. That makes me feel better.

I realize, as my last day on set comes to a close, that I didn't get to say goodbye to Britt. I am sad about that. When I finally drive away from set for the last time on this show, I realize that I didn't even say goodbye to Drew. I was busy finishing up my paperwork for the day when he was spirited away by transport. I am fed up about it. I also didn't get to say goodbye to Jack.

When I get back to the house, I hand over all my paperwork to Laura and go over some continuity notes. My phone rings and I break off to answer it. I look at the caller ID and it's a California number. When I answer it, it's Jack. He tells me that he was half way to his hotel when he realized that he never said goodbye to me. So he is calling to say goodbye and to thank me for all of my hard work on the show. I am really touched by it. No producer has ever done that before. I thank him and tell him I really enjoyed working with him and getting to know him. We say our goodbyes and when I hang up, I finish off going over notes with Laura. I then head up to my loft room and start packing up all of my things. I can't do it all as some things are in the closet in Carmen's room and she is asleep. I do what I can and then head off to bed. My last night on the air mattress.

I rise early as I can't sleep and the sunrise is spectacular. The entire skyline is deep orange-red, outlining the islands and mountains in the distance. As the sky slowly lightens to a soft pinky mauve, the girls leave the house two at a time. I say my goodbyes to them and make an agreement with Tana and Marjorie that we will get together in a couple of weeks. Once they are all gone I have a shower and then finish up packing. Dragging all of my bags downstairs is a chore. They are so heavy.

I need to go back to the school of massage where I went with Tana on our day off to have the kinks in my back worked out. I left my water bottle there and need to go get it. Once that is done, I return the rental car and John, the transport guy who drove me over on the ferry, picks me up and drives me back to the house. I have about half an hour before Norm is due to show up so I sweep up about 20 dead wasps from the window ledges - we couldn't figure out how they were getting in but it seemed there was always one buzzing in the window - and then take some windex to the glass dining table to remove all my marks from where I did my paperwork. I am just carrying out the kitchen trash when Norm shows up.

We load in all of my bags and I lock up the house and we head off to the ferry. We arrive really early for our reservation so walk around the outdoor craft market they have set up there. A jewelry stand keeps my interest for about twenty minutes. The woman who is there tells us that she makes it all herself. Her work is beautiful and her prices are really good. But I don't buy anything. She tries to get Norm to buy me a necklace telling him that 'your wife would look really good in it'. We both laugh and tell her we aren't married. So she says, 'girlfriend then'. We tell her we are work colleagues. She tells us that we should be dating.

At the stall next to hers is an artists. He is very prolific and talented. A lot of his work is local landscapes and island life scenes and they are really good. I buy a fridge magnet of a surfer on Long Beach for Ashleigh and Rob.

The ferry ride over is great. Lynne, Norm - the sound guy, and the camera guy and I all sit together in the cafeteria part of the ferry and they tell stories about work.

I arrive at my friends house Saturday around 3 in the afternoon. She isn't home but has left a key for me under the mat. I go in and let her dogs out of their crates and into the backyard, and then drag all of my stuff into the house and downstairs into my basement room. I don't unpack. I have an appointment at the bank to set up an account. Once that is done I feel so much better. I haven't had a bank account since May. It's hard to conduct one's life without a bank account.

Sunday I work on the script for the new show. I have done most of my breakdown, I did it on my two days off, but I still have some to do. I take it down to Starbucks and work on it there because I have arranged to meet the girl who will be renting the basement suite from my friend. We are going to talk over some details and see if this is going to work out. She arrives right on time and it doesn't take more than half an hour for us both to realize that, unless the whole basement is available, this won't work. There is one huge bedroom and one tiny one. I have a queen size bed, a desk, lots of work equipment and a tv to go into my room. She has a twin bed. Yet she has her heart set on the bigger room. That means that all I can fit in my room is the bed and a night table. The rest of the stuff would have to go into the small livingroom. That won't work. There is another huge room in the basement but the family want to use it as an entertainment room. So there is no way this is going to work out. I am disappointed as I was looking forward to living there. And now I don't know where I am going to live come the middle of the month. I am getting tired of not having a place to call my own. And now it looks like it will be more than a year before I get to sleep in my own bed again. That's just nuts.