The Haunted House

There is this house that Georgie and I pass everyday on our walk. It is a street over from where I live. I have dubbed it the haunted house.

I have never seen anyone go in or out and have never seen a car in the drive way. Every once in a while a light is on in the living room, but I don't see anyone moving about.

The windows (which you can not tell in the photos) have a "picket fence" design etched on them and the front door has an etching of a woman.

So, this has become the haunted house of the neighborhood. Here are a couple of photos. What do you think?

Goals for 2010

2010 is right around the corner. Unbelievable.

2010 - wow!

I have decided 2010 will be a good year for me, and I am going to make it that way. I have decided that I am going to pursue and make a documentary film. It is something that I have wanted to do for a very long time, but never had the heart to take the plunge and just do it.

No more dragging my feet. Starting in January I am going to begin to plan out and make my film. I don't know how long it will take me and I have 3 subject matters that I am looking into and researching. I am working on outlines now and will set mini goals for myself through the year.

I love documentary films, they are my favorite films to watch and I think I like them so much due to the fact that I have been in broadcast television for 12 years. And I believe that we make little tiny docs everyday. The research, talking to folks and presention of the story.

One thing that I was really proud of was when I worked at NBC13 in Birmingham Alabama, I researched, found, produced and wrote a series of stories called Alabama's Bravest. I profiled families with soldiers overseas. I thought I did a pretty good job. Don't know what other folks thought - but I liked the way the stories turned out.

Also for the past 4 years, I have been putting award entries together for WVTM and WFTS. There has not been a year that I worked on entries that we have not been nominated. The biggest part of putting together the awards is the best overall category. Basically you take everything your station has covered for a year and have to edit it down to either a 30min or hour statement. It is not an easy thing to do...you go through hours and hours of video and stories and have to pick out the best and put it all together.

So, now it is MY time to shine. It is my turn to find my story and make it. I am going to need help on this journey and all my friends that are filmmakers, I will be calling you for advice. I know that this is no easy task. (Hey Carl Ross, you are going to help me, whether you like it or not!)

I do want to thank, Jennifer West. She is a huge inspiration for me. She has been supportive and is a great role model for anyone. This woman is smart, creative and one of the biggest go getter's I have ever met in my whole life. She my best friend and mentor for this next phase in my life. If you don't know her, you should.

Also, I want to say thank you to my friends Kristen and Carson here in Tampa. I have told them about my ideas, and they have also been giving me the push to go forward. These 2 women are strong and wonderful people and really made me believe in myself.

So, my journey will begin soon. I am excited and scared, but mostly excited. There is a lot of hard work ahead and I am ready to get started. Wish me luck and I will be updating my progress here for now. When I finally plan out which angle I am going to take, I will make a website and put updates there....

Cheers to 2010!

Georgie the Corgi

Life has been up and down over the past year...mainly down. Things have been low and I have been struggling to get everything back on track.

Last week, I had an opportunity come my way. An odd one at that...
A friend told me that she found a dog for me. A dog?!? Me?!? Could I handle it?

I have wanted a dog for years and years and years. I grew up with a dog named Sandy. She was a beagle mix and a wonderful part of our family. But she was part of a big family - a mom, dad, brother, sister and me. Lots of people to help out. I wanted a dog, but never knew if I could handle the responsibility.

I work long hours, tend to be VERY spontaneous. Will jump in the car and take a 8 hour road trip if need be. When I get home from work I am so tired, I normally crash.

A dog - would change that...would it be for the worse or the best?

Georgie.

Georgie comes into my life. She is a 3 year old corgi. 100% corgi. Cute as a button. Sweet as pie and a snuggle bear.



This is how she got her name...at the shelter in Tennessee, where she was dropped off, the folks were calling her Sally. And the vet papers from her shots in Georgia, they called her Muffin. And I was thinking of naming her Abby. I went to pick her up, she had just gotten in from the long drive from Atlanta. She was in her crate, in the front seat of my car. I talked to her the whole way home. She didn't respond to Sally and didn't like Abby, but I noticed every time I said Georgia - she looked at me. When I said Georgie, her ears perked up and she seemed to smile at me. So, Georgie was her new name.

Having a new dog has been stressful. I have never had ANYONE be dependant on me and it has been different. There is this little creature, that I have to take care. This little life form that counts on me for food and protection. Here is little Georgie, waiting for me everyday when I get home. Waiting there for me - depending on me. Depending on me 100%. Odd.

Could I do it? The first few nights, it felt like I was just taking care of a dog for a friend (which I have done a lot). Then came in the thoughts of regret. What have I done? I am too selfish for a dog! I can't take care of myself, how am I suppose to take care of you? That night when I felt that ping of regret in my stomach, I cried. And I mean, I cried. Cried for hours. During my fit, Georgie was crewing her bone on the floor. She got up from the floor (I was on my bed laying on my stomach with my face buried in my pillow) and jumped on my bed. Next thing I know I feel this little head on my back. She was there. She was...taking care of me?

At that moment, the moment I felt the warmth of a tiny head laying on my back. I felt the soft breathing of her and could feel her body next time mine. I realized something.

I realized, that I didn't save her. She saved me. She saved me from the depression that I have been fighting. She saved me from myself. I realized that this little thing, this little dog - had saved me. She is something that I have to take care of...she is saving me, by just being there.

It hasn't been a breeze, but Georgie is a great dog. She is housebroken. She lets me know when she needs to go! She is funny, her favorite game is "bury the bone". She takes her bone and walks around the apartment looking for a place to "bury" it. Normally it is between the couch cushions. When she gets excited she does a "woof, woof, Hooowwwwwlll"...I want to play!

She is a great addition to my life, but has been a learning experience and I will keep learning. And I honestly believe that this little dog saved my life. As I saved hers.

I ***heart*** to look things up

So, one of the favorite things I like to do is research, look things up, find the meaning behind names, words...etc. Researching has also been a big part of my job (maybe that is why I do what I do). And I love a good challenge. There is nothing that I can not find, if it takes me hours, days, weeks...I will do my best to find it.

Yesterday was a fun example. We were having a debate in our newsroom on why Lakeland, Florida was called Lakeland. I threw out that I believed that it was named Lakeland because it has a TON of lakes, someone here disagreed with me - too easy.

So, I took the challenge. I had to find out why Lakeland is called Lakeland. A quick search on the Internet turned up a few history facts. Did you know that they were thinking about naming Lakeland - Munnville (after the man that founded the town), Red Bug (I want to know where that name came from!), or Rome City. But I could not find why they ended up choosing Lakeland. I found the number to the Lakeland Public Library and called the reference desk. I asked my question. Vic, the great guy at the desk told me to hold on, he was going to ask the library historian. After, less than a minute, Vic came back and said that the founder of the town, Abraham Munn, did not want the town named after him and they finally came to agreement to call the town Lakeland, due to ALL THE LAKES!

Lakeland - Lots of Lakes!

I have been to Polk County maybe twice since I have lived in the Tampa Bay area, but loved just reading the history on how towns formed along the railroad tracks.

I found a great site on Polk County History, if you have a few minutes take a look. http://www.polkcountyhistory.org/

Today - I wonder what I will find!

changing tones

I have decided if I am really going to use this blog, I need to work on it a little more.

Originally, I was posting about art that I was working on, but I think I need to expand a little and talk about a lot of things...this week I will be working on updating at least 3 times a week. I am not just going to focus on my art here. I don't know what I am going to write about just yet...but I am working on that...stay tuned...

In the mean time, here is another drawing I did for the micro-fiction site name your tale. This one took me just a few minutes and I was watching anime when I did it...think there was a little inspiration from the show I was watching!

http://www.nameyourtale.com/the-day-the-legos-came-alive/

zero posts, zero art

I haven't been working on any of my art projects recently...I need to get back in business.

The most recent thing I did as a small drawing for a story blog...here is the link to the story I drew http://www.nameyourtale.com/what-if-i-dont-like-heaven-when-i-get-there/...I don't know if it matches that well to the story, but for some reason it was the first thing that came to mind!

I promise more art soon! Need to get my mojo back.

I like your comment.

Back in college - this is before everyone had a cell phone and a computer. One of my first trips off campus was to go buy an answering machine.

I raced back home, and set it up. I can‘t remember how many times I recorded my greeting to make sure it was perfect.

After class, I would run home and get so excited if the red blinking light of my answering machine was on - and would get even more thrilled by counting how many messages I had. The more messages the more loved and liked right? Was this a sick need to feel liked? Why when I saw that red light blinking, it would make me happy and feel wanted?

Now, I log into my facebook page and my eye goes straight to the bottom right had corner, where the little red button will pop up and tell you how many likes, comments, comments of comments and random updates you have on your page. Why does it remind me of my answering machine back in college?

P.S. And what is really odd about that, is that I will get the alerts on my cell phone/email and would have already read what was written - but still get a little inside smile when I see the little red tab.

Maybe it is the color red?