Long weekend? What long weekend?

So - apparently there was this thing called a Long Weekend which has just gone by... weirdly enough I have no memory of such a thing happening. I used to know about these things when I was involved in Roleplaying... it heralded a trip (or local sojourn) to an RPG Convention, where one could socialise, roleplay, have the opporunity to compete in (what amounted to) improvisationa dramatic competitions, and then go the pub on the final evening to regale each other with anecdotes of what you did and how you performed throughout the tournament. It was fun, and it honed the dramatic skills (seriously).

Not having gone to a convention for the past 6 years (the last one being the last GenCon held in Milwaulkee), the long weekends have seemed to lose an appeal. Well, there are clubs and other events to go to, but the 'Long-Weekend as an event in itself' (with associated travel/visitors and 'things-to-do'[TM]) no longer seems to be there. Not a complaint... just noticing is all.

This past long weekend was full of filming from sparrow's-fart o'clock to mid afternoon on both days, so that I wasn't really able to go out in the evenings on Friday or Saturday (sorry about Ascension, but an on-set calltime of 7am is NOT the best thing to do after rabidly clubbing the night before). This was followed by seeing some films at The Sydney Film Fesrtival, thankfully something I was able to do at the last minute... through "Coraline (3D)" and "Dead Snow" will have to wait until I can see them in general release later this month (they sold out in a day). Still, the films I have seen so far have been excellent - and the bar is being maintained at the usual height-of-excellence I expect from the Sydney Film Festival...

That is far from what I got (however) from The Tony Awards last night. After the WWE Pay-Per-View, along with home BBQ'd steak and Barbs-cooked Veg/poatoes, we settled in for the Tony Awards... (with Champagne cocktails and associated toasting)... something I do look forward to each year. This year (although there was to be no Hugh Jackman hosting) there was a rather fetching Neil Patrick harris hosting - and I feel that he did a sterling job... under somewhat trying circumstances... the Broadcast sound, however (and perhaps some of the in-auditorium stage-sound) was... to be honest - abysmal. The sound operator (barring some possible catastrophic hardware failures) will probably never get a job in Television Broadcast/on Broadway ever again, unless it was to sweep up after the hall has had all technical equipment removed. It was horrible. That being said... the rest of the evening was excellent... the performances were teriffic (a LOT of revivals on Broadway this year) and Neil Patrick Harris was a brilliant and talented host. It was also a nice full day/evening to have with friends and loved ones :) Something I have been missing over the past couple of weeks... but I know people are busy... and yes I need to re-rig the gazebo for the spa ;)

Today was back to work... shuttling between Parramatta and the City... and having just had an offer to extend my contract for a further 3 months, I may well take them up on it as soon as they put the paperwork in front of me... only because it takes me over the hump of the Awful end-of-financial-year-slump.

Just been advised that I am required for a Voice-Over tomorrow evening... and that a short has scheduled filming for the same time (with no prior notice) - the Voice-Over is booked in and the Short will have to deal (as when you book something in, you need to stick to your professional schedules, regardless of the clash).

Anyway... tonight is Dr Sketchy's, followed by the John Woo Chinese epic Red Cliff (the Westernised version, not the 5.5 hour uncut version shown in China); tomorrow the voiceover in the evening; Thursday is a Photography Exhibition opening (at the Australian Centre for Photography) with Gill, Barbs, Lizbit and Tim; Friday is another jaunt to the Film Festival; Saturday is more filming at sparrow-fart o'clock, the Fire Water performances at The Rocks (well, at Campbell's Cove on the water), more Film Festival screenings, Die Maschine (if there are no pickup shots scheduled for Sunday); and Sunday will be either Pick-up shots (the final set) and/or some final Film Festival screenings and/or recovery from the night before.