The big Storm.

I have to admit; I was laughing when I heard the news that the "year's biggest storm" was heading our way, with a quarter of an inch of rainfall.
First of all, a quarter of an inch, compared to where I'm from, is NOTHING, secondly; when does it ever rain in LA?
Wednesday came along and it started raining. I thought that was it, and I was laughing again, then, I think it was the same night, it started storming. I was literally sitting outside watching it, because I have missed it so much, but that was just a storm, a nice little storm, nothing more.
Today is Friday, the rain has passed, but DAMN! that was a storm. Not a long one, but seriously, I have never in my life heard thunder that loud, and I have heard a lot of thunder. Within 10 minutes it was pouring and it wouldn't stop.
I was too amused about the fact, that I got a text saying: "When we heard the thunder we thought we were being shot, so LA.", because that was exactly what was going through my mind. It sounded like a bomb just hit. Bunny was shaking and Luigi was not to be gotten out from under the bed. It was perfect timing to leave the house and switch cars. I got SnapChats from people running in the rain, commenting about thunder and it was wonderful. I have never seen this before, and I come from a pretty rainy country. I mean google Switzerland, I'm sure they'll tell you that there's a lot of rain.
Anyway. That was basically it. Luigi is still under the bed. Bunny demanded to go outside (I mean, she's a stubborn little thing and I'm aware of that, but what bunny in it's right mind would demand to sit outside in a thunderstorm?). Now everything seems calm, the roads are still wet, but apart from that, there's no more trace of the epicnes that happened.
In conclusion, maybe I shouldn't have laughed as hard as I did (actually I should have, you should have seen the reactions to this apparent Storm of a century), but this was wonderful. I miss the rain, I'm glad I had it back for a bit.

History and Journalism.

I find it funny. I'm currently translating a history book and it seems that one side of me is reacting really highly to this: My Journalist side. I remember when I worked for the papers and all they told me is: Use as little adjectives as possible. It is about the story, not what you try to make it to be. Try and get the word count by actually telling something, and then, when there's nothing more to tell, you can add in the adjectives. Fill it up till there's nothing left.
Well this thing is filled with adjectives and all that goes through my mind constantly is: Why? Because I have to say, the story is actually interesting, I mean, it's history for Christ's sake, so why are there so many adjectives? Why do you have to sell it so hard. So I battle my every instinct to just cut all of them out. In the end I get paid to translate what's on a page, not to write what I want. Not yet.

Heros and Role Models.

Yes, I am very well aware that it's already 3 AM in the morning again, but hey, I'm working and it has been a while since it felt that good.
We've had our first Production Meeting for What about us? today, and it got me into different spheres.

(how I like color coordinating things, it makes everything look so much prettier)

There have been a lot of good things happening. On my wall is now a giant calendar with the Deadlines for Screenwriting contests and then there's of course the short, the Feature I still have in my back pocket, the web series and the translating. No thinking, doing. If I try to look too far into the future I'll collapse, I won't be able to do anything, so right now I'm doing May. May is possible to plan.

(Scott Neustadter, Julie Delpy and Bob Nelson at the Film Independent Directors Close-Up)

And then of course there are the directors close-ups. I met Julie Delpy, it made my life good, very good, to see this wonderful, wonderful woman that seems to be as frantic as I am, a woman who just does, a woman that inspires me. Julie Delpy. She doesn't hold back and she was in this room full of men and she was just herself. No, I'm still not over it, I don't think I'll be for a while.
And than there was Scott Neustadter, a guy, I have to admit, I fell in love with. He seemed to have so much ease and love for what he was doing.
Okay, before I now go on writing forever (because I will), I should probably go to bed.
Enjoy your weekend.
Love, Nadine

Los Angeles. New York. Lucerne.

I have to admit that I don't dislike LA anymore. I have become kind of a fan. I mean, there's the ocean, nature, everything, but still, this is not home. It's a kind of home, but it more feels like I have gone to boarding school and I'll leave again when it's over, only that, contrary to boarding school, it's not just finish school and move on. 
No, this one is a bit harder.
I now have two and a half years left to either make it, or break it. And that's not pretty. People keep telling me to have patience, but my patience is running out. I know I currently can't leave here, out of multiple reasons, first, I am too far into the game to go somewhere else and start over new. Meaning, I can't just pack my bags and go to NY, which believe me, I'd do in a heartbeat.
So this is currently it and it drives me mad that I know that if I could just get this one thing, this one break, the whole deal, I could move on.
Not move on from making movies, hell that will never happen, but maybe it would give me the liberty to go somewhere else, live somewhere else, return to LA for work.
Some say that making a vision board helps. In all honesty, it just made me sad. Because when it came to where I want to live one day I kept stumbling over two places: New York and Lucerne. Two homes, miles apart. My little heart is torn between the place I grew up in and the one that I feel I truly belong in. The one that all my friends and family live at and the one I remember being truly and completely happy.
Lucerne and New York.
Those are two amazing cities, not going to lie. You have to be kind of lucky when your brain gets torn by that one. Lucky enough that I was able to spend longer periods of time in both places. But that leads me to wanting to go back to both.

Two places, completely different in their entire totality. One housing millions of people, always awake, always something to do. The other calm, almost fairytale like.
Friendly to rude. Overwhelming to charming.
And still: New York gives me a calmness, just looking at the traffic, the never ending symmetrical streets, the towering houses, it makes me calm down, realize that you're not alone, hell, in fact, you'll definitely never will be alone if you're in New York! There's always someone! There's always someone. Someone going, someone doing, someone working, it takes me in. Honestly, I believe I was the best I've ever been when I was in New York.
But than there's Lucerne. A fairytale. My fairytale. My friends and family. Knowing that if I just go into town I'll meet at least one person I know. It's calm, sometimes even quiet. All my friends are within 1 hour reach and everyone drinks.
I need both. And some might say that Los Angeles would make the somewhat bridge between that, but I disagree. Los Angeles has it's own character. Some say it's a brutal city, then I tell them they have never been to New York, some say it's calm, I tell them to go to Switzerland, the truth is, Los Angeles is something I don't even know if it even exists. It's a place perceived so differently from so many different people. If you've made it here, you love it, if you don't you hate it. I guess that puts me somewhere between making it and not too. There are great things here, and when you learn to look behind all the pretend to be and you find the people, you might even find some of the best, but it takes time.
Everything takes time.
Patience. Isn't that what they say? Patience.
One day I won't have to choose. I'll work here, I'll work there, I'll work wherever work takes me and I'll live wherever seems best to calm me down. It's just getting there. But I'm getting there.

Translations.

24.
I am 24 now.
I actually really like that number. I was never a big fan of 23, although within the fist 48 hours of being 24 (ha, that's the double amount hihi), some strange things happen, like my neighborhood decided to not have power for like 5 hours and my credit card refused to work for like a day (yea, that was fun - but hey, I think it just had a temper, because it's fine again).
Apart from that, my birthday was fun: We went to No Vacancy, which is a place, that, if you live in Hollywood and enjoy fancy things like I do, you should definitely check out. There are shows and LOTS of people. Mikaela got a wig from the waitress, it was really fun. We ended up in the photo Booth and eating Dirty Dogs on the street. THAT's how a birthday should end.
But anyway: Other things.
I've been translating a lot. In fact, today it became almost a full-time job. I was sitting on a translation for almost 8 hours. I'm not saying I don't like the general idea of it, because I really do, but now I really just want to write something that is my own, or create something. I want to be on a set, in a theatre, a gallery would even do. I want art.
It's weird how you can devote your life to something, live it and feel like it's nothing special and the moment you step away from it it hits you like lightning. You miss it. You miss every fiber of it.
I've plotted entire series today while translating, not that my brain wasn't concentrated on the actual translation, but after a while, you get a hang of it, and your fingers just kind of type in one language what your eyes see in another language. It's rather interesting really.
But my subconscious started creating plots, figures, characters, romance. i guess that's how you know what your supposed to do? When you try to do something else but your brain still holds on to something else because without it, it isn't really complete?
Well, it got me thinking. Actually, I'm still thinking.
I know this can't go on like this. I will eventually have to make money with what I love. With what my brain apparently can't live without. But I seem to be in a weird space that when I try to concentrate on it, the ideas just float away.
Sometimes I wish there was a little bug in my head who'd note down all the ideas I get and than, at night, I can take it out and it will tell me everything. That sounds good.
Well anyway, I'm babbling.
I'm gonna go.
Have fun my lovelies.
I'm 24 now.
I'm 24.

Cinematographers.

It is interesting that, after watching by now almost all of the Hollywood Reporter Roundtables, the Actors, Actresses, Directors, Writers, Producers, Cinematographers, Composers, really the Cinematographer one has struck a unique tone with me.

I love hearing them talk. It seems different from all the others, because it seems that no one really knows what their actually doing and they're all so okay with it. The way they talk about directors makes me happy, confident, but mostly really, really happy. I'm in love with Sean Bobbitt (he did 12 Years a Slave, Shame, Hunger, but he also does short films), he's just absolutely wonderful and just hearing him talk makes me want to work with him. Same with Stuart Dryburgh (Secret Life of Walter Mitty). Actually all of them make me happy. Just saying. Everyone has their passion and only if all of us come together to make one great movie we're actually able to. I hope to work with those people one day. I do. They seem calming. Very calming. I like calming people. Actors being a ball of energy is almost a give, producers can be calming, but are mostly not and to have someone on set who's just calm and who's there for you, as the director, it seems a wonderful thing.

You inspire me.

This happens every year and I'm really happy The Hollywood Reporter is doing this: Taking the best in their fields of Movies and sitting them down on a table, no matter if Actor, Writer, Producer, Composer, they're all there. And it's inspiring, because these are people who made it, who are where I want to be and still they are just like me, just like us, still struggling, still having confidence issues, still human. It's wonderful.

Get Lucky.

THIS is making my life right now! How could I have possibly missed this? I have a sneaking suspicion it wasn't even broadcasted here. But that's what the internet is for and I am really thankful for that. This is amazing!

Fiverr.

I slightly fell in love with Fiverr… I mean, just go look at it: http://fiverr.com, there are so many crazy things on there, and everything is 5 Dollars. It makes me happy. Plus, who would have thought that translating people's things would actually be that much fun, but you literally get everything, from Children's short stories to crochet instructions (that one was hard though, I'm not very good at crocheting in german, so imagine that in english haha). But yea, Fiverr!

And their nice and it's cute and the people are wonderful, yes, I could go on and go on, but I will stop now.
But in the end, a tinny little self promotion thihihi: If you want something translated from german to english or vice versa, I'm your gal: Nadine Translates
There you go, now I've covered that as well.

Now I go to sleep.
Lots of love
Nadine

Designes.

While we're at it, I can't really stop. I just re-did the design and remembered my sleepless nights doing this when I was still at AADA haha.

Somewhen in 2011

 Summer 2012 I think…

Till just about now..

Now.

The Bitch is back.

It's been over a year since I last wrote a post. I have to admit that I have almost forgotten that this still existed, but it does and here I am again.
Well, a lot of things happened in a year: I moved (again), I wrote a lot, actually looking at it that way not that much changed… We still have a dog and a bunny, I still write, I still shoot and do theatre, I'm still really liking life. My hair is different now though. VERY different:

Also, you can now hire me as a translator on Fiverr. That has been a lot of fun.
Let me see, maybe it is easier to explain what has happened in pictures…

And, of course, not to forget, the Web-Series we shot in December that will be coming out February!!! Staring the beautiful Kali Davis and Elizabeth Venezia.

Yea, things are good. I think this sums it about up. I will sleep now.
Lots of love.
I'll try to keep this up.
<3