|
Post by Dallas on Dec 29, 2021 8:48:22 GMT -5
2022 marks One Day at a Time's 20th year of being online. To celebrate this, watch for a brand new website to be launched on Sunday, January 2nd. Also, starting January 2nd, I will be posting a diary entry that was written in 2020, the year I was writing the 2022 season of ODaaT. It will be interesting to go back and see where I was (also going through COVID for the first time) and compare that to now. I will also do a current entry to let you know what's going on in my world these days. Stay tuned for the first entry this Sunday!
|
|
|
Post by Michael on Dec 29, 2021 15:02:05 GMT -5
Whoa!! 20 years of being online -- that's such a huge achievement. I'm excited for a new site and to see the diary entry, too.
|
|
|
Post by Dallas on Jan 2, 2022 10:27:08 GMT -5
January 04, 2020 Over the Christmas break (which, ironically, wasn’t much of a break for me since I worked most of the holidays), I realized that in 2020 I will be writing my 20th season for ODaaT. I had really wanted to do something neat and special for the anniversary but didn’t know what, exactly. If you recall for the 15th anniversary, I showed pictures of my original writings in a blog in the forum with a blurb about them. I decided to do a weekly diary for this year, just so you can get more insights into what happens with me on a weekly basis in my creative space. I am writing this on January 04, one day after my birthday. I am going to the airport today as Colton and I are going to Cabo for a week. I’m really excited to get away as this is my first week long vacation since I went to Thailand last year – it has been too long! My plan is to do some ODaaT things on the plane (I have dailies coming up that I get the webpages ready for in advance so the week of release, things go smoothly and easier). I don’t often work on the series on planes, but I thought this would be a good time to get these dailies done (dailies were released February 2020 and March 2020 for the 600th episode). There’s always a lot of production/BTS stuff that people don’t realize go into a webseries, but preparing the webpages in advance definitely helps! See you post the sunny vacation!
***
Sunday January 02, 2022
I just finished launching the new website for the 20th anniversary and am excited about the new scheme and layout. It is always fun have new character pictures as well at the start of the year, it is one of my favorite things to do. Last night, Colton and I went out for a nice dinner for my birthday, which is tomorrow. He has to work tomorrow, so we thought we'd celebrate on the weekend. Today, I have a pretty busy day planned with the webseries stuff; in Edmonton, we are in a horrible cold spell, so we haven't wanted to leave too much, but it does give me the perfect time to work on ODaaT. With the relaunch complete, I will go in an update all of the character bios so mid-year (end of June), I can go release the updated webpages. After that, I will continue to write the latest season of Chasing Diamonds. The 8th season is 10 episodes, as per usual, and I am writing episode 7. I am hoping within the next couple of weeks to wrap it up and start the editing process! Time will tell how that goes though as we are trying to relocate to Vancouver, but we won't move until the house sells. See you next week for the latest update, and enjoy the new website!
Dallas
|
|
|
Post by Dallas on Jan 9, 2022 8:58:00 GMT -5
January 11, 2020 Cabo was amazing! I really love Mexico vacations where you just lay by the pool and do nothing for a week; it is such a good mental health break. It is also really nice to truly have reconnection time with Colton; this year we will be married for 9(!) years and together for 14(!) but I still love him as much as ever, so having a week with just us is really lovely. I was home from Cabo for 24 hours and then I left for Punta Cana! I won the P.C trip from work, so it is technically a “business trip” but a pretty cushy one. I didn’t bring my laptop this time but I did use my phone on the plane and I worked on the Chasing Diamonds Cabo Wabo mini-series! I planned out all five episodes and thought it was such a fun and different series for CD. I will finish writing the 2021 season of ODaaT before I start writing CD but I am really excited to do this series. Every time I plan a CD event, I get stoked because it is so different from ODaaT and it’s nice to have a different outlook once in a while. Still, I do wonder how long CD can keep going on … at least for this series! See you post the second sunny vacation!
***
January 09, 2022 This week was pretty hard, to be honest. My Dad's health is, once again, on the decline and we've been trying to deal with that. My step mom, as much as I love her, really doesn't handle stress well or she gets very upset when things don't happen immediately the way she thinks they should. It doesn't help that they live about 90 minutes out of town as well. I am hoping this week gets easier in that regard, but we will see. As I was pretty consumed with work and my Dad, I actually didn't get a ton of writing done this week. I finished an episode of Diamonds and started another but it wasn't enough for me to be satisfied. I am going to, try, to write most of today to see if I can make a dent in Diamonds as I am almost done this season I'm writing. Because I'm so far ahead in my writing of ODaaT, I really want to take 6-ish months to focus on Diamonds and get some seasons/episodes in the bank as I had this great idea for the 2024 season of ODaaT with a crossover with Diamonds and a new series called Barracuda Blue! But of course to do this, Diamonds needs to be in the position storyline wise. It is exciting coming up with these new ways to challenge myself! Andddddd reading the entries from 2020, makes me miss travelling! I hope I can do more of it this year, safely. Until next week! dzkw
|
|
|
Post by Dallas on Jan 16, 2022 9:31:43 GMT -5
January 18, 2020 FINALLY home after two weeks in the sun! I shouldn’t complain, but by the end of the Punta Cana trip I was missing the comforts of my home: my husband, my cat, my bed, eating at home vs. a menu. It is little things that you take for granted. I was super productive with ODaaT this week as well as I wrote two episodes; the norm is usually one, so the bonus of a second was always nice. I realize, too, that I have to start planning the 2022 bible/breakdown so that it is done. I have storyline direction I just need to get each episode planning down … this takes me a long time, usually. Here’s hoping it goes okay! I usually like to have the next year planned out before I start writing the current year I am working on; this really helps for me to have character motivation and sometimes foreshadowing of events. It also helps me with tone, for example in 2018 I wrote the Ice Storm and 2019, I purposely had a “lighter” year because 2018 was very heavy and dramatic. With the number of episodes I’m planning for 2022, the outline/bible will likely take me a while to complete but I have to get started – it won’t finish itself, right?
*** January 16, 2022 Well, this was easiest one of the hardest/worst weeks of my entire life. Jorge's health had been declining slowly for a while now but last Sunday, he had a really awful day. It made me realize that it was time to say goodbye. I called his vet on Monday and they were able to get me in on Thursday. I took Wednesday-Thursday-Friday off work; Tuesday night, I slept on the sofa with him and he cuddled me all night. I spent the entire day with him on Wednesday which was really nice. He passed away in my arms around 11 am on Thursday; the vet agreed that it was time. He lived a very long life, he was close to 19(!) which is a long time for a cat. I am not sad by the decision as I know it was the right thing to do because he is no longer suffering or in pain, but I miss him so much. I continue to have these "phantom" sightings of him in the house, I am sure this will continue for a while. When I got Jorge, I was 20 years old. I am now 39. My entire adult life, one of the constants was Jorge. Trying to navigate what my future looks like without him is really daunting. With all of this happening, I really didn't do anything with my webseries this week. I'm also realizing that releasing this diary, which I wrote originally in 2020, will be difficult because I mention Jorge a lot, so I am sure I will be triggered. The grief process is real.
|
|
|
Post by Michael on Jan 16, 2022 11:06:54 GMT -5
I've been keeping up with these entries, but I just wanted to say again how sorry I am for your loss of Jorge. Nineteen years is such an incredible length of time to have with a pet, and for it to line up so exactly with your adult life at this point is pretty amazing, but it also makes the pain that much deeper. I'm glad you recognize that you made the right decision for him when the time came -- the uncertainty over that can be one of the most painful aspects of letting go. RIP Jorge!
|
|
|
Post by Dallas on Jan 16, 2022 21:37:05 GMT -5
I've been keeping up with these entries, but I just wanted to say again how sorry I am for your loss of Jorge. Nineteen years is such an incredible length of time to have with a pet, and for it to line up so exactly with your adult life at this point is pretty amazing, but it also makes the pain that much deeper. I'm glad you recognize that you made the right decision for him when the time came -- the uncertainty over that can be one of the most painful aspects of letting go. RIP Jorge! Thank you so much, Michael. I know you, of all people, understand this difficult period. I truly appreciate your support. ❤️🥺
|
|
|
Post by Dallas on Jan 22, 2022 15:33:52 GMT -5
January 25, 2020 I have started to work on the 2022 bible for ODaaT and it is coming along nicely. Usually what I do is go episode by episode, I just write in what will happen in that episode. In this bible, I went through by storyline vs. episode. So, I planned out an entire story from first episode of the year to the last and I found this worked very well. I might have to adopt this going forward because I found episodes had a lot more balance this way. It is amazing how, even after all these years, I can still find new ways of doing things! Also, I found the 2022 logo that I am going to use! The 20th anniversary needs an updated website, don’t you think? It will be more back to basics feeling, I think. Also, I moved my Cabo Wabo mini-series notes to my PC … as previously mentioned, once I am done the 2021 season of ODaaT, I will start writing this. This week I also completed some promos for the rest of the year, the 600th episode week, May Sweeps, Summer, Fall, November sweeps … ect? I usually do bulk at a time so they are there and I don’t have to worry about them … just update pictures when needed. I like to be organized this way. Which was your favorite promo? (If you remember them!)
***
January 22, 2022
Thursday was the one week anniversary of Jorge's passing. It was a blue day for me, to be honest. I, for the most part, have been trying to keep it together, but when I lose it, the waterworks come out. I still know that I made the right decision for him, but I miss his presence so much. Last weekend, I had to prepare myself for a colonoscopy, which I had Monday. This was a result of my illness that I was going through (you will read about it in upcoming entries, as it started in 2020). The procedure happened early Monday morning, so on Tuesday I went back to work and it was such a relief to have time to focus on something other than my procedure and Jorge. I've never been so happy to go back to work before! That being said, it did open a new set of reminders for me; like around 930 am every day, I would come down stairs from the office and give Jorge his morning snack. And I would check his litter box every time I came down stairs because he was using it a lot more towards the end because of his thyroid issues. Anyways, this isn't only about my grief, because Colton is also grieving. I had Jorge before Colton and I got together, but they lived together for the last 12 years of Jorge's life. It has been nice to go through this with him, and in some ways, we are closer than ever before as a result. We accepted an offer on our house this week, as well! The inspection is tomorrow morning, pretty early, which is why I released the ODaaT episode today vs. tomorrow. If they still want the house post inspection, they can remove conditions by Friday, which means we have a firm sale and we can start to officially plan to move to Vancouver. What keeps going through my mind is that everything happens for a reason; and Jorge's death happened at the right time because he wouldn't have handled the move well at all. And, if I'm honest, I am looking forward to being in a new space where I don't have as many memories of him. Right now, every where I look in the house, I can imagine him being there. I miss him so. Until next week - Dallas
PS: I didn't do much on the webseries this week because of my medical stuff and grief. BUT! I only have episode 8.10 of Diamonds to complete before I will be done the season, first draft. So I will really try to do that this week!
|
|
|
Post by Dallas on Jan 30, 2022 9:24:59 GMT -5
February 01, 2020 I had Monday off this week because I worked on Saturday (I love the three day weekend but it is brutal cause I work 1-9 pm on a Friday and then 8-4 on Saturday … least favorite thing about my job, but I digress) and it was nice because I was, once again, able to get through more than one episode of writing of ODaaT. On Monday, I went to a coffee shop for the afternoon and wrapped up the 2022 bible of ODaaT, which is great because once I’m done writing the 2021 season, I will write Chasing Diamonds and then jump right into the 2022 season. The 2022 season will still be bi-weekly episodes and dailies, so it’s a lot of material to go through. I was thinking that I might not take the summer off of writing this year just so I can ensure all the material gets done. We’ll see how that goes. Anyways, super excited by the 2022 bible; of course, when I end these annual bibles, I do have ideas of where things will go, so I’ve started another document for ideas for 2023! This will become a goal of mine once I start writing 2022 so I can try to get the next bible done earlier this go around.
***
Sunday, January 30, 2022
This week was a better week production wise. I was able to finish Season 8 of Chasing Diamonds, including editing, AND I planned out the 2022 CD Christmas episodes. I love doing the Christmas specials because it feels like a staple in the series. I really don't like that I missed this last year. Anyways, my goal this week is to finish writing the Christmas specials and then start planning season 9. S9 will likely come out in 2023, which is fine. I will then write/plan the season and the 2023 Christmas specials. This will put me to 2024, which is where I need the series to be if I am going to do the triple cross over on ODaaT; everything needs to be in the same place to plan that because it all has to make sense. So, that's where I am. It's also nice having this break from ODaaT/Twin Peaks ... I love writing the series and the characters, but sometimes you do need a break, so that's why I enjoy having the other series to focus on because I can still get the creative outlet but it is different at the same time. Our house officially sold this week, which means we are moving to Vancouver! Closing is not until April 01, so it's nice knowing that we have time to pack, ect. It also makes me think that everything happens for a reason - I know Jorge would not have handled the move well, and now he won't have too. Also looking forward to living in a place without so many memories attached. Until next week - Dallas
|
|
|
Post by Michael on Feb 2, 2022 9:41:39 GMT -5
Congrats on selling the house! That must feel good in a lot of ways. And I hear you re: Jorge -- Tommy and I had been looking to move throughout the pandemic, and I didn't feel that we could do so until Dexter passed, since I knew he wouldn't handle a move well at the stage he was at. It was almost like he was setting us free from that concern when his time came. <3
|
|
|
Post by Dallas on Feb 6, 2022 9:27:34 GMT -5
February 08, 2020 I am close to releasing episode 600 on ODaaT, so I thought it would be a good time to start working on the new ODaaT website because the longer I put it off, the more pages I have to recreate. Because it is so cold here in the winter, I tend to work a lot on my series since it is brutal to be outside. This is another reason why I usually take off every spring/summer from writing, because the few months we have that it is nice outside, I want to be in the sun! My goal is to spend Sunday afternoons on the website … it will likely only take me three Sunday’s to have all the existing webpages transplanted to the new website and they will just be saved until the launch in 2022. It is weird that I am so far ahead but with the amount of content I am releasing, it is good to stay ahead of the game. I also wrote two more episodes this week! I have two more episodes to go of ODaaT and I will be done the 2021 season! Also, I’ve decided that I need to recast Abby. I was looking at pictures for updated bios and the gal from Modern Family really wasn’t cutting it for me anymore. I was thinking of Jen Lilley, who was on Days as Theresa. She could work and there are a lot of pictures.
*** Sunday February 06, 2022
Well, I didn't finish the 2022 Christmas episodes of CD this week but I wrote 2 of the 3, which is pretty good! This week, I'll try to wrap up the third one and then do the character recaps for it. Then I will focus on planning S9 of Diamonds and think about the release times for season 8. With my move pending, it will be sometime in the spring or summer, once I am settled in Vancouver. On that note, we've started to pack and it is actually amazing how much stuff people have. Colton and I are really taking this time to go through everything and get rid of things we don't need ... I even got rid of my high school year books! My thought was "I haven't looked at this in 8 years, why move it?" and it's not like I'm friends with anyone from high school now. I also had over 2000 tennis matches on DVD that I originally recorded on VHS (yes, I know, I'm old) ... but I tossed them away too because with Youtube, you can watch any match at any time, so the purpose of the DVD's sort of went away. I do have to laugh at my above entry with the recast of Abby ... Jen Lilley didn't last very long, did she! Oh! And, enjoy the dailies this week on ODaaT! I love doing them for sweeps! Until next week - Dallas
|
|
|
Post by Dallas on Feb 12, 2022 13:37:12 GMT -5
February 15, 2020
This week, I actually didn't get too much done for ODaaT or Diamonds! It was a busier week than normal with it being Colton's birthday AND Valentine's Day in the same week. That being said, I'm not too hard on myself because I have been making good inroads on a lot of different aspects, so having some quieter weeks isn't the end of the world. I'm already second guessing my decision to cast Jen Lilley as Abby though ... the age isn't making a lot of sense and some readers have already commented on that. Back to the drawing board on that one ...
***
February 12, 2022
Today is Colton's birthday! I released Sunday's ep early (today) and this blog early because we are going to stay in a fancy hotel over night! It can be fun to do little escapes, even in your own town just for an adventure. I am not sure what time we will get home tomorrow, hence the early release. Thursday was the 1 month anniversary of JJ's passing - I am slowly getting better but sometimes the waves of grief really hit me hard. I am really looking forward to the move so I can be a in fresh place without the memories attached. Now that we have our move date, it feels real. Slowly we've been packing, which is good because it's giving us the time to get rid of a lot of stuff.
On the serial front, I finished writing the Diamonds Christmas episodes! I also planned out S9, which I'm super excited for. Once S9 is done, I can start planning S10, which is where the Crossover with ODaat will happen. I can't wait for this arch and event because it's going to be so fun and drama-filled! The sad part is that I'm so far ahead, you guys won't get to read this until much later!
Until next week - Dallas
|
|
|
Post by Dallas on Feb 20, 2022 9:29:50 GMT -5
February 22, 2020 Well, it was bound to happen, I had an off week where I wasn’t motivated to do much. I didn’t write a single episode this week of ODaaT, which isn’t the end of the world but I would have liked to keep the momentum going. I did make some good progress with the new website but still not as much as I would have liked. I guess there are week’s where it is good not to be behind a computer so much? I really want to get the website stuff before spring and summer because I spend little time at the computer in those months. Hopefully next week is better ?
***
February 20, 2022
Much like two years ago, it was a pretty slow week for me this week productivity wise. I tweaked the S9 bible for Diamonds and that's IT! This week, I'll try to start writing the episodes. I have to say I think this is the longest I've taken away from ODaaT during the winter months - normally Ive taken the summer off, so that feels weird. But I know it is the right thing to do for this crossover event that I am planning. Oddly, we just wrapped a week of dailies on ODaaT and they were so different than my normal set of dailies ... for once, I didn't use the same artist for the theme music and there wasn't a huge Friday cliffhanger, like normal. I can't remember what was in my head at the time but I do like when they feel more together, which is definitely the case for the March/episode 800 dailies. Until next week!
|
|
|
Post by Dallas on Feb 27, 2022 9:25:17 GMT -5
February 29, 2020 Hurray! I finished writing the 2021 season of ODaaT this week! I had two episodes to go and I got them done, which is nice. Once I edit them and put them to Dreamweaver, I can officially start thinking about Chasing Diamonds! I must admit, I always look forward to the change of pace from ODaaT to CD. It is just refreshing to mix it up once in a while; it keeps me energized by both avenues. I didn’t get any updates on the website this week but Colton has a mini-vacation coming up so I’ll be home alone a lot, which I think will be a great time to pump through that stuff and finish it off. I still want this website stuff before spring gets here because I don’t want to have to do as much computer stuff once the weather turns. Also, I recasted Abby – again! Some readers noted that Jen Lilley really aged the character drastically which is not want I wanted. I really had to take time to think about who could represent her properly and finally I came with Victoria Konefa, who is currently Ciara on Days. She’s young and gorgeous, which is perfect. I think she can represent Abby very nicely.
***
February 27, 2022
I must admit I have been feeling pretty unmotivated to do any writing these past couple of weeks; I think it is just that I have so much going on in my life right now; Jorge's passing, my Dad is, once again, in the hospital and will never go home, packing to move, and work has been insane ... it doesn't leave a lot of mental capacity to want to dive in and write. I am hoping that this week I will get out of the funk and start to write, at least a scene, of S9 Diamonds lol. But we will see. On another soapy note, I have been binging Savannah, the short-lived primetime series from 95/96 ish. It was soooo good. The second season started a little slow, which I believe is when the ratings dropped, but by mid season it was FIRE again. It is sad that it didn't last longer BUT it is giving me a lot of motivation and comfort right now. Its also been a dark week in the world with Russia attacking the Ukraine. I am worried about what else will happen in this war ... if any country tries to use military force against Putin, there's the chance he will use nuclear weapons and then...ugh, it's a horrible thing to think about. But also reading how Texas and Florida are pushing toward anti-gay/trans laws is also unsettling. White privilege's are running countries and it has to stop! Okay end of rant - have a good week, Dallas
|
|
|
Post by Dallas on Mar 6, 2022 9:42:22 GMT -5
March 07, 2020 This week I started writing Chasing Diamonds – Cabo Wabo! It is such a fun mini-series, I had a blast getting back into these characters. It is funny because I go, sometimes, months in between writing this series but I always pick it up like absolutely nothing at all. I have no idea when I will it will air/come out but I am excited to see the finish product once all is said and done. Colton left for his vacation and my plan was to work on the website but I ended up having brunch with my brother, Patsi, and I got drunk so that will move to my nights after work. Priorities lol When I’m home alone like this, it gives me a good time to really focus on my series. He’s super supportive of my creative side, of course, but it is still nice to plow through some of the BTS stuff while he’s away so when he’s here we have more time together. Also, I was on Twitter today and someone posted a flashback story of Nikki and Victor’s deathbed wedding after Nikki was shot by Sarah the maid … so inspiring! Could this happen on ODaaT? And with WHO? *starts racking my brain* *** March 06, 2022 Another week of a lack of any real results from my end. I am hoping that this slump will end soon, but I am thinking it will continue until I have moved. There is just a lot going on right now and I am finding it difficult to make time for the series. The good news is that I am far ahead, so there isn't a lot of urgency around getting more material out. The other idea I had was to, maybe, pause writing S9 of Diamonds and focus on finalizing the ideas of the crossover and finishing the odaat 2024 bible, cause that is also pending. Sometimes I think if I get into a rut with one series, it just means it's time to focus on another and the inspiration comes back. We will see how that plays out! In other news, Colton went to Vancouver this week and he found us an apartment! I am so excited. In three weeks we will be moving and I am looking forward to the fresh start and the new chapter! We are in a great location in Vancouver, very close to the water which I love! Having a physical address really makes the move feel even more real. Packing has been difficult this week; I fell on some ice and bruised a bone in my left arm. It's pretty painful but not much you can do until it has healed. I haven't even been able to go to the gym, so I'm feeling puffy. I'll try to go tomorrow and do my favorite ... cardio. Until next week, Dallas
|
|