The goodbyes never get any easier. But NYC was calling! So on 31st January I jetted off back to the big apple.

I returned to a couple of days of production assisting work before my OPT ran out and I entered visa limbo. I managed to keep busy, enjoying the winter activities such as ice skating in Bryant Park almost everyday and even squeezed in a day of skiing at Hunter mountain with one of my production friends, Erika.

Visa limbo also allowed me time to focus on some personal projects. Including prepping and shooting the NYC portion of our Balloon Twister shoot with Matt Falloon. I tried to merge the roles of tour guide, interviewer and filmmaker. We filmed Matt out and about with his balloons in Coney Island (so cold that there was snow on the beach), then we headed to the Staten Island Ferry for a spectacular NYC skyline backdrop and finally Times Square where Matt was in his element. He is such a gifted entertainer and talented artist. It's beautiful to watch him interact with people and light up their faces. I love his passion. And his sense of humour is right up my alley with balloon jokes getting a lower classification than "dad" jokes.

I had a lot of fun filming with Matt, his travel troupe and an amazing crew with Leanne and Garrett from LA and Robbie and Ralph from NY. And of course, mastermind Executive Producer, Lisa who was orchestrating everything from LA. I'm extremely excited to start the editing process in the coming months.

I also invested some money in my own kit, purchasing a canon 5d mkiii with a 24-70mm f/2.8L I I usm lens! I have been enjoying mainly photography with it but stay tuned for some more film later this year. But I'm already in love with it!

I also had the best Valentines Day of my life. After waking up a little grumpy...as you do as a single person on this day. I headed out for the day and got a phone call in the afternoon through a production colleague of a production colleague who happened to be from Guillermo Del Toros studio. An executive needed a Valentines Day gift to Ge sourced and delivered. So I got paid to go shopping for the afternoon in Toys Ar Us and Pet Co. and I made an awesome contact at Del Toros studio who loved my nail polish haha and was ready to line me up for work in Chicago or LA...if I had had my Visa I may have been on a plane that night but I'm sure one day soon that networking will pay off! Then the icing on the cake for the day was, when I arrived home my roommates had bought me a bunch of red roses. The first bunch of flowers I've ever been given from a boy (or three). Thank you Patrick, Rhyan and Nate!

The rest of the month has also been spread with planning for my amazing Spanish filmmaker friend, Dani Zarenieta's first feature film which I am Assistant Directing. Carmen, the Producer and I have been location scOUT and about in the city, confirming all the shooting locations for the film. The film is about three Spanish boys who feel like their life never really began in Spain due to the economic situation. Unfortunately, they have to deliver some bad news to one of their sisters who lives and studies in NYC. They decide that they need to deliver the news in person and embark on a journey where they each rediscover themselves. It's a story that all of us in the crew can connect with. It's a great blend of comedy and drama and ultimately a great feel good film. Dani is an amazing director and one of the most beautiful people I have ever met. He captures the heart of everyone he meets and is one of the most passionate story tellers and filmmakers I have ever met. He gets the creative and he gets the business. Zarandieta is a rising name for sure. And with Carmen Simon along side producing this film cannot fail. Incredibly hard working and always cheerful, Carmen knows how to get the job done. I love working with her. The rest of the crew is also amazing and having worked on several short films with most of the crew, I know this shoot will epitomize why I love filmmaking! It's incredibly exciting and I'm sure I will bombard you with the behind the scene journey on Facebook and Instagram. And hopefully, this is another stepping stone for more projects to come!

December was a mash of production jobs, Visa applications, lies to my mother and travel plans. I had created a web of lies for months about not coming home for Christmas which became a mental nightmare trying to remember exactly why and where I was going to be. But alas, I kept my lips sealed and headed home to Australia to surprise my family. Of course stopping off in LA to catch up with some friends and the obligatory theme park hit... I am a roller coaster junkie. 

The entire flight home I could hardly contain my excitement, riding wave after wave of adrenalin. Now brunch at my grandmother's house on a Saturday morning has been a family tradition ever since I was born. And just to be safe, I had also told my mother that I was sending some gifts home for Christmas and they would be delivered to my grandmother's house between 9-11am and someone needed to sign for them. But alas, she still failed to be there for my arrival...but it turned out to be a lot more fun as I got to surprise all my family members in stages. 

Stage 1. My grandmother... As I pulled up in the cab I was greeted by my cousins who helped me with bags and my Daisy (grandmother) can wandering out looking like a stroke was imminent. After encouraging her to breathe, I gave her a massive hug and we couldn't wipe the smile off our faces. I then saw my grandfather Pete, who greeted me with, "What are you doing here?" 

Stage 2. My mother and sister... after Daisy made a vague phone call to my mother and sister to encourage them to come up as soon as possible ... they still taking their sweet time ... finally my mum and sister Holly arrived at Daisy's for lunch and I came running out the front door where we all instantaneously burst into smiles and tears. Mum claiming "I knew you'd come home!" (She had no idea - but can you imagine if I hadn't?!). After several minutes of rejoicing in hugs and smiles, Holly took a step back and said, "You're Joan"! Now, I had to let someone in on my secret to come home, just incase they were planning to surprise me with a trip to NYC or travel anywhere else. So I had told my other sister Allyce all about it. However, Daisy was buying a Jet Boat ride on Sydney Harbour for the whole family and to ensure I was included on the boat, Allyce had lied and said her husband's friend from the USA (super creative) was visiting and would it be possible for her to join us. Slightly hesitant since it was a family only kind of outing, my mother of course said that it was no problem and asked for her name. Allyce replied, "Joan." Now I have an alter ego named Joan!

Stage 3. My auntie Janette pulled up in the driveway and I hid in the kitchen cupboard. My aunt and I share a passion for scary movies and have a long ongoing history of practical jokes of jumping out of places for the sole purpose of scaring the shit out of each other. As she entered, someone asked her to retrieve an item from the pantry and I jumped out! After more laughter and hugs I exclaimed, "I've been waiting since January for someone to open that door!"

Stage 4. My dad. My dad had been out running errands and finally turned up for lunch. As he walked up the driveway with his head focused on the ground, I jumped out of the front door in a 'Ta da!' type fashion. He gazed up and then dropped his head straight back down. Then he did a double take. His eye's popped out of his head, just like on a Loony Tunes cartoon. Another big embrace and my said, "I'm not easily surprised, but that was a surprise!"

The moral of the story is, if you ever have a chance to surprise your family in the sam manner, DO IT! The month's of guilt about lying to my mother was totally worth it!

The summer was spent catching up with family and friends, I went to the beach just about every single day (happily getting up at 6.30am to wander the sand and waves), jet boating on the harbour, Christmas cooking and New Years Eve at Sydney Opera Bar. I got tickets to the event through my friend Lisa who was the LA Production Supervisor on the Guinness Black Lager commercial I worked on. At the event we met Matt Falloon, an amazing Balloon Twister who captivated us with his charisma and his plans to travel to the USA at the end of the month for Twist and Shout, a balloon twisting convention in St Louis. He intrigued our passion for story telling enough that we decided to film a documentary about Matt and the world of twisters. I followed Matt in Sydney and filmed a preliminary interview with him (thank you to my crew - Narelle and Holly) while Lisa and another colleague Leeann, worked miracles back in LA organizing a crew to follow him in St Louis, Chicago, Toronto, New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. More details to come in next month's blog!

We also celebrated my sister's and my own birthday with a luxury weekend of arcade games at the Crown Casino, spa treatments, and the most extravagant Melba buffet at the Langham in Melbourne - where we had M&M naan. The weekend was also plagued with a million fried rice pranks calls between our rooms (small things amusing small minds - so many laughs...). And of course there was a stint of shoe shopping (I stopped myself at 7)! We also visited Phillip Island and indulged in Panny's Chocolate Factory, Go-Karting and saw the precious ferry penguins march up the beach. Then we headed back to Melbourne for some Australian Open Tennis...timing it perfectly to hit the 45 degree (celcius) day (probably 55 degrees on the actual courts)! I got to see Soeda, Tsonga, The Williams sisters, Ferrer, Baghdatis, Sharapova and some other up and comers. Definitely made me keen to get a racket in my own hands again!

All of a sudden the end of January was upon us and time to pack. Goodbyes never get any easier. But the new year in New York holds so many exciting opportunities including being Assistant Director/Co-Producer on Spanish Director, Dani Zarendieta's film! As well as more commercial productions and a myriad of my own projects! Who knows what adevnture are install for 2013!