Journey with Janelle » North America

#80: Sleeping Under the Stars

Janelle K. Eagle — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 19:46:42 +0000

I’m not sure how long it would have taken me to cross #80 off my “life to do list.” You see, sleeping under the stars (i.e. camping) is something I used to try when I was little. I’d set up a tent in my parent’s backyard, bring a book and a flashlight and attempt to be brave enough to sleep outdoors. Inevitably, a bug would fly near my head or the roar of the crickets and frogs nearby would freak me out and I run back into the safety of my childhood bedroom by the end of the night.

Then my dear friends Adam & Jen decided to have their combined bachelor/bachelorette party be at a campground in the middle of nowhere. In particular, it was at the San Pedro Lake in Northern California… oh and it was 107 degrees outside during the day. And there was no electricity. And no restaurants. It was just 20 of us… in tents… on a lake… and it was amazing.

We had such a blast and it was so amazing to get WAY outside the city and WAY outside my comfort zone- exactly the point of putting this item on my life to-do list in the first place. I cherish my friends and I cherish when they are present and supportive and challenge me.

And I had such a good time… I would even do it again sometime!

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Let the Film-Fest begin!

Janelle K. Eagle — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 00:09:40 +0000

“Word and images matter!” That was the battle cry pounded into my head during the three years I spent working for a media advocacy organization called GLAAD (The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation). I was part of a team of staff that holds Media accountable for what they put on the big screen, small screen, and in the papers and magazines decorating our coffee tables. The organization also famously celebrates the achievements of media that got it right in the form of their annual “GLAAD Media Awards.” I left the organization in order to become one of the filmmakers creating the culture-changing work that I had spent so much time celebrating.

In just the few short years since I left, I’ve had the distinct pleasure of working on not one… not two… but THREE films featuring LGBT content and filmmakers. I am incredibly humbled and honored to be alongside such talented artists and technicians. It’s amazing the bravery and vulnerability they all show each day they show up to work to tell these stories.

Given the talent involved, I was completely unsurprised when I found out that two of the films I worked on (the third being in post-production right now) called A Marine Story and Elena Undone were headliners at this year’s Outfest Film Festival in Los Angeles.

I was completely floored however when I was nominated to head up the Outfest Legacy Awards this fall and make an even greater contribution to the LGBT filmmaking world by protecting the images and stories in this canon of film for generations to come. If you live in Los Angeles and are interested in attending or joining me at my table… please inquire within.

In the mean time, I was asked by www.gaytravel.com (an incredible new website and social networking site which I highly recommend becoming a part of ) to share my thoughts about why I think Outfest (and therefore LGBT filmmaking in general) is important. Here are my thoughts:

Why is Outfest important?

- Because cultural change happens in our living rooms and around the dining room table, not in ballot boxes
- Because the diversity of our complex community and its allies is rarely even touched on in entertainment- so having a bevy of options celebrating that diversity is a rare treat
- Because some of the most talented filmmakers in the business are members of the LGBT community and they make good work!
- Because creating a legacy of moving images that tell stories that have the capacity to change hearts and minds is invaluable

Why am I involved?
- As a filmmaker and storyteller, I care how my life and the lives of my friends are portrayed
- Because I believe that film and television can reach beyond borders and walls and this is the way that I choose to create change
- Because the talented pool of individuals that are showcased this year are often undersupported and overlooked in the wider entertainment arena and it is my pleasure to be part of giving them their well-deserved spotlight

Why should you be involved?
- Because it’s one of the only places that you will get to see many of these films on the big screen
- Because your financial support in the form of movie tickets will actually go to a cause you can be proud of- encouraging more LGBT films and filmmakers to keep making incredible work!
- Because they throw amazing parties

I threw a lot of stuff out there, so here are the links for follow up items:

1. To learn more about the 2010 Outfest Film Festival, Click HERE
2. To purchase tickets to one of the films I worked on, click HERE:
(A MARINE STORY)
(ELENA UNDONE)
3. To learn more about the 2010 Outfest Legacy Awards, click HERE
4. To learn more about GLAAD, click HERE
5. To join me on Gay Travel’s incredible network, click HERE

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#85: A Visit to the Midwest

Janelle K. Eagle — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 01:31:36 +0000

This says it all...

When I created this “Life to Do List” and added #85: Visit a Midwest state I’ve never been to, I didn’t actually know what constituted the Midwest. I also had absolutely no idea when or how I would get there or why on Earth I’d be there in the first place. What I knew is that I’d never really traveled in the Midwest and it was an area of the U.S.A. that I knew little about. In my psyche, a lack of familiarity or exposure to a place is not a deterrent… it’s like a magnet. “Tell me more!” says my little brain. “Take me there!”

Where is there? Well… there was Wisconsin. Specifically, the Wisconsin Dells. This quaint little area of the country is world-renowned, actually. For what, you might ask? Waterparks! This may seem like a very exciting thing to be in town for. However, I was there during a rainy storm in the middle of April Showers and did not get to hang out on or near a single waterslide.

Drive Through Cheese Curds

I did, however, get to taste Cheese Curds for the first time (served courtesy of Culver’s drive through)- which I didn’t even know existed before traveling there and asking the Facebook Universe what I should do while I was in town. For the record, cheese curds come in two forms- either fried or regular. The latter of the two is just small pieces of cheese- like the cubes you’d serve as appetizers at a party with toothpicks. The former fried variety is like mozzarella sticks, only in bit form. Not a bad design, really… just definitely not healthy. I’m more of a brie or dill havarti girl, myself.

Beautiful Wisconsin

During my stay, I was actually on site at a camp for Jewish children. We were in the middle of trees, wildlife (a.k.a. birds), and some of the cleanest air I’ve gotten to inhale in a long time. The company was an amazing group of Jewish leaders who were assembling to discuss ways in which they could make the spaces in which they work more LGBT inclusive. It was an inspiring couple of days, to say the least.

Many thanks to Keshet, the organization that flew me out for the training and on accident, helped me cross this item off the list!

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Day 1: All You Can Do is Keep Bleeding

Janelle K. Eagle — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:04:00 +0000

Me still smiling before leaving LAX airport

My personal in-flight television screen says that we have traveled 1585 miles from Los Angeles. It’s hard to tell because we are surrounded by 360 degrees of the Pacific Ocean. It’s blue skies and sea blue all around. My medical mask hugs my face, simultaneously keeping my breath warm and my lungs from interacting with swine flu or other airborne gross-ness.

It’s happening. I’m on a plane headed to Nepal. My best friend is sitting next to me, my camera pack is in the overhead compartment and I’m off to make my first movie. It’s a claustrophobic-bathroom, swollen-footed dream come true.

Because we’ve been anticipating this journey for close to six months, Patty and I are extraordinarily prepared. We’ve thought through every possible ailment, taken every precaution, and set ourselves up for success. Now comes the waiting and crossing of fingers. Will “the story” we hope to tell actually exist? Will we be able to capture it on tape? It’s leap of faith time.

All signs point to a raucous adventure, indeed. I awake to find a text message that Patty has already lost her ipod and we haven’t even left LA. My roommate Tara and I arrived at Patty’s house to load the car with our luggage and get on the road to LAX International Airport. After knocking on the door, Patty offered me an English Muffin for the road. I gladly accepted. I should have declined.

Patty displays her disbelief in her ill-timed injury

While cutting the muffin, Patty sliced her finger. Badly. Right before we are about to head to the airport. Through tear-soaked eyes she asked me whether or not we needed to head to the ER and get her stitches. I remained calm, looked at her profusely bleeding appendage and made the uneducated medical decision to forego stitches in favor of Neosporin and a band-aid. The good news is, that was the right decision. Patty stayed all in once piece and we hopped into the car.

During the ride, we listened to Ingrid Michelson’s recent album. One of her singles is entitled “Keep Breathing.” The irony of said instruction is beyond humorous as you’ll read on. At the end of the song, the talented vocalist builds musical tension by repeating the mantra “All You Can Do Is Keep Breathing.” A fitting mantra for the ever-stressed 20 something, Patty and I have repeated those very lyrics on multiple occasions. For the purposes of embracing the morning craziness, I jokingly changed the lyrics to “all you can do is keep bleeding.” Patty pointed her bandaged finger to me with a smile on her face and said “I hate you.”

Upon arrival at LAX, we head towards Terminal 4- the acclaimed Tom Bradley International terminal- and wave goodbye to my roommate. Then we learn that our flight is in fact leaving from Terminal 7. We have six bags, two English Breakfast tea lattes, and about a quarter mile of space between us and our actual destination. We scurry our way down to T7 and arrive panting.

Patty and I simply laugh it off

After waiting in an extended check-in line, we hurry over to Security. I let them know in advance that my entire carry-on is filled with camera equipment. Wires, harddrives, lenses, mics… we are loaded and there is no way to simply take it out of the bag and place it in one of those white bins. I mentally prepare myself to have to go through special security and am immediately told that my assumptions were valid. It was me, a private security officer, and a shrinking window of time before our flight was to depart.

While I was mentally prepared for additional security, I was not mentally prepared for the officer to remove every. Single. Individual. Item from the bag. He scanned them separately. He brought the monopod (think tripod with one leg) back to his supervisor for even more security because it looked too much like a weapon. But Patty and I must have been on happy pills because we handled the entire thing with grace, and ascended the escalator towards gate 76 with a smile.

Our smiles faded quickly when we reached the summit of said escalator. The voice over the loudspeaker greeted our ascension with “Final boarding call for flight 891 with service to Tokyo. Final boarding.” Oh yeah, you betcha. We are the farthest distance possible from our gate and have to RUN.

In case the mental picture isn’t self-evident, think back on those movies or cable crime dramas where someone is rushing through the airport. Perhaps McCauley Culkin chasing after his assumed father in Home Alone. And we know how that sprint ended. He’s fatherless and alone in New York.

In our case, the terminal is packed, most folks are leisurely wheeling carry-ons, and then there is us. We are sprinting like there is no tomorrow. The experience conjured up 9th grade physical education when my teacher told me I wouldn’t get an A in the course unless I ran a mile in under 8 minutes. Ever the over-achiever, I arrived at the finish line at 7:56 with a burning pain in my chest. I got there, but it hurt.

We booked it across the entire airport today, folks. Barely avoiding collision and barely permitting air into our lungs, Patty and I got on the plane. But it hurt.

And the Ingrid Michelson song has come full circle. As we claim our seats on this journey, panting and gasping to regain a normal heartbeat, I smile and think “All we can do is keep breathing.”

JWJ Farm Video

Janelle K. Eagle — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:46:00 +0000

You’ve probably been reading a bunch about the adventures I had when I visited my family on Salt Spring Island in Canada. If you long for more than just words and pictures, check out the latest “Journey with Janelle” video:

#13: Take in the Aroma

Janelle K. Eagle — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:57:00 +0000

Bottles of Pinot Noir from the Laetitia Winery

Obviously I’m a bit addicted to traveling. In particular, I get a kick out of experiences that feel fancy but, in fact, are rather affordable. When my dear friend Patty asked me to travel with her to Central California in order to support a mutual friend’s theater project, I thought, “Let’s kill two birds with one stone!” And alas, we decided to cross off #13 from the “Life To Do List” and go wine-tasting as well.

The drive from Los Angeles up to Santa Maria is about 2.5 to three hours up the 101 Freeway. The views of the famous cali coastline did not disappoint and we truly couldn’t have asked for better weather. While singing along to whatever our iPods threw at us, we made the following “Journey with Janelle” videos about visiting Laetitia Winery.

Grapevines at the Laetitia Winery in Santa Maria, CA

We were particularly lucky in that the day we arrived happened to be an “Open Cellar” day on the winery. They had live music and had opened all of their cellars and brought out their professional staff to tell us about everything that goes into making their incredible product. The entire experience cost only $10. We brought along our $5 footlongs from Subway and after buying a couple of bottles for our own expanding vino collection, had spent about $50 for an incredible and lush experience.

As a Pinot Noir lover, I can tell you, Laetitia makes one of my favorites. If you’d like to take a similar adventure, you should visit their website and find out more about the next time they are opening up for guests!

http://www.laetitiawine.com

EPISODE 1

EPISODE 2

#14: Call me Farmer Janelle

Life on a Farm

Janelle K. Eagle — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 04:58:00 +0000

The great wall of Garlic on Bright Farm

My initial enthusiasm and blog post about arriving at Uncle Charlie’s garlic farm prevented me from providing an in depth explanation of what it feels like to actually live on Bright Farm. Constantly processing images that take my breath away also seemed to have presented me with the slightest bit of writer’s block. How do I describe the beauty and feeling surrounding a person lucky enough to be a guest?

Perhaps I’ll start with the obvious, a juxtaposition of my life in Los Angeles and Life on a Farm. The most obvious difference being SPACE. On the Eagle’s farm, there are 10 acres of beautiful land to walk about in. Instead of partying neighbors, there are llamas, roosters, and rabbits. The bunnies are not pets; they are pests.

A small paddle boat waits for a captain

Whereas I walk out into a busy street and can’t have dogs running leashless, at the farm the dogs roam and play freely. When it’s hot, going for a dip involves no chlorine, it involves a good ole’ lake.

More profoundly satisfying than any other aspect of the visit is the relationship you begin to appreciate with cuisine. If you fancy yourself a “foodie,” I highly recommend spending a week on an organic farm. There is something spectacular about being fully involved in all parts of creating, harvesting, and cooking the food that you put in your mouth every day. My favorite eye-opening knowledge that I’ve gained is just how little you need seasoning when the food itself has so much rich flavor because it is fresh and free of additives. And I mean SCARY good.

Cousin Bree in her field of organic corn

I’ve never felt amorous towards sweet corn before, but I briefly pondered an engagement after heading into the corn field with Bree to harvest and shuck this season’s first corn crop.

The last time I visited here, I was very young. This means that I had absolutely no concept of hard work or what all the adults were doing while I was running through the fields with chickens. As a fully functional adult, I got to participate. When it was time to get out into the bean field, I had my own row assignment. When it was time to process the garlic we’d just dug up from the field, I had to audition for my role in the production line.

It was hard work. It was glorious work. It was an honor to hang out with my family and the wonderful friends they keep up at Bright Farm. I am so happy to have the memories from the experience and so touched that I was included.

#14: Call me Farmer Janelle

Janelle K. Eagle — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 05:09:00 +0000

I knew I kept those overalls for a reason. They’ve been sitting in my “save for a random day” drawyer for at least four years. This trip to my Uncle’s farm in Canada was the perfect occasion to bring them out of hiding.

After arriving here in the evening last night, I had missed all the day’s farm work that had already taken place. I got to relax and visit with my family for a while and woke up ready to join in right on their busiest work day. Monday is spent preparing for Tuesday’s farmer’s market, so a little bit of everything grown on the farm gets picked (harvested).

Inevitably, I am here during one of the hottest days on record on Salt Spring Island. While their home thermometer read 111 degrees, we are thinking it was more like 90. It definitely FELT excruciating. I didn’t anticipate how sunburned I was getting and thus didn’t put sunscreen on my shoulders until the later morning. Alas, I have quite the burn on my shoulders.

The most rewarding part about coming to work on this farm is spending time with my loving family while they’re in their element. They understand food, commerce, health, and business from a completely different perspective than I do. When they want to prepare lunch or dinner, they decide what they’re hungry for and then GO GET IT. Right from their land! It’s all organic and delicious and healthy and amazing.

There was a DEER that broke onto the property today. A HUGE deer just bounded right by us as we picked cherry tomatoes. Not to mention the wild bunnies that remind me of times back at UC Irvine where they too had a hare problem.

There are three dogs (including the puppy Ruby, pitured), two cats, a ton of chickens, and three llamas. There are vegetables galore that are the most colorful and beautiful I’ve seen. However, the REAL reason I am here (beyond seeing my beautiful family), is to harvest GARLIC.

Bright Farm Garlic is renowned. Each year there is a produce competition, and the other growers don’t stand a chance. When I was 10 (and had a very infamous episode where I was attacked by moths), I came to the farm during garlic harvest and never forgot it. Sitting with a group, listening to the blues, and peeling garlic. For years I talked about making it up here to participate again, but it just never fit in.

Bright Farm's fresh and organic tomato varieties

The beauty of my Life To Do List, as I’ve stated on multiple occasions, is that the Virgo in me can’t stand to see a goal that is written down and un-accomplished. I long to cross an item off. It bugs me to stare at a list and not tackle item by item. I knew that if I put down a goal of getting up here, that I’d make it happen. And it was SO worth it.

There is photography and video gold up here. There will definitely be a Journey with Janelle Episode about this one. I am eating some of the healthiest and delicious-est food I’ll ever have. I am facing my moth fear. I’m playing with puppies and kittens. It’s ridiculous in the best way.

I feel so lucky to be at Bright Farm and to cross #14 off the Life To Do list.

#71: Ferry’s Anatomy

Janelle K. Eagle — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:20:00 +0000

Me on a ferryboat en route to Salt Spring Island

I was hoping to cross off #71 on the Life To Do List by taking a cruise somewhere exotic. I didn’t expect that Travel somewhere on a boat would mean riding on not one, but TWO ferries in Beautiful British Columbia.

To get to my Uncle’s Farm on Salt Spring Island (which helps me cross off #14 on the list), you have to enjoy the splendor that is the BC Ferry system. It’s a hassle, but provides some of the most gorgeous scenery possible if you get great weather. Luckily, my day full of ferry-ing was on such a glorious and clear day.

Checkout some of the pictures:

My Canadian Training Day

Janelle K. Eagle — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 05:39:00 +0000

The long line to get on the Ferry

While living in Los Angeles, I rarely drive more than 10 miles a day. But visiting my parents in Northern California, my aunt in Seattle, and my Uncle on his garlic farm in Canada was too many flights (and dollars) to muster.

Driving 1600 miles in a week is not (nor should it be) normal. It’s hot outside, there are kamikaze-style bugs flying at the window, and cruise control only works if there are no drivers on the road.

If any of these “complaints” were actually worth NOT traveling, I obviously wouldn’t have hopped in my dodge Neon and filled up the tank so many times. I would have made a U-Turn a LONG time ago.

Instead, I’ve enjoyed my little journey up the West Coast of North America. You read correctly, this is, in fact, an international road trip. Venturing far and wide, I have added CANADA into the traveling mix.

My experience in Canada has been frustrating to say the least. Mind you, I’ve only been here two hours. Alas, getting across that border as a single, white, female with no agenda and no DUI record proved NOT to be advantageous in charming border patrol.

A view of the water and islands near Vancouver

My car was strip-searched before I even got to the gate.- by FOUR male border patrol guards. I figured it was attributed to my California license plates, so I just smiled and answered all of his questions. NO I don’t have any drugs. NO I don’t have any weapons. YES I have a specific destination. YES I’ll be returning the U.S.

I thanked them for the intimate exchange and drove forward towards the border gate. I switched on my video camera that was positioned on my passenger seat to secretly capture the moment. But apparently I didn’t get good reviews after the strip search. My one on one interview lasted 10 minutes instead of 2 minutes. She was very interested in whom my employer is (myself) and when I was expected back to work (this IS my work!). She repeated her question regarding whether I was carrying any weapons a number of times… maybe my cargo shorts through her off a bit?

When the interview seemingly wrapped up and she handed me back my passport, I prepared to take a sigh of relief. However, before I could exhale, Canada threw ANOTHER road block in the way. I wasn’t done proving I was welcome in Beautiful British Columbia. It was time for my PRIVATE search.

No, not those privates, the kind where I have to leave my car with them and wait inside in a holding room while they open all my bags and car contents while I am not present. It felt icky. My company in the holding room were your average non-English speaking visitors, a couple of guys on a harley with spikes on their leathers (do those count as weapons?), and then ME.

After finally getting my clearance, I called my mother to tell her the story. All you can do is laugh, really. I told her I felt like Claire Danes in BROKEDOWN PALACE, or like Ganga Queen, the Australian woman who was sentenced to 20 years in prison when she was carrying marijuana illegally into Bali. The problem is, I’ve been to Bali… and it was easier to get into than Canada. CANADA?!?!

One of the large ferries coming in to port near Vancouver

On top of that, after finally driving forward into this lovely free-health-care-giving, maple-tree and hockey loving country… I had to contend with ferries. Not tinkerbell… the big boats that McDreamy is obsessed with in Grey’s Anatomy. You see I’ve been to Vacouver before as an adolescent, so I too carried a romanticized affinity for the mini-cruise across open water. Apparently the feelings only lingered because I never had to actually drive onto one.

I had arrived at the wrong port. There was no way to get back to the correct port and get the Ferry that would have taken me directly to my destination. Really Canada? REALLY??

I finally exhaled that pseudo-sigh and decided it was time to change my attitude. Carpe Diem!

I channeled “Amazing Race;” It was now a competition to get to my destination. I had been steered off course by a devious contestant (in my case the GPS device Tom Tom), and had to cleverly find an alternate route to get to the magical envelope with my next challenge task waiting for me. The good news is: I found the alternate course. It’s going to take me longer to get there, but in the big Amazing Race, it’s just one destination of many.

I made it.

My good buddy Parry and I have oft-discussed trying out for that show. And though I would have expected to find my inspiration in the jungles of Borneo or even a country where they don’t speak English, Canada stepped up as my trainer. Good ole’ Canada.

You know what I say? BRING IT ON!