shooting (day) 2

my dad lent us a coffee percolator from his church. we set it up this morning and used the generic coffee our production supervisor purchased at wal-mart yesterday afternoon when he went out to make a crafty run.

yep, our line producer and production supervisor ran out to get crafty.

i brought the percolator and handed off the responsibility because i do not drink coffee and i do not care or know how to make it.

our ad's happened to have good working knowledge of all things coffee, so when we finally got into the building (the owner of the bowling alley where we're filming was late), we began making coffee.

then the director told me the coffee was really bad.

then everyone agreed.

the line producer and production supervisor ran out again to purchase a harddrive (because we didn't have them) and we asked that they bring back dunkin donuts coffee to compensate for the apparent crap coffee made this morning.

that was two hours ago.

five minutes ago, the first ad just called the second ad and asked him to ask me to coordinate a coffee run for the director of photography (who will only be called a cinematographer). i texted the line producer who's running out right now, and asked if he'd pick up coffee and he said no. we had enough here.

so.....i might attempt to make more in the church percolator...or not.

this is a really long day.

back at it

working on another film.

i swore i wouldn't do this ever again. for some reason i thought i didn't want to do this, that i wanted a normal life where people know there schedules three months out, instead of waiting until literally the night before to find out what time i have to be at work in the morning - and waiting until late afternoon to try to guess as to what time i'll be home.

it's hilarious.

today is the first day of production on another feature.

we planted our excuse for an onsite office in the corner of a basement dance club bar as they film on the first floor bowling alley and bar. the expansive space seemed nice and welcoming until the manager informed us they scheduled a band to load in at 1 this afternoon and begin sound check - sound check - at 5.

funny.

the drummer took it upon himself to begin practicing early.

i'm tired.

there's no soap in the bathroom and i'm trying to avoid thinking about that.

hi

for those waiting in line somewhere and trying like hell to pass the time, i shall tell you about my day.

i made some tea and a bowl of yogurt and granola, feeling like if it took the time to actually drink my tea and eat my breakfast, i was wasting my time. but i did it anyway.

i have a pile of school work in front of me with notes and ideas scrawled on pages upon pages, and hopefully i'll be able to put them all together and turn it in my wednesday and still walk with my head held high.

at the moment, i can't wait for school to end. i'm exhausted. i want to read a book without guilt. i want to watch a film without breaking it down in some way for discussion. and i want to go a day without having the weight of due dates new drafts constantly resting on my brain.

last night we talked a lot about buying property and what the future looks like.


and i can't wait.

fun day at work

i worked with cowboy this week.

every time i've worked with him before, it was an empty house and we worked alone with the radio on.

this week, though, we worked in a house where people lived.

we were let in a door from the garage that led down a hallway to the bathroom needing work. the hallway passed the main living room where an older woman sat on a sofa and played solitair on her ipad and watched game shows the entire day. the entire day.

the morning began quietly - except for the frustration cowboy had with rockboard and my lack of skill and gravity and the toilet paper holder - but it quickly turned.

first, the woman's thirteen year-old grandson came home and stared unflinchingly at both of us working, but when i said hello, he responded with the same stare. it was a bit more awkward when this scrawny pale kid changed into baggy shorts, a wife-beater tanktop, yellow-tinted shades, and a cap. in this new outfit, he again just walked slowly in and out of rooms staring at us.

he was even kind enough to continue the awkward walk and stare out in the garage when i cut tile.

then, the dogs arrived. they stayed behind the temporary gate put up by the woman who presumably took a moment away from solitair.

at the point in the day when the sun slanted and pointed directly in my eyes when i stood at the tile saw, when the teenage boy's relentless staring added to him mumbling things to his grandmother when she wasn't in the room, and the dogs barked uncontrollably. that's when we decided when the day was over.

no more

my temp agency called yesterday afternoon. this job ends today. smeller hasn't mentioned it to me and i think she knows, but i'm not sure.

next week, if the temp agency doesn't call with another job, i'm working with cowboy.

good morning

working in an office sucks. you sit in a cubicle with your back to a window (if you have a window) and go through the same mundane tasks every day. you look forward to your lunch hour, which you usually spend at your desk, eating and typing and working, even though you're not paid for that hour, but you feel like you're wasting time if you actually take time off for lunch. you think about going outside for a walk, about getting some fresh air, but that pile of invoices won't wait, so the idea of seeing the sun in the early afternoon fades to a far off dream meant only for weekends. slowly you realize that your life continues in one unending, sludgy routine. to fight it, you decorate your space with as many photos and drawings and dilbert comics as you can to remind yourself that you're unique and your own person. you try to convince yourself that this beige office doesn't define you.

and then the day comes when you realize that it didn't work.

- i came in today and picked up my water bottle and headed to the kitchen, and in that time passed four  different people from four different departments, and when i greeted them, they all responded the same way:

'morning. how're you doin?'
'i'm here.'

note to anyone: if i ever genuinely respond to a question like that, please throw me down a long flight of stairs.

new day

i stayed home yesterday and worked for the company i'm not legally allowed to talk about and created a new invoice design for cowboy's company.

but now i'm back at the temp job and my soul is weeping.

smeller keeps complaining about anything - it's too cold, too warm, she's tired, too wired, hungry, full, or something to do with the broken stapler.

on the other end of the spectrum, i received an email this morning inviting me to join the board of the local film society. it's all kinds of strange and surprising, but something that also seems pretty darn cool.