Job "Search"

A friend of mine from Snakes im'd me yesterday to see what I was up to. I told her about my job at EA and she said she's working on Die Hard 4 and they're looking for payroll. The accountant has a reputation for being a real hard-ass, but I sent my resume anyway. Actually, she doesn't just have a reputation, she's on the "list" of accountants you shouldn't work for unless you're desperate. But I've only ever had a problem with one acct so far and she wasn't on that list... I'm willing to give it a chance. (After reading over my shoulder, the husband pointed out at least 2 more than I've had issues with that I had apparently blocked from memory.)

Why am I sending out resumes? Because all the 2nd unit work on EA was cancelled last Monday. I am no longer guaranteed employment until September. It seems the 2nd unit crew that was hired was doing crap work and they can't use most of the footage. So the director is going to put together a rough edit and see what's needed. No one knows how long that will take so no one is making any plans beyond a regular wrap, which is usually 4 weeks for me. So 1st unit is done July 11th, a stunt unit is done July 12th, and I should be done about 4 weeks after (no calendar at hand...).

Flag Burning

I'm relieved the flag burning ban didn't pass because if it does I'm going to be forced to burn a flag in protest. I think it's just ludicris to try to criminalize flag burning when there are millions of people in the good ol' US of A doing things to the flag that are just plain wrong. Those tatty car flags that should be retired, flag decals, flag clothing, flags flying unlit at night or in the rain... all of those are the result of ignorance while burning is usually a statement of some sort, with some kind of intent behind it.

So if it comes up, I'll be there with my matches protesting the loss of freedom to protest.

Star Sighting

We had dinner at Daily Grill before the movie last night and Cheryl Tiegs and her family sat at the table across from us. She's aging very well.

Probably Best Left Unsaid...

Th 1st Asst Acct just showed me a gift she got from one of her assistants - a carrot-shaped vibrator. Then 3 minutes later, she walked from her office to the kitchen to reheat her lunch and commented how she didn't understand how anyone could make veggies taste like fish...

Umm, carrot-shaped vibrator?

Sorry, had to.

Superman

While waiting to get my car smogged this morning, I was watching one of the morning "news" shows. They mentioned a review of Superman Returns and commented that there were some late night showings tonight since it opens tomorrow. When I got to work, I got online and bought 2 tix for the 10pm show up at Universal Citywalk. It's a surprise for the husband, but I had to email him so he wouldn't make other plans... so SURPRISE!

When the first Christopher Reeve Superman came out, my husband made his mother come and get him out of school so he could go to the first showing. He was a strong-willed little boy.

Only in LA?

There's a small plane flying over the studio today, dragging a banner for a new tv show. Do they do this stuff in other cities? I can't imagine. Of course, they also have some of the biggest billboards (advertising movies and tv shows) I've ever seen here. Maybe the ones in NYC are bigger, but I haven't been there to see them.

Santa Barbara

The husband, Sofie, and I spent the weekend in Santa Barbara. I left work early on Friday and we drove up around 4 o'clock. Traffic wasn't great, but I'm sure it could have been worse. We ended up staying the the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort because they were just about the only place that took dogs with a vacancy. We got upgraded to a suite, which was very swank.

The city was hosting it's Summer Solstice Parade on Saturday. Apparently it's the biggest parade of the year in Santa Barbara. It looked like a lot of fun and Sofie did pretty well in the crowds. She's such a sweet looking dog she always gets attention from strangers.

We ended up staying to Sunday and when we left we drove thru Ojai on the way back. We'd never been there before and they had a used bookstore we wanted to check out. It was a nice drive in and the bookstore was ok, but it's open air and even though the shelves are covered in case of rain, a lot were sun-damaged and dirty. I opened one up to look at it and there was a little bug crawling inside it. Even so, I'd like to go back to Ojai sometime and stay for a day or two, see what it's really like. It seems like a nice mountain town, but the husband said it seemed manufactured to him, like too many people from LA had moved in...

I think my favorite thing from the trip was eating lunch on Saturday out on the greenway by the beach. Dogs aren't allowed on the beach itself, but the city has a nice wide strip of grass between the beach and the road. The 3 of us ate and laid in the sun and just had a nice time doing nothing.

Book List #15

I started reading Alice Hoffman's The River King. I've read several of her books, but stopped after they butchered Practial Magic by making it into that dreadful movie.

Anyway, this one is as good as I remember her work being. She has an interesting style that
flows so well, you read and read and read and don't even realize how much time has passed.

Pics As Promised

This is Coco, Sped's new dog. He has a few health issues and I'm sure some abandonment issues, but he's found himself a good home.

Sped, for some reason he reminds me of your dad. No offense meant to either party. Maybe it's the tilt of the head and the suggestion of a mustache.

Hopefully he and Sofie will get along.

Coco

Sped got a dog, but not the little white poodle mix (the finders took her home). No, this one is a 4 year old Shih Tzu that was given up by its elderly owner who was going into a nursing home. Pics to follow when Sped sends them along...

Morning...

I haven't heard from Sped whether or not they got the dog. Hopefully she'll let all of us know pretty soon.

I had a contractor come in this morning and take a look at our bathrooms. I want to have them redone and needed to find out what kind of money we're looking at. He seemed like a nice guy and he was recommended by N&J, so that's good. I realized talking to him that although I know what I want to accomplish, I have no idea what I want the final outcome to look like. Bit of an issue, there. For the guest bath, I want to hide the litter box and for the master bath, I want a soaking tub. That's about as far as I get...

I got my invite for the cast and crew screening of Dupree. It's on July 11th and I think I can make it - it's right around the corner at Universal Citywalk. The billboards are going up all over town and while it's a nice picture, it makes Hudson's nose look very pointy.

Another Puppy

This is Trooper. He belongs to my cousin Lou who has just recently moved to LA.

Lou didn't say what kind of dog Trooper is, but he looks a bit like a Rottie...

I'm very glad my life is full of people with dogs.

Sped's Dog (Hopefully)

This is the dog Sped and her man are hoping to adopt. She's about a year and a half old and was found and taken to the pound. The people who found her said they wanted her, but Sped is hoping they change their mind.

They have to be there at 11:30am on Wednesday and if the finders don't show, the pup is theirs. I hope they get her. I'm not really into this kind of dog, the poodle mix, but she looks pretty dang cute from the pic.

Good luck guys! Fingers crossed.

Day 1 On Evan Almighty

Welcome back to Universal! I've got to say it's nice to be working in LA. The commute was so nice and tomorrow I'm going to be able to ride the Plum to work (had to bring in my kit today - needed the car). I have my own office for now, but when the payroll clerk comes back, I'll be sharing. Everybody seems nice and it should work out fine.

I've been chatting with the payroll guy from Virginia, J, and he seems to be nice as well. We're both replacements and luckily neither of us is all that thrilled with the paprwork that began this show. When he finally got the chance to send me the crew list, I couldn't believe how useless it was - ok, not totally useless but not great, either. He didn't take the time to fix it because he thought the woman who started the show would be coming back and he was so damn busy. But I'm very unhappy with it after only 1 day. If I had taken over when he did, I think I would have done some revising.

The schedule and stuff is up in the air. Nobody really knows yet when the crew is coming back to LA. I'm very glad that J is planning on doing the payroll for this week and just having me cut the checks. It'll make the transition much easier.

Book List #14

Death Train to Boston by Dianne Day is my current read (it's the next in the Fremont Jones series). The format of this one is a bit different from the others but I'm enjoying it and will continue to read the series as I can find the books. This one has a lot to do with Mormons - an interesting group of people, to be sure. Not being very religious, I find people who are devout fascinating in a "sleeps-on-a-bed-of-nails" kind of way. I'll let you know if it ends well. That really is my biggest complaint about anything - they hook you and pull you along, then just drop you at the end. So far DD hasn't done this to me, but I'm always wary.

Book List #13

I read Milton's Teeth and Ovid's Umbrella: Curiouser and Curiouser Adventures in History by Michael Olmert. I actually finished it before I left Santa Fe, but I didn't have the time to blog about it. Basically it's the history of various things that we take for granted like playing cards and umbrellas. It was an ok book - some of the topics were interesting and some were not...there were some entries that had better info in the endnotes.

Back To Work

I start EA tomorrow. We're in a trailer in the Muddy Waters lot. They don't travel back until the 24th, so I'm not exactly sure what they'll have me do this week, but I'm grateful for the paycheck. I'm also grateful this job is so close to home. I rode my Vespa to the store this morning and I'm looking forward to commuting on it.

And Sped, the last post wasn't about you. I know you're working on it and I also know it's not easy. But I do appreciate it.

Stupid Cows and Lying Bastards

I hate people who don't do what they say they're going to do. I can't go into it more here, but believe me when I say there's a reason and it's a good one.

Home

I made it home about 3:30 yesterday afternoon. It was so nice to finally pull into the garage and just be home...

The drive from Santa Fe went fairly well. Because the furniture guys came early, I got to hit the road about 3:15. We made it to Flagstaff and I got checked into the hotel and got the cats and Hamilton unloaded, ate some dinner, and went to bed.

While getting ready to leave the hotel, I spent about 15 minutes rounding up cats - Darby being the easiest to catch as she walked up to me while I was sitting in front of the carriers. Quincy I scared from under the bed to under the desk where I was able to scoop him up. Baxter was more difficult. I ended up having to pick up the bed to get him to come out. He tried hiding behind the trash can in the bathroom, but I unhooked his claws from the carpeting and got him loaded, too. I did find a brand new issue of Hustler between the mattress and the box springs while I was shifting the bed. Makes you not want to think too hard about sleeping in a hotel bed.

Anyway, there were a lot of deer and elk crossing signs around Flagstaff and I do believe I saw the remnants of something of that nature trying to cross the road. There was a DOT service truck on the left shoulder, and I saw the biggest roadkill I'd ever seen in my life, along with a huge bloodstain. I'd hate to see the vehicle that got hit, considering the condition of the animal (I think elk by the size and color).

Anyway, I listened to an audio book for most of the trip - Fluke by Christopher Moore. It was pretty funny and the constant sound of a voice kept the kitties quiet most of the time.

Today I get to unpack the car and try to get the suitcases and boxes unpacked, too. That's always the hardest part for me, getting everything back into it's place. I have to stay focused, though, because when that's doen I'm going to do my spring cleaning and try and weed out at least 30% of the crap I own.

Yippee!!!

This is it, my last day in Santa Fe. I'm so happy to be going home that I woke up all thru the night, but couldn't go back to sleep after about 6:30am, even though I had my alarm set for 8. I'm washing my sheets and my last dirty clothes. I've gotten cash and a tank of gas. I'm about to take my cable stuff back and drop off the last of the Goodwill. I still need to find out about my microwave and gate cards, but those aren't a big deal. When the laundry's done, I can load up everything but the cats into the car. Then I'll play freecell until the furniture guys show up, when I'll drop my keys off and vamoose!

My next blog will be from home.

Bandelier

I made it to my final Santa Fe destination - Bandelier National Monument. It's a canyon surrounded by mesas that has been visited/occupied by humans for 10,000 years. I enjoyed the scenery, being on the canyon floor with a creek and all the greenery, but I have to say I prefer Mesa Verde for the cliff dwellings. The ones at Bandelier are mostly gone, so you only get a hint of what it must have been like. Still, seeing all the caves in the cliffs and knowing that a good portion of them were someone's home is surreal.

The geology around here is one of the most fascinating things. When you drive thru on the interstate, it looks like nothing but barren desert with the occasional tumbleweed. But if you get off that path and out into the country, you find almost-alien landscapes everywhere. I would love to know what it was like to be the first white man to find Slot Canyon or to look down into Frijoles Canyon at Bandelier - and then to try and explain to others what it was you'd found. Then again, with the West being new, maybe fantastic discoveries were the norm. Either way, it would truly suck to come up to one of those canyons in your covered wagon and have to find your way to the other side.

Packing

I got up early this morning to wait for the UPS guy. I had left my 2nd apaprtment key with the husband and realized on Saturday that I'll probably have to turn it in when I leave tomorrow. So he took it to UPS for delivery today. They're supposed to be here by 10:30am, so we'll see.

In the meantime, I decided to drag most of my stuff down to the car to see what would fit. I think I can get everything necessary in, but I won't be able to see very well out the back. And in the end, it's going to be a game of shoving stuff in wherever there's a space.

I won't be taking the cat tower or the litter boxes. Nor will I be able to take the sweet little table we got at the Abq flea market. Now that I think about it, I also probably won't be able to fit the little stick-vac, either. Oh well. Me and the kitties fit and that's what counts.

Santa Fe Train

When I got to the train station, they told me they were sold out. If I had known then what I knew now, I would have left immediately. Instead, I stopped to look at the postcards and was still there when someone new came in and said they had a few seats left.

Riding a train like that is really more of a social event. Since we were on the "hotshot" we only went to the Galisteo Basin overlook instead of all the way to Lamy. Turns out we went right thru town then down thru El Dorado, which is where AJ lives. I'd already seen that scenery.

I sat behind a woman who had 2 little girls with her (3 & 4) - her granddaughters or nieces or something. She kept telling the one to stop touching her mouth because of some germ she had in it. Then the conductor warned us that there was a potential for the windows to come down unexpectedly if we hit a rough patch - this nearly caused hysterics as the woman yelled at the younger one that she was going to get her hands and/or head chopped off if she didn't stay away from the window. At that point I got up and went to stand on the flat car (with railings). That was nice - until I realized I was going to have one helluva sun burn. I tried going back in, but the woman was by then yelling at one of the girls to move out of the sun coming in the window and when she didn't move fast enough, grabbed her and bodily moved her about 8 inches to the left. I went back out... I did spend the return trip inside the car, but on the opposite end and practically asleep - I know I dozed off for at least 20 minutes. Might have had something to do with the Corona.

So all-in-all, the train ride was a bit of a bust. Afterwards, I got some dinner on the plaza and wandered the shops, then went home and took a little nap. Now it's time for bed.

Tomorrow is Bandelier and more cleaning.

Pics of Tent Rocks

Tent Rocks

Fark the plan, I got up and went to Tent Rocks this morning. Beautiful! But the 5 miles of gravel road sure sucked.

Anyway, I left about 7 and got to the trailhead by 8. Decided to do the Canyon Trail, which is 1.5 miles in and out and goes thru Slot Canyon then up to the top of the mesa. I was the only person around and it was so quiet - really just amazing. You walk along the canyon floor and the sides go up above your head and there are trees growing out of the rock. The sky was blue and the sun was low enough that a lot of the trail was still in shade. Then the view from the top was 360 degrees. There was a hawk or something soaring above the canyon catching the thermals. They've had a fire, but not too recently - there were a lot of burned trees in fantastic shapes but a lot of green, too. The signs warned about rattlesnakes, but all I saw were birds, lizards, and a couple of chipmunks. I also saw jack rabbits, but that was on the gravel road on the way in...

When I went back down I passed a few people, but mostly I was alone. I hit the Cave Loop Trail at the junction and basically took the long way back. I'm so glad I went and I'm super-glad I went first thing in the morning!

Pics to be posted soon!

Last Days in Santa Fe

So I've made some plans for myself for my last days in town. Yesterday I killed time with K before she left, which meant having lunch, shopping on the plaza, buying pottery and shoes, and having gelato (man, that stuff's good!). I then went home and had dinner and watched Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be...

Today I got up and started the laundry and packed up all my clothes, books, and non-essentials. I also packed up everything that needed to go to Goodwill. Then I went to the aformentioned lunch. I came home, did more laundry, surfed the net, then loaded up the car and took the stuff to Goodwill. Then I got a mani-pedi with French tips on both fingers and toes.

Tomorrow I'm getting up early and going to Bandelier National Monument. They open at 8 and I plan on being the 1st one in - I heard it gets crowded. I don't think I'll be there more than an hour or so, but I'm leaving it open. I do want to try and catch the train ride at 2pm. It's the short route that goes to a scenic overlook, but it's a restored train and it might be fun.

Monday I was going to go to Tent Rocks, but I have to wait for a package and it may be too hot later in the day. Then again, sweating would be good for me. I suppose I could go to Tent Rocks tomorrow and the monument on Monday...

Tuesday will be spent washing the sheets and loading up the car. After the furniture is gone, I'll pack up the kitties and we'll be off. I think I'll drive at least as far as Gallup, maybe Flagstaff. I'm kind of glad I have some free time to get everything together and still do some sight-seeing, but now that it's so close, I want to go home.

(I brought Hamilton home with me on Friday and to keep him safe from the cats, I put him on top of the fridge. Didn't realize until today that it's cold up there. I went to feed him and he barely moved, much less went after the pellets. Now he's sitting on the shelf in the closet.)

Hypocrite

I met with B for lunch today. She spent quite a bit of time telling me about all the crew who agreed to do WH then jumped ship for one of the other shows coming into town. I couldn't help but think it's exactly what she wanted me to do.

But the Rueben and potato salad were very good.

So, What's Really In It?

The husband called me today to tell me Sofie will no longer be eating her regular brand of dog food. Of course, I immediately think he's heard some news report that it's been tainted or contains horse. No, he's just found a better brand for her - Old Yeller dog food.

I couldn't believe it, figured it had to be some kind of joke. But apparently it's for real and it's made by Disney. Some exec was even quoted as saying they didn't think there'd be a problem since most people wouldn't remember Old Yeller. Yeah, right. I've never seen the movie and I know what happened at the end.

So I just had to ask if you got a free cartridge in every bag. Or if Sofie, upon hearing the news, got so excited she foamed at the mouth. Or if there's a little message on the bag that says the food has nothing to do with what happened to the dog in the movie and that your dog won't need to be put down after eating it.

Why on earth would anyone think naming a dog food after a dog that gets rabies and has to be shot by its young owner is a good marketing ploy?

This Couldn't Have Happened Last Week?

I got a call from B this morning - her payroll person gave notice and she wanted me to come over and finish for her. I tried telling her no, that I had taken another gig, but she kind of brushed me off, saying I hadn't started yet and they'd understand. I told her I had to talk to the husband. I had no intention of backing out on EA, but as I told the husband I could offer to help B next week (only) since I was here anyway. He said not to, that B had never gone out of her way to help me. But I didn't want to burn any bridges so I ended up making the offer. We'll see what happens. When I asked my UG boss if she knew of available payroll people, she said she'd ask around. I casually mentioned B asking me to take over and having to say no because of the other gig and my boss commented that I shouldn't flake on EA, that B should understand because she wouldn't want me doing that to her. That pretty much crystalized it for me. I didn't realize until then that I was mad at B for asking me to go back on my word to EA.

Of course, that didn't stop me from colluding with my boss from Dupree - she sent an email to my EA boss, telling her she'd gotten me to jump ship for her new show, claiming not to know who I was bailing on... luckily they're very good friends. I don't know if the EA boss will fall for it, especially since we fooled her while on Dupree into believing I'd become a heavy drinker who couldn't do my job anymore...

Sad News

My boss told me today that Ralph's mom had to put him down on Saturday. We all knew it was just a matter of time - I could overhear her tell people the vet had said his brain just wasn't communicating with the lower part of his body anymore. I'm not sure if he took a turn for the worse or if she just decided not to let him suffer anymore. At least, as she said, he got to go home and he got to go to the beach one last time. That was his favorite.

When the husband came to visit the last time, he would spend time petting and scratching Ralph. We were all surprised by the noises Ralph was making, a kind of deep-in-the-chest grunt of pleasure. He really enjoyed the attention, that's for sure. And he liked having Sofie around, even if she was too scared to really play with him.

Ralph, you good dog.

Book List #12

I picked up the next Fremont Jones mystery Emperor Norton's Ghost while I was at home this weekend. Since my trip back to Abq was so time-consuming, I managed to read the whole thing. If I'd known, I'd have brought the one after that as well.

Baby Birds

The eggs in our hanging lantern hatched. I don't know how many chicks there are, if all 4 made it, but there seem to be at least 2. It's funny to watch and listen to them, because it's very quiet when mom and dad aren't around. Then one of them shows up, probably with food, and the little ones go nuts with all the chirping! As soon as the food is gone and the parent flies off, it's totally quiet again. I'd love to take another peek, but not if it's going to cause problems.

Huh?

This is an email conversation I had with a friend of mine who's a 1st assistant accountant. I had sent out a general email to a bunch of people to let them know I was looking for work.

>So you totally flaked out on the Accountant I'm working for now. LOL. How are you guys? Everything going well? I talked to PG. yesterday. RB

I wrote back to ask wtf he was talking about.

>I'm finishing up a show with DD (the email offer). She is heading to Portland to work on another show. She got your resume and said you wanted time off. Then she said you took another job. PG is being considered for the Portland job, if she wants it. RB

This is my response:

>Oh my god, I can't believe she said that. Here's what happened: I got this email late Wednesday night:

"I got your resume from my friend DA. I am a production accountant prepping a $20 mil feature to be shot on location, and am looking to hire a payroll person. Are you available to interview next week? The job would start July 10th for payroll, with non-affiliate benefits, airfare, housing and per diem. The rate is $xx00 plus vac/hol for 5 or 6 days (5 day shooting schedule). The BTL is not massive. Let me know if you are interested in getting together, DD."

I wrote back to her on Thursday morning and told her I was out of town until the 16th of June (on a show that is shutting down), that I needed to know where the location was, and that I had previous plans for the week of July 17th but that otherwise it sounded like a good offer. I never heard anything back until after I wrote to her today to let her know I had taken a show. She wrote back:

"Hi there. That's fine, the week off was problematic, DD."

Now, who sounds flaky? I tried to get more info from her and didn't hear jack. I can't wait around for someone and if she thinks I don't get more than one phone call at a time, she doesn't know anything about me. It's too bad because Portland would have been cool.

I haven't heard back from RB, but N had this to say:
"What a bitch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm totally putting her name on my list"

I'm right there with you N! No way will I work for this woman - calling ME flaky...

Job Hunt #2 - Over!

I got the call this morning from EA - I've got the job and I start sometime the week of June 19th. Should be a nice gig, since they only have 11 or 12 days of shooting on 1st unit when they get back to LA and then a couple of months of 2nd unit - which is all on stage with animals and trainers and a small crew. Plus I'm just down the street at Universal so I'll get to ride my Vespa to work everyday and only have a 15 minute commute.

I never did hear back from the acct who sent the email. Too late now.

Book List #11

I finished Fire and Fog and moved right into The Bohemian Murders. I realized why I like Dianne Day so much - her characters have the usual sorts of miscommunications and misunderstandings, but she doesn't drag them out. Fremont, the main character, is a very reasonable woman and usually confronts the issue at the first possible opportunity. Not like every sitcom made today. Damn, I hate watching the convolutions people go thru because they misheard a conversation or something. So even though I have other stuff to read, I'll probably plow thru these in short order.

EA - Who Needs 'Em?

I got an email today from an accountant I've never worked with before. She got my resume from a friend of hers, who I have worked with...

She's doing a $20 million show on location and needs someone to start July 10th. The rate is good, the benefits are good, and the timing is good. Now all I need to know is where the show is before I can say if I'm interested. Plus, I told her I needed to have July 19-23 off for Comic-Con. Well, I didn't actually say it was for Comic-Con, I just said I had previous plans.

We'll see.

And EA better get off their bums if they think I'm doing the show without even being made an offer.