Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Book List

I finally got my book list consolidated onto my other blog. Check out the link on the right if you care to know what I've been reading. I'm a bit behind on posting - haven't put anything down since I got back from Phx. I'll catch it up this week if the husband helps me.

Monday, July 16, 2007

What Mess?


Kwik-E-Mart

The 7-11 down the street from the husband's comic shop is a Kwik-E-Mart. I need to go by there tomorrow night on my way home.

Wednesday is "Ride Your Scooter To Work Day." I really want to, but that's the day I bring Sofie to work. There's no way I can take her on the Plum. Now, if I had a side car I'd totally strap her into it but otherwise there's no way. And don't think I haven't thought about it. If she was smaller I could put her into one of those chest packs but at 23 lbs it's not going to happen. What if she freaked out?

Messages

When I came in to work yesterday, there were 4 messages on my desk. I knew about one of them from Friday but the other 3 were new. My favorite was from the stills photographer. He had called Friday morning to ask about changing his dependents on his W4 (they were taking too much in taxes) but if it was going to be a lot of paperwork then he wasn't going to bother. Since I was there, I sent him a note and a new W4 so he could take care of it. Well, he had decided not to make the change and he called back wanting to know what to do with the form I had sent. Um, throw it away?

The other notes were about how the holiday got paid and another W4 change. I've called everyone back and dealt with all but one. We'll see how that goes because this particular crew member is not the brightest bulb.

One nice thing about working on Sunday is no one calls in and no one expects you to call them back. It's a slow, quiet day when you can get a lot done.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Sad Puppy

Almost forgot. The husband called to tell me Sofie seemed depressed today. Seemed she wanted to come to work with me. Who wouldn't with all the attention she was getting?

I Have A Question About The Holiday...

Just got back from set where I made a lot of people very happy and confused some who didn't understand how the holiday got paid. We worked overnight into the 4th of July and I had to pay double time for every hour that was past midnight. Sounds simple. Now, I've been doing this job for almost 10 years and this may be the 2nd or 3rd time I've had to do this. It's not hard, just different. And considering most of the crew doesn't understand how to pay a regular week, there's no way I'm going to be able to explain this holiday pay.

So I just start talking and use contract language and basically make them think I must know what I'm doing because I sound like I know what I'm doing. It's not that I'm trying to sucker them. I just know they're not going to be able to wrap their heads around it without visual aids and 10 or 15 minutes. I don't have that kind of time or energy...

Costume Drama

On Sunday, I got 2 box rental invoices from one of our costumers. One was for the current week and one was dated from back in May. I looked up her account and noted the May invoice had already been paid, so I marked it as such and handed it over to the 2nd who pays the invoices. He put a note on it to ask her why she had submitted it (in case she had lost the check or something and didn't think it had been paid) and sent it back to her.

She called me on Tuesday to ask about it and I told her she had sent 2 invoices. She started talking about working late on Friday into Saturday morning and not remembering doing that. That was pretty much it.

This morning, she called again to make sure I had an invoice for the current week because she didn't remember making 2 copies Saturday morning after working all night Friday... I told her I did get 2 copies, that one was for the current week and the other was from May and then I told her if she hadn't submitted an invoice for the current week, we would have told her. She said she knew that, then started talking about the invoice we sent back to her and how it had a big "paid" stamped on it and how the note attached was offensive. I cut her off and told her the 2nd sent the note and would she like to talk to him? Not waiting for an answer I put her on hold and went and got him.

He got on the phone and she just started rambling about the box rental and some store credit and getting questioned about stuff and how she's not a thief and she thinks we treat her like a thief and on and on. He stood there, barely saying anything, occasionally holding the phone away from his ear, waiting for her to stop talking. Finally she ran out of steam and he hung up. Wow.

So now we have to take all of our costume questions to the acct who will take them to the production superviser who will take them to costumes. We're not allowed to deal with them directly about anything that may be considered accusing or confrontational.

But really, if someone says "I'm not a thief" doesn't that make you suspicious? Nixon anyone?

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Sof @ Work

Sofie is in the office again today and I think she's addicted.

Monday, July 09, 2007

Manicure

Our female lead got acrylic nails and of course we had to pay for them. She went to this guy who is described on various websites as "nail guru to the stars", "world championship team member", "a clear-cut virtuoso of nail design", an "industry icon", and a "nail industry luminary".

Normally he charges $1000, but since they are friends he only charged us $500. Wait, what? $1000 for a manicure? He'd better be using polish with crushed diamonds in it.

In the end they got it down to $250, but she has to have a fill done halfway thru and that'll be another $250.

I don't like paying more than $30 for a mani-pedi...

Hawaii Job

Experienced Payroll Accountant needed - Hawaii

Experienced Series Payroll Acct needed in Honolulu on July 30 for approx 6-7 months. Good Salary, Non-Affiliate Benefits, Good Housing Allowance & Per Diem. We need a top-notch person who can work with Vista & Show-Biz Timecards.

If it wasn't starting 7/30, I would be really interested in this. It may be for Lost, but I think there are other shows shooting there this season, too. Eh, I didn't want to travel again this year anyway...

Cupcakes

On Saturday I went over to Yummy Cupcakes http://www.yummycupcakes.com/ and picked up a couple for myself and the husband. I love their cupcakes. I'm not sure if they're better than Sprinkles, but Sprinkles is over the hill and therefore too far away so YC wins by default.

The only time I had a Sprinkles cupcake was during YM&D when the costume dept got some at Christmas. I had a chocolate peppermint one that was so good I still remember it. But really, who has time to go over the hill unless there's a PA available to send?

So YC it is. At least there wasn't a line out the door this time.

Friday, July 06, 2007

A Gift From Sam

I'm pretty sure SLJ is getting the crew a gift of some sort. His assistant has called twice now to confirm the number of people on the crew and the number of actors. The only reason she'd need to know that is to order giftages... I hope it's something nice.

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Done Dog Day

Sof and I are about to pack it in. She's had a long and full day of getting scratched and laying around. Not to mention the solo forays down the hall to visit people in other offices and other shows. She's been quite the hit and I'm glad I brought her in.

I realized I don't have much to blog about on this show because no one is doing anything crazy. There's no drama to relate. It's very nice and I hope it lasts...

I do hope they get the A/C fixed soon. I'll be bringing in the fan tomorrow since I won't be weighed down with dog supplies. I don't have a lot of real work to do but I'm hoping to get a start on stuff for next week and go to set at call so it's not so friggin' late when I get home. That totally sucked last week getting home after midnight. So we'll see what I can do when I don't have to keep an eye on the pup.

Sofie At Work

I brought Sofie into the office today because I was pretty much done on Tuesday. She's kind of bored now, just lying on the floor behind M, but it's been a good day for her. Everybody up and down the hall, even from other shows, thinks she's just adorable. She's had her butt scratched so many times you'd think it'd fall off.

Andrew's mom in Transpo gave her some treats and Sofie stops by that office every time we pass hoping for more. I'm going to need to stop by the store and get some since she likes them so much.

I do wish she was a bit more shy. She tends to get up and wander off by herself and then I have to track her down. But I think she likes it here.

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Day Off!

I am outta here for the holiday. We all have tomorrow off and since I have to work Friday to pay everybody, I get a 6th day. The A/C doesn't work very well in this building but it's supposed to be fixed on Thursday. I need to try and remember to bring in a fan or something.

Happy 4th of July!

Bring Sofie

Husband, bring Sofie down to the office. Andrew the Transpo dog is here today...

One Of Us

Sped, if you decide to get a Vespa let me come shopping with you. They are the best! I love mine and don't know why I don't ride it more often. Of course, I won't take it on the freeway since the top speed is only 60, but there are plenty of surface streets in LA! I do know it can get kind of hot in the summer because I also won't ride without a jacket. I know it's not much protection, but it's better than bare skin in case I wipe out. And there's helmet hair... but I really do love it. And your commute is so close it would be perfect for you. Ooh, I'm so excited for you.

Monday, July 02, 2007

Rare Monday Free Time

It's supposed to get over 100 this week. Our corner office facing the afternoon sun is a sauna. I hate being all sweaty/sticky at work. Sitting on a Pilates ball ain't helping.

It seems this show may turn out to be fairly nice after all. The crew is small enough that if I can get everyone to turn in their paperwork by Sunday I can get thru it all on Sunday. The problem lies in the cards that come in on Monday (and Tuesday and Wednesday...) When I get late stuff it throws everything off and I never seem to catch up. Most of today has been pretty stress-free. Of course, I have a small stack of cards that are waiting for resolutions so tomorrow will be hectic with the adjustments. But still, nothing like last week.

The auditor is here and I'm hoping to get thru my paperwork sooner rather than later. I came in early this morning and got the filing caught up, so it should be good. I'm hoping to have as good a reputation with Sony as I do with Universal. Makes the job hunting easier. Actually, my friend A just sent me an IM to see if I was interested in something. No details yet but it would start right after this one. I thought I'd take some time off, at least a week, but if the offer is good...

Margarita

I don't know if I posted this recipe from the day we started drinking at work at noon...

6 oz Corona
6 oz (1/2 can) frozen limeade
8 oz tequila

Throw it all in a blender, add ice and away you go!

courtesy of Stevie L (my boss from Used Guys)

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Another Working Sunday

I just finished going thru all of the start paperwork. There's a couple dozen, not too bad. My stack of timecards isn't too thick and I hope it's as clean as last week. We've got Wednesday off since the 4th of July is a union holiday and payday won't be until Friday. I get Wednesday and Saturday off and get paid for a 6th day on Friday. Nice.

I rode the Plum into work this morning. It definitely takes longer going surface streets, but I tried Riverside today and it's the fastest route. I'll have to see how it is during the week with traffic. It's a nice enough ride but still not the same as just cruising around.

I have to find my shuffle. Lost again... I'm streaming the local pop station which will be annoying once they start repeating. But it's better than silence.

Alright, enough timed killed - have to get back to work.