Pre-Birthday

I know I haven't posted in a while but I blame the relative lack of drama on this show - everyone working on it is basically nice and decent and normal. The only thing that has happened that was even the slightest bit exciting was the director getting sick and hallucinating last Friday. We wrapped early, he got sent home, and that was that. No one needs a helicopter to fly their clothes around, no one is taking home a fresh pair of cashmere socks every day, no one is demanding to make more money ('cause $9 million isn't enough). It's kind of nice to make my regular salary and not have to deal with all the crap. But I do miss the hoopla at times - it makes for good posts.

Now that the actors aren't going to strike, it'll probably pick up a bit. I'm hoping to be off until mid-April but I'm willing to haggle if the right project comes along.

The husband took me out today for my birthday. We went to an estate sale that was totally over-hyped and over-priced. Then we stopped by a used book store so he could use his credit. Then off to the mall in Arcadia for some shopping, where I picked up some makeup at Sephora and a calendar at Borders. We had lunch and played some games at Dave and Buster's (I now have 2000 points to buy some crap but I'm saving them up for something really good). We came home and got the Sof and went to the dog park, but since it's 85 degrees out it was too hot for all of us. Sofie was either standing in the puddle of water or lying in her dad's shade so we came home. Now I'm going to nap and the day will be complete!

Beautiful

The husband sent me flowers. No, he didn't do anything wrong. I was having a bad day and he thought I needed them. He's a keeper.

Resolutions

I'm not that big on making resolutions - too much pressure. But this year I've decided on a few that I think will make a difference but not be too hard to accomplish.

#1 - I resolve to give up all carbonated beverages. I'm going to stick to water and decaf tea, with the occasional bit of alcohol or fancy coffee drink.

#2 - I'm only going to eat dark chocolate. If someone makes something with milk chocolate, I'll have a bite, but if it comes down to store-bought with milk, not for me.

#3 - I'm going to continue to have ice cream every night, but only 1 scoop. Maybe I'll buy some of those tiny cups (demitasse?) to serve it in...

Aloha (Possible)

I got a lead yesterday on a show going to Hawaii in March. It's episodic TV so I'm not sure how interested I am, but the thought of Hawaii for 5-6 months is very tempting.

Social Networking

Ok, the cat walkway is done. I went to the hardware store this morning and got some metal braces that force the planks to come together evenly. I may get some nice trim for the front edge, but really all I need to do is paint the brackets to match the walls and then maybe paint the top of the planks a bright color so the cats can see it better. I think right now it just blends in and they are wary. It's not the best job, but it's not terrible. We'll leave it up and see if it gets any use besides when the husband or I force a cat onto it.

I don't have a MySpace account or a Facebook account and I've never really wanted one. I'm crap at keeping in touch with people and didn't really want the added pressure. Or is it a cop-out? Can I justify not talking/writing to people by simply updating a page? Is that what society has become? I'm not complaining, I'm just not up on all of it. So this weekend I set Sofie up with a Facebook account so I could check it out. I've done a bit of surfing and it all seems kind of fun and interesting, but not very personal. I think I should just do better at writing letters or calling.

Oh, the reason I was messing around with the Facebook: my uncle set up a site for the extended family so we can all connect and chat. It's a great idea and I'm kind of hoping to find some relatives out in my part of the country.

OK, now I have to start packing the decorations. I took down the ones outside (and was complimented on them by the neighbor). Got to get the rest of them going.

Shoddy

I've been putting up the cat walkway and sometimes I just don't know why I bother. The walls aren't even or straight so the planks are all wonky. Darby's already nearly plummeted to the floor and it's not even done. I have to saw about 4 inches off the last plank before I can put it up.

I have such high hopes for my projects, remembering what I used to be able to accomplish. Maybe I don't have the patience or the tools, or maybe I'm just not that good anymore. What's happened to me?

I was never sure what I wanted to do with my life, but I'm pretty sure this wasn't it.

2009

I'm sitting on the couch with a Food Network Cake Challenge on in the background. I really enjoy the challenges and would like to try my hand at some of the fantastic designs. Maybe I should take a class or something...

Anyway, I finally got the rest of the living room painted. It looks nice and I realized it's the first time I've managed to paint an entire room in any place I've ever lived. It's rainy and cold so I can't stain the media center and I do still have to paint the trim by the staircase, but that's going to be a different color so it doesn't count.

I'm also getting the cat walkway planks painted and plan on installing them tomorrow. There will be a 6 inch wide walkway 7 feet up stretching from the stairs to the cat tower (about 15'). I think the kitties will love it.

We were thinking about going over to Pasadena to see the Rose Parade floats but if it's as cold and rainy as it's supposed to be, then probably not. I tried to watch the parade on tv by the inane chatter of the hosts drove me nuts and I turned the channel.

So, we'll be shooting until Feb 10th in LA then in NY until Feb 21st. I won't be going to NY but I will probably have to continue paying the crew that travels from LA. I'm looking forward to this thing being over - as usual.

Antique Roadshow is on now - it's the highlight show and everybody's making a tonb of money off the old stuff they've brought in. I wonder how many people sell their item as soon as they find out the value? Not something they talk about, I guess.

I guess it's about time to start taking down the Xmas decorations. Isn't that just about the saddest part of the holidays? The weather has turned cold and rainy and the leaves are finally falling and now the sparkles and baubles have to be packed up and put back in the closet. Such a pain in the ass.

Ok, I'm pretty much done with this update. Not much is really going on. I'm not going to talk about the state of the world since I have trouble putting feelings into words. Suffice to say that although I'm doing ok, I feel like the world is still on a downward spiral. It will end and it will get better. It always does.

Happy Christmas!

Well, the husband and I had a very nice, mellow holiday this year. We did the traditional British Christmas, with crackers and ghost stories. I really didn't realize that ghost stories are a British tradition on Christmas, but they are. Consider "A Christmas Carol" by Dickens - totally a ghost story. And just this morning I realized there's a carol that has the line "there'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmas' long long ago". So that had to come from somewhere, right? I'd never thought about it before. Anyway, it was nice.

It did rain, so we couldn't take Sofie to the park but she seemed ok curled up on the couch with her pack. I did manage to take her over there today but it's windy and cold and we didn't stay as long as she would have liked. But then we never do.

I'll have to post pics of our gifts, since we only did a small exchange. I got a jewelry box, the husband got an Alex Ross print of Captain Marvel, and the family got a Halloween Cat and a new Dept 56 building.

Anyway, I've got off until Monday and I'm hoping to get the rest of the living room painted. I packed up all the dvd's and video tapes and moved the shelving away from the wall. I have to defrost the paint brushes and we're all set.

Star Sighting

I went to set today to hand out paychecks and got to chat with Kelsey Grammer. One of the hair stylists was reading a book and hula-hooping and we decided it was a bit showy and made the rest of us look bad. KG seems like a very nice guy - nicer then a lot of the stars I've met.

Other than that the show is going well. The crew is well-behaved and the shooting is still on time. We go on a 2 week hiatus starting next week and even though I still have to work a few days to pay for this week, I should get some extra time off and I'm looking forward to it.

Sofie's still coming to work a couple of days a week and people ask after her when she not there. They want me to bring her to set but we've been at a school for 2 weeks and I don't think they'd appreciate it. I'm going to get her a Santa suit for the Christmas party tomorrow - I'm sure she'll be a hit.

Shoot Day 1

We started shooting today and the DP is trying to renegotiate his contract. What a bastard. He waits until the 1st day of shooting, when he has us over a barrel, to comment that he wants overtime and meal penalties on top of his $8k per week.

Frankly, he's one of the lowest paid DP's I've ever worked with so I'd already asked the question about meal penalties - just figured he'd want them to supplement his income. The answer was an unequivocal "no way!" I guess someone should have asked him first... We've wasted a lot of time trying to deal with the whole thing and the worst part is he's so small-time, he doesn't even know what he IS entitled to get under the union contract.

Another lovely bit of news - we may be shooting over Christmas instead of taking a 2 week hiatus. They'd probably give off the 25th and 26th, and Jan 1st, but work the rest of the time. I hope people haven't booked plane tickets yet. Not that it really matters to me. I was going to have to work anyway. The burden of payroll...

Sad

My Uncle Mark died after a car accident on Monday night. My cousin was driving him and my Aunt Pat to a basketball game when they got t-boned on an icy road. A passenger in the other car was ejected and died at the scene. My cousin is fine, my aunt has 2 broken legs and minor whiplash.

The whole thing just totally sucks but my aunt won't be able to make it to my uncle's funeral and that makes me saddest.

Correction

When I said the easternmost point, I meant in the contiguous US. If I ever make it to Alaska I'll be sure to note the difference!

Even so, you can't drive to Semisopochnoi Island and it doesn't have a lighthouse.

Red Stripes

Ok, some car company (I think) has an ad going where these guys drive out to the easternmost point in the US on December 31st in order to be the first to watch the New Year arrive. They do not indicate where that point is, only that they go every year...

If you've been reading this blog, you know I have been to that point, and it's near Lubec Maine - West Quoddy Lighthouse to be precise. It's an easy Google search to suss this fact out. As a matter of fact, there's a picture on the internet of the West Quoddy Lighthouse in all its easternmost glory. I take great pride in the fact I've been there and I think the people who have made the trek probably feel the same.

So what bugs me, to the point I don't recall what product the commercial is trying to sell me, is that the West Quoddy Lighthouse has vivid red and white horizontal stripes and the one in the commercial DOES NOT! How hard would it have been for these people to look up on the internet and say "well, the real one is striped, maybe we ought to do some post production work and give ours stripes, too?" I mean, really... it's just sad and lazy for them to not do some homework.

The husband thinks I'm a loon for caring, since Jack Bauer drives across LA county in 20 minutes on 24 when the reality is more like 2+ hours and other shows/movies make changes that only locals would know about. But these people are touting the fact that their product can get to a specific point on Dec 31st for an important, emotionally charged moment, then they don't even get the most basic details right. I just can't trust someone who can't look up a lighthouse in Wiki. How do I even know they knew there's a lighthouse there? For all I know they just used one because it looked pretty or some such bullshit.

It makes me crazy.

Been Sick

I went home sick on Thursday and spent most of the weekend in bed sleeping. I feel better but I had to come into work today and catch up on the payroll since it's a short week with the holiday. I've gotten done what I have to do at the office and now I'm going to take the rest home with me. I shall sit on the couch with Sofie and the kitties and process timecards until I'm done or until I'm wiped out, whichever happens first.

Be nice to your payroll person.

Ocean Of Feathers

When the husband went out to get the mail on Tuesday, he said he opened the patio door and there was an ocean of feathers in the walkway. He looked to the left and there was a hawk with a destroyed pigeon in its beak. He said it looked at him and flew away with the pigeon.

I noticed the feathers and blood stains when I took Sofie out for her walk. I kind of thought maybe a bird had hit a window and crashed. It didn't really explain all the blood, but I would never have guessed a hawk/pigeon battle.

Probably not much of a battle.

And kind of awkward coming after the preggers post.

BIG NEWS!

DEBBY IS PREGNANT!!!

She's due April 5th, 2009 and is having a girl.

They haven't settled on a name yet.

Whew, I feel better.

Tuesday

I have something I want to blog about but I can't spill the beans. If a certain person is reading this, please let me know if it's ok or not. I'm dying over here!

Anyways, I share my current office with the 1st (R) and the clerk (S). S got R to sign up for Facebook and she's trying to get me to join. I've always been against having a Facebook or MySpace account, mostly because I'm 37 and it seems like something for the younger generation. But after listening to them talk about it I'm kind of intrigued. Not that I really want to connect with random people from high school, but because there are a couple of people I want to find. But I'm not sure it's the right thing for me and the whole debate seems a bit stupid.

Sofie went in and had a bath today. She really needed it after rolling around in the fertilizer that's been spread on several lawns in the neighborhood. Man that stuff is nasty, but it does grow the grass. She'll be coming in to work tomorrow. M actually came in yesterday and said "there's nothing good about today that wouldn't be better with Sofie here." The husband doesn't believe me but it's true. There's something about having a dog in the office that makes everybody smile.

Sunday

The fires aren't really near us, but the smoke is affecting the whole valley to the point we didn't take Sofie to the dog park today. The air quality is just bad enough to be uncomfortable and having her running around in it probably wasn't a good idea.

I did go out to a Clean House yard sale. They've started listing them on their website and it shows. There was a crowd of people waiting to get in and once you did, you could barely turn around. If I go to anymore I'll wait and go later in the day. It's not like they had anything I wanted anyway. I've got a pretty specific list of stuff that I want and I don't see the point in wasting money on stop-gap stuff.

How cool is it that Obama is going on YouTube? I finally got a chance to watch his address and I really feel like it's an opportunity to bring the country together in a new way. I know Presidents have always done radio addresses, but I couldn't tell you one person I know of who's ever listened to one. I just hope he uses them for more than just flag-waving and dishing out the party line.

The only other thing I managed today was painting another portion of the living room before I ran out of paint. All that's left is the wall right behind the tv and dvd's, which will have to be packed up and moved before I can paint there. I'm debating staining the shelving before putting it back up. It would look less college-dorm if I did. Either way, I need more paint before anything else.

Updates

Well, I went with dying and cutting. My hair is short again, at least in the back. I've gotten a lot of compliments on how cute it is and I do like it better short than long. It was a nice experiment and I'm glad I tried it, but short is it for me. As for the color, it's going to take a bit of work to make that happen and still look good and there wasn't enough warning on Saturday for D to do it. I'm going to continue thinking about that and we'll see what I decide in 6 weeks.

Other than that I got another wall in the living room painted and the cat window perches put up. I did screw up the paint already by putting the tension curtain rod back in. When I went to adjust it it peeled the paint off. I'm going to have to take it down, fix the spots, then wait for it to get really dry before I put the rod back in.

Work is damn boring. We probably have 75 people on the crew and about 20 of them are being paid by the construction accountant. The dancers are only rehearsing so they aren't that hard to pay, even though there are 20 of them. Basically I sit in front of my computer surfing and watching Heroes (still). It's blatant but no one cares. It's not like they're all that busy either.

I did tell the 1st asst that I was burned out and wanted to quit, but I'm not going to. With the economy like it is and all the stuff I want to do/buy, it'd be stupid. I'll try and take some time off when this one is done. I was hoping to have 2 weeks at Christmas but now it seems people will be working and everyone else has plans so I have to cover. Eh, not like that's anything new...

Hair Choice

Tomorrow I'm going to get my hair done. The plan is to get the roots touched up and maybe a trim but I'm seriously considering getting it all chopped off and going back to my natural color. I just don't look good with long hair and the color upkeep is too expensive - there are other things I'd rather be spending that money on... I'm also kind of interested to see how gray I am under all that dye.

In other news, not much going on here in CA. The husband and I are thinking about going away for Thanksgiving but our first choice is booked. We may end up going to our standby up in Big Bear but we haven't decided.

Tonight we have a birthday bowling party to go to for the guy who owns the comic shop/frame shop we frequent. I'm hoping they have an arcade since I can't bowl that much.