So Friday I was called in to work on a Groupon commercial that I had booked on my own through Actors Access. The rate was better than most of the work I get. Even better, the call time was 5pm, which meant I got to go out to Afrofunke the night before, which was good because I had promised to show the club to some new friends of mine.
Around 2:30pm I got a call from a PA asking me to come in at 4pm instead of 5pm, which suited me just fine because I had done my walk and would really just be killing time from then on. I got to the parking lot around 3:30 and was told by a very friendly guard where to park and which van to get in. I find that most entry gate guards are extremely friendly. I don't know if it is because they have a shaded structure to hang out in or because they know that any person coming in could be of a high level of importance, but I enjoy the healthy smiles I receive.
The wait in the van was a while since people were trickling in and by the time we got to set and hung out for a while, it was clear not everybody had received the 4pm message.
Around 5:30 they asked me and one other extra to step inside the cafe where they were shooting. It was interesting to work with this size and level of crew because you could tell that most of them had not been through the corporate (movie) ringer. The communication wasn't as precise and the AD was having trouble faking nice after what was a long work day for them. Regardless, I was in and out of the first shot and then after a quick break in and out of the 2nd shot and then sent home by 6:30. Talk about quick money!
These are the times that you have to remember when you are stuck on a crappy minimum wage day. It does all balance out.
After the shoot I went to my friends house for movie night. The theme was Space Balls and trust me, there were balls everywhere...
I spent the weekend either at home or at the beach. I really wanted a couple days of no booze and no caffeine with lots of rest. It was actually pretty enjoyable, especially because I discovered Game of Thrones, a great HBO show set in medieval times.
Tonight I'm going to see an independant film at USC that my friend invited me to. I don't know much about it, so hopefully it will be good.
be well,
Chris
UPDATE:
Apparently I forgot to post this, so here it is now. Since then, I have been the the movie; Bellflower. It was really good for the resources they had, which is kind of like saying, you're really pretty, but who does your make-up? Seriously though, I don't know any professional who could make a movie for $15,000 and do any better.
Today I had an audition for Steel Abs, an ab machine. I actually really liked the machine, so the audition was easy. Maybe they will give me one if I book the part!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
instablog - Entourage
So I tried blogging from holding yesterday, but it didn't work out on my phone, so this isn't exactly instant, but at least I'm blogging faster than I was.
I worked on Entourage yesterday as Male Bank Personnel, which wasn't really a role since they just grouped everybody together. I think sometimes they give names to the extras just so they can tell how many they will need and then they just pick and choose who goes where once you get there.
My arrival on set was an hour and 45 minutes early. The 45 minutes because I gave myself plenty of time to get there and the hour because I made the rookie mistake of not calling in to check for updated call times. So I ended up getting pretty far in my magazine before anyone else got there. I also got the pleasure of watching the Latina security guard be amused at the various noises that were coming out of her phone.
Eventually other people came and the PAs showed up and we got checked in. I had brought a variety of clothes, as usual and of course got approved in what I was wearing. Then back to some waiting and internal debating as to whether I should put my stuff back in my car. Next we were shipped via van to the holding next to the set, which was an emptied out store front that had dealt in some sort of fat loss system. It was empty and cold. We grabbed folding chairs and sat down. I had left my bag behind, which seemed like a mistake now because there was plenty of room there and I only had half a battery left on my phone, which was to be my only entertainment unless someone interesting to talk to came along. I was also thirsty, but craft services was way across the street, past the bank we were shooting in, and nobody had said anything about being able to grab stuff. It's funny how the dynamics of 5 versus 50 extras on set can effect ones comfort level with set etiquette. Generally with not that many extras I tend to feel like what is there's (the cast/crew) is mine and I either ask or grab when it feels like it is fine. With a large amount of co-extras though I feel like someone is always managing us more and that they will tell us what to do and my role is to just sit there and wait. Of course every set is different, no matter how many people are there, so you always have to feel out the situation. That is one of the things I like most about background work, everything is always new. Sure, it often sucks, but even when it sucks I feel like I'm earning my living.
Not too long later we were asked to line up outside of the bank. I got picked out to walk into the bank and stand at the ATM for what would turn out to be a very long time on each take. Apparently my character wasn't good with technology or caring about the line forming behind him. While waiting to shoot a man told me I looked like, "the football player from Glee", which was not a reference I understood. I told him I appreciated the reference because I'm still trying to figure out how I should package myself as an actor and knowing who I looked like helps me decide what sort of roles to go for. He then told me I looked like 3 other actors. I don't think he understood my point.
Everything else that happened on set that day is either confidential or not particularly interesting. It was actually a very short shoot day and super easy. It is kind of funny, this is the 2nd time now that the shortest shoot day for me has been extended by my showing up earlier than I needed to be. I guess my subconscious has a work ethic.
In other news, I tried out this theta wave audio meditation the last couple of days. You put on head phones and music and noises play that are supposed to increase the theta waves in your brain. There is a guided meditation one and then just the waves playing on the other. I liked the guided one since it gave me something to do, but I couldn't sit (lay) through the just waves one because it put me in that state of mind where you are trying to fall asleep, but can't so you bounce around all restless. I may use it to actually go to sleep in the future if I can figure out how to keep the head phones from bothering me. I've been tossing and turning quite a bit at night lately, spending a lot of time in light sleep mode and not as much in deep sleep mode. Possible theories as to why include over thinking, too much sleep, too little sleep and excessive eating of otter pops.
So hey, that was a pretty good update turn around. Hope you enjoyed. Tonight I may go to Afrofunke with some new friends. Tomorrow I'm supposed to be in a groupon.com commercial, but I still haven't heard the details on that. I hope everyone is well!
Love,
Chris
I worked on Entourage yesterday as Male Bank Personnel, which wasn't really a role since they just grouped everybody together. I think sometimes they give names to the extras just so they can tell how many they will need and then they just pick and choose who goes where once you get there.
My arrival on set was an hour and 45 minutes early. The 45 minutes because I gave myself plenty of time to get there and the hour because I made the rookie mistake of not calling in to check for updated call times. So I ended up getting pretty far in my magazine before anyone else got there. I also got the pleasure of watching the Latina security guard be amused at the various noises that were coming out of her phone.
Eventually other people came and the PAs showed up and we got checked in. I had brought a variety of clothes, as usual and of course got approved in what I was wearing. Then back to some waiting and internal debating as to whether I should put my stuff back in my car. Next we were shipped via van to the holding next to the set, which was an emptied out store front that had dealt in some sort of fat loss system. It was empty and cold. We grabbed folding chairs and sat down. I had left my bag behind, which seemed like a mistake now because there was plenty of room there and I only had half a battery left on my phone, which was to be my only entertainment unless someone interesting to talk to came along. I was also thirsty, but craft services was way across the street, past the bank we were shooting in, and nobody had said anything about being able to grab stuff. It's funny how the dynamics of 5 versus 50 extras on set can effect ones comfort level with set etiquette. Generally with not that many extras I tend to feel like what is there's (the cast/crew) is mine and I either ask or grab when it feels like it is fine. With a large amount of co-extras though I feel like someone is always managing us more and that they will tell us what to do and my role is to just sit there and wait. Of course every set is different, no matter how many people are there, so you always have to feel out the situation. That is one of the things I like most about background work, everything is always new. Sure, it often sucks, but even when it sucks I feel like I'm earning my living.
Not too long later we were asked to line up outside of the bank. I got picked out to walk into the bank and stand at the ATM for what would turn out to be a very long time on each take. Apparently my character wasn't good with technology or caring about the line forming behind him. While waiting to shoot a man told me I looked like, "the football player from Glee", which was not a reference I understood. I told him I appreciated the reference because I'm still trying to figure out how I should package myself as an actor and knowing who I looked like helps me decide what sort of roles to go for. He then told me I looked like 3 other actors. I don't think he understood my point.
Everything else that happened on set that day is either confidential or not particularly interesting. It was actually a very short shoot day and super easy. It is kind of funny, this is the 2nd time now that the shortest shoot day for me has been extended by my showing up earlier than I needed to be. I guess my subconscious has a work ethic.
In other news, I tried out this theta wave audio meditation the last couple of days. You put on head phones and music and noises play that are supposed to increase the theta waves in your brain. There is a guided meditation one and then just the waves playing on the other. I liked the guided one since it gave me something to do, but I couldn't sit (lay) through the just waves one because it put me in that state of mind where you are trying to fall asleep, but can't so you bounce around all restless. I may use it to actually go to sleep in the future if I can figure out how to keep the head phones from bothering me. I've been tossing and turning quite a bit at night lately, spending a lot of time in light sleep mode and not as much in deep sleep mode. Possible theories as to why include over thinking, too much sleep, too little sleep and excessive eating of otter pops.
So hey, that was a pretty good update turn around. Hope you enjoyed. Tonight I may go to Afrofunke with some new friends. Tomorrow I'm supposed to be in a groupon.com commercial, but I still haven't heard the details on that. I hope everyone is well!
Love,
Chris
Monday, June 20, 2011
In Summary
Hello all!!!
So sorry I have fallen behind again before even having a chance to catch up. I think the best thing at this point is just to summarize what I have been up to over the passing weeks. Luckily for me, I have a very cute kitten calendar that I can use as a reference for this.
The Wednesday after my return from Lightning in a Bottle, I worked on The Closer. The summary is: Long wait, good crafty, kept to myself, short scene, done. The embarrassing extra moment: Laughing at the Priests suggestive name and texting while filming.
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday I worked as a stand in for a movie called The Surrogate. It has John Hawkes, Alan Arkin (both of whom I stood in for) and Helen Hunt in it. I highly recommend seeing it when it comes out since it is a touching story and should be really good. Also, they invited me to their cast party. Summary: First time standing in, lots of laying in bed, to joke or not to joke, bossy pants, too much crafty, long wait, gracious thank you, 3 day infatuation. Summary of the cast party: Nervous, too much time to think, drank a little too much, didn't feel like myself, free T-shirt and photo.
My next gig was working on something called The Christmas Pageant for the Hallmark channel. It was kind of surreal because it takes place in a small town that could have been Middleburgh, NY (my home town) if you just switched a few signs. Summary: Winter clothes, too many lte's (Long Term Extras), ate too much, thought they were good actors; turns out they were religious, longer night than anticipated.
After that, the work dried up for a while. It is the slow season, so no big surprise that there wasn't much work, but I was surprised to get none at all for so long. I kept busy though and actually probably needed the break since I'd been going pretty hard up until that point.
That weekend I went to my very first every pool party in LA. It was one of the things I was looking forward to the most after moving out here. I won't say I was disappointed, I had a ton of fun, but I was surprised by how uncrowded it was. Apparently they are a dime a dozen out here. Summary: Bikinis, pirates, dancing, friends, post party hot tub, Buffy.
The next day I sat in with my friend Josh for his casting of the untitled sketch comedy show he is producing and I'm helping to write. It was fascinating being on that side of the audition table and I was really impressed with all the talent that came in. Summary: Back bends, off-color jokes, ice cream, skinny Australians, stargates, hilarity.
The next day, Tuesday now, was my friend's viewing party. She had been on the game show Lingo and her episode was to air that night, so she had friends over. What she didn't tell me was that she was working on a character that had an Australian accent, so I spent much of the evening trying to figure out when her accent sounded different and if I had just missed it all along. The show itself unfortunately did not air in the 8pm time slot as she was expecting, so we had to wait until 11pm to watch it. This lead to copious amounts of drinking on almost everyone's part. Summary, Drinking, good eats, business talk, interesting conversations, $9000.
On Wednesday my friend Mona and I went to a taping of Let's Make a Deal with Wayne Brady. She dressed as a pirate and I wore my otter suit. We got right up near the front and will surely be on tv, but unfortunately we didn't get to make any deals. Summary: Skinny suit, crazy costumes, lots of dancing, hot day, Denny's after.
On Thursday I was called in to do background work on a show called The Protector that will air on lifetime. My role was that of a preservation society preserver and my entire time on set, which was probably less than an hour, was to look at a pair of old scissors through a magnifying glass and make notes. It was actually pretty fun and I was lucky enough to have the only other 2 extras there be really cool. Summary: Scissors, good convos, words with friends, improv, bottle caps, grilled cheese.
So that was my last bit of work that I've done. I spent the weekend going to shows and the same pool party again. Cosmic Selector, an amazing dj was in town, so I got to see him twice. I've also still been going to Afrofunke on Thursday nights, which is always fun. Today I sat by the pool with my friend Katie, resting my dancing legs from yesterday.
I hope everyone is well and if you have any requests for more details on any of the above, please don't hesitate to ask.
with love,
Chris
So sorry I have fallen behind again before even having a chance to catch up. I think the best thing at this point is just to summarize what I have been up to over the passing weeks. Luckily for me, I have a very cute kitten calendar that I can use as a reference for this.
The Wednesday after my return from Lightning in a Bottle, I worked on The Closer. The summary is: Long wait, good crafty, kept to myself, short scene, done. The embarrassing extra moment: Laughing at the Priests suggestive name and texting while filming.
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday I worked as a stand in for a movie called The Surrogate. It has John Hawkes, Alan Arkin (both of whom I stood in for) and Helen Hunt in it. I highly recommend seeing it when it comes out since it is a touching story and should be really good. Also, they invited me to their cast party. Summary: First time standing in, lots of laying in bed, to joke or not to joke, bossy pants, too much crafty, long wait, gracious thank you, 3 day infatuation. Summary of the cast party: Nervous, too much time to think, drank a little too much, didn't feel like myself, free T-shirt and photo.
My next gig was working on something called The Christmas Pageant for the Hallmark channel. It was kind of surreal because it takes place in a small town that could have been Middleburgh, NY (my home town) if you just switched a few signs. Summary: Winter clothes, too many lte's (Long Term Extras), ate too much, thought they were good actors; turns out they were religious, longer night than anticipated.
After that, the work dried up for a while. It is the slow season, so no big surprise that there wasn't much work, but I was surprised to get none at all for so long. I kept busy though and actually probably needed the break since I'd been going pretty hard up until that point.
That weekend I went to my very first every pool party in LA. It was one of the things I was looking forward to the most after moving out here. I won't say I was disappointed, I had a ton of fun, but I was surprised by how uncrowded it was. Apparently they are a dime a dozen out here. Summary: Bikinis, pirates, dancing, friends, post party hot tub, Buffy.
The next day I sat in with my friend Josh for his casting of the untitled sketch comedy show he is producing and I'm helping to write. It was fascinating being on that side of the audition table and I was really impressed with all the talent that came in. Summary: Back bends, off-color jokes, ice cream, skinny Australians, stargates, hilarity.
The next day, Tuesday now, was my friend's viewing party. She had been on the game show Lingo and her episode was to air that night, so she had friends over. What she didn't tell me was that she was working on a character that had an Australian accent, so I spent much of the evening trying to figure out when her accent sounded different and if I had just missed it all along. The show itself unfortunately did not air in the 8pm time slot as she was expecting, so we had to wait until 11pm to watch it. This lead to copious amounts of drinking on almost everyone's part. Summary, Drinking, good eats, business talk, interesting conversations, $9000.
On Wednesday my friend Mona and I went to a taping of Let's Make a Deal with Wayne Brady. She dressed as a pirate and I wore my otter suit. We got right up near the front and will surely be on tv, but unfortunately we didn't get to make any deals. Summary: Skinny suit, crazy costumes, lots of dancing, hot day, Denny's after.
On Thursday I was called in to do background work on a show called The Protector that will air on lifetime. My role was that of a preservation society preserver and my entire time on set, which was probably less than an hour, was to look at a pair of old scissors through a magnifying glass and make notes. It was actually pretty fun and I was lucky enough to have the only other 2 extras there be really cool. Summary: Scissors, good convos, words with friends, improv, bottle caps, grilled cheese.
So that was my last bit of work that I've done. I spent the weekend going to shows and the same pool party again. Cosmic Selector, an amazing dj was in town, so I got to see him twice. I've also still been going to Afrofunke on Thursday nights, which is always fun. Today I sat by the pool with my friend Katie, resting my dancing legs from yesterday.
I hope everyone is well and if you have any requests for more details on any of the above, please don't hesitate to ask.
with love,
Chris
The Lightning
I will admit to being a little cranky the first day at Lightning in a Bottle. While my camp mates, many of them new to me, were very hospitable, there was something in me that was having trouble being in the moment. The desires of the projected experience pre-travel had me in their grasp. Unfortunately what this usually means to me is that I actually step back from the situation in my mind because the juxtaposition of reality upon my fantasy becomes over whelming. Also, I wanted to get laid.
A group of us went down to check out the stages. The Woogie stage, which would become my favorite, played mostly house music, the Lightning stage was dubstep and the mail stage (Bamboo) was for the headline performers at night and variety acts during the day. The Woogie stage was rockin', but we didn't stay long since we were in exploration mode. The Lightning stage was exactly what I thought it would be, a bunch of hot girls dancing to music I couldn't stand. Past the Lightning stage was an open expanse where people were doing art and playing on large metal objects that resembled ferryboat wheels and those puzzle pieces that you can only get apart if you push or pull in a certain direction at the same time. Just beyond this was a very nice large sized pond with a walkway in the middle. Then past that were food venders, an outdoor cafe where music would be played at night and the Main stage, which happened to be empty at that current time.
At this point I should note two things. One, I was still exhausted from my trip to SF, physically, mentally and emotionally. Two, every bit of this festival was beautiful and could have stood on its own as an entire evenings worth of entertainment. So at this point in the festival I was basically already running on fumes (some of which were alcoholic in nature) and totally desperate to enjoy everything at once.
WRITERS NOTE: I'm sorry to say I have fallen very far behind in my blog once again, so in the interest of keeping things moving, I'm going to skip the rest of the description of L.I.B. and hopefully come back and fill it in the way it deserves to be when I have a chance.
A group of us went down to check out the stages. The Woogie stage, which would become my favorite, played mostly house music, the Lightning stage was dubstep and the mail stage (Bamboo) was for the headline performers at night and variety acts during the day. The Woogie stage was rockin', but we didn't stay long since we were in exploration mode. The Lightning stage was exactly what I thought it would be, a bunch of hot girls dancing to music I couldn't stand. Past the Lightning stage was an open expanse where people were doing art and playing on large metal objects that resembled ferryboat wheels and those puzzle pieces that you can only get apart if you push or pull in a certain direction at the same time. Just beyond this was a very nice large sized pond with a walkway in the middle. Then past that were food venders, an outdoor cafe where music would be played at night and the Main stage, which happened to be empty at that current time.
At this point I should note two things. One, I was still exhausted from my trip to SF, physically, mentally and emotionally. Two, every bit of this festival was beautiful and could have stood on its own as an entire evenings worth of entertainment. So at this point in the festival I was basically already running on fumes (some of which were alcoholic in nature) and totally desperate to enjoy everything at once.
WRITERS NOTE: I'm sorry to say I have fallen very far behind in my blog once again, so in the interest of keeping things moving, I'm going to skip the rest of the description of L.I.B. and hopefully come back and fill it in the way it deserves to be when I have a chance.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
...more...
...the first couple days after returning from SF, I didn't have work because of the afore mentioned management mix up, however on Thursday the 26th I did background on Weeds.
Weeds seemed like a good show to work on. Everyone was friendly and laid back, but getting stuff done. In fact after my initial nervousness of the day (couldn't be helped) that was relieved by some sit down potty time (also couldn't be helped), the rest of the day was easy. Some highlights include the fact that I was almost picked to be the hot dog vender when he apparently didn't show up, but then he did and he was so much better than I could have ever been. Basically he looked like a real life Mario or Luigi. (This episode takes place in NYC I might add.) Also I was picked to be the "fast walker", which I volunteered for, which meant that I had to weave in and out between the other extras as we walked, which was hilarious when we got to the close up work because basically they would yell action and I would take off and then they would yell cut after I made it ten feet and then I would have to turn right around and do it again. I made a friend on set and we went out and got a beer after to avoid traffic. She lives near me, but we haven't been in contact since the show, which is par for the course. This LA-ness can be both a curse and a blessing as it makes it easy to let go of people you didn't really connect that well with, but hard to reconnect with people you want to bond with.
The next day following the Weeds shoot I was of to Lighting in a Bottle, a 4 day music festival in Silverado, CA, which is about an hour and a half from me in the valley. You might call L.I.B. Burning Man light if you didn't know the difference between the to. At its most basic it is a bunch of people (I think it was about 4000 total) camping by a lake, making art and listening to music. To go into detail about it would take more words and time than I have in a week. I do invite you to go to their website to their website http://lightninginabottle.org/ to learn more. You actually might want to stop in their now so the rest of this blog makes more sense. Go ahead, I'll wait...
Back so soon? Well I hope you learned a lot and are excited as I was to go to this event. Before I start, I should say a heartfelt thank you to my friend Sam who GAVE me a free ticket because he wasn't able to make it. I'm assuming karma will take care of him, but if not, he is on my list of people to shower with gifts if I ever make it as an actor. Ok, now back to the blog...
So my friend Mona hooked me up with her friend Katie to carpool with to the event since Mona left the night before with her roommate/Katie's BF. It turned out to be a very advantageous paring as Katie and I appear to both be on similar paths on self-enlightenment and had a lot to talk about. The natural report got me psyched up for the weekend, which was good since I honestly hadn't rested enough coming home from SF and still felt a little ragged.
First stop was the parking lot at a local college to pick up the tickets. Mine took a little longer since it had been transferred to me from Sam. Then from there it was a 3 mile drive up some hills and then down into a valley, letting off at a beautiful lake and camp sight. Then forward into the immense parking lot. Here was our first snag.
They had "people movers" to take people to the upper and lower camp sites, which was great since people had lots of stuff. However they didn't have enough people movers, so the lines were huge. I hadn't packed very economically, so I knew I was going to have to leave some blankets behind, but I was confident I could come back or find some on camp grounds, so I took my load and waited in line. Katie had just one giant bag, which wasn't hard, but not impossible to carry. So, seeing how long the line was and being antsy to begin our fun we decided to walk to a closer bus stop. This bus stop while entertaining and fulfilling (I returned two people's items after they had fallen off the truck by running after them), it was ultimately not successful. Eventually Buzz, Katie's BF showed up and the decision was made to walk to the campground. It actually wasn't that bad and I probably would have decided to do it anyway if I had known the distance, but it was uphill and took a lot of energy. On the way I ran into several people I knew and even got a hand with some of my stuff up the hill. That hand, Mona, also helped me find the people I was not camping with, but that happened to be right next to the people I was camping with. My camp mates quickly offered me a place to sit and a beer and Lighting in a Bottle began!
Weeds seemed like a good show to work on. Everyone was friendly and laid back, but getting stuff done. In fact after my initial nervousness of the day (couldn't be helped) that was relieved by some sit down potty time (also couldn't be helped), the rest of the day was easy. Some highlights include the fact that I was almost picked to be the hot dog vender when he apparently didn't show up, but then he did and he was so much better than I could have ever been. Basically he looked like a real life Mario or Luigi. (This episode takes place in NYC I might add.) Also I was picked to be the "fast walker", which I volunteered for, which meant that I had to weave in and out between the other extras as we walked, which was hilarious when we got to the close up work because basically they would yell action and I would take off and then they would yell cut after I made it ten feet and then I would have to turn right around and do it again. I made a friend on set and we went out and got a beer after to avoid traffic. She lives near me, but we haven't been in contact since the show, which is par for the course. This LA-ness can be both a curse and a blessing as it makes it easy to let go of people you didn't really connect that well with, but hard to reconnect with people you want to bond with.
The next day following the Weeds shoot I was of to Lighting in a Bottle, a 4 day music festival in Silverado, CA, which is about an hour and a half from me in the valley. You might call L.I.B. Burning Man light if you didn't know the difference between the to. At its most basic it is a bunch of people (I think it was about 4000 total) camping by a lake, making art and listening to music. To go into detail about it would take more words and time than I have in a week. I do invite you to go to their website to their website http://lightninginabottle.org/ to learn more. You actually might want to stop in their now so the rest of this blog makes more sense. Go ahead, I'll wait...
Back so soon? Well I hope you learned a lot and are excited as I was to go to this event. Before I start, I should say a heartfelt thank you to my friend Sam who GAVE me a free ticket because he wasn't able to make it. I'm assuming karma will take care of him, but if not, he is on my list of people to shower with gifts if I ever make it as an actor. Ok, now back to the blog...
So my friend Mona hooked me up with her friend Katie to carpool with to the event since Mona left the night before with her roommate/Katie's BF. It turned out to be a very advantageous paring as Katie and I appear to both be on similar paths on self-enlightenment and had a lot to talk about. The natural report got me psyched up for the weekend, which was good since I honestly hadn't rested enough coming home from SF and still felt a little ragged.
First stop was the parking lot at a local college to pick up the tickets. Mine took a little longer since it had been transferred to me from Sam. Then from there it was a 3 mile drive up some hills and then down into a valley, letting off at a beautiful lake and camp sight. Then forward into the immense parking lot. Here was our first snag.
They had "people movers" to take people to the upper and lower camp sites, which was great since people had lots of stuff. However they didn't have enough people movers, so the lines were huge. I hadn't packed very economically, so I knew I was going to have to leave some blankets behind, but I was confident I could come back or find some on camp grounds, so I took my load and waited in line. Katie had just one giant bag, which wasn't hard, but not impossible to carry. So, seeing how long the line was and being antsy to begin our fun we decided to walk to a closer bus stop. This bus stop while entertaining and fulfilling (I returned two people's items after they had fallen off the truck by running after them), it was ultimately not successful. Eventually Buzz, Katie's BF showed up and the decision was made to walk to the campground. It actually wasn't that bad and I probably would have decided to do it anyway if I had known the distance, but it was uphill and took a lot of energy. On the way I ran into several people I knew and even got a hand with some of my stuff up the hill. That hand, Mona, also helped me find the people I was not camping with, but that happened to be right next to the people I was camping with. My camp mates quickly offered me a place to sit and a beer and Lighting in a Bottle began!
Sofa King far behind
Hello loyal followers and intelligentsia of the world.
My humble apologies for being so far behind in my blog. I will do my best to catch up with the help of my trusty calendar.
The first stop will be San Francisco circa May 11th. I went up to SF to work for the SFFD. Part of the way that you get promoted as part of the fire department is through passing tests. When it comes time for the oral exam portion, they bring in a bunch of actors to portray people in situations that the fire department might come in contact with. I really can't say more since it is all very hush hush, but it is a good job that paid well and left me feeling like I had made a difference at the end of the day. It was hard though as we all worked 7 days straight with no break from about 7:30 am until about 4:30 or 5pm depending on the day. I don't mean to imply we didn't have a lunch break, we did. Unfortunately though it was catered and was the same every day except for the two days of training. I'm sure my friend James's fridge is still full of sandwiches. Speaking of James, I'd like to give a shout out to him and a thank you for letting me stay at his place while I was up there. We worked together, so the commute was perfect.
I got to see almost all of my SF friends while I was up there. Visiting such events as the Gemini birthday bash and Brass Tax big bounce on Treasure Island. It's always nice to see your friends again that first time after a long break because you really appreciate each other's presence. It is amazing how much time we spend in our lives on analyzing and sometimes obsessing over the minutia of each other's actions when the core person is there the whole time.
I ended up staying through the following weekend so I could see the friends I hadn't yet and get some partying on. It was a good time, but a hard one since I was so tired and uncentered from constantly working and being around people that I wasn't ready to relax into the weekends fun. Sometimes I get myself caught out of time, thinking of things that happened in the past or how things are going to go in the future and that can spiral me downward to an unnecessary level of thought and deception. Unfortunately this got compounded by a mix up with my extras management company and I ended the weekend on a bit of a sour note. Which isn't to say I didn't have some beautiful moments while I was up there. I got to see Stephen and Antje and did some more bonding with the Buffalo and his sisters. The Buffalo and I had our first moment of him getting hurt and me making it better without one of his parents intervening. I got to hang with my friend Rachel and her new kitten, who I'm sure will be a favorite on cute overload soon. And I got to see lots of my other friends (sorry guys and gals, too many to mention :) ).
I came back to LA on the 23rd and I have to say, I was happy to. It felt like coming home. It felt like this is where I belong right now. I never would have gotten here and felt this way without SF, but LA is definitely the place for me. That said, let's move on...
...in the next blog. :)
My humble apologies for being so far behind in my blog. I will do my best to catch up with the help of my trusty calendar.
The first stop will be San Francisco circa May 11th. I went up to SF to work for the SFFD. Part of the way that you get promoted as part of the fire department is through passing tests. When it comes time for the oral exam portion, they bring in a bunch of actors to portray people in situations that the fire department might come in contact with. I really can't say more since it is all very hush hush, but it is a good job that paid well and left me feeling like I had made a difference at the end of the day. It was hard though as we all worked 7 days straight with no break from about 7:30 am until about 4:30 or 5pm depending on the day. I don't mean to imply we didn't have a lunch break, we did. Unfortunately though it was catered and was the same every day except for the two days of training. I'm sure my friend James's fridge is still full of sandwiches. Speaking of James, I'd like to give a shout out to him and a thank you for letting me stay at his place while I was up there. We worked together, so the commute was perfect.
I got to see almost all of my SF friends while I was up there. Visiting such events as the Gemini birthday bash and Brass Tax big bounce on Treasure Island. It's always nice to see your friends again that first time after a long break because you really appreciate each other's presence. It is amazing how much time we spend in our lives on analyzing and sometimes obsessing over the minutia of each other's actions when the core person is there the whole time.
I ended up staying through the following weekend so I could see the friends I hadn't yet and get some partying on. It was a good time, but a hard one since I was so tired and uncentered from constantly working and being around people that I wasn't ready to relax into the weekends fun. Sometimes I get myself caught out of time, thinking of things that happened in the past or how things are going to go in the future and that can spiral me downward to an unnecessary level of thought and deception. Unfortunately this got compounded by a mix up with my extras management company and I ended the weekend on a bit of a sour note. Which isn't to say I didn't have some beautiful moments while I was up there. I got to see Stephen and Antje and did some more bonding with the Buffalo and his sisters. The Buffalo and I had our first moment of him getting hurt and me making it better without one of his parents intervening. I got to hang with my friend Rachel and her new kitten, who I'm sure will be a favorite on cute overload soon. And I got to see lots of my other friends (sorry guys and gals, too many to mention :) ).
I came back to LA on the 23rd and I have to say, I was happy to. It felt like coming home. It felt like this is where I belong right now. I never would have gotten here and felt this way without SF, but LA is definitely the place for me. That said, let's move on...
...in the next blog. :)
Friday, June 3, 2011
rushing around
Hi Everyone,
Don't worry, I have not given up my blog. I've just been rushing around terribly in the last few weeks. First to SF, then down to Lightning in the bottle and now doing my first few days as a stand-in. I will catch you up on all of it as soon as I have a chance to breath again. Don't worry, it will be filled with the usual gossip, love interests and naked foam showering. Oh wait, I guess the naked foam showering is new, but it is something I'd like to see here again and again.
much love,
Chris
Don't worry, I have not given up my blog. I've just been rushing around terribly in the last few weeks. First to SF, then down to Lightning in the bottle and now doing my first few days as a stand-in. I will catch you up on all of it as soon as I have a chance to breath again. Don't worry, it will be filled with the usual gossip, love interests and naked foam showering. Oh wait, I guess the naked foam showering is new, but it is something I'd like to see here again and again.
much love,
Chris
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