More Monday Musings

It's shy of 8:00 and I've already spent an hour in the pool (treading water and waltzing through the shallow end; yes, waltzing) and worked out with my carpool buddies that it won't be happening today.

I kinda like getting up at 6:30 every day. Yes, I do have an alarm set, and it goes off EVERY day, but it's possibly the gentlest alarm you'll ever waken to; it's certainly the gentlest alarm to ever wake me!

I wasn't on Facebook very long yesterday. I'd finished my three tours and gone shopping at Trader Joe's, and while I was snacking at the demo stand I struck up a conversation with Edie McClurg. I said "love your work" and she said "thank you... and I look terrible today, but somehow you recognize me". I said "seminal line: 'he's a righteous dood'" and she proceeded to give me the complete quote from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. We giggled a lot, we two, and I know she was pleased to reminisce. It's been about thirty years since she played Ed Rooney's secretary, Grace. She remembered the line, and she talked about teasing her own hair so the hairdresser could focus on making Mia Sara look beautiful. She told me how, when John Hughes saw her for the first time with her bouffant hairdo, he asked her, "how many pencils do you think you can hide in there?" so she tested it: FOUR. Hysterical.

It was such a humid day yesterday in LA that I felt really hot and uncomfortable under my own hair. We're having a weird summer, I just have to say. We had a grey May, and we DID NOT have our normal "June Gloom", and we're heading into who-knows-what for our July. With Edie McClurg talking about having enough hair to tease, I was ready to shave my head (not just buzz-cut it). Got home and watched Ferris Bueller, and in my Facebook newsfeed was a link to when I had, in fact, buzz-cut my hair two years ago. I have an hour and a half right now before I have to get to work. Think I'll post the transition.

Step One: It's Just. So. LONG!

Step Two: using scissors and a 1" guard on the trimmers, remove
a kitten's worth of hair... sweep up the kitten.

Step Three: shower the excess hair off your body, towel dry,
and "comb"

Step Four: Wait 24-48 hours and break out the trimmers again, if necessary. I LOVE being able to cut my own hair! :D


Happy Summer, Kids! I'll see ya on the lot!

Welcome, Slovenia!

Dunno how you found me, but I do hope you find something of interest that will encourage you to return. Welcome!

*****

In other news, today's been a pretty good day. Actually, truth be told, the whole week's been pretty darn fabulous.

I've given many amazingly fun tours; I've had some of my guests burst into spontaneous applause; I've had guests join me in song. I've had guests from Australia, New Zealand, France, Sweden, Scotland, England, Canada, Mexico, and the good ol' U. S. of A. I've made jokes and had them laughed at. I've made the same jokes and had them barely chuckled at. I've deducted points from my own score, in order to make my guests feel like they're playing for a reason, too. I'm learning new stuff to add in, as well as discarding some stuff that no one seems to care about. I still need to get better at timing my tour to the two-hour mark, as I'm always running just a teensy bit late. So far, there have been no complaints or reprimands, which is great. I just gotta get 'em a little shorter, so that's what I'm workin' on.

This morning, I got in the pool very early to test the theory that the water wasn't so warm yesterday simply because of all the sun shining on it. The theory panned out - management/the landlord have finally caved to the tenant request to Turn. The. Damn. Heat. On. I, for one, would have been in the pool all winter had they heated it, but I'm grateful that I can now get in it before the children overrun it in these hot summer days, and give myself a pretty good low-impact workout. It was GLORIOUS this morning.

Got to work and started giving tours. Got a text message from Stephen that his employer had finally followed through on the idea of upgrading him to "full-time" status. Yay! He's had a rough time of it, what with the economy (in general) being what it is, and all of the potential employers pulling "bait-and-switch" deals on him. Now he won't have to look for anything else to supplement or replace his part-time job, and I won't have to ask him anymore about his search status, either. A little peace here! Now, if he wants a different job to replace this one that he doesn't hate, it'll be entirely on him to find that different job and arrange his time for interviews or whatnot. It's been a discouraging search for him, because he hasn't had the "I'll take a one day gig in the industry because I like 'em" joyful experiences that I've had. I am supposed to be the flibertygibbet of this family, ten-queue-belly-mush! He's the "stable guy with a stable job" here, and with this new change at his job, it is once again true.

And, I just noticed in my email that the request I put in today went through. I GET to work Saturday, the fourth of July. This should mean that every scheduled week going forward will have me working five days a week, including every Saturday and every Sunday. Gonna put a little monkey wrench in the bookkeeping/personal assisting scheduling, but we'll get it figured out. I'm doing a bit of that tomorrow, since I've already worked my five days this week and have tomorrow off.

Life is good, kids. I'm really happy that things are working out the way they're working out, and that my breathing is back to normal, with only the occasional lingering cough. No more doubling over with gut pain from the body-wracking coughing fits. Still using the neti pot because I think it's still helping, but I mostly don't do much of the other stuff anymore.

Bought some groceries on my way home, while still in my Warner Bros. uniform. Talked to a few people about our tours. Used a Victoria's Secret birthday coupon that was set to expire, and talked to a couple more folks about our tours. I may not be the best damn tour guide yet, but I ain't afraid to "plug" the company so I get to keep doing my job! And I will be the best damn tour guide, and if people meet me in uniform and talk to me, they might start requesting me. Wouldn't that be something?

I. Am. Blessed.

D'ya hear that?

The allergies do flare up as the sun goes down, unfortunately, but I do a neti pot dealio well before bedtime, and take all the other allergy symptom-stoppers when they're supposed to be taken, and for the past two nights, I have slept like a baby. No sniffling, no coughing, no nothin'.

Do you hear that? It's the sound of me breathing better. The sound of me Going Clear. ;)

*****

In other news, I went back to work today, and I gave three pretty-darned-good tours, if I do say so myself. I'm scheduled to give tours through Wednesday, with a little additional insider info to be gleaned on Tuesday. Then maybe, on Thursday, I'll book a little BG work. That'd be cool. Back to tour guiding on Friday, and then probably some personal assisting on Saturday.

'Sgonna be a good week! Happy Father's Day, all you daddies out there, particularly MY Daddy, and my baby bro, and my bros-in-law. I hope your day was as super-fantastic as mine was.

Not workin' today.

I'm only on the schedule for four days this week. I've already worked those four days. They were a good four days, and while, you know me, I'd like to be always working, I decided to not call in this morning to see if anyone had "called out".

See this new gig is a temp job. I know my schedule is based on the traffic flow of tourists, and I was hired in enough time to get sufficiently trained for the heavy summer season. But there are others completing their training this week and next, and they'll need to get started touring so that we're all ready for that heavy summer season, once it comes.

I know that when it does hit, I'm probably going to be working five days every week until it lulls, or until I've been moved into a permanent position (if we come to a mutual agreement that that's the next step). I also know that "overtime has been approved", which means that any number of those days can be long days. I'm down with that.

And I'm trying to get my schedule worked out so that my five days include all Saturdays and Sundays, so that my two days off happen in the middle of the week, not necessarily consecutively, so that any other industry gigs that need me to day-play will have that opportunity. I've already had to turn down two lucrative BG days, simply because I was on the tour guide schedule. 'Sokay - I knew that would probably happen. I would just like to make it so I can be productive every day, and have wind-down days off only when I really need them.

But I'm not scheduled today or tomorrow. I'm really trying to get my allergies to clear, and if I'm feeling really super-fantastic tomorrow morning at 7, I will call in. I would imagine folks "call out" on the weekend more often than during the week. I could be wrong. I'm not the type to ever want to "call out", so I don't have a good knowledge base on why people do it. I've only ever done it when I was puking or otherwise losing any toxins my body was full of, or that time I threw out my back just making my bed. That was a fun day, let me tell you (NOT!).

So. Laundry and vacuuming and dishwashing today. Getting the homespace clear of allergens so I can get the headspace clear. Back to work tomorrow, if they need me! If not, then back to work on Sunday! Woot!

*****

In other news, we briefly had new residents in our building. They were only here for a few days, but the entire building was happy to meet them. Or maybe there was one nasty neighbor who wasn't, and that's why they're not here anymore. :(

I am unstoppable.

If I knew who created this image, I woould be HAPPY to give due credit. It is, unfortunately, already viral throughout social media, and even on t-shirts and caps and such. I did not create this brilliant idea!

Meaning, really, that my SINUSES are unstoppable.

This sux. I had made it through the allergy season, I thought. I'd had some single-nostril congestion; no big deal. I'd had a little post-nasal drip, only at bedtime and upon waking, that cleared up and left my breathing great during the day. I developed a dry cough; more noise than anything. It became a productive cough, and I thought things were clearing up. We LIKE "productive"!

Yesterday, we left the apartment to drive to a part of town we rarely frequent. Ate dinner; visited with some friends; drove home. Walked in the door, and suddenly, the congestion and drip are back! WTF?

Throughout this allergy season, I have been using a neti pot faithfully. I've worked up to the point of using full saline, and draining both nostrils. Last night, I boiled some water and made a full-strength pot. Fought off my sniffles and dripping, and once the water was "cool" enough to work, I tried to use the pot. I was so congested that I could only get one nostril to drain just a little bit before the water just stopped flowing. Would take a break and try the other nostril. Back and forth for what felt like an hour but was probably more like 15 minutes. Didn't quite get the full pot to empty into my nose. Just, no dice. Cat-napped on the couch with my feet up on the back and my head almost hanging off the seat (gravity, anyone?) for a few hours so I wouldn't keep Stephen up. He came out at some point and threw a blanket over me, offering me a pillow, which I figured would defeat my upside-downness, so I declined. Eventually, my sinuses dried up enough for me to sleep open-mouthed, which brings its own new set of issues. When the feline alarm brought Stephen out to fill the food bowl, I went to bed.

Got up this morning and had to IMMEDIATELY jump in the shower and do another full-saline neti pot while there. That helped long enough for me to wrap a towel around myself, but pretty much, once I was "back in the land of the living", so were my congestion and dripping issues.

I've spent the day fighting this stuff. Day-Quil and Claritin; hot tea and juice; about 500 sheets of toilet paper stuffed up one or both nostrils and then flushed when no longer absorbent. Only two "good" sneezes today; honestly wishing for more! I sure hope something kicks in and soon, so that I'll be in full voice for my first day of guiding tours tomorrow!

What's your secret weapon for cold-and-allergy season?

I. Am. a TOUR GUIDE!

I went through a pretty cool process to get here. As of today, there are 280 jobs available globally in the Warner Bros./TimeWarner "empire". A couple of months ago, I frequented that database for anything I might qualify for or enjoy doing, because in my little corner of the film industry, one is always searching for the next "gig". I found a few postings that were local, and applied. I kept looking on a weekly basis, while I continued working as a background actor on whatever came my way, as well as doing some personal assisting and audience work and attending any networking events I could squeeze in. I was happy and busy but still didn't feel like I was earning my days off. You know, "working for the weekend" like the rest of the non-Hollywood working world (start the video at 2:18; I don't understand what all the sitting and talking bit is about, but it's not my video, so whatevs). 

I had applied for three different jobs of the ~300 that were available at the time, at the Warner Bros. Studio in Burbank, and I got a phone call at the end of April inviting me to an audition/interview ("Assessment") that would take place on the first Friday of May. I'd applied for a full-time position as a tour guide, but the studio is not obligated to hire externally for those positions; they post them, but as a general rule, they promote from within.

Ennyhoo, the assessment day was for temporary/SEASONAL Tour Guides. Even better, for me! I'm all about a temp job, because usually it means I have a lot of flexibility in my schedule so I can take care of other business needs when I'm not scheduled. Met up with my dance friend Hattie at the assessment, and made a handful of new friends, as it was really a "how well do you play with others?" sort of day. Nervous to present my one-minute monologue, of course, but the assessors knew that we all would be, and it was a great way to get a foot in the door.

As you are probably aware, I started my training on Tuesday, May 26th. There were emails and background check verification processes and whatnot in the time between the assessment and the "hire date", and those of us hired to start were in fact HIRED as of our start dates, but I have now
completed my training...

             passed all of the assessments and evaluations...

                           filled my brain with tons of Warner Bros. history and info tidbits...

and I will give my first unsupervised tour on Monday!

Got the uniform pieces and the nametag and the employee badge that will give me access to the areas I need access to... will go in, fully-bedecked and ready, pick up a walkie-talkie and keys, meet my first group and GO!

SWEET!

Do you have a fave Warner Bros. show or film you'd like to test my knowledge of? I don't claim to know all the answers (by any means), but I'll try to find that info out and get back to you before the tour ends.

Welcome, Hungary!

Haven't seen you here before, and I apologize I haven't had a lot of new and meaningful stuff to post lately, but if you peruse the archives and decide to stick around, I promise that by the time you reach "present day" I'll have plenty of new updates!

For all of my "regular" readers, this is also a promise to you that I intend to post some NEWS by the weekend. Yup. There will be NEWS... by next weekend... yeah, I know I just sort of extended my promise, because I might be too overwhelmed by my news to tell you. Maybe not - who knows?

Happy My Birthday Plus One Week to ME!!!!!

Welcome BACK, Greece!

It's been about a year. Maybe we'll see each other again soon?

Opa!

It's My Birfday.

I got up this morning and checked Facebook notifications quickly before I ran out the door for my day of more training at Warner Bros. ON MY BIRTHDAY, and there were probably already 20 people or more who had already posted wishes on my timeline.

Got to work and clocked in, reminding everyone around me that today is MY BIRTHDAY. Went into another orientation session with those of us who'd started last week as well as a bunch of folks who started this week, and nicely suggested that the reason HR was "buying us lunch" today was because of it being MY BIRTHDAY, and not because we all were sitting through a long orientation session, as they'd have us believe. ;) Found a card at my seat, from my friend Hattie, because, you know, she knew it was MY BIRTHDAY today. Had a good morning, what with the well-wishes, and such, and at our first break, I checked the Facebook notifications, and the number had grown to more than 30. One of my team/class -mates gave me his cookie at lunch. Kewl.

When I got home from my great birthday at work, I checked Facebook again. Eighty-nine well-wishes on my wall! A bunch of folks "liking" a bunch of those notifications! And the day ain't over yet, but I've been tagged in photos and a link about weirdos; I've gotten e-cards in my email; I've gotten a Skype video message, text messages, and voicemails. And, Stephanie sang the birfday song to me in French. I speak no French, but I appreciated the sentiment.

THANK YOU ALL for doing whatever you did today, living your lives, and thinking of me in the process. I am one blessed puppy.

Can't NOT post.

I know, I know, I was supposed to come back to you last Thursday or Friday. And here it is, almost TUESDAY!

I started training at my new job last week.

• LOTS of non-disclosure/non-insider trading videos and tests and whatnot
• LOTS of driving around as a group of ten trainees with two trainers in a long golf cart, learning snippets of Warner Bros. trivia and history and whatnot
• Got to drive the tram around once, myself (as did each of us ten, on Friday)
• Have begun "catching up" on good, classic Warner Bros. television
• LOTS of pop-quizzes on a daily basis
• LOTS of personal, internal stress and pressure, and a mini-meltdown on Friday, at the end of Day Four.
• LOTS of poorly-posted media on youtube clips to wade through, as well as at least one very well made documentary or other media, to try to learn some more history or trivia or backstory or whatnot

I have NOT caught up on reading the blogs I follow.

I have BEGUN making up for my television-free childhood (and subsequent non-habit of bothering to turn it on for any reason). I have decided that I will watch at least a season of Gilmore Girls, Pretty Little Liars, and Mike & Molly. I will watch ALL of The West Wing and Mom, because Allison Janney. I really need to get some of the WB Oscar-winning Best Pictures under my belt, as well as probably the "firsts" (The Jazz Singer, Angels with Dirty Faces, Johnny Belinda, etc.), and other classic films like the James Dean library, a plethora of Jimmy Cagney films, and the Wolfgang Peterson water-based disaster flicks.

Once I've watched "collections" I'll probably give you my reasons. Maybe not. Feel free to ask me questions.

My birthday is Wednesday, and the only plan I have for tomorrow night is a mani-pedi. Got some birthday money coming from the remaining parental units, and I ought to be able to splurge on that for myself. Whatever YOU are doing on Wednesday, throw a thought at me while you're doing it.