Thursday, November 6, 2014
Welcome, Denmark!
I can't find you on my map, but blogger tells me you've visited. Please come again! Will you bring pastries next time? ;)
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
this is turning into an interesting week
My workweek at the restaurant is Monday - Sunday, so the schedule for the following week tends to be posted on Saturdays. This is not a big deal for anyone, since we're all required to "be available to work" every weekend and every holiday. It actually got posted on Friday, and one of my co-workers called while I was driving home to ask if I would trade my Monday morning cashiering shift for his Saturday night cashiering shift. I said, sure, no problem. I hadn't seen that Monday morning was my only cashiering shift and that I was only scheduled for two host/floater shifts and that I was unlikely to make much money this week, based on that schedule.
Went to work on Sunday and decided that I wanted my Monday shift back, for a couple of reasons. One, I had not yet closed, and hadn't really worked that many cashiering shifts alone anyway, so I was hoping to just get one more "training" day (not really, but whatevs). Two, the morning shift is an eight-hour shift (minus the half-hour meal break), and I'm not sure how long the closing shift is, but I know it's probably closer to seven if you stretch it. So being scheduled for one cashiering and two host/floats was a severe cut in hours (from my two weeks of training), and I didn't want to give up even one hour on the clock. Selfish? Maybe.
But I'd already agreed to the swap, and the company is fair, so we left it as it was, and I was given an additional host/float shift for tomorrow to cover the girl who'd quit without notice (and in a huge huff, with straws and napkins and aprons and glassware and and and being thrown about, and the fires of hell being drawn up through the drainpipes, and all manner of blood and entrails being ripped from the diners who were present, and the ceiling tearing away from its moorings, spinning three times before reattaching itself). Obviously, the girl who quit will not be missed, and I picked up one of her shifts! Yay!
This morning, I received a text from the guy I was swapping shifts with (who did cover my cashier shift yesterday), to see if I wanted his evening cashier shift today. His flight out to wherever it is he's going got changed to slightly earlier than first intended, so his week that had been made of four cashiering shifts has gotten whittled down to one, and my week that had consisted of 20 hours has grown to 30+. Excellent!
... And there may still be industry work for me on Thursday, or at the very least, visitation with the Casting Directors over at Central. And I was wondering what I'd do with myself this week! :)
Went to work on Sunday and decided that I wanted my Monday shift back, for a couple of reasons. One, I had not yet closed, and hadn't really worked that many cashiering shifts alone anyway, so I was hoping to just get one more "training" day (not really, but whatevs). Two, the morning shift is an eight-hour shift (minus the half-hour meal break), and I'm not sure how long the closing shift is, but I know it's probably closer to seven if you stretch it. So being scheduled for one cashiering and two host/floats was a severe cut in hours (from my two weeks of training), and I didn't want to give up even one hour on the clock. Selfish? Maybe.
But I'd already agreed to the swap, and the company is fair, so we left it as it was, and I was given an additional host/float shift for tomorrow to cover the girl who'd quit without notice (and in a huge huff, with straws and napkins and aprons and glassware and and and being thrown about, and the fires of hell being drawn up through the drainpipes, and all manner of blood and entrails being ripped from the diners who were present, and the ceiling tearing away from its moorings, spinning three times before reattaching itself). Obviously, the girl who quit will not be missed, and I picked up one of her shifts! Yay!
This morning, I received a text from the guy I was swapping shifts with (who did cover my cashier shift yesterday), to see if I wanted his evening cashier shift today. His flight out to wherever it is he's going got changed to slightly earlier than first intended, so his week that had been made of four cashiering shifts has gotten whittled down to one, and my week that had consisted of 20 hours has grown to 30+. Excellent!
... And there may still be industry work for me on Thursday, or at the very least, visitation with the Casting Directors over at Central. And I was wondering what I'd do with myself this week! :)
Monday, November 3, 2014
TODAY
marks the two-year anniversary of our arrival in North Carolina. Stayed in the the big Victorian house with the step-mom(-in law) and tried to wrap brains around what to do next. Got keys to the apartment and set the furbabies free with food, water, and litter box in the completely empty space (hung out with them a bit on the floor with all the travel blankets and tried to recreate the vehicular tenting, probably unsuccessfully). Visited with all visitors; reunited with family; began the grieving process.
Over the course of the next few days, we did all the crap you do when a family member dies. All the physical stuff you have to accomplish, like phone calls with funeral homes and hospitals and whatnot. And the mental/emotional stuff you do, like laughing and crying and whatnot. And for us, we had to establish our residency by setting up utilities and whatnot. Into the dull roar of the hubbub of organizing and arranging things, I received a phone call (or was it an email? I forget)... would I be available later in the month for a Scripty gig? Could I come into the office in the next week to interview? IN LOS ANGELES?
Um, no, sorry, (DAMMIT) but I would love to send you samples of my work and maybe give you references to contact, and if you wanted to Skype the interview I'd be happy to do that, and if I book the gig, I'd be on the first available plane...
Nope. Nada. Nyet. Thank you anyway. Don't call us, we'll call you.
Two. Years. Ago. Today-ish.
Over the course of the next few days, we did all the crap you do when a family member dies. All the physical stuff you have to accomplish, like phone calls with funeral homes and hospitals and whatnot. And the mental/emotional stuff you do, like laughing and crying and whatnot. And for us, we had to establish our residency by setting up utilities and whatnot. Into the dull roar of the hubbub of organizing and arranging things, I received a phone call (or was it an email? I forget)... would I be available later in the month for a Scripty gig? Could I come into the office in the next week to interview? IN LOS ANGELES?
Um, no, sorry, (DAMMIT) but I would love to send you samples of my work and maybe give you references to contact, and if you wanted to Skype the interview I'd be happy to do that, and if I book the gig, I'd be on the first available plane...
Nope. Nada. Nyet. Thank you anyway. Don't call us, we'll call you.
Two. Years. Ago. Today-ish.
But don't worry, kids! I managed to make it back, after some new adventures!
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Two Years Ago Today,
we were driving toward Lexington, KY to spend a night with my baby brother and his wife, as our last overnight before we reached what we expected to be our "forever home" in Thomasville, NC. We were accustomed, after four days of driving, to ME driving first, because the furbabies wanted to visit during the first shift (since they'd been spending their nights alone in the car while we slept in hotel rooms or with family). The weather was pleasant for the entire trip across the country. I don't recall whether we encountered much in the way of precipitation, so any showers we drove through must have been manageable. The evenings were cool, if not downright COLD (especially in Colorado, on All Hallows Eve, with Stephen's brother and his family). The cats were okey-dokey.
We must have completed one driving shift when we crossed a state line that morning, so at the welcome center, we made phone calls to various folk to let them know of our progress. This was how we learned that Stephen's dad had died that morning. We were ONE DAY late. We had a lease on an apartment already and were ready to help the man recover, and to assist him in his work, and to learn a new trade and start a new life. We'd put all of our earthly possessions into a shipping container which wouldn't arrive for at least another week after we did.
Possibly the only foresight we had, though, in packing the car, was including dressy clothing in the garment bag that we hung behind the driver's seat. God may have told us (in our souls, not our intellects) that Steve, Sr. was not much longer for this earth, and we should at least have something to wear to his funeral. But we didn't know we were being prescient until two years ago THIS MORNING.
Rest in Peace, Dad. I hope you met up with Mommy right away, and she made you feel at home in your new Heavenly home.
p.s. thank you (again) to Brett and Emily for being ready for our arrival that night. It wasn't a difficult drive for me that day, but it was very comforting to not have to take care of ourselves with grief on our minds.
We must have completed one driving shift when we crossed a state line that morning, so at the welcome center, we made phone calls to various folk to let them know of our progress. This was how we learned that Stephen's dad had died that morning. We were ONE DAY late. We had a lease on an apartment already and were ready to help the man recover, and to assist him in his work, and to learn a new trade and start a new life. We'd put all of our earthly possessions into a shipping container which wouldn't arrive for at least another week after we did.
Possibly the only foresight we had, though, in packing the car, was including dressy clothing in the garment bag that we hung behind the driver's seat. God may have told us (in our souls, not our intellects) that Steve, Sr. was not much longer for this earth, and we should at least have something to wear to his funeral. But we didn't know we were being prescient until two years ago THIS MORNING.
Rest in Peace, Dad. I hope you met up with Mommy right away, and she made you feel at home in your new Heavenly home.
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| Bill, Steve Sr., Stephen |
p.s. thank you (again) to Brett and Emily for being ready for our arrival that night. It wasn't a difficult drive for me that day, but it was very comforting to not have to take care of ourselves with grief on our minds.
Welcome, India!
I love getting new readers all over the world! Thanks for joining my party. Help yourself to some chips...
NO Milestone or Sadiversary today! YAY!
Well, maybe... after Mommy died, I traveled to Florida on either Wednesday the first or Thursday the 2nd. It's probably better that I don't actually remember or pay attention to that particular travel date. Oh, no, wait... wait. I remember now. When Mommy died, I was part of a children's show at my local Los Angeles theatre company... we'd had two Saturday matinees and then suddenly, I had to travel to Florida for a memorial service. I had an understudy for the show, who had seen my rehearsals and performances, and could probably have gone on the following two Saturdays without any input from me. But I needed to stay busy before I got on the plane, so I went to the theatre on that Wednesday the first to "assist" in the rehearsing of my understudy.
When I left the theatre that day, sure that the "show would go on" without me, at least for two Saturdays, I was ready to travel to Florida on that Thursday the second. I felt pretty good. And then, my brain escaped to a fleeting thought of Mommy, and I honestly did not see the red traffic light or the car stopped at it or the open lane to the right where I could both swerve to stop and/or run the light (accidentally, of course) and miss the car. My mind left my brain, and I rear-ended a car that still had little stickers all over it, as if the car dealership hadn't quite prepped it yet for its new owner. The occupants of the other car were unharmed, and I had sufficient insurance to cover an at-fault accident.
But my car was TOTALED. And I was on a plane to Florida for a week the next day. Crazy, right?
... went to Florida on Thursday. Participated in memorial services. Came back to LA the following Thursday. Watched my understudy perform in my place that Saturday. Dealt with the insurance company to hopefully cover the remaining payments on my car. My little sister in the play, THE "Ugly Duckling" (I was the beautiful, fabulous, not even remotely modest or humble Rosie, the big sister {actual} duck), LEANT me (seriously, I did not make car payments for those two months while the insurance company was jerking me around) a five-speed, manual transmission car so that if my mind disappeared from my brain again, at least the car would stall rather than rear-end anyone else.
So today's milestone is actually not such a Sad-iversary. I am grateful to my understudy for being able to step in under such short notice. I am grateful to the production for allowing me to "contribute" to her being ready to go. I am grateful to my little sister, the swan, for LENDING me a car to get me around LA. I'm even grateful that I'd been given sufficient negotiating skills in my life to cover the remaining loan on my TOTALED vehicle. I'm grateful that all of Mommy's family and friends who'd written eulogies trusted me to read them if they weren't up for it on the day.
I'm grateful that today, instead of "remembering" that I totaled my car eight years ago (and why), I was given another fabulous opportunity to be on set, doing the job I love and working in the industry I love, particularly with my really good friend the director, and making a handful of new friends. I am so SO blessed. Yes, I have milestones and Sadiversaries to commemorate. I also have a really great life.
When I left the theatre that day, sure that the "show would go on" without me, at least for two Saturdays, I was ready to travel to Florida on that Thursday the second. I felt pretty good. And then, my brain escaped to a fleeting thought of Mommy, and I honestly did not see the red traffic light or the car stopped at it or the open lane to the right where I could both swerve to stop and/or run the light (accidentally, of course) and miss the car. My mind left my brain, and I rear-ended a car that still had little stickers all over it, as if the car dealership hadn't quite prepped it yet for its new owner. The occupants of the other car were unharmed, and I had sufficient insurance to cover an at-fault accident.
But my car was TOTALED. And I was on a plane to Florida for a week the next day. Crazy, right?
... went to Florida on Thursday. Participated in memorial services. Came back to LA the following Thursday. Watched my understudy perform in my place that Saturday. Dealt with the insurance company to hopefully cover the remaining payments on my car. My little sister in the play, THE "Ugly Duckling" (I was the beautiful, fabulous, not even remotely modest or humble Rosie, the big sister {actual} duck), LEANT me (seriously, I did not make car payments for those two months while the insurance company was jerking me around) a five-speed, manual transmission car so that if my mind disappeared from my brain again, at least the car would stall rather than rear-end anyone else.
So today's milestone is actually not such a Sad-iversary. I am grateful to my understudy for being able to step in under such short notice. I am grateful to the production for allowing me to "contribute" to her being ready to go. I am grateful to my little sister, the swan, for LENDING me a car to get me around LA. I'm even grateful that I'd been given sufficient negotiating skills in my life to cover the remaining loan on my TOTALED vehicle. I'm grateful that all of Mommy's family and friends who'd written eulogies trusted me to read them if they weren't up for it on the day.
I'm grateful that today, instead of "remembering" that I totaled my car eight years ago (and why), I was given another fabulous opportunity to be on set, doing the job I love and working in the industry I love, particularly with my really good friend the director, and making a handful of new friends. I am so SO blessed. Yes, I have milestones and Sadiversaries to commemorate. I also have a really great life.
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| Sound guys I think I'll get to work with a lot, now that we've worked together on TWO Palm Street Films! Hipster dudes Joey (boom op) and Jake (mixer) LOVE these hipster dudes! |
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| Dawn Fields, my friend, doing what SHE loves and helping me to stay on set doing what I love. Thank you, my friend. |
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Happy Halloween, or Foto Friday!
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