Well, I've been out of touch for awhile, no? Short story is, I picked up work on a producer-friend's indie feature comedy that shot most of August. So, 15+-hour days, six days a week, will take one away from blogging.
I'm brewing several projects at the moment - an especially BIG ONE, too. Which I'll tell y'all about in more detail in another month or two - it needs more time to gestate.
Felt pretty crappy and exhausted after the shoot, but things are looking up again yesterday and today. Feel like stormy clouds have mostly passed.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Catching up with the past two weeks
Lorie and I have been VERY busy lately, me working long hours with my new job and Lorie working longer hours producing a movie! More on those activities below. To get you all caught up, here's a roughly chronological cramming of the last 2-1/2 weeks into one post...
The Friday we bought the Scion (two weekends ago), we drove it down the coast about 45 mins to Newport Beach to (re)visit many of Lorie's relatives at Sue & Tim's timeshare:
Nice view from their balcony, huh? And that's the whole gang by a pretentious fountain on the property. Let's see if I can remember everyone's name (apologies for any misspellings.) Left to right: L,K,Tom D., daughter Ji Soo, wife Hee Yeon, younger brother Sean D., Alyssa & Cody (L's brother Shane's chilluns), Tim D. (Tom & Sean are his sons from a previous marriage), and Sue D.
Tom, Hee Yeon, Ji Soo, & Sean all flew in from South Korea where Tom and Sean have been teaching English for many years. This was actually our third and final visit with everyone that week, and it was their last night in the timeshare as Sue and Tim have put it up for sale.
The first time we visited (Sun. 7/23?), we frolicked on the beach,
and generally loitered about the timeshare playing Scrabble and Uno, eating, drinking, and socializing. Life doesn't get much better than that!
The second day we visited (Tues.7/25) we met Sue, Hee Yeon, Cody, and Alyssa at Disney Land where Sue treated us to a day with The Mouse. Thanks again Sue! I was surprised just how soothing and fun Disney Land was for me -- like a carefree paradise stringently cut off from the real world outside. You can't even see any part of the real world when you're in the park. I didn't want to leave. After a full day we had only covered about half the park, and we were skipping a lot of stuff! I could easily spend three whole days there and still not get to everything on my list. I seriously considered joining them on their second visit to Disney two days later, but ultimately stayed home to do errands - I would be starting my new job in 4 days!
Warning: the next two links play music:
After their 2nd visit to Disney, I was surprised to learn from Hee Yeon that the "It's a Small World" attraction did not represent democratic South Korea in any way. But you can bet your sweet bippy the "Pirates of the Carribean" ride has been retooled to include Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow character! The Mouse knows how to make a buck with cross-promotion, that's for sure.
Moving on...
Sat.7/29
The day after our last Newport Beach visit we went to a birthday dinner party for my Aunt Gayle at Tracy and Lisa's house. We met lots of family and friends, everybody was charming, the food was delicious, and the wine flowed like wine! Somehow (I have no idea how) it didn't take me long to learn that two of the people there were Alex Jones* fans, so we immediately hit it off! Here's the only picture I thought to take that night:
Gayle still had pain from her fall, but was on the mend and was getting around pretty well on her own.
Moving on...
Two days ago (Fri.8/13) I completed the initial two-week pre-probation probationary period at my new job, and they want to keep me on! Yay! I've been on a VERY steep and stressful learning curve these past two weeks. Gratefully I reached some kind of comfort milestone Thursday while taking care of two customers on my own, and Friday morning I was able to eat breakfast for the first time. Progress! Now I'm in a longer probationary period of indefinite length, which to me means I'm there until I either quit or get fired, just like any other employment situation. As soon as I feel I've earned it, I'll be bucking for a raise that's for sure.
This job is a fantastic opportunity for me (having been off the "techmill" for two years) as they are paying me to learn all the latest stuff and have even offered to pay for any books I buy and any certification tests I pass! And the potential for growth within this relatively small outfit is tremendous. If I handle this right and they are truly as nice as they seem so far, this could be the last job I have before retiring! Very exciting!
In case I haven't said it enough, all my thanks to Lisa L's sister Shannon for referring me to my employer: Worldwide Computer & Media Solutions!
Moving on...
For at least a week now Lorie has been crewing on an independent film being shot all over town. I can't think of the name right now, but it's a comedy with a title and subject similar to Office Space. ..... [Lorie says it's called "Entry Level."]
One of the stars is comedian/actor Taylor Negron, whose face and career, if you're anything like me, lie just this side of the edge of your awareness. Most recently I saw him in The Aristocrats documentary shot by Penn & Teller, although I don't specifically remember him in that. Man, that was a funny movie. You wouldn't think a documentary about dozens of comedians telling the same joke over and over and over and over would hold your attention for two hours, but this is no ordinary joke. As they say in the film, basically the aristocrats joke has a standard opening line and a standard punch line, and everything in between is one long dirty filthy disgusting horrific obscene improvisation, so it's never the same joke twice. Unless you've seen the movie you've probably never heard this "inside joke" because it's usually only told to other comedians at parties and whatnot. But I digress...
Lorie has been running herself ragged on this film shoot sometimes working 14 hour days or longer. Since she's in charge of all the PA's (production assistants) she has to be on set before everybody else and stay longer than most at the end of the day. And since the craft service (caterer) guy was kind of drowning, she's been helping him out a lot all week. And since the craft service guy was drowning, they FIRED him yesterday, so now on top of managing a horde of PA's, Lorie has TAKEN OVER craft services completely!!!!
I have an amazing wife. Perhaps I'll see her again some day. Today they're shooting sidewalk scenes in Glendale. I might pop over for a visit and take some pics. [Nope, didn't make it.]
Oh, I almost forgot... last Sunday I was roped in as an extra on the film. Yes, dear fans, I reprised my award-winning and beloved role "Well Dressed Guy in Dark Green Suit" which you may remember from such classic films as "Cake", "Hoover Girl", "Jumping Off Bridges," and "Detective Cops: Special Detecting Unit!" But, alas, I've had to retire this character since during Sunday's shoot I noticed countless tiny moth holes in the iconic Dark Green Suit. I'll be contacting the Academy to discuss a possible donation, but failing that, there's a Goodwill down the street from us. Stay tuned for the next character I'm developing:
"Well Dressed Guy in Brownish-Grey-Tweedy-Kinda Suit."
That's all for now dear readers!
* Alex Jones is a rabid Austin-based government watchdog whose radio and public access cable shows I consumed the whole time we lived in Austin. Producing his shows, website, and documentary videos is what he does for a living. Some people write him off as a nutty, alarmist, over-excited, conspiracy theorist or an opportunistic entrepeneur. To be sure he is both, but in my opinion he is also an important check & balance against global, national, and local government/corporate/private entities that increasingly seem to be getting out of control to the detriment of the world's citizenry. I've seen him tackle everyone from Austin city council members and individual Austin police officers to international power groups like the Bildeburgs, the G8 summits, and everyone in between. And he's darned entertaining when he gets all jacked up on one of his frequent rants. Politically, I think he's a Libertarian. The last thing I expected in LA (much less in Tracy and Lisa's house) was to meet another Alex Jones fan.
The Friday we bought the Scion (two weekends ago), we drove it down the coast about 45 mins to Newport Beach to (re)visit many of Lorie's relatives at Sue & Tim's timeshare:
Nice view from their balcony, huh? And that's the whole gang by a pretentious fountain on the property. Let's see if I can remember everyone's name (apologies for any misspellings.) Left to right: L,K,Tom D., daughter Ji Soo, wife Hee Yeon, younger brother Sean D., Alyssa & Cody (L's brother Shane's chilluns), Tim D. (Tom & Sean are his sons from a previous marriage), and Sue D.
Tom, Hee Yeon, Ji Soo, & Sean all flew in from South Korea where Tom and Sean have been teaching English for many years. This was actually our third and final visit with everyone that week, and it was their last night in the timeshare as Sue and Tim have put it up for sale.
The first time we visited (Sun. 7/23?), we frolicked on the beach,
and generally loitered about the timeshare playing Scrabble and Uno, eating, drinking, and socializing. Life doesn't get much better than that!
The second day we visited (Tues.7/25) we met Sue, Hee Yeon, Cody, and Alyssa at Disney Land where Sue treated us to a day with The Mouse. Thanks again Sue! I was surprised just how soothing and fun Disney Land was for me -- like a carefree paradise stringently cut off from the real world outside. You can't even see any part of the real world when you're in the park. I didn't want to leave. After a full day we had only covered about half the park, and we were skipping a lot of stuff! I could easily spend three whole days there and still not get to everything on my list. I seriously considered joining them on their second visit to Disney two days later, but ultimately stayed home to do errands - I would be starting my new job in 4 days!
Warning: the next two links play music:
After their 2nd visit to Disney, I was surprised to learn from Hee Yeon that the "It's a Small World" attraction did not represent democratic South Korea in any way. But you can bet your sweet bippy the "Pirates of the Carribean" ride has been retooled to include Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow character! The Mouse knows how to make a buck with cross-promotion, that's for sure.
Moving on...
Sat.7/29
The day after our last Newport Beach visit we went to a birthday dinner party for my Aunt Gayle at Tracy and Lisa's house. We met lots of family and friends, everybody was charming, the food was delicious, and the wine flowed like wine! Somehow (I have no idea how) it didn't take me long to learn that two of the people there were Alex Jones* fans, so we immediately hit it off! Here's the only picture I thought to take that night:
Gayle still had pain from her fall, but was on the mend and was getting around pretty well on her own.
Moving on...
Two days ago (Fri.8/13) I completed the initial two-week pre-probation probationary period at my new job, and they want to keep me on! Yay! I've been on a VERY steep and stressful learning curve these past two weeks. Gratefully I reached some kind of comfort milestone Thursday while taking care of two customers on my own, and Friday morning I was able to eat breakfast for the first time. Progress! Now I'm in a longer probationary period of indefinite length, which to me means I'm there until I either quit or get fired, just like any other employment situation. As soon as I feel I've earned it, I'll be bucking for a raise that's for sure.
This job is a fantastic opportunity for me (having been off the "techmill" for two years) as they are paying me to learn all the latest stuff and have even offered to pay for any books I buy and any certification tests I pass! And the potential for growth within this relatively small outfit is tremendous. If I handle this right and they are truly as nice as they seem so far, this could be the last job I have before retiring! Very exciting!
In case I haven't said it enough, all my thanks to Lisa L's sister Shannon for referring me to my employer: Worldwide Computer & Media Solutions!
Moving on...
For at least a week now Lorie has been crewing on an independent film being shot all over town. I can't think of the name right now, but it's a comedy with a title and subject similar to Office Space. ..... [Lorie says it's called "Entry Level."]
One of the stars is comedian/actor Taylor Negron, whose face and career, if you're anything like me, lie just this side of the edge of your awareness. Most recently I saw him in The Aristocrats documentary shot by Penn & Teller, although I don't specifically remember him in that. Man, that was a funny movie. You wouldn't think a documentary about dozens of comedians telling the same joke over and over and over and over would hold your attention for two hours, but this is no ordinary joke. As they say in the film, basically the aristocrats joke has a standard opening line and a standard punch line, and everything in between is one long dirty filthy disgusting horrific obscene improvisation, so it's never the same joke twice. Unless you've seen the movie you've probably never heard this "inside joke" because it's usually only told to other comedians at parties and whatnot. But I digress...
Lorie has been running herself ragged on this film shoot sometimes working 14 hour days or longer. Since she's in charge of all the PA's (production assistants) she has to be on set before everybody else and stay longer than most at the end of the day. And since the craft service (caterer) guy was kind of drowning, she's been helping him out a lot all week. And since the craft service guy was drowning, they FIRED him yesterday, so now on top of managing a horde of PA's, Lorie has TAKEN OVER craft services completely!!!!
I have an amazing wife. Perhaps I'll see her again some day. Today they're shooting sidewalk scenes in Glendale. I might pop over for a visit and take some pics. [Nope, didn't make it.]
Oh, I almost forgot... last Sunday I was roped in as an extra on the film. Yes, dear fans, I reprised my award-winning and beloved role "Well Dressed Guy in Dark Green Suit" which you may remember from such classic films as "Cake", "Hoover Girl", "Jumping Off Bridges," and "Detective Cops: Special Detecting Unit!" But, alas, I've had to retire this character since during Sunday's shoot I noticed countless tiny moth holes in the iconic Dark Green Suit. I'll be contacting the Academy to discuss a possible donation, but failing that, there's a Goodwill down the street from us. Stay tuned for the next character I'm developing:
"Well Dressed Guy in Brownish-Grey-Tweedy-Kinda Suit."
That's all for now dear readers!
* Alex Jones is a rabid Austin-based government watchdog whose radio and public access cable shows I consumed the whole time we lived in Austin. Producing his shows, website, and documentary videos is what he does for a living. Some people write him off as a nutty, alarmist, over-excited, conspiracy theorist or an opportunistic entrepeneur. To be sure he is both, but in my opinion he is also an important check & balance against global, national, and local government/corporate/private entities that increasingly seem to be getting out of control to the detriment of the world's citizenry. I've seen him tackle everyone from Austin city council members and individual Austin police officers to international power groups like the Bildeburgs, the G8 summits, and everyone in between. And he's darned entertaining when he gets all jacked up on one of his frequent rants. Politically, I think he's a Libertarian. The last thing I expected in LA (much less in Tracy and Lisa's house) was to meet another Alex Jones fan.
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