So there.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Not again...
The car I've been driving for the past year has just broken down.
On the way home from work*, it started making a rattling noise (which stopped once the engine warmed up, which is why I kept driving even though I spent the entire drive begging the car to make it home), lost oil pressure at idle (the pressure was fine when I pressed the accelerator) and when I got home and opened the hood to have a look, noticed the whole engine compartment was covered in coolant.
Gods, I hope it's just a hose, but I can't do anything about it until Monday, since I'm working all weekend, and my call tomorrow is so early that I'll never get to the garage (I have to be at work at 6:30, and the garage doesn't open until 8).
Luckily, I've got a ride to work tomorrow and Sunday. We're rigging the LA Sports Arena for some movie - I don't even ask what it is anymore. I just want to know what it pays.
*At Culver Studios - there's a rumor around town that it's being torn down to make way for condos, and I'm happy to report that the rumor is 100% false.
The studio was bought by some real estate types, but according to our best boy, they have no desire to tear out 15 or so stages, and undertake a possible hazmat cleanup of the site in order to maybe make a profit in three years if LA's real estate market doesn't crash before then.
They'd much rather do nothing and rent the stages to film crews. Besides, Las Vegas has about half the stages there, so they've certainly got some coin coming in from those guys.
On the way home from work*, it started making a rattling noise (which stopped once the engine warmed up, which is why I kept driving even though I spent the entire drive begging the car to make it home), lost oil pressure at idle (the pressure was fine when I pressed the accelerator) and when I got home and opened the hood to have a look, noticed the whole engine compartment was covered in coolant.
Gods, I hope it's just a hose, but I can't do anything about it until Monday, since I'm working all weekend, and my call tomorrow is so early that I'll never get to the garage (I have to be at work at 6:30, and the garage doesn't open until 8).
Luckily, I've got a ride to work tomorrow and Sunday. We're rigging the LA Sports Arena for some movie - I don't even ask what it is anymore. I just want to know what it pays.
*At Culver Studios - there's a rumor around town that it's being torn down to make way for condos, and I'm happy to report that the rumor is 100% false.
The studio was bought by some real estate types, but according to our best boy, they have no desire to tear out 15 or so stages, and undertake a possible hazmat cleanup of the site in order to maybe make a profit in three years if LA's real estate market doesn't crash before then.
They'd much rather do nothing and rent the stages to film crews. Besides, Las Vegas has about half the stages there, so they've certainly got some coin coming in from those guys.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Day two of the car stunts
I wish I could take a helicopter to work.
Say "spoiled rich actor" all you want, but if I had enough money to pay for a helicopter to get me out of sitting in traffic, I'd do it in a heartbeat - just like our actor today, who showed up for work in a helicopter (turning all of us who sat in traffic for an hour green with envy).
Good for him for having enough money to bypass the Harbor Freeway.
He also had entirely too much fun driving through the stacks of paper in the warehouse (the stacks of paper which, upon closer inspection, turned out to be giant rolls of toilet paper. I had no idea that TP came on ten foot wide rolls and got cut down. You learn something new every day, I guess).
We all had fun too - once we were lit, all we had to do all day was tell jokes and watch the car stunts.
I need more jobs like this one.
Say "spoiled rich actor" all you want, but if I had enough money to pay for a helicopter to get me out of sitting in traffic, I'd do it in a heartbeat - just like our actor today, who showed up for work in a helicopter (turning all of us who sat in traffic for an hour green with envy).
Good for him for having enough money to bypass the Harbor Freeway.
He also had entirely too much fun driving through the stacks of paper in the warehouse (the stacks of paper which, upon closer inspection, turned out to be giant rolls of toilet paper. I had no idea that TP came on ten foot wide rolls and got cut down. You learn something new every day, I guess).
We all had fun too - once we were lit, all we had to do all day was tell jokes and watch the car stunts.
I need more jobs like this one.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Misery, thy name is Harbor Freeway on a rainy day.
Today's (and tomorrow's) mission: some Nickelodeon promo for MI 3 (car drives real fast through warehouse ending in some sort of as-yet-to-be-revealed promotional tie-in featuring some kid who stars in some show on NickTeen, whatever the hell that is), which is shooting in a warehouse on the docks of the LA Harbor in San Pedro.
To get to San Pedro from my house, I have to travel down the Harbor Freeway - one of Los Angeles' more congested roadways. Add today's rain into the equation, and it's the commute from hell (when you move to Los Angeles, the knowledge of how to drive on a wet road is somehow sucked out of your brain).
It took me 40 minutes to get to work, and an hour and a half to get home. I thought if I left right at 5 pm, I'd beat the hopeless snarl of traffic that is LA during rush hour - how wrong I was.
Aside from the traffic, it was a very fun, easy (car stunts mean we light the scene and then sit there, shooting the shit and watching the stunt drivers rehearse everything for hours. Working in a warehouse means no stairs, so we don't have to do anything like picking up a 200 lb light and carrying it up three flights of steps because the elevator's too small to hold any of our gear), and aside from some really fucked up start paperwork*, uneventful day.
More of the same tomorrow.
Random Link:
LA Times Goldfish Cam
These guys have been living in LA River Water for over a month.
I'm really surprised they're still alive.
*The jist of the paperwork is this (I'm paraphrasing since I don't feel like typing the legalese): They're asking us to sign something that basically states that we're agreeing to work in a hazardous situation and we can't sue them EVER if we get hurt because of it.
To get to San Pedro from my house, I have to travel down the Harbor Freeway - one of Los Angeles' more congested roadways. Add today's rain into the equation, and it's the commute from hell (when you move to Los Angeles, the knowledge of how to drive on a wet road is somehow sucked out of your brain).
It took me 40 minutes to get to work, and an hour and a half to get home. I thought if I left right at 5 pm, I'd beat the hopeless snarl of traffic that is LA during rush hour - how wrong I was.
Aside from the traffic, it was a very fun, easy (car stunts mean we light the scene and then sit there, shooting the shit and watching the stunt drivers rehearse everything for hours. Working in a warehouse means no stairs, so we don't have to do anything like picking up a 200 lb light and carrying it up three flights of steps because the elevator's too small to hold any of our gear), and aside from some really fucked up start paperwork*, uneventful day.
More of the same tomorrow.
Random Link:
LA Times Goldfish Cam
These guys have been living in LA River Water for over a month.
I'm really surprised they're still alive.
*The jist of the paperwork is this (I'm paraphrasing since I don't feel like typing the legalese): They're asking us to sign something that basically states that we're agreeing to work in a hazardous situation and we can't sue them EVER if we get hurt because of it.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
It's over!
Of course, I managed to avoid the 'set cough' for almost the entire run of the show - also of course, I started getting a scratchy throat right after lunch yesterday, but I feel better today (I want to meet the woman who invented "Airborne" and give her a HUGE hug).
Our wrap party is tonight, and the producers are asking for voluntary donations for the women's shelter where we shot a good bit of the show.
They (the shelter, not the producers) provide services to women in need of transitional housing, and they're on a really tight budget - the building they're housed in needs repairs (badly), and they were in such need of money that they let a movie crew disrupt their lives (graciously, I might add - I've never met a nicer group of people. Both the residents and staff were friendly and co-operative throughout the entire time we were there, even though it was clearly a massive inconvenience).
In Los Angeles, there are surprisingly few services for women in need of emergency housing, and this one really needs help.
So, should you have some money burning a hole in your pocket and would like to help out your sisters with a tax deductible contribution, please contact the Sunshine Mission in Los Angeles.
Or, mail checks to:
We're downloading the truck on Monday, and then I'm onto something else Tuesday and Wednesday.
Our wrap party is tonight, and the producers are asking for voluntary donations for the women's shelter where we shot a good bit of the show.
They (the shelter, not the producers) provide services to women in need of transitional housing, and they're on a really tight budget - the building they're housed in needs repairs (badly), and they were in such need of money that they let a movie crew disrupt their lives (graciously, I might add - I've never met a nicer group of people. Both the residents and staff were friendly and co-operative throughout the entire time we were there, even though it was clearly a massive inconvenience).
In Los Angeles, there are surprisingly few services for women in need of emergency housing, and this one really needs help.
So, should you have some money burning a hole in your pocket and would like to help out your sisters with a tax deductible contribution, please contact the Sunshine Mission in Los Angeles.
Or, mail checks to:
Sunshine MissionPlease write a check if you can spare it - tell 'em you were with the movie crew.
2600 S. Hoover St.
Los Angeles, Ca
90007
We're downloading the truck on Monday, and then I'm onto something else Tuesday and Wednesday.
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