Memorial Day Weekend...

The weekend was one with more rest than work, which is I guess how a holiday weekend should be, but I had I worked more, I wouldn't be up for the long haul tonight.  But it's all good.

Friday evening I got all 'dolled' up for what I had expected would be a fun night...which it was, just in a different way than I though.  First I had to take Delaware (and as it turned out one of the crew members) to the airport.  They were going for a weekend getaway, to which I had been invited, but I just didn't feel like spending the money to hang around drunk people all weekend...which is what I figured the weekend was going to be...I could have been wrong.

Disney!

More Cool Disney Architecture...

The guy who also got a ride from me kind of sneakily asked.  He actually didn't ask at all.  He had Delaware ask me if I wanted to walk around the Disney lot before going to the airport.  At first I was like 'Yeah!'...because 1.  I've never been on that lot, and 2.  I'm hoping it will be my future place of employment, so  I thought it was cool.  Till I started thinking about it.  Why would we go to the lot on this particular day.  Then I remembered he worked there and I was basically bamboozled into taking him to the airport.  Now, it wasn't the trip, because it was actually on the way,  I was already going for Delaware, it was cool to be on that lot, and he was pretty appreciative...but still.  It was the way it was presented.  Which I voiced my opinion about to Delaware.

After the airport run, I met up with some people from a new 'meet-up' group I joined.  'Soul Sisters of the Valley.'  We were meeting up to go to a party hosted by Tyreese.  Now, the place seemed like it could be cool, but after standing outside for a while, (to make the club seem more packed than it was, ) finally getting inside and finding it was empty, eating 'food' that was 'eh,' enduring way-too-loud music and  waiting for Tyreese, who supposed to be hosting it, who was perpetually 'on his way.'  (I don't generally really trust when celebrities say they're going to be somewhere unless its big, like the Oscars)...

Me...with my Friday night hair. ;)

We all decided to leave and just grab a bite to eat to get to know each other.  Well 4 restaurants later...either because a place was too crowded, or closed or needed reservations, we ended up at Denny's.  Which, although not my favorite place, was quiet, cheap and gave us a chance to just laugh and talk...and so it was a nice little adventure.

Saturday I think I had a bit of  'cabin fever' because I just couldn't sit at my computer on such a pretty day.  So, what did I do?  I went to the movies and shopping...which kinda defeated the purpose of the nice day...but I rode with the windows down and walked around too, so it was nice.  I saw Men in Black II and I enjoyed it. It was pretty fun...and Josh Brolin as a young Tommy Lee Jones was pretty great.  Will I see it again, probably not, but it was a good time at the time.

Sunday I went to church, then did some grocery shopping.  I tried to come home and write, but that only last for a short while...though it did keep me up late.

While Monday I had plans of writing pretty much all day, since I goofed off much of the weekend, I ended up trekking to Santa Clarita to help 'Bahamas' shoot a mini-music video...only because she offered to pay me and she was using my camera.   I did get up early and write before going.  But when I got home I was a apparently pretty tired, because I took a nap and woke up like four hours later.  But now I'm ready for an all nighter...which I'm going to get back to right now.

Finally...

I've been working on a spec script for nearly the whole month now and completely hating everything I wrote.  Well today I finally got some revelation for a story line that's compelling, dramatic, with fun elements and I feel good about.  Prayer works!!!

It's layed out ready to write...but not tonight.  I'm tired and the hip is acting up...I'm going to bed.

A day with the Girls

Over the weekend one of my new friends texted me to hang out sometime this week...so, I invited her and our third 'gang' member over to the hang suite for some lunch and pool time.  Since I'm in writer's mode, I unfortunately find any reason to procrastinate and this day was no different.

A small aside...In a way procrastinating helps my ideas at times because it allows my mind to get off the story, and then inevitably the story shapes itself while I'm not thinking about it...and then in the wee hours of the night it has a tendency to reveal itself on the computer screen.   It's kind of a process that I'm learning to embrace...though it doesn't always work exactly when or how I would like it to...which makes it hard to completely accept.

Back to the day...

So the girls came over...I'll call them 'Chi-town,' and 'Comic-con' since one is from Chicago and the other is a self proclaimed 'Nerd,' who is excited about attending this year's Comicon (which is a HUGE convention for all things Superhero, Science-fiction, Supernatural, etc, etc, etc.)

Well, nothing about the day was particularly exciting, but it was a very chill and relaxed day.  We chatted for hours over lunch first, then moved down to the pool...where we chatted in the pool, then pool side, then back to the 'hang suite."  It's nice to have a different group of friends to switch it up sometimes.

The weird thing is, I felt the need to tell them about Erika and Shannon.  I'm not sure why...maybe it's because they were talking about one of our fellow crew members on MasterChef and the fact that he has an identical twin brother, or maybe it was because they were looking at all the pictures in the house of me and Erika, or maybe it was that they already knew about the accident, or maybe I'm trying to be more open with people...(ok, that last one is likely not it because I don't really want to be an open book to everyone I meet.)  Whatever the reason, they know now.  Maybe it will give them just on extra piece of my puzzle as we grow our friendship.

Anyways, after they left, I did some 'research' (that is, watched some shows) then got to writing.  I'm obviously taking a break now...or procrastinating...either way, I'm hung up on a story element and I'm working my way out of it by not thinking about it...for now.  It's going to be a late night, early morning.

I press on...

A weekend of Firsts...

This was a weekend of trying new things...except for Friday night, when I could not resist the urge to watch one of my very favorite movies, The Last Dragon.  I don't know why I needed to see it, but I did and it was great.  Super corny and cheesy, but great.  I said all the words verbatim...because I was alone and I could, and even listened to my favorite songs several times.  Maybe it was because that was something Erika and I would do...I don't know...but it was good stuff.

Saturday I decided that I was going to attempt to braid my own hair (which in and of itself is nothing new,) but since I was going to do it with extensions...something I normally pay a good price for...it was new for me.  I figured "how hard could it be," and besides...I was just doing cornrows so it would be easier to start with.  It was a bit challenging, but they didn't turn out half bad for a first attempt...now all I need to do is practice and finesse my technique.

Control Room (from my side)

My camera and view from Control Booth

Sunday at church was my first time working with the video/media ministry and it was fun!  It was like working on a real live show...which, thanks to MasterChef I have done before, but this time I was running a camera.  I've gotten used to having the AD talking in my hear and doing what she wanted, but having a director directing me on camera movement, shots and framing was something altogether new.  I definitely had to concentrate since he was calling the shots for 5 different cameras.  But I will say, my film school education helped me to catch on quite quickly.  Now I know what the Camera ops on the show were going through...though they had to decipher among 10-12 cameras on any given day...not just 4 others.  

Acki and Saltfish...with all the sides, Yum!

Sunday after church I finally went to a Jamaican restaurant that I've been passing since I moved here...just never took the time to go, or it was closed, or I was in a hurry.  Anyways, today I went and the food was really good, the place was really chill (even though I took my food to go,) and the people were laid back.  I will be going back more often, for sure.

Also on Saturday, I met up with Bahamas since she has decided to take some time away from LA and the industry to really find out what God would have her to do...since (like me) this past year has been trial after trial, let down after let down, and tears upon tears.  I am saddened that as a believer, her road has been so trying when other people basically do whatever they want with no real morals and seem to succeed.  But I am praying that big things come to her in a way that she has never dreamed possible because of this act of faith and obedience to forces greater than herself. 

But we had a great time catching up...that is until I took her to her car and it wasn't there.  Turns out her car had been towed to place not very close by with a price tag of just over $300.00.  Needless to say that was the straw that broke the camel's back, and she had a bit of a melt down.  I was glad I was there to support her and help her get her car back.  Although her move is bitter sweet...I'm sure that little set back made her leaving all the more appealing. 

Tomorrow is a new week...and I hope it will be ridiculously productive as far as my own projects go.  I need it to be, since the last week of the month I will be working on a special for Disney, that the AD submitted my name to.  She really is a God send, and things are finally starting to look up.  

I press on...

--
awc
~ Get Lifted ~

A Mostly Uneventful Day

Today was pretty uneventful...I didn't leave the house, I did a little writing, I caught up on sleep, I paid some attention to my hair...blah, blah, blah...

But the day isn't over yet and I just got a second wind.  Here's to being able to write throughout the night with out worrying about getting up and being somewhere.  There are both pros and cons to being employed as well as unemployed.

I press on...

A visiting friend, Another job and down time...

It's been a while since the last post, but a lot has been going on.

Two weekends ago a long time friend and former roomie from Famu trekked over to the West coast for a visit.   She arrived on a Thursday night and left the following Tuesday.  We had non-stop fun the whole time she was here.  (Ok, maybe not completely non-stop, but we had quite a bit of fun.)

Malibu!

My Hommie!

Here's a quick recap:
3D Imax viewing of the Avengers (My new favorite superhero/action movie), Shopping, Overlooking the night city lights at the Griffith Park Observatory...

An overpriced, over-rated brunch, A food-truck festival, A'beer-pong' birthday party (which seemed pretty silly to me,) a night at 'Booty' (the nightclub,)

Great praise and worship at church, a trip to Malibu, freshly made ice-cream sandwiches from the famous Diddy Riese, A daylong visit to Universal Studios-Hollywood (which isn't nearly as cool as Universal Studios-Orlando in my humble opinion,) dinner at the exclusive, invite only Magic Castle (only real 'magicians' are allowed to become members for a mere $1500.00 fee,) lots of laughs, lots of fun and lots of catching up.

Universal Studios - Hollywood

 After I took her to the airport early Tuesday morning, I pretty much hit a wall.  I was quite tired on the drive home and I would have come home and gone to sleep, but I had to get gas, and run some errands...plus I had already promised one of my new friends that I would go to see The Avengers a second go round...so I did all that.  Around 3ish, I came home and promptly fell asleep.

The City Lights

Best Ice Cream sandwiches ever!

The next day I had plans to write and catch up on sleep (a little bit anyways)...but that plan was thwarted when my tutee texted me to remind me that we were meeting up in the afternoon...so that kinda changed the plans of the day, but it was still all good.


The next day I got a call from a friend about a job for a few days working on the 'Basketball Wives Season 4 Reunion,' which I accepted and worked with the weekend up until yesterday.

It was an interesting shoot.  It was very much more frazzled than it needed to be on the production side, but while we were shooting I was a talent wrangler, so I basically just saw to any needs of the 2 women in my care.

I don't really watch the show, but my ladies were pretty nice and all the ladies looked really great (particularly Shaunie O'neal) and ALL the ladies had really fancy shoes.  They aren't walking shoes and they certainly aren't everyday shoes, but they were all something special.

The Magic Castle

Today...well, I caught up on some emails, worked on some graphics projects that unfortunately got pushed to the side while working and focused the rest of my time on getting back into a writing groove...and obviously getting caught up on the blog and some of the happenings since the last post.


Well, maybe a little dinner, then back to writing...I've got some personal deadlines to meet which I will prayerfully get done before I find another gig...like next week...

I press on...

My baby sister...

Because today (May 2nd) she would have been 23, and I miss her.  RIP baby girl.

That's a wrap!!!

Saturday...after a 7am to 12am day, we finally wrapped principal photography on Season 3...and yes, that is me with a bottle of champagne in my hand (standing by one of my new, and obviously very tall, friends.)

The day was long and hectic...much like the season, but I must say I did have fun.  I also learned a lot and made some good contacts, that will prayerfully lead to more work here in the next couple of weeks. 

Until then, I'm not stressing, trying to get caught up with sleep and work on getting back into a good writing groove...because while the show kinda put my writing schedule on a mini hiatus, I still have quite a few personal deadlines that I need to meet, and so I need to get to it!

That said, the past two days have been serious catch up days.  Every time I tried to write, my brain literally shut down...so, I let it and caught up on my DVR shows of which there are many (it never seems to ever really get cleared off.)  I also took some time meet with my tutee, which made her happy.

The best news though, is that tomorrow my old college roomie and very dear friend will be coming for a visit for a few days and I'm super pumped to have a friend here who already knows me...who I don't have to withhold information from or explain things like my Frankenstien arm scars.  She is coming at a time when I definitely need a distraction (as it's the anniversary of the new [albeit forced] chapter in my life)...and I've got lots of fun planned!

Now...well, I should probably get back to writing work.  Late nights are back, since early mornings are now optional.  I press on...