Letting my thoughts escape my brain

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Luck's Joined the Dark Side

Since I've moved to Charlotte, Good Luck and I have been pretty good friends. Until last Tuesday at 4:06pm when Luck decided to join the dark side and start making my life hell. For the past two weeks I've been in a brawl with luck, who now goes by bad luck, and I'm getting my butt kicked.
Last Tuesday on my way home from work I was driving behind a plumbing truck when out of the blue a joint pipe about 18 inches long and 4 inches wide flies out of the truck and bee lines it for my front fender. Because traffic was so heavy, trying to avoid the possessed pipe would only cause a bigger accident. So I clenched my steering wheel and took the beating. After looking in my rear view mirror and seeing that the pipe was bouncing through the traffic behind me I picked up the pen in my cup holder, picked up my speed and began writing down the information on the truck. I picked up my phone and dialed out the numbers scribbled on my hand. The woman on the other line said she would call me back in an hour when the supervisor got into the office. I waited 2 hours, called them back and was told to wait 45 more minutes. I waited an hour then called back...no answer. I was not going to get screwed over. The next morning I left a message for them to call me by 10am or I was going to file the accident at the police department. To make a long story short I got the issue settled and they are going to pay for the damages (although surprisingly small, just a deep scratch in the shape of a perfect circle).
Next on the list, the blow below the belt at my dog Sadie. Thursday I let Chloie and Sadie out to play. About an hour later I open the door to let them back in. Sadie limps through the door (which is normal b/c she has arthritis), behind her is a very bloody trail. I freak out and run over to start checking paws. A small pool of blood was starting to form under Sadie's left front paw. I lift it up and a one inch gash had left her pad split almost in two. I call my mom and together we begin to doctor her up. She's getting better now but is sad that her play time has been limited.
On to Friday night, a good friend and I are on our way home from a local band's concert. Again, a stupid truck was driving in front of me and stuff starts flying out. Luckily no one else was on the road so I could dodge most of the debris, except for the white paint. I get home and check out the damage. White speckles of paint covered my hood and windshield (did I mention I have a black car?). Anyway, with some elbow grease I was able to take off most of it, but the rest is going to have to be taken care of by professionals.
Monday is the day that bad luck drew blood. On my morning commute to work, sitting in stopped traffic, a Honda driven by a woman on a cell phone and a hyper dog in the back seat plows into my car at 45 miles an hour. In disbelief I pull over to the safety lane and dial 911. Numbed from previous beatings by bad luck I was almost unmoved when the officer asked me if I was okay. I step out of the car and take a look at my broken bumper, then glance over at the woman’s front fender that was completely destroyed and thought, wow I guess that was a harder hit than I thought, then got back in my car and cranked up the radio and waited. After the officer handed me my Accident Report I headed off to work. I sat down at my desk where the adrenaline quickly wore off and the pain hit. Yep, whip lash. My neck and shoulder throbbed in stabbing pain and moving my head to look right was almost impossible.I decided to leave work an hour early to doctor myself up, a very very bad idea.
Apparently bad luck was on overtime because he was waiting for me in the parking lot. I start to leave my parking space, backing out slowly b/c I couldn't move my neck and then I heard the all to familiar noise. Another employee was in a hurry to get out of the parking lot so he picked up his speed to get by me. Apparently it wasn't fast enough b/c I backed right into him. Now furious, not at him but the whole day, I pound my fist on my gearshift (which really hurt) then get out of the car. I start to mumble choice words. The guy gets mad b/c he thinks they are directed at him. I quickly step back into reality and explain the past few days to him. The story ironically put him in a good mood and he said he would be okay handling the situation without the police or insurance company. Happy with that I profusely apologized, got in my car and let the floodgates open. Bad luck had won. This day had sucked and the following day I was going to avoid driving. So, I called my boss and told him that I was not coming into work b/c I was boycotting driving for a day. He laughed and granted me permission to sulk.
So here I am at home working, sulking, and avoiding my car at all costs. The good news is that my neck movement is slowly coming back, my car is getting fixed, Sadie's foot is healing up and my day off has given me time to finally blog.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Autumn Winds

The Rain finally made his way to NC, gently gracing us with cool drops of water over our thirsty flowers and withering grass. When the street lamps came on he began to shimmer then ask me to dance. With a smile I slipped off my shoes and played a while. As if his presence wasn't enough, he also brought with him Crisp Fresh Air and her sister Cool Gentle Breeze. Together they blew away the dust and heat so that I could see and feel the beauty of Fall. The three promised to stay through the night to and coax me to sleep if I, in return, left my windows open for them to play in my drapes. I know their visit won't be long, but they've promised to stay one more day. I pray that it's true.



Fall Dance
by: Edward Nudelman

Another fall day that seems to balance
On its own precarious step

Not understanding whether it is to be swung
Into winter’s arms in a dosie-doe

Or rudely shoved like the last passenger
On the five o’clock commuter to Trenton

I’ve got to say by the looks of things
She’s got her own two-step today

Sitting around twiddling her gorgeous thumbs
Through the red-tipped maples

While her toes tap on the cool green grass
And her breath leaves a mark on my window.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Waking up

I am not a morning person, yet my middle name is Dawn (my mothers favorite time of day). I'm not a morning person, yet I wake up hours before the sun rises. Sleeping in doesn't happen often, but when it does I'm surprisingly just as unaware of the things around me as I am when I'm forced out by my alarm.
It takes me about 5 minutes to lose my blurred vision, 15 minutes to put together proper words and sentences, and 30 minutes to gain my equilibrium. This morning, after I was able to function properly, I had to laugh at myself. Why? The process of me waking up is very similar to that of someone who has had one too many margaritas.
I'll use this week's morning routines as examples. The very first thing I do in the morning is jump in the shower to boost the waking up process. Due to blurred vision I washed my hair first with conditioner then with shampoo, the rest of the day my hair looked as if I stuck my finger in light socket. Thursday morning, after my shower, I apparently had a conversation with my mom about the Occupato premier the previous night. I was getting so frustrated b/c she kept asking how it was and then assumed the premier went poorly, all due to my slurred speech, incomplete sentences and talking in grunts. This morning I got up and put on some sweat pants. Standing on one foot is way too difficult. I fall over into the sink and knock over lotions and bottles. I stumbled into the kitchen and walk into the corner of the wall, followed by spilled yogurt and granola. Luckily, those who know me well enough know to give me 30 minutes to myself in the morning to "sober-up." Roommates and family have told me before that I'm funny in the morning. This morning I somehow became aware of the humor in my waking.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Yeah, that was a name drop

I had the privilege to work another race this weekend here in my hometown of Charlotte, NC, the Bank of America 500. My day started at the track at 7:30 am and ended the next day at 2:30 am. Despite the insanity of my work hours, I still managed to have a blast, as always.
Saturday morning I helped with the filming of a commercial for the NASCAR Foundation Track Walk. After gathering fans participating in the walk to pose as if they were really excited, I started to gather the celebrities there for quick interviews. I turn around to see a Busch Series driver, Scott Wimmer, not so exciting. Then I look over and see two large men talking. Once my brain woke up I realized it was former NFL players Rod Smith (Carolina Panthers) and George Martin (NY Giants). Being a big football fan I was happy to have the duty to shake their hand and prep them for their interviews.
Next on the list, Brian Vickers. Brian is a NEXTEL Cup Series driver for Red Bull. It's an on going joke in my family and at work that I need to go out with Brian solely for the reason that we both love kayaking and rock climbing...oh and did I mention he's quite cute, which I've made known to those who work with me. Anyway, as if in slow motion, Brian pulls up in his Red Bull golf cart looking fine as ever and walks up to meet his PR. The senior producer gives a frantic point in his direction as to say "Get him for an interview NOW!" I take a few deep breaths to prepare myself for my first words with Brian, which were "Hi, can I have you"...yep those were my words, nothing else. A very awkward what felt like a 10 minute, but was probably 2 seconds, pause lingered between us then I blurted out, "...for an interview of course, sorry, I mean, do you have a minute?" Luckily he laughs and says "yeah, definitely." I hold down the throw up and slight embarrassment and walk him over to my camera guy. After the interview I was hoping to find something to make me busy, or appear busy, to somehow relinquish my cool points. Then, it happens. I see someone who would make my week.
Ladies and gentlemen, I laid my eyes on a man with one arm and an air of rock and roll to him. In my moment of recovery from the past interview I wasn't thinking clearly. I began to strike up conversation with this man who told me all about his charity Raven Drum Foundation. We joked around and I even grabbed his good arm to support me as I laughed at a joke. Then it dawned on me...holy sweet mother, I'm talking to the legendary Rick Allen from Def Leppard!!! I was so excited. So as he talked with Brian and George I clicked this picture.

The track walk went well and I shared a few stares with Brian and another handshake and conversation with my man Rick, who I later saw in the pits where he winked at me...oh Rick. Anyhoo, it was a great weekend and I love meeting cool people, cool famous legendary one armed drummer people. Here is a Def Leppard music video. You can catch a few glimpses of Rick playing drums.

Friday, October 12, 2007

A Love Song For No One

I heard this song today and it made me smile. How true is it that we have all writen a love song for no one? Maybe not literally pen and paper, but we've all had those moments when we daydream about who it is we are meant to be with. As a girl, I know this to be true. Through out my life I've writen several letters to a man I don't know...or do I? Most my life I've been content with being single, but I must confess I have my moments (usually when I'm at home alone on a weekend) when I just say "Okay, I'm done with this whole single thing. Lets just fast forward and figure out this mystery."

Staying home alone on a Friday
Flat on the floor looking back
On old love
Or lack thereof
After all the crushes are faded
And all my wishful thinking was wrong
I'm jaded
I hate it

I'm tired of being alone
So hurry up and get here
So tired of being alone
So hurry up and get here
Get here

Searching all my days just to find you
I'm not sure who I'm looking for
I'll know it
When I see you
Until then, I'll hide in my bedroom
Staying up all night just to write
A love song for no one

I'm tired of being alone
So hurry up and get here
So tired of being alone
So hurry up and get here

I could have met you in a sandbox
I could have passed you on the sidewalk
Could I have missed my chance
And watched you walk away?
Oh no way

I'm tired of being alone
So hurry up and get here
I'm so tired of being alone
So hurry up and get here

You'll be so good
You'll be so good for me
Oh You'll be so good
-John Mayer : A Love Song For No One

Monday, October 8, 2007

The Claim After the Storm

It seems the last 4 weeks of my life have been saturated in all thing TV and movie production. I've been sleeping, eating, talking, reading, writing, and sneezing production. Traveling on the road with NASCAR has been a blast. The people are amazing and come from all walks of life. They spend 36 weeks out of the year together, which has resulted in a nomadic-like family. I was immediately accepted and treated as if I had been with them all season.
Sunday I loaded up my things and headed out to the race track for a 6am crew call. I stopped by the TV compound to grab some fruit, load my backpack with enough snacks to last me till 9pm, and claim my beautiful gas powered golf cart. Most of the morning was spent putting the cameras together and prelabeling all the tapes. The camera that I was assigned to was worth $90,000, which made me thankful that I only had to clean the lens.
The festivities didn't start till 11am. I load my backpack with two 8 lb batteries and 10 HD digi tapes and truck on over with my camera crew to the drivers meeting. The rest of the day was spent in the pits (not the emotional pits but the actual physical pit stalls at the track). Sporting my all access pass, I hop the pit wall and start rubbing elbows with drivers and crew chiefs. It didn't take the drivers and crew members long to realize I was the newbie on the road. First I received the look-over, then the smile, and then I was picked on. The picking led to good conversation which led to making fun of Jeff Gordon when we caught him digging his fire suit out of his butt. After the National Anthem and other prerace festivities were over I hopped back over the pit wall and took my place in our first pit stall. I was able to capture some pretty cool photos. This is Jimmie Johnson's first pit stop of the race. I was close enough that if I stuck my hand out it would be lopped off by the car leaving the pit stall. I was also able to hear several lug nuts fly past my head as they flew out from under the tires. It was scary yet thrilling.
The race went through 2 rain delays, which left me very wet and very cold. We took shelter with some other crew members and drivers in an empty garage where I took the liberty to capture the monsoon. If you click on the picture it will be larger so that you can see it was literally raining sideways.
The race finally ended. Greg Biffle took the win under caution (my man Clint Bowyer came in a close 2nd). I snapped a quick picture of the chaos when he won. I surprised I wasn't killed or trampled. But I survived thanks to my 90 lb backpack. I'm sure it served as some sort of protection against the mob of media.

After capturing the burnout we ran to Victory Lane where I was doused in Gatorade and confetti. The night was finally over at 10pm. I loaded the golf cart with 4 cameras, 3 tripods and 2 booms and made my way to the car.
The next morning I slept the whole plane ride. It was a fun weekend and I look forward to the chaos again this weekend. Luckily the race is here in Charlotte so I can sleep in my own bed.