The Joys of Womanhood

This week is one of those weeks where I have been completely controlled by the power of the body. Unexplainable emotions and reactions that only women share or can understand took over my body and turned me into this bumbling, over emotional mess.

To begin, I’m not the girliest of girls. I don’t mind sporting sweat pants and a t-shirt in public, I don’t really like make-up but I wear it to work, I enjoy sports and things that usually leave you covered in mud and sweat, and I’m capable of going to the bathroom by myself. I’m not a tomboy though, I’m somewhere in the middle I guess because I enjoy new, cute clothes and get excited when I find a top that’s 4,578% off. But there are those days where I find myself falling victim to all the things that make us girls who we are. I began the week by obsessing over not having any cute outfits for work (usually I just wear what’s clean or doesn’t have a stain), then I dug up all my old facial scrubs and creams that people gave me as gifts and found myself actually using them, I tried on all my old formal gowns to see if they fit, I brought a brush to work and actually used it during the day, and I cried during not one but two interviews because the stories were so moving, then put together a girls night with my mom and sister-in-law which consisted of cocktails, Hairspray the movie, midnight run for Midol and sugar coated snacks, and gossiping about boys. Heck, to top it off I even gave undergarment and make-up tips to some girls at work. I believe I even became oddly aware of my singleness. Probably because I have two weddings in one day next week, 2 friends getting engaged in one week and receiving the ultimate depressing question “Soooo when do we get to meet the boyfriend?” (People just assume you’re dating someone.) I answer “Oh, no, I’m uh…I don’t have a boyfriend.” Response: “WHAT? WHY?” I think to myself, I don’t know…why not? This usually doesn’t bother me because I know that whole thing will happen when it is suppose to, but this week it sent me into spouts of self-pity. Man, I have been such an emotional mess. Although the over the top girlness has been unusual for me, it’s been entertaining and quite fun/funny to look back on. Maybe this is my brain trying to recuperate from two weekends of working alongside of boys and porta-jons…who knows.

OCCUPATO: The "Flounding" Film for Future Works

Well, I've been up to my ears in preproduction for the past few months which explains my lack of postage. Every waking hour has been spent getting the smallest details in place for this film. Balancing this and a full time job isn't easy, and my phone bill has gone up significatly, but I can not complain. I live for this stuff. Film is what I love and even if it does drain every ounce of my time and energy, I'm not going to fret because I wouldn't want anything else to leave me in this state. It's satisfying.
As of 8:34pm this past Sunday we wrapped up our first weekend of shooting for Occupato. In two days, which was really just one with a quck nap for Shea and I, we accomplished a monumental amount of filming. Although this film is only going to be about 5-8 minutes long, it is jam packed with some amazing production. Everyone was on their A Game working hard and willing to go to the next level of artistic geniusness. Next step is one more weekend of shooting and then post.
I will do my best to keep everyone up dated. Keep checking the film's blog too. Although it's been a little neglected these past few weeks, we will be posting some pictures of us in action, trailors and maybe even some inside scoop.
So stay patient with me as I regain some energy and time. When I get back it will be daily...PROMISE!

Cure for your Friday

Heard it in the car on my way to work and it's been jamming in my head all day.

I don't care if Monday's blue
Tuesday's grey and Wednesday too
Thursday I don't care about you
It's Friday, I'm in love

Monday you can fall apart
Tuesday, Wednesday break my heart
Thursday doesn't even start
It's Friday I'm in love

Saturday, wait
And Sunday always comes too late
But Friday, never hesitate...

I don't care if Mondays black
Tuesday, Wednesday - heart attack
Thursday, never looking back
It's Friday, I'm in love

Monday, you can hold your head
Tuesday, Wednesday stay in bed
Or Thursday - watch the walls instead
It's Friday, I'm in love

Saturday, wait
And Sunday always comes too late
But Friday, never hesitate...

Dressed up to the eyes
It's a wonderful surprise
To see your shoes and your spirits rise
Throwing out your frown
And just smiling at the sound
And as sleek as a shriek
Spinning round and round
Always take a big bite
It's such a gorgeous sight
To see you eat in the middle of the night
You can never get enough
Enough of this stuff
It's Friday, I'm in love

I don't care if Monday's blue
Tuesday's grey and Wednesday too
Thursday I don't care about you
It's Friday, I'm in love

Monday you can fall apart
Tuesday, Wednesday break my heart
Thursday doesn't even start
It's Friday I'm in love
-Cure: Friday I'm in Love

I'M BACK!

It has been entirely too long since I've posted. I’m actually quite embarrassed about it to be honest. But with starting a new job that requires me staring at a computer in a dark little room and working on our film, I've been exhausted. But thank goodness from Freedom because my sweet little one-day holiday has allowed me to sleep in, get some rest, and sit in my bed any pour out my mind again. It feels good to be back. I've missed it.
No a lot has happened, but a lot has happened...if that makes any since at all. I've managed to start not just a new job, but a career, produce a movie, take several road trips for the movie, buy pools and porta-jons, house sit for 2 weeks, entertain family from out of town, plan a party, and help my dad remodel their basement. Needless to say this morning I realized how stretched thin I have been. I can't complain too much because I have enjoyed every moment of it. Somehow life has turned into this chaotic hodgepodge of events and duties that's left me surprisingly pumped about life.
This being my first time back in a very long time, I'm pretty much going to ramble about bits and pieces of my life. To begin I learned that huskie will eat anything that is your favorite. For example, favorite work out top, favorite pair of underwear, favorite bathing suit, favorite rug, and favorite throw pillows. All these things were eaten in on week. I was house sitting for my brother while he was in Italy. I had the privilege of keeping his dog, Chloe, as well. I love the dog, but she gets stir crazy when you're not there during the day and hyper when it rains, which was all week. I can't forget either that she is a huskie which means that she can pretty much get into ANYTHING. So if you lock it up, she'll find a way to get it. Here's a picture of the mess from a feather pillow. I though it was humorous.
Work is still going well. I come in early and leave late. I hate the coffee but love candy dish in the editors lobby. I pride myself in the fact that I'm positive I have psycho analyzed every NASCAR driver and have them figured out better than they even know themselves. For example, Juan Montoya (former Formula 1 driver) has serious self absorbency issues which result is excellent driver communication audio; Steven Wallace has turrets. His turrets word, dang. He says it more than a 13 year old girl saying "like." Dale Earnhardt Jr. is cool, I have to admit it. Ryan Newman is really my ex (or my ex is a triplet...it's official, Nate Webers, Ryan Newman, and Mark Walburg are all brothers!) which means that my ex was really married and racing cars the whole time we were together. No wonder it was a "long distance" relationship.
Occupied is beginning to come together. Things are working out better than I thought, then kind of fall apart a little, then end up working back out. I've managed to keep a lot of those worries a secret from Shea, who is directing. We've taken several trips to pick up props and meet with our director of photography. In those trips we've confidently learned that, when together, Shea and I are cursed. Apart, we can get to any location on the planet without getting lost. Together its a mess of wrong turns, wrong directions, bad navigational skills and a quick on set of dyslexia. Now, this has caused slight tension between us in our working relationship. I'm convinced he is always like this and visa versa. It's resulted in some in car frustration and bickering, but looking back quite humorous. I just hope that this isn't going to be a pattern for future works. If so, I'm hiring a driver for us.
It's July 4th and what better way to celebrate than to have my favorite college roommate in town, Emma Davis. She's amazing and together we are pair of laughing, clumsy idiots...it's wonderful. I'll dedicate a post to her one of these days. But for now, I’m going to wish you a Happy July 4th!

Lights, Camera, Wallace Family

Yesterday I finally got my chance to get out of the editing room. After telling a senior producer Tuesday, at lunch, how much I deserve to be producing instead of clipping footage, I got what was coming to me...a location shoot. Later that day, right before I headed out for the evening, a hand reaches over my shoulder from behind me and places a sheet of paper on my desk. Startled, I spun around in my chair to see who it was. A skinny, tan, freckled face man stood there smiling at me. "Oh, hey Harry. You scared the mess out me. What's up?" Harry was the senior producer I talked to earlier that day. With his famous friendly smile he nudged my shoulder with a fist and said, "Every executive producer here has been talking about you. Don't disappoint me kid." He walked out the door and I was left in my dark editing room confused. I look down at the sheet of paper and in bold, capital letters, at the top read "CALL LOG." Now for those of you who don't know, a call log is a sheet of paper that tells directions, times, people, locations, equipment, ect. for a shoot. I scan down the page and at the very bottom was some chicken scratch that read "Be in the camera department at 8 am." What?! Was I really going to be a PA on a shoot after not even 2 weeks on the job? I stuff the call log in my blue, official, NASCAR Images back pack and skip out the door. I was so excited I forgot to grab my leftovers from lunch.

The next day I show up wired on coffee and extremely excited. Saul, a producer who I knew from my internship, gives me a friendly greeting filled with explicatives, in classic Saul manner. "You're PAing today! Holy S#*@. That's &*$% awesome!" I smile as he messes up my hair and hands me a Diet Coke (my usual). After meeting the 8 people going on the shoot, all guys who were dying to talk about sports and women (lovely), I hop in the van for what I knew was going to be a crazy day. After a 30 minute ride we arrive at a 10,000 square foot house. We load out and there before us was Mike Wallace, brother of Kenny and Rusty Wallace. The Wallace family is similar to the Earnhardt or Petty family; they are legends in the sport of stock car racing.

Mike walks us through his house to help us find a good location to do the interview with him and his daughter. Then the senior producer on the shoot looks over at me and says, "It's your call Liner. Tell them where to set up." Surprised, I walk out the door and tell the lighting crew to move into the living room (which was the size of half a tennis court, about. I look over at the 8 guys I rode with and gave my first order as a Production Assistant, "Go move all the furniture out of the room, except for the couch and coffee table...please." After two hours of set up and me sitting on the couch as a stand in for camera and lighting checks, I move to the corner by the dolly and chill. Before I knew it the interview with Mike and his daughter (who is also a racer) was over. We spend 45 minutes breaking down, shake hands with the racing legend one more time then head out for lunch, which was charged to the company credit card.

Work life started out a little rocky for me. The first day I quit, found another job and was rehired. But now I'm happy that I stayed. For the first time I realized that there are a lot of people in the company who believe in me and are willing to go to any extent to help me out and give me the chance to prove how good I am at my job. It's been a crazy week, but a good one.

Kenny (left), Rusty (center), Mike Wallace

Booked up Life

I haven't posted anything in a week due to the fact that life has gotten out of control. Between work at the studio and work at home and traveling, I've barely had time to process. So as I wait for our editing system to reboot here at work, I thought I'd send this little ditty out to let everyone know I'm still alive.

I'll be back with some better stuff. Promise

Self Amusement

This past Saturday, my family and I took a trip to Asheville, NC to clean out my grandparents’ house. This quaint little 1,000 square foot house served has a home to my grandparents and their 3 sons for over 50 years. Needless to say that, although small, this house was pack full of things collected over the years. The upstairs was filled with family heirloom furniture and china. The basement was just full of all kinds of weird things from waders to film to WW2 Uniforms. We spend 4 straight hours filling up the truck with "junk" and making piles for donations and making another pile for keep sakes. I felt I had the best job of all. Because my family considers me the artsy one, I was assigned pictures, film, and letters. Now, this was amazing. I found post cards from the war, old/original Western Union love letters sent from my grandfather to my grandmother, pictures, photography magazines from the 40's, and most interesting, war journals and random items taken from Japanese soldiers killed by my grandfather in the front lines.

My grandfather never talked about the war. My grandmother didn't even know much. You always hear crazy stories, but this past weekend I realized that my grandfather was one of the few front line machine gunmen to walk away from war uninjured and alive. Chills went down my spine as my fingers rubbed over bullet shells, journals, buttons, and chow cards. These things had been through something that I knew I would never see or understand. It inspired me in a strange way. In a few hours I learned the deepest secrets about my Papaw that were hidden from me for 22 years. He became human. He became a hero. The same 22-year-old hands that held a machine gun in battle where the same hands that combed through my hair when I went to bed as a little girl. Our grandparents have a history and a life that is full of adventures and stories that captivate me, which gets me to think that I myself am going to be a grandparent one day. I am going to be the one with secret adventures and exciting tales that will be discovered in a box in my basement, after I’m gone.

Speaking of boxes, my sister-in-law found a box full of eyeglasses. We couldn't just toss them in the trash pile without having some fun. So my mom, sister-in-law, and I grab the 3 "best" pair and snap a quick photo after we were done carrying out mock conversations in squeaky, nerd tone voices. Enjoy my family’s dorkiness!