Every day is a winding road

3 teaspoons make up a tablespoon; pins always go to power; Sir Anthony Hopkins is every bit the gentle man I've heard him to be; Camryn Manheim has a wicked sense of humour. These are just a few of the things I learned since last Monday's entry. It started off as just another week in the life if this unknown singer songwriter/ unemployed 'industry' worker but by 7 am yesterday as I rolled into bed my head was spinning with knowledge and the week was sinking in. I'm exhausted, achy, dumbfounded and I have a silly smile on my face. But every moment was worth the physical pain and the tiredness I feel.

Tuesday - again - just another day until I decided that despite the heat I would bike my sweaty ass down to "Bed Bath and Beyond" at The Beverly Center. After a few minutes of poking around as is hard not to do at that place (I'm a kid in a Pepperidge Farm Goldfish factory) I found myself looking for what I actually went there to buy - a dish thingy that has soap coming out it - exciting, I know. But then this guy looked me in the eye from a few aisles away - clearly looking for the nearest female in sight . As I was thinking he's about to comment on my wicked cool Cubs hat he asks: do you know how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon? Damned if I know - but I tried to help him nonetheless. I took my best educated guesses as he summoned yet another unknowing customer - an older lady who by the looks of her I would have thought knew the answer to this obscure question. Nope. After a minute or two I realized who was doing the asking. It was, for you "Bev 9'r" fans ("Beverly Hills 90210") non other than Ian Ziering acting like a hapless bachelor. I felt so bad for this guy wandering around looking for domestic items forgetting anything he's learned in home ec. Yea, me too. He was very sweet, funny and after I'd given up trying to help him he walked up to me in another aisle as I looked for a wooden fork, high fived me and showed me the answer on his cell phone. Apparently if you text message 'google' (46645) on your phone and hit send they will reply and you can ask them a question. Who knew? This is what I get for shopping for a dish thingy and a wooden fork.

Thursday - again - just another day - I decided that despite the blazing heat I would force my sweaty ass to paint the bathroom I'd painted green a few years ago in an attempt to recreate the living room where I used to watch (and poke fun of) "Bev 9'r" with my roommates in Boston. I was never able to recreate that shade of green but I lived with this because I was too tired and too busy to care. So I put on a coat of white and as I waited for it to dry so I could do another coat the phone rang. It was my friend Bill, he was finishing up a film and the electric crew needed a hand. While I'd done lighting and electrics in Theatre, film is a whole other ball game. There's a tone more equipment and it weighs a ton! He said 'now is your chance- if you're thinking about making a career switch this is a good place to start - it's up to you!'. I thought about it and despite my fears I took the job. Well, I took it after I asked who was doing the film. The minute he said Sir Anthony Hopkins and his directorial film debut "Slipstream" (to be released in 2007) it was a no brainer. I wrapped my wet brush, threw it in the fridge and left for the set.

The work is brutal, I'll be honest. It was near 100 degrees during my 2 days and one overnight on set (we were working outside mostly), the equipment was heavy, there was ALOT to think about and learn and yes, pins always go to power. Think about it, look at your lamp, pull it out of the wall and look at the cord. There are pins that go into the wall where the power is. Why I thought it would be different with this equipment as opposed to theatre I'll never know. But the basics do ring true even if there are more pieces and the voltage is considerably higher.

You may at this point be wondering about Sir Anthony Hopkins and Camryn Manheim. I am truly amazed by how nice they both were to me. You might ask - how much contact could I possibly have had? Plenty. I was in line at lunch when I officially met Mr. Hopkins. He introduced himself to me as Tony, I called him sir (a few minutes later wondering if that was ok to call a Sir, sir, but I was being polite not formal as I always addressed him as such). He was very humble and warm with incredibly beautiful blue sparkly eyes. The rest I'll save for telling my friends and my sister's grandchildren but suffice it to say I am truly honoured to have met and worked with him.

Camryn, what can I say? We had a wonderful and for me much needed 'lunch' together with her and her two friends (it was 11p and our cast/crew meal for the night's shoot). After 2 days of working, and eating with 5 of the coolest, most helpful, and patient guys in the business, I was happy when Camryn's table had an empty spot. While we had interacted earlier in the night, lunch was another story. I was needing some chick energy and they provided the cure, and the laughs. While I can't really go into specifics (too long a story to be saved for you know who) lets just say Camryn and her friends did not spare me any of their biting and colourful humour. I had a blast. If I ever run into her again I will thank her for infusing me with the energy to get thru the rest of the night's/morning's work and for her awesome hug when she left. Thanks, girl! I owe you one!

When I think about it it seems you never know what can happen. One minute you are wondering what to do with your time, so you paint a bathroom, then the next minute you are hopping in your Jeep and driving into the unknown. I will take with me from this past week the knowledge that when I was an Assistant Director I really had no clue how hard the guys who lit our sets worked. I had no idea what a beefy baby stand looked like, nor that pins ALWAYS go to power. I also had no idea how cool Tony and Camryn were. I'm still in a fog. My muscles hurt, but my smile stays where it is. Now it's time to pick my sweaty ass off the couch, rescue my cold paint brush, and go finish the bathroom.

Thanks for tuning in...Until next Monday....CHEERS!