I'm a traveling gypsy

On a crazy road trip!

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Girl Talk Thursday: How to Eat on Set.

This week's Girl Talk Thursday is about food and cheap meals and eating under $10. Which is pretty much what I always do when I'm working. I'm a big fan of the one pot meal. Sunday happens and I throw a bunch of stuff in a pot. The end result is a chili or a stir fry or stew or soup or something that reheats well and can sit in my fridge for a week. I do a lot of stir frying when I'm cooking for myself. Some veggies, tofu, rice if I'm ambitious. It's all pretty simple and meat isn't involved so generally it stays low cost.

This week however I am not cooking. I'm currently working and therefore I'm being fed. Lunch is a big deal on set. People LOVE their food. I've already had to do two lunch runs today alone. First was for some stunt guys with an early call. Went to a local restaurant, picked up some burgers and a couple of Arnold Palmers, and that was lunch. Second was a McD's order for an actor. Big Mac, no onions. Easy.

My lunch today came off of a truck. Veggie burger topped with guac, side of french fries. Most amazing Mango & Mint smoothie ever. Actually, I think I have more smoothie in the fridge. Mmmm... smoothie...

My lunch was actually the crew's breakfast. Working in the office I'm on a different schedule than everyone else. While we may be shooting nights, all of our vendors still have normal business hours. The office needs to be open when they are. Our staff of four is currently working split shifts. Our coordinator and other PA are on the early shift working 8 AM to roughly 8 PM. The assistant coordinator and myself are on the late shift. Our call is 10 AM and we've been going until 11 PM or so (last night was nuts and we didn't finish until after midnight). Crew call however isn't until 5 PM and catering works around that. They started serving "breakfast" at 3:30 and that's when we had our lunch (minus the other PA who I made order something at 1 when I was grabbing the stunt guys orders). I was almost there until they served "lunch" tonight and considered staying. But I was tired. And not really hungry. Bed sounded like a much nicer option.

I was also eating from crafty all damn day. Fruit, nuts, the smoothie, chocolate... I had a bagel in the morning... COFFEE. So. Much. Coffee.

I didn't need anymore food tonight.

This show is a little different than a lot of the shows I've worked on in that our office is right next to the stage so we do have access to craft service and catering. On a lot of productions the office will be located somewhere other than where shooting is taking place. When that happens we're on our own for food. We stock our own kitchens, buy our own lunches. I'm getting spoiled here. I like it.

Oh man, yesterday at lunch they had this cucumber and dill salad... It was so damn good. The veggie options have been a little sparse on this show but they're doing okay. I'm eating plenty. And a lot of it has been YUM.

I'm going to gain twenty pounds by the end of this week. I know it. Ah well, isn't that like storing fat to get through the winter or something? After this week I'm back to unemployment and fending for myself. My meal options will be getting much slimmer. Back to the toast and hummus for me!

The Oscars

Okay, so I didn't really watch them. I mean, I could kind of see the reflection of a TV playing them in the window while I was out having dinner with my family. And I walked into the house just as Hurt Locker won the award for Best Picture.

Congratulations to Kathryn Bigelow. Hurt Locker killed tonight.  I'm a big fan of the film and I'm thrilled to see it do so well. Bigelow and Hurt Locker are not only deserving, Bigelow's made history as the first woman director to win Best Director. It's about damn time.

Will this lead to more opportunities for female directors? More recognition? Let's hope so. Talent trumps gender. Maybe Hollywood will remember this in the future.

High Points

I'm not really sure which was better. The hour + myself and the other PA spent moving seven not so light folding tables and thirty folding chairs from our stage to our production office. Or when, 45 minutes before we were supposed to leave for the night, that stage manager came over to tell us that we had to move them all back... Yeah... That happened.

I'm working!

Two weeks on some reshoots, I got the call on Sunday, started yesterday at 8 AM, and that's how this industry works. (Ironic as I just put something similar in a short story and my character made a point of saying that this is NOT how the industry works. Really, I should know better)

It's busy! Super! And I'm tired! Super.

Actually, it kind of hurts to stand up right now. So I stopped doing that. I blame the chairs. The ones I carried, not the ones I sat it. Right.

We're also working in the ghetto. The part of LA you never enter. Unless the production space is cheap and then yeah. Just, um, don't go out alone at night? Or something like that.

I'm enjoying myself. It's exhausting and I'm a little bummed I've had to put some of my own writing projects on hold but it's so super nice to be back doing a little feature work. And to have a job for two solid weeks.

I'm not going to think about how sad it is that I now consider two weeks a long time... Also figures that someone else I know called to see if I was available to work on another thing this week. It comes in waves.

Right. On that note. I'm going to bed. I need sleep. And did I mention that my feet hurt? They do.

We'll see if the next two weeks bring me any stories to share. No promises. Sometimes you take what you can get.

Hopefully all of this work I've been getting lately means things are picking up. It's actually starting to kind of feel like it.

Girl Talk Thursday: This Week in Rants

Disclaimer: My week was actually really good. I started two writing classes, I'm working, I have tasty food in my house because I'm working and can once again afford groceries, I got to see old friends and geek out over comics ALL IN ONE NIGHT, I'm going to see Traffic and Parade on Sunday night by myself if I have to, I got asked out on a date*... and some other stuff...

*Not entirely sure I care about this. I know, I'm a bitch.

That being said, even when things are going well we can always find something to bitch about. I suppose it's one of the sadder aspects of human nature (that, and you know, all that violence and greed and selfishness stuff). There is just something so satisfying about a good bitchfest. Who doesn't enjoy taking a few minutes to just VENT. Let it all out? Get the venom out of your system? Bitch over the unfairness of the Universe?

What do I have to bitch about if my week was so wonderful? Wait for it...

1) There are only twenty four hours in a day and I like to sleep. And I do sleep. Too much lately. I think my body is making up for the last two months when I wasn't really sleeping at all. So now I have a hideous time waking up in the morning. And twenty four hours is just not enough time. I have work to do. Writing to, um, write. Activities to take part in. Friends are in plays, they're visiting from out of town, my Monday and Tuesday nights are now dedicated to class taking. There's stuff to do! Please give me more hours Universe. Please?

2) The male sex. OMG. Seriously. I can't really go into details but there have been at least three times over the last week when I've been sorely tempted to nutpunch someone. All different someones. The stupidity of some of it is just baffling. Literally. I am baffled. After this week I am very happy I am single. F that noise.

3) Chloe. Gotta love her. It's impossible not to. And I mean, I know she's a dog and has only so many ways to communicate. For the most part she's a doll. But she has this whine (Jess, if you're reading this, you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about). I know it's sunny and nice out and it's been rainy and I wanna go to the park too. But I can't right now. I can in a couple of hours. I'm looking forward to that break. In order to take that break however, I need to get work done first. And as cute as you are, you staring at me with your pathetically adorable eyes, emitting that undoglike whine, is not helping. Anything. At all.

I forgive you though cause when we come back from the park and you curl up and go to sleep you are just So. Damn. Cute. Not to mention when you do that doggy dreaming barking in your sleep thing. I die.

4) Work. It's boring. I don't like being bored. This job is nice in that I do get to work from home and the guys I'm working for are great. I'd even do it again. Truly. Doesn't change the fact that it's boring.

One of these days I'm going to be a rich and famous writer and film director and I will love the work I do. Right guys? Right?

Shut up, it can happen!

5) Dirty dishes. No matter how many times I wash them, no matter how many times my roommates wash them, there are always dirty dishes in the sink. It's gross.

6) Verizon. Who hasn't actually done anything to me this week. They've just put me through so much hell the last two months that they've earned a permanent spot on this list. Probably forever. Because that's what permanent means.

That's it. For the moment. There are always more things to bitch about of course but really, I am in a mostly good mood and don't have all that many complaints over the cruelty of the fates. Life is never perfect but this week it's been good enough. I don't need much. Good enough will suffice. For the moment.

(Also, I really want to read and comment on all of the other GTT posts this week but I can't right now. I really didn't even have the time to write this but I did anyway. Screw you 24 hr day!)

Monday, Monday

I am lazy and bored today. Need to get that out there before anything else. I am actually doing a little work, should be doing much more. Today's list of Should Haves:

-Grocery shopping
-Novel revising
-Food eating
-A bit of reading
-Dish cleaning

Plus work of course. The work part I'm getting to. The rest of it, I'm looking at and thinking about but not actually doing. I'd blame my laziness on a busy weekend but really, my weekend wasn't that busy. I'm just lazy!

I will stop that though. I'm going to get some work done. Then I'm going to go the store and buy food because it's good to have things to eat. Then I am going to go to my first of two writing classes that start this week. And then I'm going to come home and go to sleep at a time that reasonable people go to sleep and then tomorrow I will wake up at time that is also reasonable.

And while I'm doing all of that (and continuing to be mostly lazy), you should go look at these things.

Listen to my friend Cherie talk about filmmaking and kickstarter and editing over on this Coffee and Celluloid podcast.

Then if you want, enter to win stuff from Film School Rejects. There are flashlights involved apparently.

Finally, since you'll be hungry from all that, check out this contest that Eco-Vegan girl is running. You could get a book! Or a dinner at Seed. Which looks super tasty. I've been dying to try it. I should probably get on that.

Okay, I'm done being lazy and boring for the moment. Off to be productive for a few seconds. Woo!

Yo Tony

Anthony Bourdain and Yo Gabba Gabba. I sort of feel like I need to watch this show. Maybe all of the time.

Speaking of V-Day...

If the movie is this good, maybe I should go see it.

What Film School Rejects has to say.

Much more exciting than that, Neil Marshall finally has a new flick coming out. Centurion is an action period piece about seven Roman soldiers trapped behind enemy lines and stars Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, and Olga Kurylenko. The new trailer has just made its way to the internet:

More Centurion Videos

To date I've really enjoyed Marshall's films. Dog Soldiers, The Descent, even Doomsday. While Doomsday is easily the most forgettable of the three, I still thought it was entertaining. Dog Soldiers is my favorite but that might just be because the cast is full of good looking British men. Maybe.

In any case, Centurion could be fun. It'll be out in the UK in April and will hopefully make its way to the states not long after.

Girl Talk Thursday - Valentine's Day

I haven't written a GTT in a bit but how can I resist the topic of Valentine's Day? As Maria puts it over at her blog, it's everyone's favorite holiday to hate. It's a sugary sweet commercialization of a holiday that tells us if we're not in a Nicholas Sparks style sappy love-me-until-I-die-tragically relationship, we're doing something wrong. And there's candy EVERYWHERE. Which is wonderful after the first chocolate or two. Get halfway through that box of Godiva in single sitting however... you're not so happy with life.

This is what Valentine's Day is supposed to be. One way or the other, the most romantic night of your life or the worst day of your year. Dramatic. Or so they tell me. Honestly, I've never really cared all that much for Valentine's Day. Sure when I was a kid I loved any holiday that allowed us to receive and eat candy in school. Picking out which Valentine's cards I was going to pass out each year was a high point. Barbie or Ninja Turtles? My Little Pony or He-Man? Sesame Street? AWESOME every time.

It was a tradition I was sad to see go, replaced in later years by the candygram fundraisers and carnations delivered during class. I'm sure I received a few of those, I did have a boyfriend in highschool, but do I remember? Nope, not really. The one Valentine's Day in highschool I do remember clearly is the one freshman year when I decided I was going to hand out candy to my friends even if I was five years too old for it. Screw that! Candy is delicious! I bought a giant bag of those individual boxes of Nerds, the ones that were out special for the holiday. Hearts on boxes, candy died red and pink, crunchy and sweet and just barely sour enough to make your mouth pucker. I handed them out gleefully to any classmate who came within a five foot radius declaring proudly as I shoved candy into their outstreched hands "Nerds from a Nerd!"

It was a surprising success. At least, no one made fun of me to my face and everyone seemed to enjoy the five second sugar high after English class. This was freshman year after all. Most of us hadn't discovered a stronger high yet.

As I've gotten older Valentine's Day has continued to mean much the same thing. I know there have been a few good ones, a few romantic ones. There were flowers and dinners and all of that through college when I again had a boyfriend. As an adult however, I've spent the last several Valentine's Days single. Not that I've really noticed. Three years ago I remember a friend asked if the present he was getting his girlfriend was a good one. Two years ago I assume the holiday happened but I'd be hard-pressed to provide you with the evidence.

Last year however was thoroughly debauched in the best way possible. Yes, I was still single. No, I did not have a date. Instead my roommates and I threw a party. Ostensibly it was a Singles and Cookies mixer. A stupidly cute idea that I'm still proud of. The idea was to come single and mingle or, if you were in a relationship, to bring your date and a single friend. Or a plate of cookies. Bring cookies either way really. It half worked? We had a table full of cookies and cupcakes and candy hearts and it was amazing. I made several different kinds of cookies (I was ambitious) including a version of these from Lauren's blog. Minus the bacon, plus the Irish Whiskey.

So cookies - check. Singles - I was there so check. Rest of the plan - ummmm... A good number of people showed up. Actually, kind of a lot of guys showed up. After a few rounds of tequila (who's idea was that again???) the party morphed from mixer to frat party flashback. Various bits of nonsense happened. The details are amusing but not particularly appropriate for this venue so let's just say everyone had a good time and leave it that. Yes? Good.

I was eating cookies for days after that. Those chocolate ones and these other ginger ones I made that were phenomenal, chocolate chip ones, a couple of cupcakes even. The day was decidedly unromantic but fun and memorable it definitely was. I don't really know how many more of those sorts of parties I have left in me, but really how many of those parties do you need in a lifetime?

I know I won't be repeating it this year. What will I be doing? I don't know. Maybe my roommates and I will have a few friends over for dinner. Maybe we'll do nothing. I haven't really thought much about it to be honest. I don't have a date and that's fine. I don't particularly want one. I feel no need to wallow in front of the TV, bombarded by cheesy Lifetime movies with a pint of ice cream melting in my lap. If anything I'm sad I won't be going to Madeleine Bistro to try out their special day tasting menu as I'm sure Chef Dave will be putting together something truly special. That of course has more to do with the fact I'm broke than the fact I'm single. C'est la vie.

In the end though, Valentine's Day really is just another day in my life. A day made a little bit sweeter by the explosion of sugar going on around me.