Daily rundown... (aka, the dullest post ever)

The thing about this work thing, at least this particular job, is that when I get home the last thing I want to is think, let alone type a blog entry (not that one means more energy than the other). So, sorry if anyone has been popping in here a few times this past week and been left without something new to read. At the same time, there isn't as great deal to write.

My days go like this:

6:00am wake up, throw on some jeans and my boots. Brush my teeth. Wake up Claire.

6:25am Claire drops me off at the entrance of the Hollywood Bowl, where "team b", the other half of the event tour I'm on, pick me up for the drive to Irvine.

7:25am (barring traffic) arrive at Ryder truck rental off Harbor Blvd. in Orange County. I watch "team b" take off in their truck for their set up. As soon as Matt, the tour manager arrives, we hop into our 20' + truck and head for our location.

8:00 am we realize we're lost. Matt complains that Mapquest sucks... everyday. On Thursday morning I finally shell out $5 for an actual, paper, old school map.

8:30 am, half an hour late, we find our temp labor guy, unload the truck, and begin setting up the event. Soon after additional temp staff shows, and we put them to work wiping down the video games, creating displays, setting up signs, and gaffing (taping) down electric cords.

11:00 am, the event begins. Pretty soon, the place of local office workers who have found us on their way to or from lunch. Some have even passed up lunch to have a meal of the "sample size" niblets of Dave & Busters sandwiches, pasta, and desserts. As with any event where stuff is free, people complain that there isn't enough free stuff... complain that the sample sizes aren't large enough, complain that there aren't enough video games, complain that they can only have one free prize, and complain that I'm taking too long between snapping their picture, running it through PhotoShop, and printing out their free picture. I imagine how frustrating it must be to not get your fair share of free stuff.

1:30pm, the event ends. We yank the plugs on the video games, and hope that some food is left for a quick bite of lunch. Its the same food every day, but its even free for us. More importantly, it really is great stuff. We tear up the tape, roll up the extension cords, take down the signs, and repack the truck. Somehow, this always take much longer than the set up. Usually, in film or other TV event, the breakdown is quicker - the opposite here. We need to get the stuff back on the truck, wrap the machines with blankets, and tie them down. We also take all the kitchen supplies, three giant rolling food warmers...

3:30, drive off and to Dave & Busters, which is, unfortunately, south of the us and farther away from the Ryder lot. This is also rush hour, which isn't easy to manage in any situation, let alone with a 20' truck.
4:15, drop off the food carts, and head back to Ryder.

4:45, back at Ryder, park the truck, and I hook back up with "team b". They gloat about how much quicker they were, in spite of their location being right next to Dave & Busters, and staffed with more crew. Bastards. Fortunately, they're good guys, and make for good conversation on the hour plus trip back home to Los Angeles.

6:30pm, arrive home.

And thats on the best day. Typically I wasn't home til 8pm. On Friday I actually fell asleep at 9pm, and woke up the following morning at 11am. I'm getting old.

Saturday Claire and I went to see "Troy", which had some of the worst dialogue I have heard since, well, um... I can't recall even a porn film that has worse dialogue. Claire had been looking forward to seeing it for Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom topless... even she admitted it wasn't worth it. Halfway through we discussed sneaking out and going to see "Mean Girls" instead. We're gluttons, so we stayed.

Today I'm making a point of doing nothing. Because "team b" has to set up a tent in addition to the rest of the stuff at their site tomorrow, they're picking me up thirty minutes early... meaning if anyone want to swing by the Hollywood Bowl tomorrow at 5:55am tomorrow, please grab me a latte along the way.

Also, I need to publicly apologize to the Mac users and SUV drivers for my last post. SUV drivers in the mid-west, or other areas where there is occasional inclement weather, I have no beef with. But in LA - full of flat, dry roads, there's no need unless you're compensating for a penis smaller than mine. As for Mac people, who need to install components made expressly for PCs to get their computers to work better, I'm sorry if I offended.