Double Duty

At the moment, I am at the second job of the day, the fifth of the 5 jobs I currently have in rotation. This morning I worked at the booth and now I am at MIT. They have changed the gallery hours, so I am here from noon to 8 PM. A long day , but a "Double-Dip" day. So far, it has been very quiet.
I did get a call from The casting company checking my availability for tomorrow. Originally , I scheduled tomorrow for extra work but they were checking everybody's availability for Saturday on Tuesday. Maybe I'll get to work both days. Who knows ? I got one of my friends from the record store ready in the wings in case I need coverage for Saturday. Though I know she would rather have the day off, she would cover for me. She's a good friend.
This is a pretty novel experience for me , blogging from my own laptop at work. Though I blogged from my trip to Scotland, I rarely have my computer with me at work . It's pretty cool. I don't have to get off the computer so someone can look something up . I can look at whatever I want and I don't have to worry about incovneniencing anyone. Oh this modern age is a wonder !
The only drawback to a long day like today is I'll get home so late. It'll take me a while to wind down and I probably won't get much useful puttering accomplished. I need to do laundry. . . . . .

Working In The Movies

Yesterday and today I got to work on a movie. It was the one that I had the call-back on and that my friend Steve got cast in. I am called a "Featured Extra" , though there is no real definition or pay bump in the union handbook for a "Featured Extra". I am a "Museum Volunteer". There are about 8 of us. We wear matching maroon blazers, gray pants, white shirts and ties. I bought the shoes to go with this outfit last week. We have a scene that includes the movie principals. Today, I was one person away from Morgan Freeman. Christopher Walken and William H. Macy are in the scene as well.. It was really cool and a little unbelievable.
The "Featured Extras" were hand picked by the director, just like Clint Eastwood does. You want to know why I know that ? Because the director remembered my name. He called me by my name yesterday and today we had a little conversation and he was almost apologizing for casting me as an extra. I let him know I was just happy to be on a movie set. Yes, it'd be great if I wangle an upgrade somehow.
But , seriously, I'm just happy to be on a movie set. . . . working.

Tricking Myself

Tonight was my friend's Birthday party. I've known Chully almost 20 years now. He has it every year and I have been invited to his party since he's been in this place. Of the last 9 years , I've managed to attend 7. That's a pretty good track record for me. Sometime in the last decade I have lost my will to attend parties. Social events , in general, fill me with dread and the mere thought fatigues me. I'm a great one for offering to bring something or promising a host that I'll definitely be there and then. . . . . it's midnight and I accept to myself that I'm not going. I'll spend hours of what should be either a relaxing evening alone or a fun time at a party fretting over what I should do or what I feel like doing. Usually, I'll just fall alseep , fully dressed and made up , only to wake around midnight swearing to myself for missing something again.
So, if I am going to attend a party , I have to trick myself into not losing momentum by going home , or taking my pantyhose off or catching up on my reading . Any of those activities will lead me to bed and , thus, staying home. So , in order to attend tonight's festivities, I went shopping after work to stock up on a couple of necessaries : you know toothpaste , make-up , cotton balls, geeting cards. While I was there I tried to cruise around to get some Christmas present ideas. When I had spent an appropriate length of time, I went to the supermarket to pick up some stuff they didn't have at the store I went to yesterday. Then I headed home, didn't sit down, freshened up my make-up and headed out to the party. Basically, I tricked myself into getting out of the house to attend this party. Chully was glad to see me, I recognized a lot of faces but couldn't remember names. I sat with my friend Jack and his girlfriend, had some nice food. Chully makes a good lobster salad. I stayed for about 2 hours. Plenty of time to appear social . I will take credit for making the effort .
I'm sorry it requires so much effort. But it does.

It's A Thanksgiving Day

We had a nice little family Thanksgiving. My brother got a turkey from his union. He made his fantastic stuffing. Mum cooked the turkey, squash and green beans. I made the mashed potatoes, sweet potaotes and gravy. My brother had gone out to visit friends and he started calling every half hour when he thought the bird should be done. When the dinner was finally ready , my mother called him and he promised he'd be home in a half an hour. Ten minutes later, Mum was like " Oh , he's never coming home. He's probably drunk somewhere. I can' t wait ! Let's just start without him ! " and I told her it'd only been ten minutes, if he wasn't here in 15 , then I thought we could start without him but that we should at least give him a chance to make it. She didn't believe it had only been about ten minutes. She started putting her coat on , she was going to deliver a plate to a friend. Just as she was going out the door , my brother pulled up in front and pulled her car out of the garage so it would be ready for her after dinner.
The meal was really good. There were some lumps in my potatoes, It think it's because I did up a whole 5 pound bag . Can't always get to everything in the pan. Also , I thought my gravy was a tad thin . There hadn't been much juices and clumps on the bottom of the pan. It was slim meat fixin's for the gravy . All in all, it was a meal that took all day to make and about 15 minutes to consume. Still, it was terrific !
It was so nice to have a day off. I called and text messaged a couple of friends . I got to talk to a couple and one friend texted me back. I puttered most of the day , did a couple of loads of laundry , finished a book I started in July and had put down , meaning to pick it back up . I found a book I had misplaced that I recieved as a Christmas present last year from my friend's husband. I had been looking for it and had even asked my friend if I had loaned it to her. She had no recollection of it. I spent a good part of the day checking the Ghost Hunters marathon on othe Sci-Fi channel. In my book ? A thoroughly enjoyable day.
Last night, I did the Comedy Studio, and , if I do say so myself , it went really well. I tried a couple of new things , inlcuding a couple of news tags onto a solid bit that usually works really well every time. I was loose and it worked to my advantage. Peter Bowers was on the show and I thouhgt he really got them going . It was great to go on after him. Tony Moschetto closed the show . Ellen Moschetto, Maggie McDonald and Tommy Morello were on the show . They were all doing new stuff, and it was really great to be on a show with them and that we all seemed to have the same approach to our sets last night. New stuff around the stuff you know usually works. I felt really good after I was done. Because I didn't have to work today , I was able to hang out for a while.
Yesterday , I worked at the booth and then I had a costume fitting for my uniform for the movie that I will be a freatured extra in . I had to get black lace up shoes to go with the uniform. I didn't want to pay 80 bucks , I had more in mind 20-30. I tried the army/navy store first . All I saw on the shelves were hundred doller Doc Martens and Harley Davidson stuff. I went up to one of the store guys and told him what I wanted and what I wanted to spend. He said "I think I have exactly what you want, what size are you ?" Ladies size 9 1/2 but a men's size 8. He brought me to 6 shoe boxes, all black lace-up shoes , all mens size 8 , for $24.50. It was easey-peasey. I did this on my lunch hour.
Also , I got my car back. You know what was wrong ? A bolt had worked itself loose from the thing that holds the alternator steady. No, they didn't charge me but they had my car for 5 days . Frankly , that's the kind of deal you get going when you pay in installments. They know they're going to get their money , but not right away. I understand you have to take the money up-front jobs , and that's why it took 5 days to get my car back. I'm very greatful, I was afraid this was it for the little SAAB. It's going to die for good soon, just not this week. I hope.
And now. . . . .to bed. I have to work 2 jobs tomorrow.

This Ain't Writing. . . . .

It's past midnight. I just saw "No Country for Old Men" for the second time in one week. I have to be up around 6 am.
I still don't have my car. Don't know when I 'm getting it back.
My best friend from high school's dad passed away. Mum and I went to the wake and the funeral. It was beautiful service. He was a fun guy and he will be missed.
I worked as an extra in a film that's being shot here in Boston starring Caneron Diaz. Technically, we were in a scene together but she was so far away from me , I could only hear her voice being played through the monitors.
I worked a convention on Saturday . It was really busy but we got a lot of pens out of the deal.
I'm doing the Comedy Studio tomorrow night.
That is all. I haven't had much time to write. When I do have time to write my friggin' computer decides it doesn't want to accept my words. The old Blogger was on the fritz.
Hopefully, I will have time to write on Thursday.
Done.

Man Plans & God Laughs

Ohhhhhhh. . . . Booyyyyyy. . . .. So, I've agreed to work as a movie extra tomorrow. My call time is 6:30 am. My car died in Andover on Friday and my garage cain't look at it until Monday. I ahd an audition on Friday and my car died on the way to the audition. Fortunately , I was able to get to the audition on time and I think I did a pretty good job. It's for a principal part in a movie. Today, I landed a convention job and was going to take the bus in and my brother, SURPRISE !, offered to drive me in to the convention center. I got there about 20 minutes early ! It's working out , but not without a lot of sweat . . . . . . That's it . It's almost 10 now and I have to get to sleep asap because I have to get up so early tomorrow.
I can't wait for Thanksgiving , just to get the day off. That's something to be thankful for !

I've Been Busy. . .. .

I really have. It's 2 am on Veteran's Day. I worked the booth , then met my friend and her husband who was visiting from California and then I went to work a party for the band "the Police" . Yes, I was at the same party as Sting was. I was working as a "waitress' who gets gradually more and more intrusive. My friend got me the gig. I only found out about it on Wed. I did not worry about it too much. I think I did okay, but I think I was too believable as a waiter and then I had no where to go. But I think it went fine. I did what I was supposed to do .
Yesterday, I worked a convention until 7 PM and then I drove out to Townsend to do an open-mike /audition at the VFW up there. It was a small but appreciative audience. No money , but the idea would be to get seen to maybe get some paying gigs. It was an hour up and an hour back. It went much better than my last foray into the stix. The thing that impressed me the most was that they still allow smoking up there inside the building. I thought that was awesome. No, I don't smoke, I just thought it was very Retro. Friday , I worked a convention and got home around 9:30. I pretty much just collapsed into bed.
Thursday, I worked at the booth and then did a murder-mystery show for a plumbers organization. It was a brand-new show and the girl who usually works with them wasn't available. Little did I realize, it was the first time they had ever done the show. No rehearsal. I really had to be off book, and , surprise, I was . The plumbers and their wives were very feisty and randy but they seemed to have a good time . Though, I thought it was a lot of time to do a show like that . Our pick-up was 5:30 and I didn't roll through the front door of my home until 12:30.
Last week, I had an audition for a role in a movie that's going to be shooting in Boston. Early this week, I had a call-back. That's pretty good. I didn't get the part , but they've been calling me looking for SAG card #'s and measurements and availability. Though no one has said what they want me for , either way. It appears that they may use me as a "Featured Extra" which means I'll be on the set for at least 5 days if not more. As far as I am concerned, every day I am on set is another opportunity for me to possibly get an upgrade.
So, now I'm tired. I haven't written anything because I haven't been around to write anything. I will keep you posted.

Breathing and Other Stuff

I finally started nostral breathing on the way home last Friday. I am aware and enjoying breathing through my nostrils at this very moment. I have continued to take the Airborne and the Tussin DM. I'm not sure how much longer I should continue. Tuesday , it will be two weeks since this cold started. Fortunately, it's a cold and not bronchitis. At least, I think it's just a cold.
On Thursday, the Mad Pooper made another appearance. And by "Made Another appearance" I mean some guy shit on the flooor in the Mens room again and the other men who used the rest room , stepped in it and tracked it through the center. We couldn't find the cleaning lady (surprise) so they just had to close the Mens room until she reappeared. Then , about an hour later, one of the urinals started running and wouldn't stop running. By the time we were alerted, there was a puddle all over the floor. Last week, one of the faucets in the Ladies room wouldn't stop running. When we closed the center at the end of the day , it was still running and they found it running when they arrived the next morning.
Also on Thursady,a lady came in in tears, her boyfriend had their child and he had been gone for 2 hours. She had to go to the Registry and she said they were supposed to meet at the playground on the Common. He was a no-show. The last I heard, the ranger had to direct to her the BPD. I guess it turned out all right because I didn't hear about any Amber Alerts.
Speaking of the Rangers, one of the Rangers was on Jeopardy Thursday night, and some of us gathered to watch it air together. We went to the Bean Town Pub. He didn't win, but it was cool to see him on the show. He didn't wear his Ranger uniform on the show, I think he should have. Before the Jeopardy show, I met some of my co-workers at Emmet's and it was crowded, but I ended up getting a seat at the bar. They had curry chips ! I was so happy. It was no Gora-Pakora like in Scotland , but it was close.
Tuesday, Kiki and I went to see "Gone , Baby , Gone". I thought it was good, but I felt like there was a lot left out from the book. Both of us have read all of Denis Lehanes books. However, we couldn't exactly figure out what exactly was missing . We both thought Casey Affleck did a good job. I also saw my boss, the guy I work for in Andover, featured prominently in one scene. He was an extra , but he had a lot of screen time.
Thursday, November 1 was the first anniversary of me not drinking coffee. It was on a 5 hour road trip to Scowhegan Maine that I got so sick and basically threw up coffee for 3 days. After all this time, I still can't stand the smell of coffee, let alone drink it.
Sooooo. . . .that's about it. I didn't really have anything to blog about . I look forward to having an extra hour of sleep tomorrow, what with daylight savings time and all.That's about it . I'm working the booth tomorrow and then I'm doing stand-up at the All Asia in Cambridge at 6:30.