Happy 4th of July
Saturday, July 4, 2009, 02:29 AM
Sariah gets off work at around 1 today so I'm hoping we do something. Regardless of whether or not I stay home or do something today my back is going to be in pain so I might as well do something. It's a lot of pain.[ add comment ] | permalink |
( 0 / 0 )Sushi and what not
Thursday, July 2, 2009, 11:15 AM
Today the first half of our pilot episode was taped. I wasn't there, but I heard good things. We're taping the second half next Thursday. I'm not going to that one either. I don't want to interfere with the process.
I went to Peoria today with Damon and ate at Sushi Gawa, a place I've been wanting to get back to for nearly a year. It didn't disappoint. Since my Xbox is out of commission I thought about what I could do this weekend and have come up blank. I don't have a lot of money (if any) and really should just stay at home.
I'm getting hungry again. It would be insane for me to run over to Spfld and eat at Kiku, so I won't........till tomorrow. Nah! I really need to stop spending so much money. I was almost planning a trip to Indiana this weekend, but shut myself down before any permanent plans were made. I still might venture south to Edwardsville tomorrow and hit a place called Wasabi Sushi Bar. It looks pretty good even though their prices seem a little high.
I guess I'll break open a Schlafly Dry Hopped APA and kick back for the evening.
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( 0 / 0 )That takes care of that.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009, 12:12 PM
I setup I HATE YOUR BAND DOT COM with an updated version of the simplePHPblog site that I use for this site. I think it will work out a lot better than trying to fuck with HTML all day long. I've got a bunch of crap to do so I'd better get to it.
Peace!
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( 5 / 1 )Weekend of Pure Hell
Sunday, June 28, 2009, 04:19 AM
My crappy weekend started on Friday. First I met with Paul Reynolds and his crew. They are part of Two-Eight Productions, and they put on mixed-martial arts fighting events in Springfield. They want me to assist them with the video production of their next event so they can put together a high-quality DVD to shop around to different outlets. During the meeting, Paul mentioned that he and the rest of his guys would be going to the Montgomery county fair to check out an MMA event one of their competitors was putting on. He asked me if I wanted to come along, but I declined because I already had something I needed to do that night.
I agreed to make a cake for a girl from the office for her brothers shipping-out party. The cakes would be 18x14 sheet cakes, one white/one chocolate, which wasn't anything special, however this time we would be putting his picture on the cake. Seemed easy enough, except I was doing something I had not tested before. I already purchased the icing paper which is basically a very thin sheet of fondant and the food coloring cartridges for my Espon printer so all I really needed to do was do it, however I wanted to have enough time for a plan b in case it things didn't go as smoothly as I hoped they would.
That afternoon Tom and I had went round and round over our concepts for the show. He was going to send an email to Austin (our director) almost literally telling him how he wanted it all shot and edited. I told him that I didn't want him to send that email because I was afraid it would come off more as a command rather than a suggestion. After a few minutes of debating we saw eye to eye on the matter and got the email to a wording that was better overall. While I agreed it was going to be our show in the end and we needed to make sure we were getting what we wanted, I felt the bulk of what he wanted to convey would work better during editing rather than right up front. Also we established that we would need to meet with the host over the weekend and really prep him for the upcoming shoot because a lot of what would make the show interesting hinged on his performance. So we scheduled our meeting with Michael for noon on Saturday and said our goodbyes for the day.
Once I reached Jacksonville at 6:15 I got a call from Paul Reynolds. He was somewhat panicked and due to the overall noise of the call I could tell he was on the road. Apparently the guy putting on the MMA show in Butler, IL had his video guy back out at the last minute and needed someone fast. He called Paul who in turn called me. I asked him if they needed someone to simply operate a camera or if they needed someone to supply their own camera. As I expected they needed a camera too. Not only did they need me to tape the event, they wanted a feed out of the camera to project onto a big screen. Even though I knew I had two cakes to decorate for the following day, I didn't want to pass up this opportunity because I felt it would benefit me in the long run when negotiating with Paul and kind of show to him that I am reliable. So, for $100 and free beer, I agreed to do this for them.
Paul informed me that I needed to be there by 7:30. It was already 6:20 and I didn't have the camera on me so I would have to run back to Virginia to pick up the camera before I started for Butler. There was absolutely no way I was going to make it in time. I remembered that Tom was still at the office and that he was going to Springfield later that evening to tape a wedding rehearsal. At 6:30 I called him and asked if he could bring the camera to Springfield so I could just pick it up on my way through. He was in a hurry too, but was able to pack it up for me and bring it. So after changing clothes I made my way to Springfield, met up with Tom, got the camera and made my way toward interstate 55. I called Paul to let him know I had the camera and to ask him what sort of connection they were providing to feed the big screen because if it was an f-type cable terminated with a BNC connector I was screwed. Luckily it was RCA so everything was set and ready to roll. It was 7:15.
I don't know if you know were Butler is in relation to Springfield, but it's far. Basically it's the same distance away as Litchfield. I arrive in Butler at 7:56, nearly a full half an hour late, but Paul assured me they wouldn't start till I got there. Sure enough, they hadn't started the event, however things got much more interesting upon arrival. Apparently instead of setting up the event inside, they just put up a ring in the middle of an outdoor racetrack. There was no big screen, no lighting, no sound except one of those shitty horn-style PA's you see at every fair and a bunch of folding chairs and tables surrounding the ring. I knew going into this that I was going to need at least two batteries. I had one fully charged battery in the case that I knew of and one that I knew was dead, however there was one on the camera that I was almost certain was fully charged. However once I get to the event I realize that the fucking thing had been on the entire day. I got the new Redrock M2e in and hooked it up and tested it out, but forgot to shut the camera down after testing. So, one fully charged battery was all I got...not good.
Soon after my arrival the matches started. I was in a panic because I didn't know where they wanted me to tape from, where I was supposed to be hooking the camera into and generally anything about what I was doing there. Things didn't improve after the first match, which I just taped from ground level. Paul told me to get the camera up above the cage, so I had to stand on one of the stairs leading up to the ring to do that. After no more than a minute some woman came up and told me I had to move because I was blocking people's view. I moved over to my left and continued to tape, but before long someone else came up and asked me if I could stand behind one of the poles. I looked where he wanted me to stand and there's nothing there. I had to explain to him that I needed something to stand on to get the camera over the top of the cage to which he started talking about getting a ladder. I was okay with that (not really) but I would make it work. He asked me to tape from one of the tables surrounding the ring while he found a ladder then took off.
Three matches into the event and I'm sitting at a table trying to shoot an event through the netting of the cage surrounding the ring realizing that this whole thing was one huge clusterfuck. I began to suspect that I wasn't going to get paid since I had not been introduced to the guy running the event despite the fact that I was there on his behalf, not to mention Paul and the rest of his crew were nowhere to be found. At that time I decided that I wasn't going to stay there taping shit for no reason anymore and started to gather my things. Shortly after, Paul arrived with a beer for me, apologized for the bullshit and assured me I would be getting paid. I explained to him that due to the audience complaints I was basically relegated to taping the whole thing from as low of an angle as I could muster (which was from that table) to which he was fine with. From that point on I was there for Paul, not the promoter of the show so I basically shot what he wanted me to and left it at that. I explained to him that I only had one full battery which guaranteed me no more than an hour of shooting time to which he instructed me to only tape the matches. This eased my mind because up to this point everything was going wrong.
The event finishes up around 11..I think. I had had a few beers by this point and wasn't too concerned with time. Soon after the final match I start getting approached by fighters and others who want a copy of what I had shot. One of the people who asked me for a copy was an older guy in a flourescent yellow shirt. I directed him to ask Paul, who was standing right next to me. Come to find out, this was the guy who put on the event. Talk about unprofessional. Realizing I still had an hour plus drive time ahead of me I cut short my conversations with people and headed out of the fair. By this time in the evening my car had been surrounded by state and local cop cars with a lot of officers standing around by it. I didn't get nervous though and just made my way to my car and headed out of the fairgrounds. I guess I should have mentioned before that the only thing I had eaten all day was a cup of soup from Dr. Ugs at noon, so I was pretty hungry. Once I got to Springfield I decided to hit the new Walmart with the hopes that they might still have some Sushi left. I picked up two cake boxes and a vegetable roll from the deli and made my way back home. I was pretty tired and buzzing hard, but I knew I had a lot still to do.
Once I got home I immediately started in on the cakes. I had called Sariah earlier in the evening to have her prepare some icing for me, which she did. Starting with the white cake I trimmed the edges and applied the crumb coat. While I was doing this Sariah was coloring a batch of icing red for me when she asked me where the picture was for the cake. I totally forgot to bring it home from work. So, at around midnight we made our way to Virginia so I could get the picture. I forgot my flash drive so I just emailed myself the jpeg file and returned to Jacksonville. Once back in Jacksonville I had to get a sandwich because the veggie roll really wasn't doing anything for my hunger. Both Sariah and I were so tired after this that we didn't go to Wal-Mart like we wanted to so we could pick up more powdered sugar and butter. Due to buzzing and being tired I just decided to get a few hours of rest and wake up somewhat refreshed so I could go full-steam ahead on the remaining tasks. It was 3:00 by the time I got to bed.
6:60 am, Saturday morning and I wake up ready to start back up on the cakes. I finish coating the white cake and move on to crumb coating the chocolate. Upon completing that I moved on to working on the white and red starred stripes of the white cake. I finished that, put it back in the fridge and moved on to the chocolate cake. I knew I was running out of icing at this poing and I would have to make my run to Wal-Mart soon so I decided to get the printer ready to do the pictures. All of a sudden I feel like I got the wind knocked out of me upon learning that the food coloring cartridges I got won't work in my printer. I recheck all of my paperwork that came with the cartridges to learn sure enough that I ordered the wrong cartridges. It's 8:30 in the morning when I learn this. There are no local cake stores that carry food coloring cartridges for printers so I come to the realization that I have to buy a printer. I wait till 9:00 for Staples to open and run over there to check their inventory. They don't have any Epson printers that these cartridges will work with. I scramble back to the house and check online to see if Best Buy has one I can use. They do, but I can't confirm whether or not they have it in store because it's 9:30 an the store doesn't open till 10:00. Instead of waiting around the house for thirty minutes till they open I decide to hop in the car and head to Springfield so I can get in and get out as soon as possible.
At Best Buy I find the Epson NX105, a printer that according to KopyKake's own literature that they sent with the cartridges was a printer that could use them. I grab it and make my way to checkout. $75 dollars later, I'm out the door. It's 10:10 by the time I make it back onto i72 heading back to Jacksonville. My deadline for the cakes is noon, but I'm pretty much convinced at this point there is no way I'll be able to make that deadline. Once I get back to Jacksonville I head straight to Festival Foods to get the much needed powdered sugar and butter before heading home. By this time Sariah is up and getting ready to help me out. She takes over starring the sides of the chocolate cake while I work on the printer. After 30 minutes of just getting the fucking thing installed on my computer I finally go to install the food coloring cartridges. Sure enough they don't work. I call KopyKake to find out what the fuck I'm doing wrong. The guy that answers sounds clueless and tells me that he's never even heard of an NX105. He gives me another number to call to ask about compaitibility, but by this time it's 11:00 and I've already wasted enough time trying to make that work.
At this time I feel like my stomach is just a huge empty cavity. I can't explain the feeling that came over me, but it wasn't good. Sariah just gets out of the shower while I finish prepping blue icing and a bag for the top edge trim. Fearing that I won't have enough time to get everything done I have Sariah apply the trim while I continue to resolve the picture problem. In a last ditch effort to make this work I contacted the cake store down the road from us to see if they could print my picture onto my icing paper for me. A woman there informed me that they got their stuff done at either Dairy Queen or Wal-Mart. Fuck! I had no idea Wal-Mart would just sell that stuff independant of the cake. So I transfered the picture to my flash drive and had Sariah take me to Wal-Mart while she got some food. Sariah asked me where the picture was (again) and I told her it was on my flash drive. She warned me that they probably wouldn't be able to do it off that, but I didn't have time to consider another option so off we went. While on the way, Tom called me to tell me he was getting ready to head to Virginia. FUCK! I totally forgot that I was supposed to be meeting with him and Michael to discuss the show and get his contracts filled out. I told him that there was probably no way I was going to be able to get over to Virginia, but that I needed to sign the contract. Tom didn't have a lot of time to mess around either as he had to be in Springfield in the afternoon to tape a wedding. We agreed the best course of action was for them to come to Jacksonville and grab some lunch while I finish things up on my end.
Upon arriving at Wal-Mart I learn Sariah was right after all and they couldn't print from my flash drive so I ended up having to go to their photo center to get a print of the file done. $5 and several minutes later I have my print and head back to the bakery. It's noon and the cakes aren't done. In a pre-emptive move I decide to call Amber (the girl I'm making the cakes for) to let her know. Luckily she was running behind too and told me she wouldn't be in Springfield till 1:30 which means I had another two hours to finish things up to be on time. Unfortunately time was not on my side as the printing process was taking way longer than I had expected and Sariah had to be at work by 2:00. Around 1:00 we finally get back to the house with the pictures. I wanted to get 3 made, but I couldn't wait that long for a third so I was flying by the seat of my pants. If I messed up the application of the picture to the cake it would result in me having to run back to Wal-Mart and waiting for them to print out another one for me which would translate into another 45 minutes to an hour. I absolutely couldn't fuck this up. Wasting no time, Sariah and I go to town on the picture. We peel it up, but it's sticking like crazy and starting to rip in areas we can't cover with icing. I'm freaking out at this point because I'm so close to getting this out of the way and having the most difficult time getting there. Rather than rip it to shreds I stick it back in the freezer hoping that will help firm it up so we can get it the rest of the way off the backing. Afer only a few minutes I get it back out and the icing paper actually separated from it's backing on it's own. Finally the first cake had the picture on it and all that was left was piping the writing on it, which I left to Sariah.
By this time our friend Jessi Taylor stops by because she's next door doing photos for the church, but we were so busy with the cake that we didn't get to talk much to her. I was applying more of a top coat to the chocolate cake because you could still see chocolate crumbs through the last layer. Soon, Tom arrived at my house with Michael. They had finished lunch and were there to get the contract signed. I didn't get to spend much time with the two of them to discuss the show, but the contract was signed and everythings alright on that end. It was around 2:00 when we finished the first cake. Sariah had to call her boss to get some more time to help me, which I love her for. We were able to get the picture and the lettering on the second cake in no time flat. Despite a few problems with one of the boxes I had purchased, the whole job was done around 3:00. Sariah helped me out to the car with the cakes then left for work while I made my way to New Berlin to meet with Amber and give her the cakes. After all of the self-doubting and trials I had faced up to that point, I was thinking about not even charging her for the cake. I don't know why I was thinking about doing that. Despite the problems I had on my end, the cakes were done and only a little later than what we had agreed upon. Amber ended up loving the decorations and paid me a little more than I had charged her. I was thankful.
After that, I just drove home, picked up some crappy fast food and laid on the couch for the rest of the day in and out of sleep. I was so happy to finally be able to relax that I didn't care about wasting the rest of the day away. Sariah got home from work at 9:30 and immediately went back out to eat with Jill. I was still so exausted that I just stayed home. At around 10:30 I went to bed and didn't wake up till the next morning at 9:00 am. Sariah had made plans to go to raging rivers with Jill and wanted me to come. I told her I would go before she got in the shower, but for some reason I decided I would play some Xbox while she was in the shower. I powered it up and saw the thing that no xbox 360 owner wants to see - the Red Ring of Death. I asked Sariah if she still had the receipt and remembered talking her about it a while back, but I couldn't remember what was discussed. Well, it probably had something to do with the fact that it had been over a year since I bought it and the receipt was no longer essential as it was fully out of warranty (by nearly a full year). So, here I sit at 3:24 on Sunday, June 28th alone with a broken Xbox 360, a printer that doesn't serve the purpose I need and an extreme hunger for sushi. I guess for the 3rd time this weekend I'll be making the trip to Springfield. Hopefully nothing more goes wrong because I just don't think I could handle it.
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( 2.3 / 7 )Boom! A check falls in my lap.....
Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 10:23 AM
I'm a producer now.
That's right, I'm developing a show for Cass' H2 channel. If all goes as planned we're shooting the first episode a week from today. It's called "Get a Job". Each week Michael Davis (the host) will be taking the viewers on a tour of jobs around the local areas as he himself starts his first day or work, and the camera follows along to catch all the ACTION! Not the most original idea in the world, but it's a start.
There's only so much you can get away with here at Cass and let me tell you I'm still surprised I got this far with the idea. I've been incubating this thing for a while now and it finally got to the point where I had to shit or get off the pot. So I shit and oh boy what a shit it was. The pilot episode basically determines the future of the show, so I'm kind of giving it all my attention right now. If the Gill's like the concept then get ready for the floodgates to come crashing down.
Assuming the project gets the green light, this show will be the first in a number of shows we'll be producing for the channel. The difficulty comes from finding sponsorship and advertising, which I believe Laymon and I have worked out. It's exciting, however I'm not getting my hopes up too high because I've been with Cass for a long time now and I know how easily these things tend to turn south seemingly overnight.
Tonight I'm going to do something...I don't really know what yet, but it will most likely involve some sort of drinking. Why? Who knows. Tomorrow I have to be in Springfield at 7:30 in the morning so I'm not going to go overboard. The new Wal-Mart in Springfield sells sushi. I'm going to pick some up when we get done with our shoot.
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( 3 / 10 )Another day....
Monday, June 22, 2009, 09:58 AM
I'm working late tonight. I have a shoot at 7pm here in Virginia. It's going to be another hour or so before we head over there, which sucks because I have nothing to do. That's not entirely true, but I just don't feel like doing much.
I keep telling myself that I should take tomorrow off, but I've got of editing to do so I'm pretty much committed to coming in the rest of the week. I also agreed to stay late and help Tom with Salt Creek County. He's working on some color correction and audio issues. The movie premier is Saturday, July 25th at Hill Prairie Winery in Oakford. No one that reads this will probably come to it, but I just thought I would post it here anyway.
Sariah didn't talk to me much last night. She just went downstairs and watched movies all night. I thought she didn't have to work today with as late as she stayed up, but I guess I was wrong because I can't get her on the phone. Maybe she's pissed at me.
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( 2.8 / 11 )Lonely
Saturday, June 20, 2009, 05:54 AM
All of my friends are either broke, working constantly or have kids. Sariah works odd hours and days, but even when she has free time she spends it with her sisters. Tom spends most of his time with his girlfriend, family or doing things with his friends. I don't have children and my dogs aren't really the kind of companionship I'm seeking. I spend most of my free time alone and lately have found myself wanting to spend more time at work simply to avoid being alone.
I could go to the FCF show tonight, but I wouldn't have a good time. The guys do their thing and it's hard to penetrate that world from the outside. Hell, it was hard to penetrate it from the inside too. Most of the other people that surrounded the FCF universe I found to be interesting, however to a limited capacity. Not really the kind of people I would spend a great deal of time with. Still, at an FCF show you're just another person in the crowd unless you came there with someone you know. Sure I end up talking to a great number of people, but most of them I don't really want to talk to and I end up more frustrated than relaxed. I'm just not into that world anymore.
So what I'm left with is myself. Most the people I meet my age are married with children and spend most of their time at bars or with their kids or significant others. I can't express how frustrating it is to know I have the money and the time, but no one to share either with. I could try to engage in some creative activity, but at the end of the day it's all a huge waste of time because my motivation to pursue personal endeavors never last beyond a day (maybe two). The script I was writing has been collecting dust for some time now. I think it's due to the fact that I really feel as though I lost my way with it. Every time I read it now I feel as though I'm reading pieces of five different movies slammed together. In a way, that's exactly what it has become.
Tom and I have discussed working together outside of work, but truthfully I don't see it happening with everything he's got going on in his life. I'm having a hard time with this situation as I feel as though the symmetry I felt we had early on was just an illusion. It's easy for me to be swayed by the lure of people who are anxious to do thing and willing to do or say anything to facilitate their own desires. Time exposes these fabrications for what they are and I'm left where I started, alone. All forms of dramatic and/or poetic allusions are lost on me and would be cheaply uncharacteristic of my persona. I am alone and that's all there really is to it. Half of me is comfortable with this and the other half despises the other half for being so complacent.
Fortunately, I have the cure for my ailment.
Time to take my medicine.
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( 3 / 15 )It's cool in here, boy!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009, 09:54 AM
The Furnace/AC job is done and my house is finally cool...and just in time for the hottest day of the year so far. Now I can enjoy Ghostbusters without sweating my ass off.
Things are getting busier at work. I contacted Redrock Micro again and they are shipping me another new unit so I should be getting that by Monday of next week at the latest. If that unit fails then I'll be getting a refund for the whole thing and have to sell off 4 Nikon manual focus lenses as well. I hope it doesn't come to that, but at this point I can't hope for much. The damn thing quit working within 1 hour into it's first shoot.
I'm giving myself till Friday to decide on the fate of the bed. If by then I can sleep a whole night without waking up in pain, then I'll be fine with it. My mom informed me that she might be losing her job at Hope school in October. I think it would be the best thing for her since she can't seem to act on her own. I guess this means no new windows for me. That's okay though because I was feeling a bit guilty about letting her go through with it.
Tomorrow begins editfest 2009 as I have around 14 commercials that need editing. I don't intend to finish them all tomorrow (that would be crazy), but I do plan on putting a good dent in them by the end of this week. Upon returning, Laymon informed me that we have about 16 more commercials on the way as well as a 12 minute video for the city of Beardstown. I see lots of overtime in my near future.
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( 3 / 15 )It's strange
Tuesday, June 16, 2009, 10:34 AM
Having a conversation about death with your heating/air conditioning guy. Apparently he and Sariah spoke at length earlier today about it and shared stories. Sariah has talked with me a little about it, but she knows as well as I that I really can't help her through this.
We have new neighbors. They're a bunch of kids who I just know are going to be trouble. It seems the neighborhood meeting the police held yesterday to discuss the drug problems was just the precursor of what to expect this summer. I can only hope they're not going to be trouble, but I'm not holding my breath.
It looks like the furnace/ac install is moving into day three. At least I don't have to worry about getting Luke's paid anymore. Tomorrow we should be fully operational. The heat pump/ac unit is massive. I feel like it's going to become a magnet for vandalism though. These new neighbors better not fuck with it like the last kids that lived there or I'll go postal on their ass. It might be a little hard to do without a gun, but I'll figure out something.
Going back down south tomorrow to Worden. I'm hoping it's just a dead battery (crossing my fingers and toes to be precise), but the new M2 Encore that Redrock Micro shipped me last week has died. Not only did it die, but it died mid-shoot. It's becoming a real pain in the ass.
I bought the new Ghostbusters game today, so I'm going to go upstairs and play it. Hopefully that will take my mind off of everything else. I'm really contemplating getting some beer.
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( 3 / 10 )Tempur-Pedic?
Tuesday, June 16, 2009, 12:41 AM
More like TEMPER-Pedic. Just as I knew would happen, last night I couldn't sleep because it felt like I was sleeping on a compressed sponge. Springs in a mattress compress, but they still have some play in them. Memory foam mattresses compress into a solid mass with no give making them pretty aggravating after extended periods in one position. I don't know. I'm not going to write it off just yet, but I now know it's going to be a tough week for me.
Today is day two of the furnace/ac install. I'll be in Staunton all day while it's going on, but it should be done today according to Luke's. I'm looking forward to that. I can't really think about anything right now as I'm pretty much in zombie mode from lack of sleep. I really don't like that bed. I kept our old bed, so if push comes to shove I'll just sleep on the old bed and Sariah can sleep on the new one. Seems like a huge waste for both of us to have our own king size beds, but if I can't sleep on the new bed and Sariah can't sleep on the old then that's just the way it's gotta be.
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