THE CLOSER

I was originally booked as a street pedestrian, but someone didn't show up as an EMT so I got picked to replace him. They had me put on an LA Fire shirt, a little utility belt with scissors and an EMT bag. I spent most of the time walking around the ambulance with the other EMT Mike, a Chinese dude who's been doing background for 16 years.

It always surprises me when I see someone who has worked background for such a long time. I guess I wonder how they do it, but when you think about it, how does anyone do anything for that length of time? My mom's worked for LA County for over 35 years and I don't think I'll be able to figure that out until I have kids of my own. They say you stop living for yourself when you have 'em. I can see that.

I was surprised how attractive Kyra Sedgwick actually was in person. She always looks so old on tv, but in person, she looks much younger. That doesn't mean she's actually young, it just means she's actually quite attractive.

The cool thing about working today was that everyone in the cast was there. I didn't know anyone's names, but I'd seen them all from the pilot. We spent the entire day shooting in the alley. There were times when the crew was setting-up so we would get a chance to talk to the guest actors. As Mike and I were talking about poker, the guest actor told us he'd been in four WPT events and cashed in all of them. The best tip he said he's ever heard was from Todd Brunson who said that the only way you can become a winning poker player is to make big laydowns.

It was pretty fun talking about poker the pass the time because we would talk about theory and tactics and try to figure out if the low limit games in live casinos were beatable. I don't think they are because of the rake, but I haven't actually tested it long enough to see if I'm right.

CALIFORNICATION #2

No David Duchovny today. Which is fine because the last scene I was in, he spilled his fake whiskey on me take after take.

When I arrived at the parking lot, I was early so I kicked-back in my car for about half an hour. Then I walked over to the catering truck and got some breakfast. It was the usual eggs, bacon, potatoes and fruit. I went back to my car because it was still early and no PAs were around.

I asked a girl who was waiting around what the deal was. She didn't know and neither did anyone else who was hanging around the lot. It turned out that we were just in the parking area and that the holding area was up the block.

There was a church and a school next to the church with some kids running around. I looked around a little more carefully and realized that the church was the same one that was in the movie I PA'd for called Confession.

The holding area was a big white tent that didn't quite have the air conditioner working. I looked around the back since it was getting pretty warm and noticed an engineer trying to get the generator working. Even though I had my chair set-up, it was just too warm to nap. It didn't matter anyway because soon enough, we were sent to wardrobe.

The ladies in wardrobe weren't in a great mood today. It seemed like they were a little frustrated because none of us seemed to have brought the right clothing. So they made some people put on completely new outfits which took them longer than they expected.

We then took a van to North Hollywood at a French cafe on Vermont close to Sunset. We shot there for a few hours then sent back to holding. It turned out they needed some cars and the PA asked for volunteers. Of course, since it was Friday, no one wanted to volunteer. But slowly, he went down the line and asked people what kind of car they had. In the background world, black, red and white are usually never chosen. But the PA got enough people before he got to me, so I was done.

I cruised over to a pool on Pico to see if I could do some laps. Unfortunately, it wasn't open for the public yet, so I just left from there to go to JD's.

EARTH FLAG

I should have posted this on Earth Day. Have you ever thought about our planet, the pale blue dot in the vastness of the cosmos?

GARBAGE DISPOSER

Today I replaced the garbage disposer unit. I just needed to replace the unit because I think I burned out the engine or something when I was foolin' with it the other day. It was humming, but wasn't grinding. Turns out there's a little tool you can use to unjam the dumb thing, but I didn't know that. What I got for messin' with it was a nasty smellin' odor that reminded me of burnt plastic.

So I tried installing the thing and it turned out that I needed to detach the power cord from the older unit and install it onto the new one. I wasn't sure how to do this so I went to Ace Hardware to get some help. They were very helpful and did it all for me. All I had to do was pay for the new part which was just $0.13. However, the kid who did the wiring mixed up the wires. It turns out that ribbed wiring is always "neutral" and should be connected to the white wire. The smooth wire is "hot" and must be connected to the black wire. In short, ribbed to white, smooth to black.

Then I had to mount the unit and attach the drainage pipes. Unfortunately, there was no simple screwing in of some plastic nuts. Instead, I had to take two screws and secure them to the drainage pipe. Sounds easy, but the positions you get in when you're under the sink can make you appreciate what plumbers do for a living. It was kind of frustrating, but when the job was done, it was really satisfying. Not that I'd want to do this again any time soon.

INSPIRATION

Some slides from Wayne Dyer's PBS lecture.

What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself. - A. Maslow

The morning breeze has secrets to tell you, do not go back to sleep. - Rumi

When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all of your thoughts break their bonds.
Your mind transcends limitations.
Your consciousness expands in every direction.
And you find yourself in a new, great and and wonderful world.
Dormant forces, faculties and talents come alive and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be. - Patanjali

What I desire, which is aligned with spirit, is on its way. - Esther Hicks

By believing passionately in that which does not exist, we create it. That which is nonexistent has not been sufficiently desired. - Nikos Kazantzakis

BIG BANG THEORY

As I arrived to the main parking lot at the WB, I noticed Ed walking across the street toward the gate. It turned out Ed was working the same show as I was so it was really nice to see him.

We hung out on the bleachers for awhile and looked hungrily at the crew eating their hot breakfast. Some sets allow extras to eat breakfast and some don't. When we aren't allowed, we're usually given a cart of fruit or other dry goods that we can munch on.

I thought I was supposed to be a store employee like Ed, but I guess I made a mistake and they just made me a shopper instead. Wardrobe gave me an old fading A/F shirt that was so orange, I thought it made me look kind of gay. But what can one do?

We were given sides and rehearsed our positioning then told that we would be shooting in front of a live audience today. That was kind of nerve wracking yet exciting since I hadn't done that before.

After rehearsal, we were sent to lunch and given a meal ticket. I guess they didn't want any of us to return late since the studio usually gives us a walk-away lunch (which means you have to find your own lunch). It was all you can eat and I ordered fish & chips from the cook. When it was my turn to collect, some Asian guy took my order and said that someone else took his order. I let it go since there are other battles I'd rather fight for.

We ate lunch too late so I didn't get a chance to visit the museum that I had seen when I first visited the studio. However, I did get to check my email at Central Perk and make a new MySpace friend.

The live studio audience was definitely cool. We did some scenes with the principal actors who were shopping at an electronics store for their friend.

I remember watching Wings as a studio member long ago and wondering how I could be one of those extras I saw on set. Strange how thoughts sometimes become reality when you least expect it.

DIRTY SEXY MONEY

When I arrived at crew parking, the attendant didn't quite understand me so he nearly kicked me out of the lot. He didn't realize I was an extra. It's a good thing I saw someone else pull-in, so I told the guy I was doing the same thing and he let me in.

I got there early so I just chilled in the car for about 40 minutes. Then I noticed people starting to walk toward the tents that had been set-up so I followed them. The PA told us he would be declaring an NDB (non-deductible breakfast) which meant they could call lunch at a later time without being penalized for a meal penalty. I don't quite understand how that works, but knew that I had to pig out so I wouldn't starve before lunch was called.

There are several stars in the cast of Dirty Sexy Money and it was nice to see that nearly all of them were there (except Samaire Armstrong which was a bummer.) We shot our scenes inside LA City Hall's 3rd floor. I don't think I've ever been in there before, but I could be mistaken. I have faint memories of my mom walking me inside some buildings when I was but a child. Coincidentally, we shot inside the board room for the department of Public Works which is the department my mom works for. She's been an LA County employee for over 30 years which simply amazes me.

It was warm in the room with all the lights so I was sweating pretty good and had to keep fanning myself. I played a lawyer so the multiple layers of clothing sure made it hot. I think I gotta stop wearing an undershirt in the warm weather.

We wrapped much later than I thought and I suspected the crew would not be going to their other location that night. Then again, you never know. Sometimes they end up working 16 hours on average, so getting out at 11 hours ain't so bad when you think about it.