PAIR OF KINGS #2

I worked on the pilot for this show a long time ago, but I noticed they had re-shot the pilot with fancier clothing for everyone and a nicer set. I had a mustache then and always wondered if that prevented me from being called back to work on the show. But since I got booked on the show again, I think what prevented me was not being in AFTRA.

It was a small call for our scene today since there were only five or six of us and we were all kitchen staff. We were dressed in orange chef gear with some color hankies that went around our necks and waist. We sat around waiting for our scene until we were finally asked to come to set.

The surprise was that Dwight Howard was cast as the head chef. The mother fucker is huge! It's amazing to see how tall someone can really be when you're standing right next to them. Another surprise was how enthusiastic he was on set. He seemed excited to be on set to work as an actor and actually shook everyone's hand who was on the set. Needless to say, his hand was gigantic.

The tough thing for Howard was that he was given his lines just today. It was no joke because he had a lot to remember and he's no actor. Lauren Lawson explained to me that they usually don't give non-actors the lines very early because it might confuse them if they decide to make changes to the script.

As we worked, it was easy to see that poor Howard had it tough. He had so many lines to remember and the script supervisor had to spend a lot of time with him between takes to help him get through it all.

I met a girl from Brooklyn who was pretty cute, but I just didn't get the sense of really wanting to talk to her. Maybe I'll run into her again someday, but I don't know if it's because I felt shy or because I didn't see any point, but I never got to ask her if she was on Facebook.

The nice thing about the day was that it was short. We were wrapped before traffic got bad so I decided to just go home and eat lunch there to save some money. I was interested in doing my next P90x yoga workout, but I just ended up taking a nice long nap.

I had a root canal scheduled for tomorrow and finally got a call from the endodontist's office. They asked if I was still available for the root canal tomorrow. I told them I was waiting for the estimate. They called back and said I would need another examination and that the pre-exam would cost $100. I told them I'd already had that done and was waiting for the cost of the actual procedure. After going over the files again, they said it would cost $1000. I'm certain now that they are running either a scam to get people in to charge them if their insurance doesn't actually cover the costs of the pre-exam or the actual procedure.

It's either that or they are very unprofessional and the doctor doesn't know this. I'd be surprised if the doctor didn't know this was happening, but then again, if he's not going through all the paperwork, how would he? All I know is that I'm not paying shit for what they charged me because I feel I was definitely ripped-off. I suppose it is going to take a letter to explain my stance since he would not know it if I don't bother to mail one. I think I'll have to discuss this with Aunt Pat to get her view as well.

(written 6/12/11)