A lot has happened since last I updated this blog, mostly a lot of working and a lot sleeping. I joke that I really only have two speeds, work and sleep. I get home from work, collapse on my bed, wake up, repeat. But my dedication is paying off and I'm beginning to feel more comfortable both at home and at work. I've had several conversations with people on the crew, where they've asked me if we've worked together on something before. "I don't think so," I'll reply. "Did you work on 30 Rock?" They'll ask. "Nope." "Criminal Intent." "Nope, this is actually my first job." "Really?!?!" It's encouraging that I've got people fooled, but it's also now a bit nerve-wracking that I may now be called on to know more than I actually do.Work is cruising right along, tomorrow is Day 35 of 50, the home stretch. The final couple of weeks are broken up nicely. This past week we had Veterans Day fall smack dab in the middle to split up the week. Now we've got a full slate, but then next week we're on two days and then off four for Thanksgiving. By then we'll only have nine days left. And as far as the actual movie itself, we've been doing some pretty awesome stuff lately, including explosions and green screens. Through it all, we've shot in Brooklyn and Queens and couple of days in Manhattan. I've traveled pretty much every train line the city has to offer, and I've walked hundreds of streets. So in a way, work has forced me to become a better New Yorker.
That was something I suppose I had taken for granted until I was walking around with my brother yesterday. We got off the subway at Union Square, in hopes of hitting up the farmers' market there. No luck. So we walked a little ways up Broadway till we got to the Flatiron District. I had passed the Flatiron building on one of my epic, pre-The Sitter walks from the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum to Union Square. But my brother made a comment about how he only knew the Flatiron building from the old Spiderman video game we used to play. He felt bad that he hadn't really been around New York much, granted he's working an office job and travels most weekends.
So I'm thankful that work has basically forced me to get out of my apartment and see the city. As far as the development of my specific job as the paperwork PA, like I said, I'm beginning to fit in. I've developed a pretty solid routine and I know what is expected of me, when and where I need to be. I'm accruing more downtime by being more efficient with my uptime. I've, of course, been reminded that not all jobs will be like this and I've been lucky to have really nice Best Boys (the second-in-commands for each department, who I have to get the manpower for each day). But as my dad reminded me, I am the maker of my own luck. As long as I bring a positive attitude and confidence to my job, they'll be more accommodating, because at the end of the day they'll know that my job is important to them getting paid and if they blow me off, there will be problems with their paychecks.
Inevitably, on my next project, this will all have to repeat itself, but for now, I have good friends, good work, and good sleep. Ok, so maybe three speeds.
