I wanted to say happy Memorial Day to everyone out there. I hope everyone who had a three day weekend enjoyed yourselves. Actually, I'm sure most people won't read this until tomorrow, so...Happy Tuesday, everyone. Woo-Hoo!!!

I, unfortunately, did have to work today. I'm spending the week training at stores that are a bit out of the way for my job. Oh well, at least I have tomorrow off. I can watch the Piston's game. Hopefully, they can put it away tomorrow night. I was actually supposed to go to a screening of 'The Stepford Wives' with Nicole Kidman (Well, the movie stars Nicole Kidman. I'm not actually going with her. Though, that would probably get me to dimiss the Piston game a lot easier) down in Hollywood, but it could be the final game of the series. I want to see if my boys make it to the finals tomorrow or not. They're back at home so...

I wanted to tell those out there who are a little unsure of my stance on living in California that, despite what some of you may think or may have heard, I am not going to be leaving the Golden State anytime soon. I'm here for the long haul. I'll be here until I do what I set out to do. I know that when I first arrived in Cali I was a little skeptical and more than a little homesick, but now that I've gotten over the small period of adjustment, I remembered what I came out here for in the first place. Now that I'm back in a regular job and things have settled down a bit, I am refocused on the task at hand. I gave up too much to come out here to just turn around just because it's a little uncomfortable. Admittedly, it hasn't been all that bad. I've seen a lot of things I never would have seen otherwise. Plus, I've gotten out of that comfort zone I called a life back home. It's time to make things happen. I know we will.

On a semi-related...I was sitting around just thinking about some things the other day and I realized that we all know people who have now decided to move out to sunny California. Wouldn't it be excellent if, say, three years from now we have around 50 friends and relatives who have been inspired or convinced to move out here because we decided to close our eyes, take a deep breath, and just do it on the spur of the moment. It would definately make home seem a little closer, that's for sure.

One final note before I sign out: I just wanted to say thank you for all of the support that we've gotten from you people out there. The great thing is, not all of you are people that we've known for years. Some are just people who've come across our site and just liked it. You've all been great. For those of you who think the site has gotten a bit routine, you have to realize, this has been our transition time. Sure, there was plenty of interesting prose and quite a bit of emotion as we anticipated our little venture, and our excitement carried over for the our first few weeks of discovering our new surroundings. Right now, though, we're just getting our everyday lives on track. I know some of you are waiting to hear how we progress on 'making it in Hollywood'. For you, I just want to say, be patient-good things are just around the corner. To everyone else...I'll be dreaming about you tonight, baby!

For those of you movie fans out there: If you haven't yet, you should check out the preview for 'Garden State', a new movie written & directed by, and starring 'Scrubs' star, Zach Braff (Garden State Trailer or Garden State Internet Exclusive Trailer). We think it's going to be one of the movies to catch this summer that may not get the publicity of the big blockbusters. Give it a look-see.

My contacts are bone dry and I'm having trouble seeing what I type. I would go to sleep, but I've spent the last forty-five minutes exporting random short clips from Amanda and I's road trip. So I have to share something. The majority of the tape is far too boring to post raw, so eventually I'll drop music behind it and make a little five minute recap. But until then:

This was the last time I saw 818. i doubt you could miss it, but notice the ridiculous amount of junk in our front yard we couldn't fit in the cars.

I believe this is the day before we hit California, and I saw this coming from a distance and thought it was a little part of history.

Amanda and I had stopped on the side of the road at a look out point to stretch our legs, long story short: I thought the river was close - I was way wrong - and on the way back in the very, very, very hot desert, I almost... well, just watch the video to find out.

Here I was trying to sneak up on the cat during it's usual afternoon nap, but I didn't quite make it without smashing my toe on a chair.

Now for this next clip, you have to understand just how cold the water was, during my second dive my forehead actually began to sting, it was worse than any brain freeze I've ever experienced, but it started on the outside and worked it's way past the skin. I don't know for sure why I jumped in - partly just because Chuck was complaining about the snow in Michigan on the phone and I was saying it was so hot I was going to go for a dip [mainly to rub it in]. The other part must have been stupidity. Because, wow... it was chilly.

Billy just came into our room a few minutes ago and woke me up. Michelle decided to call me to say hi before she went to her friend's house. I can remember telling her I'd call her when I woke up, but I guess it didn't stick. Now I can't go back to sleep and I'm grumpy. This is my way of chiding Michelle for liking me.

The last few posts are just too depressing. I've been thinking about all the e-mails I've received and comments people left. I was kinda suprised at the response. To be honest, I haven't changed my mind on the subject. I still think I spend too much time in front of the computer, but I can see everyone else's angle too.

I guess I'm just going to have to learn to limit myself. My posts might be a little shorter until I can learn to edit less.

So, for today, I'm posting a comic book Billy got me for my birthday. It's James Kolchalka's version of the Hulk. The strip reminds me of when I try to act like something doesn't bother me. It's called Hulk v.s. the rain.

I finally have a nice relaxing day off. I think Chuck and I are going to do some running around and maybe catch an early movie. I have to be back for the game, though. Woo-hoo Pistons! 2-1, baby! Two more wins and we're in the finals. All we have to do is win our two home games. Chuck has even grown quite fond of the playoffs. It's pretty cool to watch him get overexcited about something he never really cared that much for, that is until he saw the Pistons in last year's playoffs, because they are, of course, awesome. I think it maybe a pizza and Pepsi night for the game (which is on that tool of the devil...cable). Anyway, I'm going to get out of here - stuff to do..."Be excellent to each other, and party on dudes!"

Well, I would agree with Chuck, except...

When "caliblog" started it served a number of purposes: 1) an easy way for all of our family and friends to keep in touch [or at least to keep tabs]. 2) it also served as a memoir [and it being 'public' also allowed our audience to lend their support]. 3) and finally, I think "caliblog" served as a watermark [not the "logo" watermark, but the "where the water used to be" watermark], a place to plainly state our goals and then as a constant reminder [both for our readers and ourselves] of our progress.

Without this blog, I believe time would pass just as easily as it has in the past, hell... "caliblog" has only been up and running for four months, I haven't really done anything [film related] in two years.

So, I'll still be posting on a regular basis. After all this entry only took fifteen minutes to write... I think the real killer of inspiration [and especially time] around the apartment is cable tv.

Any of you reading out there - please, share your thoughts on this.

When I was working on the first issue of my magazine, Suddenly Routine, I went to interview Mark Maynard, the creator of Crimewave USA. Crimewave is a magazine that chronicles Mark and his wife Linette's lives since way back when they first met.

The thing that I liked the most about Crimewave was Mark got to talk about whatever he wanted, but mostly that he got to talk about himself. I thought, "Hey, I could write about me," and a magazine was born. Well, if pregnancy lasted 4 years, that is. It took me about 48 months to make the first issue.

I like telling stories, especially from my own perspective. Making a blog about going to California was like that first issue all over again. Only now the results were immediate. No publishing, no printing, and minor edits. It could all be on the web and across the world in a matter of seconds. Talk about instant gratification.

The blog can be split into three sections. Talking about leaving, the trip here, and all the things we did once we got here. After that, it was supposed to be about finding work in the entertainment industry. At first, I never wrote about it because I had too much on my mind, and I wasn't really working towards it anyway. Moving was a big enough step, and I needed some time to chill out.

Then the time started to stretch. Suddenly I'm parallel to my life in Michigan, only 2,500 miles away. Work, eat, sleep, repeat. I wasn't really doing anything that had anything to do with film. Not even filming or writing on my own. It was easier just to let time pass.

I might only elude to it in a couple posts, but I'm on here too much. I spend more time checking out the website than... well, almost anything. You can tell by my 2-second response time when it comes to comments. Not to mention site design, and all the bells and whistle we constantly add.

Billy's had a stronger stand on this than me from the beginning. Yesterday he said his last three posts might have been "Worked at Ikea today." "Worked at Ikea today." "Worked at Ikea today." Maybe he doesn't go to the beach with us as much as we'd like, but his point is still well taken. If I'd had a blog in Michigan, I can imagine it being similar to this one. Though I haven't checked to see if there is a michiblog.

Lately, I agree with Billy more and more. I know everyone likes reading about us, and what we did at the beach or work, (at least I hope you do) but this is getting out of hand. It seems like I spend more time writing about my life than living it. The irony isn't lost on me completely. A lot of crazy stuff happens where I work and it usually makes for a funny quip each morning, but that's the sort of thing I should be saving for my zine.

The blog is new and growing. I think it's important that we not lose focus on what it was supposed to become in the first place. At least what I thought it was going to become. Read the title at the top and ask yourself how often we talk about making it "in the industry", short of whining that we aren't. Well, I can only think of one remedy.

I won't be posting for a while.

Can we amalgamate and help the blog become even better? I think it's going to take a concentrated effort. We could all spend fewer hours basking in the electronic glow of our computer screens. Mike wrote, "I should be writing more... filming more... thinking & taking action more." He'd have a lot more free time if the two of us weren't obsessing over webstats and page designs. (I know Amanda wouldn't mind)

Maybe sometime down the road there'll be a mike.com, where he can be as garrulous about politics as he wants. Or a chuck.com where I can talk about how much it annoys me to photocopy things. Believe me, it won't be far off. Too many things happen when you work overnights in LA. I just want caliblog to have purpose.

Billing my credit card $9 a month doesn't make me the owner of the site. At least not in the sense that it belongs to me. If everyone disagrees, I'll simply try to stick with this goal for myself. It won't bother me if Mike, Amanda, or Billy talk about whatever they want. I'm just showing them how I feel about it. I think I know where each of them stands on the issue.

As soon as I feel like I've got it under control, and perhaps set some time limits on myself (Maynard law of blogging) I'll make a personal blog and write all about how I waste my free time out here. First I need to get away for a while.

When I do post to Caliblog, I'll make it as informing and entertaining as possible. I'm just trying to complete the goals that I've put upon myself out here. I can assure you when the day comes that I'm working as a production assistant for the next Coca-Cola commercial, I'll write about it until the cows come home. That's a promise.

For now, I need to continue my life unfettered - sans blog. If something comes up, I promise you guys will be the first to read about it.

I was just reading some of the early post [before we had left] and found them very inspiring. Partly because we took a big chance and came out on top [despite the self-doubt fueled by certain non-supporters], but mostly because I find myself in a new and similar situation with my love for film. I know what I want to do, and I know the many roads that eventually lead there, and I know it's going to take some necessary steps and risk.

I can't help thinking: I'm not getting any younger. I've been in LA for three months and haven't done anything. And when I say that 'I haven't done anything', I don't mean; "what the hell -- I haven't struck it big yet", I mean "I could / should be writing more... filming more... thinking & taking action more."

Plain and simple: I want to make shorts & films, and it's going to take more than just Chuck and I [and dragging Amanda along isn't going to cut it either]. We need people who share similar goals, and we need lots of them.

Which I believe; is where "co.op films" comes into play. I have a lot of work ahead of me, and I don't even know exactly where to begin. I started to write a "mission statement" [you might call it]:

co.op films is as it says: cooperative film-making. Our goal is simple, seek out aspiring minds in film, whether those aspirations lie in screenwriting, marketing, or any and every step in-between.

All volunteers are rotated, allowing:
* everyone to eventually show their talent
* volunteers to take on large projects when they have time or assist when they don't
* to create a team environment where no one is at the top of the ladder for too long

My hope is that co.op films will grow in size and therefore creativity, but in the meantime [as exercises] recreate unique and challenging scenes from inspirational films. I personally am I huge fan of long-shots [John Frankenheimer / P.T. Anderson / Martin Scorsese], and would love to take on all the complications of a three to four minute long-shot.

Anyways, I didn't get on here to write about any of this, and now it's very late and I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow [my brother's graduation ceremony], so it's time I call it a night.

I meant to post this last night, but it wouldn't upload. But better late than never, Nick and I helped Mandy and her friend, Kelsey make a video about dairy for school. It's not done but I thought I would show it anyways. Enjoy.

I don't have anything to post today, but since I'm going to be a little more active on this site from now on, I was just curious what kind of things you folks out there think we could do to improve Caliblog. Let us know. Until then, don't go outside...

What I never mentioned about the Past the Breaking Point short was that Mike and I had actually spent the night in the car the day before the shoot. We were in downtown Ann Arbor the night before, and I guess we decided it would be easier to go to sleep than to go home.

We only got a couple hours sleep in my metro (a very small car) which was parked at the top of the parking garage. That's the same place we filmed a lot of it. I'm still a little suprised the cops never showed up, with me running around waving a gun over my head. The spot's visibility is pretty good over the city.

Needless to say, we were all acting a little silly. A lot of it wasn't recorded to tape, but a lot of it was. So for this weekly movie, we've decided to release the Past the Breaking Point blooper reel. I hope it can make everyone a little bit happier, this being the middle of the work week.

For those of you who didn't see the original, I suggest you watch it before you look at the blooper reel. Otherwise none of it will make any sense. Right Click & "save as" for slower computers. For those of you with DSL, it should pull up reasonably fast. It's about 5.3mb. I promise it's worth it. If you don't believe me, here's a screenshot.



Now that that's out of the way, I present to you, Past the Breaking Point: The Blooper Reel.

I mentioned the other day that blog was getting a little on the 'pictureless' side, so I walked around today and snapped a handful of boring pictures to share with the world. How exciting.


Above: Usually this creek [the famous Onsted Creek] is bone dry, but MI has been getting lots of rain lately [none so far since I've been here]. Once in a blue moon this bridge is under a good foot of water, and I have some fond memories from cross of people not quite making it across.


Above: Here's the messy one in the family [Amanda should think that's funny].


Above: I don't know what the hell this thing, but it scares me.


Above: this is the old trail I used to run during my four years of cross. I wonder how many times I've run up and down this trail... I image I easily put in over a thousand miles on this dirt path. Good times.


Above: Just a random tree in the woods that runs along the trail.

Well, that's all for now. I have more, but I'm at my mom's place, and she still hasn't moved on from 56k... so yeah... these few pictures took me a while to upload. But I will be on again later with some more pictures and a video or two. Adios.

Just before my shift was over today, a guy came in that seemed to be in a hurry. He asked if I could help him with some color copies, but did the typical thing. i.e. waited for me to do it for him. He kept telling me what he wanted done, but wouldn't actually do it. He'd just stare at me like I was his personal assistant.

Typically, I'll tell people they'll have to place an order, but I was almost out of there, so I thought what the hell. By the end, I'd done about $15 of work, had he placed an order with us. The whole time with him correcting me and talking about how outrageous our prices were.

The pictures he was copying were of him and some baseball players. He was an umpire. I goofed one of the copies, and as we went to get him his change, he told me I could keep it. I saw the baseball players in the picture, so I asked "Anyone famous?". I think he thought I meant him. So he asked me what my name was, took a pen and signed the picture. He'd been so angry the whole time, I was sure it would say "To the worst customer service rep ever". Instead, he opted for "Be safe always. God bless."

I laminated it.


p.s. Does anyone know who these guys are?

I slept about 12 hours yesterday. Really because I didn't have anything better to do. I went to bed at 10 and just kept going back to sleep. By the time I finally got up, it was time to go to work. I think this could be an excellent device for saving money, while simeltaneously grounding my social life into a fine powder.

Being at a job where you only see one of two people each night makes it a little more difficult. My interactions with co-workers are polite and minimal. It's not that we don't laugh and have a good time, but we're not going clubbing together anytime soon. Though, I never clubbed in the first place. (Maybe a couple baby seals)

So I've decided to start college here. I know it probably won't be cheap at first, but I'm only going to enroll for a couple classes. This should be a good way to increase my network within the business, and get a social circle. I'd like to meet some other Californians with film interests. Imagine that, I'm a Californian now.

I'm not sure where I'll attend, so I'm open to suggestions, if anyone has them. It has to be sorta close to Hollywood. Film school would be good. I guess I'll go check that out now.

I'm out of shape. I went with Nick to his "easy day" of track practice [assuming that we would go for a run down the old trail]. Instead; we play a game of ultimate, which I was excited about, until I got the frisbee twice in a row. And in Cross & Track we run until tagged, so I'm out-running a handful of high school sprinters and long distant runners from one end of the football field to the other. Ugh. My lungs are good and stretched. But it was fun, and good for the soul. I'm just not looking forward to waking up tomorrow.

Then Nick and I helped Mandy and her friend film & edit their class project. I will probably post it here as soon as it's wrapped up. That was a lot of fun, and alot of out-takes [they got a bad case of the giggles]. I think the commercial is maybe two minutes max, and we have 30 minutes of footage... 25 minutes of it just laughing.

I found this on the news today and thought it was "laugh out loud" funny. Apparently it took a "think tank" to realize that Bush's war in Iraq allowed Al Qaeda to re-group and become stronger. Is this funny to anyone else out there? I could go on for paragraphs why it's so comical but no one reads the blogs if they get too lengthy [and not mention, pictureless].

Which reminds me; I need to borrow my dad's digital camera. I realized skimming through the current post, that there are a total of three pictures. That's just sad. And Chuck, if you're reading this: can you update the weekly movie :) Please.

I wanted to mention something that I think would be far more satisfying and fulfilling than any award or nomination anyone could ever give you. At the Cannes Film Festival this year, Michael Moore's film, "Fahrenheit 911", received the longest standing ovation any film has ever received in the history of the festival. It was reported as being 15 to 25 minutes long. Now, say what you want about Michael Moore, but that's one hell of an achievement. Wonder if I'll ever recieve a standing ovation? Hmm... something to shoot for.

Well another one of us has joined the Ikea team. I just accepted a job offer and made the appointment for my drug test. I have some time to kill before my appointment to pee in a cup, but not enough to drive to Jill's and back so I came back to the apartment to tell you all about it. I'm getting a dollar more than at Toys R Us but it's only a part time position (1-19 hours a week) so I'll still be at TRU two mornings a week. Unfortunately I'll be working on the opposite end of the building from Mike.

I'm house/dog sitting for Jill this week (I'll write in further detail about this later). She's a soap opera director. She has a gorgeous house in Silver Lake, with an amazing view and a really lovely dog named Peaches. She doesn't have internet and my cell doesn't get a good signal out there, so I feel a bit secluded, but it's OK.

It only sucks because Mike left for MIchigan today and I can't instant message him or call him very easily. It's really pretty retarded how sad I get when he leaves. I know we see each other all the time. This actually will probably do us some good; absence makes the heart grow fonder, you know.

My mom and Ray were here to visit for a couple of days last week. It was great to spend some time with them and show them our apartment and around LA. It made me feel so proud (like "mommy, look what I did!"). Now they are in New Zealand, for an entire month! I'm so jealous.

On Friday MIke and I went to see a play, called 'Jerry and Tom', just around the corner, at the Whitmore Lindley Theatre. It stars a good friend of mine, Dennis Cockrum. He is a great actor. The play is about two hit-men; it's funny. We had a good time. If you live in the LA area you should go see it, it plays through the end of June.

(i wrote this yesterday as "mike"... oops)

When I was in the supermarket yesterday, Donal Logue was in line in front of me. If you don't know, he's the star of 'Grounded For Life'. If you still don't know, go to Donal Logue's profile @ IMDB. He's been in about 60+ movies. It was pretty cool.
Real quick...I saw 'Shrek 2' last Thursday. If you like the first one, you'll love the second. Thumbs up, baby. I know I should be putting this in Caliblog: Reviews, but no one ever reads them, so what's the point?
And how about them Pistons? Huh? YEAH, BABY!!! Three home games to go! Well, that's all for now.

I'm operating on two hours of sleep, and suffering from jet-lag; I'm feeling a bit out of it.

It feels so strange to be posting from Michigan again. I want to go walk around with a video camera and get some footage of just how small Onsted really is... but a) it's dark outside now, and b) I might fall asleep mid-step.

The flight went well, except for a twenty minute delay due to a plane parked behind us that was "experiencing technical difficulties". I didn't get to sit by the window as I had anticipated [that must be my flight home], so I didn't get much footage of the view. I was only able to sneak two shots ( shot one | shot two ) as the person to my left went to the bathroom [I don't think he was very fond of flying]. Sorry they are not very exciting, I think he waited till there was nothing to look at to get up and leave.

Eyes... getting... heavy. Must... sleep.

Two girls left a giant photo album in the store a couple days ago. I put it in the 'lost and found' with all the other stuff. Nobody claimed it for a couple days, so James and I started to look through it. The girls inside were pretty cute. For another day, no one claimed the photo album, then I got a call today from a mom looking for it. She sent her daughter in to retrieve it.

Now there are two versions of this story. One from my perspective and another from my manager's. So here it goes.

Girl: Hi, is Chuck here?
Cathy: You a friend of his?
Girl: It's who my mom told me to ask for.
Chuck: Can I help you?
Girl: We left a photobook here the other day.
Chuck: Wallet size, about three pictures?
Girl: (frowns)
Chuck: Kidding. Yeah we have it. (gets book) We were wondering when someone was coming in.
Girl: Thanks.
Chuck: Yup.

That's how I thought it happened, but apparently there was a lot more smiling and giggling in the beginning; and the end went something a little more like this.

Chuck: We were wondering when someone was coming in.
Girl: Yeah we couldn't--
Chuck: Ok, bye. (turns around)

So this girl was trying to flirt with me and I cut her off. Cathy said she was smiling the whole time, which apparently went right over my head. Once again, according to her, I went so far as to turn around before she finished her sentence. I remember nothing of the sort.

Not that it really matters, but am I that oblivious? Am I too stupid to notice? Are the rest of you guys like me? My curiosity is peaked. So send in your comments. Our phone lines are open.

I think the fact that this is one of their solutions to the Iraq prison photos says alot about the past four years.

I spent last night with Amanda at Jill's. Internet-less. It was good and bad; good because it let me spend more time thinking and writing, but on the bad side; I wanted to write a post really bad... and had to tough it out until she came back with the car. I started writing the breakdown for co.op films; how it works, who is who... and so on.

I'm a little fuzzy on my schedule, but I think I might not have another opportunity to write again until I get into MI. Unless of course I can find a the little do-hicky I need for my laptop so I can plug a phone-line into it and install AOL for a week, then I should be able to, which reminds me; I need to look for that.

Peaches, Jill's dog, is really cool. While playing with her though, I accidentally threw one of her toys on the roof. I had a blue chew toy with little red balls on it and I was running around the back yard getting her chase and jump after me, when I decided I would stop faking her out and really toss it up in the air, but when I let go of it, it went flying behind me and disappeared on the roof, Peaces gave me a very disapproving head tilt. Apparently I'm not very good at tossing things straight up. So, I go back through the house and out the front door and find it laying in some ground cover. Now, I'm apparently smart enough to leave the door cracked open (in case it automatically locked... it was a strange old door), but when I'm walking back up the stairs with the toy I slip and pull just enough before pushing, and the door clicks. It's 9:30, Amanda doesn't come home until 11:30 and I just locked myself out. But long [and boring] story short, I let myself back in... (I would tell you how... but Amanda thinks it's a bad idea), and stopped tossing Peaches's toys in the air.

Okay, I have to leave for work soon and I'm starving. So, till that day.

I was just thinking how in a few days; I fly back to MI for a week to catch my bro's graduation, and I was looking forward to killing time on the plane by taping out the window, but my little camera is all funked up and won't turn on. But I don't want to bring my big camera on the plane... and this wouldn't be a problem except a check for past editing work I did is two months overdue... it's a long story and I'm just venting. I really wanted to post some footage of view out my window as I was leaving LAX. And I think flying above the clouds is the most relaxing and eye-opening place to be.

While I'm off in MI, Amanda gets to dog / house-sit in Silver Lake for our [well... Amanda's friend... she's not really my friend... anyways] friend, Jill, who is a tv director... which is hot, I mean cool... or both? No... I've said too much. Crap. Well... I wanted to write alot more, but we have free seats for a play starting tonight and I have a few things to take care of before then. I'll write more tonight when I get back in [if I'm feeling lazy].

We have a program that shows us all the different websites that have direct links to ours, or to files on our site. For some reason, a girl with an account at livejournal has linked to one of our strangest videos. It's called Chuck feet. We were at the beach and I shot some video of my feet in two little puddles while Mike debated the next shot.

At first I thought they had some weird foot fetish. The last thing I wanted was someone fantasizing about my feet. I went and checked the site and it seemed harmless. Though in her post she doesn't say a word about the video, just provides the link. Frankly, I'm still confused.

Last night I suggested we all go to the Santa Monica pier. I just felt like I needed to see the ocean at night. When we got there a bunch of kids were walking on the beach after their prom. There were guys in tuxedos and girls in giant billowy dresses walking up and down the beach, trying to keep the bottoms of their gowns from scraping the sand.

The ocean is so beautiful at night. You stand on the end of the pier, about 15 feet above the waves in what would be complete darkness without the lamps they have on at night. Then the water snakes up from out of nowhere and rolls underneath you towards the coast. It looks like someone sliding a giant rolling pin underneath a piece of silk.

On the way back to the car, Mike was assaulted for the second time in California. Someone in a red car threw a blueberry at his neck to entertain themselves. [Previously he'd been shot with a water pistol while driving in Hollywood]. I don't know how he aggravates these attacks, but I haven't had any problems yet. Before we hit the highway we saw a cop with two guys on the sidewalk that had been driving a red car. We're pretty sure it was them.

I skipped my prom, so here's a picture of the only prom I ever went to. [R-L: Chuck, Andy, Mike, Pete, & Joe] I never liked the hyped dances. I wish we'd been at the beach.

Well, it's been six days but I finally have a day off to myself where I can relax. I'm not used to that kind of non-stop schedule [I know; I'm a baby]. I'm reading a book right now a friend from work lent to me; 'Che Guevara - a revolutionary life'. I'm not that far into it, and so far it's reading a bit like a high school history book, but I was warned about that and reassured that it gets much better. I realized I didn't know much of anything about Che, but the person who lent me the book said that he is her hero, and that she has read the book three times [and you can tell by looking at the book... it's seen better days].


Above: Here's a pic that should have been posted months ago, we are at the top of a Santa Monica parking structure.

I have some imported footage from Amanda and I's trip out here that I'm going to post on here soon, I would do it now, but we are reaching our max-bandwidth limits [again]. So I will just wait till the month resets. I have almost an hour of footage so I'll have to break it up, and I want to put a short clip of our beta fish, Adam, who just recently passed :( He somehow jumped up and out of his fish bowl and he was found dried up on the floor in our bedroom. Very strange. Chuck and Amanda said their goodbyes and flushed him down the toilet while I was at work.

Oh, while I'm thinking about it; does anyone out there know how to take basically a lamp and make it run off of batteries? Do I just use a ac/dc converter? Can I just cut off the plug and connect the wires to a battery? Does this all sound crazy? Chuck and I were discussing filming something at night, and I want to make what would basically be a boom-mic and make a boom-lite... so to speak. I'm just not much of an electrician.

THE HIGHEST MOVIE EVER

So, yesterday I went to see a movie at the Beverly 13, which is in this HUGE mall. I think it may actually border Beverly Hills (thus the name). The theater is on the 8th story of this gargantuan building. When you first get off the elevator, you actually get light headed from being up so high. Basically, 'Macy's' and 'Bloomingdales' take up most of the bottom of the mall and the 'regular' mall stores (still the high end stores, though) take up the top three floors. There's no escalators connecting these top floors to the bottom floors. They're separated by an elevator, to keep the riff-raff unseen. While I was there, though, I did see one of my favorite actors, Michael Keaton. He just walked right by me. Well, he strutted, really. It was cool. After that, in the hallway of the theater, I saw WWF's (or whatever they call it nowdays) star, Chris Jericho. He was by himself talking on his cell-phone. I'm not really a 'talk to celebrities' kind of guy, so I didn't say anything to either one. I would just rather leave them to their business. Anyway, that's all for now. Till next time...don't get pregnant!!!

stuck

There's a computer lab where I work that's open all night. After midnight we only have one or two people on computers. Usually a homeless person will be passed out at the laptop station. They leave the customers alone, so we leave them alone.

Last night my manager pointed out a woman I hadn't seen before. She was asian and looked about mid-forties, but didn't seem to really fit the profile. Her clothes still looked pretty clean and her bag seemed to be well kept. She was sleeping with her head on one of the desks, and my manager told me she'd done the same the night before. Obviously she hadn't just randomly nodded off.

I didn't think much about it until about 4am when she walked up to the counter. In between yawns she told us that she'd lost her wallet on a bus with her passport and ID inside. She tried to get it back, but it was gone by the next stop. They wouldn't let her rent a hotel since she didn't have any picture ID. I thought about making her a fake one.

She asked if the cops would "put her up" if she went to see them. I told her I wasn't sure. She told us she didn't have any family or friends in the area. I wonder how often people get stuck halfway around the world. I mean I know at that point I would have gone to an embassy, but maybe there was some reason she couldn't.

I'll probably see her again tonight. If she talks to me again, I'll try and find some directions to the embassy for her. When she left this morning she waved and mouthed 'goodbye'. She smiled almost like nothing was wrong.

I hope it's optimism.

I hope she finds her way home.

careful, you might get muddy

In an attempt to balance my bad habit of sitting infront of the computer I am forcing myself to do little exercises before getting on either the laptop or the mac. I was doing 20 push-ups and 20 crunches, but after the fifth time sitting down I wussed out and decided to 10 push ups and 20 crunches. I think it's a good habit to try and form. I feel better already; less wasteful.

Now just to stop drinking so much pop... oh, sorry [I'm from Michigan], I mean soda.

Well, I would write more but I'm going to search around on eBay for an SLR camera and some special lens to test out mini35. I don't have any money to buy the things I'm looking for... but, what the hell.

the day's assignments

I got stuck with the job of collating pages for a book last night. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, collating is taking thousands of sheets of paper that are too glossy to be sorted by a machine and putting them into piles, sheet by sheet. Stacks [111] [222] and [333] become [1,2,3] [1,2,3] [1,2,3]. It really sucks.

And it doesn't really require a lot of thought. So I'd grab a stack off the top, wipe my index finger and thumb on a wet sponge, and slowly build 30 or 40 books. About 20 pages per book, plus covers. [You do the math.]

About halfway in, I wasn't even thinking about collating anymore. My mind was wandering so much, that I realized I hadn't thought about collating in twenty minutes.

Buddhists practice the art of awareness. Awareness isn't nirvana or blankness of mind, it's just what it says; plainly, being aware. Mainly of your surroundings. Buddha said that none of us are really ever living in the present, because we're either thinking of the past or the future. What's happened or what's going to happen.

I've been reading up on it for a couple months, and I've got to say being aware is tough. Especially for someone as frazzled as myself. For one thing, I don't think I go five minutes a day without singing a song in my head. I always have at least one tune in my head all day; if not several. And usually I'm singing them, instead of just thinking about it.

I try to be aware of my surroundings. Instead of thinking of everything around me, I look at it and think of nothing. [I guess that's where the blankness, if any, comes into if for me.]

I think the first big step is taking in what's actually physically around you. Most of the time, we're only aware of the things very close to us. For instance, a computer screen. A girlfriend. The television. Try for a moment to imagine yourself in the room you are in, beyond what surrounds you within a foot. Just picture in your head the layout of the room and all the objects and people within it.

Now indulge your mind for a moment and think only of the present. Not what you're going to eat today, or what happened at work yesterday. Just you and the computer screen. Homogeney.

Now think of nothing. Hell, give your mind a rest for a moment or two.

Remember, inner peace is choice. Begin within.

question:

The TV was talking about gay /lesbian marriage and it made me wonder:

When will we learn from our history's [embarrassing] mistakes and realize that discrimination [of any kind] is just [for the lack of a better word] stupid?

3 minutes left

I woke up this morning to find the power cord for the laptop missing; I am assuming Amanda did something with it, I don't know what is going on there. But anyways; the battery meter says I've only got three minutes left... but it also says it has 85% left. So, we'll see if I actually get to post this entry before my computer shuts off.

I took my contacts out to soak them for the first time in over a month. I know that's all very interesting, but I just thought I would share.

I got an email back regarding an internship last night after work. The funny thing is; I can't figure out which post it was on the list. None of the information he gave me in the email matches anything or anyone on the list. His "Internet Movie Data Base" file is pretty bare, that didn't lead me to any clues. So, I'll just have to call and pretend I know which one he is. I would post a link to his info but I don't know it would come back to haunt me. So, I'll hold off on that.

Oh, I mentioned a few post ago we were considering changing the look of the site [again], I've been editing the templete on another blog to make sure everything worked before switching out caliblog's current style. But I thought why not see what our readers think about the change. Now keep in mind, it's not complete done yet, but generally; do you think we should make the change?

Okay, I just rolled out of bed, it's "noon-thirty" and I have to be at work in less than two hours, so bare with me on this post.



I spent three hours last night standing at a fax machine. Well, that's not completely true [but my neck is still killing me]; first I spent about twenty minutes going through the six pages of fine print and highlighting the internship post that only left fax numbers [and not emails], then I grabbed a tall stack of 'cover sheets' and started filling them out as neatly as I could with my hand-writing. Then, an hour later: using two fax machines at once, I dialed number after number, sending resume after resume. I was actually quite impressed with my speed and efficiency, I had marked a check by each of the 'intern' postings that I had made a cover sheet for, and when it went through the machine, I circled the check and organized the conformation print-outs, all before the fax machine even finished dialing.

I was afraid that the people within earshot were going to snap and strangle me, I think the only noise that filled the room for an hour plus, was the sound of two fax machine dialing numbers one after another, followed by the random beeping and humming of the line being picked up on the other end. Besides that; it was dead silent.

My plan was to wake up today, and finish what I started last night, by emailing the rest of listings, but I slept in, I'm sure getting back at two in the morning and then laying wide awake in bed for three hours didn't help. So I guess I will have to pick up where I left when I get back from work.

Target...no more!

Well, I just got home from my last day at Target. I didn't stay the whole day. What would be the point? Instead, I'm just going to go to IKEA and work tonight. It wasn't sad at all, I just wanted out. I think I said all of my goodbyes to MY Target back in Michigan. That was where my heart was. That's where my "family" was. This one was just a temporary lay-over. But now that's over. It's all on and up from here.

I bought my 'Friends: The Finale' DVD this week. I actually thought it was better than the televised version. Funnier and more emotional. I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me. For those of you who don't like 'Friends'-shut up!

Now that I'm down to one job again, once I get settled in, I can start working on some other things like I had planned. At some point I would like to start a regular comic strip on here. Of course, if I post it like I post my entries, it may take a while to get to the punchlines. From this point on, you'll be seeing a lot more of me and what I'm up to. I'm not making any promises (I don't make promises), but you can count on it. Trust me...

Oh, and for anyone who is looking forward to seeing more about Pixar's new animated feature The Incredibles, here's the newly released full trailer for the movie. Enjoy.

Allison from South Dakota

If you're still having trouble figuring out who's who, go to the post on February 22nd. There you will find a picture of the 4 of us. From left to right: Billy, Amanda (me), Mike, and Chuck.

what I came here for

I'm finally going to start applying for PA positions this week. I've been meaning to do it since I came here, but I didn't know where to start. My manager at work has done some PA work in the area and she gave me a website that's apparently really good. All I have to do is make up my resume and start sending it out. I'm sure my first job won't be paid, but that's no big deal. I've got to start somewhere. Working overnight is finally going to pay off. I'll be able to do PA gigs during the day.

I haven't made a very good effort yet, but I'm giving myself a month deadline. Maybe now the site will actually have some content about me trying to make it in film, instead of what I've blown up in the freezer or what new landlord I'm hiding from.

I feel like I'm ready now. It's time to get started.

blah, blah, blah

Blogger's new look has me inspired to waste a few days away staring at the computer screen re-designing the site. Anyways; thanks for the positive comments on the new weekly movie, sorry it took so long... I've been a little under the gun with Bye Bye Birdie... I thought my work was done when I realized the widescreen bars were blinking red and green; that was another 32 hours of exporting alone... not to mention the hour it took to fix and the 8 hours of rendering time. Ugh. Anyone out there want to buy me a shiny new G5? No. Okay.

I don't have much to write about [as you have probably noticed by now] but I just wanted to let you all know I'm still alive. Well, Chuck and I are going to play a game over worm's world party now. So, I guess you all see where you rank. Goodnight world.

ps. I would like to say that 'caliblog' has hit it's first 1,000 + watermark for [monthly] unique visitors, and not to mention it's only the 12th. I dunno' who all you people are. But, thank you for finding your way to our humble little site, and making us feel special. And speaking of record numbers: "past the breaking point" hit over 50 downloads in it's first day. Too bad we can't turn some kinda' profit off that, we could all quit our jobs and make silly movies once a week.

Mike said I could introduce the next weekly movie. I wanted to do the intro, because he seems to have featured me prominently in the final cut. I made this short while I was at community college. We never quite finished it, so it became a preview instead of a whole film. I think it stands well as a preview.



Here's the movie. I suggest you right click and download it, for the best preview. Past the Breaking Point

p.s. If it gives you audio problems for about 20 seconds, please keep watching. I don't know why it's doing that, but it stops eventually.

I've never counted, but we call the weather here "perfect" a lot. It's an easy thing to say, because the weather never deviates much from what a midwesterner would call perfect. The beach is cool and temperate, the mountains look like a beautiful painting, the trees bloom flowers of pink and purple, and the sun is always bright and shining.

And somehow, negating all that, the most beautiful thing in my life just got on a plane and flew away from me.

I took Michelle to the airport, expecting her to cry. She'd already teared up last night at the thought of leaving. I told her all morning that I was going to make her late on purpose. I almost did it accidentally [she got there 45 minutes before the flight]. To her credit, she never even got misty until right before I couldn't walk with her anymore. We got to the checkpoint where I couldn't go, and the tears started to collect in the corners of her eyes.

I never even got misty when she was hugging me. Maybe it was just that I hadn't let her go yet. Even if it wasn't going to last very long. Then I had to watch her get on an escalator and be taken away from me.

She looked beautiful this morning.

An escalator is perhaps the worst way to watch someone leave you. Instead of staring at the floor and occassionally looking at their back, you have to match eyes, and watch them get smaller and smaller, on the world's slowest moving mechanical device.

The moment lasted a long time. Too long, because I had to keep sniffing deep to keep from looking like an idiot and crying in public. She finally waved and turned at the top and I wandered out of the airport, upset and half-blind. With no idea where I left my car. After 15 minutes of wandering I finally found it.

I can't think of a way to wrap this up, except to say that California isn't the same without her.

IT'S JUST BILLY, CHECKING IN...

Well how is everybody in cyberspace doing? I know it's been, like, a month since my last real post. I make no excuses...

So let's see...since I last posted what has happened? Did I mention I saw Thomas Jane and Rebecca Romijn (Stamos) at 'The Punisher' premiere? I don't remember. Since then, I've just been working a lot. I actually have taken a job with IKEA, so when my two weeks are up at the end of this week, it's 'bye-bye Target', at least for now. Right now I'm trying to work both jobs, but this week I may lay off. I needed the extra money. A new 'Marx Bros.' box set came out this week and a Universal monsters one came out last week. I've got to have my movies.

To tell the truth, there really hasn't been much to write about. I'm fairly insocial and haven't been out and about too much. I finally got my drawing table dug out, so I will start working on some things, and I WILL be posting regularly again. You can count on that. Give me a couple more weeks, though. Once I'm actually more settled in on my new job, it will time to get out there and see what I can get into. Maybe see what it takes to get into pimping. That seems like an easy way to make a little extra cash.

Like I said before, not much has happened. That's basically why I haven't posted. Heck, I almost fell asleep writing this one, myself. Take it easy for now and I'll be back.

---Oh, by the way, if you get time check out the new Spider-Man 2 Trailer It's pretty sweet.

Well, Chuck beat me to it [I knew I should have posted a "happy mother's day" entry last night... oh well]. Here's a picture of my mom, she just finished up her nursing classes, and she is going to kill me posting this picture on the internet. He he. I love you, mom. I'm so proud of you for kicking ass in school and becoming a nurse. I miss you and wish I was rich enough to fly back home for some mother's day diner... or send a few dozen flowers... but I suck and my pockets are empty.









Below: Here's a pic from the last time I saw my mom; the night before Amanda and I left Ypsi. It was a sad night... very hard to say goodbye.


Happy Mother's Day.

She's one of my best friends. And she's hot!



I just got off the phone with my mom. She kept saying not to be sad, I don't think she belived me when I said that I wasn't. She's comming next week for a few days, I can't wait!

I just wanted to say happy mother's day to my mom. She took care of me, protected me, taught me to read, and gave voices to all my stuffed animals. I'm crazy about her. So for all the mom's out there, we love you. I love you, mom. Here's a picture of her. Kevin Trickey [my godfather] took it, when she was a teenager I guess. It's one of my favorite photos.

People always seem to like it when we post pictures... and looking at the site; I see it's been a while [not counting Amanda's last post - because that's artwork... not a picture]. So, to even things out: here's a crap load of pictures. Enjoy.


Above: Today [or I guess it would be 'yesterday by now] we went for a walk under the Santa Monica Pier.


Above: "Gotta love that traffic on the 405". But I do have to say for once we managed to make good time coming north... usually it's the other way around - which is funny because I made Chuck drive back since I didn't feel like driving in stop and go traffic... and was fine all the way home. I guess I just have bad luck.


Above: That's Billy's toe... and yes; it's broke. He nailed on Michelle's suitcase [I don't know how because her suitcase is way out of the way from any path we ever take... poor Billy] while getting ready for work the other morning. Ouch.


Above: Yes that is what it looks like; Chuck riding on the handle-bars while I pedal. And yes; we know how gay it looks... but we couldn't help it. It was funny. There's also video of it that will on here soon.


Above: Here's Amanda looking cute in the backseat on the way back from Santa Monica.


Above: No that's not a statue. That's a 6 1/2 foot tall black man painted head to toe in silver. After I snapped a picture he walked up to me and I gave him some cash and a 'caliblog.com' business card... ha ha - I'm a dork, I know. He had one of those 'whistle-fan' things in his mouth... I don't know the name for them. But he shook my hand and puffed his cheek's out really far and then made a loud strange noise, and it took me a second to realize what he was doing. You couldn't see the thing in his mouth... but yeah... anyways. That's Santa Monica for you.


Above: Chuck found this on the beach on the walk back to the car. He then started throwing them at me. He said, "How often do you get the opportunity to throw birth-control pills at someone"? I guess he has a point.


Above: "Hey look... palm trees". That's all there really is to say.


Above: These banners hang all up and down Magnolia, I just thought they were cool. I don't know why I picked a banner that was half hidden behind messes of power lines, but, you get the idea.


Above: And one more of the pier; I couldn't decide which I liked better, so here's the second one. You be the judge. The sunset looks so cool cutting through the wood stands.

Well, that's definitely a crap load of pictures. I kinda' knocked the last post Amanda and I wrote off, but that's okay, just don't forget they're down there. Seems like I was going to mention something else, but I can't remember what "that" was. Probably because it's late and I'm tired and starting to nod off while sitting here. Good night cruel world.

I don't know how many of you notice; but Chuck randomly changes the "title" of our site every few days. I think I like the current title the best "begin within". Although "caligblog: taste just like it smells... delicious", is defiantly a close second.

Okay... straight to the point: I just wanted to post a few short clips. I like this clip Chuck shot of his feet, I don't know what he was doing... but it's gets funnier every time I see it. And here is Chuck and Michelle walking on the beach [in front of the same rocks I was standing on when I almost lost my camera due a sudden tidal wave]. And I have more... but I'm gonna make ya' wait.

I just ordered Thai food. Steamed spring rolls and tom yum soup for me, orange chicken for Mike. It should be hear in about 35 min. Not that we don't have food, I'm just to tired to cook.

We just got back from Santa Monica (Chuck, Michelle, Mike and I; Billy "doesn't go to the beach"). That's the best thing about my job; most of the time I get out so early I have the whole day to do whatever I want. This morning when I got home Mike was still in bed so I actually got to crawl back in with him to cuddle (my head on his chest, my leg over his leg, listening to his heartbeat while his chest hair tickles my nose; that's my meditation). I have to get up at 5 am every morning, but that's ok. I still stay up late, and I usually don't nap, so by the 3rd or 4th day in a row I'm pretty tired. This week I'm working 7 days in a row. Bummer.

I'm listening to a CD that I made from Mike's computer in the living room so that I could have some good music to listen to in the bedroom. The song playing now is a song by Mike's brother, Nick. It's just an instrumental guitar song that he wrote. I love it. It's so beautiful and relaxing. You're the coolest, Nick. It still blows me away that girls aren't chasing him down in the hallways of his school. I don't understand it.

Another really cool thing about working where I work is that every morning I drive strait toward a horizon of mountains. Breathtaking. The past 2 days I've left just at sunrise. Gorgeous pink and blue sky turning the horizon into a mountainous silhouette.

Our landlord hasn't said anything else to Mike about the number of people staying here but we have been trying to stay on the down low until Chuck is officially on the lease (Mike is planning to make a call to the landlord on Monday about that). I haven't had any problems lately, like Chuck, but it does suck not being able to come and go, to your own home, as you please. I can't bring in my own groceries or take my laundry to the washer when I want, can't check the mail- hell, I can't even get my mail here anymore (I had to get a P.O. box), and worst of all, I can't eat breakfast on the balcony any more. Yeah... it sucks.

Last Saturday Tricia and I went to see Gannon's new house in Silver Lake. It's a really cool old house from the 30s. I like it a lot. We had to go up some crazy tall hills to get to it. Good thing we were in Thurmon's Lexus 'cause my little escort never would've made it. I mean it, it's hard to explain but it felt like we were going strait up and when we would get to the top (the top of every hill was also an intersection) we literally had to lift up out of our seats to look over the hood of the car to even see if there was a road in front of us or if it just dropped right off. It was very scary, to say the least.

After checking out Gannon's place we went out to lunch at a cool little restaurant in her neighborhood. They got huge borritos and I got a great homemade veggie burger. We had a really good talk, that I'd desperately been needing to have (nothing specific, just intelligent girl conversation). Then we walked down the street to check out some antique stores and a really cool (well hidden) ceramic tile store. It was a good day.

I love L.A. Everyday is a new experience. I feel like I could live here for 20 years and still not see all that L.A. has to offer. Pasadena is awesome too. Things here are very new and different. That was my reason for coming in the first place; I just didn't want to spend my whole life in the same place. I want to see the world. I only have one life, I want to make it count.



Above is a great collage Chuck made for me as a "thank you" card after his birthday the first year we met. It's very important to me. "Begin within" came from a sticker I bought for Chuck from a book store in Santa Monica the 2nd week Mike and I were here, still waiting for Chuck and Billy to arrive in CA. I liked the way it sounded, It made me think of Chuck, and his constant search.

I hit a taxi while we [Amanda, Chuck, Michelle, and I] we're in Santa Monica. I think it was my first collision with a car ever. I've hit some trees and put my car into a ditch or two, but never another car. I say "collision", but really it was a nudge. I slowly moved forward and touched bumpers at like .3 miles an hour. Traffic was starting to slowly move when the light changed (or so I thought) and at the same time I heard a woman screaming for her dog to come back, and I thought, "Oh crap, that ladies dog just ran into traffic". And I don't know why, or what I was thinking; but I turned my head a little to look at the woman and heard Amanda half-yell, "Mike"! And before she got out: --ke; I heard a loud hollow "Thump".

How embarrassing. Then the woman who was yelling after her dog, starting yelling at me to "not give him any money... don't give him anything... hold on... let me come over there". And the guy who was driving the taxi was telling her to mind her own business. Not to mention he wasn't asking me for anything. And all the while I can't get in a word to ask him if he is okay. Traffic is backed up on all sides by on lookers. But finally the crazy woman left and the driver just asked me to ask the woman in the back seat if she was okay. I didn't even realize she was there until he said something, she looked like she had just come from LAX and was dead-tired from a long flight, she nodded that she was perfectly fine, and I said I was sorry and we all jumped back in our cars. It sucked.

Kevin asked me how our landlord situation is going. I'll answer for anyone who's curious. "Not well." I had a run in with the manager next door who sputtered at Michelle and I in broken english that we could only stay one night a month. At least I think that's what he was saying. More and more I feel like a prisoner in my own apartment. I sneak out the side for work each night so the managers won't see me and sneak back in each morning.

I feel alone on it now since Amanda got a parking space behind the apartment. It's ten feet from our stairwell, so getting in and out is pretty easy. I've had to resort to parking a block away, just so I can come in from the south entrance. This is getting ridiculous. If someone doesn't at least try to get me on the lease soon I'm going to walk up to the manager's apartment and introduce myself. At least I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.

I'm already 2,500 miles away from home and I feel like I can't even walk onto my back porch. I find myself steering clear of the large bay doors when the blinds are open. I feel like I'm in witness protection.

I finally understand how they catch those criminals that have been hiding out for years and slipped up by going to a bowling alley or a shooting range. The poor bastards just couldn't take it anymore.

I don't have to work tomorrow. Thank the Lord above. Although I do have to fix the video track for Bye Bye Birdie... the widescreen bars started blinking red about 30 min's into it. Grrr. And not to mention I need to put a new video for the "weekly movie" - which is a few days over due. Holly crap... I'm typing this post on Chuck's laptop, and this thing gets hot; my palms are starting to sweet. That's attractive.

We finally have food to eat! After we [Amanda and I] paid rent we had about four dollars to our name. Before Amanda picked me up from work she went crazy at the grocery store and had to write a bad check to cover it. So - we'll be making a trip to the bank early tomorrow. Not that I mind; I can stuff myself silly with food now. I just realized how boring this all is. Has my life become this uneventful? Never mind, don't answer that.

I've been surfing the internet for the past ten minutes and of course stumbled across something very, very upsetting. Apparently the Bushies knew in Jan. about the G.I.'s forcing prisoners to suck dick at gunpoint, and like everything else; they sat on it until it fell into the hands of '60 minutes'. I'm speechless. We are all screwed. There can't be a country left in this world that doesn't hate us for being the... well... here; Mark Maynard put it best:

"We're shortsighted, arrogant assholes and we're going to pay a price for it".

I need to make sure I'm registered to vote in time... because this is getting so fucked. I apologize for the language, but Bush just seems to keep topping himself. At first when I heard about the prison abuse [which is a pretty nice way of putting things], I thought, "wow... I actually feel bad for Bush having to deal with this on account of a handfull of dumbasses in uniform". But knowing now that Bush knew five months ago... Unbelievable.

It must seem like we are trying to bore our readers, but I can promise you; we've just been very unintentionally lazy. We spent today [actually, yesterday] filming in Santa Monica & Venice and we have lots of new video to show you... but I am afraid I am too tired and my contacts are way too dried out to spend the time to post them now. It's on my list of things to do when I wake up. Till then.

Actually: I'll leave you with this one clip thats already been exported. This is a shot from the top of a chain of rocks that stand probably ten or more feet above water level. Now, keep in mind; the rocks you can see at the bottom of the screen are very large rocks, easily as wide as I am tall. The waves [of course] hadn't been anywhere near this size until I crawled up there with my camera to film the ocean. So needless to say - I almost lost my camera here... very, very stupid of me. I would have had to hurt myself. But luckily I turned my back to it, braced for impact and shoved the camera under my shirt just at the last second as the waves cleared the ten foot tall rocks I stood on and hit me head to toe.

...Just my luck. More to come tomorrow.

Last night around two in the morning I wrapped up editing on Bye Bye Birdie [three months later], that was without a doubt the slowest and most drawn out project I've ever worked on. Of course moving didn't help; that postponed everything for at least a month; then there was the excitement of being here; that distracted me for at least another month and I got far, but not as far as I should have gotten.

Anyways; it's done - my computer is chugging away at exporting the clips for DVD [which will probably take 30'some hours], and now I get to work on more important things: co-op films / synergy / writing / filming / re-designing caliblog.com / and so on...

Due to it's lack of traffic, I am going to mention our "cali: forum", it's a fairly new addition to the site and much better way to communicate / comment. Now our readers have two options: if they just want to "comment", as in leave a short thought that really doesn't desire any response; then they should still use the comment(s) link. But, if your are leaving a question, or would like a response to your post; then you should use our forum ; the forum allows us here at caliblog to leave answers or comments of our own in a conversation styled manner.

Okay, now if you'll excuse me I think I am going to go to the beach before work and that only leaves me with six hours to enjoy the sun. I don't think anyone mentioned the last time we [Chuck, Amanda, Michelle and myself] went to the beach in Santa Monica; I jumped in the ocean... twice... and it was still very, very cold. But it was during the 101 plus heat wave we had recently, so it was shocking, yet refreshing somehow at the same time... but mostly shocking. I need to move to the beach, the valley can often be a slow-roasting oven with the mountains surrounding us on all sides and blocking the ocean breeze [the best part about CA]; now I'm just rambling. To the beach! Adios.

I hate to say this, because I love Ann Arbor; I have so many fond memories of those streets I could go on for days, but pasadena [at least at first glance] may very well pass-up Ann Arbor in the coolness factor. It's sad but true. Last night Amanda and I, taking the advise of Chuck and Michelle, went to see "Touching the Void" at the Academy 6 [in pasadena of course]. The theater reminded me so much of the State in A2 [Ann Arbor]; the old style structure of the building; the indie flix; the old red run down seats [although this theatre's were still much, much better than the States], I have to say I'm spoiled now having gone to the AMC in the mall, the arm rest can be pushed down to make one big couch. But okay; moving on to the rest of pasadena: it's a strange combination of New York and A2, in the sense that it's as busy as New York [at least on a friday night] and lacks the up-scale yuppies A2 unfortunately has an over abundance of, but the business there is very reminiscent of home, and not to mention; they have an apple store; that alone is reason to love it.


Above [random picture]: here's a pic of Amanda cooking in the kitchen. Pay no attention to the giant build up of cups on the counter... we'll get to those soon enough.


Above [another random picture]: Yes this is just a pic of our closet, and yes it's sideways, but I like it, its one of those little details that no one ever pays attention to. Someday I'll look back at this picture and remember clothes I'll no longer have, or how I stole those black milk crates from the Toys 'r' us parking lot.

I would like to write more; but I seriously need to go to Kinko's like two days ago; so I better wrap this up soon. I started this entry before I went to work at two but I lost track of time and had to run out the door. I was planning on riding my bike to work, but I had to borrow Chuck's car [my battery died on me], Ikea has a program where if you ride bike/ walk / carpool/ or take the metro to work you get paid for it, sure it's only about a dollar a trip but hey, I should be doing it anyways, I've always wanted to be in the good habit of biking to and from work [I guess more imporatnly I need to get in the good habit of remembering to keep an eye on the clock].

We have some computers at work that the customers can use. They put a credit card in a little slot and whirr away. Today a woman [mid-50's] told me her computer at home died and she needed help with ours. I'm pessimistic when people ask for computer help, because it usually means they want us to do the work for them. Sure as the pope is catholic, she didn't even know where to type in a web address. I wondered if her "computer at home" was a big paperweight with a plant on top.

They try so hard to get us to come out from the counter. If you tell them what to do [and I mean describe in perfect detail] they ask if you can "show them". Once again, show me = do it. It can be frustrating when you've got work to do, and annoying when you don't.

The customers at a copy shop are less patient than customers anywhere else [Please, tell me if I'm wrong]. Everyone there has a deadline they have to meet, and waiting in a line for longer than 30 seconds is digging into it. I've never seen so many lines of impatient people.

Additionally, they expect results to be immediate. I've taken orders from several people who say "Don't worry, I'll wait." and become enraged when they find out we have other orders to take care of before theirs. A few hours is always too long. They have a plane to catch or a meeting to get ready for. You'll hear every variation in just a few weeks.

Everyone is on a deadline, everyone will get fired if they don't get this project in on time, everyone is working for an asshole director that told him to do it in a couple hours, and everyone's children will starve if you can't get them 10,000 copies in an hour. You're not working for them, you're working with them, and the team captain ain't happy.

In reality, all these people have had days to get it finished and they've seen too many movies like Jerry Maguire where someone storms into a copy shop at 3am and gets a flashy portfolio done in fifteen minutes. [I can't stand that scene, by the way. That job would take hours.] Sadly, Hollywood, which has given us so much, teaches us all these terrible lies.

After a while, you become immune to the insults, threats, and bribes. They try very hard to make you feel like it's all your fault, and the weak ones will quit. Those who don't threaten will bribe. They offer to slip you a bill or ask what your manager's favorite bottle of wine is. I'm not exagerrating.

Thankfully, I'm thick skinned. I get more pleasure out of acting stupid and snickering inside my head while they act like I'm incompetent and ask to speak to my manager. They always tell them the same thing I did. Like parents with the "unified front" technique.

It's not always like this. Sometimes people genuinely just need help, and it feels good to do it. Most of the time, getting it by 6am works out fine. They drop by in the morning, all smiles, to pick up the project that they thought was in the toilet. When I can tell it's one of them, I always work hard to make it look great.

I'm not jaded. It's just more fun to write about the jerks.