Extra for a day

The day starts at 5:00 AM. Fill out some paperwork and sign-in. Wait for your group or name to be called to the set. Have some coffee, sorry no cream available, and a danish and wait.

Then the announcement comes...

"Drivers, go get your cars from the employee lot and meet in front of the holding area. Keep your hazard lights on while you maneuver through the detours and you will be directed into the staging area for your scene."

There are five of us in the first group and we all go get our cars and pull into the area as directed. We are directed by several different people as our vehicles are positioned to represent a traffic jam. After this maneuvering, which takes about an hour, we are asked to leave our keys in the visor and head back to the holding area until we are called on again.

"Drivers, head back up to set and wait by your vehicle for the directors to give you additional instructions"

I notice, as do all of us, that our vehicles have all been moved. I am in the front left of a two lane road and there is a an extremely expensive piece of camera equipment mounted on a large golf cart kind of thing right in front of me. There are cars and trucks next to and behind me. And a police motorcycle in front of the car on my right.

A lot of focusing on each vehicle and driver and our expressions is discussed as we all prepare for our moment on camera. Then we are sent back to holding. We are offered water and coffee and there are still remnants of the breakfast foods on the table when we get back to holding area.

Around 8:00 AM, we are summoned back to set. After about two hours of prepping and maneuvering the cars and the camera so everything is perfect, the directors tell us, "Remember, you are frustrated because you can't see the cause of the traffic delay in front of you." Frustrated looks come easy as the sun is beating down on us and our cars that have not been running are very hot inside.

At one point, a traffic cop on a motorcycle has to swiftly pass between two rows of frustrated drivers as we wait to see what is causing the delay. At the same time we are inching slowly forward, maybe two or three feet total, and then we reset. We do this so many times I honestly have no idea how many but I know it was a lot and it took a few hours before the directors agreed to move to next scene. This time instead of the holding area we are brought to base camp, and immediately instructed by a different set of directors to look like we are curious spectators trying to see the production in front of us. Not long after this, we are instructed to go back to the holding area.

Now it's 11:00 AM. "Where are my drivers?, I need all of you to head back to the set, you are now going to be pedestrians." So we are ushered back to the set and are positioned in various spots around a closed set and asked to walk from one side to the other repeatedly in different patterns and timing. We are known as background and every time we hear that word it is our cue to start our movements. Every time we here cut and reset we start over. And I did this until lunch break was announced at 1:30 PM.

Lunch

They serve a full buffet with pasta, vegetables, and salad, and plenty of bottled water.

After lunch, we are rushed back to the set. Our cars are once again in a completely different configuration. Only this time they are facing the other direction. Instead of being used as the focus for the scene, we are the background of a much bigger scene with one of the lead actors which involves dialogue in the vehicle. You know the scene; two or more people in a vehicle that appears to be moving, in this case though, their vehicle was moving and we were all stationary. 

We sat in our cars for close to three hours while the scene took shape. After the directors are satisfied, we are told to leave the keys and we can head over to the base camp area where they are offering all kinds of snacks and fluids to help us prevent heat exhaustion, which unfortunately some of the other extras did suffer from. I was one of the smarter ones because I had been drinking water throughout the day. They served Popsicles, bottled water, Gatorade, and orange slices. There were also several chips and crackers for us.

The remainder of the day was fairly uneventful except that I was able to watch a few other key scenes take shape that involved the lead actors.

Of course this whole experience was amazing and it lasted 15 1/2 hours. If you are wondering why the pictures show nothing specific, it is because we were not allowed to take pictures. I am simply showing you the where so when you see the show on TV, you will know where I was.

Lastly, I should note that all this was possible because Laura convinced me to drive the night before. We took a carload and stayed at a hotel that was so close to the set that we were able to walk back and forth.

  that's the Brick Way...

Testing

Testing a new editor...

If this works, I will be able to update the blog more regularly. I am using an editor I found for the iPad. It has been a while since I posted, mainly because I am not in front of my desktop very much.

I have a lot to catch you up on and in the coming weeks I will do my best to do just that.

In the mean time, let's see if this editor will satisfy my needs.

Just a quick photo add to see what happens...

I will post and review to see what this looks like.

  that's the Brick Way...

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day! Like many of you out there, my dad is not a short road trip, email or phone call away. I am left with the greatest memories and pictures. I speak to him often and I know he is listening. I encourage all of you to honor, love, and respect your dad always. And for those guys out there that are as lucky as I am with children of your own, let them know how proud you are to be their dad often, even if you can't be there with them as much as you would like to.

Love and Light to all!

That's the Brick Way...

Healthcare reform explained?!

Check this out! Kaiser has found a way to explain Healthcare Reform so the average person will understand.
I liked it so much I am sharing it with you. Enjoy!

that's The Brick Way...

So many places I have hung my hats...

Today, I was remembering a conversation that took place last Saturday with a few friends. I started listing in my head the multitude of addresses I have had and the numerous states they were in.

Forty-five years ago, it all started on Warren Ave in Chelmsford, MA. A few years later, my parents split and my mom and I moved to Royal Crest Dr in Nashua, NH. My dad goes back to his parents on Gage Rd in Cochituate, MA. This would be an address years later that I would call home a few times over the years. Time passes and Dad and his second wife (my stepmother Joan) move to Royal Crest Dr in Marlboro, MA. Shortly after, they have a baby (my brother Jeff) and they move again to Pierce St in Hudson, MA. Around the same time, my mom and I move to Lake Shore Drive in Lake Park, FL.
Up until that move to Florida, I was sharing residence with my mom and my dad on a weekly basis. This changed everything...
Weekly visits turned into summer vacations and winter breaks. The first of which was at my Dad's new house on Sycamore St in Hudson, NH. By this time Dad brought another child into the world ( my sister Suzanne). After that summer vacation, I returned to Florida, but this time it was to South Ocean Blvd in South Palm Beach. All of which happened before I was 12 years old.

My teens were just as mobile as my adolescence. Mom and I moved to 72nd Diagonal in Boca Raton, FL and the next time I would see my dad and his family I would have to go to Westridge Dr in Plano, TX. I actually stayed this time and went to school for a year before going to stay with Mom again who had already moved yet again. That residence was in Friendship Heights Center in Chevy Chase, MD. The following year I went back to Plano and the next summer when I went back to my mom's, she was already settled in our new place on Monroe St in Rockville, MD. Dad and his family stayed in Plano for several years. My mom remarried and we stayed in Rockville for almost 2 years. As my teens turned into attaining legal age, my dad and family moved to Cherrywood Dr in Reno, NV and my mom and family moved to University Blvd in Silver Spring, MD.

I am at this point, about nineteen. I hang my hat at and I spend a short stint back on Gage Rd in Cochituate, MA, then on Old Conn Path in Maynard,MA, then Hartford Ave in Framingham, MA followed by less than a year on Harding Ln in Natick, MA.

From Natick, I join the US Army and I am in Ft Dix, NJ for Basic Training and Ft Sill, OK for Advanced Training before heading to my duty station in Ft Belvoir, VA.

After the Army, I stay in the area. I was on Rockville Pike in Rockville, MD with my then girlfriend and then when that wasn't working anymore I moved to Hamlet Ct in Gaithersburg, MD. There was another place I lived for about six months in Germantown, MD but I can't remember the name of the street.

I moved back to my grandfather's on Gage Rd in Cochituate, MA for a short time, before joining my dad and his family in Reno, NV. After a short stay with the family, I ventured out and rented an apartment on Smithridge Ct in Reno and from there I moved into a place on Virginia Ave in Reno. After that I headed back to the east coast and found myself temporarily back on Gage Rd in Cochituate, MA.

I am well into my 20's at this point and I rent a house with a few other guys on Linden Ave in Malden, MA. A couple of years pass and I move-in with the girl I was dating on Spitbrook Rd in Nashua, NH.

After we break-up, I rent a room on Spalding Rd in Nashua, NH. I meet my future ex-wife and we move-in on Hollis St in Nashua, NH. When we realize we are expecting a baby girl (my daughter Rachel), we move to Essex Ave in Gloucester, MA. Right before my 30th birthday, the three of us move to Colony Rd in Rocky Hill, CT so we can be closer to my in-laws. A few more years and a baby boy (my son Matthew) and we buy a house on Cumberland Ave in Wethersfield, CT. Eventually the marriage ends and I move to Silas Deane Hwy, in Wethersfield, CT and then to Highland Ave in Vernon, CT.  The next move is to a house on Wilcoxson Ave in Stratford, CT.

Just when I thought I was ready to settle down, I found myself moving again...this time to Georgia!
My first two years were spent living in a place on West Britt David Rd in Columbus. Currently, I am on Terrace Pointe Dr in Columbus, GA.

So, by my count, I have had 37 different addresses (only counting Gage Rd once) in 12 states. How many states have you lived in?

that's the Brick Way...

First Quarter 2012 Gone?!

It is hard to believe that today is April 3rd. What happened to the first quarter? I blinked and I swear it vanished. I don't remember a quarter that went any faster as this last one.

Why? Was I so busy that each day blended into the next? I was no busier than I have been any other first quarter, so that cannot be the answer.

And on the subject of time, I find it rather interesting that I am still reading the biography of Steve Jobs, a book I find fascinating, and I have read a couple of other good, but not as riveting, books at the same time. Its like I don't want the Steve Jobs story to end.

Back to first quarter 2012; what happened so far this year, you ask? Our department at work saw changes in personnel and an alignment change from Sales to Marketing. And the Marketing Division itself is under  a realignment which has a few months more to go before the dust settles. I started teaching in virtual classrooms which has cut down on my travel considerably. There goes my chance at Platinum Medallion with Delta this year. It is nice to sleep in my own bed a bit more regularly though.  Ah the balance of life...

A lot of work got accomplished first quarter and we had a little fun along the way too. Here are my two favorite events of the first quarter...

We had the STC Conference in Atlanta. I was able to spend time with all my friends from the field. It was awesome and culminated with a great gathering of a few of our alumni at The Market in Columbus before they all had to scatter across the country to their homes or just their next events

Then there was this past team building event we did last Friday at Dinner Divas. An awesome experience preparing an entire meal for all of us to eat while requiring us to create it as a team. I learned a few new things just watching my peers. It was an awesome day!

We definitely were fortunate to have a few chefs with us. 

 Of course some of us were goofing off, but we did manage to put together a winning meal! Even those not-so-chef-like types like me contributed to the success of the day. 

 Winning Entree goes to....

Food Force Development led by Chef Jeff

Equally impressive; Chef Eliot and his team made a great meal too!

So as I look back at everything that took place; I understand now why first quarter 2012 is gone.

That's The Brick Way...

Life is like a giant puzzle

Several years ago I came across this quote and I believe it has great insight to inspire all of us as we head into our next New Year.

Life is like a giant puzzle. Though our futures may not be clear or turn out exactly as we expected, each of us has the strength inside to put the puzzle together; we just have to look for the right pieces.

My own life has had many turns that lead me to believe that I am still searching for the right pieces. I am confident that in 2012 I will find some of them and they will fit perfectly. The puzzle itself has not an end in 2012, but definite patterns will emerge and some pieces presented may not fit. I will have to decide if they are needed at all, are to be discarded permanently, or saved for later use in my puzzle.

New Years' resolutions tend to lose their vigor as quickly as they are recited.

In the spirit of well wishes and positive affirmations I say to all of you...

I hope you find the proper pieces and ensure their placement in your own puzzle by utilizing all of your resources and that 2012 is your greatest year yet. No matter what happens, just don't quit! We all deserve nothing less!!

Happy New Year
Light and Love to All!!!

that's The Brick Way...