Man, I just can't get back to life without the movie. This real world is boring me already. I was looking forward to finishing. But mainly so I could breathe a sigh of relief that the job had gone more or less okay. You never know with these little movies.

We must have done 14 nights straight on this job. There were days off in there, but I never even notice them when we're on nights. I don't notice anything. I try to read the call sheet. Make sure everything is covered. Get all my ducks in a row. A twelve hour night outside, in a canyon in the desert north of L.A. - is a hell of a way to spend a night. It takes some solid patience. A good mood that travels like beef jerky. Cause I never know what's going to happen.

It rained on us one night. Good God. all our stuff was out in a field. we had a Condor up - umanned, with a 24 light dino. None of that stuff likes to get wet. We had seven carts, full of sandbags. We had a dolly and 60' of straight track + four 45 degree curves. Loads of frames and nets and rags. Grip stuff. If one hasn't done it, then it would be hard work to describe. Anyway, the whole thing got soaked in a field. Right out of Some mississippi rising fable. We yelled and cussed in the dark. Circling our wagons and trying to cover the gear under pop-ups. But the wind was taking the big tents away, and rain lashed our stuff. Grips were hammering bullpricks into the ground. Setting carabiners in the bull pricks and pulling trucker's hitch knots with all their strength. It seemed to hold. They released us with new revised call sheets. What a fucked up adventure this was turning into.

The drive back to L.A. was gnarly. We had ten miles on a dark, curving mountain road. The speed limit was posted 45mph, but I took it at 30. The rain had washed big rocks into the roadway. We finally turned onto the freeway, and come upon a jackknifed truck. The CHP was just putting flares out. You could barely see the officers on the side of the interstate. Scary.

The next morning our 10-ton grip truck had sunk into the field in which it was parked. This is a big truck. It's a rigid-body, three-axle freightliner. It weighs 57,000 lbs loaded, and they'd parked it on filled ground. The rain caused the truck to sink up to the gunwales, and list hard to the driver's side. Wow, what a sight. Like the U.S.S. West Virginia. Keith, my boss and the owner of the truck was losing his mind. No one had any idea how to get the thing out.

The transpo guys tried to pull iut out with a big 4X4 pickup. No chance. The big rig didn't move, but the Ford was bending at the point behind the cab. It looked heroic as hell what with the wheels breaking loose. But it didn't budge the freighliner. It was beyond transpo. They had to bring in a huge towtruck from Sylmar. It was a kenworth, and very colorful. The driver looked like Richard Petty. He pulled the truck out like it was nothing. Great show.

O man, I've been off the hook. I can hardly believe that I'm back online. Man trhis town just lets me drift and drift. As long as i show up to work on time.
I just finished a low budegt horror film, working in the capacity of key grip. How weird. had a great fucking time and made some do re mi. Not bad.

I've been having to drive so fucking much. I'm always an hour early for work. That's on-time as far as I'm concerned. Lots of stuff always comes up. Pulled this one off without any cataclysyms. Fooled 'em again josie.

Mike Gonzalez came out and pulled focus. I brought him out of retirement once again. And he stayed with jme in L.A. That crazy Mexican. We drank like wild Indians. Every goddamn night. Such times. I dig it. The morning we wrapped, the whole company went to The Drawing Room cocktail lounge on hillhurst. I got there first and backed my cutlass into the spot in front of the door. So we hung outside the bar smoking cigarettes and reefer. At 8am in a mini-mall. It's great what you can get away with in L.A.

Yeah yeh, I gotta get serious. Pay some of these damn bills. There'll be time to catch up.