The wheels go round and round

This is a little off topic, but I've been thinking for a while now about writing a post about riding the bus everyday. I mean, what am I going to do for the 1-2 hours a day I spend on the bus to/from work but think?

Anyway, this post will be split into two parts-- pleasant observations and annoyances/complaints. Might as well start with the bad news so that I can leave you on a happier note.


All in all, riding the bus isn't so bad. A lot of people complain about it being crowded, being late, or being full of smelly homeless people. Sometimes that's true, sometimes it's not. Those things don't really bother me.
There are, however, a few things that really annoy me about the bus, and because I have nothing better to do at the moment and I am hopelessly addicted to writing my every thought on the internet, I will share them with you now.

Bus Pet Peeves
Now, I'm going to cut the bus drivers a break because the majority of them are really nice and don't do anything that bothers me.
Passengers, on the other hand, can be infuriating.

Let me first explain what I like to call the Big Five. The Big Five is made up of:

1. the elderly
2. the handicapped/disabled/injured
3. pregnant women
4. people accompanied by babies/small children
5. people burdened by many bags/packages

The thing that differentiates the Big Five from the other bus passengers is that common courtesy dictates that you do certain things for them, such as give up your seat or let them go ahead of you in line.

So, Pet Peeve #1: being rude to/ignoring the Big Five.
Yes, this means you, blonde-with-a-tan-and-a-cute-pink-sundress. Stand the fuck up and give your seat at the front to the old woman who just boarded. Move back a row or two. It won't hurt, I promise.

Pet Peeve #2: refusing to push in.
This mainly applies when the bus is standing-room-only crowded (usually in the late afternoon when I get out of work). Scenario: the bus is full of people, with several people standing in the aisles holding onto the rail. A guy, 20-something with sunglasses on and headphones in his ears, sits comfortably in the aisle seat while his backpack occupies the inner seat.
WHY?? Your backpack is not more important than a human being (ESPECIALLY if that human being is one of the Big Five)! Put it on your fucking lap already!

Pet Peeve #3: riding for 1-2 stops before getting off.
Unless you're one of the Big Five, or these blocks are unusually long/cross an overpass or something, this is a total waste of your money. You can walk those blocks. There is nothing stopping you except your laziness and your careless attitude on spending money. There are those of us who scramble every morning trying to get the 75 cents we need to get to work, and you just casually take the bus from one boutique to the next. It pisses me off.


Phew.
Anyway, I've gotten the negativity out so I can carry on to part two.

I ride the bus every day, and even though depending on the day and the schedules I take the bus at slightly different times, there are a few people who I see more often than others. These people are...

The Regulars

Regular #1: the Grey Bag Man.
Morning commute. Boards at Santa Monica/Westwood, gets off at Sawtelle.
So named for the grey duffel bag he's always carrying, this guy at first reminded me of my grandpa for no reason other than he's old and wears old man clothes. I don't know much about him, but I speculate that he probably transfers to Line 4 at Sawtelle, because there's not many stops from where he gets on to where he gets off (although he is Big Five, so who knows).
The interesting thing about the Grey Bag Man is that sometimes he doesn't get on. A Line 1 bus will pass right by him at the bus stop, but he looks like he's waiting for a specific one. I'm not sure why, but it's curious...

Regular #2: Big Blue Water Bottle Guy.
Morning commute. Can't remember when he boards, gets off after I do so I don't know that either.
Also named for the big blue water bottle he always has with him, the first time I noticed BBWBG he was also carrying a bouquet of red roses wrapped in a black plastic bag. That afternoon he was on the bus again, sans roses, and I wondered who he gave them to and whether she (or he) appreciated them.

Regulars #3 & 4: the Asian Girls.
Morning commute. #3 boards before I get on and gets off at Cloverfield. #4 boards same stop as me and gets off around Westwood/Rochester.
I realize this name sounds really vague, as there are a lot of asian girls who ride the bus, but the distinctive thing about these two is that they always sit in the same place. I think they know each other, because when #4 and I board and #3 is there, they sit together and start having a conversation. They're not always there, sometimes it's just one or the other, but I think #4 is probably a UCLA student, and I just don't know about #3, except she doesn't talk to anyone after #4 gets off.

Regular #5: Comic Book Guy.
Afternoon commute. Don't remember where he boards, gets off at Yale St.
I know what you're thinking. No, not THAT Comic Book Guy. I call this one Comic Book Guy because he looks kind of geeky and he gets off the bus right next to Aero Hobbies, which isn't technically a comic book store, but caters to the same crowd.

Regular #6: Violin Lesson Boy.
Afternoon commute. Gets on before me, and I can't remember where he gets off.
To tell the truth, I've only seen this kid once or twice, but he must be a regular because he always stands up by the bus driver and talks to him/her. In my imagination, he wants to be a bus driver someday, but that's probably not it. He is named after the violin case he carries and since he gets off in a mostly residential neighborhood, I hypothesize he is coming home from rather than on his way to a violin lesson. When he gets off, he skips, rather than walks, across the street. He seems nice.


There. Pointless/not work-related entry over.

Chris out.

Go Long!

Sorry I haven't written anything in a while. I'm going to make up for it because I have a heckuva lot to write about.

Last Wednesday/Thursday I PA'd a shoot for NFL Apparel. It was a 2-day shoot, which was a lot less than the 2 weeks I worked on the Sears job, and slightly more than the 1 day I worked on the short film. The best part (aside from the fact that the second day of shooting was in Malibu and starred Alyssa Milano) was that I'm actually getting paid for it! Friday at work, the assistant production supervisor came over to me and said, "you forgot to fill out a time card." I reacted like, "I'm getting paid!?" and was SO happy. The other intern that day was totally jealous, but he bailed on shooting, so his loss.

I have some pictures, too, that I snapped with my cell phone!
I only took pictures of the second day, because the first day was just in some neighborhood and then a parking lot.
Also, there are no pictures of Alyssa because (1) it feels like I'd be invading her personal privacy and (2) I don't want her people suing me or anything.


The backyard/pool of the Malibu mansion where we shot.


The view of Zuma Beach from the backyard.


Another view of the pool, which you might recognize if you've seen Lady Gaga's Poker Face video.


The last shot of the day, on the beach.


Malibu sunset.


...I know, right?

So, yeah. That was pretty sweet.
The director, producer, and most of the crew were the same as the Sears job, but there were a few new people as well.


On Saturday night, I hung out with this guy I met on the Banana Bread shoot, Chris, and his friends. First we played Bond, aka Hide and Seek with cars. Then, we had some Mexican food and watched a bit of TV at Chris' apartment. He drove me home at around 3am and I was so tired I fell right asleep.

Chris is awesome. Not only is he really cool and we share a lot of interests, but his life is pretty much the shit. I mean, he lives in an apartment with his buddy, not in some Malibu beach mansion, and he isn't famous but he's friend-of-a-friend with people who are.
Also, he's a tech wonder. He built himself a custom home theater system, including a high def projection TV screen that takes up his entire living room wall. People just give him laptops that are broken, he fixes them and asks if they want them back, but they say "nah, keep it," so he has all these spare laptops lying around. It was the first time in my life I've ever heard the sentence "there's a MacBook Pro in the back of my car, if you want it." He also said he could probably give me CS4 (after I told him the story of how every version of Photoshop I've had I've gotten from the guy I was dating at the time).

I knew there was a reason I love geeks.

To clarify-- just friends. No way I'm getting into anything while I'm out here. I'm leaving in less than a month.


Leaving is kind of all I can think about. I can't WAIT to go back to Oberlin and see everyone. I want to move into my house, I want to meet lots of new freshmen, I want to get going on my senior project, I want to speak Japanese again (besides talking to myself, which is kind of lame).

Jake and I have been working on our scripts for our senior projects. He's a lot faster than I am (his script is also a lot shorter) so he's already written a full first draft, while I've got 7 pages that I'm not really happy with yet. Yesterday I decided to cut out an entire character because otherwise it would just be too long. I may decide to cut out another character, but that would make the love story aspect much less interesting. Then again, maybe I don't need a love story. I don't know.


Back to the NFL shoot for a second.
What I didn't realize is that Alyssa Milano is tiny. She's 5'2" or shorter, and super skinny, except for her butt, which isn't big per se, but cute nonetheless. In fact, from behind, she looks almost exactly like one of my best friends from home, Allison, which prompted me to text Allison saying so. Then on Friday, Allison and I talked online and did some really nice catching up. She said that she and Ali (the third corner of our triumvirate) visited DASAC, the summer camp we all went to for 5-6 years. They were shocked at how much has changed, how barely any of the counselors we had are still there. One girl who was 2-3 grades younger than me in high school is a counselor now.
She also said that next year is the camp's 20th year, which means that it'll be 10 years since I first went there. That made Allison and me feel REALLY OLD, but also gave me an idea.

I already know that I'm most likely going to look for a job out here and live here next year (maybe share an apartment with my friends who are applying to USC grad school), but before I make the big Western Migration, it'd be nice to have some money. And, what better way to make some money than to work at the camp that I love so much? I'm not sure if they'll have an opening for me, and I applied to work there a couple times a few years ago and didn't get it, but I'm a lot older now and I think they might hire me.

I really like this plan. Not only would I get to work at DASAC, the place I considered for so long to be the greatest place on earth*, but it would be a sort of last farewell to the Pioneer Valley, the place where I grew up. My dad lives in Vermont now, my brother is currently working at a zoo in North Dakota (who knows where he'll go next), and my mom and her husband are trying to move to Cape Cod.
I never really thought I'd stay in Western Mass, and once I realized what I wanted to do with my life, living in New England just didn't make sense. If you want to be in "the industry," you've got basically two choices: New York or LA (or Vancouver, but face it, that would suck).

Anyway, that may or may not happen. I've got a ton of time to figure things out.


Hope this update satisfied your need for information.

Chris out.



*part of the reason I decided to go to Oberlin is that it reminded me so much of DASAC