Apologies for the lack of posts. I’ve been alternately anxious and busy or anxious and idle, neither of which really lends itself to any sort of creative thought process.
Work’s been busy – mostly TV, but a few low-budget features (never thought I’d see any of those again), but since the low-budget producers have been out-of-town where costs, in general, are lower, they’re sweating us more and more to cut costs. Since we can only talk the rental houses down so far, this means that the additional manpower we need to do the job efficiently and safely gets cut.
So, a day which would normally need five guys gets three, and only then after the best boy fights with production about it. When things don’t get done right away because we don’t have enough people, we get yelled at. (“You had eight hours to wrap that set! What the fuck is wrong with you?” “Well, that eight-hour estimate was with 4 guys and you cut us down to two. What do you expect?”)
The threat of taking the production out-of-town hangs over our head like some dangling sharp thing in some disputation which I forget these days.
No matter how busy it gets, we’re all worried about how long it’ll last. It used to be so predictable. Busy until the holidays, then a couple of weeks off, and then picking up in mid-January, going through May, a month or two off, and then picking up again.
No longer. We all know this isn’t going to last, and it’s stressful. I’ve heard far too many stories about lost insurance, lost houses, and kids having to go live with ex-spouses for stability and consistent meals.
Also, I’m fighting with California’s unemployment department. They’re threatening to revoke my eligibility to get benefits for three years due to a clerical error on my part which amounts to pocket change. Awesome.
So I sit down in front of the computer and try to write something and all I can do is worry. About my bills. About my future. About my co-workers, who are all in the same boat.
And I can’t write anything because I can’t stop worrying.
So I turn off the computer and I sit in front of the TV, watching stupid movies because I just want some sort of distraction so I can spend an hour or so not being so fucking worked up.
On the bright side, I’m very glad that I don’t eat when I get stressed, or I’d weigh 780 lbs right now. I have no idea how much that is in Kilos, other than a fuckload.
Filed under: Non-Work, Off-Topic, rants, Work, gaming, health, home, lifestyle, Runaway Production, transportation, unemployment, worry
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