hurdles

first 4 days as best boy have gone fairly well. i tech scouted yesterday as part of my new revamped duties and i think the dp was pleased with my pictures & notes. i have also been wrangling with the production manager about manpower, budgets and the usual bs that comes with the territory. we had a large location on my 2nd day and we got out of the day's work in 13 1/2 hours which is quite a feat so i am pleased with my technician management skill too.

i don't think this job is beyond me, in many ways a lower budget movie is still more sophisticated than a tv show so i think i can handle it.

i managed to get my generators on the job as a rental so that's extra income for the baby and now i feel at least this whole endeavour is worth my time. otherwise as union rates go, i was only getting a dollar or 2 per hour over the 3rds and the amount of work you get with that is hardly worth it even with the kit rental money they give you.

my next biggest challenge is managing the rigging department. the head is sorta a friend but he can be unreliable and a drunk sometimes (hey this is my union what can i do) and his guys are hard workers but really dumb. my guys don't like them at all so there's a lot of friction there. i need the rigging dept to do well because i depend on them to set up before we get there and it makes a huge difference if they screw up.

heading to PA this weekend for a wedding so no home improvement projects this weekend. we still have a doorway to enlarge and more 'finishing' around the new hallway closet and the ceiling in the dining room. i have budgeted 4 more weekends for those jobs to finish - 1 for doorway, 1 for sheetrocking & joint compound, 1 for sanding and 1 for painting. We also need 2 weekends for the baby room - moving furniture around from baby's room to our room and rearranging plus painting. it's going to be tight i only have 6 true 2-day weekends left before Christmas. between birth classes, baby showers, a trip to Italy, Thanksgiving & weddings it's going to get busier for us. with my mind so distracted at work, it's going to be a challenge. i'm glad in a way, takes my mind of how uncomfortable this baby is getting to be.