Run of Bad Luck

Pick on somebody else for a while!


THIS IS TURNING INTO A BAD MELODRAMA.

Yesterday my husband crashed his car. He's okay, but his beloved Passat may be a total loss.

Some lack-wit stopped in the middle of oncoming traffic in the midst of making a left turn. He just stopped -- claimed he heard a fire truck coming. He was in the middle of a major intersection, and as he got halfway through his turn across the lanes of opposing traffic, he just stopped, blocking the oncoming left lane. My husband was IN the oncoming left lane, maybe 20 feet away going straight towards him, and had no time to swerve or stop. He plowed into the guy's pickup. I don't know what kind of damage was done to the guy's truck, but our Passat lost it's entire left front end. There were engine parts falling out. The headlight was completely gone and God only knows where the bumper parts and license plate landed. The hood was smashed up into the windshield and it was bleeding all sorts of fluids out of the huge gash in its front end... it was awful. I don't know if it can be fixed. What kind of idiot just STOPS in the middle of oncoming traffic when he hears a siren? I mean, if you hear a siren coming, make sure you stop in a safe place in your own damn lane, for heaven's sake.

What is going on? I lose my job, then my car gets smashed by some moron who can't merge, and now this. Now we have no cars. Mine isn't done yet -- although I should be able to get it Monday (I hope so -- I have another interview on Tuesday morning). And the insurance company of the loser that hit me is playing stupid games. They now claim (after two weeks of not returning phone calls) that they cannot determine fault on the accident (the other driver lied) and have offered to pay half of the estimated costs determined by their investigator. That comes to about $385. My actual repair costs came to $1100.

And if I hear the word "overqualified" one more time, I'm going to lose it.

Something has to give. I no longer have faith in my resume -- I've dumbed down my educational references, because I think my Masters is too intimidating. The film industry is going through some weird times and right now none of the major studios are hiring people in my field. But when I try and apply for jobs in other areas, that WORD comes up and they don't call me back. I've begun looking for jobs in non-industry fields, even though I've spent the last fifteen years working in film and TV. I'm still working on the dimmer board operator training, but it's going to take some time before I feel accomplished enough to seek work there. And now we have no vehicles so I may have to put the training on hold until we're mobile again.

We have begun discussing the possibility of moving away from Los Angeles to get out of the bad traffic and the overcrowded conditions. Maybe the Northern California or Oregon coast -- or Tacoma or Seattle. I could be happy running inventory at the Starbuck's corporate offices or maybe working as a production coordinator at Lucasfilms. If we could find a place near the ocean so I could spend my weekends clamming and raising tomatoes and culinary herbs, it might be nice. The cost of living would be a lot less, and the slower pace might be good for us all the way around.

But that's something that would require serious plans, not to mention a good nest egg to fund a move of that magnitude. We both agree that we absolutely don't want to settle in LA, but we're really not ready to make the move. We wanted to wait at least until my husband had a script in production.

In the meantime, we need to find a voodoo spell to get rid of this run of bad luck. Come on... somebody just give me a damn job.

Paying my Dues

They say this builds character...


My husband's bug has evolved into full-blown flu. He's miserable, and today I felt terrible leaving him alone while I went to my interview at the camera company.

But I have to say it was a great interview. The place looked well-run and was buzzing with activity. The facility itself was very nicely appointed, with lots of lovely wood accents and furnishings and great, old 1930's glam photos of old movie stars, mixed in with one-sheets of current films. The HR manager was a doll, and we had a wonderful interview before she turned me over to the VP of marketing for my main meeting.

The VP was a younger (mid-30's?) man with a casual demeanor and he was very personable. He seemed genuinely impressed with my skills and experience, and we traded anecdotes about mutual acquaintances and amusing moments in filmmaking. He reminded me of my old supervisor at the studio, who left for greener pastures a few years ago. I really missed him when he left; the guy they hired to replace him had no visible sense of humor and was not very pleasant to work for. The warehouse guys called him the "little gestapo."

The VP told me right off the bat that I was vastly overqualified for the position that was offered. I hate that -- I prefer to think of myself as "flexibly skilled" or "diversely talented." Overqualified sounds like I'm either trying to get a job that's beneath me, or that they think they can't afford me. After working at the studio for eight years, they'd be surprised how little I will work for. And I'm of the firm belief that no honest work is 'beneath' me -- it's collecting unemployment that's really humbling.

He seemed pretty excited about the prospect of pushing the company's possible plans of creating a lighting division and mentioned that I would be the ideal candidate to head the creation and development of the new department. I'm all for that -- but I did say that in the meantime, it would help me to be hired right away so I could learn the company's processes and learn more about the camera equipment itself. Since I've been working in grip and lighting for the past decade or so, I know little if anything about camera gear and would sincerely benefit from being exposed to something new.

June 24, 2003

I am getting to hate the word "overqualified." The camera company has not gotten back to me about my fantastic interview. I even sent the obligatory "thank you" to the HR manager and the VP guy, but nothing. I did get a call today from a previous interviewer and he said that he was vastly impressed with my qualifications, but they "aren't hiring right now." However, he did ask me out to lunch. What's up with that?

I decided that I would expand my areas of knowledge and have signed up for dimmer board operator training. I start Thursday, the 26th. A gaffer friend of mine mentioned that there is a woeful lack of dimmer board operators in the union, and that if I got my certification, I would become a hot commodity and would have enough work that I'd be turning jobs away. From his mouth to God's ears. I'm actually excited at the prospect of learning a new skill, and especially one that will put me in the thick of things rather than in some office where my only contact with production would be over the phone. I love being on set and dearly missed interacting with the crew and talent. I am hoping that I will catch on quickly and can become a relative expert in short time.

Well, back to the job boards.

Sheep roll call

INSOMNIA

Another Monday. My husband seems to have caught the local summer flu bug -- probably from the gym. All that hot, moist air and people sweating all over the equipment. I'm spoiling him with tea and soup and movies. As much as I hate it when he's not feeling well, it's actually a nice change from the job hunt. Makes me feel useful.

Last week I went to visit a good friend who's working as an electrician on a TV show. I spent the afternoon chatting and I ran into a lot of crew people I knew. It's dawned on me that I should be visiting people and making 'the rounds' rather than relying on email and phone calls. Voicemail and email are too easy to ignore. While I was there, I ran into an old boss of mine from years ago -- I'm supposed to call him on Tuesday and see if I can set up a meeting for possible employment. I remember they had profit sharing, and that was pretty sweet.

I also got a call on my cell while I was there for another interview with a camera company on Wednesday. I don't know a whole lot about camera gear, but then ten years ago I didn't know anything about film lighting and I picked that up reasonably quickly. Maybe things are finally starting to look up -- I still don't have any solid offers, but at least I'm starting to get more bites.

I also sent in another submission to the BIG studio for something that I am WAY over-qualified for. It's in the commissary -- and everybody on the whole movie lot eats there at least once a week, from the lowest production assistant to the highest-paid actor. I figure if I can get the job, I'll either be managing the commissary within a couple of months, or I will be able to make some good contacts and get a better position by smiling a lot and networking. I hope I get a call from the recruiting people. I hope they can understand that I am willing to take a lower position just to get a job there. The BIG studio is still my big Brass Ring, and even serving lunch to film crews at the commissary is a foot in the door for bigger and better things. It might be kind of humbling after being in management, but I'm not afraid to pay my dues all over again. I hope they can see that.

11:59 pm

Minor interruption... My husband is bedbound and wanted to play Otto Matic on my iBook. I can never get past the first level on that, but it's silly and makes me laugh. My husband, on the other hand, is a computer game whiz.

A good thing happened late last week -- the unemployment people apparently couldn't find anything to refute my statement that my termination from the studio was a result of a personal vendetta and I therefore should be able to collect benefits, because my first $370 check arrived. So that's one little victory, anyway. (I wonder if I can use this as evidence in the defamation of character and wrongful termination lawsuit...?) I can at least keep up on the minimum payments on my bills without interruption. It's a small load off of my mind, although it's less than half of what I was earning before. I'll have to be especially frugal. I am not having taxes taken out of my unemployment checks, either, so I really hope I find work soon. Otherwise it will completely mess up my income taxes. More than they are already, that is.

Another good thing -- the auto accident investigator that the other guy's (the guy that hit me) insurance company sent to take a look at the damage on my poor little car mailed me a copy of his report. It arrived on Saturday. It states in black and white that I was hit from behind square on, and therefore they are liable and responsible for the repairs on my car. Not only that, but it nullifies the guy's false claim on my insurance that I was a fault and changed lanes into his car. So there. The claims adjuster from his insurance has already mentioned something about totaling my car -- it's a 1973 Superbeetle and not in the Blu-Book anymore -- but if they decide to do that, I'll just collect the money and have it fixed anyway. It's only the rear bumper and fenders... and maybe the rear apron. Cosmetic only; my mechanic says there was no damage to the engine or the frame (remember, old Bugs carried the engine in the rear). I just want it fixed and back home... it's been at the shop waiting for the insurance people to get off of their butts since the beginning of June. The accident was back in May, for Pete's sake.

I've been driving my baby for over 20 years and this is the very first time it's been hit. Broke my heart. I love my car. It has over three hundred thousand miles on the same engine and it still runs like a champ, and before this accident, it still looked like one, too. I'm not ready to retire it just yet. After all this time, it's almost like a pet, now. There were no dents before this, and no rust, either. It got regular oil changes and tune-ups. I've had the same mechanic for almost a decade. It has even been used as a "picture vehicle" on TV and in magazines. So I'm not about to let it go. It still has a few more hundred thousand miles left.

1:27 am Tuesday, June 17, 2003

Insomnia. We decided that I should sleep in the guest room tonight so as not to expose myself to my husband's bug any more than I already have. My immune system isn't what it used to be after having cancer. Although I have a lot of trouble sleeping separately from him. Lately I've been having trouble sleeping anyway... I wake up ten times a night in a panic, my heart racing and my mind whirling at a million miles an hour, thinking about what I need to do or who I should call next. Or worrying about bills, or if I will have to pay out-of-pocket to get my car fixed and then hound the insurance people for reimbursement, or if I'll get a call for an interview, or will I have to hound them, too. Or thinking about my old job and wishing there had been a way that I could have seen it coming. I miss my office. I had a fish tank. It was really nice.

Wow. I just realized that since I lost my job a month and a half ago, I've averaged about three hours of sleep a night. That can't be healthy. But then, neither is looking at an iBook screen this long.

Goodnight, all.