“I’m so tired…”
Such were the words from Madeline Kahn doing her best Marlene Dietrich imitation in Mel Brook’s “Blazing Saddles”, and I’m very much feeling that way, tired. I realize that I haven’t posted anything on my blog in over a month, I don’t have an excuse, I’m just tired! And that the subject matter has always been me voicing an opinion on some subject or giving some sage insight on something in the news. But not today.
Today is about me. I’m not an unhappy person as a rule, and generally don’t let things get under my skin. No sense in that. And in that regard, keeping a diary, or the modern day blog, like Carrie Bradshaw in “Sex and the City” for all to read has never much appealed to me. Keep it private. Also, despite what I may say, my life really isn’t that exciting. My work could be construed as interesting, some even might venture to say, glamorous. But in the end, it’s a job, with a 140 mile commute every day. So driving consumes between 3 to 4 hours of my day. That’s far from glamorous, it’s more like arduous, truth be told and it tires me out. I listen to NPR, that becomes tiresome at times.
We do work on some interesting things. But, anyone who’s ever been associated with the making of a feature film knows that the actual shooting of a film versus the post production of a film, it’s the post that takes the time. In that regard, the work we do here is not seen for 6 months to a year after we complete our magic, so, me talking about what we are working on won’t be seen for some time, and it’s not like you can run out and see it the next week. Also, I walk a thin line as to divulging what we’re working on as the studios want to keep everything under wraps and control the press on their projects. In that regard, we sign non-disclosures that don’t even allow us to show any of the work we do unless it is approved in advance by the studios. That's tiresome.
“Zombieland” is due out on October second, we did all the makeup effects and carnage on that one. We seldom get a sneak preview of anything we work on. We weren't even invited to the premiere. Like the rest of you, we have to buy a ticket. Or, in my case, wait until in comes out on DVD or watch it on HBO. “Zombieland” is a horror/comedy – and from what I HAVE seen, not something I’m going to run out and buy a ticket to see, but for all of you who do like that kind of thing, it should be a screem!
Another thing I’m tired of is having to deal with, what I refer to as the “family dynamic”. Briefly this means that any time I have something that needs done around the house, the job has to be given to one of the family members who may or may not get around to do it. For 4 months now I’ve asked that the wardrobe boxes that sit on the deck be disposed off – I’ve even paid money to have them removed. But they still sit there, gathering dust, and at some point will get rained on.
This spring I hired my nephew to remove the prickly cucumber vines from the yard, as they are a huge nuisance and look very unsightly. He did a great job, not one of them has come back. He pruned some of the trees in the process left all the cut branches in neat piles, and some 5 months later have become the favorite resting spot for spiders and other critters, despite my request, and to pay more money, to have them removed. It’s all very tiring.
I’m sure that you’ve grown tired of hearing my petty gripes so I guess I’ll just “retire” from this for now.
