Patricia and I had an interview in Culver City, which went great. She said I reminded her of herself. She loved my different job experiences and thought it would be valuable in this type of job. She asked me a question. I can’t remember what it was, but I answered, “I don’t know.” She loved that I said, “I don’t know.” She thought it was honest and genuine. I was hired a week later. I would have to stop substituting and cut my hours at the restaurant. I had just finished my paperwork for LAUSD two weeks ago. I had just told my manager at the restaurant that I would be available for more hours. I wasn’t about to walk away from this opportunity either, but at the same time, I didn’t want to let go of what I had just started. I am not sure why; probably fear. I didn’t want to be a teacher, and I didn’t want to be a waitress forever, either. I ended up convincing my manager to let me stay on weekends. LAUSD substituting is a need base job if you want it to be. I was hoping the automatic system didn’t call me.

The new gig was in Culver City, a long drive from the San Fernando Valley. It took an hour to get there and about an hour and a half to get home. These times were on good days. The gig was supposed to go on for a year, which made me anxious. What was I to do after that? That made me nervous. Freelance is a huge part of the entertainment industry, and I was not about it. It gave me anxiety even though I lived at home with my parents. I never liked the idea of relying on them for money. Since I got my first job, I have financially supported myself. I paid for my car insurance, education, cell phone, food, and so on.

Still, I thought this was an opportunity that I’d been waiting for, and this might lead me to great things, and I will have to figure it out once the gig ends. I guess I’m not a risk-taker, just like my father. I realized that I could always go back to these jobs that I had, and they weren’t career. So I had no idea what I was doing on my first day on the job. They put me in a big conference room in an extremely old building. Actually, it was the same building that Alf was filmed in. There was carpet flooring and not the best paint job. I wanted to leave and I had no idea what to expect. After a very long time in the conference room, probably about two hours, thank God I bought a book with me.

I recall reading the hobbit then; I was sent into the producers’ office. She explained that my rate would be about 500 a week, but she failed to tell me that meant doing overtime to receive that rate. It would not matter because I was super green and needed work. I would have appreciated it if she gave me an honest breakdown of my pay because she had no idea what my finances were. She told me that I would be partnered up with a producer, and the producer would be guiding me. I was partnered with somebody that had no idea what was going on either. It was his first time on the show as well. I was sent back into the conference room. My first friend there was the girl waiting with me. She was hired on as a production assistant too. We stayed good friends throughout the job and we vented to each other. The next day when I came to work, they called me into the office and said I was promoted to associate producer. I was shocked. I got a promotion in two days? I didn’t realize I was promoted because they had difficulty finding employees for the company. Still, my time at this company was valuable. I was boosted to $700. I was thankful it was a low budget because I could learn a lot from it. It was hands-on and fast-paced. We would spend the first two days of the week writing, researching, prepping, and casting for our three-day shoot starting on Wednesday. There were about ten groups, with three people on each team. There was the producer, associate producer, and production assistant. It was interesting and different. I had a good time producing the shows, but sometimes the workflow seemed unbalanced between team members. That’s why having a team that fits is important. Still, my producer was friendly and laid back. I’d finish my work ahead of time usually, and we had fun. Shoot days were long. We were there all day. Everyone became a friend, and like most film jobs, everyone spent way too much time together. I saw those folks more than I saw my family. We had breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. I learned that film catering was excellent. I learned everyone’s name that was working in that building, even folks from another show that was there. I made sure to greet everyone and say their names.

Cheers,

Frshta