Assorted News and Junk

Hmmmm, what to type, what to say...

Movie News
I am back in Edenton, NC to finish working on "The Dog Days of Summer". We wrapped on "The Ultimate Gift" last week. I got a nifty t-shirt and hat out of the whole affair. And oh yeah, loads of Experience Points too (soon I can upgrade from Prop Apprentice to Prop Master! Firebolt! Firebolt!).

I saw "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and enjoyed the heck out of it. Still, I think I consider the third movie, "Prisoner of Azkaban", to be the best in the series.

Video Game News
The X-Box 360 came out last week, and I saw one at the local Best Buy. My brother proceeded to curse my name once he found out I didn't buy it and quadruple my earnings by selling it on Ebay.

R.I.P. Mr. Miyagi
Pat Morita died.

Thanksgiving X 3
I had three Thanksgivings last week: a pre-dinner with my father, brother, stepmother, and girlfriend wednesday night, a thanksgiving lunch with my girlfriend's family on thursday, and then a thanksgiving dinner with my family that night. It was a ton of food. Needless to say, I'm not fitting into my socks quite like I used to. That's right. I gain weight in my ankles.*

* Chris does not actually gain weight in his ankles.

Run, Forrest, Run
I ran the annual 8K Turkey Trot Thanksgiving Day morning with my dad and brother. This year I was able to convince my girlfriend Jennifer to join in on the madness, and she paid it forward by having her father and his friend come along. I hadn't run in months due to my busy schedule revolving around the movie (and boy did I feel it), but I reached my goal of coming in under an hour and of beating an assortment of old ladies and little kids.*

*Chris was actually beaten by a large assortment of old ladies and little kids.

--Cbake

Welcome to the 21st Century, Cbake

In other news, I finally figured out how to add links to the right side of my blog.

"And there was much rejoicing. Yay."

Yes, there are only two at the moment, but as soon as I discover the secret to adding more links, you shall see them.

--Cbake

(By the way, how's that for a new record- Three blogs in one day! That oughtta make up for that month-long lull, eh?)

"Sick as a dog... going to vomit..."

Has it been a month? Really? A month since I've updated?

No way. No flippin' way. No freakin' way I would allow my blog to degenerate into such a sad, stale state of affairs.

Well, I did. But I blame you, high paying job in the movies! And I blame you, total lack of internet access at home! I shan't take credit nor shoulder the blame for leaving you guys hanging on the edge of my last typed words many moons ago.

Work has been good, but it involves many long hours. The average workday is about 14 hrs, not counting driving time, and currently we are involved in a six-day work week. Fridays feel like thursdays, saturdays like fridays, and sundays are like a short nap.

With an increasing lack of sleep in my life, an inability to workout (blamed on the cancellation of my father's YMCA membership), a tired insistence on not running after work, and a poor "production diet" consisting of snack foods from the craft service table on set, it's no wonder my immune system is degrading.

The past few days have been awful. Each morning I am greeted with a steadily worsening sore throat that prevents me from talking or coughing. It tickles, begging me to cough and clear it up, but coughing only hurts and inflames the situation. Damn Catch-22's.

I think I have a fever at work, but I don't take my temperature because I'm afraid of what it might say, as if just knowing it's over 100 degrees automatically means I *must* visit a doctor. And since I'm without health insurance, I'd rather not know, if you know what I mean.

And I'm a stubborn fool too, a blog topic I've kicked around in my head before. I don't like taking medicine for the same reason I don't drink coffee. I don't want to feel like I have to rely on it to feel better, and I don't want its effect on me to diminish the more I take it. I don't need coffee to wake up in the morning and work. I've stayed up many sleepless nights editing videos, writing papers and scripts, and partying without the need of caffeine. And I don't want to get addicted to it.

As for medicine, I rarely get headaches or have any other pains, so I have no need to ever take it. When I do get hurt, however, I'm too stubborn to say "Yes, find me some Advil. Or Tylenol. Or Aspirin." I don't know what the difference is. Seriously. I mean, is there one?

I'll just grin and bear it and get through it as best I can. I've got some strange feeling inside that tells me if I take medicine now, for petty little pains, then the medicine will have less an effect on me and my troubles when I take it in the future at a time when I'm very hurt and need it most. Does that make sense? It's like a twisted version of alcohol tolerance. Drink a lot, and it will take more and more drinks to affect you. Take medicine all the time, and you start getting used to it, just as you get used to having caffeine every day when you drink coffee to "wake up".

It's the same way pesticides work on bugs. What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, and eventually you develop an immunity for it. So burn baby, burn, let that fever burn the sickness away!

Twisted, I know. But, like I said I'm just a stubborn fool.

So after a particularly crappy day yesterday in which I must have guzzled fifteen gallons of orange juice to sooth my sore throat (water only wets your throat while OJ coats and lubricates it), I finally caved in and went to the onset medic for some cough drops. To make myself feel better about finally buckling and asking "medicine" for help, I justified my weak decision by saying it would help me to not cough and make noise while we were filming.

So I took a cough drop. Or five. And then I took that throat spray that numbs and soothes, and I took a few more sprays than I should have, just for extra measure. But it didn't help that much, and after work I met Jennifer, Trent, and some old friends at an extremely smokey bar. And that just about killed me, I think.

But we moved the afterparty to an apartment that had much cleaner air, and then I went to bed and slept the sickness off. I think. Granted, I still feel pretty crappy now, but my fever has diminished and the throat is only 65% sore. So by comparison it's a huge improvement.

As far as work goes, it's going well. I've fired off an Ak-47 and an Uzi, chased chickens around with a giant, cartoonish green net, and I think this week I get to cut the head off of a frozen rattlesnake.

Ahh, movie magic.

--Cbake

"Yo Baker. Mad Props to ya."

A Punny joke from friend Jerome when he heard the news of me getting a job as a Prop Assistant on a feature film.

--Cbake

You do get it, right?