11:14 pm - Sunday, Nov. 20, 2005
Waiting For \"The Call\"

Sat 11/19/05 (8:51 p.m.)

At this writing, I�m really wishing someone would phone me with my call time for House on Monday. I�d just like to know what�s what, and that I�m still doing this thing (I�d also like to know if it�s an early call or not. Because if it�s not too early, I�d like to see a movie�Probably Walk The Line--after ArcLight training tomorrow).

Speaking of the House gig, I don�t think I�ve ever thanked everyone for all the congratulatory comments and emails; belated as my thanks may be, I really did appreciate all the pats on the back. It makes a fun thing even...funner.

Something else that elicited some email response and comments��The Shirt Situation�.

A couple people suggested leaving the shirt (Or shirts) in my locker overnight, which wouldn�t be a bad idea...if I could leave things in my locker overnight. But unfortunately, there are way more people than lockers at ArcLight, so you have to have everything out of your locker at the end of your shift.

So what I�ve been doing is just wearing my shirt, loose, over a t-shirt, as I ride there, then taking it off when I go into the building. Then I put my stuff away, go into the break-room with the shirt, and give it a quick once-over with the iron they have there (I�m a little concerned with �sweatiness��and we�ve had some relatively hot and/or humid days of late--but more concerned with �stinkiness�, so I make sure I�m well-deodorized). In any case, whatever I�m doing, it seems to be fine, so I�m probably not going to �mess with success� too much (Though just to be safe, regarding the �stinkiness factor�: I do want to make sure, in the future, that I�m showering as close to the time I have to leave as possible. They actually have a shower there, but I�m kind of a shy guy, and I�d really rather not shower at the theater unless it�s some sort of �hygiene emergency�).

I find myself resistant to spending money on an iron and ironing board, all for one task, but if I ironed at home, I probably wouldn�t have to iron again at the theater (And I do, on occasion�mostly for auditions�have to look like a �business guy�, so I suppose an iron might come in handy, for doing dress shirts and whatnot).

And while we�re on the subject of �shirt maintenance� (And I�m a little bit appalled that I�m devoting this much Diaryland space to �shirt maintenance�)...for the record, Jane (aka �Miss Smarty Pants�), the �tabletop washer� is not hidden away in my closet, it�s in my kitchen (On top of the mini-fridge I bought when I first moved here and lived in a �bachelor� that had no kitchen). And my sink has been clean, or at least mostly clean, for months now.

And I do use the washer on occasion�Where it�s come in handy is when I�ve been at work, gotten a call from JS about a commercial callback the next morning, and realized the clothes I wore at the initial audition weren�t clean, and it would be too late to use the laundry room when I got home (Happened just last month, as a matter of fact)�but it�s never going to be something I�ll use if I don�t absolutely have to. It�s just too much of a pain-in-the-ass, frankly (It�s very �labor-intensive�, all to save a paltry $1.75, I always make a mess, slopping water everywhere, and I�m pretty sure the clothes don�t get as clean).

And I�ve written way too much about a topic that�s putting me to sleep as I�m writing about it. So moving on...

Last night, me and my fellow ArcLight trainees (There are, I think, nine of us) were put to work at concessions, our first night on the floor on one of the busiest movie nights of the week.

I�d been sweating it, to be honest, and I know other people were as well, but it wasn�t as bad as I�d anticipated�Yes, it was busier than the bookstore, but I�ve waited on people before, ran a register before, smiled at people before, and so on and so forth, so it wasn�t like I was in a totally alien environment. I actually think, on the whole, that it went pretty okay.

I guess I shouldn�t be surprised by this, but more than the waiting on people, I found myself feeling bunched-up about remembering all the little �tasks� that need to be done, the stuff that, for whatever reason, feels more like �work� to me (Like closing concessions, for example). But there�s a sheet to refer to if you can�t remember, and as the trainer has said more than once, you�re never going to be alone at concessions�there�ll always be someone there to help you.

I�m going to have to relax, and take him at his word. And remember that this is the kind of job high school kids take for a little extra spending money, so there�s no way it�s going to be beyond me and my well-developed brain.

Sun 11/20/05 (10:16 a.m.)

Something�s gone wrong.

It�s after 10:00 p.m., and still no call for a start-time on House tomorrow.

And of course, you know me�I�m sitting here, wracking my brain, trying to think of how I could have screwed-up in some way.

But I don�t think I did �screw up�; they�re the ones who are supposed to contact me, after all. All I have to do is take the call. And I have a cell-phone, and that cell-phone has voice-mail (For that matter, they also have JS�s number).

(One point of concern�I just noticed, on the Fedex envelope, that next to my name, they wrote my �land-line� number. As in, �The number that�s always busy because I have a dial up computer connection and am always online�. But the day after I booked the job, someone from wardrobe called me, asking about sizes, then someone else called, to let me know they were sending out the script that day, and they both called on my cell. But anyway...)

Well, there�s really nothing else but this for me right now, and there�s really nothing else to say but �Please call me, House people!�

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