On Thursday, February 12th I was busy at work in Carmel when I got a call saying that my dad was on the way to Stanford University Medical Center. A donor had arrived with a liver that the doctors deemed suitable for him. Everyone, including myself, arrived at the hospital around the same time and found out that his transplant would happen around 6AM, the following morning (Friday the 13th!). I, not having a car at the moment, and having driven there in a company car, really didn't have the freedom to stick around so I headed back to Carmel around midnight with 6AM work to look forward to. Thankfully, the initial word from the doctors after the transplant was that it was a success. This was a huge relief for me, especially because I was stuck far away working, without a car of my own. My next day off was Monday the 16th, and I anxiously headed to Stanford to pay my dad a visit. The moment I walked in , I was struck with surprise how much healthier his face and skin looked than usual. I could be exaggerating about that, but one thing for sure is that he looked a lot better than the image I had of people a couple days after an organ transplant. Additionally, the nurses and doctors continued to say that he was doing great! Unfortunately, some of the medication he was on induced delirium which made him difficult to be around at times. That was a bit unexpected, so I decided it would be best for he and Jane that I quit my job so we could all be there for eachother. He was able to move out of the hospital to an apartment, where he currently is. He is his same old self, and the doctors keep assuring that he is great. This has been a hectic, and exciting time in our lives, and we look forward to getting him back home to Humboldt so he and Jane can continue living it up as a newlyweds!
My special card for my dad
Click the card to enlarge it
Between the Friday I saw my dad as he checked in to Stanford's hospital and the following Monday I saw him I was able to put together a very special card. I was able to get many famous actors to wish him well. From the top to bottom there is Lauren Bacall, Clint Eastwood, Billy Boyd, Josh Hutcherson, and Alfred Molina. The later three were always easily approachable. Ms Bacall was reached through her agent/manager, and I had Mr Eastwood's son get his dad to sign the card. In case any of you are reading, thanks so much! My dad LOVES it!
When I wrote this I was almost into my second week here in Carmel, and had been extremely busy during that time. To start, I wanted to mention that I mistakenly said in a previous blog that a PA is a personal assistant. I was wrong about that, because what it actually means is production assistant, and that is what my job is. I am usually driving, which is nice to do here in Carmel. Unfortunately, the headlight switch broke in my van so I had to remove some paneling and physically unplug the switch from the battery to get the lights on and off.
Watching a DVD during down-time
The crew on lunch break
It is weird being constantly surrounded by extremely rich people. I am not really talking about people on the movie crew; I am mainly talking about the people who live in Carmel. I have heard some ludicrous things from people that live around here such as having a pet rat’s uterus removed, to only giving dogs a certain brand of bottled water. Furthermore, in Pebble Beach, where we have been shooting the last few days, many of the houses are the size of hotels, and are also very ugly. On the contrary, the natural beauty of this area is breathtaking. The mansion we are using for some scenes is on incredible coastal property which could easily be a vista point or park. One morning was very cool because the waves were crashing very heavily on the rocks. It has been a beautiful place to be able to eat breakfast the last few mornings.
One of the mansions
Back yard
More back yard
I have seen around six whales while here which keep making themselves visible. I get the feeling that they like being watched, or they like watching us humans. My friend Ryan even saw a pod of dolphins.
Great day at the beach
On my first day off, two Mondays ago, Ryan and I went to the Carmel-By-The-Sea’s beach at the bottom of town. It was seventy degrees, and very sunny. After a little Frisbee, we both got in the water, and I even went for a swim.
Later that day, I got to go to a barbecue at the house being rented out for the star of the movie and his mom. Around twenty people showed up, and we had a great time. His mom was so proud of him, and put on a DVD of an upcoming episode of MTV Cribs that he will appear in.
Last weekend we were shooting at the CarmelYouthCenter, and we used their diner for our meal breaks.This gave me an opportunity to snoop around and see what the rest of the place was like.First of all, there is a nice, clean computer lab.Downstairs there is a nice theatre with state of the art electronic equipment.I know this because I got the Super Bowl showing in the diner, using the controls in the theatre.The diner is very cool, and has a vintage feel to it.Kids can order food for very cheap, and hang out with their friends there.I was really jealous that these kids get such a facility to use!That was my first time to ever go in a youth center because there definitely was not one where I grew up.I guess that is one of the benefits of growing up in such a rich place.The view from the diner windows isn’t too bad either!
Hours on duty have been a lot longer than I expected. Yesterday I was working from 7Am to 11PM. I have been a driver for the crew. During my down time I have been hanging out at our base-camp, which is a large parking lot in town with all of our trailers. The other half of my down time is spent at whichever location we are currently filming at. Here is a video the local NBC did on our production. On another note, I can't believe how many rich people there are here. There are so many $80,000+ cars around town that they have lost their appeal to me. Also, the weather here has been incredible!
Today I was on duty from 5:30AM to 7PM. I am afraid my schedule will be like this until the movie is finished. We will see if I can handle it. I'd like to post lots of cool stuff from yesterday but I don't have it in me.
A view from the house where last night's party took place
I arrived in Carmel yesterday afternoon to take part in the kick-off party for the movie I will be on the crew of. From what I understood, the house belonged to one of the many investing in the movie, and his house was magnificent! It isn't really my job to promote the movie, but things seem to be starting off very positively, and there seem to be a number of well-known actors and crew members. Today is a free-day, before another welcome dinner tonight, and work at 8AM tomorrow. Yesterday at the party Ryan and I were able to get advice on what to do around this area by no-one other than a former mayor of Carmel. We also met some friendly newspaper writers who want to show us around town and share their "hook-ups" with us. Anyway, we are off to Point Lobos State Park for a hike.
All blogs found on this site written before 2009 have been imported from MySpace. Some may not look too pretty, and some of the pictures won't enlarge, but it is a small price to pay to not have to deal with MySpace's primitive blog setup anymore!
I recently graduated San Francisco State University. I majored in Japanese and minored in International Relations, and spent a year studying at Tokyo's prestigious Waseda University. I grew up in a very rural area of Humboldt County California. That remote setting built up a lot of ambition in me to get out and chase my dreams. Thanks for reading!
