I love my I-phone. But not so much when it rings at 7AM in the morning to wake me up... And I am lacking a good 20 hours of sleep...  I open one eye...

OUCH !

Major eye strain and migraine headache...  Oye. This is going to be a looong day... Especially since I have to haul my ass all over the places today, driving ALL DAY for the shoot...

Soon, (much too soon if you ask me LOL) Jerry and Michael join me at base camp. Jerry and I are scoping out how to tie down the deuce and secure the tarp. Jerry has come prepared of course, he kicks ass as a Production Assistant! He brought lots of gismos, including clamps and bungee cords... Michael is not afraid to roll up his sleeves and gives us a great hand. He was able to free up his schedule for this shoot and shows up on time, punctual and professional, as usual.

Jerry and I both really like Michael a lot and we are bumming that he is unable to be our camera guy for the rest of the film. He fits right in. We ask him again, but once again he declines... He might be able to fill in here and there, but cannot commit. Needs to grab the better paying jobs (sigh)...

It will take us over two hours to get the deuce and tarp just right. We then hitch and head out.

Today we will be driving to a lot of locations, stopping along the way to get quick shots of the hotrod girl towing her barn find back to California ... The hotrod girl is not looking too good this morning... Kinda green...

 "Jerry, I think I am going to puke"...

My headache is very massive and I can't open my eyes. Jerry is driving, I just lay there, pretty pathetically helpless. Now and then I crack an eyelid to see where we are.

Everytime we stop to film, I have to drive the Tundra and do complicated maneuvers to turn around and do several passes of the rig passing the camera. I got the Walkie Talkies with me and we are able to time my drive by filming LOL so that I am alone on the road. This because we are supposed to be in Texas and all the cars around me have CA plates LOL... So we cheat.

First stop, we experience another great exemple of Murphy's law at work:

Mental note: No matter how far remote a location, the moment you stop to film, all hell will break lose.

Today is no exception. Jerry and Michael have set up the camera on the side of a remote road. We can't even see any houses around. Just a couple of garbage cans. Meanwhile I have turned around and waiting for their "green light" to drive back... But I get a disturbing message from them:

"FAITH ... We have to move the rig. There is a garbage truck that has come to empty the trash cans we set up next to"

"YOU MUST BE JOKING !!!"

No. They weren't.   We had to redo all the framing, focus adjustments etc. Can you imagine that? What were the chances!!!! All we needed was 10 minutes. And that is just when the truck arrives. Not before. Not after. Just during the ten measly minutes we needed to nail the shot. Of all places and all times, it had to show up right where we were and right at the time we were there. Go figure!

I'm shaking my head and laughing... But not too hard, cause it hurts. The Excedrin I took earlier is no worky... Rats.

Anywhoo, we then drive out to Palmdale and on the way there  I spot some oil drills so Michael and I go scout. By a miracle of God we discover some that are at street level in a dry, isolated area.

Needless to say as soon as we pull the camera out a truck with two dudes in it pulls up next to us.   Here we go again? The oil rig belongs to their company and so does the lot we are parked on...  AGH - Will it ever end?????

But they are nice guys and give us their blessings to get the shot ... So we gun it and then run.

Destination? Pete's house. He has scouted his area for us and we do a few more freeway shots there. He then follows us up a very windy road that Michael has used on car shoots in the past. Yielding some scenic drive by shots.

Meanwhile, my migraine is still raging. I let Jerry do the driving... Trying to rest my eyes...

6PM - We are - as always- losing daylight fast and no where near done. WE capture a few cool shots, thanks to Michael's ability to nail it from take one, pretty much ... Ah the good man....

8PM - We squeeze one last dusk shot and it's all over. My headache is finally thinking about leaving my cranium - emphasis on "thinking".... We are tired and hungry. A stop at the local Panda Express joint and we refill ...

10PM - Still in Palmdale and DEAD. We part ways. Michael will take Jerry back to his car and I will head to West Hills, leaving the travel trailer at the Fillmore location for the next few days... Who knows when I will have the time to go and get it??  I am missing a shot, a night towing shot, which I need for my scene. but more importantly I am missing my tunnel shot. And I need that shot very very badly. So I am going to have to film it tomorrow after work cause I need to return the travel trailer this week, David needs it back. Guess I'll rest when I'm dead.. (which, at this rate, will be soon LOL)...

I text Marcos, a young Italian filmmaker whom I met through my add. I like his work, he has a great eye and his tastes are very similar to mine. Maybe he could be the one? Luckily he is available tomorrow afternoon and accept the job.

12PM - Now back home. Parking this long rig on my curve is hell. I worry about the deuce, spending the night alone on the street. I decide to stand watch and sleep on the couch, near the front window, with my guard dog Kaya, armed and dangerous. No one better think about messing with the deuce tonight, cause they'll have to deal with one crazy ass cattle dog and its even crazier owner...

GRRRRR WOOF !