Will work for movie tickets
A few months ago, during one of those lovely Director’s Series Q&A sessions that AFI hosts at the ArcLight Cinema, in Hollywood, California, an AFI staff member encouraged the audience to volunteer for this year’s AFI Festival.
Ohhhh, I thought. I missed out on all the action of 2005’s Festival, unless you count the one film I saw; an interesting German film that I want to call The Wedding Day, but am just too lazy to look it up online. Yeah, that’s how much I care about it.
As the AFI lady walked away, I decided to volunteer, and hopefully join the fun. I registered online for the gig in early October and began my first shift last Saturday.
I explained the ticket voucher for work deal to my best bud, Jean Luc; every four hours of volunteer work equals one movie ticket to any film except for the Premiers and Tributes and a few other screenings only available to the wealthy and connected. Read: not me.
“Aren’t tickets there ten dollars? So that means you’re working for $2 an hours?”
“Dude!” I sqealed, “That’s more than I’m earning right now!”
I was laid off in mid-September from my part-time gig working for Mr. B. My position wasn’t that of a regular employee, but of an independent contractor, ineligible for unemployment benefits. For the last six weeks, I’ve been living off my divorce settlement, given to me early by my soon to be ex-husband, Endicott. Whenever I asked for it, he has given me small chunks of those monies over the last two years. Until this layoff, I still had a nice amount of it still ahead of me, and with it few plans of places to go, people to see — once in a lifetime kind of stuff. (Once in MY lifetime, anyway!) Not anymore. Thanks to taxes and my monthly expenses, it will all be gone by January…If I’m not working by then, things will get really difficult.
The first several days of this unemployment situation was actually a relief. It wasn’t until I stopped going to work that I realized how badly I needed a break. The week after that, I panicked. The third week was visited by an arthritis flare-up; the fourth week (maybe the fifth?), I had panick attacks just thinking about the interview process. Constant freak outs discouraged my job search, though I did go through the motions of visiting job centers looking for work I knew I wouldn’t pursue. Finally, my psychiatrist (God, I hate writing that I have one almost as much as I hate that I need one) diagnosed me with Social Anxiety Disorder.
After that, I goofed off, then became sick, then wasn’t, then was again. I don’t remember the particulars anymore as it has all blended together. The important point is that I haven’t worked since September 14, but really need to pick it up again.
Last week, I renewed my job search, scanned job sites online, revised my resume, and braced myself for the next round of interviews. This time, I might finally get a job.
About ten minutes into my first day of volunteer work, I thought, “Awww, man, I wish I applied for this job last week!” (Some of the Production Assistants were hired the previous week.) “I can totally do this!”
I did the same work as the paid PAs. I crawled under tables, put down audio and ethernet cables, made ethernet cables (sooooooooooo tee-dee-us), assembled and moved plasma screen stands all by myself and more — until the Production Director saw me happily cutting down cardboard boxes in the hot sun and escorted me away from it into the cool production office as he said, “We don’t want our volunteers doing that. That’s what the PA is getting paid for!” — and fit in with the Production staff members just as well as the PAs. So there’s no reason I can’t get a job, especially that job, too. A PA gig, a Coordinator position or any number of jobs will do for now. I can do this, easy peasy!
As if my boosted confidence, the movie passes to unreleased films from around the world, and the volunteer schedule that will allow me to meet the filmakers, get me into their private parties and the closing night gala (Chow Yun Fat, anyone?) weren’t enough, there is one more perk: I’m also getting the PA Workout!
If Bally’s Fitness Clubs or Crush hasn’t already incorporated it into their programs, they really ought to as it would be a huge hit. I don’t think I’ve done this much squatting, crawling, bending, pulling, or pushing since I was in Kindergarten. Because I’m not nearly as flexible as I was at five years old, I am sore! So sore that every muscle from my waist to my knees aches. Every time I sit down, I wince! Having said that, I have to confess that I love it! It’s giving me a kick-ass workout that I’m not getting from my weight training or aerobics classes. If I can maintain this new level of activity for a few more weeks, I’ll be so much stronger. Woo-hoo!
Will work for movie tickets, parties and buns of steel — so Hollywood!
Flo
Add comment October 30th, 2006