Egad, what a week!

Never one to remain completely useless, I decided to Spend my one week in between vacationing in Ohio for Thanksgiving and vacationing in D.C. and New York for Christmas working as an extra on the set of One Tree Hill. You’d be amazed how exhausting it is to spend most of your 10-hour work day waiting, standing, and/or having silent and fake conversations. Four out of 5 nights, I came home and fell asleep mid-conversation with Jeff. You’d also be amazed that the biggest divas on the set weren’t the actors, but two particular female extras we’ll call Peg Bundy and Tweedle Dumb. They were raunchy, loud, demanding and childish and I’m infinitely grateful to no longer have to spend very long days in a very small space with them.

But my point was, not only did I make a tiny bit of money (and was fed some mean grub – those people eat well and often!), I also read an entire novel (The Alechemist by Paulo Coelho), swiped a few tips from hair and makeup, and now have another possible means of picking up some extra dough (at least for the next few months before they wrap up the series for good).

No permanent job in site yet, however. But I keep applying and in the meantime have been thoroughly enjoying my time off. Just started the tutorials for Photoshop 4 (and after listening to Geoff Blake for a few hours, I’m not only proficient in Photoshop, I also can’t stop speaking with a Canadian accent…), I’ve got back into the 365 project which went completely defunct over Thanksgiving, and my cats no longer wake us up at 4 a.m. because I actually have time to wear them out before we all go to bed.

As for said 365 project, I did a little multitasking with today’s shoot. My two desks and files needed a good cleaning and reorganizing and I was left with a pile of papers from the past. A few were old bills and I dropped them in the Paper shredder and something about that sound and the resulting strips of my former life was so satisfying that I began to shred, well… everything. Everything from the past that I’m ready to let go of, that is. Evidence of the fact that I used to be a very different girl – many different girls, from the looks of it. Paperwork from the restaurant I managed, applications, business cards, calendar pages from my planner, check slips from taking orders as a waitress, a few chapters from the book I once set out to write about the cover band I fronted ages ago, a collage I’d made for an ex-boyfriend for his birthday (the guy is of no interest anymore, I think I was just proud of my handiwork)….. all fed through those efficient little teeth. And what I was left with was a pile of meaningless paper. And by meaningless I mean it was fresh and blank and awaiting a new use.

So use it I did. I put together my self portrait shoot in my bedroom, using only a 3 x 4 ft. sheet of white paper on the wall and a garbage bag’s worth of paper shreds dumped all around me. Enter those makeup tips I’d gleaned during the week, a dress I haven’t used since this summer, a few lights set strategically around my tiny set, et voila! Today’s self portrait.

It’s no job, that’s for sure. But I do love unleashing some creativity on the world from time to time and I have to believe that someday it will serve me well.

(Side note: Am I just a huge nerd, or does anyone else get all melty inside when it starts snowing on WordPress??)