Hi there.
I thought of you today...or rather, the other day.
I was in an old antique shop in Marietta. I needed an afternoon to myself, so I drove down to The Square for some time to unwind and just be me. Who would've thought I would be greeted by the memory of an old friend.
I actually walked into the shop sort of by accident. I was just wandering aimlessly around The Square, trying to soak up every bit of sunshine that I could, no longer able to sit and read on a park bench. I crossed the street and just kept walking away from The Square. All of the sudden I noticed the most odd figurines I have ever seen and saw by the A-frame sign that the figurines were in the window of an old antique shop. I'll be honest. I was getting a bit chilly, having worn shorts and a t-shirt with my Toms, leaving my jacket in the car. A breeze had been blowing for some time, and wanting to get indoors, I entered the antique shop.
Walking around the shop was nice. Even though everything there was made and outdated by the time I was born, it was a nice perspective on life before my time that I couldn't get from any history book. You see, I discovered that while books can teach one so much and should be read often, getting out there and having hands-on experiences is the best way to learn. But I digress.
That's when I saw it. An old kitchen cupboard just like you use to have, dark wood like yours, complete with a desk space likes yours had, and cabinet space like yours had. All that was missing were the pictures and various knickknacks you kept on it. I was mesmerized by the memory of you and your house and all the time I spent there as a kid, that it took me a second to take in the smell. Once I did, I could have sworn I was back in your house with you and him and the rest of us, playing all sorts of card games, drinking Slim-Fast, eating Pringles, and watching the Braves. The smell was so precise, so on-point to how your house used to smell, that I had to pause for a minute to gather myself again and remember where I was.
I didn't stay long; just long enough to take a minute or two and think about you. I don't have to wonder what you're doing. You're with Jesus, so I know you're ok. You've been with Him for a few years now, and I know you have been loving every minute of it. We miss you, down here, but we know we'll see you again, and that's ok.
Love you always,
Your grandson Cameron
RIP Margaret Louise "Nanny" Sharp
July 2, 1928 -April 12, 2009
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Extra! Extra! Read All About It!
Hello ladies and gents!
I haven't posted in awhile, so I knew it was time to do so. Only, until recently, I didn't have anything interesting to post about. That all changed on Tuesday.
It was just a routine Tuesday: 3 classes, then lunch at the commons with a few RAs. While at lunch, I received a mention on twitter from my twin/bff Tracey Cordle. She tweeted me something from a casting company, saying they needed "high school types" for an overnight shoot on the set of Teen Wolf (for anyone who knows how I watched that show so often last summer, you know this was such a big deal for me), and that I just needed to email them some info, and I could be an extra that night. I about fell out of my chair to be honest. I pulled out my laptop immediately and emailed the casting company right there at the Commons.
We all finished eating not long after that, so I rushed back to my room to check my email for a response from the casting company. When I did receive an email back, I was crushed. I never put two and two together to mean that an "overnight shoot" meant that I would have to miss staff meeting that night and be gone until possibly 7am Wednesday morning. I had missed staff meeting before, but it almost didn't happen, and I felt bad about asking again. But I also really wanted this. I went down to talk to my boss, Krystal, about it, and after that conversation and a mass text to my fourks (I love them so much), I was up in my room hastily writing a paper I had due the next morning that I hadn't started on, as well as packing a few different costume possibilities for my extra role :)
3:15 rolls around, and I am leaving my dorm, headed to the set. Of course I had to get gas first, and of course I tried to leave campus along with everyone else who had a 2:00 class, and of course there was traffic on the highway. With all of that, I still made it just in time.
I checked in at 4:25 (call time was 4:30) and filled out the paperwork. I knew literally no person in that room, so I just found a table marked, "students" and sat. Wrong table. The people at the table were just rude and mean. I tried to talk to them, but received nothing in return. If you think about the stuck-up crowd of people from any typical high school movie, that's who I sat with. The way they acted, the things they talked about, it all confirmed my dislike of them and my wishing I had sat at a different table where I would have actually talked to people and made friends.
I sat for about an hour, trying to text whomever I could to not look as bored as I felt, but trying to make my 1 bar of battery last as long as I could. One of the people in charge of the extras got our attention and asked if there was anyone there who wasn't there yesterday (they filmed the day before as well). I raised my hand, along with about 7 or 8 others, and we were whisked away down to the fields. Down to the set. Down to where the actors were.
Now, at this point, to say that my excitement level was through the roof might have been an understatement. I was beyond excited. If you don't understand how I felt, think about one of your favorite TV shows, then imagine getting to be an extra on that show. Know where I'm at? Ok, good.
Some guy who worked on the show needed 3 people to stand against a fence and look like we were watching the "game", so I, along with 2 other guys, volunteered to be those people. They were really cool. They both were very talkative and nice, and apparently had been doing this extra thing for quite some time now, and I'm pretty sure it was their source of income. I didn't know people did that, just that, for a living. It's cool and all, and the pay isn't bad, but it just never crossed my mind that people did that. I talked to the guys for the time we were standing on the fence, about an hour and a half or so, until we were told we could leave the fence. We walked over to the bleachers, 1 guy was taken to the other side, and the other guy and I were told to walk in front of the bleachers, then walk back. I thought that was pretty cool because it meant that if they use those shots, I'll be on TV, which IS cool. To me, anyway.
Of course, this whole time, I had seen a few of the main actors/actresses. And of course, I had one of those starstruck moments that I knew was inevitable. I had to play it cool the whole night, so I just had mini freak outs on the inside and, when I got my phone after our food break, the few people I was texting about it.
After walking, we were told to sit on the bleachers, in Group D, which was the furthest right section of bleachers if you were looking at the field from the rec center, or from the view point of the cast and crew. So I sat in Section D, along with about 12-15 other people. We cheered when we were told to, and just kinda hung out and talked the rest of the time. Oh, and we froze the WHOLE time. [Sidenote: In my excitement while I was packing and writing, I didn't think about packing gloves, extra layers, etc., to keep me warm while I was outside in Atlanta overnight in January/February. The days might be comfortable and nice, but the nights are brutally cold.]
At 11:00, we broke for "lunch" back in the rec center. Indoors. Warmth. The food was really good and I ate every bite. A few of the main characters joined us, but of course the cast and crew had a different line to walk through for food on the other side of the rec center, so there was no direct interaction. I did, however, have to walk RIGHT PASSED two of the main characters, and I made eye contact with one as he was talking to one of the crew members. Not going to lie, it was really cool.
After "lunch", there was more sitting, more cheering, both real and pantomimed. This went on from midnight until about 5:30 when we were told by the director to go home.
I got back to campus at 6:30am, which was just enough time to finish my paper, drink so much coffee that I'm pretty sure it replaced the blood in my system, shower, and go to class, exhausted, to turn in my paper and give a presentation. I'm sure I looked like a zombie walking around campus, having been awake for 25 hours straight (I ended up going 28 hours without sleep, and it took me until Friday afternoon to finally feel rested up again).
All in all, I had a blast. It may have been long hours, really cold temperatures, and not much to do, I loved it. It's kind of all I've talked about since Tuesday, so I'm sorry if you've had to hear about it repeatedly. I have to thank Tracey for tweeting me. She's the best. I also have to thank Krystal as well as my fourks for letting me go. Y'all are the best staff ever, and I owe you all.
I would say it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, but since I'm going back on Wednesday, I guess it's not :)
Thanks for reading!
Cameron
I haven't posted in awhile, so I knew it was time to do so. Only, until recently, I didn't have anything interesting to post about. That all changed on Tuesday.
It was just a routine Tuesday: 3 classes, then lunch at the commons with a few RAs. While at lunch, I received a mention on twitter from my twin/bff Tracey Cordle. She tweeted me something from a casting company, saying they needed "high school types" for an overnight shoot on the set of Teen Wolf (for anyone who knows how I watched that show so often last summer, you know this was such a big deal for me), and that I just needed to email them some info, and I could be an extra that night. I about fell out of my chair to be honest. I pulled out my laptop immediately and emailed the casting company right there at the Commons.
We all finished eating not long after that, so I rushed back to my room to check my email for a response from the casting company. When I did receive an email back, I was crushed. I never put two and two together to mean that an "overnight shoot" meant that I would have to miss staff meeting that night and be gone until possibly 7am Wednesday morning. I had missed staff meeting before, but it almost didn't happen, and I felt bad about asking again. But I also really wanted this. I went down to talk to my boss, Krystal, about it, and after that conversation and a mass text to my fourks (I love them so much), I was up in my room hastily writing a paper I had due the next morning that I hadn't started on, as well as packing a few different costume possibilities for my extra role :)
3:15 rolls around, and I am leaving my dorm, headed to the set. Of course I had to get gas first, and of course I tried to leave campus along with everyone else who had a 2:00 class, and of course there was traffic on the highway. With all of that, I still made it just in time.
I checked in at 4:25 (call time was 4:30) and filled out the paperwork. I knew literally no person in that room, so I just found a table marked, "students" and sat. Wrong table. The people at the table were just rude and mean. I tried to talk to them, but received nothing in return. If you think about the stuck-up crowd of people from any typical high school movie, that's who I sat with. The way they acted, the things they talked about, it all confirmed my dislike of them and my wishing I had sat at a different table where I would have actually talked to people and made friends.
I sat for about an hour, trying to text whomever I could to not look as bored as I felt, but trying to make my 1 bar of battery last as long as I could. One of the people in charge of the extras got our attention and asked if there was anyone there who wasn't there yesterday (they filmed the day before as well). I raised my hand, along with about 7 or 8 others, and we were whisked away down to the fields. Down to the set. Down to where the actors were.
Now, at this point, to say that my excitement level was through the roof might have been an understatement. I was beyond excited. If you don't understand how I felt, think about one of your favorite TV shows, then imagine getting to be an extra on that show. Know where I'm at? Ok, good.
Some guy who worked on the show needed 3 people to stand against a fence and look like we were watching the "game", so I, along with 2 other guys, volunteered to be those people. They were really cool. They both were very talkative and nice, and apparently had been doing this extra thing for quite some time now, and I'm pretty sure it was their source of income. I didn't know people did that, just that, for a living. It's cool and all, and the pay isn't bad, but it just never crossed my mind that people did that. I talked to the guys for the time we were standing on the fence, about an hour and a half or so, until we were told we could leave the fence. We walked over to the bleachers, 1 guy was taken to the other side, and the other guy and I were told to walk in front of the bleachers, then walk back. I thought that was pretty cool because it meant that if they use those shots, I'll be on TV, which IS cool. To me, anyway.
Of course, this whole time, I had seen a few of the main actors/actresses. And of course, I had one of those starstruck moments that I knew was inevitable. I had to play it cool the whole night, so I just had mini freak outs on the inside and, when I got my phone after our food break, the few people I was texting about it.
After walking, we were told to sit on the bleachers, in Group D, which was the furthest right section of bleachers if you were looking at the field from the rec center, or from the view point of the cast and crew. So I sat in Section D, along with about 12-15 other people. We cheered when we were told to, and just kinda hung out and talked the rest of the time. Oh, and we froze the WHOLE time. [Sidenote: In my excitement while I was packing and writing, I didn't think about packing gloves, extra layers, etc., to keep me warm while I was outside in Atlanta overnight in January/February. The days might be comfortable and nice, but the nights are brutally cold.]
At 11:00, we broke for "lunch" back in the rec center. Indoors. Warmth. The food was really good and I ate every bite. A few of the main characters joined us, but of course the cast and crew had a different line to walk through for food on the other side of the rec center, so there was no direct interaction. I did, however, have to walk RIGHT PASSED two of the main characters, and I made eye contact with one as he was talking to one of the crew members. Not going to lie, it was really cool.
After "lunch", there was more sitting, more cheering, both real and pantomimed. This went on from midnight until about 5:30 when we were told by the director to go home.
I got back to campus at 6:30am, which was just enough time to finish my paper, drink so much coffee that I'm pretty sure it replaced the blood in my system, shower, and go to class, exhausted, to turn in my paper and give a presentation. I'm sure I looked like a zombie walking around campus, having been awake for 25 hours straight (I ended up going 28 hours without sleep, and it took me until Friday afternoon to finally feel rested up again).
All in all, I had a blast. It may have been long hours, really cold temperatures, and not much to do, I loved it. It's kind of all I've talked about since Tuesday, so I'm sorry if you've had to hear about it repeatedly. I have to thank Tracey for tweeting me. She's the best. I also have to thank Krystal as well as my fourks for letting me go. Y'all are the best staff ever, and I owe you all.
I would say it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, but since I'm going back on Wednesday, I guess it's not :)
Thanks for reading!
Cameron
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