For the past few weeks I have had a different job on Ghost Hunters. Instead of assisting exclusively the camera department, I now help with the whole crew. My duties include, buying groceries, making sandwiches, running errands, cleaning up after people. I’m a few laundry loads away from becoming a certified production mom.
This new job has a light side and a dark side. Just like in The Lion King. (Just because I’m not writing about Hamlet or King Lear doesn’t mean I can’t do metaphors.) The light side is very face paced and high energy (the pride lands). Then there is the dark side that is rather mellow and gluttonous (the jungle/ elephant graveyard).
On a day where we do an onsite ghost investigation, the first part of the day can be very hectic. We have to load the equipment, arrive on location, film the daytime scenes while there is still daylight. Then lunch orders need to be taken, placed, picked up, and delivered. All of this is under a very strict time scale. If there is one wrong turn, things can go badly very quickly. Then once the sun goes down the cast and crew have as much time as they need to film the night time scenes and do the investigation. At this point my duties are nothing more than to keep the snack table stocked and the coolers filled.
(Stay with me with the Lion King metaphor)This week we have been filming at the Philadelphia Zoo. On one of the days, something went wrong right out of the gate. (wildebeest stampede in the gorge) For the entire first half of the day everything seemed a little bit behind schedule and I felt like I was desperately scrambling to right things.(Mufasa’s attempt to save Simba) Then come lunch time, I lost one of the lunches(Mufasa dying) and I got yelled at by Scar…I mean my boss.
Then the sun went down. (this is the portion in the movie where Simba runs away from the pride lands and his duties as the true king) Knowing that I didn’t have any pressing matters to attend to, for the rest of the night, I grabbed a book and some trail mix that had melted chocolate in it(slimy yet satisfying), and hung out in the lion exhibit.
One day I shall return to the pride lands, but at the moment I’m content hanging in the jungle with a quick witted meerkat and a gassy warthog.
To give you an idea of scale, that tupperware is the size of a volleyball. They are very active at night, and this one kept interacting with me. It probably just wanted to eat me, but it was a delightful time nonetheless.
That’s all for now.
-Charlie
Haiku of the day:
The sun has gone down.
What should I do? I know! Read!
Between the lions.
Yo Mama Joke of the Day:
Yo mama is so fat, her first crush was on an African elephant.
