From The Front Lines

Okay, so everything Jimmy said about a strike is true. No one wins. This is not fun. not fun at all. I didn't expect it to be all shits and giggles, I didn't know what to expect. But walking in a very small circle (think about the length of your driveway) for four straight hours trying to make small talk with other people walking in small circles for four straight hours is a f*cking drag!

The first day everyone was more curious than anything. That feeling lasted about 15 minutes. Then the complaining set in. "My legs hurt." "Do we really have to do this tomorrow too?" "This sign is heavy." "The wood handle hurts my hands." The list goes on and on. I served margaritas on the first day but we quickly realized that that buzz that was fantastic at 2:30pm? Not so great at 5:00pm. Nothing like picketing straight through the buzz into the hangover.

Day two I decided to throw myself into it. Joe didn't. (As you can see from his picture.) I made him his own "HONK FOR A WRITER" sign and let him stand on the corner by himself asking cars to make some noise. Amazingly enough, Joe's little tactic of noise paid off. CSI:NY which shoots inside the studio we were picketing was shut down due to "traffic noise." Very satisfying.

Day three I went out and made coolers for each gate at the studio and dropped them off before my shift. I was amazed to see how sedate the other picketers were. They were like fat little red t-shirted lemmings quietly following one another in circles. Our gate, Colfax Gate, is the loudest and the proudest. Which is good because we're the gate that the actors and the teamsters have to cross all day long. By the end of the day yesterday, I was assigned the bullhorn to lead the chants. Instead of the usual "Hey hey, ho ho, we won't write your TV show." I decided to get creative. "Crossing or line is the pits, Jimmy Smits" was my favorite. Although Joe's "We won't write a script for you, David Caruso" was a close second.

So I go back today and try and find ways to entertain myself for another long stretch. We may all lose our minds if this goes on as long as predicted.

One more thing: striking in the morning and bartending at night equals 12 hours on your feet. HOLY SHIT! I can't believe some people actually stand for that long for a living. It really knocks it out of you. That's why the blog hasn't been updated in so long. I had no idea what was coming my way. I'll be pissed if I get varicose veins after all this.