Well, yesterday was a day of accomplishments!

You know how on Monday my horoscope said "You are ready to begin a project that will bring fortune your way. Take that first step"? Well, I know that I put my horoscope in here every day, but I don't really pay that much attention to them, I just am waiting to see when it says "Russell Crowe is walking up your street right now! Yes, now, go outside!" but otherwise I just glance at it and forget it, but that one just kind of stuck in my brain and that night, before I went to bed, I took a step.

I emailed Jennifer, who had volunteered to help me with the sound on my movie the last time I mentioned it or thought about it, three weeks ago or whatever. I thought I had answered her, but I hadn't (of course) so I dropped a "Hey, still free on Labor Day weekend?" note, because she had said that there was a possibility that she wouldn't be.

Well, she's not, but I had already been thinking about moving it to the following weekend, you know, since I hadn't done a goddamn bit of preparation or anything, and she's free on the weekend, so I decided definitely, the weekend of the 9th-10th.

I realized afterwards that that's Colleen's wedding, on the Saturday, but since I am no longer working the other wedding, the one in the morning of the same day, I think that I can manage to shoot for half of Saturday, before I have to drive up to wherever Colleen's wedding is (I really must find those directions) and then come back that night and shoot all day Sunday. It's only a ten minute film, I think that's a reasonable schedule.

Anyway, Jennifer and I discussed back and forth all yesterday morning about my rig and what I am renting, and she suggested that maybe she could bring her husband to help her, and I suggested that maybe her husband could be put to better use behind the camera so that I wouldn't have to count on Fran, who will do in a pinch, but is so not mechanically minded that he would be no-one's first choice for cameraman, and she said that he is no pro, but that he could probably be trusted not to destroy the camera, which is all one could hope for, and really, you get what you pay for, but that he is a professional editor, and maybe he could help with the editing, and I said that I knew that he was an editor and that I was already planning on seeing if he would edit it for me for a reasonable price, because I knew that I would probably have to pay for editing, and she talked to him and he said that we could probably work something out!

So there, because of my horoscope, I have a definite shooting weekend, a sound person who actually knows what the hell she's doing, a possible cameraman and a possible editor!

But that's not all!

I thought because I was talking about the setup that I would be renting, that I really should call the rental place that was suggested to me by my friend Matt, the professional videographer in LA.

So, I rang them up, but they didn't have the camera that I was looking for, the camera Matt told me that I should get because it's perfect and wonderful and glorious and I could leave it in a box and it would get up and make the film for me while I slept, like the Shoemaker and the Elves, but they were able to tell me another place to call.

So I called the other place, and they said that they didn't have that exact camera, they had the one that's one step up from it that does everything that the 2000 does plus some other stuff, and it's $200 a day. Phew! I asked if it was cheaper for the weekend, and he said nope nope nope, it wasn't.

So I called the first place again to see if they had the model before the 2000, but they said that they didn't have any mini-dv recorders at all, only big rigs that I don't want, the kind that they use for TV news.

So I called the second place again and talked to a different guy and asked about the sound setup, which would be $45 a day.

"And with the camera, that's $245 a day?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Um, is there any chance of any kind of a weekend discount for being poor and pathetic?"
"Well, yes, you can pick it up on Friday and drop it off Monday morning, and that's only one day, because we are closed on the weekend! You call back on Tuesday and ask for me, Abdul, and I'll set you up."

So that's only $245 for the whole weekend, thank God, not $500, which is like my entire budget for the whole movie, including pizza for the crew. If it weren't for Abdul, we'd have to have peanut butter and crackers or something. And water from the hose in the backyard.

But that's not all!

I need the damn dog and puppy that look alike, and it's driving me crazy that I can't find anything that I can use, and I need the dog before the shoot, because what I film is a photograph of the dog with Richard. I was asking around the office, and nobody had anything, they all live in apartments, so I called my friend Laura to ask about her dogs, figuring that I could tie myself down to one of her dogs and then find a pup afterwards, and I started looking up breeders on the net, but I couldn't find anything that seemed like they'd lend me a puppy for an hour. Jennifer suggested an animal shelter, and I said that it would just break my heart to take a dog and a puppy out of the shelter and then give them back to be killed, and she said "What about a no-kill shelter?"

Duh!

So I started looking for NY area shelters, and I found one in Queens, called them, told my story, and they said that I'd have to call back after five and talk to the director.

Now here's the amazing part: I called back after five and asked for the director! No really, the same day and everything! That is so unlike me, you wouldn't even believe it.

"Hi, um, my name's Kymm Zuckert, and I'm making a little short film and I need a puppy and a dog that look alike, that can be the same dog, and I was wondering if there were any way that you could lend me some dogs?"
"Hmmm, I do have a nursing mother and five pups!"
"Really?"
"Yes, what would you need them for?"
"I just need to take a picture of the dog, the pup would need to come to my house and be filmed playing with a child."
"I think that this could work out."
"I'd be happy to give a small donation to your facility, but it would have to be really small, because I am very poor and pathetic!"
"Actually, instead of a donation, could we have screen credit? Because any publicity for the shelter would be great!"
"Definitely!"
"And when would you need the puppy?"
"The weekend after next, not Labor Day, but the next weekend."
"O, wait, that wouldn't work. The puppys are about to have their second shots, and they really can't leave the shelter for the next four weeks."
"O, shoot."
"Wait a minute...I have a friend who just adopted a puppy from us, and he already has a dog, and the reason that he picked this puppy was because he looks just like the adult dog! Let me call him and see if he would lend them to you!"

So there you go, I might have a dog and a pup at last! And since what he wants is publicity for the shelter, I have no doubt that more people will see this page than will ever see the film, I will plug it here.

It's called Animal Haven Shelter and it's in Queens, and I was looking at the webpage yesterday, weeping over all of the dogs trying to find homes. It looks like a wonderful place, and they clearly are very kind and good and helpful! I think that, after the film is over, I'll see about volunteering there, as I haven't done any volunteer work in years, and this looks like a great cause.

So, isn't that great?

One little horoscope, and I become this whirl of activity! Of course, much of it is directly due to Jennifer, so clearly, what one must do to accomplish something is find someone super-helpful with lots of great ideas!

Don't forget to go read Eo, this week's Journal of the Week!

When did you feel a great sense of accomplishment?

And we're still talking about bad movies we love, too much vacation, strange little rituals, making ourselves look younger or older, hypochondriacs, favourite musicals, happy birthday, the worst remake ever, cartoon character crushes, what Amazon.com might come up with next, vacations, what we did this weekend, insomnia, dreams that we thought were true upon awakening, weeping at movies, true love, and swearing.

Today's horoscope:
Personal productivity and efficiency are essential today. You may begin a healthier regimen for your body; don't be too hard on yourself.

One year ago today:
"The nachos at Kips Bay," I remarked, "Cost seven dollars. If I'm paying seven dollars for nachos, they had better be served by a mariachi band!"

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Last Updated Wed 30 August 10:25:09 2000