That kind of day

What's the deal?

I know I'm getting older - but what is up with me?

Film is one of the most stressful businesses in the world. Everything comes together at once - with a million details all needing to be done immediately - and I can do it. I actually love it. I thrive on it. There is nothing I enjoy more than devoting myself to the focus of pulling off a shoot.

So why do I freak out over silly stuff now?

Part of it could be that I'm operating on minimal levels of sleep.
Coupled with the fact that I am trying to serve two masters - work and family - while I'm home. Work emails me and expects me to respond immediately - and my kids see me home and expect me to join them immediately - and I just want to sleep... cause when the sun is out - its night in China....

I've been working on getting my family to be able to join us in China. As it stands - I gotta go back for most of the summer. This trip is gonna be 4 weeks. That's way too long.

My company saw it was cheaper to fly my family out coach than to fly me home business... So it's all good for us. But they just finalized the tickets this weekend. So that means I have two weeks to get Visas and passports.

So today I get on the phone at 9 with the passport service.

I stay on hold for 45 minutes.

They tell me its gonna be $980.
I feel as if my head exploded. And this is the cheap service.

I spend the entire afternoon filling out their online paperwork. I usually consider myself to be a reasonably intelligent guy. And someone who has a heck of a lot of international travel experience. But I was having all sorts of trouble.

I put another call in with a question.

54 minutes on hold.

Once I have all the papers done and printed out - I have to go to the Post office to have them witness everything - sign the papers and have them put everything in a sealed envelope.

But here - the Post office is not where we are supposed to go. It's the court house.

And its 4:10 now. The court house closes at 4:30.

Luckily we are in a small town - so we cross town quickly and get there at 4:20. There is a big sign that says "No passport processing after 4:15." But - we had really nice city workers - and they helped a brother out. We rushed out of there at 4:45.

Now we had to go by the only place that sends out Fed Ex's in our town. They sign on the door - under a big FED EX sign says that stop at 6:00. We had an hour.

We realized we needed one more pic of each kid for their China Visas. And the passport place needs you to call back in and go over everything on their checklist before they give you the address to send off the stuff.

So Ivy drops me off - and I run down to the computer and get the number.

43 minutes on hold.

During the hold time - I realize that Ivy needs another picure too. We have no land line anymore - so I go to the neighbors and ask them to call Ivy and have her get a picture too.

I hope that she heads straight for Fed Ex - cause I can't call her to tell her to go there since I'm still on hold.

At 4:45 - and still on hold - I gather everything up and jump in the car. Literally seconds after getting on the road - they pick up. And they want me to start reading stuff off the forms.

I explain that it really sucks that we are paying almost a THOUSAND DOLLARS US and can't get anyone on the phone. I get worried that I will lose the connection as I go under an overpass - but somehow manage to speed through it OK.

Ivy starts calling me on my cell. Its blinking through - but there is no way I wanna lose the passport lady - so I ignore her. I hope its not an emergency and I hope she is not heading home - but instead heading over to Fed Ex.

I finally convince passport lady that I have all the forms - and she starts to give me the address of where everything needs to be mailed. I am writing with a Sharpie on the back of an envelope - WHILE I AM DRIVING.

I pass Walgreens. Ivy and the kids are no where to be seen. Hope this works out...

I fly to Fed Ex. As I pull in - passport lady realizes that she gave me the wrong address. I scribble out the right one and we blow in.

5:56.

We need to do a Fed Ex.

Um... Fed Ex stops at 5.

THEN WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE A BIG FED EX SIGN THAT SAYS 6:00 ON IT?!?!?

Um... that's the time we close...

I want to cry.

Ivy asks if there is any way we can still make it. The lady has to call the owner - and apparently - there is another drop box - but she isn't allowed to let it go there after you pay here...

But thanks to my wife - we convice her that we can deliver it ourselves.

So we pack everything up and are about to leave -

when I realize that I haven't let Ivy sign her forms. We open everything back up and sign the forms - then seal it again. And then we send it out.

And I find out that we're still missing a form.


I give up. Real life is way harder than the movies....