BABY OIL IN THE WOODS
We got home late after the shoot we did yesterday, driving home on scenic 101 to avoid work on the hood canal bridge but still having to stop along the way for a cop to pull us over (she kindly didn't ticket us for not having taillights). I wish I'd been more awake for the drive, but I only got two or three hours of sleep the night before (mainly because I was awake worrying about the bullshit stunts our payment processor has been pulling, this time with our friend FurryGirl).

Being sleep deprived made for an interesting shoot for me -- once we got to the location I didn't feel sleepy, just sort of zenned out and relaxed (most of the time).

I learned that it's very difficult to eat food from a bowl doggy-style, especially if your hands are behind your back. I got a lot of chili up my nose, but I hadn't had breakfast so it was worth it to do my best not only for authenticity's sake, but my own.

It's pretty weird that I hardly ever shoot with (or for) other people, but when I do it's something pretty wacky and even, in yesterday's case, a type of content that I usually stay far FAR away from. BUT I HAD SO MUCH FUN! It's not that I *like* being tied up or crawling around on the forest floor naked on my hands and knees drenched in baby oil and then being pretend-beaten and made up with makeup to look whipped, bruised and bloodied, it's that I like doing something DIFFERENT. It was just fun to be outside all day, covered with dirt and stage makeup and baby oil, completely not in charge of anything because it's not my shoot, it's not my customer, and I'm just there to WORK. We worked with these people before and had fun (and trust them) so there were no worries about the shoot being dangerous or out of hand (though there was a moment of danger when I was laying face-up on the ground and someone's machete accidentally slipped out his sheath while he was standing above me "clubbing" me and landed on my hip and belly).

Yes, it was cold when the rain started falling, but it was such a nice break to not have to do any thinking or decision-making. Even though I love working for myself, it requires a lot of self-motivation, thought, and CONSTANT decision-making. It felt great to spend seven or eight hours outside breathing fresh air and WORKING with my body and not so much with my head. It felt great to lay in the dirt looking up at the canopy of trees with their illuminated maple leaves and raindrops falling while they put makeup on me, dabbing and patting and painting and smearing. I didn't have to look in a mirror or worry about what I looked like once the shoot began and could just melt into DOING instead of thinking.

Anyway, it was like a vacation for my head that I got paid to take. I'm not saying I didn't work hard, just that it is such a different kind of work from what I do on a daily basis that it was perfectly fantastic.

Actually, I've been vacating my head quite a bit since Monday when my sister and brother-in-law showed up with my nephew. I love being able to talk to him and sing to him and make ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE. It relaxed me so much to string words and sounds together without worrying whether or not I was making sense. It is so refreshing to be able to communicate in such basic ways, through touch and motion and voice inflections, instead of on a computer through words and images. This week was a good reminder how important it is for me to socialize more and to get more variety into my life: more physical activity, more singing and dancing and music-making, more fresh air, more people . . . and less control and controlling.

*****

Tonight I've got a couple of shows, so check out those out if you're a member; I shaved my armpits and did a pretty serious trim of the bush and shave of the surrounding area for yesterday's job so don't be surprised by the decrease in pubes.
posted by Trixie at 7/14/2006 11:01:00 AM -