My Creative Mojo

The shifts are 7-10, 10-1 and 1-4. I show up at 8am & plan to walk 8-11, crossing over the first two shifts. I run into some of my Universal Gate 3 crew on the early shift. As I start, the picket is a large oval on the sidewalk along Pico, mostly along the wall near the Motor entrance. By 11am the line is stretched all the way to the corner at Avenue of the Stars. Shortly after noon, it wraps around the corner and up to the Galaxy gate. This is one big-ass picket! And the passing cars on Pico are a constant honkfest, occasionally getting so loud that it’s hard to hold a conversation.

I run into many people I know from gatesurfing various picket lines the last few weeks. The energy is great, conversation is lively and the time passes quickly, suddenly I realize it is noon — I overshot my shift by an hour. Just as I ‘m about to leave, I run into another friend and decide to take a few more laps. The “I’m about to leave / run into another friend” thing cycles a few more times and suddenly it’s 3pm and I’m in desperate need of lunch.

Final count: 1500+ people turned out. Saw Chris Parnell, John Cryer, Mimi (from Drew Carey), Larry Miller, B.J. Novak, and many more actors.

I grab lunch and head toward Burbank to pick Melissa up from the airport. My phone rings — it’s Melissa. Oh shit, she arrived early! Nope, her plane is delayed and she’s still in Vegas. They should be leaving in 30 minutes. Add in the 1 hour flight time and she should get in around 5:30. I could go home for a short while, then head back to the airport, but I’m nearly there already. I pass NBC, honk at the picketers, then pass an empty parking space close by. The universe is calling me for some more laps on the line, so I jump out and get to it. I put in my time and talk to some of the audience members emerging from the Tonight show. Just as I’m checking out at 5:30 my phone rings again. It’s Melissa. She just got off the plane and is waiting for her luggage. Good timing. The drive from NBC to the airport should be just long enough for her luggage to arrive.

I didn’t intend to walk this much today, but I did it. There’s not much on my schedule this week, so maybe I’ll be “crazy picketer guy” for the week and hit all the shifts.

My feet and legs are a little sore. No blisters. I’ll sleep well tonight.

Hours logged today: Fox 8 to 3 = 7 hrs. NBC 4 to 5:30 = 1.5 hrs. Daily Total: 8.5 hrs.