Leah performs in church

Leah did a little beam work in church to illustrate a point for Pastor
Terry.

A sad day

Today the Russell family had to say goodbye to one of the sisters. Aunt Pat passed away on Sunday. Everyone came to Avon Park to celebrate her life.

This morning, we woke at Aunt Pat's house. At 10AM, her service was held at Fountain Funeral Home. Her brother, Bob and the pastor from the local church performed the service. Both of them switched off speaking. Bob did great and was able to hold it together. Pat was laid to rest beside Margie.

Afterward, we all met at Annette's house for the wake. It was fun to see everyone there.

I hope Annette will be able to join us for our family trips.

Good Sunday

Turned out to be a cool Sunday. I've got a lot of work to get done, but oh well. Got to get some time with the kids.

I was just about to start working on the Turnhere commercial, when I was approached by Justin to go fishing with his friend Cristian. I agreed thinking that it wouldn't be but 30 minutes and they'd want to do something else. Well, after we couldn't find the proper tackle, I went to Walmart and found a cool little tackle box for beginners. For 10 bucks, it had everything you needed inside. I got back and the kids were psyched. We were out there till 7:30. Everyone caught a Blue Gill.

Then, Jason Drury called. FINALLY! I got to have a conversation with him and catch up. I've been wanting to do that for years.

All alone

Mel, Mimi and the kids went to Crestville today to see Claire and the kids. Meanwhile, I'm here working my ass off for the summer. But have to do it.

Davie PD

Got the letter on Tuesday. Didn't make it past the oral interview. Ughhh! The process is sooo frustrating.

I didn apply for FWC. I need to see if they actually require the TABE or not. Now, I need to get back to PT and run that 1.5 mile.

Indy

About a month ago, Indy came upstairs crying, barely able to walk and
vomiting. It was very concerning. But the next day, she was fine and
stayed that way till Tuesday. I got a phone call from Mel that Indy
was at it again.

I tried to get her to the vet on Wednesday, but the doctors aren't in
on Wednesday's. So Vanessa invited us up to her office in Deerfield
Beach. Indy did well with the Xrays and bloodwork. Nothing on the
xrays, but bloodwork showed kidney failure. Now the issue is how
long to wait till it's being selfish to keep her around.

I took her to the studio afterwards. She had a valium. She was out.
But did want food and water. She was crawling to get around. But
eventually she came out of it.

I'm going to miss her loud purr, tucking me in bed, waking up with me
and saying hello when I walk in the door.

Davie Oral Interview

At 8:00am, I pulled into Davie PD for my second interview, but much
more formal. Much different than my Coral Springs interview.

I can't go into too many details, because I was asked not to divulge
specifics. But I walked into 3 class A uniformed officers. They asked
set questions and had me go over scenarios. There was no elaboation on
their part. Very strict and stale. Then...it was done in about 20
minutes. The HR representative told me it would be a bout a week and
I'd get a letter stating what the next step, if any, would be.

Personally, I don't think I did that well. But that's usually how I
feel when I actually do well. We'll see.

Justinstein

Thursday through Saturday

Thursday was long and rough. Boca Talent wanted to tape some actors
for characters in One Tree Hill and The Vampire Diaries. Funny how two
actors can start a make-out scene without knowing one another. The bad
part was the 537A craped out after 12 minutes of tape. So, I had to
fly back to the studio and grab the D30. Regina and the models didn't
seem to mind waiting...lucky for me. I had to push off Mark for the
whole day. I finall got everything ready for upload by 4:30. Then I
started Section 6 of GPS. This project is killing me. So I stayed
till late and headed home when I get a call from Mel that she's taking
J to the ER. I got there when he was getting discharged. 4 staples in
the head. He lost his balance running through the hall and ran into a
corner.

The good news for the day wad I passed my BPAD and got scheduled for a
oral interview on July 22 at 8:15 AM at Davie.

Friday, spent the day editing with Mark. Then went to eat at Ruby
Tuesdays without Mel and Leah. Leah had a playdate. Grace, Justin and
I went to Coldstone for desert.

Saturday we had doughnuts. I worked on Section 8 for most of the day.
Saw Ice Age at Regal. Had a blow-out with Mel. Went to the studio to
transfer section 10 so I could work on it Sunday. Had Dominos for
dinner. To bed by 1:30am.

Hectic Week

Sunday was pretty normal. Church. Lunch at Macaroni Grill (had the
chefs trio ceasar, lasagna, cake). Worked on the computer (GPS of
course). Bible study. Then to the studio till 1:30 to Section 12 rough
cut.

Monday was editing but went to deposit checks and Steve didn't sign
his 2k check. I was really needing to get money in the account, but
got them in on Tuesday. I met Steve in Weston to have him sign.

Tuesday was more editing, but Mark skipped out to go to Drs
appointments. David from NYLife finally came for me to sign the life
insurance policy, but it was the old one. So it will be a couple of
weeks before I have the paper copy, but I am insured. Now I need to
cancel Primerica. Also, we got approved for Assurant Health. The
question is when we start Cisco is going back and forth with Broward
School Board. Went on Mariokart and unlocked all the tracks. Justin
is very happy.

Wednesday, edited all day. But found that I passed the BPAD. Got my
first payment for GPS! Met family at Anthonys coalfired pizza for
dinner. Then Justin and I went to Living Waters Day Spa to pick up
materials for a monitor loop. Then to mom and dads to drop off XDCAM.
Got home to play Mariokart with J. Then, worked on prepwork for
Thursday.

Working Weekend

Saturday, Bob took the kids to get games at Target. Then I went over
to hook up their new DVD so that Jackie could watch her rentals. Then
went to Home Depot a picked up batteries for the remote and new bulbs
for the kids rooms.

Edited GPS for most of the morning and afternoon. Then took a break to
show the kids Men In Black. Had Dominos for dinner. Then, watched 88
Minutes.

On Sunday, went to church. Pastor preached on taking clutter out of
your life.

Had lunch at Macaroni Grill. Worked on GPS Section 11. Bible Study
then studio to finish off sections 10 and 11.

Friday

Edited the Options GPS Section 1 and 2 with Mark yesterday. Taking forever. Then I get a check for Big Eyed Fish. Now I have to wait till Tuesday to get the new check. $4K is good. $12K to go.

Played Softball even though I got there late. Bob brought my stuff to the game and I met at the field. We lost like 200-3. Oh well, had fun at least.

Mel and kids got Chik-Fil-A for dinner and I continue to eat the dogs for July 4.

Watched Whale Wars and MIB 2. Couldn't handle any more GPS for the day.

Shoot today

Did a shoot for John Oliva today. He and his family was out for their big vacation. I thought I'd be late because the call time for the first interview was 10am. But I didn't think that with traffic, I'd get from the Davie PD appointment at 9am to get through Miami traffic and arrive on time. John and Laurie were freaking, so I hired Ralph Renick, Jr. to cover me. I was really impressed with all of the gear he brought. We were are at the United Way building in Miami and set up in David Lawrance's office. Two KinoFlo Diva Lights and 3 Dedos did the job. Ralph set up his mixer and ran audio.

After that, Ralph and I had lunch at Scotty's Landing. I had a dolphin sandwich with steak fries and a root beer (no caffine).

Then, I met Emily at Alex Penelas' office in Miam Lakes. 15500 New Barn Road. He looked good. Nice guy. His interview went quicker.

Then, off to the Miami Herald for b-roll.

Then home. Hadn't seen Grace or Justin for days since they went to Vero Beach. Glad to see them.

Davie PD

Went for my interview with Det. Robales (background investigator). At first, it seemed like he was trying to guide me to a larger department, but then side tracked to thinking my television skills may be helpful in the department later on. Maybe PIO? Anyway, there was a stack of about 6-8 applications and I was the first appointment of the day. I hope that Mr. Bergeron made a phone call for me. Well see how far that goes. Det. Robales told me I should be getting an appointment for an oral interview. Apparently, it may be a verbal version of the BPAD. Speaking of, I'm still waiting for Miramar to call me up or something.

Starting my blog

I've decided to start a blog. Why? There has been so much that's happened in my 37 years. I want to remember it and put it somewhere. Also, there will be so much more. I want to write it down.