Right now in LA, the film industry is in the middle of an interesting hiccup. Fearing a possible actor’s strike, most studios completely changed their shooting schedules so their films would wrap on or soon after June 30th. That, combined with tax incentives in other states makes LA a ghost town of major film production right now. The only big budget pictures that are shooting are the Transformers sequel and the Da Vinci Code prequel. It’s not necessarily bad either, all signs point to no strike. But since studios aren’t worried about a strike, everything will gear up in the next 30 days. We’ve all got a mini vacation! Best of all – this is the end of summer and the kids are all going back to school. We get to experience the strange and wonderful phenomenon of having a little time off while the streets are free from kids! The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, indeed!
That being said, here’s a few ideas to help you have fun while on de facto holiday:
Go to Six Flags Magic Mountain. (bring a coke can, two for one tix!) It’s still open every day for now, but with school in session, the park is free for the taking! No lines! No annoying whining, except from that one coworker of yours who is still afraid of roller coasters. At the age of 33.
Throw a game night! Or game afternoon! You could sponsor an Xbox Live Gears of War showdown! A Rock Band battle of the bands! Or your own Wii Tennis US Open!
Go to The Grove! It’ll finally be empty, at least until 4PM. You could probably get an appointment at the Apple Store’s Genius Bar for fifteen minutes from now! Plus, you could go movie hopping and the Pacific Theater’s employees couldn’t care less. You’ll probably realize for the first time that without a ridiculous crowd, The Grove is pretty fucking nice.
Go to Zuma! It’s still nice and hot, but it’ll be empty. And through Labor Day, the food stands are open. Salt water and salty French fries, what could be better?
Clean your garage! Wait – how’d that get in here…?
Call your mom. She’d like that.
Have a softball game! In the middle of the week, there’s no one waiting for you to get off the field, so it can be all relax-y.
Go to lunch with friends and get drunk! We’re all on good behavior all the time here, so wouldn’t this be the time to get a little naughty? The 80s are back, as you already know…
Finish your screenplay. I mean come on! You’ve got all this time off, shouldn’t you be getting something accomplished?
Or, just relax. Take a walk. Or a bike ride. Or a hike!
Stay up all night with your spouse/friend/lover/partner and get to know each other again. When’s the last time you could spare that kind of time…?
Most of all, enjoy it. The weather is warm and the days are getting shorter. Don’t take anything for granted.
© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
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1 comment:
I think the idea of mini-vacations is akin to making "lemonade from lemons" and is definitely the positive way to live, and I am so about that. If you think about it, that "time" is there for a reason...I especially like "call your mother"...
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