Quick 3 month recap before I go into my story: After wrapping Rebuilding Ground Zero for the Discovery Channel I got another job with the same company, now with a new name, as an Associate Producer for a new show about iron workers at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn (new home of the Nets) and the Alexander Hamilton Bridge (Route 95 btwn Harlem and the Bronx), which will air on the Weather Channel in the spring.
Now on to my crazy day last Wednesday...
Tuesday night I was headed out to get thermal clothing for a very early, (5:30am) very cold (40 degrees) shoot at the Barclay Center for their topping out ceremony.
Side note: A topping out ceremony happens when their putting up the last of the major steel beams in a structure. All the guys sign the beam and they ceremoniously mark the completion of the frame of the building with a celebration, sometimes a photo op and depending on the structure sometimes even a press event. Cool stuff.
So It's about 7:30pm, I've got my new Under Armour and I'm headed home when I get a phone call from the General superintendent from Barclays. He tells me the topping out isn't happening the next day, but will probably happen later in the week. OK. No problemo. I then call my boss to deliver the news and figure out if we're still going to shoot or if there's another plan.
We decide to cancel the 2nd camera guy and 2nd audio guy (incurring 2 'kill fees' since we didn't cancel 24 hrs or more ahead - usually equals half day pay for each guy), push the call time from 5:45am to 11:30am, and decide to show up at the office at 9am to regroup and figure out what pick ups we need, since we have a crew. So I make about 10 phone calls, send 8 emails and 4 texts trying to get in contact with everyone to change the plan, hoping no one is already asleep so they get the message and don't wake up at 4am. No worries. All good.
Next day (with 4 extra hours of sleep :D) I get in my production van and head to Manhattan. I hit a bit of traffuc so I call my boss to give him a heads up that I'll be about 10 minutes later than expected. He picks up and says "It's OK, we can't get into the office anyway, the FDNY is here because there's smoke on the 16th floor. And oh by the way, the 2nd production van got towed this morning since I didn't move it before 7am."
And guess who has to go to the impound to get it back....
When the fire department let's us back in we have about an hour to prep the 11:30am shoot, then I head to Brooklyn with the crew to track down the van at the Brooklyn NYPD impound.
Now, anyone who has been to the DMV knows how painful government offices can be. This, however, is worse. First, I have to wait in line to get access to the van to get the rental agreement, then I take a shuttle to the car, get the paperwork, go back to the office and get back in line. Eventually they call me up, look at the paperwork and say "This only has a company name on it. Do you have proof that you work here?"
Answer: No, I'm a free-lancer so my business card doesn't have the company name on it.
I then have to call my office for them to fax an official letter saying I work for the company and can pick up the car on their behalf.
6 fax-attempts later and after waiting in line again, they receive the letter. So I can now pay the $185 to receive the car, only to get there and realize there's an additional ticket for the parking violation, $115.
Grand total: $300 and 3.5 hours....
Now my day was not supposed to be spent at the impound. I had other things to do. Specifically going to the Alexander Hamilton Bridge to talk to the iron workers about wearing the same clothes as 2 weeks ago (with screen shots in hand for reference) so that we can do pick up shots. I leave the impound, heading up to the Bronx, from Brooklyn, through Queens on the BQE. Luckily it's the middle of the day so there's no traffic.
Anyone ever drive in New York? Well, then you know how crazy the drivers can be and the truck drivers are even worse. Now I was finally out of the impound, happy to be on my way and moving pretty smoothly when all of a sudden I see this massive truck coming off an on-ramp, into my lane at full speed. Thinking the lane next to me is open I veer out of the way. Not the case, there was a U-haul cargo van in my blindspot. And we sideswipe each other going 50mph......
FML
It was like that commercial with "Mayhem" hanging off the side of the car in the blindspot, only it was real.
As if this car getting towed, impounded, and ticketed wasn't enough let's add a fender bender and some damage along the driver's side of the car. Excellent.
So the other driver and I find a shoulder to pull over on, we exchange info, check the damage... Minimal, thank God, mostly paint transfer. A NYPD Bridges and Tunnels cop pulls over behind us and checks in to make sure we're alright and if we need to file a report. We opt not to.
Yes, I'm down-playing this because I can't believe that I was in my first car accident, by myself, on the BQE in NYC, and I walked away unscathed and with little to no damage. Un-freaking-believable. So lucky. It could have been soooo much worse. The other driver and I shook hands and wished each other well and went on our way. So I had to continue driving up to the Bronx but I was definitely shaken up, and a little in denial. It wasn't until I got to the bridge that I took a second to breathe and call my boss to explain what had happen. Then I had to call the rental office and report the accident, all the while in the construction yard, trying to catch up with the iron workers and give them the photos I had.
3 of them never came back to the yard on the Bronx side of the bridge. They left from their spot in Harlem. So I text them the pictures and hope their phones can handle the files. As I'm driving back to the office on the west side highway they begin to respond. "Sounds good." (Sweet) "You got it sweet thang." (Gotta love that construction worker charm) and "I'm not sure I can find those pants." (Nothing is ever easy in this business, there's always 1.)
I text back saying "the pants aren't as important as the shirt". He responds, "I also grew a beard..." With an accompanying picture.
S#!t
At this point I've had such an insane day that I start laughing, hysterically, uncontrollably, all by myself. If anyone looked over at me they probably thought I was certifiable.
Seriously though, FDNY at the office, car towed, impounded, ticketed and hit on the highway, and now one of our main characters has decided now is a good time to bet his roommate that he can grow a beard longer before getting fed up and shaving it. Kick me while I'm down....
And I still have go back to the office, get the footage from Barclays Center to ingest, prep the gear for our 5:30am shoot at the bridge the next day, and drive home, at rush hour. What a day...
