Captain's Log

Some editors work overnight, getting pieces done while all the other spokes on the wheel of production sleep. They toil away until the wee hours of the morning, relishing their quiet time spent in dark rooms filled with gleaming electronic equipment. Editors who work like this also seem to think that drinking gallons of coffee or Red Bull to stay awake is okay, and that constantly stuffing themselves with greasy take-out doesn't hurt either.

This is why editors don't get any attention at the Oscars--they look terrible. They're all pale and doughy with terrible complexions. Consider Thelma Schoonmaker, who is Marty Scorcese's editor of many years. If you pay closer-than-average attention to film, you Might know who she is. I assert that even this glimmer of recognition stirring in your brain is a result of Thelma actually looking like a normal person. But I digress. My point is that most editors working overnight are both getting their work done and killing themselves at an accelerated rate.

I don't operate like that. The HellCat cannot work very well past 8PM, and even that's a reach. This is because my body has always chosen to wake up early and go to bed at a decent hour, and I need a couple of hours at the end of the night to unwind. I can't escape this need, as it seems to have been with me over two decades.

As a youth, I didn't even know that this thing some people called "sleeping in" was actually a real concept. I just thought they were insane people walking among us, spouting insane-person ramblings. Like the Manson family.

My body thinks that 6PM is quitting time. At that point in a day, I need to be in my car on my way to see a movie or grab some dinner with friends. Case closed.

This has all kind of gone out the window with freelance. I am fully in control of my schedule, and as long as something is done by its due date, I'm all set. It's been freaking me out, since I can take a workout break, or see just how wacky those reality TV stars are being midday. It's wild. I have noticed, however, that even if I don't work much during the day, I still can't work at night.

To make up for lost time, I work early in the morning. And, to supplement the Treehouse Dance Party, it seems as though I have started the HellCat Editing Party. I have a new hard drive with a blue light that shines like a brilliant Editing Beacon, guiding me through the rough-cut storm. Add to that a new obnoxious firewire cable with a clear cover, and you have yourself a precious little blinking addition to the family.

I'm trying to get some editing done here, and the TreeHouse looks like a goddamn discotheque. Blue lights blinking and flashing all at different intervals. They turn red when "thinking" to add some spice to the set up. I can barely get any work done, I'm so distracted.

This is where I notice that life has really taken a strange turn for me in the past several months. I am now editing while aboard the Starship Enterprise. (insert Next Generation joke here)

star date. g