Ok, this has been a long time, and somebody who will remain nameless was complaining because I had not updated it and they had nothing to read at work. So, here is an update. This update by the way is the first update that will be done via my new Toshiba laptop that I got last Tuesday.

Well, the Union thing is taking off for me. I Still don't have a permanent spot anywhere yet, but it is looking better. I have gotten in really well with the Electric shops at both CBS and NBC as well as the special effects shop at CBS. In fact in the last 3 weeks I spent the first 2 in the elec shop at CBS and the last at NBC. While in the NBC shop I got to pretty much run the installation of 2500 sockets and lamps going into the set for the BET Awards. So if you watch them, all of the lights in the arches and band fronts are my wiring, unless it burns down, then I know nothing about it. I am back at NBC for a couple of days this week, but it will probably only last until Tuesday or Wednesday, then I am back on the bounce.

Even though there were some problems, I am back shooting video for Inland News, I still have plans to shoot for myself, but this is helping me to get back into it and get some practice. Besides, Shaun is very good at what he does, and still shares a lot of knowledge. In the last 2 weeks, I have sold 3 stories. Selling the stories is great, but I also realized just how much I missed going out to a scene. Not only are the stories fun and interesting on there own, but it is also a kind of social gathering with the fire, police, and other media guys.

The first story was of a guy in Montclair who was digging for gold in his front yard. Nothing really to strange about that other then the fact that the hole was 36" in diameter, and 58' deep. (no that is not a typo) He said that he just got carried away. I would say that hiring 3 day labors to take turns being lowered into the whole by rope, and breathing through a garden hose in a 58' deep hole in your front yard is more then just a bit carried away.

Story number 2 was just a standard brush fire on Kellogg hill. I got some good shots and was hiking in with the camp crews that were hand cutting the fire lines. It was a somewhat small fire at about 12-15 acres, but I really enjoy the brush fires. It always amazes me just how fast a fire moves, and how hard the fire crews have it.

The last story was just last night, and it was a bit odd. Just yesterday afternoon my mom and I were talking about the plane crash that I had gone out on about 2 years ago in Claremont, and we went by the house that the plane hit, then just last night, a plane went down in Upland about 2 miles from the other crash site. It was a Cessna jet that was very similar to a Leer jet. I had video of the fire, firecrews, and a female firefighter being brought out on a stretcher after falling in a ravine trying to get to the wreckage. Last I heard all 3 passengers on board survived, although the mother was pretty messed up with third degree burns on her face and torso. She was air lifted to county USC. The father (pilot) had some cuts, and the daughter had some cuts and third degree burns to her arm, but for the condition of the wreckage, they were lucky to be alive at all. They were also lucky that there was a local resident and a CHP officer that saw the crash and pulled them from the wreckage.

Well, I guess that is enough for now

C