50 Shades

Some days at work you just have to make your own excitement. Here we were filming in one of those locations that was fairly new, but has become old quick. There really are only so many ways you can film people sitting in front of monitors watching things. Fortunately, we weren't spending our entire day in this drab location. No, after we were done there we got to move outside and ride around on the process trailer all night. Oh boy! There's nothing more risky than doing process trailer work downtown on a night when the drunks are out.

And boy were they out! Two different times we were stopped dead in our tracks on the process trailer due to drunken people. The first time was a drunken brawl that apparently started outside a bar and made its way into the street, thus blocking the intersection. The cops were called as well as an ambulance. It took a good 15-20 minutes before the cops with us could get them to move and clear up the intersection so we could pass. Then, just as we thought we were nearing the end of our process trailer work - BAM! A drunk dude careened into our parked police car that was blocking off the intersection! Really? How stupid can you be? Fortunately, no one got hurt which was amazing to me as the sound from the wreck was jarring. The drunk guys' airbag deployed saving him from injury, but certainly not from jail time.

At least it was a memorable birthday for my friend Monica. Her 50th birthday, to be precise. Now Monica's husband Steve is my husband Marshall's boss. The two of them have worked together for over 20 years now. Steve was a groomsman in our wedding, in fact. He's one of Marshall's oldest and dearest friends. He was also the sound mixer Marshall was working for on Army Wives when Nolan died and Marshall had to leave in the middle of the night. Needless to say, Monica and Steve have a special place in our hearts. Monica herself can feel our pain. While she never loss a child the way we did, she did have a miscarriage but more importantly she lost her sister. Her sister died very unexpectedly in the Canary Islands where she lived. I am not sure exactly the time frame, but I believe it to have only been a couple of years ago. Her sister's death rocked Monica's world, much in the way Nolan's death turned ours upside down. Monica was one of the women that had come together and given us the birth weight pillow so that we could always remember what it was like to hold Nolan in our arms.

So, I thought it was only right that we did something special for Monica's 50th birthday. I had thought I would spend the past weekend shopping for the perfect gift, but my sickness had other plans for me. But not wanting to be empty handed today, I stopped by Barnes and Nobles last night after work to at least pick up a card. Then it dawned on me. I gave my cousin Sandra the book 50 Shades of Grey for her 50th birthday, why not do the same for Monica. It was perfect and funny and heck she might actually enjoy the eroticism of the book. Well, it proved to be a hit. Not only had she not read it, but she was intrigued by the hype surrounding it and wanted to indulge in it herself. Monica's fellow camera department members also did it up right for her birthday. They decorated the camera truck as well as the lunch box room in which we dine. There were 50th birthday balloons everywhere and a huge cake with 50 candles on it. It was fun to watch Monica enjoy her day. I mean who else gets a Hooter Hoister, cake, 50 Shades of Grey and a wreck all on their birthday?!