So I spent late Wendesday afternoon and night being an extra on Funny People. They were shooting some final scenes at San Francisco International Airport. No, I didn’t see Adam Sandler. I did see Seth Rogen, and I was shot in a scene with him. I saw Leslie Mann, but not Judd Apatow. It was quite an experience. I think the people who do extra work are crazy. Not a little bit, but a lot. My first ordeal was driving in the rain to SFO. Now, driving in the rain doesn’t sound like that big of a deal, but people out here don’t drive well in the rain, and I was driving during the evening commute. I left an hour before my call time. Once at the airport, I followed the signs to the garage where I had been told to park. We had to park on level 8. That meant driving seven spirals to get there. I had to stop once along the way to be checked by security. We had special parking tickets. The most exciting part was that parking would be FREE! So I’m thinking this could be a lot of fun and interesting. Nevermind that I had to bring two changes of clothes, a suitcase, a carry-on and my purse. My bags were light–far lighter than when I travel. Next was navigating the parking garage elevators to find the shuttle bus that would take us to where we check in.

Base Camp

It looked a lot like a camp. I got my bags off the bus. I pulled the bags through the puddles and mud while carrying my clothes that I had put on hangars in a bag. Once I arrived in the tent with my first form, I saw all the people. Lots of people. Some sitting. Most standing. Some in uniforms. Lucky them to have a uniformed part so they didn’t have to carry several changes of clothes, shoes and accessories. My suitcase and carry-on were full of shoes, makeup and accessories. The first line was short. I just had to provide ID. The next line? That one went halfway around the enormous tent. This was the line for badges and more paperwork so we could get paid. While waiting, the generators went out twice–darkness fell. It was dark outside already. I could hardly see in the tent. My biggest concern was to avoid hitting the person in front of me with my bags.