Raindrops are falling to Rational Phobia

Raindrops are falling on my head
It is raining. Relief of relief. As the rain descends it seems to bring with it the quiet temperatures from high altitudes and settle them here in reality. Standing in the rain with a costume is thus a relatively enjoyable experience. We each have cloaks that go with our costumes and they actually serve well as raincoats. The effect is achieved of weary travelers, rain-soaked and beset by many troubles.

This late afternoon is quite a contrast, however, to this morning which began at 5am. We wanted to capture some sunrise sequences with my character and the only way to effectively do that is to, well, get up and watch the sunrise. I am not a morning person, at least I choose not to be. If I have to get up, or if I have reason to get up while it is still dark then I will do so and be ready for anything. This morning was not one of those cases. I was to put my costume on and after the past few days of filming that was the last thing on my list of ‘exciting’ things to wake up to.

Nevertheless we rose and we filmed and the sunrise was perfect. Sunrises have been overdescribed and we all know what they look like anyway, but the shots we took were really quite impressive. Viewing them later created further excitement on my part in anticipation of the completion of this project.

The sky was clear but for a few clouds and those that were present swirled and twisted in the warmth of the rising sun appearing red and pink. I was reminded of the age-old adage, “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.” As sure as the sun rose this morning the red sky predicted the afternoon thunderstorms which cruised in and began to unleash their spite on the earth. We wanted to have some shots in the rain and therefore were glad to have the chance.

After standing out there for around an hour and quite wet we decided to call it quits with the option of coming back out if the rain diminished. So far it hasn’t and thus I am sitting at my laptop writing.

The slight itching on my neck worries me. My hope is that it is a mere bug bite. It may seem odd that I would wish such thing but in light of my fear of poison ivy the wish is thoroughly rational. That loathsome and pathetic excuse for a creation of God grows lush and beautiful in all corners and holes in this place. I am hyper-allergic to it, the mere thought of it causing me to break out in wretched rashes. In my short life I have had many encounters with it, each as despicable as its predecessor and powerful enough to send me scratching myself into misery for two weeks. So far I have been careful where I step and what I touch and my efforts have paid off.

The field we were shooting in had loads of the three-leaved demons but there were places I could stand that seemed safe. Time will tell of course. Insha’allah, as it were.

Right now we are semi-confident that we shall finish shooting in the time allotted. Nathan, the third character in the film, is scheduled to leave next Wednesday and if all goes as planned that will work fine. In light of the kind of delays and issues that we have had though he is checking into what it will take to extend his flight by a few days in order to give us a more comfortable buffer. Again, insha’allah, as it were.