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A Rare Stone

Wow! What an unbelievable week. It all started on Monday, when I, for some reason, agreed to do a double equipment return. I sprung out of bed at five in the morning, got to the truck, and with the help of my friend Marcus, picked up gear from a location and dropped it off at both Rule and High Output. We then went to return the truck in Medford and I got on my way to JP for the next return to the Boston University film department. I expected something similar to the gear center from Emerson, but actually, everything went just as planned, which felt weird. Coming from Emerson and their equipment center, I find it really awkward and somewhat uncomfortable when equipment rental houses are friendly and efficient, but as strange as it all was, I was really happy when I realized that I didn't have to prepare myself for a standoff.

So all this was done by around 3:00 pm, and it was time to go to work! I slept through three bus trips and groggily stumbled my tired self into the office and flopped down on a chair, and then a bomb drops. "Hey, we're going to get some cameras tonight. When you get home, pack up. We're going to New York tomorrow."

The subject of the shoot? Diamonds. Lots of them. It's been a whole day and my eyes are still trying to readjust to not being in an enormous room full of brilliant gemstones. I got to shoot the whole process of casting, molding, setting, and selling jewelry.

Now I know my track record for posting promised videos on my blog is pretty shoddy so far, but they are on the way, and this one is included in that. For now, settle for an interesting story.

As it turns out, dropped and missing diamonds are more than common. I got to the set early one day as they were opening and sweeping the floor, and after each pile was swept, the people behind the counter would crouch down and take a careful look. Sure enough, among the dust bunnies and crumbs were six or seven diamonds, and even a silver chain. I don't know what's stranger: the fact that this is so common, or that I was the only one in the room who thought it was weird. Either way, there were lots and lots of diamonds, and a handful of them were probably strewn about the floor somewhere.