Break Out Your Broke

Things are getting about as nuts as they come in "the production office," which at any given time of the day is also the regular office, the screening room, the dog training facility, and the place where we try to eat lunch. Believe me when I say work has been

NO PICNIC

A neck-less picnic.

At one point there were 10 people in our one room that usually has a maximum of 4, all making phone calls or conversing with each other. Imagine a hen house where the hens have thumbs and know how to print things. It was pure, administrative anarchy. There was just a ceaseless tornado of sounds and voices chaotically backdropping the million and one requests flying at me like bricks simultaneously. When would it end?! Just make it stop!

Eventually a few people cleared out and we were back down to 5. There was a beat of silence. After a moment I said, "...That got pretty cray for a minute there, didn't it?"

Yes, it did. It was 50 shades of cray.

And 64 shades of Crayola.

 But, you know, in the end it was worth it, because I worked a full hour of overtime. Not that I will be paid overtime, but I will be paid for the time that went over. 

Sigh. Showbiz is JUST A BARREL OF MONKEYS AND DONUTS MY FRIENDS. MONKEYS AND FUCKIN' DONUTS.

Well, on to other matters. I had a pretty baller weekend celebrating Coachella the best way possible, by not going to it. Instead, Casey and I hit up Brokechella!

No, not Brokebackchella...

No, not Breakingchella...

No, not Brickchella...

No, not a broken cello...

Brokechella is a wonderful low-pretense-hipster LA alternative to Coachella. For those who are stingy enough not to sell their house for Coachella tickets, there is Brokechella, which is a 1-day event fueled by local bands/comedians/eats/boutiques with one grand overarching theme: broke.

You still have to be slightly above the poverty line to enjoy Brokechella, with $10 pre-sale tickets and $20 at the door, but it's more than worth it. What would otherwise be a sketchy abandoned warehouse in the boonies of the arts district (redundant as the arts district IS nothing but boonies of abandoned warehouses) is converted, on this blessed day, into a free-for-all arts and music scene. Graffiti art covers the walls, junky couches make up the lounge area, and everything is SUPER cheap. Drink-worthy (Lagunitaaaaaaa) beer was four bucks and mixed drinks were five, which is unheard of 'round these parts. Sponsors were giving away all sorts of free goodies: long stem flowers, energy bars, candy, photo ops... I somehow wound up with a cut-out of Ron Burgundy's head and a stress ball from Spearmint Rhino (yay and yikes, respectively). The food trucks were expensive and overpriced, but what else is new. I still ended up gorging myself on bomb diggity Argentinian food truck food. Chimichurri-yaw-chimi-yaw-chimi-churr!

Biggie is not amused by my traditional Argentinian food puns.

There were four stages set up around both inside and outside the warehouses, each catering toward a slightly different audience. I seriously got my dance on by the "Shifty Rhythms" stage where a DJ was blasting crazy club-hop dance music. In the next rooms were hip-hop, acoustic rock, and even stand-up. My talented friend Erik Escobar was one such comic.

But wait, there's more! There were a million and one things at once. Artists set up booths and asked passersby to participate. Several boutiques on wheels sold clothing that was Silverlake chic and Fashion District priced... I even nabbed me a boss pair of of new sunglasses for cheap:

And a fantastic new teal bronzer!

Uhhhhh other cool things: BMX biking arena, multiple free photo booths, video game room, art on all the walls (and in some areas, the floor), a plot of grass designated for the dogs registered for Puppychella whichisarealthing, a small fort with headphones used for conducting some bizarre music experiment, and FREE credit cards on the ground! 

Know what, I'm just gonna post some pictures here. If you like 'em, you can keep 'em, if you don't, you can send 'em right back.

But seriously, don't "keep" them anywhere. Just keep navigating through the internet like a normal person. We don't have to make this weird.

Truly the most brilliant theme for a low-budget affair.

In front of the music experiment tent. I'm actually not wearing pants.

Art you can walk on and pick up and pretend to be Super Mario with.

Image reproduced without Casey or Ron Burgundy's permission.

We spent virtually the whole day there, drinking, dancing, exploring, et cetera. The turn out was large but not stuffy and crowded, so it was perfect. Simply fabulous. I hope I can go again next year. I won't be able to if I'm actually broke, but right now I'm low key broke as-in-severely-underpaid, which is good enough for the time being.

YEAH

MONEY

UH

GIT IT