I Guess I Got It After All

Why the dinosaur? Good question. Considering the news of late, we thought it best that I expedite my efforts to refocus my lifestyle into something more accommodating to that of, say a local profession, something that would allow me to sleep in my own bed at night and not the number of seedy hotel rooms not to mention school floors I've been frequenting, receive steady payment rather than hunting down dollars and dealing with unsupervised parental boards, and most importantly, to keep my feet on the ground. So in early January a job hunt began. I haven't had a "real" job, I guess ever, mainly sticking to fly-by-night jack-of-all-trade assignments. But I knew there'd be a time, and the time is now.

So why the dinosaur? Well, the search led down a few different paths and the decision to follow one had to be made. I took an interview at a large tan brick building last Tuesday which I thought I had nailed. Only later that day did I receive a courtesy call informing me that I did not, in fact, get the job. Disappointed I gathered myself up and retraced my steps to where I was before I made the seemingly ill-fated decision to ask the prettiest girl at the prom for a dance. I had a few other logs on the fire.

So you're still confused about the dinosaur? Well just yesterday morning, amidst a slight lull in the revamped job hunt, we were interrupted by a call. A call from inside the large tan brick building. They had re-analyzed the candidates and decided that I was indeed the man for the job, could I start Monday, and I need to buy some new shoes. Fair enough. So here's where the dinosaur comes in.

The company that has taken a chance on me is called Smooth-On. I know. I thought the same thing. But nonetheless it seems like an extremely cool place to work. They need more trees, but I'll see what I can do about that. You see Smooth-On specializes in liquid rubbers & plastics. The kind used to make models & prosthetics but also the kind used for special effects and lifecasting in films and television. So you've seen Smooth-On products if you've seen movies like Alien, Lord of the Rings, Saving Private Ryan, Pirates of the Caribbean, Ghostbusters, Batman, Jurassic Park, Die Hard, Harry Potter, Star Trek, James Bond, The Matrix, King Kong... the list kinda goes on. Also on broadway, if you got out to the theater for Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Spam-A-Lot, Beauty & the Beast, Mary Poppins & The Lion King, you've seen them there too. Apparently these guys are the first ones to invent and design these silicone masks that are now used anytime you see a ghoul or a goblin or an ogre or just a bloodied Bruce Willis. He's always bloody. So that's why the dinosaur. That one just sticks out to me as the most ludicrous. Like, my boss makes dinosaurs. Wacky.

Here's some of their more horrifying work on display:



















I have a feeling that this is a scary place to work at Halloween.

They do more than just disgusting masks and special effects tho. They do casting, model making, taxidermy, candlemaking, sculpture and architectural restoration, which for some reason piqued my interest. I guess they can pretty much do anything that involves liquid rubber & plastic, which clearly means, anything.

These guys made a lifesize whale!

They can make you look tough.

And teach you how to smash thru glass.



Should be fun. Let's not get fired.