Odd Job

Okay I have the strangest job in the entire world right now. I'm digitizing hours and hours and hours of people's home videos. Like some people sent in one modest tape with a video they cut together on it, and others, well others sent in upwards of twenty tapes from years of filming. I'm watching people's weddings and family dinners, listening to roommates talk about their new apartment, watching friends hanging out carefreely singing or talking, unknowingly devulging this information to me, a person who they've never met, sitting in this strange building in Los Angeles at 2am. Is that creepy? I feel kinda creepy watching all these videos, even though it's literally my job right now.

But it's so interesting. A little depressing as well. A couple of times, I've formed some attachments to these people I'm watching, only for the next tape of their story to be a memorial video. No kidding. This has happened three times. I'm now to the point where I cringe every time I put in a new tape, hoping that they met a better fate than the last guy.

There've been a few survivors. Right now, I'm following this girl, (on tape 18!), through her life. It's odd, but I feel like I know her. I'm like watching her interact with her parents, grandparents, brother, friends, boyfriends. When the tapes started it was 1994. Now it's 2000 and she's living in a new apartment.

Okay, so what an odd job right? It's making me want a video camera right this instant. Which is bad because I have credit card bills. And oh man, this tape has "Warning: Sensitive Material" on its label. Now I'm scared.

Back to work.