Pow-Pow-Power Wheels

People are really nice when they think you have the power to give them what they want.

I just got a call from a camera operator who I phoned last night at about 9pm to see if he could work today at 10am. (That's 13 hours notice for the mathematically challenged). I left a message and he called me back this morning, apologizing profusely for not calling back before. At 9pm last night he was sleeping, in order to be awake for another job at 4am today. As far as I'm concerned, he didn't have to call me back at all if he wasn't available, especially since presumably by this morning I had already found someone to take the job (after making about 20 phone calls), but he certainly didn't have to be so apologetic about it, considering I was calling at the last minute.

After puzzling over this for about a second and a half I realized the excessive apologizing and politeness were because he thinks I'm in a position to hire him again, which I actually could be, and he wants to make an impression on me. But having spent most of my professional career on the lower rungs of the power totem pole, it feels funny when people (who aren't lowly production assistants or interns) treat me like someone who controls even a small part of their fate.

Also funny because I'm not even sure which camera op it was that called me this morning, I made so many frantic phone calls last night.