8:42 am - Tues 11.24.2009
Big Doings In Little Tokyo

I wrote in my last entry that I had the choice, last Wednesday, between an open mic with a former stand-up classmate, or karaoke with JS and co.

Opting for karaoke may turn out to have been a better choice than I could ever have imagined.

Because I met someone.

Her name is Tasha (Short for "Ratasha"); while the name, to me, sounds African-American, she looks Hispanic, bearing more than a passing resemblance to America Ferrera, of Ugly Betty fame.

I went through most of the night thinking she was a new JS client, but turned out she was just visiting her friend Resmine (I know - weird names, huh?).

(Resmine - pronounced "REZ-muh-nay" - is a client, and also helps Jon out during particularly busy times at the office.)

So at present, I don't know very much about Tasha, just that she's a screenwriter, from Wisconsin, and she bears more than a passing resemblance to "Ugly Betty" (Which I'll probably avoid telling her, ever, even though I think America Ferrera is actually very cute).

But the most important thing I found out, at least for now, is that she's moving here in two weeks (I found that out post-karaoke - When we parted company, I knew she was planning to move here, but didn't know when).

It was a bit startling to realize (Or at least imagine) there was a "thing" happening between us - I honestly can't recall the last time I felt that way (At least with someone who might actually be available).

I've never had much in the way of "game", so when I found out, as things were breaking up, that she didn't actually live here, I didn't manage to get any contact info - So I ended up emailing JS, to see if I could get Remine's email, to see if I could get Tasha's email, so I could tell her how much I had enjoyed meeting her, and ask her out "for coffee or something", once she was here in town and "settled in".

She emailed me back, saying what fun she'd had at karaoke, complimenting me on my rendition of (the Cameo funk classic) "Word Up", and agreeing to the "or something" part of my query - Saying specifically, "I don't drink coffee, but we'll think of something")

(When I read that last part, the first thing I thought was "Doesn't drink coffee...? Is she a Mormon?".)

A more confident guy would have asked for her phone number or email or what-have-you that night, but be that as it may, this was a huge step for me.

And what made it particularly notable is that I didn't "apologize for myself" in advance - "I know I'm probably too old and ugly for you, and you're probably seeing someone, and I don't have any money, but...do you want to go out sometime?" - but instead, just put myself out there.

I guess I felt somewhat emboldened by her first impression of me being me "in my element" (i.e. performing).

It also didn't hurt that, with at least some commercial money coming in sometime soon, there wasn't a voice in my head saying, "If you ask her out and she says 'yes', then what? You don't have any money!".

So anyway, there it is - Regardless of what does or doesn't happen (I'm still not 100% sure an actual "date" is gonna happen - I'll believe it when it happens...and maybe not even then), that was a pretty major event in the life of one Jim Hoffmaster.

She caught me during the awkward holiday "window" before getting an official invite from Cary and Kay - I don't want to presume Cary and Kay will have me over, then find out they can't (One year they visited friends for Thanksgiving; another year I think they went back to Michigan), but I don't want to accept another offer when I'd rather be with Cary and Kay - and when I told Lynn I didn't know my plans (But that I usually have Thanksgiving with Cary and Kay), she told me I didn't have to tell her if I was coming till the day before.

So that's what I planned to do (A secret about me - I don't like to have to say "no" to anyone. Which is usually not an issue, cause in the past I've been lucky to get one invite for the holidays, let alone have to choose).

So anyway, a couple weeks ago, during the Friday WW meeting, Lynn mentioned Thanksgiving to the group, talking about what she was planning to make and whatnot, then said, "Jim's coming to my house, aren't you Jim?".

I felt like saying, "What happened to 'You don't have to tell me if you're coming or not till the day before'?", but instead, I just said, "I sure am!"

But it's cool - I like Lynn, and it's here in town, so I can ride my bike, and it'll be interesting to see how a WW-approved Thanksgiving is done.

I felt uncomfortable and awkward, telling Cary I wouldn't be doing Thanksgiving with them this year - cause they're family, after all - but actually, it worked out better than I would have imagined, because Kay just had surgery, so Cary told me they're probably just going to go out to eat on Thanksgiving anyway.

Speaking of the holidays...

I really don't like the holidays - Auditions slow to an eventual stop, my "stories" are all on hiatus, and I feel like my nose is constantly being rubbed in stuff that I don't want my nose rubbed in.

But for now, I'm good - I have two commercial auditions today, there's money in the pipeline, and there may even be the prospect of (dare I say it?) romance somewhere down the road.

So my traditional "Holiday Depression" will just have to wait...

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