8:53 AM - Sun 11.08.20
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Well, after what felt like a very long wait, we have (Or will very shortly have) a new President.

I was a little annoyed that, having obsessed over the news in the days since the election, I still missed the initial announcement yesterday, not hearing anything until people started talking about it on Facebook.

But when and where I heard the news didn't matter. I was just happy to hear it - As of January 20th, it'll be President Biden (And VP Kamala Harris).

And after four years of the worst person to ever hold the office, I can put Trump in the rear-view mirror (And only pay attention to him whenever New York - and hopefully, multiple other states and various other entities - hauls his fat ass into court. It's hard to imagine he'll ever see the inside of a jail cell - though one can hope! - but it still warms my heart to imagine him spending the rest of his days and however much money he actually has fending off legal actions in one courtroom or another).

That really is my #1 takeaway here - Politically/Socially, we're still in a big mess (Other than getting rid of Trump, it doesn't seem like the election went very well for Democrats. And I share the general Liberal disappointment that we didn't get a total repudiation of "Trumpism"), but at least I no longer live in a world where an evil idiot runs everything and demands my constant attention.

I did not celebrate by joining crowds in West Hollywood or Downtown LA - my "celebration" basically consisted of getting a badly-needed haircut and buying myself lunch - but honestly, that probably wouldn't have happened even if we weren't living through a major pandemic.

But I did go through the rest of the day feeling really good, better than I have in quite some time really (At least in the past four years).

And I'm feeling pretty good at the moment, truth to tell.

Even if all my news isn't great.

(Now watching "Talk Heathen" on YouTube. Or, as I often refer to it, "Atheist Sunday-School...)

In my last entry, I started by saying something like, "I need to write this entry now while the news is still 'fresh'" - The idea being that I was happy and excited about my news, which was good news "in the moment" but wouldn't necessarily remain good news (I think I referred to it as having a potential "expiration date").

Basically, I want to note I'm happy "in the moment" so I don't "forget it", to teach myself to notice good things when they happen so I don't live in a world where "nothing ever goes right for Jim...".

Was delighted a recent self-taped commercial audition led to a callback (My first callback in "The Pandemic Era") which then led to being put on "avail" - a couple of "firsts" in a single audition.

But I didn't book it (It shoots Tuesday, so I would have heard by now if I were going to).

Disappointing...but it doesn't at all take away from the aforementioned "firsts" - To get from "I'm not good at this, I hate it, and I resent having to do it", to learning to do it well enough to get a callback and avail is...well, I honestly can't think of a previous accomplishment of mine that compares (If I don't like to do a thing, or don't feel I'm good at it - or both - I tend to do that thing as little as possible).

(I had another self-tape audition after the one I'm referencing and, at first, I thought nothing had come of that one. But I checked, and I think callbacks for that one aren't till Tuesday or Wednesday. So...fingers crossed.)

In bittersweet Shameless news...

The original draft of the special "mini-episode" I'm doing tomorrow (Centered around Kev and V) had a pretty substantial role for Yours Truly - I had more lines in this "mini-episode" than I do in most regular episodes of the show.

Then a couple days ago, they sent the rewrite (And it was a total rewrite top-to-bottom).

And when I first read it, I thought I'd been written out altogether...but upon a second reading, I saw I'd missed a single line I have on the last page.

So why "bittersweet", beyond the fact that I'm happy I'm still in the episode but disappointed my role was cut down to basically nothing?

When I got the first script, I read it, and it was...problematic (I'm gonna leave it at that).

So when the episode came back totally re-written, it was kind of gratifying to have my "take" on the "problematic" first draft be validated (Likely by "The Big Man" himself) .

But it was way less "gratifying" to realize Kermit's prominent role in the script was one of the things that made it "problematic" (I mean, I saw that in the first draft, but would have hoped my part would be re-written, not written out).

So it's just weird to want to do more in a script that is uneqivocally improved by the fact that I'm not doing more.

Anyway, I think it'll still be fun to be on-set (And of course, there's a lovely paycheck involved). And it partly - kinda? sorta? - "makes up" for the fact that it looks like I'm gonna be sitting out two episodes in a row (#6 and 7, for those keeping score).

Thats troubling on a couple fronts -it's been years since I've sat out three episodes of the show in a season (And for all I know, there's more to come).

And it's both spiritually and practically disheartening that it's happening in the last season.

This has been a decade of my life (And my biggest credit as a professional actor), so it would be nice to go out with a strong season.

And the fewer episodes I'm in, the less money that's "holding me over" from the end of Shameless to my next series.

(I'm hoping, since I'm going to have some time on my hands, that maybe I'll "sneak in" a commercial or something between tomorrow and whenever my next episode happens. That would be nice...)

Jane R. is blowing into town Wedsnesday night, so I'm looking forward to having her around, however briefly (As of now, we only have a few things scheduled, so I'm feeling like we're mostly just gonna be hanging out and having fun).

And on that happy note, I'm going to close up shop, and lay myself down for a few before The Atheist Experience (Which is "Atheist Church" to Talk Heathen's "Atheist Sunday School").

Till next time...

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