9:17 pm - Sunday, Jun. 03, 2007
Making Lemons Out Of Lemonade

Sun 6/3/07 (7:10 p.m.)

Normally, I wouldn�t be writing this now�I�d be at work�but I was �pre-allocated� (�Re-allocated� is ArcLight-speak for being sent home early because it�s a slow night. I was pre re-allocated a couple days ago, when management assumed, correctly, that it would be a slow weekend, since we don�t have Pirates Of The Caribbean or Knocked Up).

So here I am.

I stayed up all night last night�my late nights have been getting later lately-fueled partly by cable and partly by...I don�t know what. But it�s not a good thing, when I do that, because it guarantees I�m not gonna do much but sleep and eat the next day (Speaking of eating, I should consider getting some groceries�I�m out of pretty much everything but sandwich stuff and a couple things of Ramen noodles).

Slow goings on the career front for awhile now...I�ve had two unmemorable commercial auditions in the past two weeks (And nothing the week before that), and I had my first casting workshop in a couple weeks yesterday afternoon (That was also not terrible memorable, though hopefully, the casting person didn�t feel that way, since it�s the office that has cast such great films as Adaptation and Little Miss Sunshine).

Recently I received two things in the mail that should have been good news, but instead, left me feeling a little anxious.

Thing #1 was another Propel check (It�s resting comfortably in my wallet right now, waiting for a trip to the bank tomorrow).

That should have been good news, because getting a check in the mail is always good news, right? But in this case, the check was relatively small, leaving me worried that the flow of money from Propel is becoming a trickle.

But at least I�m still getting a trickle. And I�ve got the Coldstone spot (Though that�s cable, not network), along with the possibility of still getting a little something from the �Bahamavention� thing and/or the Comcast promos (My Gilmore Girls episode re-ran recently, so I�ll be getting a small residual check for that at some point).

And of course, there�s ArcLight (Which at this point basically covers the rent, with a few dollars left over). And walking the neighbor�s dog, for a little �walking-around money�.

And it�s not like the cupboard�s bare or anything; I�ve got money in my checking account, and my savings.

And beyond that, there�s always the possibility of booking more work in the coming weeks/months (I�m looking for another national commercial or two�or three�as well as some more resume-building tv co-star roles, and maybe a film. The first half of the year was good, but I�m looking for the second half to be better).

Thing #2 that came in the mail was something you�d think I�d be doing a real �happy dance� about�My SAG health insurance stuff.

They have two �tiers� of eligibility for insurance, and I made it to the lower tier�I�m covered for major medical or surgical, but not dental, vision, or mental health/chemical dependence (I have to call them about hospital coverage, because I�m not exactly sure what they�re telling me with the info they sent). Anyway, said coverage starts in July, and will basically last for one year, assuming I pay my premiums in a timely manner. After that, it�ll depend on whether I make enough money throughout the year to continue to qualify.

I have to be honest�After last year�s health issue (I had to have some abdominal surgery), and getting hooked up with QueensCare, a Catholic charity that paid for the surgery and hospital stay (And has a clinic within walking distance from my house), my first response to getting the health insurance packet was �Oh shit! Now I�m gonna have to pay for this stuff...!�.

But that �Oh shit!� response also mixed and mingled with a certain pride (To the point where it�s actually hard to say which reaction came first); it�s kind of cool, in my second year in SAG, that I�ve actually qualified for some benefits. Gotta read that as something of a milestone.

But getting a sharply reduced Propel check the same day a new bill came in the mail fanned the flames of fiscal anxiety, and I had to basically �talk myself down� from excessive fretting.

Cause the fact is, I�ve got the money to cover the year (I may just send them the whole thing now, and be done with it). And while I hope I�ll make enough to be eligible the following year�and the year after that, and the year after that�if not, at least now I know where to go if I need help.

But I feel the grocery store calling me, so I must fly...

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