12:24 pm - Friday, Sept. 23, 2005
Too Tired Too Think Of A Title

(Well, I'm feeling a little embarrassed about the last entry I wrote. But as Lauren once said to me, if you have an urge to go back and delete what you wrote, you probably wrote something pretty good. Something truthful, in any case.)

But anyway...

Well, the little "Hey, I'm a Notary" thing I sent to J.S. for the agency newsletter has had an immediate payoff--JS forwarded me something from "August", an attorney, saying that they often use notaries at his practice, so he'll put my name and number in the database.

It's not a gig, but it could actually be better than a gig--a contact that could lead to lots of gigs.

Another J.S. note: I recently got an email from Jessica K., who used to work in the office, and who often attended the "karaoke nights" Jon used to organize in Little Tokyo (I only saw her at a handful of "karaoke nights" before she moved back to Philly, to be near friends and family). Just a "Hi. What's up?" sort-of-thing.

Besides laziness, this is another reason I sometimes put emails I write in here: I think it's at least somewhat interesting, the slightly different "character" I have in emails, depending on who I'm writing to, and what I think I need to "acheive".

Hi Jessica--

What a nice surprise to HEAR from you!

I DO remember you, and those crazy "karaoke nights" :) (I remember you always being very nice on the phone, when calling me about auditions. AND I remember you're a really good singer!)

So, have you found any good karaoke spots in Philly...?

What are you doing with yourself now? What's life like now that you're back amongst friends and family? I hope things are going well, and I'd be interested in hearing what's happened since you left L.A.

Right now, there's not too much to report from here...

Commercially, it's been a very slow year --I booked one non-union thing earlier in the year, then a director "spec" that got me my SAG card, and that's been it--but I'm telling myself not to give up hope, that the year isn't over yet and all it takes is the right long-running commercial to really turn things around.

(I was so close to getting a Natasha Bedingfield video recently that the production company called me when the guy they cast in the part didn't show up--Unfortunately for me, by the time I responded to the voicemail, "Late Guy" had finally made an appearance...that @#$!.)

For the past couple months, I've been going to workshops with the Actors Co-op group (Mostly with casting directors, but sometimes with agents as well). I've enjoyed it a great deal, and it makes me feel good, because I feel like I'm doing something good for my career. But I recently had to pull back from going to so many, for reasons that'll become clear later in this email.

I've become a Notary Public and a certified "Loan Signing Agent" this year, in an effort to drum up some extra income--So far, there's been no INCOME, but I have SPENT lots of money (On classes, testing, supplies, a new laser-printer AIO, etc). So wish me luck with that; I'd really like it to be the thing I do between acting gigs, instead of working a regular job.

Right now, I'm working at the Borders in West Hollywood, where I've been for over four years. But the latest GM, who started about a year ago, has cut my hours--I'm working 20 fewer hours a week than I used to--and that's making life pretty tough, so I may have to find something else to do, until I become rich and famous :)

Up till now, I'd been living on a combination of what I made at the bookstore, and other monies that would come in from here and there--Tax refunds, gifts, those two commercial jobs, etc.--but now that money is pretty much gone, and I'm having to try and live on about $800 or so a month, when my rent is over $600.

In a word, "Ouch"! (But on a semi-happy note: I get "holding fee" checks from a Jack-In-The-Box commercial I did last year every 13 weeks. So that's a little extra "cheese" for this poor little churchmouse to nibble on.)

Things feel pretty tough right now, but I'm not ready to head back to Michigan just yet--I like the weather out here too much to give it up without a fight! :)

Well, I could babble on, but I think you get the basic idea.

Thanks again for writing (I'm happy I made enough of an impression on you that you remembered me!), and if you'd like to give it another shot, I'd really enjoy hearing from you again sometime.

Sincerely,
Jim H.

I held off on emailing Jessica back for a couple days, because I've not been in the best frame of mind, and didn't want to put her off by "venting" all over her (You may disagree, but I think I did all right, in terms of being honest about what's going on without sounding too "gloom and doom-y").

I would have asked her more about HERSELF, but to be honest, I don't really KNOW her very well, and her email didn't give me too much to work with.

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see if she continues the correspondence or not.

Copying that email in here also allowed me to mention the Natasha Bedingfield video, which I've been meaning to bring up a couple times, since it suggests how very cruel my life can be :)

1. Head Cases
2. Supernatural
3. My Name Is Earl
4. The Office
5. Invasion
6. Law And Order: SVU
7. Everybody Loves Chris
8. E-Ring
9. Criminal Minds
10. One Tree Hill

And I was thinking I'd do some little "capsule reviews" at this point, but I'm falling asleep at the switch here, so it'll have to wait...

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