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9:14 am - Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2002
Born to be...wild?
Well, maybe it's fate--I just don't know--but yesterday I edged just a LITTLE closer to motorcycle-dom.

Here's what happened...

I wanted to go to this play-reading thing at the Ruby Theater on Santa Monica Blvd. But it turned out that the time had been changed (I saw a flyer announcing it back before Xmas, and never gave a moments thought to calling to see if it was still happening).

Anyway, I found out it wasn't happening, at least not last nite--maybe tonite. I'm going to go back and check--and there happened to be a motorcycle place across the street, so I thought I'd pop in...just for fun (There was also a Honda dealership next door, but a casual glance at some of the cars in the lot didn't scare up anything older than '98; It didn't occur to me till later that there were probably more cars up on a rooftop parking area that were more in my price range).

(They're having a wedding on "Regis & Kelly". I don't GET that phenomenon; Why do I CARE if two people I don't know are getting married?)

Anyway, I talked for a time with one of the guys at the dealership (Nice kid, and demonstrating what a small world it really is, he was from Fowlerville MI, a stone's throw from Durand, where I grew up). I told him I was a potential new rider, I told him what I thought I wanted (Something in the big moped/small bike category) and expressed my concerns about safety and the like.

And he gave me a piece of information that is really pushing me more in the direction of DOING this; The recommended safety course PROVIDES bikes for you to learn on. All you have to do is come in with boots, a helmet, and a jacket (I have a jacket. I'd need to get the boots and helmet).

One of the things that's given me pause when I've thought about a motorcyle was not knowing what I'd do with the motorcycle once I GOT it. I was imagining having to figure out how to get it home, and how to get it to and from the safety course without killing myself on the way (Held over a weekend, I think for a total of sixteen hours. I think it costs around $200).

This sort of connects to something Lauren said to me while she was here, something that I'm still thinking about.

We were talking, and I was joking about how "needy" I am, and she said, "You don't strike me that way at all. Actually, you seem like you're really uncomfortable with the idea of asking anyone for anything".

I never really thought about it that way, but I don't think I DO ask people for much (As close as I'll get is to make it clear that I'm in rough shape in some way; Then if people want to grace me with a free meal or what-have-you, I'll gratefully accept). I can't recall the last time I asked someone for money or a favor or so forth when I thought it would really put them out.

(An example of what I'm talking about; I really wanted to buy a "work table" for a long time, but that was when my car was languishing in the shop forever. But instead of asking Chris or Cary or someone at work for help, I basically waited till I finally got the car back, and did it then.)

My POINT is that one thing that's held me back from buying a motorcycle was thinking I'd have to ask someone for help hauling the thing around till I figured out how to RIDE it. But that's not the case.

So there it is. Jim is at least a step close to getting a "starter bike" than he was before last night (The bike I looked at, a used bike--was under $2000. It was small--350 lbs--with a top speed of 75 mph. Mostly something for tooling around town, though I COULD ride on the highway if I wanted/needed to).

Scary. Exciting too.

My day yesterday was not too good. Lots of boredom, lots of loneliness, lots of not seeming to know quite what to do with myself.

The evening was a little better. Even though the play reading thing didn't work out, I ended up talking to some people--one at the Actors Gang theater, another at the theater complex on Santa Monica--and that made me feel like the evening wasn't a complete waste of time in terms of acting stuff. And I checked out the motorcycle place, which was sort of novel, and made me feel like I was being more "proactive" than usual (I don't know if I used that word correctly, but hopefully, you catch my drift).

I think the best thing I did last night was to get information.

At the Actors Gang theater, I talked to a person--Wendy?--who volunteers there in an office-manager capacity. She didn't know that much about classes or auditions for the company or anything along those lines, but we talked a little about my circumstances out here, and she recommended that I sign up for as many temp agencies as I can, and lie about transportation (The downtown offices where I'd be working are a pretty straight shot down Wilshire, right on the bus line). She thought I should do that instead of the bookstore; As she put it, "You're not going to get anywhere making $7.50 an hour".

Food for thought.

At the other theater, I ended up talking to an older guy who was waiting for his stand-up comedy workshop to begin.

I asked him how he got his agent (He asked a director for a recommendation. The director then sent him to a casting director, who sent him to a couple of agents, he signed with one, and that was that). He also told me about an acting teacher he particularly liked--I wrote down the number, even though there's that ongoing money "issue" (All these people seem to want to get PAID for their services. What's up with THAT?)--and probably most importantly, he told me where the AFI (American Film Institute) was located.

(That last bit of info is important, because one way to get on-camera experience is to submit your headshot to them, for consideration for film projects. Same deal applies with USC and UCLA. It's one of the things I haven't done that I need to do.)

And then, there was the aforementioned motorcycle bizness.

So yesterday might not have felt like the greatest day, but it was still good, because I did try to make SOMETHING of the day.

And speaking of "making something of the day", I should probably close up shop here, and try to "make something" of THIS day.

See ya later...

 

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