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1:39 am - Sat 10/16/04 In the break room at work we have a tv, with a vcr, and more recently, a dvd player.Anyway, the other day I walked into the breakroom, and saw someone was watching the recent tv remake of Helter Skelter.It was at the point where "The Family" were doing their evil deeds , and as I watched the sequence�which was very effective, disturbing without being at all graphic--I found myself thinking, "My personal �darkness'? Not all that dark, really...".Fri 10/15/04 (9:38 a.m.) I don't think I've mentioned something in here which could be a pretty big deal, if it actually happens: Last week, I applied for a low-income apartment in West Hollywood.I guess a building is opening up, and they've designated something like 25 units for people with low-incomes and/or disabilities (Someone in my building told me about it). So I called to request an application, filled it out, sent it back, and I guess I'll be able to call anytime after today to find out if I won the "apartment lottery".Honestly? I feel ambivalent about the whole thing�It's a pain-in-the-ass to move, and I actually like my apartment quite a bit (It's one of the only tangible ways, beyond the weather, that my life improved when I moved to L.A.). But I can't, in good conscience, cry about the financial pressure I'm under out here, then not follow up on something like this when it drops into my lap (The rent on a "single" is not as cheap as I was first told, but it's still almost $100 less than I'm paying now). I really haven't been thinking too much about it, I guess because it seems so unlikely that I'll get a spot when I'm sure a zillion people applied.But who knows? Maybe this will be the start of some really big changes. Speaking of "big changes"...There's a rumor afoot that Borders is planning to close my bookstore.What's interesting is that the rumors aren't coming from management, or from my coworkers, but from the general public; I overheard someone say it to a cashier a couple weeks back, and AJ told me yesterday that he's had people ask him about it as well.We both agreed, when talking about it yesterday, that it wouldn't be totally shocking if it were true: Week after week, sales are way under projections, and we're clearly "the red-headed stepchild" of Borders stores here in L.A .But on the other hand, John O. made a good point when I broached the subject with him (While he was still at the store)�It's a really big publicity "hit" when stores close branches, and bad publicity means stock shares go down, so it's not something corporate would do unless and until the situation were really dire.So I guess the question is this�How "dire" is the situation?And what will I do if the rumors are true? Emailed my friend Anita about the Notary thing�All but asking "When could I start?"-- but haven't heard anything back for the past three or four days now. It would be nice if this were the "flexible work" answer I've really needed since I first came out here, but I feel myself starting to "pull back" from being overly excited about it (It may be unreasonable, but part of the "pullback" is because I didn't immediately hear back from Anita. I sort of assumed, since she's the one who threw it out there, that she'd be jumping on any interest on my part. Now I'm in "I'll believe it when I'm notarizing"-mode).(Bill H. wondered if my legal difficulties back in �91 would disqualify me to be a Notary, and while I wondered about that myself, I think I'm good�I was "background checked" for my "Reading by Nine" stint, and if I was approved as "suitable for children", I imagine I can be trusted to watch people sign documents. But if not, then I'll just have to take the attitude that it "wasn't meant to be".) You're catching me in pretty good spirits right now.I finally got the check from the Time-Warner radio spot. And getting a check for doing what I want to do always brightens my outlook considerably.And I had a commercial audition on each of my two days off. And they were both SAG. And I "rocked the casbah" on both of them.The first one was for Citibank (I was a guy working on his "comb-over" before the big date). The casting director afterwards said I was "fun to watch", then added, "And believe me, that isn't always the case...". And when I said I was glad I'd held off on getting my hair cut�cause I had enough hair to mess around with (As opposed to all the other guys I saw), he said "Yeah, definitely don't get a haircut over the next couple days".Even if I don't ultimately get the gig, the casting director's enthusiasm seemed like a good thing�If he remembers that he liked me, he'll probably be more likely to have me come back for something in the future..This audition was to replace an actor who had already been cast and had to back out, so there's no callback, and the "turnaround" is going to be really quick; If I book the spot, I'll be flying to New York next week to shoot it.And would that be fun.The other audition was for Old Navy. I was going in for one of the "Three Wise Men", who are apparently partying in Cancun with Santa Claus and a bevy of hot young people (Don't ask me�I don't write them, I just try to act in them).Anyway, it was a really fun audition. I was feeling very loose out in the waiting room, and since there wasn't really anything to prepare, felt free to laugh and joke around with people (And enjoy just being in the same neighborhood as a lot of really cute girls).When it was my time, I went in with three other "Wise Men". We slated for the camera, then were asked what "dance experience" we had (I described myself as having "three or four years of tap and jazz, a lot of experience dancing in musicals, and I'm a pretty fair �freestyle' dancer").we basically did a conga line around the room, then each of us had a few seconds to "freestyle", solo.There were two guys in the room (Was one of the guys the director? I wasn't sure, but there's usually just one guy, the cameraman, at these initial things, so maybe so).It was fun, and I enjoyed getting the chance to "show them what I had". And afterwards, they both commented on me (The camera guy in particular was very impressed�He said "that was awesome!"). Callbacks for that will be next week (Ever the optimist, I actually found myself thinking "What if I'm in New York when they want me to come in for Old Navy?").Anyway, wish me luck. I am "hungry like the wolf" to book something again. And I'd love to close out this year with a SAG card.But I've gotta dash. I have a lunch date with John O., but first, I want to get my pictures scanned in down at L.A. Casting (I showed my pictures to JS on Tuesday, and he was very happy with them. And much to my delight, he said the magic words�"When things pick up, you should get a lot more auditions from these...". And all I can say to that is "I certainly hope so!). 4 comments so far |