Life in L.A.

THE WEIGHT IS OVER!

2010-08-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

I am happy to announce the launch of my new business! I have written two books that can be downloaded on my website. The first one is called "The Weight Is Over: The Real Reasons Why You're Fat And How You Can Conquer Them For Good".
The second book is called "Banish The Brain Fat" and you can get it for free when you purchase the second one.

I also have a supplements page for people who want some additional asisstance with increasing their metabolism and burning more fat.

I am very excited, so please check out my website at http://www.healthinspiredweightloss.com/. There is a multitude of informartion in both of the books. Also, be sure to sign up for my FREE e-mail newsletter on the form half way down the page. You'll receive weekly e-mails containing advice, tips, exercises and healthy food options for losing weight and staying healthy. There is some really good information, so please take a look now.

http://www.healthinspiredweightloss.com/

THIS BLOG IS ON HIATUS!

2010-05-04T17:25:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all of the people who continue to come to this blog for updates. Unfortunately, this blog will be on hiatus for a little while longer while I re-vamp and re-vitalize my approach to acting!

In the meantime, please CLICK HERE to check out my new blog on Health & Fitness! I've always had a passion for being healthy, in-shape and feeling good. On this blog I will be sharing LOTS of information on how to feel your absolute best and I will also have a lot of inspirational information on how to think positive and change your thoughts in order to achieve all of your health and fitness goals.

So please, go to http://healthinspiredfitness.blogspot.com/ and look around at some of the articales already posted. The only thing I ask is for you to share the link to my new blog with everyone you know and to also register as a follower to the blog.

I think you will learn a lot of things from the new blog and also think about certain things in a different way as well. After all, nothing is more important than your health and well being and you you feel.

See you on Health Inspired Fitness!

What Have I Been Up To In the World of Acting?

2008-12-18T20:03:00.000-08:00

Well, not a whole lot, but that is about to change! I've been wanting to write this entry for a long time now, but I just hadn't got the nerve to do it, until now. Basically, I was a bit foolish this year and pretty much wasted the year of 2008, and I'm going to tell you why.

It all started in November of 2007. Does everyone remember the Writer's Strike in Hollywood? Well, I was pretty involved in it. It is a long story as to why, but it really isn't important. The point is, is that I was on the picket lines at Disney Studios in Burbank to help support the writers. The writers of a particular top 10 show on CBS. I was basically the liaison between the writers and the large number of worldwide fans from a popular internet blog. The fans are very loyal to this show and wanted to show their support. It was great for me because I got to meet these writers and producers personally. They are a great group of people and I felt very privileged. I was determined NOT to be "that actor" that bugged these people to get me on the show. I was not ever going to bring it up. Of course I wanted to, but it wasn't the time, nor the place. It didn't matter, because after spending a few days with them, they started throwing around the idea of getting me some lines on the show. That is like more than music to an actor's ears. I mean, this is what people dream of! Just one line on a show is a big thing for us. To make a long story short........the strike ended in early February, I believe, and they said that they would try to get me on the show the next season, as in this season. I was elated!

Now, being the moron that I am, I pretty much stopped everything I was doing in terms of acting. Stupid, I know. I thought I was going to get my break through them, then that would lead to something else, then I would be on my way. Not so much. I am not mad at the writers/producers. It takes a lot of effort to get an actor on a show and it has to be ok'd by many people. I am more mad at myself. Even if it was a guaranteed 100% surefire thing that I was going to be on the show, I shouldn't have halted all my other efforts. It would have only been a 1 time thing anyways. Not to mention, I have been approached by 3 other people (completely unrelated to this show) who have said to me that they were working on projects that they would put me in. Did I ever hear from them? Even after THEY gave me their business cards, e-mails, telephone numbers? NO!! I guess that is the nature of this business, and after all of the exhaustive research that I did BEFORE I moved to Los Angeles, I just didn't think about all of the broken promises that this town has to offer. I guess it wouldn't be natural to think of something like that when you are so excited about something.

All in all, it was a learning experience for me. I certainly see why people here get into porn, prostitution, etc. They are naive (and broke) and most likely promised a dream by someone. Thank God I got a good education before coming out here and thank God I never got mixed up in drugs or anything like that that might impair my ability to think right.

Anyway, I've got a new energy, a new outlook on the biz and a new and re-organized plan for 2009, and I'm going to tell you what it is in my next post. I must say, all of the friendly comments I get on the blog and the nice e-mails really do help. I may have been down in 2008 but I am not out!

I have 2 positive quotes for this blog. This first one was my original one:

"I believe, therefore I am" (I don't know who originally said this)

Then, at work tonight, I happened to come across this similar one in a newspaper:

"If you can believe in your power to do great things, you will" --Michael Berg

I don't know who the hell Michael Berg is, but this quote fits this blog entry.

Ciao!

I'm Not Very Good At This Anymore!

2008-11-19T09:12:00.000-08:00

Yes, I was supposed to update this thing every week. Do I have an excuse as to why I haven't? NO! But you all love me so it's okay! Now, the purpose of this entry is to give the contact information for the doctor that performed my ICL procedure. His name is Dr. Paul Dougherty and he has been a pioneer with Visian ICL procedure. Click here to read his biography on his office website! As I mentioned before, Dr. Dougherty was one of the FIRST eye surgeons in the U.S.A. to learn the procedure, and has gone on to teach many other doctors how to do it as well.

I told Dr. Dougherty that I had this blog and that (sometimes) a lot of people read it! I said I would give everyone his contact information and he specifically told me that he does treat people from all over the country, so he would be glad to hear from any and all of you. If/when you do call, just mention that you were referred by Kris Campbell! There is absolutely no incentive for me whatsoever, but I'm sure the staff would be happy to hear that one of their patients was spreading the word after having such a great experience with them!

If you are seriously considering the ICL procedure, you can call Dr. Dougherty's office and schedule an appointment for a completely free consultation. What that means, is that you will go in and the eye technician will do an eye exam to make sure you are a good candidate for the procedure (not everyone is of course). And then Dr. Dougherty will sit with you and answer any and all questions you may have. They are all very nice and the office has a great team of optometrists that will take care of you after the procedure.

So, Dr. Dougherty has like 4 locations and I'm not going to type them all on this post. So CLICK HERE for a listing of all the locations on the website. I had my procedure done at the Los Angeles location. When I was doing research before my procedure, I found this really good aritcle that had a comprehensive list of questions that you should ask your ophthalmologist while interviewing them. But now I can't find it! It was really good and I swear it was a CNN article. It listed the questions, and then it told you what a "good" answer from the doctor would be and what a "bad" answer would be. I'll have to look for it.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me!

The Update On My ICL Surgery

2008-10-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been 6 months since I had my Visian ICL procedure. If you haven't read my first post about the procedure, click here. Yesterday I had my 6 month follow up visit with the Ophthalmologist and I'm going to talk about my results and everything that's happened with my eyes over the last half year. It's crazy because, I've gotten so many e-mails from people inquiring about my procedure, what it is exactly, how well I see, and was it worth it. First off, I had no idea how many people didn't know what this procedure was or had never heard of it. This was put more into perspective for me when my doctor informed me that I was his ONLY patient that had come to him specifically requesting the ICLs........and he's done this procedure on thousands of people!

So, how is my vision? How well can I see? Let me start off by reminding everyone that whatever I talk about in this post is solely based on MY perception of the results of the procedure. I can only speak for me. Of course, results vary for each individual that has this done and there are many factors that contribute to those results. I happen to be young and very healthy because I'm a health nut. Anyways, according to experts, after having the ICL procedure, perfect vision is not guaranteed. Of course, because they can't guarantee anything. They say that vision anywhere from 20/20 to 20/30 is acceptable after a procedure like this. So, what is my vision. Well, needless to say the doctor and his assistant were a bit baffled when I read the eye chart. My left eye read the chart on the 20/15 line, and my right eye read on the 20/10 line. 20/10!!! I got 3 out of 4 letters right on the 20/10 line. All they could do was laugh. They were speechless. The assistant even said that I may have a bionic eye, haha. Clearly, I have no complaints there.

I should note here that witin these last 6 months, I did make 2 appointments with the doctor because I had some minor problems. The first one was in June and it was because my eyes were severely red and very uncomfortable. This was due to a pre-existing condition I had before my procedure and completely unrelated to it. They gave me some steroid drops and sent me on my way. The second time I went was because my right eye went blurry and stayed that way for a few days. Of course I freaked, because that's what you do when you were once in medical school. You start thinking of all the worst possible outcomes. I just knew that I was either developing cataracts or my eye pressure was rising. I went in to see the doc and basically we figured out that it was because I had stopped using my lubricant eye drops. When the human eye is punctured, there is always a greater risk for dry eye afterwards. In addition to my ICLs, the doctor did also did what are called "limbal relaxing incisions" or "LRIs" on both of my eyes to correct my astigmatism. According to emedicine from WebMD (http://www.emedicine.com/oph/topic656.htm), here is some info on astigmatism and LRIs:

Astigmatism is present when the cornea is not spherical; that is, it is steeper in one meridian than in the meridian 90° away. The cornea with astigmatism may be thought of as being shaped like a football rather than being shaped like a basketball.
Limbal relaxing incisions (LRIs) are a modification of astigmatic keratotomy (AK), a procedure to treat astigmatism. LRIs are placed on the far peripheral aspect of the cornea (the limbus), resulting in a more rounded cornea (see Image 1). Astigmatism is reduced, and uncorrected vision is improved. LRIs can correct astigmatism up to 8 diopters (D); however, the use of LRIs is routinely reserved for 0.5-4 D of astigmatism. LRIs can be performed either at the time of cataract surgery or as an independent procedure.
Although LRIs are a weaker corrective procedure compared to corneal relaxing incisions (CRIs), LRIs produce less postoperative glare and less patient discomfort. In addition, these incisions heal faster. Unlike CRIs, making the incision at the limbus preserves the perfect optical qualities of the cornea. LRIs are also a more forgiving procedure, and surgeons often get excellent results, even with early cases.

Severe astigmatism can be corrected by lasik surgery, which thankfully wasn't my case. Well, apprently it can take up to a few months for this small incisions to heal. A few weeks after my surgery, I thought I didn't need my lubricant drops anymore. I mean, they weren't even medicated drops, just artificial tears. Turns out my right eye went blurry about the same time I stopped using the drops. I went back on the drops twice a day and my sight returned to normal. So, it goes to say that this little problem was corneal, and had nothing to do with the ICL's as well!

Now, as fas as drops go, I am only using the artificial tears. These are the only drops I have had to use since my procedure. Having the ICL procedure can stimulate a temporary spike in intraocular pressure, and anti-glaucoma drops may be needed. Normal eye pressure is between 11 and 18 mmHg (give or take a few). I know someone whose pressure spiked to 34 mmHg 24 hours after the procedure. He was put on the anti-glaucoma drops and then he was fine. My eye pressure is currently 13 mmHg in on eye and 10 mmHg in the other. Also, there is a risk of seeing halos around lights at night, and if they are bad enough, drops may be needed to lessen this effect as well. I think halos are the most common side effect of eye surgery. I must say though, that for the most part, I DO NOT see halos around lights. Only if my eyes are extremely tired. Other than that, my night vision is perfect. I was worried just after my procedure though because I did see very intense halos around light, especially in my left eye. They were so bad that I thought, "if this is what I have to deal with for the rest of my life, then it wasn't worth it". Of course, I was jumping to conclusions again. Those halos were just caused by corneal swelling, and they disappeared after 2 weeks or so.

All is not 100% perfect though. The only problem I have, is that I see ghost images, sometimes. Ghost images are a form of double vision. Basically, I only see ghost images with traffic lights and certain text on road signs. What I see is a partial shadow of the object I am looking at, just underneath it. Have you seen those fonts on Microsoft Word, that have the shadow of a letter under the real letter? Kind of like that. I certainly don't have true double vision. For example, if I look at a car, I don't see 2 cars. As I am typing now, I'm not even seeing ghost images with the words I'm typing. I don't know how else to describe it, but it is so minimal. It is not nearly enough to interefere with my daily activities.
So, that is pretty much my experience. I hope this info is helpful for anyone considering corrective eye surgery. I recommend it 2 thhumbs up to anyone who is a good candidate. Even my doctor now only does lasik on patients who are NOT good candidates for the ICLs because the results are so good. Because this post is getting rather lengthy, in a post in a few days or so, I am going to give all of the information about my doctor, his background and how to contact him if you are considering corrective eye surgery. He is the leading doctor in the ICL procedure, was one of the first to learn it, and actually teaches other doctors how to do it. AND, his fees are very affordable.

As always, feel free to contact me with any questions I may be able to answer!

***UPDATE***

One of the commenters reminded me of something that I forgot to explain. The intermittent ghost imaging that I see is due to me still having a slight astigmatism. The LRIs cannot 100% cure the astigmatism. Also, I forgot to mention something about the ICLs moving around or shifting position in the eye. My doctor's office is one of the only in the U.S. to have the latest technology for fitting the lenses to a person's eye. They use ultrasound to get a 3D image of the eye in order to get the perfect size lense. My doctor has had to actually go in and re-fit a few patients lenses who were not properly fitted by the doctors that did their procedures. Remember, these are your eyes. It is VERY important not to get lazy when doing research on doctors. I'll give all of my doctor's info in a later post.

It's Been So Long.......

2008-10-20T14:56:00.001-07:00

..........I almost forgot how to post on this thing. No, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. A LOT of people have contacted me asking me to update my blog, so I am going to this week. I have a lot to say now.

I'm going to talk about my acting and all the hardships that comes with, my job, living in L.A. and also about how my eyes are doing. It's been a whole 6 months since I had my ICL procedure!!! I can't believe it.

So, for anyone who still has checked my blog to no avail for the last 6 months, I'm here and I'm going to try and keep it updated.

Check back in a few days.

I Got My "Procedure" Done............

2008-05-08T07:47:00.000-07:00

...........3 weeks ago now, and I must say, it was money VERY well spent. It has made my life so much better. I actually feel like a diffent person. So, what did I have done?? Well, If you can't tell from the picture on the left, I had corrective eye surgery. But I DID NOT have Lasik. I got the Visian ICL procedure. "ICL" stands for "implantable contact lens". Yes, you read that right. I got contact lenses implanted inside my eyes. Upon telling my friends and co-workers that I was going to get this done, I was surprised at just how many people have never heard of this procedure. It was FDA approved in 1999!! That's almost 10 years ago. Actually, now that I think about it, I might not know about now either, however one of my very good friends from medical school, RB....his dad is an opthalmologist that performs this procedure, and that's how I found out about it over 2 years ago. Thanks RB.

If you've never heard of Visian ICL, then the concept of it probably sounds complicated. But in reality, it is actually a very simple procedure. It's takes less time than Lasik (only 15 minutes per eye), it is less invasive than Lasik and it is also less risky. And most of all, it is completely reversible, unlike Lasik. Let me explain. During Lasik, the doctor basically cuts the cornea (the clear front part of your eye) off, peels it back, and then uses a laser to BURN tissue off of your eye to reshape it. Years down the road, if your vision changes, you either need a laser to burn more tissue off of your eye, or you have to wear glasses or contacts again. With the Visian procedure, the doctor makes a very small incision (3 mm) in your cornea, inserts the rolled up contact lens, and then tucks it behind the iris (the colored part of your eye) and in front of the eye's natural lens, as seen on the right. So, the lens is hidden and no one can see it. If your vision changes in the future, you can choose to wear glasses/contacts again, or the ICL can be removed, and replaced with another ICL with your new prescription. So, you see, the choice was clear for me. Lasik was not an option. I can see prefectly and I have 20/15 vision in BOTH eyes!

Now, why did I decide to get this procedure done? Two main reasons. Yes, one is vanity! I think I look better without my glasses. There is nothing wrong with that, right? But the main reason is that I could no longer wear my regular contact lenses. I've worn contacts for over 10 years and I guess with the normal wear and tear they put on your eyes, my eyes had had enough. I was only able to wear my contacts for a few hours at a time, and never for more than 1 consecutive day. So, you can imagine how frustrating it was to have to go to auditions with my glasses on. The casting directors almost always asked me to remove them because they want to see everyone natural. Makes sense. Well, that created a problem, because without my glasses, I couldn't see my script without holding it 5 inches from my face. Not only that, when it comes to things like clothes, glasses, and other accessories, people should be able to wear them by choice, not be 100% dependent on them.

So, it goes to say that I had a great experience. I even went to the beach the very next day with my friends. If you'd like more information on this procedure, click here.

By the way, this is my 100th post!! I can't believe it took this long.

Positive quote:

"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."

- John Quincy Adams

There goes that word patience again. Something I STILL need to work on!

Just an Update

2008-04-07T11:29:00.000-07:00

I tried really hard to update 3 times in March, but my laziness got the best of me, so you just have to get over it! I want to start of by saying something that I wanted to say a year ago. Basically, I don't understand people. People, who specifically, call themselves your friends. What is the definition of a friend? Is the definition changing? I thought I knew, but apparently I don't. I've never had a lot of friends. I always thought that I carefully selected those people that would be close to me because you never know who is on their own agenda. Turns out, I can't shoose friends worth crap! Why am I rambling about this you might ask? Here's the reason, plain and simple. Over the course of the last 6 years or so, I have had 5 friends completely cut ties with me. All of them (at different points in time, not all at once) just stopped talking to me for NO REASON. And I mean, these are people who were pretty much BEST friends. With each of these individuals, there was no argument, no falling out, NOTHING. Now, I am the type of person that will take full responsibility for my actions, but how can I when I haven't been given ONE reason by any of these people? Most people will probably say that if I'm being dropped by so many friends, there must be something I'm doing wrong. Maybe Im mean, maybe I'm difficult, maybe I'm insensitive? Well, I say MAYBE I AM, but how in the hell can I know if I'm not told? I'm certainly not perfect, but when there is no argument, no yelling, no fights, I'm kind of left standing there dumbfounded each time as to what went wrong? I can tell it's affecting me a little bit too. I have walls up. I'm starting to not let people get too close. I mean would any of you want to constantly deal with this? So many people that I know now tell me that I'm cool and fun to be around, but when they first met me they thought I was a snob and could tell I had walls up. Well, now you know why. Thoughts?

Ok, enough of my rant. Things are going well at work. By that I mean that I've been offered a promotion. It's flattering, but I couldn't accept. I'm not ready to give up on Hollywood just yet. I can't commit to being a supervisor. I have to have my flexibility to go on auditions, etc., etc. I'm just waiting to see what SAG is going to do in June. We may have another strike on our hands, but lets hope not!

Now, there is something I'm really excited about. Next week, I'm having a cosmetic procedure done. I guess you would call it a cosmetic procedure anyway. Have I gone completely Hollywood?? I'd say no, but I am not going to say what it is until AFTER I get it done, haha.

That's it for now.

P.S. -- I'm still trying to find Na Young a boyfriend, while trying to fend off a stalker of my own!

Random Things

2008-03-05T15:50:00.000-08:00

As I said, I'm going to try to get on here every week and update, even if I don't have much to say. And other than me going on a few auditions and completely blowing them, I don't have much to say. However, even though I've been absent from this blog in the last 2 months, the crazies still keep finagling their way into my life. I can't get away from them!

The one I'm going to tell you about now is my new co-worker. Her name is Na Young and she is on the fast track to becoming my favorite! Na Young is Korean and she speaks with a thick accent, so keep that in mind during this story. It all started one day when we were working together at the front desk of the hotel. Just to make conversation, I asked her old she was. Simple question, right? Well, she paused for a second and looked up at the ceiling as though she was really thinking hard about it. I was confused and thought to myself, "What is with this chick?" Then, as soon as she looked at me and said, "I'm 24 in America, but I'm 26 in Korea!", I knew I had a crazy on my hands. I busted out laughing, but that crap sounded funny the way she said. Turns out, however, that in Korea, they start your age at the moment of conception, NOT birth. So, when you're born, you're already almost a year old. Ok, that makes sense, but it sounded funny when that way it came from her. So, a couple of days later (February 12 to be exact) we had another meaningful conversation. Keep in mind this is happening 2 days before Valentine's Day, which is Tuesday the 12th. It went something like this:

Me: So Na Young, do you have a boyfriend?

Na Young: (eyes get big) Nooooooooo! I want boyfriend! Do you know someone?

Me: (laughing of course) Umm......yeah I have some single friends.

Na Young: They have to be Korean.

Me: Why?

Na Young: So we can communicate better.

Me: Okay.

Na Young: Okay!! I need boyfriend by Thursday!

Me: (Laughing so hard at the front desk that I had to step away) Umm......wow.......ok

The nex day.........

Na Young: So did you find me a boyfriend?

Me: No, I wasn't able to. What are you gonna do?

Na Young: (looking down) Ooohhhhh. Well, tomorrow I will just take sleeping pill and sleep all
day!!

And then I lost it! This girl is too funny and she doesn't even know it. Actually she does, because most of the time she starts laughing after she says something too. I mean, the other day I was teasing her because she is afraid of everything. Literally everything. She asked me if I was afraid of anything, and I said no. She says, "Not even a lion, or a shark?" And of course I'm being all manly ands saying "No". So, she says she saw something on tv, and she starts to tell me. She says, "If you see shark..............If you see shark......" But she stops and starts laughing hysterically. This goes on for 20 minutes. And her laughing is making me laugh like crazy. She covering up her face and being all silly. We were in the cafeteria and I know the other employess thought we were BOTH crazy. I mean, it looked like we were both laughing for no reason! I finally mustered up the words, "Na Young......just........say.......it". She says, "I can't, I will e-mail you", with her face all red. So, I go to put my dishes away, and she's able to stop laughing and finally get it out. All she wanted to say was that she saw on the Discovery channel that if you're swimming in th ocean and you see a shark, to hit it on the nose to get it to go away. What on Earth was so hard aobut that to say? I have no clue, but I can't even describe how hard I was laughing that day!

So, that is my crazy story for this month. There is more where that comes from. Positive quotes and pictures will be back in future posts!

P.S. -- Do you think Britney Spears would get her act together if Tyra Banks really did this to her???

I'm Here, I'm Here!!!!!

2008-02-20T08:02:00.000-08:00

Ok, I realize my last post was in December, and apparently so has everyone else. I haven't even had a post yet in 2008. That is atrocious!! So......I've decided that no matter how I feel, I'm going to start doing my posts again AT LEAST once a week. The truth is, my part time job has been asking me to do all these extra shifts because they are short staffed. So between both jobs, I have been working somwhere around 75 hours a week! There are some days where I work from 7 am to 11 pm, and then have to go back to work at 7 am again the next morning. One time I did this for 3 days in a row! Not only that, I went from November 21st, 2007 all the way to somewhere around mid January 2008 without having a single day off!! No joke! I mean, the money is nice because I'm paying off all my loans (double the amount each month) and I still have some extra money left over at the end of each month. But I'm wondering if it is even worth it. I've been thinking about quitting my part time job to free up some time for me to get back into some acting classes and things of that nature. It would mean one of my loans would probably have to go back into deferment, but I have to remember what I came out here for. It sure as hell wasn't to work at some stupid hotel. All my loans are paid at least 8 months in adavance anyway.

Ok, almost time for my lunch break. By the way, that little paragraph above. I worked on it for 2 days. That's how much time I don't have. Anyways, topics for next time so I don't forget:

-the new "crazy" at work
-gifts from my hotel guests
-future goals
-my time on the picket lines with the writers that were on strike

Hopefully I'll have a post in a day or two!

WOW, I Had No Idea............

2007-12-27T18:19:00.000-08:00

.....that so many of you would go and look at my imdb page. This is nuts. I went to look at my page on Monday (because, yes, I look at it everyday!) and my STARmeter has increased 5,483% since the previous week. 5,483%!!!! That means thousands of people looked at my page. I really have to credit my blog buddy, Jill, though. She posted my picture and the link to my page on her wildly popular Criminal Minds Fanatic blog. It's just crazy. I really appreciate people taking a few minutes to go look at my page because it was something that was REALLY exciting for me. Here's the link if you haven't seen it yet: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2856613/. Each person's page has a STARmeter which tracks traffic on said peron's page. Pages for films have MOVIEmeter, which does them same thing. Whether the meters go up or down doesn't reflect positive or negative interest, it just reflects traffic from week to week on the page.

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season. I'm working straight through it at the hotels. I work 7 days a week now, even through the holidays. I was able to get off work early on Christmas though and spend it witrh friends since I didn't go home again this year. I spent my Christmas in Compton though. How I ended up there, I have no clue, but it was a good time.

I know I had some other things to say for this post but I can't remember. I'm at work and I keep losing my focus here. I can't believe I'm blogging from work. I work so much now that I have to do this at work because I'm too exhausted when I get home. I work so much now that friends are getting pissed at me when I have to cancel plans because I'm too beat. Some of them don't understand the fact that when someone works 7 days a week, they don't get to do much else. I'd much rather work hard now and play later when my acting success comes, because believe me, it's coming. I'm leaving no other option for myself.

This brings me to my positive quote. It's my new favorite quote. I pretty much have a positive quote to look at for every mood that I'm in. When I'm angry, I go look at one, when I'm sad, another. When I'm depressed, another, etc., etc. But, I didn't have one for my impatience, until now. I'm a very impatient person. It's pretty pathetic and it just adds more stress to my life that I don't need. So, I came across this quote on TMZ of all places. I usually post quotes that can pertain to everyone, but this one is just for people in the entertainment industry who have been working long and hard at their goals. Don't give up!

"When someone is lucky enough to catch a big break after being in Los Angeles for fifteen seconds, often times they are not equipped with the professional skills and knowledge required to sustain a long and successful place in the entertainment industry."

~David Todd of Nous Model Management

I'm going to probably look at this every day. I'm all for longevity in my acting so I don't have to work these stupid day jobs anymore! If I have to be patient and diligent in order to have a long and successful career, then so be it. I will be patient. Who's with me??

Another Milestone Achieved

2007-12-17T12:21:00.000-08:00

Hollywood isn't full of liars after all!!! Yesterday, I was bored at work with nothing to do. I had checked all my e-mails, been to every website I could think of. So, I decided to peruse through IMDb. I put my name in and noticed they posted my credit from the film I did back in August. I now have my own IMDb page!! There is only one measley credit on there, but it is a start. It's a big deal for a new actor to finally get a credit on IMDb. I originally thought they had lied to us because we shot this back in mid August, and they told us the credit would post within a few weeks. After a month and a half, I assumed they had lied to us just to get some people for the film, but they actually held to their word. So, you can go to http://www.imdb.com/, put in "kris campbell" in the search field, and two entries come up. Mine is the second one, the one that says "Actor" next to it (obviously). The first one is another Kris Campbell who is a sound technician or something. My picture isn't up yet because apprently they have to be put up by the production companies. So, it will probably be a while before a picture of me is on the page. But who cares, I have my own IMDb page!!!

I've been busy with work and helping to support the writers that are striking here in Hollywood. It's getting ugly, but we need to get them back to work. They even gave me a t-shirt that they wear on the picket line. Those glasses that I'm wearing are new. What do you think? I tried to go for something a little trendy and not so "midwestern" if you know aht I mean, haha. In the first picture above, that's me with a rep from the Writer's Guild of America on the picket line a few weeks ago. I've been hitting the gym hard, can you tell? It was hot that day hence my sweaty forehead.

Got to run some errands and head to work thereafter. Seems like I'm always on the move now. Here's the positive quotes:

"Plant the seeds of expectation in your mind; cultivate thoughts that anticipate achievement. Believe in yourself as being capable of overcoming all obstacles and weaknesses."

~Norman Vincent Peale

"Ordinary people believe only in the possible. Extraordinary people visualize not what is possible or probable, but rather what is impossible. And by visualizing the impossible, they begin to see it as possible."

~Cherie Carter-Scott

You get 2 quotes today because I liked them both. These are quotes on achievement because I'm happy about my IMDb page. That's an achievement in itself! I don't know about you, but I want to be extraordinary.

This Christmas

2007-12-02T11:24:00.000-08:00

I hadn't realized that it's been almost a month since my last post. Want to know why? Well, simply put, all of my student loans have gone into repayment. I left the gym and started a second hotel job (because it pays a lot more). I now work 7 days a week and never get a day off, all while fitting in auditions when I can. It's tough, but it's the life of an actor and there a re many others doing the same things. Almost everyone I know here has 2 jobs, even people that are NOT actors. I initially was pissed that I had to give up my days off in order to pay these loans, but after pondering it awhile, I'm actually just thankful (I suppose, lol) that these 2 jobs provide me with enough income to pay the loans each month and still have a little bit left over at the end of the month.

Now, everyone knows I stopped doing background work back in March after I got my SAG eligibility, and everyone knows that I no longer tell people when a show I was on is going to air because it's too hard to try and pick someone out of the background. However, there is a movie that was just released called This Christmas that I was able to be a part of back in January. The only reason I'm writing about it is because I actually have some good camera time. I wasn't really planning on seeing the movie right away, but after it was realeased, I got contacted by so many people saying they saw me in it. Not just my friends either. I was contacted by people that I hadn't talked to in years, who had no idea I was even in L.A. (I don't think), and they recognized because the camera was that close to me. If you're going to go see the movie, look for me at the end of the movie in the church scene. I'm in the very front pew in the church wearing a gray suit jacket and glasses. It's kind of cool I guess, but I'm still just an extra, so not a big deal! The movie was pretty good though.

Before i end this post, I have to share a "first" that I experienced this morning. I went to my car to go to work and my windshield was opaque. No biggie I thought. It got really cold last night. I get in the car, switch on my wiper blades, and the opaqueness doesn't budge. It was ICE! I was so mad. I left Ohio to get away from ice and snow. It better have been only a 1 time thing!

Here's the (sort of) positive quote for the day:

"I don't really keep counsel with others. I'm the kind of person who will think about something, and if I know it's right I'm not going to ask anybody. I don't go, 'Boy, what do you think about this?' I've made every decision for myself - in my career, in my life".

~Tom Cruise

I guess I've done this by making my move to LA. You have to live for yourself and not for others. It's just hard when you're a people pleaser and you're looking for some sort of backing from people close to you and you aren't getting it. I wasn't getting it at first, but I am now!

I Work With a Crazy.........

2007-11-06T16:40:00.000-08:00

......and I absolutely love it! More on that in a minute. It's been a month now since I started working at my new job, another hotel. I like it so far and it's a big step up from the other hotel I worked at. This one is a luxury hotel and the presidential suite goes for $2000 a night. I've decided not to say the name of this hotel because all you crazies that read my blog might try to stalk me!! Haha, just kidding. Actually, we have a LOT of celebrities that stay with us, and I want to be able to mention who is in house with us sometimes and not worry about confidentiality issues, ya know? For example, Kelly Clarkson will be with us for 4 days next week. Other people I've seen in the hotel so far include, Gabrielle Union, Nia Long, Joy Behar, Soulja Boy and the Dixie Chicks. Now, I don't get excited about celebrities anymore, but those are some people who have come through.

Now for my new best friend. Her name is Rosie and thanks to her, I have not laughed so hard in a looooong time. Rosie is probably in her mid to late forties and she in from Vietnam and has a pretty think accent. I met her in a training course that I had to take for the hotel. We had to do this exercise where everyone had to ask everyone else one question. So, at the end, we each had a list of 9 questions. We then had to go around the room and answer the questions in the form of a story about ourselves. It was a creative little exercise. Well, Rosie got nervous the whole time, and she didn't write down any of the questions she was asked. She was the last one to tell her story, and boy was I in for a laughing fest. Basically, she didn't answer any of the questions people asked her. She told us the story about how she got hired at the hotel. She said that when she finally got hired she was so happy. She said she loved the hotel, all the people, and she is just so happy. The way she was saying it was funny for some reason though. So, I'm not laughing at this point, just kind of chuckling under my breath.........UNTIL..........I look to my right, and one of the housekeepers, a sweet Guatamalan lady, was patting her eyes with a tissue. I asked her what was wrong and she says, "Her story was just so beautiful!" She was CRYING!!! CRYING people.....and at that point I completely lost it! I could NOT hold it in. In fact, I'm cracking up right now just as I'm typing the story here.

At this point, I definitely thought Rosie was funny, but not a crazy. If you can make me laugh, I will be your best friend. I LOVE to laugh. I knew she was a crazy the next day she told us why God created men. The ladies in the room had been complaining all day that it was too cold in the room, but none of the guys were cold at all. Our instructor, who was male, told them it was because we have more testosterone, so we stay warmer. (Side note: that of course was a BS explanation. Remember, I was in med school, and it has nothing to do with testosterone, haha). So, he finishes his explanation and says that's why all the ladies are cold. Then Rosie says, (in her accent) "That's why God make man...to keep woman warm". Everyone laughed at that one. Rosie's "craziness" just went up a few notches.

I knew Rosie and I would talk a lot from then on, because I need my daily laughter. The next incident happened in the cafeteria. There was an employee eating a banana. Rosie sees him and calls him a monkey, and starts doing some kind of monkey dance. You had to see it, it was hilarious. So when he was done, there were no more bananas and as he was leaving he asked Rosie where all the bananas were, and without missing a beat, Rosie goes, "The banana's between ya legs baby!"

And with that, Rosie's "crazy" meter skyrocketed and now she is competing with Pam from Transformers! I'm ending this post on that note because I need to go to the gym and my abs just got a workout from laughing! Hopefully my blog can be a little more entertaining now that Rosie has entered my life!

Positive quote:

Regret is useless in life. It's in the past. All we have is now.

~Marlon Brando

This is the reason why I am enjoying Life in L.A. I want no regrets!

Mother Came to Visit (Part 2)

2007-10-24T14:13:00.000-07:00

And the story continues. After not having had the chance to spot Britney Spears or Paris Hilton around town, my mom was feeling kind of down. So, I figured that going to The Price Is Right would cheer her up! The show wasn't going to begin taping until 1 pm, but we had to be at the studio before 7 am to get priority tickets. They go on a first come, first serve basis. I had gotten 4 days off from work to spend time with my mom and I wasn't exactly happy about having to wake up at 5:30 am to go to CBS and then wait around for hours and hours. Anyone who knows me, knows that my attention span is virtually non-existant. It's really bad actually. I dread airplane rides for this reason. I'm not worried about going down, it's the sheer boredom of sitting in the same seat for hours. But, I digress..........

Somehow the universe could sense my boredom, and so they sent us a crazy to entertain us. Bright and early that morning, Marilyn walked into our lives. Now, you have to picture what she looks like to get the full effect. She looked almost identical to Rhea Pearlman in that tv show Cheers. Here's a picture below to refresh your memory. Yes, I remember this show even though it came out the year I was born! Now, Marilyn was a very sweet woman who could talk, A LOT! She latched onto us like a barnacle on the side of a boat! But I didn't care that day, she was making me laugh, and if you can make me laugh, I'll be your best friend. Pam (the Transformers fanatic) has this down pat! Anyways, Marilyn is telling us about how beautiful her grandchildren are, what she had for dinner last night and how she'd been begging people to come to The Price is Right with her, but no one would, so she decided to come by herself. I wonder why no one would come with her? haha I have to say, upon telling her that I left med school to come to Hollywood to pursue acting, she said that was great and I should pursue my dreams. That was good, because if I hear one more person tell me to just go back to school, I'm going to explode! We ended up finding out the Marilyn lived right around the corner from the hotel my mom was staying at, to which she told us, "Well, gee, if I knew you were going to come, I would've picked you up!" LOL, funny Marilyn.

Just before the taping, we had to go through security and wait some more. We noticed Marilyn disappear. Then all of a sudden she re-appeared with some food and somehow gotten back to the line, having bypassed security! Never underestimate the power of a crazy! We finally got to go into the studio and we could sit wherever we wanted. I knew Marilyn had officially reached crazy status when my mom says to me, "Look, there's 2 seats left on the end of that row. Let's get them so Marilyn won't be by us". HAHA It was funny, but in my mom's defense, she wasn't trying to be mean, she just thought that Marilyn would distract her during the taping of the show by talking.

The show was entertaining, and Drew Carey is a good host in my opinion. He entertained us on commercial breaks. We had our fingers crossed that we would get called up on the stage, but it didn't happen. It was still fun though. We saw people win cars, and a funny thing happend at the end. After some lady won her showcase at the end, after the cameras had stopped rolling, we noticed Drew Carey laughing hystrtically. I mean, he was laughing so hard he was turning red and he had to take his glasses off to wipe his eyes. Everyone is like, "What's going on up there?" Well, he finally told us that the lady who won, was so excited and jumping up and down that her teeth fell out! I wish I could have seen it!

That concludes my mother's trip to Los Angeles. It was fun and she said she's coming back real soon.

Also, a lot of people have contacted me to see if the fires out here are affecting me in anyway. I appreciate all the concern. The fires are no where near me, but the sky is starting to get a little hazy from the smoke blowing over this way. Let's just pray that they get them under control soon and that everyone that is affected by them in anyway are ok.

Here's the positive quote:

I refuse to give up. I shall continue firmly, steadily, and insistently until my good appears.

Catherine Ponder, The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity

This quote is another one of those mantras that you are supposed to say to yourself multiple times a day if you get down about things. This one can be applied to anything, big or small.

Hollywood Is Full of Liars!

2007-10-20T00:26:00.000-07:00

I got duped! A few posts ago I talked about a low budget feature I did that promised us IMDB credit. Well, doesn't look like it's going to happen. If so, it would have happened already. I should have know. Part of me did. But these people are so slick. I've heard stories of this happening before, but you get to a point as an actor when you get a little desperate. These people know this. They know that a person pursuing acting professionally does not like to be an extra. Low budget films don't pay extras anyway, so how do they get extras for their movies? They lie and tell actors that they'll get IMDB credit for it. As I said before, IMDB credit is a BIG thing, and when you're even a little desperate, you'll fall for these stupid lies. It's stupid, but a low budget movie doesn't have to follow the same set of SAG rules that a regular feature film would have to follow. Well, as they say, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." You can bet I won't fall for that again!

Now, a funny coincidence happend the other day. So, I've been getting a lot better at dealing with my enormous student loans and not being depressed about them. I started paying one off in July, and it's going well so far. One day I was thinking to myself how much I have to be thankful for in life, and how things COULD be a lot worse. I mean, both my parents are still alive and well, I'm healthy, I have friends and family who support my endeavors, and I am able to work. So, I told myself, I'm done with being stressed about my student loans (even though it is such a burden on my shoulders). There is nothing I can do about my debt, I just have to deal with it. I felt a lot better. The very next day I'm reading a magazine article about debt and tips on how to save money. It said things like, save a little each paycheck, have a money market account instead of a regular savings account, pay off credit cards first, etc. Every tip this article listed, I had already done, so I thought, "Wow, I'm really ahead of the game". Then I read a sentence that says, "In an Ohio State University survey, 25 percent of people admitted to losing sleep over debt-related stress." I had to laugh. It was so ironic that just the day before, I told myself I wasn't going to stress out about my debt, and more ironic that this came from Ohio State, the same place most of my debt comes from! Weird huh? I have to admit that, while I'm getting better at dealing with it, I do relapse sometimes. To the point where I get so scared or frustrated I start shaking. $80,000 is a big number for a 25 year old.

Positive quote:

"Money, money, money, manifest thyself here and now in rich abundance."

~Catherine Ponder, The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity

The idea behind this quote is that the mind is a powerful thing (which I fully believe). The book is filled with these little phrases, and the philosophy is that the mind can create whatever it wants, if it truly believes in something. So, you're supposed to take a quote, like the one above for example, and say it, silently or aloud, everyday, multiple times a day. This may seem kind of silly, but I thought to myself, what do I have to lose? It doesn't cost anything, there is almost no effort involved, I can do it anywhere, and no one has to know that I'm doing it or when I'm doing. Doesn't hurt to try, right?

Mother Came to Visit (Part 1)

2007-10-13T13:58:00.001-07:00

I realized I only did one post in September. I'm such a lazy ass. As I said before, it's a combination of me being lazy and thinking people wouldn't be reading anyway, but I checked my counter and my numbers are still up. So, because of that, I'm going to try and post at least once a week. Keyword: TRY.

So my mom came to visit me 2 weeks ago. She was really excited to come and I was excited to have her. It was her first time to Los Angeles. To the left you will see a picture of my mom standing on top of the Hollywood Hills with the San Fernando Valley (where I live) behind her. I have to say, after her four days here were up, I was exhausted. We were ALL OVER the city doing all the touristy stuff and still didn't even get to half of the things there are to do here.

We started the day she got here by going to dinner. After it got dark, I drive her through Hollywood and the Sunset Strip so she could see all the lights and what everything looked like at night, since we were going to be doing most of our activites during the day. The next day I took her to the hotel that I worked at and then we went to Rodeo Drive. There was A LOT of walking included in this trip and Rodeo Drive was no exception. For those of you that don't know, Rodeo Drive is the name of the famous street with all th expensive shops, but the whole area is made up of more streets with more shops and we walked all of them. A funny thing happened in one of them. We went into a store called St. John (I think), and like many of the other stores, they have huge tv screens in there with fashion shows showing, with models walking on the catwalk. This is what happened next:

Me: "Mom, do you think you could walk the catwalk like that?"

Mom: (laughs) "Of course I can."

Mom walks down the aisle shaking her hips.

Store Clerk: (out of nowhere) "Ohhhhhh, very good! I saw you shaking it!"

Much laughter ensues

Maybe you had to be there, but it was really funny. We saw some sweaters in this store for $1200. I kind of felt bad for my mom because I'm such a bad shopping partner. I can't help it, I just really hate shopping. Maybe it's because I'm a guy, I don't know. I tried to stay enthused for her sake though, haha. She finished up on Rodeo Drive by buying a multitude of things at a store where everything was $15.00!! Now that's funny.

Next we went to Hollywood Blvd to see the Walk of Fame, Kodak Theater, Grauman's Chinese Theater and all that good stuff. There wasn't much going on here because it was Sunday I think. At some point during this day, I took my mom to the apartment that I lived in last year. (Yeah, the one that was on the Sunset Strip that I'm pissed I don't live in anymore). She met my old apartment managers and they told us all of the old Hollywood stars that used to live in this building, including Marilyn Monroe at one point. He took us underneath the building and showed us all these trap doors and bathrooms down there where the celeb's assistants used to stay. I lived there for a while year and they never told me any of that stuff!! When I'm famous, I can be added to that list now!

The next day we went to Venice Beach (Muscle Beach) where all the weirdos and street performers are, and then we went to Santa Monica and the Pier. This was my mom's first time seeing the Pacific Ocean. Mom loves the ocean but is scared of water. Sounds like a crazy if you ask me!

Since this is getting long, I'm going to break it up into 2 parts. Next time, I'll tell you about our time on The Price is Right and the crazy my mom made friends with. Yes, we met a crazy at the The Price is Right. Did you really think I could make it through this trip without attracting one of them?!?!? lol

Here's the positive quote of the day since I get yelled at by people if I don't post one:

"A kindred soul is the friend who loves you for the total summation of whatever you will do, whatever you are, and whatever you are becoming, with no qualifications."

--Sylvia Browne

I'm looking for kindred souls. I posted this quote because I think "true friends" are very far and few between. There are NOT many out there for most of us. It gets depressing sometimes when you're going through things and you feel like you have no one to talk to for fear of being judged. I'm sure we've all felt like that before. Hey, just being honest here.

I Always Freak Out Too Soon!

2007-09-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, things have been a little hectic, but let me fill everyone in on why I was freaking out. Basically, the hotel that I work at is closing down for renovation, and we're all being laid off. They expect the renovation to take more than a year, so we all have to find new jobs. I initally started to get nervous because I remembered how long it took me to get a job back in march when I quit doing background work. I refuse to work in a restaurant, and I was really lucky to find this hotel job that would let me go on auditions any time they came up. I thought there was no way that I was going to find another nice hotel to work at, with equal or better pay that would give me the flexibility to go on my auditions. It was also difficult for me to find this job because I hadn't had any previous hotel experience.

Well, our hotel held a job fair for us last week, and some local hotels sent reps to come interview us. These weren't hotels like Days Inn or Best Western. They were other hotels like the Sofitel, The W Los Angeles, The Hyatt, etc. I had already applied and been hired at the Beverly Hilton (where they hold they Golden Globe Awards) at the beginning of August, but they wanted for the overnight shift and I wasn't going to do it. My fear was not that I wasn't going to get hired somewhere, but that I wasn't going to get hired somewhere that was actor friendly.

Lo and behold, the first hotel I interview with hires me on the spot. The director of human resources asked if I was in the entertainment business at all. I half way lied and said I thought about it, but not really. He then said to me that they believe in having a balance in life there and actually encourage people to pursue things like that. He even said that he just finished shooting a short film for a friend!! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH OF A RELIEF THAT WAS TO HEAR?!?! Not having to be nervous to ask to go to an audition or feel bad for leaving for an hour or so. Relief!! I was really excited. There is another hotel that I interviewed at and am waiting to hear back from. It's a really nice one and I heard there are a lot of actors that work there too and they aren't too bad with it.

So, you see, everything worked out just fine. Why do I worry so much??? It's so stressful. I think it is the downside to being a perfectionist and a Type A personality. I have to have things go my way. Also, I think that by worrying a little (or being concerned about the future if you will), helps a person to better plan for the future and to think about everything thoroughly. I'd love to have a care in the world and let life take just take me, but I think I'd forget things and end up in some financial bind or something. Some worry is good, but I tend to overdo it, just like my mother!

Speaking of which, my mom is coming to visit this weekend for 4 days. It's her first time to L.A. so she wants to do all the tourtisty stuff. We'll take lots of pictures and post some on here and then everyone can meet my mom!

Life Is Boring, But.........

2007-08-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

I am excited to say that I am getting my first IMDB credit. Cool huh? For those of you (like my mother) who have no idea what IMDB is, check it out at http://www.imdb.com/. It is the Internet Movie Data Base. It's actually a pretty big deal to for an actor, or anyone in the entertainment biz to get credit on this site, at least I think it is. Everyone always talks about it. When you go to the website, you can put in any actor's name (not just celebrities) into the search field, and it will pull up the profile for that actor, and every film or television project that that actor has worked on. All SAG franchised projects get listed on this site, and also non-union projects that qualify. For example, if you recall, I acted in an independent short film back in March. It's still in post-production. When it is finished it will be submitted to a number of film festivals. If accepted to any of the festivals, all of us actors will get IMDB credit for it. Hopefully it will and then my resume will grow from there! Having an IMDB credit also means that I will be google-able. Hey, I'm moving up in the world.

The film that I got this first credit for was some low budget feature. I think it is going to be titled Jelly, but that could change. There aren't any big names in the film and I don't know if it will get a theatrical release or not. I was part of a club scene, and actually, there was a girl there that was also in the short film that I shot back in March.

I wish I could post more often, but there just aren't THAT many exciting things happening right now. I work at one job, then go to the other job, then sleep for a few hours, and do it all over again the next day. Fun fun. I'm still trying to stay positive, so here's the quote:

Be a Do-er Not a Critic
A non-doer is very often a critic-that is, someone who sits back and watches doers, and then waxes philosophically about how the doers are doing. It's easy to be a critic, but being a doer requires effort, risk, and change.

--Dr. Wayner Dyer

Britney Stopped By To say "Hi"

2007-08-17T21:03:00.000-07:00

Early Thursday morning at 4am, Britney Spears graced my hotel with her presence, and she brought all sorts of madness with her. She was visiting Criss Angel "the mind freak" for whatever reason. He stays with us a lot. Click the link below to see Britney arriving at our hotel and the masses of papparazzi with her. Unfortunately this wasn't one of the nights that I worked overnight, so I wasn't there. I was actually out partying myself! You can, however, see my co-worker, JJ, yelling at the paparazzi to get out of the building. And she means business!! haha

http://www.accesshollywood.com/news/ah6501.shtml

(If the video doesn't start automatically playing, just click on the picture of Brit and Criss, and it should re-direct you to a page that will play the vid).

Criminal Minds Casting

2007-08-05T09:48:00.000-07:00

It's been half a century since my last post, but I've been really busy working and umm..err.....partying! Yes partying. I spent most of my first year in Los Angeles focused on my goals. It was all work and no play. I hardly went out at all. Now, I'm still focused, it's just time for me to get out and meet people and things like that. I'm having fun.

Last Wednesday I had the honor and privelege of working in the casting office of the show Criminal Minds. A HUGE thanks to April and Scott, the 2 casting directors in the office and Erica the casting assistant for letting me spend a day with them even though things are hectic over there. It was so much fun and it really opened my eyes to a lot of things and put my mind at ease for others. I'll try to go briefly through the day.

It was the first day casting for a new episode: Espisode #4. The cast and crew were on location filming episode #3. The day started off with a meeting in which the casting directors, writers and producers get together to discuss exactly what they want the characters to be like. This was the first thing we did and I'm so glad they let me go to this meeting, because I was originally scheduled to come in after the meeting. This meeting really made me feel better about myself as an actor for one reason. They talked about what the characters were supposed to be like in such detail. They already have a preconceived image in their head about what kind of look they want. I hate to say this, but in Hollywood, it really is more about looks than "talent", whatever your definition of talent is. I'll explain more about this as I continue my story. My point here is that, as an actor, you go on so many auditions, yet rarely hear back from any of them. It really is a hit or miss thing. I had read in books that said that when you don't hear back from an audition, to never take it personally and to not get down about it. I never really believed it, but it is true. You still can't help thinking every now and again, "Am I really meant for this?"

After the meeting, I got to do something really fun. I got to audition 4 actresses that they wanted to see for a small role in this episode. I can't explain how relieving this was!! To be in an audition room and NOT be the one auditioning! It was great! In the room were the 2 casting directors, one of the producers, and me working the camera. The first actress came in and read the scene which was about 4 lines. It took a few seconds and she was done. The producer did not ask her to do the scene again. Now see, this is something that it took me a while to catch on to. When an actor goes on an audition, and they ask you to do the scene multiple times, they're at least interested, or see you as a potential candidate for the role. If they don't ask you to re-read, it's probably a no go. This may seem like common sense, but it took me a while to figure out. This is another reason why I really wanted to shadow in the casting office. In any other profession (i.e. -medical school), part of your training is shadowing a professional to get some hands on experience. In acting, you can't just go shadow another actor and watch them audition. You're just thrust out there to fend for yourself and learn everything on your own pretty much. I'm speaking of auditioning in particular, not acting technique or anything. So, for me it was essential to have this experience. They ended up choosing the 4th actress that auditioned for this part. The overall mood for this scene is going to be kind of dark, I think, so they wanted someone who fit that look. The first actress was bubbly and blonde. See, so they were all "talented", but they needed to go with someone who fit the look of the scene.

The rest of the day consisted of me helping Erica around the office. I got to read the whole script and check it against the updated version and make note of any changes. This episode is going to be really good by the way. I helped Erica call actors to bring them in for auditions the next day. How great they must've felt to get a call and hear: "Hi, this is Kris from Criminal Minds. We want to audition you tomorrow". Exciting! At some point in the day, Scott received a delivery from an actor. It was an elaborate fruit basket from a company that can do some amazing things with fruit. They make flower bouquets and stuff all made from fruit. It was good, and I know that casting directors and agents get gifts like this all the time. Honestly, it is SO cheesy and I'd never do it. Thanks to all the books I read before I moved to Hollywood, they said that doing things like this is a waste of time and money. It's true, and besides, it just makes you look desperate!

So, that was my day in the Criminal Minds Casting office (in a nutshell). Great experience and I definitely took a lot from it that hopefully I can put to good use for myself. I wanted to meet Ed Bernero the executive producer (and writer) and also Simon Mirren (also a producer/writer), but I wasn't able to. They know my blog buddy Jill very well and I wanted to say hi to them for her. Oh well, maybe next time.

Two People I Have Met

2007-07-20T12:49:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows much of Hollywood has a drug problem, and I'm about to tell you one of the reasons why. There is a girl I work with at the gym and she blew me away the other day with her ignorance and stupidity. We were at work, and she asked me a question. It was a question that she had asked me twice before, and I told her that we had talked about it before. So, she apologizes and says that she used to do drugs and it messed up her memory or something like that. I asked her what drugs she has done, and she basically said she has tried everything. And guess what? She is only 21. She is an actress here, but she doesn't seem very focused on it. Anyways, so we started talking about drugs, and when I told her that I had never done drugs before, not even tried any (and I was telling the absolute truth), she gave me this look as if I was the only person in America to have never done drugs. So, she asks me haven't I ever been curious to try and I tell her no, there is no point, it's stupid. Then, this is what she said that blew me away. She asks me what would happen if I got a role in a movie sometime in the future and I had to play a drug addict or something. I told her that I would do my research like any other actor and just play the role. She has the nerve to tell me that that is not possible. In order for me to play that part effectively, I have to actually experience the effect of drugs!!! My mouth dropped. How idiotic can you be?? Now keep in mind, this is a girl who has no education and most likely dropped out of college BECAUSE the drugs she was on made her stupid enough to do something like that. I told her that acting is just that......acting. It is pretend, and a large part of acting is being able to imitate. She wasn't hearing it and still tried to convince me that I had to try drugs in order to play that role convincingly. At this point, I decided I was wasting my time talking to someone who had obviously killed millions of her brain cells and really wasn't on my level intellectually. I find myself thinking that a lot.

The point of me telling this story is that I believe things happen for a reason. And when you're a good person and have good karma, good things happen to you. I wanted to come to Hollywood right after high school, but due to circumstances out of my control, I just couldn't do it. So, I went to college, and while I was there, I was planning my move to Hollywood the whole time. I am so glad it happned that way. I did so much mental maturing during my 4 years in college, that I was a completely different person when I graduated from when I started. COMPLETELY different, in my eyes at least. What if I had moved out here at 18, and heard this bullsh*t from someone at that age? I hate to sound like an educational snob, but I just don't understand how people can be so stupid, especially when they tell you they grew up in a functional family with good parents. I don't want to walk around thinking I'm too good to talk to certain people, but I'm sorry, I like to have stimulating conversations. It's just frustrating to try and have a conversation with stupid, ignorant people. Don't get me wrong, this really isn't about education as much as it is about common sense. There are plenty of people out there who didn't go to college that are very smart, and there are plenty of people who did go to college who are just plain stupid. To sum it all up.....I just can't talk to people who spew garbage out of their mouth like this chick from my job.....end of story.

On the opposite end, I met a wonderful lady at my other job, the hotel that I work at. Her nameis Kate and she is into doing meditations, guided relaxations, and astrological chart readings. She stayed at my hotel for about 2 weeks and she said as soon as she saw me, she knew she needed to help me. She said something about my aura being really bright and she was just drawn to me. So, one night while I was working overnight, she brought her computer down to the front desk. She has this program on there where you enter someone's name, birthdate and city they were born in, and pulls up their astrological chart on the day they were born, and there is also a progress chart, that shows how that chart moves as the person moves through life. She was reading my chart and telling my why I was so stressed out, why I am very impatient, why I am a go getter, what I need to do to feel better, and some stuff about the future. Now, the interesting thing is this. I said in one of m earlier posts, that back in 2005 I went to see a psychic back in Ohio. The things she told me matched exactly to what the psychic had said. So, now I'm hearing the same things from 2 totally separate sources. Coincidence? Not even possible. I wass really amazed. She said that in the next few months I was going to have some really good opportunities present themselves to me.

She also kept mentioning how she felt the need to help me. As we were talking, I told her about Jill and her Criminal Minds Blog and Jill was this complete stranger, who happened to come into contact with me through the blogs, and just wanted to help me, for no apparent reason. Kate explained to me that people, including herself, just want to help me. She made me write down on a piece of paper, "People want to help me" so I can look at it everyday and realize that it is ok to accept help from peolple. See, my problem is that I am such an independent person, that I don't really like it when I need help. I mean, my mom sends me money every so often and I tell her to stop because I feel like I should be doing this on my own. Even Jill who runs the Criminal Minds Fanatic Blog will tell you that when she helped me to get my 3rd SAG voucher on the show, I kept thanking her over and over and telling her I owe her everything. And she would tell me, "you don't owe me anything". And I would say, "why are so adamant on helping me? I'm a complete stranger". And she said, "Because I had the opportunuty to. What kind of person would I be if I didn't do that for you?". And I'd thank her some more, and it got ot a point where I think I started to irritate her and she stopped me and said, "Look, this is something I wanted to do. You've thanked me enough, now this is the last time, and let's just go on with what we're doing". I realize that it must have been annoying for me to be thanking her EVERY TIME I talked to her, but from my perspective, I just kept asking myself, "how on earth do I deserve this?" I almost felt guilty. But I have now realized that it is ok to accept the help, and that one day when I have the resources to help someone, I will eagerly do so. All I wanted Jill to know was that she picked the right person to help and that I would not take it lightly or for granted. This is serious for me and I'm determined to be successful. I hope she realizes that.

Jill and all of you who have left such positive comments on my blog have taught me a lot about the importance of just being nice and helping people when you can. It makes the world a better place!

I'm done ranting for now, time for work!

The Beginning of the Rest of My Life

2007-07-18T14:42:00.000-07:00

So, one of my student loans has gone into repayment and I just sent my first payment today! Crazy! I'm having a real problem with it because it feels like I'm just giving away my hard earned money and not getting anything in return. Of course, my education is what I "received", and I know that, but it still feels like I'm just giving up $300 a month just because. There is no way around it though. I'll just have to come to terms with it sooner or later. On my current plan, I'll have this loan paid off in the year 2022, haha. And that is only one of my loans which amounts to only half of my debt! Anyone jealous???? I just have to laugh about it now. There is no sense in sitting around being mad about it. I am just going to visualize my acting success coming to me and my loans to be paid off immediately. Remember, the mind is a powerful thing!

On that note, the casting office for the show Criminal Minds has agreed to let me come into their office to shadow the casting directors for a day or two. It's really exciting. I think it will be a great opportunity for me to see what goes on in a casting office and to see and hear the casting directors say what actors do right and wrong during their audition. Maybe it can help me be a stronger auditioner. So, thank you to Scott David, the head of casting, who agreed to let me do this and an extra special thanks to Jill, who runs the Criminal Minds Fanatic Blog for helping to set this up for me.

Positive quote:

“You can never think too big. Dare to affirm big ideas. Dare to expect big results. Such attitudes are the difference between a prince and a pauper”

--Catherine Ponder, The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity

My Day with Pam

2007-07-11T13:05:00.000-07:00

Everyone remembers Pam, right? She is my favorite crazy that I met on the set of Transformers back in September. Well, we've kept in contact through e-mail ever since and we finally met up again, last week to see the movie. THE movie of all movies according to Pam. We went to see the movie on July 4th with a few of her friends. Let me tell you how the day went. It started off at Pam's house where she had some good food for everyone to eat. The topic of conversation was, of course, Transformers as Pam and I were recounting our time on the set. Pam is truly crazy! If you look at the picture on the left, someone has CLEARLY stated an incorrect fact about the Transformers and Pam is putting them in their place. I mean, look at the shock and disgust on her face! Haha....it wasn't me. I wouldn't dare! Also notice Pam's shirt. It was no coincidence. Pam wore that shirt on purpose and proudly. Pam has come completely to terms with her nerdiness and obsession with not only Transformers, but with sci-fi stuff in general. Whether she accomplished this with the help of a therapist, I'm not sure, lol.

I'm really trying to paint a clear picture of how addicted Pam is. Here is another example. When we were at her house, I noticed she had a red, white and blue hair clip in her hair. I thought to myself how patriotic it was of Pam to wear an American flag in her hair on July 4th to celebrate our country's independence. So, I mentioned it to her, BUT, I really should have known better! It was no flag......it was a freakin mini Optimus Prime hair clip!! Where on earth did she find that thing?? Look, when I first wrote about Pam back in September, my mom read the post and literally thought I was making it all up. I explained to her that I am not that creative. I just don't have the imagination to say that a lady on the set kissed the Optimus Prime truck on the set if it didn't really happen. Need another example? Click on the link on this sentence to take a look at Pam's blog. If you don't have time to read it, just hop over there to look at the sheer length of one of her posts about the Transformers set, and there are multiple posts about our time on the set. That is a TRUE fan! Here are 2 snippets from her blog, in her own words, about the movie:

I LOVED IT SO MUCH that it's quite possible I'm not going to go see any other movie the rest of summer but this one!

I LOVED IT SO MUCH that I'm going to buy every single version of the dvd when it comes out, and I will not bitch like I usually do when different versions of the same movie come out on dvd!

Do you all understand why Pam is the greatest crazy of them all?!?!?!

Now, for the actual movie. We went to see it at the Arclight Cinema because Pam got us her preferred seating, high up, right in the middle of the theater. In the courtyard of the cinema, they had brought in the cars and trucks that the robots transform into. Of course we couldn't get by them without taking some pictures. I have to admit, I felt kind of cheesy, like a tourist or something, but I did it for Pam!!

So, we went in and sat in the theater and Pam is jittery and genuinely excited like a giddy little school girl. It was pretty funny. During the movie when the robots make their debut, Pam is grabbing my arm and writhing in her seat with excitement. She was squealing throughout the movie, but she tried her hardest to keep it in. The Arclight Theater has strict rules when it comes to noise and they will not hesitate to kick your ass out. If this were to happen to Pam, armageddon would have been upon us!

Anyways, we get to the end of the movie and the scenes that Pam and I are in are coming up. We're both excited at this point, our adrenaline is up and we're seeing the things on the screen that we saw on the set. Unfortunately, we were both let down. We weren't necessarily cut from the movie, it's just that once they digitally added in the robots and fighting, it covered up a lot of the people. This isn't to say that when the DVD comes out, we might be able to be spotted in some of the deleted scenes or something. We just won't know until it comes out. Why does it look like I have no arms in the picture to the right??

All in all, the movie was great and there was a lot of action. Rumor has ithey are already in pre-production for a sequel. So, that concludes my day with Pam. It was fun and I wouldn't have wanted to see the movie with anyone else. Now, doesn't Pam really look like Whoopi Goldberg?

Oh yeah........

2007-07-04T02:52:00.000-07:00

How could I forget to mention this? Last week, I sent Ohio State my official notification of withdrawal from the school. Let me just say that the letter was only a few sentences long, yet it took my an hour to write. I was shaking the whole time. It was so nerve-wracking. I couldn't even hit the send button myself. I had to have someone else do it for me. I felt light headed and as if I was going to break down any second. My safety net is no longer there. I'm out here to do this for real! I am no longer a medical student. I couldn't help but ask myself over and over again if I had just ruined my life. Sometimes, I still don't know. I guess only time will tell. Although, if I followed my heart and desires, which I believe I did, then everything will be all right, right??

It's Been A Whole Year!

2007-07-04T02:07:00.000-07:00

I was hoping to post this on the actual day, but I guess that didn't happen. Anyways, Sunday July 1st was my one year anniversary of arriving in Los Angeles. Where did the time go??? I can't believe it. It doesn't seem like anywhere near a year ago when I was leaving Ohio (teary eyed) to start my trek across the country. Yes, I got teary eyes leaving Ohio. Not because I was sad. Well, I was sad to leave all my family and friends, but it was more nerves than anything. I have never lived anywhere else in my life besides Columbus, Ohio. I think that is why I've been stressed so much lately. I love LA, but I thought I would just move here and adjust just fine and be on my merry way. Not so fast. I didn't even realize it until I was watching one of the news stations one morning a few weeks ago, and one of the newscasters said that when she moved to LA, it took her 4 years to fully adjust and feel like this was her "home". I get so anxious and I'm constantly worrying about my well-being and my finances. I think I just need to sit back and take a breather and realize that I can't do everything at once! I like the fact that I am a go-getter and that I can stay focused on the things I want to achieve. I think it's what helped me to get my SAG eligibility, my agent and the 2 films that I have done this year. But the disadvantage is that I tend to take on too much at one time. I've had a few, what shall I call them......"emotional releases" over the last year. Some of them out of sheer anger and frustration, some out of fear of the unknown. Why I'm admitting this to the whole world.....I have no idea. In any case, looking back on my first year here, I can't really complain. I've accomplished a good deal and met some great people, including Jill who runs the Criminal Minds Fanatic Blog. She has been a MAJOR help to me, in more ways than one. I've made some good friends (and lost a few, which I'll talk about in my next post).

As far as the acting goes, I'm hoping things pick up a little bit. My new pictures have been getting a lot of repsonses from casting directors of various projects, etc. I really think they are the best ones yet, and I'm just glad to be at least auditioning again. I had 4 this past weekend. I'm not sure I had that many for the whole months of April and May combined! I'm just working on being a better auditioner and I'm really ready to do some serious projects. Wish me luck!! Now if I could just get my agent to call me a little more often as well..............

I hope everyone has a great 4th of July. I'll be going to see Transformers with Pam. This should be interesting, but I'm excited. Here's the positive quote:

"If the mountain were smooth, you wouldn't be able to climb it."

--Unknown

I just heard this the other day on tv and I've already forgotten who said it, but I LOVE this quote. It means a lot to me especially. I say it to myself everytime I feel myself getting impatient or frustrated. I don't think that necessarily EVERYTHING we really want in life has to be hard to achieve, but when it is, and we finally get it, what a great feeling! It's validation that we are capable of achieving our goals if we stay focused. I'm taping this one to my wall so that I see it every morning when I wake up!

Back in LA

2007-06-22T12:36:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do a posting right when I got back, but both my jobs had me scheduled to work every single day for 6 days in a row! That means I've been doing 16 hours days ever since I got back to California on June 14th. I'm defintely exhausted, but I am in a good mood right now for a few reasons. One is that I got my car back a few days ago. I must say, it looks almost brand new. It was so clean and shiny. I mean, cleaner and shinier than I have ever had it. It looks really good which is great because I can take some pictures of it before it gets dusty. I'm going to try and sell my car and get a smaller car with much better gas mileage. The Explorer was great in getting me out to LA, but I really don't need it anymore. In addition to that, I had to get my car smogged so I can finally register it in California. I've been bummed the last few days because one of my co-workers told me how his friend got a smog check on his car and it failed, and he had to pay like $500 to get it repaired up to California's emission standards. So, I went on the website for the smog test sites and it talked about all these tests they do and how California's standards are higher than the federal standards. I just KNEW that my car was going to fail the test. My car is from Ohio and we don't have smog tests there, and I haven't had any maintenance done on my car since I bought in 2005. So, I go to the smog test center all depressed, but somehow it PASSED!! Every test! It out me in the best mood. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that perhaps this was a result of my car accident. The accident cost me know money out of my pocket, but there was some internal damage in my engine. Maybe whatever they fixed in there cleaned up my engine a bit and caused my car to pass the smog check? I guess we'll never know, but I'll pretend that's why it happened. If so, then it was worth it in my opinion. $500 is one month's rent!!!

In other news, Transformers comes out July 4th. Don't bother trying to look for me though. All of the scenes I was in were pretty wide shots. I'm only mentioning it here because I am going to see the movie with my favorite crazy of all time. The one and only Pam!! If you need a refresher on who she is and why she cracks me up, click here. She was in the movie with me and I CAN NOT wait to see it with her. I'm going to be laughing so hard. Here is an exerpt from an e-mail she sent me last night:

If you are getting this note that's because I have a ticket for theTransformers movie with your name on it! I can't believe this day is almost here!!!!!! We are in my Arclight member preferred seating row O, seats 20-24. Right now, this is the attendee list: Me, Kris, Joe, Nicole, Cole, with Douglas on reserve.

[Three long paragraphs left out by me]

Pam,

Beloved of Optimus

Yes, that is how she signed her E-mail. It was not made up by me. This is going to be so hard. The Arclight theater is this movie theater here where they have movie premiere's all the time. There are absolutely no lights in the theater. It is completely black when the movie starts. Also, there is no noise or cell phones. If the light from your cell phone screen is seen, even if you're just text messaging, they will kick your ass out. They don't play at the Arclight. You will get kicked out for talking to. Yall know I can't control my laughter. I hope Pam only makes me laugh at funny parts in the movie, but I know that's just not going to happen. Also, I'm going to take my camera this time so you all can see what this woman looks like!

Here's the positive quote before I go to work (of course):

"Through persistence, you can be one of those happy, victorious people who not only chases dreams, but who catches them! The persistent person also persevers long enough for their dreams to catch up with them!"

Catherine Ponder, The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity

Home Sweet Home

2007-06-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

I am posting this entry from home in Columbus. I am so excited to be home and I have really felt the love from all my family and friends. It feels good to be back. I've been all over town non-stop since my plane landed. I'm a little tired, but it is definitely worth it. I'm actually not wanting to go back to Los Angeles in a few days. It's not that I don't want to go back to L.A., it's more that I don't want to go back to my jobs because I hate them so much and it's really getting to me! I work SOOOO much, and for what? I'm able to pay my bills and everything, but I have no extra money (yet), to do anything else. And I'm going to start (trying) to pay back one of my student loans starting next month! I swear, if it isn't one thing, it's another. I'm going to be praying so hard, and when I get back to L.A., I'm going to be working so hard to really book some commercials, and work on getting a theatrical agent and getting auditions for some television shows and movies. I refuse to be broke for much longer. I'm going to be rich and be able to do and go anywhere I want, and I plan to work for every bit of it. Not looking for any free passes here.

Anyways, I digressed a little bit. I just wanted to leave a brief message that I was at home and having fun. And Lin, if you're reading this, what great weather we are having in Ohio! It is supposed to be sunny and mid 80's every day that I am here....just like in Southern California. Although, I kind of was hoping for a thunderstorm or two. I have not physically heard thunder or seen lightening in over a year! I kind of miss it.

Well, I'm going to continue enjoying my last couple of days here and "pretend" that I love my jobs back in LA, because that is the only way I'm going to have the energy to get up in the morning and go. All I know is that I've actually made a lot of progress here in my first year and I really hope things just keep moving forward!

Wish me luck!

Today Is My Birthday!

2007-06-05T01:31:00.000-07:00

I made it through another year and I'm certainly thankful for that. I've accomplished a fair amount of things over the last year, and I just want to keep moving forward, not looking back. Today I am a quarter of a century old. I know there are some crazies reading this right now, so in other words, I'm 25, lol. I guess this is considered a milestone age, but I'm not sure. All I know is that my car insurance should be going down now! I thought I was going to make it to 25 without having been in a car accident, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. Hey, at least it wasn't my fault, right?

I'm woking later today, and I'm working every day up until I fly back to Ohio for my long awaited vacation. I'm going to celebrate my birthday in Columbus because, right now, I'm just busy with work and I'm exhausted. I'm hoping that when I'm in Ohio, I can get relaxed, re-energized, de-stressed and be able to come back to LA and really pursue the acting with fire in my eye! I can't explain how much it excites me to think of all the opportunities and possibilities that will come along with me being able to make a living doing this, most notably the travel opportunities. It's what I really want to do. I know I'm right where I'm supposed to be right now. I just need to be patient a little longer because some great things are about to happen. I can feel it!

Along with this birthday post, I'm posting my new headshots. Yes, I got headshots re-done again for the last time for a while. I put them on some other websites and they've gotten a good response from my friends, so hopefully they will get a good repsonse from casting directors as well. Wish me luck! I was never really too thrilled with my last set of pictures, and neither was my agent. I'm glad she suggested I re-shoot. I actually feel good about these pictures, at the gut level, so I know I got it right this time. We'll see.

Going to be bed now, but not without the positive quote first:

"Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it."

- Jack Canfield: Author, Chicken Soup for the Soul.

I wholeheartedly believe this now. I've heard it from too many separate sources. I asked to be in Hollywood, even when I thought there was no way possible for me to do it. And a way was made for me. You have to be pro-active!

I'm Going Home!!

2007-06-02T00:48:00.000-07:00

This is attempt #2 at going home and I'm going to make sure it happens, no matter what this time. I think it was meant to be. I'm flying on the new airline, Skybus. Skybus made Columbus, Ohio (where I'm from) their home base, and as of right now, all of their flights only fly to or from Columbus. In addition to that, they do not fly into LAX (or any other major airport, but into the Burbank airport (and other smaller airports). My new apartment is 5 miles from the Burbank Airport and almost 30 miles from LAX. It's like it was created just for me!

I'm uber excited. I really love Los Angeles, but I NEED to get away from the hustle and bustle of this city, just for a few days. With everything that's gone on in the last month, it's just been stress, stress and more stress. Plus, I haven't seen any family or friends from Ohio since I moved here. It will be a whole year as of June 29th. That's too long!! No one should go that loing without seeing their mother!! Can't wait to see my mom and everyone else and eat, eat, eat good food the whole time I'm there!

Skybus is a brand new airline and all their planes are brand new as well. The use full size Airbus A319 jets and all of their flights are non-stop!! I really like that part. No connecting flights, no long layovers in airports. It's great. Also, there is no business or first class on this airline. The entire cabin is full of leather seats and the aisles are wider than on most other airplanes. The inside of the plane looks like the picture on the right, I think. One of my co-workers has a friend that flew on the very first Skybus flight on May 23rd, and she said she really liked it. I'll be sure to let everyone know how it goes!

Transition 2: Complete

2007-06-02T00:30:00.000-07:00

I'm FINALLY moved into my new apartment! I couldn't wait for this day to get here because I absolutely hate everything about moving. It's so stressful. I will still be somewhat stressed out until I get all my stuff put away because I hate clutter. I hate when my room is a mess and I get stressed until it is clean. Anyways, my roommates are really cool and I live in a good area as well. It certainly isn't West Hollywood where I could walk anywhere, but it's a good safe area. I am, however, going to miss living on the Sunset Strip. It really spoiled me being so close to everything, but oh well. I will NOT miss the stupid alien transportation and parking people though. I had gone so long without getting a parking ticket, and then I got one on my very last night in West Hollywood, as if the city just had to get me one last time. At least the ticket got put on my rental car and not my real car. My car is in my mom's name and she gets mad when I get parking tickets, haha.

As far as my jobs, they are boring and I hate them. They are just for money. One day very soon I will be able to quit these jobs and support myself acting. I can feel it. I just got some new pictures done (my last set for a while) and my agent really liked them. I'll post them in the next few days. So, once they get retouched and printed and I get settled in my apartment, I think I can really get into high gear as far as the acting is concerned. With everything that's been going on, it's been sort of slow because I've had to skip auditions and stuff like that.

That's it. I am 100% determined to keep a positive mind frame no matter what. Sometimes I have to read positive quotes over and over again, sometimes I have to really just sit (and almost meditate) and visualize in my mind the things that I want. Don't underestimate the power of the mind. Here is the positive quote:

"If you don't like something, change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it."

- Mary Engelbreit: Innovative artist, illustrator, publisher

Many Changes Are Coming

2007-05-23T00:31:00.000-07:00

It's really late right now, but I'm writing here because I've gotten so lazy it's kind of ridiculous. Yes, I've had a lot on my plate for the last month, but there really isn't a reason why I can't get on my computer and type if people want me to. I think it's great that people are asking me to post. I guess when I do write, it is still somewhat interesting.

Ok, first things first. A lot of changes are happening rigtht now and as soon as I move into my new apartment, hopefully everything will return to normal. I'm moving next week. I'm excited. I found some really cool roommates after a long and exhausting search. So nice to know there are normal people out there. Secondly, my car is still being repaired but it is completely being paid for, so that's good. They can take as long as they need though. I have saved SOOOO much freakin money in the last month on gas it's crazy. I mean, I know I have a gas guzzling Explorer, but I didn't realize it ate SO much gas. The Toyota Camry I'm driving now gets such great gas mileage. I mean, I have saved nearly $200 in the last month!!!! You know what that means. When my car is done being repaired, I am immediately going car shopping. Do you know what I could do with an extra $200 a month????? A bunch of new clothes first, and then paying back some student loans!!!

Another change that will be happening has to do with the people I call friends. Friends have been a rocky subject in my life for as long as I can remember, mainly being that I can't seem to keep them! I have no idea why either. I just go through them every couple of years and the way that these friendships end is the same way every time........they just stop talking to me. It's so weird. Of all the friends that I no longer am in contact with, I have not fallen out with a single one of them. Never a fight, argument, etc. etc. I know they say that some people are only meant to be in your life a short time, blah blah blah, but I don't think I have one friend that I can say, "we've been friends since we were kids". Honestly, it's something I take seriously because I've also never had a set group of friends that I hung out with on a regular basis. The friends that I have usually can't stand each other. Will I ever get this right? I don't like losing friends (I don't think anyone does), but I have friends right now who are doing the same things. For instance, I am busy. Very busy. I work 2 jobs, go on auditions and have been dealing with a lot of stuff over the last month. Yet, I find time to call my (few) friends to ask if they want to hang out for a bit or something. One just never responds, the other constantly has other plans with friends from work, etc. It's just really annoying and inconsiderate if you ask me. I mean, if one of my friends called to hang out and I had plans with other friends, I'd ask them if they wanted to come or try and make time for them, but that's just me. I thought that's what you're supposed to do. Don't get me wrong, I have new friends from my jobs, but that doesn't mean I want to lose the old ones. Obviously this topic angers me and I'm venting now, so I'll stop. Just had to get some thoughts out.

In other news, the dark clouds that have been hanging over me are starting to part, as I said before. I just can't wait for things to get back to normal. I get up, go to work, hang out maybe, go home. No more looking at apartments, no more meeting CRAZIES, no more having to deal with insurance companies. I just want get back to having fun. In the meantime, I am going to get into personal training at the gym I work at. I figure, why not put my medical knowledge to use, get paid a lot more, and NOT have to deal with the jackasses who like to cuss the front desk people out! haha I think it'll be fun to be a personal trainer because I am a bit of a health freak anyway, plus I'll have the potential to make enough money doing that, to where I won't have to have 2 jobs. But.......of course I would just love for the acting to take off, then I won't need a regular job period!

Well, I think I've gotten all the stuff I need off my chest for now. Here's the positive quote:

"The key to regaining your wonderful feeling of personal empowerment and control is to decide, right now, no matter how good or bad you are feeling, that you are going to do your best to make the best of it. Reach for the best feeling thought that you have access to right now, and as you do that again and again, in a short period of time you will find yourself in a very good-feeling place. That is just the way it works!"

--Esther and Jerry Hicks, Ask and it is Given

Oh, one more thing I forgot. For those of you that watch American Idol........you know the guy that Simon Cowell said looked like a bush baby??? Yeah, he and his friend checked into my hotel today, lol. I guess they are in town for the Idol finale!

I Am Still Here!!!

2007-05-08T12:45:00.000-07:00

I'm probably losing tons of readers by not posting in a million years, but I'm here and I'm doing ok! Things have just been so hectic. Dealing with my car issue, looking for a place to live and working 70+ hours on top of all that, I'm exhausted when I come home and don't feel like typing. By the time June rolls around, my car should be done, I will (hopefully) be settled into my new apartment and I'm praying everything will just return to normal. This is crazy. At least I got a rental car and they gave me a 2007 Toyota Camry. I love it for one simple reason. I've had it for 2 weeks now and I've inly used a half tank of gas!!! In my Explorer, I would have already been using a second tank of gas in a 2 week period. That's really bad and as soon as I can, I'm going to try and get another car with better gas mileage. In addition to that, regular unleaded gas is about $3.45/gallon and the highest I've seen is $3.95. I'm just glad my car doesn't take premium!!!

Anyways, let's talk about some crazies because my stories are backing up. I'll start with 2 stories from the hotel. The first is about a lady we'll call Ms. K. This woman baffles me. I've never worked in the hotel industry before, so I had no idea people did this. Ms K. LIVES at our hotel! Nope, not for an extended business stay, not for any other reason than she just like to be waited on hand and foot. I checked out her file, and she has been living there since November '06. I looked at her bill, and it was upwards of $12,000!!!! I don't know what this woman's career is (I heard she is a writer), but I want to get into it, lol. She does get a special rate on her room since she is a "long term stay". Now, on top of all of this, she is a very demanding woman. She claims to be very sensitive to even the slightest noise, and demands that the hotel NOT put anyone in the room next to hers! Of course, the hotel tries to accomodate this and they use the room next to hers as the very last room to fill on a sold out night. If we aren't fully booked, the room next to hers doesn't get used. On the nights when we do have to use that room, if she hears even the slightest noise, she does not hesitate to show us her anger. The last thing about this lady is that she is addicted to the magazine "Us Weekly". Now, I'm not going to lie. If I am in a store, I may pick up one of the tabloids and flip throught it. Most of us do. But this woman, Ms. K., she goes nuts if her Us Weekly gets delivered late. She will ask us everyday, "Is my Us Weekly here yet?" She obviously seems to be one of those people that lives life vicariously through celebrities, hence her wanting to live at a hotel and be waited on hand and foot. I know a lot of people are addicted to celebrity lifestyles, but it's on a whole different level with Ms. K.

Now, for the other story. I was working the evening shift one night when around 8 pm, a nice looking Korean lady walked in and asked if we had any available rooms that night. As we were checking our system, she was constantly in the mirror checking herself. I thought it was weird, but didn't pay it any attention. I also noticed a guy hanging around the elevator area. We found a room for her, booked it for her, and gave her the keys. She and the guy went up to the room. Seems normal so far, right? Well, about an hour and a half later, she comes back down and says, "I would like to check out". My co-worker told her that would be fine, and that her credit card would be charged $229 for the room. I thought the woman was going to be mad and say the room was terrible or something and that she was going to find another hotel. Instead she said, "Ok". As my co-worker was checking her out, she is once again in the mirror fixing her hair and checking her make-up. At this point, I turn my back to them because I am, of course, laughing!! (I really need to get that under control!). The woman then leaves. Does anyone know what just happened here??? I didn't, I was totally oblivious. I asked my co-worker, "Wasn't that the lady that JUST checked in an hour ago?" My co-worker responds, "Yes, she sure isn't shameful about her booty call". Holy Sh*t!!! I totally didn't see it, and then I bust out laughing again. It made perfect sense. Her constantly in the mirror, the guy hanging out in the background, the hour long stay. What made it more funny was that, as many of you know, you don't need to go to the front desk to check out. You can just vacate your room and they will close the reservation. If she would have done that, we would have never known she was there for a booty call. Damn! $229 for an hour of passion! Hey, it is Beverly Hills.

Ok, I had something else to say, but I can't remember what it was, so here is the positive quote:

Take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something!"

--Franklin D. Roosevelt

4/21/2007 -- The Accident

2007-04-25T13:37:00.000-07:00

As everyone knows, I've been crazy busy working 2 jobs and now I have this car accident to deal with. Let me just tell you the events of my day on April 21st, because the whole day was a complete disaster! So, my morning starts off at 5:30 am because I had to get up and be at work at 7 am. Everything is going as usual, I get in my car, turn on my CD. In order to get to my job, I have to drive through the famous Rodeo Drive Shopping District. I pass through there, and by this point I'm less that a half mile from the hotel, with one more traffic light to go through. Beyonce's "Crazy In Love" is playing on the stereo. I'm approaching the intersection; my light is green. It's about 6:50 am now and there are hardly any cars on the roads because it is Saturday morning. I get to the intersection and start to go through it, when out of the corner of my eye I see a huge white pick up truck barreling at me. I slam on my brakes, tires screeching, and the truck hits my left front bumper, spins my car 90 degrees, and then he swerves and hits a 3rd car. Has anyone seen those car insurance commercials where 2 people are driving in the car and they are hit by another car? It was just like that. It happened so fast. I couldn't believe it. I'd never experienced anything like it before. At this intersection was a gas station, so we all pulled in there.

The man in the truck jumps out and immediately starts apologizing saying he can't believe he just did that. I mean, he was nice and offered all his information, but I was pissed as you can imagine. I have never been in a car accident before. Luckily, I wasn't injured whatsoever thanks to my hefty Explorer. I noticed that this guy's truck was a company vehicle for a Termite Extermination company, and I said a silent, "Thank GOD!", because I knew the vehicle would be properly insured. So, we call the lazy ass Beverly Hills Police and they refuse to come to the scene because "there are no injuries". Now, does that make any sense at all??? Shouldn't the police come out regardless to determine who was at fault, and more importantly if anyone was drinking or driving under the influence?!?! I just couldn't believe they would not come out.

Anyways, we all exhange information and I find out 2 important things happened. The guy driving the truck told me that when he got to the intersection and saw me, he actually hit his accelerator because if he had hit his brakes, he would have collided right into my driver door and me! So, it was a combination of him accelerating and me braking, that prevented a much, much worse accident. After the info exhange, I head to work, late of course. My car was actually drivable, but it is really messed up. I'm an hour late for work, in a terrible mood, and then I find out that the hotel's boiler failed and the entire hotel is without hot water!! This means that for the remainder of my work day, I have to deal with angry hotel guests yelling at us at the front desk. I'm antsy and anxious all day, thinking about a million things including the fact that this guy could try and say that he was not at fault, since no police came out to make a report. I really prepared for the worst possible outcome, especially since he provided an expired insurance card when we exhange information.

After I get off work that very same day, I find out that my landlord is putting my apartment up for rent since I apparently have been subletting this whole time, even though I thought I was on the lease. In order to stay, I'd have to sign up as a new tenant (which means he would raise the rent) and find a good responsible roommate. I had one potential roommate submit and application, but the landlord didn't like the guy's credit history, so I think it is just easier if I move. Another headache I have to deal with. So, you would think that was it for my day. Not so fast. Later on that evening, I went to IHOP by myself because it is so good and I wanted to eat something that would bring up my spirits. After eating, I'm walking homes. I come to an intersection and patiently wait for the "Walk" sign to cross the street. After the signal changes, I begin to cross the street, and there are no cars needing to turn. All of a sudden some dumbass cab driver speeds around the corner and almost hits me. Like, he had to swerve to miss me!

That was my Saturday. Did I do some evil thing to deserve some bad karma or something? Did I defy death twice in one day?? This better not be some Final Destination type stuff. Defying death once is one thing, but constantly having to run from it, I don't need to deal with that. So, to end this blog on a good note........The Termite Company's insurance company just called me an hour ago and told me that the guy driving the truck accepted responsibility and that I am clear to make an appointment with a body shop to get my vehicle fixed and to get a rental car, all paid for by them. Now, of course I don't wish that anyone would get in a car accident, but I'm kinda glad he hit that other lady, because with our 2 stories, there is no way he could have tried to say it wasn't his fault. My car was much more damaged than hers anyway. So, that news put me in a good enough mood to finally type up this blog post before I go to work at the gym of course. I just can't wait until my car is totally fixed and I get my roommate/apartment situation all straightened out so everything can return to normal (which really means I can get back to dealing with my crazies because I have a lot of those stories building up, just waiting to be told, lol). Why does all the bad stuff have to happen all at once??? Geez.

I can't leave without the positive quote:

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."

--Theodore Roosevelt

I chose this quote because, on top of everything that I just mentioned above, I seem to be going through a little dry spell in terms of my agent calling me and me getting auditions period. I'm just not getting as much as I was a few months ago. But I'm not giving up. I've come far enough, and accomplished enough in less than a year, that I think actually have a chance. I just need to be patient and persistent!

Transition 1: Complete

2007-04-14T22:39:00.000-07:00

Damn, I'm glad I've got some good work ethic! I've finally secured and started my new job, so in terms of income, I'm good. I now have 3 jobs technically. I'm still registered to do background, I work at the gym and I now work at a hotel in Beverly Hills at the front desk. Easy jobs, but long days. In the next 7 days, I will be working 60 hours between the gym and the hotel. That means, I have 2 full days completely off. Most people would use those days to rest. I might, I might not. It depends on how I feel. That's the ONE good thing about doing background. You book yourself the day before. Now, seeing that the average day on the set is 10 hours (sometimes 12-14), if I did background on my 2 off days, I would easily hit 80 hours this week! That's pretty hectic, huh?? It's really not surprising to me. I mean, I was in medical school last year. I had long days like this all the time, and doctors do it regularly. I think I am built for this stuff. I look at it this way. I'm young. I'm single (for now). I have no kids. I'm healthy. Why the heck not work? I like to have money to buy the things that I want. If I took the days off, it would always be in the back of my mind that I could have made an extra $200 on those days. The trick, now, is to juggle doing auditions with all these jobs! Ahh.....the life of an aspiring actor. You gotta love it! Somehow, some way, it all has to work out. I've invested too much of my time and money into this for it not to! I'm claiming my success now! haha

In other news (for anyone who cares), my next transition is the roommate search. It is stressful, hectic, and I absolutely hate it, but that's life I guess. I put out an ad on a roommates website specifically stating what I was looking for. It included things like, someone my age, no druggies, no smokers, cool people, laidback people, people looking to stay for at least a year, no drama, etc. The responses so far:

a guy my age that lives around the corner
a guy my age also from ohio
another guy a few years older than me that lives around the corner
a 42 year old man (yes, 42) and his WIFE of 17 years
a recently divorced 38 year old man with one kid
a girl from (and currently living in) Russia!!
a guy from India who needs a place in the US for 8 weeks!!!
a guy who needs a place for the summer

Now, as you can see I listed the cool, normal people first, the first three. I saved the crazies for last. I just don't get it! For one, I specifically stated in my ad (in capital letters): DO NOT CONTACT ME IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR TEMPORARY HOUSING. I explicitly stated that I was looking for someone my age. The only people I would want to live with over the age of 35 are family members. It would just be too weird, wouldn't it?? I clearly stated this was a one bedroom apartment and that I was only looking for one other roommate. Why is a married couple even contacting me??? Can somebody out there explain this to me?!?! Am I missing something??? AHHHHHHHH

Enough of that, I have a headache all over again. So, I basically typed up this blog in about 15 minutes. I'm dead tired, but I know everyone is just dying for me to update (kidding!). It usually takes me a good hour to do a blog post, think about what I'm going to talk about and how I'm going to set it up, look for pics, etc. Well, you don't get pictures this time, but I won't leave out the positive quote.

"Do not waste your time holding grudges, even toward those who have treated you unjustly. You will meet such people along the way, as you rise toward success. Others who are not making the grade will try to hold you down to their mediocre level, but they can't if you refuse to be bothered by what they say or do. Nobody can keep your success and prosperity from you but yourself."

--Catherine Ponder, "The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity"

This quote is kind of random, but I think everyone can take something from it.

I Know I Know

2007-04-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a millenium since I've updated my blog but I'm really busy and lazy at the same time. Hold tight for another day or two!

At Least It's Nice and Sunny

2007-04-05T14:40:00.000-07:00

I guess one thing about phasing out background is that my posts can be a little shorter and to the point now (and more frequent, kind of......sort of......hopefully, lol). I've still been working over night so I've been able to enjoy our sunny and 80 degree weather here. Don't hate! A portion of the Hollywood Hills caught on fire last week in case anyone didn't know. Right behind the Hollywood Sign. I live at the base of the Hollywood Hills, about 2 miles from where the fire was. Some apartment complexes had to be evacuated, but no residential areas were damaged. They got it under control. Scary.

So, I was working at the gym the other night. You would be surprised at the number of people that come in all through the night. It still amazes me. The regulars come in every night, and they know me know, so it's cool. Anyways, the other night I was at the front desk and it was about 3:30 am. I see this car park in the parking lot and this guy gets out and is walking towards the door. He has a huge bag on his back, coats in one arm, miscellaneous stuff in the other arm, and a cigarette in his mouth. He is dropping things because he has so much stuff. It was pretty funny. He comes right up to the front door and then throws his cigarette butt on the ground and steps on it. Now, I know smokers work out too, but I was thinking, "This guy is crazy. Who not only smokes a cigarette right before they work out, but literally right up to the front door?" I mean, it's like he wanted to smoke for as along as he possibly could until he got into the gym. He then walks through the door. I glance at my computer screen, and then at him, and guess who it is? It's Danny Bonaduce!!! LOL From the Vh1 reality show Breaking Bonaduce (and from The Partridge Family of course). He looks just like he does on the tv. He's short. However, he was REALLY cool. He was a nice guy. You know I keep it real and wouldn't lie. He also came back the next night looking for some punching bags, but we didn't have any. You never know who you're going to bump into in Hollywood. Now, I just need Mariah Carey to waltz in one night.

Also, I was at the grocery store the other day and I ran into Christine Taylor, better known as Ben Stiller's wife. She is pretty and thing, just like any other actress. I didn't talk to her though. I wantedd to, but like I said, I'm not that kind of person. I did want to say something though because I used to watch this show she was on years ago when I was kid. It was a show on Nickelodeon called Hey Dude! Is there anyone my age reading this that rememebers that show? I never missed it.

That's it. Positive quote:

"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world."

~Harriet Tubman

I really hope everyone (in America at least) knows who Harriet Tubman is. As soon as I saw this quote, I had to use it here. It really puts things into perspective. When I think about what hardships people have gone through in the past, whether it be the slaves during the Atlantic Slave Trade, the Jews during the Holocaust, the Native Americans, the first settlers who set up camp at Jamestown, Virginia, or even my own grandmother who moved 7 young children from Jamaica to the United States, BY HERSELF, it makes me think the things I whine about now are nothing! I have no right to be tired or inconvenienced. I have goals damnit and I'm not stopping until I achieve them! Who's with me??

It's Time For A YouTube

2007-04-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

Anyone on the Sanjaya bandwagon? I'm not, because I don't watch American Idol, but here is a funny video that has been going around the net. It was shot right here in LA and in the video you can see a portion of the LA Film School. I've had many auditions there, lol.

Sanjaya Anthem

Add to My Profile More Videos

I Actually Have Something To Write About

2007-04-01T21:48:00.000-07:00

My new task is to find some interesting things to write about since I can no longer write about all of the interesting sets that I've been on. I haven't found interesting things yet, but I think I can muster up a few things. For starters, I think working at the gym is going to provide me with enough "crazies" to write about, so that shouldn't be a problem, haha. For instance, last week the manager at one of our other gyms called me and asked me if I could work the overnight shift for a few days because the regular person got the pink slip and she needed a temporary fill in until she trained her new person. I reluctantly agreed. I needed the money, but I wasn't too thrilled about working from 10pm-6am, being the only person working and basically being bored out of my mind! For anyone who doesn't know me, I have a very short attention span. (My biggest fear before moving to LA had nothing to do with money. I was afraid of being bored to death since I didn't know anyone). Anyways, I worked 3 overnight shifts last week, and I loved it! It surprised the hell out of me. I liked it for a few reasons. First, there isn't much to do, but enough that I wasn't bored all night. Second, this is LA, so people come in all through the night and they talk to me and stuff. Third, since I'm the only one working, I can eat whenever I want and do whatever I want. Not to mention, on the first night, some young guy high on some kind of drug was starting fights in the basketball court and he got punched in the face and I had to call security and the police and he was escorted out. So, I was certainly entertained all through the night!

I'm also looking for another job because obviously the gym isn't going to cut it here in LA. It's really hard to find a good paying job as an actor. You need your days free (or a job that will let you out for auditions), you need flexibility and you need more than minimum wage. I've filled out so many applications that I don't ever want to see another one again. I haven't really found anything worthwhile until I saw a posting on the internet for a really good paying job that actually said "actors and artists welcome". That's pretty much unheard of. Most jobs other than restaurants (which I'm so desperately trying NOT to work at) don't like hiring actors because of auditions and stuff. So, I submitted for this job, but I knew that a thousand other people probably did too. Here's a sample of the message I got today:

Kris,

Your name has helped you with this interview. I have received an overwhelming response and would not have opened your email, had it not been for your name. I like your name.

LOLOL. Isn't that cool? I never would have expected a message like that. I guess I have to thank my parents for that one, huh? Thanks Mom and Dad. Now, this is just for the interview. I haven't gotten the job yet, but we'll see. Funny how things happen though.

Lastly, I have to mention a thing or two about the power of the mind. I'm sure everyone has heard about "The Secret". The thought that if you think positive things, good things will happen to you? I haven't read that book, but I have read 2 that are similar. Some of my positive quotes come from them. One is called The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity and the other is Think and Grow Rich. I'm mentioning these because they all talk about the Law of Attraction. I believe it and I have proven. If you think positive, then you will attract positive people and positive things (although I still attract the crazies, but that's how it's always going to be. I'm not complaining...I need to laugh). I moved here in July, and basically from July to December, NOTHING happened for me. As you can see from my very first blog entry in 2007, I wrote about how I was only going to think positive, use what I learned in 2006 and go from there. In January I was contacted by 5 talent agencies and I signed with one. In February I was booked in my first 2 film roles. In March I became SAG eligible. Today is April 1st and I just got an e-mail that I am being called back for another independent film (wish me luck and think positive for me!). I did have a bad week last week in terms of being a bit down, but today I got 2 e-mails: 1 about the job, the other about the call back. Is that not proof??? How could I not believe? I believe in pre-destiny, but I think it has to start with the mind. It's more powerful than we think. And if something is working for you, I think you should share it with others, so I'm sharing. That's just my two sense (or is it cents? hell, I don't know, you get what I'm saying).

Positive quote of the day:

"Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them every day begin the task anew."

~Saint Frances De Sales

Normal Happenings

2007-03-29T17:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I have been slacking on posting. I'm not even going to lie, I've just been lazy! Thanks for getting me in line Danni, haha. It's weird because it takes the biggest effort for me to start a post, but when I do actually start, I get really into it and then it ends up being 8 million pages long. I'm slowly phasing out doing background, so who knows what I will talk about in my blog in the future! It's been the "interesting" part of my blog I think. We'll see.

So, I worked on the show ER last week and here is an amusing story. Back in August, I met this girl. She is 18. I don't even know her real name because I have a nickname for her. I call her "mischievous". I started out as a joke, but the name stuck, so that's what I call her. I had seen her a few times on some other sets back in November and December. But, until last week, I hadn' t seen her since then. I think it will be funnier if I post our conversation, rather than describe it:

me: Hey mischievous, it's been a while. Isn't this where I met you?

her: (hugs me) Yeah! Wait a minute, did you just call me "promiscuous"?

me: No, no. I would never call you that. I called you "mischievous", like always.

her: Oh, ok. I don't even know what "promiscuous" means. I just know that song by Nelly Furtado and Timbaland.

me: haha....well, ask one of these ladies around you.

her: I don't know what "mischievous" means either.

me: All this time and you never knew?? It means you're bad, you start trouble, etc.

her: Oh, well what does promiscuous mean?

me: Ask someone.

(I start to walk away)

her: (yelling) CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT PROMISCUOUS MEANS?!?!?!

random lady: SLUTTY! IT MEANS SLUTTY!

I have to admit, it was pretty funny. Nothing else terribly exciting happened that day except for one of the PA's telling us to walk briskly through the scene and a guy asked me if that means fast or slow. Hey, you can't know everything all the time, right? lol

Later in this week I was on a new pilot called Supreme Courtships. The only person I recognized there was Shane West, who ironically played a doctor on ER. This was being shot in downtown LA and I had to drive right through skid row to get there. Has anyone heard of "skid row" in Los Angeles? It's an area of downtown that is basically really run down. There are so many homeless people and there is garbage everywhere. I mean EVERYWHERE! Like all over the ground. It's a sad sight to see. I was also on Close to Home again this same week. Typical day except I got to drive my car through a scene. Fun.

Working at the gym has been kind of fun. For the first time since I moved here, I can go to a job, make friends and see the same people everytime I work. Some people that have come into the gym while I've been working there include Hugh Laurie (House), Guy Pearce, Nick Carter (Backstreet Boys) and some others that I can't remember right now, haha.

Positive quote:

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable."

~Helen Keller

And this one is dedicated to Jill, my blog buddy:

"To do something, however small, to make others happier and better, is the highest ambition, the most elevating hope, which can inspire a human being."

--John Lubbock

**Although what Jill has done, and is doing for me, is HUGE! More than I can explain.**

Criminal Minds: Honor Among Thieves, Part 2

2007-03-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

As for the rest of my day on Honor Among Thieves, I spotted someone sitting in one of the producer's chairs on the set, and I thought it would be good to introduce myself. So, inbetween one of the takes, I did just that. I told him my name and that I was Jill's friend, the lady who runs the Criminal Minds Fanatic blog. His eyes lit up and he goes, "Oh yeah, what a neat lady". This guy turned out to be Aaron Zelman. He is one of the writers for the show and a producer. Jill also mentioned her time talking with Aaron on her blog. He was a really cool guy and I talked to him for a few minutes. He had a coke in one hand and his writing pad in the other. I imagine Aaron would be able to empathize with me as a medical student. I mean, both of us have probably spent many nights in a small room, with a bunch of papers and a caffeine product to stay awake.

At around lunch time, I had a little conversation (actually rather lengthy) with Trish. Remember I mentioned her in my last post. I just wanted to mention her here again because she said some really nice things to me. I told her my story about leaving med school, coming to LA, blah blah blah. Most, actually the vast majority, of adults that I tell this to give me an adverse reaction ranging from a face that says, "are you stupid?", to flat out telling me, "ohhhh no, you gotta go back, you gotta go back" as they sigh and shake their head. This is why I don't share this story in person much anymore? I mean, what is the BIG DEAL??? They act as though acting is not a legitimate profession. I know that the chances of succeeding here are microscopic. I probably have a better chance of getting struck by lightening. That's not negative thinking, it's just the cold, hard facts. It's reality, from a statistical point of view. But how will I ever know if I don't TRY?!?!?!? Geez.....I've gotten so mad at one point that I really almost cussed someone out one time (I actually was in my head), but luckily my parents raised me to always respect my elders, and I do. So I kindly bite my tongue and just walk away. Look, I'm young, I don't have a wife or kids. I have no responsibilities. My goal is to have no regrets when this (meaning life) is all said and done. Now, back to Trish. She told me that I should keep up what I was doing here because she could tell that I was not happy in med school. She was very supportive and told me how her family kind of shot down her dreams when she was younger and it had a devastating effect on her. It's not right. Parents need to let go of their children when they become adults and let them explore the world. There is so much out there, and I just want to say that I feel I am where I am supposed to be here in LA. Thanks to Trish for her positive words and advice!

Toward the end of the day on set I was still trying to squeeze in a "Hello" to Thomas Gibson (Hotch) and Paget Brewster (Prentiss). Didn't happen! As Jill mentioned in her blog, Thomas had been having some long days and was really tired and stressed and I wasn't even going to go there. I mean, when he finished his last scene, it was like he vanished into thin air he was out of there so fast. I don't blame him. Paget was a different story. Inbetween almost every take, she would leave the set and go to her trailer. So, I couldn't really catch her to say "Hi". It's ok, hopefully I will get the chance to work on the set again!

That folks, was my time on Criminal Minds. I had a good time. I hope to see them all again and I hope Jill gets to come back for a visit.

This quote is not "positive" per se, so much as it is a true statement, which fits rather nicely with my rant from above:

"Countless numbers of men and women, both young and old, permit relatives to wreck their lives in the name of duty because they fear criticism. People refuse to take chances in business because they fear the criticism that may follow if they fail. The fear of criticism in such cases is stronger than the desire for success.
Too many people refuse to set high goals for themselves, or even neglect selecting a career, because they fear the criticism of relatives and 'friends' who may say, 'Don't aim so high, people will think you are crazy.'"

--Napolean Hill, Think and Grow Rich

Ahhhhh......where do I start? I know this quote is long but I relate soooo much to it. I literally had to read this quote at least once a day for 30 days leading up to my move from Ohio to Los Angeles. I was scared, but I did it. I know it was hard for my mom, and I know it must be hard for any parent. But if you are a parent reading this, please acknowledge it and at least think about. After all, what you want most for your child is for them to be happy, right?

The Letter Every Actor Waits For

2007-03-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

I finally got my letter in the mail the other day and I thought I would share it with everyone. It really is a milestone in an acting career and I thank all who have shown support for me! Click on the letter to view it full size.

Criminal Minds: Honor Among Thieves

2007-03-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, I have a little spare time to talk about my time on the set of Criminal Minds on March 1st and 2nd, 2007. It all started off on Wednesday, February 28th when I received a call from the casting agency that I had been requested by the producers to work on Criminal Minds for the next day on a SAG voucher. I was so happy, and I immediately thought, "Wow, Jill must've talked to someone over there". She works fast. I knew that this was going to be my 3rd voucher and that I had was finally going to be eligible to join the Screen Actors Guild, something that EVERY actor is trying to do. It makes sense to note here that SAG vouchers pay more than double what the non-union rate is. It also is worthy to note that, at this time, this was the first week I started my job at 24 Hour Fitness. I ended up asking for a total of 5 days off within the first 2 weeks. Two days for Criminal Minds and 3 days for the short film, lol.

Anyways, I had to arrive to the set super early at 7 am. Luckily the show has great catering service and I gorged myself on breakfast burritos and pancakes. I was sitting there talking to a nice lady, Trish, that I had met when all of a sudden I hear, "Good morning!". I look up, and it's Jill! She was on the set the day before, but had come back to meet Mandy Patinkin (Gideon). Jill was with her CBS benefactor, who took some pictures of us, including the one on the left. Jill was then whisked off to the set and I went to the props department to get my badge and my gun, haha. After I had gotten to the set, I talked to Jill for a little bit and then I had to listen to what we were going to be doing for the day. I saw Jill talking to cast members, crew members, producers, etc. I am not going to lie, I had the biggest urge to politely barge in on their conversations and introduce myself as her friend, but I had to hold back! As an actor, to meet people with power on a personal level is a to-die-for event. I have manners though, so I didn't do that. Jill met with and talked to Mandy Patinkin in between one of the takes, she came out of the office, kissed me on the cheek and then was taken to the airport. I really wish she could have stayed longer.

Now it was up to me to meet some of the people on the set, especially the ones who played a part in getting me my 3rd voucher. I knew I needed to meet Scott David and Gina, the casting directors. I didn't know who they were obviously, so I asked one of the production assistants who Gina was, and he pointed her out to me after basically interrogating me as to why. I explained how I was Jill's friend, etc., and he was like, "oohhhh, ok". Everyone on that set knows who Jill is and they know her blog. I introduced myself to Gina and couldn't thank her enough. She was very nice, but she told me that Scott David had left for the day. Bummer. The crazy thing is that when Jill posted the picture of Scott David and Gina on her blog, I realized that I had in fact walked right past Scott David early that day, but I didn't know it was him. Maybe he didn't recognize me, if he even saw me. So, I sent him a postcard thanking him for everything he had done.

A little later on, I met Matthew Gray Gubler (Reid) at craft services. I introduced myself and then said I was Jill's friend, and he's like, "oh yeah!! How's it goin?" I'm glad I could be associated with Jill on this set. I talked to him for a few minutes and then he had to get back to the set. I wasn't able to talk to Mandy Patinkin, Thomas Gibson (Hotch) or Shemar Moore (Morgan) because they were really busy and I didn't want to interrupt. I was NOT trying to get yelled at or make a bad impression that day, lol. I told myself I'd try to talk to them the next day, but little did I know none of them were coming back the next day. I screwed that up! Oh well.

Before I end this, did I mention that as soon as I walked onto the set, one of the first people I was Kate Jackson......from the original Charlie's Angels. Charlie's Angels was before my time, but I still knew who she was. It was crazy to be standing there next to someone who has done so much in this business and had such a successful career. Now, I will talk about the rest of this day and the next day on my next post. No, I'm not trying to drag it out. Yes, I'm going to finish it all on my next post. I've just been working crazy hours this week and I'm beat! Plus, I hate it when my posts get too long. I know no one wants to sit there and read for 20 minutes.

A Little Overdue?

2007-03-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

I seemed to have gotten a little busy this week and slacked off on posting on this blog. It happens. Not much happened this week except work, so I'll get to it. My week started of on Grey's Anatomy. What's with me working on this show so much this year? I don't know. Anyways, a few days prior to this day, it was announced that all the stars of Grey's renegotiated their contracts and had all gotten pay raises. It just so happens that the day I was there, they were all in such a great mood. Coincidence? I think not! I would be too. They're getting some hefty checks each week over there. Ellen Pompeo was all smiles and running around and laughing. It was funny. They deserve it though. It's a great show and they've been in the news so much over the past few months that I'm sure that they are glad they have something to smile about now. I went from Grey's to Close To Home the next day. They love me on that show. They always have long days, which means $$$, and their craft service table is exceptional! No complaints there.

Wednesday and Thursday (today) I worked on How I Met Your Mother. What a hectic 2 days. They were doing a big wedding scene, and that means sitting at a table all day long. It was cool though because there were some really funny people at my table including an older lady who reapplied her lipstick no less than twice an hour each time saying gleefully, "Ok, it's lipstick time!". You all know how much I NEED to laugh! The most interesting part about these 2 days, however, was a conversation I overheard. There were 2 kids on the show and their mother was backstage with them, talking to two other people. I'm minding my own business (as always, lol) when she tells these people that she and her husband have a farm with many animals, including 47 horses, some bison, etc., etc. Then she said that a few years ago, she and her husband brought in the pet psychic to talk to her animals!!! Do you guys remember that show on Animal Planet?!?!?! My mom loved that show and used to make me watch it all the time (or maybe it was the other way around, lol). The pet psychic.......Sonya Fitzpatrick was her name. This lady said that Sonya was the real deal and she was blown away. She said her husband was a major skeptic but he was a true believer by the end of the day. Apparently Sonya was on the money with a lot of things that she could not have known, including a story where the bison told Sonya to ask her owners when they were going to build the new pen they had been planning to build for her! The lady said she was blown away because just a few weeks prior, they talked about building a new $5000 pen for the bison!

Hey, I am in no position to judge someone's personal story here. I wasn't sold on Sonya when her show was on. I watched it just to see what kinds of animals she was going to talk to next. And I certainly can't knock psychics either because 2 years ago, I went to see one myself, just for fun, ya know? Little did I know that this psychic was going to be so accurate. Accurate enough to predict details that I have certainly seen come true, including the prediction that I would meet Jill, who you all know as my blogger friend who runs the Criminal Minds Fanatic blog. I am going to end this post here, because a good storyteller is supposed to leave his audience wanting more, right?? hahaha On my next post I'll finally discuss my time on the Criminal Minds set 2 weeks ago!

Positive quote of the day:

"Everything that is created begins in the form of a thought impulse."

--Napolean Hill, Think and Grow Rich

Everyone should really sit and think about this quote, because it's not just talking about material things. It's talking about success, happiness, wealth, health, etc.

I Finished My First Film!!

2007-03-09T22:20:00.000-08:00

Today I finished my first film and it was a really good experience. The cast and crew were really cool people and we had a fun time. I'm posting a few picture here of where we shot, but I'll post more later because I'm waiting to get more pictures from some other people. We shot the film in a place that I didn't even know existed anywhere near Los Angeles. We shot on a beach on the far side of Malibu. The film is called Too Little, Too Late and the premise of the film is that the world has just experienced a global catatrophe: hurricanes, firestorms, tornadoes, earthquakes. The whole works. Everything is back to normal, yet everything is destroyed and we've been living on a beach for a while. I play a scientist that is struggling to figure out a way to get us out of this mess. I'm so entranced in my thoughts that I don't even realize my girlfriend is pregnant. It takes place on Thanksgiving and drama ensues! haha

As I said before, the location where we shot was beautiful. There were caves and hills. Waves crashing on the rocks. And on all three days we saw a seal, a bunch if dolphins and even some Gray whales swimming by. (The whales weren't breeching like in the picture on the left). I had no idea those kind of animals lived off the coast of Malibu. The seal was swimming right near the shore where we were filming. At one point, the dolphins and the whales were even pretty close to the shore. I'm talking about literally 100 feet away. If the Pacific was not ICE cold, I would have gotten in the water and tried to swim with the dolphins. I kind of wanted to see a great white shark get the seal, because I know there are great whites off the California coast. Is that morbid?? I better stop before yall start thinking I'm a "crazy". I guess I watch too much discovery channel. Anyway, I think the film is going to be good and I can't wait for it to be all edited together so I can watch. All the actors get a DVD copy of the finished film. That means if/when I ever make it back home for a visit, I'll actually have something to show everyone! Exciting!

Now, on my last post, Lin posed an interesting question. She asked now that I am SAG eligible already, how far ahead of the "normal" schedule am I here in Hollywood. It's difficult to say because there are so many ways to "mae it" here, but I will share this story. Right after the new year, I went into one of the background casting agencies and politley asked them if they could help me get my 3rd voucher. I explained that I had been doing background for 5 months and had 2 vouchers, and I didn't know why it was taking so long to get my 3rd. They looked at my like I was crazy and asked, "You've been doing this for 5 months and you already have two?" I was confused because I had heard so many people saying they got their vouchers within 2 months, are 3 weeks, or that they got all their vouchers all on one show. So it made me think I was really slacking. The people at the agency told me that while that can happen, it is very rare. Most likely those people were lying. Go figure!!! They told me that ON AVERAGE, people get about one SAG voucher every 18 months. That means it takes an average of 4.5 years to become SAG eligible. They told me they knew this one girl who took 7 years to get all her vouchers!!! Well, I knew I didn't have that kind of time. I had to make something happen here before June rolled around. So, my 3rd one came on March 1st which means it took me exactly 7 months to the day to become SAG eligible. Not bad, huh??

Positive quote of the day:

"The Way of all Peace... is to scale the mountain of self. Your journey through life is largely one of self-discovery. Life is designed to test the very mettle of your soul. The largest obstacle is the Self, with all of its doubts, worries, and inhibitions. To truly be yourself, requires breaking through the limitations we have imposed upon ourselves. The best way of doing this is to focus energy outward, toward others. By getting out of yourself, you will indeed find yourself."

--Sylvia Browne, Tenet #1 from Basic Tenets of Novus Spiritus

This is so true but WHHYYYYYY does it have to be so hard? I have certainly already realized that my biggest obstacle is myself. Why do I doubt myself so much? It really is a full time job to keep negativity out of your head and positive in. It literally only takes one neagtive thought (from you or someone else) to destroy the confidence that you've built up for the last couple of months. It sucks, but there is no better feeling than when you work at something and then succeed!

I Didn't Expect This

2007-03-05T21:04:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of my 3rd and final SAG voucher that allowed me to obtain my union eligibility, all thanks to my new blogger friend Jill. For anyone not familiar with what SAG vouchers are and why everyone wants them, I explained a little bit about them in an earlier post. Click here to read about it. With that being said, it is a relief to know that I can cut back on doing background a little bit. Hey, it can get grueling. I only did it full time to maximize my chances of getting the vouchers. I got myself 2, and Jill actually got me 2 as well. When I was on Criminal Minds this past Thursday, they weren't finished shooting some of the scenes, and we got recalled the next day to finish up, which meant another SAG voucher for me. You're probably thinking that I'm going to run to the SAG office and join now. Not so fast. I only wanted my eligibility. I never intended to join right away. I'm not going to get into the details of why I'm not joining right away because it's confusing and not really that important anyway. All that matters is that I am eligible and I can join anytime that I CHOOSE.

It's fitting to say here that ever since Jill mentioned me on her blog, I've been getting a lot of responses from people all over the United States, Canada and Europe, and i just got a hit from South America. The power of the internet is incredible. People have contacted me on my blog, through e-mail and through myspace. I think it's great. It is really cool to know that people have an interest in what I'm doing. All the positive comments and energy is such a good thing. It proves that there are great people still out there. Sometimes you start to wonder what the world is coming to and if any good people still exist, haha. I just wanted to say I appreciate all the comments and I do respond to everyone. It is really weird because when I moved to Los Angeles from Ohio, I created this blog for my family and friends to keep up with what I was doing so I wouldn't have to constantly tell the same stories over and over again. I only e-mailed this link to a few select people because I thought to myself, "I don't want everyone all up in my business". Everyone meaning former friends. I had no idea my blog was available to the public, however. Thank God it was. I've been able to come into contact with a lot of cool people and even meet one of them! This is a picture of me smiling because I'm happy. All of my friends have seen this picture, but it is one that I actually LIKE. That's rare!

Positive quote of the day:

I know life can be so tough
And you feel like giving up
But you must be strong
Baby just hold on
You'll never find the answers
if you throw your life away
I used to feel the way you do
Still I have to keep on going
Never knowing if I could take it
If I would make it through the night
I held on to my faith
I struggled and I prayed
And now I've finally found my way

~Mariah Carey, Make It Happen, Mariah Carey, 1990

I'll be the first to say that song lyrics sound cheesy unless they are sung, but it's the message we're after. I know I can relate to the first part of the verse. As for the last sentence, I don't think I'm there yet, but I'm on my way!

Not Yet

2007-03-04T00:01:00.000-08:00

I know I was supposed to continue posting about my time on Criminal Minds today, but I forgot that there is a 1 day lapse in time from when my friend, Jill, was on the set and when I was on the set. She is detailing her trip on her blog and she is about half way through Wednesday. I wasn't on the set until Thursday and Friday. In order to not give anything away from Thursday morning (out of respect for the people that read her blog and mine), I'm going to wait until Jill gets to Thursday.

However, I didn't post my positive quote yesrterday, so here it is:

“Have your plans carefully in mind of what you will do when success arrives, because just when it seems least possible, the tide will turn for you"

--Catherine Ponder, "The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity"

While you are waiting for me to continue about Criminal Minds, click here if you want to re-live one of my best "crazy" stories since I started my blog. For the newer readers, I'm sure you'll get a kick out of it!

I Met My Blog Buddy!!

2007-03-02T21:36:00.000-08:00

The last 2 days have been absolutely great. For anyone not up to speed, I met a really nice person named Jill back in December. We met online because she found my blog, liked it, and contacted me. Jill has her own blog dedicated to the show Criminal Minds. It is a great blog and you can find it by clicking on the link "Criminal Minds Fanatic" on my friends list to the right. Jill's blog is so popular, that it got back to the people who created the show, and she was invited to come to LA and visit the set. How neat is that for her? While planning this trip, she contacted me and said that she wanted to give my picture and resume to the producers of the show!!!!! I was flabbergasted. Any actor would DIE to have a chance to have their face put right in front of the producer of a major show. I didn't know what to do or say, and I couldn't thank her enough. Was she able to do it??? You'll have to wait until the next post to find out. (ok, that was cheesy, but you still have to wait). Anyway, Jill flew in this past Tuesday night and I drove down to meet her at her hotel. I was excited and nervous. I was about to meet this lady who has been saying such nice things about me on her blog. She and her fellow blog followers even say they have "adopted" me as their Criminal Minds future star. What do I say to something like that?? I don't even have the words. Jill, and all the people who leave comments on her blog are all complete strangers, living in various parts of the world. Yes, world.......not counntry!!

So, Jill and I end up meeting each other around 10:45 pm. Of course I forgot my camera because that's just how I am!! (Not to worry, I have a great picture of us for my next post). She was the nicest person. She was very motherly, and she even wanted to take me somewhere and buy me dinner!! We ended up going to the McDonald's next door because it was late, and honestly, I didn't want her to buy me a nice, sit down dinner. It was SO thoughtful of her, but I didn't think she should have to do something like that. She was already going to try to do more for me in one single day than I have managed to do for myself here in 7 months!!

We sat and chatted for a while about a lot of things. I gave her my pictures. She seems to think that I don't owe her anything, even a thank you. How nice? She's got a lot more coming to her in the future than a simple thank you. When I make it (notice the positivity), I am going to do something REALLY great for her. Mark my words....it is here in writing. Because she didn't have to do anything for me. I would have been just fine being able to meet her. But she went the extra mile and did something for me that goes beyond nice. Everyone reading this should stop by her blog and leave a little comment saying how thoughtful she was!

With that being said, it is because of Jill that I got back on the set of Criminal Minds yesterday and today, but I am going to post about that tomorrow. It was a long 2 days, and I don't want this blog to get too long. Moving right along.......in terms of work, I have gotten myself a new job. I wanted to have a job that I had a set schedule at so I could reduce my time doing background. I'm slooooowly trying to phase that out and move up the ladder in Hollywood, ya know?? So, I got a job at 24 Hour Fitness. I love it because the people are cool and it is right down the street from me. I can walk there! Now, originally I thought that by doing a lot less background, I'd be seeing a lot less crazies, which is probably true. Well, on my 2nd day working, a crazy came into the gym. This person actually got their membership revoked because he was doing "inappropriate" things in the hot tub if I ain't being to subtle. haha Remember, I live in West Hollywood and there just so happens to be a large gay population here. When I was being interviewed for this job, the manager told this type of thing is epidemic at their West Hollywood location. And when I say epidemic, I mean they revoke an average of 30 memberships per month!!!! That's like one per day!!! I couldn't believe it was true. I CAN NOT get away from crazies can I?? I'm sure Lin will appreciate this. She posted a comment on my previous entry about a crazy she ran into in the grocery store. Funny stuff. I love it when people share their stories too.

Ok, this post is getting longer than I want it to, so I'm going to continue talking about 24 Hour Fitness at a later time, and tomorrow I'll desribe my day on Criminal Minds.

It Was Oscar Weekend.........

2007-02-26T17:11:00.000-08:00

............and I was majorly annoyed! They shut down a bunch of streets in Hollywood and West Hollywood and the traffic was crazy. There were so many celebrity parties all over town last night. Yesterday morning I had a job interview over in Hollywood, and on Sunset Blvd, the tow trucks were out in full force. I have never seen so many tow trucks in my entire life! Sunset had to be clear of cars, yet there were about 10 cars parked on the street right in front of where my interview was, and there were 10 tow trucks there hooking up to them ready to take them away. It was insane. In the meantime, I could have cared less about all the Oscar stuff because I had rehearsal for my film that I will be shooting in about a week. It was fun, and we found out that we will be shooting on the beach in Malibu! Not bad huh? I think it will be really fun and I can't wait for it to be put together so I can watch it, and then show everyone else.

As for work this week, I was on CSI: NY on Wednesday. It was pretty much a very long and boring day. Nothing to say there. Thursday I was back on Grey's Anatomy. Yeah I know, I have been on there a lot lately. This day was pretty uneventful as well. However, Friday I was on Close To Home and this is where I met my crazy. First of all, let me start by saying that I still have not met anyone that has ever seen Close to Home. Out of all of us background people, no one had ever seen the show. Does anybody watch it? I don't know how it is still on the air. I mean, you would think at least a few people would say they watch it. Anyway, back to my crazy. It was this guy, he looked like he was 16, but he had to be at least 18 to be working on the set. I was originally going to have to you all that I met a crazy, but that I didn't have a story to go along because he didn't talk, or do anything for that matter. He would just sit there, the whole entire day staring into space. He didn't talk to anybody. At one point, he would look up at the ceiling with his mouth open going "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh", and everyone was looking at him all confused. Then, he started gargling with his own spit. How nasty is that?? Then, we were shooting a scene, and inbetween takes, he started doing this dance that looked a lot like Irish River Dancing!! LOL No joke. He obviously didn't care about looking stupid. Then, later on, he revealed his voice to me. It was really late. By the way, we were there that day from 7 am to 11 pm, so this was around 10. I got up to go get some soup and hot chocolate because it was freezing. As I was leaving, this kid goes, "If you're going to get soup, I'm going with you". How did he know that? So, he followed me there, not saying anything. We got our soup, but then they started filming, so we couldn't go back to the stage the same way we came. I said to him, "Oh, I think we can go this way back to the stage". Well, this crazy flat out ignored me! Didn't even acknowledge what I said. What the hell?? Where do these people come from?

Well, I thought I had more to say, but I guess I don't. So, here is the positive quote of the day:

"At some point we have to stop allowing life to happen to us, instead, we must happen to life - living our lives by design, with deliberate purpose."

--Deya Direct!, EURweb.com

I Am Officially NOT A Crazy!

2007-02-17T19:52:00.000-08:00

You all know how I am only trying to stay in a positive frame of my mind, hence my positive quotes at the end of my posts. I believe that positive energy breeds more positive energy, and the same goes for negativity. I didn't even realize, but a friend of mine brought this to my attention the other day. On January 2nd, I did my first post on positivity and demanded that I only think positive thoughts. I don't think that it is a coincidence that in the month of January alone, I was contacted by 4 talent agencies, I signed with one of them, I booked a role on a student film, and I booked a role on an independent short film! More happened in the month of January for me than in the entire first 6 months that I was here! If that isn't full on proof that the mind is a powerful thing and can attract what it puts out, then I don't know what is. It's very hard to stay positive in such a negative world, but you have to force yourself.

So, what's the point of this post? Well, a random person found my blog and thought it was interesting. This person is getting started with an acting career in LA and they contacted me for some advice, particularly for getting into background work. I wrote back with my honest advice, because lets face it, Hollywood is a confusing place and with all the scame artists and creepy people around, it's hard to know who to trust. This is part of the message this person wrote back to me:

"First of all, congratulations on getting an agent and taking the next step! Thanks a million for writing back and giving me a heads up on the agencies -- some good advice from a sane person helps a LOT. I've got to say I admire your drive and ambition, I think you're going to be famous in about 10 minutes".

How nice is that? See, little things like that give me another surge of motivation to last me another few months. So, I had to share. Oh, and notice she said it was nice to hear from a "sane" person. That most likely means she has run into some crazies of her own and I'm NOT one of them!! haha SCORE!!!

Now It All Makes Sense

2007-02-17T18:34:00.000-08:00

Remember how on my last post I said that there was all kinds of chaos on the Grey's Anatomy set? Well, I clearly see why now. If anyone watched this past Thursday's episode, the very last scene of the night was the first part of what we filmed just one week prior, with Meredith in the emergency room. Usually, when an episode is taped, it airs 4-6 weeks later. This means that production on Grey's was waaaaaaaaay behind. Everyone was stressed. And when I went in that day, I noticed they were moving at lightening speed. Usually, it takes a few hours and many takes just to do one scene. I've been in scenes where the director did 19 takes!! On this day on Grey's, they were doing 2-3 takes maximum and moving right along. Crazy crazy day. We are approaching the end of the season anyway, with most shows finishing up in April or so, so things do get behind and get hectic. Let me also say here that Ellen Pompeo was nice on this day too. It was funny though, because I remember when she walked onto the set and I though to myself, "Man, is she late or something and not have time for hair or makeup?". But, she didn't need hair and makeup because she was just rescued from the water.

So I guess this is where I'll talk about my token "crazy". On Valentine's Day, I was back on Rush Hour 3. We did an explosion scene and I played a paramedic. There really wasn't much to the day at all. We only worked for about 10 hours. I went through the whole day looking for my crazy, but I was unsuccessful. It made the whole day pretty boring, but then he popped up at the end of the day. It was this older man, he had to be at least 55 years old. I think he played an FBI agent, and so I wasn't near any of them all day, which is why I didn't run into him sooner. Anyways, it's the end of the day and everyone is changing out of their costumes into their regular clothes. Our changing rooms are in these trailers that they have. They are small, and only fit 2 people at most. It was cold since the sun went down, so they had the heat on in the trailer, but it was at maximum. It was burning up in there. So, I'm in there changing, and this man comes in to change too. He starts talking, A LOT, and I have no clue what he's saying because I really didn't care! I mean, I can't even remember what he was saying, I just remember a lot of cuss words, expecially the F word. He was pissed about something. So, I'm minding my own business, changing my clothes, when he FARTS.....loud! Now, I'm a guy, and normally farting is funny. Come on, we all do it!! But when you're in a small trailer, that's literally 12 feet by 5 feet, and it is hot and stuffy in there....it's just GROSS!!! Luckily, I was just about done changing, and I got out of there before my gag reflex went into action! Ugh. Where's the respect people!?!?!? And this guy looked like he just sits around all day and eats hot dogs and farts all day. Seriously!

I want to ask everyone.....have you ever questioned your own normalcy? I mean, think about it. Crazy, weird, or strange people, don't know that they're crazy, strange, or weird. If they did, they wouldn't do or say the things that they do, right? Sometimes I meet so many weirdos, I think to myself, "Am I the crazy one? Am I normal?'. Because there certainly can't be this many crazies in the world. I mean, what if other people think I'm crazy? haha I am not!! But I did have an embarrassing moment the other day. I can't believe I'm about to tell this to the world. Anyways, we have a window in our bathroom (I just know everyone is jumping to conclusions with just that sentence, lol). The back of our apartment, where the bathroom is, faces another apartment building, so there is a little walk way between the 2 buildings. Our aparment, is just a few feet above ground level since we live on an incline. So I went to go take a leak, and the window was open, but I didn't think anything of it. So I'm peeing, and u know the sound it makes, tinkle tinkle whatever. Well, it was kind of loud, and as I'm MID-STREAM, some lady walks by, and as a reflex to hearing the sound, turns her head toward the window and we make eye contact!! AHHHH She could only see me from the chest up, but still!! NEVER AGAIN!! I hope she doesn't live around here. Geez!!

So that's all I have to say for this post.

Positive quote of the day:

"A good example of the power of persistence is show business. From all over the world, people have come to Hollywood seeking fame, fortune, power, love or whatever it is that human beings call success. Once in a great while someone steps out from the long procession of seekers, and the world hears that another person has mastered Hollywood. But Hollywood is not easily nor quickly conquered. It acknowledges talent, recognizes genius, and pays off in money only after one has refused to quit. The secret is always inseparably attached to one word, persistence!"

--Napolean Hill once again. I can't help it, the book is so good I think everyone should read it!

This quote is one that is important for me to read very frequently. I'm such an impatient person, so that is one of my personal obstacles. One thing that I do know I have, though, is persistence. I'm a fighter, and honestly, I have accomplished everything that I've put an effort into, so I don't know why I worry so much. Oh yeah, it's that damn loan debt that I have!!!

Some New Pictures

2007-02-11T14:46:00.000-08:00

At the request of my agent, I got some new pictures taken. When I first moved here back in July, I knew I would have to re-shoot once I got an agent, because they would have an idea how to market me. This new photographer that I went to is amazing and the pictures look much more diverse than my first batch. I'm only putting 2 up on this blog, but there are more with me in some other clothes, including a suit. Maybe I'll some of the other ones in the next post. They are big files, and as you can see they're screwing up the alignment of my blog and that bothers me! Hey, I'm a Type A personality (as most med students are) and I'm a perfectionist. Oh well. As for the pictures, I don't think they're terrible, but as they say, we are our own biggest critic. The photographer did great, but I could have done a little more. But, I won't bore you with my nuances.

Thursday I was on Grey's Anatomy again, and can we say "drama on the set!!". Surprisingly, it had nothing to do with the cast. Isaiah Washington was there, and he seemed happy. He was smiling and cool, but he laid low the whole day. I think that rehab did him some good, lol. Thursday was the first time that Patrick Dempsey was working when I was there. He seems like a really nice guys. It was the first time that McSteamy (I don't know his real name) was there too and he seems cool. Basically everyone was working that day except for Katherine Heigl (Izzie) and T.R. Knight (George). We were there from 9 am to 11 pm! Long day, but I met some cool people there. They were actually normal people, not crazies. Normal is boring huh? I admit, I love my crazies, but there weren't any there that day. The drama came in because at one point, the writers and directors couldn't agree on some shot, or they were moving too slow or something and they were yelling at each and arguing and of course you know I was in the corner cracking up. I just can't help it! Is there something wrong with me?? I laugh at everything! As this was happening, the lady across from me looked all serious and scared. She probably thought I was the most immature person there. You think I cared?? Anyways, the events happening in this episode are "JUICY", and that's all I can say. I was reading the script thinking, "oh my gosh, this is crazy!". The episode I'm in is the 3rd one of this three part trilogy episode they're doing or some crap like that. You'll have to watch and see!

Production on my short film got pushed back to early March. That's the biz though I guess. It was originally supposed to be shot the last weekend in January, so it's been pushed back a lot. I just got the script a few days ago and it seems like an interesting story. I think it will be fun to do.

Ironically, two friends from Ohio are here visiting in LA. I hung out with one all day Friday and the other for a little bit on Saturday. So, the current number I've friends from Ohio I've seen since I moved are up to 3 now. I still haven't seen any family since I moved. That's the longest ever. It's all for the greater good though. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

Positive quote of the day:

"But then comes the fear: 'What if I do take responsibility and do go out, and still fail?' Don't worry about that. If you have talent and there is a positive energy about you, you will succeed because others will notice you, want to be around you and want to work with you."

~Lindsay Chag, casting director

RIP Anna Nicole Smith

2007-02-11T14:15:00.000-08:00

Normally I probably wouldn't do this, but I liked Anna Nicole. She made me laugh. She was a crazy! I felt sorry for her because she seemed to never have the proper guidance in her life, even as a kid.

I actually think most people liked Anna. I mean, people might have been annoyed by her antics, thought she hung around the wrong people and made stupid decisions, but she was a good person. She meant well, and she was nice to people. My mom loved Anna Nicole too. We used to watch her show on E! lolol

I almost knew it was inevitable that her life would end early and on a tragic note. I hope that doesn't sound morbid, but she lived life in the fast lane, she had a problem with drugs and it all caught up to her. I'm not saying she deserved to die at all, but with all of our actions come consequences. We may get away with most things, but it only takes getting caught once for things to go awry.

My Neighbor Is A Crazy!!

2007-02-07T22:18:00.000-08:00

Just when I started to go through "crazy" withdrawal, I got my fix from my neighbor and from some girl at work. I'll infuse those stories into my discussion on work, as always. Monday I was on the show Girlfriends. It was a regular, boring day, but the cast members were interesting. Tracee Ellis Ross (daughter of Diana Ross) seemed really nice. She has a lot of energy, that's for sure. She was just all smiley and nice. The girl who plays Lynn on the show basically pissed everyone off. We were all ready to shoot a scene, but the crew was just sitting around not doing anything. We're all like, "what's the hold up"? The director came over to us and said, "We're waiting on an actress. This is not good. Don't ever do this". It was funny. I mean, you hear about this all the time, but I had never seen it happen since I've been doing background. Then again, I haven't worked with Lindsay Lohan yet, haha. The guy who plays William on the show is s-t-r-a-n-g-e! He would walk around inbetween takes staring off into space. And there were other times where he would just stand there, making the weirdest faces. It was so weird. I mean, I've caught myself making faces if I'm in deep thought, but his weren't like that. But it didn't look like he had Huntington's chorea either (if you don't know what that is, google it). He was just weird!

Tuesday I was on Scrubs again. Now, this day would have been a total crapshoot if I hadn't met a crazy toward the end of the day. It was this girl who was 29, but she looked and acted like a 16 year old. Her hair was a mess, but she had beautiful skin and teeth. Anyways, she kept whining all day long, so we finally asked her what her problem was. It was that kind of whining that people do over and over again when they want to tell you something, but they want you to ask first. You know what I mean. So, she promptly tells us that she can't stop thinking about this guy she had sex with. She also made the decision to tell us how great it was. Ugh. So, she tells us they did it first 4 months ago, then she lost his number. It was so good she had to see him again. So, what does she do? She writes him a letter and then goes to his house and slips it under the door! Isn't that a little stalkerish? Why couldn't she just mail it? I thought it was weird, but apparently it worked. Dude called her and they hooked up a second time, but now he hasn't called her since. Then she asked us if we thought it was weird, or freaky that she had a fantasy that involved her, and two gay guys (use your imagination). The purpose of me telling this story is to prove the point that people share TMI!!!! The whole time she was talking, I just kept looking at her and wanting to call hair and make-up over to help her out with her hair! Oh, this was the first time I was on Scrubs that Zach Braff and Donald Faizon were there as well. Both are cool.

So as I'm heading out my door this morning to go work on All of Us, I see my neighbor (an older lady) peeping in the front window of one of my other neighbors. I mean, she was all upin their bushes, right up at the window. It reminded me exactly of Mrs. Kravitz from Bewitched. I said "hi" to her and almost scared her half to death. She explained that she heard the neighbor's dog whimpering and she was trying to see if it wass ok. Keep in mind this is at 7 am. I was trying to hold my laughter in. I talked to her for a few seconds, and as I was leaving, I assumed she would have went back to her apartment (or at least acted like she was until I was out of sight), but she went right back to their window! I was laughing all the way to my car.

It's been a busy week, but I'm just glad to be back to working everyday. I'm still getting things together for my agent, and hopefuly in the weeks to come I'll have more and more great things to tell!

Quote for the day:

"The only way to build confidence is to achieve, with no more but no fewer challenges to doing so than one's peers"

~John McWhorter

2007 Started off OK!

2007-02-04T17:51:00.000-08:00

Well, it seems like 2007 came in and things just started happening for me. Small things, but "things" nonetheless. Baby steps. I actually want to take it slow and steady and work my way up. As far as work, it's the same routine. It was pretty cool on Wednesday though. I worked on a new pilot starring David Duchovny. It's not titled yet. We shot at someone's mansion in Malibu. The house was on the side of a hill overlooking the pacific ocean. The whole time, I just kept thinking, "This is someone's life? Someone actually lives here!". We were there shooting a high school house party scene on the back patio until 1 am. It was COLD that night and some of us had to get in the pool. They heated it for us, but coming out of the pool was torture. There was this guy there, and I wouldn't call him a "crazy", but he made a comment that I just don't understand why he didn't keep it to himself. When I fisr saw this guy, I thought he looked a little nerdy. He reminded me of the guy in the American Pie movies with the red hair and freckles. You know who I'm talking about. So, I was talking to this guy and he goes, "I'm playing the nerdy guy at the party that can't get a girl to talk to me. That's not too far from me in real life?" Why do people say things like that?? What am I supposed to say to that? "Yeah, I can totally tell."? I mean, it reminds me of this lady I met on ER. We had just checked in and she busts out her lipstick and says, "Well, I better put on my face before I scare everyone away!". Geez......these people can't think of anything else to say??? Next time I'm going to play along and agree with them and see what they do. Seriously!

This weekend I was back on Rush Hour 3. We were shooting a traffic jam scene at an intersection in Downtown L.A. That means I basically sat in my car for 2 days straight! It was soooo boring, but you get paid extra for using your car in a scene, so that was cool. Chris Tucker was there this time. He is funny, but his high pitched voice is solely for his career. I heard him talking to the director and he sounded normal. Mia Tyler was there too. She is Steven Tyler's daughter, the goth one. They had her made up all pretty though. I don't know if she was just making a cameo or if she has an actual role in the film. Brett Ratner is directing this film. Do you guys know who Brett Ratner is?? If not, let me explain. He's directed many films and many rap videos, but more importantly, he know Mariah Carey personally and has directed several of her videos as well, including We Belong Together. This means I've come in contact with someone who knows Mariah personally! I'm one step closer yall. I just can't wait until she gets her (long overdue) star on the Walk of Fame so I can be there. Gosh.....I'm so sprung!

Now, onto more good news. I was going to wait to tell everyone this, but what the heck. I got the phone call on Thursday that I've been offered a role in an independnt film!! SWEET! I auditioned twice for it and the diretor liked me and wants to use me. This is good because this short film is going to be submitted to film festivals. That's a lot of exposure for an actor. Film festivals are also great for networking. The director actually made a film in 2005 and won the top honor at a film festival. She eventually wants to make this current film into a full length feature film. So, cross your fingers and hope it does really well. We shoot the weekend of February 17th.

Positive quote for the day:

“Have your plans carefully in mind of what you will do when success arrives, because just when it seems least possible, the tide will turn for you."

~Catherine Ponder (The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity).

And For The Rest of My Story......

2007-01-29T19:30:00.000-08:00

All right, I'm going to try to attempt to tell you guys about my encounters with the crazies last week. Interestingly, they all happened on the set of Without A Trace. The first one, her name was Ming and she is from Hong Kong. Ming is about 5'1" and 100 pounds. She was such a busy body and cracking me up all day. This girl could not sit still!!! One minute I look up and she is on her knees on the floor, putting lip gloss on. The next time I look up she is eating a plate of food. Seconds later she is knitting a scarf!! I literally turned to get something out of my bag, and when I turned back around she was hemming a pair of pants she brought, complete with scissors, thread, everything. There was one moment when I was flipping through my folder, and I had some pictures in there. I noticed that Ming saw that I had some pictures, and looked as though she wanted to ask if she could see, but she didn't. I got called to go the set, so I put my folder under my chair and left. An hour or so later, me, another girl and Ming are all talking about the business, acting, etc., etc. The other girl brought up headshots, to which Ming blurted out to me that she had peeked at my pictures when I was gone! She said they were nice, and that was nice, but in my head, I'm thinking, "this little heffer went through my stuff!" I didn't really care, it was just funny to hear her say it in her thick accent and big cheesy smile. I'm not sure how funny this story is on paper. Maybe its one of those things where you just had to be there. Trust me, Ming is F-U-N-N-Y!

Moving on to the drunk..no...intoxicated girl on the set. This was so crazy. This girl was talking to some dude and she was saying some really erratic stuff, so I'm thinking, this girl is crazy! After she left, the guy goes, "Man, I think that girl is drunk!". I laughed, but then another girl standing next to us said the same thing. It was all starting to make sense. Earlier in the night, I was wondering why she looked like Courntey Love. I'm not kidding. Her hair was a MESS, and she had been putting lipstick on all night and it was all over her mouth. At one point during the night, she walked by me and I got the strongest whiff of alcohol....I actually think I got a light buzz from it, it was so strong. When did this girl go booze it up? She must've brought it with her and drank it all on the lunch break. CRAZY! I knew she had gone off the deep end when she walks up to one of the guys on the set and goes (in front of everybody), "Marcus, why haven't you been returning my voicemails? I've left you plenty and I know you got them!!". It was so funny. The dude didn't know what to do, so he flat out ignored her ass! I was ready to get out the popcorn.

Any lastly, we come to the drag queen. Yes......drag queen. He tried to play like he wasn't one, but here's how I figured it out. He was telling us about how he was in the movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry in which two firefighters pretend to be gay and get married, in order to get insurance benefits. So, for this movie they had a lot of scenes dealing with gay issues, including drag queen. So, this guy was telling us about how he was in this movie as a drag queen and that they (the wardrobe department) dressed him up like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz with a red wig and skirt so short you could basically see his "bits". He also bragged to us that they chose guys with the "best legs" for this scene. Whatever. What he DIDN'T realize, was that I remember when they were casting this movie, they specifically said they needed guys to dress in drag for a scene, but that you needed to have your OWN drag clothes!! HAHAHA So, he basically told us, indirectly, that he is a drag queen. Why I didn't call him out on this in front of everyone, I don't know. That's exactly something I would do. I must've been thinking how CRAZY he sounded. A little later on, someone asked how old I was and he chimed in and said he thought I was 19. I told them I was born in 1982 to which he replied, "Oh, I was smokin weed and having sex by then". Umm....did I really need to know that? But, the one quote that gave it all away was when he was looking at an Us Weekly Magazine and he says, "Mmm.....Mary Kate, blonde is not you color honey!".

And those are my encounters with the crazies this week. I think I've had better stories. Like I said, maybe you just had to be there. In other news, I got chosen to be in a student's short film where I (ironcially) play a young doctor. How crazy is that for my first film role. It's a very short film, a scene rather, that's like a minute long. But, there are 2 doctors discussing a comatose patient, and thus it is called Comatose. When it's done being put together, I'll get a DVD copy, so that should be interesting. At least I have something to add to my resume now!

Different News For Once!!

2007-01-26T17:54:00.000-08:00

I hate it when I get so busy that there is a week's time between posts, because they end up getting really long. I'm sure no one wants to sit and read a blog for 20 minutes. Anyways, I have some good, no great news for once. I FINALLY have an AGENT!!!!!! Whew. It took me exactly 5 months and 21 days since I started the search. This is a huge step for a new person in Hollywood. The agency I joined signed me to a commercial contract, so I'm starting in commercials. This is great because commercials are very lucrative and only licensed talent agents have access to these types of jobs. You really can not progress here without an agent. I already thanked God a million times because as you all know I'm under a little more of a time crunch and more pressure than most other actors out here. I have to let Ohio State know in June whether or not I'm comging back or not. Well, I don't want to have to make that decision. I want to be doing so much here that there wouldn't even be a question in my mind as to whether I'd go back or not. Ya know, up until now, the fact that I had this decision to make really stressed me out and depressed me, because I obviously don't want to make the wrong decision. However, I think this is a blessing in disguise. It keeps me working over time to make things happen. It keeps me on my toes. I see so many actors out here who get lazy and they're just floundering. This leads into my next point, and my next bit of good news (there are 3).

I went into one of the background casting agenices last week to ask if they could help me get another SAG voucher. I told them I had 2 (even though it was still technically 1), and that I only needed one more. I told them that I had been doing background for 5 months, i had 2 vouchers and I didn't know why I was having trouble getting my 3rd. The dude in there looked at me like I was crazy! He said that on average, people doing background get one voucher every 1.5 years!!! He said I was waaay ahead of the curve by having 2 already. But see, that's just my frame of mind. When I do something, I HAVE to be first, and I HAVE to be the best. My mother can validate that. The fact that it had been almost 6 months and I didn't have my 3 vouchers was really getting to me. This brings me to my next point!

I GOT THE OTHER SAG VOUCHER 5 days later, and I had to hustle to get it! This is so crazy. So last week they had put out a casting notice about needing people to play protestors for a scene in Rush Hour 3. I submitted for it, and they didn't call me. Two days later they postedd it again saying they still needed people. I'm thinking to myself, "why would they post a 2nd time if they hadn't called everyone from the first notice?" They were shooting, on the weekend, and Friday rolls around and I still hear nothing. January has been such a slow month for work, so my ass CRASHED the set. Haha. People do it all the time apparently. Once the people who were booked finish checking in, then the "set crashers" or SPECS can try to get on. I wasn't the only one; there were like 20 other people who crashed. I had heard that they were possible going to recall people for the next day, but only a few. So, when we finished that day, I made sure I was on the first bus back to where we check out. As I got there, the girls was counting people off. She counted the first 40 people to come back the next day. So, I go back the next day and there are considerably less people. And feature films are requred to use 50 SAG vouchers before they can start using non-union vouchers. If there aren't 50 union people there, then they have to give some SAG vouchers to non-union people. So, I heard the girls say they were going to need to give a few of the vouchers out at the end of the day. Man, I was her best friend ALL day. I flirted like heck with her, and it paid off! They needed to give out 12 SAG vouchers, and she gave one to me. But my friend that was with me both days didn't get one. Sad, but hey, it's a cut-throat business and I got my voucher and that's all I cared about. Now, I'm still waiting for my 3rd one (that's owed to me). Not bad, huh?

Well, this is getting too long, so I'm going to wait until Monday to talk about the rest. Ahhh....don't you hate cliffhangers? Well get over it! This is Hollywood. This past Monday I was on a new pilot called Drive. It's a high school show and I played a high school kid on the baseball team. Yes, that means I got paid to play baseball all day! Nobody recognizable was on this how. Yesterday I was on Without A Trace. I played an FBI agent and we worked from 10 am to 12:15 am!!! That was grueling. I don't know anyone on that show either. Oh I almost forgot, on Rush Hour 3 we only worked with Jackie Chan jumping out of windows. He's cool, and they hired a bunch of Chinese extras for this scene. The Chinese women were all trying to take pictures of Jackie Chan and yelling for him and saying they loved him. It was funny.

Crap!! I just remembered that I met 3 crazies (I think that's a record) on the set of Without A Trace. Oh well, I'm sick of typing. I'll have to tell you about them in my next post. It's really funny.

Quotes of the day:

"Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity." (We knew that, but it fits this blog)

"The essential question is not, "How busy are you?' but 'What are you busy at?' 'Are you doing what fulfills you?'"

--both by Oprah Winfrey

Same Old Stuff

2007-01-19T22:01:00.000-08:00

At least I have a funny story to tell, so I'll start with that. My week started on Wednesday on the movie The Bucket List starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. All I have to say is that Jack Nicholson is the coolest mofo on the planet. Seriously. Morgan Freeman wasn't there that day. Jack was talking with all of us and joking around. He is really funny, amazingly talented and just really cool. He is exactly the way I want to be when I make it to the big time. I want to be cool, approachable and I want people to think I'm a genuinely nice guy. I don't want to be mean and cold in real life and then go on talk shows and be all smiley and phoney like a lot of the actors I've mentioned in previous posts. The day was a short day, but I met a crazy and I'll tell you about that now.

Geez, I swear I don't know where people get their information or why they tell it to STRANGERS! Anyway, I'm sitting there, and there is a lady behind me talking about colon cleansing. Given that I am a medical student, my ears perk up to see what kind of false information she is going to tell these other people. She's telling these people that she stopped eating meat because meat has parasites in it blah blah blah. She then says that its a good idea to have a colon cleanse once a year. She recommends an herbal colon cleanse because certain herbs can kill parasites that live within us, according to her. Up to this point, I'm thinking "whatever". Personally, I think all you need is some fiber, vegetables and a lot of water to clean yourself out. What she said next is what made me turn around and gasp. These are her exact words:

"I know that the herbs work to kill parasites and the illnesses that they cause.
I had a friend who had cancer, and the doctors gave her some pills, but they didn't
do anything. You know those doctors, they give you stuff to keep you sick so you
have to keep coming back and giving them money! So, my friend took some of the
herbal colon cleanse pills. Now, not to be gross, but this is true. After she took the
pills, a spider crawled out of her vagina, and then
her cancer disappeared completely"

WTF????? Spider? Vagina? What does that have to do with cancer? Is this woman nuts? You know I was cracking up so hard, for many reasons. 1). She was probably referring to herself and not her "friend". 2). In order for a spider to crawl out of your vagina, that means it had to crawl in there!! YUCK!! The digestive system and the reproductive system are completely separate and not connected in any way, so her whole lead in to this story was basically BS. Vaginas just don't create spiders. 3). Can you imagine the look on ANYONE'S face if a *BLEEPING* spider crawled out of their vagina??? This is ludicrous!!! You should have seen the look on the other people's faces. It was straight up comedy. I couldn't contain myself. Someone said, "A spider, like a real spider?" Then the lady changed it up again and said it was a "spider-like creature". How does she know all these details? I'm sorry, but if a damn spider really crawled out of someone's vagina, I can't imagine them telling anybody. I mean, how do you tell someone that a freakin spider crawled out of your vagina?!?!?!?!?!?! "Hey Betty, my period was a little weird yesterday. It was extra heavy and there was something moving around in there. Is that normal? Ahhhhh........for the love of God!!! I know I sound all shocked right now, because I really was, but honestly, I thank God for these people. How BORING would my life and blogs be if it were not for my crazies?!

Wow.....I don't even have anything to say after that story. I'm glad it happened or else this blog would be really short because I only worked 2 days this week. There are some changes that will be happening soon I hope, and hopefully next week I'll have some interesting things to say. You know I don't like to say anything until things are set in stone. That way I don't look stupid if things change, ya know what I mean?

Positive quote for the day:

"People who succeed keep open minds and are afraid of nothing"

~Napoleon Hill

Well, I got the open mind part down......I just gotta work on the "afraid of nothing" part!

Two More Things

2007-01-14T12:34:00.000-08:00

Wow, I completely forgot two things to put in my post from yesterday. This is crazy. So, while I was on the set of This Christmas, I look over, and who do I see amongst the masses doing background work??? None other than Goldie from Flavor of Love: Season One! I had actually met her roommate a few weeks earlier. Her roommate had told me that she (Goldie, who's real name is Courtney) wanted to go to medical school. So, I end up seeing Goldie and talking to her and giving her all kinds of advice about medical school. She was asking me everything. It was really cool to give advice to someone in an area that I had worked hard to master. It was just so weird. So, I HAD to ask Goldie about her experience on Flavor of Love and more specifically New York, who cracks me up! She said New York can actually be cool, but she definitely turned up the drama for the show. She said she watched the premiere of I Love New York on VH1, and she didn't really have any comments about it. So, at the end of the day, we exchanged myspaces addresses and now I'm friends with Goldie. There were people wanting to take pictures with her on the set too. It was funny.

The other thing I have to say is that my apartment is haunted. We have a ghost. I don't know how many of you believe in ghosts, but I do. A ghost is the soul of a person that is trapped in between the dimension of Heaven and Earth. Now, when I first moved here, my friend Keisha was over here and she was on my computer, and she looked up and said she saw something white move through the doorway. I didn't think anything of it. Over the months, I've seen a white silhouette out of the corner of my eye on a few occasions, but I just kind of brushed it off as my mind playing tricks on me. Well, Afrah was over last night, and as we were talking, she looked up and this scared look on her face. I asked what was wrong. She said she saw something white move by the door, and she asked if my front door was locked because it looked like a person. Ugh.....I don't need a ghost rigtht now! I never told Afrah (or anyone for that matter) about this white thing I've been seeing, which means that 3 people have all seen the same thing on separate occasions. It doesn't bother me at all and I get the feeling it is a man for some reason. My apartment was built in the 40's, so I'm sure that over the years, at least a couple of people have died here. As long as this ghost doesn't show his face to me over my bed at night, I shoud be cool, lol. I know I sound crazy right now, but I know some of you have ghost stories too!

NOTE -- I put a picture of a cartoon ghost because when I googled "ghost" some really scary pictures came up with skeleton faces and crap and I don't need those images in my head. My roommate is gone for 2 weeks. If something happens to me, no one will ever know, haha.

Lots Of People This Week

2007-01-13T19:42:00.000-08:00

This post could get long, so I'm gonna get straight to the point. Wednesday and Thursday I worked on the set of a new movie called This Christmas. It is produced and narrated by Queen Latifah. It stars people such as Morris Chestnut, Loretta Devine, Regina King, Gabrielle Union, and Chris Brown. It will be released Christmas 2007. It was a fun two days. We shot a church scene and I am straight up in the front row! So, we'll see how much camera time I got when it comes out. In the scene, the choir sings, and then Chris Brown's character sings (he doesn't play himself). It's amazing how it takes 2 days to film just 6 minutes of material. About some of the cast.......first of all, Regina King is tiny, just as most actresses are. She is really pretty and nice too. She hugs me toward the end of the scene we were filming, so that was cool. Chris Brown has ADD, seriously. He's 17 or 18 and the kid could not sit still. He even broke the microphone playing around with it inbetween takes. He's a cool kid, but you could just get a sense of his immaturity, which is normal. I don't mean immature in a bad way, like immature for his age. I mean, just like you'd expect a 17 year old to act I guess. On the second day, Mekhi Pfeifer dropped by the set to watch. He's not in the movie (I don't think), so he must've been there just visiting someone.

On the way home from the set on the second day, I had to drive through Studio City, and there was a group of war protesters on the corner with all kinds of big signs saying things like, "Jail Cheney", "Bush is stupid", etc., etc. I'm thinking to myself, "what is going on?" Well, I got home and saw on the news that I guess Bush is sending 21,000 more troops over to Iraq. I couldn't believe it. There were a lot of protesters there and all the cars were honking their horns in support as they drove by. That's the first time I've ever seen anything like that. I wonder if people in other cities did the same thing? I'm sure they did.

Yesterday I was on the show Jericho. It was a miseable time. Jericho is a new show this season about a small fictional town in Kansas in which the people there have survived some sort of catastrophe, but they don't know what it was. One day, they just saw a huge mushroom cloud in the distance and chaos ensues. War erupts, etc., etc. The scene we shot was when the war was finally over and all the townspeople are gathered outside of City Hall watching fireworks as the National Guard comes through to check everything out. Ok, so you might be asking why this shoot was miserable. Well, first of all, it took place during winter and at night, which means we had a night shoot. I was on the set until 1 am. Not only that, we didn't have to act. That night, L.A. set a record (I think, ot it was close) for the lowest nighttime low. It dipped down into the 30's. Just 4 days earlier it was 82 degrees. Now, me being from Ohio, I should be used to that (especially since in Ohio it can be 70 one day and snowing the next), however, I think I've become acustomed to the climate here, because that night it felt like it was 0 degrees. I couldn't even feel my feet by the end of the night. It was terrible. It was cool though to see them using the big snow machines to spray the set down with foam snow. Honestly, if there were any kind of moisture in the air that night, it would have snowed for real. Oh, and the other things was that there were tons of kids working that night too. I'm already a person that doesn't have a lot of patience (which I'm working on), but when I'm cold and miserable, I have NO patience.

That brings me to today. I had a classic embarassing moment at an audition today. I had to go to Venice Beach for this audition for this student film. I walk in, and the 2 girls (director and producer) are really cool, we chatted, I read the scene 3 times and we chatted some more. It went really well. So, I'm getting up to leave, I'm saying goodbye, and I go to open the door to leave and walk right into the bathroom!!! I opened the wrong door. Doh! One of the girls was like, "ummm.....that's the bathroom". I said, "that camera isn't still rolling is it?". Thank God it wasn't and then I promptly left. I felt so stupid, but of course I was cracking up as I left. Maybe that incident will make it so I stick in their heads and they pick me. We'll see.

Quotes for the day:

"If you don't get out of the box you've been raised in, you won't understand how much bigger the world is."
--Angelina Jolie

"I think crossroads come at many times during your life. Up to this point, I've had several. You get to a certain point in your life and you're like, Am I supposed to be doing this? And it's usually in the face of some failure - something that didn't work out the way you wanted it to. And you're faced with a decision: Do I keep trying to do this or do I give up?"

--Jennifer Lopez

Of course we all know to never give up!!

Back To Work

2007-01-06T19:05:00.000-08:00

FINALLY..........we're back into the swing of things and I started back to work this past Friday. No more boring days at home anymore. Now, I can just go to work and be bored. At least I feel like I'm doing something. I know what's going to happen though. Right now in my life, when I have so much free time on my hands, I have nothing to do because I'm broke. But as soon as I actually start making some dough, I'm going to be too busy to do any leisure activites. I know it! That's how my luck runs. I won't complain though. I LOVE being busy. I get so many more things done when I'm busy and I feel like my life is not being wasted. I know people who don't like working and have no problem living with their parents, sitting on the couch all day not doing anything. How they do it, I have no clue. I would be poking needles in my eyes from not feeling like I am accomplishing anything. Anyways, I'm already booked up for work all the way through Thursday, and that makes me happy.

Yesterday, I was on this new show called The New Adventures of Old Christine. It stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus from Seinfeld. I don't know any of the other cast members, and I also don't know anything about this show. In fact, I had never heard of it. We were shooting outside and it was one of the coldest, windiest days in L.A. thus far, which made it pretty miserable. Ok, not miserable, but you get my drift. I don't have anything exciting to say about that day. My crazies must not be back from the holiday break yet, lol.

That's it. This post was short and sweet. My positive quote comes from the one and only Miss Mariah Carey, and here is a picture just because. She gets her long overdue star on the walk of fame this year. I'm already checking Hollywood's Chamber of Commerce Website because I would not miss this for the world. She is a goddess!!!!!

"I believe I'm going to make it. Don't say 'if' I make it, say 'when' I make it!"

The Dawn of The New Year.......

2007-01-01T19:39:00.000-08:00

Marks my six month anniversary moving to the City of Angels! Wow. All I can say is that time FLIES. I mean, it seems like just last week I was driving across the country to get here. I remember it in detail. Saying my goodbyes, writing my first blog, leaving the only home I've ever known! It's been the most exciting, happiest, scariest, saddest, incredible experience all at the same time. Now, I've been on a rollercoaster ride of emotions since I arrived here. Those emotions include, happiness, sadness, fright, depression, frustration, among many others. People close to me tell me I need to calm down and stop freaking out so soon. After all, it's only been 6 months. But, if you were $80,000 in debt and had to make another life altering decision (whether to move back to Ohio or not in June), wouldn't you feel a little on edge as well?? This is not easy! Obviously my biggest fear is failure out here, but at the same time, I know I am destined for greatness. I can honestly say, that to this day, I have never failed at anything! Everything I have attempted, I have been able to achieve thus far (med school being the most challenging by far). Why should this be any different? Why the hell is it so hard then??

So, here is my strategy for 2007. I plan to look at the latter half of 2006 as a learning experience. I have worked on every major studio lot in Hollywood. I know how a real working set operates, I know the terminology, and most of all, I know how badly so many other people want this just as I do. So, now in 2007, it's time to take things to the next level. Strive for the next step. No matter what obstacles get in the way. I've never quit anything (I don't think). Not only that, I left my life in Ohio because I had certain life golas I wanted to achieve, one of those being travel. At the age of 24, the only other country I have been to is Jamaica, because that is where my dad is from (Niagara Falls doesn't count!). I've never crossed an ocean, I've never been to another continent. We took a family vacation once to Phoenix when I was in 11th grade, but other than that, I had never even been west of the Mississippi. If my dad's family didn't live in New York City, I probably never would have been there either. When I wanted to apply to out of state colleges, I was told that that wasn't really necessary. When I wanted to apply to out of state medical schools, I was politely encouraged not to (although, in all fairness, money played a part in this too). While I know my parents only wanted the best for me, and for me to be safe, this is not a healthy thing. Do I really deserve to have a life doomed and confined to Columbus, Ohio which accounts for 0.00000000000000000001% of the Earth! I ultimately felt like a prisoner and had to get out! I don't know how many parents read this blog, but if you have children and they kind of hint to wanting a break from school after college, PLEASE don't discourage it. They need it, and deserve it. The most frustrating thing for me in medical school was hearing my colleagues' stories about Africa, Europe, Japan, India, etc. Ok, I got off topic. My original point was that I moved out here to provide myself with opportunities to travel, and until that happens, I'm not satisfied!

So, this is to a GREAT 2007! Starting today, I'm going to end all of my blogs with positive quotes from books I have read, because sometimes things get so depressing that you literally have to overload yourself with positive thoughts just to stay afloat. Here are two that seem to fit in with this specific post.

"I had learned, from years of experience with men, that when a man really desires a thing so deeply that he is willing to stake his entire future on a single turn of the wheel in order to get it, he is sure to win."

"The person who takes no chances generally has to take whatever is left when others have finished choosing"

--both from Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

Post Holiday Fun

2006-12-26T21:12:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm not really doing anything fun and exciting over here, that just sounded like a good title. I did have fun on Christmas though. I went to two friends' houses. We ate, ate, ate, and talked and laughed and watched movies, etc., etc. Typical holiday stuff. I got some money among other things from my mom and other family members. Sadly though, this is the first Christmas where I really wasn't able to get the kinds of gifts for friends and family like I like to. That's part of the sacrifice I made in order to move out to L.A. though.......to be broke (temporarily). It's just that I'm so damn independent, too independent at times I think. I hate asking people for things, I hate asking for money, and I especially hatw receiving gifts when I am not able to give them. My family understands though. One day I'll be able to get them anything they want. The animation to the right is something that came up when I googled the word "fun". I had to put it on here because it exactly describes how I feel sometimes! LOL

Did everyone else have a good holiday?

So this is kind of funny. This is for my medical school colleagues at Ohio State. I am a subscriber to Men's Health magazine, and here is a quote from one of their articles:

"Ohio State University researchers recently found that rats given a synthetic form of marijuana were better able to withstand the effects of brain inflamation, a cause of Alzheimer's, than straight rodents were. Next, scientists are developing a compound with similar effects but without the high."

Well, until then, Grandma is gettin the green for her birthday!! Haha Wouldn't it be funny to see all of the old folks of America sitting on their porches smoking blunts so they wouldn't get Alzheimer's? I can just see my grandmother smoking a joint, cracking up! On a serious note, this obviously brings up the great debate of whether medical marijuana is ethical or not and whether it should be legalized. Many people, like Montel Williams who suffers from multiple sclerosis, have said that they have received great benefits from marijuana. I don't doubt them, but from a medical standpoint, one thing that medical professionals always have to take into consideration is whether the benefits outweigh the side effects. In case you didn't know, ALL drugs are poisons and ALL drugs have side effects. Even the medicine we deem harmless, like Tylenol, is a poison with side effects. That is why I encourage people to NOT take medicine unless they absolutely need it. In the case of the research mentioned above, obviously if the scientists could come up with a similar compound without the harmful effects of marijuana, that would be best. Marijuana may help some people, but in addition to the THC and other chemicals it contains, the fact that it is burnt and inhaled makes it that much worse. ANYTHING burnt (including food) produces cancer causing compunds called carcinogens, and that means lung cancer in this case. And so the debate continues..................

That's all I have for now. I need to figure out what I'm going to do for New Year's here in L.A. I've heard a few people say they don't waste their time going out on New Years because people act a fool. Doesn't surprise me. We'll see.

For The Criminal Minds Fans

2006-12-23T11:42:00.000-08:00

UPDATES AT THE BOTTOM!

Hey guys, I have a new blog buddy who is the nicest person ever! Click here to see what she wrote about me on her blog.

As I was adding labels to all of my blogs last night, I realized that I had just barely mentioned that I was on Criminal Minds one day and I never even talked about filming that day. So, in honor of my new blog buddy, Jill, I'm going to talk about it now!

The date I was on this show was September 20th and the episode shouldn't have aired too long ago. There is usually about a 4-6 week time period between airing and filming. One of my friends actually called me and said they saw me on this episode. So, we shot on location at a local high school in Tarzana, CA which is in the valley. I played a football player. Let me start by saying that it takes 8 days to shoot one episode, and I was only there for one day for one scene, so I'm not sure what went on in the entire episode. Anyways, in the scene that I was in, we were having a huge pep rally because our football team was going to the championship. The last time our team had made it to the championship was back in 1984, so this was a huge deal! We, the football players, were on a podium with our coach and there was a huge bonfire behind us. For anyone who has this show recorded, if you're looking at the television screen, I'm on the left hand side, toward the back and I have me glasses on. It may be hard to spot me because, honestly, I was bored and it was FREEZING cold that night.

Earlier in the day, we actually had to put on some old raggedy football jersies and pose for a picture as the 1984 team that made it to the championship. Yep, that's right. I was part of a 1984 team and 2006 team in the same episode. That's Hollywood folks! I can't remember, but I think they were going to show this picture in the episode as part of a newspaper clipping from back in the day. So as we were waiting to film our scene, we were sitting in the football stands watching them film another scene. In between takes, Shemar Moore was throwing the football with us and just having a really good time. He is really cool. Unfortunately, he is the only part of the cast that I knew at the time, so I'm not sure what other cast members were there. Thanks to Jill, I know them all now!

That being said, I must confess that I have had many more opportunities to be on Criminal Minds but I have declined ONLY because they mostly shoot on location in a town that is like 40 miles north of L.A. and most of the time I don't feel like fighting the traffic to go there when I could just work on Warner Brother Studies 5 miles away. BUT, now that I have a reason to be on Criminal Minds I will most certainly see what I can do once we get back into the swing of things on January 3rd.

**UPDATE** I did some research and I believe this episode aired November 1st and it was titled "North Mammon". My scene would have been the opening scene!

***UPDATE#2*** Jill, my new blog buddy and genius found the screen caps for this episode I was in. http://www.iad-ordnonstop.net/index2x07.html. I am on page 1, row 2, pictures 2,3, and 4 and also row 3, pictures 1,2, and 3. I'm behind the coach, the guy with the glasses on. Jill is awesome!!!!!

My Day In Porn

2006-12-22T17:34:00.000-08:00

Hey, I wasn't the one naked, so get your mind out of the gutter! My desperation here in Hollywood hasn't reached that level yet. But I might be close! haha Anyways, Wednesday I worked on a new show called Dirt. This is Courteney Cox's new show. It's a show about the paparazzi and their relentless pursuit of celebrities. I have to say, from the previews I saw on t.v., it actually looks rather interesting. I'm definitely going to check it out when it premieres on January 2nd on the FX channel. So, the scene I was working in, I played a crew member on this porn set. (I'm laughing right now by the way). It was obviously a fake porn set for the show, but they needed it to look real, so they hired people to be naked on the set. It was crazy. There were 2 girls and a guy that were naked there. And guess what??? They only got paid $300!! I'm sorry, I need a lot more than that to show off my goodies, lol. Anyhoo...these people did NOT look like real porn stars! I should know, I was in college for 4 years ya know?!?! Another lady who I was working with confirmed this by telling us she knows what real porn sets look like because her sister is an ex-porn star!!!! Geez, the info people share! For anyone who has read my blog for any length of time, you guys know my favorite thing to do is to talk about the crazy people I meet. I mean, this lady was talking so much about real porn sets, I actually think SHE was the real porn star. She can't fool me! Now, back to the scene. There was no sex at all. It was supposed to take place just after a sex scene, and the porn stars were walking off the set......naked. It was kind of cheesy. I guess real and fake porn is cheesy.

In real life news, there has been a lot of gang activity going in L.A. in the last few weeks. I keep hearing on the news how innocent children are getting caught in the crossfire and dying. It is the most depressing thing EVER!! One story almost had me in tears yesterday. A young Asian girl, 9, died from a stray bullet that came through the wall of her house and struck her in the head. Her mother, was on the news speaking through a translator. This woman was from Thailand, and she brought her daughter to America for a better life and education. She was crying so hard and saying that she now thinks it was a mistake to come here. It was so sad. I mean, can you even imagine??? Just today, a young black girl was shot dead because she stepped over an imaginary line into a Latino gang zone! This is one of the reason's I want to be a public figure. There is a lot I want to do to help clean up big cities and speak to the youth across America. I also want to do things for the environment, and create a foundation for children with learning disabilities. The violence has to stop though. I can't think of anything worse in this world than a parent losing a child, ESPECIALLY over something so stupid as gang violence!

So, You Like Ripsi?

2006-12-20T18:28:00.000-08:00

Geez, you guys must've really liked the video with the drunken Ripsi. According to my hit counter, I had more hits in one day (yesterday) than I have ever had in one day since I created my blog. I even had way more hits yesterday than I did when I talked about racism and Michael Richards. You know, racism, the deep seated issue that America has been dealing with since its birth! Haha....I actually think it's pretty funny. I watched that Ripsi video at least 15 times by now. Seriously, if you only watched it once, watch it 1 or 2 more times. It gets funnier the more you watch it because you pick up little details you missed the first time. In any case, I'm glad the video was amusing to you no life losers, because I found another, much shorter, video of Ripsi drunk again.

On to other things.........I know I have talked about the smog here in L.A. a lot, but I have to again. But this time, I'm talking about the LACK of smog!! And I'm loving it. I heard the there is considerably less smog here during the winter months and it is true. I think this has to do with 2 things. 1). Winter is when L.A. gets all of its rain. Which reminds me, I had to use my windshield wipers for the FIRST time 2 weeks ago. I moved here July 1st! That's crazy. So, the rain helps clear the smog and dust out of thr air and it makes a HUGE difference. The land here is really, really beautiful when you can actually see it. 2). The Santa Ana winds. This is a weather system that passes through L.A. every fall. Whatever smog is left in the air is most likely blown away by these winds. I can't even think of the words to describe it. The Hollywood hills right now look like they do in post cards. They are so clearly visible now from a distance. The other example I noticed while I was driving the other day. I was going to an audition I think and I was getting on the 405 freeway (the bane of everyone's existance here) from the 10 freeway. In order to do that, you have to go over this highly elevated ramp that provides a great view of the city. So, I'm on the ramp, curving southward, and I look to my left (towards the east) and lo and behold. In the distance, I see a huge snowcapped mountain! It was gorgeous. And I never even knew the thing existed!!!! I've been over that ramp many times, but thanks to the smog I couldn't even see downtown L.A. let alone this mountain. I figured it had to be the San Bernadino mountain range because I had just heard in the news that these mountains just got a fresh coat of snow and skiers were loving it. Seriously, it looks like Mt. Kilimanjaro. Look for a post from me in the near future about how we are destroying our planet and things we can do to help. In the pic to the right, just pretend the giraffe's aren't there!

Well, I guess I'll go ahead and post ONE MORE video here. I worked on a semi-porn set today but I don't feel like talking about that right now. I'll write about that in a day or two. I know I know....the suspense!! Haha Back to Ripsi. This chick has problems and now she is getting kicked out of the house. Oh, and as for the show, it's called Bad Girls Club. It comes on Oxygen, but I still don't know anything about it. It's kind of like The Real World on MTV, except its all girls that live in the house.

Ahhh....where do they find these people??? Ok, I'm done with Ripsi now. I swear!!!

Time For a Break

2006-12-18T18:03:00.000-08:00

Well, the television industry has officially gone on winter hiatus. I've heard that the hiatus lasts 2 weeks, and I also heard that it lasts 6 weeks. I'm praying it's only 2 weeks or else I really will have to get another job. I plan to try and stay busy over the holidays though one way or another. As for the end of last week, I went into a rage and I had to cuss someone out. Just my luck, I knew this would happen. Basically, I didn't get my 2nd SAG voucher. I'm not going to get into the whole story here, but to make a long story short, I had to call the casting company and cuss them out. So, they said they would get me my 2nd voucher after the winter break. Apparently the script on the show got changed and they didn't need me for that second day. I mean, it's the entertainment industry, it happens. But I was still mad.

Thursday I was on this new show called The Game. It premiered this fall on the CW and it stars Tia Mowry (or maybe its Tamara, I can never remember). You might remember them from the show Sister Sister a few years back. Tia (or Tamara) wasn't there the day I was. Also starring on this show is Wendy Raquel Robinson. She was the principal on The Steve Harvey Show. This show is about a professional football player and his girlfriend. We were shooting on location at a night club. Guest starring on this episode was Eva Marcelle. You would know her better as Eva Pigford becasue she won one of the seasons of America's Next Top Model. Eva is hella short and that surprised me. You always hear about models (especially runway models) having to be at least 5'9". Eva is 5'6" at the tallest. She's very cute, but I hope she is taking some acting classes. I'm not trying to be mean, but it's frustrating for any actor when they see someone get a role on a show or in a film when that person isn't even an actor. They only got cast because their face is recognizable. I especially hate it when singers get their own movie, simply because they are already famous. You can tell the acting is horrible in a lot of these movies as well. Anyways, I'm not saying Eva was terrible, but there were some scenes that had to be done in excess of 15 times because Eva wasn't doing it right. The director was basically coaching her on what to do in detail. Oh well, that's how Hollywood works. Once you make a name for yourself whether it be through acting, singing, modeling, or sports, and once you know people, it's not hard to get roles on various projects!

So that's it for the work week. Now, I want to just take the time to ask everyone to go this website: https://www.lighttounite.org/. Bristol-Meyers Squibb is donating $1 to AIDS research for every person that goes to this site and lites the candle. That's all you have to do! Light the candle. It's takes a few clicks of your mouse button and only a few seconds. More information is on the website about what they are funding, and also statistics about AIDS.

In other news, Afrah and I went out to a couple of clubs here on Saturday night. It was the first time we had went to club since she moved here in September, and it really is the first time I've gone to a club since I moved here too. I drank more than I needed too, but that's ok because I haven't had alcohol since July! Plus, between the clubs on Sunset Blvd and Santa Monica Blvd, everything is within walking distance to my place, so driving wasn't even an issue. Afrah really didn't want to go out at first, but after she got a few drinks in her, she was telling me that going out was the best idea ever and she was having so much fun! She is funny. Unfortunately I didn't take my camera, so no pics of that night!

Now, I came across another video that I HAVE to post here. It's a video clip for a new reality show on Oxygen. I don't even know the name of it. I was laughing so hard when I watched it though. The girl in the video is Ripsi (yeah, that's her name) and this night she drank a whole bottle of tequila and went on a rampage! She tries to beat one girl up, then she trahses the kitchen, THEN she goes upstairs and attacks an innocently sleeping girl. TOO FUNNY. Watch for yourself!

When is the last time you've seen someone THAT drunk. It's been a while for me.

What's With All The PDA?

2006-12-13T18:50:00.000-08:00

So, this is the last full week of television production for the holiday season, which things are going to be very slow for the next few weeks. Hopefully there will be some feature films that come through so it won't be so bad. Over the past few days, I couldn't help but think to myself, "Today I was supposed to fly to Ohio". "Today I'm supposed to be hangin out with my med school buddies". "Today I'm supposed to be at my sister's graduation!". Yes folks, I skipped out on my sister's graduation for some SAG vouchers! I spoke with her and she was understanding about the whole situation. I did feel bad though. But what can I say? As I said before, getting SAG eligibility is the whole reason I made the big move west. Anyway, my sis graduated from OSU in 3 1/2 years with 2 majors. So, congrats to her.

This past Thursday I worked and got my first SAG voucher. I'll get the next one this coming Friday. I have to say, I worked just 4 hours and got paid $126. No bad, huh? I was hoping it was going to be one of those long 14 hour days, because with all the overtime pay, it would have been over $200 for a day's work. It's certainly not Hollywood bigshot pay, but it's a hell of a lot more than what I'm getting now.

I worked on the show Greek twice this week as a rich frat guy. It was funny since I wanted nothing to do with greek life in college. And I still don't. They annoyed the hell out of me. However, I did meet a guy on this set whose name is Branch. When he said his name, we all thought he was saying Brent, and he said, "No, it's Branch....like a tree!". I just thought that was funny for some reason. Yesterday I worked on a new pilot called Manchild. It's a new show that will air on Showtime. There was this couple there that could not be away from each other for more than a half a second. They always had their hands on each other, they huddled under a blanket together. They were almost as bad as my cousin and her boyfriend, but not quite. And that's sad! It was really annoying. Not only that, we were all playing club goers at a supposedly hot new L.A. nightclub. Well, they were playing hip hop music in there like 50 Cent, Kanye West, etc. and these two fools are over there slow dancing with her head all up on his shoulder. I wanted to go barf all over their shoes! I mean, what are these people trying to prove to everyone else?? WE DON'T CARE!!! And then, I'm driving down Sunset today and there are a group of students waiting for the bus, and two of them are in a full blown make-out session, leaning against the street light. Granted they are high school students, but still. I know I must sound bitter, but I'm not. There is a time and a place for everything. If you want to be like that in public, the porn industry is right over the hill in the valley!!

I know I say this in every other post, but I'm so sick of doing background. I'm hoping in the next few weeks I'll have some more interesting things to share, because I'm sick of talking about doing background too. I know it takes time, blah blah blah. Patience Kris! I'm trying!! That's basically the conversation I have with myself everyday, lol.

Ok, now I don't have anything else to say. I need to devise some more plans on how to get my 3rd voucher!!! muahahaha

Newsflash! I'm Not Coming Home Anymore

2006-12-06T17:43:00.000-08:00

Due to recent events, I have had to cancel my trip to Columbus for this weekend. Go ahead, take a second to wipe that tear, lol. Basically, I got a call from a show and they offered me a job for this weekend. I'm not saying which show. It's not that I'm trying to be all secretive, I just don't want to jinx anything.

Basically, it's nothing big, no big speaking role or anything, but they offered me 2 union (SAG) vouchers, and I couldn't pass it up. Let me explain. The Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) is the union for actors that protects the actors rights. Mostly all shows on tv and mostly all feature films are franchised with SAG. SAG rules state that a production company that is franchised with the union can only hire union actors for roles. If they hire non-union actors (like myself) they are subject to paying a few thousand dollars in fines. So, every actor here is fighting their way into the union. How do you get into the union? There are 2 main ways. One is to miraculously get a speaking part on a project (I've seen it happen, sometimes the director likes someone so much, they will pay those fines). The other way is to obtain 3 union vouchers by doing background work. The vouchers DO NOT get handed out frivolously. They are very hard to get. People beg for them. There is even a black market for them here!! People actually will pay a few hundred dollars to buy a voucher off of someone. Well, this show offered me 2, count em, TWO vouchers. So you see, I couldn't pass this up. This is the whole reason I came to L.A.; to eventually join SAG. I doubt this opportunity would come very soon again. Now I only need one more voucher!

Joining SAG will make it A LITTLE easier to get an agent and to get auditions for the good paying commercials, tv shows, and films. Ya dig?? I knew everyone would understand. I have to say, I was REALLY excited to come home and see everyone though. I had me weekend all planned out. And go figure, I've been trying to get vouchers for 4 months, and not until my vacation do they get offered to me!! Oh well....I guess that's fate/life.

I'm not sure now when is the next time I will be able to make it to Ohio, but I'll be sure to keep everyone updated.

P.S. -- Did I mention the SAG rate for doing background is more than double the non-union rate?!?!?!

Well, The Weather is Great

2006-12-06T16:29:00.000-08:00

Not much has happened this week. I had a few auditions for some student films, so we'll see if I hear back from them. I worked on Sunday, super early at 5 am on location at UCLA. It was for a new pilot called Greek. It's about a dorky kid's first year in college. He's new, he's nerdy and he wants to join a frat. And let me tell you, they sure did find the dorkiest lookin kid in L.A.! Skinny, hair all messed up. He must be a pretty experienced actor though to get a lead role on a pilot. I know one thing, in between takes, he was lighting up his cancer sticks and puffing away. I bet you he's like 30 and playing an 18 year old. When I first saw him bust out his cigarette, I was shocked, because he looks like he could be 16. Like teenagers don't smoke anyway. I knew that. I just played a college student walking across the courtyard as they filmed. BORING!! However, of course it never fails for me to meet some weird person. This day it was a girl who had to be about 21 years old I would say. We were on a lunch break and she was sitting right across from me at the table. She had eaten her food and I guess she was bored. Most people will get out a book to read, crossword puzzles, gameboys, etc. etc. You know what she broke out?? A MY LITTLE PONY COLORING BOOK! WTF?!? I'm not kidding folks. She broke it out, flipped through some pages that were elaborately colored to perfection until she got to a blank page. She then got out her multitude of colored pencils and went to town! Is that weird/funny to anyone else? It sure was to me.

Monday I was back on the show Shark. Long day which means a lot of money, but it was hella boring. The crazy person I met that day was this old lady. Remember Joey from Friends? Remember his agent, Estelle? That is who this lady reminded me of. Ok, the picutre on the left is a wee bit extreme, but you get my drift. We were sitting there on the set, and someone asked her to borrow a pen, and this lady went off!! She got so mad. She was going on about how it is ridiculous to not have a pen with you, blah blah blah. She said she has been doing background for 5 years and never forgotten her pen. She then said, "It's not like it's brain surgery!". Sheesh. She must have some deep down issues. I guess I don't blame her. If I had been doing background for 5 years, I'd probably be a little on edge too! This incident must have stressed her out, because she then got out a cigarette and lighter and went go pump a few more ounces of tar into her lungs. Oh well.

I took yesterday and today off for auditions. Yesterday I hung out with Afrah at her place. We watched Oprah since that was the only option because they only get 2 channels over there, and we sat on two hard wood chairs since their place isn't furnished yet. Lovely. haha Later that night, we decided to go to the movies in Century City. We ended up not seeing a movie because this stupid theater like to show movies every 3 hours. But, as we were going up an escalator, there was a couple in front of us. The guy turned his head to talk to the girl, and we realized it was Ludacris! Just him and his girl. No paparazzi, no body guards, none of that stuff. They didn't want to wait around for a movie either, so they left as well. He is shorter than I thought (as most celebs are) at about 5'7" I'd say. There was hardly anyone at the mall/theater, so he didn't have to deal with any crowds. I didn't say anything to him, cause I'm just not that person.

That's it, I have a headache. I'm going to watch some t.v.

I Got Caught In A Paparazzi Storm!

2006-12-02T22:48:00.000-08:00

I'll get to the paparazzi in a sec, first I'm going to talk about my week. Wednesday, 11/29, I was back on CSI: Miami and this time we shot on location in Long Beach. I have to say, I thought Long Beach was slummy, but it wasn't. We were shooting downtown, right on the harbor, and that area is actually really nice. There are shops, stores, restaurants, palm trees, huge hotel buildings. It was pretty cool. I could see the huge smoke stacks of the Queen Mary sitting in the harbor. It looked a lot like the Titanic if you ask me. On the flip side, it was really cold this day. It only got up to 61 degrees, and after the sun went down, it was just down right freezing. (I have to interject here that today, 12/2, it was back up to 80 degrees at midday. December and its 80 degrees!!!!!! I've never experienced this in my life! I love it!). Anyways, there was this guy there who was a chain smoker. He had to be my age, and I swear he had the beginnings of meth mouth! At least I hope it was meth mouth, because if his teeth looked like that simply from NOT brushing, that is pretty sad. Everytime this guy laughed or smiled I wanted to barf. I know that as he puffed away on all those cigarettes he was thinking how he couldn't wait to get home to his crystal meth. YUCK!

Thursday I was on the set of Adam Sandler's new movie. It's called I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and it's about two straight firefighters that pretend to be gay and get married to get tax breaks and insurance benefits and all that stuff. The scene that I was in was where they get caught lying and are thrown in jail. Outside the jail cell a bunch of gay rights activists are gathering around and protesting and chanting for Chuck and Larry to be let out. So, I was one of the gay rights supporters out side the jail. They shot the scene with the camera looking out of the jail cell, so Adam Sandler wasn't there at all that day.

Friday I was back on Grey's Anatomy and it was pretty boring. I was in a scene with Izzie, George and Miranda. I have to say, the actress that plays Miranda is SO cool. I don't know her real name and I don't feel like looking it up. She was so funny though. She was just acting like a goof ball, laughing and joking around with us. She had everyone laughing. George and Izzie didn't talk to us at all. They both just stood there either talking to each other or messing around with their phones. Whatever. I like Miranda, and she's actually really pretty in person. So is Izzie. On my way home from the set this day is when I encountered the paparazzi frenzy.......

So, I was in my car, almost home. I was on Sunset Blvd, on the strip. I'm driving, minding my own business when an SUV speeds by me, weaving around cars and screeches their tires as they stop at the red light just ahead. I thought to myself, "These stupid L.A. drivers! There is no reason to drive like that!". Then a second SUV goes left of center from behind me, to get around me and screeches to a halt at the red light. Then, both cars just go straight through the red light. I'm thinking, "They did not just do that!" with my jaw dropped. So then 3 more cars speed by me and run through the red light that I'm stopped at. At this point, I'm like, "What is going on? Am I missing something here? Is the light not working?". Two more cars speed by me and through the light. My next thought is, "Holy shit! Two gangs are beefin and chasing each other and there is going to be some kind of drive-by shooting or something". Then I remembered that I was on the Sunset Strip and gang activity usually doesn't happen anywhere near there. A few more cars with dark tinted windows speed by me, one going left of center and almost crashing head on with a car in on-coming traffic. Then it hit me. The paparazzi are chasing a celebrity. I don't know who it was. I've seen this stuff on tv, like on those Vh1 shows and stuff, but I hadn't seen this in real life since I've been in Los Angeles. It was crazy, and everything that I've just said happened within a matter of seconds. It made me realize that it must really suck to have people chasing you like that all the time. but I guess that is the price you pay for fame! All I know is that, so help them God, if one of them would have crashed into my car, I was going to join in the chase and someone was going to get their ass beat!! haha

Now I have to get to bed because I have to be on the set at 5 am tomorrow. Yes, 5 am on a Sunday. You know what this means?? It means that when I'm driving to the set (which will be UCLA's campus) at 4:30 am, there will be people driving home from the club!!! I've even come home after 5 am before. That's crazy!

Here I Come Columbus!

2006-11-28T20:29:00.000-08:00

First, I just want to say that I really appreciate everyone who left a comment on my last post. Any of my friends will tell you that every now and then my head fills up with many thoughts and ideas on various issues, and eventually it has to come out somewhere. I certainly love having face to face discussions on issues such as race, but I kind of like the way it went here on blogger. Face to face, people tend not to say everything on their mind for fear of looking or sounding stupid, myself included. But as you can see, people left some very loooooong comments, which I loved. Just the fact that they took time to really dig down deep and say what they felt. I think some of those comments were even longer than my post!! Also, no one posted as anonymous, which I thought was cool too. By the way, I googled the word "thanks", and that pic is what popped up.

Now, on to better things. Well, I guess I'll talk about Thanksgiving here because it's been an entire week since I've worked. NOT FUN!!! I'm not going to rant about my boredom this time....just know that it is mind numbing!! Last Tuesday, the 21st, was the last time I worked and it was on the show Close to Home. It was a really long day, but I'm not going to complain about those anymore. With things slowing down because of the holidays, I will gladly work long days. Starting in December, the television industry goes on its winter hiatus, and that lasts for about 6 weeks. So, one of 2 things can happen. The scenario is that I won't be working at all. That means I can either get another job or apply for unemployment (which everyone here does) just to have some money coming in. I kind of like aspects of both, so I can't decide. Getting another job means looking, applying, interviewing, and probably end up doing something I'll hate anyways. Ahhh...decisions. The second scenario is that there could be a possibility that a few feature films will be shooting in town throughout December that need to use background, and so the television hiatus won't affect me at all. Obviously the second scenario is the one I'd prefer. But in actuality, I would REALLY just like to book a few commercials or get some roles in some movies so that I can be done with background altogether! I really am getting sick of it. Thank God that tv shows and movies need extras, because it's provided an easy income for me, but it's not what I came to California for, and I am so completely ready to move on it's not even funny! Sigh.........the life of an actor. I'm positive I'm not the only one feeling this way, I'm just whining right now. I've met people who have been doing this for 3 years!!! I don't want to even think about it!

So, Thanksgiving was really fun. A lady that I met on one of the sets invited me to her place for dinner. We met because I overheard her talking to someone one day, and she had an accent. I asked where she was from and she said, "Jamaica!". I'm a full 50% Jamaican in case anyone didn't know. My dad is from Kingston. We won't talk about the other half of me right now. It would be too confusing thanks to my beautiful mother. Remember a long time ago when I said the lady at the casting agceny looked at me, and then marked me down as "mixed" on the paper? Yeah, I'll just leave it at that! Anyways, after finding out I was Jamaican too, me and Ms. Jennifer talked about Jamaica all day long, and our families and the food, etc. I saw her 2 more times on some different sets, and then she invited me over to her place. She had some other people over as well, there was tons of food and dessert. So, we ate and watched movies. It was nice. Afrah had to work on Thanksgiving, poor thing. I guess that's part of being young. You work hard now so that later on you don't have to. That's what my dad always said. Afrah said her job catered in food and it was actually really good though, so that was good.

That's all I pretty much have to say since the rest of the last week just consisted of me watching A LOT of tv in my room.

OHHHHHH......duh. How could I forget to tie in the title of this post! I'm coming home for a visit yall. I'll be flying in on Thursday 12/7, hanging out with everyone hopefully, and then coming back to L.A. on Tuesday 12/12. I'm excited to see everyone and I hope to be partying on the weekend if I can get some friends to drive me around since I won't have a car.

See everyone then!

Once Again, I Have To Do This!!

2006-11-22T00:26:00.000-08:00

PLEEEAAASSEEEE read this entire thing! I know it's long!

I promise I'm not going to turn my blog into a political tirade of subjects, but another issue that I feel extremely strong about has come up. So, I figured I might as well get it out of the way now since I just talked about how unbelievably pointless smoking is. Most of this post is going to be a cut and pasted article that I received, so I will use a different color font when I'm talking.

Most of you know by now that Michael Richards aka KKKramer from Seinfeld went on a lil racial rant the other night at a comedy club called The Laugh Factory, which just so happens to be within walking distance of where I live right on Sunset Blvd. In case you're living under a rock, here is a quick summary of what happened.

The 57-year-old comedian was caught off guard when two African American men in the audience shouted at him that he wasn't funny.

According to the video posted on TMZ.com, Richards snapped back:"Shut up! Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a f***in' forkup your a**!"

He then yelled: "You can talk! You can talk! You brave now motherf**er! Throw his a** out! He's a ni**er! He's a ni**er! He's ani**er!...Look, there's a ni**er!"

First, I just want to say that of course Michael Richards had the right to get mad. But there was absolutely no reason for the racial remarks. The guys in the audience weren't yelling racial slurs. Not only that, Michael is a COMEDIAN. They get booed all the time. It comes with the territory. You need to be able to handle that mess if you're going to be a comedian. Ok, now this next portion of the post is from an article that I get e-mailed to me from EURweb.com, an online entertainment magazine type thing. Darryl James wrote an article that brings up some very important issues. The article is loooong, but I urge you to read it all or at least skim the majority of it, because of course I want comments at the end. I'll add some of my thought within the article.

THE BRIDGE: I’m Sick, Niggers!
Michael Richards finally let it off of his chest.
By Darryl James

One of America’s favorite funnymen let the world know how he feels about Black people and some naive people are acting surprised.

Michael Richards, who played Cosmo Kramer on the popular television show, “Seinfeld,” lost his cool when a patron at the Laugh Factory, a comedy club in Los Angeles began heckling him.

Instead of making jokes about the heckler, Richards unleashed a discharge of anger and ignorance that was tainted with the stink of racism in the form of the word “Nigger.”

Surprised?

It’s America, people.

And, no matter how cool or how innocuous we imagine some people to be, racism is alive and well.

No matter how many Stupid Ass Negroes think that they are changing the meaning of the word “Nigger,” it is still vital and ugly, lurking in the hearts of racists all across the nation. (For any non-black person reading this that can't figure it out, he's talking about black people calling each other "Nigga". I believe this to be a major factor in confusing non-black people about what this word really means. I do not advocate the use of this word!)

No matter how many of those morons think that times have changed and accordingly, the attitudes of racists, racism is still pervasive in every portion of life in this nation.

Even as some people claim that the N word is just a word, it is still tossed as a harmful verbal bomb across the racial divide.

Some Blacks are up in arms, but I’m wondering why anyone is surprised.

After all, it’s just a word, right?

Of course it’s not just a word.

It’s a powerful slogan. It carries centuries of ignorance and evil, stained with the memories of strange fruit hanging from bloody trees.

The word carries the message of hatred and violence, of intolerance and injustice.

Even when it is unspoken, many of us who are aware realize that it is on the tips of tongues of many white Americans who pretend that they want us all to get along while they attack Affirmative Action, and while an entire entertainment industry thrives on deliberately and singularly targeted, acquired, contracted, promoted and purchased music denigrating our image—made by us, but not for us. (He's not saying that all white people are racist, but the truth is, many of them do use this word. I've heard people admit to it. It never went away folks!)

They realize that if you want to keep us down, it’s important that we are treated like Niggers and that our most negative behavior is encouraged and marketed while we are duped into thinking that we are so free in the world that the verbal symbol of racism no longer carries meaning.

Even when it is unspoken, many of us who are aware realize that the word is still held near and dear to the same white Americans who sit next to and work with us. (This is SO true! Please believe me when I say that racism is still alive and well in America. As a minority, I know! It's just that it's not out in the open anymore. It's under the radar. As many of my classmates know, an incident happened last year dealing with this same issue. Someone in my class who laughed with me and was so "cool" around me, just so happened to keep a blog FULL of racist and sexist ideas and comments. And this person wasn't even white, which probably makes it worse. Point is, the very people who you work closely with may not view you in the same light. Now, I know some people are thinking, "let it go Kris, that happened last year". Well, to those people, let me remind you that I was the only African American male in my class. I was called a nigger for the first time when I was in 3rd grade......by a second grade white girl!! I've gone into stores and been ignored. When I was in college, one of the black professors at my school woke up to a cross BURNING in her front yard!! Get it?? Just because I don't go running to my white friends telling them every single racist encounter that I have doesn't mean that they aren't happening!!! You can't let stuff go so easily when you deal with a lifetime of it!).

The word has not been put to death, nor has its negative emotional impact, even as other groups protect themselves against similar verbal assaults.

And, what say you, Jerry Seinfeld, when learning of your treasured friend’s verbal faux pas? “I’m sick,” say you?

Yeah, I’m sick, too.

But I wonder how sick you would be if a good old white comedian had uttered the “H” word? If a Jewish man had been heckling him and the white comedian unleashed his racism in a torrent of Hymies, and ranted about how decades ago, you would have been in an oven with a fork up your ass, how sick would you be?

And, really if you’ve been walking through this nation with your eyes open, how could you really be surprised? (I think most black people aren't surprised, but it's the non-racist white people that are. Since racism is so under the radar now, a white person who is not racist may think that it is vitually non-existent. I, however, deal with it to this day. I know it is very real).

Ask yourself: “Is there still racism in this nation?”

And ask yourself: “Don’t white people hear Stupid Ass Negroes calling each other “Nigger?”

Here’s the fifty thousand dollar question to be asked: “Were the two Black men in the club referring to each other as ‘Nigger’?” Or did racist old Kramer hear Black comedians sprinkling the word around liberally on the same stage he graced?

My goal is not to defend Michael Richards and his racist outburst. My point is that before we can continue to be up in arms about white racists hurling the N word at us in anger, we must first be angry at those of us who think that the word is no longer ugly and hurtful. We must first be angry with those of us who think that using it in front of other races and/or allowing other races to use it around us and/or with us is okay. (I totally agree here! Black people are not without fault! We need to stop calling each other "Nigga!" It serves no purpose whatsoever!)

My overarching message is that before we demand that anyone else respect us as a race, we must first respect ourselves.

Sure, some people got up and left after Michael Richards let the N word fly, but take a look at the tape and you’ll hear some people laughing and you’ll see some people remaining in their seats.

Some people thought Richards was still funny at that moment.

At the end of his tirade, Richards uttered more words that perhaps summed up the entire debacle. He said: “You see, there’s still those words, those words, those words.”

Yes, Michael Richards, I hear you.

At the end of every encounter with a Black person, there are still “those” words--words to hurl, which let them know how white racists view them. There are still those words, which even as some of us foolishly aim to de-fang, still carry a powerful sting.

Michael Richards understands what all too many Stupid Ass Negroes in America fail to.

No matter how much Affirmative Action gets you on their jobs, and no matter how much integration has placed you in their neighborhoods, and no matter how many young whites buy rap music and sing the words with their Black homies, many whites still want you at the back of the bus, or as Richards wistfully mused “hanging upside down with a fork up your ass.”

And, even if they can’t take action, “there’s still those words.”

Now, how do you feel about that word?

Personally, I’m sick.

I can't help it. Racism is something that I feel so very strongly about, and I hope at least a few people out there can try to understand why. A white person living in America can never fully understand, because they don't live it like a minority does. But, every white person knows the history that blacks and whites have in this country. WHY does racism still exist today??? That answer is easy!!! To this day, NOBODY wants to talk about it. NOBODY wants to sit down and deal with America's dark history. Yes, this does go back to slavery! I don't want anyone to pity Black people. But America needs to recognize its past, so that it can finally let it go!!

Now, on this one, I REALLY want people's comments and opinions. I've shared mine. Please. Leave your comment as anonymous if you must, I don't care! Just leave one. However, if you make a profound statement, or just leave a simple sentence with your name attached to it, because you know what you stand for and aren't ashamed, then that really says something about you!

Trying to Be Patient

2006-11-20T14:23:00.000-08:00

I didn't realize it had been a week since my last post. I didn't do much this week at all. So, all I have to talk about is a crazy, I need to vent on one thing, and then the movie I did this week.

First off, the work week. Last Tuesday I was on ER again, but that of course was boring. Thursday and Friday, however, I was on the new Die Hard 4: Live Free or Die Hard movie with Bruce Willis. We shot on location downtown, and it was pretty fun except for the fact that we had to be on the set at 4 am!!! Bruce is actually really cool, and he just got his star on the Walk of Fame here in Hollywood a few weeks ago. He talked to us and joked with us. It was a fun 2 days. The scene we were shooting took place in Washington, D.C. and there wass an anthrax scare. So, all the FBI, SWAT and army people were called in of course. I played a National Guard as you can see from the two pictures. A lady that I met a few weeks ago told me I shoukd take pictures when I'm on a set in costume. I don't know why I never thought about that before. Well, I thought I had more to say about these 2 days, but I guess I don't.

Now, the crazy. I was in the grocery store last week, minding my own business, looking at some cheese or something, when this person comes around the corner. Actually, I heard them before I saw them. They were singing.......loudly. This person comes around the corner, and it is a flamboyantly gay, fat black guy. He has headphones on, is carrying a walkman in one hand and pushing his cart with his other hand. He is singing at the top of his lungs AND dancing as he is grocery shopping. I was clearly agitated, but I was laughing at the same time (is that even possible?) No one else in the store so much as batted an eyelash. I guess that means I'm still pretty new here. Anyways, this guy is singing and carrying on, hitting high notes and everything, doing dance moves as he drops stuff into his cart. I go on about my business as he skips off down an isle. So I'm in the checkout line and here he comes. And when I say he is singing loud, I'm talking about the way someone would sing at a concert. Gosh, I was so annoyed, because it's not like he sounded good or anything. I actually thought my right eardrum was malfunctioning, because nobody could sound this bad. In any case, he did not care what people thought. Then it made start thinking. As annoying as this guy was, maybe more of us should actually start being ourselves more and not care so much what other people think. I mean, I do the whole singing and dancing thing in front of the mirror in my room, just like we ALL do. But then, most of us put on a mask as we step outside of our homes and enter society. I'm not saying we should all go out acting like this guy, because after so long I'd probably end up punching someone, but we should not layer on the mask so thick.

Now, a brief venting process. I hope this doesn't make Andy G. mad because I swore I wouldn't really do this on my blog, but I just need to say this. I HATE SMOKERS! I was so glad to hear that Ohio went Smoke Free after the elections. Can anyone tell me one, just one benefit of smoking?? Can anyone tell me how smokers benefit society?? Let me explain why I brought this up. I was on the set the other day, and it seemed like every smoker in L.A. was there that day. I was highly agitated by them. Here's why I hate them (yes, I'm using the word hate, get over it!). 1). They are rude. It just baffles me that there is a group of us standing there talking, NOT smoking, and one of THEM decides to light up right next to us, filling the surrounding area with that toxic smoke. Did they ever even think that just because they want to smoke, not everyone else does? I was ready to cuss this one guy out for doing it, but someone beat me to it. Someone needs to make the law more specific, and make it so that there is a designated area for smokers on every street block. It should be something like a 12' by 12' box in a back alley somewhere. 2). They stink, simple as that. 3). All they are going to do with the butt when they are done is throw it on the ground, step on it, and leave it there. Is that much of a freaking hassle to just walk over to an ash tray or garbage can? 4). They are STUPID! There are so many people in this world who try to be healthy and take care of themselves, and unfortunately fall ill to some kind of cancer, whether it be a brain tumor, pancreatic cancer, etc. The smokers, however, are deliberately doing this to themselves. I wish every type of cancer could just somehow be transferred to the smokers of the world, because they're literally asking for it anyway. Lung cancer is the #1 most preventable type of cancer, period! Meaning, if you don't smoke, you probably won't get it, but if you do, you most likely will. Not only that, lung cancer is a slow and painful death! Why on God's green Earth would anyone do that to themselves?!!? I want to ask the smokers, would you purposely have unprotected sex with a person infected with HIV? I'm sure most people would say "No". So, why smoke??? Sorry to be so blunt, but everyone knows that's how I am, especially when I feel strongly about something.

I think that the fact that a few states are smoke free now, more people are getting the picture. I'd appreciate comments on this topic from anyone who reads this. I want to know other people's opinions.

Stupid Blogger!!

2006-11-13T22:41:00.000-08:00

I just had a whole blog written with some good stuff in it, and I LOST IT ALL when I was trying to add pictures. I've been in a bad mood all day and I'm in no way typing this thing all over again, so here are highlights.

I got another parking ticket. Afrah was with me when I parked my car. Coincidence? I think not!
Thursday and Friday I was on The Nine and CSI: Miami
Scott Wolfe is on The Nine; he is short. The Nine shot on location near USC.
USC looks a lot like OSU
CSI: Miami had great food as always. The casting director for this show told us to look as hot and as sexy as possible (clearly, this isn't a problem for me.......................................haha, JOKING people!!!!!)
Grey's Anatomy is the number 1 watched show in the U.S., but CSI: Miami is the most popular tv show in the world. I've been on both. Pretty cool huh?
I've met with some industry people, but that's all I'm going to say until I know for sure if something is going to go through
Keep your fingers crossed for me if you're reading this

That's the jist of it. Now I'm going to bed mad as hell!

I'm in Pain!!!

2006-11-08T22:15:00.000-08:00

I'm going to do a quick post right now so I won't have so much to write this weekend. Basically, right now I'm sitting here in pain because I did a Tae-Bo workout with Billy Blanks yesterday. I got paid $100 to work out; I wasn't going to pass that up. Unfortunately, since I haven't been working out as often as I should, I pay the price by being sore for the next few days. The workout was intense, but good. His new routine is called Tae-Bo: Amped. I've never done Tae-Bo before, but it obviously is really good seeing how much pain I'm in, so I may actually get the video when it comes out. Yes, there were some people there who had no business being there. This includes a lady who looked just like Whitney Houston. Unfortunately, she looked like the drugged up Whitney at her darkest hour. Really, it was bad. I bet she was like 35, yet she looked over 50. She had on a poop brown wig, she was missing a few teeth in the back and she was doing Tae-Bo in boots....with heels!! Visualize with me here people...I'm NOT exaggerating. She looked almost identical to the picture to the left, and everyone yesterday was joking that Whitney Houston was doing Tae-Bo with us. I felt kind of bad for her because she looked so bad! Of course I forgot my camera....just when I needed it most!
There was also a man there who I think may have been a little slow mentally. I say that only because of the way he interacted with people and the way he communicated. In any case, during the Tae-Bo taping, he was just there flailing his arms around, not doing ANYTHING that looked like what the rest of us were doing. Guess where he stood?? Yep, right next to me. It was messing me up because I was laughing so damn hard! And that reminds me of one more thing, Tae-Bo is done in counts of 8, just like dancing........meaning.......rhythm is involved. I can't describe the number of people there who can not hold a beat. You know what I mean. You've seen these people in clubs "dancing like nobody's watching". I guess that's how you gotta do it. The whole day was just a big laugh fest for me. Extra ab workout for me!!!!

So the other day, actually about a week ago, I got locked out of my apartment again. It wasn't my fault this time. There is a deadbolt lock on our front door that we don't use. I've never even touched it. Well, this one time it decided to lock when I left. I came back, and Afrah was with me, and I couldn't get in. Not to worry, I thought. It's the middle of the day this time (as opposed to the middle if the night like last time), so I can go to the apartment manager and see if they have a spare key. We don't even have a key for the deadbolt!! Do you think he had the key? Not with my luck. I told him we don't use the deadbolt and this had never happened before, yet he kept asking me over and over if me and my roommate were having problems. I laughed because we get along great and my roommate was out of town anyway. Yet John (manager), kept inquiring whether my roommate was a "cool guy" or not. To make a long story short, I had to climb through my window again, with John giving me a boost this time. I should make a note here that this has only happened to me twice in my 4 months in L.A. so far, and BOTH times Afrah was with me! Do you see the connection??

I think that's all I wanted to say now, other than that it got to 94 degrees in Los Angeles yesterday, which broke the record of 92 degrees set 108 years ago. I am loving the heat. It's rainy and in the 50's in Ohio. I don't miss that crap at all!!!!

That's More Like It!

2006-11-02T22:19:00.000-08:00

Back to a busy work week, and I love it. I love being busy. Makes me feel like I'm actually doing something with my life. It's been a week since I've posted because I've been so busy and I have a lot to share here. I'll try to keep it short.

Starting with last Friday, I worked on the show Las Vegas, and I was recalled to work on it this past Tuesday and Wednesday. This show has long days, so in those 3 days alone, I worked a total of 45 hours! It was grueling, but the money will be nice indeed. As for who is on the show...........Josh Duhamel is of course, and remember I worked with him on the set of Transformers. He actually remembered me too. Josh is by far the coolest person I've met so far. He talks to everyone, laughs and jokes with people. He is an all around cool guy. Nikki Cox is also on the show. You may remember her from Unhappily Ever After. I just need to say that Nikki is TINY! She is so small I couldn't believe it. I could actually see her ribs through her chest. She is just so skinny. She is on a billboard here in Hollywood and they totally photoshopped some curves on her, because she doesn't have any in person. However, her face is very pretty. She's beautiful in the face. In my opinion, she is prettier than Molly Sims, who is also on the show. Again, Molly is so petite it's scary. Nikki and Molly don't look anorexic, but if either of them lost just 5 more ounces, they would. I guess that really is Hollywood though.

I felt comforted by the fact that I met some crazies on this set. I thought I had lost them all. First, were two girls that I was talking to. I can't get into details here though. Let's just say that after finding out that I was a med student, they started asking me questions. You know, those "questions", lol. And they conversation turned extremely explicit! haha The other girl I met was named Stephanie. I called her "spunky" because she is 5'1", 28 years old but looks 15, and full of energy. She was constantly bouncing off the walls. She's really nice, but I was caught off guard when I asked her how her weekend was, and she informed me that she had great sex with her husband. Now, that doesn't seem odd right? I mean she is married. The "crazy" part is that she and her husband live in separate apartments. I've never heard of this before. They aren't separated. He isn't in the service. He lives right here in L.A. She talked about how much she loved him, but when I asked why they lived apart, she told me it's because "he gets on her nerves". WTF?? They came to some agreement to live apart?? He's a chef, she has 5 degrees because she "loves school", yet she is acting. Does this seem odd to anyone else? Please let me know if I'm the crazy one!

Today I was on the new show How I Met Your Mother. This show stars Neil Patrick Harris aka Doogie Hauser and Alyson Hannigan from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the American Pie movies. I don't have much to say about Neil except that he is cool. Alyson is SMALL. Geez, do you see a trend here?? She is so skinny, yet her face is pretty. She is prettier in person I think. Guest starring on the show today was Wayne Brady from Who's Line is it Anyway. Cool guy and really funny. He had us cracking up in between takes.

That pretty much sums things up. I guess it was shorter than I thought. I'm taking some pics that I will post on my next one for my old time friend Katie W. Oh yeah, Halloween night was a DISASTER, but I'm not getting into that right now. It will just make me angry again if I talk about it. I'm probably forgetting some stuff, but hopefully I'll remember by the weekend.

Another Week of Torture!!

2006-10-26T23:14:00.000-07:00

Gosh, it's been slow this week. I'm only working 2 days. When I'm not working, I don't know what to do with myself. All the people I know here have jobs, so when I'm off during the week, I'm bored out of my mind. The one day that I worked this week was pretty nice though.

Tuesday I worked on the show Shark. It's a new show this season and once again I've never seen it. So what made this day so great? Well, most of the day we shot on location at the beach. Right on the water, and it was sunny and 80 degrees! Perfect day. The first scene we shot was actually at a small store in Venice, then they shuttled us to the beach. As we were leaving the store, I got into one of the vans to go to the beach when all of a sudden Ray J jumps in the van. You know Ray J, the singer Brandy's brother. He must have been guest starring on the show. I wasn't in the first scene and he wasn't in the beach scene, so I don't know. Let me tell you, dude is SHORT. He's like 5'2". Ok, not that short, but I give him 5'6" at the tallest!

For the beach scene I played a cop, and this was the first time I had to actually wear a bullet proof vest! Man, I'm thinking about getting one of those. It made me look so buff, haha. When I was changing into my uniform, I paused in the mirror after I put the vest on because I really looked like I had some serious muscle. I think it gave me some inspiration to really work out, because I looked HOTT with the extra buffness, lol. I was sad when I had to take it off. On the other hand, the vest was tight as hell. If you are trying to lose weight, I suggest getting a bullet proof vest because I could hardly eat anything at lunch time with that thing on. How on earth do cops get fat if they wear those things?!?!? I don't get it. In the meantime, the uniform looked so real, that before we started shooting, I kept getting stopped by people on the beach (pic at left is old, but it's the same beach). Picture it: You have a large number of people standing in a group (the film crew) and a guy in a sheriff's uniform standing there. People kept coming up to me and asking me if it was ok for them to sit here on the beach etc., etc. So, I played along and told them "No", and that they had to move on down the beach! haha....the film's security was going to make them do it anyway. At one point, a real police office even pulled up next to me in one of the lifeguard trucks and asked me if an incident had occurred here. I laughed and told him I was an actor and that we were shooting a television show. He laughed and got all red, and his partner in the passenger seat was cracking up. It was pretty funny!

I thought of something random the other day. Everytime we have an outside shoot, I always notice that there are more than a few white people who are all burnt up and red at the end of the day, even if they put on suntan lotion. It just made me think that I'm lucky to have brown skin, and that I can be outside, or at the beach all day and not get burnt. I've never been sun burnt and it looks like it hurts like hell. But my question is....does anyone know how suntan lotion really works?? It doesn't make sense how something transparent can protect your skin from the sun. Dark skinned people have more melanin in their skin. It's a brown colored molecule that actually shields your cells' DNA from the UV sun light. That makes sense to me. How does suntan lotion do it? I bet you my friend and fellow med student Justin M. knows. He seems to know a lot about a lot of things. He even had a thorough answer to my question about why gas costs more in California than in Ohio!

Last thing is a story I forgot to mention in my previous post. When I was on the set of Boston Legal last week, I met this girl whose arm was in a sling. Naturally, people asked what happened, and this is what she said. She was at a party at a house in the hollywood hills and this really drunk guy kept hitting on her, repeatedly. She kept shutting him down, politely of course. He wouldn't let up, and she told him to just leave her alone. Well, he got pissed, grabbed her and threw her into a wall, and said to her, "I have more women than hair follicles!" Now, a few things ran through my mind as she said this. 1). WTF? Who says that? 2). this guy needs his ASS beat, seriously. and 3). that comment he made sounded JUST LIKE a comment that a certain blonde haired fellow classmate of mine would say. I bet you every one of my med school classmates that reads this know EXACTLY who I'm talking about. First of all, if you have to say things like that, you probably have NO girls at all. Secondly, he must be an outcast.

As for the girl, she hit the wall with such force that her arm completely popped out of her shoulder socket. The doctors of course had to pop it back into place and she said it was the most excruciating pain she has ever felt in life! I can imagine. She said she may end of suing the owner of the house because, surprisingly, "no one knew who this guy was". Isn't that sad? No one wants to help this girl out because they are cowards! I just couldn't believe what she was telling us, so I had to share this story.

And finally, I realize that Grey's Anatomy was a re-run this week. Just my luck!!!! How many times has that happened now?? Isaiah Washington must be causing such a ruckus on the set it interrupted production. He's another one who needs his ass beat. He was really cocky when I saw him on set and what he did to his co-star(s) was not cool at all.

Until next time.........

Where Did All My Crazies Go?

2006-10-21T17:04:00.000-07:00

I was banking on meeting some off the wall crazy person this week so that I'd have a great story to write, but unfortunately, they didn't come out this week. I worked every day too. Oh well, I ended meeting a lot of recognizable faces this week, more than ususal. I'll sum it up and keep it short and sweet so I can eat my Coldstone!

The week started off on Scrubs. Loooooong day, but it wasn't very exciting. Neither Zach Braff nor Donald Faizon was working that day. Whoever was working, I didn't know them, because I've never watched this show. Anyways, there was someone there hanging around the set that is not normally a part of the show. It was Michael McDonald, and I'm not talking about the singer. Don't recognize the name? You might know him better as Stewart from Mad TV. He was there hanging out with some of the crew, but I don't think he taped any scenes. So, he must've just known someone and wanted to hang out. I didn't talk to him, but I saw him talking to and joking around with some of the other background people, so you know he's cool in my book.

The next day I was on the new show What About Brian. I'v seen previews for it, but I haven't watched. Gosh, I don't watch anything because I'm always working! Anyway, the oldest son from 7th Heaven is on this show (I don't know his name), but he wasn't working that day. We shot on location at the Santa Monica Pier and the real Muscle Beach, as opposed to the muscle beach at Olentangy Commons where I lived last year! It was actually a clear day that day, so you could see the mountains in the distance, and the water looked blue. Other than that, boring day.

Next day was a new show called Raines. It just started filming and we were taping the second episode. It's going to air in January '07. It starts Jeff Goldblum and Nicole Sullivan, another Mad TV ex-cast member. Let me just say that Jeff Goldblum is funny!! First of all, if it wasn't for Jurassic Park (one of my favorite movies), I wouldn't know who the heck he was. We would be taping a scene, and when the director yelled "Cut!", he would start acting really weird, singing and stuff. It was really funny and I couldn't tell if he was just being funny or if that was really how he was. I thought he was weird at first, but then I realized he was just being funny. I talked to him for a few seconds and I had to tell him that Jurassic Park was my favorite movie.

And finally, yesterday I was on Boston Legal. Once again, never seen it. But I was in a bar scene with William Shatner and Delta Burke! Did anyone see "The Roast of William Shatner" on the Comedy Channel? It was funny as hell. He seemed cool, and he looks just the same in person as he does on tv. Delta Burke was a different story! First of all, when she walked in, I didn't know it was her right away. She is tiny, like 5'3" and skinnier now. Her hair was flipped out at the bottom like a 50's style kind of, and she had more make-up on than I have ever seen in my life! I mean, they proably used 5 compacts of foundation on her. I don't why. She looked pretty, and really nice. She smiled at me and just looked really homely, but she looked animated, like a cartoon character because of all the make-up. Also, her cheek bones were really high and her eyes were slanted a little bit like a cat, which makes me think she's had more than her share of plastic surgery. I'm not trying to be mean for once, just truthful. I liked her though, she was nice.

Other than that, the episode of Grey's Anatomy that I was on SHOULD air this coming Thursday, emphasis on "should". Contact me for the scene description because you WILL miss me if you're not paying attention. Actually, if you have Tivo, that would be best. If not, you just have to be really attentive.

The First Rain

2006-10-14T21:44:00.000-07:00

I have been in L.A. for about 3 and a half months now and it rained for the first time yesterday, since I've been here. It wasn't very much and it lasted for only 30 minutes or so. It's just amazing to me: 3 months with no rain. It rains every other day in Ohio. I'm surprised it wasn't acid rain that melted everyone's skin away considering all the smog here in L.A., hence the picture on the left. Plus, it's October, and the average daily temperature here is 75 degrees, whereas in Ohio it's in the 50's right now. I've never lived anywhere but Ohio before and I'm not used to such a steady climate. I love it.

I only worked two days this week which sucked because I was bored out of my mind. There is so much to do in L.A., but it's not really fun when your other friends are working and you don't have anyone to do them with. Wednesday I worked a show called All of Us which is a show on the CW network starring Duane Martin and Lisa Raye. Tisha Campbell (Gina from Martin and My Wife and Kids) was guest starring that day. In real life she is married to Duane Martin. It was cool. I was in a restaurant scene and everyone on the set was really laid back. Nothing special happened that day. Oh, but guess who was directing this particular episode? It was Alfonso Ribeiro aka Carlton. Makes sense. Will Smith created the show. Alfonso was cool but he's gained A LOT of weight!

Friday, I was back on Vanished. I played a hotel staffer. Once again, they gave me some good camera time. There was a small fight scene, scuffle rather, in the hotel lobby, and they needed another person to step in and help. So, naturally they approach me to do it among the other 20 extras, haha. BUT, still no speaking lines. I should've just asked them for a line. That's how one of my friends got a line in a show. Oh well. This time I will watch the previews on Monday nights so I can be 100% positive when this episode is going to air, then I'll let everyone know. By the time this episode airs, hopefully I'll be doing something bigger and better anyway. Who knows. Hollywood is brutal.

The only interesting thing that happened to me this week was someone that I ran into, and actually talked to in the grocery store earlier this week. This person can be considered a legend. At her peak, she was a huge music star. I think she had hits starting in the 60's and going on into the 80's. So, I'm walking around in the grocery store and coming around the corner I see a head full of some big, wild hair. This woman is wearing a purple, suede sweatsuit and pushing her grocery cart. She turns her head toward me, and I'm looking right at Diana Ross!! THE Diana Ross from the Supremes. I kind of froze for a minute because I'm standing right in front of someone who is really famous, and then I just said, "Hi, Ms. Ross". She said, "Hi, how are you?" I said, "I'm fine", then we went on our merry ways. She was nice, and she's the most famous person I've met since I've been here.

Well, remember the Japanese video from my last post? My mom and sister thought it was stupid. They didn't even laugh. I don't know why I think it is so funny, but I do. I said I'd post part two, so I still will. If you think it's dumb, then don't watch it, but I think it's hilarious. They tried to get creative and add in some scenes with actors. My random observation for this video is that the camera guy keeps zooming in on the girls' shoulders, of all areas. Just something I noticed.

Ok, that's it for Japanese videos. I'm over it now, lol

I Post A Lot When I Don't Work

2006-10-10T22:17:00.000-07:00

I havent't worked in the last 2 days and I've been bored out of my mind. I was going to wait until tomorrow to post, but I couldn't because I have two funny things to share.

First, God must be testing my personal discipline or something. That's the only reason I can come up with for why this next thing happened to me. So, everyone knows by now about my reflex laughter. My severe inability to control my laughter when I hear or see something funny. Well, you can imagine what I was going through when this happened.

I started an acting class yesterday, a cold reading class. A cold reading is when you go on an audition and the casting director gives you a scene to do, by yourself or with someone else, with little or no time to prepare. This class is supposed to sharpen those skills. I audited the class yesterday, which means I went to observe to see if I would like it. There was a girl there who was auditing as well. She was kinda cute I must say. Anyway, the instructor asks us to do a scene together, so he gives us a scene and says, "Go". This girl has done theatre for 10 years, so she was saying her lines with feeling, whereas, I was more or less just reading them off the page because I was a little nervous. So the instructor stops us, and he tells me to do some things that will help me be more aware of my scene partner so that I will actually be responding to her, and her words, rather than just read the lines. He tells us to look into each other's eyes, and not to break until he says so. As we're doing this, he tells me to describe what I see, in detail. So, I look at this girl, and to my surprise, she has a single booger in each on of her nostrils! (I'm laughing so hard as I type this right now I don't know what to do). Can you imagine the thoughts that went through my head? What was I supposed to do? I couldn't open my mouth to talk or else just laughter would come out! I definitely started to get hot and sweaty.

I was doing good; I wasn't laughing. But in order to accomplish this, I was literally squeezing my balls as hard as I could. I was just sitting there, paused, and by this point, the instructor is saying, "Go on, describe what you see", as the other people in the class watched. I uttered a quick, "I see a girl", then I shut my mouth. And of course he told me that wasn't detailed enough. So, I had to take a deep breath, say a little prayer, then just make up some stuff. Whew!! Passed that test!

The second thing I want to share is another video. I kind of like how the video added a new flavor to my blog. Makes it more interactive. No, this one is not another one of New York, but it's just as funny. This video is a Japanese video that was put together to teach Japanese people how to speak English. It's kind of long, it's almost 4 minutes. But please, watch the whole thing. I'm not going to tell you how many times I've watched it, cuz that's embarrassing. But here are a few observations I made that made me wonder:

why the people in the street are totally off beat
who came up with that background music
the second "lesson" is called You drive me crazy. I can totally see myself saying this to some of the people I meet on set, hand motions and all
How can someone make this video and then request, "Don't make fun of me"?
the 5th lesson or so is called Leave me Alone. Once again, I'll be using this one on set, complete with hand motions
And lastly, lesson 6, I can't stand the sight of you! Who on earth picked some of these phrases to teach Japanese people to say in English?!?!?!

Watch the vid, and you'll see what I'm talking about. This will be a great study break for any of my classmates studying cardio!

So, what'd you think of the video? The last lesson was best of all! Would you believe me if I said there was a part 2? Well, there is and I'll put it up on my next post. I can't get enough of this stuff. I LOVE to laugh!!!!!

This Is What I Have To Deal With!

2006-10-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

This past Friday was the first night shift I've ever done doing background. My call time was 9 pm at 20th Century Fox Studios for a show called Standoff. It's a new show, I've never heard of it, I know nothing about it. In any case, we started at 10 pm and wrapped at 4:30 am!!!!! Do you think my night was boring?? Of course not, because once again, I met a crazy person. I've often wondered if there is something about me that draws weird people to me because I attract them like magnets. Even after my mom read about the crazy lady on the Transformers set, she called me to say she thought I was making it all up. I told her no, and she asked me how on earth I attract these people. Afrah has pondered the same thing. I have no clue, because honestly, I sit there and mind my own business if I don't feel like talking, but they somehow migrate over to me and start chatting away.

Anyway, I meet this guy who I'll call Gadston, and he is about 57 years old. He has a southern accent and talks like a wise old, grandparent that loves to tell stories. I'm sitting across from him, and there is a guy sitting next to him. He is talking this guy's ear off and I'm just glad it isn't me for once. But then the guy gets up and Gadston turns his attention to me. Here is a transcript of our conversation at 2 in the morning (notice how one sided it is):

Gadston: Ya know, I do this background work a few times a week to get away from my wife.

Me: Oh really

Gadston: Oh yeah, that woman annoys me sometimes. I gotta get away from her! Actually,
she saw me on t.v. the other day on Without A Trace.

Me: For real

Gadston: Yeah, I played a night clubber at a strip club and I had to put money in the thongs of
all these pretty ladies.

Me: Wow, that's interesting.

Gadston: Oh yeah, them ladies were fine. And when my wife saw me on that episode, it got her
horny as hell.

Me: Really?

Gadston: Oh yeah, seein me with all those pretty ladies, my wife got sexy as hell after that!

Me: Musta been nice.

Gadston: Yeah, and on the set that day there was this really F-I-N-E woman. She was so sexy
and she caught me staring at her snatch!!

Me: ooohhhh

Gadston: All I could do was look at her and say, "I'm sorry". She looked at me and
said, "That's all right!"

At this point, all I could do was laugh, because he was being so serious. It was funny, but then one of the assistant directors rescued me and called us all into the set. This guy just kept talking and talking and talking. Who will I meet next? I can only imagine.

I don't have anything else to say right now, but I just want to leave you with a short video clip. If you've ever watched Flavor of Love, then you know who New York is. She cracks me up!! I can sit and laugh at her all day. I found this video clip that someone put together on Youtube and it's hilarious. At least I think so. Oh and a little DISCLAIMER here: All black people DO NOT act like this, obviously. These people are picked specifically for television and ratings and all that stuff. I know most of you know this, but with what I've experienced in the last year, you'd be surprised at the ignorance of some people!

Busy Week, Of Course

2006-10-05T11:46:00.000-07:00

First off, I know that episode of Help Me Help You didn't air on Tuesday. So, I give up. I'm not wasting my time, or anybody else's by telling people to watch shows, then they not air. I know that they shoot the content of a single episode out of order, but they must be shooting episodes out of order too. So, I won't be listing any shows that I'll be on unless I happen to catch a preview for the next week and know that I'm in that episode. Besides, I know it's annoying to look for someone in the background. Trust me, I'm trying to move on.

My week started off on Monday on CSI: NY again. We were shooting on location dowtown at an abandoned warehouse. It was kind of freaky. As you know, something interesting seems to happen at least once a day to me, and this day was no different. The clue is in the picture on the right. Basically, we were on a lunch break, and I was on the phone talking to Afrah. I went outside of our holding trailer so I wouldn't annoy people with my conversation. So I'm standing there talking, in the hot sun next to a fence. Lucky for me, I was wearing a white shirt and so I didn't lean on the fence. The fence is a long fence, and as I turn toward the fence, right where I would put my hand if I were to lean on the fence is a black widow spider!! Yes folks, a real black widow, and it had the characteristic red, hour glass on its belly. It was no bigger than my pinkie finger nail, and it scared the hell out of me! I thought these things were only in Arizona or something. I mean, what if that thing would have bitten me?? It would've been curtains for Kris! Now, I shake out all my clothes and shoes before I put them on. I'm too young to die.

The last two days I've been on the set of Ben Stiller's new movie. It's still untitled, but I played a wedding guest, which means it was the most boring 2 days of my life. Movie sets move along slower than television sets. We do take after take after take and on and on and on. So, I basically sat at a table for 2 days straight, both days being 15 hours long. This movie seems like it's just a classic, funny Ben Stiller movie. It's directed by the same guys who did There's Something About Mary. We were shooting in some vacant building where I guess a lot of mafia activity occurred in the 30's and 40's, and there were many murders in this building. So of course there were people talking about ghost stories and stuff. A lot of movies were actually shot at this building including Cocoon, and one of my favorites, Hocus Pocus.

Ben Stiller is one of the "cool" celebrities. Down to earth, humble. He talked to us, answered questions would people would stop him. This is something I keep a look out for in case you haven't noticed. I just can't believe certain "stars" who refuse to talk to background people, as if we're the sum of the earth. I can't ever see myself being like that. That reminds me, there was a lady from Police Academy in this movie as well. I'm not really familiar with those movies anymore because its been so long, but apparently her signature phrase was "Talk is cheap", or something like that, and she was doing it for people on the set. See, that's what I'm talking about. Cool people!

Last thing I have to say is that I had my first indulgence since I've been in L.A. I tried so hard to resist, but I finally caved and got a Sidekick 3. I think I did pretty good holding off for 3 months, but I had been looking at them in E-Bay and Craigslist. When I saw this girl selling one for $240, I jumped on it, since it would be $350 otherwise. I'm selling my Sidekick 2 to a friend here for $125, so it's really like I got the Sidekick 3 for $115. Not bad, huh? It's nice. It has better graphics, bluetooth, an MP3 player, a better camera, and a sleaker look. I'm satisfied now (for the time being!).

Drama on the Set

2006-09-30T22:35:00.000-07:00

This week has been an interesting week. It ended just now with me locking myself out of my apartment, and of course my roommate is out of town. Afrah was here visiting, and we were leaving to go walk down Santa Monica Blvd. I locked the door from the inside, and as soon as I shut the door, I instantly realized I left my keys on my desk. I said a bunch of four letter words, and then remembered that my roommate had hid a spare key somewhere in the lobby. I found it, and of course the damn key didn't work. So, what do I have to do? I have to go around the back and take the screen off of my window and climb through the window. The only thing is, my window is about 10 feet off of the ground, since I live on a hill. Luckily, there is a staircase next to my window. I got the screen off, then kind of had to jump from the staircase to the window and crawl through, all while Afrah is snickering in the background. But, I did it. Then I quickly came to the realization that if I can take my screen off and climb through my window, then anyone can! It's a good thing I don't live in South Central!!

As for my work week, it started off with me working on The O.C. All I can say is that I think that show is going down the tubes? Does anyone even watch it anymore? I never have. The show struggled last season in ratings and whatnot. We were shooting on location at a high school. They have these 15 year old girls on the show now with dialogue that sounds like it comes straight from Laguna Beach. It just seems bad, and it wasn't really an exciting day at all. At the end of the day we shot a scene with Adam Brody and he seemed like he didn't even want to be there. He was acting like a diva and I was really unimpressed. Oh well.

Yesterday I worked on a new show called Brothers and Sisters with Sally Field, Colista Flockhart, and some other people that are well known, from what I've heard, but I didn't recognize them. The only one I knew working yesterday was Sally Field. The whole day was TERRIBLE!! First of all, this show is taped at Disney Studios in Burbank. I thought Disney was all about family, happiness, etc. YEAH RIGHT. First off, were kept in the basement of one of the studios. No windows. No cell phone reception. No any anything. Then, the wardrobe lady went on a rampage yelling at everyone. She was mean as hell, psychotic actually. They didn't have a lot of food for us. The whole day was messed up. When we started shooting, I noticed there was some tension on the set. Sally Field came in and she was nice looking and tiny. She looked really motherly, and I heard from someone that she was really nice. But man, she was in a bad mood that day.

Sally was being real snippy with the director, and it was more her body language than anything. She wasn't being outright mean. Someone I met that day, who had worked on the show, mentioned that some of the cast members didn't get along, then everything made sense. I'm sure Sally isn't that stand-offish normally, but it was the first time I have been on a set where the cast members didn't get along. By the end of the day the tension was really thick. Some of the other cast members were yelling and the director looked relly stressed out. All we could do was laugh since the day had been so miserable. It was a 13 hour day too. I never want to go to Disney again. They suck over there.

Maybe next week will be more interesting, especially since I'll be on four tv shows. I wish I had Showtime so I could watch Dexter. I'll definitely be on Vanished on Monday and hopefully Help Me Help You on Tuesday.

Sorry For the Mix Up

2006-09-25T21:26:00.000-07:00

Something must have gone wrong. Either they ran a re-run one week or the show didn't come on one week, but it got pushed back a week. I will be on Vanished for sure on Monday, October 2 at 9 pm on Fox.

Sorry for the mix up.....it's not my fault!

The Most Fun Weekend So Far!

2006-09-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

So, as you know from my last blog, I've been working on the set of the movie Transformers for the last 2 days. And as you can see on the left, it's set to be released on Independence Day 2007. It's directed by Michael Bay (The Island, The Rock) and executive produced by Steven Spielberg! This is going to be a huge movie with a lot of action and special effects. They have a $150 million budget.

In this movie I played a police officer. I don't even know where to start. There was so much action and I met the craziest lady in the world. More on her in a second. Tyrese and Josh Duhamel are both in this movie. I met and talked to them both and they were really cool, especially Josh. They just talked as if we were regular people, which we are. Ellen Pompeo needs to realize that!

There was a lot of action. They were blowin trucks up and bringin choppers in. It was really cool. I was right in the middle of the action. I got to drive the cop care right up to the scene of destruction where the robots are battling, jump out of the car with two of my deputies and control the frantic crowd. We were really acting too because there were obviously no 40 foot robots in front of us. They're all going to be added in during editing. But the scene was set up with burnt up cars and a big hole in the ground (which was made by a big pile of foam asphalt. And there was more smoke than anyone needs to encounter, as if Los Angeles needs that crap added to the already gag inducing smog.

Now for the crazy lady. I think she is the weirdest one yet! First of all, she is a sci-fi trekky. She's African-American and from about an inch above her ear down, her head is shaved. Above that she has these long dread locks that go half way down her back, pulled into a pony tail. And she has these wire rim glasses on that looks like they're straight from 1750, like something Benjamin Franklin would wear. She looks like Whoopi Goldberg basically, like the pic on the right, just skinnier. She tells me that she's in fact not an actress, but she is in LOVE with Transformers. She has a friend who knows one of the producers of the movie and got her on. So, we're about to go to set and somone says they see a model of one of the robots, and Pam (crazy lady) starts hyperventilating! I'm so not joking right now. By the way, she's like 30 years old. And of course I'm cracking up. She jokingly told me not to laugh and that she can't help it that she was a 9 year old geek with no friends that loved Transformers. You know I hung around her all day for kicks!!!

So then, as were on the set, they are using these tall skinny poles to simulate where the robots will be when they digitally add them in. They asked Pam to be one of the people crawling on the ground near the scene of destruction, and on her way over there, she had to make sure she touched one of the poles. And on her way back, she stole one of the smaller pieces of foam asphalt as a souvenier!!! Stuffed it right in her purse. Then, they bring out a white semi truck. One of the robots name's is Optimus, and he turns into the semi truck. No joke, she went over and kissed the truck! My stomach hurts at this point she is crackin me up so much.

Next, we have a scene with Bumblebee. Bumblebee is a yellow robot that transforms into a 2006 Camaro. They bring a smaller model of Bumblebee out and Pam starts singing "HALELLUJAH!!" She has no shame and I can see other people looking at her now and laughing. After that scene we break for lunch and she says, "This is the best weekend of my life,

other than the first time I got laid". I laugh and say, "That's good, most people's first time is not a good experience", to which she yells, "I got lucky!!!!" She was crazy for the whole 2 days and I was lovin it. So I told her we would have to see the movie together so we exchanged e-mails. I did this only for my own entertainment. She's going to be an absolute mess during that movie and I can't wait!

It's weird because my roommate made me go see Jackass 2 on Friday, and we saw a preview for Transformers already. I was like, "Whoa, I'm going to be in that movie tomorrow". And can I just say that the Jackass movie was one of the most disturbing things I've seen in a long time. It was entertaining, but disturbing. They did some things in that movie that humans just shouldn't do. I mean, I was literally gagging at certain parts it was so nasty. To the right, that is Steve-O letting a leech chomp on his eyeball. That wasn't one of the gagging incidents in the movie. I can't repeat those here because my mom reads this blog, lol.

That's it for now.

They're Workin Me Hard!

2006-09-22T21:06:00.000-07:00

After this weekend I will have worked 7 straight days in a row. It's cool, though. You know me and free food don't have any problems! I'm going to list the shows coming up that I'll be on again at the end of this post just as a reminder.

Today I was back on ER again, and what an interesting it turned out to be. First of all, the days working on ER are always long, like 14 hours, but they will only use you for half the time. Just with different scenes they shoot with different extras, you might not be used all the time. Today they use us the whole day, so it was tiring, but I ended up running into a few unexpected people. But before I get into that, first I just want to say the actors were terrible today. I have never seen people mess up lines so much in my entire life. Now, I understand that since they shoot multiple different scenes every day, its harder for a television actor to remember lines. But you would think after 30 takes (and I'm not exaggerating one bit!), the lines would start to stick! Not with these people. It wasn't the main characters, it was the guest actors. I don't know how on earth they got hired!!!

So, on my lunch break, we're sitting outside the stage we were filming on, and who drives up gets out of there car? None other than George Clooney. His office is right next to one of ER's stages. George is COOL. He said hi to us and talked and everything. Everyone likes George Clooney. He is currently filming Ocean's 13 along with Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, and some others, but we only saw George. Actually, I heard that he plays basketball everyday at Warner Brothers. Later on this evening, his driver came on picked him up.

So, as I was leaving today to go home, I had to walk across the entire studio lot to get to my car, and who do I see hanging out at their trailers? Matthew Perry and D.L. Hughley, who were taping their show, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Matthew was telling a story and DL was standing there puffing on a cigar. I didn't stop and talk though. I was tired and really wanted to get home. I'm not one of those people who goes all crazy around celebrities. It's just not a big deal to me (unless it's Mariah Carey, then I'd get all hot and sweaty and start hyperventilating! Ok, maybe not hyperventilate, but some of my organ systems would definitely be shutting down).

All right, don't forget to watch t.v. these next to weeks. I cut my list down to 3, because I decided that in some of the shows I really won't be seen well and who wants to go through the hassle?

1. Vanished -- this is a new show that premiered on Monday, August 21 on Fox. It's an FBI type show. I am in the 6th episode, so the one I'm in should air on September 25, at 9pm on Fox. This episode takes place in Washington D.C. There is a scene where the senator (main character) is coming out of the courthouse and all of the press and journalists are all around trying to talk to him. I play his FBI agent that escorts him out of the courthouse. I have on a gray suit. This is the show where I got the most camera time so far. So make sure to watch. Monday nights, 9pm, Fox.

2. CSI: New York -- I don't know when the 1st episode premieres this fall, but I'm in episode 4. So try and watch for commercials to see when it premieres, on what days and at what times. I play a CSI tech and I have on a green shirt and tie. There's a scene where the main characters in the AVS room (a small room) and I'm "working" right behind them. My back is to the camera, but I kept turning around so the camera could catch my face, lol. I'm not sure if it worked. I think this show comes on Wednesday nights at 10 pm.

3. Help Me Help You -- this is Ted Danson's new comedy, and the mom from Malcolm in the Middle is on the show as well. This show premieres on September 26th, and my episode airs the next week on October 3rd. I play a coffee shop worker (there are 2 of us). So, look for me walking around straightening things up and stuff like that. It's kind of like a Starbucks coffee shop. It's called the "Metro Bean" on the show. However, I don't know yet what station or time the episodes air.

Vanished is the BIG one, so watch it! Now, I'm off to a movie (Jackass #2 with my roommate), just so I can come back and only get 4 hours of sleep because I have to be downtown, on location at 6:45 am for the feature film Transformers! Remember Transformers? Did you guys know they were making a movie? Well, they are and they said we will be running down streets, screaming for our lives from the Transformers. I play a cop. This should be fun. Plus it's the last weekend of shooting for the movie!

My Desperately Grey Week

2006-09-21T00:14:00.000-07:00

How's that for a corny title? It's 12:15 am, and I just got home from being on Criminal Minds with Shemar Moore, so I'm going to make this quick, hopefully.

As you may remember from my last post, I was excited about being on a certain set on Monday, and in case you haven't figured out what it is by now, it was Desperate Housewives. Turns out my day was ruined because I was really hoping Eva Longoria would be working that day, but sadly, she was not. All I got was Marcia Cross. :( We shot on location at a country club and the scene took place in a reataurant. I was just at a table eating. The day was pretty much boring, and Marcia didn't make it any better. She looked good from a distance, but she had SOOO much make-up on, and up close, you can tell she hasn't aged very well. It is amazing what make-up can do for a person. And of course she didn't talk to any of the background people. Typical. There was someone making a guest appearance on the show that day, and I'm sure you know who she is. I can't remember her name, but she was in one of the Scream movies. She was Bill's mother (one of the killers) and she dies at the end of the movie. But you may know her better as Roseanne's sister on Roseanne.

Yesterday was more fun because I was on Grey's Anatomy. Of course I like being on the medical shows. I played an intern and a patient in the same episode. Episode #6, which should air on October 26th. I really liked this set, first and foremost, because they fed us really well, and that's always at the top of my list. Secondly, everyone was pretty cool for the most part.

Ellen Pompeo (Meredith) is really tiny, and didn't speak to any of us, of course. I tried to say hi, and she acted like she didn't see me. But it's ok because a few weeks ago, at the Emmy's, the critics ripped her apart because of her sloppy hairdo, haha. The girl who plays Christina seemed cool, but she looked so serious all the time. The guy who plays Alex, his eyes were really red like he was up all night, and he wreaked of cigarettes. He reminded more of a construction worker than of a doctor. The one thing I liked about this show was that they were really efficient. They set up a scene, did it a few times and moved on. They got a lot done in one day, whereas on other shows sometimes they spend hours on one scene. I won't give any details on what scenes were shot that day though. I won't ruin in for anyone.

On my way home from Grey's, I was driving down Hollywood Blvd, and noticed there were a lot of people there for a Tuesday night. I drive a little further, down to the Chinese Grauman Theatre, and lo and behold, the premiere of Employee of the Month was happening! That's the movie with Jessica Simpson and Dane Cook, who were obviously there. It was my first glimpse of a red carpet since I moved to L.A. Now, I just to find out how to know when there is going to be a premiere, before it happens. I didn't see Jessica or Dane, and I couldn't stop and see what was going on because I was tired and plus there was no parking anywhere near the theatre. Oh well, maybe next time.

I think that pretty much sums up the first part of my week. My bed is calling me because it's been a long day and I have to get up early tomorrow.