So, this is going to be one of the quickest trips to San Francisco ever--I am in town for Wondercon this year and it promises to be a manic trip. I found a flight on United for $145 roundtrip ($112 before taxes and whatever fees they decide people pay these days) so I am typing this in LAX a bit before my plane start boarding. I would try to upload this before I left, but, of course, LAX does not have free Internet--it's fee Internet here--and I am not going to pay $8 or whatever for 30 minutes. Ugh, when will the madness end? Free Internet makes people happy, it keeps them occupied, it keeps people in a reasonable state of mind. Flying is already so frustrating, why not do what the coffee shop down the block has done before years?

Pretty much every week, there's a burrito in my life. I usually pick it up on the way home after yoga and, without exception, I always leave smiling. Seriously, everyone who works there is just damn pleasant, and always remembers me and just seems to enjoy working there, that I always leave going, "Man, I love LA." This morning I had the same experience--I went to The Griddle for breakfast--and, again, everyone there was just so nice and relaxed and just...cool that it really just made me stoked. I have talked about this with a few folks who have leave LA recently, and they have made similar remarks--when you are in LA, people are just more pleasant. I know this is awful generalization, but if I compare my experiences, say, in the grocery stores in New York, where most of the time everyone was just sullen and irritated to be there, and to the grocery stores in LA, where, time and time again, the people working there are honestly helpful and pleasant--the vast majority of the time, the comparison holds. I was in a Ralph's the other day trying to find rice milk for Whit, and when the guy didn't know, he tracked down another person, who told me exactly where it was (Aisle 8, but the rice milk is right behind a post, so make sure to look carefully) and then, later, when I bumped into the guy again, he asked to make sure if I had found it or not. Like, this is just some dude who works at a Ralph's, you know?

These are small things, totally, but when there is nothing but doom and gloom on the news and when you are falling asleep doing math to see how much money you have left in your account for the weekend, they make a huge difference. I know for a fact that there are nice places in New York--I don't mean to pick on that great and fantastic city, I have had my time with superb lame asses in San Francisco--but day to day, my life in LA is just more pleasant and I don't know anyone else who has moved here from another city who will disagree with me.

Anyway, I just wanted to put that out there because I keep wanting to post that when I leave the burrito place but I never remember (and I admit, it's a Chipotle, which is a chain, I realize, but these guys are so close to my place and they really do it for for me (I am a simple burrito person--chicken, black beans, rice, hot salsa)).

The other night a good friend of mine, a classmate in my acting class, admitted to us that she was taking a hiatus of indeterminate length from acting. She was not going to class anymore and she had told her agents that she was done for now, possibly forever. The news hit everyone pretty hard and I have been thinking about it a lot. The thing is, she's a terrific actor. She's got great comic chops, can do drama no problem, and has a great look.

It's a big deal when someone quits, especially when it's someone you see a lot, because you feel like you are losing a team member, in a way. This whole endeavor is frustrating, as you know, but it is a lot easier when you can share your experiences and frustrations with others, it's a lot easier to not get an audition when you know it's not just you. We all want her to come back to acting, but we all recognize that this is not something she took lightly, that this was a fundamental decision, a big shift in her life and she knew it.

I am sure some of us are thinking, deep down, "Is this what I should be doing? Is she getting out a sign that I should be getting out? I'm not getting any younger, should I just quit while I am ahead/behind? Maybe this is not right for me--sure I have fun doing it, but I haven't booked a spot in a year, maybe I should just be responsible and get out of LA and live the rest of my life without this crap." It's all there, you know? When you hang out with other actors who are slogging, you get the sense, "Hey, this is worth doing, if they are not giving up, I'm certainly not going to!" When one of your crew bows out, it rattles you, it really does.

I'm not quitting. I don't want to and I don't have to. I am extraordinarily lucky that I have a job that appreciates my acting life and actually leverages my experience whenever possible. It's taken years to get that balance to happen and I am not going throw it away because acting is hard. It's all hard, you know?

I was watching In Bruges the other night (I recommend it, it's a great movie) and one of the things I liked most about it was just the scenes of every day life in this quaint Belgium city. You know the kind, with the really old, thin houses and big plazas with requisite open air cafes? And I thought about the life of those people who run those little cafes and restaurants, providing that quintessential European experience to countless travelers, all these people on their way to somewhere else, stopping in, hanging out at your place, then leaving, never to be seen again. I wonder what it would be like to own, or at least work in place where the world flows by past you as you wash the dishes. I can see the allure of it and part of me wishes that that's what I wanted, but I don't. Who knows.

I started this at the airport and now I am in a BART train, heading to San Francisco. I'll post this tonight...

Tokyo Taxi

I had a funny audition experience yesterday that I thought I would write down. I got this in my email box the night before (this is how I learn about auditions, I get an email the night before):

The following contains meeting information for: <<Spot Name>>


-----
Client:           Mike Romo
Date:             Thursday, February 19, 2009
Time:             3:00 PM
Status:           E-Mail Client
Role:             Basketball Players
                 Comedy. Comedy. Comedy. Should not look athletically
inclined. These are buddies hanging out on the weekend. Rate: 3 x scale

Wardrobe:         Lame workout clothes: if possible sweat shorts, t-shirts,
socks pulled up to their shins, sweatbands on wrists and head.

...
-----
Sounds pretty straightforward, right? Basically look like the guy from Juno and nail the audition, right? So, I got my wardrobe together (I had to pilfer Whit’s sock drawer to get her knee highs that she uses for rollerskating), went to work, ran out of work at lunch, go to the audition, changed in my car, and ran up to the audition hall.

It was hilarious. Waiting to go in were a bunch of guys in workout clothes. About half of the guys looked a little like me (and assorted variants)--white nerdy looking guys who just looked like pathetic nerds. The other half were 7’ tall actual basketball players, who were looking totally buff and super sporty, and who were basically real life jocks. So, all of a sudden, we were back in grammar school--all the nerds were kind of hanging out with each other--even though we were not really nerds, at least not all of us, we were just guys dressed up as nerds, but it didn’t matter, the social construct just kicked right in. It was hilarious. I mean, I honestly haven’t felt that kind of vibe since high school. Oh, there was no bullying or anything like that, everyone was very nice to each other, but we were all cracking up, like obviously some guys got one breakdown, but there was apparently an “in shape, good looking, athletic build” breakdown that a bunch of us certainly did not get.

I went in with four guys who were all about my height plus one African American guy who was at least 7’ tall, totally amazingly good looking, played pro basketball for three years, like, total amazing athlete guy. Huge arms, the whole thing. Really nice, super nice and just laughing at how mismatched we all were. When we did our photos, it was him first (Sheldon), and then the camera person had to bring the camera down a full foot to focus on me, with my polka dot headband and “Oscar the Grouch” t-shirt and she literally just laughed outloud. It was classic.

The audition was fun, though--I mean, who knows what’s going to happen with it, given the two totally different categories they called in--and that, in the end, is what matters, really. That’s all you can do, really, is just enjoy the process, because wanting a job from it is just going to set you up for disappointment in the first place. I had four auditions (one straight to callback) last week, and I didn’t get a single callback--for parts that I was perfect for, on auditions that were no different than the ones I have booked from--and I must admit, it was a little disruptive, emotionally. Like, I had no idea why I didn’t get called back, and even though I keep telling myself not to think about it...I still think about it, of course I do, you know? That Thursday after yoga class, when I didn’t have any messages in my voicemail...ugh, that stung. Mildly freaked me out all Friday.

This Wednesday we had class, it was on camera “bad guy/bad girl” night, and I played what was basically the action cop breaking up a hostage situation, 24 style. I did as best as I could, and technically, I succeeded in establishing the right angle (I had to look towards my left but be looking straight ahead and to the right, so it all looked very dynamic), but when I came on, every one just laughed. Now, it makes sense--it’s a ridiculous situation and I don’t usually play this stuff, and, from certain angles, I tend to remind people of Paul Giamatti, since my eyes were kind of bugging out a bit and I had this kind of grimace going--but it was, I admit, just a little frustrating...you want to be able to do this stuff, you want to have a look that can be used for any kind of job, and it’s possible, you just have to keep yourself up. For instance, right now I need a haircut and I need to drink less coffee and get more sleep so I can fend of the dark circles under my eyes. Like, I can see that being a problem, especially with bad lighting, so I just have to do it.

It’s an interesting time now. There is not a lot of work for anyone, and the work that is out there is often going to much more established names (I saw an ad with from Alan Tudyk from Firefly and from Dulé Hill from The West Wing and almost did a spit-take--why do those guys need to be doing DirecTV commericals?!) and it can be irritating, but so what? A lot less irritating than losing your job and having two kids to feed.

Onward!

Tags: acting, auditions, commercials

Bay Arcade in Balboa’s “Fun Zone”. I grew up going here in the summer.

Yikes, Monday already. Monday in June. 2008.

Everyone I know is kind of freaking out about the whole “June” thing. I can’t believe it at all, to be honest. But whatever, it’s here and we might as well get used to it.

Had a good weekend and now I am tired out. I went down to San Diego to speak at a conference--sounds cooler than it was, but it was cool--so Whit and I had a good time driving down and hanging out in downtown San Diego.

This is Whit doing a very good impression of her sister. Check out the new sweatshirt. It’s lined and is mighty nice.

It was nice to get out of the city, even if only for a night. We stayed at this very odd resort/convention center named Town and Country and got a good taste of what life must have been like in the 50s. The place was just...old, you know? Just stuck in time. It was interesting to be rushing all around irritated that the year was approaching half over rather quickly then ending up here, which seemed like a movie set..it was just crazy, check out the link for some pics.

Then I had to go to work a table at the gift lobby for the MTV 2008 Movie awards. This was a really strange experience and really, I mean, really, it was a glimpse into the part of the entertainment industry that made me feel just...odd, I guess. Basically, we were one of many tables set up on the roof of this very swank hotel in the middle of West Hollywood. We would hang out to talk about our products (I was inbetween a very cool headset and a neat smart pen) to anyone that would come by. Kinda like a trade show, but if the person coming up to you was wearing a certain necklace, then they were apparently a celebrity and could just take whatever they wanted--as long as we got a picture of the celebrity holding the product. Once the picture was taken, it could be use to market said product.

It's one thing to know about this kind of thing, it's another thing to actually see it in action. Now, let's be clear--I had a fine time, and the people that I did meet were actually very cool about it. I mean, of course they were, right? They were getting all this free stuff for nothing! But still, you could tell the cooler celebs knew just how silly this was, which is why I think they were so nice. Our table was probably the most interesting at the event--we had cool gadgets and stuff that was way more useful than yet another energy drink--so we had some fun conversations and everything, but still...

It's business, right? This is how companies get their products out on the market. They get photos of people using the products in magazines, then the masses will go and get said product. It's just seeing it done so overtly that gave me pause.

Still, it was a good experience--I learned quite a bit just by watching people. The wheels of commerce spinning, right?

The other night, while Whit was with her girlfriends for a Sex and the City party (I love that they had party for a movie and then not go to said movie), I finally got around to watching The Graduate. No, I had never seen it before. Yes, I have been reading all about it in Pictures at a Revolution. And yes, I was totally, completely blown away by it. If you haven't seen it recently, add it to your queue and check it out. From the sound design to the cinematography to Anne Bancroft's insanely great performance (her laughter during their initial flirtation just blew me away, I must have watched that scene five times)...it's just awesome.

I am going to an on camera class tonight, which should be fun. It's good to keep going to different teachers, to work with different people. It's still really slow and I fear that things won't even begin to recover until late this summer. I hope.

My article for ifanboy.com goes up on Wednesday. I'm just writing about comics and life..we'll see how people respond...

talk to you soon.

Tags: san diego, balboa island

I got this amazingly cool print (hi-res version here) hanging my cube from Secret Headquarters, a cool comic book store over in Silver Lake, the neighborhood I should be living in. This is a poster of Scott Campbell's artwork for King of Kong, which you must rent/buy if you haven't seen it. Great movie.

Three day weekend! Ovef! I had a really good one, I must say. Whit was at work pretty much the entire time dealing with the very successful Phoenix landing--click the link, very cool mission so far.

Ugh, I started this earlier this week and wasn't able to post it. Been kind of an odd week, bouncing from "life is great" in the morning and then "argh, life is driving me CRAZY!" just a few hours later. Work is good, but one of the products I am working on is causing people headaches, which gives me a migraine. We'll get to the bottom of the problem, but it's hard to deal with when your email program is hogging up 99% of your CPU usage. Frustrating.

Going surfing again tomorrow morning, which will make it twice in one week. The key is to keep sticking with it, I assume. I am looking forward to it, I just want to actually stand up and drift on down, just to figure out that balance. I'll work on the balance stuff tonight during yoga.

Acting is slow and it's really driving everyone I know crazy. Kind in an irritable mood, so I will just post this now..