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Lessons start Tuesday

It’s official: I’ll be taking private lessons starting on Tuesday and continuing every Tuesday, indefinitely (except April 20, when I’ll be in Gainesville). I’m pretty excited about the opportunity for a lot of reasons: I get to push myself to try something totally new, I get to try something I’ve been interested in for a long time, I get to exercise my creative side a bit more than I do as an engineer. That being said, I’m also very nervous about the whole deal. Realistically, I have no business even attempting acting. I have no background or experience in acting and my knowledge of the subject is almost entirely based on what I’ve seen other actors do. I guess, from some points of view, I’ve done hundreds of hours of research into other actors’ work, but I’m essentially totally ignorant about the business. If nothing, this will be an opportunity for me to continue learning something, which is good because I really enjoy learning.

Tax time

I’ve been meaning to file my income taxes for several weeks now, but I keep forgetting. That’s probably because my return will be next to nothing and I doubt if Uncle Sam would come after me if I didn’t file (in fact, I’m not even sure I’m legally obligated to file). But, I can’t bear the idea of throwing money away (no matter how little it may be), so I’m gonna’ go ahead and take care of that now.

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Short day, short weekend

Today went by quickly, but I bet the weekend will do the same. I’m anticipating my trip in two weeks, so I’m guessing these next two weeks of work will crawl by.

End fascinating, short post.

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A little encouragement

I’ve been in touch with my acting instructor from a couple summers ago and he’s been kind enough to give me a little guidance as I begin to seriously consider moving closer to the business. He’s given me a lot of useful information, but one of the best things he could have said to me, he said in response to my reference to myself as a “dreamer”: By the way “dreamers” are the ones that don’t actually have a plan or do something about their career. It sounds like you have a pretty smart plan so far. It’s good to know that, although I feel completely ignorant and naive (because I am), I’m making strides in the right direction.

Work is s-l-o-w

For a while there, work was fast-paced and interesting. But lately, because of some decisions “from the top”, things have been unusually slow and I’ve been trying hard to keep busy. This lull should be over by next week, but it’s going to be a difficult Thursday and Friday this week. I guess I can suck it up till Monday.

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Bad news and good news about acting

Well, the bad news is as follows: Because I’ve scheduled a trip to Florida for the week of April 19th, I can’t start taking acting classes until October (at least not at the studio I trained at a couple summers ago). As it turns out, that’s the first week of the new semester and they’re going 4 hours a night, 4 nights a week, so I can’t make up that time. The next session starts some time in October, so I just have to wait until then. Some more bad news is the cost. The course is a 4-semester course that, in total, costs about $20,000. That’s a lot of cheddar.

The good news is as follows: Because this is an accredited school offering a 2-year AA, some of the courses–required by state law–are general education courses, which I’ll probably be able to transfer from my transcript at Florida. If they work with me, I think I can knock a full semester off of the total time, so it’ll only be 3 semesters and hopefully about $15,000. Also, the dollar amount is the total cost of the program including books, lab fees, tax and everything else. So, it’s a bit steep, but at least I won’t be shelling out all kinds of money and then trying to figure out where I’ll get the money for my books and whatnot.

All in all, I’m really excited about starting classes in October and it actually works out well because I’ll have significantly more financial freedom by then. The bummer is that I have to wait a full 6 months before I can start training and I feel like I’m ready to get at it now. I’m going in next week to learn more about the program and I’ll spend this week trying to figure out if their price is competitive or outrageous and if it’s the right thing for me.

Memory lane runs through the May ’02 archive on my blog

Today, I spent some time reading over the May ’02 entries from my blog and I was floored at where I was then versus where I am now. As I read over the entries, I could almost literally see myself shunning the idea of being an engineer forever and gravitating towards something in the arts. At the time, it was music that I felt would carry me, but I gradually began to think about acting. Since, I’ve decided that music, although I love it and couldn’t be without it, is probably not something I could realistically do professionally. But acting is something I think I can actually do and do very well. It was really fascinating to read what I wrote back then, and having immediate access to my thoughts from almost two years ago is plenty of motivation to keep using this blog.

It may be boring, but it’s useful for me and that’s all I ever intended it to be.

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Austin hopes revived?

Well, after discussing things with my co-worker today, it seems there may be a way I can get that week in Austin after all. Basically, everything revolves around scheduling and priorities and necessity, but if all those things work in my favor, I could end up being sent to Austin for a week of training some time in May. I ain’t gettin’ my hopes up, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Letterman

Janet Jackson was Letterman’s guest tonight and, as seems to be the trend when Dave interviews divas, things were pretty tense. He seemed to dwell on the incident at the Superbowl this year, but she wasn’t too keen on that. The following is a quote from the interview wherein Dave shared some of his wisdom with Janet:

Here’s the way I look at life: Sometimes, things are good. Sometimes, things are bad. And when things are bad, it’s always important to have someone to blame. – Dave Letterman on Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” at this year’s Superbowl half-time show

I was shocked–spooked, really–at how similar Janet and Michael are. And I don’t just mean their faces and voices, I mean they way they speak and carry themselves. It’s pretty creepy.

Roughest workout in a while

Today’s workout was one of the toughest I’ve had in a very, very long time. First, I made the mistake of playing three games of one-on-one after I shot around for about half an hour. Then, I decided to add an exercise to my usual Monday workout. On the third set of my bench press, I was going for 12 reps and only got about 11.8. That meant I had to use the “dummies”, as I call them, to bail me out. I can’t even remember the last time I got stuck like that, but I guess it was bound to happen since I was already exhausted from playing basketball. After that, I got all my reps, but only after coaching myself through each set and continuously talking myself into finishing the workout and not quitting. All in all, it was an intense workout and I’m glad I finished it, but maybe next Monday I’ll lay off the hoops before I hit the weights.

L.A. cohort

Tonight, I talked with a good friend from back at school and we sort of allied ourselves to try and land both of us in L.A. some time soon (ie, within the next couple years). Basically, the arrangement is one where we pass along contacts and leads to each other in hopes that our combined opportunities will enable both of us to be more successful than if we were each relying on our own opportunities. I don’t know how it’ll work out, if at all, but it’s nice to know I have a friend whose goals are similar to mine and who is lookin’ out for me.

And now it’s time to try to sleep.

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Spaceballs

When I first moved here, I picked the DVD up at Target for about 10 bucks. Tonight, I finally got around to watching it and I was vividly reminded of Mel Brooks’ unique style and ability. Of course, seeing John Candy and Rick Moranis was a blast from the past and I always enjoy a good spoof, especially if it’s of a cult film like Star Wars. All in all, I think this was 10 bucks well spent and I’ll have to try to remember to screen it the next time a bunch of my friends and I are sitting around with nothing to do.

The Voyage has come to and end

…but The Silver Chair has only just begun. I’m beginning the 6th book in the Chronicles of Narnia series and I expect I’ll be done with the series in about two weeks. I’ve said too many times how much I’m enjoying the stories, but this one was particularly well written. The last few chapters were unique in many ways and C.S. Lewis’ creativity and storytelling ability really stood out to me down the stretch.

Laptop on hold

I finally sat down and worked out a dollar-by-dollar budget for myself and, long story short, “laptop” ain’t anywhere to be found. I might re-evaluate here in a month or so, but the laptop is on hold indefinitely. I’m really bummed because it’s something I could really use and I was looking forward to having the freedom to write almost anywhere (on a computer), but facts are facts and the fact is there ain’t room for a laptop right now. Patience is a virtue.

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Might be buyin’ a laptop

Well, I’ve begun the process of talking myself into buying a laptop, so that means it’s really only a matter of time before I’ll break down and get one. Of course, my thrifty, bargain-hunting side will help to keep me in check, but I’ve been wanting one for a couple years now and I’m afraid I won’t be able to resist much longer. I think it’ll be a practical purchase and, if I play my cards right, I should be able to get a well-priced laptop with a good financing option, so I won’t have to pay interest and I’ll have plenty of time to pay for it.

I’m heading out tomorrow to shop around and see what there is to see (and also to compare in-store prices with online ones). I have a hunch that Best Buy and Circuit City will be competing for my business.

Basketball in the morning

I’ve been working pretty hard to get in shape over the past couple weeks. I feel my game is improving, but it’s hard to say without running some full-court games, and that’s what Saturdays are for. I’m hoping for a good performance tomorrow, but it’s really hard to expect myself to go all out at 9 in the morning on a Saturday. I wish those jokers would play at 10 or so.

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Long day, nothin’ doin’

That about sums up the day. I guess, if there was anything significant today, it was that my hopes for going to Austin for a week of training were essentially dashed. I guess there’s a tiny chance it’ll happen, but it’s pretty unlikely. Normally, I’d be pretty bummed, but this time I’m exceptionally bummed because not only will I not get to go to Austin, but I’ll have to drive almost an hour and a half each way to the airport for five days straight. What’s more, it’ll be on my own time as the company apparently doesn’t play for transit time to training sessions.

So, that kinda’ stinks, but I figure I’ve got a pretty good situation here and I will occasionally have to roll with the punches. I’m the Rope-a-dope.

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It’s official

I’m going to Florida from April 16th until April 24th. That’ll give me a few days each in J-ville and G-ville. The ticket was only $268, so that was definitely an added bonus.

Plowing through Treader

I’m almost half done with Voyage of the Dawn Treader and I hope to finish it up by this weekend. That’ll put me pretty much on pace to finish the series by the time I head to Florida. More importantly, I’m still really enjoying the stories.

More training tomorrow and Thursday

I’ll be spending the next two days in a very similar environment to the one I spent a couple days last week. I expect to be thoroughly bored, very tired and mostly counting the minutes to food-times and bathroom breaks. But, it may all be worth it as this training will allow me to shine in my group and in my company, and that could mean a nice raise this time next year. Only time will tell.

On the subject of training: I may be working my way into an opportunity to go to Austin for a week of training in late April (in fact, it could be the week after my trip to Florida, making for a very busy April). Initially, I was supposed to be getting this training in Dallas, but it turns out the training center is basically at the airport. After crunching some numbers, my co-worker and I have discovered that it may actually be cheaper to fly us to Austin–rent us a car, get us a couple hotel rooms (in a Hilton or something) and pay for our food–than it would be to pay us for the commute to and from the airport for five days. Now, if we can only convince our managers of that, we’ll be home free.

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Break time is comin’

I’m starting to feel a sense of urgency about getting some time off and seeing my friends and family back home. I’ve been here about 9 weeks and, while I’m pretty comfortable and feel very settled in, I’m ready to see my people back east. I’ve been spending some very quality time with my buddies here, but I’ve also got a lot of free time and I have to work hard to fend of laziness. With laziness comes a lot of down-time and a lot of time to think about “home”. Most times, I’m ok with that, but sometimes, I begin to long for the relationships I left there.

That’s why I’m so looking forward to spending a week in Florida in April. It’ll give me some time to chill and see the people that I’ve only been able to talk to on the phone (and not very frequently). Vacation seems to have a wholly different purpose now that I’m working full-time and living 1000 miles from Florida.

Sailing through Narnia

I’ve read a few chapters of Voyage of the Dawn Treader and it’s another good book. It seems strange to me that I’m reading children’s books and enjoying them so much, but I figure if I am enjoying them, then why not keep reading them? Also, reading shorter, easier books is a good way to boost my “books read to date” numbers: there are seven books in The Chronicles of Narnia.

I’m hoping to finish the series before I go for my vacation in April, but that may not be realistic. It can definitely be done, but I’d have to go on some reading binges between now and then. Normally, a reading binge wouldn’t be totally out of the question, but since I’ll probably spend the next two weekends doing nothing aside from watching basketball, I doubt I’ll have time for any binging.

I’m off to watch Letterman and then it’s time for my beauty sleep.