Around this time I landed a theatrical agent Penny Luedtke @ The Luedtke Agency. I really liked her; she listened and believed in me. I was freelancing commercially with a couple of agencies and getting a few appointments theatrically as well. I started attending CD and agent workshops at The Actor's Connection and these really made things happen. I was learning a lot about how things worked and getting an opportunity to meet CD's and agents directly and it was encouraging because it helped me understand how things worked. Soon agents started calling me for auditions. Things were looking great.

I slowly started getting auditions through these new connections that I was making on my own and I also felt that I was right for most of the stuff that I was getting appointments for. Around this time I got my first callback for a commercial in New York and it felt good. Things were going well, my job at Harley was working and I was making headway in business.

I had had it with my talent manager; she couldn't even get my name right and almost rarely were any of my auditions right for me. I asked for and received a release from my contract. She told some others that she didn't feel I would get work in New York. Cool, I was free. It was then that my career in New York really started. I did my resume over and bought a word processor. When I re-did my resume without the manager's logo on it I felt like I had taken a shower. I had taken the power back in my career. I did a mass mailing to CD's and agents with some success. I also took the initiative to make follow-up calls. I did this because I knew most other actors wouldn't and I also had nothing to lose. I got numerous meetings with agents this way. Within a year I was freelancing commercially with Abrams, Acme, SEM&M, Paradigm, William Morris, Carol Baker, Gilla-Roos, The Gage Group and several others. Things were looking good.

After being in NYC for 11 months things were coming along slowly but surely. I was getting auditions, even though I wasn't really right for most of them. I was figuring out how it all worked. I was also having second thoughts about my management; I wasn't working directly any agents so she was all I had. Normally, I am a hands-on type a guy and this felt kinda weird. When I signed with her I felt that Greg was who she really wanted. She told me that she felt I was the "brains of the duo" and I would determine if "we" signed or not. Not true at all, Greg did his own thing. I felt like I didn't have anything to lose, at the very least it was a major factor in getting me to New York.

At the restuarant they hired a stunning, vibrant new hostess named Keilana. She was beautifully radiant, but I was trying to "get my hustle on" with my career and not really interested in dating anyone. She eventually suggested that we get together a few times and finally we did. We spent a lot of time together and I have to say, up to that point, I hadn't really clicked that well with anyone I dated before. I really thought she could be the one. Those were some really fond memories.