HAPPY ANNIVERSARY*Today, May 10, is my 7 year anniversary of arriving in New York from Virginia Beach, VA. I remember it like yesterday. My buddy, William Gregory Lee, and I were leaving on the red-eye Greyhound bus to Port Authority 42nd Street. I had a grand total of bucks, no job, but a temporary place to stay. What the heck was I thinking?

I went from living a relatively normal life one day to sharing a bed with Greg in the "Hell's Kitchen" section of New York for 4 months. That section of NYC is much, much nicer these days than it was in '95. My acting teacher in Virginia Beach was telling us that we needed a minimum of ,000 a piece before we could make the move. Maybe that was why we didn't tell her that we were leaving.

I used to walk through Manhattan with the challenge of somehow making sense of it all before I left. I mean with the big buildings, mass transit, filthy streets, the snow, etc. I grew up in the suburbs; this was like moving to Mars. I didn't want to feel like I ran away from the metropolis. In the end, I was very happy with the circumstances of my departure.

Greg and I almost came to LA first. I shudder to think of not having my NY experiences under my belt. Not only as an actor, but as a person. It is/was priceless for me. Make no mistake; I am glad I am in LA. I'm just glad I went there first; it was instrumental in my relatively smooth transition to LA.

My buddy and I often talk about the day we met, September 22 '93, and the fact that we are still here doing what we actually said we would do. We have both been fortunate to travel and work with some really special people.

Last night, after talking about it over the years, we actually sat down and starting writing our first screenplay. Ya know, just putting down ideas and seeing where it leads us. Neither of us have any experience in this, but we are just going to go for it. I feel so fortunate to get to do this for a living that, at times, I can hardly believe it. I am trying to "taste" every moment of it along the way. So if you catch me taking pictures in my dressing room on a set somewhere don't laugh!! I save all kinds of mementos from my experiences. I am not waiting to "arrive" to start enjoying the journey, everyday is a great day. Has it been rough at times? You better believe it!!

Has it been a "struggle"? Mmmmmm, I don't like that word, I think 'struggle' is largely a state of mind. I have had many 'challenges' that have shown me what I am made of. I will say that I am glad that I have a lot of these experiences behind me and hopefully I can keep moving forward.

I feel fortunate to have so many to share with and to share with me in return. We are all in this together, I say let's keep going!!

Also, this evening my commercial agent calls to let me know that the McDonald's spot is still being cast. Cool, there is still a chance then. We'll see.