My last day in NY. I get breakfast in Harlem, shoot down to the Village to find a hat and some earrings and back up to the Samuel Beckett Theatre to see my friend Gillian Foss in a play. It was a wonderful piece by Mike Leigh titled "Smelling a Rat", also in the cast were Michelle Williams from "Dawson's Creek" and Eddie Kaye Thomas from "American Pie 1 & 2". Gillian and I worked together at The Harley Davidson Cafe. I got to speak with her briefly after the show and off to Newark International Airport I was.

My birthday was yesterday the 28th and my NY friends Genine & Chanel took me to see R&B singer Teena Marie to celebrate. While she was buying the tickets I stayed in the car since it was double parked on 42nd Street. Right at that moment a limo pulled up, I thought it might be Teena coming in for her sound check. It was and I got a photo with her. Yesterday, I also got to hang out with a fellow cast member of the play I was in back in '97, Marcuis Harris.

Today I went to the site of the World Trade Center. To say it was unbelievable would be putting it mildly. To actually be in the space that I've seen in such a tragic way was something I can't even describe. I can't even imagine what it was like 8-9 months ago. I got off at the Brooklyn Bridge stop on the 4/5/6 subway line and was walking toward the memorial hearing the typical "sounds of New York". Ya know the hustle, the bustle, the confusion, the tension. As I approached the memorial all of that stopped. It seemed like that city block, in the middle of downtown NYC, was protected. There was a feeling of calm in the air that was something I had never experience before in such a normally frenetic place. Once I actually got to the site of the many buildings that were no longer standing, I was speechless. My older brother used to work in one of the towers; I had been in the towers and have a photo that I took from the top of one of them. I hope we, human beings, never have to experience anything so tragic ever again.

YES!!! This morning I am on my way to the Big Apple! Yeah!! New York City! It's been almost 2 years since I have been there. Kazarian-Spencer & Associates (KSA), my commercial agency in LA, just opened an office in NY. I'll stop by to say "hi", I just want them to know who I am because you never know. I really want to keep a solid connection to NY. I also stopped in to see my former NY theatrical agent, Penny Luedtke of The Luedtke Agency, just to say "hello" and see how she is doing. This trip to NY is also to see some old friends that I haven't seen for a while, some of which I worked with at the, now defunct, Harley-Davidson Cafe in mid-town Manhattan. I have very fond memories of living in New York and may one day again in the future. Oh yeah, I got a ticket on Orbitz.com for 85 bucks traveling from Virginia to NYC. WHAT!!! That is cheaper, faster and just better all the way around than the Greyhound bus I usually take.

Twice this week I visit my former acting teachers classes. I normally stop in to get a dose of the early Meisner exercises and watch scenes being performed. It is always a good experience and it brings back fond memories. Since I have New York and LA experience, many of the students wanted to ask questions of me. It's kinda weird being in the hot seat with people actually listening to what I have to say.

Okay I'm back home and ready to rock & roll. I contact the two agents in town, that I know of, one of them has a "Bell South" audition for me the following Tuesday. It's in North Carolina at the regions most important casting office, but it's 300 miles one way. It kinda felt like it was a cattle call so I declined. The other agency never called me back.

YES!! I am out of here!!! I'm on my way to LAX to go home to Virginia for damn near a month. This is what I have been working for, to be able to do exactly this. Go home and spend time with my family. I am probably staying a little too long because there is still work to be had in LA, but I need a break. I routinely burn the candle at both ends.

Monday morning and I want my mommy!!! No, seriously my arm has gone absolutely nuts. I go back in to the doc first thing and he sends me to a specialist a Cedars-Sinai Hospital. They check to see if I have any blood clots in my arm. I seem to check out okay and by the next day the swelling has subsided. Whew!!! Not cool. Doctor appointments mess up my damn schedule!! Anyway, thankfully it seems to pass.

WHAT!!! Okay it looks like I have to go to the doctor, my arm is out of control. Seriously. So I go in and, believe it or not, the process was pretty painless. The doctor didn't really know what it was; he thought that I had been bitten by something. They X-rayed my elbow, which was fine and put me on medication. The doctor tells me to come back on Monday or at least call.

Also, I have audition for "Pizza Hut" today. The interesting thing is that it is same CD and director as the "IBM" spot I recently booked. Rumor has it that they use a lot of people over and over and don't do a lot of callbacks. Cool!! That's why they were on my target list.

Okay, I have to know if anyone else has ever experienced this before. I grew up in Virginia Beach, VA; and around dusk we could count on bats coming out. We would throw things in the air that they would chase. Probably not too smart, but when you're twelve you do what you gotta do for fun. I always thought it was weird that we never saw one of these bats up close, meaning like road kill or something like that. We would see squirrels & birds, but never bats. I was always fascinated by seeing bats on any animal program. In reality, maybe I didn't "really" want to see them up close but.....The question is this: Has anyone ever had a bat fly into their apartment or home? How can I have never seen a bat up close growing up, but I move to Hollywood and it happens twice? YES!! I'm like freaking out, between the earthquakes and the bats I'm a mess. It happened the first time back in early '99; the second time was last night.

Around 2:00 am, I'm busy doing research on my computer and I get up to get a drink. I live in a studio, so there aren't a whole lot of places to go. The only light on was the one on my desk. As I walk back to my work this thing flies past my face. WHAT!!! I hit the deck!! I jump up and turn on the light and see it again. I dive out the door to gather my wits. I prop the door open hoping it would fly out, but it didn't. After a while it ran into a wall and fell; I ran in got the broom and held it hostage. I could think of nothing else but rabies, lockjaw, foaming at the mouth and getting shots in my a**. I called a friend to come over and help. Finally I put a cup over it, let it go out the window and it flew away into the darkness. I have to know that this same thing has happened to others. Or maybe, I will indeed, be the next Batman. Also, last night I noticed that my left arm was swelling up. I didn't know why, but it was getting worse by the minute. Looks like I might have to take advantage of the SAG insurance I have worked so hard for.

Nice surprise! My mom calls me to tell that I am on "Frasier" right now!! WHAT!!! It's not even Tuesday night, I guess it was filling in gaps for some shows that have been cancelled. I liked that episode; maybe they'll bring me back one day.