Tonight I went to my friend Greg and his new wife Neldie's wedding party. It was a great gathering of friend's. I am so happy for the two of them and wish them the best.

My mother starts her 2nd chemotherapy treatment today. My life is truly full of ups and downs these days. I have my good days and bad ones. The thought of losing my mother to cancer consumes me often times. I have to stay positive and be there for her and the rest of the family. I think I am going back home to Virginia at the end of the week.

The big night! The premiere of "Good Morning Miami" is tonight. I watch and thought it came out really well. There were some things that were cut out that I thought were funny, but I enjoyed quite a bit. Oh yeah, I was cut out too. I did hear my voice though. I'll get 'em next time.

I renewed my contract with my commercial agency today for 3 years. I did it a little different this time; I requested the contract a day early so that I could look it over. The main reason I did that was to let "myself" know that I wouldn't sign just anything. It had nothing to do with distrust of my agents @ KSA. I feel very confident about my representation with them. Sometimes, we actors are just happy to have an agent and we'll do anything to keep one. I need to get used to looking at contracts and having a better understanding of them. I didn't want to just "rubber-stamp" anything.

Today, while doing drop-offs I walked into the Casting Cafe/Kris Nicolau's office and scored an audition for an "Olympus Digital Camera" audition. As soon as I walked in the showed me where the sign-in was, I told them I didn't have an appointment and they asked if I wanted one. Of course!

Also "GMM" called to bring me in on Thursday instead of Friday. Yeah!!

Once again "Good Morning Miami" calls to see if I want to work on Friday. It is the Halloween episode. I had heard some funny things about this episode and was hoping to be a part of it. There are no lines written, it is just a reaction to something that the male lead says to me.

Shoot day for "21st Century Insurance". This was to be a testimonial style spot. My agent even called me yesterday to get permission for the production company to do a background check on me. WHAT!!! For a commercial? Anyway, I have nothing to hide so go ahead. When I get to set I have to sign a form saying that everything I say on camera is true. I just rambled on about what happened to me with this other company. It was all true and they seemed very, very happy with the footage.
Just before I started shooting my agent called with a producer session for "MD's" way out in Van Nuys. I was able to make it out there and had a really good read for them, at least I think so.

This afternoon during rehearsal we had visits from Johnny Reznik of the "Goo-Goo Dolls & the legendary Bob Newhart. Afterwards I needed to slip away for a fitting for tomorrow's shoot of the "21st Century Insurance" spot. CBS Radford is located in Studio City and the fitting was in Culver City. I took me 3 HOURS roundtrip to make the trip. In hindsight it was probably a bad risk, it wouldn't have been cute if I was late getting back to the studio to film.

Shoot night for "Good Morning Miami". This episode had me written in from the beginning, which is the first time since the pilot. I was part of a gag with one of the series regulars, so it kinda establishes as someone who is around often.

I'm back in the saddle at "Good Morning Miami" and it feels great. I really like working with this crew of people. Between this and my mother's health there doesn't seem to be a middle ground in my life right now. In the end I will get through it all and my mom will be fine.

This afternoon I get the call that I have been booked for the "21st Century Insurance" commercial. Cool!! This will give me a chance to vent my frustrations about what I went thru a couple of months ago with a brokerage company that shall remain nameless. Can you say nightmare? Anyway I shoot on Friday.

I still haven't heard anything about going to producers for "Abby". I put a call in to my agent and she finds that the CD feels that since I am doing a similar thing on "Good Morning, Miami" & "Life With Bonnie" adding this show might be overkill. Cool! These are the problems that I want to have. The way I originally got seen was through her assistant, Alan, an actor; at a CD workshop. He told me about the project an asked for my photo.

Today I returned from my hometown in Virginia Beach, VA. I was there to visit my mother who is in the hospital. She has been diagnosed with cancer of the liver. Devastating news to say the least, but after shedding a lot of tears my family has decided that we will not be defeated. She is due to start chemotherapy later this week.

Tonight we filmed the fourth episode of "Good Morning Miami". I have been in three of them so far. Just like the previous ones I've had 1-3 lines in 2-3 scenes. At this point I am becoming a little familiar. I'm dying to find out how this show will be received by the public. It is funny stuff; I don't see how they come up with this stuff week after week.
I was added at the last minute to this episode. The way I understand it, they were blocking a scene and they needed a tidbit of information delivered and one of the creator/executive producers insisted that it be me. They said he didn't have to think about it and immediately knew I was who he wanted. This is the position I have been trying to get myself in. I am really being looked out for on this set. Everyone, cast & crew, treats me very well and strongly feels that I will be a bigger part of the team. Time will tell I guess.

I had a really good audition for "21st Century Insurance". The cool part was that we had to be actual policy holders. That alone should make the competition pretty small. To top it off I had a great, true nightmare story about another company which led to my switch to "21st". I would love to get a callback on this one.

I got a last minute call this morning to see if I was available to work on "Good Morning Miami" tomorrow. YES!! Cool!!

I also gave blood at the SAG office which was really cool. I need to do that more often. While watching blood leave my body I got word that I booked that role on "Gilmore Girls". The only problem was that it also shoots tomorrow. Oh well, I guess I'll get them next time. Late this evening my brother calls with a status report on my mom. He sounds really troubled, I am going home.

Oh my, what a day or should I say days. I have always been careful to not take the highs and lows too seriously in my life. This 9/11 anniversary stuff is really hard to shake, as it should be. Seeing and hearing the images and sounds of a year ago coupled with family illness has had me in tears more than once over the last couple of days. I cannot imagine what those that have lost loved ones are going through.

Adding to that my mother is in the hospital back in Virginia Beach, VA. My family, fortunately, hasn't had a lot of medical problems to date. Or it could be that they work too hard to notice them. The reality of "mom's in the hospital" is mind blowing to me. None of us in the family are quite sure how to take it, but I can tell that my mom is concerned. The doctors think that they may have to remove her gall bladder; I am hearing that many people have this done and it's not too serious. They are also many other test being done and they suspect that "something" may be cancerous. It's just weird hearing my unshakeable mother shake. I have been talking to her several times a day for the last couple of days to keep abreast of the situation.

I audition for a recurring role on "Abby", a UPN sitcom, and it goes well. The Casting Director, Gilda Stratton, was happy with my performance and said she was bringing me back. Cool, it's another possible recurring role!!

Today I audition for "Gilmore Girls" over on the Warner Brothers lot. As I was getting closer to the lot I noticed lots and lots of smoke in the air. With the 9/11 anniversary rapidly approaching I couldn't help but have a very nervous feeling. Had something happened on the lot or nearby? I hoped not. After I parked I asked the security what was going on and they said it was a brush fire. In reality it wasn't that close to the lot, it was in Glendale. It was weird because I've seen numerous fires on television, but this was the first time I'd seen one up close. I could even see the flames; I could also see houses that were in the vicinity. I really felt for those people.

How in the heck did ANOTHER bat get into my apartment?!?! That's it! I can't open my windows at all. I mean, my screens are closed!! Is this a sign? If it is, it's funny, but not really.

Alright, this is how it went down. I'm in the lab, (at my desk) taking care of some business and I see something move in my peripheral vision. I glance over and it's a &*^%$#$&&* bat!! WHAT!!! In a flash I back up in my chair and hit the deck trying to get away from it. This is the 3rd time this has happened.

I live in a studio so there aren't too many places to escape. I’m babysitting my girls son, Gabriel, and he is sleeping on the couch. I abruptly wake him and dive into the bathroom. He has no idea what the heck is going on. We hang in there for a minute to gather our thoughts; he is delirious.

I have these visions of getting bit on my neck just like in the movies. So I'm standing in my bathroom not believing that this has happened AGAIN. I have to get to the light to turn it on so I can see the thing flying around. I grab my pajama bottoms and tie them around my neck and put a towel around Gabe’s. Shut up, it ain't funny!!! No, go ahead and laugh I can take it.

So after a moment we make a break for it to the front door of my apartment and get outside. I open the door a sliver to peer inside and see it flying around in circles. I then take Gabes’ towel in my hand to try to knock it out of the air with. So I'm standing outside my apartment door with a pair of pajama pants tied around my neck and a towel in my hand………with a child. Thankfully, no one came into my apartment building and saw us.

I was not going to get bit by this flying rat!! So finally I get brave and enter the apartment. I don't see the bat anymore. Awwww man! Is it hiding? Did it escape? If I don't see this flying rat again and get it out of here I will not be able to sleep. So I’m creeping, trying to find it to no avail. I HAVE to find it.

I’m terrified of going into the kitchen, but I have to. I slowly creep in there and don’t see anything and then finally I see something moving. There it is!! I slowly grab a plastic container, never taking my eyes off of it and get a broom to pin it in the corner. At this point, I am sweating bullets!
I get the container over it, a piece of cardboard under it and scoop it up. I noticed a little drop of blood when I was picking it up; I guess it was a little “police brutally”. Hey? What’s a brother to do? I pay the rent here. Anyway, I ran downstairs and let him go and he flew away. By this time Gabe was fully awake and thought it was pretty cool and exciting. It was, but not really. This does NOT need to happen again.

My audition today for "Ford Focus" went really well. At the audition we were supposed to fill out a conflict sheet to declare whether we had car conflicts or not. I was reluctant to fill it out because I didn't want my "Honda/Japan" campaign to possibly prevent me from getting a callback. I called my agent and we decided to say "no" since I don't have any U.S. automotive conflicts.

I also got a call from my theatrical agent with an appointment for the new ABC series "Push, Nevada". It's a very small role and they wanted to know if I was interested in going on tape for producers. I told her I would think about it and let her know tomorrow. Of course my first instinct is to say "yes." I'm an actor, I wanna act!! BUT! Since I manage myself I have to be smart and think about the bigger picture. In the end I decided to say "no" and wait for something more substantial on the show. Also, there is always the possibility of "Good Morning Miami" calling this week or getting a callback and/or booking one of these several commercials that I am going in for. I also think there is power in saying no to certain roles. Of course I could be wrong.

KSA calls with a request for more photos; I'll have 50 delivered to them by this afternoon. So, I'm back in the saddle after the holiday weekend. It has been unusually hot in LA; thankfully my A/C is working in my car. I'm out in the field doing my drop-offs to commercial facilities. Usually after doing drop-offs I get more auditions, I don't how much of a connection there is, but it seems to work. I worked three days last week, but I didn't have any auditions which means I may not work this week. When I was @ Chelsea Studios I saw Susan Havins and her associate Dea Vise. Susan Havins Casting is the company that cast the "Honda/Japan" spot. I had never auditioned for her before and I just wanted to formally introduce myself to her. As I approached her, she knew who I was and thanked me for the picture frame and thank you card that I dropped off for her. I told her how much fun we had on the shoot and she seemed genuinely happy that we had a great time. She then informed me that they have plans for us to shoot 2-3 additional "Honda" spots. Wow!! That sound like fun!! Oh, yeah I have an audition tomorrow.