It feels good to be in the South again. As much as I enjoy Los Angeles & New York it's always good to get off of the path into Middle America. Shortly after I land I get the official word that I am booked on "ER" for Monday morning. I am in Birmingham, AL to see my niece & nephews performance program with their church. I enjoyed the show quite a bit; there were a lot of very talented young people in it.

While I was getting my hair trimmed in Crenshaw this morning I see ground breaking hip-hop producer Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor. He was the guy behind rappers Salt n Pepa, that guys is a legend. Anyway, the shoot for "Denny's" goes off without a hitch. I have done many commercials for food products, but I have never had to actually eat anything. Ugh! Well today was the day. I had to eat cold French fries, BBQ chicken & BBQ ribs. It could have been worse, the chicken & ribs weren't bad since they were spicy. We were treated very well and the creative team seemed happy with the footage. They say to look for the spot in June. See ya; I have an early morning flight....

Back in at "Good Morning, Miami" at least for a brief moment. They had me come in for pre-shoots of the episode that will film tomorrow. It was really good seeing everyone again, I didn't have any reason to believe that I would be back on the show. While I was on my way to the stage I got word that I was booked on the "Denny's" commercial. GREAT!! It shoots on Thursday which won't conflict with my leaving for Birmingham. Things usually work out for me. The only sticky part was when the "Denny's" wardrobe department called for a fitting I needed to drive back home to get the clothes they requested. I was 1 1/2 hours late, but it was worked out without problem. It was funny because they really liked my clothing, my hat, jewelry, my hair & my glasses. It was all working "smoove like butta"........ The 1st AD, Scott, asked me how to pronounce my name and I said he could call me "Butta". I was half-way joking, but he started calling me that and fortunately I did a pretty good job of answering. Our call is 2pm tomorrow, Thursday, at Universal Studios Stage 24.

FEBRUARY 25th '03*This morning I finally get the word on the "Sears" spot that I've been on avail for, I have been released. Another one so close, yet not really. Ten minutes later I get the call that I am on avail for "Denny's". It shoots Thursday or Friday. I am scheduled on a 6am flight Friday to Birmingham, AL to see my sister; I'll change it if I need to.

I make my way over to Chelsea Studios for an audition for "Helman's" at Craig Colvin Casting. I see Craig and thank him for bringing me in for "Boston Globe" which I got really close on. He thought I was the choice, but at the last minute someone was flown in from NY that they had worked with before.

Afterwards I go over to my commercial agency, Kazarian-Spencer & Associates, to show my face and say hello. I really like being a client of theirs whether it's slow or busy.

This caught me by surprise, my agent called to say that "Good Morning, Miami" wanted to hire me for tomorrow and that I won't conflict with "ER". WHAT!!! "ER"? Yeah I find out that I am the choice for "ER" from the previous week. Cool!!

On the way home I stopped by The Casting Studios to drop-off photos. The entire place was really busy, so I sit down and "cased the joint" like an undercover cop. I see a guy who is my type that I sorta know and he asked if I was there for the same thing he was. I said no and that I was just dropping off photos, he thought I should try and get in on the same spot he was there for. I was a little reluctant, it was kind of busy and I didn't want to just crash it. So I asked and the woman running the session was kind enough to let me audition.

I had a really good callback bright and early this morning for "Denny's", hoping I can get to the next step. Tonight is the background work for "Miller Genuine Draft". I auditioned for this spot some weeks ago and was out of the running for a principal role and was asked if I would do background. I was hesitant at first, but decided to do it. It was an outdoor shoot on a beach North of Malibu and it ended up being postponed due to rain.

Today I have a callback for "Sears". It goes really well and later I'm told that I am on avail. The booking or release is to come in Monday morning, fitting Monday afternoon and a Tuesday shoot. This would be nice.

This week has been really busy commercially. So far, I've had six auditions and another tomorrow plus a callback. Hopefully this will continue for a while. My auditions have been going pretty well these days; I just need to keep getting the numbers.

Today I was out doing drop-offs and went to one of the busy casting facilities and right away saw 2 spots I thought I was right for. After "staking out the joint" for a while I called my agent to see if they could get me in. I hung out for a minute afterwards, but needed to go to the other side of town for an audition for "ER". My agent called me in the car with a go-ahead for one of the spots, so I drove back and auditioned. She called after 7 this evening to say that she had been trying to get thru to the office all day for the other spot and that I should go see if I could get in on it tomorrow. One might assume that this is going on all over town, meaning CD's are casting projects that we are right for, but for whatever reason, we aren't being considered for. This isn't a complaint at all about my rep; I am very happy where I am. They are trying to get as many clients as possible appointments. My commercial agency has 1,500+ clients and I don't expect them to make a push call for everything that I'm submitted for; they have the same hustle that we do as actors. The beautiful thing is that my agents aren't offended by me calling about what I see around town. They know I respect their job and they respect my hustle.

I went to see my agents for Valentine's Day & had a chance to chat with them about drop-offs, crashing, pilot season etc. I really feel like I am in good hands both theatrically & commercially. On the way home my car broke down in Beverly Hills. I had to call AAA to have it towed. I guess that means back on the skateboard, mountain bike and the bus.

Bright and early I get the call. I have been released for "Boston Globe"; they cast it out of NYC. I'll get 'em next time.

Still on hold for "Boston Globe". The say they won't know until tomorrow.

A friend of mine, Greg Reid, is producing and directing a short. I have a small part in it. It is called "African-American Idol", a spoof on "American Idol". It is hilarious to say the least, but the best part was seeing my friend directing. People talk a lot, but this guy is making it happen. We were in NYC at the same time right after Christmas and he mentioned it to me and here we are 5 weeks later shooting. He really put together a talented cast; I can't wait to see the finished piece. I am still on hold for "Boston Globe".

Today I had two commercial callbacks. I am on avail for one of them, a spot for "Boston Globe" and think I was right for the other one as well.

I got a request today to do background on a commercial that I auditioned for and am no longer in the running for as a principal. My agents are cool with it so maybe I'll do it.

I'm back in the Honda this morning for commercial audition. While I'm there someone asked me if I had gone in for a "Jeep" spot that was going on across town. The spot was looking for guys & girls with dreads. Of course I went straight there after my audition to see what the deal was. The whole way I was trying figure out my strategy.

I didn't wanna blow any chance to be seen. I could call my agent or I could just ask the session runner if they will see me. I was kinda on the fence with what to do. If I call my agent they will check their records and say that I was submitted, which I believe. They might even put me on hold and call the casting office and try to get me seen. Or I could go at it alone and try to get in by asking the session runner, if that doesn't work I probably wouldn't go to my agent. I have become a master at sniffing out an opportunity. It's a touchy thing because the last thing I want to do is embarrass myself or my agency.

I have a great commercial agency, but I know that there are spots going on around town everyday that I could be seen for that I am not. That is just the way it works, and many times they are legitimate reasons. That doesn't mean that I have to settle for that though. That is why I get in my Honda everyday and try to make it happen.

As soon as I walked in the room the session runner asked if I was there for "Jeep". Bingo!! That meant I must be right for it. I said "yes" and he said to come back after lunch. I left not sure of what I was going to do. I could just return and risk getting turned away or call my agent and see if they could get me in.

I decided to call my agent and ask about the spot for myself and my friend Keilana who is with the same agency. They put me on hold and made a call, we appointments for the next day!! YES!! Today I also went for "IHOP" as a rapper. I never really know what the rap guys wear, but it was a fun audition. We and another actor got to beat box while a French guy rapped, a sight to see.

Drop-offs, drop-offs & more drop-offs! These days I am spending a lot of time in my '89 Honda Accord with 218,000 miles on it. Everyday I'm trying get photos and postcards out into the universe. There are so many opportunities for work here in LA that often times I feel it is here for the taking. I think I say that because I have a lot of tricks I play on myself when it is quiet to keep my sanity. I can totally understand how people can get discouraged.

Sometimes I feel like two different people and I asked myself how I keep going day in, day out. I just love being out in the field taking control of my future. Today I ran into a commercial director I worked 2 years ago. He was very surprised that I remembered his name, the date of the shoot, name of the spot and the fact that he has been nominated for a DGA commercial director's award. He liked the fact that I was out in the field trying to hustle up some business.