Okay, I received my SAG dues in the mail yesterday and I just shook my head as I did last year and the year before and so on... Somebody please explain this to me. How is it that my annual SAG dues are $938.00 and anyone who makes over $500,000 pays the maximum dues of $2,650.00? Wait, I understand "how" because I can do the math, but "why?" Why is it that Tom, Jennifer, Denzel, Brad, Halle or anyone else that earns over $500,000 pays just 3x what little ole me pays. I understand that there are relatively few big earners in comparison to the number of working class actors, but still $2,650 for someone who earns millions a year?
I know the big earners don't need SAG in the same way as someone like me. And I'm not saying that they should be paying the same 1.85% or .5% of every dollar, but maxing out @ less than $3,000 just seems a little out of whack. I might have to bring it up at the SAG membership meeting this weekend.
I have to say at the same time that I received another letter; also from SAG. This was my Annual Summary of Earnings Statement. It showed my 2005 earnings and what my estimated monthly pension would be at age 65 (that’s like 5 years away!). It kinda made feel legitimate; that I have been doing something for the last decade and I have a little to show for it, LOL!! I mean, it wasn’t a lot of money, but it’s something. All I have to do now is keep working - much easier said than done – and keep building it - and of course other things to secure my future.
I looked at a beautiful condo yesterday that I couldn’t begin to afford. I wish I would have had my Annual Summary of Earnings Statement and showed the realtor that I AM SOMEBODY – I have a pension! In retrospect, maybe it was a good thing I didn’t have it.
Audition: "Holiday Inn" @ Ross Lacy Casting. This one went really well and I think I'm really right for it. I even saw Ross, which is rare. It seems like his company is always doing at least 3 or 4 spots at the same time.
Audition: "Mastercard" @ Kathy Knowles Casting. OK, I would really like to book something - soon. That goes without saying, but I would REALLY like to book this. Why? It shoots in Budapest, Hungary. I would love to go to Budapest and to have someone else pay for it would be really cool. The audition went great and I had the best partner, we click immediately. I think they should book both her and I for the trip to Budapest!
Now, I'm not totally green in this category. I've traveled to Madrid, Miami, Tokyo, Washington, DC and even Palmdale for acting jobs. I wanna add Budapest! My passport is ready to go, I can leave NOW. I’ve got all planned out: LA to France for a layover then on to Budapest. I’m smiling right now as I think of my time in Toyko back in ‘02 – that was butta! Shoot the “Mastercard” spot then change my return ticket to roll South to Prague, Czech Republic to see my brother Tommy and my new niece Nikita. Then on the way back stop in New York for a day or two to see friends, down to Philly to see family then, of course, to Virginia Beach to challenge my brothers on the motocross track and back to Los Angeles jet lagged with fatter pockets that are closer to a down payment on a condo. Damn that sounds great!!!!
Then I woke up and stopped smiling. I hope I can even make the audition; I have two and they are 10 minutes apart, but clear across town. I've got some juggling to do. I should probably slow my roll and just hope for a good audition and a callback. A brother can dream right?
I know the big earners don't need SAG in the same way as someone like me. And I'm not saying that they should be paying the same 1.85% or .5% of every dollar, but maxing out @ less than $3,000 just seems a little out of whack. I might have to bring it up at the SAG membership meeting this weekend.
I have to say at the same time that I received another letter; also from SAG. This was my Annual Summary of Earnings Statement. It showed my 2005 earnings and what my estimated monthly pension would be at age 65 (that’s like 5 years away!). It kinda made feel legitimate; that I have been doing something for the last decade and I have a little to show for it, LOL!! I mean, it wasn’t a lot of money, but it’s something. All I have to do now is keep working - much easier said than done – and keep building it - and of course other things to secure my future.
I looked at a beautiful condo yesterday that I couldn’t begin to afford. I wish I would have had my Annual Summary of Earnings Statement and showed the realtor that I AM SOMEBODY – I have a pension! In retrospect, maybe it was a good thing I didn’t have it.
Audition: "Holiday Inn" @ Ross Lacy Casting. This one went really well and I think I'm really right for it. I even saw Ross, which is rare. It seems like his company is always doing at least 3 or 4 spots at the same time.
Audition: "Mastercard" @ Kathy Knowles Casting. OK, I would really like to book something - soon. That goes without saying, but I would REALLY like to book this. Why? It shoots in Budapest, Hungary. I would love to go to Budapest and to have someone else pay for it would be really cool. The audition went great and I had the best partner, we click immediately. I think they should book both her and I for the trip to Budapest!
Now, I'm not totally green in this category. I've traveled to Madrid, Miami, Tokyo, Washington, DC and even Palmdale for acting jobs. I wanna add Budapest! My passport is ready to go, I can leave NOW. I’ve got all planned out: LA to France for a layover then on to Budapest. I’m smiling right now as I think of my time in Toyko back in ‘02 – that was butta! Shoot the “Mastercard” spot then change my return ticket to roll South to Prague, Czech Republic to see my brother Tommy and my new niece Nikita. Then on the way back stop in New York for a day or two to see friends, down to Philly to see family then, of course, to Virginia Beach to challenge my brothers on the motocross track and back to Los Angeles jet lagged with fatter pockets that are closer to a down payment on a condo. Damn that sounds great!!!!
Then I woke up and stopped smiling. I hope I can even make the audition; I have two and they are 10 minutes apart, but clear across town. I've got some juggling to do. I should probably slow my roll and just hope for a good audition and a callback. A brother can dream right?
2 comments:
S! I'm not even mad at you for visiting that condo, bruh! You have to KNOW and believe that you're able to get something like that just like the next man! If you're crazy enough to believe that God is able to bless you in abundance like that, then my brother...Believe and you shall receive.
Trust!
Me Blessed? Lemme tell you; I have been blessed in countless ways. I am not here alone, I have been watched over from the very beginning and it continues not everyday, but every moment of everyday. I never forget. The great things in my life are like...Whoa! I'm talking about people like you, one of the many gifts I have been able to experience in my life. Blessings baby!!
*S*
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