The plot gets thicker.... I had a feeling this could happen. Well, I knew it could happen, but I had a feeling it actually might happen. My shoot date for "O13" is still moving in a not so great direction and looking to collide with my shoot date for the "Michelin" commercial. In fact, it has collided.

There are injuries; some minor some major. I tried to be safe, wore my seatbelt, obeyed speed limits, checked my tire pressure, etc. I saw this accident as it was happening and was hoping I could swerve to avoid it.

The exact time of the impact was 11:53 this morning when the UPM of "O13" called to say that another day had been added to my booking. I gripped the steering wheel tight.

He added that the additional date was Monday. I slammed on the brakes and started sliding sideways. That's when I hit the wall; the airbag immediately deployed and the car burst into flames. I was able to get out of the vehicle before the explosion that followed. As paramedics arrived on the scene I sat dazed & confused; I was shook.

This wasn't supposed to happen this way...or maybe this is exactly how it's supposed to happen. I auditioned for "Ocean's Thirteen" on June 7th and got the booking phone call directly from the casting director, Debra Zane, on June 20th while on vacation in Virginia Beach.

Several weeks later I got my work date of October 12th. Great! Since my part in “Ocean’s Twelve” was cut from the script I was especially excited to be a part of the project and to get a second chance at working with director Steven Soderbergh.


CUT TO - STEPHON'S APARTMENT - MORNING

SFX: Cell phone ringing...

Stephon: Hello?

UPM: Hey Stephon, it's Basti from "Ocean's Thirteen" production.

Stephon: Good morning; how are you?

UPM: I’m good thanks. Hey, it looks like we’re going to get into your stuff on Monday and most likely Tuesday.

Stephon: Really? You’re kidding.

UPM: No, that’s the way the boards look.

Stephon: Wow, I’m already working on that day.

UPM: That’s why I wanted to contact you early to give you a chance to figure out what you wanted to do.

Stephon: I appreciate that. Alright, I’ll figure it out……..

SMASH CUT – ANGLE ON -

Back to me sitting on the curb surrounded by paramedics. I've got a serious gash on my left leg, but other than that I'm okay. I’ve lost a bit of blood, but I think I’m gonna make it.

AAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The first call goes to Caleigh, my theatrical agent handling this job. I give her the news and of course she is not happy. Then I ring Alicia, my commercial agent. Of course she isn’t happy either, but she also knows that the commercial booking is in first position since I was clear when I committed to the date. We discuss the legalities of this situation - and trust me, there are legalities. It’s “O13” that’s ahead of schedule.

After hanging up the phone I just sat at my desk and thought…and thought…and thought…and thought some more. How could I get this to work out? Honestly, considering the news and knowing what needs to be shot I didn’t think it would work out. The elements just weren’t there, but I wasn’t going to give up without a fight.

Things have worked so well for me, in my life in general, that I had a feeling that this time I was gonna feel a little pain…and I was ready – at least I think so. I didn’t know what to do. I thought of a zillion different scenarios and none of them seemed to really work – even in my head. It was slipping through my fingers – “like sand slipping through the hour-glass, this is a day in my life.”

So I hop in my car and drive aimlessly; I stop by my friend Jon’s spot – he wasn’t home. I usually bounce things off Jon. It’s funny because we have totally different thought processes so I have to constantly fight to make my point. It’s a good thing because it forces me to challenge my way of thinking and you’d be shocked at what goes through my head. But he wasn’t home and I was on my own – hey, that kinda rhymes…..

15 minutes later I found myself in casting director Debra Zane’s parking lot just sitting in my car. I wasn’t even sure why I was there. I wasn’t sure I was doing the right thing. I walked up to the office and it was dark and the door was locked – good. The locked door was “saving me from myself” – I think. I didn’t knock or ring the bell. Deep down, I knew that the door is usually locked and they may be in the back, but I needed an excuse to not push a situation that I wasn’t sure about.

I could have just had my agents handle things, but I knew I needed to be very, very hands on with this one. Debra and Tannis and very, very special to me.

I just stood outside the door for a while just sorta pacing and probably looking mad suspicious. After a while I went back to sit in my car.

This isn’t something I would want to happen with any casting office in town, but Debra Zane and Ross Lacy???? WHAT!!! These are two of my biggest supporters in casting. In 2006 I have had auditions, callbacks or 2nd callbacks a total of 20 times at just Ross Lacy casting. Debra has booked me on 3 studio films. Finally, I get my head together and get on my way.

This is funny – really funny. Late tonight, I was on the Backstage.com forum reading a post about agents. An actor had responded to a topic and in his post this was included:

“In fact I just got a call this morning from them checking my availability for Ocean's 13 next week.”

WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I betcha that is my freakin role!! LOL!!!! How funny is that? I couldn’t do anything but laugh – out loud. Here is an actor who auditioned for this movie BACK IN JUNE and didn’t get the role, but now he gets a call because of my drama. This is the casting process at work and I love it – even if I may lose something in the process. I don’t know what’s going to happen at this point, but I’m really happy that somebody just might get a great surprise of working with Al Pacino – I wish it was me, but You can’t have everything. I’ve been the recipient of the wonderfulness of this business so many times and I’m willing to share – if I have to, lol!

Make no mistake, I have NOT given up. Not yet!

Audition: “Comcast” @ Cathi Carlton Casting. This one went really well. I have not been to Cathi’s office in a while; so hopefully this is the start of me getting back in on a regular basis.

I re-signed with my theatrical agents for 3 years today – wow, that’s a commitment. It feels right though – that will take me to 11 years with them. I must have a lot of confidence in them huh? They in me too.

My next stop was to Warner Bros Studios for my “Ocean’s Thirteen” fitting. I auditioned for this project on June 7th and got word I booked on June 20th. Three months ago and I still have two weeks to go. I’m not complaining; it’s been really cool knowing that I had this job to look forward to from so long ago. My experience with “Ocean’s Twelve” was similar with the long lead time, but my scene was cut before shooting.

While trying to find the correct room I ran into Jason Killalee. Jason and I worked together back in New York at The Harley-Davidson Café. Just thinking of that place makes me smile; I had such a great time. Waiting tables there, with that group of people definitely did not suck. Here we are all of these years later still making it happen. Jason just booked a role on new CBS drama “Smith” and was there for a fitting too. I was in and in out in a flash.

Oh yeah, I finally got my pages for my character. It looks like I am in 4 scenes with a little bit of dialogue in two of them. Al Pacino is in one or two of them, but I don’t think I have dialogue with him anymore.

It finally happened again! I knew it would, I just didn’t know when. Now that I think about it; it happened in the same place as before – years ago!

This morning I’m on my way to move my car so I don’t get a parking ticket; this is where it starts getting fun – or funny. Since I don’t have parking where I live I have to move my car way more often than what is normal. I am a pretty even keeled person in most situations, but parking in Los Angeles drives me up the freakin’ wall. To keep me somewhat sane I have a skateboard so I can skate back forth to my car; it helps me forget having to park a half mile away. I love riding my skateboard.

So I’m skateboarding and I’m almost all the way to my car going from the street back to the sidewalk. There was a little lip on the curb; nothing the skateboard or I couldn’t handle, but I was hitting it at the wrong angle – and I knew it, but it was too late, I was going too fast.

The two front wheels of the skateboard hit the lip on the curb and stopped cold. The problem was that my body didn’t stop. At this point my life went into slow-motion and everything was completely silent. In an instant my body was 4 feet off the ground and perfectly horizontal. I could see the red curb clear in my view but it was too far away too for me to reach. About this time I began to descend back to earth and my glasses started to fall away from my face. I reached for them and touched them but they got away. At this point I had to use my hands to break my fall; hopefully my glasses would survive to guide me through another day.

I got my hands out (including my wrist that has been sore for months) to break my fall, but I kinda landed in that weird running position were you’re trying to get your feet under you. It didn’t work. I ended up “running” for a spell and then I did this weird, but cool as heck spin in the air. I spun around and landed on my back with a thud. I spun two more times on the asphalt and popped up and landed on my feet like I did it on purpose. I must’ve looked like a circus act; I wish I could’ve seen it.

So I land, gather my head back together and find my glasses. Cars are slowing down looking at me. I had the biggest smile on my face; it was an exhilarating feeling. At that point I realized that this whole thing happened because I was riding a skateboard. Where was that skateboard? Ummmm… I’m frantically looking around and there it is; in the distance in the middle of the street with cars slowing to dodge it. I sprint over, looking both ways and creep in the street to retrieve it.

I skated the rest of the way to my car with the biggest smile on my face. I so wish I could see the whole thing on tape – it had to have been hilarious. I scraped my knee up a little and my wrist is sore, but I came away okay. It could have been real ugly if a car would have been coming around that corner. I’m pretty careful, on my skateboard, bike, motorcycle and snowboard. I am a bit of risking taker – I can’t help it.
Not too long after getting back to my apartment and letting my heartbeat go back to normal my commercial agent calls with a callback for this afternoon for the spot I went out on yesterday.

Callback: “Miller Beer” @ Kathy Knowles Casting. This went great. They took us in in groups of 3, but we performed on our own. I went first and was really happy with how it went, but the guy who went after me was sooooo funny. To be honest I don’t think he knew what was going on – or maybe he was faking it. I don’t know, but that dude was funny. I still think they should cast me though – I love “Miller Beer”; I just don’t drink it.

Audition: “Miller Beer” @ Kathy Knowles. I thought I was going to be totally free to just hustle drops today/Monday since I hadn’t gotten any appointments by 8pm on Friday. Actually, I didn’t go out of the house the entire day on Friday. I was exhausted.

Sure enough, @ 4:18pm on Saturday I get an email from KSA for an appointment for this morning. KSA rocks!!

When I signed in I scanned over the list of actors who had appointments throughout the day for this commercial and was amazed that I was one of them - I'm ALWAYS amazed and grateful for the appointments I get. I mean, I shouldn't be amazed, I have great agents, the right photos, I've trained - I've definitely done my part to make it happen, but it's still surreal to me that it's actually working. I should be used to it by now.

The audition goes well. I got great direction from the session runner and I was on my way. Good thing they didn't need headshots for this one because the last line on my resume says:

"Guess What. You're not gonna believe this, but I've never had coffee or any kind of alcohol. Never. Ever."

Nope, I've never had a beer, but I've done commercials for "Icehouse", "Michelob Ultra" and sold a lot of it when I was a waiter. I need to book a Starbucks commercial too.

Uh, no!! My work date for "Ocean's Thirteen" is changing a little and it's encroaching on the date that I shoot the Michelin" commercial. At first it was Monday for the commercial and Thursday of the same week for “O13”, but now my date for “O13” has changed from Thursday to Tuesday with no guarantee that it won’t change even more. Ooops, I would hate to miss out on one of these jobs. That would not be good. I trust that it will all work out. It's a great problem to have.

You don't really think about what "O/A" means in contractual terms until it seems like it might affect you. "O/A" means "On or about" as in start of employment. I'm not sure what the window is, but in these situations employers have some leeway. I don't think it's going to be a problem. It's great to have your agent making phone calls because you've booked other jobs that may conflict with previous bookings.

I remember in October of 2002; a couple of months after shooting the ‘Honda of Japan” commercials. I had flown back to Virginia Beach to see my mother who was ill.

I landed on a Friday afternoon and checked my voicemail. I had a message from my commercial agent saying that the production of the Honda spots was checking my availability to be in Tokyo the following Wednesday through Sunday, but they wouldn't know until Monday. Okaay.

Cut to: Monday afternoon - East Coast

The word comes in that everything is a go. A couple of hours later I’m on a plane back to Los Angeles and arrive late Monday night. Tuesday morning I go to Susan Haven's casting office to pickup my plane ticket to the Far East.

Wednesday morning I leave for Tokyo, Japan! WHAT! Yeah. We land, go straight to a fitting, dinner and check into the Tokyo Prince Hotel. I check my voicemail and my theatrical agent has left a message saying "Frasier" is checking your availability for next Tuesday and Wednesday.

I finish shooting the "Honda" spots, fly back to LA Sunday afternoon and Monday morning I get the booking for Tuesday/Wednesday on "Frasier". That afternoon "Good Morning, Miami" calls to book me for Wednesday/Thursday. Obviously, I was already booked on "Frasier" for Wednesday “GMM” and said it would be cool if I could only work on Thursday. All that worked out – I’m confident that the "Michelin" vs. “Ocean’s Thirteen” chronicles will work out too. I must say, it feels good to have a couple of things on my plate.

Do I have a job? ...hmmm. Good question...or maybe not. Or maybe a better question is "how long have I had this job?" I mean, obviously I've made my living solely as an actor for the last 5 ½ years - so maybe "acting" has been my job since the day I left The Standard as a waiter/valet guy – 5 ½ years ago. That was March 25th 2001 on a shift that began @ 11pm - yup, I worked graveyard.

I guess it kinda depends on what your definition as a "job or profession" is. I'm sure some of our parents or family members would say it’s not a “job or profession” if it cost you money to do it. I don’t necessarily agree with that.

I remember, years ago, when I worked at The Harley-Davidson Café in New York; the servers would talk during the shift and this always stood out to me. If you had been off for a day or a period of time, of course, people would ask what you did on your days off. In my case, I was off on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays; so it seemed like I was gone for a bit. Other times I was picking up shifts like crazy because I am a self-described workaholic.

Anyway, when the question of “what did you do on your days off?” was asked of me by other actors I would naturally answer that I’ve been “ya know, just working, trying to get it done” or “trying to make a dollar out of 15 cents” or “working the corner like a street walker” or whatever rhymed….or didn’t. Then they would say “you’ve been here? (meaning the restaurant) wow, it seems like I haven’t seen you for days”.

After that happened a couple of times it dawned on me that many actors (this was back in ’95-97) weren’t looking at their careers as a job. It seemed they thought of the “actor stuff” as simply “funtime”. They thought it was weird that I would say I was “working” when I hadn’t been at the restaurant for 3 days. By contrast, I thought I was weird that they didn’t seem to think that my workshops, mailings, postcarding, drop-offs, background, auditions, research, callbacks, etc – everything other than actually booking a job was “work”. I would just smile.

Another thing I would often hear is “wow….you run your career like a business”. Again, I would just smile. Trust me, holding my tongue was doing them a favor because I am so passionate about business and marketing I can go on and on and on ………and this was 10 years ago. Another thing that was subtle about that comment was that back then I didn’t “run my career like a business”. I ran a business…period, end of story. It’s kinda like Jay-Z said, “I’m not a businessman, I’m a BUSINESS MAN!” When I first heard that on the CD I was like “Whoa!” That’s hot!; as Paris Hilton would say. I also remember Ice Cube talking about his boys in the neighborhood growing up in Compton. He said, “everybody wanted to play for the Lakers”. Cube was like “why play for The Lakers when you can own them”. WHAT!!! That is some influential #^&*( right there! Perspective is huge.

I am not completely innocent in this; it took me a while before I could say “I’m an actor” without sorta laughing at the same time. Even today, when asked, I will often water it down by saying “I’m pursuing a career as an actor”. There is no question and never has been in my mind, but for some reason I say that. It’s odd because I’m very proud of my accomplishments.

In 1993 in Virginia Beach I had 3 jobs. I worked at my parent’s deli, Philadelphia Cold Cuts; in a surf shop in the local mall and I was an actor.

In 1995 in New York I had 2 jobs. I waited tables at The Harley-Davidson Café and was an actor.

In 1998 in Los Angeles I also had 2 jobs. I worked at Old Navy at the Beverly Connection and I was an actor. In late ’98 I completely, COMPLETELY ran out of money and had to go back to New York to work at the restaurant for a month or so to earn some cash – I was still an actor. I did workshops, drops and auditioned through my New York agents.

In April ’99, my car was impounded – long story – AGAIN, I had to go back to my job in New York at The Harley-Davidson Café to earn some cash. My 2 week trip, turned into 2 months – even longer story – I had my first and only experience with handcuffs…well, maybe not only…..ANYWAY, I was still an actor.

In 2001, I gave the two job thing “’da finga” and said, “peace, I’m outta here”. So the answer is a resounding “YES!!! I have a job” and it’s one of the coolest jobs in the world – I am an actor – period

Today is my anniversary of the beginning of my career. Wow, I can’t believe it’s been 13 years! I vividly remember that first night in class. I made a commitment then that I was going for it – like seriously. I had no idea how it was going to materialize, but I knew it was going to happen. I knew I had to study, learn the Mid-Atlantic market, move to New York, study, learn the New York market, move to Los Angeles, study, learn the Los Angeles market – all while creating my own way. I’ve got a long way to go, but I think I’ve made progress.

New York City, Hell's Kitchen, 46th btw. 9th & 10th - May '95

I didn’t have any reason to believe that I would ever live a freelance lifestyle. My family, for the last 26 years, has had a very successful business back at home, but for several reason I felt I needed to do my own thing. I think my entrepreneurial spirit has been a big factor in being able to move ahead in my career.

I’ve learned a lot along the way; I’ve been tested like never before. Sometimes I don’t know how I keep it all together; probably because I don’t always keep it all together. I do the best I can. It has been a journey, it has been a ride. I’ve had some amazing experiences, met some amazing people and gone to some amazing places. I’m excited about the future. I definitely don’t have the answer to how this business works, but I am an expert on my opinion. I look forward to sharing the things I’ve learned with other actors on a larger scale. Maybe I’ll conduct seminars across the country and call it “My Long Ass Opinion”. Catchy huh?

No rest for me and I’m not complaining! I thought I was gonna chill today and figure out my new phone and my new printer. NOT!!

At 10:39 KSA calls with an apointment for this afternoon. Cool. Then at 11:59 KSA calls again. I let it go to voicemail. When I checked it the first thing that surprised me was hearing my agent Alicia’s voice and not Donn who normally puts out the calls/emails for appointments. I always smile when I hear from KSA because I really like them and they usually have opportunities for me. BUT when I hear Alicia or Brooke’s voice on the phone it often means something else…….and this time it meant that I booked a national and cable commercial for “Michelin” for Ross Lacy Casting! It's about time I booked something for Ross' office; he calls me in commercially more than anyone else in this town. Thanks for continuing to believe in me Ross!

This is the one that was a same-day call last Thursday when I wanted to go home and sleep. The next day, Friday, I had a same day call for the callback – when I wanted to sleep. I’m glad I have people in my life to “save me from me”. Besides “sleep is for suckers” or normal people, lol! Okay, now that I booked it, the next step is getting to actually shoot it.

Audition: “US Cellular” @ Pamela Starks Casting. Ooops! When they brought us in for the group explanation I thought I understood the spot and what was going on. Well, I did, but when I auditioned I totally forgot the major conflict that the character was dealing with. Fortunately the session runner stopped the tape and told me what I was missing and he let me start over. I really appreciated that; he could've just kept going. The second take went much better. Now, I hope they edit out the first take.

Callback: “AMP’D Mobile” @ Francene Selkirk Casting. This callback went great and I think I'm really right for it. I would love to book this spot, especially since it's for the Supercross and I'm a huge Supercross fan.

Audition: "Boston Legal" @ Valko/Miller Casting. I only felt okay about this one. The funny thing is that I used to better able to nail these small co-star roles with great precision. That day may be done. I hope not because I still want to work and I’d rather be on-set than at home watching Jerry Springer. I mean there is a fine line, but still, I need to get that precision back. No big deal, I didn’t make a fool of myself or anything like that, but I’d like to work on this show.

Audition: "UPS" @ Jeff Rosenman Casting. This one went pretty well. It had a lot of dialogue for a commercial.

So I did a bit of surgery on my resume and I’m really happy with the results. Steve, one of the assistants, recommended that I remove the billing column from my TV credits. I’ve seen this a lot in my time working as a reader. I just never knew when I would make the transistion of doing it myself. So I was really excited when he suggested I do it. I was also glad to be included by them in a category of someone who has “worked so much”. I don’t normally feel that way. They have many clients with great credits and I am honored to be looked at as one of them.

So after I removed the billing column of the TV credits I wasn’t happy with the look of the resume since the billing column of my film was still there. I seemed off balance. I then removed my film and theatre billing as well. I like the result. I’ve been fortunate to work with some of the best in the industry and it’s right there on the page. So it kinda say’s “he’s already worked with these people on these projects; maybe you should give him a shot too”. This may help me get more guest-star/film appointments. I don’t want it to kill my co-star appointments because I still need to work as much as possible and there are plenty of great co-star roles out there.

It’s just that my resume had so many co-star credits and me and my team wanna move forward. I also toned down the overall feel of the resume. I used to have a lot of bells and whistles on it, but once a year or so I scale it down. So we’ll see what happens.

I’ve also considered shooting some new photos; so I asked Caleigh. She thinks my photos are great and she took them in two ask my other two agents and think they are great too. Once again, a great example of others “saving me from me”. So maybe I’ll still shoot some stuff for my commercial agents. I love having such a connection with my agents – I’m quite fortunate in that.

Audition “AMP’D Mobile” @ Francene Selkirk Casting. This went well. I remember their spots from last year; they were pretty edgy and this is the same. They run constantly during the Supercross races. That would be cool to have a spot running during my favorite sport. How about a callback guys?

Audition/Producers: “Dirt” @ FMW Casting. This is a pilot for F/X; I think it’s a reshoot. I don’t know if they are reshooting the entire pilot or just part of it. It doesn’t matter too much to me I would just like to be a part of whatever they are doing. This is a recurring co-star role that is part of the office staff.

This call came not less than an hour after I dropped off a photo to the studio. I did a general drops for “Dirt” and “Grey’s Anatomy”. To be honest, I don’t think they had even seen my drop yet. I left it at the mailroom so it was probably something my agent submitted me for. Again, I don’t care, I’m just happy to get a shot.
My printer has been giving my trouble for a while now, but it hadn’t been in my new budget to get a new one just yet. So when I tried to print the sides for this audition my printer wasn’t interested in participating. I actually had to write the scene in my horrible handwriting. It looked pretty funny; especially since I highlighted my lines.

The audition was going well until I totally flubbed the lines at the end. So I took my power and I started over and did it again. It didn’t ask; I just did it. I don’t know; I think it went good. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Oh yeah, I ordered a new printer. It should be delivered tomorrow and I finally got a new phone! I can text message again! I never really told anyone I couldn’t send or receive text messages when my old phone died two months ago. Ooops, I hope know one sent any because I didn’t get any after July 7th, but I’m back in business.

I stopped by agent this evening to drop-off an embarrassingly small stack of photos to them. Between my printer woes and needing to order more reprints I’m a little unsure as to what I’m going to do. I think I’m going to re-shoot, so I don’t really want to order more, but I might have to.

Anyway, Steve, one of the great assistants at my theatrical agency suggested I make some changes to my resume. I really liked his ideas and I am going to perform a little reconstructive surgery on it. I think these changes are going to help me get auditions for more substantial roles. It was great to be able to walk in, without an appointment, and be able to talk to all 3 of my agents about whatever. I also asked if I'll be going any further for “Who’s Your Caddy”. He’s going to put in a call.

Audition: “PSA: Anti-Obesity” @ Sheila Manning Casting. This went well and I had fun. I portrayed an aerobics instructor for kids ages 6-10. There weren’t any kids there, but I made them up in my mind. I even gave them names; I used my neice and nephews and their friends’ names back home in Virginia. This PSA doesn’t pay residuals, just a session fee. That’s okay, I would love to book it and get to work with a bunch kids. I should probably just hope for a callback at this point huh?

The session runner for this spot was the same gentleman who ran the session for the “Michelin” callback for Ross Lacy. He asked me if I’d heard anything (I haven’t) and said that they liked me for the role. That’s good news; it doesn’t shoot until next month so it could be a while before they book. Then again, they could have already booked because I don’t get word that I’ve been released. I guess time will tell.

I also ran into a lady who works at TLC/Booth Casting quite often. She gave me some insight into how things work over there with legendary commercial Joe Pytka. I think I’m in good hands and in a good place in general.

OMG! My head is pounding! Maybe I got too much sleep. I went to bed before midnight last night and got more than 8 hours of sleep; which I rarely do. I also had an interesting dream that was a little concerning to me – no, it didn’t involve bats in my apartment.

I got up a couple of times and couldn’t really do anything, so I took an ibuprofen and laid back down – a couple of times. Then @ 12:34 my commercial agent calls. They have a callback for me for 3:15 this afternoon for yesterday’s “Michelin” spot @ Ross Lacy Casting. Okay, I HAD to get moving now. So I decided to head over to Studio City to check-in with the Actor’s Connection New York group that is in town this week. They usually have things they wanna discuss about the LA market. That would get me up to speed and it wouldn’t seem like I rolled out of bed to show up at the callback.

Callback: “Michelin” @ Ross Lacy Casting. It went GREAT!!! I couldn’t have imagined it going any better than it did. I took the direction from the session runner, kept it real and rooted and conveyed it in the room and knew when to leave. This happens a lot at Ross’ office for me. I do well for him; not usually enough to book, but well enough to get callback and avails – and we know how well callbacks and avails pay the bills.

My head is still pounding, not as bad as before, but enough to mention. I am wiped out. I wanna get a nap in before I go to see the new CW pilots at the Museum of Television and Radio. Thankfully, there were only two pilots to see and it would be a short night. “Runaway” was pretty cool I guess; I was able to watch it without a problem. “The Game” was pretty funny.

4:52pm: There goes that cell phone again – it’s KSA. Two things; an audition for Monday AND I’m on avail for “Michelin” Cool! I’m gonna book one of these commercial jobs one day. I don’t worry about it, I just keep showing up and I’ll be shocked and be the choice when I least expect it. Right?

How funny is this? I’ve been out commercially everyday since I stopped by to see my agents last Thursday. I hadn’t been out in two weeks and in the last week I’ve had 7 commercial appointments plus another on Monday. I don’t think it’s “out of sight, out of mind” I think it’s just a coincidence really – I don’t think they forgot about me for a second; it just comes and goes in waves. My agents are the best.

I'm beat. I'm really tired from all of the running around I do and my December vacation is still several months away. This acting thing is a lot of work, trust me.

The amount of effort I have and continue to put into my career is overwhelming. Fortunately, I love business - any kind of business, especially the entertainment business. The "show" part is equally thrilling and I've had the opportunity to work some of the best in the business. Don't get me wrong, many aspects of the business are completely absurd, but that is part of what makes it such a great business to be in.

As I was thinking about how tired I was a huge smile began to form. Why? Because I’m working at exactly what I moved across the country to work on. Being tired for these reasons is music to my ears. I am quite fortunate; not necessarily lucky, fortunate. Anyway, I have two appointments early today and then I plan to go home sleep until my workshop tonight.

Audition: “Nissan Altima” @ Melissa Martin Casting. When I walked in the audition room I was a little thrown to see director/ad people/client/whoever sitting there. Ooops! I didn’t know this was a “callback”. Anyway, I didn’t go all that well. I was just boring and I think they needed more – I didn’t have it. Oh well, sorry.

As soon as I left the office my phone rang and it was KSA. As usual I let it go voicemail. I was thinking maybe they needed me to return for some reason and I wasn’t as bad as I thought I was. Nope, it was another commercial appointment for this afternoon. I guess I won’t be getting all that sleep I was talking about huh?

Print go-see: “My Best Friend” @ Connie Conway Casting. This is actually a new pet pharmaceutical that they don’t have a name for yet. I was in and out in about 2 minutes. I’m gonna book one of these print jobs one day. I don’t worry about it, I just keep showing up and I’ll be shocked and be the choice when I least expect it. Right?

Audition: “Michelin” @ Ross Lacy Casting. This is the one that is cutting into my sleep time. I guess I can sleep later; actually I did squeeze a 35 minute nap in before I went. Ross calls me in more than anyone else in this town for commercials and I am very thankful for it. The role is perfect for me – a research scientist. I goes well. So we’ll see – or not.

What a day and I still have a workshop tonight. I spend so much time in the car it’s crazy, but it’s paying off – always has. I’d much rather be doing this than some of the other things I’ve done for money. Well, it looks like tomorrow is clear and since I’m not feeling to well I can sleep ALL DAY if I want – I probably won’t though.

Callback: "Statefarm" @ Kathy Knowles Casting. Oh yeah! This callback went really, really well. Let me back up; I had a lot of fun. That doesn't mean, it necessarily went well, but it felt great. I’m ready for some of that “Hollywood Theory”.

Audition: "Wendy's" @ Craig Colvin Casting. This went really well and I had a great time. I portrayed a husband giving birth. I've had numerous auditions, callbacks and avails at Craig’s office over the years, but have yet to book anything. By contrast, I did book a "Wendy's" spot that shot in Miami back when I lived in New York.

I have to say that my patience and optimism is amazing – even to me. I truly believe that I'll book again - soon, but I've been saying that for a loooong time. The last commercial I booked was 15 months ago in June '05; before that April '04 and December '03 before that.

The time frame curve is not encouraging, but I remain optimistic. In theory it would make sense that I won't book again until sometime next year. Could be, could be not. This is the where the beauty of our business comes in.

"theory" and "Hollywood Theory" are two completely different things. I understand "Hollywood Theory"; and of course I understand "theory". BUT, not only do I understand "Hollywood Theory", I live in it. I better, because if I don't understand it I should find another line of work.

When "Hollywood Theory" is working in your favor it’s a beautiful thing. I've experienced it; I am experiencing. "Hollywood Theory" really only makes sense in Hollywood.

In "theory" it doesn't make sense that I could book a "Pizza Hut" national commercial without appointment and then subsequently be hired for 2 additional ones.

It also doesn't make sense that I could seek out my two target LA agencies, send them a headshot/resume/cover letter from New York, fly out for meetings, sign contracts AND be happy after eight years of being represented by them.

Lastly, it doesn't make sense that I could book a job with Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks that would lead to another job with Steven Soderbergh and Al Pacino from simply walking to a casting office and dropping off my photo – actually putting it through the slot in the door.

Ooops, sorry - one more. It doesn't make sense that I could be working on one pilot, get a call for another pilot on the other side of town for a 3-line co-star role, be told that "they really just want to see you", show up and "get seen", read, get word that I have the job (without going to producers), before I even get home and have those 3-lines turn into 14 episodes over two seasons.

"Hollywood Theory" is a friend of mine! A good friend too. Why I am talking so much about it? It’s this same “Hollywood Theory” that will be responsible for me booking a commercial before “sometime next year”.

It’s kinda like “they” saying you have to “Pay your dues”, “it takes time for casting to want to see you” or “get in line”. Is that stuff true? I don’t know, maybe. It wasn’t all that true for me. I had 3 audition and three callbacks in my first week of being in Los Angeles and booked a TV gig and a commercial in my first 4 months. What line did I not get in?

I always wonder, who is “they”. The people that say:

“drop-offs are a waste of time”
“mailings don’t work”
“the only thing you’ll learn in a CD workshop is ‘don’t ask to use my stapler’”
“you have to have an agent to get work”
“commercials are just about a look”

The list goes on and on. I would love to meet “they”, but I can never find them. Don’t get me wrong, I am part of “they” too. But, I think the difference is that I’m not going to just pass on information that isn’t based in anything concrete. Bring on that “Hollywood Theory!!”

Audition: “Bahamas Tourism” @ Melissa Martin Casting.

Tonight I’m speaking to the Actor’s Connection “LA Connection” group of actors; which are actors on a week scouting trip to see what LA is all about. Should be fun. I may be going back East to speak in the near future as well.

I went to a motocross race today in San Bernardino. I almost didn’t go because since I’ve been using my new Quicken financial program I can look at my spending and see the numbers. So now I justify every dollar that goes out. I’m pretty hard on myself too. Even up to last night I still wasn’t sure I was going to spend the money on “entertainment” to attend the event. I also had to consider the “gas budget” for the 140 mile round trip.

So I decided to cancel my three CD workshops I have scheduled for this coming week to equal out the gas a little. Driving to the workshop is 26 miles roundtrip, that’s 78 miles for three days. Instead, I’ll go see the new ABC, NBC, CBS and CW pilots being shown at the MTR; it’s a much closer drive.

I haven’t even bought a new cell phone yet. My phone broke when I was on vacation in July and I’ve been using a back up phone. I can’t send or receive text messages on my back-up phone. Normally, I would have gotten a new phone by now – I kinda like gadgets, not that I have many – I don’t, but Quicken has curbed my appetite.

I justified going because I’ve been really good with the budget, plus it’s something that I enjoy tremendously. I had a lot fun today and the drive wasn’t bad at all. For some reason I like being out in the dirt and getting all sweaty. My mom told me when I was a kid I would pour dirt on my head, fortunately I also like to shower and smell fresh.

I wish I could ride a motorcycle like those guys. Well sorta, it’s really dangerous and my bouncing off the dirt days are hopefully behind me. I didn’t spend any extra money at the park; I brought my own water and made sandwiches to keep cost in order.

Something really funny happened too. Normally, at the races I am one of relatively few African-Americans in attendance. Out of 23,000 people I would guess that maybe 200-300 are Black. I always meet people to “talk motocross” with; I am an avid fan of the sport and love to talk about it.

Most of the day I spent with these two guys and their sons on my right and after a while this other guy and his wife on my left starting asking me question about riders and stuff – all Caucasian on both sides. I must say when the young husband of the couple on my left asked me if I had any sunscreen I was a little caught of guard. For some reason I got a real chuckle out of that. Not that black people shouldn’t use sunscreen, we should, just like our more fair-skinned brethren – White folks.

I grew up riding BMX and bodyboarding/surfing. I spent a lot of days at the track, a lot of days at the beach; with a lot of White folks. None of those White folks EVER asked me if I had any sunscreen!!!! On the outside, I answered like it was a routine question and said, “No, sorry, I don’t”. Like I usually had some of me or I had used it all or something. Inside I was laughing my a** off. I thought it was great that he asked me. I mean why not? Maybe I’m a closet racist or something. I mean really, why am I so surprised by that question? Anyway, I got such a kick out of that and a tan too!

Audition: Statefarm @ Kathy Knowles Casting. I knew I’d start going out commercially soon.

Gotta love those Saturday auditions! It's been quiet commercially for the last couple of weeks and then I get two calls in 10 minutes. Cool, I'm back in the game! I feel a booking soon, I am sooo overdue.

I received my new SAG Insurance information the other day in the mail. I didn’t think I was going to qualify for Plan I this time; I thought I would only qualify for the lower Plan II. I made it somehow; that “IBM” commercial was golden for me. This is good news because the coverage is better and the premiums are lower. I first qualified for Plan I coverage in 1998 I have never lost it; although I have come close. One year in New York I qualified by the difference of one day of SAG Commercial background work. Every dollar counts.

Audition: "The Game" @ Suzanne Goddard-Smythe Casting. I'm glad to get back in this office! Why? Well, last time I was there, several weeks ago, things went "just okay". Not at all bad, just "neither here nor there". So it’s a small victory to get back in so soon.

I used to be great at nailing the smaller co-star roles, but in recent years it has become much more challenging. I'm not sure why, but it has. So here I am pre-reading for a very small co-star role...without any complaints - oh yeah, it's possibly recurring.

After signing in I couldn't help but notice the actors that were there for the roles of "Girls #1 & 2". Five of "LA’s Finest"; these women were soooo.......nice and polite.

Anyway, after a while it was my turn. I read for associate Danielle Diller again, but I saw Suzanne on the way in and she remembered me. I didn’t feel I was all that right for the character because they said he was “really Hip-Hop”, but the read went great. LOL!! I’m as nerdy as they come – not too hip-hop. I listen to hip-hop music, but those guys are real trend-setters and I am not. Plus, I forgot my cool hat that I was gonna wear to show that I was on the cutting edge of…something.

I chose to use props this time. I had my cell phone and a brace for my wrist. I added some activity at the beginning and the end of the scene and it worked…I think. I have to be careful of that because sometimes you can squeeze in too much and it can come off as trying too hard when it’s such a short scene. I can’t forget that it was a pre-read so I guess I’ll find out if it “really” worked. I read it the first time and they liked the business I added. We did it again and I got carried away. Danielle instructed me to tone it down and we did it a third time and they seemed to be happy. I believe it shoots the week of the 18th. So maybe I’ll get a callback.

My commercial and print agents are right next door to CBS Radford Studios where the audition was so I stopped by to say “hello”. It’s been two weeks since I’ve had an audition through them, which is rare, but that isn’t the main reason I stopped by. I “like” them; they are really great people and I enjoy talking to them – even if it is 5-10 minutes at a time.

I thought this was great. Immediately after greeting each other my agent Brooke commented that I hadn’t been out lately. I just love that; it’s not like it’s been months. I can’t believe that she specifically knows how active I am right off the top of her head. Funny, back in the day when I was preparing to move from New York to Los Angeles some other actor’s where saying that I shouldn’t sign with KSA because they are too big and I’ll get “lost in the shuffle”. Yes, they are a very large agency, but they have a lot of people running the operation. I have never felt, even for a day, that they didn’t know who I was. They have an open-door policy for their clients and I have always taken full advantage of it.

Anyway, Brooke brought up the topic of headshots and that it might be time for me to update or just look at my old session and get another shot that hasn’t been circulated. I had been thinking of shooting new shots anyway so it didn’t come as a surprise. She recommended a photographer they use a lot, but he is SUPER expensive. I don’t have a problem with the cost really, but he is the most expensive headshot photographer I’ve heard of in LA. I got better than the best deal you can get on my comp card so if I average that and a really expensive shoot I’ll have a good average, but it’s just not in the budget right now. I’ll get it together soon.

Audition/Producers: “The George Lopez Show” @ Stacey Levy Casting. I arrived at this audition and almost everyone there it seemed was from Actorsite. I saw Tanika McKelvy Brown, Julia Flint, Ingrid Sanai Buron, Joan Blair and Angel Oquendo. The audition went well I thought. I asked a question about the scene before I started which helped to clear things up a bit; it wasn’t all on the page. That bit of information changed the way I read it, I’m glad I asked.

It was great to see some fellow acting friends out in the mix, reading for roles on major shows. I think at least one of us will book.

Afterwards Angel and I walked around on the Warner Bros lot and I showed him where the “Ocean’s Thirteen” set was. He also booked a role in it and worked a couple of weeks ago at another location. The first thing we saw when we found the soundstage was George Clooney playing basketball with a few members of the crew. I must admit, it was a little surreal seeing him right there. Seems like a really cool guy.

I did a couple of general drop-offs on the lot and ran into Lanre Idewu; we did a play together in downtown LA a couple of years ago. I also ran into Brandon Molale; I met Brandon at Actorsite several years ago. He was working on “Dodgeball” the same time I was working on “The Terminal” both in Palmdale. Brandon is a really nice guy who works CONSTANTLY in big films. Actually, I saw him on “The Jay Leno Show” tonight; that guy is everywhere.

I rarely/never ask my agents to get feedback from an audition. Part of the reason is that I have a serious fear of rejection. It’s kinda funny actually. Another reason is that I don’t want to be just bothering my agents…just…because. So I try to be patient and just move on to the next thing. Well, this “patiently impatient” guy wasn’t so patient today. Yeah, I called my agent to see if I could get any word on, “Who’s Your Caddy”, the film I read for the other day. One of the great assistants, Steve, called the casting office and got the low-down. He didn’t get to speak with the casting director, but he did talk to the associate. The associate checked the notes on my resume and “good actor” was written with a star by it. The associate said that, most likely, means that I will get a callback. Cool. I’m really excited by that possibility. At minimum, I had a great audition for a busy casting director and film director.

Cool, the maintenance man came this morning and was very confident about were the bats are getting in. I was right, it was above the stove. He stuffed a bunch of screen in there to plug it up. I feel much better.

License and registration please....

Audition/Director: “Who’s Your Caddy” @ Jeff Gerrard Casting.
Yeah, this went really well. I sorta complicated it for myself because I think I knew what was going on - at least I thought I did. The role I read for is one the leads in the film, but for the audition there was just one small scene – a monologue really. I thought that was odd. Also, there were about 3-4 other, similar characters reading the same sides. Odd again; I mean these were leads and supporting leads.

In my mind it meant they were just trying to find out who was funny at all. Then they would dig deeper and really try to put a cast of characters together. So, drawing on my experience as a reader I figured I needed to really think outside of the box and bring something fresh. I mean you always want to do that, but I felt this needed to be a couple of degrees off of the normal freshness you wanna bring in the room. After all they’re going to be hearing these same sides from about four different characters. I didn’t want to put them asleep.

I didn’t want it to be so off the mark that they would wonder if I even read it, but enough that there was an unlikely twist for this character. I read it over and over and found my take on it. My take had absolutely nothing to do with what the character arch was in the script – nothing at all, but interesting nonetheless.

I went to my buddy Jon’s place to read it over and discuss my plan. He wasn’t feeling it at first – not even a little bit. I asked him to be really patient and hear me out. I also begged him to tell me if he thought I was completely out of my mind. I felt really strong about what I was thinking, but I needed someone to potentially save me from myself and my “great” idea.

Slowly, I was able to convince him that I was making sense and he got on board and gave me some great ideas to incorporate into the piece. It’s amazing what you can come up with in 20-25 minutes. I left his place feeling like I was on top of the world. I feel like I’m really right for this and I enjoyed the script.

So I arrive at the casting office, sign-in and have a seat. After 30 minutes or so it’s my turn. First I meet the director Don Michael Paul and I’m re-introduced to Casting Director Jeff Gerrard. I know Jeff from auditioning for commercials. Actually, the first time I auditioned for him back in ’99; I didn’t even have an appointment. A buddy gave me a tip on it because he had an appointment and thought I was right for it too. I went to check it out and was able to get seen. It was for “Pizza Hut”, I got a callback and booked the job. That led to two more “Pizza Hut”. I also remember one day doing a commercial drop when his office was in the Valley on Lankershim; commercial drops – THAT was a long time ago. I rarely, if ever do those anymore. Anyway, I ended up seeing him and he said I didn’t need to drop a photo because he had one on the wall in his office. Needless to say I was very surprised to hear that.

Before starting the read Don really checked out my credits. I gotta tell you it felt great to hear him associate me with people like Mekhi Phifer, Steven Spielberg, Al Pacino and Steven Soderbergh. Finally, it was time to read. They started laughing from the opening beat; which was a little thing that my friend Jon suggested. It went great!! The first thing Don said after I finished was “WHY DID YOU CUT YOUR DREADS!!!?!?! There is a guy in the movie with dreadlocks and his name is ‘Dread’.” He said he’s seen “The Terminal” and I mentioned that I had dreads back then.

ire mon!

We talked about that for a bit then he gave me some direction. I did it again, totally different and was happy with the outcome. He complimented me and I was on my way.

While I was driving away it suddenly dawned on me that I could have performed the re-direct even better. I could have added a slight accent for the dread guy. It was at that moment that I needed someone to “save me from myself”. Yup. I was going to go back and ask to do it again. Fortunately, I needed to go to my agency to pick up material for another appointment. My mind was racing. I was actually driving away from audition, but I was strongly thinking about going back. I really wanted go back, but I knew I needed time to think. I stopped at one of my favorite places, Panera Bread, check my e-mail on my PDA using their free Wi-Fi connection and assessed the situation.

Fifteen minutes later I got back in the car and headed in the direction of the audition. I didn’t think I would actually park, get out of the car, get in the elevator and go back to the office to ask to do it again, but I knew there was a chance that I would. I used a “lifeline” I called Jon and explained what was on my mind. He said, “no, don’t go back, let it ride”. That was what I needed to hear, so I “let it ride’ and heading to my agents’ office instead.

I spoke to David, the agent handling the office for the audition, and gave him the run-down. He was very excited to hear that it went well for me. He’s got a good feeling about it; who knows maybe they find something for me in the project. With that being said, I don’t expect to hear another thing about it. I’m not gonna wait by the phone, but I will pick up the phone in 10 days or so if I don’t hear anything. I really would like to work on this project.

Ooops, I ain’t feeling so good right now. Actually, I’m feeling pretty bad. Why? Well, I think it’s a combination of things. The major one is that I miss my mother so much. I can’t believe she’s been gone almost four years. I’m usually pretty good, but I’m pissed that I can’t even share my bat stories with her. She would, without a doubt, have something hilarious to say about. I know I’ve written about it and laughed, but I haven’t really told the whole story. For instance, I was out with friends Friday night and we laughed a lot about it, but I didn’t share with them that I had had another encounter right before I left home to meet them.

Yeah, I was getting ready to get in the shower to go catch up with them. I reached to pull back the shower curtain to turn on the water and to my surprised there was a bat moving in the drain. WHAT!? You’d think I’d be used to it by now, but I don’t think you’re ever really ready for it – it’s a freakin’ bat!! It took me a second to gather my bearings. Needless to say that bat is missing like Jimmy Hoffa. I drowned his/her a** - with hot water. I think that’s the first one I’ve straight up murdered – it was self defense – I thought it had a gun. I don’t make it a habit to hurt animals by any means, but it’s kinda like survival of the fittest. Don’t get me wrong it’s funny – sorta. It’s also potentially really, really dangerous.

I reported it to the rental office and with the holiday weekend it’s gonna be a minute before someone gets to check things out, probably Tuesday. Let me tell you, it’s spooky trying to sleep in my spot right about now.

I asked several people who live in the building about it and most weren’t of the issue. There were a few that had had incidents or heard about them. One guy had one in his apartment and said it took him 30 minutes to get it out. 30 MINUTES?!?! What the heck was he doing for 30 minutes? When I see one it’s over and done in 2-3 minutes max.

I stuffed rags in the non-working exhaust vent over the stove where I think they might be getting in. But really got me down was the notion of possibly having to move over this before I am ready to buy a condo. That would suck.

Another thing is the basis of how much I am paying in rent. I have found that many people in the building are paying less rent than me for the same space and I have been here longer. Maybe it’s on the up an up, but I am going to speak with the LA renter’s board or something like that to ease my mind – or take action.

So that got me kinda down and out today, but it’s nothing that a good bike ride couldn’t cure. I LOVE riding my bike. It brings me a lot of joy; I wish I had someone to ride with on a regular basis. Someone that would go out in the mountains and stuff.

If you ever see a bat flying in your home DO NOT call
me. Put a pair of pants around your neck for protection
and go to war. Good luck! - Stephon Fuller

Since I didn’t hear anything yesterday about the film audition I missed, I’m on the phone bright and early to see what I can do to make it happen. The thing is that the agent who handles this particular office is gone for the weekend, so one of the other agents is handling it. So I leave a message with one of the very capable assistants in the office.

BINGO! 25 minutes later the assistant, Steve, calls back with an appointment, sides and script and says they are considering me for several roles. That is great news. Ok, now to read the script and prepare. Sometimes you can put so much energy into getting the opportunity that you blow the opportunity. I can’t let that happen.

The great thing was that I had no idea this project even existed; I included my photo as a general submission while dropping a photo for my friend, Denice. It’s fun to think it was all me, me, me who got the audition, but I’m sure my agent submitted me too. That is the team at work! Now I have to go in deliver.

Shooting “Criminal Minds” in Hawthorne. Hurry up and wait was in full effect. I don’t usually have a problem with it because I understand it, but I missed a director session for a lead in a film. That’s the way it goes, but I will definitely try to get rescheduled because I think I’m really right for it.

I arrived on set, which is an old shopping mall that has been closed to the public. I check-in and get to my trailer. I smile when I see my cop uniform wardrobe, lol! Me, as a cop?

Anyway, the waiting begins. After a while we move to the second location where my scene is to be filmed. It is in a hospital in Torrance. On the way there I drove past the location where I shot the “Wrigley’s” commercial on December 7th 2001. That was a good commercial! They split it into two spots and even ran it on the Wrigley’s Jumbotron in New York’s Times Square. I smiled when I thought about that.

My character was a police tech shooting photos of a victim. The lead actors I worked with; Matthew Gray Gubler, Lola Glaudini and Thomas Gibson were very nice and personable. I had a couple of lines and took a lot of photos. I wish I could have kept that camera; it was really nice. I even got to take photos of my friend, fellow actress Tuffet Schmelzle, in another scene.

Me and Tuffet Schmelzle

This was pretty funny. We were shooting in a hospital room and while I was taking photos of the victim the important people (series regulars) enter and talk to the victim. Me and my fellow worker, who was a background artist, leave the room to wait until they are finished. We were just outside of the window, so you could still see us in the shot. Of course we needed to keep it real and whisper things, show her the photos in the viewfinder of the camera or whatever, ya know, make it seem like we are discussing whatever. On one take I leaned over really, really close to her and said, in my best Barry White voice, "What time do you get off". OMG!!!! You should have seen the look on her face. It was priceless! Babygirl was shook!! I don't think it was so much that I said it, it was more that I said it then, in middle of the scene - we were in the background of the scene.I could see that she was a little confused after we cut so I just let it ride for a while. Then, after a couple of more takes, I told her I was just making conversation "within the scene". She just laughed and got a big kick out of that. She was cool to work with.

As usual, they fed us really well. If I was a series regular and ate like that everyday even I would probably gain. I plan to find out one day. So that was it, another great day on-set. I’m a little saddened about missing the film audition, but I guess having a job is a pretty good reason. I’ve been bugging my agents, which is really unlike me, but I really want to go in on this film.

Last week I was preparing to leave the apartment to do some drops and a friend called to chat. I told her where I was going and she told me about a film being cast in the same building; so I dropped both of our photos off. Today I got a call for a director session for one of the leads of the film; the audition is tomorrow. Problem is I won’t be able to make it because I’m working on “Criminal Minds”. Hopefully, I can get rescheduled.

INT. STEPHON’S APARTMENT – LATE NIGHT

Stephon, sitting at his desk, is in the middle of a spirited conversation. He is all smiles, laughing and joking. He senses a very slight disturbance at his feet. He looks down, but can’t really see because of the bright light on his desk. Phone call continues…

Stephon (laughing):…You’ve got to be kidding.

Caller (laughing): I’m serious!

Stephon senses something isn’t quite right and wheels around in his swivel desk chair.

Stephon: Oh sh*t!

Caller: What?

His earpiece falls out and he hits the deck. There is a bat flying around in his apartment. He grabs the earpiece and puts it back in his ear. Trying to be cool, he isn’t sure whether to let the other party in on what is really going on. He can’t contain himself.

Stephon: uhh…ooh….sh*t!

Caller: What are you doing?

Stephon: uhh, can I call you back?

Caller: Yeah.

Stephon: There is a ^&(*$% bat flying around my apartment. I’ll call you back.

Stephon drops the phone and grabs a pair of pajama bottoms to wrap around his neck to prevent being bitten and turned into Dracula or Blacula. He gets another pair of pants to try to knock the flying rat silly. He swings – misses. He swings – misses again. He swings and misses a third time.

The flying rat goes for the corner where I first noticed something weird. He is out of view.

Stephon: Sh*t.

Stephon can’t seem to find him and goes around the other side to get a better look. Right then the little POS starts flying again; this time circling the spinning ceiling fan. Stephon, standing with the trusty pajamas protecting his neck, is determined to open a can of whup ass on this intruder.

He swing – misses. He swings – BINGO! He knocks that SOB clear into the kitchen. Stephon cautiously looks at him to make sure he isn’t going to fly away again. He notices that this one is bigger than the previous ones. He then sneaks past him to get a pair of pliers from the kitchen to get rid of him, but not before a headshot session. The proof.

Crazy!

Can you believe that!?!?! I have lived in this building for 8 years and this is the 5th time this has happened. The first time was in ’99, then in June ’02, then sometime in ’03. I didn’t mention it, but it happened about 4 nights ago and then tonight. I have no idea how they get in. Yes, I have screens in all of my windows. The one the other night escaped by going through the little space under my front door. Maybe he got in that way. I’ll have to plug that up. There is an old hood ventilation thingy over my stove that isn’t hooked up, but I think it leads to the outside of my building. I’m gonna have to plug that too. Looks like it’s time for another trip to the rental office. It’s official, I hate this old ass building.

About 4 years ago when this “bat thing” happened the second time, my left arm mysteriously became swollen. I could never figure out why, but it was swollen from my shoulder all the way down to my fingers. I went to the doctor and they sent me to a specialist, but they could come up with anything. I always thought that maybe I had been bitten by a spider or something, but it happened the same night that I had a bat in my apartment. Maybe I am Blacula and I just don’t know it.

Dag! In New York I had rats - LA I got bats! WHAT!!!

Drops, drops baby! It never seems to stop, but at least gas prices are going down a little – just a little.

I had my fitting for “Criminal Minds” this afternoon. I was in and out in less than 15 minutes. I gotta tell ya, I love working on projects. I can’t believe that I actually have two jobs that I’ve booked but haven’t filmed yet. Hopefully, I can book at least another job before I shoot “Ocean’s Thirteen”. A half-hour, live audience, multi-camera comedy or a commercial would be nice. How about another trip out of the country? THAT would be nice – shoot, I’d gladly settle for New York right now.

So I get home, thinking I’m done for the day and my friend Yoko calls to tell me about an open call from Actor Access for “Sony PlayStation” way out in Glendale until 8pm. Glendale!? I just got gas today; I don’t wanna drive to Glendale. So I check the listing and it says they are looking for 5 males aged 18-25, hip, contemporary, college students. Huh? 18-25? Can I play 25? I don’t know, maybe. Yoko was certain I could play 25. I think I was making excuses not to go – not very smart.

Well, after a moment I figured if I don’t go I definitely won’t book. If I go, maybe I’ll book and I’ll buy Yoko dinner. So I decided to drive to Glendale, but not before I checked my database to see who I needed to drop-off to. I had to figure out the places I could drop after hours. I ended up making a huge loop from Silverlake to Glendale to Encino to Studio City, etc. I definitely pays to know this city like the back of my hand, now I can sleep in tomorrow! That’s good because I know I’ll be up until 4am – at least.

Audition: “Sony PlayStation” @ Michael Silberman/Jennifer Perry Casting, POC.

So I get to the audition and I first got thank Yoko for the tip. The guy running it was just super nice to me. I don’t know why, the girls in attendance were way, way more fun to look at than me. So I’m going over the material and I was just a wreck. For some reason, when I get to a commercial audition and they have TV/Film-like sides I get all weird. In the end it went great!! I used props and my all of my nervous energy and by their reaction to it seemed like I brought something fresh they hadn’t seen before. Oh yeah and one the women running the show asked me about “Ocean’s Thirteen”. Who knows, maybe I’ll get a callback.

Audition/Tape: “’Til Death” @ Tammara Billik Casting. Audition/Tape: “’Til Death” @ Tammara Billik Casting. This didn't go so great...at least I don't think it did. I mean it wasn't terrible; it just wasn't one of those where you feel great no matter the outcome. I can honestly say it had nothing to do with the show being under an AFTRA contract. That in itself is a step forward for me. Maybe my apathetic attitude towards AFTRA is waning...maybe not. I just don’t know what AFTRA is doing for me besides competing with SAG for lower contracts…gee thanks guys.

All was not lost because I had a fantastic interview with her; ya know the 60 or so seconds before and after the read. Tammara actually looked at my resume and made the comment, "Wow, you've worked with some great directors and you've worked with Arlene Sanford!" Arlene was the director of the episode of "Love, Inc." that I did. Before working on "Love, Inc." I did research on her and found that she is quite unique in television directing.

What makes her so special isn't that she's a woman director, although I think that's pretty freakin' special; it's that she directs one hour dramas, half hour multi-camera comedies, one hour dramadies AND single-camera comedies. That is a rarity in Hollywood. Arlene and I actually had a conversation about it. I think Tammara was a little surprised I knew that about Arlene and it just so happens that they are friends too. If nothing else maybe she’ll remember me for that.

Confession: Here is the real reason the audition didn't go so great.....Tammara has some insanely, beautiful brown eyes. I was mesmerized by them…no really, you should see them.

Today was good day; I was pretty productive in the streets – which, trust me, is NOT always the case. The heat in the valley caught me by surprise and promptly delivered me a nice headache, but I soldiered through and got the job done.

This was a good new development. There is a really important office in town that used to be on a studio lot. The studio couriers were horrible in getting them their submissions/drop-offs from the mail room in a timely fashion. They recently moved to another studio in town and I went there today and the guard just let me walk on and go straight to the office. I didn’t expect that for me, maybe if I was a female, but I’m not. So I got to hand deliver a general submission to the office. Cool.

Afterwards I went to a spot on Ventura that I hadn’t been to in a while and then I started feeling like I wanted to go home for some reason. I was tired; this staying up until 4-5am was catching up with me. I needed some rest – and some water – and something to eat – and gas for my car, but I wasn’t hungry. I’m starting to think I’m anorexic. Not really; I haven’t vomited since I was 9 years old. Yeah, I played 2nd base for the Plaza Little League Minor Dodgers and guess who the coach was? My DADDY!!!! Yeah!!! LOL!! “Corn pops” (as my brother’s and I affectionately referred to him as) coached baseball, football and basketball and ALWAYS had winning teams. That year the Dodgers were sponsored by the local Pizza Hut. When we won our games, which was most of the time, we would have a pizza party. One time I ate 3 slices of pizza and vomited; it was not a very good experience. That was the last time I threw up and part of the reason I’ve never had alcohol in my life. I associate alcohol with throwing up. I know, weird.

So I just parked for a bit and took a deep breath. I knew I couldn’t go back home without doing more drop-offs; gas is too expensive for that. So I pulled out my PDA, searched “Ventura” and made a quick route to hit some spots.

I was talking to a friend on the phone about how I have targeted certain shows, the “blue-chip shows” and what that has meant. Also, that I’m to the point where I almost avoid shows that are under AFTRA contracts or “SAG at AFTRA terms”. It’s not “the show” itself, it’s AFTRA; I don’t wanna join another guild to do the same work. I mean if my agent calls with an appointment for an AFTRA show I’ll go of course, but I don’t pursue them like I do SAG shows. So up and down Ventura Blvd I go.

When I get back to my apartment more new pages from the “Criminal Minds” script are at my door. No changes for me. Yesterday when I was at the table read I thanked Casting Director Scott David for bringing me in to audition and he made it seem like such a no brainer that I was gonna get on the show eventually. He said, “Yeah, we tried last season and it didn’t work and now here you are”. I mean, I’ve met Scott a couple of times in the past, but I didn’t take it for granted that he knew who I was; especially since last time I read for him it just went okay. They have sooo many actors to choose from, but to be honest, I have done my part to stay fresh in their minds so it makes sense. Maybe I’m underestimating the progress that I’ve made. Something to think about I guess.

Right around 7pm my agent calls with an appointment for tomorrow. Get this; it’s at one of the offices I dropped off at just hours earlier. I slid it under the door, I wouldn’t have remembered that address if I hadn’t search it in my PDA. Just goes to show, there is an unbelievable amount of work here in Los Angeles. In theory, we should ALL be auditioning quite frequently, but I think 20% of the actors get 80% of the opportunities and work – gotta get and stay in that 20%. I pulled that figure of 20% out of my a**. 20%? Do you think that’s accurate or even close?

I forgot to mention that the show is AFTRA!!! I wanna freakin scream! Not really, it’s cool. It’s a funny a scene on a new FOX comedy Starring Brad Garrett from “Everybody Loves Raymond” called “Til Death” and I just so happened to see the pilot last week at the Museum of Television and Radio. I know I’ll eventually have to join AFTRA, but I’ll go kicking and screaming – then maybe I’ll pursue soap work too.

Table read: "Criminal Minds" @ Century Studios. It’s always great to be invited to a table read. It usually means you’ve booked a job and that is a good thing.

I arrived at the studio and found my name card on the huge table where the actors and the production team was to assemble. There was at least 45-50 people in attendance; it was like it was a table read for a pilot. That caught me by surprise; I didn’t expect to see so many people; including from the studio.

So I was seated next to Casting Director Scott David and associate Gina Garcia and once everyone was settled we all introduced ourselves – yup all 400 of us; which was cool to see who everyone was behind the scenes. I was about person number 17 and by time it got to me things needed to be shaken up a little – at least I thought so. I was gonna take a risk and be that example of what NOT to do while at a table read for a major network show. I figured hey, this ain’t my first time at the rodeo; I didn’t have to walk around scared to be myself. When the introduction got to me, instead of saying “Stephon Fuller, “Tech” I said “Stephon Fuller, “Single Black Male” and “Tech”…the entire room went silent for a split second followed by a roar of laughter - it really broke the ice. It could’ve went really bad, but sometimes you just take the risk. Then, person #24, another black actor, said the same thing – funny again – it was like a residual.

So we started reading the script and in the begininng there was a little jab at Shemar Moore’s character and he responds “What the &^% does that mean?”, then he said something about being a “single black male” – another residual!

Something that was interesting was that you could barely hear the series regulars read their dialogue. I think, us, the guest cast, knew our jobs are a little less secure - you could hear us loud and clear.

About ¾ of the way through the script “Garcia” appears, she is played by Kirsten Vangsness. “Garcia” receives a phone call from “Morgan” requesting a bit of information; Morgan is played by Shemar Moore. They had very little dialogue, but let me tell you, the sexual tension/chemistry between those two was absolutely off the chain. I don’t know who said in order for a woman to be sexy in Hollywood she needs to be size zero or something close to it. I also don’t know if Ms. Vangsness used to be a phone sex operator or maybe she still is, I don’t know, but THAT is one sexy woman. They brought the room to a stand still.

Anyway, another cool thing was seeing fellow actor Tuffet Schmelzle; I know her from networking at Actorsite. It’s great to see others you know at auditions and on set. On the way out one of the producers stopped me and laughed about the “Single Black Male” comment; he thought it was really funny. …hmmm maybe he could produce a pilot…I’m just sayin….

You know, I often talk about other things that interest me in life. Make no mistake, I love being in this business and I appreciate everything it has brought to me. I’ve had some great experiences and met some great people along the way. I say that because it was a wonderful feeling being in the room for the table read and I don’t want it to seem like I could care less about being in this business. Do I think parts of this business are laughable and absurd? Yes, absolutely. Do I want to be a series regular on a great show? Yes absolutely.

Audition: "Toys-R-Us" @ Craig Colvin Casting. This audition went really well. My character was a father with a wife, a son and a daughter. My “wife” – HOT! My “daughter” - CUTE! My “son” – CRAZY! That kid was a damn trip! I thought he was gonna blow the place up for real. He was just like angry or something at 7 years old! What the heck was he angry about? Not like mad like “little kid mad” – ya know tired, hungry and irritable. The dude was pissed like an old ass man going through a divorce. 7 years old! We were all in line to slate our names and he didn’t want to stand next to his sister. I asked him to stand next to his sister to slate and he answered, “how do you know my name?” “And that ain’t my sister”. It was just so funny.

Actually, the little terror probably knew what he was doing. In the spot, me, “the dad”, was supposed to represent a 9 year old kid and he was supposed to be a little more mature. I think it worked. I would LOVE to be on set with him all day; could you imagine the stories I could tell.

What a day today. It started out with a conversation with the lady in the rental office of where I live. I got word that at least one newer tenant in my building is evidently paying lower rent than me, by a significant amount. This tenant has been in the building waaaay less time than me. I wanted to discuss it with the leasing agent. I caught her off guard when I arrived in her office and asked for a price list. She kinda talked around it a bit and tried to be vague, but I was ready for her. It was funny because I’ve lived in this building for 8 years and I’m always nice and polite. Let’s just say that she saw a very different side of me this morning. She saw the firm businessman who had his game face on. The more vague she tried to be the more information she unwittingly gave me. I wasn’t nasty or anything like that and I didn’t make a scene, but I was very, very firm – but respectful. She knew I wasn’t happy when I left. I understand that she doesn’t own the building, but I think she has room to work with. I was livid when I left her office, but I felt so much better. I love it when I get really pissed off about something, it gets the blood flowing.

Anyway, after that the rest of the day continued to be productive. I got quite a bit done mentally and in a business sense. I did some drop-offs and bought some financial software to put myself on a budget; which is difficult for me since I never know how much I’m going to make.

I think this was the highlight of my day; just seeing the numbers. I have no freakin idea how I’ve been able to make my sole living as an actor for 5+ years. No idea. When looked at my expenses and I know that I meet them every month AND I’m able to spend 6 weeks a year on the East Coast and drive a decent car I felt like a rockstar. I mean really and today was the perfect day for it. It’s great to have auditions and all that stuff, but seeing those numbers did it for me today. It was empowering and makes me want to do a lot more.

So right after I got home I received a call from production of “Criminal Minds” saying a new script with revisions is on its way to be delivered. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten revisions on a drama before. Of course you get tons of revisions on comedies, but I’m sure it’s not the first time for a drama.

Then I get another call from production; this time inviting me to the table read tomorrow afternoon at the studio. That’s another first for me I think. Yeah, I’ve never been to a table read for an hour drama. Cool. I have to remember that, for me, “table read” means I’m still auditioning. So I have to keep that in mind; that some of the producers/writers will be seeing me for the first time.

Wow. I'm in over my head I think. Nothing alarming. I'm just trying to get so much done right now. To be honest, I think I’m kidding myself. I just don’t see these things adding up. So I have to go on faith; which is what I do often. If I look at the big picture it’s daunting, but if I take things day-by-day it’s manageable, at least in my head. Maybe that’s why I’m getting these headaches lately, not as often as before though. It’s really exciting; I feel like I have the world by the tail.

I’ve been seriously wondering why I don’t eat normally. It’s amazing that I can go most of the day without eating. I have to force myself to eat before I leave the house. I usually eat because I know I need to eat something; not because I’m hungry. I’m sure nutrition and hydration are an issue for me. I’m doing a lot better with eating and drinking thing than I was a year ago. The weird thing is that I love food; it’s that I have a small appetite and I eat very, very slow. If I eat too fast I’ll get sick.

I attended a first-time home buyers seminar today; for 8 hours! It was to get a certificate for the program, if I even qualify as low-income. Can you believe that? That I may not qualify? That’s unbelievable. It was a really long day, but it was kinda cool to be in learning atmosphere. I’ve been thinking lately about taking a class at one of the local colleges. I think I’d like to take a class in ceramics, woodworking, metals or maybe a basic electronics class. Funny, they are all classes I took while in junior high and high school. Being an auto mechanic really interest me too. I just really like working on things. I could take another class in photography; that might be interesting or maybe typing. Now THAT would really help me.

Anyway, after the seminar I spoke to my older sister in Alabama for two hours; that was great. I’m really proud of my sister; she’s a great wife and mother. We don’t talk as often as I talk to my younger brother’s, but we really get deep when we do talk. Today’s conversation was very necessary – trust me.

Audition/Producers: “Standoff” @ Stordahl/Terry Casting.

Surprise!! This morning @ 10:14 I’m sitting at my desk going over material for the producer session this afternoon and my agent calls to inform me that they “changed the concept of the character” and the appointment has been cancelled. Okay. Well, it comes and goes. I’ll get ‘em next time. That makes this a really slow week, but last week was really busy so it all works out.

Then @ 10:33, funny enough, while still looking over that same material (I don’t know why, it was only two pages); my agent calls back. No, she didn’t say “Stephon, they just have to have you on the show and they are going to find something else for you”. No, she didn’t say that. What she did say is that “Criminal Minds” just called to check my one hour quote. She wanted to confirm that her records of previous quotes were correct. They were and she said “Thanks honey, I’ll try to get you more money”.

I guess that’s a good sign. Hopefully, they won’t also “change the concept of the character” and I will actually get the booking. Quotes and bookings are two totally different things and quotes don’t go on the resumes and they definitely don’t pay the bills. I guess I’ll know something soon - one way or another.

So @ 2:39 Erin leaves a voicemail letting me know that I have, in fact, been booked for “Criminal Minds”. So when I called back one of my other agents, Caleigh, answered the phone and knew I booked. It’s always great when the news spreads through the office. So Caleigh transfers me to Erin and Erin says, “Stephon, I have the “Criminal Minds” booking and some other news for you. I’m thinking, did they hire me and fire me in the same phone call?” She gives me the details of the booking: it’s a day of work next week AND she was able to raise my quote! I gotta tell ya, Erin is no joke when it comes to fighting for her clients. It’s so exciting to hear her on the phone to casting offices. Oh yeah, and I love when she does this. The last thing she always asks after giving all the details is, “do you wanna do it?” I LOVE THAT!! Something else I really like is that this booking came from a drop-off on a day that I really didn’t want to do drop-offs, at least I’m convinced it did.

So what was the other news? Remember that producer session this morning for “Standoff” that was cancelled @ 10:14 because they “changed the concept of the character”? Well for some reason they decided they wanted to see me – NOW! So I pulled my sides out of the trash, warmed them up and made my way to Fox Studios. I wasn’t sure what I was going to wear. I didn’t want my wardrobe to overshadow the work and character, but I did want to walk in the room and have everything flow. The character is a resident in a hospital and I have a set of scrubs and decided to wear the top. It felt like it was the right thing to do.

Of course once I get to Stordahl/Terry Casting it’s “hurry up and wait” which is how it goes sometimes – no problem. There were quite a few actors waiting in a fairly tight area and I saw this one dude who didn’t look like he was there to audition. At first, I thought one of the hot girls there was his girlfriend and he was just, I don’t know, waiting for her to finish. He kept like fidgeting, pacing; just seeming real, real nervous and again it was in pretty close quarters. One by one the girls were leaving, but he was still there. He didn’t have sides, a headshot a backpack – nothing that I saw. He just really seemed out of place; like he was super claustrophobic. I tried to ignore him, but he kept drawing me in with his odd behavior. He wasn’t making a scene or anything like that; he was just like a fish out of water it seemed. It almost seemed that any minute he was going to yell “ALL YA’LL muth$^*(%^& ON THE FLOOR – NOW!! and take us hostage. I was like, “yo, this kid is trippin’” or maybe I’m trippin’.

Anyway, after a while people were thinning out and they called his name to audition! My man went in the room and killed it…..I could feel it through the walls. Now get this; his character DID have hostages!!! Ain’t that some sh*t? Dude walked past me on the way out and I was like oh snap!! That was crazy; I won’t forget him and his commitment to his character anytime soon. So he left and I swear to you three minutes later that casting associates came out looking for him, but he was gone. She called his agent and 6 minutes later he was back. Evidently, the production team saw something that they wanted to see more of. I checked his name on the sign-in sheet so I could look him up and he is Charles Duckworth. Funny enough, the character I was reading for ends up being a hostage of his. I would like to work with this kid; so here’s to both of us booking.

After a while longer I finally got my chance to audition and it went great!! It wasn’t a lot, but it sure felt good. The director seemed to be really happy with what he saw.

As soon as I returned home from the audition the messenger arrived with my package from “Criminal Minds” – script, paperwork; it even included a “day out of days” schedule. I’d never gotten one of those before in the package; it’s cool to see how the entire 8-day shooting schedule is laid out.

Tonight I went to the Museum of Television and Radio to see the new pilots from FOX and “Standoff” was one of them. I’ll just say this, Gina Torres’ lips had me mesmerized – completely. Those lips are not of this world. They should change the name of the show to “lips” – Crazy!

I have to say, blogs are really funny things. Lisa, thank you for your offer I really appreciate it.

I hate this, I hate this, I hate this. The mother of a dear friend in New York passed away last night. I knew Genine’s mom and she always treated me like family when I lived in New York or would visit. I met Genine in a chance meeting back in Virginia Beach in the early 90’s. My family, she and her friends had a lot of fun together going skiing in the Poconos Mountains several years in a row.

Her mother had been ill of late and it wasn’t totally unexpected that she passed, but having been through it it’s nothing you can really, truly prepare for. I don’t know what to say to her. There just aren’t words to express; just like there weren’t words to express when I lost my mom. I wish I could go to New York for the funeral, but I can’t really afford to do it.

Of course, this makes me think of my father. I haven’t spoken to him in 3 years and sometimes wonder if I’ve already spoken to him for the last time. I’m fully aware that I am taking a big risk and that could be a reality, but he is taking the same risk in having spoken to me for the last time. Truthfully, I don’t think I ever cross his mind. I can’t imagine why I would.

Sometimes I wonder how I would really react if something was to happen to him. What if he got sick; would I make special trips to go see him like I did my mom? I really don’t know. I can’t be sure that he would even want me to see him. It’s amazing that I was just home for a month and I didn’t see him once – by choice. At the same time I knew at any moment all that could change. We just don’t get along; he has no respect for me at all – never has. I don’t even think he likes me; now or ever. Fortunately, I have other family members I can turn to for support. It would be nice to have a connection with my dad – in theory; especially since we’re just a phone call or a plane flight away. It’s tragic; it’s sad and really stupid. I don’t know what else to do other than stay out of his way.

Audition/Producers: @ April Webster Casting/Scott David. This is great. Why? Because I’m pretty sure it came from a drop-off that I really didn't want to do on Friday. The audition went well I felt. It’s funny because I was reading the material one way, thinking I was interpreting it correctly but then decided to change up the pacing of the scene and a whole new thing came out of it. All of the sudden it made way more sense. It took a while before the producer session started so I had time to change my take on it. I also saw fellow actor Angel Oquendo at the audition as well.

I met Angel about a year ago when he was on a scouting trip from the East coast. I have to say I knew instantly he would have an immediate impact I this town. There is a specific set of things I feel helps greatly in getting things moving and he has them. It’s the right amount of business acumen, talent, a look, an attitude, a hustle, being patient while at the same time being impatient, etc. Miss any one of those things listed and the picture can be totally different. I can think of someone else I had the same feeling about too. Of course what I think doesn’t mean a whole lot – I thought I would have booked something by now, lol!!!

When I finally got in the room, I read it once, the director gave me some direction and I did it his way. I felt great about it and was on my way.

I gotta tell ya, I didn't want to do drops today; I didn't want to leave the apartment at all. My printer was acting up and I was in kind of in a sour mood; not for any real reason though. Maybe I was just tired from a busy week.

Anyway, I forced myself to get out there, in the street, with a mean look on my face to prove I had a bad attitude. Traffic, gas prices, my printer, parking, etc. it just wasn’t my day. And you know what? It’s okay.

So I arrive at my first address and lo and behold I had the wrong place. The address was correct, but I went to the wrong place thinking I just knew where I was going. Great! I then remembered where the correct place was and I didn’t want to go to that studio lot because last time I was there the security guard, thinking he was doing me a favor, called the casting office to say I had something for them. There are situations where that would have been cool, but not that particular day. So I didn’t want to go there – I just wasn’t in the mood. So I didn’t go, but I couldn’t just go home. Gas is too expensive to not even try to get something done.

I pulled out my PDA and logged in the zip code of the area I was in. I couldn’t imagine doing what I do without my PDA; it’s such a big part of keeping things straight. Even though I know most of the addresses around town in my head my PDA is a major part of the whole operation.

So a couple of other offices in the immediate area came up and I decided to drop-off my photo. The first office I stopped in had just finished casting their last episode of the cable show they were doing and only had a couple of more days before the office closed. I’d met the casting associate before and I think she remembered me. She was very friendly and told me not to leave a photo because nothing was going to be saved when they close up shop. I appreciated that and I felt that I got something accomplished even though I didn’t actually leave a photo.

On to the next, and most definitely, last stop before heading back to my apartment. I’ve been to this place before and know the drill, but went into the wrong door. I think I was actually trying to avoid the security guard, but he came out steered me in the right direction – which I knew, but for some reason I tried to avoid him. The older gentleman was so nice and polite that he totally disarmed me. It made me think about why I wasn’t having such a great day. I couldn’t come up with a good reason; so I released whatever it was – if anything at all. So, even today, I reluctantly got something accomplished.

Print go-see: “IBM” @ Ben Sealy Casting. I think this took a whole two minutes including the paperwork – in and out in a jiffy. When I was signing in, the young lady running the session asked if I would consider doing background – I left it blank on the size card. I sorta said said “no”, but only sorta. Then I asked how much, she said “$300 - $500 a day”. I said, “ahh, well”. She then said I’ll write “ask” on your card, I said “okay, thanks”.

Audition: “Delsym” @ Gabrielle Schary Casting. Man, this was a little crazy. Why? Well, the product is a cough suppressant and in the spot, myself and 3 others were in an elevator with one of the people coughing… like for real, nasty, “I should slap the s&*t out of you” offensive coughing. I wish I could’ve seen the look on my face. Man, this other actor was right over my shoulder doing his best actor cough. It was pretty disgusting. Fortunately, I don’t get sick often. I should get a callback just for being a sport about it, but then I guess all of the ther actors deserve the same huh?

Anyway, on the way back to my car I saw this stunning woman approaching from the opposite direction. The closer she got more unbelievable she looked. As she got even closer I saw that she looked familiar. It was Ion Overman that I worked with on “Love, Inc.” last year. We chatted briefly; she was heading to an audition as well. THAT is a very nice young lady. I hope she isn’t going to the same coughing audition I went to. Nobody should cough on Ion – it’s just not right. Actually, nobody should cough on any woman that is as nice as she is.