Five Question Interview Meme

The Rules: Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me.” I respond by asking you five personal questions (I will leave these questions for you in my comments) so I can get to know you better. If I already know you well, expect the questions may be a little more intimate! You WILL update your journal/bloggy thing/whatever with the answers to the questions (please don't leave your answers in my comments unless you don't have a blog). You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the post. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Here are the questions So Gone asked me:

1.) If you were not to pursue acting, what would be your dream job?

Are we talking a realistic job? I grew up wanting to be the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but I think that Ben Roethlisberger has that covered for the next decade or so. And I used to want to go into politics, but that was a lifetime ago. So, if I have to answer, I'd probably say being an urban planner. Like Robert Moses, only less evil/power hungry. Sports broadcaster would probably be number 2.

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention that one of my great regrets in life is giving up on my fledgling baseball career. I would love to play that game for a living. My dad passed up a shot at a baseball contract. I didn't get that close, but I think I can still say...like father, like son...

2.) What is the one characteristic a woman must have, no matter what, for
you to love her?

Personality-wise, I'll say independent intelligence - she can make up her own mind, without having to follow the herd.

Physically, she has to have a nice ass. That's not negotiable.

3.) If you met a woman who was your absolute dreamgirl, your soulmate, and
she told you that in order to stay together, you had to quit acting - what
would you do?

I've been thinking about the proper response to this for a while - good question! My first instinct was to be flip and say, "My soulmate would never ask me to quit." But I think that's kind of a copout.

So I thought some more. And I figured that, since there are a couple of things I could potentially see myself doing one day - like teaching, or writing, or possibly even politics or planning - that I would stop, for the sake of the relationship.

But then I thought, "But I still could do stuff on the side, right? Like, as a hobby?" And as soon as the thought entered my head, I realize that I don't think I could walk away from acting. At least, not right now. I mean, the reason why I act is because I can't do anything else. I'm qualified to pursue other things, and I have the intelligence and the aptitude...but I just can't do it.

So I'd try like hell to convince her that rejecting my career is rejecting ME. And if that didn't work...I'd have to say good-bye. But I'd probably be heart-broken.

4.) What is your favorite childhood memory?

There's a lot of them, many of them involving playing outside, or looking for caterpillars in the driveway, or riding bikes, or playing sports with my best friend, or doing stupid shit with my brother. But my favorites are the two earliest.

I remember, the night my brother was born, standing on tip-toe, looking out the screen door up the street, waiting for my parents to come back with my new sibling. And my grandmother telling me to come inside for my bath. And 60 Minutes was on.

The other memory is even earlier than that - it's my only memory of the 70's: I clearly remember waving good-bye to our old apartment building, sitting in the back seat of my mother's old Chevy Nova, as we drove away. My father took a picture of me and my mother, sitting in the car, just before we left. It was so full of stuff that they put me in the backseat in a cardboard box. (We didn't need seat belts or car seats in the seventies!) It's one of my favorite pictures of myself.

5.) Who is your idol?

As a little kid, it was Lynn Swann, a wide receiver for the Steelers who took ballet in the off-season. My idol as a teen was Barry Bonds the former Pirate-now Giant outfielder - we went to the same barber, and he always made time for my brother and I, and was quite gracious in doing so. When I was first starting out as an actor, it was Denzel Washington.

Now? That's a hard question. Merriam-Webster defines idol as "an object of extreme devotion: ideal". Dictionary.com says "any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion".

Those are pretty tough standards to live up to.

I guess, if pressed, I'd have to say my parents. They've done everything right, and I think they're great people. I love them, but I like them, too. I think they're the bees' knees, if you know what I mean.

get serious

Ever have one of those moments where everything comes into focus?

I had one of those a couple of years ago, just before I started this blog. The epiphany was related to working out and being healthy. In previous years, I always had problems sticking to workout plans. I'd do a week or two and then quit.

But, after sitting down with a trainer, I knew that I had to get serious about my health, if I wanted to look like a "leading man" and, more importantly, if I wanted to live longer than many of the men in my family. I radically changed my diet, and got serious about exercise. And those lessons have stuck with me to this day. I may not work out as hard as I used to, but at least now I'm aware of the choices I'm making.

I had a similar one yesterday morning about my finances.

I carry a lot of credit card debt. I'm not ashamed of this (although some people think I should be). I didn't fully realize, when I was an undergraduate, that the things I bought today would eventually have to be paid for. So I ran up quite a sizeable tab. And I've never recovered.

That debt has caused me a lot of grief over the last ten years or so, and has indirectly caused more debt. (You know, not having cash to pay for things because my money was already going towards credit, so you charge more things, etc...) And now I'm in a pretty big hole. Not insurmountable, but daunting.

I realized yesterday that I needed to get serious about paying the cards off. I need to stop wasting money on frivolous things, like beer, or plane tickets, and concentrate on meeting my financial obligations. And I can't afford to waste any more time.

So we're getting serious about budgeting again. It's not going to be particularly fun. But it's gotta be done.

i'm shooting a commercial!

It's my first one!

It's for the web, so the pay sucks, but I'm excited nonetheless.

When it rains, it pours. I've had three or four acting-related things pop up this week. Amazing.

In other work news, I've officially been hired to write little blurbs for a cool website. I'm pretty excited about that. I actually thought about using "Rover" as the name, but I think I'll just use my real name. Let me know if you want to check it out.

Off to the shoot...

"i'm learning"

Went to DC the other day. The intent was work-related (which was positive; I won't talk of it further because I don't want to jinx anything), but I did manage to squeeze in dinner with the Power Broker. Would you expect any less of me?

Originally I was intending to spend the night. We spoke last week, and everything seemed cool. I sent her a text two days before giving her my itinerary.

She asked me if I needed to spend the night at her place. I thought that was strange, since we had already discussed it, but I wrote back, "Yes, please. If that's ok..."

Her response, "Sure."

The next day - less than 24 hours before my scheduled departure, she calls me and says, "Listen, I'm really sorry, this totally slipped my mind, but I think I should tell you that I'm going out of town the day after tomorrow, and Boyfriend-Not-Boyfriend is going to drive me to the airport, and he's going to stay the night. But, you're totally welcome to stay. If you want."

Needless to say, I changed my ticket.

But I digress. I'm not here to analyze that part of the story. (Although, if you would like to, go ahead.)

We met for dinner last night. And things, as usual, were pretty close to perfect. Good food, great conversation, booze, witty banter and flirtation - great.

But, this time, I was a bit better prepared. Emotionally, that is. And so, towards the end of our meal, I asked her about BNB.

ME: Why aren't you actually with him?

POWER BROKER: Do you want this week's reason? It's a long story...

ME: The short version is ok.

PB: Well, he said from the beginning that he didn't like the term "boyfriend". And even though we basically act like it, it's just not a permanent thing. And he's never seen it as a long term thing, from the beginning.

ME: OK...

PB: And I thought for a while that there might be some potential, but in the last six months or so, I've decided that, even though we're great friends, it's not going to happen. I'm not in love with him. He says it best - we're just not emotionally compatible.

ME: So...why are you still with him?

PB: Well...it's a learning experience.

(I seriously fight the temptation to roll my eyes. I think I am successful.)

PB: I'm learning and growing, and he is too. But when he leaves to do his project, he's going to need all of his focus on that. I'm sure we'll still be friends, but that will be it. And it will have been three years - since it's not going anywhere, that's obviously enough.


Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight...

Obviously, I'm not waiting on this one.

Don't get me wrong. I like her. I'm virtually certain that she likes me. We're still going to continue to see each other every few weeks. We have both talked about re-evaluating the situation in the fall.

But it's clear that she had some pretty serious feelings for this guy, at some point - if not now. And it seems like she's making one last-ditch effort to see if anything's going to happen on that front, before she gives it up entirely. Which is fine.

I also have the sneaking suspicion that this guy might be a bit of a smooth talker, a wordsmith, a playa. At the very least, he seems to have a unique view of the world. Part of me really wants to meet him, so I can size him up, figure him out. The rational part of me wants to stay as far away as possible.

I'd love to hear everybody's thoughts on this one.

It's late, and I have a killer day t'm'row. I'll try to write more this weekend - there's a lot going on.

Chris Rock SNL Presidential Candidates

With apologies to all of the white women out there...Chris Rock is hilarious.

Watch...and learn...

i am so smart...S-M-R-T

(It's a Simpsons quote - Homer actually sings it. Hilarity.)

Bored?

Go to IQTest.com and find out how "smart" you are. Then come back here and post your results.

Don't be shy!

It really doesn't mean a whole heck of a lot. There's some chart that matches up your range with your typical job, but mine's not listed (I'm going with "hustla" nowadays). And it's just measuring academic intelligence, anyway. Which most of us aren't using.

My score? 134.

i got nuthin'

I really don't know how normal people work forty hours a week.

I really don't.

I'm not kidding.

This week I've worked:

M: 9a-5p

T 9a-5p and 6:30-10:45p

W 9a-6:45p

...and I'm spent.

And, t'm'row, I have to get up at 6:30 for a one-day gig.

On the bright side, in a couple of weeks I'll be making money hand over fist, which means that paying my rent won't be a problem.

And I did snag an audition for next week. I have to drive 200 miles to get there, but at least it's something.

And I've also secured a trip to Sleepy Hamlet next month! I'm going to spend most of my time in April on the road, so you'll get a lot of mobile blogging then.

Dinner time.

Good news!

Infinite Monkeys is back!

For those of you who aren't familiar, Infinite Monkeys is kind of a group blog, where you can write anything. It was a great place to put up random stuff, and I contributed my fair share of randoms. Unfortunately, it shut down about a year ago.

But now...it's back!

Go check it out here - or, better yet, become a part of it. We could blog together!

i'm thinking about it again...

You know how some people always seem to have ex-girlfriends or boyfriends they always go back to?

(I've actually got a couple of those.)

LA is that way for me.

I'm pretty frustrated here in NY, partly because it's pilot season and I haven't been on a single audition of consequence, partly because most of the jobs that I've missed on this year have been because I look too young.

So...if I'm not going on auditions for film and TV, and I'm between age ranges in theater...what, exactly, am I doing here?

Maybe I just need a new agent.

Maybe I need to work harder - socialize, send out more mailings, self-submit myself. (All of which I plan to start doing this month.)

But...maybe...I need to make a bigger change.

the downward spiral

I'm in a bad mood.

It started last night, and it's just gotten worse and worse.

It's one of those spirals, you know, where you start looking for things to be pissed off about?

Most of it revolves around the fact that, threee months ago, I had an audition for a job that I was confident that I was going to get. I knew the people at the theater, and I did a bunch of different things in the audition, and they loved it all. And I talked to the spouse of a well-connected person, who said, "We're hoping that you'll be joining us this summer!"

So, I thought I was going to be packing my bags come mid-May. The Rover, back on the rove.

I found out today that it's not happening.

There had been hints of this for about a month or so, and it wasn't like I was popping champagne corks or spending the money already - I was very aware of them. The people at the theater were saying all of the right things, but I could see how things were playing out, and it didn't look good for me.

(Maxine always says that there's no point in wondering why I didn't get the job, but it's in my nature to analyze all of this shit. I can't help it.)

I know that I'm especially susceptible to these moods when I haven't slept enough. Since I only slept for five hours last night, this would be Exhibit A. Of course, I'm going to be be affected by disappointing news more than normal! Of course, little nit-picky things are going to seem much bigger! I get it!

I'm trying to turn it around, though.

I'm looking for that one positive thing that will change my luck. One spark that will turn things around, change my attitude.

You got anything for me?

grateful

So this is week two of Operation: Work Your Ass Off.

(And the booty is shrinking, a little.)

And sure, I hate getting up early in the morning. But the jobs I'm doing now are tolerable, and it's always nice to pay your bills.

However...

Just before I went to bed the other night, I was reading old journal entries, as I am wont to do, and I realized how lucky I have been for the past four years. Since late 2002, I haven't had a job that hasn't revolved around acting - until now.

It's a little different, but it's really made me appreciate the good fortune I've had. It makes me look forward to my next opportunity. 'Til then, I've just got to keep pluggin' along.

I'm sleepy. Daily Show, then Colbert, then online time, then sleep. (Maybe this is why I'm tired all the time.)

"fuck you, horse!"

This is some funny shit.

If you know who Joey Porter is, skip the following explanation and go straight to the link.

If not, let me give you a bit of background.

Joey Porter is considered by Sports Illustrated to be the most feared player in the NFL. Until a couple of days ago, he played for my Pittsburgh Steelers. He's a passionate, animated player who talks a LOT of trash. Like, all the time. Here's his Wikipedia page, if you want more background.

He owns a couple of dogs.

What if one of his dogs could talk?

Note: make sure to click the link at the end of the column, as well as the link in the first comment. The pay-off is worth it...

TV melancholy

I love "Scrubs". It's one of my favorite shows on TV. Totally my kind of humor.

(Though tonight's episode pissed me off because it was a clip show. And not only was it a total copout, like most clip shows, they acknowledge throughout the show that 1. it was a clip show, and 2. clip shows suck.)

Fortunately, it's on in syndication, which means I can watch it five times a day. And sometimes, when I have the day off and nothing to do, I watch all five. 12, 12:30, 7, 7:30, and midnight.

I just watched the late one on the Fox affiliate (to wash the taste of the clip show out of my mouth), and they showed the episode entitled "My Nightingale". Probably second or third season. It's one of my favorites. Ted has his doo-wop group singing TV theme songs.

They sing the theme to "Charles In Charge".

It makes me sad.

Why is that?

working boy

I'm exhausted. Four straight days of running on six hours of sleep or less. A couple of friends were going to a play tonight and I would have liked to go, but there was NO way my eyes would have stayed open. I'm yawning my head off now, as I type this.

The other reason why I am so tired is because I have been working all week. Like, real jobs. Just this week alone I have:

- been a reader for auditions

- worked as a proofreader

- "acted" as a sick patient for med students

- helped a business pack up shop in preparation for a move

- taught a college-level acting class.


Always good to pick up some cash!

The proofreading gig is going to be a part-time job for the foreseeable future. I've also picked up another part-time gig at a musical venue doing front-of-house-type stuff. And the business wants me to work as an administrative assistant for a week while some of their people are on vacation.

The only negative to all of this is that I'll have to give up my unemployment, since these jobs are legit, which is a bummer more for the future than right now. But, it does look like I should be able to pay the rent! So that's a plus.

A bit of food, and then I'm making this one an early night...