It begins:

• I’m pretty sure I saw former game show host Mark DeCarlo on the subway the other day, but I did not speak to him, because I am not a Stud.
• I got on the bus this afternoon with a guy who looked like Eddie Deezen’s doppleganger.
• I met a guy on the bus as I was headed to the theatre tonight for a shoot. He talked my ear off about the concerts he had seen and how a certain allegedly cult-like church was responsible for the death of David Carradine. I don’t know that I believed him, but he was friendly enough.

And thus endeth the post…

• Quickly found work as an extra on TV
• Got my CA driver’s license and registered my car after a rather drawn out smog inspection drama
• Extra work dried up for me
• Got cast in two shows and got a day job
• Got rid of my car because I couldn’t afford to repair it
• Appeared in a lead role in my L.A. Stage debut (which no one I knew attended)
• Flew back to Phoenix on Christmas Eve to surprise my mother
• Got into an acting school
• Got laid off from my day job, beginning a 4-month stint of unemployment ::sigh::
• Went back to Phoenix to record the full “Magellan’s Children” story with my friends and performed twice at the Mensa RG for more friends
• My uncle passed away
• Got cast in my second L.A. stage show
• Went to New Mexico for my brother’s graduation
• Got a new day job

And there we are up to now. A friend commented on Facebook today asking how I felt being here after a year. Honestly, I’ve seen some things — some strange, some beautiful, some downright disturbing — that make this a very interesting place to live. Was it worth it? Only time will tell.

As has often been said of an acting career, “it’s a marathon, not a sprint” and that is the truth. Many times things do not come to you as quickly as our smash-cut, 24/7, ADHD-addled society wants you to believe and sometimes not in the way you expect. This place has a magic that can still surprise those who are sure they have seen it all. And I am looking forward to finding that magic and hopefully grabbing a little bit for myself.

So I was working with a theatre company in North Hollywood, starring as Scrooge in a production of A Christmas Carol. It was a great experience and gave me more confidence that I should consider pursuing more lead roles and not worry so much about whether I’d get the part. If I fit what they’re looking for, they’ll take me; if not, they won’t! Again, I digress a little.

The point is that I was all prepared to drive back to Phoenix this year for Christmas so that I could spend time with family and friends. But, on the night of our one tech rehearsal, I go to leave the theater and my car won’t start. There I am stuck in an empty parking lot in NoHo, no working car, no idea how to get home and my roommate won’t even come get me! (Which I can’t get too irate about, but c’mon dude…)

I did finally manage to get home, but had to abandon ship and I was worried about whether it would get towed. Keep in mind I still had no clue what could be wrong. Two days later, I go back to the theater and — phew! — my car’s still there. I walk across the street to AutoZone and the very great guys there are able to figure out that it’s the starter motor. Here’s the fun part… thanks to the great folks at Suzuki, the part’s hard enough to get that it’s too expensive for my anemic (actually negative balance) actor’s bank account! I definitely want everyone to buy a Suzuki for their next auto purchase!! </sarcasm>

I made some good come out of it, though, and donated the car to my local NPR station thanks to the Cartalk donation program. They have towed the car and some other poor bas– er, lucky person can experience the joys of vehicle ownership. But I had to text my mom and sister to tell them I would be stuck alone in L.A. for Christmas, which sucked; but since I was working up through Xmas Eve at my day job and only got the weekend off, there wasn’t a viable alternative to get any quality time. I then preceded to have text conversations with my sister and her husband as they pitched these wacky scenarios about how I could, in fact, come for the holiday. I fended them off, citing what I felt were remarkably sane and practical reasons for someone like myself. (Keep in mind that I once drove from Phoenix to Long Beach and back on a whim just to see my friend’s band perform. See other blog entries for my complete treatise on Communal Stupidity.) I then settled into a routine to try not to think about Christmas too much.

With about a week to go before the holiday, I realize that I didn’t let one of my friends know that I wouldn’t be able to make our date. (Okay, it’s just coffee, but it’s just the two of us so give me at least one delusion, OK?!) I had been waiting for her to contact me with her work schedule so we could find a time. When she emailed me, I snapped. I could survive one Christmas without seeing my family, but if the universe thinks I’m going to miss a chance like this… I don’t think so!

So the setup went like this — my sister and I arranged an elaborate plan to hide this from my mother. Any number of shenanigans from my sister lying about mailing my Xmas gifts to me to talking about having a webcam conversation on the day so I could watch them open gifts.  I even went so far as to schedule fake Facebook updates to cover my online absence for while I was on the plane.  I’d say it worked spectacularly… in fact, I’d like to show you the result right now:

I had a great weekend being the photographer, since the majority of my gifts were sent to L.A. by my mother, who again had no idea I was actually coming to Phoenix.  There are some good poses and I’ll post the ones that came out to my Flickr account in short order as well (after I email copies to my sister as required by familial law in her role as the holiday host… look it up).

And I’m actually okay with that.  As the weeks went by, I realized that it was just so much harder to part with these things for money.

In other news, I had my last day at my job today as well.  It was a short term thing and an interesting learning experience.  What did I learn?  I learned some new skills as it pertains to the Internet — things I might be able to utilize in the future.  But mainly, I learned that I’d like that to be the last call center job I have for some time to come.  It’s far too stressful on me because I get frustrated when people blame me for their mistakes.  Not to mention that the things they were using are really not great tools anyway.

So where do I go from here?  Well, I get something resembling a couple of days off then it’s off to Tucson for a day to perform in my last handbell concert as a ringer. (And this time, I mean it!) I’ve had a good run behind the tables over the years, but age has started to catch up with me and it’s time to leave that particular joy to younger hands.  Besides, if this concert’s a success I’ll be going out on top… and there’s nothing wrong with that.

It didn’t really hit me until I got home from the office today.  This move is really happening and I am going to take the plunge into a new phase of existence.  It’s a paradigm shift for me — the full-tilt, head-on confrontation with the world that I think every person pursuing their dreams first encounters because they are suddenly fighting against the easy flow of passivity, as if they are pushing against the spin of an existential hurricane.  But if they keep at it, keep wading upstream, eventually they find the eye of the storm and discover their path…

Was that too kitschy?  I was feeling very reflective this afternoon…