Need New Naming System

Because of my utter inability to keep up with regular posts, the whole "Day ___" thing for naming these posts has to go. It takes too much math at the beginning of each post!

So I've been a busy boy since the last post. I spent nearly a week in Boulder, had the table read for my web series, possibly found our funding source for the web series (hooray for family!), finally got up the confidence to stop my Aunt and Uncle from taking advantage of my time (though I haven't told them this yet), applied for a job, and I finally paid my parking ticket, which was very close to doubling in price!

Phew!

Web series things are progressing, which is very, very good, though now I'm getting incredibly nervous. There are now less than two weeks til we shoot, and there are some very important things that have yet to be figured out. Hopefully I'll have some time tomorrow to get organized so that I can make sure they all get addressed. The down-side of having my friend Executive Produce with me (there are many, many positives) is that he's always incredibly busy, so the project isn't necessarily his top priority. It's down to me to make sure final details get figured out, but that definitely isn't my forte. But I know I've got to get my arse in gear to make it happen!

In other news, I've been staying in closer/better contact with my friends, which is nice, and I'm really, REALLY looking forward to them moving out here. It's getting closer, but it still seems so far away. Fortunately I have a couple of things to look forward to in the meantime, which will help. The first is the web series. HOORAY! That weekend three of the friends moving out here will be visiting, which will be nice. Then two weekends after that, MY GIRLFRIEND VISITS!!! I'm really, REALLY looking forward to that! She'll only be out here for a long weekend, but it will be wonderful! We're going to spend most of (if not the whole time) down in Disneyland, which will be absolutely awesome! It will also mean 4 fewer nights of having to figure out where to stay because my sublet will have run out by then, and I don't particularly want to move in with my Aunt and Uncle again. I probably will end up there, but I'm hoping something will materialize (or see if I can finally take my friends up on their offers to let me couch-hop. I think I can handle ten days of that...

And onto my poor girlfriend. When I was back in Boulder, her mouth started to hurt. When she went to the dentist, she discovered that she needed to have her wisdom teeth taken out. So she has that to look forward to Thursday morning (which is just before Easter AND her Birthday...oy!). It will be her first surgery and she's very nervous. I wish I was there to comfort her and to help, but I'm not, which doesn't make me feel particularly good, but I'll be happy to be texting away those first few days while she's not supposed to be talking much. Poor lady!

In other news, I've been having trouble getting back onto the workout-train, but this week I WILL do it. It may be tough these first two or three days while my grandmother is still in town, but I will hit the gym at night if I have to. I need to be exercising. Not doing so has been wreaking havoc on my sleep schedule and I've been feeling really lethargic. That's not good, especially when I've got a million things to do. I mean, I'm not famous yet!!! What the hey!?!?

Also, this makes me happy: One of my two friends that are in Europe recently took a short trip to Italy. She did not like it. For some reason, that makes me excessively happy! Not that she didn't have a good time, but that she hated Italy. Part of it may be my belief that all of our (Americans) romanticization of Europe is ridiculous. Anyone who believes that places in Europe are prettier than in America hasn't traveled America. Sure the non-native historical stuff doesn't compare, but the incredible range of natural beauty in this country is equal to or better than any other place on earth. And people in Europe are different than we are, which can be good, but is not always a positive thing. I know, for example, that as a guy I would have a much nicer experience, because the men in many places across Europe are creepy. They are incredibly forward, disrespectful and downright gross and offensive. Thankfully, this isn't a problem I will encounter, but my friends in Europe are female, so this is exactly the sort of thing they're encountering. Mostly, I'm proud of the place I live. The US is absolutely beautiful. Care to disagree? Well have you seen the Boundary Waters? The Grand Canyon? The Sierra Nevada Mountain Range? The Grand Tetons? Yellowstone (I still haven't been)? The Grand Canyon? The White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the most beautiful stretch of desert in the world? Mesa Verde? Rocky Mountain National Park? A sunset in Santa Fe (there isn't a more spectacular thing ON THE PLANET. Not even the Aurora Borealis)? Niagra Falls? The Finger Lakes in New York? Cherry Blossoms in DC? Fall Foliage in Maine, New Hampshire or Vermont? I could go on forever.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to my travels in Europe, but it will take a lot to impress me (that's a lie. I love history, so all of that stuff will be awesome, but I'm talking about the setting for all that history). So it makes me happy in a dark and disturbed kind of way that my friend didn't have the greatest time in Italy. Now I hope she enjoys the rest of her trip and comes right home!

Love. So much love!

-D

Day Fifty - A Week With Friends

So tomorrow I fly back to Boulder for nearly a week to see my girlfriend, my friends and some Buffaloes Football (hooray for spring games!)! I'm excited, but I'll also have plenty of work to do during that week both writing-wise and as a producer. I also have to spend a little time today preparing for a production meeting I've got tonight with my other Executive Producer, possibly my Associate Producer, my Director and my DP. We all will get acquainted, talk business, discuss some stuff on the creative side, and hopefully begin to get them on the same page as me. That way, when the weekend we shoot rolls around, I can focus on acting and leave all of the creative (and most of the producer-things) stuff to them. Especially since this is my first time doing anything like this, I definitely want to have as much of my energy and focus directed towards my acting on set as possible. Maybe down the road I'll be able to handle more of the other duties in between takes, but I'm not sure I'm quite that good yet.

I'm babysitting for the afternoon and evening before running a quick errand and then hurrying back down to Culver City where our meeting is. I'm excited because my fellow Exec Producer is picking up the tab. Phew. I need me some free food. And he's willing to pay because it's a business meeting, which is great!

That reminds me, I need to send out an email or two to my cast. Man this is a lot of work! Definitely going to try to get another friend of mine to move out to LA for future projects. She is a phenomenal Stage Manager currently residing in NY, but she is planning on visiting LA for a while in a month, and hopefully if I've got more projects on the docket (which I don't at the moment, but hopefully will soon) I'll be able to convince her to be on board and to come out for the duration of each project. Once my crew and I get our own place, she will be super-welcome to stay with us, and that would help me out a ton, especially because on future projects I'm budgeting enough for a quality Line Producer/Co-Producer/Script Supervisor/whatever title she wants as long as she keeps me organized. That's her specialty, and I want her involved.

I mean, I'm already working on getting other friends to move to LA. I've got great friends, and I just want to keep them close. There's nothing wrong with that...right?

OK, I need to crank out a little work while my cousin is asleep. Love to every single one of you!

-D

Day Forty Six - A Whole Week Went By

It's been a week since my last update. It's been an interesting week. I spent quite a bit of time babysitting (...yipee...?) and not getting anything done. Now I'm down in Culver City living with a friend whose roommate is in Europe for six weeks. I'm already wishing he was gone longer, because there just isn't enough time. I'm already more productive down here, but I'm still going up to Burbank a couple times a week to babysit, and that's a LOT of time to not be paid or be working on getting work. It's tough. I need a job, and I would be looking for part-time stuff even if I had 7 days a week to work with, but with only 4 days a week? That's difficult. Things are better, but they aren't perfect yet. I'm trying to phase-out some of the babysitting, which is tough and putting some familial tensions on me, but I really need to have 24 hours of my day, all 7 days a week.

Otherwise, I've got just about the whole crew figured out for my web series, the cast is finally confirmed and we're working on scheduling a table read. It's getting really exciting! I hope I've got the time to be able to devote the energy to it that it needs. Everyone involved seems really excited about it, which makes me happy, because it's my baby.

What I'm nervous about with regard to the web series now is funding. I'm still about $1200 short on the funding front, so I've got to figure out how to scrounge that money up. I certainly don't have it, which is one of the reasons I need a job. Either I have to pay for it, or I have to find someone who would like to pay for it. If you, my wonderful imaginary readers, know anyone who would like an Associate Producer credit (or something similar) plus the satisfaction of knowing they contributed to something that will be awesome and just happens to have about $1200 laying around...please let me know! I'll buy them dinner or something!

Phew, I'm going to try to crank out a few more pages on one of my original pilot spec scripts and then get some shuteye! I hope all of you can find something tomorrow and really appreciate it's beauty. Because there are so many beautiful things out there! Notice and appreciate them...for me, please!

-D

Day Thirty Nine - So Much For Plans

The best laid plans of mice and men, eh?

So yesterday I got all excited about having specific goals and making time to accomplish them and hit the gym. What a fool I was. Because of course, that's the day my aunt and uncle decide they need my help all afternoon before babysitting tonight. And not only that, but little H had a bad night and I literally (EFFING LITERALLY) had to hold him or he would start screaming. He's normally very well behaved, but I had to hold him in one position for more than four hours. My back is still killing me. I couldn't sit down because he'd start screaming. I couldn't even shift him or he'd start screaming. My ear is still ringing a little bit and I can't straighten out my right arm. But more importantly, I was able to get less than two hours of work in yesterday. LESS THAN TWO HOURS?!? What the hell do my aunt and uncle think I'm doing out here? Really? Not only that, but they woke me up nice and early tonight. Did the dishwasher really need to be unloaded in frustration after H started fussing at 8 am? Thanks. Thanks so much for that. Because I'm still exhausted and I'm babysitting again tonight, and they 'need my help' all weekend. I need Tuesday to get here as fast as it can.

Oh, TUESDAY! The first bit of good news! I still haven't told my aunt and uncle, who will undoubtedly be upset that their free baby-labor will be leaving, but I have a place to stay! It's not cheap, but I should be able to actually get things done, which is a huge relief. Because as much as I've been trying (and I have), I've been getting so little done that it's really disgusting. I can't even believe how little time I've gotten.

But that all should change now! I will have more time to write, more freedom to do all the things I need to do for my acting career, I'll have cell phone reception, I'll be able to have privacy when I need it (and even when I don't) and I'll be encouraged because I'll be staying with a friend who is super-motivated and is amazing at organization and getting things done. This will be very good for me. Now if only I could get the energy up to tell my aunt and uncle (dilemma is that this living situation is only for 6 weeks, and won't quite last me all the way until the rest of the crew gets out here, so I'll need a place to stay for the two weeks after the friend returns from Europe).

Phew. I'll have no more excuses in four days, and I'm looking forward to that!

-D

Day Thirty Eight - Specific Goals

That's todays mission. I'm setting out specific goals, because I've been too vague in what I want to accomplish the last couple of days, and I haven't accomplished enough because of that. So today's plan is to escape from here as soon as I can (once the laundry is finished, hopefully!), hunker down at coffee shop (probably starbucks because it's close...I know, I'm a corporate sellout...), finish my damn review of Eccentricities of a Nightingale, create an outline for the original pilot spec I started last week (because I've been spinning my wheels a little bit), and then outline the feature that I started working on again that's tentatively titled 'What's left'. That seems do-able for today. I also want to sign up for imdb pro so that I can do some research and figure out what CDs and Agents I want to target, because I'm also spinning my wheels a little bit on the acting side of things. And I don't have time to be spinning my wheels! Fortunately I was talking with two of my new friends out here about teaming up to do dropoffs to agencies and CDs offices where possible. They are a little older and more diverse than I am which may mean we're targeting different places and shows, but it will still be a good experience and I think it's important.

OK, hopefully the laundry is almost done so I can fold it (and put on some pants) and get the heck out of here!

-D

Day Thirty Seven - Slowly But Surely

So I finally heard back from my TV Writer friend AND SHE LIKED MY SPEC SCRIPT!!! That's super exciting news, and she is happy to pass it on to her agent (who, I discovered after some research, is a pretty big deal!)! Hooray! Good news for me! I just have to keep cranking material out, now. I'm working on finishing one of my original pilot specs, and I just moved my screenplay idea from a back burner to one closer to the front. Since I don't have anything tomorrow morning, I'm planning on seeing if I can burn a little midnight oil tonight and crank out some pages!

I also was turned on to a bunch of new resources, and had a semi-job interview today! It would be very inconsistent work, but it actually would be a beneficial opportunity for me to get some acting and writing work, plus some on-set experience.

Mostly good news today!

Also, saw David Schwimmer, and he's got a big ol' beard right now. It's making me consider growing mine out a little bit again...hmmm.

-D

Day Thirty Five - Making Up For Lost Time

So the past week has been mostly spent dealing with things for the job that I just quit. Phew! Now I can focus on the important things (and maybe finding a job that doesn't suck my soul). But I've got some Web Series related business to take care of, which is always fun to work on, even if it's just keeping track of peoples contact information and whatnot. I also get to write a review of the play I saw on Saturday, Eccentricities of a Nightingale, which will make me feel good.

And on to the business of today!

-D

Day Thirty Four - Like A Bad Breakup

I emailed the company I began working with a week and a half ago that I wasn't able to continue working there yesterday. Since then, it has been like a bad breakup. They want to 'talk' about it. Yech. They want to help me 'prioritize' my life. Of course, they want to do that for their benefit. I've already done those things, and that's why I can't work there. It's a pain in my butt, and it's exactly the reason I told them I didn't have time for them. Oy. I wasn't going to be earning a regular paycheck, and that's what I need, even if it's just a part-time thing.

And on the living-situation front, I'm still waiting to hear back from the friend with the room. He won't get back to LA for another couple of days, and I'm not sure he'll call me to confirm it before that, but I'm really anxious about it.

And on a very positive note, I met some very good and interesting people last night! One woman, specifically, who is well connected out here and was happy to help 'plug me in' as she said. That's the kind of thing I've been looking for, and those are the kinds of people I enjoy meeting. She was interesting and she knows lots of interesting people. Always good!

And now I'm going to sound like a broken record, but I really miss my friends and my girlfriend. Things here would be so much easier if I could just kick it with my crew to relax, and snuggle up with my lady.

Also, I need to put the word out there to the people I've met out here about my need for a job. And not just any old job that comes along (my first big mistake), but one that will benefit me in more ways than just cash. I have a possible lead on one that may do these things for me, but I don't know what it will pay...hmmm. At the very least it would be a writing, and possibly an acting job as well. More details as they become available!

-D

Day Thirty Three - Must Survive

So it's getting exponentially harder to live up here in Burbank. I'm constantly exhausted, my schedule is screwed up to high heaven (because everything is thrown at me so last-minute), and I'm getting so little done up here it's a little crazy. I'm able to be maybe 40% productive? That's not nearly enough as I'm trying to make it as BOTH a writer and an actor. Also, the whole Power-Relationships job thing can't continue. I'm thinking about working with them through wednesday to get them the funding they need for the upcoming panel, and then letting them know that I really can't do the job. Oy. I guess everyones advice on this one was correct. Feh.

But most importantly, I have a solution to the living situation for a while. A friend is leaving town for 6 weeks beginning the 29th of this Month, and he is considering letting me rent his room if I pay about half of the rent. It would be huge and get me to within about a week & a half of when I fly back to Colorado to drive out here with the rest of my crew. Hopefully he goes for it and I can survive to the end of the month (ten INCREDIBLY long days...).

It will be interesting to see how my Aunt and Uncle take the news, because they definitely take advantage of having me here all the time to help with the Baby. I would still help a couple of days a week, but without room and (some) board, it will be tough for me to dedicate more than that. They are pretty sensitive, so I don't want to offend them, because I really am grateful that they've allowed me to live here rent-free for the past 7 weeks or so.

Oy, why is this so difficult? And it would be so much easier if I had my friends here with me. Dealing with all of this stuff alone is not easy for me.

Feh.

Hopefully my friend decides he's willing to let me rent his room. Then only ten more days...

Day Thirty Two - Oy

My 'survival' job is killing me. It's a pain in the butt because of my living situation. If I was living ANYWHERE else it wouldn't be, but it's becoming a problem and it's going to hamper both my ability to do it (and therefore make money doing it) and my ability to further my writing and acting careers. Yikes. Hopefully I can regroup this weekend and make a big push during the day on Monday and Tuesday (where I fortunately don't have any speakers I want to see at The Actors Network (TAN)) I can make a little money for Powered Relationships (PR) and myself. That will be good news.

For now, I need to write for about an hour, and then work on my sales pitch for PR til 7 when my bosses will be calling me again. Fortunately, I have til fairly late tonight to actually be able to get work done, as long as it isn't too long of a phone call...

Anyway, I have a lot to do, but I also have updated in a few days so I will make sure I stick to my plan for these updates.

I have two friends who haven't always been the best at staying in touch with people (which is what I'm working on improving at right now). But both of them have able to stay in touch with me while they've been in Europe, which is good. I miss them, so it's nice to be able to keep up with them and their activities and goingsons across the ocean. The fact that they've been able to keep up communication, makes me want to do the same.

I know that wasn't a huge revelation about them, but it's what I've got for today. I'm a bit frazzled, so hopefully I can gather my thoughts to write very well for a stretch!

Love and awesomeness!

-D

Day Twenty Nine - It's Effing Late!!!

So it's now 3 am. I only got home 30 minutes ago and I've spent the time in between making sure I remember who I met tonight. I went to an AWESOME networking event after a very good day of learning things at The Actors Network. It was amazing. And this is after having a great day yesterday that included an amazing concert!

Also I have to include a PS for someone that reads this blog that isn't imaginary: I talked to a couple of people I met at the concert about the Hotel Cafe, and they suggested I go. So I'm definitely going to do that now! And YOU know why...

At this concert, I MET ONE OF MY FAVORITE BANDS!!!! It was their show and it was amazing. They were so nice and cool and genuine and badass. They're even going to do me a favor (which is a secret because it's going to blow the mind of a friend who is back in Colorado). It was so cool, their new stuff is great and I'm very excited about their new album!

Today was AWESOME! I got some funding for my web series, did some excellent networking! 'Pitched' the web series to the woman who will be deciding whether or not it will premier on the website we're targeting (she said she liked the premise!?!?!?). Also, she's awesome, and I hope I get to hang out with her more. I hope I don't become creepy-actor-after-jobs-y around her. I've got to make sure I don't get all desperate! Also, her husband was the COOLEST. Great advice, great conversation. He spent a nice long time telling us about a pitch that he's turning into a pilot for AMC. I'm excited to see where it goes because the idea is pretty sweet.

I also met the sound guy for the web series, pitched a possible director (who seemed to like the idea) and we confirmed our DP (who has her own fancy high quality HD camera!) and made all sorts of good progress in every way! Next will be location scouting, which I will suck at because I'm new to town...hopefully I'll figure it out!!

Anyway, I just want to say that you are all awesome. In your own special way, I know that to be true.

-D

Day Twenty Seven - A Day To Write

I'm stuck up in Burbank for the day, so I'm going to try to force myself to overcome all of the distractions that exist here. At the moment (for example), my uncle has the tv on (which faces my area) with college basketball on. It's muted, but that doesn't help a ton. And every time he comes into the room (oh, he's not even in here), he asks me how it's been going. Even though I'm not paying attention, that pulls me out of what I'm doing every time. Oy. There are also baby sounds (and there will soon be babysitting that needs to be done by me), kitchen sounds, and discussions coming from the next room between my aunt and uncle. OY.

Anyway, I've got lots of following up with people, a review of the play I saw last night, I'm working on an original spec pilot, I've got to prepare a little bit for the reaching out I'm going to be doing tomorrow as a part of my new job, and I need to go over everything I sent in to SAG about my web mini series so that I can call them tomorrow and check in on the process. PHEW. That's a pretty big day! Not to mention having to do some laundry and other things non-computer related (weird, right? The real world?).

And I'll update more later, because right now is a perfect time for me to be productive, because my uncle just left for work, the tv is off and my cousin is asleep!

ADIOS!

-D

Day Twenty Four - Beach Business

The meeting I had for today was moved to a pretty sweet hotel in Santa Monica with an amazing view of the ocean. Yeah, today was a good day. It didn't start that way, but it definitely has become that.

I don't have a ton of time for a blog post now, so I'll add another one later.

The friend I'll be talking about today is one that I've known for a while, but never been particularly close to. I will be in the next few months, because we'll be living together (or at least really close to each other) and spending a bunch of time together. I'm looking forward to it. We are very different in a lot of ways. He parties way harder than I do, and generally lives a crazier life than I do, but he does it in impressive ways. He's incredibly resourceful and we have a lot of fun when we hang out. I'm just excited to see where it goes, as far as a friendship. He has always been one of the people that I've gotten along with really well, but we just haven't ended up hanging out very much. I've had a few people like that in my life, and they're great and fun, but I always wish I could spend more time with them. I'm hoping I'm able to do that with this guy. There are a lot of things about him that I admire and that I need to work on in myself, so I'm looking forward to the opportunities to do that!

I am wearing an article of clothing that's really comfortable today. I hope you are too!

-D

Day Twenty Three- Good, But...

For some reason I don't feel very good. Perhaps the lack of sleep is finally catching up with me? Perhaps I got dehydrated today? I don't know, because I had a really good day. I made progress in just about every area I'm trying to work on in my life. My acting, writing, and details about the rest of my crew moving out here. All of which are good developments, which I'm very happy about. I think I am learning that the whole not-having-a-place thing is not for me. I'm counting down the days til my friends move out here and we get a place (or places together). Not only will having a place be easier, but being around them will really help me recharge my batteries. They're great sounding boards for ideas, they inspire me in ways I'm not always sure I understand, and they make me feel like I'm surrounded by family more than many members of my family do.

And over the last couple of days I've talked to all of them about the details about moving out here and living together that we haven't really discussed before. We talked about everyones ability to pay rent (I'm feeling much better about this), what their plans are, and what they want in an apartment or house. We've come to some pretty good places in figuring out what everyone is looking for and how much we're willing to pay for it. Now I just have to do some legwork to find better places than are listed online. They're out there, I just have to drive around and find them. I'm thinking about doing that a bit on Friday. I've got some areas I'm going to look.

Also, I been writing this blog post in between things, and I might have a solution to my feelings of meh-ness. I'm going to stay in Burbank tonight, and I'm going to work out tomorrow morning before heading down to West LA! I think that might help a lot of things, and it'll force me to fall asleep at a more reasonable time tonight. That way it won't kill me to get woken up earlier.

Anyway, on the acting front I went to this awesome session at The Actors Network by the awesome Bonnie Gillespie. She was great and interesting and fun and I learned a ton. I'm definitely going to like TAN (The Actors Network) and I plan on attending as many talks there as I can. I'm definitely going to start referring people there because it's so incredibly helpful. I already feel so much better prepared to be doing this, and I've only been to one!

On the writing front, I'm going to be meeting with my TV-writer friend who has been super helpful and is going to help me get a literary agent. It's an amazing thing that this friend has been so willing to help and offer advice. I can't wait to talk to her on Friday to see what she's been up to and to finally let her read some more of my writing. I think she'll like it, and hopefully she'll be willing to pass it along to her agent! Phew, I can't wait for this weekend.

I've been submitting myself for a bunch of projects on LACasting, so hopefully something happens there.

Things really are happening for me, I just want more.

Anyway, I hope all of you had a wonderful day and are feeling good about yourselves!

-D

Day Twenty One - Since I Started Blogging Again...

Things have been looking up for me since I started blogging again, which is good! I'm starting to make progress in a couple of areas, and I'm feeling better about just about everything.

I'm sitting in the airport waiting to fly back to beautiful Los Angeles feeling much better about some things (and a little conflicted about one thing). The living situation when the rest of my crew move out to LA in May, for example is starting to materialize. We had some tough discussions and have narrowed down what we may be looking for, and also the areas we are looking. I feel better about their abilities to pay rent, which is also very good news (something I was nervous about until this trip).

The biggest thing that happened on this trip, though, was a confidence boost. I'm great at hiding the fact that my self confidence varies from a ton to zilch on a daily basis. What keeps my confidence up is the group of friends I have. They support and believe in me, and they tell me this constantly. I need this more than I like to let on, which is why the fact that I was feeling lonely before this little trip was bad news. It was impacting my confidence in my actions and my approach to everything. But on my ride to the airport, my friend who was driving gave me a huge confidence boost. He will be moving out here in May to become an actor/model, and he just kept telling me that the progress I'm making is better than I'm giving myself credit for. The one thing we keep hearing is that achieving success in this business will take time, and I'm not the most patient of people. But he was able to convince me that I'm doing well and on the right track, which I really needed to hear. Not only that, but that he's going to use my actions as a model for when he gets out there. Anyway, this might be less about him and more about me, but it was huge for me!

And holy cow do I love airports. I know people can't help how well they deal with air travel, and some wonderful people in my life hate flying, but I love watching people in airports. People freak out, their 'ticks' and odd tendencies come out, and you can learn a lot by watching them. It's fun and also eye opening. It helps me to keep my temper in check and to work on myself as a human being. So many of these people have lost all perspective. For examples, airline employees are people, and they are at work. So many people forget this (and not just about airline employees) and treat them terribly. And nobody remembers that flying is amazing. The fact that we can get thousands of miles in only a few hours is pretty impressively remarkable, and so many people take it for granted. Louis CK does a routine on this, and he's right. Waiting in an airport for a few hours is so much easier than days on a train.

Anyway, I hope you have someone to hold tonight, imaginary readers. I did for the last three nights, and it's the most incredible feeling in the world.

-D

Day Twenty - ...Oops!

Well hello again. I assure you, I'm still here. I've just been busy. With what? I'm not entirely sure, but I've been busy with it. I'm currently on a mini-vacation back in Colorado, which is nice. Seeing people (especially the Girlfriend) is something I've definitely needed to do. And plans for the rest of the crew to move out to Los Angeles are becoming more clear. For example, my lovely girlfriend accepted a job that will keep her here til August, which means she won't be moving out with everybody else at the end of May. Things won't change much planningwise, I'll just pay a little more rent for those few months before she moves into my (and then, our) room.

Speaking of paying more, I can hear you asking yourselves how an income-less bum like myself can afford such things? Well, I have a job interview on Tuesday with a pretty cool sounding company. An awesome friend of mine got them in touch with me when he found out they were looking for someone to head up their sales team. I'm looking forward to the interview because, if nothing else, it's an excellent chance to see if I'm still able to present myself well. I haven't been in a traditional job interview for a while, so I'm excited to see how I do. And I still am not 100% on if I would take the job if I'm lucky enough to have an offer extended my way, but I'm leaning towards doing it. I have a little more research to do before I can say either way. I think it's something that I would be good at, but if I'm wrong and I fail (always a possibility, but I feel very good about my abilities here) there will be no money in it for me. It's commission based, which means it could be a black-hole for my time and energy. On the other hand, I think it would be a job that afforded me lots of flexibility, requiring me simply to be reachable by phone at times, not necessarily in the office. If that is indeed the case, then I will probably say yes to this job offer. If not, the decision will be even tougher.

On the friends-front, I've got one that I definitely want to talk about today. He is the one that put this company in touch with me, and he is awesome. He is all about networking and taking care of things on your own. He is great at calling in favors, and is working with me on one of my projects already, with the possibility of other joint-ventures as well! He is incredibly driven and pushes me to work harder at living and being a good and successful person, which is something I definitely need at times. He is also an inspiration in that way, because I feel like we have some very similar traits and tendencies, and many of them are the ones that are allowing him to kick-butt in everything he does. In some ways he is a model for my potential and what I may be able to accomplish. He's working hard, but he's doing what he wants to and is getting better at it every day. Also, he's just so dang cool and fun and great!

Enough fawning, I hope you (wherever you are, you exciting imaginary readers) are having a wonderful time.

Love,

-D

Day Thirteen - Half Awesome, Half Not

The Awesome half was the first one, which included me getting a massage. It was amazing! The lady (her name was Jet!??!?) did a great job and I felt a ton better afterwards. The second half was not nearly as good. I'm finding more and more that I just can't get anything done at my aunt and uncle's house in Burbank. It's too bad, because it's a really convenient place to stay and much closer to most stuff than my other aunt and uncle's place. But there's just too much going on in terms of noise and distractions. With the baby, the living room, TV and kitchen all being essentially the same room where I'm staying, I just don't get any quality time to write (or do much of anything else). It's tough, because both places have their pros and cons. I have wireless internet in Burbank, while I don't at the other place. I don't have privacy here, while I do at the other house. Really, this is something I had to know coming into a situation where I wouldn't have my own place. I'm just so used to being able to get work done whenever I feel the urge, while in Burbank I have to wait for time during the day when I can go to a coffee shop or some place with internet. I mean, there are plenty worse problems to have in life, this one is just getting frustrating.

Today's friend is one from high school. I was lucky enough to see him a couple of months ago, and during that visit found out something interesting. He's always been one of the smartest people I've known (in addition to being one of the funniest), but now that he's graduated from school, he felt he needed to do something. He doesn't like what he sees going on in Afganistan and Iraq. He doesn't like seeing, as he said, "American Military personnel f%cking things up." So he is joining the army. He's going to officer training school because he wants to have a positive impact over there. He has always been one of the more aware people I've met, but I never realized he felt that much personal responsibility about this stuff. I mean, I'm as outraged as the next person about some of the things going on and I've called my representatives and congress-people, but I'm not about to join the army. I've thought about it, but it's never been much more than that. This guy comes from a very well-to-do family, he went to a good high school and an excellent college, and he could probably get a job doing what ever he wanted. Now he's putting himself into harms way, doing a pretty thankless job (yeah, you know those little ribbons don't do anything besides make you feel better, right?) that is probably a losing battle. I'm incredibly impressed by him, as I have been many times before. I'm not a big letter writer, but I'm definitely going to be writing him a lot.

And my opinion: Why do some people insist upon criticizing everything? Does it give them some sort of sick pleasure to not enjoy anything? It seems pretty backwards to me. I can't imagine how living like this must feel? What do you enjoy? What makes you feel good? If you're so busy finding flaws in everything, when you do appreciate the amazing things that happen in your life? Because guaranteed, there are amazing things happening all around you. Grrr, hehe. Anyway, that's enough, because that was a rant instead of just an opinion.

Really, though, there are amazing things happening all around you. Notice them, appreciate them, and feel good.

-D

Day Twelve - AWESOME

Today (technically yesterday now, as I'm getting home at 2:30 AM) was AWESOME. It really was. I worked out the arc for the additional three episodes of this web series I'm producing, writing and starring in, I interviewed two absolutely awesome, wonderful and interesting people for http://www.CultureSpotLA.com where I am now the resident Theater Reviewer and I went to one of the coolest events I've ever been to. It was a woman's 30th birthday party. I've never met her before tonight, but because of a story too crazy to relate here, she was sharing it with a person who is friends with a friend of mine who invited me. I hope I'm cool enough to do something like this on my 30th birthday! The idea was that she knows some very talented people, so she created a venue where they could perform and she could get all of the people in her 'circle' together to listen/watch them and celebrate with her. The guy that my friend knows adopted a dog she rescued, and it turned out there were turning 30 within a day of each other, so she invited him and his circle of friends into her circle, and she also asked everyone to invite people within their own circles (that's how I got invited) to round out the group. It was a sweet space with a bar and a stage. Things got started slowly, but once the acts started to perform, it was awesome. There were all sorts of kinds of performance, and they were all great. But mostly, the atmosphere was amazing and I can only imagine how great it felt to be the birthday girl having this all happen because of her. It was truly amazing, and I was able to do a little networking, which is never a bad thing!

Anyway, I need me some sleep, but know that today was a good one for me, and so I hope it was a good one for you!

Much love out there, and I hope you're both giving and receiving it!

-D

Day Eleven - Tangible Progress (Part Two)

Yeah, those rumblings are getting even louder! Not only do I have a project in the works that will be a huge plus for my acting career (getting into SAG), I also am reconnecting with my contact that has offered to help me out a ton with my writing career!! As far as I can tell, the biggest thing for an actor is to get into SAG (soon that will be me!!!). The biggest thing for a writer is to get a literary agent. My connection is a woman who has been writing in TV for decades and who has offered me a pretty sweet deal. I get her a spec script, and she will make her agent read it. This is big because he works at one of the big agencies, and can either bring me in to meet me if he likes it, or pass it along to somebody else who works in his office. This is my big chance as a writer. It really could be huge for me. Not only that, but she's incredibly helpful and has great advice and is willing to help me out in other ways if she can.

OK, phew. I need to take a deep breath.

Anyway, that stuff is all great, but I have to stick to what I promised I would do and talk about a friend of mine. Since I missed a day, I'm going to talk about two of them. I was conferencing with them on Skype earlier today and they are amazing. Seriously, they are at the same time witty and quick and funny as all get out, but they are also so sincere and supportive and make me feel so good about myself. I only hope that I can reciprocate as a friend. They are quick to make cracks when I let my guard down, but even faster to offer their support and their congratulations when I make progress or attain even the slightest success. They make me want to better myself, and I think that's something the three of us share. We three have been through a lot together, failed relationships, great successes, ridiculous shenanigans and all sorts of things in between. They aren't afraid to criticize my choices when they think I'm doing something wrong, while also offering solutions. They are great sounding boards because they aren't the kinds of friends that are blind to flaws, mistakes or poor quality in something I've written or made. They are the perfect balance of skeptical and supportive, which I will eternally value them for. Also, they're effing awesome.

Todays opinion is not earth shattering, but really an observation: I really like driving in the rain. Today was a very rainy day here in Los Angeles (and still is), and goodness did I enjoy driving in it! People are a little less crazy on the roads, which is nice, and there's something about the sound of pouring rain that is both so soothing and interesting. I don't know what it is about it, but I really enjoy the feeling of driving in the rain. Also, windshield wipers are nice.

I hope you have someone in your life that makes you as happy as the people in mine make me! And if not, go out and find one. Or two! Or even more!!!

And if you find me, I've got a hug waiting for you (that's soon to be a SAG-Eligible hug)

-D

Day Eleven - Tangible Progress

You hear that sounds? That's the sound of rumblings. Positive rumblings...for me! I've made some good connections that are paying off. I've got a project in the works that will give me a chance to get my writing out into the world, my acting out into the world, some experience producing and possibly directing and editing, and will get me SAG-Eligible, WHICH IS AMAZING. The old catch-22 out here in LA is you can't get work unless you're in an acting union and you can't get into a union unless you're getting work. Well I'm about to break into that cycle, and I should learn a lot about the business while doing it. Also, I think with the people I'm getting involved I will be able to get a ton of people to see this. It's going to be a five episode web series. I've written the first episode and I'm working on cranking out the other four right now. I'm going to star in it alongside one of my new friends, and some other people I know (and don't know) will be appearing in each episode. It's going to be very small budget, but it should look and sound very good. Also, the people who have signed on thus far have really liked my script, which is exciting!

This post won't be a full one, so I'll add a second post today later. I've just got stuff I need to be working on!

Day Nine - My Rapidly Receding Wallet Line

I GOT MY CAR BACK!!! Unfortunately, I owed nearly $800 after all the repairs. Balls. That's a lot. Anyway, to counter my frustrations about my car, I had an awesome conversation with a new friend over coffee at a pretty snazzy Coffee Shop in Toluca Lake. He was really helpful and gave me some great advice and ideas about how to progress in my career as an actor. He also volunteered to show me around to some cool places around LA, to help me out with a little project I'm going to do, and to answer any other questions I have for him. What a nice guy!

Anyway, today I'm going to quickly mention a friend of mine who I'm not super close to, but is a true inspiration. I've even written a character based off of him in one of my screenplays! Anyway, he is doing what he loves, and trying to change the world while he does it. I envy his drive and determination. He is producing a series of videos about some of the people he has encountered in his life who are amazing in various ways, trying to change the world, or just really interesting. He has managed to make some awesome discoveries as a part of this series, and I really hope he continues to do it forever. He will eventually be moving out to LA, and I'm excited to get to know him better once he does. He is one of the most amazing people I've ever met. Today he came out with the fifth installment of this series and it was inspirational once again. He really is the man. And this is one of those times where not mentioning peoples names is really tough, because I want every single one of you to go out and watch his videos. Oy, sticking to my own guidelines is tough!

And finally, my opinion today is about soup. SOUP IS AWESOME! It really is. You can put just about anything in it, you can make a billion different varieties, and it's not too hard to make. I mean both canned soup, and making your own from scratch (or buying a broth, which definitely saves some time). It's delicious, it lasts and it is great in the winter months when it gets chilly after the sun sets.

You, YES YOU! You are awesome. Probably...

-D

Day Eight - Handling Frustration

Today has been a very frustrating day! Gah! OK, I got that out. Now I think most people who know me would say that I'm generally pretty even keeled and that I handle frustration and sticky situations well, but I'm finally giving in to a little frustration. I'm allowed to do that, right? And I figure who better than to vent to than all of my very sympathetic imaginary readers (except for the one really cynical and unsympathetic one that I imagine commenting on each post...)?

So over the weekend the 'check engine' light came on in the car that I purchased from my Aunt and Uncle on the first of the month. They had it looked at by the dealership they bought it from before they sold it to me and it came back clean. Now for the record, I take excellent care of my vehicles. The one I've been driving for the past year and a half never needed a single bit of service beyond annual maintenance. So when the check engine light came on, I was already a little frustrated. See, because I bought the car from my Aunt and Uncle--people that I trust quite a bit--I didn't have it inspected myself, which I absolutely would have done if I was buying it from someone I didn't know. So I take it in very early this morning and drop it off for them to do diagnostics. Now, I'm told it'll be a couple of hours before they can fit it in (despite calling the day before to make an appointment), so I go walk the 7 or 8 blocks to my gym. I do an intense workout, hit the Glendale Galleria, have a healthy-ish breakfast, buy some stuff I need (including some very manly soaps) and then head back. By this time, it's 11, so I sit down...for an hour. I finally talk to the guy who has been helping me (and he's a nice guy who has now comp-ed me things twice, so I don't blame him) and it turns out the light came on because of a faulty gas cap, which is an easy and inexpensive fix...then he gives me the bad news: There are two other things that they found while inspecting the car that are costly and necessary. OY! OK, one of them is covered under the warrantee that is still on the car, but the more expensive of the two isn't. The estimate came to more than $500. Balls. OK, now I'm frustrated, especially because I had already worked out, which would have easily eased my frustration! Doubly frustrating!

So now, the guy tells me he's very sorry and comps me the rental car so I can get home, get showered, eat some lunch and not waste the rest of my day walking around Glendale in my workout clothes, so that was nice. And the guy who helped me at Enterprise was nice has a girlfriend who is an acting coach out here that I'm going to look up. So maybe it wasn't a total waste. And I get to put a few miles on a car that isn't mine, which feels good (yeah, I have no problem gunning a rental car, hehe!). Also, I tried to spend the time with cell-phone service well and I'm getting coffee with a new friend tomorrow, I'm hanging out with another friend of mine on Thursday, and I'm finally getting back in touch with my Indie-director friend who I met over Twitter who is awesome (http://www.AngeloBell.com). That'll be nice, and a good chance for me to spend a little more time on the South-side of things.

Anyway, today ended up probably ending up for the best (except, of course, for my cashflow). I'm trying to put myself out there a little bit more, and I'm starting to get extra-serious about figuring out what I'm going to do about money once my savings (not my whole savings, just the money I saved up to come out here) runs out. That's definitely a good thing.

And now for todays opinion (it's themed): Don't do business with family. Not because they're untrustworthy, seedy, deceptive or deceitful--though or course they can be--but because business needs to be done without emotion or feelings, and it's tough to eliminate those from dealings with your family members. For example, I should have taken the car to get inspected myself, which is exactly what I did the last time I bought a used car. Not that my Aunt and Uncle deceived me, they definitely didn't. But I would have been much more uptight about the state of the car before buying it if it hadn't been from them. I trusted them and still do, but personal-trust and business-trust (or lack thereof) are two very different beasts.

And finally, I'm going to impart a little technique I learned about happiness to you. It works for me, and I learned it from the brilliant Stephen Fry. Every morning, I look in the morning and say, 'I am beautiful.' So tomorrow morning, I want you to wake up (PLEASE WAKE UP!?!?!?!), look at yourself in the mirror and say, 'David is beautiful.'

-D

Day Seven - Back On Track?

Could this be it? Could my late night push have gotten me back on track writing-wise? I certainly hope so. I stayed up last night and finally gave what I hope will be the final push on my Spec Script that has been difficult for me to finish for a while now. I may need to add a page to it still because all my editing ended up shortening it a little bit, but I think it's still about right proper length. Also, I finally like it, which is an improvement! And not only that, but I feel like writing for the rest of the day! While I love writing and I like doing it, I haven't felt the urge to spend an entire day writing for a while, so this is an excellent development! But first, I have to babysit.

The friend that I will be talking about today is currently in Germany being awesome. She is a funny, talented lady who is fulfilling some of her major goals by going to Europe alone and figuring out what she's doing and traveling all by herself. It's her plan to help her become a very self-sufficient and independent woman. Well, she already was that, so it's good that she's finding that out for herself. But more importantly is a lesson she is learning that I understand completely: That being independent is great, but it is also important to surround yourself with people that encourage you, challenge you and support you in the best ways possible. In her blog (and also in conversation) she has said that being away from her friends and being independent has made her realize just how much she loves her friends and enjoys depending on them. Well I'm feeling the same way, and that is a big step for me. Hearing her say that she has realized that she is OK with needing her friends has made me realize it too. For a long time I had an aversion to depending on other people, but I'm beginning to see it the way she does. I do need my friends, and I'm just fine with saying that now. The both of us have come a long way, and I'm very proud to say that she is my friend, and I'm very excited for her to come back to the States. And to me! I miss my friends.

Snacking is wonderful. I love snacking so much. I'm very good at it, you see. I can just snack and snack and snack to no end. But of course, I shouldn't. I should eat less and smaller portions and healthier foods. But that's no fun! Where's the fun in eating sweet potato fries, when normal fries are SO MUCH BETTER?!? I mean, I do it. I've been trying to be healthier, but I seem to constantly be craving the most terrible-but-delicious foods that I can think of. Gaaahhh. Why can't the healthy foods taste better? And why can't the delicious foods taste worse? And no, bacon flavored tofu tastes nothing like real bacon. Really, any flavoring added to tofu isn't as good as the real thing. Pain in my ass, if you ask me. But then again, I just did get a compliment on looking like I was in better shape, so I guess I have to keep at it...feh.

I hope your day is splendid and that you get a chance to smile a lot!

-D

Day Six - Living Situation

I cannot wait for June. In June, I will finally be moving into a place of my own (with people, but my own place). The current plan of couch hopping is beginning to become difficult for me. I have been living it other peoples houses since August, and really even longer than that. I am finally getting very ready for my own place. A place where I can control when there's noise and when there isn't. A place where I have some say in how things are organized and where things go. I need a little of that in my life. But for now, I'll have to be satisfied with controlling my schedule and sticking to my workout and writing plan. I got back to the gym today, after not going for a week, so that's good news!

Speaking of couch hopping, I've got a friend who has been doing that for a while now. He is really impressive. I don't think of myself as a very materialistic person, but he makes me realize just how much stuff I have. He doesn't have a car, and yet he has been able to figure out how to bounce around from friends house to friends house with all or nearly all his belongings. I can't even comprehend doing that and I do have a car. He has figured out exactly what he needs and doesn't accumulate things that don't fit in with his plan. I need to learn to live more like that. I think it would help me with my couch hopping and maybe make me feel a little better about the next couple of months.

Basketball isn't fun for me to watch any more. You know why? It's all the dunking. Weird, right? That's what most people like to see. But it doesn't do it for me. It makes the game less interesting and less team-based, which is why I watch it. It's the reason I now prefer watching women's college basketball to men's. Unless it's my team playing (Go Buffs!), I don't really care about the men's college game. Unless I have the opportunity to see a game in "The Pit" in Albuquerque again. That place is AWESOME! It's the arena that the UNM Lobos play in and it is one of the loudest places I've ever seen a sporting event. Crazy! Anyway, the thing that might fix the sport for me would be raising the basket. That would cut down on the dunking and make people play good fundamentally sound basketball again. That would make me very happy.

Hey you. Yeah you! You are awesome. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

-D

Day Five - Mind The Gap

Is today Day five or is it day three? It's entry number three, but I skipped a couple of days...oops!

First comes the opinion: If aliens existed and decided to come to Earth, do you really think they'd be trying to colonize it for resources? There aren't all that many resources left. At no point in history were there fewer resources than there are now.

So, I spent all yesterday evening looking at pictures of myself (before you ask what makes me that vain, I was looking at headshots and trying to choose the best few) and it started to freak me out a little bit. Now, nobody's face is perfectly symmetrical, but after staring at photos of mine, the asymmetrical-ness of it appeared to get worse and worse. By the end of the night, I felt like I was looking at a portrait of myself painted by Dali or Picasso. It was more than a little unnerving! The rest of the day will be spent cutting down the 35 that I've chosen to between 5 and 8 to send back to the photographer. He'll then fix them up and I can start printing headshots! That means I'll be able to start submitting myself for auditions and to agents! WooHoo!!!

Today's person is my Sister. She's a badass. She doesn't know exactly what she wants to do in life, but she's kicking butt at figuring it out. She keeps finding things she loves without meaning to. She now works with primates in a Brain and Cognitive Sciences lab, which is not at all what she thought she'd be doing. She has discovered that she loves it and while she doesn't know where it will lead, she is excited to find out. Before I knew what I was doing with my life, I floundered for a while, but she never seemed to run into that problem. She was able to just seamlessly slide into a different life path without any consternation or confusion. That's impressive!

Today, we'll see if I can get the energy up to work out. I've been having issues with that, but I need to get over it and just do it! Hopefully you are having a splendid day filled with sunshine (unless you're in LA with me...) and awesomeness!

Day Two - Late In The Day

Hello imaginary readers! I got a bit of a late start to my day today. People less than five months old like waking up and making lots of noise early in the mornings, so yours truly didn't sleep particularly well. But I need to be an adult and not let that ruin my day. So, I'm just going to have to be extra-productive this afternoon and tonight. I was invited to see a movie that I really want to see, but I think I'm going to be responsible and try to finish up this pesky script instead. Also, I need to get to the post office and work out. I think I'll do an evening or nighttime trip to the gym instead.

I was just talking to one of my good friends who is currently in England. She is the person who's virtues and awesomeness I'll extoll in the post today. She is sick right now, which is too bad because she's a very active person. But she managed to find the silver lining of being ill. I'm not sure how, but she did and hearing her talk about it actually made me feel better. There are theories that forcing yourself to smile will make you happier and that forcing laughter will cheer you up. Perhaps finding the silver linings of bad situations is what makes them easier to handle and overcome? And by 'perhaps', I mean she is a shining example of this. People like her make me try to be more positive and happier about things. Which is good, because it's something I always need to work on!

And my opinion today comes from the movies. What's with the "action hero voice" for male actors nowadays? The most ridiculous example I've seen recently of this was Adrian Brody in Predators (a mistake, but I was certainly hoping it would be good). He had an absolutely silly and preposterous deep, scratchy voice that you could tell was very difficult for him to keep up for the whole film (and I use the word 'film' quite wrongly). It was awful. As someone who is trying to be an actor, I of course can do the ridiculous, scratchy, faux action-star voice (because lets face it, you get good money for playing those parts), but it isn't something I pride myself on being able to do. Because what's the point? It's not intimidating, it's comical, and frankly that's the reason I worked on the voice, because it's effing hilarious! And the best part is using to say incredibly mundane or non-badass things like, "I need three loaves of bread and some margarine," or "I've got a rash behind my ear that won't go away." Think Christian Bale's Batman voice. Just silly and ridiculous. But I guess people need some way of distinguishing the hero/badass from just another guy. But isn't figuring it out half the fun? I guess not...

I hope your night goes well, imaginary readers, and I hope that you have love abounding in your life!

Day One - The New Plan

Today is a Tuesday. Since moving to LA, my Tuesdays have included working out in the mornings, as have my Thursdays and Sundays. Well I missed this past Sunday and I'm not going to work out today. Instead, I'm going to work on creating a schedule that includes working out at least 5 days/week, plus writing goals and mini personal deadlines. Also, I really, really need to finish a Spec Script I've been working on for a while. It needs to be done and I'm not quite there yet, which has been frustrating. It has to be perfect, and I feel like I'm no longer a good judge of that with this script. But I have to be, so today will be spent finishing it and making it amazing!

Person of the day: There is a person in my life who just interviewed to be a Weight Watchers Guide. She has been a member for some time and has enjoyed the organization and their ideals and methods. This job would mean she leads meetings, gives advice, counsels and...well, guides people in their quest for healthy and happy weight loss. It's a job she's perfect for, as she has been through the process, and because she has been doing the same for me. I have very unhealthy eating habits and she has done wonders in changing the way I think about eating, snacking and how I feel about myself. She's a big part of the reason why I am now exercising regularly, among other things. I am hoping that she hears back from them soon and they've got space for her! She is quite an inspiration.

OK, now for an opinion. WHY THE HELL ARE PAINTINGS OF FRUIT SO DAMN POPULAR!?!?!? I understand landscapes, portraits, abstract stuff, flowers, cityscapes, blank canvases, really short people, dogs, paintings of paintings, religious imagery, non-religious imagery, imaginary imagery, things that are way over there, very large objects, paintings that look like maps, doorways, walkways, sideways, billiards, balls, billiard balls, me, you (imaginary readers...), that one guy, Queen Elizabeth, any other Queen, Princes, Kings, Princesses, children of rich people, ugly children of rich people, beautiful children of not-so-rich people, Italy, most anywhere else, just about anything...but FRUIT?!?!

This must be a plot by fruit-growers everywhere to get people thinking about consuming their (delicious, yes) products. Why do I want to look at a painting of apples, when I could just go look in the fruit bowl in the kitchen?!? And pears? You know what? I think they look WAY better in person! I guess I appreciate the ability to capture the essence of fruit on canvas...wait, the essence of fruit? What the HELL does that mean? The essence of fruit would just be sugary fruit juice! And frankly, paintings of fruit are nothing more than tree-porn. Yes. You heard it here first, folks. All you collectors of fruit paintings are contributing to the pornography problem that our fruit-bearing trees have. Not only are they spilling their seed EVERYWHERE, but we collect it and then paint it?!? If we did that to human "seed" you would all be mortified! Why is it any different with the trees? I say it isn't. So, who's with me in protesting fruit-paintings...

Anyway, I hope this post finds you well, my lovely imaginary readers. It is a dreary day here in Los Angeles, the first since I arrived. I hope if the sun isn't shining down upon you, your heart is shining brightly enough to light your way.

-David

Lets Start Over, Shall We?

Hello everyone! I know I'm not speaking to anyone because it's been a very long time since my last post. But I want to tell you--the imaginary reader of this blog--what my new plan for it will be.

I'm going to post something on here everyday. Not only will I post something EVERY DAY, I will post something that includes the following elements:

• Something about my plans for the day. CAVEAT: I don't want any imaginary readers following me around so it won't be specific locations and times (yeah...read that again and tell me I don't have some issues...). It will be goals that relate to writing/acting/self-improvement/changing the world/etc...
• I will share an opinion I have. It may be a strong one, or just a simple statement that I feel I need to make. I'm not always great at expressing my opinions, so this should help.
• I will be positive. I was once given good advice (and through research I've found it to be quite true): People won't like or continue to read what you've written if you don't give them hope. I like that.
• I have some spectacularly AWESOME people in my life, so I will share one cool/interesting/inspirational thing about one of them (anonymously) each day.
• Make you, the imaginary reader, laugh. "This should be easy", you say (or I imagine you say...). Well, my imagination is incredibly underdeveloped, so making my imaginary readers laugh is actually quite a task! (Again, I fear this all may end up in a case file in some Sanitarium...do they still have Sanitariums...? Imagine not having to cook or clean ever again...)

So this is the beginning, once again. Hello there! Nice to meet you! I'm David and tomorrow I will be adding my first post that fits all of those criteria. Get ready, because this is going to be...bloggish? I don't know. It will certainly be something! ...I hope