Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Gimmie the Car

From a goofy Facebook thread...

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Put your iPod or other music player on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the NEXT button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!


IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Fangs of Love - My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Parachute - Virgil

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
I Think I'm Chystalized - Garbage

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Chromatic Death - Anthrax

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Hope - Descendents

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN?
Cheating at Solitaire - Mike Ness

WHAT IS 2+2?
Hats Off To (Roy) Harper - Led Zeppelin

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Over Now - Alice In Chains

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
You Should Have Never Had Opened That Door - The Ramones

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP??
Bleed Together - Lovedrug

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE??
Freestyle - Pase Rock

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Pride - U2

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
The Boss is Back - Sir Mix-A-Lot

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
This Time Darlin' - Social Distortion

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Master Exploder - Tenacious D

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
What Would U Do? - Tha Dogg Pound

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
King Nothing - Metallica

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Bone Broke - The White Stripes

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Up In Arms - Foo Fighters

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
I Will Be Heard - Hatebreed

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Believe - Franka Potente

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Blew Away - Smashing Pumpkins

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Your Brother the Poet - Brian Wright & The Waco Tragedies

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Surrender - The Chemical Brothers

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Since I Met You Baby - Ivory Joe Hunter

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Good Luck - Ani DiFranco

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Picture This - The Beastie Boys

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Gimmie the Car - Violent Femmes




25 Random Things

Rules:

Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you...


1. I was sent to the principle for the first time in 4th grade for fighting. The kid pushed me at the drinking fountain and I hit him with a door. I sat and waited for the principle for 30 min and then just went back to class.

2. Shortest lived nickname was Ducky for a little while in High School.

3. I have had over 100 stitches in my life but no broken bones (because I heard a little toe does not count)

4 The best concert I ever went to was Siouxsie and the Banshees in Denver. She had a full orchestra behind her.

5. The first job I even wanted was to be a flight attendant.

6. Everytime I board a plane I kiss my fingers and tap the side of the plane with them just before entering. I don't know why, but it feels like good luck.

7. I can not sleep with my hands in fists. It feels like bad energy.

8. I almost chose to become a professional bowler.

9 I have only been out of the country twice and each time was for less than 22hrs. That includes England though.

10. I am a pretty good chef.

11. Buy me a cup of coffee at the right moment and I will be your friend for life.

12. I have hyper metabolism and am tired of trying to explain how it's just as frustrating dropping weight when there is no weight to lose. Also tired of hearing the delight people have in telling me that will change when I get older. My dad has not gained a pound since college.

13. I grew up in Texas and Colorado and cite this for my interest in manners; a sort of Southwest chivilary thing.

14 I have had 3 near death experiences. The last one was when a stray bullet from some kids shooting at a building hit the wall 2 feet from my head. I was leaving a coffee shop at the time.

15. The fastest car I ever owned was my 78' Mustang. You could put both of my Metros AND my VW Rabbit together and you would only have one more cylinder than the Mustang had. Plus the Ford had a nice ass to it.

16. I have been in 3 riots.

17. I have lived in 3 out of the 4 biggest cities in the US (Houston, Chcago, and LA) and feel very comfortable in them. Put me in the dark in the country and I am considerably less at ease.

18. I love going to the movies, anytime, no matter what's showing.

19. I avidly hate visors and am not fond of red pants either.

20. Violence does not scare me as much as stupidity/apathy. Laziness drives me crazy though.

21. I have single-handedly prepared and served 250 espresso drinks in an hour once at my former barista job.

22. A lot of people think I look either like Dennis Leary or John Malcovich.

23. I would still love to just paint for a living.

24. I think the planet is smarter than we are giving her credit for. We may not survive what we are doing, but the Earth will be just fine.

25. The greatest thrill I get is making people laugh, especially my 2yr old niece. Look at that face, come on!

Monday, January 26, 2009

A friend in need

I had been intending to do this sooner, but the need is still great so I am weighing in an effort to help. Thanks Chris for the reminder.

A friend of mine I met while working with Defiant Theatre was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Will has been an non-stop, working actor here in Chicago for many years. He, like so many of us though, does not have insurance. There has been a mass outpouring of support for him, and with his consent several efforts have been launched to raise money for him. This is an amazing town as far as theatre folks looking out for each other. I am told he has vowed to fight this with everything he's got and many of us are trying to buy him as many rounds as he needs in that ring. From the few shows I has the good fortune to work with him on, I have no doubt that his "everything" is more than enough.

If you can give a little, please do. I know it's tight right now for many of us, but this is how we get through these tight times... together.

Will Schutz



More on the story.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Dress code

I am but a few hours from leaving to go home again. Chicago awaits and yet I will be doing more design work for Caldera. What I won't be doing is sitting outside in shorts and a sleeveless shirt. I also will not be driving around in my Jeep admiring the mountains. But hey, waiting for my more expensive CTA instead of paying for my more expensive parking meters while paying the highest taxes in the country will be fun too. Heh.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Colorado?

I am sitting here in shorts and a sleeveless shirt on an extraordinarily warm Jan. day in Colorado. This is bizarre to say the least. Tiff and I came out for a late Christmas with my family last week and since I wait tables, I had no work to go back to till the next weekend and opted to stay out here the week. It feels strange to be back again as I just came out last week for a quick shoot for the Colorado Lottery. Lo and behold I am back again. My agent here has another audition for me this afternoon. Caldera has a ton of work coming up that will have me in and out of Colorado most of February. I keep wondering if it might just be time to come back. The profit margin for all these jobs would be better without having to pay for a flight each time. I have several friend that have come home (here) and are finding work. Tiff says she is on board to move here, but the question has always been when. At the rate of work coming in, I am reconsidering this April as a potential option. It still feels like a long shot, but as Tiff and I just agreed, moving often ain't too fun. We'll see.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Stream of consciousness at the airport

I am sitting here at DIA in the smoking lounge (I know!) waiting to fly back to Chicago. It's strange to feel like you are leaving home to go home. It's also still weird that Tiff has rubbed off on me enough that I show up to the airport 2hrs before I fly. Good thing today, I feel ill and am hoping my obligatory 1 drink minimum of club soda helps the stomach. I am here in Denver on a surprise quick trip. I booked a commercial that I auditioned for when I buzzed into town in December. It was just background, but hell, I wasn't working all week anyway (thanks economy) and there will likely be a SAG strike any time now so I figured take the work while I can. I was also able to book a cheap flight through William Shatner, so it worked out to a modest profit. Plus it made nice with my Denver agent. It seems I could improve my profit margin considerably if I lived here and did not have to offset my plane tickets each time. Someday soon I hope. I gotta be honest, the funk is still strong right now. It will be a week tomorrow we gave Jack to his awesome new family, but I find myself still pretty "ice cream, eh..." (ie depressed). It is not just about Jack, I realize, but he had a hell of an impact. My regular job is getting worse. Tips have been terrible as an increasing number of people are tightening their wallets when it comes time to tip. Then there are the increasing no-shows on reservations and the out and out empty tables. Additionally, the politics at work are slanting against profit also. Veteran, bad servers are getting the hours just because they have been there forever. Also, as a means to make things more copacetic, the increased our involuntary tip out to our runners to a staggering 20%. This has actually happened in conjunction to losing runners and being forced to do more of their work ourselves. So what? I remember trying to write a sketch at Second City bemoaning the plight of servers and could never get it passed because the ultimate response from our director was, "the get another job, why should I care?" I still think he was right. The trouble is, I don't know exactly what else to do right now. Better jobs than mine are laying off right and left. I also still would like to stay flexible for when odd acting jobs like the one I am returning from come up. I am planning on seeing what else is out there soon, but for now I am in a holding pattern with upcoming work already booked next month through Caldera. That will be a relief, down the road. I am glad Tiff has been successful in getting a new gig. I look forward to not hearing the irrational demands of a sinking company and a lunatic Artistic Director. RIP Shattered Globe. There is also the looking forward to moving in April. It has been a challenge to not villanize my landlords for simply upholding their rules. It's far more constructive to just look forward to not seeing them or their "puppy pads" outside our door any more. Getting close to time to leave for my gate. Till next time...

Monday, January 5, 2009

Winter Classic and Jack


For those unaware the NHL has begun an annual, outdoor game called the Winter Classic. This year's was hosted by Wrigley Field, just blocks from our apartment. Now this becomes important as it pertains to our puppy in that we have been looking for a new home for him. The hypocrites that run our building have not budged on their stance of "no dogs" except theirs. While we had found several places to move to, the route of finding Jack a new home seemed the most sane.

Back to the hockey game on New Years...

Our neighborhood was over run like a Cubs game but with hockey fans. A particular couple saw Tiff out for a walk with Jack and like everyone he met, they fell instantly in love with him. Turns out they were trying to find a new Lab that would not get as big as their current, elderly Lab. They got Tiff's number and came by later to see him again. Turns out they lived in the suburbs on an acre and had 4 kids to play with him. We had had to take Jack to the ER the night before (New Years Eve) and he had been diagnosed with common Kennel Cough. Due to the contagious nature of Kennel Cough, the couple wanted to wait till Sat. to pick him up.

The next 2 days were not fun, waiting to see Jack go. We are glad to have served as the segue to Jack's new home, but to be honest it's still a little rough to see the feel good part as more than interesting. We want to get a dog when we get a new place and now we know we will be looking for said place come April.