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Inside the Actor’s Studio: Harrison Ford

I’ve seen many episodes of this show, but Harrison Ford’s interview is up at the top of the list as far as content and honesty. I have learned little things from others’ interviews, but it seemed like almost everything he had to say was something I could use as I pursue acting as a career. Ultimately, I think the thing that floored me most was his humility, a characteristic not often demonstrated by actors and others in ‘the business’.

This one’s under ‘Keep until I delete’ on my TiVo.

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Gettin’ ready for vacation

I haven’t had much going on lately because, in one way or another, I’ve been constantly preparing to go to Florida. I spent 8 hours at ‘the office’ (or ‘my cubicle’) this weekend and I’ve been trying to get everything done that I need done before I go: finish my workout cycle, get in some cardio, buy luggage, buy other clothes and stuff, etc. I leave Thursday afternoon and that leaves less than four days to tie up all loose ends and get ready to leave Texas for 10 days.

Pencil me in

I’m already trying to set up appointments, dinners and the like with my friends in Gainesville. While I’m a big fan of living on the fly, sometimes it’s necessary to intentionally set time up to spend with people, especially when I know they may or may not be hanging around where I am. Of course, I’m already looking forward to making a trip (or two?) to Newberry Backyard BBQ, Leonardo’s (deep dish pizza), Burrito Bros., Mellow Mushroom, and probably a bunch of other places around Gainesville. Anyway, I haven’t posted much lately because I’ve basically been preparing to leave. I know it sounds a little ludicrous to spend a week preparing to go on a 10-day vacation, but I like to get things done right and this is how I do that.

Braum’s

All this time in Texas and I’d never gone to Braum’s until today. I decided to drop in and try a shake because a buddy of mine at the gym said they’re pretty good. Turns out he was right. I went with the old standby (for me): strawberry. It was thick, filling and super tasty. I may’ve found a new vice.

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Lookin’ up

In my last post, I mentioned I’d tried online poker and hadn’t done so well. After I played those SNGs, I decided to try Low-Limit (or really Micro-Limit) Hold ’em ($.25/.50). I didn’t do so hot at first, but after losing the first couple times I played, I’ve been winning and I should be recovering the bit I lost on the SNGs to begin with.

I’ve decided the SNG strategy was a bad one and I need to stick with Limit Hold ’em for a while. Limit is simpler and will protect me from bad beats more than No Limit or the SNGs would. Obviously, I’m playing super low limits and I hope to move up to $.50/1 in a week or so. Slow and steady…

Fantasy Football a reality?

My buddy called and asked if I wanted to be in a Fantasy Football League and, because I’m stupid, I said I’d do it. We had our draft tonight and I guess my picks were ok, but we won’t know anything until they start playin’ the games. I’m only mildly interested in the NFL, but I’m very interested in college football. Florida’s first game is less than two weeks away and I’m hoping to be there. Anyway, maybe I’ll do alright in Fantasy, but I don’t plan on putting too much work into it.

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Things are about to change

I got a call from my acting coach tonight and, apparently, he’s heading out to L.A. for the next three months. I didn’t get all the details, but it’s obvious that my weekly lesson will be sporadic at best and non-existent at worst. In all, I think it’s great news because I’m convinced he’ll be very successful in that market and I’m excited to see where this move will take his career.

Of course, I’ve already started thinking about what this means for me and my preparation (always lookin’ out for good ol’ #1, I guess), but I really have no idea what’s gonna’ happen. Fortunately, I know I’ll be keeping in touch with my coach and he’ll be able to help guide me and keep me moving in the right direction. I feel like this is a good time for this transition because we had gotten to a point where I felt I was understanding the fundamentals and things were about to shift anyway. We were beginning to talk about getting an agent and starting to actually work in the business rather than only learning about it. Though I’m sure this will be difficult, I know this is probably the best time for me to make this particular transition.

The thing that scares me most is my fear of the unknown. When I’m trying new things (like, say, performing a monologue in front of a bunch of strangers or shopping my headshot and resume around to local agencies), I often allow my fear to slow me down and force me to procrastinate. I don’t know why I allow this to happen because, almost inevitably, I try whatever this new thing is and I succeed without much hardship. I am confident this will be similar (I have to be confident or I’ll be eaten alive by this business), but I hope I can bypass the fear-and-procrastination phase of this new thing.

Mostly, I just have to realize that I’ve been well prepared for this market and I simply have to ante up and play. I know what I need to do and, especially after my last lesson (for a while) on Thursday, I’ll have a time-line for the next few months. Somehow, I have to run headlong into this new phase and just continue moving forward. Time is very precious right now and I can’t afford to waste any.

One other very positive thing about my coach going to L.A. is that I feel like he’ll be able to give me very specific information on the market and the business out there right now, real time. I still plan on moving out there (probably within a year) and it’ll be great to have someone who’s gone ahead of me to tell me what to expect and help me avoid pitfalls and silly mistakes. Though such an abrupt and unexpected transition makes me nervous, I can’t help but think this must be a blessing in disguise. The more I think about it, the more this seems like a very positive thing. And, coming from a dude who ain’t exactly the consummate optimist, that’s pretty comforting.

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Coasting along

I haven’t posted much recently because I haven’t done much recently. My basketball team played our 7th and final game of the season on Wednesday and we won by about 20. I probably played my best game at Point Guard, although I didn’t have many points to prove it (I think I finished with 7). Our team played well and it’ll be interesting to see how we do in the playoffs starting Wednesday. Fortunately, our first game is against another team that we beat by 20 (and they ran 10 guys to our 6), so hopefully we’ll win again and continue working on a team strategy that will work for us. So far, it seems to work with me at Point because I do a good job of bringing the ball up, but also because it allows the other guys to play in the positions where they’re most comfortable (wings and post).

Online Poker

Next week, I’ll probably start playing a little poker online for real money. I think I’ll initially stick to playing “Sit N Gos”, which are basically one- or two-table tournaments where the top four places finish in the money. Because I feel more comfortable and confident in tournaments, I figure I’ll start with these to build up my bankroll before I start playing cash games. Above all, I’ll be playing only with the money I’ve put into my account for the next month. In a month, I’ll evaluate and decide where to go from there. If I’m up, I’ll just keep playing online. If I’ve lost the cash I allotted myself, I’ll have to decide whether to try again or find another hobby.

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Three weeks to Florida

Well, since I went to Florida in April, I’ve been looking forward to getting back. I’ve already bought my plane ticket for September 2 and I’ll be there until September 12. I chose this week because Labor Day is on September 6, which means I’ll get an extra day without using any more Paid Time Off, and the first two Florida football games are on September 4 and September 11 at home. I’m hoping to get some tickets, but one thing at a time.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to going home for a while and I’m sure I’ll have a fantastic time.

California just over a month out?

Also, it looks like I’ll be going to L.A. for some training for work, but that won’t be happening until late September. I’m thinking I might take a few extra days to stay out there and take a little more vacation time, but I’ll have to clear that with work, first. I’m pretty sure it’ll be alright and it’ll give me some time to check out L.A. After all, I could be living there before I know it.

Florida again?

Also, I might be heading to Florida in late September or early October for work. Apparently, they like to send out some younger new hires to interview kids at the career fairs and showcases at Florida. I seem to be a good candidate, but they’re not sure if they’ll have the budget for it this year. Hopefully they will and I’ll get sent out to interview some folks and take a little vacation time on the company dime.

Thanksgiving trip, too

Also, I bought a plane ticket for the week of Thanksgiving because it was just too cheap to pass up. $164 round-trip. Anyway, I’ll be going home for that week and it’ll be nice to see my family at Thanksgiving. I was afraid going home for holidays wouldn’t be too easy, but at least I know I’ll have the chance during my first year.

And finally, Christmas

I guess I missed “Christmas in July”, but at least I can talk about it for a second here in August. My company has it arranged so that the whole company takes a vacation from about Christmas Eve until the New Year, so that means I’ll be taking about two weeks off at Christmas. That’ll pretty much use up the last bit of my Paid Time Off, but that’s ok with me. I’ve actually been told by those who’ve been working there a lot longer than I have that there’s no sense in trying to “roll over” vacation time. Just go ahead and use it up is what they tell me.

So, I’ll be heading home to Florida and probably spending a week up in Atlanta during that time. Campus Crusade’s Christmas Conference will be up there after Christmas and before the New Year, so I’ll go see some of my friends while they’re there. Also, I have several good friends that will be living in Atlanta then, so I’ll really be going to see them. I’m really looking forward to that week.

So, that’s a summary of all the traveling I hope to do for the rest of the year. I figure I only took Paid Time Off once during my first seven months here, so I have some time to make up. Here’s to cheap airfares…

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Current Competition Compilation

Well, after the tournament a couple weeks ago, I started playing in a home game with a few of the guys that were in the tournament. Last week, I didn’t do so well. I lost 30 bucks in 3 hours (it was a 20-dollar buy-in) and just didn’t seem to be able to win a hand. So, I thought about it all week and decided upon a strategy that I thought could be used to beat this home game. It’s simple: I don’t raise before the flop (there’s simply no point in trying to drive anyone out before they see the cards in this game), I slow-play almost everything and I’ll play drawing hands only if it’s really cheap to draw. This week, I won 35 bucks, so I made back what I lost last week and then 5 bucks bonus. I only played about 6 hands in 3 hours, but that’s because I just didn’t need to play any more than that.

I’m probably going back next week and I’ll see if the strategy is legitimate or if I was just experiencing the large swings that come with a loose aggressive group of players.

Basketball: Game 6

Well, we’re now 3-3 after starting 3-0. We lost badly tonight, 51-29, or something like that. I only scored 5 points, but that’s about my share since we had 6 guys. We just couldn’t execute in offense and we got outplayed. However, I felt I played pretty well. I certainly could’ve shot better and put up some more points, but I ran Point Guard for most of the game and I did it pretty well. I was playing very aggressively because they were playing a high 2-3 zone. That meant there was a huge soft spot about 18 feet out, all the way around the arc. I felt like I was finding open men and making passes to set them up for open looks, but we simply couldn’t hit our shots. I only had one turnover and probably 3 assists, but that assist number really should’ve been higher.

The last few games, our biggest weakness has been simple offensive execution. We just didn’t put the ball through the hoop, and we had plenty of opportunities. I really hope we can get back on the winning track before the playoffs in a couple weeks. Until then, we have one more regular season game against the first team we played. I expect we’ll win, but it’s hard to say with this team. We’ve shown that we can be very inconsistent.

Time to sleep.

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Stephen Hawking: Genius, funny guy, kindergarten teacher

Well, after about a year, I have finally made more progress on A Brief History of Time. What really blows me away is his ability to explain some really complicated stuff in an interesting (well, I find it interesting… I wouldn’t want to speak for anyone else), entertaining and concise way. His writing isn’t laugh-out-loud funny, though it does have its moments, but at least it keeps my attention. More importantly, he’s able to cover ridiculous topics like black holes, the space-time continuum (Back to the Future flashback), mesons and time cones in just a few pages each. Not only that, but an idiot like me can actually understand some of what he’s writing. The guy’s got a unique combination of intellect and eloquence that I doubt I’ve seen elsewhere.

I guess one thing I’m learning as I read his stuff is that I’m probably always going to be a bit of a nerd at heart. Ten or fifteen years ago, that might’ve bothered me, but I’ve been learning for a while now that I just have to be comfortable in my own skin. I guess that’s an idea I’ll have to continue getting used to since I’m still just breakin’ it in.

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Weekend Update

This week, I read Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, by David Sedaris. I enjoyed it and I got the feeling that his “voice” is similar to what mine would be if I was actually a writer. He’s sarcastic, satirical, sardonic and short. Basically, the book is little vignettes from his life. A collection of autobiographical short-stories that are disturbing and interesting at the same time. I found myself compelled to continue reading by a sort of morbid curiosity. Anyway, I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a relatively quick read that will make you simultaneously laugh out loud and grimace for the characters.

I’m also still trying to finish reading other books I’ve started and put down. I’m working on The World According to Garp, The Illustrated A Brief History of Time, The Truth in Comedy, Money Matters and probably a few others that aren’t coming to mind right now. Between these books, TiVo, GameCube, Netflix and the gym, I’ve been keeping pretty busy doing things that ultimately don’t matter. I guess maybe I feel like I’m educating myself and killing time until I start moving into the next phase of my life.

One other thing I think I’ll start pursuing is sign language. I’ve been wanting to learn another language and, although French, Italian and other languages have a sort of romantic allure, I feel that learning ASL could actually be a useful way to invest my time. I don’t know if I’ll actually do this, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while.

More on music

A while ago, I wrote about shopping for an electric guitar. Well, I eventually decided I just didn’t want to spend the money on something that is essentially a variation on something I’ve already invested a lot of money in. That being said, lately I’ve been looking at digital pianos. I played for about five years until 10th grade, then I quit and picked up the guitar a year later. Since I got to college, I’ve been itching to play piano again and just haven’t had any way of scratching that itch… until now. I figure I can get a decent digital piano–weighted, pressure sensitive keys, good sound, etc.–for $500 or so, which ain’t bad. I’m trying to take my time and be patient about it, but the truth is I’ve been patient for the last five years and I’m really gettin’ the itch.

Maybe it doesn’t help that I’ve been listening to a lot of Billy Joel lately.