Officially a Chicagoan.

I've been living in Chicago for about 2 months now and I feel like I can finally call myself a Chicagoan. I know my way around, I have a home, a job, and am looking into the acting scene. To make sure this blog entry doesn't end up being 300 pages long, I'll try and keep things concise.

The four of us looked at different neighborhoods before moving here and liked a few. While walking through Roscoe Village, we happened upon a small rental property place. We walked in, talked to a nice woman and told her what we were looking for. As luck would have it, she said she had "the perfect place". Indeed, it was perfect, but we wanted to look at a few more just in case. After looking at about 15 different apartments around the north side, we decided that the first place was the best and we seized the opportunity.

We got a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom place that is completely rehabbed to the studs. It's all hardwood flooring, new appliances, marble countertops, central air and heat, a deck of our own, etc. We've since gone through a few hitches here and there, but it's now fully furnished with our stuff and as we would like it. The apartment is in Rogers Park, which is the farthest North and East neighborhood of Chicago before you go into the suburbs. It's one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Chicago, is less claustrophobic than others, and is right on the lake with accessible beaches. We also live a half block from "The El" which makes transportation really simple. Right down the street is also an Irish Pub, Wine Shop, Italian Restaurant, and Bagel/Deli. Needless to say, it was a perfect fit for us and I'm glad it turned out the way it did. The only downside is that it takes awhile to get to downtown, but then again 40-45 minutes isn't that long.

For the first month and a half we all were looking for jobs round the clock. Kelly found one first at a pet grooming place as a receptionist. Ryan then got hired as a personal trainer at Bally. Then I was offered a position at Bakers Square and Whole Foods Market, while Carroll got a job at World Market. I ended up taking the job with Whole Foods instead of Bakers Square because it was easier to get to and has better benefits. It would have been nice to finally be a server, but Whole Foods was too good to pass up. I must also stress how difficult it was to get a job however. Carroll and I must have applied for easily over 200 jobs combined and finally got offers after a month and a half. In the end, I'm grateful to have a job in this tough economic time.

The job itself is actually quite taxing. I'm a cashier and it's a lot harder than I thought it would be. Mostly because it's a lot numbers and products to memorize and identify. It also makes it more difficult for me because I don't consider myself a "foodie". Therefore I'm learning a lot of fruits and vegetables that I've never even heard of. Then throw in that it's THE leading company for organic foods so the selection is quite eclectic. What's nice is that they pay is great, the company really takes care of its employees, my co-workers are really friendly, and they offer incredible benefits. To top it off, it's on the Fortune 500 top 100 companies to work for... now that's saying something!

Besides all that, I'm spending a lot of time watching movies, playing piano, writing music, reading, and slowly trying to get into the acting scene. Originally I was going to just focus on Film/Commercial work in Chicago, but I've recently come to the decision that it would be in my best interests to do any acting that is out there, rather than limit myself. Although I know that film is ultimately where I see myself, the need to act (period) is more important to me at this point. Therefore I'm gonna start auditioning for what I can and just see where it takes me.

Here's to Chicago, Acting, The Oscar Film Season, Christmas Music, and Snow!

Summer Fly, Bye

Well, summer has come and it has flown by so far. In terms of my life, nothing too drastic has happened, which explains why there hasn't been a blog entry in FOREVER.

Work is work, I'm just going through the motions at this point. I've always believed (for me) that in life jobs have a course that they run and I know when that time has come. I think that if I weren't moving to Chicago, I would now be hitting that plateau. It's not that the job is terrible (I actually enjoy it for the most part), it's just as time passes I slowly go insane for not being able to act.

THEREFORE, I've been filling my time with just that. Since I'll be moving to Chicago in mid-October, I figured I should be getting my ducks in a row as an actor. So, I went through tons of monologues from plays and have narrowed it down to 6 that I will start memorizing. On the flip side, I want to learn a few movie monologues as well. That way I will be able to hit the floor running. I know that Chicago will be a hurricane when I first get there, so I want to be as prepared as I can possibly be. In terms of the move, we plan on taking two trips down to Chicago and in that time hopefully be able to narrow it down to a neighborhood or two. Once that is done, it will just be a matter of finding "the one".

Besides the imminent move, life at home is kinda stressful. My older sister and her two kids have moved in with us. Her husband is moving down from Minnesota once he can find a job down here. The problem with this is that it adds a different dynamic to the house. It's a lot more hectic with two "mothers" and a 1-year-old and an autistic 8-year-old. Not to mention that I live in the "loft" of the house so that my younger brother could have his own room and my sister and nephews could live in the basement. This gets tiring VERY QUICKLY. The main problem is that I work nights which is the opposite from the rest of my family, and because of this I never get much sleep with my family up early. In the end, I'm just ready to get out of here and get "my life" going again. This time in my life definitely feels like a pit stop, and I feel the pit stop is becoming too long.

In my extra time I've been really getting into song writing again. I've written 80% of music for a song that I really like so far, and am slowly developing the last lyrics and writing the music on the piano. It truly feels like a song that works for me and once I'm finished I'll definitely have to record it. I've also been really dedicated to my workout routines since I've moved here and it is definitely showing. I'm in the greatest shape of my life and feel good about my body. Ideally I'd like to put on a few more pounds and tone the body a little more and I'll be at where I want to be.

And then in two and half months I'll be where I logistically want to be: Chicago.

Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

:)

Four's Company

Well, there has been a slight change in my plans for Chicago.

Fortunately, it is for the better.

:)

A few weeks back, a friend of mine emailed me and suggested that her and her boyfriend (also a good friend of mine) were looking into moving to Chicago. Originally they wanted to move to NYC. But since that was such a big jump for them, and a lot more expensive, they were think of alternate destinations. They are both actors and her boyfriend was looking into possibly accepting theatre work at other places across the Midwest. She knew that Carroll and I were moving to Chicago in the fall and asked on my thoughts of them possibly moving down with us. After talking to Carroll, and the two of them discussing it in detail, we were all in agreement: The four of us would be moving down together to Chicago.

There are many details up in the air such as location, apartment, jobs, and the exact moving date, but all in all I'm excited about the future for all of us. It will be a nice balance to have all four of us living together. Not only are we all good friends, but we are ALL actors. I think this will be a great support system for us all. Furthermore, we will be able to live in a bigger apartment and hopefully pay less in rent. Carroll and I have been looking at possible neighborhoods and we have narrowed it down to 7 that we like. Our two favorites that stand out are Lincoln Square and Ravenswood. The other five that we like that are affordable, have a good crime rate, and are interesting in general are Andersonville, Buena Park, Edgewater, Roscoe Village, and St. Ben's.

Carroll is coming to visit this coming weekend, which should be a lot of fun. I got off of work, and we will spend times, chilling, seeing the city, watching movies, and talk about Chicago more in detail. The plan is that in another month or two, I'll visit Eau Claire (where the other two live) and we can talk in a group as to our plans for the fall. All we know for sure is that we will be moving some time in the fall. I'd be open to moving down a little earlier or a little later than October (which is the original plan), but nothing too extreme as they both have their disadvantages. If we move TOO early it will give us less time to save up money. If we move TOO late, it will very difficult to find jobs closer to the holidays.

Other than looking to the future, the present isn't too shabby as well. At work I got to witness something that one only dreams of: a co-worker/boss getting fired because she was bad at her job and disrespected everyone around her. That's the good news. The bad news is that we are left picking up the slack since she was the assistant manager. I now work 6 days a week until he hires someone else, and it's been starting to take it's toll. The nice thing with having two days off a week is that you get to have one day to catch up on things, run errands, etc. and the other day is for some R&R. However, with only one day off there isn't much time to relax.


Besides that, I recently got to go to the Cubs-Brewers game with my Dad on Easter. It was a great game, the Cubs won, and I couldn't have asked for more. The Cubs are doing well this year (as expected) and the Bulls are also in the playoffs. Also, the Bears traded for star quarterback Jay Cutler, so it's safe to say it's good to be a Chicago Sports Fan right now.


Peace Out Playa.

Goodbye LA... for now.

Well, it's been a LONG transition since I moved back to the Midwest this past November.

My brother and I moved in with my family who's new home is in Pewaukee, WI which is a western suburb of Milwaukee. We took a good month to wind down from the craziness of the move, spent time with family for the Holidays and started searching for a job shortly after. While I job searched, I spent most of my time cleaning/fixing up the new home (which still is FAR from being done). It took me much longer than I anticipated (doesn't it always?) to find a job, but I finally found one at a gas station pretty close to our home. It pays crap, but it makes up for it by giving me full time, which is real nice.

When I made the decision to move back the Midwest, I knew it wasn't Wisconsin that I'd make my final destination. I still am completely committed to being a film actor and therefore Wisconsin just won't cut it. HOWEVER, before I can make another big move, I need to save up money and resources which led me to my current job. The plan as of now is that in the fall after my sister's wedding, which will be sometime in October, my friend Carroll and I will be moving down to Chicago. It's the next best place in my mind if I'm not going to be in LA. It's still a great acting city and I'm really looking forward to moving there. Speaking of which... I'm a big follower of Roger Ebert's website and I recently posted on his blog and to my surprise... he commented back!!! Here's what went down:

Dear Roger,

As I look through the different sites such as Facebook and MySpace there is an area for "Heroes". I for one, say that you are one of mine. Your passion for the majesty of film is so very apparent in the words that you write in your reviews. Unfortunately, since I am merely at the age of 24, I didn't get to see much of Siskel, but I do see that IN YOU it's easy to tell what kind of a wonderful man he was.

Thank you, and I leave you with 2 questions: 1. Who are YOUR heroes? and 2. I'm moving to Chicago in the fall. As an actor, what area(s) would you suggest living in?

Ebert: Malkovich told me: "In New York, actors go to auditions. In Chicago, they go to work. The NYTimes and WSJournal have both called Chicago the best theater town in America.

Where to live? Your first home should be temporary, while you get the lay of the land. Look for a place near the elevated tracks. Some less-expensive areas fairly close in are Rogers Park, Wicker Park, Bucktown, certain parts of Lincoln Park. As you meet other actors, ask them where they live. Maybe email a few theaters, like Organic, Wisdom Bridge, Body Politic. The DePaul theater school might have advice. Also Columbia College of Chicago.

Now I don't know about you, but if an idol of yours responded PERSONALLY I think you'd realize how big of a deal this was to me. Anywho...

Now that I'm going through the motions of working 40 hours a week and I have no friends in the area, I've had to find other ways to occupy my time. I've taken up learning Japanese, which is VERY challenging, but also very rewarding. It's a real slow proccess, but I really enjoy it. So far I've just finished learning Hiragana (one of Japanese's 3 character sets) and I'm using the computer program Rosetta Stone to supplement my learning. When I was younger I took French Immersion in school, when I got older I took Spanish in high school and college, but neither really interested me much. Japanese, however, I've always been fond of. I love the country, the culture, I'm a huge fan of anime, and I've had relatives that lived there for many years. So far so good, and I look forward to learning more.

Besides Japanese, I've recently taken up learning piano again. I took a piano class in college before I graduated and it's a skill I've always wanted to have and will also be a great tool for me to have as an actor/singer. I went online to Amazon and found a great deal on a keyboard, and I practice every once and awhile. It's also very rewarding, but SUPER frustrating when two hands are playing at once.

Other than that I recently joined Netflix which I absolulely LOVE. It's like being part of a special club and I have just about every movie ever made at my fingertips. It's a great deal and it has helped me catch up to films I've been meaning to watch over the years. On the subject of films, over the past few years I've been reviewing movies as a hobby of mine. Over time, I've found that I really enjoy it, and when I put the time in, I think I can write a pretty concise, and to-the-point review. I've been doing on Facebook this whole time, but I've recently wanted to branch out and have a page of my own just devoted to film reviews. Over the past two years I've reviewed EVERY movie I've seen in that time (which has to be over 200). Recently I've realized that I don't have the time/energy to keep up with this pace so I've decided to just review new films that I've seen in the theatre. Therefore, I just started another blogspot just for my film reviews which can be found here: http://liketheyusedto.blogspot.com/ I decided that I'm going to use a 4 star scale, only because it's the most used across the board from film critics. On facebook I've just been writing "as is" without a format per se, but I will start fledging them out more and make them as professional as I can make them. Eventually, I'd like to have my own website just devoted to film reviews that can catlogue them all in one database a la Roger Ebert. Until then, this will be a good place for me to get them down in one place.

Other than that, my life is pretty dull. Like LA, my social life is nil. But to make up for that I'm filling it with hobbies and interests that I believe will benefit me as a person and as an actor. I also have my family around which is really nice. Besides that I've been thinking heavily about my acting career and where I go from here. The plan is to move to Chicago and get involved in acting as much as possible. It's so much more accessible than LA and I think this will be a good thing for me. I want to dive right in, and do whatever acting I can. It will be nice to live with a good friend and in a city that I love. Beyond that I can't forsee. And I think that's as it should be. An actor's life is never predictable and I've come to accept that. I have a feeling that if things go as they should that I will most likely end up in LA some time in the future, but for now, my life is HERE. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'll leave you with my top 10 films of 2008.

10. Quantum of Solace
9. Appaloosa
8. Slumdog Millionaire
7. The Dark Knight
6. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
5. Doubt
4. The Reader
3. Australia
2. In Bruges
1. WALL-E