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