Trip to Haiti

After talking it over with a couple of people, I think I am going to organize a very small trip to Haiti for carnival next year! It's going to be basically the same trip I went on last year for carnival, fly into Port-au-Prince, drive to Jacmel (on the southern coast of the island), drive west along the coast until you get to the end, then turn around and head back to Port-au-Prince to go back home. Now, once again, this is all just wishful thinking until I talk to the brothers who organized last year's mardi gras trip and that won't be until Mother's Day. But, if it does happen, here's what you can expect.

First of all, most of the travel will be by truck (and I love to sit out in the back in the open air). It might get a bit dusty as we will be there in the middle of the dry season but I would rather deal with that then mud any day! There will be limited electricity for most of the trip and you will get breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food is pretty good and there's always something new to try. We stopped in a little town on valentine's day and had fresh fish and coconuts (not together but you get the point). I'm hoping that we can have some goat. Showers and toilets were pretty scary but when you have to go, you have to go and I got use to them pretty fast. Luckily, it's warm enough to take cold showers.

The cost for a week's stay, including airfare, sleeping room, transportation and food is about $1,000.00, I think. I'll make sure what the cost is when I talk to the brother on Mother's day. My cousin Ed can attest that it was fun and outside of the initial shock of port-au-prince (both he and I had never been there before we went for Mardi Gras), we felt very safe. I included some pictures from when I went. The first 50 or so were taken while in a booth watching a Mardi Gras parade in Jacmel.

http://picasaweb.google.com/santana.rich/HaitiPics?authkey=4b5qoirRo7k

Frontline's Documentary - Bush's War...

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/bushswar/

That is the website where you can watch the full documentary. Now, I'm not going to talk about the documentary itself, rather a comment left by one person that really irked me.

Calling it "Bush's War", when it looked more like Rumsfeld, or Cheney's war, appears to be a subtle way of turning people against the president. In your shaping peoples view of the politics you have failed to mention two important issues: First, that since "Bush's War" we haven't been attacked like we were at 9/11, the W.T.C. in 1993. Secondly, You haven't mentioned that missionaries, and their converts to Christianity were murdered repeatedly in Muslim countries, with hardly any converts, and now according to a Muslim cleric 6,000,000 Muslim a month are coming to know Jesus since "Bush's War". This latter development alone should greatly help keep us and Israel from being attacked again. Your perspective seems twisted, self seeking, not showing the whole picture, and an attempt to put our administration is a bad light! In addition to that it has the appearance of being pro UN, and pro Muslim, and anti Israeli since chemical warfare ammunition shells were found in Iraq, and the soldier said, they were developed to be used against Israel!

Now, there is a lot wrong with this person's point of view. He takes argument with calling it Bush's war. Well, Bush is the elected official, who appointed Rumsfeld and Cheney so it is very fair to call it Bush's war. To call it anything else will imply that Bush is not in control of our government since it is by his authority and his alone that we can go to war.

Second, and the reason why I'm writing this, is that he claims that because of everything that Bush has done since 9/11, there hasn't been another attack like it since. Well, that's like saying that because we put up a scarecrow, those pesky birds won't be eating our crops anymore. While we may not like to admit it, we are very blessed to live in a country where such an act does not occur very often. But, regardless of whatever security measures we implement, we will always be susceptible to terrorists attacks. We only fool ourselves into thinking that we are safe because of the measures we take in the name of protection allows us to do so.

I won't even touch the religious aspect of this person's argument since it does nothing but preach intolerance. But, the viewpoint that this person has is gaining momentum and being shared by more and more people.

Well, the documentary is starting up so I'm going to end here.

E-Harmony

Alright, I just blogged about the fact that I'm fine being single. There is one thing that bugs the hell out of me, those stupid e-harmony commercials. I hate them. I'm not even sure why, but I always hated them. That's all I wanted to say.

Talent Agency III

Well, so I'm registered with this agency and I'm trying to find a way to get my materials together so I can register with more. I'm getting my photos in order, trying to figure out which ones I want prints of to send out to other agencies, I'm getting my contacts in order so when i have my prints, I can do one mailing to all of the agencies at the same time and I'm starting to take better care of my body by eating better, working out more and drinking less. I'm also preparing a few monologues, just in case they are needed. It's exciting.

Frontline Documentary on Iraq

I will talk more about this later but tonight, on WTTW, there will continue a documentary on the decision to go to war on Iraq. It's sickening watching how our government came to this decision. You realize that the purpose of the war is not to fight terror or even for oil. It's so that a group of 10 or so people can get finally get what they wanted done 20-30 years ago and make a profit at the same time.

Search for a Girlfriend???

I'm single and I'm enjoying it. I think I'm going to be single for a while, by choice. If the right person comes along, I wouldn't pass it up but finding the right person is the key. Who is the right person for me? I'm not sure. Generally speaking, I'm attracted to women who have one or more of the following criteria - Athletic, intelligent, unselfish, open minded and adventurous. That's it, at least that's what I know of. Everything else is really hard to nail down. I find myself attracted to women of all races and heights and body shapes and hair and eye colors. So, I don't even consider that when talking about a possible girlfriend. So, if you know someone who is an athlete and a do-gooder, let me know.

The Talent Agent - Conclusion

I had my meeting with the talent agency yesterday to go over my test shots and see if I would be represented by them. I met with the head casting director there and she was very complimentary. Now, I realize when people are blowing smoke up my ass but this was not the case, she was pretty genuine, even offering to pay out of her own pocket for most of the cost of my portfolio, when I'm ready to do that. She went on to talk about my test shots, which are basically now my new head shots. She explained it this way. The previous time I was in, I took 50 test shots. They sort through the shots and try to grab, at the very least, 15 good shots. Every Friday night, they have a meeting with a group of casting and talent agents to go through all the test shots from that week to determine who has a good look and would be someone they would be interested in casting. Well, for me, they were able to pull together 37 out of the 50 shots and everybody liked my look. So, needless to say, they are taking me on! They gave me the contact information for a few other agencies so that I can register with them also (it's common practice to register with multiple agencies so that you can always have people trying to find you work).

So, I took my first step in the business. I know that the work I will be doing for the next couple of months will probably consist of print model and movie extra work but that's fine by me. How many other people can say that they are living their dream? If it doesn't work out, then it's back to corporate america for me but I'm going to enjoy every moment of my immediate future.

My Phone

My phone is dead. It fell into some water and drowned. I was hoping that it might revive itself but it's not looking like that's going to happen. So, I lost everybody's numbers. I'm going to get a new phone sometime this week. I might be sending an email to get numbers...

The Talent Agent -

I figured I should be a bit more specific about the talent agency. First of all, I signed up with them last fall, before I went on the trip to Haiti, but right after I got let go from ICPAS. I met with the casting director then but something just didn't feel right about the whole thing. So, I waited until now to follow up with them. This time, I met with the head casting director (the guy I talked to last time was there and actually remembered me, which I found a bit strange) and she told me that there is a lot of movie work to be done over this summer here in Chicago. She also repeated what I was told the first time and that was I could do fashion print modeling, with a focus on athletic apparel. All they would need to do is take test shots, which I had to pay for. I would come back in a week to go over the test shots with them and we would determine at that time if they would go on and represent me. If anything, i get the pictures and can use them as headshots. I get a 8"x10" and a copy of all the other shots. I checked out the agency with the BBB and they are in good standing so I figure, what the hell.

So, that's where I stand with that. I meet with them on the 20th to go over my test shots and I'll find out what the next step is at that time. For the first time since I got let go from ICPAS, I no longer feel aimless. It feels good to actually follow your heart. My next step is to re-take a class at Act One and use that as a refresher, since I haven't done stage acting in about two years. If I have time for it, I might take another improv class too... we'll see...

Weekend Update - March 15

What a weekend, and it's only Saturday night! It all started on Thursday. I went to meet with the talent agency and we took test shots, which is basically head shots but they are going to use it to see if I am photogenic. I felt that everything went well there so I went out for a drink afterwards at the blue frog. I set the date for the last of my Poker King Tourney qualifiers and had a burger and a beer. The guy next to me at the bar started to talk to me about poker and we got into a three hour long discussion on the finer points of Texas Hold em and Omaha Hi. Six beers and a shot later, it was off to the next bar to meet up with Love, my old boss and a good friend. After that, the night is a blur and I woke up Friday with a note left to me by my cousin saying that I left a mess everywhere, my shoes were outside and my keys were scattered all over the place. So, needless to say, I'm not drinking this whole weekend.

Friday night was fun, I went out to dinner with my friend Alison for her birthday and had a good time. That was about it for Friday, nothing special. Now, it's off to a St. Patrick's day party, even though I'm going to show up late. We'll see how the night goes...

My Blogs

Hey, just to remind people that I usually am writing this stuff off the top of my head so if you notice any wrong information, please let me know.

Thanks!

Tomorrow at 4pm

Meeting with a talent agent to see what my options are. While I am fine doing commercial print modeling (what I have been told my whole life I should do), I would love to see if this agency can get me TV commercial work, at the very least. We'll see how it goes.

You Ever Wonder...

Why is it that we knew where Osama bin Laden was at right after 9/11 and we only sent 7 CIA operatives there to take him down? Meanwhile, we send a majority of our forces to Iraq to take down Saddam, who had no links to 9/11 or Osama? To this day, the hunt for Bin Laden is a side note to what else is going on. We invade Iraq, we threaten Iran, we protect Pakistan and nobody cares about bin-laden. Now, it's proven that Iraq had no WMD, they were not planning attacks on the US and that they had no links with Al-Queda. Go figure, have a president lie about having sex in the oval office and people go ape shit, but have a president lie about a war and nobody cares...

What to Do?

This has been a rough time for me. After getting let go by my job, I thought that I would be able to find a new job really fast. I mean, I have more than enough experience to qualify for most of these event planning jobs and I am a great interviewer. But, it hasn't worked the way I thought it would. Slowly, my confidence in finding a new job is eroding and I know that soon, I'm going to have to do something drastic.

But, lately, I have felt that itch again to do acting again. I watch Who's Line Is It and remember how much fun it is and I start to miss being on stage. Well, I wouldn't do Improv again because I'm not great at it but I think acting make me happy. I see people like Hayden Christenson (Anikin from Star Wars) get roles and I know that there are a lot of people out there that can do better, why not me? I have no delusions of becoming an A list star, I would rather be a "That Guy" actor.

I am signed up with a talent agency and they want me to model for athletic apparel. The guy joked around saying that most of his models are too scrawny for the job and I would be a perfect fit. I'm going to have to work out more now but that's fine by me since I feel that I need to get back into shape anyways. So, I guess, technically, I'm a model but I'm not going to think about it until I go out for my first shoot. We'll see how that goes, I have to talk to them next week and meet with their photographer.

This blog was all over the place. I'm just trying to catch up with what's going on with me.

March Madness

I love this time of year! March Madness is almost upon us and it's time for Cinderalla's and brackets. I will be finding myself a nice bar to cozy up in and watch all the games. Anybody interested, let's go!

Did Obama Shoot Himself in the Foot?

Obama, you might be an idiot.  This whole time, I argued for you when people talked about your foreign policy views.  Preconditions?  I agree with you that they are not needed to meet with a country.  Setting up meetings with the leaders of Iran, Cuba and North Korea could do a lot to regain our level of respect that was lost during the Bush years.  But, you have done something that I cannot forgive.  

You see, you are so adamant about not setting preconditions and meeting with any and all world leaders that when I found out that you agree with President Bush on not meeting with the leaders of Hamas, it caught me off guard.  There's a group that a lot of your critics undoubtedly were wondering how you would handle.  Hell, I thought about it too.  So, I kept an open mind and wanted to find out your reasons why you would not meet with them.  Your reasons, as stated by the news story I read, was because Hamas does not recognize the right for Israel to exist and so they should not be negotiated with.  Well, pardon me if I'm wrong, but Iran doesn't recognize Israel's right to exist and has publicly stated that their goal is to wipe them off the face of the map.  How can you agree to talk to Iran but not to Hamas?  Keep in mind that Hamas was elected to power by their own people, unlike Iran.  There has to be another reason why and I tried to find one but couldn't.  

Mr. Obama, where do you really stand when it comes to dealing with foreign nations like Iran?  Are you changing your stance because the "experts" are constantly telling you why you can't meet with Rogue nations or is this just a flip-flop on the issue?  Why do I feel that I just lost some faith in you?

It's 3am and the Phone Rings...

To counter all this talk about being experienced enough to answer the phone at 3am to handle a crisis, let's remember that President John F. Kennedy wasn't "experienced" when he became president but he got us through the Cuban Missile Crisis, one of the most dangerous moments in human history.  When it comes to a crisis, there is much more than experience that comes into play.  A leader's judgment, personality, advisers, these all come into play as well.  

So, when it comes to the question of who I want to pick up the hotline at 3am, it sure isn't Hilary.  I don't trust her judgment nor her claims of experience to lead us through a crisis.