Next days, next steps... to healing, we hope!

1 October: It's already October? Wow. Did 2021 fly by for everyone else, or was 2020 just so fucking long that 2021 seems to be shorter?

Ennyhoo. It's Friday the first, and I've managed to somehow sleep, and I have some pain, and I can't do anything. So, I hand my shuffle of papers to Stephen to see if there's anything in there to learn, and also to see if the orthopedist Dr. Drew referred a) accepts Emergency Medi-Cal and b) can see me in the next 10 days. Also, where's that scrip? I'ma need to fill that thing.

I call the ortho. They don't accept EM - I'll need a group number and all that other shit. I'm welcome to call Medi-Cal/Covered California to get a "real" insurance policy. Or I can be a self-pay. But the earliest appointment they have available for me is Wednesday the 13th (oh, hey! TODAY! {the day I'm actually posting this}), which is not within the 10 days Dr. Drew has prescribed I follow-up. Hmm... 

So while I make calls to Medi-Cal and Covered California to try to get a "real" policy, Stephen goes looking for orthopedists who'll see me sooner.

Covered California is the "Marketplace" where California residents can shop for health insurance policies, under the ObamaCare provisions that everyone should be able to afford insurance. According to CC, we won't have earned enough income in 2021 to afford even the most basic of plans, meaning, we should automatically qualify for "regular" Medi-Cal. But Medi-Cal qualifies you based on monthly income, not annual, and even though Stephen's schedule with the Dodgers is very irregular, and he had, in fact, earned $0.00 in the previous workweek, he'd earned enough over the course of September (as had I), that we did not qualify for regular Medi-Cal. So, as far as insurance is concerned, we'll try again once the Dodgers are finished. Which may very well be us trying again next week, if they lose the game tomorrow night. Hmm... I'll need more facts.

Meanwhile (and I mean that in the sense that I was on the phone with both "insurance" entities for practically the full day), Stephen found an ortho with a very user-friendly website, where I could also make an appointment in days rather than weeks, and the office charges would be reasonable enough to put them on a credit card, no matter what my insurance outcome was. Unfortunately, they were full up on Friday, or Friday was already over by the time I even knew to try to get in. However, I was able to get a very early appointment on Monday, confirmed with a phone call from them after I had "placed the order" online. In that phone call, I was given a pre-estimate of charges, for the consult, any x-rays, and a cast, if that was the direction the doc took. Great!

So I grabbed the Rx and walked to my local CVS pharmacy, wearing the ER sling to support the splint, which was, for all intents and purposes, "hidden" by the sling. It was roughly 4 p.m. when I saw the pharmacist, a rude woman who declared that they were "out" of my meds, and no, she couldn't tell me who "might" have them on hand. I think she saw my sling and judged me to be a drug-seeker, even though I had a legitimate Rx! Found another pharmacy nearby, where they also didn't have my Rx, but not because they were out. They didn't have it because they're not a big chain, and they just don't carry narcotics. But that pharmacist was very nice about it all, and suggested CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens. She was actually enthusiastic about Walgreens, so that's where I went to get my meds. And they gave me zero resistance. #YayWalgreens

In the upcoming week, I'd been scheduled for some background (acting) work, with Covid tests on Monday and Tuesday, and 3 potential BG days Wednesday through Friday. Somewhere around the incident, they changed the test days to Sunday and Monday. So now it's weekend, and I'm calling the after-hours line, leaving messages, asking to change the tests back to M/T. I have an injury, and an appointment to see a specialist. If you test me and I don't end up working, you won't pay me for the test, and everyone's time will have been wasted. If I see the specialist and he clears me for work, I'll give you two clean tests and then I'll work! ... "Production would like for you to test on S/M and we'll still pay you whether you work or not"... hmm

So on Sunday 3 October, I drive myself to the testing site, by way of an auto-parts store, where I buy a knob for my steering wheel and attach it so I can use my left hand as little as possible and manage to drive myself!

#AchievementUnlocked! And of course, my negative test results come in that night, so...

On Monday 4 October, I drive myself to my ortho appointment. Only one person on the staff grates on me, expecting me to run my credit card for the charges as they accrue, rather than hitting it once for the day's total bill. At some point, he relents to allow me to run the office visit and x-rays together, and I relent to adding the cast afterwards, if that's what it takes to be seen. #ThatsWhatItTakesToBeSeen

Dr. Nevarez and Dr. Gendelman are top-notch. They both inspire sufficient confidence, so that when I discover that the ER has possibly mis-diagnosed and therefore mis-treated me, I'm less upset with the ER than I am sure of this particular ortho practice. My fracture was never hairline; I should have been able to see an ortho within 24-48 hours, or the ER should have put me in a real cast versus the splint. The time spent in the splint has made the fracture worse, not better, and now the only thing for it is surgery.

SURGERY. Cut me open and install a plate and pins. FIX the injury. Okay. #JustDoIt. How soon? What will it cost? How long will I be "down"?

There was an opening in his schedule for Tuesday 5 October! I'd have to be at the hospital by 5 a.m. for pre-op, so I'd be under the knife by 7 a.m. #GREAT #JustDoIt. Went home with my "do's and don'ts" list, informed Central Casting ON MONDAY that I would not be working this week, and waited. (I did not cancel the Covid test on Sunday!)

5 October: Stephen drove me to the hospital in the 4 a.m. hour, or as I like to call it, #DawnsTrampStamp. Got checked in early in the lobby, and waited to be sent upstairs. Got to the first round of paperwork, which I had him fill out so all I'd have to do was sign, and when they took me in for pre-op, they sent him back downstairs. He found some nice coffee somewhere and did whatever he does (reading or writing or playing games or posting on Fakebork).

Post-op, so bruised & swollen, but feeling 10k times better. I'm now bionic! I will set off every airport security gate going forward... can't wait to get to fly ANYWHERE!

The rest of Tuesday was spent in rest, in a much more reasonable splint, with only two medical "rules" to be followed: 1. Pick up nothing heavy 2. Follow up with the office on the 18th.

And now you're caught up on the injury & immediate treatments. Now to cover just LIFE and unlocked achievements! Please, comment away! I'll respond pretty quickly, this week, I think...

A Timeline, to be updated? Or just continued?

16 - 29 September: work, walk, shop, live... do the things. Do All the Things #ActorLife #SetLife #Blessed

30 September: work on set, then later shop, walk, shoot video/photos of the neighbors' yards that are already decorated for Halloween. Some pretty good stuff, y'all. Trip on a sidewalk crack, fly like Superman, land on both of my hands, exchanging my keys for a biggish chunk of gravel in my left palm, and scraping my phone case (in my right hand) across the offending sidewalk. #10kSteps #ThePhoneIsUnharmedThankfullyBecauseThatsWhatsImportantRightNow #ButOwFuckOwFuckOwFUCKOwFuckOwFuckOwFUCKOwFuckOwFuckOwFUCK

Hobble home, gingerly "holding" my bubbled left wrist with my just-beginning-to-bleed right hand. Greeted by the cats upon entry, burst into the ugliest ugly cry you've never witnessed. You remember the wives in Biblical and/or ancient Greek literature, wailing over their husbands slain in battle? That was me, for a solid 30 minutes, trying to rinse the dirt outta my wounds and figure out (not logically, no) why my fucking wrist hurts so fucking bad! Managed, somehow, in my pain and tears and snot, to call Rachel, the niece, the nurse. She's east coast and it's late. I get voicemail. I'm still crying and snotting and now apologizing for the hour, leaving a message that I have no hope of being understood in**. No idea what to do next.*

* Back before Covid, I had health insurance. GOOD insurance, through my union, SAG-AFTRA. Because of the loss of work, I also lost my insurance. No biggie, since I'm a pretty healthy person with a strong immune system, right? Well...

** Rachel's Google translate is hysterical! I hope she'll allow me to post the screenshot

Still the 30th, even on the east coast, Rachel calls me back. {She's an incredibly patient nurse, and also my very loving niece. I've been so #Blessed to be her auntie.} She talks me off my ledge, instructs me to take 1000mg each of ibuprofen and acetaminaphen, and also locates for me THREE nearish emergency rooms that I should get to immediately, if not sooner, because in her opinion, that left wrist is probably broken. At that point, I don't have the strength in either hand to be able to open the childproof OTC pill bottles, much less drive, and Stephen is at work without wheels of his own. So I knock on the neighbor's door, and they both open my drugs for me and give me a lift to St. Joe's ER. Rachel hangs up when she knows I'm moving in the right direction, and she expects updates, knowing I'll be on someone else's schedule for the next long while. Arriving at the ER, I send the neighbors home - no way I'm asking you to stay, since it'll likely be tomorrow before I'm outta here. Thank you kindly.

I get processed relatively quickly. I don't see a lot of what look like COVID cases (although I'm waiting in the "injured" half of the room and don't have the instinct to "diagnose" anyone in the other side of the room). X-rays are taken, and I'm so chilled to my bones, I'm afraid I've messed up the pics with my shaking. The tech assures me he got what was needed, finds me a toasty warm blanket to wrap up in, and parks me in a chair in the hall - no more lobby waiting for me!

I'm sent to a room where I'm greeted by my PA, "Dr. Drew". He tells me I have a hairline fracture; tries to show it to me in the printouts of the x-rays, but I don't really know what I'm looking at. He tells me they're going to put me in a "soft cast" (splint), give me an Rx for pain meds, and refer me to an orthopedist I'll need to see in ten days. Then he hands me (or really, tucks into my bag for me) a bunch of papers, including the x-ray prints, and leaves the room to fetch the splinter-tech. 

I'm joined by 3 young people, possibly nurses, possibly some other job label. I learn their names immediately, because that's what I do. I have, of course, since forgotten their names. It's been twelve days - gimme a break! The woman in charge is training the man, and the other young lady is also observing as training (she had been observing when I was first admitted). We four are getting along splendidly, and I'm trying to absorb all the same info at the same time. There was probably a pain-med injection early on, though, so I may have been a bit loopy. I don't recall.

The splint goes from my second knuckles around my elbow and back again to the second knuckles. I ask why so long, and the lead tech has me twist my right wrist, which I'm able to do (because it is not restricted to the elbow). I ask about the 10 days, and she says most patients are out of it sooner. Um, what? Of their own volition, or what? How does that work? They finish the dressing, ask if I have my discharge papers, and tell me they'll be back with Dr. Drew. Um, okay. #IDontKnowWhatQuestionsToAsk #IDontKnowHowToAnswerTheirQuestions #DoIHaveDischargePapers?

I'm left alone for a little bit, so I post pics on Fakebork and tag Stephen, because it feels like I need to go home soon, if they're asking if I have discharge papers... he calls immediately, in panic mode, because that's his SOP (which is why I hadn't reached out earlier), and while I can't give him concrete answers to his questions yet, I do assure him that I just need for him to come get me, and all of the details will be sorted in due time. He signs off, saying he needs to get permission to leave early (but sure it won't be a problem).

Dr. Drew et al return to see if everything's been done "correctly". I ask whether I need to pay a bill at registration or if I'll be billed, and Dr. Drew remembers this lovely California thing called "Emergency Medi-Cal", which is essentially Medicare for low-income under-65's (US). He sends the financial wizard in, and wouldn't you know? We qualified. Of course we did. So now, rather than waiting for Stephen to get all the way home on a bus, to collect my keys from the hook, and drive to get me, he catches a rather expensive Lyft to bring him to me and then us to home.

In the meantime, I still don't know that all of the papers that Dr. Drew had shoved into my bag So. Much. Earlier this night were, in fact, my discharge papers. I've been free to go! For a coupla hours, apparently! I meet the car in the drive, still wrapped in my no-longer-toasty blanket, and we get home, where I replay the events, and the cats finally get fed.

And then Cocoa stress-pees on the bed, and Stephen has to strip it for immediate laundering, and we've gotta figure out how to sleep before the next adventure! This was an awful lot to type, so I'm going to say... next post, a continuation of this epic saga! Feel free to chime in with questions or your own similar experiences!

It's September Already! Time to head Back To School!

Well, not for me, per se... although, if I'm honest, I headed back to school prior to the pandemic. I've been a consumer of additional training like a starving person heads to a buffet table! I've mentioned this already, in the post titled "Hello, is this thing on?"

So, in addition to being nice and busy in my industry (showbiz: in front of the camera, behind the mic, and as recently as this weekend, BEHIND the camera), I've also been back in school, as it were, consuming and sharing a five webinar series to up my VO game. I'm sure you remember, from my "catch-up" post titled "Where to begin?", that I began my VO career with a relationship with a Kindle Rights Holder, and have been producing his audiobooks. I'm consuming and sharing this week's free webinar to make sure I'm still doing everything the right way (I am, thanks for asking).

So I want to make sure, if you have an interest in a VO career for yourself, or if you know someone else with an interest in a VO career, that YOU (or that person you know) has visited the link I shared and watched the five videos. Here's the deal: this free webinar, while being a complete free educational opportunity, does lead you to a full curriculum and a whole year's worth of education! Last year, I opted in for the curriculum and the community, just like SCHOOL (although online, because of the pandemic, of course).

The curriculum covers so much more than audiobooks. There's just so much more training and workouts and coaching and feedback and all questions answered, by the coaches or the community... it really does feel like heading back to school, but without any of the negative connotations that "school" may imply. Sure, you can sharpen some new pencils or grab a new notebook (remember the Trapper Keeper(TM)?), but you don't have to. You don't need to buy a uniform or any other new "back to school" clothes or figure out which bus to take or how to get to class. In fact, since everything is on mic and not on camera, you could very easily attend every lesson/workout/training sesh in yer birthday suit, if ya wanna! #FreeToBeReal

This year's curriculum is available to you as early as TODAY. The free webinar is still available this week, so you should definitely check it out - go to www.bit.ly/voheroes-emelle-sent-me - and click on the thumbnails at the bottom of the page (1 through 5), and then look at the final video, which walks you through registering for CoolSchool! 

I've gained so much over the past year of attending this #CoolSchool, both in the training I've received from David H. Lawrence XVII and the other coaches and also in the community of my "classmates". We're all in different places in our lives, educations, and careers. Some of us are brand new at VO (and everyone is, at some point), and others of us are nearly expert at one or more areas of VO. We all have something to contribute, including asking questions publicly, in case another classmate has the same question!

Do YOU have an interest in starting or improving your VO career? Do you know someone who does? Have you visited the link (www.bit.ly/voheroes-emelle-sent-me)? Do you have any other questions for me? Comment below!

Assumptions based on personal history, UPDATED

If you've been following me for awhile, you know that one of the ways I *try* to stay fit is by walking 10,000 steps each day. I'll go days at a time where I don't get close - like, if I stay in the apartment and never venture past the mailbox, I'm lucky to hit 1,000 steps. And then I'll have weeks where I average 12k-13k per day. It's no big deal, either way; I'm not bragging about my successes nor complaining about my "failures". I'm just saying - I'm a human being who has found a way to feel good about fitness through walking, and I have good days and not-so-good days.

One of my favorite reasons to get out of the house lately, is when I "win" a "give" from my local Buy Nothing group. If you're on Fakebork At All, you may know about the Buy Nothing Project. "Give Where You Live" is the motto that drives it, and it's a FREE marketplace where you can meet your neighbors. Have a sectional couch in decent shape that you don't need anymore? Post it as a "give" in your local group. Need new hot or foam rollers because your hair is long enough to work on "period" film/television and just don't have time to shop for a new set? ASK for them! Chances are, you have a neighbor who wants to unload their old-but-still-functional steam rollers! Or express your appreciation for all of the neighbors who contributed single china tea place settings for your bridal shower garden party in a "gratitude" post! It's amazing. 

Because the "marketplace" is hyper-local, receiving a gift is a very good excuse to take a walk. I don't always get 10k steps out of it, but I've learned my local routes well enough, and I do wear my Disney princess non-Fitbit thingy, so I can calculate where I need to go to get those 10k. So I get out, pick up small "gives, sometimes meet the neighbors (not always - COVID has made a lot of exchanges socially distant), get my steps.

Most days, whether I'm able to walk at my 3.5 mph pace, or I'm much slower due to foot, ankle, or knee pain, I'm walking by choice. OFTEN (far too often), some random dude in a car will pass me, honking or slowing down, to "check me out". I do what I can to ignore them. If they're blatant in their rude gawking, I'll turn to face them and angrily yell "WHAT?"... at which point they'll usually offer me a ride.

I've been stewing over this random-dudes-offering-me-rides issue for awhile. I do not know how to make it clear, once and For All Time, that I am taking a fucking walk! If I wanted to be in a car, I'd be driving!

So. Yesterday, after I was wrapped from set, I had a pick-up to make. Walking home, a car approached and slowed waaaaay the fuck down. I was already in angry yell "WHAT?" mode before I realized the driver was a little old lady. After I passed, another pedestrian couple stopped at her passenger window, and she told them that I looked exactly like her mother did, when she (her mom) was my age.

Not what I was expecting to hear. My personal experiences with walking through my neighborhood have only allowed me to assume that the driver is some rando... a horndog dude. And so I finished my walk, chastened for having yelled at a little old lady who was missing her dead mom, and I cried, missing my Mommy. 

When you assume, you make an ass outta you and me.

What's walking in your neighborhood like? Do you participate in the BNP, or anything similar? Do you still miss your dead Mommy, 15 years later? Talk to me, peeps. I've been gone awhile. I miss you! (Comment below)

UPDATE: I got home from set today, did some "stuff", and then headed out for a nearby pickup from my BNP group. Easy peasy 10k steps today. Then, as I'm reaching my block, I allow a turning car to travel before I cross the street. I know that as a pedestrian, I have the right of way, and I will often exercise that right, but just as often, I'll yield, so I don't piss off a driver enough to have him knock me on my ass with his car. So I yielded, and walked down my block towards the apartment building. Dude must've been watching me, and turned around. He traveled down my block, slowly, and asked if I wanted a ride. PLEASE say it with me: "No, I don't want a fucking ride! If I wanted to be in a car, I'd be driving!"

Fuck these fucking assumptions. I hate being right so much.

Where to Begin, to "cover" two years?

5:51 p.m. I suppose the smart thing to do would be to re-read the 16 posts I made in 2019. Yeah, that's what I'll do... hang on... BRB, as the kids say...

7:38 p.m. I can't just re-read my words. I have to re-read them aloud, because I'm more actor than writer, y'all. Sorry it took me 1.5 hours to read 17 posts. #ImADumbass #IIncludedTheOneFromThisWeek

2019 ended with plenty more work and plenty more volunteerism and probably a Christmas party or a dozen, notably at the SAG-AFTRA offices, among other places. We worked and earned some money and made some contacts and lived our fucking lives. All of us did. None of us knew.

2020 began and I continued booking background acting work. I was on set, photo-doubling for Cloris Leachman in scenes she was not able to shoot (yes, I was wigged and dressed and absolutely not shot in such a way you'd know it wasn't her)... and then the world learned of "The Chinese Virus"... and the production did everything right from the word "go"... masks and hand sanitizers and temperature checks and no more communal buffet-style catering or craft services... and I had one last day to go, which got cancelled without notice, but I guess "Finger of God" is sufficient excuse not to pay anyone for that day of work, so at the beginning of April, I filed for unemployment. By June, I'd lost my health insurance coverage (as I'd lost my eligibility by the end of March).

At some point early in 2020, Stephen was hired by Dodgers Stadium. The hiring process took some time, what with interviews and assessment tests and start paperwork and getting uniforms and such. And then the stadium cancelled the season for the foreseeable future. So every week, we'd get a direct deposit of $0.00 from Dodgers Stadium, so we'd know that Stephen still had a "job" he couldn't go to. So he filed for unemployment.

I don't remember when our apartment manager Marge died, but her husband Jack, who'd been the handyman for the building, became the manager by default, and then he got very very ill... in March or April of 2020. And then he died. We have no evidence, but we believe COVID got him. We were all pretty sad to lose Marge, but we were hit hard when we lost Jack. Everything was shut down! Everyone was home, all the damn time! Keeping our distance and wearing masks and stuff! Jack probably contracted it doing a small repair in someone's apartment, or working in his garage on somebody's car. He was probably ready to be reunited with Marge, but I hate to think how he probably suffered in his last days. And none of us knew.

Once I knew I wasn't going anywhere, I dyed my hair purple (temporary dye). Got new headshots in August.

Then it grew/washed out a fun streaky silver. Got new headshots in November.

Then I dyed it purple again. Then it grew/washed out a less-fun streaky silver but mostly dirty blonde. Got new headshots in February of 2021.

*short tangent* Then in April, both of us qualified to get vaccinated. So vaccinated we got. When they ask us to get boosters, we'll get 'em. #CrushThisFuckingPandemic *end tangent*

Then I went back to "my" blonde, but did not return to my pixie cut. Got new headshots in June.

... and "life" went on. We were staying abreast of developments, and that meme showed up, and I dove headfirst into online training, since in-person training was "over". And unemployment was supplemented, and extended, and supplemented again, and extended again, and so on. And there were stimulus payments. And God Knows, if there had been work for either of us to do that could have been done without risk of contracting a killer disease, we'd have gone back to work. We didn't stay unemployed because it paid more than employment. We stayed unemployed because it was all we could do.

I honestly don't even know how I managed it, but I got us out of debt, y'all. #Blessed and #IAmAMoneyMagnetThankYouThankYouThankYou ... got us out of debt, paid off the car and EVERY single credit card, and bought a lot of online trainings. Got set up in my home VO booth and connected with an author ("rights holder") on ACX and started producing his audiobooks. I set my finished hour rate, he agreed to it, and he just keeps throwing "one more" book at me. #VOActorGettingPaid #18BooksAndCounting

Still and all, our income tax return for 2020 looks like we're just out of college and newly married. The lowest income - TOGETHER - that either of us can remember making, in our personal histories of filing earned income taxes. And no real hope of an end to the pandemic in sight yet.

BUT the Dodgers returned to the stadium! And Stephen now gets more than $0.00 deposited most weeks, because he is gainfully employed (part-time, but still)!

I somehow got "found" by a manager in January of 2020, and after a longish "false start" to that relationship, something compelled me to reach out and figure out how to improve that relationship (get new headshots when you dye or otherwise change your hair). I've become a go-to actor/intern/technology goddess, and I have had more auditions since 2019 than I ever had in my career prior. No bookings yet, but I have at least two casting directors who invite me repeatedly to audition for their projects. Which means it's just a matter of time. #WhatsForMeIsForOnlyMe

... and in the last month or so, I've finally told my calling service (for background acting) that as long as auditions are self-taped and not live (whether in-person or virtual), there is no reason I can't be working on #SafeSets. Which means, because of COVID testing protocols, for the past 4 weeks, I have averaged ONE day per week where I didn't have somewhere to go for a production (which means I'm averaging 4 paid days of "work" per week). And because my hair is not a pixie cut, I'm back to working on "period" pieces, where I have fittings and personalized hairdressings and makeup not my "norm".

ALSO in the last month or two, Stephen and I decided that it was time for us to own a home. We started house-hunting in earnest, working with a realtor to see what we could likely afford, and reaching out to lenders to see what "the system" thinks we can afford. 

Unfortunately, because of that just-out-of-college level of income for 2020, we've had to put real estate on hold until we can compile all of our verifiable 2021 income. In the meantime, we stay busy with work, we certify for unemployment (because part-time income and/or dayplaying, as I'm doing, is still not fully employed, and therefore underemployed, even if either of us earns too much in a week to be eligible to collect benefits). The last known "extension" ends by September 11th, and neither of us is even in that extension, so unless the pandemic brings government back to addressing unemployment extensions or supplements again, when either of our "banks" runs out of money, so do we.

At least we're out of debt, yo. #ImNotWorried #ImNotEagerEither

And I think you're now caught up! Which means that I just have to not get so busy that I neglect you again! What shall we talk about next? Comment below!

Hello? Is this thing on?

HELLO FRIENDS! I know it's been forever since I visited my own blog or even those of the brilliant bloggers I used to read with any regularity. Easier to ask forgiveness than permission, though, amirite?

Here's the thing. I got lazy. Then the globe got shut down by a pandemic, and I was stuck in front of my computer with no inspiration (sound familiar?). Then I saw a meme that hit home - I just went looking for the image, which took me down a long rabbit hole, thanks, Google - "This ends in Death or Divorce". (I didn't find the meme, and I absolutely do not encourage you to search for it either)... and so, to avoid that ending of the pandemic for me, at least, I dove headfirst into online training. I was going to do everything possible to move my acting career forward!

I spent a good bit of money and time. Almost every class I invested in started with a freebie - a one-or two-day webinar that "wet my whistle", so to speak. Not every free webinar was worthless, although most were 100% a sales pitch. Some of the classes I paid for were worthless!

But joy of joys, I hit the jackpot when I found the free webinar series from David H. Lawrence XVII on Voiceover from Home. I got so much good info from the freebie, I enrolled in the yearlong curriculum and joined his merry tribe of VOHeroes. And once I had absorbed enough information to get started, I found an Amazon/Kindle author who wanted to turn his collection of e-books into audiobooks on Audible. I've been working with him since that humble beginning, and we are currently in BOOK #19! I can honestly say that without the VOHeroes free webinar, I wouldn't have found the paid curriculum, and I'd have suffered my way through COVID-19 cabin fever, and I'd probably be significantly less stable right now, both financially and mentally.

Not to suggest that DHLXVII (as I like to call David) saved my life, or anything. But I can say with absolute certainty that the course of my life was changed for the better when his webinar found me.

Do you, or does someone you know, have an interest in Voice Acting? Maybe you'd like to read audiobooks, like I do. Maybe you'd like to be a cartoon character. Maybe you'd like to be the "fast-talking legalese expert" at the end of car and drug commercials. Maybe you'd like to be the guy or gal who says "for English, Press 1". Maybe you have one of these, or other VO interests, but you Just Don't Know how to get started. I can help you with that. It's time for the annual free webinar series! 

I love David and the VOHeroes curriculum and platform so much that he's made me an "affiliate partner" to promote the free webinar series. Click Here to gain access to the five free, FULLY-LOADED webinars called "Mastering Home-Based Voice Over". The first lesson dropped yesterday at 10 a.m., and includes a Q&A covering questions asked by early registrants. It's SOOOO good! Access the video, take notes during it, add your questions in the comments section following the video, and then David will answer them in the next video.

The videos drop every other day over the course of nine days, so watch them when you can (you don't have to try to watch them "live" at 10 a.m. PST). Seriously, if you want to get started in VO, or you just want to get better at VO, you don't want to miss this five-video series. Did I mention it's FREE?

I know it's probably shitty of me to be gone so long and then come back all "sales pitchy". I'm sorry about that. Please forgive me. I really have been super busy, and in the coming days, I hope to be able to fill you in on all of that stuff. In the meantime, though, I didn't want you to miss out on this free webinar series if you have interest.

So, a question for you, as I used to always try to ask something at the ends of my posts: How have you been surviving the pandemic?

Adulting, Part the Third (Now with Pictures Added!)

Cocoa says "hi"

Hmmm...

I beg your pardon, is that your colon or a rose garden?

Purty, innit?

Smokey says "whut?"

yes, I know I'm cute and sassy, but...
It's So Short!

Adulting, Part the Second

Yeah, this is sort of a continuation – maybe I’ll get through the whole week of adulting! Monday was, of course, the MEDICAL adulting – the dreaded colonoscopy.

On Tuesday, I was booked for work! #WooToTheHoo! I drove deep into the heart of The Valley (fer shure, not “of Death”) to park in a church parking lot and then get shuttled to a grocery store where I’d previously worked on an episode of Barry.

They had asked for lots of BRIGHT clothing options, but hadn’t indicated a season, so most of us were dressed for the current season – HOT weather. When the wardrobe gal looked through my stuff, she was really only happy with my maroon jeans and hot pink sweater. I should also have grabbed my denim jacket out of my car, but I forgot (because it’s not quite “bright”). Oh, well.

I’d cooked some bacon the night before, because it was an early call time a decent distance away, and having just come off my colonoscopy, I wanted to be sure to eat keto again, once I started eating again. Not that I needed my bacon – there was definitely something appropriate at catering, but I did eat my bacon, so I’d have an empty to-go container for lunchtime! #TheyThrowAwayTheLeftoversSoImHelpingByTakingItHome

We were working inside the grocery store, so I was glad to have my thermal mugs of tea and my hot pink sweater. The work was easy, and I’ll just say this here: Peyton Manning is as sweet and funny in real life as he appears to be in the plethora of commercials he’s currently starring in.

Tuesday was a longish day (ten hours), and they didn’t break us for lunch right away, so we got five meal penalties. Which means it’ll be a nice fat paycheck. YAY! #IAmAMoneyMagnetThankYouThankYouThankYou

On Wednesday, I was home, shopping the Ikea website for a specific sleeper sofa we’d agreed was #TheOne. I’d tried to order it online over the weekend, but the website had indicated it was out of stock. So, back at it on Wednesday, there it was, waiting for me, with a $20 savings on shipping from the website vs. at the store, BUT we’d have to wait until the 29^th to get it! ... and was I interested in applying for a rewards credit card with an instant rebate, or possibly the Ikea Projekt card, with 6 months at 0% interest? Decisions, decisions! What a quandary!

So, I found where Stephen had stashed his credit card that we’d agreed we’d use (just to keep the account active), and I drove to the store. I marched my ass straight to the help desk at sleeper sofas, placed my “order”, and then marched my ass straight back down to the cashiers. None of my normal “getting steps whilst meandering the lovely large warehouse” for me that day! I was on a mission!

My adulting for Wednesday was buying a couch, y’all. And making sure that if I got booked for work, Stephen would definitely be home in the 1 – 5 window The Next Day to accept delivery. And then later, Wednesday evening, I went to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation to volunteer for a screening of John Travolta’s new movie. It was horrible, y’all. It was BORING. And for some reason, this audience full of actors kept laughing at JT’s autistic character’s faux pas(es? No, I don’t know how to pluralize a French word)! I left before the Q&A, to discover a large group of people staking out the only entrance to the parking garage, hoping to get JT to sign their paraphernalia. It was very meta. Obviously, none of them had seen the film I just watched. #UGH #IGotThis #AdultingMightSuckButSometimesWeJustGottaDoIt

On Thursday morning, I gave myself a haircut and touched up my color. I wasn’t the last one to use the Wahl trimmer, though, so when I looked for the two guards that were paired in the case, I didn’t look closely. I cut my hair too short, y’all! Yes, it’s cute and sassy and I still look good, but I no longer look like my headshots because I cut my hair too short, y’all! I normally use the 1” guard around my back and sides, and the 1.5” guard on top. Because Stephen used the trimmer set last, he’d paired the ½” with the 1”. And because I didn’t look closely, we are #BothToBlame for me cutting my hair too short, y’all! #AdultingIsHardSometimes

On Thursday afternoon, The Sofa Arrived! So, over the course of 3 hours, we both perused the pictorial Ikea build instructions, and then we built a lovely sleeper sofa. The last time we bought any real #Adult furniture, Smokey immediately peed on it to mark it as his and also to help de-gas the #NewFurnitureSmell, a.k.a. formaldehyde. To prevent that happening this time, we saved all of the big plastic wrap that the big pieces were packed in, and we kept the old futon mattress after carrying the futon frame downstairs to the alley.

So I’m sitting on a new couch that’s wrapped in plastic and has an additional big cushion that still smells like us and the cats. It’s quite stylish, yo. No, but seriously, #SometimesAdultingIsThinkingAhead

On Friday, I unfolded the couch and set the loose cushions on chairs just outside the front door to help them de-gas some more. They’re supposed to air out (and fluff up from their vacuum-sealed bags) over the course of 72 hours. I figure, better to do that in actual air, rather than in the storage cubby in the sofa. Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention. #TheSleeperSofaHasStorage #W00tW00t!

Then, before I left to volunteer at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Emmy-Nominated Stunt Panel (a much better night than Wednesday!), I tossed ONE cushion, all three covers, a wet towel, and a bunch of dryer sheets into the dryer and allowed it to run on “no heat – air dry – fluff” while I was out, put the other two cushions back in the storage, re-folded the couch, and put the chairs back under the table. Stephen won’t know all of what I did yesterday until YOU do! #ImSneakyYesIAmButTheCatsKnow

And That, My Friends, is why I won’t do two shows a night, I just won’t. No, that’s not what I wanted to say here. And That, My Friends, is my week of Adulting. What #FunNotFun things have YOU been up to?

I know you want 'em, so pictures will follow, in Part the Third!

ManOhMan, has it been AWHILE!

I last checked in with y'all at the End Of May. Which means we didn't chat at all about my birthday in June (and I am usually #VeryPersistent in reminding people that my birthday is coming up, and asking everyone #HowDoYouPlanToCelebrateMe?)... we missed the review of my Hollywood Fringe Festival experience (just no audiences to speak of, and a lackadaisical cast)... we missed my re-acquaintance with my old friend Stephanie... we missed the two earthquakes we had on-or-about Independence Day... we missed me replacing my laptop-that-became-a-desktop-when-I-killed-the-screen... we missed my full weekend of bemoaning the loss of a decade or more of emails, some of which were probably #ImportantShit... we missed Daddy moving from Florida to Colorado (with my sister)... we missed Max's severe car accident that she is still recovering from... we missed my building of a new-for-me website (I think, maybe?)!

Currently, we have a weekend houseguest sleeping on our futon and attending acting classes with me. She still has employment #WayFarAway from "the industry" (showbiz), so mostly, she's only here on weekends. She's looking for more industry opportunities, so this couch-surfing could become #SlightlyMoreSemiPermanent, at which point she'll contribute to groceries or utilities or rent or something. We've learned from our previous houseguest leech not to become doormats!

So, because of the futon being a bed more often than it used to be, Stephen and I are looking at replacing it. He'd been researching mattresses for it, because there's honestly nothing wrong with the frame. But he's having no luck with that, so we're considering dropping about 500 on a new sleeper sofa from Ikea. We like the size; we like the "sit"; we like the "lay/lie down" (YES, I'll nitpik your grammar, but even if I look this one up, I'm not going to remember which one means "recline" so STFU!); we especially like the color! ... HOWEVER...

Stephen's laptop just crashed one too many times, and he's replaced it. But we were unable to rescue his novel, among other things, from his hard drive, which means it's currently being diagnosed by professionals. We have no doubt that they'll be able to rescue all of the files he needs, but in the meantime, we get to wait to see what that's going to cost us. It's not that we can't "afford" the 500 for the couch... but we do have to be responsible, don't we? Budget for shit that's nonessential? Right?

Speaking of diagnoses, I HAVE SAG-AFTRA HEALTH INSURANCE AGAIN! I got the notification in the mail on my birthday, which was the absofuckinglute best happy birthday celebratory dance at a mailbox I have ever had. (Hashtag AbsoFuckingLute)... so I had my general wellness exam for zero dollars and zero cents in July, and because I am #AWomanOfACertainAge, I also have to have some follow-up testing. Pray for me this weekend, when I will be fasting with tea and other clear liquids, to be put under on Monday with "Twilight" anesthesia whilst the doc pushes a tiny tube up my rectum so he can shine a tiny light on my innards, watching on a tiny camera to see if there are any polyps, and then grabbing them with a tiny grabby thingy for testing. The chance of there being at least one polyp is 50% (or did he say 1 in 50, a.k.a. 2%?). The chance of any polyps being pre-cancerous is 25% (or, again, was that 1 in 25? or 4% of the 2%? OOF. I'm good at numbers, but now I don'r remember what he said a week ago). Ennyhoo. I'll come out of the "Twilight" sleep a bit loopy, so I have to have a ride home. They will NOT release me to drive or take a Lyft or a bus or anything on my own recognizance! Luckily, my friend Max works just down the street, so she can probably let me hang out in her office or break room for the hour or so it takes me to truly recover. If that Dx is "clear", then I won't have to undergo that procedure again for ten years. And in the meantime, it doesn't cost me a dime, because I HAVE SAG-AFTRA HEALTH INSURANCE AGAIN!

Still have to get my skin checked out by a dermatologist and the girls squished by a mammographer. Yay. :-/

Also. Since beginning my Ketogenic Lifestyle (TM), I have lost twenty pounds (I was only shooting for ten), 3" off my waist, nearly 3" off my hips, and ~1" off each thigh. I've been very hit-or-miss with the daily yoga, but I know that when I was doing it more regularly, my arms and core were gaining strength. I've also been very hit-or-miss with my swimming at the Y, but when I go, I do up to :30 of laps, with just a skosh of treading water (the ol' gang isn't there anymore, so I don't have a social hour, it's just swimming). I did replace my waistband-wearable non-Fitbit thingy with a wrist wearable Disney Princesses (kid's) one, also NON-Fitbit, because I am anti-brand, for the most part. I like it. It counts my steps (10k per day IS a regular thing for me) and tracks my sleep, and lets me know if I've been still for too long (although it counts puttering around in the kitchen as stillness), and then if I have a total of one hour or more of activity in the day, it takes me on an adventure with Ariel and Flounder. It's cute.

So I'm currently catching you up while I make chocolate gelato, Keto-style. It's soooooo gooooood!

What have you been up to, since last we ... spoke (?) ?

Just checkin' in

I don't really have anything new to say (I don't think - we'll see if this manages to be a real post or not), but I happened to check in to my blog stats page, and noticed that This Page had been recently viewed by at least three people. So I went there to see what I'd said, way back when.

I remember the incident but not the action. Facebook has never been my choice of social media hangout, ya know? Yes, I did used to use it a lot to look for work (not that I ever really found work there), and yes, I used to link new blog posts there for the folks who weren't subscribing. Nowadays, anything I tweet over in the Twitterverse gets linked to my Facebook page for anyone not following me in the aviary. But I really don't hang out on Facebook.

(I really like this pic)

So that incident with the Troll has had very little effect on my actual life. #Blessed

***

In other news, I'm sixteen days away from our first performance of our YOU Project at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. We've been rehearsing up a storm, and this upcoming Sunday will be an intense rehearsal followed by a group birthday party, since two of our members will celebrate ON the 2nd, then my birthday is Monday, another member's is Tuesday, and then one more person's is the following Sunday... That's a lot of birthdays in a clump, out of twelve people! Then we have our "tech" rehearsal that following Sunday, and really start to let the panic* creep in! We open on the 14th!

*Just kidding about the panic. We got this. We're totally ready. We're actors! This is what we DO!

I had the month of May "off" from the Conservatory, but June is back on the schedule. So, attending some classes, volunteering at some classes, TEACHING/Leading a session (mostly just tech support at this point, but it's still not nothing)... volunteering at the Foundation... rehearsing... submitting for PAID work and hopefully getting to audition and book some stuff... and continuing to record audiobooks for the niblings, and maybe get a commercial and/or VO agent along the way?

So, yeah, I guess this post was longer than I anticipated. 'Sall Good.

If you're local-ish to Los Angeles, wouldn't you LOVE to come see some good live theatre? The Hollywood Fringe Festival is the largest LA theatre festival of the year, which means there'll be plenty of (hopefully) amazing stuff to see on a stage nearish to you! You can get tickets to MY shows by scanning the QR code or clicking here (I'm in You too, not You again). Thank you in advance for supporting live theatre (and me!)

Unexpected benefits of volunteering

So I've mentioned I volunteer for the SAG Foundation. I've also mentioned that I've been actively taking classes at the SAG Conservatory. Recently, I signed up for a class at the Conservatory to orientate (?) new volunteers there, and ended up getting added to the roster of volunteers as soon as that class session ended.

Just before March began, the schedule of all classes that needed volunteers was emailed out, and because I responded immediately, I was booked for 4 classes, two on the same day but with a long break between them, and then the other two later in the month. Then on the 1st of March, I got added to another class (which is actually tonight).

I was booked for work on set last week, on the day that I was scheduled to volunteer twice. So I had to "call out" and get a replacement. I know they replaced me for the evening class (I honestly knew beforehand that they would, because that instructor is my favorite, and that's probably a consensus amongst students there). I hope they found a replacement for the morning class. I was bummed that I had to miss both of those, because I'm nervous about my first time. I have to set up the camera and record all the sessions and then play those back and give people copies on their cards or drives, and although I took copious notes in the training sessions, technical stuff is not necessarily in my immediate wheelhouse, and I haven't had a chance to "practice". So wish me luck that I don't completely #FuckItAllUp tonight!

*** Also, #ICYMI (because I neglected to actually STATE it), #AnyDayOnSetIsAGoodDay and I'm #Blessed to have missed my volunteerism for work. #SetLife #WorkBegetsWork #WorkIsAGoodThing

Ennyhoo, let's get to the really good stuff - the title of this post!

At our very first orientation class (there were two, actually), we were shown upon arrival where all the goodies were kept. Snacks. Beverages. Folders and tins of mints and plastic luggage tags and notebooks with nice pens and phone chargers. SWAG (Stuff We All Get). Good, cool, free stuff, just for saying "yeah, you can have my time". I ended up with a few of those phone chargers. They're great when you're on a set that has limited electrical outlets. They work for both my phone and my tablet. It's awesome. #Grateful #GreatFull

Near the end of last week, an email went out to ALL of the volunteers looking for participants in an AFI student film "loop group". I have taken a few looping classes at the Don LaFontaine VoiceOver Lab at the SAG Foundation, so I (of course) immediately signed up to participate.

*Looping is the recording of voices for a film or show, done after principal photography, to either replace onscreen dialogue or fill in dialogue that wasn't shot on-the-day. It can be the background conversations of random people on the street or in the restaurant, or it can be PA announcements in a train station or hospital, or it can even be grunts, moans, and breathing. It can be a lot of things. It's all recorded at full volume, and then edited in very quietly. It adds to the scene we see, without overtaking it.*

At any rate, the six of us who replied most quickly were picked, and we showed up to a home studio in the middle of nowhere to record all of ^that^ kind of stuff for about an hour/hour and a half. The home studio was amazing. It made me a bit jealous (#TotesJelly), because it was so well constructed, and it exists in someone's house. Because it's a student film, none of us will be paid for our work. But we will all receive credit, and I'm going to find out whether that "day" "on set" counts towards my health eligibility. Because I think it might!

... And I wouldn't even have known about that opportunity (to practice looping, to network with other loopers, to network with up-and-coming filmmakers), had I not signed up to volunteer.

Now I just have to survive tonight.

What about you? Do you currently volunteer for anyone? What unexpected blessings have you received from it? Let's chat!

A back-pedal catch-up

I hate winter. I think y'all may already know that. I grew up in Miami, at a time when the Great Outdoors was just as good at watching your kids as the boob tube was. Maybe better. I dunno. Mommy didn't let us watch television, as a general rule (we had to ask to watch a specific show and could turn the set on as that show was starting), but boy howdy were we allowed to go outside and play. So, in Miami, it's always hot. ALWAYS. If you're a kid, you get used to that. If you get thirsty, you drink from the hose. You learn pretty early that on the hottest of days, you have to let the water run a little so you don't drink HOT water from the hose. But seriously, there's no such thing as winter in Miami.

After childhood, we lived in North Carolina. Where winter happens. And since it's East Coast, you still get high humidity, which means hot weather feels hotter, and cold weather feels colder. Did I mention that I hate winter? I think I did. In case you missed it, I hate winter. #ICYMI #IHateWinter

Now I live in "sunny" California. This is the view outside our front door, today, March 1st, at 3:30-ish p.m.:

 

It's not sunny today. It's cold (-ish). It's overcast. It's gloomy. It's #IHateWinter.

My POINT being (yeah, I know, get to the point already! Sheesh!) that when the weather begins cooling in the Fall, my body reacts like that of any warm-blooded mammal: I gain weight. I put on extra body fat, as if I'm going to hibernate. Part of my hatred of winter is a hatred of having to wear extra layers of clothing. Having to find clothing that still fits well, over the new layer of fat. Not being as active, because hibernation is a real thing.

So the real point is (I know, I know, this has all been a big tease. Shut up.) - at some point in late January, I decide to start walking more. I'll replace the battery in my nonFitbit thingy. I'll see if it'll talk to the app in my phone (it won't, but I still hold out hope). I start walking more.

In February, I made a concerted effort to add 1000 steps per day to my previous day's step count. It was hard, at first, because going from sedentary to a lot of steps in a week or so is hard, ya know? So I walked to the Y, figuring maybe I'd use the treadmill. I did. But the treadmill I tried out was non-traditional. It had a slope to it. It was self-propelled, rather than electric. I ended up walking only about 1000 steps on it. I'd find the sweet spot of where to walk, and it would somehow speed up. I'd lose my balance, grab the handlebars and step outta the sweet spot, and it would slow down (a lot). I gave up.

Also, I think I injured myself because it was so difficult.

A couple days after that trip to the Y, I was on set and developed a limp. My right Achilles tendon hurt, but only while walking. So I tried to walk as little as possible. But our holding space was uphill from the street level. The set was a different uphill from the street level. Craft Services was downhill from street level. The portajohns were a little hike down the street. Catering was a long hike down the street. I couldn't NOT walk.

It was a good day on set, overall, considering. But not what I was expecting. And then basecamp and crew parking were on an ungraded dirt lot. By the end of my day, I was in serious pain. Got home and found every remedy I could, and over the course of the rest of that week, I had applied them all. Heat. Ice. Elevation. Ace wraps. Epsom salt baths. Epsom salt foot soaks. Ibuprofen, of course. Topical analgesics. I bought a compression sleeve, Dr. Scholl's insoles, and a sturdy(-ish) OTC ankle brace. I tried a lot of things in conjunction with each other. The only thing that seemed to help with any regularity was the compression sleeve. I had a couple of days where I would try to walk, but my normal 3-3.5mph speed was drastically slowed to 2 mph. This is misery.

So I started walking by jogging on just the balls of my feet. I looked and felt silly, and also uncomfortable. No way I'm going to "jog" a couple of miles at 2mph! So I shifted. Left foot, step normally. Right foot pointed, land on toes first and gradually adjust the step to incorporate more of the foot. In fewer than 100 steps, I was back up to speed! Hallelujah!

But I didn't want to reinjure myself, so I popped in at a local Foot Doc. Made an appointment for a free consultation. Continued carefully taking longer and longer walks. At the consultation, I was advised to

1. get rid of the insoles and brace. They were doing no good, and possibly harm
2. keep wearing the compression sleeve, but for no more than 12 hours at a stretch. It's helping
3. do specific stretches before getting out of bed and then throughout the day. (I gave up on these after about a day, because they're not easy, especially if you have to pee immediately upon waking and then the cats want belly rubs)
4. ICE potentially throughout the day, but especially at bedtime (and then Don't Get Back Up). (This was hard at first because the ice pack leaked that first night. It's been easier with a re-freezeable gel pack in its own soft sleeve). No More HEAT!
5. buy New Balance walking shoes, or at least something with a) removable insoles AND b) firm, unwavering, untwistable heel/ankle support. I love my cheap Filas that I got at Costco (#WalkingSamplingLunch, baby!), but they're completely wrong for a power walker, which I apparently am
6. get orthotic insoles. He gave me a link to get GOOD ones off the rack, as it were, or suggested I come in to get fitted for bespoke. I now have an appointment for the bespoke

Basically, what he told me is yes, I may have injured myself on that weird treadmill. Also, I have very high arches. And scoliosis. And a longer right leg than left. And good posture for someone with scoliosis, high arches, one longer leg, and tendonitis. So I need to not exacerbate my condition. Walking is good for me. Powerwalking is fine. But not if I keep using the tools I had tried. So I'm gonna get custom orthotics, and probably some new sneakers. Sheesh.

And OH, I just remembered... in the month of February, I DID hit 20,000 steps one day. But I also stepped in a crack in the sidewalk instead of on it, and took a header. I'm grateful I didn't get a concussion or bite my tongue or break my teeth or jaw when my chin hit the sidewalk. It sure did hurt, though.

The evening of the day it happened. A slight scrape under my lip, but this lovely contusion just past the bone of the jaw

Today. There's still a little knot of flesh right at the front, but the bruise seems to have moved down to my neck?

... so that's just some of the catching up I wanted to give ya. Specifically in relation to "how many steps I took this month", wanting to work my way back into my beach-ready body, hurting my ankle, and hurting my chin, and all the ways those things relate to each other.

I've been busy - how 'bout YOU?

I got sleepy in the middle of the day today, so I took a nap (read: snuggled the furbabies in a reclined position in the bed), and whilst there, I made BIG PLANS for a blog post today.

But I have too much to say. Too much to catch you up on. Too many feels!

So I'll just leave these little morsels here:

• I'm happy and grateful that I get to make my living on set. My goal is to also make pension and health insurance every year, starting with this quarter. So, yeah! Three days of work per week! Let's do it!
• I'm happy and grateful to be walking my body back to lookin' and feelin' great! Beach body before winter ends! Yeah! 5000 steps or more per day, please and thank you! Let's do it!
• I'm happy and grateful to be in an acting class that covers not only acting or auditioning technique, but also technical stuff like websites. I HAVE A NEW WEBSITE! Check me out! emelle4real.com Yeah! Self-promotion like a boss! Let's do it!
• I'm happy and grateful that I'm actually reading for pleasure and growth. I recently checked out from my public library "Big Magic" by Elizabeth Gilbert and "The Slight Edge" by Jeff Olson, and I liked both of these books well enough to purchase copies for myself. Yeah! Read at least 10 pages of a good book each day! Let's do it!
• I'm happy and grateful to be recording audiobooks (kid lit), so far just for the listening enjoyment of the niblings. Could it lead to a contract with a major publisher? Why not? So, yeah! Keep reading to the kiddos! Let's do it!
• I'm happy and grateful to be on the roster of volunteers at the SAG-AFTRA Conservatory. This (school) year is the first time I've taken advantage of the tens of thousands of dollars' worth of acting/business education offered to union members at the low, LOW price of $45/year, and I've gotten so much out of it so far, I'm ready to "give back". Yeah! Help a sistah (or brotha) OUT! Let's do it!

There's still too much to tell you, and maybe I'll get to it tomorrow or the next day. I might be back on set tomorrow, so we'll see. But THIS post needs to be published before I head out to this evening's class, so... YEAH! WRITING MORE BLOG POSTS TO STAY IN TOUCH! LET'S DO IT!

How can it POSSIBLY get even better than this?

Blargh. It's already the 18th day of the new year!

As if "time" were a real thing, or "years" or "dates". I'm kicking myself because I haven't blogged since the 30th of December, or since the 364th day of the "old" year. Like it matters, in the grand scheme of life, how often you "hear" from me (or not).

I have been busy. I dunno why I'm kicking myself for not posting ideas I'm kicking around. #GratefulToBeBusy #BlessedWithWork #NoSADSoFar #WooHoooo #Hashtags

It's been Awards Season(TM), and you're probably aware that I've been receiving

1. invitations to screenings
2. physical screeners in the snail mail
3. access to streaming screeners online

so of course, I've been watching and absorbing and enjoying all the movies and television/internet shows. I've also been back at my crocheting. I have been busy, creating tons* of beanies, mittens, and Moebius scarflets, as well as a pair of fingerless gloves for my mail carrier, PitBull.

*not LITERAL tons, just, ya know, a "shit ton" or possibly more than that, like maybe a "fuck tonne"

 I mailed out 22 items for family.

Bill "cheated" - opening the gift early, so he could wrap for the boys. I'm okay with that. ;)

I filmed a webseries of crocheting and movie reviews with a friend. I attended classes, at the SAG-AFTRA Conservatory and online and elsewhere. And I managed to have some days on set, and days where I walked again, and got groceries shopped for, and hung out with friends.

But I have, once again, neglected my blogging. I'm sorry. Forgive me?

Oh, yeah. Also, I need help choosing a name for my personal website. It will be a site to host my "business" of acting and other film/television production "stuff" (headshots, resumes, voice clips, demo reels, that web-series, and anything else pertaining to ME in the world of show biz). I looked into "emelle dot com" but that one got snagged when domains were first available for snagging. A broker called me the other day to tell me that the "owner" was willing to sell me that domain for, oh, say, SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS? Sheesh. No. #FuckYouVeryMuch, "owner" of "my" domain.

So I'm tossing around "therealemelle", "realemelle", and "the-real-emelle" dot com. I know that most of my "audience" will not have to type it out or fear getting it wrong, but there are a BUNCH of "e"s in any of those combos, so I want it to be fairly intuitive, which is why I'm considering hyphens. I've been told by a few beta-testers that hyphens are the only phone-friendly appropriate punctuation, and I get that anyone I send to my site via phone will appreciate not having to hunt for the underscore. What are your thoughts? IF you were to "check me out" without a hyperlink, which address makes the most sense to you?

Once I've bought the domain, I'm going to need help building the site, too. I'm not planning on investing in additional webhosting with a template, unless y'all tell me that I have to, because there's no other way for a semi-Luddite to do it. And frankly, if that IS the way, what company will give me the best value for hosting/building? Yes, I get that it's an investment in my career. No, I do not want to spend thousands of dollars, particularly when right now, I have mediocre headshots and an OLD resume (remember, I've been working in the background for fifteen years). I'm emotionally ready (and trained, so mentally ready, as well) to jump into the foreground, but I just don't have the materials necessary to build a kick-ass site.

Ennyhoo, that's where I am these days. Too many things on my plate to be able to keep up with blogging or blog-reading. At least the cats are healthy. Oh, and, I had to disassemble my keyboard to clean it (sticky keys and soooo much cat hair!) - when I put it back together, I swapped two keys, which only matters if I actually LOOK for the letter I need. Can you spot my mistake?