What if "I" weren't here?

I may be having an existential crisis. I'm not sure; I don't really think that's what it is, but let's call it that for the time being.

Please follow along with me here.

Imagine that "I" am your toddler "I DO IT!" son; your "You're not my Mommy!" step-child; your "Dad, you ruin EVERYTHING!" teenage daughter. "I" am a total pain in your ass, more often than not, but you still love "me", right?

Imagine that "I" am your best friend; your "soul mate"; your spouse. Sometimes, "my" quirks get under your skin, but you still love "me", right?

Imagine I'm your classmate; your co-worker; your teacher; your boss. There is plenty you don't know about "me" but we get along; we're sorta "friends", right?

Imagine I'm your sibling; your parent; your aunt/uncle/grandparent. We've had our differences throughout our lives, but you still love "me", right?

*****

Now imagine I'm no longer here. Or possibly never was.
How would your life be different?

I'm not suggesting that I need to be George Bailey or Nic Cage's character, being shown a "glimpse" of some other life. I know I've recently requested a "do-over". That's not what this is about. Just imagine that I'm not here.

Would your "diet" be healthier or worse? Would you exercise more or less?  Would you be sleeping more or less? With more or fewer partners? ;) Would you have the same pets, or none at all, or some that are completely different than the ones I brought into your life (assuming "I" brought an animal into your life)? Would you have tattoos? Piercings? Funky haircuts? Funky colors in your hair? Would you play more games or fewer, or different kinds of games? Would you watch more or less television? More or fewer movies? More or less Porn? ;) Would you be writing or painting or reading or sculpting or singing or knitting or crafting or dancing or working with wood or machines, more or less than you do now? Would you be doing the job that you currently do? Would you live in the same neighborhood? or town? or country? Would you travel more or less?

Think about these things, please. If enough people answer these questions honestly in the comments, then I'll give you my answers as a follow-up.

*****

For the record, I think I already live enough in "The Now" that I'm not really having an existential crisis. I had made a decision at the beginning of the year to blog daily, and recently, I've found that it wasn't the creative outlet (or PUSH) that I was expecting, so I opted to cease blogging daily. I think, since I made the decision to NOT blog daily, I have only NOT blogged on one day. That was the day that sent Lee over to another blog, because he was afraid I'd be gone forever. That was Lee, imagining that I'm No Longer Here! Being all prescient and shit; possibly foretelling of This Exact Post! Way to go, Lee!

Ennyhoo. Please comment below. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Just pretend I'm not here. ;)

I get to go to WORK today! UPDATED

Yes, I DID just sing-song that title atcha. Did you sing-song it at ME?

So here's what I look like Right Now:

they're gonna gussy me -up once I get to set, so hair's in rollers
and NO FACE

I've already done my laundry, and some mall-walking, and now I REALLY have to remove this purple nail polish, 'cuz I'm pretty sure the lady I'm "doubling" for on the magazine cover that's part of a movie (was that even remotely followable? 'cuz I wrote it, and I'm not sure what I said here!) is polish-free.

Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up:

I have a late call time. We're doing a photo shoot for a satirical magazine. The magazine already exists in real life, but this is a movie, so we have to use real people to make it look like the magazine that already exists in real life. No, I can't tell you the name of the movie. Besides, once it's released, it could have a different name anyway.

Ennyhoo. I get to go to work today; I get to go to work today!
UPDATED: Once I got to set, EVERYONE knew who I was (because EVERYONE had seen the magazine cover).  And there was a peacock on the lawn of the house where we were shooting. I'm already home from work today; I'm already home from work today!

"gussied" - so little makeup, but plenty of hairspray
that I've already run my fingers through now that we're done.
Still, I love that my hair holds a curl in California.

Are YOU as blessed as I am?

Welcome, Algeria!

I was just checkin' my stats, as I do, when I saw this BRIGHT GREEN patch in the middle of the top of Africa, and I was all, like, Hello, Africa! Who did you send me? And then, of course, doing further "research", I saw that Algeria has never been welcomed here before, so this must be your first visit.

As I say to all of my first-time and returning readers, WELCOME. I hope the post or posts you read told you something interesting, or you gained a little insight into my life, or maybe caused you to wonder "who the hell is this chick?"

No matter. Welcome. Please take some time to peruse the archives, so you'll have all the answers to all of your questions, as long as they're not, I dunno, about biology or astrophysics or Quantum Chemistry. I don't know nothin' about any of that. But you know, if you wanna know something about me, well then, I may have already told you in the Archives (no, I don't have an FAQ), or if not, maybe you'd like to actually ASK me.

I have made a couple of changes to the layout here, even SINCE you visited the first time, Algeria! And, you know, probably since the last time all the rest of y'all visited. 'Cuz, ya know, it happened literally five minutes ago. So check me out; WELCOME, all; bring friends next time. And pudding.

90 Years of Central Casting!

No, not me personally. That would make me {really, incredibly} OLD. In fact, I'm not aware that there is a single human being on the planet who is celebrating a 90-year personal affiliation with Central Casting. The company has been celebrating its existence, though, and since I've had at least a dozen years' of personal affiliation with them, I celebrate, too.

Yesterday, I walked over there to attend a class. It was Central Casting University 201: The Stand-In. with Jason Roberts, DGA. This man spoke to us for two-plus hours about everything that is expected of stand-ins as well as background actors, and he may as well have been telling the story of "My Life in the Film and Television Industry". Seriously. MY life.

So I was pretty pleased to have the minute or so to speak one-on-one with him at the end of the "class", to let him know that I was the person whose story he was telling. And of course, to hand him my resumé. PleaseOhPleaseOhPlease, Mr. Roberts, Sir. PLEASE hire me as a stand-in for your upcoming film that's not even been cast yet. PleaseOhPleaseOhPlease, let there be at least one actor in your cast that I'm an appropriate "match" for, and PleaseOhPleaseOhPlease, let me not have made a total ass of myself in that moment when I handed you my resumé. PleaseOhPleaseOhPlease, have noticed during the two hours that I was engaged and responsive. PleaseOhPleaseOhPlease.

<cue the music> Dear God, I neeeed this job. Please, God, I waaaant this job. I gotta haaaave this job! something something something

Last June, the first/last time I attended this "class" (yes, I have attended more than once), it was geared primarily toward standing-in on a Multi-Camera television show. I've never stood in on a multi-cam show, so it was incredibly educational. However, I hadn't even built my stand-in resumé at that point as a "thing" I could hand over at the end of the "class" to the amazing AD who'd been teaching it. So, in addition to the education I got regarding doing the job, I also got a little networking education.

not the whole resumé, just a snippet

for Lee, since it creeps him out ;)
can you see how the nail appears to be curling inward?

This time, I didn't learn so much about how to do the job. But I did still get a little networking education. I need to always have ONE printed-out copy of that resumé on hand when I am on set, as a background actor, Scripty, or PA. At the end of the day, if it's been a good day, and I've had any opportunity at all to inform the 1st AD that I'd like more chances to work with him/her, hand over that resumé as a reminder of the earlier conversation, along with my thanks for making it a great day.

Learn Something New Every Day.

Decisions, Decisions

Are you still out there? I have come to the realization, probably today, that my self-imposed "goal" of blogging daily was, in fact, probably the dumbest self-imposed "goal" I could have ever created for myself, in the history of EVER.

Here's why:

1. It's not particularly creative. If all I'm doing is keeping a daily journal that I just happen to publish for all the world to read, then is that worthy of the bandwidth or whatever is required to make it happen?

Yeah, there's really only one reason. And since I feel that that one reason is the Most Excellent Reason, I have made A Decision.

I quit. I'm done.

Not with blogging, kids. Don't worry. I'm just done with daily journaling. I know that you really could NOT care less about whether I take 10,000 steps in a day. I know that, unless I actually tell you about the scrumptiousness I get to eat, you could NOT care less about my walking, sampling lunches at Costco. I know that you want me to take more selfies, and post pictures of the sweet furbabies, and talk about Mommy and Daddy and my siblings and my friends and what happens while I'm on set, my favorite place in the world.

So I'm only going to post when there's something like ^that^ to post. Today is 25 April 2016. I have been blogging for, what? Two and a half years now? No. Longer. Daily. At least, not daily if there's nothing interesting to report. I mean seriously, what are the titles for every post this last week?> 

For the entire month of April?> 

For most of the month of March?> 

Things like "uneventful" and "nothing to report"? Sheesh. How is it, that in all this time, it has taken my newest reader (and also the newest blog I'm catching up on) to point this out to me? I thought you were my peeps, y'all. Thank you, 500, for guiding me to the light.

If you have ANY input regarding this decision, PLEASE, Speak Now. Or Later. Whatever. I check back on comments all the time, so it's not like you'll have to Forever Hold Your Peace. Please DON'T Forever Hold Your Piece. That would be <<awkward>>.

So now, today, let me leave you with Three Good Things:

1. Blogging's gonna be fun again, starting today. Maybe you might like to give it a whirl! blogspot.com is a good place to start; otherwise, if I haven't already linked you on the right, and you'd like me or others to read your blog, link it in the comments!
2. I have to place an order for some crap that I like to order, so I'll have plenty of electolytes, among other things, for when I DO get my 10,000 steps. Haven't gotten 'em yet today, and I'm sure if I check with the non-FitBit thingy, it's probably yelling at me. That's a good thing, though. It does, after all, have One Job.
3. The weather lately has been pretty damn fabulous, and what that means is that my breathing's been pretty damn good, too, of late.

Here's today's selfie, since it's early enough in the day that I don't have to take it in the dark:

PARTY!!!!! Yeah, I gotta keep showing off that awesome long pinkie nail.
The lady in Black... Is still in her jammies... STFU
(you totally just sang that, didn't you? you know you did)

My Weekend Update, UPDATED

First of all, when you finally decide to give yourself a manicure, you discover that you have one fingernail that just grows weird.

they all look good, right? normal? except for that pinkie.
it's starting to curve inward, towards the rest.
plus, it's probably long enough for me to start snorting Coke
... except I just dunno how to deal with the bubbles. advice?

Now, for the rest of my time off:

1. Last night, I was just not sleepy, so I went to bed very late ... so this morning, I stayed in bed very late (again).
2. When I finally got up, I ate some "junk food" (cheese, crackers, olives, clementines ... because if we kept Real "Junk Food" in the house, we wouldn't be able to "keep" it in the house. So we're both better off eating real food, but as if it were snacks). I also drank a cup of chocolate coffee, and then some bubbly water. I haven't consumed many calories today, but maybe because of all the sleep I got, that's why I'm not particularly hungry.
3. Tweeted for awhile; checked my internets; ran a poll among my tweeps as to how I should continue my day. Doctor Who marathon won, 62%, over Rock Band 4 drumming 38%. I was grateful that the poll did generate some interest for both activities. I think I woulda been at least a little sad if one of the choices had won at 100%.
4. So I started with Runaway Bride, where we meet Donna Noble, and then continued that same season with the first two Martha episodes, Smith and Jones, and Shakespeare. I hadn't decided, at the end of three episodes, whether I would continue through Season 3, or skip ahead to Blink, or jump all the way ahead to where we're reunited with Donna. I'm not ready to rewatch ALL of the reboot, but I do like a marathon of specific David Tennant episodes, so we'll see...
5. It was getting late, so I needed to get my steps in. ALL of my steps, apparently. The non-FitBit thingy was only registering 16 steps for my day at that point. Sixteen lousy steps? Are you FUCKING kidding me? So I set my phone's timer for 45 minutes and set out at the fastest pace I could muster. Just as I reached the track at the high school, I checked the status of my steps, reset my timer for 30 minutes, and walked the track as fast as I could. Each lap consisted of about 500 steps, so I did six pretty fast laps, and then checked my status. Still owed 2600 steps! So I exited the high school, reset my timer for 30 minutes, and headed home, around the block. I did manage to get my route all planned, so that once I was at 9700, I could slow to my normal 3mph, and essentially "cool down". Ended up with my average of 10,300 for the day, but I was beat.
6. So I took a long, hot bath. Grabbed some electrolyte water and my phone, so I could see what the tweeps had updated. Gave myself a pedicure "scrub", microdermabrasion'd (is "microdermabraded" a word? because Google is saying it isn't, not that it recognizes "microdermabrasion'd" either) my face, neck, and hands, and lounged. Then Stephen got home from work, and we discussed what we'd watch this evening.
7. He's gearing up for Captain America: Civil War, so we're currently watching the original Captain America, when Chris Evans was tiny, and we first get to meet Agent Peggy Carter. Did you know that Clara Oswald was in that movie? She's Bucky's date at the Stark Expo.
8. I'll find something to eat that is less like "junk food" (probably), and when the movie's over, I'll go to bed.
9. UPDATE: I WAS domestically "productive" before I went to bed at midnight! I ground coffee for the morning, and I ran the dishwasher! Yay, me!

So it has been a good day.

What was YOUR weekend like?

Uneventful?

So, I had another day off again, of course. Stephen got to go to work. We each described our day as "uneventful", which is 100% true for me.

I.e., I got up. I checked internets stuff and played some games in my computer. I checked the mail when it came, and I got the check for my most recent day on set. Eventually, I left the house so that I could do Three Good Things:

1. deposit that check
2. pick up a few groceries from Trader Joe's
3. get my steps in, in a different neighborhood than I normally walk.

Stephen, however, had a "slow" day at work, because the main road in front of his store was blocked off all day. It was blocked off for a parade. Stephen and his co-workers got to attend a parade, without going out of their way or standing in any lines, and get paid to watch it (because of being on the clock, of course, even though there was insufficient "work" for them to do).

I don't call that uneventful. I don't care that I really don't care for parades. The main reason I "don't care" for parades is that I don't like having to drive somewhere, find parking, and then find a good spot to watch people or floats pass by me. Had I been working along that stretch of road today, I think I would definitely have "led with that". But then again, I guess I'm more of a smartass than Stephen is.

So now we're watching "X-Men: Days of Future Past; the Rogue Cut" (because Stephen hadn't yet seen this version, and I was still busy with internetting once I got home from my steps. Oh, here's the one "event" that occurred for me today:

Is this a backhanded compliment or
a front-handed insult?

the non-FitBit thingy really thinks it's the boss
of me. At the top is the comment I had to add
to the 1.77mi walk final "workout" of my day

I really don't like how the "Smart Coach" doesn't learn but thinks it's helping to motivate me. I like that my steps and my sleep get tracked, but it's not good at motivating me.

Was YOUR day eventful today? Tell me about it.