Getting some business out of the way, my mouth is doing much better. The tube has been removed and I'm flushing my mouth out with some prescription-strength mouthwash. But, I'm better now, just so you all know.
It's the new year, and that usually means Resolution Time. I've done some resolution posts in the past, but I've decided that this year, I'm going to up the ante. 2005 was a good year in many respects because it showed me how truly happy I was just being an actor. Waking up, going to the gym, and then going to rehearsal and/or auditions and/or a shoot is an ideal for me. 2005 also had some major down points. Before my year off, I was completely out of debt and had some money saved. After my year off, I'm back in some moderate credit card that that I'm in the process of wrangling down (transferring balances to newer accounts with lower APR's is my first step). The one-two punch of 2005 showing me the ideals and the consequences has really done a number on me. So, with these effects in mind, I'm going to do some changes, and putting these goals into action is going to take far more attention than just a list of resolutions. Inspired by other bloggers I read, the following is a list of 101 specific tasks I want to accomplish in 1001 days. The criteria is this: the tasks must be specific (i.e. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that's either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (i.e. involving some amount of work on my part). Ok, so, I am going to work to accomplish the following between today, January 1st, 2006 and September 26, 2008:
1. Lose 20 pounds and keep them off for two months.
2. Book a guest-starring role on a TV show, either Network or Basic Cable (like FX, etc.).
3. Book a supporting role in an independent film. Done as of June 29, 2006. My friend and neighbor asked me to be in his indie sci-fi feature. Pretty cool, huh?
4. Book a supporting role in a Studio film.
5. Book a national commercial. Booked the infomercial 9/29/06, shot it 10/24/06. This will be airing nationally on cable, and it's basically an half-hour long commercial, so this counts. Especially since I'll be getting some residuals.
6. Book another national commercial. Done 12/3/07. Superbowl spot, got cut out.
7. Book a third national commercial. Booked it 4/8/08.
8. Aw, hell, let's do four. Four commercials in almost 3 years is doable.
9. Get some private acting coaching. Starting on February 4, 2006 in the AM.
10. Do more casting director workshops. Starting on February 4, 2006 in the afternoon.
11. Work out 4 days a week for a month. Done 7/26/08. Finally.
12. Knock out as many Netflix discs on my queue as I can in one week.
13. Not play videogames for a week. Done 12/17/06. Funny how prepping for the holidays and going on auditions makes you not have time to play XBox.
14. Not watch TV for a week. (Fine, Tom, I'll try it)
15. Finish reading Fountainhead. Completed 1/10/06 on the flight back from Chicago.
16. Read Atlas Shrugged. What? It's a long book!
17. Organize all of the loose pictures we have into some photo albums.
18. Give my car a thorough cleaning myself, including vacuuming.
19. Completely clean out the trunk of my car. Done 8/19/06. Took maybe 10 minutes.
20. Take a trip with Tom to New York. Tom and I have a friend that lives in the East Village that has offered many, many times to let us crash with him. I really don't have an excuse.
21. Visit my older brother Matt in Italy. Done 10/3/06. And I gots the pictures to prove it.
22. Visit my younger brother Owen and his family in Virginia.
23. Take a trip with Tom to a place where we don't know anyone, and therefore it would be like an actual vacation, God forbid. Finished 6/29/06. Finally went to Vegas.
24. Purge the aparment of any remaining videotapes we don't need or aren't going to watch. Copies of stuff for my reel, for instance, fall into the "Need" category. Done 3/24/07.
25. Get my reel done. Done February 9th, 2006. It's in great condition and I'm quite proud of it.
26. Purge the apartment of any clothes we haven't worn in two years.
27. Go to a wine tasting. Done as of 11/11/07
28. Get my SAG insurance back.
29. Cut my credit card debt in half.
30. Spend two weeks at work not going out for lunch and actually bringing lunch, 'cause frankly, that shit adds up. Done as of 8/13/07.
31. Memorize two contemporary comedic monologues to use at auditions.
32. Memorize one contemporary dramatic monologue to use at auditions (I already have another one).
33. Memorize two classical monologues, one comedic and one dramatic, to use at auditions. [Side note: as an actor, I'm supposed to have these ready to do at a moment's notice. The fact that I don't is so not good]
34. Spend a week making dinner for Tom -- this includes weekends.
35. Do the Raw tasting menu at the Inn of the Seventh Ray with Tom.
36. Spend a week not snacking out of boredom.
37. Take a yoga class. The one at the gym counts.
38. Take some voice lessons. You know, for like singing and stuff.
39. Have a physical. It's been ages.
40. Get a new suit. Tailored and everything.
41. See a movie at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Done 8/4/08. Saw Barbarella.
42. Listen to a new CD all the way through 3 times before taking a favorite track and playing it over and over and over like I usually do. Done 7/13/06. Madonna's live album "I'm Going To Tell You A Secret.
43. Leave working a day job for good.
44. Get my biteplate done so I don't grind my teeth in my sleep. Picked up February 24, 2006 in the AM.
45. Do another play.
46. Let's make that two. Two plays in almost three years is doable.
47. Continue the At Home Film Festival and watch every DVD we have in our collection that I haven't seen in the past year or so. We have a lot of DVDs, some of which are still in their shrinkwraps. The seasons of Buffy and Angel don't count, since I have seen these recently. And have a lot of the episodes committed to memory.
48. Run two more arcs of my Dead of Night role playing game with my Sunday gaming group. [First arc completed: 7/11/06; 2nd arc completed 9/9/07]
49. Get a damn iPod already.
50. Take a week, while working the day job, and not have any caffiene. No Diet Coke, no coffee, no tea. [Done July 13, 2008. Headaches still lingering a bit.]
51. Finally get around to framing Matt's portrait of Tom.
52. Get a manicure. Why not? I've had a pedicure. Done 6/28/06. Had a mani/pedi at a modest day spa in Vegas.
53. Have Sunday brunch in Chinatown.
54. Go to Vegas. We've been here for 6 years, and have never been. I know. Stop giving me that look. Completed 6/29/06.
55. Go through and clean out my Yahoo address book of all the e-mail addresses I no longer need/want. Completed on 1/29/06. Easier than I thought.
56. Have a couples' massage with Tom at a swanky day spa.
57. Clean out the bathroom of all the extraneous crap we don't need. Completed 4/30/06. You'd be surprised how much stuff you can accumulate in one very small full bathroom.
58. Use the Crest White Strips for the allotted time, actually using each and every strip when I'm supposed to.
59. Utilizing the Entertainment.com book Mitch and Shane got us for Christmas, spend a month using those coupons to get some nice deals on meals... and stuff. No longer applicable - haven't had the book since 2006.
60. Have brunch on Larchmont street.
61. Go three times to a multiplex and decide when we're there what movie we'll see. [Ice Age: The Meltdown -- 4/18/06]
62. See three movies in the theater we think we're going to hate, just to give them a shot.
63. Spend a week not leaving any extra crap in our living room, hoping this habit will stick.
64. Take a helicopter ride around LA.
65. Read a biography. Done 10/01/07 . Dame Judi Dench's bio.
66. Do what I can to bring my credit rating up. Done roughly around 3/14/07.
67. Bake a cake without having a mini nervous breakdown. Done 6/23/06. For Tom's birthday. A lovely 2 layer chocolate cake. The fact that it was both dairy-free and gluten-free is just a side benefit.
68. Bake a dessert from scratch. Bake -- this doesn't mean "Ice Cream Sundae", Jon. Like cupcakes or something. Done 12/31/07. A kiwi/strawberry vegan fruit tart. Pretty and delicious.
69. Give up tortilla chips for Lent in addition to my usual potatoes. Done as of 4/16/06. It was a bit of a struggle, but it paid off nicely.
70. Check out 5 books from the Public Library. And read them.
71. Find out what my Credit rating is in the first place. Done as of 6/7/06. Thanks to a Credit report from one of my credit cards.
72. Test for a TV Pilot.
73. Go for a hike in Griffith Park.
74. Attend a concert at the Hollywood Bowl.
75. Visit MOCA.
76. Spend a Saturday afternoon shopping in downtown LA. Or at least window shopping.
77. Have lunch at Barker's Alley in downtown LA.
78. Do an Iron Chef night with some friends, taking one main ingredient and making a bunch of different dishes.
79. Get that rip in my jeans fixed. You know. Those jeans. Threw the jeans out. Wasn't going to wear them again anyway.
80. Go back to that Indonesian restaurant by Culver City that was crazy delicious. Done August 6th, 2006. Pretty good, but not as crazy delicious as I remembered.
81. Give Napoleon Dynamite another try, since I gave up at the 50 minute mark.
82. Try eel sushi, even though it sounds very gross. Completed on January 21, 2006. Wasn't that bad, I have to admit.
83. Go a week without swearing.
84. Go see a concert. A rock and/or pop concert. The last concert I went to was Bjork in 1998.
85. Take 3 people I haven't e-mailed in a while, and try to keep up a regular correspondence with them. [Juliet on 8/4/06, Erik, Chuck -- done via Facebook 2/1/08]
86. Go back to LACMA.
87. Attend a film festival. Either as a patron or as a participant. Done as of 8/20/07. And we won.
88. Go apple picking at an orchard.
89. Go to Griffith Park Observatory once it's reopened.
90. Floss every day for a month.
91. Donate money to a charity in a non-holiday time period.
92. Ship all the Buffy episodes I have on VHS to my brother Matt, since I have all of them on DVD anyway. Shipped out 4/21/06
93. Flesh out that idea I had for a political intrigue RPG game.
94. Go to Catalina.
95. Visit Napa Valley.
96. Get new bookcases for our gaming books. [Done 3/1/06 -- Tom took care of these a long time ago]
97. Sell or donate any videogames we will never play again. Done 3/24/07.
98. Go out for afternoon tea.
99. Host an afternoon tea.
100. Go a week without dairy.
101. Go out dancing with Tom one night. Done 4/27/07. At a club in Palm Springs. So there.
Okay, there's the list. 101 things is a lot of stuff, so I better start now!
Alright my dear brother, I can help you with some of these...
15 & 16 you can just pass on. I give you permission. Ayn Rand is evil.
21. I sincerely that you will be coming in italy in september. After family time you two can go to florence and crash during the honeymoom at my place which would take care of 23.
33. we can practice together; what light thru yonder window breaks, it is the east and juliet is the sun,...
51... you should both be ashamed of yourselves! let's do it this way. email me the dimensions of the painting in cm and I will have the frame made here.
65. I know a good one for you. Trelawny!
75 and 86. sound pretty dodgy. Try the getty.
Why did it take you until 92 to remember that your poor brother is a buffy fan! Eventhough after she graduated, she just lost it. I cant even think about it or I'll get emotional.
102. send matt a Pussycat dolls dvd
Posted by: Bro | January 11, 2006 at 10:50 AM
give up potatoes AND tortilla chips?!? well, that's just crazy talk! hee. kd
ps. matt is funny :)
Posted by: katie d | January 23, 2006 at 09:34 PM