Johnny Old Legs

So, about a week ago seven8nine.net (the video sketch group I'm in) decided to film one of my ideas. It involved a lot of sprinting on my part...a LOT.

Like I said, it was over a week ago. Since then I haven't done anything too energetic...takin' it easy.

Today Deanna and I had a meeting and we went to the bus stop. Her coat looked like it had a huge stain on the back (we determined it was from being right next to a cheap coat all winter). She said "should I go put it in the car?" because we didn't think we had enough time to make it back to the apartment, we didn't want to go to the meeting in dirty coats, and the bus could have shown up any minute. I said "I'll do it. I can run fast!"

I go to sprint across the street and my muscles...for the first time in my life...say "yeah...right." I was able to do a "barely-jog". I stretched a little when I got back, but c'mon. It was the first time I really felt old. I've had aches and pains but nothing that I couldn't get through.

The slight irony of it all being that we waited another 20 minutes after that for the bus and ended up just taking a cab.

What Am I Doing With My Life?

THAT is the question. I'm still getting by with acting and photography but I feel like I can't give either the attention they need to thrive. If my career choices were plants, they both have a spot in the window, but I only enough water for one...when I split that water they stay alive, but they don't grow...right?

Deanna and I are doing a job that is the epitome of "acting" jobs. That's all I'll say about that one. Suffice to say at least it pays.

Today we finished up (almost) a student project we were acting in for the directors program at Columbia College. I say almost because a huge hydraulic hammer was driving steel foundation supports into the ground less than a block away and it could be heard in every take.

Other stuff is happening that is really hazy. More on that when the haze is gone.

Oh, I started a different blog through iO at http://blogs.iochicago.net/rance/wordpress/. It is and will be (since it has one post so far) a series of interviews of performers at iO. Mostly ones that I don't know, but also ones I do know...like Joey Bland. (Yes, Martin, I know him)

I meet the people during the day at a place they would normally be during the day (so I don't end up doing all of my interviews at iO). I record the interview and I photograph them. That's it. So tune in if you want to get to know some improvisors.

Adventures in Coffee Grinding

I had a minor adventure today.

Yesterday Deanna and I walked to the grocery store (to get some groceries...it seemed like the right place). We were only getting a few things and coffee was one of them. Faithful readers may remember the saga of going from soda, to buying 7-11 coffees, to buying a 2-cup coffee brewer. Well...the last time I bought coffee it was from 7-11...they actually sell their brand of coffee grounds. I bought it and brought it home...and tore out the seam when I opened it. Nothing a ziplock couldn't fix. But I didn't want to go back there and get their easy-to-destroy bag of coffee grounds. So, while we were at Jewel I saw what I was waiting for...a BIG bag of coffee. This was perfect!...until I got home and realized what exactly the big bold words "whole bean" actually meant.

Which brings me to my adventure today. I bought a coffee grinder. AND...got some photos along the way, so go check them out (Daily Photo...--->)

Irish and Stuff

I'm mostly posting because I haven't in awhile. If you haven't, go check out Daily Photos (the link is over there ---> with the other links).

Happy St. Patrick's Day! In Oregon, where I grew up, this was a day of shammrocks and wearing green so you don't get pinched and top of the mornings and fun. Here in Chicago it's all that times 50 plus over endulgence in alcohol. Last year (and I might have blogged about it) there were people passed out in parking lots around noon...NOON!

So, I'm lying low today. I have two comedysportz shows that hopefully won't be too drunk.

I've been watching the TV show "Extras". It's by Ricky Gervais who created The Office which was the source of the American version of The Office. Extras is great. I've watched both seasons now (I think...6 episodes in the second season?) and love it. Maggie is always saying the wrong thing at the wrong time without even realizing it. It's hard to describe. Find a way to see it. Season 1 is on DVD and season 2 is not.

Four days ago it was 75 degrees. 3 days ago it was snowing. It is snowing again today.

Ahhhhhh....Chicago Spring.

Hold Everything! (except that money...)

More on dentistry and the state of our world...

So, if you read the last post you saw I had to pay 50% of my $810 bill. And that all in all I saved $45. That, friends, is wrong. I got my bill from my insurance and they covered $165. That's it.

They cover $215 on crowns and $50 of that I have to pay towards a deductable. For whatever reason, when I got my insurance I read the list of amounts for services as "what I will have to pay" and not "what we pay".

Long story short, after I get my final cementing I will throw out the insurance. I have separate health insurance (that costs more and would hopefully cover more if, say, something terrible happened) that I will keep.

I remember back in the good ole' days when I had to pay...TEN DOLLARS A VISIT!!! And I remember thinking it was outrageous that I had to pay anything.

Hopefully I can get a menu of sorts from the dentist...prices of services and what not.

Anyone watching Heroes on NBC? You should. That show is great! The next new episode isn't until 4/23 so I'm sure you'll have a chance to catch up with reruns. Mondays at 9/8 central.

...he said with a toothy grin

Went to the dentist today to get my permanent fake tooth. After a projected 50% insurance coverage I paid $405. And I've paid a grand total of $360 for insurance over the past year. So I just saved $45!!

I heard somewhere that your teeth are determined by your blood type and that it all ties back to diet. Meaning way back when, blood type [type] ate mostly meat while people with blood type [different type] ate a heavier diet of vegetables.

I've got big, sharp, pointy meat eating teeth. I feel like my new tooth is a vegetarian's tooth. It's not quite as pointy and a little bulbous. It makes me long for my un broken sharp pointy tooth.

It is attached with temporary cement. Doc wanted to make sure that it wouldn't give me any troubles. I go back in 2 weeks for a basic cleaning and 6 weeks for permanent cement.

Also, come get some headshots from me so I can afford my fancy fake teeth :)

Ketchup

I've got a to do list that I've been trying to get at for a while now. I've taken bits and pieces off and I'm left with some major chunks. So that is what has taken up my time lately...along with a lot of photo shoots.

So if you're checking the Daily Photos...they are currently lacking. I am in front of my computer a lot and don't want to just take pics of my monitor...zzzzzzz.

I've been iritated (or irritated) lately. At pretty much everything. Not angry, not peaceful, just irritated. And by everything I mean everything that doesn't have anything to do with photography. Just the performing side. There are a couple things I'm in that are great and really trying to be the best we can be. There are a couple things that have that spoken drive but it doesn't feel like everyone is up to the challenge. There are a couple things that have a twinge of hopelessness. All of the shows I'm in belong in one or more of those categories.

I'm pretty much "glass half empty, and too warm, and a coaster would be nice" about things now. Whereas some of you might remember this summer I was "glass half empty, but I have a cool cup!"

I'm worried I'm turning into "John" from Lindberg's post. I am not sure who John is for sure, but I know some people who fit the bill and I don't want to turn into that guy.

It snowed again but it is probably not going to much longer. Although the first time I came to Chicago was in April and it was snowing...so...who knows.

So...there's a little tid bit. I have an office to clean, a promo DVD (for photography) to make for agents, Flier displays to create, a newsletter to make and send, and other random stuff.

Get busy! The me is coming!

Teeth: an introspective

So, like I said...I broke a tooth. More on that in a while.

I grew up with perfect teeth. The stuff you suckers who had braces dreamt of while changing your rubberbands and hoping to eat just one salt water taffy. They came in straight and stayed that way. Everyone said how great they were and it gave me a "tooth-immortality" complex. It didn't help that I maybe brushed once a day (in the morning I think...or maybe just at night) and would always come back from the dentist with no cavaties. And I never flossed.

Well, enough years of that went by to make it stick that my teeth ruled. In addition my wisdom teeth didn't really come in. And they didn't hurt. The dentist said I should get them out, but they didn't hurt and that is why most people get them removed...for crowding.

Fast forward to me moving out and not having insurance of my own. I went about 3-5years with no dental exams whatsoever, and yet a steady increase of Pepsi intake. I finally got insurance through Kaiser and went to see the dentist. I think my cavaties were in the teens if not twenties. This was the day I learned about quadratic dentistry. They were going to do my fillings one quadrant at a time because it would take to long to do them in one day (not to mention I would have a mouthful of throbbing fillings). I got all the fillings done. I was brushing twice a day at that point but still not flossing.

Basically, I never floss...still...and I really should.

I had a molar break a while ago and got a crown. Back when I was still in Portland. About a year ago my perfect teeth starting getting crowded by those wisdom teeth that weren't bothering me. Thus making it harder to floss when I would make the attempt. It hurt enough for me to get dental insurance, but not frequent enough for me to look for a dentist. I quit drinking soda...not for the caffeine this time, but for the high fructose corn syrup. Since I have been avoiding non-natural sugars my teeth haven't hurt at all.

About a week ago I started flossing. Determined to make it a habit. Then two days ago my tooth breaks off in a subway sandwich. And now we're up to date...almost.

Important lesson: people without perfect teeth...the ones who get braces and all that...learn how to better take care of their teeth. People with perfect teeth end up asking strangers to help them "start an apple" (thanks, Dave Attel!).

So...the tooth story, continued.

I was doing a video shoot for seven8nine.net and we took a sandwich break and my tooth breaks. It didn't hurt, but I left to hunt down a dentist. Found one who had taken Friday off, and was working Saturday to make up for it. I had a 7:45am appointment.

Got there and he was the only one there. We got started. He looked at it and said "You lost a pretty big chunk." I agreed.

Dentist: Well, we're going to numb that up. I'm going to take an xray, and then we'll get started. You're going to need a cap for sure.

He starts working on cleaning the area. I'm good and numb and can't feel anything.

Dentist: You may have lucked out. There was some decay, and according to the xray and you not feeling any pain after the break...you came as close to exposing the nerve as you could have without actually exposing it. I'm going to give you a temporary cap, then you'll come back for the permanent one.

He starts grinding the tooth away. Anytime water is used it sprays all over my face. At one point he says "you're a real challenge on a day when no one else is here. That's ok though. I like a challenge."

If you've ever gone to the dentist they usually have the assistant working the water and vacuum. I found it hilarious that water was spraying everywhere because I could only imagine what it looked like with him trying to hold a drill, a mirror, and a water sprayer all at the same time.

He gets closer to finishing.

Dentist: Like I said, it's pretty close to the nerve. I'm going to put some medicine on it and put on the temporary. There is still a chance that you'll have to do a root canal.

He finishes everything.

Dentist: For the next 24-48 hours you'll feel some dull, achy, throbbing pain...which is normal. If you feel that PAST the 48 hours, call me right away...because we'll have to do a root canal.

So here it is nearing the 36 hour mark. I went and bought a big bottle of advil before feeling returned to my face. He said I could take up to 4 advil every 6 hours if the pain was bad, so I wanted to stock up. As time progressed and my face denumbed I had no pain. Cold beverages, hot beverages...no pain.

So, it looks like I'll have another fake tooth in my face with extremely minor chance of a root canal.

I have to wait a week for the permanent tooth to be ready.

Easy...EASY!!!

Wow...the relatives get restless! If you don't know what I'm talking about, you don't read the comments.

I've been pretty busy this month with photo shoots and what nots. Same ole same ole. Johnny Roast Beef (iO team) has been put on Wednesday night shows and I hope we stay there for a while. We're doing some of our best work ever. Very fun and free.

on 2/1/06 I decided to get health and dental insurance. My teeth were starting to hurt like my wisdom teeth were crowding them. Then the pain went away. The dental insurance I got started with minimal benefits for the first month, better benefits after 6 months, and the best benefits after a year.

Here it is a year and 15 days after the start date!!!...I had a tooth break while eating a subway sandwich. Didn't hurt. Just kind of hurts here and there now. It was one of those situations where I bit into something hard in the sandwich and pulled it out of my mouth...recognized it was a tooth...and actually hoped that it was just someone elses tooth in my sandwich. Nope. It was mine.

I managed to find a dentist who was closed today, but is open tomorrow because he was closed today. I have an appointment at 7:45am. YIKES!

So there's your news.

Oh, also, it snowed about 6 inches and is supposed to snow tonight. I still love snow.

Delayed Thanks

Thanks, Cheryl, for the books and for renewing my magazine subscriptions you got me last year! They are well appreciated.

Just really writing to do so today. I was on a corporate video shot most of the day as a background-ish character. I didn't have any lines and just did physical stuff...pretty fun.

It's about 20 degrees here. Feels colder. I broke out "ole yeller"...my huge yellow coat that I bought for my first trip out to Chicago. It is thick and has a vest of the same thickness inside. It's super warm and looks ridiculous. Both reasons to love it.

I had a show with Johnny Roast Beef tonight. iO Chicago has a "schedule" that comes out that lists the shows for a span of about 8 weeks. For this schedule we're on Wednesday nights. Normally we would be on a Friday or a Saturday...great slots. But knowing that you're just on one night is soooo much better to schedule around. Bonus One: It will almost never conflict with ComedySportz. Bonus Two: Wednesday is free show night at iO and the crowds are always awesome.

Some of you may remember that Daily Photo blog I have...especially Martin. I'll be getting back to that soon. So keep an eye peeled. Don't delete it from your list of blogs. Go to it right now and start sending comments of stuff you want to see pictures of and I'll try to meet the challenge. Who knows, maybe you'll see your photo idea right there on the computer screen! Maybe you'll even meet Ben Vereen* (*thanks, Bert Fershners).

Pressure

Deanna came back from Portland with many stories. Some of which involved that more of her friends read my blog than I thought. This one in particular is for the Scott family...and a little part for Julie (not my mom, but Deanna's friend).

A) Julie, that cat book is ridiculous in a good way. Thanks.
B) Linda and Bryant, I heard you did a mean Rance impersonation as far as 7-11 coffee runs go. Today I bought a coffee maker.

Those who know me know I used to LOVE pepsi, and that I've quit it many times. This last time I discovered it wasn't the caffeine I was addicted to so much as the sugar/high fructose corn syrup. I've only had soda a few times, and it was 7-up or Sprite, and usually on an airplane. I have started drinking coffee with raw sugar...usually at 7-11.

I would go to 7-11 and buy a coffee because it is right across the street, and if I wanted more I would have to go back and go through the process again. I didn't want a coffee maker because I didn't want a half pot of coffee left over in the house...that would mean I would drink more than I really needed. But today I thought it would be cheaper in the long run, and I found the perfect brewer. A black and decker that comes with two travel cups and brews right into one or both of them using separate grounds. So if I like one type of coffee and Deanna likes another kind, we can both brew 16oz of our favorite coffee into a travel cup at the same time and roll. It's perfect...except that I bought foldgers to see if I would like it (hoping I would because it was cheaper...but it tastes like crap).

So...I have coffee power!

So Much and So Little

Sorry I haven't written in awhile. It seems like a lot has happened and not a lot at the same time. I'll try to catch everyone up. Jeff passed away on 12/22. That was pretty hard. I still don't know that I'm totally over it. 12/22 has a bad reputation in my book...I've been engaged once before and that was the date that she decided to leave me, and now that I think of it, it was 10 years prior to this. Damn...10 years? old.

I'm stuck trying to find myself again and think I'm on the up swing. I may be focusing on the negative or focusing on the specifics and not focusing on having fun. Once I started realizing I just needed to go with the flow and make confident choices my improv got better and more fun. So that was good. I applied that theory to an audition I had, but I still attempted to deliver the script word for word, and I just received the script minutes before heading out. I bombed the audition the hardest I have in a long time. Usually I leave an audition wondering whether I'll get it or not. I had no doubt in my mind that I wasn't getting this one, and I knew two people in the lobby who were blown away at how short the audition was. It was kind of refreshing.

Tara and Rich and I auditioned for a new thing forming at Second City...the Second City Musical Improv Group. We all tore it up. We did it for fun and had fun. Tara and I got in. I hope it turns into something great...sometimes it's scary being part of a new thing. I'm psyched to be in it.

Deanna and I went to Vegas for three days for her birthday. She wanted to go somewhere warm...I know now that that means an island, especially when there is a huge winter storm sweeping across the entire nation. We stayed at the Venetian, which is awesome. If you don't really know us you might think Vegas is perfect for us. If you do, you might think "I can't remember seeing them drink, or smoke, or stay out all that late." Vegas isn't really us, but I was expecting it to be warmer. Deanna's dad and step mom are snow birds (Summer in Alaska, Winter in Arizona) and came up to see us while we were there. I finally got to meet them for the first time and they are great...Al and Evie.

Evie reads this a lot and I got a few words from her on keeping it updated...hi Evie!

We went to Hoover Dam with them on Friday. I had never been and took a lot of pictures. Later that night I had dinner reservations at club 3121 at the Rio...Prince's jazz restaurant. And then tickets to see Prince in concert with table seating. It was all a package even though the dinner was in a different place. It was a six course meal and was very good. We even saw Prince walk into the restaurant and visit with a lady we later found out was his godmother.

I was told the doors would open at 10pm. There was a VIP line and a Standing Room Only line. We were to go in the VIP line. Once we got in we were seated 5 feet away from the stage...1 foot away from a very large speaker. I managed to get us moved.

I never did ask when the show was supposed to start. I just assumed it would be sometime near 10pm. It started around 12:30. And the music in that place was loud. At one point the DJ said "everyone up on your feet and dance! Prince isn't coming out until everyone is up!" That was around 12:00.

He finally starts. I recognized maybe 4 of his songs. I guess there are a lot of his hits that he has stopped singing since becoming religious (I'm blanking...the ones that come to your door a lot that aren't the Mormons). Deanna recognized more songs than I did. There were also a number of instrumental solos...some with horns...that were mic'd and loud. My ears are STILL ringing. I hope it isn't permanent.

The whole concert was being filmed. At one point Prince walked through the crowd and was about 1 foot away from me. I'd say he's maybe 5 feet tall. He's very little.

We got back around 3:00 and left at 9:00am for the airport.

I've been getting more into taking pictures (aside from headshots) and shot some fun stuff while in Vegas, so that's been fun.

That's the basic catch up.

I just found out that one of my really good friends may be moving home and I'm sad about that. She knows who she is. I love you and will miss you, but understand that it might be the healthier choice.

Weird

I don't know what's going on, but it has become increasingly difficult to sign in to my blog. But...I obviously figured it out.

What has happened...Deanna's step mom, Evie, sent us some tasty treats. I am not sure if Deanna was able to eat a peanut butter cookie before I devoured them all. They were delicious!

I talked with Jeff...my mom's cousin. Everyone back home has been making trips to visit with him and everyone far away has been calling. It was a nice talk...and odd at the same time.

Like I've said before, I had 7 grandparents growing up and I have one that is still living. I can remember the last time that I saw most of them. It was usually in a hospital. However, I didn't know it was the last time I would see/speak to them, and maybe even they didn't know. The odd thing about speaking with Jeff was the circumstance...we both knew it was the last time. There was something kind of refreshing about it. Knowledge is power I guess.

Apparently he is still hanging in there. He said he feels like there is something he is supposed to do before he goes, but he doesn't know what.

In other news, this xmas is very low key for Deanna and I. I think 2007 is the year that we get our butts in gear and attack whatever it is that we want to do. It's nice to know we can survive doing things that we enjoy doing...but there's a difference between surviving and living comfortable.

My video sketch group is cranking along. Our site is up... www.seven8nine.net. We have 3 videos up, 2 more being edited, and some scripts ready to be shot. Sam Super is a machine...he is the one editing all of this stuff and he rocks at it. If any of you saw our Ridin' Dirty video, he is the one who edited that. Sam is my hero...he should be on the NBC show "Heroes".

Sad

I just found out that my mom's cousin is going to be dead soon. She has 5 male cousins on her mom's side. Their parents have been going through some rough times medically speaking...and so have some of them. When my mom was a teen-ager she had a kidney transplant so that her cousin Jeff could get it. He's gone through life constantly dealing with medical woes, but always very cheerful. Of the five, he lived the farthest away. It was always great to see him at family events.

He recently had to have some toes amputated because of dialysis complications. He and his wife have made the decision to stop being medically supported by dialysis. The doctor has given him 5-7 days.

The first time I remember actually going to a funeral it was for a step-grandmother I hardly knew. She was married to my grandpa who lived in Bend...Grandma May. I barely knew her and really wasn't attached at all. I think I was between 10-12 when she died. I remember being fine (and I could be totally wrong) until going up and seeing the open casket. I then made my way outside to the front of the place that the funeral was being held and cried and cried. I felt like I barely knew her. I couldn't have missed her more. That feeling was imprinted. I hate death. I get that way still to this day. Someone dies, I'm done for...cry and cry.

I thought I was lucky growing up because I had 7 granparents (because of my dad's step-parents). When you're a kid you're like "Whoa! I just got FOUR $10 checks for my birthday! Thad only got TWO!"...

I have one living grandparent. My grandfather on my mother's side. I resemble him except he was buff when he was young. I've lost six grandparents.

I'm not sure what to think of this one. So many things cross my mind. At least he is choosing when to go and won't be suffering anymore. I certainly will miss him though. It hits even harder because he is my parents age. It's one thing to worry about grandparents, but now everyone is getting old.

I'm not one for afterlife tales, but I hope there is one for Jeff. I'll miss you Jeff, you've always been an inspiration in positivity for me whether you know it or not. I can't remember a single time I've seen you without a smile on our face, and that is how I'll always remember you.

Who knows, maybe 5-7 days will turn into 5-7-20 years...crazier things have happened.

Mom, Dad, sis, I love you guys.

The Short Version

Thanks to everyone hoping I'd live. Of 24 people who started, I managed to take out 5 of them before receiving a very sneaky letter bomb while on a job in Arizona. It wasn't expected at all and very well played.

The game had recently come down to 5 people...one who was very paranoid and good at the game (the one who got me in Arizona), one who was my ally (you got one alliance), and three who weren't really playing and just happened to be lined up in order of who needed to get who...borrrrrrring.

It is now down to my old ally and one of the do-nothings.

In other news, I had a nasty virus on my computer that I got the Friday after Thanksgiving and I am just today getting back to normal. I had to do a complete reinstall and my backup discs were faulty so I had to wait until I received my back up set from the manufacturer (they arrived today).

I'm almost back to full capacity. Luckily, because of my photography, I have an external hard drive and was able to get everything important over onto it.

More as it happens.

Murder Was the Case

Assasin. That is the name of the game. We have started an elaborate game of assasin, and I can't say much about it. There are about 24 people playing. Everyone has a nickname. Everyone has the real name of the person they're trying to kill. Everyone has the nickname of the person who is trying to kill them.

Starting right now...midnight, 11/20...it begins. And it goes until 12/11 (I think).

How can you be killed? If you are hit in the torso by a nerf bullet (see pic), squirt gun, or handheld spoon (throwing doesn't count). OR, if you open a letter (not email) that says "you're dead" it counts as a letter bomb.

You can have one no-kill alliance in which you share information and help each other get kills.

Everyone is pretty paranoid. Someone has already opened a letter bomb, but it was pre-11/20 so it didn't count. Someone told the person they were after that they were after them. Someone accidentally blurted out the name of who they're after while talking about a brilliant plan.

It is going to be a blast. I only hope I at least get one person before I'm hit.

I'll keep you updated on the mayhem. As soon as we kill someone or get killed we report to the person running it all and get a new person (or remain dead if we were killed).

Apparently Michigan=Bad

The big day. The Big Game. Like I mentioned, we were hired to promote DiGiorno pizza. How? Two of the four of us would be dressed as referrees, the other two as delivery drivers. Because "It's not Delivery, It's DiGiorno!"

While we were waiting to officially start at 11:00am, a crowd of people wearing red and white/grey was already out and about, most of them right across from our tent by the ESPN College Football Broadcast.

Note the sea of red. You know what stands out against this? People wearing normal clothes. You know what stands out even more? Blue and Yellow...The Michigan colors. The Michigan fans were few, and they were yelled at, booed, cursed at...but they stood proud. These teams are always big rivals, but this time OSU is ranked #1 and Michigan is ranked #2...that hasn't happened for 100 years.

Back to the gig. DiGiorno had a truck with 16 microwaves. They were cooking and handing out free pizza. While what? While also attempting to dunk the delivery drivers to win beads. It was about 45 degrees out...and the water was the same. Luckily, Ric and I had wet suits on underneath our outfits. Because of safety, we went from two tanks down to one. One tank was too close to the people getting pizzas and the crowd nearly missed them a few times. Here's Ric watching a ball miss.

I was lucky to catch this. This looks like Ric sitting, but you'll notice his seat is down and he's a couple inches lower. I snapped this right as the ball hit. We ended up doing the dunk tanks for just a little over an hour, then coming back and helping hand out beads. We had a lot of red and silver beads, and a little bit of blue and yellow. We handed out all of the red and silver by the end, and we had blue and gold left over. People were angry that we had the blue and gold in the first place and wanted us to burn them.

Before starting the dunk tanks we would have people play Rock, Paper, Scissors with us for beads. Every once and awhile we play "high stakes"...which meant if they won they got beads for all of their friends, but if they lost they had to wear blue and gold ones. They hated that. Usually if they lost they would take the beads, throw them on the ground and stomp on them. It was great. The award for best super fan goes to the 11 year old kid below.

What's Round on the Ends and High in the Middle?

Ohio, that's what. Today a few of us left for tropical Ohio on a 6:05am flight. We were destined to work for DiGiorno's promoting their pizza in Columbus at OSU...on the day of "The Big Game". They were playing against their major rival, Michigan State. Buckeye vs Wolverine, Red and Grey vs Blue and Yellow.

Apparently it's a big deal. SUCH a big deal that the only available flight was at 6:05am in the morning, because the rest were full. Even at that hour there was talk of the game, and even one guy yelled out "O-H!" to which some people replied "I-O!" It seemed to be a spelling contest of sorts. Lucky for me The Daily Show was recently in Ohio and the audience was chanting like that...so I understood that it was the college spirit chant war cry thing.

A huge SUV limo that can fit 14 people picked us up to take us to our hotel.

While there we went to the mall to visit with Ric's brother. Later we caught "Stranger than Fiction" in the theater. I liked that movie a good amount. It was enjoyable. Not SUPER AWESOME, but I would see it again in the theaters.

Video (and dog poop) Killed the Radio Star

Most of today was spent shooting video for a group I'm in called seven8nine. We have been working hard to get some videos made and a majority of today was spent filming our fourth vid.

And they'll keep coming too. Keep an eye out on www.seven8nine.net for changes in the next month. It's a really fun group of people to work with.

Today we were shooting a scene where three girls were learning about camping from a boy scout. Unfortunately, we also learned that we should look where we step and that dog poop makes one of us nearly throw up. I won't say who, but I WILL say it's not me, and I'll also say I was rolling the whole time so it will probably be on video. We might send it in to AFV though so we'll have to wait and see. It's hilarious.

Chim-Chimney

Today was a little chilly out. It is doing the typical fall thing leading into winter...where the temp gets nice, rains, and then drops 10-20 degrees. Repeat. Today was one of the cold days. It was supposed to snow early in the morning but never really did. How do I know? Because I had to be downtown at 6:30am. The picture above is of the group of Chimney Sweeps responsible for the grand window unveiling at a major name brand retail store that has had holiday window unveilings for years...but I don't want to name names.

It is a fun job. Last year the theme was Cinderella and eleven of us were dressed as soldiers (royal/nutcracker type). This year it's Mary Poppins, so we were Chimney Sweeps. Deanna was in charge of putting together the costumes and did great. I got to help a little...mostly in finding hats. If they fit my head, they'd fit anyone. Plus, we got to be cockney.