Whoops! Got Fraud'd

Oh how young I was in my last blog post.

We are nearing the end of June, which is when I was expecting to go to Florida for my cousin's wedding. I reserved a hotel room at a reasonable price, which is usually the pricy issue, but alas, flights were expensive! So I searched various websites and found one with lower rates. I booked my flights.

Then I received an email saying that I needed to call them. I dislike phone calls, but okay. I captured audio and video of the conversation. They claimed that I got some special discount voucher, which means they cannot send me the confirmation code now, but I do assuredly have a ticket. This sounded suspicious to me, but competing flights were significantly more expensive, and I also would not be devastated to lose a chance to see family.

As luck would have it, I never received the follow-up email with flight information. I called the agency 20+ times, and during one of those phone calls, I managed to get through and confirm that yes, this was LowFareBuddy, and gave them my name. Then they hung up on me. So then I called my bank to report fraud.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how my sister got to stay in her own (my planned) hotel room instead of sleeping on my uncle's floor.

My dad texted me this past Sunday, on Father's Day, about me being at the wedding. I did not open the text, but it did give me enough anxiety that I am feeling relief to instead just be focused on putting my comedy show together. No more events of significance before Venice. Writing and refining a show, screenwriting a film. Lots of songwriting, and, as I realized last night after being inspired by the Supergirl movie, more physical bits! More contortionist stuff! Regardless of the strength of the writing, the contortionist stuff is what others simply cannot bring to the table.

Get Some PR For Venice?

Elf draft. Paying a magical idiot elf to write your first screenplay draft for $10.

That's the trick that a current big horror director Zach Cregger, who comes from sketch comedy writing. Maybe I will be able to make myself do that.

One of the questions currently on my mind with regard to Venice is what I need to do to maximize opportunities there. I let the director know that I daydream about doing press for these things, that I think such situations are fun improv opportunities. I just emailed a PR firm to ask what they could do, but also, maybe our creative team is already on it.

I am slowly but surely coming up with songs and song concepts, and building them. But wow it sure is annoyingly slow as a process. But writing is rewriting.

Post-Birthday

On June 5, I had become older than I had ever planned to be. Everything from this point forward is a bonus.

I had previously worked under the assumption that the human body peaks at the age of 35. This is, for the most part, the physiological reality. But this is when vocal cords peak, which means that as a singer, I am only likely to get better for the next decade(+) to come.

And we shot that VR short film... and it is premiering in Venice... I just looked up awards, and major ones do exist for short films. A VR film has been nominated in the past.

What. If. That?

And now I need to research every film in the lineup if I can, at least in terms of familiarity with directors, producers, and writers. Like, who is this new-fangled actor/producer "Tom Cruise"?

I just read that Venice in particular is a launching pad for The freakin' Oscars. What if... live action short film category.

Then again, it is a comedy, and comedies are infrequently chosen unless they are actually dramas.

It was amazing. 

Lazy Then Locked Out

I was depressed for a couple months, got medicated again, could not figure out how to log into this account... then in the last few weeks, I booked a role that I particularly wanted. And when we had our first zoom meeting, I learned that it is being made with a grant from the Venice International Film Festival, and will be premiering there. So my mom, fresh from a breakup, said we should go. I found a transatlantic cruise that could leisurely get us to Europe the day before the festival starts, and now it is set.

The project will be shot in VR, and is a comedy. Everything is in my wheelhouse. I get to wear some prosthetics, so today was a costume fitting, but I will also be showing up early tomorrow to finalize that. The director asked if I could get there earlier than call time. The only thing that was holding me back from showing up when the crew does is the maintenance of social norms, so I will just be there at the start of the day tomorrow. And there is a gym nearby, so I can get properly stretched in the morning too.

My music and standup are going well. The main issue I currently have as I gather all my bits together is that I keep referring to a set list, which takes attention away from the audience. This is bad, even though I do riff on it and get some laughs in there. So I have a little under three months to get on stage as much as I can, then on that cruise, I will have nine days at sea, during which I hope to steal unused stage space and do enough rehearsing and organizing of my bits to maybe have my routine figured out.

Then we will dock in Barcelona, fly from there to Venice, and attend the oldest film festival in the world.

This could be how I break into the industry. The director was pretty practical in how he talked about it, but apparently few have tried a narrative project in VR, certainly not comedy, and definitely not in the way that we are. It is a cast of 24 people, each of us with our own lav mics. 

Dress rehearsal is tomorrow, shooting the next day. 60 people total on set for the shoot day. Very exciting.

Approaching Valentine's Weekend

Well look who came crawling back to his blog like the worm I am. Off the edibles, so I have been getting stuff done. Music videos with Frozen Soul? Check! Finished editing a tolerable version of the comedy doc pilot while sleeping in my mom's convertible in the midst of snow and ice in a Waffle House parking lot after flying in for the aforementioned music videos because the hotel prices kept going up, but I was not gonna pay 3x the rate when I knew I would have a full day to recover for the shoots anyway? Check!

I have focused more on the music. Yesterday, I tried following a friend's advice and being sad onstage. This came in handy because a song I am working on is called Breakup. But it perhaps worked too well? People (not everyone) thought it was real. Or is that good? People think that about She Was Kind too... But it is a downer, so I maybe need to up the absurdity at the end. I have a show tomorrow night (Valentine's) where I plan to just play the one song, then another on Monday where I will be filling ten minutes. Since that will be after Valentine's Day, it seems like a pretty good time to lean into the breakup song, but I dunno.

I bought a season pass to Universal Studios Hollywood, and that amount of stimulus with that little effort on my part really had me craving edibles again. Very fun time. And a great way to avoid being sedentary. A full day of that followed by a movie at AMC? You got a stew going.

Whiny New Year from Me!

Ugh, sober again, and therefore horrifyingly aware of the carcass I have been towing about via my abdomen. The other night, I had to get up like four times to pee, and like, I started to worry about prostate issues. But then I remembered that I have just been eating more food and drinking less water, so probably, my body digests the fluid differently when working with solids. Also, the extra fat can compress the bladder. Yes, the same affliction that plagues the pregnant also plagues me, but I am not sure that I have much to birth as a result.

The pilot I was editing has gotten little response, which makes me assume that it sucks. The most common refrain is that people want to know more about me. It seems that this is a part of life where I need to act like my actual self, which happens to be larger than life, despite how tempered I try to be in my chomps at humble pie. One step to making this happen is to film more of me. I made a few little music videos last year, but that did not last. Part of the reason is of course that I am shooting in horizontal, which means that there is more of the screen to occupy besides my own lil' self.

New Years reflections? Remember how I used to do those? Nah man, I need something to happen. Or just to stick with sobriety for longer. I become a worse person on cannabis, but the alcohol actually destroys. And an issue with the alcohol is that the cannabis products greatly increase the potency of the booze.

Still working on songs, still figuring out what shots might work, and still haunted daily by the world news that can be so paralyzing. They keep kidnapping, killing, deporting, imprisoning, prison camping folks, and here I am just trying to help maybe keep kiddos literate via entertainment? 

Holidays

Ah, the holidays. No life-changing call from an Oscar-winning director to pick me out from obscurity, so I instead am opting to pick myself out from obscurity. I am doing this through the editing of your average run of the mill comedy documentary variety show pilot. It is currently something like 15 minutes long, but I do need to add a few bits focused on me (one-liners, short songs) that I think will bump it up to around 20 minutes. And I will maybe put in some footage from a backyard variety show that was more professionally shot. It would be lovely to team up with those folks, rather than attempt to do this on my own.

I have been just trimming clips and killing darlings, and, additionally, making sure it all stays clean. The dirtiest stuff is mine, within the edutaitional songs. 

Of course, I only have one edutaining song written, and that one is about testicular cancer. I have at least one more in the works (tough to say for sure due to my being an unreliable narrator). But once I realized that I already had one in the bank, I opted to record the song and film a music video over Christmas. Hopefully there will be a nice contrast between the generally scarcely edited pieces, and the heavily edited music video in which I play around with aspect ratios.

Oh, and today, at the recommendation of a PR person I met at a holiday party (who was waiting tables), I sent an email to a British publication that focuses on music and comedy. So we will see if anything comes of that!

In the past, in the days leading up to the new year, I would be writing up lengthy reflections, tracking my growth as a person. But that feels like a boring idea, the kind that I may be driven to once I am fatigued by all this editing.

Also, the video editing has primarily been done on the adobe premiere app on iPhone. I think that if I try to export the full video from that device, it may kill said device, along with everyone in a 12-mile radius. Oopsie toodles!

No Life-Changing Call/Text/Email YET

It is Monday at 3:10 pm PST. I have not received a life-changing email. Looks like this ol' bag of bones might need to try changing his own life. Of course, I woke up at 3 pm. Last night was a fun show, but I did make the measured mistake of taking an edible that I knew would keep me out for awhile.

Waiting on the line producer to give us a new preliminary budget for what is now a pilot pitch for a comedic variety show with a hint of medicine shoehorned in.

Last night's version was maybe the best I have done of the song She Was Kind. I have changed some of the words every time due to the curse of improv, but last night's rendition took my written version, and also the ending seemed good, which is critical because the ending has no definitive written version yet.

My journey toward physical fitness has admittedly run into delays. You see, edibles and alcohol can tempt strongly when you are the one making your own projects and deadlines. Because as fun as it is to make real progress in a way that could maybe be viewed by millions at home, it is also fun to kill parts of your brain while you struggle to watch a show on your laptop in your mom's car in a fast food parking lot late at night. Two sides of the same coin, really.

But you know a good way to kick me into gear? Offer me a role with an Oscar-winning director. Or heck, any ol' role that pays a living wage to do acting.

That being said, I was kind of holding my breath for the duration of the weekend. Monday has now come and mostly gone, and I am still left with what I had previous. So perhaps it is time to follow through with a myriad of plans.

A Wee (EXCITING) Update

Looks like it's been a little bit since I posted last. I have been talking to the camera a lot more.

But the other day, I got a big wrench thrown into my plans (maybe in a good way). For one thing, I have a self-tape audition with one of the biggest directors (and some major executive producers) in Hollywood. I had to sign an NDA to get the sides for it, and the sides give away nothing anyway. This is a giant huge incredible deal, the reason why you want real reps in this business.

And once we got a line producer involved, Sonetta started laying out the timeline for the feature doc as being more like a 2027 release, whereas the footage I am currently sitting on feels very of the present times. So I am now pivoting to what I think I would potentially be best at, hosting an edutational comedic variety documentary show. There's gotta be an oscar for that, right? A poor man's SNL, but with a focus on the artists via those QR codes.

But back to that self tape... the first thing they asked of me was just an intro video that answered a few questions, then gave me a chance to basically pitch myself. I think it was on the fifth take that I knew I had it. Same sorta feeling that I get with these daily song videos sometimes. But I snagged a motel room for dosmorrow night for this self tape.

Oh, and last night, I gave in and bought Pokemon Arceus for Nintendo Switch. And I cannot tell you how incredible I feel as a Pokemon Master. Well, future master, but it is already all too obvious. I was waiting around to avoid paying full price, but I cannot describe to you how good it felt to give in and buy it. This is due in part to the parts I have been cast in of late. I am not rich, but I am at least losing money more slowly!

Filmmaking

No more waiting around for opportunities to come to me. I am officially in production on my comedy special and documentary! I get to have animation! I get to do little bits, and they all get their time onscreen.

Eat your heart out, Bo Burnham, 'cause this comedian doesn't need a studio apartment or fancy lighting to make his comedy special.

And it turns out that I know a bunch of people who know some celeb comedians. I think I can get cameos from some decently big names. Kyle Mooney, Dana Carvey, John Mulaney... not to mention favorites like the hosts of Hollywood Handbook and the Birthday Boys.

Do More See More Be More

Ah, my death year. I did creature modeling, been hitting the stage for open mics, and it is not enough. I need to do more to grow faster.

Gotta put out more narrative stuff again, little music videos, work my way up to regularly doing improvised songs onstage.

Just learned that the Comedy Store has in-person potluck signups, that the old email system (that I have reminders to send every week) is no longer in service. How helpful!

America's Got Talent has easier auditions now, emphasizing virtual submissions. All I need is a good clip from a live show, and I'm set! Or maybe not, depending on their programming.

And one of the discussions happening on twitter lately is that there has never been a funny live action Joker in Batman. Maybe Heath Ledger, but he is dead. Then I realized that it is me. I can play that role, and I would be incredible. Lean into every odd quirk, all the instincts that I typically suppress, including the cruel joke ones... Could be fun...

Invited to a Filmed Open Mic

I had my first standup comedy open mic experience in over a year, and I kind of killed it. I was great. 5-ish minutes of little songs and one-liners. And critically, it was fun. Felt loose, natural. The show's sponsor pulled me aside afterward and asked me to go to a taped open mic the following week (this upcoming Wednesday). They are doing a version of Kill Tony (which I have never enjoyed) called Open Micers. And yes, I think that they should have thought for a split second about SEO because their event will not stand out in an internet search. But you know what will pop up? A reddit post warning about this standup show producer not paying up the promised prize for standup contests. But I digress.

I have since written down that five minute set as I performed it, then edited to optimize. I did voices that I had not even planned on, but it was great!

Now I need to memorize it really well (I consulted notes in that performance), then I can play it loose and fun for the filmed thing.

Oh, and the documentary! Since my onstage persona requires some degree of dialogue with myself, I think it is a good habit for me to get used to talking to the camera. So I have been doing so more, trying to get plenty of footage stashed away before my (presumably) inevitable rise to fame.

Showing Initiative

I released another EP or album, or whatever we wanna call it. Boosted the volume a little, but nothing else.

But a fun fact I just remembered is from my time in med school. There was such a learning curve, not just with the academic side, which was overwhelming enough, but also with practical basics on the island. How do you go grocery shopping if you do not have a car? Where should I live? A fancy apartment? A dorm? What is travel like? Are they serious when they say to bring cash for food? Because I did not. So at some point fairly early on, I wrote down everything that I wished someone had told me. And that very long Word document would later be revised and incorporated as a standard part of student orientation.

Kinda neat. I tended to take initiative as a leader in so many areas, not because I love being in charge, but because I wanted to spare anyone else from suffering as I had, assuming that they had the patience to read what I wrote. A big assumption, I know.

Released an EP

Slipping back into the throes of sobriety. It is cruel how much better I am when sober. Cannabis products kill my productivity, ruin my attempts at basic bodily maintenance. Want to stay in shape like you always have? Sorry, edibles will ruin that for you. A couple days off of edibles and I am waking up at decent times, saving so much money by having a decreased (normal for me) appetite, and craving pacing on a treadmill while my electronics charge. Booze is a mixed bag though. On the one hand, it kills, ages, makes you have to pee. On the other, you can be super functional up until your skin and various organs die.

Released an EP this week. Mostly for funzies. Edible had kicked in one night, but I still had the presence of mind to record some stuff. I have had enough friends release music to know that it is largely inconsequential, that no one will notice or care, and you will not make money on it. Therefore, I opted out of paying for studio time, for mixing/mastering, and instead just released the tracks in their raw, original format, including false starts.

I have been sitting on a few of my favorite tunes for awhile. I mean, I posted them on socials, but I did so like a year ago. The irony there is of course that I think I tried harder at fun storytelling back then, and now I am better as a musician but potentially worse in the narrative department. Ain't that just the way.

I went to a networking event aka free pancakes on a lovely Sunday. The host is a comedy director buddy of mine who has won loads of awards, and there was another comedy director in attendance (also award-winning, which is how they met). They are currently working kind of normal jobs, because the industry continues to be dead for the foreseeable future. This means that they are hungry to work on fun and easy projects, which is why I pitched the idea of filming a no-budget music video. I of course pitched by playing the first verse of it, "it" being a song I had improvised a year ago in Texas. They LOVED it. Both directors interested, so now I am trying to find/write more songs to fit their flavor.

See, to win those awards, these directors shoot a film. They submit that film to a billion festivals. Regardless of success or lack thereof in these festivals, it takes a year or two for their art to make it through the festival circuit, like, just to find out if they are in. And as an incentive for festivals to help them, they will give a festival exclusivity for a premiere or whatever.

All of that translates to years of waiting for anyone in the public to see what kind of work they do. Sure they post promos, little posters and teasers, but when your short film is already short, there is only so much to be done with that.

But music videos? Immediate release. Lots of room to play and create, without having to worry about audio. I know this is easier because I have been making my own little music videos, and have noted the simplicity of just focusing on visual gags while the music takes care of the narrative. And this is a chance to work with directors on set as a writer/actor, which is WHAT I WANT TO DO, and is also THE BEST WAY TO GET TO KNOW SOMEONE YOU WANT TO WORK WITH PROFESSIONALLY.

So for this month, my comedy director buddy Roe will be working out in Wyoming, but we tentatively plan to shoot the music video next month. This means that I need to finish writing it. Will the third verse be from the perspective of a waiter? A dog? A dog waiter?

Oh, also, I have been filming sorta video blog things for what I hope will be a fun documentary someday.

Today

I cannot describe how annoying it is that I am so much more talented when sober. Churned out four songs the other day, plus a few intro jingles for a comedian buddy. Every time I post a requested song, people ask for more, and I get more followers. In other words, my approach is working, ever so slowly.

Had my first birthday celebration since I got to LA. Celebrated with other improv friends first by performing in a show, then by going to karaoke. I am still typically a pretty distinctive performer, but it is so nice to not be the only one who goes hard! I love my current life. I am soaking up every minute as I live it, in part because I feel like it must end soon. Too good.

I have been LOVING this open mic. I get footage that makes me look like a paid performer. And multiple clips have now gone viral on Instagram. And today, I bought a carbon fiber ukulele. Not as resonant as my wood one, but the strings are spaced better, and apparently you can run over these carbon fiber ukuleles with a car (but the strings might get damaged).

Just finished editing clips from today's open mic. One of these might put me over the top. Clickbait editing and everything. But now I am high and exhausted, so I hesitate to post. But also, what the hey? It is posted.

Got a song request asking me to say why OnlyFans is ruining a generation. I think it is making the best out of a bad situation. Off the top of my head, here are lyrics that come to mind.

I don't think that Onlyfans is the problem.

I say that 'cause you have to pay to watch 'em

And because there are very few jobs,

But this one is a type

That lets women (or whoever)

Work as much or little as they like.

Just from the fact

That they are incredible

Viral Post

I finally had an organic viral post, and it was the best kind, taking the form of some open mic footage of me introducing and then performing a joke song. I messed up a lot, but still had good footage for a 23 second clip. And six days and over 30,000 views later, I realize that I have broken through the algorithm, and tomorrow's musical open mic (which I have been attending for the past couple weeks) requires me to show up and perform another song, in the hopes of having another viral video. View counts on other videos have definitely gone up! Oh, and this is Instagram, not TikTok. All organic.

I attracted comments from the always-toxic standup community, which is now filled with white supremacists and Nazis. I am responding to mean stuff with silly whenever possible, but I also want to try making fun of white supremacists more by making fun of myself. As a friend said, "they can't help themselves" when it comes to hate watching.

Since I acquired the ability to shoot in 4k with external sound, I have decided to use my most underutilized resource, time, to make actual narrative songs.

Additionally, a ten minute drive from where I am tip-tapping away at this laptop, comedy legend Kyle Mooney will be playing a free show today. Then, it is my favorite show in LA, Duo It Again.

Remembered that I need to buy stilts (a critical step in learning how to walk on stilts). I do have a fear of heights, though I am not sure if it will kick in. Good for me to face that.

Since I have money in the bank and work ethic, I have decided to offer free work for friends more often, to collab. And with a viral post, I can now offer some degree of visibility too!

Back in LA (not Louisiana)

Oh, boy howdy. My big plans to form a musical comedy duo ran into some snags. Criston, who should have already gotten famous for his music, voice, and looks, was somewhat open to the idea, but then he went on got motorcycle wrecked into getting his jaws wired shut. I asked my other friend Jake, but he could not fathom doing creative work while he spends his days doing manual labor. He dislikes the manual labor, and it is negatively affecting his physical health, but it is so occupying that it is a never ending venture. What stinks is that he is one of the most naturally gifted improvisers, one of the accidentally funniest people I know. And like Criston, he knows music far more in-depth than I do.

I really should write to catch up on things, because a lot did happen. I flew to Dallas, left my mom's Prius in street parking that would go on to become a temporary tow-away zone. This would cost me much stress and money upon my return to LA. While in Dallas, I met the SFX MUA who would be working with me on this short film. After we got a mold of my fingies, I drove to Arkansas. Fun time there, always feels like a vacation. It helps that they sell cannabis products at the border with Missouri half an hour north. I of course was happy to simply chomp one from my friend's neighbor.

Then upon my return to the Dallas area, we did a test shoot with the prosthetics. This is when it starts to feel crazy, because for this test shoot, I wore $500 of prosthetics. Then later, at the actual shoot, I wore that same amount of prosthetics again. We did not get the shots the first night, so I voluntarily stayed in makeup while I slept, then we shot my stuff late the next day just before a thunderstorm stopped us from shooting more. Now they have that footage, but have rewritten the script to avoid requiring me when they reshoot it, since I am typically out of state.

Then I bought a used iPhone 12 mini via fb marketplace for $150. Game changer. I can now film in 4K, and I already have good professional dynamic mics, so suddenly, my usual posts can be in high quality, and I can start considering making short films and content on my own.

Then that SFX MUA agreed to do a life casting of my face, which is something I had wanted for a year. And she also wanted me to act in a short film she was making. So I got a free haircut a life casting, and 4K footage of the latter, along with some creature contortionist moves from both films. And I was able to connect those artists with my buddies in LA who are more experienced/knowledgeable.

So today, back in LA, I sent a clip to a local buddy who is great at improv and, as he put it, "plays basically every musical instrument." He is a chubby, bald, bearded latino guy. I love his sense of humor, and I think we could work great together, but I just have not known him for that long. I have known him for a year, but have only sat down to chat over a meal once. This is in part because I have a crush on his close friend and collaborator. Very distracting.

And I also finally went jogging yesterday. It reprograms my brain. Right now, I feel driven, performative, like I want to make stuff rather than settle in with writing. But this state is also a more distracted one. Something I realized I strongly dislike is the fact that when my work ethic is up, edibles are less effective. The brain-wrecking power of an edible is not as potent against my horrifying level of focus. Still hyperfocused, just not aimed well at the moment.

Prepping to be Primed

It took maybe a month? But I dropped the fat from belly, and now am focused on building muscle back. Sit-ups every day, plus that annoying but necessary cardio.

I had always planned to be dead at 35 years old. Now as I come upon that age (and fresh after seeing Robert Pattinson in achievable fit physique in Mickey 17), I realize that I am hitting prime human. So this is unfortunatley required to be my best year. Be in the best shape, get work, get paid, maybe start a musical comedy act...

Okay sure, I have talked a big game about the musical comedy for a bit now. In my defense, I am getting better at ukulele every day, and I am trying to recruit a friend of mine to do it with me. His music is clever but not comedy, which theoretically makes him a great straight man. That and the fact that a lot of his skill set complements my own means that there is a lot of potential... but he has yet to express interest in such a venture, despite the walls of text I send pitching him on it.

I have gotten some self-tape auditions over the past couple weeks. Maybe it is that, or the endorphins from my workout routine, or the sobriety, but I am feeling pretty happy and hopeful.

The workplace comedy I worked on as a writer, actor, and improviser, it should come out in maybe early summer? And I am told that I will get paid for it, which is obviously neat.

Whatever I do, I need to actually get it done. The time for prep is almost finished, and then I can finally get out there. Ideally while collaborating with friends, but on my own if I have to.

My Weight Loss Journey

I have felt odd about sharing this elsewhere, so I will do it here. Looking back, it appears that roughly when I learned the results of this last presidential election, I had a paradigm shift that led to significant changes in personal habits. Essentially, it became clear that rather than edging toward an uncertain future, we will instead be plunging headlong into an apocalyptic scenario. It is no longer realistic to consider humanity's ongoing survival in its current state, not with the degree of change that the climate is currently undergoing.

So I started drinking too much. I was drinking so much that when I went for a little lunch meeting to prep for a writing gig, I had to excuse myself to the restroom, where I promptly vomited. Just barely keeping it together. So I explored edibles and, critically, stopped exercising regularly.

Now, I have at many times in the past, attempted to stop working out. It eats into my schedule and is frankly annoying, but every time I stop, my work ethic dies out, and this time, combined with the munchies brought on by edibles, I was taking in something like 5x as many calories as usual. So I developed a gut. And I began to settle for that, but when I tried doing my usual stretches, I now had a physical obstacle in the form of my belly. I also played my first slapstick comedy role during this time, and the gut was unattractive for the persona that I have developed.

But then I decided to get back into shape, to go running again. Then the California wildfires hit the very next day, and suddenly, the cardio that I wanted to do could literally kill me, so I drove south and kept exploring edibles, kept eating. And then I experienced the odd sensation of not needing to eat anymore. Eating became a choice for pleasure rather than mere sustenance, because I could feel that my extra fat stores could sustain me, particularly since my writing habits have me living pretty sedentary anyway.

The fires did eventually get put out, and the air cleared, and I finally returned to slowly get my body back into shape. And it was not that hard. The hardest part was and continues to be the cardio. I used to run 2 1/2 miles every time, and now I am hitting a mile on a good day, with lots of breaks thrown in. That being said, I can feel myself improving. Work ethic is up, my abs are coming back, and this timing is critical to some degree because I am doing creature work, modeling, and medical skill demonstrations in a couple weeks' time.