Somethin's Comin', Something Good

That "somethin'" would be my return to dear old Brooklyn.

Five days left.

The car smogged—barely—the second time I took it in. For the hour before it was tested, I drove it around on highways and streets one gear too low. Why? Because I read on the internet that a hot engine has a better change of smogging. So I got the engine as hot as I could.

The smog tech told me that more than the engine cleanout, the hot engine made the difference. The max allowable PPM of hydrocarbons was 134. The car eked by at 132.

I'm spending my days packing and shipping five boxes' worth of stuff I somehow accumulated, and saying ciao to my Angelino peeps. And God knows why I allowed myself to get involved, but I'm shooting a student film scene Thursday night. I think I just wanted to feel like an actor one more time before I left town.

There will probably be one or two more posts this week and back in NYC before the blog either gets shut down or morphs into something else....

Wrapping Up And Winding Down

Yes, that was a long hiatus. But I was so down when I got back to LA after the diverticular incident that I didn't much feel like writing.

My head is out from under the covers now. I have about a week and a half left here, and I'm starting to sell off my stuff. There may be an audition or two between now and my departure the weekend of April 1, but I'm no longer optimistic. C'est la vie. I'll post-mortem the whole pilot season on another day.

Today, I am taking further steps to sell my car. In California, a car has to "smog" (pass emissions inspection) when it's sold, and the responsibility lies with the seller to do so. The little beater I bought smogged right before I bought it five months ago. Now it won't.

In an effort to clean out its engine and get its numbers down, I took it in for a complete lube job on Tuesday: I replaced gas filters, cleaned out fuel injectors, etc. I was told by the guys at the shop that I should fill it with a tank of gas, drive that down as low as possible, and then fill it with another fresh tank before I try to re-smog it.

So I have spent the last couple of days driving somewhat needlessly—over 180 miles so far—in an effort to prove to the state of California that my car doesn't pollute. Classic.

Unexpected Detour

I'm too pissed off to write about it.

So just read this post from Jody's blog.

The $400 Audition

Yesterday at around 10:45am, I was pulling into a parking lot at LAX, gettting ready to fly east for a much-needed weekend in NYC with Jody.

Then I noticed I had a new voicemail.

It was my agent, with my first pilot audition. Ever. And only my second or third audition this year. It was scheduled for 5:15, and was I still in town?

I had to weigh the pros and cons, but quickly decided to say and go on the audition. For one thing, it's been quiet, and I wanted to get back in the saddle. For another, it was actually a very good part for me. For a third, it was with a casting director who does a lot of stuff in LA.

The audition was only a pre-read—meaning, I'd meet the casting director, and she'd get a sense of me, and then decide if she wanted to bring me back for producers the next day.

I cancelled my Continental Ticket (I have a year to use it), spent the afternoon going over the script and sides, met the woman at 5:15 and had a great audition with her. She laughed at my bits, she chatted with me a little, said good work, etc. There was a great vibe in the room. And you can tell where this is going.

I went home and sat around waiting to hear whether or not they'd be having me back the next day. FInally, at 7:00pm I got the call from my agent with the dreaded words: "It isn't going to go any further." Sigh.

Ah, well. I was glad to have done it nonetheless, and I really do think I made an impression on the CD.

I went to the Jet Blue website and found a redeye leaving in an hour and a half. Grabbed my still-packed bag, shot up to Burbank and made it with 30 minutes to spare.

Cost of the original ticket: $338.80
Cost of the new ticket: $748.80
Difference: $410.

Ouch.

Oh, and not only was it a redeye, but we had stop in Denver in the middle of the night to add fuel, because it was too windy for us to take off at Burbank with a full tank. The cabin crew announced Denver as a "tech stop" for refueling, and told us that if we tried to leave Burbank with a full tank in the Santa Anna winds, we wouldn't have enough "climb performance". Which I guess is a nice way of saying "we won't make it off the ground."

At least the ticket's a write-off, right?