A More than Ordinary Update

Good day, folks, it's time for an update. July was a pretty slow month so there wasn't much to bring up, but now I have some news.

I got cast in an interesting and independent film about a small-time drug dealer in Vancouver. I didn't get the lead role, but I'll be playing a smaller role as one of his old friends, and still get a decent amount of screen-time with memorable parts. Plus, this character's not a bad guy, so for once since my arrival to Vancouver, I'm not in a film playing a villain. At most, I beat the lead up, but he's asking for it anyway (he needs me to rough him up to cover a hickey he got when he cheated on his wife). Alright, maybe my character's not exactly good, but everybody has at least one friend who'd help hide the body, right?

Second, I got cast in another play at Deep Cove in North Vancouver. It's a Halloween-themed show called "It's a Dark and Stormy Night," following the story of a mixed bag of characters all stuck in a hotel with a bad reputation and loony hosts. It's not as deep as These Shining Lives, but a fun little thing with laughs and scares. I'm working with an actress, the producer, the backstage manager, and the backstage manager's assistant from These Shining Lives too, so it's half a reunion!

I'll be playing a cabbie/college student who's looking out for a schoolmate, who is visiting the hotel and looking for her sister. This was something I was asked to audition for, and despite my arriving only to the call-backs, and spending the least amount of time with the sides, they offered me the role. I didn't expect to get it, so it was a nice surprise given the Hell I had to go through to get there (Deep Cove is quite far from my home). It's the second time that, with minimal effort, I get a role, so that's pretty cool.

Speaking of roles I got with minimal effort, no news on the paid one yet. We should be shooting in the fall, but no word from the director about specific dates, or even a script.

Work's been rough to say the least. We've been getting a lot more complicated accounts to deal with and because I'm not working during the day, they're practically thrust on me half an hour into my shift before the last supervisor leaves, and I stumble like a fool to get through them. It doesn't help that one account's incomplete and every time someone calls in, I can never reach the on-calls to assist them. Also got two urgent calls for a brand new account the other day, and I was the only one on the floor with any experience on it, and I still couldn't do it right because it was so complicated and still filled with glitches. I had noisy-ass customers to deal with as well, all impatient and obnoxious, with horrible, difficult to understand accents.

The schedule afterwards isn't too good either because I'm having trouble sleeping. I thought going to the gym the same morning I finish work would be a good thing to tire me out, but that doesn't seem to be the case because I'm not tired following a couple of hours of lifting weights. Usually when I get there I feel tired enough that I could probably take a nap on the bench press, but following my whole routine leads to me being wide awake. On the plus side, I'm taking full advantage of my gym membership, going every other day. With a goal of gaining another 10 lbs, I'll be ready for Halloween in no time!

Watched a play called "Dog Sees God", which is based on the Charlie Brown characters if they were in high school. I remember Mad magazine toying with the idea, so this looked promising. A friend was performing in the show as "Van's Sister" (good ol' copyrights keep the characters from calling her Lucy). Overall, it was a great show with a great cast, and I got to meet and exchange info with the director, so hey, here's hoping this connection bears fruit.

My credit card was copied! Been using it for years and it got copied for the first time. Thankfully, I was able to account for all the purchases, but it was a needless hassle during a week I needed the card to grocery shop and pay my gym membership. It sucks because this year, my debit card was also copied, so despite my infrequent purchases, I still got screwed.

My friend from Montreal visited me! I hadn't seen her in almost two years, so it was great to catch up. My only stupidity was allowing her goofball "friend" to tag along. Here's the story:

Having spent the day cleaning up my humble abode, I decided to take a nap prior to leaving for the airport. Oversleeping by roughly half an hour, I wound up late and meeting her at roughly 9:50 PM, 20 minutes late. I was surprised to see her drinking a beer with some British guy. He introduced himself, then promptly asked if he could join us for the night. I was little shocked at how quickly he took the initiative to ask for an invite when he barely knew my name, but since he knew my friend, and I was taking her to a bar downtown, I didn't think it'd be a problem. Yep, did I ever eat those words later.

The initial plan was to take her back to my place so she could drop her stuff off, then we head downtown. However, this guy needed to do the same with his stuff at his home, and brought up how he had a car, so it'd be no hassle to go back to go to his place, then drive to mine. The catch? I was the only one who hadn't had any alcohol in his system, so I'd have to drive this strange guy's car. Having not driven since April, using a stranger's car was not a pleasing thought, but if it meant we could get around more easily and not rely on buses/cabs, it was alright… But now that I do think about it, there would’ve been no place for him to park in downtown Vancouver on a Saturday night, and since he proposed we park near the Skytrain at my place, then take the train downtown, nothing would’ve really changed to help my friend and I, just him in getting home. So yes, in hindsight, his car idea was useless.

Now, when this guy took a moment to go to the bathroom, I asked my friend who he was, and found out that she barely knew him. In fact, before Saturday, they only met once when they played pool in a big communal thing in Kitimat, so she knew him for only the duration of her flight. I felt like a complete fool.

He came back, and we left and got to his place where he not only insisted we come in to his home, but also took the time to change and open up another beer, as if we have all the time in the world. Then he has the balls to ask if we could do dinner on Broadway Street so that we could eat noodles. Freaking noodles. Even the way he said "noodles" made me want to wail on him. For someone who wanted to tag along, he became a well of "suggestions" and was quite pushy, so being a little frustrated at this guy's audacity, I snapped. I told him that my friend's never been to Vancouver before and I'm not taking her to some noodle place on Broadway street, and we are going to go to a pub downtown so that she can be in a place she wants to be and see downtown. We quickly left shortly after, him still carrying his open beer.

He hands me the keys and I go to unlock the doors of his truck for everyone, only for the mechanism to not work. The remote for keyless entry does nothing as well; turns out his car's battery died. My friend is now frustrated, as we have no choice but to use public transit... The entire detour was for nothing and she's been stuck carrying her baggage since we left the airport.

We finally got back to my place, where the guy had a good idea. Since it was already almost midnight and the metros and buses weren't running frequently, he suggested we take the bus near my place since it goes straight downtown. This idea proved to be a gemstone in a murky, dirty cave of rock, and we made it onto the bus and finally got to the pub, three freaking hours after we initially met.

What was the most frustrating part of the whole story? He left before we arrived at the bar. Because he needed his truck the following morning and had intentions on driving it all the way to Kitimat (a 13 hour trek), ultimately, HE DIDN'T JOIN US and got off at Broadway to meet with some friends who'd give him a boost. All that time wasted and he didn't even stay the whole time... Sure, it was a relief to see him go, but simultaneously, I wanted to lash at him for causing this whole useless adventure.

On the plus side, we finally got to eat and drink at the bar until closing (a whole 30 minutes) and I took her around the waterfront area and most of the docks. It was a nice, cool, refreshing walk and we had a chance to catch up properly, so the night ended on a much higher note. Also, she liked my chocolate pudding shots, and pointed out a way to improve them. We went to sleep at 3, awoke at 5, got to the airport, and I saw her off. I always hate leaving/seeing friends leave, but she had things to do, and she'll eventually come back to see the Vancouver Aquarium.

What's the moral of this story? Welcoming a new face isn't a bad thing, but when you have plans and a strict time limit, especially with someone you haven't seen in two years, just flip the bird to the rest of the world and do your thing; you'll be less miserable. Never again will I let my politeness interfere with my plans like that, as that night will be permanently ingrained into my memories. With that in mind, if you're the new face, keep the suggestions to a minimum; it doesn't hurt to say something, but don't be pushy about it either.

And for a final note, I'd like to draw your attention to my friend's Kickstarter campaign to procure additional funds for the next batch of Sirius Black short films. It cost him a lot of time and money to create the first one, and in order to continue, he needs help. If you thought the short was awesome and want to see more from Adam, please consider donating and/or spreading the word. The short received over 95 000 views since its release, and it'd be cool for this to continue.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1001425159/it-all-begins?ref=live

Only two weeks to go before the rest of the first episode’s released, and if you want a second episode, feel free to share.

And just a little something to add, I just auditioned for a car commercial wearing my blue-spandex suit because they wanted people who looked like superheroes. Probably the weirdest thing I ever had to wear for an audition, but hey, if it made me stand out, why not? Anyway, enjoy your weekend!