The New Beginning Continues

There are a number of directions I could go with this post, being that it's been a while since I've updated you all. But, I think I'll start off with something I think is cool that you may or may not have any interest in. As a fair warning, I think this one will be of the longer variety, so strap in.

I was watching "Live From the President's Cup" on The Golf Channel, I like to check up on my former employer from time to time just to make sure they are still on the air after my departure, when I came to the realization that Jay Haas is an assistant captain and his son, Bill, is one of the players. How cool is that? The first time there has been a father/son duo. I have had the distinct pleasure of playing with Jay (and another son of his, Jay jr.) and meeting Bill in back to back years at a Father/Son golf tournament RBD Jr, RBDIII, and I have played in. Both great guys. Another one of the players is Dustin Johnson. He is the guy that I joke around as being "my close, personal friend" because of being in a couple commercials with him.

So after watching a while, I sent out the following tweet: "Looking forward to watching "my close, personal friend" (aka commercial buddy) @DJohnsonPGA at the Presidents Cup and @WhitWatsonGC cover it"

Now, I have known and worked with WW going all the way back to my sophomore year at UF in 2004, so I like to give him a shout out every now and again. I was actually unsure about sending the first part out because, while people I actually know would get that I was joking, what if DJ saw it and was like, "whoa, who is this creeper?"

When I got up this morning and was scrolling through my social networking sites I noticed that @DJohnsonPGA had sent back this: "@(my twitter name) MD! Should be a great week for the #USA" (he also didn't say MD, he said my first name, but you get the point).

Anyway, I thought that was cool. He at least pretended to remember me. And as a reminder for all you fine folks, here is the gem in which DJ and I were introduced. Maybe when I start getting invited to the Pebble Beach pro-am, we can team up.

By this time, we are practically besties.





Who cares if I was green screened into footage of him winning. It still counts.


Anywho, what has been going on in my life over the past few weeks, you ask?

I continue to do casting director workshops, and I feel like I am making some good first impressions. Again, it's kind of hard to tell, but, I've gotten positive feedback so that's good. One of the workshops, we were given some sides (sides = scene) that the CD had previously cast. The one I (and my partner) received was comedic, and it got laughs from both the other workshop-ees as well as the CD. So, that felt good. I never really thought myself a comedic actor, but getting laughs was nice, and some of my new friends say they could see me in some comedic roles. I'm going to take some improv classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade when I get back to LA after the holidays.

The next workshop was with a CD that does a lot of hour-long TV dramas. It was a two-nighter, so the first night we brought in a scene to preform for her. It was one-on-one, which was nice, since the others had been in groups. A nice change of pace, and it allowed, I thought, for more personal feedback from the CD. Well, after night one, I was worried since I basically got, "that was really nice. It sounded very natural" and that was it. Now, I know, it sounds super positive when reading it. But, really only the second part is actually a compliment, and I just thought I was going to get more than two sentences, but, alas, I did not. The second night, she paired us up and gave us sides from things she had cast. My partner (a very attractive female) and I crushed it. Then the CD asked us to make a few changes, which we did. After which, she praised us for making "some really great adjustments". We exited and both agreed that she genuinely liked us and thought we were good. So, I felt that was a success.

As far as "life stuff" goes, it really couldn't be going any better. I am slowly working my way into the friend group of my roommate. I still tag along places, but have been invited on my own to a few things, so that has been good. One of the girls had a 70s themed birthday party at a roller rink. Now, I was excited to be invited, and I knew it would be a good time, but as a few of you know, back in the day, I had a little "incident" on an ice-skating rink that has stuck with me to this day. If you have had to sleep in the same room as me, it has affected you as well. The broken nose. Obviously, we are not dealing with ice here, but we are dealing with some adult beverages. When it came time, I bravely laced up and headed onto the rink, determined. It took about a half a lap for me to eat it- hard. I couldn't let that deter me, so I hopped back up and continued racing around like I knew what I was doing. Thankfully, I managed to escape the evening fully intact. Did I mention there were costumes? Here was mine:
This picture doesn't show some of my accessories(a baller chain and ring) but it gives you some idea of what was going on. That was this past Friday. On Sunday, the roommates and I went down to the local Farmer's market to pick up some food stuffs. It is really a great market, full of delicious eats and plenty of people watching, as is the case wherever you go in LA. We had all but finished up selecting our meats and greens when we came across a seafood tent, CS wanted to stop in and maybe get some oysters. Well, we didn't end up getting any oysters, but we did end up getting something way awesomer. Sea Urchin. Yes. And it was delicious. My meal that night, and again today was: Ground Bison over Quinoa with Kale and Onions. Quite tasty if I do say so myself.

Reppin my city. The 4-0-7.

So that pretty much brings us up to date on the happenings in my life. I am now headed east for an extended stay in Orlando with stops in Fairhope, AL and Wilmington, NC for some weddings. I am excited to get back for a while and spend some qt with family and friends.

Until next time readers.

Going Going Back Back to Cali Cali

My (and my mom's) trip to Cali is coming up in about a month. Originally it was just going to be a nice little trip to visit 2 of the 3 other siblings and check out LA on the way from San Francisco to San Diego. I wanted to stop in and get a feel for the city and kind of look around for areas I may want to live when I move out there. When I told LTD this was the main purpose of the stop, she told me, "No! You have to go and meet agents, make connections!" That was a paraphrase, but it was pretty close. I had to inform her that you can't just walk into an agency(especially in LA) and say, "Hey, my name is Mack and I live in Orlando, but I'm thinking of moving out here, do you want to have a meeting?" Again, a paraphrase. I think I told her I'd be arrested for trespassing, and while that may not be exactly true, I feel it's pretty close.

Pause there for a second.

A week or so ago, a friend from early UF days called me up and told me he had applied for a coaching job with UCF and he wanted to know if I knew anyone who might be able to give him a recommendation. I did, so I passed along his info, and a fairly high-up gave him a recommendation to someone that matters. Why am I telling you this? Well as this was all going on, discussion switched over to me and what I was doing. I informed this friend that I was pursuing an acting career and was thinking of moving out to LA in the near future. Well, his next door neighbor growing up happens to live in LA. And work in the business. For some well known film people. Also, this friends' cousin lives out there and works in the music industry. She has a manager who also reps actors. So. I now have these people's contact information and we are going to try and meet while I'm visiting(including the manager, hopefully). People helping people.

This past weekend was a friend's bachelor party. We went to New Orleans, and it was awesome. That's really all I'll say about that. Except this. I was sitting at a table playing a game of strategy and got to talking to the guy sitting next to me, you know, just small talk while trying to win together. The question of "so, what do you do?" comes up, so I tell him. HE'S got a buddy who has been living and working in LA for a while with a prominent agency. So, I get this guys card, he says to email him and he'll put me in contact with the guy. I didn't really expect him to come through, but, he did. I've been in contact with this fella and we're going to try and meet while I'm out there too.

Pretty good two weeks.

Now, most likely, nothing will come of these meetings. I'm aware of that. You should be aware of that. I hope now you are aware of that. Buuut, mayybe? Maybe. At worst, I meet a few people (assuming the meetings actually happen) who probably know some more people, and might be able to point me in a helpful direction.

I have no expectations. But my fingers are crossed.

Quick update on biz stuff that has been going on over the past few months. I think I have passed on most of this, but here you go again. I booked a PGATour.com commercial, a SAG Gillette commercial, started shooting a SAG webseries, and will start shooting an independent film this weekend. Also, I had an audition with Tyler Perry studios and had an audition for the latest in the American Pie movies(and a subsequent 2nd audition. Another level of suck: See previous post) So, things seem to be moving in the right direction.

For your viewing pleasure, here is the PGATour.com commercial: