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April 28, 2002
TITC is LLC Tex in
TITC is LLC
Tex in the City had its first business retreat in New Haven, CT. We decided to become an LLC or Limited Liability Company. The different business structures a company can choose can at first be daunting. It's been really fascinating learning about the dynamics of each option. I have learned alot. I feel like the four of us have a really good base of knowledge now for starting the company, not just on the artistic front but on the business front as well.
New Haven was really fun too. It's where Yale is, so for an actor it's sort of like Mecca. The people in New Haven were nice and our hotel, the New Haven Hotel was really great. It's so nice to be able to take a train and then, voila, you are out of the city, the state even, and in a tiny hamlet that is it's own little world.
Our second party is May 1st. This Wednesday. The butterflies are coming back. I hope this one is even more fun then the last one. And the last one was pretty fun. We are celebrating Cinco de Mayo on Uno de Mayo. If you can't make it...I'll have a corona for you...or better yet...a "rope burn".
Posted by mermu at 12:11 PM | Comments (0)
Grape Leaves I am becoming
Grape Leaves
I am becoming quite the wizard of culinary delights from across the globe. I made stuffed grape leaves yesterday. They are yummy. With a bit of plain yogurt, I can take a bite, close my eyes and imagine myself sitting in a little cafe in Nicosia, Cyprus. Ahhh. To be honest they are a bit salty for most people's taste. Maia suggested when I was preparing the stuffing to add more salt. So I did. Too much. I think when she said add more salt it was said more in the spirit of a pinch or a dash....you know how people get when you are cooking. Everybody has there own take on it. I took it to mean that it actually needed more salt. Even over salted though I find them to be delicious. In my next batch, you will too! Stuffing the grapeleaves was quite fun, and easier than I thought it would be. I guess I got alot of good practice making tamales! Now that I have conquered grape leaves...I wonder what will be next.....
Posted by mermu at 11:59 AM | Comments (3)
George of a thousand Days!!!
George of a thousand Days!!!
This Friday, we finally made it to George of a Thousand Days. That's right. Junior only has 998 days left...or rather we only have 998 days left of being required to put up with him. I celebrated at this party for Paul E's Birthday and Laura E and her beau Mike F moving back to San Antonio. While I was announcing this auspicious occasion, someone growned that he would most likely get reelected. My response is how can someone be REelected to something he was never elected for in the first place. If Junior and his daily flubs of national and international policy don't get us all killed in 998 days we will have an opportunity to right a dreadful wrong committed by the Right in the Supreme Court. Fight the power people!!! So far Junior's pals have made millions off of other peoples 401Ks. Are they held responsible? Will they be? Doubt it. That's what they are paid Jr the big bucks for.
Posted by mermu at 11:52 AM | Comments (2)
April 19, 2002
Ford Focus Well I
Ford Focus
Well I can't believe it. I was in search of a Ford hybrid car thinking it was a fool's errand. It was a short trip to Ford's main website where I found another link to the future of Ford and, to my way of thinking, the auto industry. There I not only found a hybrid car but a hybrid dream I didn't even think fathomable at this day and age. That's right, Ford has created a Hybrid SUV!!! So Ford is a winner in my eyes. Now I just have to hope it goes down a little bit so I feel like I will get a bargain. If I ever need a new car that's the one. It is very cute...even in bright yellow.
Posted by mermu at 11:14 AM | Comments (4)
April 17, 2002
Green Stocks I am
Green Stocks
I am considering buying some stock for my IRA with my tax money. I have had my eyes on Ford for awhile. I think it is priced way under the market. The thing that keeps me from doing so is getting involved with a "big, bad, auto company" that pillages the environment. I decided if they have a hybrid car or can convince me they are actively trying to improve emissions for their fleet I would consider buying it. I am still investigating the matter but I did find For My World, a great website that basically rates car companies, among others, and the "greenness" of their product. While I haven't made my decision yet, I am suitably impressed that Ford even links to this stuff.
Posted by mermu at 12:40 PM | Comments (0)
I'll Never do My Taxes
I'll Never do My Taxes AGAIN!
Well, at least not by myself. I went to a tax professional for the first time in my life on Friday, April 12 and I am now a true believer. While my accountant's bill was pretty exhorbitant, it was well worth it. She knew a lot of tricks of the trade that I never would have picked up on my taxes. Though I owed her a significant amount of money, my tax refund (that I probably wouldn't have gotten without her expertise) more than covers it. And the beauty of it is, I don't have to worry about getting it in and deciphering the complex Tax jargon. This is probably the first time in about 3 years that I haven't filed an automatic extension.
Mom's on Blogger
I finally get to be a Cyber landlord myself...or at least middle management. After speaking with mom about a week or so ago, I got the impression that she might like to have her own journal. I got this impression largely because she responded in the affirmative with excitement when I asked if she might ever want her own blog. She always gets such a kick out of mine and Jenny's and Stepan's blogs I thought she might want her own sounding board. So I set her up on this website. Stay tuned for an official link to her page on the site. For now, check out the GalleRita for insights into mom.
Posted by mermu at 12:35 AM | Comments (0)
April 11, 2002
Tex in the City Well,
Tex in the City
Well, I don't want to say too much here as we now have a website for Tex. I am really enjoying starting this company. It is such a good feeling to work in an environment with people who complement each other so well. It's a great kick to be working with my friends from high school. Our first party was a smashing success. There seems to be a bright future for us at Serena.
The rest of the company is progressing well. We have alot of great ideas for future projects. Our limits are based solely on the limits of our creativity and imagination. I am really looking forward to our first corporate retreat. We are going to get out of Dodge and rent a room and work hard and then relax in a place where somebody else has to make the beds. It should be fun. I am learning alot about the intricacies of forming and maintaining a corporation. In this way, Global Harmony served as a very positive thing for me. I really cut my teach on that company and I am amazed to find that I soaked up a lot more experience and knowledge than I had previously thought. I am also kind of surprised to discover that I am pretty good at alot of this logistical, businessy stuff.
I am also looking forward to working creatively. Getting to perform in a quality project I co-produced would be a very proud moment for me.
Posted by mermu at 03:07 PM | Comments (3)
Postarma A few weeks ago
Postarma
A few weeks ago Maia taught me how to make a Bularian meat called Postarma. It is essentially Bulgarian beef jerky. It is also addictive. Postarma makes a nice compliment to crackers and cheese. Basically you cover the meat in salt for a few hours and then role in various herbs and spices and then let it hang outside for about a week depending on how cold it is. We started it right when there was a cold snap. As far as Maia knows you can only make it when it's cold as it doesn't dry exactly right in the fridge...unless you had a special meat locker where you could hang things. Also, I have a suspicion that the fresh air contributes in some way to the taste. It is a very tasty treat and very easy to make. We did have to fashion a small overhang outside Maia's window in case it rained (which it inevitably did.) I am very pleased to know how to make this. I plan on making it a winter ritual.
Maia also makes these incredible Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves). They are really tasty and I will know how to make them soon. The thing about Bulgarian cuisine is that it is heavily influenced by a variety cultures, Greek, Russian, Turkish and others. I would bet that is the case for alot of European and Middle Eastern cultures. It is definitely true of the Greek and Turkish. The sad thing about that is those cultures are totally at odds. The cover of Newsweek shows two girls on it; one was a Palestinian bomber, the other her victim. They could have been sisters by the looks of them. It is really tragic.
Back on the food thing: When I went to Kambri's to work on the website I stopped off at a Greek Deli in her neighborhood. They had Cyprus marinated olives! I haven't had them since I visited an ex-beau in Cyprus years and years ago. They are the only olives I love. This deli also had Greek Feta and it is so tasty you could eat it with a spoon. I won't though.
Posted by mermu at 02:53 PM | Comments (0)
April 10, 2002
Okay, I am tired. It's
Okay, I am tired. It's 2am and I know my sister will be frustrated when she sees all this content. So tomorrow I will add the developments of Tex in the City. BTW, check out the website. My partner Kambri and I put it together and I am so proud!!!
Posted by mermu at 01:55 AM | Comments (3)
Working for a Living
Working for a Living
The last weekend in March I officially joined the working world again with a company I freelanced for last year. I really enjoy the people at this company. And the work is interesting. I am glad I get paid hourly as I have been working alot. That is the rub about returning to companies you've worked for in the past. They know what you can do and they actually expect it from you. I am actually really glad to not be temping with an agency. I would like to be at a point in my life where that isn't necessary. So for now at least, my work situation, though hectic, is great.
I have to admit I really miss being on the dole. I feel like I was so productive!!! Learning things. Working on my company. Voiceovers. Building websites. I was eating well and excercising and being creative. Ah me...This workaday world is not for me.
Artist's Way
While I am still doing my morning pages and trying to get an artist date in every week, I find myself perpetually in Week 5 for the last few weeks. I just haven't been able to move on to the next segment because I have been spread so thin. I am getting frustrated with myself. Working 12 hour days and starting a company make it really difficult to make the time. So I am determined this week to finish up week 5 and move on to week 6 if it kills me!!!!
Holidays
The Oscars came and went. I have to say I LOVE Oscar night. It is so exciting. Even though I know it is all a marketing tool and really has nothing to do with a best anything I still anxiously await the answer to the question, "Whose name is on the envelope?" For the most part I agreed with the selections this year. Last year was such a bogus year, they really made up for it. I do think Jennifer Connelly as Best Supporting was a bit of a stretch. Kudos to Halle Berry and Denzel Washington. Though they may want to make it a black thing, I don't see that at all. I saw both of their performances and they were brilliant and deserved to be up there no matter what colors they were. Maybe that is why their wins were so historic. Being nominated is an honor; winning is politics. So it is historic. Because who would win politically wasn't about color. I don't know. Color was such a big issue that night it's hard to say. While I was a little miffed that Halle Berry didn't have the courtesy to thank her costars I was really excited she won. And I have to admit I was glad Russell didn't win. And though if they were called the "merediths" I would most likely have given the award to Tom Wilkinson for "In the Bedroom" I thought Denzel Washington was amazing in "Training Day". So if you haven't seen them, go see "Training Day", "Monster's Ball" and "In the Bedroom".
Miscellaneous
April Fools came and went and I was too busy to have any fun. I did see something interesting on a few blogs though. I love April Fool's day. It's just not the same without calling my dad and telling him I'm either in prison or pregnant or both. Wish I had time this year. ....Just wait till 2003.
My friend Jim is away for the next few months. He is directing a show in Germany. I miss him bunches. In May I will go see the premiere of his musical "Playing the Palace" in WI. This will pass as a vacation for me. I get to stay in a hotel!! Yippee.
Little Italy
Scott's mom Stella came to visit over Easter Weekend. I haven't seen her for almost 10 years!! Stella is such a lovely person. I have always liked her. She was always so respectful of me...even as a kid. She was really great at treating us like adults even when we weren't quite. We had dinner at a place in Little Italy and Oh my God!!! The food was amazing. I walked in the restaurant expecting to eat a little salad. I am on a diet after all. Well that went out the window with the first coarse. In little Italy they just bring out food course by course until you are full. We only made it to the pasta...which is about the second of 4 or five courses. We did have a little dessert too. :-) I am definitely putting Little Italy on my Places to Go list when people from out of town visit. It was so much fun.
Posted by mermu at 01:52 AM | Comments (0)
PTSD I have had some
PTSD
I have had some fascinating dreams since I have started The Artists Way. Most of them are very positive and colorful. I did have one dream that could be related to some form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I know it seems silly and I can just hear my future BIL saying "It's all about you" but I had the dream. It was there. Basically the dream was about a bombing on NYC. The bad guys were disguised in robes. I wanted to hide from them so I put on a burka. The bombing caused widespread pollution. People were coughing. I was coughing and wheezing and torn between staying in a city I love and moving away, therefore losing it forever. I called mom and she was in Hawaii!! In the end I decided to move away in the dream. I could see the city from above. I think I was flying.
It's interesting. Apparently the professionals were expecting this time to be rough for New Yorkers and everybody really. Now that the "media blitz" is over and it isn't so much of a hot story, the tragedies are really starting to seep in and the emotions we've all been suppressing are bubbling up. It's hard to even mention this. I feel like such a cry baby. I wasn't down there. I didn't lose anybody I knew. I didn't even really have a connection with the towers the way some New Yorkers do. And yet there is this dream.
As a memorial, the city shines these two huge lights straight into the air as a representation of the towers. I admit that it is a comforting thing to see. There are already huge and intense discussions about the impending permanent memorials. My friend Scott mentioned one of the more popular ideas: to build two piers that are equal in distance to the height of the towers as if in shadow of the towers. There would be a mark for the space each floor occupies. The idea sends chills down my spine. That is a pier I will never visit. I just can't do it. I can't imagine any more how far down, how traumatic, how painful that day was for so many. I am just not ready for a memorial. I think it's a gross impropriety to make such an important decision on how we will deal with remembering the WTC when many of us haven't yet processed the whole event. Memorials are for things in the past. This is still very real.
Scott also mentioned something in discussing the WTC that I take exception to. I am really glad he did mention it as I knew I didn't agree with him but I didn't know why and the discussion made me really think about it. Scott said something about the buildings being too ostentatious. Too big. Too show-offy. As if we were saying "nananana boo. We have big commercial buildings and you don't." As if we deserved it or should have seen it coming. (my words not his) That we as a nation were irresponsible for even building something like that. Well, I cry BULLSHIT to that one. To my way of thinking, that way of thinking just promotes terrorism as an effective tool for domination. Why shouldn't we dream the impossible dream? Go where no person has gone before? If we lose our sense of discovery and our dreams for the tallest buildings, missions to the moon, vaccines for polio than we might as well hand terrorists keys to the city. Dreaming makes the world a better place. Did the WTC have its problems...heck, I don't know. Probably. Should we build another set just like it? I am personally not for it. Maybe it's not feasible. Maybe it's not practical. Whatever we do build, it should be based on somebody's dreams and the knowledge we now know because people dared to dream for the last coupla hundred thousand years.
Should we pay more attention to the struggles of people all over the world? Yes. Should we take more responsibility for our part in their struggles and strive to rectify that? Absolutely. That has nothing to do with what happened on 9-11. I commend the person (or persons) who dreamt up the Towers. It had never been done before and they had faith it could be done even though no one else had done it. It should never be acceptable or preferred that the Brilliant should hide their light under a bushel because of the Bullies.
Posted by mermu at 01:26 AM | Comments (0)
Wrangler I also had an
Wrangler
I also had an opportunity to do a little work on a commercial in the city. My job was to be the extras wrangler for a Tiger Beer commercial. I had to get up by 4:30am to be there by 5:30. Holy Hell!!! I couldn't believe it but I actually made it on time. What followed was a 13 hour day of shepherding and being responsibles for extras. The shoot was kind of fun. It was all location so we were filming in and around crowds of Saturday Madison Avenue shoppers. It's funny to see people stop and ask what's going on. I do the same thing when I see something filming. There is such an energy on set that is so fulfilling...but there is also ...
This weird caste system. It's sad but true. You would think that people in such an artistic industry would be more karmically in tune but no go. Extras are at the low end of the totem pole. I, being the wrangler, was a short step higher. Some people get off on treating people like dirt. Extras are an easy target because they are usually easy to get, severely underpaid, and eager to be as useful as possible. One thing I have no tolerance for is disrepect from people who are essentially on the same team.
The flip side of this is the extras. After awhile it becomes sort of comical. I have been an extra so I know how it feels. You want to do well and you want to be ready in case you get that big break. You want to prove that you are a professional and that you can be trusted with more than just being living scenery. It's a tough job. You often work 13 hour days and have the privilege of being herded around, not told anything, and working more for the "experience" than any real monetary compensation. Many of the extras were trying to work me a little bit. Get in my good graces. See if I could get them a chat with such and such a person. I work for the Background company that got them the job so they were trying to get a leg up there too. "I also have a Nurse's outfit", " I just did such and such". And there is the way extras talk with each other. Talking the game. "When I did extra work on X movie I met Y star and he was so nice/awful/idiotic." It becomes a sort of show down about who has done more work, worked with more stars, come closest to making it...etc etc. That said, I so enjoyed meeting them all. Though all artists, they had such a diverse history. There were people at all levels of talent from all walks. Some wanted a career, some just wanted to have fun being in "the movies".
Very idiosynchratic. On the whole, I loved doing it and really did enjoy the extras with which I wrangled. When they left I felt a little as if I were losing a family. It was a very interesting day after which I treated myself and man living in a cardboard box to dinner and splurged on taking a taxi to the bus. It was also an exhausting day.
Posted by mermu at 12:36 AM | Comments (0)
I can't believe how long
I can't believe how long it has been since I have been able to write. Since I made my last entry, I have wrangled, recorded, incorporated, designed a website, and re-joined the work force. So this is my attempt to catch up. Fortunately my morning pages for the Artist Way have provided a template for the things that have occurred. In a few nutshells, this was my life these last few weeks.....
Voiceover Work
My ex-boyfriend-from-high-school Pat gave me a contact that came through. At the end of March I recorded voiceovers for Bright Ideas Charter School which is located in Wichita Falls, Texas. What a kick to do work for an area I grew up in. Maybe my aunts or uncles will hear it. My grandmother. That would be so cool. I feel a little like "local girl makes good". I had such a good time recording it too. I hadn't gotten the equipment I ordered from Sweetwater so I enlisted my friend Marcus to help me record them. He also helped me on the "Angels" tracks I recorded for Christmas.
I have to say I have such a good time hanging out with Marcus. He is such a great person. He is a truly gifted musician too. He has a cd coming out in the next couple of months. I hope it takes off. I have never told Marcus this, but the first time I met him I had the feeling I knew him better than I should. I don't know what I believe in terms of reincarnation and all that. If such a thing is truth, I have no doubt that Marcus and I were friends...maybe even brothers or sisters in a time before this one.
So I just got an email from the company who mixed the recordings. I will try to post the spots in the next week or so. I think they sound pretty good....if I do say so myself. So anyway, thanks in large part to Pat F. and Marcus I am a professional voiceover artist. It's never as good as the first time!
I am still working on my Jcard for the voiceover demo cd. It is so frustrating!! I know exactly what I want and am having a devil of a time finding it!! I think that is worse. It's better to have no idea and be inspired by the materials that present itself than feverishly quest for an image in the mist.
Posted by mermu at 12:03 AM | Comments (0)