As an actor, it becomes frustrating to see someone with no real acting chops "make it". Everyone is looking for the guy who can hum "The Star Spangled Banner" through their nose, or eat a hot dog in one bite. (An actual casting notice today). People seem to want to watch a cat cough up a fur ball, rather than watch our kid show Ready Time Pals on you tube. Let's see...mundane VS educational fun...hmmm...but I'm getting off to another topic so...
So as actors, we muddle along, hoping for our big break and somewhere along the way we encounter an opportunity to become infamous rather than famous. It seems those people get more acting roles and opportunities than me so why not? Right? Well, personally for me, I could never do it. We were offered to do the Nanny many years ago, but I couldn't imagine showing my kids off in a not so great a light...or my husband and I for that matter. We were also just recently selected to another type of show like this where we'd be shown as our family-in a probably wacky way and again, I turned it down. I know I have talent and so do my kids and I guess I have morals and better judgment? Still, the times where I see these other folks who chose that path and "make it", I get a little irritated.
At the end of the day I know I'm true to myself and what I believe in. I'm also still holding out hope that I can bring a little laughter to the world when I book that animation series regular role, or on camera sit-com; or even entertain the masses with a great meaty theatrical part. Here's to the other actors like me who want TV and film to go back to the glory days when no one WANTED to watch Johnny eat a gold fish while humming a tune upside down hanging from a tree. People enjoyed good ol fashioned story telling...I'm hoping someday soon we'll go back to those days.
Until then, I'm going to keep on supporting the good valued shows that are still out there and pay less attention to those reality shows that do little but make humans look silly. Will you join me?
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Stress, Our Kids, and Their Health
About a year ago I read an article in the LA Times about how stress has been effecting our kids. The schools teach to "the test"(the CA state tests here), they have less physical education (most schools don't have PE anymore) and students have more homework than we had as kids.
While at lunch with a friend this week, she mentioned to me that she was opting her son out of "the test". It was causing him too much anxiety and the teacher kept mentioning daily, the testing countdown (10 more weeks till the test, etc). Good for her I thought! I see how much nonsense NCLB (No Child Left Behind) has caused even in my kids' school. (We are in PI-program improvement- right now even though our API score is above 850). Why should the kids be subjected to stress just to make the school look good (or bad) and judging the teachers on how well their students do on the test, in my opinion, is simply ridiculous. In looking for options and information, I stumbled across this site http://www.fairtest.org/get-involved/opting-out. I'll be checking this out for my kids as well.
It also hit me from another angle the other night at dinner when my son got all excited talking about history and asking us questions so that he could tell us the answers. He was clearly excited about this subject and yet I had never seen a test he took on the subject this year. I asked him, "How come I never see you take a history test this year?". He said, "Oh we don't take history tests because they are not on "the test""...WOW! So if it's not on the state test, I guess they don't need to know it. Interesting...
What do you as a parent or teacher to make sure your kid(s) don't get stressed out? Any stories you can share? I think it's time we take back our education system for our kids and not for some paycheck in some "suits" pocket...it is really broken and needs to be fixed!!!
While at lunch with a friend this week, she mentioned to me that she was opting her son out of "the test". It was causing him too much anxiety and the teacher kept mentioning daily, the testing countdown (10 more weeks till the test, etc). Good for her I thought! I see how much nonsense NCLB (No Child Left Behind) has caused even in my kids' school. (We are in PI-program improvement- right now even though our API score is above 850). Why should the kids be subjected to stress just to make the school look good (or bad) and judging the teachers on how well their students do on the test, in my opinion, is simply ridiculous. In looking for options and information, I stumbled across this site http://www.fairtest.org/get-involved/opting-out. I'll be checking this out for my kids as well.
It also hit me from another angle the other night at dinner when my son got all excited talking about history and asking us questions so that he could tell us the answers. He was clearly excited about this subject and yet I had never seen a test he took on the subject this year. I asked him, "How come I never see you take a history test this year?". He said, "Oh we don't take history tests because they are not on "the test""...WOW! So if it's not on the state test, I guess they don't need to know it. Interesting...
What do you as a parent or teacher to make sure your kid(s) don't get stressed out? Any stories you can share? I think it's time we take back our education system for our kids and not for some paycheck in some "suits" pocket...it is really broken and needs to be fixed!!!
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Take My Own Advice
So I am always preaching about focus, and how what you focus on is what you attract. Funny thing is, I didn't realize what I was focusing on and how it's been effecting me.
Lately I've been focusing on what I dont like with our world right now...chemtrails, GMO's, big brother, etc. In my "awakening" I forgot what is most important...that which you focus on expands! So, it's no surprise I've been learning A LOT about these things and getting more and more annoyed. In fact, I think I find several things daily that I can be annoyed with. Now I'm not saying ignore these things because I do believe these are some pretty big issues. But I think I need to turn it around and see the things that are right with the world. Of course that means to not buy into the "drama of the day" and to see the rainbows in the sky instead of the chemtrails. I need to put more of my mind into happiness, things that are right with the world, and getting back on track. (Last year was one of my worst career years yet). I don't want to be annoyed anymore...
Just in the last few days I've gotten jury duty, a ticket for HOLDING my cell phone on the fwy (in dead stopped traffic and I was plugging my phone on the charger at the time), too many bills/not enough income syndrome, ETC!!!! ENOUGH! Stop the world I want to get off here...LOL
I never made a new years resolution this year...so why not now? My resolution for this year is to focus on the good stuff. The bad stuff will probably continue to happen but I'm not going to choose to focus on that. I already know it's there. Instead...I am going to focus on happiness- selling my kid show Ready Time Pals, Seeing and being the compassion in others (have better relatonships with friends and family), get more acting work and making each day FUN.
So you heard it here...I'm taking my own advice and I'm going to have an awesome fun filled year!
Lately I've been focusing on what I dont like with our world right now...chemtrails, GMO's, big brother, etc. In my "awakening" I forgot what is most important...that which you focus on expands! So, it's no surprise I've been learning A LOT about these things and getting more and more annoyed. In fact, I think I find several things daily that I can be annoyed with. Now I'm not saying ignore these things because I do believe these are some pretty big issues. But I think I need to turn it around and see the things that are right with the world. Of course that means to not buy into the "drama of the day" and to see the rainbows in the sky instead of the chemtrails. I need to put more of my mind into happiness, things that are right with the world, and getting back on track. (Last year was one of my worst career years yet). I don't want to be annoyed anymore...
Just in the last few days I've gotten jury duty, a ticket for HOLDING my cell phone on the fwy (in dead stopped traffic and I was plugging my phone on the charger at the time), too many bills/not enough income syndrome, ETC!!!! ENOUGH! Stop the world I want to get off here...LOL
I never made a new years resolution this year...so why not now? My resolution for this year is to focus on the good stuff. The bad stuff will probably continue to happen but I'm not going to choose to focus on that. I already know it's there. Instead...I am going to focus on happiness- selling my kid show Ready Time Pals, Seeing and being the compassion in others (have better relatonships with friends and family), get more acting work and making each day FUN.
So you heard it here...I'm taking my own advice and I'm going to have an awesome fun filled year!
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Compassion
This will probably be a huge stomping ground for me this year. I think it's a biggy and something I encourage us all to relate to. (I am trying to focus on this in my life). COMPASSION.
All over the news the media is showing us all the crazies, all the drama, all the wrongs... Why not turn it around? Why did people get that way? Let's help people to NOT become that; let's encourage better behavior. Now I'm not saying to go hug a murderer or condone that sort of thing, but why not walk a mile in someone's shoes? What if that were you? "No, it couldn't be me!", you say. Sure it could. What if tomorrow, it all turned around. You got sick. You lost your job, then your house and your things. Your best friends walked away and didn't help you. You lost sight of what you truly dreamed for. Things happen in an instant and it can happen to anyone. We are all one and the same. Made up of the same "stuff". Our society has been taught to "buy into" the drama. It's all over the news. It becomes scarey and something to fear when we buy into that. Perhaps that is what the media wants. Fearful, scared people that no longer see people as people...but as something to be feared. You can take away rights pretty easily from a community who is fearful. Look at what happened after 911 in this country. (THAT is a whole other blog post)
So what happens when we become fearful and loose sight of compassion? We play the blame game, don't take accountability and give away our rights as humans. We believe that we are different than others and create one being "right" and another being "wrong". We create a gap and false hatred. We actually loose our humanity and loose sight of what is really important in life...love.
What do I mean by the blame game? This keeps us from feeling like we can "do anything" to help people or even feel compassion. Some say "Oh the president (or other person of high esteem) is against _____ (pro life, anti-guns, whatever-insert your own words here)" and then that is it. He's a bad guy. The other side are "bad guys", "wrong", "awful". So if you believe in pro-life, how many of you have gone to planned parenthood and talked to a woman getting an abortion. Really sat a minute in her shoes. Do you know why she is going to do what she is going to do? Forget what you believe from your religious teachings, but just for one minute really feel compassion and see why she is going to do it. Will her father beat her? Was she raped? You know the saying...Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one? well that's just it. For her this is right and for you this is wrong. When we learn compassion, all of a sudden we see things differently and we can help people get to a better place without creating hatred and "wrongs". And I'm sure I opened a can of worms by going the abortion route here, but this could be any "hot topic". We can insert any of them here. Whenever you feel yourself surge with annoyance for someone else or an "issue", replace that feeling with compassion and see what happens.
By buying into the drama of each situation we are going right into the path of fear and ignorance. You may as well hand over your life now. You are basically just a puppet. It is when we really embrace compassion that we can fully embrace life. I want to teach our children to be proud of their differences and those around them...for it is the differences that make us have more compassion and thus more love...
I may sound like I'm preaching and perhaps I am...but really just to myself. You can take it as you will. I just hope that more choose compassion, in these fear frenzy media days of today, than hatred and fear of those who see things differently or those who make a bad choice. You may not agree with them but you don't have to fear them or send hate. And...if you don't like what's happening...go out there and make a difference, don't just spew judgements...
All over the news the media is showing us all the crazies, all the drama, all the wrongs... Why not turn it around? Why did people get that way? Let's help people to NOT become that; let's encourage better behavior. Now I'm not saying to go hug a murderer or condone that sort of thing, but why not walk a mile in someone's shoes? What if that were you? "No, it couldn't be me!", you say. Sure it could. What if tomorrow, it all turned around. You got sick. You lost your job, then your house and your things. Your best friends walked away and didn't help you. You lost sight of what you truly dreamed for. Things happen in an instant and it can happen to anyone. We are all one and the same. Made up of the same "stuff". Our society has been taught to "buy into" the drama. It's all over the news. It becomes scarey and something to fear when we buy into that. Perhaps that is what the media wants. Fearful, scared people that no longer see people as people...but as something to be feared. You can take away rights pretty easily from a community who is fearful. Look at what happened after 911 in this country. (THAT is a whole other blog post)
So what happens when we become fearful and loose sight of compassion? We play the blame game, don't take accountability and give away our rights as humans. We believe that we are different than others and create one being "right" and another being "wrong". We create a gap and false hatred. We actually loose our humanity and loose sight of what is really important in life...love.
What do I mean by the blame game? This keeps us from feeling like we can "do anything" to help people or even feel compassion. Some say "Oh the president (or other person of high esteem) is against _____ (pro life, anti-guns, whatever-insert your own words here)" and then that is it. He's a bad guy. The other side are "bad guys", "wrong", "awful". So if you believe in pro-life, how many of you have gone to planned parenthood and talked to a woman getting an abortion. Really sat a minute in her shoes. Do you know why she is going to do what she is going to do? Forget what you believe from your religious teachings, but just for one minute really feel compassion and see why she is going to do it. Will her father beat her? Was she raped? You know the saying...Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one? well that's just it. For her this is right and for you this is wrong. When we learn compassion, all of a sudden we see things differently and we can help people get to a better place without creating hatred and "wrongs". And I'm sure I opened a can of worms by going the abortion route here, but this could be any "hot topic". We can insert any of them here. Whenever you feel yourself surge with annoyance for someone else or an "issue", replace that feeling with compassion and see what happens.
By buying into the drama of each situation we are going right into the path of fear and ignorance. You may as well hand over your life now. You are basically just a puppet. It is when we really embrace compassion that we can fully embrace life. I want to teach our children to be proud of their differences and those around them...for it is the differences that make us have more compassion and thus more love...
I may sound like I'm preaching and perhaps I am...but really just to myself. You can take it as you will. I just hope that more choose compassion, in these fear frenzy media days of today, than hatred and fear of those who see things differently or those who make a bad choice. You may not agree with them but you don't have to fear them or send hate. And...if you don't like what's happening...go out there and make a difference, don't just spew judgements...
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Connections
Today while I was standing in line at the grocery store, the bagger started a conversation with the customer ahead of me. When that customer left, the bagger looked to me and said, "That was awkward. She was the mother of my sister's ex-boyfriend." Awkward indeed. But it got me thinking about all the people that have come in and out of my life over the years. Ex's, acquaintances, business partners, neighbors, kid's parents, teachers, etc. So many people, so little time.
Being a people person I have a hard time NOT keeping in touch with everyone I've met/know but that is virtually impossible. Even with Facebook and social media (where we virtually keep in touch with everyone from elementary school friends to someone you met in a yoga class last week) virtual relationships are just not the same as getting to BE with the ones you love and spending quality time with them. The older I get, the more people I've accumulated in my life that I now feel I must keep in touch with and feel bad when I haven't seen them for long periods of time. Sometimes I think about having parties just to have everyone over at the same time. Now that my husband and I have children, it's harder to keep up with our relationships. Our kids have sports and dance classes and school events. We spend our time carting them around and relationship "up-keep" ends up looking like texts and voicemails on the run! I guess facebook isn't as bad as I thought in that respect.
I long for girl trips (been trying to schedule THAT for a few years now), reunions, and date nights. There really just isn't enough time. So what's a people person to do? I wish I had the answer. Sometimes I get reminiscent and think about days long by...a guy I dated in high school, or a girlfriend I had in college. What happened to my friends I did theater with? Wouldn't it be fun to have a reunion with everyone from my old sketch comedy group?
Maybe it's a good thing we loose touch with certain people. We all grow and evolve and the people we meet at different places in our lives reflect where we are at that time. Maybe it's good for people to remember you as they did. (or not?!) That way, we can become the people we want to be and not look back in our shadow of what we were?
Still, there's still a part of me that longs to "keep it all together". Be the social butterfly that can see all my friend's performances, watch my kid's games and recitals and still find time to have date night with my husband and take that girl's trip to wine country...Hey, a girl can dream right?!
How do you keep up with all your friends, family and everyone else in between?
Being a people person I have a hard time NOT keeping in touch with everyone I've met/know but that is virtually impossible. Even with Facebook and social media (where we virtually keep in touch with everyone from elementary school friends to someone you met in a yoga class last week) virtual relationships are just not the same as getting to BE with the ones you love and spending quality time with them. The older I get, the more people I've accumulated in my life that I now feel I must keep in touch with and feel bad when I haven't seen them for long periods of time. Sometimes I think about having parties just to have everyone over at the same time. Now that my husband and I have children, it's harder to keep up with our relationships. Our kids have sports and dance classes and school events. We spend our time carting them around and relationship "up-keep" ends up looking like texts and voicemails on the run! I guess facebook isn't as bad as I thought in that respect.
I long for girl trips (been trying to schedule THAT for a few years now), reunions, and date nights. There really just isn't enough time. So what's a people person to do? I wish I had the answer. Sometimes I get reminiscent and think about days long by...a guy I dated in high school, or a girlfriend I had in college. What happened to my friends I did theater with? Wouldn't it be fun to have a reunion with everyone from my old sketch comedy group?
Maybe it's a good thing we loose touch with certain people. We all grow and evolve and the people we meet at different places in our lives reflect where we are at that time. Maybe it's good for people to remember you as they did. (or not?!) That way, we can become the people we want to be and not look back in our shadow of what we were?
Still, there's still a part of me that longs to "keep it all together". Be the social butterfly that can see all my friend's performances, watch my kid's games and recitals and still find time to have date night with my husband and take that girl's trip to wine country...Hey, a girl can dream right?!
How do you keep up with all your friends, family and everyone else in between?
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