Teed up

I can't believe that right now I am riveted, on the edge of my seat ... first glued to the TV in the waiting room of the VW service center, then searching for live updates on the web ... anxiously anticipating the next report ... completely captivated by ... of all things ... a game of ............................. GOLF.

I am somebody!!

It's great news that Tom's efforts to get Six Man, Texas entered into IMDb.com have finally paid off. But forgive me for being a bit more excited about another piece of news related to this. Sure, it's great to have Six Man up there at last. But what else does this mean?

I. Am. On. IMDb.com!!

Back in 2000, Tom cast me in a couple of small roles in the sketch comedy film One Eye Peeled. I ended up playing about six different small parts in four different scenes, including a token Hindu in a beef commercial, a drive-thru funeral parlor assistant who played parts as a Hare Krishna and a Catholic altar boy, a customer of the same funeral parlor, a cast member of The Penis Monologues, a clueless bad date that drove a woman to beastiality, and a corporate lackey who gets fired, but not before reluctantly and badly simulating sex in a boardroom meeting with another corporate lackey in front of the company CEO to illustrate a third corporate lackey's idea to sell advertising via hookers.

It made sense, trust me.

I thought for sure this would be my ticket onto IMDb. And with several roles to my credit too, literally. Unfortunately, this film got stuck in post-production hell and was never released by the producer. So, no credit for me or anyone else.

Meanwhile, friends like Anita and Carolyn had gotten IMDb credits for being extras in another independent film, one that was still in production. They were lucky enough to get into the database before IMDb started implementing stricter rules about who qualified to be on the site.

Still, I figured I'm find my way onto the site eventually. There were other film projects; something would stick. But after One Eye Peeled, things didn't get much farther along. Cameron's animated superhero feature Point One ground to a halt during the animation stage; I would've had an assistant director credit there. Tom's documentary The Real Santa, on which I was part of the production crew, didn't get accepted to any film festivals (for reasons I still don't get ... I think it's a good documentary). My own short film projects didn't qualify. So by 2005, when I started helping out on Six Man, the whole IMDb thing seemed so far away.

But now, nearly three years later, Six Man qualified because it screened at a festival. And so, while my credits aren't very exciting, I am now one of the thousands or millions of non-famous people that nevertheless have a page on IMDb! Check it out! Also, if you've seen the film, please leave user comments and help expand the film's IMDb presence. Thanks!

6 Months

I was a little surprised to realize that yesterday marked 6 months at my job. That's already 3 days longer than my first post-IBM contract job, and the time has flown here compared with that job. Even compared with my job last year, which was considerably better than the first.

For me, 2006 marked the first time 1992, the year I graduated from college and started at NI, that I was employed for less than half the year. My vision of the future became increasingly short-term; the lack of permanence I felt about my employment spilled into the rest of my life. My biggest accomplishments during that time were getting out of the house after 11 months of unemployment and reversing the drain on my bank account. That job, where the atmosphere was somewhat stifling and restrictive, was about getting back on my feet ... and little else.

Last year's job, another contract position, ensured I would be employed for the majority of 2007. It was supposed to be a contract-to-hire position, but after 7 1/2 months, my entire department got the axe. Contract and permanent people alike were looking for jobs. Still, this job was notable for the slow return of some of my pre-layoff attitudes about relaxing and enjoying life. After nearly two years of going nowhere outside of Central Texas and Houston, I went on a vacation. Out of state, no less. I had to take unpaid time off to do so, but I learned that my world didn't end when I voluntarily cut my pay for a few days. And I started to feel secure enough to allow myself a mini-burst of spending, finally buying a digital SLR camera and a new laptop for the aforementioned vacation.

So as this job progressed, I slowly felt more secure about life again. My short-term vision expanded out somewhat. But I still found it difficult to plan for anything more than a few weeks out.

Now, after half a year back in the world of full-time "permanent" work, I find that I still have a ways to go in recapturing all my pre-layoff attitudes. I still have trouble planning more than a couple months into the future. I still feel like it's impossible to know how much things can change in that time. I've now been here long enough to sign up for the employee stock purchase program, which goes for a 6-month period. And it occurred to me how strange it still felt to look 6 months ahead and assume I'd still be employed at the same place. I used to take such things for granted. Now, even when I feel "secure," I'm assuming a layoff can happen any month now. There's talk of group vacation plans for next year. NEXT year?!? I can't even be sure about anything I'm doing THIS summer!

For better or for worse, one area I've relaxed on is expenses. Not that I've gone hog wild; all I've really done in this first 6 months is buy a new Mac to replace my 8-year-old system and a new desk to go with it, plus a bunch of shelves from Ikea (more on those in a later entry). But I'm not tracking my bank account daily, and if I have to spend a little extra on something I hadn't planned for, I don't freak out about it. And that's a nice feeling. Plus, I no longer think of extra expenses in terms of how many hours I have to work to earn that amount after taxes. During my 2 years of contracting, if my car needed $300 in work, I'd calculate how many hours of work that meant. I never used to think like that before. And now I feel freed from the hourly rate mentality again.

So I guess that's reasonable progress. Okay, big deal, I still don't feel comfortable planning several months in advance. I guess that gives me something to work on over the next 6 months...

My new wheels: The truth

Okay, that last post was tongue-in-cheek. That's not really my new ride. It's the rental they gave me while my car is in the body shop. I finally took my Passat in to fix the damage from the parking garage incident.

My Passat apparently entitled me to an "intermediate" sized vehicle. The one they were going to rent me had already been rented to someone else, so the only intermediate vehicle they had available was this PT Cruiser. Which, contrary to what I was saying last post, is not the manliest of cars. I mean, look at the tiny wheels on that thing. Not that I drive a sports car, but still, I am a little embarrassed to be driving this thing. And within just a couple hours of getting the rental, I'd already been teased by Michelle sight unseen. And given her generous nature, she happily repeated her comments in the last entry. And it wasn't just Michelle; a 12-year-old (Trish's niece Kayla) thought it was funny too.

So, that's my ride, but only for the next few days. Whew...

My new wheels

Ohhhhhhh yeeeeahhhh. Check out my new wheels. PT Cruiser, baby. I am gonna get so much action in this p----mobile. You know what the PT stands for, right? Poontang. That's riiiight. PT Cruiser. This fine piece of machinery drops panties faster than spiked punch at the prom. Yo, the line starts at the back seat, ladies. You know you want me. I. Am. So. Cool. PT Cruiser cool.

Chickmagnetmobile!
Click photo to enlarge