1K Wordz: 3 Au Girls, An Au Boy, & A Pt Host

I don't normally post pictures, but I thought this is a nice one, and at least I could tell a quick story about it. Plus, I can make this a new segment.  I'll dub it "1K Wordz" First the picture:

"Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur, & Mike Tyson On Contestant's Row With Drew Carey"

For Price, we rehearse each show so that the crew can mark the locations of the games and prices, the announcer (guest announcer George Gray) can read through and practice reading out loud the script, and the producers can see the show and make any changes to it they don't like.  During this time, I'm usually running around the set delivering script changes the show and doing other odd jobs.  It's a crazy atmosphere, but I thrive on it.

We happen to have some new cameramen on the crew, so for the past couple of days, we've been rehearsing the opening of the show where the contestants are called down to Contestant's Row (or Bidder's Row, you pick) so that they can get a feel for it.  One of the great attributes of George is his ability to improvise.  So when he was doing the "Come On Downs," he called a different name for each, and each of the 4 people came down.

"Estelle Getty" is Scott, our Production coordinator.  He does a lot for the show, but one of his biggest roles that affects me is that he is in charge of the graphics that go on the games.  He's a great guy and has been with the show for 4 years.

"Rue McClanahan" is Alex, the Inside Head Page.  He is in charge of making sure the other pages are doing their job.  He is the go to guy when it comes to loading in the audience.

"Bea Arthur" is Dan, the Inside Backup Page.  Basically, he's second-in-command, and assists Alex in his duties.

"Mike Tyson" is Lois, a VIP to the show.  I don't know anything else about her.

"Drew Carey" is Doug, one of the Stage Managers.  He is in charge of making sure that the crew moves smoothy and gets to their marks (models included).  He is a wealth of information, as he has been in the industry for years.  I've had the pleasure of talking with him on many an occasion, and he is a joy to be around.

That's the skinny on this photo, and my post for the day.  You should feel special: I'm not posting this picture to Facebook or Twitter till tomorrow.

You're welcome.

Peace Out!

Quick Before Slumber

After a little finagling, I'm all set for finances.  Thank goodness.  Shall we talk about something else?  I think so.


The Oscars are on tonight, but I'm not watching them.  I'm just not interested in it this year, probably because I didn't go see any movies this year.  I like movies a lot, but it is no secret that I don't see many, and I tend to be picky with the movies that I'm willing to pay to see in a theater.  But from what I have been reading online via Facebook and Twitter, there were some good wins this year.  I'll read all the highlights in the morning.


My proposals for work are almost done.  I'm pretty proud of myself this time around, as I think I've got some pretty good ideas.  I'll let you all know how they are received after I pitch them.


One of my favorite games is "The Question Game."  You go back and forth answering questions, getting a better sense of who you are and who the other players are.  We should play together one day.


I've got Price tomorrow.  Time for bed.

Peace Out.

Short Changed

I like to think that I'm ok with finances.  I like to make sure that the important things in my life get taken care of.  So when I set up a plan for myself, and then find out that I messed up somewhere along the way, I instantly become the last person you want to hang out with.

Such is the case as of 10 minutes ago.  For the past few weeks, I had the impression that as long as I made it to Thursday, all my obligations would be taken care of because I will have gotten paid.  Normally as I get closer to the end of the month, I spend less and less, sometimes not eating just to make sure that my ends meet.

Stupid me forgot to notice that unlike the other 11, the month of February only has 28 days (29 on a leap year), and the 28th falls on a Monday.  This means that there is a 3 day gap between when I need to have all of my money and when I will have all of my money.

I don't like to be late on things, and recently I've had to pick and choose what things I would be able to pay on time.  I've been behind on a few payments, and I thought that this week I would finally catch up and I would be in the clear.  Instead, I'm going to be even further behind and be in a stressed out mode for a while.

I went to buy groceries yesterday and now I completely regret it.  I would have rather starved myself for a week than to be even further behind.  Now I have one day to get everything ready and I don't know what I'm going to do.

Borrowing money is something that I don't like to do because it makes me feel like a charity case.  I also have trust issues, even with my friends, so I don't always believe they'll be there for me.  These are some of the toughest times for me and my well-being deteriorates rapidly.

We'll just have to see what happens.  I hate money.

Peace Out.

Price, Passion, And Precipitation

The weekend is upon us.  It's about freaking time.


The Price Is Right came back from its one week hiatus (and my 12 day hiatus), and I was so glad to come back.  It's nice to earn some money, but it's also nice to do something you love.  This week was a bit different because since we had monday off, our taping days were Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  For me, this was a bit weird only because I like having all of my days off at the same time, i.e. four day weekend (Thursday thru Sunday) instead of three day (Friday thru Sunday).  More on Price in a bit.


Did you know that eHarmony, that online dating site, has absolutely ridiculous prices for being a premium member?  They charge a crap load for one month of service.  If I were that serious about finding love online, and if I had that kind of disposable income to use on such a service, I'd totally do it.  A few of my friends have fund people on that site; one of those couples is even happily married.  I've always wanted to try it, so I made an account recently.  However, after seeing how much a subscription cost, I decided to hold off on it till I sat down and thought about wether it is something I would really want to invest time and money into.


You can't really tell by looking at me, but I feel pretty alone here in L.A.  I know that I'm flanked by a whole bunch of good people and great friends, but I have this small, yet nagging, feeling inside for some company.  It really becomes apparent when I come home to my room and I see the other roommates with their boyfriends or girlfriends hanging out.  Sure, I'm used to it.  That doesn't mean that I'm comfortable with it.  I know that they are not rubbing it in my face, but sometimes it's a bit overwhelming, and I just need to get away.  Usually, the only place I can go to is in my room.  Lately, I've been trying to find other places to go.  Without a car, it become a bit more challenging.


Going back to Price, after our last taping of the week, a few of us went to a bar to unwind and grab some drinks.  This was the first time I had joined them, but it certainly won't be the last.  Like I had mentioned in previous posts, hanging out with coworkers outside of work is a lot of fun for me.

I've been told by numerous people that I've been doing a great job on the set and that I'm a very talented and genuine person to be around.  That means a lot to me because I work hard on the set with the hopes that people like me.  I worry about people liking me more than I let on.  And I appreciate that my hard work is getting noticed and getting me somewhere.

I am one of a few black people who are on the Price crew.  It's just a thought I had and I wanted to write it down.


It's been raining quite a bit here in Los Angeles.  I enjoy it.  Most people do not.  I wonder how much more rain we will be getting.


I don't have more to say at this point, and it's pretty late.  So that's it for now.  You can see yourself out.


Peace Out.

A Turning Point: Recalculating...

I have just arrived home from, what could be, the most important car ride so far in my career.

Lemme explain.

This weekend I'm car-sitting for one of my bosses.  I won't go into all the details (if you want them, ask me personally), but what I will say is that I ended up driving them home.  It was a one hour drive from where we were to their place, and during that time, we had a great talk about our careers and what we did to get to where we are, what we are doing to stay sharp, and why we love what we do.

Now, I've talked to a lot of people here in Los Angeles about career paths.  I've talked to enough people about specifically hosting and producing game shows.  But, up until tonight, I had never been challenged in those talks.  Never was I so stimulated in what we were conversing about.  For the first time, I truly felt like I knew why I was trying to be a host/producer and how I could get there.

I learned a lot about my boss: about their scholastic career, about their constant quest for excellence, about their never-ending struggle to stay sharp and on the ball.  The things they told me resonated with me in a way that words had not done in a while.  All this time, I thought I was doing everything possible to become a great host, when all the while, I was not even close to doing enough.  It's one thing to say "I'm going to be the next great host"; it's quite another to take the steps to makes those words true.

What was supposed to be a simple 45 minute ride and drop off became a near two hour conversation that really made me rethink my approach to my career.  All of the things I was told I will not soon forget (so let me write as many of them them down here before I forget):

• Immerse yourself with someone/something you admire: The Price Is Right is a game show that I grew up with and love.  But ultimately, Price probably will not be where I end up staying.  If I truly want to grow as a host/producer, I need to work for those people that I admire.  That's not to say I don't admire the people at Price.  However, I do need to sit down and think about the other people who are producing shows that I like and get involved in working for them.  Therefore, I am coming up with a short list of people that I would like to work for and the reasons for me wanting to work with them.  Then I need to make an effort to find the ways to get to them.  And don't work for the assholes if you are truly looking for a healthy experience and a place to learn.  Work for someone you respect who will respect you and treat you with dignity.
• Continue to flex your muscles: No, I'm not talking about going to the gym (although I need to do that also, note to self).  What I mean is doing the things that will exercise your skills and hone them in.  In my case, I need to find avenues where I can host.  Currently, the only hosting I ever do is for the game nights I run, and I only do those about once a month.  Ideally, I should be hosting something at minimum three times a week.  If that means doing a webcast, hosting stand-up at a club, doing warm-up for a show, or just keeping the crowd entertained, then that means doing those things and making a habit of doing those things.  I like to pretend to hosts things when I am alone, but I need to start making the habit of doing it in front of others and just doing it any chance I get to.  I also need to invest some time in taking improv, as that is a skill that will truly help.  But most importantly, if I am serious about being the best host I can be, I cannot stop tightening my skills; I must always be working towards improving myself.
• "Steal" opportunities: I'm lucky enough to be in a work environment where I interact with major TV players on a daily basis.  I'm also blessed to have a mentality where I like to help people whenever I can.  To "exploit" this personality trait is too harsh of a word, but I need to extrapolate it.  Whenever an opportunity arrises to go the extra step, I need to take it.  My boss has told me that I have done that and I should continue to do that wherever I go.  You never know who might be paying attention.
• If you are expecting for things to be handed to you, then you are an wasting your time: To be fair, that is my wording, not my boss's.  But the underlying message is the same.  In this day and age, you need to put in the effort to be notice and to get what you deserve.  There are many things that I need to do before I can get what I want: create a reel, get an agent, get headshots done, etc.  I'll admit that I have been slacking in that department.  But no one is going to come to me and say "hey, Stad, here's everything you need."  For me to expect that to happen would be an idiotic move, especially in this city and for certain in this industry.  Hard work will pay off, but only if you put you all into it.
• Personality will take you far: My personality has gotten me through a lot in my life, and because of that, I have experienced things millions of people will never witness in their lives.  Therefore, I should not squander this "gift;" rather, I should nurture it and let it grow to its full potential.  That said, however, I need to be cautious that I do not let myself be taken advantage of by people.  In this day and age, there are many people who will do just that if given the chance,

After nearly two hours of conversation, the last thing my boss did was issue me a challenge.  If you have ever been to a Price taping, you would know that there is a small period between the second "Showcase Showdown" and the actual "Showcases."  During that time, the crew is setting up the showcases and music is being played for the audience.  This is usually the time when the audience energy level drops considerably: they've realized that they are not going to be called down, and so the mentality is "why should I bother being excited if I'm not going to win anything?"  My challenge is to come up with a small quick game to play with the audience during that time period.  I'm to pitch it to my boss, and if my boss likes it, not only will it be played during those breaks, but I will be allowed to host the game.  

This is the biggest opportunity I have been given so far in my career.  If I work hard, and come up with a great idea, I will finally have a venue to work on my hosting skills.  We tape two shows a day, three days a week, to an audience of about 320 people.  That means I would be hosting my own game to an audience six times a week.  Just the thought of that make me burst with happiness.

I agreed, and we shook on it.  For the rest of the car ride home, I thought about all we had talked about, and had already begun to come up with ideas.

I would be a total fool to not take this opportunity.  This is a great chance for me to show what I've got. 

In the end, I learned a lot more about my boss, and much more about myself.  He and I are very alike in a lot ways, and I mean it when I say that I truly do admire him and how he has worked constantly to get to where he his, while at the same time, acknowledging that he is still growing to become better.  Through that, and self-reflection, I'm beginning to see my path towards my ultimate goal, and it is reachable.  So thank you, Mike Richards, for challenging me.  No one in L.A. has made me really ponder my intentions on being here until I talked to you.  I feel like I have a much clearer sense of what I want and need to do to achieve my hosting/producing potential.  Your words really made an impact on me tonight.

Peace Out.

FOOD RUN!

It's a surprise mid-day post!

It's 60 degrees right now in Los Angeles.  It's sunny and they sky is pretty blue.  I just got paid.

Let's buy some food!

Peace Out.

Stop! Elaborate And Listen

If I didn't know any better, I would say that getting engaged was an epidemic.

Now then...

My friend Alicia came to my place yesterday and we played games.  It was nice to have someone to hang out with during my week off.  In fact, she's been the only person outside of the people that I live with that I have seen all week.  I need to get out more.

Alicia and I have become very good friends during the past few months.  I don't have too many black friends here in L.A., and I would say that she is the closest one that I have.  It's really nice because there are things that I can talk to her about that I can't really relate to anyone else.  She also has been there for me when things have not been so great.  I'll get random text messages from her or a small phone call (which is nice).  She's level-headed, smart, and talented.  Quite funny in her own regard, she really is one of a kind.  So thank you, Alicia.


Something that I didn't mention about the Magic Castle endeavor was that it was also a blind date.  My friend Ken had a girl that he wanted me to meet cause he thought we would hit it off.  I'm always game for that kind of stuff, so I invited him and his girlfriend along with the girl to the Magic Castle.

May (whose name has been changed for this post) was a 22 year old who worked with Ken's girlfriend at a preschool.  She was a very pretty person, well dressed for the occasion.  From looking at the FB (which Ken had suggested, cause she looked at mine), her taste in music mirrored mine, hates horror movies, and just likes to have fun (so far, nothing is wrong with her).  I was really excited to meet her, since I knew that Ken wouldn't "set you up with a bitch."

Blind dates can be scary: you've never met this person, sometimes you don't even know what they look like, and you have no idea how they are going to act.  Naturally, it's understandable ok to be nervous.  I was a bit nervous, but I felt ok cause would be with people I knew.  I have even suggested that we all go together so that we all would feel comfortable.  She didn't talk too much during the beginning, and I totally get that.

As the night went on, we slowly began to ask each other questions about each other, trying to get a feel for each other.  I was trying to get her to open up and be a bit more comfortable, but I was beginning to feel like she wasn't too into me; she mainly was talking to Ken and his girlfriend and periodically talking to me.

By the end of the night, we had our fill of magic and so we drove May home.  Along the way, she seemed to finally open up and I got to know her a bit more.  We hugged and myself, Ken, and his girlfriend drove off to the Whisper Lounge.

The three of us talked about how I felt the date went, and I tried to be as honest as I could.  I liked May, but I was worried that she seemed kind of preoccupied for much of the evening.  Both Ken and his girlfriend informed me that she was very nervous about the date (even to the point of visibly shaking in the car ride to my place).  And, to be fair, if she wasn't interested in meeting me, she would have not gone on the date.  I had thought it went well and it was great to have met her.

But ultimately, the question is "would you like to see her again?" And that is the question I have been dealing with since that date.  Part of me says "yeah, it would be great to meet up again and see if this goes anywhere", while part of me says "if you weren't feeling anything when you met, what makes you think you can force yourself to feel something if you hang out a second time?"  So I sat down and thought about what I liked about May and what turned me off about May.

I'm still working on that list.

At the very least, I need to contact her and thank her for a great time (even though I'm a few days late on that).  But I still need to think about if another date is possible.

I know that I sometimes complain about having no one in my life (and by "sometimes", I mean "almost every day").  However, I don't want to pursue something I know won't lead anywhere.  That's what I need to figure out.


I updated my OkCupid profile a few days ago: adding some new pictures, rewriting some of the descriptions, answering some new questions.  I narrowed the age gap for the women I'm interested in, with the minimum age being my current age of 24 (even though I turn 25 in two months).  I need to work up the courage to message a few of my matches, just so that I can get more comfortable with putting myself out there online.  I have to get into my head that more likely than not I'll have to be one to initiate conversation.  It'll stick.  Someday.


I also came to the personal realization that I'm not looking for anyone who I already have a good friendship with.  More times than now, I've seen people who date friends not stay friends for long.  There are certainly exceptions to the rule (some of who have been together for a while), but for the most part, I don't see the idea of dating a friend work out too well.  For me, I'd rather meet someone I didn't know too well to begin with; it just seems easier.


I have watched more hours of cartoons and WWII documentaries this week then I think I have even in my entire life.  Boy, I have learned a lot.


Trivia susatains me.  The new You Don't Know Jack game is such a blast to play with friends.  If you have some spare money and a few extra controllers, pick it up.  You won't regret it.


That's all I've got for now.  Let's talk again soon, shall we?

Peace Out.