Link by Link

It seems like all my friends are making web pages or blogging now-a-days. Lets look at at few of these pages link by link. (I had to go there-- that song is stuck in my head)

• Amanda has a great new site for her middle school students, Mrs. Hendrick's Mad Science Lab.
  
• Tommy has been keeping up his blog, Levity is the Sould of Wit with some great entries. Check it out!
• Jarrod recently claimed a corner of the web to market himself. Check out his classy actor site at jarrodyuskauskas.com

Budget Crisis!

No- I'm not talking about the US Economy, I'm talking about little ole me and my little ole economic state. I've never really been one for budgets. When I was younger (much younger) I used Quicken-- but I found that it just got me into trouble. It gave me a false sense of security. For example, I'd see that I have $50 left in the bank so I'd go to the ATM and take out $40 to live on till the next pay day, allowing a $10 buffer. Then my old AOL account would automatically withdraw $24.95 (or whatever it was). Suddenly I'm stuck with an overdraft charge, fees and penalties and lots of people mad at me. So- I started not balancing my checkbook and just assuming that I'm broke. This didn't really work either but luckily I soon switched to Bank of America which has a great online banking service that keeps things updated almost instantly when I use my debit card. I love Bank of America! (Maybe I can get them to sponsor my blog!) So now I just keep a close eye on my bank account online and take note of the few actual checks I write since they don't appear online instantly. For the last couple years I've had a nice little stipend for my Graduate Research Assistantship and the ability to take out student loans. The loans went for tools like this laptop, supplies, books, food, etc. Things are nice, right? Where's the problem?

I found out recently that I'm not eligible for a summer loan for some reason. This news prompted me to look at my finances. At first glance it looks like I'll be fine since I have some of my Spring semester loan left plus tax refund money, etc in the bank. But I graduate soon-- and that assistantship money is going to stop. True, I'm applying for work after college but there's no guarantee that things are going to work out as I've planned. Yesterday I realized that I've been living in a dreamland. I don't worry about how often I eat out or how much I spend on groceries because that's what the student loan money is for, right? Food is essential, so just eat. WRONG! I sat down and looked at my receipts and found out that I spend about $500 a month on food and groceries- just for myself. That's almost half my stipend. That figure opened my eyes. I sat down and made a spreadsheet of all my expenses, my income and my debt. In doing so I realized that I don't really know how much debt I have. Yes- I'm THAT stupid. So I figured out how to log into my student loan accounts online and found the exact amount of money I owe. I won't publish the number here-- but it was mind boggling.

How can I be this stupid? I LET this happen! Ok ok-- stop and breath. If I had gone to an expensive program my debt could easily have been 4 or 5 times as much-- so I just need to chill out. I'm earning a Masters Degree-- a terminal degree in my field. I'm almost 30. Truth be told I'm not that bad off. I have what is most likely an average to small debt load for where I am in life. I'm ok.

BUT-- I need to change! I need to start looking at how much I spend and on what. I need to knock that food bill down a few notches by cooking more and eating out less. And when I do eat out I should choose cheaper places or order cheaper menu items. I need to seriously regroup here and form a plan of attack. I want to live off my stipend for the next 2 months with some left over. I don't want to touch the money that's in my checking account right now because I'll need all of that to pay for a move and to help me start my life wherever I end up going after graduation. I can do this.

Cincy & Cat Meditation

I don't really have much to type about today. But I feel it's about time for a new blog- so here goes. Let's do another bullet list, shall we?

• First, I just need to aknowledge that I think my mind works in bullet points. :)
• My trip to Cincinnati was GREAT! It was so nice to see some old friends, smiling faces I haven't seen in years, and pick right back up where we left off.
• The drive up and back was nice too. I fell in love with my rented Prius-- which got an average of 44.9 miles per gallon during the trip, btw.
• The rep season is going ok. I'm training first year students to take over 2 of my 3 shows so that I can have more time for Beaux Stratagem, the grad show I'm stage managing. In training someone to do my job, I've realized how much detail is missing from my paperwork. For example, when I put "Tybalt's knife" on a prop preset list I know which one that is-- but it wouldn't be obvious to anyone else. It's been a good learning experience.
• I've started taking my meditation a little more seriously. I try to spend a few minutes each day in quiet meditation-- but Ophelia seems to hate this idea. I'll be sitting in the floor or on my bed with my legs crossed-- just sitting and breathing with my eyes closed or in a locked gaze when I feel a cold cat nose on my arm. Then she starts head butting me. Oh- and she loves my meditation beads which thinks are a cat toy worthy of attack. It's really adorable. Maybe I should make Ophelia a part of my meditation. Cat petting meditation. Hmm... it has potential.
• At this moment I have 1 month, 25 days, 18 hours, and 52 minutes till graduation.. not that I'm counting.

Hybrid!

I'm driving up to Cincinnati Ohio today to reconnect with some friends and do some job search stuff. I embark on the 8.5 hour drive right after my matinée. I decided to rent a car since mine (her name is Jane) is getting old and I don't want to put more miles on her than I have to. Jane is a '94 Ford Escort who has seen me through a lot- but bless her heart, her days are numbered. So- I went to Enterprise to rent a small car. I ended up waiting in their lobby for a long time-- I think they forgot at about me. The manager apologized (unprompted) and offered me a free upgrade- to a Toyota Prius Hybrid! SWEET! These are beautiful cars with great fuel efficiency. Operating the Prius feels like flying a space ship. No wonder one Trekie converted his (click here for more info). I have to admit, that when I first got in, I didn't know how to turn it on. The key looks more like a remote and the car has a power button to turn on. Oh my god- I think I'm in love!

Dispatch from NYC

Right now I'm sitting in a tiny hotel room on 45th Street between 5th and 6th Ave in New York City. Last night we had our showcase at New World Stages. The 2008 MFA acting class was amazing and I hope they get some great job connections and agents out of it. I stage managed the showcase-- an easy job. I just had to get the props to NYC, coordinate a few things and get the show started, call a few cues, 1 scene shift, & clean up.

So- that was yesterday. Today I had a day off in NYC! This is my first time in the city and I'm loving it! Unfortunately I'm not in town for long-- we fly out tomorrow actually. But I made the most of my time here. Here's a list of "firsts" for me:

• I SM'd a show off Broadway in NYC... well a showcase. It kinda counts.
  
• I saw a Broadway show! I was lucky enough to have friends with connections and actually got a comp too!! I saw A Chorus Line and it was AMAZING!! I laughed- I cried. It was a mile marker of my life! :)
  
• I ate at Sardi's. I looked for muppet rats under the table but sadly there were none.
  
• I went shopping at Macy's. I found a cute shirt but sadly- no Santa.
• I hung out in Greenwich Village with my friend Jerry. We ate at a little cafe, bought some books at Oscar Wilde's and had desert at Jeckyl & Hyde's. It was a great soul nurishing experience to be in the village.
• I walked by a film shoot on the streets of NY.
  
• Saw Time Square & the Empire State Building... yada yada... you know: the NY thing. :)
  

Ok.. I'm going to bed now--- more later. :)

Talky Blog #10: About Grad School...

I've made a little talky blog. While my mac compresses the file and uploads it onto youtube, I will type this little introduction. First of all, let me say that it's late- after midnight now, and I've been sick and medicated recently. That combined with the stress level and what I think was a some sort of anxiety attack last night has led me to be rather contemplative. All this and little meditation tonight led me to make this video blog. I hope you enjoy it.

Quick Bullet List

- I love Mountain Dew. There I said it.
- If another person asks "So what are you doing after graduation?" I'm going to scream. I DON'T KNOW OK?!
- I took a nap yesterday and it was amazing. I should take more naps.
- I'm in Theatre History hell.
- I'm not feeling well tonight. This press release will explain why. I'm upset... it's hard to explain... I'm anxious... like I feel there's a darkness closing in around me-- or something bad around the corner.
- That's all for now. I'm going to bed and snuggle with my cat. :)

R&J Opening!

So, we've been performing Romeo & Juliet for weeks and weeks in the mornings for school kids. But the show is finally open to the public! I thought I'd share my opening cast gift with you all. :) You see, the nurse in the play often asks for aqua vitae. Since our production is set in 2008, I joked that we should change the line to AquaFina and give her a water bottle. My opening night gifts are a play on that joke-- I gave them each a water bottle with this label:



It took a little photoshop magic to get the logo just right. I also grabbed the bar code from Google Image Search. The ingredients read "Nutrition Facts Seving Size: 1 Bottle. Amount Per Serving: Caleries 0, Total Fat 0, Sodium 0, Carbs 0, Love 100g (100% DV), Ingredients: Best wishes for a happy opening, H2O, Care & Support (Not a signifigant source of Brucine)" Cheesy I know.. but hey- it's an opening gift. :) In the end they turned out looking like this:

I shot that!

Fight director Jason Armit's new web page just went live. Why am I blogging about this? Because I shot the photo of him that's on his homepage! :) Check it out here.

More Photography!

IMG_0896 copy
Originally uploaded by The Mike Jones

Hey! So I've had a few photo shoots recently. Mainly for headshots of a few of my friends: Tommy, Angie, & Meghan. Click the picture to check um out on my flickr page. I've also updated the photography section of my website.

Ever feel different?

Homework Confession (Talky Blog)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39SejCthkOk&hl=en]

Random thoughts...

The Yay List

• I'm starving but dinner time is in 20 minutes. YAY!
  
• I got my tax refund today! YAY!
• A friend recently loaned be the Battlestar Galactica miniseries. Um... WOW. It's amazing! I'd heard it was good but I really had no idea what I was missing. It's some of the best sci fi I've ever seen, so I ordered season one from Amazon. Why am I bringing this up today? It just arrived in the mail! YAY!
• Speaking of how nerdy I am... I'm enjoying the Star Trek manga series. If you're up for some classic Trek in comic form pick up a copy! Yay!
  
• I'm finding a lot of inspiration for photographs lately. Unfortunately I have little time to play with my camera.. but still thinking about it makes me happy. Yay!

The Boo List

• My MFA program is in jeopardy. I don't even want to get into here.. but it sucks. Boo!
• I'm homesick. Boo!
• I miss my friends who aren't at ASF-- and the ones who are! I have no social life in grad school. lol Boo!
• I starting to hate theatre. (wow- that's dramatic.. but sadly honest) Boo!
  

The ?? List

• What am I doing with my life??
• What's next?
• Is this worth it?
  
• Will dinner time never get here??

NEW WEB PAGE!!

Hey! So- I just made a new web page devoted to my photography. Check it out-- at www.themikejones.com/photo.html

Photography, etc. :)

Headshot shoot: Sarah Thornton
Originally uploaded by The Mike Jones

I had a couple of photo shoots Monday with some friends- Sarah and Jason. I think my little photography portfolio is coming together well! :) Check um out on my flickr page. Eventually I'd like to put together a web site for my photography and start a little side business. Do you have any suggestions for porfolio sites that make it easy and cheap for photographers to get their work on the web in a professional looking way? I think I might outgrow Flickr one day.

In other news-- I watched the 2003 Battlestar Galactica miniseries last night (I'd never seen it). Let me just say this: WOW. Now THAT'S how science fiction is supposed to be! :)

Vegetarians beware!

Images from a nice Sunday evening. :)

MFA Company Photo Shoot

IMG_0575
Originally uploaded by The Mike Jones

Yesterday I got the chance to take some pictures of the 2nd year MFA acting company at ASF. Some of the shots turned out pretty good. :) Check them out on my flickr page!

This is the funniest stuff I've seen in forever

http://www2.funnyordie.com/public/flash/fodplayer.swf?1203120643Demetri Martin Stand Up Presentation on FunnyOrDie.com

Talky Blog: iTunes Gift Card!

SO BUSY!

OMG you guys- I've been SO BUSY lately! I don't even know where to begin. Let's go bullet point style:

• I'm in tech for The Count of Monte Cristo. It's going really well. It's a big show with a complicated set and backstage life, but I'm enjoying it. This does mean really long hours at work though.
• My cat Ophelia has been very sick. :( Basically she was dangerously constipated. But after some time in an animal hospital (several outpatient visits) and a few ugly vet bills she seems to be much better. It's been a life changing week for her since her diet now has to change completely. Wish us luck!
  
• I'm getting new glasses! My old ones are all f'ed up so (despite the vet bill drama) I'm going to get new ones. I made an appointment with an optometrist for this afternoon. I'm thinking about going with thick black plastic frames. Something like this. Thoughts? :)
• On the photography front, I have a photoshoot scheduled with my MFA classmates coming up. I'm getting my picture made with them by a professional photographer and I'm shooting the acting students to give them more options for their showcase program. I can't wait! I also have a few more actor headshot shoots in the works. :)
  
• I updated my resume today adding in the shows I'm doing right now. I'm thinking about changing the font. Which do you like better? Font # 1 or Font # 2 or Font #3? (pdf files). Thanks for helping me out. :)
• Ok... I recently made a silly purchase. This was before Oph got sick and I had those vet bills, but it's too late to cancel it now. I ordered a utilikilt! So, it arrived the other day but they sent me the wrong size! :( It was HUGE!! They were really nice about it and apologized for the mistake. They sent me a return UPS label and the ginormous kilt is on its way back to Seattle as we speak. Meanwhile, I want MY kilt!
  
• Wow- it's a beautiful day! OK.. I'm off to do some laundry. Later!
  UPDATE: I got my new glasses. Check um out!