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Monday, September 30, 2013

The "Joys" of Unemployment

It's been almost a month since I lost my long term temporary assignment. I have held jobs continuously since the age of 13. Being out of work for any length of time is strange and scary, but I'm trying to make the best of it. Here are a few 'good' things about being unemployed...

  1. I met my neighbor! My schedule was so ironclad (6:30am - 7pm M-F) that I wasn't around at the same time as my next door neighbor. I met her the other day, I have been living here for 6 months already! About time!
  2. Went to odd places. Not really odd odd, but different. I found the LaBrea Tar Pits by accident for instance. I believe mixing it up makes for a change in energy which in turn allows my imagination and creativity to expand. Yay!
  3. Traffic be gone! Because I am traveling at off peak times my experience with traffic has been cut by 75%! My sanity is restored and I am actually enjoying driving here for a change!
  4. Crowd Free! No lines at the stores, the gym is a ghost town, all because I go at off peak times. Bonus!
  5. Auditions Galore! I am not juggling a day job schedule so my audition choices have expanded. I even booked a small project already. That's a good thing!
  6. Recharge Time! I pretty much started working my second week upon arrival to Los Angeles so I probably needed the rest. Although it's not been too restful since the need for money is at the back and front of my mind.
  7. Thinking outside the box. I attended a few workshops at The Actor's Fund which really made me think about my true strengths, passions and interests. Teaching and Performing are both on the top of the list. Then there's supporting philanthropic organizations. If I could mix that all together, it would make for a yummy soup!
  8. Lost a few inches. I have been trying to figure out why I was stuck at a certain level for awhile. I wanted to drop 10 more pounds after bulking up slightly with muscle. I knew it had to do with my food. So these past few weeks I have been cutting my grocery budget which in turn regulated my calorie intake in the right increment to battle those last inches. I can see my abs poking out a little now. YAY!
  9. Reading. Finally got a library card! They let me choose the design too, which ended up being the Warner Bros logo (fitting for the neighborhood). I have been doing a fair amount of book reading lately (as opposed to magazines). 
  10. Writing. I have a running list of writing projects that I have been slow to get to. Needless to say, I am getting caught up on a few first and second drafts.
  11. I can do with alot less. I am usually a frugal person but living on close to zero has given me the opportunity to learn that I can live with even less. Being creative with resources has been interesting. 
Here's hoping to finding a new job before the unemployment runs out...


Wednesday, September 4, 2013

The Butler, The Help, oh MY!

There are a fair amount of people who feel African Americans do not need to portray maids, butlers and other servitude roles on screen.

I can understand to a certain extent, even in my own life I felt taking subservient roles to be beneath me. Yet ironically, I ended up working in service jobs for much of my working life.

I will never forget a short conversation I had as a child with my aunt from Alabama. She saw me writing and said I would make an excellent secretary. Thinking that was beneath me, I said "No I will be a doctor!!"

What am I doing now to make ends meet?

Joke is on me.

To my aunt, a secretary was highly regarded. Imagine living in a time when higher education was out of reach and the only jobs available were cleaning, taking care of children or working the land. Working in a fancy office was a major step up.

Domestic work was and is honest. The work allowed future generations to obtain a higher education. And even now, many people rely on labor like this to provide for their families.Good and honest work. Which should pay more, but that's a subject for another blog post...

So who am I to put anyone down because of their trade or occupation?

I saw The Butler and thought it was an excellent depiction of a family living during one of the most challenging times in history. More important, it portrayed a man of dignity, integrity, and pride. A man who was able to interface with countless Presidents during his work at The White House. His story is important, incredibly important. As an actor I would consider it an honor to be apart of a film like The Help or The Butler.

As a woman of faith, I find it interesting how the people in these roles had the responsibility and the privilege to make history, change perceptions about race, and pave the way for our future as a people. Sometimes God uses the least regarded to accomplish great things. Rosa Parks just popped into my head, she worked in a t-shirt factory until she became a secretary at the NAACP offices. From t-shirt factory worker to world changer. There is no shame in that.

Here is a description of a very interesting scene in The Butler. Explains my thoughts better than anything I can write.

Black domestic workers, King tells Louis, have played an important role in the struggle for civil rights. At first Louis assumes this is meant as mockery, but King presses on. Maids, butlers, nannies and other domestics have defied racist stereotypes by being trustworthy, hardworking and loyal, King says; in maintaining other people’s households and raising other people’s children, they have gradually broken down hardened and hateful attitudes. Their apparent subservience is also quietly subversive. This poignant and humbling recognition of the sacrifices made by millions of African-Americans who appeared to have no voice is an important turning point for Louis...retrieved from the following article

After years of serving others in the White House, we have an African American serving as President. I have no doubt those who served in overlooked roles paved the way.