What About Your Friends?

Monday couldn't have been more cliched. I had a temp job at the Big Ad Agency. I had to be there at 8:30 am. In order for me to be out of the apartment by 7:30 am (for the commute downtown), I need to get up at 6:30 am. The alarm went off and I was so tired. After my usual bargaining with myself about when I actually had to leave the bed, I got up. I stumbled to the bathroom to piss, shower, and shave. I stood over the toilet, one hand supporting my body on the wall and the other hand supporting my penis. I thought, "What am I doing up so early?" I gave my penis a shake and went to the sink to brush my teeth. I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was now 5:37 am. WHAT!?! That can't be right. It's 6:34 am. I went back to my bedroom. The alarm clock said 6:37 am but the VCR and bedroom wall clock read 5:37 am. I had set the alarm clock ahead by an hour and I didn't know it. I decided to keep it light and positive so I was glad that I got to go back to bed for a few more minutes.

When the real 6:30 am rolled in, I rolled out of bed and headed back to the bathroom. I finished my morning ritual and decided to check my email. I had received an email from my friend Paul S. Paul and I have been estranged for about 6 weeks. I will go into detail on a later post. Paul had now decided that he no longer wanted to be friends with me. He just ended it. That's it. My first pseudo-interaction with another person was through an impersonal email telling me that one of my closest friends does not want to be my friend any longer. Great, now I was in the perfect mood to go be a receptionist. Nothing I wanted to do more than smile at strangers and be "super polite." Thank goodness I'm an actor.

I haven't left the apartment yet and I am having a shitty day. I skip breakfast because I don't want to wake my roomie. I do decide to grab some tea to take to work. I decide on the Phoenix Dragon Pearl green tea. In my attempt to stay as quiet as possible, I end up spilling many of the pearls on all over. None the less, I clean them up and head for downtown.

Downtown, I stop at McDonalds for breakfast. I order an Egg McMuffin meal to go. I get to the office and sure enough, they forgot my hashbrown. It is too late for me to go back without being late. I sit down and the phone starts ringing.

The actual work day was not so bad. I was a little unfocused. I kept thinking about Paul S. He and I corresponded through the day via email. This was a bad idea. It just made me feel worse. Words are just words. They have no real meaning except what we apply to them. I am a hands on person. I need to hear a person's voice or see their face.

At lunch, I decided to visit my talent agent's office because it was close to the Big Ad Agency. When I popped in I saw a couple of black male actors that I know and a few I didn't. They were auditioning for a voice over spot. This made me feel worse because they hadn't asked me to audition (even when I was standing there in front of them).

I don't like to play the victim. I got out of that office and bought myself the one thing that would make me feel good at a time like that, a hot dog.

I got off of work at 4:30 pm. When I left the Wrigley Building, I noticed that the temperature had dropped significantly. It was sooooo cold. It was as if nature were taking its cue from my personal story.

TO BE CONTINUED