The last couple weeks

It has been a busy couple weeks with lots of visitors and a trip back to Tahoe. Here it goes...

Sam had a meeting with his agency. Melissa had him read a commercial and he met the other people who work in the office. His main agent Carol Lynn was out of town, so we had a follow up meeting with her the next week on Tuesday. The down side of that meeting....I got a parking ticket. Before we left home, I made sure that I had parking meter money, but when I got to the building the parking meters were gone and I didn't think anything of it. I was just excited to be able to park for free. However, when I came out....PARKING TICKET on the window. They had changed to a pay to park system with a number on the curb and a machine by the main stairway. Sam and I went in the back door and I didn't see the machine. LESSON LEARNED @ $45. OUCH!!!!!!

The following day, Melissa called with a job and audition for Sam. We had to turn down the job as it was the weekend he goes home to his dad. GRRRRR. He did the audition, but did not get the job. BOOOOO!!!!!

Christy and Keeley came to visit. They were only here two days and we had a lot of fun. We went down to Sunset Boulevard and went to the Chinese Theater as well as the walk of fame. That night we went out to some of the clubs. Sam stayed home with Capone and watched movies. He didn't do well home alone, called about 65 times. I am not sure how I am going to get a job if he can't even handle me being away for a few hours. Christy tried to get arrested by spending a $50 bill she found on the ground...turned out it was counterfit. After a long talk with security, we were finally let go and able to dance the night away. It ended well, but we were sure scared for a few minutes. YIKES.

Then Sam flew off to Tahoe for the weekend. He had a great time with his dad and brother. They went to Apple Hill and picked apples, went fishing, and ate food. Sam caught a fish. He managed flying alone just fine. I am so proud. His next weekend, he gets to learn how to transfer planes. Southwest is stopping their direct flights on Mondays. On the way home he flys to Vegas first then changes planes to get to Burbank. Southwest doesn't help kids 12 and over with flight transfers. Hopefully, he is mature enough to handle it.

On Tuesday, he met with his agent Carol Lynn. She was very happy to be working with him again. She is a great lady. Sam really likes her. She said he sounded very natural with the commercial he read for her.

This last Thursday, my mom came to visit. We had a great time touring the LA area. We went to Santa Monica and walked the pier, the beach, and ate dinner at Bubba Gump. Then the next day, we stayed home most of the day. Sam did his homework. Later we went into Burbank. We checked out a dance studio for Sam. I think he is going to take Triple threat and Break Dancing. Triple threat is an acting, singing, and dancing class. I think it teaches multiple types of dancing like jazz, tap and hip hop. He has a free trial tomorrow. The classes are a bit more costly than I would like, but it will make him a well rounded actor. Then we walked around Burbank and toured a Tae Kwon Do studio. My mom paid for him to do a two day trial. That night we had his first Boy Scout meeting with the new troop. Sam really enjoyed the boys. There are a bunch of them and a lot his age. He already made two friends. YEAH. Saturday, we went up to Santa Barbara. We picked up Khala, Cody's girlfriend on the way. We went to The Mission, which was really cool. It is still a working mission and it was built back in the 1800's. Very cool architecture. Then we ate lunch and went to the Santa Barbara zoo. We only had 45 minutes to run through the zoo since they were closing early that day. It is a very nice zoo, but small. After that we went down to Sterns Wharf. We took a 25 minute boat tour of the harbor and saw some sea lions. So CUTE!!! Sunday, we hit the LA Zoo. IT IS HUGE!!!! We spent 5 hours there and saw most of it. Mom bought Sam and I a zoo membership as our christmas present. So, we can go back anytime we want for free. We loved the Gorillas. They have a cute little baby. Yesterday, we drove down the coast. Over to Malibu, it was foggy, then down to Long Beach. We went to the Aquarium. We were there for 3-4 hours. It is a great aquarium. I got to feed Lorikets. They landed right on my arm. We bought the nectar for Sam, but he freaked out, so I held it. One landed on my shoulder and walked down my arm. I was wearing a tank top, so it felt weird. The Australian Reef display was our favorite. We were in that room for about an hour. Today, she went home. SO SAD.

Sam had his first Tae Kwon Do lesson today and really liked it. So, he is going to start taking those classes on Tuesday and Thursday.

We are settling in to our new home and enjoying all the great weather. Sam's schedule is now very packed. He has an audition tomorrow for a play, A Christmas Carol. Hopefully, he will get a job. It doesn't pay anything, but he needs to work in order to gain experience. Also, it is close to home.

So, if he likes the dance classes and gets the acting job....his schedule will look like this.

School Monday through Friday 7:30-1:30. Then his extra curricular activities are as follows

Monday - free time
Tuesday - Tae Kwon Do
Wednesday - Play Practice
Thursday - Tae Kwon Do & Hip Hop
Friday - Boy Scouts
Saturday - Tae Kwon Do & Acting Class (Nov. Only)
Sunday - Play Practice

We will be jammed packed.

Anyway...that is what we are up to for now.

HUGS

Nickelback Concert and Video shoot.

Nickelback posted a bulletin on Myspace that invited people to come to a free mini concert and a video shoot in LA. I thought that the video shoot was going to be a music video for their new song "Gotta Be Somebody." Sam and I didn't really care. All we cared about was that it was a free concert. FREE is big when you don't have a job and are living on a budget.

It turned out to be a Citi Bank commercial. They did probably 10 takes of them lip syncing their new single. Luckily it is a great song because after 10 times in a row it could have gotten old....oh wait it did. They were moving the cameras to different places in the forum. Moving the audience here and there. Only about 1000 people were invited to come. We ended up with front row of section 7 in the seated crowd. And then managed to move our way up to about row 6 or 7 of the standing crowd near the stage. We were right in the center. It was awesome.

Then Nickelback did 4-5 more songs and we just got to rock out with the crowd. I haven't been that close to the stage in years. Sam had a blast being right in the center of things. It was so awesome being that close and feeling the crowd push around you. Concerts don't really do that anymore. They set out seats and you have to stay in your assigned area. The last free for all concert I went to was back in 1989 when I saw Van Halen at the King Dome in Seattle. I about died when they came on stage from the crush of the crowd. This was much more controlled....and did I mention....TOTALLY AWESOME!!!!!

Also, when we were waiting in line to get in, some guy came around with a big movie camera. I think they were getting more crowd shots for the commercial. Sam did a cute little dance for the guy and he zoomed in on him. Took about 10 seconds of him acting like a complete nut ball....YOU KNOW TYPICAL SAM!!!! I am hoping that footage makes the commercial. That would be cool.

So, when the new citibank commercial comes out featuring Nickelback...take a look for Sam and I.

HUGS all. We miss ya.

Tracy

PS....SAM says hi too.

We made the move....Tahoe to Hollywood

I am making a Blog spot to keep you all updated about Sam's acting career in Hollywood. Here's hoping that he goes big...the next Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt. Woo Hoo

THE BIG NEWS.....It was a long time coming, but we finally made the big leap. We moved close to Hollywood, Sun Valley to be exact. This last week has been fun. Well, fun as in trying to stuff a three bedroom condo into a 400 square foot quest house. A lot of stuff had to be put into storage. Another interesting fact, most rentals in LA do not come with a refridgerator. This place came with the smallest fridge and didn't have a freezer. It was smaller than something that you might see in a motel room. So, first thing I had to do was go out and buy a new fridge. Of Course, in a place this small, I couldn't have a full size fridge. But it is a cute fridge/freezer that has enough room for all the essentials, like Ice Cream. My microwave fits nicely on top and Sam is just tall enough to reach it.

We are embracing the smallness of our new place. Some positives are; I really can't lose Sam in a house this small, it is easy to keep clean and my walk in closet is actually very huge. I have never had a walk in closet before. Well, I walked into my last closet but that was to play hide and seek from the kids when they were little.

Another positive, as far as Sam is concerned anyway, is that we have cable television. We haven't had cable since Sam was a baby. He is watching all the reruns of Suite Life of Zack and Cody. He is in heaven. I love it because I can bribe him to get his homework done. Amazing how fast he can accomplish this task when TV is on the line.

Capone is loving his new yard. He has never been allowed to just go outside and play on his own. Now he has a huge fenced yard to play in. He is not liking the heat very much, but he loves to get out and run around.

Okay, enough about the move.

Before we moved down here, I signed Sam up for all the essential services for acting jobs; LA Casting, extra access, actors access, showfax inc., IMdB, and a few more. He has his resume out everywhere. IMdB is the largest movie database. When an actor shoots a movie his credits get listed on the movie page. You can look up movies, actors, directors, agents, managers, and more. It is a pretty cool site. You should check out his resume on IMdB.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3137618/

Next week Sam has a meeting with his agent. They have a few new people working in the office and Sam needs to meet the new staff. Hopefully, he will get more auditions after they meet with him.

I have the paperwork out to get his work permit renewed and that should be coming in the mail this week. Once his work permit comes then I can get his membership renewed with the Kids extra company he works with. That is the company that helped him get the extra work on the Sandra Bullock movie last year. That movie will be coming out in March 2009, so watch for All About Steve in your local theater. Sam has a small, small, small role in that movie. He was one of the kids in the auditorium. Good luck finding him. LOL

So anyway, the whole reason for this post. Everyday since we have been here, I have been applying him for jobs listed on all these websites. I really have to check the requirements of the jobs since he is gone the third weekend of every month, I have to make sure that audition dates or shoot dates don't fall on these days.

Today, he got called up to do a small Indie film. For all of you who don't know the lingo...Indie means Independant not an Indiana Jones film. And, it is Indie deffered for the pay, which means that he makes a percentage of the film based on what the film earns when it actually goes to theaters. He shoots on October 25. It is just a small part, but he gets to work with Stelio Savante who has been on shows like Ugly Betty and NCIS. I know, he isn't a huge actor, but he is working actor.

So, keep checking back to see the latest updates.

HUGS all,

Tracy