Mom, I want to be on TV!

A week and a half ago, on Darrius' birthday, we were in the car going to who-knows-where, when a commercial came on the radio. It was a commercial I've heard before but never paid any attention to. It was a commercial asking for people to text 'STAR' to a number and if you're one of the first 100 texters, you will be contacted to go audition at an open casting call. And then the commercial started naming every Disney and Nickolodeon star who was "managed" or was loosely associated with this company. And of course, they had to mention Twilight and suggest that the audition was to be in the next Twilight movie. They know that anything related to Twilight will get kids attention. Darrius got all excited and asked me if he could send the text. I told him go ahead and do it but it's probably a scam and you won't get a phone call. Darrius tells his friends about the commercial as we're going to Bertucci's for his birthday dinner. A week goes by without a phone call. And then last Wednesday one of D's friends gets a phone call. His friend isn't interested so D gets the phone number and calls the people back. The person tells him that his parent needs to call but he can come to the audition. D is super excited. He calls me, excitement in his voice, and asks me if he can go to the audition. I first tell him to calm down and ask for the phone number so I can call the people and get the information.


I call, get the info. D will have to memorize a "script". They're going to email it to me along with directions. I receive the email and print the script. The script consisted of 1 scene and about 5 lines for D to memorize. I let him know that he needs to take this seriously if this is something he wants to do. He says he is and that he's going to memorize the script. The place that's holding these auditions is the Youth Film Academy in Tyson's Corner. Saturday arrives and we're off to D's "audition. We sign in, get lunch and return with minutes to spare. The parents and kids are herded into a room for a presentation by the people who are holding the auditions at the Academy. We listen to a 30 minute spiel about what they are about, what they are looking for in a kid (the term they used was "star quality"). I'm just happy they didn't say "It factor". After the presentation, we wait for our names to be called. Once your child's name is called, you interview with the talent agent and then you do your screen test which is performing the script that you memorized.

I was in the room with Darrius during the interview. They guy that interviewed D kinda looked like Tony Robbins. And funny thing is, his name was Tony. So Tony asks Darrius why does he want to be an actor. I held my breath. D isn't great with giving answers off the top of his head so I was nervous about what he was going to say. His answer was OK; I think it could have been better. (We will be practicing for next time). But he did the one thing I told him NOT to do - every 3rd word he said "like". Ugh! I hate that. I'm trying to get him out of the habit of using 'like' so much. It drives me crazy. Anyway, after D gives his response, Tony hands me a piece of paper, telling me to call tomorrow at 10:15am to find out if D gets a call back. Oh BTW - did I mention that he thought I was Darrius' sister? My ego was nicely stroked. Next step, screen test. Darrius goes to the TV room where he was to perform his memorized script. I wait in the lobby because I don't want to make him nervous or make him laugh. A couple of minutes later Darrius returns. He's happy. He said he didn't mess up; he remembered all of his lines. The entire process took a little over 2 hours. Not that bad. So now we go home and wait.

Sunday morning arrives. Darrius can't wait for 10:15 to get here so we can find out his fate. I call and no one answers. I leave a message. I call again 5 minutes later and the receptionist answers the phone. Tony's on another call. He'll call me back in 20-30 minutes. I am on pins and needles because Darrius is pacing like an alley cat, ready to find out if he gets a call back. The phone finally rings 15 minutes later. Not good news. No call back for D. Per Tony, out of 261 kids they only had spots for 30. But they will be auditioning again in March 2010 if Darrius is still interested. I give Darrius the news. He seems okay with it. I asked him if he wanted to go back in March and he said he did. He then proceeded to go over to my laptop and Google auditions. I think the boy has caught the bug.

We'll see how it goes in March. It's a huge commitment that I don't know I'm ready to make. But if it's something he truly wants to do and I am more than willing to support him. That's what parents do, right?

Dead Until Dark

Sookie Stackhouse is a waitress at a bar named Merlotte's. She lives in Bon Temps, a small town in Louisiana. Everything about Sookie is ordinary except for her disability. Sookie can read minds. It's not a talent that she advertises. She sees it more as a hindrance than an asset. Everything is normal and boring in Bon Temps until Vampire Bill walks into Merlotte's. Sookie had been waiting for a vampire to arrive in Bon Temps ever since they came out of the coffin and started living among society. Sookie is excited that Bon Temps finally has its very own vampire. A vampire isn't the only new thing to enter the small town. There's also a murderer on the loose. And this person seems to be targeting fang bangers - women who like to have sex with vampires. Sookie uses her "disability" with help from Bill and his vampire buddies to try and catch a killer before Sookie becomes the next victim.

I absolutely love HBO's True Blood. I'd never heard of Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series until the show premiered. I was immediately sucked into the show and its characters. While watching the first season, I thought about reading Charlaine Harris' books to see how similar the show was to the series. I never got around to reading the bookies until I saw Beth Fish Reads Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to become familiar with Charlaine Harris and the series. It was difficult at first reading Dead Until Dark because everything was in first person - from Sookie's perspective. I didn't expect that. You don't get to know more about the other characters unless they have a relationship with Sookie. True Blood also added characters that weren't in the book. For instance, on the show Sookie has a childhood friend named Tara. I was really disappointed that when I noticed that the character wasn't in the book.

I wasn't thoroughly impressed with Dead Until Dark. The book seemed to drag in some parts and I was ecstatic when I finally finished the book. That never happens. I'm normally sad when a book ends. I hope that now I know what to expect from Charlaine in regards to her writing style, I will enjoy Living Dead in Dallas more.

Dilemma

Today is the day I was supposed to run for 25 minutes. I had to stop at the 20 minute mark after walking for the last 10 minutes. Why? Because the bottom of my left foot was hurting because a blister was forming. I had the same problem yesterday only it was my right foot that was getting a blister. I thought it was the shoes so today I wore different running shoes. Nope. The shoes weren't the issue. I think the issues is that I wasn't wearing any socks. I prefer not wearing socks with my running shoes because socks make my feet feel hot and heavy. But I can't continue to get blisters either.

I need to find a good sock that ventilates and doesn't make my feet feel "stuffy". Any suggestions?

Getting there

The title of this post explains it all. I am slowly getting back into the saddle. I honestly don't know if I'm going to be ready for the 5 miler by September 19th. I'm so scared! And I want to be able to run, not walk, in this race. It is a must!! I'm on week 6 of the podrunner training. I am not happy with it. I like the actually training but I hate the music. The music is making the running seem longer and impossible. Today I looked at the training intervals to see how it was broken out and used my own music. I hope the podrunner music gets better. The next training interval is to run 25 minutes. I don't know if I'm ready for it but I'm going to do it.

I'm hitting the gym tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.

My child is so funny

Last night I was in the kitchen fixing Darrius a protein shake. Yes, he drinks protein shakes. Darrius is trying to get buff. Ha ha! While I'm fixing his shake, he walks into the kitchen and tells me that his workouts are starting to work.

D: Mom, look at my shoulders. They are getting bigger.
Me: Really? Let me see. Stand still.
D: You see how big my shoulders are? It's from my workouts.

I continue to stare at him. And then I realize something. Only one of his shoulders is bigger. It's bigger and red.

Me: Ummm, D, your shoulder isn't big from working out. It's swollen from the tetanus shot you got yesterday.
D: It is?
Me: Yeah. Is it sore?
D: It's a little sore.
Me: Take some Tylenol and put some ice on it.
D: That's ok. I'm fine. It doesn't hurt that bad.
Me: Can you move your arm without much pain?
D: Yeah see it's fine.
Me: If it starts hurting, let me know.
D: Ok.
D: Man, I was showing my friends today at school how my workouts are making me bigger. I was showing off my shoulders and everything. Flexing and showing my muscles.
Me: Well I guess tomorrow you'll have to tell them your shoulder is bigger not because of your workouts but because of your tetanus vaccination.
D: Yeah I guess. This sucks. I thought I was getting some muscle.

He then walks out of the kitchen, protein shake in hand, head hanging low.

Happy Birthday Darrius

On this day, 11 years ago, I gave birth to a wonderful, baby boy after enduring 32 hours of excruciating labor. :-)

Isn't that how all moms start their stories about the birth of their kid(s)?

When I discovered I was pregnant, I was in shock. I wasn't ready for a baby. I worked at Gold's Gym not making good money and I still lived at home with my parents. Alfred was still living at home with his parents and he had a semi-decent job. We had just gotten engaged while on vacation in the Bahamas. We hadn't even started planning the wedding! And I hated kids. I wasn't sure if I wanted to have any of my own. So imagine my surprise when out of the blue, the rabbit decides to kick the bucket. Once the shock and disbelief wore off (it took 2 positive EPT tests for me to begin to believe it), my decision was made. I was going to have a baby. No hesitation. No doubts. I just knew. I couldn't believe how right it seemed. I had taken the pregnancy test at a friend's apartment so once it was confirmed that Yes, I was pregnant, we called Alfred and told him to come over. He wanted to know what I was doing there and I told him I was hanging out. Little did he know. About 20 nerve-wracking minutes later he finally arrives. I didn't say anything. I just handed him the stick and walked out of the room. The next words I hear are "Oh sh!t". Yeah, that pretty much summed it up for me too.

Nine months (or more) later, with half of that time spent with me doubled over and vomiting into every container in sight, I go into labor. I remember that morning clearly. It was a Tuesday morning. I woke up at 6am because I had to pee. While sitting on the toilet, I felt something more than urine go into the toilet. I look down and think, "Uh oh". It was my mucus plug. I finish up and flush the toilet and go back to bed. I wasn't having contractions and I was still tired so I figured I'd get some more rest. I knew that in a little while a little person was coming into this world and I wouldn't have uninterrupted sleep for a very long time. So I might as well get as much rest as I can. Around 9am my mom calls. She got into the habit of checking in on me daily, several times a day. I could set my watch to her phone calls. I answer the phone and she asks how I'm doing. I tell her my mucus plug has come out and my labor has started. I'm saying this in a casual voice, like I'm talking about what I'm eating for breakfast. She gets hysterical/excited and asks if I had called my doctor. I told her no. What's the point? I'm barely having contractions. She yells at me (in her mom way) and tells me I need to call my Gyno right away. I give in cause I don't want my mom to come through the phone and slap the black off of me for not doing what she told me to do. I call my gyno and get a 1pm appointment. I call my mom back and she seems to be happy with that. I then call Alfred at work. He had just gotten there. I told him to take his time. I could drive myself to the doctor. He decides to leave work and go with me. By the time I get to the doctor and he examines me, I'm still having no contractions. And I only dilated 2 centimeters. My doctor tells me to go have lunch. So we do. I'm thinking it's going to be a long day. And I was right. The entire day and night passes and nothing is going on. I'm having contractions but they're sporadic and too far apart. I finally call my gyno's office at 2am and lie about my contractions. I was getting tired and fed up and I was determined to go to the hospital. We get to the hospital and the nurse examines me. I'd only dilated 3 centimeters. Are you kidding me? The hospital was about to release me when my water broke. I was so happy because I knew they had to keep me. 14 hours later, after having every drug available given to me, a high grade fever and being stuck at 5 centimeters for God knows how long, my doctor decides I need to have a c-section. It's about time! My mom almost came to blows with my doctor because she wanted to be in the operating room with me and the doctor was telling her only one person was allowed. I guess he saw that CW meant business and allowed her into the OR. I don't know how long the operation took. I just remember hearing a baby cry and looking up and seeing the doctor holding my baby boy. My first thought was, "Damn I thought he was a girl." My second thought was, "Thank God I already had a boy name picked out." My third thought, "I can't believe I'm a mother!"

Since that day my life hasn't been the same. And I owe it all to a skinny, smiley, toothy, funny, big-headed little boy named Darrius. He is a wonderful son and I look forward to seeing him grow up to be a wonderful man. He has truly been a joy in my life and I thank God everyday for him. It is true when they say you don't know real, unconditional love until you have a child. Even when he frustrates the hell out of me, he still has a strong hold on my heart. He will always be my baby, regardless of how old he is.

Happy Birthday Mr. D! I love you so much.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is my parent's 37th wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary! They set the standard of what a marriage should be.



I love thee, I love but thee
With a love that shall not die
Till the sun grows cold,
And the stars grow old...