Let it Snow!

I am watching CBS News Sunday Morning and at the end of the program there are beautiful photos of snow falling.  I must admit the photos are amazing and for a moment I am back in time in the Ohio of my youth.  I loved waking up and looking outdoors at the Winter wonderland.  I also loved watching cats and dogs play out in the snow and eating snow.  It is a far cry from Winter in southern California.  The weather drops to 57 degrees and I am bundled up in my pajamas and blanket.  Excuse me while I place a log in the fireplace!  Brrr!!!! 

I spoke with my Mom the other day on the phone and she sounded a bit depressed.  It is always a difficult time of year for us because my parents, siblings, nieces and nephews are still in Ohio.  My parents like to come out West to see me as well as my brother who is in Nevada.  This year has been the first year that they have been unable to come out to visit us and I know that is weighing heavily on my mind as well.  I know there will come a time when either they or I will not be able to travel anymore and that will be hard.

Earlier this month I traveled to Nevada and when I was there last month I had forgotten how stressful traveling can be.  I momentarily thought of bringing my wheelchair but didn't want to bother anyone with it.  And I must be honest, I really didn't want anyone to see me in the wheelchair, either.  Oh, vanity!  And then of course I regretted it when I almost fell face forward in a Mall (twice).  It scared me because the first time I tripped over my own feet, I thought what was that?  And then when it happened again, I knew, okay this is my body saying you are overdoing it and pretty soon you will land on your ass in front of all these people.  

I told my husband the next time we travel, no matter what I say, we are taking the wheelchair.  And then we did take it with us.  And yes, people looked at me.  And yes, I was okay.  I didn't die.  I actually had more energy.  At first I didn't want to bring it into the hotel, I left it in the car. But then I realized I was not going to be able to make it through the hotel and the casino.  We called down to the front desk of the Luxor Hotel and explained the situation. They were so kind!  They sent someone up with a wheelchair and the Security man escorted me to the front entrance of the hotel to the Valet parking attendant where we picked up our car.  I didn't have to walk at all!

It was amazing how much better I felt.  Instead of pushing myself to try to look (normal), I used the devices I had at my disposal to save my strength for things like eating.  As a polio survivor we have to monitor our strength and not overdo things.  With assistive devices likes using my leg braces and wheelchair for long walks, I save a tremendous amount of strength. Although my arms are kinda weak.  It may look easy rolling yourself around in a wheelchair but trust me, it is not.  I did buy a nice large vinyl bag which attaches to the back of the wheelchair.  I can put my purse in there and small packages.  It saves my arms and then I am free to look around and enjoy myself.

I remember when I went to the doctor and talked with him about changing my lifestyle.  No more walking in the grocery store.  Ride the scooter, place the groceries in the cart. No more taking the groceries out of the car and into the house.  Have the other family members do that.  No more running the vacuum cleaner.  No more doing 4 loads of laundry.  Better to do 1 or 2 daily loads daily and then go rest.  Little changes mean I am not totally exhausted by the end of the evening.

I have to say dear readers, that I was really reluctant to share this aspect of my personal life with you all.  But, life changes and we must change too.  And as much as I would like to deny that this is my life today....this is my life today.  I loved being a dancer in high school.  I loved dancing in musicals.  I loved going on long walks, loved sledding in the winter time.  Loved going to the parks in the Fall and taking the children on nature walks.  I loved walking on the beaches of Key West, Bermuda and St. Thomas.  I loved traveling alone to London and walking in the shops, museums and riding the Underground in the city.  These are all memories now and I smile to myself that I was able to accomplish as much as I did.

Time for a cup of tea and another log in the fireplace.  Good Sunday morning.  Friend me on Facebook, private message me your address and I promise to send you a Christmas card.  

Throwback Thursday

I am so thankful to have a really good day today.  If you are on Facebook, be sure to send me a friend request to my FB page Lisa A Zion.  I love that they have Throwback Thursday for everyone to dig into their old photos and show everyone what they looked like back in the day.

I have an 8 x 10 black and white photo of myself that was taken many years ago by a photographer friend.  I was dating my boyfriend at the time and he is now my hubby.  His band was taking outdoor photos in downtown Toledo, Ohio (where we were living back then).  We were all taking a break on a lovely Saturday afternoon and after walking around downtown for awhile we stopped so sit in the grass of the beautiful old courthouse.  So I have made this photo my profile photo here and on Facebook.  Such a happy time and it brought back some lovely memories.  

Now to change the subject.  I went to see my favorite hairdresser today in Temecula.  Now my hair looks lovely again.  I told her that when I become rich and famous I will take her to Hollywood with me!  We were supposed to go to LA tonight but hubby decided he didn't want to go after all. It was just as well because I was pretty wiped out and fell asleep at 6:00 p.m.

Most of you may know that I am a polio survivor.  What this means is ever since I had gotten polio it has always been with me.  It never goes away and there is no cure.  When the polio epidemic hit our country there was a massive scramble to find a cure.  Some kids and adults got bad batches of the polio shot.  To this day my parents don't exactly know how I got it and why my other siblings did not.  But, I was an infant and I'm sure my immune system was down and maybe that is why I got it.  So now that I am older, I have noticed things like being forgetful.  I do use tools though to help me remember.  Thank goodness for Outlook, my iphone and post-it notes!

So tonight was a night where my body just crashed.  When I was younger I would fight it.  But now I know that if my body says "rest", I'd better listen and rest.  Sure enough, I feel better now.  It is a strange feeling though because all of a sudden my body will just shut down and then I realize that 2 hours have gone by.  

Being a disabled actor can be a challenge. There are many of us in Hollywood. There are actors that are blind, deaf, missing limbs, little people and people with mobility issues.  We don't want to be treated differently; we just want to be able to audition and show what we can do too.  I am a trained Actor and a proud member of SAG-AFTRA.  I am proud of my accomplishments and I do want to do more work.  It really gets my goat when actors without disabilities are hired to act as characters with disabilities.  We are working with the powers that be to try to change that.  It is a challenge, sometimes.  But I continue on.  

I count my blessings everyday.  I had a good day at work, I got my hair done, got some much needed rest and I am headed to Las Vegas this weekend.  Life is good!  

Want to see some of my work?  Well you can find me on You Tube or just Google my name.  You can even read some of my previously published articles when I interviewed celebrities for Latino LA.

Ciao!

Happy Wednesday!

So excited!  I went to San Diego yesterday to take my CA Salesperson's exam and I passed the test!  I will soon be a licensed Realtor and will be able to represent buyers and sellers!  This new chapter in my life is one that I have been looking forward to for so long.

As many of you know, I am an experienced mortgage loan officer.  I loved helping people through the financial process of buying their home or refinancing.  The idea came to me last year when, unfortunately I met some realtors that just did not have their S**t together.  I knew I could do a better job.  Many times people think only of their pay check instead of what is best for their client. So the idea was there but then this past Summer my husband encouraged me to go for it.
I can't wait to begin.

 I spoke with my current boss today about it and he was very kind and supportive.  I am very lucky to have worked with many wonderful people throughout the years.I live in this area for 20 years now and know the area well.  I have also purchased two homes so I know the entire process both from a financial perspective as well as working with many realtors.  So if you want to Buy a home in Southern CA, let me know.  I will help you every step of the way!  If you want to list your home, let me know!

What does this have to do with acting?  Well, what I have noticed when I am applying for acting jobs is that they are looking for real professionals now.  No more people who have scrubs. They want actual nurses.  They want actual doctors.  They want actual realtors too.

People have no idea how hard actors work.  They constantly must audition.  They have to spend money on head shots, classes, wardrobe, business cards, marketing materials, postage, etc.  And it is not cheap to live in Los Angeles.  You have to have good transportation because everyone drives here.  You simply cannot get around without a car.  So many of my actor friends are struggling from pay check to pay check.  Many of them rent for years and don't have any significant savings tucked away for a rainy day or for their retirement.  It breaks my heart.  They are so talented and yet when it comes to actual net worth, many of them only have the clothes on their backs.

Fortunately, I have worked in many positions and I have learned valuable things in every job I've ever had.  All of my former jobs has prepared me for the new job.  I have worked as a clown, as a secretary, as an intern at a studio in Hollywood, as a meter maid where I wrote parking tickets.  I worked at a bank and in cash management.  Working with lots of money taught me to take a closer look at my own financial situation and start making some good choices for my family's financial future.  This includes being a home owner.  So being a lender and now being a realtor will be wonderful in terms of helping future customers.

Buying a home should not just be for the wealthy.  I am so glad to know about the VA program to help veterans who can buy a home for no money down!  Thanks for reading my long blog.  Can you tell this is something I truly care about?  Absolutely!  I will keep you posted on my progress.


Ciao!

Good morning, America!

I was lying in bed and wondering where the time had gone. One moment it is 8:00 a.m. and the next moment it is 1:30 in the afternoon. Why is it that time seems to be slipping away? I wonder if this happens to everyone, or is it just me? When my children were young I couldn't wait till they got older so they could do things for themselves. Now there are many days when I wish I could go back to those days and just really take it all in and enjoy the moment. 

So last week I had an audition in LA with Mr. _________ Director, who I shall call Mr. New Up and Coming director.  The part called for a young grandmother. I decided to go for it because I am a young grandmother.  (yes, it's true).  I wasn't going to go for the audition but I know and like Mr. New Up and Coming director and I like his work.  So I contacted him, expressing my interest in this new film and I received the script.  It sounded wonderful and I had to go for it.  The character was interesting and she and her daughter had some issues.  A nice role!  No Latina maid -- no grandma in the kitchen making tortillas.  No Latina Nanny pushing the ninos in the baby stroller.  An actual good role!  And for some reason, I took it upon myself to make this grandma a beat up grandma.  Someone who had distanced herself from her only family, her daughter.  I imagined her like Graziela in the musical, "Cats".  Someone who had really been through the mill and had lost her way.  So I went to the audition wearing a turtleneck blouse and a long, long skirt.  No make-up, hair pulled back and glasses.

Note to self:  Never go to LA looking like a school marm.  I could tell by the look on Mr. New Up and Coming director's face that this was not the look that he was looking for.  I berated myself (in my head) and I followed him into the audition room.  I met the Producer.  Very nice, young woman.  I sat down next to another actress who was reading the part of the daughter.  We had an emotional scene where I put my all into the scene.  I was given some direction from Mr. New Up and Coming director to make my character less angry, and more humble.  I listened carefully, and we read the scene again with me making a major adjustment to my lines.

He liked it!  She like it!  I felt good about it.  I left the room feeling that I had done a really good scene and acted my ass off.  I didn't get the part.  Note to self:  Never go to LA looking like a school marm.  

Why wasn't I true to myself?  I normally would never leave the house without my makeup on.  I am a young grandma and I love dresses.  And I love my black patent leather Calvin Klein heels. And I love my Michael Kors handbag and my black Guess sunglasses.  The truth is, as an Actor we make choices when we get a script and we see the character a certain way.  We decide to show the world this character.  And my choice was that my character had seen better days.  She had gone through tough times, been knocked down by life more times that she would like to admit but she keeps living.  So I made a choice and I stuck to it.  Sometimes you win; sometimes you lose.

So, this part was not mine.  I saw an article about the actress who was chosen for the role.  She looks very nice.  I have seen her at some auditions that I have been on for other projects.  I did not read the article because it still stings too much.  But I know if the Universe had wanted me for that part, I would have gotten that part.  I do know this.  I know how to act.  I know how to take a character and make it my own.  I know how to dissect a scene.  I just need to remember that I need to be true to myself.  I could have gone in that audition room as Lisa.  Not as the character. It's okay.  Lesson learned.  Next time I have an audition, I am going in there with my black hair neatly styled, orange Calvin Klein dress, Michael Kors bag, black heels.   I will act my ass off and this time as myself.  And even if I don't get the part, I know I will have done my very best and be proud that I have done my best and then leave it to the Universe.  Amen!

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