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 New Year!

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Wow, what a year. It started off slowly then started building momentum. I believe I had auditions every single month. First an indie film, then a low-budget film with no other than Orlando Bloom. Then I met and interviewed George Lopez. I appeared in a local play of the Vagina Monologues. I was amazed at all the Latina women I saw at the annual Latina Day in LA. I saw some great performances at the Breath of Fire Latina Theater in Santa Ana, CA.

I met and interviewed Herbert Siguenza & Hector Luis Bustamante. I interviewed Monica Palacios and director, Miguel Mas.

I wrote, performed and directed an original piece on surviving polio with the inspiration from artist, Frida Kahlo.

I worked on a pilot for Nickelodeon. I performed in a wonderful play, and filmed for 2 days in Hollywood on a new film. Then I filmed a PSA right before Christmas!

I am now eligible to join SAG and that has been one of my goals for 2009. I was so excited and while some people don't have a clue, to me this is a milestone in my career.

I met some wonderful people along my journey. And I hope that I inspired others to reach down inside themselves and find the best in them. Don't be afraid to shine your light into the world. Speak up when you see indifference. Don't just complain, join the world and try to make it a better place.

Thank you, Michael Jackson for being an inspiration. You worked so hard and inspired so many. You made things look easy; when in fact, they are not. But the entertainer in you showed the world what one man can do. I am not a dancer; but I can appreciate your moves. I am not a singer; but I can relate to the emotion that you bring out.

While I only worked for several months, my acting career & writing career really took off. I couldn't have done these things had it not been for the support and love of my family. And for them, I am truly grateful.

Here's looking towards 2010!

Boxing with God

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I had a wonderful time working on a low-budget SAG film over the weekend. The casting agent contacted me early last week. I spoke with the producer on the same day and she booked me as one of the 10 angels. We got to play in heaven and we fought with God.

It was great to see some of my friends again. Some of us had worked together last year on the national commercial "Santa" for Capital One. And I met some new mates, too. Everyone was a little person. It was fun to see my fellow actor friends work. Some of them have been working quite a bit; others not so much.

Part of being an actor is not being afraid to take chances. So, I got to dress in full army gear, crawled in the mud, shot paintball rifles and was shot at. We were running in the woods, hiding behind trees, and shooting rifles. It was awesome. I hung in there with the guys and it was great.

The next day we were in full angel attire including wings. We were like children, playing with toys. I had a blast watching my friends perform using green screen technology. I was able to bring out the little girl in me and just laugh, play and have a good time.

We had very long days and after the first day all I wanted to do was go home and soak in the hot bubble bath and go to bed. Driving around downtown LA with all the lights and leaving the studio was awesome. I had to pinch myself.

My agent was very pleased that I got this job. Hopefully it will turn into more work in the future. The team was amazing, they made sure we were all comfortable, they had chairs for us, water at all times. They were great, I wish all of our projects were like this.

POLIO Store Now Open

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I am very excited because I just opened an online store for Polio survivors. My store has merchandise such as tee shirts, golf shirts, baseball caps, license plate holders, etc. I would like to bring about an awareness of Polio and the fact that thousands contracted polio. Polio is not something you overcome. It stays with you till the day you die. For those who contracted polio, they must live with this everyday. There are others who never received the initial diagnosis of polio. They may not even be aware that they had it.

My intent is to bring about awareness and in turn, educate the public. The March of Dimes was actually started as a public fundraiser to help bring money in for research and to help find a cure for polio.

There are some polio support groups out there. And there are organizations like POLIO Today that help polio survivors connect through information on the web. You can even upload a video and tell your own story.

My online store is through Cafe Press and my link http://www.cafepress.com/69442395
I want to use a portion of sales to help our local polio support group. Thank you for reading this blog and by checking out my site!