Going back to Cali

After five years in Chicago I've recently moved back to the Bay Area. I loved Chicago, but was really missing my family and friends. Also, I've been unemployed for the last 10 months and I just couldn't see myself staying into the winter and hoping things would change. With a bigger network and area to commute to here in the Bay Area I am hoping things will turn around for me here...and fast! Fingers crossed! :D

Job Hunting

Eight months ago, a week before Christmas, I received an email from my employer letting me know I had been laid off. Nice. Even though I knew the economy was bad, and it was the worst time to be unemployed I was determined not to let that damper my hopes of finding another job quickly...I mean, when one door closes, another opens - change is good, and all that, right?

After all, I am a well rounded person with many different and interesting skills developed over the last 10-15 years. I'm a great employee, loyal, hard working, always given praise, never reprimanded, in fact my last employer could never find a negative thing to say about me when it came to reviews. I do my job, and I do it well.

Day after day, week after week, month after month I have continued to search for jobs, network, attend events, work my contacts, work and re-work my resume - and I am still unemployed today.

It is so hard to stay motivated, especially when there is so little response...it feels like the working world has been put on PAUSE.

Things have to change eventually, so I'll just keep at it. Not much more I can do...but I'll be Soooooo happy once I'm employed again. Wish me luck. :)

RESUME: http://shawnasaari.blogspot.com/

Cinco De Mayo / Insect Season

Yes, it's the fifth of May. I swear it was just x-mas, wasn't it? I know it's pretty cliche to say that each year goes faster than the one before, but it's so true. It's been a crazy year so far, some things good, like the work I'm doing with Anthony on the sketch comedy review shows, some things annoying, like being laid off, and some things scary, like my sister's emergency surgery, which she is all recovered from.

This summer I look forward to the warm summer nights in Chicago, the street festivals, Sunset Lounge and hanging out with friends. What I am not looking forward to is 'insect season' - I have a huge fear of insects, which my mom can attest to as we went on a bayou boat tour one summer in New Orleans, which is a whole other story! Anyway, what happens exactly this time of year (because I just saw one on the wall) is these little spiders, about the size of a pencil eraser, crawl into the house around the windows. Once a day in the summer I will see one spider on the wall, and have to walk around carefully because they are small and sometime crawl on the floor. There aren't many of them, but enough to annoy, scare and gross me out!

Also, I have a balcony, aka 'Sunset Lounge'. Whenever people come over in summer they say: "Oh, you should put some flowers and plants out there!" So, last year I did. And guess what? Suddenly there were tons of bees and other insects out there buzzing around while I'm trying to enjoy a cool beverage. There was even a wasp who made my balcony its second home. He would come, buzz around, and fly away about twice an hour, he had something going on under the table out there - I didn't even want to know. One time I saw him peeking into the dining room window. I thought - Ha! Don't be silly, you're not getting in here!

Well, one day a few week later I'm working at my desk, all doors and windows are closed, and I hear a faint 'buzz' 'buzz'. I stop, listen, think I must be hearing things. A minute later, 'buzz' 'buzz'. I think. Shit. That is not coming from inside the house!? I get up and gingerly walk around, listening, looking, and what do I see? That damn wasp inside flying around! I freaked out and ran down to the security desk to get the guard! I made the Alicia come up with me, I didn't know what to do with this wasp! Well, she thought I was nuts, but she came up and we got the wasp to fly toward the sliding door, and it landed on the screen which was half closed - so I slammed the door shut and now the wasp is trapped. I then had to get up the courage to open the door and slide the screen back a bit so it could get out. It sat there for over an hour torturing me. Finally I looked and it was gone.

Anyway, happy about summer, but no I will not put flower and plants on the patio. :)

Still Searching...

Well, as everybody knows it's tough out there, and to prove it I am still job searching! My new analogy is that finding a job is going to be like finding a parking spot in the city- you have to wait until someone is pulling out, to find a spot. Which is why I'm working my network like crazy. Everybody I know, knows I'm job hunting...and hopefully everyone they know, knows I'm looking. Sooner or later I'll get a call about a friend of a friend leaving their job, and they can pass my resume along, etc. It will happen, it's just a matter of time.

Funny thing is, since I got laid off in December I have been 3x as busy as when I was working. My boss did me a favor by letting me go- it was time for me to move on- it's just the favor was ill -timed. However, I firmly believe that there is something better out there coming my way. I just hope it get's here by May 1st because I am moving into a new apt (and paying higher rent) in June and I need to be making $$$$. Well, right now there is a lot of momentum, the universe is working for me...I can feel it!

In the meantime come see my side project opening on April 9th and running 3 consecutive Thursdays in April (9th, 16th and 23rd) Wink Wink Skype Skype: A sketch comedy show exploring the age of technology! https://www.gorillatango.com/

Wink Wink, Skype Skype!

I'm writing and directing a new show! Here are all the details...hope you all can make it!

'Wink WInk, Skype Skype' A new sketch comedy revue exploring the age of technology opening April 9th @ 9:30pm and running 3 consecutive Thursdays in April (9th, 16th and 23rd). Get on board or be left behind! $10.

http://www.gorillatango.com/chicago/contact.htm

She's Gone...

All Good Things Must Come To An End....

About a year and a half ago I started the writing program at Second City. After drafting our sketches we wrote, edited, rewrote, auditioned, cast, rehearsed and put music to the revue we named 'New Years Revelations'.

After a 4 week run this month, and 1 more to come (tomorrow night, Friday 1/30) it is amazing to look back and see how far we've come from the day we entered the intro to comedy class seemingly so long ago. Putting this show together and watching it run over the last month is the most fun I have had since I moved to Chicago.

Of course the best part of the experience has been meeting and working with all of the writers (Anthony, Susan, Maria, Rob, Carolyn, Jay, Ron, David), cast (Anne Dunn, Emily Walker, Rachel Perry, Jon Silver, Rob Grabo, Bobby Rafferty, and Jillian Burfete) and of course Andy Miara, the director. I am so sad that this experience is coming to an end tomorrow, but feel so proud and happy that I completed the program, and feel like I have learned so much more than I ever thought when originally signing up for the class.

Well, even though I have to say goodbye to 'New Years Revelations' tomorrow, the fun does not have to end. Stay tuned folks...there is more to come...

Oh! And thanks to all of my friends who came to the show! ...And to my Mom, who tried!

Back to the old routine...

About 6 months ago I started doing something I thought I would never do on a regular basis...I started going to the gym. And not even just a couple times a week, 5 or 6 times a week. I also changed my diet at that time, just ate better portions and made better choices at restaurants, noting too crazy, but it paid off because I lost 20 lbs by the end of the year.

Over Thanksgiving when my family went to Puerto Vallarta for a week of non-stop eating and drinking I made an attempt to stay in my exercise routine, but of course after 2 days I chose sangria over the stairmaster, and laid on a lounge chair the rest of the week with nachos. A diet killer you may say? Nope, only gained one pound over the holidays, and then got back to the old routine again once I got home.

Over the past two weeks I wasn't able to go to the gym at all as I had a cold one week, and had to fly home when my sister had emergency surgery the next. For a few days I had no appetite because I was worried about my sis, but once we found out she was OK my appetite came back and I ate what I wanted and really didn't stick to any routine. Regrets? Well, no, because today I was down 1 lb. WTF?

How come I can work out every day and eat right for a week and MAYBE lose 1 pound, but another weeks I do nothing and eat what I want and get the same results!? Have I raised my metabolism? Is this exercise really helping? Are we just allowed a grace period until the body decides to hold onto some of the crap? Well, I don't know...but today I got up, got dressed and went to the gym...back to the old routine.

'They' Really Know How To Ruin A Good Thing...

The peeps who make most American TV shows really know how to ruin a good thing. Anytime the public finds something funny on one of these shows, 'The Powers That Be' think they need to take that one funny thing and build the show around that - Do I have some examples? Yes.

First, let's take American Idol. During the first few seasons, during the audition round, we got to see a lot of the good singers, and once in awhile they showed someone who truly thought they can sing, but really could not...and that was pretty funny. This format went along just fine until William Hung came along and actually made some $$ off of his bad singing and persona and suddenly the AI people thought all America wanted to see was a bunch of jackasses who think they can sing, but can't. But, is this what we want to see on AI? NO! We do not...watching people cry because they thought they could sing but were given a dose of reality by the judges (or Simon) was only funny because sometimes we saw some pretty bad singing, and were amazed when these people were surprised to find out they don't have a voice. Today when they show us the 'bad' singers, it just boarders on sad because most of these people are actually real life crazy people, and it just doesn't feel right to laugh at someone who has really got a problem, and not being treated with the proper medication.

Example #2: The Office / Flight of the Conchords (Turning quirky characters into retards). Ugg. Yes, these shows used to be funny because of the quirky characters and different personalities...but since viewers responded to these things 'TPTB' have obviously demanded MORE MORE MORE quirky-ness and character-ness and now most of the characters come off as mentally handicapped because the lines they are given to say and the objectives they are given to achieve are just now longer believable anymore. And if it's not believable, I'm out. On the Office the horse is beat with a stick over and over again as Jim 'plays a joke' on Dwight that anyone with half a brain would pick up on immediately, but Dwight just forges ahead blindly never thinking a rational thought like...eh, it's probably just Jim again!

A character like Dwight needs to be ahead of the game for his quirkiness to come through, not behind (much like Kramer on Seinfeld) or it just doesn't work. Watch the UK office to see how the dynamic between the 'Jim and Dwight' characters is supposed to work. One is confident and one is cocky, and they will both go to any lengths to prove their point, but both are aware of the bigger picture.

OK- On Flight of the Conchords season 2 premier last week it was almost impossible to watch (After a great first season) because the 3 lead characters were suddenly A) Caricatures of their former selves (Murray) and B) A Shell of their former selves (Bret and Jemaine), trying to play the one note of what I assume 'TPTB' thought was funny from the first season.

The last example comes from (my personal favorite) 30 Rock- here, the show was ruined when someone noticed after the first (and best) season that the show was original and funny, and quickly getting a lot of attention, therefore deciding to stick any celeb trying to hock their latest book or stoke their own failing career onto the show, taking all of the focus away from the characters that were being developed on the show. After two seasons of this, the original concept is now almost completely lost. Sure we get a glimmer of it's old self here and there - but I'm not sure they will ever fully get it back. So sad. Don't even get me started on Lost....

Anyway, that's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. Leave comments if you agree to any of this or have your own take. ~SCS

Modern Body?

Does anyone (besides me) ever think that if the human body were created from 'scratch' today it would be made to last longer than 16 hours before needing an 8 hour battery charge and food every 3 hours?? Seems a modern body would take you through a good 3-4 days before needing to be recharged...and be in need of sustenance every 24 hours. Just think how much we'd get done...but how many good meals we'd miss... hmmmm

Second City Show Opens Tonight!!!

I'm so excited. It's been a year and 3 months in the making, blood, sweat, and yes, even some tears...but tonight the show I've been working on at Second City finally opens. I began the writing program at SC in late 2007, thinking I would take a class for fun, but ended up really liking it and decided to see how far I could get in the program. I just took it term, by term, and even considered dropping out at one point, but the closer I got to the putting together the show, the more I wanted to stick it out. ...And I'm so glad I did! It's been such a great experience, Going from the whole writing process, to re-writes, piecing the sketches of 9 writers together to form a cohesive show, then casting, rehearsing and all of the details that go along with that, finally, tonight it all comes together! Two of the sketches I wrote are in the show. I hope you will all come and enjoy!

The show runs every Friday in January, 10:30pm

http://www.secondcity.com/index.php?id=theatres/chicago/donny