via Social Networking Doubles Among Boomers and Seniors – eMarketer.

It was for a print ad campaign and it has proved to be one of my more enjoyable experiences “in the business” to date. The crew was amazing, considering they were photographing people who had no experience in modeling. We worked in a rented office building the first day, pretending to do such things as look for work and stand in the unemployment line. Not a stretch, considering I’ve been doing this in real life for the past two years!

The second day was filmed in a home, where we sat at the kitchen table pretending to pay bills and look “concerned”. The home actually belonged to someone, as the phone rang while we were there and furniture and family pictures were everywhere. I found myself wondering how much they had been paid to rent their house for the day.

The hours were good, as were the working conditions. I would definitely like to do more of these types of jobs.

Tomorrow: where to find jobs in the entertainment, film and modeling industry.

Gerard Butler on the set of Machine Gun Preacher

In my never-ending quest to find a source of gainful employment – or at least income – I recently ran across an unusual opportunity, quite by accident, which proved to be an interesting experience, to say the least. I don’t even remember what led to my finding it. While searching for work online, I ran across a job posting for extras in a movie. The movie being filmed was “Machine Gun Preacher” starring none other than Gerard Butler. “Why not?”, I thought. I certainly wasn’t doing much else and it did offer a paycheck, albeit a temporary one, but still…

I submitted my photo via email and didn’t think much more about it. After all, I’m 53 years old, not exactly in the best of shape anymore. Me? An actress? Riiiiight. Shortly thereafter, though, I was surprised (shocked) to find a reply in my email inbox…..”We are interested…”. To say that I was surprised, even to say that I was shocked, is an understatement. But the idea of being in a major Hollywood film sounded interesting and exciting. “What the heck?” (That phrase has gotten me into more than my share of trouble over the years…but I digress.) Over the next few days, I received wardrobe instructions (extras supply their own wardrobe, following guidelines provided by the wardrobe department), scheduling and location information.

I arrived “on set” (I love that phrase) and spent the next two days pretending to be a member of the congregation of a church, helmed by one Gerard Butler as Sam Childers. Machine Gun Preacher was written about Mr. Childers, who is a real, live person doing really amazing, humanitarian things. (Read more about him, here).

I loved the experience, despite the fact that the hours were long (12 hour days are common), the conditions were less than ideal (the temperature was 90+ and the building in which we were filming was not air conditioned), but I still loved every minute of it. We waited for a bit in an area called “extras holding”, where we were inspected and approved by wardrobe and actually went to “hair and makeup”, where I was very surprised to learn that they really do have mirrors with big light bulbs all around. But, the best part of being an extra is, by far, the food. Expertly prepared food, catered by companies accustomed to serving celebrities and big-time directors. The food was wonderful!

Myself and Sam Childers

After my initial two days “on set”, I was subsequently recalled, about a week later, for one more shoot, during which I got to meet the “real” Sam Childers,who was making a cameo appearance in the film. This impressed me more than meeting Gerard Butler, Kathy Baker and Michelle Monaghan, put together! He is truly an amazing person, for all he does. I urge you to go read Mr. Childers’ story and you’ll know why…

Tomorrow: read about how my first acting gig led to my first modeling gig!

Services Include:

Class Instruction for up to 4 students in Oak Ridge (both PCs and Macs)
Speaking to Groups – explaining why Social Media is important
Hands-on training in Facebook
Hands-on training in Twitter
Designing a Social Media Marketing Plan for clubs, non-profits, and small businesses
Converting Digital Photos into “Life Journey” videos
Providing Basic or Remedial Computer Instruction
Training and Set-up for Skype and Video Chatting
Working on your unique projects (reunions, newsletters, club directories, mailings, letters)

In the Oak Ridge, TN area, you can e-mail Stephany or call her at: 865-274-7798. Or, simply visit her website at tnplatespinner.com

Any more?

Kevin Pruett and Sons

The day before St. Patrick’s Day, I got the news that a friend had passed away. Kevin Pruett had died of lung and brain cancer the day before Thanksgiving, 2009. Kevin was one of those friends (acquaintance, really) who briefly drift into your life and then drift back out again, just as quickly. We had worked together briefly but, more importantly, he had been in a relationship with a long time friend of mine and I really knew him through her. Kevin was a musician, a bass player in a band, and she and I had spent many nights in bars and clubs “watching Kevin play”. Because of our friendship, she was the maid of honor at my 1995 wedding and Kevin was the best man. Their relationship ended abruptly and that ended my relationship with Kevin, as well. We never spoke again, however, since Kevin was a performer, I was able to follow his career and – to a certain extent – his life, online, thanks to sites such as MySpace and Facebook. One thing that always impressed me about Kevin was his conviction that he be a performer, even when it wasn’t popular nor profitable. After all, Kevin was pushing 40 at the time – a little old to be “in a rock band”. He refused to give up, however and continued to play and pursue his dream. I truly admired that about Kevin.

Though I never kept in touch with him, I did “look in” on Kevin, periodically via MySpace. I noted that he had married after splitting up with my friend and had fathered two beautiful boys, Brandon and Eric. Pictures of the boys began to multiply on his sites. It was obvious from his writings and photos that he was a very proud, loving Dad. He also wrote about cancer. A smoker, Kevin had been diagnosed with lung cancer in 2007. The lung cancer ultimately spread to his brain, as well. I have since learned that Kevin was told in February 2009 that he no longer had any trace of cancer in his body. By November, however, Kevin was deceased. He was 47 years old.

I don’t know why the death of a person I barely knew had such a profound effect on me. I thought about how hard it must have been for Kevin to know he would have to leave his beloved children behind. That thought terrifies me. I thought about how utterly stupid it was for me to be increasing the odds that I, too, would have to confront this disease. Utterly…stupid. My brain turned this phrase over and over until, suddenly, I no longer had any desire to smoke. None. It was gone – just like that. Strange, I know. But — thanks, Kev…