Week 509: Garage Return - One Era Closes Another Era Opens

Weekly Written Review 

The quarantine inspired a 3-month getaway and today I returned to back to my garage. The past 3 months was pure luxury in comparison but there's no place like home. Upon arrival, I got a letter stating my food stamps are stopping at the end of this month. In the past, this type of letter would be devastating and I'd put up a fight to get it back. This time, I accepted my EBT's fate. Either that or decline my unemployment. I'm not doing that because that pandemic boost is too good. It's going not going to be easy parting with my EBT card but I didn't plan to be on EBT forever. I believe the stopping of my food stamps represents a change or a new era without government support. I've had EBT since August of 2011. Approximately 9 years. I didn't plan to say goodbye just yet but I'm ready for a new era.

For the month of July, August, September, and beyond I won't have EBT but I'll have an Angeleno Card. At the start of the pandemic, Los Angeles offered financial support for those hit hardest. I applied but wasn't approved. Out of the blue, I got an email on Tuesday that allowed me to come in for an interview. I wasn't sure what would happen but I got it. What a blessing! It's a one-time payment and I'll use a good portion of it for food in the upcoming months. I'll admit my first purchase wasn't a necessity in terms of survival but my heart wanted to support an African-American business so I did. I'll use the rest of it for food for sure :0)

Sunday, June 14, 2020

* Returned to my garage after spending 3 months away in quarantine.

* Deep garage cleaning... I got a rug up in here now! 

* Treatment proofing...

* Call with half bro... Decent conversation but oh well...


Monday, June 15, 2020

* CB Treatment due and submitted

* First stock purchase (AMC)

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

* Back with ISA... made 3 screenplay submissions. 

* Phone calls...

* Angeleno Card email 

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

* Hitting the big 10 in my account for the first time. I don't recall ever being close before.

* Angeleno Card acquired 

* Twitter script interest lead to my script submission to a big production company...

* Finally Copyrighted most of my scripts...

Thursday, June 18, 2020

* Finally ordered Ring Fit Adventure. Can't believe it. 

* Walk with arm weights

* Gaming with Raj, talk with Raj... life and stocks

Friday, June 19, 2020

* Tennis, a total of six showed. Good games... A long nap later. 

Saturday, June 20, 2020

* Ring Fit Adventure arrived

* Walk... Food 4 Less run. Helped an old lady cross the street :-)

* Stock homework... 

* Accidentally drinking bottled pee. Terrible accident. Don't ask! 

As the quest continues...

The future of Late Night

Motown Maurice

Week 508: 7 Days to Treatment

Weekly Written Review 

Last week I decided to devote myself to the world of stocks, then an email changed everything. Last month I was expecting results from BET's Project CRE8:TV contest. On April 15 (Week 500) I submitted my first television pilot and anticipated the results by the end of May. There were no updates in May. Based on how crazy the world is, it could be for any reason. After a certain point, you just got to keep it moving. With the contest far from my mind, I received an email on Monday indicating that I'm a semifinalist. I honestly had no emotion. I was with my writing partner and showed her the email from my phone. She was prompted not to get excited because it doesn't mean, yet. It's good news but there's still a long way to go before it actually amounts to something meaningful.

The only thing I allowed myself to believe is that something is shifting. This coupled with a positive email from a finance executive the day before, I'm sensing a definite shift. The email informed me of that next requirement, which is a 5-page treatment. Without ever completing an official treatment, I had a smooth experience with this one. It was fun, had a lot of laugh out loud moments and there was no stress. I was basically done on Thursday and I made minor adjustments until submission on Monday (Week 509). 

It was a powerful 7 days. All kinds of new ideas began flowing through my head for the first time in a while. The best part is, my introduction with stocks last week was not neglected. Letting go of the entertainment world for a week, allowed my soul to embrace a whole new world, and now its a part of me. I'm proud of that. It's not easy for a mind that always wants to be creative to collide with numbers but it's happening and I'm getting it done. 

Sunday, June 7, 2020

* Turnip Sunday... then I'm retiring from the stock game with 10 million bells. Completed that task on Tuesday.

* Stocks webinar with Charles Becco. Before going to sleep around 7:00am I randomly checked my Instagram and notice Charles was doing a seminar on stocks in a few hours. I had no idea he was financially informed. I met him a few years ago and we mainly talked about entertainment. 

* Rewatching The Avatar: The Last Air Bender. 

* Editing a new 2020 acting reel

* Completed ADR request for Hank...

* Good news email from Dayo

Monday, June 8, 2020

* Playing Fortnite with Impluse

* BET's Project CRE8: TV semifinalist notice

* Rewatching The Avatar: The Last Air Bender. 

* Developing CB treatment (setup/intro)

* Blogging

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

* Ujamaa seminar presentation (zoom) 

* Making contacts on twitter

* Developing CB treatment (characters)

* Writing YouTube trailer scripts for my channel


Wednesday, June 10, 2020

* This day again...

* Developing CB treatment (episodes)


Thursday, June 11, 2020

* Last 1.6-mile run came in at my best time yet (14:16)

* CB treatment draft 1 & 2 completed. Spent the shortest time on it tonight. 

Friday, June 12, 2020

* Tennis...

* Garage stop/store run for Barb

* Best Buy gift pick up (Lite)

* Stock study

* CB treatment copy editing


Saturday, June 13, 2020

* Treatment work...

* Laundry day with At... I washed pillows, I think for the first time (ever) today. 

* Gaming...

As the quest continues...

The future of Late Night

Motown Maurice

Week 507: Not So Dear Sabbatical

Weekly Written Review 

At the start of this week, I envisioned a blog post entitled, Dear Entertainment Industry. In that post, I was going to write about taking somewhat of a hiatus from the industry. That idea barely lasted a week.  Two weeks ago, I was on a mission to write two new television pilots but I've been stuck on how to fully develop those worlds. On Sunday, I decided, I'm not going to force my brain to write. I'm better off taking it easy or embrace something new. Sure, I want to write new material but I have a good amount of completed scripts. I have no reason to strain out more. I'm honestly just not in the spirit of writing new ideas right now. This made me evaluate my position in the entertainment industry. I didn't plan on quitting but I figured it would be healthy to step aside for a moment. Fast forward to Friday, I woke up from a long nap to a message from an acting colleague. Her messages included a list of twitter handles of people that want to help African American writers. I got right on it and discovered a plethora of people wanting to help. Apparently and unfortunately, George Floyd's death is warming people's desires to help writers like myself. 

Before Friday, I never effectively DMed anybody on Twitter. I have an account but I don't use it. Saturday morning, they starting replying with offers to read my scripts and possibly help. I ended up sending out my TV pilot to 4 people and my autobio screenplay to one person. I made another contact with a person in Canada that might consider me for a role one day. 

Monday morning I woke up with an epiphany and spent 3 productive days researching stocks. I thought that was going to be my main focus for a while. I tried to study stocks in February but I didn't enjoy the experience. I had a pleasant experience with stocks with week. Now I have better resources and I'm more balanced. 

There's a shift taking place. Wait until you read about my developments next week. For now, I'm in a good-spirited place allowing me to balance the worlds of stocks and entertainment. 

Sunday, May 31, 2020

* Protests continue...

* Rewatching the Avatar The Last Airbender...

* Best Buy Switch Lite pickup...

* Today I decided its time to stop writing...


Monday, June 1, 2020

* Woke up with stocks on my mind. When I reached for my phone, I immediately discovered an expiring Facebook invitation to a stock tips group. It was all in my subscience mind. 

* Established an account with Webull...

* I'm sleeping really late now. I didn't go to sleep until after 7:30am the next morning. This pattern continues. 

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

* Protest continues...

* Rewatching the Avatar The Last Airbender

* Stock research...completed my Webull signup. 


Wednesday, June 3, 2020

* Protesting continues...

* Drop off At for your trip...

* Holding up a light for 8 mins 49 seconds for George Floyd in solidarity. 

Thursday, June 4, 2020

* Weekly 1.6 mile run. My recorded time was 15:12. That's good but I fumbled my phone and the timer. My time is probably at least -4 seconds from 15:12. 

* Switch time with Rh...


Friday, June 5, 2020

* Tennis. Good games. No wins. 

* 51 Clubhouse Classic delivered

* After a late nap, I woke up to an inspiring Facebook message from an acting colleague named Bernadette. The Twitter handles she sent me guided me on a unique journey. 

Saturday, June 6, 2020

* Twitter responses. Script sending.  CB & my autobio. Signing releases. 

* Picking up At...

* Gaming...

* Rodney put me on to the Ujamaa Collective. So far sounds interesting. 

As the quest continues...

The future of Late Night

Motown Maurice

Week 506: I Support All the Protesters and Rioters

Weekly Written Review 

The murder of George Floyd deflated my spirit. It made me question the importance of my creative writing. Does it really matter? The United States is crumbling and I'm trying to write a TV pilot. I'm not even protesting. I want to protest. If I was connected to a group of people/protestors I believe I would be out there with them. As much I as love being a loner, it's not helping any movement right now. I don't want to go by myself. A protest is a type of event a person should attend with allies. Without allies, it's not safe. Plus, I live in Hollywood. It's hard to find and befriend another person with a conscience state of mind. In 10 years, I can't recall any in my industry, certainly none I'm in touch with. 

For the record, I support all the protesters and I'm thankful for all of them. I even support the rioters. Senseless killings have sequences. All the damage can be repaired. Nothing can bring George Floyd's life back. 

It's moments like this, I wish I had a voice. I want to make an impact. I want to make a difference. I want to do something. I'm not afraid, I just have no allies nor a voice. 

I've been fighting for my voice to be heard for a very long time and I'm still mute. The plan has been to use my writing as a voice but in the mists of a national crisis, my voice doesn't matter. My writings don't matter. One day my writings will matter but right now, it doesn't matter. While the world burns, it's time for a self-assessment. 

Sending love to all the protesters! Be safe! Fight for your rights. No Justice! No peace! 

One love!

Sunday, May 24, 2020

* Turnips...

* Switch to Save Lives: Arms & Smash Bros. 

* Walk and Brainstorm, Plot points...

* Completed: Rewatching Stranger Things season 3

Monday, May 25, 2020

* Development study/watching: Charmed (1998)

* RIP George Floyd! 

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

* Tennis with At...

* Watching Charmed (2018) and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina


Wednesday, May 27, 2020

* Writing plot points...

* Sleepy day...

* Papa is back home. We spoke and he shared with me some news that probably might make me opt out of my annual Christmas visit. 

Thursday, May 28, 2020

* Weekly 1.6 mile run (15:17)

* Plot points...

* Rewatching the Avatar


Friday, May 29, 2020

* Returned to tennis at Shatto. I wasn't got to start today but I forgot to cancel and 7 people RSVPed. Only two showed but it was still a great time. 

* Rewatching The Avatar:  The Last Airbender

* Geroge Floyd Protesting!!!!

Saturday, May 30, 2020

* Attempt for a Best Buy pickup but they were closed. 

* 99 cent store errands

* Geroge Floyd Protesting!!!!

* Rewatching The Avatar:  The Last Airbender


As the quest continues...

The future of Late Night

Motown Maurice

Week 505: Does My Writing Matter?

Weekly Written Review 

I got two projects in the oven. The waiting game continues. While I wait, I'm trying to complete another TV pilot. On Tuesday while rewatching Stranger Things, my mind drifted into a new show idea. Soon after I started developing it. These are ideas are complex and I'm unable to do the amount of writing as I desire.  As a result, I had no choice but to enroll in a writing class. A free class on Youtube to be exact. Film Courage is the truth and I learned a lot from one night of studying. I planned to do more of this in the upcoming days and weeks but when the world is falling apart does my creative writing really matter? I wasn't thinking like during this week but my thoughts changed in the following week, amid the riots/protests. I may better address this issue in Week: (506).

In other news, I realized 3 months is my limit. I've set a date for my return.  

Sunday, May 17, 2020

* Rewatching: Stranger Things season 2

* Walking... brainstorming on Project E

* Watching: The Last Dance

* Blogging...

Monday, May 18, 2020

* Writing... Project E... 2 pages...

* Rewatching: Stranger Things

* Got a new idea for a show while watching Stranger Things...

* Gaming...

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

* Writing... Project E. Added another page. 

* Finished rewatching Stranger Things season 2

* Sleepy most of the day. Up all night.

* Brainstorming (PW)

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

* PW research. Development official. 

* Brief walk...

* Rewatching Stranger Things season 3

Thursday, May 21, 2020

* Weekly 1.6 mile run (15:28)

* Watched movie: Legend

* Brainstorming, research...

Friday, May 22, 2020

* Played in a Switch to Save Lives tournament. Today I was MK8D. I sucked in every game. 

* Garage Stop... 

* Numero Uno, Trader Joe's

* Brainstorming talk...

Saturday, May 23, 2020

* Switch Save Lives Tourney: MTA and SMM2

* Rewatching Stranger Things...


As the quest continues...

The future of Late Night

Motown Maurice