Santa Barbara Trip with a group of inner city kids from LA. I was kinda an "honorary" mentor for the day. It was a great trip and the kids has a wonderful time!!

Photo Shoot with Fernando Escovar. Thanks man!!

Audition: Direct TV @ Lisa Fields Casting

WOOHOO!!!!!!

Just saw my commercial during an episode of 24!!!! It went by really fast...gotta look close!!!

You can also view the commercial on the Mountain Dew website. Just click "Cue the Dew" under the 'Carnival' section. Be sure to vote for "Carnival" as your Favorite Mountain Dew commercial (maybe it'll get a little more airplay)!!

Audition: Intel @ Rodeo Casting

Well, well, well...turns out I have rich uncle named Sam and he just sent me a very nice refund check. Being a struggling artist does have its benefits :)

Audition: Untitled Darlene Wesgor/Carol Leifer PILOT @ Tracy Lilienfield Casting (This is a series regular role. Thanks Robert! I know this was all you :)

This was my first time auditioning for Tracy...I gotta say being SAG E is kinda like a golden ticket, but it also don't hurt to know the guy at the door...lol. The role was for a nurse in her 30's...not exactly my type but as one of my acting teachers once said, "and audition is never about getting the job, it's about building a relationship". The audition went well and Tracy and Laura laughed alot. I saw my friend who works in the office and thanked him for getting me into the office so quickly. He was like, I determined to get you in before I left. Hmmm...left? "Where are you going?", I asked. He told me that he was leaving casting and going into management. He's going to be working for a prestigious management firm that handles some pretty big stars. I gave him a BIG congrats and wished him well. He told me to give him some time and he would try to bring me on board...he even hinted at some hip pocket action if I needed him in the meantime. Now THAT people, is an Awesome friend. It's funny to think that we met years ago in Chicago when he was a directing student and I did one of his student films. Now he's leaving a great casting office for a job at a great management firm and I've got my first lead role showing on BET in June. Not too shabby. You never know where relationships will lead :)

Oh, and another perk of knowing someone in the casting office...you get actual feedback! Check it out:

"Just so you know, Tracy and Laura adored you. They didn't feel you were right for this part, but they said you were adorable and you carried yourself very well, especially seeing as you don't have a lot of [TV]experience on your resume.
You got a big KIM (Keep In Mind) on Tracy's session sheet, so hopefully she'll be calling you in for projects soon. They had nothing but positive things to say. Good luck with getting back in there. Again, it was great to see you, and great job! "

Ok, I'll take that :)

Audition: Target @ Tolley Casparis Casting
Audition: ProActiv @ Sheila Manning Casting (this was for a v/o)

OMG! I was completely comatose today...lol. If it were not for these auditions I would have never even gotten out of bed. That spa is NO joke!

Today I went with some friends to Glen Ivy Day Spa in Corona, CA. Absolutely Incredible!!! I cannot say enough about how beautiful and amazing this place is. They have sulfur baths, mineral springs, relaxation pools, mud baths, whirlpools, roman baths...the works! And Corona is so peaceful and beautiful. They even had a quaint little farmers market right before the spa with best strawberries and guacamole in town (to be eaten separately, not together...lol). It's about an hour outside of LA, and it's worth it every minute of the drive (though I recommend you carpool like we did...gas is over $3 dollars a gallon out here!!) It's like no other spa I've visited before...it's like Calgon...takes all your cares away :)


Mud bath and Relaxation Pool but there was sooo much more :)

Happy Easter!!

Church was AWESOME today....and it was Packed! It's so funny that no matter where you go, North, South, East or West..Black churches are Always packed on Easter Sunday. It's like a universal truth...lol. It was nice because some friends were mine were able to attend and we all went out to dinner afterwards, which was a lot of fun.

I talked to my family and everyone was doing well, my mom was tired cause she'd gone to
Sunrise service. I can't even remember the last time I've gone to Sunrise Service...lol. When I think of little things like that...Sunrise service, shelling peas or making the corn bread for the big family Easter dinner, it makes me really appreciate my upbringing. I'm so thankful for everything I have and I know I'm so blessed. I don't take it for granted (or at least I try my best not to), some people believe that you have to lose something in order to really see its worth...I don't believe that. I wouldn't trade my family and friends for anything in this world. As Kanye says on his new album, "They claim you never know what you got 'til it's GONE. I know what I got, I don't know what y'all on..." Yeah Kanye, I'm right there wit' ya, baby!

Happy Birthday Gabe & Gabriela!!

Today was such a great day. We started the day with Birthday wishes and Ice Cream cake, and the we headed out to the park for some much needed family time. It's been an important goal for me to get my family and myself (it starts with the head right?) back on a good track. As crazy as my year was, theirs was crazy too. After we moved away from Chicago, I came here to get settled and they went to the South for the remainder of the school year and then moved to LA last August. That's a lotta movin' in a really short period of time. Plus, with everything that was going on with me during the last year I've surely been no candidate for Mom of the year. But I'm very glad to say that I've been actively turning that around...and today really showed me how much better we're doing and how much more connected we are...and I cannot even begin to express how grateful I am for that.

I told the children that we'd spend today as a family and next weekend they could have a formal birthday party with their friends. But by then end of the day my girl said..."we don't really need to have a party." I was like...what?! She said, "Yeah, we had a really good birthday." Hmmmm...sometimes I think I may actually be doing something right...lol. The park was beautiful (the pictures do not even do it justice!). We hiked around the mountains, ate at the pond with the waterfall, chased butterflies and played frisbee in the grass. It reminded me of our family outings in Chicago which of course made me think of E.

As much fun as the kids and I have on our own, he would always take it up a notch. Once he showed up with this HUGE shark kite with like 1000ft of string. It was actually the first time any of us had flown a kite...and the legendary Chicago winds (which are even stronger at the beach) made it very easy. The shark flew higher and higher into the beautiful blue summer sky...it was awesome. That is until we had to reel it in which took FOREVER...lol. It was so tiring that we all had to take turns. Halfway through I was like let's just cut the line and let him be the one that got away...but he was determined...lol. Eventually we did it...who knew how much effort flying a kite would be!?
Anyway, he was much better at the whole "planning" thing than I'll ever be...and he would have loved being with us today. Actually, I take that back...I think he was with us today. I know it sounds crazy but I could feel his presence so strongly that I actually talked to the children about it. It was such a strong presence it was almost hard to believe that they couldn't feel it too. But, my children are kinda batty like their mom so the conversation went a little awry...lol. It went something like this:

Me: Guys, it's weird but I really feel like Efren is with us right now. Do you guys feel that?

Kids: With us like how?

Me: I don't know, I just feel like he's very here with us...like if I turned and looked he'd be sitting right beside me. I've felt it all morning.

LONG Pause ... LOL

Son: Ohhhhh, I get it. Like this morning with the bed.

Me: What's that??

Son: Yeah, you asked us if we made up your bed and we told you that neither one of us did.

OK, my turn for the LONG Pause

Me: Are you saying that you think Efren made up my bed?!

With that the kids erupted in laughter and we all kinda laughed at the ridiculousness of it. Only my boy could make such a connection (you have to know him to really understand how true that is...he is really funny)...lol. When the laughter subsided my son added, it is weird though, cause we really didn't make up your bed.

Now, I'm not buying the bed thing, but I can believe that he was with us today. I even brought along something of his with us to the park...not sure why, it just felt right. Funny, cause that's how the whole day was. Everything just felt right...


Birthday outing at K. Hahn State Park

Callback: Ford @ Lisa Fields Casting

Audition: Ford @ Lisa Fields Casting

This audition was for a DJ. They brought four girls in at a time and asked about our DJ experience and what kind of music we liked. It was kinda funny because as the other 3 girls spoke it was kinda obvious that they were kinda "reaching" on the DJ experience thing...sayin' that they kinda sorta had some experience in a way, but not really...lol. Of course, I was tempted to do the same thing but then I thought...Nope! Honesty is the best policy. So when the guy asked me about my DJing experience I said, "Well, I used to be Queen of the Mix Tapes back in the day! I had my Slow Jamz tape and and my Dance mix tape and they definitely kept the party movin!" As soon as I mentioned "mix tapes" everyone in the room, including the camera guy burst out laughing...lol...it was really funny. I told him I was sure DJing had come a long way since then...he was like, ummm yeah...lol. Of course, I could have told him how I used to scratch on the record player using my mom's James Cleveland gospel album....but I didn't think he'd really understand...lol.

So, I FINALLY talked to BBDO and figured out why I haven't been paid for the Mountain Dew spot. Turns out that the company they use for payroll is a company that I've been paid through before. Since my info was already in the system they just mailed the check without checking my address first. Mind you, the address they had was 5 Years Old! Apparently my check has been floating around the south west side of Chicago since the end of March! That was kind of annoying...but luckily it was easy to fix. I just had to fax in a document and they said they would send a new check in the morning...hopefully it will arrive around the end of the week.

Though I cannot imagine why any company would send a check to an address that was at least 5 years old without verifying it (I mean, I wrote my current address on my contract for goodness sake!), ultimately I should have followed up on this earlier, instead of assuming that it was just late. It can be hard to stay on top of stuff, especially with a million other things going on...but it's a must, especially in this business! Ah well, I'm just glad the situation is corrected...hopefully the spot will start airing soon :)

I had my very first ever ADR session today. ADR can be a long and tedious process...but luckily for me I'm such a nerd that I found the whole process really interesting. Especially, watching other peoples sessions. Our sound editor, Emmy winning Ken Johnson, was very cool and let me stand over his shoulder and watch everything he was doing. I didn't really understand it...but I'm sure with a little time I could. Maybe I should start doing some intern work on the production side of things?? I have so many interests and I'm a total sucker for techie stuff.

Lamman and I had the last sessions of the night and it was kinda late so we getting a little giddy. During his session he broke out with, "Jamin' on the one, Jamin' on the one" LOL...anyone who grew up in the Cosby age should know where that came from. I immediately took Claire's part.."Laaaaaaaaa"...lol. We were all laughing and Ken was like, "Do you sing? Cause I'm a music producer." We proceeded to talk about music and the type of music I sing and he asked me if I had a demo. I was like I don't really sing like THAT! LOL. But it kinda got me to thinking about singing. It's a subject that's been coming up a lot with me in the last few months...maybe I should give it a little more attention. Nothin' wrong with being a true triple threat right? LOL...maybe I'm just talkin', but maybe not....

Happy Birthday Gramce!

My grandma would be 82 today if my calculations are correct. She was the best Gramce ever :) I miss her.

Audition: Kissing Cousins (feature film) @ Morman Boling Casting
Audition: General Motors Chevy @ Anissa Williams

A friend and I attended Palm Sunday service at WestA and who did we see but Denzel and Pauletta. Now I rarely get star struck...if ever...but if anyone can do it Denzel can...lol. After seeing promos for his new movie "Inside Man" I thought he was looking a little older and thicker around the middle (which is to be expected for a man over 50)...but it is NOT so, lol! He looks fabulous...FAB-U-LOUS...lol. And he and Pauletta are a beautiful, quite regal couple...they reminded me of a young Ossie and Ruby (who are without a doubt my favorite Hollywood couple ever). See you on the set Denzel...one day :)

After church we went to Roscoe's...of course. Why do I love Roscoe's so much?! Lol. I really gotta cut down, my size 2's are TIGHT... my 4's are really fitting me and my 6's are no longer WAY too big...lol. Either I gotta say goodbye to that place, or say hello to the stairs a couple more times a week. Aaargh...decisions, decisions...

Today I faced a very worthy opponent in my work out regimen. None other than the Santa Monica Stairs!! That had to be the hardest workout I have EVER had in my Entire life....Ever! It also had some of THE most beautiful, picturesque views I have ever seen. Santa Monica is truly a beautiful place to live and I am so blessed be here...sometimes I think I take that for granted.

I can't say how much I love being outside in nature. I'll take kayaking over a rowing machine anyday. But I'm tellin' ya, these stairs were intense...I actually came home and took a nap and I was only able to do them 5 times! I can't believe I've lived here over a year and that was my first time going down there. I feel like my life is finally starting to really get on track for the first time since I moved here. I'm seeing glimpses of the old Jillian which makes me really happy. In Chicago the kids and I were out doing things all the time. I look forward to getting that back and being even better than before. And though I don't necessarily look "forward" to the stairs...I'll definitely be doing them again...and soon!

So today I am officially SAG eligible! The people at SAG told me it would take up to 2 months...obviously they don't know me...lol. I made sure to follow-up with the CD to make sure the paperwork went out (apparently that's the part that usually causes the biggest delay) AND followed up with the commercial division of SAG to make sure it didn't get lost in the shuffle. Now if I would just get paid from the spot all would be well...lol. They are late!

I was hoping to ride the Eligible wave for a while, but my I spoke to one of the people in my managers office who said I should join SAG ASAP. Her reasoning made a lot of sense and gave me a lot to think about...I'll probably join SAG before the end of the month or May at the latest.

It's probably a good idea anyway as I am going to begin my search for a theatrical agent soon. I plan to line up my agent mailing with the screening and air date of Let's Talk so that if they're interested they can actually see me in action :). At first I was really annoyed that our the movie wasn't airing until June, but everything really happens for a reason. If we had an earlier air date we wouldn't have had enough time for so much...like advertising, the trailer, ADR, color correction ...not to mention that pilot season is sooo busy the show could have easily gotten lost in the shuffle. So yeah, I'll take June :)...my mom always said, "While you tryin' to figure it out, He's [God] already worked it out."

Audition: Ford @ Danielle Eskinazi

This was such a fun audition. I got to dress up like a 1960's panther...complete with leather mini-skirt and blown out, Angela Davis afro...lol. I wish I'd taken a picture.

I've been kinda low on auditions for the past week and half. Hmmm, I hope this is just some temporary glitch in the matrix...lol! I can always count on Danielle though and I'm determined to book through her soon! This would be a really awesome spot for me. I saw Dominick her assistant, who was also the choreographer for the India video. We got to chat a bit which was cool.

Aaaargh...I have GOT to get my taxes done. I have never waited so long before. I gotta get 'em done this week. Gotta!