NYE 2014 - 2015
I had been mulling over the prospect of "go west young man" for a few years but I just couldn't decide. I asked other people what they thought and no one else had any satisfying answers either. I waited until I had been sober for several years before I decided to uproot my life and go to the furthest coast away from the East Village. It's suggested that you don't make any radical decisions in the 1st year of recovery because it's simple too overwhelming, stress inducing and, often, can trigger relapse. Because of that I stayed working as a bar tender 5 nights a week while I was a newcomer to recovery. The weird thing is that I became the best bar tender ever because all of the sudden I was focused on my job and concentrating on making money for the club and myself and not distracted by partying behind the bar. Funny how things work.
Once I made the firm decision in my mind that I was "Hollywood or bust" it seems that all of these doors magically unlocked. The whole time I was hemming and hawing all of my plans and ideas seemed hazy but the moment I decided for sure doors sprang open. A friend contacted me out of the blue because he had been traveling for over a year and was coming back to NYC in Jan. with just a backpack and no other belongings. He needed a place to stay and I just happened to be leaving my apartment fully furnished. Perfect.
Then, I had decided I should take an acting class in LA but the task of finding a good one seemed insurmountable. One day I was out and about on a snowy, NYC afternoon and I stopped at one of my favorite places for lunch. I heard a woman talking and her voice was instantly recognizable. It was my Grandma's friend Jean-Ann who has a very distinctive, bold, boisterous, NY voice. I approached her table and was going to ask if she remembered me (hadn't seen her in a decade) and she immediately looked up and proclaimed "Gregory!" She said my grandma had mentioned my plans to relocate and then for no apparent reason I said I was going to look for an acting class. Well, lo and behold her sister Robin was a working actress in LA who, it just so happened, was starting an acting class in the new year (2005). She said I would love Robin because they had similar personalities and I always loved Jean-Ann!!! Again, crazy how stuff works out.
To be quite frank I moved to LA because I wanted to be on TV. I mean, I had already appeared in a national Always Panty Liners (no joke) commercial and played a - wait for it...junkie on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." But, I wanted to do a lot more of that. I easily signed with an agent out here because, like I said, things were all falling into place and I started booking more national commercials. Most of you already know the story but a few years later seemingly out of the blue I got a call to come meet Kat Von D ASAP to discuss the possibility of being the new shop manager on LA Ink. Of course, that's exactly what I did and there it was - I was on TV regularly and it was tons of fun for a while.
Now, it's a new year and I realize that I haven't set any new goals for myself lately. Looking back it seems like most of the goals that I did set came true in one way or another. The thing about making goals, writing them down, saying then out load, shouting them to the universe is that most often they do materialize!! They usually don't happen in the manner or time frame in which you expect though which is why its important to keep expectations in check. You absolutely can create the magic that you desire in your life and be the alchemist of your own destiny.
“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
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