Today was not a "day off." I spent my morning at the Genius Bar in the Apple Store. It's sterile and hipster vibe enveloped me in a string of bad reports about the state of my computer. The kid who helped me was kind enough, but couldn't for the life of him figure out how and why my computer was in such an utter state of ruin. There's something creepy about the Apple store once you've sat there for more than 15 minutes. Is this what we've become? I could've easily spent the rest of my day there simply name dropping indie/hipster bands gathering an audience of kids eager to compare playlists. In other words, the Genius Bar didn't have enough genius. They couldn't fix my computer.
I did, however, wisely set up coffee with an acting/writing friend to follow the lack of genius. A fellow Chicagoan and Middle-American; it was great to catch up and bounce off ideas with him. It amazes me how if two creative people sit down with common interests electricity occurs. We chatted for a rather long time about Hollywood, reflecting on our first years out in the "scene", auditions and the many draw backs of this town. We're cynical Midwesterners, sue us! It ended up being the beginning of hopefully many new projects. We both are tired of waiting around for agents or the right gig, instead we're going to start creating on our own. So, in time we'll be making a new original web-series and hopefully much much much more after. It's why we moved here, so why wait for someone else to cast us? Time to cast ourselves. It's going to take some grinding, but I'm confident we're doing the right thing and it's going to be a fun time making it all happen. Then I had the awesome idea to take my computer to the MacMall...
MacMall is a store that looks like it originated at the dawn of computers. A grey nondescript building with "MacMall" in a sort of Microsoft Word font. I first decided to scope the place out and see if my computer would survive inside this Kevin Smith like creation. I walked in and immediately I was on the set of 40 Year Old Virgin. After a brief walk around I bolted for the door, but then a salesman asked what I was in for and I took the bait. I explained my current computer death situation and he said they could easily fix it for $120. I was astonished and relieved. A knight. I had met a MacMall knight...or so I thought.
I quickly went home, grabbed my wounded IMac and returned to the MacMall. I spoke with the same guy, he's a guy now let's be honest the "knight" thing was a moment of weakness, and I set my computer on the counter. After some diagnostics and jedi-MacMall tricks I was in the hole for more than twice as quoted and my computer was in the hands of an extra from Mall Rats. Somehow I felt I left with a bit of pride since I unknowingly talked the guy into giving me extra RAM for half price. Who knew? What is RAM? Despite my race I don't get computers! I exited the MacMall, my computer hopefully, in good hands and a whole lot poorer.
Today was an atypical day off with a silver-lining. In the words of ole blue eyes, "that's life."
I am Frank Chow and I approved this message
