Life so Far, So Good in the Early Month of July

I would say Life has been good so far. I was kind of disappointed in not getting the role of Orin in the Deaf West Production of "Children of a Lesser God." It was an interesting experience though to participate in the process of the pre-production of a theatrical play at a great company. I will like to congratulate the person who got the role (it was down to two people! Him and me) So that was a great audition for the first time for me. I enjoyed every minute of it, and the experience not only gave me a glimpse in the acting world, but a growing experience that I can take with me wherever I go to audition again for future roles.

Now it is the early month of July and we just celebrated our nation's birthday. Happy Birthday USA! It's been a great country, with a newly elected president, and a lot of tough issues to iron out. The world is getting confusing and now the King of Pop has passed away. I recently watched the Michael Jackson Memorial on TV and listened to all the songs, all the people talking about such a great artist and I always will remember how his music moved the world. The man was a legend, and his passing on will only carry on the tune of his music for ages. His songs and his dance moves will only keep on inspiring others to imitate Michael Jackson, but never replicate any one like him again. So with a birthday of our nation we witnessed the passing of an American Icon. May he forever moonwalk into the heavens and may his music continue to keep the beat going.

This is why with all the music and the busy times in our lives, I say Life so far is good. Witnessing the passing of Michael Jackson shows how brief life can be. How one can continue to dance till the End of Time.

Disneyland job has been going well. I recently got recognized with a certificate for a good comment from a guest recently. It's great that guest recognize the work you do and in return your job acknowledges that with recognition by a certificate and a card to show appreciation. That was very nice and this was last week I got this, and I was happy to say, "You're welcome." Working at Disneyland has been busy since it's the middle of summer. People are still finding ways to go amuse themselves at these parks. Disneyland has been bustling with activity due to the new parades, fireworks show, and Fantasmic. These shows I have to see myself one day. One day off I plan to go and see the fireworks, parades and Fantastmic. Ever since I got my language pin - American Sign Language (ASL) and people see my name and under that the town I was from: Barstow. And beneath that my language "Sign Language", people start using their sign language with me and/or they say they are learning and try a little bit with me. I think it's neat when they do that and I have such an easier time at communicating. It's fun to wear the name tags with the city, language and it's such a great conversational starter.

Well, this was my blog for July and I haven't been blogging lately, as you may have noticed been busy. But I will try to get back to this blogging when I can. The latest book I am reading right now is Marlee Matlin's Bio: "I'll Scream Later." So far, I am liking it and movies I want to see this summer includes Harry Potter, Transformers and some others. I actually enjoy watching the news for Football. I can't wait for NFL to start off. Will be blogging about that later as well. So thank you for reading my blogs and look forward to seeing you all again! Ciao!

News update:

Today at 11:20AM I went to audition for the play "Children of a Lesser God" for the role of Orin. It was my very first time auditioning professionally. I had a fun time with it. Possible callbacks on Thursday! I will keep you all posted! This might be a start of something good, if I don't get it, the experience was very much worth it! Until next time, I'll keep you updated if you follow me on Twitter and/or Facebook. Again, it was a fun experience. Thanks to Amy Liberman for the chance to audition.

What’s UP?

May 28, 2009, Hollywood, California.

Candice came with me to my Deaf West Acting Program class. She enjoyed watching our class and it was Suanne Spoke’s last class and she was a wonderful teacher and person to have in our program. I am glad Candice get to see her. Ed Waterstreet stopped by to observe our class. We enjoyed the teachings of Suanne Spoke and will miss her dearly.

The reason Candice came along was because in the same area of Hollywood, her and I headed to El Capitan Theatre after the Deaf West Acting class to see the premiere film of Disney/Pixar’s latest film, “Up.” We saw it at the beautiful theatre of El Capitan. We came in and got our free soda and popcorn, courtesy of D23. I am a charter member of D23 and I was glad to join this Disney community at this right time because the movie UP! was the most recent movie during the charter year of D23. We grabbed our free tub of popcorn and soda and headed up the the balcony level of the theatre. We watched someone played beautiful and recognizable Disney music on the grand organ.

After the beautiful music we applaud the talented organ player and watched the wonderful and energetic fun show of lights and dazzling effects on a backdrop on the stage. It was wonderful sight to see. And then the backdrop rises for a show of dancers and fun lively music playing. 

First came down the screen  with its beautifully designed animated backdrop. The animation was like watching a lightshow as the colors and scene changes from rainbow display of dazzling colors to the backdrop of the famous Hollywood sign on the hills.

 

After all the fun dancing, the show was about to start.

John Ratzenberger, the guy from Cheers who voice a lot of Pixar/Disney’s film was there to introduce the movie Up. He stood there to talk about his voicing for Pixar/Disney films like Toy Story, and he even talked about Toy Story 3 coming out soon! And yes, before the movie Up there was a preview of it.

  The voice of John Ratzenberger is easily recognizable in Toy Story, he voices Hamm the Piggy Bank and some other voices for Pixar/Disney movies. It was neat to watch him talk about the projects in the future and how he thinks this film was one of the better ones that he was involved in. He mentioned to us to enjoy this movie and to enjoy the show. Thus the show began and I am telling you with the Disney 3D for the movie previews and the feature film was awesome! It was a great story of an old man and a little boy on a soaring adventure with a house lifted by millions of balloons. The film was opened to D23 members and I was glad to see so many people in the theatre who are members like me. We even got gifts on the way out – a D23 UP collectible pin and a balloon. We even went into the Disney’s Soda Fountain and Studio Store afterwards and bought another collectible pin and a mug to keep as souvenir of our adventures in Hollywood at the El Capitan Theatre. It was a fun time and I was glad to share it with Candice!

Mother’s Day – What It Means to Me

Yesterday was Mother’s Day. We spent the day with my other “Mother.” My girlfriend’s mother is very nice and wonderful, and shows a lot of enthusiasm in the things she does for Candice and me. Oftentimes, I think of my Mother and how she always does things for me. And unfortunately since the distance is far for my Mom to see her everyday like I do with Candice’s Mom; I feel like even thought I am Candice’s boyfriend, I still feel like a son to her and vice versa, Monica, feels like a mother to me.

So yesterday with Mother’s Day, we did what Monica wanted. A nice dinner, all three of us, and to have some Lobster and watch the Lakers. Well, sure enough, Candice, Monica and I went to the market and bought fresh lobster. It was my first time having lobster for a meal and I didn’t know to buy them, we had to buy them still living! I was amazed by how delicious these lobsters tasted. We had our little drinks, cheese and crackers as appetizers. While the Lobsters were cooking we watched the Lakers get spanked. All of this before I left for work, which was why I couldn’t go and see my Mother far, far away. I still called her, IM her and wished my Mom and Christina a Happy Mother’s Day.

Back to thinking of that day, Mother’s Day, was feeling like any regular day. Then I realized, wow, it’s great to be able to honor all the Mothers everywhere. I admired and respect my own Mother who strived to make sure we had the best of everything. My Mom, even though was the “stay-at-home” type of mother, she still was busy in her lives raising her two children – Christina and I. I show the love, determination and hard work in her as she raised us in her religious convictions: to be able to love and obey God in our lives. She raised us to love everyone and to be kind to everyone. My Mom went through so much effort to make sure we had everything – yes, our Mom spoiled us growing up. But it was out of her heart, her love and kindness that made us become who we are today.

I see that in my sister, Christina, and how she is now a mother raising her own son. Jake Michael Franks has become such a cute adorable young boy and he is so full of life! Christina and Larry of course are trying their best to make sure Jake is happy and living the life he should. This in retrospect has given me the perspective of Mother’s Day and what it means to me. Mother’s Day has the essence of respect, love and admiration for all those hard working Mothers. We shouldn’t just take this one day yesterday and say “I Love You Mom, and Thank you for being the best a Mom can be.” No, we should be able to show our Mothers through our own hard work and dedication and show appreciation everyday to our Mothers of our current place in our lives. Without our Mothers what we do today would not be possible for the love and guidance of our Mothers from the yesterdays we have lived in the past. Growing up my perspective of Mothers have changed so much with the ever-changing life of today’s society. There are a lot of single Mothers, a lot of Mothers who are working, a lot of Mothers still going to school, and so therefore, it’s twice the effort and hard work to be able to raise your children instilling the values that their Mothers passed on to them.

This is how I see Christina with Jake. This is how I see Monica with Candice and I. This is how I see the love and admiration I have for all mothers. It doesn’t have to take that one special Day of Mother’s Day to instill our values and appreciation for all our Mothers. It takes our appreciation for them by the things we do to make them happy and proud. Therefore, I say to my Mom, Annabelle Garcia, and my other “Mom” who stays with us in our home, Thank you for being my Mom and thank you for all the things you do through the kindness and love of your heart. And may faith be your strength for the new Mothers out there, and for my sister who is making one day at a time to be as enjoyable as the next for her own son. May God always Bless you with the gifts of love and life. You sure deserve it!

Newport Beach Film Festivel and Deaf West Theatre Acting Program

Here is my latest Vlog, which I haven't been posting a lot of these. I like doing blogs because I love to write. But with my experience with Vlogs, I am still a newbie and I am trying my best to make these Vlogs understandable and edited just right. Roughly put together, but immersed with The Chronicles of Gilberto will do this post justice. A lot has happened this past week and it was filled with Movies, Stage acting, Improv, and the likes. It was a fun time at our first Deaf West Theatre Acting Program last Thursday. Gary Austin, who is considered a great teacher in improvisation for the stage has given us great experiences and lessons in how to put on a scene. We are going to be working with him again this Thursday at Deaf West Theatre for our second class of the acting program. I am looking forward to it!



As for the movie, "See What I Am Saying" with CJ Jones, TL, and many others who documented on the Deaf entertainment field and how hard it is to actually find acts. With the noticeable community of Deaf people we tend to know all these people; but the struggles to make it out in the bigger Hearing World is a challenge. This is what this film was all about and it was well done and marvelously directed by Hillary Scarli. I enjoyed this film so much, that I hope it wins for the best film at the Newport Beach Film Festivel. I heard it won at the Philadelphia Film Festival and received great acclaim for its work.



Watch my Vlog for more information on the "happenings" of my life in The Chronicles of Gilberto!

Until Next Time. . . ! Thanks for watching.

Deaf West Acting Program - My Visit

Out of the blue, I decided to go ahead and take a ride down to North Hollywood and find the location of Deaf West Theatre. We took the 5 North all the way till we got to the Hollywood freeways. Passing the Dodgers Stadium and getting on the 134 freeway passing the Walt Disney Studios was neat. A bunch of other movie studios were on the way as well. I was excited to be back in the area of Hollywood after going to see Wicked at the Pantages Theatre awhile back.

As I took the drive into the Noho District, and getting on Lankershim Boulevard and searching for a place to park next to the Deaf West Theatre. Monica was my navigator with her trusty Thomas Guide showing me where to go. I had to memorize the way to come to Deaf West for I will be traveling alone along the 5 till getting to Hollywood freeways and getting on Lankershim Blvd. for the acting program starting Thursday. As I drove along the street and seeking Deaf West Theatre, we found a small place to park along the side of the Theatre. Since we were here and figuring out where I would be able to park, we decided to get down and look around. Monica wanted to find a bathroom; so we went ahead and went inside Deaf West Theatre. There's the office manager asked if we were lost. I explained the situation about finding parking and so forth. She gave me ideas for Thursday of where to park. Meanwhile we needed to beckon to nature's call and the office manager led us to the restroom. Passing the Theatre's huge library and into the facilities, I began to take in awe the space of this theatre. We didn't get to see the main stage (but soon I will, soon) and as I came out of the restroom, in the main office there was the Director of Deaf West, Ed Waterstreet. I met him once before at the Deaf Expo in Ontario. It was a pleasure to see him again.

Ed Waterstreet, Artist Director

I talked with him about the Deaf West Theatre Acting Program. He helped answered some of my questions and comments. It was wonderful experience to talk with him. I was happy to talk to the "main man" behind the Deaf West Theatre Experience. Running into him was a wonderful experience and he let me know what the program would be like, what will be expected, and various other comments as we talked briefly. He was very nice person to talk to. So my visit down to North Hollywood on Lankershim Blvd was pretty neat, and now I am comfortable to know where exactly to go. As we were in the area, Monica's nephew and Candice's cousin, Eddie lived not far from Deaf West Theatre, so we went to visit him.

Overall, the drive from Costa Mesa, California to North Hollywood, Lankershim Blvd was not too bad. I know I will encounter some traffic. But it is all worth it yesterday as I ran into Ed Waterstreet, the Director and creator of Deaf West Theatre. It was such a blessing to have talked with him.

As you follow my Chronicles of Gilberto, I will blog more about my acting experiences with Deaf West Theatre. Look forward to a fun filled day for it's going to be the start of the program and the start of my dreams to be involved with Deaf West Theatre!

Soreson Video Phone - Technology Benefits the Deaf

Hello, I would like to talk about technology and how it has helped the Deaf in so many ways. With technology rapidly improving and becoming more mobile, the access to information and being in contact with others has greatly improved for all people, especially the Deaf. Back then, Deaf people have used what we called Telephone Devices for the Deaf (TDD) and it was a phone that connects to regular phone lines to talk to someone else who had a similar device. Then the usage of phone calls with TDDs has spread throughout the Deaf people's homes to that of nowadays Relay Operator. This service was to call businesses or other people who's households do not have the TDDs. In a three way converstations the Deaf would rely on a relay operator to relay conversation from person A to person C, while B was the relay operator. This service has greatly improved communication from households who had TDDs and others who didn't. Still, the TDDs were sometimes so slow, and the typing was so long. The conversations would be so slow and we had to type "GA" (Go Ahead) and "SK" (Stop Keying) to continue a conversation or end it. Now the recent expansion of Internet and communication via Instant Messsaging, ex: AIM, Yahoo IM, or MSN IM; the usage of TDDs haver greatly declined since the late 90's.

Now with the newfound technology of Internet and phonelines disappearing, the usage of wireless networks and cable lines has brought about faster technology communications. I believe with the wireless networks and the ever-changing computer technology we are only going to get faster and better. Sorenson has provided a faster and efficient way to communicate with others by a phone. A Video Phone (VP) and this technology replaces that of the TDD. Instead of text conversation which mainly we had to depend on literal transitions of communication by typing. While Deaf Culture relies on the communication of a visual language known as ASL (American Sign Language) we have relied on this medium of Internet and Video conferences. Thus, the web cams and the fast speed internet was a must for all Deaf people to have. But we needed a realiable phone system in case we had to call certain places that rely on phone contacts. So with this technology of video phones, Sorenson has provided the Sorenson VP -200 which I have in my living room. This amazing technology is similar to that of relay on TDDs or Internet through IP-Relay or any other services.

With Sorenson VP -200 I have enjoyed the amazing results of this video phone which is hooked up to my TV and current Internet provider through the cable lines. When someone calls me, the phone flashes and change the input channel to pick up the video image of a relay operator saying someone is calling me, and we connect and thus continue our conversation through ASL. There is not "GA" or "SK," and this feels more relaxing and a more casual converstation comes about. I enjoy my Sorenson VP and I know there are so many improvements being made out there. Especially with a company called "Purple Communications," which is now making a mobile video phone (MVP) and this will come out pretty soon for us Deaf people to actually have our own "cell phone" system that is like the Video Phone. I can't wait for this technology to come out. With the phone that I have now, I am able to stay in contact with Deaf friends, family, and businesses. The best part of a VP for Deaf people is that you can contact directly to another who has the same VP and just chat through video without a third party (relay operators), because after all with ASL being a visual language, we are all able to connect to the Deaf-World through a medium that was made for us. Through video phones we are able to stay in touch with the world.