The second generation of my "I live for my job"-Challenge has taken over. The theme this time: Showbusiness.

2. Hi there, fans.
You probably wonder who I am. Well, that's easy to explain. My name is Joe
Jobson and this is my mother's blog. No, I didn't secretly log into her account
while she was away! She actually gave the password to me as you already know
if you've been following her closely.
I didn't want to do this at first, because I mean: Who's still blogging these
days? Everyone who's anyone at all is on Simitter and gathering followers
there.
But my family means a lot to me despite all the differences we have, so I
decided to continue her tradition.

3. Since you know my mom's blog I'm probably a bit of a surprise for you. I know
that what she told you about me made me look like I wanted to be her perfect
little soldier one day, but that just isn't true.
I respect my parents' lives and I can admire what they have gained through
hard work, but honestly: That's not the life I want. I'm far too good looking
to have my face smudged with dirt all the time.

4. Being a politician like my dad could be an option for me one day, when I'm older
and wrinklier, but the military isn't.
Do you want to know what I really want to do? Of course you do.
I want to become an actor or a model at least. This might be another surprise
for you. I know that my mom told you how horrible modelling was for her, but I
just can't believe that it would be that bad. Maybe it's just me, but the
lifestyle of the rich and the famous sounds like just the thing for me. I
haven't told my parents of course. They'd probably get heart attacks if I told
them what I want to to with my life.

5. They are after all still convinced that I will become a pilot in the military one
day. Especially my mom is talking about nothing but planes, tanks and other
military stuff lately.
And what do I do? I smile and nod, trying my best not to tell her how stupid I
think her plans for me are. But I don't want them to be mad at me. Acting
school is expensive after all and I don't think they'll pay for it if they hate
me.

6. Actually their obsession with the military is not the only thing that hasn't
changed about my parents.
My mom is still breaking almost every appliance she touches. She says that
there has to be someone sabotaging our stuff, but I think that she's just a
little clumsy. At least she always fixes the things she breaks. Otherwise this
blog would probably be over, since the computer has been her latest victim.

7. There are also still the friday poker nights. The faces of the people present
change sometimes, but the game always stays the same.
I know that she hasn't told you that before, but my mom actually tries to
cheat and check out her neighbour's cards each time. Nobody complains about
that though. I think loosing a bit of money is not a problem for anyone invited
to our table.

8. My mom also still likes to wake me up at the first light of dawn by turning on
my stereo. I don't know how she did it, but she somehow managed to get it
stuck on some military radio station, so that I have to wake up to the sweet
voice of a screaming drill sergeant every morning.
Guess what: I hate it!

9. I guess I could live with it though, if there actually was a good reason for her
to wake me up, but there isn't. She only does it because I have to train. Every.
single. damn. morning.
So tell me honestly: Would you be happy in this house?

10. Fortunately I have lots of friends who understand my need to get away. We
often hang out down at the park, eating hotdogs and just talking about what is
going on in town. I think my parents don't exactly approve of my friends,
because I only hang out with those who are seen as cool. They'd prefer it if I
had more friends who have parents in the military too, but to tell the truth:
These guys are mostly boring and their clothes so out of style that it would
totally ruin my good reputation if I were seen with them.

11. Sometimes we stay at the park till way after the time my parents set as my
curfew, but come on: I'm not a little kid anymore. My friends can come home
whenever they like, are even allowed to go clubbing. So it's only my parents,
who are absolutely uncool.

12. And every time I come home too late I get the same lecture. How disappointed
they are, how they think my friends are all bad for me, how they don't want
me to end up in jail because I'm too wild, how I shouldn't ruin my career
chances, that they only want the best for me...yadada yadada yadada...I think I
could actually lecture myself considering how many times I heard the same
things over and over again.

13. Another thing that my parents aren't happy about is the fact that the girls
are all over me. Well, what can I say: I'm gorgeous and known as one of the
coolest guys in town.
But I have to admit, I'm not quite the heartbreaker they believe me to be.
Sure, I flirt with a lot of girls, but they all know that it's nothing serious.
Everyone knows that I have a girlfriend I love.

14. What my parents don't know is that Ronya, the blonde girl I frequently flirt
with, is not that girlfriend I told you about. I could correct their
misconception, but I don't want to. I know that they dislike Ronya, because
she is known all over town as a girl who likes to party and have fun. Her dad is
actually in jail, while her mom works at a very sleazy nightclub. Not the kind of
family my parents want me to associate with. But I have bowed to their rules
and regulations enough during my childhood, they'll have to deal with this small
bit of faked rebellion now.

15. There is actually a good reason why Ronja and me are such close friends even
without her being my girlfriend. She wants to become an actor just like me, so
as a like-minded spirit she holds a special place in my heart. We also frequently
flirt with each other because we see that as a good acting practice.
I have to admit that when we first met she really wanted to be my girlfriend,
but with time she understood that there really is only one girl I love...

16. ...and that girl is Edith.
Maybe you still remember her. Edith has been my best friend from my first
year at school on. We always stuck with each other, even though my parents
didn't like her at first. Anyone else but me see a pattern? I think mom and
dad have gotten used to her though. Used to her enough that they haven't
even noticed the increased frequency with which we meet. I'd like to keep it
that way actually.

17. Because while our friendship is already a couple years old, our relationship is
still very fresh. Considering how my parents reacted to Ronya I don't want
them to start acting like that towards Edith again. I will one day tell them how
I feel about her, but for now I think it's safer if they stay in the dark a little
bit longer.

18. I sometimes take her out to dinner, like I showed you, but most of the time we
meet at the park just after sundown. We don't have that much time together
since Edith's parents are just as strict as mine, but we try to make the most
of this time.

19. I'm sure that even my parents would have to admit that there is nothing quite
like kissing someone you love under the bright light of the moon and a
thousand stars.

20. I love her so much I already find myself making plans for our future. Maybe
it's still a little early for that, but I want to have a family someday and so
does she. Edith doesn't share my dream of becoming famous, but I'm sure she
will understand it and be willing to wait until my career is on the right track
before settling down with me. We will be perfect one day. Walking over the
red carpet hand in hand, her beautiful red hair pilled on her head, both of us
wearing expensive designer clothes we can only dream of now. Yes, the future
is bright.

21. Or rather the future was bright until this very morning.
I was just getting the mail, when I found a letter that was addressed to my
parents, but still caught my attention for some reason. I don't know why, but I
just had a bad feeling about it.

22. I know I shouldn't read my parents' mail, but I just had such a bad feeling and
was so curious about it that I simply had to. I at first didn't even wonder why
my parents were contacted by the A.I.R. Military Academy. I simply assumed
that it was the academy they both went to. Boy, was I wrong. The next few
lines of text made my jaw drop in a mixture of shock and anger. They had
signed me up with a private school, which in itself was very nice, because
private schools are expensive and they obviously care about my education, but
it was a military school. The one kind of school I definitely didn't want to go
to.

23. I wasn't willing to accept that my parents would decide the course of my life
without asking me, but since they were both at work I didn't have the chance
to talk to them immediately. So instead of venting my righteous anger on my
parents I called Edith and met with her in our favorite cafe. We found a small,
secluded booth that offerend privacy and I told her about the emergency I
currently had at home.

24. Her reaction surprised me quite a bit because instead of the support I had
expected she seriously asked me where my problem was. Edith was of the
opinion that I shoudn't say no to a private school, no matter what kind,
because it would allow me to move up in life and get a far better job later. I
asked her if she had forgotten about my dream to become an actor and you
will never believe what she told me. She said that my dream was stupid and
that she had always believed that I would get over it someday, so she hadn't
said anything against it. You can probably guess what happened next...

25. We had the biggest argument ever. A real shouting match right in the middle
of the restaurant. I told her that if she wanted to be my girlfriend she
couldn't lock me in a cage and try to take my dreams from me and she once
again countered that I should stop living in a dream and get real. I think that
was also the point where we broke up with each other, but I'm not sure.

26. I was so mad at her, my parents and the great injustice of it all, that I stayed
down at the park forever, trying to sort my thoughts. It was cold, because
winter was drawing near, but I just didn't care. I remembered that my mom
had had a very similar point in her own life and that she had picked herself up,
deciding that her parents, who had been against her own dream, weren't worth
giving that up. It was ironic, that she was doing the same to my dreams now.
And just as ironic that I would do the same as her. Pick myself up and if
necessary break ties with my parents to make my dreams come true.

27. When I came home that evening my parents were still out and the phone was
ringing quite insistingly. I wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone, but I
picked it up anyway. It could be someone of importance after all.
Which it really was...kind of.
I had never heard the voice at the other end of the phone before, yet it
sounded oddly familiar. So when the person I talked to informed me that he
was actually my granddad and that he called because a friend of his had
accidentally listened to the fight I had with my girlfriend this afternoon I
believed him. He told me that his friend had also informed him of my dream to
become an actor and that he might be able to help me with that.

28. His offer was absolutely fabulous and if he could truly be believed he knew
everyone that mattered in the world of modelling and movies. An offer I could
honestly not say no to if I wanted to have a chance at making my dream come
true. And yet I hesitated. I knew what had happened between my mother and
her parents, how they had thrown her out. I didn't want the same to happen to
me.
But on the other hand I wanted the chance to ask my grandparents why they
had acted the way they had and the best chance at fame I would probably
ever get.

29. In the end I agreed to meet with them at a restaurant that was very famous
for only being frequented by people that had a certain amount of social
importance, but not without feeling a slight twinge of guilt towards my
parents. I hated going behind their backs, but they deserved it for having
done the same to me.
I also vowed to talk to them about not going to military school in the morning.
I wasn't going to mention my grandparents though.

30. I was very nervous when I sat down in front of my bowl of cereal the next
morning. My father was still sleeping, because he had been out very late last
evening, something about his re-election campaign. I actually was a little glad
that it was only my mom, one person screaming at me would be more than
enough.
Yet I didn't really know how to start the conversation, nervously stirring my
cereal without eating at all. My mom noticed it of course. Her voice was still
calm, but very concerned when she asked me what was up.

31. I had thought about so many ways how to tell her what I wanted to say, but in
the end the words just rushed from my mouth with far more anger than I had
intended. "I found the letter from the A.I.R. Academy. I'm not going there."
Maybe a bit more tact would have worked better, because my mom was
absolutely dumbfounded. She looked very confused when she told me: "But you
want to be a pilot, don't you? There is no better military academy, so where
else would you want to go?"

32. "You don't get it, do you? I don't want to be a pilot or any other crap thing
the military offers. I want to be an actor.", I answered, the anger still present
in my voice.
"An actor?." My mom stared at me like I was an alien, who's existence she
couldn't quite comprehend. Her voice had been very quiet when she had asked,
but it didn't stay this way for long.

33. When I nodded my agreement she launched into a lecture about how ficle the
whole showbusiness was, how she knows what she is talking about because she
had been working there, how I was carelessly throwing away my chance at real
fame and how she wouldn't let me ruin my life.
I think the point where she told me that living my dream would ruin my life was
the point that I snapped and interrupted her rant by screaming: "Do you really
think you can stop me? I'm not a child anymore. And if you won't support me,
my grandparents will."

34. You can probably imagine what happened then. Mom was absolutely furious
that I had talked to my grandparents behind her back. She tried to explain to
me that they were only trying to use me to get money, that I, if I was really
stupid enough to accept their offer, would lead a very unhappy life. I threw
accusations back at me, that she was just trying to ruin my dream out of spite
for her own parents, that she was just trying to force me into a military
career because dad's had been ruined. That was also the point where dad,
having been awoken by our shouting match, entered the kitchen.

35. Mom quickly explained to him, what I had done. Just like my mom he lectured
me on how I needed to think before throwing my life away for a dream. How
hypocritical of him, who had decided to become a politician because of a dream
and had fullfilled that dream in the end.
But no matter how many good reasons I had, my parents didn't want to hear
them. Instead the ended the argument with a sentence that thousands of
generations must have heard before: "As long as you stick your feet under my
table you do what I say."
And then they grounded me.

36. Being grounded caused me a slight problem of course. Since my grandfather
hadn't left me a number to call him back I had to get to that meeting
somehow. I didn't know him yet, but I had the feeling that if I stood him up
this evening I wouldn't get a second chance.
Fortunately I still had some friends, who were willing to help me in my
situation.

37. Especially Ronya was very keen on helping me out. She even organized a car, so
the two of us could get to the restaurant on time. I think she also saw the
meeting with my grandfather as her chance to get the foot in the door to
fame, so to speak. But that was ok for me. We shared our dream, so why not
share the opportunity to make it come true?

38. When we arrived at the restaurant I instantly knew whom I was meeting. The
resemblance to my mother was actually uncanny. While my grandmother had
the same beautiful face as my mother, my grandfather had the piercing green
eyes that I had also inherited. I think they recognized me too, because they
beconned us to come over and take a seat at their table.
I felt a bit awkward at first, having never talked to them before, but my
grandma knew how to break the ice.

39. While we took our excellent meal of lobster with lemonsauce and champagne,
she asked everything there was to know about me. How school was going, if
Ronya was my girlfriend (which I agreed to in hopes of heightening her
chances to also be taken under their wing) and of course also about my dream
to become famous. By the time we were finished with dinner I had taken a
great liking to her and had also come to trust her. How could a person, who was
so interested in me be as cold as my mom had described her? I didn't think it
possible.

40. As soon as the plates were empty the conversation turned a little more
business like and my grandfather took over. He told me that he had a friend,
who was THE person to know if you wanted to work in the movie industry. He
also told me that he would call his friend and arrange a meeting for me, what I
made of that meeting would be up to me though. He also said that if I wanted
to they would pay for my stay at one of the most renowned acting schools in
the country. The only thing I had to do was make him my manager and let him
handle all the contract details since he knew how to make a good deal.
I was so overwhelmed that the only thing I could say or rather stutter was
"Why?". His answer to that was quite simple, but in filled me with joy none-
the-less: "Because we share the same dream."

41. I agreed of course.
No matter what my mother had said, my grandparents are simply wonderful.
Maybe they have been different in the past, but I don't think they support me
just because they want to earn money through me.
They even promised Ronya a small loan so she could afford acting school too.

42. That night after returning home and sneaking into my room I didn't go to bed
for a long, long time. I stood in front of the mirror instead, brushing up on my
acting skills. I wanted to impress my grandfather's friend after all.

43. My granddad had fortunately arranged the meeting so I could go there right
after school. Sneaking out two nights in a row was far too risky and in case my
parents were already home by the time I returned I could always tell them
that it had been something I had needed to do at school.
When I entered the luxurious building at the address my grandfather had
given me I was almost speechless with surprise when I saw who the friend I
was meeting was. Larry Ortman! The biggest producer in town, maker of the
stars. If he liked you, your way to fame was practically paved with roses.
The way he greeted me was just as much of a surprise. "Ah, you must be Getta
Jobson's son.", he said. "I can see the resemblance. Wonderful, wunderful."

44. After the warm welcome we sat down on the comfy couches his office offered
and talked about how he had gotten to know my mother and my own future. He
still tought that my mom's decision to leave the showbusiness behind was a
bad one, according to him she would have had a very bright future. As had
I...maybe.
Because until then the only thing that spoke for me were my good looks and
pretty people were like sand on a beach, at least that's what he told me. So he
wanted to see some of my acting skills. I was very glad that I had practiced
last night and gladly obliged him.

45. I performed characters from different movies I liked for him. Dramatic,
happy, sad, angry, whatever he might want to see I did. I personally think that
I gave the performance of my life.

46. He obviously didn't. Actually he was rather unimpressed. A good base to work
with, but not quite movie material yet, he told me. When he said those words
my hope plummeted and I suddenly felt like I had a ton of lead in my belly,
fearing that my dream was already over before it had begun. But he hadn't
been finished and continued to speak: "But your grandfather told me that you
will go to acting school soon. I'd like to keep in touch and check your progress.
You might also at least be modelling material right now, could you strike a
pose?"

47. I once again did the best I could and this time he was actually impressed. He
promised me that he would take me under his wing. Just as a model for now,
but it was a start. I have gotten my foot in the door to fame and I won't let it
close.

48. I was in such a good mood, when I returned home, but it was instantly
shattered when I returned home and entered our kitchen. My parents were all
dressed up, having dinner with a man I had never seen before. I prided myself
to know all the important people that my dad frequently brought home, so I
took a closer look at him to try and find out which party he was a member of.
As soon as I looked at him a little more closely I saw the logo of the A.I.R.
Military Academy. An absolute outrage! My parents, even though I had told
them that I wouldn't go, had obviously invited the director of the private
military school they had chosen for me.

49. Even though I was fuming inside I took my seat at the table, smiling politely
while they planned a future I did not want. My acting skills were obviously a lot
better than Mr. Ortman thought, because by the end of dinner the director
was convinced that I absolutely wanted nothing more than go to his school. I
hadn't said a word during the whole ordeal and yet for some reason he had
taken my silence to mean that I wanted to be a part of the military services.
Idiot!

50. As soon as the director had left I once again confronted my parents with what
they had done. It was no use. They didn't understand me at all. This time it
was my father who gave me the lecture that the movie industry was just a
fake world of happiness and that it wasn't the right place for me to be. I
could protest all I want, I think they didn't even really listen to me.

51. So I called the only people who seemed to support me at the moment. My
grandparents were so very understanding for my situation, which would
actually have been enough for me, but it wasn't all they had to offer. My
granddad promised that he would talk to the director at the acting school and
make sure they would accept me this term. He also told me that he would send
over a taxi and that I could stay with them for a couple of days until school
started. I was so mad at my parents that I accepted without another thought.

52. Night had already fallen, when the honking of a car horn alerted me to the
arrival of the taxi my grandpa had sent. I only took the bare necessities with
me, not having had much time to pack. I also hadn't said goodbye to my
parents, even though I could see my mother watching my departure from the
kitchen window. I had written them a short letter, explaining why I left and
that I was sorry for the fact that we had parted in such anger. But I didn't
apologize for leaving. It was my only option to live my dream after all.

53. As soon as I had closed the door the taxi started and I watched the home I
had been born at and grown up in fade into the distance. Maybe I would return
here one day, not as the Joe I was now, but as a big movie star. And maybe my
parents would then realize that my dreams are not as worthless as they
thought.
Who knows...maybe it will happen...sometime in my very bright future...