Reina

I think the first time I met Reina was when we were addicted to crack. Then again, it might have been the time we died from an overdose of heroin. Or maybe it was when we were homeless and waiting on line outside a church for alms.

These were just a few of the exciting days we had on the job as film/tv extras in New York City. The NYC extras community is pretty small, so after a few gigs you're always running into people you know. I'd run into Reina a lot because we'd always get called for the same kind of scumbaggy roles, or "rock and roll" types.

Reina and I became fast friends because we both had the same attitude towards doing extra work. We'd rather get paid to sit in holding eating craft, talking, joking around, than walking back and forth in some scene like a shooting gallery duck. Contrary to popular belief, extra work is not where acting careers begin, it's usually where they end, or just languish for years.

I got out of the extra game in 2005. Even though Reina and I had spent countless hours on sets together, and never failed to have something to talk about, neither of us took the effort to stay in touch, and went on with our lives.

It was through a Facebook accident that I found her again. I should say I'm not big on Facebook. My profile is 100% hidden and unsearchable. I only have 15 "friends" and I could probably cut a few of them loose. Not because I don't like them or anything, just because we no longer talk, no longer have anything to say to each other.

That said, I saw Reina's profile making a comment on a friend's page. It turns out she ended up back in school, at the same school as me. I kept my excitement to myself, hoping to run into her someday, and that day came pretty soon after.

I saw her sitting at a table and without any introduction said, "You know, the last time I saw you, you were putting whole unopened Entenmann's cakes into your tote bag on the set of The Sopranos."

It's good to have you back, Reina.