Quote:
Originally posted by baltassoc
The exit row guess is a good one for the 2-11 question, but you have to be 16 to sit in an exit row. (I am all about the exit row - I will rat out any kid I see sitting in the exit row and gleefully take his seat. This happens with distressing regularity, looking at it from a safety perspective - maybe 1 out every 3 times I fly.)
|
Could also be an administrative hold-over from when they had kid fares, or there might be some reason they want to give flight attendants fair warning (or, if there are a lot of kids on a flight, even put another attendant on).
I can't imagine that it is a seating arrangement issue - on most flights I've taken in the last 2 years, the total pre-take-off consideration of the seating arrangements consists of "sit down in your randomly assigned seat right this second so we can get a head count and check you all against our passenger list and get the hell out of here. If you want to change seats we can discuss it after take off."
Regarding the possible acting job, I'd say let her go for it if she's interested. It would be nice if it were a smaller job to start with, but there is no better way to tell if she actually has adequate ability or interest to pusue acting more seriously than letting her jump in and give it a try. Having her work with someone who is a friend and knows her will make it a lot easier.
I wouldn't worry much about her turning into some horrible Jon-Benet monster if she takes to acting, frankly. I've known a lot of people who did a fair bit of acting, both professionally and not, as kids (myself included, starting at about 7), and even the ones who went into the life didn't come out any more warped than anyone else (now, the musicians were a different story). Also, even non-ambitious parents thinking about their kid acting tend to miss the reality of being an actor: she's not going to be the next Macaulay Culkin or the Olsen twins, and if she follows this interest diligently, even if she is super-talented and goes into acting professionally with a great deal of success, that with almost complete certainty will mean doing local commercials and theater projects and maybe small parts in minor films. If she's interested and good enough to really do something with it, and her parents aren't letting the little ego get out of hand (or encouraging it), it strikes me as being little different from encouraging her to pursue a talent for sports, which can also involve significant time committments, attention, special treatment, etc., and which isn't that hard to cope with if parents use a little common sense.
Actually, if you'd like a pretty amusing look at what the life of real highly-successful actors are like, I suggest Bruce Campbell's autobiography, which was recommended to me by one of my now-pro actor friends. Keep in mind that he is probably in the top 3-5% of "most successful actors in America" - after decades of work it pays his rent.
Incidentally, I informed the partners I'm working for and the assigning attorney of my expectation about a month and a half ago, when I hit 4 months. No one else mentioned anything, so I told my secretary about a month ago. Still nothing; apparently no one gossips at my firm. Anyhow, I apparently finally started to show in the last week or so, and so far the only snide comments have been in the "are you, or do you need to lay off the Cheetos?" vein, though there is a certain amount of incredulous shock in the eyes of some people in my department.
