Happy V-Day

Matt is ill with a cold/flu type bug. Isn't that romantic? If we can't go out I guess we'll order in and I'll do some chores to get ready for Steph's visit. Originally we were going to go out for sushi...sigh...I guess we'll just have to see how he feels later on tonight...sigh...

Our landlord came by last night. As of March 1, our free parking rights will be terminiated which means an extra 50 bucks a month. I told her that I was not upset with her, but rather the management company who seems to think that what we pay is still not enough. Obviously we have no choice. I can't park my car anywhere else. There is never parking available on the streets. Urgh.

The spiritual retreat was wonderful. Malibu is, of course, STUNNING! Some ladies at the retreat even saw Britney Spears walking her baby with her bodyguard. How funny! Apparently they also saw Steven Spielberg's mother. How the heck would you recognize her??? It was great to have some quiet time and meet new people. Sunday the weather was so lovely that after the retreat was done at noon, Kari, Amanda, and I laid out in the sun for about an hour. I need to make a habit of laying out in the sun more often. I sitll don't have a tan...

Weekend Apart

I'm off to Malibu this weekend for a spiritual retreat. I'm not sure what to expect besides getting out of the city, enjoying the peace and quiet of the outdoors, spending time with friends, and meeting new people. Kari, Amanda, Kathy (Kari's mom) and I are going. Now, I consider myself agnostic so this should be an interesting experience. This is where we're going. The fact that there's a dog on the grounds is definitely a good sign. :) And, rooms inside. No tents or sleeping bags. That's definitely a good thing. :)

Matt is filming this weekend, which means he'll be pooped when I get home from relaxing all weekend. Tonight we went to dinner at a local Thai restaurant with his writing group. Luckily spouses and significant others were invited too, so we all got to chat and have fun and talk about stuff other than writing and movies. Mary and I really hit it off. We're hopefully going to go hiking in Pasadena or Malibu at the end of the month.

Did I happen to mention that Stephanie is coming to visit a week from tomorrow? Did I happen to mention that I'm soooooooooo excited!? :)

So when are the rest of you coming to visit?

it's all about LOST!

Okay, so I'm going to start using capital letters now. People keep asking me why I don't use them and I don't really have an answer, so I may as well start typing normally. I guess it's difficult to read without capital letters. :)

Matt has started watching Veronica Mars on DVD which I have not because I'm already addicted to Project Runway. Then Celena FINALLY convinced me to watch Lost because I'm sick of 24 and O.C. So, I got the first 2 discs from Season 1 on Netflix and Matt and I watched 8 episodes Friday night. Great! So Celena and I are getting together today, hopefully with Spring (who is another awesome gal in our acting class) to watch the remaining episodes on Celena's lovely widescreen tv that she won at a raffle (we could only be so lucky). And I have no self control, just so you know. I couldn't wait for Netflix to send the rest of the DVD's, so I bought the entire season of LOST (on sale). I have not opened the box, which I bought yesterday, for fear of not getting my chores done. Of course, Celena and I are anit-superbowl (Go Seahawks!), so we'll be wasting our time today. :)

Matt had an excellent meeting with the Dean of Students at AFI the other day. The Dean is trying to help Matt get a really good summer internship and is going to pass a letter and information aboutMatt to a friend of his who happens to be an writing agent! This is really good news and we're very excited! Hopefully his internship will be PAID. Otherwise I'll have to find a part-time summer job to make ends meet and I'm not so totally thrilled about that.

In other news, a dear friend of mine had a miscarriage. I won't say who she is, but this is very traumatic for her and her family. They had been trying for about 6 months and she was so happy and excited. Please keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

not much to write home about

i've been trying to think of stuff that's been happening that's worth mentioning...

1. feeling much better. i have my make-up acting class tonight and we are filming the scene in which i play an abused woman. my scene partner is wonderful and very talented. should go well!

2. picked up my new, professional looking headshots. will scan and put up later.

3. printer has failed to work for weeks now. finally called dell and because it's under warranty they have sent a new one at no cost.

4. mom is doing great! feeling good, hooray for being off chemo! she'll have another blood test this month to determine her tumor marker.

5. matt is doing well in school. it's going to be a tough sememster with 2 cycle projects and trying to find a summer internship (hopefully finding one that pays, but that's unlikely). he's hoping to get something with joss whedon or the show "veronica mars".

we are also trying to fiscally prepare for the summer as we will have no loan money coming in again until september. suck balls. :( i hate being a grown-up sometimes!

6. work is going well, again. seems to change every week! rabbi asked me to go to a meeting on her behalf today which is a good sign.

7. it's sunny and warm outside. i'd rather be at the beach.

sick one

i hate hospitals.

monday morning i woke up not feeling so hot. i padded into the bathroom and yeow! ouch! burning sensation NOT normal! worst UTI ever. so bulk up on the cranberry juice and water during the day, but it's too late. by afternoon i'm shaking and can't get warm. my lower back starts to slightly ache and i think "this is NOT good." so i go to web MD dot com and look up UTI. it says call your doctor immediately, camille, because you have all the symptoms of a KIDNEY INFECTION. shit.

so i call kaiser permanente to schedule an appointment. not availble. how about anyone else? medical assistant? nurse? nope, nothing until february 7. but this could be my kidneys. are you sure? yes. i hung up and called the consulting nurse, who chastised me for waiting a week with the basic symptoms (i just hung my head and mumbled apologies) but she was very sweet once she found out that i was from seattle (she and her hubby are moving to bremerton). she got me a 6:20 appointment that evening with urgent care.

so matt drives me to the doctor. i wait. i wait more. finally my name gets called, but i have to go back in the waiting room because they don't have a room for me yet. so 10 minutes later i get my room and wait. wait wait wait. then the doctor arrives, only to discover that my paperwork got mixed up with some other woman's (a 63 year old woman). so he excuses himself, leaves the room, and 2 nurses walk in arguing about my paperwork. the head nurse takes me in to get checked out (again) with the other still arguing her case. i just look at the floor, trying to feel better.

so the doctor prescribes me a whole host of medications, which takes 45 minutes to obtain from the pharmacy. finally we get home in time for my show, 24, but i fall asleep before it even starts.

i wake up at 10:30 that night (thanks to whoever called, i know who you are!) shaking and chilled, not able to get warm. i take my temp - 102 and climbing. shit. can't walk in a straight line. double shit. call my co-worker, the lovely adrienne, who says call the consulting nurse at kaiser, see what they have to say. so i do, and she says get to the ER. NOW.

so i do. matt and i hurry, me crying and thinking i'm going to die from a kidney infection. so there is more waiting once we get to the ER. then i get into my room and they tell me to "take your top off." and hand me a flimsy gown that's not going to keep me warm. so the doctor FINALLY comes in, gives me a few firm thumps on my back (to which i yell OW!), diagnoses me with a kidney infection (great), and tells me to not drive or go to work for the next 2 days (yay). i can't eat hot foods, and nothing complicated. applesauce. chicken noodle soup. lots of water.

i'm much better now. no fever, but the anti-biotics make me dizzy so still no driving. luckily i am not going to palm springs for the board retreat so i'm going to continue resting this weekend. although we may head out to northridge to visit celena for a bbq and tivo. :)

YOGA!

yoga kicks my butt. literally. and because i'm flushing out so many toxins, the past two classes i have felt extremely nauseated and nearly puked! this is not enjoyable for me. who wants to spend 90 minutes feeling sick? in 105 degree room? no thanks. but the teachers said it's normal. everyone has their different reactions and this may be yours. so i'm going to go back next week. i was going to go back today but i think my body needs a break. besides, kari and i are going to runyon canyon tomorrow and then amanda, kari, matt and i are going to see sam shaber. i think i'll go back to yoga on monday or tuesday.

matt has been doing tae-bo at home every other day and looks great! he feels good, looks good, and loves to get compliments from his peers about how much weight he has lost.

today i am going to get my hair done. i have spent enough time being a brunette, so today i'm getting auburn highlights in my hair! i will officially be an auburnette! :)

p.s. jenny, thank you for the lovely postcard! you are so thoughtful!

gettin out

so i think this is the year where i'm supposed to get in shape. kari and i will go hiking once a month. celena has finally convinced me to try bikram yoga (which i love so far). i belong to two fitness websites, bodiz and exercise friends, and one person from each site has contacted me about working out! this is so amazing and i'm very excited to get into shape. now i just need to work on my eating habits and everything will be okay...

today we went to cost plus world markets and perused the wine section. like we don't have enough, right? :) we also bought a wine rack that fits beautifully into our hall closet. we are officially wine-o's!

this weekend has been very relaxing and i don't want to go back to work tomorrow. not because of the rabbi, but because i'm lazy. :)

destructive!

i had no idea my name could cause so much trouble...

http://www.geocities.com/hurricanene/hurricanecamille.htm

a little miracle

will wonders never cease?

ever since i got back from vacation, work has been a very pleasant environment. i can't help but wonder if something was said to the one who made me cry, because she's been totally pleasant and sweet ever since i got back. she even asked how i'm doing, how my weekend was...who is this person?????? :) maybe it also has to do with the fact that i am working on not letting her crazy mood swings get to me anymore.

in other news, quinn goes to the vet tomorrow (you really don't want to know the details). matt has a had a great start to the new term, mom is doing really well (yeah!), and i'm going to try bikram yoga this weekend. all in all, things are going really good right now. even the weather is wonderful - 65! :) warm for this seattle-ite!

wonderful wineries

here's just a sample of things we tried (and bought)...

Bonny Doon Vineyard

• The Framboise is a very sweet wine, perfect for pouring over cheesecake or ice cream. It's made with Washington raspberries. Once you open the bottle it will last 4-6 months.
• We also sampled their sparkling wine, which we drank half of, then the cute wine girl poured a dash of the Framboise in, and it was like drinking a lovely Raspberry soda that made you feel very happy!
• The only sad thing was that we found out that they are closing their tasting room in Paso Robles next month and will be operating soley out of Santa Cruz. Funky place to go, though. Lots of barn animals and their tasting room is in a dolled up mobile home.

Kelsey See Canyon Vineyards

• We loved just about every wine on this list. Our favorites inculded the Syrah, Port, Merlot, and Cab. Now, I normally dislike Merlot and Cab but there's had a very nice finish.
• Our favorites were the Apple Chardonay and the Apple Merlot. Yes, you read right. APPLE wine! The owner also has apple trees on his property and told the winemaker to try to combine the two. They are both 50/50 blends and so yummy! We bought the Chardonnay and when we go back we'll get the Merlot. Oh, and their Orange Muscat (which has no oranges in it) is divine!
• Wonderful ambiance. The tasting room and gift shop is decorated by the wife. The young woman helping us had been working there about a year and knew nothing about wine when she first started. That gives me hope! :)
• This winery was my personal favorite!

Mastantuono Winery

• A very nice woman helped us out, originally from North Carolina she knows her stuff! They had a Raspberry Champagne that we weren't able to try because the truck was 3 weeks late. :( But their Syrah was worth our stop. They also had 2 wine kitties in the tasting room, which scored big points with us. Very nice wine tasting room and beautiful labels on the bottles.
• This was the second winery we went to. We made a promise to come back in a few months so we could try the Raspberry Champagne!

York Mountain Winery

• The first winery we went to, and it's one of our favorites! Totally off the beaten path, but that's what made this one so memorable and so cool. They were having a huge sale so we bought 2 bottles (the Pinot Noir was just 5 bucks!) including a lovely bottle of Zinfandel.
• There was a limo group that was just leaving when we pulled up. Bunch of college kids, I imagine, and totally annoying. We were glad they were leaving.
• Lovely setting in the mountains. Small tasting room, but lovely gift shop full of homemade goodies.

returned from vacation

here's the correct link to where we stayed over the weekend. highly reccomended. fabulous breakfast, quiet rooms, good size bathrooms, and close to everything.

we had a great time and did not want to leave. details to come...

we bought lots and lots of wine!

pictures to come...

wine wine wine!

matt and i are taking off for wine country in about 10 minutes. we're going to 'sideways country' to get away from the city and have some time together! we haven't had a vacation without family or friends since we moved here so this is well deserved. we're staying here and i'm soooooo looking forward to their breakfasts! tomorrow morning we're off to Hearst Castle followed by lunch and a loverly afternoon of wine tasting. then dinner and back to the inn. sunday we'll get up early again, have breakfast, check out, and spend the afternoon at the beach and drive back to l.a. on highway one, past malibu and all kinds of lovely places.

next week matt starts school on monday, my class starts on wednesday, and we'll be busy yet again. i imagine in about 6 more months we'll need another one of these getaways when school is out for the summer. :P

p.s. jenny, i hope your day gets better!

happy birthday!

happy birthday to you
happy birthday to you
happy birthday dear Jenny
happy birthday to you!

hope it's happy! :)

here comes the rain again

while i was in seattle and puyallup, it rained every day. not that i was surprised - in fact, i loved it! by the time i was leaving, i was ready for sun and warmer weather. of course, i was just informed that january and february is rainy season here in l.a. and the beaches get an occasional typhoon! isn't that wonderful? it's been pouring rain for 2 days now, on and off. the biggest problem is that there drainage system here sucks so there's a lot of flooding.

and who says there's no global warming?

and happy new year! matt, rian and i headed out to ontario to visit our good friends cindi and dave. they have a very happy and very energetic dog named freya who calmed down quite quickly and loved sitting next to rian on the couch. we drank champagne, watched old episodes of south park, and got home at 3am. yesterday we stayed home, cooked fatty foods that tasted delicious, and watched a really weird cartoon. all in all, i can't complain.

today is another lovely day at home. rian and matt are in van nuys. hah! this means i got my chores done (well, the laundry is still in the dryer) but now i can read my book and maybe watch a movie. :)

i'm a big girl

coming home has been all about finding my voice and learning how to use it (appropriately). i think it's been the same for matt. we've made time to see family and some friends, but it's been our vacation, our trip. we make plans and stick to them (and thank you to jenny for putting up with me and my family's antics this afternoon). it's wonderful! although i still feel like a kid when i'm at my folks' house, i also feel like an adult making my own plans and decisions. it's an interesting time and i'm ready to go back to l.a., oddly enough, back to our life together.

matt is already back home with the kitties and he'll be picking up our friend rian at the airport later on tonight. i fly home tomorrow evening, but before i do, here are my plans: dinner tonight at the neighbor's house, coffee with kari, SLEEP, movie or walk with mom (weather depending) in the morning and a facial at 2pm, followed by a trip to l.a. via sea-tac and alaska airlines. i miss my sweetie and can't wait to see him. i guess home is wherever he is. :)

home again home again

it is officially tuesday morning and the 3rd day of my vacation! :) i'm here in puyallup in the chilly basement. my pajamas consist of warm socks, flannel pajamas, a flannel sweatshirt and a scarf. the bed has several blankets piled on it. i think we're a little chilly here! i love the rain - i've missed it so! today i saw steph and gloria in tacoma which was wonderful. nancy and greg took matt and i out to dinner at melaque in puyallup and we just finished playing games night. i must say, for playing cribbage for the first time, i did quite well! :)

christmas was wonderful. our parents got together at my folks house in seattle and my aunt muriel was there too. we had a wonderful holiday and i'm anxious for the week to continue. :)

overwhelmed

where to begin?

saturday was a blast, but wait, oh yes! FRIDAY!!! my old friend beth came into town and we had a lovely dinner at a local restaurant that i forget the name of, but we had a LOVELY dinner. my personal favorite was the appitizer we shared which was a portobello mushroom stuffed with veggies and topped with 3 kinds of cheese. she had lasagnae with cheese and meat with a side of cheese and meat and i had a grilled veggie panini with buffalo mozzerella and a spinach salad. yum yum! then we headed off to a local piano bar where i surprised beth with a visit from our old friend, celena (we all went to high school together). beth was so happy to see us and we were so happy to see eachother (i hadn't seen celena in weeks). we had a lovely time with drinks and gossiping about those we hated in high school that now are not doing so well. :) (love the high road, right jenny? :P) so then i headed home, which meant unfortunately breaking up the reunion earlier, because my friend gayle was flying in for kari's surprise tea the next day! and she flew into l.a.x. silly girl plus her flight was delayed an hour. poor thing arrived at my apartment totally exhausted around midnight. we went to sleep within an hour.

saturday morning was totally chaotic because we (and by we i mean cathie, amanda, gayle, and i) all spent the morning together excitedly chatting about the upcoming tea and how kari was going to pee her pants! her entire family was in on the surprise and she had no clue. we headed off to breakfast to talk about the plan for the afternoon, and unfortunately "the house of pies" has the worst breakfast i've ever eaten. but we were in for a treat because "santa con" was going on. i met a pirate santa who gave me a cigar and said in his pirate voice "even the little pirate girls and boys need a santa, yarrrrrrrrr" to which i replied "oh my god, you are so awesome!" cathie couldn't stop taking pictures. so after our icky breakfast we did a bit of toodling around including a drive-by-stop-quick-and-get-out-and-take-your-friggin-picture-cause-there's-a-cop-behind-me tour of hollywood and highland for the tourists. they loved it! it reminded me of the first time i saw those theaters (the el capitan, kodak, and mann's chinese) and was completely swooned. then we stopped by my place and poor matt, who was sick with a cold and didn't want excited girls gushing in his place, but he slept the whole time. we stuck to our plan and they dashed out the door 1/2 hour before kari picked me up to go to tea. fast forward to tea where i told her to walk through the door first as i saw all 3 of them, smiling and laughing before we walked in. for about 15 seconds, kari didn't say a word. she just cocked her head to one side as if to say "what the heck are you guys doing here?" and that's exactly what she said.

as the shock wore off we had a lovely tea. we went bowling at lucky strikes and i got drunk, unintentionally, of course, and flirted with everyone. i was not embaressing just fun, and had a great time. sunday we took gayle to the airport and drove back to my neighborhood where we had lunch and did some shopping.

all in all, i called in sick on monday. i don't think i really had a cold, but after all that running around, i deserved a day where i didn't even get out of my pajamas. :)

happy birthday, kari!

happy birthday, my dear friend! may you have a wonderful day and all your wishes come true! :)

crazy schedule

did i happen to mention how insane my week is? if i can post another blog this week it'll be a miracle. tonight i have class, and tomorrow i have class yet again. friday night beth is coming over and saturday morning is breakfast with a friend, saturday afternoon is tea with friends in beverly hills and saturday night is bowling with friends (money, who needs that?). sunday, well, i may just call in sick to whatever i have planned so that i can recooperate before the insanity of work truly begins.

all this plus there's 2 people at work who have had that nasty cold, plus matt woke up not feeling well this morning. that's all i need...to get sick!

and so the countdown begins...10 days!!!!!

Narnia

fabulous fabulous fabulous! did i mention fabulous! we went to a midnight screening last night at the famous el capitan theater. they have an organ player that plays music while you walk in to get your seats and then an overture right before the movie starts! :) wonderful ambiance and anyone who visits l.a. must go there and see a movie.

very tired today and a christmas party to attend tonight. and it rained last night for the first time in weeks! i can't remember the last time i smelled clean air...

wave of emotions

first off, great news about mom! :) she does not have cancer in her lungs. instead, there is scar tissue that has developed due to an allergic reaction to the chemotherapy, which she has already stopped. her pulminary cardiologist has put her on a very low does of steroids to help the scar tissue disappear faster. we are hoping that her doctors will wait until january to put her back on the chemo which means she can be active and happy during the holidays. as she said, "how's that for a christmas present?"

we filmed our scenes in acting class last night, and i have to give major kudos to my scene partner, ivan. i was absolutely terrified about being on camera. i figured i'd freeze up and not know my lines. i was scared shitless! the first take went well, just like we rehearsed. then, cliff (the teacher) gave us some notes and suddenly the intensity was 10x greater. we had rehearsed a few physical things (holding hands, him stroking my face) but all of the sudden at the most emotional part of the scene, he gives me this huge hug...you know the type, the one that just takes you away...well, this huge emotional wave came over me. my chin started to tremble, my eyes started to tear up, and i almost cried on camera (i actually cried when i got home). one of the girls in class said i almost made her cry to which i thought "yes!" i'm still a bit shaken - i wasn't expecting that kind of powerful emotional turmoil but it was amazing and awesome. the only complaing from cliff was that i didn't stick around long enough at the end of the scene for my close-up. :)

weekend

what did i do friday? oh yes. i was at work. all day. from 8am-8pm to help out with the oneg for the monthly early family shabbat services. ick. came home, played online computer game that involves pirates which matt got me addicted too. yes, i am pathetic, but i need something besides movies to get me out of reality once in awhile.

saturday i worked at the bed and breakfast for a few hours, came home, watched some tv, and then we headed out to ontario to see dave and cindy for the evening. yahoo maps said it would take us 40 minutes to get there. HAH! 90 minutes later we pulled into the driveway thanks to l.a. traffic. we had pizza, watched tivoed taped episodes of south park, and played games. i think we went to bed at 3am.

today i stayed in my pajamas, we cleaned the apartment, and i went a little stir crazy. studied lines for my scene class on wednesday (and this wednesday we film - i'm absolutely terrified), watched the pilot of a new show called "sleeper cell" and am totally addicted. on showtime.

luckily since i worked so late on friday, i get to be late tomorrow. thank god (funny that i should use that expression).

prayers needed

for those of you who don't know, i don't necessarily believe in god, but i believe in some sort of higher power. for those of you who pray or meditate or simply send good energy, it all works, and there are a few people i know of who could use a little extra help -

1. my mom and my dad. the CAT scan showed the same tissue that was in her lungs back in may. the doctor's think it's some sort of irritation or allergic reation to the chemo she was on (which they stopped last week). they don't think it's cancer but she is having a biopsy on monday. because she wasn't breathing well and coughing so much, they thought it was pneumonia and then bronchitis. well, it could be something more. we'll know more by the end of next week. my dad is trying his best to stay strong but i can tell he is terribly worried. my mom has good spirits but weak energy because she's getting so little oxygen (another possibility they determined was low iron, but that wasn't it either). please keep them both in your prayers and thoughts.

2. my friend, cathie. she is a fantastic violinist and sadly her car was broken into yesterday. the thieves stole her laptop, rent money, a whole list of things including her precious violin (this happened just outside her home which isn't even on a major street). she is distraught and upset and needs good things to come her way.

interesting day

since matt has his internship on monday's and it's relatively close to the temple, we decided to meet for lunch. while he was walking me back to work, we noticed several police cars starting to block a major intersection about a block from my work (la brea avenue and santa monica boulevard). word got around that there was a BOMB THREAT on the bus just across the street! we hurried back to the temple where i told matt to be careful and hurried into work to deliver the news (keep in mind the bomb threat was just one block south of the temple). we kept an eye on the street outside and saw 8 BOMB SQUAD CARS pass by. that's when i really started to freak. there was nothing on the tv, radio, or web, so we just got on with our work. finally, la brea avenue opened back up before rush hour. we did hear an explosion, but my guess is that it was the bomb squad diffusing the suspicious package.

mom has bronchitis AND her chemo as stopped working, which means the cancer that is left in her body is resisting the current drugs. she is going in for a CAT scan tomorrow and then will meet with her doctors to discuss new "cocktail" options.

speaking of mom, i just made her homemade pesto sauce for the first time. while it doesn't taste exactly like hers, it's enough to remind me of home and be there in spirit...

...how many days until christmas eve?

happy holi-daze

thanksgiving was good. matt and i went to kari's. amanda was there along with kari's parents, of course, her brothers, and some family friends. all in all we had a great time and it was a wonderful way to spend the evening (although i drank a little too much wine).

friday i had to work and was completely pissed that i had to be there. luckily she was in a good mood and so we didn't have to put up with any of her mood swings. tomorrow i head back and tuesday they (lee and rabbi) take us out for a play date to the getty museum. i'm looking forward to it!

saturday matt and i went for a 2 hour hike at griffith park. the weather finally felt like november. slightly chilly and very windy. we got to the observatory and saw l.a. like it has never been seen before (or rarely): on a clear day! the wind was blowing west to east so all the smog was gone and you could see everything, even runyon canyon. had it not been for the mist we would have been able to see the ocean. that night we headed out to pasadena again for dave's birthday at gordon biersch.

today we got up early and saw harry potter which i LOVE! best one yet. then we headed over to the farmer's market, picked up stuff for dinner, and headed home to clean and do laundry. well, we got the laundry part done.

tomorrow: work
tuesday: work and dance class
wednesday: work and acting class
thursday: work and o.c. at 8pm!
friday: work and support rian's show (super nanny on ABC) at 8pm
saturday: possible get-together with cindy and dave? :)
sunday: possible rest?

For us kitty people...(I couldn't resist)

Baking Cookies (with your cat)

1. Look in cookbook for cookie recipe
2. Get cup of coffee.
3. Get cat off of cookbook.
4. Find that special recipe.
5 . Get cat's nose out of coffee cup
6. Go to fridge and get eggs.
7. Get dry ingredients from cupboard.
8. Break eggs in small bowl.
9. Sift dry ingredients in large bowl.
10. Answer the phone.
11. Cat ate eggs; get more from fridge.
12. Get cat out of flour bowl and dust cat off.
13. Get Band-Aids for scratches on hands.
14. Throw flour out and get more.
15. Preheat oven for cookies.
16. Looking at cat & wanting to bake cat now. Cat runs for cover into bathroom.
17. Flour the counter to roll out cookie dough.
18. Big crash in bathroom; run to see what happened.
19. Cat has TP all over floor; stuff spilled and knocked over on top of bathroom counter.
20. Yell at cat. Cat falls in toilet bowl.
21. Can sense cat is angry.
22. Take cat out of toilet to dry cat off.
23. Get bandages to cover more scratches on arms and legs.
24. Cleanup bathroom.
25. Hear a thump in kitchen ...Oh Golly ... now what?
26. Get cat off floured counter in kitchen.
27. Try to pick out cat hairs from flour.
28. Step on cat's tail and get bitten.
29. Get coat, car keys, and go to store to buy cookies!!!

official california girl

it's done. my washington license plates are gone. yesterday i went to the dmv and paid way too much for my plain looking california plates (at least washington's has a mountain). i also have my license, so i'm an official resident! of course, i have a live-in husband. there is really nothing that says he lives here other than his afi records (this morning i realized that all the bills are in my name except for comcast and the bank loans). he'll probably get his california license in january during winter break.

i get to sleep in on thursday! yay! :)

it's the little things that count.

sick of being homesick

went to anaheim this weekend for gencon socal to help promote the new gamers movie with the dead gentlemen. jen, stevie, cindy, don, nathan, chris, dave, and ben were there (did i forget someone?) and i was so happy to see them! we had a great time! of course, to be expected, i was a total wreck yesterday afternoon when i had to say goodbye.

i just can't seem to shake this feeling of homesickness and depression. i think i need to start seeing a counselor again but my benefits don't kick in until next month. so, until then, i am going to have to try to get rid of this cloud of gloom over my head with perserverance and lots of laughter.

weird things about l.a.

1. movie posters EVERYWHERE;
2. christmas decorations and 80 degree weather does not compute;
3. the emphaisis of beauty in this city, whether it's plastic or real (and somtimes it's hard to tell);
4. so many people think of themselves as celebrities;
5. seeing the hollywood sign every night on my way home from work;
6. stretch hummers;
7. obsession with stardom;
8. hollywood is really not that attractive;
9. hollywood blvd. being closed down/roped off due to movie premieres;
10. driving by mann's chinese theater, the kodak theater, and the el capitan every day, and they are all on the same block (hollywood boulevard and highland avenue);
11. the giant gap store;
12. 3 stripper stores all on the same block;
13. how far people commute to work (2 hours - are they crazy!?);
14. the amount of freeways and it's still not enough;
15. if you tell someone you're an actor, most people get a look of disgust on their faces.

worst day EVER

• my boss made me cry today;
• my mother-in-law told me that my sister-in-law is not doing well, so that made me cry;
• mom-in-law also called to tell me that she knows i must be homesick, that she's thinking of me, and tried to make me feel more positive which also made me cry;
• i have my first true acting class tonight with cliff osmond and i'm completely drained. no emotion, thank god no more tears, i have no strength left. what now?
• matt is really busy and we hardly have any time together anymore, which made me cry again today;

i hate l.a. i want to go back to the northwest.

maybe tomorrow i'll feel differently.

parental visit

well, i didn't get any pictures taken but we had a great time. i was so grateful that they were able to visit. even though mom's energy was up and down, it was so nice just to be around her again. i didn't realize how homesick i was until they left on sunday, and i just felt so empty. i realized that i didn't like l.a. as much as i thought i did and that what gets me through the months is anticipating visits to seattle/tacoma and/or anitcipating visits from family and friends who are coming here. adjusting to l.a. is going to be a bigger adjustment than i thought. and with the holidays around the corner, i'm just missing everyone that much more.

a list of fun things we did over the weekend:

• took katie shopping at miss sixty (a very trendy clothing store on melrose);
• drove around griffith park, stopped at trails;
• made a lovely thanksgiving dinner including: chicken (the turkeys were too big), mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, pumpkin pie, whipped cream and yukon jackson's chocolates;
• went out to sushi;
• had breakfast at the bed and breakfast several times (and, i got a small job there, organizing his office!);
• hung out at the aparment, rested, and enjoyed each other's company;
• matt was on set almost the whole time, but they got a great tour of the campus.

how many more days until christmas eve? because that's when i'm flying home, and i can't wait...

sunny and all is well

the family arrived last night and it's so surreal that they are here. i have been anticipating this for months, as you know, and the visit will go by fast, but i have just realized how homesick i am for family, friends, and fresh air! tonight we go out to dinner and then take mom and dad by the bed and breakfast since that's where they're stayin since we don't have room for them. katie sleeps on our couch and we had the nicest visit last night. it's so nice to have familiar faces in just an unfamiliar city. today matt is taking them to school and then to our favorite music store.

mom is feeling pretty good, although she tires easily. we let her sleep in the apartment while the rest of us walked to the sushi place. she looks great though, and her attitude is still very strong. of course, our concerns are that her blood and iron counts are low, and we're wondering how long she's going to have to stay on chemo. i remember being told she'd be done by the end of the year, but i don't think that's going to happen. she'll have some tests done soon to see how this current regimen is going, to see if it's working or not.

not so chilly

in reading my friend's blog, she's finally given up and turned on the heat in her house (she lives in tacoma). she's been discussing the battle as to whether or not she wants to pay more to the electric company (she and i are both in agreement that our favorite price is FREE). finally, she turned it up to 60 degrees and "it felt good."

i have to say that we haven't turned on the heat, but last week or the week before we turned on the air conditioning! we are having strange weather here, both hot and "cold" spells. it does tend to get a bit chilly, but we just throw on another blanket.

jenny, you'll be the first one to know when (and if) i turn on the heat. :)

by the way, matt said he was absolutely freezing in seattle last weekend. guess we'll need heavier coats for christmas.

flip flops

did i happen to mention that i got food poisoning friday afternoon? i went to starbucks for lunch and got a tuna sandwich. i've gotten those before and been fine, but come an hour later...well, i'll leave out the details and just say that my body was having all kinds of issues.

i haven't been eating much (and yes, when i went out saturday night, i was feeling much better) and have lost a little weight. i'm just not as hungry. really, the thought of food right now kind of grosses me out. you could say right now i'm eating to survive.

curse starbucks for their lovely gingerbread lattes...

good times with good friends

kari, amanda, and i spent last night in long beach. i was thrilled to get out of l.a. and go see the ocean! we walked along the beach for a bit and got our feet wet. then we drove around downtown for awhile to get our bearings (even wound up on the bridge that headed out to the queen mary) and finally found the funky district (which was somewhat similar to capitol hill in seattle) where we spent a good portion of the evening. kari used to live in long beach and amanda and i had never been so she showed us around (unfortunately her favorite coffee shop had disappeared). we had dinner at a great little italian restaurant, did some shopping, and got some great decorating ideas. then we headed back downtown and saw "prime" with uma thurman and meryl streep (highly reccommend it!). the only downside to the evening was that i got in very early in the morning. i woke up this morning saying to myself "i am not 20 anymore. i can't stay out late again." trust me, i'm feeling it! but i had a great time being with my girls and i hope we can do it agian soon!

i just got off the phone with joy, and we can't remember the last time we talked! although we don't write or talk every week (or sometimes every month), we seem to always pick up where we left off. she may even come visit sometime next year or maybe the year after that, but considering that we haven't seen each other since 2002 (when we went for a hike at mt. ranier...well, it was sort of a hike...i had to back out halfway through because i was so out of breath), i am thrilled at the possibility of seeing her!

mom, dad and katie fly in thursday evening. i have the grocery list for our thanksgiving dinner and will go shopping either wednesday or thursday, depending on how the schedule works out. matt and i are really looking forward to their visit. i know it will fly by, but i am very anxious to see them because, well, i miss them! terribly!

date night

since matt is flying to seattle today for the weekend we had our weekly date night last night and also celebrated the premiere of his first cycle project (which went smashingly by the way). we went to the local sushi place just blocks from our apartment and spent a little more than i would have liked, althought for desert we had banana tempura which was absolutely delicious! everything was yumtastic and i can't wait to go back.

i try not to get addicted to t.v. shows, but i just can't miss an episode of the o.c.! perhaps it's because everyone's "life" on that show is so much more dramatic than mine that i feel like i have more control...it's hilarious though, because seriously, how much of this crap can happen to one family!?

fabulous!

adrienne and i went to see a play last night called romance, at new play by david metken (he wrote "wag the dog"). fabulous show, completely inappropriate and hilarious, and great use of the f-word throughout the play. we had a great time and i can't wait to see another play there! we got free tickets from the rabbi (jenny's favorite price and mine too) which was very generous of her. i hope i can continue to be a good girl here so that i can get more free tickets! :) oh, and we saw ed o'neill, the dad from "married with children". we had better seats than he did. haha!
(dear god, i'm turning into an l.a. freak!)

matt is going home this weekend to visit his parents which means i have the apartment to myself and can do whatever i want! amanda, kari, and i are planning some stuff and i also need to catch up on some acting homework.

mom, dad, and katie come to visit next weekend and i'm soooooooooooooo excited! must get apartment in order...can't have the parents see a pigsty! :) (really, mom, it's not that bad...i swear!)

random pictures

eek! me without makeup!


quinn "in a field of sunflowers". she's so regal, so fluffy, and so demanding of our attention! it's actually quite cute. when we wake up in the morning, first thing she does is hop on the bed and look at us as if to say "i'm here, i'm cute, pet me!" she's a funny little kitty and we love her. she's very playful but as steph said "that cat has serious attitude."


this is pj when he's really happy to see me. he just flops on the floor and rolls while purring up a storm. it's so cute!


pj has a kitten face - big eyes and a big nose and big paws. purrs on cue.

What the hell?

i did not move to southern california for rain and clouds! i have already experienced the various shades of gray! i'd like to experience the yellow ball in the clear blue sky...people say it's warm when that happens! for pete's sake, i wore a wool skirt today and i was still cold. what does that tell you?

i got into an acting class in santa monica and my first day is november 9. i'm sooooooo excited! it's scene work, but you are filmed during the third week, review it on the 4th week, and then meet an industry professional (director, manager, casting director, etc.) on the last day. considering i have no film experience, this class is going to be really good for me. thanks to celena for reccomending it to me! :)

matt is enjoying his internship, and they actually want more of his time. they want him to come in on friday afternoons as well as all day on mondays, but homework is looming over his head so he has had to tell them not right now. hopefully they will understand. a bonus to this internship is the location. it's just 3 blocks from where i work so we can carpool on mondays and also meet for lunch.

went out for sushi with kari the other day and OHMYGOD it's the best i've had yet. whenever anyone comes to visit, if you like sushi and funky restaurants, this is the place for you. great decorations, you can even sit on the floor, fabulous selection of sushi, sashimi, noodles, and tea. i can't wait to go back!

tomorrow i am going to attempt a belly dancing class at the ymca. will i enjoy it!? i hope so! the last belly dancing class i took was a few years ago and it really works the abs. i'm looking forward to it! :)

ooops

*yawn* did not make it to runyon canyon but did wind up taking a 2 hour nap. it's okay. dance class tomorrow night. i will make up for it on another date, maybe kickboxing on wednesday or belly dancing on friday.

matt got the internship! today is his first day...should we go out to dinner to celebrate? yes? no? ooooooo....there's sushi up the street AND it's in walking distance...

how do i get myself into these situations? why can't i just have a plan and stick to it!?

new goals

since i started my new job, i have had to give up a few things, namely cooking and working out. i've been spending more money going out to lunch than i should and the ymca has become a figment of my imagination (unfortunately the membership fee is not). runyon canyon and griffith park trails are distant memories.

first goal for this week: work out 3 times. tomorrow, since i get off early, head to runyon canyon after work. tuesday night is dance class at the ymca. saturday afternoon i will head to griffith park. i want to be a size-smaller-than-i-am-now by christmas.

second goal for the week: i'm not allowed to eat out until saturday night, which is when we're going out to dinner with some friends. and, no junk food eat healthy.

i can do this. i know i can. :) if i can take this day by day, week by week, things should play out alright.

happy anniversary

we went to our favorite restaurant, the tam o'shanter, and pigged out on wine, dessert, and fabulous meals! this weekend i'm going to get my hair trimmed, and getting back on track with my exercise program.

our kitties have been extra cute these past few days and very entertaining. i think they are trying to get us to stay home more often...

matt has an interview for an internship today! :) wish him luck!

3rd celebrity sighting

p.s. saw shannon elizabeth (hot chick from american pie movies) at starbucks this morning. much prettier in person, especially without all the make-up. seemed tired but was smiling at 6:30am. smiled at me. :)

god we're tired

6am calls for crew...what was i thinking?

last day of filming is tomorrow but i don't have to go. i spent my 2 days as a crew member mostly reading my book and chatting with the actors and other afi people. it was fun but also boring...i am looking forward to not leaving the apartment at all tomorrow. if it's nice, i may go sun bathing on the rooftop...

it rained a lot last night and even today. major thunderstorms + heavy rain = fresh air and happy lungs. :)

double oy vay

i worked until 11pm on wednesday night with a 3 hour break...

i worked until 7:30pm last night with a 1.5 hour break (went shopping and found mom-in-law's christmas present)...

i realize that to some, those are not long days...

but to me, they are very long days and it is taking every effort on my part to go back to work this morning.

this weekend i have a four day weekend but i'm volunteering for matt's movie crew (yay!) with a 6am call...luckily i don't have to be there tomorrow so at least i get one day off to rest...

i am going to stay home all day tomorrow and watch movies...maybe go visit kari...

mmmph

wow, i'm tired. not just tired, but exhausted. i can't wait for high holy days to be over. tomorrow services start at 8pm which means i'll have another 16 hour day (with a 3 hour break) and then back to work the next morning at 8am and home at 7pm if i'm lucky! then we have a 4 day weekend, thank god, and i got a volunteer job on matt's crew as a production assistant! :) i'll be spending my weekend being bossed around but at least i'll be around my sweetie and gaining some valuable experience.

today i went to my wonderful branch of l.a.'s wonderful public library and picked up a few books on acting. i'm auditing a class next wednesday in santa monica. celena reccomended that i check it out (she's been in the class for nearly a year). nathan also suggested another instructor over in tolouca lake, but she wants me to read a book first so that's what i'm doing. so far, the book speaks to me, talking alot about working with your imagination and developing images to the point that they become realistic when you are acting (i can't explain it much better). i am not sure exactly what the process is behind this technique so i'm looking forward to talking further with the instructor and maybe trying out one of her classes just to make sure.

talked with mom today and she's not feeling so well. she and katie came down with a cold after getting back from mt. rainier, plus she's got a bit of a fever. when we were chatting, dad was cooking halibut cheeks on the grill...sigh...i really miss those guys. then he brought mom a tv tray with dinner and a rose in a pretty vase...i can't wait for their visit next month!

and get well soon, kari! get lots of rest and i will see you when your tummy can handle some laughs! :)

happy trails

what a great weekend! i got twelve hours of sleep on friday night and stayed home all day saturday watching monty python with matt and celena. today i had to work, but just for a few hours, and spent the rest of the day hanging out at home.

matt and his buddies film their first school related project this next weekend, and hopefully i'll be helping out. nathan said i could be his personal assistant as matt doesn't really need one as the script supervisor... i'm so excited!

happy birthday, mom!

to the greatest and bravest mom that i know. i am so grateful for you. your insight and patience and constant prescence in my life is worth more than you'll ever know. and i'm so glad you are feeling better! :) have a great weekend at mt. rainier! *hugs and kisses*

(other stuff:

for those of you in the seattle/tacoma area, if you are looking for a show to see in the next week, check out the woman in black in olympia. my friend patrick is in it and they just extended the show another weekend! it's getting rave reviews and i'm so excited for him!

i helped celena with her audition tape last night and it went really well. i am even more inspired to start taking acting classes that involve working with a camera as well as an audience. i have a few leads so we'll see how it goes!)

wham bam thank you mam

at least that's what the past few days have felt like. i went home at 10:30 yesterday morning because i couldn't keep my eyes open. i was so tired i felt ill, like i had a cold. i went home and slept for 3 hours, even slept through matt coming home for his lunch break. i went to bed earlier than usual and so this morning i woke up and my eyes were bright and wide open - i love it when they do that! i feel much better (paige, i hope you are feeling better too!).

congrats to patrick, by the way, for a great run! i hear it sold out every weekend! :)

matt and i had a great time on his birthday. we went to see serenity, bought the entire collection of monty python's flying circus, and had dinner at our favorite restaurant, tam o'shanter. don and cindy, we'll have to take you there. it's scottish themed and serves fantasic food! we plan on taking everyone there who comes to visit. and lucky for us, it's only a few miles from home - we don't have to get on the freeway! here in l.a. that's unheard of. :)

happy birthday, honey!

happy birthday to the best husband ever! i hope all your wishes come true! thank you for inspriring me every day to pursue my own dreams, and moving us here to pursue our life and dreams together. i love you!

and so it begins...

tonight is erev rosh hashanah, or new years eve. i need to be at work in 45 minutes and won't be home until very late tonight since services start at 8. i'm really excited to experience these holidays. even though i can't attend services, to be part of them will be truly amazing. we are expecting about 800-1000 people at the scottish rite auditorioum for each service.

tomorrow is matt's birthday! yay!

my first celebrity sighting

i forgot to tell you! the first time celena took me to runyon canyon, i saw her and her cute little dog trotting beside her with a stick its mouth, looking up as if to say "mom, mom, c'mon mom! throw the stick, c'mon! i'll be good, c'mon!" so cute! celena recognized her the first time, and then we passed her again and celena said, "see it now? it's totally her." and it was! but i didn't have the nerve to say hello so we just walked on by.

ohmygod, i have just finished a ten hour day. and it's going to get worse. but for now, i'm enjoying my time at home. celena and her fabulous roomie, gabriel, are on their way over. we are going to the grove to see this movie and have dinner. so excited! :)

mom and dad and katie will be visiting over veterans day weekend in november. we're so excited! i'm checking out a few local bed and breakfasts this weekend for them, but both look so wonderful just on the internet that i'd be willing to book a few nights for matt and me! there's elaine's and the secret garden. what do you think?

hollywoodland

did you know that was the original name of hollywood? at least that's what the sign said until the "land" part burned up or fell down, i'm not sure...

tonight was a total l.a. night. first of all, it was (and still is) extremely warm outside. second, i went out for girls night with cindy and some other women that i barely know to the grand lux cafe. we pigged out on delicious dinners and split four yummy desserts. then, on our way up to our cars via the escolator, we had a celebrity sighting! he was going down the escolator while we were going up. we were all talking and then as he went by, we all got quiet. by the time he passed us, we were all whispering like a bunch of school girls! it was awesome! matt couldn't believe it.

on my way home driving down hollywood boulevard, right said fred's song (and i don't remember the title but it's the catwalk song) blared on jack fm. i rolled down the windows, cranked up the tunes, and sang my heart out.

like i said, a perfect l.a. night! ooo, and i had a glass of chateau st. michelle's syrah with dinner. yum yum!

indian summer

i have to remind myself these days that i live in southern california. it's frickin 80 degrees outside, maybe warmer! that leads to my favorite thing, warm summer nights. except when i'm trying to sleep...that's no fun. last night it was so muggy i didn't even get under the covers. if there were fall trees everywhere, this would be perfect!

matt's loans came through yesterday! yay!

tomorrow night celena and i are going to see corpse bride at the grove and i'm totally excited. i adore tim burton's movies! and of course, i heart johnny depp. matt will be in chinatown with nathan and tom to visit a site and talk about production for their first cycle project. matt invited me but i think it's best to leave them to talk about movie stuff. celena and i will have a fun night out!

work is great, just a little insane. high holy days start monday night so there is much to be done. i'm really looking forward to the weekend and a few days of rest.

in honor of jenny, who does this on her blog, i think it's time i started and it just might motivate me to read a little more...

books i am currently reading: in her shoes and harry potter 5
book i just finished: something borrowed

dazed and confused

i love that movie! :)

universal studios turned out to be quite an adventure. joss whedon didn't come due to a scheduling conflict and there was no screening of the movie. the wristbands to enter into events were already gone by 10am (the park opened at 9am) so we were pissed. to make a long story short, we were able to prove that the email i got said there was a screening of the movie and nathan got his money back and handed back his ticket (matt and i have season passes so we didn't really care). on our way out to have lunch at city walk, we got our wrists stamped to come back in and i heard the lady say "make sure you show your stamp and your ticket when you come back in" and so i told nathan and he in turn told the lady he lost his ticket! hah! it felt kinda good to screw universal studios out of $40. :)

saturday night we went to an afi party. those things get a little awkward for me since i don't know the slightest thing about making movies. but i nod and smile and pay attention because these people just might cast me in a movie someday.

sunday we went to runyon canyon with fellow afi first year director student amin (he's from jorday by way of ohio) and his dogs oboe and cello. had a great time laughing at oboe trying to hump at least 5 different dogs! :) came home, had dinner and went to sleep. i got to sleep in this morning because i worked yesterday morning and was able to come into work late. :) always a good thing.

any suggestions on where to find cheap tickets? i want to visit my bud melanie in montana in march...

Doin' the Universal

for those of you who don't know, back in washington state we have this thing called "do the puyallup" which means going to a huge state fair in puyallup, wa. it's filled with roller coasters, food stands, 4-h competitions, all kinds of hokey and fun fair stuff. well, i haven't found a state fair in l.a. so we're going to this thing at universal studios instead. matt is a huge fan of joss whedon and his latest film, "serenity" is being "sneaked previewed" at universal. joss will also be there along with members of the cast. fellow afi first year student, nathan atkinson, is also joining us. he's become a good friend to matt, and they are lucky enough to be working on their first afi film project together.

aaaaaahhhhh!

so let me explain the change and the weird posts. for days now i have not been able to post to the blog - some weird error messages kept saying my template was empty - whatever that means. anyway, i finally changed the main template and all of the sudden all the posts i've been trying to get on the blog show up at once! weird!

i am soooooo tired but just one more day of work. work is good, but just hectic with high holy days coming up. today is my first big "pow-wow" with the rabbi. i'm really looking forward to working with/for her - she is an awesome lady!

shalom

it means "hello", "goodbye", and "peace". my goal is to learn a new jewish word at least once a week, if not once a day. right now i'm taking baby steps.

yesterday matt and i woke up to the sound of pouring rain! we opened the windows and let the fresh air roll in. then i started thinking "wow, it's raining hard, and its really warm outside...i don't have an umbrella...maybe i'll have to drive to get my lunch...OHMYGOD, i'm a wimp!" i started lecturing myself when matt asked me for a ride to school. i said "honey, we are wimps! we are turning into californians!" god help us. the rain turned into a full fledged thunderstorm that lasted through the afternoon. it was awesome!

brain is full

well, i'm 15 minutes shy of completing my first day here at kol ami. it's been overwhelming which is to be expected but the people are so helpful and fun. i know i'll enjoy working here. i had a delicious lunch at baja fresh and a nice afternoon walk. updated calendars and was suprised at the "filing system" that the rabbi has. there are some definite changes i can make, but she's not here right now to hear them! she's out of town through wedensday so i have one more day to make it seem like i know what i'm doing. the job is amazing and lots of opportunity to learn and grow in my little career here. i think i'm going to like it here!

i had a great weekend in seattle. bryan and brenda were so cute on their wedding day. the ceremony was simple but classic and brenda wore the most beautiful dress. bryan looked calm, cool, and laid back for a groom...i'm not sure if that was an act or not. the reception was held at my aunt and uncles house with the pool. it was an outdoor reception and the weather held up - will miracles never cease? :) we had a great time and i enjoyed seeing family i hadn't seen in a few years. lots of catching up to do!

mom is doing so great. her color and attitude never cease to amaze me. dad and katie are fineand it was fun to see paige who just got a new job at assoicated ministries as the development director! it is a well deserved change of job and location, so best wishes and congrats! :)

it's cloudy but good

so here i am in seattle, FINALLY. my flight was delayed ab0ut 2 hours so i didn't get here until 10:30! bed at midnight. ugh. and, i woke up at 10:15. how delightful!

more later. time to spend quality time with dad. :)

bound for clouds and drizzle

yeah! and fresh air too!

my cousin bryan is getting married on saturday in puyallup (i really hope it doesn't rain hard) and the reception is at his parents lovely house with the pool. tonight i'm flying to seattle and will land around 7:30 or 8. my day tomorrow is rough: i have to get a massage and i might have to go out to lunch with a very dear friend of mine. i think the most painful part is that i am going to get my eyebrows waxed. i head home sunday afternoon, around 3. i don't think either matt or i will be back until december for christmas...and that really depends on how much vacation i get from the new job.

last night i got a much-needed pedicure. i hadn't had one in almost 2 months and when you live in l.a. pedicures are necessary because you hardly wear shoes that cover your toes! i got a fun sparkly pink color. i don't feel the same way about manicures because the nail polish comes off so quickly.

mom is doing well but she tires easily. today is "chemo day" and she's also going to get results of a CAT scan she had on tuesday. her bloodwork is good and for the most part, she feels very positive about everything.

ohmygod

need a laugh? check this out: www.stuffonmycat.com

moving forward

as of this afternoon, i will be officially employed by congregation kol-ami as assistant to the rabbi. essentially, i'll be running her office and schedules, publishing flyers, transcribing notes, attending meetings, it's going to be really cool. i know i should seem more excited (and i will be), but i guess i wasn't expecting to get a job anytime soon...and perhaps a little part of me will miss being at home. the cool thing about the job is that it's not the one i interviewed for, and they offered me more money. :) plus it's closer to home. those are always excellent incentives!

wohoo! i'm employed!

cute kitty

we call this quinn's "dead" pose. i asure you she is alive!

in memoriam

you know, if we lived in new york city, i wouldn've been thinking about today all week long. as i live on the west coast and have never been to nyc, i just realized that today is the anniversary of a terrible event. please, take a moment to say a prayer or take a moment of silence for those who lost their lives on this day.

museum row

today i'm working at the petersen automotive museum in the membership department. they are currently looking for a membership assistant so i handed in my application and bam! i have an interview on monday morning. :) i also found a job opportunity at lacma (los angeles county museum of art) and they are looking for an education coordinator. i mailed in my resume this morning so hopefully that will turn into something...i also got 2 phone calls from employment agencies that i had turned to last month, but told them that i'd have to get back to them because i have 2, maybe 3 job prospects happening right now. we'll see what happens.

and my supervisor just told me i can't eat at my desk. "it's not healthy- you need a break." but it's my decision...whatever...if taking my lunch break away from the desk is what gets me hired, then she'll get her wish!

matt's friends tom and nathan came over again last night, passionately discussing their current project...which i'm not really allowed to discuss because 1 - i don't understand the entire concept and 2 - the projects they do at afi are to stay at afi. no outside producers or help since the projects are totally sponsored and financed by the school. makes sense.

wishin' and hopin'

i had an interview this evening at congregation kol-ami, a reform synagouge (sp) in west hollywood. really neat people and environment. it pays less than i'd like, but the job is right up my alley, i have all the experience, and i think it would be a good fit. i flat out told her that i am definitely interested and that i would do well. she's supposed to call by the end of th week...we'll see how that goes. based on my last interview, i can't necessarily trust that spiel!

the opening ceremonies at afi are tomorrow, and i'd like to try to go but alas, i have to work! :) i'm looking forward to getting to know l.a. more and getting out of the apartment. i think the cats will be weirded out but they will adjust. matt is excited for me and really happy that the job market just might be working out.

a very belated "happy anniversary" to my in-laws, nancy and greg! good job, guys! :) you are a true inspiration!

fun with friend

amanda and i went to a fabulous restaurant this afternoon for lunch. what a sight! all dining was outside and we sat among the butterflies along a lovely creek. she had belgian waffles and i had a scrumptious omlet with shrimp, avacado, and salsa. mmmm!

matt's professor/mentor at afi gave him some leads on some potential jobs for me at ucla - i guess this job market is all about who you know and persistance! :)

pouring rain

no, it's not raining in l.a. but it seems that the job market needs me! the temp agency called today and i have a job for the next month at an automotive museum. then i got a phone call from one of the many places i've sent my resume and they want an interview next week! seems that maybe, just maybe, things might be turning around.

matt is loving school and having a really good time. we're definitely going to celebrate tonight for his success and my financial contribution! :)

POO!

shoot. i didn't get the job at audiences at unlimited. i found out this morning and frankly, i just sat at the computer and cried, not knowing what to do. i felt as though i'd let everybody down, especially matt. i found my friend celena online and just whined. she was so great and supportive, gave me the strength to continue with the search and so i applied for a few more jobs via craigs list and monster. my mom suggested looking at an employment agency so i signed up with one today. i have an interview with them on friday afternoon and i really hope that something happens, although i'm not getting my hopes up too high.

matt has his first friends from film school over tonight - yay! cooking for me and four hungry guys! spaghetti and salad is a big hit. :) considering that we're only 3 blocks from campus, they are already talking about coming over whenever they're hungry, which i know they are joking but i actually enjoy cooking for a lot of people. anyway, it's just really cool to overhear their ideas and thoughts and how they feel about afi. i am sitting in a room with some of the future generation of the entertainment industry...that feeling is incredible. let's see...nathan is from indiana...tom is from taiwan...and brian is from okalahoma...great guys!

california girl

i am officially a resident of california! i took the written driving test today and passed, what a miracle (i hate tests). i should get the license by early next week. woohoo! matt is thinking about getting a license but will probably wait since he's a student and has a little more flexibility.

registration went alright. he's overwhelmed and excited and nervous and did i mention overwhelmed? things will work out, and he's in his element which is very rewarding. he's working with a great group of writers for the next few days which helps. one guy is from australia and a total hoot.

still no word from audiences unlimited...getting frustrated...will call tomorrow to check on the status of the position...

registration

break a leg matt! :) today is registration and he's nervous but so is everyone else. i had a chance to meet some of the other "fellows" (at afi, they are fellows, not students) and it's a great group of people. i'm jealous that he gets to spend so much time with such a talented group of film makers! in any case, i'm just so dang proud. way to go, honey! :)

well, poo!

i didn't make it to the second round of interviews at afi. poo! they needed someone with more production experience, which i understand, but still poo on them! she was really nice about it and even sent me the industry job list which is 13 pages filles of job listings in the entertainment industry...unfortunately most of them are unpaid internships.

today was filled with more applications and resumes. i'm starting to get very frustrated and angry at this whole situation, but matt has been very supportive so i just keep going.

i should hear back from audiences unlimited by the middle of next week. i think i did alright...i was myself which could be a good or bad thing. well, anyway, here's hoping i find work SOON!

fabuloso!

we just got back from a fantastic concert. we met a couple from new york...actually, they are recent transplants to l.a. anyway, names are sam and george. george recently got his masters degree in screenwriting from columbia university and sam is a wonderful, kick-butt musician! www.samshaber.com my favorite song of hers is el dorado, but they are all good. i'm definitely going to her show again next week.

spent way too much money on dinner tonight but it was totally worth it. www.themintla.com good drinks, jazzy atmosphere, and i have to say, the waitress was pretty hot! :P

working girl, part 2

i have an interview tomorrow afternoon at audiences unlimited for the job that angela reccomended me for. now if i could just figure out how to get there, i'll be all set.

this movie production company is frickin' awesome! the phones are quiet but there's lots going on. i would love to come back here if i continue to temp. the production assistant is really nice, very helpful. minor things have happened, like coodinating a conference call and misplaced packages, but it's all good! :)

working girl

today i'm temping at a motion picture production comapny in santa monica. it took me almost an hour to get here because of 1) traffic and 2) i couldn't find the frickin parking garage! :P

gencon was a huge success for the dead gentlemen. matt came back from the con totally exhausted but totally excited. good things are around the corner, i just know it!

oh, and my friend/former college roomie, amanda, is officially here! she moved into company housing yesterday and starts her job today. welcome to so cal, my dear!

i corrupted another one

celena, my friend from high-school (and yes, we just recently got back in touch) and i watched "the gamers" tonight. even though i've seen it a billion times (and dear, i say that with love!) it's always fun to watch it with someone new. i love the out-takes. they are my favorite!

today i worked at the gay cruise line office. it was interesting. stuffing envelopes...again...the office was luckily filled with fabulous people and i go back tomorrow to finish the fabulous job of stuffing more envelpes and dealing with a very stressed out supervisor!

p.s. i had an interview at afi that went well, and i have another one, maybe, next week for audiences unlimited. thanks to angela for reccomending me for the position! i owe you a drink!

you've been waiting for this!

our living room/office and a peek at the dining room table. don't those kitty trees look inviting?

the bathroom.

the kitchen. 70's style. and bigger than our last one!

our bedroom...i have never been a fan of making the bed.

our front door and hallway closet. straight ahead is the bathroom, to the right is the bedroom, and to the left is the living room. beyond the living room is the dining room and kitchen.

view from our dining room. lovely cars! :)

job hunting

it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack. there's all sorts of opportunities out there, some that have nothing to do with my background but are asking for skills that i know i have and i just have to figure out how to make myself sound smart enough. :) i hate cover letters. have i mentioned that before? i despise them. luckily i had an interview at afi (where matt is going) yesterday and it went well, except they have a few concerns. one is, of course, that matt will be going there and that might be a conflict. also, i have limited movie production experience (the job is in the production department). the gal was really nice, though, and said that if i get called back for the next round of interviews to talk to matt and some other movie making friends about move production so that i'll know what i'm talking about when they ask me questions. :) that was really nice of her, and i hope i get the chance to show them my stuff!

i've also sent out my resume for a couple of independent short films and for a short play going on in november. there's also an audition for the california shakespeare company on monday that i'll start prepping for tomorrow - they want a shakespearean monologue. i'm terribly nervous - i haven't been to an audition since april. but, there's no time like the present so i'd just better get crackin' on the verse. :)

matt is out tonight meeting with some of his fellow fellows (afi students are not students, they are fellows) at the silver lake red lion inn. i hope the meeting is going well. our neighbor, wendy (who graciously took care of our kitties while we were up in seattle) met another afi fellow in the building and was planning on going tonight. matt seemed excited, so i hope it goes well for him.

speaking of kitties, they are adjusting wonderfully. although, while we were gone, they were obviously traumatized. apparently they missed the litter box a few times (only #2) and threw up on the carpet. i think it will be awhile before we are gone for 4 days at a time!

gray? what gray?

today was our first full day back at my folks house in seattle. we woke up to a gray morning but by noon the clouds had disappeared and it was sunny and mildly warm with a gentle cool breeze. mom and i had our doctors appointments and then went out to lunch at marlene's market in federal way. i took a nap while matt went to downtown with katie and her friend flora. then we had indian food for dinner and played a very fun card game called apples to apples (i'm totally addicted). tomorrow i have a facial and a massage, followed by a walk down to the ballard locks. tomorrow night mom and i will make my favorite dish of hers, cabbage rolls. yum! then sunday we're off to matt's folks house. they just got back from europe today and poor nancy came down with bronchitis. luckily the choir tour was a huge success and while they are exhausted, they seem really happy about the outcome.

da da da da da da

yesterday i had my first temp job: stuffing envelopes at FX! :) i met some really cool people and though we won't keep in touch one of them was an actress who's been here for a couple of years and gave me some tips on where to go for classes. she also reccomended a couple of books to read. i also had what i thought was going to be a job interview but it was really a cattle call. one of those companies where you have to pay to start and i said "no thank you". i came home compeletely frustrated and worn out, having spent 2 hours listening to these yahoos and i couldn't leave earlier because i was sitting in the front row.

today we're going to knotts berry farm and going on some awesome roller coasters! i don't want to brag, but it's my birthday today. :) so far i've slept in and matt has agreed that we can go to noah's bagels for breakfast. then it's off to the park! tomorrow we take off for seattle which we are looking forward to. rudy is doing very well with my folks and loves to roll in the shower after someone uses it. such a funny cat!

the job hunt

this temp thing isn't really working for me. this morning i called to let them know that i'm available and the receptionist said "hang on, let me get something to write with since there's a bunch of you calling." i thought to myself, "okay camille, this is NOT good. well, good for those getting work but not for you. probably best to start applying for jobs on your own." so, that's what i've been doing. since friday. i've found several more that i'm qualified for so hopefully i can apply for 2 or 3 a day. my goal is to be employed by the end of the month. minimum goal is to have had several interviews. :)

beautiful, sunny morning here in los angeles. tank top and jeans. i am definitely getting used to this. matt and i take off thursday for seattle. i think we might actually be cold when we get up there, but according to friends and family, it's been quite hot. i'll bet anything that it will rain the whole time we're up there. my one request? to go to our favorite indian restaurant, the india bistro on market street in ballard. yum!

another lute in l.a.!

congrats amanda on the new job! my former college roomie will be here by the end of the month to join kari and i in the thrills of dessert life. i'm so glad she's moving out here and getting out of texas. she got a sweet job offer and it will be great to get reaquainted with her.

so, when are the rest of you moving here/visiting? :)

things i thought we'd never adjust to...

1. paying $20 for a parking spot
2. always having cash so we can pay for parking
3. the traffic (it's like 405 during rush hour, very familiar so to me it's not that bad)
4. the weather (we actually get a little chilly at night)
5. eating in more often than going out (trust me, that takes control)
6. hearing crickets at night
7. central a/c
8. barbie doll types
9. when someone says "close by" they actually mean a 20-30 minute drive
10. the freeway system...well, we're still working on that one...

my tv obsession

I don't know what it is about this show, but I just can't get enough of it. Call me weird, lame, insane, whatever, I LOVE THIS SHOW! :) My grandma Betty and I used to watch it all the time, and when I was in The Shadowbox in college, I watched it to study how to act like a woman in her 60's. I also watch it for acting reasons - all 4 of these awesome women are seasoned actresses and I learn so much from their comedic timing. And guess what?! Seasons 1 and 2 are out on DVD! :)

good news

mom got the results of her CAT scan back...

...good news...

...the cancer is going away...

...still processing, in shock, but in a VERY good way! :)

oh, and we finally unpacked the last box. it's not all organized, but it's all unpacked.

fun with friends

today my friend amanda has a job interview out in woodland hills (about 20 miles outside l.a. east of encino). it seems that this company really wants her and i really hope she gets it so that she can leave texas. last night i went over to a house where kari is housesitting and we had a great time. amanda, kari, and i all reminisced about living together in the wheeler house at plu and kari's dad chris made an amazing bbq dinner. we went swimming and played with the dog, it was so much fun! matt stayed home, of course, to catch up on gamers2 notes to ben and also homework. he is feeling a little overwhelmed these days, understandably so, and still has 20 movies to watch in addition to a few short screenplays to write, all before school starts september 7.

this temp job thing isn't going to work out right away. i doubt i'll get work today (i didn't yesterday), this is going to take some time, and i just have to be patient. it's been sort of nice to do whatever i want (read, watch movies, play games, hang out with friends) but there will come a point where i'll be ready to work. i guess this is just a much needed "extended vacation" because i have been working so hard these past few years. but i'll still be up, every morning at 8 to call the office at 8:30 to let them know whether or not i'm available. i wonder if i also need to call the night before?

mom and dad and katie are vacationing on the olympic penninsula at katie's boyfriend's parents cabin. no tv, no phone (but they get cell phone reception), and mom is completely in love with it. no noise from the city and it's completely surrounded by trees. i'm not sure if katie feels the same way, but i'm sure she's keeping herself entertained. dad is also having a good time. i'm so glad they found some time to get away. matt and i will head up to seattle for a few days next week to celebrate my birthday, and also my cousin's birthday (happy birthday gus and jeremy!). i am really looking forward to it even though i'm settling in to my life here. go figure, huh? :)

blah

we're tired today. we've been running around all week, doing errands, unpacking, meeting friends, shopping shopping shopping, just getting settled, and it's been exhausting! today we are going to stay home, not spend any money, and get the rest of the apartment set up (i.e. organizing the desk, get pictures on the wall, get clothes out of boxes, etc.). no sign of our loveseat, however, and we didn't hear from the guy yesterday, which means that matt will call them on monday and find out what's going on. from us to you, if you ever do a cross-state/cross-country move, never go with lightning van lines. they are awful.

i think tomorrow we're going to pack a picnic dinner and head over to griffith park, maybe do a little hiking and sightseeing. the observatory, unfortunately for us, is closed for 3 years due to major renovations (fortunate for them and us in three years). there's an amazing concert hall called the greek theatre, a golf course, horse back riding, and so much more. it's the second largest city park in the nation (the largest being central park in nyc). i am really excited to explore this little nature land within a giant metropolitan city and see what it has to offer when matt and i need a quick escape from the noise of daily life.

missing furniture

we're missing our loveseat! hah! isn't that hilarious? i find it quite amsuing, actually, since i never liked that thing much in the first place. i mean, how do you misplace a loveseat? 4 giant cushions plus the base? come on now! everything else is here, and our new bed will be delievered tomorrow morning.

kitchen is pretty much set up, all the books are put away, and we've even found some radio stations that we actually like. matt is currently taking a nap on the lazy boy chair and i've got to call comcast to set up cable t.v.

moving in

the movers are (finally) here, bringing in our boxes and furniture. finally, we'll have somewhere else to sit besides the carpet and our butts falling asleep. :) these guys are amazing - they work well together and are taking really good care of our stuff. the cats have hid themselves in the bathroom in an empty cupboard - it's quite adorable! matt's arranging things and singing along to "brown eyed girl" by van morrison. things are turning out pretty well, i'd say!

last night we saw "the island" which was better than i thought it would be. my only issue was with scarlett johansen's lips which were pouty the whole time. i realize it's her look, but they really played on it and that bothered me. we also went out to a greek restaurant at the grove which was really good. they had live music and we dined outside, making fun of all the weirdly dressed people passing by.

tonight it's on to unpacking and ordering pizza. i know we need to cut costs, but you can't be seriously thinking that we'll unpack and then i'll cook? hah! funny... :)

oh, i had my job interview today at the temp agency and it went really well. i had no idea that i could type 65 words a minute. i start working on monday which is great because august is going to be a tough month since matt's loans don't come through until the end of august...but that's okay. that's why this blog is called "l.a. adventures"...because this whole thing is just one long movie! :)

yay!

furniture comes tomorrow! yay!

it's the small things that help us adjust... :)

woohoo!

matt's on a flight tonight to burbank! :) yippee! can't wait to see my sweetie!

not-so-good-day

i think i've spent at least a quarter of the day cyring feeling completely overwhelmed and alone. no worries, now, though, because kari called and we're going out to dinner tonight. katie left this morning and i miss her so much...our talks and just hanging out...matt is stuck at sea-tac on standby (having trouble getting a flight back to l.a. and may not get home until tomorrow)...at least i have something to do tonight. i don't know how i'd manage without kari coming over tonight. probably drown my self pity in more tears and some ice cream. :)

this will pass, i know, but i'm just having a weak day today. thanks for bearing with me. to those of you who put up with my weepiness today, i can't thank you enough.

sister time

matt is in washington for his ordination this weekend in olympia which leaves me and katie to do whatever we want! :) tomorrow it's shopping and lunch at the grove and then a few hours at the bookstore so that katie can finish her homework. then it's off to the farmers market and buy stuff for dinner. she flys home on sunday and i will miss her terribly. i am really enjoying her company and we've been getting along better than we ever have before.

another high of 93 today. i think on tuesday it's supposed to go down to 85.

melting

93 today, plus humidity. ugh. today we went to universal studios and much fun was had by all! we went on all the rides including jurassic park, back to the future, the mummy, waterworld, and some others. we went to city walk and saw charlie and the chocolate factory at the city walk theater. it was a different interpretation of the book and to be honest, i enjoyed the old version better. it was truer to the book, though the newer version had amazing special effects (i mean, c'mon, it's tim burton and danny elfman composed the soundtrack, plus johnny depp...yum...) and the little boy who played charlie stole the show. another good point that we were in an airconditioned movie theater for over 2 hours during the heat of the day...yeah! :)

furniture to come in 4 to 6 days...i can't wait...

we're here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ohmigod, we're totally like, here! :) okay, i'll stop using the valley girl references. the apartment is as beautiful as i remembered and the weather isn't too bad. my sister katie is here too and she has been a big help. it's fun having her here! today we go order our mattress, pick up some groceries (now that our fridge is working) and pick up kitty supplies. the trip was a long but fun 3 days. katie read us the latest harry potter installment on the way down (cheap books on tape). needless to say, we'll have to read it again to get the full effect. but we figured out who died, and it's a huge plot twist! that's all i will say...

kitties did well on the trip down aside from quinn's constant howling. she stopped whenever katie would read. pj slept the whole time. where are they now? on top of the fridge, trying to stay cool.

i haven't taken any pictures of our apartment yet. we don't have any furniture so it looks pretty lame. but i have an interview with the temp agency tuesday at 10am and matt still has 26 movies to watch.

i still can't believe we're here...that we live in l.a. it's so surreal!

more to come...just bear with me...

movin' on down

we're staying at the mesmer's tonight in seattle and then tomorrow we have some errands to run (including picking up our copy of the new harry potter book). then it's off to the vancil's in puyallup for our final night and then breakfast at matt's grandparents sunday morning and THEN off to gold beach oregon for our first night duirng our road trip. katie is really excited about the trip and the cats, hopefully, will settle down after a little while.

just so you know, we won't have internet access for a few days. but please feel free to call and check in - we'd love to hear from you!

the countdown begins

when people ask me what matt and i are doing this weekend, i can officially say "moving to los angeles." i can't believe we're going, that we're leaving this beautiful apartment. this has been our first true home, and while we are anxious to move on to new adventures, we are sad to leave this place behind. of course, if i start talking about all the family and friends that we will miss, i will start to cray...new subject!

the wedding was beautiful! i seriously thought for a few hours that they would be late for their own wedding, but it went off without a hitch (except for someone's cell phone ringing and the bride's veil falling off when her dad lifted it. matt and i got to walk down the aisle together which was wonderful and i boogied the night away with friends and matt even joined me for a couple of songs. i had the best time! it was like a hinderlie renuinon (for those of you who don't know PLU, hinderlie was the dorm i lived in for three years) - heather, keleigh, brie, david, milton, curt, and there are a few other names i'm not remembering. oh, and bronwyn, my dress looked fabulous. thank you for all your hard work! i got many compliments! :)

matt and i left to stay at the villa which we totally adored. grand staircases and fabulous hosts. four poster bed so high off the ground you had to use a step stool to get in! beautiful bathroom with a separate tub and shower. yummy breakfast and free wine - can't get any better! we can't wait to go back.

last, but certainly not least, mom is doing well. i saw her last night at matt's final improv show (which, of course, was frickin' hilarious). her color is great, her spirits are back, and though the recent news is bleak, she looks wonderful. my dad's older sister sharon is in town for a few more days to help out and that's been good for the whole family. they also have a guest from hungary, marta, who is a fabulous glass artist and cook. we're off to see them today and drop off rudy, our oldest cat who is desperate to be outside. he'll be staying with mom and dad for awhile until we get a bigger place. mom and dad really want him, and i see it as leaving a little part of us behind.

switch-a-roo

so i called the renting office today and it seems we'll be on the the third floor, not on the second floor. we'll still be facing the parking lot and not the street - thank god - but i had to call the lady at the renting office several times today. i think i'll wait until thursday to call her again. :)

i'm not really going back to work before i leave. i'll go one day next week to say good bye and pick up my stuff, have my "last day". i need to spend time with mom, i want to spend time with mom, and it's good. today we fixed lunch and now she's upstairs taking a nap. i cleaned out the fridge, k.m. is taking the dog for a walk, and while mom is with dad, k.m. and i will go see a movie. auntie sharon will be here tomorrow and we are all looking forward to that. she will be a big help around the house and to our spirits!

damnit!

so, it turns out that camille's mom didn't have pnemonia (or however the hell you spell it). nope, it's worse. the cancer has spread to her lungs. not much more to say today, other than we're all going through the emotions of confused, angry, scared, frustrated, and sad.