Last night Matt and I joined Marshall and Jeremy (2 students from AFI in the writing program) and brought along our friend Jimmy who was visiting from Seattle for an evening of improv theatre. Marshall's friend was performing amongst a group of women who were doing Monty Python sketches. They served free drinks, which is always a bonus in my book, and we laughed the night away. Jeremy headed home afterwards, and we drove Marshall to his car. Then Matt, Jimmy, and I headed back to the apartment and were up till 3am playing games and having political discussions over 2 bottles of wine and wonderful pizza.
Today I slept in until11am which was wonderful. I've spent the afternoon doing nothing and that's been even better. Matt is at a production meet this afternoon which gives me the entire place to myself . That's something I also never complain about. :)
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Thursday, April 20, 2006
That was interesting...and a little scary...
There was a fire in our parking lot!
I was at the computer and heard this loud crackling noise. It sounded like a barbeque totally out of control. I looked outside and there was a fire starting in the back corner, maybe 5 feet from our car. I ran down to move it and Matt called the fire department. I freaked out as I ran to the car, only to see our landlord moving in with the fire extinguisher. She yelled at me to move to spot number one, which I did, and she ran back and forth three times to re-fill the extinguisher. The fire department showed up within five minutes (I don't mind paying my taxes now) and took care of the mystery smoldering mess on the other side. One of the tenants told me that she thinks there are some people who live outside just on the other side of the fence and maybe that's what started it.
Adrenaline is pumping and Matt and I are off to dinner in about an hour. We have a lovely bottle of wine that will come in very handy. :)
San Diego was a blast. I forgot my digital camera but will be happy to share cute pictures of the adorable baby panda, baby gorilla, and baby giraffe and also share the story of the wildcat we saw get loose while on a walk.
It's been an interesting week so far!
I was at the computer and heard this loud crackling noise. It sounded like a barbeque totally out of control. I looked outside and there was a fire starting in the back corner, maybe 5 feet from our car. I ran down to move it and Matt called the fire department. I freaked out as I ran to the car, only to see our landlord moving in with the fire extinguisher. She yelled at me to move to spot number one, which I did, and she ran back and forth three times to re-fill the extinguisher. The fire department showed up within five minutes (I don't mind paying my taxes now) and took care of the mystery smoldering mess on the other side. One of the tenants told me that she thinks there are some people who live outside just on the other side of the fence and maybe that's what started it.
Adrenaline is pumping and Matt and I are off to dinner in about an hour. We have a lovely bottle of wine that will come in very handy. :)
San Diego was a blast. I forgot my digital camera but will be happy to share cute pictures of the adorable baby panda, baby gorilla, and baby giraffe and also share the story of the wildcat we saw get loose while on a walk.
It's been an interesting week so far!
Friday, April 14, 2006
Out and about
Katie flew in yesterday afternoon. This morning we're headed off to San Diego for a few days! This morning we're headed straight to Sea World and then checking in to our hotel. Then tomorrow we're spending the whole day at the San Diego Zoo! I'm so excited to get out of L.A. for a few days and now I have to go because Matt's getting in a tizzy about getting on the road.
I haven't even finished my breakfast yet and Katie's still in her PJ's. Obviously Matt has forgotten that he's traveling with Mesmers.
I haven't even finished my breakfast yet and Katie's still in her PJ's. Obviously Matt has forgotten that he's traveling with Mesmers.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Celebrity Watch
Living in L.A., the question that always comes up is "Have you ever met/seen celebrities?"
Of course. I live in Hollywood and temp at tv/movie lots. From most recent to first, here's the list of celebrities I've seen (these don't include the one's Matt has seen, I can't remember their names):
1. Today I saw/interacted with Leon Robinson. Stand-offish, probably knew I recognized him. When I asked him his name (I have to get names in order to hand out parking validations), he only gave me his first name and then when I asked for his last name, he seriously hesitated. Whatever. I'm just doing my job, buddy.
2. I was with Beth and Celena at the 101 Cafe when all of the sudden Celena whispered "Look!" It was Sandra Oh. Need I say more? I was completely star struck. She was about a foot away from me and I so desperately wanted to say that I loved her in Sideways. But I played cool. She was with friends and kept her sunglasses on in the restaurant. Really beautiful in person, more stunning than on T.V. which is rare.
3. Alan Ruck at the FOX movie lot. He was coming up the stairs, I was coming out of the elevator and was completely turned around. Now the parking lady very nicely but very quickly told me where to go before I headed into the giant parking complex and handed me a map. So I asked him if he knew where the building was and he said "Well, let's look at our maps." We figured it out, and he wished me well and we went our separate ways. Most famous for his role on "Spin City" and as Cameron in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
4. Kevin Smith. Chasing Amy. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Clerks. If you don't know who I'm talking about, then I feel sorry for you. He's lost quite a bit of weight. I almost didn't recognize him.
5. Famke Janssen. Really skinny in person. Saw her twice on the same day at Runyon Canyon. Seemed snooty but she had a very cute dog looking up at her adoringly and carrying a stick that he obviously wanted her to throw. Famous for her rold in "Goldeneye" and as Jean Gray in the famed "X-Men" movies.
Of course. I live in Hollywood and temp at tv/movie lots. From most recent to first, here's the list of celebrities I've seen (these don't include the one's Matt has seen, I can't remember their names):
1. Today I saw/interacted with Leon Robinson. Stand-offish, probably knew I recognized him. When I asked him his name (I have to get names in order to hand out parking validations), he only gave me his first name and then when I asked for his last name, he seriously hesitated. Whatever. I'm just doing my job, buddy.
2. I was with Beth and Celena at the 101 Cafe when all of the sudden Celena whispered "Look!" It was Sandra Oh. Need I say more? I was completely star struck. She was about a foot away from me and I so desperately wanted to say that I loved her in Sideways. But I played cool. She was with friends and kept her sunglasses on in the restaurant. Really beautiful in person, more stunning than on T.V. which is rare.
3. Alan Ruck at the FOX movie lot. He was coming up the stairs, I was coming out of the elevator and was completely turned around. Now the parking lady very nicely but very quickly told me where to go before I headed into the giant parking complex and handed me a map. So I asked him if he knew where the building was and he said "Well, let's look at our maps." We figured it out, and he wished me well and we went our separate ways. Most famous for his role on "Spin City" and as Cameron in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
4. Kevin Smith. Chasing Amy. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Clerks. If you don't know who I'm talking about, then I feel sorry for you. He's lost quite a bit of weight. I almost didn't recognize him.
5. Famke Janssen. Really skinny in person. Saw her twice on the same day at Runyon Canyon. Seemed snooty but she had a very cute dog looking up at her adoringly and carrying a stick that he obviously wanted her to throw. Famous for her rold in "Goldeneye" and as Jean Gray in the famed "X-Men" movies.
Monday, April 03, 2006
A Cat's Guide
1. Introduction: Why Do We Need Humans?
So you've decided to get yourself a human being. In doing so, you've joined the millions of other cats who have acquired these strange and often frustrating creatures. There will be any number of times, during the course of your association with humans, when you will wonder why you have bothered to grace them with your presence. What's so great about humans anyway? Why not just hang around with other cats? Our greatest philosophers have struggled with this question for centuries, but the answer is actually rather simple:
THEY HAVE OPPOSABLE THUMBS.
Which makes them the perfect tools for such tasks as opening doors, getting the lids off of cat food cans, changing television stations, and other activities that we, despite our other obvious advantages, find difficult to do ourselves. True, chimps, orangutans, and lemurs also have opposable thumbs, but they are nowhere as easy to train.
2. How and When to Get Your Human's Attention
Humans often erroneously assume that there are other, more important activities than taking care of your immediate needs, such as conducting business, spending time with their families, or even sleeping. Though this is dreadfully inconvenient, you can make this work to your advantage by pestering your human at the moment it is the busiest. It is usually so flustered that it will do whatever you want it to do, just to get you out of its hair. Not coincidentally, human teenagers follow this same practice. Here are some tried and true methods of getting your human to do what you want:
Sitting on paper: An oldie but a goodie. If a human has paper in front of it, chances are good it assumes the paper is more important than you. It will often offer you a snack to lure you away. Establish your supremacy over this wood pulp product at every opportunity. This practice also works well with computer keyboards, remote controls, car keys, and small children.
Waking your human at odd hours: A cat's "golden time" is between 3:30 and 4:30 in the morning. If you paw at your human's sleeping face during this time, you have a better than even chance that it will get up and, in an incoherent haze, do exactly what you want. You may actually have to scratch deep sleepers to get their attention; remember to vary the scratch site to keep the human from getting suspicious.
3. Punishing Your Human Being
Sometimes, despite your best training efforts, your human will stubbornly resist bending to your whim. In these extreme circumstances, you may have to punish your human. Obvious punishments, such as scratching furniture or eating household plants, are likely to backfire; the unsophisticated humans are likely to misinterpret the activities and then try to discipline YOU. Instead, we offer these subtle but nonetheless effective alternatives:
* Use the cat box during an important formal dinner.
* Stare impassively at your human while it is attempting a romantic interlude.
* Stand over an important piece of electronic equipment and feign a hairball attack.
*After your human has watched a particularly disturbing horror film, stand by the hall closet and then slowly back away, hissing and yowling.
* While your human is sleeping, lie on its face.
4. Rewarding Your Human: Should Your Gift Still Be Alive? The cat world is divided over the etiquette of presenting humans with the thoughtful gift of a recently disemboweled animal. Some believe that humans prefer these gifts already dead, while others maintain that humans enjoy a slowly expiring cricket or rodent just as much as we do, given their jumpy and playful movements in picking the creatures up after they've been presented. After much consideration of the human psyche, we recommend the following: cold-blooded animals (large insects, frogs, lizards, garden snakes, and the occasional earthworm) should be presented dead, while warm-blooded animals (birds, rodents, your neighbor's Pomeranian) are better still living. When you see the expression on your human's face, you'll know it's worth it.
5. How Long Should You Keep Your Human?
You are obligated to your human for only one of your lives. The other eight are up to you. We recommend mixing and matching, though in the end, most humans (at least the ones that are worth living with) are pretty much the same. But what do you expect? They're humans, after all. Opposable thumbs will take you only so far.
So you've decided to get yourself a human being. In doing so, you've joined the millions of other cats who have acquired these strange and often frustrating creatures. There will be any number of times, during the course of your association with humans, when you will wonder why you have bothered to grace them with your presence. What's so great about humans anyway? Why not just hang around with other cats? Our greatest philosophers have struggled with this question for centuries, but the answer is actually rather simple:
THEY HAVE OPPOSABLE THUMBS.
Which makes them the perfect tools for such tasks as opening doors, getting the lids off of cat food cans, changing television stations, and other activities that we, despite our other obvious advantages, find difficult to do ourselves. True, chimps, orangutans, and lemurs also have opposable thumbs, but they are nowhere as easy to train.
2. How and When to Get Your Human's Attention
Humans often erroneously assume that there are other, more important activities than taking care of your immediate needs, such as conducting business, spending time with their families, or even sleeping. Though this is dreadfully inconvenient, you can make this work to your advantage by pestering your human at the moment it is the busiest. It is usually so flustered that it will do whatever you want it to do, just to get you out of its hair. Not coincidentally, human teenagers follow this same practice. Here are some tried and true methods of getting your human to do what you want:
Sitting on paper: An oldie but a goodie. If a human has paper in front of it, chances are good it assumes the paper is more important than you. It will often offer you a snack to lure you away. Establish your supremacy over this wood pulp product at every opportunity. This practice also works well with computer keyboards, remote controls, car keys, and small children.
Waking your human at odd hours: A cat's "golden time" is between 3:30 and 4:30 in the morning. If you paw at your human's sleeping face during this time, you have a better than even chance that it will get up and, in an incoherent haze, do exactly what you want. You may actually have to scratch deep sleepers to get their attention; remember to vary the scratch site to keep the human from getting suspicious.
3. Punishing Your Human Being
Sometimes, despite your best training efforts, your human will stubbornly resist bending to your whim. In these extreme circumstances, you may have to punish your human. Obvious punishments, such as scratching furniture or eating household plants, are likely to backfire; the unsophisticated humans are likely to misinterpret the activities and then try to discipline YOU. Instead, we offer these subtle but nonetheless effective alternatives:
* Use the cat box during an important formal dinner.
* Stare impassively at your human while it is attempting a romantic interlude.
* Stand over an important piece of electronic equipment and feign a hairball attack.
*After your human has watched a particularly disturbing horror film, stand by the hall closet and then slowly back away, hissing and yowling.
* While your human is sleeping, lie on its face.
4. Rewarding Your Human: Should Your Gift Still Be Alive? The cat world is divided over the etiquette of presenting humans with the thoughtful gift of a recently disemboweled animal. Some believe that humans prefer these gifts already dead, while others maintain that humans enjoy a slowly expiring cricket or rodent just as much as we do, given their jumpy and playful movements in picking the creatures up after they've been presented. After much consideration of the human psyche, we recommend the following: cold-blooded animals (large insects, frogs, lizards, garden snakes, and the occasional earthworm) should be presented dead, while warm-blooded animals (birds, rodents, your neighbor's Pomeranian) are better still living. When you see the expression on your human's face, you'll know it's worth it.
5. How Long Should You Keep Your Human?
You are obligated to your human for only one of your lives. The other eight are up to you. We recommend mixing and matching, though in the end, most humans (at least the ones that are worth living with) are pretty much the same. But what do you expect? They're humans, after all. Opposable thumbs will take you only so far.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Lazy Days
I've accomplished about zilch since we got back from Seattle. Part of it has been a massive bout of depression, and part of it has been, well, I haven't been working so I've viewed the past 3 days as time to just veg. But last night I had trouble sleeping because all I had been doing is "sleeping" for the last 3 days! So today I have made a plan to get things done:
1. Ironing (Matt has an interview for an internship this afternoon)
2. Vaccuming (which needs to desperately get done)
3. Balance checkbook
4. Do shoulder strengthening exercises
5. Catch up on email correspondence
6. Search for jobs
I think that's a good start. :)
And it makes me happy to think of all the money we have saved by not eating out at all this week. Of course, rent is due today...ugh...
1. Ironing (Matt has an interview for an internship this afternoon)
2. Vaccuming (which needs to desperately get done)
3. Balance checkbook
4. Do shoulder strengthening exercises
5. Catch up on email correspondence
6. Search for jobs
I think that's a good start. :)
And it makes me happy to think of all the money we have saved by not eating out at all this week. Of course, rent is due today...ugh...
Friday, March 24, 2006
Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jog
So we're on our way back to Seattle/Puyallup this afternoon. I think we land about 6pm. Nancy will pick us up and then it's off to dinner at one of our favorite Restaurants on Garfield Street in Tacoma called Reyna's and re-unite with Julia! :) Then off to home in Puyallup (pronounced Pew-Al-Up) and sleep.
Tomorrow I'm not sure what we'll do. Be lazy and stick around the house? Maybe I could convince Nancy and Julia to get a pedicure/manicure. Or see a movie? My folks are going to show up around 5:30 for dinner and desert. Then I'll go home with them and Matt will stay over another night with his folks, then Nancy will bring him up to Seattle sometime on Sunday.
Sunday is Auntie Gwen's birthday lunch at Swanson's in Ballard. Then some time with Dad. Then Paige comes over after class. :)
Monday I think I might go get a facial and an eyebrow wax at my favorite skin care place, Magnolia Skin Care. The owner, Kelly, is awesome. I adore her!
All in all it should be a fantastic trip. Oh, and on Sunday my little sister gets back from her trip to NYC. She left earlier this week for the model UN conference. She bought a pink pinstripe suit. I can't wait to see her!
Tomorrow I'm not sure what we'll do. Be lazy and stick around the house? Maybe I could convince Nancy and Julia to get a pedicure/manicure. Or see a movie? My folks are going to show up around 5:30 for dinner and desert. Then I'll go home with them and Matt will stay over another night with his folks, then Nancy will bring him up to Seattle sometime on Sunday.
Sunday is Auntie Gwen's birthday lunch at Swanson's in Ballard. Then some time with Dad. Then Paige comes over after class. :)
Monday I think I might go get a facial and an eyebrow wax at my favorite skin care place, Magnolia Skin Care. The owner, Kelly, is awesome. I adore her!
All in all it should be a fantastic trip. Oh, and on Sunday my little sister gets back from her trip to NYC. She left earlier this week for the model UN conference. She bought a pink pinstripe suit. I can't wait to see her!
Monday, March 20, 2006
Umbrellas vs. Rain Coats
Me: "Oh, crap. It's raining outside and I don't have my rain coat!"
B. : "Rain coat? Why not just use an umbrella?"
Me: "Umbrella's are for wimps. I'm from the northwest. We use coats with hoods."
B.: "A hood? Does it really keep you dry?"
Me: (suprised by the question) "Um, yes. I mean, your hair might get messed up, but it keeps you dry."
B.: "What about your face?"
Me: "The hood creates this little shelf that goes just barely over your face, enough to keep you dry and you can still see when walking around."
B.: "Huh. Well, I guess that would be more practical to have in Seattle where it rains all the time."
Me: "Precisely."
B.: "Did you still want that umbrella?"
B. : "Rain coat? Why not just use an umbrella?"
Me: "Umbrella's are for wimps. I'm from the northwest. We use coats with hoods."
B.: "A hood? Does it really keep you dry?"
Me: (suprised by the question) "Um, yes. I mean, your hair might get messed up, but it keeps you dry."
B.: "What about your face?"
Me: "The hood creates this little shelf that goes just barely over your face, enough to keep you dry and you can still see when walking around."
B.: "Huh. Well, I guess that would be more practical to have in Seattle where it rains all the time."
Me: "Precisely."
B.: "Did you still want that umbrella?"
Friday, March 17, 2006
Visitors
Michelle is here! And Sharon too! They are visiting from Alaska and staying at the same hotel that Matt did when he had his interview at AFI about a year ago. How ironic! Last night we went to California Pizza Kitchen, went shopping at Hollywood and Highland, and played Apples to Apples. Tonight I think we'll stay in or maybe go see a movie, I'm not sure. This weekend Matt will be filming and he's asked me and all my friends to be extras! :)
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Bitch Mode
All of the sudden, without warning, I got into this mood of not wanting to talk to anyone for feeling like I just might strangle someone. I don't know what caused it, but I am just really snippy. My happy personality is gone for the next few hours at least and replaced with irritable bitch queen.
If any of you have something smart to say, I may just reach through the computer screen and do who knows what. You have been warned. :)
Okay, I didn't really mean that. But I do mean that I'm cranky.
If any of you have something smart to say, I may just reach through the computer screen and do who knows what. You have been warned. :)
Okay, I didn't really mean that. But I do mean that I'm cranky.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
So it's been awhile!
Well, where to begin?
I quit my job and took a few days off. Went to yoga, got some much needed errands done, and slept in. Quite lovely. But after a few days of being bored, I was ready to work again. Thank goodness the temp agency called and I got sent to the FOX movie lot! :) I had to work in a cubicle and in the business office but no matter because I was on a movie lot! :) I even met "Cameron" from Ferris Bueller's Day Off (he was also in Spin City). Then I got a temp job that I'm currently at now, at Fox Sports Net in West L.A. The tape librarian is out on vacation so I am filling in for him. I had to go through 3 days of training so that should tell you there's quite a bit of detail to this job. Basically I log in all the commercial tapes that come in and toss out the duplicates. It sounds easy but it takes all day. And this office is so quiet. You could hear a pin drop!
My good friend Beth flew in from Seattle last weekend so we've been hanging out quite a bit. Celena, Beth, and I all went to high school together so we spent the majority of the weekend pigging out, shopping, laughing, and star sighting. The most exciting event was that we went to the 101 cafe and saw Sandra Oh! I mean, she was right next to us on the sidewalk and is even more beautiful in person. Have you seen Sideways? She plays Jack's girlfriend while on the trip and she's also a major character in Grey's Anatomy. Well, Beth and I were totally starstruck. We didn't say anything, but I couldn't stop glancing over at her! It was so awesome! And, I also discovered Zephora over the weekend. Wow.
So yesterday was my first day at the job on my own, and it went fine. Totally quiet. No biggie. On my way home I called mom to get the results of her tests and it doesn't look good. Something on the scan shows something all over her bones, and it's probably cancer but the doctor did not confirm that. They'll know for sure in a few days, but mom is starting chemo again on Thursday. She's been feeling so good through March, so this is kind of a downer. But we just have to keep our spirits up. They'll be using the same drugs (minus the one that she had an allergic reaction to) that brought her tumor marker down, so that's good. And she'll continue doing the alternative therapy in Federal Way.
Last night Beth, Matt and I played Apples to Apples. We needed 4 players so we decided to deal PJ the cat in. And guess who won? The cat. We suck. :P
I should go to yoga tonight, shouldn't I? Urgh. Decisions, decisions.
I quit my job and took a few days off. Went to yoga, got some much needed errands done, and slept in. Quite lovely. But after a few days of being bored, I was ready to work again. Thank goodness the temp agency called and I got sent to the FOX movie lot! :) I had to work in a cubicle and in the business office but no matter because I was on a movie lot! :) I even met "Cameron" from Ferris Bueller's Day Off (he was also in Spin City). Then I got a temp job that I'm currently at now, at Fox Sports Net in West L.A. The tape librarian is out on vacation so I am filling in for him. I had to go through 3 days of training so that should tell you there's quite a bit of detail to this job. Basically I log in all the commercial tapes that come in and toss out the duplicates. It sounds easy but it takes all day. And this office is so quiet. You could hear a pin drop!
My good friend Beth flew in from Seattle last weekend so we've been hanging out quite a bit. Celena, Beth, and I all went to high school together so we spent the majority of the weekend pigging out, shopping, laughing, and star sighting. The most exciting event was that we went to the 101 cafe and saw Sandra Oh! I mean, she was right next to us on the sidewalk and is even more beautiful in person. Have you seen Sideways? She plays Jack's girlfriend while on the trip and she's also a major character in Grey's Anatomy. Well, Beth and I were totally starstruck. We didn't say anything, but I couldn't stop glancing over at her! It was so awesome! And, I also discovered Zephora over the weekend. Wow.
So yesterday was my first day at the job on my own, and it went fine. Totally quiet. No biggie. On my way home I called mom to get the results of her tests and it doesn't look good. Something on the scan shows something all over her bones, and it's probably cancer but the doctor did not confirm that. They'll know for sure in a few days, but mom is starting chemo again on Thursday. She's been feeling so good through March, so this is kind of a downer. But we just have to keep our spirits up. They'll be using the same drugs (minus the one that she had an allergic reaction to) that brought her tumor marker down, so that's good. And she'll continue doing the alternative therapy in Federal Way.
Last night Beth, Matt and I played Apples to Apples. We needed 4 players so we decided to deal PJ the cat in. And guess who won? The cat. We suck. :P
I should go to yoga tonight, shouldn't I? Urgh. Decisions, decisions.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Tourists!
Did you happen to watch the Oscars? Because the Kodak Theatre is about a mile away from where we live. We didn't go, but we sure thought about it! :) 
Oh Johnny!
She's gonna see him in Las Vegas, baby, yeah! 
Dude. It's Greta Garbo! 
Hollywood in the palm of my hand. :) 
Hollywood in the palm of her hand. :) Chinatown
Paige and her $9.00 suitcase. 
Entrance to L.A.'s Chinatown. :) Oh, and these are our fabulous L.A. fashionable sunglasses.
What's been going on lately, you ask?
- TAXES
- Got a temp job through the 20th. Yay!
- Mom's CAT scan came back clear. Woohoo! More tests scheduled for next Thursday.
- TAXES
- Beth is visiting this weekend from Seattle.
- Michelle and her friend will be visiting a week from Wednesday and staying a week (at a hotel). I have not seen Michelle in 2 years (she's from Alaska)!
- Went to Yoga for the first time yesterday in 3 weeks. OW!
- So so happy not to be working for the psycho Rabbi anymore.
- It's raining. What the eff?
- Coming home to visit March 24-27 for family stuff. Julia is going to be home for a week so we are looking forward to seeing her.
- Hmmmmm, I need to update my resume.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
I heart acting!
I had a great class last night. My scene was with Ferrell, and it went really well. I even got to yell, which was so much fun! Many of the actors have trouble getting mad and yelling, but I don't. My issue is being "intimate" with a guy on stage or on camera. It's just weird sometimes. I don't know how to explain it. What threw me off when we first started rehearsing in class was that Ferrell's fiance was in the class and watching us, but then I figured out that she's a bigger flirt than he is so it was no problem! My instructor said that I'm coming along nicely, that it's a joy to watch me improve, to see the subtle changes I make while increasing the intensity. Apparently I understand the mehcanics of acting, and now I'm working on "being in the moment", making the character real and interesting. It's so much fun. I love it!
The more I get into acting, the more I enjoy people watching and studying their moves and wondering what their personalities are. While I'm still kind of shy on meeting people at first, I find humans fascinating. So many characters and so many personalities to learn from! Especially here, where you can here 10 languages in just one day. I wonder where they are going, did they sleep, do they have family, are they single, do they live in the city or outside of it, have they ever been to another country, blah blah blah. And I know people think I'm staring and that they think I'm being rude, but I'm just curious and want to know more about them.
I suppose you all think I'm insane, but I'm getting more and more into this, and I'm loving every minute of it!
The more I get into acting, the more I enjoy people watching and studying their moves and wondering what their personalities are. While I'm still kind of shy on meeting people at first, I find humans fascinating. So many characters and so many personalities to learn from! Especially here, where you can here 10 languages in just one day. I wonder where they are going, did they sleep, do they have family, are they single, do they live in the city or outside of it, have they ever been to another country, blah blah blah. And I know people think I'm staring and that they think I'm being rude, but I'm just curious and want to know more about them.
I suppose you all think I'm insane, but I'm getting more and more into this, and I'm loving every minute of it!
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Senioritis
I really hate being at work on Sunday mornings. It's Sunday School and someone has to be here to answer the phones that NEVER ring! While I love kids, I like them in small doses, like 2 or 3 at a time. I am trying to work, but singing "Old McDonald" and running and yelling through the halls does not bode well for editing the newsletter. Urgh.
I have been sick this past week with a terrible cold that started in my head and then moved to my throat, which turned into laryngitis. It's now made it's way to my sinuses but believe it or not I'm actually feeling better.
Matt and I will be heading to the Northwest for a few days next month. His sister is visiting for a week so we'll join the Vancils in a family reunion. We are looking forward to fresh air and rain, believe it or not! Though we're going to freeze our tooshies off if the weather doesnt' get above 50. I swear, we are only Californians in terms of weather. Once I start wearing fashionable clothes and going tanning every week, then I give you full permission to slap me upside the head. :)
I have been sick this past week with a terrible cold that started in my head and then moved to my throat, which turned into laryngitis. It's now made it's way to my sinuses but believe it or not I'm actually feeling better.
Matt and I will be heading to the Northwest for a few days next month. His sister is visiting for a week so we'll join the Vancils in a family reunion. We are looking forward to fresh air and rain, believe it or not! Though we're going to freeze our tooshies off if the weather doesnt' get above 50. I swear, we are only Californians in terms of weather. Once I start wearing fashionable clothes and going tanning every week, then I give you full permission to slap me upside the head. :)
Friday, February 24, 2006
It's time you should know...
...that I quit my job! :) My last day is a week from yesterday, so March 2. I have called a few temp agencies, including the last one I was with and they are excited to have me back. Matt has been incredibly supportive of this decision, as have the parents, so I feel that I am finally on the right track. I don't know what's next. I am so bored with administrative assisting, but it pays nicely...ugh. I think if temping can work out for awhile, that would be nice. I'd like something flexible and non-comittal for awhile. This would also give me a little more time to focus on my acting and maybe decorate the apartment. :)
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Does the $*#! ever stop?
I have unfortunate news.
My Grandpa Richard, my dad's father, his cancer has returned. We don't know much more than that - we just found out last week. He's going to remain in Spokane to get treatment and Aunt Sharon and Uncle Terry will be his main caregivers, though he may trek over to Seattle for a second opinion and/or special tests. I called him last week and he seemed to be in good spirits, though I'm sure he's worried.
The other blow is that Mom's tumor markers have jumped from 55 to 126. This is quite a shock since Mom has been feeling so good these past few months. She's in Oregon this week as my sister has some sort of viral infection and Dad doesn't want Mom to get sick. Mom is visiting Aunt Muriel and Uncle John, and today they are taking her to the beach.
I'm just so frustrated and depressed right now. How come this keeps happening? When will enough be enough? We don't need these bad things to keep happening. We need some happy things. I know that there's a possibility that everything will work out, but I have to say that right now, I have very little faith in whoever is in charge. I'm actually very furious at whoever is in charge. Can I sound 2 for a moment? THIS IS NOT FAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My Grandpa Richard, my dad's father, his cancer has returned. We don't know much more than that - we just found out last week. He's going to remain in Spokane to get treatment and Aunt Sharon and Uncle Terry will be his main caregivers, though he may trek over to Seattle for a second opinion and/or special tests. I called him last week and he seemed to be in good spirits, though I'm sure he's worried.
The other blow is that Mom's tumor markers have jumped from 55 to 126. This is quite a shock since Mom has been feeling so good these past few months. She's in Oregon this week as my sister has some sort of viral infection and Dad doesn't want Mom to get sick. Mom is visiting Aunt Muriel and Uncle John, and today they are taking her to the beach.
I'm just so frustrated and depressed right now. How come this keeps happening? When will enough be enough? We don't need these bad things to keep happening. We need some happy things. I know that there's a possibility that everything will work out, but I have to say that right now, I have very little faith in whoever is in charge. I'm actually very furious at whoever is in charge. Can I sound 2 for a moment? THIS IS NOT FAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Paige, Camille, and Santa Monica
But she gave total L.A. 'tude.
Paige wanted me to give L.A. attitude. I couldn't, I was to happy!
It was a beautiful day in Santa Monica. It had rained the night before and so there was no smog.
Look out L.A.! Here we come!
My new man, Tango. 
The lovely Paige drinking a lovely beer on the lovely 3rd Street Promenade.Wednesday, February 15, 2006
The Pacific Northwest According To Jeff Foxworthy:"You know you are from the Northwest if:
1. You know the state flower (Mildew).
2. You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper inthe trash.
3. Use the statement "sun break" and know what itmeans.
4. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.
5. You know more people who own boats than airconditioners.
6. You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nicerestaurant.
7. You stand on a deserted corner in the rain waitingfor the "Walk" signal.
8. You consider that if it has no snow or has notrecently erupted, it is not a real mountain.
9. You can taste the difference between Starbucks,Seattle's Best, and Veneto's.
10. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho, andSockeye Salmon.
11. You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup,Issaquah, Oregon, Yakima, and Willamette.12. You consider swimming an indoor sport.
13. You can tell the difference between Japanese,Chinese and Thai food.
14. In winter, you go to work in the dark and comehome in the dark-while only working eight-hour days.
15. You never go camping without waterproof matchesand a poncho.
16. You are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showersfollowed by rain," and "Tomorrow's forecast: rainfollowed by showers."
17. You have no concept of humidity withoutprecipitation.
18. You know that Boring is a town in Oregon and notjust a state of mind.
19. You can point to at least two volcanoes, even ifyou cannot see through the cloud cover.
20. You notice, "The mountain is out" when it is apretty day and you can actually see it.
21. You put on your shorts when the temperature getsabove 50, but still wear your hiking boots and parka.
22. You switch to your sandals when it gets about 60,but keep the socks on.
23. You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain.
24. You think people who use umbrellas are eitherwimps or tourists.
25. You buy new sunglasses every year, because youcannot find the old ones after such a long time.
26. You measure distance in hours.27.
You often switch from "heat" to "a/c" in the sameday.
28. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fitunder a raincoat.
29. You know all the important seasons: Almost Winter,Winter, Still Raining (Spring), Road Construction(Summer), Deer & Elk Season (Fall).
30. You actually understood these jokes and willprobably forward them.
1. You know the state flower (Mildew).
2. You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper inthe trash.
3. Use the statement "sun break" and know what itmeans.
4. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.
5. You know more people who own boats than airconditioners.
6. You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nicerestaurant.
7. You stand on a deserted corner in the rain waitingfor the "Walk" signal.
8. You consider that if it has no snow or has notrecently erupted, it is not a real mountain.
9. You can taste the difference between Starbucks,Seattle's Best, and Veneto's.
10. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho, andSockeye Salmon.
11. You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup,Issaquah, Oregon, Yakima, and Willamette.12. You consider swimming an indoor sport.
13. You can tell the difference between Japanese,Chinese and Thai food.
14. In winter, you go to work in the dark and comehome in the dark-while only working eight-hour days.
15. You never go camping without waterproof matchesand a poncho.
16. You are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showersfollowed by rain," and "Tomorrow's forecast: rainfollowed by showers."
17. You have no concept of humidity withoutprecipitation.
18. You know that Boring is a town in Oregon and notjust a state of mind.
19. You can point to at least two volcanoes, even ifyou cannot see through the cloud cover.
20. You notice, "The mountain is out" when it is apretty day and you can actually see it.
21. You put on your shorts when the temperature getsabove 50, but still wear your hiking boots and parka.
22. You switch to your sandals when it gets about 60,but keep the socks on.
23. You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain.
24. You think people who use umbrellas are eitherwimps or tourists.
25. You buy new sunglasses every year, because youcannot find the old ones after such a long time.
26. You measure distance in hours.27.
You often switch from "heat" to "a/c" in the sameday.
28. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fitunder a raincoat.
29. You know all the important seasons: Almost Winter,Winter, Still Raining (Spring), Road Construction(Summer), Deer & Elk Season (Fall).
30. You actually understood these jokes and willprobably forward them.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
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...
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...
Thursday, February 09, 2006
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?
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?
Sunday, February 05, 2006
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
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.
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.
Friday, January 27, 2006
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. :)
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. :)
Saturday, January 21, 2006
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!
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!
Monday, January 16, 2006
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. :)
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. :)
Thursday, January 12, 2006
destructive!
i had no idea my name could cause so much trouble...
http://www.geocities.com/hurricanene/hurricanecamille.htm
http://www.geocities.com/hurricanene/hurricanecamille.htm
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
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!
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!
Monday, January 09, 2006
wonderful wineries
here's just a sample of things we tried (and bought)...
Bonny Doon Vineyard
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.
- 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!
- 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!
- 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.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
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...
we had a great time and did not want to leave. details to come...
we bought lots and lots of wine!
pictures to come...
Friday, January 06, 2006
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!
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!
Monday, January 02, 2006
happy birthday!
happy birthday to you
happy birthday to you
happy birthday dear Jenny
happy birthday to you!
hope it's happy! :)
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. :)
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. :)
Thursday, December 29, 2005
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. :)
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. :)
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
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. :)
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. :)
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
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. :)
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. :)
Saturday, December 17, 2005
happy birthday, kari!
happy birthday, my dear friend! may you have a wonderful day and all your wishes come true! :)
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
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!!!!!
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!!!!!
Friday, December 09, 2005
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...
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...
Thursday, December 08, 2005
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. :)
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. :)
Sunday, December 04, 2005
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).
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).
Friday, December 02, 2005
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.
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.
Monday, November 28, 2005
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?
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?
Sunday, November 27, 2005
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?
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?
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
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!!!
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!!!
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
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.
i get to sleep in on thursday! yay! :)
it's the little things that count.
Monday, November 21, 2005
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.
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.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
weird things about l.a.
- movie posters EVERYWHERE;
- christmas decorations and 80 degree weather does not compute;
- the emphaisis of beauty in this city, whether it's plastic or real (and somtimes it's hard to tell);
- so many people think of themselves as celebrities;
- seeing the hollywood sign every night on my way home from work;
- stretch hummers;
- obsession with stardom;
- hollywood is really not that attractive;
- hollywood blvd. being closed down/roped off due to movie premieres;
- 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);
- the giant gap store;
- 3 stripper stores all on the same block;
- how far people commute to work (2 hours - are they crazy!?);
- the amount of freeways and it's still not enough;
- if you tell someone you're an actor, most people get a look of disgust on their faces.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
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.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
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:
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...
Friday, November 11, 2005
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
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.
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.
Monday, November 07, 2005
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...
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...
Sunday, November 06, 2005
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!
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!
Friday, November 04, 2005
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!?
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!?
Thursday, November 03, 2005
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!)
(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!)
Sunday, October 30, 2005
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.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
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! :)
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! :)
Monday, October 24, 2005
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!?
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.
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.
Friday, October 21, 2005
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!
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!
Monday, October 17, 2005
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. :)
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. :)
Friday, October 14, 2005
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...
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...
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
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! :)
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! :)
Sunday, October 09, 2005
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!
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!
Friday, October 07, 2005
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!)
(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!)
Thursday, October 06, 2005
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. :)
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. :)
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
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!
Monday, October 03, 2005
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!
tomorrow is matt's birthday! yay!
Friday, September 30, 2005
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?
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?
Thursday, September 29, 2005
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!
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
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
Monday, September 26, 2005
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...
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...
Saturday, September 24, 2005
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.
Friday, September 23, 2005
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!
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!
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
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!
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!
Monday, September 19, 2005
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! :)
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! :)
Friday, September 16, 2005
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. :)
more later. time to spend quality time with dad. :)
Thursday, September 15, 2005
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.
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.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
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!
wohoo! i'm employed!
Sunday, September 11, 2005
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.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
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.
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.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
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!
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!
Sunday, September 04, 2005
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! :)
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! :)
Friday, September 02, 2005
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! :)
matt is loving school and having a really good time. we're definitely going to celebrate tonight for his success and my financial contribution! :)
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