Christmas Tickets Booked

I'm incredibly pleased with myself because I went for it and bit the bullet and bought those tickets to go home for Christmas. I have no guarantees that I won't be called upon by the DGA so I may end up being out some money but I just can't imagine how I might feel if I don't spend the holidays with my family. For the first time the longing to go home is unbelievable and the joy I experienced after paying for those tickets was definitely something.

So yes, 440$ (WOW! I thought Id be spending at least 200 more) I have flight to Tampa and 10 days in Florida to spend with my rents.

The weekend went well. Overall it felt like a blink of the eye, what with the 8 hour seminar and all. After 8 hours of learning the NEW methods (not that different really...) Im now First Aid and CPR certified. Not that it will really make that big of a difference since I dont think anyone will actually let me touch them on set anyways since there's a medic just about anywhere you go.

Oh and guess who could have used that medic this morning? Thats right ME. It was all misty and foggy this morning (now its actually RAINING) and I freakin slipped on the wardrobe stairs and hit my back (as in my spine) on the top stair then slid down on my ass all the way to the bottom. All this pretty much directly in front of all of transpo. So now like an idiot my back hurts and I feel like I should probably log it on the DPR.

Oh and my Thai massage was pretty good. I dont know if I would go ahead and pay 45 dollars for it normally I think Im fully satisfied with my foot/shoulder/back massage for 25. Im going to be looking into the cost of yoga classes near my apartment to add to my weekend regiment.

More to add on this weekend at a further time...

Grrrr

I just realized that the lovely weekend I've been looking forward to will be eaten up by a DGA Seminar on First Aid and CPR. The seminars don't really bother me when they teach me things I don't already know but as a former R.A of 3 years I have been through enough First Aid and CPR training sessions to keep me medically trained for the next long while. BALLS! I do NOT want to spend my Saturday morning breathing into a mannequin. I want to lounge in bed and watch Don Draper damn it. Oh well...there's not much I can do about it I guess.

Weekend plans include but are not limited to:

-getting the Thai massage I bought for 22 bucks from one of those Groupon things

-hanging out with Kimby and friends and playing board games on Saturday night

-going shopping for new pants, work shirts and socks at the Buffalo Exchange

-buying Pandemic to play on Saturday night (less likely to happen now that we have that dumbass seminar)

-watching The Two Towers

-buying my ticket to fly home for Christmas (eish that is gonna be a lot of money!)

Oh and K. bought a ticket to come and see me! So in less than 2 weeks from now he'll be here!

Fun Times...Dumb List

So just to maintain my blogging of LA-ness here's my list (as far as I can remember it of famous people I've seen. The (M's) are for one's I've actually met.

John Corbett (Parenthood)

Betty White (Hot In Cleveland)

George Costanza (Seinfeld)

Lauren Graham (Parenthood)

Diane Lane (Cinema Verite)

Courtney Cox (Cougartown)

David Boreanaz (Bones)

Hugh Laurie (House)

Tim Robbins (Cinema Verite)

Simon Baker (The Mentalist)

Melissa McCarthy (Mike and Molly--aka Sookie from Gilmore Girls)

Matthew Perry (Mr. Sunshine) -M

Allison Janney (Mr. Sunshine) - M

Nate Torrence (Mr. Sunshine) - M

Kathy Najimy (Mr. Sunshine) - M

Nick Jonas (Mr. Sunshine) - M

Cher (was filming Burlesque)

Adam Sandler (filming Jack and Jill)

Justin Timberlake (who knows)

Fred Savage - M

Lizzy Caplan - M

Fran Kranz (Topher from Dollhouse)

Jimmy Connors(Mr. Sunshine)-M

James Taylor(Mr. Sunshine)- M

Jorge Garcia (Mr. Sunshine)- M

Fun times. Apparently Adam Sandler's trailer will be right next to ours! He seems like a really nice guy; he drove on the lot today and rolled down his window to wave at some tourists.

Week 1 as a Trainee

While tiring and trying week was certainly educational and fun. There were moments of doubt and exhaustion but here I am, arrived at the weekend, and using it to relax and rejuvenate like I said I would be.

Running basecamp is certainly something I am far from mastering but I feel confident in my ability to do it. I think step 1 will be to gain confidence in myself. Once I believe in myself the rest will follow so therefore this next week the focus is on thinking of basecamp as my own set that I have to manage and run same as a 1st.

The second thing to work on is managing my stress level in front of actors. Currently I know Im letting it show too much.

Keeping the complaining down, as per How to Win Friends... I have all the chapter guidelines written out and I try to glance at them from now and then. Also keeping my mouth shut as much as possible, especially when the conversation pertains to other people.

The days are long, but could be longer. The first three days were particularly difficult on the backs of my knees (the muscles there were killing me). And now that the weekend came I found a place (so close that I can walk to it!) that does massage. Foot massage for 60 min with a shoulder and back massage at the beginning for only 25$! With tip it was 35$ and Im so happy I went. Its going to be a thing of mine now every weekend. They even do full body for 45$.

Now Im peacefully hanging out in my bed watching The Fellowship of the Ring. Good day so far certainly.

WORK!

I've been placed! Yay!

On a show called Mr. Sunshine with Matthew Perry and Allison Janney that's being filmed on the Sony lot.

There they are- our lovely first team who I get the joy of wrangling starting Monday!

I'm super psyched. I worked yesterday on a prep day and our production team is awesome. I think I'm going to learn tons.

So far no real contact with Matthew; he did say hi to me in the production office.

My spirits have considerably lifted since I found out I'll be working. Its amazing the effect that having something to do with yourself can do. Don't have too many more details than that right now, will update probably next weekend.

Stupid Upset

So the landscape people came today to our complex. And right outside our window (I live on the second floor) is this tree that has these red fuzzy flowers.

I've been home so much that I suppose the tree has kind of become a comfort to me. Hummingbirds really like the fuzzy flowers and there have been two of them that fly around the tree a lot. They've been really fun to watch. Recently the tree flowered like crazy and instead of hummingbirds we've gotten bees. It's been really fun to have these flowers RIGHT outside my window and getting to watch these animals be around these flowers. Also, if you know anything about the state of bees recently (they've been dying off and we can't figure out why), it just made me happy to get to watch them...I guess be alive?

So the landscape guys just came and chopped off the entire top

of the tree--the part that reaches our windows, the part with all the flowers. All the bees are just circling round where the flowers used to be and it's actually making me really sad. I know I'm probably being overemotional and it's just a result of feeling like I've lost ANOTHER things I've gained comfort from but I miss my tree, a

nd my bees, and hummingbirds.

Interview...and Monkey!

So today I finally got a call...but don't be too excited just yet. It's a call for an "interview." They told us that these might happen. Basically, its just the show wanting to see all the available trainees and picking the one they think best fits with their particular show and staff. Soooo I'm interviewing for a show called Mr. Sunshine and Sony (ack far away from my house!) on next Tuesday. The show stars Matthew Perry and has to do with him re-evaluating his life at the age of 40. Allison Janney from the West Wing and Nate Torrence are on it as well. You know so I have a 1 in 3 chance of getting on that seeing as 2 other people are interviewing for it as well. We'll see how it goes!

Earlier this week got called in to be on Pretty Little Liars and

got to experience being on an AFTRA voucher and getting paid much, MUCH more-- v. nice. No exciting photos because I was just being a high school student so nothing special there.

But here is a fabulous photo of me with Candy the monkey from Night at the Museum!

She was at the Trainee Seminar, Working with Animals. She was v cute but we also learned to be wary of her smile which is her way of saying "remember I have these teeths."

So wish me luck for Tuesday, lets see what happens!