well...hence the title, i am home for the holidays. the weather here is surprisingly not freezing, although i'm not yet used to the gloominess. i rather did get accustomed to sunny and 75...

i feel very blessed to have three weeks to veg back in the midwest. away from the worries of getting an agent, making the rent, and wondering how long i'll be sitting on the 405 on any given day. however, i do love life in la, so don't think for a second that i won't be psyched to head back in january!! i'm ready to hit 2008 with vigor! i have a feeling it will be a good year. but, then, they always are :)

the past week has definitely had it's ups and downs. at times it has been amazing, and at times very painful. i'm learning that it's really during the times when you experience emotions very richly, either good or bad, that you truly know you're alive. God uses the most interesting variety of events to draw me closer to Him; i know i probably say this a lot, but it's so comforting knowing that i'm not the one in control of my life, that God knows His plan's for me and they're better than anything i could ever dream up myself. yes, a big life change occurred this past week which has caused many mixed emotions. but, i'm taking one day at a time, and i appreciate everyone's continued prayers. thank you guys.

also, though the past couple of weeks have had very fun moments!! i went to several festive Christmas parties, including one with my two roomies, where we lit the tree, watched a Christmas movie (i've still yet to see home alone, it's a wonderful life, or Christmas vacation--all staples of the season for me...i need to get on top of that!) and exchanged what turned out to be some really top-notch gifts!! i got some argyle arm-warmers, a jewelry organizer, peanut m&ms (my latest sweet of choice!!), and a helpful book on acting :)

another party i went to, was upon invitation of my boss, kris, the voiceover artist. he was going to a party thrown by a colleague from a major radio station in la. it was at this guy's house on the beach in santa monica, pretty low-key, not tons of people. just a fun time of mingling. but there was most definitely a highlight! my newest celeb sighting turned out to be more than just a sighting; i actually hung out with, and then was serenaded by (a rousing rendition of "brown-eyed girl" karaoke-style) dennis haskins--for all you saved by the bell fans--MR. BELDING! i know!! it was a seriously surreal, early 90s pop-culture moment for me. no, lol, it was a lot of fun, and he was a really nice guy. i was very tempted to ask him to say "heyheyhey WHAT is going on here!?!" one of his coined phrases from the show, but i behaved myself and refrained. :)

anyway, i may not write for a few days, since i'll be chilling with mi familia, and then traveling to visit more family and friends for the holidays. so, until then, i wish everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS, happy new year, and a wonderful any other holiday you might be celebrating. who knows, though, with all this free time in my near future, you may be hearing from me sooner than later ;)

thanks for reading, it's a huge encouragement. goodnight all.

p.s. i'd like to give a shout-out to the steves, mike, don, and debbie (you know who you are!) ;)

hey guys, random post, but please anyone, and i really seriously mean EVERYONE reading this, please go to this link: http://www.gotcast.com/laurenparrent and click to VOTE for me. it's this random casting website, that may or may not actually be a really legitimate thing here in la. but, the people with the most votes get a chance to host something or act in something, so i'd really really appreciate it!!!! thank you soooo much!!!

~lauren

things are so strange in the ways of hollywood. i can go to film something at 4 pm yesterday, knowing that in a few hours, i'll accidentally fall off a balcony, die, and then hop in my car and drive to santa monica. which is basically the overview of my last few days, incidentally! i'm not going to lie, my biological clock is really thrown off right now...

a couple of days ago, i went to audition for a student film at the ny film academy here in la. i thought it went pretty well, and the director, chip, was very friendly and encouraging. that afternoon, i got a call from vanessa, another ny film student, who was the AD (assistant director) for another one of the student's films (how film school works: the large class is split into smaller groups of about 6 people, and within these groups, each person has their own film to direct for each project they are assigned. when one person is the director, all the other group members act as their crew; they all just take turns). as it turns out, vanessa, along with the rest of chip's crew, had been sitting in on my audition, and they were calling to see if i'd play the lead in one of their other group member's films. the catch was, it was filming the next two days (saturday/sunday). and...there were a few stipulations. i flat out told vanessa that i didn't do nudity (lol), and she said no, but asked if i would be ok with a)having my face painted as though i were dead, and b)wouldn't mind spitting out fake blood. by the way, it's a horror film. so, i said "heck no i wouldn't mind!" i thought that it sounded really exciting; i've always wanted to do a horror film!!!



there are really soo many details i could write, but i'll try to not make it a novel...we filmed at chip's home in orange county, so it was a drive, but it was worth it. i knew chip, and kim (his wife, who helped out with the casting), looked really familiar, and when i got to their house, i realized that they were chip and kim mcaliister--winners of a season of the reality show "the amazing race!" it was the only season i actually watched, so that was funny that he was now the DP (director of photography) on a film i was doing! we filmed at their house, and bless their family for letting us use it, because we were up screaming bloody murder at 3 am, running around, setting up lights, and deeming the entire place as a quiet zone. they were very patient. and their family dynamics were so entertaining, too!

so, the film, which i can't wait to see already (it should be finished by february), is a japanese & american-style horror hybrid. hiro, the director is japanese, and i didn't get to see the footage, but i did watch the monitor some, and it looked very artistic. the general plot synopsis is: 4 college friends buy a really nice house that is supposedly haunted, and they may or may not encounter the ghost of a little girl...i guess you'll have to wait and watch it!! :) this one should go up on youtube, so i should post it in a couple of months, hopefully.

we thought we'd be finished by midnight or so last night, but the semi-night shoot turned into a real night shoot, and i definitely didn't get back to santa monica until 8 this morning. but, as always, doing this film (or any project) always solidifies my desire to be acting. i love being on set, i love getting to know people and becoming like family because you're with them for 20 out of 24 hours, and i love the anticipation of seeing a finished product. i know i'm not getting paid as a "working actor" yet, but any experience is welcomed right now!

below are a couple of pictures, please keep in mind, things look a lot less cool/scary when you can't see it with proper film lighting and hollywood effects!!:

here's jaxy, chip, and vanessa (as the ghost-i promise it's scarier on camera, lol)



and, this is chevy, hiro (the director), and me with my creepy dead makeup!



other than filming, i had a couple of really fun Christmas parties this week. one was at our friends' apartment, and we ate and did a secret santa exchange, and made this really really adorable ornaments. if i can find all the pieces for the craft, i want to make a whole set of these eclectic little ornaments! it was a bit tedious, but also creative and relaxing, and produced beautiful results!

well, i think i'm going to make a nice, hot, spaghetti dinner! and, a last minute HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dad and uncle!! goodnight all!

i can't believe it's already december!?! well, we now go from the last post, which was thanksgiving-centered, to a semi-Christmas post! last night when i got home from work, i parked the car and could see a huge Christmas tree through our front window!! holland had bought us a real Christmas tree-and believe it or not, it's my first ever LIVE tree!!!! needless to say, i'm verrrry excited! we (lane, holland, liz and i) spent an hour or so decorating it last night, which was just so much fun!!! holland purchased the ornaments, and went with a silver theme, which looks very classy with all our white lights. below are some pictures and a video (it's a bit dark, i apologize. hopefully it even works on here...) of our decorating wonders!!



here we are: 1)holland, liz and me--we just happened to be wearing Christmas colors! but it turned out to make the pictures very festive :). 2) me putting curly ringlets of ribbon on the REAL tree!! and 3)lane, holland, and liz doing more decorating! the tree is right in our dining room, we just moved the kitchen table up against the wall, but it's the perfect spot by our big picture window!





other than that, i've been walking a lot of dogs, picking up their poop (it's a very humbling job, seriously). i did get to go on a hike last week, though, with two dogs at the will rogers state park in pacific palisades. the park tours (of will rogers' former house, now a museum) were closed on that day, so i only saw myself and maybe two other people in the park the whole time we were there. we walked on dirt trails through gorgeous terrain; the air was so clean, we were up in the mountains, and i felt like i was in the 1940's, back when will rogers actually lived there. it was a great experience, and reiterated my desire to get out and DO things, instead of just sitting around!

we also had a spontaneous neighborhood get together one night. it was awesome! jim brought out his grill, and then the other two households just pulled out whatever food we had, and we had an extremely delicious makeshift meal at our house. we had white lights on outside, and just had a nice little evening! if you can't tell, i love spontaneity and variety in life!

one of this neighbors, jacquelyn (my fellow actress) and i decided to work together and go out a shoot some footage (she and her boyfriend, a director, have a professional camera) to create our own hosting reels. with the writers strike, and then an impending SAG strike (probably in late spring), work for actors is and will become even more sparse. however, there may be another rise in reality tv, and therefore, hosting gigs. so, having a hosting reel could be a big advantage in the near future. so...she and i took all day on thursday and went around santa monica, filming all types of things. we interviewed people, used eisley as a prop at the dog park, stood inside a recycling bin (yeah, for real), and researched the venice canals. i should be getting some of this footage soon, so i can post some of it. a lot of the footage had bad lighting or sound, but we did get some useable stuff. we'll probably do several days like that to make sure we have enough to compile for about a 3 minutes reel each. she and i just filmed each other--it was such a fun day, i just get so stimulated and feel really fulfilled when i'm doing what i really want to be doing!! one interesting person we met happened to be an up-and-coming actor, who was with his dog in the dog park. his name is jon bernthall (you should imdb him...), and he's big time! he has a couple movies coming out in january, one is called "day zero" and he stars in it with chris kline and elijah wood. jacquelyn and i are excited because if he becomes a huge star, we have footage of us talking to him, lol! what nerds...

but anyway, that's about all i can think of that might be at all interesting. still just working and keepin it real :) a couple of weeks until coming home for the holidays, and to be honest, i don't know how i'm going to feel about the freeeezing and gloomy weather!!!! it would be nice to see some pretty snow though...

hello! it's been awhile, but the past couple of weeks, i have just been working non-stop, it feels like. i began another new job (can't remember if i've mentioned it already...) as a pet sitter/dog walker with a large company in la. i only work on the westside, though, so it's really nice not having to drive too terribly far. i've already fallen in love with a bunch of pets, however i will say, my legs are very tired after all this walking!!! i'm also back working at the novel here and there this week and next...trying to save up some money, but i will say i'm really having withdrawls from the acting side of life. i've missed going to workshop this month...but i know it'll all work out in it's own course.

so, how was everyone's thanksgiving? relaxing? i, for one, knew i'd probably gain about 6 pounds!!! i dont think it was quite that bad, but i was stuffed like a thanksgiving turkey (pun intended :)). i didn't get to go home--it was my first big holiday not doing the traditional family thing, which i was melancholy about, however, the day turned out to be awesome! about 30 people from the kairos church group in santa monica, and random friends, got together to have a potluck thanksgiving meal. that worked out great, because we had such a variety of delicious foods!! it was a very stereotypically california thanksgiving, too because, we ate outside in sunny 70-degree weather!! i've posted some pictures below: 1)my plate--YUM!!, 2)liz, holland, and me riding in the jeep to our meal, and 3)the tables all set up and decorated out on the porch.





other big news, my roommate lane and her boyfriend, ryan got engaged this past week!! congrats! and, last night, i saw the movie, enchanted, which was amazing!!! i totally loved it, because they captured pretty much every cliche from every disney movie ever made. it was hilarious-i'll definitely be purchasing the dvd when it comes out...also, congrats to the MISSOURI TIGERS (now #1 in the nation, beat kU) and the REITZ PANTHERS (cody's high school team won state!!) for their football victories!

and, finally--very important (ok, well not really). when i was walking a dog today, i chatted briefly with a guy who was gardening in the neighborhood. now, i'm pretty certain he's an actor...but it's driving me nuts because i have NO IDEA what his name is or what show he's on (i feel like he's on a popular tv show, not film...but again i'm not sure...). so, if anyone wants to take random guesses, that would be much appreciated so i dont agonize over trying to figure out who he is! basically, he's probably late 20s, early 30s, tall and lean, dark brown hair, with a small gap between his front teeth. i welcome any guesses. i could be completely off, but maybe we'll stumble upon his identity!!

well, our compound (the three families that make up our little house area) are going to have a cookout now, so, adios, and have a wonderful week :)

ok, so my title is deceptive. but you were curious, right? ;) hello all! it's been a few days, so i think that warrants a new post!

i've worked another couple of shows since my last post. last week, i was an open-mic contestant on the show "bones," but all i really did was sit next to a guitar case while i watched a singer perform. then, yesterday, i was on "shark," which was a short shoot, but it was outside at night, so it was freeeezing! i was an actor/model at a promo party for a faux-rockstar's new album. he was a justin timberlake-esque character, so we were all supposed to be pretentious partiers at the "sky bar." really, we filmed at the w hotel in westwood (see pics: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels/property/photos/index.html?propertyID=97518#photo_section_3Link), which has a gorgeous outdoor bar, pool, and cabana area that was all lit up and set dressed. not sure when these two episodes will air...

the highlight of shark, however, was not seeing any actor ON set, but seeing a friend of one of the actors. benjamin mckenzie, who played ryan-the main character on the former show the OC, was there visiting the actor playing the rockstar character. ironically, my best friends and i saw him at a fox season premiere event two summers ago at none other than the W hotel (of NYC)!!! he was still as cute as ever, i wish i had the guts to talk to him, though :) although, i'd never want to look like a stalker, lol.

thursday night, lane, another couple friends, and i went to a free screening of a new film due out in december. it's a semi-dark comedy (with a deep, rich storyline, however) about a high school girl who becomes pregnant, and just about life. it's called juno, and it was directed by the same guy who did "thank you for smoking," and had several big actors, including jennifer garner, allison janney, rainn wilson, and michael cera and jason batemen (both from arrested development). newcomer, ellen page, was amazingas the lead, juno. it's witty and touching (with a really unique soundtrack, too), and it's getting great reviews. it's not for kids, of course, as it deals with touchy subjects, and some of the humor would be inappropriate. but, you should definitely check out the trailer and go see it!


Juno Video @ Vidly.net

another thing...i got yet another job!! haha, i know it might seem crazy, that i guess i now technically have 4 jobs, but they are all extremely flexible, so it's not like what you're thinking, i'm sure! i applied for another dog walking/pet sitting job, and yep i got it! so, i guess i WILL walk a dog in this town, after all :) it's for a company called petstaff (www.thepetstaff.com), which happens to be the largest pet sitting company in the US, i believe. the people are really great, and i'm excited about it. i had orientation this morning, and i think i'll be working a lot over thanksgiving week, since they are low on staff over the holidays. hooray pets!

finally, i got my hair cut! not a huge deal, but it was pretty exciting to me, considering it had been awhile, and i took off 4ish inches. if feel so much lighter! and i got it for really cheap by going to the vidal sasson academy. so it was really professional, i just had to be there for a long time, because they have teachers coming around to critique the technique of the hair stylist. here's a pic below. please excuse my face, i'm leaning this way so you can see the length! but yeah, i really like it!



well, i guess that's about it for now...i hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving week, and safe travels if you're going somewhere :)

i re-watched the foo fighters "long road to ruin" video, and i actually did see myself! it's seriously about a nanosecond, about 2/3 of the way through...i'm looking like a crazy screaming fan! it's a pretty funny video, but i really like the song. maybe you'll see me, don't blink!!

well, it's been several days, hasn't it! and, i do believe i've accumulated a little laundry list of tidbits for you all...first of all, i had a WONDERFUL time spending my birthday with chris, my friends, and my family!! i did a ton of hanging out, ate waaay too much (at patty's-YUM), and unfortunately picked up a cold from the chilly midwestern weather, but it was just a great break from life in la, and after 3 months of not seeing everyone from home, i was really ready. also, i got to enjoy the glorious colors of the fall trees and the smell of burning leaves. that's one thing i really miss living in la; fall is my absolute favorite season!!

to back up a bit, though, i did have a great time celebrating halloween here with friends in santa monica. matt and emily, a couple from kairos church (the church my roommate helped plant along with a group of people from missouri) hosted a costume party, and everyone went all out. below are some pictures. lane and her boyfriend ryan went as really authentic pirates! seriously, they looked like they stepped off set after filming pirates of the carribean. every year, lane tries to incorporate eisley into her costume, so this year, she went as the pirates' pet parrot!! she was so cute, but she HATED her costume, lol. i decided to go as a boy scout, which i later discovered was actually a cub scout!




even before halloween, one of my best friends from high school, alisa, had a port call in long beach. she is an officer in the coast guard, stationed in washington state, and it was such a blessing to get to spend a day with her. here's a picture of us on her ship!



probably the most exciting recent thing i've done, entertainment-wise, is that i've gone back to extra work, as of yesterday. i booked myself to work background on the set of house, which is mom's favorite show, so she was elated! i played the receptionist at the hospital, working while there was a christmas party in the lobby. it was great to be back on set! hugh laurie looked exactly the same in person as he does on tv, as did omar epps, the guy from harold and kumar, and the actor from winning london (takes me back to my mary-kate and ashley days...oh my). anyway, i really liked this show, because most of the extras were older, which was a nice change from being around all college-aged people. some had even been extras playing doctors since the show started 4 years ago!! talk about dedication! so, at one point, the PA came to me, and said for one scene i would be chatting/flirting with robert sean, and then pointed to where i would cross the set. i thought she just meant another extra, however, it turned out she was referring to robert sean leonard (see imdb), who plays a main character (my mom's favorite!)!! so, i could be featured on the show (or it could be cut out completely, of course), chatting with him!! i was at a good angle to the camera, so it has the potential to be a good shot if they keep it. he was really nice, and goofy; he asked where i was from how long i'd been here, and proceeded to tell me a detailed story about harry truman, since i was from missouri. not going to lie, i felt pretty cool! :)

i had an audition today for a student film, of the fantasy genre. it's called "the inn of awakening," and i'd be playing the part of adira calev, a noblewoman who has powers from a dark lord. as always, i hope i get the part, it'd be fun to play a villian, and the film uses CGI special effects, which would really cool to work with.

and, finally, i'd like to give a shout out to tiffany and jake malloy for being parents any minute! as she was about to pop, tiff was induced this afternoon, so hopefully baby boy asante (he's going by te, which is pronounced "tay") malloy will be born sometime today or tomorrow. so in advance, happy birthday te!!!

as for tv show updates: the episodes of heroes and samantha who? last week were indeed the ones where i was an extra. i can be seen on heroes in the lunch seen between the cheerleader and the guy, behind the guy...however, my appearance on samantha who? wasn't really noticeable. tonight, i was on las vegas, and i have only seen a bit of it so far. i saw myself at the beginning, and my mom apparently saw me towards the end standing by a really tall guy with a ponytail. not sure if you can watch that online, but you can check on nbc.com in the near future.

in old news...the angelus film festival turned out to be a blast! wow, we got to view some fabulous short films, some animated, comedy, documentary, and drama, by up-and-coming filmmakers. if i ever stumble across the videos online, i'll post the links!

sorry for this being a bit disjointed, i just had so many random items to discuss. alright, that seems to tie up all the loose ends...for now. goodnight!

i love brainstorming. seriously, it's one of my favorite hobbies, as weird as that may sound! no, i love creating something from nothing. seeing a final product come to fruition, knowing that you helped make it from scratch, from the ground up. brainstorming has been the theme of my week, pretty much, and it's been great! in some of my free time this week, i started really thinking about and preparing some of the behind-the-scenes stuff that i can work on for my acting career--getting my youtube site cleaned up (youtube.com/user/lparrent), updating my myspace, researching other people's demo reels/youtubes, etc. basically, i was just looking at what i need to have to be proactive and be "seen" in this business. as we all know, tv is disappearing, and everything is soon to be done strictly via the internet. so, putting stuff (in my case, films, shorts, my demo reel of footage of me acting...) up on youtube is a great start.
well...then the conundrum becomes getting footage to create the videos or the reel. so i've met with some friends from class, with my neighbor, and with a new friend, david (a fellow actor), and brainstormed game plans for what some active steps we can physically DO to make this all happen. the conclusion we've all come to is that we are going to just have to produce our own stuff. we have the resources, people, skills, locations, etc. available at our fingertips to make films that we can then use for our reels (goal #1), and eventually to put up on youtube to possibly create a buzz about ourselves (goal #2)--not that i'm saying i want to be a youtube pop culture icon, definitely not (i.e. absolutely ridiculous chris crocker)!
last night, i even met with david and we brainstormed, and then i also talked with liz (another friend who's not in the industry) and we ended up mapping out an idea for a short film! it was david's original idea, and then we all kind of visualized and conceptualized...so fun! but, at least i feel like these are productive steps to be taking...we won't always write our own stuff, because we can rehearse and shoot scenes from plays, or do improv, etc. but writing your own stuff is very satisfying, too. more on that script idea later on...

in other news, i worked at the novel yesterday for the first time by myself, and it went pretty well! i only had a few questions about glitches with the cash register, but other than that, i felt fairly confident, and am now less nervous about working there more. today i have free tickets to the student portion of The City of Angels Film Festival, which i got randomly on Craigslist. i was looking it up online to find out more about it, and it turns out it's a faith-based festival, which is unexpected, but cool! i'm excited to mingle with directors (established and up-and-coming) and see some great films in the process. apparently this year's theme is "justice...for all?" which is intriguing...i'll definitely let you know how it goes...

next friday is my birthday! and, I leave for "home" on thursday!! i'm anxiously awaiting the weekend trip. i'm excited to see my boyfriend, and my family, and i just found out i get to see one of my best friends briefly, too, which is a great surprise! i've yet to decide halloween plans, though, and i have no idea what my costume will be. so unlike me, as halloween is my favorite holiday!!

on a final note, i found a very eye-opening website listed as a link on a friend's facebook profile. if you have a minute, visit http://www.iwanexstudio.com, click on portfolio at the top, and then click on each individual photograph, scrolling your cursor on and off them, once you've opened the photo. it's a photo retouching site, and they have examples of celebrity photos that they've altered. it's no wonder people have a skewed sense of body image--celebrity pictures we see AREN'T REAL HUMANS!! you'll see what i mean, seriously check it out.

anyway, i better go get dressed to impress...who knows, maybe i'll meet a director at the film fest and get my first real role in some amazing film ;) have a great day everyone! talk to you soon...

hey everyone, yes, i'm alive and not burned! it's funny how a story basically in my backyard is headline news. i've gotten a few calls/emails checking in to make sure that i'm ok, with all the fires here in southern california, and i'm fine. thanks for your concern, too, though, i do appreciate it! no, malibu, where some of the worst fires have been, is 6 miles north of my house. really, here in santa monica, i haven't noticed much, though. yesterday and the day before, i saw a lot of smoke and extra smoggy air when driving back from long beach and also into west hollywood for acting classes. there is a general (worse than normal smog) orangey-brown haze hanging over the valley, because all the winds have blown the smoke inward, and it's a hot little bowl of an area anyway, so that's just magnified. also, lane and i went rollerblading down the beach yesterday, and looking north toward malibu (which we can see very clearly since it's so close) we could definitely see the smoke still rising from within the mountains and canyons.

today was the first time, however, that i noticed any effects here in santa monica. it is definitely hotter, probably all the hot air is being trapped in by the smoke, and i could tell it was a lot harder to breathe when i was running. santa monica air is usually so clear and not smoggy like the rest of LA...the sky is a bit smoky, but nothing as sensational as the photographs you're probably seeing of the actual fires in malibu and san diego. so, never fear, i'm alright and hopefully not at all in danger...

in more trivial news, neither heroes nor samantha who? were the right episode AGAIN last night! i apologize for stringing you all along each week in hopes of seeing me. heck, watch me not even be shown at all on the actual episodes! lol, oh well. for those of you watching...thanks for your diligence! i had an audition on sunday afternoon for an independent film, but haven't heard anything back. also, i made deliveries to several agents to seek commercial representation last week, but haven't heard back from those either. still just trying to be patient! well, i better get ready to grab some lunch and run some errands...don't worry--i'll try to breathe very shallowly for awhile! have a great day everyone!

hello! well today was a long, yet good day for me. i decided to take advantage of a pretty free day and be productive. i drove around los angeles (and i do mean around, as in everywhere! lol), to about 6 talent agencies, to get some "face time" with the agents. i only ended up speaking with one agent, but my main goal was to even just drop off another one of my headshots so that i remain top-of-mind with the agents. i prepared myself for rejection, since i didnt really know what to expect...but, i was pleasantly surprised because all the receptionists were actually very friendly. a lot of them even made a special note that i dropped by in person, instead of just tossing my photo and resume into a pile of thousands of them that inevitably occupies some room at the agency, i'm sure. who knows? it's one of those things that i thought, what've i got to lose, and again, nothing may come of it, or something could. i guess we'll just wait and see...again. :)

so that covers rejection. as for salvation: when i attended an actor's bootcamp seminar at bel air presbyterian church last month, i met anthony barnao, a casting director/manager/has been in the biz for years, who i really felt a connection with. he mentioned something he was starting called stage to salvation, and i said i was interested, so he agreed to keep me informed. we and two other people met on tuesday night to talk about StoS. i was under the impression that he'd already started it, and needed performers, however, apparently we are the grassroots of it. it was truly exciting, because i felt like i was back at mizzou at the bsu conceptualizing and brainstorming, which was one of my favorite parts of college! i'm excited to help start this theatrical venture from the ground floor! all the people there shared a passion of sharing the gospel, but also of doing quality work, not stereotypically jank "christian" mime/puppet/crappily done shows (that's just me venting about a stereotype of poor quality production!) anthony is very experienced, and one of the other guys, todd, was a founder and performer of cirque du soleil! so if it all goes through i think it has the potential to be big time. we're brainstorming--several of the ideas are awesome. it's not going to be a traditional, linear play, or a christian storyline or anything, but some type of multi-media production about real human stories with a common thread--and meeting again this saturday morning. i look forward to seeing the progress of StoS!

well, it's dinner time, so i'm off. hope to hear from you all soon! :)

ok, so i believe i was mistaken. i have not yet watched heroes and samantha who? from tonight, however, my parents did and i don't think either of the episodes were the one i was on. there was a bar scene, but not the one i was in. sorry for the confusion-better luck next week, i guess! i plan on watching the episodes, especially samantha who?, because i think it looks cute.

as for other news, i worked/trained at the novel again today, and i feel like i'm learning more and more as i go. i think i'm officially on the list now to cover shifts, so that's pretty exciting! i hope i'm ready to work the counter all by my lonesome! eeee! it makes me nervous!!! also, i get to go home over my birthday weekend which is in about TWO WEEKS!! i'm getting so excited about it! it will be great to see chris (my boyfriend) and my family :) i haven't really been homesick, but now there's more anticipation knowing that it's so soon that i'll get to spend time with them all! it'll be a great birthday present!

ok, more soon. goodnight!

the novel cafe is a coffee shop in santa monica where my roommate, lane, works. it has been described to me by a crazy patron as "the last known vortex" lol. no seriously, the guy was crazy, and he said that to me once as i walked by!

but, no, it's a real hole-in-the-wall place, with 10 foot high bookshelves, local artwork to the ceilings, mis-matched furniture, good coffee, yummy food, and a very eclectic group of people. anyway...lane had mentioned to me recently that she might need someone to train who could just be an employee that covered people's shifts, so finally i decided to go to work with her friday morning and train. lane is the cafe manager...and it's very very laid back. so, we got up and opened the shop at 6:30 am (early!) and she showed me until one pm how to run the place. i'm excited, because it was fun, but i'm also nervous a)just because it's a new job, and b)only one person works there at a time, and i just question my coffee-knowledge, and ability to do the job quickly while there is a rush and a line of 8 people deep! i doubt i'll work much anyway, though...which is fine...

i have to admit, i feel pretty cool now, lol, as i can use an espresso machine and can make lattes, chais, mochas, and a darn good foamy double cappuccino! no, it's a fun skill to learn.

the inspiration of this post, however, is not my new semi-job, it is a story from my day of training. we do tend to have a lot of regulars at the novel. and actually, quite a few of them are homeless people. they come to read and eat and hang out. it's a really unique environment. anyway, one man--a homeless man who had never been to the novel--came to the counter asking about the books. the books we have are all donated, and you can come and read while you're there, or you may buy books for cheap prices, around $2/paperback, and maybe $4ish for a hardcover (although, the prices are very flexible, like i said, it's laid back). the man put three books up on the counter, and asked how much they were. lane said "oh, how about three dollars total?" and then man replied with something that really touched me, he said, "oh! they're worth more than that, to me." and, he had an expression on his face that showed he really meant it. just a simple thing, but it was the highlight of my day.

it really made me think...what do we take for granted? what do we value? i'll leave with that.

good news and bad news. i'll start with the bad...so...unfortunately, i was misinformed. the episode of csi: miami in which i was an extra aired yesterday, instead of next week, like i thought. however! the good news is, my mom had recorded it just in case, and was watching it tonight...and i got a call from her screaming that she and my dad saw me on tv!! they kept saying "there you are again! and again!" it was so cute! they said i had a close up, and a few shots of me walking in the background. the even better new is--you can watch it online! if you would like to have a look:

go to cbs.com, click on "full episodes," then csi: miami, then it's the episode called "inside out." i actually have a pretty good close up (shown below, ingeniously captured by my mom of a paused screen on our tv at home, lol)! in the first 9 minute segment online, i'm standing by the bus outside the courtroom a couple of times, if you look closely. i'm wearing a black dress, and i have necklace with a hanging circle on. then, i'm also in the riot scene by the bus crash, but not noticeably. next, i'm in the post-crash scene, standing in the far background behind the caution tape talking to a cop (we're behind callie, i believe, in the top mid-right of the screen). and, lastly, when the actress in white and the guy detective are talking at the crash scene post-crash, i cross from off camera right and walk off camera to the left, behind the guy. you'll just see my back, in the black dress, with my hair wavy, and i'm walking with an african american girl, who's on my right.



don't know if you'll be able to pick me out-i only could because i remember exactly where i was!! it's so funny...i dont think i'll ever be able to watch any show/film i'm on for entertainment value...it's hard not to look at it critically, or to not picture it how it was behind the scenes. and...i was so excited about this, i can't imagine how psyched i'll be when i actually have a real part with lines and everything!!! lol...all in due time, all in due time...

another fun day today at my job as a personal assistant, i always love the variety. i've also done some rollerblading lately. i got my neighbor's old blades at our yard sale, and went down to the beach bike path twice for some exercise--it's a great alternative to running all the time. also, i met with susie, the manager i met with when i came out in january, again on tuesday. it was good. i've definitely grown and improved since we last met, and i hope she noticed. who knows if i'll even hear back...just trying to put myself out there, and see what comes through. i'm getting itchy to start working as an actor, though. i had one audition this week, and have a few coming up, but without an agent, none of the stuff i can submit myself to on my own are that big of a deal...

goodnight for now, hope you get to watch at least part of the episode!!

ok, so update on the airings of the shows i was on as background:

-csi: miami, i believe is episode 4, airing on october 15th. i'm wearing a black dress, and i'm one of the rioters.

-las vegas is actually on NOVEMBER 16TH!!! it's episode 9 of the new season, called "it ain't easy being green," and i am wearing a bright dress at times and also a darker dress with a black waist-belt. in this episode, i basically walk around a lot socializing in the casino. there's a scene where several of the leads, two girls and a guy, are walking through the casino, and i'm right behind them.

-samantha who? could potentially be the pilot episode on october 15th, but i'm not for sure! i'm a bar patron, which you probably won't see, but then i'm also the restaurant hostess, at the front desk and walking around. i wear all black, and you may see me as this.

-heroes--i'm still unable to figure out which episode it is, but it's when claire tries out for the cheerleading squad at her new school. i'm just a student.

-the allstate commercial i was in is at a football game, and i probably won't be seen, because i'm just a member of the crowd.

i think that may be it...oh and the foo fighter video-watch for that, because i think i could actually be on it well enough to see...

on another note, i have to post a picture of my brother~ i'm sad i don't get to see him playing soccer, but he's doing really well, and i'm very proud of him. here he is, in blue on the left, in his last game!



that's it for now...nothing else really exciting going on. still hoping for that agent!!

hey all! and so another week begins. it looks like this will be another week of lots of classes, but i honestly never know what tomorrow holds for me, so who knows what will happen! that's kind of an exciting and scary feeling at the same time! i had a great weekend, played some beach volleyball, went to see an indie rock band called kingsley (a guy from my high school is the keyboardist), and just relaxed. i'm still enjoying the sunny california weather, and i'm loving the crisp fall feeling of the air...

so last thursday, i got a random call from a casting company asking if i could be at universal studios in half an hour (which in la, is a huge rush!). don't get too excited, it was just to be a stand-in. however, i rushed over there, took a picture in a hat and sunglasses, and then came back home. later that night, i got a call back from the same company, saying the stand-in part had been filled, but would i like to be an extra in the same project. i didn't have plans for friday, so i agreed. so...i spent all day friday being background in a foo fighters music video! it was so much fun! it's for a song off their new album called "long road to ruin," and luckily i really like the song, since i heard it about 87 times during the course of the day! no, it was a fun set up. if you've ever seen any foo fighters videos, apparently they are pretty humorous. i think this one will live up to that expecation as well. it is a mockery of cheesy 70s rock bands and rockstars, and so it's basically david grohl, the lead singer, getting chased through a mall by hundreds of teenie bopper fans.

we were in a mall in valencia, and they didn't shut it down, so lots of actual mall shoppers got a nice concert, too. for the first half of the day, i was a mall shopper-i got to wear a cute vintage 70s dress and shoes that wardrobe provided. and then the second half, i was one of the fans. i've never heard so many teenage girls screaming in my life...well maybe on a backstreet boys tv special...lol. but it was a sight, that's for sure. and, since there were a ton of minors, that meant stage moms were also lurking around. that was a new experience for me, too. a very interesting one, at that...

but, the band was super nice...dave actually complemented my dress, and they made the day a lot of fun. they didn't take themselves too seriously, which was a big part of it. i can't wait to see the video-i think it will turn out really funny! who knows, i may make a cameo as a screaming fan-which will be hilarious, because they wanted us to be totally over the top like beatles fans, crying and screaming and such...hahaha some of the faces i made!

below are a couple of pictures from my phone...they're not very good quality, but at least they may give you some idea of the day! one is of the scene when a bunch of the fans chase dave down an escalator, and the other is just the band's mall concert setup.




i'm kind of in limbo now, still going to class, but really waiting to hear from an agent. i don't want to get too caught up in obsessing over getting one, but it would be nice. i'm trying to maintain my patience...but i'll keep you updated as always. thanks for reading! until soon...

ok, so finally i've gotten some information on when some of the shows i was extra-ing on are airing!!

-csi: miami, i believe is episode 4, airing on october 15th. i'm wearing a black dress, and i'm one of the rioters, lol.

-las vegas will be airing on november 23rd, it's episode 9 of the new season, called "it ain't easy being green," and i am wearing a bright dress at times and also a darker dress with a black waist-belt. in this episode, i basically walk around a lot socializing in the casino. there's a scene where several of the leads, two girls and a guy, are walking through the casino, and i'm right behind them.

i hope we can see me at least once-that would be so fun!

so, today was my first day of work as a personal assistant, and it went very well! i think i'll enjoy doing this once a week. i do a lot with marketing, billing, filing, but also i get to do fun errands like walk the dog, take him to the groomers, and pick up shirts from the cleaners. i love running errands, so it's fun for me!

more later, but now it's bedtime. goodnight!

hello all! it's been a few days, a few semi-uneventful days, hence the fact i haven't posted. nothing too exciting or out of the ordinary has happened recently, more of just going to class, trying to get an agent, etc, so i didn't' want to bore you with the details.

something exciting did happen to my roommates the other day, however. they both decided to take up swimming laps for exercise, and went to the public pool. while holland went to the locker room, she asked a lady if there were rentable lockers, and she turned around and it happened to be diane keaton! evidently she was there to watch a child's swim meet. holland said she looked and dressed exactly how she does in the movies. and that, once she realized holland wasn't a gawking fan (at least not on the outside!), she was very nice. i wish i'd have been there-i like diane keaton!

speaking of diane keaton, i think i mentioned on a previous post that i had met peter michael goetz, who is an actor from father of the bride (with diane keaton, ahh, connections...) among many other things. anyway, i decided yesterday to take some pictures i'd printed out just at cvs from lane and my impromptu beach photo shoot back to the goetz's (or is it goetz'? anyone know?). well, anyway, he and his wife had said to bring the pictures when i got them, so i took them by, found their house, which was an adventure in itself, and discovered that they weren't home. luckily, i had prepared for that :) so i had an envelope with the pictures, my resume, and my headshots ;) in it, and had paper to write a note. i just reminded him who i was, and said, if he got a chance, to feel free to pass my stuff on to his neighbor (who he had mentioned was in the industry), and to give me a call when he had a look at the photos! (i also included a p.s. saying that i had indeed recognized him, and that his scene kissing the doberman in father of the bride was one of my family's favorites...which is true) so...this was just yesterday evening, and he called me back already this morning! he was very kind, and complimented the pictures, and lane for taking them. he asked if it would be alright (ha! would it be alright!?) for him to give his sons my headshots. apparently, he has two sons that have directed more than 200 tv commercials and some feature films, and they're "always casting." hooray! again, it's one of those things that could turn into something, or may never, but only God knows, so i'll just be patient and wait...peter was very kind, and said that he was happy to help, since we're all in this together and he's been in my shoes before, too, in his career. so that was an exciting development!

as for jobs...clearly money is the biggest problem out here. i'm convinced that's why most actors give up. so i've been applying for jobs continuously, and i interviewed with a lady to be a dogwalker for a company she started. basically, it's just her and she wanted to hire one other person. i thought it would work well with my schedules, and i'd get a lot of exercise, but would you believe, i did not get the job!! lol, i can't even get a job as a dogwalker, lol, no it's really fine. it just wasn't meant to be, i guess. (by the way, moving out here and taking risks has surprisingly made me a more laid-back person. i guess when you really are faced with the truth that God is the only one who knows your future, it kind of makes you not worry much, since you know it doesn't do any good...) a friend here said that when i "hit it big" haha, that i can write in my memoirs that at the beginning of my career, i couldn't even get hired as a dogwalker, lol. sounds good to me.

so...one job interview after another...i had one this morning that i found out about through one of my acting coaches, morgan sheppard. his friend needed a part time personal assistant, and that sounded great to me, so i interviewed with him today, and i got the job!! yay! see, when it's really meant to be, it usually falls into place. anyway, the job will be flexible, and i'll learn a ton about the industry. my boss is a very well renowned voiceover artist, kris stevens, and i think it will be really cool to learn about the workings of the voiceover industry (one of my life goals is to play the voice of a disney character at some point). check out his site at kriserikstevens.com, and turn up your volume, i think you'll recognize some of his stuff ;) anyway, i start that next week. i'll only work usually one of two days a week, however, so keep praying for other money-making opportunities. i know they'll come.

let's see, what else. oh, last night, i got to go with holland to her first work function. her new job had a get together for some of the employees and clients at a new swanky lounge in one of the tallest buildings in downtown la. (google elevate lounge) we felt very posh. the place was very upscale, an open-air lounge area, and we had gourmet appetizers and i got to meet holland's new co-workers. seems like her work environment will be great!

other than that, i'm still keepin' on...waiting and hoping. next week, i'll probably make some follow up calls to agents and soap opera casting directors, to whom i sent my headshots and resumes. off to grab some lunch, but thanks for reading and stay in touch!

(in answer to the questions on the previous blog, just fyi: the scene lines i was practicing with my roommate on the beach was a scene for class, not the silent film. sorry about the confusion...dialogue, no dialogue... :))

well, i thought by now, i might have some behind-the-scenes pictures from the sunday filming of "two pink lines," but alas, i do not. nonetheless, i still wanted to blog a bit about it, so i don't forget any details in the coming days...

it was a short, but packed shoot, as i expected. first off, i went to the house of the director, kristin, and her husband, todd. they actually live on the second steepest street in the united states!! no joke, i even googled it! yep, it's actually illegal now to make streets that steep; they are on a 36% grade, isn't that insane!?! needless to say, i did NOT park by their house, but just walking up the hill to my spot was a workout! their house was adorable, and we just shot on their porch, and in the bedroom and bathroom. as i said before, the assignment was a short silent film that was a self portrait. kristin decided to write about her miscarriage, so it was a very emotional piece. we watched the raw footage, and i'm really looking forward to seeing the final product. unfortunately, usc rules state that it can't be put on the internet unless it's less than 10% of the footage, so i'll see what i can do...

i feel like the shoot was a really good experience, acting wise, too. my co-star, seth, played my hubby, and he was talented. i spent a good deal of time cramped rocking back and forth in their bathtub with fake blood on my hands and nightgown. i know it sounds gory, but it was very tasteful and touching. the scene was in a stark white background, and just being in that position made it easy to get into character. it was really cool. so, yeah, i'm definitely glad i did it. made some new friends out of it, too. kristin and todd were great company, then seth and another usc film student were also fun, as we all sat and had pizza in the chill southern california night air after filming.

today was busy! this morning i went on a photo shoot that i found on an email service that sends me gigs (mostly student or non-paying stuff...good experience) that match my profile. a professional photographer needed some people for a portrait shoot, and just to expand his portfolio. it benefits me, too, since i get digital copies of all the shots, too. one thing he's doing is shooting with different lights on a plain background, but with everyone in this same white tank top. it's cool to see the different people with different attitudes wearing the same thing. i haven't seen all my photos, but the one he put up on his website is eh, i've seen cuter. but whatever. if you check out www.chuckespinoza.com/blog, it should probably still be one of the first couple of blog entries. you'll see a picture of three of us in the shirt, click on it, and then scroll through all the different people. you'll see me in there, obviously. i think it's kind of a jank picture of me, a bleh facial expression, but the lighting is cool, i guess. you can judge for yourself. i'm just excited to have some more photos!

i had class for pretty much the rest of the day. a new one called camera techniques was amazing. i learned so much that i didn't know about, well, techniques for acting to a camera. this was really beneficial, since i'm so used to theater, and need to learn about marks, eyelines, and the subtleties of playing to one person (the camera). then i had a theory class, and morgan sheppard's class, who (please check out his imdb and see one of his films) is a phenomenal actor and coach.

anyway...i'm beginning to get sleepy, and better head to bed. more soon. goodnight.

sorry i haven't posted in a couple of days. nothing earth-shattering has happened :)

i've enjoyed the past few days...going to classes, doing a little myspace work for a friend (which is nice to have a tiny bit of income in these circumstances...). and then, today, i was very productive! i mailed out my first mailings to commercial agents. i sent out 15 packets of my headshot, resume, and a little note to the agent. please pray that they reach the right hands, and that i will be lead to the right agent, if any at all. with the way things go around here, to even hear back from one of the 15 would be nice. and who knows how long it will take. one thing about "the biz" is that nothing is usually immediate. i guess it's forcing me to become more patient, which is a good thing.

this afternoon, holland and i went to the beach for an hour or so and she was gracious enough to run lines with me for my new scene. tonight we are having one of her friends from high school (who now lives here) over for pizza. YUM!

as for tomorrow, i did end up getting the lead role in a USC student short film! it's the one i mentioned in the previous post. it's called "two pink lines," and is a self portrait of the director, kristin. it's the story of she and her husband discovering they are pregnant and then having a miscarriage. it's a silent film, so i'm excited to see how it will work to just portray it without any words. i saw the treatment (script without dialogue) and it looks very moving. so, after tomorrow i'll have more to post, i hope.

hope everything is well with, well, everyone :) and goodnight for now...

well well well...yesterday and today were pretty big days. well, not really i guess. just fun days. yesterday, we got our new roomie and our dog! holland made her way here from kentucky and moved in, and brought lane's dog, eisley, back with her. hooray, doggie!

in the evening yesterday, however, lane and i decided to finally go do a photo shoot that we'd been planning for weeks. i had an idea for makeup, which was black runny eye makeup to look like i was crying. and then lane had looked up concepts with water, and we decided to combine our two ideas, and do a photo shoot with my makeup and at the beach. it was so much fun! i love having my picture taken, and being a little model, and lane (and holland, too, actually) love taking pictures. they both studied photography, so i guess i'll never have to pay for headshots again! lol. anyway, so she and i did some research, packed our bags, and drove up about 5 miles to malibu. we found a parking spot on the side of the road, and then walked a ways past several houses until we found a little hidden staircase that was an entrance to the public beach. we found a great spot that had no people and gorgeous rocks and beach. we ended up stumbling upon some great backgrounds, as you will see in the coming photos.

some of the makeup is normal, and then some is the creepy look, as you can tell. we were going for a darker look, which is clearly not my normal personality, but it's nice to be able to show that i can act different characters than just always the girl next door. i've included an array of photos, so you can see the several types we were taking.







weird, right? the water was SO cold!! while we were taking pictures, there were three older people sitting out on their back porch of their malibu home watching and sometimes laughing as i'd squeal from the cold water!! lane even took a picture from up on their stairs, and they were very friendly. so...after we finished our photo shoot, i walked up to say thanks to them, and lo-and-behold, i recognized one of the people. it was the father of the groom from "father of the bride." he was the actor who kissed the dogs in the movie? it's a great part. but, i didn't mention that to him or anything, didn't want to be weird. they all said "wow, you're going to have some great shots!" and, that they wished their neighbor was there, since they knew i was an actress, and he worked in the biz. but, peter (the actor), said when i get copies of the pictures made, to bring them back by for them to see. so, who knows!? i tell ya, God makes crazy appointments! maybe something, maybe nothing...

today, i drove about two hours south to carlsbad, which is just outside of san diego. i got the lead role in a commercial that was a student final project for a film student. it was a lot of fun. i got to drive through laguna hills and newport beach, which were both gorgeous. i love that i live by the mountains and the ocean! anyway, we filmed all day at his family's house, and we actually watched some of the footage at the end. i think it's going to be good stuff. it'll definitely add to the resume! during our lunch break, chris (the director) took the camera outside to set up the next shot. then, his dad accidentally opened the garage door, which hit the camera and totally screwed up the lens! and, this is an expensive piece of equipment!! so, they had to leave and drive an hour away to an open camera shop and buy a new lens!! this gave us about a 2 hour break, so i watched the rocky horror picture show (for the first time, and it is the weirdest movie ever!) with some of the crew and chris' mom.

when i left, i got another call from an lacasting submission. a usc film student asked me to audition for her final project short film on tuesday. it sounds neat. it's a silent film about the progression of a husband and wife from finding out they're pregnant through having a miscarriage. lots of opportunities, so i'm glad to be busy and working (even if it's not necessarily for money, it's great experience). but, all in all, it was a good day, and now i'm home. sigh. with my two roomies and a dog. tomorrow, i plan on taking a holiday. maybe even the beach? yay. and then back to work on tuesday! i'm already itching to go back to class. i'll rant on acting sometime i'm sure, but i'll just say that i'm loving it, i know i'm doing exactly what i'm supposed to be doing, and i can't wait to dig deeper into becoming a better actor. sigh. ok, as always, more soon...goodnight.

so, today has been an eventful day! i discovered last night that my next door neighbor, andrew, was filming something this morning in our backyard and needed actors for the scene. he asked lane (my roommate) if she or i could be available to help him out, and conveniently, i didn't have anything until improv class tonight at 7, and i was clearly happy to oblige!!

anyway, i'm getting ahead of myself again...let me back up a bit...we have two sets of neighbors in our little house area. it's a great little community. jim and cece in the back, and andrew and jacquelyn in front. us in the middle. obviously. so jacquelyn is an actress (you may see here in a mcdonalds commercial on yourtube: mcdonalds karen king--she's one of the actresses), and andrew is a filmmaker/director/actor. he recently won a huge contest for a New Zealand beer called steinlager, where he made a short (check it out also on youtube: steinlager escape. it's VERY cool stop animation stuff! and that's him in it, and it's in front of our house, too!).

so, this morning, i got up to see my backyard transformed into a backyard scene fit for the screen. it looked very nice. flags up, a grill out, colorful plates set on a little table...and i went out, and ended up filming all day! the crew was really nice, and andy was directing. come to think of it, i was the only girl working on the project! most crews are all guys here, i've noticed, though. i digress. the main character was an older british actor named david, who was in town for a "holiday" visiting his friend who happened to be the assistant director. he was great fun!! so we filmed all day, and it was a fabulous time. the theme of the vignettes is "life's short. don't miss it." and it's a series of shorts depicting the main character dying (but they are comedies), and my particular one involved a horribly tragic accident where he stabs himself in the forehead! ouch!

i did have a close up reaction shot, so if it doesn't get cut in editing, then i could be featured in a short film showing at the opener of the tribeca film festival! which i am pretty darn excited about!!! below are a couple of pictures from the day. doesn't our yard look so cute?!







so after a whole day of filming (i know, i know, i'm just toooo hollywood, baby. lol jk) no, i went to comedy/improv class, which i LOVE! i really do think improv comes naturally to me. we play such fun improv games, including one called good, bad, and ugly, where three people act as members of an expert panel. they give us a subject, and one has to give good advice, one bad, one ugly. but you get to create this whole persona, which i loOOOOoove! maybe i should look more into improv. i enjoy it, so, hm. a thought.

then, my friend and fellow acting student, kvon, had a comedy show tonight. he does stand up every wednesday at the laugh factory (you've probably seen it at some point or another, it's pretty famous). and i think this was one of his last shows for this run or something. anyway, he got another fellow student, john, and i in for free, so we went after classes to watch him. we actually saw several comics, including kvon, who was hilarious. and, although it was funny, i was ready to come home by the end. we thought we were getting in free, but those little tricksters tell you once you're sitting down (ugh!) that there is a "two drink minimum." what!?! are you joking? so i seriously spent what i would have paid for a ticket for the show on two bottles of water! sigh. oh well, i guess i supported a friend, and got to see a fun show, not to mention, that will probably be my one and only trip to the laugh factory, which is worth doing just to say you saw stand up there. oh, yes, and another thing that made it worth it is that when we were outside at the door waiting to go in, i happened to be standing next to chevy chase! lol very random, i know, but i was like hee hee, super cool! he's extremely tall, and i had the urge to call him sparky (name that movie?). anyway, it was a fun night, and i have another busy day tomorrow, so off to bed for me. alas, another full day. take care and goodnight.

this post should be rich with fun stories; i hope you enjoy it!! i actually had some exciting past couple of days, so i have a lot to talk about. firstly, on thursday, i did background work on the show heroes. it was on location at panorama city high school, and it was outside on a very hot day...so that made it less fun than it could have been, i'm sure. hayden panetierre, the main actress, was really cute in person, very nice, and always liked goofing off to make the extras and crew laugh. it was a refreshing surprise to see that she was actually normal-sized. not anorexic like many actresses when you see them not on screen. then, on friday, i worked background for an allstate commercial (which was nice because commercials pay a bit better). we were outside in the hot sun all day, too, though, which wasn't much fun. it was at the football stadium where usc plays, and we did what is called "tiling," where they use multiple shots digitally pieced together to make it look like there is a huge crowd, when really it's just about 150 people. we had hundreds of inflatable dummies, too, which we carried around to our different spots. they were so creepy looking...there were only four different "people," and i couldn't help but imagine how weird it would be to be a model for the face of the dummy. creepsters!



in fact, here's my dummy boyfriend for the day--i named him larry. lol.

allright...so the next exciting story is that yesterday (saturday), i attended my first "hollywood party." yeah yeah, i know. it wasn't lindsey lohan-style, don't worry, but it was a lot of fun, and yes, there were even a few celebs! let me back up. i got connected with the actor michael rosenbaum (most noted for his role as lex luthor on "smallville") because he's from evansville, too, where my parents live. we'd been emailing, and he invited me to his big birthday bash at a piano bar, howl at the moon. it was 80s themed, and i was SO excited! so, i decided to take my friend, scott, who is a big 80s fan, and is a part of the mizzou church plant here in santa monica. anyway, so i went thrifting for some stuff to wear, and found enough to make a great outfit. also, we knew in advance that a few celebs were invited, based on looking at the email invitation, and that there would be two guest performers: debbie gibson and young mc, both big 80s artists. so, we were psyched!

it turned out to be SO MUCH FUN! seriously, scott and i both want to have all 80s themed parties from now on! everyone was dressed up (i almost didn't even recognize mike in his blonde wig, because he's normally bald!), there was yummy food, and the music was awesome!! mike was very nice, and having a great time, and you could definitely tell that he liked to be the center of attention.

ok, now for the pictures...



please excuse the stupid pose, but this is me showing off my entire outfit. i was going for kelly kapowski, what do ya think? :) (i borrowed a ton of vintage 80s jewelry from my friend beth--it made the outfit for sure!)



this is a picture of scott and me. notice his amazing outfit--a tux t-shirt and hideous white leather vest. seriously, he got so many compliments on it!!



i really liked this shot. michael is in the right side of the picture, singing along with debbie gibson, who is the girl playing the piano.



here's one celeb we saw (clearly i had no shame in asking for photographs!) the figure skater, tara lipinski! who is, apparently, trying to make a comeback as an actress...



ok, so scott and i were very excited to get this photo--tom arnold, who is randomly friends with michael, was there. he was actually really nice.



and, finally, our photo with the birthday boy. i know, he looks funny with his 80s getup. he was wearing his evansville hockey jacket from back in the day. pretty funny!

so that's that on the hollywood party scene, lol. just kidding. but, also, i had my first real audition today!! i am signed up with a service that has my resume, photos, and profile, and they send me emails of acting jobs that fit me. so i submit myself to tons of them everyday, and this was just the first one to respond and give me an audition. they are usually just for small parts or student stuff. but yes, it was as a jogger for a coca cola commercial. i went this morning, dressed in my running clothes, and i had to run in place in front of the camera! lol. it was pretty funny, but not intimidating, so i feel good that i'm over the mental hurdle of "my first audition." anyway, hopefully i'll have something exciting to write about again soon, until then...take care!

hey guys! well, the past couple of days have been good and bad. i actually found out yesterday that my doodah (dad's dad) passed away. he's been sick for a few years, and mainly lost all his recognition of people, so i feel like i'd already grieved his loss a few years ago. so, i'm ok, but it's still sad. mainly knowing how hard it is for my dad, uncle, and memaw. i can't imagine losing a parent or a spouse. man. but anyway, so i'm in limbo trying to decide whether or not to go home for a service on friday. it's a weird situation since he's been sick for so long, like i said, and it seems weird to consider not going to my own grandfather's funeral, but it's such a unique situation, too. i really think he'd honestly want me to stay here and keep doing what i'm doing, and not break momentum. that's what all my family is saying, too. but will i regret not going? i don't know. it's almost a relief that he's gone, too, because he had deteriorated so, that i know if he had been in his right mind, he would have been sad to know that he had gotten so bad... anyway... there will be a small service, probably just with family, this friday, so please pray for my family to really celebrate his life, and thank God for taking him. in his last few months, actually, the nurse where he lived said that she would wake up in the night and hear him calling to Jesus, "take me home, please take me home." i never thought of him as a very spiritual person, but i thought this was a really touching illustration of our last days on earth. i also hope that, if i dont go back for friday, that my family understands that my spirit is with them.

but anyway! on to other things. i worked on the set of a new show (coming out for the first time this fall) called samantha who? it looks pretty cute, i guess. a comedy about a girl who wakes up from a coma and has to relearn her life. the main star is christina applegate, and she's really hysterical and very cute in person. let's see, there's also an actress from the movie "crash" in it, and jean smart (the mom from sweet home alabama), too. jean was actually very sweet on set. she talked to me quite a bit, and made sure that her hair lady didn't spray me with hairspray, lol.

today i'm doing some errands. ordering some business cards and headshot copies, and then hopefully going to a commercial class tonight at VC (vincent chase, from now on). i've been submitting myself for a lot of auditions on this site called lacasting, and i'm hoping to at least get called to one or two, just to do them! i learned from some other VC students how to "slate" properly, which is what you do initially going into an on-camera audition. i think that going on auditions would be good practice, if nothing else, and i would love to be able to at least get a few non-extra jobs to start off.

ok, maybe i'll have exciting news to write soon...we'll see. talk to you all soon, and thanks for your continued support and prayers. :)

so...the past few days have been incredibly busy, in a good way, of course!

for two days, i did background on csi: miami. it was on location in long beach, near their big convention center. it was so cool, because there was a crash scene with a big tour bus and a truck, and i had to do a LOT of running outside in the scorching heat, but i think the scene will turn out to look pretty cool! they used a fog machine and fired guns with blanks, which made for some cool special effects. needless to say, i got a nice tan, and some exercise in there, too, from all the avoiding of the "bullets."

also, their food was amazing! i was used to the non-catered set of las vegas, but csi:miami had full catering. in the morning, there was an omelet chef, a whole breakfast buffet, fresh fruit, and a window where you could get food made-to-order. i had a delicious bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich one morning, in fact. then for lunch, they set up gigantic grills, and then made chicken, pork tenderloin, beef, fish, pastas, potatoes, steamed veggies, an entire fruit and salad bar, and dessert. YUM!

other than that, i've really been trying to think about how to prioritize my time, this week. i got referred to a really reputable acting coach named vincent chase (yes, the entourage character is named after him). so i audited one of his classes on wednesday night, and it was so much fun!! i've really been missing actual acting. all the class sizes at his studio are below about 6 people, so it's really intensive, personal training. i'm so excited about it. i actually need to start memorizing a monologue for next week...the improv class was taught by a guy who's done second city and the groundlings, two really big comedy/improv troupes. it was a lot of fun, and (kelly lewis) it reigniting my love for improv and sketch comedy! snl, here i come! lol

yesterday, i hung out some at the beach with my new extra friend, greg, and his roommates, who are moving back to NJ on saturday, which is too bad since i know we would have been great friends...but his friend, tom, is writing a show called proton girl, and it's like the perfect part for me, so i'm hoping i'll been seeing these people all soon!! you should check out clickflixs.com for tom's production company...

in other exciting news, chris started optometry school this week. he's had some orientation stuff, and has gotten settled into his new apartment in st. louis. can't wait to hear about how his classes go! i don't have real bill-paying job yet, so that's a big prayer request...other than that, keep in touch!