since my last post, a few things have happened, but nothing big, still. the strike ended (i'm sure you all know, and are very excited to have your shows returning semi-soon!), so hopefully things in the acting realm might begin to pick up again in the near future!

i've had a few auditions recently, one for an online commercial, a couple of student films, a low-budget feature, etc. we'll see what, if anything, comes of them. i'm at least glad to be auditioning, though. i was feeling like i was getting a bit rusty. i'm back in an acting class once a week, too. it's not the same one i was going to, however. i plan on going back to vincent chase eventually, but this one is with anthony, the manager and founder of stage to salvation (which is on hold right now...). he is letting me take the class in exchange for being the class secretary, which is awesome, considering money never grows on trees here :)

my episode of house ("it's a wonderful lie") finally aired, and i was actually on it 4 times. only once or twice were really visible, though. my mom took pictures of the screen again (thanks mom!) so below is a picture of me chatting it up with the character, wilson. pretty cool.




also, i got a copy of my horror film, new residence. i'm really excited to have a copy of it, and have screened it for a few of my friends here, which has been fun!! i hope to be able to put it up on here sometime soon, so i can share it with you all, too!!

did everyone have a good valentine's day? what did you all do? i actually had a wonderful day!! i decided last-minute to stop by a florist down the street to see if they needed any extra vday delivery drivers (my roommate had done this last year, and made some really good money). turns out, they did, and i spent a good chunk of the day delivering flowers. it was nice to earn some extra cash, for one! and, two, it was really fun seeing people's reactions to getting flowers. there were several ladies who were very surprised, so that was neat! also, though, it just made me realize how commercial of a holiday valentine's day is. seems like we could just express our love for people every day of the year, instead of buying really overpriced and cliche gifts on one day. besides, i like more creative gestures than just flowers or candy or a teddy bear. i saw so many of those that day, they became very impersonal. but that's just me! and it's not that i wouldn't appreciate those as gifts, or anything...i'm just sayin!

that night, [my roommate] holland and i went on a hot date :) to in-n-out burger and a chick flick. we saw 27 dresses, which was pretty cute. the next day, we saw jumper. i was a bit disappointed, because the previews looked awesome, but the movie was lacking. the action was cool, but the plot was very shallow and underdeveloped. did i mention in preview posts that i went to see semi-pro, the new will ferrell movie? if not, i'll say it was hilarious. very quotable, as always. i saw blades of glory last night, too, which i'd not seen, and i really liked it, too.

this past friday, my friend nate and i decided to go hiking. we've been wanting to go for awhile, but hadn't had the right time, yet. after some research, we went up to the griffith observatory (which is awesome!), and hiked a trail that is really close to the hollywood sign up in the hills. it was so cool, because you're surrounded by la, yet you're up in nature. all around you is city, you can see the hollywood sign, the ocean, the snowy mountains, and the downtown skyline. there are some pictures below--it was well worth the afternoon! another one of those days of actually experiencing and doing, instead of just sitting around. i love it!

pic 1: how i feel about hollywood



pic 2: nate and me on the trail




pic 3: looking back at the observatory from on the trail




other than that, not much to report. hope all is well. more soon.

so, a few of my friends and i decided, "hey, we live in los angeles, california, and we should be taking complete advantage of that and really soak in everything we can while we're in this city." i always want to experience the maximum amount of culture i can wherever i am. one problem, however, is also being dirt poor in said town...lol. but, such is the life of an aspiring actor, and i'm content with that, for now, anyway.

i'm proud to say, we've been pretty proactive about getting out and about the town and experiencing it, instead of just staying at home--which i just love, because i love doing instead of just always sitting around!

1)over mlkjr. day, lane and i met some friends in hollywood at the grove. it's an open-air shopping center, pretty ritzy, kind of like the plaza in kansas city. it was fun to walk around, but my favorite part was a small covered boardwalk area where they have about 30 different small restaurants of all different ethnic food varieties. i had some delicious authentic mexican tacos and fresh-squeezed watermelon juice.
2) lane took holland and me downtown to the la fashion district. now, i'd heard of this before, but i was picturing rodeo drive, or really upscale la designer fashions. no way. it's miles of cheap shops where they have clothes, shoes, sunglasses, booths upon booths of cheap fashions. but it was really cool, we walked around for a whole saturday, and finished off the day with "alley dogs," these disgustingly amazing hot dogs that are wrapped in bacon, and topped with grilled green peppers and onions, and condiments. oh man, so bad, yet so good!
3) just a couple days ago, i went into hollywood to visit jacquelyn, my former neighbor, to see her new studio apartment. she's in a great location, and so we decided to walk to lacma--the la county museum of art--to look at the exhibits. we saw an exhibit of art pieces related to the myth of the "SoCal image" from the 60s and 70s, and a japanese art exhibit. we also checked out the la brea tar pits outside the museum, where 100s of tons of fossils of ice age animals were dug out of natural tar pits that trapped them years and years ago.

other than these fun experiences, i'm still in a limbo phase, i feel like. i've been working some and laying low. i have been to an invited call twice to try and get a commercial agent, so at least i'm still getting my face out there, even in the time of the strike. the rest of hollywood is basically still shut down. so many of my friends and peers are really suffering from the lack of work. i'm hoping things get resolved soon, for everyone's sake.

in movie news: i just saw once, and if you haven't seen it, it's definitely worth it. it's an irish indie film that came out last spring, and has been pretty successful, however i just now saw it. but, the soundtrack is fantastic. i recommend it. also, another perk of living in la is getting to go to free movie screenings, and i'm going to see "vantage point" on friday. i just watched the trailer and it looks really good! the cast is stacked, so i'm sure it'll be quality. i'll let ya know!

hope everyone is doing well, and that you're having some sunshine amid all the cold. keep in touch!