hello everyone!

so, i have a few things to blog about, and i was waiting for some pictures to make the post more interested, however then i noticed that i only had one march post, and thought i was due!

so, what's been keeping me busy? march is a crazy month, we've almost had a house guest every single day, or at least one of the roomies had some friend or relative in town. last week, i got to hang out with one of my best friends, meredith and her mom and sister. what a treat! [waiting on pictures...check back later!] it was great to spend time with one of my surrogate families from cape! we had so much fun, did lots of shopping, and got to celebrate mer's birthday, which was great! next week, my mom, brother, and his friend are coming! i am SO excited!!! i can't wait to see them, and share my daily life stuff with them! and do touristy stuff, too, i'm sure... :)

on the acting front: i'm getting ready to head out to go to another agency open call. we'll see how that goes. my weekly acting classes are going great, i love my coach and the other guys in my class; it's a great environment, and it's good to stay loose. i did some background work two weeks ago for the feature film "bedtime stories." it stars adam sandler and keri russell (both of whom were standing about 10 feet from me during the shoot!!). the day i worked, it was filming on santa monica beach, and i was a bicyclist! so, i just borrowed my roommate's bike, and rode down to the set-it was great!! met some awesome people, and enjoyed getting paid for riding on the beach!

i also very generously was allowed to borrow my former neighbor and friend's camera while she was out of town. i wanted to shoot some more footage to compile a hosting reel. so, i enlisted my friend scott, and he and i went out on the town and filmed a lot of good stuff-hopefully the reel will have enough stuff soon, and i'll be able to post it!! i have lots of stuff going on in terms of sending out more mailings, researching agents, etc. so, i feel like it's finally getting back into the swing of things.

deal or no deal update:
for those of you that watch "deal," i thought i'd post a way for you all to see which episodes i'm in the audience...so far, i don't believe they've aired, but it should be soon, i think.
#1) the models wore red dresses with braided straps. the contestant was a pakistani woman, and tyra banks was her idol...
#2) the contestant was a 28ish year old guy from california, and they made a big to-do about his dead grandmother helping him psychically...the models wore aqua dresses...
#3) the models wore salmon colored dresses, and the contestant was an older woman from massachusetts

we got free passes for a screening of the movie "traitor" this past week. it was crazy because it doesn't come out until august 29th, so we saw a really raw, almost unedited version of the film. at the end, we had to fill out an extensive survey, that they use to judge audience reactions and then do a re-edit before the actual release date. the crazy innerworkings of hollywood...who'da thought? but, i will say the film (starring don cheadle!! and guy pearce!) was really good. i'd definitely recommend it!!

during this Easter season, i'll post more after Easter, because i have several festivities coming up to celebrate...our church celebrated passover with a Seder. last night, we had a real Seder service at one of the church member's houses, and it was so cool-i've never really celebrated passover, and it was just really organic, feeling like i was doing pretty close to what Jesus would have been doing at the same time years and years ago...if you've never had a passover seder, i highly suggest doing one! lots of food, stories, friends, and traditions...very cool.

other than that, i've been working quite a bit, hanging out, sewing a yoga mat bag with my buddy amanda, and yeah, trying to remain content in all my circumstances. what can i say, i feel very blessed, and quality of life continues to remain excellent :)

hopefully i'll have pictures and more stories to post soon...Happy Easter everyone!!

so not many things have been going on, but i guess there are a few semi-big things to blog about...as i mentioned in my last post, background work is starting to crop up again, now that shows are going to begin filming in the wake of the writers' strike. so, last week, i decided to call the lines and book myself for a job, just to get back into it again. well...unfortunately, there wasn't really anything booking except for audience work. now, i've attended a taping of a sit-com before, which was fun, however it took forever! i was just watching that time, but found out that many of the people in the audience are actually getting paid to be there. crazy, right? hate to break it to ya, but hollywood isn't always as it seems, lol. so...last week i ended up working as an audience member for the show "deal or no deal." i watched three episodes being taped. i got to sit by some really fun people, so that made the short breaks go by quickly, and it wasn't too bad. howie mandel was pretty cool, and each one-hour show took about 3.5 hours to film. it was a really long day, though, and although it doesn't seem like it would be, it is tiring sitting for 8+ hours and always having to be "on!" we had to be filmed for audience reactions, golf claps, light chuckles and full-on laughter. it's so funny to see the way things look so cheap behind the scenes and the magic of hollywood transforms it to its final products...here is a picture from my phone of the set (which, i might add, is very small compared to what it looks like on tv!)

for those of you that have been reading my other posts, you may know that one of my quests, i guess you could call it, is to really try and DO as much as possible, instead of being stagnant and bored and just sit around when i have free time. our friends have been talking a lot about going camping, since i think most of my church friends go a lot when it gets warm, especially. there is beach camping just a few miles away, or mountain camping about an hour and a half east, so it's easily accessible. lane and our friend, nate and i all realized we had the same two days off of work this week. so, we decided to take advantage of the coincidence and went on a spontaneous camping trip! we planned one evening and packed up our stuff, heading out the next day to the san bernadino mountains to just stay one night and the next day out in the wilderness!

we had such a great time! the trip there was a little rocky, as we hit a bunch of rush-hour traffic and then ended up at the correct address, which turned out to not be the right place. i had a texas chainsaw massacre moment, when lane and nate went to ask someone for directions, but it turned out ok. after driving 20 mins back, we found the correct entrance to the national forest, and set up camp! we put up a tent and started a bonfire, and ate lots of delicious campfire food! YUM! everything always tastes better over a fire--hot dogs, biscuits (which our family calls twists over a fire), cinnamon apples, etc. so good! that night was freezing, and it was a rough night sleep, but the next day was in the 80s and sunny, which was great!!

that next morning, we were all up reading/relaxing in the sun, and i had brought my journal. i've always wanted to write poetry, however, anytime i try, it just never seems to come out right. but, that day, i think i just felt really inspired by the solitude of nature, and this poetry just started forming in my mind, so i put it down on paper right away. i ended up writing a poem, which i'll post below. i'm very proud of it, especially because it reminds me so much of my grandfather, and the poetry that he wrote before he passed away this august. he was very outdoorsy, and part of me feels like it all came to me because i was in his favorite surroundings, out in nature. so, the poem is dedicated to my doodah.

before that, though, i have some pictures from the camping trip:

1) a small view of some of our array of yummy campfire food! and, eisley trying to eat it!!



2) lane and me by our tent! looking lovely in our rugged two-day old clothes! i loved roughing it...



3) a funny moment with eisley, the cutest ugly dog ever!



4) a view of some of the mountains as we drove near the campgrounds.



on this same note, i'm totally psyched because i went to a thrift store 50% off sale last night, and randomly stumbled upon a really good quality hiking/backpacking backpack! they normally retail new for about $250, and i got mine for $2.50!!! craziness! but i'm so excited that i now wish i had money to actually take it on a backpacking trip! haha. no, but i'm sure it'll get used a lot for camping and such.

ok, without further ado, i'll leave you with one of my first attempts at poetry. enjoy...

"camping"

Back strained from rocky ground,
Yet I am grateful for no sound
Of busy streets as cars pass by
And walls of concrete raised on high.

For in this place, the mountain tales
Of snowy peaks and wooded trails
Hold secrets kept from simpler days
Where only nature stole our gaze.

It's sad to know it must be planned,
To stop and visit lonely land,
Where escaping the bright city lights
Is worth the glittering stars at night.

I close my eyes and breathe so deep,
Recalling dreams from restless sleep;
Of walks to pick up arrowheads
And Indian stories Doodah read.

That takes me back to younger years
When life had not much need for tears.
But, then I smile and think of Dad,
The rainy campout our family had.

I learned to double-check the list,
Tent, flashlight, and even doughy twist.
My memories of soup from cans,
Served by my father's gentle hands.

My mind has drifted off today,
To thoughts of life in easier ways.
I hate to think tonight we'll leave,
This quiet space I'll surely grieve.

So, as I sit and pen these words,
There's still no noise to be overheard.
I welcome breezes of freshest air,
In its final whips through my dark hair.