my friends and i have dubbed it the best year ever. i'm starting to think we may be on to something :)

so far, 2009 hasn't disappointed. between auditions (keep 'em comin!), work, friends, themed parties, a visit from dad, (and ok, maybe the slight hiccup of a little bout with the flu), the past couple of weeks have just been lovely! can you believe we're already 1/12 through the year? gosh...

although i haven't landed any roles from my several recent auditions, i'm chalking it up to the old actor's statistic--for every 100 auditions, you land one part. bleak, but hey, i'm racking them up, guys!! (i should start a tally and see if this adage has any value at all...). but, it's good to be getting out there, at least. i go in for something tomorrow, not sure if it's actually the shoot or just an audition, but i'll let you know.

last week was very patriotic for me! i enjoyed an MLKJr holiday at the beach with my "book club" girls! don't have photos from that quite yet; maybe i'll post them at a later date, at which point they'll be cool and retro! the next day, we had a book club/the western union (i think that's what some of my guy friends are calling themselves these days...?) gathering at my friend's ali & peter's house in hollywood. we decided to have an inauguration partay to celebrate president obama (whoa, that's crazy to say!). there were very american hot dogs and apple pie, some intense catchphrase, and lots of good old red, white, and blue! we did watch the inaugural television programming, and i have to admit, either i'd never watched an inauguration before, or there really just had never been one like this!! i'm pretty curious and excited to see what obama's run as president will bring to our country. i feel very optimistic; he's got a lot of good people supporting him, and that collaborative energy and sense of change and progress will prove to be extremely positive, i think. here are some fun pics from that evening:

my book club girls! (ok, so in case i haven't already mentioned this on here, we're not really a book club...i know i know, the name's a bit deceptive. but, these are some of my great girlfriends from out here...we all go to the same church. you'll be seeing more of them, i'm sure.) starting with me, going clockwise: me!, mj, holland, karla, ali, and alex :)


all of us striking karla's signature pose


karla and i take our themed party outfit directions VERY seriously...


later last week, i got a phone call from dad with a surprising and spontaneous suggestion that he come this week for a short visit! he'd never been to la before, so we were both very excited! he came and stayed with me for a few days, and i luckily switched my schedule around to show him a bit of my life out here. he really got the behind-the-scenes tour, because he sat in on my acting class, met rita (the author i'm working with), and got to see all the daily life places i frequent. it was really great for both of us!! the weather wasn't the best we've ever had, but i think he got to thaw out from the freeeeezing indiana ice storm they were having while he was here. if you know me at all (which i'm assuming if you're reading this, you probably do), you know that i love food. so...several of our excursions were food-related. we had the california staples: in-n-out burger, alley dogs downtown, zelda's donuts in venice, and pinkberry. here's some evidence of the damage done:







it must've been sunny--dad was super squinty!!! anyyywayyy...we had a wonderful week just getting to spend time together! he's already back east in the ice and snow, and i'm at home today recuperating from being sick, fun fun.

hope everyone else is staying well and warm, and that you all have a relaxing yet sporty weekend, especially if you're watching the super bowl! (shout out to parker, the lucky duck, who is currently in tampa, FL, and gets to go to the super bowl!!! he and his company did the in-stadium graphics and videos for the big game--so cool, right? watch for him on tv!!!)

ok, that's all i've got--goodnight and take care!

i can't believe it's taken me this far into the new year to post a blog entry! sorry guys! but i'll update you on what's been happening in 2009! (i looked back at my first post of january 2008, and i had literally typed almost the exact words i was going to type for this post! apparently i seem to start off each new year with a similar attitude, but hey, they've been great years, so no complaining from this end!!) "i decided that when i came back out to california, i really needed to hit the ground running," and i feel like i've been pretty productive so far! also, i've made a list of fun things to do this year, and i've already begun to do a couple of them: like a hiking trip up to the malibu waterfalls i took yesterday, eating in chinatown, and seeing some award-winning films (please go see slumdog millionaire!).

to backtrack a little bit...my new years celebration was fantastic!! i hung out with several friends at a very chic little la lounge called xbar. it was a fun way to ring in 2009 in style!!! we had party favors and they showed the ball drop, but the best part was everyone having an excuse to get all dressed up! here's a picture of most of the group!



as for acting: i am consistently submitting myself for auditions, and have been called into several! one of which was for a sketch comedy showcase. i didn't end up getting a part in it, but the audition process was mainly group improv, and i really enjoyed just "playing" around with other creative people! so it was definitely worth it. in fact, things are in a period of really picking up--which may or may not last, of course!! but, i have three auditions already scheduled for this week-which is great! also, i've gotten some work done behind the scenes on my official website...don't worry, you'll be the first to know when that goes up...you can check it out at laurenparrent.com, but now it's just under construction. also, exciting news of a career baby step is that i finally got my first credit on imdb.com. for those movie buffs out there, i'm sure you're familiar with this site, but for others not familiar, it's a site that lists everyone involved on films and television shows. anyway, i got put up for a student film that i was in. and i know i'm just credited as "nurse," but hey it's a step!!!

i'm also really enjoying the new year as i'm working for three separate women in santa monica. many of you know about my life in california, and how i've paid my bills through a series of many odd jobs, and a couple stable ones over the year-and-a-half i've been here. but the ones i'm working on now are amazing. they've come to me via word of mouth, like pretty much everything so far has, and they're just incredibly creative and enriching. i'm assisting two writers and a sculptor/painter, sometimes just with things like helping out on the computer or getting stuff organized, but also, i'm pretty sure that i'll be ending up with a co-authorship on a book i'm writing with one of the women. more about this later, i'm sure, but i had to include at least a snippet about this because it is a pretty huge part of my daily life!! a fun and surprising detour from acting, but one that has become so special to me.

anyway!!! hopefully i'll have some good news post-auditions from this week. and i hope you are all having wonderful beginnings to this new year!