Back to Summer Thunderstorms!

Now that I'm living in SC again, I get to experience summer thunderstorms once again. Most of the time I enjoy them. Wednesday was one of my scariest. I left work hearing the constant thunder in the distance and the moment I got in my car it started raining. I could see sheets of rain in the direction I was heading but had to go that way anyway. At the first intersection, I have a choice and I usually turn left. The light turned green and I noticed there were too many cars int he turning lane to make the light so I opted to go straight. The moment I entered the intersection the rain came even harder. I couldn't go above 20 mph. As I continued forward, the rain just kept pelting my car and it was really difficult to see. I had to keep slowing down and was going about 10 mph. All of a sudden there was a huge gust of wind. I noticed some minor debris floating around and then my windshield was completely white with water. I had to stop and for half a minute I thought there might be a tornado right in front of me. It was pretty scary. It eased up a bit and I slowly inched forward. About 20 yards in front of me, half of a pine tree had come tumbling down over a powerline and on top of a pick up truck. A police officer was in the lane next to me and stopped to help. The driver in the truck seemed to be ok but the tree and debris had scattered over almost all 4 lanes. Five minutes later I was home and by the time I was exiting my car the rain was stopping. Crazy!
What I learned ... when driving in a bad thunderstorm, try to stay as close to the middle of the road as possible. The truck that got hit by the tree had been in the right lane.

Report on WIS

ATLX and other stuff

I've been crazy busy lately. Lots has been going on. The dog training is going well and I start the last part of my externship on April 28. I also have to do 10 hours of volunteer work in a local animal shelter.
Mostly I've been busy getting my dad to all his appointments. He has stopped his chemotherapy for now. He's been having trouble walking because of an old knee injury, so he's now doing physical therapy twice a week. His knees and hips have already improved from all his hard work.

Last weekend I traveled to Atlanta for a weekend full of swing dancing. ATLX (Atlanta Lindy Exchange) was a lot of fun and it felt good to be dancing so much again. Got to dance with old friends and met a lot of new friends! The theme this year was Dance Nerdy with Me and the main dance on Saturday night was so much fun. Not only was everyone really dressed up, but the band was awesome!

My friend Allen and me ... such geeks ... I mean nerds ...

I miss you Mystic!!!!

Last week there were lots of trips to the vet, and we finally had to say goodbye to Mystic. It was a sad decision, but his illness with his colon finally got the better of him. We are lucky that his medicine worked for as long as it did.
Mystic adopted me when I was living in Atlanta, GA. One extremely foggy night I had stopped at the mailbox on the way home to my apartment. I had stopped to look up at the fog, since I hadn't seen it so thick in a long time. I looked down at my feet and there was a cute little white kitten at my feet staring up at me expectantly. I picked him up, petted him and looked around. To this day I have no idea where he came from. He followed me to my apartment and of course I let him in.
He slept on a pillow next to me that night and he purred the loudest I've ever heard. I had no idea a kitten that little could purr so loud! I should have taken that as a clue to how big he would become! He turned out to be a 16lb teddy bear of cuddliness!
I introduced him to Sasha hoping they would get along and instantly they became friends ... as if they were long lost brothers.
I have lots of pictures of Mystic sleeping of which I'll post a few below. The fact that he was so big and that he liked to sleep on his back, made for some cute and funny sleeping positions. I had to snap a picture when I found him in such a position. One of the places we would find him frequently is under the covers on my parents' bed.

No, it's not a stuffed pillow!

We bought him a new bed last year which he stretched out in frequently.

I wonder where Mystic could be?

We were searching the house for him and stumbled upon him taking a nap.

Happy New Year!

Well, it's been officially 2009 for 9 days now and it's about time I write another entry.
Lots has happened since I moved back to Columbia, SC ... well, enough to keep me busy anyhow. I have yet to finish unpacking all my boxes, which I aim to do by next week some time. I haven't really looked for a job yet. I have kind of sort of, but haven't focused on it yet. Everything has seemed semi chaotic since I moved here. Helping my parents with rides and such has made me very happy to be able to help them, but it seems things constantly come up. My mom lost 2 crowns and needed to have both teeth pulled ... then she lost another one last week and had to get a root canal. I planned on staying in my apartment as much as possible this weekend next week to finish getting my boxes unpacked and start looking for a job and after taking my dad to the doc yesterday, have to now take him back every day for a shot until Monday. So, as crazy as everything seems, I will force myself to have my apartment done by next weekend!
Christmas was wonderful! It was a little sad because Miko wasn't here to enjoy it with us. I think Zoey really misses him. But overall it was cozy with lots of good food. And the weather was nice ... low 70s!
For New Year's Eve, I jumped in the car and headed down to Atlanta to bring in the new year with friends. I had a blast! And was very happy to discover that Trader Joe's is now in Atlanta! So I made sure to stop by and stock up on some of my favorites that I'm missing!
So, that's all that's going on with me for now.
Somewhat chaotic, somewhat boring!

Miko - 1998ish - Dec 5, 2008

Miko was our loving dog that my parents adopted after we lost Orion. They had gone to Pets Inc looking to adopt an older dog and found Miko and my mom instantly bonded with him. He never left my mom's side. He was a very quiet dog, and it took months before anyone even heard his first bark. He loved going on walks and when we let him off leash, he kept an eye on us and would circle us as we walked never going too far, but stopping to check out any interesting smells and sights. He never chewed on anything, even when we encouraged him with any chew toys. He became fast friend with Zoey when we adopted her.
We found out he had a tumor on or near his spleen. We believe it's been there for 2 or 3 years. We had no idea. We thought he was simply overweight, and any vets we saw seemed to agree. I knew something was wrong when his belly looked even bigger and we knew he had lost weight.
He was starting to suffer. Eating was becoming very uncomfortable for him and he always seemed hungry but couldn't eat very much.
Saying goodbye to Miko on Dec 5, was probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Surgery was an option, but the tumor was so big and had been there for so long. In doing research, we discovered his chances of surviving surgery weren't that great.
We all miss him terribly.

Road Trip 2008

Day 1: Was hoping to leave LA on Saturday, Oct 18, but decided to stay 1 more day and see if I got a paycheck in the mail. I left on Sunday, Oct 19. I woke up at 4am hoping to finish packing the car and get out of there before sunrise. Packing my car took way longer than I had hoped. I hit the road around 10 am ... not too bad. Austin, TX is pretty far, and I knew if I only wanted to spend 1 night in a hotel on the way there I had to make it to New Mexico on the first day. Late afternoon I started getting a bad headache, but kept on going.

Sunset in rear view

Finally, around 8pmish I crossed the state line into New Mexico (this made it 9pmish). I stopped at the first town I saw, Lordsburg, NM, and found a decent hotel ... ok "the" decent hotel I should say. It was brand new, so everything was really nice. The other hotels scared me a little with their half lit signs and semi lit parking lots. All in all, not a bad day, except for the headache. I drove for 11 hours, only stopping briefly at gas stations and rest areas.
Miles: 667

Day 2: After eating breakfast, I repacked my car and continued my journey. It was around 10 am. Driving through New Mexico was very cool. There were tons of places I would have like to have followed the signs I saw to. Then I crossed the border to Texas.

Welcome to Texas

Not long after, I passed through El Paso, which seems to be an interesting city and the biggest city I had driven through in a while. I continued on I-10 into ... west Texas. After a while, I had to go through a check point where all the traffic was diverted. The guy asked me if I was a US Citizen, I said "yes", and then he nodded and that was it. I was back on I-10, where the speed limit is 80. West Texas is the hardest part of this drive. There's not a lot going on out there. There's some cool scenery now and then. The mountains slowly change to mesas which is cool and some of them have the giant wind farm windmills on them. But essentially, there is nothing out there. You definitely want to do this drive during the day, because there are very few towns with hotels, and you definitely have to keep an eye on your gas guage and get gas when you happen to see a gas station. When the sun finally went down, I was still about 2 or 3 hours from Austin. I was planning to cut through Fredricksburg from I-10 to Austin, and I couldn't wait to leave I-10. Hwy 290, was definitely slower than any interstate, but it was a nice change from the steady monotony of the interstate. I had hoped to hit 290 while the sun was still up, because the hill country is so beautiful. Instead, I got to use my brights on the winding highway, a feature on my car I hadn't used in years, since it's unnecessary in well lit LA. Driving through Fredricksburg was neat because you drive straight through the heart of town (which doesn't take very long) and all the stores had their windows lit with German Christmas decorations already. I finally arrived in Austin around 11pmish. I found my friend Jonas' house and was so happy to be out of the car and in my favorite town after 12 hours of driving!
Miles: 774

Day 3: Hello Austin! I didn't accomplish much because I was a little worn out from driving. Having driven 11 hours day 1 and 12 hours day 2, I was content to let Jonas drive me to Tacodeli for lunch ... where they have the BEST tacos!

Yes, I'm biased because I used to work there when I lived in Austin ...
but they really do have fabulous tacos!

It was Tuesday, which meant Jonas was playing with his band, Busted Fly, at the one2one bar. They play mostly blues every Tuesday night there. I went out for sushi with my friend Jayson and then we walked to one2one. It was a lot of fun! I got some blues dancing in with Jayson to some good live music. Something I've missed a lot since I moved to LA.

Day 4: Stayed in Austin again. Mostly lounged around all day. Watched winter roll in as the 80 degree weather turned into 50/60 degree weather and also enjoyed some light rain. =) Jonas was playing at the one2one bar again, but this time with a different band, The 80HProject. I had an awesome time. At one point, during their second set, I saw a guy walk in that looked so familiar. I knew he was an actor, but I could not place him. Finally, the bongo player of the band clued me in after the band was done playing. It was Jeff Fahey, who plays the helicopter pilot on Lost! It was really cool to meet him after the show.

Day 5: Time for me to hit the road again. I stayed up till 4am and woke up at 9am to get going. Traveled up I-35 to Dallas to hit I-20 East. I caught up to the rain in Vicksburg, Mississippi and that's where I stayed the night.

RAINBOW!

Day 6: Friday, Oct 24. I forgot to set my alarm and happened to wake up when someone walked by my window with a loud cart. Almost missed the free breakfast! Got on the road and couldn't wait to get to Atlanta. This leg was the easiest so far, except I had caught up to the rain and by the time I arrived in Atlanta, the skyline was obscured by low clouds and fog and rain. My friend Allen, whom I was staying with, also had another friend visiting for the week, Bill. Allen, his roommate Dave, Bill, and I all went to the Varsity for dinner. Somehow, when I had lived in Atlanta, I had never made it to the Varsity, so it was fun to finally go and check it out.

Day 7: My friend Laura came by to pick me up and we did some shopping. I wanted to get some last minute items for my Halloween costume. I needed to put together a costume for Spiralween that Allen, Dave, Bill, and I were going to that evening. I had been brainstorming a cheap and easy costume to wear and came up with being a geek. I had my long sleeve star trek shirt and just needed a few accessories to geek it up a bit. I found some pipe cleaners and glow in the dark alien stickers and was good to go. Allen printed out a picture of Captain Kirk and Captain Picard for me and I hung them around my neck. I hadn't been to a big halloween party like this in a long time, so I was looking forward to it. The band, who apparently always dress up as mummies, was excellent. Lots of dancing and drinking and fun!

Day 8: Day of recovery. Spent the day lounging and watching some football.

Day 9: Monday, Oct 27. As much as I wanted to visit all my friends with babies, all the traveling had caught up to me and I was just sick of living out of my suitcase and car. I managed to visit my friend Leslie and her son Alexander and we went to the Dekalb Farmers' Market together.

After shopping and browsing and playing with Alexander, I hopped in the car and headed home to Columbia, SC. It's only about 4 hours from Atlanta, so I was home by supper time. =)

Total Miles: 2,733
Total Gas spent: $246.55
When I first got gas it was priced at $3.29 ... the last time I got gas which was in Columbia the price was $$2.35. The further east I got, the cheaper it was. And the prices still seem to be going down ... I actually saw it priced at $1.99 today!

I had a blast on my road trip, but am eagerly awaiting moving into my new apartment. It will be nice when I'm not living out of a suitcase any longer. =)

I hate moving!

Well, not entirely. It can be fun getting into a new space. But packing all of your stuff and getting it to your new space is the biggest pain in the you know what!!
So, I only managed to work one other day. It's been really slow. I worked on Big Love one last time, and they didn't even end up using us!
Now, I'm concentrating on getting all my ducks in a row. Why do I have so much stuff!? It never seems like a lot until you have to put it all in boxes. The movers get here this week, probably Thursday, so I need to get everything packed and done. Once the movers are done, then it's just up to me to finish cleaning the apartment and hoping the stuff I'm bringing with me all fits in my car. ;)
And then I'm off on my cross country road trip back to Carolina! Looking forward to the open road with no LA traffic to slow me down! I'm planning on stopping in Austin, TX for a few days and also Atlanta, GA for a few days.

LAPD (or Untitled JPW Project) - Visitor/Nurse/Family/Patron

YAY! I got to work yesterday! And ... crew parking was at Fox Hills Mall, not far from me ... that's always a bonus! I was "booked" on LAPD, but when I got to set, everything seemed to say Untitled JPW Project. Apparently it is a pilot by the same people that did ER ... so who knows what it'll be called in the end. I was told they were doing 4 scenes and I would play a visitor, nurse, family, and patron in that order. When I arrived to parking we had to wait for transportation and when we finally boarded the people mover, it was about a 20-30 minute ride to set. It was at the old RFK hospital in Hawthorne that is no longer running. I've actually been there before for the Superhero movie, so it was neat to see the same "sets" being used for a different project. We were told the first 3 scenes would be hospital scenes (ER, ICU, waiting room) and the last scene would be at a diner close to where we parked. The only scene where you might possibly see me in this is in the diner at a table behind where the principals are sitting.
It was a good 12 hour day. I had fun.

It's official!

I'm moving back to South Carolina. There's no cause for alarm or worry. I'm moving back so I can be closer to my parents. It's been tough living so far away from them. My dad got diagnosed with lung cancer 2 years ago, and began chemotherapy a few months ago. It's been tough on them since they have to go across town once a week for the chemotherapy and finding rides has not been easy. I want to be there so I can help them out and also to spend as much time with my dad as possible. He seems to be doing well with the chemo so far.
I still plan on pursuing acting, dancing and dog training and look at moving back to South Carolina as a sabbatical. I haven't figured out a job yet, but there are possibilities. I put in an application for an apartment today.
I'm looking forward to my road trip east and plan on spending time in Austin and Atlanta, two of my favorite cities that I haven't had much time to visit since I moved to LA.

So Slow ...

Work has been really slow lately. Not a lot seems to be going on. I've been lucky to work at least once a week. I went back to Big Love as an office worker 2 weeks ago, and last week I worked on Without a Trace as a prep high school mom. I finally crossed the age range line! =)

Men of a Certain Age - Stand In

I worked for 3 days last week on Men of a Certain Age. It's Ray Romano's pilot. They are shooting for 12 days, but since the main characters are all men, they don't need me much. Hopefully, I'll get to stand in some more before they are done. It's a good crew and lots of fun. Besides Ray Romano, it also stars Scott Bakula. It was really cool to see him in person. There was a scene in which Ray Romano (Joe), Andre Braugher (Owen) and Scott Bakula (Terry) all worked together. It was a funny scene and it was cool to watch them work. I look forward to seeing it on tv (assuming it gets picked up) which might be in June of '09.

91290 - Stand In

Yes, it's been recycled ... reincarnated ... regurgitated ... whatever ya want to call it. I looked forward to it all the same. I've been fortunate to work as a stand in from time to time, but this time the character I was standing in for was in every scene. My call time was at 2:00 PM and I arrived early. =) I had never gotten sides before as a stand in, and so it was cool to actually know what was going on in each scene. Stand ins basically "stand in" the spots the principal actors stand in for the scene while the camera and lighting crews adjust everything. It's a pretty cool job and gives you an understanding of everything that goes into just one shot. Some DP's (Director of Photography) are pretty picky about their stand ins, wanting them to look as close to the actor as possible (hair color, skin tone, height and weight, etc), while others are more loose with their guidelines for choosing a stand in and just want someone they enjoy working with.
I had a good time on 90210. The crew was fabulous. Everyone had a good attitude and it was a fun atmosphere even the though the crew had been working some very long days. They picked me to stand in for Lori Loughlin and for 1 scene I even got to stand in for Linda Gray. Over all it was a great experience.

Back in LA

I arrived back in LA last Wednesday. I was supposed to arrive Tuesday night, but my first plane was delayed making me unable to make my connection, which was the last flight out for the night. So United put me up in a hotel for the night, and I took the first flight out wednesday morning.
So, I'm back to getting as much work as possible. On Tuesday, I worked background on Eleventh Hour. After spending 3 weeks in SC, it was tough getting back into the rhythm of getting up super early and fighting traffic to get to a location. I got there a little early though, and it was an easy day.
As far as moving to SC, I'm still trying to figure all that out. In the mean time, I will concentrate on finishing my studies to become a dog trainer and work as much as possible.

South Carolina

I've been in Columbia the past 2 weeks and decided to stay a third week. I've been working a lot in the yard and getting some much needed shopping in. My dad started chemotherapy last week for his lung cancer and has to go now once a week. This is tough on my parents because the South Carolina Oncology Associates is on the other side of town and neither can drive there. My dad seems to be doing ok with the chemotherapy. They say he shouldn't lose his hair with the type and dosage he's taking (taxotere) and he seems to be doing ok with the other side affects.
I think I'm going to have to move back to Columbia, so that I can be nearby to help my parents when/if they need it. I'm a little sad at having to leave Los Angeles, but family and friends are the most important part of life. This doesn't mean I'll never go back to LA, but my parents need me right now. When I get back to LA, I have a lot to figure out.
On the bright side of things ...
Living in Columbia will allow me to have a normal size apartment once again. I'll probably be able to visit my friend Mary in DC and my friends in Atlanta since I'll now be within reasonable driving distance. And the constant yard work my parents have will definitely keep me in shape!
When I get back to LA, I'll get a clearer picture of how and when all of this will happen and I plan on working as much as possible over the next couple months.

Been trying to put my new dog training knowledge to good use while I'm here.
Zoey is full of energy and quite smart.
When/if I move to Columbia, I'm hoping I can do some agility course training with her.

Rubicon and Swingtown - Secretary/Typist

On Friday, I had a 4:00 call time for reshoots for a film called Rubicon. They broke for lunch at 4, so I was sent straight to catering when I got there. I was fit earlier in the week as a secretary and the scene was set in 1946. I love doing period work, especially 1940s. They decided to do my hair different from the fitting, so I ended up spending about an hour and a half in the make up/hair trailer. They really did a good job on everyone that I saw there. The men had to have hair cuts, and they looked great! I wish I had a picture, but I had to sign a confidentiality agreement at the fitting so I didn't bring my camera. The disappointing part of the day is that they never did my scene. I got wrapped at 11:00 PM. Yesterday, I worked on Swingtown. I was a typist and my call time was 2:00 PM. I love these afternoon call times! They told all the women to arrive with their hair in curlers. I was looking forward to a fun 70's hairdo. When they took my curlers out, my hair was so curly. Instead of brushing it out, they decided to leave it curly to look like a perm. When we arrived on set, they had glasses for some of us, and sure enough, they gave me a pair. I felt like a cartoon character. I barely recognized my reflection! I'm only walking and filing in one scene, but it was a lot of fun! The crew was laid back and really nice. Today is their last day of shooting, so I assume it will be the last episode of the summer.

Check out my awesome 70's dress! ;)

The glasses make the outfit!

Little Big Men ... or something

Yesterday and today I worked on the reshoots for the film "Little Big Men" ... but that might not be the title. It also goes by the title: Untitled Mentor Project among others. I played one of the office workers at the energy drink headquarters office where they were throwing a surprise party. Paul Rudd is one of the leads, and watching all the principals work together was a hoot. I'm looking forward to seeing this movie when it comes out, and who knows you might actually see me partying in the background.

Labor Pains - Pregnant

No ... I'm not really pregnant! I worked on a film called Labor Pains last Wednesday. The scene was a pool party and I was 1 of 3 non pregnant women made pregnant. It was a lot of fun. The film stars Lindsay Lohan and I've never seen so many paparazzi. We were at a house in Sherman Oaks, and the paparazzi pretty much camped out across the street all day.
I'm working on it again today on a different scene.

Raising the Bar - Court Officer

On Friday, May 30, I got to work on Raising the Bar again. But, instead of coming back as a waitress, I was a court officer this time. I never get booked as any sort of officer, so I was looking forward to it.
As soon as I checked in, they sent me straight to wardrobe where I got the uniform. The pants were way too long ... like 6 inches or so at least. Other than that, it was a decent fit. I then got sent to props.
They put the badge and name tag stuff on, and also the belt with the gun, walkie, etc. I don't know how real officers do that every day. The belt was a little heavy, and cumbersome and the gun wasn't even real. Next, I went to hair and make up, where they put my hair in a low bun.
The day was filled with a bunch of scenes in the court room and in the hall outside the courtroom. I didn't work that much until after lunch. It was an interesting day, but I was glad to be out of that uniform.

Quality is not that great because it was taken with a camera phone.
I make a pretty goofy looking court officer. =P

500 Days of Summer - Train Passenger

Last Thursday, I was booked as a "train Passenger" for the film 500 Days of Summer. It was through my booking service and for a casting agency I had not worked for before. Instead of having to call a hotline at a certain time the night before, they were emailing the info and then we just had to reply to the email to confirm. The email had all of the information, including what time we had to be there, where we had to be, and what we had to wear and bring. Along the top of the email it said "Train ride to San Diego". So, I, along with the other people booked, assumed that meant we would be sitting in a train all day. Our location was down town LA and the call time was 10 am. Right before we checked in, they suggested we put any extra items (wardrobe we weren't wearing, folding chairs, etc) back in the car. We would be on the train to San Diego. We really took the train from LA to San Diego and then back again. They had reserved 2 cars for the movie. It was my first US train ride, besides subways, so I was excited. It was a fairly easy day. After doing a short scene on the platform, they loaded us into the train. They put us in spots for the first scene on the train, and when they were done, we went to the other car. It was a nice ride. Once out of the Los Angeles area, the train goes along the coast and the scenery was quite beautiful. Once in San Diego, we hopped out to do another quick scene on the platform there. Then back on the train where they served us boxed lunches (very cold sandwiches). The way back was really cool because we got to watch the sunset over the ocean. I didn't work at all on the way back ... just sat back and enjoyed the view.
It was the second time, I've been to San Diego, and ironically, both times I've been there and within an hour headed back to LA. The first time was for Lords of Dogtown, when I worked as a PA in the office and had to deliver some paperwork when they were shooting in San Diego.

Train station in San Diego

The Ugly Truth - another 4 days

Starting last Thursday, I worked for another 4 days on The Ugly Truth. It's a great set with a great crew. Not only is it great to have multiple days like that, but it's a great production to work on. I was hoping we would be back at KCET in hollywood, but that wasn't the case. They were filming in an old police station office in Glendale. Glendale is a little more of a trek for me, but since the call times were almost always 7:15, traffic wasn't bad at all and it was easy to get there. The first day was a rough one for me. I had worked late the night before on Snowflake, so I was a little sleepy. When we were waiting in holding, I decided to close my eyes to rest for a bit. Not sleeping, mind you. =P When I opened my eyes, my contact in my right eye had dried out (that's why I don't sleep or nap in my contacts). Somehow it managed to scratch my eye. I think I had scratched my eye the previous sunday by rubbing my eye too hard when I took a shower, but it had seemed ok. The dried out contact was all my eye needed to scream bloody murder! My eye hurt so bad, so I rushed to the bathroom to take it out ... usually that makes the pain go away. Didn't happen. My eye was killing me ... I could barely keep it open. So, I found the medic and he was very nice. He helped wash my eye and since there was nothing in it, decided that it must be scratched. He had these eye drops, that I swear, are like the miracle eye drops, and I must figure out what they were and where to get them. He put one drop in my eye and it had a refreshing sort of feel, like peppermint. At that time, everyone was coming to set to be placed in the scene. The AD was so nice and put me on a seat, so I wouldn't have to walk around and potentially bump into things (I only had 1 contact in). After about 15 minutes, in the blink of an eye (I couldn't resist), my eye just simply stopped hurting. It was those miracle eye drops. And people kept thinking I scratched my other eye, because my scratched eye was beautifully white, and my other eye, with the contact still in so I could see, was a little red from all the strain. lol
That is about the most eventful thing that happened while I worked there. They were shooting all the news office scenes, so we kept coming back to get put in the background for various office scenes. I wore my glasses for a few days so my eye could heal, and all seems to be well now. =)
If you're reading this, and you have some idea of what kind of eye drops I'm talking about, please post a comment. I've got to get some!

edit ... I found them! Rohto is the brand name and they are listed on drugstore.com