Now, I know this year will be a bit tighter on budgets, so I'll be happy with clothes or other little baubles to decorate my apartment or car. There are a few more expensive items I'd like, but nothing over $100. Here's the list:

Entertainment:
TV (nothing fancy or wall-mounted, just something to plug my Playstation and DVD player into)
"Sliders" seasons 1 & 2, even season 3 would be nice, but don't even think about 4 or 5
Eventually the entire collection of Naruto Uncut Box Sets
"Death Note" box sets 1 and 2
Mad libs books

Decoration:
2010 calendars - fantasy/fairy themed (I must have the ones by Nene Thomas and Linda Ravenscroft)
Any Nene Thomas merchandise (the figures and plaques are my favorite)
Manuel Nunez print (just kidding, it'll take me a while to save up for that)
Star Wars bobbleheads for my car
Tim Gunn talking bobblehead because it is essential for life
Fun ornaments, since I'm going to have my own Christmas tree from now on

Recreation/Fun:
Wood arrows (60-65 Spine)
Finger tab (right hand, Large)
Clothing from Gypsy Rose
Clothes or accessories from Pyramid Collection
Latte machine and yummy syrups
New bottle of foundation, since I'm almost out (Clarins Truly Matte - Latte 04)

Why am I such a failure when it comes to food?!  I've got a bad headache tonight, so I thought maybe I should eat something.  Besides various ingredients and condiments, I only have a couple items for eating: three frozen foods, the heal slice of an old loaf of bread, and a bag of popcorn seed.  I decided to try one of the frozen foods: meatballs!  Easy microwave instructions, I follow them - next thing I know, my entire apartment is full of smoke and everything in the microwave is charred.  I let everything air out and decide to go for the bread heal.  I put it in the toaster, set it to a little lower than "medium" and a couple minutes later I go back in to find a slice of charcoal where I had left the bread.  Now I face a choice: eat rotten strawberries, since they don't require any cooking; try to microwave one of the two remaining frozen foods that will probably come out smelling like brimstone; or risk life and limb to hot oil by making popcorn.  Or I could just avoid all kitchen hijinks and not eat anything until Rachel comes down.  I guess I'll just drink a Fresca and go to bed.

In case you've looked for me in the background of TV shows and movies, but couldn't see me, I've finally put up screencaps in my Photobucket account.  Here's a sample.

From the movie "Spring Breakdown"



From the very, very bad show, "Californication"

First of all, I have to mention that I went to Ralph’s to get some Fresca, and they were playing “Mmmbop” on the PA system.  Totally made my day!  And actually, I had a good weekend also. 

Friday was my belated birthday lunch with Emily.  We went to the Grove and ate at an Italian restaurant that was delicious, and paid for by the studio, of course.  We caught up on family news and a little bit of work gossip.  She told the waiter it was my birthday, and they brought me candles on my dessert.



Last time I went to the studio, I met the guy in charge of Marketing and he gave me a bunch of exclusive international posters from the newest "Star Trek" movie, because I was gushing about how good it was.  So he found out that it was my birthday and sent another super-special Japanese poster with Emily to give to me.  Like this one:  cgi.ebay.com/J-J-Abrams-Star-Trek-2009-Japanese-Movie-POSTER_W0QQitemZ380138697811QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0
Emily wasn't sure what to get me, so she took me shopping through the Grove.  We went to World Market and got a bunch of gorgeous stuff for my apartment, her treat.  It was so much fun!!  I hated having to go back to work to finish up.

On Friday night I drove down a carload of girls to the Queen Mary in Long Beach, where we met up with Jessie.  One of the girls had been promised free VIP passes to the haunted house attractions, so we each got one.  I’m not the hugest fan of haunted houses, but I handle them much better than most.  Of course, I’m nothing compared to Jessie, who strolls through casually like she’s at the grocery store.  We spent most of our time making fun of the other girls and planning a trip to come check out the real haunted ship tour.  I must say, I had a lot of fun at the dance club; there’s nothing that feels as good as just letting loose and dancing for the heck of it.  Although we only made a couple “Twilight” jokes before going through the vampire house, Edward made an appearance in my dream that night.  Well, it may have been Edward or Robert Pattenson (the actor), I couldn’t tell.  He was sitting on a couch and I was walking by behind it, then I stopped to talk to him and started scratching his head because he looked tired and guys find that relaxing.  After a while he started worrying that I was messing up his hair.  On second thought, it was definitely Robert. 

It was a late night and I had to wake up early on Saturday for archery, which I’ve skipped way too many times in the past month, so I was determined to go this weekend.  I was so tired, but I had a pretty decent shoot.  All my favorite people were there, so it was non-stop laughs.  It all started with Corey doing his Irish accent to make fun of Conor, and Conor reciprocating with a Jewish joke.  The next thing I know we’re taking turns telling the most racist jokes we can think of that have to do with Jews or Irish and eventually blondes, just to make me feel included.  Corey and I have a rocky relationship, since he stopped going out of his way to hang out with me once he found out I was a conservative, and suddenly started bashing conservatives all the time on his Facebook page.  Thus, it was an interesting glance we exchanged when Conor began a joke, “Sarah Palin and the pope are sitting in a boat…”  I prepared myself for another bashing, but the joke continued “…when a wind comes up and blows the pope’s hat off into the water.  Sarah says, ‘Don’t worry about it,’ then gets up and walks across the water, picks the hat up and walks back to the boat.  The next day all the newspapers report: ‘Sarah Palin Can’t Swim!’”  I loved it!  Corey just frowned and started complaining about the technical elements of the joke.  I’m not sure if Conor realized that it was a joke about media bias, since that wasn’t exactly the theme of our comedy hour; but he was the only one that could get away with telling it.  Everyone would have just groaned if it came from me. 

Oh!  And now there’s a soap opera developing at the range.  The guy that found out last week that I’m not in high school, like he had been thinking all this time, was doing some heavy flirting this week.  I had my eye on this new guy, though, who was tall and cute and had his hair pulled up into a goofy little ponytail on the top of his head.  He claimed, in all seriousness, that it was a topknot like a samurai.  Then, there was this red-headed girl who was way too dressed up for the archery range, and appeared to be about 21, but spent a lot of time and energy flirting with Conor, who remained somehow oblivious to it.  I was giving her the death glare a LOT.  He’s only 15, you pervert!  Then it turned out that topknot guy and the red-head were going out!  Just my luck.  Once everyone was gone and Conor’s dad showed up to give us a ride, Corey and I started teasing Conor about being jail bait; and that’s when we had to explain to him that Red was really, really flirting with him.  Apparently, his dad continued teasing him about it all weekend and got his mom going too, so I got a nice “I hate you!” text message last night, then spent a couple hours giving girl advice and explaining why dating (or even just “having fun with,” as he put it) someone much older than him was very inappropriate.  In the end, he proclaimed that I was “the best pretend elvish sis ever!” 

I also have to mention that on the way home from the archery range on Saturday, there was a nice chopper stopped on the side of the highway, with a very distressed-looking guy in a Barney suit.  Only in LA… 

I was really tired when I got home, but there was no time to dilly-dally.  The USC-Notre Dame game started at 12:30!  I put away my archery stuff, washed off my face, grabbed my purse and started walking to Red Robin.  Since it was an earlier game, I knew Justin wouldn’t be working.  Instead, it was another cute guy named Ruben, I think, who was just as cool.  He teased me about drinking so much strawberry lemonade and stressing out so much about the game.  Indeed, it was a game that had me yelling and slamming my head down on the bar.  When we finally squeaked out the victory, Ruben treated me to a free oreo milkshake.  I love Red Robin. 

On the way home, I noticed a bunch of signs about having a USC pep rally at the Americana this Thursday.  I’m so there!!  When I got home I was so deliriously tired that I decided to take a nap before working on cleaning and laundry and stuff.  I went to bed around 5pm and woke up completely confused at 7:30…because it was 7:30am and my alarm was going off!  The good thing is that I felt completely refreshed for the first time in a while.  I got ready for church and made sure I had everything I needed for the skit I was doing that morning.  My co-star was Leanna, my other pretend-sibling down here.  She did all right, but it was not at all what I had hoped we could pull off.  Next time, I’ll make sure we have more than a week to work on it.  Sunday school went great; the kids are really getting into the lessons now and are less concerned with games and running around.

Right after church, I changed and drove straight out to the archery range again to attend our members potluck.  It was pretty fun and the food was great!  I had now eaten one whole meal a day for three days straight.  Time to hit the gym.  After that, I went home and busied myself with cleaning and watching scary shows on Hulu and giving the aforementioned big-sisterly advice via text messages.

This morning I woke up with a runny nose and over the course of the day my throat has started to hurt and my eyes burn as well.  Must...not...get...sick...  I've been chugging water and tea and Emergen-C all day!  We'll see how this turns out.

After several days of perfect weather, it's finally raining down here.  That's awesome, because I can't remember the last time we had such a good dousing.  Of course, that made traffic a nightmare, but now I'm home; and there's nothing better than being home alone when it's raining.  I'm munching on some fresh cookies, straight out of the oven, and a big mug of milk.  I have the windows open to let in the fresh air and sound of the rain, but I have my space heater keeping my bed area warm.  I don't even need to worry about running this thing anymore, now that I don't pay any utilities.  So nice!

I would make tea, but not until I buy a jug of store-brand water.  I don't trust the water here.  There's white residue around every drain and most of the time the kitchen and bathroom smell like rotten minerals, so I have to keep a steady supply of air fresheners in those rooms.  The hallways of the building are always smelly too.  It's a mix of ethnic foods, occasional b.o., and strong doses of cigarette smoke.  On the days when it's just the mix of food and cigarettes, it triggers the nostalgic smell of Tokyo.  I don't know how, but every once in a while the hallway smell will sneak through my room briefly.  I don't know how it does it, because I keep the door closed and my room normally smells good.  Then, all of a sudden, the stink will pass through like a ghost and then it's gone again.  But at least for now, all I can smell are cookies and rain.

It's so good that it didn't rain this weekend.  Our Lord of the Rings party was all outdoors, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect!  There were about 60 people, most in costume, and several tents or pavilions with decor to represent different cultures from the Tolkien world.  The event centered around eating and entertaining, like any good Hobbit party.  I had nothing entertaining to contribute this time, but I brought some spiced apple cider from Trader Joe's (this is a seasonal item, and it's the best, so go get some while you can!!!) because I figured it was kind of elvish.  Yes, of course, I went as an elf.  When you're 5'11, your only choices are elf or wizard.  I combined a costume shirt with my Freshman banquet dress and elf tiara:



If only I had my ears!!



When I got to the party, I met a bunch of people in the main area where all the tables and food were.  This was, of course, "Hobbiton."



Over by the Rohan tent, there was a band playing Celtic-y songs:



And the Dwarf tent had some of the best story-tellers:



And there were all sorts of little featured spots to check out, including the Paths of the Dead, Shelob's snack bar, Orthanc, Smaug's horde, and Gollum's pool (with a life-size Gollum)



I spent a little time at these and the other pavilions, but most of the night I could be found in the Haradrim tent, which they had named "The Flaming Mumak Tavern," since it was the most wretched hive of scum and villainy this side of the Misty Mountains



Whoa!  Got my nerd wires got crossed for a second there.  Back to the Flaming Mumak...



Of course, the Haradrim are the easterners in "Lord of the Rings," so the Flaming Mumak was where you could find the exotic drinks, hookah, and belly dancing!



Forget the poetry and cutesy stories they were listening to over in Rivendell!  We read Lord of the Rings slash!  Is it getting hot in here?



Of course, when I heard that Gandalf was playing the ukulele down in Hobbiton, I had to go check that out.  Where else could you see such a thing?



Even stranger was when he got out his guitar and started singing Beatles songs.  There was so much to do and everyone was so fun, I ended up staying until almost 1am.

I really like this group, and I can't wait until the next event.  It's too bad Rachel wasn't down here for this one, she would have loved it!  But hopefully by the time Rachel does come, I'll be over these migraines and this limp I have from trying to jump rope for 20 minutes straight.  I need to rest up!  And I can't wait to fall asleep tonight to the sound of rain outside.

Last Friday, I decided I was going to be an elf for Halloween, so I set out that night after work to search for a good pair of ear tips.  None of the Halloween shops within walking distance had ears of any kind, but I did stop by my old apartment to get the money from the new tenant for my couch.  I ended up hanging out there for a few hours and having a lot of fun.  The new guy says that when he gets his big screen TV, he’ll have me over to watch ‘SC football games on Saturdays.  Just like old times!  After I walked home, I just ordered my elf ears from a website that seemed to have really good stuff:  http://www.aradanicostumes.com/

Since I was in an elf-y mood, I decided to go to the archery range on Saturday morning, which I haven’t done in about a month, since I’ve been working on moving every weekend.  Everyone was excited to see me back, and I spent more time talking than shooting, which was okay, since I was kind of out of practice.  Turns out a lot of people there are actors, so we discussed industry stuff and union vs. non-union.  Conor and I once again had to explain to someone that we are not brother and sister, which we seem to do about once a week; and I found out that one of our friends that we’ve been hanging out with for months has thought I was in high school all this time.  That’s a nice thing to hear after turning 26, let me tell you.

Another thing that happened at archery practice was that I finally had a confrontation with “Legolas.”  This is that boy with the girly face and long hair that dresses like an elf every week and shoots a custom elf-y bow with custom elf-y arrows.  Conor and I had never really spoken to him before, even though we’re both “Lord of the Rings” fans, we just called the guy “Legolas” behind his back.  Well, when I got to the range and was standing there talking to Conor, I glimpsed a green figure looming close behind me.  I knew it was “Legolas,” but I thought it was weird that he would come over to our side of the range, since he seemed to have a favorite spot on the other side.  Then I remembered that my over-the-back quiver has elvish writing on it!  It was always a nerdy joke before, but now I knew it was spelling my doom; because the only reason this guy would be standing so close behind me would be to read my quiver.  I tried to move around a lot and turn in other directions to talk to people, but “Legolas” swiftly shifted to keep himself right at my back.  I looked to Conor for help, but he was just laughing at me; like my real siblings, he’s very nerdy when it’s just us, but in public he’ll deny any knowledge of nerd-things and throw me straight under the bus to save his own image. 

Finally, the elf-boy steps out from behind me and addresses me directly, at last, with one of the nerdy-est lines ever: “I like your tengwar.”  And the worst part is that it only confirms that I’m as bad as him because I KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!!!  “Tengwar” is the elvish word for the symbols used in the elvish alphabet.  Well, I’m not quite as bad as him, because he was able to read it.  I can only read or write it if I’m looking at my tengwar chart.  He couldn’t read the whole quote, so I just told him what it was in English and he knew exactly where it was from in the books, even though it’s not actually spoken by anyone associated with elves.  And then, after outing me in front of all my friends, he introduces himself: “My name is Eric.”  I could have punched him right in his girly face for that one. 

He hung around us for the rest of the shoot and made sure to invite Conor and I to join his Tolkien group for a party the next Saturday.  Conor suspiciously already had plans for Saturday, but he couldn’t remember exactly what they were.  I, however, was morbidly curious about this nerd party and agreed to go.  I’ve asked Jessie if she would like to go, but she just called me names and used the most unlikely excuse ever: she “had work.”  Looks like I’ll be going alone tomorrow.  I wont have my elf ears in time, but I do have a costume.  This should be a unique adventure. 

After archery, I worked on decorating my room a bit then walked down to Red Robin for the game.  My regular bartender, Justin, already had my strawberry lemonade on the bar before I even sat down.  During commercial breaks and half-time, I got out my sketchbook to work on a picture I’m doing for an art contest in a catalogue that I love.  Over the course of the game and evolution of my drawing, multiple workers and patrons would wander over and look at the piece and glowingly compliment my skills.  Ah! I thought, So this is what it feels like to be Jessie.  Then a very drunk older woman that had been hitting on Justin all night, much to our amusement, staggered over to take a look.  She was moved to the verge of tears, then grabbed me by the head and started kissing my face and insisting that I become a nurse.  That left me feeling violated and confused, so Justin mixed me up a special drink he invented and brought me a basket of fries and ranch.  In the end, the Trojans won satisfyingly and I ended the night in a better mood than usual. 

Sunday morning was church, and I’m really liking these new kids.  They’re all completely new to Christianity, so it’s very exciting to watch them hear Bible stories for the very first time.  They’re remembering a lot and asking a lot of questions, so I’m glad to see that they’re getting into it more than my last batch of kids.  One of the boys has even decided that he wants to go to Israel and see all the places that we’re talking about.  I mentioned it to Pastor and he said that it would be possible to organize a small trip to Israel if we really planned it out well and did a lot of fund-raisers.  I think that would be amazing, so we’ll see what happens. 

I sang with the worship team, like usual, but it was kind of annoying.  I’m not a big fan of our leader, and he likes to mix things up on the spot.  He especially likes to suddenly declare, “Okay, just the ladies now.”  That is especially unfair because I’m one of the only ladies with a microphone that they actually turn on, so it’s essentially just me singing large portions of songs that I didn’t even get to rehearse.  Between that and all his other little habits of messing up songs, it takes a lot of self-control for me not to make faces on stage.  Crystal says she can still see my expression twitch, though. 

This whole month, our pastor is doing a series on the end times, so it’s been very fascinating!  One of the girls in my class is an actress, so I wrote an end times-themed skit for us to perform next week before the message.  We’re the two-woman UCC drama team!  I think it’s a pretty funny skit, but we’ll see how well it’s received before I go bragging about it. 

The rest of this week has been a long haul of work and stress and freaking myself out.  It’s been a really busy, problem-filled week of work, so I leave exhausted every day.  Then in this weakened state, I go home and jump at shadows.  You see, I discovered that Hulu has full episodes of “Ghost Hunters,” so I watched all of them.  On top of that, I’ve been listening to “Coast to Coast” on the radio at night while I’m showering, so now I’ve got ghosts on the brain all the time, which is even more scary when you live alone.  Even worse, we’ve been talking about that kind of stuff in Bible study on Wednesday nights and how ghosts are actually real.  Now I’m having weird dreams too, so I just can’t relax no matter where I go. 

Last night I came home with a migraine, and found myself in a dilemma.  Showers always feel good when you have a migraine, but my shower requires speed and dexterity due to the sudden and drastic changes in temperature and water pressure.  You could be standing comfortably in the middle of the shower under a steady stream of warm water, when all of a sudden it descends to a dribble.  You move closer to get yourself under the dribble, and then the water turns icy cold, so you spring back.  Then the water pressure hits again and blasts you with the ice.  You scramble to the back of the shower to escape, but the water MOVES and finds you there as well, only this time it’s turned scalding hot, so you leap up onto the ledge of the tub, with one leg up on the window sill.  Finally, the spray of water recedes back to the center of the shower, and adopts a schizophrenic temperature pattern.  Scalding for a second then icy-cold for a second.  Adjusting the knobs does nothing, so you widen your stance, count out the rhythm of the temperature changes and start doing a square dance that passes you through the water during the split second of transition between the extremes.  Throughout this entire process, you must deal with the shampoo in your eyes and not miss any details of the alien abduction that George Noory is describing on the radio.  Somehow, though, I managed to get through an entire shower last night with a migraine. 

I feel better this morning, and I’m looking forward to this weekend.  No USC game, so I’ll be partying in Middle Earth instead of Red Robin.  I’ll have time to work on more art and stuff for Halloween.  Plus I’ve got to get ready for Rachel’s visit.  I’m so excited about having her down and seeing Regina Spektor!!  We have great seats for the concert! 

Back to work, for now, though…  TGIF!

Apparently everyone at work is really bored.  The IT guys have started playing random songs from our hold music over the PA system and everyone is playing a game to see who can shout out the name and artist of the song first.

There's a casting call this afternoon for a new Leonardo Dicaprio movie.  I could show up, since I fit the description, but I don't know if I'll have time to get home and change and get back out to the casting office.  Besides, I might throw up on Dicaprio if I had to see his liberal, Al-Gore's-butt-kissing face in person.

It finally hit me what my costume should be this year for Halloween, and I don't know how I didn't think of it sooner.  I'll be an elf, duh!!  I can't believe I've never been an elf before.  I'm going to use my bow and quiver and my warrior-elf-princess tiara.  Now I'm on the hunt for the perfect dress and shoes.  I think my color theme will be based on Autumn tones, like my character would be a forest elf going hunting on an October evening.  I'm also going to get some good ear extensions and maybe some latex paint to blend the seams, this is Hollywood and I know some makeup artists, so I want this to look good!  For work, I could probably theme my cubicle like an elfy forest.  Fake trees, leaves on the ground, twinkling lights....maybe that's too ambitious.  I'll think about it.

I sold my couch and my refrigerator and got back my entire security deposit!  That's such a big help right now, and an answer to prayer!

I'm nervous about the USC game this weekend.  : (

I’m finally in my new apartment.  Everything has been moved and I’m just in a state of organizing and decorating.  Once the new place looks presentable, I’ll post pictures.  If anyone doesn’t have my new address yet, let me know and I’ll e-mail it to you.

Another thing I finally took care of is training for my new job.  I went into the print shop last week and saw how everything works.  I learned the main terms that I’ll need to know and have a pretty good idea what we’re able to sell.  Now I just need to learn how to talk people into buying it.  Luckily, I’m not too nervous, because I have a feeling I’ll be good at sales.  I can work on getting clients during my spare time now, and once I’m confident enough, I can quit Deluxe all together and go full time at sales.

In case anyone didn’t know, my birthday was on Monday.  I got one birthday card from Nana and Grampa (the Red Robin card is perfect, since that’s where I watch the USC game every Saturday!) and an e-card from Mom.  A bunch of people called or texted or posted on Facebook, so thank you to everyone who remembered!  Instead of going out fancy, I went out nerdy and had my birthday eve dinner at Medieval Times.  It was a lot of fun, and of course Jessie and I got really into it.  We were supposed to cheer for the Yellow Knight but Jessie decided she liked the Red Knight better because he had nice sideburns.  Our knight threw me a flower, so he was pretty much my boyfriend, and we all know what happens when I claim a fictional character as a boyfriend.  Yes, he died.  Jessie’s boyfriend saved the day and mine died.  Otherwise it was a really fun show and great meal.

On Monday, my actual birthday, Jessie and I went to Disneyland.  It wasn't as hot as I was afraid it would be, but it was more crouded.  We ate a lot and had fun.  Everything was decorated for Halloween, and that meant "Nightmare Before Christmas," which I hate, so those parts kind of ruined the Haunted House and the fireworks show.  I got to wear a pin that said it was my birthday, so everyone was wishing me a happy birthday all day.  It was awesome!












We got home late and hung out for a bit before I drove back up here.  It was a pretty fun, nerdy, magical birthday!

~  Apparently the USC v. Ohio State game last weekend was the highest-watched college football game ever recorded on ESPN.  I’m glad Jessie and I caught the second half!  Even if it did almost give me a heart attack…

 

~  Did you know they’re making a Harry Potter theme park in Orlando?  I have a feeling the Niessink sisters would be thrown out by security in under an hour.

 

~  I just set up a film for some place called University of Northern California, which is, for some unknown reason, located in Greeley, Colorado.  Do they not offer geography at that school?

 

~  One of my directors here has assured me a spot on the guest list for the “Twilight: New Moon” screening in November.  Can’t wait to rub that in the faces of some certain people down here that I’m not too happy with.

 

~  Speaking of petty grievances, is it wicked of me for being the only thing standing in the way of making a new print of Eric’s favorite movie, now that all the other prints of it are unplayable?  He sees it every time it screens down here.  I also know for a fact that he has driven as far as San Francisco to see this movie in repertory theatres, and now I’ve made sure that it will no longer be able to play anywhere ever again.  }:-D

 

~  I’ve had a craving to do stage theatre lately.  I need to find some auditions or something.

 

~  Lots of places offer free stuff for one’s birthday.  I’m probably going to take the day off and go to Disneyland for free, and I can also go to Medieval Times for free this month.  Maybe Jessie can meet me there and join in the festivities?

 

~  My favorite client wanted to take me out to lunch on my birthday, but then we realized that it falls on Yom Kippur.  She’s Jewish, so she’s not allowed to eat anything on that day, and we’re going to reschedule.  Thank goodness I’m not Jewish, or I’d have a pretty lame birthday every few years!

Although the quote associated with the day is “Never Forget,” I found that most people had forgotten that Friday was September 11^th.  In the grand tradition of the past few years, I broke out the patriotism and then found myself frustrated and offended by the end of the day, due to how many people have already let the importance of the event fade from their consciousness.  One of the people I was exchanging work-related e-mails with sent me a private message asking why I all of a sudden had a bright American-themed e-mail signature instead of my usual cute one.  When I told him it was the signature I always use on 9/11 and 7/4, he admitted that he had forgotten what day it was.

 

The worst was when I got home and decided to watch the documentary, “9/11.”  My roommate, who I hate watching movies with for all sorts of reasons, came out to see what I was doing and I told her she should watch it too.  Any time she made a comment, it was only to make fun of the music or people’s accents or anything else that distracted her.  Near the end, when the brothers are reunited at the firehouse and they’re hugging and crying, one of them kisses the other on the cheek; and this stupid girl goes, “Oh my gosh!  I’ve never seen two guys kiss before!  How gross!”  I wiped my eyes and exclaimed in disbelief, “They’re brothers.”  Still she continued, “I don’t care, that’s just weird.”  “They’re French!!” I cried sternly, “It’s their culture!  And that’s not the point anyway!”  She was quiet until later when it showed some of the funeral processions going down the street and she had to comment on how much she hated bagpipes and how she wishes they’d just throw them away.  I didn’t even respond to that, even after she said it twice.  Finally, at the very end of the documentary, they close it with a montage of photos of all the firemen that died.  During the montage, a singer performed “Danny Boy” a capella.  It’s not the best rendition of the song, and sure enough she just had to say, “Oh my gosh, this song is so long!”  I replied slowly, “Well, there were a lot of dead firemen.”  Still, she persisted, “Well, I don’t know why it has to be so long and boring.”  I really got mad at her at that point and then she got all offended and went to her room.  I know most people aren’t as oblivious and disrespectful as her, but it was the final straw in my day of being so disappointed with people.  Luckily, Jessie came up that night and I had someone to rant to.

 

Jessie and I spent almost the whole time she was here ranting about political issues and watching videos on them (my crush on Steven Crowder is getting worse!).  The craziest thing we saw, though, was a DVD that I got from Netflix about Bible Code.  I’d never heard of it before, but the whole thing is fascinating.  I don’t know why it’s not a bigger deal.  Apparently there is code in the original Hebrew Torah that can be found by starting at a letter and skipping a certain number, taking the next letter, skipping the same number, and on and on until you form a word.  Then you take other code words found within or around that word to figure out what you need to know.  They are finding modern words, dates, names, and even full sentences in these codes.  Scholars think that God recorded everything that will ever happen within the Bible codes, and they have already been used to predict future events.  There’s a lot more to it, but you should really do your own research on it.  The absolute craziest part was that towards the end of the DVD they interviewed an American Bible code researcher in regards to what could been found about the year 2000 (it was a very old film).  Jessie and I snickered, until this guy said that he had found codes mentioning a terrorist attack on New York City soon after the year 2000.  We started screaming and had to back the video up and watch that part again as chills ran up the back of my neck.  Immediately I went to the internet and started looking up other Bible code articles.  In February of 2008, code readers found evidence that Obama would be elected president – keep in mind that was still 6 months before he was even chosen as the nominee.  For those of you who hope that Christ returns soon, there’s some exciting news:  in what is considered to be an “end times” cluster of codes, they have found Obama’s name and Netanyahu’s name as well as indications of a land dispute in Israel.  That sounds current…

 

Anyway, on Saturday, Jessie and I got some football-themed breakfast at Ihop, ranting the whole time (and thanking goodness that no easily-offended people were sat next to us).  Later in the day we drove over to USC to attend a memorial service for one of my theatre professors.  He would have been 90 years old if he had lived until his birthday, and all his students were sure that he was at least a few hundred years old.  Every day of his class, we thought for sure he was going to die, because he spent most of the time yelling and cussing us out until it gave him coughing fits and we were left crossing our fingers in vain.  The only “C” I’ve ever received was in his class, so heck yes I was going to go party in honor of his death.

 

After the service and some free food, we went to Red Robin to watch the football game and I nearly had an anxiety attack.  I hate those close ones!!  Jessie hung out a little longer, then left for home and I prepared for Sunday school.  Those problem kids that I had before no longer come, and now I have a bunch of Armenian kids.  The challenges are different, but no less difficult.  After church, I spent most of the day moving boxes and furniture into my new apartment.  I’m sore all over now, but I move a little bit more every night.  My roommate is driving me nuts every time I’m home, so I can’t wait to be completely out.  I’m so sick of living with irritating people!  No more pity friendships!  I’m done helping people out or trying to be there for people that I feel sorry for.  It should be interesting to see what living alone is like, though.  I’ve always looked forward to it, but we’ll see how I handle the actual solitude.  Once I get everything moved in, I’ll post a video or something.

It's very weird, but for the first time in a long time I've experienced a little home-sickness after leaving Redding.  I was only up there for 2 1/2 days and spent one of them with the usual allergic-to-fresh-air headache, but I did have a nice time.  Now, I'm a bit sad to be back down here.  I've got a lot going on with the new job and the new apartment, though, so maybe I'm just nervous about so many changes.  I can't wait for the holidays and some long vacations!

The weather down here is cooler and less smoky than when I left.  It was actually a beautiful blue day today!  When I went shooting for my lunch break, there was a guy there that started talking to me.  He's been shooting for 50 years and is a coach for the US Olympics team.  He was so interesting to talk to, and he gave me some advice and neat facts about the equipment and sport in general.  He'll be here all week, so I hope I run into him again tomorrow and Friday.  I was actually kind of sad about shooting today, because I was thinking about shooting at the bags of cedar in the front yard with the family, but meeting this guy really made me excited about it again.

Got a few things coming up soon.  I might go to a screening of "Fame" for MGM employees on Friday.  Then I've got an event at USC on Saturday - a memorial for a teacher that I had in theatre.  Jessie is scheduled to be my guest, so that should be fun to have her up again.  Plus, there's a football game that night, and that means pizza!!

I'm so glad it's football season again!  And may I just say that our new Matt (QB) is soooo cute!  How do we do it?

Miss you all, and I'll update more as my life starts to settle.  Fight on!

Yeah, we've got fire issues!  I won't have to evacuate or anything, but the fire is definitely affecting us.  It's been crazy hot down here lately, and I can only imagine that the layer of smoke is at least partially to blame.  This is from a couple mornings ago:



Sometimes the smoke doesn't spread out as much, though, and we get a clearer view of the hills:



It looks like a volcano!  And then, of course, at night the fire is clearly visible in the hills:



My car is covered in ash every morning, and on bad days it hurts to breathe or have your eyes open.  Plus there are all kinds of animals coming down from the hills and running around the streets.  So it's not the most comfortable situation down here, but I'm not in any danger.

I've had the most ridiculous past few weeks.  It's been so awful that I don't even want to write about it, for risk of sounding like Jessie.  I've been so emotionally and physically drained, nervous, depressed, frustrated, etc.  On top of crazy emotions, it seems that everything that could go wrong has.  It goes wrong, just enough to get me worked up, but then turns out to be not as bad as it could have been.  So I'm frustrated and constantly on edge, but never quite over it.  And almost all of it is from stupid little mistakes I make or situations beyond my control, so I can't blame anyone but myself and I hate that!  I feel like God wanted to recreate "Meet the Parents" with my life, so I keep getting punked by stupid mistakes and bad luck while He gets a good laugh.  I'm trying to stand back from it a little and see how funny it looks from His point of view so that I don't get so mad, and most of the time it is so absurd that I do have to admit it would be funny (if it were happening to anybody but me, of course).  Plus, I can't get mad because everything works out just barely all right in the end after I've suffered for a while.  So after one thing on top of another, I finally said, "Next thing you know, my car will break."  Sure enough, this morning my car broke down.  Now I'm thinking the next logical thing that will go wrong is that I'll get injured somehow.  I don't see my streak of bad luck stopping any time soon, so look for a future update from the hospital.

I haven't been having a good time lately.  It was nice to have Jessie and Rachel down, but kind of frustrating and depressing at the same time.  Work has been crazy too and kept me in a constant state of stress and soreness.  I have a head ache more days than not.  Then between the gym and archery and sleeping weird, I've really had a sore neck and shoulders.  I really wish I was the type to just splurge on getting some kind of massage.  Maybe another trip to a resort like Sundance?  Ha!

Church is much better, I guess, because I have a lot more help now and unfortunately a few more families stopped coming to church, so we have less kids.  I've also been re-recruited into the worship team, which is weird because I teach Sunday school while they rehearse; so for new songs or ones that I don't know, I hear them for the first time as I'm standing on stage with the mic.  Thank goodness I can read music and that Christian songs tend to have very simple, predictable melodies.

Archery this last weekend was terrible!  We switched to a new bow with a metal riser, sight, stabilizer, and started using a bow sling.  On top of all that, my arrows were too short.  It wasn't one of my best days.  Then right after that I had to run home and get ready for another photo shoot, which I was already late for.  Everyone was happy to see me, so even though I was upset about archery and I was having terrible cramps (5 days straight of cramps this month!!!), everyone's attitudes cheered me up a lot.  I didn't shoot as much as last time, but I did a few that I think will turn out really great, and Mom will be happy to know that I did several rounds with little to no makeup.

Ken and I decided to try another time for that toga/backless picture we thought up last month.  His inspiration was the queen from "300" and I just had Renaissance art in mind.  We're going to try it again next month when I have my bow and arrows and maybe I'll have some kind of hair piece and the title will be "Artemis" - Greek goddess of the hunt and the moon.  For this month, without the weapons, we just came up with this:



I also got a disk full of un-edited images from last month and I posted the ones I like onto my Potobucket, so you can check them all out there, but I'll put up a few examples.  They could really use a good once-over in photoshop, but here they are raw:

Last week was so awful that not even a few great events could bring it up to average.  Work was non-stop craziness and I nearly had a nervous breakdown by Friday, and I just sat at my desk and cried at least twice.  I want to just quit, but that one job never called back and I'm too scared to just jump out there with nothing to fall back on.  Financially, I could but I'm still too scared to actually do it.

With work as a constant downer, I also encountered a bunch of other disappointments between home, church, and friends.  It seemed everything was going wrong.  The only bright point on the calendar was the "Terminator: Salvation" premiere on Thursday.  I got my poster and headed over to Hollywood where I immediately made friends with a guy who was also a big Christian Bale fan and had just gotten out of the military after two tours in Iraq.  Unfortunately, the usual cast of professional annoyances were there too.  Those guys almost make going to premieres not worth it, and they certainly ruined this one big time.

It wasn't a terribly hot day, but I hadn't eaten and we were right in the sun so I started to feel sick.  My friend bought me some water and it helped a bit, but maybe part of the illness was just a gut warning about the excruciating level of bad luck I was about to have.  We waited for a long time talking about music mostly, since my friend was a big fan of film scores and had met Hans Zimmer and James Horner not too long ago.  I find it very rare to find guys that actually know that much about scores, so he was really fun to talk to; plus we talked a lot about the military and Iraq.

Finally, the cars started to pull up and the first celebrity to arrive was Sam Worthington.  He's not that well-known yet, but from what I've read, he's really going to be big after this movie:



And in the grand tradition of non-American actors (he's from Australia), he was very nice.



He talked with and signed for as many people as he could.  He even literally bent over backwards to sign my poster while it was blowing around in the wind.



And he was very patient as we cuddled and I attempted to take a picture of us, even though my hand was shaking so badly that I had to try a couple times.  That's why he looks so confused, we were never sure if it was actually taking or not.



The next celeb was Kelly Osbourne, for some reason.



I got nothing from her at that time, but later when she was walking past us to her car, my friend and I said hi and asked her how the movie was.

The next person was Bryce Howard, who plays John Conner's wife in the movie.  She completely missed my poster, but I told her I loved her dress and she laughed and thanked me.



The next notable person to come over was McG, the director.  He was really excited and talkative and signed for a lot of people.



He even signed my poster!



and took a picture.



I was really hoping to get a signature from the next guy to come over, Anton Yelchin, who plays Kyle Reese.  He got close,



by right about then all those annoying autograph hounds started pushing from the back and shoving over those of us in the front.  The barrier gate nearly fell over and poor little Anton ran off in terror.  The next several stars were all people that had nothing to do with the movie or had very small parts, so I won't bore you with the pictures.  None of them got close enough to sign my poster.  Finally, Christian Bale arrived and started signing, so I got really excited.



Of course, as soon as he gets close to my section all those jerks from the back start pushing again, waving their handfuls of generic 8x10s to get signed so they can go sell them.  Christian hates these people nearly as much as I do, so between their presence and the pushing, he skipped right over the whole section I was standing in.

Nobody worth talking about came after him, so my friend and I sat there devastated.  We decided to try and catch him on his way out, so we discussed our plans then walked over to where the after party was going to be.  We didn't even stand there for a complete minute before I told my friend that I had a feeling Christian was going to leave without watching the movie.  He agreed to check, so we walked back to the theatre and right when we got there Christian and his wife and their publicists and bodyguards walk out and get ready to cross the street toward us.  Just then a security guard on our corner spread his arms and told us not to go any further, so Christian walked right past us again and off down the sidewalk on the other side of the road.  At this point my friend couldn't take it anymore and rushed past the security guard, to my horror.  But lo and behold he caught up to Christian and they both stopped and started talking and Christian started signing my friend's DVD cover.  At this point they're talking and I see my friend point, then both of them look over at me.  I rolled up my poster and ran past the security guard as well, but right as I reached them his entourage had stepped between us and was ushering him into the building.  He looked over his shoulder and said, "Sorry!"

I learned from my friend that the first thing they had been talking about was that Christian had noticed my friend's "Operation Iraqi Freedom" sweatshirt and thanked him for his service.  That warmed my heart!  Then my friend told him, "You have to wait for my friend, she's coming."  "Where is she?" Christian replied and that's when they looked over at me, "Is she coming?"  So, even though it was only a couple sentences and not even using my name, I can honestly say that Christian Bale has talked about me before.  But I got no autograph, picture, handshake, or exchange of words.  All I came away with was knowing that he had looked at me and asked about me, and was a fan of our military - all of which are nice, but not at all what I had hoped for.  My usual event luck was not working that night.

My next adventure was on Saturday after archery (which was really tough, since we have so much to remember now).  I was seatfilling for the Game Show Network Awards, and as my recent string of bad luck would have it, my friend bailed on me, so I had to go alone.  That's no big deal because I always make friends, and sure enough I ended up becoming immediately close with the woman next to me in line.  Her name was Ruth Ann and she and her husband were both in the military, so I liked them right away.  She was so peppy and fun that I could have swore she was no older than 40, but she revealed that she had just turned 50.  We talked about shows we've done and we started talking about last year's TV Land Awards, when it was so hot.  I mentioned that I had worn long sleeves, so it was even worse, then she asked, "Do you remember that girl with the gorgeous dark dress and the sparkly swirls on it?"   Of course I did.



"That was me!" I laughed, and someone else in line turned around.  He looked at me, "I definitely remember that dress.  So that was you?  I remember you!"  It's so funny because at the actual awards show that afternoon, I had people swooning over my dress.  I guess it really left an impression on people.

So Ruth Ann started telling me about all the lucky things she's gotten to do through seatfilling and people she's met.  I told her that I'm usually lucky as well, but recently I had lost the magic, so I was going to stick with her and see if some of her luck would rub off on me.  Sure enough, we were picked out of the line to go do some camera work.  We stood up on a balcony to cheer for some opening shots, and people started taking pictures of us for some reason.  True to her claim about being lucky, Ruth Ann was soon pulled by the producer to do a red carpet bit with Jeff Foxworthy.  She had to play a little "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader" with him.  I was glad I didn't get picked because I don't watch any TV and would have totally embarrassed myself, since they were all TV show- themed questions.

While I waited up on the balcony, I got to do a bit with the red carpet hosts where I stood next to them with some other girls and cheered as they introduced the show.  Then there was a lot of waiting, but a few cute things happened.  First some girl said that she liked my earrings (which, of course were 25-cents from Claires) and after I thanked her she asked if they were "very expensive."  I said they weren't too bad, and tried not to laugh before changing the subject.  Then there were some kids leaning over the railing with us, pointing out celebrities and going on about who they've met before.  One of the kids turned to me and asked, "Are you a model?"  I said that I've done modeling but I'm really an actress, then some people next to me started asking about that.  Next thing I know, they're introducing me to a friend of theirs who just moved to LA to pursue acting.  It was a really tall good-looking guy and we hit it off right away.  We talked about our families and what it's like to move and our experiences in trying to find acting jobs.  His name was either Joe or John, but I guess it doesn't matter now.  We were in the middle of talking, when one of the seatfiller staff came up and rushed me off to the auditorium to fill a seat.  I wish I had gotten John's contact info.  : (  Then, even while I was in the lobby waiting for some people to pass so that I could go inside the door, actor Frank Cordek was making eyes at me from a few feet away.

I got placed in a seat that I had a feeling was not going to be needed by anyone else.  Sure enough, I stayed put for the entire show, right in front of the podium on stage left, three rows back from the stage.  The other seatfillers around me were boring, and Ruth Ann was in another section, so we waved at each other, but couldn't really talk.  I chatted a bit with Mr. Gadget (tried to talk him into giving me a vacuum cleaner) and Kynt Cothron and Vyxsin Fiala from "Amazing Race," who were both super-nice despite their intimidating appearance.


 

The show was hosted by Howie Mandel of "Deal or No Deal" fame, though he will always be of "Bobby's World" fame in my mind.  A lot of things went wrong, but he handled it with quick wit, so there was never a dull or awkward moment.  It was night and day in comparison with the crappy Bravo A-List Awards.  Howie kept us laughing the entire time, even between takes or while they were fixing things.  I also made really good eye contact with Richard Karn and Bob Barker.  Yay!  So even though the filming took terribly long, it was a really fun time.

When the show was over, I found Ruth Ann and she decided that we should try to sneak in to the after party.  The way her luck was going, I said it was a sure bet that we'd get in.  First we snagged two of the 10 spots that seatfillers.com was giving away for the Teen Choice Awards; so now I'm guaranteed entry to that one in August, which is a really good thing.  Then we wandered out to where the cars were picking up all the celebrities and started mingling and casually asking where the after party was.  When we found out that it was at Koi, I almost called an abort on our mission.  Nobody but A-list celebrities go to Koi.  This was a restaurant that had famous people inside at all hours of the day, and the paparazzi practically live outside of it.  The only way to get in at all is if you know someone that can get you on a list, but we decided to give it a go anyway.

Sure enough, Ruth Ann's luck proved itself again.  Her husband drove us down to Koi and dropped us off then went to park the car.  We walked up to the doorman, just as casual as could be and said, "We're here with GSN."  He asked for our last names and we gave them honestly and confidently, and after a second of looking he said, "Just go in."  We told him "our driver" would be by in a few minutes and would need to be let in, so we gave him Ruth Ann's husband's name and told the doorman to tell him that "we already went inside."  And then we were in.

Never in my life did I ever think I would be inside Koi, and especially with this many celebrities walking around.  Most of the big names from the show were there and Ruth Ann and I tried not to look too impressed with it, but inside I was definitely having a fangirl scream.  The first thing we did was go to the bar and order two mojitos, on GSN, of course.  Neither of us had eaten all day, so we immediately made use of the buffet set up for the GSN party.  Even though I hate seafood, and Koi is a sushi restaurant, I was hungry enough to eat it, and it was good!!  And let me tell you that there is something very surreal about moving down the buffet table, coming to the salad and trying to find the serving utensil, only to look up and see that Greg Brady has it and is passing it to you.  Just, wow.

When Ruth Ann's husband got there, we found a booth that was only half-occupied by an older couple that was very sweet, but I didn't recognize as anyone famous.  We got some good food, ordered some raspberry martinis, and pointed out which celebrities were sitting where.  After a while, I decided we should go mingle a bit and then head home, since they still had to drive me back to the garage where my car was parked before it closed.  I really wanted to tell Howie what a great job he did, so we went over to his table first and Ruth Ann introduced herself and told him that I had something to say.  I leaned over and told him everything that I had wanted to, and he thanked me, then said the most unexpected thing ever, "Do you have a boyfriend?"  "No," I laughed.  "Great," he lit up, "Now stay right there, I have the perfect guy for you.  He'll be here in a couple minutes, so just have a seat and hang out with us."  And the next thing I know, Ruth Ann and I are sitting next to Howie in the booth, eating desert and talking about how we were involved with the Awards.  Completely adlibbing and playing off each other, we exaggerated our bit parts into the story that Ruth Ann had done some red carpet stuff with Jeff Foxworthy and I did an intro segment with the hosts.  No use of the s-word ("seatfiller").

Then this "perfect guy" shows up and I get the joke.  He was a little bald guy that barely came up to my chest when I was standing up in my heels, and he wasn't wearing a shirt under his dress coat because "it was too hot."  Everyone got a kick out of our pairing and we had to pose for a few pictures, a couple of which now live on Howie's own cell phone.  Yes, friends, Howie Mandel has a picture of me on his cell phone.  Well, as everyone is laughing about me and the short guy, Ruth Ann got a bit defensive and confronted Howie, "Are you making fun of her?"  "No!" he immediately answered, "She's gorgeous.  He just likes tall women."  Another girl at the table immediately declared it was destiny and called dibs on being my maid of honor.



So I starting talking to this guy, whose name is Vic, and it turns out he's one of Howie's best friends of countless years.  Vic is an actor also, and we started talking about that.  I explained my dilemma about wanting to go for it, but being afraid to quit my job, and he shared some really good advice and gave me a few things to think about and remember any time I start to feel discouraged.  He actually turned out to be a really insightful guy with lots of industry knowledge and advice.  Then at one point he busts out with "I don't know if you're religious or not, but sometimes you have to look at things as being God's Will for your life." and then I was off like a shot into a religious conversation.  So it turned out VIc was a really cool guy!  We exchanged contact info and had him take a few pictures of Ruth Ann and me with Howie, which he e-mailed to me tonight, so now I can post them:





Then we really had to book it out of there in order to make it to my car before they locked up the garage.  I made it in time and said goodbye to Ruth Ann and her husband.  We've since found each other on Facebook and are looking forward to tearing it up at the Teen Choice Awards in a couple months.  I'm glad she was around, or else who knows how bad the night would have been, based on my bad luck.

So that's enough of my weekend adventures for now.  Goodnight!

Looks like most of the modeling photos from a couple weeks ago have been sifted through, touched up, and now the best of them are being sent out by the photographers.  I had a great time at the shoot and there are a few good pictures, but for the most part I'm totally disappointed.  I prepped for weeks before the shoot by exercising and starving myself, and on that day I looked great in the mirror, but then the camera went and put all that weight back on me.  So, even though I think I look like a fat drag queen, and Mom doesn't like them either, I figured I'd put the pictures up here anyway, since I'd been talking about the photo shoot before so much.






This one didn't get touched up, hence the mottled skin and baggy eyes:


This is from a series where I was kind of going for an old pin-up girl look, but this particular shot and edit doesn't get across that theme very well:


This one is a fun version of what was just a decent photo (gotta lose that mustache, though):




I took so many good photos with this guy, so I don't know why the ones he chose to post were so awful:




Hide the children!  Here comes the sexy!  This is me from the back, lying on my side, illuminated shoulder to hip; no touch-ups on this one, it's straight from the camera:


By the end of the day, we were all pretty tired so we started doing crazy things like gluing necklaces to my face:


and then after pulling the necklaces off, they sprayed me down with a water/glycerin mix:


And then I got a kick out of going through the McDonald's drive-thru looking like that and ordering a mocha and two apple pies, which I took home and set on the window ledge in the bathroom and consumed while taking a long, warm shower.  I don't know why, but eating and drinking in the shower was a really awesome feeling.  Anyway, there's another shoot later this month with the same photographers and I might go again, now that I have a better idea of how they work.  I think I'll insist on lighter makeup this time, a more interesting hair style, and take less fat pictures if I can help it.

In other news, archery is going awesome.  I have a new buddy in the class, so maybe I'll bring my camera this weekend and have him take some pictures.  Also, I hate to mention it on here because it'll only be embarassing if I don't get it, but I interviewed for a job that I think I'd really like.  Please pray that I get accepted, because my current work situation is driving me crazy.

Okay, that's all I've got for now.

Good day of shooting today!  I usually like to hang out with the old-timers at the range and get tips and critiques from them.  Today I made friends with these two really good guys who were shooting bows with sights and braces and all sorts of gadgets; at first they were teasing that I wanted to do instinctual archery rather than use composite bows like them.  They were shooting at a playing card above the big target and all day long had only hit it twice, so I asked if I could shoot at it too.  On my third arrow, I nailed it straight through the middle of the joker, and my fourth knicked the side.  Here's the card after I pulled my arrows out, the hole in the middle is mine:



After that, I was really one of the gang.  The guy closest to me is a professional trapeze artist in the circus and teaches at Santa Monica Pier.  He had overheard me telling Nana on the phone about my skydiving thing and he'd also done tandem once at Perris, so we talked about that.

A couple of the instructors came by and gave me pointers, but mostly I just got complimented on my form; and the other guys shooting at the card kept saying they couldn't believe my shooting after only 3 weeks at 20 yards and only 2 of them with a 20 lb bow.  Here's the card after our second round at it, and mine is the purple-shafted arrow going through the card:



I start a real class next week, I think, and after that I'll be able to get my own equipment.  Next time I come up to Redding, I'll bring everything and we can go out to the Straight Arrow and shoot some stuff!

I'd like to think that I'm adventurous enough to try anything, if given the chance.  I love to try my hand at those crazy hobbies off the beaten path: world traveling, horseback riding, pottery, belly dancing, archery, etc.  If someone said, "Would you ever try...", the answer would most likely be "yes."  And that's what happened when my friend Madison decided that she wanted to go skydiving for her birthday.  Most people would say, "Oh, I've always wanted to do that!" but when it comes right down to it, it just isn't going to happen.  Not me!  I told her to give me the time and place and I'd be there.  After a week of trying to talk everyone else we know into going, I was the only one who came through for the birthday girl - the only one who really was telling the truth when I said, "Yeah, I'd totally go skydiving!"

And so it came to pass that on Thursday, April 16th of 2009 I called in sick to work and drove out to Perris Valley for what must be my craziest adventure yet.  Maddie and I met up at her friend's house and did our makeup, since we were both getting a special package that includes a video of your whole experience.  It was a beautiful clear blue day, unlike the entire past week full of dark clouds and high winds.  I rode with Maddie all the way out to the airport and we immediately found the section for skydivers.  I tell you, they're a fun bunch!  Maddie said it was like being at the beach, and it really was.  The whole skydiver section of the airport was a big party.  It was all young, good-looking guys walking around in shorts and t-shirts or no shirts, practicing formations or folding their parachutes.  There was a pool and a bar and rock music playing over the speakers everywhere.  Everyone was really friendly and eager to get us hyped up for our first jump.

First thing we had to do was sign several pages of a waiver, promising that we would not sue no matter what happened.  Reading that thing was the biggest buzz kill in the world and it was the first bit of nervousness I had experienced.  I had to sign that I would not hold anyone responsible for any kind of injury or death happening anywhere on the airport grounds or sky, even if it was caused by something obviously negligent, illegal, or intentional.  So if someone there really wanted to kill me for some reason, they could flat out stab me in the head and not be held responsible because I signed this paper!  It went on to list every possible person we could think of suing (including the airport servants) and every possible thing that could go wrong (including landing on a venomous snake).  We were a little worried after we handed that in, but I assured Maddie that I was still going through with this.

After a precautionary trip to the bathroom (thank you, Auntie Lel!), we headed out back to meet our tandem jump partners and our cameramen.  My partner was John and my cameraman was Nick, I believe, but his nametag said "The Man" so it's hard to remember his real name.  We never really watched a video or got instructions, just kind of a brief "I want you to try to do this..." from our partners as they helped us suit up.  We got these awful blue jumpsuits...
 


and of course the harness. 



They also gave us gloves because it would be cold up there, and a wrist altimeter to keep track of the stages of our jump.  Starting at 13,000 ft and falling at around 130 mph for about a minute, then pulling the parachute at 5,000 ft.  Easy.

So my cameraman dragged us out into the bright sun for some lovely photos of us in our suits.  So un-flattering!



I thought we looked like Ghostbusters.



I was having a lot of fun, not nervous at all.  Not even when we moved over to wait for our plane to pull up.



There were ten other guys on our flight, just jumping for fun with their friends.  They were, of course, all cute young surfer-type guys.  I really need to hang out at skydiving spots more often!  So we all crammed into the tiny plane and sat knee to knee on the benches along the hull inside.  Maddie and I and our crew were in the front of the plane, so we got to jump last.  On the flight up to 13,000 feet we got pumped up and cheered and high-fived with the guys, did some interviews to our cameramen, and shot some goofy photos.











Taking pictures was good because it kept me from looking out the window too much.  I used to think that ski lifts were scary.  You know, sitting there with your feet dangling, going up and up and up and knowing there was only one way back down.  Well, that's nothing compared to shooting straight up in a plane and trying not to slide down the bench into the person next to you and looking out the window at a 2-mile drop, knowing the only way to get back down is to fall.  Finally, we were getting close to our altitude, so I had to sit on John's lap to get hooked up to the front of him.



The guys in the back of the plane opened up the door, and we put on our goggles.  The sudden wind made everything finally feel more real.



No, still not nervous!!



Once all the other guys had flung themselves out, Madison and her team scooted towards the back...



while I cheered her on.  It's your birthday!!



It's one thing to prepare yourself, but there's really nothing that can make you ready to watch your friend jump out the door of an airplane and fall out of view.



But once she was gone, it was my turn, and that is one of the craziest moments I have ever experienced in my life.  If you've ever leaned over the edge of a very tall building or canyon, then you know that feeling of "wow, I'm really stupid to be leaning over this so far."  Try leaning your entire body out the door of an airplane, hair whipping in the wind, and looking down at the colored squares of farmland 13,000 ft below knowing that in a few moments you are going to let go.

Then John swung forward on each count as he yelled, "1..2..3!"  And then we jumped.

Madison is screaming like crazy in her jump pictures, but for some reason I just look pleasantly surprised.



Once our jump away from the plane was clear and we were falling, I immediately started to scream, though.





There was never a stomach-in-your-throat feeling, like a roller coaster, for some reason.  And the ground just didn't seem to approach very fast.  At first, it seems like you're just flying.



All you know is that it's really, really windy and a little cold.  It was hard to breathe because of the harness and the wind pounding straight into my chest, but somehow I managed to scream the entire way down.



That line leads to a tiny stabilizing parachute that doesn't really slow us, but it helped keep us upright.



John guided my arms to spin us around a couple times.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.



Man, my goggles shoved right up into my eyes as soon as the wind got really going.



Fight on!







John checked the altimeter to see if we were at 5,000 ft yet...



Yep!  Time to pull the cord!







The parachuting part was really amazing.  At first, it was a chance to catch my breath and reflect upon the fall I had just done; then I would look down and realize that I was still 4,000 ft in the air with nothing between me and the ground and then I'd start screaming "Woohoo!!!!" again.  For fun we glided around, banking hard to the left or the right, and those would give me that knotted stomach feeling where you have to giggle.  It was crazy to just float up there and look down at the tiny roads and tiny cars.  John loosened my harness so that I could wiggle more and look around and really get some deep breaths.

He steered us down to the landing strip and said we were going to slide in.



I had no idea what that meant, so he said to just put my legs up.



Oh, like a baseball slide.



So, there you have it.  I jumped out of a plane and landed on my butt.  Once I was unhooked from John, I got the circulation back into my legs...



...told the camera how awesome it was...



...and ran to celebrate with Maddie...



We did it!!!

I have earned bragging rights for life now.  That was amazing!

And now the videos (I apologize for the extremely gay music - they married it to the video, so I can't edit it out):

 

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and this last one is taken from a camera that was on the back of John's hand...

 

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On my casting line this morning they have a call for "The Office."  I want to do that show so bad!!  But unfortunately I could never pass for Pam's volleyball double.