My First "Big Break"

Hey kids.  Wow a LOT has gone down since my last post.  Lots and lots... I hope you're ready!

I changed up my layout a bit here, hope you're enjoying it.  I was hoping to make it a bit more simple.  Also, go check out my website and make sure to go "Like" my fan page!

So let's start in November...

First of all, I helped Jordan and Dylan move into their new apartment!!!!  Congratulations guys!  I'm so happy for them, they are one of my all time favorite couples and hands down my bestest friends in New York City.
It was so exciting to official have "our" own place.  And I say our because I have a little bag of stuff over there so I can sleep over whenever.  And because I spent the entire weekend with them moving, unpacking, organizing, and having a damn drink after all that work.

Guess if this happens or not

Nope.

A few of you know that I had been having some problems with work and trying to go home for Christmas.  Due to the nature of the job the staff had been told we "weren't allowed" to go out of town for the holidays.  I had been aware of this since the beginning of November and was trying to figure out a way that I could see my family, considering I am very close to them and have always been home on Christmas day... and with the holidays coming up it is hard not to get a little homesick.
After another day of hearing that I wasn't allowed to see my family I attempted to attend book club with the Chi Omegas and I just couldn't do it.  I was sick of not knowing when I'd be going home, sick of New York City, and sick of people telling me what I could and couldn't do.  I actually ended up getting very upset because my family was pressuring me for answers that I couldn't give them because my bosses weren't answering me.  I thought going to see my sisters would help, but all I wanted to do was crawl in my bed and go to sleep.
So I decided to leave book club early, explaining to our amazing host what was happening with tears in my eyes.  The next day she called me and offered to let me spend the holidays with her and her husband.  This is the millionth reason I am grateful that I joined such an amazing sisterhood!  The support system I have here in the city is so huge, including my fellow alumni sisters and my awesome Big.
I went to a work meeting the next day and was told I could take off the first week in January if no one else did, so I put in my vacation request right away and settled with the fact that I'd be able to see the family even if it wasn't right when I wanted.

That weekend I received some terrible news.  One of my great friends had passed away suddenly at the age of 22.  Vince was a bright, energetic, outgoing, amazing man and I am going to miss him a lot.  But instead of crying I'm going to play Rihanna's "S&M" on repeat because I know he'd rather have me dancing to one of his favorite songs than being sad!  RIP love.  So on top of the emotions I was already dealing with, I was now more homesick than ever.  All I wanted to do was be with my family and friends and celebrate the amazing life that Vince had.  Ugh.

<3

That weekend was also the last weekend my roommate was going to be in town so he had a HUGE party.  I had tried to find something to do, but it seemed like everyone was busy, as is the case in NYC sometimes.  So I figured if you can't beat 'em join 'em.  I went out to the living room where our entire table was covered in booze and had a few drinks.  Just me and ten Mexican men in the living room.  Eventually, my work buddy Michael came over and by then the party really escalated.  I ended up going to bed around five.  When I got up at 10am my roommate was still awake and our apartment looked like this:

And this is just the kitchen

 I just left it because it was NOT my mess and I was definitely not responsible for cleaning it up.  The apartment smelled awful though.

To get out I met up with Neil and went shopping with him for some new clothes, then I took him to lunch at a 1970's style diner which had some great burgers.  It was such an amazing afternoon and just what I needed after the stress I was dealing with the previous week.  I just have such a great time when I'm around him, even though I don't see him nearly as much as I want too.

The next week the bad news just kept coming... just a few days after our great afternoon Neil broke up with me.  Although when we were together we had an amazing time, there were some bigger issues such as him being a bit older than me and having children.  We were at completely different places in our lives.  When I found out I went it was over I ran to my haven, Jordan and Dylan's.  Like the amazing best friend that she is, Jordan stuck me in her shower, gave me a spray tan, did my hair and make-up, gave me a drink and took me out on the town.

I can always count on this amazing woman

Friend time!

I ended up spending the entire weekend there.  I got to their place on Tuesday and didn't leave until Sunday.

Wednesday morning, Jordan had chocolate chip pancakes delivered to me while she was at work because she is THE BEST.  Seriously, nothing better than waking up to breakfast at the door.

And THEN I found out that my vacation request had been denied.

I cried to Jordan and Dylan and when they left to go back to Maryland that day I stayed cooped up in the apartment grieving the loss of my friends, man and the fact that I was all alone on Thanksgiving while my family and friends were together in Michigan.  At this point I didn't think I was going to get to see them at all anytime near the holidays.  It was definitely a pity party.  New York City is NOT an easy place to live and everything had been dragging me down, so by the time I found out about Vince and Neil and I wasn't going home I was having some real trouble.  As many New Yorkers will tell you, this was another time that I was honestly considering packing up and going home.  Being away from everyone was getting to be too much.  I got pep talked from many people.. Amber, Marcus, Amy and my parents and I just didn't care.  I wanted to whine and I wanted a hug and I wanted to cry and just be super depressed.

I went to my work Thanksgiving party Thursday night and tried to be cheerful, but I had signed up with a plus one and felt blatantly aware of the fact that I was totally alone.  I even went out for a drink afterward but all I wanted to do was mope.

At the "Motor City" Bar in the Lower East Side... Not quite home

Spending a few hours with real people took all my energy so I spent the whole weekend just licking my wounds and eventually on Sunday I got up and cleaned up and came back to my now roommateless apartment.  By that time I was all depressed out and thought maybe it was time to stop being so emo.  I was also super excited that SOMETHING good was going to happen during all the crap I was dealing with.

He left me a mini skateboard

He  left me Bieber!

He left me... this thing!

He left me BOOZE!

At this point I was starting to feel a little better, but I have to be honest when I say that not being able to go home was causing me a LOT of anxiety.  I couldn't imagine being stuck in the city, alone.  Or trying to go to friends apartments and pretend that that was were I wanted to be.  And I felt that I wasn't getting any straight answers or cooperation from my managers at work.  I was just counting down the days until December 1st because Ashley was moving in and I was hoping that having her around would cheer me up, but I was also looking for jobs in Michigan, or the south, or anywhere.  I was OVER New York and over my job and over the struggle.

On Wednesday I got up and went outside and cleared me head and got ready for work.  I was tired of being sad and I figured I should just put a smile on my face and tough through everything.  Luckily, everything was figured out when I went in for my shift and was informed that I was no longer needed at work.  To put it bluntly, I was fired.

I happily grabbed my belongings and went outside, totally free!  I don't think I've felt relief like that in a long time.  What a weight lifted off my shoulders.  I called my Dad and the first thing I said was "Daddy, I'm coming home for Christmas."  The vacation drama wasn't the only thing that caused me to be let go, it was clear that I wasn't experienced enough for the environment I was in.  And I'll be damned if  you see me working another restaurant job again.  I KNOW it is good money but I really hate it.  Haha.

So I walked up to Union Square and spent my evening in the Christmas Village looking for presents for my friends and family.  I was so relieved that I didn't have to deal with work anymore, especially since I have a nice fat chunk of savings and already had my rent ready for December and January.

I went home and paid $100 to change my ticket, I'm going home for THREE WHOLE WEEKS!  Yay!  I can't wait.  And let me say this... if I could go back I would do exactly the same thing.

From Daddy

Since I didn't work the next day I volunteered at Sunnyside Senior Center.  It is close enough that I can walk, and helped in a meditation class.  I spent the rest of the day cleaning the apartment getting ready for Ashley to move in!

Working hard

She came that Saturday.  Her brother and his friend came first so we actually ended up moving all her stuff in without her while she was loading out her show in Pennsylvania... nice planning on that Ashley haha.

THIS COUCH IS SUPER STINKY AND GROSS

We spent the weekend in the apartment unpacking and hanging out.  Ashley's boyfriend James came over so we had a full house!  It was so nice to have an apartment full of friends!

Clearly an Adrian College, Mu Zeta, Chi Omega apartment

  

Work in progress!

So we've been spending this time getting the apartment together, and watching VHS videos on Ashley's tiny TV and playing Super Nintendo.  Last Thursday our other roommate Doug texted me saying that he had an extra ticket to "The Heiress" on Broadway.  It was a GREAT show with wonderful acting.  It was super fun to see a show on Broadway especially since the first one I went to was really boring.

Night at the theatre

Seeing a show and having Ashley here is such a great motivator.  After losing my job I decided that was a great time to pick up my acting again.  People don't really realize how much work it is to be in this business.  So much of it is self motivated.  Until you get an agent and manager (and even then) it is all self promotion.  You are the only one who can get you a job.  And it is easy to spend five + hours just applying for auditions.

So I got back into the routine of applying for auditions and somehow stumbled onto a Craigslist ad looking for people with mascot experience.  I thought I might as well apply because I was the Pizza Pizza man in high school and why the hell not?  The next day I got an email from the producer saying he had submitted me to the ad agency for the role and that it was for a national AT&T commercial.  I was excited and nervous considering I hadn't been in a mascot in years but I wasn't about to say that.  After a few hours he told me I had the role and sent over information for me.

Trying to break the news to my Mom

I got call sheets and more information about the commercial so I started doing my homework and researching my directors, one of which was Jorma Taccone, who is kind of a big deal.  He is one of the three members of The Lonely Island along with Andy Samberg and wrote and acted in a bunch of well known SNL digital shorts.  At this point I started to get really excited and really nervous.

My call time on set was 9am downtown so I packed up everything I needed and headed out from my apartment around 7:45am.  I had some butterflies in my stomach that were totally smashed when I saw Neil waiting for the train.  Seeing him jarred me so much that I wasn't nearly as nervous.

I got into the studio and was led into the dressing room where they were steaming a bunch of mascot costumes, including a mouse that I recognized but I didn't know how.  Then they told us that it was the same costume Bruno Mars had worn a month earlier in the "Sad Mouse" skit on SNL!  So cool.  I met my fellow mascot, Alex, and we chatted for a bit.  He is a musical theater actor and used to do mascot work in children's show.  This is his second national commercial and when he told me how much he made in residuals for his first I was... amazed.  So pray that they play ours all over so I can get a new laptop!  Ha.

The studio was amazing.  We had a full green screen and a huge crew.  There was a catered breakfast with an omelet station, they would cook you an omelet made to order.  And one of the employees was super cute, nothing like some flirting and a yogurt parfait for breakfast.

By this time my nerves were pretty much gone.  Usually the anticipation is the worst part and once I get on set I'm fine.  We tried on our costumes and they wrapped us in bubble wrap so our outfits would have nice, round bellies.

      

After we were dressed we went out and shot footage of just the two of us.  We danced around to a song about sharing.  We hugged, we jammed out, we played with balls of yarn and bones, we had pin wheels and bouncy balls and airplanes.  Jorma and Oz were great directors and we had a lot of fun.  It was sweaty and awkward in the costumes but it was still a ton of fun.  They were very open to whatever we wanted to try, at one point Alex was doing cartwheels and we were doing the running man.

The set

 Soon the kids were ready and we continued to dance around with them.  It wasn't too hard to work with the kids, although they were SUPER energetic.  And they kept asking me to meow when the director was trying to tell us what to do.  They were super cute though.

Me on set!

Director

Me with director Oz Rodriguez

Hugs from the kids

We wrapped around 4:30.  I went around and thanked our crew members and made sure to hand out a ton of business cards.  (It's all about who you know!!!)  Then I came home, took a shower, and passed out by 6pm because I was totally exhausted.

The best part of this story is if I was never let go I wouldn't have been online looking for auditions and wouldn't have gotten cast.  Everything happens for a reason and the universe pushes you toward where you should go!!!

The next day I went to book club and our annual cookie exchange!  It was so great to see everyone and update them on my work situation.  I came home and spent the night with Ashley working, watching TV, and chatting with a cute boy :)

So that's it!  So much has happened!  And hopefully a lot more good is coming my way.

ONE WEEK TIL I GET TO GO HOME YAY!

Here's some extra pictures for you.  Thanks for reading!

Present from Amy

Present from James

My beautiful Christmas tree!  Merry Christmas!!!