January 28th was my four month anniversary with this beautiful city, and I definitely celebrated in style.
This week I spent my time working and getting ready for Gab! Her flight got in at 8am Saturday morning and the first thing we did was go back to bed. We spend most of the day hanging out and catching up. It is so nice to have a good, close friend here, especially someone like Gab who is just like me and knows me so well. Who would've thought when I was intensely rushing her to go Chi O she would become my little and one of my closest friends.
So attractive
Saturday night Gabs and I got ready to go out to a late comedy show. One of my regulars from the restaurant comped me 4 tickets to see him perform! I invited Jake (my old roommate from Brooklyn) and his girlfriend to come along with us. As we got ready we blasted some party music and decided maybe we should pregame. Being poor kids we decided to help ourselves from the extensive liquor cabinet of my roommate... Gosh I hope he never reads this. We justified it by saying that he always offers me his food and drink, and the fact that he has like 20 bottles of dusty liquor that clearly haven't been used in a long time.
We headed to the show at Caroline's, a famous comedy club on Broadway. We got into the showroom and were seated right next to the stage. Literally. I could have used the stage as my table.
We had a few drinks and the show went a couple hours. It was a great time, the comedians were funny and we had a lot of fun. Afterward we got to hang out with the comedians. We went to a bar and then to the after party. We met some pretty cool people and I traded business cards with a couple... even out on a Saturday night I'm always working! One of the comedians has a production company and while everyone was drinking we were talking business. Good times.
Gab and I with two of the comedians. Yes, he picked me up.
After a loooong night Gabs and I got home at 11am. We slept all day and got up to get ready for work. I brought Gabs with me, expecting a very slow Sunday night. The staff on Sunday is always fun and somehow we got even MORE spoiled than usual. Gabs and I had calamari, chicken francese and green beans, and cheesecake for dessert. We chilled, gossiped, and I even taught her how to use the computer. It was a fun hangout night since the restaurant was so dead. After a long, fun filled weekend, we came home and snuggled up on the couch and watched The Notebook. Gabs didn't want to watch the end but I MADE HER! And we cried. Don't act like you don't sob when you watch that movie.
Today we had big plans to go out but we ended up sleeping and watching MTV. I have to work later and Gabs has to get prepared for the big audition tomorrow! Woo woo! She's gonna be GREAT and I can't wait to take her out and celebrate on Wednesday night.
Ooh New York, how I love you. Happy Anniversary <3
Hello!!!!
Well it's almost the end of the first month of the year (of the last year ever?! oh no!) and I have about nothing to show for it thanks to a sinus infection.
My last post I was hoping to get better and even though I was sleeping and not doing anything but going to work, I did not get better, I just got worse! MEH! So after going to the doctor and being diagnosed I have been taking tons of antibiotics and hoping that February is much more exciting.
So really, nothing much to say to everyone. Mostly this whole month I have been sleeping ridiculous amounts, going to work, and reading.
Thanks to a friend I saw the entire first season of "Game of Thrones" which got me hooked on the books (again). They are so addicting! I'm reading number one for probably the fourth time. Luckily, I made my boss download it on his iPad so I can only read it at work when we're slow, which is good because when I get one of George R. R. Martin's books I become a hermit and am not seen for days while I finish it.
I also just finished an amazing book called "Something Missing" by Matthew Dicks. We're reading it for our Chi Omega book club and I spent a rare late night finishing it because I couldn't put it down.
I'm getting ready for a very exciting week, Gabrielle, my sorority Little is coming to visit tomorrow to audition for graduate school! Can't wait to see her and have a friend to show around the city.
Other than that, I've been practicing giving gratitude for everything I have. It is amazing how good you feel when you start to appreciate all the blessings in your life. And since I started doing it, the subway always comes right when I arrive... I haven't had to wait more than five minutes for a train... crazy.
So here are some words from Rhonda Byrne's book "The Power" all about giving thanks:
"Thank you for my life.
Thank you for the harmony.
Thank you for the joy.
Thank you for the fun and excitement.
Thank you for the wonder of life.
Thank you for everything wonderful and good in my life.
Be grateful,
Gratitude costs you nothing."
Thanks to all the amazing people who have influenced my life, who have supported me, and who have helped me grow. I love you!
Hopefully my next update will bring exciting news. Auditions were just held for "Wonderland" (the children's show I wrote) so maybe I'll be able to post the cast list for you :)
Have a wondrous day!
Hello everyone!
What a great start to the year! Mostly, I have been taking it easy as I get healthy again. After my last entry I ended up talking to an old, old friend about a film company where he was recently hired. He is the Vice President in charge of all the business of the company and I pitched him an idea for a screenplay which he LOVED so now I'm on a deadline as a paid writer to finish researching and writing so that hopefully my movie can get produced this summer. It is a small independent company but... HECK YES! Very exciting.
Which meant that I officially had to knuckle down and finish "Wonderland" (info and tickets for the show can be found at the Caledonia Community Players Website). It was mostly done but I added a few more lines, polished it up and sent it off to my director. Now I'm going to let it sit on the back burner for a few months while they produce it in Michigan and then hopefully I can shop it around and get that baby published. Wouldn't that be fantastic?
I've decided that I want to share my "resolutions" with you. I use the word resolutions very lightly because I believe the transformation I've been going through has been happening for a long time now and I'm already in the middle of a journey, but who can't say they aren't inspired by the beginning of a new year. So in light of the new year I am doing my best to become the person that I want to be. Now, I already think I'm pretty awesome... I like Star Wars, write a lot, have some great friends and an awesome family, but I'm concerned with how I spend my free time (and how everyone does, cause I'm nosey like that).
Have you ever really thought about what you want out of life? I have big goals and I'm slowly but surely working my way through a great learning process and my career seems like it is on the right path.
But what about every day? One of my "resolutions" is READ MORE BOOKS! I love, love, LOVE reading. And hand in hand with this comes-stop watching so much TV. So today, I went out and finally got my NYC Public Library card. And proceeded to check out five books and a DVD. Five intellectual books and a really crappy girly movie (okay it is Sex and the City 2, don't judge me!) but I promise my book pile is about spiritual growth, the problems with my generation, and how to live well... smart people books. And I also picked up a flyer with all the free programs the NYC library has to offer and I was probably drooling on the train. Architecture, poetry, theater and genealogy! So many amazing classes that I want to sign up for. For FREE! Why didn't I do this sooner? (Oh right because you need a permanent address to get a library card). Anyway, I'm super excited about it, going to the library always puts me in an amazing mood.
Along with the library, and the free programs, I want to experience the city while I live here (resolution numero dos?). Last Saturday I decided to go out with Jordan and I headed down to her apartment. To put it bluntly, the trains were fucked. I got so frustrated (and it wasn't just me, they had an MTA worker down there just to help us because everything was so messed up) that I almost just went back to my apartment. Then I took a deep breath and thought "I'm missing everything NYC has to offer being down here anyway. Its sixty degrees out, maybe I should just walk the 20 blocks and stop being a baby."
What a great idea! I came out right near Washington Square where I heard some amazing banjo music, pianos, and saw so many people enjoying the wonderful weather. I also saw a man doing art on the ground that I recognized from ArtPrize! That was the best part, because I got to chat with him about Grand Rapids, and it gave me a weird sense of home to see him there. How random that I ended up running into him on my way to Jordan's.
I was all smiles as I people watched on my way. The city was BUSTLING because of the sunshine. And that night we went to Johnny Utah's which is a country bar with a mechanical bull and had a great time surrounded by cowboys. It was like being at home! Okay not really, but it was surreal to be in the heart of NYC in a country bar.
Other transformations (resolutions?) I'm making include:
Working out... although that's not really something new, that was just put on hiatus while I settled in the city. And until I recover from this illness.
Cooking again! And working on my health in general. I learned too much recently about the crap that we put in our bodies to eat bad food for too long... besides, my stir fry is better than any fast food you're ordering.
Keeping in contact with people I care about. Showing everyone who is important to me how much they truly mean to me...
So we will see how this works out! RESOLUTELY! Haha.
So now I want to ask you... what did you do today that you are proud of?
((Do you really want to spend your life at a job you hate solely for the purpose of making money, only to come home tired and watch TV?)) Okay maybe not everyone lives like that but I feel like a majority of us do.
To me, TV is the biggest devil. While there is quality programming with good writing and real actors... don't act like you're not watching crap. AND I'M GUILTY TOO, I gotta practice what I preach. Small doses. Balance. When someone asks you what you did today do you really wanna say "I watched TV" or maybe say you... went to the library, took a walk, went hiking, to a museum, read a book, spend time with an old friend, or even just took a great afternoon nap.
These are the things I'm thinking about right now, and I'm hoping that maybe you'll take it to heart and play a board game. Maybe, you'll call me up tonight instead of watching TV and you'll save ME from my television as well. We can be TV free buddies.
Weird post. Hope you liked it. Maybe I should change the name of my blog from "Life of an Actress" to "Life of an actress/writer/blogger/artist/dreamer Who Thinks Way Too Much and has a Really Weird Positive View on Everything"
But maybe that's too much.
PEACE OUT KIDS! Haha now I'm going to watch my movie... wah wah. Hey I said TV not movies, and it's due back in 4 days.
LOVE!
Happy Happy New Year my loves!
Well the end of 2011 was quite the rollercoaster. I am loving the whole entire concept of starting over because 2011 can SUCK IT. All the shit that went down, I am ready to release that from my life and I can say for sure that so far 2012 looks like it will kick some ass.
So the week leading up to Christmas I spent a lot of time working and sleeping and watching TV. Work is a great place to be sometimes. When we got bored me and my boss would talk to each other on the phones at the front desk. Yah, we're that cool. We also stand at the hostess stand and play games on our phones/iPads. In plain sight.
I also get to leave for auditions when I want, and I had one during work. I headed out and after I put my name on the waiting list I started wandering around the theater. For some reason I feel like I have the right to just explore random theaters because I basically grew up in one. The good thing was I started chatting with some people there and met an acting coach and a producer! Both leading to opportunities, one called me up and said that I should send him my resume and shots from set design because they need a designer on their team.
I could have just sat in the waiting room like everyone else, but I wandered around and found an opportunity. Even if I don't get the part I can still say it was a successful audition.
The day before Christmas I watched Pokemon with my 7 year old roommate, met a friend and mentor for coffee (making moves) and went to a boring day of work.
After, I headed out on the town with Jordan, went to WIP which was LAME again. We had fun with it though and then she took me to her friends apt. Let me just say he was a New York Ranger, I watch him play on TV and he was a major DBAG. Good to know. Professional athlete thought he was too cool for school.
Then we found out after we left the club BEYONCE went there.
I can't even comment on that. If you know anything about me you know how I reacted. FML.
My Christmas Eve was spent with myself. All day I indulged in guilty pleasures and watched trash TV and ate and laid around. I spend Christmas Eve by myself, awesome. I did get to Skype with the family party which was pretty cool!
I had to get up damn early to catch my flight but it was AWESOME to be home. Man, I missed the comforts of living with my parents and a car and just everything that being at home is about. But it is good to know that I can survive without them... kinda... they might send me food and rent money but whatever I'm 23, don't judge.
Anyway, home was great. I saw "We Bought a Zoo" with Matt Damon (love) and saw ELLA my little sister and part of my second family, went shopping, and spent some awesome time rocking out on rock band with my bff and Darcy.
After a way too short vacation I came home and was super sad to leave, but it was great being back in my city. I didn't have much time to be sad because I had to clean my shit up and get ready for the millions of people coming to see me for New Years!
Andy, Vince, and their friend Aaron came up as well as Amber and Tay. And what an amazing New year's it was.
After the boys got here we went and picked up our tickets for the party we were going to, then we walked around Times Square which was CRAZY and I will NEVER EVER do that on NYE, people were already in line at TWELVE NOON WTF!??! Macy's Day Parade was enough for me. Then we came home and napped, Amber and Tay got here and we all had dinner, and then we got ready for NEW YEARS EVE!
All of us headed to Revival where we had drinks, appetizers, and fun! We met up with Zack and his friends and by the time everyone got there half the bar was part of the group we brought there.
It was an amazing New Years Eve with amazing friends and I feel really great about the future!
Group Picture!
Our sexy NYE hats
First picture of the New Year! Mehrrr :)
Group shot!
Priceless
Hands down my favorite picture of the night!
Oh goodness it was hard to choose what pictures to put up!!!! It was such an amazing night :)
After everyone left I was bummed, and I've spent the rest of the week working, sleeping, and trying to figure out what I wanna focus on in the New Year. I hung out with my love Jordan, got over a cold, and I'm feeling pretty great today and super excited for the rest of January and this year! YAY!
I'm so super thankful for all of the love and support from everyone, especially from the girls that have had my back a lot recently. Special shout out to NETTY and AMBLER! While I have some amazing friends and family, you two have been such a bright spot in my life recently, thank you!!!!
But you're all awesome and I'm so proud to have such great people in my life :D
So far 2012 has been a happy year, lets keep it that way!
Hello!!!!!
Do I have so much to tell you! Thank you to everyone who has been asking where I've been, great to know that people are reading :) Love you guys!
There are many reasons why I have taken so long to post, I've been dealing with some crap and it was just easier not to write. Also, the longer I waited the scarier it got because I knew it would take me forever to get this post up! But today is the day and I'm going to tackle this monster and let you all know what has been up in the Life of Laura for the past month.
Week One... The beginning of December.
We left off at Thanksgiving, and me on the verge of a new move. On Tuesday I took a giant suitcase and backpack full of stuff to my new apartment in Queens. This was an experience. As I took it through the subway I realized that I would have to drag the beast suitcase down and up the stairs four times, because I had to switch trains. I got through it by thinking "just move one step at a time and DON'T BE GRUMPY" and this seemed to help. My positive thinking brought me a friendly helping hand from a man I met who helped me carry the suitcase down one of the flights of stairs (although getting it down was the easy part... up is the hard part. But I was thankful) and we chatted, he was a high school teacher and artist. When I got to my new place I dumped my stuff, half went in Doug (my roommates) room and half went in the coat closet. Then I sat down on the couch and got stuck watching "Catch Me If You Can" for 1/2 an hour... whoops! That's my biggest challenge here, not getting stuck watching TV. Although it helps when Ahmed (my other roommate) watches en espanol. Or watches soccer. Because both of those do not interest me.
Most of the week I spent working, and chatting with my customers. I met an old man who used to work as a security guard and talked to me for two hours, and left me a (fake) $500 bill. The strange things I receive at my job are endless. I also had our printer telling me all night that he was going to buy me diamonds. Now that can happen anytime!
Friday Sarah had her final dress fitting, and she looked amazing. Then, we went home and it was MOVING DAY! Big, big shoutout to Sarah and Jordan who were dolls and helped me move! I packed everything into bags and some suitcases and when I saw it all I said "eff it" and called a car service to take us back to Queens. Sometime during the packing I found out that one of my old roommates (not Sarah...) had drank 2 of my beers and that caused a little fight. Good thing I was leaving! But seriously, even if I owe you money that doesn't make it okay to eat/drink any of my food. Not cool man.
The thing was, I had absolutely no furniture in my room at ALL. So unpacking ended up looking like this...
Home Sweet Home?
Whoops. That is another one of the reasons it has taken me so long to write... I was digging myself out of the mess. OMG I LOOK LIKE A HOARDER! Awesome.
After Sarah and Jordan and I had unloaded, Sarah and I went to Target to get some things. I bought a new comforter which is SO DELICIOUSLY CUTE (pictures to come) and we also saw some to die for owl bathroom stuff, and a girl getting choked out by a security guard. Only in NYC. Afterwards, for the first time, we went to our separate apartments and it was SO SAD! Boo. I miss living with Sarah already.
Now, of course I went home, looked at that mess, and instantly packed a bag and headed to Jordan's, where I spent Friday and Saturday night. I even have a toothbrush at their place now. We spent the weekend going out, sleeping, eating, and just avoiding life in general.
The reason I say this, is because at this point I was dealing with some personal stuff and it was pretty hard. Going out with Jordan was a fun way to get my mind off everything, but eventually I had to deal.
Although generally have a pretty positive outlook on life, many people don't know that I have been struggling a lot for about a year now, with feeling lost and wondering what to do with my life. Up until college you have everything figured out for you and then you're just expected to take the next steps yourself. That first summer after graduation I was working a lot on film and things were going well, and sometime around November I lost my motivation and I've been working to get it back. One thing I want to say is, it is OKAY to ask for help, and I would know because going to therapy for awhile was a big decision I made in my life, and it was a good one. Sometimes you need to talk to a professional about everything, and that is not a bad thing.
Recently, I have been forced to really evaluate what I want to do, and while I still deal with self doubt, I'm going to continue to pursue my acting career because it is something I am passionate about.
The bad thing is, my underlying negative attitude has caused me to lose important people in my life, and this was brought into focus to me the week after Thanksgiving. I was blatantly told by a very close friend that "you get what you give" and I was bringing a lot of my misery on myself.
Through this whole experience, and especially this past few weeks, I have really realized who my true friends are. I have some amazing people in my life and these are the people who love you no matter what. These are the people who listen to all my shit and all my complaining and they stick around. They know that there is good and there is bad and they are still by my side, they say all they want is for me to be happy and they love me. I am not taking it for granted anymore and I realize that I am the only person that can make myself happy and every day I am working on my positive feelings. So here's a thank you to all of those people, especially the girls who have listened to me the past few weeks (you know who you are, I love you).
That brings us to Week Two... cutting off...
Now, that being said, after the weekend I realized that I haven't been a very good friend to a lot of people lately, and also that I just wasn't in the position to support anyone else, because I was still figuring myself out.
This, along with the fact that I spent wayyyy too much time on it, and wanting to avoid seeing information about certain people led me to turn off my Facebook on Sunday. And wouldn't you know, I ended up with this...
Blankets on the floor... hobo style
It is amazing what I have gotten done without Facebook to distract me. My room looks even better (more to come later in the post) I mean, that gross rug is gone! And I have been writing a LOT more. My notebook has filled with some amazing stuff, and "Wonderland" (the children's play I am writing, adapted from Alice and Wonderland) has evolved wonderfully as well. All the crap that I have been feeling translates really well to paper, in the form of poems, song lyrics, and stories, and with a few of my connections I'm hoping to either write a song or write a play and put all the emotion into my art. The good thing about pain and heartache is that it makes me a much better writer and artist.
I am still somewhat connected, using Twitter a lot because you can only spend so much time on Twitter! Haha.
I spend the rest of the week cut off from the world, turning off my phone, spending my time unpacking, writing, applying for auditions, and working. Until Thursday night when the weekend started and Sarah came to my work to hang out. We sat at the bar and the bartender made us drinks (free, the best kind) and we got some french fries. I forget how much fun it is to chill at work, when you can get lots of yummy food and drinks whenever you want. We helped out by folding napkins for the waiters and then were on our way home when we started talking to some guys and went out for a drink. The best part about going out with SayJ is that she's always like "I'm engaged" and I'm like MORE FOR ME! Haha I don't really say that... or do I? Anyway, our new friends were Derek and Larry, and Larry is a security guard so he has met millions of celebrities (he kindly showed us all the pictures) and then we decided it was KARAOKE TIME! Oh yah I love me some karaoke.
We went to a Korean karaoke bar where you get your own room and they bring you snacks (cheese balls wtf lol) and drinks and you have microphones and you just sing along to any song you want. It was a BLAST. We sang all night and I didn't get home until 5am. On the way home I was writing on the train... I'm such a New Yorker haha.
I slept most of the day Friday and then headed to Jordan's to get ready for Santacon the next day. We were just going to have a chill night and go to bed, but of course we ended up going to Cipriani's for dinner with Jose... and then we went to meet up with my love Zack (and his friends) who were visiting from Syracuse.
This is a great story. Our cab driver wasn't paying attention and almost took Jordan and I all the way uptown, but I caught it and we ended up being a little past where we wanted to go so we had to walk back. On the way, some random dudes were like "heyyy ladies, do you need an escort?" and we were like, sure why not. They asked us where we were headed and we told them the Ace bar (where Zack and co. where), and lo and behold they were heading to the same bar! After about five steps I realized that one of them looked familiar and I was like "do you know Zack Zollars?" IT WAS HIS FRIENDS! What are the odds?! For some reason they were like, blocks away from the bar and just happened to meet up with us as we were both heading there. Crazy.
Jordan and I called it an early night (2 am haha) because Saturday was... SANTACON.
"Santacon is a non-denominational, non-commercial, non-political and non-sensical Santa Claus convention that occurs once a year for absolutely no reason." -Taken from the NYC Santacon Website.
Basically, Santacon is a "holiday" where people from all over the world (not just NYC) get dressed up as Santa (or various forms of Santa/holiday attire) and get DRUNK. Also, they collect toys and food for charity. But that takes just a second, in between all the drunkenness.
And it was amazing.
I don't even know how to describe it but I will post some pictures and videos for you... maybe you will get half of the effect of Santacon. Basically, you check the Twitter and they Tweet where to meet up, then every few hours the location moves, so we went from downtown to city park to the subway, then the official Santacon when to Grand Central Station while we stayed in the East Village. Thousands of Santas all over the city, it was SO FUN and you should come next year!
Jordan and I so cute at the start of our day
My beard is SEXY
Deadmau5 Santa complete with beard
Santa on the move
Santa in the subway!
Friends
Santa cuties!
I took two videos for you guys cause I wanted to try and capture some of the experience... it was so crazy. Jordan and I started at about 2pm and we were out until 8. We came back and napped and then Zack and co. got into the city so I got up again and went out. By 10 most of the Santa party had filtered out, although you still saw at least one in every bar. I was one of the last ones standing... go me! I partied for a full 12 hours.
Late night Santa tree climb. This is the
only time the red sweatpants will
EVER see NYC.
Then it was time for BED.
Week three... it can only go up from here...
Sunday, after sleeping all day I headed to work which was boooring. Not much happens on a Sunday night. So I spent two hours doing what I do best, decluttering. My job centers around the hostess stand and the coat closet, both of which were stuffed with CRAP. It makes my job harder because I can't fit coats/bags into the closet (which is how I make tips) and cause I can never find anything. So I went through it with my manager and threw away 2 large garbage bags full of junk. I also ended up with 3 brand new cds (Mike Posner, Pink, Santana) 5 new scarves (wash them and BAM fashionable) nail polish, $12, and a nice portfolio carrier for my headshots and resumes. Pretty good haul.
Afterward I headed out to Cipriani's for dinner and karaoke, even though I'm trying to cut down on my drinking and partying (not what I came to NYC to do) and after awhile I just realized that it wasn't my scene (no Jordan that night) and I headed out. I knew that getting better and focusing on my acting and my happiness was more important to me than drinking, and I've turned down all the parties since.
Monday I slept and then I went to work. It was another slow night, but my regulars Fred and Gene came in and had dinner. They insisted that I sit with them so for about an hour and a half of my shift I just sat down and had dinner. It was kinda weird being waited on by my coworkers, but I had been super bored and the food was delicious, and they insisted that I could have whatever I wanted! Awesome.
Then Ashley came to visit me and we stayed up way too late talking. It was nice to catch up :) Tuesday morning I had to work, then Ashley and I attempted to find some cookie dough to make cookies for book club that night. We were going to the monthly Chi Omega book club and that night they were having a Christmas cookie exchange. We didn't have any luck so we headed home and got ready.
Now, our book club meets at the same place every month and this was the first one I was able to attend so I didn't really know what to expect. But WOW
This lady lives on Park Avenue. If you know anything about NYC you know that this is a very rich area. We stepped into their home and I was breathtaken. It was a two story apt complete with a twisting staircase, library, and amazing view. Our host was like "oh yes from the 2nd story you can see the Chrysler building." So nonchalant. UM HELLO?!?!?! THE CHRYSLER BUILDING?!?!
Ashley looked in the living room and was like "um I'm pretty sure I studied that painting in art history class." We were in a home that had paintings that could pay our student loan debt 4 times over. Nuts. I was expecting cheese and crackers and we had an entire catered table of hors d'oeuvres made by their housekeeper/maid, complete with grilled shrimp and fresh fruit. Needless to say, I couldn't believe it. But all the women were fabulous of course, and even though we didn't read the book we had a great time.
By the middle of the week I was exhausted. My work schedule had been all over the place, doing morning shifts and night shifts really messes with my head. I was in a pretty bad place that was amplified by my exhaustion (I figured later that I worked 6 days in a row, with one day off, then 6 more days in a row, yuck!) and the fact that I didn't have a bed and was still sleeping on the couch in a public room in the house didn't help. Having no room and then having a room with no bed for 2 1/2 months had not been easy on me and I just wanted to be alone. After I worked I went home and SLEPT, ordered pizza, watched TV, and was sad for a day. I let myself bask in the feelings, and be emo, and not talk to anyone for the day. And all my friends were so helpful and supportive... and I just slept.
Thursday I woke up and that was it. I was done with the sad, and done with the questioning, and from now on I am focusing on today and positivity and looking ahead. And... I GOT MY BED.
LOOK AT MY COMFORTER!
Yes, Eeyore has a Santa hat on.
I found this behind my closet door, apparently no one has closed
it for months, haha. There was a dinosaur in there.
What an amazing, amazing, amazing feeling. The guy from the car service didn't complain at all and then he helped me carry the whole bed upstairs! Good tip for him. I cleaned, vacuumed, set up the bed, and was SO HAPPY! The bed has done wonders in my life, you don't realize how important something like a bed is until you don't have one for months. THANK YOU SARAH!
That night, Sarah, her brother Phil, and his friend Spencer all crashed at my place, because we were moving Sarah out the next day. We ate Chinese food, pizza, cookies and watched "How to Make it in America" WHICH HBO CANCELLED AND I'M SUPER PISSED ABOUT THAT!!!!!!!!!! Boo.
Then Sarah and I tried to sleep.... ha that never happens, whenever we're in the same room we always stay up too late talking, just like in college. We're like "okay.. .time to sleep.. for real.. ONE MORE THING!" Haha.
We got up at the crack of dawn, well earlier than that actually, the sun wasn't even up yet, and headed to Brooklyn with the van Sarah got to pack everything up. It only took us about 45 minutes to load everything up and then I said goodbye :( so sad! Although I did end up with two bags of stuff (trashcan, bowls, soup, hangers) for my apartment so that was exciting. I looked like a crazy bag lady on the subway home with my 6am hair, no makeup, basketball shorts, leather jacket and bags of junk.
I spent the rest of the weekend SLEEPING. I decided to be happy I needed a real schedule and no more partying all night. I was awake for 9 hours total on Saturday lol... woke up at 1pm and went to bed at 10pm. In between my hours of sleep I got Christmas presents, sent out Christmas cards, watched a lot of How I Met Your Mother, and just laid around. It was wondrous.
That brings us toooooooo...
Week Four: PRESENT DAY.
This week. Sunday I cleaned and worked, but most importantly, I started working out again.
Monday I went to the Post Office (never again) it was NUTS! And then I went grocery shopping for the first time which was AMAZING because I found a REAL SUPERMARKET AHHHH! This is such a big deal because there is no Meijer or Walmart here, there are only Trader Joe's/Whole Foods which have expensive organic food that I don't recognize or there are bodegas which have Oreos for $5. I found a Met food that has brands I know, lots of variety, good prices, and it's close. Buying food was so exciting. Also, I love that I'm 23 and now I can just buy candy whenever I want... will that ever stop feeling cool? Remember when your parents wouldn't let you buy candy from the 25 cent machine? Why is that something that excites me now? Haha.
I also have been making a lot of New Years Eve plans, and am excited for Amber, Tay, Andy, Vince and Zack to come visit! It's going to be a great time!
Yesterday, I woke up and went to an audition, which was super fun. I need to start going on a lot of those again and it just reminded me why I'm here in the first place. I came back and did laundry which was quite the adventure.
Picture this: I haven't done laundry in about a month, and this is the first time I'm doing it here in Queens. I walk the fiveish blocks with my giant Ikea bag full of clothes to the laundromat. Load my shit. Get out my bag of $10 of quarters. There is no coin slot. You have to put your money onto a little "debit" card specially made for the washers/dryers. Okay, nbd, except THE MACHINE DOESN'T TAKE QUARTERS! Only bills. I have $5, which is what you need to get a card... except they take $2 as a deposit. So now I'm stuck with $3 (only enough for one wash load) and $10 of quarters... I had to go to the ATM and the whole time I was thinking THINK POSITIVE DON'T COMPLAIN haha. I eventually figured it out and my clothes are clean and in the closet but, wtf kind of laundromat doesn't take quarters? Seriously.
After doing laundry and feeling so proud of myself for being such a real person, I went to work where I found out I'm going to be trained as a cocktail waitress soon. This could be good or bad, its a lot of work but hopefully it will mean more money. We will see.
So there you go! I'm caught up on sleep, I'm caught up on this blog, and I've been writing for like 2 hours, so I hope you guys enjoy it.
New York City, I love you. I wish my family was here though. To experience days like the other day when I got on the subway and saw a guy looking at a camera that it was fairy clear he had just stolen. And while I was watching him a woman sat down next to me and she looked perfectly normal, an older woman, but then every 30 seconds she would just CRACK UP laughing. Then she would stop. Then she would CRACK UP again, shake her head, and stop. Weirdest thing ever.
So here's my advice for you on getting yourself out of a bad mood, as read by Rhonda Byrne in "The Power." When you have bad feelings think of them as wild horses. So there's an angry horse, a grumpy horse, an irritable horse, and so on. When you feel a bad feeling say to yourself "why did I get on the grumpy horse?" And picture it. It will make you realize that YOU are the one getting on the horse and YOU can get off it again. Also, when someone else is grumpy/irritable/sad to you, picture them on the horse and usually it will make you laugh. It is a great way to not take those feelings so seriously and to laugh your way out of a bad mood. I did this yesterday when one of our waiters was harsh to me and OMG it was hilarious to picture this guy on a wild horse. Try it!
Holidays. Are. Exhausting.
Or maybe it is working seven days in a row that is exhausting!
Or maybe it is partying too much... wah wah.
Tuesday night after work I was chilling with the servers because I just didn't feel like going home yet. Also, they got me some yummy dinner. I decided to go out for "one drink" (HA!) and went to a bar in the east village. There I had a great time just jamming to the band and chilling. On our way to the next place I started talking to a limo driver and while I was chatting him up one of the servers decided to rent him for the night, so we picked up the rest of the staff at the restaurant as they were closing up and RODE AROUND IN A WHITE STRETCH LIMO ALL NIGHT!
This is my life.
It was awesome. The guys I work with are so chill and really interesting. And instead of going home I slept at my new place :) So I guess I was home! Doug and I both worked in the morning and we stopped at a little Mexican place on the way, and the owner gave me a free donut. At least that's what I think it was, it was a ball of dough about 4 inches big and it was DELICIOUS! Except Doug told me there was cheese in it and there wasn't... the cheese never came! Still yummy though.
After a crazy night and no sleep I headed home to start cooking Thanksgiving dinner. I made a pie, and rolls, and some weird cookies. Sarah and I wanted to use the pumpkin pie filling for something other than a gross pumpkin pie and we made cookies with german chocolate cake mix, marshmallows, chocolate chips, and oatmeal. Weird.
Then we headed to bed because our alarms were set for 4am!
Before the crack of dawn we headed out the door. We got to the parade route at 5:15am and got a front row seat. We sat down, and waited. We made friends with the family next to us, a little girl named Kassidy made the time go by wayyyy faster, she was hilarious. We also befriended one of the police officers working the parade. Finally, at 9am the parade started and it was AWESOME! Its such a different experience than when you see it on TV. You can see everyone holding the balloons, there is confetti and clowns, the celebrities are up close, and there are a shit ton of people. It was super fun!
God I love Pikachu
SANTA! I KNOW HIM!
Definitely don't need to go every year though, it is quite exhausting! When we got home, no rest for the weary, it was dinner time!
And I have to say, for 3 kids who have never made Thanksgiving Dinner before we did a really good job! Especially considering that our oven is so ghetto. The part that tells you the temperature on the front moves so you never know if it is exactly the right number, and it doesn't tell you when its heated up all the way, and there's no thermometer soooo yah, I'm pretty impressed with us. We had everything! Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, roles, yams, and two kinds of pie! MMM.
MMM my homemade pie!
After stuffing myself I took a quick nap and then UGH I had to go to work. I had another Thanksgiving Dinner at work and then I got home and went to bed!!! Where I slept 10 hours and had to go to work again.
The rest of the weekend I rested, cleaned the apartment, and went to work.
Last night I headed out to Cipriani's with Jose and Juliet and had an amazing dinner, then we went upstairs and there was karaoke! I LOVE KARAOKE!!!! It was a super fun night but man am I tired! After work today I slept and wrote this blog and now I'm going to apply for auditions.
Tomorrow is get serious time. I'm moving in on Thursday and I will have my own space so I can practice monologues and sleep and get my life together!
I did not forget what I came here to do :) acting!!!
Hope everyone is doing well :) I am doing great! And excited to tell you about my last few days...
After my happiness post I went to work and had a GREAT night! I had a lot of fun, couldn't stop smiling and was chatting it up with the regulars. Now that I've been working for awhile I can recognize a few, including the comedian Anu Kalra and the hotel manager from upstairs, Fred. I sat Fred right next to the stand and was chatting him up and guess what happened... he bought me a plate of shrimp for dinner! And chef was making me mac and cheese and chicken as well, so I took a seat and chatted him up. Cause that's what you do if you want more shrimp ;)
This is my New York City life.
The whole day Friday I was apartment hunting. The first place was up, up, up, way up in the scary part of Manhattan and the room was the size of a closet. And the girl told me about a giant cockroach, EW! But hey, it was in my price range so I wasn't gonna say no right away... Until I went to Queens and FOUND MY NEW PLACE! YAY!
Now kids that is a full size bed and behind it are about four feet of boxes... you can't see the whole room but BAM IT IS BIG YAYYYY! And cheap, and there's a backyard, and a nice big bathroom, and great decoration, and it is QUIET. And my roommates are sweet. So I am super pumped, I move Dec. 1st and I will officially have my NYC address. Ballin.
After a long day of apartment searching I had delish restaurant leftovers for lunch mmm and then I went to the village to film a scene with the NYU student Juan, who cast me in the short where I was the dead girl. Again, I played a dead girl... wtf Juan! Haha, but next time he casts me he promises I will be living... Anyway, it was fun and there were about 12 of us squeezed into a tiny apartment, and we watched Muppets in Space while we filmed, so it was a good time.
On set! Maybe someday I'll get a picture of me for ya.
Saturday was hands down one of the best days I have had in New York so far... I stayed in "my" (Sarah's) room the entire day and did NOTHING. Well I did some things... cleaned, watered plants, put my check in the bank, bought flowers, read my camera's manual, emailed my boss, did my nails, watched the entire first season of "Recess" on Youtube.
Why yes I am a 12 year old.
Winning.
It was a great day in.
I mean, I had every intention of going to the Brooklyn Bridge to take pictures and get some fresh air. I even did my hair and makeup. But then I ended up with this.
OMG like, Myspace called they want their pictures back!!!
Ya... That just happened. Welcome to my crazy New York City Saturday night.
Sunday Sarah came home and we snuggled and watched the Amazing Race and I went to work. It was very slow, but my boss got us some sliders and it was delicious! And I made money checking bags which doesn't happen often... and I was just in a great mood :) We had some cool customers including this 70 year old lady wearing sequins who told me we had the same spirit and that was why I was so nice to her. Awesome.
When I left work I needed some time to think so I started walking home. I walked from Penn Station to the East Broadway subway stop... It took me about 2 and a half hours and I just got to see New York and the Christmas lights and displays and sit in the park and enjoy being there and listen to the thoughts in my head.
In Washington Square park, at 11pm, there was a huge choir singing songs of peace. <3 only in New York City.
Choir singing in Washington Square Park.
Empire State Building lit up for Christmas!
The colors change day by day!
Now we are here today... and I did laundry, go me! We went to Sarah's dress fitting and she looks amazing :) I cleaned up and I chilled and now I have to get ready for work, work, work and THANKSGIVING!
Get ready for some awesome pictures of turkey and the Macy's Day Parade!
Now I have a place to live, it is gonna be the holidays, I have clean clothes and great friends, what more could a girl ask for?
