Signed and Ready to ROCK

There's so much going on lately that blogging has definitely taken the back burner. One fabulous piece of news is that I've signed with a print agent! They offered to send me out for non-union commercial work, but since I'm SAG eligible, I decided that I would continue my hunt for a union commercial agent.

Helping me in that hunt is the commercial casting director I talked about last time. I called him a few days after we met and he told me to e-mail him my headshot/resume and he'd forward them to some agents he thinks might be interested. I'm also going to be taking his commercial workshop on scholarship in the next couple of months! Oh, and if you're afraid that this guy is some kind of sleaze bucket, don't worry, he's well-known, has an excellent reputation, and several people I know (including the fiance) have met him before and say he's a great person.

On the wedding front, we've decided to book the L.A. Zoo for sure! All we have to do is sign the contract and pay the deposit before the end of March. That means catering and booze is settled, too! Although we still have to pick the menu, but that's the fun part! The Los Angeles Zoo hosts a lot of events, but not many weddings and they were actually extremely well-priced compared to everything else in this city.

We've also got our officiant settled (that was settled a long time ago), because one of our best friends is ordained through the Universal Life Church. The spot we picked in the L.A. Zoo already has some cute orange and green wooden picnic tables and chairs. They're really new and pretty cool looking, so we're sticking with what's already there! I also know which bakery I want to get my cupcakes from, Lark, of course! Between the partner's work peeps, our friends, and my dad, there's so many photographers and people with pro equipment that we should be good to go on that front. We just have to lock in solid commitments.

The only stressful thing left is invites! Everything else should be at least somewhat fun to do and research. Maybe I'm getting myself, but I feel like the hardest part of the planning is over! I even have a good portion of our website ready to go!

The other thing I had been stressing out about was what I would wear. I'm unconventional enough that I felt like I had the entire world of fashion open to me. Was I daring enough to wear something like Janelle Monae?

Or did I just want to wear a gorgeous dress that I loved, in a flattering as hell color, that I could wear again?

Like this absolutely incredible Eva Franco? Which is actually slightly more than I was hoping to spend. 

Or, just maybe, did I want something that actually looked like a wedding dress? Would some kind of white look OK on me? I just tried on this dress today and it was lovely, but it wasn't quite perfect, I'd have to add some kind of straps or jacket as I abhor strapless dresses. It also looked better with a sash at the waist.

Here's my point, however... I decided to not let this stress me out. I will buy whatever I feel like buying that's in my budget. And to hell with what anyone else thinks about it!

Now, I have an extremely ill partner to check on. The poor guy came home, fell asleep, then woke up an hour later puking his guts out and has been doing so for the last three hours. I feel so bad for him. I've already e-mailed his boss, bought some Powerade, some JELL-O, saltines, and some chicken noodle and tomato soup for when he feels up to it. Just because I wouldn't eat half those things doesn't mean I won't buy it for him. Let's hope he gets well soon.

Estelle Harris thinks I'm adorable!

No, seriously, last night I waited on Estelle Harris and she said that I was "just adorable." My response?

The exact scene that popped into my head.

"Ma'am. I think YOU'RE adorable."

She asked if I knew who she was, and I said the minute I heard her voice I was transported to watching Toy Story 2 & 3. We talked about it being nominated and how I thought it was the best movie I'd seen all year. She noticed my ring and asked if I was married and said that my fiance was a lucky guy.

It made my freaking night. To top this all off, an extremely well-known commercial casting director gave me his office number so that he could help give me references to commercial agents. And tipped me twenty bucks on a sixty dollar bill.

Wow. I feel pretty lucky. Now I have the next two days off to get some serious work done.

January has been a pretty busy month for me... obviously, given my lack of updates. I've been..

1. Working a lot. Of course. But I feel 10x better about January 2011 than January 2010 where I thought I was going to be fired every other day. It seems like business is up and my managers like me. Can't ask for more than that as a server. Busy. Flexible schedule. Awesome.
2. Helping out with an "Acting for the Camera" class that's now over... My mentor is amazing and I learn a ton from him every time we work together. Plus, that's extra cash in my pocket and the life partner's (he helps film the final scenes and edits them for the students)
3. Planning a wedding. The success story on this front is that we now have a date set in stone and we think we've decided on a location. We haven't booked it yet, but I'll give you a hint... It's home to our favorite pachyderm.
4. Editing my dad's novel. He's retired and has a lot of time on his hands. I don't, but I'm helping him anyway.

It's been a good month.

I also turned 25 this month and am now old enough to audition for alcohol commercials! Woohoo! We went snowboarding and ate at Susan Feniger's STREET... Which was slightly disappointing, to be honest. I liked it well enough, but wasn't thrilled enough to go back for the price. Maybe if cost didn't bother me, it would be a different story. The snowboarding, however, was excellent. Conditions were pretty awesome for such warm weather and every time I get better and better. We spent the majority of the day on the intermediate slopes and I was pretty pleased with myself!

I decided to get over my vanity. This is a terrible photo, but it's the only one!

The day after my birthday, I had an interview with a print agent, and while nothing has come of it, I do know feel more confident all future interviews of that sort. The agent was incredibly nice and now I feel like I know what to expect a little bit better.

Overall, January was great, here's to fabulous February!

Birthday Bust

No, it wasn't my birthday. That's not for another month. It was LP's birthday this weekend, and we had such big plans for it... but California weather had something else in mind. For the past couple of years, we've both gone snowboarding for our birthdays. Leading up to this weekend, there hadn't been much precipitation in the mountains, so if snow was sparse, we thought we'd go to Disneyland or our favorite, the L.A. Zoo. The just opened up the Elephants of Asia exhibit, and we've really been looking forward to going. 

It was shaping up to be a great weekend. Best of all, my manager was generous enough to give me the entire weekend off. I think this was an exchange for New Year's Eve (we'll see). Anyway, like I said, the weather had different plans. 

 I had been hoping for rain. My fingers were crossed. Rain in Los Angeles usually means snow on the mountains this time of year. But it's just too warm. The slopes were even shut down today. Everything is too slushy and mucky and gross. Bare patches everywhere. So... no snowboarding. And our boards continue to sulk in the corner, looking all dejected and unloved. I'm so sorry, babies!!

But all of this rain ruined our back-up plans, too! We never actually considered that rain would be an issue. We thought rain would mean good snow conditions. We thought bad snow conditions would mean a bright and sunny day. We've gone to the zoo in a light drizzle before. Especially if it starts and stops throughout the day. But California is getting a shock to its system by getting non-stop rain. We were flummoxed. What to do?

 

We considered going to a museum, but even most of the museums out here (like the Getty) aren't as nice on rainy days. So... we just sort of hung out. Saturday night, we met up with a bunch of LP's friends for beer. And Friday night we went to another friend's holiday party. So, we still had some nice social time out and about. Buuuut, things just didn't go as planned. Still, we've both been working so much lately that it was really nice to just bum around together.

I wish I could say I was the world's most awesome partner and surprised him with something amazing... but, the best I could do was give my time and nimble fingers to his dreadlocks. We spent several hours last night watching holiday movies while I performed some much needed maintenance on his hair (click the link if you aren't familiar with the finer points of white boy dreads). For someone who hates people buying him gifts, this was the best present I could offer.

Happy Birthday, my handsome dreadlocked boy!

Elephants in my Life

Recently, Billy the Elephant at the L.A. Zoo got to move in to a completed section of his new exhibit. The beautiful elephant enclosure is due to open on December 16th and Billy will be joined by two female elephants (rescued from a private owner) on loan from San Diego.

Check out this video and tell me if that isn't the happiest elephant you've ever seen!

I have a very special place in my heart for elephants. Besides being beautiful, fascinating creatures, they always remind me of my Grandma G who has been collecting elephant objects for years. I once tried to count them all (excluding jewelry and clothing items) when I was a little girl. The number, I believe, was over 75 items.

My collection pales in comparison. Only four items! The bag was given to me by my friend Brittany. She bought it for me while she was in Thailand on her honeymoon as a thank you for being a bridesmaid in her wedding. 

The big gorgeous elephant statement necklace was a gift from LP. He was filming a designer, Leslie Homan, for her Kitsch 'n' Kouture line. He happened to mention me and after talking a bit, she let him pick something out! Small perks. :-) It's now one of my favorite pieces of jewelry.

The other two items, the pin and the bracelet (many tiny elephants in a row) belonged to my grandma. She gave them to me several years ago. She's still alive and kicking (fiercely, I might add) and I'm sure these aren't the last elephant items I'll receive from her!

LP and I have a very special connection to Billy the Elephant, in particular. We're members of the L.A. Zoo and go there as often as we can. When we were both unemployed and exceedingly broke, we were there about once a week. For over a year, the zoo has been working on a state-of-the-art enclosure for Billy and the friends that will join him. But there's been controversy. There were a lot of attempts to halt construction by animal activists and celebrities. There was even a City Council meeting on the matter, and the zoo invited members to come and speak. I wasn't able to make it, but LP went, spoke, and got to meet Betty White who said that he was a "very nice, well-spoken young man." (HE'S MINE, BETTY! BACK OFF!)  ;-)

But the L.A. Zoo won and Billy's new home will be unveiled to the public on December 16th. Eventually, as many as 11 elephants could live there and it will be the largest elephant habitat in North America! We're very excited for Billy, and we're pretty sure he's happy, too!

Z and the Zoo!

Baby Z and I had a FANTASTIC day today! Yesterday, she was up at 5:30 AM, but today she let me sleep in until 6:15-- WOW! Now, let's take a moment to recognize that if left to my own devices, I will regularly sleep until noon or later. So, for me to get up that early and stay up without any naps is truly remarkable. I was really afraid that I wouldn't wake up to hear Z cry or be so tired that I couldn't respond to her, but I think I've reacted as well as any mom would.



We had a nice, slow morning, eating breakfast and listening to NPR. After Z's mid-morning nap, we got all bundled up and headed off to the L.A. Zoo!!! LP and I have a yearly membership, so Z and I went for free.


 I was so impressed with her. I put her in the Ergo and she was so comfy and well behaved. I think she really liked it and it was the best way for her to people watch and enjoy the animals.

I also couldn't help myself... I brought Sophie the Giraffe, Zoe's zebra toy, a plush elephant toy to hang from the stroller, and a giraffe print blanket. C'mon, if you go to the zoo, you gotta bring all the wild animal themed gear! 

Holy giraffe, could that be cuter/funnier?

About halfway through the visit, she had some milk and then fell asleep in her stroller and stayed asleep until we got home.

After that, my friend Amy came to visit and we took a walk to Portos for coffee and took a stroll around the block. Then, Zoe had dinner, took a bath, got snuggled up in her PJs and went right off to sleep after a couple bedtime stories.

What a perfect day. Even Spike got some play time! 

 

Auntie Nelle finished off her evening with a big bowl of curried lentils with fresh tomatoes from the garden and creamy goat cheese! Especially nice was getting to enjoy it while watching "Project Runway" on a nice big TV. Go Mondo!!!