Headshots

Finally got professional headshots taken!

I decided to go with Robin Emtage. She was super nice and the shoot went really really well. We looked through the proofs and there are TONS of great shots to choose from. Now I am just looking forward to getting the photos back (I'll get them sometime this week) so I can get them retouched and finally start marketing myself (do an agent mailing, put a website together, business cards, post cards, etc). So now that I can do all that I am feeling pretty good, and not like I am stuck (which is what I was feeling before).

No work for Monday, but I've got an audition for a short film so it won't be a completely wasted day.

In other news I have a serious problem. I like to anything I see with a bird on it.

It's bad.

I went to the fairfax flea market today and bought this tile thing cause it had a picture of a macaw on it. I did the exact same thing last weekend as well. I also have a painting over my bed... it's more of a design circle thing, but part of that design had birds (it's subtle though... which is nice). My soap thing has a bird on it, my notebook has a bird on it, I bought this wooden bird thing for our living room, I have a bird candle holder, bird serving platter, bird cup, I have multiple pictures of my birds (framed) in my room, and their feathers in little vases. PLUS I am in the process of making this paper bird art thing for my room.

It's a serious problem.

I need to stop.

... or just give in and buy an actual bird.

Month 2

I am really good at updating!

Not a lot going on since my last update. I've had a few more auditions (mostly for student films) and been doing A LOT more background.

I'm getting very tired of doing extra work. The initial excitement of doing it when I first came out here two summers ago (and even my first few weeks out here) is pretty much gone. It's the same thing every day, a lot of really weird and annoying people, long hours, very low pay (if my parents weren't helping me out, there is no way I would be able to pay rent/ feed myself), and most days you are treated as sub-human.

I could deal with it when I knew I only had a few months of it and would be leaving soon, but the thought of doing this for more than another 2 months (if that) makes me cringe.

I need to find a real job.

I am going to get professional headshots done very soon. I think I found a photographer that seems good and her price isn't that bad. Hopefully once I get those I can start getting a few more legit auditions, and I'll be able to start doing mailings at agencies.

I'm still adjusting to being out here. It's tough when you don't really have any close friends around. I've been getting a bit homesick lately.... but I know that there really isn't anything for me at home (except for my pool. I miss my pool. And my birds). All all my friends back home are gone doing their own thing, so I'd be lonely there too.

Eck. Growing up sucks.

More work

7/13- No work, but met up with a bunch of the people I worked with at VH1 last summer. It was SO nice seeing them again. Might stop by VH1 for lunch soonish.

7/14- I worked on Weeds. It was a pretty fast shoot, a shortish conversation in a nightclub. Only complaint was wearing heels, but even that wasn't all that bad.

7/15- Worked on Greek. Wasn't as great as the last 2 times I worked the show. We we filming post-homecoming football game scenes. The scenes were suppose to take place in the fall and outside, so we were all in sweaters. In actuality it was over 100 degrees outside.

The first scene of the day (we were waiting in line for the bathroom) wasn't bad cause it was early in the day. There were a few annoying people around me (this one 40 something year old was around me and wouldn't stop talking!) but I could deal. Then we did another scene... something about stealing a goat. It was SO hot that video village (the area where the director sits looking at the footage being filmed) kept losing power. We were all in sweaters with little or no shade walking around for around 2ish hours. It was miserable. The shot took a really long time to get cause we had to keep stopping cause the actors were sweaty and make-up had to step in, and because working with a live animal is.... working with a live animal.

Something that made me really angry though was they made sure the goat had shade (someone was following it around with an umbrella... same with the actors) but we didn't get any shade. I mean I am all for the humanitarian thing with animals. But shouldn't someone worry about the humanitarian thing with... humans? Yes we were there by choice and getting paid to be there, but at the same time the conditions were a bit ridiculous. Also I was surrounded by even more annoying people. This one guy would NOT leave me alone. I could tolerate it in holding (where it was cool) but in that kinda heat, I was not in the mood to deal with him.

Although it could have been worse. Some people had to wear marching band uniforms.

The last scene of the day wasn't as bad. Took place inside at Dobblers (the bar on Greek). It just took a while to film.

7/16-

Worked on Cinema Verite (a new HBO show). This was fun. It was still crazy hot out, but we filmed inside and holding was in air conditioned tents.

The show takes place in the 1970's so we all went through hair and make-up and got wardrobe. This was THE BEST part of the day. Love love LOVED all of the outfits everyone was in, and getting all 70s-ed out was SO much fun! Blue eye-shadow? Amazing.

We filmed a scene of a premier of a tv documentary called "An American Family". James Gandolfini was presenting the film, and kept messing up his lines. It was kinda funny cause he played it off or would swear. He was also kinda playing with the audience while the crew was setting up the shot, which was fun. I really hope that I get to work this show again soon. Period pieces are a lot of fun, and the crew seemed pretty chill and on top of things.

Weekend:

This weekend I went to playa del ray beach with some of the HDT people. It was actually hot enough to lay out this time! We stayed until sunset and then (later) went to this mexican place near my apartment for margaritas.

7/19- Worked as an audience member for the game show "Catch 21". We shot 6 episodes, 4 back to back, hour lunch break (walk away lunch... which is so nice to have to buy lunch when you are only making minimum wage), the shot 2 more. I kept being placed in the "hot seats" which are the seats that are seen the clearest on camera, so they try to put the "hot" people there. Normally I would be flattered... but being in those seats meant that I had to keep smiling and clapping and acting really excited... for 8 hours.

Also they were being really annoying about the bathrooms. They didn't want anyone to go use them... so in order to get to use them between filming episodes (which took about an hour) you hda to push and push and get really really nasty. By the time they let you go you could have been there and back 5 times.

The last episode I was a little bit more in the back, but then there were these really REALLY annoying asian guys behind me that were in a big group (I donno if they were tourists or what) but they were constantly scream "MIKKI!!!!!!!" (the name of the "sexy gameshow girl) in a really annoying way and pretty much making comments about her ass and just pretty much acting like children. I hate when extras do that, cause then the rest of us get treated as such (case in point: the bathroom situation)

But we got paid i cash which was nice. (The only perk to audience work).

No work on 7/20. But I bought a bookself! I also pretty much built my roommate's dresser cause he couldn't figure it out or something. I guess I didn't really mind cause I am getting good at building furniture. It's like a big 3D puzzle. But at the same time he owes me. You hear that Alex? No more getting pissy with me when I tell you to clean up after yourself in the kitchen!

7/21- Worked "The Event". Long ass day (over 12.5 hours) but it didn't feel that long for most of it. Played a member of a high school swim team at some high school pool in Long Beach. The guys had to get in the water (which I was told was freezing) but the girls were very lucky and we didn't have to. Although after a while it got kinda cold just walking around in a swim suit (I donno how the guys did it). Also the deck was wet and nasty and we had to walk around barefoot... which was gross. Then (after sitting around for a while... which was nice) we moved to another location and became "dead passengers". Went through make-up (they just put this kinda grey stuff on us so we looked dead. I was hoping for blood and stuff, but oh well) and then had to lay down in a warehouse on this white tarp on concrete for over 4 hours.

The first 2 were fine... around hour 3 I had to pee really bad though. Finally after 3.5 hours a few of the extras (including me) in between shots pretty much demanded a short break (they weren't going to give us one). I hate when sets forget that extras are people... and after a few hours people are probably going to have to pee.

But other than that it was ok. You could tell it was a new show cause people didn't know exactly what they were doing... and the director and the executive producer seemed really pissed and tense about everything. But the PA's and AD's were fine and were more "this is so ridiculous and tense, but I'm gonna laugh it off".

Today: no luck finding a job for tomorrow. But I did finish building my bookcase, and hung a picture, and SUPER cleaned the kitchen and my bathroom. The kitchen was nasty. I took the trash out and found bits of meat behind the trashcan that looked like they had been there for 2 weeks. Also there was all kinds of shit on the stove. So I cleaned everything, and it will stay clean! Well... for at least a week cause the roommate is back in Iowa. I still have some more things to do, like break down some boxes and recycle them... but the apartment looks better so I am happy.

Hopefully I will find something for Monday though. I'm not a big fan of just sitting around the apartment.

Life Part 2

So I moved to LA.

I got here on June 30th. It wasn't exactly the easiest day. I was a mess leaving home. I'd gotten upset the day before with the stress of packing and seeing my room so desolate. Seeing a place that you've lived in your entire life just be emptied out is not easy. It did need to be cleaned out. I had so much shit in my room that had accumulated over the years, so that wasn't so much of the problem (yes I got sentimental about some stuff, but nothing too bad). It was the bareness of the place that got to me. But that wasn't anything compared to the hot mess I was right before leaving for the airport.

The rest of the day was pretty good, despite some minor tears on the plane (but at least they were playing a sappy chick flick so it looked like I was crying over the movie, and not that I was just a crazy person). Got my new car (whose name is The Magical Leopluradon), bought a mattress, and spent the night on my brothers couch.

The next day I got into my apartment and kinda started shopping for things. The next day my roommate got here and we spent the next few days getting stuff for the apartment and building ikea furniture. Screwing things together by hand is not fun, and I found that I have a special talent for stripping screws. It was also really fun when at the last step of building my dresser, I found out that I put the first piece on backwards and had to take everything apart and start over again. Yeah. Super fun.

The 4th was pretty good. Went over to Jeff's place (one of the roommates from last summer) and had a bbq with a bunch of people I didn't know. Then at night we went to this apartment that had a hot tub on the roof, and we watched fireworks from there.

That Monday I went to the beach, but it was cold and I was just feeling kinda out of it.

Tuesday I discovered that my car battery died. I am 99.9% sure I didn't leave any lights on (when I got into the car my lights were in the "off" position") but then again who knows. So I had to get my car jumped... which was just lovely. But I did find a super nice night stand at goodwill, so the day wasn't too horrible.

Wednesday I went to central casting to update, back to Ikea for a couch (it feels so much more like I live here now that there is a couch) and went to Sande Alessi to update. So it was a pretty good day... until my brand new car got hit in a parking lot. Drivers side mirror knocked off, drivers side door scratched. Awesome. Had a complete emotional breakdown. Also awesome.

The next morning, after being woken up far too early to deal with the insurance company and having (yet another) emotional breakdown about the situation, I took the car (mirror being held on by duct tape) by the Honda body shop so that they could order the parts. I'm taking it in tomorrow so it can be fixed.

Friday I got a job as an extra on Californication. I was booked as a "rocker looking" high school student. Basically the scene we were used for was us chilling outside of Venice Highschool, while David Duchovny hugs his daughter. Took like... 20 min tops for them to film. But we were called in at 1:30, and didn't end up filming until around 6:20. Also it was kinda freezing out. But it wasn't the worst shoot I've been on.

I did kinda decide that I do need to get a legit job though. There is no way I'm going to be able to support myself making $64 a day. Yes, some days pay more... but not always, and you don't know if you are going to be able to work every day. So I have become the ultimate cliche and have started looking on craigslist for waitressing jobs.

Saturday Alex (my roommate) and I stopped by a few thrift stores, but no luck. Then we walked around the grove a bit and cleaned up the apartment a little. I found out I had an audition for this youtube twilight spoof thing (got it through LAcasting, which is an online casting network) so we went to go see Eclipse. We went to The Archlight, which was expensive, and the movie was awful... but that was to be expected. Before the movie we stopped in at Amoeba cause we had time to kill and saw Ryan Gosling.

Today I had the audition for the twilight spoof. Hard to gage how it went, but whatever. After I went to Blicks cause I am tired of the white walls in my apartment. It's really bare and doesn't feel like home. So I am going to make something to put on the walls so that it doesn't feel so cold. I don't like the way the apartment feels right now. It's so empty and just doesn't feel like home, and that's bothering me. It's just not comfortable yet. I also have to get use to living with my roommate. I am a very clean person and really like to have my shared living space (ESPECIALLY the kitchen) clean. He's...... not as clean as me. I don't expect him to be as obsessive about it as I am, and I'm trying to not let a few dishes in the sink or cans all over the place get to me (and I've been pretty good about it), but at the same time I don't want food splatter all over the counters, cause that is just not sanitary. Anyhoo, it's just going to be an adjustment. I guess living with someone new always is (although Meggie and I seemed to pull it off very well).

I wasn't able to get work for tomorrow. So tomorrow (after I take my car in to get fixed and get the rental) I might run over to target to get a few things (bookcase, more hangers, desk chair, etc) and I'll try to get more work, figure out ordering headshots so I can send them out to different agencies, and I want to start working on my art projects. Hopefully it will be a good and busy day.

Things are becoming real

Last night I bought my one-way plane ticket to LA for June 30th.

It's weird that this time I am actually moving out there for good, and not just staying for a few months. Have the plane ticket and having a car waiting out there for me (I'm getting my first car! Red Honda Civic Coupe!) makes this entire moving across the country thing seem more real. But there really isn't much for me in Northbrook. Most of my friends have their own things going on and I just end up spending most of my time watching HGTV (yes, I am THAT bored).

Now I just need to clean out my room at home (which sucks cause I am all kinds of sentimental about stuff), pack, get an apartment, and get a job.

...awesome.

23 days to go.