Monthly Archives: January 2013

Hitting A Dead End In A Maze (or Maybe I Should Have Had My Dad With Me)

Posted on January 31, 2013 | Comments Off on Hitting A Dead End In A Maze (or Maybe I Should Have Had My Dad With Me)

Yesterday I had a half day at work (because I’m working Friday night this week), so my friend who has been going to spinning classes with me and I decided that we were going to each make the investment and buy cycling shoes.

To rent shoes at SoulCycle costs $3 a class. Not too bad, but when I want to try to go every week, that $3 adds up quickly.

I had decided to go to Performance Bike to get shoes. I like that store, my dad likes it, and that’s where my mom and dad bought this really cute bike for my birthday.

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So my friend and I met there after I got off of work. When we walked in, we were greeted by a very nice salesman but he was busy helping someone check out. He pointed us in the direction of the cycling shoes and we figured someone would be over there soon to help us.

We got to the shoe area, and saw a lot of empty spaces.

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Those three empty slots on the wall? Those were the three types of shoes that I had picked out online that fit my criteria (velcro closures, road shoes not mountain shoes, and under $100). I was pretty frustrated, but was hoping a helpful salesperson would be along soon and would tell me they had more in the back or something.

Wrong.

The salesman who came to help us didn’t help at all. He didn’t seem to care that we wanted to try on those three types of shoes that they didn’t have. He said that if we found them online, we wouldn’t find them in the store. When I asked if I could have those shoes shipped to me, his response was “if you want to pay for shipping”. I asked if they did free shipping to the store and he said they did. Why wasn’t that offered to me? Also, the salesman offered no help when I asked what the European size equivalent to an American shoe size 8 was (I ended up looking it up on my phone).

I wondered if it was a mistake coming without my dad. He pretty much knows anything about bikes. He was with me when I got my cute bike and knew all the questions that I wouldn’t have thought of asking (and got them to add a kickstand for me). But I had spoken with my dad before this shopping trip and got all my dumb questions answered before I went. Now I wish he was there because I feel like he would have gotten something out of that salesman that my friend and I couldn’t because we didn’t know all the right things to say.

We both ended up walking out of the store with nothing. I didn’t want to give them my business. I’ve tweeted at the store, and I’m thinking of linking this post to them in an email.

This just reminded me so much of something Blake Robbins said on Inside Acting Podcast (I got to hear this twice, once at the recording and again on the episode). Life is like a maze. You know that somewhere in it, there is a place that the ball drops through. So if you hit a dead-end, you don’t give up. You aren’t in a maze where the ball doesn’t drop through. You just have to back up, take a different turn, and keep trying to find where the ball drops.

So maybe I hit a dead-end in this maze for my spinning adventure. It doesn’t mean that I’m going to give up. I just need to back up, look another way, and maybe order my cycling shoes from Zappos (I love them!).

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Default ThumbnailCustomer Service After The Fact (or An Update to My Experience At Performance Bike) Default ThumbnailNew Shoes! (or I’m Glad I Had A Pedicure) Default ThumbnailGetting More Serious (or I Think I Need New Shoes Before Doing Another 5K) Default ThumbnailShoes! (or The Most Fabulous Items in My Wardrobe) Default ThumbnailSpinning Machine (or Continuing My New Healthy Addiction) Default ThumbnailSpeedy Shoes (or Props To Zappos For Saving My Workout)

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Posted in Fitness, Shopping, Tough Stuff

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Is It Too Early To Be Spring Cleaning? (or Out With The Unused)

Posted on January 30, 2013 | Comments Off on Is It Too Early To Be Spring Cleaning? (or Out With The Unused)

I’m been on a bit of a cleaning spree lately. I don’t keep a messy house, but when you live in a place that is about 400 square feet, it always seems like I have a lot of stuff.

I’m always jealous when I go visit my friends with big apartments and the amount of open space that they have. Everything looks so much cleaner that way. No matter how much I clean, my house always seems a bit crowded just due to the lack of space.

So I’ve been working on going through my things and trying to make some more space in my house (and no Mom, I’m not just cleaning because you are coming to visit soon).

I still can’t seem to get rid of my old clothes, but since those live under my bed I’ve decided that they can stay for now. And most of the clothes in my closet are things that I wear. If I haven’t worn them in a year, they go, but I don’t have anything like that right now.

I’m slowly going through my purses and shoes. I know that there are plenty of things I can get rid of. I donated 3 bags of things, which included some shoes and purses, but I know there is more that can go.

The one thing that I’ve been struggling with getting rid of are my books. I have an e-reader that I use 99% of the time and I hardly ever read an actual book. There are some books that are signed or are very special to me that I will keep no matter what, but I can’t seem to get rid of the others yet. I think that I just have to take the plunge and empty my bookcase out (and then I can use it for other things).

I think part of the reason I’m cleaning like crazy is the less cluttered my mind feels the less cluttered I want my house to be. I’m finally having some clarity in my life and I want that to reflect in my house too.

And yes, maybe I do want my mom to be extra impressed when she sees my house in 2 weeks.

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Default ThumbnailWorking On Cleaning (or Time To Declutter) Default ThumbnailSpring Cleaning (or Feeling Pampered) Default ThumbnailSpring Cleaning (or Needing To Declutter Again) Default ThumbnailSlowly Spring Cleaning (or Tidying Up My Way) Default ThumbnailDoing A Lot Of Spring Cleaning (or Trying To Fill My Day) Default ThumbnailFeeling Like A Fresh Start (or Spring Cleaning and New Toys)

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Posted in Fun Stuff, Shopping

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Another Busy Day Off (or Getting Everything Done and Nothing Done At The Same Time)

Posted on January 29, 2013 | Comments Off on Another Busy Day Off (or Getting Everything Done and Nothing Done At The Same Time)

Yesterday was my day off for the week. But that’s hopefully about to change! As of right now, starting February 4th I will be back to my old work schedule. I will still be working 6 days a week, but 2 of those days will be half days that end no later than 2pm (so I can still get things done during the day).

And this week will be a short work week for me since Saturday I will be doing my first 5K for the year, the Color Run! I’ve decided that I really want to protect my hair (I think my hairstylist friend, Erin, will appreciate that), so I made a stop today to Party City to pick up some supplies.

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I’ve decided to go pink for the 5K. So I have a pink wig, pink gloves, possibly pink shorts (I ordered them online and waiting for them to arrive before I decide), and I wanted to find some pink sunglasses but instead found some blue and silver Elvis style ones. I will totally be looking awesome.

And I’m excited because 2 of the 3 people on my team have said that they are thinking of walking with me! I had been preparing myself to walk solo again, but now I’m looking forward to maybe having some buddies with me to enjoy getting covered in colored cornstarch!

I also spent my morning on Monday at my usual spin class at SoulCycle with Sal. I’m sad because I’ll have to find a different class when my schedule goes back to normal, but fortunately Sal also teaches a Sunday evening class and I should be able to attend that one (any readers want to come with me sometime?). I really love Sal’s class. He is so motivating and never points out that I’m not doing all the jumps and standing up moves in class.

I left class sweaty like I like it.

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(I’m wearing one of the new tamis I ordered when I wrote this post)

And I spent my evening catching up on some TV and just enjoying the calm of my house. It’s exactly what I needed to get me ready for 4 days of work leading up to my 5K!

BTW, the podcast I work for is doing a fitness challenge. It’s a 90 day challenge and most people are going to be doing P90X. I won’t since I have to be careful with high impact activities, but I’m still participating. If you are interested in joining us, here’s the link for the FB group.

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The SAG Awards (or I Am An Actor)

Posted on January 28, 2013 | 1 comment

We are in the middle of awards season. The Golden Globes already happened and the Academy Awards are coming up.

And in the middle are the SAG Awards.

As I’ve mentioned before, this is my first year getting to vote since I only joined the union prior to the merger last year. I loved getting to have the opportunity to see pretty much all the nominated films (I still haven’t finished all my iTunes rentals and have about a week left to try to see them).

It was very exciting to see the winners, and I was very happy when the people/projects I voted for won. Also, my friend Woody was one of the producers this year and I got to see his name in the credits at the end.

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Besides enjoying watching the winners and all the fun fashion (I’m looking forward to “Fashion Police” tonight), my favorite part of the SAG Awards is at the very beginning.

A couple of actors are chosen to share their story a bit. Some of them are silly and a bit made up, but others are serious. I loved how Hal Holbrook shared that he took a drama class because there was no homework.

What was really nice this year is that during the acceptance speeches, several actors talked about how they got into the union.

Jennifer Lawrence said how she got in after doing a commercial for MTV’s “My Super Sweet Sixteen”. Ben Affleck mentioned that he got his card in 1986 (I learned at one of the screenings I went to that he got it doing an afterschool special).

It’s always nice to be reminded that the Jennifer Lawrence’s and Ben Affleck’s of the world started somewhere.

It reminds me of a quote I once saw on Pinterest: Don’t compare your page 1 to someone else’s page 20.

This is great advice for all parts of my life! I might only be on page 1 now, but I’m excited to turn the pages of my life and make it to page 20!

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Default ThumbnailAwards Season (or I Have No Idea How I Can Watch All The Movies) Default ThumbnailEnjoying Movie Nights (or Watching My Screeners) Default ThumbnailSAG Awards (or Watching After Knowing The Winners) Default ThumbnailSAG Awards (or Being Inspired) Default ThumbnailA Night Of SAG Awards (or Watching Union Unity) Default ThumbnailBeing An Active And Interactive Viewer (or SAG Awards Live-Tweeting)

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Posted in Acting, Celebrations, Fun Stuff

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Live Podcast Episode (or Another Way You Can Support Me)

Posted on January 25, 2013 | 6 comments

I joke that I have a million day jobs. It really does feel that way. But in reality, I have more like 6 or 7 (depending how you count them).

One of my day jobs is production coordinator on the Inside Acting Podcast. I’ve  been a fan of this podcast since day 1, and in August I started helping out on their podcasts.

The two guys who host it, Trevor and AJ, are really great guys and I’m glad that they are my friends. I love helping out with this podcast because it really is a great way to learn new and interesting things about the entertainment industry.

The podcast has done 93 episodes so far. And for the 100th episode, we have something really amazing planned.

We are doing a live podcast episode partnered with SAG-AFTRA and the SAG Foundation!

The live podcast will be on March 12th at 7pm at the SAG Foundation office. Everyone is welcome to attend! And I’d love to see some blog readers there!

If you want to attend, you can email the podcast at insideactingpodcast@gmail.com and let us know you want to attend. Please only do this if you really can go. There is limited space, and we want to make sure the room is filled with amazing people!

And if you don’t listen to the podcast already, you should totally check it out! It’s available for free on iTunes or you can listen to it from the website. A lot of new people start from the beginning of the episodes and make their way through, and I think that is awesome! The podcast really has grown and evolved over the past 93 episodes.

It’s nice to have something happening in a day job that makes me this excited. I miss feeling this way sometimes. And I know that every day leading up to the live episode is going to be just as exciting!

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Default ThumbnailAnna Faris Is Unqualified (or Listening To A Live Event) Default ThumbnailPodcast Hangout (or A Quick Coffee Meeting) Default ThumbnailAnother Happiest Place On Earth (or Working On Episode 300) Default ThumbnailAnother Day On The Lot (or Going Solo For The Podcast) Default ThumbnailInside Acting Podcast (or The End Of An Era But Not The End) Default ThumbnailCelebrating 200 Episodes Of The Podcast (or Come and Celebrate With Me!)

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff, Work

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Declaring Things (or Being Serious Instead of Silly)

Posted on January 24, 2013 | Comments Off on Declaring Things (or Being Serious Instead of Silly)

If you are friends with me in real life, you probably hear me say that I declare things all the time. I declare silly stuff.

Recently, I declared the chocolate satin pie at Marie Callenders the best food in the world. I’ve declared that my Girls Night Out group needs to try to be extras in the sequel to “Magic Mike”. I’ve declared tons of things but always in a joking manner.

It’s time to start declaring things that are meaningful and important to me.

I think that declarations are different than resolutions, but that might just be my opinion. Resolutions are things you want to change, declarations are things that are facts in your life.

Here is what I am declaring.

I declare that I have the best most supportive friends in the entire world. I never knew how many people truly cared about me until I started being honest with everyone and showing my true self.

I declare that also by being honest, I have strengthened my relationship with my family. I’ve always been close to them, but the closeness we have found now is something that I didn’t know was possible.

I declare that I am working on becoming the most healthy version of me that I can be. There is a number that I would like to see on the scale, but I have realized that it is just how I think I will look at that number and not the number that is important to me.

I declare that I am going to make the most of the job that I have now, but I am going to continue to explore other options that will allow me to pursue my dreams while still being able to afford my apartment.

And I declare that I will continue to write on here, because by writing I have learned more about myself than I did in years of therapy.

Anyone else have things that they want to declare to the world?

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Default ThumbnailLooking Back At 2013 (or Where Did The Year Go?) Default ThumbnailRealizing My Reach (or Geeking Out Over A Tweet) Default ThumbnailMy 2013 Goals (or I’m Not Calling Them Resolutions This Time) Default ThumbnailThank You (or I Should Have Done This Sooner) Default ThumbnailMaking Time For Real Life (or Trying To Not Just Live Virtually) Default Thumbnail400 Posts (or Wow, That’s A Lot Of Writing!)

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Doing As Much As I Can In One Day (or How I Spent My Day Off This Week)

Posted on January 23, 2013 | 2 comments

When you only have one day off a week, you really have to maximize that time!

So this week, for my one day off, I started out with going to another spin class at SoulCycle. I had Sal again as the instructor, and I really like his classes. He gives a lot of motivation throughout the class, and he has a way of correcting you without singling you out. The class was pretty packed this time. I had forgotten that Monday was a holiday for many people. I just thought of it as my one day off.

Class was good and tough. I’m thinking of getting some cycling shoes soon so I don’t have to pay the $3 rental every time I go. Maybe I can go shopping for them on my next day off in a week.

I left class nice and sweaty.

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At home, I got some errands done and did some cleaning at my house (boring, I know, but it’s the only time I have to get it done).

And on Monday evening, a friend and I went to Luna Park to enjoy Restaurant Week!

I love Restaurant Week! It’s a great time to go try some wonderful restaurants without spending a ton of money. The 3 course dinner at Luna Park was only $25!

I’ve been to Luna Park a couple of times, so I do have some favorites on their menu.

I started with the goat cheese fondue (which I absolutely love). The fondue comes with bread and apple slices, but I prefer the apples.

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For my dessert (which I did share), I tried the peanut butter mousse. I normally get the make-your-own-smores, but my friend got that and I decided to try something new.

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Thank goodness I spent my morning burning off a ton of calories so I could enjoy this meal!

I also got some prosecco since they served these cute tiny bottles!

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All in all, it was a very fun and busy day off. I’m looking forward to my next day off (not exactly sure when it is though), but for now, I’m back to working hard!

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Posted in Fitness, Food, Fun Stuff, Saving

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Being Excited Too Early (or The Ups And Downs of Acting)

Posted on January 22, 2013 | Comments Off on Being Excited Too Early (or The Ups And Downs of Acting)

Sometimes, I love the ups and downs of the entertainment industry. It’s so hopeful. You never know when the big job that will make all the difference is around the corner. It just takes one great booking to tip the scales in your favor.

And there is the constant rejection, but I’ve gotten used to that and it doesn’t bother me too much anymore.

Except recently.

I had submitted myself for a job (I’m keeping the details vague to protect the project and casting director involved). This was a self-submission, not through my agents, so I was responsible for being on top of things.

I got an email back from the casting director with an audition notice. But in the notes of the notice, it said that all the casting director needed was a picture of us showing face and body and they were going to cast off those pictures. That’s nice. I didn’t have to drive and wait at an audition, and I was able to take a photo on my break at my day job (I know it isn’t great, but all they needed was to see what our body looked like).

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Then, on Sunday, I got an email that said that I booked the job! I was going to get a phone call on Monday morning with all the details. I was super excited (this was a pretty cool project). I let my agents know that I booked something and that I would give them details once I had them.

Monday came and I heard nothing. I was so paranoid that my phone would go off when I was in spin class or in the shower. I kept my phone next to me at all times when I could.

By 4pm, I started to worry. I emailed my agents and asked their advice. They told me to email the casting director to check in. I did that, and I when I got an email back from the casting director, I found out that I got the booking email by mistake. I was not on the final list for the project.

I was a bit pissed off. Not at the casting director, who seemed very apologetic and thanked me for being so understanding. It was an honest mistake, and was not done to hurt me in any way. But I was pissed at myself. I got so excited that I had a booking. And that it the reasonable response to the email that I got. But now I’m in a little funk.

But this funk is only going to make me push harder to get that first booking for 2013! I know I am going to get an amazing project in the near future and I can’t wait to see what it is!

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Default ThumbnailThe Past Few Days (or The Crazy Life I Lead) Default ThumbnailHelping Out A Friend (or Getting To Act) Default ThumbnailGeneral Meeting (or Hanging Out With A Casting Director For Free) Default ThumbnailTweetup Time (or Back To Acting) Default ThumbnailBeing Proactive (or Bringing Acting To Me) Default ThumbnailMaking My Acting Bold (or Feeling Great From An Audition)

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff, Tough Stuff

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Plus Sized Workouts (or Are Clothing Companies Trying To Keep Me Heavy?)

Posted on January 21, 2013 | 3 comments

Shopping for clothing in general for me is tough. I’ve talked about that a couple of times.

But shopping for workout clothes that fit me seems to be almost impossible.

I have a couple of t-shirts that are junky enough to be gross and sweaty, and for spinning I’ve been wearing tamis from Old Navy (no joke, when I went to grab this link, I saw that tamis were on sale and bought 4 more). Those tamis are nice and long on me, so when I’m bent over the spin bike, I’m not worrying about them riding up.

But workout pants are have always been weird. Not only do I need to find some that are big enough, I’m short so I need to find them in petite (or hope that they are short enough to not look weird on me). The first time I was trying to lose weight as an adult, I bought some workout pants at Lane Bryant. And nothing against the store, but those workout pants were beyond ugly! I might not have the world’s cutest butt, but those pants made it look like I was wearing a diaper.

I’ve tried the stretch capri pants at Target, but even their largest size was a little small around the waist for me. And on one of my magical trips to Old Navy (I swear that they are not sponsoring or paying me for this post at all), I found these great workout capris.  I love the fold-over part at the waist because it makes me feel like my stomach is being held in a bit.

In the store, they only have regular length, so I bought one pair of those to hold me over. I ordered 3 more in the petite length, and those 4 workout pants can get me through any week.

(this is where most guys will want to stop reading)

Sports bras are tough for almost anyone. It doesn’t matter what size you are, it seems like you can never find one that is right. I ended up going to a store for a professional bra fitting. It was a fancy store on Ventura Blvd (but I can’t remember the name of it) and they did a great job fitting me. If you’ve never had a proper bra fitting before, I recommend getting one done. I’d also recommend going somewhere like a lingerie or department store where they have more than one brand of bra. Also, be warned that a bra fitting is very touchy-feely and hands on (I have no modesty issues and even I blushed once or twice).

Sadly, most of the regular bras there were over $150, so I didn’t get any of those. But they did have 2 sports bras (one for low impact and a compression one for high impact) that were on sale. I got those, and I have to say that my boobs don’t hurt anymore when exercising (which is not the easiest thing to accomplish).

I wish that clothing companies were more accepting of all sizes, especially for workout gear. It’s tough when you want to lose weight but all the workout clothes are for people who are already a couple of sizes smaller than you are. But I’ve found something that works now, and one day, I’ll fit into all the cute gear that I see in other stores!

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Posted in Fitness, Shopping, Weight Loss

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Being OK With Something Other Than 100% (or Not Being A Perfectionist)

Posted on January 18, 2013 | Comments Off on Being OK With Something Other Than 100% (or Not Being A Perfectionist)

As I mentioned yesterday, my schedule is a little bonkers right now. I know that this is temporary, but it has made me stretch myself pretty far.

I’m working on my day job, my acting career, this blog, being the production coordinator on Inside Acting, enjoying my newfound love for spinning, babysitting, and still trying to have a social life.

I’m so used to being a perfectionist and making sure that everything is always in order. Right now, I can’t be that person any more.

I want to dedicate 100% to one thing (or even 50% to two things), but instead, I feel like I’m giving 10% to ten things. I’m making some dumb mistakes at work (and have fixed them before someone else caught them first), and I’m losing sleep because I’m trying to tie the loose ends before going to bed.

I don’t think I can really drop anything from my life right now. I just need to be better at time management with my unscheduled time in my day. I know that there is some extra time that I could use better in my mornings before I go to work.

What I’m going to start to do is organize my time before work in 1 hour segments. I’m going to mark out what I want to do between 7-8am, 8-9am, 9-10am, 10-11am each day.

I don’t know if I’ll actually get everything done, but at least there will be a goal that I will be working towards and maybe it will help me not waste as much time on Facebook or other websites that are causing me to be less productive.

Hopefully my schedule will be back to something normal soon. And once that happens, I’m hoping that all this extra time management I’m working on now will make me even more efficient when I know my schedule from week to week.

Sorry I’ve been ranting recently. I wish I had more positive things to say, but as you know, I’m all about honesty on here and this is honestly where I am in my life right now.

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