Category Archives: Celebrations

“2 Broke Girls” Again (or Seeing A Friend Be Awesome!)

Posted on December 19, 2013 | Comments Off on “2 Broke Girls” Again (or Seeing A Friend Be Awesome!)

Last week, my friend Ace posted on Facebook that he booked an episode of “2 Broke Girls”! I was super excited for him! I love when my friends are on tv, but I love it even more when it’s a show that I already watch and love!

Then, a day or two later, he posted that he could have guests come to watch the taping. Of course, I said yes! I had a great time at the taping in February, and this one could only be better because I knew someone in the show!

I got an email telling me that I would be a VIP guest for the taping. There were some instructions that were similar to the last time, but some that were different.

I had to be at Warner Brothers by 3pm on Tuesday, but I got there extra early (I always give myself extra time for traffic). There was a special line for VIP guests so I stood off to the side and waited for security to check me in (since I didn’t have a regular ticket, they had my name on a guest list).

While in the VIP line, I ended up meeting another one of Ace’s friends, Belen. She and I chatted a bit while we walked through the studio to the soundstage that the show tapes on. Inside the soundstage, we checked in with another security guard who led us to one of the studio pages with the VIP list.

Last time, the seats were not assigned ahead of time. They just put us where they needed to fill in the space. This time, I had a chair with my name on it! Sadly, I don’t have a picture of that because there were no cameras or cell phones allowed inside (yes, even for VIP guests). The whole row that I was sitting in were Ace’s friends (and his fiancée). We were all pretty darn excited to see Ace in the show.

There was the same comedian who kept us entertained between takes. This taping took longer than last time, but they did more re-writes this time as well. We all were anxious to see Ace, and finally, it was his scene! I don’t want to give away any plot points (also, I don’t think WB would like me to blog about exactly what happened), but Ace had a very funny scene and his character interacted with the main characters. They even mentioned his character again in another scene (all of us in the group agreed that the show should make Ace’s character a recurring character!).

Toward the end of the taping, Ace let us know that we could go down to the stage after the show was done to say hello to him. So after the curtain call (where we all screamed and cheered when Ace took his bow), we went down the stairs to the stage.

We stayed off to the side because we didn’t want to get in the way of the crew trying to take down the set. But we got to say hi to Ace and tell him how amazing he did in the show!

And since Ace was allowed to keep his phone, he got a crew member to take a picture of the group.

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Before we knew it, Ace had to go backstage to get out of his costume and the group had to head home (I also had an early shift the next day and didn’t want to be out too late).

This was such an amazing evening. I love getting to see my friends do so well and be successful (I hope they feel the same thing for me when I book parts).

This episode should be one of the next episodes of “2 Broke Girls” to air (they are on hiatus until January). If I know ahead of time that Ace’s episode will be on, I’ll let you all know so you can watch it and see how great he was!

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Default ThumbnailA Night Out With Some Awesome Women (or Being Ok Being Awkward) Default ThumbnailA Goodbye Dinner (or My Friend Is Becoming A Georgia Peach) Default ThumbnailNo Guarantees (or A Lesson From “2 Broke Girls”) Default ThumbnailAnother Cut On “2 Broke Girls” (or I’m Glad I Went To The Taping) Default ThumbnailEnjoying The Gala (or Having An Awesome Friend Date) Default ThumbnailBroadway Sings Disney (or A Fun Adventure With An Awesome Friend)

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Posted in Acting, Celebrations, Fun Stuff

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Countdown To Saturday (or I’m Actually Excited To Get On A Plane)

Posted on December 18, 2013 | Comments Off on Countdown To Saturday (or I’m Actually Excited To Get On A Plane)

Saturday is when I go home to see my family. I have a few days off of work so I’ll get to be home for 5 days this time!

While I’m typically panicky and nervous to get on a plane, there are so many things to look forward to on this trip that I’m actually feeling pretty good about this flight (I’m still going to take my panic meds no matter what).

I get to spend time with my parents. I might go with my mom when she gets blood work done so if I do I’ll get to meet some of the nurses and doctors who are involved in my mom’s treatment (I really hope to be able to do that). I’ll make a couple of trips to the gym with my dad, which is a tradition that we always do when I’m home.

I’ll get to see my brother and sister-in-law on Christmas. My family doesn’t celebrate Christmas, so the date is coincidental (it’s a day that both my brother and sister-in-law have off of work). I’m bringing their Hanukkah presents with me, so I’ll get to give them their presents in person instead of shipping them (a rare treat).

A couple of my friends that I grew up with are planning on coming over to my parents’ house while I’m home. We are still working on scheduling, but even if I only get to see one friend while I’m home that will be special.

Hopefully, Dante will hold out until Saturday so I can see him again. It’s hard to tell how he’s doing. My parents tell me that he’s not losing weight (thanks to him eating lots of people food) and sometimes he’s able to go out for his usual walks. But he’s sleeping more than usual and gets very tired easily. But Dante is very excited for the puppy (he has a pretty extensive vocabulary and really does understand lots of things we tell him).

And of course, I’m super excited for Chaucer to get to my parents’ house! It still doesn’t seem real that my parents are getting him. I don’t know if it will seem real until we know exactly what day he’s coming home (or maybe not until he gets home). I’m so lucky that I’m going to be home when Chaucer is supposed to come home. Otherwise I might not get to meet the puppy for several months.

Keeping all these positive things in mind is helping keep my panic at bay for now. I’m sure on Friday I’ll be taking my medicine as usual. But it’s nice to have so much to look forward to!

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Posted in Celebrations, Family, Fun Stuff, Travel

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The Exciting News (or Meet Chaucer!)

Posted on December 17, 2013 | Comments Off on The Exciting News (or Meet Chaucer!)

On Saturday, before I went to the show, I called my mom to check in. I wanted to see how she was feeling after chemo and how Dante was doing. When I first tried calling, nobody answered. So I tried calling again after I had my lunch and then my mom answered.

She said that she didn’t answer before because my parents were being interviewed to adopt a puppy! My parents have been looking at getting another puppy for a little over a year now. The search seemed to be put on hold a bit when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and then put on hold again after we found out about Dante’s cancer. But my mom was still casually looking at puppies every so often.

My brother found this puppy online and my parents decided to go and see the puppy and get interviewed to see if they could potentially adopt him. There were a bunch of people at the interview (there were 6 puppies up for adoption) and when my parents were interviewed, they felt like they had a good chance at getting a puppy. They had to share which puppy they were most interested in, but the foster mom was going to match the dogs with families that she felt were the best fit.

So on Saturday afternoon, my parents didn’t know if they would get the puppy or when they might find out either way. But on Sunday morning, I got 2 emails pretty much at the same time from my parents.

They got the puppy!!!

His name is Chaucer (and they think they will keep the name because it’s cute and it’s literary like Dante). He was rescued from a hoarder and we know that his mother was a German Shepherd (we don’t know what his father was). He’s 7 weeks old right now and he should be coming home right before Christmas (so I’ll be home when Chaucer comes home). And I know I’m biased because this puppy is the newest member of the family, but I think he’s the cutest thing ever!

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This picture was taken a week or two ago so he looks a little older now (at least that’s what my parents told me).

Now, I hope you all don’t think that we are getting Chaucer as a replacement for Dante. My parents have been looking at puppies for a while and they said that when they met the right puppy they would get it. This is just how the timing worked out. Dante still enjoys playing with other dogs, so I think that getting him a puppy is really going to make him happier and perk him up. And hopefully Dante will help us in training Chaucer.

I’m just so happy that we are going to have a new member of our family. I know that I won’t get to see the puppy too often, but I’m excited to get to meet him in a week and spend a few days with him before he grows up too much.

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Default ThumbnailWelcome Tucker! (or Filling The Dog Shaped Hole In My Family) Default ThumbnailCountdown To Saturday (or I’m Actually Excited To Get On A Plane) Default ThumbnailHome Again (or Missing Dante) Default ThumbnailExciting News (or Sometimes It Pays To Wait It Out) Default ThumbnailWelcome Chaucer (or The Fluffy Puppy Has Arrived) Default ThumbnailExciting Weekend Plans (or Finally Meeting The Puppy!)

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Surviving My Work Holiday Party (or Getting Braver With My Clothing Choices)

Posted on December 5, 2013 | Comments Off on Surviving My Work Holiday Party (or Getting Braver With My Clothing Choices)

This week was the holiday party for my day job. Last year, the party was at a bar near the theater we work at and it was more of like a dinner event (although no dinner was actually served). We all sat at a long table and chatted. Then the artistic director gave a speech and handed out Trader Joes gift cards to everyone as a holiday gift. I don’t remember what I wore last year, but I remember that it was pretty casual (I usually wear jeans to work and I’m sure that’s what I wore to the party).

This year, we had more advanced notice about the party. It was going to be held at Gladstones and we were expected to dress festively. It was suggested to wear something similar to what we would wear to work a show. But since I normally wear a dress and heels to work a show and I knew I’d be working on the phones before the party, I wanted to wear something more comfortable.

All of my dress pants are looking a little sloppy because they are big right now. But then I remembered that I just bought some leggings. I’ve been weary of leggings. They are very body conscious and many leggings look more like tights (as in they are see-through and not appropriate as pants). But these seemed to be a thicker fabric so I decided to wear them. And if they didn’t seem as cute, at least the restaurant was going to be dark.

I paired the leggings with a tunic style top and headed off to work my shift before the party. Turns out, my outfit was a huge hit! I got a bunch of compliments from my co-workers. In fact, I’m planning on wearing those leggings on a more regular basis. Who knew that some of my thoughts on clothing could be so off? First skinny jeans and now leggings.

The party was pretty good. The food at Gladstones was ok (lots of fried things that were a little too greasy for my taste). But since the restaurant was right on the beach we had a nice view. And it was nice to see everyone dressed up and not running around trying to work a show.

Besides the food, there was some caroling singing (I mouthed the words since I’m tone deaf and everyone else I work with is an amazing singer), and then someone hooked their iPod into the sound system and there was some dancing. My hips were starting to kill me by the time the dancing started so I just sat off to the side.

Before I knew it, the co-workers I drove with were ready to head back to work where the rest of us left our cars. And I was home at about the same time I would get home from a late shift, so that was nice.

Overall, I had a really great time at the holiday party. I know that for some people work events can be stressful. But since so much of my work is already at events, that stress was taken away (and the co-worker who hates me is antisocial so she wasn’t there to bother me).

If you have to go to a work holiday party, you should check out this article on BuzzFeed. It was pretty funny (and had some good advice)!

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Posted in Celebrations, Food, Fun Stuff, Shopping, Work

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Thanksgiving (or I Am The One Who Gave The Kids Face Paint)

Posted on December 2, 2013 | Comments Off on Thanksgiving (or I Am The One Who Gave The Kids Face Paint)

As I mentioned before, Thanksgiving was going to be a little weird for me. I was the only person from my immediate family there, and I was staying at a hotel alone (which I don’t really like anyway).

The morning of Thanksgiving was pretty low-key. I hung out in my hotel room and watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. I usually watch clips of it on YouTube after Thanksgiving, but this was the first time I watched the entire thing on TV. That was actually pretty cool (nobody else in my family really cares about the parade so I’m not used to being able to watch it live).

My family met over at my Aunt Nancy’s house at about 2pm. I drove over by myself and as soon as I got there, I gave my cousin’s son, Dalton, the present I brought over for him and his sister Annabelle. For the past few years, I have drawn a mustache on Dalton at Thanksgiving. The first year, I accidentally used a permanent marker (I just used the marker that Dalton handed to me). Last year, I used mascara. This year, I brought face paint! And as soon as I handed Dalton the face paint, he asked me to draw his mustache on.

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And as soon as I was done, Dalton was off to paint Annabelle’s face. I was chatting with a bunch of my relatives while he was painting her face, and I burst out laughing when I saw Annabelle.

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She asked to be the Wicked Witch from “Wizard Of Oz” and I think that Dalton did a very good job of doing that!

Also at Thanksgiving, I got to hang out a bit more with Hudson, my cousin’s youngest son. This trip was my first time getting to meet him in person, and I might not get to see him again until next Thanksgiving, so I tried to get as much time with him as possible. I especially loved his outfit.

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Before dinner was served, my mom called me and we got to FaceTime for a bit. I passed my phone around to everyone so they could all say hello. Even though I was still missing my parents, it made me feel a bit better that I got to see them even if it was only over the phone (seriously, isn’t technology the best sometimes!).

Dinner was ok. Thanksgiving foods are necessarily my favorites. I like the sweet potatoes so I had two servings of that. But I’m not the biggest turkey fan. But the desserts are always good. This year we had pumpkin pie and my Aunt Nancy also made my mom’s chocolate decadence cake. I’m sure I went way over my calories for the day, but it’s one meal so I wasn’t too worried about it.

Overall, even though the day was a bit weird for me, it was a very good Thanksgiving. I’m so lucky that I got to spend the day with 4 generations of my family (and we all pretty much get along)! And hopefully next Thanksgiving we will have more members of the family able to celebrate with us.

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Posted in Celebrations, Family, Food, Fun Stuff, Travel

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Grandma’s Birthday Dinner (or One Of Our Thanksgiving Traditions)

Posted on November 29, 2013 | Comments Off on Grandma’s Birthday Dinner (or One Of Our Thanksgiving Traditions)

I’ll do my recap of my Thanksgiving on Monday, but first, I’m going to share with you my Wednesday.

Ever since I can remember, my family has celebrated my grandma’s birthday along with Thanksgiving. For years, we would go out on Friday night to a nice dinner, but recently we’ve switched that to be on Wednesday night.

So after a kind of crazy drive to San Diego (it took me twice as long to get there because of so many car accidents on the road), I went over to my grandparent’s place to meet up with them before dinner.

The dinner was at The Godfather restaurant. We’ve had my grandma’s birthday dinner there in the past, and I like it because my family gets a private room (we kind of need to with so many of us being there including some noisy little kids).

As soon as my cousin’s son Dalton saw me, he came running over. Dalton and I have a special bond. Ever since we met for the first time, we’ve been super close. And I love him just as much as he loves me. Of course, I made sure that he was going to sit right next to me. I don’t get to see him too often, so when I do I want to make sure I get as much time with him as possible.

Dinner was good. The food was as good as I remember it (I’m glad that I forgot to eat breakfast and lunch on Wednesday because there was a ton of food). And the conversation was fun too.

This year is a little weird for me because I’m the only person from my immediate family at Thanksgiving. My brother has missed it before, but my parents have always been there. But with my mom having chemo on Wednesdays, there wasn’t really a way for my parents to drive down (and now with the dog’s cancer it would be difficult to have him here too). As soon as dinner was done, I called my mom to fill her in on what happened, who said what, and if any big family announcements were made (my cousin has announced her engagement and pregnancies at Thanksgiving dinner in the past).

Even though it kind of stinks to stay at a hotel alone, I’m so grateful that I spend my Thanksgiving with my extended family. We have 4 generations at Thanksgiving now and I know that something that a lot of people can’t say. I’m also grateful for the fun Thanksgiving traditions my family has, especially celebrating my grandma’s birthday.

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Happy Thanksgiving (or My Top 10 Things That I Am Thankful For)

Posted on November 28, 2013 | Comments Off on Happy Thanksgiving (or My Top 10 Things That I Am Thankful For)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I’m spending today with my mom’s side of the family in San Diego this year. I’ll be doing a recap of my Thanksgiving (and my Grandma’s birthday dinner) soon. But I wanted to take today to share some things that I am thankful for. I’ve been noticing people posting one thing they are thankful for every day on Facebook. I haven’t been doing that this year, but I’ve decided to do a top 10 list of things that I am thankful for this year.

1. I am thankful that I have a family that loves me and supports me.

2. I am thankful that even though my mom is going through chemo right now, she is doing amazing and I am every reason to believe that at the end of her treatments that she will be cancer-free.

3. I am thankful that even though I might not love my day job, it pays my bills and allows me to do what I love.

4. I am thankful that I have acting in my life, something that I am so passionate about and couldn’t imagine not doing.

5. I am thankful that I have amazing agents who submit me for great parts and believe that I am going to book something big in the near future.

6. I am thankful for the traveling that I got to do this year (and that my parents could pay for it because I would never be able to afford Maui on my own right now).

7. I am thankful that I am healthy enough to do the 5Ks that I’ve done so far (I’ve got one more in a week).

8. I am thankful that I found a workout that I love and that there are instructors there who truly care about me and want me to get in the best physical shape that I can be.

9. I am thankful that I have amazing friends who support me in what I do and are there to cheer me up when I need it.

10. I am thankful for this blog. It has been like therapy for me. I get out things that sometimes are too hard to say out loud. And I feel like by sharing these things, I have been able to get closer to my friends and family and not feel like I am hiding a part of myself.

So those are the top 10 things I am thankful for. I’m definitely thankful for more than that, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you all! I hope that you get to spend today with people who you love and you have a chance to reflect on the things that you are thankful for this year (feel free to share some in the comments if you’d like to!).

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Posted in Acting, Celebrations, Family, Fitness, Fun Stuff

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You Never Know Who You’ll Run Into (or Seeing A Familiar Face 6 Years Later)

Posted on November 27, 2013 | Comments Off on You Never Know Who You’ll Run Into (or Seeing A Familiar Face 6 Years Later)

I have one more story to share from the film festival. But this one requires a bit of back story.

In 2007, I worked on a Fox tv show called “Unhitched” for one episode. It was technically background work (meaning no lines), but I was going to be featured so you could see my face and I wasn’t just someone in a big crowd. The scene was at a party and a kid who can’t swim gets knocked into a pool by one of the main characters. A very attractive woman wearing a white dress jumps into the pool to save the kid. As she comes out of the pool, her dress is see-through so a lot of the men are looking at her. The man playing my husband in the show is taking a home movie of her walking out of the pool and I walk into the frame about to eat a piece of pizza. My husband asks if I really need to eat that, and I take a giant bite. Fun fact from that shoot: we had to do it so many times that I went through 3 large pizzas (I got to spit it out so I didn’t really eat it).

Anyway, it was a one day shoot, I had a lot of fun, and I made some decent money (they screwed up my call time so I ended up getting a lot of overtime that day).

A few months after shooting that, my parents started to get a couple of calls about a commercial about a tv show I was in. My parents asked me about it, and I figured it must be from “Unhitched”. I didn’t see the commercial for a while, but when I did, it was during a commercial break from “American Idol” (so I know a bunch of people saw it). I had it saved on my DVR so I could remember that moment.

A few months later, I was working the Beverly Hills Shorts Festival when this man approached me and asked me if I was on “Unhitched”. I explained that I did a background role on one episode but yes, I was in that commercial. Well, turns out the man who came up to me was the man who cut the commercials for the show! He was the one responsible for putting me in that commercial! I thanked him so much for the exposure he gave to me, and he promised to send me a DVD of the commercial so I could keep it (here’s the link for it on YouTube).

I’ve always been so grateful to this guy for putting me into the commercial for the show (and sending me a copy of it).

Flash forward to this past weekend. When I was putting together all the materials for the film festival, there was one name that stuck out to me. I couldn’t remember how I knew it, but I figured that I would find out when I saw the person. Turns out, it was the same guy from 6 years ago who cut me into the commercial! He couldn’t believe that we ran into each other again (and it had been years since he worked for Fox making those commercials). He watched the commercial again on YouTube and showed it off to all of his friends. And we kept laughing how cool it was to run into each other again.

This all proves to me again how small the entertainment industry is. And how important it is to be nice to everyone you meet. This guy, who used to make commercials, is now in a position to hire me for a project (and of course I gave him my business card so he wouldn’t forget me). I also was so glad to run into him so I could express my gratitude to him again for putting me in that commercial and giving me that type of exposure. It is so rare to get so much attention from a background role.

Running into people you’ve worked with or met years ago is one of the reasons I love this industry. When you really get into it, everyone knows everyone and you don’t feel so alone.

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Beverly Hills Shorts Festival (or Remembering To Breathe After Being So Stressed)

Posted on November 26, 2013 | 6 comments

Saturday was the actual screenings for the film festival. In the past, we’ve had screenings the entire weekend, but since this was my first time running the festival, the other co-directors agreed that we should cut it back to one day (I’m very grateful that they made that decision).

The screenings were at 3, 5, and 7 with an awards ceremony at 9. But I wanted to get to Busby’s super early so I could make sure that everything was in order. When I arrived, the ballroom was all set up for the screenings.

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It was only bright in there because the curtains were still open. While the screenings were going on it was nice and dark.

I also tested the DVDs we were using. The biggest fear that I had was that there would be some sort of technical issue during a screenings. It’s happened before and I’m sure it’s happened again. But I’ve never been the person who had to fix it (or who had to listen to an angry filmmaker yelling).

I tried to stay calm while waiting for the volunteers to show up for the first shift. I killed time by making phone calls and playing a couple of rounds of Candy Crush.

And before I knew it, the festival was starting. Since I couldn’t be in 2 places at once, I stayed outside at the check in table while the films were going. But I always had a volunteer inside in charge of making sure there were no technical issues. I also had a volunteer run the Q&A after the screening.

While I didn’t get to see any of the films during the festival, I’ve been told by the volunteers and filmmakers that there were no technical issues during the entire thing. I had no angry filmmakers and nobody demanded a refund of their ticket (yes, that’s happened in the past as well).

I got to host the awards ceremony for the first time (I’m normally just hanging out watching it). It was so much fun getting to pass out awards (not all the winners were present, but those who were were so enthusiastic that they won).

And then it was done.

I’m still in shock that I managed to do it. I’ve been nervous for so long about this and honestly, I think it went smoother this year than any other year (that could be due to the fact that we ran all the screenings off of DVDs and only had one day of screenings). There are a couple of things that I’m hoping to improve on for next year, but I’ll have an entire year to prep for that festival.

I also wanted to just say on here how grateful I am to all my volunteers this year. I know that the festival would have been a disaster without them. Not only were they rockstars in doing their jobs, they also helped to calm me down.

Now I get to relax at Thanksgiving with most of my family.

BTW, if you are a filmmaker and want to submit your film for next year, let me know!

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Posted in Acting, Celebrations, Fun Stuff, Work

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Opening Night Party (or Getting To Be A Party Hostess)

Posted on November 25, 2013 | Comments Off on Opening Night Party (or Getting To Be A Party Hostess)

Friday evening was the opening night for the Beverly Hills Shorts Festival. The party didn’t officially start until 8pm, so I worked my usual half shift that morning and made a last minute run to Staples for some supplies (I seemed to need a lot of office supplies this past weekend).

I got to Busby’s East (where the party and the screenings were held) super early so I could set up and make sure everything was in its place before any of the filmmakers got there. I was also crazy nervous because not only was this the first year I got to help run the festival, I was doing it without the other 2 co-directors who are usually there every year (they leave in New Orleans and couldn’t make the drive this year).

My awesome volunteers showed up 7:30 and they got to work on some of the last minute tasks that needed to be done for the festival (getting filmmakers checked in, cutting tickets, and collecting materials from the filmmakers).

I was feeling a bit panicky before the party started, but by 8:30, we had a nice crowd there and everyone was having a great time. In the past, I always worked the checkin table, but this year, since I was in charge, I had to make sure to walk around the entire time introducing myself to the filmmakers and their guests. All the filmmakers were so incredibly kind to me and they all seemed so excited to be screening their films (and to be screening in a room that had a private bar).

Everything really did run smoothly through the entire evening. The only minor issue we had was with other bar patrons trying to come into our room that was reserved for our group. There was a sign at the entryway of the room saying it was closed for a private party, but people kept coming in and asking if we really needed the room (I wanted the room to stay just for us so the filmmakers knew that all the people in the room were fellow filmmakers). I just kept asking those crashers to please wait until 10:30 when we no longer had the room reserved.

Before I knew it, it was 10pm and time for us to clean up. We had everything ready to go back into my car in a matter of minutes, so the volunteers and I decided to take advantage of the photo booth in the room we were using.

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It was only $4 for the photos and it printed out 2 and gave us the option to email it as well (I emailed it to myself and then forwarded it on to the volunteers).

I was so relieved that the evening went well and everyone had fun. I was still very stressed out about the screenings the next day, but I knew that this event had gone as well as I could have hoped!

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