Category Archives: Fun Stuff

Moulin Rouge! (or The Last Show Of An Extended Theater Season)

Posted on July 6, 2022 | Comments Off on Moulin Rouge! (or The Last Show Of An Extended Theater Season)

The 2019-2020 season at the Pantages and Dolby theaters has been going for quite a while. I had no idea when that season started that a pandemic was going to hit and that everything would shut down. And I had no clue that my friend Dani would be moving away before the season ended so I would be going to the last half of the season with different friends. But, as we all know, so much was not planned or the way we thought it would be. So I have just been glad that I have been able to go back to the shows again when they started up.

And this past weekend, I finally went to the final show of that extended season. This time, my friend Woody came with me and we got to see Moulin Rouge. This was my first show back at the Pantages since 2019 (since the first show in 2020 was at the Dolby), and the theater looked amazing as soon as we walked in!

And it was my first time back in my old seats since 2019 as well. But not only was it the first time back in those seats, but it was also the last time I’d be sitting there. Because of how season ticket renewals work, I wasn’t able to get my old seats back since I am not the ticket holder of those seats. But I am excited about my seats for next season because they will be a bit more centered. And even though they are further back, the theater isn’t that big and I’ve sat all the way in the back and it’s still felt close. But it was a bit of a bittersweet moment knowing that this show was the last time I’d be sitting there when we’ve had those seats for so many seasons.

But that bittersweet feeling went away as soon as the show started because it was amazing! I already was excited to see it because Moulin Rouge is one of my favorite movies. But I know that sometimes a movie I love doesn’t always turn into a great musical. But this time, I think the musical might have been better than the movie! And I think that is pretty rare!

It is the same storyline and plot as the movie with a few little changes in it to make it work better for the stage. But the biggest change was the music. In the movie, most of the songs were popular hits that were not original songs for the movie. The musical was the same, but they changed up the songs to use a lot more current ones. And the songs they picked were so perfect for each moment. It was a jukebox musical but it was from all different artists and genres. And the choices were so entertaining and everyone in the audience was laughing and getting a kick out of each one.

And with all the craziness going on in the country, it was so nice to have a little escape from reality. Even though the plot is a bit sad, it was still such an upbeat show to watch. And one of my favorite things about some musicals is when you can tell the cast is having a fun time performing. And there is no doubt this cast loves their job and that they were having just as much fun performing as we did watching.

Considering how this very extended season went and the reasons why everything shut down, I’m so glad that the final show this season had such a positive note. And I’m ready for the next season, which will be starting after the summer. The next season will be a bit different from my past ones since I will be sitting in a new location and have a new friend to go to all the shows with, but I know it will still be an amazing time. And I can’t wait to see which shows in the 2022-2023 season become new favorites of mine!

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Default ThumbnailOne More Show At The Dolby (or Almost The End Of A Long Musical Season) Default ThumbnailAn Unexpected Musical (or Seeing A Show At A Different Theater) Default ThumbnailKicking Off A Musical Season (or Seeing A Cartoon Brought To Life) Default ThumbnailAll Set For Another Musical Season (or I’m Glad I Can Continue This) Default ThumbnailMore Musicals! (or Another Season At Pantages) Default ThumbnailFunko and Frozen (or The Last Pantages Show For A While)

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A Pretty Traditional Holiday Celebration (or Still Pretending To Run Through Sprinklers)

Posted on July 5, 2022 | Comments Off on A Pretty Traditional Holiday Celebration (or Still Pretending To Run Through Sprinklers)

Normally on the 4th of July, I go to the same party each year. The party isn’t always on the 4th, depending on what day of the week it is, but it’s always around that day. This year, it was a few days before so the party was on the weekend. And since the pandemic, things have been a little different, but they have been getting closer to normal.

Last year and this year, there was still a party, but it was a much smaller group than it used to be because of the risk of getting sick. Obviously, any gathering can be a risk, but keeping the numbers lower and making sure everyone is vaccinated and not sick helps. And I think knowing everyone at the party I go to helps because I can feel like everyone is taking all the precautions that they can. Some people still wore masks, but not everyone did. And nobody made a big deal out of anyone who did wear a mask, which was nice to see that it was normalized. I can see wearing a mask in the future if I’m about to see people who are immunocompromised or if I felt like the risk was higher. And I’m glad that I’m friends with people who don’t mind that or think someone is overreacting.

And it was a pretty standard summer party. A few of us discussed how weird it felt celebrating when so much is happening in this country. But I think all of us also were just glad to be hanging out together and didn’t think too much about it being the 4th of July. It is always nice to be together and able to catch up. And of course, enjoying a bunch of food. I have made drunk watermelon in the past, but this year I didn’t get the ingredients in time and I couldn’t make it the day of. But I hope that there will be another summer party so I can make it for that one.

And as it seems to be at parties, I didn’t take a ton of photos. I was more focused on being present with my friends. But there was one photo that I knew we would need to take. In 2014, it was really hot and a few of us ran through the sprinklers. We took a really funny photo and it’s become a tradition to take the same photo again each year. We’ve never had the sprinklers on except for that first year and the photos always come out awesome. And this year’s photo didn’t disappoint.

And I love how all the photos look together.

When I was putting together the collage, we were looking at all the past photos. We knew why we didn’t have a photo for 2020, but we were all confused about why we were missing one for 2019. We couldn’t figure it out and I thought maybe I missed the party that year. But I then realized I should look at my past posts and that’s when we realized they didn’t have a party that year since they had just gotten their dog. But considering we’ve done this since 2014, only missing 2 years isn’t that bad! I did think this year about how I should have asked everyone in 2020 to take a photo alone pretending to run so I could combine them. Too bad I didn’t think about that back then, but missing the photo will always remind us of going through the pandemic.

Even though the party was a few days before the 4th, there were still people setting off fireworks in the area. Some of them were right on the other side of the fence and the sparks were coming toward us. I had one get my arm, which stung, but it wasn’t too bad and didn’t even leave much of a red mark. And it was nice to see some fireworks since I wasn’t sure if we would.

I always try to stay at these parties as late as I can, but I’m also always mindful of my drive back home and how other people driving might not be the safest. So I usually leave before it’s too late. This time, I left around 10, which was later than I was planning but I was just having a good time with my friends and lost track of time.

I felt like this was the perfect way to celebrate the 4th. I didn’t really feel like celebrating, and doing something a few days earlier felt better. On the 4th, I didn’t really do much, which was fine with me. I had some errands to run and I took advantage of having a day off and being able to do them. And even though I didn’t do much on the 4th, I still got all my traditional 4th of July things in a bit earlier and I didn’t miss out.

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Default ThumbnailAnother Union Holiday Celebration (or Being Social And Working Social Media) Default ThumbnailBirthday Party Adventure! (or Another Traditional Celebration) Default Thumbnail4th Of July Weekend (or An Early Holiday) Default ThumbnailFinally Seeing Some Friends (or Having An Almost Normal 4th Of July) Default Thumbnail4th Of July On The 1st (or Another Awesome Party With Friends) Default ThumbnailA Chill New Year’s Eve (or Getting To Have A Little Celebration)

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Some Surprises In My Workouts (or This Wasn’t A Normal Week, But In A Good Way)

Posted on July 4, 2022 | Comments Off on Some Surprises In My Workouts (or This Wasn’t A Normal Week, But In A Good Way)

This past week of workouts wasn’t exactly the same as they normally are, but for the first time in a long time, I think the difference was a positive thing. My classes were during the same times, but I had one that wasn’t what it normally was and a surprise sub coach.

For Monday’s workout, I was glad I was feeling normal. Like I had said before, it’s always tough when I’m expecting to feel awful. It’s so much worse when it’s not expected. But I was ready to work out on Monday and push myself like I know I can.

For cardio, we had 2 blocks and they both had rolling hills. That meant we had 1-minute at an incline and then 1-minute without an incline. And each time we added incline, it went down 1%. Both blocks had 3 1-minute intervals with inclines and the second block was a bit lower than the first. I used the resistance levels I should have been using for both blocks and tried to pedal a bit faster than normal to push myself.

On the rower, we had 1 long block. We started with 1 round of a 600-meter row. After the row, we had high knees. Then we had 2 rounds of a 300-meter row with the same exercise between each row. The last part was 4 rounds of a 150-meter row with the same exercises, but I didn’t get through all those rounds.

And on the floor, the first block was all about tempo and doing the same exercise with different tempos. We had 3 different tempos of a sumo squat and a chest press. And in the second block, we had all single-side alternating work. We had low rows with weights, shoulder presses, and plank reaches. And at the very end of the workout, we had pop jacks as a finisher.

On Wednesday, I had a nice surprise when I showed up for the workout. One of my coaches from the Brentwood studio, Lal, was subbing for that class. I hadn’t seen Lal since before the pandemic and it had been even longer since I was able to take one of his classes. It was so exciting to have him coaching me again and I knew I was going to be pushed hard.

For cardio, we had 2 blocks. The first block started with a 4-minute distance challenge that had a 1-minute all-out at the end. Then we had a minute to recover before a 90-second progressive challenge. And in the second block, the goal was the match or beat the distance from the first block. But this time we started with the 90-second challenge and ended with the 4-minute one.

On the rower, we were timed along with cardio. But for the 4-minute challenge, we had different stroke goals for each minute. And we increased the strokes per minute each time. That was a bit more of a challenge for me since it’s hard for me to be super steady at times with how quickly or slowly I’m rowing. But I tried to stay in the right range each time. I did have to take some breaks for both of the 4-minute challenges, but I tried to keep them quick and get back to rowing.

And on the floor, we had 1 block. I had to make a bunch of modifications because the floor work had a lot of balance exercises in it and I can’t do those properly. We were supposed to do half-kneeling shoulder presses to stands, but I did regular lunges and then shoulder presses separately. We were supposed to have single-leg deadlifts, and I did regular deadlifts. We had balance bicep curls and I modified those to be on my toes on one foot so I did a bit of balance work. And we had bear planks which I did as bird dogs. I didn’t love modifying so much of the floor, but it was the best option for me and I did essentially the same movements, just in slightly different ways.

And of course, I had to get a photo with Lal since it had been so long since we had seen each other.

Thursday had an interesting way to do the cardio work. Normally, after an all-out, we have a walking recovery. This time, we went from an all-out to a low base pace. For block 1, we had rounds of a 45-second push pace into a 15-second all-out. Then we had 90-seconds at the conservative base pace. For me, I kept the resistance level for the base pace at the same level I normally use, I just allowed myself to pedal a bit slower. But since I also use that same level at times for my recovery, I made sure I wasn’t going as slow as I would for a walking recovery. For block 2, it was the same idea but we had 30-second push paces into 30-second all-outs with 2-minutes at a conservative base pace.

On the rower, we always had 200-meter rows. But we had different exercises for blocks 1 and 2 between each row. For block 1, we did lunges and overhead presses with a medicine ball. And for block 2, we had squats with a front press and bicep curls. I’m glad the row wasn’t too long because I have been dealing with so much hip pain lately and the long rows are really hard on me. But I was able to do pretty well with 200-meters.

And on the floor, we had 3 exercises for each block. Block 1 had goblet squats, hip bridges, and sit-ups with rotations. And block 2 had seated low rows, bench pullovers, and mountain climbers. The only modifications I made on the floor were skipping the Bosu ball for the sit-ups and mountain climbers. But I was able to do everything else.

On Friday, we had Lal as our sub again, which was really nice since I didn’t realize I’d see him again after seeing him on Wednesday. I figured this class might be small since a lot of people would be away for the long weekend, and I was right. And since it was a smaller class, we had a 2 group class instead of a 3 group class.

For cardio, we did a lot of work with inclines. For the first block, we started with a 2-minute push pace at an incline with a 90-second base pace at no incline. Then we repeated that pattern by increasing the incline each time and decreasing the time we were in the push pace. The inclines/resistance levels got really high, but fortunately, we weren’t spending too long at the higher inclines. And the first block ended with a 45-second all-out where we could pick which incline we wanted to use. I went with 1 level higher for the resistance level on the bike compared to my normal all-out. And in the second block, we started at the highest incline and worked our way down without the flat road base paces in-between. We did the same thing with keeping the time shorter with the higher inclines and increased the time as the incline went down. But they were base paces instead of push paces. And again, we ended with a 45-second all-out where we could pick the incline.

And on the floor, the first block had 2 mini-blocks. The first mini-block had lunges and deadlifts to low rows. We did that 3 times before moving on to the next mini-block which had hammer curls to bicep curls and Arnold presses. And the second block had squats, lunges, and a 250-meter row.

I’m really happy with how this past week went. Things weren’t what I necessarily expected, but it’s nice to be reminded that this can be a good thing. And I know that this week will be a little different since today is a holiday, but maybe I’ll have some other surprises that make the week really awesome again!

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Default ThumbnailJust A Normal And Good Workout Week (or Using My Workouts To Get Out My Stress) Default ThumbnailAnother Normal Workout Week (or Feeling Back Into My Regular Routine) Default ThumbnailAlmost Having A Second Hell Week (or Just Pushing Through) Default ThumbnailA Full Week Of Christmas Workouts (or Having Some Traditional Workouts) Default ThumbnailBack To My Normal Routine (or Working Through My Workouts) Default ThumbnailWorking Hard (or Some Normal But Tough Workouts)

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Halfway Through The Year (or Focusing Again On My 2022 Goals)

Posted on July 1, 2022 | Comments Off on Halfway Through The Year (or Focusing Again On My 2022 Goals)

Happy July! It’s crazy to think this year is half over. It seems like so much has happened in the past 6 months but also that time has been dragging on. And as always, the start of a new month brings the end to one monthly challenge and the start of another.

In June, I had another challenge about organizing. But this time, I wanted to focus on organizing digital clutter. I’m very happy with how I did with this challenge. I did work on going through my DVR again and reviewing what I have set to record so I could get rid of any series that I am no longer interested in or that I don’t seem to be watching. There wasn’t much to do on my DVR since I had done this when I got a new device during my move, but it was still good to review what I had set up and what I really didn’t need to keep.

And I was really good with getting rid of podcasts I don’t enjoy anymore. There weren’t that many on that list, but it was good to think about what I really want to listen to and what I listen to just because I have been subscribed for so long. But besides unsubscribing from shows I don’t listen to anymore, I also went through individual episodes that I have been holding on to for one reason or another. These are from shows that I do enjoy, but they might have interviewed someone I wasn’t super excited to hear about or it was a subject that I wasn’t interested in. I kept telling myself that I would listen to those episodes eventually, but I know that I would never get to them because there were so many new episodes I would listen to each week. It’s weird to feel a sense of relief from getting rid of those, but they no longer feel like they are things I need to catch up on. I also went through all the shows I was subscribed to and looked and when they did their last episode. There are some shows that haven’t done a new episode in 6 months or longer. Unless I knew the show was taking a hiatus and would be back, I unsubscribed from shows that didn’t seem to be doing new episodes. I can always subscribe again if they start up, but for now, I don’t need that cluttering my podcast app.

And for July, I’m focusing on the fact that this year is half over and I feel a bit behind on my 2022 goals. I had that realization when I was looking at my tracking for my workouts and I wasn’t at quite 100 workouts for the year yet. Normally, I’m ahead of 100 by now. I know I had a setback with my foot so I missed a week of workouts and this wasn’t a huge surprise, but I still didn’t think about it too much until I saw it. And I do normally reflect on my annual goals halfway through the year so when I noticed I was a bit behind I wanted to focus on them for this month.

I’m not behind on all my goals. I am technically all moved into my condo. I might not have everything put away yet, but I am out of my old place. There will be things I can’t put away for a while because I’m saving up money to add furniture, but I am continuing to do what I can to get things put into the places I want them to be and to make my space look less like a moving zone.

I’m not doing great about being mindful of my time or getting out of my house more, but I have been making steps toward improving those. I need to work on these more, but I also know that I have made efforts to both of these goals. But I don’t want to settle and only do the goals halfway if I can help it. And I think remembering that I set a goal to get out of my house more is a good push for me to keep reaching out to friends to see who might want to go do some things this summer. I have been reconnecting with friends who I didn’t see as often, and it’s been so much fun to revive these friendships that may have slipped into acquaintances in the recent past. And I think a lot of people have been doing the same thing, so it’s not weird to be reaching out to people that I haven’t seen in a long time.

And while I have told myself a lot that I want to get my budget set up again, there were always excuses of why I wanted to wait. I need to stop using that as an excuse and really set aside time to buckle down and get to work. I know I don’t need things to be perfect when I set them up, but there are a few things I want to get in order and planned before I set up the new budget. It’s mainly about reevaluating my regular payments and looking at my recent bills to get an idea of what the charges are. Even with the same bills that I used to have, the price I pay is different between my old place and my new place. There’s nothing crazy, but the amounts I’m used to paying might be slightly higher or lower and I want to set up my budget with the new amounts.

I think that I could make some great progress toward most of my goals this month. Obviously, my workout goal is limited to how many days there are in the month so I just have to keep moving along with that one and making the best effort to go 4 times a week. But for my other goals, I think July could be a great month to really get back to these goals and make sure that in 6 months I can share that I have accomplished what I was hoping to do.

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Default ThumbnailMy 2022 Goals (or Setting Myself Up For Hopefully A Productive Year) Default Thumbnail2021 Check-In (or The Year Is Halfway Over) Default Thumbnail2020 Goals (New Year, Not All New Goals) Default Thumbnail2014 Goals (or Hoping To Get More Goals Done This Year) Default ThumbnailReviewing My 2021 Goals (or This Really Was A Year Of Unknowns) Default ThumbnailAn Almost End Of The Year Review (or Looking Back At My Goals)

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Having Some Fun With Setting Up My Place (or Now I Can Plan Out More)

Posted on June 30, 2022 | Comments Off on Having Some Fun With Setting Up My Place (or Now I Can Plan Out More)

A lot of getting my new place set up was put on hold until my floors were redone.  And as I wrote yesterday, I finally can get some furniture things delivered or planned out now that the floors are done. And this part of moving and living in a new place is definitely much more fun than the stress I was having with the move back in April. Of course, I am still finding more and more things that either I need to get or want to replace, so I’ll be working on this phase of my new place for a while. I lived in my old place for 12 years and I felt like I was always making changes or upgrades. And now that I have more space, that means there are more opportunities to decorate and make the space my own.

But because I can finally start getting more things bought and planned out, I knew I needed to really figure out what I want and which stores I would be ordering things from. I did order a lot online, but there have been some things that were at stores and I do like to see things in person before buying if I can. So when I was looking for a bench for my entryway, when I found a very basic and simple one at IKEA I knew I would want to go to the store to see it in person. The store isn’t super close to me, but it’s not unreasonably far either. And my friend Robert came with me so he could help me make decisions and we could have some fun wandering around the store.

The IKEA in Burbank is the largest one in the US. I had been to the old Burbank location, but this one is about twice the size. So I knew we would be there for a while and that there would be a lot of walking. But we were both prepared for that and we knew we might find some really cool random things.

We spent a lot of time just looking around at the different display rooms they have set up even though we didn’t need anything from most of them. One of the things I did want to look at besides an entryway bench was a display cabinet I was thinking about getting for next to my tv. I’m glad I did look at them in person because I realized they would not be the right thing for me and they wouldn’t go with what I already own. I realized after leaving the store that it might actually be cheaper for me to just get a new tv stand, so I’m now shopping around for those. But I didn’t think about that when we were in the store.

We did find the bench that I had been looking at online, and it seemed like it would be a good fit for what I need. I don’t need anything crazy, just something to sit on to put on shoes or for me to put my purse down. And after we found that and noted the item number for later, we started looking around at more random fun things.

I wanted to make sure I didn’t go too crazy with buying stuff, so I tried to limit what I considered. I did get some new organizers for my kitchen plus a few fun little decor items, but there were other things I was looking at, like new food storage containers, that I decided to wait on getting until I was sure I wanted something new.

We ended up being at the store for a few hours, and I was getting tired as we were leaving. We did make one quick stop at the little cafe to get slushies since it was a really hot day and I figured that would be a good treat to have on my drive home. And I’m glad I didn’t get anything too big since the box for my bench just fit into my car and I don’t know if I could have made a bigger box fit.

As soon as I got home, I built the bench. It wasn’t too hard to put together, even with the minimal instructions that you get. And while I need to organize the shoes I have there so it’s not as cluttered, I think it looks pretty nice.

I also got the organizers in my kitchen drawers, and I’m glad they fit because I forgot to measure the drawers before we went. But they ended up being perfect! I haven’t taken the decor things out of their boxes yet since I still need a place to put them, but I’m still happy with what I got because they were not expensive at all.

It was a very successful outing to get things for my condo. I got some things I needed and some things I just wanted. But they all are making my place feel more like my style and I know that as I add some more of the bigger items I’m looking at it will just continue to get better!

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One More Step Closer To Being Done (or I Can Finally Add In More Furniture)

Posted on June 29, 2022 | Comments Off on One More Step Closer To Being Done (or I Can Finally Add In More Furniture)

While the bulk of the renovation on my condo was done before I moved in, there have been a few things that needed to be completed after I moved. Most of these things are things that we noticed after I moved in such as a cabinet handle needing to be adjusted or other minor things like that. I’ve been told over and over that having a punch-up list after a renovation is normal, so I had expected this. It did feel sometimes like I had a really long list of things to have done, but most of them were very small things I wanted to be corrected so they weren’t a huge deal.

But there was one thing that needed to be fixed that was a bigger deal than others. My floors had to be redone due to an error with the installation. It wasn’t something that made my floors too horrible while I lived with them before they were fixed, but if they weren’t redone they would have had much bigger issues in the near future. So there was no other option than to have them done again. And my contractor agreed, so he ordered the new floors and we had to wait for them to arrive since they were being shipped from overseas.

The arrival date of the floors was up in the air since there were so many travel factors to consider, so I had no idea when the floors would be done until a few days ahead of time. And because I am living here now and I wasn’t going to stay at a hotel or anything else, I knew I would be living through it.

Fortunately, the contractor brought in a very big crew to work on the floors so they were able to do the majority of the intense work within one day. They had to remove my floors, sand down the concrete because there was glue on them, get the new floors, plan out the pattern, lay them down, and put my baseboards back on. There were other things that would need to be done after that, but they were able to get all of that done within a single day so I wasn’t living without floors for a few days or anything like that.

It was weird seeing the concrete after they sanded down the glue. I had seen the concrete plenty of times during the renovation, but this was with my paint on the walls, and my furniture and other decor. Things were moved around so they could work on the floors, so that was a bit odd too. When you are used to something being in one place and it’s in another, you just feel turned around. But I’m glad the floors were fixed and I have the exact same floors as I had before, just now the issues that were happening are gone.

There are still a few more things to fix around the condo, but nothing is as big as getting the floors done. So I can finally start working on getting even more set up in here. I have put off getting some new furniture or delaying the delivery of things I have ordered while I waited for the floors. But now they are done, I can finally work on getting my new stuff here. And it does feel like there is an endless supply of new things I am getting. I am learning more and more that some of the furniture I have had for a while doesn’t really work in the new space. I don’t have to replace everything right away and I am going to live with some things for a while until I replace them, but I am shopping and looking around. If I find a good deal, now I know I can order something and have it come because I don’t have to wait for the floors to be done again.

I’m hoping the rest of the punch-up list gets done soon because I am really ready for everything to be done. It feels like I’m so close to having it done, but I also know that as a homeowner there will always be an endless list of things to do, fix, change, or plan out.

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Default ThumbnailOne Step Closer To Moving (or My First HOA Meeting) Default ThumbnailHaving Issues At Both Places (or I Know These Are Small Problems, But They Add Up) Default ThumbnailA Transition Of What Feels Like Home (or Getting Even Closer To Moving) Default ThumbnailIt Doesn’t Take Much To Upgrade A Space (or A Multi-Day Furniture Build) Default ThumbnailNot Fully Able To Unpack (or I Think The Move Prepared Me For This) Default ThumbnailAnother Sunday Of Condo Hunting (or Being A Bit Clueless For The Next Step)

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A Fast Photo Shoot (or Getting To Meet Some Co-Workers)

Posted on June 28, 2022 | Comments Off on A Fast Photo Shoot (or Getting To Meet Some Co-Workers)

With all of the jobs I’ve had in the last several years, I have rarely ever met any of my co-workers. I have worked remote jobs for about 8 years between a few different companies. Some of them are based in LA but still had remote work. So I might have met some people I worked with in person, especially since I have been referred to these jobs by friends of mine. But it’s not uncommon for me to have worked a job for quite some time and never met anyone I work with in person.

But with my social media job, since that company is based in LA and there have been a few different things they have done outside of the standard work, I’ve had the chance to meet a few more of my co-workers than I would have otherwise. And last week was another chance that I had to meet some people I’ve worked with for over a year that I have never seen outside of a Zoom screen.

We had a photo shoot last year for work photos, but we got another chance to take new photos. Last time, they were taken through The Headshot Truck and we worked from their offices. This time, the photos were done at the TSMA studio. And I was excited about that because I have never been to the studio space before. It’s in downtown LA, and because my shoot was just after rush hour in the morning, it didn’t take me too long to get there.

My shoot was the first one of the day, so it was just myself and my friend Ben (who is the COO of the company and who referred me for the job) at the studio while we waited for things to start. I was excited to be able to catch up with Ben outside of our texts, phone calls, or Zoom meetings so I didn’t remember to take other photos while I was there. But it’s a great studio space and perfect for our clients who need to get photos taken for their accounts.

The next person to arrive was the photographer, who is the senior content creator for the company. I had actually met him earlier this year when I helped out with a photo shoot for one of our clients. Then one of the account managers who I had only seen on all-team Zoom meetings arrived, but he was also busy working so I didn’t really get a chance to talk with him much. And the last person who arrived while I was at the studio was my direct manager. This was the first time that she and I were seeing each other in person, which I didn’t realize at first since we are in multiple on-camera Zoom meetings together each week. But I thought about it and realized that there would not have been a time we would have been together in person before so I mentioned it. And I think she had the same reaction that I did. She thought about it and then realized that was right, which was crazy!

We all had some time to chat about random things while we waited for everything to be set up. While I love working from home and it makes a lot of things easier for me, it can be odd to realize you never really see your co-workers. So I enjoyed a bit of social time while things were getting ready.

Since my appointment was first, I did go first for the photos. It was a pretty quick shoot since we were inside the studio with controlled lighting and conditions. We didn’t have to worry about shadows or the wind affecting things. And since they are work photos, they don’t have to be as perfect as headshots have to be or with as many different looks. I think the actual photos were done in about 5 minutes, maybe a little more. But it was super quick and then I was told I was all set.

It would have been cool to get to hang around a little longer to chat with everyone there, but I did have work that I had to get back to. But there were a few things that I was going to text my manager about when I got back to work, so I was able to tell her in person so I could take some next steps as soon as I got home.

I haven’t seen the photos yet, but hopefully they came out ok. I know I can be really hard on myself and how things look, and it’s really tough when I have to do my own hair and makeup compared to when there is someone professional doing them. But again, these are just work photos so I don’t have to be perfect. And if they are really amazing, maybe I could use one as a new headshot. But I am planning on new headshots soon anyway since I am very overdue for some updated ones. And even if I don’t love them, I’m so glad I finally got to meet some of the people I work with in person so they aren’t just faces on my screen.

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All Set For Another Musical Season (or I’m Glad I Can Continue This)

Posted on June 23, 2022 | Comments Off on All Set For Another Musical Season (or I’m Glad I Can Continue This)

I’ve had season tickets for the Pantages (or Dolby) for several seasons. As I always write in my posts about the shows, I really enjoy going out to the shows and they are such a fun night for me. The group that I have gone to the shows with has changed a few times over the years and sometimes there are 4 people in the group and sometimes there are 2 people in the group. But no matter the group size, it’s always a fun night out.

The season that is coming to an end has been an odd one. Obviously, the shutdown and having no shows for so long was weird. But then Dani, who has always had season tickets with me, moved away from LA. For the shows since she moved away, I have had a few different friends come with me for shows and I have really loved having friend time since that is something that I don’t get to have that often.

But when the new season was announced, I wasn’t sure what I would do. I couldn’t renew my season tickets since Dani was the ticket holder and I wasn’t going to ask her if she would still just send me the tickets. That’s not fair to her and it makes things a bit more complicated. And I wasn’t sure if I was going to renew my tickets. I didn’t know who might want to get a full season with me. I had asked a few friends and a bunch of them said they would go to a few shows, but they weren’t interested in a full season. So I figured I would just go to some of the shows and not all of them.

But when season tickets went on sale for everyone and not just renewals, I decided to take a look at the options and how much it would cost to get seats similar to what I have had each season. And the price wasn’t too bad. It was about $55 for each show, which is what they normally are. And I think the coming season looks pretty fun. There are some shows I’m more excited about than others, but overall it looks like a good season.

Since I had more information about pricing and where we could get seats, I decided to reach out to my friends again to see if anyone changed their mind about getting a full season. I also have another friend who has season tickets on her own, so I could have always switched which nights I usually go and try to get tickets near her. But I was hoping I could find someone who wanted to go on the weekends since that’s easier for me.

And my friend Jodi, who went to 2 shows with me so far, decided that the full season would be a good deal and she and I just got our season tickets! We aren’t in the same seats I’ve had before since those are still being held for the renewal that Dani could do. Eventually, they will be released but we didn’t want to have to wait since you would have to time that out perfectly. But we found really good seats in the mezzanine that are still on the side but more centered compared to the seats from the past seasons in the orchestra. But since the theater isn’t too big, sitting in the mezzanine is still close to the stage. And I’m used to sitting higher up now because that’s how my tickets were for the Dolby.

I’m so excited to have another season of musicals lined up! And I’m excited that I found a friend who will be enjoying all the shows with me for the next year because it’s always more fun to see the shows with someone else!

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One More Show At The Dolby (or Almost The End Of A Long Musical Season)

Posted on June 21, 2022 | Comments Off on One More Show At The Dolby (or Almost The End Of A Long Musical Season)

Because of the pandemic and things being shut down, the musicals I’m seeing right now are still a part of the 2019-2020 season. It’s still weird to think that we are in a season that started so long ago and the reason why some of the shows are at the Dolby and not at the Pantages was that “Hamilton” was supposed to have a long run in LA. They still had a longer run, but I think it was cut short since they missed so much time. But things are starting to get back to how I am used to them for my season tickets. But there was still one more show at the Dolby that I went to this past weekend.

I was actually really looking forward to this show. “Pretty Woman” is one of my favorite movies and I couldn’t count how many times I’ve seen it. And when it’s on tv and I’m looking for something random to watch, I will watch it and just start at whatever point it is at. I know the movie so well from seeing it over and over again and I thought the musical version could be just as fun.

This time, my friend Marie came with me to the show. We’ve never been able to see a musical together, but we are both musical fans, so I was glad it worked out that she could take the extra ticket. She also loves the movie “Pretty Woman” as much as I do so that was perfect! And I didn’t know this until we went to the show, but she had never been to the Dolby before! It was so awesome that she got to see the inside of the theater in person to see where the Oscars are held each year.

Our seats were in the same spot as the other shows after the shutdown, but the section we were sitting in wasn’t as crowded as the other shows I went to. It was nice to have a bit more room around us so I didn’t feel quite as packed in. They do still require masks and the ushers were quick to remind anyone who let theirs slip that they needed to wear them properly. But it’s a bit stressful for me to be in big groups, especially indoors. I did have a bit of an anxiety attack, but I think it went away quickly because the seats next to me were empty and I could focus on having some space near me.

The show was fun. It was silly and upbeat, which is exactly what I expected since the movie is the same way. I loved that they had a lot of costumes that were the same as in the movie. The polka dot dress, red opera dress, and opening outfit were perfect matches from the movie. And I think one of my favorite parts of the show was during the opera scene because they had some of the actors singing the opera live and it was so beautiful and powerful! I had goosebumps after they were done singing.

I think the parts that were toughest for me were when they were exactly like the movie. Maybe it’s because I know the movie too well so I knew when the lines were exactly the same as in the movie. And then you start mentally comparing what it was like in each performance. I didn’t want to compare things, but my brain kept doing that. But I think there were more original lines than copies and there were new things in the musical that wasn’t in the movie. For example, there was one actor who played a lot of the narrator-type parts and I loved him! And there were fun dance numbers with the cast that were so enjoyable!

Overall, I really did love the show. Just like I feel with the other shows I have seen, this was a nice escape from the world, and seeing a performance with other people is such a special experience. And I was just so happy and in a great mood when I was watching the show. And one thing that makes me really happy is when I can tell the cast is having a good time in the show. And it was clear they enjoy the show and have fun performing. Even when little things went a bit off, you could see their passion in their performances.

I’ve got one more show in this extended 2019-2020 season and that will be back at the Pantages. I don’t know when I’ll be back at the Dolby for another show, but I have enjoyed my time seeing performances there. It’s a very different stage, but it’s still awesome. And it was always fun to know I was seeing a show in the same space where the Oscars happened. But now, I’m ready to go back to the Pantages and feel like things are back to how I’m used to them again!

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The Projects Might Never End (or I Will Always Be Doing New Things)

Posted on June 14, 2022 | Comments Off on The Projects Might Never End (or I Will Always Be Doing New Things)

Obviously, most of the work on my condo is done. And most of the work was not done by me, but that was also the major work. I never expected that I would be installing flooring or tiles or doing electrical work. The work the contractor did helped to put my place at almost a clean slate (although a lot of things were done because the design was a part of the big work). So ever since I moved in, I have been doing lots of little things.

For the first month, most of the work was about getting moved in and getting things out of boxes and into where I wanted them. I also went through a lot of the stuff I moved and continued to decide if I really wanted those things or if I wanted to get rid of them. I really felt like I had done a good job with getting rid of stuff before the move, and I did. But there was a lot more that I could have gone through. But maybe I needed to see some of my things in a new space to understand that I didn’t want or need them anymore. And I do still have some boxes to work through, but I’m almost done with that work.

So now, I’m in the phase where I’m starting to really organize my things and see how I can make my space the most efficient it can be. I am a bit limited in what I can do since things will be moved when my floors are fixed, but I’ve been working on what I can do now. And this has been a series of interesting projects for me.

For so long, things had to fit a very specific way in my home. I only could fit some things in certain ways and there wasn’t really a way to change that up. But now, I have so much more space and I don’t have to keep myself as limited in how I have my things. A good example is a project I worked on this past weekend: organizing my tools.

I’m lucky that my dad has gotten me some great tools so I have a lot of what I might need to fix things or put things together. I’m sure I had some tools when I lived in the dorms, but I really started getting a good tool collection when I moved into my first apartment when I was 20. I had a toolbox that I tried to keep as organized as possible. And not too long ago, my dad got me a tool bag to keep all my things organized. This took up less space than the toolbox but had more room inside. But it also made it so most of my things were just in the middle of this bag because the pockets on the outside and inside were small and only fit a few things.

I moved with the tool bag to the condo and have kept my tools in there, except my collection has grown so I also had things in a few other random bags. Everything was still in my living room since I have been working on random projects, so I decided to plan out something better for myself because I didn’t have to keep everything together the same way.

I will be getting a skinny storage cabinet for my coat closet soon (I just need to order it), and my plan is to use it for a few things including all my tools. And I realized that because I will have a bunch of shelves, I can group my tools together and make it a lot easier for me to find something when I need to grab some tape or a screwdriver. I had also recently gotten more plastic organizers that I use for my desk, and because they came in a giant set I had a lot of extras. So I got all my tools and put things into categories that made sense to me. I don’t have everything put away just yet, but I’m very happy with how things look before I get the storage cabinet.

I know everyone says that when you own a place you will always have house projects to do. So far, that’s been very true for me, although most of these projects have been about moving in. But know that I will have a lot of projects going forward and having my tools easier to find like this should make those projects a bit easier on me.

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