Category Archives: Fun Stuff

Kicking Off A Musical Season (or Seeing A Cartoon Brought To Life)

Posted on October 18, 2019 | Comments Off

Even after having a crazy weekend at the convention, I wasn’t going home to rest after we were done on Sunday. I finished up with everything in the early afternoon, had a little break to get some lunch, and then it was off to my next adventure for the day.

It was the first musical of the new Pantages season! This season, I’m going with my friend Dani again for the shows. And it will be an interesting season because only the first few shows are at the Pantages. After that, they move to the Dolby and I’m still curious how the shows will work there since it’s a much bigger theater. I’ll have to wait until our shows move there, but for the first few shows, we have the usual seats that we’ve had for the last few seasons.

Dani and I went for dinner before the show and we checked out a ramen place that we’ve walked past almost every time we’ve gone to a show. For some reason, we’ve never gone there and we wanted to check it out. It was really good and ramen was the perfect thing to have before the show. I wanted something warm but not too heavy because I was worried I would fall asleep during the show. I was already tired (both physically and emotionally) but the ramen seemed to perk me up.

I was excited to see “Anastasia”. I love the cartoon and have seen it multiple times. I always thought it would be a good musical since the songs in the movie were really memorable. I’m glad that it was made into a musical so we could see it!

The musical was very similar to the movie. They did change up some of the characters and the magical elements were removed, but it was, for the most part, the same story as the movie. And the songs that were in the movie were used along with lots of new songs, but some of the songs from the movie were in different places. I actually liked where they moved songs to and it almost made it make more sense they way the musical had it done.

The set was interesting with being just a few walls with pillars and having screens where the windows would be as well as long the back. It made it easy for the show to change locations and made it really fun to watch when things were supposed to be moving in the background. For example, when they were on a train the screen in the background showed the tracks and the landscape moving. There were a few moments I didn’t love the screens, but overall I think that was a smart design idea and it helped make the stage seem full without a lot of set pieces or props.

And I think one of the best things in this show were the costumes. They were incredible! We are lucky that our seats aren’t too far from the stage so we do get to see some of the details on the costumes, but I wish I could have looked at them closer. I saw some photos online and they have so much detail work on them and the work was impeccable. Even if we sat in the first row, I don’t know if we could have appreciated all the work that was done. But you can still tell even when seeing them from a distance that they were done with a lot of care.

We did have some annoying audience members seated behind us that felt like singing along and talking during the show was appropriate (and they wouldn’t quiet down). It’s unfortunate when there are people in the audience who don’t respect the performers and the theater in general. We have been lucky that we rarely have bad audience members near us for all the shows we go to. But when it happens, it’s extra annoying.

But despite the bad audience members, I really did enjoy the show. I really wanted to see a show that was easy to watch and also a bit of an escape. And that’s exactly what this was. I didn’t want to watch anything dramatic or serious because I had dealt with so much the few days prior. And this show was perfect to help me feel better and that’s one of the things I love about having these musical seasons. Before I started doing this again, I forgot how much going to shows was self-care for me. And now I get another year of shows to look forward to.

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Posted in Fun Stuff

Tagged Hollywood, Los Angeles, musical, Pantages Theater, show, theater

The Convention Gala (or Casino Night And Awards)

Posted on October 16, 2019 | Comments Off

There are a lot of things I love about the union convention. I love being involved in my union. I love getting to meet actors from all over the country. I love (and most convention attendees would agree with me on this one) how much fun we have for the food truck lunch. And I love going to the convention gala.

Not everyone goes to the gala since you do have to pay for it. But since I don’t have to pay for travel, I figure I can splurge a little for a gala ticket. Plus, it’s a tax write-off for me. I’ve attended the gala at each convention I have gone to and I immediately bought a ticket for this year’s gala when they went on sale. Since we are limited with time we can socialize, I do try to take advantage of doing that when I can and the gala is the perfect time for that.

After the work of convention was done on Friday, I got changed into my gala outfit. I don’t dress up that often so I do like dressing up for it. Not everyone changed their clothes between work and the gala, but most people were in cocktail attire or better. And that’s how I dress too.

I’ll apologize in advance that I don’t have a ton of pictures from the gala. I wasn’t focused on that and I only took a few.

The first part of the gala was a casino night! There were different casino games set up for us to play. We all got $500 in fake money to play with and when dinner started we could trade the fake money for raffle tickets. The more money you had, the more tickets you got. I didn’t look too much at the prizes, but there were some fun baskets with union swag, sunglasses, and wine. I’m not a huge gambler and when I do gamble I usually play slots. Slots weren’t an option at casino night so I ended up not gambling and just trading my $500 in fake money for 5 raffle tickets. But I had a lot of fun watching my friends play blackjack. They were awesome and won quite a bit!

Then we headed into the main ballroom area for dinner. I really regret not taking more photos because the room was beautiful. The ballroom is where the Golden Globes are held and it was so much fun getting to be in there to watch the American Scene Awards (which are awards we give at convention to different employers).

There are also golden cards given to amazing members and staff. This year, they went to people that I knew and that made it even more exciting to watch. I loved hearing the speeches celebrating them and the speeches they gave after they won. It was so wonderful and made me even more passionate about union service. If I’m able to do a fraction of what they have accomplished, I will be a success.

After the awards, the raffle happened (I didn’t win anything) and then it was time for dancing. I was already exhausted from a long day, but I at least wanted to see my friends who were also at the gala. I only managed to get one photo with my friends, but at least it’s a good one.

I didn’t take a red carpet photo this year, but my friend Ben has a new iPhone and the camera takes nice portraits so I have one good photo of me from the gala.

The dress that I wore was something that I bought a while ago and never wore. I usually don’t wear such bright colors and wasn’t sure about wearing it. I was thinking of bringing a backup dress, but my friends convinced me not to do so. And I’m glad that I wore it because I got so many compliments about it! Plus, it’s a very comfortable dress and it didn’t require wearing Spanx or other compression stuff underneath to look good. This isn’t the most flattering photo of me, but it gives you an idea about the full outfit since I didn’t do a red carpet photo.

And just like with every other evening of the convention, I tried to head home early because I knew the next morning would be an early one. I wasn’t out too late at the gala, plus the location was much closer to my house, so I was home earlier than I had gotten home from the other galas.

I’m so glad that I continued the tradition and got a ticket to the gala. It really was a great night and I love getting to have something fun in the middle of all the work that we do. It’s the perfect break during the convention and something that I know I’ll attend at all future conventions.

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged acting, convention, gala, SAG-AFTRA

A Full Convention Weekend (or Preparation Pays Off)

Posted on October 15, 2019 | Comments Off

This past weekend was the SAG-AFTRA National Convention. It was my 3rd time going to convention as a delegate and it was amazing! Because I had been to 2 previous conventions, I had an idea of what it would be like. But this still had some new things for me because it was the first time that I had a bit of a leadership role within my slate. I also feel like this time I was significantly more prepared for all the resolutions and was more informed about what we would be voting on and what would be coming up.

Convention started on Thursday with the welcome reception. I have always gone to the welcome reception because it’s a great time to get to meet the other delegates from different parts of the country. I wish I had taken a bunch of photos because it was a really nice event. This year, all of the convention was happening at the Beverly Hilton (which was nice because it was much closer to my house), so it was a little different from the past 2 conventions. I spent my time at the reception saying hi to my friends that I knew and the delegates that I had last seen 2 years ago. I also got to meet a lot of new delegates and hear about their stories. It’s always interesting to learn about acting careers in other parts of the country, and I got to hear lots of journeys from my fellow delegates.

I didn’t want to stay too late at the reception because I knew the next day would be an early morning and a long day, but I was having too much fun and ended up leaving much later than I planned. But it did give me a chance to see a lot of people and be social since I knew the next few days would be busy and not have a lot of free time.

Friday was the longest day for me. We started early with convention and I started working my day job from my seat. I’ve done this every convention and it’s something I feel grateful I can do. I don’t take customer calls when I’m working from there, but I can do the online chats. Fortunately, work wasn’t too busy so I could pay a lot of attention to what was happening on the stage, but I did have a few moments where I had to turn my focus to my work to make sure that I did my share of the work.

We did our elections for the Executive VP, Geographical VPs, and Category VPs. My slate had a candidate for each of those and it was very exciting when we learned that we won! Everyone who ran for a VP spot was someone that I have gotten to know quite a bit during election season and I knew they would do amazing work as a leader in the union. When almost everyone else was enjoying their lunch outside, I grabbed my food and ate back in the convention room because I was still working. But fortunately, some of my friends did join me inside to eat and it was another great time to be social.

The rest of Friday was working on voting for resolutions. We had a lot and we knew it would take all 3 days. We wrapped up around 5 and then I got ready for the Convention Gala. I’ll write more about the gala tomorrow, but I again had a late night and knew the next day would be an early one.

Saturday was more of the same for me. I did work my job while there, but it was only for the first few hours and then I could just be focused on the convention. We did more voting for resolutions before lunch and after lunch, there were different breakout sessions we could attend. But instead of going to a session, I went to the NextGen Performers meeting. I go to NGP events from time to time, but this meetup was with different NGP committees from around the country. We discussed some of the resolutions that people had coming up so we could brainstorm and give feedback. And we got to learn about the different NGP committees in different parts of the country and see what things we wanted to do for the LA committee. It was a great meetup and I got a lot out of it.

Saturday afternoon was more voting before we concluded for the day. I had been invited to a casual dinner with some of the different NGP people and originally planned on going. But I was tired and knew I needed to get some things done at home, so I had to change my plans and just go straight home. I wish I could have gone, but I really needed to try to get some sleep and I know I made the right choice.

The last day of convention started earlier than the others, but we needed that time to finish the work. We got through voting all the resolutions which was a big accomplishment. There were more resolutions this year than any other year and it’s not easy to get through all of them. We did move quickly, so I was glad I knew a bit about all of them ahead of time so I wasn’t that confused and conflicted about how I wanted to vote. We also got to hear speeches from the Executive VP, Secretary-Treasurer, and President. I have been lucky enough to get to know them each during the election season, but they still continue to inspire me when they speak.

When the convention was done, it was time to take official delegate photos. And then it was all over. It was a very intense long weekend, but just like the past 2 conventions, I left exhausted and encouraged. It was overwhelming, but I loved having all the information presented to the group. I am more motivated than ever to continue with my union service. I want to keep making SAG-AFTRA amazing for those of us who are members now as well as members that will be joining in the future.

I was a bit sad when I looked back at the photos I took and I realized that I didn’t take that many. Most of them were from after the convention was done and I was running around trying to get pictures with my friends. But I have so many memories from the past few days and I don’t need photos to remind me of those. But I am glad that at least I have a few with some of the amazing people that I am lucky enough to get to work with.

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged acting, convention, SAG-AFTRA, union, work

Another Short Workout Week (or Still Can’t Believe My Milestone)

Posted on October 14, 2019 | Comments Off

This past week was another short workout week for me because of my weird schedule. I had the convention from Thursday to Sunday so I couldn’t work out those days. So I had to do 3 days in a row, which is something I don’t do that often. But it was worth it because I got to end my week with my milestone workout!

Monday’s workout was an endurance day, and it was a really good endurance workout. It was a 2 group class, which I think helps me with building endurance a bit. The class was split in half so 30 minutes was spent on cardio and 30 minutes was spent on the floor. There weren’t a lot of breaks, so I had to be much better about taking breaks when I needed them and trying to have active recoveries as well.

For cardio, we had 2 blocks. We had rounds of push paces to base paces. Each base pace that followed a push pace matched. So we had a 90-second push pace, 90-second base pace, 75-second push pace, 75-second base pace, and so on. In the first block, they got shorter by 15 seconds each round and in the second block, they got longer by 15 seconds. So the intervals ranged from 30 seconds to 90 seconds. And each block ended with a 30 second all out. I debated about working with the resistance levels on the bike, but I decided not to. This way, I would focus more on my pedaling speed and it would be easier to get back to my base pace each time. Plus, I thought not adding resistance would help me not need breaks during the base pace time. I did still need some breaks from time to time, but I did much better than I think I would have done if I worked with the resistance levels.

On the floor, we also had 2 blocks. Each block started with a row. The first block we had a 300-meter row and the second block we had a 600-meter row. And all the other exercises involved using the Bosu. The first block had lunges with a goblet weight hold, front raises while kneeling on the Bosu, chest flys while laying on the Bosu, and hip bridges while laying on the Bosu. I did have to modify the lunges to be without the Bosu and I did go lighter with the weights since I was also balancing, but I felt good about those modifications. And the second block had burpees, side crunches, and reverse hyperextensions. I didn’t hold the Bosu while doing the burpees but instead used it to place my hands on, similar to what I do with the bench for burpees. They were a little harder than normal since I was getting closer to the ground, but it was a good challenge for me.

I did an afternoon class on Tuesday, which was a bit odd for me. I used to almost only do afternoon workout after I was done with work. Now, I rarely do them. But it was fine taking a class after work and I think it’s good to mix things up occasionally. The workout was a 2 group class and it was a strength day. I think that some people weren’t too happy about a strength class when the Everest workout is this Friday. I didn’t mind since I will be missing that class.

The cardio was a run/row, which is something I only get to do in a 2 group class. I modified the run/row a bit to make things easier for me to remember to switch, but I still did it close to what we were supposed to do. What I did was a 1-minute push pace and then a 1-minute all out on the bike. Each time I got back to the bike, I increased the resistance level by 1. But I kept it the same between the push and all out, and focused on pedaling faster during the all out minute. And when I went to the rower, the first row was 100-meters and each time on the rower increased by 50 meters. I kept that the same. I got the resistance on the bike up pretty high, higher than I’m used to doing. But it was a good challenge for me.

On the floor, we had drop sets which means we do the same exercise twice but with different weights. The first block had a drop set for bench presses and then high rows on the straps. The second block had a drop set for shoulder presses and then low rows on the straps. And the last block had a drop set for overhead tricep work with weights and then bicep curls on the straps. It was a lot of upper body work and my arms were done by the end of the workout. I wasn’t going super heavy with the weights because it was getting really hard for me. And I knew I would be working out again the next morning so I didn’t want to overdo it.

Wednesday was my milestone day. Even though I was tired from working out the day before (there were only about 14 hours between my workouts), I was so excited about the milestone so that invigorated me. It was also a power day, which is always a fun class for me.

For cardio, we had 3 blocks and all of them had push to base paces. Every push pace was 30 seconds long and the base paces ranged from 30-90 seconds. Because all the push paces were so short, I decided not to play with the resistance on the bike and just focus on pedaling quickly. I also was still a bit tired from all the high resistance work from the day before so that may have made me decide to not use resistance levels too. But it went really well for me and I was glad that I could still do great work even with it being my 3rd workout in a row.

On the rower, we had decreasing and then increasing rows. We started with a 250-meter row and went down by 50 meters each round until we got to 100 meters. Then we worked our way back up by 50 meters each round. Between the rowing, we were supposed to do jump lunges but I did squats instead.

And on the floor, we had 1 long block that was split into 2 mini-blocks. Each mini-block was supposed to be completed 3 times before moving on. The first mini-block had lunges, squats, and plank in and outs. And the second mini-block had skater lunges, sumo squats with high rows using weights, and plank jacks. I did modify the sumo squat/high row move to be done separately, but besides that I did it what we were supposed to.

And even though I shared this photo already, of course after my class on Wednesday I had to celebrate my 1,000th class!

That was it for my workout week. It was short and felt even shorter since I did 3 days in a row. But I’m back to my normal schedule now and get to start working on my next 1,000 workouts!

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Posted in Celebrations, Fitness, Fun Stuff

Tagged fitness, Orangetheory, workout

Time For Convention (or I’m Ready To Get To Work)

Posted on October 11, 2019 | Comments Off

If you are reading this the day I post it (or the few days after), I’m currently sitting at the SAG-AFTRA National Convention. This is my 3rd convention and I’m honestly so excited about it. I am so much more involved in union politics this time and I have a feeling that if I am lucky enough to win a delegate seat for future conventions that I will be even more involved by then.

For my first convention, I was equally overwhelmed and excited. I had no clue what I was in for, but I was prepared to be there and take it all in. I spent more time sitting and listening and trying to learn than anything else. I didn’t know what else to do, but being there and participating was all I was expected to do.

For my second convention, I wasn’t overwhelmed since I knew what was going to happen, but I still wasn’t doing much more than listening and participating in the votes. I didn’t submit any resolutions and I didn’t get up to speak. Most people don’t have resolutions or speak, so I didn’t feel too bad about that. I think a lot of being a delegate is being a representative for the group you are there to represent (for me, that means for actors in the Los Angeles local) and voting the way you believe is right. And that’s exactly what I did 2 years ago.

This year, I will still probably do a lot of observing and listening. I didn’t submit any resolutions, but I did help some friends with working on theirs. I feel much more informed about what is happening and what to expect. I have been more involved in the preparation for my slate for the convention, which has helped me a lot as well. As I work on things for everyone else, I learn more about them myself. I feel the most prepared I’ve ever been and I am even more excited than I was the past 2 conventions about what is going to happen.

I know that there is so much more that I can do to be more involved, but it’s ok that I haven’t done those just yet. I plan on being in SAG-AFTRA for a very long time so there is a lot of time for me to work on changing things to make sure they benefit all members. And I have been taking more steps to be involved with working on educating myself even more. I am trying to go to more events and meetings which I have found really helpful. And maybe being at those events and meetings will inspire me to create a resolution at a future convention.

I’m looking forward to recapping what happens at the convention next week on here. I won’t be able to share everything since some things are confidential, but I do want to share what I can because I feel like other members need to know what we did. And I’m so excited to see what I will learn this time and how inspired I will feel after convention is done.

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged acting, convention, meeting, SAG-AFTRA

A Major Workout Milestone (or Getting To 1000)

Posted on October 10, 2019 | Comments Off

Yesterday, I hit a huge workout milestone. It’s something that I honestly didn’t know that I would get to, and I’m still a little surprised and in shock. Yesterday was my 1,000th Orangetheory class!

Because I track my workouts, I knew that this was coming up. I did only 3 workouts last week to make sure that my 1,000th class was in one of my regular classes (I’ll post more about my weird workout schedule in my recap on Monday). I wanted to have my milestone class be a class where I knew I’d have friends with me. While I’ve had other milestones with Orangetheory, this was one that seemed crazier to me for some reason.

I had been getting excited about this milestone for a while, and the staff at the studio knew what was coming up as well. But it still surprised me when I walked into the lobby and saw a giant sign congratulating me on doing 1,000 classes.

I’m not going to write about the workout much in this post since I’ll be doing that on Monday. But I want to share some of my thoughts after completing 1,000 classes.

I’ve said it before on here, but I had struggled in the past to find a workout that connected with me. There were other workouts that I tried that I just couldn’t do or coaches that treated me differently because of my size or medical conditions. I didn’t know it at the time, but I needed to find a place that treated me like everyone else but also helped me modify things when necessary. And when I walked in Orangetheory for the blogger preview, that’s exactly what I found. While I have been invited to check out other workout studios or classes, I’ve always compared it to Orangetheory and have always wanted to stick with it.

I started about 5 1/2 years ago and have consistently gone at least 3 times a week since I started. I started tracking how many workouts I did after a year or two so I could set goals for each year. But I also was able to track overall milestones. And I knew that getting to 1,000 classes was possible, but for some reason, I never thought too much about it until the beginning of this year when I started to add up how many I had done from every year.

I might not look different on the outside, but I know I am a different person than who I was when I started. I have gained so much confidence and awareness with my body. I feel more in control. I understand what I can push my body to do and what limitations I have. And I do think that I look a little different on the outside too because there is no question that I have gained muscle. Weight loss will hopefully come soon, but eating disorders are tough to beat and that’s a big issue for me with weight loss.

But I haven’t only made changes through the workouts directly. I have also made amazing friends from going to the same classes from week to week. I have brought friends and family to class with me and that’s been awesome too. I feel like it has helped me be a bit more outgoing being in class and the routine is a good thing for me (even though I did just complain a bit about being too much in a routine). I feel like I have more of a purpose each day and when I don’t get to work out it feels so odd to me.

I still don’t see myself as an athlete all the time because I know I don’t look like one. But after completing 1,000 classes, I think that I need to stop questioning that and believe that I truly am an athlete.

1,000 classes ago, I started a journey that I wasn’t aware was going to happen. So many things have happened for me because of taking that first class and I wouldn’t change it for anything. And next week, I start the journey of the next 1,000 classes and whatever that will bring my way.

Of course, I had to take a picture with some friends after my 1,000th class, and I wanted to compare it to the photo I took after my very first class. I feel like I look the same (which I’m trying not to focus on too much), but I also feel like you can see the difference in my eyes and smile. I have gained so much from these 1,000 classes and there’s no denying that.

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Posted in Celebrations, Fitness, Fun Stuff

Tagged celebration, fitness, milestone, Orangetheory, workout

Under 90 Days Left In The Year (or Doing A Bit Of Reflecting)

Posted on October 9, 2019 | Comments Off

Life has been crazy for me lately, but I’ve had a bit of a break over the past few days. I spent a lot of the time when things were calmer getting stuff done that I had been putting off. I also spent some time catching up on social media. While I do run some social media accounts, I haven’t really done a lot on social media for myself. And when I was catching up on seeing what other people have been up to, I saw a lot of posts from a few days ago talking about how there are only 90 days left in 2019.

I have said this a million times, but I have no clue where the time went. I was just thinking about how I should figure out if I was going to do something for my birthday, and my birthday was 2 months ago! I think I missed the chance to do that, but there’s always my half birthday. I know that time flew by because I have been very busy and my life is quite repetitive. From week to week, things do tend to stay the same for me. I have a similar schedule every day and even the things I do outside of work tend to be similar. And things have been crazy with trying to fit a lot of stuff in when I’m not working and things tend to chunk up together so I have a cycle of being extremely busy followed by a time where I don’t have much planned.

But I started to think more about what I have done this year and what I still want to do. I took another look at the various goals I set for this year and I’m glad that I have been making some progress on them. I don’t think I’ll be successful with all of the goals I set this year, but it would be a miracle if that happened. The goals I set are a mix of those that I know I can do and some that are more difficult. My priority is to get the ones accomplished that I know I can do plus a few of the harder ones. I think I’ll be able to do that this year, but I also want to make sure that I’m not being complacent and just doing the goals that I can do without much thought.

But I also can add some more goals for the last 90ish days of the year. I don’t exactly know what I want to get done, but I want there to be a change in my life. I have been living a life that doesn’t seem like a lot gets done or changes. And I need a change in my life. I am tired of living the same day over and over again. There are so many things that I want to change about my life that I’m not in control of, and I need to think beyond those. If I just focus on the changes that require someone else, I won’t make the changes that I can do on my own. And I think my focus has not been on the ones I’m in control of. I don’t quite know what those changes are just yet, but I know there are things I can do. And I’d love to work on them (or at least figure out what they are) during these last 90ish days of the year.

This is all still such an abstract idea for me because I have just been doing some thinking about it and not planning or doing any action steps. And I know I have been aware of this before and I haven’t been able or willing to make changes. I don’t know how many attempts it will take in order to finally make the change, but hopefully, it will happen one day. I don’t want to have 10 years go by and realize I’m still living the same life. I’m shocked when I realized how many years I’ve been working at this job because I don’t know how time went by without a lot of changes. I want to make sure that my life is as awesome as I want it to be, but it’s not there yet.

I don’t always love using the calendar to set goals and plans. I do set goals at the beginning of each year, but sometimes those goals are already things I’ve been working on. I don’t believe in waiting until the first of the month or a Monday to start a new plan. But for some reason, knowing there were only 90 days left in the year connected to me and got me to think about how I want to end out this year. I want to have some things to think about as accomplishments for 2019 and it’s not too late to start working on them.

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Posted in Fun Stuff, Tough Stuff

Tagged 2019, goals, planning

Another Pumpkin Party (or A Day Discussing All Things Creepy)

Posted on October 8, 2019 | Comments Off

My friend Anne hosts an awesome pumpkin decorating party before Halloween each year. I’ve only been able to make it once because of scheduling conflicts. I was afraid that this year I would have a conflict due to the convention, but I was so excited when I got the invitation and saw it was before the convention so I’d be able to make it! I’m not the craftiest person, but I like trying to see what I can create. Plus, Anne and her friends are extremely artistic and crafty so I always am inspired when I see what they create.

I haven’t decided if I would be decorating this year for Halloween, but I knew that if I was going to that I would want my pumpkin to go along with the ones I did at the last party. I didn’t have a design in mind, but I knew that Anne would have a lot of crafting supplies at the party and I was going to see what was there and what seemed right.

When I got to the party, as expected it was set up beautifully. Anne really is an amazing host and she had everything set up for all of us to decorate our pumpkins however we wanted. There was also some amazing food, but I forgot to take a photo of that.

When I got to the party, I was one of the first people there. I got to meet her other friends who were there (I didn’t know anyone except for Anne) and we also did some catching up. Anne and I hadn’t seen each other in person for a while, and even though we stay in touch through social media, it’s not the same. So having some time to fill each other in on what has been happening in our lives was nice.

And then I decided to take a look at the various craft supplies to see what I wanted to use. I knew I didn’t want anything covered in glitter or paint because that would make it messy to get back home. I wanted something fun, but I am also aware of my limitations with art. I was looking through a collection of drawer pulls in a bowl and saw this awesome keyhole one. And that kicked off the inspiration for my pumpkin.

My other pumpkins have a lot of black, so I was going to go with that for this one too. I had a slightly more elaborate plan when I started, but once I got to working on it things simplified. I used the hot glue to attach several pieces of ribbon going down the pumpkin and then used regular glue to attach some gems to the ribbon. And I managed to fit 2 of the gems into the keyhole and tape them in there so it almost looks like it’s glowing from inside. I know it wasn’t anything fancy or super creative, but I’m really happy with how it turned out!

I didn’t have a specific design inspiration outside of the keyhole piece, but I realized after I was done that it reminded me of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland! It has similar colors to the ride, and I guess that’s perfect since the other pumpkins I made have Disney elements to them as well.

Even though the main point of the party was to decorate pumpkins, of course, it was also all about hanging out and meeting new people. All the people that Anne invited were amazing. It turns out I have a bunch of mutual friends with several of them, and it’s almost weird that our paths haven’t crossed yet. And not only were they awesome people, but we all also had something in common that became a huge part of our socializing: being into true crime stories.

I thought I was really into true crime. I listen to podcasts about it, have read books about it, and watch lots of tv shows about it. But it turns out, I knew nothing compared to everyone else at the party. They all are way more informed than I am about different true crime stories and watch lots of shows that I don’t. I got some great podcast recommendations from hearing what everyone else likes and was able to share one podcast that I listen to that the others in the group hadn’t heard of. But since everyone else was more into true crime than I am, I ended up sitting back and listening to the conversation a lot. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to or feel like I could participate. I was just more in awe realizing that I was in a group of people who are so similar to me and loving hearing what they had to say.

We joked about how it was a bit odd that we were all into true crime as much as we are. But it also seemed very fitting to discuss serial killers while doing a Halloween craft. And since we all were into it, I think that made it even less odd.

I would have loved to have stayed at the party longer than I did, but Anne has a cat and I’m severely allergic to cats. I was surprised I lasted as long as I did because I usually start to have a reaction after an hour. But her cat was hiding the entire time and she cleaned a lot before we all came over. So I think that combination helped to keep my allergies from kicking in as fast as they normally do. I was really enjoying hanging out with everyone and having so much fun discussing true crime and serial killers, so it was sad when I was starting to have some breathing issues and the rash and hives I get from my allergies were starting. I wanted to leave before things got too bad for me.

I’m so glad I was able to make it to the party this year. Hopefully, I’ll be able to make it next year as well because it really is a fun Halloween event to go to. And it gives me an opportunity to try to be crafty when I don’t usually do that.

Comments Off on Another Pumpkin Party (or A Day Discussing All Things Creepy)

Posted in Crafts, Fun Stuff

Tagged crafts, friends, Halloween, party

Time For A Bit Of A Change (or Getting Chopped)

Posted on October 3, 2019 | Comments Off

My hair has been the same way for a while. I have been dyeing it the same color for several years, and I think the last big change I made to it was when I got bangs. I’ve been growing my hair out for a few years, and while I haven’t let it get crazy long, it’s been long for quite a while. Whenever I would get my hair done (which is not as often as I should), it was mainly just a trim to get the shape back in my hair. I would have maybe an inch or two cut off because of the growth since the last cut, but that’s it.

I used to love to change my hair up more often. But now, because every major change to my hair requires me to get new headshots and spend more money, I rarely do it. But before I had my hair cut earlier this week, I decided that it was time for a change. I loved my long hair, but it wasn’t looking as professional and styled as I would like. I have very thin hair and get bald spots from alopecia, so the long hair was starting to look a bit stringy. And I had recently lost a big chunk of my hair (fortunately it was at the back of my hairline so it’s not too noticeable) so I wanted to make sure I had a new hairstyle that would cover that hair loss.

There are so many styles I would love to have with my hair, but they don’t work with my face or how my face looks right now. I think if I was thinner, some looks would be better on me. I hate that my weight changes what I feel like I can do with my hair, but it’s just the truth. But I was looking at a few different things that I thought could look good and decided to show them to my friend Erin, who does my hair, to see what she thought would work and look good for me.

And the first thing I showed her was similar to a collarbone length bob (I guess it’s technically a lob but those seem to be a bit shorter than what I was looking at). Erin thought it would look great and help create the illusion that my hair is fuller than it really is. So I decided to go for it and make the first major change to my hair in years.

Since I also needed my hair to be dyed (not only do I not love my natural color, but I’ve been going gray since I was 20 so I need to cover those grays up), we started with the dyeing. But because there is no point in coloring hair that was just going to be chopped off, Erin first cut off about 6 inches that we knew would be gone. It was just a cut to get a bulk of what was going to be cut off gone, but it was still a big cut and I was excited to see how much was coming off!

You can even tell in that picture how stringy the bottom of my hair was getting. Long hair is awesome, but I just don’t have enough hair to make it look good (maybe I’ll do long hair when I can get extensions to add some thickness one day).

Dyeing my hair is a pretty standard thing for me now. I’ve been doing it forever. I did notice one random benefit to having gray hair, though. I get a single process, all-over color, but because of the gray hair, it does look like my hair gets highlighted. It’s not as perfect compared to when I actually get it highlighted, but it at least adds a bit of dimension to my hair color.

Since a lot of the cutting was done before it was dyed, after the dye was washed out it was just perfecting the cut. Erin has been doing my hair for 16 years now so she knows what works for me and my hair. And while there were a few ideas she had that could be nice, she went with what she knew would look the best on me and that I could style. And when it was done, I had much shorter hair even though it still is technically long!

I wish I had worn a lighter shirt when I took those photos because you can’t see my hair that well. But I took another after photo in a tank top so I could show off how short it is now.

It’s not short, but it’s a decent change from what it was before. I love my new look and it hasn’t been a huge adjustment. My biggest concern with shorter hair is being able to put it up for my workouts, but it’s still long enough to pull back into a bun. And it looks so much better than it did before. I guess it looks fuller now, but since I’m so aware of my hair I don’t see that. But it does look much healthier and polished, which is something I wanted.

Now that I have a new look, I do have to get new headshots, but that was already something I was working on. And since my hair is at least the same color, I’m not as stressed about getting my headshots done immediately. My plan is to do them this month, but in the past, I was worried about doing them the same week as a major haircut. I have other things taking up my time next week, but I know I’ll get it done soon.

I’m so glad I took a chance on changing up my look because I needed it! This was just the refresh I needed to feel better and I have a lot of confidence about my hair now!

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Posted in Beauty, Fun Stuff

Tagged beauty, hair

Refocusing And Getting Back To Me (or Doing A Bit Of The Same This Month)

Posted on October 2, 2019 | Comments Off

Last month, my monthly challenge was to reset myself. I had been dealing with so much in my life over the summer and I really needed to get back to me. I felt like I was not in the best mental space and I was feeling the effects physically too. I knew I needed to get back to myself and figure out how to make it work again.

I did my best with the challenge. Where I had the most success was getting my sleep back on track. There were still some nights where I was up too late or didn’t get a lot of sleep (like the night before my Dri-Tri), but in general, I was doing much better last month with my sleep. I was getting to bed closer to the time that I knew I needed to and I wasn’t as tired when I woke up. I know I should feel lucky that my sleep issues didn’t include oversleeping, but when I was staying up late and had the chance to sleep in, it would have been nice if I could do that. But I guess it was better that I only had to work on my bedtime when I was working on myself.

I didn’t make as much progress in working on my food or self-care practices. Food is always going to be a struggle for me, I know that. But I wanted to do a little better and be a bit more structured. I think the structure is improving and I am not having extreme hunger issues, but the quality of what I’m eating needs to be worked on (like it always does). And my self-care did improve a bit with making time for myself. But I always wanted to work on self-care practices for my skin and appearance. That is still not back to my normal routine yet, but I have worked on some of it and I’m slowly getting back to what I know makes my skin look better and makes me happy.

After spending last month working on refocusing and getting back to my normal self, I realized that there are other places I need to refocus in my life as well. And the biggest one is my acting career. Lately, it has felt like I have been doing so much for my career because of all my work with the election. But that doesn’t help my career directly. I still work on self-submitting every day and networking when I can, but there is more that I can do and I haven’t been doing it.

Some of the things I should be doing are things I can’t do because of money issues. I’d love to be in an on-going acting class and I haven’t found one that fits what I’m looking for and my budget. But I want to keep looking to see if I can find the perfect class for me. And I know I need new headshots, but those aren’t cheap (or if you do them cheaply, they don’t usually look good). But I have been saving for those and I am going to try to find a way to get them done soon.

So this month, I want to work on refocusing myself on my acting career. I want to make some good steps forward with things that I can control. I have a lot working in my favor, and I just need to make the effort to take advantage of them. But I don’t always know what the path is to do that and I can work on figuring that out without spending money. I don’t have any specifics on what I want to do this month (I know, another abstract challenge), but I have some ideas of things I can do or focus on. And while I doubt I will see results with auditions or bookings within the month, doing these things are going to be setting me up for those in the future.

It’s so easy to call yourself an actor because you don’t have to prove that you are doing anything. I know that I’m not just claiming to be an actor, but I also know there is so much more I can do for my career while I am not fully living as an actor. And this month, I want to add more of those things into my life and see where it takes me. I can only benefit from doing this, so it will be worth challenging myself and seeing what’s possible.

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff, Health

Tagged acting, challenge, planning, self-care, volt planner

Category Archives: Fun Stuff

Kicking Off A Musical Season (or Seeing A Cartoon Brought To Life)

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The Convention Gala (or Casino Night And Awards)

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A Full Convention Weekend (or Preparation Pays Off)

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Another Short Workout Week (or Still Can’t Believe My Milestone)

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Time For Convention (or I’m Ready To Get To Work)

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A Major Workout Milestone (or Getting To 1000)

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Under 90 Days Left In The Year (or Doing A Bit Of Reflecting)

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Another Pumpkin Party (or A Day Discussing All Things Creepy)

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Time For A Bit Of A Change (or Getting Chopped)

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Refocusing And Getting Back To Me (or Doing A Bit Of The Same This Month)

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