Posted onOctober 3, 2018|Comments Off on Finding Felicity (or Being A Total Fangirl)
I watch a lot of tv now. It’s basically my job to know what is on tv. I am trying to not watch everything for the entire season, so I’m starting to get pickier about which shows I choose to follow. But when I was growing up, I didn’t have unlimited tv time so I was very selective. I had a couple of favorite shows, and one of those favorites was “Felicity”.
I’m not exactly sure how I knew about “Felicity” when the show premiered, but I started watching right from the beginning and was pretty obsessed with it from the very first episode. My obsession was so strong that when I heard about a contest to find the biggest fan of the show, my best friend (who was equally obsessed) and I had to make a tape so we could enter.
We were so upset when we didn’t win the contest, but that didn’t stop how much we loved the show. It was only 4 seasons long, but I still think of it as one of my favorites of all time. I’ve rewatched the series a few times and it still holds up and I always enjoy it each time I watch it.
So when my friend Teresa posted an idea about doing a podcast about the show, I immediately told her I had to be a part of it! Teresa never watched “Felicity” so she is doing a podcast about watching it for the first time and she is having guest co-hosts each episode who watched the show when it was on. I was so excited that she invited me to be a part of it and this week I recorded my first episode of Finding Felicity with her!
I’m not a huge fan of hearing my voice because I always think it sounds weird, so I was a bit nervous about doing a podcast. But as soon as we started recorded, I couldn’t shut up because of how much I love the show! I actually was talking too much (sorry Teresa!) and I know they are going to have to edit a lot of what I was saying down so the episode isn’t too long. But I couldn’t help myself! I have so much to say about this show and how much I love it!
This episode of Finding Felicity is about the second episode of the first season, so I had to try to remember what happened in the first two episodes and what happened after so I wouldn’t spoil anything. I did rewatch the first two episodes again just to be extra familiar with those episodes specifically. I think I didn’t really reveal too much that happens in future episodes and when I did refer to things coming up (like characters that haven’t been introduced), I was pretty vague. I was proud of myself for not spoiling things for Teresa because I really want her to experience watching the show with as few spoilers as possible for a show that is 20 years old.
I had the best time recording the episode with Teresa. We had some fun stories to share that weren’t necessarily about the show (those may or may not get cut) and I loved being able to do some personal reflection as we talked. Teresa asked me about my thoughts on the show when I watched it 20 years ago and what my thoughts are watching it now. It did give me a lot to think about and I liked having a new way to think about how my life has changed.
My episode will be available to listen to on Friday, and each Friday there will be another new episode. There will be a rotating cast of guest co-hosts and I will be coming back on for another episode toward the end of the first season. But I know I will be listening to every episode because it is such a fun podcast idea! I love when someone else is becoming a fan of something I am such a huge fan of. And I also love when I have another way to share my fandom for a show that is one that I have honestly loved for decades!
Posted onOctober 2, 2018|Comments Off on Building Upon My Monthly Challenge (or Continuing To Work On Shopping)
Last month, I said my monthly challenge was to not do any online shopping. I did allow myself some exceptions to the rule if necessary, and I’m happy to say that I only did that twice. Both times I shopped online this past month was on Amazon, but only one of those was for me. The first time was sending my friend some supplies they needed after getting home from inpatient treatment. I would have preferred to bring it in person, but I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do that soon enough. And the second time I did online shopping was for some household goods (batteries, paper goods, office supplies). And I did do price comparisons to make sure getting them online was the right choice.
Even though I didn’t completely eliminate online shopping, I feel like I did reduce it a lot. And it changed my shopping habits as well. For the stuff I ordered online for myself, I didn’t buy things right away when I needed them. None of the things I needed were urgent, so I just added them to my Amazon cart and saved them up until it was the end of the month. It was much more mindful than I have done online shopping before and I really did notice a difference in what I was considering buying when I knew that I wasn’t necessarily going to be getting it soon. While my shopping wasn’t out of control, I knew I needed to cut back and I’m happy that I was able to accomplish that in September.
I’m going to continue working on limiting my online shopping. I know it won’t be completely eliminated, but I can work on making sure that I’m not ordering things whenever I think of them. I think adding them to my cart and waiting a few weeks was the right choice. I do have other gifts for people I need to order online this month, but it’s really not the same as ordering for myself so I’m not as worried about it. And since they are gifts, I’m just getting that one thing and not seeing what else is something that can be bought.
And going off of that idea, I was inspired for this month’s challenge. I have become so much more mindful of my shopping online. Now I want to be more mindful of my in store shopping as well. And a majority of my in store shopping is for groceries and household things, so the easiest way I think I can be mindful is to always have a list.
I’m actually pretty good at making lists when I’m shopping for household things. I usually shop at CVS and I have been taking advantage of their coupons for a long time. But I have learned that I can combine the coupons you get when you shop along with coupons that various brands put out and with the overall discount coupons I get in the mail (like when you get 30% your shopping trip from CVS). I’m not a crazy coupon person, but it does make me happy when I see the percentage of savings on the bottom of the receipt and it is over 50%. It happens more often than not and it’s nice to know that things I am buying are cheaper than what others may be paying for them.
And I used to do grocery store lists and still occasionally do them. If I’m making something new or have food planned out, I make a list because I hate forgetting one thing that I really need. But I don’t always have a plan and do a lot of routine shopping. I know that I will eat certain things each week and I usually don’t even think about it as I pick up those things each week. But then I also know that there are plenty of times that I just get those things and don’t necessarily think about different meals or what my schedule will be like that will make my meals a bit weird.
I don’t necessarily want to make this about meal planning, although I do think that will be a bit of a side effect of doing this. But I do want to write down what I am going to buy even if it is just stuff I usually get each week. I want to think about what I’m going to do before getting into the store. I can’t guarantee that I will only get the things on the list because sometimes I see something that is new or inspires me. But at least it will give me a plan to try to follow.
In a perfect world, I will make the list for shopping for whatever I am getting before I leave my house. I do try to do that when I can, especially when I’m doing multiple errands back to back. I’ll make a list of each place I’m going to and what I will be getting at each store. I think writing it down really is the best for me because it does help me remember it. But if I’m out and going to do some shopping, I can just make a quick list on my phone. I do have some list apps, but it’s also easy enough to do it as a text or email to myself.
I’m also planning on using this for shopping for clothes and other goods too. When I need to go to a store to buy some new clothes or replace something, I also end up doing a lot of wandering around the store and seeing what else catches my attention. I’m doing much better not buying things that weren’t a part of the plan, but maybe making what I need to buy as a list will help me not waste the time wandering around. I still want to give myself the freedom to do window shopping and see what inspires me, but I want to also make those moments more mindful and for me to be aware that I am choosing to do that.
I’m so glad that I’m going to continue working on my shopping habits this month. I was pleasantly surprised by how last month went and how easy it ended up being. I only hope that this month goes the same way.
Posted onSeptember 27, 2018|Comments Off on A NextGen Mixer (or Just Having Fun With My Friends)
So many of the union events I go to are a bit more serious. They are informative sessions about an issue concerning the union or are related to the elections. But sometimes I get to go to a fununion event which I love! Even though I want to be involved in the union and want to understand the issues we are passionate about, I also just like having fun with my friends and meeting other members. Fortunately, there are events like that from time to time.
A lot of the events that the NextGen Performers committee does are those fun ones. One of the main goals of that committee is to get younger members of the union involved and excited about what is going on. And having a mixer with free food and drinks is a great way to get people to come to an event! And while they are there, you can educate them about things that may be affecting them as union members. And for non-union members who attend those events can learn more about the benefits of union membership and what the differences can be between union and non-union work.
There was a mixer this week and because my mind was on other things I completely forgot about RSVPing for it. I went online the night before and the registration was showing closed. I didn’t know if that meant that they were filled or that it was too close to the date to sign up, so I texted a friend who is on the committee to see what was happening. He was able to add me to the list so I could attend and I was so grateful for him doing that (it wasn’t even what I was asking about, he just went ahead and did it)!
The mixer was at Lure in Hollywood. I had never been to the venue before, but it was pretty close to the Pantages so I knew that parking might be a bit tough to find. I skipped searching for street parking because there was a lot of traffic and road construction and just went to a parking garage. It wasn’t the cheapest option, but it was convenient and right across the street from the venue. And since I didn’t want to be out too late, I wanted to get to the mixer as close to when it started as possible.
As soon as I checked in and walked inside, I started looking for people I knew. It’s always a bit nerve-racking when I’m at a big event and don’t see a familiar face so I usually look for a friend as soon as I arrive. Fortunately, I saw some friends and union staff members right inside the door. I went over to say hello to them and then started seeing more people I knew. And then some of my friends were heading inside from the entryway where the step and repeat was into the ballroom and I followed them.
I wish I had taken photos of the venue because it was really amazing! The ballroom was nice and open with lots of seating all over. There was some food being served, but the line for food was a bit long and I wasn’t too hungry. So while my friends went to get food, I was scanning the crowd to see who else I knew. I saw my friend who got me on the list for the mixer so I went over to say thank you to him. And he was chatting with some other friends of mine so I started to catch up with them.
The rest of the evening was pretty much me moving around and finding more friends I knew. I walked with some friends to the step and repeat and saw more people I knew. I didn’t really care about taking nice photos so I went over to my friends. Then they were going to head up to the stage to talk for a bit about the event and the groups that organized it, so I found a couch area off to the side where I could watch.
When my friend Ben (who was my date to the Convention Gala last year) was speaking, I took a photo to share on social media. It was only after I took the photo that I realized that the video on the screen behind him had a clip of him at the exact moment that I got the photo. So it was double Bens!
After the speeches, the mixer was back to being a social event and I went to find my friends again. And while I was chatting with them I noticed a friend who I hadn’t seen in quite a while walking past us. It was also his birthday that night so I wanted to tell him happy birthday! And he was telling me all about the amazing things that were happening in his life after he had a bit of a rough patch. And because he is also single, our conversation turned to some ridiculousness we both have had with online dating and dating in LA in general.
The mixer was only 2 hours long so while I was catching up with my friend the event ended (and they turned the lights on so it was clear they were hoping we’d all be leaving quickly). But before I left I wanted to grab a quick photo with the signs they always have at the NextGen Performer events. The step and repeat was already down, so I just got a photo in front of the bar. My hair looks a bit weird because there was a piece in front of my face, but I wasn’t really thinking about how I was looking when taking the photo.
I’m so grateful my friend was able to get me on the list for this mixer and that I went. I love having opportunities to see friends and this was a great one! I didn’t get to meet that many new people because I was focused on catching up with all the people I saw that I knew, but that’s ok. I know there will be another event soon where I can focus more on getting to know more union members.
Posted onSeptember 26, 2018|Comments Off on A Night Out With Friends (or Emmys and Elopements)
Sometimes, my friends throw amazing parties that end up being so much better than I ever could have expected. And this past weekend, I went to one of those parties.
My friend Dena has been out of the country for a while working and traveling. She is finally back in LA and wanted to have a party at her house to celebrate her being back in town. But she had a second reason to want to throw a party because her boyfriend had been nominated for his first Emmy this year! He didn’t win, but we all know this is the first of many nominations. So Dena invited me to a party that was half welcome home and half Emmy celebration. I obviously said yes to the party, and as an added bonus Dena lives only a few minutes from my house so it was super easy to get to!
I wish I had taken more photos at the party because it really was an amazing party that blew me away when I arrived! It was a cocktail party so it was so much fun seeing everyone dressed up. And they had a ton of food and a gorgeous dessert table with desserts baked by another friend of mine. I didn’t end up eating while I was there because I was still recovering from the Dri-Tri a few hours before and my stomach was a bit off. But everything smelled delicious and all my friends said all the food was incredible.
In the invitation, they mentioned that there would be a special toast at 8pm and to please be at the party by then. I personally thought that maybe Dena and her boyfriend were engaged and this was a surprise engagement party. A few of my friends and I discussed that when we arrived at the party and we all had similar ideas about that. We just had to wait until 8 to hear what was going to happen.
At 8pm, Dena and her boyfriend Greg got up to speak in front of everyone. There was a posterboard behind them that was congratulating Greg on his Emmy nomination.
Then they announced that they recently got engaged and wanted to celebrate that with us all! We were so excited for them but the announcements weren’t done. Dena and Greg said that they wanted to throw this party so they could ask us all to save the date and put another posterboard up with a photo of them and below the photo it said “Save The Date 9-7-18”. There was a moment of confusion before they showed us another posterboard explaining it.
They eloped 2 weeks earlier and were married!
So this party that we thought was a welcome home/Emmy celebration was actually more of a wedding reception for their elopement! Everyone was pretty much in shock and so happy for them. It was such a wonderful celebration already and now it was even better! Everyone was crowding them to congratulate them and I eventually got to Dena to tell her congrats and she could show off her engagement ring and wedding band.
After the announcement, the party continued pretty similarly to how it was going before. They just wanted to have a fun celebration with all of their friends and that’s exactly what they were having. They did have a first dance and a wedding cake that they cut so it made it more of a reception than just a regular party. But it really felt so perfect that this is how they were celebrating their wedding with their friends. It was so casual and everyone was enjoying themselves. All my friends who have gotten married have told me that all they wanted was everyone to have fun. And that’s exactly what Dena got.
I spent most of the party hanging out with my friends who were there and just enjoying the party as an observer. I know I was not my most social because I was tired and my body was sore, but that didn’t stop me from having fun. I really do love just spending time with my friends. And since I rarely see these friends dressed fancy, I think just seeing them in cocktail attire instead of casual clothes was enough to put a huge smile on my face. And I don’t dress up that often so I was enjoying looking fancy too.
I knew I wouldn’t be able to be at the party too late because of all the things I had earlier that day. But I managed to stay there for a couple of hours before heading back to my car to go home. But because a lot of the people at the party have kids or had a longer drive home, it seemed like it was starting to wind down a bit by the time I was making my rounds to say goodbye to everyone. I found Dena again before I left and congratulated her again and we agreed that now that she’s back in LA we will hang out soon and I’m sure I’ll get to hear all about their elopement and how it all came together. I can’t wait to hear the story!
I already knew that this party was going to be awesome because it was celebrating an amazing friend, but it was way beyond what I expected when I got there. It’s not often that I get to be surprised by something, but this really surprised everyone who was there and it was so fun to get to be a part of that!
Posted onSeptember 20, 2018|Comments Off on Remembering To See My Friends (or Actually Scheduling Hangouts)
It can seem like I see my friends a lot more often than I actually do. Some of my friends are people I see at my workouts, some I see at union events, and some I have scheduled fun things like the musicals with. I love that I have friends who are a part of regular things I do in my life, but I also know that I have been relying on those way more often than I should. Everyone is very busy so I’m not the only person guilty of doing this, but I also know that I need to be active in fixing it when I realize this has become a regular problem.
The problem with fixing it is that it’s never easy to schedule hangouts. With all of our schedules being very different and not everyone having a steady schedule from week to week, it can take a month or longer to actually find a time that I can see certain friends. I know that it really isn’t something that can be fixed because we all have random jobs. The life of being a creative person means you usually end up jobs that have nontraditional schedules. I’m lucky that very few of my friends work late nights or graveyard shifts, but some of them do. And even with my friends that work “normal” hours, they don’t always have time after work because they usually have to make dinner, do errands, workout, and many of them have classes after work since that’s the only time they can fit it in.
So when I can make a plan quickly with a friend to hang out, it’s such a special treat. And I had that this week with a good friend of mine. We had seen each other at the Union Working meeting and were texting after the meeting discussing different union related issues. Our texts were becoming very long and we realized it would be easier to have this conversation in person. And by some miracle, we were able to find a time only a few days later that we could meet up to talk!
My friend came over to my side of town (which can be a pretty big deal in LA) and we met at a Starbucks near my house. Starbucks might not be the most interesting place to meet, but it was convenient and there is free parking (a rarity in LA). We met up after I was done with work that day and I was able to get there a bit early so we could have a table to sit at inside.
I honestly can’t remember the last time this friend and I had hung out outside of events we were both at. It easily has been years since that happened. And we did talk about a few life things going on with both of us but the majority of our hangout was discussing union related issues. My friend has some big concerns that they haven’t been able to get answers to and many of them are things that I had not considered. While some things weren’t the most positive things to hear, I’m glad they shared them with me because it’s important to know what other union members are thinking. There are some things they shared that are concerns of mine as well, and that got me thinking about being more active in trying to get answers or fix things.
One of the biggest things that is shared at the Union Working meetings is that we cannot complain about the union if we aren’t going to try to fix it. We are the union and we have the power to make it what we want it to be. I don’t have as much power to change things as other people do, but I still have a voice and a say in what happens. Even union members who aren’t elected in any way to serve have the ability to speak up. Many of them don’t because either they are scared or they don’t know how they can do it. And I do try to share with people how they can be more involved (like going to the W&W meetings we have next month about our commercial contract).
It didn’t feel like we were talking that long, but by the time my friend and I looked at the time about over 2 hours had passed! I guess that’s what happens when you hang out with someone awesome. And even though we were debating and disagreeing on many issues, we left the hangout with no hard feelings and we both respect each other just as much or more than we did before. That’s another sign of having an amazing friend. You don’t always have to think the same thing to get along.
Sometimes I feel like when I am trying to schedule a hangout with a friend I feel like it has to be something more than it really needs to be. Just going to Starbucks and having coffee together can be enough to strengthen a friendship and to be able to continue connecting with the people I love. I just need to be better about remembering to do it more often.
Posted onSeptember 18, 2018|Comments Off on Another Musical Season (or Enjoying A Repeat Musical)
Even though the last season of our shows at the Pantages just ended about a month ago, the new season just started for us! Technically the new season officially starts in November with the season ticket package we bought, but our group also decided to get a couple of add-on shows so we got to start our season early! That also means that we have 11 shows this season instead of the 7 that came with our package! It’s going to be a full season, but I’m really excited for it.
One thing that is different for this season is that I have more repeat musicals than any other season. Out of the 11 shows, I’ve seen 7 before. That’s a lot considering that in the past seasons I usually only had seen 1 or 2 before. But since I’ve been enjoying seeing musicals more than once lately, I’m actually really excited about it.
And this first show was a repeat one for me. We saw “Beautiful“, which I previously saw about 2 years ago when Dani and I did our Black Friday deal for a mini-season of tickets.
Dani and I had seen the show before, but the 2 other people in our group hadn’t seen it. Michelle, who has been a part of our past 2 seasons and is doing this season too, was new to the show. And my friend Grace is the 4th person in our group this season, but she was unable to make this show. So my birthday twin Joanna took the 4th ticket and she was new to the show too! Joanna actually didn’t know really anything about the show, but when I asked her if she wanted the ticket she was free and the price was right so she said yes!
I remember the first time I saw “Beautiful” that I was almost a bit overwhelmed. There was so much to pay attention to in the show and I knew I missed things. There were some on stage quick changes that I wished I could see again and sometimes I got distracted by the music because I didn’t realize the song was done by Carole King. So it was nice to get to see the show again so I could focus on it in a different way than I could the first time seeing it.
And being able to focus on it in a different way gave me a different appreciation and I got a different enjoyment out of the show. I was so glad that it was just as good (if not better) the second time around because not every musical is one that I think I would enjoy seeing a second time. Some of the shock I felt the last time seeing the show from not realizing things would be happening was gone and I could just sit back, relax, and enjoy the performances. It was funny because I did tell Joanna that there were some amazing on stage quick changes and when they happened she had the same reaction I had the first time. And after the show was done she was telling me how much she loved it.
Dani and I both agreed that this touring cast was amazing. We had some favorites from the last touring cast and this one, but overall it was still a really wonderful show and we enjoyed it. And Michelle really liked it too and I think we all agreed it was a great way to kick off a new season of shows.
The last time I saw “Beautiful”, I said it was my favorite musical I had seen. It’s still one of my favorites, but now that I’ve seen so many musicals I don’t know if I can pick a favorite anymore. I see musicals a different way now that they don’t feel like a rare treat. When you don’t see them that often, I think it’s easier to pick favorites. Now that I see them about every month or every other month, I can notice more specific differences between shows. One show might have the most impressive songs while another has the best overall script. One show might be incredible with costumes and dancing while another can have the best actors. I don’t know how to pick which show is my favorite because for almost every single show I’ve seen in the past few years I can name one thing that was the best in that show.
I really wasn’t concerned that this coming season of shows would be a lot of shows that I’ve seen before. There is only 1 show that I have seen more than once that I really didn’t care for it after the first time. It’s still a bit of a novelty for me to see shows more than once since I went so long without seeing musicals. And fortunately almost all the experiences I’ve had before with repeat shows have been good and usually make me appreciate the musical more. The next show will be a new one for me, but with all the repeat shows coming up I am getting more and more excited to see what it will be like seeing those shows again. I’m just really glad the first show in this season of repeat shows was such a wonderful night out to start things off on a really great note.
Posted onSeptember 12, 2018|Comments Off on Cooking At Hipcooks (or Remembering Cooking Doesn’t Have To Be Hard)
I’ve written about my struggles with cooking on here several times before. I will probably never understand why cooking is something tough for me to prioritize and do more often, but realizing it may be a struggle for forever has helped me feel a bit better about it. I don’t think I’m a bad cook and I do like cooking, I just don’t do it.
Even though this has been something I’ve struggled to do more often, I’ve never really taken a cooking class to help to motivate me or make cooking more fun. So when my friend Dani asked me if I wanted to join her at Hipcooks for a class, I said yes to see what cooking classes are like there. Dani is a volunteer at Hipcooks, which means that she helps clean up during classes. But she can still participate and she earns free classes by volunteering. And for the summer cocktails and infusions class she was also told that she could have a friend come with her. So I got to check it out for free!
The location is actually very close to my house. I could have walked over if I wanted to, but I decided to drive so I didn’t have to walk home in the dark. And as soon as I got there, I noticed that everything was set up to have everyone work together. I imagined it would be individual stations where people learn to do things, but it was a much more collaborative class. Where we did most of the cooking was around a semi-circle station where the teacher was in the middle and we were all around.
And the table where we would be eating and making cocktails was a big square table. It has the feeling of being a party more than a class.
There was also a menu with all the food and drinks we would be making in class.
While I’m not a big drinker (and I hadn’t really had a drink since my birthday party last year), I was excited to learn how to make different cocktails. I knew that even if I didn’t drink for a long time, a bunch of the drinks could probably be made without alcohol. And they would be new skills that I was going to be learning.
The class had 8 people not counting the instructors and Dani so it felt small but we could also have little groups to work on different things. The cooking at Hipcooks is a collaborative effort and everyone gets to work on different things. For example, I was working on the bruschetta with another student in class while other people worked on a salad and a tart.
The bruschetta was an easy process. The instructor toasted the bread and I took a clove of garlic and rubbed it on the bread. Then we covered that in mascarpone cheese and layered sliced figs and prosciutto on it. It was so easy to do but looked impressive which is the best!
What I loved the best about this class was that there were no recipes and no measuring tools. The idea is that cooking is fun and doesn’t have to be perfect and I love that idea! When we were making wontons we were filling them with goat cheese and avocado. We were just told to fill them and as long as we could seal them closed it was fine. We didn’t have to worry about making sure everything was measured out and precise. It made everything easy and relaxing.
Since the class was a mix of cooking and cocktails we went back and forth between the cooking area and the table where we mixed drinks. The square table had different stations for us to work in for making cocktails and we all worked with a partner. I was partnered up with someone who was in class alone as well and we worked together making the different drinks.
We learned how to do a proper pour of alcohol, how to muddle herbs and fruit, and how to shake a drink using a shaker. I took sips of everything we made and some of them are drinks I know that I would totally make another time.
While we were having our drinks, we also got to eat some of the food we made. The instructor did some of the finishing work or baking things that needed to be baked, but most of the work was done by the students in class.
We went back and forth between cooking and making drinks a few times, but I liked that because it split things up nicely. I never felt like we were making drinks for too long or cooking for so long that I forgot what we made. The class was 3 hours long, but it really felt like it flew by. And although I wasn’t in the most social mood while in class, I did chat with everyone who was there and had a great time. I had a lot weighing on my mind while I was there, and it helped me to put that out of my mind for a bit and have some fun.
I also loved how the group came together over the course of the class. While 4 people in the group were friends and there was another group of 2 friends, but we didn’t all know each other when we started. But at the end of class, it really felt like we were one big group and that we weren’t a collection of strangers in a class together. It was really nice and exactly what I needed when I was not in the best head space.
I seriously loved this class! Not only were the things we made awesome, it really proved to me how flexible cooking can be and helped to take away some of the feelings of needing to be perfect that I know I’ve had when cooking in the past. I’m looking at taking some other classes there since they have so many different types. And I’m also looking into maybe volunteering there so I can do some free classes!
Posted onSeptember 7, 2018|Comments Off on Actors With Day Jobs (or An Empowering Hashtag)
If you were on twitter over the weekend, you may have noticed #actorswithdayjobs as one of the trending hashtags. I usually don’t pay too much attention to trending hashtags or topics on twitter because so often they are things I don’t have a clue about or know what’s happening. But this time I knew all about it and what was going on. And as an added bonus, it was a friend of mine who started the hashtag going!
If you aren’t familiar with what happened, this is a quick version of the story. Geoffrey Owens is an actor and he is known for big shows like “The Cosby Show”. Someone was at a Trader Joe’s and noticed that he was working there. They took a picture of him and sent it to some news/tabloid outlets saying how he was working there. For some reason, those outlets decided to shame an actor for working a day job between other jobs. Fortunately, most people were disgusted by this and were shaming the outlets for the story and sharing their support for Geoffrey Owens. And one way they were showing support was to share their day jobs with the hashtag.
I couldn’t believe that people were trying to shame him for working an honest job but I was inspired by seeing how much support he got from people who understand the journey of an actor. There is absolutely no shame in having a day job. I have several of them and have written about them on here and on otherblogs. Even if you work on a couple of shows in a year, that money isn’t necessarily enough to support you for all the time you aren’t working. Most actors work jobs in-between their acting jobs. It’s not something that is weird or unheard of. It’s something that almost everyone I know does and is a normal part of life.
And this isn’t just an actor thing. I have some friends who are teachers who work a second job after school, on the weekends, or during school breaks to make enough money to support themselves. I have friends who work in an office job and drive for Uber or Lyft during their time off to make ends meet. I wish that most jobs would pay a living wage, especially in expensive cities like LA, but that’s just not the case. Many people I know cannot support themselves on a single job. And those who can consider themselves very lucky.
There was a lot of discussion around the hashtag with a political slant as well. Some people were saying that certain news outlets say that they are for the working class, but then those news outlets were also the ones that shamed Geoffrey Owens for working. There was also discussion about respecting freelancers and union members as actors are both of those. But even taking out the political things, I think most people understand why the articles shaming him were ridiculous and why we should all support each other and we should appreciate those who work hard.
I’m so glad the hashtag was created because it did allow for me to spend time on social media over the weekend reading the various stories of actors and their day jobs. I did enjoy seeing what jobs my friends were listing and seeing what jobs actors that I dream of working with used to do. It was a way to create solidarity among actors no matter what level we are at in our careers.
It was a bit ironic and fitting that this all happened over Labor Day weekend when we are celebrating unions and the worker’s rights that they got us. But I think the timing also helped to make the hashtag go viral and get more people wanting to share their stories. And I think because it went viral, people who may have been embarrassed they have day jobs realized how normal it is and that it isn’t something that needs to be hidden. I saw more conversation online about day jobs over the weekend than I ever have seen before and the conversation hasn’t stopped. Hopefully any stigma people thought existed about having day jobs have started to fade and that fear can be changed into a more positive energy.
I know that there are so many stories about social media being bad or giving a platform to bullies. I’m just glad that I get to see the positives from social media as well. And while this story started as a negative that turned into a positive conversation, I think that almost makes it more empowering.
Posted onSeptember 6, 2018|Comments Off on Baby Shower Fun (or I Love Celebrating My Friends)
Even though I’m the age where a lot of people are having kids, not that many of my friends have kids yet. But more and more of my married friends are starting families and I am so excited for all of them! Some of them haven’t been having baby showers or other parties to celebrate a baby until the baby is here, but last weekend I got to go to a baby shower for my friends Erin and Ace.
Erin hasn’t had the easiest pregnancy so I was so glad she was doing better and they were able to have this celebration before their son is born. He should be born next month so she’s almost to the end of being pregnant (and I think both she and Ace are ready for their son to be here).
Even though I haven’t been to a lot of baby showers, I’m familiar with a lot of baby shower games. But Erin and Ace aren’t really game people, so I figured there wouldn’t be any games and it would be more like a regular party. And that’s exactly what it was like! The shower was held at a Mediterranean restaurant right on the beach in Venice. Since the shower was on a Saturday and on the beach (and it was a gorgeous day), it was a little tough to get there. But I was able to find a parking lot a few blocks away that had some spots open. So I parked and walked over to the party.
And I was right, this baby shower was more like a fun party with awesome people it was so much fun! I didn’t know many people at the party so I tried to be social and get to know who else was there. And before the food came out, I went over to the onesie decorating table to decorate one for the baby. With many of the people at the party being creative people, so many of the onesies were really amazing. I was drawing a blank on what to do, but then I remembered a onesie that I had seen online once and I copied it the best I could.
I know that both Ace and Erin will be amazing at taking care of their baby, but I figured decorating a onesie was the time to be silly. And they both seemed to love it and think it was funny. But some of the other ones (which sadly I didn’t take photos of) were extremely creative. Some of them had to do with “Game Of Thrones”, some of them had cute puns, and one of them was decorated to look like the baby had made a huge mess all over everything. It was fun watching other people decorate them and I was happy with what I created.
After that, the food came out. It was some delicious Mediterranean food like salad, chicken, pitas, and hummus. There was also a dessert table with cupcakes, fruit, and sweet treats. I got a plate of food and found a table to sit at with some new people. So we all went around saying how we knew Erin and Ace and sharing random stories about being in the entertainment industry (most people at the party were actors).
When we were done eating, Erin and Ace went up to give a little speech about how grateful they are for everyone who was there and how we are their LA family. Neither of their families live super close to LA so they have created their own family out of their friends. And I’m so honored to be one of those people. Both Erin and Ace have been amazing friends to me and I really have gotten to know each of them really well in the past few years. And they are both people I know I could count on if I needed something. So I would be willing to help them out in any way I could and I know that everyone else at the party feels the same way.
After everyone had eaten and decorated onesies, the party started to wind down a bit. I went over to Erin and Ace to say goodbye and to let them know how much fun I had and how honored I was to be invited to the baby shower. And they looked so adorable that I had to get a photo of them.
They are seriously such a great couple and I know their baby is going to be awesome! And I have seen all the incredible people they have in their LA family that will help them out and make sure that their son is loved so much. And I’m excited for them to have the baby so I can celebrate them even more!
Posted onSeptember 3, 2018|Comments Off on Another Week of Highs and Lows (or Not Letting One Workout Influence Another)
This past week was another workout week where things were pretty mixed. I had some great accomplishments and some tough struggles. But I think the biggest thing I got through this past week was not letting how I felt one day make me think differently for the next workout. I was able to let it go and move on if I had a tough day and I think that helped me accomplish more than I would have been able to do before.
Monday’s workout was a strength day and it was also a walking day for me on the treadmill. I usually walk on strength days because they involve inclines, but my body was also just feeling off that morning (probably due to my dentist appointment after my workout). But it ended up being a good day to work on my incline work on the treadmill.
We started with 5 short blocks on the treadmill that each built upon the one before. The first block was a 30 second push pace at 9% (for power walkers at least, runners were at 5%), a 1 minute base at no incline, and a 30 second all out pace. The next block added onto the incline work so we had 30 seconds at 9% and 30 seconds at 8%. Each block added 30 seconds at an incline lower so the last block had 2 1/2 minutes of incline work starting at 9% and going down to 5%. I did use the inclines we were supposed to use even though 9% is a bit higher than I like to use. But I just went down a bit with my speed to make it doable for me.
The last block on the cardio side was a rowing block. It was 3 minutes long and we had rounds of 150 meter rows. But the goal this time was to do the row in as few pulls as possible. Usually you row fast to try to get through it in the shortest time, but to do the fewest pulls you have to go very slowly. It’s not easy to go that slow, but I’ve gotten pretty decent at doing it. The goal was to be lower than 15 pulls and our coach said to try to get 12. I was able to do 2 attempts in the 3 minutes and both times I got it done in 11 pulls! I tied for the best in class that morning!
The floor was 6 blocks and it also had a similar format to the treadmill where we added upon each block. The first block was just the ab work we had which was plank jacks, toe touches, reverse crunches, and full sit-ups. I really couldn’t do the reverse crunches because of my hips so I skipped that part and added regular crunches. Then we added on low rows with weights for the next block. Block 3 had us adding high rows using weights, block 4 had us adding lunges with weights, and block 5 had us adding lunges without weights. Each block I skipped the reverse crunches and added regular ones. And the final block skipped all the ab work and just had the exercises we added on. When I saw that this was our floor work, I thought it wouldn’t be too bad. But by the end my abs were on fire!
Wednesday was another strength day and the treadmill blocks had power walking work for everyone. Normally even on strength days the people who run still run but use inclines. But this time, every block had a section where we all were power walkers.
We had 4 blocks on the treadmill and every block had 90 seconds of power walking for everyone at 15%. While I have done a few moments of 15% incline work lately, I’m not that great at using inclines that high and especially not for that long. But I did try the best I could for those 90 seconds. I was using the 15% incline for the first 3 blocks, but I did bring my speed down quite a bit to do it. And for the last block I just wasn’t able to do the incline that high so I used my normal all out incline but was back at my normal speed. Each block we had a push pace after the power walking hill, which meant working at 6% which felt almost flat after doing 15%. I ended up taking a bunch of breaks during the treadmill blocks, but I think that my body was also a bit still due to stress and anxiety and that was affecting my workout.
The floor started with a rowing block. We had 10 pulls to see how far we could get on the rower. It was similar to what we had on Monday with trying to do 150 meters on the rower with as few pulls as possible. We also had some shoulder and tricep work using weights between each attempt on the rower. Then we had 2 regular floor blocks. The first had tricep pullovers, squats, and plank low rows. And the second was a core block with double crunches and half get ups. The ab work was a bit tough after Monday’s workout, but fortunately my soreness wasn’t as bad on Wednesday as it had been on Tuesday.
Friday’s workout was one that I was worried about before going in. I had a minor medical procedure done on Thursday afternoon (more on that coming up in my post on Wednesday this week) and I was prepared to be not at my best. I was a bit sore and dealing with some symptoms that were similar to how I feel when I have hormonal issues, so I dealt with the workout the same way I do when I am having that pain and nausea.
I was so grateful the class was a 3 group class so I wasn’t on the bike for that long. We had 2 blocks and in the first block we were supposed to do a distance at push pace, have a walking recovery, and then do an all out at an incline. But for me, I just tried to keep going on the bike for the entire block. I wasn’t really feeling up for pushing myself too much and I knew that just doing what I could was enough for that workout. The second block was supposed to be a 30 second all out and then 10 lunges and each round we were supposed to increase the all out by 15 seconds. I was able to do that for 2 rounds but then the lunges were starting to get to me so I just stayed on the bike and kept pedaling.
On the rower we had a similar format to the treadmill/bike. The first block was a 30 second all out row followed by 10 lunges and then increasing the row by 15 seconds each time. Again, I was able to do 2 rounds and then the lunges were bothering me so I stuck with just rowing. The second block started with a 400 meter row followed by rounds of 30 second all out rows. I wasn’t doing so great during this rowing block and I just rowed and took breaks when I needed to. It seemed like I needed a break every 100-150 meters so I didn’t get that far on the rower.
The floor was one long block but we had 3 mini-blocks within it. Each mini-block had 2 exercises and we were supposed to do 2 rounds of them before moving on to the next mini-block. We had single leg deadlifts, bird dogs, hammer curls, knee tucks on the ab dolly, tricep kickbacks, and ab dolly roll outs. I was just able to make it to the end of the last mini-block when time was up but I was pretty happy with my floor work. I went slowly, but I did heavy weights for all the weight work which is always a good thing.
Even though Friday was a tough day, I was determined to do better on Saturday. Fortunately I was feeling almost totally better by then and the workout seemed designed to allow me to do some awesome work! I went to a different class time than I normally go to so I was at another 3 group class and it was focused on power work.
We had 2 blocks at each section of the room. The first block on the treadmill was a 1 minute push pace, 1 minute base pace, 1 minute all out, walking recovery, 1 minute all out, walking recovery, 45 second all out, walking recovery, and ending on a 30 second all out. I walked the base pace and walking recovery, but I ran everything else! The second treadmill block was a 1 minute push pace, 1 minute base pace, 1 minute all out, 1 minute walk, and ending on a 30 second all out. Again, I ran everything except the base pace and walking recovery! That was such a huge improvement over what I had been able to do the day before.
On the rower, the first block started with a 100 meter row and frogger squats. Each round the row went up by 100 meters and the frogger squats went down by 2. And the second block had round of 100 meter rows with shoulder work with weights between each row. I had been dealing with some soreness in my shoulder so I struggled a bit with the weights, but I did about half of them with weights and then did regular squats after so I didn’t have to involve my shoulders.
And on the floor, the first block was regular chest presses, pull ups on the straps, and close grip chest presses. And the second block was sit up to squats on the benches, sit-ups, and pushups using the bench. For the weighted work I was using my heavy weights, but more of the floor work was body weight only work.
I’m so glad I didn’t let my performance on Friday affect my Saturday workout. I love when I end my week on such a high note because that puts me in a good mood for the next workout week. Of course, my issues vary from week to week so I have no clue how I’ll do this week in my workouts, but I’m optimistic and hopeful that I’ll have at least 1 awesome day!
Live Podcast Episode (or Another Way You Can Support Me)
