Tag Archives: dog

Double Date Saturday (or Why I Love Dog Sitting)

Posted on April 2, 2014 | Comments Off on Double Date Saturday (or Why I Love Dog Sitting)

This past Saturday was a pretty busy day. It started with my awesome spin class experience. After that class, I was ready to spend a bit of time relaxing (and making sure that I didn’t need to take any painkillers).

Then on Saturday evening, I had a fun evening out with my friend Woody (the bartender on “How I Met Your Mother” for the last few seasons). Woody was also the person I went to see the awesome show at The Geffen with last year. Anyway, when I was working telesales at my old job, I won a lot of free tickets for having the best sales numbers in multiple categories. There was a series of shows of Broadway stars at my work, so I got a pair of tickets to each one. Another friend of mine was supposed to go with me, but then she had to go out-of-town to work at the last-minute. So Woody became my new date for the evening.

We saw Adam Pascal (from the original cast of “Rent”). It was an amazing show. And I lucked out by getting amazing seats (we were in box seats pretty much on top of the stage). Woody and I had an awesome time at the show, but it was even better to just get to hang out with a friend!

It was a little weird to be back at my old work, but I got over it quickly. Everyone was happy to see me and many of them didn’t know that I’ll be coming back soon to work in the box office. The awesomeness of the show definitely outweighed the weirdness of being back.

After the show, I hung out chatting with Woody for a while, but I had to leave before it got too late. I was dog sitting that evening for my friend Erin, and basically had an overnight date with her dog.

I’ve dog sat a bunch in the past for Erin. It’s always a fun time because her dog is a very cuddly dog. He insists on sleeping right next to me and he always has to have at least one paw touching my skin (not through my clothes, but directly on my skin).

I got to Erin’s house pretty late, so as soon as I got there, I got ready for bed (Erin had other friends who walked the dog earlier in the day so I only had to be there overnight). The dog was by my side the entire evening.

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I’m not normally a fan of sleeping next to a dog (it’s not something that was allowed when I was growing up), but how can you resist this face?!?

I pretty much just slept there and spent a little playtime in the morning with the dog. Very easy work. Plus, since I haven’t seen Tucker in forever (and might not get to see him again until Thanksgiving), this helps with missing my puppy! I have to get my dog fix in somehow and dog sitting really is a good way!

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Welcome Tucker! (or Filling The Dog Shaped Hole In My Family)

Posted on January 7, 2014 | 2 comments

When Dante died, it was awful. We had Dante for almost 13 years. He was a family member, not a pet. But his death was somewhat expected and when he passed away we had Chaucer to look forward to.

When Chaucer died, we were all in shock. It was horrible to lose a puppy, but his death also brought back the loss of Dante. It’s tough to miss a puppy that we only had for a few days. In some way, it felt like he never existed.

After losing 2 dogs in 6 days, my parents had to take a short break from dogs. They weren’t sure what they wanted to do next. After thinking about it for a few days, they realized that our family was missing a dog and they wanted to find our newest family member.

One of Chaucer’s brothers (originally named Rockwell) was still looking for a forever home. So my parents decided to meet him and after meeting him, he was ours.

We changed his name to Tucker (my mom picked it out) and his been a part of the family for about a week now. I have yet to meet him, but my parents do email me pictures of him pretty regularly.

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From what my parents have told me, he is a very sweet and curious puppy. He’s super active but also getting very good at obedience (he already knows several commands). He’s met a bunch of people in the week that my parents have had him and everyone has fallen in love with him. And he’ll be starting puppy school this week so he will get some more socialization skills as well as learning more commands.

We didn’t announce Tucker’s adoption to people right away. We were terrified that something would happen to him like what happened to Chaucer. But Tucker went to the vet on Friday and got a clean bill of health.

I’m hoping to take a trip next month (when I’m supposed to be (f)unemployed again) so I can meet Tucker. If I don’t, there’s a chance that I might not get to meet him until Thanksgiving, and to me that’s unacceptable!

I’m aware that some people might think that we are forgetting about Dante and Chaucer because we got Tucker so soon. But that’s not the case at all. We still miss both dogs every day. Whenever I talk to my mom about how Tucker is doing, we are always comparing him to both dogs (Tucker has some big shoes to fill). Without a dog in my parents’ home, things didn’t seem right. It was too empty and quiet. And since one of my mom’s jobs has been running the pet therapy program at the hospital where my dad used to work (and where she is getting all her treatments), having a dog is practically her job.

I’m just glad that my parents were able to find another dog that needed a loving home. And Tucker seems to be fitting in perfectly with our family so far!

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What Also Happened On Christmas (or Our Sweet Chaucer)

Posted on December 27, 2013 | 1 comment

While I try to be completely honest all the time on here, there are some things that I can’t share right away.

While I did a recap of my Christmas, you might have noticed that there was no mention of our new puppy Chaucer.

We picked up Chaucer on Sunday. He seemed absolutely perfect. The only thing was his neutering site was a little infected (he had licked at it and the incision opened up). We were told that he would be fine and that the incision was re-glued. When we brought him home, he was a wonderfully squirmy puppy. He did everything a puppy should do. He ate like a pig, cried when we put him in the kennel or “gated community”, and just wanted to be loved on and cuddled.

Monday was pretty much the same as Sunday. He did all the usual puppy things. We worked on training with him and was so pleased to see that he already knew some of his commands and was even very close to being potty trained. We showed him off to lots of our neighbors and friends that day.

Tuesday morning things changed. Chaucer vomited and refused to eat. He also seemed very lethargic. We rushed him to the vet that my family has used for decades and the vet didn’t seem too concerned. This vet wasn’t the usual vet that our dogs have seen, but she was the only one there so we saw her. The vet said that he might just have a stomach bug and that would explain the vomiting and refusing to eat. His blood sugar was extremely low so they gave him fluids and glucose to perk him up. He didn’t perk up right away, but we were told to give things time. We were also given medicine to help with the nausea and the infection at the neutering site (which didn’t really seem that big of a deal to the vet).

All day Tuesday we fed him baby food and water (what the vet told us to do). We fed him every 90 minutes. He was still going to the bathroom so we figured we were doing what he needed. In the evening he started to perk up so we thought maybe he was getting better.

Then early on Christmas morning, my parents heard Chaucer making noise in this kennel. They thought he needed to go out to potty, so they got him and took him outside. He was having  grand mal seizure. Thinking it was related to the blood sugar issue, my parents fed him maple syrup. They woke me up to tell me that they were rushing Chaucer to the emergency vet. While my mom was driving, Chaucer had another seizure and died in my dad’s arms.

When my parents took his body to the vet yesterday so he could be buried, the vet believed that he had sepsis due to the infection from being neutered. There was nothing else we could have done to save him. The infection was there when we got him and it was probably too far along. His little body couldn’t fight it.

We are all so devastated that this happened. We spent a lot of Christmas in total shock. It almost didn’t feel real. It didn’t feel like we ever had Chaucer.

I wish I could write an obituary for him like I did for Dante, but sadly we were just getting to know Chaucer when he died.

What I can tell you is that Chaucer was such a sweet dog. He was loving and greeted pretty much everyone we introduced him to with a kiss. He was also unbelievably smart. For only being 8 weeks old, he already knew commands and how to listen. And he picked up where in the backyard to go potty on his first day home.

Chaucer had his whole life ahead of him, and I know that he would have been an amazing dog. There’s no doubt in my mind about it.

My parents aren’t sure when they’ll get another dog now. They do want to add a dog to the family, but this hit them so hard that they are being very cautious. They want to make sure that the next dog is as healthy as can be.

Some people have asked me if they can do anything for Dante’s memory. If you would like to do something in honor of Dante and now Chaucer, you can donate to Pound Puppy Rescues. They are the organization that rescued Chaucer and all his puppy siblings from a dog hoarder. They foster all the dogs in homes so they don’t have to go to shelters. I know that any donations made there will go to make sure that all dogs find wonderful forever homes.

And hopefully soon, my family will find our forever dog.

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Welcome Chaucer (or The Fluffy Puppy Has Arrived)

Posted on December 25, 2013 | Comments Off on Welcome Chaucer (or The Fluffy Puppy Has Arrived)

I hope that you are all having a great Christmas. My family doesn’t really celebrate Christmas, but I will do a recap of my day soon.

So I flew in to see my parents on Saturday and on Sunday it was puppy day! We had to drive to a store about 30 minutes away to pick up Chaucer (that’s where the foster mom was meeting us and the other families).

We got there super early (because we were so excited) so we walked around the store and looked at all the cute puppy stuff. I really wanted to get Chaucer a sweater or coat because he’ll be going to the snow soon, but whatever we get him he’ll probably outgrow in a few weeks.

Finally, we saw Chaucer’s foster mom and she brought the newest member of the Levin family over to us.

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Even though he doesn’t look as much like a weasel as he did in his baby picture (my mom’s words, not mine), he is still ridiculously cute! And super fluffy!

And in case you are wondering, the neck pillow looking thing is so Chaucer can’t lick at the incision site from where he was neutered. He licked at it the first day and it opened up, so he has to wear the “donut of shame” until it’s all healed. But we all think that the donut looks way better than a cone and the pattern actually looks very cute on him.

I played official photographer so there aren’t any pictures of me and Chaucer yet. But I sure got a bunch of my parents with him!

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My parents borrowed a crate for Chaucer (they want to try to crate-train him), so we put him in that for the ride home and he fell asleep after about 5 minutes of screaming like crazy.

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We got him home and started to work on potty training him. He has picked up where his potty area is in the backyard and has only had one minor accident so far. We aren’t saying that he’s potty trained yet, but we think that he will pick it up pretty quickly.

Since Chaucer hasn’t gotten all of his shots yet, he can’t go for walks outside of our home (parvo is very contagious and fatal and he needs to get vaccinated against it in about a week). But one of the pet therapy volunteers let my mom borrow this dog sling and we took Chaucer for a quick walk around the neighborhood.

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After our walk, we put him on his leash in our front yard. Chaucer’s foster mom is a dog trainer and she worked on some commands with the puppies before they were adopted out. So when we got Chaucer he already knew “come” and “sit”. So we practiced his commands with him.

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We also have a lot set up in the house for him. Besides the kennel that we used to bring him home (which is his bed in my parents’ room), we have a play pen set up for him in the family room. I decided to call it his “gated community” and he seems to like it.

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We definitely tired him out with all the adventures we did on his first day. He seems to be happy and hopefully he knows now that we are his forever family.

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Home Again (or Missing Dante)

Posted on December 24, 2013 | 1 comment

First of all, before I get into today’s blog, a quick update. I didn’t get the job I thought I was going to get. So I’m staying at my current job for right now. I just hope that it stays better for a while.

I flew to Northern California to see my parents this past Saturday after my work shift. While I was nervous as usual to fly, I was also scared about how I’d feel going into a house without Dante there.

When my dad came to the airport to pick me up, it was fine. I’m used to him getting me without Dante (or my mom). But when we got home, it got a bit weird.

There was no Dante at the door to greet me. I didn’t hear his collar jangling or him drinking water like crazy (he had an issue where he always would drink bowls of water without stopping). There was no dog to snuggle with while I was reading. And there was no dog coming down the stairs in the morning, nosing open the guest room door, and waking me up.

I know that it’s been much worse for my parents. They were here with him 24/7 and now he’s gone. And yes, there has been crying (I’m tearing up as I write this). But we’ve been trying to think of all the happy memories of Dante and the amazing almost 13 years that we had with him (I can’t believe that we had Dante for close to half my lifetime!).

I’ve also had been saying that we need to focus on making sure that we bring Chaucer into a happy home, not a sad home. We need to focus on the excitement of bring Chaucer into the family. And I know it’s a lot of pressure to put on a little puppy, but this dog is exactly what my family needs. We need a distraction. We need some positivity in our lives. We need something silly to laugh at.

As I write this, we do have Chaucer home. I’ll write more about that tomorrow. But I will say that in the day that we’ve had him, he’s done exactly what we needed and more.

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Goodbye Dante (or An Obituary For My Beloved Dog)

Posted on December 20, 2013 | 4 comments

I’m so sad to let you all know that Dante passed away yesterday. The cancer that he had was very aggressive and he survived almost 2 weeks longer than both the vet and the dog oncologist thought he could. And I am more grateful than ever that I got to see Dante two more times after his diagnosis.

But I want to share more than just his passing with you all. Dante was an amazing dog and you should all know the legacy that he is leaving behind.

We got Dante as a puppy. He was a rescue dog (I think everyone should adopt since there are so many dogs out there looking for a home). And from the day we got him, we knew that Dante was different. We always said that he seemed like a person in a dog suit, not a dog. We knew that he was meant for something special.

We put him in puppy school right away and he was so incredibly smart. He also was always calm around people and seemed to make everyone happy wherever he was. While I was still in high school, my mom brought Dante to school where he hung out in the library. And once my mom saw how great he was with everyone, she decided to see if Dante could become a therapy dog.

Dante passed all the therapy dog tests with flying colors and my mom and Dante started to work with a group called Furry Friends and they visited people in nursing homes and senior centers.

After working with Furry Friends for a while, my mom was inspired to start a pet therapy program at the hospital where my dad worked so Dante could work there. Dante was such an amazing dog (and my mom was a great presenter), so the hospital created a therapy program. Dante was the very first dog in the program, and Dante helped to train all the other dogs there (I don’t know exactly how many dogs they have now, but it’s over 10 for sure). The program will live on for many years, and it all started because of Dante.

Besides being a working dog, Dante was an amazing family dog. He loved to be with my family (especially my mom). He loved being in Tahoe so he could hike in the summer and play in the snow in the winter. He also loved the beach (and loved to roll in dead seals if he had the chance and my mom didn’t catch him). He liked to hang out with the family wherever we were.

This loss is a hard for my family. Dante was a family member, not just a dog. And he became the child of the family once both my brother and I moved away for college. There is a hole in all of our hearts right now.

To close out this post, I just wanted to share some of my favorite Dante pictures.

He had this look he would get sometimes, and we would call it googly-eyes. This photo is the best example I have of that look.

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He also was one of the most photogenic dogs I know. He always seemed to know to smile for the camera.

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And he put up with all the silly outfits we put him in (this is what my brother chose for him one Halloween).

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And celebrities loved Dante! I used to work out with Richard Simmons, and my parents joined me a few years ago when they were in town. Richard found out that Dante was waiting in the car and he insisted we bring him to the studio so he could meet him.

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And this is one of the last photos I have of Dante. My mom sent it to me to show me how well Dante was doing on his new medicine. I love his smile in this one.

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If you want to see more photos (and a video) of Dante or learn more about therapy dogs, check out Dante’s website.

I’m sorry if this post is depressing. This is a major thing in my life and I didn’t want to not share it because it’s sad.

Dante Levin       1/26/01-12/19/13

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The Exciting News (or Meet Chaucer!)

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

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

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

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

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

They got the puppy!!!

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

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

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

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

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What Will Happen In A Week (or Why I’m Excited And Scared To Go Home)

Posted on December 13, 2013 | Comments Off on What Will Happen In A Week (or Why I’m Excited And Scared To Go Home)

Next week I’m going home for a few days. I have some time off of work so I figured it would be a good time for a trip home. When this was planned, I didn’t know that I would be going home for a quick visit in November, so it would have been a long time since I was home (I think the last time I was home was last year for Thanksgiving).

I’m excited to get to spend some time with my parents. While I got to see them for a little bit last week, this time I’ll have a few days so we won’t feel rushed. We don’t really have any plans for my visit, so it should be relaxing. I’m also hoping to get to see my brother and sister-in-law. I have their Hanukkah presents and would love to give them to them in person. I’m not sure when or if I’ll get to see them, but we are working on scheduling now.

I also might get to see a friend or two from high school. I haven’t really stayed in touch with too many people from high school (not counting FB of course), but my friend Jackie is trying to come over with her little boy for a visit. That would be great since I haven’t seen either of them in a long time.

But I’m nervous about going home because of my dog. He’s not doing so well right now. He seemed fine last week, but according to my parents he went downhill pretty quickly. He’s still happy, enjoying eating people food, and playing with other dogs and that’s important to me. But he’s also sleeping a lot and you can see the tumor on his leg growing.

We don’t know how much more time we have with Dante, but it’s seeming like it’s pretty limited at this point. But as long as he’s happy, I’m happy.

But I’m scared of two different scenarios.

First, if Dante dies before I come home, I won’t get to see him again. My last time to see him will be those few hours last week. And I don’t know how I will react if I go home and Dante wasn’t there to greet me at the door. Or to hear him playing with his favorite toys. Or to take him out on his walks. I don’t know if I could handle that or if I want to handle that (and yes, I understand that it will be so much harder on my parents than on me since they are with him every single day).

But if Dante doesn’t die before I go home, I’ll get to see him again. And I’m totally looking forward to that. But if he’s acting sick or not like himself, I know that will upset me. It was tough when I was home for the 24 hour visit and he was acting off. I’m pretty sure the pain pills were making him act funny, but it was very upsetting to see him acting loopy and confused.

Either way, I’m excited to get to go home and see everyone that I love. And with either scenario with my dog, I know that I need to be there for my parents.

I’m just focusing on the positives with my upcoming visit and knowing that my dog, while sick, is still enjoying his life to the fullest every day. And I should follow his example.

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Quick Family Visit (or My Extra Long Lunch From Work)

Posted on December 9, 2013 | Comments Off on Quick Family Visit (or My Extra Long Lunch From Work)

My parents were driving down to San Diego this past Thursday. Originally, the plan was for me to go back down to San Diego again this past weekend and spend time with them there. But my schedule wasn’t going to allow me to be there for too long, so the new plan was for my parents to stop in LA for lunch with me.

My boss at my day job okayed me taking a long lunch that day (as long as I was back by 6pm because I was running a table at the show that night). My parents got to my work around 2:30 with my dog. I was so excited to get to see Dante again! After his diagnosis, I wasn’t sure how many more times I’d get to see him, that’s why I took the quick visit home a few weeks ago. And of course, I was excited to see my parents again.

We went to lunch near my work and had a nice chat. My parents wanted to know all about the film festival and other things going on in my life. And of course, my dad and I chatted about my spin class.

After lunch, we drove down near the Santa Monica Pier and took Dante for a walk. He’s doing so much better compared to the weekend I was home. His incision is healing nicely and he can walk properly again. You can see the tumor on his leg growing again, but it doesn’t seem to be hurting him. And every time we passed another dog, Dante perked up and wanted to play with them. It was nice seeing him act like his old self again.

Before I knew it, my parents drove me back over to my work so they could continue the drive to San Diego (it should only take 2 hours from my work, but it ended up taking them 4). But before they left, we exchanged Hanukkah presents. I got my mom tinted lip balms (I use them and she tried mine and liked it when we were at my brother’s wedding). And when my dad was visiting me a few weeks ago, he mentioned that he needed to buy a new belt. Right after my dad left, I got an Uncommon Goods catalog and saw this belt that was made out of recycled bike tubes. So I got him that and I think he loved it! I also got my brother and sister-in-law presents but I haven’t giving them their gifts yet so I can’t share what they are.

And my parents got me noise canceling headphones! I had mentioned after flying to and from Hawaii that my ear buds weren’t that great on the plane. I could barely hear my movies and that I really should invest in better headphones. I’m so excited to have my new headphones and I’m planning on using them on my flight home soon!

Even though I only got to spend a few hours with my parents, it really revitalized me. I got to see that my mom and my dog are doing great. And it helped me get over the weirdness that I felt over Thanksgiving. I’ll be seeing my family again in about 2 weeks and that time I’ll get to see them for a few days. I’m already looking forward to that!

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Catch Up Time (or A Blog With Lots Of Random News)

Posted on November 22, 2013 | Comments Off on Catch Up Time (or A Blog With Lots Of Random News)

Time for a little bit of catching up on life.

First of all, a little bit of news about my dog, Dante. My parents took him to the dog oncologist yesterday. It wasn’t necessarily bad news, but it wasn’t good news either. Basically, right now we are waiting for his leg to heal from his surgery before we do anything else. He’s also getting a new pain medicine to hopefully help him sleep more at night (right now he’s been waking up a lot at night and waking up my parents too). And to help him eat a bit more, he’s also getting a steroid.

I’m starting to feel a bit more normal in my routine after my crazy weekend, but I know that with next week being Thanksgiving and having several days off of work, my brain will be more confused about what day it is next week. But I’m trying to get back into everything that seems to be normal to me. Somehow, I’ve been forgetting to check my daily affirmations in the morning, so I’ve started doing that again. And I do feel a difference in my attitude and how I feel when I do them.

And this weekend is the Beverly Hills Shorts Festival, the film festival that I am running! Tonight is the opening night party and tomorrow will be all the screenings. If you are in the LA area and want to come to the festival, we are selling tickets at the door. I’d love to have some blog readers there to see the amazing films that we have chosen for the festival this year! While I’m a bit nervous about running the festival alone for the first time, I’m still super excited about my new title. And when I got a box of supplies from one of the other co-directors, I couldn’t help but be super excited when I saw my badge.

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I promise to recap my experience running the film festival next week! Hopefully everything goes smoothly!

That’s my recap of life for now. I hope that you all had a great week before Thanksgiving week! And hopefully I’ll see a couple of you at the film festival this weekend!

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Posted in Acting, Family, Fun Stuff, Tough Stuff

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