Tag Archives: friends

Another Theater Sunday (or Supporting A Friend)

Posted on October 12, 2022 | Comments Off on Another Theater Sunday (or Supporting A Friend)

Most of the time, when I’m going to see a show I’m going to see something in a large theater at the Pantages or the Dolby. I have seen shows at other theaters, including some small theaters, but that’s not too often for me. I saw more shows in small black box theaters when I was younger, especially while I was still doing sketch and improv. I frequently would go to shows that my friends were doing on nights I wasn’t in a show and then they would see my shows on their off nights. But I just haven’t really seen a lot of independent theater lately. Some of that is because my friends aren’t doing as much theater like that, and some of it has been that I haven’t had a chance to.

My friend Marie was in an amazing show over the summer called “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Divorce”, and I really wanted to go and see it. But with a lot of my crazy schedule stuff plus various injuries and illnesses, I never made it to the theater. I knew that Marie understood, but I felt so bad that I never made it. So when she emailed me to let me know that the show was extending its run and starting up again, I was so excited that I could go and see it! And that’s exactly what I got to do this past Sunday.

The show was in a cute little theater in the theater district in Hollywood. I’ve seen a few shows in theaters near there before, and they are great places to see independent theater and new shows. This was a new show and it had gotten some great reviews. And when I got there, I saw that my friend Andy happened to be going to the show that afternoon as well. I was expecting to sit alone at the show, and I was glad that I had a friend that I could sit with. And since it was open seating, we got to sit in the front row together.

The show is a one-act play without an intermission. Without giving away too much, it’s the story of 3 couples ready to get a divorce and have to see a mediator in order to complete the process. The stories of each couple are explored and explained with a few different flashback segments. And there are some really funny moments as well as some really touching and heartwarming moments. I guess it would be considered more of a drama, but because of the comedy in it as well it wasn’t a very heavy show. And I feel like it ended on a really nice note as well.

Of course, I loved getting to see Marie in a show. I haven’t been able to see her in a show in a long time, and most of the shows I have seen her in have been standup performances. Getting to see her in a play is very different and I was so proud of how amazing she was! I’m glad I got a second chance to see this show because missing it would have been a loss for me.

The show is running through November 20th and has performances on Saturdays and Sundays. If you are in LA and would like to see it (which I really recommend), you can get tickets online and use the code “friends” for a nice discount!

I’m so glad I had this opportunity to support a friend performing and doing the thing they love so much. This isn’t something I get to do that often, and it was a good reminder of how awesome it is to see independent theater and the passion of everyone involved in a show.

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Watching The Dri-Tri (or Cheering On A Friend)

Posted on September 21, 2022 | Comments Off on Watching The Dri-Tri (or Cheering On A Friend)

Since I started at Orangetheory, I have done almost every single Dri-Tri. I did miss the first one that happened after I started working out because I had a mammogram that day and I wasn’t sure how I’d feel after. I went to the studio to support the people doing it, and I remember how much I regretted not signing up and doing it myself. I really felt like I was left out and missed doing something that everyone seemed to be so proud to complete. Fortunately, I have been able to have that feeling for almost all the others that have happened since I have done all the others.

I didn’t feel as accomplished after I did the sprint one or after I did the at-home one, so I have always tried to do the full Dri-Tri every other time. Of course, when I did the at-home one, I had no option to go one at the studio since everything was shut down. I just did the best that I could with the circumstances at the time.

I’ve been very proud of myself for doing the Dri-Tri. I always have a moment when I start to wonder why I’m doing it again and think that it’s pretty miserable, but when I’m done I’m so happy that I proved to myself that I could. I never regretted doing one, no matter how horrible I might feel while doing it. Even when I completed one while feeling nauseous or if I didn’t get sleep the night before, I’m always so glad that I pushed myself to do it and proved to myself again what I’m capable of.

But when the Dri-Tri was announced the most recent time, I knew there would be a good chance I would need to miss it. It was announced right after I hurt my back, and I had no idea how long the recovery would take. I was really hoping that I would be feeling ok the week of and then I could sign up. But even though I feel significantly better, I’m still dealing with regular pain in my back and I knew that pushing myself to do the Dri-Tri wouldn’t be a smart choice. I was annoyed I had to make that decision, but I knew that I would really regret it if I tried to do it and had to quit in the middle because I hurt my back again.

There is always an option to go and cheer on people doing the Dri-Tri, and I used to try to stick around after I was done with mine to cheer on the people after me. But since I wasn’t going to do it this time, I wasn’t originally planning on going to cheer anyone on. Plus, almost all the times were while I was working, and I didn’t want to have to take time off work. But then my friend Erin asked me about doing it and how she was thinking of trying it for the first time. I told her that I couldn’t do it, but if it was during a time I wasn’t working, I would go and cheer her on.

She was able to get a spot in the first heat, which was before I had to start work. So I headed over to Orangetheory in my regular clothes (which felt weird to be there in something other than workout clothes) to cheer on Erin and everyone else in the first heat.

I’m so glad I went. I had fun cheering on Erin and supporting her while she completed her first Dri-Tri. And yes, I did feel like I was missing out a bit, but I think the positives outweighed the negatives. That was different from the first time I missed doing the Dri-Tri and was there to cheer people on. I think I knew I had to make this choice and it was better to be there to support than to not be there at all. And it was exciting seeing everyone who was able to get it done in incredibly fast times! I usually don’t get to see that as much when I’m focused on my own challenge.

The next Dri-Tri will be in about 6 months or so. They typically do them twice a year. And I have every intention of doing it then. I hopefully won’t have something wrong at that time that really prevents me from competing. I know I can’t guarantee that, but I’m really being mindful of the aches and pains I have so I don’t have another situation with an extended recovery time again.

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Trying To Help A Friend Again (or I Know I Made The Right Decision)

Posted on September 20, 2022 | Comments Off on Trying To Help A Friend Again (or I Know I Made The Right Decision)

4 years ago, I wrote a post about how I had forced a friend to check into the ER for their own safety. That was a very tough thing to do back then, but I don’t regret doing it. I worried after making them go to the ER that they would stop being friends with me. I know a lot of the mean things they said to me on the phone that night were due to their mental state and they weren’t things they really meant. But I still remember how stressful that night was and how upset I was at the moment. I’m glad that everything turned out ok and my friend has since thanked me for doing what I did. And because it had a positive result and from knowing what my friend said to me after, I did the same thing for a friend this past week.

I was talking to a friend on the phone and I could tell that they had been drinking. They had previously talked about trying to get help because they were realizing they might have a drinking problem, so I was a bit harsh with them on the phone. I might have been too harsh, but I was upset because they said they were going to try to get help and they did the exact opposite thing. But then, they got upset with me and admitted that they were drinking because it was a better destructive behavior than harming themselves.

As soon as they said that, everything around me blurred and I became hyperfocused on the phone call. I knew they wouldn’t say something like that to me without really meaning it. And I couldn’t just ignore what they said. So I was very straightforward and said they needed to get to the hospital now to stay safe. I didn’t give them any options or even an ultimatum. I just said that now they had to go to the ER and that was that. They seemed to hesitate for a second, but I think they recognized that they were not going to be safe at home and they needed to be monitored so they got into their car to head to the hospital. I did realize much later that evening that I should have told them to get into a ride-share and not to drive themselves, but fortunately, nothing happened when they drove. I was on the phone with them the entire time and stayed on the phone until I heard them check in with the nurse.

While I was staying on the phone while we were driving, I could tell something in their attitude had changed. They seemed a lot calmer, but that didn’t change my mind that they needed to be watched. But they were acting a lot more reasonably and not as rash as they did before. So I had some hope that maybe this wouldn’t be as severe of a situation as things were several years ago.

And that feeling was right. They were monitored and checked by doctors, but after a few hours, it was deemed they were able to go home and be safe. And I agree with the assessment. Even as they were getting to the hospital, I started to wonder if I was overreacting and maybe I was thinking of what happened in the past and misjudged this situation. But I also knew that I would rather be overly cautious and ask someone to go to the hospital to be looked at than to find out that they did something irreversible because they were alone and not safe.

I think because of what happened in the past, any time I have that gut feeling that someone isn’t safe being home, I’ll probably react this way. Maybe other people wouldn’t immediately think that their friend needs to go to the hospital, but I know I made the right choice in telling them that. I’m glad that everything ended up ok and my friend is alright, but it was a pretty scary and upsetting night. And I’m glad that again I could be there for a friend who needed help and that they were open to hearing what I said and took the steps to get help for themselves.

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Working On Setting Boundaries (or I Just Have To Be Ok With Ending Things With People Who Can’t Respect Me)

Posted on September 15, 2022 | Comments Off on Working On Setting Boundaries (or I Just Have To Be Ok With Ending Things With People Who Can’t Respect Me)

On top of all the physical stuff I’ve been going through this week, this week has been emotionally draining on me as well. I guess it’s good that everything so far has been on a single day, but that made Tuesday this week so much tougher for me to get through.

The day started off with a text from the guy that I had written about recently who I tried to date again. I really thought things were finally done. I pointed out that we want different things in life and that there would not be a compromise. And honestly, even if he changed his mind and said he would be all in for a relationship if I’d consider it at this point. He has already said things that make me feel like he doesn’t respect me and has been saying things to trick me into believing things about him. But once he showed his true colors, I no longer was interested in continuing things and made that very clear.

One of the things that was so frustrating about him is that he would always text me in the middle of the night to see if I was still up and if we could meet up. He knew I hated this but he continued to do it. I assumed after our phone call when I was clear and said there was no point to continue things that those texts would stop. But I got one at 1am on Tuesday morning and it didn’t have an apology for his behavior or anything else. It was like he was acting that nothing happened and he thought I would just forget about what we said and would just change my mind about what I wanted. I debated about not responding, but I decided to tell him that we were not going to play this game anymore and that we were done. His response was that we were going to keep playing this game.

And I can’t explain why this triggered me so much, but it was a glass-breaking moment for me where I could see that it was so much more than just him having a lack of respect for me. It felt like he was saying he knew better and that he was going to keep trying to get me to change to be what he wants with no regard for my feelings. And I felt more than ever that there was no chance for anything positive to happen in my life from knowing him or texting with him. So I told him that I would be blocking him and I said goodbye.

I really haven’t blocked many people I knew on my phone. I don’t know why I’m so hesitant to block people, but it’s always been something that I don’t want to do to anyone. But in this case, I knew he was going to keep texting and trying to get me to go along with him. And I didn’t want to see those texts coming up on my phone. He might not believe that he’s blocked and I know that he might still think his texts are going through, but I won’t have to see them again and I feel a bit better about that.

And if that wasn’t enough for the day, later in the afternoon a guy who was a friend of mine accused me of fearmongering because I posted online about how some Republicans are pushing for a nationwide abortion ban and how dangerous that could be. I knew he wouldn’t believe it if I showed him that CNN reported on that story, so I sent him the Fox News article.

This friend and I have known each other for over 10 years and we have always disagreed about abortion rights. He thinks there is never a reason for an abortion and that if people stopped having sex outside of marriage that nobody would need to end a pregnancy. I am very pro-choice and believe that people have a right to end a pregnancy for a multitude of reasons. Even though we have disagreed on this issue, we have always had respectful debates with each other.

But this time was different. He was being very hateful toward me and saying that I don’t care about dead babies because I never post about that. I wasn’t in the mood to start a new debate and how allowing abortions is not the same as wanting babies to die, so I told him that I wasn’t going to continue this conversation at this time. But he continued on and was saying how nobody should have an abortion and how wrong they were. I asked again for him to please stop and to respect my boundaries about talking about this more. And he made a joke about me needing a safe space and told me to block him.

And I blocked him on all social media after that comment. It wasn’t about him believing that nobody should have an abortion even if their life is at risk. He can have that belief all he wants. But a true friend would have respected me asking to not continue a conversation. Imagine if you were talking to someone who had a family member who was killed and you kept asking for more details about their death. And when they asked you to stop asking about things, you made fun of them and told them that you would only stop if they forced you to. That’s so disrespectful to anyone, let alone a friend. And I just can’t picture myself having a friend who thinks that me asking for a conversation to end is something to laugh about and that they should push me further.

Between the blocking in the morning and in the afternoon, I felt so broken. I couldn’t understand why I was being stepped over by these people who claimed to have respect for me. Why were my boundaries ignored by them and not considered? I know that the way these two men treated me isn’t representative of how others treat me, but at that moment it did feel that way. And my heart was hurting because of that.

I talked with a friend while I was upset and she helped to calm me down and see that I shouldn’t keep people in my life who treat me this way. I have ended friendships before when we’ve drifted apart, but this just felt so much more dramatic than that. And I was struggling because I was questioning how someone could have actually respected me in the past if this is the way they treated me now. I questioned if they ever respected me or always felt like this about me. But I know that at this point, it doesn’t matter. Again, someone showed their true colors and feelings about me and I don’t have to tolerate it just because we have known each other for so long.

I think I’m going to still be working through some of these feelings for a bit longer because it hit me so hard. The end of the friendship was worse, but they both really pushed me emotionally. But I also know that I want to keep people in my life that love and support me, and the way these men acted did not show that and that means I don’t have to keep them in my life. It’s hard to set these boundaries with people, especially when I’ve been a people pleaser for a long time, but I’m glad that I did do it this time because I will be better for it.

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An Almost Free Dinner (or Continuing The Birthday Tradition)

Posted on August 18, 2022 | Comments Off on An Almost Free Dinner (or Continuing The Birthday Tradition)

I haven’t done a lot for my birthday this year and I don’t know if I’ll be doing much else. As I said before, I’m ok not celebrating as much as I used to, especially with how busy I’ve been with work and other things. But I do still like to celebrate and continue traditions when I can. And the tradition I look forward to the most is going to Truxton’s with my birthday twin, Joanna. We aren’t exactly sure how long we’ve been doing this, but we know it’s been at least 11 years, which is a pretty long time. And while we rarely can do our dinner on our actual birthday, we get it done within our birthday month.

2 years ago, we ordered take-out and had our dinner as a picnic since that was the safest way for us to have a meal. Last year, we were able to return to the restaurant and eat there. And this year, we continued with having dinner at the restaurant. If either of us felt uneasy about doing that, I know we could have done a picnic again. But I’m glad that eating there was an option for us. And because we went on a random weeknight, there was almost nobody else there so that helped us feel like things were a bit safer.

As we have done since the birthday deal changed to a dollar amount and not just a free entree and free dessert, we knew we’d order an appetizer to split, entrees for each of us, and a dessert to split. In the past, our meals have been completely free. And if we only ordered entrees we could have done that. But it’s ok that it’s not free anymore because we still get a total of $40 off of our bill, which is usually almost the entire thing.

We knew we wanted to have monkey bread to start, so we ordered that and ate it while we looked at the menu to figure out what else we wanted for dinner.

And once we ordered the rest of our meal, it was time for our catch-up chat. We had seen each other a few months ago when she helped me put together my bed. So there wasn’t as much to catch up on as there normally is when we get together for dinner. But we both had updates on our lives and our homes. When she was helping me with the bed, the renovation wasn’t done so I updated her on that. And she’s also going to do a renovation on her place so she updated me on that progress with planning everything and picking out what she wants. And as always, we had some gossip about dating and other random things that have been going on in our lives.

For our dinners, I had a burger and she had nachos. We’ve only had delicious meals at Truxton’s and we both really enjoyed our meals. But since we knew we’d be having dessert, we tried to save some room and not fill up too much.

We do like to give our server a heads up that we are using their birthday club coupons since sometimes they have to do the bill a different way (lately, they split the bill and then apply one coupon to each half to let us use both). So when our dessert was brought out, they put candles on it and sang Happy Birthday to us!

We got a new dessert, and I think we picked the perfect thing! It was a lemon cake with strawberry sorbet on top. It wasn’t too heavy, which we needed after a big meal, and it was so flavorful! I’m glad that’s what we picked because I think some of our favorite desserts would have been just too much for us.

Our meal wasn’t free, but it was pretty much under $10 for each of us so we could leave a really big tip. What we’ve been doing lately is tipping $20 each since that’s what our coupons take off the bill. So we spend the same amount we would have without the coupons, but that also allows us to leave a nice tip for our server and hopefully make their day a bit better. I love that we have always paid it forward because I know sometimes people who get a discounted meal tip on the discounted amount. We like to make up for that.

We were both really full after dinner, but it was worth it. This is one of the best birthday traditions and I think my birthday wouldn’t have felt complete without it. And since I rarely go out for dinner these days, it feels like a real treat.

I’m not sure if Joanna and I will be able to hang out again before our traditional cheesecake outing around the new year, but even if we don’t see each other until then we know we will have another great catch-up when we have our next meal!

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Taking Advantage Of Having Extra Space (or My First Overnight Guest In My Condo)

Posted on August 3, 2022 | Comments Off on Taking Advantage Of Having Extra Space (or My First Overnight Guest In My Condo)

Ever since I lived in LA, I have always been happy to have guests stay with me. When I lived in the dorms, I had friends who slept in a sleeping bag in my room (with my roommate’s permission). I actually don’t think I had any overnight guests in the first apartment I lived in, but I only lived in that apartment for a year and I wasn’t very happy when I lived there. In my second apartment, I had friends who slept in the living room or in my room, depending if I was between roommates or not. And in my last place, I had friends who needed a place to stay and slept on an air mattress in my living room. Having guests in my last place was always a tight fit since it was such a small space. But I made it work by either moving my couch around or rearranging my living room so that there was enough room for an air mattress to fit.

I have never minded having guests stay with me, but at my last place, it was always a bit awkward. The air mattress took up almost all the space in my living room and the only bathroom was accessible only by going through my room. So if someone needed to use the bathroom during the night, they had to come into my room and the bathroom was only about a foot away from my bed. Fortunately, anyone who stayed with me was always just grateful to have a place to stay without having to pay for a hotel, so they never minded the awkwardness. But it wasn’t ideal for having people come to stay with me.

When my parents and I originally started looking at condos about 5 years ago, we were only looking at one bedroom condos since those were in the price range we wanted to stay in. I don’t think we ever looked at two bedrooms until when we started looking again more seriously about a year ago. And when we got serious about finding a condo, my parents and I set some requirements. And my parents said I needed to find a two bedroom condo. And while I was happy to find any place, I knew having a second bedroom would be nice to have since I work from home. Plus, then I could have guests stay with me and it wouldn’t be as weird as it has been for the last 20-something years I’ve lived in LA.

When my mom and I started to plan out what furniture I should look at, setting up the office/guest room has gone back and forth quite a bit. Originally, we looked at murphy beds since those would take up the least amount of space. Then we switched to looking at sofa sleepers. And I think we finally landed on a very cool (but not cheap) murphy bed that has bookshelves so the space will look like an office and have a lot of storage but will also have a full-sized bed for guests when they come to stay with me.

I won’t be getting this new piece for a few more months, but I had my first overnight guests at my condo this past weekend! A friend of mine was coming to LA for a wedding, and they needed a place to sleep the night before their vacation rental was available. I let them know that I didn’t have a real bed in the room yet, but I did have an air mattress, and they were fine with that. I did realize before they came to stay with me that I didn’t have sheets for the air mattress anymore, but I lucked out because I was at Costco after I realized that and they had sheets on clearance so I was able to get some.

When I was getting the air mattress set up, I discovered that the wall color in that room matched pretty well. I picked this color because I want to be able to self-tape auditions without needing to use a backdrop. So it turns out that self-tape blue and air mattress blue are almost the same.

It was awesome having my first guest in my new home. First, I hadn’t seen this friend since the start of the pandemic because they moved away right after things shut down. So getting to have some time to hang out in person and catch up was so great. And I know she was grateful to have a place to stay, even if it was on an air mattress. She had seen photos of the renovation as it was happening since I was texting it to people, but she got to see everything in person. I am really proud of how everything looks, so I do like to show off my new space. And of course, it was so nice having someone stay with me who had their own bathroom to use and didn’t have to always go through my room.

Even though I have always enjoyed having friends or family stay with me, it will be so much better now that I have a guest room for them to use. It will be nicer when I have a real bed in here, but at least it’s still a separate space for an air mattress and doesn’t feel like someone is just staying out in the open in the middle of my home.

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A Few Days Of Working In Person With Others (or Helping To Train A Friend)

Posted on July 21, 2022 | Comments Off on A Few Days Of Working In Person With Others (or Helping To Train A Friend)

Recently, a friend of mine started to work for the same company as me. When she started, her job wasn’t directly connected to my work. But as she has been going through training and a few things have changed, she has started to work in the customer care department. Even though my new position with the company isn’t exactly in customer care, I still do a few hours each day covering that work until we have a few more team members. And since I have helped to train other employees, it made sense that I was asked to be a part of the team helping to train her.

The first part of the training was over Zoom because it was just going over a lot of the different spreadsheets and systems that the customer care team works with each day. I was a part of those Zoom sessions, but a lot of the time I was doing other work so I wasn’t fully able to participate in them. I tried to help however I could, but I know my focus was split and I wasn’t as involved as I would have liked to have been. But with the next stage of training, I knew there would be more opportunities to be a part of things.

After new team members are trained on the systems we work with and shadows while we work to see what it looks like to put everything together, the next phase of training is doing the work while you are supervised. So the new team member would be responding directly to our clients, but they would show their responses before they sent them so we could double-check everything. And I realized that even though this process has always happened over Zoom before since my friend only lives a few minutes from my house we could work together in person instead. So I made that offer to her, and she agreed it would be better to work side by side instead of over a screen. So for the past 2 days, I’ve been helping to train my friend while she has been over at my place.

I rarely get to work in person with another person. I’ve worked from home for so long and there’s no reason to work with any of my co-workers. Most of the days that I haven’t worked alone in the last several years have been when someone else happened to be in the same place as me, not because we were co-workers working in the same space. The last time I had a co-worker working next to me was when another friend of mine was observing my work so we could improve some of our systems. I do like working from home and I can’t imagine ever going into an office again for a day job (obviously, I can imagine going somewhere else for work if it was an acting job), but it can feel a bit lonely at times. I haven’t really felt that way too much, but during the worst of the pandemic, I was feeling very isolated and craved in-person connections. Now, I just celebrate these random times I work with someone else and they are something fun, rather than something that I have needed desperately in my life.

And getting to help to train my friend in person was really fun. She really had a good grasp on the work and the things I was pointing out or correcting were really tiny things that didn’t have to be changed. I know that this job has a lot of information to know about, but most of the work is only using a part of what we train on. But I totally get wanting to understand everything since I am the same way and I was happy to explain anything I could to help my friend feel more confident in her work. But I have no hesitation in my mind that when she’s working on her own, she’s going to do a great job.

I might work with my friend in person again in the next week or two when she’s starting to work alone. It can be easier to answer questions or help assist when you are in the same place and not doing it over text or Zoom. But even if we don’t work in the same space again, I’m glad we got to do this over the past few days because it really was something fun and different with my job.

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Default ThumbnailMaking Sure I Pay It Forward (Helping A Friend With A Job) Default ThumbnailAnother Job Through A Friend (or Excited To Do Job Training) Default ThumbnailHaving An In-Person Co-Worker For Once (or Work Plus A Friend Hangout) Default ThumbnailAnother Random Friend Hangout (or So Happy For In-Person Time) Default ThumbnailMy Strength In Real Life (or Helping A Friend Gave Me Some New Confidence) Default ThumbnailHelping Out A Friend (or Getting To Act)

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

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

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

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

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

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

And I love how all the photos look together.

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

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

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

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

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Making Sure I Pay It Forward (Helping A Friend With A Job)

Posted on June 8, 2022 | Comments Off on Making Sure I Pay It Forward (Helping A Friend With A Job)

My last several jobs have all been through referrals through friends. I have been very lucky that when I have been out of work, my friends have always let me know of jobs that I might be right for. Sometimes it’s because I have the specific skill set that a job is requiring and sometimes it’s because I will be a good fit within the company. I know that so many people say that when you are looking for a job it’s all about networking. But for me, it’s more about being open and honest about looking for work and having some amazing friends.

Even getting my main current job, during a time when so many people were still out of work, was because of a friend thinking of me. My job has changed quite a bit in the year and a half that I’ve been working, but that’s because I am growing with this job and finding new and better ways that I can find the best fit for me within the company. It is still a day job, and I think everyone at the company understands that. But I want to make my work as interesting as I can and to use my skills to the best of my ability. Plus, I work with some amazing people and I want to help all of us benefit from the company succeeding.

So when I saw a job opening for a new position in the company, I immediately thought of a friend of mine who I knew was looking for work. I didn’t think of her just because she needed a new job, I knew she would be great for both the job and the company. So I let her know about it and once she finished sending in her application I let the hiring team know that she was a friend of mine. I know that doesn’t guarantee anything would happen, but I also know they like to know if an applicant is a referral from an employee. She did get an interview and I was so excited for her. And I heard back from some of the hiring team how much they loved her and how they agreed she’d be a great fit. Even though I knew it wasn’t a sure thing, I have to say I wasn’t too surprised when she was offered the job! Because I knew the type of person they needed for the position and the type of worker my friend is, I felt really good that it would be a perfect fit. And I’m so glad that I was right!

My friend just started so she’s still training (and I know how overwhelming it can be starting a new job), but I’m still so happy she’s going to be working at the same company as me. And knowing that I was able to help a friend the same way that I was helped before felt great. I know how hard it is when you are applying for jobs and just not getting anywhere. And I know how much power there is behind a friend referring you for a job. I wouldn’t have referred just anyone, I was careful making sure that I was certain she would be a good match. And knowing how hard I worked to make sure before I let my friend know about this job made me feel even more grateful to all my friends who have helped me get work.

And maybe my friend will stay with the company for a while and be able to refer a friend of hers in the future. You never know. But I do know that I’m lucky that I work with some great people at my job and now I have one more friend that I can also call a co-worker.

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Actually Going To A Movie (or Enjoying A Summer Blockbuster)

Posted on June 7, 2022 | Comments Off on Actually Going To A Movie (or Enjoying A Summer Blockbuster)

Before the pandemic, I went out to see movies pretty frequently. I didn’t go to regular movie theaters that often, but I would go to screenings through my union or the SAG-AFTRA Film Society on a regular basis. I saw more movies than I think I ever had in my lifetime. I still got plenty of screeners for the SAG Awards that I watched at home, but I loved going out to a movie and seeing something on the big screen.

Of course, when the pandemic hit, that all changed. I don’t know exactly how long movie theaters were closed, but it was quite a while. And more movies were being released through streaming services so I didn’t have to go out to see movies. There were a lot of movies that also delayed their release so they wouldn’t be coming out while things were still really bad. I know things still aren’t great, but when comparing now to how things were in June 2020 it is better.

So I just haven’t been going out to see movies. There have been a few released in theaters that I would have liked to have seen, but most of them I was able to watch at home. And I didn’t feel like I was missing out on too much by not seeing them at a theater. But as this summer has been starting, there are more and more movies that I feel should be seen in a theater and I knew it was time to finally go to a movie again.

I’ve done a few things that are indoors with quite a few people, like going to the musicals, so I knew that since I had felt comfortable enough there that I would be fine going to a movie. So once I kept hearing from everyone that “Top Gun Maverick” was so good and needed to be seen on the big screen, I knew that would be the perfect movie to be my return to theaters.

I was talking to some friends about going to see it, and 2 of my workout friends said they’d like to go so the three of us made a plan to go this past weekend. I wasn’t too picky about what theater we went to, especially since I don’t go to regular theaters that often. So when one friend said they wanted to go to the AMC in the Marina, I was ok with that. It turned out that it was a dine-in theater that had nice recliner seats.

An added bonus of this theater was that since it had these recliner seats, there weren’t as many seats in the theater and they were spread out quite a bit. I was not close to other people seated near me. Except for my friends, the closest people were a few feet away from me. That helped me feel more comfortable, especially since masks weren’t required in the movie theater as they are when I go to the musicals. Also, recliner seats are obviously more comfortable than regular seats, so it was nice to be relaxed and able to stretch out since I’ve gotten used to watching movies on my couch.

And this was really the perfect movie to see on the big screen! I had seen the original “Top Gun” a ton of times, but it had been a while since I had watched it. So I decided to watch it the day before we went to see the movie. I would recommend doing that because there are so many callbacks to the original movie that I know I would have missed if I hadn’t seen it so recently. But even my friends who weren’t that familiar with the original enjoyed this movie. It was really a classic summer blockbuster movie and that’s something that hasn’t been happening recently.

I’ve said this a lot in the past 2 years, but the pandemic has made me look at the things I have been enjoying in my life and there are a lot of things that I have gained a new appreciation for. And going to the movies is something that I know I didn’t appreciate as much as I should have. It was such a routine and regular part of my life and didn’t feel special. But now I know much much I missed being able to see a movie on a big screen with other people around me. There’s no comparison.

This was also the first movie back for my friends as well, and I think we all felt so happy after the movie was done and we agreed that we need to plan another movie outing to see something else soon. I can’t wait to see what else we end up seeing and how much fun I’ll have back at the movies again. And I know that I will continue to appreciate the fact that going to the movies is something I can do again and I won’t see it as routine anymore.

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