Posted onDecember 26, 2019|Comments Off on Another Small Upgrade (or Making Things Easier To Watch)
I try not to always splurge on the latest and greatest technology. I’m usually the person who keeps something as long as possible, even when it gets a bit outdated. I’m always having friends making fun of me for my phone because it’s so small (the reason I haven’t upgraded my phone is that I like a small phone). The only time I got something brand new as soon as it came out was my laptop, but that was something I had been waiting on for a while.
Besides my phone being a bit outdated, the other thing I have that wasn’t close to being the most recent version was my AppleTV. I got my AppleTV years ago so I could watch Netflix and Hulu on my TV. I know there are cheaper devices I could have gotten that could have accomplished the same thing, but I liked how the AppleTV worked with things I had in my iTunes account and it was worth the splurge. And I’ve been enjoying it for years (almost 9 years to be exact) even though there were features that people were able to enjoy that I couldn’t because my device was so old.
There were lots of things that I was ok with missing out on, but this year it got a bit much and I realized that I should just upgrade it. I think the final straw was when I realized I couldn’t watch Disney+ because I couldn’t access the app. I debated about getting a different device, but there were a few things that were only able to be accessed with an Apple device (like lots of movies and apps that I had things on). So getting a new AppleTV was the best option for me. I didn’t feel like braving the Apple Store so close to Christmas, but fortunately, Target had some in stock and there wasn’t a huge crowd when I happened to be passing by. I was in and out of the store in under 10 minutes with my new toy in my hands!
I’ve actually been enjoying this more than I was expecting! Obviously I’ve been able to take advantage of downloading different apps so I can watch things from different systems. I also can access my digital screeners for the SAG Awards on it so I don’t have to watch on my laptop. I spent more time than I probably should have this week with my time off watching screeners, Disney+, and all other streaming services. But I was also recovering from food poisoning and my plans were already to spend a lot of time watching shows.
This wasn’t the cheapest upgrade, but it wasn’t too horrible either. I didn’t get the most expensive version since I didn’t need all that it had to offer. And I figure that since I enjoyed the last one for almost 9 years that hopefully I could do the same for this one as well. And if the cost is spread over 9 years (or even 5 years), it’s not bad at all. And it does bring me a lot of happiness and makes it feel like I did a big upgrade in my house. And having that upgrade did inspire me a bit to spend even more time working on cleaning up my space and making it even better for sitting on the couch and watching movies. So having something I bought motivate me to do something I have been putting off a bit is another added bonus.
Of course, I don’t want to get into a place where I spent more time sitting and watching shows because I can finally access them on my tv. I think this week was a weird one since I had so much time off and could actually be lazy like this. When I’m in my normal schedule, I don’t think I will prioritize watching stuff on my tv over what I need to do. Of course, if I notice that I’m starting to do that I’ll have to take action and get back on track. But for now, I’m really just enjoying being able to watch things I’ve been wanting to watch and have something that feels a little fancy in my house.
Posted onSeptember 26, 2019|Comments Off on So Much Entertainment So Little Time (or Scheduling Leisure Time)
I have written in the past about how I try to watch at least 1 episode of every show on tv. That used to be a much easier task. While there were a lot of new shows at the beginning of the fall tv season, it was a limited time and I was able to work through all the shows. Now, while the beginning of the fall tv season is when most of the new shows start, it’s not just happening then. And even the time that new shows premiere in the fall is longer. It seems like every week there is something new to watch and it’s becoming harder to stay on top of things.
This year, I think things got crazier for me because my schedule has been busy. I’ve had a lot of other time commitments and other things I go to in the evening. So I’m not home as much to watch tv and I don’t necessarily have time to watch shows between customers as I have before. I know this is a really stupid problem, but it is a problem when I have a way that I prepare for things that I’m used to.
The new tv season really started this week, so there have only been a few days of new shows. But I already feel very behind. I haven’t watched any new shows yet and some of the shows that I watch regularly are still sitting on my DVR. There are some shows that are more of a priority for me to watch the night they come out, so it is helping me decide if there are shows that I might want to stop watching. If I don’t care enough to watch them right away, I probably could just wait until I don’t have other things to watch and catch up on Hulu or Netflix. I do have a bit of hesitation to delete series recordings, but I’m working on being ok with that and not following shows the way I used to.
But it’s not just tv that I’m not catching up on. I love to read and I take advantage of e-books from the library for my Kindle all the time. It’s really helped me cut back on spending because I rarely buy books anymore (but I do recommend that my library buys them so I feel like I’m still supporting authors a bit). I put lots of books on hold because they usually don’t become available all at once. Until they did last week. 6 books I had on hold were available and I downloaded them all because I wanted to see if I could read at least a majority of them. But I don’t know if I’ll have time to read 6 books in 3 weeks.
If it was only the tv scheduling or reading scheduling, I think I could get it all done. But I have to decide what I will do in the evening when I have free time: read or catch up on tv. I’ve been trying to find the balance to do both, but I know it’s not really possible. Every day that I’ve tried to do both I usually don’t really get much of either done or I fall asleep reading or watching tv and then have to pay attention to it a second time.
So I’ve been working on scheduling my tv time and reading time so I set aside the time to do it and not have other things I have to work on. I’m aware how stupid this probably sounds, but since I view watching tv as research, it’s important that I set aside time for it. And while I don’t have to read, it is something that makes me really happy and I feel off when I don’t read at least a little bit each day. And scheduling my entertainment time also makes me find time to relax and not do other work things. It’s so easy for me to not stop working since I work at home. I need to remember to stop work at some point and focus on something else. So scheduling fun time is helping.
I know that once I catch up with the new tv shows and with my library books, there will be more shows to watch and books to read. But hopefully it won’t all come at me at one time so I can spend more time with each thing. But for now, I just have to schedule things so I can get through them and make sure I feel prepared for any auditions I might get for new tv shows and get through at least some of my library books.
Posted onSeptember 18, 2019|Comments Off on Another Night At The Bowl (or My Parents Got To Rock Out)
The timing for my parents’ trip was determined by a few things. First, they had hotel reservations in Catalina so I knew they’d be coming to LA either before they went to Catalina or after. But my parents and I also wanted to try to find a show at the Bowl that we could go to together. We had a lot of fun when we saw the Beatles celebration there, and we wanted to see another show. We had been trying for a few years to find a show that worked with their schedule that they wanted to see, but nothing was working until this season.
As soon as the Bowl announced their season, I shared it with my parents so they could pick out what looked good and what they would want to see. I had a few things that I suggested could be fun, but I wanted my parents to pick what they wanted and not just go to something that I thought they would enjoy. And when we looked at the season this year, my parents knew exactly what looked good to them: Earth, Wind & Fire.
I had heard of the band before, but since I’m not a big music person I don’t always know what songs are done by which bands. But it looked like it would be a fun show, plus it was going to have fireworks. And I knew that at the show I would recognize songs even if I didn’t know they were their songs before seeing them.
I tried to get us box seats for the Bowl so we could have an extra special evening, but I think because there were fireworks with the show, a lot of people wanted tickets. I was in the virtual line online hours before they went on sale, but I still couldn’t get us a box. But I did get us seats that were closer than I normally sit and we figured we could eat at our seats or try to find a picnic area.
On the day of the show, my dad and I worked out in the morning and then I had work. While I was working, my parents came over for a while because they were going to help me with a few things. My parents got me a Ring doorbell camera for my birthday (I have been wanting one) so my dad and I had to install it. And there were a few other small house projects for us to work on, but nothing too crazy. My parents left before I was done with work and we decided we were going to get food from Tender Greens to bring with us to the show.
We dealt with more rush hour traffic while on the Bowl Bus, but we were at the Bowl with plenty of time to eat before the show started. We didn’t luck out finding a picnic spot, so we went to our seats and ate there. Since we were early enough, the other people in our row weren’t there so we were able to spread out a bit. And since we were just eating salads, it wasn’t too hard to eat at the seats.
After eating, we waited for showtime. We had much better seats than we had when we went for the show before (when they were slightly obstructed seats). This time, we were more centered than before and had a great view of the stage.
The show was sold out so our row started to fill in before the show. Not everyone got there before the show started, and we were seated at the end of the row, so for the first part of the show, we were getting up and down a bit. A lot of the people seated around us were standing for the show, but we stayed seated (I was tired) and we could still see the stage and the large video screens so it was fine.
And as I expected, for a majority of the songs that they played I recognized them once they started playing. I knew them from various movies or random snippits I’ve heard on the radio but I just didn’t know who the band was. That’s how most concerts are for me and it’s always a fun surprise when I learn that a band I’m seeing is behind songs that I’ve randomly known for years.
But my parents knew all of the songs and they seemed very excited every time a new song started. I haven’t been to many concerts with them, so I’ve never seen them really get into a show. But there is no question they were into this show. I had a great time watching them have a great time. That might have been better for me than enjoying the show myself. My parents worked so hard and I love seeing them get to enjoy retirement. And their retirement has been them getting to do so much and discover new things they are into. They have done so many adventures since my dad retired and I am glad I got to be a small part of their adventure this time.
And, as I said, this was a show with fireworks. It’s rare to get to see fireworks at a show, but it is so spectacular.
When the show was done, we headed back to the bus and were able to get on one without having to wait. The drive back was much easier than the drive there, and I was glad we were back sooner because it had been a very full day. I was tired and I had an early morning the next morning. But the show was the end to my parents visiting me so it was a little bit of a downer. I will see them again in a little over 2 months for Thanksgiving, so that’s not too far from now.
Considering my parents were in LA for 2 days, we really packed a lot in. We had 2 shows, 1 workout, some fun meals, work around my house, and a little bit of relaxing time in there. Hopefully, they don’t need a vacation from their vacation now.
Posted onAugust 23, 2019|Comments Off on Another LA Anniversary (or I Kind Of Already Celebrated This Once)
This week marked 18 years since I moved to LA. As I’ve mentioned in my other LA anniversary posts, I moved out here to go to college and I’ve never left. It’s always felt like home to me and I’ve been happy here. I never thought about leaving and I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. It feels like I was always meant to live here.
I mentioned in my birthday post that this pretty much splits my life into half. With half my life being in the Bay Area and half my life in LA. I think technically it will be a few more weeks before it’s really half and half, but that’s just a technicality at this point. I do see my life as half in one place and a half in another. But at the same time, I still can’t believe that I have been in LA for half my life. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long and at the same time, it’s hard to remember when I didn’t live here.
It feels like I’ve lived a million different lives since I moved here. I started out as a pretty typical college student. I think that only lasted my first year of college because by my sophomore year I was taking a lot of acting classes outside of college. By doing that, I earned college credits and was able to graduate early. Then I had a few different day jobs before taking a “real job” for a while. I was miserable at that job and was going to quit when I found out I would be getting laid off in a few months (my boss was awesome and let me know when I told him I was thinking of leaving). After that, I lived off unemployment for a while and tried to focus completely on acting. Then I had to try to find a balance with day jobs and acting. Doing that took several years and more day jobs than I would like to remember. Finally, for the past few years, I’ve had a sense of stability and have been able to try to find a few other things in life to focus on because I need to have more of a life than just work.
In the 18 years I’ve lived here, I’ve seen a lot of friends move here and leave. Some left because they got an amazing job offer somewhere else. Some of them left because they hated LA. Some moved here to pursue acting and gave themselves a very strict timeline and refused to budge if they didn’t reach the level of success they felt they needed by their deadline and left. I’m proud of myself for sticking it out because it’s not easy. I’m not judging the people who have left because they all had valid reasons for leaving. They wouldn’t be a reason I would leave, but the reasons I stay wouldn’t be reasons they would stay either. I am sure I could have a much easier life living somewhere else and doing something else, but I don’t think it would be a happier life. And I have realized that my happiness, at least for now, it more important than having an easy life.
Just like I’ve said in other timeline or milestone posts, this is not where I thought my life would be at this point. I had no clue where I would be after 18 years in LA. I don’t even think I thought about it. But to think about the friends, adventures, and memories that I have gained in those 18 years is pretty amazing and I am proud of what I have accomplished. It hasn’t all been positive, but the positive definitely outweighs the negative.
Just like I didn’t think 18 years ago where I would be now, I’m not going to try to predict where I will be in 18 years. The only thing I will hope is that I will still be happy (and hopefully still happy in LA). Life has taken so many interesting twists that I can’t even try to guess where things will be in 18 months (or at this rate, 18 days). But I know that as long as I keep moving forward and making sure that I am staying true to myself and focusing on what makes me happy, things will turn out the way they should and hopefully I will have dozens of more LA anniversaries.
Posted onJune 10, 2019|Comments Off on Doing Some Theme Workouts (or Unique Challenges At Orangetheory)
This past week of workouts at Orangetheory were really fun for me. First of all, I was having a week where I was feeling good. I wasn’t feeling as great as I know I can, but it was a significant difference from the week before. And also, most of my workouts this past week were fun themed workouts! It wasn’t like Hell Week or Mayhem Week where they are all super hard. These were different themes and they all were really enjoyable while being tough.
Monday’s workout was an endurance day, but it was also a switch day so I was able to push myself a bit harder than I normally could for endurance workouts. This was the one workout that wasn’t really a theme, but it was still a great class. We had a bit of a run/row element which helped to split things up even more. Even though I was finally doing better and not feeling nauseous, I always feel like it takes me a workout or two before I feel like myself again. And this class seemed to be a great way to ease back in.
I started on the bike and cardio had a 1 minute all out pace. I did my new all out resistance level since I knew we’d be going to the rower when we were done. Once we switched to the rower, we had distance rows with pulsing half squats between. That was the end of that block and then my group stayed on the rower so we started there. We had a 1 minute all out row before going back up to cardio. And on cardio we had a push pace, base pace, and push to all out pace to end the block. Because we were on cardio a bit longer, I used my lower push and all out resistance level. After that then my group was on the floor but we did the cardio and rowing rotations one more time just after the halfway mark of the workout.
On the floor the first block had chest presses with weights, tricep extensions with weights, and knee tucks. I was able to use my normal weights for the chest presses, but when I got to the tricep extensions I struggled. I think I slept funny because my neck was just feeling off. So I had to switch to lower weights. And the second block had shoulder presses with weights, lateral raises with weights, and scissor kick static crunches. Again, I went a bit lower with the weights than I would have liked to have been. But I also knew it was a random reason why and not something I should have to struggle with the rest of the week.
Wednesday’s workout was Catch Me If You Can. I didn’t do this workout the first time they had it so I was excited to try it out. The idea was that we had distance goals for cardio. If you didn’t make it to that goal when you were supposed to, you were caught. People on treadmills had to walk at a high incline for the rest of the block if they were caught.
But it was a bit different for me on the bike because there wasn’t really a punishment if we didn’t make it to the distance and were caught. And when I saw the list of the distance goals we were supposed to hit, I knew I would only make it for the first half of them. But what I did was while I was still chasing the goals I had my resistance level between my base and push paces. And when I was caught, I put it between my push and all out so it made it very tough on me. While I knew before we started when I would probably be caught, that didn’t lessen the fun I had with the challenge.
On the rower, we had rowing and squats. We started with a 600 meter row and 20 squats. The rows and squats decreased each round. I didn’t make it as far down the plan as I would have liked to, but I was very happy about the rowing I did and how consistent I was able to keep my pace. And on the floor, we had one long block. We had skier swings with weights, rollouts on the ab dolly, bicep curls with weights, side planks, and hip bridges with weights. I went very heavy for my hip bridge weights, but I didn’t go too heavy for the rest because they were all high rep exercises. But it was still a strong way to end my workout.
Friday’s workout was a new and interesting one for me. We had a very unique rowing challenge where we were supposed to work together as a group and try to row at the same pace and pattern. It was supposed to be like we were a real rowing crew. That was totally a challenge to stay with the others, but it was fun to try! I found out later it was supposed to be a themed class for the Dragon Boat Festival which explained the team rowing.
For cardio, we had our own distance challenge for the entire block. The treadmills had rounds of .25 miles (the bike had rounds of 1 mile) followed by a minute of walking recovery. The goal was to do as many rounds as possible and to keep your speed either the same or increasing each round. I started with doing the distance challenge at my push pace resistance level, but after 3 rounds I had to decrease it to be at the level between my base and push for the rest of the workout. I was feeling a bit off due to lack of sleep the night before, but I just tried to focus on pushing myself when I could. I was actually very glad to have a repeating challenge for cardio because it helped me take my mind off of it.
For rowing, we alternated between the group challenge of rowing together and having rowing on our own. The group challenges were 2 minutes, 90 seconds, and 1 minute. While I’m not the slowest rower, I do row slower than most. I struggled a bit to keep up with everyone else, but I discovered if I did short rowing strokes that it was much easier. When we had the rowing on our own, we had a distance challenge within a certain time. The time was always long enough to allow for some rest time and I did take advantage of that break. I needed it to be ready for the next group row.
And on the floor we had 1 long block. We had step up with weights, hip swings with weights, tricep extensions with weights, plank jacks, and sit-ups. I have been modifying the step ups so I could do them, but I can’t do them with weight because I have to hold onto the straps. So I decided to do lunges with weights instead so I could still have weight work. We started with lower reps but they increased by a lot each round so I did have to switch up my weights in order to still have good form when we had a lot of reps.
And Saturday’s class was themed for Best Friend’s Day. The entire workout was a partner workout, but we were always at the same section of the room as our partner. We did tag each other to switch things up, but we weren’t moving around the room within a block. Instead, we were constantly switching as a class. We had 4 blocks at each section of the room. 3 of the blocks were 3 minutes and 1 block was 1 minute, but the 1 minute block was done solo and without workout with our partner.
For cardio, it was the only time we weren’t really working with our partners. For the 3 minute blocks we had a 3 minute distance challenge and the 1 minute block was a 1 minute all out. I wanted to keep my resistance level either between my base and push level or at my push pace level, but I could only do that for the first 2 blocks. For the last 2 I had it at my base pace level but I made an extra effort to try to pedal faster to make up for the lower resistance.
On the rower, we were rowing next to our partner. We worked as a team and one of us was doing a 100 meter row and the other was doing a recovery row. As soon as the person doing the 100 meter row was done, the other switched from the recovery row to doing the 100 meter. We switched back and forth the entire time for the 3 minute blocks. This seemed easy when I heard that’s what we were doing, but it was so much harder than expected. The recovery rows were so quick so I never felt like I was catching my breath. And for the 1 minute block, we had a 1 minute all out row.
And on the floor, we worked with our partners again. We switched back and forth doing either an exercise or a static move for the 3 minute blocks. We had shoulder presses with weights (the static move was a static hold of the weights), front squats with weights (the static move was holding a squat), high rows on the straps (the static move was holding the high row position on the straps), and superman (the static move was holding a plank). We alternated between the moves quickly so the static moves didn’t feel like a rest. The reps started low and increased and it was tough to keep going with the higher reps. But I knew my partner was counting on me so that was extra motivation. And for the 1 minute block, we had 1 minute of burpees. I used the bench to modify them, but I tried to go quickly and was able to do 10 in a minute.
I really loved this past week of workouts. I don’t always need themed workouts, but it’s so fun when we have them and I find that they seem to be challenging but in unexpected ways. I know we have some other great workouts coming up and I’m really feeling motivated to find how I can push myself before I have to worry about feeling awful again.
Posted onMarch 27, 2019|Comments Off on Enjoying A Mini-Splurge (or Sometimes The Best Plans Are The Simplest Plans)
I’ve struggled with the balance of scheduling enough fun for myself and making sure I don’t get over-scheduled and overwhelmed. It’s a hard balance to find and I know that it will be something that I have to probably work on for my entire life. I usually have a run of going way too much and need to take time to be home alone for a while. Then after I’ve been avoiding plans I feel like my life is too boring and need to go out and do things. I go back and forth all the time and wish it was easy to find the perfect middle ground.
One way that I know I can find a middle ground and balance is to have really simple and easy plans with friends. When I see my friends it doesn’t always have to be an elaborate event or something that requires a lot of planning. Just going and getting a quick dinner or something with a friend can do so much good for my mental health.
This week, I had one of those simple but fun plans with a friend. Mondays are my day off of work and I don’t always plan something fun. Sometimes it ends up being my day to catch up on things I need to do to be ready for my week. But a friend and I decided that we should go to a movie when she was done with work, so I had plenty of time to do what I needed to do and go to a movie. We really didn’t end up making the plans until about an hour before the movie started, but it was so easy to figure out when we could go and just do it.
I rarely pay to see movies because of the screenings I have access to, but I hadn’t gotten a screening invite to see “Captain Marvel” and I really wanted to see it. I was more than willing to pay to see it, plus I like to support with my money when I can and I want to support female led films. My friend has the AMC annual pass for movies, so we went to the AMC theater that was closest to us. I let her organize the tickets since I don’t know how the movie pass things work. So I just paid her cash for my ticket after she ordered it.
The tickets were more expensive than I thought, but I figured it was because I rarely pay for tickets and I probably forgot how much it was to go to a movie. We got some popcorn (another treat since the screenings I go to don’t allow you to have food) and went to the theater.
Turns out, the reason the tickets were expensive was because we were in the fancy theater at that AMC. The seats were larger than normal and had a few different reclining options. And there were fewer seats than a normal theater so there was extra leg room in each row. It felt much more like a nice screening room than a regular movie theater. Yes, we could have gone to a cheaper movie if we had realized we were going to a time in one of the nicer theaters, but it didn’t matter too much. Since I don’t go to movies at AMC often, it’s nice to do something special when I do.
Before the movie started, my friend and I both kept saying how this felt so luxurious. It wasn’t a huge splurge, but it really felt like it. We were already excited to see the movie, but getting to see it in a nice reclined chair with large armrests was going to make it that much better!
And “Captain Marvel” didn’t disappoint! I loved the movie and the message that it had. It was a very empowering movie and I’m so glad that we had another female superhero movie out there. It’s not that common to see that and I think they need to make more of them. And not only was the message good, I think it was one of the best soundtracks for a superhero film I’ve seen! The music was from when I was in middle school, so I knew all of the songs. I’m not a big music person, so for me to know the songs is pretty rare.
My friend and I didn’t do anything after the movie. We talked about maybe getting dinner, but we ended up not doing it. But that didn’t matter. Just going out to a movie felt so out of my normal routine and special and it was exactly the type of casual friend hang out that I need to do more of. It required almost no planning or organizing, but it was just as fun as some of the more elaborate things I organize. Plus, I got to see an amazing movie that I’ve been wanting to see!
Posted onNovember 27, 2018|Comments Off on Recapping My Thanksgiving (or A Few Days In Sacramento)
I’ve already written a bit about my trip for Thanksgiving, but I haven’t really said more than my flight there and my workout on Thanksgiving Day. I wasn’t in Sacramento that long (I got there late Tuesday night and left Friday afternoon), but I managed to pack quite a bit into my trip!
When I arrived, I got there so late that all I did was get to the hotel and go to bed. And the next morning, I had to work a few hours (it is nice to work remotely so I could work from the hotel) and the original plan was to try to make it to Tahoe so I could see the house. I haven’t been there in quite a while so I was excited to see what the house looks like all done. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t that great so we decided to try for a Tahoe adventure on Friday when we were hoping it wouldn’t be as bad.
Since I had finished with work early because we only had a half shift the day before Thanksgiving, we had a lot of free time. So my parents and I went to visit my grandma. She lives in an assisted living facility there and I wanted to see where she was living now. I had seen her home in San Diego (both in independent living and assisted living) so many times and it was weird to think my grandma was living somewhere for almost a year and I hadn’t seen it yet.
She had just moved to a new room recently so I never got to see the first room she had. But I still wanted to see where she was living and what amenities the new facility had. When my parents and I got there, my mom had to ask the staff something about my grandma’s mail (the birthday card I mailed to her was never delivered) so my dad gave me a quick tour. This place is significantly smaller than where she was living in San Diego so it was easy to see the various places there that my grandma uses. I got to see the hair salon, the library, and the living room area. We looked at the courtyard too, but since it was raining we didn’t go out there.
Then we went to where my grandma is. She was out in a common room when we got there so my parents took me to see her room first. I really liked her room and it felt much more spacious than where she was living in San Diego. I’m glad I got to see it so I can picture where she is when I call her and we talk on the phone. Then we found my grandma sitting with a bunch of other residents and I got to take some time to talk to her. My grandma isn’t as chatty as she used to be and it can be tough to see her be confused and not how I remember her, but there are still lots of moments where she seems like herself and we can have some fun conversations. We were there for maybe an hour or so before heading back to the hotel because my brother and sister-in-law were arriving.
Thanksgiving Day started with the family workout and then we all went back to the hotel to get dressed and ready. My grandma was going to be picked up later than the rest of us arrived at my aunt and uncle’s (we didn’t want to exhaust her too much) so when we got there the cooking was happening and I tried to stay out of the way the best I could. My mom brought family movies to watch and it was really fun to see movies from when my grandma was growing up. And when my grandma arrived, we had started watching movies that had 3 generations of us in it (my cousin’s kids were the only generation not in the movies) and my grandma was really enjoying watching them and commenting on random things. She made a really great joke about how my dad looked weird because he had hair in the videos and he’s bald now.
When dinner was ready, we had a pretty incredible spread.
I had a little bit of everything except the mashed potatoes and cranberry sauces. And it was all really delicious! I probably ate too much food, but I think that’s a pretty common thing on Thanksgiving. And my family was having a great time sitting at the table enjoying all the random conversations we were having.
After dinner, we tried to get a family photo. My uncle was using his nice camera but the self timer didn’t seem to want to work. He ended up also setting his phone to video so we could see if we could get a good still shot on it while he attempted to make his camera work. We didn’t really get a great photo, but when he sent me the video I found some amazing moments that I love more than a staged, smiling photo. This one is from one of the last times he attempted to use his self timer and it went off before he could get in place.
I love how we are all laughing, even if I don’t love how I look in the photo. But it’s an honest and genuine moment from all of us and I think that makes it so special.
The day after Thanksgiving I had to work, but I had made an arrangement to work limited hours so I could spend time with my family. My parents and I were trying to get to Tahoe, but again the weather didn’t work in our favor so we didn’t make it. Hopefully I’ll get out there next year because I want to see the house and spend time with my family. So I ended up working my entire work shift (plus an extra hour because I mixed up what day it was) and then we headed over to my aunt and uncle’s house for some leftovers before I had to get to the airport.
It was nice to have some more family time even if it wasn’t that much time. But I don’t usually get that very often so I value whatever time I do get with my extended family. And after spending a few hours with my family it was time to head back to the airport for my flight back home.
I did have a few panic attacks on my flight back to LA, but they were pretty minor compared to the attacks I had on the way to Sacramento and they weren’t as frequent or as long. So I’m guessing my panic attacks were brought on by not flying for a long time and not that my panic disorder is back when I thought it was gone. And before I knew it, I was back in LA and back to my normal life.
My trip to Sacramento was quick, but it was filled with lots of great things. Even though I had to work 2 of the days I was there, that’s pretty routine for me for Thanksgiving and it didn’t feel like I missed out on anything. My parents were hanging out with me while I was working so I wasn’t alone. And work was slow enough that most of the time I was working was really just talking to my parents, helping them with random computer things, or helping my dad find some great deals online for new shoes.
I won’t get to see my extended family like this again until next Thanksgiving, but I will hopefully see them randomly throughout the year. I might be seeing my aunt in March and my cousin and her daughter in February. And there’s always time to plan for more in the coming year.
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 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 onAugust 16, 2018|Comments Off on An Almost Free Meal (or Amazing Food And Crazy Dating Stories)
I don’t have a ton of birthday traditions, but one that has been a part of my life for quite a while has been getting my free birthday meal at Truxton’s. I have been doing the free birthday meal pretty much since the restaurant opened in 2006 so I’ve been doing it for 11 or 12 years. And it has been a tradition with my birthdaytwinJoanna for about a decade now (we aren’t totally sure when we started going together).
Going into our birthday dinner this year, we had every hope that we could go for a totally free meal. We went to dinner the day after our birthday and I was so excited to have a great dinner and to hang out with an awesome friend!
While we could have gotten things cheap enough to make everything free, nothing that we wanted was in that range so we had to decide if it was worth getting things we weren’t totally wanting in order to have a totally free meal or if it would be better to get what we want and owe a little bit of money. We both agreed that we would rather have a meal we wanted and owe a little bit. We both were craving burgers so we got those with the parmesan garlic fries that I love!
The Monkey Bread was awesome too and we got a churro sundae to split as our dessert. We were both pretty full when we were done but it was so good and we were so happy to have a great meal together.
We also took a while to eat because we were busy catching up on life with each other. We both have had some crazy dating stories lately and we were going back and forth sharing some of the weirder ones. She was telling me a story of a guy who seemed like he was trying to gaslight her but was making it so obvious that he just sounded insane and confused. I was telling her stories of some of the guys who have ghosted me recently and how odd it was that someone could go from texting me every day to disappearing and not feel like they should say they aren’t interested. I will never understand guys who ghost, but at least we were both having a laugh in sharing our stories.
When we got our bills, we knew we would both owe a little bit. But we owed so little for our dinner that it was like we had a free meal!
Plus, we had free parking at meters since we had a later dinner so we saved money there! If we had to pay for parking, it would have been more than the cost of the dinner! And another one of our favorite things about this free (or almost free) birthday dinner is that we can leave a bit tip and feel like we are doing something great. Our bill was basically $40 before the discount and we each left $10 for a tip. So we were able to tip our server almost 50% on our meal! I know that some people don’t tip well when they get a discount, but we want to do the opposite since we know how much servers depend on tips. It also makes us feel like badasses because we can say we tipped 50%.
We stuck around after dinner chatting and catching up some more (we didn’t feel bad because there weren’t people waiting for the table and our server seemed fine with us hanging around). It was nice just to chat and have fun with a good friend. And I really did like that we were sharing dating stories because sometimes it feels like the crazy things only happen to me. While I don’t wish that anyone else has to deal with what I deal with, it does make me feel less weird and alone when I hear a friend has similar situations with the online dating world.
Joanna and I don’t really get to see each other in person that often because our schedules are crazy and we aren’t usually in each other’s part of LA. But I’m glad we have this tradition as well as our holiday time tradition so we do get to see each other at least twice a year. And I know that in a year we’ll be doing our almost free birthday meal again!
Losing Weight The Techie Way (or My FitBit Fail)
