Tag Archives: mixer

Forgetting To Document Some Things (or Focusing On Being In The Now)

Posted on March 21, 2019 | Comments Off

With all the technology we have available to us, it’s so easy to document things that we experience. We can take photos and videos of everything we see to share or remember them by. And since we aren’t restricted by using up film we can take photos of things that we don’t care about that much or take dozens of photos to make sure we get the right image. And of course, there are endless ways we can share those photos too.

I’m totally someone who can be obsessed with getting the right photos. My friends know when we go to Wood & Vine that they can’t take a bite until I get the perfect picture to share on here. They know that sometimes I’ll ask them to move their cup or something else on the table so I get the perfect shot. I think they find it a bit funny, but I’m grateful they indulge me in doing it. And I take photos of so much in my life. Sometimes it’s for adding to a post on here and sometimes it’s just for me. I like having something to refer to when I want to remember something. If I don’t have the photo, it’s easy for me to forget the details.

But there are more and more articles coming out lately about how we are living our lives through our phones or cameras. We aren’t experiencing what’s in front of us because we want to have the perfect Instagram photo to share later. I know I’ve done this with a few things in the past and I’m embarrassed how my memories are about me watching through my phone while getting a photo and not just experience what happened. While I love the photos to refer to later, they aren’t the most important thing for me.

I haven’t necessarily been making an effort to take fewer photos or to not experience things through my phone, but this week I had 2 things that I usually would document with lots of photos that I actually have no photos for at all.

First, I had my hair done this week. Getting my hair done isn’t a huge experience, but it had been too long since the last time. If I had the money, I would get my hair done every 6-8 weeks. Because of my financial situation now, I have to keep stretching it out longer and longer. This time wasn’t as bad as it was just under 4 months since the last time I had my hair done, but it was definitely needed. My hair was looking scraggily and my color was looking faded and my grays were taking over. I usually love taking a before and after photo to see how much of a difference a fresh haircut and color could make.

I didn’t think at all about doing a before photo. I actually didn’t realize I didn’t take one until the day after my hair was done when I was thinking about if I took an after photo. That’s when I thought about how I didn’t have a before photo so there’s no need for an after one to show off the difference. I like sharing the before and after photos and I know my friend who does my hair likes to share them to promote her business, but I just didn’t think about doing it this time. I’m sure I’ll do it next time, but it was nice to see that I didn’t even consider doing one this time.

I also went to a NextGen Performers mixer earlier this week. The mixers are so much fun because they are just a time to gather and hang out. They always have food for us and people are just talking and not worried about too much. It’s basically like a party with my friends. I have noticed that lately I’m not recognizing as many people at these mixers, but I still have a lot of friends there and I always try to spend time with them catching up.

I don’t always take photos of those events (I take more photos at the informative events since I take photos of the slides to save the information I want to have), but I do get photos with my friends from time to time there. Since sometimes it’s the only time I get to see certain friends for a while, it’s nice to have a photo together. This mixer was just like many of the others that I had attended, except I never thought about taking photos of the event or with my friends. I wasn’t always focused on the mixer, but documenting it wasn’t something that came to me. Even with knowing I’d want to probably blog about it, I didn’t have the thought I should get a photo for the post.

I’m sure there will still be so many times in my life that I live through a phone or a camera, but it is something I will probably be more conscious about. I need to remember that I don’t have to have proof of everything I have done and that sometimes it’s better to not have those photos but to instead have memories of things that might not be able to be captured in a photo or video.

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Posted in Acting, Beauty, Fun Stuff

Tagged acting, beauty, friends, hair, mixer, photos, SAG-AFTRA

The First Holiday Party Of The Season (or A Meeting And A Mixer)

Posted on November 30, 2018 | 2 comments

This week was the last Union Working meeting of 2018. With the holiday season starting, it’s tough to plan for a meeting in December because so many people have travel plans or other events to go to. And this meeting wasn’t a regular meeting, it was part meeting and part holiday mixer. But it was the perfect way to kick off the holiday season and the parties I’ll be going to.

I got to the meeting early so I could set up the Facebook Live things. I know that the team at Union Working appreciate that I do this for the meetings, but I always feel like I should be doing more because it’s not that hard for me to do. But if that’s what they need me to do, I’m glad I can do it! When I got there, a lot of the things for the party were already set up. There was a table full of amazing food and a bar area set up and I know that we were expecting a lot of people to be there (actors love free food and drinks!).

People arrived in waves since it was more of a party so I felt like I was always seeing someone I knew and getting to say hi and catch up with them. It was nice to not have to worry about getting everything ready for a meeting to start and to just enjoy time with those who were there.

About an hour into the party, the meeting portion of the evening happened so I got the Facebook Live video ready. It was a very brief meeting with the premiere of a new video that will be released soon regarding keeping the union strong, some notes about how we have merchandise for sale for those interested in representing Union Working with a hat or key chain, and then the leaders of the group were sharing their appreciation for everyone else. It was really nice to see how passionate the leaders of the group are about working hard for all actors. We see that passion when they are running the meetings, but seeing them be grateful for what we have accomplished was a different type of passion and it made me even more proud to be a member of the group.

After that was done, it was back to the party. I kept the Facebook Live running because we wanted to give people the opportunity to come over and say things to those watching in other parts of the country. A few people did come over to say thank you to those in other markets for working hard, but most of the time I was running it there was nobody there and I was just looking at the step and repeat.

Even though people weren’t coming over to talk on the video, I wasn’t by myself at the party. Friends were coming over to hang out and talk with me throughout the evening. And it actually worked out a bit better since where I was wasn’t as crowded as the area by the food where most people were hanging out. I liked having my own party area so I didn’t feel as overwhelmed or like I was in the middle of a crowd. I did go over and get some food (which was delicious!), but most of my time was over by the step and repeat.

And even though I always tell myself that I want to get a picture in front of the step and repeat, it usually is taken down before I remember or get a chance to do it. This time I wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass so I finally got a fun selfie in front of it.

Most people were taking advantage of the step and repeat being out of the way and available and were taking photos too. There were so many selfies taken and a lot of fun group photos. I thought about doing some group photos with my friends in front of the step and repeat, but because so many people were busy talking I didn’t want to interrupt them. And I loved watching everyone talk because there were lots of conversations about union related issues and lots of new people meeting each other and becoming friends. It was kind of fun being able to sit back and just enjoy the people watching.

But since everyone has a camera and was taking photos, I did get one group photo with my friends when the party was winding down. It’s not in front of the step and repeat, but at least I got one photo that proves I was there with other people!

I got everything from the Facebook Live cleaned up before the party was done so when cleanup was happening I asked if I could help in any other way. We had some amazing volunteers who were doing the cleanup and they didn’t need me. And that was ok since it was getting late and I had to work early the next morning. So I made my rounds of goodbyes to my friends and headed home.

Even with being over by the Facebook Live setup for most of the party, I never felt like I was alone or separate from everything going on. I loved having my own area to talk with my friends and to meet new people at the meeting. I know that next year is a big one for our union with elections happening again along with contract negotiations, so it’s going to be more important than ever to be as involved as I can with Union Working. And that’s exactly what I plan on doing!

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged acting, friends, mixer, party, SAG-AFTRA, union, union working

A NextGen Mixer (or Just Having Fun With My Friends)

Posted on September 27, 2018 | Comments Off

So many of the union events I go to are a bit more serious. They are informative sessions about an issue concerning the union or are related to the elections. But sometimes I get to go to a fun union event which I love! Even though I want to be involved in the union and want to understand the issues we are passionate about, I also just like having fun with my friends and meeting other members. Fortunately, there are events like that from time to time.

A lot of the events that the NextGen Performers committee does are those fun ones. One of the main goals of that committee is to get younger members of the union involved and excited about what is going on. And having a mixer with free food and drinks is a great way to get people to come to an event! And while they are there, you can educate them about things that may be affecting them as union members. And for non-union members who attend those events can learn more about the benefits of union membership and what the differences can be between union and non-union work.

There was a mixer this week and because my mind was on other things I completely forgot about RSVPing for it. I went online the night before and the registration was showing closed. I didn’t know if that meant that they were filled or that it was too close to the date to sign up, so I texted a friend who is on the committee to see what was happening. He was able to add me to the list so I could attend and I was so grateful for him doing that (it wasn’t even what I was asking about, he just went ahead and did it)!

The mixer was at Lure in Hollywood. I had never been to the venue before, but it was pretty close to the Pantages so I knew that parking might be a bit tough to find. I skipped searching for street parking because there was a lot of traffic and road construction and just went to a parking garage. It wasn’t the cheapest option, but it was convenient and right across the street from the venue. And since I didn’t want to be out too late, I wanted to get to the mixer as close to when it started as possible.

As soon as I checked in and walked inside, I started looking for people I knew. It’s always a bit nerve-racking when I’m at a big event and don’t see a familiar face so I usually look for a friend as soon as I arrive. Fortunately, I saw some friends and union staff members right inside the door. I went over to say hello to them and then started seeing more people I knew. And then some of my friends were heading inside from the entryway where the step and repeat was into the ballroom and I followed them.

I wish I had taken photos of the venue because it was really amazing! The ballroom was nice and open with lots of seating all over. There was some food being served, but the line for food was a bit long and I wasn’t too hungry. So while my friends went to get food, I was scanning the crowd to see who else I knew. I saw my friend who got me on the list for the mixer so I went over to say thank you to him. And he was chatting with some other friends of mine so I started to catch up with them.

The rest of the evening was pretty much me moving around and finding more friends I knew. I walked with some friends to the step and repeat and saw more people I knew. I didn’t really care about taking nice photos so I went over to my friends. Then they were going to head up to the stage to talk for a bit about the event and the groups that organized it, so I found a couch area off to the side where I could watch.

When my friend Ben (who was my date to the Convention Gala last year) was speaking, I took a photo to share on social media. It was only after I took the photo that I realized that the video on the screen behind him had a clip of him at the exact moment that I got the photo. So it was double Bens!

After the speeches, the mixer was back to being a social event and I went to find my friends again. And while I was chatting with them I noticed a friend who I hadn’t seen in quite a while walking past us. It was also his birthday that night so I wanted to tell him happy birthday! And he was telling me all about the amazing things that were happening in his life after he had a bit of a rough patch. And because he is also single, our conversation turned to some ridiculousness we both have had with online dating and dating in LA in general.

The mixer was only 2 hours long so while I was catching up with my friend the event ended (and they turned the lights on so it was clear they were hoping we’d all be leaving quickly). But before I left I wanted to grab a quick photo with the signs they always have at the NextGen Performer events. The step and repeat was already down, so I just got a photo in front of the bar. My hair looks a bit weird because there was a piece in front of my face, but I wasn’t really thinking about how I was looking when taking the photo.

I’m so grateful my friend was able to get me on the list for this mixer and that I went. I love having opportunities to see friends and this was a great one! I didn’t get to meet that many new people because I was focused on catching up with all the people I saw that I knew, but that’s ok. I know there will be another event soon where I can focus more on getting to know more union members.

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged acting, friends, mixer, party, SAG-AFTRA, union

Another NextGen Mixer (or A Fun Post-Election Hangout)

Posted on August 31, 2017 | 2 comments

Even though the SAG-AFTRA election season is over, there are still so many awesome actor events for me to participate in! I’ve been getting registered for the upcoming convention and submitting interest in various committees. I’m getting so excited about both the convention and the committee opportunities. I know how much I loved the convention last time and I have a feeling that it will be just as amazing this year!

But I’m not just getting ready for future events, I’m going to some. And this past week was the big mixer event for the NextGen Performers Committee. I’ve gone to some of their smaller events, but this one is their biggest. It’s not just a NextGen Performers event, it’s also co-sponsored by New Filmmakers LA. I haven’t been to any of the combined mixers before so I was pretty excited to see what this one would be like.

It was held at the Federal Bar in North Hollywood, so it was a bit of a drive for me. But I was able to get there pretty close to the start time. But I had no idea how big this mixer was since I had only gone to the smaller ones. And when I arrived it was already pretty packed inside! There was a fun step and repeat to take photos at, but I decided to focus on trying to find some of my friends first.

Fortunately, within a few minutes of arriving I found a bunch of friends who were also a part of the slate that I ran on for the recent election. We were all so glad that the election season is over and we can focus on more union work now. And I also ran into some friends from the other slate and it’s nice to know that we are all past the campaigning and political stuff for now and can go back to working hard together.

With the bar being so crowded, I got a bit overwhelmed and when that happens I get a bit shy. So I ended up sticking with my friends for most of the night. I know that we were supposed to be networking, but that’s so difficult to do in a loud bar. It was so much easier to just catch up with people who I already know so I didn’t have to worry about offending them by saying that I can’t hear anything that they are saying. But it was a good mix of people I know through so many different things (even some girls from my Girls Night Out group!). So I wasn’t too isolated in the groups that I was talking to.

Since this was such a bit mixer for the NextGen Performers group, SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris was there to speak. I’ve been so fortunate to get to know Gabrielle over the past few years and she is truly incredible. She took over as SAG-AFTRA president after Ken Howard died and that was not an easy thing to do. But she’s done such a wonderful job with the union and I’m so happy that she was reelected. But one of the most amazing things about her is how much she cares about everyone. She is so happy to see people and always asked about how we are doing. When she found out my friend was working on his first union contract, she had the biggest smile and was so proud of him. Having a leader that cares that much is a rare treat.

After the speeches, the official time for the event was coming to an end. We had a reserved section of the bar plus there was some free food and drink tickets. I think we could have stayed there after the official time ended (it just wouldn’t be reserved for our group or have the free stuff), but once it was 9pm I was feeling ready to go. I had a pretty long day that day with working my day job and a doctor appointment, plus the drive to the valley is a bit long. I knew that I was already overwhelmed and adding being tired to that wasn’t going to let me make any good impressions on people. So I started to make my round of goodbyes, which always seems to take forever, and headed back to my car to head home.

I love all the NextGen Performers events. Usually they are much smaller than this one which is nice because I can spend the time getting to know new people and it isn’t as crazy. But having a big event is so fun and festival especially when it comes at the end of what was a bit of a stressful election season.

2 Comments

Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged acting, friends, hangout, mixer, SAG-AFTRA, union

A Happy Hour Mixer (or Being A NextGen Performer)

Posted on March 10, 2017 | 2 comments

As much as I’ve wanted to get involved more with SAG-AFTRA, it seems like it just hasn’t been working out well with my schedule. I’ve wanted to attend various gatherings and meetings, but they seem to always be when I’m working. So when I do see an event that I can attend, I try to do whatever I can to make sure my schedule stays clear so I can go.

The NextGen Performers Committee is a committee within SAG-AFTRA to help unify those in the union between 18-35 and to help them get more involved. It’s a great committee and I have several friends who are a part of the leadership of that committee. They do a lot of great work especially since many younger union members don’t realize how important the union is. They haven’t known any other time and sometimes don’t realize when something is something that the union had to fight hard to get. It’s one of the committees that I’ve wanted to get involved with but hadn’t had a chance just yet.

But when they announced a mixer this past week at Rush Street, I knew I had to go! I had that evening free (except needing to pick up a friend at LAX at 11pm) and Rush Street is so close to my house that it wouldn’t take me long at all to get there. So I RSVPed and was excited about getting to spend some time with my fellow union members. I had ever intention of walking over there since it’s so close to my house, but I decided to dress up and wear heels. I don’t have to wear anything other than workout clothes normally, so I took advantage of this mixer. And since I was wearing heels, I didn’t want to walk over. So I drove over and found a free parking space!

The mixer was upstairs at Rush Street where we had a private space. I’ve been upstairs at Rush Street before for dinner, but never on the back patio where we were this time. And there was some free food (which always gets actors excited) and postcards promoting the upcoming Los Angeles meeting for SAG-AFTRA right when I walked in.

By the way, if you are a member of SAG-AFTRA and are free on Sunday, I highly recommend coming to the meeting. It should be a really educational afternoon and you will get to meet many leaders in the union. I’m excited to get to be there to see some people who I haven’t seen since either the holiday party or convention.

I wasn’t sure how many people I would know at the mixer, and there were a ton of people I didn’t know. But I did keep running into friends there including the friends who are a part of the committee. Some of them I had seen within the past month and some of them I hadn’t seen in over a year. Either way, it was awesome to get to catch up with everyone. And while everyone was busy saying hi to everyone who was there, I felt like I did get some great quality time with the people who I wanted to see while I was there.

And since this committee is focused on millennials (and those of us a bit older than that), they had a challenge for us for social media. They had different signs and if we could take a photo and post it on Instagram, we would get a free water bottle. I’m never one to turn down a free water bottle, so I took a photo with 2 friends to post online.

Since this mixer was a casual event, there was no agenda or timeline of anything. It was just a good time to get to hang out with other union members and talk shop. And that’s exactly what I got to do. It was perfect and again made me feel the pull to want to be more involved in the union. I know there isn’t a ton that I can do right now, but with elections happening this year I know that I want to do more than I have in the past.

I would have loved to have stayed at the mixer for a while (even though it was supposed to end at 9 it was still going strong at 9:30), but I did need to get home to get stuff done before my late night run to get my friend at LAX. I was trying to leave quickly, but of course it was taking forever to say goodbye to everyone that I wanted to say goodbye to. But I eventually made it out of there and was on my way back to my car.

With this mixer this week and the meeting coming up this weekend, I’m just feeling so excited about everything happening with the union. There have been some really exciting announcements lately (including the official union app and that residuals can be direct deposits now) and I can’t wait to hear what might be announced next!

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged acting, happy hour, mixer, SAG-AFTRA, union

Getting Ready To Get Mentored Again (or A Evening With WIF)

Posted on November 20, 2014 | 2 comments

When I did the WIF Mentoring Circle the first time, I was so excited to have a bunch of meetings with other motivated women for a year. At first it seemed great, but after the first meeting, pretty much only 2 other mentees came to meetings. And while the agreement was to have 6 meetings within a 12 month period, my group only had 4 meetings in 18 months.

It wasn’t a total loss. The other 2 mentees who came to the meetings were awesome and I learned a lot from them. I wasn’t supposed to be allowed to apply for another mentoring circle until my group completed all 6 meetings, but since it was announced that that would not be happening, I applied for the Winter circles.

In my application, I said how I could see how amazing the mentoring circles could be, and sadly that wasn’t my experience with my group. I was so excited that I was accepted again, and there was a mixer this week to meet some of the other women who would be in the program this time.

The event was a pretty casual evening. There were food and drinks (I ate before I went so I can’t tell you if the food was awesome but I’m assuming it was) and most of the evening was unstructured so we could just chat with some other woman at the event.

I was at a table that happened to be full of non-actors (a rarity and a nice treat!). We were all chatting and I don’t quite remember how the conversation got started, but I started chatting with the woman sitting next to me about the podcast Serial (which we are both obsessed with!). It turns out this woman (who I didn’t ask permission to name on my blog so I won’t right now) got a fellowship for WIF through UCLA where she is in the screenwriting program. That’s pretty awesome!

After about an hour at the event, the women who run the mentoring circles spoke and explained that we will know who our mentors and fellow mentees are by the end of the year. They haven’t put the groups together yet, so if there are people who we want to have in our circles we can request them (but no guarantees).

After the speech, I got up and spoke to the woman in charge. I just wanted to thank her again for accepting me into the program for the second time. And I wanted to make sure that I would have different mentors this year. I loved my mentors, but I think part of doing this experience again is to meet more people and expand my networking circles. She said that they would do their best not to put me with the same mentors again, and if for some reason it wasn’t like that, I can let them know.

After that, I decided to head home so I could get some work done before having to work the next morning.

Overall, it was a super successful kick off to the next mentoring circle. I’m so excited to see who’s in my group and who my new mentors will be. I can’t wait to find out what everyone’s specialty is and what jobs my mentors have. But I’ll have to wait a bit to find that out.

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged acting, mentoring, mixer, Women in Film

Hollywood Mixer (or Ms. In The Biz Is Almost Here!)

Posted on May 3, 2013 | Comments Off

This week, Ms. In The Biz launched the sneak peek of the site. As I mentioned before, I’m a writer for the site (in fact, 2 of my articles are on there right now!).

To celebrate the sneak peek (and the official launch which is coming up soon), Ms. In The Biz partnered up with Film Break for a really great mixer event.

It was held at the Tropicana Bar at the Roosevelt in Hollywood. I’ve lived in LA for almost 12 years (my LA-nniversary is in August), and this was the very first time that I’ve been to the Roosevelt.

I got a bit lost in there, but I realized I entered from the back entrance (the one on Hollywood Blvd). But once I got out to the pool area, it was gorgeous!

We were right next to the pool, which was all lit up.

I got there on the early side (because I didn’t want to stay out late), and immediately ran into some friends and fellow Ms. In The Biz writers.

But it quickly got very crowded there, and I tried to keep finding places to mingle that weren’t full of people (I had a fear that somehow I’d get pushed into the pool in the crowd!).

Even with that set back, I met so many amazing creative people. And for the first time at a mixer event, I think being an actor was in the minority. I’m used to the LA Actors Tweetup where it seems like everyone is an actor (and that’s awesome). But at this event, I met directors, film critics, make up artists, sound mixers, and writers. It’s nice being around all these creative types that do different things than you!

Thank goodness for business cards because with all the noise, I didn’t quite get everyone’s name.

After being there about 2 hours, I decided it was time to head home so I could be up early the next morning to get errands done before work. Based on tweets and FB posts I’ve seen, the party went on quite a bit more! I’m a little sad I didn’t stay longer, but I know that I’d be miserable at work the next day if I didn’t get sleep!

If you haven’t already checked out the Ms. In The Biz site, please do! It’s an amazing project that I’m so proud to be a part of! Make sure to sure to sign up for the newsletter so you know when the new posts are up.

I believe there will be an official launch party for the site in the next month or so, and if it’s open to everyone, I’ll make sure to post the info on here!

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged bar, blogging, event, Hollywood, mixer

Tag Archives: mixer

Forgetting To Document Some Things (or Focusing On Being In The Now)

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The First Holiday Party Of The Season (or A Meeting And A Mixer)

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A NextGen Mixer (or Just Having Fun With My Friends)

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Another NextGen Mixer (or A Fun Post-Election Hangout)

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A Happy Hour Mixer (or Being A NextGen Performer)

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Getting Ready To Get Mentored Again (or A Evening With WIF)

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Hollywood Mixer (or Ms. In The Biz Is Almost Here!)

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