Tag Archives: party

Having To Explain My Costume (or An Almost Normal Halloween)

Posted on November 3, 2021 | Comments Off on Having To Explain My Costume (or An Almost Normal Halloween)

Last year for Halloween, I only celebrated over Zoom. I did try to have a bit of a costume by making a fun Zoom background, but it really wasn’t the same as seeing my friends. I knew this was how we had to celebrate so we could all be safe, but it was just another reminder of what we were missing out on during the pandemic.

This year, things are a little different but they are still not as safe as they were before. So while I would have loved to be at a big party with all of my friends, I knew again this wouldn’t be possible. Fortunately, I was invited to a small party with a few friends who only had vaccinated people there so I was able to enjoy Halloween with other people again this year.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do for my costumes, so I tried to see what would inspire me. Like so many people, I joined TikTok to entertain me this year. And there are a lot of accounts I follow that are just silly. And one of those is Noodle the Dog. Noodle is a 13-year old pug and each day as his owner tries to get him up from bed he will either stand up or collapse back into bed. So the saying is that he either has bones or no bones and that determines what the day will be like. I know it’s silly, but we all just need silly things these days.

So I decided that a fun and silly costume would be to go as a No Bones Day. I wore all black, made a pug mask from a photo online, and emptied out a dog bone container (I had to buy dog bones but I’ll be giving them to my parents’ dog). Not a super fancy or elaborate costume, but I think it did a good job representing things. And I got confirmation of that when I posted it on Instagram and tagged the Noodle account and they shared it on their Instagram too!

I’m aware it’s also a bit creepy since I had a very realistic looking photo for my mask.

When I got to the party, most people had no clue who I was so I had to show them the TikTok account so they could get what I was supposed to be. There were other people there who also had low-key costumes like I did, so I didn’t feel too out of place. And I think the focus for a lot of us was about being around other people and not the costumes. It’s still so rare to get to be around friends, so I am enjoying whatever chances I get. And we did try to make sure things were as safe as they could be. We were all outside and I know everyone was vaccinated. And not going to a big party was probably smart too.

This was much closer to my normal Halloween than what I did last year, but it still wasn’t what I was used to. I remember thinking last year that of course things would be normal again by Halloween. I think it’s still surprising to me that by this Halloween they still aren’t. But as tired as I am about having to always be careful, I do know this is what we need to do to get past this. And maybe by Halloween next year, we will be 100% back to normal and I will be at a crazy costume party surrounded by my friends again.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailStill Celebrating Halloween (or A Virtual Costume To Go With A Virtual Party) Default ThumbnailHaving Some Halloween Fun (or Creating A Clever Costume) Default ThumbnailLow Key Halloween (or Costume Flashback) Default ThumbnailLow-Key Halloween (or A Work In Progress) Default ThumbnailFirst Halloween Party Of The Season (or At Least I Made An Appearance) Default ThumbnailA Halloween Outing (or Dressing Up As Me)

Comments Off on Having To Explain My Costume (or An Almost Normal Halloween)

Posted in Celebrations, Fun Stuff

Tagged , , ,

Finally Seeing Some Friends (or Having An Almost Normal 4th Of July)

Posted on July 7, 2021 | Comments Off on Finally Seeing Some Friends (or Having An Almost Normal 4th Of July)

My 4th of July in 2020 was so unusual for me. I normally am with my friends, and last year we couldn’t do it. I think we had all hoped that life would be normal by then (I miss how innocent we all were when we thought the pandemic could be over by then), but there was no safe way for us to be together. And as much as I missed everyone, I’m glad we were able to be safe and make sure nobody got sick. I think I’m pretty lucky with my friend group. So many of us were at higher risk and very few people got sick. But I know that’s because we were taking so many precautions.

And even though things are better this year, I think we all agreed that having a big hangout wasn’t the right choice. As much as I would have loved going to a big party, I’m glad I didn’t have to turn it down because it would have been hard to not see my friends and celebrate with everyone. I know most of us are vaccinated, but not everyone has been (such as the kids of my friends), so we are just going to have to be safer for a bit longer. But that just means when we are all finally together again for a big party, we will be celebrating even more. I’m trying to be hopeful for Halloween this year.

Since I wasn’t going to go to my usual big party again this year on the 4th, I had to figure out what to do. And this year, I didn’t really do anything on the 4th. I had a few things I had to do around my house, but I took advantage of having a day off and just relaxing. I needed that little break and I didn’t even go out to watch fireworks. I had gotten comfortable at home and didn’t feel like leaving to deal with crowds (especially when I can’t trust everyone will be either vaccinated or wearing a mask). So the actual 4th was a bit of a bust compared to the past, but that was ok because I had my little celebration on the 3rd instead.

I was able to join some friends for a small gathering at their house. We were outside almost the entire time, everyone attending has been vaccinated for at least a month, and we were all people who do take other precautions when we are out in public. While staying home alone is probably the safest option, this was one of the safest ways I could see some of my friends.

This was actually the largest group of friends I had been able to see since the pandemic started. And I was afraid I’d be crying in happiness to see everyone, especially since I hadn’t seen any of them since the beginning of 2020. But I managed to hold it together and I was able to enjoy a night that felt so normal to me.

I don’t really have photos from that night because we were all focused on spending time together. Seeing friends on a screen is so different from seeing each other in person. And taking photos would have taken away from the in-person time we had together. So while I wish I had some photos of celebrating seeing my friends again, I’m just so happy that I got to see them and spend time reconnecting with people who I have missed for so long!

I know that I am lucky that I was able to see some of my friends and feel safe. Not everyone has friends who have been vaccinated or able to feel this safe around others. And it has taken a long time for things to get to this point with me and my friends. But I am hoping that this is just the beginning of my in-person hangouts with more and more people as things are a bit safer for those of us who have had the vaccine. I wish things would just be normal again and we didn’t have to worry about this, but I know that we are getting there and soon it won’t be a worry. We’ve made it this long, we can keep being careful for a little bit longer.

And yes, I know we had a 3 day weekend for the 4th of July. I’ll be sharing the unexpected thing I got to do on Monday in tomorrow’s post!

You Might Also Like

Default Thumbnail4th Of July On The 1st (or Another Awesome Party With Friends) Default ThumbnailFabulous 4th Of July (or Fireworks!) Default Thumbnail4th Of July Weekend (or An Early Holiday) Default Thumbnail4th Of July (or Hot Dogs, Fireworks, And Rooftops) Default ThumbnailNot My Typically 4th Of July (or Taking Advantage Of A Day Off) Default ThumbnailHave A Low-Key 4th (or Friends, Fries, and Fireworks)

Comments Off on Finally Seeing Some Friends (or Having An Almost Normal 4th Of July)

Posted in Celebrations, Fun Stuff

Tagged , , , ,

Still Watching The Oscars With Friends (or Not Missing This Tradition For Anything)

Posted on April 28, 2021 | Comments Off on Still Watching The Oscars With Friends (or Not Missing This Tradition For Anything)

I’ve been watching the Oscars with my friends for a long time. I actually looked back to see how long I’ve been going to Oscar parties with this group of friends and it’s been since I was 19! I knew it had been since I was in college, but I didn’t realize it was that long. I don’t have photos of all the costumes I’ve worn throughout the years, but I did find a lot of them when I was looking back at Oscar Parties past.

I love watching the Oscars with my friends and it’s a tradition that’s been a part of my life for a long time. But just like so much over the past year, we all knew this tradition wasn’t going to be able to happen the way that we were used to. A lot of us are vaccinated, but it’s still safer to avoid big parties right now. So the Oscar party this year was done how so many things have been done since the pandemic started. We had a party on Zoom.

We weren’t wearing costumes and we didn’t have the contest to guess the winners, but it still felt like the Oscar party that I love so much. The party is a lot about the people who go, and I loved seeing the people who were able to join.

Usually at the party, there is a quiet room and a loud room. The loud room talks during the show and the focus is a bit more on the party. The quiet room, where I always am, doesn’t allow talking during the show and you can talk during the commercials. We are social during the commercials, but I want to be able to hear what happens during the show and don’t want to miss anything.

Originally, I said I would be doing quiet room rules on Zoom and many others said they would be talking during the show. But we realized that we all had to almost do quiet room rules with muting things because our tvs weren’t at the exact same moment at the same time. So most of us muted ourselves (I also muted my computer) and a bunch of us turned off our videos during the show. And as soon as the commercials started, we were back on Zoom to discuss things. We also had the chat in Zoom going so we could say our silly remarks during the show.

The Oscars itself were interesting. I wasn’t as invested in it as I normally am (similar to how I felt during the SAG Awards). I wasn’t really rooting for any particular actors or films, but I do still love to see who wins. And since they didn’t have a time limit on the speeches this year, it was nice to hear the winners say what they want without getting cut off. And it was nice that for most of the winners, they were in the room so they didn’t have to give their speeches over Zoom. For the few that did do that, it seemed like things were set up a bit more officially than other award shows, so they didn’t have the technical issues that other shows have had. That was nice.

And even though I was watching the show on my couch by myself, I still was able to feel like I was watching with my friends. We got to be silly together and joke about what we watched during the show. And I think we all agree that next year, all of us are going to try to go all out for costumes since we didn’t wear costumes this time. Hopefully, next year I will have watched more of the movies that were nominated and will have stronger feelings about who I want to win.

But no matter what, I’m so glad that I was able to continue this tradition with my friends even though things weren’t the way we usually do them.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailWatching The Oscars (or Costumes and Twitter) Default ThumbnailA Night Of Oscars (or Last Minute Costumes and Enjoying The Show) Default ThumbnailOscars Time! (or Inside Out vs. Star Wars) Default ThumbnailOscar Party Time (or Feeling Inspired) Default ThumbnailHollywood Superbowl (or Where I Was For The Oscars) Default ThumbnailIt’s SAG Awards Time! (or I Still Love Watching To See Who Wins)

Comments Off on Still Watching The Oscars With Friends (or Not Missing This Tradition For Anything)

Posted in Fun Stuff

Tagged , , ,

A Big Family Day! (or A Birthday Party and Meeting Presley)

Posted on April 6, 2021 | Comments Off on A Big Family Day! (or A Birthday Party and Meeting Presley)

This past weekend was my nephew Rory’s first birthday! It’s so crazy to think that it’s already been a year since he was born, but then again it was one of the craziest years of almost anyone’s life with the pandemic. But even with the pandemic, I knew that there would be a small party for Rory to celebrate his birthday. Plus, we had to celebrate my niece Presley being born!

The birthday party was just going to be family. My parents and my sister-in-law’s parents have all been vaccinated. The day of the party was going to be 1 day before I was considered fully vaccinated (which is pretty close to being there). And my brother was vaccinated at the end of last year. So even though we all still have to be careful and cautious, this was a pretty safe gathering since everyone except my sister-in-law and the babies would be vaccinated.

I got to Santa Barbara as Rory was opening his gifts. He got a lot of really adorable things. I got him a set of fabric tents and tunnels that can be used by themselves or combined to make a bunch of different things. He seemed curious about them, but I’m sure the gift will be a bigger hit with him when he’s a little older. I think his favorite gift was the kid cleaning kit that my sister-in-law found for him!

I hadn’t seen Rory in a while, so I had no clue if he’d remember me or not. And he takes some time to warm up to people, so I knew that he might not want me to be super near him. And my guess was correct. He wasn’t upset by me being there, but he didn’t want me to hold him or help him with toys. But that was ok because I had my new niece to hold!

Presley is about 6 weeks old and she’s very tiny! And she stayed asleep almost the entire time I was there, so she was calm and quiet. I think she looks a little like Rory did when he was born. She’s got the same long fingers as Rory, so I wonder if they will both be piano players one day. And I thought she was super cute and adorable. Hopefully, the next time I’m in Santa Barbara she will be a bit more awake and alert. And I can’t wait to see what her little personality will be like.

The birthday party was a very low-key day. After Rory was done opening presents, my brother cooked burgers on the grill and we all ate lunch outside. It was fun getting to hang out with my family and I hadn’t seen my sister-in-law’s parents in a while. I was supposed to see them this past November, but I missed that trip to see everyone since that’s when I got vertigo. I haven’t had a lot of social time with people lately, so any meals I get to have with someone is great. And having it be with family makes it that much better!

And of course, Rory had to have a birthday cake. I joked that he was going to act like their cat and push the cake over the edge of his highchair tray. And that’s exactly what he tried to do! I don’t know if he was trying to get more frosting or what, but it was really silly. And of course, we all took a ton of photos of him with frosting all over his face. The cake wasn’t Cookie Monster themed, but I joked that the photos looked like he ate Cookie Monster.

And of course, I had to get a photo of Rory with my brother and sister-in-law.

After he was done smashing his cake and eating some of it, Rory was having a bit of a sugar crash and it was time for him to take a nap. Since he was going to be sleeping and Presley was still asleep, that pretty much was the end of the party. So I went with my parents over to the rental house they were staying at so I could see Tucker since he was at the house during the party.

Tucker was as silly and goofy as always. He is finally recovered from his knee surgeries, so it was great to see him running and bouncing around without him being in pain. But he also looked a lot older this time because he now has a ton of white fur on his face. It’s like he became an old man overnight! But he still has so much energy and he was so happy to see me there.

I spent some time hanging out with my parents and the dog outside before I headed out. I actually had something else to do that afternoon in Santa Barbara (more about that tomorrow).

I only spent a few hours with my family that day, but it was one of the best days I’ve had in a while. I don’t know how much more often I would be seeing everyone if we didn’t have a pandemic, but this past year has made me appreciate any family time I get at all. And I appreciate having anything to celebrate right now as well. So having 2 things to celebrate with my family really made the day that much better!

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailI’m An Aunt Again! (or Welcome To The World Presley!) Default ThumbnailMore Family Time (or Seeing All My Immediate Family Last Week) Default ThumbnailI’m Officially An Aunt (or Welcome Rory!) Default ThumbnailHaving Fun With Photos (or My Brother And Nephew Are Twins!) Default ThumbnailFamily Weekend (or Hanging Out With The Dog) Default ThumbnailSanta Barbara Weekend (or Family and Friends Time)

Comments Off on A Big Family Day! (or A Birthday Party and Meeting Presley)

Posted in Celebrations, Family, Fun Stuff

Tagged , , , , , , ,

A Virtual Holiday Party (or Missing My Union So Much)

Posted on December 22, 2020 | Comments Off on A Virtual Holiday Party (or Missing My Union So Much)

I’ve been getting more and more involved with my union. A lot of my involvement has been related to union service, such as being a delegate and attending board meetings. And being involved with union service is important since the members are leaders of the union. Even though we have staff, so much of what the union can do is because of the membership. So being involved in union service is something I try to do a lot of and try to encourage others to do so as well.

But I also have been trying over the years to do more fun things with the union too. And there are normally a lot of fun opportunities, such as going to screenings and attending classes and Q&A interviews. And a few times a year, there are big social events for the union. The biggest one in my opinion is the annual holiday party!

I’ve attended the holiday party for the past several years. I haven’t always been able to attend, but I always try my best. And it’s just a good fun time. It’s all about being social with other members. There is food, lots of photo opportunities, and lots of time to just talk to each other. Since there is no real agenda for the holiday party, it’s a great time to catch up with union members I haven’t seen for a while and to meet new members. Since most of the members I know are also involved in union service and a lot of members aren’t involved, it’s always been a time that I get to meet a lot of new people.

It can be a little overwhelming being in a big crowd when you don’t know everyone, but I’ve never regretted going. Sometimes I don’t stay too long, but I always go when I can and I always leave feeling so happy.

So with everything going on this year, missing the holiday party was just another thing that couldn’t happen. But that didn’t mean that it was completely gone. Normally, the holiday party is for the Los Angeles Local, so it’s only members from LA that are a part of it. But this year, with everyone getting used to having virtual hangouts, they made the holiday party a virtual one! And it was with union leaders from all over the country!

There were different videos that were included in the virtual party that highlighted different Locals within the union. And it was very positive and upbeat about how we have made it this far during the pandemic and soon things will be going back to how we are used to having them. Film and TV have started up again but at a very reduced capacity. I think everyone is ready for the entertainment industry to be back up and running and all of the leaders were very encouraging about that happening soon. We can’t control when the pandemic will end, but we can be prepared for when it happens so we can get back to work.

There was also some entertainment at the virtual party. Since our union covers singers too, we have amazing singers in the leadership. And there was even a short video with a cooking demonstration. It was really cute and I loved what they were able to put together.

I did miss out on seeing my friends and meeting new people, but that’s how I’ve been feeling about this entire year. I’m hoping it won’t be too long before we can all be together again. And I know I will appreciate it even more. And I hope that next year, they can do both the in-person and virtual holiday party. I love the in-person one because I get to meet so many members that live in LA. But I loved the virtual one and how it included members all over the country! That feeling of unity was wonderful and I want to continue feeling that.

I guess I’ll just have to wait and see what happens next year with the party (or parties). But I’ve got my fingers crossed that we will have 2 parties in a year!

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailUnion Working Holiday Party (or Just Enjoying Being Around Good People) Default ThumbnailAnother Union Holiday Celebration (or Being Social And Working Social Media) Default ThumbnailUnion Holiday Party (or Seeing A Lot Of People In A Little Time) Default ThumbnailSAG-AFTRA Holiday Party (or Getting Ready For Elections Again) Default ThumbnailThe First Holiday Party Of The Season (or A Meeting And A Mixer) Default ThumbnailLots Of Virtual Meetings (or Virtual Union Meetings)

Comments Off on A Virtual Holiday Party (or Missing My Union So Much)

Posted in Acting, Celebrations, Fun Stuff

Tagged , , ,

Still Celebrating Halloween (or A Virtual Costume To Go With A Virtual Party)

Posted on November 5, 2020 | Comments Off on Still Celebrating Halloween (or A Virtual Costume To Go With A Virtual Party)

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Even if I don’t have a great costume, I love dressing up a bit and being creative with a costume. And I especially love seeing the costumes that my friends come up with. The party that Marie and Chris throw every year is such an incredible Halloween party, and I look forward to it every year. When the pandemic started, I don’t think anyone thought we’d still be staying home by Halloween. I mean, I remember thinking that we’d all be able to be together for the 4th of July. But here we are, almost 8 months later and still staying home.

But being at home didn’t mean that Marie and Chris weren’t going to throw a Halloween party. I had a feeling they would do a virtual party, and that’s exactly what they did! I was running a Netflix Party group that night, but I was able to time it out so I didn’t miss too much of the party. They had teased that there was going to be something special at 6:30 and I figured out how to make the Netflix Party work so that I was done at 6:25!

Since the party was virtual, I thought it would be funny to do a virtual costume. I knew I wanted to do something fun with my Zoom background, but I wasn’t sure what to do until I saw a post in a Facebook group that inspired me. The post was about funny ideas for Halloween decorations and it was a bunch of crosses in a yard with the names of guys that have ghosted women. I loved that idea, but I had to make it work in a Zoom background. So I found an image of a graveyard and I added text on it to have some nicknames of guys I’ve gone out with and the dates we were texting or seeing each other before they ghosted me. I did a test with the background before the party and even though you couldn’t see one of the tombstones, I think it looked pretty funny!

It was a little hard for the tombstones to be read, but I was ok with that. I knew I’d have to explain the “costume” no matter what. So I just planned on explaining it and reading to everyone what I wrote.

I made it to the virtual party before 6:30 so I was able to chat with my friends for a few minutes before the guest arrived. And the guest wasn’t as much of a guest as it was a puzzle and mystery for us all to solve! Marie and Chris had a video of them as skeletons saying their souls were stolen and needed our help to get them back. It was so clever and creative and all of us were enjoying it so much while watching the video!

We were told that we could work together as a group or solve it alone. The thing from the video was about solving a riddle, so I figured I could solve that alone and I did that and followed the instructions to give them the answer. After I did that, I got a crossword puzzle in return. That’s when all of us at the party decided to work together. I was the designated answer writer since I printed out the crossword. We quickly were able to get all the answers and I submitted that for the next clue.

And the next clue was a pattern of lines that was an overlay to put over the crossword. Then we wrote down all the words that were under the lines to get the next clue. That took us to Facebook and a specific photo they had posted. If you zoomed into the photo, there was a tiny.url listed and we realized we had to go there. That led to an unlisted YouTube video that mentioned a series of numbers. Someone in the group realized those numbers could be a Zoom meeting code and password, and they were right! After we entered the new Zoom meeting, that became the full party!

It was so much fun working through all the clues and puzzles we had to do to get to the party. It made things feel much more like we were together and not just a bunch of people looking at each other on screens. And we were able to get through the puzzles relatively quickly because we had worked together. So it was a nice moment for us to bond as a group since there were some people in the party that I hadn’t met before.

Once we were in the second party, it was like the other Zoom parties Marie and Chris have done. Some people were in costumes and some people were not. And a few had fun Zoom backgrounds like haunted houses and things like that. There wasn’t a costume parade, but I still liked to see what people dressed as and it was nice that we were trying to be festive.

And we just all talked about lots of random and fun things. We discussed random movies and Halloween stuff. Marie and Chris even had trivia questions so we could do little trivia games where we competed against each other. I only got 1 trivia question right, but I still had so much fun.

I wanted to be able to stay at the virtual party as late as possible since I didn’t have to drive home after it and I was able to sleep in the next day. But it seems like being on Zoom hangouts takes it out of me more than I would expect. I just felt so tired after being on there for a few hours. I think by the time I was saying goodnight to everyone, I was in the party for about 3 hours. I also had been on the computer almost the entire day without a break, so that might have been part of it too. I didn’t want to say goodnight to everyone, but I needed to so I could get some sleep.

Of course, having a party in person would have been the best and would have made all of us so happy, but there just isn’t a way to do that right now and be safe. And a virtual party is much better than nothing at all. I think all of us just want this pandemic to be under control to the point where we can see each other in person again. And it’s tough when we have no idea when that might happen. The next big party for the group is usually New Year’s Eve, and I’m not sure if things will be any better by then. After that, we have the Oscar party. Maybe by then, we can be together since the Oscars have been pushed back to be a bit later. The Oscar party was the last party that we were able to have this year, so it would be nice if that was the first one back.

I hope that everyone had a good Halloween, even if it wasn’t what you are used to doing. And hopefully by next year, we will all be able to celebrate the way we are used to. I have a feeling that if we can, all of us are going to have epic Halloweens in 2021!

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailVirtual Memorial Day (or Doing The Best We Can For Now) Default ThumbnailA Busy Halloween (or Dressing As A Box Office Employee) Default ThumbnailLow-Key Halloween (or A Work In Progress) Default ThumbnailHaving Some Halloween Fun (or Creating A Clever Costume) Default ThumbnailLow Key Halloween (or Costume Flashback) Default ThumbnailFirst Halloween Party Of The Season (or At Least I Made An Appearance)

Comments Off on Still Celebrating Halloween (or A Virtual Costume To Go With A Virtual Party)

Posted in Celebrations, Fun Stuff

Tagged , , , ,

Virtual Pumpkin Party (or Time To Be Crafty)

Posted on October 21, 2020 | Comments Off on Virtual Pumpkin Party (or Time To Be Crafty)

My friend Anne throws an amazing Pumpkin Party each year. Even though I’m not the craftiest person, I love going and trying my best with decorating a pumpkin. I also love seeing how creative everyone is and it’s just an amazing and inspiring room to be in. And even though I don’t know most of the other women who go to the parties, it’s always a great conversation and everyone is so welcoming and friendly.

But just like so many other things this year, I had no idea what was going to happen with the party. Anne mentioned something online about how it and I commented to say that if she did a virtual party I would totally participate! She ended up doing a survey to see if others would be interested in that idea as well, and I guess she got a good response because she announced a Virtual Pumpkin Party! And she also said since she usually provides all the supplies, she was going to make us craft kits that we could get so we would have a pumpkin and supplies for decorating. I was so excited about this and couldn’t wait to have the virtual party!

Part of my adventure driving around LA was picking up my craft kit from Anne. And because she’s the amazing woman that she is, it wasn’t just something simple or basic. We got adorable tote bags with all the supplies inside. I got paint, paintbrushes, fake leaves, yarn, decals, ribbon, decorative paper, and paper cut-outs. It was an amazing craft kit!

I started to think of some ideas for decorating before the virtual party, but I knew that my plan would probably change. But I liked the spider cut-outs I had and thought I could go with that for something.

We had a Zoom room going for us during the party. We were all working on our pumpkins and trying to show them off when we got done with different steps. As I said, everyone in the group is super creative and I’m not creative that way, but I still love to try to do something fun. I tried to do a spider web with the yarn, but it wasn’t really working for me so I did it with some black paint. I straightened out paperclips to make holders for the spiders and added some yarn between the spiders for a little more and just the painted on web. Even though it wasn’t the most labor-intensive or crazy pumpkin, I think the end result was pretty good!

But as always with the parties, it was much more about the conversation than it was about the pumpkins. And we did have a great conversation with us all. The group wasn’t too big that we had a lot of issues with people talking over each other. Everyone was sharing what was happening with their lives and of course, the discussion about politics came up. But it was a positive conversation sharing how we were helping to make sure people registered to vote and to get the word out.

The party lasted about 2 hours and then people had to sign off of Zoom for one reason or another. But a 2-hour hangout was a pretty perfect length and I felt like I got so much out of it. I felt less alone than I had in a while. I felt connected to others and not like I’m on my own little planet. I felt like things were almost normal and not in this crazy world we are living in now. It was the escape I needed from life and it put me in the best mood I’ve been in for a long time.

Thank you Anne for doing the Virtual Pumpkin Party! I got so much out of it (and now I have craft supplies and need to make a craft box). I had the best time and I loved seeing everyone virtually. Hopefully, by next year’s party, it will be able to be in person!

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailAnother Pumpkin Party (or A Day Discussing All Things Creepy) Default ThumbnailAnother Virtual Friend Hangout (or Trying Not To Miss A Summer Tradition Too Much) Default ThumbnailVirtual Memorial Day (or Doing The Best We Can For Now) Default ThumbnailWorking On My Crafty Side (or Starting Off Halloween Season!) Default ThumbnailChalkboard Placemats (or Successfully Being Crafty!) Default ThumbnailOpening Night Party (or Getting To Be A Party Hostess)

Comments Off on Virtual Pumpkin Party (or Time To Be Crafty)

Posted in Crafts, Fun Stuff

Tagged , ,

Another Virtual Friend Hangout (or Trying Not To Miss A Summer Tradition Too Much)

Posted on July 8, 2020 | Comments Off on Another Virtual Friend Hangout (or Trying Not To Miss A Summer Tradition Too Much)

I remember before this year started, people were so excited when they saw that the 4th of July would be on a Saturday. I was excited too because I knew that meant I wouldn’t have an early morning the next morning. I love the 4th of July BBQs that I go to that Chris and Marie host.

When the pandemic started, I don’t think any of us expected it to last this long. When Memorial Day happened and we had a virtual hangout, I think we all assumed we would be together again soon. Even some of the reports were saying that LA might be able to reopen by the 4th of July. I knew that just because things could reopen didn’t mean that having a party would be safe. But I was using the date as a goal for the future and hoping that things would be starting to get back to how they were before by then.

But that didn’t happen. Cases are growing. We are lucky the death rate isn’t rising at the same speed, but that doesn’t mean things aren’t dangerous. We have no clue what the long-term health effects will be on someone who had COVID. I know people are tired of being home and want to go out and be social, but we just can’t do that now if we want this to be over soon. If more people stayed home and wore masks when they went out, we would be in a better position right now. But because of the actions of others, we cannot have things open and we need to stay home and away from others.

So as much as my friend group wanted to see each other for the 4th of July, it wasn’t possible. None of us wanted to risk the health of others by having a party. Plus, gatherings weren’t really allowed. But since we had already done one virtual holiday hangout, we were prepared to do another one. And that’s exactly what we did.

I wasn’t able to stay on our Zoom hangout as long as I would have liked to, but I was able to be on there for a while and see a lot of my friends. Everyone was so happy to see each other and we were all saying how much we missed being together in person. Some people had some really fun and creative Zoom backgrounds (even background videos) and that made us all laugh. Most of the conversation was just catching up with each other and making sure we are all doing ok. It wasn’t that different from how we spend parties catching up in person, but it felt extra nice to have people checking in on me and making sure everything was going ok.

Many of us live alone, so having some social interaction was really needed. I know I needed it. I still have some days where isolation is a huge struggle for me. I feel like I’m on my own little planet and there is nobody else out there that understands what I’m feeling. I know that isn’t true, but it’s hard to not feel that way. But I have noticed being more open about my struggle has helped as other friends have said they feel the same. Even though we all feel like we are on our own planets, at least we are starting to feel like we aren’t the only one out there feeling like that.

Because of something else I had scheduled on the 4th, I was only able to stay on Zoom for about an hour. But honestly, that hour meant so much to me. I needed that time with my friends. I needed that sense of almost normalcy. I needed to have more than just text messages or social media. I know that I could use some face to face time with friends more, but that’s not an option yet. I have to take what I can, and I need to take advantage of the moments I can get with friends. I felt so much better after just that hour and felt like I could handle things for a bit longer.

The next party that we would all be having together would be Labor Day, but I don’t think any of us are expecting to be able to be together then. It would be amazing if we could, but I think we are all hoping to be together again for Halloween. And we all know the costumes will probably be some of the best yet because it would be our big reunion as a group. I am trying to stay hopeful that by October we can safely be together. But if we can’t I guess we can do a Zoom Halloween party and share our costumes over video.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailFinding A Social Life Where I Can (or Virtual Parties and Distance Hangouts) Default ThumbnailHaving A Lot Of Repeat Days (or More Organizing and More Virtual Hangouts) Default ThumbnailA Special Birthday For A Special Friend (or Celebrating A “College” Friend) Default ThumbnailCelebrating A Friend’s Birthday (or Not Letting Feeling Gross Stop Me From Being Social) Default ThumbnailA Friend Party (or A Casual Hangout And Catchup) Default ThumbnailTrivia Night (or An Unexpected Friend Hangout)

Comments Off on Another Virtual Friend Hangout (or Trying Not To Miss A Summer Tradition Too Much)

Posted in Fun Stuff

Tagged , , , , ,

Virtual Memorial Day (or Doing The Best We Can For Now)

Posted on May 27, 2020 | Comments Off on Virtual Memorial Day (or Doing The Best We Can For Now)

Usually for Memorial Day weekend, I spend time with my friends at a BBQ. It’s usually a pretty low-key hangout, but it’s a great opportunity to see my friends and spend some time having fun. Typically, I haven’t seen that group of friends since the Oscar party, so I am excited to see them. The same group gets together and we all get along so well. And we all have the same type of friendship with each other that we can just pick up wherever we left off and it doesn’t matter how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other.

But this year, of course, things are different. I don’t know if I realized that this BBQ wouldn’t be happening until recently. Time is a weird thing during this pandemic and I didn’t realize Memorial Day was almost here. But once I did notice it on the calendar, I started to get a bit sad. When this all started. I doubt anyone thought it would last until Memorial Day. Now, they are hoping for reopening around the 4th of July, but I also know that can be changed and maybe it will last longer than that. But I also know that this is necessary to keep us all as healthy as possible.

I messaged my friend Marie to see if they were going to do anything virtual for Memorial Day, and I think I messaged her just as they were starting to see what they could do. I was so glad that they were going to plan something so I could have a bit of my regular life on Memorial Day. They planned a big group Zoom hangout that was supposed to start at 1 pm. While I am usually one of the first people to their parties, I have never been the very first person. But I was the first guest that arrived at the virtual party.

It was so good to see Marie and Chris! I have missed all of my friends so much, and I haven’t gotten to see many of them virtually since this all started. I was so happy that I was tearing up at seeing familiar faces. And we had a few moments to chat before lots of other people were joining in! People were popping in and out, so there was never a time that I could have gotten a photo with everyone in the virtual party at one time but this shows a lot of people who were there.

There was a good-sized group the entire time I was in the Zoom party. I was able to stay for about 2 or 3 hours before I needed to leave and get some things done around my house. And yes, we did have some issues with people talking over each other since we had so many people there at once, but we also joked that the parties are like that in real life too.

And some people really did have some fun with the idea of a virtual party. Marie and Chris used a video for a virtual background and the video was a 30-minute loop that mainly was just their empty entryway but occasionally had them walking through the frame and opening doors. So it was like they had evil twins appearing from time to time. That made all of us laugh so much. Other people used other still images for virtual backgrounds. And one person made Chris and Marie’s house their background and that made us all smile. Some people even did outfit/costume changes from time to time, which was something special and unique with doing a virtual party. And of course, everyone who had a dog showed them off at some point. That was one of my favorite things.

There were a few moments when I felt sad because I really wanted to be with my friends in real life and not just seeing them on a screen. I was a little frustrated by seeing so many people around the country not keeping a distance from others and wishing that I could do the same. I don’t know if the people doing that don’t worry about this virus or where they live there are no cases. But in LA, there is no way I can believe that being around others would be ok right now. And I know that eventually, I will be with my friends again and the only way to keep us all healthy is to stay apart for now.

But even with the rare moments of sadness, for the most part this was an amazing way to try to spend time with some of the people I love. I would have been more upset if I hadn’t seen them at all. And we were all talking about how amazing it will be when we have our epic in-person reunion (we are all hoping we can do that for Halloween, but it will depend on a lot). Seeing friends virtually isn’t as great as being together in person, but it is so much better than not seeing them at all. And we all know how lucky we are that we were able to do this at all. To go through this pandemic without the internet would have been so much worse. But we can do virtual things like this and stay connected while having to be apart.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailA Game Filled Party (or Being Competitive With My Friends) Default ThumbnailPre-Memorial Day BBQ (or Making Drunk Fruit) Default ThumbnailAnother Virtual Friend Hangout (or Trying Not To Miss A Summer Tradition Too Much) Default ThumbnailSo Many Virtual Movie Nights (or Thank Goodness For Technology) Default ThumbnailFinding A Social Life Where I Can (or Virtual Parties and Distance Hangouts) Default ThumbnailHaving A Lot Of Repeat Days (or More Organizing and More Virtual Hangouts)

Comments Off on Virtual Memorial Day (or Doing The Best We Can For Now)

Posted in Celebrations, Fun Stuff

Tagged , , , , ,

Making Some Good Guesses (or I Am Not A Cat)

Posted on February 13, 2020 | Comments Off on Making Some Good Guesses (or I Am Not A Cat)

This past weekend was the Oscars, and as always I went to the Oscar party that my friends throw every year. It’s really the best party because I can watch the Oscars the way I want and I can still celebrate with friends. And I love that it is a costume party because that’s always fun. I’m not the best with costumes, but I love seeing what my friends come up with. But this year, I figured out my costume a few months ahead of time.

I have no clue why I thought of this, but I realized I could make a Fox News costume by having some newsprint on my clothes and wearing some fox ears. It was an easy and clever costume so I knew that was the perfect thing to do. And even though Fox News isn’t technically a character in the movie “Bombshell”, it kind of is. Plus, the costume doesn’t have to be an actual character. A costume that represents a movie from the past year is pretty much the only requirement.

I found a newsprint scarf online and some fox ears that also came with a tail. And even though I’m not good at doing makeup, I really wanted to try and see if I could do something. So I looked up a lot of videos on how to do fox makeup and did a very simple version of what I found online. And I have to say I think I did a really great job considering my lack of makeup ability!

It wasn’t super elaborate or fancy, but I felt like it represented a fox. And I was happy with the final result which is what mattered the most to me.

I got to the party earlier than I normally do, but that allowed me to hang out with my friends before the show started. I always watch the Oscars in the quiet room, where we aren’t supposed to talk except during commercials. So while the show is on, I’m not being social. And I knew I wasn’t going to stay super late, so I wanted to get my socializing time in before things got started. And it was nice that I was early and there weren’t a lot of people there because I could get a photo of my full costume plus a photo with my friend Marie.

But one thing I noticed as soon as I got to the party was that everyone thought I was a cat. I totally forgot that “Cats” came out last year and I guess in a way I did look like a cat. Plus, there were a few friends who did come dressed as cats. But I just kept saying “I am not a cat!” whenever that was the guess for my costume. I just wish now that I had thought of this being an issue so I could have worn a shirt that said that.

Once the show started, things were pretty normal in the quiet room. We did have a few moments that were really shocking where we were all yelling, but those were rare. We were quiet for most of the show and that allowed us to really enjoy it and hear every moment of the speeches.

It also helped us track who was winning because there is a contest to be the person who guesses the most winners correctly. I don’t always do great with the guessing, but I was making a real effort. And I was doing amazingly well from the start! I kept guessing them correctly, even the categories where the guesses were complete guesses and I had no reason why I picked one over the others. In the end, I only missed 4 out of 24 awards, which may have been my best one ever.

After the awards were done, we had the costume parade to pick the costume winners. And before we voted on the costumes, we also got a big group photo of everyone there. I don’t think we have gotten a group photo before, but I love that we got one this year.

I knew I wasn’t going to win the costume contest, but I wanted to at least be on the honorable mention list (which means that you got at least one vote). And I did get on that list (and I promise I didn’t vote for myself). The winners were all really amazing costumes that were clever and the ones I expected to win. I don’t mind not winning since my costume was good but not nearly as good as what I knew everyone else would come up with. But I was hoping I might place with guessing the winners.

I knew I’d be in the top few, but it’s the top 2 that win prizes. And it turned out that 2 people did 1 guess better than I did. So I did get 3rd place, but no prize. But I was still proud of myself for how well I did with my guessing!

After all the prizes were given out, I started making my rounds of goodbyes since I wanted to start heading home. I wish I could have stayed longer, but I had an early morning the next day and about a 30-minute drive home. But I was glad I got to spend so much time with my friends and I’m sure the next party will be here before we know it!

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailA Night Of Oscars (or Last Minute Costumes and Enjoying The Show) Default ThumbnailOscar Party Time (or Feeling Inspired) Default ThumbnailBeing “Wild” (or Not Guessing A Lot Of Winners Right This Year) Default ThumbnailOscar Party (or Looking “Frozen”) Default ThumbnailMaking My Acting Bold (or Feeling Great From An Audition) Default ThumbnailMore Comfortable In Improv Class (or Making Friends With My Classmates)

Comments Off on Making Some Good Guesses (or I Am Not A Cat)

Posted in Acting, Celebrations, Fun Stuff

Tagged , , ,