Tag Archives: Universal Studios

Got A Closed Door And An Open Window (or Trying Not To Overthink It)

Posted on March 6, 2014 | Comments Off on Got A Closed Door And An Open Window (or Trying Not To Overthink It)

Yesterday was the callbacks for the Universal Studios tour guide position. I was very grateful to make it to callbacks. I think there were about 500 people who went to the open call, and there were fewer than 100 of us there at the callback.

For the first bit of the callbacks, they went over the training and expectations of this job. We learned about pay and schedules and a little bit of what the job would be like each day. Then we took a break and when we came back, we each had to get up in front of everyone and read a little bit of the script that the tour guides use every day.

The part I read was bit about one of the movies that has been filmed on the lot. It was about 2 sentences and I read it without tripping up over the words or sounding too shaky (I’m not the biggest fan of public speaking in front of a crowd like that).

After everyone read a bit of the script, they made a cut. And I didn’t make it.

I have no idea what I did wrong or why they didn’t like me. When I walked out, a few of the other applicants who had been cut told me that they were shocked that I was cut. I have no idea what they were looking for, but obviously it wasn’t me.

I was trying to not be too upset over not making the next cut while I walked back to my car. It’s hard to not get your hopes up about a job that is designed to work with actor’s schedules. But clearly it wasn’t meant to be for me yesterday.

But when I got back into the car, I noticed that I had an email from one of the many resumes that I had sent out earlier in the week. They wanted me to do a phone interview as soon as possible. I called them back immediately.

And one of the first things they had said to me was that the thing that made me stand out over all the other applicants was the fact that I used to be a tour guide at WB.

So just a few minutes after getting rejected as a Universal Studios tour guide, my past as a WB tour guide got me another job interview (and they want to hire an actor so that’s great!). I have that interview today.

Like I said yesterday, I’m really trying hard to stay positive. I’m getting a lot of interviews, so that’s a good sign. I know I’ll find something soon and I can’t let the rejection get me down. The only thing worrying me is having enough money for bills, but for right now, I’m ok and I should be ok through this month. In April I might have to worry.

But that’s not now and who knows what the near future has for me. And I’ll put it out here again, if anyone out there knows of any actor-friendly day jobs (either in LA or work from home), please let me know! Thanks!

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Comments Off on Got A Closed Door And An Open Window (or Trying Not To Overthink It)

Posted in Tough Stuff, Work

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Another 5K Done (or I Did It Again!)

Posted on November 5, 2012 | 9 comments

Yesterday was the weSPARK 5K at Universal Studios. Even though I had done 10 or so 5Ks in the past (and this one last year), I was so nervous. I was going to do this one by myself. I’ve always had a buddy or two to talk to and distract me or push me to keep on going. This time, I had to push myself, and that’s not something that I’m great at.

On Saturday, I went to the bib pickup location to get my race stuff. The swag bag actually had some great things (anyone want my coupon for a free haircut?), and I got my number.

I’m the sort of person who looks for signs of things, and I felt that this number was a good sign. My favorite number is 9, and this number had a 9 in it. And the other 3 numbers added up to 9. I might be reaching for something positive, but I needed it to calm my nerves.

I also made myself a playlist to listen to. I have some music that I listen to when I workout, but I wanted something special. Since I worked at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios for 3 years, and the race began and ended very close to the area I worked in, I made an HHN mix of music. It was a collection of music from the Bill and Ted show that goes on during HHN and the music that the musical trolley would play when it would take us from where we got ready to our work area.

On race day, I got up early (but it didn’t feel too bad due to Daylight Saving Time), and headed to Universal. As soon as I got there, I ran into my friend David, who was running the 10K and was also going to give out the medals during the awards ceremony. David is awesome, BTW. He’s maintaining a weight loss of over 165 pounds!

Then it was time to get into our corrals. It was organized by 10K runners, 5K runners, and 5K walkers. We had to wait for all the runners to start first, so I got a before picture.

Finally, my group started and I started up my playlist. The hardest thing about this course is that the first mile and last mile are on hills. So you go downhill for most of the first mile, and uphill for most of the last mile. It’s tough, I hate it, but I knew I could do it. My big problem are my hips. My hip that has been operated on hurts going downhill and the hip that hasn’t been fixed yet hurts going uphill.

After the first mile was over, we got to go to one of the most restricted areas of Universal.

To get down there normally, not only do you have to make it through security at the normal gate to get on the lot, you have to make it through the security at the gate to get to this section. I also got this picture (please ignore the sweaty face).

Finally, it was time to go up the horrible hill. It is broken up a bit by the area that was Wisteria Lane for “Desperate Housewives”. My goal was to only take a breather once on the first half of the hill and once on the second half. And I did. I also got a bit of a boost because on Wisteria Lane, I saw David go by. He was running strong and gave me a high-five as we passed.

After conquering the killer hill (where I whispered choice words under my breath), we made it to Bates Motel/Bates House where I worked during HHN. I tried to get a picture of my old workplace.

And what I loved was when I was rounding the corner to Bates Motel, my playlist started playing the theme from “Psycho”. Loved it!

Finally, I crossed the finish line. My time was 1:03:18. Not my best, but considering my photo ops and the killer hill, I’m happy.

Of course, I got a victory picture with my medal.

I’m crazy proud of myself. I did something that scared me, and I did it pretty well. I’m totally going to do this 5K again next year. It’s a fun one and I think that I might have some family members trying to come to LA around that time so they can participate too!

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Posted in Fitness, Fun Stuff

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weSPARK 5K (or Come and Walk with Me!)

Posted on October 24, 2012 | 1 comment

Last year, I participated in the weSPARK 5K walk. I can’t remember how I heard about it, but I was so excited because it was on the Universal Studios backlot. I used to work on the backlot during my 3 years working Halloween Horror Nights, so I wanted to go back and visit my old home.

I like 5Ks. They are a doable distance for me, and I feel accomplished for finishing one. This 5K is a bit more of a challenge than most because the course isn’t flat, so it makes me feel like I’ve actually done a bit of a workout and not just walk on flat streets.

David (from Keep It Up David) was running the 10K last year, and my friend Emily walked with me. This year, I believe both David and Emily are running, so I’m walking solo for now.

Unless some of you fabulous blog readers want to walk with me! It’s a very fun low-key event. You get to walk all around the backlot before the park is open. You get to take fun pictures like this:

You aren’t forced to raise a certain amount of money (which I appreciate). All you have to do is register and pay the registration fee (you can register here).

You get a t-shirt and everyone who completes either the 5K or 10K gets a medal like this:

(please ignore the dumpster behind me)

I’d love to have some walking buddies at the 5K this year. If you decide to join in, make sure to let me know so we can look out of each other.

But even if I’m walking by myself, I’m going to do it no matter what. I’m going to try to do better than I did last year. The final uphill was a bit tough for me, so I had to stop to take a quick break. I’m hoping this year that I can do the entire uphill without stopping this year. I might pay attention to my time, but because I am planning on taking pictures on the course again, the time isn’t my main concern. I just have to focus on finishing no matter how long it takes. That’s the most important thing to me.

And if you don’t want to walk or don’t live in LA and still want to participate, you can donate to weSPARK on my fundraising page here. I have a goal of raising $500 and would love to reach it!

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