one of these things doesn't belong

Saturday A.M. I accompanied my friend Meghan Nash to the Beverly Hills Hotel (sounds shady but hang with me) to go to a Christians in the industry brunch. There were about 100 people there and it was by invite only. I have no real pull in any circles in LA (YET) but I know people who know people. I'm one level away. None-the-less it was a diverse and interesting meeting of Christians in the industry. The keynote was from American Idol--one of the producers--and had some great words to say. It was enlightening and revealing all at the same time.

So as it all wrapped up a few of us decided to pretend we were guests at the hotel and walk around. So we did. It is an unreal hotel. I kept thinking of all those times I'd heard, "guests of the _____ show stay at the luxurious Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills." It was truly all that.

Of course the auto clientele was uber-foreign: DB-9s (yes multiple), S550, Vanquish, Rolls Royce, VW Passat (ahem).

So when you come to LA to see me I'll try to get you up at THE hotel.

Cheers

ps: loved studio 60's premier and I'm excited about The Office tomm night!

...did you see that???

So there were about 12 of us sitting around eating and hanging out at the Starkey household. Why? Well Brian had his big premire tonight. That's right he is (as many of you know) on this season's show The Biggest Loser. I don't know if you watched it but it was crazy all the stuff they had going on. AND if you watched then you saw Brian save the day. He actually had greatest weight loss during the first week. He lost 23 lbs in one week! I can't believe it. He had alot of air time with interviews and random shots and stuff. It's pretty crazy to think that America saw that clip of him screaming after he saw he lost that much weight.

Well it's off to the gym for me. Cheers.

life in LA: living with a celebrity

So some of you know that I am living with Brian Starkey and his wife and two kids. What you might not know is that Brian will be on T.V. September 20th (Wednesday) with Biggest Loser Season 3. I'm not kidding. You should tune in to the 2-hour season premier that starts at 8 p.m.

I know you are thinking, "I don't think that sounds like something I want to watch." Let me (capt. void of emotion) tell you that if you think Extreme Home Makeover and all that stuff is good, you have not tapped into the emotional realm of lives changing one pound at a time. Um, did I just write that?

Yes, my friends. I did.

http://www.nbc.com/The_Biggest_Loser/

Well friends this is the headshot I'm going with. I thought I'd let you see what will be circulating in thousands, nay, millions of agents' offices over the next few months.

ps: I have about 10 other "potentials" I didn't go with that are on my flickr on the right side of the page

triple sow cow

Are you ready for this? I don't think you can handle this. Yes that's right I was in a onesie and this matador-esque flamanco dancer top. It wasn't the most comfortable outfit I'd ever worn but it didn't matter because I was on the set of the new Will Ferrell/Jon Heder movie called Blades of Glory. They are a figure skating pair competing in the Olympics or something like that. I got to sneak a few looks as the guys were working a green screen scene (say that ten times fast). Then after getting there at 7:00 a.m. and napping and reading and working on my computer they let all 50 of us go at 2:30 p.m. because they weren't going to use us. That was kinda lame but I still get paid for an 8-hour day. So whatever.

I hope I get the chance to wear this outfit again....I really really hope!

The farm

I just got a job. I will be a server at a new restaurant called The Farm of Beverly Hills (there are two others and this is the new branch). It will be in a new mall on the edge like the Cheesecake Factory in Charlotte. I'm pretty excited because it will be flexible and I'll be back in restaurant (which I missed) around food again. Hopefully that will help my food budget too!

a groundling

The Groundlings in Los Angeles is a comedy improv group that has had many of Saturday Night Live's greatest alumni grace its doors. It's a great venue to see comedy shows and they have classes too. Often times during the shows and performances agents and studio execs will come so it's a great place to get some air time. A few days ago I auditioned to get into the school. We had some fun improv games and had one where you had to complete a story creating as much action as possible with your words and tone but the story would change as the instructor pointed to a different person in a 6-person group every few phrases. It was awesome! There were other things we did too during the hour audition.

I officially passed!

So now I have the opportunity to take the first class (Beginner basic) where I will be in a class with 16 others and meet for 3.5 hours two times per week for 12 sessions (6 weeks for those non-math majors). I am so very excited about this class. If I do well and pass this class then I'll move on to the next class and I think they have a performance with that one. So that'll be cool.

Anyway, I'm pretty excited to be in the school and even more excited to get started in the classes.

You can check it out www.groundlings.com

a monk and me

Well things have been good lately. I have been working a bit. I had a four-day stint on the USA show, Monk, as a Production Assistant (PA). It was crazy and fun all at the same time. The crew I worked with is a great group and they work well together but we worked long hours and worked hard. Having never been on a set before I have been amazed at how long it really takes to get the 'right' shots and how little of a one-hour show happens within a 12-16 hour day at 5 days a week. The experience was great and I was complimented on how quickly I picked stuff up. I had a walkie with a headset and the whole thing.

The following is an excerpt from a normal call:
Person: Bradley
Me: Go for Bradley
Person: Switch to two
Me: Switching. (change radio channel to 2) Go
Person: I need you to.....

So it was great. I know I don't want to do that as a career and I'm glad too because the schedule really is crazy. I would have to be on set by about 6:30a.m. (awake at 5:00 leave at 5:30) then wrap at 8:30p.m. I'd stay till we cleaned up and finished at about 9:15p.m. then home at 9:45p.m. Then back the same thing the next day. Of course you could do what I did one day. I had a 10:30 a.m. call then got home at 3:30 a.m. So pretty much work is your life. Now, granted you'd work from August till the end of November and be done till March so that's kinda cool.

So being on set with Antonio Scarpaci, Adrian Monk, Tony Shaloub (whatever you want to call the recent Emmy award winner) was cool. He's a nice guy and has obviously bonded with the crew that is around him quite a bit. Also interesting is that he too is on set for most of that time. Long hours for actors too!

ALSO I think they can help me get my SAG vouchers which is HUGE!

Bubble time...

Sometimes I forget about all the simple stuff that's fun and easy and cheap. Bubbles are such a strange phenomenon. I mean who was sitting there one day and said..."Wait a second. Those things floating in the air are like bubbles. It's fun to watch them. Let's create something round and plastic and then blow air through this soapy material and sit back and watch." I don't know. But I played in the bubbles today and it was great. I think tomorrow it'll be sidewalk chalk. Sweet.

This is Maddie and Sophie also playing in the bubbles. They started it, mom!