Oz: Great and Powerful at the El Capitan

One of the many benefits of living in LA is that movie-going is always a little more special. This is especially true when you visit Disney's El Capitan theater on Hollywood Boulevard near the Highland Center (across from the Chinese Theater). The El Capitan, like everything else Disney, is an experience that is family-friendly and yet engrossing for all ages. Seeing Oz: The Great and Powerful in this kind of atmosphere made me enjoy this particular movie (which, if truth be told I wasn't too sure about going into it). The VIP tickets bought a seat up near the stage (yes, there is an actual stage with a curtain and everything), a small bucket of popcorn, and a drink of your choice (sodas, gold peak sweet tea!, and the like).

Walking to our seats towards the front of the theater we listened to an organ medley of Disney tunes before watching previews (none of which I can recall) and then! *drumroll please* a magician came out and performed the classics: rabbit out of a hat, levitating girl, sawing a woman in half (although in a family-friendly, less violent manner, he had her be loaded into a train that then disconnected it cars and rolled onto another track leaving the woman's head in the front and her feet at the caboose!). It was fabulous seeing this man perform on stage, complete with beautiful side-kicks in fun costumes, before watching Oz, the magician (and wizard of course!) on screen.

At first I was worried that sitting so near the stage would affect my ability to view the film properly, much like sitting in a seat up towards the front in a movie theater, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was able to view the movie in complete comfort...and in 3D!

After the show we exited to the lobby and took a look at the beautiful costumes from Oz before being ushered through the gift shop and ice cream parlor next door, well played Disney, well played.

High Honors, Hanging Hearts, Crash Pads, and a Snack!

This year my roommate went all out to make my friend Heather's idea for a tacky-prom Valentine's Day party come to life. Since it had only been a few weeks since I moved into the apartment I wasn't sure what "all out" meant when my roommate said that she "went all out for parties" that she threw.

Apparently it means buying several heart-shaped balloons, strings of lights, paper heart decorations, pink shiny stuff that hangs from walls to make it pretty, 1980s TV Guides, bagel bites!, pizza pockets!, toquitos, sangria, sodas out the wazoo, and lots and lots of candy. She even got a polaroid camera so that all of the guests could go in the photo room (aka our room) and take a memorable polaroid of their tacky-prom-ware and date ;)

The shadow of the crash pad makes you look like Spongebob!

In February I also got a chance to go rock-climbing which was super awesome and something that I had been wanting to do for a long time. We took out the crash pad and I was able to make the hardest free-climb I've ever done....of about 20 feet. Well, it's a personal best. Plus, whoever is carrying the crashpad looks a little bit like that porous yellow fellow who lives in a pineapple under the sea.

SNACK TIME! Warm weather has brought out the iced tea and the yogurt covered pretzels. 

Train Trip to Oceanside

 This time last weekend I was visiting Oceanside, CA, a small beach town in between LA and San Diego. I took the metro to Union Station in Downtown LA and hopped on the commuter train (metrolink) which offers weekend passes for $10 to go anywhere in the system! It was time to get out of the hubbub of the city with my best friend in LA!

The train runs through the southern towns of Santa Ana and San Juan Capistrano which both have quaint stations that I hope to stop off at in the future! Also, from San Juan to Oceanside the train runs right next to the ocean giving some incredible views.
The train station in Oceanside borders local residences and it's an easy walk to the pier and "downtown" area. Although it was a bit cloudy last Saturday, the sun came out for parts of the day and the fresh, un-smogged air, was very refreshing!

We lunched at Ty's Burger House which was surprisingly cheap (definitely not LA prices!) for fabulous food. Homemade ketchup, fries, and a delicious organic grass-fed burger for about $8.00!

The rest of the day was filled with reading on the beach, walking around the small town, and visting a legitimate barber's shop! This town is full of barbers who are employed by the marines who live nearby. We also saw a lot of military surplus stores ;)

At the end of the day we caught the sunset on the train back to Union Station and then took a small detour on the way back up on the red line to NoHo we stopped at Tam O'Shanter, an Inn and restaurant, that has live Irish music and dancing every third saturday!

My last days in Virginia and first day at Pink's!

After November ended I spent the first weeks of December applying to jobs and preparing for my trip home to Virginia! There were many Christmas parties to attend, secret santas to be bought and Anthropologie hours to be worked as the seasonal shoppers started to lined up around the store to purchase their goods. Finally! I was able to pack my things and head to the airport with my traveling companion, Alex who, because he was going to be a groomsman in a wedding and had bought his suit in California, was wearing a three piece suit complete with top-hat. We certainly got some interesting looks on the plane and our layover, not so much in LAX because, well, it's LA!

Birdhouse on the lake in VA Beach after canoeing

At home I did my best to see friends from high school and college as well as spend much needed time with my family. I ate a lot of good meals, was reminded how nice it is to sleep in full-size beds and have your laundry done for you, and traveled all over Virginia to visit folks. I went from DC to Reston to Annandale to Centreville to Charlottesville to Virginia Beach to Hampton to Amelia and everywhere in between.

On one of my last days in Virginia I was "hiking" (aka trail walking) with my mom and her best friend (like an Aunt to me) Elaine (who just got engaged! yay!) and we saw a bald eagle, a very appropriate symbol to end 2012, my year of traveling the country!

The picture to the right is a sunset over downtown LA. I took it from Echo Park, a little neighborhood right next to Silver Lake and Los Feliz (where I used to live)

Coming back to LA was like exiting a densely populated metro car after a long ride. I surged forward into a lot of people and noise and frenzied movement. As I said in my previous blog I spent my first week back applying and interviewing for jobs and visiting potential apartments. Thank God everything worked out wonderfully! PLUS I finally got to eat at Pink's, a hot-dog restaurant. I still can't get over how LA is the land of burgers, hot-dogs, milkshakes, and donuts and yet everybody looks so amazing.

Dog-Sitting

So it's been months since I posted here. I am dreadfully sorry. I meant to pick back up on blogging after the new year but I just didn't get around to it somehow. 2013 has brought a lot of change and though difficult at the time it's all been for the good!

I got back to LA from a month in Virginia about the second week in January. I found a new apartment and moved in by the end of the month. I'm now living in Valley Village (North Hollywood...NoHo for short) near the NoHo Art's District which is a pretty cool area. Though the valley is definitely different than where I was before my apartment is so awesome any downsides to the aesthetics of the Valley are worth it!

I picked up a babysitting job for a little girl with Down's. I help her get up and ready for school on Tuesdays and Thursdays early in the morning. Though it's sometimes difficult to get up it allows me to make some extra money and still do another job.

I worked for four weeks doing publicity and marketing for a mini-series from home. This was a new experience for me and it involved a lot of calling and talking on the telephone but I got the hang of it and it's the best pay check I've ever gotten in my life!

Now I'm dog-sitting. I think this could possibly be the best job I've ever had. I am house-sitting and dog-sitting for two wonderful Samoyeds (and a kitty cat who makes herself scarce) and I've got a fridge stocked with whole foods produce (and fish! yum) and a 3 day pass to Equinox (a super fancy gym). Can't wait to get started for my first full day tomorrow!

This is just the tip of the iceberg. I've been collecting photos and stories to share on here so stay tuned. My goal is to be fully caught up on the interesting things and not so interesting things that have happened in my life since November by then end of my dog-sitting gig.

Hollywood Christmas Parade

Elmo looks like he's going to eat all the people, but don't worry he's tied up. Many an inappropriate joke was made about Elmo coming for the kids...

Thanksgiving Day as I was working with my house guests to prepare our delicious turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, corn bread casserole, etc etc etc we discussed the fact that the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is often referred to as the Macy's Day Parade. Cudos to Macy's for having a whole parade on Thanksgiving be one of the biggest and most interesting forms of advertising in the holiday season.

I went to see the Hollywood Christmas Parade, the equivalent of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, only it's smaller and not on Thanksgiving. A friend's sister was in town as an assistant director for a band from Indiana, Pennsylvania (represent!) to march in the parade and we went out to support her! It was fun to see the floats and bands go by (plus all of the "celebrities" we didn't know in fancy sports cars waving like Ms. America).

super cool band "banner"

I happened to be standing near a wire that crosses Hollywood Blvd (by the Popeyes if you know where that is...nearly across the street from my church) for no apparent reason. I'm sure there is/was a reason at some point but it just complicates things for those marching with big balloons, all of then had to almost touch the ground in order to pass underneath it holding up the parade for a bit.

Dukes of Hazard

In any case, it was a fun evening cheering on the side of Hollywood Blvd and, because I took the metro, I didn't have to deal with parking and/or driving in that mess :)

Scoobie Doo!!!

Who ya gonna call?

In other news. Last night I was able to attend a screening of some shorts up for the Oscars this year. None were particularly stand out but it was fun to watch them and learn about the voting process. There are even little pens with flashlights and glow ends used for voting to turn off the short if it's really bad (note to filmmakers: make sure the first six minutes of your short are good, and don't spend all that time on opening credits).

Oh CA

It is still amazing to me the power of music to evoke a sense of atmosphere. This was something I pondered very deeply when creating a Road Trip playlist for my trek out to California this past summer. What songs evoked a sense of, "here we go, out on the road, leavin' what has been home for 22 years" and then "mountains", "plains", "desert", "new coast", "new home?" Watching the movie Take Me Home on Netflix and discovering the band Bootstraps (put together for the movie but now a full-fledged band) makes me wish I had the album for my journey out here.

So, I suppose I'm making up for it now, driving around LA on these partly cloudy days thinking of the open road and driving along the PCH (see the movie credits to understand).

Come One Come All!

I started out at my last day of internship by going to the Post Office and then Trader Joe's for some groceries for the week. Then I was taken out to a wonderful lunch at The Hungry Cat where we started with oysters on the half shell and fresh cherry limeade. Then I had some kind of fresh fish (similar to sea bass) with chanterelle mushrooms, figs, spinach, and a creamy potato base on the side. Finally we finished beignets dipped in a dark chocolate sauce and a fresh pressed coffee. It was scrumptious!

Then, I went to the Circus! Yes, Circus Vargas was in town, complete with big top tent. 

Kids Hula-Hooping in the ring

The Juggler was pretty amazing, he did up to 8 balls and only messed up a little once. I think that I was most impressed by him and the 10 year old kid who did the motorcycle globe/cage thing. craziness...

Don't forget the HUMAN ROCKET at the end! Wouldn't be a grand finale without it!

Westwood

Last Wednesday was the second time I adventured to Westwood, the heart of UCLA territory. I had been wanting to see Cloud Atlas, a movie that most people seem to know very little about except that Tom Hanks is in it. I was looking forward to seeing this movie as the trailer was incredibly epic and wonderful with great music and editing (although a little long, like the movie) and ultimately I was happy I went and saw it in theaters. Click HERE for a review of the movie by Alex Barker.

What made the day even better, though, was after a nice buttery popcorn in a cold and nearly deserted theater I was finally able to try out Diddy Riese! This place is an institution in Westwood Village and many UCLA students live off of their ice-cream cookie sandwiches (just under $2 for any combo of cookie and ice cream!). I think it was worth the search for parking to be able to say that I've finally been there (I had cinnamon sugar cookies--aka snickerdoodles--with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, quite tasty).

The rest of Wednesday was spent celebrating Halloween! I baked some amazing cookies from my favorite baking blog! Then I went to a friend's place in Silver Lake and we had rye Sidecars, Trader Joe's appetizers, delicious guac, mashed potatoes, and ratatouille with sausage (plus a few other potlucked items) while passing out candy to trick-or-treaters. It was a ton of fun and exactly the low-key evening I was hoping for.

Plus, Friday I was able to go to a Halloween party that was Christmas themed, a weird and yet awesome way to combine two holidays that all the retail stores have been mushing together for years.

San Diego Adventure

This past Friday was my first day off of both internship and Anthropologie in 20 days straight. Yes, that includes weekends. My busy schedule had left me with a small cold, but I had made plans to visit San Diego and I did not want to miss out swapping an epic (yet not too long) road trip for sitting on my couch/bed/floor (whatever area was closest and easy to lie down on) feeling sick and sorry for myself. So, Friday morning we headed south.

This was my first time driving down to San Diego. I suppose I had technically been there when I was a toddler but I don't recollect anything from that trip so for all intents and purposes this was my first time visiting the birthplace of California.

I got my first taste of the commonfolk in Orange County, not on the ocean vacation variety, when we stopped at a gas station and I had to use the restroom. I asked if they had one and the man pleasantly replied "Yes, it's around the corner outside." To which I responded "Can I have the key?" and he raised an eyebrow and stated plainly "There isn't one."

Also, the roads are very nicely paved. If you've ever driven in LA (or ridden for that matter) you will thoroughly appreciate this, I know my car did.

Once in the city the first stop was the Fish Market area by the harbor. It was about lunch time so it was out to Edgewater Grill where we sat on the outdoor terrace that overlooks the harbor. It was quite lovely and the ceviche, a dish I'd been craving oddly enough, was delicious. I highly recommend it.

Ceviche: A mexican seafood salad of sorts cooked by the acidity of lime juice. 

After lunch we strolled through the park near by; watched elderly women walk leisurely past joking to a passerby about how their husbands were in a meeting and they were out on business, kites of various shapes blow in the wind, children play in the grass, and watched the sunlight filter through the (still green) leaves.

We then ventured over to Coronado, the island that's just across the bridge from San Diego. It was lovely walking around the small shops and the Hotel Del Coronado. We even passed a sand artsist who was designing "Congratulations" images on the pavement for a birthday and a wedding that was happening on the beach later that afternoon.

On the way out of the city we made a stop in La Jolla where we caught the sunset off some (small) cliffs. There were even seals playing on a rock just out from shore. A woman photographer was so intent on capturing that image that she was wading out into the rising tide towards a curious seal that had swum close to shore. That on top of the girl doing a scorpion with the sun behind her made for some interesting viewing in addition to the sunset.

The trip was finished up by some mexican food (soup, in my case but it was delicious none-the-less) and an americano from starbucks. And, as fate would have it, Taylor Swift's RED album was on sale at Starbucks and it just so happened that I had been given a substantial starbucks gift-card. I doubt the gifter knew that I would be buying music instead of coffee with it but it was a good use for the money in my opinion. I am very happy with my purchase and listened to it all the way home to LA.

Assisting for the Day

Today is my first day as an assistant. I'm filling in at one my internships and getting some hands-on experience manning phones, schedules, and people. As often as I've compared my internship experiences here in Hollywood with those in The Devil Wears Prada (not even close to the hell that Andy goes through, don't worry), today is the closest that I've come to the real thing. I am "manning the desk" so to speak

Emily: When I am not here... Andrea, you are chained to that desk! 
Andy Sachs: But what if I have to... 
Emily: What? No! Nothing! One time an assistant left the desk. Oh, because she sliced her hand open with a letter opener, and Miranda missed Lagerfeld just before he was about to board a 17 hour flight to Austrailia. She now works at TV Guide

though I doubt the consequences of a missed phone call will be as severe...

So far I've successfully re-arranged a personal training session, started reading a script that I need to have notes on by Monday, made friends over the phone with another assistant while trying to move a lunch with a well-known TV Star, felt stupid for calling said star and leaving a voicemail about moving the lunch because I had no number for a personal assistant, felt a little better when said star called back and was very kind and he could move the lunch to the time we needed, and I have used this small amount of "down" time to write this post.

 Excerpt from The Devil Wears Prada by: Lauren Weisberger
"Ahn-dre-ah, my car needs to be picked up from the place and dropped off at the garage. Attend to it immediately, as we'll be needing it tonight to drive to the Hamptons. That's all." I stood, rooted to the carpet in front of her behemoth desk, but she'd already blocked out my presence entirely. Or so I thought. "That's all, Ahn-dre-ah. See to it right now," she added, still not glancing up.

Ah, sure, Miranda, I thought to myself as I walked away, trying to figure out the first step in the assignment that was sure to have a million pitfalls along the way. First was definitely to find out at which "place" the car was located. Most likely it was being repaired at the dealership, but it could obviously be at any one of a million auto shops in any one of the five boroughs. Or perhaps she'd lent it to a friend and it was currently occupying an expensive spot in a full-service garage somewhere on Park Avenue? Of course, there was always the chance that she was referring to a new car--brand unknown--that she'd just recently purchased that hadn't yet been brought home from the (unknown) dealership. I had a lot of work to do.
                     

So far in my limited experience I have learned the following:
1.Assistants are problem-solvers. Much like Engineers... but with people.
2. Knowing who to talk to to get things done is the easiest way to solve those problems.
3. You can tell who was once an assistant before they "moved up" and they are often kind and have sympathy, empathy, or, at least, pity for you.

Well, the day is almost half-over. Let's hope that everything runs smoothly for the rest of the day with no major or minor crises (even though Culver City is apparently doing a disaster drill at 7pm tonight...should be interesting to see how that goes).

RED

I am excited about Taylor Swift's new album "Red" due to release this coming Monday October 22, 2012 (no, I have not been paid to plug this...unfortunately). This is the first album of her's that I've wanted to purchase. Much of the time I like only half the stuff she comes out with so this is a BIG DEAL. The single "Red" is my current favorite autumn-weather pop-drive to song and would be perfect for a trip down Ivy Road towards Crozet, I suppose Santa Monica Boulevard will have to do. I also have to say that the photos for the album are awesome (vintage filters...I'm kind of a hipster) and I'm impressed with Taylor's new style (much more mature with basic reds, creams, blacks). Right, now that I've spent a good paragraph gossipping...

I'm winding down with my internships and looking forward to whatever is next. Classes are picking up and I will be meeting with agents, researching agencies, and reading as many books/scripts/short stories as possible to start building my slate as a legitimate hollywood producer! (eek!)

Meanwhile, sharing stories at the apartment last night ranged everywhere from a deep longing for forests, Nicki Minaj and her love of Dasani water, and passive aggressive (and not so passive) notes and comments from drivers...only in LA.

Here are some places I haven't been in a while:

My Grandmother's House

Tribe...working Sunday nights keeps me from you

And a place I have been going to very often:

The Grove

My Locker at Anthropolgie

Below My Feet

My absolute favorite song off Babel the new Mumford and Sons CD. Take a listen. Enjoy.

The Getty and Art

A mural in Venice by the hanging "VENICE" sign right off the strip. Randomly included in this set of pictures.

A couple weekends ago now I went to The Getty for the first time. The Getty is an art museum on top of a rather large hill. You have to take a small tram to the top, in fact. It's quite fun rising up and out of the city for a while. I was able to picnic outside with some yummy Trader Joe's food and then wander around the different exhibits. There is also a great garden outside that is fun to walk around in. Later on that evening I went to an open mic night of sorts at Mosaic's "Living Room" in the downtown art's district. It was a happenin' place Friday night as (I'll admit it) mostly hipsters roamed in and out of small shops drinking wine and eating cheese. The Living Room hosted it's first event focusing on storytelling. People recounted memories, sang songs, and recited spoken word poetry as we got into the fall spirit eating pumpkin bread, pumpkin butter, pear and walnut bundt cake, coffee, and tea, A great day in LA.

View of the city from The Getty art museum. Really cool "trees" of vines.

Architecture of The Getty

Inside The Getty

Garden from patio

Outdoor patio

Garden maze

View of The Getty building from the garden

my attempt at artsyness, what the heck I'm at an art museum

again, attempt at artsyness. This was a small stream with stone steps leading towards it. The stream runs from the top of the hill at the end of the building into the garden.

My new favorite mural, if it can be called that. Let's just say it's my favorite street art just outside of Mosaic's Living Room.

Again, a random picture. The Grove, where I spend many a late night folding the beautiful clothes at Anthropologie. This is probably my favorite. It's outdoor, has lots of live music and activities, attracts families, teenagers, young couples, and tourists. Sinatra and Michael Buble and Regina Spektor can be heard over the sound system. There is a lovely lit fountain, trees, a grassy spot to hang out, a movie theater,some of my favorite stores (including a candy store and a whole "Farmer's Market" of delicious food of all varieties). And, the best part is a little section of strung lights in a small corridor that looks like a street in Europe (a very very clean and commercial street mind you).