PrimaDana

What a weekend...

2005-08-22T16:17:00.000-07:00

I had such a good weekend despite being sick going into it...

Friday night we went to the 80's prom party, which was awesome... Chris stole the cake for being the best dressed and the most in character. I bought him a pink Polo shirt and a grey sports jacket that he wore over it. Of course the sleeves were rolled up and the collar was up too. All that with a horribly ugly blue tie that matched my puffed and ruffled sparkly blue dress. I don't have my pics on computer yet so when I upload them I'll be sure to post one...

Saturday night was so much fun too! Chris, his roommate, his roommate's girlfriend and I went down to Irvine to see Coldplay in concert. Granted we were way far up from the stage on the lawn so you couldn't see much, but still, the show was incredible. They really are a fantastic band.

And yesterday CHris and I randomly went up to Santa Barbara for the day. I hadn't gone back there since I graduated two years ago, so it was such a good trip down memory lane. I loved it. Chris did too as it was the most BEAUTIFUL day while we sat on the pier eating fish and chips and drinking a Corona. Such a nice Sunday. A perfect ending to a perfect weekend.

I hope you all had nice weekends too!

BOOO!!!

2005-08-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

Why does it always happen this way? When you have a really fun big weekend ahead of you, what happens? You get SICK.

All week long I felt pressure in my sinuses. But I kept on telling myself that it must be allergies. Until this morning when I woke up and knew that this aint allergies. I have a cold. Maybe it was all the Bo Bice excitement from last night... who knows?

Point is, today I'm sick and bummed because I have such a big weekend ahead of me. My friend's 80's prom party (which I had SO much fun shopping for - and already did, which means no returns) and then Coldplay concert on Saturday night... What a bummer. I'm definitely going to the concert...I don't care if I'm sick or healthy, and the party? We'll just have to see. I'm taking the day off today so hopefully by tomorrow I'll feel better...

I'm stopping off at the nearby Jewish Deli for some Jewish Penicillin - matzo ball soup. Any other suggestions on how to help get rid of this cold?

Anniversary!

2005-08-15T21:07:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, Chris and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary. It actually falls on today but who wants to celebrate on a Monday when you have the whole weekend to!?!

On Saturday morning we woke up and Chris dropped me off at Burke Williams, an amazing spa, where I had a one hour relaxation massage booked for me. After hanging there and relaxing for a couple of hours, we went to lunch at Duke's in Malibu next to the ocean. Then we went to a winery in the middle of downtown LA for a bit. And for dinner we went to a beautiful restaurant, Chocolat, where we ate awesome French food and had a huge chocolate souffle for dessert. I gave Chris my presents, a scrapbook of pictures from the last two years, and a pair of tickets to the Keane concert next month. Chris gave me an amazing card and a beautiful necklace.

And now its back to the pretty boring work week. Except on Wednesday night I am going to the American Idols Live concert with one of my bosses, Lesli. I know, I know... don't laugh - I LOVE Bo Bice. Oh! On Friday night I am invited to a party that my friend's party... it has a great theme: 80's prom! Except I'll need your help since I am shopping for Chris and I: what should we wear?

Amazing music...

2005-08-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

Funny how things happen in threes, don't you think?

Especially bad luck.

First thing: My car mirror incident...still makes me insane thinking about it. But on Friday, 600 dollars later, that was done and over with.

Second thing: On Tuesday, I had a really bad day at work. SO BAD, that I don't even want to get into it. Maybe it was a mixture of the PMS or just the incident but I went into a constant depression / crying for the whole day. And that night, I couldn't sleep.

Third thing: On Wednesday the work issue was fixed and I felt a whole lot better. That was, of course, until I realized that not only had I lost my phone at some point in the day but it was stolen and someone was making calls on it. Yesterday, I spent $250 on a new phone and I am still in the process of getting all my contact's numbers back. But what really gets me angry is how I lost the pictures.

It's funny how when bad things keep happening, in other words, when you're getting "shit on", you stop caring after a while. For the first couple of incidents I was angry, sad, depressed, etc... But when it came to the phone, all I could do was laugh.

And last night really made up for all the drama, sadness, and anger. I went and saw Gavin DeGraw and Avril Lavigne at the Greek Theatre. Now I love Avril and have for more than three years now, but Gavin is my FAVORITE. Every song of his makes me want to melt. And he sings with such passion and heart. For all of you that haven't heard him, you must go straight to the store, ITunes or whatever illegal downloading program you use and get his music in your ears. QUICK! It's an order. Because wonderful music really can make you happy.

Speaking of Music, my friend Stephy has just started her own blog, solely based on her work and passion, music. She does music supervision and A&R here in Hollywood, and that makes her cool. Go check her out and tell her hi.

ARRRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!

2005-08-04T15:51:00.000-07:00

You guys are all so sweet for your advice. It truly is something that I really appreciate and listen to. We shall see where my "path" will take me in life. But first things first.

Today is a bad day.

Last night, as I was just getting into Chris's garage, I completely made an error of judgement and slammed my left-side rearview mirror into a post. Random, I know... Now you have to understand - I have NEVER gotten into a car accident, so for me, this was huge. I reversed into a post and crashed the whole mirror in front of my eyes! I saw it happen in slow motion and couldn't do a damn thing about it. My first reaction was shock, immediately followed by hysteria. I started crying, no, I was BAULING my eyes out, wailing like a baby whose food is taken away. It was horrible. Luckily, I had Chris there to calm me down.

So this morning I decide to not stress. Hey, it's just money, right? I call Toyota. Wanna know how much my dinky mirror will be to replace?

$450.00!!!

That's right. Why so much? Because it's computerized they tell me. Yeah, next time I need to find out movie times watch me access the internet on my mirror! PLEASE!!!!

At lunch, I go to my car and notice that there is some sort of strange green-brown fluid that came out of the mirror and was going down the driver's side door. I immediately tried to wipe it off, and uposn seeing that it wasn't coming off, I quickly took the car to the nearest auto-body shop. Guess what? After the mirror is replaces, I'm gonna half to have my car door painted as well. And of course it's not an easy one coat... it's a THREE COAT PAINT JOB!!!!

Do you see why today is simply NOT MY DAY?

I think I want to become a teacher...

2005-08-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

Or something else.

All I know is that this morning, I woke up and thought to myself, "is this really what I want to be doing with my life?"

At least being a teacher, you know you are helping someone, making a difference. In casting, you are just busting your ass to make other people's lives easier. And you rarely get the credit.

I always had a hard time when I was in school and people asked me the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I could never really pinpoint it.

Lets see. I always knew I LOVED TV. I loved celebrities, gossip, being on the set or ANY set for that matter, being behind the scenes. Going on the Universal Backlot was so exciting for me as a kid, more than what an average person would feel. I remember thinking, "I want to be part of this someday".

And I randomly got into casting because my mom met a casting director on a plane, I then met her, she hired me, and the rest is history. I got lucky becaue I got my foot in the door fresh after graduation, but, is THIS really where I want to be?

I love books. Books about young women finding love, success, relationships, careers. So I thought, hey, I could write a book! Then I sat down in front of the computer and NOTHING CAME OUT.

I also love kids. And when I was young, I wanted so badly to be a teacher. But somehow that just went away after a while.

I need help, y'all. Firstly, does anyone know how to even begin the process of becoming a teacher? What do you guys suggest for me to feel like I have a purpose in this life?

Well hello everyone!

2005-07-31T08:10:00.000-07:00

It's been almost two months since my last post.

Why take so long for me to post something again?
**Firstly, I had nothing to write about. I wasn't working, so my life basically consisted of working out, eating, watching TV, shopping, eating, sleeping, eating, drinking, working out, and so on and so forth... You know, I could have probably thought of some interesting things to share with everyone, but to be honest, I was bored with myself and didn't feel like putting it down in internet history so that when I am 50 I will be forced to remember these oh-not-so-exciting-times in my life.
**Just like it becomes habit to post, for me it became habit not to post. Even if something really exciting happened to me, I never got around to sharing it.
**I started to realize that the majority I wanted to write about involved my friends, and because recently I came to find out most of my friends were reading this blog, I had panic attacks every time I thought that they were reading about the things I had written about.

That's why I am going to highlight 5 EXCITING THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO ME SINCE LAST POST:

1) I went to Vegas with some friends for my 24th bday. It was seriously, one of the most fun weekends I had had in a long time. Hust a lot of partying, drinking, dancing, gambling, laying out, etc. I loved it. We went with the best possible group to go with and there was absolutely NO drama, no fighting. Just a ton of laughing. We had so much fun that we're going back over Labor Day.
2) I went back to Chicago with Chris for another one of his friend's weddings. Well, we flew into Chicag but the wedding itself was in Milwaukee. And believe it or not, Milwaukee isn not a bad city. Pretty actually. The wedding was gorgeous and Chris and I had a fun time.
3) I went to a Hilary Duff Concert. Now, to some this could be the opposite of exciting, but I went with my little 13 year old sister as her chaperone. And even though I was feeling a dlittle under the weather, it was a blast sitting at the Greek Theatre watching (or rather hearing) the thousands of girls screaming as if the world was coming to an end. I'm reminded of my love for the New Kids on the Block.
4) I started doing pilates. (Yes, I know, not THAT exciting, but 5 things are proving to be harder to come up with than I thought). In fact, while I was on hiatus I started to do all kinds of different workouts - kickboxing (I LOVE), yoga (I HATE), pilates (AMAZING), salsa dancing, hip-hop. The last two I had fun at but I can only imagine what the other people in the class thought of me, the 5'1" blond girl trying to act like she has rhythym.
5) I started back at work a couple of weeks ago which is both wonderful and worrysome at the same time. Although I love to work and be busy, right now it's only my boss and I at the office and that means that if he's in a good mood, I am treated nicely and the same goes for the opposite... so I guess I'm always in the air with him.

Right now it's early Sunday morning. It's gonna be over 80 degrees again today so I'm trying to avoid being outside if I can. Maybe I'll go to the farmers market and pick up some frsh produce... or maybe see a movie? Who knows...

Bday talk

2005-06-06T16:09:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all...

Happy Monday to everyone. The first Monday of June. I like June. Why? Only because it's my bday month - June 11th to be exact. (I like chocolate, DVD's, and red wine in case anyone was getting me presents).

Two years ago, my bday fell two days before my college graduation. It was so much fun - twenty or so of my friends at a sushi restaurant doing sake bombs. That was a good time - when all of us wanted to spend as much time together as we could before we parted for summer and life, I guess.

Last year, my birthday was a last minute thrown together bbq at my house and I hated it. My sister couldn't be there and the friends that could all popped in and out and I didn't even have quality time with any of them.

This year, I am going to Vegas. CHris has a wedding that he is a best man for this weekend in Chicago, and when I realized that he wasn't going to be around for my bday, I figured why not get some girlfriends together and go to Vegas - city of Sin. It's gonna be great - free hotel room, gambling, food and spa vouchers. Can't wait.

Other than that my life is going to get a little busy (amazing, huh?) for the next few weeks as I will be casting my first short film. In fact, this will be the first time that I am casting anything on my own. I'm a little nervous, believe me, but excited at the same time. I can't wait to see a finished product with my name on it. Squee!

Chris and I had a serious conversation last night about moving in together. In August it's going to be two years that we have been dating, so it only feels like its the next step. But I'm not one hundered percent sold on the idea. Must weigh pros and cons.

Alright, off to a meeting!

Hi, my name is Dana and I am a TV addict.

2005-05-26T12:47:00.000-07:00

You know you've officially gone crazy when you spend 4 WHOPPING hours watching TV (American Idl & Lost).

Thank you very much, but I could definitely do without Carrie. But Lost literally knocked my socks off.

Today I have loads of laundry to do - literally.

I'll try to update later.

A lttle bit of this and a whole lot of that...

2005-05-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

OK, since I have the feeling that I'm in the minority of who's actually watching, I will just say two words about who my thoughts and hopes are with today: Bo Bice.

Moving on: It's funny how when you are on a work hiatus, you have days where you are so busy running errands that you don't even feel like you're off and then other days where, for the life of you, you can't find one thing you need to do.

Today feels a little bit like that. Although, now that I'm typing I realize that there is actually tons of stuff that I need to be doing. In order to be productive, I will list them here and then see if I get any of it done:
- Go to gym
- Meet my dad for lunch
- L-A-U-N-D-R-Y (very much needed!)
- Call the bank
- Go to the cleaners.

See? Many random errands (my prediction? I'll get to two of them).

Chris and I are going north to Oregon this weekend for a wedding. Chris works with the groom (I used to, too) and through him we've become very friendly with the bride. They're so sweet. The have actually been together for ten years, having met in high school running AGAINST eachother for school president. Needless to say, she won and he fell in love. I kind of like how they waited so long until actually getting married. Now they know that they are fairly secure financially and of course they know that they want to be together for the rest of their lives. One question: they didn't register and therefore I have NO idea what to get them as a present. Should we just stick with cash? And if so, how much? I mean, we're flying there for the event, as well as staying in a hotel for three nights, so it's not like we're not spending any money on it, right?

I told you I could stick around two days in a row!

2005-05-24T11:43:00.000-07:00

First things first... American Idol is on tonight! Now since I haven't really been around since the beginning of season 4 of this show, I will fill you in on one thing: Bo Bice is AMAZING!!!

Being in casting, I feel like I kinda have this instinct for people. Especially when these people are performing in one way or another. From the beginning I knew there was something special about Bo. Sure, at first glance he wasn't necessarily the "hottest" guy on the planet, but he just had what we call "star quality". He can sing, perform, and man, he has style. And week by week I fall in love with him just a little bit more. Sorry to bore all of you non-American Idol fans, I just felt I needed to share my current obsession.

And can we please take a second to talk about the most fantastic TV season in a long time? The Desperate Housewives finale was written extraordinarily... so smart that show! I also just became a fan of Grey's Anatomy and of course, Lost, which has its two hour finale tomorrow night. With such great TV, it's hard to have a nightlife during the week. I'm telling you, TiVo can record my shows, sure! But if the rest of the world is watching it at 8, I want to watch it then too!!!

Being that I'm currently on a work hiatus (most people who work in television do at some point because the shows itself are on a break between seasons), I have a lot of extra time on my hands. Here are a couple of things I have been doing while on my break:

-Going to the gym: I always liked to work out four to five times a week, but now that I have time off, I'm able to go to the gym at any time and take classes too. My favorite right now is half hour of kickboxing followed by a half hour of abs. It makes me feel strong, energized, but mostly happy. (The weight loss thing hasn't really occured yet though, I think I just like food way too much.)

-Knitting: Now I'm not good at this at all, but I went to a really great Knit Cafe here in LA and I took a private lesson. I'm currently still on my first scarf. Hey, it's progress, right?

-Shopping: Oh yeah. I knew I was good at shopping before, but now I think I can hold a world record. I mean, there are SUCH cute styles out right now, I just love it all and I can't NOT buy if I'm at a mall (which is like, EVERYDAY).

I also went to Cabo a few weeks ago with Chris. It was amazing. Beautiful weather, great hotel, tasty food and drinks. We had a blast. My only souvenir that I brought back was a tan. Oh, and five pounds.

Well, that's that! I'm off to enjoy another hot day in LA!

Guess what?

2005-05-23T10:48:00.000-07:00

I'm back again...

I know, it's getting old. Almost like we're in a relationship and we're trying to break up yet something just =draws me back every time.... not that I was trying to break up with any of you. Maybe I was just trying to break up with me...

See, it's an interesting thing how this blog has evolved in my life. I started PrimaDana almost exactly one year ago when I was in a job that completely depressed and bored the hell out of me. One day I stumbled upon all of these different blogs and realized that "hey, this could be fun for me!" Plus, it definitely made time fly while at work.

And then I got addicted. And when I say addicted, I found myself spending hours upon hours on my blog and everyone else's. I was so interested about how everyone else's lives were going - their relationships, jobs, adventures... and if I spent one day away from my computer, I truly felt GUILTY. And the guilt started to frustrate me.

And then after a while, my own life started to become boring to write about (This isn't actually true - because for some reason, my life never fails to have its share of excitement). And then I just figured that why would any of you care about my "boring" life... Was I wrong?

Well, I got a very nice email from Carmi who was wondering where I was and wanted to make sure I was ok... (and to be honest I was kinda missing y'all - not to sound Britney-like)... so I guess I'm back!
And there is actually tons to fill you in about, but not before I go to the gym (it's been my morning ritual...if I don't go now I'll just NEVER GET THERE!

Well, if you happen to stop on by...please say hi!

Monday, Monday...

2005-04-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

Ahhh...Monday.

And an overcast one at that!

This weekend was wonderful - Friday went out to dinner for an old friend's bday, Saturday spent the day at Venice Beach with Chris and at night saw a bunch of my friends for another one's bday. Good times, good times.

Yesterday I spent the majority of my day at home - for some reason I just couldn't muster up enough energy to leave the house. Usually on Sundays I feel guilty if I don't spend the whole day out and about but just as the guilt started to creep back up, I was reminded that when you aren't working, every day is Sunday!!!

Who saw Desperate Housewives last night? Is that show not getting better and better? I can't wait until we finally get some more answers about the big mystery of why Mary Alice killed herself in the first episode. But last night it was Bree (Marcia Cross's character) who blew me out of the water with her scenes with her "gay" son. "It's SODOMY!" she yelled. I love it even more because the show's creator is homosexual. CLASSIC.

So I know that I wasn't around for a little bit but the Britney pregant thing is so entertaining to me. When it came out as official, I told my mom and she looked at me like, "who the HELL cares!?!" I know it's crazy to care so much but hey, it's total entertainment isn't it? Or are you guys completely over it too?

Oh well, gotta go run errands. Chat later...

End of the week wrap-up

2005-04-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

Well this week so far has gone by nicely. Haven't been too busy of course, but still enjoying my time off. The weather in LA has been AMAZING (except of course for today - doesn't matter that it's in the high 70's, if it's hazy it still feels like winter).

So far this week I've gone to the gym four times, eaten out every meal :), went shopping (only bought two things!), and dabbled in new exciting hobbies that I can pick up - such as jewelry making and knitting. The jewelry making wasn't as easy as I had envisioned. I went to a fabulous bead store with such hopes and walked out empty-handed with so much confusion. I guess this stuff isn't as easy as it's made out to be. Today maybe I'll stop by a knitting store and see if that would be a little easier to pick up.

So every few months there seems to be a time when there is a cluster of birthdays all in the same week. It happened in March and it's happening again now (maybe I just know too many people). One of my great friends from growing up is having her bday dinner tonight at Sushi restaurant, tomorrow my friend who I used to work with is having his bday at a bar / restaurant and Wednesday is my sister's bday. Not to mention that in the next couple of weeks are more bdays as well... Normally this wouldn't be a problem but given that I am paying hundreds of dollars in taxes right now and I am out of a job, this could prove a little diffficult. I guess I need to use my incredible bargain shopping skills.

Have any of you been watching Project Greenlight? This is my new favorite show. It's a behind the scenes documentary of how it is getting a movie made. And the writers and diRector are internet contest winners, so they have never done something like this on such a scale with such pressure. This all equals hours and hours of drama. And I love it. Check it out if you haven't already. It's on Bravo.

And American Idol? OBSESSED.

Have a nice day kiddies!

Baby, I'm back!!!

2005-04-12T15:17:00.000-07:00

OK, this officially feels strange.

I went so long without being here on my blog.

Do you guys even remember me?

Well, if not, here's a recap of what I've been up to in the last few weeks (which by the way feels like FOREVER):

I went through a period of about two months of craziness at work. That means almost 12 hour days, no social life, eating badly, having mood swings, etc. I had so much on my TiVo I wasn't even sure where to start!

Slowly slowly all that winded down and now I find myself on a work hiatus. In fact, its my office that takes the hiatus and of course that means me too. My boss was kind enough to give me a little money per week to maintain the office (messages, mail, etc) as an incentive to not find another job and stay with him through next season. I, of course like who I work with so that wasn't a problem to agree to.

What was (and still is) a little bit of a problem for me is the free time thing. I like having free time - thats for sure. But when I have TOO much free time I tend to become lazy and lethargic. It's like I wake up in the morning with all of these plans for the day, I go to the gym, then come home and shower, and then of course I'm hungry, so I fix myself a little lunch, and before I know it, I'm sitting on my couch watching soap operas unable to muster up the motivation to get me back out of my house.

I think the main problem here is that I need to find exciting things to do during these days off. Things that are fun yet don't require too much money because for anyone that knows me, I am a shopper and can't get enough of it.

Anyway, suggestions would be more than welcome. I can't wait to stop by all of your blogs and say hello!

But for now, I'm off to Target!

...

2005-03-24T15:55:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let you all know that I'm alive. Busy, but alive.

This should probably go on for another week or two, and until work calms down, to be honest, I'm just not that into the blogging thing.

But I do miss you all...hope everything's good with you :)

End of the week already?

2005-03-18T10:04:00.000-08:00

So, here we are at the end of yet another week. Hope your weeks went well. Here's how mine went.

Thankfully, the ofice has slightly calmed down, although not so much that I can actually say that things are relaxed, but it is better. We have pretty much finished one of our pilots, so now we're just trying to finish up our second. We're going to studio and network today, so cross your fingers!

Other than that, this week has been pretty boring. Mainly work, home, work, TV, etc.

Last night I went to a friend's bday party up in the hills above Sunset Plaza. Gorgeous neighborhood, beautiful house. Straight out of the OC TV show. I almost expected Julie Cooper-Nichols to come through the door, get in a fight and fall in the pool. Sadly, nothing like that happened and in reality, parties like that actually end up boring me - annoying beautiful people (who must not eat and just drink ALL of their calories) who have nothing important to say so you end up just talking to your own riends who you came with. I mean, I much rather just do that over a glass of wine and an episode of Americas Next Top Model.

It's officially NCAA March Madness time!!! I always love getting into the games. This year I entered a Yahoo fantasy league with 27 other people and so far I'm doing pretty well. Tomorrow I'm going with Chris and friends to Hooters for an all-day basketball marathon. Other than the waitresses, should be pretty fun...

Hopefully you all have exciting weekends ahead...

1 week later.

2005-03-14T10:06:00.000-08:00

Wow. It's been almost one full week since my last
post. I would have to say that that is a record. But
I'm not just saying that I'm busy. I truly am! Ask
any of my friends or family members, or even my TiVo,
because it's been pretty full with all the shows that
I haven't had time to catch up on.

Last week felt like a year. I worked approx. 60
hours. And not just hanging out, IM'ing and chatting
work. I'm talking 4 lines constantly ringing, all
while setting up auditions, getting actors quotes,
preparing for studio and network tests and doin g cast
lists. INSANITY I TELL YOU!!! So busy that I haven't
even had a chance to read all of your blogs. I hope I
haven't missed any major updates. Let's
see...pregnancies? marriages? moves? ANYTHING????

A scary thing also happened last week. On Wednesday
night, my mom was taking an unusually large pill that
she gets from a Chinese doctor (she's a huge fan of
alternative medicines), and it got lodged in her
throat and she had to go to the hospital. After three
hours and after being put under anesthesia, the
doctors were able to successfully remove it and
thankfully, she's ok. But there is no larger scare
than thinking that your mom almost died. Priorities
kind of change, you know? I am so fearful of the big
things that could take a life - car accidents, plane
crashes, disease... that you are completely
dumbfounded when you see that something like taking a
pill could cause death... Depressing topic so I'll
stop talking about it and I'll go back to fun things
:)

Thursday was also Chris's birthday. We went out to a
Mexican restaurant that night with a couple of friends
and had dinner. Pretty mellow, but fun. Afterwards,
I went home and he and the guys went out to a bar. He
had a flight taking off the following morning at 7 am,
so I knew he shouldn't have gone out late the night
before. Well, he did and got wasted apparently. So
wasted that he missed his flight the next morning
because he completely slept in. Anyway, he made it to
Arizona eventually, just in time for his dad and
brother and him to go the first in a long series of
Cubs games (he was in Arizona for Spring Training).
He's coming back tomorrow night.

Last night, I went down to Fullerton to visit my
friend Jill. SO good to see her. I love hanging out
with my girlfriends. We had a nice dinner and then
went to a club to go dancing. That girl is so funny.

And now, its back to Sunday. I hope all of you are
doing well... I'm going to try to visit all of you
soon. I hope you remember me!

1 week later.

2005-03-13T22:41:00.000-08:00

Wow. It's been almost one full week since my last post. I would have to say that that is a record. But I'm not just saying that I'm busy. I truly am! Ask any of my friends or family members, or even my TiVo, because it's been pretty full with all the shows that I haven't had time to catch up on.

Last week felt like a year. I worked approx. 60 hours. And not just hanging out, IM'ing and chatting work. I'm talking 4 lines constantly ringing, all while setting up auditions, getting actors quotes, preparing for studio and network tests and doin g cast lists. INSANITY I TELL YOU!!! So busy that I haven't even had a chance to read all of your blogs. I hope I haven't missed any major updates. Let's see...pregnancies? marriages? moves? ANYTHING????

A scary thing also happened last week. On Wednesday night, my mom was taking an unusually large pill that she gets from a Chinese doctor (she's a huge fan of alternative medicines), and it got lodged in her throat and she had to go to the hospital. After three hours and after being put under anesthesia, the doctors were able to successfully remove it and thankfully, she's ok. But there is no larger scare than thinking that your mom almost died. Priorities kind of change, you know? I am so fearful of the big things that could take a life - car accidents, plane crashes, disease... that you are completely dumbfounded when you see that something like taking a pill could cause death... Depressing topic so I'll stop talking about it and I'll go back to fun things :)

Thursday was also Chris's birthday. We went out to a Mexican restaurant that night with a couple of friends and had dinner. Pretty mellow, but fun. Afterwards, I went home and he and the guys went out to a bar. He had a flight taking off the following morning at 7 am, so I knew he shouldn't have gone out late the night before. Well, he did and got wasted apparently. So wasted that he missed his flight the next morning because he completely slept in. Anyway, he made it to Arizona eventually, just in time for his dad and brother and him to go the first in a long series of Cubs games (he was in Arizona for Spring Training). He's coming back tomorrow night.

Last night, I went down to Fullerton to visit my friend Jill. SO good to see her. I love hanging out with my girlfriends. We had a nice dinner and then went to a club to go dancing. That girl is so funny.

And now, its back to Sunday. I hope all of you are doing well... I'm going to try to visit all of you soon. I hope you remember me!

1 week later.

2005-03-13T22:21:00.000-08:00

Wow. It's been almost one full week since my last post. I would have to say that that is a record. But I'm not just saying that I'm busy. I truly am! Ask any of my friends or family members, or even my TiVo, because it's been pretty full with all the shows that I haven't had time to catch up on.

Last week felt like a year. I worked approx. 60 hours. And not just hanging out, IM'ing and chatting work. I'm talking 4 lines constantly ringing, all while setting up auditions, getting actors quotes, preparing for studio and network tests and doin g cast lists. INSANITY I TELL YOU!!! So busy that I haven't even had a chance to read all of your blogs. I hope I haven't missed any major updates. Let's see...pregnancies? marriages? moves? ANYTHING????

A scary thing also happened last week. On Wednesday night, my mom was taking an unusually large pill that she gets from a Chinese doctor (she's a huge fan of alternative medicines), and it got lodged in her throat and she had to go to the hospital. After three hours and after being put under anesthesia, the doctors were able to successfully remove it and thankfully, she's ok. But there is no larger scare than thinking that your mom almost died. Priorities kind of change, you know? I am so fearful of the big things that could take a life - car accidents, plane crashes, disease... that you are completely dumbfounded when you see that something like taking a pill could cause death... Depressing topic so I'll stop talking about it and I'll go back to fun things :)

Thursday was also Chris's birthday. We went out to a Mexican restaurant that night with a couple of friends and had dinner. Pretty mellow, but fun. Afterwards, I went home and he and the guys went out to a bar. He had a flight taking off the following morning at 7 am, so I knew he shouldn't have gone out late the night before. Well, he did and got wasted apparently. So wasted that he missed his flight the next morning because he completely slept in. Anyway, he made it to Arizona eventually, just in time for his dad and brother and him to go the first in a long series of Cubs games (he was in Arizona for Spring Training). He's coming back tomorrow night.

Last night, I went down to Fullerton to visit my friend Jill. SO good to see her. I love hanging out with my girlfriends. We had a nice dinner and then went to a club to go dancing. That girl is so funny.

And now, its back to Sunday. I hope all of you are doing well... I'm going to try to visit all of you soon. I hope you remember me!

:(

2005-03-07T13:24:00.000-08:00

I feel like it may be a little time before I can start posting regularly again.

Please bear with me... it's a busy time right now.

I miss you already!

NO TIME

2005-03-04T14:00:00.000-08:00

to post.

But have a good weekend!

...

2005-03-03T09:34:00.000-08:00

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, but my life has officially turned into insanity.

This is my daily schedule:

7:00 am: wake up
7:15 am: work out
9:30 am: get to work
WORK
WORK
CRY
WORK
WORK
EAT
CRY
WORK
WORK
8:30 pm: get home
8:45-11:00 pm: sit like a zombie on the couch, not able to speak or even blink for that matter :)
(I haven't actually cried yet - it was just a figure of speech).

So, there you go. THAT'S why my posts have gone from entertaining to boring. Hey, I'm surprised some of you continue to show up!

Well, today I would love for you to go visit my dear friend Rebecca. Rebecca also has some insanity in her life, however it's in a very different form as mine. She also happens to be adorable, an AMAZING writer, and someone I happen to actually learn from.

Go say hi to Rebecca and tell her Dana sent you.

Have a wonderful Thursday guys!

It's only Tuesday?

2005-03-01T09:56:00.000-08:00

Back to work.

Coming in at 9:30 on a Tuesday is a pretty shitty thing. Why? Because I know that I still have four full days of work left. Good thing I taped American Idol so I'll have something to ease my stress during the lunch hour.

Other than that, The Bachelorette has been the biggest waste of my time this season. I mean, I love Jen, but don't you think they could have told us that she wasn't going to choose ANY of the men at the beginning of the season. Maybe then I would have been more productive in my life, such as learning new languages or doing yoga. Hmmph!

Today I would like y'all to go visit Jennie. I love going to visit her. She has an adorable site, complete with hilarious entries. But most importantly, she says what she feels AND she likes TV too! Woohoo!

So go introduce yourself to Jennie and tell her that Dana sent you. And also, please dont forget to say hi to me. I need that after the days that I've been having :(

Here's a ten second break...

2005-02-28T10:59:00.000-08:00

So, how were the Oscars for you? I thought they were pretty boring. Jamie Foxx's speech was the only one that actually brought a sense of real emotion to the stage - he seemed genuinely grateful and happy.

Other than that, my weekend was fun. Short but fun. I hope yours went well. Since I have 4 lines ringing at one time, I'll have to make this short.

Today, I'd like to introduce you to Carmi. Carmi is a dad who lives in Ontario. He's smart and funny and a fantastic photographer, not to mention photographer. He always has interesting stories to tell about his family and his experiences. I haven't been able to stop by Carmi's site for some time now as I have been busy, so do me a favor and go say hi to him and tell him Dana sent you.

And now back to the madness.

Happy Friday!!!

2005-02-25T09:43:00.000-08:00

Well, from the looks of it, you guys seemed to have really enjoyed my idea! YAY!!!

Life is still crazy on my end. Today we are taking actors to the studio to test for one of our pilots. That means a ton of preparation the night before and nerves the day of. Now I'm not really nervous, per se, but hopeful that we get our actors (that means less work for us).

Anyway, I'm here alone this morning (with an exception of an intern) so can't write much, but I can introduce you to another very good blogging buddy, Janet. Once again, some of you may alreadu be familiar with the fantastic-ness of Janet. She is sweet, funny, a teacher, a fantastic writer, loves TV (that's always a good thing in my book), and most importantly, shares my love for the early 90's band, The Party.

Please go visit Janet and let her know that Dana sent you.

By the way, what are your plans for the weekend?

Meet my friends...

2005-02-23T22:14:00.000-08:00

First off, wanted to let everyone know that I got my full night's sleep last night. And man, did it feel good!

Also wanted to give a quick mention of tonight's "Lost". By far one of my favorite episodes... couldn't tell you why. Just loved it.

So some of you may have noticed that I haven't been stopping by your blogs as much as I used to (so sad). It's not because I don't want to - rather that I am so busy at work. Actually, busy is an understatement. We are crazed. It's been long hours and non-stop work while I'm there. To give you an indication of how busy I have been, I haven't even had the chance to check out E! Online this week... and that is usually my second stop when I turn on my computer.

So to keep you all from hating me (and to make sure you guys know that you are appreciated), I have decided to focus on some of my readers for the next few days. Other sites have done this, and I think it could be great. You get to check out new blogs to hopefully add to your blogroll and I will increase you traffic :)

One catch... you still gotta let me know that you read. That means COMMENT!!! And that goes for you lurkers too!

So my first friend that I will introduce you to is Deann. Deann has been a favorite read of mine for some time now. She is absolutely adorable, just moved into a new house with her boyfriend Nolan, and just got a new ADORABLE puppy, Cash (Scroll down on her site and you'll find pics). But most importantly, I love reading Deann's blog because we have something VERY important in common: TV!!

So go over to Deann and tell her that Dana sent you. I'm sure she'll like your company.

And remember to say hi to me. I need to know you're alive too!

Weekend update...

2005-02-22T10:32:00.000-08:00

Don't you just hate it when you can't fall asleep?

I used to go through phases where I couldn't sleep at all. It would drive me insane. I would just lay there in bed and be so awake. Then I would get angry at myself for not being able to sleep because I knew I would need to sleep and next thing you know I would even become more awake. Finally the anxiety would kick in and then the real fun begins :)

Well last night I stayed at Chris's and couldn't fall asleep until around four. That's right - FOUR am!!! It was so frustrating, just laying there, hugging my teddy bear, listening to the rain. The strange thing is that I don't even feel tired right now.

A little on crack, but not tired :)

This weekend was great. Long (should have been longer), but good. Friday night I stayed home and did good laundry... Saturday I just took it easy and at night we went to a karaoke bar called The Brass Monkey in Korea Town for our friend Drew's bday. Let's put it this way: strong margaritas and Creamy Monkeys (that's actually a drink filled with coconut rum and baileys) will always make for a fun night. Oh, and I also found out that Drew reads my blog, so if you're out there Drew, I had a great time on Saturday!!

Sunday was all about laying on the couch and watching TV. And yesterday we ran some errands and watched Constantine. Really cool-looking movie, but What the F***? I seriously had no idea what it was about.

And now we're back to today. AND IT'S STILL RAINING HERE IN LA!

Happy Friday!!!

2005-02-18T10:05:00.000-08:00

And it's that time again...

What time you ask?

FRIDAY TIME!!!

On this dreary cold rainy Friday, my plan is this. Go insane for about nine hours, while I am non-stop on the phone, and multi-tasking like no other. Tonight my plan is to go home, take it easy. do some laundry, and catch up on my TiVo that I've been too busy to watch all week. Sounds exciting, huh?

After a crazy day like today, though, I may NEED to go out.

Tomorrow I'm having lunch with a good friend of mine who I haven't seen in FOREVER. It should be nice. And maybe I'll go out tomorrrow night for a friend's bday with Chris.

And then there are TWO more days off weekend left, thanks to our Presidents!

What are YOUR plans for the weekend?

Do you ever have dreams...

2005-02-17T10:22:00.000-08:00

that include someone from your past, and it feels SO real to be with them in your dream, and then you wake up feeling like you almost did just spend time with them?

(And no everyone, it wasn't sexual).

My dream last night was odd but so great. There were people in it from elementary school, high school, and college. The occasion was for who knows what, but everyone was meeting at a pizza joint, Woodstocks, that I always went to in college (wonder where the freshman 15 comes from? PIZZA!). However, there were people there that were my friends in 4th grade, there was a guy I briefly dated in high school, and some of my neighbors from college. And it was SO good seeing eveybody.

But what really was interesting was seeing an old friend Tracy. Tracy and I had been best friends since kindergarten. We grew up and did EVERYTHING together. We liked the same guys, had sleepovers, hung out at people's houses, went to batmitzvahs, school dances, everything.

And then in high school things changed a bit. We started hanging out in different groups. I was in drama and making out with the popular a**holes and to be honest, I have no idea what she was doing. We'd still always say hi in the halls though.

And senior year we had a hotel management class together. We totally bonded again. It never went back to the way things were in the beginning, but we still got along really well. I went to her house a few times, we did work for our class together, etc. But most importantly, I'll never forget how sweet Tracy was to me. I went through a couple of bad times that year in school with my other "friends", and Tracy was always there for me, so sweet and kind.

After high school I went to Santa Barbara and she went to another party school. I randomly heard about her through another friend of mine who went to her school, how she had joined a sorority and partied a lot. Then a couple of years later, I was saddened to hear that her parents (who I basically grew up with) were getting a divorce. Now this family seemed so perfect to me growing up, you can only imagine how shocked I was to hear that.

And last night, Tracy was in my dream. And we were chatting, and laughing, and having so much fun. And this morning I woke up really, truly missing her.

I wonder how she's doing.

R-E-L-A-X

2005-02-15T22:06:00.000-08:00

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe Out.

I needed that.

My days have now turned into full-fledged insanity. The phones ring so often that I hear them in my sleep. Agents, managers, people pitching their clients'names left and right. Ten sessions to set up at the exact same time. I have about 1 billion stickies (that's post-its) covering my desk. I work on a yellow papered covered desk.

We interviewed interns last week to help us when it gets crazy like today. We found one guy who is perfect for the job. Problem is, he really wants a paying job (understandably), and therefore had to cancel today (his first day) due to job interviews. Um, hello? Great first impression.

My weekends come too spaced apart from eachother and last too goddamned short. I had a nice one though. It consisted of staying in on Friday (Chris and I were both so tired from the previous week that we ordred in, watched an episode of Freaks and Geeks and literally didn't say ONE word to eachother. Not ONE! I thought it was wierd but after talking to other people I am told otherwise). Saturday was meeting my friend Steph for coffee, seeing "Hitch" in the evening, and going to dinner and a dueling piano bar afterwards. Have you ever been to a dueling piano bar? OMG too fun. I almost want to give everyone an advance invitation to my birthday there - it was THAT fun.

My throat has been hurting (only in one spot) since Saturday. I overloaded on vitamins, echinacea, wheatgrass shots, and more water than your average camel and I'm still not feeling better. And it's already Wednesday tomorrow morning. With my luck, I'll stay feeling mediocre for the rest of the week and the second next weekend comes, I'll get a full-fledged illness. Let's all hope that doesn't happen, k?

Tonight when II got home from work, my roommate and I decided to watch some episodes of Sex and the City circa Aidan times. Oh wow. I really miss that show. And Gilmore Girls tonight? Um, somebody pass the kleenex!

That's all for now. Hope everyone else is doing just a tad better than me.

VALENTINE'S DAY

2005-02-15T14:49:00.000-08:00

In three words:

Chocolate. Covered. Strawberries.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2005-02-14T10:53:00.000-08:00

Yes, as cliche as it sounds, today's post is going to be about love. Unfortuantely it takes a hallmark holiday like Valentine's to make us really celebrate the everyday feeling of love, but here goes:

I LOVE...

My Mom... because she has really, truly been the strong support I need in my life ever since I was a baby. She talks sense into me when I am being irrational, gives me good advice (even though at the moment I tell her I don't need to know how to live my life), and calms me down when I am feeling stressed or anxious. For that I will always be grateful.

My sister, Sharoni... because she is my best friend, as stupid as it sounds. She is one of the smartest people I know, that goes for academics as well as the school of life. She teaches me so much about how a person should live her life. I give her fashion tips and she gives me life tips. That's the way I like to think it at least.

My dad... because he always makes me feel like the little thing I am contributing to the entertainment industry is actually very essential. He makes me feel like I am on a good path and will really be successful one day. Plus, he laughs when I say "sheeeet!"

My stepdad, Ehud...because he treats me like his own daughter. He has taught me so much about communication and smart decisions, things that I will always keep with me. Plus, he loves my mom and that's always a good thing.

My boyfriend, Chris... because ... I don't even know how to put it in words. Do you ever feel really crazed and stressed in life and in order to calm yourself down, you close your eyes and think about the beaches in Tahiti and all of a sudden you're calm? Well Chris is my Tahiti beach. How in the world did such a grounded calm guy fall for me? With all my craziness and quirks? He supports my love for condiments and "Felicity", he will go see most chick-flicks with me, and will clap and scream for me when I am making a fool of myself singing karaoke in front of a room full of strangers. Now THAT, kids, is love.

The rest of my family... because they all help me grow and learn about life. And I love every single one of them dearly.

All of my girlfriends... whether they live in Texas, Orange County, the valley, San Francisco, or Brentwood. And even though I don't see some of them that often, they should all know that I love each and every one of them for individual reasons.

And you guys, my blogging buddies. Who would have known that a little thing like Primadana could have changed my days. All of you have taught me things. I appreciate every single one of you, even though lately I have been too busy to stop on over and say hi.

Wll, that's all for now. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

I need your advice...

2005-02-11T10:12:00.000-08:00

This morning, upon getting to work, one of my co-workers asked me if I had checked my paycheck that goes directly into my checking account. I told him that I had and everything looked fine. He then asked me, "so, you didn't get a bump?"

He then went on to explain that the first year he was employed, our boss told him that the policy in this office is that when we are working on three projects at the same time, our paychecks get a little ($50 or so) bump, just as incentive to keep working hard. He was told the first year he worked here.

Now you can imagine how annoyed I am after hearing this. Not only is he not giving me the bump, but he also has never mentioned the "policy" to me. And a few months back we were working on three projects and I never got the bump while my coworkers did!!

So what do I do? How do I approach him? SHOULD I even approach him? HELP!

I'm busy.

2005-02-09T20:03:00.000-08:00

Work is insane these days. We are just starting two pilots so every single agent and manager (75% of this town) in Los Angeles feels the need to call us repeatedly to tell us why their client is the perfect fit for the role.

Lemme just tell you ... it get's old.

This morning we went to the FOX lot to see the table-read of "Reba" which was hilarious! They are all great on that show. And this week's guest star is none other than Dolly Parton, who is such a sight to see. Skinny, skiin girl with huge boobies and big blond hair. I love her because of the obscure movie "Straight Talk" which I watched over and over as a child. Funny how it has Teri Hatcher and Jerry Orbach in it, two names that we've been seeing tons of lately.

Other than that, work takes everything out of me. When I come home I don't want to do anything: no socializing or talking. Just eat dinner and watch TV. Which reminds me, Lost AND American Idol are on tonight.

So kids, I gotta run :)

Food obsessions

2005-02-08T09:42:00.000-08:00

Do you guys ever go through phases in what you eat? See, I always thought that I was a very easy eater - basically, I will eat anything - not too picky. And while I can still say I'm not picky, I have found that I literally become obsessed with one kind of food and will choose to eat that for a meal every. single. day.

Examples? Sushi. My sister always questions my love for sushi. That's because when I first started eating it I couldn't stop, and then a few mnths ago, the mere thought of it made me sick. However, in the last month or two, I have been so obsessed with it that I crave it for every single meal. And I'm telling you that if it is available, I will eat it for EVERY SINGLE MEAL.

Or a really random one for me? Imitation crab. But not just any, it has to be the imitation crab from the Ralph's grocery store's salad bar (Yes, Laura, I do actually eat salad bar foods.) It is sooo delicious and hits the spot. Others may say I'm disgusting, but there has to be more than just me that loves it because they are ALWAYS out of it.

Cereal has become my new obsession. Of course we're talking breakfast here. My love right now? Mother's Groovy Grahams. And so good with soy milk or rice milk. So good, in fact that I literally just had 2.5 bowls of it. I had to ask my coworker to take it away from me. You know, so I still have room for sushi for lunch :)

Do you have any food obsessions right now?

Back to work.

2005-02-07T10:01:00.000-08:00

So here is my weekend in a nutshell:

Friday: Dinner with sister (this included tapas and sangria), followed by a stop at the karaoke bar and some chatting with Mr. Belding of "Saved By the Bell".

Saturday: Driving around in the convertible, a little shopping with Chris, and then I actually had a girls night in (even though I was the only one there) watching my newly-purchased Felicity DVD's and eating some yummmy dinner from Whole Foods Market. I like spending an evening alone every once in a while - it's refreshing. Added celebrity bonus of the evening: I spotted Joshua Jackson (Pacey from "Dawson's Creek") at the grocery store shopping with a woman... does anyone know who he's dating?

Sunday: Woke up, worked out, and then ate for the rest of the afternoon at our friend Gary's house. The game itself? Not too exciting and neither were most of the commercials...except a couple of Bud Light ones. Then Chris and I went home and watched the movie "Little Black Book" with annoying Britney Murphy. The best part of it is Gavin Rossdale's cameo as a coffee-shop guy. Random yet classic.

And now we are back into Monday. And I can already tell you it ain't gonna be a very good day :)

Happy Friday!!!

2005-02-04T14:49:00.000-08:00

And yes, my readers, it is once again my FAVORITE DAY of the week!

And what made it even more special was that during my lunch hour, I just drove around with the top down. The sun was out, the music was blasting, and I had nowhere to go, just an hour of free time. It was more fun than I had thought (except the LA traffic part - that's NEVER fun).

I want to put a picture up so badly but my digital camera is broken if you remember. Hopefully when I see my sister she can help me out with it.

So I may start going a little crazy in the upcoming weeks at work. Not only are we about to start two pilots any day now, but we just got offered another one which could be REALLY GOOD. But three pilots at the same time? You may never see me again.

This weekend should be fun: dinner tonight with Sharoni (sister), go out with a girlfriend tomorrow night, and then the Superbowl on Sunday! Woohoo for tons of crappy food and fabulous commercials. Not to mention the beer and margaritas. Oh yeah, and I guess there's football too.

What are your plans this weekend?

We take a break from regularly scheduled programming....

2005-02-03T21:34:00.000-08:00

IMPORTANT ANOUNCEMENT:

Principessa is creating a monster! Go over to her and read this post as soon as possible to donate to her charity, March of Dimes, and it's special event, Walk America 2005.

The cause is for premature babies, and since I happen to know someone (actually, she's my sister) who was 3 months premature, I consider it to be a VERY important cause.

That, and she's holding a raffle and I have donated a very hard to get GUEST POST from the lovely PrimaDana (that's me, folks)! Hey, if you want some GUARANTEED entertainment on your very own blog, I say you get your butt on over there PRONTO!

(By the way, it must be special cause I'm missing the OC for this!!!)

2005-02-03T09:51:00.000-08:00

Okay, I have a couple of minutes now to update, so I'll try to get out as much as I can...

On Monday I FINALLY got my new car...and it's beautiful: a white Toyota Solara Convertible. It's just the way I had imagined it and wanted it...I'm the luckiest girl!

In other news, as you may remember from last week, casting directors were threatening to strike if they weren't given the benefits and pension plans that they all deserve. There was a mandatory meeting on Tuesday night right after The Steering Committee got out of negotiations, and they told us that we wouldn't have to strike after all, because we are given the right to vote on whether or not we want to unionize, and if so, then we get our benefits. Very good news.

And finally, I was promoted yesterday to a casting asociate. This is good for two reasons. First, I feel like I'm doing a good job and that only pushes me harder. Secondly, now if we do unionize, I will also be eligible for benefits. YAY!

A few days ago, while on the phone with Chris, I was told that this coming Saturday night, he's having a guys night. First off, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The wierd thing is that when we first started dating, I never imagined us to be "that" couple. The ones who have to tell eachother a week in advance that next Saturday night they can't hang out together. It just seems so, I don't know...coupled? Either way, I'm going to go out with my friend Lori so haha Chris, I am having a GIRL'S NIGHT OUT!

Anyway, I must run back to work (well, not RUN, but just sign off blogger). My latte and blueberry muffin await. Adios!

HI FRIENDS...

2005-02-02T13:33:00.000-08:00

Stick with me guys, I've truly been too busy to post, but here are some bullet points:

**I LOVE my car!

**We are NOT going to strike!

**I got PROMOTED!

You heard me!

Guess what guys???

2005-01-31T22:36:00.000-08:00

I got my new car!!!

And it's sooo puuurrrrttty.

Weekend update...

2005-01-31T09:41:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love it when you have a weekend that is surprisingly nice, even when you didn't expect much out of it? Well, that was my weekend.

Minus a couple of bumps.

Such as this: On Friday night, I had made plans to go out for drinks with a guy that I used to work for, and coincidentally also used to date. He works in my industry so we still talk every once in a while, and since it had been a long time since we last saw eachother, we finally made concrete plans.

It's always interesting trying to figure out the right way to tell your current boyfriend that you are going out with an ex for drinks. I was worried that Chris wouldn't take it well...but he did. Chris knows that there is no interest there anymore, and after our meeting, I wonder how I ever was even the slightest bit attracted to the guy. Isn't it funny how you could take a girl and a guy and put them together and there will be a spark, and then put them together during a different time or place in their lives and there is NOTHING? Let's just say that that was the case.

On Saturday the sun was shining and it was absolutely beautiful. After breakfast with my boss, I met up with Chris and friends over at one of our friend's son's bday party. Who knew wine and bouncy-houses were so fun? At night, Chris and I went to dinner and then to an improv comedy show, which surprisingly was a lot funnier than we had anticipated.

Sunday had to have been the most GORGEOUS day. We went down to the beach and rode bikes for an hour (always a fun thing to do), then met my dad for lunch, and ended the day finishing off the Sports Night DVD's (what a fantastic show!) with some Sushi and wine. AAAAHHHHH....

And today it is back to Monday. But the sun is still shining.

I like you guys.

2005-01-27T19:24:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who wrote such nice comments about my last post. A new website that details everything that's going on was created, and if you have a second, go check it out and see all of the amazing quotes we have received supporting our cause.

Today I was given the day off, as it is the calm before the storm and my boss wanted to be nice. However, my nice day was turned into a depressing one because of a particular annoying subject that I have mentioned over and over but do not feel like talking about now, because I may cry. Yes, you heard me. I have now reached the point of CRYING because of this. And I'm talking hours straight of it.

Tonight the OC is on, and until it starts I now promise and go read all of your blogs because I have to admit I have been lagging. Bad Dana!

Oscar Question of the Day...

Best Supporting Actor?
Thomas Haden Church in SIDEWAYS?
Alan Alda in THE AVIATOR?
Jamie Foxx in COLLATERAL?
Clive Owen in CLOSER?
Morgan Freeman in MILLION DOLLAR BABY?

The strike is looming...

2005-01-26T19:44:00.000-08:00

My answer for the Oscar Question?

I love Natalie Portman, but since I never saw Closer and Cate Blanchett was amazing in The Aviatior, I will go for her on that one.

This morning was different than most, as my office and I went to the Writers Guild in Beverly Hills for a press conference for the threatened work stoppage of casting directors and associates. There have been articles written up in some major newspapers recently, so maybe some of you have heard about it. I'll give you a quick idea of what the situation is about. You can also read more about it here.

*Everyone that works on a production, whether it be the actor, director, producers, writers, costumers, props, all the way down to the craft services (the people that provide the fantastic food on set) are unionized.
**Everyone that is, except Casting Directors.
**This means that casting directors and associates are the ONLY people in this industry who do not get health coverage, work protection, and most importantly, pension plans.
**The AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) who happen to represent the studios, are not willing to recognize us casting people as a union. If negotiations are continued and they don't give us what we want and deserve, then we will be forced to strike as early as next Tuesday. SCARY.

Well, this morning's press conference was awesome. The very feared International Brotherhood of Teamsters (the over hundreds of thousands studio drivers, location managers, and location scouts) are on our side, meaning that if need be, ALL of these men will stand with us on the picket line. They have done amazing things like this before and have not failed. I wish I could describe a typical teamster to you. The closest I can compare them is to Tony Soprano from the Sopranos. Heck, I'd be scared if I had to cross them on a picket line!!!

We also had some great guest speakers, including the actresses Marcia Gay Harden (Mystic River) and Megan Mullaly (Will and Grace), while actors such as Tom Arnold, Frances Fisher, and almost the entire cast of The West Wing sat amongst us in the audience to support. "Access Hollywood" and "Extra" were there reporting.

It's sad to see that we even have to go this far to just get treated the same as the rest of our fabulous industry. But if that's what we need to do to get some respect, than so be it!

As Marcia Gay Harden said this morning, the first thing you ask about a movie is "Who's in it?" Without the casting directors, there wouldn't be a cast. People should no longer take our services for granted.

Sorry about the more serious post. Just had to get that off my mind. Any thoughts?

Been really busy...

2005-01-26T08:49:00.000-08:00

And haven't had any time to post.

Later, I promise I'll take some time to post...SINCE IT'S RAINING again in LA.

I'll leave you with the Oscar question of the Day...

Who should win Best Supporting Actress this year?

Cate Blanchett for THE AVIATOR?
Laura Linney for KINSEY?
Virginia Madsen for SIDEWAYS?
Sophie Okenodo for HOTEL RWANDA?
Natalie Portman for CLOSER?

And why?

Was it worth it?

2005-01-24T19:56:00.000-08:00

Coming home tonight, I decided to be productive by cleaning up my apartment as thoroughly as possible.

Outcome?

Dry, cracked hands, a headache beyond belief, and a big bleach stain on my shirt.

I'm taking this as a sign that cleaning should no longer be allowed.

Can I have some cheese with my whine?

2005-01-24T10:46:00.000-08:00

So, the weekend of fumigation is officially over. I have to admit, I was a tad bit worried about spending the entire weekend over at Chris's. Even though it wasn't necessarilly any different than what I do on many weekends, I suppose the idea that I had no place to "escape" scared me a bit. But it went fairly smoothly with only a couple of bumps in the road.

The weather was gorgeous - in the 70's both days. I feel badly for all of you in the Midweast and Northeast... believe me, I see the pictures. Too bad I DON'T HAVE MY CONVERTIBLE YET, or maybe I would be able to enjoy my drive on the Pacific Coast Highway A LITTLE MORE!!! (Do you get the sense that I am frustrated beyond belief with my car situation???)

Speaking of the car, this is a quick rundown of the situation:
**On December 15, I go to Toyota and sign the lease for the Solara Convertible. They need to install a GPS system so they tell me it is only available for pickup come Dec. 30.
**On December 31st, I go to Toyota to pick up my new car only to find that they installed the WRONG navigation system. Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal except for the fact that they installed one that didn't fit the alloted area, didn't match, and was a different brand.
**They tell me that they have to find a car that is factory made with the GPS system that I thought I had ordered already.
**They also tell me that this will be a three day search.
**On January 8, they tell me that they wont be able to find the car for at least another week.
**The problem here is that I have to return my Nissan to it's dealership by the 12th.
**On January 11, I return my Nissan and struggle to get Toyota to cover a rental for me until they find the car.
**They do rent me a car, and promise that by January 17th, my car will be ready.
**Well, the 17th comes and goes, and then they promise that by the 20, my car will be ready.
**The 20th comes and goes, and they give me the final guarantee that my car will be ready by TODAY, JANUARY 24th.

Get it? Today!!!

Hey, ya think it's ready?

Yeah, I knew you were smarter than that :)

Did I mention that fumigation sucks???

2005-01-21T09:20:00.000-08:00

So, there is some good news and some bad news regarding the fumigation that I'm having to go through this weekend.

The good news is...
*it made me do my spring cleaning (albeit in the winter) in my kitchen and my bathroom. For the first time in a VERY LONG TIME, my roommate and I went through all of our kitchen cabinets and refrigerator and threw away anything that we felt we didn't need and would never use. This includes the quart sized jar of olives and the extra large box of super fiber cereal that sits on top of our fridge.
*same goes for my bathroom. I went through every single one of my lotions, shampoos, soaps, perfumes, etc., and threw away things that were so expired it's embarrasing to tell you by how much. My home feels a little less "heavy".

The bad news is...
*I spent about 4 hours last night doing this.
*My hands feel dry and yucky from all the cleaning materials that I used.
*Almost everything I own now is either in a bag in my apartment or in a bag in my car. I became extra paranoid that all my belongings would be ruined so I pretty much just took them all to my trunk. My car is now 5 gazillion tons heavy.
*I got absolutely NO sleep last night. This is because a) I couldn't fall asleep, b) I woke up on the hour, every hour (except for five times during the six'o'clock hour) thinking that I had overslept and was going to be fumigated along with the building AND the termites, and c) because we had to wake up at 7.
*I just remembered that I left my only plant in the house. That means I am a killer :(
*Wait. I'm really sad about the last thing.

In other news, HAPPY FRIDAY!!! This weekend I am staying at Chris's, so my plan is to enjoy the sun either by his pool or at the beach, hopefully (cross your fingers) get my car, and just have fun in general.

What about you? What are your plans?

Fumigation Sucks.

2005-01-20T10:06:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have never had their homes fumigated, this is the process that must be taken:

-You get these large clear plastic bags from the company. You DOUBLE bag all of your food, condiments (for me, that will be it's own bag), spices, and open bottles of alcohol. Notice how they say double bag. I may triple bag knowing the paranoid that I am.

-You then proceed to double bag ALL of your toiletries. I mean, your shampoos, soaps, lotions, shaving creams, EVERYTHING!!! Do you know how much stuff I have that goes into this category??? Yeah, I may need 18 bags.

-I'm also going to take all of my bedding with me. Not that you need to, but more because I don't want to have to fight with my whole apartment building over the washing machines upon return on Sunday night.

-Tomorrow morning I have to be off the premises by 8 AM! I mean, they couldn't have made it 9? I only have to be at work at 9:30, and my commute to work is sometimes less than 3 minutes (yeah, I know...poor me!) Oh well, I guess I'll just have to park myself over a bagel and a latte at Starbucks.

I suppose life could be worse.

In TV news, Lost was awesome last night. I never thought I'd get so into a scary drama show, since most of everything I like tends to be reality / comedy, but this show is just sooo good. It just gets better every week. I missed last night's American Idol but I heard it was better than the first nights. Oh, and I watched Tuesday night's episode of "Amazing Race". I can't tell you how happy I am that Jonathan and Victoria were eliminated. Those two were hurting my ears already.

"Point Pleasant" started last night. Since I helped cast the pilot episode, I had seen it already, but some of the characters were recast, so I had to watch it. Did you guys? What did you think?

Pop Culture and termites. Yes, I am random.

2005-01-19T09:58:00.000-08:00

Who actually was crazy enough to sit through 2 HOURS of American Idol last night?

Oh, yeah. That would be me.

I've watched American Idol on and off for the last three seasons, so I can definitely be classified as a fan. But in all honesty, how many times can we watch the William Hung-esque auditions that are so bad they make you want to cover your eyes out of embarrasment for them? What I still like, even though people may say that it's old, is Simon Cowell and his remarks. Watching him is pure entertainment. He acts as if there is nothing less in the world that he wants to do at that particular moment then be on this show. "Acts" being the key word. Because you know he loves it.

This weekend, they are fumigating the apartment building that I live in. For termites. YUCK! The whole building (and it's a LARGE one) has to be out of their homes by 8 am on Friday, and may not return until after 5 pm on Sunday. That, and we have to bag up everything that is ingestible in the house and put it in the refrigerator. I almost feel like I shouldn't go home for 3 weeks after a serious fumigation, right? I mean, there has got to be some poison leftover once the termites are dead!

I'm ALIVE!

2005-01-18T10:25:00.000-08:00

Aaahhh... to be back from a three-day weekend is never vey fun:)

My weekend was really great though. On Friday night, I met up with my best friend at a gay bar in West Hollywood. I'll put it this way... when there is two for one margaritas, fun gay boys, and your best friend, fun is gonna be had.

On Saturday, I hung out with my sister and my mom for lunch, and then took Chris down to the OC where my friend Jill was having a party. It was important for Chris to come along, as sometimes I feel like neither he nor my friends know eachother all that well. That's because I hardly have time to see my friends, and when I do see them, its usually for a girls night out. Well, it ended up being a blast - beer pong, poker, wine, music. We all had a great time and as far as I know, everyone liked Chris :)

Sunday was my hungover day mentioned in the last post. I ended up teaching my workshop which was a ton of fun, and then went over to Chris's for the Golden Globes. And I was really happy about them. Some great winners and didn't everyone look so beautiful???

Finally, yesterday I went with Chris to see "Million Dollar Baby" after hearing so many good things about it. It was fantastic. Cried my eyes out, but I really loved it. Go see it. And take kleenex.

Well, I suppose I must go back to work :)

P.S> I still haven't gotten my car. For those of you who don't know, it has been 20 days now that Toyota is lagging. I'm about to cry.

Blah.

2005-01-16T13:55:00.000-08:00

I am hungover.

How in the world am I going to be able to teach a workshop to 30 people in 2 hours?

And more importantly, how in the world am I going to be able to choose between Desperate Housewives and the Golden Globes tonight???

Obviously TV is the most important thing in my life.

2005-01-13T10:29:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who told me things about them that I didn't know. Believe me, some things things I probably still don't want to know. Just kidding.

Yesterday was a stressful day at work. We're still casting this pilot that has been going on for over 17 weeks and we have found NO ONE. I think we have honestly seen every single actor and actress between the ages of 22 and 32. It's getting quite ridiculous. But we're testing some girls at the studio today so I'm hoping things change a bit. Keep your fingers crossed.

I also have the wonderful task of finding a good, easy online traffic school for my boss. She's a self-confessed moron at the computer, so any help I can give her she needs. Do you by any chance know any good ones?

Lst night I watched "In Good Company" on DVD at Chris's house. He got it through a coworker through the Producer's Guild. Cute movie...a little un-developed at some parts, but I absolutely LOVE the cast. Who knew Dennis Quaid was so likeable...and what was Meg Ryan thinking when she left him??? I think you should see it this weekend when it opens wide.

I just said "opens wide". I can't believe that my mind just went there. HeeHee.

And tonight we have yet another episode of The OC. I'm willing to bet it wont be nearly as good as last weeks, but hey, I gotta give it a shot.

A little bit about you...

2005-01-11T22:35:00.000-08:00

OH MY GOD I just had the most disturbing experience. I was flipping through channels and landed on "The Surreal Life". Since I was utterly disappointed with last season, I told myself that I wasn't going to start watching it again.

And then I saw Verne Troyer. You know, Mini-Me! But wait, that's not all.... He was NAKED, on his skooter, wasted, peeing in the corner of the gym. I can't shake the gross image out of my head. I wish it only upon my enemies :)

So, this next thing is a variation of something I got from Debby. Many times I wonder more about you guys, the fabulous readers. So I want you to tell me more about YOU (50 percent of why I continuously write on this thing). So regular commenters and lurkers alike, do me the following favor pretty please, with sugar on top???

Tell me where you live right now, and then tell me three odd things about you that I don't already know.

I'll start:

I live in Hollywood, CA
1. I sleep with Skooter everynight religiously. He is a stuffed animal dog (shh, don't tell him I told you!) that Chris bought me last Valentine's Day. He has since completely become part of mine and Chris's little family. It's sick at times, I know. But I just can't help it. And he's the best cuddler.
2. I could eat Raisinets for breakfast, lunch and dinner and be a VERY happy person.
3. Many mornings after I get out of the shower, I find myself doing crazy interprative dances in front of the mirror naked. I then realize what I would do if someone saw me and I break down laughing at myself.

YOUR TURN!!! (And I mean ALL of you)...

The end of an era.

2005-01-10T19:36:00.000-08:00

That's what Courtney Cox and Jennifer Aniston said on the set of the last episode of "Friends". It's also what people said when the six season "Sex and the City" culminated last year.

But it better describes how I feel today, after dropping off my Nissan Pathfinder at the dealer after 3 years and three months of a fabulous car/owner relationship.

I leased my silver SUV in October of 2001. It was when I was a junior in college. I remember being in LA over the weekend and knowing that it was time to trade in my beat-up 1995 Jetta, I forced my mom to join me at the Nissan dealership so she could see the car I had my eye on. We test drove the nicest one that they had on the lot: leather, power everything, 6 CD player, navigation system and GPS, and even a VCR in the back. Needless to say, I fell in love. Since my sister and stepbrother also needed new cars at the time and liked the Nissan as well, we all got a great deal. Two days later, I drove off the lot with it.

The following day I had to drive up north to Santa Barbara, where I was going to school. I remember the drive like yesterday. It was sunny, and I had the windows down. I was cruising the 101, through Ventura County overlooking the ocean, absolutely loving life. Listening to Dave Matthews on the radio, smoking a cigarette (when I used to smoke), anxious to get back and show my friends. I will never forget that drive.

My Nissan was with me for numerous days and nights of me and my girlfriends listening to our music and singing along like we were Britney Spears.

My Nissan was with me through the times of anxiety and depression following 9/11 and my grandfather's death.

My Nissan was with me through all my dating mishaps and Sex and the City-esque experiences I had while in college.

My car was with me the numerous times I drove it to Vegas - whether it was with the girls, or one particular time, when my friend Jill and I sat in the back seat and watched episodes of Sex and the City while our two guy friends drove the full five hours (OK, that is the THIRD time I've mentioned Sex and the CIty in this post).

My Nissan was with me when I turned 21. I wasn't in the car necessarily, but it sang Happy Birthday from the driveway. I know it did.

It was with me as I graduated from UCSB and took that lonely drive back to LA with just me and my clothes.

It was with me when I got my first job in the entertainment industry, fell in love with Chris, and finally started to feel secure in a stable job.

Although I turned in my car today, I will never forget the memories I had with it.

So, to me, today was an end of an era.

Rainy Sunday

2005-01-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

IT'S STILL RAINING!

LA has turned into one big puddle over night. My mom's nice house in the Hollywood Hills has leaks all over the 2nd floor. The cars are all driving ten miles per hour. I'm having a bad hair day.

Yesterday Chris and I and some of our friends went to Barney's Beanery to watch the Illinois Basketball games and some football. I'm not that much of a football fan, but since Chris is, I try to get involved. After all, he used to watch Sex and the City every sunday night with me.

Speaking of Sunday night TV, tonight we have a fabulous lineup: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, followed by Desperate Housewives, and then the new show Unscripted, which I'm very excited about being in casting and all.

Perfect for a rainy Sunday :) I hope yours are just as nice...

Happy Friday!!!

2005-01-07T11:01:00.000-08:00

First things first: TV. Last night's episode of the OC completely redeemed itself after a string of sub-par episodes since the beginning of the new season. It was written well, with many lines that actually made me laugh out loud. Wardrobe finally got their heads cleared, since even Misha Barton was dressed well. It gave me hope that maybe the show wasn't a one-season wonder like I had thought earlier this season.

Last night on TV during every single commercial break was a teaser for the morning news. Why such a big deal? Because LA was expecting another storm to come late last night. Now, I'm sure most of you are aware that in LA, our average weather is 72 and sunny. So when there is just a little drizzle it usually turns into "Storm Watch 2005" on the nightly news in BIG RED LETTERS. Well, since there was going to be a bigger than normal storm coming in, the news completely embraced it. Not only did one network put reporters in ten different sites to report what the storm was doing EXACTLY at that spot, but they were starting their morning newscast at 4:30 am instead of 5 am. As if a little rain were a world crisis!!!

I told Chris last night that it would just be too funny if we woke up and it actually was 72 and sunny. Well, it wasn't. It was 56, windy, and rainy. Yuck!

Well, I've gotta get back to work. HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Time flies when you're....not having fun?

2005-01-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it's already Thursday? It's funny how there are some weeks where you are counting the minutes, and then others where you don't know where the time went.

This week has been crazy for me: moving offices, getting everything together since coming back from Chicago, dealing with my car etc...

So busy that I haven't had time to return any emails in over a week. Emails from college friends, exes, even one from an elementary school friend.

So busy that I haven't had time to pay my bills that are due today. Ouch!

So busy that my hair's roots are over an inch, and my nails are long overdue for a manicure.

So busy that had enough time to read all my favorite blogs this week.

But not too busy to watch LOST last night. What did you guys think by the way?

My resolution this weekend is to take care of things that I haven't had the chance to this week. Good luck to me!

Orange Bowl...

2005-01-05T09:42:00.000-08:00

Last night I went to Chris's house after work to watch the end of the Orange Bowl with a bunch of (thankfully) USC fans... I say thankfully only because I have no idea how Oklahoma fans must have felt after losing so badly after last night's game. I'm not either a USC fan or a Oklahoma fan or even a football fan, so I suppose none of this even applies to me anyway :)

What I did find out about the game this morning that I missed last night was Ashlee Simpson's horrific performance during halftime. I should preface this by saying that I have been a fan of Ashlee Simpson for a long time, ever since she started out on her reality show. I thought she was cute, real, and I have to be honest here...I love her album. I stood up for her during her horrible SNL spectacle. But after hearing her awful performance last night of her song "You Make Me Wanna..." followed by a long set of boos, I can honestly say that I have a hard time standing up for her anymore.

Ashlee: Do us all a favor and PLEASE go get a voice coach. Or just stick with partying and showing up on the cover of US weekly.

I guess my plans changed...

2005-01-03T20:54:00.000-08:00

I just now read the end of my last post which stated that I was going to spend my New Years Eve on my couch with champagne and cookies.

How wrong could I have been?

Chris and I decided at around seven that evening that we were going to cook a big dinner, get drunk on wine, and then go to a great dive bar near his house. So we went to the store, bought tons of groceries, champagne, wine, and vodka. When we got to his house we saw that his roommate was there watching a movie. He had tentative plans to go to a big party in the Hollywood Hills but Chris and I could both tell that he wasn't really in the mood for that. Since his girlfriend was still in Georgia visiting family, we figured why not have him join us in our own festivities. Plus, it didn't hurt that he used to be a chef at a restaurant. We had him do a lot of the cooking while Chris and I did a lot of the drinking.

Well Chris did anyway. By the time we left to go to The Cozy (the bar), Chris was wasted. That equals hilarity. I laughed so hard at him that night because I rarely see him that way. Usually he is the more sober, rational one and I am the loud one.

We got to the bar, where there was a good amount of people but not too many, picked up some noisemakers and more drinks (Chris's drink of choice at that point was water) and just partied. It was a good crazy time, where we all did things we would have been ashamed of if it were recorded. Chris even got down on one knee to ask me to move in with him...

The next day had to have been the MOST hungover Chris and I had been in a LONG time. We spent the morning on the couch, got up to get stuff for lunch at the store, ate greasy grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for lunch, got back on the couch, and got up again at night to rent a movie at Blockbuster, and then right back on the couch for the rest of the night. As you can see, alcohol makes people very productive.

Yesterday was all about tying up loose ends and running some errands before work started back up today (**Weep**). In fact, today was even more stressful than normal as we moved offices about fifteen blocks away. It should be interesting in new offices - a little bit of a change for the new year I suppose. We shall see.

Oh, and I'm sure you never thought that there could be HAIL in LA, right? Well, there was tons of it today, along with a huge lightning show and thunderstorms. Ah, the joys of winter.

Nothing like rain in LA

2004-12-31T09:00:00.000-08:00

This is so my luck:

Chris and I got back to LA from Chicago yesterday to find RAIN. Not just pitter-patter-on-your-window-rain, but rain-that-woke-me-up-this-morning-because-it-is-raining-that-hard-rain.

And? I have a leak in my windowsill meaning that I have a large amount of water dripping right around my lovely eMac. I guess builders here in LA people didn't prepare for rain?

And again? MY car is ready. Remember? My CONVERTIBLE! So my beautiful convertible is sitting on the Toyota lot until I come and pick it up. But half of me doesn't even want to get in it for the first time without putting the top down.

Just thought: do you think the insides of covertibles are waterproof?

I'm off to do a workout, it will be the first in a long two weeks of eating and being lazy...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

EDITED TO ADD: I just realized how trivial my problems are. I can't believe that I even allowed myself to think, for even one second, that I have problems. Just look at any news source to see the devastation in Southeast Asia and you will see that THAT is a tragedy.

Rain? A Convertible? It's embarrassing for me to read over.

At the coming of a new year, I am grateful for my personal health and the health of those surrounding me, my wonderful family and friends, and the fact that I have a roof over my head (even if there are leaks in it).

Have a wonderful New Year everyone. If you wanna stop by, you can find me on my couch with champagne, cookies, and the TV.

Home Sweet Home!!!

2004-12-30T16:52:00.000-08:00

I have officially returned safely from my short and sweet trip to Chicago :) Safely I say, but in reality, you should have seen me on the return flight.

Now, I'm pretty sure that I mentioned it before, but flying isn't really something I enjoy. Don't get me wrong. If need be, I will fly...no doubt. But if only I could just skip the takeoff my life would be a whole lot easier. I got lucky on the flight there. Flying alone scares me more than anything, so my mom's advice was to just start talking to the person next to me, and hopefully it would get my mind of the fact that I was on a plane. Sure enough, the girl that sat next to me happened to be awesome. She works as an assistant to a producer on the same studio lot that Chris works, and we even share some mutual friends. So not only was the flight smooth and anxiety-free, I made a new friend too!

Getting to Chicago was uite a laugh on Chris's part. He picked me up from the airport with a Venti Hot Chocolate from Starbucks. He told me that I would need it. "Why?" I asked. I had been in cold before, what's the big deal? When I walked outside into the 5 degree weather, my body almost went into shock. I had steam comiing out of my nostrils like a dragon, my jeans froze. I even started coughing because my lungs were just getting adjusted. hris, his brother, and his sister could do nothing but laugh at me.

I couldn't believe it as we drove 45 minutes into the suburbs. I swear the place is out of the movies. His parents live in a beautiful house in a cul de sac right on a lake. All the neighboring houses were covered in Christmas lights...it was just incredible. Their house itself was warm and cozy, with a huge Christmas tree covered by lights and filled with presents under it. I immediately felt at home.

The next two days were a blur, filled with Midnight Mass (mind you, I'm Jewish so this was a first for me), thousands of presents, more family than you could believe, and food. I could go on for hours telling you about the stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, turkey, ham, desserts (oh my God the desserts!!!), dips, appetizers, wines. It was INSANE and my body is no doubt showing for it :)

We went downtown on Monday and is downtown Chicago an INCREDIBLE city!?! Other than the fact that my face froze about seven times, I was floored looking at Wrigley Field, Michigan Avenue, and just the buildings and the architecture. Everything was beautiful - the hootels, restaurants, the shops, even the ESPN zone where Chris and I spent an hour. For dinner we went to the amazing Geja's Cafe where we sat for three hours drinking Merlot and eating the most incredible fondue ever. If you're ever in Chicago and need a romantic spot to go, I highly suggest it!

The next night we went out to dinner with four of Chris's highschool buddies and their respective wives / fiancees / girlfriends. For some reason, people marry very young in that area of the country...in fact we are invited to two weddings back in Chicago on June 11 and June 25 - both are Chris's friends from grade school. Everyone was really nice and I could tell Chris was happy to be with all the people he cares about in one place.

I'm just now realizing this is a long post. I'll just end off saying that this trip taught me so much more about my boyfriend. It made me really fall more in love with him too see him with his amazing family and his wonderful friends. Now I get to put a past behind someone I have only known for the last year and a half. I am grateful for that. Thanks for reading :)

CHICAGO!

2004-12-29T07:23:00.000-08:00

Well hello everyone!!!

I don't have more than 5 minutes to post - I'm on Chris's parent's laptop and it's the first time that I've been alone in about 5 days - and I'm NOT being sarcastic. When I get home tomorrow I'll be able to post more in detail about my trip, but for now, I can just say that it's been very nice to be here. I've met all of Chris's family, most of his friends, shopped in beautiful downtown Chicago, and ate enough for an army. But hey, if you don't eat in the Midwest, there isn't much else to do :)

First I must link to my sister who, for the longest time, didn't really understand my love for blogging. She was one of those people that questioned why someone would want to post information about themselves on the internet. Well, I leave to Chicago for a few days and not only has she started a wonderful blog, but she's already got tons of blogfriends. Go visit her if you get a chance.

Unfortunately, the horrible tragedy in Southeast Asia and for me, especially Thailand, makes me extremely sad. You see, my sister, mom, and 4 other members of our family were there on the Thai island of Phuket EXACTLY a year ago. No wonder so many people go there - it was my picture of heaven. And if not for other plans that were made a few months ago, my mom and stepdad would have been there as we speak, and who knows what could have happened. The feeling that I get when I turn on the news and see the destruction and the disaster is a horrible uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach... just too close to home. To me, whenever I meditate or have to think of my most peaceful place, I visualize laying on the beautiful beach of Phuket, thinking that nothing in the world could go wrong when things feel so perfect. I only wonder how many people felt the same way when the horrible tsunami occured.

Well, I must go and, I don't know, eat? I'll update with more detail tomorrow.

My life is crazy...

2004-12-23T09:02:00.000-08:00

Sorry I didn't post yesterday... apparently I am old and when a night of sushi and sake turn into hours of karaoke and kir royals, I have a hard time functioning the next day. But it was so much fun to hang out with Stephy again...with a boyfriend sometimes it's gets a little hard to hang out with your girlfriends as much as you really want to. Plus, who doesn't love watching your friend get up on stage and sing Pat Benetar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"?

I had a VERY annoying incident yesterday regarding my new BEAUTIFUL digital camera. I just bought it at the end of October from Best Buy. I also made sure to buy a thirty dollar case so that I could take good care of it. However, when I pulled it out of its case last week I was shocked that the LCD screen seemed to have been punctured under the surface. Well, being the paranoid that I am, I also spent an additional fifty dollars on a 1-year warranty upon purchase. So, I thought, "big deal, I'll tae it to Best Buy and I'll exchange it".

Um, apparently it's not that easy. It doesn't matter that I spent extra money on a warranty or that I personally didn't damage the screen... Best Buy will not exchange or return it! I am not exagerrating when I say that I spent an hour at customer service crying. The whole thing was $400!!! Of my own, hard-earned money!!! Ugh, I could still cry about it now. Maybe I should start a camera fundraiser...

I must go now...packing is upon me. Did I tell you that I leave tomorrow moorning to Chicago...at 7:50 am. And that's when my plane departs! So I have to be in a cab at 5:30 am tomorrow morning. There may be a grinch somewhere in me.

I hope I'll be able to update from Chris's parents house. Either way, Merry Christmas to everyone!!! This year has really been awesome with starting this blog and meeting all of my blogfriends :) You guys really make me start my day with a smile.

Shopping again???

2004-12-21T17:31:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago when I started my holiday shopping, I was so proud of myself for not procrastinating because I was getting everything done before the holiday rush.

So then why, 4 days before Christmas, do I still find myself going to a mall? Let me just start by saying that if there is traffic around the mall, it should all be attributed to the cars that are slowly inching their way in and out of the parking structure. And I will emphasize the word SLOWLY. Another thing I noticed is how smart it is to valet park at a mall. Sure, you're paying $6 for something that is usually free or $1.00 at the most, but it saves time and a lot of stress.

Now, I know that most stores hire people just for the holidays, but just one question: Are these people trained??? In almost every store we went into, the employees had this look of despair and confusion. I think I actually knew more about the Godiva chocolates then they did (and no, it's not because I am a serious chocoholic).

This morning, I went to The Grove to buy a couple of things for my upcoming trip to Chicago. I felt a little better about my shopping addiction after seeing everyone carrying ten bags that were bigger than them. Since I had to buy a couple of books, I went to Barnes and Noble, where not only did I enjoy a cappucino, but I also was delighted to have a few star sightings. I was most excited about Peter Reckell, as I remember watching "Days of Our Lives" in the early eighties. He was having Christmas gifts wrapped (which happened to be a thesaurus and a dictionary - thankfully he's not my friend) and we exchanged a few words. I even called him "Bo" and told him to say hi to "John Black". Okay, anyone who doesn't watch "Days" must be a little confused.

So that's that. I now must go and get ready...I'm meeting my friend Stephanie for sushi and sake. Cheers!

Guess what I did?

2004-12-20T17:55:00.000-08:00

Well, lets see what I did thiis last weekend...

I shopped, saw friends, watched movies and drank wine (see post below), and, oh yeah...

I GOT A NEW CAR!!!

Isn't it absolutely beautiful?? I got it in the light silver, with dark grey leather interior. Fully loaded and everything. And I only pick it up on the 2nd of January because I'm getting the Navigation GPS installed. Happy New Years to me!!!

Today was our last day of work for the year, and subsequently our last day in the office that we are in because we move on the 3rd of January. Our new offices are only about 15 blocks away and in a really great part of Hollywood, so I'm sorta looking forward to that. But not the actual heavy lifting part... that I leave to the movers.

I can officially say that I have an addiction to Holiday present shopping. I mean, I literally spent almost 1000 dollars on everything. But the majority is going to Chris, and for fear that he may be reading from Chicago, I cannot say much more until after he opens them. My only question is, do I take all my presents to Chicago for him to open them and bring them right back? Or do I take pictures of all the presents and have him get them when he comes back? I mean, we can all agree that people like to actually rip open wrapping paper instead of flipping through pics, but I have to be sensible...Although I can always bring extra suitcases...

Ah, the weekend!

2004-12-18T15:37:00.000-08:00

Well, it's Saturday, and I can safely say that I'm feeling better than I was a couple of days ago. I'm happy you enjooyed Chris's post. He did it without any pushing from me and it really warmed my heart. Too bad I was too sick to read it well when he first posted it.

Chris is right now on his way to Chicago, which left me good time today to shop for his X-Mas presents. I would tell you what great things I found for him, but I couldn't possibly ruin the surprise because I have a feeling he may read this.

I was also looking forward to a Saturday night that I could hang out with my girlfriends, but funny enough...EVERY SINGLE one of them has othr plans tonight. So it looks like I may be ordering in, drinking a glass of red wine, and watching "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" tonight. Hey, every girl's gotta do it sometime!

How were your Saturdays?

Timeout on the field...

2004-12-16T19:00:00.000-08:00

Alright kiddies, it's go time. You all demanded it, and so I shall deliver. Okay, well some of you demanded it...fine so only maybe one of you demanded that I should guest BLOG for Dana. But with that in mind, plus the fact that Dana is out with a fever/ cold, it is now my turn to step in and embarrass the crap out of her. Oh this is going to be fun....BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

So here are a few things that you may not know about "primadana"...in no particular order.

1) HER LOVE OF CONDIMENTS.
By condiments i do mean, ketchup, mustard, etc. She's never met one she doesn't like. I have imagined many times, buying her a holster as a present. And this holster would have slots in it for her various condiments so that when she goes out to eat she could access any one of them on the quickdraw. "Tobasco?" No problem. "Ranch Dressing" Done. Olive Oil? You got it.

And as an addition to the comdiment thing, Dana takes her meals very seriously. I get such a kick out of watching her eat. I mean i thought my dad was bad when he would arrange his plate in a particular order every night (vegetables on the left, meat on the right, bread in the back). But Dana and her food preparation would kick his A**. Every forkful she puts into her mouth must be assembled into what she calls the "perfect bite". The food must be cut just so, and put onto the fork...just so; and if necessary topped off with the condiment of her choice. Only then is the food worthy to enter her mouth.
She's like a general surveying the battelfield and trying to decide her next plan of attack. "Lieutenant!! Take that fork around the left flank, take out that piece of Salmon. Coronel!! You take the knife down the middle and take care of that rice! And Sergeant!! I want you to standby, we're going to finish them off with a little mustard!!" Most meals never stand a chance...

2) She tends to slip and talk using her mom's accent A LOT.
Dana's mom is Hungarian, I do believe; but raised in Israel. Dana has a particular affection for talking like her mom, using her thick Israeli accent. In fact she does it so often, that now i find MYSELF doing it too. For instance, if something went wrong a normal person would curse and say "Shit!" Dana on the other hand hasn't officially pronounced the word "shit" properly since i have known her, instead when she says it, it sounds more like "Sheeet!" Now i encourage you to first pronounce it the correct way, and then try the Dana way and see if it makes you laugh b/c it always cracks me up.

Also from her reportoire: Instead of the phrase "Oh my god!" try..."Oh my Gahhhhd!"

3) She always looks at herself in the mirror from the side but instead of standing up straight, she arches back so it looks like her stomach is poking out. And only THEN does she mutter the phrase "Oh my gahhhd I'm fat" If she actually stood up straight she would see that isn't the case. I have a feeling she isn't the only woman to do this, what do you guys think?

Well I think i have sufficiently embarassed her enough, i'll save the others for later. This being my first crack at Blogging, i hope it didn't put you all to sleep. Perhaps i will sub in again at some point in the future; I know seeing daily comments from all you faithful readers puts a smile on her face and that makes me happy so keep it up!! Happy Holidays to you all,

Chris
(a.k.a the boyfriend)

New additions to blogger!

2004-12-16T11:20:00.000-08:00

Today is a very exciting day for the blogger world! Why, you ask?

Well two of my very good friends whom I've known since I was 16 years old have decided to start their own blogs.

First, there is Dave. He lives in NY and is absolutely hilarious.

Then, there's Neuman who lives here in LA and is the most sarcastic guy I know.

Go say hi if you have a chance. Hey, if I love them, then you will too.

Yay for boyfriend!

2004-12-15T17:51:00.000-08:00

I know that this may not be a big deal to some of you, but my boyfriend Chris eventually caved in and commented on my blog yesterday. This is what he said:

"You should all know, my girlfriend is the best. She brought me soup and toast last night. And for the record; it was food poisoning (which i do not recommend to anyone) not the stomach flu!"
Chris (a.k.a the boyfriend)

He's been reading it for some time now, but never has said a word. I'm so happy he finally did.

Sick and topless

2004-12-15T10:02:00.000-08:00

Cough, cough.
Sniffle, sniffle.

On the plus side, I am renting a car while my car is getting fixed and guess what? It's a convertible!

Although driving with the top down isn't nearly as much fun when you can't swallow :(

S-I-C-K!

2004-12-14T09:36:00.000-08:00

I'm annoyed.

I mean, if I'm supposed to be sick, can't I just be full-on sick? Like, coughing, sneezing, stuffy nose, sore throat sick? Instead, ever since Sunday night I have been feeling half-sick. Tired, a little sneezing here and there, and the dryest, scratchiest throat ever. And even though I'm not fully sick, I still give myself that excuse for not working out and eating yummy comfort foods and drinking A LOT of hot chocolate. So, in turn, I end up feeling half sick AND lazy and fat.

That's not nearly as bad as my poor Chris, who called me a few minutes ago and told me that he wasn't going in to work today because he got the stomach flu! Literally heartbreaking news to me. I just imagine poor Chris, gaunt and sick in bed with a trash can next to him.

Oh, who am I kidding? He's totally playing Halo 2 and stopping every hour to watch an episode of Sports Night. He'll be fine... At least he will be when I bring him chicken noodle soup after work.

Weekend chaos...

2004-12-13T09:53:00.000-08:00

Wow, am I tired.

Who would have thought that 3 straight days of parties would completely exhaust me. I'm still young, how in the world did I do it for a straight semester in college???

Friday night ended up being pretty fun over at my Mom's house. Really good food, a lot of people, and you know its a good party when my mom starts dancing alone in the middle of the room to Andy Williams.

Saturday, Chris and I went shopping for about five hours straight. Managed to cross some people off the list though (is it just me or are you too feeling like you are spending your year's salary on Christmas presents?). At night we went to our other friend's party. If I can say one thing about their parties, it's FOOD. She makes such a spread everytime we're there. I stupidly ate a little dinner before going, but by the time we left their house, I had ingested 14 lbs of cheese, chocolate, crackers, chips, champagne, and cake. Wow, there is a theme of C-foods that I just noticed!

On Sunday after another couple of hours of shopping, Chris and I went down to Manhattan Beach where another couple that we are friends with was having a party. Of course the first thing I saw when we got there was... more food! We hung out for a bit with just the two of them until other people arrived. The couple whose house it was are getting married next year. And another couple that I've seen on certain occasions for a while now just announced their engagement. There was a good hour there that I found myself in a circle of girls comparing their wedding rings. I almost felt like they kept on looking at me like I was the outcast, almost like "you don't have a ring on your finger...what are YOU doing here?" I'm sure it was just in my head though.

At around 6pm last night we headed down to the beach which happened to only be about four houses away. There was the most amazing fireworks show I had ever seen. It was beautiful. After that, Chris and I went home and topped off the crazy weekend with a relaxing night of Extreme Makeover Home Edition and Desperate Housewives.

What I hate is when you wake up on Monday mornings and feel like the only thing you really need is another weekend.

I hope all your weekends were great too!

Career Friday

2004-12-10T08:54:00.000-08:00

YAY!!! Happy Friday!!

Is it just me or has this week been the LONGEST week yet? Is it because we are counting down the days, no, the minutes until vacation? Either way, I initially thought that my last day of work was the 17th, but because we are moving offices, it's now going to be the 22nd or possibly the 23rd! How does my boss think that I'll fit in Christmas shopping with all of that work?

I brought a good conversation up yesterday at lunch. My question was "If you could have any other career than what career you're in currently, what would it be"?

My answer? Have you ever seen "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days"? Well, I would love to be a magazine reporter like Kate Hudson. Where I write about trivial things week to week, but I get to go to social events, meet interesting people, but most importantly, I would love the idea of people enjoying my writing. Kinda like a blog I guess.

So, why don't you tell me what you do for a living and then what you WOULD do if you could choose anything else?

T-Shirt messages

2004-12-09T16:02:00.000-08:00

Today I'm wearing a T-Shirt that says "Be Nice to Little Things" in the middle.

This morning at Starbucks one of the guys who works there and knows me well (because I go there religiously every morning) complimented me on it.

Then as I was adding the two Splendas to my latte, he looked at me and said "how about "Be Nice to Big Things". Do they have a t-shiirt that says that?"

Yeah, so what if he was tall. Was he trying to say something about me?

And yes, I am neurotic.

Party Hopping

2004-12-08T11:07:00.000-08:00

I just found out that I have a holiday party to go to EVERYDAY.THIS.WEEKEND!

Friday Night: Mom's Hanukkah party. Sounds boring, right? Not the way my mom does it. We have a bartender from one of the Hollywood hot spots AND a DJ.

Saturday night: Christmas party at my friend's place. Don't know how its gonna be, all I know is that when I went there for Thanksgiving I think I drank two bottles of champagne to myself!

Sunday afternoon / evening: Holiday party at the beach! Sounds random, but with warm clothes and maybe some baileys and hot chocolate, the party could be a blast. Especially since there is a huge fireworks show at 7pm.

With all of this, when am I going to find time to sleep?

To be a star!

2004-12-07T09:33:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things to do in the mornings is check my comments. No matter how stupid or lame the post was from the day, I still get great feedback from you. So thank you for your words.

When I do eventually break up with my Pathfinder on January 12, I will be (hopefully) getting a Toyota Solara convertible. They are gorgeous (in my opinion) and what better time is there to get a convertible if not when I'm 23, young, and irrational?? Well, maybe not ALWAYS irrational. Plus, living in LA, its sunny about 11.5 months out of the year.

Last night was interesting with the actors. Sometimes it just boggles my mind HOW MANY there are here in this city. I know it sounds glamourous and all, but if I were to talk to a girl who was living in Louisiana** and she told me she wanted to come out here and be "a star", than I would most likely tell her it's better to stay where she is. Or come out to LA and try to work behind the scenes or be a manager / agent. (Although there is too little of a demand and too much of a supply of those too). Not that I don't have faith in actors - some really shine and pop. But unfortunately, for every amazing actor there are 1,000 not-so-amazing ones. That's not to say that I don't like actors. They have tons of personality, and a lot of drive. And I think all of us can learn from that!

**By the way, I have absolutely NOTHING against Louisiana... it was just an example**

Gettin' on the blog train..

2004-12-06T15:59:00.000-08:00

Today has been different from most weekdays in that I haven't had 1 chance to get on the blog train. It usually is one of the first things that I do when I turn on the computer in the mornings, but not today...

Rest assured kiddies, I'm here. And to be honest, I'm a little annoyed. I have been driving my Nissan Pathfinder for the last 3 years and the lease is up in the beginning of January. Only in the last two months of my lease do my brakes go out, my battery dies, and I get a flat tire! Why is that? Everything goes smoothly and in the 24th hour I have to pay almost $500 in expenses??? I think the car may be having a hard time letting me go.

My weekend was nice: relaxed Friday night, went out to dinner and a bar with Chris on Saturday, and hung out at my mom's all day Sunday. It was perfect to do nothing yesterday because it RAINED.ALL.DAY. And hard! For LA, it was a full-blown storm. Sad that there wasn't any Extreme Makeover and Despaarate Housewives Sunday night though... oh well.

Tonight I've got to go to an actor workshop so I'll only get home after 10pm. Sad. Anyways, hope your weekends were as good or even better than mine!

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

2004-12-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

Star-sighting of the day: Peter Krause, from "Six Feet Under" and my fave, "Sports Night", downstairs at the coffee shop.

So my TV watching, although wonderful, honestly made my brain hurt a little towards the end. It's probably because after my 3 hours of life-saving TV, I decided to tack on an extra hour to watch Primetime with the whole cast of Ocean's 12.

Things I learned from the cast of Oceans 12:
-Make sure, if ever interviewed, to either wear A LOT of powder or reduce the heat, as the stars last night were as shiny as a brand new Porche. Just a tad bit distracting, to be honest.
- If you are awkward and have strange hair growing up, you most definitely will look like Brad Pitt or Cathering Zeta-Jones when older. After all, aren't stars just like us?
-George Clooney has fangs when smiling very big.
-Good looking actors Matt Damon and Brad Pitt are finally ready to have a family. George Clooney added that he's ready to adopt a 22-year old. He forgot to add that the purpose would be to have a new live-in girlfriend.

Don't get me wrong. I was actually very interested in the program. They are all great actors, and the movie should be awesome. I just like poking fun.

My appointment with the hypnotherapist yesterday was straight out of a Seinfeld episode. Don't really feel like getting into details, but I'll just say one thing: he had a big name-plaque pinned to his jacket that said HYPNOTIST in big letters. I'm not joking. That in itself made me want to run away. Well, that and the fact that he kept on looking at my chest.

It's Friday today, which means I am automatically a happier person than I was yesterday. Looking forward to the weekend too?

TV guilt?

2004-12-02T09:46:00.000-08:00

Tonight is a TRIPLE WHAMMY when it comes to TV. SInce I was out last night watching an actor showcase, I missed "Lost". So, tonight my Tivo will show me Lost, then I'll watch the OC, and finish it off with the Apprentice.

Some may ask if I feel like I am wasting my life away with TV. The answer is, of course not. Think about it. Tonight I will learn many valuable skills to prepare me for life. Such as, what should I do if I'm on a deserted island with a really good looking man, a beautiful ex-convict, and an Arabian man? "Lost" will teach me that. And, what's a girl to do if she has a boyfriend, but her ex is still in love with her and jumps in front of her car? "The OC" will help me. Finally, if I ever have two days to create a flavor of ice cream or put together a bridal shop, only the Donald himself will be able to show me.

So no, I OWE it to myself to spend my spare hours in front of the tube.

Did I convince you?

A letter to my ex.

2004-12-01T10:16:00.000-08:00

Dear Elevator,

Thank you for almost ending my life last night. Ever morning and evening as I ride you up to my office and down to my car, I always hope that you know what you are doing. You are so very slow, yet only about 10 years old. You moan and whine and creak and screech coming upon every floor. Your buttons reset without your passengers knowing. You like to stop on EVER.SINGLE.FLOOR. no matter if someone is coming in or out. To be honest, you annoy me just a little.

After last night, I believe it's time for a breakup. As you transported me from the third floor to P5, you decided to give me a little bit of a ride. Yes, maybe you like to fall and then stop abruptly between floors, only to fall again and then get stuck, but I don't. In fact, I would rather use the stairs. So unfortunately, even though we have had a 6 month relationship, I am severing my ties with you. Because today, the three other elevators on the other side of the building look like they would be a lot better for me.

I wish you the best Mr. Elevator.

Sincerely,
Dana

A few reasons why I am happy today:

2004-11-30T13:05:00.000-08:00

** I woke up after 8 great hours of sleep and good dreams to the Otis Redding song "Sittin on the Dock of the Bay"
** It's my favorite weather today: clear, crisp, sunny, with a little bit of a chill in the air.
** I had a great workout today - not too long, not too short.
** I stopped at Whole Foods on my way to work this morning to get a yummy latte and pumpkin muffin. Gotta love that place.
** I scheduled a consultation with a hypnotherapist here in Beverly Hills. Cheers to trying new things!
** I checked my email only to find emails from three of my girlfriends just telling me how much they love me. And I love them too!
** Tonight's TV lineup is awesome: Gilmore Girls, Scrubs & Amazing Race! Wow!
** I have a fabulous boyfriend, amazing friends, and wonderful family. I truly am lucky.

And, one reason why I'm not so happy today?

I have a "woman's" doctor appt. at 1.

So, why are YOU happy today?

Random question:

2004-11-29T21:14:00.000-08:00

Have any of you ever used hypnotherapy to conquer a fear or to quit an addiction, etc.?

I'm thinking about trying it for something, but not sure if it's just a scam. Does it work?

Questions and even more questions...

2004-11-28T08:18:00.000-08:00

As much as I would love to spend time divulging my very long Thanksgiving weekend, I'm not currently on my computer and don't want to spend too much time hogging up someone else's.

That and it's a little after 7 am on a Sunday and for some horrible reason I was obviously given a curse of not being able to sleep in on ANY NIGHT OF MY VACATION.

(Not that I'm angry about it or anything).

What I will do is start answering some of your questions in the order that they were asked.

Rav, I just finished "In Her Shoes" by Jennifer Weiner. Great read, and hopefully great movie starring Cameron Diaz. Hopefully.

Debby, I just was at the bookstore last night and was about to pick up "The Right Address". Instead I got stuck on "Mean Season" by Heather Cochrane. I'll let you now how it goes. And as for your questions:
**I was born in Hollywood, actually, West Hollywood. Only when I'm older do I realize how funny it is that I was boring literally in the center of where my life is 23 years later. No seriously, I now work across the street from the house I first lived in when I was born. People always make comments when I tell them that I am a Los Angeles native. I think that I'm one of seven.
**Hottest Celeb I've ever met? It has to be Justin Timberlake. I have such a crush on him, and when I saw him I was at a peak in my love. I was eating an omelette and my friend told me that I left the fork in midbite for ten minutes. I literally froze. Biggest name celeb that I ever met has to be Clint Eastwood, although we never really MET him, but we stood next to him at the Beverly Hills Whole Foods.
**If I had 6 months to live and unlimited funds, I would have to say that I would first get hypnotized for my stupid crazy fear of flying, and when that was cured, I would fly around the world, making longer stops in Moorea (Tahiti), Phuket (Thailand), London, and Switzerland. But I would see everything. I would also nake sure to write a novel loosely based on me and falling right in the Bridget Jones genre.

Carmi:
**What makes you happy?Sounds lame, but the best part of my day regardlesss of what is happening is knowing that I worked out while I take the first sip of my grande nonfat latte. Don't laugh.
**Why do we love our pets? Because they are completele extensions of our family. My mom loves her dog Molly so much that when she travels she arranges for someone to walk her so that Molly desn't see her leave with all her luggage. My boyfriend just lost his dog three days ago. ALthough Aspen was 13 and lived with his parents in Chicago, Chris was (and still is) extremely sad. Animals only love (and only sometimes hate, like the time I got attacked by one at my friends house, but we don't need to go into that).
**If I could be remembered for one thing, I would want it to be my sense of humor. My sister laughs at EVERYTHING I say. She thinks I'm the funniest person alive. I love when I ake people laugh. It comes naturally, and who doesn't like seeing others smile?

Anyway, what started as a quick post quickly turned long, but come back so I can tell you about my weekend and answer some more questions! WHat are your plans for this lovely Sunday?

Wanna know about me?

2004-11-24T11:39:00.000-08:00

I just have to pass this on. I found it over at Deann's. Go say hi to her too.

Three questions
More fun! More craziness! More comments!
(But, really, it's more than three.)

(A) First, recommend to me:
1. a movie
2. a book
3. a musical artist, song, or album
(I actually promise that I will TRY to watch, read and/or listen to most, if not all, of these. I'll at least put them on my to-do lists.)

(B) Ask me three questions, no more, no less. Ask me anything you want.

(C) Go to your journal/blog, and copy and paste this allowing your friends/readers to ask you anything. Say you stole it from me.

Come on, kids. It's a holiday weekend... I'm not asking for much!

And on a serious note...

2004-11-22T20:50:00.000-08:00

**This post is long, and probably as serious as PrimaDana will ever get, but read it if you have a minute**

When I was 18, during the summer before moving away to college, I had my first anxiety attack. It was on an airplane, with my sister on the way to Vegas. It was a new feeling for me - the racing heart, sweating, feeling like I couldn't breathe, etc. I freaked out because of the uncertaintly of what was happening to my body. Now I know the feeling well as a panic attack.

Things were pretty much okay until my sophomore year. There was a lot of change surrounding me: new roommates, new home, and more than anything, the passing of my Saba (grandpa in Hebrew). Saba was such a source of comfort and love and family to me that when he dies, I freaked out a bit. But for a while, it was all kept hidden. Sure, my friends and family knew that I was sad because I would cry every so often, but they never knew the extent to which I was feeling. Low is an understatement. I literally couldn't see ANYTHING positive in my life. All I felt was grief, darkness, confusion. And along this came the anxiety. Anxiety in the form of mini panic attacks that prevented me from falling asleep. Anxiety that made me not want to go to class for fear of not being able to breathe (or in some cases, nausea - which was my common side effect of anxiety), fear of driving sometimes because of what could happen. I was SO scared at points I honestly didn't know if I was going to survive.

It was Winter Break at school, and most of my friends / roommates were not around. However, I was getting bored at home so I went back to school to hang out with this one guy that I had been dating (C) and his friends. Everything was great. We were at his house, drinking some beers, watching a movie. I asked C. if he wanted to go outside and have a cigarrette. He did, and as we were outside, he bluntly told me he wasn't into me in "that way" and just wanted to be my friend. "That's cool" I told him but inside I felt like I was going to die.

We went back inside, and although it was awkward, I didn't have much else to do but continue to hang out with the guys (some of them were my friends too) and drink a few more beers. It was getting late and I wanted to go home. One of my friends (T) who I had known for a long time asked me if he could walk me home. I wanted him to. I didn't want to be alone. Sure enough, a half hour later, I found myself literally pushing T off me. I guess being a little buzzed and asking your "friend" to walk you home is an open invite for more. Nieve me.

The next morning, I literally was at a breaking point. It started out alright. But then the night before came back to me. The rejection, the betrayal, the loss of friendship, etc. As I was in the middle of eating an apple with peanut butter, I had one of the biggest panic attacks. I couldn't breathe. I was dizzy, and was sweating and shaking. I didn't know what to do. So for the first time I opened up about my fears. I called my mom and literally broke down. Cried and cried. She was in the middle of talking to a client, bless her heart. She couldn't really talk to me so she told me to come home, but only after I talked to my hamster. Sounds crazy, right? But I had a hamster, Dakota. My mom always loved animals and truly felt they were therapeutic. So at the moment where I felt like I couldn't breathe, I sat on the floor and cried to Dakota. It worked to calm me down. An hour later, I was driving on the 101 going home to my mommy. I cried in her arms like a baby for a full weekend.

I started to deal with my anxiety (which I learned can go hand-in-hand with depression) with a therapist, books, meditation, writing, etc. It went away slowly. I even actually forgot that it was a problem for a while. But anxiety can creep back up, which it does every now and then. Which it has been recently. I'm trying to deal with it. I'm trying to take control. And I know I'll overcome it like I have in the past. Because fear isn't supposed to control me - I am supposed to control it.

Living in fear isn't living at all (I actually heard that quote on "Desperate Housewives" a couple of weeks ago).

Why did I just tell you all of this? Not sure, to be honest. Maybe because writing (or in this case, typing) out your feelings help you sort them. Maybe because I felt the need to give you some more insight on who I am. I hope I'm not freaking you out though, I still am me (lover of TV, pop-culture, and Britney Spears)! Who knows, maybe some of you have even had similar experiences. If so, feel free to tell me about them.

Thanks for reading :)

Big night out

2004-11-21T13:32:00.000-08:00

Last night, I went out big.

There was a good occasion for it though, as my best friend Jill came to visit from the OC and we went out with a few girls that we went to college with. I hadn't seen most of these girls now for over a year, so it was pretty exciting.

For dinner, we went to The Stinking Rose, which is a restaurant that incorporates garlic into EVERYTHING - literally. There's garlic on the table that you can use for your bread. There are garlic martinis, garlic pastas, chicken, and garlic icecream for dessert. Needless to say, I'm sure people could smell us a mile away!

We then all went out in Hollywood, where we first hit up a pretty mellow bar and then moved on to a full--blown club. The reason I say it like that is that ever since high school, I just don't do clubs. I love bars, the divier the better. Places where you can talk, listen to some good background music and drink cheap. But this place was crazy. We had to actually pay a cover to get in (I didn't even think that they did that to ladies!) and then we entered into a massive room with a giant dance floor and awesome old-school hip-hop.

Couple of drinks later, my girlfriends and I were tearing up the dance floor like it was just ours. It was a lot of fun. And it's always funny how you can never tell how buzzed you are when you are in that surrounding. It's only when you are in a cab and stopping at Burger King at 2am when you finally feel the effects of everything you drank.

Today I'm not feeling too hot. But that's why I have my Chris so that I can go cuddle with him and maybe see a movie. Will Spongebob Sqaurepants giive me a headache?

Short story or long story?

2004-11-19T10:57:00.000-08:00

Short story:

Last night, I got a flat tire. Not too exciting, huh?

Long Story:

Last night, I got a flat tire outside of my mom's house in the Hollywood Hills. There's a beautiful house that just recently became occupied, but we didn't know by who. When Triple A came to my rescue (less than 30 minutes from when I called!), the man who lives in the house came over to me to ask if everything was OK. It was dark so I couldn't see him from a distance. However, when he came closer I realized exactly who he was.

My mom's new neightbor is John Rzeznik. Who is he? Only the lead singer from the Goo Goo Dolls!!!

I know, they aren't Maroon 5 or Dave Matthews, but he's still quite a sight to see. And his voice is sexy too!

That's entertainment!

2004-11-17T15:18:00.000-08:00

I love being on a studio lot. When I was younger, I rode the tram at Universal Studios that takes you on a backlot tour, and that was the moment I knew I wanted to work in some facet of the entertainment industry.

I set up an informational interview with my first boss when I was still in college. I figured I should meet someone who had years of experience in casting so that I could find out more about the area. Her offices were on a studio lot, on the 2nd floor above the stage where the hit show that she worked on was being filmed. Walking through the lot reminded me once again why I needed to follow my dreams of working in TV or film.

I was always a smart girl in school. I got the top of the class grades through middle school, slacked off a bit in high school, but then eventually graduated with a 3.8 from a nearby University of California school. My mom always had dreams that I should be a doctor, lawyer, you know, all the cliche things that parents want their kids to be. My father, on the other hand, is a doctor, but always told me to follow my dreams in this industry. "Entertainment is where you fit", he would tell me. I listened.

My mom supports me in everything I do as well, but when I go through my weeks working very long hours, and not having the incredible paycheck to show for it, sometimes I think she worries. She's not the only one. There are definitely days where I feel scared and unsure that my path is in fact the right one. I have such dreams of having a nice house, nice car, happy life, etc., and when I feel like I am at a standstill in my career, I start to freak out.

But then I walk through a studio lot. Call me cheesy, but for me, walking onto a set, or through a backlot, or even backstage, I am reminded of why I am here. And for right now, this IS where I need to be.

Plus, I'm only 23. I have years of career changing ahead of me.

The ways of the world

2004-11-16T11:47:00.000-08:00

I'm annoyed.

And I have cramps.

But Britney's getting edumacated, being that she supposedly enrolled in three classes at Pepperdine University next semester.
Oh, to be in college again.

Change

2004-11-15T10:01:00.000-08:00

Change sucks.

Last Friday at work we found out some news that we have to move our casting offices. After initial confusion as to why this was happening, and then even a period of excitement for a new project, it all started to set in this weekend.

I just started the job that I'm at in June. And I love it here, for the most part. It's close to home, we work with good people, and of course, we have a fully-stocked kitchen!

And on Friday, we were told that our office has to move due to a change of power in the higher part of the entertainment hierarchy. This means that by the 1st of January, 2005, we have to find new offices in the Hollywood area. Not so easy.

It will be done eventually, and I'm sure that we will like where we end up. However, the change part is hard. Because in my experience, one change leads to many more. And in this business, a lot of change leads to instability. And that leads to anxiety for me.

Well, lets just hope it works out ok. I'll keep you posted!

Weekends

2004-11-12T10:31:00.000-08:00

So it is once again Friday. Aaahhhhh.

Every week, as it gets closer to Friday, I start making my tentative plans for the weekend. Of course, there are certain weekends where I dont really have a choice in the matter, for example, if there are family obligations, big events, trips, etc.

But on a weekend like this one, where I don't really have anything to do, I can start making up my own plans to try to do things that I want to do. This is what I want to do this weekend:

* Movies: Bridget Jones definitely, and I wouldn't mind seeing "After the Sunset" or "The Polar Express" if time permits.
* Tomorrow, I'm all about getting my nails done, cleaning out my closet (by the way, know any good charities to give my old clothes to?), and attempting to organize Chris's room (the only thing I can always find in his room is his bed).
* Maybe go out to dinner and a few drinks tomorrow night... to actually "enjoy" the end of a hard week.
* See some family, eat good food, possibly get in a workout...

Sounds like an ideal weekend of doing "nothing".

What is your ideal weekend?

Family tree

2004-11-11T10:02:00.000-08:00

I'll preface this post by saying that my blog is being worked on still, so it ain't finished!

Yesterday one of the radio stations that I listen to in the mornings was doing a segment on real-life Jerry Springer families. The calls that were coming in were absolutely insane. This one's mother slept with his 2nd cousin on his dad's side, and that one's grandfather married his daughter in law, etc... Needless to say, compared to them, my family is extremely normal.

Unfortunately, compared to most people it isn't. Wanna hear about it?

My mom was married twice before she married my dad. They got married, and had two daughters: my older sister and I. They proceeded to divorce when I was 6 months old. My dad remarried a few years later, and proceeded to have two daughters (my little sisters, who are now 10 and 12). My mom also went on to marry another guy (who she is still with now). This was her fourth marriage, and it just so happened to be his fourth as well. Well in his three previous marriages, he had seven kids. They had none together.

So here's the rundown: I have one "full" sister, two half-sisters, and 7 stepbrothers and stepsisters. We also live around the world. My three sisters live here in LA, along with one of my stepbrothers. Four of my step-siblings live in Israel, one lives in North Carolina, and another goes to school in Miami but is currently studying abroad in Australia.

Because of all the family, lately I've been noticing that at least once a week, I have birthday dinners for them. Last Friday, my mom's. Tonight, one of my sisters. Hey, I love my family, and at least I know that when my birthday comes around in June, it will be a full table!

Movies, music, and all that jazz

2004-11-10T14:22:00.000-08:00

I see that you guys are liking the design... It's not perfect yet, but its clearly on its way :)

So, the cricket returned last night. In my wall. Talking to me (or should I say annoyingly screeching) the second I turned off my lights to go to bed. I don't get it. I was in my room reading for an hour befoer I turned off the lights, and there was no sound. The second I decide to sign off for the night the cricket wants to party. What's up with that?

Let's talk movies. Today I read that Dreamworks just bought the rights to "Baywatch: The Movie". My first thought was to laugh. I couldn't help it. What do you guys honestly think about the idea? Will it be a spoof of "Baywatch", with really overly-big-breasted ladies run around in skimpy bikinis trying to save the poor swimmer? Or will it be an action-packed movie based around a murderer, some cops, and of course, some lifeguards? Regardless, we all know there will at least be one cameo of Pamela Anderson and David Hasselhoff. So, yay or nay? My answer is nay.

Another movie: Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Let me just say that I have been waiting for this movie since the day it was in development. Not only have I read both the books numerous times and LOVED them, but the first movie is one of my all-time faves. Plus, I think I actually AM Bridget. On top of all that, I stare at the billboard advertisement fom my office window for nine hours a day, so at this point it has already been embedded in my brain. I better like it.

And Rosario Dawson has been cast as Mimi in "Rent", based of course on the musical. I love that musical, love the soundtrack so much (it's really great to work out to), but come on, Rosario? Could just be me, but I'm not the biggest fan.

Now I'm going to the music store to buy Britney's greatest hits. Yeah, I know, don't laugh too hard.

**By the way, I DO know that links aren't showing up... The blank spaces are "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason", "Rent", and "Britney Spears" in that order***

The Randomness of Me

2004-11-09T15:01:00.000-08:00

Today, unfortunately, I went shopping.

Now, I would never call myself a major shopper (ok, maybe I would), but for some reason, I can't stop getting my hands all over today's fashions. I just LOVE the new fall / winter lines. Everything's so cozy and colorful. Oh, and since I'm going to Chicago for CHristmas, I guess I NEED some warm clothing, right? So my shopping is out of necessity, not just for fun, right? Right?

Either way I bought the most amazing black coat and new sunglasses.

Last night I saw "The Incredibles" with Chris. To be honest, the movie ain't so incredible. Yes, Pixar is fantastic when it comes to their animation. They do such a fantastic job making cartoons look so real. Unfortunately, the movie didn't need to be an hour and 45 minutes long! Cartoons should be short and sweet, you know? And when you find yourself falling asleep at ten pm in a theatre, you know something's wrong.

Let's see, what else? I'm having my blog redesigned as we speak, so you may see some changes in the next couple of days. Let me know what you think.

Oh and by the way, I finally got Chris (my boyfriend) to start reading the blog, so say hi if you get a chance!

Weekend Update...

2004-11-07T16:50:00.000-08:00

Surprise, surprise... it's already Sunday :(

Once again, it shocks me to see that a weekend can come and go so fast. Oh well, I suppose it's life!

This weekend was fun at least, as I got to see my best friend Calah who was here from San Francisco. And when she is in town, we always end up seeing a bunch of people from college which can be fun and also can be almost annoying, to a certain extent. I love some of my college guy friends so much, but then there is always that one drunk guy who insists on showing off that he is the "assistant to the CEO of that multi-billion dollar company", etc. Meanwhile, he is so wasted he can't even get the words out straight.

I also got my hair done on Saturday which is always a pleasure. For me, it ends up being a good two hours of self-pampering. My hairdresser's assistant was classic. He was flaming gay (which is always fun), covered in tatoos and sported a neon green fanny-pack. His claim to fame is that he cuts Kevin Federline's hair, while his boss does Britney's. But you know, his boss is currently on Bette Midler's national tour, so yada, yada, yada. Sometimes I find that people in this city LOVE to talk (and mostly about themselves). But look at what I'm doing now? Telling y'all about MY weekend!!

Last night, me and the girls went out to Hollywood, where we had sushi and sake at Tokyo restaurant, then went to the Velvet Margarita for some (what else?) margaritas, followed by a couple of beers at The Beauty Bar. Quite a fun night I must say. I rarely make it out in Hollywood, that when I do, I'm once again reminded of how much there really is to do in this town.

Today was a day of lounging and doing pretty much nothing, which was nice, being that it's rainy and I'm tired. And tonight I'm off to a child actor's showcase where I can hopefully deter more people from trying to be actors here in LA, being that the chances of succeeding are really THAT small.

Just joking!

Maybe.

Hopefully all your weekends were just as good!

Da Da Da Daaaaa!

2004-11-05T10:42:00.000-08:00

Yay!! It's Friday!!!

So, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before (and I'm pretty sure I haven't, considering that it's a fairly new phenomenom), but I have a cricket in my wall. At least I hope it's a cricket.

I heard it the first time a few nights ago, just as I got home from work. It was that annoying consistent sound, kinda like the one you should ONLY hear while camping outdoors or when you're in summer camp. But no. I heard it in the safety of my own room in my apartment in the heart of Hollywood. Does anyone have an explanation or advice? It wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't waking me up every morning at 5 am. It's almost like my own personal rooster.

Except that my NORMAL wake-up time is 7:27. Not 7:20, and not 7:30. 7:27. I like to wake up to an odd number.

For some reason, for me, waking up on a Friday is so much easier than it is every other day of the week. It's almost like I am excited to get out of bed, finish the day so I can move on to the weekend. Especially when I know that it should be a fun one coming up, because my best friend from college, Calah, is coming to visit! Yay! Bloody Mary's, shopping and bbq's all weekend! Wanna join?

Today is the day part 2

2004-11-04T11:03:00.000-08:00

How DARE I say that Tuesday was the day when today, Thursday, is such a momentous day???

Why, you ask?

Only because "The OC" starts back up tonight. Thankfully, for TiVO, I wont miss it :)
Is it just me or has the entire cast of the OC been everywhere you look or listen lately. Wow, the marketing team on that show is doing their job. But they better stop now, because before qwe know it they'll be played out like Leny Kravit'z singles always are.

I love Adam Brody (I've only talked about it 500 times). In "OC" terms, "I'm a Seth girl". However, this morning, I heard a clip of him on Jimmy Kimmel last night, and I wasn''t impressed, to say the least. Jimmy asked him how he feels with all the "adolation" from the girls that has come about since the show started, and Adam was speechless. Why? Oh, because he had NO IDEA what the word adolation meant. He even admitted that it was sad having to ask Jimmy to tell him the definition.

Poor, poor Adam.

Like I already mentioned, my mom's 55th birthday was on Tuesday, and we're celebrating tomorrow night. My sister and I are at a loss what to get her. So I'm looking for some original ideas...

Have at it!