Saturday, August 25, 2001

Been sooooooooooo busy......moved into my new place.....lots of problems that they need to fix (i.e. stains in the carpet, drippy faucet, stove not working, no screen door on the patio, patio smells like dog urine....etc.) Kind of frustrated about all of that. Oh well, it's still such a cool place.

Rehearsals are going well for the show. It's hard though because I am trying to unpack and get things organized...but I don't have ANY time to do it all!

Had an interview for a marketing job....got the job...now I'm not sure I want to do it. I have an interview at Merrill Lynch in Westwood on Monday. They have an open position of Assistant Director.....and they like me a whole bunch since I worked at Merrill in New York and already am familiar with the company. That would be a great job to get.....lots of benefits....great pay.....good hours...etc. We'll see. It wouln't leave much time for creative work....doing shows, auditions....stuff like that....but, I really need some stability and steady income. SO, it might be good for me right now.

Oh, I also was asked to choreograph Wizard of Oz at my old High School. The funny thing about that is ....my freshman year, we did Wizard of Oz....and I played Dorothy.....my brother played the scarecrow!! It would be cool to go back and choreograph the same show that I did there....using my own choreography. But, I'm not sure it will fit into my schedule....especially if I get the Merrill Lynch position!

Can't get my computer to work. I am at my mom's house right now using her computer.....I worked for that TV Preview company again. I've been doing that twice a week to make some extra money. I'm exhausted.....going now to help my mom do her bulletin boards at work. I do that every year. I have to get back to LA by noon for a rehearsal. Man, I'm tired. I'm kind of scared too.... my ankle has been bothering me. It's really tight. I know I haven't been stretching enough before rehearsals. Grrrrr...... I iced it last night and probably should ice it again this morning.

Off to fix my coffee........will write when my computer is working. The problem is, I cancelled AOL because it was way too expensive. So, I was trying to download Juno....but for some reason, it isn't working. Whatever....I'll finger it out later.
6:54 AM

Thursday, August 16, 2001

Did I happen to mention how quiet the house was last night? For the first time in weeks, I didn't wake up to the sound of Shayna barking at 7:00 in the morning! How nice.

I was watching the Today show this morning and they were talking about women who love to buy shoes. I would be one of those women. You never can have enough shoes.....especially black ones.....and flip flops.....and boots...ok, anyway... They had a psychologist on the show trying to justify the reasons why women need shoes.

Women need shoes because:

1. They are phallic symbols. (??? what ???)
2. They make you feel sexy.
3. You can put on a new persona (i.e. boots=strength/power, heels=femminine/sexy)
4. Even though your body may gain weight in different areas.....you can still dress up your feet. (that was my favorite)

Oh, the other thing she said is that Men like three things.....shoes with heels, shoes that are PINK, and shoes that sparkle. Hmmmm..... sounds like a pretty general statement to me. I found the segment incredibly enlightening ...... now I know so much more about why I love to buy shoes!

Drinking my coffee......cinnamon hazelnut with french vanilla creamer....yummy.....need to get in the shower but the cleaning people are here. Hmmmm....let's see if I can remember my spanish. Necisito ir a la bana! I need to get in the bathroom. Is that right? I'm gonna go try it out.
10:08 AM

Wednesday, August 15, 2001

Had thee audition today for Happy Days. It went sooooooo well. There were a few people waiting when I got there. I realized that they were all agent submissions....so, I felt pretty cool having been personally recommended by a producer and not submitted by an agent. I went in......sang You've Got Possibilities.....which is the song that Craig Carnelia said that I should sing for every audition. It went incredibly well....both acting wise and vocally. I felt great about it. After I sang, they gave me a few compliments and thanked me. I figured I was done, so I walked over to the pianist....who is also the musical director of the show......and he was flipping through my vocal binder....looking at what songs I had in there. I stood there.....in anticipation....hoping he'd ask me to sing something else. I mentioned that I have a good mix and soprano voice if he'd like to hear any of that. He stopped at Take Me or Leave Me....Maureen's song from Rent. He said Sing some of this....and don't worry about acting it or being vocally precise. I just want to hear you wail on it. Ok, I can do that! I sang half of the song when he stopped me and said That was really great, Jenny. (Good! He remembered my name!!) They said their thank you's....I said my thank you's...and left the room.....feeling totally wonderful about the experience! YEAH!

I met my long time friend Damon for dinner and a quick trip to IKEA to get me a dresser after the audition. It was good to catch up with him. We haven't seen each other for almost a year!

Now, here I am at home.....my mom is out of town....the dog is at the kennel....and there is finally peace in my head! AMEN.
10:16 PM

Monday, August 13, 2001

Had such a great weekend. Had some bonding time with Derek.....that was really wonderful. I am sorry we didn't get to spend more time together. I had already told Brother Jon that I would housesit for him this weekend while he was out of town. I had to watch the kitties. So, I spent Saturday and Sunday in Long Beach......went boogie boarding down at the beach. That was so much fun! I haven't been in the ocean in years. I've always gone, gotten my feet wet, and just layed out. This was the first time I really played around in the water.......had a blast.

Today, I had a rehearsal for the show. I also got a call from the Producer of the new musical, Happy Days. I have an audition on Wednesday at 4:30. They want something uptempo and happy. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to sing yet. I am totally excited about it but for some reason.....I won't let myself get excited about it. I think I was so burned from the whole Mamma Mia ordeal that I'm just not worrying about this audition. It is ONLY an audition......I'll get excited when they offer me a contract. We'll see......

I move into the apartment this weekend. Uncle Harry is giving us his old fridge.....STOKED!! I just have to figure out some way to pick it up from San Diego and bring it to LA. I only know one person with a truck.....brother Jon.....he has moved me more times than I can count. I feel so bad asking him to help me....especially because it is a weekend.....and especially because I don't have a lot of money.....so, I can't really buy him dinner or anything. Grrrr... I will figure something out! I can't wait to move into the new place though. *smile*
5:16 PM

Thursday, August 09, 2001

Congratulations on the house, Michael. I wish I could make it for the party! Let me know when the house warming will be..... I will send good vibes....be there in spirit!
11:20 PM

oh, yeah.....about my brother.....his book comes out next week. Design for Community. You can pre-order it on amazon.com. I can't wait to get my copy signed. I am so proud. Derek, you are thee coolest. Sometimes you drive me nuts (as big brothers often should) but other times, you just amaze me. See you tomorrow.....
11:05 PM

I get to see my brother tomorrow......nanny nanny-fooney.....
7:45 PM

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARISSA! Can you hear, I am doing a tap dance for you right now! Have a great day..... I hope to see you soon!
7:45 PM

Problem fixed.....thank you Derek!!
7:43 PM

Three exciting things in one day.......

First, Erin and I got the apartment in North Hollywood!!! I have to go give them the deposit tomorrow. We can move in after the 20th of August. I am SO excited and relieved! Now I can focus on finding a job in that area.

The second thing is....I just checked my hotmail account and got an email from Sandy Faison. She was my producer for the last show I did in LA.....she is also the one who got me an audition with the composer, Craig Carnelia. She has lots of connections and thank goodness thinks very highly of me. So......her email said:

Garry Marshall is doing a musical version of Happy Days. They are looking for great singer, dancer, actors who look young. They called and asked me for some names of the best and I gave her your name. Please send your picture and resume to....blah, blah, blah. Now go get this job!!!!

How about them apples?

Oh.....and the third thing is Jon is home from Oregon! *smile*

Just made my famous matzah ball soup for my mom.....gonna go organize my picture and resume for Garry Marshall!!!
7:39 PM

Grrrrrrr.....
9:07 AM

Why aren't my blogs showing up? This is really starting to make me mad!
8:59 AM

Wednesday, August 08, 2001

Erin and I found THEE best apartment today in North Hollywood. It's a little more expensive than we wanted to pay...but it is awesome. We put our applications in today....they are doing all the credit checks and stuff....we should know by "late morning" tomorrow whether we got it or not. I would tell you to send good vibes....but, chances are, this won't publish...like all of the rest of my posts from this week. If you do read this....send ALL GOOD APARTMENT VIBES to us.

Stay tuned......
11:29 PM

off to get Erin at the airport!!!!!
8:36 AM

Tuesday, August 07, 2001

My posts aren't showing up again!! I wonder what the problem is.....I republished all of my archives....hmmmmm.....

Erin is flying in tomorrow morning to look at the apartments. I sure hope we get one of them. I will be able to sleep much better. I am currently sleeping approximately 2 hours a night. It sucks so much. I even went into my brother's old room at 1:00 am to see if I'd sleep better there. I don't know.....different surroundings, I thought. It didn't help though. I just have way too much on my mind right now. I've tried all of my methods of relaxation too.....deep breathing, visualizing, writing in my journal, and even my white board visualization. That's where I write every thought that is running around in my mind down on my imaginary white board in my head. After all of my bothersome thoughts are there......I look at them....review them......then, I take a deep breath and then erase the entire board. Hypothetically, my mind should be clear afterwards. It usually works but lately, I think there is just too much to erase or something. I don't know....hopefully things should be falling into place soon.

I'm looking forward to seeing Erin tomorrow.....I'm looking forward to seeing my brother on Friday.....and I'm looking forward to seeing Jon this weekend. He's been up in Oregon all week.......I really have missed him.

Ok......must try to sleep......
11:51 PM

Monday, August 06, 2001

Apartment hunting all day today.....found an amazing place......it's a little more than I wanted to spend.....but it is so great! My cousin, Erin, is coming out on Wednesday to look at a few of the places to let me know what she thinks....since we will be sharing it! Keep your fingers crossed.

Sent out more resumes tonight. Got another job offer this afternoon for $350 a week. That is so wrong and so irritating. Grrrr....

Tomorrow....who knows...I have a temp job with that TV Preview group in the evening.....bring on the money!
10:56 PM

Off to do more apartment hunting....sent out 10 more resumes today. Grrrr..... will the job fairy and apartment fairy please come and give me some love? This is starting to get a bit ridiculous!
10:00 AM

Saturday, August 04, 2001

*hugs* for James......i hope you're doing ok....
10:44 PM

I forgot to tell you......when Jenn was here, we were in Walmart getting new purple rocks for Phoenix's tank (my beta). I decided that Phoenix needed a friend......so, I asked the friendly Walmart fish department woman what you can put in a tank with beta's that they won't attack and eat. Remember when I put Spinelli, the goldfish in with Phoenix and he ate her? That wasn't pretty. Well, the helpful lady said that you can put dwarf frogs in with beta's and they would be ok together.

I spent 10 minutes looking in the different tanks of frogs and finally picked one out that looked like he wanted to come home with me. He is about the size of a quarter.....tan, with lots of black spots.....SO cute!

It was a bit nerve wracking putting them in the tank together. I kept telling Phoenix not to eat Felix.....Felix, that's the frog's name! For the first couple of minutes, they circled each other around the tank......kind of like dogs sniffing each other. They got really close a couple of times....it looked like Phoenix was going to take a bite out of Felix's leg! But he didn't.....so far so good. I think they actually like each other. And the purple rocks look awesome! Phoenix and Felix.......kind of cute huh?

It looks like someone else got some new frogs too! Welcome Voldemorte and Link!
9:44 AM

I had a pretty productive rehearsal today for the show. Although, I got to Ron's house a little early and no one was there ..... so I just sat outside of his house on a little bench. As I looked across the street, I saw a figure moving in an upstairs apartment. The glass and screen door to the patio was open. I kept looking to see what was going on. I finally realized it was a NAKED MAN JOGGING!! I started giggling and then looked down.....thinking, ok, he probably saw me and saw that I saw him....so, he'll go away. Nope, the naked man continued jogging for the full 10 minutes I was sitting there. NOT that I was staring or anything..... I would just occassionally look up there and see that he was still there. I got a pretty sick feeling in my stomach after the initial giggle. YUCK. So, when Ron got there, I asked him about the naked man. He said "No, I've never seen him jogging naked in front of the window before. I think he's an opera singer?" Hmmmmm.....naked jogging opera man? Doesn't quite sound right.....

After the rehearsal, I headed back to Claremont to get ready for my temp job I had tonight. I worked from 5:45-10:45 for TV Preview. It's a company that brings random people in to view unseen sitcoms and commercials and get feedback. Basically, all I had to do was lead a bunch of white trash folk to their seats, tell them about the questionairre, collect the data, organize it in numerical order, write some info on all of them, and help them out if they had problems. Cake. They really liked me and asked me to work again on Tuesday. It's not really great money but at this point, I don't care.....I NEED money desperately and will do little jobs like this to get by. On my way home, I picked up some Del Taco....yummy....nothing like some midnight nachos!

DAVID, I hope you had a wonderful birthday.....I've been thinking about you and sending you good vibes!
12:04 AM

Thursday, August 02, 2001

Yeah......France is no longer missing in action. Glad to know you are still there~

So.....semi-bummer today. I got a letter from the apartment that Erin and I applied for saying that we didn't get it.....I guess there was a "stronger applicant" .....whatever that means. That sucks....but apparently, that wasn't the apartment for us. Hopefully we will find something soon.....the search continues......

Tomorrow....I've got a rehearsal for the new show, Fascinatin Rhthyms.....and then a temp job in the evening. Nothing too exciting planned for the weekend. More apartment and job searching......
8:44 PM

Wednesday, August 01, 2001

France, where are you? Still fishing? I miss you.....I hope you are back soon!
11:37 PM

Sent out another five resumes today. I got two calls from Talent Agencies for receptionist positions. They both said I was over qualified for the jobs but wondered if I was still interested. Get this, they wanted me to work from 9-7 Monday-Friday for $350!! Can you believe that? No benefits....nothing. I was like....Are you flexible with the salary or the hours? ... and they said.....No, it's an entry level position Entry my ass....no thank you! So, I faxed some resumes to Universal Studios for different sales and administration positions. Hopefully they'll pay more over there. Geesh....this is getting ridiculous!
11:31 PM