Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's Christmas Eve!!!

Probably one of the best days of the year in my opinion! I tell you what, I have REALLY been enjoying my Christmas break this year! Some past years thing have just been really slow and boredom gets the best of me so I begin to feel like I'm not having a good time. This year, though, ever since I got back from LA I've been running all over the place meeting up with friends and spreading out the Christmas cheer! I think it also helps that I didn't get to do too many Christmas thing too early. I really didn't start to get in the spirit till about December 12. The only bummer part is how much I miss my LA friends. I just have to keep reminding myself that we're all going to see each other again!
Now I'm laying in bed, just waking up, and excited about Christmas Eve today! I've got a lot to do today...like clean my room and finish a present. But for now I think I will go downstairs, grab a bagel and some coffee, and sit in front of the fire!
It really is the most wonderful time of the year!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Speaking Of....

I am back in Sparta, TN....

WHEW! What a journey! Basically my dad had a hankering to drive non-stop last Friday and make it to Jackson, TN at about 6:00 a.m. I was plum tuckered out! But speaking of "plum", after a couple days in Jackson, then a quick trip to Chattanooga, then North Carolina, I am finally home on PLUM Creek Road experiencing my picturesque Christmas atmosphere that I was so desperately missing while I was in L.A. Christmas just didn't feel the same at all out there! But now...I just baked a batch of Christmas cookies, got my music playing in the background, Christmas lights all around, a stack of cards I've been writing by my side, a cup of coffee to my right, mom still decorating, and dad watching football. This is exactly how I was imagining my time at home would be!
Unfortunately all this Christmas card writing made me a little sad, because they were all to my buddies that I had to leave in L.A. That was seriously the toughest part about leaving. I was personally over the program by the time it was time to leave...but leaving my friends was torture. It's okay though! We're going to have a reunion at some point! And now I know people from all over the country!
Tomorrow is my bestie's, Amelia, graduation! YAY congratulations Amelia! Speaking of graduations...I guess I kind of graduated too! Last week my name was on the program at Union's Winter graduation as Dorothy Ellen Kay - Expected January graduate! That's right! After one quick J-term I will be DONE!!! Don't ask me what's next after that....cause I'm not so sure right now... But that's alright! I'm staying pretty open with my options and I like it like that!

All my Bags Are Packed I'm NOT Ready to Go....

Oh man....
I don't think I ever let out this many depressing moans in one day....
I KNOW I've been whining this whole time about being home for Christmas and I literally can't wait! But....I don't know if I can handle leaving everyone here. It's not fair to throw a bunch of strangers together for a semester, let them become amazing friends, and then make them all move separate ways. It stinks.
So I've been packing all day. This will be my very last blog as Ellen in L.A. I think I might try to keep up with this whole blog thing even after I leave. It's kind of a nice way to document and inform people at the same time. I just don't know what it will be called now....Ellen in Sparta? Ellen in Nashville? Jackson? Minneapolis? Seattle? L.A? Who knows....
Last night was our big premiere for CANDY! It went super well and I am incredibly proud of our film! Everyone really liked it! I can't wait to show it at school at my senior show (which everyone should come to! It's going to be Feb. 1-5 and I think my reception will be on the 4th. Mark your calenders!
In other good news....all the BITE episodes have been edited and completed. Now the producers will gradually release more trailers, pictures, behind the scenes clips, and then the episodes! I'm really curious to see the response....
Well I have to run! Last minute errands you see before our final banquet tonight!

Pam and Ed, Vampire Pun, IMDB

Alright....this is going to be one of my last blogs as ellen in L.A... sad I know...but happy because Pam and Ed are coming to town tonight!!! YAY! They were supposed to be here around 2:45 but there was really bad traffic on the way to the airport so they got delayed...it's ok though cause now I just have more time to clean!

I feel like I haven't accumulated TOO much stuff over the semester so hopefully it won't be too packed in the car ride back. It all depends on how much mom packs... we could be in trouble.
So, tomorrow is our last day of filming for "BITE". We've gotten a HUGE response on our youtube page. It's really funny because some people comment that they're excited and that it looks great, then there's those that just flat out say it's going to suck. (haha no vampire pun there) I really don't mind comments like that. In fact I'd rather prefer that there were more negative ones so that way we can only impress people and not disappoint the ones with high expectations! People should realize though, that we're not going for high quality entertainment here....just a funny webisode series....that's all.
Our big premiere for our Hollywood Production Workshop films is this Tuesday night! I'm really excited! CANDY has turned out even better than I anticipated! Our teachers are super impressed with it and said it will most likely do really well in festivals and even get us IMDB credit. ME?!! on IMDB!?!? AWESOME!!! (that stands for...Internet Movie DataBase) I'm going to be proud to bring CANDY home and premiere at my senior show and call it mine!
Alright, I'm going to go clean some more I suppose.... I'll try to update again soon before I'm gone... :(

Ellen's Great List of the Future

Hi everybody!

Brace yourself...this may be a long blog...

SO! I went to Vegas for Thanksgiving! It was so weird to not be home. I really missed it but me and my friends made the best of it! We all got up and watched the parade and Home Alone. Then we dove into the kitchen and made our own T-Day dinner like big kids! I made the mashed potatoes. :) After that we went and explored VEGAS! It's exactly like you would imagine it to be. Big and flashy. I felt like I was in an episode of CSI. We only got to walk around the Strip one night so I didn't get to see a ton of stuff BUT I did catch the fountain show that was playing to Christmas music. I really liked it.

We left Saturday morning and drove back to LA. As soon as we pulled up I had to book it to go to a film shoot for our webisode series, BITE. We started filming at this small coffee shop in San Pedro at about 7:00 and then worked there till about 1:00. It was a very productive and great night but I WAS EXHAUSTED especially when we had a call time the next morning at 6 am!

One of our producers (and my friend) Kelsey Navarro has been making a documentary about Twilight fans over the past year and has made some great connections in the process. So the other night we had a few of said "great connections" come and make some cameos in a few episodes. His name is Kaleb Nation and his friends Madea and Annie came too. They were all really fun to work with but get this.....Kaleb is a published author and practically a celebrity in the Twilight fan-dom. He is known as the Twilight Guy (twilightguy.com) He's a writer so he went through all the series and then broke down each chapter and told it from a guy's perspective. People loved it and now he has a HUGE following on the internet. SO since he came and was in our shoot he did a video blog about it and posted it on his site and then provided a link to our BITE page on youtube and within ONE day of posting his blog we now have nearly 700 subscribers to our channel and almost 2,000 views of our little teaser trailer that we made.....this is insane.... I'M THE MAIN ACTRESS FOR ALL THIS!!!!! oh my goodness. I had no idea it would take off this quickly.... I'm feeling a little bit overwhelmed with all this. The thing is....I'm not trying to sound cocky or anything...but this COULD really take off. I know the teaser doesn't give you much to chew on right now...but after everything we filmed Friday and then all day Saturday I feel like any fan that remotely loves vampires will enjoy what we've made. hahaha...oh dear.... :)

Also...don't be startled but I dyed my hair! It's pretty dark...so I guess if you want to see it you better go check out our BITE page... it's youtube.com/bitetheshow

In other news... this is my last week at my internship. It's crazy....time has just really flown by. I've really enjoyed working with the people here and apparently they've enjoyed working with me too since they told me to seriously give them a call if I move to LA so we could discuss job opportunities. :) I guess there's another possibility to add to Ellen's Great List of the Future!

PAM AND ED COME TO L.A. THIS SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!

VEGAS

It's 1:41 a.m...my roomies are asleep, and I'm laying on my bed listening to our fish make bubbles in his bowl.

I just had to write....
I LOVE this time. It has to be one of my all time recurring favorite moments. The still of the night before you travel somewhere. All your bags are packed, they're sitting beside the bed, everything is set to go, and all that is left to do is to lay in bed and be excited. It's even MORE exciting when your destination is VEGAS!!!! That's right! Sin City! oh dear! I've never been before. Drove by it once with the fam about 10 years ago, but never actually went in.
I'm going with Maggie and Danielle and staying with one of Maggie's friends that lives there. Not only is it Vegas but it's just simply somewhere outside of LA. It's going to be nice to have a change of scenery.
DON'T WORRY everyone....we'll be safe! These two are very safe and responsible girls :) (I know what you're thinking right now, Dad) "It's not you girls that I'm worried about...it's everyone else" We'll be safe. :)
Alright, well I've reached that point where my eyes are taking their time with their blinks so I should probably go to sleep.
Goodnight everyone! Next time you hear from me I'll be in VEGAS!!!

Dreaming Tonight

I'm dreaming tonight, of a place I love
Even more than I usually do.
And, although I know it's a long road back,
I promise you...

New Moon, Frog, Christmas

Good Morning!

I should have read my last post because I honestly can't remember what I talked about and therefore what to talk about now! Oh well...I'll wing it. Sorry if I repeat myself.

I believe I mentioned before my frustrations with a sassy French 112 class that wasn't wanting to fit into my dwindling college career, but while John and Andrea were here they helped me muster up some courage and just email the main registrar at Union.....yup....just remembered I already told this....hahaha shoot. Well you all know it's a happy ending! So now I get to graduate! HAHA oops!

MOVING ON! I'm going to L.A. for the semester to go to a film studies program...haha j/k....

Let me think of something new....I went to see "New Moon" at the Grove the other day! I'm no Twi-Hard but I definitely liked it! I need to watch it again though just to make sure it was the movie entertaining me and not all the insane fans in there that would nearly bust out in tears every time one of the actors took off his shirt.

Another movie I'm completely excited about is "The Princess and the Frog"!!! It comes out December 11th! (the day after my program ends out here) so I'll already be on the road home. That's alright though. I told my sister that I want to watch it with her anyways!

I'm getting so excited about Christmas! I feel like every time I close my eyes I just see my home in Sparta in all it's Christmas glory. I can't wait to be there. Even though I've been already listening to Christmas music a little bit, tonight is going to especially get me pumped up for the Season....they're lighting an enormous Christmas tree in the Grove tonight. It is HUGE! There's also apparently going to be lots of entertainment and such, like Cirque Du Soliel! I really hope we get to sing some carols too. They're my favorite. I'm trying a new thing this year...really listening to the words in Christmas carols. They're beautiful. It's hard to really listen to them since you already know them so well, but if you think about them they're really touching.

Oh! I forgot to mention....we've started filming our webisode series! The story is still about a coffee shop but instead of coffee they sell blood and instead of baristas they are bloodistas and instead of human workers, they're vampires. Haha, I know what you all are thinking "she just said she wasn't a Twi-Hard" I'm not! This is a spoof of Twilight! We shot some last week and then all day yesterday. It was super fun! I got do a lot of action and running through a park! I've already seen some of the footage and it looks pretty sweet... I can't wait till they're done and we start to air them! Stay tuned for details...

Fall 09 Graduate, Twi-Hard, Lights and Display Contest!?!

I have had a very productive day (a Mitch day if you will) here in my 5x5 cubicle at work...

I started the day off by creating my new concoction of single serving sized Tennetea. For those of you that don't know, Tennetea is the new term for exceptionally delicious sweet tea. A recent hit here in LA amongst my circle of friends. So! I made the tea, came to my spot and turned on some Christmas music via pandora.com, then I got to work emailing and also doing a few projects for my boss.
So, in the midst of my Christmas jamboree I receive an email from the registrar at Union. This is a big deal since I just sent her a major email the other day explaining how I wasn't very happy with Union since no one was helping figure out a solution to a French class that I need in order to graduate after numerous emails to various people and months of waiting. SO I was a little apprehensive to open this email... I click on it...and it is nothing but good news! She's arranged for me to take FRE 112 as an independent study over January-term so that way I'll be DONE by February and still considered a FALL 09 graduate! YAY!!!! Thank you Lord! So, then I sent some more emails about registering for said class and such. Then I also bought a ticket to go see New Moon with my friends this Friday! I'm pretty excited. I'm definitely not a crazy Twi-Hard but I am still excited to see it!
Then I went on to write out a list of things I want to get accomplished this December once I get home. I've decided I want to go out more and do things with my family. We all like to stay home and just relax with everyone, which is perfect!, but I also think we should try to mix in a few more activities. Like maybe throw a Christmas party, or go see the Nutcracker in Nashville, or some Christmas lights festival. When you go out, home just seems all the more sweet. Which is definitely something I've learned this semester.

Their Visit...

Alrighty...a little bit of updating to do.

So, it sort of turned into a bitter sweet week for me. At first, I was super happy about all the things that I had previously mentioned in the blog before, mainly being that my family was going to come out and visit me for the weekend. However, through a sad turn of events, I found out Wednesday night that Erin and Neal wouldn't be able to come due to a tragedy of their own. My brother John and his wife Andrea were still planning on coming out though and they did on Wednesday evening. After walking a couple laps around LAX we finally met up! I brought them back to Park La Brea where my lovely friends had dinner waiting for us! Aren't they great!? Unfortunately John and Andrea were completely exhausted because their clock is three hours ahead and might have come across as big duds. hahaha i'm just kidding guys! They liked you! I think.... :) Thursday, I took them to class with me then we hit up the Grove where we walked around for a bit and had Pinkberry for the first time. They LOVED it! Then we drove out that evening to Costa Mesa to stay with Debbie and Greg. Friday we rode bikes down to Newport beach where we took a little nap while watching some surfers then we came back and Debbie and Greg had started making a Thanksgiving dinner for us since I won't be able to have one at home! It was so good! Then Saturday we went out to Huntington Beach and watched a surfing competition and had a great lunch a Ruby's. They have the BEST milkshakes ever!!! Next we went and saw 2012 (it was pretty epic) and finally came back for some r&r and dinner at the house. We drove back to LA this morning and I took them to Ecclesia, a church I've been going to since I've been out here. Then we met up with my friends at In N Out for lunch which was good but we're still completely full from all the food we've had this weekend so now we're all feeling a little queasy....Then we toured around LA a bit and now I think I've worn them out because they keep on collapsing on my bed. But that's alright :)
Well they keep on interrupting me so I'm having troubling concentrating...haha....I better go entertain them some more! Erin and Neal, I love you guys so much. I've been thinking about you a lot. I'm praying for you and still can't wait to see you when I get home!

Top of the World

"I"m on the top of the world lookin down on creation and the only explanation I can find is the love that I've found ever since you've been around, your love's put me at the top of the world..."

I suppose you could say I'm feeling completely different than I was on last Monday. It's kind of scary how drastically my moods can change, but there a few reasons I'm feeling better....let me explain:

First off, I'M DONE FILMING CANDY!!!!!!! YAY! Don't get me wrong I LOVED working on pre-production stuff, making all the costumes, and pulling everything together, but on the set is stressful. It's okay though cause now I'm done! This past week was basically my finals week and it's only the middle of November! Now I've got about a month to only worry about my internship and one class and nothing else other than sides projects me and my friends are wanting to do. YES!

Secondly, I mentioned before that I went to the Ellen Show. It was a lot of fun! I loved watching all the producers and production people running around making sure that everything runs smoothly. PLUS we had AWESOME seats! Second row on the aisle, we were about 20 feet away from Ellen. Because of our amazing seats there was a camera pretty much right in front of us. That plus our kick butt dance moves earned us the privilege of being singled out by said camera dude who took his camera off the tripod and pointed it right at my face! I haven't seen the episode yet (airs today) but my friend back home just texted me and said I was on tv! Sweet!

Thridly, tonight I get to see pretty much my all time favorite musical artist IMOGEN HEAP IN CONCERT!!! I can't wait! She seems so super cool! She's been a little sick though so I'm praying she'll be alright, not only for tonight you know but in general as well! :)

Fourthly, to top everything off... MY FAMILY IS COMING TO TOWN THIS WEEK!!!! I have the BEST brothers and sisters possible! They're all coming out to visit me in LA! YAY!!!! I've been missing them all so much and now they're actually going to be here! I just have to think of some cool things for us to do!

Basically I'm doing pretty good. And to top everything off, my dad keeps sending my text pics of a litter of kittens at our house that I get to see in about a month. I love kittens.


- 5 points to anyone that can name the band that sings the lyrics at the top of this post. (erin you are excluded from this contest...)

Bakes Potato, Ellen, Relax

Ahh.....I'm doing much better :)

It's amazing what a baked potato can do for one's morale....
So, there's still a lot of work that needs to be done to pull "CANDY" together, but I think it's going to work. I'm gaining my optimism again. :) Also, I've seen the footage and it looks pretty stinkin' good.... hooray!
Another thing to pep me up is my amazing friend, Danielle, invited me to go to the "Ellen Show" with her tomorrow! YAY! It's funny, I've grown up always kind of hating Ellen because people would call me Ellen DeGeneres and I didn't like that. But now I'm just excited about to be going to a show! I haven't been a part of a live audience yet and I'm really pumped now! Maybe she'll give everyone in the audience some gifts! or just me! because my name is Ellen too!
Wow, I just realized I legitimately have a little bit of free time! Maggie and I are going to hear Tony Lucca tonight at the Hotel Cafe. It's supposed to be a nice chill concert that she got free tickets to but it doesn't start till 9 and it's only 7:18 so I've got some time to RELAX!! oh, this is nice...
Well, everyone, I love you all and thank you for being so encouraging especially over the past couple days. I really needed that. :)

Allow Me to Update...

Hello everyone! Yes, I know...it's been a while since I've updated. Let me put it this way... everything I've ever said about being busy/stressed/overwhelmed all pale in comparison to how I've felt this weekend. Filming for "CANDY" is officially underway. I don't even have it in me to retell all the mishaps and problems we had throughout the weekend. I will say that I personally didn't have any major problems with my production design stuff and it's one of the few things that went fairly smoothly and our footage is actually looking great! Everyone just got really stressed out during the shoot and with all the things that went wrong and so today I think I was just feeling the stress of everyone else and just felt depressed all day long. Today was probably the worst day I've had since I've been out here. Like I said I was just depressed and feeling the stress of lots of different things all at once. I kept receiving encouraging little notes all day from my friends and while they helped they also hurt because it just made me miss them more and then my mom called this evening and I just kind of broke down. SO! That's been my weekend! Yup.
I'll be fine! No worries! I would assume everyone has these sorts of days. However, I did receive one of the best endings to such a horrible day. I look in my mailbox and miraculously there is a package from one of the CLOSIES!! Not just any package but a package that has....the SCARF!!!!! yes, THE scarf.... for those that don't know about the scarf, just know that it's very special and made my day.
Also. Romeo and Juliet was not the best choice of a movie to end my day with. Such a tragedy... oh Romeo...

Autumn-esque, Gnawing, Ponies

Hello Everyone and Happy Halloween Week!

I've always really loved Halloween for some reason! Maybe it's simply because it's just another excuse to wear a costume! I feel like it has taken a while but Fall has finally started to mingle it's way out here to L.A. It's actually about 84 out today but tomorrow is supposed to be in the 60's, so it's gradually cooling down, the trees that aren't palms are beginning to loose some leaves, and now thanks to my parent's care package I have three mini pumpkins, more candy corn, and mulling spices! I'm feeling a bit more Autumn-esque! Which is why my friend Tera and I are hosting a Fall Fun Fest at my apartment on Friday! We're going to have chili, apple cider, pumpkin muffins, and pumpkin carving! I'm really excited! We're going to need that time to wind down before thing get really crazy over the weekend! That's when filming for CANDY starts! I can't believe it's already time to start filming! I remember thinking, man that's not till the end of the semester! and now it's here!
I've got this week to get ALL the costumes, props, and sets completely mashed out and locked down. oh my... I'm feeling pretty good about the costumes. I've still got some stuff to find and make but right now my main concern is dressing some of the sets to make them look really good and believable for our horror fairy tale!
Speaking of horror. I was in another zombie film yesterday. It's so weird to me that I keep getting sucked into helping make horror films when I absolutely can't stand to watch them! I will admit, though, they're pretty fun to make! So, anyways, I was a zombie and REALLY got into it. Perhaps a bit too much, I was gnawing on my friend Kelsey's ankle for a good few minutes at one point while everyone was just sort of "fake" chewing/hovering over her... nope ... not me ... gnawing! haha....it's going to be pretty funny though!
Good news! I believe I mentioned before how my brother and sister in law are coming out to visit... well...now my sister and brother in law are coming too!!!! YAY! I'm so HAPPY! I've just got to figure out what all I'm going to take them to and entertain them with! BUT I'm so excited to see them! Especially since it's the week before Thanksgiving and I won't get to be home with them, but I MIGHT be in Vegas! Wouldn't that make for an interesting Thanksgiving!
Before I go, here's a couple pictures my dad sent me of my home in Sparta and our new ponies we just got!

PRETTY PRETTY PRINCESS

Do you ever have those days where you're looking forward to something that evening so much that the rest of the day, which was actually fine and normal, seemed awful and long? Well I do... and I did.... today.

After my internship ended at 6:00, Michael (my fellow intern) and I started our 45 minute drive back home due to intense Friday evening traffic....ugggg. After sitting inside all day all I wanted to do was move around and feel the breeze but all I got was stalled car exhaust and angry people honking their horns.
Once I FINALLY got home... Maggie and I grabbed our belongings and then booked it on over to Kelsey's for GIRL'S NIGHT!!!!! YAYYYYY!!!! We had been talking about it all week and I've been so pumped to just sit with girls and do girly things! For instance: we made a delicious tortellini chicken creamy pesto dinner with salad and garlic bread (mmm!) THEN as we digested we went to the hot tub to relax and unwind (totally did the trick!) NEXT we went back to the apartment for Chocolate Covered Strawberries for dessert! (perfection!) And while we munched on those we also play....PRETTY PRETTY PRINCESS!!! MY FAVORITE!!!! except I didn't win. :( but I will next time! Just you wait Princess of the Sea! THEN we had just your general and fabulous girl talk time which then transitioned into....drumroll please....."The Hannah Montana Movie!" SO CHEESY, but that's what girl nights are for! Am I right!? And finally we ended the evening with me dying Maggie's hair. (which looks fabulous!)
Basically, girl's nights are wonderful and I encourage everyone to try it out. Feel free to use some of our activities for your own evening but also be creative and create your own! For example, all our guy friends were jealous of our girl night, so they decided to have one of their own! It's still technically considered a "Girl Night" but they might have exchanged Hannah Montana and discussing feelings for Texas Hold' Em and potato chips. Make it your own!

Bliss, Done, $13.00

Oh bliss...I got to sleep in today! YAY! I didn't get up till 11:30! I NEVER sleep in that late, but it was mandatory...So I'm nice and kind of rested, at least more than I have been for the past week and a half.

I turned in my last MPP project yesterday! (The little Amine girl movie?) Yeah! So I turned it in and it went over pretty well I guess! I'm just happy to be done! It was totally fun to work on but... you know what I mean!
My Dad has been sending me regular updates on our new kittens that the barn kitty had. They're SO cute and I wish I was at home so I could play with them!
Production for "CANDY" is moving along swimmingly...well at least for my part. We're having a hard time settling locations. BUT I hit the jack pot at this thrift store where everything is a dollar and I got a ton of stuff for my costumes for only $13.00! AMAZING! Especially when I was budgeting around $25.00 for each character! I love me some deals!
Here's the link to my youtube page if you want to check out my new video!

http://www.youtube.com/user/s306941

ENJOY!

Crimson, Janitor, Traffic


"Daddy! Meet the Crimson Crusador!"
This was a short I just acted in for my friend Mitch. It's going to be hilarious. I bring my superhero boyfriend home to meet my supervillain dad. So funny and incredibly hard to shoot due to intense giggle factor.
I writing from my internship. It's 6:06 and I've been here all day. It's a whole lot of sitting except when I get up and venture to the printer. The cleaning lady is here collecting all the trash. This is going to sound really really weird but I've always loved the sound of janitor's keys jingling as they clean. You don't have to call me a freak because I already know I am one. Hahaha...ha...
SO! Sorry this is so short and uninteresting but I need to get going if I'm ever going to make it through the downtown Hollywood traffic...sigh....
Night!

Bleepin, Pedro, Healthy

It was confirmed....at 6 bleepin 30 in the morning *ahem*...andrea...that my brother and sister in law are for sure coming to visit me in November!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M SO HAPPY!!!!!! I've been missing everyone so much and now I get to see two of them!!!! I was just telling my Dad today how wonderful November is going to be! The "Ellen" show, Imogen Heap, John and Andrea, possibly Vegas, Thanksgiving, Rooney....etc....I'm excited!

Last night was great! I made "No-Peak Chicken" for my roomies and some friends last night. We actually sat at the table and ate a meal....it was a first since we've been here! Then I served brownies for dessert! MMM!! Then I'm just hanging out in my room later around 11:30 and Maggie calls saying to get my bootie on down to the ArchLight cause she has an extra ticket for the midnight showing of "Where the Wild Things Are". It wasn't just any showing either! It was some production people exclusive showing so they were passing out paper crowns and had a raffle in the theatre before the movie started.....which.....I happened to win something!!! I got a DVD collection set of Spike Jonze short films and music videos and such. (He's the guy that directed WTWTA). So! I was very pleased! SO! I watch the movie which was GREAT and I find out later, from my friends that forgot to tell me at the time, that the person sitting in front of me (who I accidentally stuck my feet right in his face at one point...oops) was PEDRO from Napoleon Dynamite! So random! Too bad I didn't grab a pic....
So instead of going to bed at a reasonable hour and catching up on sleep like my mother instructed me to, I went to a midnight show and didn't get back till 3 a.m.... I'm literally running on fumes...and coffee......and chocolate.... i'm so healthy.

Better Rain, Yellow, Kittens

Oh what a beautiful morning!


The rain has stopped after a pretty much non-stop day of it yesterday. I liked it, but for some reason it wasn't as enjoyable as it is back home. Rain doesn't really suit LA. It just makes everything that already had layers of ash and dust on it all gritty and streaky. It doesn't feel clean because you know it's picking up so many polluted air particles on it's way down, and it was kind of a wimpy rain the whole time. HOWEVER, I was very very thankful for it! I'm just saying...TN rain is better :)

Today is yellow day. Every Thursday for the past 4-5 weeks we've been having a specific color day. Today is yellow! I had to get up early and go do laundry so that I could have something to wear. I literally rolled out of bed (pj's and all), grabbed my laundry bag & detergent, and went down to the basement. Miraculously I didn't see anyone... They might've been terrified to go back down and do laundry ever again!

Dad said our barn cat had kittens!! I'm so excited to see them! I LOVE kittens. Probably one of my favorite things in the world. Then egg nog, sonic ice, and mistletoe.

I think it's about time to go flip my laundry! I hope you're all having a good day!

That's How You Know!

just to make sure I'm not losing my touch....

Mornin People, Kelsey, ZZZ

Hello!

Excuse my blogging absence over the past couple days...it was my mini break, which turned out to not be a relaxing, take it easy, long weekend, but rather the busiest school break of my life! Busy but good. Let me tell...
FRIDAY, I already mentioned this, but I made pancakes that morning for all my friends that AREN'T morning people (giving them a taste of their own medicine for keeping me up so late all the time ;) j/k...). That afternoon, my amazing and super talented friend Kelsey Navarro set up auditions for the roles in my new short "Pretty Soldier Sailor Sun". It was so interesting and neat to see an idea of yours being taken seriously enough for it to just not be a joke among friends but as a real production. It was cool! I'm so thankful for Kelsey and how much she helped me. It really made a major difference on...
SATURDAY when we actually filmed my short and the actors and actresses showed up and they were all wonderful! I'm in the process of editing this week and seriously can't wait to finish it up! That evening I was so exhausted I took a bath and completely nearly drowned because I was so relaxed. It was heaven! Then I walked to the center with my pal, Joe, so that I could upload my new footage and while that happened I watched "Quest for Camelot." I just love that movie. It's so cheesy, but whoever was in charge of the music for that cartoon was really on top of their job!
SUNDAY I acted in, my friend, Danielle's short. I ran back to my room, changed, ate, and then sped back out the door to make it to a Jason Mraz concert on time. It was in San Diego which is about a two hour drive from here, but the concert was one dollar, and SO amazing! If it's possible he may even be BETTER in concert! So, we got back around 2 something...then I had to get up this morning and go costume shopping for CANDY which is going to start happening very very soon. This afternoon was nice. Danielle, Dana, and I (all on the CANDY crew) went location scouting at Griffith park. It felt so nice to be around trees and get some fresh air other than car exhaust. Then I made my way back to the center for some more editing until about one...now it's two...and I'm literally lying on my bed, typing with my eyes closed. It's time for me to say goodnight.
Goodnight :) zzz zzzz zzzzzzz....

Please Pray...

I'm making pancakes for a group of people this morning! I'll try to make you proud, Dad!


Other than the pancakes, I've actually had a rather sad morning. I just found out that my little sister in ZTA, Bonnie,her brother accidentally shot himself in the head last night. He's in the hospital but they're fairly certain he's not going to make it. As if that isn't devastating enough, she just lost her father unexpectedly just this summer because of a heart attack. I can't imagine what her family is going through.... So, if you all could just keep the Wilkes family in your prayers that would be greatly appreciated.

I'm missing you all! And I hope everything is going well. This weekend we have Friday and Monday off, so it will be nice to have a long weekend but it's still going to be busy with filming my movie and helping other's with theirs. So, poo...

Morning, Break, Chili

*SIGH*.....Good Morning!


Today is starting off nice and slow...and I love it! I went and got a bowl of cereal, came back to my warm bed, ate, and played this new silly game I got hooked on, on facebook. The day has been fabulous so far.
I have Theology in Hollywood at 10, an internship meeting at 12, then mpp class at 4 and that should do it as far as school goes today!
This weekend is our little mini fall break from internships. So I don't have to go anywhere on Friday and Monday!! YAY! It's going to be so great to just have a long weekend. I still have a lot I'll need to get done such as film my new short, but that should be fairly entertaining to do.
My friend, Joe, and I always somehow manage to start talking about holidays and home, which is sort of a dumb idea because then we both get really homesick :( BUT one of my other friends, Tera, and I decided we're going to have a Fall night! Complete with a pot of chili, pumpkin carving, and apple cider! It couldn't be more perfect! I'm already really excited! Well I better go get ready for class....see ya!

Dyed, Scones, Weirdo

I dyed my hair! I like it being darker....makes me feel more...mysterious... haha

I also made some scones! Which I'm eating for breakfast right now before I head out for my internship. Gotta start the day of right!

Pre-production for my next short is going well. It is now officially called Pretty Solider Sailor Sun. (It's supposed to be a pun on a real anime cartoon). One of my friends, Kelsey, is the producer for me, which is AMAZING. She is casting real actors for me and will help me find locations and such. It's a great help! It was funny, yesterday it was REALLY slow at work so I started to do some homework and I began to sketch out little anime girls (a prop for my movie) and I kept on looking over my shoulder afraid that someone would catch me drawing little Japanese looking people and think i'm a weirdo! ....hahaha I'm just like my character!

I went and saw Zombieland the other night.... oh dear....let's just say I'm not a horror movie person. I KNOW it was a comdey....but still... it got pretty intense in places! I say everyone that I watched Zombieland with has to go see Toy Story 1 and 2 in 3D with me! :)

Buddies, NOON, Zombieland

So long sweet weekend.

Friday....GRIND meeting/ hanging out with my BUDDIES!
Saturday....slept till NOON! (couldn't believe myself) laid by the pool, played a dead body in someone's vampire movie, and then dyed my hair
Sunday.... slept in, went to church at NOON (that's right, they have church at NOON here in LA) then did some special effects makeup for one of my friend's movies, then did some homework at the center, and was talked into going to see.... zombieland.... i think most of you can imagine what face I'm making right now...yup. that's the one.
Tomorrow....I go to my internship all day and then have a mandatory screening for class that evening.

Tonight's Gonna Be A Good Night

TEN, ANIME, WE'LL SEE

Okay, that last one didn't really count as a real blog...like I said, I had one too many candy corns.


SO! What have I been up to these past couple days...what HAVE I been up to?? Everything is starting to blur together, no, not like I'm about to pass out, but speed wise. The weeks are flying by! Today Danielle and I were in the pool (I know...I know... :) ) and she said she couldn't believe we only have 10 weeks left! WHA!?! I was stunned. I literally feel like I just got here! There's so much to be done between now and then! YIKES! One day at a time....I shall be of the present!

TODAY...I went to theology in hollywood at 10 o'clock! Then booked it to the pool where I jotted down my next pitch idea that I'm giving today in less than an hour....yup. I like my idea. (The anime girl one?) It cracks me up, I just hope people know I'm kidding about it...
I'm also meeting someone to talk about the possibility of me doing some design work for their short film. Not a class project short film...but a legit he has a budget 45 minute or so short film. In the words of Tony Hale.... "we'll see."

Halloween, Candy Corn, Fangs



one too many candy corns...

Geek, Acting, Pitch

What a day! I got up at 8-ish then heading straight over to Joe's to start filming for his short! I actually had a part in it. I played a geeky comic book loving girl that gets hit on by a jerk but then saved by a cute geek. It's funny yet slightly embarrassing but it's all good. :)
After filming Joe's I headed straight back to the apartment to be in Maggie's film. I played a quirky hippie type girl that takes her goldfish with her wherever she goes. She meets a germaphobe in an elevator and they hit it off. It's cute, slightly embarrassing, but all good.
Acting is interesting...I think I like it. It's fun to do but then slightly painful to watch yourself on screen. I'm kind of learning a lot about myself though. Like I said ...it's interesting.
I have to pitch my next short film idea this coming Tuesday. I really really really want to do something about a little Asian girl that loves anime and dresses up like her favorite characters but gets made fun of at school but then stands up for herself in the end. Hahaha! I would love it! BUT this is my last shot for a film idea in class so I want to make sure it's one that I'll like and be able to do well.
I love you all! Thanks for reading! It's fun to know people get on here and check up on me!


p.s.- I made cupcakes!

Dream, Leaf-Blower, Pumpin Spice

I just woke up and instead of seeing the normal corner of my bedroom I saw the corner of my bedroom from home....very distinctly. Then that led to me half sleep/ half day-dream about what all would be going on at home at this exact moment. It included hearing my mom in the kitchen probably baking some goodies while she listens to her relaxing music, hearing my dad somewhere in the distance outside with the leaf-blower, because of course the whole yard is covered in crisp beautiful Fall leaves, and inside mom has a pumpkin spice candle burning probably next to a cute little pumpkin she got from Kirkland's...

That's what I woke up to....it was nice.

stuffed, oreos, name-tags

Ahh... sometimes, it just feels REALLY good to get completely stuffed. I haven't been able to go to the grocery store for about two weeks due to my intense filming schedule but since I'm done with that now (more about that in a minute) I had a chance to run to Ralphs (the Kroger equivalent out here). I got chat with my beloved sister-in-law and also buy so many wonderful goodies! Chicken, lettuce, spinach, feta cheese, hummus, black olives, salad dressing, pita bread, and oreos! :) I feel like I just ate about half of all that but it was completely worth it...

So! Now I'm at my apartment, typing, listening to ashley and emily's nashville playlist, smelling this great autumn apple candle, and all wrapped up in a blanket with the AC cranked up sort of pretending it's a chilly fall evening. My revere just got interrupted though by some extremely loud police car outside my window...ah... L.A...
My short film that I made! I showed it to my class on Tuesday. It went over fairly well. They said that they liked my style.. crazy pound pup you wanna ride well then hop in my truck...sorry... Jason Mraz tangent there. But seriously, they liked how colorful and happy everything was, which makes me laugh at myself that I'm that stereotypical but at the same time I love it! :) There were some issues with understanding my character's dramatic need and overall arch, but I see what they're talking about now and will hopefully make something better!
The Price is Right was not right....in fact we were cut off from the line by TWO people!!! ahhh!!! It's ok though, we're going to try again cause, heck! i'll be out here for the whole semester! AND I also sweet talked one of the workers there into giving us those big yellow name tags with our names written on them just for kicks and giggles. I think we did make it on TV though. It was a special episode they were filming today with like three guest contestants and we were waiting outside when they pulled up and their camera guy scanned the crowd so we like freaked out and I think he got us!
Well, I guess I'll go do some homework and start brainstorming for my next mpp story...

Also...

D. Ellen Kay
c/o LAFSC
5455 Wilshire Blvd. #1615
Los Angeles, CA 90036

:)

Math, Candy, Nurse




I should seriously be sleeping right now, but I hate to start a new week without properly documenting the last one. You've heard about most of my week, but what of the week-END?
Basically I have been in one constant delirious state due to lack of sleep. First my work week was full and falling into what I think is going to be a constant busy pace. Friday was nice because I got to get off work early (3:30 instead of 6:30). I thought I was going to be productive, but instead I designed a logo for "Candy". Which I suppose is productive, but just not what I was planning.

Here it is! This isn't exactly the finished product yet. After getting it approved by my director we decided some dark purple tones would fit better in the orbs instea
d, but other than that he liked it! And I'm glad because I actually feel proud of it! :)

Saturday, there was no rest for the weary. I got up at 6:00 AFTER staying up till about 3:00 the night before (you do the math, cause I'll just pretend I am...ha ;) Anyways...so I got up at 6:00 so that I could skype with my family! They were all home in Sparta for Friday night, so I got up in time to have "breakfast" with them via video chat! It was good to see them all....except I got a little homesick seeing them all there without me. So, then I decided to use my depressed energy and do something productive! (my new favorite word) My friend Danielle and I went to the center to get in some early morning editing. I spent most of the day there, then helped a friend make his film for the rest of the evening. H
is story is about a guy that has a crush on a girl, and in order impress her he signs up for a blood drive she's volunteering at even though he has a horrible fear of blood and needles. So he goes and sees everything as if it were a horror film. That's where I come in! I played the creepy, scary, bloody nurse that takes his blood.

Don't worry Mom and Dad, I haven't gone off the deep end... it's just for class.

So, yeah! I had a lot of fun being creepy and scary. This makeup job I did landed me a spot as production designer for another classmate who is wanting to make a zombie film. It's weird being involved with so many horror movies. Doesn't seem very characteristic of myself. But it's actually really fun!

Friday, Saturday, SUNDAY! Today was nothing but sitting in the production lab editing. yup.
It was very PRODUCTIVE. I actually finished my film! Which is good because I basically won't have any other time to work on it before it's due on Tuesday....sigh...

Ok, seriously. I'm going to bed!

Skype, Right Price, Rocky

It's currently 6:33 a.m. here in not-so-sunny yet L.A. I have technically had less than three hours of sleep, more like a nap! But it was worth it since I got to skype with my entire family! They were all in Sparta for a night so we jumped on the opportunity for my brother to provide the technical assistance needed to get my family video chatting! It was good to see them...except sad because they were eating dad's pancakes without me!!! Yes, dad is doing better, he looked good and is obviously feeling spry enough to flip some flapjacks!

Even though, it's still ridiculously early for a Saturday morning, I think I may attempt to stay awake and be productive. I'm currently in the process of editing my video that I just filmed. I've already got the opening montage finished, which is about a minute, but I still have around 4 more minutes to complete. SO much work for just a few minutes! Insane!

Exciting news! I get to go to the Price is Right on Tuesday! Cool huh!?! My roomie got free tickets so the four of us are heading out to chill with Drew Carey! I don't know what I'll do if I get on. I'm so bad with numbers and guessing prices that I would almost prefer to not get up there and spare myself the embarrassment! It's still going to be fun to watch!

Things for "Candy" are going well. We're currently getting script revisions which is turning into more ghastly characters for me to create. I'm so excited! I really am. I should probably be a bit more terrified of what an enormous responsibility I have but instead I'm just pumped and feel even more motivated because of the challenge. (Insert me doing the Rocky while jogging in place).

For right now though, I am A: going to hunt down a sweater cause it's bleeping FREEZING in the living room right now! and B: going to make an incredibly large pot of coffee... mmm :)

Bedtime...

I stepped into the bath tub to wash my feet before bedtime (habit I picked up from Mom) but when I turned on the faucet the shower lever was still pulled up.....I got completely soaked....


the end.

Coffee, Minor, Kissing

Ah.... a day off.... how splendid! I'm sitting at our kitchen table with my roomie, Dana. We're the early birds of our room and we both love coffee! SO, each week I'll have Wednesdays and Thursdays off from my internship because of classes I have later in the afternoon. Technically the day isn't "off" but when I don't have to get up at 7:00, it feels pretty relieving.

My family had a little scare the other day...my dad had minor heart attack. He's had a major heart attack before and was actually in Peru when it happened. The doctors put in a stent after that but this time it just got clogged again. He was rushed to surgery and they put in another and now he's fine. I got to talk to him that night and really did sound good. It was just scary, esp. since I was at my internship all day and didn't check my phone for a while, so when I did I had missed calls and texts from my family saying "Minor Emergency." (haha...when I was telling my dad this on the phone he feigned indignation and was like, "MINOR!? Which one of you said Minor?!") I knew then he really was fine. Just pray for him though, he's going through some other medical stuff too.

CHANGE of TONE...

Last night was my first acting class! I had to prepare a two minute dialogue from any movie and then deliver it in front of my class and a camera, which we then re-watched later on. I completely bombed my lines, which I really did have memorized, but my nerves got the best of me... I hate nerves. I hate being nervous. What's the point, it just makes you and everyone watching you feel awkward. It's going to be an intense class. They're not just showing up tricks of the trade but how to actually BE a character and in order to do that you have to know who YOU are. There's going to be a lot of self discovery, but I'm excited about it. I think it's going to be therapeutic and very very interesting.
p.s.- Maggie, Bethany, and myself are the only girls out of our class of like 20. That's fine except for the fact that on our application for the class we had to say whether or not we would be comfortable with romantic scenes (aka kissing), Maggie and I answered it thinking like of in the long run...like if we made it as real actors....so we said yes. After last night though we found out that there may actually be some...ahem...."close scenes" with people from our class AND that Bethany said "no" on her application meaning Maggie and I are apparently going to have to make out with the ENTIRE CLASS!!! oh dear... I'm not looking for THAT much self-discovery!

Piece of Cake



I had my first short film production filming today! yay! except boo....not that it went bad! it's just that I am SO tired! Here's some pics from today!

Directing takes a lot out of you! I did discover, though, that directing is not for me. I had kind of been considering directing as a direction to head towards, but after today I think I see it's not for me. I have found, however, another route that looks ten times more promising and interesting....production design!
Production designers are responsible for creating the world that the characters will inhabit, which can include setting, props, costumes, make up....everything! I really like it though!
This past week my entire class (52 of us) were divided into 5 groups where everyone has an individual job and we create a team much like a real production crew including director, producers, director of photography, etc. SO! Guess what job I was assigned.... production design!
Not only were we assigned our jobs and groups but also what scripts we would be working on this entire semester until our big premiere in December. Our script is called "Candy" and it was written by one of my new friends Jeremy Navarro (the doctor that I was putting make up on up there). It's a sweet scary horror story involving children, werewolves, creepy santas, and all sorts of jacked up fairy tale characters gone bad. I really like it. And I have to create all of it.
Insane, yet really exciting. So! You'll probably hear me talk quite a bit about this project, "Candy", as the semester progresses.

Dancing with Hot Dogs




Today I spent from 9:30 to 6:30 at my new internship. It's going pretty good there! I'm already beginning to feel more confident and comfortable there and I think it's going to be swell, even though it was an extremely long day... Tonight, however, I was able to kick up my heels (literally)...me and the roomies went dancing! It was interesting but eventually quite fun! We kind of stuck to our little corner and did our own thing which turned out to be great! We'll have to go again!

Contrary to what the title of this blog would have you believe, we didn't really dance with hot dogs, but I did have a hot dog thrown at my car tonight. yup. This kamikaze man walking his dog started darting across the street so I didn't know if I should slam on the brakes or just slow my path and calmly give him plenty of space as I curve in front of him. I chose the latter and apparently he didn't like that so he chucked his hot dog at my car! Like I really wanted to hit him and his dog! psh! Oh well.

Other funny things happened tonight, but I'm getting too tired to tell them. Especially since I need to get up early tomorrow and
start production for my first short film that I'm directing! woo hoo and oh dear... mixed emotions.

We'll see!

Labor Day and Internship


As you all know, yesterday was Labor Day, and for the first time I believe in my life I'm actually going to a school that recognizes it as a holiday and gave us the day off! It was great!
My friends, Maggie, Danielle, and Penny, loaded up and drove to Malibu for a day at the beach! The sand was hot, the water was cold, and the breeze was just right. The waves were perfect too until they swiped my most beloved sunglasses off my head! I was even holding onto them and I felt them slip through my fingers... I was so sad. Oh well...
Today, however, was my first day at my internship! I am at Film Roman which is part of Starz Media. It's a small animation company that has produced shows like King of the Hill and the Simpsons. I get to be around a lot of artists and watch them work while I mainly sort through and organize all the archives of original works. I'll be pretty busy, but it's going to be neat stuff to be around!
I better go. I'm going with a group tonight to the midnight showing of "9". I haven't heard anything about this film and have no clue what it's about, but I'm going. SO, it should be interesting!

John Williams and Justin Timberlake


What a GREAT evening!

Tonight was the big John Williams concert, which was of course, AMAZING!!! It was totally on my list of things to do before I die (to see him in concert) and I actually did! He gave three encore performances Yoda's Theme, Star Wars opening theme, and then E.T. all after an amazing concert before.
So, as my friends and I are giddily walking down the hill around the back of the stadium, we're passing all of these cars waiting to pull out, I'm walking right next to one, look at the driver and think to myself "wow, he's really good looking, he looks sorta like Justin Timberlake." I double take, LOCK EYES with the man, then proceed to freak out because it is indeed Justin Timberlake...staring at me! Ok, not staring, but locking eyes for a good 2 seconds! THEN I see on the passenger side none other than his girl Jessica Biel! I couldn't believe it! I tell my friend. She freaks out. Then the paparazzi hears us and starts going crazy around their car! HA! oops. Sorry JT and JB.

John Williams and Justin Timberlake all in one night! Unbelievable....

Gay as a Goose

Gay as a goose... that's how one man I met on the street yesterday referred to himself. It was interesting, and I ended up giving in $5.00. I've never given out money like that before. I'm still not sure if it was a scam or not.... either way, it was a convincing performance and he deserved the tip.


Also...I am officially an intern at the Film Roman Animation Studios. woot woot! I went in for an interview this morning, it went splendidly, they told me on the spot that they would love to have me, and I replied right on the spot that I would love to join them! So I did! I get to be in close contact with 2-D animation artists that have worked on shows such as King of the Hill and the Simpsons. (Maybe I'll ask one of them to Simpsonize me!)

Basically I just felt really good about it and it sounded exactly like what I was wanting to investigate. Plus the lady I'll be working with seems really neat and laid back. She said it's a lot of work but it's all really fun!

I'm also starting pre-production on one of my first independent short films. I have a feeling it's going to turn out a little rough... but we'll see!

p.s.- I'm about to wet myself because I'm so excited about tomorrow night!!! (john williams in concert...remember?) I drove by the Hollywood Bowl today, which is where he'll be performing, and I got honked at twice because I was so distracted. haha oops!

I should be asleep right now, but mom told me to update this more often, so...here's for you ma!

Ellen

Interviews

Today was a big day.


I had my first L.A. interview. True it was only with one of the staff members that helps us decide which places to apply for, but still, it was an interview. I felt good about it! I'll be applying at two places. One is called Film Roman. They work in 2D animation on shows like King of the Hill and the Simpsons. Not that I'm a huge fan of either but still it would be neat to see how things are done. The second, though, is at Dreamworks in the graphic design consumer
product department. It's not dealing with film as much as I would like, but it's got whole lot more opportunities for progressing within the company. I actually already heard back from Dreamworks (which is weird now that I have DREAMWORKS in my cell phone haha) Then later on in the afternoon I had another interview.... funny story time.

SO...When I first got here we were already given two assignments: create a character description, and turn in a reel of previous works. Both of which I did. "My reel", called The Closies dvd, consisted solely of my disney videos simply because that was all I had and I needed to turn in SOMETHING. So, after I turned in my reel I asked my roomies later what their reels were like. They all said they didn't turn one in since we didn't have to. My respone: "WHAT!?! we didn't have to!?!" "No they're only if you want to be considered for a director's spot". I'm stunned and embarrassed. I go to class the next day and ask my teacher "So...those reels...you haven't watched them yet have you?" he replies, "Oh the Closies, we loved the Closies" i'm turning red. Another teacher pipes in "Yeah! When I saw you come into class I was like there's the Closie girl!" redder. I then explain how I didn't realize we didn't have to turn in a reel, so my teacher told to come into his office. He was like, "So you really didn't know?" me, "Yeah, I thought we had to!" he says, "Well are you interested at all in directing, cause they're really good and we were going to ask you back for the second cut for the interview." I was shocked/embarrassed/in disbelief. It was great. That was why I had another interview this evening. It went well too! I really won't be surprised if I don't get one of the five spots available, but it's still neat I made it this far!

I'll let you know how everything pans out...

OH! 11:11 make a wish!

How to Talk About Jesus Without Freaking Out

So, that last post wasn't a real update...more like me just freaking out when I found out and needed to tell some people.


Last week was amazing. I'm REALLY liking it out here in L.A. The people that are teaching the school are all really great. I think when people say Christians in Hollywood, most people think of them making movies like "Fireproof" and "Facing the Giants", which are fine movies, but that's not what we're working towards. We're aiming to be intertwined into the film industry and share a lifestyle that is completely different than what they're used to.

I feel my eyes being opened and accepting where I used to judge and more importantly I feel a need for me to be out here, which is weird for me.

There was a couple that came and spoke to us the other morning about "How to Talk About Jesus Without Freaking Out". This couple just oozed love and they talked about how so many people in Hollywood latch onto them just because they want someone to care. It's sad. A lot of Hollywood-ians become so bitter against Christians since all they ever hear about them is just another protest to a movie or letters saying they're going to Hell. It's not effective. In fact stuff like that is crushing what Christians out here are working towards.

ANYWAY...what I'm trying to say is that I'm already learning a lot, and I'm liking it a whole lot out here...maybe too much. :)

John Williams

YOU GUYS!!!!

I JUST FOUND OUT THAT I GET TO SEE JOHN WILLIAMS IN CONCERT AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL ON SEPTEMBER 5TH!!!!!!

THAT TOTALLY GETS ME OFF!!!!!

LAFSC

So as you know, I've been in LA for a week but now I'm officially an LAFSC student! (which stands for Los Angeles Film Studies Center). The next two weeks are going to be all orientation stuff, which I feel that I have never needed more than now. It is seriously an adjustment to live out here. There ARE NOT Wal-Marts around every corner, I hear about 3 different languages daily, and everyone always looks completely fabulous.


I'm really loving my roommates and even all the other students in my class for that matter. They're all great and seem like genuinely cool people. It's weird to think that I'll be super close with a lot of these people by the end of the semester and most likely lifelong friends, just makes me wonder who they will be...

I should start a list of new words or phrases that I learn out here. I've actually already picked up one. "Gets me off" yeah...sounds a little weird doesn't it? can't quite help saying it without a giggle, but apparently it means you think something is cool. I.E. --- "This jacket totally gets me off!"

Well I'm going to hop on over to the all salt water pool!! eek!

My Week In California

Alrighty.... so this week.


Sunday - watched "500 Days of Summer" at a small restored theatre down the street

Monday - full day at the Huntington Beach. basically baking ourselves in the sun. watched "Rocky" 's with Greg

Tuesday - went to Hollywood and played tourist for the day! saw the walk of fame, THE sign, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and the Kodak Center. That night, saw my first major league baseball game... the Dodgers!

Wednesday - San Diego Zoo!!! amazing.

Thursday - Huntington Beach Pier at sunset and dinner at a crab shack. perfect.

Friday - Amelia flew home :( sitting at a coffee shop (The Coffee Bean) my new favorite coffee shop! might be going out to a show tonight with my aunt and uncle.

tomorrow - i move in and meet my roommates and classmates for the first time.

basically, things are good. :)

really really quick update!

Amelia is already packed and tapping her foot for me to get up and out of the Holiday Inn in Kingman, AZ. This is our last leg of our trip... we will be in California tonight!!!

But first we must cross the wide and vast Mohave desert.... dun dun dun.... I'm excited though!
Ok! Have to go!!!

Ellen

Quick Update

Ok! Real quick...


I'm sitting in a hotel in Albuquerque, NM. Amelia and I drove over 400 miles yesterday!!!
Made it through Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. It is gorgeous out here! We even saw a monstrous thunderstorm coming at us from miles of open desert!
We just ate breakfast and we need to get packed up and hit the road so that we can make it to Flagstaff and then possibly the Grand Canyon!!! But we will most definitely see the Petrified Forrest!
I'm so stoked! God's creation is breathtaking!

Ellen

On the Road...

Alright! Well Amelia and I are officially on the road!

Yesterday we took off around 5:45 a.m. and headed to Nashville to say a quick goodbye to Emily and Ashley, then went north from there towards St. Louis!
About halfway there my air-conditioning in my new car decided to poop out.... yeah.... I kind of got stressed and then really frazzled where we couldn't find anywhere to stay for under $200 dollars it seemed like. So, we settled on a smaller town outside of St. Louis and stayed at a Hampton Inn with a student discount! cha ching! We hit relax mode at that point. Ate some Olive Garden with the gift-card Barb Hoffberg gave me, watched "The Ugly Truth" in a theatre all to ourselves, and then took a dip in the hot tub and pool at the hotel before hitting the hay.

We were completely exhausted and I'll admit I think we were both surprised by how rocky things had gone, but we were determined to not let the rest of our trip be stressful like that. So, today we started anew with a good rest and breakfast, the ac worked all day, we hit up Route 66 for the first time, saw great things including the World's Largest Totem Pole, and then settled in Norman, OK with Amelia's friend Jacquie who is graciously letting us crash here for the night.

Tomorrow we hit desert!

All My Bags Are Packed I'm Ready to Go...

I admit... I'm getting a little overwhelmed right now.

Mainly because my room is in shambles, I still need to go to wal-mart for what feels like the 6th time today, I'm exhausted, and we're leaving in the morning at 5.
(well... 5-6-ish)
I"m also getting stressed about the possible graduation in December, which I still don't know if that is going to happen yet or not. I hate it when I get stressed out like this... it's not very normal for me.
I need to just pause and look at the present extraordinary big picture.
I'M LEAVING IN THE MORNING TO MOVE TO HOLLYWOOD... wow...
I'm going to be alright :)
Thanks everyone for your support, it seriously means a ton!

Also, sorry to those of you that were following this blog... i accidentally deleted you somehow...oops! Just join once more and I won't do it again!

Home Alone, Harry Potter, and Speedometers

This is it....don't get scared now...(haha home alone)


But seriously it's getting close to go time!
Today was a breakthrough.... it finally kicked in that I was going. Me and mom had a good talk about the future and things. I also had a good conversation with Amelia today at Rock Island, a great place to go and gather your thoughts. We were also fortunate enough to be the first to congratulate a newly engaged couple there on the rocks in front of the falls! So sweet!

So, the pile has begun on the side of my bedroom that will consist of everything I will take to LA. So far I have my bed sheets, blanket, towels, textbooks, slippers, camera, wand, and owl. (haha)


Tomorrow puts a damper on my packing progress since I'll have to spend FOUR hours in driving school for my silly speeding ticket -hmph...

However, tomorrow evening, I get to see my dear friends Ashley, Jordan, and Courtney! It's been so long! It'll be a nice pick me up after relearning how to read a speedometer all day :|

Missing Autumn

When I look out my window here in Sparta all I see is green. The color is emphasized even more today by the gentle rainfall that started early this morning. I'll miss it.


I also had the thought the other day how I won't get to see the amazing transformation of Summer to Autumn, my favorite season. Thoughts like these worry me that I'll get homesick easily, but I know it is totally worth the experience.

One of my closest friends, Ashley Schreiber, is going to Poland for two years!
http://www.myadventuresinpoland.blogspot.com/
If that's not enough inspiration to get me through one semester in L.A. I don't know what is! Actually I do. It's all my friends and family that have encouraged me to push myself and go in the first place. They're proud of me, I can tell, and that gives me determination and motivation.

Haha I'm really not as depressed about going as this blog may sound! I'm just being contemplative. I think because I realize what a big, potentially life-changing experience this will be for me. I think I'm ready...

Getting Started

Well, here I go.


Today is July 21, 2009. The day after my 22nd birthday. I suppose
now is a good time to start documenting preparation phase of my
epic trip to L.A.

That's right! For for those that don't know, I will be going to Los
Angeles Film Studies Center for the entire Fall semester. It's a
program through Union University and was an option B for Film
Studies minors. I didn't ever think that option B applied to me, but
then God kept on bringing it to my attention and had to be extremely
obvious before I finally caught on that that is where I'm supposed to go!
So, now I have 4 weeks from tomorrow before me and my best friend,
Amelia, hit THE road of all roads... Route 66! We're going old school
to Los Angeles, CA all the way from little ol' Sparta, TN.
A round of applause for Amelia who is going to drive ALL the way out
there with me and then fly back! *clap*clap*clap* What a pal!

So basically, this small town girl is going to LA. I'm not really sure how
I'm going to survive but it is going to be great! This blog will probably
be full with lots of great accounts of me embarrassing myself in front of
famous people, or getting lost in the jungle of traffic, but also hopefully
of some great things that will happen while I'm out there!


Ellen in Sparta