ellen in L.A.

I'm Back!, Things are good, 4th of July

2011-07-05T14:29:00.000-07:00

So, 4 months later.... here's an update!

I am definitely back in Nashville now!!!! Back in my old house that I was in before, back with my friends, back with the boyfriend, back with my family close by, and still back to Outback (hopefully not for too much longer though!)

Things are good. There was definitely some transition time needed. I didn't realize how much time I was spending by myself in Florida... I had to get used to being intentional with my time management again with friends AND work. It's going really good though.

This past weekend felt like a mini-vacation for the 4th of July. All the Buford girls were in town for the first time since September, Brandon and I went to Sparta for a quick trip to see my family all together since I've been back, and then yesterday we had a big grill out at his parent's house with all our friends complete with bubbles, water balloon toss, and sprinkler dancing, and sparklers. It was a great 4th of July. I am blessed.

The book my sister wrote that I illustrated for her is now published and in print at Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com! I also have my book "Patient As the Moonlight" on it's way to be printed very soon! AND I've also found a potential new job. It's a with a social media design firm. It seems really cool and friendly. It'd be a salary job in a creative field which would be incredible. SO! Fingers crossed and lots of prayers please! Things are happening, even when it seems like they aren't :) God is good.

Ell

Upside down Birds, Shout Out, Good Things

2011-04-10T12:05:00.000-07:00

Sitting on the floor of my now, packed-up, Florida bedroom. I am all ready for my big move back home to Tennessee!!!

Speaking of.. yesterday was my last night at my Outback job here in Lakeland, I was telling this one lady about how I was moving back home to Tennessee and she proceeds to say.. "You know why birds fly upside down over Tennessee right?" Knowing I was being baited for something, I could only smile and ask "Why?" She responds, "Because there's nothing worth shitting on there!" Hahahaha I was too shocked to be offended! We laughed and I told her how wonderful it really was there and that's there's plenty worth "shitting on" there in my opinion! (uh you know what I mean...) THEN she said if I'm looking for a nice young man I should look up her nephew, NOT her son mind you, she said he's not very good but her nephew is very nice! haha.... oh I'm going to miss these interesting Lakeland folks. Apparently she is a truck driver and just doesn't like the Nashville traffic (who does?) and therefore dislikes all of Tennessee consequently. I had somehow forgotten about Nashville traffic :/ It's been pretty nice to zip to work in 5 minutes.... probably not going to be the case in Nashy... I'd say being back with all the people I love in exchange for bad traffic is a good trade! ;)

In other news.... I've become obsessed with a video game. This hasn't happened since Donkey Kong Country on super nintendo during snow days. But yes, I'm hooked on Just Dance 2. Don't worry, I'm still just as an atrocious dancer as I was before, but now I have even more motivation and fuel to bust some ballin' moves! HA! It's so much fun and a great little workout too! It HAS to make it's way to the Buford at some point :)

SHOUT OUT to Maggie and Eric who I got to see last week!!! It was soooo good :) I love them and am so thankful for real friendships that can pick up right where they left off! AND for real friends that actually read my blog! ha!

Well... I would say I need to go so that I can pack, but I'm basically all done! You know what that means? I ready to come home :) Before that though, I'm completely excited about this week! Good things are yet to come!

Decaf, Pouty-face, Mini-Vacay

2011-03-22T06:34:00.001-07:00

Good morning from Lakeland, Florida!

I am partially caffeinated up right now... I say partially because lately I've been drinking DECAF! Unbelievable I know! Again, I said partially because I like to cheat and do half decaf half regular, only in the mornings! ;)

Soo.... I'm moving. Yes yes...back to Nashville :) I'm very excited about this. I feel like I was on some sort of sabbatical. But now I'm coming back!

(NOTE: Dunkin' Donuts does NOT give refills on their coffee....odd.... I guess that's what I get for sneaking that half cup of regular coffee in today!)

So, I told my work the other day that I was moving. They were actually surprisingly really bummed! I just thought no one really noticed me there, but now that I'm moving everyone is all pouty faced and telling me how much they'll miss me..... odd.... just like Dunkin' Donuts' no refills. :) ha!

I just downloaded Phoenix's "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" yesterday. They're awesome. Just my sort of music to listen to reach optimal productiveness while working on my computer! Next up....Florence + the Machine.

Tax refund dollars should come in tomorrow! That's exciting since I've never filed for taxes before! I'm a BIG girl now! I even shop with coupons now! I'm SUCH an adult ;P

I've got the next two days off from work... I'm contemplating going some where and staying the night. Maybe St. Petersburg and Clearwater? I hear they're both pretty sweet places! Just might do it! I've never taken a mini vacation by myself!

Busy, Recluse, 6 Weeks

2011-03-05T12:15:00.000-08:00

Guess what?! I've actually been BUSY once again in my life!

It's been good to have a job again and have some sort of income :) Outback-ing has been good. I feel like a nincompoop most of the time but then there are other moments where a co-worker says I'm a rockstar and doing great! I'm definitely still learning the ropes though... I get to meet a lot of very different people each day which can be cool :)

My body is trying to figure its new schedule though. I WAS getting up at 7 before my job but now, on days like today, I slept till 11! Then I made breakfast...ate it...and took a 2 hour nap!!! I couldn't believe it! No, everyday ISN'T like that, but I sure am exhausted after every night.

I took some time today to catch up on all my best friends' blogs. I have the most amazing girls in my life :) You may know us as the Buford. It's tough not being around them, actually it's tough having hardly any friends here at all! I know that sounds pathetic... ha but I do have a great married couple for roommates and our friend Brandon and his wife that live not too far away... but other than that, it's kind of lonesome. That's kind of weird to say since I'm generally really happy as a recluse! I know this is just for a little bit longer though, and it's time that I need to be grateful for and not waste it!

So work it is! Stay productive and creative! About 6 more weeks and B is going to fly down to help me move! ALSO.... there might be plans for a day at Disney World in the works!!! :)

Valentine's, Lucky Girl, Cutest Picture

2011-02-16T15:37:00.000-08:00

I just had the BEST weekend in Tennessee...

First off, the whole reason for me going was

so that I could attend Dad's retirement party. Which was wonderful! I'm so glad he got to have one, and am so thankful for all the firemen that threw it for him. It really meant a lot to him and it was great to see the thanks and credit given to him that he deserves.

Brandon, was able to come to Sparta for the party and then we left the next day to go hang out in Nashville for a few days. Saturday we ran some errands together which included grocery shopping for my Valentine's dinner he was planning on cooking for me the next night! :) Then we met up with his parents for some hibachi!!! Which I'm totally hooked on now... Drove back to the city and had some quality hang out time with

all our friends at the Buford! Lovely day!

Sunday I got up early so that I could go with Brandon and Allie to church at 7:00 am since they were leading worship. I loved getting to spend so much time with them both all afternoon. Then after lunch and casual window shopping in Green Hills we dropped Allie off while B and I went on to hang out at a coffee shop! Man, lots of hang out time!! But it was all so good and exactly what I wanted/needed!

THEN! We took off back to Hendersonville to B's parent's house where the Valentine's festivities began!! I'm talking.... surprise flower bouquets, pre-set dinner table, candles, wine! He made mushroom stuffed ravioli with vodka s

auce, caprese salad with homemade balsamic glaze, and of course all on plated and garnished dishes! Frank Sinatra kept us company the entire evening which might have transitioned into a little dancing :)

Yes, I had a very wonderful Valentine's Day. I am a very lucky girl.

And all I gave him was a mixed CD! HA!

I flew back on Valentine's Day. The airport was a rather sad looking place. What few people were there didn't look too pleased about it. I almost missed my flight! The schedule said it was going to be delayed, so I got starbucks and was sitting in a quieter section of the airport, far from my gate when they make an announcement that my flight was boarding even before it original time! So I'm power walking across the airport and I see my gate as they make a last call for Dorothy Kay to her flight. haha felt like Home Alone!

Now I'm back in Lakeland and had my first night of work last night at Outback! Yay for a job!

Ok... isn't this just the CUTEST PICTURE!!!!??!?!?! It makes me so happy!

FIVE, Clockwork, Focus

2011-02-07T14:16:00.000-08:00

I just feel so happy right now.

And it's not because of Mumford & Sons currently playing, the brownie I just ate, the good conversation I just had with one of my best friends, the cozy drizzly rain outside, or the FIVE letters I just got from my special someone a few states away.

Nope. I'm just happy! I was happy before all those things just happened, because my God is in control in the good and bad.

That's been a test of mine recently: finding the peace of resting in faith even when schedules begin to pick up, stress is closing in, and things begin to feel like they used to. Peace doesn't have to only happen when schedules are calm. Peace can happen in the busiest and most hectic times in our lives. He's still just as comfortable and calm with what all is going on even if I'm not. Comforting isn't it? God doesn't get flustered when I have a busy schedule. In fact I think it amuses Him to watch me sometimes. I imagine Him watching me run all over the place trying to figure out some complicated gear mechanism LIKE A CLOCK! Yeah! Say I'm inside Big Ben trying to make all the gears turn by pulling on one for a bit, running to another gear, pulling some more, struggling and struggling to make it work, which yeah it might MOVE but it's not working.... Then God stops me... like a cartoon when the giant stops the little man from running by putting his finger on top of his head but the little cartoon man is still running in place before he realizes he's stopped? (welcome to my mind....that's what I picture) So yeah, God stops me from trying to make all the gears work... then ever so gently he taps the pendulum and it sets everything into motion. And I watch, and see how everything is in a certain place for a certain reason, and they all fit together, ticking and turning..... LIKE CLOCKWORK! haha :)

So don't focus too hard on each gear. Some are a shiny, pretty brass. Then some are big, dirty, and greasy... but they still all work together.

Well... I've got some letters to respond to ;)

Nomad, Super Bowl, Home

2011-02-06T15:04:00.000-08:00

I went back and read some of my past blog posts this morning. Starting from when I first moved into the Buford house in Nashville. Man, a lot has changed since then. My life has been basically unsettled for the past 5 years. Went to college, transferred colleges, moved back and forth for 3 years, tornado, moved into apartment, moved to LA, Nashville, from apartment to house in Nashville, and now to Florida. It's become a little exhausting! I've learned a lot in each place though and it's all for a reason :)

ANYWAY reading through my past blogs made me realize how quickly my life changes. I'm thankful for each stage. SO! How about that Super Bowl! Looks like I'm rootin' for the Packers! Yup....I get to go home this week! This is exciting!

Well gotta go study a menu for my big test tomorrow! Wish me luck and say a little prayer for me too if you think about it!

Enjoy the game!

Happy, "Work", Professional

2011-02-03T07:52:00.000-08:00

Can I just say how happy I am doing EXACTLY what I'm doing right now? :) It's a great feeling.

I wake up early and have my time with the Lord, a great start to any day in itself. Then I made some coffee, cleaned my bathroom, got dressed, and sat down to check my email. From there, I was able to go into "work" mode by answering freelance design emails, which is always gratifying to be able to talk in a professional lingo that I went to school for in an applicable, real-life situation. Now, I have a project I can work on for a couple hours, drink my coffee, and listen to Pandora as if I were in an office! Another great aspect of this is that my office can move anywhere, which usually results in any coffee shop within a 5 mile radius!

Yes, I'm happy doing what I do. It's important that I realize I am already doing my profession, instead of waiting for something BIG to happen. It's been very gradual, but I need to see that I've made it. I'm a professional graphic designer and illustrator. :) True, I start work at Outback this week, but my heart and therefore my gratification of what I do is in my projects. Outback will just be a job, that honestly I'm kind of excited to start and interact with more people! But it isn't going to be my life.

Off to get a refill of coffee! I hope everyone is having a great week so far.

Ell

Michelangelo, Chisel, Masterpiece

2011-01-31T11:08:00.000-08:00

How nice it is to feel content...

It's just nice to let go and enjoy being where one is. Forgetting the past while simultaneously remembering who we are. It's like how Michelangelo chiseled away at the stone to reveal the beautiful figures he knew were hidden under the layers of rock. Thankfully I'm not the one manning the chisel. In fact my Sculptor taught Michelangelo everything he knows! :)

I guess as a rock it wouldn't be really fun to have rubble slowly chipped away from you in fact it probably hurts, but the end result is a beautiful sculpture that displays the Artist's work for everyone to admire. In fact, I'm sure the rock itself never imagined it could look that magnificent, but the Artist saw it's potential and spent hours and hours working with the rock and just chiseling away. Even the rock's imperfections and natural fault lines are worked into the overall result only to make it even more of a unique masterpiece.

Some rocks look down and see all the bits of themselves falling off to the ground and it thinks their world is literally crumbling around him/her, not stopping to think about how much lighter it already feels or to even look up into the confident eyes of the Sculptor. The process takes time though, but the end result is completely worth it and the handiwork the rock strongly displays only glorifies the Artist.

Chisel away Lord! :)

Chipper, Outback, Retirement

2011-01-23T12:29:00.000-08:00

The results are in...... the outcome of the audition?????

It's a no go...... yup, didn't make it. But it's REALLY okay!

Kelsey (my roomie) came with me for the whole process and can testify first hand to my definite chipper-ness afterwards. Especially when we stopped at Chick Fil A on the way home :) That'll perk anyone up!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm just glad I actually followed through and went! It's something I've thought about forever and now I can say I've done it! Bravo!

Ironically, that same day I also got a call from Outback about whether or not I was still looking for a job! I got to go in the next day for a VERY thorough interview and left as a hired person! SO! I have a job!

I've got a lot of menus and drinks to memorize but I have two weeks to study until training begins. So, two weeks then I'm a working girl! I need to make the most of these two weeks. I need to wrap up the majority of my random projects I have going on because hopefully as soon as I start I'll be pretty busy!

A week after training though, I'm actually flying back to Tennessee for my Dad's retirement party. I'm really glad I get to make it back for it. It's a big deal to him, PLUS I get to see my boyfriend for at least half of Valentine's Day before I fly back to FL :)

Well, I'm going to hop off my computer now and start on some projects. Till next time!

Good Morning, Depressed, Disney Princess

2011-01-20T08:28:00.001-08:00

Good Morning!

I'll just dive right in and say that the past week has not been an easy one for me. Just been a lot of questioning and doubting about what my purpose is here in Florida. Each day I've been trying to stay productive looking for jobs and emailing contacts about illustrating and publishing deals.

I got to meet a local illustrator who sat down with me over lunch and discussed the logistics of being a professional illustrator. It was all very informative and he gave me great constructive criticism, but in the end I felt very discouraged, because the main point I took from it all was that I can't move forward anymore with my illustrations unless I have money. Money to make prints which can go on display in galleries, money to join guilds and memberships that would get my name out to authors and publishers, basically money to do anything.

I was pretty much depressed for the rest of the day and hated that I was depressed, which made me feel even more depressed! (vicious cycle) However, after a good cry to my supportive boyfriend, an unexpected call from a best friend that knows what it is like to be in my exact same position, and numerous emails from friends back home have given me encouragement and a bit of a reality check. Most importantly, it is amazing what the wonders of solid time with God can do. Reading Hebrews and James the past couple days has been the perfect blend of conviction and encouragement. Thank you Lord for your truth and kingdom that cannot be shaken.

During this quiet time, I was replaying my original motives for coming out to Florida: Help Jeremy and Kelsey with their production company, yes, finally live in a bedroom again, yes, become a Disney Princess, yes but that was just a silly dream.... right?

Well guess what I'm doing today? Auditioning to be Disney Princess.... haha! I know I just put a lot of build up and pressure on this "dream" and that most of you reading this are probably concerned that if I don't get it my little dreaming heart will be crushed once again. But I really don't think that's going to be the case. More than anything I'm already super proud that I'm actually going! I will be able to answer people when I come home, "Yes, I did try the Disney route but it just wasn't meant to be! But at least I tried!" This way there will be no questions or What Ifs. I'm feeling good about the whole thing! :) Win OR Lose.

Now! With all that said, I am going to look up some videos on how to dance like a Disney Princess, if you'll excuse me! :)

Pitiful, Extended Holiday, Wish Lists

2011-01-13T13:55:00.000-08:00

Pitiful... my last post was in November....

Fortunately my life hasn't been as uneventful as the activity on my blog... ha :)

So let's see...since November, I still wasn't able to get a job because no one wanted to hire somebody that was going to be gone 2 weeks of the Holiday Season (which actually turned into 3 weeks). Yes, after going home and thoroughly enjoying myself I decided to add on an extra week to my holiday! So I had nice long break and a good dose of visiting done with my friends and family. (Except for Amelia who took off to Oregon..) but everyone else I'm sure was sick of me!

Christmas was great and really really special this year. I'm going to say it was my first actual adult Christmas. This was the first year that there has been a new baby in the family, Little Emma :) It's only going to get better as she grows up too! Also, I had a special guest of my own come this year ;) which was a first for me and very fun to experience sharing Christmas with someone special. Not to mention Santa was very generous this year too! Thanks to Amazon's amazing wish list feature, Santa knew exactly what to get this picky giftee!

I think wish lists are a great idea... and not just for Christmas and birthdays either! It's good to have wishes and desires that you vocalize. When you tell people what you want, it becomes more real to you. Sort of how in high school when I had a crush on a guy I didn't like to tell anyone, not even my best friend (much to her chagrin) because then if I told someone it wasn't a nice little secret kept to myself but instead it begins a snowball effect of "ok, what is the next course of action for this, because this person I just told is going to want see progress" haha which is good for some people, but little Ellen was too nervous to ever tell a guy she liked him so she preferred her crushes kept to herself!

Anyway...back to wish lists.

It's great to know what you want and tell people. I've always wanted to work at Disney. Just about anyone who knows me well knows this, and because they know this they'll ask me about it, which encourages me to take action towards that dream so i'll actually have something to report back. SO! To all you concerned friends of mine out there... I actually applied to Walt Disney World today... haha yes, after YEARS of dreaming I've finally taken an actual step towards it. Cool huh!?

The probability of me getting hired is honestly very slim, but still I am proud that I've actually applied and we will see now how it goes! I applied for Costuming, which would be helping out with the wardrobe department and taking care of all those amazing costumes!!! We will see how it goes!

I'm tired of typing so I'll hopefully update again soon and not 2 months from now! Bye!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T21:49:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

It is currently 12:50 AM.... I am sitting in Starbucks, listening to some easy jazz Christmas music, and watching the crazy Black Friday shoppers file in to get their charge of caffeine before the madness ensues.

I feel like I'm about to pass out myself, but I told my roomie, Kelsey, that I'd come keep her company during her overnight shift at Starbucks tonight. There's no way I'm staying up ALL night, but we'll see how far I get.

Thanksgiving was surprisingly very enjoyable this year. I say that because I wasn't expecting it to be, at all (no offense roommates) I just hate missing the tradition laden holidays away from my family, BUT This is was I did...

Kelsey and I woke up around 9:00 am and immediately tuned into the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade while I began to dish out some scrumptious.....scrumptious....wow....i can't remember the name of the classic breakfast dish I..... FRENCH TOAST.... I was saying french bread over and over in my head and I knew that wasn't right. SO yes, I began to dish out some scrumptious french toast while we sipped coffee in our pj's.

That soon transitioned into baking a pumpkin pie, prepping the turkey, and some Purina Dog Show. The last part didn't last long, so we turned on Swan Princess instead. The next few hours were all about cooking the food. Kelsey was surprisingly very knowledgeable about how to properly cook a turkey, which I was excited to learn! I made the potatoes, heated the green beans, set up our fabulous card table... TIME OUT.... perks of having a friend that works in the coffee shop you frequent: moments like these when she amazingly hands you a glorious chai tea egg nog iced latte (aka cheggnogg)....seriously, the best drink i've ever had here. TIME IN... set up card table, placed dishes on said table and shortly after enjoyed an amazing Thanksgiving dinner! I was seriously proud of the work Kelsey and I did! Jeremy was pleased too.

After that we went to our friend Brandon's mother-in-law's house for ANOTHER dinner which was also amazing, but unnecessary, but STILL fun to hang out and play cards together.

Now I'm here! Welcoming the Christmas season with open arms already with Christmas carols ringing in my ears! (Literally...this song is all ringing bells right now)

Lakeland is going pretty well so far. Not a lot happening yet, but I'm trying to stay busy with my own personal projects I've got going, that could be awesome in the long run. I'm also do a lot of research of film opportunities in the area. Like the Tampa/Orland film commission which posts a lot of job listings and film crew opportunities. So! If I see something that is applicable I will not hesitate to apply! However, I think my chance for grabbing seasonal job is dwindling. Especially since I'm going to be gone 2 of the busiest weeks of the Season since I'm coming home to Tennessee for Christmas! That's right! 17th-2nd I'll be home!!!!! I'm excited :)

I'm taking it as a sign that since I haven't been able to grab a serving/coffee shop job around here, that it's not what I'm supposed to do. If God wants me to just concentrate on my random side projects then that's what I'll do and maybe they'll pay off someday! Or not! :D

No worries folks, Disney is still on the docket! Once you apply for a job with Disney you can't re-apply for 6 months. So I'm going to wait till after Christmas and apply then! More about that later though. For now it's going to be all about the Holidays!

Time For a Refill!

2010-11-17T14:38:00.000-08:00

Greetings from Florida!

I'm all settled in and officially a Lakeland, Florida resident now!

I got back from my cruise on Friday the 12th. It was a good trip! I had never done a cruise before so I really excited to get to experience that. I've decided I like traveling by boat! Even though I was surrounded by an overload of touristy....crap.... it still felt neat to be participating in such an original form of travel. I liked seeing the open water, such a sense of adventure!

So now I've been in Lakeland for about 5 days now, and so far so good! Kelsey and Jeremy are great to live with. It feels like there was no lag in our friendship since I last saw them over a year ago!

Things are going really well, and I need to keep reminding myself that I haven't even been here a full week yet. I need to just enjoy relaxing and hanging out before things DO take off and I have a crazy schedule once more.

It has been amazing though to finally be able to sleep in as long as I need and actually have a door to a bedroom that I can close if I need some quiet. I sound like such a recluse! I really do like people! That's just how I recharge and refresh, which is exactly what I'm needing right now.

The hardest part right now is just missing everyone. This is two years in a row now that I haven't been around home during my favorite time of year. Fortunately I get to go home for Christmas, but it's the leading up to it that is so wonderful too. Lakeland has it's charms too though! There's actually an awesome downtown area that's really cute and fun to walk through! I can't wait for people to come visit!

Well my coffee is getting cool, time for a refill!

busy busy dizzy :)

2010-11-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

Holy macaroni.....it's time for an update.

1. It's November now

2. I have a boyfriend

3. I move to Florida in 2 days

I don't even know what to say right now. Things have been such a complete whirlwind this past month....

Fall in Tennessee is amazing. It's funny that this time last year I was pining over missing Autumn while I was in LA. Now that I'm here I'm trying to soak it all up before I leave again! Florida time is almost here!! I spent about 4 days at home last week going through all of my

belongings just sorting out what stays, goes, and is tossed. I've accumulated quite a bit of stuff! It's an exciting feeling though being all packed up and ready to go ANYWHERE. I'm ready for Florida. I'm really really excited about what I'll be getting into even though that isn't exactly clear yet. I just know I was made to create and that's what I'll be doing down there!

I also now have an amazing guy in my life that is totally supporting my move and encouraging me to pursue my dreams. It's all very exciting :)

So here's the game plan:

Wednesday: Drive to Sparta, spend the night/say goodbye to the parents

Thursday: Leave in the morning for Chattanooga, spend the day/night with brother & sis in law

Friday: Hit the road early in the morning for the rest of the drive to Lakeland, Florida!

Saturday: Unpack

Sunday: Drive to Fort Lauderdale, meet up with crew to volunteer on a cruise ship for a week! (FREE CRUISE!)

busy busy dizzy....but ALL amazing things brought together by our loving Lord. He's so good :)

Speaking Of....

2010-10-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

It's OCTOBER..... oh my gosh...where has the time gone!? My mind has forgotten what it feels like to think and my body has forgotten what it feels like to sleep.... I feel fried... That may also be in part that I just got off work.

Speaking of work though, I turned in my 2 weeks notice this past Wednesday...I'm almost done at Provence! It's been a really great place for me these past few months but I'll be honest...I'm really looking forward to not having to open the store at 6 anymore. I feel like there could have been a whole lot wittier line inserted there just then...

Anyway...baby Emma is doing great...I can't wait to see her in a few weeks when I go home for a pre- Thanksgiving thanksgiving weekend with the fam since I won't be around for actual Thanksgiving. A Fall Weekend extraordinaire where I get to do all of our Kay Family Fall traditions in one weekend! Like chopping wood, watching football, eating green chili, carving pumpkins, pumpkin pie, apple cider, and of course....T-GIVING DINNER! It's gonna be good.

Speaking of good (lol) .... I have become awesome at guitar! hahaha (no sleep right now) ok I'm not awesome but I picked it up last week and haven't really been able to put it down. My left hand feels like I have plastic caps glued to the tops of my fingers which makes navigating my touchscreen phone even MORE difficult than it normally is. (BTW I just totally accidentally typed MEOW instead of MORE just then....I have NO clue how my fingers thought they were spelling "more" lol cracked myself up...)

You know what? I'm going to stop writing now. This isn't really making much sense! Time for a Sunday nap....or a cat nap MEOW! LOL

Comprehensive Fall and New Orlando

2010-09-16T10:08:00.001-07:00

Here's something funny... I kind of forgot that this blog has a link on the Union website for all the film students to follow while I was out in LA. I'm sure it was informative for them while I was out there and actually posting about the various things I did there...but since then my blog has kind of been one long tangent about just random life stuff....aka my middle school journal posts! ha! mind you...there is STILL a link to my college website for all to see! lol...oh me....anyway at least my blog will be taking a turn BACK to film topics once I move to Florida.

Tomorrow it will be exactly 8 weeks till I move....that's 56 days.... wow.... I'm so excited and pumped about going, but I also want to make sure I use my time left here really well.

I think my family and I are going to have a comprehensive Fall celebration at home. Complete with a Thanksgiving dinner, wood chopping, football games, green chili, and maybe even some mistletoe shooting (that's technically a Christmas activity, but I just really love it)

Hopefully I'll get to come back home fairly often though. There's a smaller airline in Chattanooga that does direct flights to Orlando for like $30-$50 or even $10 if you catch it early enough! Cool huh!?

This weekend is, my little roommate, Ashley's wedding. I'm so happy for her. It's going to be so beautiful and unique. Like her! Then she moves to New Zealand and then another roommate, Kim, moves to New York on Tuesday...everyone is moving to literally "NEW" places.... I think I'll start saying New Orlando from now on just to fit in...

Animal-crack-tella, crafts, Little Mermaid

2010-09-04T16:48:00.000-07:00

Anyone ever tried chocolate animal crackers dipped in nutella???? de. lic. ious.... try it.

Moving on....

Today was perfectly splendid (after I got off work of course) so... let me rephrase... my day from 3 o'clock on was perfectly splendid! I walk outside to the most perfect temperature degree outside has ever known! I drive home with the windows down (partly because my AC is broken, but why put a damper on my story?) I voluntarily CHOSE to drive home with the windows down, arrived at the house, greeted one of the roomies, then immediately set up camp on my back porch for arts and crafts time! I'm talking card board, scissors, modge podge, paper mache, and creative juices! I can't tell you right now what exactly I was making... it's a surprise, but I'll post a picture later!

My point is, is just felt good to make something crafty with my hands... doesn't happen as often as I would like... NOW I'm going to make some dinner and then the roomies and I are going BACK onto the porch where we're going to project "The Little Mermaid" onto our garage and watch it outside!!! So excited!

Baby Emma Kathryn Rager

2010-08-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

I'M AN AUNT!!!! This is baby Emma Kathryn Rager :) she was born on August 25 around 10:30 and was 6lbs 5 oz and 20 inches long........ we're going to be best friends.

I'm in Jackson right now with my sister and the new baby. She's napping and the baby is in the nursery. I got to hold her though (obvi) and I surprisingly loved it! I'm normally terrified of babies but with baby Em it was just instant comfort and love.... :) so happy to have her in our family now! She's so precious!

Ellen in Florida

2010-08-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

Well everyone... I have some exciting news. I am moving to Florida! That's right! Here's what happened....

A couple weeks ago...I received an email from a couple of my great friends Jeremy and Kelsey from LA. The email was titled "A Potentially Life Changing Email" and basically... it was. They basically said that no matter what they are moving from Las Vegas to Florida at the beginning of November and they would love for me to join them and really work on building the dream of running our own production company!

Jeremy writes, Kelsey produces, our friend Brandon who already lives there is a videographer, and I would do production and set design like I've been dying to do since I left LA. WELL.... I wanted to give this whole thing lots of thought and prayer just to make sure I wasn't going to rush into something just because it's available but rather because I'm really supposed to go.

So during the course of the next few weeks....Florida and Orlando just began appearing EVERYWHERE! At work, one of my co-worker's brother just moved there, another just got accepted to seminary school there, and another is going to flight school there....then about 10 other random connections and serendipitous encounters with Florida. So, I was basically thinking about it all the time and weighing the pros and cons.

This past Monday night I went to a worship service I've been regularly attending called Emanate in Franklin, TN.....it is just an awesome solid time to really connect with the Spirit and worship the Father.... so the whole time during worship Florida was just really in the forefront of my mind and so I felt like the idea was really being presented to God, and the whole time I just had no doubt in my mind that this was right and basically there is no option for me to not go. :)

Tuesday I started telling my close friends and family who were all very supportive and excited for me.....except my roommates. They said that ever since I mentioned it a couple weeks ago that they knew I would go! lol oh how well they know me :)

So yeah! I'm really excited to have a goal to shoot for now and especially because I know it's where I'm supposed to go. Jeremy, Kelsey, and Brandon are just so creative and amazing, it'll be great to be back in that creative environment where we'll push and encourage each other. It's really going to be great :)

This will be another transition from Ellen in LA to Ellen in Nashville and now to Ellen in Florida! Let the new chapter begin!

Best Birthday Ever

2010-07-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

Time is flying by.... I just scanned through my icalendar and saw just how busy and full my schedule has been. It's all been awesome stuff too!

After my last week at Anthropologie I went to Pennsylvania with Andrea so I could spend the week all my sister-in-law's extended family! random huh?! but really so much fun :) Gotta love those Jacobson's!

A few days later....I have the best birthday of my life. LOL It almost sounds like I'm kidding but I'm not! Maybe I should say adult life, though, because my 7th birthday when I got a bike AND puppy surprise was pretty dang sweet. But of my adult life...this one takes the cake! HA! (get it?!)

It seriously was awesome. First off...it started with no expectations or plans for the day... so the night before, Allie, Jessica, Kim, Brandon, and I go out on the boat with our friend Ben in Hendersonville. I had never been on a boat at night and let me tell you....it was GORGEOUS! The moon was huge and reflecting off the water and all the stars were out too... I loved it. So we kicked off my birthday floating on the water and stayed out till about 3 am. I didn't get to bed till 4 but then had to wake up at 5 to go open up Provence. That kind of hurt a little, but then a guy I work with came in at 8 to cover the rest of the day for me since it was my special day! SO after I get off, I meet up with the lovely Ashley Hamilton for a scrumptious brunch and hang out time at Fiddlecakes. Next, it was back out to the lake for me to meet up with my boating crew again from the night before. We go out on the water for some hardcore tubing and sun soaking! Once back on land, we girls went out to eat Chick Fil A for lunch, have a Miley Cyrus shopping spree at Wal-Mart, and take a nap at the house (which would add up to only my 2nd hour of sleep so far). After we all awake it's time to get dolled up for dinner at the Marina including outside deck seating, swooping Christmas lights, and live music....which then turned into Allie joining said live music on stage where I received an AWESOME happy birthday duet! At this point my eyes were already filling up with pure watery happiness just over what a great day and amazing friends I have...thinking my day couldn't get any better.....but it did. We came home to the Buford, I walk in, the lights are off and I think Emily is just having a relaxing evening after she got off work, when I turn the corner to see candlelit cupcakes and all my friends shouting Happy Birthday!!!! There were decorations hanging from the ceiling and walls and the cupcakes were of Princess Tiana! DISNEY! Emily gave me her present which was a case of bottled cream sodas, dark chocolate, AND FRIENDS season 8!!!!! THENNNNNN as if my love tank wasn't already overflowing, they all take me out for a late night showing of "Inception" which was AMAZING.............SO GOOD.

That was where I finished out my last hour of July 20, 2010. I can't get over how great it was. Thanks to my wonderful friends who really knew me well enough to make my day so awesome :) :) :) I'm so pumped about being 23 now. This year is seriously going to be great. I just know.

Beach, Quit, Moved

2010-07-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

wow...it's already been a month since I last updated? insane. goodness I don't even know where to start then....

June 18-27 I was on vacation with the family in Orange Beach, Alabama! I had been looking forward to it for SO long. I loved it. We were in a condo right on the beach overlooking the ocean, so each of my mornings was spent on the balcony watching the sun rise. So good. Unfortunately, the big oil spill had just started to make it's way to that beach, so about halfway through the week a storm really stirred up the water and washed a lot of oil ashore. It was so sad to see. We still had a great time though and everyone enjoyed my board game I made "Kay Family Scene It!"

Being there only reaffirmed in my mind that I want to live on a beach somewhere for at least a short season in my life. We'll see how that works out ;)

After I got back, I resumed work at Provence and Anthropologie....and it really kind of hit me just how much I wasn't enjoying my Anthro job as much as I thought I did. That, plus I've had almost no time to work on any graphic design projects, and Erin wants me to illustrate her children's book that she is writing. So, I decided it was time to go. I'll still be working at Provence and hopefully get a few more hours there, but if I'm wanting my graphic design stuff to go anywhere I need to dedicate more time to it! Which is what I'll do!

Let's see... vacation, quit my job, oh yes, I moved! Yup, Emily and I moved in with Jessica, Allie, and Kim to the Buford house which is about 5 minutes from Provence and right next to downtown Nashville! Cool huh! I currently don't have a bedroom, so my bed is in the living room, but it somehow works! We've all been really having a lot of fun this past week and I think it is going to work out great for us. Plus I just love that I actually live in a house again, I haven't done that since I lived at home!

Things are going pretty dern good. I've really been learning a lot and still have a ton to go. But this time and place I'm at right now couldn't be more perfect :)

Not Scheduled, Indefinitely, Freelance

2010-06-10T04:36:00.000-07:00

Good Morning.... so.... it is currently 6:37 am on Thursday morning. By this time I was planning on having Provence (the coffee shop) in the finishing stages of getting ready to open. WELL turns out that when I got here at 5:50.....I wasn't scheduled to open! Yup....so I'm just sitting here watching the sun get higher and trying to decide what I'm going to do for the rest of the day. It's actually kind of a nice surprise I just can't help but be a little sad I didn't sleep more. oh well!! ;)

So....an update for what's been going on!

Nashville has surprisingly started to grow on me, which is a good thing since it looks like I'm going to be here indefinitely. Indefinitely is actually a good word for me in general right now. Nothing is really for sure as far as planning my life goes. I am certain though that everything is going to come together in a much better way than I could ever design, so I'm not stressing!

Working at Provence and Anthropologie is going pretty good! or WELL, as my mother would say. I like Provence a lot (except when I show up when I'm not needed) and I'm just now starting to get the hang of thing at Anthro so yeah...I think I'm in for a good summer.

ALSO I've been able to do some freelance graphic design work for a few of my musician friends already and just got asked to do another "gig" for someone else now! I'm kind of excited about it. The stuff I've made for them has been getting good reviews so maybe my name will get passed around some!

Alrighty....I think I may go grab a bagel at Panera and then maybe do some shopping I feel like all my clothes are falling apart. ha! ok have a good day!!!

I'm weird.

2010-05-13T14:02:00.001-07:00

I'm in a really weird mood right now. It's not even my normal weird. It's a whole lot more existentialist and grander weird. Let me try to explain....

I feel very full of life... and with that I am beginning to realize how precious life is. Ha....yes, this is going to be a weirdly deep post.

I'm turning 23 this year. This is the first time I've ever wished I could slam on the brakes of growing older and take a minute to reassess everything. 23 is still really young as an adult, but really old for a child. So in a sense I am just a baby adult. The world is totally new to me now in a different way. Instead of being guided in everything I do, I am now the one making my life choices. With that knowledge I know there a lot of potential with what I choose to do (or don't do). There is so much I want to see and do; I want to start DOING it all now and not wish I had 30 years from now. I just have no clue where to start....

I am basically just feeling really overwhelmed with life. God has blessed me with so much love and freedom I just want to be able to use who I am to the best of my potential. I made a awesome kid (haha).... now I just want to be a great adult.

4:50, Ouch, Beeeddddd.....

2010-05-11T21:35:00.000-07:00

I am so tired. SO tired I am yawning as I write this....

I've been working QUITE a bit the past couple days. All of them starting with my alarm going off at 4:50 am. That was not a type....i repeat 4:50 am. Mainly that is to give me a 10 minute wake up buffer till 5:00 where I actually have to be out of bed, get ready, and be at work at 6:00. Getting out of bed is the hardest part, but once I get going it's really not that bad. I find playing some jazz helps me. Then working at Provence goes by kind of quickly I think. Which is nice. Today like Sunday was a double shift though. So it was 6-1 at Provence then 1-6 at Anthropologie. Ouch.

Yeah I'm super tired, but I think I'm really going to like working both places. They're a good mix for me. Artsy and Chill. Plus I'm feeling super productive. Whereas before, I just felt like I was wasting time in between my Anthro shifts.

Alright, well I'm going to beeeeedddddd....... . . .. .... . .

Free bread, 911, Jazz

2010-05-08T21:27:00.000-07:00

Hello eventful life all of a sudden!

So yesterday morning (friday) was my first day at Provence! It went really well! I had a great trainer the whole day and time just really flew by! PLUS I found out that I get to take a ton of free "waste" food that are basically untouched leftovers that are still good AND I get to take home a complimentary loaf of fresh baked bread each time i work! (which I'm eating right now) AND I get a free drink each time I work too AAAAND a 40% discount if I ever find reason to buy something from there! Sweet deal if you ask me!

After I got off work I went shopping to find some more work clothes since there is a "uniform" there. That was all nice till I was heading home waiting at a stop light when this blue jeep comes whizzing by and slams into the car to my front left which then dominos into 3 other cars! I turned on my flashers, got out and started asking people if they were alright and then dialed 911. I had never dialed it before! The people were alright just a little banged up and the guy that hit them was actually drunk. So because I saw it all I had to stick around and talk to the police to give my witness statement.

Then this morning I get a text from my roommate, Ashely, saying she was in a car accident last night on her way to Memphis. Her car flipped several times but she miraculously didn't break any bones but was just a little bruised. I couldn't believe it! So scary all these close calls... We've got some angels working overtime here.

Today I worked at Anthropologie from 5 to close so it's now 11:39, I have to be at Provence tomorrow morning at 7 work till 1 then I work again at Anthro from 2-8.... let the crazy schedules begin! Alright...well I'm going to finish my sleepy time tea turn off the jazz music (which I'm TOTALLY into right now) and hit the sack. Goodnight!

$9.00, Thrift Store, Napping

2010-05-04T15:26:00.001-07:00

I finally busted out of my apartment today... I couldn't take it any longer. I was actually getting all dolled up and ready to go to work for my "on call" shift, called to make sure they wanted me to come in....and they didn't. Instead I went to the bank and cashed in $9.00 worth of rolled coins I had stashed under my bed. I wouldn't even really call it an emergency fund since it was only $9.00 so I suppose stash or loot or bounty will have to do.

Well that trip took about 8 minutes...so I had to think fast of something else I could do to get me out of the apartment.... THRIFT STORE! I LOVE thrift stores and I remembered that I had mentioned finding some cute beach coverup equivalent to something they have at Anthropologie. Well I would say my trip was successful! A few quick and simple alterations and voila! Ok, I won't build it up too much because it may not turn out looking so good...we'll see.

Right now I'm back at the apartment, sitting on my deck, and waiting for my roommate to wake up from a nap so we can do something! .....oh me....i need a life...

Rain, Rain, Rain

2010-05-03T10:22:00.001-07:00

So that last comment about the pouring rain was a bit of an understatement to say the least....

it rained...

and rained....

and finally....rained some more.

It's probably the most rain I've ever seen in my life....probably for Nashville too since there have been some major flooding going on as a result. I've never been around a flood before. I think for some reason in my mind Tennessee couldn't get flooded...not so true. My apartment, fortunately, is at a really great high spot, so we were in a pretty good spot. I've signed up with the local volunteer program, they said they're organizing what needs to be done right now and that they'll start sending teams out this evening. I'm free right now since my work called and said not to come in. Only the managers were working today.... I can't imagine that anyone would go out and shop though...

So! I'm here at my apartment all day! Can't go out...for 2 reasons... 1: My mom told me not to and 2: I still only have my 3 dollars in my account and if I go somewhere I'm sure to be tempted to buy a coffee or something... so I won't. I am SO going to make it till Thursday! :)

Strike Two, Home-run, Orange Beach

2010-05-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

Strike 2....the grocery gift card turned out to just be a mass of coupons this company was promising to give me over the next year complete with a monthly membership fee.... no thanks....

HOWEVER....

HOME-RUN with the Provence job!! They want to hire me! After waiting for his call for about 2 weeks, the guy finally called me and left a voicemail that at first didn't sound very promising but then he said "So we think you would be a great fit for a position here at Provence!" HOORAY! I have a second job! This is of course very good news but then it also means crazy busy schedules to come....but then that also means some more much needed fund-age.

I've never been able to have a job that I could put money into savings with. This is new to me, but I'm really excited! I'm being careful with my money, however a recent purchase of work shoes set me back a bit SO as a test of my will to save... I shall not spend a penny until Thursday of this coming week.... ha...seriously though. I have groceries and a semi full tank of gas...I think I can make it. Honestly the only thing that threatens to be my downfall is grabbing a glorious cup of coffee at Panera....*sigh* I can do it though!

In other news... I found out this week that my family is going on vacation this summer! YAY! We used to always go to the beach every year but the past couple of years we haven't been able to, but nothing is stopping us this time! We're going to Orange Beach in Alabama!

With the beach in mind, working at Anthropologie is a constant struggle with all it's great vacation/summer/beach clothes around. However, I feel like an hour or so spent at a thrift store and a few alterations could produce some very similar and tremendously cheaper alternatives :)

Well I should probably head off to work.... 12-4 today. It's only 11:05 right now but it's been pouring rain all morning so I better give myself some time to get through traffic. Alrighty! Hope everyone is having a great day!

Wizard of Oz Weather

2010-04-24T15:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I'd love to tell you if the other two hopefuls were strike outs or not...but I just don't know yet!

The Provence job has me baffled cause the guy said he'd let me know in a few days.....that was 4/14 ....I'd say it's been a few days. And as for the elusive grocery gift card.... I'm losing hope.

I've gotten two things in the mail from this place (i'm expecting three) ...both so far are just advertisements and gimmicks to get me to sign up for... 2 strikes for them, they've got one more chance to prove themselves by sending what they promised!

So I think Panera Bread Co. is my new office. Every time I come here I sit and work on my computer for hours. Even though I could do that at my apartment, I somehow feel more productive when I can just get out for a while. I was supposed to work today but they didn't need me... which is probably a good thing since the weather is supposed to get a little sassy here in a bit.... as in "tornadic activity" sassy. I'm not sure how I feel about tornados now. I'm still fascinated by them but hearing a tornado siren will probably always frighten me from

now on since my last bout with wizard of oz weather. (a.k.a....Feb 5, 2008 Union University)

Ha! Well on that cheery note...lol it's just funny because sometimes I DO forget that I was involved in that disaster. It seems so unreal and it just takes crazy weather days like this to remind me again! SO everyone be safe tonight! Heed the warnings and don't open up a new awesome puzzle to work on while you wait out the storm....because if a tornado does hit you most likely won't find those pieces again....trust me. And no...that's not a symbolic metaphor...

Strike One

2010-04-22T11:49:00.000-07:00

Strike One....

I didn't get the ABC internship...

so...yeah that's a little bummer.... Of the three things I was hoping would happen this week, this was kind of the big one I was REALLY pushing for. But hey, it's definitely not the end of the world and I actually took it better than I thought I would. I had a nice little moment where as soon as I opened the email I quickly covered the paragraph with my hands, my heart was beating out of control, and even though I was super excited I told myself that if I didn't get it, that would be totally fine and I would just go another direction. SO... new direction it is! :)

We'll see how well I do on the next two pitches....Provence Job and $500.00 grocery gift card... I don't know... I might be striking out....

My friend Danielle applied for it as well and received the same news.... we decided we were over qualified haha. Actually we're both still keen on moving back out to LA and we're just going to use this summer to just work and save money for a hopeful Fall departure! :D

Ghost Buster, Gas Card, Calling

2010-04-18T12:41:00.000-07:00

Yo.

Currently, I am collapsed on my living room floor in front of our open porch doors 1.) because it is gorgeous out today and the cool breeze feels wonderful and 2.) because I am too exhausted to move after putting in 5 hours of intense cleaning at Anthro today.

I had to dusted and mopped and had to use a vacuum strapped to my back like a ghost buster! I'm tired and my hands feel like they lost a layer of skin to some intense pine fresh cleaner, but other than that I really didn't mind it much. Cleaning can be kind of a nice stress reliever! Not that I'm overly stressed right now or anything...

Three exciting news possibilities could happen this week. 1.) I could get hired at Provence (the coffee shop) 2.) I could get called back for the interview in LA and 3.) I might be getting a $500.00 grocery gift card and $80.00 gas card in the mail from this coupon website that appreciates my membership! I know! They really couldn't have randomly selected a more grateful member...to not pay for groceries and gas right now would be a huge blessing! However, I said "might" because I'll believe it when I see it. Don't want to get my hopes up too much.

This is sad to admit but this is the first time in my life that I've actually remotely supported myself financially. I'm being really careful with my money but if I'm hoping on putting any away for savings I'm going to really need that second job. I may get incredibly busy but that's alright for me right now. This time in Nashville is for me to just save and prepare for bigger/better things!

I can't stop thinking about L.A. I miss it so much. I don't even really know why. Even after I remind myself that not all of my old friends will be there and things will be different I'm still excited to just hopefully go back. A "calling" if you will... :)

Ellen in LA Sequel

2010-04-13T15:08:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!!!

So....here's some potentially exciting news....

I have officially applied for the ABC Production Associates Program! It's this awesome internship that basically like an apprenticeship where I would be shadowing professionals in the television industry, working on TV sets, getting paid, AND it's all in LA!!!! That's right! Ellen could be going back to LA real soon! Ellen in LA sequel! ha!

The application period ends on the 16th and I should know a few days after that if I am called back for an interview in Burbank! Yeah, I'd have to FLY out there for an interview! Crazy huh!?

So perfect though and I'm really feeling God's presence in all this, but we shall definitely wait and see what happens! In the mean time, I'm in Nashville living with my close friends and working at Anthropologie to try and save some money. I'm also interviewing tomorrow for a job at Provence (this kick-a** coffee shop) -how do you know the **'s don't stand for L's??? So things are going pretty stinking well for me right now! I've been able to do some graphic design work on the side for my friends as well, which I love being able to do for them since I have so many amazingly talented friends! I feel good and I really believe I'm at a great spot in my life right now! Ok... enough cheesiness. I'll keep this updated with what happens with the internship! Say a little prayer if you think about it!

Entry # 10

2010-02-23T09:05:00.000-08:00

March 6, 2001

Sorry I haven't talked to you not really sure who I'm directing this "you" to... in such a long time, well wait a second it's not my fault it's Bryan's because he's the one who isn't talking to me. Anyway, today I just so happen got a chance to look into Coach Fair's room and see him right, Ellen, right...just so happen to stalker-ishly stick my head in a full classroom and stare at the guy and to my surprise (actually not) Anonymous Girl was sitting by him talking to him. She may go to my church and act all sweet but at school I think she's a little bit too sweet with the boys, cause she's always's jumping from one boy to another. Well I better go. Woah Ellen...woah...I just bashed a girl from my own church because she was just talking to the boy. It's probably a good thing then that this is my last post about Bryan Simmons cause things sounded like they could've gotten ugly!

Yes, this is the last post. Strangely enough.... Bryan never asked me out. I can't really imagine why.... (sarcasm...just to clarify) We went to high school, he went the cool football route and I joined Band. LOL I honestly can't imagine a bigger dork than I was (am). But I am actually so happy that's the way everything happened. I love looking back now at my unfortunately awkward adolescence. That is what has made me into the person I am now. And even though I may think I'm above these quirky/embarrassing incidents now....I'm not....I'm not. My life if plagued with them, but I guess that keeps things interesting. Maybe I'll write another blog in 10 years about all the things that are happening to me now and have a good laugh again... Maybe.

Entry # 9

2010-02-22T08:37:00.000-08:00

Jan. 31, 2001

I am sorry I haven't written in a while but nothing big has been happening, until today. Aiko and I were walking back from calligraphy class (there is somthing about me, that class, and Bryan) must've been where the gum wrapper incident happened and just right before I'm fixing to fixing to turn the corner he walks by in front of me a looks at me up and down, oh it was sooo exciting hahaha he was probably just waiting for me to get out of his way. also remember that I referred to this earlier as "something big" that happened... you're right, Ellen, I think our relationship really took off at this point. Then Aiko nuges nudges me and starts giggleing and I'm trying to play it cool cause I didn't want his friends to know that I like him. Gotta Go! I'm dying to know what my definition of "playing it cool" was... I don't see how that could've been possible for me...

Entry # 8

2010-02-20T11:37:00.000-08:00

Jan. 18, 2001

Ok this is the CLOSEST I guess you could say I have ever gotten to him. Listen. Ok, I told Amelia & Aiko to save me a seat at the pep rally so they did in the sort of "popular section" "mod" so I was sitting there staring at Bryan a couple rows behind me a couple rows BEHIND ME!!! what the heck, Ellen!!! and then all of a sudden he got up, walked down the stairs, came over and sat down right next to me. Then some of his friends came up and tell him to scoot over (away from me) but he just scoots closer to me like butt to butt and let his friends pass by for a girl that rejoiced over getting hit with a gum wrapper and being called a loser, I would pay money to see my face at this point. And during the pep rally we talked a little and he asked me, if I liked his socks and I said, "oh yeah"stimulating conversation. And so that was sooo totally awesome said like a true middle schooler. Tonight was the dance which was a flop as usual this "as usual" implies past dance tragedies....*please reference below... I went a bit early to the game and I had more fun there then at the dance. I'm not going to anymore dances unless I have a date.

*In the spirit of revisiting Homecoming Dances.... here's a recap of my 6th grade Homecoming Dance. My very first Middle School "big kid" dance. I had been sitting in the bleachers most of the night in my denim/floral dress, dreaming of how great it would be if someone would come ask me to dance and staring a the cluster of "cool" kids dominating the middle of the gym floor. After a couple hours, I was saying goodbye to a group of my friends about to go wait outside for my dad to pick me up, when a girl runs up and says that this boy, Dallas, was wanting to ask me to dance but was too shy. I look at the clock on the wall knowing dad would be waiting, a new song suddenly starts playing, and I decide to take off running through the crowd to find Dallas and get my dance. Dallas had been an old crush from elementary school, so my time had finally come! My messenger friend, ran up with a new message that my dad was waiting for me. I was weighing the options... risk dad's anger? or get my first dance? Suddenly a crowd parts and I see Dallas across the gym. He smiles at me... I smile back. Mid-step towards his direction, my wrist is grabbed and I'm whipped around to see my father's angry face and a lecture in the middle of the dance about how long he had been waiting, my irresponsibility, and how I'm never supposed to go anywhere without a wrist watch anymore.... people were starring and I was mortified....and nope... I never got that dance.

Next time I see a middle school kid...I'm just going to give them a hug... Middle School is tough! Poor dad just forgot that night.

Entry # 7

2010-02-19T07:03:00.000-08:00

Jan. 17, 2001

Today was the day we performed the Christmas Play for the 8th grade first off, why were we performing the Christmas play in January???. So, before we performed me and my friend I believe this might be my first reference to, my now best friend, Amelia! But more on that later... were roaming the halls and we walked past the computer room and I looked in there and saw him HIM.. read it with the most whimsical and romantic air possible cause that's probably how I wrote it and he was looking at me. Then when we walked by again and again and again, again, again... I looked at him and him and Matt C. were smiling and looking at me i'll give myself credit for always thinking positively, however I can probably guarantee they weren't commenting on how cute me and my stalker ways were. Next when we were fixing to haha "fixing to" start the play I was looking for him and I saw him sitting alone being absolutly adorable, but then he moves and was practicly sitting on Hannah H.'s lap! So that kind of deflated my balloon, and I forgot to tell you that last night he was sitting beside her at the ballgame which i of course noticed since I "couldn't take my eyes off him"! So I am beginning to wonder. Anyway tomorrow night is the homecoming dance and I bought a ticket so now what I need to know is if Bryan is going if he isn't then I will be so totally disapointed. I'm thinking about telling him I like him or telling Kyle P. I like Bryan and maybe he could help me. I don't Know!!! telling the most popular loud-mouth in the whole school your secret is never a good idea... almost as bad as Ariel going to Ursula for a pair of legs.

Oh dear.... if this were a movie, this would be the part where everything is going wrong, OH! Like "Pretty in Pink"!!! Except instead of the rich-ies and the poor kids, it's the normal-ies and the weird/obsessive-ies. I can see it now though.... there's some great 80's rock music playing, I'm sitting in my pink bedroom sketching out dress ideas for the Homecoming dance, a shot of my sketch shows a tear drop fall on the page, Duckie (played by Amelia) calls to cheer me up, but I don't answer.... SO epic...

Entry # 6

2010-02-18T09:52:00.000-08:00

Jan. 16, 2001

My 3rd encounter with Bryan. Hannah B. and I were sitting at the top bleachers at the High when I said wouldn't that be neat if Bryan came and sat here on the top row. And then a couple minutes later him and his dad walked in and sat on the top row! On my knees thanking the Lord, I never took my eyes off him. Why am I always at the high school? And why is Hannah still my friend if i say things like "wouldn't it be neat if Bryan came and sat here on the top row"? So to get the visual here, I'm sitting in the bleachers, now "on my knees thanking the Lord", and simultaneously starring at the guy. I guess I'll never know who won the basketball game...

Also, it has been brought to my attention that there is some confusion with the dates. You see, I started writing all these "encounters" down after a couple of them had already happened. So actually, January 16 was when I wrote down the beginnings of "Operation Bryan Simmons" They were already engraved in my memory and therefore easy to scribe...

Entry # 5

2010-02-17T13:05:00.000-08:00

Jan. 15, 2001

My 2nd encounter with Bryan. If Bryan were some sort of never-before studied, rare bird, I would probably be famous for my meticulous log detailing each encounter...alas...Bryan is not a bird. Poor boy. I was on my way to class walking behind him bad stalker habit then I got in front of him and I saw this little wodded up gum wrapper fly past me, so I turn around and he smiled and waved at me. ...You know, I will say... to any other girl this could've been taken as encouragement that he is....well.... interested as well and perhaps casual conversation could take place next time I saw him. But no no no, I had to continue my distanced/weirdo romance instead having any sort of attempt at normalcy. Stomache doing summer saults, couldn't hold still during class. I'm trying to remember what exactly this was like... was I just fidgeting? was I shaking convulsively? Or maybe I didn't "hold still" in class because I was too busy looking for that blessed gum wrapper in the hallway.... wouldn't doubt it.

Entry # 4

2010-02-16T07:40:00.000-08:00

Good Morning! I'm glad to hear a couple of you are enjoying these posts! They are fun to write!

So as I said, the Ray Stewart chapter has closed. After the "wallet" incident, my journal took a monotonous turn covering most of my daily routine and lots of church youth group camps and festivals. 2000 was a great year for me. I made a close group of friends including my best friend, Aiko. 7th grade was rough because of my obvious (reference year book) lack of style, but at the same time it was great because I didn't care about how people saw me. However, as I sat in front of a young red-headed boy in Mrs. Anderson's English class, this view gradually started to change... Welcome to....EIGHTH GRADE....dun dun dunnnn

We pick up in my journals in 2001.

January 16, 2001

Dear Journal,

Soo, long time no see huh? Well I'm in 8th grade now and I'm 13. Well anyway, so now I like have this major crush on Bryan Simmons and only my best friends know. So now I'm keeping a log on whenever I have special little encounters with him just the fact that I said "special little encounters" creeps me out. So, here it goes.

Operation: Bryan Simmons

How long liked: about 2 years

Things seperateing: different mods & popularity

I literally wrote out a little header like this in my journal. Also, I'm not really sure what a "mod" is... I'm guessing I meant different social circles, which in my case, would also fall under "popularity"

(date unknown)

My first *big* encounter with Bryan was at the 2nd to last high school football game and me and my friend, Hannah B., went to talk with his group "mod" then he said, "Ellen Kay's a loser" then he said, "No, I'm just joking". On cloud 9! Moral of the story is....you just have to call me a loser and my heart is yours.... ALSO... on cloud 9?!?!

Again, I would like to post a formal apology to my crushee at this point, Bryan Simmons. He will most likely NEVER read this blog, which is probably for the best, because there is so much more to come....

Entry # 3

2010-02-15T14:18:00.000-08:00

Romans 12:1

Sun. Aug. 22, 99

Dear Journal,

Today after church there was a picnic at the fire hall and John, Ray, and I were playing pool upstairs. Then this kid came up to Ray and said (is she your girlfriend?) and he was talking about me but Ray said (no) I have no actual memory of this. I was wanting to say of course he is but that wouldn't of been apropriate so I'm glad I didn't yeah good call of judgement there, Ellen. Tomorrow is the firt whole day of school and I'm glad. I'm ready for school to start up again it's amazing how differently I feel about school now. Well I better be gettin to bed because it's already 10:30 so goodnight at some point I wonder if I will ever add that elusive G to "gettin".

Alright, so this is about the extent of my deeply romantic relationship with Ray Stewart. The entries about Ray mysteriously end in the journal. Even though it wasn't written down, I do actually remember how this crush came to a halt. It was at a high school basketball game, John and Ray were in the pit band section. I came up to the stands (most likely from John's point of view) to interfere as much as I can in his teen life. I of course sneak over to pay a visit to Ray. Earlier that evening I had just found a little purse that I hadn't used in a long time, I brought it to the game with me probably as an attempt to look more mature. So back to the game, Ray sees my purse/wallet thing and says "Cool can I see it?" OF course I agree and as he flips through my pictures inside....he sees in plain view.....a pink heart covered note with his name scribbled all over it!!!!!!! He just looked up at me with a confused face, at least I think it was because the next few moments were a blur of me snatching the wallet, sprinting past the bleachers, and staying in the girls bathroom until the end of the game. Alas...my fondness for Ray could not withstand my mortification. As I shredded up that little note my crush was flushed down the toilet that night.....so dramatic. Happily now, after a few years, we are still good friends! Sorry again, Ray, you unfortunately were the first chapter. With the beginning of the new school year however....my heart took a new direction.... stay tuned.

Entry # 1 and # 2

2010-02-14T12:41:00.000-08:00

Here is my first entry I once wrote into my little Winnie the Pooh journal. I think it should be noted right off that each post begins with "Dear Journal", a Bible verse, and of course the date. Very important.

Romans 5:8-9

Sat. may 29, 99

Dear Journal,

It's so much fun having a Journal because you can tell al of you're thoughts and what happened that day. Well today it start off pretty normal, I was laying down in my bed and I looked at my clock it was 9:25 usually I wake up at like 10:00 or so but right then I decided to go on a health and exercise diet. For breakfast I had a yogurt and some juice then a couple hourse later I got in the pool and layed on a mat for about 30 min. and got a tan. Next I got up and made a current and got some exersize. Then I had a P&J sandwhich for lunch. Next I went to Aunt Carol's house and played on a huge pile of sand then came home took a shower and here I am now. Yes, it was fun keeping a journal that I could divulge all my deepest secrets to...OR just write down a play by play of my day (very exciting). So obviously it is the beginning of Summer, and I am apparently pretty bored which is why I probably decided to start the journal. I WILL say, things do begin to pick up, which is why I am going to include a bonus ENTRY # 2 today!

1 John 1:8-9

Sun, May 30, 99

Dear Journal,

Last Monday I got a new Sunday outfit with hat and shoes, I got it because I'm growing out of all my other dresses. I always want to look my best on Sundays because that is the day I see my beloved one.WHAT THE!?!?! The guy I like is extreamly handsom and very nice but that's not the only reason I like him. I like him because he goes to church and is a christian. A beautiful and inspiring detailed description there of my apparent beloved one. You guessed it (!?!) the one and only Ray Stewart. Not to be confused with Hannah Montana's dad The only problem is that he's in the 10th grade and I'm in the 6th that's a four year age differance. But Momma said that it sounds like a big age differance now but when we get older it doesn't really matter. I wish I had written down more "Momma said"-isms. I just pray that if nothing is going to happen between us that he'll think of me as a really good friend and not some crazy litle girl who has a crush on him. This Saturday John brother, Erin sister, and I are leaving to go to Centurfuge, it's a youth camp. so I pray that we'll have a safe trip up there and that I won't get homesick. I also want to pray for Erin cause she's at girl state and the night she got there she called and told us that she was already homesick so I just lift her to you. Pretty sure I meant that part to God. Well I'm kinda getten sleepy so I better go. See-ya!

Dear Brett (Ray) Stewart...haha I am so sorry you were apparently "my beloved one" as a child. Please continue to be friends with John and don't shun the rest of us Kay's after this :) Tell your family I said hi!

Middle School Revisited

2010-02-13T09:28:00.000-08:00

Alright...so here's the deal. As you may have already surmised from my previous blogs, I am in a transitional part of my life right now.

I have just finished my college career, I am packing up to move to Nashville, and once there will begin the wonderful task of job hunting.

However, I am still on the "packing for Nashville" part down here in Sparta, TN. It has been a bitter/sweet past few days as I've been digging through my childhood room looking for things to keep or throw away. In the midst of my archeological dig through sentimental memorabilia, I have come across a gold mine... my middle school journals.

I sat down with my cup of coffee in hand to casually flip through the pages and instantly got sucked in to the "epic" drama of my adolescent journey. With each entry I found humor with my young absurdity and a glimmer of clarity to how I have grown into the person I am today.

My journals are riddled with humor, self-doubt, hopeful romance, friendships, and as always my award-winning awkward moments where I still to this day cringe for my young self.

Basically, middle school me was a hopeless romantic and unfortunately hopelessly weird. I like to think I have changed quite a bit since those days which is why I can confidently share these private memoirs with the public. Hopefully you'll find the same humor as I do!

So, here are the rules.

1. I will transfer each entry to the blog identical to the original journal (spelling mistakes and all)

2. Because of rule #1 all names shall therefore remain unaltered (which could get interesting)

3. As writer, I do reserve the right to EDIT. Stories won't be changed but some info may be left out.

4. Many times there may be a need for clarification or commentary. In which case my comments and notes will appear like this! (Special guests may be invited in the future to comment as well)

5. Furthermore, I ALSO reserve the right to end this endeavor at any given point!

I believe that just about does it!

Welcome then, to my Middle School Journals. Believe me. I understand how awkward, weird, and ridiculous my young self will sound...but hey...let's be honest...what Middle Schooler wasn't!? .....don't answer that.

Senior Show, No School, Nashville

2010-02-09T18:18:00.000-08:00

I love writing on this blog! Simply because I have no idea if anyone is reading it! Oh well! I shall continue to periodically update anyway!

So...these past couple weeks have been HUGE for me. The weekend before last I was frantically running around trying to get my senior show at Union completely set up before the gallery opened on Monday...well I set it up with the help of my wonderful sister and brother in law! After that I had to pump up my portfolio for my big oral critique with the professors. I was terribly nervous since I just don't really do well in front of a crowd especially talking about myself. WELL....it went GREAT! They loved my show and had nothing but great things to say about it and my portfolio! I was really really proud and happy!

My show stayed up all week and in the mean time I found out I got an A in my French II class that I was also taking over j-term. All this basically meant....I AM DONE with school forever...

I can't believe it. I'm finally done!! No homework!!! ah...such a good feeling :)

I just drove back to Sparta this afternoon, where I am going to re-pack and then head off to Nashville to live with my besties Ashley and Emily!!! The plan is to just get a job that I can save money with because I would love to eventually go back to L.A. MAYBE even by this summer!!

There are a lot of possibilities floating around right now but I like it like that! I am excited!

Productive, Miss America, Slide off the Road

2010-01-30T15:47:00.000-08:00

Oh what a day! First off... it snowed about half a foot here in Jackson, TN yesterday! It was gorgeous, but quite the pain in the tooshie to drive around in, especially since I'm in the last stages of prep for my senior show. AHH!!!! There are so many check lists going through my head right now... SO, today I had to be productive.

FIRST

I made coffee (a terribly vital detail if I plan on having productive day)

I then worked on my take home French final (translating 16 sentences)

THEN

I completed all my written essays and letters that are going in my portfolio

Erin, Neal, and I ventured out in the ice covered roads to hunt down some mannequins to use in my show. After an hour in the mall, we had success!

We took our bounty to school where they helped me start hanging up curtains and setting up my show! (not complete yet, but a great start!)

FINALLY

We trekked our way back home, and now I am about to eat some food, watch No Country for Old Men and then probably watch Miss America after that!

I don't think I'll feel bad about going out tonight since I've been so productive! Just hope I don't slide off the road!

Good Morning!

2010-01-14T07:53:00.001-08:00

Good morning everyone!

I'm sitting in the coffee shop on campus here at Union University just hanging out till my French class at 10:00. Speaking of class, J-term as been going surprisingly a whole lot better than I had anticipated! I'm actually getting a grasp of French and completing my homework almost as soon as it's assigned (which I never do) I am the queen of procrastination...I must be losing my touch. Well this was a very quick update but I've got to get going! More updates to come!

Au revoir!

Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2009-12-24T05:25:00.000-08:00

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....

2009-12-18T19:00:00.000-08:00

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....

2009-12-09T14:39:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-05T12:43:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-30T16:30:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-25T01:41:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-23T15:06:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-22T10:56:00.000-08:00

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!?!

2009-11-17T15:29:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-11-15T16:51:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-09T14:38:00.000-08:00

"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

2009-11-04T19:06:00.001-08:00

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...

2009-11-02T23:10:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-24T01:50:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-21T18:07:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-19T18:02:00.000-07:00

"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

2009-10-16T21:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-15T08:37:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-10-14T00:29:00.000-07:00

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

Mornin People, Kelsey, ZZZ

2009-10-13T01:20:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-10-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-08T08:35:00.000-07:00

*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

2009-10-06T08:55:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-05T00:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-02T00:11:00.000-07:00

TEN, ANIME, WE'LL SEE

2009-10-01T14:57:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-28T19:45:00.000-07:00

one too many candy corns...

Geek, Acting, Pitch

2009-09-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-25T08:18:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-21T01:17:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-19T06:33:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-09-18T01:03:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-12T01:52:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-06T00:11:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-05T01:07:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-02T22:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-31T09:29:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-26T14:38:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-24T15:45:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-21T17:36:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-08-16T09:08:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-15T08:32:00.001-07:00

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...

2009-08-13T23:21:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-08-11T17:47:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-07T17:57:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-29T07:57:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-21T08:52:00.001-07:00

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