Agency Meeting!

Last week was my first meeting with Commercial SAG Agents at a Commercial Agency in Hollywood!  I joined the Union a couple weeks ago and was finally able to set up a meeting with them that worked with both of our schedules.  It was a great time to be meeting with them since I had just filmed the Dorito's Spec Commercial on Monday and I already had footage from that so they were able to see what I look like on film and it was really current.  I also had new headshots to show them in addition to the photos from the Magazine Test Shoot so they could see a variety of looks.

I got to the meeting about 20 minutes early and as I took the elevator to the 5th floor of the Sunset Blvd building, two gentlemen walked up at the same time, asked where I was going and asked if I was an Actress.  One of the guys actually got off the elevator at the 5th floor with me and said there was an Agency on his floor as well, but that he was in Real Estate.  He asked if I had a card, and because I was going to my meeting I gave him an extra headshot, he thanked me, and it was a nice little confidence boost before my own meeting.

The office had Halloween decorations up and after waiting a couple minutes, N* called me into the office.  I met S* as well, as they were both Agents and worked together and took a seat by N*.  He looked over my resume and asked me a couple questions about where I was from, where I went to college, found out that he had friends in my college town, talked about how amazing the drive was from LaCrosse to Winona, then got started on Football games, the Packers & Vikings rivalry, and games in CaIifornia.  It was great to chat and feel comfortable in an interview setting where normally I would be nervous.  Then we talked about family, and my Hosting experience, what my ethnicity was, and if I had new headshots to show them.  I told them about the Dorito's Commercial and they said they had clients that got 2nd place last year, so that was cool.  They asked if I could send them my new headshots and any new photos I had along with the Dorito's footage.  

Next up, was cold-reading a Commercial monologue about Toothpaste.  I'm sure there were a bunch of different ways to do the reading but I decided I was going to tell them a secret, like I was talking to my best girlfriend and I found an amazing product that really worked.  I smiled, I felt confident, and I shared my reading with N* and S*.  When I was finished they said I did a great job and seemed impressed (yay)!  We chatted for a little bit longer and after giving me their contact information so I could send my additional photos and footage to them, I thanked them, and was out the door.  

The whole meeting took about 40 minutes and I was glad that it didn't feel like an interview, more like all of us getting to know each other, and getting a feel for each other.  Before I left N* said they would discuss if they could get work for me and wanted to make sure that I wouldn't get lost in the group, and I was happy to hear that because I want to stand out!  Basically, they wanted to make sure I wasn't one of 10 girls who all had dark hair with light-colored eyes and ethnic looking; hence, why I want to stand out and be different from all their other clients.

About 20 minutes later I got a call from the Sunset Blvd building, hoping it was a call from the Agency but it was actually from the guy on the elevator from the Real Estate Office.  I should have known something was iffy in his conversation about another Agency being on his floor but asking for my card anyway.  He actually offered me a position in his office, after asking if I had any Real Estate experience, to which I responded, no, I have a Bachelor's Degree in Theater and Mass Communication, but no experience at all.  I said I would think about it and realized the positive thing that came from meeting him was the confidence boost before meeting with the SAG Agents and that is beneficial to anyone!

So now it's a waiting game...I sent out my follow-up at the beginning of this week and just need to wait and see if I'll get lost in their Agency or stand out in the crowd :)

Magazine Test Shoot Photos :)

At the end of August I did a Test Shoot for a Car Magazine and I finally got some photos from the shoot.  The Editors aren't sure if they'll be used for the Magazine or not, or if I'll do another photo shoot if I do get chosen for the Magazine but it was exciting to see these new photos that are totally different than anything else I've ever shot and I wanted to share them with all of you!

All photos were shot by: Py at Wheels & Heels Magazine 

You can also find Py on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/wheelsandheelsmag?fref=ts

This photo reminds me of 'The Bachelorette' photos ;)

Twisted

Sassy Lyndsey

Smiling is so much easier for me than having to play sexy/sassy but Py was an incredible photographer and we had such a fun shoot!  I look forward to working with him again in the future :)

Dorito's Commercial is Live! Please Vote!

Hey Everyone!

Hymnson, Adrian, and I need your votes for our Dorito's Crash The Superbowl Commercial!  Please rate our video 5 STARS and help us win the Superbowl Commercial Contest :)  I posted the link, which will take you directly to our Video on Facebook.

Rate our Dorito's Commercial 5 Stars Please :)

Two thumbs up and 5 Stars :)

Enjoy the laughs and have a fabulous Halloween weekend!

Lots of Love,

Lyndsey

A Top 5 Karaoke Night!

Last night at Karaoke was by far one of my favorite nights I've ever had!  Even though it's been a slow start on Wednesday's, usually getting everything together at 9:30 or 10 pm, everyone in the bar had a blast and stayed until close!

We got started last night at 9:30 pm with a few people already signed up and then just a few more trickled in and it stayed like that all night long!  So the whole rotation was maybe 5 or 6 people and everyone was able to sing their little heart's out for a supportive crowd!  Some of the regulars were in along with a few of my friends, Jamie, Khad and Marty, so the night was bound to be a good time!

After I opened the night a few of the regulars sang and Marty got everyone singing along with him for Violent Femme's' 'Blister in the Sun,' and Jamie making her way in right after he had finished his song.  It was a night of Duets, Theme's, and Super-Sets, as Jamie and I did a little tribute to Mandy Moore.  She started off with 'Only Hope' which was beautiful, while I danced around to pop song, 'Candy,' which was actually a lot of fun and one of my new songs for the night.  Khad's first song of the night was 'Interstate Love Song' while Marcus' was 'Plush', both of them giving Stone Temple Pilots a little run for their money.  There were a bunch of Disney Songs, starting with Khad and Marty singing a little, 'Hakuna Matata,' then Jamie singing 'Part of Your World,' Khad did the crowd favorite from 'Mulan' making a man out of you, and Marty and Jamie did 'A Whole New World' from Aladdin.  Art sang a bunch of Sam Cooke songs that I love listening to while I'm Bartending at Irish Times and got to hear him sing for the first time here at Karaoke.  Next up it was a Super-Set of Roxette songs, while Jamie did 'Listen To Your Heart' and I did 'It Must Have Been Love.'  Since Marty was on a roll with the Violent Femme's I suggested 'Ring of Fire' because those are good ol' Wisconsin Dive Bar songs that when they come on the Juke Box everyone gets into a circle, starts dancing and singing along, it certainly reminded me of home and my St. Cloud boys and playing 7-14-21 after keeping Stats for the Baseball Team.  I miss being Stats Girl!!  

Jamie and I are continuing to do work on 'Take Me Or Leave Me' and one of these days it's going to be perfect!  While Marty and Khad did a Double Entendre performance complete with some harmonies of the Backstreet Boys, 'I Want it That Way.'  Another group performance came about during Khad's love song, 'I Would Do Anything For Love' by Meatloaf with a little help from Marcus and I.  Marcus showed off another side of him singing The Eurythmics while Marty changed it up and sang some Jason Mraz!  Marty was an impressive singer last night, trying new songs and performing the best I've ever seen of him!  It was a night of new songs for all of us with Jamie closing out the night with 'My Immortal' by Evanescence and me closing with 'Hungry Eyes' by Eric Carmen.  I think we could all picture the scene with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey dancing in-between Cynthia Rhodes from 'Dirty Dancing.'  Classic movie and Patrick Swayze will always be remembered in everyone's hearts!

Overall, we all worked the crowd, sang along and danced our Frito Pie and Avocado Toast off during the great songs and stylings of an awesome Karaoke night with great people!  Next week is Halloween Karaoke with a Rockstar or Music suggested Theme that should be a lot of fun and very exciting :)

Dorito's Spec Commercial Shoot

I wrote a blog a few months ago about a Casting Workshop that I went to and was extremely disappointed with the Casting Director.  At that Workshop I was initially set-up with a Scene Partner and when we corresponded over e-mail, we both said we would rather just do a monologue or have a reader, and both of us were cool with our decision.  Fast forward about 6 months and Hymnson and I finally worked on a project together!  After trying to set something up for a couple months he needed an Actress for his Dorito's Spec Commercial and I was free and interested in working on the project with him.

The shoot was at a home in Sylmar and it was just Hymnson and I, and his DP (Director of Photography) friend, Adrian.  We got started just after 10 am and rehearsed and went through some ideas for the shoot.  Then we got to shooting after looking through the story boards and we were able to watch the Footage after shooting each section.  That was awesome because if we needed to fix anything or didn't like the way it was shot we were able to re-shoot it.

Screen Shot from the Dorito's Commercial

We had a lot of fun coming up with interesting ideas for each shot.  The whole Commercial could be 30 seconds long and it's for the Dorito's Crash the Superbowl Contest and they've been doing this for the past couple of years.  After running through the opening part we did the insert shots and close-ups of each part.  Then we did the second half of the commercial which involved finally getting to eat some Dorito's and covering Hymnson in chips!  I think the closing was catchy and cute and I'll be very excited to see the final product.

The whole shoot took less than 4 hours and we had a blast working together!  I know we all have so many more ideas and it's great to get to work with such creative people who really want to take control of their careers and I love surrounding myself with motivated people who make me feel excited about my own career!  Thanks guys :)

A Karaoke Celebration!

It's Official...I am now a part of SAG-AFTRA...a big step in an Actresses career is joining the Union and I have finally taken it!  I was SAG Eligible for the past year because of the Web Series I was Taft Hartley'd on last October and have booked a bunch of Non-Union work in the past year so I was happy to be working and doing work throughout the year but I was up for a change and new opportunities.  I'm so excited for a new chapter in my career and look forward to more success, hard-work, and exciting challenges!

Last night at Karaoke was a mini-celebration as Jamie came out to celebrate with me, along with Sean, and Amy was pouring plenty of shots for us throughout the night!  It was actually a slower Karaoke night with just a few of the regular singers, and the 3 of us, with some other people filtering in and out throughout the night.  But I actually like when it's slower and I have friends in because it gives them more opportunities to sing.

We got started around 10 pm and it was a Broadway Musical kind of night with Jamie singing 'Till There Was You' from The Music Man, Art doing 'Send in the Clowns', Judy doing 'Superstar' and Art singing some other Show Tunes that were new songs for him.  Sean pulled off a great version of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' with Jamie and I singing a little back-up and me being able to do a little Air Piano.  Then it was a night of duets with Marcus asking me to take the lead on 'California Dreamin' by the Mama's & The Papa's, which was also a new song for me.  That was a fun challenge for the night but I still wanted to sing another new song that was my choice as well.  Marcus and Jamie sang 'Cruisin' which is one of my favorite duets to sing with my Duet Partner, Mr. Michael Weiss!  It's been a long time since we sang it so hopefully we'll be able to sing it soon.  Jamie and I did a little Jewel super-set in between BMW Shots and also did our rendition of 'Take Me or Leave Me' which went much smoother than last week and we were both really happy that it went well and we had fun singing it!  My other new song of the night was 'All I Wanna Do is Make Love to You' by Heart which is on my favorite Album of theirs.  I only wish I could find a Karaoke version of 'I Want Your World to Turn.'  At any rate, after singing Heart, it's hard to do anything else that's high but Jamie challenged me to close with En Vogue's 'Don't Let Go.'  I do love singing that song and Jamie promised me she would sing 'Holding Out For a Hero' if I sang it.  She did a great job on the song and both Sean and I dusted off our dancing shoes for some 80's style dancing going on!  Sean did a great job on 'Walking in Memphis' and Marcus had fun with singing some Neil Diamond.  Before I closed out the night Jamie sang DHT's cover version of 'Listen To Your Heart' and we'll have to do a little Roxette super-set next week :)

Karaoke Celebrations

Overall, I think we all had a lot of fun as a small group of Karaoke singers that got to sing a bunch throughout the night, celebrate and take shots as well as dancing our butts off and playing a little Air Guitar and Air Piano.  I look forward to more Karaoke nights like last night!

The Call-Back

I'm finally into the swing of things at Bar Lubitsch and getting more comfortable with the bar, computers, and patrons.  I had my highest ring since I started there on Saturday, plus I was working Service Well so it was even higher because of that!  I was really happy with myself aside from the fact that I broke a glass into the well at the busiest time of the night and another Bartender and I were talking earlier about how long it's been since we did that.  Murphy's Law, I guess.  Anyway, it's been a while since I've worked in a bar on a Friday or Saturday night and even though we can't drink at Bar Lubitsch, getting to sleep after a busy Bartending shift has proved very difficult week after week.  This week was a little better because I was getting into bed around 4 am and falling asleep almost right away versus my 5 am bed-time.  My late night weekend habits have been proving very difficult for Sundays and getting up early to watch Football and being exhausted all day Sunday and then sleeping for 10 hours on Sunday nights to catch up for getting just a few hours of sleep a night on Friday and Saturday.

This Sunday I had no time to rest and couldn't be exhausted because I had a Call-Back for the Short Film I Auditioned for 2 weeks ago.  Luckily, I had Neil to help me rehearse for my 1-line scene.  I had to play a Drunk Newlywed which actually is far more difficult than you think because you need to be believably drunk without literally being drunk.  What do you do when you drink?  You sway, you slur, your gestures may be bigger and you're clumsy.  So we rehearsed my foot work, we rehearsed how I would say the line, and what my reaction to the other person would be, and how I would exit.  Then I took a shot, yes, one shot, to calm my nerves and take the edge off the Audition.

There were a couple other people waiting, one for the same part as me, and another for the main character.  Both girls who were reading for the Newlywed were dressed in white dresses with brown belts and brown boots.  I asked the one if that's what she had worn to the Audition and how lucky that she was reading for the Newlywed now!  She said no, she didn't know that you were supposed to wear the same thing from your Audition to your Call-Back, and perhaps in this case, it might not have been necessary but she did learn something at the Audition which can hopefully help her in the future.  Then we waited...

About a half hour later I was called into the Audition Room.  There was another guy that was going to play my Better Half and I was reading to camera (which as a Drunk Newlywed really didn't matter) but I was ready and prepared to do the scene.  Us Newlyweds walked out of the room, shook it out, and then stumbled into the room, tried to steady myself as we got further to our marks but relied on him to hold me up, focused on the camera for a few seconds made a realization and said, 'Iceman,' as I pointed, then realized I had a ring on my finger, 'I'm an honest woman,' with a little surprise and excitement, fist pumped, and flirtatiously said 'Iceman' as I stumbled out of frame.  The Director liked my first read, saying he really liked my instincts but that I should take the humor out of it, say the lines as if speaking them might make me throw up right there because I was that blacked-out drunk.  So my Better Half and I walked back outside, took a breath and tripped back into the room.  This time I nearly forgot what I was going to say which actually worked to my advantage as I slurred my words and barely made it across the room in our 'drunken stupor.'  It was definitely different than my first take, so I was glad I took the direction and gave them something different to see.  Then they told me they'd be filming in November, asked if I was available, and thanked me.

The whole Call-Back lasted about 4 or 5 minutes and then it was over.  I was definitely glad I had an idea before I even came into the room because I would have felt really on the spot and nervous to just perform without any inclination on what to do and would have probably been over the top and way too in my head about what I needed to do versus coming up with something organic as they had given me direction and some tips before we even started the Call-Back.  They're casting this week so it would be great to book a job for the month of November...fingers crossed!

Smashing Pumpkins!!

Sunday was a busy day for me...Call-Back in Hollywood, Football all day, and then seeing the Smashing Pumpkins at The Gibson at Universal City Walk!
 

The Opening Act was starting around 7:45 pm so we didn't get to City Walk until around 8:45 pm.  After working our way around Halloween Horror Nights and through the middle of City Walk past all the stores and restaurants we finally got to The Gibson.  The Smashing Pumpkins started almost immediately after we walked into the Theater so we quickly ran down Section 15 and made our way to our seats.
 

Smashing Pumpkins at The Gibson

The first half of the show was all the songs off of The Pumpkins new album 'Oceania' with the second half of the show was some of their classics.  Neil had given me a CD with a bunch of songs, old and new on it, so I could familiarize myself with the music.  Upon listening to it once through, I found myself liking the melodies of the new songs, I did know some of their older hits, but was really unimpressed with Billy Corgan's voice, but I've always felt like that.  To me, it sounds like he's whining.  Hearing him Live was a completely different story!

Billy was absolutely incredible to watch perform!  You could hear the music, the harmonies were perfection, and I loved the new Bassist's voice, which mixed well with his.  I didn't realize how intricate some of the guitar playing was, and the solo's were split between him and a second guitarist, and they were amazing as well.  But the best part was because The Gibson has such great Acoustics, you could hear Billy, you could hear the words he was singing, but the whiny voice was nowhere to be found.  He sounded full and his tone was actually pretty.  I couldn't believe it!

Here's a little run-down of my favorite and note-worthy parts of the first half of the show!

Some of my favorites off the 'Oceania' album and hearing them live were 'The Celestials' and 'Violet Rays.'  'The Celestials' had such a pretty melody and guitar, with catchy lyrics and also had a pop feel to it.  According to The Pumpkins and serenade I heard, 'I'm going to love you 101 percent,' and that was a perfect way to start off the show :)  'Violet Ray's was another easy song to sing along with, it had beautiful lyrics and a haunting feel to it.  I also liked 'My Love is Winter.'  I remembered 'Pinwheels' as soon as it started, and that I didn't like that one because it was too trippy and psychedelic for me, but that was until it actually got 2 minutes into the song, which I had turned off in that time while I was listening to it in my car, it ended up having a really nice melody and mellowed out as well.  'Chimera' and 'Inkless' were similar in their sound, and had a more fun and upbeat vibe to them that I liked.  

Ready for the 2nd half of the show!

Neil and I both found ourselves dancing throughout the whole concert.  We really had a fun time!  When they were finishing up playing songs off the new album we grabbed Strawberry & Pina Colada Margarita's and then went back to our seats to enjoy the second half of the show.  At this point in the show, the giant globe they had above them which was also a movie screen, and was featured on all the TV's continued to show film clips, but the TV's now captured the band.  I like to see close-ups of each member so that made me happy.  It was really dark throughout most of the show but they had really neat colors during each of the songs and I loved that!

My favorites and excitement during the second half of the show!

'Disarm you with a smile...'

After Billy gave a little introduction and joked around with the crowd they started with 'Space Oddity' which was a David Bowie cover that I knew well.  Then they went into 'X.Y.U.' which was a very metal song and I found myself actually jumping around and head-banging to it!  Next up was 'Disarm' which is one of my favorites, and very easy to sing along to.  I loved the music so much more Live and just felt very in the moment while we were at the concert.  I noticed as they played 'Tonight Tonight' that their older music was a little more hard core and rock & roll than their new album which was more alternative and even chill, with a pop edge to it.    When 'Bullet with Butterfly Wings' began I was so excited to hear it and found myself head-banging again but at that point, I needed to stop because jumping around with a Margarita in your tummy, is not a good idea and I wanted to be able to enjoy the rest of the concert as excited as I was as soon as we got there.  Billy then introduced 'Song for a Son' which was one of my personal favorites of the whole night.  I really loved the passion he showed while he played the song and the awesome guitar solo that he just killed!  They closed the set with 'Cherub Rock' which I like to play at Karaoke because it's such a well-known song and it was a great song to end the concert with!

Of course, no concert would be complete without an Encore!  After a few minutes they came back out and performed 2 more songs, 'Ava Adore' and 'Muzzle' which Neil said they don't play very often.  I actually really like 'Ava Adore' because it's got that Fiona Apple feel, hard rock and very edgy with some cutting lyrics.  Even though it's one of their more well-known songs, I hadn't heard it until I listened to it on the CD from Neil, and while I thought it was so-so on the CD, it was incredible Live and I really look forward to listening to the CD Neil made me because I know all the songs now!

By the stage after The Pumpkins Concert!

Overall, it was a really incredible 2 hour show with feeling and emotion behind the songs.  Billy had some jokes for the crowd and seemed very appreciative of a supportive Gibson-filled room!  This was a concert I wasn't so sure about before I got there but would have been so disappointed in myself if I didn't have an open mind to go to it because the Smashing Pumpkins now have a new fan!

*Here's a link to 'Song for a Sun' with Billy's incredible guitar skills and outro (watch from the 17 minute mark)...this was at the San Francisco concert, but is a better video than anything I've found for the LA concert.*
 'Song for a Son' Smashing Pumpkins

Karaoke Firsts

When you sing Karaoke, people are always excited to give you suggestions for songs they would like to hear you sing, or that they think would sound great with your voice.  As a Karaoke Host, people are always asking for my opinion and I usually ask them to narrow it down to a genre or a couple different artists so I can give them some choices.  I like to hear people sing too so I can figure out what would work well with their voice or if they're up for a challenge, then singing something I haven't heard in a while that I love.

My friends also give me song suggestions and usually I forget about them but some of them I have learned and tried and loved, and other songs I've sang have failed miserably at.  A couple months ago, Jamie gave me a suggestion from 'Rent' saying we should sing 'Take Me Or Leave Me.'  I had recently listened to the song so after her reminder last week I decided it was about time to listen to it, practice it, and then just do it!

This Wednesday night, after fixing some sound issues, we got started, singing to a full room of people.  Jamie came in just after the night started and had a bunch of new songs she was ready to sing tonight.  Neil showed up later on in the night as well as did Khad so we had our whole crew together again!  One of Khad's new songs for the night was Stone Temple Pilot's 'Creep' which we heard Marcus sing last week and decided Khad would have to sing it since it's in his style.  Jamie's first new song of the night was 'Alone' by Heart and I loved her high note; her second new song was Jewel's 'Near You Always' which sounded really difficult but Jamie performed it like a pro!  Even Neil sang, which is a rare occurance, and he did Third Eye Blind's 'Semi-Charmed Kind of Life,' which was awesome!  Then it was time for Jamie and I to sing our song from 'Rent.'  We both got into character and had a lot of fun with the song, we belted out our parts, and gave a strong performance.  Once we work a little more on the ending it should be even better!  I'm glad that it was my new song of the night and that I did something that I didn't necessarily gravitate towards but now that I've done it, I can't wait to sing it again!  It was a great night for new music and ideas, and we all had our fill of Karaoke and I learned a lesson the hard way, singing Whitney Houston at the end of the night, is not the smartest thing to do when you've worked your vocal cords all day long and have lost your voice.  

Whitney - 1

Lyndsey - 0 

The competition is on and I'm up for the challenge!  Next week, I'm learning something else new...maybe it'll be Khad and I's duet, a rap, a teeny-bopper song, or something else.  Stay tuned!

A Family Affair at Lunch

After a very fun and busy weekend, Monday called for a fabulous Lunch, and who better than Jamie, who had called in sick to work that day, to enjoy Lunch with!  She was doing a little research for her job, so she suggested Milo & Olive in Santa Monica.  The name Milo & Olive came from the owner, who had opened up Rustic Canyon, then hired a Baker to open up Huckelberry, they fell in love, got married, opened up Sweet Rose Creamery, and then opened Milo & Olive, naming it after their children (in the shortened version of it all).  Both Jamie and I were quite excited to try a bunch of the menu items and were happily pleased with everything!

We started with the Sauteed Kale, which had jalapenos and plenty of garlic.  I tried kale once, a couple years ago, and did not like it, so I was a little nervous to try this, but ended up loving it!  I love garlic, I loved the kick of the jalepenos, and everything together just tasted amazing.  Next up was the Marinated Cauliflower that came in a small bowl with spinach, pine nuts, capers, gold raisins, and my favorite, goat cheese.  That was good too, very flavorful, and everything worked together well, and had different textures which was really nice.  We moved onto the Albacore Tuna Crudo that also had capers and a lemon and olive oil drizzle.  It was very light and fresh and a perfect palate cleanser before our main course.

Mmm...Goat Cheese...at Milo & Olive

For our entrees we did the Ricotta Gnocchi that had fresh mozzarella and basil and was in this sweet and tangy marinara sauce.  The gnocchi was perfectly-cooked, like fluffy little pillows, and the only down-side of the gnocchi was that I wish there was more to eat!  We also ordered a Burrata Pizza that was piled high with Proscuitto and Arugula.  I found out a couple weeks ago that I'm not a big fan of Proscuitto so I just gave that to Jamie and happily enjoyed the pizza with one of my favorite cheeses.

Now, this amazing meal would not have been complete without dessert.  So Jamie got a Sweet Cream pastry while I got one of the brownies and it was absolutely delicious.  We enjoyed our yummies with a double espresso for me and a Vanilla Latte for Jamie.  They actually make their own Vanilla syrup in-house using fresh vanilla beans.  Pretty darn cool!

 

This was by far one of the best Lunches I've ever had.  It was so awesome to be able to try all this amazing food and get to taste so many different flavors and styles.  I definitely look forward to going back to Milo & Olive again very soon :)

Abbot Kinney Festival

Every year, Abbot Kinney, in Venice puts on a Festival with live music, great food and craft beers, with a commitment to the environment!  I met up with a couple of my friends on Sunday in Venice for a fun-filled day with good people.

I'm not a big crowd person, at least not anymore, so when I realized that this Festival was going to be crazy, I felt a twinge in my stomach, but I pushed it aside and I'm so glad that I did!  Even though I had to drive around for 20 minutes trying to find parking and was worried I wouldn't find anything or have to pay $20 just to park my car, I got lucky, and found a spot just over a half mile away.  I walked to The Brig which had a big Beer Garden where tons of people were hanging out behind a stage for Live Music.  You had to wait in line for a wrist band so that took another 20 minutes and after an hour of staving off excitement, that first beer tasted so good!

Bree and a couple of her friends had gotten there about an hour before me, and Brad and his friends had all biked from Playa to Venice for the Festival.  It probably would have been a lot of fun as a group to bike over there and avoid the traffic and parking situation but I haven't had a bike since I moved to LA and I hear horror stories all the time about people getting their bikes stolen, so my car was the best choice for me.  We had a nice big group of people and even Jamie joined us later on in the afternoon!  The Beer Garden had a few different kinds of beers including cocktails so that was pretty cool and the Bartenders were working their butts off and busy the whole afternoon with no rest!  We all just hung out, enjoyed the sun and music, waited in the long line for beers in groups, played bean bags, or as some would call it 'Cornhole,' and had a great time!  If I hadn't gotten there so late I would have walked around Abbot Kinney because they had another Beer Garden further down that was being sponsored by another Bar, and had all these food trucks and restaurants so you could try some fantastic food.  There were people of all ages roaming the streets, adults and teens, families with children, pets, and even stilt walkers.

Bree & I at the Venice Festival

The festival went until 6 pm and even though I thought I would only stay for a couple hours and hate missing Sunday Football I had a blast and got enjoy something new and different to do in LA :)

VEGAS!

Last week I got an awesome surprise from Neil that we were taking a mini-vacation, that I should pack a bag, and we'd be leaving early on Monday morning and taking a 6 and a half hour drive somewhere.  I was trying to think where we would be if we drove 6 and a half hours, was it Phoenix, could we be going up to San Francisco, was it Mexico, how far away was a 6 and a half hour drive?

After loading up our 2 suitcases and grabbing some coffee we were on our way East (which took San Francisco out of the running) at 7 am.  I was too excited to sleep the night before and didn't want to miss anything in the car because the last time we took a road trip together he let me sleep through Denver, and I'll never let him live that down!  We stopped for breakfast about 2 hours later and debated just jumping ship right there and staying in Riverside but then weighed our options and decided to continue on our adventure.  I started to fall asleep about an hour later but then woke up just after entering Nevada.  Neil asked if I wanted to drive down the Las Vegas Strip, and I said of course, we couldn't go through Vegas without a quick tour of The Strip.  So as we pulled off the Freeway, Neil said he needed to use the bathroom, and I'm thinking, 'This kid, as we're on probably the busiest part of our drive needs to use the bathroom now?'  To make matters worse, we drive almost all the way down it to turn back around and he says he wants to go back to the Monte Carlo.  So we drive back down The Strip and pull into the parking lot, leaving everything in the car and just walking into the Casino.  Then he asks if I want to walk around the Casino, and I'm again thinking, 'Shouldn't we get going, if we've got another 3 hours of driving ahead of us.'  I say, sure, and we take a lap, and as we're exiting the Hotel, he says, 'Nah, I think we should just check in.'  I stand there confused, and he says, 'Surprise!  Aren't you excited?  Why aren't you excited?'  And I tell him, because you've been throwing me off this whole time, 6 and a half hour drive, stopping to use the bathroom, walking around the Casino, and then say we're checking in!  I learned on the drive home that the total driving time was 6 and a half hours...very sneaky ;)

Winning!

Since we got there so early we weren't allowed to check-in right away so we did gamble for a little bit and got our first Free cocktails of the trip (Vodka rocks with a lemon) along with some winnings from the Golden Goddess game we hunted down that I always play when I'm in Wisconsin.  Neil had me get a Club Card and an extra one as well so we could both rack up points on it.  Not that I was winning the two days we were there, but I was certainly putting money into the machines.  Neil was definitely on a lucky streak because every game he played he was winning something, whether it was the Star Wars Game, the Wheel of Fortune Slot Machine, or some crazy Monster Game, he won over $100 and played for hours.  That's my favorite part about playing slot machines is that if you play the penny machines, you can play all day long and not lose a whole lot.  Another reason why I like $1 Blackjack, you can play for hours and come out ahead if even $50 and get to enjoy the game.  While we were waiting we took a tour of the pool, Spa, and Gym, which were all really nice and serene.

Around 1 pm we were getting a little antsy waiting over 2 hours for our room to be ready so we finagled another room that unfortunately wasn't on the 30th floor (this one was on the 22nd) but still had the view and specifics that Neil had reserved ahead of time.  As we made our way up the elevator and got to our room I was surprised as to how big it was.  It had a beautiful bar set-up with stools and a mirror along one wall, a ginormous bed that a whole family could have slept in, a nice seating area, and a huge hot tub over-looking The Strip!  It should have been called The Rockstar Suite!  We quickly changed and made our way down to the Pool which had a Lazy River, separate Adult Pool, and Wave Pool where we spent most of our time since it was over 100 degree's outside.  The edge of the Wave Pool was shallow enough that you could lay in it, stay cool and get a great tan!  But the 100 degree Vegas heat is far more intense than the LA Sun so after about an hour we went up to the room, changed, and walked to CVS to pick up some snacks and a bottle of alcohol since we didn't want to pay $12 for a drink everywhere we went.

There were a ton of restaurants and bars throughout the Casino but we decided on Diablo's for Happy Hour since we were watching the Bears Monday Night Football Game!  They had a wheel that was spun once every hour where the special changed.  It was $5 Beers for Happy Hour plus the Wheel Special.  We ordered Nachos and they were bigger than my head, and I'm surprised we even made a dent in them!  After the wheel was spun Neil asked if I could spin it the next time so we were excited at 7 pm when it was my turn to spin the Specials!  We kept our fingers crossed for $7 Flavored Margarita's but ended up getting $7 Patron Shots which the crowd seemed to be happy about.  Then two shots of Patron were placed in front of us and it was go time.  We were exhausted from the long drive, sitting in the sun, and watching the game, but we both got our second winds after the shot and a nap was no longer necessary before Dinner!

Diablo's Nachos in the Monte Carlo Casino for Happy Hour

After Happy Hour we went back to the room, poured ourselves a couple of drinks and got ready for Dinner.  In our matching purples, we headed downstairs to take a cab to the Rio where we were having an elegant Dinner.  I had no idea where exactly we were going and as we took the outdoor elevator up to the top floor I realized we had a 360 degree view of Las Vegas from our table!  We had Dinner at the Voo Doo Steakhouse and were going upstairs to the Lounge after Dinner.  We ordered some fun cocktails along with the Chilean Sea Bass and a Steak, cooked Medium Rare!  Both of us were excited for our food, and the Fish was by far one of the best I've ever had, but we were both disappointed with the steak.  It was a little meaty tasting and Neil wouldn't eat much of it because it was so rare, and even me, who practically likes my meat 'mooing' at me, had a tough time eating it.  Yes, we should have sent it back, but since we had cut it and eaten a few pieces at that point, I didn't want to cause a problem.  We also were the last reservation of the night and the only people in the restaurant at that point and I'm sure the chefs were just waiting for us to be done so they could clean up and go home.  We did agree that the cocktails were perfection and the Sea Bass made up completely for the Steak, plus the company and view were amazing.  Our next stop was the Rooftop Lounge where the Bartenders did a little flair while making our Specialty drinks (which of course, I loved) and then we stepped outside where we took in the incredible view of the lights, hotels, and everything Las Vegas has to offer.  The DJ was good and we even found ourselves dancing in between taking hundreds of pictures trying to get the perfect lighting in the background.  Sorry Neil...but I love my pictures!

Our cab ride back to the Monte Carlo was certainly not as fun as our first one as our cabbie never even spoke to us but it was all fun and laughs when we got back to the Casino and sure enough Neil won more money while I lost at the Ghostbuster's Game.  It was getting late so we made our way back to the room but were stopped by the VIP Host at Brand, the Night Club in the Monte Carlo.  We weren't sure if we wanted to go in but he gave us Free Admission wrist bands and told us to come back if we were up for it.  As we walked away, a couple asked where the Night Club was and we told them as we hid behind some slot machines to see what would happen, and sure enough, the Host was telling them they needed to pay an Entrance Fee in addition to what they would be paying for drinks in the club.  They declined but we decided at that point to check it out and see what all the fuss was about.  We walked into a nearly empty club; it looked like they were a group of girls in for a Bachelorette party and scattered couples or groups throughout the room.  Everyone was dancing and having a good time, and their Ladies Night Special of $20 for All You Can Drink was definitely a selling point but both of us just weren't feeling it so we headed back to the room for our own Free cocktails.

In-Room Cocktails :)

The room wouldn't have been appreciated without a swim in the party-size Hot Tub that 4 people could have easily fit into, and although I nearly scalded Neil with the hot water, he did get to enjoy it but didn't stay in for too long.  I had every intention of relaxing and enjoying it myself but I kept drifting in and out of sleep with my arms on the edge looking at The Strip, so I knew it was time for bed.

On Day 2 we went down to the Pool to get some more sun and sit in the Wave Pool for a while before going back to the room and packing everything up!  Thank goodness for Late Check-outs!  We had to hit up the Buffet since we had finagled the 2-4-1 price since we didn't get into our room at the time we were promised. 
'Would you like a table?' ~ Waitress

'That would be better than the floor.' ~ Neil

Literally made me laugh out loud!  I did some damage with 3 platefuls of food; getting breakfast, a salad, a Chinese plate, a Dinner plate with Roast Beef, mashed potatoes, and 3 kinds of vegetables, not to mention a few different desserts to enjoy.  The Buffet loses money on me...might make money on Neil, but certainly loses money on me :D  And leaving the Buffet I could have used a wheelbarrow but was still able to do some bell kicks.  I couldn't believe I was projecting myself off the ground with the amount of food I ate!

Vegas at Night!

We gambled for a long time on Tuesday, starting off at the Monte Carlo, and me playing a bunch of different games trying to win at something, but it just wasn't my day.  I lost at Gone With The Wind, and even tried playing some of the Video Blackjack and Pokers game, but would lose at those while Neil would win $10 and $20 off of them.  I was happy that at least he was winning, and I liked watching him play the Star Wars game and helping him choose which Robot had the most points, or what star ship was going to blow up.  One of the things I wanted to do at some point was to find $1 Margarita's, so we went to Palace Station where I had stayed when I worked with PowerTV at SEMA, 2 years ago, and sure enough, they still had the same deal.  They were $1 Margarita's, you could get them Strawberry flavored, and add a shot of Cazadores for $2.  DEAL!  We almost wished we had watched the Football game there with all the specials they had going on.  Yes, it may not be as fancy a Casino as some of the ones on The Strip, but their specials were awesome!  Neil won money at some Monster Game, actually won the Jackpot and at that point, it was 7 pm and we wanted to have some Dinner before heading back to LA.

My family always goes to the $7.77 Steak Dinner at The Hard Rock so after our unfortunate steak experience the day before, I thought this might make up for it.  Well, I was wrong.  I remember we came here a couple years ago with my friend, Ashley, and had it, and it was amazing!  It was one of the best steaks I've ever had, and this steak was tough, dry, and had tons of fat on it...not good.  At least we left with full bellies from the huge salad, mashed potatoes, and shrimp we also got with the entree.  

Then we drove the three and a half hour drive back to Los Angeles as we re-lived the fun and memories of an absolutely incredible mini-vacation and road trip to Las Vegas.  We laughed, we were spoiled, we had to do this again, and can't wait until the next time we talk about the Mouse Face 8:*)

Firsts in October!

Wednesday was a busy day for me because I had just gotten back from Las Vegas late Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning and I had an Audition that morning as well as Karaoke that night at Gabe's.

Luckily, my Audition wasn't until 10:20 am but I had to get to Hollywood so after getting ready and re-memorizing my Comedy Monologue I was on my way to Space Station Studios.  The Audition was for a Short Film where I would be playing a Motel Owner who ends up taking a Thief hostage after he steals the identity of a Murderer.  I was right on time and got called shortly after signing in.  The Casting Director was there along with the Director and they had me take a seat, slate, and then perform my monologue.  They sat there straight-faced until I hit the punchline in the monologue when they both broke, smiled, and laughed.  After I finished the monologue the Director asked if I could do it again, except act as if I was Blacked-out Drunk.  I said yes, as I was up for the challenge but definitely found it difficult to make that switch after just doing it normally, and even more difficult being sustained to the chair.  I made bold choices, using big arm movements, moving around awkwardly in the chair, as well as raising the volume of my voice and even slurring my speech at times and changing some words, even forgetting certain parts.  They laughed as I made my way through the monologue and after that they thanked me and excused me saying they were shooting a few days in early November.  Hooray for my first Audition of the month!

After getting in a nice long run and work-out as well as going through hundreds of e-mails it was time to Host Karaoke at Gabe's last night.  I got started right away as we had a few people in at the beginning of my shift including a group of gals in for their Birthday's!  I opened with some Shania Twain and we had a bunch of Country songs in the first rotation.  Khad came in early so he was able to sing a lot throughout the night including the theme song for 'Fresh Prince of Bel Air' and later on 'Mulan' making those Birthday girls go crazy!  It was definitely a musical theater night as Jamie and I both sang songs from 'Grease' even though we could barely hear ourselves over the vocals of the Birthday crew.  But I have to say, the Birthday girls brought it singing 'Hero' by Mariah Carey, 'Killing Me Softly' by the Fugee's and 'Stay' by Lisa Loeb.  There was even a showdown of Sara Bareilles but Jamie came out the victor getting a round of applause during her high note on 'Gravity!'  Of course, there were group performances and duets throughout the night and my new song was The Divinyl's 'I Touch Myself.'  Debbie came in and danced her way into the hearts of everyone singing 'I Kissed A Girl' by Katy Perry, and accompanying me with her dancing skills while I closed out the night with 'Mercy,' by Duffy.  It was definitely a fun night!

While Wednesday was a really long day, it was well worth the exhaustion after an awesome 2 days in Vegas...more on my trip in my next blog :)

It's Halloween Month!

As October hits, that means Halloween is less than a month a way, and planning a costume becomes a priority!  It also means the Haunted Houses open, all the Costume Shops are packed, and people are prepping for Halloween Parties.

On Sunday, I took Neil out for a Halloween surprise.  I got us tickets to the Paranoia Haunted Maze at the Santa Monica Mall.  You had 3 choices of Mazes to go through as many times as you liked, The Infirmary/Asylum, a Haunted Manor, and a Clown Playhouse.  I don't think anyone really enjoys clowns unless you're a little kid, and that's probably because Clowns are one of the easiest things to turn scary.  I can still vividly remember a dream I had as a child where I had been chased by Clowns through my house and when they caught anybody, they put them in a giant balloon that was hanging from the ceiling and would then kill you by sucking your blood through a straw, and it was a painful and very drawn-out death.  Creepy, I know.

Anyway, I think Neil and I's favorite maze was the Clown one because it was the scariest and had the most fun stuff in it.  As we worked through the maze, the Clowns were jumping out at you, coming up behind you, and in this one, there were 2 that were dancing in a separate room you had to walk through, which was really neat to see.  But my favorite and also scariest part was walking through this tunnel that was spinning over a bridge.  As Neil and I started walking through it, it felt like it was moving and turning upside down so much that I was clutching his arm and the railing as well as bracing my stance to the ground.  I was probably in there a minute or two because my mind was playing tricks on me and as we finally got out of it, I was dizzy and could barely stand up!  But I loved it so much, we had to go through that maze again.  The second time through the tunnel my knees were so weak I had to stop and take a few moments to regain my balance.  It was crazy!!

The Infirmary Maze was really neat too because it was the first one we went through when we got there.  I haven't been to a Haunted House in years; it was probably more like 15 years ago when my family and I would go to Wisconsin Dells and go through them, but after the performers were able to touch you in one, and also grab you, I decided no more because that was way too creepy.  Imagine someone coming up behind you and touching your head or grabbing your arm, flipping scary!  I actually screamed a couple times in the first maze because I didn't know what to expect so they were coming around corners, jumping at you, there was stuff hanging from the ceiling which would distract you and then the body that was laying limp on a chair would come to life.  I still think the creepiest thing about the Mazes were the people that would come up behind you and just appear.  The performers were stealthy!!  In the Haunted Manor Maze it was basically like walking through a huge mansion with a kitchen, living room, dining area, and bedrooms.  The performers were quick and flexible and would just appear out of nowhere, even in a huge room!  That was the least scary of the 3 so we ended our Maze excursion on the Clown Playhouse for one final scare.

It was definitely a great way to kick off Halloween Month considering we went around 10:30 pm and were there till after midnight.  Along with admission to the Mazes they were offering Happy Hour prices at Zengo so we went to grab some ghoulishly-named cocktails after some scary time in the mazes.  It was a lot of fun!

Just 27 more days...Happy Halloween!