where I am now

Okay, so. My life in a nutshell.

I'm still living with Valentina in our awesome apartment in West Hollywood. Kirbie left about four months ago to move in with a friend of hers, and Val spent much of the summer in NYC, so for a while it was just me and Nomi here. Which was a little lonely at times, for sure (what? no late night Kingdom Hearts marathons?), but it also gave me some much-needed time to sit back and really evaluate what was going on with me, what I wanted, and how to go about getting it.

Blah blah, boring, I know, I know. But it's been a really important few months! My life is entirely different right now than it was six months ago, in a lot of really good ways. I have a new job that I absolutely love, I've taken some phenomenal classes, I'm working on two really cool web series, and I'm currently in a play that opens next weekend (eep). Busy times! It's been nonstop lately, which is exhausting, but also excellent. It actually feels a lot like college. In a good way.

And I got a guitar. So that's neat.

The play is called Kidnapped by Craigslist: The Graveyard Shift, and it's being produced by the same theater company that I did Terminus Americana with last year, TheSpyAnts. A lot of the same people are involved, which is fantastic, because they're all super-talented and loads of fun to work with, and I've made some new friends throughout the process too!

Plays are awesome.

For now, though, I'm taking advantage of having a Saturday night to myself (I don't have any real concept of "weekends" these days) by drinking tea and catching up on my Netflix queue...and snuggling with Nomi, of course. Cujo just came on TV and for some bizarre reason I'm watching it, which may or may not be a good idea. We shall see!

Sleep well when sleep finds you, Gentle Reader...and check back soon! The blogger is back.

a long time coming

I've started so many posts over the past six months or so, then abandoned them halfway through because I didn't have time to finish, or I got distracted, or - most often - there had been so much going on that I hadn't yet written about, that writing at all (and trying to "catch up") felt way too overwhelming to deal with. Which is silly, when you get right down to it. Don't you think?

So now I'm going to dispense with all that catching-up nonsense and just plunge back in. A lot has changed since February, when I last wrote - it was eight months ago, after all - but I'd rather focus on what I'm doing now, and what my plans are, than all the unimportant transitional stuff along the way. So, Gentle Reader, welcome back to my blog, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter of my life in Los Angeles as much as I do!

busy busy

Oh, my. What a busy week! Besides the normal routine of class and work, Valentina returned to LA on Monday, so we've been doing a lot of catching up. It's great to have her back! I also had a really good week, audition-wise, and was kept busy running back and forth between places as nearby as the Space Station at Highland and Fountain, and as far away as an office building in Carson, an hour south of here. (Fortunately I had Val's company for the drive to that one!) I have yet to learn the outcome of all of them, but no matter what happens, it's good to get out there - and I'm definitely starting to feel more comfortable in front of audition panels, more me if you will. So that's something.

On Wednesday night, Valentina and I went to Santa Monica for a "date" and had a lovely dinner at a little restaurant called George's Bistro before heading to Trip, a funky dive bar, where JD was opening for a burlesque show. It was the first time I'd ever seen burlesque, and MAN were these girls bold! No actual nudity was involved, but it was definitely risqué. These weren't rail-thin model-types either, and it was pretty cool to see women who were so comfortable with their bodies. It must be rather empowering...

Hmm. A new calling? Wellll, I'm not so sure about that. But Valentina and I did make a pact that if one of us gets up the guts to perform someday, the other will have to, as well. So who knows?

This coming week I'll be doing some more background work, but - surprise! - not for Ghost Whisperer. I was called in for GW's Monday shoot, but by the time I was able to call back to confirm, the spots had filled up...so my lovely Central Casting "agent" (as I like to think of him) booked me for a couple of days on The Big Bang Theory, instead. It should be pretty easy, indoor, sit-down work, which will be a nice change of pace! I'm looking forward to visiting a new set and seeing how other shows work. Plus, it films at Warner Bros. Studio, where I've never been!

A couple other projects are in the works, but for now I need to snuggle up in bed and pass out for a few hours. Tomorrow is a day full of time for writing and planning and working and dreaming...and (fingers crossed) seeing Dear John at some point? I love me some Amanda Seyfried.

Good night, Gentle Reader! I hope you're having a wonderful snooze!

a (somewhat) fond farewell to the master cleanse

Well, Gentle Reader, my time with the Master Cleanse has come to an end. Last night, after my blog post, I continued to have trouble keeping anything down, and was up sick half the night. This morning, I felt weak and still couldn't even drink water without becoming ill. I decided that there's a fine line between feeling miserable because I'm detoxing, and just plain feeling miserable...and I think I crossed that line.

So, as of today, what would have been Day Six, I'm off the Cleanse. It's sort of a bittersweet end, because I really wanted to hold out and prove to myself that I could do it - but not at the cost of my health. I have too much to do! I'm taking it easy today, drinking mainly liquids at the moment and planning on eating only very plain, very easy-on-the-stomach solid foods.

Did the Cleanse work for me? As far as it could, I would say it did. I might not have been able to complete the ten days at this point, but my complexion is bright and smooth, I've gone five days without caffeine and haven't felt any withdrawal effects (that's never happened before!), and I feel energized and more aware of my surroundings, if that makes sense. In addition, I've lost as much weight as I feel I could lose in five days without being unhealthy.

I'm looking forward to eating better and working out once my body is back to its normal, healthy self. The Cleanse was a very interesting experience, and I'm glad I made the effort.

But I sure as heck am excited to eat some FOOD!!!

the master cleanse: day five

(this entry might be a little TMI...don't say you weren't warned!)

I was in a pretty bad place when I wrote my blog entry last night, that's for sure. After I finished writing, my negative thoughts continued, and I had a little Cleanse crisis. I started to think, "No one is making me do this. I don't want to be doing this. So why am I doing it?" But then I took a few deep breaths and thought about the fact that I've set a goal for myself and should see it through, that ten days isn't really so long and will be over before I know it, and that I've already noticed the benefits so it's clearly working. And I felt better.

Most of Day Five wasn't too bad, greatly thanks to the fact that I was super-busy. I spent most of the day on-set for RATT's music video of their upcoming single, "Best of Me". It involved a lot of energy - hopping around and rocking out to the song, over and over and over - and didn't leave much time to even think about eating. The hardest part was during the five- and ten-minute breaks, when everyone else swarmed the craft services table and came back with miniature bags of Cool Ranch Doritos and cans of Dr. Pepper. Cool Ranch Doritos are one of my ultimate weaknesses, and my super-strong sense of smell made it torturous to be so close...and yet so far!

Afterwards, I had an audition, and then had to run a few quick errands before heading home, where I immediately crashed and took a two-hour nap.

That's when the problems started. Since then, every time I try to drink something, I can't keep it down. I tried lemonade, and when that didn't go so well, I switched to peppermint tea - no dice. I did some research and it seems that vomiting is one of the rarest and most "severe" detox processes, and shouldn't last more than a day or so...but I'm a little concerned. I've barely been able to drink the required amount of lemonade for the past few days anyway, and now whatever I can drink is coming right back up. Which basically means there's nothing in my system. Which doesn't sound good.

We'll see how this goes. Maybe it is just an intense detox phase and I'll be feeling better by tomorrow - we shall see. For now, though, Can't Hardly Wait is on and there's a purring kitty on my lap...so I'm gonna go. Good night, all!

the master cleanse: day four

Day Four pretty much sucked, not gonna lie. Well, that's not entirely true - I don't feel sick at all, and my energy level is high. But it's gotten harder for me to drink the required amount of lemonade, even though I'm super-hungry. I guess maybe I've had so much of it over the past few days that now my body is demanding something else - when I so much as smell it, I can feel my throat get all tight, and it's hard to drink more than a mouthful or two at a time. I can drink as much water and tea as I like, but even thinking about the lemonade makes me feel a little sick.

I'm hoping that I'll be able to push through this in the next day or so, and drink more, because otherwise I won't be getting enough nutrients and calories. I didn't go on the Cleanse to starve myself, I went on it to detox, so if I'm not able to drink enough of the lemonade over the weekend, I'm going to have to stop. It seems so silly to not be able simply to make myself drink more - I'm kind of frustrated with myself.

In other news, tomorrow I'll be shooting a music video with the band RATT, which should be pretty cool. I've never worked on a music video before, and am looking forward to a new experience! Plus, RATT was pretty darn big back in the 80's and 90's - I'm looking forward to meeting them.

the master cleanse: day three

Man, I could go for some lamb chops right now. Tender, marinated for days, and perfectly seasoned...mmm. Or some really thick tomato soup with crusty bread to dip into it, so fresh that it starts to dissolve as soon as it makes contact with the soup. Or some pasta, full of vegetables. Heck, even a pizza...New York style, extra sauce, with ranch dressing to dip it into. Yeah, that sounds pretty good.

But I won't have any of that...not for another week at least. Day Three has come to its close, and I am hungry. This is my own fault, though, because I found it extremely difficult to drink enough lemonade today. I put too much cayenne pepper in the first batch, and then was away from home all day lugging it around without being able to drink it. I made some more when I got home, but if I drink it too quickly, it makes me feel a little sick. So I'm trying to consume it slowly.

Other than the hunger issues, though, today was pretty good! Several people (who don't know I'm doing the Cleanse) commented that I looked "brighter", and while I don't think I'm glowing, exactly, I have noticed an improvement in my complexion. I sometimes struggle with combination oily/dry skin, but in the past couple of days, that issue seems to have cleared up, and my overall skin tone is much smoother and more even. Not sure if this will last, post-Cleanse, but I'll enjoy it while it does!

I've also notice a sharpening of my sense of smell - something that JD and other Cleanse bloggers reported at this point, as well. Fortunately, though, so far the smell of other people's food hasn't been driving me crazy. Kirbie had a lovely-smelling sandwich earlier tonight, and instead of wanting to grab it away from her and scarf it down myself, I was able to appreciate how tasty it must have been, and look forward to eating "real" meals again next week. I've definitely started to appreciate food more! I've been planning out meals and recipes (see above for examples) and am seriously looking forward to cooking them when these ten days are finished.

I'm feeling pretty tired, so I think I'll make some tea and head to bed. Good night, all!