Celebrity Sighting #4

So, I was in CVS Wednesday, thinking about the game I taught Faith. The line was taking F.O.R.E.V.E.R and was incredibly long, so I looked around the store to see who I would pretend was a celebrity. I see a little old lady with a shopping cart. She pretty much doesn't know where she is. And I think, "Man, that looks like the lady from While You Were Sleeping!" Then I heard her speak. That indisputable South African British speak. I didn't need to pretend my game, after all. It was Glynis Johns. She's, like, 84 and still kickin'. (in a slightly senile yet old-lady-cute way.)

There is a game I play that, until recently, I hadn't told anyone about. A few weeks ago I told Faith. She's playing it right now. Here's how it goes: Since I live in LA, I sometimes see celebrities. But, sometimes I see someone who looks like a celebrity and, after a lot of staring, I realize isn't. Well, I pretend that person is the one I thought it was, anyway. It's dumb, I know, which is why I never told anyone. But I'm glad I told Faith. Because she's bored in an airport in NC right now and has so far seen two actors from Firefly, Meredith from The Office, and The Beckhams.

I dreamt last night that I had my camera. It was a delicious dream. I don't remember any of it except that I took a lot of pictures.

If you like me enough to get me a Christmas present, please purchase a gift card to Amazon.com. That would be marvelous!

Week 3

The coughing has stopped, pretty much. But I'm still sick! My head is stopped up and all pressure-filled. I'm up, but I just want to go back to bed.

Hey, Cold: GO AWAY!

Yesterday was a nice lazy day. Faith and I saw Enchanted, which was really cute. Before the movie started, a guy looking for a seat yells out:

"Excuse me! I will give $100 to the first person who can give me two seats together in the middle!"

The request was immediately filled and everyone applauded.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. It was cool at first, but then my mind started wondering. What if that guy said to his date, "Hey, watch me buy someone." I mean, there were plenty of two-seats-together. Just not in the direct middle. But that guy got exactly what he wanted through money. How very American of him.

He's moving back to Ohio in a couple of months. I called it at Kenny's party. Last night we were the last to leave. We stayed and did dishes til 1 in the morning for Behn and Caroline while they were passed out on the couch. I had a really nice time.

I'm going to miss him.

My parents called to say Happy Thanksgiving. They went out to eat at the Grande Finale. We ate there as a family almost 6 years ago. They then spent the next 5 minutes trying to remember what everyone ordered.* My dad and Lindsay had salmon. I had turkey. My mom had the sirloin. I remember I had this amazing warm pecan pie that came out in a casserole dish with ice cream. It was giant.

They asked how I was feeling. My cough is getting better, though I still haven't slept through the night. They reminisced about a time when I was a kid and had a cough for a while. They finally took me to the doctor after a couple of weeks b/c they were annoyed with my non-stop hacking. Turned out I had pneumonia. They felt like horrible parents. I reminded my dad of the time I hurt my knee. He said I was fine and wrapped it in the Magic Ace Bandage and sent me off to camp. A few days later the nurse called for my mom to pick me up b/c I kept falling and was developing a fever. Turned out I broke my patella. That was the one time the Magic Ace Bandage didn't work.


*They do stuff like that a lot. Spend big chunks of a conversation trying to remember who said what to whom or what someone was wearing or what the temperature was on a certain day. It's stuff that is totally irrelevant to the conversation, but is uber important for them to remember. Luckily for them, it's charming.

This is my first official Thanksgiving with no family, but my second one in California. Last year at this time I was driving to San Diego to celebrate with my aunt and uncle at my cousin's place. Then I drove up to LA to film the next day with Chris and Mike. Chris is still working on that movie. I have to work for the next 4 or 5 hours, but then it's over to zha's for mac'n'cheese w/ garlic and some Katamari!! After that, we head to Caroline and Behn's. They have a big thing every year, and I know there will be a lot of the Ohio Crew there.

I'm thankful that I got to spend last week with my family, even though I was sick the entire time. I am thankful for my job that allows me to work whenever I want and make enough money so that I don't have to worry about things. I'm thankful for improv. I'm thankful for my amazing friends who have been there to help me through dark times and have been there to share in successes. I feel so lucky to be alive and to be living the life I have.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

A couple of weekends ago, Amelia Aviles took some pictures of me. I put my favorites in here.

At what point do we stop loving unconditionally?

I watch relationships crumble. Marriages struggle and fail. People fight; friendships end. And it makes me sad.

Our place is a wreck right now. Clothestowelstoysbagsmakeuphairproductsblanketsdirtyplatesgarbage everywhere. It frustrates the hell outta me, but that's what happens when 3 people come to visit and you don't have a guest room. I made my way through the jungle that used to be our living room to brush my teeth in my bathroom. On my mirror, Asha drew me a picture (with dry erase marker, so it was okay) and wrote, "I hope you feel better. I love you." And the annoyance of the fact they're going to be here the rest of the week melted away.

I'm nothing to that child. I'm her aunt's roommate. And yet, she treats me like family. She hugs me and is excited to see me. She wished several times that I could come to Disney with them. She's drawn me three pictures already, and she tells me she loves me every day.

When do we lose that? When does love become conditional on whether or not you pick up your dirty towels? Why are adults so afraid? I look at Asha and I see this amazing innocence. She could care less if I have a short temper or road rage. She just loves because that's what's in her heart.

I wish we didn't lose that as we age. I wish cynicism would stop taking over. I wish people weren't so selfish. I wish I could have that same fearlessness of a five-year-old. But I don't. And I'm not sure if I can get it back.

This wasn't supposed to end on a down note. It's just that I see this giant heart and it makes me very aware of how separate we've all become.

HELP!!!

Anyone have any suggestions for a really bad cough? I am taking Cepacol Ultra, Dayquil, spraying my throat with Chloraseptic, and sucking on cough drops like it's my job. Nothing is working! My back hurts from coughing so much. I feel like little blood vessels are bursting in my brain. There's just this tickle that won't go away. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Also, can you OD from cough drops? Um, I hope not.

I love my family.

I hate being sick.

The honesty of a five-year-old delights me: Hi Ashley! I'm really glad to see you!

Asha, I'm really glad to see you, too.

More later, once my throat stops feeling like a cat's scratching post.

My diet of booze and pizza the past couple of days has helped me lose a pound and a half.

I saw pink boxing gloves in a store yesterday and thought of Michelle.

Friday I learned an important lesson at my first gig through LA Casting. I'm only applying for paid work b/c I really am not looking for a film/television career, but thought, hey, if I can make an extra grand on my day off, why not? The pay for this particular item was TBD. Lesson: Find out the price before you agree to the role. TBD = zero. Granted, it was close to my house and was about an hour and a half when it was all said and done, but still.

Now I'm off to a photo shoot where I don't get paid. The trade off is that I'm getting free headshots to help a girl build her portfolio. That's about a $200 trade off. Another up side is that it's in Santa Monica, so I'm going to hit the beach for a minute. Just to say hello to the ocean.

This bird is tired.

Spent the night with Courtney Thursday for some girly time. All of the sudden it was 3 am. Friday saw Opening Night then headed back to Court's to hear about zha's week in basic training. Last night saw Moxie in the Dick Box, then went to Velvet Margarita to celebrate Chris's 32nd b-day. Wanted to chop off my feet on the walk back to the car at 1:30. Going to start packing flip-flops in my purse. Will be up til midnight tonight working. Tomorrow: up at 6:30 for knee appointment. Work all day, then Armando that night. Herb, the coolest old man audience member, was asked to be the monologist. Tuesday = work all day, class that night. Taking Scot's as a make up b/c I'm heading to AZ Wednesday morning after dropping Faith at the airport at 5 am. Drive for 6 hours, say hello to my parents, then hopefully take a delightful nap. Goals while in AZ: Oreganos for a pazookie and boom dip, Pita Jungle for garlic dip, an appointment with Olympia (!), and an improv show someplace. Not sure what the schedule is with the fam, but hopefully I can do those things. Hooray!

I am a human dictionary. Two phone calls I've received in the past few days:

zha: what's that word that means a gas going from an area of greater concentration to an area of lesser concentration? it's not osmosis.
me: uh, diffusion?
zha: YES! I've been trying to think of that word for 15 minutes!!

* * *

ben: the words racecar and radar. what are those called? same forwards as backwards.
me: uh, palindromes?
ben: YES! Thank you!


That's how much of a nerd I am. People call me when they need a definition.

4 more personal training sessions, then I'm done. I've had trainers for the past 4 years. Not continuously, but more often then not. I've decided that I no longer need one. I'm in a pretty regular exercise routine, and I know what I'm doing, so I'm gonna save that $150/month.

Actually, I'm probably going to spend it on rehab. Monday I have an appointment with an orthopaedic surgeon. I'm really nervous. I've pretty much succumbed to the fact that I will need surgery. Two + years ago I went to one in PHX. He put me in rehab for 3 months as a preemptive strike. If my muscles didn't start naturally pulling my kneecap back into place, then we would go the surgery route. But the follow up was lame and I didn't like the guy and never went back. Then I switched jobs and became incredibly busy and just never went back. But now I'm almost 30 and feel like my knees are falling apart. So, I'm going Monday morning and am very nervous. Mainly because I don't want to miss any improv. But also because I don't want to have surgery. Yes, it will be minor and the healing process will be fast, but pain and I do not get along. And I don't want to be all hopped up on painkillers, as that will affect my ability to work. Right now I need to work as much as possible. I have a huge credit card bill to pay off, which is going to take months, plus Christmas and birthdays are coming up, which is just going to add to the debt.

Faith hung out with a guy a couple of nights ago (I'm not a fan of him), and finally with Dave Hill last night (I *am* a fan of him). I'm trying to be supportive of her love life, but I'm really cynical right now, so I'm not the best one to listen to gush.

Tonight is Kenny's costume-slash-house-warming party. Looking forward to that. Will post pictures of my costume soon. Went as Alexis Carrington Colby--Joan Collins from Dynasty. I looked fantastic.