Katrina: The Journal

Please read if you live/work in the area!

This person's father went missing on their way from Van Nuys to Hollywood/Gower yesterday....

Feel free to repost!

Yikes I haven't updated in two weeks! Work is hell right now, and the various demands of life are taking away any free time I might once have had....

In no particular order:

-Just found out Emma's dry food has been recalled. I think I'm finally switching her from Nutro to a better (aka more expensive) brand. I just hope she's ok....

-For our one year anniversary Matt bought me these beautiful silver dangly earrings with amber-colored beach glass drops hanging off. Lovely! And he bought me.... The Sims 3!!! It's ridiculous. I'm struggling every night with my addiction, and it's already been responsible for one night with less than adequate sleep and one occurrence of tardiness due to excessive playing. Last night Matt created his first character, Commander Cool, and is now proceeding with his life goals: both worldwide domination and to have as many girlfriends as possible. Boys.

-Matt is great. That is all :)

-I'm sick of this whole Michael Jackson thing. I haven't said much on LJ for fear of offending anyone, but after yesterday I think the veil has been lifted. It affected the workload on my show, it affected the availability of my EP and his office staff, it's affected my commute for the last week, and now my tax dollars are paying for the memorial. I just hope they recoup costs via paypal. Which is the weirdest way for a city to raise money I've ever heard of. Also: I was having a conversation with someone yesterday, trying to figure out why someone would fly to another country to honor a music star, and then I remembered... d'oh! That's kinda what I'm doing in August. Only instead of a music star, it's a whole band. And they're not dead, just breaking up.

-Speaking of the trip, I'm so wrapped up in preparations that it's hard to sit back and get excited about it. All the plane tickets are bought, passports are being renewed (WTF? You have to renew if your passport expires within 9 months of leaving the US? That's silly), and now I'm working on a schedule and budget. My mom is going with me (have I told you guys that yet? Or was it f-locked?) and we're both very concerned about keeping costs as low as possible, especially because I could be looking at some hefty unemployment when I get back. Ahh freelancing. Gulp.

-Speaking of freelancing, or not really speaking of it depending on your point of view, I have big news for Sept./Oct. but I'm not telling you guys yet. Hehe.

-I'm knitting a sweater for my trip, and hoping it'll be done in time for me to wear it. Only 36 days left! Also, my backpack arrived in the mail! Check it out - it's awesome and silly at the same time. I feel like a poser when I wear it. I also bought a rain jacket and a fleece and a 100% wool cardi from a thrift store, and my mom bought me padded hiking socks, so I'm almost ready to tackle 30 degrees F with driving rain.

Love my boyfriend? Oh wait - that's just me. Or it better just be me..... I'm looking at you wordissuperfly!

Over the weekend an idea got planted in Matt's head by one of his friends. Saturday night I helped another friend water it, and on Sunday it sprouted into one of the funniest things I've read in a while (helped in no small part by Matt's mad photoshop skillz, and Buster's vacant stare).

Click here and find out what would happen if Star Wars was recast using the characters from Arrested Development!

I'm not going to lie - I'm playing the dutiful girlfriend and trying to get readers for my boyfriend's blog. He discusses all things geek, and right now he'd love a few comments! Hint. Hint. *wink*

Last weekend was amazing, and also depressing. Matt and I stayed at his aunt's condo on the beach in San Diego for the weekend. We ate breakfast, read books, and had wine at night on the balcony overlooking the bay. We walked 1/2 a mile to go shopping and eat at the tons of delightful places around there. We slept late, had cinnamon buns for breakfast, and basically indulged our every whim. And then we had to drive back to LA and go back to work. (hint: that was the depressing part) It was such a spectacular weekend, and a part of me is so sad it's over.

That said, next Friday is our one year anniversary (aww) and we're trying to hit up the Santa Barbara region for the weekend. I'm looking forward it to like crazy, but I'm worried work is going to interfere somehow...

Went to see "The Hangover" last night at the Americana. Very funny movie, and definitely what I needed (escapism). The crazy part? We showed up as the previews started to roll on the 9:55pm movie, and we had to sit in the front row because the theatre was packed. That movie is selling like hotcakes, people!

I've been toying (as we all do eventually) with getting a real job, one that doesn't cause me majortime stress, one that gives me time to have a life, one that actually helps people in some way. This system is broken, and no one's going to fix it because they only want to make more money. Jump ship while you can....

How about we pay you less money than you need to physically survive in Los Angeles?"

Sample quotes from the commenters....

"Starting out, I was appalled that CAA offered me only $250/wk (before taxes)to start in the mail room."

"i was an agent trainee in 1998 at another big Hollywood agency… at that time, we made $350 a week (before taxes) and I usually worked 7:30 AM - 10:30 PM and had to tackle coverage for at least 3 scripts a week at night. No overtime."

"I was a production assistant at a large, well-known studio in Los Angeles and I was only paid $10 an hour, from which I could barely live off of. I had two roommates, and all of my excess income went to gas for driving around town on studio errands (you’re only reimbursed up to 30% of your gas, if at all, and this was when gas was $4.77 a gallon) and ramen."

I'm frantically paying off bills and saving money in preparation for my trip (it's confirmed! tickets have been bought and my mom's coming with me!).....

Lots of stress (those who read friend's locked posts know what I'm talking about....). I'm grinding my teeth at night, I think, and I have to figure out how to stop that. I was trying to meditate in the mornings a bit, but that didn't work out. Now I'm trying to at least walk around the block once a day, but some days I'm too busy to do even that. All weekend I was exhausted - poor Matt is getting a complex, I fear, because it seems like whenever we hang out (which is most of the time) I'm either sleeping, dosing off, or out of energy.

On Friday my boss took pity on me (after a horrible Thursday!) and treated me to a manicure and pedicure with her. That was only the third time I've done that in my life, and I have to say it's pretty damn relaxing. And my toes look awesome! So the mani/pedi was in preparation for the wrap party on Sunday, which was really fun. I got to catch up with old friends from set and chat with the cast and generally pretend to be super popular. (I should stress that this wrap party was for the passion project presentation, not the day job) We had a massive dessert spread packed with sugary goodness, champagne, a live jazz band, and two performances by cast members. It was a classy event!

That's all I have time for now. I'm trying to update more and not leave you guys in the dark, but it's getting difficult!

What the hell is up with LJ these days? I haven't been able to read my friend's list for two and a half weeks (work! crazy! work! work!) so I sat down today and gave it go... only to find my flist only goes back to 60 entries. I remember (substitute "In my day!" if you'd like) going back to 120+ entries and catching up on stuff. When did LJ put a limitation on the services they provide? Cause this makes me angry. I've never been one to follow who owns LJ, but it seems like these new owners are pissing me off more than previous ones.

Also, if you posted anything of major import around May 19th, I probably haven't read it.

This is a sad, sad day in the music world (and the world in general): The Lucksmiths are breaking up.

The first band I ever became attached to as an adult, the band that hooked me with their aptly named "Birthday Present for Katrina", the band I finally got to see not once but twice in August of '07 in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.... is going to be gone for good. I was worried this would happen, as many of the band members now have families, and Tali has "The Guild League" - a very time consuming side project, it would seem. I wish I had the money to fly to Australia in August to see one of their farewell concerts.

What am I going to do with my "the lucksmiths" tag now? My yearly birthday posts won't be the same, though I'll still post the lyrics to "my" song as always... *sad face*


A blurb from their site:

"There's no easy way to put this, so please accept our apologies for the seemingly abrupt nature of this post. We are saddened to announce that after sixteen years as The Lucksmiths, the band has decided to break up.

The last few years have been an uphill battle in many ways, so this isn't a hasty decision based on any falling-out between band members, but rather, an acceptance of the inevitable. This decision was finally reached a few months back, so we've had plenty of time to let it sink in.

We had tried to operate the band in a way that would suit all of us, but at the same time we've been very conscious that too much compromise would in the end affect our creative output. We're very proud of the music we make, and we certainly didn't want it to start stinking. So, in taking our cues from Devo, we've decided to whip the proverbial cream before it sits out too long.

....

We really want to thank you all, especially the wonderful people who've helped us out in any way, and anyone who's listened to our music or come to a show. We've loved having you in our world and we will miss you dearly."

If you're feeling nostalgic like me, pop in a cd (might I recommend "Requiem for the Punter's Club"?) and read the craziness that is my Lucksmiths retrospective/concert review from way back in the day . Man, 2007 feels like forever ago.

Matt just gave me this awesome link, which I'm passing along to anyone who enjoys laughter. It's a great concept: You can't please everyone" showcases all the 1-star reviews for accepted classics on Amazon. In other words, read the delusional comments of people who just don't get it.

My favorite so far: This is Spinal Tap. One of the comments:
Okay, seriously, who the heck are these Spinal Tap fellas? I’m an expert on music (I studied the art form for four years, know every artist of the last 40 years, and scored an A+ on my math test…which really doesn’t have anything to do with music, but it shows you that I am intellegent), and have never heard of these guys before.

Also of note are The Hobbit:
It doesn’t have to make sense it is all fantasy. And what’s this thing about hairy feet?....And why didn’t the author stay alive long enough to defend his work from this vicious critique?

And The Princess Bride:
This movie would be a lot better if it had Sean Penn in it, working with his wife, and maybe if he were solving crimes instead of swordfighting or some such nonsense.

Enjoy! :)

I've had this window open in Firefox for days, meaning to update about my trip to Florida and how weird weekend trip are. But that takes too much effort, and work is exhausting these days. So instead.... tv!

Shows I want to catch up on or watch the pilot of over the summer, providing they don't get canceled: Castle, The Unusuals, House (5 episodes behind), Chuck (8 episodes behind), Harper's Island (watched the pilot). It's a lot harder to conform to my rule about watching every new pilot when I'm this busy. It was easier when I was unemployed :)

I tried to watch Cupid, and holy cow was the lead (Bobby Cannavale) unappealing to me. Perhaps it's because, personally, I wouldn't take romance advice from a brash New Yorker with a huge ego, which is the impression I got from his character. Seriously, NBC? You resurrect the show to do this with it?

And I've been watching Southland semi-regularly since it started. What a strange, strange show. Here are my thoughts - jump in in the comments if you watch it too. I feel like Ben McKenzie (swoon) was added as an afterthought in order to sell the promos for the show. His storyline is thin (though interesting), and they keep teasing this super amazing (supposedly) backstory, which they refuse to show us. And his character wasn't even in the last episode. Then there's the supporting characters, who are fascinating - well-written and engaging, which is why I feel like they were the original impetus for the pilot. Especially interesting is Regina King's character, a detective with a fire under her to help women and children. That said, I'm not sure I'm going to keep watching, because frankly this show freaks me out. I'd rather not know about all the violence and horrible people living around me in Los Angeles; living in ignorance suits me quite fine, thank you very much. Southland is worse than a straight up horror show - I have to turn on the lights and double check my doors when it's over. Though I guess that speaks to the verisimilitude of the show, right?

Do you ever have that feeling that until you've LJ'd about something, it hasn't quite happened yet? Or am I just a crazy person who's been on LJ waaaay too long?


Through work connections, I snagged two tickets to this year's TV Land Awards, and the ceremony was this past Sunday (it airs next Sunday on TV Land!). Matt and I had a ton of fun - it was black tie/cocktail attire, so we snazzed up and hit the red carpet! Literally. We had VIP tickets, which involved walking the red carpet into the event (though to be honest, there was a celeb part of the red carpet, and a non-celeb part. Guess where we were??) We saw Richard Karn (Al from Home Improvement) giving an interview, and then we were inside the amphitheater.

First, a few adorable contradictions about the TV Land Awards. VIP Parking meant we parked in a parking garage on Universal's lot, and a Universal tram (yes, the same one that takes billions of tourists to the park) drove us to the venue. So 60 people in suits or high heels are climbing out of a tram as the video tells you to "watch your step!" with cheesy park music. Then once we were inside the venue, we noticed the tables where the celebs sat - gorgeous spreads with china and champagne and most likely filet mignon. We sat just above them, in the regular amphitheater seats. Our concessions consisted of cups of beer, huge tubs of popcorn, fried chicken on a stick, you get the idea. So you could literally watch Alan Alda eat a steak while chomping your way through a giant pretzel. It was hysterical.

( Click here for Neil Patrick Harris, Matthew McConaughey, Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler, Don Rickles, Julia Loius-Dreyfuss, Earth Wind & Fire, and the casts of Home Improvement, E.R., M*A*S*H, Knot's Landing, Two and a Half Men, Married with Children, and Magnum P.I...... )

If you get TV Land, watch the awards this Sunday! It's a great show, and NPH is awesome. At least watch the first five minutes....

Only three of you reading this will understand why I'm so excited....

I just spoke to a courier service we're setting up an account with, and my account rep is Widow Twanky. I mean, she has her exact accent, and *cough* kinda sounds like a man....

So happy!

This is a broad list of, well, things that fascinate me. Things I can't understand, things I'd love to experience (I hope you're all mature enough to realize that #4 falls under that first part, and not here, lol), and things I enjoy reading about. In a pseudo-order:

1) The hardships of living in Alaska, and other similarly harsh climates
2) Being entirely self-sufficient/living off the land (this has many, many subsets, including being able to make clothing from scratch - shearing/gathering, spinning, weaving)
3) The act of writing music
4) The ability to have casual sex without it bothering you, like the boys on Entourage
5) Casting off all possessions and living off of what's on your back
6) Moving permanently to a foreign land - leaving your friends and family behind



Also, on an unhappier note, I'm sick of death of people who ignore me, doubt me, and accuse me of things. More on this later.

To: Southern California region
CC: SoCal Weathermen, www.weather.com

For the past week, you've promised rain. Buckets of it. I believe the exact phrase was "Heavy rain", and the percentages being tossed around ranged from 30% to 70%. The word "thunderstorm" was definitely uttered. These are hefty, serious claims that demand action! Well, it's all been a false hope, hasn't it? A claim not delivered on, a reneging of the contract, if you will. Yeah, there was that 10 min light drizzle on Tuesday night, but hardly what you promised. Liars.

It's time to wake up and deliver on this alleged rain that I keep hearing about! As of 3:04pm PST, there are ominous dark clouds over Griffith Park and the eastern LA region. If these do not result in rain by 7pm PST, I will... be very very angry. Cause really that's all I can do. But seriously, can't it just RAIN?!?!

Signed:
Me, and all the other LA residents who don't want to wait until November to next see water falling from the sky.

-Booked a flight back to Florida! Yay! End of April, for a whopping two and a half days - I'll email the affected parties with the actual info :) My plan involves a day trip to Orlando to see Connie and George's new place.... any one want to tag along? (Caity, I'm looking at you, lol)

-I'm constantly amazed that I still have the capacity to be astounded by stupidity. Let's just say my job is getting a lot harder...

-Stabbing oneself in the hand with a ball point pen is a) easier than it sounds, and b) kinda painful. I'm just hoping I didn't accidentally permanently tattoo myself.

-Despite my religious affiliation (or more likely because of it), this video appalls me. I know this thing is circulating the internets like a tornado of hate, so you've probably all seen it, but FYI.

Thanks, world, for spoiling the big House event for me. I mean, I knew something had happened, because my flist exploded, but I didn't know what happened, and I was fine with that. Then Yahoo had to post like 6 stories about it on their homepage, spoiling what happened in the headline. Sigh. Thanks Yahoo.

Guess the whole "catching up on hulu" thing might have to happen more quickly now....

I can't believe this:

Andy Hallett dies at age 33

I 'met' him once at Megacon with Connie.

I just saw Leonardo DiCaprio at the West Hollywood Target. For reals. This is officially my biggest celeb sighting, and it happened two blocks from work.

(Backstory: I walked in and immediately headed for the returns counter, passing by a group of people on the way. There was a kerfluffle at the counter - people pointing and chatting. I assumed - this is LA!- someone had stolen something, but then I overheard "OMG that was him! That was Leonardo DiCaprio!" I have no shame, so I immediately turned around in time to see him leave with an entourage of three or four women. He was on his cell phone and carrying a Target bag, while the women had loads more. I have absolutely no idea why he would personally shop at Target, but there you go.)

I was talking to Matt on the phone Friday, and suddenly he asked if we were doing anything next weekend. I said yeah - a lot of annoying little things. He asked if we could move them around. I said.... maybe? He said: because I don't know about you, but I really need to get out of town for a little bit.

Hell yes!

We're both feeling burned out right now, and as a matter of fact I'd been casually researching destinations for the past few weeks. So we waffled between a few choices, and ultimately decided on Las Vegas because a) it's only 4 hrs away, b) it's glamorous, and c) it's different enough from LA to feel like a vacation. I've never been, and while I'm not a gambler by any stretch of the imagination, I've always been curious about going and seeing the sights and taking in the shows. So we're going to Vegas next weekend - a whirlwind trip consisting of two days and one night. While we're there we're going to see a Cirque du Soleil show, which is something I've wanted to do for a long time, and something (coincidentally) I was looking into last week before we decided to go to Vegas. I'm super psyched! We're going to dress up and drink classic drinks (martini, anyone?) and walk the strip and (hopefully) be pampered. My #1 goal is to use my $25 gambling allowance in such a way that I get offered a free drink by a waitress :) Yay! (And yes, I'm setting myself a gambling allowance. Not that I'll carried away, but it seemed like a prudent thing to do. Though I guess prudence and Vegas don't really go together?)

There are a bunch of other things I could post about too, annoying and frustrating things that aren't at all related to work at all seriously I'm not kidding, but I won't. Because the Mattrina Vacation Mind Meld is far superior to petty annoyances.

I need to become better at harnessing the anger I feel when people question my abilities. Because those moments need to be turned into character bits in my writing. Instead my brain clams up into anger mode and I can't break out of the loop long enough to analyze the moment.

Also, I came to the conclusion over the weekend that set is an interesting place. Not just our set, or your set, or the set of your favorite tv show, but set in general. In the office, you hire someone and they come in, and it takes a good couple of weeks or a month or two to get a feel for them. Because they're in their office and you're in yours, and you deal with them in small chunks of time throughout the day. But when you're on set, and you work side by side with people for 14 or 15 hours a day, you get to know them pretty darn quickly. Their flaws and strengths become apparent to you immediately, and you learn to compensate for them. In the office you can avoid the people you dislike, on set you can't. Can you tell I prefer working the office more? :)

More on the weekend experience when I gain enough distance to write about it. Right now I'll just say I survived on very very little sleep in a high stress situation for three days, and I came out on top. Boo-yah!