Nerd Heather

It’s that time of year…when the fate of our favorite TV shows is revealed. Will the characters live on? Or are these our last weeks of goodbye?

For months I was sweating the return of my favorites (Fringe, Parenthood, 30 Rock, Parks & Recreation). And now that I’ve heard word that they are all returning, my heart should keep beating on. But I was slapped in the face with the news that they were returning (yay!) but the coming season would be some of their last (Fringe, 30 Rock). Which got me thinking, is it better to know your favorite show is about to end? Or is it better to be shocked? And how do we cope with the loss?

This year, fan favorites and staples like House and One Tree Hill have ended forever. And other shows that barely got a chance are gone too soon. But for fans, a show ending is like having friends move away to that city where internet and cell phones don’t exist. You can’t call and check in every month just to see how they’re adjusting. All you have are those memories you’ve created in the past.

The swift cancellation of your show is like your next door neighbors that you were always a little weary of moving in the middle of the night. You knew they weren’t gonna be around forever and they kept narrowly escaping the police when they came knocking. But they were always there the next morning. Until they weren’t.

I’m happy that networks are becoming more upfront about shows ending. Giving fans (and writers) a warning so they can prepare. It’s more like High School graduation. Everyone knows it’s coming, they can’t stop it, they might not even be ready for it but it’s happening and must be accepted.

When your favorite shows return next year, cherish every episode you have together, every stupid thing Tracey Jordan does, every single time Olivia travels to a new universe and every single fight the Bravermans have. Because whether you know the end is coming or not, you’ll have to accept it. And it will suck.

Luckily these days everything lives on in DVD box sets…and on TBS.

Tags: 30 rock, finale, fringe, House, oth, Parenthood, parks and rec, TV

The times, they are a-changin’

Categories:

April 26, 2012

For the loser now / Will be later to win / For the times they are a-changin’.

Oh, LA. How quickly your luck can turn in this town (i.e. my lucky happenstance into a Coachella trip!)

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been in LA for almost 3 months (April 30th). The first month seemed to leisurely pass while I spent hours and hours at Starbucks on a desperate search for employment. I sometimes thought of “home” and what I had left behind there: shelter, employment, family & friends. But I can’t say I’ve regretted my decision at all these past 3 months. I won’t deny that there were brief moments where I looked at my dwindling bank account and grew a tad bit nervous…

The second month passed at a moderate speed. I got my internship about 1/3 of the way into the month and it was pretty “full speed ahead” until I went to Atlanta on the 21st for a visit. My 4 days of “vacation” flew by and I was actually looking forward to returning to LA. My internship has been immensely helpful in my feeling of contribution to society. But I still wasn’t making money and with the prospect of rent being a new expense, I envisioned my life savings dwindling even quicker than before.

If you haven’t heard of TaskRabbit, it’s a website where you can complete tasks for people and they pay you. It’s simple really. I’ve done surveys, product testing and other virtual tasks over the past month and made a whopping $109. It’s no salary but for someone who hasn’t earned a penny (other than a tax refund and birthday money) in 3 months, it’s pretty nice. (Plus, it pays for my parking ticket..bonus!) But I’ll be honest, it takes a lot of surveys to pay rent.

That’s right. I said rent. I’m moving! I’ve been living with Janet in Glendale since I got here three months ago. I housesat while she was in New Zealand for 5 weeks but now I’m moving on. I met some lovely people who live in a house in Atwater Village. They had a room opening up May 1st and it seemed to work out perfectly for me to move in. I’m excited to be “on my own” again…with three roommates

In LA, it’s pretty normal for people to have two, three, four jobs plus do extra work or freelance. Constantly looking for a job is way more accepted here than anywhere I’ve ever lived. People bounce around a lot from office jobs to photography to on-set work to whatever. I’ve learned that finding work and scheduling every possible minute that you could be making money is a skill.

This week I got two (paying) jobs…and I’m still doing work for my internship. That’s what I call “hustle.” And things work quickly here too. I applied for a job on Saturday, interviewed Sunday and started Monday. I’m doing some administrative work for a non-profit part-time. Organizing contact info, sending out tweets and FB statuses. They made a documentary called Playground, which I recommend. Also, you all should follow their Facebook & Twitter.

Monday, while I was at my new job I got a call from somebody who knows somebody that I met working for my internship. They needed a PA for Thursday and Friday. I switched around my hours to fit 20 hours into Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday thus freeing me up for Thursday and Friday. A full work week. (yes, this is commonly how things work.) See how I managed to squeeze something into every minute? Add packing, virtual work for my internship, scouring TaskRabbit & my neverending work on theTVsisters.com in. Exactly. Change.

Somebody once asked could I spare some change for gas I need to get myself away from this place / I said yep what a concept / I could use a little fuel myself / And we could all use a little change.

Tags: job, life, money, taskrabbit, thetvsisters

One of those days.

Categories:

Life, Music, Travel

April 18, 2012

I’m sure this hasn’t happened to any of you, but last week I had a bad day. In fact, I had a pretty bad 48 hours.

Monday was overall pretty good. If Tuesday hadn’t been so awful, Monday wouldn’t have even classified as the beginning of this terrible 48 hours. But it was, thus the 48 hours of awful began Monday night.

When I woke up Tuesday, I knew it would be a bad day. From the moment my eyes opened, I felt awful. My head hurt, I was nauseous and really just felt crappy. After a failed attempt at eating toast I went back to bed. But for once I had a job interview for a paying job (!!) as a fundraisier, which is a fancy title for standing out on the streets of LA trying to get people to sponsor a child. A rewarding job for sure, but not my dream. Despite feeling awful, I dragged myself out of bed for my 2pm interview in Downtown LA. It also happened to be Dodgers Opening Day, meaning that traffic wasn’t great. I found my way to a one hour meter and headed into a beautiful building…still feeling like a bus hit me.

The interview was in fact more of a test. Instead of sitting inside answering questions, I had to go out on the street and ask people to complete a survey. I had 30 minutes to get 5 completed surveys while feeling like a giant was hammering my head with a sledgehammer. I’m pretty impressed that I got 3 done feeling like I did. They promised to call by 6pm if I got the gig. I was feeling an average amount of confidence.

When I got back to my car, a lovely officer was writing me a ticket. Turns out, my meter was only until 3pm (it was 3:05). I was about 3 minutes away from getting towed so I guess there’s that to be slightly thankful for. Getting a parking ticket in LA isn’t really too unusual but it was my first and happened to fall on the worst day possible. I drove back to Glendale and slept until 3am, turned on my phone to see that I had no call from the job (thus didn’t get it), and went back to sleep hoping that Wednesday would prove better. (How could it not?!?)

Wednesday got off to a rough start as well. I still wasn’t feeling 100% and it was LA raining (aka drizzling). I drove down to Santa Monica and had an enjoyable day at work. My boss asked if I could house/dogsit while he was at Coachella (only the most awesome music festival in the country) for the weekend. After a crappy few days, I was in desperate need of a staycation near the beach. So of course I said yes and packed a bag for a weekend of leisure in Venice.

Thursday I drove to Venice and began my dog sitting duties. Jill (dog) and I were having a grand ole time. We played, drove around, went to a food truck and hung out at the office. Yonas and I went to the beach to read some scripts and proceeded to enjoy an average dinner of Subway and watching TV. Overall, the night was shaping up to be incredibly boring, in a really awesome way after having things go from bad to worse repeatedly. I showered and proceeded to watch part one of Mildred Pierce. I was settled in for the night…at about 9:30pm.

HALT! This point is what those of us in show business call the “climax” of the story. This is where a major decision comes up and the Hero’s decision takes their life down two diverging paths. I may be being mildly overdramatic. But this IS where the story takes a huge turn. The climax of one story but simply the beginning of another.

I received a phone call at 9:47pm from one of my coworkers. The conversation went pretty much like this:

Me: Hello.

Him: Heather. We’re going to Coachella.

Me: What are you talking about?

Him: Boss just called and we’re going to Coachella.

Me: What?

Him: We just have to drive there either tonight or tomorrow night.

Me: When do you want to leave?

Him: I’d rather leave tonight.

Me: What about Jill (dog)?

Him: His friend is gonna come pick her up.

Me: Ok.

Him: We’re still at the office editing.

Me: Ok. I’ll drive over there.

Him: Great. See ya soon.

(Call Ended)

I preceded to freak out for a few minutes before throwing all of my non-Coachella appropriate clothes into my bag and driving over to our office where I acted calm for an hour while we got some editing done. Meanwhile, my insides were all screaming:

OH MY GOSH I’M GOING TO COACHELLA!

At 11:30pm (less than 2 hours after above phone call!) , we got into the car and drove 2 hours to Indio. By 2:30am we were in our tent and the next three days erased all of the bad of the previous three exponentially. Coachella deserves it’s own post, which I am still working on.

So until then…

Tags: coachella, life

1 comment

We Were Just A Couple of Kids

Categories:

Life, Music

April 5, 2012

It’s been a while since I wrote. In fact, it’s been 3 weeks since I’ve taken a breath at all. The past 3 weeks have really gone from 0 to 60. On March 9^th I had the first interviews of my time in California. In fact, I had TWO on that Friday. One was a Skype interview and the second was at a Starbucks in Malibu. The first was fun and the second didn’t feel right. I was invited to the office of the first on Monday morning. I thought I was heading to a second interview but I started working right away! There were about 12-15 other interns. I didn’t get to know most of them because I did a lot of work out of the office. I went from 6 weeks of laying by the pool, spending time at Starbucks to working 12 hour days for 8 days in a row. I was thrown into it but happy to finally be working. I met tons of people within the first 5 days and that was just the beginning. After working Monday to Saturday, shooting on Sunday and working on post-shoot stuff Monday and Tuesday, I headed to the office Wednesday on my way to LAX. I had scheduled a visit to Atlanta for my birthday (and The Hunger Games!!) and it was a welcome break after a week of very little sleep and nourishment. I discovered that the “pool” of interns had been significantly cut. Now there were only about 6 of us. Essentially, there were some people who failed to show up or be reliable. I’m beyond happy to have made the cut. I took the weekend trip back to Atlanta, happy I had survived the week.

My trip to Atlanta was pretty awesome. I got to see a lot of friends and spend time with my family. But I was ready to get back to my life in Los Angeles. Surprisingly, I’ve managed to carve a little home for myself here. Now that things have settled down at my internship, my schedule is getting a little more “normal.”

I work in Santa Monica 3 days a week from about 11am-7 or 8ish. The other days I work on our website: theTVsisters.com. In fact, I went to a press junket for the new ABC show SCANDAL on my “day off.” It was pretty cool to drive through the gates of ABC Studios in Burbank. Kind of surreal actually. I spent the weekend seeing friends new and old. Saturday I met a friend in Culver City (which reminds me of THE JETSONS) for brunch. The dreary day got sunny later after some drizzle. Sunday was a beautiful, sunny day but the wind was hurricane-force. I checked out Atwater Village, a very neat area with some record shops, thrift stores, etc. There’s a cool thing in Hollywood that I’ve been to twice called the Nerdist Writers Panel. This past Sunday there were a few writers from CASTLE and THE SIMPSONS. I also made my first trip to the ArcLight Cinema (a-freaking-mazing).

This week is my last week of housesitting. I’ve been trying to tidy up and get the laundry done, etc. Monday was an average sunny SoCal day. I think I got a little tan sitting in traffic. But Tuesday, Yonas and I attended our very first LA concert! I bought tickets to see Kelly Clarkson back in the day when I was employed and it seemed lightyears away…but it actually happened! It was pretty amazing to hear an inspirational song like “Breakaway” at my first LA concert. Encouraging to hear Kelly singing about making dreams come true. Here’s a tiny clip I took on my iPhone:

I’ll spread my wings and I’ll learn how to fly. I’ll do what it takes til’ I touch the sky. And I’ll make a wish, take a chance, make a change and breakaway. Out of the darkness and into the sun. But I won’t forget all the ones that I love. I’ll take a risk, take a chance, make a change and breakaway.

Special thanks to Kelly Clarkson for inspiring people to change their lives and dream about something better. Kelly Clarkson, my life would suck without you.

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Best Week Ever

Categories:

Film, Life, Music, TV

March 12, 2012

I use to watch this show on VH1 called “Best Week Ever.” Essentially, they summed up the week in Entertainment, Current Events, etc with a little comedic twist. This week has been by far my “best week ever” since I moved to California.

Monday, March 5th, was my first day “alone” since I left Atlanta. I’m housesitting, which means that I take care of the house while living in it all by myself. It’s kind of the most amazing thing in the world. But Monday I spent grocery shopping, doing yard work, watching Dawson’s Creek and other household chores. On Monday night I went down to Beverly Hills for my first night of PaleyFest 2012. It’s an entire festival devoted to TV. Each night there’s a new panel for a new TV show. Monday was the panel for New Girl. I found an absolutely wonderful parking space, did a beast job at parallel parking in that space and paid only 75 cents to park there. That was my shining moment of the night. I gave myself a high five. I didn’t meet anyone that night of the non-celebrity or celebrity variety but I had hours of laughs, which is still a check in the “Win” column.

Tuesday, March 6th, got off to a crappy start. I went to MY Starbucks only to discover no indoor seating on a particularly chilly day in Glendale. In fact, the chilly, cloudy weather put a damper on most of my day until I drove to Century City to meet Yonas. I got two free passes for Game Change, a very interesting HBO film following the Presidential campaign of John McCain and Sarah Palin. It was the perfect Super Tuesday film. I actually felt sympathy for both throughout the film. And it was free so that’s always nice.

Wednesday, March 7th I made the best decision of my life. I drove down to the Best Buy and purchased a Clear Internet USB so I could get internet at the house I’m staying at. That’s right, I haven’t had internet for 5 weeks. Hence my trips to the Starbucks. Wednesday was spent enjoying my newfound freedom by applying to a zillion jobs from the comfort of my own poolside chair.

Thursday, March 8th was my first full day with internet and also my second PaleyFest 2012 panel for the lovely show “Bones.” I spent the day working on stuff for theTVsisters.com and preparing my life for the greatness of David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel that I would encounter that night. I yet again found a great spot and paid only 85 cents for parking (they charge $10 to park in the designated lots). An upgraded ticket met me when I entered the room. From a balcony seat to a floor seat! It was perfect. Two lovely Irish gentlemen sat next to me and for the next hour I learned all about their outstanding documentary about TV showrunners, aptly named “Showrunners.” Hart Hanson, creator of Bones, happens to be in the doc. We screened the episode of Bones airing April 2nd, which is totes adorable and the panel proceeded with David hamming it up. After the panel I managed to push my way into getting my Bones Season 1 DVDs autographed by David, Emily & Hart. Twas amazing.

Friday, March 9th was possibly the most relaxing day. I had an early Skype discussion followed by a meeting in Malibu at 1pm. Which I followed by driving South on the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway), pulling over to take some beautiful photos of the Malibu beaches. I spent 90 minutes sitting on a rock between the beach and the road chatting on the phone and reading. By 3pm I was in Santa Monica where I happened upon the Promenade…the most awesome place ever. I grabbed some food and strolled along ducking in and out of shops while listening to an outstanding musician play on the streets. By 5pm it was time to head to Beverly Hills for my last (or so I thought) PaleyFest 2012 panel for “Castle.” With traffic and such, I arrived right at 6pm meaning that I didn’t have to pay anything for parking, didn’t have to wait in line, still got an upgraded seat and front row of my section. Photos and a screening of the March 19th episode left me hoping to get down to the floor in time for an autograph from Nathan Fillion. After climbing over chairs (in a dress!) I managed to get close enough for Nathan to sign my program. Le sigh.

Saturday, March 10th was the sunniest day of the week. I met up with my old NATPE friend Joey for the first time in forever. We enjoyed tanning and Chick-fil-a at the Hollywood locale followed by watching this week’s episode of The Voice. Joey is my first visitor to the house! I think he liked it…especially the pool! After he left, I enjoyed a chill night of faux-Calimari and watching the Dixie Chicks documentary, which I loved.

Sunday, March 11th, officially the last day of my Best Week Ever. I met up with a friend of a friend in Echo Park, which is a very neat area of Los Angeles. The coffee shop there reminded me of my favorite Atlanta place, Steady Hand Pour House. The time change had me a little out of whack but I took a noon hike to get in my first exercise of the week! It’s quite a hike and takes 50 minutes up and 30 minutes down but has a spectacular view of Glendale. By the time I got back it was time for more yard work, followed by shower, dinner and trying out a church service that I was invited to. Overall, the week ended with me sitting here on my computer trying to remember all of the excitement. But here’s to next week being even better!

Tags: bones, castle, internet, new girl, paleyfest, starbucks

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Staying Sane While Searching for a Job

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February 24, 2012

Disclaimer: I have 3 weeks of job search experience…ever. Take this advice for what it is.

Unfortunately, there are quite a few people in this world that left/were forced to leave their employment and forced into a new position: Job Applicant. Just to clarify, looking for a job is in fact a job, so don’t think of yourself as unemployed but temporarily in a job that requires you to be looking for another. But it’s easy to become depressed and hopeless in your job search. Especially if people give you those pity looks and bring up the unemployment rate constantly. Like I said, I have 3 weeks of experience…here is what I’ve learned.

A Job Search is a Part-Time Job, Not A Full-Time Job

I’ve had people tell me that looking for a job is a full-time job. While some people may treat it as that, I don’t think it’s the healthiest solution. Unfortunately, looking for a job may be a marathon, not a sprint. So spending 40+ hours a week may work for a week or so, but by week 6, you’ll be burned out and depressed. I spend about 3 hours a day on my job search. You may want to spend longer, but for me, this works. After 3 hours I’m useless.

Disconnect

This may seem counterintuitive but there is such a thing as communication overload. And with smart phones becoming the norm, it’s hard to get away from. But spending all day staring at your phone/computer waiting for that call, email, text, isn’t productive…or healthy. Set aside a time to check your phone for possible responses to your applications. It’s very unlikely that you’ll get an email that says “This offer will self-destruct if you don’t respond in the next ten minutes.” I spend 3 hours before lunch on my job search. During lunch and post-lunch activities, I leave my phone somewhere else so I’m not constantly staring at it.

This is your chance

Remember when you had that full-time job, preventing you from exercising, cleaning, learning to do those things you wanted to learn? This is your chance to do some things that once you have that new job (positive thinking!), you will be too busy to do…again. Since you’re not spending 8 hours a day (re: part-time job search) on your computer, you can spend some free time doing these things that you actually WANT to do.

The weekend is STILL the weekend

Take the weekends off. Chances are, you won’t get responses on the weekend, so take the weekend off. Don’t think about your job search or get into a deep depression over the process. The weekend is a time to relax. Hang out with friends, spend time with your family, go see a movie, do something normal. You probably spend all week stressing over your job situation. Try to use the weekends as a time to relax.

Hobby Time

Since you don’t have a traditional “job,” find a job-replacement hobby. For example, I run a website (www.theTVsisters.com) for fun. I don’t really make much money from it and it certainly can’t replace a full-time income (no matter how small). But it keeps my brain functioning and gives me opportunities to learn things I wouldn’t know without trying. Finding something new to learn or explore is a great way to keep any job woes from becoming overwhelming.

Overall, I think a job search needs to be a balance between searching and playing. Too much playing means your success will take longer but too much work will make it unbearable. Good luck in your search!

Tags: Advice, job search

4 comments

Two Weeks

Categories:

February 17, 2012

Sometimes I wake up and it feels like I could be anywhere. A comfy bed, familiar things surrounding me, sun shining through the shutters. It feels so much like normal and so much like a new beginning all at once. It feels like 3 days and 12 weeks at the same time.

It’s been about 2 weeks now and I finally feel like I’m settling into a routine. Weekdays are becoming normal: waking up to a delayed broadcast of Live with Kelly…a luxury I haven’t had in what feels like years. A bowl of oatmeal, a cup of coffee. Reading the LA Times, Time Magazine or Newsweek (Janet subscribes to all three so I can’t help but be informed) A little TV on DVD before heading 0.7 miles up the road to Starbucks. A 15 minute walk on the wide sidewalks is not only economical, but a great way to feel like a part of the community.

Community is something that is lacking in a lot of parts of the country, but not here in Glendale. There aren’t

sprawling neighborhoods, but instead grids of houses, apartments, condos. I pass the High School on the way to Starbucks and the Middle School is just on the other side. People walk a lot because it’s safe and walkable. Janet walks to church, the bank, the library, post office. Plus there’s bakeries, dentists offices, laundromats just steps away.

It’s not unusual for me to spend 3 hours at Starbucks using the Internet. I see the same people almost everyday. But frugality is the key. $1.85 for a Grande Pike Place coffee in a mug plus free refills is pretty cheap for unlimited internet. Still using up the gift cards from Christmas, so I’ve yet to spend a dime of my own money there. The afternoons usually consist of reading by the pool while eating lunch. I’ve managed to actually tan a bit with all of this natural Vitamin D. With the exception of 2 days, it’s been a constant sunny. Working in the yard is also almost a daily chore. Watering plants, picking weeds and sweeping up petals are pretty mundane tasks but the yard looks great so it’s all worth it. Plus, I see it as another opportunity to catch some sun. Janet and I usually eat dinner together while watching KCET. News from Asia at 5:30, BBC at 6:00, Diane Sawyer at 6:30. I told you, it’s impossible to NOT be informed on world events. If it’s a particularly political day (straw poll, primary, etc.), we’ll watch CNN.

I spend most of my time in Glendale, only venturing out into Hollywood or beyond occasionally on the weekends mostly. Traffic isn’t great during the week unless it’s before about 3pm. But I’ve learned my way around a bit, not needing a GPS to get from Hollywood to Glendale anymore. I pretty much avoid freeways because I think that you get to see more in the back roads. Plus, it can be a parking lot on most of the freeways at any given point during the day.

Speaking of driving, I’ve noticed a few driving traits that are present across the board here. No traffic lights are long enough, so everyone who wants to turn gets in the middle so that when it turns yellow (or red) they can still turn. Seems to be universally accepted that people run lights when they’re turning. And since I’ve yet to see anyone pulled over for this (or anything for that matter), Im accepting it as law (and completely necessary in a few places!)

Overall, the past two weeks have been wonderful. Like I said, it feels like just yesterday and equally years ago that I got here. Time for lunch and reading by the pool. Peace.

Tags: life

2 comments

Hello From the Left Coast

Categories:

February 3, 2012

Hey guys! I’m sure you’ve been on the edge of your seats for an update from my new, exciting life in Los Angeles. So here’s a little peek.

A lovely lady named Janet is letting me stay in her idyllic Glendale house for a bit. She has a grapefruit tree and a pool and a bed for me to use. It’s quite perfect.

On Monday morning my mother and I left Las Vegas and after about 4.5 hours, were in Glendale enjoying a lovely lunch with Janet. We spent the afternoon hiking up to a beautiful view of Glendale to 120% confirm our location. It turns out Janet (who is a very young 79), loves to hike. In fact, she goes almost everyday on hikes with the Los Angeles Sierra Club.

By 5am Tuesday the three of us were headed to LAX to drop off my mom. We said our “see ya laters” and headed back to Glendale. Janet had a 10am World Affairs class (this is not a joke) so we ate breakfast, watched the news and picked grapefruit until she had to leave. I then headed to the Starbucks about 3 minutes from her house.

And everyday I sit in this very Starbucks sending e-mails, resumes, job applications, posting on theTVsisters.com, doing taxes, etc. I arrive between 10am and 11am each day and normally stay until 1pm-ish. I’ve become quite a regular. I see the same people each day and order the same regular coffee for $1.85. See, Janet doesn’t haven’t internet at her house meaning that I’ve taken to these 3 hour chances to catch up. The rest of the day I rely on my iPhone or Kindle.

Tuesday was quite a long day. My friend Yonas got us tickets to be in the audience of a sitcom, 2 BROKE GIRLS. If I ever had a doubt about what I wanted to do in life, it was eliminated that night. For 5 hours, we sat just inches away from writers, producers, various crew and talent that were all in the position we both someday hope to be. To say it was encouraging would be an understatement. It was fabulous. We were in the front row and in awe for most of the night, interspersed with laughter, of course.

Wednesday was filled with more time at Starbucks and spending time reading Catching Fire, the second book of The Hunger Games (HIGHLY RECOMMEND). Janet and I also took a walk to the bank, which is at least a mile away. I’m not sure if it was the long day on Tuesday or continual adjustment to the new time zone but by 10pm I was asleep and not up until 9:30am the next morning. Just in time for some oatmeal and a trip to my favorite table at Starbucks (yes, I sit in the same place every day).

Got a chance to check out some of the town on Thursday as I drove around Glendale to run errands. Found the Target and Trader Joe’s as I’m sure that’s all I could ever need! We had a light dinner and headed down to Griffith Park for a FREE night hike sponsored by the Sierra Club. From 7pm-9pm on Tuesdays-Thursdays (I think) they have night hikes. Different levels for various fitness levels. We took a 2+ (5 is the most difficult) and I was sweating despite the chilly weather! But it provided beautiful views of Los Angeles and a wonderful opportunity to meet new people. I think night hikes will become a part of my new schedule.

Which brings us to today, Friday. I’m sitting in Starbucks again. Every day gets a little easier to adjust. Especially when Janet suggested that I enjoy my lunch on the patio in the sun after I return. She has quite a busy schedule so I’m left to my own devices most of the day! This weekend will be filled with time with friends. I have plans Saturday and Sunday in Hollywood with old friends that I’m sure will help clear up any homesickness I may have. Most likely I’ll find my way to Santa Monica at some point on Saturday and hopefully find some friends to watch the Super Bowl with on Sunday.

Things are settling here but I can’t wait until I get a job. A few weeks of leisure are enjoyable but I’m envious of my friends that have jobs (that they love!) to go to during the day. Even the people at the Starbucks seem to love it. I’m sure it will come in good time. Until then, I think I’ll go enjoy my lunch by the pool in the sun.

Tags: friends, life

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Golden Globes: Who I WANT To Win

Categories:

Film, TV

January 15, 2012

Hey guys! I’m in New York which is fabulously cold. I’m warming up in the hotel before dinner and realized that I never put up my Golden Globe predictions. So here’s a quick glance at who I’d LIKE to win (aka these aren’t predictions at all).

TELEVISION CATEGORIES

Best drama series
“American Horror Story”
“Boardwalk Empire”
“Boss”
“Game of Thrones”
“Homeland”

Best comedy series
“Enlightened”
“Episodes”
“Glee”
“Modern Family”
“New Girl”

Best actress – drama series
Claire Danes, “Homeland”
Mireille Enos, “The Killing”
Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife”
Madeleine Stowe, “Revenge”
Callie Thorne, “Necessary Roughness”

Best actor – drama series
Steve Buscemi, “Boardwalk Empire”
Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad”
Kelsey Grammer, “Boss”
Jeremy Irons, “The Borgias”
Damian Lewis, “Homeland”

Best actress – comedy series
Laura Dern, “Enlightened”
Zooey Deschanel, “New Girl”
Tina Fey, “30 Rock”
Laura Linney, “The Big C”
Amy Poehler, “Parks and Recreation”

Best actor – comedy series
Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock”
David Duchovny, “Californication”
Johnny Galecki, “The Big Bang Theory”
Thomas Jane, “Hung”
Matt LeBlanc, “Episodes”

Best miniseries/movie
“Cinema Verite”
“Downton Abbey”
“The Hour”
“Mildred Pierce”
“Too Big To Fail”

Best actress – miniseries/movie
Romola Garai, “The Hour”
Diane Lane, “Cinema Verite”
Elizabeth McGovern, “Downton Abbey”
Emily Watson, “Appropriate Adult”
Kate Winslet, “Mildred Pierce”

Best actor – miniseries/movie
Hugh Bonneville, “Downton Abbey”
Idris Elba, “Luther”
William Hurt, “Too Big to Fail”
Bill Nighy, “Page 8″
Dominic West, “The Hour”

Best supporting actress – series, miniseries or movie
Jessica Lange, “American Horror Story”
Kelly Macdonald, “Boardwalk Empire”
Maggie Smith, “Downton Abbey”
Sofia Vergara, “Modern Family”
Evan Rachel Wood, “Mildred Pierce”

Best supporting actor – series, miniseries or movie
Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones”
Paul Giamatti, “Too Big to Fail”
Guy Pearce, “Mildred Pierce”
Tim Robbins, “Cinema Verite”
Eric Stonestreet, “Modern Family”

FILM CATEGORIES

BEST PICTURE, DRAMA
“War Horse”
“The Ides of March”
“The Help”
“Moneyball”
“Hugo”
“The Descendants”

BEST PICTURE, COMEDY
“The Artist”
“50/50″
“Bridesmaids”
“My Week With Marilyn”
“Midnight in Paris”

BEST ACTOR, DRAMA
George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Brad Pitt, ”Moneyball”
Leonardo DiCaprio, ”J.Edgar”
Ryan Gosling, ”The Ides of March”
Michael Fassbender, ”Shame”

BEST ACTRESS, DRAMA
Viola Davis, “‘The Help”
Meryl Streep, ”The Iron Lady”
Tilda Swinton, ”We Need to Talk About Kevin”
Rooney Mara, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
Glenn Close, ”Albert Nobbs”

BEST ACTOR, COMEDY
Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”
Brendan Gleeson, ”The Guard”
Owen Wilson, ”Midnight in Paris”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, ”50/50”
Ryan Gosling, ”Crazy, Stupid, Love”

BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY
Michelle Williams, ”My Week With Marilyn”
Jodie Foster, ”Carnage”
Kristen Wiig, ”Bridesmaids”
Charlize Theron, ”Young Adult”
Kate Winslet, ”Carnage”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Albert Brooks, ”Drive”
Christopher Plummer, ”Beginners”
Kenneth Branagh, ”My Week With Marilyn”
Jonah Hill, ”Moneyball”
Viggo Mortensen, ”A Dangerous Method”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo, ”The Artist”
Octavia Spencer, ”The Help”
Jessica Chastain, ”The Help”
Janet McTeer, ”Albert Nobbs”
Shailene Woodley, “The Descendants”

BEST DIRECTOR
Martin Scorsese, ”Hugo”
George Clooney, ”The Ides of March”
Michel Hazanavicius, ”The Artist”
Alexander Payne, ”The Descendants”
Woody Allen, ”Midnight in Paris”

BEST SCREENPLAY
”Midnight in Paris”
”The Ides of March”
”The Artist”
”The Descendants”
”Moneyball”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
”Rango”
”The Adventures of Tintin”
”Puss in Boots”
”Arthur Christmas”
”Cars 2”

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
”W.E.”
”The Help”
”Albert Nobbs”
”Machine Gun Preacher”
”Gnomeo and Juliet”

BEST SCORE
”The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
”War Horse”
”The Artist”
”W.E.”

There it is. I hope everyone enjoys the awards tonight if for nothing more than Ricky Gervais’ hilarious insults.

Tags: award shows, golden globes

December 2011: A Life Update

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January 1, 2012

Atlanta. (Taken with instagram)

Hello everyone. I’m writing this to update any of you out there who have nurtured and/or loved and/or Facebook stalked me at any time over the last 23 (.66666) years of my life.

2011 has been an outstanding year. I got to go to England, France, Wales & Scotland; attended THREE Comic/Sci-Fi Conventions around the country; work at three film festivals in Atlanta and enjoy a week of SNOW-cation. It’s been the best year so far, but I know 2012 will top it.

For those of you who’ve been out of the loop, I graduated from Georgia State in May 2010 and continued work at MB Media (where I basically get to hang out with my friends every day) while volunteering at local film festivals and traveling. This is all well and good but all of this was part of a plan I’ve had in the making for 2 years.

Most people know that Los Angeles is the epicenter of television and film production for the whole world. And as a lover of all things film, television & pop culture, I wanted to check it out. So in November 2009, I visited with my friend Sue-Ellen and was shocked by how much I enjoyed it. There are tons of misconceptions about every city but especially Los Angeles. Before I went, I thought I’d hate it but my world was rocked when I finally touched down and spent a few days there. Since then, this plan has been in the works.

So, November 2009, I decided I would move to Los Angeles after graduation. No specific dates in mind, but thought January 2011 would be a great time. Well, I visited again in April 2010 and again in June 2010, still loving it and dreaming of a return. But January 2011 came and went with no real plans being made. I had lots of excuses: not enough money, nowhere to stay, no job. All valid but I wasn’t budging. In the meantime, I had friends moving all over the world to pursue their dreams, leaving me wondering why I wasn’t doing the same. So as 2011 went on, I made more and more plans for January 2012 to be THE TIME to make the BIG MOVE.

Here we are in December 2011 and it’s time. I love Atlanta and the people I have here. My family nearby, a great apartment, great neighbors and a ton of people backing me. But we all have those moments where we can go two different paths leading opposite ways and we have to choose. One is easy and is comfortable. It’s bright and sunny and you can see the end. The other is like a marathon, it’s long and difficult. It’s dark when you start and you can’t see the end. All you know is that you will make it. And like a race, it’s lined with all of these people cheering you on. I’m choosing the marathon. And it will be hard and I’ll have to make sacrifices, but I truly believe that it’s what I’m suppose to do. I hope that you’ll all be along the route cheering me on.

Cheers.

Heather

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