Yog-a-urt-land

Hey cool cats! What's shakin'?

Just got off of work at LUSH! My very first shift! Hoorah! I'm kind of obsessed with working there, which is a BEAUTIFUL thing to be able to say. I also sold a butt-load of stuff. One lady came in and bought --get this-- TWENTY Bubble bars. That's just ridiculous, lady. Each bubble bar is about $7-11. This one's called the Comforter, and can be used for at least 3 baths. It smells like heaven. Favorite.

In other news, I dropped a blueberry in the kitchen this morning and couldn't find it. Hemingway apparently did-- and is currently scooting it around the floor and tossing it in the air. People who don't have cats-- what do you do for entertainment?

This is kind of what it looks like (not really, but still. It's a picture of a cat and a blueberry, what are the odds?)

I had the time of my life at Jason and Emma's BBQ on Sunday night. I will never get over the fact that I can do family activities out here. It was so weird to see everyone in such a casual environment with no special occasion! We are all still a little giddy about it. Especially little Mason (my 2-year-old nephew). "Auntie Jenny!!!" It's the little things like him wanting to share grapes with me. It just doesn't get old. Makena started her drama camp this week that culminates with a show on Friday night-- which I get to see! She got into theatre because of me. Love it.

Look at them. Are you kidding me?

Afterwards I drove to Glendale to skate with Bang! I got there and it was just me, Ezra, and lovely Sabrina. We basically had the entire rink to ourselves. Which was very romantic for them and perhaps 5% awkward for me. And then the absurdity began: Jenny on skates. I haven't skated since I was... what, 9 or 10 years old? You know that saying, "It's just like riding a bike, it comes back to you, blah blah blah"?

Let's just say my skating skills left something to be desired. I didn't fall though, so I suppose that is an accomplishment in itself. My fever hit about halfway through after Mitchell and Jonas showed up. Not saying that they brought it on, but I'm sure they'd like to think that. They of course were also brilliant skaters. I guess I was born in the wrong era? I should give myself more credit though-- I still went out there and gave it the old college try. Look at us having fun :)

From left to right: Kurt (who---get this--- was Godzilla in the 90s movie. RIGHT?!), Ezra, Jonas, Mitchell, Sabrina, and me! I almost fell before this picture was taken. On the carpet with my skates on. If that just gives you an idea of my skating abilities. I had such a good time though! Sometimes you've got to do things that make you feel a little uncomfortable. Jonas, Mitchell and I went to Yogurtland afterwards to wind down and chat.

Fun fun fun.

Becca and I went back to Yoga Shelter yesterday morning for what was perhaps the most difficult yoga class yet. It was ridiculous. But we freaking loved it. Especially because we had already made a date to go to Studio Yogurt afterwards. (Yes, I know I have a froyo problem). I inhaled mine while Becca barely scooped the toppings off the top. Silly. Have I mentioned how much I love her?

I came home and worked on my sketch. It's about two self-proclaimed "cool parents" about to give their daughter "The Talk". Instead, the daughter informs them that she in fact is saving herself for marriage, to which they erupt in disapproval and effectually try to talk her out of it. Funny-ish, right? Wrong-ish. It seemed pretty funny until we workshopped it in class. I don't know if it just didn't translate or what. I feel like part of it is that I write things to be said in my pacing and tone, and a lot of inflections were lost. Which is FINE! That's all my problem. I need to work on stuff like that so anyone can use my writing, not just me, because that doesn't make any sense. There's a lot of pressure when you know someone else is reading and analyzing your work. I have to get used to that. But, huh.... I guess that's what this blog is. I guess it's easier because I never really get feedback on here. My sister is the only one who ever comments. Speaking of that, leave me a comment, eh?

Apparently my sketch was humourous enough--- it made it into the final cut for the show! I was completely shocked, but boy, am I honored. Can't wait to take another hack at it. After class Johnny, Jimmy, Becca and I hung around Bang while Becca and I had some chicken matzo soup from Canter's. Man, have I been sick. I think working at LUSH today made me feel miraculously better? Well, that or the 8 hours of sleep last night and skipping of yoga today.

Speaking of Johnny. After my last blog post Johnny comes up to me and says, "First of all, how dare you call me out on your blog when I don't read it. And secondly, my response to you being on OkCupid wasn't that bad." I would also like to point out that Johnny only looks through my blog for his name. Rude. Thanks for being my friend JOHNNY and for supporting my work JOHNNY.

Can you tell we secretly love each other?

Back to the yoga grind tomorrow morning. Then doing laundry**, picking up my MUM from the train station, and my improv class with JOHNNY, Mitchell, and friends! La la la I love my life.

Time for me to get some sleep so that I can finally be done with this sickness silliness. Kisses.

**Probably won't actually happen.

...Hokay Cupid

I'm kind of on this ridiculous friendship high right now. You know when you watch shows like How I Met Your Mother and Friends, and you think to yourself, "I wish I had friends like that and I wish that we all had a place we met all the time... like MacLaren's bar in HIMYM and Central Perk in Friends. Hmpph."

Well I feel like this situation is slowly developing in my real life and I really could not be more thrilled. By now you all know that I am obsessed with Griddle Cafe on Sunset Blvd and that I go every Sunday, blah blah blah. Now that I have made a habit of it, the next best part is inviting everyone I can and seeing who shows up. This morning it was me, Jimmy, Johnny, Becca, Rachel, and James-- a good friend from U of A media arts classes and fellow Portlandia lover. He has the most infectious laughter of anyone I know. It was so fun bringing everyone together--- as some were meeting for the first time. U of A people, Bang, Bravo... We all got along rather well considering--- and what can bring people together more than delicious pancakes? Am I right?!

What a fun thing to look forward to every week. I'm especially excited because next Sunday my dear Mum will be in town! She is going to Claremont with my second family, the Holtzen's, and will be visiting LA for a couple days to see what I've been up to. I have so many plans-- a non-negotiable stop at the Griddle being one of them-- along with yoga at Yoga Shelter, Studio City yogurt, wandering down 3rd Street Promenade with lots of LUSH consultations, and some delicious yummeries (new word) around town. AND OF COURSE--- going to Bang!!! Life is easy when you come visit Jenny. It's a little slice o' heaven.

In other news... Bad Teacher was just that--- Bad. Mildly humorous, I suppose. But if you would rather see a better version, just watch School of Rock. It's basically the same movie (except School of Rock does just that--- Rocks). Jason Segel was wonderful as always, no surprise there. See it at the dollar theatres (if you live anywhere besides LA) or just wait till it hits Netflix.

Saturday morning I went to a quick yoga session to sweat out my sickness. I've been under the weather the last couple of days from lack of sleep. I unfortunately get fevers if I have two nights of not much sleep. Yup, so that stinks. I'm feeling slightly better though. Friday I was pretty sick. I didn't leave my little futon all day, except to go to the movies with Rachel.

Who's ready for a good story? Good.

Here's the deal.

I like writing. I hope that whoever is reading this (besides my mother and sister) likes reading what I write. But let's face it: unless I write something of actual interest, besides what I eat and how much I do yoga, I need to give some interesting details. Perhaps even embarrassing details. So here it goes. For the sake of art.

I... I... I got an OkCupid profile. If you are anything like Johnny, your current reaction is horror and disappointment. But this is how I want you to react, "What?! (chuckles) Oh, Jenny. That's just classic Jenny. You love awkward situations! Oh my, you are going to get some funny stories out of this, if anything! You go do it, it doesn't matter. That's hilarious."

...Because that's more of the reaction I'm going for. So try and steer into that area.

Look guys, I don't need to be in a relationship. I REALLY don't. I like relationships but I truly don't need one. I really am quite happy with myself. However I am in a brand new city with brand new things everywhere! Why not try and make some new friends, right? You guys know me--- I have pretty high standards, so I am not lowering them at all to be on this website.

In the last two days of being on OkCupid I have received... get this... 62 messages from different guys. Mostly they are all pretty random. Haha. But some of them are actually interested in the comedy scene so that's interesting. For any of you who think that the online "dating" world is for weirdos and old people who can't meet anyone in real life, you happen to be wrong. There are very normal, very interesting people everywhere. In fact, it's kind of like having a catalogue to peruse--- you can look at people and if you aren't interested, you skip over them and move to the next. I mean there has already been three guys that I could definitely see myself getting coffee with or something, but I would never have met otherwise.

Some interesting things so far: One guy referred to me as "punky". Another as a "rare gem". One sent me a message that said, "Hello. I like to known you." And apparently I also attract Indian pediatricians. My tally is currently at three.

Let me repeat: I am NOT desperate and this is not my way of getting attention. I don't need that to be happy. But life is freaking short and I do what I want! (I've also already roped in some friends that shall go unnamed to get accounts, too...) It's kind of fun--- like facebook for dating. If anything I can just find some new friends.

So that was my schpeel. Hopefully I explained myself fully. If not, let me know. If I can talk Johnny down from his reaction, I can put you at ease as well. Also--- mothers and familial adults: the internet is no longer just for predators. There are normal nice people on there, too. I. Will. Be. Okay.

TRANSITIONTRANSITIONTRANSITION

Yesterday night, Saturday, I went to Bang to open up the theatre. After Mayfly got started Becca and I stepped out to grab some dinner. We went to Loteria Grill, which is a Mexican food restaurant in the Farmer's Market--- which is more of an open air shopping market.

I got the nachos and soup and Becca got the chicken mole tacos--- FANTASTIC. Everything was super delicious. We caught up with each other's lives and drama, then headed back to Bang to bring Johnny some dinner. I completely adore Becca, I am so glad I have such a great friend out here!! (Johnny-- I adore you, too. Don't get jelly.)

After breakfast at the Griddle this morning, we decided to go to a Yoga Rocks class at the Shelter, followed by a quick Starbucks run. Becca loved the yoga class and we are headed back bright and early for another round tomorrow! I'm telling you guys, this yoga place is completely addicting. I am not usually this motivated/excited to work out all the time.

Tonight I am going to a BBQ at my brother's house with the family! (Sigh)... family events in California. I love it. Then tonight Ezra had the brilliant idea to have a roller skating party at Moonlight Rollerway in Glendale! Haha! I'm so excited to go, I haven't skated in so long. Here's to hoping I don't fall. You never know.

Alright. Time to hit the showers. Hope everyone has a fantastic Sunday. Go eat some pancakes, okay? Kisses.

Power Ranger Party Pants

I know, I know, I know.

It's been a long time, I get it! But I'm writing now, everything is going to be okay.

Woof, it looks like it's been five days since I have written. I have been incredibly busy with life and responsibilities! I started training at LUSH! I am the luckiest girl in the world to be working there, really. We took two days to train, playing different ice breaker games, sampling every single product and taking a look at every ingredient that goes in and what effects they have. My favorite? This little beauty: a moisturizer called GORGEOUS.

This thing is chockfull of amazing ingredients-- and all of them are cold-pressed, meaning that the nutrients are in their most potent form. The vitamins and minerals are completely raw and the smell is amazing. Fun fact: this is the facial moisturizer that Princess Diana swore by. It was originally an ancient Japanese recipe (a lot of LUSH recipes have been used for hundreds of years), and after she passed away LUSH somehow got the recipe for it. It's the most expensive thing in the store. I may even call it completely unreasonably expensive. That little container?

$89.95

BUT-- Princess Diana used to pay over $300, so... yeah. There are four other moisturizers at LUSH, but of course, it turns out that this particular one is most compatible with me. I feel so fancy. I was the only one out of ten girls who had "normal" skin, which of course never gets old to me (as I just finished accutane about two months ago, when my skin was less than desirable). Yes, Gorgeous is expensive, but I also have a 50% discount so that should help.

I made lots of new fun friends at LUSH, too. I am so obsessed with the company and the products, and the happy people there are just an added bonus. I have, like, real friends there. In fact, I kind of have real-ish friends here in general. It's a beautiful, beautiful thing. Monday night, Jimmy, Johnny, Becca, Rory, and Jonas and I (all from Bang, except Jimmy who is an honorary Bang-er), went to iO West in Hollywood, an amazing little improv theatre founded by Charna Halpern and Del Close-- the parents of improv as we know it today.

I am all about the free improv shows these days. AND GET THIS: free popcorn, too. Free laughs and free deliciousness? Count me in. Johnny and I ate a couple bowls of popcorn (we only stopped because they shut down the machines. Rude.) So I'm definitely going back for that. Oh, and it was funny, too. The show was set up like a cage match: two teams go head to head with twenty minute sets, then the audience votes, then the winning team kills the other team. (The last part may not be true, but it made you nervous, didn't it?)

Our sketch writing class was great as always! I have a legit sketch that's been simmering on my desktop... slowly being added to and edited... may be mildly humorous, who knows? My teachers chuckled dutifully as I explained it, so that's worth something.

I spent the whole day at LUSH on Tuesday training. We gave each other facials (did I mention I have the best job ever?) and received consultations with free samples of everything. Then I irresponsibly stumbled into Anthropologie... and Gap... for some much needed wardrobe updates. I finally got a pair of jeans that fit me, so that was good. Afterwards, I met up with some media arts friends to celebrate my friend Beau's birthday! We met at Barney's Beanery on 3rd Street Promenade, conveniently right across from LUSH. I didn't have anything to eat, but everyone's meals looked amazing!

Another convenient thing about 3rd St Promenade is the Sephora two blocks down from LUSH. Having to meet with a group of people sounded like a nightmare after being covered with goopy smelly things all day with no makeup on. I looked like a greasy troll. BUT. Sephora came to the rescue. I wandered around pretending like I was shopping, but in reality I was just slowly putting on sample makeup (with hygienic applicators, don't worry). I emerged looking somewhat presentable. A fun Tuesday night meeting up with old Media Arts buddies.

I went to Yoga Shelter Wednesday morning for another kick butt yoga class. Luckily Megan was there, so that was fun! Then Johnny and I went to Bang afterwards. I picked up and organized the green room for two hours or so, then we decided to get some food... from Becca's food truck.

Now our new favorite friend, Becca, is a skilled chef. She's about to graduate from culinary school and based on the meal she made for Johnny and I the other night, she's got some mean cooking skills. She is currently working at Auntie Fry's Food Truck (food trucks are VERY big in LA, you may have seen some Food Network reality shows about it). Well, the truck was supposed to be in Silverlake at 6:30... but didn't arrive till 7:00. We had improv at 7:30, and it took us 45 minutes to get there from Bang.

Now.

I truly dislike being late. As I always say (well, I say it because I heard it somewhere else), that if you're on time, you're late. Johnny saw a very anxious side of me, as did Becca. It's not like me to be late and flustered. I drove like Lizzie Borden on the way back to Bang; my veggie frybread and the dessert frybread (that Becca lovingly gave us!) were flying all over the dash, as my co-pilot was distracted with his own delicious dinner. He tried feeding me while I was driving/shifting/holding on to the plates, which only made my impatience worse. Oh well, real friends get to see the bad moods sometimes, too. Johnny was also very entertained with my speaking to inanimate objects while driving... a habit that my mother, sister, and I all have in common.

We ended up being just eight minutes late... and our friend, (also named Becca) was the only one there. People were even more late than us. So that made me feel a tiny bit better. The food was freaking delicious! The parts that I inhaled, that is.

Improv was great as always, no surprise there. I can't say enough good things about that class: fun activities, the best teacher ever, and all the giggling that goes on. It's good for the soul. I always leave a little brighter and happier when I walk out that Bang door. Afterwards, Becca, Mitchell, Johnny and I went to my silly little sublet to hang out for a bit. Basically we just watched lots of funny youTube videos, a phenomenon I am sure I will tell my future children about and they will laugh and make fun of me. And I fed them with whatever was in my fridge: tomato soup, carrots, and eggplant hummus. So weird to not have the staples I would usually offer... like a big bowl of cookies. 'Twas a lovely night, nonetheless. OH and they helped me finally get my futon down. I have been sleeping with it folded up every night. Of course, now that it's flat and comfortable my fitted sheet won't fit. You can't win 'em all.

Met Ezra this morning at Bang for the health/safety inspector lady's review. I swept up every little nook and cranny and organized other things while he chatted his way through it. Then Ezra and I walked up and down Fairfax, thrift-store-ing it up. Of course we didn't find anything that we actually were looking for, but we did find Ezra a pair of bright green polyester pants. iProv, Mitchell, Gretchen, and Ezra's improv group, (which performs every Thursday night @ 9:30 for free (PLUG), has green and black as their theme colors (which is quite ironic as those are Darwin's colors, too.) Therefore we declared last night crazy-colored-pants night at Bang, though only Johnny, Ezra, and I got the memo. Me in pink, Johnny in yellow (we did resemble the lady power rangers), and Ezra in his green pantaloons. It's the little things in life, ya'll.

After a couple hours at Bang Johnny and I trekked over the hill to Studio City for frozen yogurt from my favorite summer treat shop, Studio Yogurt. Delightful. Then I headed home to write this godforsaken blog entry...when I fell asleep. You can imagine the amount of exhaustion necessary to put me to sleep in the middle of the day. I was miserable when I woke up an hour and a half later--- with a full-on fever, a sweaty face, and severe confusion as to what day it was and what was my purpose in life. Jumped in the shower, met Johnny at Bang, grabbed a slice of pizza down the road, and opened up Bang for our Saturday night Schwag show. Another excellently hilarious show. Look how packed it was!!!

That's what I'm talking about.

I am beyond exhausted right now. I can't even figure out exactly how tired I am. Is this real life?

My plan for today is: sleep as much as I darn well please, write my sketch(es), go to see Bad Teacher with Rachel tonight, and maybe squeeze in a hike.

I'm excited to see this. My Jason Segel fix hasn't been attended to, recently. Time to recharge.

Kisses all. I hope everyone is doing well and taking care of yourselves. Hope you're getting more sleep than me. But HEY, I'm not complaining. Life is quite lovely.

(Also, I'm not sure why my comments section on here isn't working? I'm sorry to those who have written something and I haven't seen it. Try it again, it might work a second time)

The Proposal(s)

Good morrow, all.

Ahh... a belly full of pancakes. Is there any sweeter feeling? Just got back from the Griddle Cafe (third Sunday in a row-- and I've been here for a total of three Sundays). There were supposed to be five people there but only Blake and I showed up. The morning would have been much different if others were there, however. Things always get very philosophical and serious when Blake and I are together. Chaos theory, law of attraction, quantum physics-- all over a delicious pancake breakfast. What a lovely way to start a Sunday. Blake even made the trek from Fullerton, so I am definitely judging everyone else who didn't wake up.

Especially because I did not go to bed until 3:30 this morning. What happened to early to bed, early to rise Jenny? Well, I am still early to rise, just late to bed now, too. I had the most fantastic weekend though, let me tell you.

Friday night I headed to the red carpet opening of Cafe Treats in Sherman Oaks. It was kind of silly. They gave out lots of free food, a "goodie bag" (that consisted of only three samples... a pathetic excuse for a "goodie bag"), free nail polish changes, and... free tinsel in your hair. I was not interested in tinsel extensions. I had feather extensions a couple months ago, and though they were cool at the time, I can't help but feel like the fad has come and gone. Jackie encouraged me to get them anyways--- they're free and something fun, do it, Jenny!

I look like Rainbow Brite. That or a unicorn. Or just a five year old.

Note: this is not my actual hair or head. But just so you get the idea. Mine are green.

I pulled out two of them but there's one left in the back of my head that I can't get out. Yesterday Nikolai tried to let me know that there was something stuck in my hair, like I had ran into a Christmas tree and some tinsel got stuck on my head. It's silly. Jackie got pink ones, and because she works there and she knew the girl putting them in, she has about twenty. It's hilarious.

Afterwards, Jackie and I drove to Megan's house to spend the night. I feel like my life has been one big slumber party after moving out here. It's kind of the best thing ever. Anyways, Megan lives in the beautiful Cheviot Hills near Beverly Hills. We dropped off our stuff and headed to a very awkward house party. (Slumber parties... pancakes... house parties... just checking, I am a college graduate, right?) The party was being hosted by a high school acquaintance of Megan and Jackie's near UCLA. I was the girl at the party that NO ONE KNOWS. The person that people see and say, "does anyone actually know that girl?" I guess people say that less about girls and more about weird random guys, like the bizarre hairy one who was playing the drums the whole time at said party. Anyways, this strange tall man (not the drum guy) talked to me the whole night, told me he loved me about eight times and proposed four times. He kept calling me his future wife. Boys. They meet one woman who is relatively intelligent and well-mannered and they want to marry her. I really don't think the floozy thing works, ladies. Just act as impervious as possible and men will want to marry you, apparently.

Don't worry, I said no.

Yesterday morning Jackie and Megan and I headed to the Santa Monica stairs!

They're basically a set of, you guessed it, stairs. Tons of people were there sprinting up and down. I was not the sprinter. I was the slow treader. They are very steep and quite foreboding. Especially because I get pretty bad vertigo on staircases, which I always forget until I am about halfway into a staircase. When I was in Paris last year it took me forever to get to the top of Notre Dame. Really, it's bad.

It's usually only wide spiral staircases that cause it, but this one was pretty bad, too. My eyes can't focus and I have to hold on to the railing at all times. In Katrina's three story house in Germany, I quite literally fell down the bottom of their spiral stairs at least twice. It's very scary for me, now that I think about it. Next time I am in a job interview and they ask me what my weakness is I will say staircases. That and needing to eat every two hours.

I did the Santa Monica stairs seven times, which may sound impressive, but Megan and Jackie did them THIRTEEN times. And they were the sprinters. I jogged around in between each set just to flush out all the lactic acid in my leg muscles. They assured me that it's just something you have to get used to, and that the first time they only did four. That made me feel much better. Currently it feels like someone has replaced my calves with bricks. I'm surprised I didn't have charlie horses all night.

Anyhoo, we got home later than we thought and I didn't have time to take a shower. Which is not interesting at all, but I had such a busy day ahead of me and I hate when my hair looks bad. Regardless of my hair's condition, I jumped in my car and drove to Northridge to David and Artur's for Camp Bravo training!!

For those of you don't know, I work for the best company in the world, Camp Bravo, a week long theatre camp for middle school and high school kids. After discovering the camp as a senior in high school, I had just one year as a camper. Rather miraculously, after writing several letters, I was offered a position as a counselor, a huge shock as I was only a camper for one year (along with Blake). Well, after four of the best years and friends of my life, I have received a tremendous honor: becoming an über. That's Bravo's word for "assistant director". This means the world to me. Especially because I am following so many amazing übers that have come before me and I get to train with one of my very best friends, Mariko.

This is us two years ago. I am a last minute costume attempt at a cat and she is the Eye of Sauron (...debatable...). We are sharing week three this year! Team Jeniko! :) The meeting lasted most of the day. It's so nice when we all get together--- we're one big functional family. And how weird that for the first time, I didn't have to drive nine hours to see everybody! Times they are a'changin. (Also, this is how I know Nikolai, Blake and Rachel, three of my best friends/siblings).

I left before the meeting ended so I could get to Bang on time... but not before a stop at Studio Yogurt for some "dinner" in the shape of froyo with cookie dough and sprinkles. Don't forget, I have sparkly green tinsel in my hair so I can still eat my froyo like a child. Not the best dinner choice, but so necessary.

Bang had two FANTASTIC shows: Mayfly, a mix of live music and improv, and a new (FREE) show called Saturday Spunk, featuring several improv groups around town. It was a ton of fun, but no surprise there--- everything is fun at Bang. The shows are all BYOB as well, so we had a big red tub full of beer that people brought in. Have I said how much I love my job? The sweetest people, warmest environment, and improv that is refreshingly organic and unpretentious.

Look how much fun we have.

After the show a handful of us sat around discussing inappropriate topics and the age old question that keeps me up at night: Doritos... cool ranch or nacho cheese?

Though I obviously prefer to alternate both, cool ranch gets my vote.

Simply put, we had too much fun. Johnny Mac, Jimmy (another intern friend from U of A), and new friends from the improv group Comrade-- Rory, from Ireland (Cork!), Becca, who is wonderfully hilarious and completely bad ass, and of course Mitchell, who is capable of making me laugh no matter what he's doing.

Good group of people. So yes, I got home late. My sister always says sleeping is overrated. While I don't agree with that at all, it does help me get through the day.

I need to spend the next couple hours writing out some sketches for my sketch class at Bang tomorrow. Hopefully something humorous comes out of my exhausted brain. Unlikely.

In other news, I start at LUSH tomorrow morning! :)

Hope everyone has a lovely Sunday. Kisses.

Marion Jones in Little Whinging

......

I am a train-wreck without sleep. Honestly, I don't know how people do it. I need a solid 7 hours of sleep if anyone is going to enjoy my company or appearance. I am also the worst napper ever. I have been sitting on my futon/couch/bed watching dumb videos and responding to emails instead of catching some much needed z's. It's not the nap thing I'm bad at, actually, it's just the waking up part. I get very confused and don't know where I am or what I am doing in life. So I'm awake and complaining instead.

Went to see Green Lantern last night, not to be confused with Green Hornet, like I was accidentally saying to everyone all night. Honestly though, why didn't they just use another color? I can think of at least 5 other colors that would have worked with "Lantern" or "Hornet". Whichever was written second should have known they were going to confuse me. The movie... was pretty awful. I felt like I was watching The Clone Wars... the Cartoon Network version. Which is fine, but this is a major motion picture that has been promoted for the last two years and their budget was ridiculous, I'm sure. It was kind of sad. It had some creative visuals so I was mildly amused, despite it being past baby's bedtime. Blake Lively did better than I thought she would, and Ryan Reynolds was charming as always. However I do prefer unassuming heroes, and the moment you see him all tall and toned with aviators on and a leather jacket... come on... We get it, you're going to be the super hero. No convincing needed.

I enjoy Peter Parker-like characters that you want to root for. Too many muscles and I get confused.

Just stop it, Ryan Reynolds. I liked you better on Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place when you didn't have to take your shirt off for attention.

I saw the movie after another hilarious Schwag show! (There IS a 'c' in there... I have seen inconsistent spellings but here and now I declare that there is a 'c' before the 'h'). Unfortunately, most of the other U of A interns who said they were coming didn't show. Which is fine!! (if any of you are one of those people, not a problem, just come back next week, you were missed!) Then I drove all the way to freaking Pasadena to see the movie. Woof. Ezra gave me some rockin' directions though and I arrived at... 11:55 pm. Blake threw a Green Lantern shirt my way, I grabbed my compulsory bag of popcorn and jumped into my assigned seat (silly).

I got home at 3:30ish and had a hellish time finding a parking spot. I was positive that angry note man was going to be ready with a machete as soon as I got out of my car. So I grabbed my purse and SPRINTED to my house. Literally. I ran as fast as I could down the middle of the road. Not sure why I thought that was safer. I guess because then I had room on either side of me to jump onto a car if necessary and stab them with my little car key. Hmmm... or maybe I could just get some mace like a normal girl.

It had been raining and the street kind of looked like Privet Drive with the glassy puddles and trees on either side. Eerily silent. Luckily for me, angry note man was probably off threatening other undeserving parkers in the neighborhood and destroying their sense of security.

Got up this morning, grabbed a soy Americano, and headed to Bang to do some cleaning/organizing/craigslisting. I just love it there. I already feel like it's becoming my home. It's such a nice feeling to love going to work everyday. Lucky me.

Just made a very strange lunch... ever heard of tofu shirataki noodles? Turns out they are much more delicious than they sound. You have to soak, rinse, and dry them out really well though... because they're kinda stinky and packed in liquid. Mmm they sound great, don't they? Ha. I topped it with some spinach, tomatoes, pesto and muenster. It tasted like real pasta! Apparently it's much better for you though. Low in everything blah blah blah. They're fun though, try them. Only at Whole Foods though, so prepare yourself to go in, grab it, and look away from all of their tempting, expensive delectables.

I have the night off at Bang because Fridays are their student groups' shows, so I don't have to work the front. Jackie's cafe is having a red carpet opening event...? (only in LA would a coffee shop have a red carpet event), and they are giving out free goodie bags, certificates, and mani/pedis to the first 30 in. Don't worry, I'll be there. I love me some free loot. The cafe is connected to "Treats for the Face", a salon that's famous for their gummy bear *painless* bikini waxes (I'm sure). It's very cute inside and very expensive. Also very popular with celebs.

So I better try and look good. Wish me luck. I have a very exciting busy weekend ahead of me. This is just the calm before the storm.


I would like to make a small shout out to some family and friends that have been rumored to be reading this:

Traci and Connie, the best second mothers a girl could have, thanks for reading and I miss you both! I heard you have been keeping up with me... let me know when you both start a blog! :) Despite what you say, I'm POSITIVE I would be entertained!

Jeff and Andy: Read up so you can participate in their references. They gave the Office a try... right?

Grandma Bernie and Grandpa Dick: Hello from LA!! Hope you are well!!

Al Pal!! I love you and miss you, best friend!!

Bryan: I'm ready. Come visit. Let's paint the town reddddCAPSATTACKRUVYOU. MISS YOU.

Andrew and Kelsey: Gracias... por... para... f it, who am I kidding, I don't know freaking Spanish!!

Jamie and Mums: Who knew that other people read this besides you two?



I'm packing up my stuff and heading to Jackie's for the most intense workout video I've ever done (yes, Jane Fonda, I am including yours in that statement). It's called CARDIO BARRE. I look just like this when I do it, too.

Happy Friday night everyone! xxxo

Pickshas

Bonjours!

Get ready for a picture-book-of-a-blog-post.

How is everyone? I am enjoying some chamomile tea and popcorn before I head to Bang for their hilarious (and free) show, Shwag! (which I discussed in detail last week). Johnny and I have rounded up more people this week so we should have a pretty packed house! Go us.

Speaking of things that can be made in the microwave (loose connection to popcorn), I stumbled into the kitchen last Sunday to reheat my leftover streusel pancake from the Griddle Cafe... when to my horror I realized we don't have one! I stood there for a good 30 seconds processing that information. It's not that I don't know how to cook things, it's that I don't remember a kitchen in my life history that did not have a microwave.

So I took out a frying pan and heated it in that. Eh. I also only have microwave popcorn bags with me right now, instead of my usual raw kernels, so I cut open the bag and cooked it in a sauce pan. Worked pretty well!

Let's talk cats. I promised you some cat pictures.

I want to ask your opinion. It's kind of like going to the optometrist. Which is a better name for this cat...

1. Walter..... or 2. Hemingway


And again...

1. Ruby..... or 2. Schwitters




If you guessed Walter and Schwitters... you guessed right. As in, that's what Carly (my roommate) and I named them. We didn't know what their names were when we moved in, so we were excited to name them ourselves. Then of course the subletter guy told Carly on the phone that "Ruby" had respiratory problems, (Schwitters) and then I found a note about being careful that "Hemingway" didn't get out the door. Drats. The cats were out of the name bag. It's hard to call them our new names now. I don't want to confuse them. They're pretty awesome though, but they stink. And throw up. Here's a picture of them watching a man outside the window pick up dog poop:

Yeah, they're funny. But honestly I miss this little action figure guy. This is him in his naughty box, where he often times grounds himself when he attacks the other cats:

Little Frasier gets to come out in August! Though technically, he has already "come out". You see, Frasier's gay. Don't ask how I know. A mother just knows.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeahDax24Dg

Oh! And here's a really silly picture of me at graduation being impertinent. Note the intellectually flared nostrils. Hmm. Looks like my mother will not be ordering this picture...

Still, funny.

Went to M Cafe for lunch with Jackie and her adorable friend, Megan.

I had granola, blueberries and almond milk before I went (because I am THE most impatient hungry person, ever) so I just had some sushi, sweet potato fries and lemonade. I know none of that makes sense together, but I wanted some of each. As I was driving through Beverly Hills, guess who pulled up next to me?

Craig Robinson, who plays Darryl Philbin (no relation to Regis, I'm guessing) from the Office and every other funny movie from the last 3 years! He was driving a fancy black convertible. We turned slowly towards each other, locked eyes for about 3 seconds, then slowly rotated our heads back forward. Very funny. Again, ice queen of indifference.

Then Jackie and I went and had frozen yogurt at Studio Yogurt in Studio City!

It was the biggest portion of yogurt I've ever had. But no, that didn't stop me from eating it all for dinner. Mmmmm. Then we went and got manicures (man, my life sounds awful, doesn't it?) I got a gel manicure, which lasts for about 2-3 weeks. My nails look like they belong to a lady for the first time in my life. What up.

I went to my favorite little improv class last night with all my little improv buddies. I love that class! Such a fun group of people. Charles (you know, reeses peanut butter eyes) found out that he was on my blog and got confusedly upset? I can't tell, he's got such a straight face but I think he was kidding. Yes, he was kidding. I know this because we're best friends (not really). Well, that or I have to take his picture down. It's staying for now. Ha!

Then Jackie, Megan, their friend Rebecca, and sweet little Nikolai and I met for drinks at Laurel Tavern.

It was very rustic and warm. I had a tangerine wheat beer and it was delightful! We chatted about Camp Bravo-- the good (from Nikolai and I) and the bad (from Megan and Jackie). Lots of fun was had.

Went to Yoga XFlosion again this morning because I'm addicted. Leaving to open up Bang in just a few minutes. Then I'm going to see Green Lantern at midnight with Rachel and Blake!

Ain't life good? Kisses.

Plastic Spoons and Cauldrons

(This was written yesterday, Tuesday, but I never got a chance to post it. I *could* go through and change all the verbs... but it's kind of exciting to read everything in present tense, yes?)

Welp. Sitting in Cafe Treats, where Jackie works, in Sherman Oaks. Jackie made me a delicious hazelnut latte and during her break, we walked to her house to make a yummy little vegan sandwich.

And now the moment you've all been waiting for: it's time for the angry note/car-keying incident story. Yesterday morning I decided to walk to Starbucks before heading in to work at Bang. As I was walking down the sidewalk I noticed there was a paper on my windshield... and none of the others. Gosh dangn't, I must have got a ticket, I thought. Nope, just a slightly damp envelope reading:

"Nice parking job asshole. Next time you park pull your head out of your ass. I'll be looking for you in the neighborhood. I liked the scratches you left in my bumper. Hope you like the scratches I left in yours with my keys."

...

I freaked out. First of all, I don't know what he was talking about. I pulled in the night before behind a girl in a black beamer. We got out of our cars at the exact same time, made eye contact and perhaps a small smile, and went our separate ways. I KNOW there was no room for another car and we were the only two in that section. I didn't scratch anybody's car, and if I had, she and I both would have been in the car for that moment. So what's the deal? Was he mad because when she left there wasn't enough room for him in front of me and he scratched it himself? Or is he just psycho?

There were no scratches on my car, either. Nothing on any side of it. Of course at first I thought there was because I was too scared to check up close, but it looked like some sort of silly string material along the side. I mean, I have never had my car keyed before, but I'm pretty sure it means the paint is scratched off... and the silly string material came right off when I rubbed at it. Nonetheless I am absolutely scared out of my mind. He's looking out for me in the neighborhood? Oh... great. Good thing I'm living here for the next two months. I hope you have enjoyed my blog so far because you never know when I may get shanked.

Anyways. Working at Bang in the morning was hilariously fun. It was just me, Ezra, and Johnny cleaning out the theatre while others rehearsed their show, Streep Tease, for their New York debut. It's a show featuring men performing Meryl Streep monologues, culminating in a Mamma Mia "Dancing Queen" musical finale. Though we weren't watching, it sounded very entertaining. Johnny and I are going to try and crash the rehearsal on Friday night.

We changed light bulbs (and when I say 'we' I mean Johnny and Ezra--- I watched and handed bulbs from below), got rid of tons of random broken holiday decorations, made donation runs to the thrift store next door, and organized the thousands of items of cutlery that could help feed hundreds of people for decades (not hyperbolic at all). We felt very accomplished. Highlight of the day, as decided by Johnny Mac and myself: Ezra cleaning up the barf outside of the door. Now the barf on the sidewalk does not in any way reflect the studio, but rather the silly bars located on the street and the interesting people walking around at night. Anyways, Ezra used a plastic cauldron (...funny) to wash off the orange mess with water and bleach, then proceeded to sweep it towards the street and unknowingly onto the Mini Cooper parked directly outside. I uncertainly mumbled, "...Ezra...", to which he turned to see our expressions, glanced at the car, back at us, and stoicly said, "I'm gonna need some paper towels". Not sure if that translated in written form, but it was quite hilarious.

Then Ezra treated us to our very first ever FALAFEL in a deli down the street.

It was quite yummy. For those of you who don't know what it is, it's ground chickpeas that are deep fried and served in a pita with hummus and veggies. I can't believe I have never had it before. Deee-lish. Ezra's too nice to us. We have decided he's our favorite person ever.

I went to Yoga Shelter after Bang. I was pretty stressed out from the rude note on my car so I needed some yoga. Some of you may know this, but I absolutely hate breaking rules. I don't know where/when it started. Maybe D.A.R.E. in elementary school, where I was basically taught not to be a bad teenager. Ha. I just hate getting in trouble for things. My face gets hot and I get very flustered. So, my yoga was very distracted. It helped to sweat everything out though.

I have decided that in August, after my sublet ends, I want to live in Studio City. It's so beautiful there. So green and it has such a comforting rhythm. I'm putting that into the Universe as of now. This is Laurel Canyon road, my favorite... and how I get from West Hollywood to Studio City for yoga.

Magical.

BREAKING NEWS: Sex and the City fans... Miranda's doctor boyfriend Robert just walked into Cafe Treats with his son. Oh my goodness, was he handsome. His voice was like buttah.

Awesome. I had my first comedy sketch-writing class last night at Bang! It was taught by two incredibly talented women, Sabrina Hill (Ezra's beautiful wife) and the brilliant Lizzie Czerner.

It was a FANTASTIC class. We used improv to get some ideas flowing, then we broke into groups and worked on other people's sketches from last week (Johnny and I started a week late). It's going to be a very fun class. Again, as I said before, I'll let you know when the show is going to be! :)

(Okay... now we are back in real Jenny time @ 1 pm on Wednesday) After sampling a million things that Jackie kept making because she was bored, we walked back to her house, changed into workout clothes, and exercised for hours on end. We can get a little crazy when we're together. We start talking and then hours later we realize we are sweaty and sore. We ran to Fryman (which is a very steep but beautiful hike), hiked that, then walked to Yoga Shelter. We were exhausted. Of course, as soon as we finished yoga, we realized that we still had to walk all the way home. We can be a little overambitious at times but we always have so much to talk about that it doesn't matter.

Jackie's mom made a DELICIOUS dinner: roasted veggies, fresh bread, potatoes, and a yummy tofu dish. Then Jackie and I took a quick shower (as I said before, not together), then went to see the movie, Beginners.

Looks pretty hipster, right? It was. It was basically an American film (without American actors...?) that was trying to be foreign. I liked it a lot though. And I had some delicious movie popcorn and you know how that just thrills me.

I spent last night at Jackie's, then we woke up early this morning to watch some of the Tony's (FANTASTIC-- Neil Patrick Harris is my hero) and then another yoga class. With Jason Bateman. It never gets old.

WHOA. I didn't even tell you. I got the job at LUSH!!! What up!???! I'm so excited! They are calling me in a couple of days to figure out times to train me. From 30 people to 16 to the final 5. I am honored and excited to start!

Off to get some lunch. Kisses, all.