Peas & Queues: hump day

Urban Dictionary defines Hump Day as the 'climbing of a proverbial hill to get through a tough week."

My week hasn't been so tough. I'm well-rested (as I've conveniently slept through the majority of my gym alarms this week), I'm eating plenty of good food (including froyo for dinner last night with Belinda), I've been to the movies twice in the last several days (How... LA... of me), and I've got at least three hours of quality television programming to catch up on on my DVR (New Girl, Real Housewives of New York, Breaking Amish, etc).

Don't worry. I also sometimes get to 5:30am spinning classes ten minutes early, drink plenty of questionably healthy smoothies, listen to Oscar Peterson at work, and read poignant memoirs in my spare time. It's all about balance, people. I'm, like, sometimes really good at it.

I'm also really great at sitting on Craigslist creating alternate lives for myself. Sometimes I think about living in New York, and what my lifestyle would be like. I could sell my car there for about $3000, find an apartment with exposed brick in a semi-seedy part of town, and if things don't pan out at Nick Jr., I could be a seriously well-paid nanny. Or I could move to Berkeley, study Developmental Psychology at Cal, live in a sweet little guest house with black and white checkered kitchen tiles and finally live in a place where I want to fall asleep in the park.

And then sometimes I remember that I live in LA and life ain't so bad right now. I mean, I was on a game show for crying out loud.

I can't believe I have not even reviewed this on here--- especially now because I can actually talk about it. I had pretty much signed my life away that I would not let anyone know a detail about Johnny's stint on the CW's adult musical chairs game show, OH SIT. For those of you who saw it, bless your heart. Wasn't that... weird? And if you did watch it all the way-- aren't you glad you did!?! Johnny monkeys up the side of Chair Mountain at the end and wins a poopton of money. It was seriously the weirdest day of my life.

For starters, Johnny was supposed to be a backup to the alternate. In true Johnny-style, he didn't ask me to be his "coach" until the day before. Luckily they already had all of my paperwork from when I decided not to be on the show before. We were set. Johnny explained that the likelihood of him actually making it on the show was almost zero, so I woke up Saturday morning, didn't really shower or prepare at all, picked up his car-less self from Silver Lake, and drove to Sony Studios.

Two hours later he was being fitted into spandex and I was being yanked into the stands by producers. One guy disqualified himself for going to the bathroom unattended and the alternate never showed up. John M. was in the game! It was SO EXCITING. They hadn't worked Johnny into the script at all, as he was never actually supposed to be on the show-- so it was a quiet day for him announcing-wise.

And then we have contestant #7-- John M. (cricket cricket)... Contestant #8 is someone really interesting <insert witty jokes here about their large breasts or the fact that they're wearing a cowboy hat>, etc. etc. etc.

Then all of a sudden it got down to the final three-- and there was Johnny-- scrappy and cunning, fighting his way to the end. No one saw it coming. Not even us. After each round we'd just stare at each other in disbelief and I'd hand him a power gel.

Then came the final round. I can't even describe that moment, once he got to the top of Chair Mountain (I can't even believe that that is a thing). He sat down in the chair right as it was spinning around to face me at the foot of the stage. And it was just this--- surreal, beautiful moment. Him screaming, me screaming, lights flashing, people booing. I will never forget it. We had to film that moment twice. I was bummed they took my second reaction for the episode but really glad they kept Johnny's. As Spencer described, "...there's some real emotion when he wins... Like someone who needed that money for rent and/or a life-saving operation."

The producers clearly enjoyed my classic Jenny facial expressions, too. They were abundant. My dear friend Laura was sweet enough to screen capture about twenty and send them my way.

Here's me being a llama.

Oh my god I'm in the boys' locker room!

Mama llama Jenny is so concerned.

The producers also must have thought that I looked lonely, as they made me John M's girlfriend.

Just hold on a tick here, Oh Sit. You can give Johnny money, and you can give Johnny some serious national airtime, but you shall not give him my companionship without my due consent! How uncouth!

It's LA, ya'll-- it just makes good TV.

Seriously great experience with one of my very best friends. I'll never forget it.

I miss my crazy guy friends. My boring 9-6ish work schedule and their ?-? work schedule makes us rather incompatible socially. But when we're together it's just lovely. My dear friend Jimmy made this video using footage from our really irresponsible trip to Tucson last August. *Note the sweaty faces and lack of air conditioning.

And please, ignore my rather unattractive dozing-off in the car. You know how some people look like an angel when they're sleeping? I am not that person.

Ain't that video sweet? And nostalgic and perspiration-inducing? This was clearly taken on the drive out to Arizona. The drive back was much less amusing and complete with boiling hot gatorade and sick passengers. You guys, AIR CONDITIONING IS SIMPLY NON-NEGOTIABLE.

In other news, Seven Psychopaths was out-of-control amazing. I didn't know until I got there-- but Martin McDonagh (my favorite playwright) wrote and directed the film and was there for a Q&A session at the end with Sam Rockwell and Abbie Cornish. Seriously-- thank you LA, for evenings like these. It was incredibly funny and completely unpredictable. Go see it.

Back to work. I'm excited to be done-- I've got a seriously great evening planned tonight! Sarah is coming over to watch the first presidential debate. I'm baking some acorn squash, making up a cheese plate or two, cracking open some of my favorite seasonal October beers, and debate drinking.