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)