Vol 2 Issue 22

Pic of the week 

Spent a couple of days this week at a summer camp doing some Story Pirates.  This is Stephen Eric Apple a glow-in-the-dark alien horse.  He went on quite an adventure to find a girlfriend who ended up being an inflatable dinosaur.  Love finds a way.

What's going on?

Y'all.  I love my job.  Like, LOVE my job.  And I recognize how lucky I am to be able to say that.  The summer camp we went to this week is called Camp Harmony.  It's a camp for underprivileged kids - many, and I think most of whom experience or are affected by homelessness in some way.  It's one of the coolest things we get to do all year.  This was the most involved we've been as well.  We did two days of programming.  Writing workshops in the morning and a show performing the stories the kids wrote in the evening.  It's always such a cool experience.  A couple of us did both days, but most of the Pirates involved just did one.  We got to stay overnight and experience all the fun things at camp - including staff pretzel night!  Also fun - a couple of the camp directors are sort of famous for riding Segways around camp.  One of the stories was set at Camp Harmony, so we borrowed one of the Segways and I pretended to be one of the camp directors and got to ride the Segway around for a bit.  Turns out, I'm pretty good at it!

Also spent a good chunk of time this week building a bookcase.  I bought some plywood, used a friend's jigsaw to cut it up, and spent yesterday afternoon assembling it.  It didn't turn out exactly like I planned, because all I had was a jigsaw and a drill, and didn't measure it out exactly beforehand, but luckily it's easily adaptable.  I still have a few finishing touches to put on it, so I'll post a picture next week, but I'm pretty darn happy with how it turned out.

Early in the week I had a meeting with a friend at a cookie shop.  I bought an extra cookie and threw it in the seat of my scooter.  It kind of got buried and I discovered it again SEVERAL days later.  It was still good!  Cookie surprise!

What I'm reading

This is a quintessentially British production and I am HERE for it!  I love British humor.  It's so bizarre.  Anyway, this also recently came out as a series on Amazon as well, and I'm interested in seeing the adaptation.

What I'm watching

This was delightful and so heartwarming.

What I'm listening to

This episode of the On Being podcast included such an interesting and refreshing conversation on what it means to be Christian.  I really enjoyed it.

Vol 2. Issue 21

Pic of the week 

I put up new curtains.  I had some blackout curtains hanging in my window because the porch lights of the building next door shine directly in my window all night.  Those particular curtains have been there since before I moved in so I thought it'd be a good idea to wash them.  I put them in a bucket of warm water with some Oxyclean and the formerly white curtains turned black.  No idea what happened.  Isn't science fun?  Needless to say, I bought some new blackout curtains.  

What's going on?

Summertime is finishing up with a bang!  I mean, I guess technically we're only half-way through summer, but school starts around here soon, so summer is basically over.  And I'm packing everything in.  Work, Shakespeare in the park, ice cream, dinners, cleaning, organizing, hanging curtains, installing a bike holder, taking my bike to get fixed because it broke while I was riding it, hitting a GIANT pothole and nearly eating asphalt on my scooter.  Quite an adventurous week.

Y'all.  There are too many TV shows to watch.  Have you noticed?

I had a plan this week to build my bookcase.  I went to the Home Depot and everything.  I was looking for 3/4" Maple Plywood.  I told the guy working the saw that that's what I wanted and he said, "maple?!" like I was crazy.  Anyway.  Turns out they didn't have any.  So I didn't get to build my bookcase this week.

What I'm reading

Super cute book about a robot who wakes up on an island and becomes part of the wilderness community there.

What I'm watching

Haven't seen it yet, but I plan to.  I loved these books when I was younger and am excited for the movie!

What I'm listening to

This playlist on Spotify.  It's so fun!

Vol 2 Issue 20

Pic of the week 

As part of my life upgrade, I'm getting some plants for my room.  I saw a cute planter on Etsy that I wanted, but they were charging $45 for it.  It's pretty simple and I have a friend who does pottery, so I asked if he'd make it for me.  But then I went one better and asked if he'd show me how.  So he did!  We went to a little ceramics place and this is the start of my little planter.  It has to dry and then be fired and then glazed and fired again, so it's a bit of a process, but when it's done it'll look something like this:

Also.  Throwing pots is super fun!  And harder than it looks.  And I kind of want to take a class now.

What's going on?

Not much to update y'all on this week.  I was busy with all my jobs and enjoying life immensely.  I went to see a couple of plays with friends and by friends and starring friends and it was all thoroughly enjoyable.  If you ever get a chance to go see "The Play That Goes Wrong" I'd recommend it.  It was hilarious.

Other than the usual, I'm still in the middle of various projects to get my life and things in order.  Bookshelves and curtains and reading chairs and thrift store donations and planters and all that good stuff.  Slowly but surely it's coming along.

I had to take Phin in for a service this week.  My mechanic told me that mine is the scooter with the most miles on it that he works on.  It's got just over 60,000 - which is a LOT for a scooter.  He also told me he'd like to keep it on the road as long as possible.  He therefore did about $300 worth of extra repairs for free for me.  Super cool guy. And now Phin is running like a champ.  Not that he wasn't before, but even more so now.

What I'm coloring

Mandalas.  It's a fun morning meditation.

Vol 2 Issue 19

Pic of the week 

On tour with Story Pirates in Las Vegas this week.  We rolled up to our hotel and immediately got a flat tire on our 9-ft-tall 15-passenger van - which we then had to change.  So.  Adventures all around.

What's going on?

LAS VEGAS!!!  That's what's going on.  We had a fun little tour up to Sin City. It was over 100 degrees every day we were there and thank the heavens for air conditioning and a pool - sketchy though the pool may have been.  We did have a blast though.  We had a few fun shows, wandered through so many casinos, had lots of mediocre food in kitschy restaurants, saw a police chase, an overflowing sewer, and a capybara! LAS VEGAS!

Also.  I asked my room buddy how gay this outfit was and he said, "Is 'turbo' the right answer?"  I think it was:

Vol 2 Issue 18

Pic of the week 

This is essentially everything I own.  I kind of wish I owned less.  But I'm also pretty happy about the fact that it all fits in one room.

What's going on?

Life is busy busy busy.  I had big dreams of bringing a bunch of my stuff back to LA and going through it all and building some furniture and buying some furniture and getting some houseplants and just enjoying some productive summertime upgrades on my life.  But the reality is work and more work and some other stuff and my storage boxes have been sitting in my room untouched for a week.  But I got paid to play with kids and get to know interesting people and eat food so I can't complain too much.  I did end up getting to dive into a couple of these storage boxes this weekend, and that felt good.  My "donate" pile is getting pretty big, and I'm excited to get a new bookshelf with some storage spots and maybe even put up some new drapes.  Cuz I'm an adult and that's what we do. Drapes.

Also.  Summer is in full-swing temperature wise and my apartment is sometimes the worst.  It soaks up the heat all day and then at night, when outdoor temperatures are PERFECT, my bedroom continues to be a sweltering sweat box.  If I could I would just set my fan right by my window and have it blow in cold air all night, but the apartment building next door is, like, RIGHT next door and the lights over people's doors outside shine directly into my retinas all night, so I have to have blackout curtains, and so a cool outdoor breeze is just out of reach.  Moving the inside air around is about the best I can hope for. 

What I'm reading

This one is about the history of our species and how we rose from relative obscurity to become not only the dominant human species ('human' meaning all of the species belonging to the genus 'homo'), but also the dominant species on the planet.  Fascinating stuff. 

What I'm watching

WHAT I EAT!  Not as much as I should.  But I try.  Cuz I wanna take care of myself better.  Ya know?

What I'm listening to

This week's episode of Mormon Mental Health was so so good.  Episode 183. It takes them a bit to get the episodes up on their website, so I don't have a direct link, but it was great.  The title is Framing Mormonism that Benefits Mental and Relational Health.  According to the episode description, "They talk about aspects or framing of Mormon theology that can be helpful to mental health instead of detrimental.  Some of the topics they include are: agency, love as the primary commandment, faith, ongoing revelation, and many more." Take a listen. 

Also listening to this series on the podcast "A Thoughtful Faith" called "Reconstructing Death" that I think is so helpful and interesting and good.  Just different takes on death, dying, grief, mourning etc. from different fields of study and thought.

Vol 2 Issue 17

Pic of the week 

Candid shots are the best.  A friend of mine works for the Utah Symphony and hooked me up with some tickets to one of the concerts at the Deer Valley music festival.  They played all Disney music and this group of friends was the perfect group to go and sing along with.

What's going on?

I'm in Utah! The annual summer pilgrimage is upon us.  I came back to see my nieces and nephews while they're in town cuz I don't get to see them very often.  I also took the opportunity to finally gather all of my worldly possessions from hither and yon into one place.  I've had several storage bins worth of stuff in Utah since I moved and I thought it was probably time to have a bit of a reckoning with it all.  I condensed 5 storage bins down to 2, plus a couple of smaller boxes of photos.  Once I get it back to LA I'm going to do some serious de-cluttering with all of my stuff and get rid of some excess.  It's time.

Utah has been great.  It's been hot, but other than that, summer in Utah really is so lovely.  I saw 4 different performances of various kinds this week (two musicals, the Utah Symphony, and the ol' Tabernacle Choir with special guest Sissel.).  I got to eat lots of treats, visit the Salt Lake farmer's market, go on a beautiful hike, see tons of friends, and generally have a wonderful time.  I even introduced a new friend to Crown Burger! 

What I'm reading

This essay on one person's experience being gay in the church.  Worth a read, even if you disagree!

What I'm watching

I suppose "watched" is more appropriate since my roommate and I watched the entire season in one day.  😳 'twas good.

What I'm listening to

Audiobook.  It was entertaining.  Kind of a mix of Twilight and The Golden Compass.  It's an interesting world, I think, but I'm done with the paranormal romance genre.  I just don't need to read any more about some unattainably handsome creature and how deep his gaze is.  Ya know?  But it kept me awake on the way from LA to Salt Lake, so I'll give it points for that.  And honestly, I'll probably listen to the sequel on the way home.  And then finish off the trilogy just because. 

Vol 2 Issue 16

Pic of the week 

I got new head shots this week.  A while ago I did an informal poll on Facebook to see how often my actor friends update theirs.  My agent commented almost immediately saying, "You're due." So.  New head shots.  Sometimes you get a few goofy ones.  But, really, they're the best ones.

What's going on?

Summertime is in full swing!  Luckily it hasn't been too warm yet - which is GREAT because we only have air conditioning in the front room of our apartment, and so sleeping when it gets hot is a bit of a chore.  So far my little fan has done quite nicely, but in a month or so I may have break down and get an in-room A/C unit.

I don't always love LA, but in the summertime it's a lot of fun because there really is so much to do.  Lots of free shows and concerts and movies.  And some cheap shows and concerts and movies.  This weekend I went to a star party up at the Griffith Observatory. They have those once a month. It's a fun event where amateur astronomers from the area bring up their telescopes and set them up on the lawn and you can just kind of wander around and see what people are looking at.  This time we got to see the moon, Jupiter, and Saturn. All of which were very cool.  I also went up to the Rose Bowl Flea Market which is one of the biggest in the country, and to a free outdoor concert of the Grammy award-winning Mariachi Divas who were playing at a tamale festival.  Most of that I did with Shanalee and Seth and their kids who were in town for a few days.  So fun to see people when they're here.

I'm headed up to Utah tomorrow for a few days and all week I've already been eating like I'm on vacation.  It's kind of a problem.  But whatever.  You gotta live your life!

In sad news, I found out that Nancy - the woman I lived with when I first moved to LA - passed away a couple of weeks ago.  She was never in very good health, so it's not surprising, but I do think it's sad when someone dies, regardless of the circumstances.  They almost always leave people behind. She was well-loved in the ward in El Segundo and in her neighborhood.  And in this case, though we didn't part on the best of terms, she did allow me to live in her home for 4 years and gave me a stable place to find my feet for this crazy adventure.  She didn't want to have services and so her children accompanied her body to Idaho where she was buried. 

What I'm puzzling

FINALLY finished this one.  It was a tricky one, but still a lot of fun.  I got it from the thrift store unopened!  And it was on my desk for a few weeks, and in that time I managed to misplace one of the pieces.  Oh well.

What I'm reading

Lots of these charts, which are SUPER COOL!

What I'm listening to

Podcast episode from Radiowest about the dangers of inactivity.  This is all pretty common-sense stuff, but it's good to hear a discussion about it, I think.  Makes me want to park far away from everything now.