Insta-Sauna

Day 1 of paid work: complete.  It's nice to work and know you're actually getting paid for it! haha.  I realized today that of all the stuff I've worked on, I still hadn't worked with a cast full of comedians.  I guess you could say that SW2 had a few, but it wasn't like this.  The thing we're filming is called "Haunted Hotel" or something, and it's a mini promo thing for a film they shot last summer called Mystery Team (I think that's what it's called).  They are apparently a very popular YouTube comedy group called Derrick Comedy who has done tons of youtube stuff.  However, if you so choose to check out their stuff, don't say I didn't warn you that much of their stuff is rather ... risque to say the least.  The promo I'm working on is the "I really shouldn't be laughing at this and I feel bad that I am" sort of stuff.  It's not exactly something I'd go out in search of, but I watched the preview for their film and while it's not something *I* would watch, I have a feeling that once it's released in theaters, it will be a big hit.

Anyway, so the sound mixer I'm working with is great.  His name is Juan and he reminds me of a Hispanic Joe Pesci for some reason.  And he doesn't even look *that* Hispanic, but he's about the same height and build as Joe Pesci and almost even sort of sounds like him at times.  But I'm enjoying working with him.  He's a really laid back guy who doesn't seem to easily get stressed.  

I have also decided that I have now officially worked in both temperature extremes.  The coldest being in Feb/March when I worked on Frozen up on a mountain in the middle of winter while it snowed 2 feet on us... and the hottest being today, inside a tiny motel room, with 25 people crammed inside, all doors closed, no AC or fans (too loud to have on while rolling), 95 degree weather outside, and 3-4 lights so hot it could probably start a fire if you put anything on the bulb.  Congratulations, you've just created your own personalized sauna!  Joy.  I was not planning on that situation, so like an idiot, I wore jeans (as did most everyone else).  We have since learned our lesson, and I imagine most people will come in shorts tomorrow.  

It was pretty gross though, because after a while, some people looked like they'd jumped into a pool fully clothed, or at least run through the sprinklers a few times.  Each time we were doing a different shot and had to temporarily clear out of the room, as we walked outside everyone breathed a sigh of relief, quite frequently added with the words "air!!" ...it was sad that we thought 94 degree weather was "so nice."  But hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right?  

Well, there's Day 1 for ya.  Next up: Day 2.

Coincidence...? I Think Not!

So, I don't normally write two in one day, but I forgot a few tidbits that I thought I'd share.  This, by the way, is also living proof that whether or not I want to do film (which I do), I am very much supposed to do it too!

-Wednesday: An old friend of mine called me up, said "Hey!  So I have this friend who's putting together a film and he's still looking for sound people.  Now that you're finally in L.A. and you're the only person I know who does sound, do you mind if I give him your contact info?"

-Thursday: I got this call from a guy who said he got my contact info from Scott, the sound mixer I met on Heroes (whom I met via a contact in SLC, and a woman (L.A.-based) I met at Sundance this year), who said he recommended me.  He was looking for a boom op.  $100 a day. (not much, but it's money!)  I start tomorrow.  

-Saturday morning: I was on facebook just routinely checking whatever when an old friend of mine from BYU IMed me.  He'd recently discovered I'd moved to L.A. (as had he).  He said "Hey there's this guy in my ward who does sound for CSI and he wanted me to help him out, but I can't.  Do you mind if I give him your contact info?"

-Saturday afternoon: I decided to do the Hollywood hike with people from the ward.  I carpooled up with a few people and one of the guys in the car asked what type of stuff I did/what work I was looking for.  I told him I did sound and he said "oh really?  My buddy does sound for CSI - he told me to call him up if I ever wanted to go, or to bring anyone on set.  Give me your number and I'll give you a call this week after I've talked to him about when would be best."

-Saturday evening: One of Sarah's friends was over and we got talking, and she found out that I do location sound.  She said "oh really?  My dad's a director for this show - I don't if you've heard of it - called NCIS.  I could get you on set if you want and you could talk with the sound guys or whoever."  

Now, that being said... this is not normal!  Things don't just fall out of thin air like that... especially multiple times a day!!!  I don't know if the CSI connection is the same person or if it's two different CSIs (CSI and CSI:NY or whatever) or two different people, but regardless, it's more connections.  And NCIS?  I LOVE that show!  I actually like it more than any of the CSIs.  

But seriously, how could anyone say that this isn't the field I'm supposed to be in?  True, part of me still wants to do FBI, and maybe one day I will... but for now it is undeniable that it is most definitely film!  

**And as a funny side story.  Two of my friends came over last night - Jackie and Adam.  Sarah thought Adam looked really familiar but she couldn't figure out why.  She didn't say anything about it until this morning when we were getting ready for church when she then asked me "this might sound like a weird question, but has your friend Adam been in anything before?"  I paused to think about what she might recognize him from and then said "Umm... he was in Charly..."  She gasped and said "oh my GOSH you're RIGHT!  That's totally how I know him!  No way!!  That's so cool!" Haha it made me laugh.  Great way to start the day. :) **

--OWΥ」」OH

Okay, so I couldn't figure out how to do a backwards L, so that's why the Ls look so messed up.  But on to the story...

So yesterday we had a ward activity: hike to the Hollywood sign.  I thought, "hey that sounds like fun.  I have never seen it and it would be cool to have an actual picture of it, so why not?"  Plus, we were told that it was a half-hour "leisurely" hike.  We met at the church, carpooled there, and began our hike.  In the beginning I thought "this is fun!" because I do like hikes... I just usually suck at them.  But a 30 minute hike I could do no problem!  So we continued on...and on... and ON!  Each time we rounded yet another corner I thought, "Oh yay, we have finally made it."  But each time it was a false alarm.  Soon, 40 minutes had gone by... then 50... 60... we still weren't there.  I kept telling myself "it'll be worth it.  I'll finally get to see the infamous "HOLLYWOOD" sign.  An hour and twenty minutes after we began, we finally made it... or so we thought.  Turns out, "hike to the Hollywood sign" wasn't quite what I was expecting.  It was a hike up and PAST the sign.  We were behind the sign.  I couldn't even see all of the letters!!  It was such a disappointment!  The whole reason I went on the hike to begin with was so I could see it - from the FRONT!  Bah.  Oh well.  It was still fun... in a way.  

Actually, the most fun part of the entire hike was about halfway up.  The group I was hiking up with (there were 5 of us -- the others got there earlier and thus were ahead of us) had this bright idea to take a 'shortcut.'  Instead of winding up and around another who-knows-how-far, why not just climb straight up?  Honestly, in the beginning I was all for it.  I saw the not-so-official trail and thought "hey, that's not so bad... and it'll cut time off of our hike..."  Thus began our journey upwards.  The only problem?  The ground proved to be like sand... and each step you took, you'd slide half the distance you'd just stepped.  Oh, and we think there was a murder scene there relatively recently, because we had to step through a bunch of worn yellow caution tape.  Just adds to the excitement, right? :P

I have decided that maybe I should ease up on the hike count for a while.  As I was hiking down from the sign last night, I realized that in the last 3 months, I have done 5 pretty good hikes.  In April, Martin and I went up through Rock Canyon for quite a ways and then climbed straight up for a while.  It wasn't too terribly grueling, but I definitely worked up a sweat.  Next, we went to the Grand Canyon.  Luckily, we didn't do the full hike... because that one takes multiple days... but it was still a hike.  On our way back, we stopped at Bryce Canyon and did one of those hikes as well.  Then, my first week here the ward was going on this hike to the "Punch Bowls."  I was trying to get to know people and whatnot and figured it would be a good idea to go.  THAT hike was probably the most grueling.  Round trip it was somewhere between 10 and 11 miles.  And there wasn't a marked path, either.  We were going through bushes, climbing up huge rocks, crossing rivers, etc.  Someone yesterday told me that the Hollywood hike was probably 5 or 6 miles round trip.  So basically, I think I have easily gotten in my hike quota for the next little while.  Temporary hike hiatus begins now. :)

язык, idioma, linguagem, мова, lingua

I have this weird obsession with languages.  And judging by the most recent "How Well Do You Know Me?" quiz I posted on facebook, most people don't seem to realize this.  I don't know what it is about languages that fascinate me so much, but I love them!  Halfway through my college career, I even briefly thought about switching to Linguistics.  I currently have five languages on my list that I want to not only learn, but actually become fluent in eventually - and I will explain to you the reasons behind each.

1.  Spanish.  This one is a given.  Nowadays, depending on where in the U.S. you are, it has almost become a necessity.  Plus, it's just one I have always wanted to learn.  When I was 6, I had a next-door neighbor who couldn't speak any English.  I couldn't speak any Spanish... but we still played together.  She would point to something and say what it was in Spanish.  Then I'd say what it was in English.  Somehow it worked out.  In 5th grade, I was the only kid on my bus who didn't know Spanish.  I always wished I could understand what they were saying.  My middle school didn't have languages as a class option, so I started taking Spanish as soon as I got to high school.  One of the first days of class, the teacher had me read something - in Spanish - out of the book.  She then looked at me with confusion and said, "are you a native speaker?"  haha!  Apparently my pronunciation was so good from the get-go that she thought I was a native speaker.  And hey, my name is Marisa... spelled the traditional way (with ONE s) ...

2.  Russian.  Yeah, so some may think that this one came out of the blue, but really it didn't.  It started in high school.  I did an honors choir thing and one of the songs we sang was in Russian (it was actually the Tetris theme!  -->the music is a Russian folk song!).  I just thought it sounded so incredibly cool.  And below the English spelling of the text was the Russian - in Cyrillic.  I had absolutely no idea how to read it, but it looked awesome.  That same year, my dad went on a business trip to Russia and brought back all sorts of cool things from there.  Then, I had 3 or 4 friends called on missions to Russia.  My freshman year a guy in my ward whom I became friends with was from Russia.  And for some reason, the cable we had on the TV on our floor in the dorms had a Russian channel... I'm still not sure why.  Somehow, I always ended up being close friends with people who served in Russia.  I randomly happened upon this unknown foreign singer whose music I loved... and eventually found out she was Russian, and in fact singing in Russian.  Seriously, how does that even happen?  A few family friends in my ward back home speak Russian.  A bunch of my favorite movies have lots of Russian in them, and I hate not knowing what they're saying!  And then, the same Russian friend from freshman year randomly ended up being in my Biology class 3 1/2 years later.  That was the semester that I decided I was finally going to buckle down and start learning.  

So on my own, in December I started to learn Russian!  I found a sweet program online called byki.com - which I highly recommend, as it is free - that gives you flash cards with pictures and the vocab words, and does it in 5 different steps so by the end there is no way you don't know the words!  It is absolutely fabulous... but only so far as learning vocab words.  As far as formulating sentences, understanding the roots, adding verbs and their respective conjugations... I needed a bit more help.  So for Christmas, I got a Russian grammar book, a "555 Russian Verbs" book, and an English-Russian dictionary (and a Russian Book of Mormon).  I was really good at studying it for about a month and it sort of died down from February/March until... now, actually (I was a bit pre-occupied in those months in between!).  Last week I finally got back into it and was surprised at how many of the words from byki I'd remembered!  That program seriously rocks (it comes in 70+ different languages too, fyi).  This week I FINALLY started trying to figure out and understand the basic grammar.  More to come on that...

3.  Italian.  It sounds cool, I would love to go to Italy, and it would be awesome to know the language once I finally make it there one day.  Plus, one of the biggest reasons is because it is very similar to Spanish... so once I fully pick up Spanish, Italian won't be that difficult to learn.

4.  Portuguese.  This one is quite similar to what I just said about Italian.  It is even more similar to Spanish and thus, won't be too difficult to learn if I have a solid foundation of Spanish first.

5.  Ukrainian.  Again, a similar answer to 3 and 4, but Ukrainian and Russian are quite similar as well.  If I become fluent in Russian, I want to learn Ukrainian as well, since they are already share so many close similarities.  

Well there you have it.  For those of you who didn't know, now you know: I love languages... and I have a whole list of ones that I want to learn in my lifetime.  Hopefully I will get to all 5 of those, but if not... I'd be relatively satisfied if I mastered Spanish and Russian.  Those are my main two.  What are yours? :P

1K in the UK

Okay, so I just had the weirdest conversation ever. An old friend whom I have not seen nor spoken with in over three years (just stayed in touch via the whole facebook thing) randomly messaged me tonight. I thought "hey that's cool - we haven't talked in forever, sure why not." But as the conversation progressed, it honestly left me wondering if my friend's account had been hacked or something. Here's the basis of what was said (I changed the name, and omitted most of my 'reaction' IMs):  

Jane 

hello 

Marisa 

hey there! how's it going? 

Jane 

am not doing good am presently in the UK 

been here 3days now 

the bad news is i was attacked yesterday 

I was robbed coming from the Mall back to my hotel room 

they got away with my money, credit cards e.t.c 

I was luky to have some money and few of my stuffs behind 

Marisa 

how long are you in the UK for? 

Jane 

am suppose to stay till Sat 

just came for a one week vacation to see what it looks like here 

I cant stay anylonger, am scared and worried a lot!!! 

my funds are not enough to settle the hotel bills and purchasing a Flight ticke back home 

Marisa 

oh my gosh are you there by yourself?? 

Jane 

yea 

Marisa i don't know how wiring money works, but could you have someone here wire you money?

Jane 

got some assitance, but the funds are not enough 

can i get a $1,000 loan from you. I will make the refund as soon as i get back please 

Marisa 

i really wish i could help, but i have absolutely zero money in the bank right now :/

i haven't had work since april 

i'm so sorry! :(

Jane oic 

sorry to hear that, can you help me with a loan I will pay back as soon as i return 

Marisa 

i don't have any money to loan :(

Jane okay 

Marisa i have negative money right now  

sorry  

Jane k 

Marisa 

do you have any family who could help you?? 

or you could maybe get into contact with the nearby bishop 

Jane 

dont worry since you cant be of help 

i hope i'll be assisted soon  

Wow, talk about random... and strange. And if Jane truly is in trouble, I feel so awful for her. However, though I may not have talked with her in quite some time, this just doesn't seem like her. And to me it would seem that if you were in a situation similar to this one, you would contact any and all family members first to see if they could help you out. Next, your closest friends. But asking a $1,000 loan of someone you haven't seen in years would be last on my list. Plus, Jane is one of the sweetest and most soft-spoken girls that I know and for her to (1) disregard my initial statement that I had absolutely no money in the bank and proceed to ask a second time, and (2) to end with "don't worry since you can't be of help" the second she's realized I'm not giving her any money just really makes me think someone got into her account without her knowledge, trying to get money out of people. Because I don't know about you, but if I were in a situation like that, I would take any and all advice anyone would be willing to offer!  Regardless, I hope my friend is okay... and if it's a hacker, I hope he/she is stopped as soon as possible!

Anyway, there is my weird tale of the day...

Remember The Sabbath Day, To Keep It Holy

How do you explain to someone who isn't LDS why you don't do certain things on Sunday?  I haven't really had this as an issue since high school, because I went to Utah right after I graduated and was there for the next 5 years.  Somehow it seems like it was easier in high school, or you could always blame it on your parents (I used to walk into the room -while still on the phone with said friend- shaking my head and ask my mom, "Mom, can I go to such&such next week?"  She'd catch on, say "no", and that was that.  It was my way of getting out of things I didn't want to go to, because then my friend would hear my mom say "No" and that would be the end of it).

However, I don't have Mom to say 'no' for me anymore.  Since I've been in L.A. it seems that everyone who isn't LDS goes to bars for social outings.  And Sunday is just another day in the week where anything can happen.  Yes, I have been to a bar before and no, I didn't have anything... but I have discovered that they just aren't the most comfortable of places for me to be.  I will still go when the situation calls for it (wrap parties, networking opportunities, etc), but I try to keep it to a minimum.  This one however, is not nearly as difficult as the Sunday factor.

Traditionally, Sunday is a day of rest.  It used to be that most things were closed on Sundays and it was a day that people went to church and spent time with their families, etc.  As we are all well aware, that 'tradition' has long since passed.  Even those who do go to church will still do other things afterwards.  Lots of people go out to eat after church.  Some may go see a movie, or to a concert, grocery shopping, etc.  I dealt with some of those quite frequently in high school.  On more than one occasion, I was invited to a concert - but it was on a Sunday and thus, I didn't go.  And I may have "missed out," but I felt good about my decision and was glad that I chose to decline on those offers.

Now, to those of you who may read this and aren't LDS, I will briefly explain why we don't do things such as eat out, see a movie, etc on Sundays.  I was always raised that you weren't to do anything on Sunday that would cause you or others to work.  There was even a popular primary song that started with "Saturday is a special day, it's the day we get ready for Sunday."  If we had groceries to buy, we did it on Saturday.  Instead of going out to eat to celebrate something, we made a huge dinner together.  Instead of going to a sporting event, we would play games together.  To me, Sunday was quite frequently a guaranteed bit of "family time."  I'd talk with my mom, watch a movie with my dad, play a game with my sister, etc.  

I know that I no longer live with my family, but that doesn't mean that I throw it all out the window just because I'm no longer there.  It runs deeper than that.  It has become a part of me and who I am.  If I ever participate in something on Sunday that I know I shouldn't, I get this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach and wish that I hadn't gone to or done whatever it was.  I feel so much more at peace when I keep to the things I know should be done on Sundays.

To me, Sunday is like my recharge day.  It's the one day of the week that I don't have to worry about everything that's going on in my life.  When I started college, I made it a goal to never do homework on Sundays.  I stuck with that, and it seriously made a huge difference.  It was the one day where I didn't have to be stressed about the next project, paper, test, etc.  I may not be in school anymore, but that still applies now with errands I may need to get done, bills I need to pay, etc.  

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work.” Exodus 20:8-10

These verses seem to be subject to interpretation these days, with justifications attached.  Now, I am not saying that if you do not 'keep the Sabbath day holy' that I think you are a terrible person or anything.  Some people are religious, some aren't, and some are in between; and that is a decision that you and you alone must make for yourself.  Regardless, I will still be just as good of a friend to you and love you just the same.  But for me, I just feel better about myself when I 'remember the Sabbath day' and 'keep it holy.'  I found this really great quote when thinking about this:

"When a community or nation grows careless in its Sabbath activities, its religious life decays, all aspects of life are negatively affected, and the blessings associated with keeping the Sabbath day holy are lost.  You should refrain from shopping or participating in other commercial and sporting activities that now commonly desecrate the Sabbath.  As you endeavor to make your Sabbath activities compatible with the intent and Spirit of the Lord, your life will be filled with joy and peace."

I definitely feel like my life has been "filled with joy and peace" because of that.  Test it out for yourself - see if it makes a difference.  I guess in the end, the answer for me is simple.  The Sabbath day is a holy day meant to be kept as such.  No matter how antiquated that may seem to some, I personally feel that it still applies today, and I will continue to observe it as best as I can.  

Boom De Ah Dah, Boom De Ah Dah

I don't know why, but I decided to write a list of random things that I love... and probably add to it from time to time.  So, in absolutely NO order whatsoever, here it goes:

-Rain and everything about it.  Dancing in it, playing in it, the smell of it, etc.

-My family --> ALL of them.  I love every single one of them for their own special reason(s) and no matter what any of them does, I will still always love them.

-Technology.  I could go on forever with this one, but seriously, how would we even get around nowadays without all the technology we are blessed to have?  The internet, cell phones, TVs, DVDs, electricity... you get the idea.

-Sunlight.  I can't explain to you why, but sunlight just makes me happy.  I don't do nearly as well in places with cold winters because it is always dark and gloomy and just depresses me.

-The Gospel.  I probably love the gospel more than anything else in this world.  I love my family, and everything else on this list, but if I had to give it all up for my religion, my standards, and my beliefs, I would do it.  I have a testimony that can never be removed, and no one can ever take it away from me no matter how hard they may try.  I love this gospel, I love my Savior, and I love this church.

-Pillows!  They just make sleep SO much more enjoyable... and trust me, I really love pillows.  Currently, there are 7 different pillows of various shapes and sizes on my bed. :P

-Nature.  I think I gained a greater appreciation for nature when my family moved to D.C.  Our backyard was basically a huge forest that I could go deep into for miles.  It became my thinking place, and it's just always so peaceful in nature.

-Camping.  To go along with the previous one, I love camping.  I know most girls don't seem to enjoy it, but oh I love it!  If I could afford it, I would have a whole stash of camping gear and go whenever I got the chance!

-Storms.  When I was younger, the second it started thundering and raining, my mom and I would go outside on our front porch and watch the storm.  I miss the daily 'sun showers' and lightning and thunderstorms we had in Florida!

-IKEA.  Haha this one made me laugh even putting it down, but I seriously love that place.  They have the coolest things!  And my room is proof of it - it's pretty much all from IKEA - from my bedding down to my trash can.  

-Culture.  I don't know why, but I LOVE learning about different cultures!  If I could afford it, I would travel the world. 

-Languages.  I have this thing for languages and I just love them!  Even if I don't understand what others are saying, sometimes I just like listening to it.  My current goal of languages to fully master before I die are: Spanish, Russian, Italian, Portuguese, and Ukrainian - in that order.

-'Shade' shirts!  They just make life easier... 'nuff said.

-The ocean.  Oh my gosh I can't even begin to tell you how much I missed the ocean until I finally saw it again... and got in it... and was just there on the beach, listening to the ocean waves crash against one another.  There is just something about oceans and waves that are so beautiful and calming.

-Movies.  There is always a movie for any mood and they are great to pass the time!  Plus, it's what I do - how could I not include it? :)

-Learning.  And I don't mean education, though that is important.  But I love learning, and I love it most when it isn't forced, but by choice.  I love learning languages, how to do new things, new sports, how to fix things, etc.  I love learning new things.

-Sports!  Yes, I'm weird - I quite enjoy most sports.  And I would rather be playing than watching, though I do actually enjoy watching many sports as well (especially football and basketball).  I remember when I was about 8 and the 49ers were playing in the Super Bowl... I had to go to bed before the game ended and the first thing I asked my mom the next morning was "who won!?"

-Roller coasters.  Love 'em!  When I was 6, I was too small to ride "Anaconda" (King's Dominion), but while the other family members were arguing about who was going have to stay behind with me, our turn in line came up and we were all rushed into the next... cart (what are they called?) and I thought it was the coolest thing ever - especially that I got to ride it even though I was too short!  I have been hooked ever since. :D

-Sharing the Gospel.  With the exception of my years at BYU, I have always been one of very few LDS people in my area or school... and I loved it.  I hardly ever was given a hard time about being Mormon, but instead was constantly asked questions about it.  I love sharing what I know to be true with others.  Any question that is asked, I will gladly answer - or find the answer.

-Being left-handed...and ambidextrous.  By definition, I am left-handed and I do love being 'different'!  However, I am almost 100% ambidextrous and I love it!  Give me a pen and I can write for you in my right hand almost equally as well (just takes longer).  And in sports, I am almost always right-side dominant, though some sports it doesn't seem to matter because I am actually too equally 'dominant.'  Weird, huh?

-My friends... from all stages of my life.  It seems that most of my friends come and go depending on where we all are in life, but for the time that I have with them, I am grateful.

-Extra-special friends.  Basically, the ones who deeply impacted me in some way or another, and/or the ones I spent all of my time with.  My first best friend was Kimberly Olson-Moore - I met her when I was 3 and we were neighbors.  Elementary school was Omar Reveron - he translated for me on our school bus (I was the only non-Spanish speaking one).  Middle school was Jessi Gay, Ashli Slife, and Emily McGuire ... you get the idea.

-Life experiences - all of them.  You know how people will sometimes ask that cliche question "if you could change anything from your life, what would you change?"?  Well, my answer is cliche!  I wouldn't change anything!  Each experience I have had - good or bad - has helped make me into the person that I am today.  I may not have loved the experience itself, but I love what life experiences do to one's character.  I love the opportunities and growth that come from it.

-Animals!  There is just something about animals that you can't help but love.  I bet every single person likes at least one animal.  My favorite by far is dolphins... then cats.  If I could have a pet dolphin I would.  

-LDS Temples.  I'm pretty sure there is no other more peaceful place in the world that you can go.  I absolutely love the temples.  I love looking at them, going to them, and doing ordinances inside of them.  I love that here I can be sealed for time and all eternity to my family.

-Games.  My family is a big game family.  It's just what we do!  Whether it's a board game or cards, a silly little game like "telephone" or one that makes you think.  I just love games!

-Singing.  I love singing almost all styles and genres, but my favorite is actually singing hymns a cappella with a friend (Mary, I miss this so much!!!)

-Music.  Figured I should cover this in a very broad way.  Whether it's listening to music, playing music, learning a new instrument... I love it all.  Music is one of those universal things that is just great anywhere.

-Dancing!!  And mostly I'm talking about partner dancing.  Old school dancing.  Ballroom kind of stuff.  First and foremost being swing, of course... but waltz, cha-cha, etc... man I just love it!  I wish so badly that people nowadays still knew how to dance like that and that it was commonly seen at 'dances' still...

Okay, I guess I will end for now.  But I am almost certain that this will be one of those blog entries I am constantly adding more to.  

Let Freedom Ring

Well, of course, I have to write about the 4th of July.  I have been thinking about it a lot this year - more so than in years past.  I have always been proud to be American, but I think in times past, I have taken for granted the fact that I was blessed to be born and raised in this country.  

Though I would absolutely love it, I am not much of a world traveler, and thus not been in many situations where I have had to "defend" my country very often.  However, for various reasons, I felt like I was constantly having to defend it the earlier this year.  They started out 'in good fun,' but the more jokes on America I heard, the angrier I got.  One night, I got so fed up with hearing joke after joke about America that I promptly went home and listened to the Lee Greenwood song "God Bless The U.S.A." about 5 times in a row.  That song never meant more to me than it did that night.  

But in having to actually defend my country, I gained more pride in my country and my roots than ever before.  Sure, this country hasn't been around (or, established) for thousands of years, but it still has history.  We have traditions and folk tales, historic sites and battle grounds, and so on.  This country was founded by God-fearing people who wanted a better life for their posterity and wanted to ensure that certain "unalienable rights" could never be taken away from anyone.  What better grounds for a country to be established upon? 

 

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

That is directly from the Declaration of Independence.  

And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

These men who signed the Declaration were of the first to give their lives for our freedom.  That has carried on through today, with so many citizens of this country currently at war to protect and preserve this free country.  Have you ever noticed how frequently the phrase "it's a free country" is used here?  Have you ever been in a different country?  Do they freely say that?  Those of us who are blessed to live in this great country, do we really realize how lucky we are?  Last summer, I took my first trip out of the U.S. and went to Australia.  I was in the car with an Australian family as well as another girl from the U.S.  The mother asked a question to my friend that she didn't particularly want to answer and so she said "I plead the 5th."  I don't think the Australian woman quite picked up on it, as she had a very confused look on her face after that.  We have a Bill of Rights too, that gives us the "right to remain silent" or, Plead the 5th.  

One of the biggest and greatest blessings is our freedom to worship however we so choose!

  

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;"

And this isn't the 6th or 12th or 27th amendment - it is the first.  And not only is it part of the 1st Amendment, but excerpt is the very first sentence!  There was no greater importance to our Founders than to be able to be a part of whatever religion they so chose.  Not every where in the world has that freedom (ie China, for example).  Without that "bill of right", the gospel would not have been able to be restored, and life as I know it would cease to exist.  I love my religion with all my heart, and thank God for our Founding Fathers who fought for all that they did, but especially for freedom of religion.

I AM proud to be an American and I love my country dearly. I know it has its problems and difficulties, but in the end, there is no other country I would rather live in.  I have faith in this country and can never forget what it has given me.  I have written plenty to suffice for now, but I want to leave you with the lyrics (and video) to "God Bless the U.S.A.", as there is no other song more fitting to listen to on the 4th of July.

If tomorrow all the things were gone I’d worked for all my life, 

And I had to start again with just my children and my wife. 

I’d thank my lucky stars to be living here today, 

‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can’t take that away.  

And I’m proud to be an American where as least I know I’m free. 

And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me. 

And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today. 

‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A.  

From the lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee, 

across the plains of Texas, from sea to shining sea,  

From Detroit down to Houston and New York to LA, 

Well, there’s pride in every American heart, 

and it’s time to stand and say:  

I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free. 

And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me. 

And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today. 

‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A!

Sing Me A Song

Okay, I want to know what changed.  Up until three years ago I was writing lyrics sometimes 6-7 times a month.  From 9th grade until then, it had become my 'escape' and my way to 'express my feelings' or whatever.  I had more lyrics than music, but what I had I shared with friends.  It was a big part of why I wanted to major in Media Music once I got to BYU (I also wanted to do film scoring, as I have been obsessed with film scores for as long as I can remember).  I was so determined that that was what I wanted to do, yet somehow in the midst of everything, I turned into this shy and timid person when it came to me, my voice, and my music.  I don't know if I had a bad experience that I just blocked from my memory or what, but at some point, I just totally pulled back and never shared any of it with anyone anymore.

Me in Summer of 2004

I also became way too self-critical of my stuff and I wouldn't even let anyone read or listen to it; and when I did... I felt like it would have been better to have just kept it to myself - even if someone did say they liked it!  How's that for messed up thinking?

Then, I got to BYU.  I was so gung-ho about getting into the School of Music and was doing everything I possibly could to get in.  I even finagled getting into the Songwriting class my first year there (which is hard to do - especially as a freshman - unless you're already in the major).  But I suddenly felt like a fish out of water, and clammed up even more than before, which caused a major nose dive for me in that class.  I still tried for the next year or so, but eventually must have just given up all together, because at some point in '06, I stopped writing.  At that point, I had filled 4 1/2 notebooks of lyrics and ideas, chord progressions and melodies, and I apparently just... stopped.  December 2006 was my last one.  

I did however end up getting into the School of Music.  But not for Media Music - for Sound Recording.  At that point, I had abandoned the Media Music track all together and gone to--you know what... I went to what was safe.  I had no doubt that I could succeed with Sound Recording.  It was the technological side of things that always seem to come naturally to me.  

I think most of my life, I have been afraid of failure.  If there was a possibility I wouldn't succeed in something, I just wouldn't try it.  That changed when I did Young Ambassadors.  Truth be told, I did it to go to Australia.  I didn't even know what the group was when I joined - I just knew that it was my ticket to Australia.  And it turned out to be one of the most bittersweet things ever; one of those "glad I did it, but never do it again" sorts of things.  Again, I was doing the 'tech' side of things.  I knew I could do it, and I was good at it.  I knew I couldn't fail.  But then, I started to see how much fun the performers had and decided that that was the end I wanted to be on.  I thought about auditioning for the next year, but quickly dispelled that idea... for fear of failure.  But you know what?  I finally conquered that fear.  I auditioned anyway.  And I "failed."  I didn't even make callbacks.  But I auditioned.  

Who knows if I'll ever actually be in a show or not, or sing an original song in front of an audience.  What I have learned is that you never know until you try.  If you want it, go for it.  And if with that attempt comes failure, so be it.  It will only make you stronger.  Tonight, for the first time in almost 3 years, I wrote another song.  And who knows, maybe one day, someone will actually hear it too. :)

Then A Hero Comes Along

I have officially been on the set of "Heroes", seen all the locations, and even helped mic a few of the actors.  I saw the infamous loft in New York City, Arthur Petrelli's office where he was killed, Mohinder and Matt's apartment, the abandoned Coyote place where Angela Petrelli's family was killed, and some room that I didn't recognize.  Ironically enough, none of those locations I just mentioned were used the day I was there.  We were filming in some building that had a safe.  I have no idea where it was supposed to be... D.C. maybe?  There was a big fight scene with Peter and a new character that took half the day.  But it was awesome because instead of watching the "behind-the-scenes" stuff on a DVD, I was there to witness it myself! (This was the first time I'd been on set where actual fight scenes and stunts occurred)  They had this guy attached to a wire and pulled him back at full speed... at which point, he went flying (back first) into a wall.  It was awesome.  The guy hit so hard that when he stood up, he was practically rocking back and forth.  Oh, and apparently this guy played Darth Maul on the Star Wars Episode I movie.  And I don't watch The Office, but one of the cast members from that is dating a guy who was on set that day, so she was there as well. 

The other half of the day we were filming at a carnival that was supposed to be in Japan.  

By the time we wrapped, it was about 2:30am.  Now, normally 2:30am isn't so bad for me... but before I went to the Heroes lot that day, I had been working on another no-pay film short in Culver City that started at 5am.  So by the time I made it home and to bed, I had been up for almost 24 hours straight.  Let's just say, it was pretty easy to fall asleep!!

Also, the sound mixer for Heroes was absolutely awesome.  He was so incredibly helpful with telling me how to jump through all the hoops and become part of the sound union (695) here...and hopefully I will be able to find 100 days of paid work so I can join the union.  Yeah... unions.  I hate unions.  But, it's a necessary evil here.  And the whole thing I have discovered is like a Catch 22.  You can't join the union until you have 100 thoroughly documented days of PAID work, and you can't get most 'paid' work until you have joined the union.  Luckily, Utah has no union and I've made a pretty good network there, so I just may end up working on a few more films in Utah in the next year or two.  Boo for Utah, but yay for paid days of work (I haven't gotten a real paycheck since the last week of April!  I need paid work!!!).

Well, that's it for now.  I have no other upcoming gigs as of it, but hopefully something will surface soon!