I'm Practically a Whole Person

Okay EASILY the most important thing is that Present Pictures offered me a JOB!!!

Basically, I get to take the job of my supervisor for a little bit while she's away and THEN they're going to try to transition me into doing something for their new film (like a PA!!!) and then they are going to TRRRYYY and keep me at Present Pictures!!!!

I could DIE!

DIIIE!!

And on a related, and also incredibly important note, this means I'm going to stay in LA!!! I already told my grandparents a few nights ago (since I was clearly about to explode!) and they were so pumped! Then I told my mom today and she said she kind of already figured... further proving why she doesn't get to be my first call in these situations.

Also, they are taking me out to lunch on Tuesday! I have to make sure that I consolidate all of my questions for them! And one question from my grandpa, which was actually a good one.

But AAAAAHHH!!!

So in other news, I did my Chords recording for "Torn" with my friend Devon's dad. Her dad is the COOLEST!! He worked with Michael Jackson AAAAND he worked on The Princess Bride!!! Which means he's actually MY dad, I'm pretty sure. Do you understand that those are like... my two favorite pieces of entertainment?! Brilliant! Plus, recording was awesome. He taught me a lot about how things get mixed and mastered and altered. AND I'm SOOOO happy that this all happened, given how devastated I was when I lost my voice before. I'm just so glad it worked out!

Plus, amazingly enough, it was VERY close to the store I wanted to go to for clothes shopping! I got like... 6 shirts and a pair of pants and a bra and a NEW BAG!! The bag shopping was a little rough though. I never really buy bags, so I was surprised at how expensive a lot of them were. Plus it's important to get the right type of bag. For instance, I need to be able to fit a book into my bag. Plus, I really wanted a special pocked just for my keys, phone and wallet thing (cigarette holder full of cards and occasionally cash (mostly $1 for parking)). It was tricky business, but I finally got one that I'm pretty sure I like. It's purple, shmancy (compared to the Blythe bags) and only $18. Plus, I've discovered the key to not wearing t-shirts all the time, which is to NEED to dress up. I even wear my nice shirts on the weekend because... they're there. What I'm saying is that I haven't worn a crappy t-shirt in WEEKS! Which... hasn't been the case for possibly my entire life.

I also bought new underwear, although if I had to be honest with myself, it may have been a ploy to avoid doing laundry. I'm adequately ashamed of my motives. And I also got some more mini-sock-things for my flat shoes and they are AMAZING because they have a rubbery heel so that they don't slip off your feet while you're walking. I consistently forget the miracle of new things.

And actually, I've rediscovered the miracle of these tweed-ish pants that I bought before I came here. They are soooooo comfortable, and when I wear them, I kind of feel like I'm in the 70s, which gives me great pleasure. So... great!

I talked to my dad the other night, which was nice. Although it was only a 17 minute conversation, which was a little disappointing. Yes I do check the amount of time that I talk to people, although the most satisfying numbers come from my chats with Kevin. I'm not sure how the billing works, but I'm pretty sure nights and weekends are free across the board. I guess the phone companies don't anticipate that 90% of my phone time is spent between 10pm and 12:30am. Awesome.

Lastly, Pat did an AMAZING painting of Brooke Shields the other day which I feel compelled to share!

BEAUTIFUL!!

I think the time has come for me to do another painting. Preferably before I wash my sheets (because I paint on my bed... to be clear).

So in summation, I am such a grown-up, fully on my way to becoming a whole real person. Driving, wearing nice clothes, having a job, making my own food with ingredients (although... the ingredients are still almost exclusively for guacamole... but still!).

I LOVE LA!

And Pat is a brilliant painter.

Multiple Missions Accomplished

Oil change accomplished. That's the biggest thing. Which also means I was finally able to have a chat with my grandpa. Thank god.

Also, I bought Official Book Club Selection by Kathy Griffin and Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. PUUUMPED! And I got a gyro and a burrito. AND headphones and a pair of scissors (I lose scissors WAY more than any other item. I will present some theories about this phenomenon at a later date (when I have some)). So many accomplishments this weekend! I even tried to get a lightbulb to cure the pervasive darkness of my room (I think that light went out several weeks ago). Unfortunately, the lightbulb I got was too big. I don't really care though.

I DID think new clothes and a bag were in the cards, but... my error in judgement came with buying the books first. I was too excited to continue shopping. And likely too intoxicated by my gyro food coma.

I think the most noteworthy thing is that I saw Shutter Island!

Part 1. The Theater-- We went to the Arclight theater and it was the COOLEST! First of all, obviously stadium seating. Also, you get assigned seating when you get your tickets so there is no roaming around and saving seats and all that business involved! PLUS the space between the rows of seats is so big that when people pass you, you don't have to get up! They don't even TOUCH you! AAAND the arm rests are at least DOUBLE the normal size AND have cushions on them! AAAAAND there are no commercials, only previews! Plus, people aren't allowed to enter the theater if they are late. This is like... my dream theater. Except in my dream I pay $7.50 and in reality I paid $15.50! (there's no such thing as free admission... even in my dreams)!

Part 2. The Film-- I REAALLY liked it! I was the least disappointed ever! Although I'm pretty sure it really helps that I had zero expectations. In my mind, the pros of Scorsese and DiCaprio were overshadowed by the cons of Ruffalo (illegitimate as my dislike may be) and the horror genre. BUUUUT it definitely was NOT so much a horror as it was a thriller! And Mark Ruffalo was fine. And DiCaprio was heaven. I can't say anymore because I'm positive that ANYTHING will give it away, and I want you all (all three of you) to have a pure experience.

Part 3. The Hookers-- I saw HOOKERS afterwards! Just walking on the street! Doin' how they do! Awesome!! What do hookers think about Pretty Woman? I need to know!

Lastly, my official halfway point of this trip is on Saturday, March 6 at midnight. This is significant because I had said that I would decide whether or not I am staying here halfway through. Although I never made an official decree over whether my final decision will be on that day, or whether that will be the beginning of negotiations (with myself (the toughest kind)).

Oh god... I'm scared.

Godsend

I'm sure other things happened today, but right now the most significant is that there have been about a jillion books in the entrance to my apartment for a few days. Today I decided to take a peek in case I wanted to take one (I have to assume at this point they are there for the taking... or else someone made a serious storage error with their books). LOOK AT WHAT I FOUND!!

If the question is do I want to read a slutty Chinese detective story, the answer is HEEEELL YEAH!

Right? RIGHT?!!

The Week in Review (on Tuesday) and a Blythe Definition

Before I start, EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE BLOGS! Well... not that I can say what people should or should not do... but it is very fun for me to read blogs! So... if you have one that I don't know about... or there is one that you think I should read, please let me know! This is inspired by MONIQUE'S BLOG, over which I could die with excitement!

Ok

This week is heavenly.

1. Got the moneys (except STILL not officially... but enough that I celebrated with a double helping of guacamole (except I apparently do not seem to have the capacity to eat more than 2 avocados at a time (thank GOD!))).

2. It is SUMMER here. Yes, my intention is bragging. But it's actually hot. Today I took a walk and sweat was involved. Awesome.

3. I had/continue to have practically zero class this week. Monday was off for the presidents... although I still had work. However, I got off early which was ESPECIALLY lucky because I had so little money that I couldn't even afford a soda... so I fell asleep at 5pm that day (soda's bad blah blah, I shouldn't be dependent on it. Whatever. I'm just stating the facts). Then I had our speaker class today. Then my lame class was cancelled for Thursday. AWESOME!

4. My Present Pictures people invited me out to get margaritas with them this Friday! I'm such a grown-up!!!!

5. Also, this week, because of the moneys, I'm going to do some things that I've been putting off way WAY too long.

-I need headphones (I haven't had headphones for over a month... living with 2 roommates. INSANE!).

-I need my oil changed (I've had ACTUAL nightmares about the oil changing).

-I need at least two more shirts as I have been rotating the same three for a MONTH!

-Which brings me to laundry... you can guess the state of that situation.

-AAAAND I am getting a new bag so that I don't look like an asshole with my stained, bright orange and pink tote. It's embarrassing and I wanted a new one for LA... but it never happened.

-PLLLUUUUS after I get my oil changed I can call my grandpa! I've only called him once since I got here, and that was an INCREDIBLY brief exchange... and I haven't called him since because I know he'll be upset about the oil changing. I need to tell him so much!!!

-And I'm getting one new book.

If you think I'm going crazy with the spending, you should know that according to my calculations, I've spent a total of $220 so far in LA! EVERYTHING included... like GAS! In a month! I think that's pretty incredible. I'm pretty sure I've eaten 48 eggs in that amount of time... which is relevant because eggs are a cheap meal. Do you get it? 48 eggs in a month! Crazy.

(Although I am grateful that I even have good food like eggs and guacamole. I really am.)

So today we had guest speakers. Actually we had a screening of a movie and then the writers/directors and the producer talked to us. The movie was a horror movie, a genre that I don't gravitate towards to begin with. It was OKAY (I'm not telling you what it is because they are still in the process of trying to sell it and I'm not sure what the rules are about talking about it... sorry). Actually I wasn't on board for about... the middle 20 minutes... but then I was okay with it. But after the guys talked to us, I was so impressed, I was essentially brought to tears. It was hard to be objective afterwards. AND like always, I was subject to another psychological breakdown comparing how impressive the people before me are, to how unimpressive I am-- not to be a downer on myself.

The issue is, I've never REALLY thought little of myself on a broad scale, but whenever these people come in, all I hear are things that I feel I'm too flawed to accomplish. But I refuse to define myself by things that I think I am good at and things that I don't think I am good at. After all, it is impossible to know what I will be able to change about myself, right? But actually that's exactly what I'm going to do right now because...I think I need to start somewhere.

Let's start with good (glass is half full). I am good at:

1. Not being a jerk/ not having a temper.

2. Enjoying what I do and what I have (although I'm not exactly a princess at this (yeah, princess), but I think I'm PRETTY good at it).

3. Doing things for other people, especially deserving people.

4. Writing this blog every day (I do consider that a skill).

5. Having the patience to learn new things like painting or juggling.

6. Obsessing over worthy (in my opinion) things and people.

7. Remaining calm and working things through when a decision has already been made.

8. Accepting what is in the past.

9. Staying focused.

I am not terribly good at:

1. Willing myself to be with other people, particularly people I don't know-- I just get exhausted.

2. Directions.

3. Having any ambition at all-- I tend to see myself serving other people in even my wildest fantasies.

4. Making BIG decisions (colleges, going to LA... any sort of thing that will affect me for a long time).

5. Self-motivating (which is MOST of the reason I don't think I could actually be a writer, despite what I CONTINUE to tell people).

6. I seem to be wretched at showing what I consider to be the REAL Blythe to people right away. I think in real life I can be pretty funny, but all I can seem to show is Superfresh Blythe. Damnit. This is kind of the second reason why I'm pumped about margaritas... hopefully I'll loosen up a bit.

I'm positive that I'm not great at MANY more things... and I'm probably good at other things also, but these are the qualities that I think of when it comes to getting a job. I need to understand these things about myself, figure out which of the bad things I can work on vs. which things will probably never change, and learn what kind of job I should get based on this rough estimate of who I am (even though I cringe to define myself in these parameters (because I'm pretentious, apparently)). And then I need to pursue some skills so that I can do it. This is what I need to do.

Honestly, I just feel like there is a HUGE gap in my knowledge. I know about a JILLION people now who are becoming teachers. Like practically half of my closest friends. And they go and student teach and learn curriculums and stuff. I feel like they are SET when they get out of college. But I am not good at ANY aspect of television. And I need some skills!

Still, at least I got to LA! And I have my foot in the door! SOOOOO lucky! I am almost positive this trip will become one of the top best decisions of my life. And it is a heavenly week.

Also, not to get weird, but I want to say that I am SOOOO glad that Kevin is a regular fixture in my life again! I don't know what I would do without him! And I'm pretty sure he is heavily HEAVILY contributing to my happiness! When he left for Australia, I cried for an ENTIRE day, and I don't think I was the same since... honestly.

I really do miss all of my friends, though! A LOT! A LOT a lot.

I Fear the Future

The following is an "it's my blog and I'll bore you with whatever I want" sort of statement:

I am the LEAST excited EVER for the day when everyone has internet on their phone! The fact that I can reasonably ignore an email for 36 hours on the claim that I simply haven't checked it yet is SUCH a comfort to me. What is going to happen when we all have internet on our phones and you get some sort of project or other annoying task announced via email. Three hours into your ignoring, they are going to know exactly what's up! How crazy-lame! Least excited EVER!

The Power of Intern

Completely regular day at CBS. I think the key to success in life may just be having the ability to memorize people's names quickly. I'm trying hard, but it's not exactly a skill of mine. I'm hoping to channel Bill Clinton.

ALSO, I don't know how specific I can be about this so... I'm not going to be specific at all... sorry. But I get to read fan mail all the time, which is practically my favorite part of the job... and it's HILARIOUS! Like... some of it is UNBELIEVABLE. A LOT of people write as though they are writing to the characters... in really bad grammar. Several people write in all caps with tons of exclamation points about things they are pissed about. My favorite one accused the makers of Y&R of being WITCHES (her words... although she spelled it "withches") because among other things, we have a character who is has the middle name and body of her son. And ... I can say with near certainty that these are NOT joke emails. Hilarious.

So I'd been reading fan mail from late October, and everyone has the same few things to say. They hate this character and this story line and they love this character and this story line-- and these are specific story lines... like I'll get 30 emails about one specific character... EVERYONE hates this character. And the people who hate that character REALLY threaten to not watch the show again. It worried me because even though I'm sure the upper people knew everyone wasn't on board with this specific story line and character, it seemed strange that I was consistently reading that a 20+ year viewer was going to stop watching because of how crappy this story line and character were. (ugh... there is more to this tale (especially since what I just said doesn't even constitute as a tale) but I don't feel like I can share without risking trouble)

Well then I found where the more current fan emails are located and I started to dip into that pile instead. Now people are totally on board with the person that everyone hated 3 months ago. And nobody cares about that character that they loved. And now there is a new character who was a recast, and there are a jillion emails about how he doesn't fill the part very well... but these emails are so kind. They are all like "(actor) is a good actor and seems nice, but he just doesn't work for the part of (character). You should recast (character) and give (actor) a different role on the show." How kind and reasonable. I am just amazed at how much everything changed! It's hilarious and bizarre. And be aware that I'm reading like... 100 emails per day. What I'm saying is based on a substantial amount of samples.

AAAAANYWAY

Today Diane (my roommate) and I went to this bar called Whiskey A Go Go because for her internship, she needed to check out this band (AWESOME)-- she had a plus one ticket (yeah, we needed tickets) and invited me to go.

So we ended up seeing this band called Acidic. The lead is 17 years old and the rest of the members are 19. They were SOOO good! The lead was just incredible on stage. He just had so much charisma and confidence, and definitely seemed like he was 21 or something like that. He seemed like a rock star. Plus he did have a pretty amazing voice. To be fair, I am not sure that I have much of an ability to separate how I might feel about music objectively from how impressed I was that these young kids were doing so well (terrible sentence. Sorry). But I really do think they were great. SOOOOOO energetic!! Plus one of them was SUPER cute, and he would smile adorably at the crowd. They just got accepted into South by Southwest, which is pretty awesome.

Afterwards, went met up with the band while they packed up. At first they obviously didn't care about us too much (although not in a mean way), but then Diane told them why we were there (Atlantic record label) and they got so excited and scrambled for business cards and CDs (although they didn't have any CDs with them, turns out). And then their producer came and chatted with us. That was neat and I felt like the shit... even though it wasn't even about me.

Afterwards we decided to stick around for the second band. Instead of standing by the stage, we decided to go upstairs and have a seat. We ended up sitting at a table with this kid who couldn't have been older than 13, but could have been younger for sure... I reflected over how much this kid must love music to be so young and just sit there alone listening to bands. I wanted to write a story about him.

So the next band is playing, and we're commenting on the super hotness of one of the guys (SUPER hot... and I'll try to find the band name but right now I have no idea), and the fact that they are British from the part of England (London?) that pronounces "weather" like "wev-uh." So the singer pulls this REALLY young boy on stage-- probs 8 years old or something (to be clear, these were the only children there). And the 13 year at our table turns to us and says "why the fuck is my brother on stage?" VERY disconcerting. Although after he says it, I see that the 8 year old is a shorter, blonder clone of this 13 year old. And the 13 year old continues to talk to us, not in an annoying way at all though. It was cute. Later we went downstairs so Diane could have "eye sex" with the hot one and the boy came downstairs a bit later and totally rocked out. Then he talked to the lead of Acidic (who joined the audience) and a man who was clearly the boy's dad took a picture. I think the dad must have owned or managed the club.

We talked to the hot guy after the show (Diane talked. I just looked and absorbed.) Also, someone from So You Think You Can Dance was there... but since I don't watch that show, I don't know who. All I know is that twice someone went up to a group of people and said "I loved you in So You Think You Can Dance!" Impossible to say who in the group they were talking to though.

I LOOOVE getting a chance to evaluate all of this entertainment. This weekend I'm going to finish that script I have to do coverage on, and then I have a film to watch so I can give Present Pictures my opinion on whether the film should be included in Festival Indies, (which is what we've been working on for ... ever now! VISIT THE SITE (please)! I just feel so powerful! Although not in a power hungry kind of way (hopefully). Just... I feel useful.

Midweek Update and I'm Quite Proud

Great news! The money is ALMOST IN!! I'm not going to elaborate really, except that as per usual, I had a spell of zero money (although not nearly NEARLY as bad as over the summer... which I'm pretty sure was an actual low-point in my money-life (hopefully?) (also, I reject the word "money-life" that I just made up... but I couldn't really call it a low point in my life in general... Whatever. Pressing on...))

While I was thinking of the burrito that I'm going to get, I realized that in the entire time I've been in LA, I only went out to eat ONE TIME! And that was to In-N-Out... which cost my $5.04 (don't know why I remember to the penny). That's pretty awesome and I fully intend on keeping it that way... save my burrito obviously.

Continuing on the topic of food-- avocados are quickly become one of my top 5 main sources of pleasure. I LITERALLY eat avocado every single day. I REGULARLY eat an ENTIRE avocado in a day. SOMETIMES I eat an entire thing of guacamole in one day, which consists of TWO avocados! Today I ate an entire thing of guacamole AAAAND there was a a quarter of avocado in my wrap this morning.

I eat avocado with eggs. I eat it in my wraps (I have a veggie wrap and an apple EVERY DAY for lunch. Proud?) I eat it in my salads (usually just a spinach and avocado salad... does that even count as salad?) I eat it by itself. Sometimes I pour a little balsamic vinaigrette into the pit hole of a half of an avocado and eat it that way. And obviously... I eat tons of guacamole! I refuse to believe that this is becoming a problem. Yes yes avocados are the fattiest vegetable blah blah, but at least they ARE a vegetable. When I start eating two tubs of Hagen Daz every day, then I'll start to put more thought into my food decisions.

ANYWAY, yesterday in my class we had a guest speaker, which is what the class is-- a series of guest speakers. As always it seems, I had the biggest anxiety attack after class was over. These speakers make the industry seem SOOOO scary and overwhelming. You get fired all the time and this person is going to scream at you and you're going to drop bajillions of dollars on a project that doesn't get past the script phase. Every time I leave one of these classes, I feel like I have to reevaluate myself and whether I will ever be able to take being in this business.

It's SO intimidating and really incongruent with what I've experienced so far-- that everyone is nice to the point of excess-- honestly I feel like a HUGE jerk if I don't think to let people off the elevator before me. And you'd think when you sit and watch on set, the workers would get annoyed that you're there and think you're in the way. NAY! They see you standing and they bring you a chair and ask you all about yourself! In fact, when I was on set today, these workers were making a lot of noise and the stage manager started to walk over to them. I thought they were going to get screamed at and my stomach got all tangled up in anticipation. But no, he just quietly asked them if they could bring the noise down. And at Present Pictures, everyone excessively appreciates every single thing I do to the point where I feel guilty accepting so much praise for something that was relatively simple.

Mostly I'm just excited for when I actually know solid pieces of information about the business. I've learned SOOOOO much in the past few weeks that it's pretty overwhelming. In my previous classes, they taught you how to write and KIIIIIIND of how to produce and BASICALLY how to make a video... but they didn't teach anything about where you bring your scripts and who buys the scripts and what the process to getting a film made is and where the money goes. And even as I'm starting to learn all of this stuff, I feel like I have gaping holes of missing information. It's as though I read an article about the film and television business for pleasure and basic information, instead of as though I went to a class and really LEARNED what I'm supposed to actually do.

I don't know if this is a great example, but I don't know how the camera men know where to put the camera on set. What happens is they do a quick rehearsal of a scene, then they shoot the scene, and then if there are no more scenes on that set, they scoot right over to the next set and do it again. I'm almost 1000% positive that they don't fill the camera men in on where to go before each shoot. So do they rehearse this before they start? Because that seems like a lot to remember. Do they look at a piece of paper. Is the director in the booth letting them know what to do via ear piece? And it's not like they are just sitting there. Sometimes the movements are fairly complex.

Also, I would like to know why soap operas are cheap enough to make that they can do an hour long production every day. Is it that the scenes are really short, which minimizes blocking, which means they can zip through it? Is it because the lines are dramatic so they don't have to see if something is funny? I don't want to be insulting, but are the writers paid less?

I would REALLY like to know what Present Pictures does when they are actually IN production. To be completely honest, I still only understand the CONCEPT of a producer... but I don't really understand the day to day stuff. Since it's a small production company, I have to assume they are more hands on. In fact, I want to know if they are connected to one agency and that's how they get scripts, or if people just send them scripts randomly, or if they get scripts from all sorts of agencies. I want to know how much a small company pays for a script. Does the company determine how many rewrites and give notes on the direction of the story? How do they find a director? Who does the casting? I just don't know!!!

"Blythe, you should just ask them! That's why you're there!"

"I know, but this seems like stuff I should already know even though I don't know how I would know... It's just embarrassing."

"You're working for free. They are SUPPOSED to be giving you information. That is your payment! Get paid, girl!"

"Settle down, inner Blythe, you nagging bitch face!"

In other news:

1. I'm not sure if it's prudent to start up my netflix again right away. After all, I still have 3 or 4 movies to watch for Present Pictures. Plus I have to finish reading a screenplay... so that's my weekend.

2. I have decided my next book shall be Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. Or Official Book Club Selection by Kathy Griffin. Or American On Purpose by Craig Ferguson (these choices define my level of intellectualism, I think... and I'm proud of that level).

3. Finished How I Met Your Mother. Obviously I enjoyed it or I wouldn't have followed through. Gotta say I particularly enjoyed the first half of THIS season. Although I feel like I tend to enjoy sitcoms as they ripen, which doesn't seem to be the case with many people. Also, Neil Patrick Harris got a front burner story, which... is basically the reason for my supreme enjoyment. I LOVE him!

4. No new celebs today. I avoided the autographs like the plague-- it's such a scary job! You'd think it would be my favorite part, but opposite. I'm terrified.

That is all for today (likely). I'm about to die of exhaustion.

A Little of Everything

I'm finding it difficult to post, mostly because I have a LOT to say. That's the silliest part about blogging--whenever I have nothing to talk about, I can write about how I felt about a movie made in 1999 for two pages. However, when tons of stuff happens, it's exhausting to thinking about updating because I know it might just take forEVER.

Let us commence.

The most thrilling part of my week was when I thought the people at Present Pictures MIGHT have offered me a job! I am still completely unsure, to be honest.

Here's what happened. There are basically three main ladies that work for the company, and one of their sisters has also been really involved in what they're doing. When we were in a meeting (thrilling!), one of the main ladies asked me what I thought I wanted to do after I graduate. I thought she was just curious so I gave her my big rehearsed talk that basically has no concrete information. What I mean to say is "I don't know" without sounding like "I don't care." It's a tricky dance. So afterwards, she told me that they are probably going to start production in May and that they would really love to have me around. I told them that I wasn't really sure if I wanted to stay, but that I definitely would let them know and it sounds amazing.

The issue is that I fully believed that they wanted me to stay as an intern, and I know that I wouldn't be able to do something full time without getting any money. HOWEVER, I was talking to the sister, who is VERY involved, and she told me that everyone really likes me and that she really hopes I come on board and some things about the company that made it seem MUCH more like they wanted me to be with them long term, which of course, sounds like a job.

Well, this was at the end of the day so I didn't really have much to say... I hardly could even react. When I got in my car, I almost wet my pants, though! I could feel it in my stomach! I ACTUALLY missed 2 turns on my way home (note: there are only 3 turns... awkward) because I was SOOOO excited. I told my roommates, mom, grandparents, and Claire! But the next day I didn't have work with them, and I began to feel like maybe they really DIDN'T want me to be there as a job. Maybe they DID want me as an intern. I deflated a bit. So I talked to Kevin about it for a long time, and we agreed that I should just ask them. Although it seems a little crass to ask about whether they will give me money, I want to be able to just tell them YES! This is my DREAM JOB! ALL I WANT IN THE WORLD is to be a part of AMAZING movies! Going to festivals, really getting to the vision of an artist... that sounds like a dream come true! And I don't care how much money I make as long as I can survive and start paying my loans back. But I want them to know that I'm on board so they don't look for someone else because they don't know how committed I am.

Anyway, I ended up talking to the girl who made me think they might want me for a job. She told me that she doesn't get to choose, but that I should ask the two main ladies about it. She said that they really need someone young and that I really click with them, and it's difficult to get people who you really click with. So even though I don't have an answer, I feel good that at least my enthusiasm for the job is out there... with the sister of the woman who needs to make the decision. Honestly though.... DREAM job!

I must mention that I'm really starting to understand how independent movies are really like a small business. I guess that's obvious, but it has a marketable product that COULD go huge but usually stays pretty small. It employs several people. It makes a little bit of money. But the people are passionate, they work hard, and they make a really individualized product that gets to do what it wants because they don't have higher up censorship. Backbone of America. I get it!

SPEAKING OF WHICH, if you have ANY ideas of blogs or facebook pages or twitter pages that people who might want to watch independent movies would go and see, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!! Pages of people who like Jason Ritter or Justin Kirk. People who like drumming or air drumming or hoola hooping. Maybe people who like romantic comedies. One of the movies has Jane Lynch, Adrien Grenier, and Michael McKean (This Is Spinal Tap). ANYTHING would be helpful!

Anyway anyway...

Also, I met another girl who is super SUPER nice and working at Present Pictures... she might be another intern or... more than an intern. I'm not terribly sure. But she's Jason Ritter's sister!! I don't want to be weird about that because I see her everyday, but... I think it's awesome!

Which leads me to my celebrity portion of the blog!

Darius McCrary:

You may recognize him a Eddie Winslow in Family Matters... which is how I recognized him. I saw him in the hall and I did a double take and he smiled at me. I didn't think I would be able to mention him, because I'm not allowed to mention celebrities I see in the hall in case it gives away a guest star from one of the shows. Turns out, he plays "Malcolm" on The Young and the Restless... so I'll probably actually talk to him at some point. Great.

Peter Bergman (Jack on Y&R):

SUPER sweet! Plus he really gives of an aura of being a star (but I don't mean snobby at ALL! Just ... regal). I really can't emphasize enough how nice he was. Also, I think he had the most legible signature.

Eileen Davidson (Ashley on Y&R):

Also very nice, although I only met her for a minute. I'm sure at some point I'll have to ask her to autograph some pictures.

Sharon Case (Sharon on Y&R):

She was kind. She definitely has a LOT of fans and the juiciest story right now.

Daniel Goddard (Cane from Y&R):

Okay he actually looks more like this

I only had to drop something off to him, but he was one of those instantly charming guys. He was about to change so he had to leave right away, but he shook my hand and called me "baby girl." I was a little shaken up afterwards.

Jess Walton (Jill from Y&R):

Also very nice... I guess I don't have much else to say on that. She had the best smelling dressing room... although none of them smelled BAD... and I told her that to make conversation, which was a little awkward.

Christian LeBlanc (Michael on Y&R):

Yeah I gave him the topless photo. I'll tell you what, he was AMAZINGLY sweet! Everyone was perfectly kind, especially Peter Bergman and Michael Muhney (whose picture I put up last time), but... Christian LeBlanc was incredibly great. I really liked him a lot!

But actually, another thing about Michael Muhney (Adam) (here's another picture because the last one was a little lame... but do you see the Justin Kirk-ness?):

Anyway, when I brought him up last week, I hadn't said anything to him... I just saw him in the office. This time I had him autograph stuff... and he was SOOOOO enthusiastic and pumped about everything! And totally sweet. He was in the dressing room of Sharon Case and offered to sign while she was. I only had one pen so I offered to run up to get another one, but he wouldn't have it and went to his dressing room to get one. There is more to this story, but I don't think I should really talk about it in a blog. BUUUUUT two days after that happened, I saw him because he switched dressing rooms with someone, and as I was leaving he said "bye Blythe!"

HE KNEW MY NAME!

Isn't that sweet??!!!! It makes me want to root for his character... even though his character is EASILY the most evil one right now. Oh well.

Also, I technically met two other actors, but I wasn't impressed enough to put the energy into finding a picture, posting it and saying they were fine or okay or something. It's better just to say that I wasn't impressed with two people. ALTHOUGH neither were actually bad or really bitchy or anything. Maybe in a few days I'll think they're great.

ANYWAY, the best part about working at The Young and the Restless is PROBABLY reading the fan mail. I just think it's great, and it really informs me a lot about the show. Also, everyone is super nice. Not just the actors obviously, but all the people with whom I have to interact. They also let me sit in the studio to watch the shoots practically whenever I want. That is REALLY cool, although you can't really hear the dialogue too well, which I guess is to be expected. But the set is like a big dollhouse. All the rooms are open faced, and they look real on camera, but they look totally fake in life. When I was walking through the studio to get to the booth with another intern (there is another intern, although it's not really worth talking about... he's very nice though), we actually walked through the sets which I'd never done before. It was weird and it made me want to play house BIG TIME! HUUUUUUUGE TIME!!!

If I had all the money in the world, and very little guilt about how I spent it (or ideally, if everyone was living in "perfect harmony" so there was no need to feel guilty about having money), I would have a studio in my back yard with set rooms and I would throw big PLAYING HOUSE parties!!! Because then you could have a fake book store and a fake coffee house and you could quickly get to other people's houses to have fake drama. SO fun! I guess what I really want is access to THIS studio to play house, because if you really had tons of money and your own house and friends who had their own houses... if might ruin the fun of pretending you have a house. Whatever. You get the gist.

Also, I miraculously seem to know everyone who works in the offices already. I also know almost everyone that I have to interact with in the booth. I know two people in hair and make up and two people from wardrobe. I don't know the names of the editing people or special effects, but I know where to drop things off for them. And I know all of the actors that I've met and some whom I haven't yet met. It's getting easy pretty quick.

The last thing I want to mention is class. My two classes taught by one professor are pretty great. I've learned a TON, even though some of the stuff is a lot like economics or running a small business. But it's cool because I can relate what I'm learning to what I've been doing at Present Pictures. That's neat. In the other class, he just brings in speakers, which is fun, but also they seem to stress me out about how difficult it is being in this business. So... that kind of sucks... but it's also exciting. One of the guys was the director of photography (cinematographer, DP-- all the same) for Saw I-VI. Two were a big part of Martin Lawrence's career. One worked for the company who did Memento. So it's pretty cool.

The other class... well I'm growing some resentment. The biggest failure is that she asked us to create our own broadcast day... like make a schedule for a channel for an entire day.... and then we have to explain it. Fine. She told us it was due Feb. 11. In the syllabus it said it was due Feb. 11. I wrote down in class that it was due the 11th AND that it was due the day this lady was coming in, which is the 11th. So imagine my surprise when this monday I get an email saying that it's due THIS Thursday!

"I think there might be some confusion that I will take all the credit for: Broadcast Day is due this Thursday. I look forward to your ideas and creative approaches."

WTF!!??

Now, maybe I got the email at 10pm on Monday (when I got back from class!!) or maybe I got it on Tuesday (I also have class until 10pm). But either way, I essentially had Tuesday and Wednesday to do it for Thursday. AAAAAAAND I don't have a printer (most of us don't) so we have to go to the office to print, which closes at 5pm!! And I get out of work at 6pm every day! So the only other time to print is if you have class in the office, then you can print before or after class (they don't open the doors until class starts and they lock them after class is over). I only have class in the office on Monday and Thursday. So there was literally no time that I could print, except if I did it in my office at work, which I wasn't comfortable enough to ask to do... and I don't think I should have to, especially given the circumstances! So I ended up doing the day on my night off (Wednesday), although still late because I had scheduled a lot of phone dates for that day because that's the only day when I don't have to ask people to stay up until 1am to START a conversation with me! So I ended up staying up until almost 3am finishing this broadcast day. AAAAND I was asked to come into the office at 9:30am the next day to proof a brochure before it went to print. It was SUPER lame.

So the day this thing was due, I planned to print before class if I had time, although she often gets there a bit late and starts right away (and she has to unlock the door so I couldn't get in and do it) or print it afterwards and bring my laptop for the pitch. WEEEELL during class she had the GAUL to scold the people for emailing the project to her! (I didn't do that, but I felt for these people)! She told us that we should consider her as a boss and if a boss asked you to do a project, you wouldn't just email it to them because you didn't have time to print because that means you don't care. I WANTED TO SCREAM! I thought, if a boss had been telling me something is due in two weeks, and then pushed it up a week four days later, I would ABSOLUTELY not feel bad if I had to email it to them. I mean... there was simply no other way. They should be glad I even got it done!

Fortunately, only a few people presented their projects, and she told the rest of us to hold onto ours for two weeks from now (although I'm obviously going to redo mine (it was really crappy) for this week, because who knows). Luckily, I never tried to email her mine, so she has no idea that I didn't get it printed. So... I do feel lucky about that, and I am grateful... but it was still really lame.

And not to harp on this subject (too late), but the class is really useless. I understand that I'm already pissed by the above situation, which I believe is TOTALLY reasonable by the way, and that this is coloring my opinion of the class. However, ALL we discussed in class was whether we thought the Oscar nominations were reasonable, and whether there should be 10 nominations. That's IT!! In 2 hours (she left 1/2 hour early)!! I've only seen Avatar and Up, and she told us that she refuses to see Avatar for childish reasons (her words) and she told us that it was sad that almost all of us had seen Up but only one of us had seen The Hurt Locker. Why the fuck is she even teaching this class?! At the end of class, someone asked her if we had hit on anything in her curriculum, and she said we went through a lot of things. "We went through story and... " and then she got distracted and started talking about something else.

To be fair, I am resentful that I've only seen two Oscar movies... and not even just two for best picture. I mean two total. I think that's the worst I've ever done, and it's especially sad since my life suddenly revolves around movies more than it ever really has (and let's be real... it revolved around them a lot before). It just didn't help that I couldn't participate in one of my favorite conversations because I hadn't seen anything.

Still though, that class is USELESS and I don't like having to go to it exhausted.

Seriously last thing, but speaking of exhausted, I fell asleep for nearly my entire lunch hour yesterday. I was in my car and set my alarm just in case and then I just passed out. I woke up with a throbbing neck. Then when I got home, I fell asleep at 7pm while waiting for The Office to load. I woke up again at 11am today. This schedule is REALLY exhausting. I calculated the hours: 39 hours of work, 7.5 hours of class. Plus, I talk to Kevin for about 8 hours a week, which I kind of don't NEED to do, but in a much more real way, I REALLY do.

Today I spent the entire day catching up on The Office and The Daily Show. The Daily Show took hours because I was behind for about 2.5 weeks. Last weekend I had a lot to do and I spent ALL of Saturday finishing the 7th Harry Potter (good god! BRILLIANT!!). No time for Jon. I can't even catch up to The Colbert Report. I just have to catch it when I can. I haven't watched since it resumed after winter break. Luckily, I have almost no friends here, so the grueling schedule and days of catchup on the weekends are not ruining anything.

Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to update more next week. But who knows.

SORRY THAT WAS SO MUCH STUFF!!