my week off

Ever since I saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind a couple of years ago, I wanted to go to the beach in the snow. Well, it doesn't really snow here, but I managed to get to Ocean Beach on Monday in San Francisco's version of "winter" (which by the way, is my version of winter as well). I did something cheesy and wrote a personal burden- a thing that has been holding me back- on a rock and threw it with all my might into the Pacific. Moving on!!



Brian and I saw a lot of jellyfish, gross! and we walked down into the old Sutra Baths caves. We also saw this giant camera (click to zoom):



Yesterday was Susannah's 30th birthday and we went for traditional Thai massages, pedicures, and lunch. I'm actually a little sore today. That little Kwan has some serious hands.

Sandy is in town and we are going over to Brian's tonight for fondue and movies. I have about a million things on my to-do list and I overslept this morning. It was so weird- I was having a dream that I was at a big party at someone's house, and I had someone else's phone in my pocket, and I kept picking up all these different phones, looking for mine, and then my dream self thought I should ask someone to call my phone, and then my real life phone rang! (All of this before 7am.) It was bizarre.

In less happy news, my iPod got the sad Mac last night. *sniff*

I'll have a double-bitter karma machiato please.

Remember how I love airports? I am almost ready to retract the statement. On the way here from New Orleans a few days ago, my flight got cancelled and I got shuffled to another flight which ended up in Orange County instead of LAX because it was faster, and the American employee who booked me on that flight forgot to cancel my original LAX flight. SO, since I didn't show up for it the system automatically cancelled the entire rest of my ticket. SO, when I went online to check in yesterday, it told me my reservation had been cancelled. Uuuuugh. I called American and they got me all sorted out, but then today when I got to the airport, the self-service kiosk couldn't find my reservation. So I waited in the long line to see a service agent, and he dropped my ID behind his computer under the desk. I got it back, but it involved three men with tools taking apart the entire service center, which took about 20 minutes. Then the guy in front of me at Star*ucks couldn't order his "could I BE any more Frasier?" two-shot half-caff 180-degree espresso macchiato, and that took an extra 10 minutes, and then the guy who made my coffee heard "decaf" when I said "double" so he had to remake my drink. Decaf??? Do I look like I want decaf???? *bangs head on wall* THEN I get to my gate and my flight is delayed. Seriously, how did I piss off the universe this weekend?

Thursday was good- Ashley and I went to Swingers and the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, then I met Nathaniel for Across the Universe and Indian food. I liked the film- I think it was lesser than the sum of its parts and not sure it really worked as a whole but it was visually stunning and I liked a lot of the numbers a LOT. I cried all the way through Let it Be. We didn't get back to Anaheim until close to 2am and had to wake up at 4 hours later for our crazy show- loaded it in, audited, invoiced, collected, and loaded out in16 hours. Insane. By the time we got out of there we were both cross-eyed, but it was nothing a nice dirty martini couldn't take care of. I love working with Ashley so I was in a pretty good mood despite the day.

Brian is coming over tonight and we are making hummus and tyrokafteri and drinking wine and talking about our respective failed love lives. Actually, we probably won't talk about that at all because we'll end up on some tangent that has nothing to do with anything, but we'll have a great time. I have about a week and a half off, which I am really looking forward to. Suzy and I are getting Thai massages for her birthday on Tuesday, and I am going to look for a part-time job for November and December.

Does anyone want to fly to Anaheim for Nov. 10-11?? I will be there for 2 short shows (Wed-Fri and Mon-Wed) and it's too much trouble to go home for 24 hours so I'm just staying there. I have a hotel and a rental car so we could go to DisneyLand and ride the Tower of Terror all day!!!! Let me know if anyone's interested!!

OK, almost boarding time. Goodbye, Los Angeles! Hello, home!!

Hey it's that guy!!

So, I was watching an old episode of Frasier on the airplane yesterday, and it was the one with Daphne's fake baby shower that Niles made up to hide the fact that he had lunch with Maris, and the caterer heard "fraternity theme" instead of "maternity theme" so brought 3 kegs of beer and a 6' hoagie. Bwah! It was also the one where Frasier decided to leave radio to go back into private practice, and his first day was quite frustrating- you know, sitcom kerfuffles abounded. He had 5 patients in 1 day and they all left within moments due to one thing or another. BUT, the crazy thing was who they were. In order, Sarah Silverman, T.R. Knight, Missy Pyle, Penny Gerald Johnson, and Dan Castellaneta!! Are you kidding me??? That was an insane 30 minutes of "Who's Going to be a Fairly Recognizable TV Personality in 15 years?" Go, NBC, go!

My day around the sitcom genius was pretty frustrating. My flight in New Orleans was cancelled so I got to hang around the Louis Armstrong "International" Airport all morning on 5 hours of sleep, I made my connection in Dallas by the skin of my teeth- I literally only got on the airplane because they boarded 13 minutes late, when I got to Anaheim I went to pick up my paperwork for my show on Friday and it was a big fat clusterf*** so I ended up working for about 3 hours last night. When I finally toppled into bed at 10pm I had been running on empty for 19 hours.

The good news is that I got 9 hours of sleep (I LOVE waking up before my alarm!) and today is Jamie & Ashley's Day of Fun, take 3!!! We are going to have brunch at my favorite diner in LA, Swingers (PS> do not google Swingers + Los Angeles) and go to the beach for some girl time. Ashley has a bachelorette party to attend tonight and I'm going to be her designated driver- I have to drop her in Valencia around 6 and then I am going to meet Nathaniel for a movie: (finally!) Across the Universe at the Arclight. He and I have been trying to see that movie for over a month. I'll pick up Ashley late and drive us back to Anaheim for a few hours of sleep before our show from hell tomorrow. It moves in, opens, closes, and clears the hall in 1 day, leaving us to get everything input, audited, invoiced, and collected, plus service the exhibitors. With the condition my paperwork was in when I got it, I'm tired just thinking about it. But no matter, it's over in a day, albeit a long one, and Saturday Ashley goes to the wedding and I get to spend another day in LA with Nate before heading back to SF.

Lots going on, I will keep you all posted on my shenanigans and goings-on! My work year is drawing to a screeching halt. OH-MI-GAH, speaking of Screech, I had a dream that my mom saw Mark-Paul Gosselaar in the grocery store and made him come say hello to me. It was mortifying. I was looking at conditioner and he was getting chips for a SbtB party he was going to. I met the Jessie, Kelly, Slater, and the gang at check-out. It was surreal.

Dumbledore's Pink Robes

JK Rowling outs Harry Potter Character

Really, J.K.? Since it didn't seem to play into the plot of a collective 7 books-- an whopping 4,195 pages of emotion-packed story-- who cares?

Viva Laughlin

This show is... bizarre. It's a musical-slash-nighttime soap opera. It's not exactly like a musical though, but the characters do randomly burst into song & dance. But it's like a pop song, and the soundtrack is playing the radio version of the song, and the actors sing along with it. Like, on top of it-- no illusion that it's the character vocalizing the soundtrack, if that makes sense. It's odd, and I kinda dig it.

I'm watching it to throw CBS a bone because they gave me a really good breakfast burrito from craft services on Tuesday. :) Nathaniel has been working on the show as a DIT (digital imaging technician) and I dropped him off at work the other day and got a free breakfast. I also went to pick him up a couple of hours early and got to hang out on set. I know a lot of my industry-savvy friends see set all the time, but it was SUPER cool for me. I basically sat in a tent in the cold and watched Nathaniel watch the monitors and talk through his walkie to the camera men. It was really interesting, despite the fact that they filmed about 20 seconds of show the entire time I was there. He can read the graphs on the monitors like he's in The Matrix or something. It was so COOL!

Also, when I walked in, I said "hey, what's up" to this guy I thought I had met that morning when I dropped him off (normal looking guy in a sweatshirt and a beard) and now as I'm watching it, I realize he was the actor, and I recognized him from Brothers & Sisters as the senator's gay priest brother. What a moron. Oh, also, the wife in the show is played by Sherri from Gilmore Girls- the ghost cast of which is apparently following me around this week (Suki was on Samantha Who? and that psychiatrist who the Gilmores Elder tried to set up with Christopher but ended up counseling Lorelai in her car in the driveway is now on The Office).

Anyway, I have to get to bed because my day tomorrow is starting really early, but I just wanted to say hi from New Orleans, the city in which my hair looks like Monica's that time Friends went to Barbados. Oh, and to tell you that I'm watching the Sex & the City where Carrie farts in bed with Big and it's the most mortifying and hilarious scene I've ever seen. Hysterical. And excruciating. Like, cover-your-eyes and scream-out-loud funny, no matter how many times I've seen it. Then that episode was followed by the "Just tell me I'm the one. You don't have to tell your mother or the whole world; just tell me" one and that's just the painful without the funny. Ouch.

October What?

Seriously, time is flying. I haven't updated in forever. Last week I worked 86 hours in 6 days at one of the worst shows I've ever done- it's still haunting me, over a week later. I want nothing more than to put that show to bed and never think of it again. I have a feeling it's going to come back and bite me in the arse when I ask for a raise next month. Ugh.

I had 3 days off (which I spent cleaning, running errands, and watching my DVR) and then I flew to LA. Nathaniel and I drove down to San Diego on Saturday night for the screening of a short film he shot in March called Shoot my Life. It was about a girl who tricks her roommates into being on a reality show. It was written, directed, and starred in by a girl named Kimberly-Rose Wolter, who also wrote and starred in the feature we saw called Tre. I can't say I enjoyed the movie- it's one of those uncomfortably realistic films that leaves you wishing you had seen a Hollywood ending and not something that might have happened to a girl you probably know- but she was really good in it and a really fun, nice person. We had drinks with her after the movie. I hope she does well in her career. The short film was really funny and cute and it was really cool to see something that Nathaniel shot and hear all about how they made it in Kimberly's kitchen. It stars her roommates, her boyfriend, and her baby as well- all of whom I got to meet at the screening.

Yesterday we went out to brunch and then to The Vista to see Michael Clayton with Texas Thomas. Really excellent film. Loved the theater. The ambiance was perfect and the sound and screen were amazing. We went to get some french food (mussels and frittes... mmm...) for dinner after that and then Nathaniel watched The Illusionist (I went to bed-- dude, that movie was BORING). We were going to go see Across the Universe at The Arclight today but Nathaniel had a 4:30p call time (he is working on Viva Laughlin this week) so I will probably go by myself tomorrow, or else with Ashley when I come back to Los Angeles next week.

Now I am finally sitting down to watch the first 3 eps of Bionic Woman- it doesn't really interest me (other than the fact that Jaime Summers is why my dad decided to name me Jamie) but I want to see Katee Sackhoff kick some bionic @$$. Honestly, could Michelle Ryan BE more plain/boring/indifferent? She's SO BLAND. Putting her opposite the dynamic and stunning Katee Sackhoff just makes it worse.

I leave Wednesday for a week in New Orleans and then come back here for a Jamie & Ashley's Day of Fun, Take 3 and a show that moves in, opens, closes, and moves out in like 18 hours. That should be fun times. *shakes head no*

Also, I'm looking for Christmas plans that will conveniently prevent me from going to home to see the folks-- so if anyone has any fun trips planned or wants to come visit or do something, let me know. *weg*

Fall TV 2007

Premiere Week 1, My Thoughts:

The Big Bang Theory: awful. just... terrible. I don't have any more words for that.

Heroes: A show I always want to love, but only like. When did Nathan Petrelli turn into Jack Shepard? Step away from the bottle and toward a razor, drama queen. Oh, and helloooooo, David Anders! I've missed you and your fake English accent!!

Journeyman: Liked it. I'm a sucker for time travel anyway, and I applaud the choice of a non-conventionally handsome leading actor. I liked him a lot and will definitely keep watching, for a while anyway.

Chuck: I always like me a good super-nerd, especially one with messy hair and thick eyebrows who wears Chuck Taylors- plus, I think this show might fulfill my Alias void for a bit. Plus it doesn't take itself too seriously, so I'm intrigued enough to keep watching.

Bones: good season opener. This show never makes my jaw drop but it's consistently enjoyable and by the way, va va VOOM on the new haircut, Dr. Hodgins. Tom, will you please invite him to have drinks with us when we are in LA next month???? Then you can get an emergency soap opera phone call and he can you know, fall in love with me.

House: *sigh* Hey writers, you have to give your protagonist at least a couple of redeemable qualities every once in a while. Otherwise he's just a jerk.

Private Practice: I'm sorry, but I liked it. Addison has always been one of my favorite character's on Gray's- she's flawed but strong. Good supporting cast chemistry and I swear if you didn't cry during Amy Brennaman's floor-session with the woman who lost her son, well, you have a small stone where your heart should be. Very small. And is it just me or does Tim Daly get hotter with every passing moment? Yowza. I like Audra McDonald but why did they take the Francinator away from me?

Dirty Sexy Money: I'm going to go ahead and tag it now as my favorite new show. LOVED it. Great cast, just soap-y enough while having a sense of humor about itself- plus it involves Peter Krause, a Baldwin, and a Sutherland- what's not to like?

Grey's Anatomy: *yawn* Cristina and Alex and Bailey and Chief were all pretty awesome- but I am so over the Izzie & George thing, seriously, and just what the world needs is another whiny self-important Gray (honestly Lexi? Throwing the "I'm your sister" thing out in the emergency bay? That couldn't have waited?) and Kathyrn Heigl wins an Emmy and gets a scene with a deer?? Really Shonda?

Big Shots: a show I really wanted to like- I mean, Michael Vartan, Dylan McDermott, Chris Titus and Josh Malina? Too bad they are all playing asshats with horrible personalities and terrible dialogue. It was touted as the male version of Sex & the City and I have to say, if that is how men really are then I am going to be a lesbian. Frankly, I'd rather date Samantha. This show is retarded; I'm out.

Brothers & Sisters: man, I love this show. I'm certain it's emotionally manipulative, but I'm not close with my brothers and sisters, or my parents really, and I've always wanted this huge, crazy family- this show really tugs at my heartstrings because it's something I've never had and never will have so it's like a mirage for me. I love to watch it even though it makes me lonely.

Next on No Day but Today.... Viva Laughlin, Samantha Who?, Pushing Daisies, The Bionic Woman, and Reaper, plus the return of Men in Trees. Geez, I hope they all suck so I don't have so many shows to watch. Thank goodness Eureka and Doctor Who are almost done for the season; I think there's smoke coming out of my DVR.