to be continued... the second week of January next year.

Despite some crazy people wanting me to continue the blog even though I'm home in Kansas not doing anything nearly as exciting as in LA, this will be my last entry until the I graduate and move out and yata yata yata.

And like I was taught in elementary school, when you finish something you are proud of, it is a good idea to reflect on your work.

Therefore (and more for my own enjoyment than anybody else's) I present the Best and Worst of my semester in LA.

Top 10 Best Moments:
10. Getting to work on Moonlight.
9. The scavenger hunt. From driving around LA with Jon to leaving Magic Castle at 12:30am.
8. The progressive confusion due to the progressiveness of the Progressive Dinner
7. ZOLTAR
6. Every time we ever went to Lubtitch. Specifically seeing Kevin from the office, the time Sarah came, and that first time.
5. The entire concept of Lisa France.
4. San Diego from start to finish.
3. Eating Yogurt World. Plain, Strawberry, Pineapple, granola, captain crunch, 2 blackberries, lots of mango, and one brownie bite.
2. Roller blading along the boardwalk.
1. The unexpected re-ride on Space Mountain.

And... the worst. Which are now pretty hilarious.
10. Spending all day Sundays doing homework, having to do homework in general, having to go to class after work on Thursday, having to go back to music class Monday night.
9. The guests on Leno
8. Saddle Ranch
7. Getting a B from Kerew.
6. Scott, Shane, Jon, Aaron, and Ben losing money in Vegas.
5. Not getting to eat a Sprinkles cupcake because it was closed the time we went there.
4. Being sick in Laguna Beach.
3. When Lauren was in town for Spring Break and Hot Dog on a Stick was closed.
2. Forgetting my ID like an IDIOT when we went to The Well.
1. That night after LOST when I said I wanted to go home.

UTLA collage

Today is my last day in LA. It's very sad, but I am way more excited about coming home than I ever would have guessed. I went down to the UTLA this morning to prep for my final presentation and literately found myself jumping up and down about getting to go back home. This was without a doubt the best semester of my life, and has given me such a great view on how to finish out the college years. I say it every year, but this summer really will be the best yet. So get excited, cuz I definitely am.

The last week in LA has been fantastic. Last Sunday we had the almuni beach party and I got to see Kelly and Monica from Houston that night. It was really fun to play in the sand and be on vacation for the day. Then our last day of classes was Monday, and we did superlatives for UTLA. Most likely to adopt 8 children from 8 different countries... yours truly. We all did Leno on Tuesday, which sucked because we saw... Dr. Phil and Natasha Beningfield. LAME x 5. FTR, Ellen and Jimmy were way better. But that's just me being a talk show snob. I worked at Moonlight Wed-Friday and had a very good farewell with them. I'm going to miss everybody, and kind of already do. Friday I was rushing from work to finish my scrapbook before the farewell dinner in Santa Monica. We got a delicious fish meal then hung out and did the whole boardwalk thing, again. Saturday we went to Mels diner, Ameoba, and Lubtitch. Gotta cross of all the random LA things I haven't done yet. Then Sunday I hung out at Santa Monica and Venice some more. With the roller blades. And Hot Dog on a Stick. Pretty much making Sunday morning my third favorite thing I've done this semester.

How am I spending my last day in LA?
Packed. Prepared my final presentation for Phil. Did my final presentation. Went well. Told him how thankful I was and how much I enjoyed the semester. Had some delicious lunch. Went to Yogurt World. Probably my top 4 favorite thing, so delicious, how I will miss thee. Tonight is the mini-road trip for Scott to store his car and then it's load up my car and make sure I'm good to go for a 7am departure back to KC.

yes, that is creepy

Two thumbs up for Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Runyon Canyon was amazing. Taking music from everybody in UTLA has made my computer go from 6 gigs to almost 15 gigs.

I watched Into the Wild this week with Y217. I found it surprisingly moving. It took us 2 nights to watch, and after we finally finished I found myself lying in bed talking to Sarah about existentialism, which is becoming one of my new favorite topics to ponder before going to sleep.

On a less fortunate note, I have super large amounts of homework going on. Our 3 final projects are due next week. Producing, producing, producing.

Moonlight wraps today and premiers tonight. Unfortunately I cannot make the wrap party at the Dodger's game on Sunday because we have our alumni beach party thing all afternoon. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Yesterday was unbelievable. Alex, on, and I waited in line for hours and hours to see Flight of the Conchords play, then waited in live for more hours to get Jemaine and Bret to sign stuff. And, we succeeded with both. I feel like I have accomplished so much. The boys were so cute, it was great.

Tonight is Magic Castle. Magic Castle is an exclusive magic club in Hollywood. It's the prize for participating in the scavenger hunt Jon and I did ages ago. Just a conscience that the only weekend Phil was available happens to be our last weekend here. The affair will be quite the celebration for us and our +1s.

Next week will be the last post, because after that it's back to Kansas and the end of one of the most unforgettable periods of my life thus far.

watching family guy at work

On account of being exhausted from Huntington Beach all day Saturday, we didn't go hiking on Sunday. However, I did finally visit an authentic CPK, which was fantastic. And I went to Yogurt World (again, I know) that night with Sarah and Thai. Sunday was mostly just homework all day. I already got the stuff we have to do for next week done, so this weekend will be homework free for me!

I got to see the Royals beat the Angels down in Anaheim on Wednesday night. Their stadium is pretty nice. Our seats were in left field, right behind the bullpen. So we were like 5 feet from all the pitchers, it was great.

Thursday four of us went to the taping of ELLEN. We got $50 itunes gift cards. And saw Ewan McGreggor, Jason Segal, a record-setting skier, and the girl who just got voted off of American Idol. That night we celebrated being finished with Lisa France's directing class at Lisa France's friend's apartment in Hollywood. It was a pretty swanky place.

This weekend: free movies on the Fox lot, possibly seeing Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and definitely hiking Runyon Canyon.

Getty Center and Pink's (check!)

Six Flags Magic Mountain was insane. Never before have I ridden more roller coasters in such a short period of time. Thank Josh and Aaron for the tickets, because I do not think it would have been worth it if it wasn’t free. These coasters were INSANE. The Tatsu leans you forward so you are essentially lying on your stomach the entire time. The first part is like you’re flying, but the whole free-falling headfirst is not so fun. My favorite was SCREAM, the suspended roller coaster. It's a lot like Superman at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio.

Saturday-Sunday we did Lawn Boys until sunset, and Pauly Shore into the night. Kudos to Scott, Brett, and Elliot, who worked crazy hard on Lawn Boys then turned around to help out Marcela at night. Sunday night was a great relief, and being done with it made for a very good time. However, the Pauly project still has a lot to be re-shot and organized; I really hope everything works out.

Tuesday at Moonlight I met the new director, whose credits include Lost and Alias. I overheard my superiors discussing my closest pals, Greg Grunberg and Jordan Levin, and kicked myself for not mentioning my connection to them. Plus they talked about Michael Cera, mentioning, but not appreciating the true genius of clarkandmichael.com. I should have said something... dang-it.

We went to Jimmy Kimmel Tuesday night and saw Thomas Haden Church, Adam Ferrera, and Phantom Planet. The band was the best part. Yesterday was one of the most amazing experiences thus far, The Price is Right. Aaron got to “come on down,” and we went CRAZY. He ALMOST won a car, and almost got to do the Showcase Showdown, but instead just came away with a $3000 fireplace.

We’re going to Huntington Beach tomorrow, shooting more of Pauly Shore, and going hiking through Ruynon Canyon on Sunday. If the weather is anything like today- it will be perfect.

last night we discovered the yogurt world in burbank

We shot Elliot's project last weekend. It wasn't that fun, but he seems pretty happy with how it turned out. The whole experience reminded me that my favorite part of filmmaking is the part that happens right up to when the cameras begin rolling. It was pretty cool to be working towards being so professional. I was working on call sheets and script breakdowns for the projects at work on Tuesday, and felt a little more knowledgeable having my own stuff going on. Lawn Boys and Pauly Shore are this weekend, which will be crazy-busy and tiring. And to make things even busier, I got a free ticket to Six Flags tonight from 7-12am, meaning I already know I'll be tired in the morning. But you can't pass on a chance like that.

I went to my first hockey game on Sunday. The Ducks beat the Stars in overtime + a shoot out. I saw a bunch of power plays, and a fight broke out within the first 15 minutes of the game. Baseball season started on Monday and the Royals are 3-0. They swept the Tigers, and Greinke did great. That doesn't relate to LA though... however I have been reading up on the Dodgers so I'll be ready for the April 26th game.

Also this week we shared our scripts for TV writing. iSean was a great success. We're essentially done with that class, meaning the work load just got a little bit smaller. Even though pilot season is totally out of whack because of the strike this year, the daily updates are pretty interesting. Television is fascinating.

One hour left of work today. The bosses are dealing with budgeting and the door is open so I get to hear everything. It's awesooome.

UT v. Stanford game day!

Saturday: DCA was glorious. The best part were the freshly made tortillas at the Mission Tortilla Factory. We missed Wine Tasting by about 35 minutes, so will just have to make a trip to a real vineyard within the last month we're here. I got soaking wet on Grizzly River Canyon, which was not fun at all, but we road Screamin' Over California a total of three times, which was indeed quite fun. And we went to the Anaheim Sonic, the closest LA location. I have never appreciated Sonic more than I did last Saturday night.

Sunday: I was reminded about how much homework sucks. What a happy Easter, spending nearly 10 hours struggling at adapting my book into a screenplay to pitch to class on Monday. The work paid off though, we all passed and Kerew said I did a nice job with my pitch.

Elliot's directing project shoots this weekend, and somehow I have taken on the role of UPM/Line Producer. So I've been busy with pre-production for that. We'll see how smoothly it goes. I hate being on set for things like this, but the pressure is off me come Saturday morning, and I feel pretty confident with the things I've done thus far. We're schedule to shoot Saturday noon-7pm and Sunday 8am-7pm, so that's pretty much the entire weekend. Except for the part tonight were we are having our TV Themed Costume Party. I'm quite excited to see what everybody comes up with. Oh, and the part on Sunday evening where I'm going to the Ducks v. Stars hockey game.

Moonlight is keeping me busy 2 days a week. Today it has been pretty stressful trying to plan the concept meeting. I almost wish I had a higher position so I could be stressed out about things like this, instead of amused. I had to call the same people twice to tell them the time had changed. I knew it wasn't my fault, so I didn't feel too terribly sad about it. I also had to go to the commissary twice today to get people food. That was a pleasant break from the office atmosphere. Driving around the Gilmore Girls set in the golf cart never ever gets old.

haaaave you met ted?

And now the semester is halfway over. Sad.

Alright, well I'll try to make this as exciting as possible, which will be challenging because this was by far my most unproductive week yet. Today is Good Friday, so the WB lot is officially closed, meaning I only worked one day this week. Since my schedule at Moonlight is Tuesday/Friday. I had had such a busy week before and had spent so much time in the car that I didn't have a huge desire to check out all of those places I have been wanting to see. Instead I spent a lot of time focusing on my future.

Things I'm worried about:
Where I'm going to live for one semester next fall in Austin.
What classes I need to take (only 12 hours to graduate).
When I can register for my last semester of ASL, to fulfill my last language requirement, at the community college in KC over the summer.
How much it will cost to volunteer in Africa/Australia/South America next spring and summer, and what all I need to do about going to those places.

Additionally, it seems like all the school work is hitting us all at once. We're working on a television show pilot script. I am so not a writer, so it's a challenging project. And there is our producing project. We have to adapt a book/play into a feature-length script. Thank goodness we don't have to write that script, but we do have to do coverage on the book, pitch the project on Monday, and then create a treatment for the movie as our final project. And then there's the Lisa France project. Our crazy directing teacher. There are three short video projects floating around. They involve lawn mowers, spray painted roses, and Pauly Shore.

So what did I do this week in LA? Monday night the music class watched Band From TV's rehearsal. That was sweet. I cooked dinner on Tuesday. And the highlight of the week? Besides meeting Greg Grunberg, was finishing season 1 of How I Met Your Mother. This weekend's goal is to finish season 2. It will happen.

We're going to California Adventure tomorrow. And Sunday we're doing homework. Serious, serious amounts of homework.

"i like you guys"

Lauren came to visit me all the way from Houston. We were hardcore tourists for two days and explored Beverly Hills, Venice Beach, Santa Monica, and Hollywood. Fatburger > In n' Out ?????

On Monday morning we left for the 14 hour journey up the coast to San Francisco. The trip was a long time in the car, but was absolutely beautiful. A few stops were made along the way: surfer watching in Malibu, lunch in Santa Barbara, a 2-hour tour of Hearst Castle, a brief photo-op of the elephant seals, gas in Caramel, and dinner outside the city. Evan greeted us with open arms in Berkeley, which I loved. It is very much like Austin, but bigger, more hippy-ish, pedestrian friendly, and has fewer homeless people.

Tuesday morning Evan showed us the parts of Cal we had not seen the night before and we proceeded into the city. We were even better tourists this time and visited many Chinatown gift shops. We also walked up and down a lot of hills. San Fran reminds me of Chicago. The original itinerary had us spending Tuesday night in Palo Alto (Stanford) with John, but after driving across the Golden Gate Bridge, we decided to nix that part and head back to LA that night. Taking the highway saved us close to 10 hours, and were home before midnight.

And on Wednesday, Lauren got another LA adventure as we tried to find some trails to hike. The trusty Not For Tourists Guide to LA told us about some good spots... but basically we spent another 2 hours driving around the mountains trying to find our trailhead. However, we had a very successful backup plan. We hiked to the top of the Hollywood sign, narrowly escaping the $103 fine for crossing the fence to touch the sign. I swear I saw Hilary Duff on our walk down.

Thursday she went back home... and I had a day to vacation from school and work. And prepare for trip number two, Las Vegas. Vegas is weird. My friends won money, and then lost it, then won it back, but in the end most people just lost. It was a fun trip, but like I said, just such a weird weird city. I'm glad I went.

So now it's back to reality, kind of.

soldier boy

The weekend in Laguna was nice, despite me being pretty sick. I knew last Thursday I was coming down with that horrible virus that has plagued 7/22 people thus far. I’m almost completely better today, which I can confirm based on the number of times I’ve needed to blow my nose. Only two, thankyouverymuch. Laguna was lovely, nice beaches, beautiful scenery, a pleasant escape.

This week concludes the stint with D-Phil. It was an exciting week. I sat in the control room for one episode, and got many an autograph during another. Cross Adrian Grenier, Illeana Douglas, and Gene Simmons from my “celebs to meet” list. I also got free lunch and the most delicious chocolate cake I’ve ever had, compliments to Dr. Phil’s assistant. The day at Moonlight was also good. I drove the golf cart around for awhile trying to find the Telecom building, yet ended up driving by New York Street, Chicago Street, and Miss Patty’s. The WB lot is amazing.

And a definite highlight of the week was meeting James Denton during music class on Monday. He’s a proud member of Band from TV, a band composed of television celebs and managed by our music prof. He told us about his journey to LA from Tennessee, his affiliation with John Edwards, his dream to teach high school history in Montana, and his recent purchase of the Orange County Flyers. Charlotte posted the picture, if you’re curious.

Speaking of celebs… a few of us went to a club in West Hollywood and ran into, none other than KEVIN from The Office. That was cool. Seeing an overweight 40-something year-old strike up a conversation with Megan about hanging his coat on the blocked coat rack. We plan to return there on Saturday, and maybe we’ll run into Jim.

I also went to the Rufus Wainwright concert at USC with Richard. Had a very nice time, got to meet some of his crazy friends and see Sara Epperson. Of course Lost was amazing, and my pictures finally came in the mail, so the scrapbook is progressing steadily.

Lauren gets in town tomorrow and we have an insanely busy week ahead of ourselves. Beach, museums, Ketchup. On Monday we’ll drive up the PCH to San Francisco, stopping at Hearst Castle along the way. Spend that night with Evan, hit up the city some more on Tuesday, spend night #2 with John, and return after breakfast on Wednesday. She goes home Thursday, and Friday I leave for Vegas. Sure beats Kansas.

still haven't met Michael Cera

I started my second internship at Moonlight on Thursday. It is an entirely different environment than Dr. Phil. Everybody seems so much busier, but so much friendlier. I feel I have gotten to know some of their staff better in one day than I have gotten to know all of the Dr. Phil staff. On my first day they let me organize their office supplies. Oh man it was amazing. They have this whole room full of tvs and coolers and bulletin boards, stuff they took from their old office. I can hardly wait until I get to organize that room! The WB lot is amazing, and there is a lot more I still need to see. I checked out the Gilmore Girls set though, indescribably awesome. If only I could actually see Rory and Jess walking around in it… After Spring Break I’ll work over there more than just one day a week, but until then it’s Dr. Phil for the next week, and Moonlight on Thursdays.

11 of us went to Disneyland last Saturday, an experience that was probably one of the top five greatest moments of my life. Space Mountain was my favorite ride, along with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Indiana Jones, Matterhorn, and the new Finding Nemo submarine ride. I do not think I have laughed or smiled or felt as much joy in one day in such a long time. We did not get home until 2am Saturday night, putting me into the “lack of sleep, seriously delirious” giddy-mood. So basically Disneyland is the best high ever.

Sunday I went to the supermarket with Jon and Shane to get our meals to prepare for the “Super Secret Dinner Club.” I took the collectivist idea mom suggested by combining forces and having group meals a few times a week. It’s nice to come home from work to a freshly cooked meal, especially when it’s not your night to cook. And of course the Oscars were Sunday night… we were going to go to Pinkberry, but realized traffic around Hollywood and Sunset would be insane. So that didn’t happen.

And I know you’re wondering about the celebrity sightings thus far:
We all ate dinner for Tess’s birthday at the same place as Bruce Vilanch.
Shane saw two dudes from How I Met Your Mother on the Fox lot this morning.
Sarah met and toured the studio of Disney artist, David Willardson.
Megan auditioned the bum from Superbad.
Nick auditioned the creepy guy who asks if they are on Mysepace from Superbad, and said he was just as creepy in person.
Aaron and people saw Monique.
Tess went to the same party as Nick Lache and Vanessa Minnillo.
Barrett saw two dudes from Weeds at lunch together.
Josh “brushed shoulders” with Shia Lebuff and his mom at the movie theatre.
Aaron and Josh literally, ran into Jeremy Piven.
Megan saw Randy Jackson in her office
Marcella saw Katherine Heigel at the E! Oscar after party.
Ben swears he saw Ashley Olsen.

I’m spending this weekend with my mom in Laguna Beach, and am leaving work in 45 minutes to go get her from the airport. I’m a bit under the weather as well, and am hoping I’ll be able to relax in the sun hope that all I need is a serious dose of Vitamin D.

the clique that talks about other cliques

Dr. Phil stops taping in 3 weeks, just in time for Spring Break. Therefore I have to find another internship for remainder of the semester. I was getting discouraged after emailing Ugly Betty, Smallville, Greek, and My Boys and not hearing anything back, but my spirits changed this morning. On my way into Paramount the Production Coordinator for CBS’s Moonlight called in response to am email I sent the WB Human Resource department yesterday. I have a job interview on Monday! Once I got to my desk, I IMDBed the show and discovered that I definitely need to do some serious vampire research. Thankfully they have old episodes online, since I had never even heard of the show until yesterday. But the interview is on Monday, so I’ve got time to prep.

San Diego this past weekend was amazing. It was surreal seeing Rachel, Rich, and Ari on the beach in Cali. Reggie called yesterday and reminded me how truly weird it is I’m hanging out in LA with somebody I have known since elementary school. The 10 of my UT friends who came down really liked the KC kids also. We arrived mid-day on Saturday eager to hit the beach, and after a delicious BJ’s lunch we did just that. The scenery was gorgeous. I saw a lot of surfers, waded in the ocean, and built sand castles. Some of us thought it would be amusing to “not tell” the rest of the group where we walking to, and after getting far along enough, were not disappointed by their reaction. If you get past the stairs, UCSD’s beach is a nude beach, and was indeed filled with pant-less men walking around freely. It would make a better story to say that we all partook in the festivities; however it was definitely enough for me just to see the expressions on people’s faces when they realized where they were. Saturday night we ate seafood along the bay and spent way too long walking around the Gaslamp district downtown. We ended up at a bar which played live 80s music, and turned out to be worth the required patience. As with every UTLA outing, some drama ensued, but by the next morning we were all friends again. On Sunday we toured around the zoo, had Thai food for dinner, and got to go to Yogurt World, the best part of SD. It had around 10 different flavors of yogurt, 50 different toppings, and you pay by the ounce. Sadly it’s not publicly traded, or I think I’d definitely be buying some Yogurt World stock.

I was missing Austin (the city) a bit yesterday during the debates, and am super jealous of everybody who got to be there. Yet, besides that, and random emails from Erin with Live Sports, I like LA more every day. Even though the traffic is annoying, it provides a great time to listen to music or make phone calls. My commute takes from 15-30 minutes, which is about the same as the time it takes me to get to Cinzetti’s or CCS all summer. Yet that didn’t include seeing the Capitol Records building, the Hollywood sign, and Griffith Observatory every day.

About 15 of us are going to Disneyland tomorrow. Obviously, I’m very excited about that one. Charlie Wilson’s War is showing on the Paramount lot tonight, and the Oscars are on Sunday. At some point I need to make it out to Vons to pick up some groceries for the week, I’m going through serious Fresca withdrawal.

Mmmk so the end of LOST. Maybe it wasn’t as shocking as other conclusions, but talk about making things more complicated. Sheesh!

converse with crosswords

This week at Dr. Phil I worked more than I ever have. Tuesday we taped our episode, “Still Chasing the Crown,” yet instead of watching from the stage, I got to (drum roll please) answer the phone, guard somebody’s birthday card, and telephone potential guests. Breaking the news to Dr. Phil fans that they might get to be on the show was quite exciting. Lately I am being included in a lot more personal conversations, and this morning they told me I could get myself coffee as a part of the coffee run I make for other people. I was delighted.

Even though things are better, I started the search for a new internship yesterday. Since the strike has ended (yay, television!) I figure scripted shows probably need some interns. I’m sending emails and I’ll fax some shows on Monday in hopes that some Production Managers or Line Producers need a little bit of assistance.

I spend much of my time at work on the internet looking up various things. This week these included hotels, beaches, and entertainment venues in San Diego. A group of us are heading down there Saturday morning to return Sunday night. The agenda includes the beaches of La Jolla, Pizooki with Richard, Ari, and Rachel, the Gaslamp District nightlife, and the world famous zoo. I’m quite excited.

Classes are moving along. We have less homework this week than last, but much crazier teachers. Lisa France, our directing instructor, informed us of her “top secret” production idea, and seriously freaked us out with our shorts. She expects a lot out of us, and I’m pretty sure we will end up with nothing. Other work includes: a 5 week deadline to create our television pilots and a Monday due date for a CD with songs from my top 5 favorite albums of all time. Not too bad at all.

And to conclude this week of LA life: Lost. Is. Amazing.

I found gas for $2.99!

Since last week I have been contemplating another internship. Things have not picked up as much as I thought they would. However, I am enjoying my time at Dr. Phil a lot more. I am getting to know people around the office, scoping out the people who hold the power, trying not being as shy… but I still feel like somebody else could use me more. It reminds me of those days in high school where you yearned to be in college and be productive. If the writers strike really does end this weekend, I’m pretty sure I’ll move on.

I have stuffed a lot of envelopes full of free VIP tickets to get mailed around the country to various volunteer organizations. I am also feeling more confident answering the phone and transferring calls. On Tuesday I researched potential show guests, trying to find somebody actively opposed to mom’s competing in Mrs. America pageants. We tape that episode next Tuesday morning. I have to get here at 6:30am. Bringing back the good ol’ days of 6am Central Market shifts…

Besides work, things are hectic. Monday as class day is sooo long. The teachers have started the major assignments, which are not as bad as they would be at UT, but homework nonetheless. This weekend I have to write a structural analysis of a movie I like and a movie I do not like. She’s the Man v. Sweeney Todd. We are also in the midst of developing half hour television pilots. My team has created a single camera comedy. I cannot really discuss it online, in case some studio execs discover this blog and decide to develop it. In another class we are developing a 15-30minute film. The teacher is crazy and thinks we have time to make something good. I had a brilliant idea about a registered sex offender living among a group of college grads, but definitely do not have the required time to devote to the project. The crazy teacher also doesn’t think pedophilia is nearly as funny as the rest of us do. Soooo instead we’re going to make a short about an intense “mow off.” Think Dodgeball meets lawn mowers.

This weekend will be a lot of movies. Possibly hiking around Griffith Park and hitting up the Observatory. I still need to get some Pazookie and play tennis. I just need to get my papers done, as hard as I try to be irresponsible; I always have to finish my homework first.

Life at the Office

I've been working at Dr. Phil for two weeks, and... well... Last week was the taping of his 1000th show. It was pretty chaotic, seeing as how I was not entirely sure what my role was, and the episode was already far along enough that it was hard to give me a specific assignment. I thought week 2 would use a little bit more brain power, yet sadly I was mistaken. It's a dark week, meaning we are not taping. The big guy is in New York promoting himself. Most people are working ahead on future episodes, so I still do not have a real direction.

My position as the intern for the Executive Producer on The Dr. Phil show opened up for me as I arrived in LA. Despite the lack of real excitement, since starting work on the Paramount lot I have undertaken a variety of tasks. These duties include transferring phone calls, searching for potential show guests, shredding papers, creating gift baskets, ordering people coffee, and researching what LA restaurants can provide Oprah with real crab meat.

The woman I answer the phone for, Carla Pennington, is one of the most successful "watch-out-for" women in Hollywood. ImdbPro told me all about her success from the age of 20. She reminds me of Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, yet not as mean. She is a very powerful, busy woman. As soon as I get formally introduced, I'll ask for 10 minutes of her time. It's an important woman to make a good impression on, and I know with enough hard work and passion, someday I too can be the Executive Producer for a hit television show.

Besides work, I am busy with classes and social activities. Because we all have the same assignments, we do much of the homework together on Sunday night. We're working on a television script in groups of 3 for another class, so again that's more group focused. I also have a good deal of time at the office to do school work.

Last night we attended a networking event hosted at the Beverly Hills Wilshire hotel, taking place simultaneously as the democratic debates. Sweeet. I hung out with Dean Hart, President Powers, and Jordan Levin (ex CEO of the WB). Open bar, 5 star d'oeuvre, and business attire = a good time.

This weekend we are discussing various places to explore. Possible beaching, nightlife, shopping, movies, pool. At last it has stopped raining, so maybe I really will get to take out the rollerblades. Regardless, Fridays mean it is three whole days before coming back to work, which is pretty much fabulous.

last day of vacation

I have been here for exactly one week. So far I've learned that it's really hard to keep me away from the beach. Today is the first day we've had without sun and I'm practically crying. A bunch of us were going to go back over to Venice/Santa Monica (the same place I spent my first 2 days here) yet I am reconsidering that decision based on the weather. However, I am dying to take my rollerblades down to the boardwalk.

There are 22 kids in the program, but essentially 21 because Barrett never hangs out with anybody except his handful of friends he already knows out here. A very high percentage of our time is spent talking about what we feel like doing then discussing how many drivers we need to get 21 people from one place to another. It very much feels like summer camp.

Worst thing about LA thus far? Traffic. Missing the taping of Chelsea Lately due to an accident on 405 south jamming up both the side streets as well as the interstate. Allowing twice as much time as you think you'll need for every interview, and only arriving 10 minutes early for each one. Taking an hour to get out at 10pm on Saturday night and about 7 minutes to get home. It makes Austin look like Kansas City. The plus side to all of this maddness is that LA has remarkably good radio stations. It's a good thing I like music.

Classes begin tomorrow, but will typically fall on Mondays. We begin at 9am, and end around 8 or 9pm. Everything is entertainment industry related, film/tv/music. All the teachers seem cool, but like typical professors, I think they are trying to intimidate us with how nit-picky and strict they want to appear. We spent about 10 minutes being lectured on the different types of your/you're and their/they're. I was somewhat offended.

Then Wednesday I start work on the Paramount lot at Dr. Phil. I'll be an intern for the Executive Producer. I'm super excited, as long as he does not get sued hard core and his show gets canceled and we all lose our jobs. Two of my friends are also working on the lot, so I know I won't have to lose all dignity by eating lunch tucked away in a bathroom stall.

Well it looks like the clouds are clearing and the sun decided to come back. That means I'll definitely get to blade along the beach. Joyous.