IPHONE USER ATTENDS T-MOBILE SIDEKICK LX LAUNCH PARTY…SHHH!

This past week T-Mobile celebrated the launch of its new Sidekick LX slide cell phone by throwing a pink carpet, celebrity-filled party at Paramount Studio.  The celebration offered endless entertainment and fabulous fun amongst a sea of musicians, actors, models, socialites, press, and eager partygoers.  In said sea was none other than…an iPhone user!  GASP!  Who was this iPhone user you ask?  ‘Twas I…shhh, and, don’t worry, I kept it well hidden for the evening….hehe.

T-Mobile promotes their current phone as the “new café gadget” that is “faster and more social than ever,” which seems perfectly matched for Hollywood.  Now, here would be the perfect place in my blog for me to enter my opinion or review of the phone, but truth be told, I know very little about it, and Sidekicks, in general.  That said, the phone looks cute, brought smiles to a lot of faces and is sure to be a gadget making appearances at many cafes around the world, as advertised.

These types of launches are popular events each year, and, I have to say, they did a wonderful job!  It was one of the most fun times I have had at a Hollywood event since moving to LA, and it consisted of a beautifully lit, spacious, laid back environment, with lots of free goodies, tasty treats, and divine drinks.  They had an outdoor stage set up for musical entertainment, with performances by Weezer, who also provided a unique cover performance of Lady GaGa’s “Poker Face,” as well as Warren G, and Blink-182’s first live appearance since the band got back together.  Each performance happened in between electrifying light shows timed to a wide array of music, spun by DJ AM and paired with Travis Barker on drums.

While mingling among the crowd, consisting of Amada Bynes, Anna Faris, Adrian Grenier, Kim Kardashian, Ashley Simpson, Pete Wentz, Kevin Spacey, Paris and Nikki Hilton, Pink, Kelly Osbourne,  Nikki Reed, Bonnie McKee, and the infamous Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, among many others, I got a chance to be my silly self and pose in a fun T-Mobile shot that advertises the new phone!  To top it off, all this took place on none other than Paramount’s New York Street, which you all know was the cherry on top for me!  I hadn’t been back there since the Project A.L.S. Benefit a couple years ago.

Needless to say, T-Mobile knows how to throw a party, and it was an enjoyable evening all around, which can hopefully be seen in the pictures below.  Bottom line, no matter what your phone of choice is, be it a Sidekick, iPhone, or one the many other handy phones on the market, anyone can partake in a little celebration and appreciate what those different from their own have to offer; that goes for phones, people, and life overall.

“Share our similarities, celebrate our differences.” – Scott Peck

LIFE AND LESSONS AFTER “POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE”

As I began writing this blog, I realized it was 8 years ago today May 13th that I graduated with my BFA in Acting degree!  I cannot believe it has been that long already.  Although it seems like yesterday, and I feel as though I haven’t aged at all, I have, in fact, changed and experienced quite a lot, good and bad, since.  In essence, I have continued to learn valuable lessons even after my schooling days.

Since graduation I have become an aunt; lived in what has become my beloved New York City; worked at Atlantic Records; experienced, first hand, the horrors of September 11th and how New Yorkers truly united as one to help after the fact; stood center stage on Broadway; walked down the middle of the street in Times Square with snow up to my knees after a blizzard; met and worked with Julia Roberts; moved across the country; gotten a CA license plate, something I always wanted growing up; had my identity impersonated on-line; guest starred on several TV shows; been at a party with Prince; gotten to play my cousin Zita Johann and recreate her famous scenes opposite Boris Karloff from “The Mummy;” been turned into a comic book character for “Scary Monsters Magazine;” spoken about acting to an auditorium filled with middle school students, which was a true joy; sat on a jury for a week long trial; attended red carpet events; received touching fan letters and am still amazed anyone is a “fan;” started my own card line; traveled to Prince Edward Island with friends, gained a love for sushi; appeared on my teenage favorite soap opera “Y&R;” felt an earthquake; and, among many others, was given the opportunity to document my journey as an actor here with FIB.

They always say that “time flies when you’re having fun” and seems to speed up as you get older, to which I can attest.  Sometimes it seems that every time I turn around another year has flown by, and, as in today’s case, the next thing I know, 8 years have passed since I walked across the Taylor Theatre stage at UNCG and was handed my diploma, with my amazing and supportive family sitting in the audience rooting me on, something they continue to do today.

In that moment, I had no real idea what the future held.  In fact, I had planned to move to LA upon graduation from college.  But instead I detoured to NYC after getting a call from a friend with whom I had taken acting classes at HB Studio in New York, back when I was still in high school.  She was looking for a roommate, so off I went, and I am so happy that I did.  Honestly, I sometimes wish I had stayed in the Big Apple a little longer, but they also say “things happen for a reason.”  I was, at that time, eager to move, and had I stayed I might never have experienced some of the above.  Quite possibly, I may never have teamed up with FIB, and, therefore, this very blog may never have been written.

As some of you may know, LA and the industry have lost a bit of its luster for me since my arrival 5 years ago.  I will be the first to admit that I may not fully appreciate all that this city has to offer, and it is a well-known fact that I prefer NYC over LA.  That said, I was amongst the bright lights on Sunset Blvd. last night, just before midnight.  As I drove down the then fairly quiet main part of the strip, I passed the Best Western Hotel, with beautiful Bougainvillea in fabulous fuchsia covering the front of it, right near the House of Blues.  I was flooded with the emotions and memories of arriving at that very hotel, from college in Greensboro, NC, 8 years ago to work on a KRYStAL and Backstreet Boys music video shoot, filled with pure wonder.

I remember how exciting LA was for me then and how, when I arrived at LAX and walked out into the warm night air, surrounded by tall, sleek, palm trees, it was a truly magical place for me.  Although I was to be in LA for only a couple days, I could not wait to be actually living here after graduation.  Needless to say, as I passed the hotel last night, on what was just another day, so to speak, I realized just how different and rather mellow my experience and feelings are about LA and the same location today.

Suddenly, it hit me, and, in that moment, I decided to instantly soak up what was surrounding me.  Once again, I noticed the unique Sunset Strip sparkle and the many famous landmarks it houses.  Landmarks I often passed without really recognizing because I live here.  I was quickly struck by just how lucky I am to live where I live, in the middle of a place so many only see on TV or in the movies, and it reminded me that LA is a place so many dream of one day simply visiting, let alone living.

This mini “ah ha” moment, as Oprah calls them, happened during what is a big year for me.  I will soon be entering a new decade of my life; something that has contributed to my reflection, and even projection of what I want and where I want, or hope, to be in the future.  Consequently, I am, once again, sitting here on May 13th with no real certainty of what the future holds.

Now, while part of that thought is rather scary for me, especially looking at my life outside of acting and seeing myself in a place so different from what I once thought, part is also very exciting and what life’s adventure is all about.  Ultimately, even after graduation you never really stop learning or experiencing new things.  No matter where you find yourself, there will always be life and lessons after “Pomp and Circumstance.”

“All of life is a journey which paths we take, what we look back on, and what we look forward to is up to us. We determine our destination, what kind of road we will take to get there, and how happy we are when we get there.” - Unknown

MISSING-IN-ACTION, SECRET BALLOTS, AND CARLA LAEMMLE “AMONG THE RUGGED PEAKS”

Up front, I must apologize for my missing-in-action, 3-week hiatus of sorts.  I could say, “my dog ate my blog,” even though I don’t have a dog.  Or seeing that we are in LA, “I was stuck in traffic,” but, alas, I simply got behind in the adventure of life.  So sorry!  That said, here I am!  Miss me?

As I write this week’s blog I have my “SECRET BALLOT ENVELOPE” in hand.  What you ask?  Well, my long awaited Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) 2009 Commercials Contract has arrived.  In April, the committee finally reached a tentative agreement with the advertisers, after negotiations that began last year.  A full rundown of what this agreement includes is explained in the press release posted on SAG’s official website, here.

The ballot makes me feel as though I am back in school and taking a test, because it is in scantron, machine-readable paper, on which students mark answers to academic test questions, form.  I now need to decide whether or not I agree with the contract as is; one on which both unions are strongly urging it’s members to vote YES, by filling in the bubble that reflects my vote and mailing it in by the May 21st deadline.

Aside from my personal blogging delays and “tests” like SAG and AFTRA ballots, I have been auditioning and attending callbacks for some great TV shows, while keeping fairly busy overall.  Something special and fun I got to be a part of was my dear friend Carla Laemmle’s book signing, in Burbank a couple weeks ago.  I received one of her lovely phone calls the afternoon prior to the event to let me know she would be in my neighborhood for her first book signing at the age of 99!  It was held at Dark Delicacies, which she said is “a darker, spookier place that sells books from the horror genre, but hopefully she wouldn’t be too scary,” as she laughed, in true Carla fashion.

Carla Laemmle, whom I have mentioned in a prior blog, “99 YEARS AND COUNTING,” is the niece of Carl Laemmle, the founder of Universal Pictures.  Her book, Among the Rugged Peaks: An Intimate Biography of Carla Laemmle, is written by another wonderful friend of mine Rick Atkins.  It’s a “tell all” autobiography, whose title reflects the first line of the classic 1931 “Dracula” movie, spoken by Miss Laemmle herself.  The book includes a number of stories and beautiful pictures from her many years in Hollywood, which started in January of 1921, when her family made the big move from Chicago to Universal City.

She so kindly personalized an autographed copy of her book for me.  She also graciously signed for me a black and white 8×10 studio picture of her in the first scene from “Dracula,” on which she penned her very famous first line.  I already have it framed and on display among my James Dean, Audrey Hepburn, and cousin Zita Johann’s photographs, and prints and art, from what I like to refer to as the Hollywood years of sophistication.  I could go on and on about the beautiful person Carla is inside and out, as I have before.  She is an inspiration to me, as well as the many who cross her path.  I feel so honored to be considered one of her friends.

Till next time, I hope you are all having a Splendid Spring, and I will be sure not to go into hiding, so to speak, for so long!  Thank you again for the continued support and many wonderful comments, messages, and e-mails.  They all mean so much.  I cannot express enough how I truly appreciate all of you who continue to take with me this rather bumpy journey towards my trying to become a successful actor, in this fairly difficult, unstable, and rapidly changing industry….one baby step at a time!

“Among the rugged peaks that frown down upon the Borgo Pass, are found crumbling castles of a bygone age.” – Carla Laemmle - the first line in “Dracula” (1931)

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