Oh Geez

Internships acquired.

Two internships--one at OddLot Entertainment and one at Eclectic Pictures. I'm so excited to start working there. Now, all I need is a job.

Now, to get to what this post is really about.

I've been talking to 4 of my friends about their 'man' issues recently. I've decided that's one of my callings in life, by the way, giving advice about men. I have no idea how it happened. It's the blessing and the curse of growing up with 3 brothers, I guess. Anyway, I was talking to one friend in particular, high on chick flicks, frustrated with men in general, and we got to talking about her latest project- writing a letter to the men in our lives--sort of a blanket "what girls want" out of relationships and what-not. She asked me to do the same. So, I started thinking about it, and this is what came out. I won't post everything we came up with; I'll only give you the first four or five. I think they're pretty good ones...

Keep in mind, I don't usually do this unless provoked. This isn't a blog about boys, just a post.

-Pragmatism is good. I'd much rather get to know a guy on a personal level than be bombarded by flowers and all that. But, it's nice when a guy steps it up every once in a while, like not letting a girl take the bus home at midnight in Los Angeles (it's really a funny story...).

-I've always liked it when a guy can make me feel like a girl. It's nice feeling like one of the guys-it's comfortable/ fun- but it also feels really good to take a break from having to be an adult who has to run their life and get honked at by mechanics all day and just be treated like a smart, pretty, interesting girl.

-Letting things go on forever without talking or progressing is bull. Man up and talk about what you want to happen with whatever situation you're in with the person you're romantically involved with. This is one of the most frustrating situations ever. I hate it.

-Be honest, no matter the situation. That one's pretty cut and dry. Being lied to is one of the worst feelings in the world.

-If you're interested in a girl, let her know. Don't make her come to you. I've never heard a girl say, "I love how good he is at playing games and being aloof." If you care, show it.

AM I RIGHT, LADIES?

Haha. Alright, that's all I got for now. I don't want this to turn into one of those lists about how much girls love it when you notice their eye color or how guys should show up at the movies with a girl's favorite candy and not be afraid to cry in front of her.

Now, I've got some chick flicks to catch up on.

Random Thoughts

Random Thoughts for the day:

-First, I hate it when people use the word "random." I don't know why. I also hate ''awkward.'' It's overused, and half the time things aren't really all that awkward.

-I was listening to a Missy Elliott song the other day, and one of the lyrics in the song is "from the V-A to the L-A coast." I realized that I'm on the exact opposite end of the country from my hometown in Fairfax, VA. So, thanks, Missy. Cool realization.

-I was talking with a friend the other day about the guys we've dated, and I realized that I don't have a "type." At all. From the boys I liked in high school to the guys I've dated in college, they're all extremely different. I've dated a 6'3" Jewish debate captain, a 5'8" education major, a 6'5" linebacker that now works for the government, and a 5'10" business major/pilot to name a few.

-Lately I've been addicted to Mad Men. It's on Netflix instant play, and I've watched almost all four seasons. I'm fascinated by this show. I love everything about it. I love the writing, the costumes, and the sets, but most of all, I love the women. I especially love Joan Holloway. She's my idol. She is the perfect combination of sex appeal, smarts, and vulnerability. And she's a redhead with hips...

-Google maps has severely underestimated my power-walking. A route that was supposed to take me an hour and 10 minutes to walk only took me 50 minutes.

-I find myself wanting to swear a lot more since I've been out here. I usually don't swear at all, and I mean at all. But, lately these words just keep popping up in my head even when I'm not talking to anyone. No bueno.

-Bright side: my French in improving. I don't know when it happened, but I've been remembering a lot of the French I learned in high school/college. It's really strange. The other day I had a whole two-part conversation with myself in my head in perfect French.

-There was an earthquake in Virginia today. The irony? I'm in California, the most earthquake- prone state in the Union, and my hometown gets an earthquake.

-I think I'm getting too independent for my own good. I spend most of my days walking around LA alone, and I love it. This isn't to say that I don't love hanging out with my friends out here, but I love being able to walk around and do what I want without having to worry about making other people happy or having someone to answer to. Hopefully once my internship starts, though, I'll be better.

-Speaking of which- I got an internship. At least, I got my first internship. I'm still not sure whether or not I'm going to get another one. I might just stick with one for now. Anyways, it's with Odd Lot Entertainment. I'm so, so, so excited to start there.

-I've seen No Strings Attached at least 12 times since I've moved to LA. I'm fascinated with this movie. I don't know why; it's really a terrible show all around, but I can't get enough of it. I don't recommend it to anyone. In fact, I'd ask you not to waste your time watching it. This is my burden to bear alone.

-I've lived here for almost a month now, and I'm still not afraid of walking around at night. Everyone tells me this is stupid, and I believe them. I think I'm pushing my luck walking around at night by myself, but I can't help it. Ever since started running at night in Virginia, the night has no affect on me (in most situations...I'm not stupid).

Anyway- just some of the stuff I've had on my mind recently.

That's all I got.

50% Home

Quick summary of the past few days:

-LA GALAXY GAME LAST NIGHT! I got to see Landon Donovan, David Beckham, Clint Mathis, and ROBBIE FRIGGIN KEANE IN HIS AMERICAN DEBUT last night with Caleb, then we went to get Kogi afterward, which may have been better than the game itself. It was such a good night, even after Caleb was 1 hr 45 min late (cough, cough). It's been four years since I've gotten to see a pro game. It was totally worth it, especially since the tickets were free.

-I think I mentioned my interview with Vendome pictures? Maybe not? Anyway, it went really well. I would LOVE to work there, especially since it's located on Wilshire Blvd, which is quickly becoming my favorite street.

-Barefoot Blue Jean Night on Friday night. Leanne decided to have a Southern night at her place, complete with pulled pork, green beans, corn on the cob, cornbread, banana pudding, and baked beans. It was actually a lot of fun. I got to see Chloe West, whom I went to high school with; it was so bizarre. It was a good night though-lots of catching up with people...and not going to bed until 4 am.

-I am officially a member of the Glendale 7th Ward.

So, the real point of this post is something that I've been thinking of a lot lately. I've been asking myself how much I really want to stay in California, whether staying here is what I'm meant to be doing or just what I want to be doing. This debate came to a head after a particularly long day when nothing (at all) seemed to be going right, and I had no idea how I was going to wake up the next day and do it all over again. I was exhausted, I didn't have anyone to turn to who I felt would really understand how I was feeling, I felt like things should have been going more smoothly if this is what I was meant to be doing, etc. All of this has been the focus of my prayers for a while now, and while I was sitting down in sacrament meeting today, I think I got my answer(s). A man gave a talk (I think he was from the high council? I'm a terrible person), and I swear every other word out of his mouth was something about perseverance. By the end of his talk when he quoted Winston Churchill's famous "Never, never, never, never, never give up" I was literally sitting in my seat thinking, "Alright, I get it!" It was exactly the talk I needed to hear. Basically, the point of it was that experience is priceless. As long as you keep your head on straight, experience can only serve to make you a better person. SO, as long as I can keep my head on straight and have fun with everything that's going on, all of this will make me appreciate Los Angeles a whole lot more once I get it all figured out.

While living here is exhausting, especially without a car and a steady job, it's one of the coolest experiences I could ask for. I'm 21 years old, living in Los Angeles, no one depending on me for anything, relying on myself and no one else. Who gets a chance to live like this? I love it.

That's all I got.

Artsy Fartsy

So yesterday was one of those days that felt like it would never start, and then it felt like it would never end. Since I thought it would be my last free day for a while with my interviews and orientations this weekend/next week, I figured I would do something I wanted to do. I've been dying to go to a museum here since the last time I tried to go to one in Los Angeles (with Jeff, last year), it had closed by the time we got there. I found out that the MOMA and MOCA are free on Thursdays from 5:00pm to 8:00pm thanks to Wells Fargo, AND that the MOCA was showing The Cool School, a documentary about the Ferus Art Gallery--what really brought modern art to LA.

Earlier in the day I went to Runyon Canyon. It was probably a mistake to go in the middle of the day, especially since I went the night before. The combination of the heat and my tired legs made it super hard. I went up the canyon's steepest face first, which I never do, and I was dying. I felt like a wimp since I'd hiked the thing maybe ten times since I've been to LA, but I was struh-guh-ling.

I biked home after that and took a shower before I made the trek to the MOCA. I planned out my whole route online, planning to bike there. Biking turned out to be a crappy idea since the screws in both my handlebars and my seat are coming loose. So I hopped on the Metro (which was FREE because they were doing maintenance on the ticket machines) and got to the MOCA just in time.

The documentary itself was awesome. I highly recommend it to those interested in art. It reminded me a lot of Dogtown and the Z Boys, actually, the documentary about the Zephyr skate teams back in the 70s. What these artists in the Ferus Gallery did was unlike anything going on in the nation, artistically, let alone the wasteland that was Los Angeles back in the 1960s. They started the Ferus Gallery with Walter Hopps and single-handedly put Los Angeles on the 'art' map. Really, really cool story. And great art. The coolest part was seeing Frank Gehry talk about all these guys and sharing stories about all their hijinks, knowing that I was right across the street from the Disney Concert Hall.

The walk home was my favorite/least favorite part of the day. The area around the MOCA/Disney Concert Hall is beautiful at night. It's very clean and official-looking in some parts and artistic and serene in others. I got on the Metro, and this wave of exhaustion hit me. I don't know if it was dehydration or what, but I was soooo incredibly tired. The thought of walking home made me want to lie down and take a nap.

Anyway, I did end up walking/biking home. I swear, my feet will develop a coating of steel over them in the next few weeks. They need a pedicure so badly. And I don't get pedicures.

The walk home gave me a lot of time to think, though, about what I want out of this city. If I even want to be in this city at all. I love Los Angeles, but there's something about it that can rub you the wrong way, especially in a few particular areas. So, I've been thinking these past few weeks about what I want to do. I've actually been reading my patriarchal blessing a lot, trying to figure out what it is I'm meant to do. That's something I'm really trying to keep in mind right now. I know there are things I want to do (work on movies, write, etc) and there are things I'm meant to do (which are to be determined). I still have a part of me that wants to be involved in academia and teaching/working with non-profits, etc. So, I need to reconcile these two and figure things out. And the sooner I can do that, the better.

Anyway, that's my rant. Right now I'm sitting in a Starbucks on Beverly Dr. with my Mac, working on writing and reading screenplays. This is part of Los Angeles that I could definitely get used to. Minus the teenagers (none of whom can possibly be older than 16) making out in the corner. It's 2:30 in the afternoon, kids. Go reach your potential.

That's all I got.

Good things.

It's been quite the few days since I've updated this thing. I've been doing a lot of sample coverage writing/reading of scripts, etc. I also had an interview yesterday and two more before Monday. Things are picking up, and I'm really liking where they're going.

Caitie came into town Saturday. It felt SO good having her there. We went to Kogi and Yogurtland (right across the street from each other-a sign straight from God). We walked around a little bit, went to Ralphs, caught up, and hung out back at Leanne's place. When we got home we were bombarded by Barrett and his friends who started playing an X Men drinking game. Sometimes I really wish I drank, because this was a doozy. Then, Barrett and I stayed up until about 6 am talking about random stuff and watching random TV shows. I don't know how much of the conversation he remembered in the morning, but it was also a doozy.

The next morning we went to church (my first sacrament meeting in almost 5 weeks). Just being in the building was a relief, let alone taking the sacrament. After sacrament, Caitie, Lars and I went to see Crazy, Stupid, Love- a movie I highly recommend to anyone and everyone. Afterwards, we went to lunch with Caleb, then back to Glendora. Glendora was its usual Glendora self- perfect. We hung out at Lars' then went hiking up to Larsland for pictures and, for some people who will not be mentioned, a lil sum' sum'.

This week's been pretty all over the place. Caitie and I went to Santa Monica on Monday, I spent the day writing/reading on Tuesday, then yesterday I had an interview with Voltage Pictures. I decided to walk home afterwards, which is the best and worst thing I did all day. The walk was gorgeous, but my heels were killing me. I ended up stopping at an ethnic specialty store for some food (good), my feet were still killing me (bad), I bought flip flops at Target for the walk home (good), by the time I got half-way home I couldn't tell whether my skin was tan or just dark because of soot (bad), I bought hair-dye so that I can finally get my hair back to the way it's supposed to be (good).

The best part about walking home, though, was that I got to donate blood in a random Cedars Sinai donate-blood-mobile. BONUS, for donating blood they gave me two free tickets to the LA Galaxy on Saturday. BOOM!

Since tomorrow's probably the last free day I'll have for a while, I'm going to the MOCA for a screening of The Cool School. I'm pretty stoked. I saw a few minutes of it back in the day, but I never got to finish it. Is gon be good.

That's all I got.

I'm big in Japan.

There's a different breed of human that exists between the hours of midnight and 5 am in Los Angeles. They're all male, they all love to yell, and they all want sex. As I was walking home down La Brea Avenue at 3 am, I had at least 7 different guys stop and cat call me. Not a big deal, unless you consider the fact that the walk itself is only about 7 minutes. In the back of my mind I kept thinking "This is how D list celebrities must feel when they get big in Japan."

I'm big on La Brea Avenue at 3 am.

It all started when I went to Glendora to hang out at Lars' while he helped host an Indian dinner for some people from the singles' ward. I wasn't really looking forward to the trek, just because buses and I aren't on the best terms at the moment. BUT, it was a chance to go to Glendora, one of my favorite places in California thanks to Lars and Jeff, meet people from the singles ward, see Lars, and get out of Los Angeles for a little bit--all good things.

I got on the 733 downtown-everything's good. I'm on the bus looking for my stop when I realize that the bus driver has passed it. I ask her when I can get off, and the conversation goes something like this.

Annalee: Hi, I missed my stop. When's the next stop?

Driver: Where are you trying to go?

Annalee: Ummm Spring and 1st...it's back there a ways.

Driver: Spring and 1st is back there. You missed it.

Annalee: Yeah, haha, I know. Is there a way I can get off and just walk back there?

Driver: You missed your stop, so you'll have to walk back there.

Annalee: Okay....can I do that?

Driver: Okay, but you'll have wait and get off and walk.

Annalee: Right, so can I get off here?

Driver: Wait a minute...(literally waits a minute and opens the door).

So I walked about a half mile back to the stop and saw my bus pull away as I was about a block away. Luckily there was one about five minutes later, so I got on it and made it to Glendora. I waited in a Walgreens parking lot and Lars picked me up. I have to say it was really nice seeing him. It would've been nice to see anyone that I know's face, but his especially.

Anyway, we had dinner, which was delicious, then went swimming, which was great, except I spent the whole time trying not to get wet since I had to ride the bus home, then we had dessert and talked shop for a little more than an hour, and I was off again. I got a ride to Pasadena from Cody Owens, and we did some BYU-I reminiscing. I got on the 11:50 train from Pasadena to Union Station, prepared to get on the 1:00 am 33 bus from Downtown LA to La Brea/Olympic. I walked around downtown LA for a little bit, looking for the bus-stop, and I got the distinct feeling like I was an idiot for being there by myself. I'm not afraid of being by myself at night, but even I knew I was pushing my luck with this stunt.

I got the the bus stop and waited until 1 am. When the bus finally came...it drove right past me. So...I waited until 2 am. There were a few weird moments, most coming from guys insisted that they give me a ride home, or told me I was really pretty and wanted my number. While I waited I made friends with two really cool, really nice older men- one named Paco and one named Larry. Paco came across the street from the other bus stop and proceeded to lecture me about being out so late. When he saw that I was reading about film, he told me I was going to be a big star. He kept me company until he got on the 70 bus back east. Larry, another older guy, came up and started chatting about where I was going and why I was out so late, then we talked about our mutual dislike of the late night bus schedule.

I got on the 2 am 33 bus towards Santa Monica, and let me tell you, there are some shady characters on that bus. I don't mean to stereotype or anything, but I was the only white person on the bus, one of two females (the other was a roughly 40 years old, heavier-set, who was sleeping with her mouth open and head bobbing from side to side; I was trying to hard not to laugh), and I had the impression that everyone on that bus thought I was nuts and/or wanted me out of there. There was one guy, in particular, who made his disapproval very clear. So, I pretended to read my book while I was really nodding off because I was so tired. I finally got home around 3 and went to bed.

So, while I love Los Angeles, and I'm glad that I got to meet Larry and Paco (bus buds 4 eva), I don't think I'll be doing that again. Mama didn't raise no foo.

That's all I got.

Sunday, bloody Sunday

I really shouldn't complain, because it could've been worse, and I'm making it seem like it was the end of the world, but I'm going to complain anyway. Yesterday was crap.

I woke up around 7:30 to get ready for church. I haven't been to church in something like four weeks because of traveling, people being in town, etc. and I was really looking forward to going back. I got to the bus stop around 9:30 in time to catch the 733 downtown to Main Street. I got on the train, got off at Main, and waited for the 92 towards Burbank, which should have taken me to two blocks away from the church. I went to the stop and waited. And then I waited some more. I waited for 40 minutes for this bus, with an Armenian man asking me where to catch the 33 every 3 minutes.

SO, I got on google maps and rerouted. I got on the 91 to Sunland and rode the bus, hoping it was the right one, towards Burbank. I asked the bus driver if the bus went to Glenoaks/Central, which was my stop, and he told me that I needed to be on the 94. I got off the 91 and got on the 94, already twenty minutes late for church. I rode the 94 for a few stops, but noticed the were heading away from Glendale, so I asked the bus driver (again) if he was going by my stop, and he told me that the closest thing to my top was two stops ago. I got off the bus, turned on my GPS, and walked the 1.7 miles to the church along the 134. It was hot, I was in a dress, there were men honking at me every thirty seconds, my feet were killing me, I was late, I'd been traveling for the past 2 hours, etc., etc. To add insult to injury, the 92 bus actually passed me on my way to the church. Piece of crap...

When I finally go to the church, I was exhausted, and I looked like it. I walked up the the church, walked in, and ran into Myra Lindstrom. She took one look at me and asked me "what happened?" I was sweating and my makeup was probably all over the place. We went to the bathroom and cleaned up, then met up with Aaron White on the other end of the church. Just being inside a church felt good, even if it was only for a few minutes. By this time, I was about to fall over I was so tired, and the idea of spending another two hours in church when I felt like crap made me feel even more crappy, so I left. It would've been nice to hang out with Myra and the gang a little more, but all I wanted to do was change into something other than a dress and lie down forever.

But it doesn't end there. I walked to the 92's stop and waited for another 30 minutes until the bus came, got on the bus, and got off again 30 minutes later in downtown LA. I spent another 15 minutes looking for the stop for the 28, which was two blocks away from where it should have been on Spring/8th St (thank you very much, Los Angeles). I got on the bus, which was crowded as crap, and got off another 40 minutes later at Olympic/La Brea, and I walked home, getting through the door at 5:30 pm.

Walking into the house felt SO GOOD. I don't think I've ever been so happy to lie down on a bed. Ever. I don't know why the day was so draining. Maybe it was because I was frustrated the whole time.

Anyways, it was the longest day in the world. Now, my feet are inflamed and sore. WedMD says I have strained tendons, and it ordered me to bed rest. So that's what I've been doing ever since.

On the bright side, I had an okay night, and a good morning today. There was a nice discussion about Room Raiders, and what a guy would think about us if all they saw was were our rooms.

And back to bed rest.