Welcome to the Good Life!

Wow. It’s been over 2 weeks since I’ve posted…I’m so sorry!! I’ve been kind of busy. :/  But, I promised I would make this blog to keep everyone informed back home, sooooo I’ll try to make up for lost time!

Lol I can barely remember 2 weeks ago...

So, I had an amazing 4^th of July! I went to Manhattan Beach with some of my girls and spent most of the day, and went to an event at the original 90210 beach house! I got to watch fireworks on the beach for the 1^st time, so it was a great time. :)  

The next day I spent all day at Redondo Beach and watched the sunset! Only downside: I forgot to reapply sunscreen, and I’m still suffering from that mistake. Can you say, regret? Lol

That Thursday I went to tour NBC Studios to reminisce the time I took the tour 9 years ago! When I was 13 I got to meet a lot of the Days of Our Lives cast and was able to see their sets, common rooms, offices, etc.  It was one of my first studio tours, and that experience led me to my current interest in the film industry. I didn’t have quite the same experience, but it was fun nonetheless. Afterwards I had nothing to do, so I decided to try my luck again with the Jay Leno show. I was given standby ticket #17 (hopeless). I walked in, and I kid you not, within like 2 minutes of standing in the standby line, I was called over and given someone’s extra ticket! Whoo! I was one of the last people to enter the studio, but I was given a seat on the FRONT ROW right by the band! Lol I was also selected to participate in a pre-show activity where I got a free Jay Leno shirt. :) At the start of the show, I got to run up to the front and shake Jay’s hand, and also got to dance with some of the band members during commercial breaks. It was SO MUCH FUN! After the show I got to talk to Jay for a little bit before he drove off the studio lot. All of that, and I didn’t even have a ticket. Lol Beginner’s luck?? ;) 

Saturday I went on a 6 mile hike with some boys from my Bible study in Topanga Park. Many girls were invited, but I was the only girl that showed up. Lol But don’t worry, girls came for the bbq and hot tub session, just not the sweaty hike. Lol They can’t handle it. ;)

Sunday I tried out a new church called Basileia. It’s in walking distance from my apartment, and I really loved the worship time and the message! The people were so friendly and a lot of people came up to me after the service to talk with me, so needless to say, I’m definitely going back on Sunday!  :) 

After church I was invited to a bbq at the original “Halloween” house owned by producer Michael Mendelsohn! It was so much fun to hang out with friends and meet new people…thanks Skylaaaa!

Sunday night I tried Oasis church with my bestie Nicola! It was amazing, and Nicole Reyes brought what was the best message I’ve heard since I’ve been in LA. God is amazing. I’m so thankful that He has brought people, direction, and blessings into my life here in LA. I can never thank Him enough.

Monday I met with 1^st Assistant Director Richard Rosser. We had a very productive meeting, and I’m excited for our future teamwork on some projects!

Tuesday was kind of a rough day for me. I found out that my Papa has Stage 4 T-Cell Lymphoma and they think it might be aggressive.  I never thought this would ever happen to my grandpa because he is so healthy and strong, and to see him become so weak and tired all of the time just breaks my heart. He is one of the most influential people in my life, and he has taught me a lot of things. He has been a Free Will Baptist preacher almost his entire life and has blessed and brought God’s word to so many people. He truly is an inspiration to me, and I would appreciate everyone’s prayers. I know that God can heal him…I have faith in that…but, it might be his time to go home, and although I REALLY don’t want that, I know that God’s will is best. I think it’s just hard for me because I’m here in Los Angeles and he and the rest of my fam is in Arkansas, and there’s nothing I can do to help. Anyway, my Papa always has a sense of humor, and so I’m trying to honor him and stay positive and light hearted about the situation. He is finally getting the treatment he deserves, so everything is a lot better. Thank you to all of you back home who have been praying for him, and to all of you who are just now finding out, please pray. I believe in the power of prayer. :) God brought my mom through cancer, and I know He can do it again!!

Wednesday I took a tour of Warner Bros.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHH!!!!!!!!!! I loved it! I really don’t even know what to say except that I am always the happiest person I’ve ever been when I’m on a studio backlot. It was epic. Plussssss, afterwards I stayed and talked with our tour guide and found out that he went to the University of Oklahoma too, and we knew some of the same people! I love networking! The best thing about the tour was the wardrobe and props museum which contained Gracie Lou Freebush’s New Jersey dress worn by Sandra Bullock in “Miss Congeniality!” They also had some other “MC” props, so as you can imagine, I was in Heaven!!  I also had a delicious strawberry ice cream at the WB ice cream shop that made the day worthwhile! Thanks for the coupon, WB! Ice cream and WB…you can’t beat that! :)

Thursday I had a meeting with Co-Producer of “24,” Paul Gadd. He is a fellow Sooner (which is always a breath of fresh air, b/c of course, we’re the best) and he had a lot of encouragement and advice for me to work in the film industry. Super great guy!  That night we had our Bible study, and there’s a sweet little girl who comes with her mom, who has already latched on to me! She is adorable, and when we were singing worship songs, she started singing and my heart melted. After the study, she started randomly singing, “Who run the world? Girls! Who run the world? Girls!” bahaha I’m pretty sure it was the beginning of a BeaUtiful friendship.

Friday I got to help Marissa – my boss for next week – lay some groundwork for our job at Comic Con. I was so blessed to get a job assisting a logistics consultant with 2 Legendary Entertainment panels at Comic Con 2011 in San Diego! I’ll be gone from July 19-25, so if I seem MIA, that’s where I am. It’s going to be CRAZY…I’m talking like minimal to 0 sleep, but it will be fun getting everything together, making sure talent is where they’re supposed to be, and making sure the week goes off successfully! I accept the challenge. ;) I’ve got plenty of RedBull and dry shampoo, so I think I’ll be good! Haha

Friday night I was asked if I wanted a job that night as a set PA (Production Assistant) for a small film by producer Michael Mendelsohn…….DUHHHHH!! Who in their right mind wouldn’t take that opportunity? Lol It was my first job learning about production, and it was a blast!! We filmed from 1 a.m. until 2:30 a.m. and I didn’t get to sleep until like 4 a.m.  It was a good thing that I drank a RedBull and a Starbucks energy drink earlier. I swear I’m going to die from overconsumption of ginseng.  Anyway, after we wrapped, Michael said I was destined for success in production! YAY! My 1^st go at it, and it was apparently a home run! Either he thought I was a great worker, or he just liked the coffee I made him. Lol

Saturday I had an amazing women’s bible study with the girls from Basileia! We talked about how Paul told the church of Corinth that we are all a part of the body of Christ. We may have different talents or gifts, but they are all unique and essential to the body. If you are a hand, you don’t look at a foot and say that you have no need for them, b/c they are different. It was an amazing study about how we need to learn to work together despite our differences, and learn to understand, appreciate and love each individual person. Annnnyyyyyway, it was a great time of studying and prayer. :)  

Sunday I went to Basileia again, and then I headed for Redondo Beach to spend some much needed time with my peeps. I pretty much just chilled on the beach, ate a crap ton of food, slept, and then chilled on the beach again in the morning. Lol It was a time of relaxation and rest. Trust me, I needed it.

Tomorrow I’m waking up at 6:45 a.m. and getting ready to head to San Diego for the week! If you can, PLEASE do not call or text me b/c I need to keep my phone line open for the Legendary Ent. staff in case they need to contact me. I more than likely will not be able to answer any calls/texts b/c I’ll be working my little tush off! :) If I do have some down time, I will contact YOU. Thanks friends! I can’t wait to blog again…hopefully not in 3 weeks. Lol

Love you all,

-Lish

Crazy Busy!!

So sorry it's been so long since I've posted. Since a lot of things has been going on, this blog will be very random (and boring) because I'm just going to let you know what I've been up to without going into a ton of detail. Basically, it'll be like the 10 commandments instead of Paul's 13 letters. haha

First of all, let me throw out that I'm an IDIOT! I deleted all of the comments on the 3 blog posts I've made, and I had absolutely know idea that I did it. I'm still new to Blogger and I thought I was just deleting the notification, not the actual comment. Sorry everyone!!

Last Monday I went to the "Chelsea Lately" show with Chelsea Handler and Chuy. The special guest was Tatum O'Neil. It was a lot of fun and production was FAST! Even though I had never seen the show, it was a great experience. After the show, Chuy gave me his autograph! :)


• That night, we had our ritual "Bachelorette" watch party with the girls!! As usual, it was a blast!
• After the watch party some of the girls and I went to the comedy show (as mentioned in the last blog), and if I hadn't been super tired, it probably would have been funnier! I be packin' a Red Bull next time. lol
• On Wednesday I went to Central Casting with my friend Caitlin! It's an agency where you can sign up to be in their system for free, take a head shot, and then call for possible extra jobs! Why not have a chance to be in a movie and see the behind-the-scenes production side of things for FREE!! I hope I get at least one extra job before I leave. :)
• That night I went to a screening and panel discussion of "Tree of Life" with my Sky pie! ;) It was mucho fun b/c I love spending time with friends and I love movies! Best of both worlds! ha Plus Brad Pitt was in the movie, so that helped too! ;)
• Thursday I volunteered to help my roommate on field day with the elementary school she teaches at! I love Playworks! I got to play "See ya later, Alligator" with a ton of kids who gave me hugs, smiles, and a lot of love! Best. Day. Ever!!
• Again, I have Bible study on Thursday nights which I love! I continue to meet great friends there, and I love being able to worship through song. The messages are a little too deep and intellectual for my brain...lol, but I'm definitely trying to keep up! haha
• Friday morning I went to the 3rd St. Promenade in Santa Monica to meet up with Zac, a Christian film director, producer and writer. He was extremely encouraging, inspiring and intelligent. He gave me hope and that extra boost I needed for my purpose out here. Thanks Steve for introducing him to me! :) 

Since I was already at the promenade I decided to shop and go to the Santa Monica Pier!! Whoo! :)
• Oh but 1 side note I'd like to mention is that I met my first rude person in LA on Friday! ha So after I ordered my caramel frap at Starbucks I stood up against the wall near the pick up counter. I was literally standing 3 feet away from this guy (who was my age, looked super clean cut and nice), and he started to say something to me, and I thought, "Oh great...here it goes again. A guy tries to say something witty and cute to flirt with me and I have to smile and play it off"....BUT, this is what he said: "Ummmm, excuse me, you're kind of in my personal bubble....like in my space." His lips were kind of twitching and stuff like he just came out of the crazy bin! At first I thought it was a joke b/c I was literally standing 3 FREAKING feet away from him! I could understand if I was breathing down his neck, but I wasn't and where did he want me to stand...in the bathroom?...outside?? GEEZ. Anyway, so he continued saying, "I have this like 5 foot rule with people. Could you just take like a step back?" Being the nice person I am, I graciously took a step back and said, "Is this good for you? (kind of sarcastically...lol)" and he said "Take one more." Soooo I did, and then he got his coffee and said "thanks, I just hate Starbucks when they're crowded, and this idea of people......murmur, mumble, murmur as he was walking out the door." Wowwwww....I'd hate to see what he'd act like at a theme park, or on a bus...or if he visited somewhere in Asia. lol  
• That night I went to eat at Candela's on La Brea with the Bible study group and had a blast! I love my new friends out here...it literally feels like I've known them forever. Weird.
• Saturday I hiked the Hollywood sign with Matt and Nick! I've always wanted to do that, and I'm so glad I was given the time and ability to do so. :)

We then went to In-N-Out!! It tasted amazing after we wandered in the desert for 3 hours! ha

• On Sunday I went to Reality church again! It was a great service on the Book of Ruth. Later that day I drove to Will Rogers State Beach and met up with some of my Bible study friends! I had so much fun walking along the beach, watching some volleyball, and of course, eating ice cream. :)

My girl, Christina and I started thuggin' out to our boi and Christian rap artist LeCrae! :)

• Then we all had dinner, and went to Yogurt Land where I got....drum roll.....caramel, cake batter and green apple yogurt with brownie bites, nuts, sprinkles, bananas, strawberries, oreos, and coconut!! Yummmmmm! lol
• In recent news, I'm starting to watch the 1st season of "The OC!" Yay! haha Also, some of my plans fell through this week, but I know greater things are coming! I can't wait to see what this week holds! Oh and my awesome roomie Annie got me this cool Shaq shirt from his retirement party! Thanks boo! :)



Balllaaaaa, Shot calllaaaaaa! ;)

Until next time,

- Alisha

1 Week In and Rockin' It Like a Pro! haha

So I know it’s only been like 5 days since I last posted, but I’m bored and feel like blogging…so here’s a random assortment of my thoughts/feelings, and the things that I’ve encountered since Wednesday! Lol Sorry I haven't really taken pics since I've been here, but I added a few this time!

Pic #1: Uggggh, this blog is going to be brutal!! Why yes I am wearing an Oklahoma Wrestling shirt! I love my boys! :)

Rando things about LA that I do not particularly like at the moment:

1.       JUNE GLOOM!! Ughhh…I moved out here because it’s supposed to always be sunny…you fail at life, June.

2.       Parking. Trying to find a parking spot in many parts of the city is like trying to find the perfect guy – hopeless and disappointing. Lol Once you actually find a spot, you either have to pay out the wazoo or if you’ve been blessed and find a free spot, you have to read the signs VERY carefully. If you do not meticulously read the fine print, LA parking officers will be more than happy to place a citation on your car that’s equivalent to the cost of your first unborn child. As another method of punishing illiterate citizens (in honor of the recent Saturday night “Cars 2” premiere), parking officials will call “Mator” to come and move your car for you. :) Thankfully I have not had to experience either….I’m praying the day never comes!

3.       Ok, so there are these super weird traffic lights here – they don’t  really look like they’re working, but they are I guess…I don’t really know. They’re directly after a main traffic light, and they just have this like green reflector thing instead of a light. As I’m typing I’ve discovered that they could possibly be like pedestrian lights and are triggered only by pedestrians…hmm, I should probably figure that out before I get back on the road again.

4.       Wal-Mart’s are as scarce as water in a desert. I haven’t found one yet. I’m forced to shop at Targhetto and these weird chains called Ralph’s and Trader Joe’s…pray for me. Hahaha ;)  j/k j/k But seriously, I’m tired of not seeing all of the common brands and chains like in AR and OK.  

Ok, enough ranting for the night! Now I’ll just inform you of the boring stuff I’ve been doing. ;) Soooo…the other day I literally bought the McD’s 50 piece chicken nugget combo…don’t judge…it was great advertising! Haha Now that I got that off my chest, let’s move on.

Pic #2: Ok,  this blog is literally taking forever...sowwwwyyyy!!

Thursday night I attended a Bible study with my new friend Skyler, and it was awesome!! I met so many new friends and it was great to just worship God with fellow believers. I’ll definitely be there again this coming Thursday night! On Friday I got super bored and decided to try my luck at getting in to see The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (special guest Josh Duhamel) with no ticket in hand. As you all know, the Easts are pretty lucky, and yes, I did get in. :) However, my luck did come with some costs: I walked around NBC studios to this gated area where people were caged in like zoo animals, and I asked where I could maybe get a ticket. The trick is, I knew exactly where to get a ticket but I was playing my dumb little girl act…it’s one of my many talents! Haha Anyway, just as I expected/hoped, a man said that he had an extra standby ticket on his pass and that I was more than welcome to join! It saved me a mile walk to the office and got me standby #2 instead of #6. He was an elderly man and was with another sweet elderly couple…a paradise party of 3 you would think, right? WRONG!! They were all crazed out on some stuff, and after observing their convos, I think homeless. I felt bad for them until they started causing major trouble with the Tonight Show crew by disobeying their rules and then shouting that I was in their party of 4. I quickly explained that I didn’t have a ticket, had just met these lunatics like 15 minutes ago, and was riding in on their standby pass. Just to let you in on the level of craziness I’m talking about: The elderly Mexican man was wearing a sequined shirt, psychedelic pants, a trench coat, an orange bandana and a fedora. He apparently can balance a glass of water on his head while holding an umbrella and dancing…as he demonstrated for all the Tonight Show guests. I begged the crew not to associate me with this motley crew, and they said they completely understood because these 3 stooges were repeat offenders. Anyway, it was the most miserable 2 hour wait of my life and I would’ve rather given my right arm….buuuuuut, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do to see Josh Duhamel! Lol Friday night was a little more chill as I went to Lot 1 café with my roomie and listened to some amazing live music (the pianist was Colbie Caillat’s pianist)!

Saturday was a little less adventurous, but I worked out at The Sports Club LA – Beverly Hills…didn’t see anyone famous, but I definitely had a great workout!! It was tiiiight in there!  That night I was bored and decided to go walk on Hollywood Blvd and grab a coffee.

I found out that the “Cars 2” premiere had just ended. :(  

In just the 1 week that I’ve been here, I’ve already missed 3 premieres (Mr. Popper’s Penguins, The Green Lantern and Cars 2)!! It will never happen again – scouts honor!!

I may have missed the premiere, but I found a store devoted to Hello Kitty!! New fave? I.think.so.

After soaking up all of the tourist crap in Hwd that I could, I headed over to my new friends Mary and Scott’s place to play some games. It turns out that they live with a woman who won an Emmy for doing the PR for “Heroes.” Carri is so nice and is definitely a hard-working and intelligent woman, and I’m excited to pick her brain in the future. I feel like I have a lot to learn from her, and I can’t wait to listen and soak it all up!  

In recent news, I’m on the church hunt. I explored 2 churches today, and liked different things about both of them, but I still want to press on and find out about other churches in the area. I will definitely re-visit the churches from today, but I could use your prayers for God to lead me to the church He has in store for me this summer.

SO sorry I wrote a novel. In short: tomorrow I’m going to “Chelsea Lately,” then the “Bachelorette” watch party at our apartment, and then off to Upright Citizens Brigade (a comedy show) with the girls to hear Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel. Eventful day tomorrow!

P.S. I recently created a LinkedIn profile so if you would like to connect, just hit me up!

                                     

Pic #3: Horribly written blog, but you made it out alive!! :) lol

Much love to my peeps! ;)

-Lish

California Girl!!! 3 days and counting! ;)

The past 3 weeks of my life have been absolutely bizarre. I just got back from a cruise to Haiti, Jamaica and Cozumel on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas (pics coming soon), and had the best time of my life! I got back last Sunday and left for Los Angeles on Wednesday. I arrived on Friday, but didn’t completely move in and part ways with my dad until Sunday. You would think that I, being the one leaving family, friends and all other comforts, would be the one who was depressed to move into a new, big, scary city where I knew zero people, but it was actually my dad who was overwhelmed. I guess it was hard for him to see his little girl grow up and move on with her life, but it was destined to happen sooner or later. But don’t worry about the pops…he’s all good now. :)  

            So after living in LA for only 3 full days now, I’ve come to the conclusion that I love this city! It might only be for a season – who really knows? – but for the moment, I’m living it up! Here’s the scoop: I’m living in Los Feliz with 2 awesome Christian girls! I seriously couldn’t ask for better roommates. One of my roommates was a PR/Spanish major at OU just like me, and is now working in Marketing for Warner Bros. My other roommate loves kids and sports, and is a sports program coordinator for a school in LA. I know…they sound like me combined, right?!?? God is so good!

            If you know me at all, and the fact that I can’t sit still, you’re probably thinking what have I done with myself for 3 days? Well, I’ve definitely been exploring the area through 3-4 mile jogs/walks every day. We live right next to Griffith Park, so there’s always beautiful scenery to take in on a crisp cool morning. Today I decided to just check out Los Feliz and hit the jackpot! There’s a movie theatre like one street away from our apartment! SCORE! ha

My roommates are super involved in their church and community groups and they have a lot of girls come over on Monday nights for “Bachelor/Bachelorette” watch parties! My roommate has been hosting the watch parties since she was 16! It’s so legit, a story and picture about her watch parties debuted in the New York Times! Plus, I’m always game for meeting new people, and watching the show with hilarious commentators while devouring snacks definitely made for a fun night! I met a lot of new friends and I’m so excited for our future fun. :)  

Tonight I attended a taping of “State of Georgia” with Raven Symone, Majandra Delfino and Loretta Devine, at CBS Studio Center. It was so amazing to see all of the behind-the-scenes action! The entire crew running around completing their tasks, the lights, the cameras, the director yelling action…ahh, I was seriously in Heaven! I could totally see myself on a crew like that in the future…fingers crossed! :) Despite the fact that I was in the studio for a whopping 6 hours, and there was a group of annoying 13 year-old girls constantly running around and being loud (apparently a producer’s daughter and her friends can do whatever they want), my first live taping of a TV show was a success!

So just to clear anyone’s preconceived negative thoughts about LA and its people...every single person I’ve met so far has been so friendly and nice! Yes, most of them have been transplants (aren’t from LA, but moved here), but it still counts! Ha Not to say I haven’t seen some interesting creatures in Hollyweird…oops, I mean Hollywood. I saw a mid 70s man with a long black wig and black lipstick carrying a female mannequin dressed exactly like him into McDonald’s. As if that doesn’t sound strange enough, he then proceeded to talk to her and try to feed her. I tried to act all cool, but I can’t deny that I flinched when I walked by him on the way to refill my drink. All weirdos aside, I’ve met very normal, nice people on my jogs, and I met a girl in a gas station who is now my FB friend. lol I’m pretty sure it just confirms the saying that you have to show yourself friendly to have friends. :) Oh and just a side note - traffic is totally manageable!

I believe that God has some upcoming events for me this summer that are going to be a blast, and I can’t wait to see what He has in store! He has been so good to me, and opened up so many doors for me to be able to pursue my dream. I’m attending a Bible study this Thursday, and checking out the church that my roomies go to on Sunday! I’m so ready to worship and just be in God’s presence with God’s people! I’ve truly appreciated the many prayers…keep ‘em coming! ;)

Now that I’ve babbled on, I’ll sum it up: No need to worry about Lish! I’m doing great thanks to everyone’s love and support. I miss and love you all!

P.S. I only have like 8 ½ weeks of summer left…ugh, I’m running out of time!! I still need to be on a real movie set, learn how to surf and meet Sandra Bullock, and then my summer will be complete! Good thing I’ve already met some friends that can help me with 2 of those things…anyone know Sandy?? Haha

1st Blog Post Evaaaaaa!!

Hey friends!

Ok, so I don't really know what I'm doing because I've never "blogged" before, but I thought it would be a great way to let you all know about my many adventures this summer in LA! Once I get there I may find that I have absolutely nothing to write about, but I certainly hope that's not the case! I'm excited to document what I encounter - which I'm sure will be pretty interesting, so if you want to know all about my life in La La Land and also have a few laughs, then stay tuned!! I'm super excited as I begin the countdown to my departure date (June 8th)! I'm not sure they'll  know what hit them! haha Cali here I come!!

AE