Keep Austin Weird

Oh, how I miss the quirkiness of Austin:

Cali vs. Texas

Now that I've been in California for almost a month, I figured I would make a list of things that are different from Texas (and other stuff worth noting):

* I-35 traffic has nothing on L.A. traffic. Srsly. I thought avoiding I-35 between the hours of 3 p.m and 7 p.m. was smart, but having alternate routes (at least 4 or 5) in L.A. is a must. Thankfully, L.A. is pretty (for the most part) well organized in its road/highway structures to easily find another way around traffic.

* Speaking of traffic, thus far on my lunch outings for the editors I have managed to avoid using the highway (i.e. "The 5". And yes, Californians refer to all highways with "The" preceding the highway number. The 10. The 101. The 5. The 405, etc.). However, yesterday, I had to make a run to Westwind (sound post-house) and the highway was the easiest and shortest way to get there. This trip resulted in my first run-in with stop lights on the highway entrance. Weirdest (but most logical) thing ever. 

* Turning signals, while there for a reason, are completely ignored by L.A. drivers. I don't care if people cut me off while driving (as annoying as it is), but please, just let me know instead of freaking me out when you suddenly pull in front of me.

* In-n-Out burger is addictive. I'm convinced their burgers are laced with some form of crack to keep you coming back. Haha. In-n-Out burger is Texas's equivalent of What-a-burger. (And my dad will hate me for saying this, but I find In-n-Out burger to be better. :p )

* The cost of going to the movies is more than what I used to make per hour at work. $12 a pop! I should start donating plasma now! Oh wait, I forgot. I'm terrified of needles. LOL!

* There are too many hills in California. Srsly. I'm so used to seeing where I'm going thanks to the flatness of Texas, but not in California. Nooooo. Entering the apartment complex through the residents' entrance is a death trap. The gate sits on a hill and you're at almost a 45-degree angle while trying to use the keycard to raise the gate bar, but THEN, you have to wait for the gate to open, all the while trying not to roll backwards down the hill. Californians are lucky they don't get much ice. Otherwise, I can only imagine the price of car insurance spiking immensely.

* On the subject of ice, we had our first few cloudy, cold rainy days in L.A. this past weekend. A shock nonetheless. You quickly get used to the everyday sunny, comfortable 70-degree California weather and the instant that it changes you think the apocalypse has begun. LOL! But according to the editors, California's winter usually occurs from March to May, with April being a month of non-stop rain (hence the "April showers bring May flowers," but if this is true, I'm not looking forward to it).

On the weekend agenda:

* Pre-birthday dinner at Miceli's on Friday for Kristina

* Saturday venture to the Knott's Berry Farm Amusement park (bringing canned food for a half-price admission fee!), followed by an evening out on the town.

* Possible trip to the beach Sunday afternoon followed by a lasagna dinner and mint chocolate cake in the evening.

9021-OH MY GOD!

So, uh...I found out today that my boss, the director of post production at STARZ, is none other than Dennis Weaver's (Gunsmoke) son, Rob Weaver. 

THE Rob Weaver, a.k.a. the director of "90210" aaaaaand BAYWATCH! :D Oh yeah. The Hoff. Pam Anderson. And that guy that played Toby(?) who is now on "Confessions of a Teen Idol". Haha.

But yes. Rob Weaver is my boss. And he's awesome. As are the rest of the post crew. 

I've been the go-getter of lunch for the editors and their assistants the passed two days. Discovered two Asian food places (one Chinese, the other Japanese) that are really good. One of the guys ragged on me about liking Panda Express :( Said I needed to eat REAL Asian food. LOL

So yeah. Things are going well at my internship. Fun times. :)

Holy OSCARS!!!!

Groundswell produced both Milk and The Visitor this year....

Milk received 8 Oscar Noms including Best Picture and Best Actor for Sean Penn and The Visitor received a nom for best Actor.

Today is a great day at the office....champagne for everyone!!!!!

L.A. Is the Schiz basically...

So LA is fabulous. It really is 80 degrees and sunny every day. I now longer ponder what I should wear each day...it is going to be about the same as yesterday. :)

I started school yesterday...it was amazing. I think I learned more about career paths and the film industry in one day than I have my whole time in Austin. There is such a wealth of knowledge out here. It's awesome. My favorite class, by far and away though, is the music industry class. We basically hang out, talk about music, listen to music, and then our professor gives away music he has produced. Its what my History of Rock class should have been last semester...

My internship is fabulous. Everyone I work with is hilarious and the office is so chill. I am doing normal intern duties but who really cares when you are working in a film production office. True, I wash dishes...but in a place where movies are made which is way cool.

Oh and I had my first celebrity sighting today! I was in the office and Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers and soon Confessions of a Shopaholic) came in to have lunch with one of our executives. It was awesome. I totally played it cool even though inside all I could do was replay Wedding Crashers over and over again.

I think that's it for now. Oh, and I hope everyone watched President Obama yesterday. That was one of the most inspiring speeches I have heard in a long time. Yeah for watching history being made!

History in the Making

We started classes today. Thankfully, Phil (head of the UTLA program and one of our instructors) was kind enough (rather enthusiastic, actually) to allow us to watch President(!) Obama be sworn in during the Inauguration. 

It was all very exciting. Politics aside, we cannot deny that a new era in American history was made today. Here's to America!

In case you wanted to know...

These are the places where we are currently interning (or plan to intern):

* Kristina: Radar Pictures and Icon Productions

* Jen: Groundswell Films

* Monica: Battlestar Galactica

* Nicole: STARZ Entertainment and possibly Law & Order

The Biz

So we had orientation this evening. Met Phil and Mike (again) and the other instructors. Everyone (students and instructors) introduced themselves and talked a bit about why we are all here. It was fun to see what internships people are doing and why people are here. We seem like a fun bunch. :)

Classes seem like they'll keep us busy, along with our internships. Nothing out of the ordinary for a college semester. Except for the fact that we're in L.A. That we may see a celebrity or two (or three) out and about, other than Matthew McConaughey or Robert Rodriguez (or even Tarantino, who seems to frequent Austin for whatever reason). 

On the topic of celebrities I have yet to see anyone, though I'm quite sure I wouldn't recognize someone out of context. I mean really, would I recognize Paris Hilton if I saw her on the streets of L.A.? No. There are plenty of tall, thin blonde girls with big sunglasses walking around (LOL) so unless I was uncomfortably in her face (or any other celebrity's face) I don't think I'd recognize her. Plus, there would probably be a lot of paparazzi around said celebrities and believe me, I have no intention of running into paparazzi. *shudders* Scary breed of people.

Back to UTLA stuff. I'm thinking of switching out one of my classes for the music class. I'd like to learn about the music biz. My two passions in life: movies and music. (My not-so-secret uber-nerdy desirable career is that of a music supervisor for a show like Grey's Anatomy. Picking music by cool and up-and-coming artists? Heck yes!). But I have until Tuesday to decide if I'll take it. We'll see.

Not much on the weekend agenda. Need to gather/find/buy books for my classes. Maybe seek out some of the things on the Scavenger List. OOH! Get this: the team (of 2) that completes/finds the most things on the scavenger list (of 12 things) gets to go to the Hollywood Magic Castle! woot! :)

So yeah. That's about it from La-la-Land. 

And just for kicks: upon consideration of taking the music class I found this blog post from NME.com. It's funny and worth reading: How to Explain Indie-Rock to an L.A. Cab Driver

La-la-Land

We've finally arrived and settled in L.A.*

It's official: We're Texans in Cali. And yes, we've already been asked about "Texans" and life in Texas (isn't it always hot there? Do you like football? Are you a Spurs fan [to which my "yes" was countered with a "well, I won't rub it in too badly when we [the Lakers] beat you guys"]).

Oh, and by the way, it's a sunny 82 degrees in L.A. Jealous??? :)

* Technically speaking, Jen and I arrived last Friday, Monica arrived thereafter on Monday and Kristina yesterday afternoon. So by finally arrived, I mean, we're all officially here in L.A.