Hello hellooooo! Welcome to the first post of 2024. Hope you didn't miss me too much in 2023, but keeping up a blog was pretty low on my To-Do list. Will be working on frequency this year.
So what's new? How's Atlanta?
Well, Atlanta is good. It's gotten surprisingly cold down here, so I've been able to wear all my beloved sweaters and cozy up with all my fuzzy blankets. Hayden is settling in quite well in his bartender gig and is developing a social circle there. He's even found some people to golf with.
I've reconnected with the handful of people I know here and have taken steps to expand my circle. A good friend hosted a vision board day. Mine now hangs above my desk. My phrase for the year is Long Live. (Cause it's the end of a decade?) Some highlights of things I want for this year include Moar Black Cat, Chit Chat in Cars, Be Unhinged, New Adventures w/ Hayden, read 3 New Books, and Stay Crafty, Bitch!
Sometimes, I forget I'm in a sorority and, therefore, forget I have connections in most states. Also, never felt the need to be too active in the Timesuck Podcast Cult of the Curious, but that's another rad group with connections all over. So far just virtual socializing right now. I have a small chat with some other folks with fitness goals. So I finally have some accountabilibuddies.
How's work? Going on many auditions?
That's not really how it works in film acting. I submit to castings online all the time and submit self-tapes when requested. The last month or so I've taken a small pause on submitting to castings while I take Brian Patacca's Audition Magnet course. It's all about beefing up your casting website presence and profile and learning the super easy tips peeps just don't know about. Seriously so much stuff that I have no clue how anyone learns. It is NOT intuitive. It's been a LOT of amazing info and lots of actionable work to do. But it's also been super overwhelming. Much of the work is judgment based and requires hard thinking about where I want my career heading. Also requires a lot of feedback from people, which, of course, takes time. And I started the course between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so it was a difficult, funky time already.
The good news is the course has already been super helpful and has included lots of freebies that I'm making sure to take advantage of. One of those helpful freebies was a guide to headshot attire. I booked a shared session with my buddy down here, and I was really scared about it. But I followed the coursework step by step, then read through the guide, and I'm now feeling much more prepared for it. A big shopping trip at Old Navy last night ALSO helped me feel more prepared. Yay excuse to shop! The shoot is this Sunday, so wish me luck. Knowing my friend will be with me makes it far less scary. This is my first headshot shoot with someone other than my dad since I was a preteen. I think I'll cry about that tomorrow, so I'm good to go Sunday.
Oh! And speaking of Old Navy, I started working there part-time last month. The same friend doing the headshot shoot with me recommended it, and it's working out quite nicely. My co-workers are very nice, the employee discount is sick, and it gets me out of the house. The murder mystery company I was with used to fill this extra cash space in my schedule, but I quit the company I was with in order to join a new, better-paying, better-run company, and I just haven't been able to record and submit my audition for that. At first, I was waiting out my non-compete clause. Then, dad died, then we moved, then I was in someone else's house, then I couldn't find my costume pieces. I am finally getting to a place where memorizing a monologue doesn't feel like the tallest mountain to climb. So, probably sometime next month, I'll get that recorded and sent it. I know once I just do it, it won't take too long.
As for the rest of this month, I'm going to finish up as much of my Audition Magnet work as I can. Again, all this needing feedback stuff makes it take longer, so it'll be somewhat ongoing. But even without the feedback, there's still plenty for me to work on and implement. So that and getting back to fitness have been my January focus.
And next week, I get to celebrate it all with my family! My generous mom and siblings are coming in to celebrate my big THREE-OH. They and my bestie Nick are coming in for a long weekend. The big celebration will be on Saturday when we go to drag brunch, then duck pin bowling. The really fun part? I'm making the day Taylor Swift-themed. Everyone has to come in their best Taylor-themed outfit. They may interpret that as they wish. I will be recreating the hoodie outfit from Look What You Made Me Do. Some of you may have seen my Insta story of me breaking in my thigh highs. Gang, I'm legit nervous the queens at brunch will trash talk me if I'm all decked out but wobbly in my boots. So I have to practice! It's also legit a great workout. We'll definitely be doing more of them.
Last but not least, season 3 of Tabula Rasa, B!tches!: A Buffy Rewatch Show premiered this month. Dear Nicholas and I are back at it after a much-needed break on both sides. We're very excited about this new season, so be sure to tune in wherever you listen to podcasts.
Ta-ta for now.
Thanks for tuning in.
That's what I appreciates about you. ;)
Recently Binged: Adventure Time, Shoresy S2, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
Last Movies I Watched: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, I Want You Back, Everything Everywhere All At Once