oh the crazy things that happen to me

strollin' down memory lane.

2006-08-27T06:46:00.000-05:00

so, after an evening of (very enjoyable) drinking, playing cranium, and being subjected to chris & aaron's high school yearbooks and videos, i made chris watch my english lit video and senior slideshow from high school... which sent me spinning into a trip down memory lane.

i was actually really surprised at how many people i couldn't really remember. it also started a whole process of wondering where people are, wondering what they're up to and really wishing i'd made it out for the five year reunion last summer. there are moments when i realize how much i miss everyone that i haven't seen in years (even people i didn't really like - as crazy as that is) not to mention how much i miss home. i haven't been home in WAY too long. and the last time i was home, let alone under good/happy circumstances.

beyond that i'd love to make it home and actually have time to meet up with everyone i've been missing. it seems like every time i make it home, it's either when no one else is around, or i'm so tied up with family i never make it away from my parents or grandparents houses... chris and i are trying to make it home next weekend, but i already know that catching up with anyone will be near impossible. which is sad.

anyway, i suppose this ramble is just to say that i miss everyone (hs, college, beyond) so terribly much and can't wait to get the chance to catch up. hope life's treating you well and that you're happy with where you are and what you're doing. :)

unknown numbers

2006-08-22T13:52:00.000-05:00

you know what i hate?

people who call multiple times but don't leave a message. actually, i get really peeved when anyone calls and doesn't leave a message. obviously it was important enough to call me about, you should leave a message so that i can call you back.

grrrrr... i had it happen to me 3 times today, at least once on each cell phone. (yes, i'm a snob and i am truly important enough to have two cell phones... plus, i have to keep the us cellular until my contract expires...)

anyway. i started a second job last week. i'm working as a receptionist for a local realty company. so far i really like it. i'm a little tired staying up for all the training every day, but it's way better than being bored. chris has been incredibly busy with 2 part-time jobs, an internship and free-lance production work with a local production company here in madison. he starts his final semester at loras next week. he'll be commuting between dubuque and madison pretty much every day during the week in some capacity, as he has classes mwf and is at his internship on tues. and thurs. then plans to work up here on the weekends. we'll see each other, but it will be hard getting used to the part-time time together again.

other than that we're both pretty boring. we work, we sleep, we're disgustingly cute when we're together. :)

well, i should get back to work... or at least pretending to work.

'streak-free cleaning for wood floors'

2006-07-28T21:45:00.000-05:00

so i just saw a commercial for the orange glow hardwood floor kit... and i remember the day a few months ago when i was OBSESSED with buying a kit... now i have it and i've used it all of twice. it doesn't streak but i always end up with my little tiny footprints all over the place.

now, thinking about how little i use my fancy floor product reminds me of how badly my apartment needs a good deep cleaning. ugh. my vacuum makes everything smell like dog hair (from years of use at my folks' house...) and i don't want to clean when chris is home, because i'm a solo-cleaner and he always seems to feel bad when i do a bunch of cleaning and don't ask him to help. it isn't that i don't think he can do what needs done, i'm just so used to doing it myself and it's kind of cathartic for me. i know, i'm weird, i enjoy cleaning and i like doing it on my own... maybe that's what i'll do tomorrow while chris is working...

what i don't like doing by myself (when it comes to dreary, everyday life stuff) is going to the laundromat. which i have to do soon because all of our comforters/light blankets/sheets need washed. pronto...

i'm bored (hence the diatribe on cleaning...) chris is at work. i spent the entire afternoon sleeping (which i am allowed to do- i work nights, folks) and since it's a friday night, there's not much on tv. i should throw in some gilmore girls or a movie or something... i should also move into the living room, but, no. i'm gonna stay right here. that's the thing about having a tv in the bedroom. it makes it entirely too easy for me to stay in bed literally all day, when instead i should be getting up and doing things. like cleaning and laundering and going outside for some sunshine. i now have this gorgeous bike (because chris's parents bought us brand new bikes earlier this month- the bikes are awesome) and instead of riding it, i've been staying inside. booooooring!

i'm watching "what not to wear" and have to admit it's a guilty little pleasure. and i really want to go on the show. not because i think i have bad style and need help, but because i want a new wardrobe. *sigh* to have money to burn... someday... a long time from now...

blah. okay. i'm going to focus on my bad tv...

ode to the gym

2006-07-05T22:36:00.000-05:00

so, i've decided i love my gym. which is SO out of character for me. in fact, if i were to repeat that statement to 9 out of 10 people who know me, they'd burst out laughing.

here's why i love my gym: it isn't full of perky, hard-bodied workoutaholics. even the instructors look like normal people. yes, there are a few teensy, perky hard bodies that teach, but all in all, the instructors look like normal people. don't get me wrong- they run a mean workout, they just don't make me feel horrible about not having 0% body fat.

now that i've been to the gym twice this week, i'm glad i'm forcing myself to go more often. in fact, i've even learned a few things. like, spinning is not my thing. and if you're going to attempt a spinning class- you shouldn't take your first class after a leg-focused body sculpting class because you won't be able to walk at the end of the night, let alone for the next two days.

i've also learned that after a three week break, diving in for three classes a day, a little over-confident. thankfully this week there was a holiday and normal classes were re-scheduled. although, i almost went to the gym just for some hot tub/sauna time.

which reminds me of another lesson- i can't breathe in a eucalyptus-steam room. i thought it might help the constant congestion i've developed somewhere along the way, but it really didn't.

well, it's time to grab the laundry from the dryer. woohoo for clean, new workout clothes. :)

boredom...

2006-06-23T18:50:00.000-05:00

i'm bored. oh-so-very-bored!

chris is at work and i should go buy cheese for our tacos or lighter fluid so we can make brats, but that requires getting dressed and actually moving... so i'm opting to not do either right now...

my latest obsession has been puppy shopping. even though chris and i don't have the money for a puppy and it just really isn't the right time for a puppy, i keep finding the cutest lil' ones that i would love to, well, love. *sigh*

i've been trying to make it to the gym more often- but i really suck at waking up in time for the classes i want to take. i was hoping that when chris started working i'd get better at waking up, getting up, and going to the gym. so far, that hasn't worked out. i need to have better motivation and i'm not sure where to find it.

okay... "what not to wear" is almost over. i should throw some kind of clothing on and head out...

love of my life.

2006-03-29T08:24:00.000-06:00

okay, i'm going to warn you all- this is going to be sappy and sweet and probably make you sick to your stomach or have whateve reaction you have when couples are couple-y.

i am head over heels insanely in love with chris. i can't live without him. i don't want to.

he's the most amazing person and i am so incredibly lucky and blessed to have him in my life. i couldn't ask for a better man to spend my life with.

aside from saying sweet things and making me laugh or smile, he always makes sure i have what i need. he won't be moving up here to madison for another 6 weeks, and already he'll be helping me with a second round of monthly bills. he lets me call and wake him up when i get off of work every morning (bright and early at 7...) when i visit after working all night, he curls up with me for more sleep (even if he's wide awake). he indulges my silly, girly impulses. he supports me 900%. and, he knows when to stop me from being too crazy. he deals with my outbursts when i get angry over little things-and he tries to calm me down the best he can. he thinks about my family members- we were at william-sonoma last weekend and he picked up a catalog for my dad.

there are so many things that i could say about him. he makes me happy in every way with every little thing he does. he is eager to involve me in his life- from meeting and hanging out with his friends and co-workers to asking for my input and involvement in class projects. he's just simply amazing.

i am so lucky. so, so, so lucky. i want to spend every minute with him. every second.

i never knew i would feel this way. i've known people and had friends (mostly male, since i've thought most girls were crazy as long as i can remember) that i've enjoyed spending time with to the point of thinking i could spend the rest of my life with them. what makes this different is that i can't spend the rest of my life without chris. don't misunderstand me- if (heaven forbid) something were to happen and chris somehow wasn't a part of my life anymore, i wouldn't die, i just wouldn't be happy. at all. i would be miserable.

okay, i'll stop gushing about the most amazing man on the planet. i love him. soooooo much.

christopher robert adams- you are the love of my life.

"life moves pretty fast. you don't stop and look around once in awhile you could miss it"

2006-03-13T18:54:00.000-06:00

it's funny that i was getting ready to write this post just as matthew broderick was saying that at the end of "ferris bueller's day off." live is moving fast. REAL fast...

so, i've moved to madison! new job, new apartment, new routines, new everything (well, almost). i started my new schedule today and my first morning show went better than expected. last week was my first full week and training was ridiculously easy. i basically spent 8 hours writing and learning to edit every day.

the one major thing in my life that hasn't changed- chris. he's still amazing. he still makes me happier than i probably deserve to be. not only has he supported the job change and the move, but he's also started chipping in with stuff. i honestly can't believe how insanely lucky i am to have him in my life. he's amazing in every way.

oh, so i should probably explain the whole job change! i'm now the morning news producer for the abc affiliate in madison, wisconsin, which means i have my weekends back and all day to sleep/do whatever i want. working overnight kind of sucks. but the crew is great and i'm very excited about the job and the new station.

so far i haven't done much exploring in madison- last week i was working until 9:30 every night, so it didn't give me a lot of time to wander around. hopefully this week i'll get more of a chance to see what the town has to offer.

let's see... any other updates in the craziness that i call life... the movie is still in editing. we wrapped filming in november. my assumption is that it'll be done sometime this spring or summer. but i honestly have no idea. you can check out the trailer at prescribedfilms.com the title is "through the night." it's going to be great!!!

alright, well i should start unpacking more & cleaning up a little bit.

now that i've got cable and internet i'll hopefully be better at updating this. ;)

whirlwind of CRAZY

2005-09-04T14:16:00.000-05:00

i have a few things to address before i get into all the shooting and news madness that has been going on:

1. the weather is NOT an exact science. if the weatherman is wrong, the local news station is well aware of it and does not need to be innundated with calls saying "you're weather guy SUCKS!" or any variation of the sort. it takes years of schooling before they can become certified and the weather does change unexpectedly. when forecasters say "am showers" that doesn't mean the rain will stop precisely at 12.

2. your local affiliate does NOT have the power to dictate what football games the network is broadcasting. college football is broadcast on a REGIONAL basis, which means that, yes eastern iowa is big 10 country, but western iowa and nebraska are big 12 country so the network has an obligation to show both conferences when games are playing. under no circumstances do i need you to call and swear at me, then have you call back and threaten me. please be understanding that you are not the only person who is upset, nor is your game the most important game to everyone watching football every saturday/sunday.

3. my heart goes out to all of the hurricane victims. and i would like to say to everyone who has thought of helping and is making efforts to do whatever they can to help that you are all amazing people and any help you are trying to provide through supply donations, monetary donations, time donations, etc is honorable. any person who has called in tears wanting to help, your compassion is phenomenal. honestly, it blows me away how caring people have been and how willing to donate/help in any way possible people have been.

okay. first off, last week i was hired at old navy. i'm happy to have a second job again. it's been a tight few months without that extra cash to make ends meet. plus, now i'll have a discount on work clothes. and jeans. bonus! :)

last weekend i was able to get away from the newsworld (which is a mixed blessing. it's nice to have time off, but i always feel so out of touch) and get some shooting on "through the night" done. we were scheduled to meet at 5, and for some reason i left for the 2 hour trip at 1. getting to ottumwa 2 hours early ended up being pretty beneficial... i realized halfway to ottumwa i didn't have my nylons, or my mascara- 2 important costume/makeup items. so i decided it was time to find target. after several trips over many bridges, driving past "ransom street" and the "mugshot lounge" a few times (also, an hour or so after the search for target began...) i found my destination. during my quest i also found ktvo- the new workplace of miss danielle wagner and the employer of mister eric kuhlman- a star reporter and the boy i like to call "little sports diva." i was quite excited. :)

anyway, i spent some quality time wandering the aisles of the ottumwa target before heading out to find insane mike's house (our point of gathering, and the home of our director- "insane mike")

i arrived early enough to hang out with his girlfriend and her adorable two little girls. we hung out for a bit before the rest of the cast and crew assembled.

i got lost on the way to the location. i think justin was worried we'd never make it back...

once we finally made it out there i set to straightening and then curling my hair. it took forever. but once i was finished- my scenes got off to a start. i'd break it down scene by scene- but it was a week ago, and the only really cool scene was when ryan got to break the candy glass bottle. it was AWESOME! it shattered beautifully and i can't wait to see the footage. awesome awesome awesome.

we finished up for the night at about 1:15ish. at which point ryan said "we need drinks!" (well, something to that effect.) some hemming and hawing occured and we decided to stop at walmart for beverages (mike's hard cranberry lemonade- we're soooo hard core...) and some sandwiches and chips for the boys (i had ravioli from home. yuuuuum.)

after wolfing down our food and sipping on our beverages, ryan took a call outside, and justin and i curled up in our blankets on the floor for some shut eye. unfortunately, ryan had other plans for us. he came inside, promptly shimmied on his stomach to in front of my nearly sleeping face to say "hey, hey, lisa, you're not asleep are you?" from that point he prodded justin and i out of our make shift beds to chat outside. (at 2 am we were sitting on the porch with our malted beverages wondering why we were awake...) we ended up talking actors and movies and inspirations and random other movie talk. at 4 ryan was sleepy. justin and i did chide him from being so ready for bed after only 2 hours of chat time when it was his idea in the first place. ryan didn't care and went to bed. justin and i talked until it started to rain at 6.

at 9:30 the smell of pancakes woke me up. they were amazing. yuuuuuum. justin and i joined mike, and the girls for pancakes. ryan slept. at about 10:30 after everyone was up and fed we headed out to the location for another round of scenes. things went pretty quickly, justin wrapped for the film. i heard an awesome story about free hot dogs at a twins game. we wrapped up at about 4:30. just in time for me to take ryan to coralville and leave for dubuque. very uneventful trip to coralville. although, ryan did tell me that my animal spirit is a "mole." he changed it to koala an hour later when i objected. he also slept almost the entire trip... bastard. ;)

i finally made it to dubuque at about 8:30ish. i demanded a culver's cheeseburger and onion rings, and chris very sweetly said "okay" and went to culver's with me. we returned home for couch snuggling, and tv watching during which i inhaled my burger and rings. it was heavenly.

monday i slept in and then joined chris and his dad for lunch and also took in a quick tour of the loras tv newsroom and we went to see "red eye." it's really good. we watched more tv that night. its always so nice to just spend time with chris when i can. he's amazing. simply amazing.

tuesday i woke up early to call in for a work meeting (we're expanding our midday show to an hour (7 days to launch... yikes!)) and then went back to bed. when chris got home from class we grabbed lunch, hit loras for a bit to try and catch a few people i know in the newsroom (they weren't around) and then we snuggled until i absolutely had to leave for my shoot in washington.

yep, another shoot! i was able to wrap "haunted" on tuesday night. a quick 3 scenes and some time hanging out and i'm done with the film. we also had boca burgers. they were delicious.

as far as work goes, we've been incredibly swamped with breaking news lately. hurricane katrina has overwhelmed us and we're trying our hardest to keep up with local relief efforts, but there are just so many people out there trying to help. it's just inspiring. for the most part wednesday and thursday weren't too busy at work, but friday was insane.

i produced the 11:30 and the 6 newscasts, just before we went on the air at 11:30 we got a verdict in a local murder trial, in addition to a deadly stabbing in dubuque and hurricane coverage. it felt very hectic in the newsroom. just before the 5:00 we also found out that the FBI had helped search the home of a 5 year old murder victim's mother's home. that sent everyone into a bit of a frenzy and required me to shift some things around for 6, but it all worked out great. in the midst of it all i was trying to re-schedule and intern to help out our saturday coverage.

yesterday became pretty crazy when football had us on late and we had a major fire happen about 20 minutes away. because of our very small staff on the weekends i had to send my tape editor out with a camera and nick (my anchor) had to edit the show while my only photographer finished editing a package. it was crazy. we ended up not getting video back until after the show, but we got video, and for that i'm very happy.

today's been pretty laid back in comparison to the past two days. we've still got some pretty big news after a storm rolled through this morning and a man was struck by lightning, but nothing huge. plus, we only have a 10:00 show, which gives me a lot of time to put things together.

tonight i'm heading up to dubuque for some quality time with chris. i'm really excited to see him- as always. i can't begin to explain how enamored i am of him. in fact, you should all witness his awesomeness yourselves... read his blogs http://roomnowclean.blogspot.com & http://chadamsIA.blogspot.com - the first one is his music blog and the second is his more personal blog. his latest entry says very smart things about the political climate and the views being broadcast over mainstream media.

okay, well, it's getting time for dinner and this has been ridiculously long. i contemplated adding in some of my feelings on how the federal government has handled hurricane katrina, but this entry is too long and i don't feel like i can adequately express my absolute horror over the response time. not to mention some of the very not-nice things i have to say about what i have heard some political figures say today. (i shouldn't have flipped "eye on washington" or "the mclaughlin group" on this morning. baaaaad idea.) i also won't touch on my feelings/concerns over the fact that two supreme court seats are now open. seriously, i can't start.

okay. go do something that gets you away from a computer or tv screen. it's good for you and it's not healthy to be seeing so much horror from the war or from the hurricane destruction. experts say so. and so do i. go, have a nice day where you do fun things! :)

per chris's request...

2005-08-21T18:43:00.000-05:00

so, chris said he missed my blog entries and it's super quiet in the newsroom right now, so i'll take a quick break to update anyone who reads this on what's been going on...

i moved to cedar rapids. i have a cozy 1 bedroom that i LOVE.

i'm still producing at kcrg. we're expanding our mid-day show. it'll be interesting to see how it all works out pumping out twice the content without any extra time.

i'm still working on "through the night" and "haunted." but, not for long. next weekend i'm taking a break from news and jetting down to ottumwa and washington to *hopefully* wrap my scenes in both films. i'm pretty excited to be done- mainly to wrap up with the scheduling conflicts as well as see the finished products.

i'm currently in a second job hunt. i have too much time off and not having a second job means not having the money i need to keep all the bills paid, not to mention i'm having a tough time supporting my shoe habit... ;)

when i'm not working or searching for work (or napping- i do that A LOT) i'm on the phone with chris or spending time with him or missing him. he's phenomenal. i can't begin to explain how lucky i consider myself for having him in my life- not just in my life, but a significant part of my life. i have no idea what thoughts drifted through my brain all the time before he came along... but they've all been pushed away. every spare thought is consumed by him and him-related things. we've been lucky enough to spend most mondays and tuesdays together now that i'm working 5 days a week instead of 6. hopefully whatever second job i get will not infringe too much on our precious time together. he's starting another semeseter at school in about a week, so i'll be spending a lot more time up in dubuque. now, maybe i'm just biased because i spend all my time in dubuque cuddled up with chris- but it really isn't as horrible as people make it out to be. it's a nice town. i also enjoy the time we spend with his folks. they're very nice and we always have a nice time with them. i could go on forever about chris and his related greatness, but, i won't. he says it makes him blush... (he's cute when he does that...)

now, i have made some rumblings about looking for producer positions outside of cedar rapids. while i've decided to stay here for the time being, i have also decided that if i'm not full time by this time next year, i really do need to look for a new station. i know i keep saying this, but, once we expand the midday, if i remain on the shows i currently produce, i don't think there will be much of a chance for me to grow here. without changing shows and either growing with a morning show or a weekday evening show i don't know how much more i will learn here. with that said- i do know that i will not stay in this market when i leave. i considered applying for a full time position with the waterloo station recently and i realized that i can not stomach working for a competitor. it will be hard enough to move on when i decide to go, but working every day as competition for the people i have grown to love here at kcrg isn't something that would make me happy. i might be able to come back someday for a competing station but i can not make the switch cold. so, i think my next stop will be outside of the cedar rapids area. possibly madison or des moines. but, who knows?

i think part of my lack of blogging has come from a recent development of stability and routine in my life. well, that and the fact that my computer at home is broken and i don't have internet at the new apartment... i seem to blog/email less when i don't do a whole lot other than have a daily routine. some might call it a rut, but i'm happy with my day to day routines. :) i have a great job. a great apartment and a boyfriend who makes me ridiculously happy. the kind of happy books and movies are based on. seriously- if you haven't figured out that i am out of my mind crazy for this boy- you haven't been paying attention. at all.

i hate days off

2005-07-26T11:41:00.000-05:00

i hate having days off work because i have no desire to do anything. it's very counterproductive. it also gives me too much time to focus on missing chris.

so, not this past weekend, but the weekend before i spent 4 days in dubuque. it was amazing. we didn't do much more than cuddle on the couch, but it was amazing nonetheless. spending time with him has quickly become my favorite thing to do. this past weekend chris came down, but he was sick. he had swimmer's ear and spent most of the night being miserable. poor guy. i did my best to make him feel better/get well, but my abilities to do that are limited to administering ear drops, rubbing backs, providing warm washcloths and offering aspirin. i was disappointed to see our weekend cut short, but understood the need for him to go home and get better. i'm happy to report his ear is feeling better.

by this time next week i will be living in cedar rapids. woohoo!! then i can stop stressing about the move. hopefully i will also have a new second job. that would be wonderful. something to do on my days and afternoons off. i just get so bored, and since i don't plan to have internet to start out and i will wait on getting cable for a bit. i should wait to see what i can really afford and definitely wait until i have that second job...

i'm hungry for french toast. but i have no bread, no eggs and no milk. so i'm out of luck.

well, i need to force myself off the couch and up to cedar rapids. i need to hand out some resumes and pick up some applications. ugh.

i suppose that's all for now. it's time to get to work doing the things i need to do.

mondays are boring

2005-07-11T11:02:00.000-05:00

mainly because i don't ever do anything on mondays. i have things i should focus on... finding a new second job. packing. dishes. cleaning out my car. but instead i think i'm going to sit here and watch tv. or maybe read. and i don't think i'm going to get dressed alllllll day. woohoo!

i went up to see chris on friday (i know, big surprise...) it was really really really really nice to see him. his parents bought me a purse for my birthday. it's super cute and i really like it. his parents are very nice and it's been fun getting to know them when i drive up to dubuque. i get to see them all again this weekend. i'm supposed to have the whole weekend off for filming, so i'll get to spend a whole ton of time in dubuque. like from saturday afternoon/evening until monday night. yay!!! i can't wait. i miss him so terribly much. but it's okay because he misses me too. as long as it's reciprocal i'm okay with it.

i'm also terribly excited about moving. i've been making lists of the things i need. it's silly but it's making me more excited and i love thinking about the things i will get and decorating. woohoo!!!

i need groceries, but will wait until i move to buy said groceries.

well, i've gotten wrapped up in watching an episode of the west wing that i've seen a ton of times... so i guess i'm done blogging for today.

grumble grumble grumble

2005-07-06T19:55:00.000-05:00

so i'm not so much in a bad mood... i just miss chris a lot. and i feel kinda silly about it because i don't usually miss people. especially not this much. *sigh*

so in one month i will once again be living alone. i've rented an apartment in cedar rapids and will move in at the beginning of august. i'm excited. for many many reasons. less time on the road. less gas going into the car. more time hanging out by myself. closer to liz and chrissy. no roommate to annoy me... closer to chris. plus, the apartment is in a fairly decent area, as far as proximity to things. it's just outside of cedar rapids, but within like 5 miles is a target, the mall, menards, pier one, and a plethera of restaurants. oh, and a grocery store. liz also lives within 5 miles of my apartment and now instead of needing 35 minutes to get to work, i need 10. and i get to decorate! woohoo!!!

so, stuff's good. chris was here for the holiday. we went out with erin, anne, and derrick. it was a laid back, fun night. then monday chris and i spent the entire day just hanging out. we watched the west wing marathon for about 6 hours. it was really nice just being able to hang out with no responsibilities, no where to be but here.

i'm very anxious for friday. for many reasons, mainly because i'm going to dubuque to hang out with chris.

i'm going to cut this blog short, since i don't have much more to say. i'm supposed to go out tonight, but i don't know if i want to. i really wanna see erin (from fairfield) but i also really want to go to sleep. hmmmm... tough choice... *sigh*

"happy birthday to me! happy birthday to me! happy birthday to meeeeeeeeee! happy birthday to me!"

2005-06-29T22:11:00.000-05:00

number of times the birthday song has been sung into my voicemail: 4
number of times the birthday song has been sung to me "live": 2
pieces of cake i've eaten today: 2
bouquets of roses sent to me in the newsroom: 1
number of cards in the mail: 2
number of birthday wishes on my aim away message: 3
number of birthday wishes on facebook: uh... like 6 or 7...
number of birthday text messages: 3 (i think)
number of times chris told me happy birthday: i stopped counting. i think he was more excited about today than i was.

i feel awfully loved and well wished on this, the 23rd anniversary of my birth. :)

AND, i've been told presents are still on their way/waiting for me at home. woohoo!!! i can't decide which made me more excited today- the surprise flowers or the "date" with will (but only because i love her and haven't been able to hang out with her/see a movie just the two of us in ages) both were awesome and complete high points in my day. it's these simple things that make me incredibly happy and thankful for the people in my life.

in addition to having several fun, cool things happen today, i also viewed a few apartments in cedar rapids. they were a little on the smaller size, but i used to live in a shoebox sized apartment on clinton street (no, seriously, i think my current kitchen is bigger than that whole apartment). hopefully i'll get approved and be able to move in at the beginning of august. the most expensive apartment has a washer and dryer in the apartment (the bedroom- how convenient!!!), heat and water is paid, and there is $100 off the first month's rent. AND deposit is only $99. plus, they're brand new. like, the building is still being worked on by the construction company.

i worked this morning and it was a huge news day. every time we turned around something was happening. i had a meeting with the gazette's weekend people to talk about communication between our newsroom and theirs. important. didn't suck as much as anticipated. which is good.

okay, i'm taking my now old-er butt to bed. waking up for work is going to be hard in the morning. at least i have pretty roses to stare at and smell when i get to work! :) yay!

lovin' life

2005-06-26T23:40:00.000-05:00

so, i've been having a great time. i haven't been doing much other than working and trying to spend as much time with chris as possible.

this week i worked a bunch (ew, i just killed a bug). i started my new schedule where i have mondays off instead of fridays. it's nice because now i'll be able to start the week off with some rest.

wednesday i went to the chiropractor and got popped and cracked. it was fabulous!

thursday i took the afternoon off from act and stayed up in cedar rapids after work. i went to lunch at the barbecue roundup with liz and danielle. then we met jake at the pool. it was so much fun. we all just hung out in the way shallow part of the cherry hill pool- which is a kick ass pool! it has just a ton of stuff. two big water slides. three water spouts, big umbrellas over a bench thing in the really shallow end. two little kid slides and diving boards. when i say "way shallow end" i mean like when the beach meets the lake it's awesome. i got some color. unfortunatelly it's a nice shade of pink...

after the pool we went to liz's and hung out for a bit. i almost fell asleep. (okay, i fell asleep for a few minutes...)

chris and his parents came into cedar rapids thursday. we went to dinner at red lobster for dinner. it was awesome.

after dinner we went to the 2005 dci drum corps tournament. i got chris and i lost... which kind of sucked, but by the same token, i got to spend a little time with just him, which was really nice. we finally made it to kingston, and the tournament was awesome! i'd never been to a drums corps thing before, so i wasn't sure what to expect. there are a lot of similarities to marching band, so i wasn't totally lost. the only part of the show i wasn't thrilled about was the two old women sitting behind us who wouldn't shut up... at first it was mildly amusing when they were talking about tv9 people. i think it's hilarious to hear what people really think about the people i work with. but their conversation quickly diminished to comments proving they knew absolutely nothing about what they were watching/talking about. there was also some foot fungus discussion, michael jackson talk, runaway bride commentary, and chris's favorite "that was a really good apple!"

friday i produced the midday and the six. i was kind of sleepy, but i knew i'd have an awesome night, so it kept me going. the day started off with awesome news: our morning show director josh is leaving. no one likes him now we don't have to deal with his whining and freak outs. woohoo!!! both shows went well. then after work i went to dinner with chrissy, danielle, and liz. we had yummy goodness at carlos o'kellys. margaritas and enchiladas....mmmmmmmm... after dinner we headed over to cabo for a joint farewell to danielle-early birthday to me party. we had a ton of fun. there was a rude old woman telling me to pull my pants up, a fat old man telling me he wasn't offended by my ass, and chris made it out after he finished work. we all hung out and had drinks and fun and enjoyed some entertainment courtesy of a channel 2 employee and a very drunk blonde. we also met up with jake and his new girl. she was pretty nice and seems to be the right kind of girl for jake. chris was kind enough to act as my designated driver. he drove me home so that i didn't have to sleep on liz's couch. i really, really, really appreciated it. he also drove me back to cedar rapids on saturday morning. how nice is that? :)

yesterday i went to work after chris took me back to my car. he went back to dubuque. i miss him.

i simply worked, came home, went to bed. this morning i got up bright and early for a "haunted" shoot. 8 am call time to crank out two scenes. both went spectacularly well. the phrase "that was perfect" was uttered a few times. which is nice. i'm half done with my scenes in that film. it's been fun. after that i went on a hunt for a cure t-shirt. i didn't find what i was looking for, but i found an awesome $4 hat. i love it! then i went to work. both shows went wonderfully. and now i'm home and getting ready to sleep in.

tomorrow (well, now it's today) i plan on doing laundry, cleaning my room and being lazy in general.

okay. enough of this con show on comedy central. he's casting a fake porn flick...'nuff said.

wonderful, wonderful weekend.

2005-06-20T00:50:00.000-05:00

warning: i might gush...

this weekend was awesome. it started with a full day off on thursday. now, while i didn't do anything really that special, it was surprisingly relaxing to spend the day just cleaning and being at home.

friday chris got here after class and we caught the matinee of batman begins (which is fabulous. go see it. now) and then we had some dinner. after a quick trip to best buy, we hit the ped mall. i played camera-girl while chris interviewed troubled hubble. it was an awesome interview done in about 8 minutes. we then went to cedar rapids for keisha and danielle's joint farewell party. chris spent most of the evening chatting with liz and danielle. i got a chance to chat with keisha about her new endeavor- she's going back to school for photography and fashion photography. i'm super excited for her. after a quick stop at the party, we came home for some tv watchin'.

saturday i got up and went to work. chris stayed at my place and watched indiana jones before going shopping. he had an exciting day of "domestic" life. i had an exciting day at work. i came home to a cute card and new cd. it was ridiculously nice. i then whipped up some enchiladas for today's pot luck. we watched about half of high fidelity before we both got sleepy and went to sleep.

it was about 2 am when joe gave me a call from the reunion that i am absolutely heartbroken i missed. i miss everyone from home so much and think about them often. but, work called for me to be there this weekend. hopefully someday in the relatively near future i'll run into some of them.

this morning we woke up and i went to work again. today was danielle's last sunday, so we had a mexican pot luck. tacos and enchiladas and taco dip galore. it was awesome.

what was more awesome was danielle's early birthday present to me. i LOVE it!!! i beautiful silver charm bracelet complete with tigerhawk charm. also, a very cute white picture frame that will fit two pictures. (or more... depending on how i use it.) i'm going to miss her terribly when she leaves next week (much like i miss karin...) but, she'll be in ottumwa and says she'll be back as often as possible. on friday we're having a joint birthday-farewell party. it'll be a blast!

despite the fact that the nba finals caused us to be on really late, the shows went on fairly well. just a few little glitches. but nothing too terrible.

now i'm finally home with a great glass of reisling and "as good as it gets" on the tv. it's awesome.

even more awesome, i don't have to work in the morning!!! :)

okay, gonna finish up my glass of wine and hit the sack.

while i wait

2005-06-16T23:27:00.000-05:00

waiting is the name of the game tonight.

things i'm waiting for:

my sheets to dry
my teeth whitening strips to be done
tomorrow & chris's arrival

just a little perspective on how excited i am that chris will be here tomorrow and that i have the day off to spend with him:

today i had the day off. i washed laundry, cleaned the bathroom, vacuumed the living room, went grocery shopping, washed some dishes, painted my nails and toenails, i'm whitening my teeth and waxing the brows. i already have tomorrow pretty much booked solid. we're going to "batman begins" when he gets here. i'm making dinner- like a real dinner. he's got an interview with a band and i'm supposed to help him. then we're supposed to make an appearance at a party in cedar rapids. then we'll come home and hang out.

i'm so freaking excited. there aren't words for the excitement. i can't wait to see him. yay.

it's been a long week. three 12 hour days. 2 of which were huge news days. i learned about my benefits. i'm so happy i'll finally have insurance again.

hmmmm... i've been pretty boring. last week i went to visit chris on thursday. karin's good bye party was friday. both were a lot of fun. then it's been work, work, work ever since. until today. today i got to run errands and clean. i did sneak in a nap. it was good, despite the fact that it was pretty boring.

well, time to get these strips off the teeth. sheets should be dry soon. then it's time to rest up for my busy day tomorrow! (it's almost friday. and i'm waaaaaay excited!)

Lisa

repeating myself.

2005-06-08T19:36:00.000-05:00

i hate repeating myself. and i always have to repeat myself at work. people don't listen.

anyway. i've been working a lot recently. for some reason it feels like more than normal. but in all honesty it's only been an extra 10 hours the past two weeks. hmmm... maybe it's because i'm so ready for a day off and there isn't one in sight... that and i now have a person i want to spend more time with so the fact that i can't is a little frustrating. okay, enough gushing.

so tomorrow i get to go shoot some more scenes. i'm really excited. i hope ryan remembers we're supposed to carpool and gets ahold of me. after tomorrow night i should only have one more full day of shooting. i can't wait until it's finished. i love shooting and hanging out with everyone but i'm really really really really excited to see the finished film. did i mention the trailer is online? and it's really good... www.prescribedfilms.com you should go watch it. :)

my back hurts. i don't know why. i wish it would stop.

will and i did "denise austin's blast away 10 pounds" last night. my calves hurt. so does my left elbow. but it was nice to get some exercise in. i sit on the couch entirely too often.

so the roommate is annoying the shit out of me. i'm realizing that i really don't do so well with roommates.i just want to be by myself so often and not worry about someone else's preferences or feelings when it comes to how i live. i think it would be different if we were friends, but we're not. i mean, she's nice and all, but she just isn't the kind of person i would ever hang out with if we didn't live together. i don't know.

four more minutes until i'm off work. i suppose i should start getting ready to go.

i'm being a girl.

2005-05-30T20:49:00.000-05:00

yep. i'm allllllll girlie. and it's all the fault of a boy. (which is just completely typical)

so, there's this boy, right? and we've been talking and emailing and whatnot for a few weeks. and i'm really enjoying it. i honestly can't remember the last time i wasn't completely disinterested in someone after a few weeks (or drinks, for that matter). maybe it helps that we seem to be able to talk about absolutely everything. which is rare. i keep meeting these iowa city colelge boys who have nothing to say. how is it that they can spend thousands of dollars on an education and be completely void of all thought? i just don't get it.

i feel silly acting all girlie over a boy. i keep getting worried that i'm doing all of those things that i can't stand to watch girls do. i know that i'm not. i'm not making ridiculous statements. i'm trying to not gush about the boy. (that, i'm not quite as successful at...) i'm completely failing at wiping the silly silly girl grin off my face. (but i'm okay with that.)

it was sooo much fun spending time with said boy this weekend. i got to see a movie. i got to go out and have drinks and hang out with people. and to think, i get to hang out with him again on saturday. there's that smile again...

well, i'm going to sit here and smile to myself some more. maybe call will and gush to her. although... if she moved out of ben's this weekend she might not be up to hear me gush and be smiley... hmmm...

blog title.

2005-05-27T11:25:00.000-05:00

i just realized that my blogger title is incorrect. crazy things don't really happen to me. at least, not anymore. is there a way to change the title of your blog? hmmmm....

i think it's because those shitty friends who used to cause massive drama in my life are no longer in my life. have i mentioned how much happier i am without them? because i am infinitely happier.

but that's not what i was going to write about. i'll write about those shitty people later.

i was going to write about my accomplishment for the week. i cleaned my room. and i mean, like, CLEANED it. washed the windows, dusted and vacuumed. not to mention did all of my laundry and folded everything and put everything away. (so, the drawers are really full, and not completely organized, but whatever. the clothes aren't on the floor anymore, and that's what matters most...)

so i'm assuming you wonder why i cleaned my room. why i gave up good napping time, and stayed up past my bedtime every night this week to do such a thing? two reasons.

1. i was really fucking sick of looking at my room being so messy. i couldn't see the floor, i didn't know what clothes were clean or dirty and i kept tripping on things as i jumped out of bed to turn of the alarm clock.

2. a boy challenged me to clean it. said i'd get a prize if the next time he saw it it was clean. possibly even a trophy. well, then the competitive nature kicked in and i got to work. since he's going to be visiting tonight and all... (we have tentative plans to go see a movie. i'm really excited.)

now, the room cleaning accomplishment has spawned a deep seeded desire to clean out my car as well. because if my room was bad, you should see the inside of my car. jesus christ. i'm messy! i can't pick anyone up to go anywhere because there's so much shit in my car. i should do that today. but i'm having a problem getting up off the couch to go out and do it. it may just have to stay messy till next week.

i have monday night off from act and i'm pretty excited about it. not that i'll really do anything exciting that afternoon, but it's nice to have one evening when i can do nothing. although, i think katie will be around so i'll probably have to hear about matt making her cry again. and/or how being at home went.

speaking of people being home, i really want to go home and visit my family. i feel like i haven't seen them in forever. and i really haven't. the last time i was able to go home and actually see my parents was easter. god, that sucks. i miss them. i miss my grandparents. i miss my dog. i miss them! i was really excited because i thought i was going to get to go to my high school reunion next month, but i don't think i'm going to get the time off that i requested. (i know i won't be going back to camp because that time off was denied.)

well, i need to either get to cleaning the car, or shower. maybe i'll wash the dishes. no. no i won't do that. i hate that more than just about anything in the world. i'm not cleaning the dishes. most likely i'll sit here on the couch and veg out. woohoo!

wakefullness

2005-05-25T23:26:00.000-05:00

i can't sleep. i'm not really sure why. i haven't really slept too terribly much this week... no caffeine today. yet, WIDE awake.

it could be that alias gave me a heart attack. yeah. could be that. ("first of all, my name isn't michael vaughn" jesus christ! i will not survive the off-season...)

so, i'd have to say, all in all, good day. i was expecting a shitty day, but i was pleasantly surprised. woke up. went to work. decent cutins. good show. the satellite interview that was the bain of my existence for the past three weeks went off without a hitch. the "let's talk kcrg" meeting wasn't bad news. in fact, it was good news. some pretty awesome opportunities are on the horizon. there was also free pizza. which rocked.

drove home and actually had time to come home, shower, do laundry, clean up the room a bit and relax for a few minutes before heading to ACT. our phone system was back up and running, and we actually weren't too busy. the one poopy thing about my day- i accidentally put in the number for cheetos when i wanted cheddar ranch fritos. so, matt got free cheetos just for sitting next to me. lucky boy.

i came home to an empyty apartment. ate dinner in peace. watched the end of lost.

then i watched alias. so amazing. and the ending, oh my god! wow. i... wow.seriously. tried watching the news, but erin called me, then katie came home and was all anxiety-ridden over her jackass of a boyfriend. (did i mention he made her cry. again. last night. stupid boy. she actually told me he makes her cry once a week. stupid.)

so i went to lay down in my brand new sheets and comforter and boom! wide awake and nothing i can do about it. oh well.

tomorrow i get to have lunch with the girls. and andy. poor guy, he's gonna hear alllllll our girl talk. again. he never gets to hang out with us without hearing about cute boys and our menstrual cycles. or birth control. he should learn. he really, really should. it'll be liz, chrissy, danielle, kim, bobby jo, andy and i. i'm excited to meet bobby jo. and i can't wait to hear about danielle's date!!! and give her pictures from grad weekend and the three cds i owe her.

friday i have alllll morning to myself. (katie's leaving for the weekend tomorrow. whole place to myself till sunday! im going to prance around without pants on. topless too. and i'm very excited about it.) then after work i heard this rumor that chris will be in town and we might just be catching a movie. which really excites me. i honestly can't remember the last time i went to see a movie in the theatre. or rented a movie, for that matter. then again, we might just sit on the couch and hang out. who knows. i also heard he's bringing me more awesomeness in the form of cds...

then i get to work. all weekend. and, it turns out there is no news planned for the weekend... so it's gonna get interesting.

my plan to blog until i'm tired isn't really working... *sigh*

DEATH SCENE

2005-05-20T12:01:00.000-05:00

it was AMAZING. i always have so much fun working on "Through the Night." everyone is so much fun to hang out with and excited to be working on the film. tonight wasn't any different.

ryan and i got a late start on our way to ottumwa. it was hot. there was no air conditioning. nor was there a cd/tape player. stuck in radio land for about 2 hours. oh, yeah, baby. it actually wasn't too terrible. we flipped around. sang along to jimmy buffet, listened to some classical (which totally made me feel like i was in a cadillac commercial) we even stopped at a teensy town's gas station where ryan picked up some sarsparilla.

we got lost in ottumwa. i said "turn right" instead of "go straight" oops. so we made it about 30 minutes later than we were scheduled to start things, but, we weren't the only ones who were late, so while we waited we got to see our trailer!!! it was awesome. it looks really, really, really good. if you haven't already, you should definitely go see it at prescribedfilms.com go, as soon as you finish reading this awesome blog entry... ;)

so, we waited for steve for a bit, and then decided to head out without him (good thing because we never saw or heard from him. hopefully he's okay.) ryan and i ran lines for a bit while everyone set up. because the hose to my costume ended up torn up last time, allison and i slathered my legs with a very gooey lotion/foundation mixture. fun trick for all you girls who don't want to wear stockings, but want smooth looking legs. totally works.

then we started shooting. ryan and i did our trapped in the basement fight where he tries to go save everyone and i stop him. it was a tiny little staircase and hot as hell, but i think it's going to look awesome. poor ryan got overheated and was freezing for the rest of the night.

then we striked that set to move on to the bigger basement scene (longer and the space was slightly larger). we fought, just like an unhappily married couple trapped in the basement by psychos should. i showed my true bitch-and-a-half colors. this, i also believe will look awesome. mike was saying some really great things about angles and shots and everything. i can't wait to see it.

then i started to die. heeheehee.

it was soooooooooo much fun! i got to fake getting slit across the throat over and over. and i got to track my own gurgling noises!!! if i may say so myself, i'm a great gurgler. :) ryan says the stuff looked good and sounded good as well (lucky guy got to watch the monitors).

then we hooked up the blood. i think we took 3 or 4 takes of blood "coming out" of my slit throat. fake blood is fun. i'm still a little pink in places, but i love it. it's a fun reminder of the awesome time i had last night.

we got mostly cleaned up and did some of ryan's reaction shots and then i got to be bloody again for my death fall. i hope i looked sufficiently dead. i'm not sure. but, we got some stills on my camera, so i'll have those to show off in a few weeks. (i have to finish the roll yet.)

we wrapped and i hopped into the basement shower with the bugs (literally) and got cleaned up. we cleaned up and took off around 12:30. ryan graciously drove home and let me get a little sleep on the way back to iowa city. he also wouldn't take my gas money. too nice. i got home around 2:30 this morning and promptly fell asleep. that good, dead to the world sleep. it was an awesome ending to an awesome night. here in a little bit i'm going to properly wash all the fake blood out of my hair. i think there's some still in there somewhere... :)

DEATH SCENE

2005-05-19T13:43:00.000-05:00

I GET TO DIE TONIGHT!

i don't think anyone quite realizes how excited i am to die. like, i don't know. i can't explain it. it's ridiculously exciting. i'm really really really really really excited about it.

okay, let me explain. i'm not *actually* dying. not in real life. it's for one of the indie films i'm in. tonight we finally get to shoot my death scene. i get stabbed through the neck.

brief description of the movie: cheesey "b" horror. ooooh yeah.

basically, i play the bitch wife (trust, she's a bitch and really, truly deserves to die.) of "sam." a struggling painter who stopped working at a local factory to paint more. at one time in college he was doing gallery shows and had promise... well tabitha (that's me) married him "for money/fame" and now five years later is pissed as hell that they aren't rolling in cash living the good life in ny.

the whole movie takes place on sam and tabitha's fifth wedding anniversary. sam's friends are coming out to our remote house (we apparently live in the middle of nowhere). now, tabitha hates sam's friends and is upset they're throwing a party because they don't have enough money to pay for everything. in fact they sacrificed paying some bills to play good host to the friends.

well, the local insane assylum's roof caves in and the "psychos" end up escaping.

in the midst of the crazies running around the woods surrounding the house, tabitha gets angry and dramatic and tries to leave sam. in front of the guests. she ends up not leaving, but does end up sleeping with a friend of a friend who is at the party.

the psychos end up attacking the house and killing all of sam's friends. tabitha convinces sam to save her over his best friend. then, ridicules him for it while they're stuck in the basement. then same pushes her into the waiting, knife-weilding arms of a psycho. who stabs her to death!

now that i've told you the majority of the movie (other stuff happens. not all the twists/characters are in there...) you still have to see it when it's done. it's titled "Through the Night." Prescribed Films is putting it together. We'll be having a premiere in Ottumwa when it's done. you must come. if for nothing else...

you get to see me in my underwear.

anyway. i get to die tonight and i'm way excited to die! :)

i can't sleep.

2005-04-06T00:03:00.000-05:00

i can't sleep. i really need to sleep, but i've been laying in bed for over an hour and i'm not getting more tired. in fact, i'm more awake now than when i first laid down. roar.

i haven't posted on here in forever, but i feel like i'm boring, so i don't really have anything to say. i mean, i could go on for days about all of the crap in the news lately. the whole jetseta abduction and murder (10 year old girl kidnapped, sexually assaulted, then beaten and killed.) and the shitstorm it's opened up, not just in cedar rapids, but all across iowa. every time i check the wires or answer the phone at work, it's another sex assault related story. and on top of that, last week more than 15 people died in 8 days. talk about a depressing week at work. but at least we had news... i know that sounds jaded and horrible but it's the only way i can think of to find a bright side.

well, i just got a call about two birthdays at sam's and that my presence is requested. i should go say hi. even though i need a shower, am anti-social and should be curled up, asleep in bed.

whatever.

william shatner

2005-03-14T11:21:00.000-06:00

so i realized last night that i have problems taking william shatner seriously as an actor.

ever since he started with the priceline commercials i can only think of him as "the priceline guy." and now that he pulled the reality show stunt on the town of riverside, i have an even bigger problem finding him a "serious" actor.

craaaaazy life.

2005-03-04T15:18:00.000-06:00

so a lot has gone on since the new year.

1. i got 2 promotions and have changed my 2nd job.

2. i've been in one play festival and am up for several different parts in another play festival.

3. i've moved twice.

4. i know there's something else but i can't quite put my finger on it. something else is changing and i'm still trying to figure it all out.

so, yes. two promotions. after the first of the year i started working more hours every week. (i started working mid-day shifts.) then last week i was given the newly open weekend evening producer position which is incredibly close to full time. which is amazing. i LOVE it.

because of my new daytime hours on the weekend, the portrait studio fired me. so this week i got a job as a registration clerk for ACT. i don't start until the middle of the month, but i'm pretty excited about it. we'll see how it works out.

i was in the 10 minute play festival about two weeks ago. this week i auditioned for the new iowa play festival and i've been called back for four of the six plays, which is awesome!!! i'm very very excited. i've also been doing some more filming for one of the films. we're getting close to finishing up with shooting and should be in the post production phase by the end of april.

the first time i moved, i moved into my brother's living room. it was a temporary fix while some remodeling was being finished up in the house we're renting rooms in. i stayed in the living room for about a month and then i moved downstairs to live with my new and fabulous roommate. we're getting along so far and it's been fun to have a roommate that i can do girlie things with again. we'll make dinner with each other. we'll swap clothes. we'll do each other's hair. it's fantastic!

i don't know what else is going on. i feel like i'm about to go through some major change in my life. not neccessarily with work or home. who knows. we'll see what happens.

hopefully i'll get better about keeping up on this... but i'm not making any promises.

lisa

realization

2004-10-08T21:21:00.000-05:00

so i think i've realized what put me in what my friend jeff calls a "funk" for the past few weeks... and while it's a combination of things, i think the main one is that: i've been purging.

now, before you get all worried about me (if anyone actually reads this...) i'm not talking about my food. i've been purging a friendship and i think it's really freaked my head out. i've gotten really bitter about the situation and how shit went down and just a lot of stuff about the friendship's ending and for some reason i have some deep seeded desire for something not so wonderful to happen to the person i've been purging. maybe it's because i don't understand why she did what she did. maybe it's because i was really really really hurt by her actions. i don't know. but just seeing her name somewhere makes me feel bitter and ugly inside and i don't know how to get past it. i know. it takes time. but i'm not patient. not at all. ugh. although. the bitter is starting to subside. we'll see if it remains under the surface the next time i see her. which i know i will.

other than that, i'm spectacular!!! besides getting caught up on my sleep last weekend, i got to see my family. i've had the chance to talk to will a ton (man i miss that girl.) and last night i went out with miss erin and her theatre crew- which, i must say, was the most fun i have had in absolute ages. i loved everyone!!! it was a blast. we start filming for "through the night" tomorrow night and i'm incredibly excited. i think that's why i can't sleep right now like i had planned to do. (yep. i caught up on sleep just in time to fall behind again...)

well. i think maybe i'm going to flip on the tv and get a snack before heading back to work...

i got all my brothers and sisters with me! we are family!

2004-10-04T09:16:00.000-05:00

okay, so i don't have any sisters, and there's just the one brother, but he's coming to visit!!!! so's my mommy!!! :) and i'm waaaay excited.

you know. i don't think i ever missed my family until i graduated from college. or maybe it was moving in with strangers that made me miss them so much. who knows. all that matters is mom and rick are gonna be here tonight and i get them until wednesday or thursday. :) yay!

otherwise i'm just working my life away... *dramatic sigh* it really isn't that bad. two jobs i adore, two movies i'm stoked about and tomorrow i'm auditioning for a "music video" (a film student is making her own rendition of "my immortal" for a class project...) next week i've got another photo shoot lined up. things just keep popping up that i can't resist saying "yes" to!

in addition to seeing my family today, i get to stop by and see stacey! my beloved broadcast prof... yay! i miss seeing her and am soooo excited that she's going to china to adopt baby twins this month!!! i'm so excited i got crafty and made some baby blankets! :) i almost didn't because everyone gives baby blankets for new babies, but i figure, hey, it's iowa, it gets cold, you can never have too many warm cuddley blankets around the house. (i should know, i have about nine million of them. i'm already sleeping with four on the bed and it's not that cold yet!!!)

well, i should finish picking up for the family and hop in the shower for work. :)

oh, and 15 hours of sleep is a BEAUTIFUL thing!!!!

bleh.

2004-09-29T09:24:00.000-05:00

i really don't want to go to work today. it's been the theme of the week. after working so much last week, i really needed a full day off from running around to fully recouperate, unfortunately, my full day off is tomorrow and i have so much stuff to do that i'll be getting up early anyway. le sigh. oh well.

at least i'm loving everything about life! the movies are going exceedingly well. we start filming "through the night" on oct. 9. "haunted" should start soon after. probably the following weekend... it's nice that the two companies are helping each other out and scheduled together, so they are able to make sure cast members who are in both films don't have scheduling conflicts. (its too bad i can't get my jobs to do that!)

ugh. well. i'd better finish getting ready for work in my messy, messy room. guess i'll just have to clean tomorrow... add it to the list... **sigh**

blah.

2004-09-17T21:36:00.000-05:00

i have no motivation to do anything right now.

no motivation to go to work.

i just wanna crawl into bed and veg out.

*sigh*

drew says i need some time off work. but i need the money and i just spent two days in atlantic. i don't think time off would really help. i hate not having stuff to do, so just sitting around wouldn't help. i have sunday afternoon off, so maybe that will help....

ugh.

mmmmooooooovvvvvvviiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeessssssssss

2004-09-12T15:20:00.000-05:00

so. i went to an audition on no sleep. literally no sleep. i'd been up for close to 24 hours and i was ready to go to bed, but looking at another 20 hours of being awake.

i kicked that audition's ass.

after kicking that audition's ass i was cast in two movies. yep. two. :) mainly because i rock like that. go me.

i'm really excited about it. not looking forward to my weekend schedule for the next few months, as it looks like sleep will be missing from my life on the weekends for awhile, but i'm super excited about the movies.

the second job is great as well! i think i'm going to love going in and taking picutres of little kids. i took my first set of portraits yesterday and it was quite enjoyable. just have to get all the pricing and studio stuff down, but i know that will come with time in the studio on my own.

our new weekend show format is awesome! i'm LOVING the hour show. it falls together and runs smoothly and everyone is happy about how it's going. just in time for us to get a brand spankin' new anchor. yeah. found out this morning that nick is leaving us for the weekend night gig, since renee is leaving us for north carolina. just means we get to keep tweaking the show with a fresh face and some new ideas!

yep. life is awesomeness.

vaughn

2004-08-31T01:43:00.000-05:00

okay. michael vartan is incredibly gorgeous. a man that pretty shouldn't exist. or, at least not without being a significant part of my real life.

if you've never watched "alias," you should start. just so you can see the incredibleness that is michael vartan.

absence...

2004-08-30T03:33:00.000-05:00

okay. so, i've been away from the internet for awhile... but i'm back and i'm high speed!

i moved. after a bogus and bullshit experience that re-opened my eyes to the flakeyness of some individuals in my life, causing me to once again make the decision to let go of a friendship that i have worked very hard to maintain, and one that i only recently regained. but, when true nature shines through in a person and each time you see it more clearly and like it less and less, the time comes to let go and move forward. so that's what i'm trying to do.

i started working at kcrg as the weekend morning producer and i'm now also producing headline news twice a week, which isn't much, but i love it none-the-less. i also start my day job at the walmart portrait studios on thursday, which i am really looking forward to.

i also recently rekindled a friendship that i'm not entirely sure i wanted to rekindle. i should learn to not text message random people in my phonebook... especially ones who have historically treated me poorly, made me cry, and then taken months to realize that they want to keep me in their life. too bad i'm such a sucker for the phrases "i love you" and "i miss you." especially when they're partnered with history...

well, i have to work during the day today (a change from sunday's shift...) and i plan to wake up at 10:30, so in the interest of some sleep, i'm gonna turn in.

but i'll be back. probably with some really boring lisa ramblings about absolutely nothing (or Alias...and the sexy mr. vaughn)...

whimper

2004-07-24T16:30:00.000-05:00

i feel like ass.

my show this morning just about gave me a coronary.

i can't stop coughing. my head and throat and tummy hurt.

i'm grouchy and don't wanna do anything.

ludo won the contest!!!

i get to go see my family and maybe some wedding pictures from christina's wedding tomorrow and monday. yay.

that is all.

"she's perfect in her own way..."

2004-07-22T08:23:00.000-05:00

i wanna be perfect in my own way...

so. i love my new job. but there is one teensy side effect from the late nights. i can't sleep at night. and i'm still not really used to sleeping when it's light outside, so, i'm kinda not sleeping much.

but it's been good for today because i needed to pack so i can meet mom in marshalltown to pass off some boxes to get this moving process underway.

last night was crazy. but then again, most nights where i go out with erin are crazy. i love that girl. yay for random after hours parties. boo for silly drama. although. i'm glad it wasn't serious drama...

i've gotten erin addicted to ludo. i rule. yeah. she now randomly starts yelling ludo lyrics. and has began to put them in her away messages. (by the by, if any of you faithful readers - do i have faithful readers? - don't know the wonderful awesomely awesomeness that is ludo, check 'em out... ludorock.com)

my new playlist on iTunes is seriously rocking me. i have such good taste in music. ;)

i've been kitten sitting. it has brought me to the following conclusion: cats suck. i don't want a cat as a pet. ever. they're boring and moody and shit. bleh. who wants a pet like that?? not me!! yeah. the kittens kind of annoy the shit out of me. like. they're cute and all, but playing babysitter with them has convinced me that i don't ever want a cat. and it makes me miss my beau-dog. :( i love him so... *sigh*

so this morning when i returned home from waking miss erin up so she didn't miss work and possibly get fired, i found that a baby bird had fallen from it's nest. and i was sad because i didn't know how to save it and i was afraid to pick it up because i thought i could hurt it more. so i'm pretty sure it's dead. and that makes me wanna cry... :( but i won't. i'll be okay... but i do feel really bad for the baby birdie and it's birdie mommy...

i get to see my mommy today!!! i love her.

i'm in an exceptional mood for having been up all night...

dude. i write a lot. i'm gonna stop now... maybe take a nap so i don't fall asleep on the road on my way to marshalltown. dude. i'm so not getting up at 10:30. alarm's getting changed...

wow.

2004-07-15T15:32:00.000-05:00

wow. a lots happened since i got caught in the rain.

i got a job. at kcrg. as the weekend morning producer. woohoo!

went on two dates. one was fine until the boy turned all clingy and insecure on me. then other one was nice, but really short.

uuummmm. i've been watching "i love the 90s" and i do love the 90's they rock me!!!!!

i've been voting for saraphine on the rock boat contest. yep. doin' that a lot. tomorrow i'll start voting for ludo in the fusetv contest. lotsa voting... lotsa voting... by the way. anyone who reads this should vote fore saraphine at icehouse.com, it's the rock boat contest "battle for the boat" and everyone should vote for ludo to win lotsa money from fusetv in the daily download contest at fusetv.com...

now i must vent. it really pisses me off that after i sent a message to someone because i thought they were having a bad day that said person is being petty on a public forum and baiting me because i told them i thought they were grouchy. and then told them why i thought the were grouchy. when they said they didn't want to talk to me anymore, i stopped talking to them. yet they feel it is appropriate and adult to make comments in reference to the private conversation we had publicly. seriously, if you have further issue with me than what was discussed, either keep it to yourself or bring it directly to me. end of story. oh, and roar.

anyway. tonights mug night at brother's. i'm excited. $1 you call-its on everything behind the bar. stellar! ya know. i've been out every night this week except monday. that's odd for me... eh. it's been fun and that's all that matters!!! :)

just about par for the evening...

2004-07-02T20:28:00.000-05:00

so. i woke up with a headache.

i took a nap to get rid of said headache. i woke up to the realization that it was raining and my car windows were down.

so i went outside to roll them up.

my car wouldn't start.

i called around to see who could come out and jumpstart my car. yeah. all of my friends work during the day. i finally got ahold of drew, freshly home from work. he had to watch the cubs game and take a nap, but would be out to jumpstart my car as soon as he was done with all that.

so three hours later drew comes to my rescue (yet again. the poor boy always gets stuck with my car problems.) and since there is a car in the parking stall next to me, we put mine in neutral and push it out of it's spot.

we jump it and he follows me to sears and tells me he's noticed my turn signals and brake lights aren't working. woohoo. i knew about the turn signals, but not those pesky brake lights...

so i drop the car off at sears after witnessing some guy nearly ripping the technician's head off over a parts mix up and walk through the muggy heated haze across the parking lot to the mall.

where i wander aimlessly for an hour.

finally my phone rings and the sears guy informs me my car is done. i had a bad battery, but my charging system is fine and they put a new battery in it. good! "but... you're out of gas." "well. i knew i was low i was on my way to get gas when it wouldn't start." "no. see, it died on us when we were pulling it out of the shop." "oh."

so i walk through the muggy heated haze back to the sears auto center and get my invoice for my free battery and go out to my car. yep. yet again, it won't start. but this time it at least turns over...

so i walk across the street to the gas station. i pick up the biggest gas can they have and walk up to the counter... "hey, can i fill this and then pay?" "no." "oh. okay." so i get in line. "hey, did you run out of gas?" the oh-so-astute gas station attendant asks. "uh. yeah. but i'm literally across the street at sears." "oh, well do you wanna borrow this gas can?" "yes! that'd be great! thanks so much!!!"

i go out and i fill up the gas can with $4 of gas, as that is all that it would hold. and i go in and pay then trek across the street to put it in my car.

about a fourth of the way through the gas tank it starts to sprinkle and the now ominous words of that station attendant creep their way back into my head "it's starting to look pretty bad out there." to which i smiled and said "yeah, it's gonna rain."

about that time the sears guy comes out. looks at me asks "so, how's it comin'?" "well. a little slower than i'd like, but it's comin'." and then he just stands there. walks around to get a different angle then nods and says "well, you have a nice evening." "yeah. you, too."

about the time mr. sears-man walked back into sears, it started downpouring. near monsooning on me in my cute white peasant top, stretch jeans and flip-flops.

so i finished off the gas can. drove over to the gas station. filled up and returned the can. i drove home, passing the atm where i needed to deposit my camp check. my dad called as i pulled in and i told him what happened and that i have a new battery.

as i was peeling my soaked stretch jeans off of my body (which is hard to do, by the way...they stick like glue when they're wet) i noticed that not only am i drenched and not only do i smell like gasoline, but i still have that headache.

yep. i'd say that's about par for the evening.

i have no "title"

2004-07-02T10:55:00.000-05:00

so. spiderman 2 rocked me. so hard. there are no words. none at all. i tried "incredible" and "amazing" and "marvelriffic" but none seemed to suffice. everyone should see it. it's got hot action, great drama, emotion, suspense. everything that makes a good movie. plus, tobey maguire's hott. :)

after i recovered from my spidey 2 experience, i went over to miss erin's to hang out. turned into us going to sam's then after-hours. we harassed my friend drew and ran into aaron, which was craziness. i never see him anymore. it was good times. so was sleeping on her couch after mowing down on some tostitos and pace picante. mmmmmm.

yesterday morning i came home and tried to sleep some more. didn't work too well. so i took a shower and didn't get dressed until 2:30ish. painted my nails. they look pretty.

paid my rent and water bill. wahoo. watched lotsa tv. ate some food. set up the possibility of another photo shoot. although, still gotta find someone to go with me. i did a shoot by myself once and it wasn't bad, but it made me really nervous. so i don't really wanna do it again. i should probably get ahold of mike and gabriel to set some stuff up with them, since they'll pay me... hmmm... eh. we'll see.

hmmm. oh yeah. i thought yesterday was friday all day. mmhmmm. thought it was friday. i woke up this morning and was like, oh. it's not saturday. huh. ;)

i was gonna go lay out today but it's all cloudy and looks like it might rain. maybe i'll just break down and get some fake tan lotion... who knows. maybe it'll clear up and be crazy kinds of sunny and i'll get some color. i probably still need the fake tan crap though... ugh.

yayness

2004-06-30T13:46:00.000-05:00

drew's cooking me spaghetti!!!!

i get to see spiderman 2!!!!

today's a good day.

plus, i got to see my chiropractor, well, both of 'em. didn't have to get a massage by the weird massage therapy lady AND i saw miss nicole mann at the chiro office. wahoo!

i also went to hy-vee and got some food. and naked juice. i love naked juice. it's nummers.

i am in such a great mood today. yay. :)

i'm a party ANIMAL

2004-06-29T23:43:00.000-05:00

so. i got home from my birthday drink and watched some tv. found out drew was hitting the downtown area for some alcoholic festivities and asked him to let me know what time and where he was going.

then i fell asleep. yep. fell right to sleep.

so instead of going out and getting smashed. i watched friends. and i could still go out, but. no. i think i'ma go back to sleepy sleep...

besides. drew's makin' me spaghetti tomorrow night and i'm so excited!!! eeeeee!!!

tequila!

2004-06-29T18:48:00.000-05:00

i would like to state for the record that cazadores tequila hits you hard and fast.

wow.

wearing a sombraro has never felt so good.

happy birthday to me!

:)

:)

2004-06-29T00:02:00.000-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEEEEEEEE!

i was born 22 years ago today.

yay.

some people really piss me off.

2004-06-28T23:42:00.000-05:00

okay. so i'm all anxious and fiesty tonight and it developed some time around 9:45 for no reason. and this has made me realize how easy it is for people to really piss me off. especially tonight.

ARGH.

so. i made an off-hand remark about my hatred for holidays on the ludo board. now. i guess "hatred" is kind of a strong word, but i seriously don't see the whole point of holidays because i think it cheapens the sentiment and commercializes everything, from the celebration of our independence to the expression of love towards one another to religious ideas and beliefs. in my opinion, everyone should celebrate these concepts on a daily basis and incorporate them into their daily lives. who cares if it isn't christmas or their birthday? if you see the perfect gift for someone you care about, buy it. don't save it. immediately give it to them.

and after i made the comment about thinking holidays are stupid and pointless, another member on the board (without knowing the reasoning behind my feelings) commented that it was a bad opinion because we use holidays to celebrate things like our independence and christian ideas hijacking pagan traditions and our vetrans and those who have died in battle. and that without holidays there would be no holiday pay.

so i expressed the reasoning behind my feelings surrounding holidays and i got a response that pretty much said "point taken but you're still wrong." it included stuff about holidays allowing people to celebrate together. and about people being to apathetic to incorporate the things that holidays celebrate into their daily lives.

well you know what?! i don't care that the majority of society is to apathetic to incorporate those ideals into their lives! doesn't mean i should have to like holidays! and on top of that it really really fries me that someone feels the need to tell me my OPINION is wrong. ROAR.

i'm still kinda hot about the whole matter. i don't know why i'm so fiesty tonight. i don't know why this bothered me. normally i wouldn't care, but tonight i'm all growly about it.

hence. don't tell me my opinion is stupid when i'm all fiesty. you risk getting your head ripped off.

or a strongly worded response...

i'm a camera freak without a camera...

2004-06-28T21:15:00.000-05:00

so. i was bored this evening (much like i have been every day for the past. i don't know, four months?) so i went to target and dropped off film.

four freaking disposable cameras worth.

and the thing is, that isn't even all of the film i have to get developed. there's three rolls sitting on the coffee table that need developed... if they're still viable. they've been hanging out for like two years. i keep forgetting to take them in and when i do think of it i'm too lazy to go do it or don't have the cash to do it.

after taking my four disposable cameras to the photo counter at target (and finding out i don't get them back until tomorrow at 3... *sigh*) i wandered through the photo album aisle. thank god i didn't start looking at frames. i get so caught up in the photo album/box/frame aisle. i love that aisle. almost as much as i love card stores, and that is saying a LOT...

it took me like 20 minutes to pick out an album. i wanted to buy all of them. they're gorgeous. i love photo albums. i technically probably don't need a new photo album for my camp pictures, but since i'm going to have like 100 pictures, i wanted an empty album so i can keep them all together. and i wanted one that i can add pages to so that i can put pictures in next year too. and then i wanted to get a red one because we were the red vikings, but decided to just go with plain black so that it will always go with my decor and because i probably won't be a red group counselor next year. and then i almost bought a whole scrapbook thing but decided that making a scrapbook was going overboard. yeah. and i almost bought more than one album because they were pretty.

i also bought more disposable cameras. you never know when you're going to want a camera, so it's best to just always have one with you. it's why i keep buying the two packs. i should just look into buying a case of disposable cameras... it would probably be cheaper for me. you know. in the long run. of course. i should just buy a good camera. but both of those options require more money than i have right now...

plus. if i were to go buy a camera i can't decide if i want a traditional 35 mm slr (because i can't just do point and shoot. it's easier to do disposable if i want to just point and shoot. i need zoom and focus- auto and manual- and a real flash...) or a digital camera. because the world is becoming so much more dependant on all things digital. and it wouldn't require me to spend so much money on film and developing. but i would miss hard copies of photos and i know i could just print them off, but there is just something so special about going and getting your film developed and then sitting in the car looking at all the pictures one by one. it's sacred. and i would miss putting them in albums.

oh. it's just such an issue for me. i mean. i absolutely ADORE photography. it's one of my many mini-passions. like, i know there are times that i would love to be taking pictures and don't. like shows. but that's because i have to stop bouncing to take pictures. but if i had a real camera. a real instrument to work with, i think i would take pictures at shows. and then i could just go out whenever and take pictures at the lake or downtown or wherever. and i really could continue my photo project like everyone tells me to do. like erin told me she wants me to take bathroom pictures of her. and i could really get back into developing. because i miss it. i do. god. i could have an entire wall of funny faces. plus, will has a photo project she wants to do and i could let her borrow my camera. and it would be so fun. i want a camera.

i want a camera. so bad.

*sigh*

to get dressed or not get dressed that IS the question...

2004-06-28T14:18:00.000-05:00

so. i told will i'd call her and go over and hang out. but as i sit here in my towel i really don't wanna put clothes on. does that make me a bad person? i really don't know...

i keep thinking of people i should call and see what they're all up to but then i think about it some more and if they wanted me to do something with them, i'd have to get dressed. and i really don't think i want to do that right now.

so i'm just gonna not call anyone.

i wonder what janelle's doing. hm. i bet she's working.

will's studying. and terry gets off of work at 3 and they're supposed to do stuff.

yeah.

i should eat some food. although. my choices are limited to tuna salad. yogurt. frozen pizza and ramen. oh. wait. i do have angel hair, parm, and olive oil. eh. i don't wanna cook. maybe in a little while i'll get dressed and go out for some food. or order some big mikes...hm. i don't know.

so will and i are all excited for our master plan for next wednesday (july 7. not the one in two days...) because we're gonna try to make it out to the 'burbs for a show. we miss shows. *sigh* i was gonna try and get lucas and janelle to go, but i think they're probably working or something. i should still ask. i need lucas to go over the directions i got off of mapquest/yahoomaps so that i know they'll work... since he's from the nape and all. god i want to go to that show so bad! and with will and i splitting gas costs, it shouldn't be too bad.

hm. mika still needs to drop off july's rent money. i should text her. what with my not really wanting to call her.

i'm so lazy today. i don't wanna do anything.

so, is it sunday or monday right now?

2004-06-28T00:44:00.000-05:00

i always get confused once it hits midnight. because i know that technically, it is monday now. however, in my mind it is still sunday because i haven't gone to bed yet. and you know what, it really messes with me when i stay up for longer than 24 hours because then like two or three days meld into one. it's a mind boggler.

anyway. since it is technically monday now i would like to say the following:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!!!

yep. it's my grandma's birthday today. i love her. i hope she has a good day.

also, it is scott's birthday. i hope he has a good day as well.

speaking of a saraphine member, i hear their show went very well and they sold lots of merch, including a ton of cds. good job guys! good job!

things i wish i were doing right now/today

2004-06-27T15:30:00.000-05:00

(if you haven't noticed, my sunday has been filled with boredom)

so, as i sit here contemplating whether or not i should go watch "win a date with tad hamilton" for the fourth time this weekend (and second time today) i thought i would share with the world what i would rather be doing with my time:

getting my camp pictures developed. but i have four cameras full, and i don't have the money to develop them. and i don't think hy-vee can do four cameras full in an hour and target's picture cds are kinda crappy. at least the last one i got was...

the #1 thing i wish i was doing today but unfortunately am not: be in chicago. not only is saraphine releasing their much anticipated new album "Random Life" (which can be purchased, along with a plethora of new merch, at saraphineonline.com) but, there was going to be a performance of Peter Pan!!!! i love peter pan. and i really wanted to see that play. :(

seeing "the notebook" or, actually pretty much any movie that has come out this month... other than the new michael moore film. i really don't want to see that in theaters. if i ever choose to watch it it'll be on 99 cent mondays when someone else pays. but only because i think he's trying to manipulate his audience and gives them only half of the information needed to make an informed, intelligent, adult decision about the issues he chooses to make films about. i am so not spending $7.50 to be preached at. i did see "kill bill 2" and it was AWESOME. i love quentin tarentino. for oh-so-many reasons... i'm supposed to go see "spiderman 2" on wednesday and i'm incredibly excited about it!!!! it looks incredible!!!

hanging out with, well, pretty much anyone. i've spent the past two days alone in my house. it's getting kind of old. i need someone to talk to because my walls aren't replying to my burning questions. although. i'd be worried if they did...

yeah. so all of my friends need to return to iowa city. they all left for the weekend. which was really bad timing because i didn't get home from camp/atlantic until wednesday afternoon. well. mika's in town. but let's not venture down that road... it just opens a big ol' can of lisa philosophizing and all kinds of new craziness...

ya know. this whole blog thing could prove to be just the thing for my boredom... a new addiction- maybe. a new way for me to impose my random thoughts on the world- definitely! i think i'm starting to like you, blog.

by the way. have you noticed how fun it is to say "blog"? go ahead, say it out loud. blog. blogblogblog. it's quite a fun feeling word!

i really do wish i was in chicago right now. but, alas, gas is expensive and i have no road trip buddy. that is the suckiest of all suckinesses.

okay. time to go throw in either "how to deal" or to once again hit play on "win a date with tad hamilton"

wait. no. first i must gush about the movie "win a date with tad hamilton."

i love it. it is just so nice. and wonderful. and it makes me smile. and you know what?! it made me realize that i do not want a "tad hamilton." no. i don't! i want a pete!!!! *sigh* and, i really think that topher grace has gotta be a better kisser than josh dushamel. i just get more heart flutters when pete kisses rosie than when tad does. oh. and josh dushamel has nice legs. yes he does.

so. things you've learned from this post:
i want to be in chicago.
i want a pete.
josh dushamel has nice legs.

you know. they're right when they say you learn something new everyday... ;)

the mexican next door

2004-06-27T11:36:00.000-05:00

so. there's this mexican family that lives in the building next to me. and they seem pretty nice. but the dad is kinda weird.

he sits in his car a lot. just sits there.

but when he's not sitting in the car, he's blaring mexican polka out of it.

like right now... all i can hear is the bassline of a mexican polka song... over my powerman 5000 blaring from my iTunes. it really is not good for my headache, this polka beat...

HEY MR. MEXICAN- SHUT UP!!!!

okay. i'm done now.

how did this happen?

2004-06-27T10:43:00.000-05:00

i suddenly have a "blog."

i don't know how it happened...

wait. yes. yes i do know how it happened. i was trying to harass mr. volpe on his band blog and it made me fill out all these things and then suddenly a blog appeared.

so now i have a blog.

woohoo.