To be true to my promise here are 10 things that made me happy this week:

1. Michael picked me up at the airport when I was exhausted from screaming babies instead of making me take the bus home.
2. My mom lent me some money so I could keep my TV.
3. I got into The Groundlings! (that happened last week, is that cheating?)
4. Melissa and I sent our rent checks to Chicago and she visited me at The Box today.
5. Zach said he can bring my bike to Chi when he drives up next week. This is good because depending on where I get a job it could save me a few dollars a day on transportation and make it easier to get to THE BEACH!
6. Maddy left me a message on Facebook agreeing that we should combine our mutual loves of Improv and Ice Cream into a new improv ice cream theatre... I think it should be near THE BEACH!
7. The way Sarah scratched my back this morning when I was sad and then Luci unknowingly scratched my back exactly the same way a couple hours later.
8. Aidan took me to my FIRST major league baseball game! The Nationals lost ... by a lot ...but it was fun!
9. Listening to All American Rejects in the car over and over. My seat was soggy from my leaky roof, but the music was great so I didn't care.
10. Repeated emails from my new LA friends! Congrats to everyone who got into the SCLA Conservatory!! (why didn't I stay 3 more days?) And for those of you who didn't get in this time... I've been there... it hurts now, but maybe it's just not meant to be at the moment. We'll all get to where we are meant to be eventually.

Life is a cookie

I've been seeing some of that "be careful what you blog" karma today so I would like to set the record straight about a few things.

This is not me.

This blog is not the real three dimensional me. I know you know that, but I just wanted to send out a little reminder. I have millions of tiny thoughts that never make it to my mouth, much less the keyboard. I only write about the ones that I think are interesting enough that are actually in my head when I have access to email. So that narrows things down a lot.

Yes I was very depressed this week. Very. I have been nervous about my move, and in a lot of financial trouble. I also came down off of one of the best weeks in my life via a 6 hour red-eye flight full of screaming babies. But today I had my LAST day of work at The Box (again) and I feel like one of the many little weights has been lifted. And there's other stuff happened today that's on a need to know basis and right now you don't need to know.

My point is, there's always other stuff that you don't need to know. There are so many things I don't share... this site gets an average of 40 hits a day, this is a very impersonal, public forum. I don't feel comfortable sharing the WHOLE me with that many people, and sometimes I just plain forget to say stuff.

I purposely share my moments of depression because I feel like some stranger out there might be having the same problem and if she stumbles on my writing she might say to herself, "wow, here's someone who feels like I do, maybe I can deal" Besides... I think it's healthier to write about it than to hide in my room and tell people I don't want to go out because "I don't feel good" That never did me any good in the past, so I'm trying a different route.

On the other hand, I have advertized this page to my friends as a way to keep up with my adventures so I will try to show a more rounded perspective on my life. I promise to try to equal out the good with the bad, so my life doesn't look 100% dreary, because when you average it out it's probably only about 10% dreary with a chance of thunder storms. But I will not lie and tell everyone I'm ok when I'm not. I'm done with that. Statistically speaking I know more than one of you reading this is "not ok" too. And that's ok. It's ok to be not ok. Just don't lie about it, ok?

I am at home with the me that is on this adventure.

Checking in

Hey guys,

I can't talk right now because I'm at work, but I just wanted to quickly
say that the feelings I shared yesterday are my personal feelings. The
things I said were not meant to be a personal attack on anyone and do
not apply to any one person or group of people. I was just saying what
was in my head. I was having an episode and wanted to preserve it for
future reference.

The feelings I have come from within. They may be influenced by my
environment, but they are not controlled by it. I have to deal with my
own personal demons. I did not intend to burden any readers with
worry. I'm sorry.

I'll respond to personal messages after work.

Summary of deleted post:

I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I'm lonely, I'm scared, and I feel like complete and utter crap on a - I wish I had heath insurance so I could refill my old Zoloft prescription - kind of level. Something needs to change before I start peeling off my skin like an orange.

But then I had a good cry and took a hot shower and combed my hair for a really long time.

I take comfort in the knowledge that "Everything will be alright once we get to Tir Asleen".

I just wrote the most beautiful eloquent post about how depressed and self loathing I am this week and POOF! gone! nothing. It published as a blank space! What the crap is that?

This was damn good! It had metaphors and analogies and snarky comments about society. I cried as I typed. and then I screamed as it disappeared.

If you drink Starbucks (or Karabou, or Coffee Bean, or whatever) READ THIS!

It's lonely at the top... or so I imagine. I've never really been to the top so I don't really know how it is there. But from what I hear its pretty lonely.

Why do we long to get to the top? What's the point of being on top if it's lonely? I was planning on saying goodbye to people this week, but I feel like that's already been done. Has it? I guess one of the requirements of growing up is that you lose touch with people you thought you could never do without. That really sucks.

I feel like I just want to sneak away into the night. I want to mysteriously disappear. I guess the problem is that I said goodbye almost a year ago and everyone is thinking, "Didn't you already leave? ...geez Megan, how many times to we have to say goodbye to you before you go?" Just GO!

Don't worry guys... I'm going.


My mom talked me out of selling my TV. She's right... I'd never get that much for it. She kept saying it will be here when I get back. Why have I become this joke? I move away and come back so much that everyone just assumes I'll be back again. I can't help it if I'm kinda attached to you guys. I'm so sorry that's such a joke to the rest of you.

There's something different about this time. It's not me just randomly deciding to go. There are things out there pulling me away from here. Nobody here is asking me to stay. (Except maybe Luci who keeps forgetting that I'm leaving and keeps trying to make plans to hang out next week). I even auditioned for an improv troupe in hopes that they would give me a reason to stay... the only improv troupe in DC that I'm really interested in... and I didn't even get a callback. So that was it. So it seems that it is time.

Chicago was a good time. L.A. welcomed me with open arms. D.C. is totally giving me the cold shoulder. OK guys, I can take a hint. I'm packing right now.

buh-BYE

Read this and laugh:
http://tinadupuy.com/wp/?p=214

I'm selling stuff:

All prices listed are VERY negotiable...
3 CD Changer w/ 2 cassette radio and speakers and REMOTE! $50
Philips 20' Flat screen (NOT flat panel!) TV with Remote $100
DVD Player with Remote $50
Professional Massage Table $250
Raquetball Raquet and 3 balls $20
GMU Faculty Staff Parking Permit (valid through August 31, 2005) $15

I also have some old textbooks, plays, novelties, DVDs, etc. So if you've ever wanted any of my stuff... now's the time to ask.

If someone wants to make me an offer on my Bass Guitar and/or 60 watt amp I'm willing to deal.

EVERYTHING MUST GO BY NOON this FRIDAY JULY 1st!

Make me an offer I cannot refuse.

So I was mapping my way around Chicago and I discovered I will be 2.1 miles from the nearest beach. niiiiiice.

I'm getting nervous about the whole job thing. I'm going to be VERY strapped for cash the first couple weeks. This sucks. I have some checks from some acting gigs coming in... but not fast enough. This double sucks. uuug.

Oh well. I have to go to bed now so I can get to my job here on time so I can get another couple dollars in the bank like 3 weeks AFTER I need it. Just kidding, I'm sure I'll need it then too!



I get so tired of wondering where the next paycheck is coming from.

I'm leaving for Chicago in one week. I'll be gone for at least two months... perhaps longer. For those of you who feel satisfied keeping up with me via blog then I guess it really doesn't matter at all where I'm blogging from. But for you silly old fashioned types who like that crazy thing we call "human contact" then maybe we should hang out this week.

I mean I really don't have any plans to be back in DC until the U2 concert on Oct 20th. I'm not kidding this time. Seriously... I mean it... I'm really moving this time... at least for a while... I mean forever... mostly...

PICTURES!


I finally got my LA pictures online. Like I said before. Sometimes I'm having so much fun I forget to capture it on film!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6edps95.ba7yaep9&x=0&y=-6kdshj

POSTSECRET

I really love Postsecret

It really puts my life in perspective and makes me feel less wierd.

Do YOU have a secret?

I started to write this as a comment to Chimera's blog about a failure to fund a September 11th Memorial


But I realised how long it had gotten so figured it should be on my own blog. Now I do agree it is important to point out how selfish these big companies can be. But the following was my initial gut response:


"AND none of these companies donated to the "Megan's Therapist fund" or maybe the "let's stop pissing off other countries fund!"

My selfish side would rather they NOT build a memorial because I have spent most of the past 4 years trying to forget the taste of burnt people in my lungs and months of repetetive hypnotic media coverage teaching us to unite as one nation under hate... but that's just me.

When a country starts banning science from textbooks in favor of radical fundamentalism, or talks about forcing it's citizens to register with a national ID card, I think we need to review our priorities... before our friends start sewing Stars of David on their coats or wear mandatory armbands that say "I am a Muslim."

Ooops where did all that come from?



Now I see why Scientology caught on so easily... sometimes I wish a magical spaceship would come take me away from all this too!


It will happen very slowly. Our rights will disappear little by little in the name of national security. One day we will wake up and realise that our own government has already taken away the only things we really have in this world worth protecting - freedom and love.

Filling in the blanks Part two:

FEATURE TREND
(drunkenese = teacher friend)

The show went really well on Friday night. I got to participate in three games including the final bit of the evening which was one of the improvised songs. It was followed by riotous applause and heavy drinking.

You know. I spent quite a long time describing the rest of the evening in great detail, (and it was damn funny) but it was mostly inside jokes. I deleted it all because I realised that part of the fun of having a crazy surreal time like that is holding the precious memory inside for yourself like a tiny picture in a locket. If you show it to too many people it will lose it's value. For the curious minds out there I will sum it up by saying there was laughing and philosophising and dreaming and plotting and water spills and toilet flushes and someone developed a crush on a cartoon character that lives in my phone. To all parties involved...don't ever change and I sincerely hope we can all keep in touch.

Filling in the blanks... part one

So there were about four mysterious days where you didn't get a play by play from me. And I really don't care. You people don't pay me nearly enough to wear my thumbs raw typing on the sidekick every hour of every minute.

But now that I'm back at a normal desktop computer I have a few stories to tell.

THE EARTHQUAKES
Many of you have asked me if I felt any of the earthquakes that went on last week. The answer is yes. One of them. During the others I happened to feel nauseous for a few minutes... but stuff like that happens to me all the time so it might be a coincidence. I get motion sickness from any slight alteration in the earth's rotation... it's one of my secret super powers. They call me "Carsick Girl" "MotionMad Meegs" or my favorite "The Vomitous Vertigo Vixen"

So where was I when I felt one of the earthquakes?

In the Hollywood Improv.


In the bathroom.





With my pants down.





Yep.

There's nothing quite like getting caught in your first major west coast earthquake with your pants down. I won't go into too many details, but for those concerned parties... yes I washed my hands with soap and water before I ran out of the building screaming.

LA Day# last one

So as I wind down my west coast adventure I am left to ponder the
following:

Should I move here?
Do I have skin and or lung cancer yet?
What does a fish taco taste like?
Will I ever see my classmates again?
Will I keep in touch with my new feature trend?
Was it muuuuurder or naaaturaaal caaauuusess?
Why is scientology so popular?
Does Katie Holmes really love Tom Cruise?
Do I really care?
Is Tobey Maguire single?
Am I a good actor?
Where will I be in 3 months?

Nobody knows.

Maybe there's a way that I could live in LA in the summer and winter,
Chicago in the spring, and DC in the fall. Maybe. Maybe.

Maybe.

an IMMERRRRRRSION in MURRRRRDERRR

LA day... doesn't matter this place is awesome!

Sorry I haven't written in a few days. But I've been having too much fun. I finally had a few moments to catch up with my friends' blogs and I have one thing to say, "Hi Matt's Mom!"

I would also like to say Hi and "Happy Fathers Day" to my dad. Matt, I totally understand where you are coming from. My dad has been my biggest fan since I started this site.

So now on to my CENSORED awesome week in LA:

It would really take too long to write everything I have done since I wrote last so I will start with the most recent and work my way backwards. That way if I get tired... I won't finish...

All I did today was go to Venice Beach with Maddy and her friends. I didn't have a suit and it was too cold for them so we all just layed down on the sand, soaking up the sun fully clothed and talked for a while. Then I came back to the apartment to chillax and plan my trip to Chicago.

SATURDAY:

I hung out with Holly and Wendy in Silver Lake all afternoon. Walked around and visited some shops... yes you can walk some places in L.A. Then they tried to take me to the Hollywood Forever Cemetary, but apparently it was movie night at the graveyard and we couldn't get in, so we found a cheap kareoke bar instead. We tried to convince Holly to come to The Improv Jam, but Holly didn't want to stay out that late so Wendy and I headed back to Second City. We got there way early and headed next door to The Improv to kill some time. Eventually Mike and Jill showed up to keep us company.

The four of us chilled at the Improv for a while, planning on heading over to the Jam at 11. I had become friendly with the bar staff there and they liked to help me spot celebrities. So around 10:45 bartender said, "you saw who just walked in here, right?" "huh?" "Leonardo DiCaprio just went in to see the show with a couple of girls." "no way" I said. Wendy hadn't been listening she said, "Who?" and he said "Tobey Maguire is in there right now." I said, CENSORED!! You just said Leo was in there. Your making CENSORED up." "They're BOTH in there, doorman told me." he replied. So I gave Wendy a look and told Jill I was going to the bathroom. I went in and watched the show. A few minutes later Wendy joined me. We watched the entire show and immediately as the show ended these two guys got up and quickly left, since I was sitting by the door I got up and followed them. I hung back a little so I wouldn't be too obvious. But just as I got up the nerve to say hi to Tobey, he avoided eye contact and brushed past me to get to the car. DAMN. Wendy was like... "go talk to him!" and I was like no I respect their wishes to be invisible.

We had missed almost half of the improv jam, but we snuck in late and I got to play anyway. There were like 5 other people from my class there. Afterwards friend of Wendy's invited us to a party on the other side of town. I almost said no, but she told me that there would be a lot of improvisers there and it would be good for networking. Well I don't get to LA every day, so why not? As we drove down Melrose, each in our separate cars, I had flashbacks to "Swingers"

When we got to Los Feliz we parked the three cars on this sketchy street next to what looked like an old warehouse. Wendy's friend, Arem, led us down this freaky dark alley and slid a huge currogated metal door to the side to reveal a graffiti covered staircase that read "Crossroads of
Gomorrah" we went up into what looked like a dimly lit apartment. But it was more than just an apartment. Amidst the regular living spaces... there was a theatre. They had converted their living room into a black box. Lighting equipment, a soundboard, even a high quality projector
system. It was beautiful! So many smart actors partying and creating art together... I went to the bar and half expected someone to hand me a glass of absynth. I was tired so I stuck to water. I stayed long enough to converse with one of the other SCLA instructors and he also
thought it was a good idea for me to spend some time in Chicago before moving here.

There is plenty more fun stuff to talk about but I have to go to sleep because Zach Conron and I are getting up early to try to get tickets to The Price is Right!

LA day 4

Can't talk...schmoozing.
- Megan

L.A. Day 3

Class yesterday was cool. My teacher David is ca-razay, but in a good
way. Now it is time to answer questions:

Questions:
1) what is the "butt test" ?
A. If my butt falls asleep during a movie to such an extent that I find
it distracting it means the movie is too long. I loved Mr&Mrs Smith,
but they probably could've shaved a few minutes off.

2) who is "The Dude"?
A. "The Dude" was the name of Jeff Bridges' character in "The Big
Lebowski"

3) why don't you post any pictures?
A. I don't know how to from here. I have not taken a huge amount of
pictures because when I went to church on sunday I thought that was all
we were doing so I almost didn't bring my wallet, much less a camera.
And Termite and Froggy will confirm that I'm usually having too much fun
to remember to take pictures.

Now back to my story:
There are about 16 people in my improv class, mostly young pretty girls
trying to be actresses. Only 3 people are from outside LA and one of
them is this guy Miguel from DC. I think I've seen him in one of Zach's
shows. Small world.

A bunch of us had lunch at Fred Segal. That is where I found the
plastic people. Apparenly there was this chick Sarah Silverman there,
but I didn't know who she was (I've never been good with names) and
after she left my classmates were like, "hey DC girl, there went your
first celebrity sighting!" And I was like, "wha? no idea who that
was... a didn't recognise her, besides she wouldn't be the first celebrity I've met."

After class I went over to the Samuel French theatre bookstore... It was
the biggest theatre store I've ever seen!

Then I got home just in time to hop in the car with Maddy, Marilyn
(mom), Laurie(aunt), and Jessica (gymnast/friend) and drive over to
Universal Studios to watch Maddy and Jessica's friend, Vanessa walk down
the red carpet at her movie premier. It think it was called "The
Perfect Man" and it had Heather Locklear and Hillary Duff in it. We got
there kinda late, the big name stars had already gone inside. We almost
missed seeing Vanessa. I saw Ricky Schroeder being interviewed near the
theatre door.

Then we went to a cheap taco stand for dinner... Finally... A meal in LA
under $10!

We were so tired after all the driving that after a quick stop at the
grocery store we all came home and crashed.

No actually Maddy and I went down the hall for a few minutes to play
spoons with her friend Alicia and her boyfriend. Spoons (a card game)
has the potential to be kinda lame with so few people but we had fun.

LA Day 2

So I woke up easily at 8am with the sun on my face. I decided to try
something new and attend a service at a non-denominational church with
Maddy and her mom and aunt. The music was fun but the sermon was a bit
long.

Then we decided to go to lunch at the same place Maddy and I had gone
for a late night snack with this guy she is friends with who hangs out
with David Cross, apparently. It seems like everyone here is only one
degree of separation from greatness. ...but back to lunch. We couldn't
find the place (Barney's) because the roads leading to it were blocked.
So we decided to park and walk around. It turns out the commotion was
the Gay Pride Parade on Sunset Blvd. It was a big deal. Tons of
people. Mostly hot guys...and a few very NOT hot men in odd outfits.
Fun was had by all ..and their little dogs too!

But we were still hungry, so we got back in the car and drove back to
Melrose. We found this cute little place called The Bungalow Club. It
reminded me of the outdoor cafes in LA Story and Get Shorty except we
sat in these little private booths/tent things with the tent opening
facing the center of the courtyard. As we were leaving I was just
saying how this would be a nice secluded place for celebrities to have
lunch when this guy Patrick from Curb Your Enthusiasm (The Blind Guy)
walks out behind us. He was really nice and posed for a picture with
Maddy.

Then we went to see Mr & Mrs Smith at this huge theatre downtown. It
was really good, but it failed the butt test.

Then we decided to go to this place called The Promenade where there are
supposedly shops and stuff. So we set the coordinates in Magellan or
Maggie as we like to call "her" and took off through the hollywood
hills. There are some awesome houses along Laurel Canyon Rd, and my ears
popped from the altitude within minutes of passing Hollywood Blvd. We
went down Ventura Blvd through Studio City ...now THAT is a nice part of
town. Hollywood itself is pretty crappy looking. It's like going from
Times Square to The Hamptons in only 10 minutes. Or Adams Morgan to
Great Falls for my hometown crew.

Well we got to "The Promenade" but apparently Maggie had taken us to the
wrong Promenade. The Promenade was just your average mall. So we
turned towards home but from where we were that took us through Topenga
Canyon Rd which twists and turns through mountains. Its amazing the way
the mountains come from nowhere like that. And as we rounded the last
bend we ran into the ocean. Poof! Just like that! Mountain, mountain,
mointain, OCEAN!

So I looked up and I was in Malibu! There were some surfers in black
wetsuits floating around but no huge waves. So we drove down the
pacific coastal hwy to Santa Monica and had dinner at The Lobster. The
food was SO good! Then we walked down the famous Santa Monica Pier but
it was so cold we didn't stay long.

Then we came home and we all watched The Comeback because one of the
guys in it is in Maddy's movie.

LA Day one

Today I went over to IO West to try and catch the last day of the LA
improv fest. I got there just in time to participate in an Improv forum
with Joel Murray, Mo Collins, Andy Dick, Matt Besser, and Keegan Michael
Kay. It was like a panel discussion with them up front and us in the
audience. With the likes of Charna Halpern and Susan Messing in the
audience I kept my mouth shut and listened. Then I stayed for Andy
Dick's one person show ...it was great.

Then I came home because it was getting dark, but I told Maddy about
this show at SCLA and she wanted to come with me so we saw Americo The
Beautiful it was only so so. SCLA is much smaller then SC Chicago. So
from there we went and hung out with Maddy's friend for a little while.

Then I was sleepy.

Re: West coast

p.s. Of the 5 people staying in this apartment this week I am the only
one who has not yet hung out with The Dude.

I'm working on that, too.

West coast

Hi, I'm in LA. Its beautiful. No fun stories yet, but I'm working on
it.

Slow Down!

So I've already spent over $30 and I haven't even gotten on the plane
yet. I need to work on budgeting. But they were really important
things! I had a headache and I was hungry so I got a sandwich ...and a
massage... But I needed it, and it was meant to be! Why would they put
massage therapists immediately in front of my gate ifg I wasn't meant to
get a massage? The poor masseusses would be sad if I ignored them.

I feel like I'm more nervous than usual about this flight, maybe because
its a longer flight than I'm used to. Hopefully there will be some kind
TV or movie apparatus to distract me.

I feel very alone.

But I suppose the road to success has many lonely moments. Say a little
prayer for me.

Can't talk

I've ended every conversation today with, "Can't talk - gotta go to LA."

Blog Explosion

Do you want MORE people to read your blog? Then click here and tell
them that "megank77" sent you.

http://www.blogexplosion.com/index.php?ref=megank77

If you want LESS people to read your blog then stop being so damn
interesting!

- Megan

New Career Plans

I was packing my passport (just in case) and thinking about all the
countries I've been to and I pondered the lack of security entering the
Bahamas and returning on the cruise ship last summer. I totally could
have snuck some hard core drugs back with me. No questions asked. So
I've decided to apply to be a drug mule... but only via cruise ships.
Nobody would suspect me. I am so sweet and innocent. But can you
imagine? Get paid tons of money, free cruises, and I would be making
tons of drug users VERY happy. I love making people happy! You think
it's a bad idea? You think making people happy is a bad idea? Geez
what kind of person are you?

- Megan

I DID IT!


I QUIT MY JOB!!

I am sooo excited! And I counted my inventory and everything came out even! I surprised even myself! So now I will search for jobs in Chicago for the summer!

"... I'm late for work again..."

I'm really quitting! I haven't done it yet. But I will! You don't believe me? I'm planning on doing it today! Or when I get back from the other side of the country. Or after I leave for Chicago. I don't know.

I'm not packed for L.A. yet. I started doing laundry and throwing random supplies in a suitcase to be sorted and packed neatly later. Other people might be worried but I don't really care. I packed for 2 weeks in Mexico the night before... of course that was when I lived at school and all my things were confined to one small room... and it was January so I pretty much pulled out my storage box of summer clothes and stuffed all that in the suitcase... but still. I am the master of last minute packing! AND this time I'm staying with a friend so I can pack dirty clothes and do laundry when I get there if I have to. I don't WANT to do that... but the way the dryer keeps shutting off here... I'd rather pack dirty clothes than wet clothes!

I submitted myself to a couple auditions that are happening the week I'm there. I don't think I match the specs exactly, but I figured it was worth a try. It would be cool to get a real sense of HOW cruel they supposedly are in LA. That would give me a more realistic sense of wheather or not I belong there on a long-term basis.

The Disney Story (based in reality but the conversations are fiction because it happened so long ago that I can't remember the exact words):

Once upon a time Carlyn Davis Casting was hired as part of a nationwide search for a Disney movie about gymnastics. Carlyn asked Meegs to lead the project. Meegs scoured the land looking for gymnasts who could act. Meegs interviewed girls from sunrise to sunset. Some were obnoxious, and some were nice, some were quality actors and some were quality gymnasts, and some should never have been allowed in the door, but not a single one was just right.

One day, Meeg's friend Twilla called her friend Maddy from college. Maddy was a schoolteacher in North Carolina with lots of roomates. When Maddy was younger she was an elite gymnast but in college her focus turned to acting. Twilla thought Maddy should meet Meegs, not only because she was a gymnast/actor, but also because she was a cool person. So Maddy drove for hours and hours to the magical land of Washington D.C. and the offices of Carlyn Davis Casting.

Meegs was very tired that day. Tired of dumb little girls who wanted to be famous. Tired of phone calls from stage moms saying she should meet all ten of her children because they were destined for stardom. Tired of threatening emails from psychos in Portugal who said they would kill themselves if Meegs did not tell them how to be movie stars. She was about to give up on her quest, when Maddy came in to the casting studio and began to read. The bleary eyed Meegs looked up from the mountain of headshots at the video screen and was amazed.

"Do that again." said Meegs with what was left of her voice. So Maddy put down her script, stood up and acted out the scene with the lines memorized. Meegs was speechless... Maddy's pantomime was so specific that when she mimed the telephone she pulled the little antenna out of the phone with her teeth.

"Who ARE you?" asked Meegs in wonder.

"I am Twilla's friend, Maddy" she replied.

"I love Twilla." said Meegs with a newfound energy. "Do you do improv?" Meegs asked, wondering where the awesome miming skills came from.

"Yes I do. Twilla told me that you do improv too and that you're moving to Chicago."

"Thinking about it..." said Meegs, remembering her plans, lack of money, and dissapointing letter from The Second City Conservatory. "I'm signed up for a summer class at Improv Olympic"

"Really?" Maddy asked, excitedly. "I've heard about them! I was thinking about doing that too!"

"Wow! You know... " but then Meegs was interrupted by a noise in the lobby. Peeking out she realised that the place was now packed. She had to speed things up.

"Damn. I wish Carlyn was here. She needs to see you. I know you live like 5 hours away, but if I can convince Carlyn to meet with you, would you be willing to come back?"

"Absolutely!" Maddy exclaimed, "It's no trouble at all, do you think I have a chance?"

"Well I'll be honest" Meegs replied sadly, "Sometimes I feel like these nationwide searches are just publicity stunts. I've heard of a few people getting cast this way, but it's a one in a million chance that the head casting people at Disney will even watch the tape we send them."

Meegs sighed - but then continued thoughtfully, "But... you were by far the best actress I have seen today... I don't want to get your hopes up... but let's videotape you doing all the scenes you practiced and I PROMISE that Carlyn will see this tape."

So the girls video taped many many scenes. The lobby overflowed with teenage wanna be stars. Finally Meegs walked Maddy to the door thanking her for coming all the way from NC. Maddy said, "No problem, it was fun... I'm definitely going to look into taking that summer class in Chicago!"

"That would be great!" Meegs said, "It would be so nice to have a friend in a new city."

"Maybe we could be roomates!" Maddy suggested, excitedly.

"Unless you get this movie part..." Meegs joked.

"Ha ha... yeah. Unless I become a movie star."

"Ok it's a deal then. If you don't become a movie star in the next few months, we are both moving to Chicago to study improv!"

"It's a deal!"

The new friends giggled about what a silly though that was and hugged goodbye. Maddy went back to her school to teach, and Meegs went back to the fame-hungry wolves.


The next day Meegs showed Carlyn what she had found. In her interviews with about 300 girls she only found around 10 that she wanted to see again. Her top two pics were Morgan, a former Olympic Gymnast, and her new friend Maddy. Carlyn was very excited about the Olympian, but they both worried that her acting ability needed a little work.

"Disney is going to love this!" Carlyn exclaimed. "If they did cast her they would hire an acting coach to work with her... but - Wow! - Meegs! We found an olympic gymnast!"

"Yeah! I was totally starstruck by her! ...but I want to show you one more girl, who is only one step below the olympic level. This is Twilla's boo, Maddy... " Meegs said as she forwarded the tape.

Carlyn watched... "Hmmm... she's cute but..."

Meeg's interrupted "I've decided that she's my boo, too"

(Perhaps an inside joke should be explained... when we first started working together casting extras for XXX2: State of the Union, Twilla and I built a friendly competition where we each had a favorite actor that we tried to get into the movie. We started referring to our top picks as "my boo." This carried on to other big projects. My boo's always do well.)

"Well she can definitely act... and she's cute. Do you think it's worth it for her to drive up here again so I can meet her?" Carlyn asked with a healthy dose of reality in her voice.

"I already asked her if she would and she said yes." Meegs replied.

Carlyn told Meegs a sad story about a casting long ago when she found THE perfect actor for a major film, but the tape never made it to the head casting director. It was found under the desk of a rival several months later. "I know Disney will be excited about the Olympics girl, but how can we get them to look at your boo?"

They thought and thought. Finally Meegs said, "Can we put her in front of the Olympics girl on the tape?"

"It's a DVD, they could skip... but we'll give it a try." Carlyn said. Meegs could almost see the wheels turning in Carlyn's head. "See if you can schedule them to come back at the same time. We'll tape them together."


Maddy did come back... again... and again... and was finally flown out to L.A. to meet the director. And they all lived happily ever after... but not in Chicago!

Malsh

weggiemalsh: Hi Meegs. You know I love your blog, but there's something
I've been meaning to tell you for a long time. There are a few
exceptions to the "i before e" rule, and "weird" is one of them. I think
fixing this little quibble will improve the quality of your blog.
Thanks. I love you.

I think she's just bitter since she found out that I cheated during our
last word search race at the box.
- Megan

I just clicked on the help button and apparently it takes up to 48 hours for changes to happen. So I should shut up about the IMPROVISATION, SCOOTER, DOG POOP CALENDAR for a little while and just let google do their stuff.

I have to go to work. I hate this job so much. For the past 5 months I've been one of those obnoxious people in the "Mart" store that traps you into listening to a sales pitch. It's a fun pitch, I make people laugh, it's great practice for improv (improv scooter dog poo). And the stuff I sell is cute, but it's totally made in China and that really bothers me on a social conciousness level. I keep picturing these 5 year old kids bent over a workbench in a thatched roof hut assembling jewelry. Sure, maybe they are happy to get their ten cents an hour. Maybe that's a good job for them. But maybe not. Money is the root of all evil... but I still need it to survive.

I should stop procrastinating and go shower. Even though I can't help being obnoxious I could at least attempt to smell good.

Acting audition acting improvisation theatre shows movies dance swing play fun happy drama comedy mystery acting directing improv shows chicago new york los angeles good stuff good stuff hotels bars casinos zoo animals sponges sea flora docks boats water sunshine friends
IMPROVISATION, SCOOTER, DOG POOP CALENDAR!

Improvisation, Scooter, Dog Poop.

Improvisation, Scooter, Dog Poop.

Improvisation, Scooter, Dog Poop.


Come on people... say it with me.

So I finally went to bed... and then I got the chills, went to the bathroom, and vomited. Now I feel fine again... mostly. Wierd. Good motivation to stop eating crap three times a day. I keep telling myself that I was just practicing being Hollywood.

It's wierd... I was laying in bed thinking about how I should go to church more often when the chills came on... does that mean something?

6 days to LA. Getting a little nervous, not really in a bad way.

Thanks to "Queenie" for making OTPIP her Weekly Blog of Note. Here's a link to http://ohthepressure.blogspot.com/ to return the favor.

All this damn wedding talk has taken the chameleons of capitalism on a sad and lonely journey to a realm of depression and madness. Lets talk about something that you guys would want to click on. Hmmm... what would get readers of my blog excited?

Looking the secret blog data... it seems that my blog was most popular in the past year when the following three things were mentioned:

• Scooters
• Improv
• Dog Poop Calendar

Statistics do not lie folks.

YOU did this to me.

So now I'm going to improvise a little story about a dog named "Poo"

Once upon a time there was a little dog named Poo. Poo was a schnauser. He looked a little like the pictures of Otto Von Bismark that you see in your history books in second grade. Except he had more fur and was only about a foot tall. Poo, or Otto as his friends called him, was a very special dog. He liked to drive. Since he was only a little dog, he could not be given a real drivers liscense so the District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles issued Poo a special scooter permit for the mini-Vespa that his sugar momma, Lila, had given him for his 3rd birthday (that's 21 in dog years). Poo LOVED his Vespa scooter. On sunny days in June you could always see Poo, zipping along, with his little Bismark mustache flitting in the breeze. The Vespa was powder blue, to match his favorite collar with the nameplate that said, "BITCH" in bold rhinestone letters. By now you may have assessed that Poo was gay. Of course there's nothing wrong with that. Lila was not phazed. Lila still loved Poo and showered him with gifts and attention and girly doggy clothes for him to play dress up in. Poo didn't mind wearing the stupid outfits because, hey, he got a free Vespa scooter out of the deal.

One day Poo was hanging out with his other doggy friends from the block. A shifty little weiner dog named Mr. Jingles came up and offered the pack of housepets some catnip. Now Poo might be gay, but he was not a druggie. Unfortunately most of his friends were Labradors... they eagerly caught the catnip that Mr. Jingles was tossing. Poo, being a 21 year old, homosexual schnauser was afraid of being ostracised by his friends, and so succombed to peer pressure and dipped the nip with his large slobbery friends. Now everyone knows that Labradors cannot handle their highs... soon they were in the street chasing cars and giggling like a bunch of idiot mutts. Poo couldn't keep up, so unfortunately he got on his scooter and rode along with them. We've all seen the videos in Drivers Ed. Poo should have known better. Poo was sideswiped by a Beagle on a bike. Poo survived... barely. The Beagle was not so lucky...

When Lila got to the doggy hospital, she was just glad that Poo was ok. His scooter liscense was revoked, but Poo didn't fight it. He had been a bad puppy. He quit that bad Lab gang... and became a police dog. Its a tough job, but he looks at his former friends wasting their lives... and feels satisfied with this new future. That little gay schnauser is proud to take a bite out of crime.

Quote

"To lead a symphony you must sometimes turn your back on the crowd."

Nancy was definitely not the first of my close friends to get married. I've had several friends get married in the past 10 years, but for some reason this kinda hit me more. Maybe because she wasn't one of those marriage-minded girls. You know the types. The one's who are out on the prowl to trap a man. The ones with scrapbooks entirely filled with bridal magazine clippings before they even meet the guy. I knew her way back when we talked about boys and how stupid they are. Then all of a sudden I'm sitting in a church, with flowers everywhere and there she is in a floor-length wedding dress and a veil, just like little girls are taught to want. Looking like any little girl would hope to look on her wedding day. She actually got her "happily ever after". And I'm sitting there saying to myself, "You're going to be 30 in 2 years and you can't even pay your own bills."

Maybe I had a pang of regret too... perhaps if I could have made an extra phone call or two over the years I could have been in the running for one of those bridesmaid dresses. But no, we needed our time apart. Things have turned out better since we have grown in our own directions. Most people from highschool/early college haven't even bothered to invite me to their weddings so I'm grateful to even be there at all. We never went for more than a year without having at least an email conversation so we have moderately kept in touch.

Why do they say, "always the bridesmaid, never the bride?" I've never been a bridesmaid and I'm still never the bride. I think it might be because whever my friends get into serious relationships they stop hanging out with me. Don't you hate that? "Guess what? I have a boyfriend! We are hanging out with each other every night from here to eternity! You can come if you want to be a third wheel!" Or worse is when my platonic male friends find girlfriends all I hear then is, "ring... ring... ring... You have reached the voicemail of..." The girlfriend slowly extracts me from the equation. bit by bit. till I am left... friendless... then 3 or 4 years later... oops we got married and the girlfriend was in charge of the invitation list... and it's on to a new chapter in the life of the wandering Meegs... If you don't make an effort at maintaining contact with me I'm going to take that as a sign that I'm not important to you. I've been saying that for years I know, but at this crossroads in my life I really mean it. I'm a flake. I lose things. I forget things. I don't want to lose or forget you.

Leaving for L.A. in 9 days! I just mapquested Maddy's place and it's practically in the ocean! Beeeeeg Wataaaaah! This is too good to be true.