Hello and Hi!
So its been a long time since I last posted and I figure the start of a new year is a good a time as any right. So a lot has happened since I last posted and a lot continues to happen. So I believe that the last post that I did was about my 21st birthday. I have since had another birthday (that's right I'm 22 now), a couple new jobs, and yet I still have no idea what I'm doing.
Lets start with my birthday though (my favorite holiday out there). So I turned 22 this past October and as such I feel unaccomplished. I feel as though I've let myself down because at this point I don't honestly know anymore. I know what I kinda want but what I kinda want has only shifted to kinda because its what I thought I knew for sure what I wanted before... you understand what I mean? Because I sure don't and I'm the one that wrote it. Anyways, with my birthday came trying to figure what I want out of life. I know one thing is for sure: I want to be happy. Plain and simple. You can't go through life trying to get by without being happy or content because its only gonna cause you to feel stressed and ready to burst into tears at any given moment (I speak from experience). I have come to the realization that I have to sit back and watch it all happen and take the time to breath every once in a while. Its a process, a very hard and long process that I am still learning.
Which brings me to the new jobs. As of August 3, 2011 I no longer work for Dillon's as a cook in the Chinese Kitchen. I attempted a nanny job that fell through (which I still have trouble getting over so I don't like to talk about it), I have been a host at Oscar's Classic Diner in Jefferson City, Missouri. I am now currently in Texas working as a nanny again (fingers crossed this one doesn't fall through). I am on a year's contract and we'll see what happens at the end. Of course that leads me to my favorite part out of all of this: I have absolutely no idea what the heck it is that I am doing. I thought I did but then life kicked me around for a bit and I'm hoping that right now I'm at a point where its taking a break from kicking me. Every time I start something I get kicked and so at this point I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing; career wise or personally. I love film and writing but there are times when I'm not sure that that is what I'm going to do for the rest of my life. Like right now I really want to do it and I know that if I keep on it and keep on it I'll get to where ever it is that I end up. But then there are times that I just want to throw it all away and do something else, like paint or interior design or cook. Or something that I also enjoy doing as well as my film. When I look at the big picture I get really overwhelmed by it all and then I break down and go nuts. I know right now in my sane state of mind (or maybe its my insane state of mind who knows) that I want to open my own production company someday but to do that I want to get into the business with my writing because it has helped me immensely with my career goals. So for right now I'm working towards my degree in Creative Writing for Entertainment Bachelors. Boy that makes me really nervous just by writing that down and putting it out there for everyone to see and to help me to stick to it and maybe help to not get so crazy and worked up every time something doesn't go the way that I think it should. And honestly (yes I just started a sentence with and) I like not knowing whats going to happen next but sometimes it just drives me crazy because the surprise of what happens next will bring me to my knees and I don't like feeling helpless. So as of right now I don't know what I'm doing next I just know that right now I'm working as a nanny and taking classes online towards my Bachelors degree.
The above are not resolutions because I don't believe in resolutions. I find that resolutions are tossed at the 1 week mark and forgotten. These are short and long-term goals that I want to accomplish to help me be grow as a person and within my career. You all have a good 2012 and if the world don't end December 21, 2012 (which I doubt will) I look forward to having a conversation with you all next year at this time to see where I am.
Catch ya on the flip side...
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Ghost Hunting- Kinda
So last Friday Erin adn I went ghost hunting... or rather we tried. We started out at Theorosa's Bridge. This bridge is where supposedly this woman threw her children in the water and drowned them and then felt so guilty and sad about it that she took her own life and so now she walks the bridge calling out to her children and if you say to her, "Theorosa I have your children." She's supposedly going to attack you and throw you into the water. Well, that didn't turn out the way we wanted it to. When we got there, there was a kegger going on and behind us I heard the sirens of cops and so that was our cue to leave. So we decided to go to this cemtary that is supposedly haunted but we were given the wrong directions and my GPS had been sent back to the manufaturer getting fixed so we without a lot of help and so we got frustrated and just ended up at a cemetary that we did know and apparently you aren't allowed in this cemetary after sunset but there isn't gates to stop you so we wnet in anyway and just did a few quick videos. It wasn't much but you know it was fun so thats all that mattered.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Never Know What Life's Gonna Throw A You
So by now most people know that my mom has cancer. Well, this I've known for a while now. My mom and I are good friends and so she tells me before she tells important things before most people and sometimes certain people take offense to that. So I should start with the story, otherwise you'll end up lost and confused and you'll be saying, "What are you talking about?"
OK so my mother told me about the cancer and the surgery over a month ago and she asked me not to tell anyone here (the family) because she wanted to herself and she wanted to do it all at once. Which is understandable because if it were me, I wouldn't want to have to repeat it a half a million times. So she was planning on making a trip down here to see everybody and tell them at the family barbeque. However she couldn't make it and so she asked me to get all four of my brothers and their wives together for 15 minutes, that's all she was asking for, so she could tell them something very important. And she said I couldn't tell them what it was about because she wanted to. So I called all of my brothers and all of them agreed on a day and time and I thought that was good. Well one of them didn't like that I was keeping information from him and he tried several ways to get it out of me but he couldn't and so he gave up; or so I thought. He started asking around from everybody in the family. Asking if they knew what was going on and if they knew they had to tell him. well this started getting everybody worried asking mom what's up and the usual questions when you're curious. Well no one knew anything and for some reason someone told him that mom was dying. Well on Friday as soon as I get back to the Chinese Kitchen and I'm serving customers (by myself with no help during the lunch rush I might add) he comes storming up to the counter and starts yelling at me saying its all my fault that mom was dying and that she was sick. If I had told him she wouldn't be dying, and going on and on. Basically saying it was all my fault. Well I didn't like it but I with as much dignity as I could muster at the moment I told him he needed to leave because I was working. He wouldn't leave and he had to be escorted out of the store. So I finished up the lunch rush and I was called upstairs. I almost lost my job because of him! You know I don't go to his place of work and yell and scream and harass him so what gives him the right to do that to me? I understand he was angry and upset. But his source of information is usually wrong and he should've checked that story with mom or even me! I would've cleared up that she isn't dying. That would've calmed him but he doesn't like to listen to reason very well.
Obviously I had to call mom and tell her what was going on. I was near to tears at that moment. When she found out she got so stressed and upset she started crying and told me to cancel the get together with my brothers. She did what she didn't want to do. She had to call and tell everyone indivually because by this time Patrick (my idiot brother) had started caliing people and telling everyone the wrong information. It takes a lot to get my mom to cry and so you know how much its hurting her when she cries.
I thought that wuold be the end of it but no. When everyone found out that I already knew and didn't tell them they accused me of lying to them and they said it was all my fault she was sick. Except my three other brothers and their wives. They understood that it wasn't my news to give but everybody else victomized and blamed me for evrything that was wrong with my mother. And no matter what I told them or my mother told them they wouldn't listen. So needless to say I didn't bother to even try and go to the family's Labor Day barbeque. I purposly traded shifts with people so I would have a valid excuse not to be there.
So, you may ask why I bring this up. Well, I'll tell you why. So I can say this and hopefully iot will get across to, not just my family, but to other families who are dealing with this right now.
Here's what I have to say to those who would blame for their mother's cancer or even just her general health:
Get over it! If you wanted to be told how your mother's doing, call her! Don't wait for her to call you! You have her phone number and a working phone so get off your lazy backside and call her! Its as simple as that! And, this is just my personal view on the matter, if you aren't willing to give your mom 15 minutes of your busy life then what right do you have to demand to know whats wrong with her when you haven;t spoken to her months?!?!?! Also, just becasue you're angry that you can't do anything to help her don't take it out on someone who was doing what their mother wanted them to do. Its unfair and puts not only me in an awkward position it makes your mom feel terrible. That is not what she needs at the moment. What she needs is your support and by putting your anger into breaking down someone else you're hurting everybody else.
That's just something to think about. I needed to get that out there because I can't tell my brother this because he's been avoiding me after his blow up and so I need to get that out becasue I am so stressed out I'm not sleeping anymore, I'm not eating, I can't focus and I'm always on the verge of tears. I can't serve a customer anymore without wanting to bawl my eyes out and I'm always looking out making sure that Patrick isn't going to come in and make another scene. As much as I hate my job I need it.
I'm sorry I unloaded this on you but I didn't know what else to do. The church here still treats me like garbage and the Bishop didn't know that I even exsisted until a few months ago and I had been there over a year. I can't talk to any family here except some for my brothers but we all have busy schedules and barely have time to see each other. So all I can do is vent on here and hope that maybe it will help me feel better. And it does. Not always but its working just a little bit at the moment.
So I hope your lives are going better than mine is at the moment and if there's one thing that I want you to take from this is to talk to your family often and see how they are because you never know what life is going to throw at you.
Catch Ya'll Later
OK so my mother told me about the cancer and the surgery over a month ago and she asked me not to tell anyone here (the family) because she wanted to herself and she wanted to do it all at once. Which is understandable because if it were me, I wouldn't want to have to repeat it a half a million times. So she was planning on making a trip down here to see everybody and tell them at the family barbeque. However she couldn't make it and so she asked me to get all four of my brothers and their wives together for 15 minutes, that's all she was asking for, so she could tell them something very important. And she said I couldn't tell them what it was about because she wanted to. So I called all of my brothers and all of them agreed on a day and time and I thought that was good. Well one of them didn't like that I was keeping information from him and he tried several ways to get it out of me but he couldn't and so he gave up; or so I thought. He started asking around from everybody in the family. Asking if they knew what was going on and if they knew they had to tell him. well this started getting everybody worried asking mom what's up and the usual questions when you're curious. Well no one knew anything and for some reason someone told him that mom was dying. Well on Friday as soon as I get back to the Chinese Kitchen and I'm serving customers (by myself with no help during the lunch rush I might add) he comes storming up to the counter and starts yelling at me saying its all my fault that mom was dying and that she was sick. If I had told him she wouldn't be dying, and going on and on. Basically saying it was all my fault. Well I didn't like it but I with as much dignity as I could muster at the moment I told him he needed to leave because I was working. He wouldn't leave and he had to be escorted out of the store. So I finished up the lunch rush and I was called upstairs. I almost lost my job because of him! You know I don't go to his place of work and yell and scream and harass him so what gives him the right to do that to me? I understand he was angry and upset. But his source of information is usually wrong and he should've checked that story with mom or even me! I would've cleared up that she isn't dying. That would've calmed him but he doesn't like to listen to reason very well.
Obviously I had to call mom and tell her what was going on. I was near to tears at that moment. When she found out she got so stressed and upset she started crying and told me to cancel the get together with my brothers. She did what she didn't want to do. She had to call and tell everyone indivually because by this time Patrick (my idiot brother) had started caliing people and telling everyone the wrong information. It takes a lot to get my mom to cry and so you know how much its hurting her when she cries.
I thought that wuold be the end of it but no. When everyone found out that I already knew and didn't tell them they accused me of lying to them and they said it was all my fault she was sick. Except my three other brothers and their wives. They understood that it wasn't my news to give but everybody else victomized and blamed me for evrything that was wrong with my mother. And no matter what I told them or my mother told them they wouldn't listen. So needless to say I didn't bother to even try and go to the family's Labor Day barbeque. I purposly traded shifts with people so I would have a valid excuse not to be there.
So, you may ask why I bring this up. Well, I'll tell you why. So I can say this and hopefully iot will get across to, not just my family, but to other families who are dealing with this right now.
Here's what I have to say to those who would blame for their mother's cancer or even just her general health:
Get over it! If you wanted to be told how your mother's doing, call her! Don't wait for her to call you! You have her phone number and a working phone so get off your lazy backside and call her! Its as simple as that! And, this is just my personal view on the matter, if you aren't willing to give your mom 15 minutes of your busy life then what right do you have to demand to know whats wrong with her when you haven;t spoken to her months?!?!?! Also, just becasue you're angry that you can't do anything to help her don't take it out on someone who was doing what their mother wanted them to do. Its unfair and puts not only me in an awkward position it makes your mom feel terrible. That is not what she needs at the moment. What she needs is your support and by putting your anger into breaking down someone else you're hurting everybody else.
That's just something to think about. I needed to get that out there because I can't tell my brother this because he's been avoiding me after his blow up and so I need to get that out becasue I am so stressed out I'm not sleeping anymore, I'm not eating, I can't focus and I'm always on the verge of tears. I can't serve a customer anymore without wanting to bawl my eyes out and I'm always looking out making sure that Patrick isn't going to come in and make another scene. As much as I hate my job I need it.
I'm sorry I unloaded this on you but I didn't know what else to do. The church here still treats me like garbage and the Bishop didn't know that I even exsisted until a few months ago and I had been there over a year. I can't talk to any family here except some for my brothers but we all have busy schedules and barely have time to see each other. So all I can do is vent on here and hope that maybe it will help me feel better. And it does. Not always but its working just a little bit at the moment.
So I hope your lives are going better than mine is at the moment and if there's one thing that I want you to take from this is to talk to your family often and see how they are because you never know what life is going to throw at you.
Catch Ya'll Later
Friday, September 3, 2010
Part III
OK so its been a while (life throws a whoel bunch of stuff in the way sometimes), but we left off where I had just gotten a nanny job in New Jersey and its the Monday after thanksgiving and I have 1 week to leave.
So anyways, I'm nervous as I'm heading out there because those thoughts that are there for the purpose of making you second guess yourself decided to pop up on during the flight out there. You know the ones that go: "what if this is a trap?" "Maybe this lady is someone who prays on girls like me and gets them to accept a job and then when I get there she sells me to some faraway country as a slave or something?". Hey, it's happened to people before me. But when I landed and I got there, the moment I met her I knew she was a wonderful woman who would never sell me into the sex slave trade. I get there and its the middle of the night but thats ok and the next morning I start my job and I meet the oldest child. He is awesome! That's all I can say about him. The moment we met it was like instant chemistry. He was 5 years old and in Kindergarten and he was the sweetest kid and he and I hit it off immediately. He became my favorite; I know you're not supposed to have favorites but that's what it was. After I took him to school I met the two youngest kids. A boy and girl. The little boy was 16 months old and the little girl was 2, she has CF but you would never have guessed it the way that she ran around and played with the other two. I fell in love with all three of these kids. I guess that I was the first nanny they had ever had and they didn't know what to expect from me as I much as I didn't know what to expect from them so it was a good mix because we all got to know each other pretty well.
So it had been a few weeks and we had celebrated Christmas (my first one away from home ever). And I was given New Year's weekend off so Matt, Jared, Kristy, myself and one of the their friends, Jeff all went camping on the farthest east shore in Maine that we could get to. We decided we wanted to be the first to welcome in the new year. We weren't the only ones with that idea and we met a few interesting people there on that shaore around our bonfire we had going. It was a great time had by all. During this weekend Jared and I got to talking about my script and he said he was in suspense with it. "I really want to know what happens and how it all fits together." So after that weekend I started writing more into the script. If you know me I don't give my writing out because I'm always second-guessing myself and I always try to touch it up beyond recognition. So I send it to my best friend Bethany who knows my writing style and gives me honest feedback and so for the next couple of months on my time off I would write if I wasn't busy.
They were a few crazy months because I had every weekend off. Friday after I would pick up the oldest from school I would be off at 4 pm and I would take the train up to NYC where Matt and everybody else lived and we would go and do everything. We didn't just stay in NYC though. Matt had a private jett and we'd all go on weekend trips to so many different places. we went to Miami, Los Angeles (where Jeff lived-he's another part of the story), Maine, Tennessee, Austin, Dallas, down to Cancun, out west to Oregon (we went sky diving there), up to Niagra Falls and then over to Vancouver, down to D.C. and a whole bunch of ohter places that were just so much fun. and then I had to be back to work at 7 am Monday morning to relieve the weekend nanny from her duties and then I'd take the oldest to school. It was fun and yet in all of that I had time to do writing.
Well during those few months Matt and I broke up but he and I are still good friends and he is actually getting married to Kristy in a few months and so I can't wait to go to New York to attend the wedding.
Well, it was a good run but one Friday in March I was at my job and Aryn (the other nanny) had just gotten there and it was a nice day so we took all the kids out to the back yard (it was also spring break so the oldest wasn't in school) to play. The snow was melting so it was kinda slippery on the porch. Well I slipped and fell off the porch. It was a 4 foot drop that just winded me but the oldest thought that it was a fun game that I was playing and so he jumped on top of me and I was laying on uneven ground and the moment he lands I hear a sound I never want to hear again. it was like some sick sound bubble wrap just got burst open and I heard it five times. the next thing I know I'm screaming in agony and I'm crying my eyes out because it hurts so much and since my boss isn't there the gardner and the chef rush me to the emergency room. They do X-rays and they tell me I have 3 broken ribs on my right side and 2 broken on my left. They gave me pain killers and told me they couldn't wrap it because it could make it worse so they said to not lift anything heavy and don't drive while taking the pain killers. Well that kind of doesn't work when you're a nanny. But since Aryn was on break for 3 weeks she said that she would take over for me while it gave me time to heal. However the way that I broke them it took over a year for them to fully heal so I had to leave that job because I couldn't pick up the 16 month old without hurting myslef. It was sad to leave because I absolutely loved that family, they became a part of my own family and I still talk to them at least once a week to see how everybody is doing.
While it was sad to leave it was even sadder to go to Kansas. I had always told myself I was never going to go to Kansas because then people get stuck there and I had plans and dreams that I needed to do. Well, I get there and I get a job at the Chinese Kitchen at Dillon's and its an okay job but I'm still looking for a nanny job because it what I know and what I enjoy doing. Well about 3 months after moving there Jared comes to town and wants to see what else I've been writing. I'm embarrased to say I had nothing. But you see, here in Kansas I haven't gotten inspiration for anything new, haven't had any urge to work on my old stuff either and so it was a bad trip for Jared but I promised myself I would find a time at least once a week and write, I would take a few hours and I would just sit and write. And it worked, I didn't have any huge big idea but I got some small ideas to work with and I was asked to write an episode for NCIS and I did and it was one of the most exciting things that has happened to me.
It was during the summer and I had flown out to LA to see Jeff (he at that point in time was my boyfriend). I got to go meet some of the people on the set of NCIS while they were filming my episode and I was just in heaven. This is one of my favorite T.V. shows and has been since it first aired back in 2003. So it was a great weekend. The next weekend wasn't so great. I was checking my emails and I got an email from Jeff. No subject but I read it. It wasn't very long; only two words. It said: "we're done." That was a big blow. I was actually developing strong feelings for this guy and he goes and does this to me. I'm not gonna lie, at first I thought it was a joke so I called him and he wouldn't answer and so I emailed him back asking what was up and why would he do something like this. It was three days later and Matt calls me with news. Jeff had gotten some girl pregnant and he was now with her. He didn't have the guts to tell me to my face that we were over and then I find out what he was doing while I wasn't around. It hurt.
I got over it but, because of the way that he and ended and what I found out afterwards, I lost some friends over it. The girl he got pregnant was a really really good friend and I shared with her a lot of things however, now she won't speak to me. Some of the people I knew because of him wouldn't say two words to me anymore. I've forgiven and forgotten though and the people who really truly mattered stuck by me and helped me through it.
So I go back to writing and I get a call from Jared and this is the message he leaves: "Elizabeth! Big news! Paramount wants to make your screenplay into a movie! Call me as soon as you get this." So I called him and set up a meeting and after a few months of negotiations it fell through. And then around Christmas time I get the same message from Jared only this time instead of Paramount it Jerry Bruckheimer. I'm not gonna lie, I was in a state of complete shock. This guy is my idol I absoilutely love his work. So we set up a meeting and we start putting things into motion and the next thing I know I get a call from Jerry saying, "I've got Cameron Crowe who want to direct this film what do you think?"
"What do I think?" I was extatic! cameron Crowe is my faovrite director of all time and so i was thrilled. I got off the phone and I just screamed for like 5 minutes straight I was so excited.
This brings us to where I started this story. well its been a few months since then but the studio decided that this wasn't going to be put up for production in 2011 like they originally said it was and now they're thinking about putting it up for 2012 production. I really hope I get it. If not I know there are other studios out there and it is actually being passed around to other studios as we speak but I can't put all my hopes into this one basket so for now I'm putting it on hold and I'm finishing shcool (don't get me wrong if they want to put it into production I'm not going to stop them), I have a full scholarship in Arizona however it doesn't include housing so I'm trying to put enough money into savings to help while I go to school. I leave for Arizona in July of 2011 and I'm excited. I can't wait to leave here because I know I can't do very much while I'm here that helps me towards my goals and so I'm being proacttive and getting them fullfilled myself, even if it means scrimping and saving and occaisionally going without dinner. However, I've moved into my grandparent's house and so they keep me pretty well fed and support my decisions even if they don't like my dreams and goals too much.
Well that's that story and whatever happens next, I'm ready for it. So bring it on, whatever it may be.
As always,
Catch ya on the Flip Side;-p
So anyways, I'm nervous as I'm heading out there because those thoughts that are there for the purpose of making you second guess yourself decided to pop up on during the flight out there. You know the ones that go: "what if this is a trap?" "Maybe this lady is someone who prays on girls like me and gets them to accept a job and then when I get there she sells me to some faraway country as a slave or something?". Hey, it's happened to people before me. But when I landed and I got there, the moment I met her I knew she was a wonderful woman who would never sell me into the sex slave trade. I get there and its the middle of the night but thats ok and the next morning I start my job and I meet the oldest child. He is awesome! That's all I can say about him. The moment we met it was like instant chemistry. He was 5 years old and in Kindergarten and he was the sweetest kid and he and I hit it off immediately. He became my favorite; I know you're not supposed to have favorites but that's what it was. After I took him to school I met the two youngest kids. A boy and girl. The little boy was 16 months old and the little girl was 2, she has CF but you would never have guessed it the way that she ran around and played with the other two. I fell in love with all three of these kids. I guess that I was the first nanny they had ever had and they didn't know what to expect from me as I much as I didn't know what to expect from them so it was a good mix because we all got to know each other pretty well.
So it had been a few weeks and we had celebrated Christmas (my first one away from home ever). And I was given New Year's weekend off so Matt, Jared, Kristy, myself and one of the their friends, Jeff all went camping on the farthest east shore in Maine that we could get to. We decided we wanted to be the first to welcome in the new year. We weren't the only ones with that idea and we met a few interesting people there on that shaore around our bonfire we had going. It was a great time had by all. During this weekend Jared and I got to talking about my script and he said he was in suspense with it. "I really want to know what happens and how it all fits together." So after that weekend I started writing more into the script. If you know me I don't give my writing out because I'm always second-guessing myself and I always try to touch it up beyond recognition. So I send it to my best friend Bethany who knows my writing style and gives me honest feedback and so for the next couple of months on my time off I would write if I wasn't busy.
They were a few crazy months because I had every weekend off. Friday after I would pick up the oldest from school I would be off at 4 pm and I would take the train up to NYC where Matt and everybody else lived and we would go and do everything. We didn't just stay in NYC though. Matt had a private jett and we'd all go on weekend trips to so many different places. we went to Miami, Los Angeles (where Jeff lived-he's another part of the story), Maine, Tennessee, Austin, Dallas, down to Cancun, out west to Oregon (we went sky diving there), up to Niagra Falls and then over to Vancouver, down to D.C. and a whole bunch of ohter places that were just so much fun. and then I had to be back to work at 7 am Monday morning to relieve the weekend nanny from her duties and then I'd take the oldest to school. It was fun and yet in all of that I had time to do writing.
Well during those few months Matt and I broke up but he and I are still good friends and he is actually getting married to Kristy in a few months and so I can't wait to go to New York to attend the wedding.
Well, it was a good run but one Friday in March I was at my job and Aryn (the other nanny) had just gotten there and it was a nice day so we took all the kids out to the back yard (it was also spring break so the oldest wasn't in school) to play. The snow was melting so it was kinda slippery on the porch. Well I slipped and fell off the porch. It was a 4 foot drop that just winded me but the oldest thought that it was a fun game that I was playing and so he jumped on top of me and I was laying on uneven ground and the moment he lands I hear a sound I never want to hear again. it was like some sick sound bubble wrap just got burst open and I heard it five times. the next thing I know I'm screaming in agony and I'm crying my eyes out because it hurts so much and since my boss isn't there the gardner and the chef rush me to the emergency room. They do X-rays and they tell me I have 3 broken ribs on my right side and 2 broken on my left. They gave me pain killers and told me they couldn't wrap it because it could make it worse so they said to not lift anything heavy and don't drive while taking the pain killers. Well that kind of doesn't work when you're a nanny. But since Aryn was on break for 3 weeks she said that she would take over for me while it gave me time to heal. However the way that I broke them it took over a year for them to fully heal so I had to leave that job because I couldn't pick up the 16 month old without hurting myslef. It was sad to leave because I absolutely loved that family, they became a part of my own family and I still talk to them at least once a week to see how everybody is doing.
While it was sad to leave it was even sadder to go to Kansas. I had always told myself I was never going to go to Kansas because then people get stuck there and I had plans and dreams that I needed to do. Well, I get there and I get a job at the Chinese Kitchen at Dillon's and its an okay job but I'm still looking for a nanny job because it what I know and what I enjoy doing. Well about 3 months after moving there Jared comes to town and wants to see what else I've been writing. I'm embarrased to say I had nothing. But you see, here in Kansas I haven't gotten inspiration for anything new, haven't had any urge to work on my old stuff either and so it was a bad trip for Jared but I promised myself I would find a time at least once a week and write, I would take a few hours and I would just sit and write. And it worked, I didn't have any huge big idea but I got some small ideas to work with and I was asked to write an episode for NCIS and I did and it was one of the most exciting things that has happened to me.
It was during the summer and I had flown out to LA to see Jeff (he at that point in time was my boyfriend). I got to go meet some of the people on the set of NCIS while they were filming my episode and I was just in heaven. This is one of my favorite T.V. shows and has been since it first aired back in 2003. So it was a great weekend. The next weekend wasn't so great. I was checking my emails and I got an email from Jeff. No subject but I read it. It wasn't very long; only two words. It said: "we're done." That was a big blow. I was actually developing strong feelings for this guy and he goes and does this to me. I'm not gonna lie, at first I thought it was a joke so I called him and he wouldn't answer and so I emailed him back asking what was up and why would he do something like this. It was three days later and Matt calls me with news. Jeff had gotten some girl pregnant and he was now with her. He didn't have the guts to tell me to my face that we were over and then I find out what he was doing while I wasn't around. It hurt.
I got over it but, because of the way that he and ended and what I found out afterwards, I lost some friends over it. The girl he got pregnant was a really really good friend and I shared with her a lot of things however, now she won't speak to me. Some of the people I knew because of him wouldn't say two words to me anymore. I've forgiven and forgotten though and the people who really truly mattered stuck by me and helped me through it.
So I go back to writing and I get a call from Jared and this is the message he leaves: "Elizabeth! Big news! Paramount wants to make your screenplay into a movie! Call me as soon as you get this." So I called him and set up a meeting and after a few months of negotiations it fell through. And then around Christmas time I get the same message from Jared only this time instead of Paramount it Jerry Bruckheimer. I'm not gonna lie, I was in a state of complete shock. This guy is my idol I absoilutely love his work. So we set up a meeting and we start putting things into motion and the next thing I know I get a call from Jerry saying, "I've got Cameron Crowe who want to direct this film what do you think?"
"What do I think?" I was extatic! cameron Crowe is my faovrite director of all time and so i was thrilled. I got off the phone and I just screamed for like 5 minutes straight I was so excited.
This brings us to where I started this story. well its been a few months since then but the studio decided that this wasn't going to be put up for production in 2011 like they originally said it was and now they're thinking about putting it up for 2012 production. I really hope I get it. If not I know there are other studios out there and it is actually being passed around to other studios as we speak but I can't put all my hopes into this one basket so for now I'm putting it on hold and I'm finishing shcool (don't get me wrong if they want to put it into production I'm not going to stop them), I have a full scholarship in Arizona however it doesn't include housing so I'm trying to put enough money into savings to help while I go to school. I leave for Arizona in July of 2011 and I'm excited. I can't wait to leave here because I know I can't do very much while I'm here that helps me towards my goals and so I'm being proacttive and getting them fullfilled myself, even if it means scrimping and saving and occaisionally going without dinner. However, I've moved into my grandparent's house and so they keep me pretty well fed and support my decisions even if they don't like my dreams and goals too much.
Well that's that story and whatever happens next, I'm ready for it. So bring it on, whatever it may be.
As always,
Catch ya on the Flip Side;-p
Monday, June 21, 2010
Part II
So where was I? Ahh... well after telling me how wonderful a writer that I was, the head agent told me that she would be the one representing me and not Jared. Well, I didn't like that idea at all. You know she can tell me what a great writer that I was and all of that but I didn't know her, I didn't know if I could trust her. And I told her so. I said, "I don't know you as a person. I'm sure if we were to run into each other on the street and we didn't know each other you would be all polite and maybe even stike up a conversation but I don't know that for a fact. So I would feel more comfortable with Jared representing me. I don't want you to take it personally but if I don't feel comfortable with you I'm not sure that I would feel comfortable with my screenplay in your hands."
She was quiet for a moment and then she said, "He is only just starting out and inexperienced I know you don't want that for your career. I am only looking out for your best interests." Well this went on in a go around between us for like an hour and finally I said, "If you really want the screenplay to come from one of your agency's clients you are going to have to let Jared represent me, otherwise its not happening." Needless to say she refused. So I was back to where I started with it a jumble of ideas without a real story. However, Jared, still believing that this could be the next big thing helped me to go through all the proper channels and helped me copy right it. That set me back a few dollars but it was worth it. Apparently the head of the agency was trying to give out the idea to another writer who she represented and I was able to make sure that that didn't happen and she was not very happy at all.
In all of this Jared had to find another job because the head of the agency found out that he was helping me and fired him. You have no idea how bad I felt for it. I hated the fact that he lost his job for helping me when I was really a nobody. But he told me it was fine and that as long as I would recognize him and thank him in the credits of my movies and let him represent me he had no problem with it. So I knew in him I had found a true friend. Plus he got a better job, He wasn't happy before with his job and so this new place was a step up and that agency is actually the agency that represents me now.
So after all this had happened it was around Christmas time again. It was at this time that I started getting calls from colleges trying to get me to go to their schools. This was a difficult time because there were several colleges who wanted me and were willing to pay for me to go to their schools. However, me, being the stubborn person that I am, wanted to go to the school that wasn't willing to pay for me because I thought that they would put a better emphasis on what I wanted to do with my career choice. Yeah, they just screwed me over. I could've gone to Princeton, Yale, Harvard, NYU, Brown, Stanford or even elite colleges in the UK. They were willing to pay for all of my tuition and fees and I just went against all of that to go to school in San Francisco where I didn't even go for a full year and I had to take out major loans and I'm still trying to pay from my pocket the stuff the loans wouldn't cover, about $40,000. So I learned from that experience and I am still learning from it. Now through this I am still working on the screenplay and I am coming up with scenes and getting it worked into a full screenplay.
By this time its graduation time and I graduated in the top ten of my class and I graduated with honors because I had finished two years of college while going to high school. Plus since I did speech contests our school was the only school in the area to go to nationals and place and there were only two of us competing and we both placed in all of our categories. In the Individuals I got a Division 1 rating in Acting, Prose and Radio. I got the number one performance rating from all the judges and so I won that award as well. In the Large Groups it was just Kris and I because we were the only ones in our school interested and we got Division 1 ratings in Ensemble Acting (we can now never ride a Ferris Wheel because of this one but that's another story for another time), Improve (I don't know how we did it because he kept making me laugh), Radio, and Theatre. We also won number one performances from the judges as well. Since they were both during the same time as a school we had the most Division 1 rating than any other school throughout the U.S. and so we won the most coveted prize of the contests. Kris and I were the only ones in the history of our school to ever do that and our school was a small 1A school. We were competing against 4A schools and so to do this was amazing. The reason I bring this up is because who presented us with our awards. It was Cameron Crowe. Now he is one of my favorite directors ever. He has an amazing eye when it comes to film and I have admired his work since I was 10. Now Cameron Crowe comes in again later on in this story but that is why I brought him up now. I have that picture of him and Kris and I and it is one of my most prized possessions I kid you not.
Anyway, I graduated and less than a week after that I was moved out of my parents house and I moved in with my aunt for about 6 months as her nanny again in Indianapolis. So yes, I got be with Matt again for the summer. Now for my graduation my oldest brother couldn't be there because he was in Iraq for a second tour of duty and that hurt. Of all my siblings he and I are the closest even though there is a nine year age difference. He has always been the one who I tell everything to first, even before my parents. You know how a lot of girls are worried about their boyfriends meeting their dads? Well I wasn't worried about what my dad would think about my boyfriends I was worried about what Vincent would think. (Though lately I'm more worried about the current guy meeting my parents just because he's FBI and my parents have a problem with not liking law enforcement officials). Well, since Vincent couldn't be there his wife brought me the present that would help me with my career. A video camera (were talking professional 16mm camera with the works) and a computer. Now this was a big deal for me. This helped me to start my videos that I had originally planned this blog for.
So anyways, it was the middle of the summer and Matt and I flew out to LA for the weekend to chill and meet up with some of our friends who were living out there (Jared was one of them). While we were there Jared took me to meet the heads of the agency that was representing me and I knew the moment that I walked through the doors that it was a good choice because I felt at ease and there was no pressure from anyone. It was totally opposite from what I felt when I was talking to the other agency. I got to know the heads and I instantly felt like I had known them my whole life. Greg and Amy were amazing and it was as if they knew me. We were there for a couple of hours and the four of us went out for lunch and by the end of it we had set a date for another get together and they set me up with a meeting with the producers of a new T.V. show. I went to meet them later that afternoon and by the end of the day I was asked to help write one of the episodes. This short lived T.V. series was called 'Related'. This series lasted a whole 5 episodes and the two episodes that I wrote by myself were never aired but there was one episode that was aired that I helped to write and it was last one that was aired before the series was cut. This was an amazing time for me. I wasn't in LA full time at the time it was a lot of email and phone calls and faxes because I was still a nanny and I was barely getting paid for writing but it was worth it. So after this it was the middle of October and I was in the middle of my online classes (through San Francisco) and I went home for a couple of weeks because my brother had a three week leave from Iraq and he came home and so I wanted to go see my brother. So I left my aunt's for a couple of weeks and went back to Iowa. It was at this time that I was having trouble with the programs on my computer and so I was lucky enough to have friends who would let me use their computer to do some assignments in order to stay in school and get a good grade (Thank you Frisbies!).
So after those few weeks I went back to Indianapolis and it was at this time that I went to the nanny agency that my aunt used when she was a nanny before she was married and I knew that this job was close to an end because the boys were in school and I was needing a better paying job because I had a lot of things to pay off (school). After about a month nothing was coming of this and i was going to different places in Indianapolis looking for work. I was looking for anything; I would go to Burger King one day and Kroger the next putting in applications in. well it was close to Thanksgiving and one of my visiting teachers invited me to go to Niagara Falls with her and her kids for Thanksgiving because they were driving there and her youngest has Autism and whenever I would baby sit for them he and I got along great and he was always asking for me. So I said I would. I wasn't going to go to Iowa or Kansas so I figured it was something that I could do and a new place to visit; plus it was Niagara Falls. I mean come on who would pass that chance up?
We head up there the day before Thanksgiving and we get there and I immediately hit it off wonderfully with my visiting teacher's sisters and mother and their spouses. Abby was Susan's youngest sister and she's maybe 8 years older than me and she lives in New York City so since I visited there sometimes she gave me her address and number to call her the next time I was there. Anyway, we had a great time and it was during this time that I got a call about a nanny job in New Jersey and I got it. It was great because I had just about given up and was ready to accept a job as a custodian (I hate cleaning if you were wondering). So after that I had 1 week until I left and I had to pack up everything.
Now I could tell you what happens next but I like keeping people in suspense and also I am really tired and I have to work tomorrow so I will say good night and let you mull over all of this.
Nighty night!
She was quiet for a moment and then she said, "He is only just starting out and inexperienced I know you don't want that for your career. I am only looking out for your best interests." Well this went on in a go around between us for like an hour and finally I said, "If you really want the screenplay to come from one of your agency's clients you are going to have to let Jared represent me, otherwise its not happening." Needless to say she refused. So I was back to where I started with it a jumble of ideas without a real story. However, Jared, still believing that this could be the next big thing helped me to go through all the proper channels and helped me copy right it. That set me back a few dollars but it was worth it. Apparently the head of the agency was trying to give out the idea to another writer who she represented and I was able to make sure that that didn't happen and she was not very happy at all.
In all of this Jared had to find another job because the head of the agency found out that he was helping me and fired him. You have no idea how bad I felt for it. I hated the fact that he lost his job for helping me when I was really a nobody. But he told me it was fine and that as long as I would recognize him and thank him in the credits of my movies and let him represent me he had no problem with it. So I knew in him I had found a true friend. Plus he got a better job, He wasn't happy before with his job and so this new place was a step up and that agency is actually the agency that represents me now.
So after all this had happened it was around Christmas time again. It was at this time that I started getting calls from colleges trying to get me to go to their schools. This was a difficult time because there were several colleges who wanted me and were willing to pay for me to go to their schools. However, me, being the stubborn person that I am, wanted to go to the school that wasn't willing to pay for me because I thought that they would put a better emphasis on what I wanted to do with my career choice. Yeah, they just screwed me over. I could've gone to Princeton, Yale, Harvard, NYU, Brown, Stanford or even elite colleges in the UK. They were willing to pay for all of my tuition and fees and I just went against all of that to go to school in San Francisco where I didn't even go for a full year and I had to take out major loans and I'm still trying to pay from my pocket the stuff the loans wouldn't cover, about $40,000. So I learned from that experience and I am still learning from it. Now through this I am still working on the screenplay and I am coming up with scenes and getting it worked into a full screenplay.
By this time its graduation time and I graduated in the top ten of my class and I graduated with honors because I had finished two years of college while going to high school. Plus since I did speech contests our school was the only school in the area to go to nationals and place and there were only two of us competing and we both placed in all of our categories. In the Individuals I got a Division 1 rating in Acting, Prose and Radio. I got the number one performance rating from all the judges and so I won that award as well. In the Large Groups it was just Kris and I because we were the only ones in our school interested and we got Division 1 ratings in Ensemble Acting (we can now never ride a Ferris Wheel because of this one but that's another story for another time), Improve (I don't know how we did it because he kept making me laugh), Radio, and Theatre. We also won number one performances from the judges as well. Since they were both during the same time as a school we had the most Division 1 rating than any other school throughout the U.S. and so we won the most coveted prize of the contests. Kris and I were the only ones in the history of our school to ever do that and our school was a small 1A school. We were competing against 4A schools and so to do this was amazing. The reason I bring this up is because who presented us with our awards. It was Cameron Crowe. Now he is one of my favorite directors ever. He has an amazing eye when it comes to film and I have admired his work since I was 10. Now Cameron Crowe comes in again later on in this story but that is why I brought him up now. I have that picture of him and Kris and I and it is one of my most prized possessions I kid you not.
Anyway, I graduated and less than a week after that I was moved out of my parents house and I moved in with my aunt for about 6 months as her nanny again in Indianapolis. So yes, I got be with Matt again for the summer. Now for my graduation my oldest brother couldn't be there because he was in Iraq for a second tour of duty and that hurt. Of all my siblings he and I are the closest even though there is a nine year age difference. He has always been the one who I tell everything to first, even before my parents. You know how a lot of girls are worried about their boyfriends meeting their dads? Well I wasn't worried about what my dad would think about my boyfriends I was worried about what Vincent would think. (Though lately I'm more worried about the current guy meeting my parents just because he's FBI and my parents have a problem with not liking law enforcement officials). Well, since Vincent couldn't be there his wife brought me the present that would help me with my career. A video camera (were talking professional 16mm camera with the works) and a computer. Now this was a big deal for me. This helped me to start my videos that I had originally planned this blog for.
So anyways, it was the middle of the summer and Matt and I flew out to LA for the weekend to chill and meet up with some of our friends who were living out there (Jared was one of them). While we were there Jared took me to meet the heads of the agency that was representing me and I knew the moment that I walked through the doors that it was a good choice because I felt at ease and there was no pressure from anyone. It was totally opposite from what I felt when I was talking to the other agency. I got to know the heads and I instantly felt like I had known them my whole life. Greg and Amy were amazing and it was as if they knew me. We were there for a couple of hours and the four of us went out for lunch and by the end of it we had set a date for another get together and they set me up with a meeting with the producers of a new T.V. show. I went to meet them later that afternoon and by the end of the day I was asked to help write one of the episodes. This short lived T.V. series was called 'Related'. This series lasted a whole 5 episodes and the two episodes that I wrote by myself were never aired but there was one episode that was aired that I helped to write and it was last one that was aired before the series was cut. This was an amazing time for me. I wasn't in LA full time at the time it was a lot of email and phone calls and faxes because I was still a nanny and I was barely getting paid for writing but it was worth it. So after this it was the middle of October and I was in the middle of my online classes (through San Francisco) and I went home for a couple of weeks because my brother had a three week leave from Iraq and he came home and so I wanted to go see my brother. So I left my aunt's for a couple of weeks and went back to Iowa. It was at this time that I was having trouble with the programs on my computer and so I was lucky enough to have friends who would let me use their computer to do some assignments in order to stay in school and get a good grade (Thank you Frisbies!).
So after those few weeks I went back to Indianapolis and it was at this time that I went to the nanny agency that my aunt used when she was a nanny before she was married and I knew that this job was close to an end because the boys were in school and I was needing a better paying job because I had a lot of things to pay off (school). After about a month nothing was coming of this and i was going to different places in Indianapolis looking for work. I was looking for anything; I would go to Burger King one day and Kroger the next putting in applications in. well it was close to Thanksgiving and one of my visiting teachers invited me to go to Niagara Falls with her and her kids for Thanksgiving because they were driving there and her youngest has Autism and whenever I would baby sit for them he and I got along great and he was always asking for me. So I said I would. I wasn't going to go to Iowa or Kansas so I figured it was something that I could do and a new place to visit; plus it was Niagara Falls. I mean come on who would pass that chance up?
We head up there the day before Thanksgiving and we get there and I immediately hit it off wonderfully with my visiting teacher's sisters and mother and their spouses. Abby was Susan's youngest sister and she's maybe 8 years older than me and she lives in New York City so since I visited there sometimes she gave me her address and number to call her the next time I was there. Anyway, we had a great time and it was during this time that I got a call about a nanny job in New Jersey and I got it. It was great because I had just about given up and was ready to accept a job as a custodian (I hate cleaning if you were wondering). So after that I had 1 week until I left and I had to pack up everything.
Now I could tell you what happens next but I like keeping people in suspense and also I am really tired and I have to work tomorrow so I will say good night and let you mull over all of this.
Nighty night!
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