so we own a vacuum… part two…

oh communal living… what an interesting beast you are. if you haven’t read part one, well, give it a click here: so we own a vacuum..  or click “roommates” on the right hand side for some interesting diatribes re: the subject of living with not 1, 2 or 3- but 4 male roommates my first time here in Van.

this time around i have two very lovely south korean roommates, who are so sweet and kind. they offer me food- which of course terrifies me (i am the fussiest eater alive), they ask me about my day, they laugh at all my terrible acting stories- they are just great. my only issue at all with my current living situation is the amount of space we all have to share.

my room is a shoebox- and i don’t so much mind that, it’s not like i bring people over to entertain, but it’s right beside the kitchen/dining room/living room. now, it’s a very reasonably priced shoebox furnished and with access to a pool, a sauna, a steam room, a gym, in suite laundry, etc. so whenever i get down about my living conditions i say to myself “pool, sauna, sauna, pool” and generally i forget quite quickly about any gripes i have.

yesterday morning, i found out we had a vacuum cleaner- in much the same way as part 1 although, i truthfully don’t hate the roomie that was subjecting me to this pain yesterday. i do however find myself a little jealous. yesterday being my first full weekday at home since school began i got a small glimpse into the lives of my roommates. it’s here. they sleep in- a completely foreign concept to me these days, i woke up today at 6 and had to fight myself back to sleep until 8. they maybe tidy up a bit, chat while they share breakfast, maybe watch a movie and then pretty much hang out for most of the day. lucky girls.

in the meantime, i am planning to spend the central chunk of my day hiking in stanley park. get the blood pumping, get out and enjoy the incredibly weird, wacky, wonderful weather that vancouver is getting these past couple of days. it’s clear my fitness needs to take a more prevalent role in my schedule and this is my effort today at making that happen- i have a few goals i want to hit this week which i’ll indulge you with later on, but spending some decent time outside is definitely among them.

in the meantime, if you’re looking for funny recollections of evil roomies gone by the wayside, check out this post about my ex-evil roomie or this one. you’re warned- very rant like but at least mildly entertaining.

enjoy!

I am a “Background Actor”

Reblogged from Extras Anonymous:

I work part time (about 2-3 days a week) in LA as a background actor. This, I believe is the current most highly regarded term for it. Also known as “extra work” and more affectionately “human prop”. Now depending on who is reading, you may think this sounds either cool, or completely inane. It is both. This is not my dream, in fact I have a BA in Theater, and an MBA in Business from top two top tier universities…STILL this is the best option for me right now – I will explain the math more later for …

living out daydreams.

can i just say how relentlessly thankful i am to be in vancouver? can i? i mean, truthfully- i have waited practically a decade to be in this place, doing exactly what i’m doing now.

i first heard of my incredible school, VFS, when i was in highschool- which was 10 years ago *which makes me feel old and seems kind of strange to even think about*. i didn’t want to upset my folks by not going to university, i didn’t want to move so far away from home… there was a lot that just held me where i was.

life evolves into responsibilities, attachments and sooner or later you feel somewhat bound by the things holding you where you are. relationships develop and like it or not those people in your life, significant others, friends, family, coworkers… as much as they support and encourage you the reality becomes apparently clear- they are static. they have lives, connections of their own, tethered to where they are. so as far as they can push you to succeed more often then not their pull on you is stronger, not because they don’t love you but in contrast because they love you so much. how can you just get up and move and leave them, their love and your love from them hanging in the country-wide gap you create between you?

take it from me- it ain’t easy.

but flash forward to today- i just spent about twelve hours sleeping after two double digit days on sets where i was beaten, betraying, bawling, and begging… it is emotionally and physically exhausting. and i loved every millisecond of it all. from one take to the next, one setup after another, the entire two days flew by because i was doing so much that i wanted so desperately to do and have wanted so desperately to do for so very long.

i am so contented today.

on top of that- the sun is shining, in vancouver… where it often feels like the rain capital of the planet because it never ceases that the skies spit on you as you tread beneath them and beside the busy bodies on every soaking sidewalk you traverse. today, just today, i’m going to believe that sun is shining for me.

it’s the perfect topper to this current exhilaration i have- and if you need me, i’ll be outside jogging in it with a smile plastered on my face while i daydream about more daydreams coming true in my near future.

 

that’s a wrap.

i had an amazing day. again! it’s incredible the way that having a good day snowballs into having a good week if you only let it.

arrived on set, an hour away, before even the equipment made it there. ran through the scene with my amazing scene partner, and then found out the morning was all me. every take. he got camera time just before we broke for lunch. it was an incredible- and incredibly draining- experience. the short is about domestic abuse and opens on my character discovering she’s pregnant. cue inner turmoil, grief and pain. then, when we finally got to the two shots i got tossed around like a rag doll for most of the scenes. between bawling my eyes out, hitting the floor and being slammed into walls… i’m not going to lie, i was pretty beat. *as in tired… no piss poor pun intended.* but what an experience!

i got to work with students in other departments who are brilliant, and really truly know what they’re doing and want to learn so much more. hell- we rigged up a dolly, pan, tilt shot with a tripod and a blanket! it was incredible and chilling cinematography if i do say so myself, and i do! amazing connections to make- they’re talented and we just had the most fun day, which can’t be said of any set where you’re shooting such serious material.

with that said- i fell asleep twice on the way home, and am desperately in need of a good workout before i hit the hay. i love that i get to wake up tomorrow and do it all over again- how frickin’ lucky am i?

 

and we’re off!

i had a hell of a day. oh my, boy oh boy- did i ever have a hell of a day.

the run of my day: well… we’re all aware of the death of McCellerton Phone… it happens. mourning has begun. however, we welcome to the life of daydreaming actress MacCellington, my new iPhone. i love it. i need to customize it up a bit and get all my junk on it, but regardless- i love it. we will definitely be friends. i spent eternity, and a minor fortune, at my cell phone company’s store. hit up some shopping *yes- new clothes are sometimes necessitated, trust me*. and then met with scene partner numero dos of this term who has me for tomorrow’s shoot.

…for now, let me just say, without hope or agenda *bonus points to you if you know what movie i stole that line from* i have two great scene partners for my shoots this week- both awesome guys, and hardworking. and it is so very much appreciated. i met with each of them today to run lines. it was rewarding not only in that i got to work my scenes a little bit before the shoots, but also that i got to know these great guys a little better. they’re seriously just genuinely good people, and it’s amazing to have people like that in your life to hang out with- especially when you’re working with them. it makes it not like work whatsoever. i could not possibly be looking forward to the next two days any more if i tried. and no- neither of them, or any of my classmates, know i have a blog on which i am raving about their awesomeness.

the back to back rehearsals though meant i missed my dance class- which not only was i sincerely looking desperately forward to- but i also really needed to sweat. it’s icky, but i love that feeling of knowing you are working hard. loooove it, and have missed it desperately. the rehearsal ended mid-evening, friends were having a movie night- which naturally apparently could not be missed- and so i tagged along. i tagged along… and snacked. *sigh* after snacking at my rehearsal…. *sigh*sigh* and eating a full, gross “are-you-seriously-going-to-eat-that” meal at my other rehearsal…. *siiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh*. (<–grammar and healthy diet taking a hit tonight.)

so when i got home, late- way too late for a pre-shoot night,  i felt pretty gross. but damn do i feel good now- i just spent an hour and a bit in the gym. it was delicious. that seems like the wrong word to use, but it really is like this huge, amazing treat. i’d forgotten how great it feels to just have a kick ass workout and be proud of it. the others of late have been okay- but i really pushed myself tonight and i feel incredible.

this is going to be my main focus once these two shoot dates are behind me- and i’m elated. i have nothing in my way for the rest of the week between me, the gym, dance classes, the pool, good food, and general complete appeasement with a dash of total satisfaction with life

cheers to an amazing monday!

RIP

my iphone died today… in the wee wee hours of the morning, it finally decided- mid clubbing- to refuse to come back to life. everything has been tried to revive it- every imaginable tactic. it is with my deepest condolences, to myself *how pathetic* that i must inform you… my phone is no more.

that said- onwards and upwards… its time to hit up my provider and get a new phone. i needed to replace this one for ages, but it’s still a hard pill to swallow. after all, i’m a student actor. either of those words separately, student or actor, typically make people cringe at your financial misfortune. i’m a doozy- i’m both.

it’s days like today i dearly miss working and getting paid. the only other time i’ve ever been unemployed since i was 14 was between terms at this school, and typically i have 2-3 jobs on the go at a time. i love to work. and i could use the money too.

don’t get me wrong, i’m by no means hard done by or in any actual state of the aforementioned implicated financial misfortune that my title should auto-afford me. that said, i hate parting with my dollars and sense to replace something that should be in working order. it seems like a complete departure from all sanity for me… but the reality is in this day in age, you can’t work/live without a phone. or at least i can’t.

take for instance my day tomorrow- tomorrow, i have a full day long shoot. i have to get there *using my phone as a compass, map, resource to call people when i’m inevitably lost, communicate with my scene partner to meet him to commute together, etc.*. while on set i need to be memorizing my lines for my next shoot *which follows on tuesday, for which i use my phone to record my lines into, to record the opposing player’s lines into, to listen to playback, to read my lines, to message that scene partner, etc*. then i have to call our school to reserve rehearsal space for the post shoot rehearsal i have planned with my other scene partner *which will be difficult if i try to call them via carrier pigeon or cups-on-a-string*. i have to post to my blog *because- well, i just do.* and then i have to navigate my way back to school *see aforementioned navigational notes* to rehearse with my other scene partner before coming home to use my sleep apps *yes, i just said sleep apps- to be discussed later* so i can get some decent shut eye before i wake up and do it all over again.

and so- now that the stores have opened, it’s time to get dressed and hustle my butt down to get a new phone. heaven help me. i have three blocks to go with no technology. i guess you really have no idea how addicted you are until you’re in withdrawal- and dude, am i ever in withdrawal. pardon my tremors, i’ve got a phone to get.

a year in the life.

it’s my mum’s birthday today. back home my neighbours and my dad are getting ready to take her out to dinner to celebrate. i’m guessing the flowers i sent her are sitting on the kitchen counter and in doomsday peril from all three of the cats currently residing there.

i was worried all week that this day would somehow escape me and i wouldn’t get the chance to tell my mum how much i love her and am happy she was born x amount of years ago. i’ve been so busy that two months has blurred past me faster than i could’ve imagined, making it seem like a completely rational fear at the time that i would lose track of the date or forget.

so much can happen in a year- or in a day, an hour, an instant for that matter. a year to the day ago if you’d asked me if i’d be in vancouver in the next 5 years i would’ve said no, there were better chances of me ending up on the moon. it wouldn’t have even entered my psyche as a possibility. yet, here- thank god, i am.

in some ways this has been the worst and hardest year of my life. in so many other and completely miraculous ways, i could not be more thankful that it is the year i had. it challenged me, pushed me, and it has completely separated me from someone i was trying to be for all the wrong reasons into being the person i am. it all sounds a little mumbo-jumbo-esque without the backstory and i apologize for that. the take away message being that life can change instantly, and often for the better despite the immediate disheartening (or soul crushing sorrow) that most change inevitably brings with it. embrace change, and make every instant an amazing one.

flash forward to feb 19, 2012- tomorrow. a year gone by and a million changes to the way i spend my days. this will be our school’s “reading break” for term 1. my friend asked me via text how i’d be spending my ‘time off’… to which i replied, “reading week here is… when you’re not on set shooting, or at school rehearsing lines, or with one of your 3-4 scene partners going over material, or learning lines on your own, or networking with other programs on other shoots, or working out, or going to additional classes… you are encouraged to sleep week.”

in this crazy week i want to try hot yoga, up the number of dance classes i can make it to, and keep working out. it’s been going well and that alone is making me happy as a clam today. i’ve got about a million other things to do for school- but i really want to make that my main focus this week while i have some “time off”.

i’ve been harped on of late by a friend who is encouraging me to get over my fitness frets- it’s just that this life i want so badly demands that you be able to keep up with it’s pace. crazy long days/nights, busy schedules *as evidenced above* and yes, i’m 24 and there is a certain aesthetic i’d like to meet as well. it feels good when you look healthy and fit, and i think i’m done apologizing for wanting that. my time is much better spent achieving it than pretending that i’m contented going one day to the next on the same plane without aspiring to be more than i am. isn’t that why we’re all here? to improve? to succeed? to set goals and meet them?i want to be ready and willing to be cast in any and everything- i want to show that i work hard and i bring something special to the table. i want to show that i am fully capable of this crazy life- going from one character to the next, with a body and skill set that is up to the task of meeting any demands. i want to be ready.

after all, who knows what next year will bring?