Next days, next steps... to healing, we hope!

1 October: It's already October? Wow. Did 2021 fly by for everyone else, or was 2020 just so fucking long that 2021 seems to be shorter?

Ennyhoo. It's Friday the first, and I've managed to somehow sleep, and I have some pain, and I can't do anything. So, I hand my shuffle of papers to Stephen to see if there's anything in there to learn, and also to see if the orthopedist Dr. Drew referred a) accepts Emergency Medi-Cal and b) can see me in the next 10 days. Also, where's that scrip? I'ma need to fill that thing.

I call the ortho. They don't accept EM - I'll need a group number and all that other shit. I'm welcome to call Medi-Cal/Covered California to get a "real" insurance policy. Or I can be a self-pay. But the earliest appointment they have available for me is Wednesday the 13th (oh, hey! TODAY! {the day I'm actually posting this}), which is not within the 10 days Dr. Drew has prescribed I follow-up. Hmm... 

So while I make calls to Medi-Cal and Covered California to try to get a "real" policy, Stephen goes looking for orthopedists who'll see me sooner.

Covered California is the "Marketplace" where California residents can shop for health insurance policies, under the ObamaCare provisions that everyone should be able to afford insurance. According to CC, we won't have earned enough income in 2021 to afford even the most basic of plans, meaning, we should automatically qualify for "regular" Medi-Cal. But Medi-Cal qualifies you based on monthly income, not annual, and even though Stephen's schedule with the Dodgers is very irregular, and he had, in fact, earned $0.00 in the previous workweek, he'd earned enough over the course of September (as had I), that we did not qualify for regular Medi-Cal. So, as far as insurance is concerned, we'll try again once the Dodgers are finished. Which may very well be us trying again next week, if they lose the game tomorrow night. Hmm... I'll need more facts.

Meanwhile (and I mean that in the sense that I was on the phone with both "insurance" entities for practically the full day), Stephen found an ortho with a very user-friendly website, where I could also make an appointment in days rather than weeks, and the office charges would be reasonable enough to put them on a credit card, no matter what my insurance outcome was. Unfortunately, they were full up on Friday, or Friday was already over by the time I even knew to try to get in. However, I was able to get a very early appointment on Monday, confirmed with a phone call from them after I had "placed the order" online. In that phone call, I was given a pre-estimate of charges, for the consult, any x-rays, and a cast, if that was the direction the doc took. Great!

So I grabbed the Rx and walked to my local CVS pharmacy, wearing the ER sling to support the splint, which was, for all intents and purposes, "hidden" by the sling. It was roughly 4 p.m. when I saw the pharmacist, a rude woman who declared that they were "out" of my meds, and no, she couldn't tell me who "might" have them on hand. I think she saw my sling and judged me to be a drug-seeker, even though I had a legitimate Rx! Found another pharmacy nearby, where they also didn't have my Rx, but not because they were out. They didn't have it because they're not a big chain, and they just don't carry narcotics. But that pharmacist was very nice about it all, and suggested CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens. She was actually enthusiastic about Walgreens, so that's where I went to get my meds. And they gave me zero resistance. #YayWalgreens

In the upcoming week, I'd been scheduled for some background (acting) work, with Covid tests on Monday and Tuesday, and 3 potential BG days Wednesday through Friday. Somewhere around the incident, they changed the test days to Sunday and Monday. So now it's weekend, and I'm calling the after-hours line, leaving messages, asking to change the tests back to M/T. I have an injury, and an appointment to see a specialist. If you test me and I don't end up working, you won't pay me for the test, and everyone's time will have been wasted. If I see the specialist and he clears me for work, I'll give you two clean tests and then I'll work! ... "Production would like for you to test on S/M and we'll still pay you whether you work or not"... hmm

So on Sunday 3 October, I drive myself to the testing site, by way of an auto-parts store, where I buy a knob for my steering wheel and attach it so I can use my left hand as little as possible and manage to drive myself!

#AchievementUnlocked! And of course, my negative test results come in that night, so...

On Monday 4 October, I drive myself to my ortho appointment. Only one person on the staff grates on me, expecting me to run my credit card for the charges as they accrue, rather than hitting it once for the day's total bill. At some point, he relents to allow me to run the office visit and x-rays together, and I relent to adding the cast afterwards, if that's what it takes to be seen. #ThatsWhatItTakesToBeSeen

Dr. Nevarez and Dr. Gendelman are top-notch. They both inspire sufficient confidence, so that when I discover that the ER has possibly mis-diagnosed and therefore mis-treated me, I'm less upset with the ER than I am sure of this particular ortho practice. My fracture was never hairline; I should have been able to see an ortho within 24-48 hours, or the ER should have put me in a real cast versus the splint. The time spent in the splint has made the fracture worse, not better, and now the only thing for it is surgery.

SURGERY. Cut me open and install a plate and pins. FIX the injury. Okay. #JustDoIt. How soon? What will it cost? How long will I be "down"?

There was an opening in his schedule for Tuesday 5 October! I'd have to be at the hospital by 5 a.m. for pre-op, so I'd be under the knife by 7 a.m. #GREAT #JustDoIt. Went home with my "do's and don'ts" list, informed Central Casting ON MONDAY that I would not be working this week, and waited. (I did not cancel the Covid test on Sunday!)

5 October: Stephen drove me to the hospital in the 4 a.m. hour, or as I like to call it, #DawnsTrampStamp. Got checked in early in the lobby, and waited to be sent upstairs. Got to the first round of paperwork, which I had him fill out so all I'd have to do was sign, and when they took me in for pre-op, they sent him back downstairs. He found some nice coffee somewhere and did whatever he does (reading or writing or playing games or posting on Fakebork).

Post-op, so bruised & swollen, but feeling 10k times better. I'm now bionic! I will set off every airport security gate going forward... can't wait to get to fly ANYWHERE!

The rest of Tuesday was spent in rest, in a much more reasonable splint, with only two medical "rules" to be followed: 1. Pick up nothing heavy 2. Follow up with the office on the 18th.

And now you're caught up on the injury & immediate treatments. Now to cover just LIFE and unlocked achievements! Please, comment away! I'll respond pretty quickly, this week, I think...

A Timeline, to be updated? Or just continued?

16 - 29 September: work, walk, shop, live... do the things. Do All the Things #ActorLife #SetLife #Blessed

30 September: work on set, then later shop, walk, shoot video/photos of the neighbors' yards that are already decorated for Halloween. Some pretty good stuff, y'all. Trip on a sidewalk crack, fly like Superman, land on both of my hands, exchanging my keys for a biggish chunk of gravel in my left palm, and scraping my phone case (in my right hand) across the offending sidewalk. #10kSteps #ThePhoneIsUnharmedThankfullyBecauseThatsWhatsImportantRightNow #ButOwFuckOwFuckOwFUCKOwFuckOwFuckOwFUCKOwFuckOwFuckOwFUCK

Hobble home, gingerly "holding" my bubbled left wrist with my just-beginning-to-bleed right hand. Greeted by the cats upon entry, burst into the ugliest ugly cry you've never witnessed. You remember the wives in Biblical and/or ancient Greek literature, wailing over their husbands slain in battle? That was me, for a solid 30 minutes, trying to rinse the dirt outta my wounds and figure out (not logically, no) why my fucking wrist hurts so fucking bad! Managed, somehow, in my pain and tears and snot, to call Rachel, the niece, the nurse. She's east coast and it's late. I get voicemail. I'm still crying and snotting and now apologizing for the hour, leaving a message that I have no hope of being understood in**. No idea what to do next.*

* Back before Covid, I had health insurance. GOOD insurance, through my union, SAG-AFTRA. Because of the loss of work, I also lost my insurance. No biggie, since I'm a pretty healthy person with a strong immune system, right? Well...

** Rachel's Google translate is hysterical! I hope she'll allow me to post the screenshot

Still the 30th, even on the east coast, Rachel calls me back. {She's an incredibly patient nurse, and also my very loving niece. I've been so #Blessed to be her auntie.} She talks me off my ledge, instructs me to take 1000mg each of ibuprofen and acetaminaphen, and also locates for me THREE nearish emergency rooms that I should get to immediately, if not sooner, because in her opinion, that left wrist is probably broken. At that point, I don't have the strength in either hand to be able to open the childproof OTC pill bottles, much less drive, and Stephen is at work without wheels of his own. So I knock on the neighbor's door, and they both open my drugs for me and give me a lift to St. Joe's ER. Rachel hangs up when she knows I'm moving in the right direction, and she expects updates, knowing I'll be on someone else's schedule for the next long while. Arriving at the ER, I send the neighbors home - no way I'm asking you to stay, since it'll likely be tomorrow before I'm outta here. Thank you kindly.

I get processed relatively quickly. I don't see a lot of what look like COVID cases (although I'm waiting in the "injured" half of the room and don't have the instinct to "diagnose" anyone in the other side of the room). X-rays are taken, and I'm so chilled to my bones, I'm afraid I've messed up the pics with my shaking. The tech assures me he got what was needed, finds me a toasty warm blanket to wrap up in, and parks me in a chair in the hall - no more lobby waiting for me!

I'm sent to a room where I'm greeted by my PA, "Dr. Drew". He tells me I have a hairline fracture; tries to show it to me in the printouts of the x-rays, but I don't really know what I'm looking at. He tells me they're going to put me in a "soft cast" (splint), give me an Rx for pain meds, and refer me to an orthopedist I'll need to see in ten days. Then he hands me (or really, tucks into my bag for me) a bunch of papers, including the x-ray prints, and leaves the room to fetch the splinter-tech. 

I'm joined by 3 young people, possibly nurses, possibly some other job label. I learn their names immediately, because that's what I do. I have, of course, since forgotten their names. It's been twelve days - gimme a break! The woman in charge is training the man, and the other young lady is also observing as training (she had been observing when I was first admitted). We four are getting along splendidly, and I'm trying to absorb all the same info at the same time. There was probably a pain-med injection early on, though, so I may have been a bit loopy. I don't recall.

The splint goes from my second knuckles around my elbow and back again to the second knuckles. I ask why so long, and the lead tech has me twist my right wrist, which I'm able to do (because it is not restricted to the elbow). I ask about the 10 days, and she says most patients are out of it sooner. Um, what? Of their own volition, or what? How does that work? They finish the dressing, ask if I have my discharge papers, and tell me they'll be back with Dr. Drew. Um, okay. #IDontKnowWhatQuestionsToAsk #IDontKnowHowToAnswerTheirQuestions #DoIHaveDischargePapers?

I'm left alone for a little bit, so I post pics on Fakebork and tag Stephen, because it feels like I need to go home soon, if they're asking if I have discharge papers... he calls immediately, in panic mode, because that's his SOP (which is why I hadn't reached out earlier), and while I can't give him concrete answers to his questions yet, I do assure him that I just need for him to come get me, and all of the details will be sorted in due time. He signs off, saying he needs to get permission to leave early (but sure it won't be a problem).

Dr. Drew et al return to see if everything's been done "correctly". I ask whether I need to pay a bill at registration or if I'll be billed, and Dr. Drew remembers this lovely California thing called "Emergency Medi-Cal", which is essentially Medicare for low-income under-65's (US). He sends the financial wizard in, and wouldn't you know? We qualified. Of course we did. So now, rather than waiting for Stephen to get all the way home on a bus, to collect my keys from the hook, and drive to get me, he catches a rather expensive Lyft to bring him to me and then us to home.

In the meantime, I still don't know that all of the papers that Dr. Drew had shoved into my bag So. Much. Earlier this night were, in fact, my discharge papers. I've been free to go! For a coupla hours, apparently! I meet the car in the drive, still wrapped in my no-longer-toasty blanket, and we get home, where I replay the events, and the cats finally get fed.

And then Cocoa stress-pees on the bed, and Stephen has to strip it for immediate laundering, and we've gotta figure out how to sleep before the next adventure! This was an awful lot to type, so I'm going to say... next post, a continuation of this epic saga! Feel free to chime in with questions or your own similar experiences!

It's September Already! Time to head Back To School!

Well, not for me, per se... although, if I'm honest, I headed back to school prior to the pandemic. I've been a consumer of additional training like a starving person heads to a buffet table! I've mentioned this already, in the post titled "Hello, is this thing on?"

So, in addition to being nice and busy in my industry (showbiz: in front of the camera, behind the mic, and as recently as this weekend, BEHIND the camera), I've also been back in school, as it were, consuming and sharing a five webinar series to up my VO game. I'm sure you remember, from my "catch-up" post titled "Where to begin?", that I began my VO career with a relationship with a Kindle Rights Holder, and have been producing his audiobooks. I'm consuming and sharing this week's free webinar to make sure I'm still doing everything the right way (I am, thanks for asking).

So I want to make sure, if you have an interest in a VO career for yourself, or if you know someone else with an interest in a VO career, that YOU (or that person you know) has visited the link I shared and watched the five videos. Here's the deal: this free webinar, while being a complete free educational opportunity, does lead you to a full curriculum and a whole year's worth of education! Last year, I opted in for the curriculum and the community, just like SCHOOL (although online, because of the pandemic, of course).

The curriculum covers so much more than audiobooks. There's just so much more training and workouts and coaching and feedback and all questions answered, by the coaches or the community... it really does feel like heading back to school, but without any of the negative connotations that "school" may imply. Sure, you can sharpen some new pencils or grab a new notebook (remember the Trapper Keeper(TM)?), but you don't have to. You don't need to buy a uniform or any other new "back to school" clothes or figure out which bus to take or how to get to class. In fact, since everything is on mic and not on camera, you could very easily attend every lesson/workout/training sesh in yer birthday suit, if ya wanna! #FreeToBeReal

This year's curriculum is available to you as early as TODAY. The free webinar is still available this week, so you should definitely check it out - go to www.bit.ly/voheroes-emelle-sent-me - and click on the thumbnails at the bottom of the page (1 through 5), and then look at the final video, which walks you through registering for CoolSchool! 

I've gained so much over the past year of attending this #CoolSchool, both in the training I've received from David H. Lawrence XVII and the other coaches and also in the community of my "classmates". We're all in different places in our lives, educations, and careers. Some of us are brand new at VO (and everyone is, at some point), and others of us are nearly expert at one or more areas of VO. We all have something to contribute, including asking questions publicly, in case another classmate has the same question!

Do YOU have an interest in starting or improving your VO career? Do you know someone who does? Have you visited the link (www.bit.ly/voheroes-emelle-sent-me)? Do you have any other questions for me? Comment below!

Adulting, Part the Third (Now with Pictures Added!)

Cocoa says "hi"

Hmmm...

I beg your pardon, is that your colon or a rose garden?

Purty, innit?

Smokey says "whut?"

yes, I know I'm cute and sassy, but...
It's So Short!

Adulting, Part the Second

Yeah, this is sort of a continuation – maybe I’ll get through the whole week of adulting! Monday was, of course, the MEDICAL adulting – the dreaded colonoscopy.

On Tuesday, I was booked for work! #WooToTheHoo! I drove deep into the heart of The Valley (fer shure, not “of Death”) to park in a church parking lot and then get shuttled to a grocery store where I’d previously worked on an episode of Barry.

They had asked for lots of BRIGHT clothing options, but hadn’t indicated a season, so most of us were dressed for the current season – HOT weather. When the wardrobe gal looked through my stuff, she was really only happy with my maroon jeans and hot pink sweater. I should also have grabbed my denim jacket out of my car, but I forgot (because it’s not quite “bright”). Oh, well.

I’d cooked some bacon the night before, because it was an early call time a decent distance away, and having just come off my colonoscopy, I wanted to be sure to eat keto again, once I started eating again. Not that I needed my bacon – there was definitely something appropriate at catering, but I did eat my bacon, so I’d have an empty to-go container for lunchtime! #TheyThrowAwayTheLeftoversSoImHelpingByTakingItHome

We were working inside the grocery store, so I was glad to have my thermal mugs of tea and my hot pink sweater. The work was easy, and I’ll just say this here: Peyton Manning is as sweet and funny in real life as he appears to be in the plethora of commercials he’s currently starring in.

Tuesday was a longish day (ten hours), and they didn’t break us for lunch right away, so we got five meal penalties. Which means it’ll be a nice fat paycheck. YAY! #IAmAMoneyMagnetThankYouThankYouThankYou

On Wednesday, I was home, shopping the Ikea website for a specific sleeper sofa we’d agreed was #TheOne. I’d tried to order it online over the weekend, but the website had indicated it was out of stock. So, back at it on Wednesday, there it was, waiting for me, with a $20 savings on shipping from the website vs. at the store, BUT we’d have to wait until the 29^th to get it! ... and was I interested in applying for a rewards credit card with an instant rebate, or possibly the Ikea Projekt card, with 6 months at 0% interest? Decisions, decisions! What a quandary!

So, I found where Stephen had stashed his credit card that we’d agreed we’d use (just to keep the account active), and I drove to the store. I marched my ass straight to the help desk at sleeper sofas, placed my “order”, and then marched my ass straight back down to the cashiers. None of my normal “getting steps whilst meandering the lovely large warehouse” for me that day! I was on a mission!

My adulting for Wednesday was buying a couch, y’all. And making sure that if I got booked for work, Stephen would definitely be home in the 1 – 5 window The Next Day to accept delivery. And then later, Wednesday evening, I went to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation to volunteer for a screening of John Travolta’s new movie. It was horrible, y’all. It was BORING. And for some reason, this audience full of actors kept laughing at JT’s autistic character’s faux pas(es? No, I don’t know how to pluralize a French word)! I left before the Q&A, to discover a large group of people staking out the only entrance to the parking garage, hoping to get JT to sign their paraphernalia. It was very meta. Obviously, none of them had seen the film I just watched. #UGH #IGotThis #AdultingMightSuckButSometimesWeJustGottaDoIt

On Thursday morning, I gave myself a haircut and touched up my color. I wasn’t the last one to use the Wahl trimmer, though, so when I looked for the two guards that were paired in the case, I didn’t look closely. I cut my hair too short, y’all! Yes, it’s cute and sassy and I still look good, but I no longer look like my headshots because I cut my hair too short, y’all! I normally use the 1” guard around my back and sides, and the 1.5” guard on top. Because Stephen used the trimmer set last, he’d paired the ½” with the 1”. And because I didn’t look closely, we are #BothToBlame for me cutting my hair too short, y’all! #AdultingIsHardSometimes

On Thursday afternoon, The Sofa Arrived! So, over the course of 3 hours, we both perused the pictorial Ikea build instructions, and then we built a lovely sleeper sofa. The last time we bought any real #Adult furniture, Smokey immediately peed on it to mark it as his and also to help de-gas the #NewFurnitureSmell, a.k.a. formaldehyde. To prevent that happening this time, we saved all of the big plastic wrap that the big pieces were packed in, and we kept the old futon mattress after carrying the futon frame downstairs to the alley.

So I’m sitting on a new couch that’s wrapped in plastic and has an additional big cushion that still smells like us and the cats. It’s quite stylish, yo. No, but seriously, #SometimesAdultingIsThinkingAhead

On Friday, I unfolded the couch and set the loose cushions on chairs just outside the front door to help them de-gas some more. They’re supposed to air out (and fluff up from their vacuum-sealed bags) over the course of 72 hours. I figure, better to do that in actual air, rather than in the storage cubby in the sofa. Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention. #TheSleeperSofaHasStorage #W00tW00t!

Then, before I left to volunteer at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Emmy-Nominated Stunt Panel (a much better night than Wednesday!), I tossed ONE cushion, all three covers, a wet towel, and a bunch of dryer sheets into the dryer and allowed it to run on “no heat – air dry – fluff” while I was out, put the other two cushions back in the storage, re-folded the couch, and put the chairs back under the table. Stephen won’t know all of what I did yesterday until YOU do! #ImSneakyYesIAmButTheCatsKnow

And That, My Friends, is why I won’t do two shows a night, I just won’t. No, that’s not what I wanted to say here. And That, My Friends, is my week of Adulting. What #FunNotFun things have YOU been up to?

I know you want 'em, so pictures will follow, in Part the Third!

ManOhMan, has it been AWHILE!

I last checked in with y'all at the End Of May. Which means we didn't chat at all about my birthday in June (and I am usually #VeryPersistent in reminding people that my birthday is coming up, and asking everyone #HowDoYouPlanToCelebrateMe?)... we missed the review of my Hollywood Fringe Festival experience (just no audiences to speak of, and a lackadaisical cast)... we missed my re-acquaintance with my old friend Stephanie... we missed the two earthquakes we had on-or-about Independence Day... we missed me replacing my laptop-that-became-a-desktop-when-I-killed-the-screen... we missed my full weekend of bemoaning the loss of a decade or more of emails, some of which were probably #ImportantShit... we missed Daddy moving from Florida to Colorado (with my sister)... we missed Max's severe car accident that she is still recovering from... we missed my building of a new-for-me website (I think, maybe?)!

Currently, we have a weekend houseguest sleeping on our futon and attending acting classes with me. She still has employment #WayFarAway from "the industry" (showbiz), so mostly, she's only here on weekends. She's looking for more industry opportunities, so this couch-surfing could become #SlightlyMoreSemiPermanent, at which point she'll contribute to groceries or utilities or rent or something. We've learned from our previous houseguest leech not to become doormats!

So, because of the futon being a bed more often than it used to be, Stephen and I are looking at replacing it. He'd been researching mattresses for it, because there's honestly nothing wrong with the frame. But he's having no luck with that, so we're considering dropping about 500 on a new sleeper sofa from Ikea. We like the size; we like the "sit"; we like the "lay/lie down" (YES, I'll nitpik your grammar, but even if I look this one up, I'm not going to remember which one means "recline" so STFU!); we especially like the color! ... HOWEVER...

Stephen's laptop just crashed one too many times, and he's replaced it. But we were unable to rescue his novel, among other things, from his hard drive, which means it's currently being diagnosed by professionals. We have no doubt that they'll be able to rescue all of the files he needs, but in the meantime, we get to wait to see what that's going to cost us. It's not that we can't "afford" the 500 for the couch... but we do have to be responsible, don't we? Budget for shit that's nonessential? Right?

Speaking of diagnoses, I HAVE SAG-AFTRA HEALTH INSURANCE AGAIN! I got the notification in the mail on my birthday, which was the absofuckinglute best happy birthday celebratory dance at a mailbox I have ever had. (Hashtag AbsoFuckingLute)... so I had my general wellness exam for zero dollars and zero cents in July, and because I am #AWomanOfACertainAge, I also have to have some follow-up testing. Pray for me this weekend, when I will be fasting with tea and other clear liquids, to be put under on Monday with "Twilight" anesthesia whilst the doc pushes a tiny tube up my rectum so he can shine a tiny light on my innards, watching on a tiny camera to see if there are any polyps, and then grabbing them with a tiny grabby thingy for testing. The chance of there being at least one polyp is 50% (or did he say 1 in 50, a.k.a. 2%?). The chance of any polyps being pre-cancerous is 25% (or, again, was that 1 in 25? or 4% of the 2%? OOF. I'm good at numbers, but now I don'r remember what he said a week ago). Ennyhoo. I'll come out of the "Twilight" sleep a bit loopy, so I have to have a ride home. They will NOT release me to drive or take a Lyft or a bus or anything on my own recognizance! Luckily, my friend Max works just down the street, so she can probably let me hang out in her office or break room for the hour or so it takes me to truly recover. If that Dx is "clear", then I won't have to undergo that procedure again for ten years. And in the meantime, it doesn't cost me a dime, because I HAVE SAG-AFTRA HEALTH INSURANCE AGAIN!

Still have to get my skin checked out by a dermatologist and the girls squished by a mammographer. Yay. :-/

Also. Since beginning my Ketogenic Lifestyle (TM), I have lost twenty pounds (I was only shooting for ten), 3" off my waist, nearly 3" off my hips, and ~1" off each thigh. I've been very hit-or-miss with the daily yoga, but I know that when I was doing it more regularly, my arms and core were gaining strength. I've also been very hit-or-miss with my swimming at the Y, but when I go, I do up to :30 of laps, with just a skosh of treading water (the ol' gang isn't there anymore, so I don't have a social hour, it's just swimming). I did replace my waistband-wearable non-Fitbit thingy with a wrist wearable Disney Princesses (kid's) one, also NON-Fitbit, because I am anti-brand, for the most part. I like it. It counts my steps (10k per day IS a regular thing for me) and tracks my sleep, and lets me know if I've been still for too long (although it counts puttering around in the kitchen as stillness), and then if I have a total of one hour or more of activity in the day, it takes me on an adventure with Ariel and Flounder. It's cute.

So I'm currently catching you up while I make chocolate gelato, Keto-style. It's soooooo gooooood!

What have you been up to, since last we ... spoke (?) ?

A Spoiler-Free Movie Review, and other catching up

#AvengersEndgame was released in theaters on Thursday night. Our local theater had not sold out for opening night, when Stephen got off work and checked. But it's a three-hour movie, and we'd have gotten home close to midnight, and he still had to work Friday morning. So on Thursday DAY, I bought our tickets for today's first showing, at 12:30.

We didn't see it at a multi-plex, per se. We saw it at a Laemmle Theater, which is half arthouse and half blockbuster. They host themed #ThrowbackThursdays, as in, for the month of May, they'll be honoring Diane Keaton's career every Thursday. Because of the nature of their business, we weren't sure what to expect at today's matinee. We planned to get to the theater before noon, so we could (hopefully) just walk right in with our tickets, plant in our favorite center seats just behind the rail, and then get Stephen's popcorn combo just prior to the trailers at 12:30.

So we left the apartment at 11:30 and walked down the block the slightly-less-than-a-mile... and discovered a queue that nearly went around the adjacent building. Nearly. The sign at the front of it asked patrons to have printed out their e-tickets (No, not like the old Disney "E" tickets) before approaching the box office, which meant, yeah, most of the folks in line would have already paid for their tickets, like us. No cutting for us! Dangit!

But the queue began moving right around 12, and it wasn't long before we were finding our second-best seats, which were slightly-left-of-center, just behind the rail. I got myself a complimentary cup of soda water, and when Stephen trekked out to hit the can, he made it through the concessions line pretty quickly, too. I mean, kudos to Laemmle NoHo, for having their act together today. I imagine that they'll have the most business this weekend that they've had in quite some time.

And now for your spoiler-free review. No, wait. Before I tell you MY experience, let me pause for a short rant. *** There are entirely too many people (trolls) out there in the media and social media and the internets and the YouTubes who are posting VITAL information about this movie. EVERYWHERE you turn, there are articles and videos about "what you missed the first time you saw Endgame" or "3000 Easter Eggs you didn't notice", etc. STOP IT, "news" sources and other "fans". Everyone who wants to see this film wants to take it in for themselves. No one wants to know who lives or who dies by the end, before getting to see it happen on that giant screen. *** End rant.

So, here's what happens: um, NO. IF you saw #AvengersInfinityWar, then you know some very important information about what you're expecting or hoping will happen in #AvengersEndgame. If you DIDN'T see Infinity War, then do you seriously have interest in Endgame? What are you even doing? Move along, little dogies, move along.

Okay, back to what I was saying. Infinity War was a rough watch. It was violent and brutal and so many people that we fans of the MCU have come to know and love DIE in it. After watching it on the big screen, I walked away ANGRY (and sad). I did NOT want to hear what any pundits thought might happen next. I did not want to watch it again. That said, over the course of this last week, Stephen and I have been binge-watching (in order) every Marvel movie that had #InfinityStones plotlines, so that we'd be caught up by today. We did watch Infinity War a second time, and while I still hated the outcome, at least I wasn't angry this time around.

Endgame starts pretty much where Infinity War leaves off, and then we jump forward five years to see how the survivors are doing. When Scott Lang finds them (which you've seen in the trailers), they form a plan to attempt to unravel all the bad stuff created by that douchecanoe twatjuice dickwhistle Thanos. So the bulk of this film is coming up with a viable plan and then acting on it. There's some fighting. There's some remorse. There's some really funny shit.

We laughed a lot. We cried a lot. There are successes and obstacles. And we (the audience) stick with the heroes, hoping and wondering and wishing and cheering through all the trials. And there are still sacrifices to make, and we the audience mourn those choices as well. There are a ton of cameos by people we haven't seen for some time (they do time-travel, as you know from the trailers). So the end credits sequence is stunning, giving credit for all of the cameos, including a couple that may have ended up in cut scenes (so look for them in the DVD/Blu-Ray editions, like we'll be doing, kids). There is no mid-credit scene. There is no end-credit scene. There is only the movie.

We liked it. All of the MCU films have led to this one, and while it feels like "closure", I can't imagine that the stories are all wrapped up. I do hope to see more of my Marvel heroes going forward.

As for my other catching up, I've been keeping busy with classes at the Conservatory, and classes that will culminate in five live performances at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, and volunteering at both the SAG Foundation and at the Conservatory,

Father Ted cast and Director
(I played Mrs. Doyle, the housekeeper)

Deuterostomes Director and Gloria + Gloria's voice

AND shooting both a multi-cam sitcom scene for a USC student and the voice of Gloria, the most intelligent being in the galaxy, who also happens to be a worm in a jar, for an AFI student film. Both of those were great fun to do, and I think I made some pretty good connections. We'll see.

I created a professional actor's website, and I've been recording kid lit audiobooks for the nieces and nephews. Then, after a great VO class, I re-recorded them, and I've been going crazy with those recordings. They're not sweetened with music or sound effects, but they are "clean" recordings of me reading to littles. You can take a listen here, if you like.

I need to get back to Jo-Ann Fabric for more yarn. I sent the Easter baskets out to the two families of young children in my family, and then while I was on the sci-fi set, I built myself a craft bag. I quite enjoyed that, so I think I may make more of those.

Oh, and yes, I'm still eating Keto, as well as doing daily yoga. I haven't yet shed a lot of weight, but five pounds did budge within the first two weeks of those practices, so I'm confident that I'll shed another five to ten pounds, and get pretty strong again. Doesn't hurt that I'm also trying to hit 10,000 steps most days, also. The Achilles tendonitis is gone/healed/cured. I feel pretty good!

So what about you? Have you seen all of the MCU films? What did you think? Any other catching up in YOUR life you'd like to chat about?

I am the April Fool

Ya know how, when you're really working on #SelfImprovement and #PersonalGrowth and all that other newfangly shit, and you #SetIntentions for your day, and then #AprilFoolsDay shows up and throws everything outta whack? You DON'T? Well, aren't you #Blessed, you #HoityToityLittleAssWipe? Kidding. I kid. I have just had a day today, so I'm a bit #Frustrated.

Here's your backstory:

• I've been getting out of bed fairly earlyish for the past coupla weeks to do yoga or stretching or squats or other highish intensity but low impact workouts
• I've been eating a Ketogenic diet, which improves (recipes and intermittent fasting get easier) after every three or four YouTube videos I watch as education
• I've been reading #SelfImprovement and #PersonalGrowth books, just for FUN!
• I've been attending an acting/business class on alternating Sundays, and we're working towards performances at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in June
• I've been attending film festivals, just for FUN (and "networking", which honestly sucks ass at places like film festivals, mostly)
• I've been cast in a USC production of a multi-cam sitcom, as part of a class
• I've been volunteering at both the SAG-AFTRA Foundation and Conservatory, in addition to attending classes/events at both
• I've been walking more, aiming for at least 5k steps per day, and not saying "no" to 10k

So now, onto TODAY!

Over the weekend, the student who is directing our multi-cam comedy scenes emailed us all, asking for availability for one last rehearsal. Having not heard a concrete confirmation of our timeslot, I drove over to USC today, to discover a different group of people in our space, and none of my people present at all. I rechecked the email half a dozen times. MONDAY, until 2 p.m. Another student walked out of that room, and I asked her how long they were in there for - Three-Thirty P.M.! So I bailed. We hadn't gotten the slot we wanted, and no one informed us, and I was the only idiot who drove out there anyway. In costume. With props. And fat bombs (it's a #KetoThing).

No big... it's close to where my friends live, so I'll just pop in to see them.

NOT. He's at work, and she's in Santa Monica. Shit. Guess I'll drive home. Oh, wait, here's a Trader Joe's; lemme pick up some groceries... squash, berries... wait, no, they're more expensive here than at my TJ's, so I guess I'll just have my yogurt with coconut. Still Keto; no big deal... coconut, yogurt, bag of apples and 3 smallish, not-quite-ripe bananas. Perfect. Also, I'm feeling a bit peckish right about now, so I'll just eat those fat bombs, which didn't really survive the (hot) underground parking. Messy! But tasty, and enough to cut the edge of my hunger from my 17+ hour fast. But oh, so messy!

Get it all home and only carry up the crap I'd taken to USC. Second trip up from the car to discover Stephen's got apples out the ass. Welp. Whatevs; now he's got more. Eat those apples, Stephen! FORGOT to carry up more cans of sparkling water, and I definitely need some! (Brought 'em up after taking the shopping bags back down, yo.)

But I also need to get some steps in, and walk off this funk I'm in, and plug in my phone, which no longer wants to connect to the portable charger (it's probably just the cord, but still)... so I attempt to change one last watch battery, so I can at least have a concept of the time while I'm out. The one battery that "took" is in a watch that is slowly-but-surely losing its band. Possibly quickly-and-surely. I don't want to risk wearing the one watch that works and then losing it to gravity! The other two watches that I have replacement batteries for... just don't want to work, #FFS. So I gently gather up the last watch, for which I still need to buy a fresh battery, and decide to walk to the watch battery store!

But a handful of times on my walk, my left knee decides to remind me of my ol' football injury (it actually happened on the set of Teen Wolf, a tearing of meniscus on a weekend so I never followed up or filed a claim, waaaaaaaay back in the day!)... and I almost bail on the walk at all, multiple times. The reason I don't bail, of course, is because CVS! They'll have the battery I need! 

But they don't. And I discover that I've already checked their battery stand for the one I need. I've been over it with a fine-tooth comb, as it were. That doesn't stop me from whippin' out my comb again today! I've just limped 3k steps to not find what I need!

Dude who works there offers to help me find it, but he knows, as I do, that there's no joy to be found today at CVS. He does offer a paltry solution: Sears. They fix watches, as well as carry the obscure batteries. Sears? Are you fucking kidding me? Aren't they completely out of business yet? Should I just check at a K-Mart jewelry counter? Or Wal-Mart? Or Tarzhay?

Ennyhoo. No rehearsal. No hangin' with friends. No watch battery. Pain in my knee. But my walk home takes me by an amazing ice cream shop, where I can indulge in an almost-Keto malted shake.

Except that the ice cream shop isn't open before 3, and despite it being after 3, I still can't get in. So fuck them. At least I'm volunteering at the Conservatory tonight! I will have gotten my minimum of 5k steps, and it's a class I won't have to pay too much attention to, so I can prop my leg up and finish the Easter baskets I crocheted for the niblings, or work on my lines for my part, or something. 

And then of course the class tonight got cancelled, and no one told me. But I did find out before I drove all that way! And I got the follow-up email in my fully-charged phone (once home) about the rehearsal, which is NEXT Monday (which it did say in the original email but somehow I missed in forty-seven readings). 

It's now 6:00 in the evening on April Fools' Day, and while not one soul pranked me, I think maybe the Universe did. What a day.

How was YOUR April Fools' Day? Did you survive it intact?

Unexpected benefits of volunteering

So I've mentioned I volunteer for the SAG Foundation. I've also mentioned that I've been actively taking classes at the SAG Conservatory. Recently, I signed up for a class at the Conservatory to orientate (?) new volunteers there, and ended up getting added to the roster of volunteers as soon as that class session ended.

Just before March began, the schedule of all classes that needed volunteers was emailed out, and because I responded immediately, I was booked for 4 classes, two on the same day but with a long break between them, and then the other two later in the month. Then on the 1st of March, I got added to another class (which is actually tonight).

I was booked for work on set last week, on the day that I was scheduled to volunteer twice. So I had to "call out" and get a replacement. I know they replaced me for the evening class (I honestly knew beforehand that they would, because that instructor is my favorite, and that's probably a consensus amongst students there). I hope they found a replacement for the morning class. I was bummed that I had to miss both of those, because I'm nervous about my first time. I have to set up the camera and record all the sessions and then play those back and give people copies on their cards or drives, and although I took copious notes in the training sessions, technical stuff is not necessarily in my immediate wheelhouse, and I haven't had a chance to "practice". So wish me luck that I don't completely #FuckItAllUp tonight!

*** Also, #ICYMI (because I neglected to actually STATE it), #AnyDayOnSetIsAGoodDay and I'm #Blessed to have missed my volunteerism for work. #SetLife #WorkBegetsWork #WorkIsAGoodThing

Ennyhoo, let's get to the really good stuff - the title of this post!

At our very first orientation class (there were two, actually), we were shown upon arrival where all the goodies were kept. Snacks. Beverages. Folders and tins of mints and plastic luggage tags and notebooks with nice pens and phone chargers. SWAG (Stuff We All Get). Good, cool, free stuff, just for saying "yeah, you can have my time". I ended up with a few of those phone chargers. They're great when you're on a set that has limited electrical outlets. They work for both my phone and my tablet. It's awesome. #Grateful #GreatFull

Near the end of last week, an email went out to ALL of the volunteers looking for participants in an AFI student film "loop group". I have taken a few looping classes at the Don LaFontaine VoiceOver Lab at the SAG Foundation, so I (of course) immediately signed up to participate.

*Looping is the recording of voices for a film or show, done after principal photography, to either replace onscreen dialogue or fill in dialogue that wasn't shot on-the-day. It can be the background conversations of random people on the street or in the restaurant, or it can be PA announcements in a train station or hospital, or it can even be grunts, moans, and breathing. It can be a lot of things. It's all recorded at full volume, and then edited in very quietly. It adds to the scene we see, without overtaking it.*

At any rate, the six of us who replied most quickly were picked, and we showed up to a home studio in the middle of nowhere to record all of ^that^ kind of stuff for about an hour/hour and a half. The home studio was amazing. It made me a bit jealous (#TotesJelly), because it was so well constructed, and it exists in someone's house. Because it's a student film, none of us will be paid for our work. But we will all receive credit, and I'm going to find out whether that "day" "on set" counts towards my health eligibility. Because I think it might!

... And I wouldn't even have known about that opportunity (to practice looping, to network with other loopers, to network with up-and-coming filmmakers), had I not signed up to volunteer.

Now I just have to survive tonight.

What about you? Do you currently volunteer for anyone? What unexpected blessings have you received from it? Let's chat!

Blargh. It's already the 18th day of the new year!

As if "time" were a real thing, or "years" or "dates". I'm kicking myself because I haven't blogged since the 30th of December, or since the 364th day of the "old" year. Like it matters, in the grand scheme of life, how often you "hear" from me (or not).

I have been busy. I dunno why I'm kicking myself for not posting ideas I'm kicking around. #GratefulToBeBusy #BlessedWithWork #NoSADSoFar #WooHoooo #Hashtags

It's been Awards Season(TM), and you're probably aware that I've been receiving

1. invitations to screenings
2. physical screeners in the snail mail
3. access to streaming screeners online

so of course, I've been watching and absorbing and enjoying all the movies and television/internet shows. I've also been back at my crocheting. I have been busy, creating tons* of beanies, mittens, and Moebius scarflets, as well as a pair of fingerless gloves for my mail carrier, PitBull.

*not LITERAL tons, just, ya know, a "shit ton" or possibly more than that, like maybe a "fuck tonne"

 I mailed out 22 items for family.

Bill "cheated" - opening the gift early, so he could wrap for the boys. I'm okay with that. ;)

I filmed a webseries of crocheting and movie reviews with a friend. I attended classes, at the SAG-AFTRA Conservatory and online and elsewhere. And I managed to have some days on set, and days where I walked again, and got groceries shopped for, and hung out with friends.

But I have, once again, neglected my blogging. I'm sorry. Forgive me?

Oh, yeah. Also, I need help choosing a name for my personal website. It will be a site to host my "business" of acting and other film/television production "stuff" (headshots, resumes, voice clips, demo reels, that web-series, and anything else pertaining to ME in the world of show biz). I looked into "emelle dot com" but that one got snagged when domains were first available for snagging. A broker called me the other day to tell me that the "owner" was willing to sell me that domain for, oh, say, SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS? Sheesh. No. #FuckYouVeryMuch, "owner" of "my" domain.

So I'm tossing around "therealemelle", "realemelle", and "the-real-emelle" dot com. I know that most of my "audience" will not have to type it out or fear getting it wrong, but there are a BUNCH of "e"s in any of those combos, so I want it to be fairly intuitive, which is why I'm considering hyphens. I've been told by a few beta-testers that hyphens are the only phone-friendly appropriate punctuation, and I get that anyone I send to my site via phone will appreciate not having to hunt for the underscore. What are your thoughts? IF you were to "check me out" without a hyperlink, which address makes the most sense to you?

Once I've bought the domain, I'm going to need help building the site, too. I'm not planning on investing in additional webhosting with a template, unless y'all tell me that I have to, because there's no other way for a semi-Luddite to do it. And frankly, if that IS the way, what company will give me the best value for hosting/building? Yes, I get that it's an investment in my career. No, I do not want to spend thousands of dollars, particularly when right now, I have mediocre headshots and an OLD resume (remember, I've been working in the background for fifteen years). I'm emotionally ready (and trained, so mentally ready, as well) to jump into the foreground, but I just don't have the materials necessary to build a kick-ass site.

Ennyhoo, that's where I am these days. Too many things on my plate to be able to keep up with blogging or blog-reading. At least the cats are healthy. Oh, and, I had to disassemble my keyboard to clean it (sticky keys and soooo much cat hair!) - when I put it back together, I swapped two keys, which only matters if I actually LOOK for the letter I need. Can you spot my mistake?

Christmas is Over. Is it Easter yet?

As you may remember, for many years after Mommy died, I didn't have much Christmas Spirit. I mean, I would break out my Santa hat and ornament earrings, and start wearing all that shit, including my jingle ball necklace, starting on December 1st. But every year, that was the extent of my Christmas Spirit.

When I married Stephen, we would buy a little potted rosemary "tree" each year, which he would decorate with lights and ornaments, and he'd hang lights and garlands around the living room, and the place would look festive. I mostly didn't help with the decorating. He mostly didn't need help, and he always "got it" that I just wasn't emotionally in a place where I needed to decorate. I appreciated it being done, but I think not having it would have been fine, too. I dunno. It was always his "thing".

When we moved to the wrong-for-us coast, we acquired a fake Christmas tree, so no more rosemary "trees". It's probably for the best, at least for the rosemary. We never could keep those little things alive a full year. I'm #Grateful that Lowe's always took the poor, pathetic dead things back when we bought a new one. But once we got the fake one from his dad's house, we stopped buying and killing rosemary.

Two years ago*, I put up the tree and decorated it. He didn't ask me to, but he was pleasantly surprised that I had done it. There were still garlands and lights and other things he could do, so the apartment was festive enough. And I personally had some Spirit. *I really thought that this happened last year, not two years ago. Apparently, last year, I was fighting SAD again. #DepressionLies

Last year, we were back to Stephen doing it all. He didn't need my help, so he did it all on his own. This year, I probably offered to help, but by not jumping up into it, he again did it all on his own. But possibly because this year he's an actual orphan,  he ran out of steam after hanging all the lights and garlands and getting the tree up and lit. I wore my Santa hat, ornament earrings, jingle ball and socks once or twice this month. We spent the whole month of December with a box or two of ornaments under the tree, waiting to be put up. Never happened.

Until today, when Stephen took down all of the decorations and packed them away. The ornaments have been put up, if where they are stored until next year is elevated in any way. Christmas is over. He's even sweeping, vacuuming, and mopping the kitchen floor (not that our fake tree sheds needles or anything, but the floor needed the mopping). He's a hero, kids.

So, since I have spent practically every day of this cool-weather season crocheting gifts for family and friends, including after I mailed out the family gifts, I've gone back to Jo-Ann for more yarns. They've got the bright pastels out, so I guess I'm working on Easter eggs... maybe Easter baskets? Hmm... I do have a pattern for some "catch-all" crocheted basket thingies. I guess I know what to start on next! ... besides blogging, reviewing movies for you, ramping my acting career into a higher gear, and loving on the cats, of course.

How have YOUR holidays been? Looking toward 2019 with eagerness, or dread? Let's talk about that!

It's been ... one week since you ... GOTCHA!

Okay, it's been FIVE MONTHS since you heard from me, but any chance for an earworm, and I'm all over it.

So what the hell have I been up to in the last five months, you say? Lemme peruse the calendar real quick, and I'll tell you:

• In June, I marched in the Pride Parade, as you know. I also volunteered for stuff, I worked on set, and I PERFORMED the role of Molly McGee in the SAG-AFTRA Radio Play, Fibber McGee and Molly (no, that's not my voice in the link). It was a ton of fun, getting to perform for an audience again, and the Holiday SARP is coming up, so I'll be in attendance for that, since I was ineligible to audition (having booked the summer show).
• In July, I enrolled in the SAG-AFTRA Conservatory and attended the Summer Intensive. AFI is the leading film school in the country (possibly the world) for directors and cinematographers. They partner with the Conservatory, allowing us to utilize their space for tens of thousands of dollars' worth of acting/business education, and they get union (Conservatory) actors for their student films. It's a definite win-win. It costs union members $45 for a year's enrollment. My enrollment fee was covered in that first weekend intensive. Awesome.
• In August, I volunteered, I attended Conservatory workshops, I took a friend to what I thought was a screening, but turned out to just be a gathering of folks interested in the NatGeo show Genius: Picasso, where we painted on our own canvasses, noshed on tidbits, and sipped wine. I also started working in the BG of a new Toni Collette Netflix show called Unbelievable. I can't say anything at all about it, even though we're finished shooting, because it doesn't come out until next year! Wah! (It's going to be an excellent show, and you should definitely watch it, whether I ever managed any camera time or not).
• September brought more Conservatory, more work on Unbelievable, more volunteering, Picketing a Business with my union (a commercial ad agency that has honored union signatory contracts for more than 20 years has suddenly decided that they just can't afford union actors anymore. So we arrived by the busload and marched in front of their offices for a couple of hours. Some people had signs, most of us were wearing our free-if-you-participate #AdsGoUnion/#BestInTheBiz t-shirts, and I believe the vast majority of us lost our voices for a day. It was good), and more screenings... we're heading into awards season! We also attended a night of streaming an entire web series, done by some old theatre friends of mine. Interesting.
• October. More Conservatory, more screenings, more work, more volunteering. We enjoyed a dinner party on a boat with my friend who was celebrating her 50th birthday. I attended a few voiceover workshops, including one where I learned about an upcoming VO Expo. I attended an acting workshop where I was finally able to figure out how to FOCUS my acting career. We attended a one-woman show produced/performed by another theatre friend of mine who has survived breast cancer (her show is called Chemo Barbie, and she sometimes tours, so if she comes to YOU, go see her show. Tell her I sent ya.)
• November has been busy, y'all. SCREENINGS work SCREENINGS volunteering SCREENINGS Conservatory SCREENINGS the VO Expo SCREENINGS Thanksgiving-a.k.a.-Gluttony-Day and SCREENINGS. This is honestly the reason I'm even back to my blog at all. Stephen and I paid to see Bohemian Rhapsody, because, duh, Queen. But everything else I've seen lately has been free through the Awards emails or the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. I've got a few titles you should definitely check out, if you can. If you'd like me to review anything, as I've done in the past, comment to that effect below, and I'll try to carve out some time to do that.

The year Lion came out, I didn't love any movie as much as that one, and I felt personally betrayed that it didn't garner more awards. I think the main reason it fell short was because it didn't get the audience it deserved. I don't want that to happen this year.

This Year, if there is Any Way Possible for you to see The 12th Man, then you have to do it. You have to see this film, and you have to see it again, and take friends with you, and then they have to see it again, and they have to take friends with them. Everyone you know needs to see #12thManMovie. Everyone you know needs to talk about it at the water cooler and on social media. It's a foreign film with English subtitles about true events that happened in Norway during World War II. But it doesn't "feel" like a foreign film. It doesn't feel like a low-budget (only $7 million) "out there" film. It FEELS like a big studio picture; it FEELS like it had a huge budget that was spent on cinematography and effects (the only member of the cast you may recognize is Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who worked for scale, so the budget wasn't spent on cast). Disclaimer: I don't have any personal stake in this film. The producers haven't paid me to advertise this film. I just feel really strongly that this film is Oscar-worthy, and worthy of your time, and that everyone I know and everyone you know should see this film, at the earliest possible convenience.

If you're in Los Angeles and want to attend a screening THIS THURSDAY, let me know ASAP. I'll get you the invite. Or send a request to sara at phase 2 pr dot com, asking for screenings. No, it's not hyperlinked, because I don't want to be the source of her inbox filling with spam (Blogger warned me about linking addresses, yo)

Ennyhoo. I've said what I needed to say. I'll be back with my previous frequency, I hope. Now I just need to get back to my holiday crocheting and looking for VO work and possibly joining an acting class I audited last night. I'm busy, y'all!

Pride 2018

I have a confession, kids.

I don't really know how to be an activist. Nor a feminist. Nor any "ist", if I'm truly honest.

I marched in the first Women's March. I participated in a GLOBAL event that brought many issues to light, not the least of which was the fact that a morally bankrupt anti-everything dolt had somehow "won" the role of President of the United States of America, and we were in for a world of trouble because of it.

It felt good to surround myself with people from all walks of life, marching for equality. I didn't stick around for any of the speeches. Maybe that makes me a "bad" activist. Or a non-activist. I was a participant for a few hours, and then I went home and taught myself how to crochet a

WIP

Pussy Hat. Activism done. I guess.

I retweet a lot, because I don't really know how to activism beyond my phone. I'm supportive of my friends in #TheBloggessTribe who suffer from all manner of mental illness but primarily Depression and Anxiety. I retweet articles about mental illness. I'm upset about #CadetBoneSpurs, so I retweet about the bullshit he's making happen. I retweet about #GOPCorruption, because #DOLT45 is absolutely being empowered in his bullshit by the extremely weak-willed right-wing Congress and Senate.

I'm also a cishet white woman, which puts me only one "degree" away from membership in the privileged group (cishet white men). I do know what #WhitePrivilege is. So I'm not exactly being "oppressed". But I see the oppression that my friends or acquaintances feel, and I want to support them. I want to be an ally.

I want to do more, but I don't know how. Or maybe I'm too lazy. <== That is probably the actual truth. I'm just too damn lazy to do more.

panoramic view of our gathering point, where we waited 1.5 hours

But marching with comrades-in-arms feels good. So yesterday, I walked with a group of 20-30 members of the actors' union, SAG-AFTRA, in the Los Angeles Pride Parade.

once actually IN the parade, our view (yes, that's a giant disco ball)

parade watchers, a sample

yes, there were plenty of men in drag. of course!

somewhere ahead of us was a confetti cannon

It was a PARADE, not a MARCH. It was a celebration for the LGBTQ+ community. I'm not a member of that community, but walking the parade route with my union mates, I allied myself with the community, and I probably looked like I'm somewhere in the LGBTQ+ spectrum. Fairly certain that at least one person there thought I was a lesbian or bisexual. I'm okay with that. Think what you want. #Ally

cloud of confetti, dead center

confetti in the air is HARD to catch!

glitter me this

I have another confession. I don't know the difference between "gay" and "queer", nor do I have a clue about "pan" or "ace" or any of the other pluses. Not that it matters. Not that I need to know. Unless you are one of the pluses and want me to know. In which case, I'm willing to learn, if you're willing to educate me.

Yesterday was exhausting. It was fun and fulfilling and draining and hot and sweaty and glittery. I'm #ProudToBeAnAlly.

my "crown"... literally, glitter on the crown of my head! (this is today, btw)

I'm also still spreading glitter throughout our apartment. It will probably never leave.

Do/did YOU participate in any #Pride2018 events?