englandsword

I made money today! I love that. I realize that most people make money about five days a week but for me it's much more infrequent and thus more satisfying. Anyhow, yesterday I went and saw TV director Guy Bee at The Actors' Network - his most recent work is Supernatural. Then I came home and prepared for my evening audition at 7:30. Right before I left, the weather got all crazy. First I heard the loudest crack of thunder echoing through the mountains, which was surprising because we never get thunder. Then it dropped twenty degrees. If we were in the Midwest, I would have thought a tornado was coming! Instead we just got some light rain and lots of big lightning. This week has been crazy. My audition went really well, and it was funny because I was playing a 16-year-old and was surrounded by teenagers and their parents. I felt so old! Last night I watched Law and Order: SVU and the new Law and Order: Los Angeles. I love SVU because Mariska Hargitay and Christopher...

I went to Urth Caffe on Melrose for coffee today. It's a cute, busy cafe with lots of coffee and tea plus breakfast and lunch. I just wanted coffee so I didn't look very closely at the menu but it seems vegan-friendly. They have almond, soy, and rice milk for coffee but there's a 50 cent surcharge (LAME!). There's also a wide arrange of add-ins, including agave. I got a large coffee with hot almond milk and it came in a mug with a nice layer of foam. It was delicious and it didn't even need any sweetener. This afternoon I went to The Actors' Network, first to see Darci Monet, a vocal coach, and then for a talk on goal setting. The session with the vocal coach was fun because there were very few of us and she had each of us get up in front and do some vocal exercises. In the second session we talked about setting goals for five years, three years, and one year from now, as well as breaking up those years into three-month segments. The facilitator told us ...

Record-breaking heat is ripping through LA right now. It was 113 degrees today in the Valley. OMG! So of course I did something that makes no sense and I made soup. I would have liked to add an onion and some celery but I just used what I had on hand. Indian-Spiced Barley Stew 1 cup uncooked barley 1 cup yellow split peas 10 medium carrots, chopped 5 cups water 1 tbsp mustard 1 tbsp umeboshi plum paste (optional, sub for soy sauce) 1/4 cup chopped dulse (optional) 1 tbsp garam masala 1 tsp turmeric 1 bunch basil, chopped If using an onion, brown for a few minutes in a soup pot. Then add barley, split peas, carrots, and water. Watch water as the soup cooks and add more as necessary to keep desired consistency. Add seasonings and basil at the end. Makes about 10 1-cup servings. It's really good!! I'm going to get coffee with my mom's co-worker's cousin tomorrow morning. I love those distant connections! We're going to Urth Caffe so I'll be sure and t...

Life has been pretty much the same - audition, work out, look for acting jobs, watch new TV shows, repeat. I've eaten more Indian-Spiced Yellow Split Pea Soup , brussels sprouts, salads, and Instant Colcannon . I even made two brussel sprout converts at TJ's the other day. Score. On Tuesday night I went to a friend's house to watch Boardwalk Empire and Glee and they sent me home with some salsa and guacamole. I mixed it with assorted greens to create a salad o' leftovers. I also made some PastaSlim noodles (like Shirataki noodles) made of tofu that I've had in the fridge for a while. I just heated them up with some garlic, two tomatoes, basil, and onion. It was good. Part Two of my new TV reviews: Outsourced (NBC) : Many people thought this sitcom would be offensive because it deals with a business outsourcing to India. But who is it offensive to, Indians or laid-off Americans? I would say neither. I didn't find this show offensive at all and in fact I ...

I met a friend from high school for lunch yesterday. I hadn't seen her since high school but she went to USC and then stayed out here so we finally met up and we had a great time! We met at California Pizza Kitchen, I let her choose and said I would be fine with any restaurant with a half-decent salad or coffee with soy milk because I'm very flexible. And that's true, I don't really like eating out very much so I don't mind just getting a drink. But luckily, she chose a restaurant with good vegan options. The CPK website is great because they have a very clear list of vegan items (and they know that honey isn't vegan) and nutrition information for all their menu items. Yay! So I could pick out what I wanted beforehand as well as know the nutrition content of what I was eating. I hate surprise calorie bombs because of the inordinate amount of oil most restaurants use. So I ended up ordering a cup of the asparagus soup with no croutons. This may not look l...

I had a super simple dinner tonight. Sometimes you just need to keep it basic - broccoli, mushrooms, and onion. I stir-fried about 1/4 onion I had left over with a bag of mushrooms and a bag of broccoli from TJ's and flavored it with a little rice wine vinegar and Chinese Five Spice powder. Just based off a quick analysis of the nutrition, this entire dish (a whole bag each of mushrooms and broccoli!) is about 170 calories, 22 grams of protein, 12 grams of fiber, and 25% of your RDA of iron. Oh yeah, and negligible fat and no cholesterol. Let's compare this to 170 calories of a chicken breast with the fat removed - according to Spark People, about 2/3 of a breast. The chicken has 36 grams of protein, 2 grams of fat, 92 mg of cholesterol, no fiber, and only 6.3% of iron. And of course that's not even to mention all the other nutrients that are more plentiful in the broccoli and mushrooms - more calcium, more Vitamin C, A... I could keep going. But I just think this is...

Wow, I've had a busy and fantastic weekend! First up, I got an e-mail today from the director of the film I auditioned for on Thursday and said took over three and a half hours out of my day. She said she had decided to cast someone else but loved my performance and would like to stay in touch for future projects. I thought that was really nice because that never happens. In the audition process in LA, you go in, audition, leave, and you will probably never hear anything back. You could get a call that evening or weeks later letting you know you got a callback or booked the job, but you have no idea. And if you didn't get it, you just won't hear anything at all. So it was very nice of her to write me. On Thursday night I totally ran out of gum and Crystal Light, which was a catastrophe, so I immediately headed to Ralphs to rectify that situation. I may have gone overboard a tad: Don't worry, that will last me a while. I'm not one of those pack-a-day chewers,...

Aughh I spent so long in traffic today. I had an audition at 4 at USC which just was perfect timing for terrible traffic both ways. Including the hour I spent waiting for my two minute audition, I was gone for over three and a half hours. This morning I worked out, spent time researching TV shows, and watched Lethal Weapon. I love Danny Glover. He's like my grandpa. Not like my actual grandpa, but he would be another one. Speaking of my real grandpa, he's going to go see Bloomington at the Tampa Gay and Lesbian Film Festival next month. That makes me happy. =) For dinner I made a simple Thai recipe - Basil Eggplant. I started with this strange eggplant: And a bunch of Thai basil. Basil Eggplant 1 Italian or two Asian eggplants garlic 1 tsp red curry paste or red pepper flakes 1/2 bunch Thai basil, de-stemmed Braggs 1 tsp sugar Cut your eggplant into odd-sized chunks to make them easy to stir. Heat up garlic, add eggplant. Add about a cup of water, cover, and let cook u...

Simple, short post today. Yesterday I went to Santa Monica with a friend new to LA because he needed to see the ocean, even though it was cold! Today I spent hours doing laundry (seriously), finally talked to my mom, called Time Warner cable to fix our internet (blahh), watched Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, and went to a free panel at SAG about agents and managers. For dinner, I had a nice salad of spinach, mixed greens, cucumber, carrot, celery, green onion, a big tomato, red pepper, and some of this new dressing: It was OK. I just bought it because they didn't have the balsamic dressing I like. I have an audition tomorrow and I'm going to cook up that big eggplant I bought at the farmers market. Links: http://ulteriorharmony.blogspot.com/2010/09/my-first-blog-giveaway-and-power-of.html Giveaway! http://www.easyecotogo.com/2010/09/my-gentle-cycle-giveaway.html Giveaway! http://yesmeansyesblog.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/singapore-the-us-craigslist-sex-trafficking-and-wtf/ Inter...

I had a big day! Two auditions, Power Group, and... I booked a job! I got cast in a webseries by someone who saw Bloomington and remembered me. I didn't even have to audition. I made a huge batch of soup last night and ate it while watching the sixth Harry Potter movie with my roommate. I call it... Green and Orange Soup 4 cups dry split peas 1 cup kale stems, chopped 1 bunch celery, chopped 3 bunches carrots and greens, chopped 5 green onions, diced 1 tbsp garam masala 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp basil 1 tbsp mustard 1 tsp chili powder If using an onion, saute for a couple of minutes. Then add all ingredients and about 10 cups of water. You may need to adjust water based on how thick you want your soup to be. Just make sure it doesn't dry out - it will soak up a lot of water. Cook until peas are completely soft, then season to taste. Number of Servings: 10 And the nutritional info: Calories: 132 Fat: .6 g Sodium: 98.3 Carbs: 25.6 g Potassium: 696 mg Fiber:...

I can't believe I haven't posted since Wednesday! Honestly I've been so busy that I haven't had time to either post nor make any interesting food. I had some brussels sprouts, salad, and lots of soup. And coffee. And seriously, that's it. Last night I went with some friends to a fancy Italian restaurant called Il Moro. I got the minestrone soup. It was delicious, though overpriced at $8. And definitely vegan, I inquired. I didn't want to bring attention to myself photographing my food so I just snapped a quick camera phone picture. I've been really busy! On Thursday I had an audition and an acting class. On Friday I had another audition (this one in Chinese) and then I met some new IU friends and went out on the town. On Saturday I finally got to Skype with my mom after not talking to her since Wednesday morning. Then I scooted off to another audition and coffee with my brother from America's Court (so, not my real brother obviously). I brou...

I have four auditions in four (week) days! I had an audition today for an educational video at the Scientology Celebrity Center, which was cool because it's a beautiful building and I never would have gone there otherwise. Then I have three more auditions tomorrow, Friday, and next Monday. I love being busy. Last night I made something pretty fancy for dinner and I was proud of myself. When I was at Whole Foods the other day I saw a pretty pattypan squash and I figured it would just be wrong to go all summer without eating one. I stuffed it with a variety of veggies and some millet, a delicious new grain. Grains are so easy - just boil them with a little water and cook like rice until it tastes done. BBQ Millet-Stuffed Pattypan Squash 1 pattypan squash 1/2 cup cooked millet 2 sundried tomatoes, chopped 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped 1 carrot, chopped 1 stalk celery, chopped 1/4 yellow onion, diced 1 green onion, chopped 1/4 cup barbecue sauce (I used Trader Joe's KC BBQ sau...

Hellooo there, I hope you've all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. On Friday I spent several hours cooking! I made a gigantic jar of my super-awesome Indian-Spiced Split Pea Soup and I ate a lot of it this weekend. I actually just finished it today for breakfast! I made it pretty much the same way but I added at least a cup of fresh basil at the very end and it was a delicious addition. I also made a nice serving of parsnip fries. Parsnip Fries 2-4 parsnips 1/2 tsp chili powder 1/2 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp salt Wash parsnips and cut into fry shapes. Toss with seasonings and roast at 450 for 30 minutes. Make sure they're well-cooked enough or they'll be too tough. Tip: Stick them in the fridge and eat them cold later. They taste even better this way, not sure why. I had another audition on Friday, and on Saturday I went to a party and then to the bar Happy Ending. I stayed out really late and totally messed up my sleeping schedule but oh well! Sunday I took...

I had a great day today because I got paid to act . Any day I get paid to act is a great day and that's what I'm pursuing in life - more great days. Yesterday was good, too. In the morning I spent a few hours going through my financial records. When I moved out here I started printing out my online banking statement each month, going through my receipts, and analyzing my spending habits. I fell a few months behind so that's what I spent time catching up on. It was really informative. Besides rent, my biggest expenditure is definitely food - I figured out how much I spent on food per month, how much that equaled out to per day, and then my daily average food cost for the first six months here. By looking into my spending so closely, I think I'm getting a much better idea of how I can cut down on costs and I plan on making the second six months cheaper than the first. If this sounds like a lot of work, it really isn't. It just requires half an hour of work pe...