June is busting out all over...almost.

How is it June already? How is this year nearly half over?
So "Be a Good Little Widow" ended its run on Sunday. It was sad, but it was time to be done. After it was over, we had the fastest strike I have ever been a part of. The audience filtered out at 4:30pm. By 4:50 the entire stage was bare. It was remarkable. The world of professional theatre. 
From there we headed to Sara (the director/producer) and CB's (the producer/sound designer) house for the wrap party. It was also CB's birthday so there was a nice mix of industry people there. They live in a cute house in Studio City with an amazing backyard that includes a guest house, a pool house (the game, not the swimming kind) and a camping tent set up with all the amenities. It was cool. They had a full spread of bbq and drinks and we had a lovely afternoon/evening wrapping up our time together. I really enjoy these people and had a wonderful time with them.

Donovan, Sara, Caroline, Andrew, Larisa and Trey.

Phil, Larisa, Donovan, Trey and myself saying goodbye.

The next day, I got to go see one of the opening performances of the next play I worked on "Gruesome Playground Injuries." It was remarkable. One of the best plays I've seen. I got a designer cred as I did the props for them. It is running through July and I'm so proud to have been a part of it.

One of my proudest props, a stone owl for one of the actors. Our insanely talented tech director, David Mauer aged him to look like he had lived on the roof for a century.

Designer Cred!

And on Tuesday, at long last, I got to see the Piano Man, Billy Joel in concert at the Hollywood Bowl. The last time I saw him was 1994 at Giants Stadium. His voice sounds exactly the same. He was remarkable and it was a blast.

Lots of lights!

Post-show glow!

But enough fun, back to work. Resumed rehearsals for "Small Parts" the one-man show for the Hollywood Fringe Festival.
http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/1706

It's complicated with 150 cues in 75 minutes, but it's fun and as usual, the people are great. I think I've been really lucky in that I like nearly everyone I meet.

Thursday night, quick break as my dear friend Erin was in town from Prague and she and Holly (roommate from Moldova) and I reunited for the first time since June, 2012. It was a much needed girls night, even though they dragged me out of my house at 9:00pm, I was happy I went. These girls are family.

Me, Erin and Holly on Santa Monica Blvd.

So that's been my week. I have a rare day off today and then it's into tech week for 'Small Parts' to get ready for opening. 
And now: June!

Holy shit, it's almost summer.

Soooo...I haven't written on here in a long time. Maybe you've noticed. But the good news is, it's because I've been busy. So let's catch up, shall we? Back to February...

• Oscars - It was so nice to get to watch the Oscars in Los Angeles instead of at 3am trying desperately to stay awake to see Best Picture. Best friend, Diehl and his roommate, Josh held a party and I got to hang out with the Chino crew which was just delightful. It's so nice to hang out with people who are as crazy about this night as you are. We had a great time. We all sang along to "Wind Beneath My Wings", we danced to "Happy", we cheered for "Frozen" it was wonderful. We also held a prediction contest in which Diehl and I tied. After all this time, still in sync. I enjoyed the evening as well as the telecast. I am always a fan of Ellen Degeneres, thought the winners were richly deserved and even though my favorite of the nominees, "Dallas Buyers Club" didn't take home the big prize, the actors were awarded and "12 Years a Slave" truly was the best movie of the year. But it was worth it all to spend the night with my movie-obsessed pals again.

Diehl and I with our prediction win!

And then in March...

• Hawaii - Yeah, I freaking went to Hawaii. Never really had any desire to go, I'm not a 'beach' person. My dear friends, Juli and Jason, decided to renew their wedding vows after 20 years of marriage. These two are more in love than anyone I have ever seen. They invited me along and as much as I wanted to, it just wasn't possible. But then, I live with flight attendants so I could get there...and there was a room available...so, what the hell? I dragged (quite willingly) Diehl along with me and boy did we have a blast. We were there for 6 days and took in the sights and it was amazing. WHY didn't I ever want to go here? It was unlike anything I had ever seen. Truly beautiful.

Reuniting with our college friend from Kutztown University, Amy.

Enjoying the sights.

A rainbow, the morning of the wedding.

Juli and Jason wedding.

Jeremy, my ex-boss taking selfies on the beach.

Jerrod, my ex-boss, my friend, Jules and her son, Logan.

Logan, such a snuggle bug.

Best friends for 21 years now.

A mini-Too Faced reunion on the beaches of Maui.

Standing on top of Mount Haleakala, 10,000 feet up!

Whale Watching indeed!

• Stinking Rose - This is an all garlic restaurant I have wanted to go since I moved to LA back in the 1990's. My dear friends Gracie and Patty came up to LA with Another friend, Ken to see "The Book of Mormon." Afterwards, Juan and Derek and our visiting friend, Julia met them at this place for dinner. It was a delightful evening as Gracie treated me to my first dinner at this place. A night I shall never forget, especially the garlic ice cream. Don't judge it, until you try it.
• PCV Reunion #1 - My roommate from Moldova has returned to So-Cal. I haven't seen her since I left Moldova in July. From Moldova, she went on to teach English in Indonesia. She came to NY for a wedding in March and then came home and surprised her family. I headed down there to spend a few days and it was like no time had passed. It was a little surreal as the two of us have never known each other in the U.S. much less California so sitting with her at In-n-Out was strange but it was cool. 

And then in April...and May...

• Gruesome Playground Injuries - The Rogue Machine hired me again, this time to do props for their newest production. It was my first time as an actual 'designer' but it was a lot of fun. When someone hands you a check and says 'go shopping', it's nice. The play is amazing. It opens this weekend and it's honestly one of the best things I've seen in this area. Come see it! https://roguemachine.secure.force.com/ticket/#details_a0NF000001FRCNZMA5

Actors Jules Willcox and Brad Leischer.

• Be a Good Little Widow - I was also hired to be the stage manager for another show this time in North Hollywood. Andrew, the producer that I met through PC friends called me and asked me to do it. The show ran for 6 weeks and again starred some familiar faces in the Hollywood scene so I was in my glory. Having been there now for almost two months, I truly love these people and have gotten to hobnob with a bunch of celebrities over Chardonnay...talk about a dream come true. I really love the professional theatre scene in LA. 

Opening night with Pretty Little Liars stars, Larisa Oleynik and Ian Harding.

• The Mets visit Angels Stadium - This doesn't happen very often as the Mets usually play the Dodgers. So imagine my glee when they were coming to Angels Stadium. My first baseball game out here since I've been back and I get to see my Mets play and NOT have to go to Dodgers Stadium. The thing is...nobody told the METS about it. So I was treated to seats in the Posh Diamond Club where there's a gourmet meal beforehand, in seat service which means there's a menu and waiters at your seats and while enjoying all this, my dear sweet, Mets get slaughtered 14-2. 14 to freaking 2! It was humiliating. This was also the last day of the Masters so by inning 6, myself, along with a great many others wearing Mets paraphernalia were in the Diamond Club watching Bubba win the Masters.

My incredible seat, my favorite player, David Wright. 14-2!!!!!!

• Easter Dinner - For years before I had left, Diehl and I always made a point to have Easter Dinner together. Neither of us really care about the holiday, and most of our west coast friends spend it with family so it was always just an excuse for us to have a dinner at a place we normally wouldn't. In the past few years, our friends Deb and Larry have been joining us. So this year, Deb and Larry decided to come out to North Hollywood to see "Be a Good Little Widow" since I had a performance on Easter Sunday. We made plans to have dinner after that. Diehl had intended on joining us but he couldn't make it. We took this opportunity to go somewhere exotic. Diehl doesn't exactly like too much international cuisine. We decided on an Afghani restaurant in Pasadena. I had never had Afghani food before but I love trying different cuisines, as do Deb and Larry. After the show, we headed there. It was a tiny place and the lovely waitress was extremely patient with us and explained all the dishes. Everything we ordered was amazing, the service was impeccable and I even was inspired to write a review online. I encourage everyone to try international cuisines. There's so much out there. And it's so much easier giving money to family businesses than chain restaurants. I should know...my brother owns the best one. ;)
• PCV Reunion #2 - As the month finished, I got two familiar visitors, my friends Lindsay and Conrad from the Peace Corps. It was Conrad's birthday, they were itching to travel, Conrad was dying to surf in the Pacific so they just made a long weekend out of it. It's weird just how at ease I feel when PCV's visit. It just feels familiar and comfortable. So they only stayed with me for one night as they went gallivanting around the city. Jessica came over and the four of us made dinner and drank wine just like we were in the middle of Eastern Europe. We made our old standbys, Buffalo Chicken Dip and Blue Cheese Burgers. It felt just good.

So what's next?

Be A Good Little Widow ends this weekend. It's been a great run and I'm so happy with the connections that I have made there. Still on the job search. I work a lot and make some money but people still keep asking me why I'm not working. It's funny how if you don't have a desk or an office, people think you do nothing. I've had 3 theatre jobs in the professional theatre world in the last month. I'm doing what I went to school for, how many people can say that? I'm doing exactly what I came back here to do, not to mention what I moved out here to do in the first place. 

So, plans for what's next?

• Small Parts - A one man show that is a part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival taking place in June. I am the stage manager. Had our first rehearsal today and it's really cool.
• Billy Joel - My dear cast and Producers of Be a Good Little Widow got me tickets to go see Billy Joel play at the Hollywood Bowl next week. I drive by all the time and wanted to go badly so imagine my tear-filled surprise when I opened up a card from them last weekend. These are good people. And I'm so excited. I only saw him once in concert and that was in 1994. It was the best concert I had ever seen as he performed with Elton John. It was a special night with one of my favorite people who I still dearly miss, every day.
• Eric - My dear nephew has an internship in Boulder, CO so at some point I'll be trying to get him out here to LA for the weekend. It's always nice when family gets to see my world every once in a while.
• 4th of July - Celebrating the birth of our country IN our country. Huh, what a novel concept. I was invited to Northern California for a party with some Hollywood types, but I don't know if I'll be able to go. But who knows? Stranger things have happened (Hawaii, anyone?)
• Family - The family is good. Miss them as always. Brother Bob and Sister Jill keep me updated of the goings-on at the restaurant to make me feel like I'm there. I'm so thrilled that my nephews and nieces are such a part of my life that I text them and tweet them daily. Adore them. Mom and Leroy, true to form, are way busier now than they ever were when they had jobs. If you thought retirement would slow them down, you don't know them. My step dad, Leroy had to go in for some surgery and it's taking him longer to recover. My parents are in their 70's now. It's weird to think of your parents as mortal. But he is going to recover, it's just going to take time. I'm not a praying gal but I send good thoughts his way every day. 

So that's what's up with me. All right, 2014...I gotta get better at keeping this updated. My promise to you. Nice catching up.