Manizer

Dear Scott,

LA weather has been brutal lately.

Last Friday night I got a call from Aunt Janet, who advised me to walk outside and take a look at the moon; it was going to be closer to earth than it has or will be for the next 26 years (clearly the most exciting event that graced the calendar of Aunt Janet and Uncle Jim since the potluck supper they recently hosted for Wenham's First Church). It was around 7 p.m. when I had got off the phone with Aunt Janet and I immediately informed my roommates of the full moon. After hours, wandering outside the apartment, searching for the super moon that was apparently looming above the west coast, we gave up, came inside and turned on the TV, only to be informed that Los Angeles was one of the few cities unable to view the moon due to the city's smog. I guess there's always 2037...

So today I was in improv. The teacher introduced a new exercise to the class- to portray a character, or some character trait, that was unusual for the specific person to portray, all the while playing out a scene. I was paired with Zach, aka Ben Nuttle. Now, for those of you who aren't familiar with Zach (or Ben Nuttle, for that matter), he is the epitome of a nice guy; laidback, life of the party, cool, happy-go-lucky and just an all-around great, happy person. So as the two of us stood in front of the class the teacher loudly announced, "Ok, so what character do we want to see Zach play?" Adjectives were immediately thrown from class members- "Mean!" "Rude!" "Bully!" "Angry!"...just a few opposite adjectives of the character whom Zach usually plays. The teacher picked a few from the suggestions, "Ok great, a mean bully. Now what charchater trait do we want to see Liney play?" The class fell silent, and I stood up there on stage, flipped my hair and batted my eyelashes in full confidence anticipating the responses; "Nerdy" or "Insecure." All of a sudden, I hear someone blurt out, "FEMININE!"....and then another..."DAINTY!"....and another..."FRAGILE!" Well, needless to say, I left class a little more humbled than I had entered.

I had a wonderful weekend this past weekend with a couple of my BU sorority girls who were in town. My roommate Darren was out of town for the weekend, he had jetted off to San Francisco to see Britney Spears perform in San Fran's Castro District for a Good Morning America Special. The picture to the right is Darren in his costume.

I've had a real big setback recently. Although my immediate reaction was to pack up my things, arrange for a car shipment, and book a one-way flight back to Boston, I thought about you. I thought about how when you were told that the cancer had returned, you didn't fuss, complain or feel sorry for yourself, you danced in the rain. You made the best of the cards you had been dealt. And that's exactly what I will continue to do, for now.

I have been missing you a lot lately. Sometimes I feel as if my heart physically hurts without you here.

Until we meet again,

Liney

Extra Extra Large

Dear Scooter Pie,

California weather is amazing. It has been 80 degrees and sunny here everyday for the past couple of weeks. I guess the weather's job is to make up for the gas prices. Not only do I sacrifice my savings at the gas pump, I sacrifice my dignity as well, a $60.00 tank of gas for a Jetta sedan makes me feel dirty, rightfully so.

As of today, I am OFFICIALLY a staff member of Barney's Beanery in Burbank! I had to go through/suffer/endure the pain of seven whole days of training, which were concluded today with an extensive menu test that I passed with flying colors. I was given Barney's Beanery study guide that was as thick as an encyclopedia. Unnecessary? Nah. I don't think I have ever studied harder for anything (there's the queu for Uncle Jim's eye-roll). On the upside, we have QUITE the Gluten Free menu! In consideration of your love for "cheese sandwiches," you would have LOVED Barney's Gluten Free menu, including the beers. On the down side, I developed diabetes, heart disease and breathing difficulties from merely reading the menu. Some of the menu items whose descriptions caused me to nearly lose my lunch:

The Juicy Lucy Burger: Two hamburger patties with cheese cooked into the beef patties, topped with chili, bacon, onions, sour cream and a "whole lotta love!"

Pigs in a Blanket: Three pancakes rolled with sausage patties or links or three strips of bacon, two eggs, syrup and butter

Potato Skin Breakfast: Potato skin filled with corned beef hash, spinach, cheese, eggs, bacon and mushrooms, topped with chili, sour cream and guacamole

The Sky High Peanut Butter Sandwich: Peanut butter, jelly, marshmallow, bananas, rolled in frosted flakes

...Truly offensive, I wish I was joking.

Apparently, Barney's uses an online database for employees to access their work schedules. Therefore, if we need to drop/pick-up/release any shifts we can do it electronically, which will then immediately notify the other staff members. Upon passing my menu test, the Barney's Beanery general manager immediately informed me that she had recently created a profile/ information update for me on the work schedule website so that I could view my schedule, access staff information, and adjust any schedule requests that I may have. She reiterated, to me, the importance of my contact information being available to my fellow staff members, and then added that she had just estimated my sizing information for uniform purposes. The picture to the right is the first screen I saw upon the "victory" of becoming a newly employed staff member.

What's wrong with this picture?

As long as I can keep you laughing.

I miss you and love you more than you know.

Until we meet again,

Liney

I've just seen a face

Dear Scott,

My inhabitance here in Los Angeles is about to meet its one month mark, which means one thing: that I no longer have any excuse for my unemployment (I can see Uncle Jim right now, with steam coming from his nostrils saying, "Welp, welcome to the REAL world, Hun!"). Therefore, I would like to announce my recent hire at Barney's Beanery, in Burbank. It's a really fun sports bar/pub. While it certainly does not fulfill my life aspirations, it is a part-time job which allows me to pursue the opportunities that I moved out to Los Angeles to pursue, while, most importantly, paying the bills.

Improv classes are awesome. It almost reminds me of adult daycare. We play games, warm-up with various exercises, and let our imaginations run free. Our recent classes have revolved around character- to fully immerse yourself in the character you are portraying and to heighten the character's personality traits, and commitment- to commit to the character you're playing and to wherever the scene takes you. Although improv often requires you to act like a real buffoon, I have never felt less judged than I do up there on stage in front of the other 11 people in my class. They are really neat people. There's one boy in my class who reminds me SO much of Ben; his looks, his humor, and his happy-go-lucky attitude. My teacher strictly forbids the two of us to perform scenes together because we start laughing the second we look at each other.

Because each class is so long, that teacher announces a break around the two hour mark of the class. Upon today's break, I started chatting with a girl in my class who I have come to know throughout the past few weeks, I had previously told her that I was new to Los Angeles, and was trying to establish myself as an actress/comedian. As we strolled down Melrose Avenue on our break, and I told her of my adventures out west, she seemed amused by my move to Hollywood and intrigued by my plan to pursue my dreams. As soon as we settled into our seats, anticipating the plans that the teacher had for us for the second half of the class, I over hear my new friend telling a cute, bubbly, size two, blonde in the class about an opportunity she has recently heard of a casting call in the Los Angeles area for a Disney show. As I hovered over the conversation, trying to convince myself that surely my new friend had full intention to suggest that I audition for the part, she suddenly catches sight of my eaves dropping and, with genuine sympathy, quips, "Sorry hun! They're looking for young girls...like...early 20's." I left improv and, upon returning to my apartment, immediately ran a bath of L'Oreal's anti-sagging and ultra-hydrating cream, of which I am currently blogging from.

I just moved into my very own bedroom! Your picture sits right on my beside table, your beautiful face is the first thing I see every single morning. I apologize that my letters to you are not as frequent as I would like them to be. Although I am enjoying life on the west coast, it certainly isn't as eventful as my journey here. And I want only the best for you, my love, I want to make certain that reading each one of my letters is always well worth your time.

I love you more than the whole universe. Tell Jessie to come visit me pronto.

Until we meet again,

Liney