Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Taking a Break...

Tomorrow is my Birthday and then I start my class next week. I am taking a week off from Blogging/Facebook starting tomorrow in order to deal with some things, finish up my script and prepare for class.
Talk to you all next week!
-HH

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Free Pancakes and being Productive!

It's official....I am being productive again! Sunday I wrote up an outline for my new feature and Monday I started writing it! I am so excited! It feels good to be writing again and getting things done that I actually care about. Hopefully I can finish a first draft up by the end of the week, then I will have four features under my belt.

So recap of the last few days:

Sunday night I watched the Oscars from HOLLYWOOD. I had my Dark Knight PA shirt on and felt cool walking around in it.


This is Hollywood BLVD closed :(. Too many Limos (see below)

Does this belong to Kate? I don't know...the windows were tinted.

So what is this handsome fellow doing on my blog you might ask? Well I decided that the only thing that could make my Academy Awards night better would be if I could have a veggie burger from BK. So Emily and I walked over to BK and according to my receipt, this lovely man's name is Hilda. Think I'm joking?....check out the receipt.

I didn't stop laughing for an unnatural period of time.

On Monday I wrote for almost the entire day. Stopping for a lunch break and to watch Little Women. I can't help it ....I love that movie. "I fear we are all hopelessly flawed." It get's me every time. Then around five I went for my walk around the canyon. The sun was setting and it was beautiful. I brought my phone with me this time.




Tuesday was an amazing day. I woke up and went and got FREE PANCAKES from IHop with Dee.

Then we unpacked and cleaned up the apartment from our wild party weekend. I finally unpacked most of my room (pics to follow next entry). Then around five I invited Dee to take my walk with me. I did not bring my phone unfortunately but I had my first up close celebrity run in....two actually:
Chris Noth
Paul Johnsson

Then when I arrived back at my apartment I had a nice little package from this awesome little red head. Ironically Dee was just telling me that I had way to many shoes and Ashley sent me another pair. haha. Dee just rolled her eyes.

Then I wrote some more....then who knows what....

Sunday, February 22, 2009

It's Oscar Night!

So it is Sunday February 22nd which is a big night here in Los Angeles. The whole area around me is a buzz as the Academy Awards are taking place less then half a mile from me. For some reason though, I am less then excited. I know I should be, but I'm really not.

On more exciting news...we found this awesome thing in the apartment:

This is just hours of joy waiting to happen....

We also found the 99Cent Only Store, which is 1 cent better then the dollar store. However what makes it even better is that it has groceries and stuff. Oh yes. I have found the joy that is saving money.



And finally...before I wrap up this short post... Pizza Hut is trying to be cool and hip and now goes by "The Hut" This is not a joke....
"Hey baby, where did you go last night?"
"My boys and I were chillin' at The Hut!"

Friday, February 20, 2009

From Prada back to the real world...

Today was my most emotionally significant day that I've had since I've been on my own here in LA.

I woke up this morning still a little drunk and feeling like a total ass. Took a shower and as I was walking back to my room, I noticed the box of stuff my landlord left in his (now my) closet. In it was an off white Prada sweater. I decided that I was going to put it on. Then I ended up wearing it all morning because....why not? I did the dishes in it, caught up on my emails in it, did a little unpacking in it, filed my taxes in it, and then even signed for my Fedex packages in it. Oh yes, I looked good in my elmo boxers and my men's off white Prada sweater. How good did I look? Takes a look for yourself (minus the elmo boxers, those are for privileged eyes only)



Once I was done playing rich white gay man, I decided to take the sweater off and put it back. It was actually getting late by then because I know I made it sound like I only had it on for a few moments but it was really like 6 hours. It was around 5 and I decided I wanted to go back to my little mountain behind my house and watch the sunset because hey....I'm a visual romantic and I love beautiful things.

So I throw on a pair of shorts (70!!!!), a tank top and my black hoodie and head out my door. I decide to take the tough route up the canyon that I didn't take last time. It was invigorating to climb up it. My heart was racing and I was full of all this energy. I loved it. Then I get to the top and the view was even more breath taking then I remembered from two days before (I would have taken a picture but I purposely left my phone at home). I stood there for a long time looking out over my new city. To my left was the famous Hollywood sign and to my right was the ocean. Below me, the entire city was lighting up and the sun was setting in front of me. And all I could think was...this is my home. A lot of things became clear to me while I was up there. I've put myself in a crappy situation. I let myself get there and I'm letting me beat myself up over it. I have been doing it this entire day, but it ended up there. For better or worse, I'm done with that. I have to let go of things and be here for me. I can't be caught up in things behind me or wishing that I have something I don't. This move was about my future and I need to start living in it.

As I was turning to walk down the other side, there was this dog that came running up to me with a big stick in it's mouth. It stopped right in front of me and sat down and continued to just stare. The dog and I got into a quick staring match until it was broken by the dog dropping the stick. "I guess I won" I told the dog with a little bit of cockiness. That's right....I beat the dog in a starring contest. The dog looked down at the stick for a moment and then back up at me. "I'm not picking that up for you. You can do it by yourself." The dog looked down a the stick again. "Seriously?" The dog didn't move. I started to bend down to pick it up when I heard someone say
"Are you making friends again?" I look up to see two blond girls walking toward the dog and I.
"Not on purpose" I replied. I couldn't help but smile, I thought I was being cute.
One of the girls smiled back. "I meant James here," she said.
"James, huh?" The girl nodded. "Interesting name."
"I guess."
"So he does this stick thing a lot then?"
"He is kind of known for it around here."
"Well I hadn't heard about it, but this is only my second time here so I've got a lot to learn still."
I squat down, pick up the stick and give it to James. "New to the neighborhood?" The other blond spoke for the first time.
"New to the whole west coast as it were," I told them as I stood back up.

We chatted for a couple more minutes. They invited me out later. We exchanged info. And then I headed back on my way. There it was. I had made my first new friends. I have been so scared about not being able to meet people, but out of no where it was all right there. When I came to Chicago I had no confidence and was not outgoing. However when I left Chicago, I had this amazing confidence. I am finally very proud of who I am and what I have to offer, which makes meeting people that much easier.

The long hike down the back side of the canyon was rough, not physically but emotionally. I had some very powerful conversations with myself (in my head, not out loud). I'm here to do this. I've given up everything to be here. I don't need to keep making back up plans in my head. There is NO back up plan. I'm going to do this. This is about me. It has to be about me. I can't let myself get caught up with other things. I can't let myself stop writing or stop focusing. I have to make my dream into a reality. I want to. I need to. I have to.

It was getting very dark, so I picked up my pace and made it home. I had three texts from three different people waiting for me. I wanted to turn off my phone and not reply to any of them. But Dee is coming in tonight and I needed to leave my phone on in case she called. I replied, but I wasn't happy about it.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Unpacking

Okay so I have been trying to be productive and it is kind of working. I'm still in the process of unpacking. Hopefully I will get done tomorrow. I did however go and buy groceries. Please note my essentials below:


Yes that is my boy Jose Cuervo and some vodka behind the rice milk. haha.

So I have been meaning to do some screenplay writing, but instead I have been doing letter writing...


Is one of them for you? Well did you tell me to write you and give me your address? No? Well then one of these is not for you.

Speaking of mail....I finally ran out of my nutcracker stamps and had to run down to the postage store (I don't really know what that place is called but they sell stamps and other postage things) to buy more. The lady asked me what kind I wanted and then dumped a whole bunch out on the desk. I told her to pick for me. She looked back and forth between the stamps and myself for a couple moments and then told me that in all her years working here, no one had ever asked her to pick. My ridiculous exact quote was "Well that's how we treat a woman in Chicago." The woman and I both broke out laughing. She then picked out the following stamp:



Yes....that is an Alaska stamp. So if you get a piece of mail and it has an Alaska stamp...then it is probably from me...in California.
Note To Self: Never let a woman pick your stamps.

Then I went to my new store. It seems like it will be interesting. Very different from my old store but I will only be here 1-2 days a week instead of 40+ hours.


Oh yeah....and it was finally 70 today :)

Oh Oh yeah....this is my future

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Around Me


My Orange Tree

Jim Henson Studios. Yes that is Kermit on top.

LA Ink.

Ralph's. My new grocery store.

Looks like I might be at the Borders in West Hollywood which makes me very happy. I miss my Borders people and while this store will not have my family, it will be nice to feel at home again. Now if only I would unpack...

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Home...for now...kind of....








I'm in Hollywood, right on the line between West Hollywood and Hollywood.

I will take pics of the area today if it ever stops raining. It has rained since I got here...not a good sign...haha

Monday, February 16, 2009

Los Angeles

I made it, well kind of. I got in to LA on Wednesday, which seems weird because it is already Monday so in two days I will have been in LA for a week and in three days I will have been out of Chicago for two weeks.

Thursday we went to Universal Studios. It was fun, but a little weird to be doing the touristy part of the film industry. I know how film sets work and am not that impressed by little showy stunts they put on, but overall it was a very fun day.

Friday we went and took a look at the outside of my apartment. We drove around Hollywood and took a look at some of the things that will be by me. There is a Target so I am super excited for that! That night we went out to West Hollywood because...well I needed too. We were at Girlbar and there were supposed to be Go-Go Dancers...but instead there were 2 Go-Go Dancers and one stripper. Unfortunately none of them were that attractive and seeing people throw themselves at the girls (particularly the stripper) was kind of gross. I never want to have to tip for attention, it's a new life goal (I now want to be happy AND not have to pay for attention). Ashely and I were walking around the strip pole toward the dance floor, when the stripper does some kind of leg, split thing and kicks me right in the face with her boot. Brilliant. Just brilliant. I'm not sure if I am cut out for this LA bar scene. I'm used to talking with the bartenders and knowing the ropes. Here I just felt awkward and I missed my Chicago bar buddies so much. I fear going out to bars will not be on my list of fun things to do for a while.

Saturday was Valentine's Day. If anyone wants to be my valentine next year, I will take you out to Denny's twice also. No joke. This was mainly because in LA you HAVE to drive everwhere and there was a Denny's right next to our hotel. We got up and ate Denny's. Then we went and walked around Hollywood Blvd and did some touristy stuff. It was fun. We then went back to the hotel and were so lazy that we didn't want to get back in the car to get food. So we just walked back over to Denny's. I'm a classy date...what can I say?

Sunday I put Ashley on a plane. It hadn't felt like Chicago was really gone until that moment. This last nine days has felt like a strange vacation, not a move. Most likely because Ashley has become a big part of Chicago for me and she has been right here with me, so I hadn't lost all of Chicago just yet. But then she walked into the airport and I thought, "There goes my last piece of home." Chicago was gone...I don't live there anymore.

This move was different then when I moved to Chicago. I remember that when I said goodbye to my mom and Sarah when they dropped me off in Chicago, I was very emotional. It was going to be my first night alone in Chicago and all I wanted to do was curl up in my bed and wait for it to be over. I thought it would be the same here in LA, so I packed sleeping pills. It was different though. I am clearly just as nervous and scared as I was, and this place is newer to me then Chicago ever was. And I am so much further away from everyone I love then I was before but yet I haven't felt that pain. I'm sitting in LA writing this, after spending my first night alone and I'm not devistated. I miss people like crazy. I miss Ashley like crazy. But I'm not on the floor unable to get up. I'm still standing. I'm still me. And I think I am ready to do a little fighting...

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Almost There

So it is 11:42 pm on Tuesday here in Vegas, which means that it is 1:42 a on Wednesday in Chicago. I must say that I am a little disappointed with Las Vegas. I played the slots today....which I didn't get a thrill from. We walked around the strip for hours and no real excitement. All the casinos really looked the same. All the clubs require that you don't wear tennis shoes or jeans which is great for most people....but I don't dress up. I like to be comfortable and that is that. End of story. And then here it is that at 11:42 in Vegas...that I'm done for the night and ready to turn in. The problem is that that means that as of tomorrow, I will be in LA. And for the first time I don't want to be there. There are a million reasons why, most of which I won't admit too, and really one major reason but I don't want to be there and that scares me more then anything. I want to be back in Chicago, going out with Anna and Nora or clubbing with Kevin or sitting at the Pug with Nick or just being with Ashley. This is such a huge thing for me and I have wanted it for almost four years. It's like now I have to keep telling myself that I want it and that it is for the best but I'm not 100% sure. Why am I dragging my feet? I just gave up basically everything I owned, a good job and people I love because I KNEW it was worth it...

Monday, February 9, 2009

Let's Update This Thing

Okay okay...so it's been like 15 days since I have updated and so much has...um...changed....

To get everyone back in the loop on what is going on, here is a recap of my last 15 days:

1. I totaled my Sebring. Basically on my way to Indiana I got run off the road by a semi and thrown into a fence. It did $5795 dollars worth of damage so I just totaled the car.
2. I went car shopping again...this time with about $5000 less dollars. I bought a black 2002 Saturn SC. I have decided that his name is Max and he is a female to male transgender. Don't ask how I know these things (like the sex) about cars I just do.

3. I will not be working at Borders in LA. I am now unemployed. Basically they had a store closing in LA so I lost a position.
4. Our apartment is in Hollywood. It is way to expensive. We have it for 3 months. I need to find a really cheap place ASAP.
5. My last day at Borders was very sad.


Road Trip Update:

Ashley and I left on Friday the 6th. We drove 2 hours from Chicago to Champaign, where we met my Sarah for breakfast. Then we drove an hour to Decatur where I saw my family. From there we drove 3 hours to St. Louis where we went up in the arch. That was followed by a four hour drive to Topeka Kansas where we stayed for the night.

Saturday we had a seven hour drive through Kansas, which by the way, is the most boring drive ever. There is nothing....seriously...nothing.


Sunday we went to the Garden of the Gods. It was beautiful. Then we had a TEN hour drive to St. George Utah. It was very painful and we drove through all kinds of weather....rain...snow...ice...fog...but the mountains were beautiful so it was okay.


Bouldering









I am missing Chicago more and more everyday. I am also very scared of being 1. Unemployed 2. having to drive everywhere in LA 3. being away from everyone I care about.