People work here.
You know that sign that you see along the freeway where major construction is going on? It’s orange and it says “People work here”. I used to see it all the time on 459 around the Summit when I worked at Southeastern. I used to think it was so random and kind of dumb; but now I like it b/c it fits this post perfectly: yup, you guessed it! This is the celebrities post. And my point being that celebrities are people too, and their job just happens to be our entertainment. Case in point: Arnold Schwarzenneger. He is my governor! Ha. Ha. I STILL cannot get over it. Every time I see him come on tv on one of those little promotional political ads begging us to give him a second chance, I have to crack up. The Terminator asking for my vote! (A second chance from what, I don’t know. I guess you just had to be there…)
Anyway, as you may’ve guessed from my last post, we have had several encounters with these people. You know about that time we were at Dodgers’ Stadium downtown L.A., and I walked by so close to Pat Sajak I could’ve stuck my foot out and tripped him. I didn’t though, and wouldn’t have, b/c that would just be mean. But, Frank and I laughed all afternoon about that encounter, and decided that getting stuck in traffic both TO and FROM the stadium just might’ve been worth it.
And in the middle of August, I drove to downtown Hollywood to audition for Disney. I got to sing in the Debbie Reynolds Rehearsal Studios! That is a big deal to me—I know some of you are wondering, who is she again? Well, she’s Singin’ in the Rain, and Tammy, and most importantly, she is Princess Leia’s mother!!! AAAGGGGHHHHHH, and I parked directly across from her reserved parking spot! But, believe it or not, it was just an old brick warehouse building. We looked it up online, and it used to be a U.S. Post office, until D.R. bought it and turned it into a rehearsal/dance studio. Inside, in the office, they told us she drops in every once in a while, but she is busy right now performing onstage in Vegas.
Biola hosts some pretty cool celebrities: Michael Chang, the tennis pro, is a student at Talbot, and one of the princesses of Swaziland is also a student in the undergrad at Biola. Not to mention some pretty big names in the world of philosophy and theology: J.P. Moreland, William Lane Craig, and Robert Saucy.
The best story I am saving for last, but here it is:
Frank took the boys to Disneyland last Friday, (Oct. 28th, to be exact) during the day while I was at work. (Sigh, I was a little sad, but I had gotten to go the week before). Well, there Frank was, in the park, in the crowd, with 2 little boys, ages 4 and 1, and no stroller…anybody else’s nightmare, but Frank is a trooper. So, Frankie’s running ahead, and Frank’s trying to keep a hold on Steven, and Frankie just keeps moving further and further away. At this point my husband is getting concerned b/c Frankie has managed to infiltrate himself into someone else’s group about 10 or 15 feet ahead. Just as Frank opens his mouth to call Frankie back, one of the guys in the crowd kind of trips over Frankie and tells the little girl with him, (in an English accent!) “be careful and watch the little boy”—meaning Frankie. Knowing Frank, I know he was probably a little embarrassed that our kid was tripping up this guy, until he looked up and saw who it was…it was PAUL MCCARTNEY!!!!!!
I know you’re going “AAAAGGGGHHHHH!”, b/c that’s exactly what I did when Frank called me a few minutes later to relate the incident. My next question, and I’m sure yours is/was “Did you get his autograph?!!” Sigh….nope. Frank said it happened just too quick, and about the time he realized who it was, the moment had passed. Besides, he (Paul) was surrounded by an entourage of Disney people and he had a small girl with him…so it would have been kind of hard to approach him. Frank tried to follow him for a little while and thought he was headed for the Pirates of the Caribbean, but they kept going. And since the Pirates is a cool ride, with a relatively short wait, Frank and the boys decided to leave Mr. McCartney alone. I was so mad that he didn’t get his autograph, but Frank was more worried about the fact that he wished he’d had a chance to share Christ with him. Had to go and get spiritual on me. But, I agree, and the point I wanted to make is that people do work (and live) here.
When we drove down to Hollywood, it really looks better on film than it does in person. It’s just an old rundown city. I mean, it was cool and everything, we saw the Chinese Theater and drove down Sunset Boulevard, but I was a little disappointed and disillusioned that there was no glamour. We drove by several movie studios, Paramount or Universal, I’m not quite sure which; they are near LAX airport; and they are nothing more than big white warehouses, and you absolutely cannot tell anything about them from the outside. Celebrities –esp. tv actors, get up every day and go to work just like we do—except they work in a big ugly white warehouse. They usually have 5 day work weeks where they rehearse the show the first couple or 3 days and then film the last 2. And, b/c life is so expensive here, everyone except the really big stars are still struggling to make ends meet. And keeping up with Hollywood’s lifestyle is hard—esp. on Christians. It just does not jive with the life of Christ, which is who we are trying to follow. When I first got out here, I was sure that entertainment was the life for me. But, God in His providence, knew that was NOT up my alley, esp. as it would seriously hinder my Christian walk. Not to say that there are not Christians in the entertainment industry, who work in Hollywood, and are wholeheartedly following Christ—I just know it is not my path. (In case you were wondering, I work at Biola now. But that’s another post.)
So, although I was disappointed to know that we didn’t get Paul McCartney’s autograph, I know that it would drive me crazy to BE a celebrity and not be able to go to Disneyland w/o being recognized and have to have an escort to run interference for me. I’ll take my anonymity, thank you very much! And certainly, the most important point I want to make is that celebrities are people who need Christ’s redemption just as much as us nobodies.
(But I still think it was cool that Frankie ran into Paul McCartney!)
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Life here...
There are several things I've been wanting to share about life in Southern CA. It is sooooooo different from the South! Some of the obvious differences are: the smog, the traffic, no sweet tea, and total absence of any Bama food products, including mayonnaise--I miss my mayo!!! (I get my mom to bring 3 or 4 jars in her suitcase every time she comes--bubble wrapped of course!:>)
I know you've all heard rumors about what it's like to live on the West Coast, so here's the low-down from someone who knows:
1. People here do not shop at Wal-Mart on purpose. There are no Wal-Mart Supercenters, and generally people avoid it like the plague (including me), because all of them here are really dirty, run-down, and ALWAYS out of carts. (there is no such thing as a buggy here--that is what you find on Main Street Disney, where you get in and ride behind a horse.) Wal-Mart here is like the old K-Mart in Roebuck before they shut it down.
2. Yes, things are more expensive here. Before we left AL, we had pipe dreams about buying a house when we got out here, building the equity for about 2 or 3 years (b/c we'd heard that prices are rising very quickly every day, which is true), and then selling and using our saved-up equity to pay off student loans. Sounds like a plan, right? Uhhhhh....no. Or as they say here, "Um, yeah, no. (Don't ask me how that one works.)
Yeah....so, houses out here are AT LEAST $600,000. I am NOT joking. A 3 bed/ 2 bath house built in the '50's and remodeled is NO LESS than that! And, if you think, well, I'll just look into getting a town home....hahahahahaha, think again. We can't find a condo for less than $400K! Ok folks, we are talking about 1100 square feet in a 30-year old building--2 bed/1 bath. Needless to say, we are very excited to be renting an apartment for a steal of $1225/month! There are not many cheaper than our apartment complex. We are very blessed to be in a good complex where we've made friends, and we like the landlady. Anyway, I think we'll be here a while...
Other things that are really expensive: gas. It's fluctuated over the past 4 months from $2.49-3.10/gallon. But, since Katrina happened, our gas is cheap compared to the South! Right now, it's around $2.65/gallon.
Also, some food is more expensive: I bought a 6 oz. bag of walnuts from the grocery store and paid $4.00 for them! and that was the generic. And you're thinking: yeah, well, she should have bought the bigger bag. Well, the bigger bag wasn't any cheaper per ounce--it was $8 for the 12 oz. bag! Maybe I just won't put nuts in the brownies...
However, produce is significantly cheaper here, esp. fruit. I guess b/c mostly everything is grown in CA and shipped out; local produce would be cheaper here, which is nice. There is also no sales tax on food, which is really nice.
CA has every kind of entertainment under the sun. Several major baseball teams, Disney (which is as good as or better than the one in FL--take it from someone who's been to both), the San Diego Zoo, downtown Los Angeles (that's an adventure!), Hollywood, Beverly Hills, the Beach, Knott's Berry Farm, Legoland (that's a blog by itself), Basketball, Hockey, etc. etc. We've experienced all the fun kid stuff, and it's not uncommon for folks to get off work in the afternoon and then use their season pass and spend the evening playing at Disney. And yes, we've succumbed to that pressure too--we are annual pass holders to Disney and we usually go once every 2 or 3 weeks.
As far as the traffic goes, we just try not to get on the freeway. When people joke about the traffic in Los Angeles, they are really not kidding. There are just so many people here that the interstate is frequently bottle necked, except it lasts the entire length of the freeway! Think of the worst stop-and-go on I-59 right around the airport, or, even better, on I-65 trying to get Birmingham at 7:45 in the morning. Multiply that frustration by about 10 million more people and you have LA traffic. heehee. But, good for us is that we don't have to get on it very often unless we want to go sight see downtown or in Hollywood, which are both about 30 miles away.
Well, that's about all I can think of right now, except for, oh...I know! Everyone wants to know about the celebrities. but, it's late sigh....so I'll save that one for another blog. ttfn.
I know you've all heard rumors about what it's like to live on the West Coast, so here's the low-down from someone who knows:
1. People here do not shop at Wal-Mart on purpose. There are no Wal-Mart Supercenters, and generally people avoid it like the plague (including me), because all of them here are really dirty, run-down, and ALWAYS out of carts. (there is no such thing as a buggy here--that is what you find on Main Street Disney, where you get in and ride behind a horse.) Wal-Mart here is like the old K-Mart in Roebuck before they shut it down.
2. Yes, things are more expensive here. Before we left AL, we had pipe dreams about buying a house when we got out here, building the equity for about 2 or 3 years (b/c we'd heard that prices are rising very quickly every day, which is true), and then selling and using our saved-up equity to pay off student loans. Sounds like a plan, right? Uhhhhh....no. Or as they say here, "Um, yeah, no. (Don't ask me how that one works.)
Yeah....so, houses out here are AT LEAST $600,000. I am NOT joking. A 3 bed/ 2 bath house built in the '50's and remodeled is NO LESS than that! And, if you think, well, I'll just look into getting a town home....hahahahahaha, think again. We can't find a condo for less than $400K! Ok folks, we are talking about 1100 square feet in a 30-year old building--2 bed/1 bath. Needless to say, we are very excited to be renting an apartment for a steal of $1225/month! There are not many cheaper than our apartment complex. We are very blessed to be in a good complex where we've made friends, and we like the landlady. Anyway, I think we'll be here a while...
Other things that are really expensive: gas. It's fluctuated over the past 4 months from $2.49-3.10/gallon. But, since Katrina happened, our gas is cheap compared to the South! Right now, it's around $2.65/gallon.
Also, some food is more expensive: I bought a 6 oz. bag of walnuts from the grocery store and paid $4.00 for them! and that was the generic. And you're thinking: yeah, well, she should have bought the bigger bag. Well, the bigger bag wasn't any cheaper per ounce--it was $8 for the 12 oz. bag! Maybe I just won't put nuts in the brownies...
However, produce is significantly cheaper here, esp. fruit. I guess b/c mostly everything is grown in CA and shipped out; local produce would be cheaper here, which is nice. There is also no sales tax on food, which is really nice.
CA has every kind of entertainment under the sun. Several major baseball teams, Disney (which is as good as or better than the one in FL--take it from someone who's been to both), the San Diego Zoo, downtown Los Angeles (that's an adventure!), Hollywood, Beverly Hills, the Beach, Knott's Berry Farm, Legoland (that's a blog by itself), Basketball, Hockey, etc. etc. We've experienced all the fun kid stuff, and it's not uncommon for folks to get off work in the afternoon and then use their season pass and spend the evening playing at Disney. And yes, we've succumbed to that pressure too--we are annual pass holders to Disney and we usually go once every 2 or 3 weeks.
As far as the traffic goes, we just try not to get on the freeway. When people joke about the traffic in Los Angeles, they are really not kidding. There are just so many people here that the interstate is frequently bottle necked, except it lasts the entire length of the freeway! Think of the worst stop-and-go on I-59 right around the airport, or, even better, on I-65 trying to get Birmingham at 7:45 in the morning. Multiply that frustration by about 10 million more people and you have LA traffic. heehee. But, good for us is that we don't have to get on it very often unless we want to go sight see downtown or in Hollywood, which are both about 30 miles away.
Well, that's about all I can think of right now, except for, oh...I know! Everyone wants to know about the celebrities. but, it's late sigh....so I'll save that one for another blog. ttfn.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Wellp...aaahhh....here it goes....
Ok. all right already. I've succumbed to the pressure to be just like all my friends and create my own website. Wow this is a big step! I just got on Crissy's blog, and realized: "omigosh! even Brendan's blogging!" Oh now this is not right--I need to catch up. After all, I do live in the 21st century right? (Brendan, you've inspired me.) Well, I tell myself, "Self, you know EVERYONE's doing it" and "it's a way to be closer to all my friends, right?" Right. So....here I am taking that first step to post my words, thoughts, feelings--my soul-- to the WORLD (!!!) via the worldwideweb. Who would've ever thunk it? Why do I suddenly feel like I'm at the top of the Great American Scream machine about to plummet to my death? Well, maybe not that bad, except for the adrenaline rush.
Anyway, just so you know, our family lives in CA now and we used to live next door to Crissy, who managed to become my closest bestest dearest friend in the 5 years that we lived next door to her. (But I love you too, Kim, Angela, Jen, Terri, and all those other wonderful Nertz women out there.) So that, even though I now live in Southern CA (35 min. from Hollywood!) I still call Crissy to find out what color walmart brand triaminic I need to give Frankie for croup.
A little more need to know info: my husband, Frank is studying philosophy at Talbot School of Theology (which is why we moved halfway around the world in the first place; but hey, it's an adventure right? an adventure for the Lord. yeah. uh-huh.) And, my 2 daaaarrrrling little boys, yeah. uh-huh. the ones that hit each other and scream at each other and refuse to go to bed. yup those. Also the ones who climb up in my lap when the scary part of Monsters, Inc comes on, you know that part at the beginning where the monster is trying to scare the little kid, but is actually more afraid of the kid. And the boys who think I am wonderful when we get together in the kitchen to make sugar cookies. And the 2 little boys who are very forgiving of me when I yell after a long day at work and I feel very bad and realize that they don't deserve my grumpiness just b/c it was a long day. Ahh, the grace of God is a wonderful thing, especially when you see it exhibited by the closest members of your family. God is truly good.
I don't want you to think that I am completely just dying to get back home, and I hate it here. Not at all. When you are doing what the Lord wants, He tends to put your life into perspective for you, and give you blessings along the way. We are excited to be here and every day Frank and I talk about the ways we are blessed and how much we're growing in Him.
So anyway, comment and let me know what you think!!! more later....
Anyway, just so you know, our family lives in CA now and we used to live next door to Crissy, who managed to become my closest bestest dearest friend in the 5 years that we lived next door to her. (But I love you too, Kim, Angela, Jen, Terri, and all those other wonderful Nertz women out there.) So that, even though I now live in Southern CA (35 min. from Hollywood!) I still call Crissy to find out what color walmart brand triaminic I need to give Frankie for croup.
A little more need to know info: my husband, Frank is studying philosophy at Talbot School of Theology (which is why we moved halfway around the world in the first place; but hey, it's an adventure right? an adventure for the Lord. yeah. uh-huh.) And, my 2 daaaarrrrling little boys, yeah. uh-huh. the ones that hit each other and scream at each other and refuse to go to bed. yup those. Also the ones who climb up in my lap when the scary part of Monsters, Inc comes on, you know that part at the beginning where the monster is trying to scare the little kid, but is actually more afraid of the kid. And the boys who think I am wonderful when we get together in the kitchen to make sugar cookies. And the 2 little boys who are very forgiving of me when I yell after a long day at work and I feel very bad and realize that they don't deserve my grumpiness just b/c it was a long day. Ahh, the grace of God is a wonderful thing, especially when you see it exhibited by the closest members of your family. God is truly good.
I don't want you to think that I am completely just dying to get back home, and I hate it here. Not at all. When you are doing what the Lord wants, He tends to put your life into perspective for you, and give you blessings along the way. We are excited to be here and every day Frank and I talk about the ways we are blessed and how much we're growing in Him.
So anyway, comment and let me know what you think!!! more later....
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