No Memory Lane Monday this week (hire me!!!)

I didn't have time to write a MLM post this week becuase I was too busy flipping out about a casting call notice I recieved in my e-mail inbox at the end of last week. It was calling for an enthusiastic female video gamer with writing, improv and hosting experience. I am all of those things. The best part? The company posting the casting call was DeFranco Creative! That's right, SourceFed is hiring hosts, you guys!!! 

 

Source

Boyfriend and I have been saying for over a year that it would be a dream job to work at SourceFed for one or both of us!  I need this chance. Boyfriend put up a host reel for me on YouTube, and a friend of mine might possibly be able to get in touch with Phil, but it's iffy at this point. I feel like I would be a perfect fit for them at SourceFed. I love Meg and Trisha and Joe and Lee and Phil. I'm pretty sure they'd love me too if I could just get an audition.

But that's the tough thing about the showbiz biz. You have very little control of what happens to you up to a certain point. I sent in my submission via the casting service, Boyfriend edited and threw my reel up online for me, and my friend is trying to track down his contacts at DeFranco to say "Hey, you totally need to give this girl a second look and audition." But beyond what I've already done, I just have to wait at this point. I hate waiting. I'm not asking for charity or for this job to just be handed to me. I just want a chance to show them what I can do.

So, come on, universe!  Let's do 2014 right!!!
If anyone out there has any connection to Philly D, would you please point him to my blog?

Friday Favorites: Yule Edition

In 2 days, Boyfriend and I are traveling to Colorado to spend Christmas with my family, which means we are flying with Leeloo for the first time (and we all know how I feel about flying.) My biggest fear is that I will start having anxiety attacks before we even get on the plane, which will cause the dog to become very agitated, which will, in turn, make me have a full-blown anxiety-fueled meltdown, which will upset the dog even further and it will spiral out of control in a never ending anxious cycle until Leeloo and I are both trembling and screaming in a huddled mess in the aisle and get kicked off the plane. But maybe I'm overreacting already...story of my life.

That being said, let me distract all of us with some delightful (mostly) winter holiday themed links for your pre-Christmas enjoyment. Joyeaux Noel!

7 Reasons the TSA Sucks
In the spirit of holiday travel, which really doesn't do much for my anxious feelings...alas.

Best Ugly Sweater
Every nerd needs one of these for Christmas!

BS Christmas News Stories
Never fear, the "War on Christmas" is not really a thing.

Hardest VG Decisions
Not really holiday related, but still funny

A Christmas Letter From Neil & Sky
My friends Neil and Sky made this catchy holiday music video a couple of years ago. I enjoy it year after year. (Super NSFW)

35 Pictures Proving the World isn't Such a Bad Place
I've seen a few of these before, but they never stop warming my heart, or tearing my eyes.

The Friday Before Christmas
A magical holiday video made in less than 48 hours by your friends, The White Liars

And finally,

5 Moments when the Eleventh Doctor Broke our hearts
Are you guys ready for it? I'm going to be a blubbering Christmas mess December 25th at 9/8 Central time.

Memory Lane Monday: Geeking Out or Panic Attack or Both?

It's not really a secret that I don't leave the house much. Boyfriend tends to have to coax me out into public events.  Most of the time, after all is said and done, a small part of me is generally content to have faced the fear and left the house, but mostly, I am just relieved to be home again.  But, every now and then, when I get home, I am so happy that Boyfriend pulled me outside of my comfort zone.  Last weekend was one such event.

Boyfriend found a free fan-film premiere at an event space in L.A. He ran it by me several weeks before we went, and I almost forgot about it until it came time to go. We were going to see a Harry Potter fan film (The Greater Good) and a Call of Duty fan series (935: A Nazi Zombie Series.) That night, I was still feeling the almost constant ache of homesickness, and fear that we'd made a terrible irreversible mistake in moving out here. So, I was slightly more surly and anxiety-filled than normal. Add all those feelings to a fancy room full of strangers, and you get a very cranky, awkward Jess.

I was immediately uncomfortable when we walked in. Everyone at the venue seemed to know each other, and I really wanted to just go into the corner and dig a giant hole to jump into so no one would look at me. Then things took a turn and I felt better and worse/more awkward at the same time. I looked at one of the posters for 935: A Nazi Zombie Series and saw a familiar face looking back at me. Yuri Lowenthal was starring in it! Me being uber-nerd that I am, I devoured Yuri's book he wrote with his wife, Tara Platt, and while I'm not hugely into anime, I am familiar with and a fan of Yuri's voice over work (seriously, who wasn't in love with the Prince of Persia's voice?! *Swoon*)

Sorry, Jakey, not even close.

After spotting Yuri on the poster, I turned to Boyfriend to exclaim, "Hey Yuri Lowenthal's in this!" But was cut short by the sight of the actual Yuri in person not 10 feet from me. At this point, I reached total nerd core reactor overload. The stress in my personal life mixed with my social anxiety, now mixed with a full blown geek-out was too much for my poor little psyche. I clammed up. I froze. I couldn't make words in my own head.  I found a nice corner to stand in and just stared into space. Boyfriend noticed the change and pointed out that he noticed that everyone appeared to know each other. This was not helping. I finally blurted out that Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt were here. It took a moment for it to register with Boyfriend who I was talking about, but he realized I was having some sort of inner meltdown and tried to help by coaxing me to go say hi. Again, I couldn't make words. So I just stared at them like a creeper.

Yes, I was the creeper

As I stood trying to make my legs move to walk over and say hi, Yuri walked by us and noticed my Paul and Storm "________ is the name of my _______ cover band" t-shirt. He stopped and told me my shirt was awesome and I almost melted. But I had an ice-breaker now. He had done the hard part for me. So, we talked about my shirt for a minute and then I finally blurted out that I was a fan and I really liked his book. And then we talked about how amazing Rob Paulsen is. It was really great talking to Yuri.

After the films were over I was feeling much better, but still awkward. After everyone was exiting the theater, and congratulating the filmmakers, I wanted to talk to Yuri one last time and say hi to Tara. Expecting to have to introduce myself to him again, I approached him timidly, but with a big smile. As soon as he saw me and Boyfriend his face lit up and he gave us both a big hug. We chatted for a moment more, said hi to Tara and then we all went on our separate ways. Yuri is like Rob Paulsen Jr. He is super nice and unassuming, he was hilarious in the film, and then when we tweeted him and Tara that night after we got home, they both responded.

Best. Anxiety Attack. Ever.

So, thanks Tara and Yuri for making this little nerd-girl feel better about life for a night!

I Don't Have The Words

I was quite absent from blogging this past week simply because I was uber busy. I had rehearsals, several job interviews, and I actually worked and earned some money, yay. All of my stressing out and complaining about money, work and the holidays this week was put into perspective on Friday.  I don't claim to have all of the details, but an unfortunately increasingly common incident occurred at my brother's high school: a student brought a shotgun into the school, intending to hurt someone, and he succeeded. Who knows how/if any of the news reports are accurate, but the facts seem to be that a teenage girl is fighting for her life in a hospital bed, and a very upset, but supposedly promising young man took his own life. At a school.

Friday was scary, to say the least. My brother and his friends were, thankfully uninjured, but it was a very upsetting afternoon. I sat crying uncontrollably in a sandwich shop on my lunch break. I wept out of relief that my brother was safe. I wept out of fear, anger, sadness, PTSD; you name it, I felt it. I'm tired of things like this happening. I'm especially tired of it hitting so close to home.

Take care of each other, and stay strong, Warriors.