Trailer of my latest project!

So, my good friend Fred Paull is a brilliant film-maker. We've known each other since our pre-teenage years and, I am glad to say, have remained good friends. I can confidently say that we will be working together for a very long time. Enjoy the trailer of the upcoming short film: "A Nation Silenced."

p.s. it's windy here in Arizona! I suddenly have an urge to watch the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, specifically, the episode about "Windsday." TTFN darlings!

p.p.s I think the reason I like reading Ayn Rand so much is because of her incredible descriptions of light. I'm re-reading The Fountainhead and am marking all the sentences where she describes light. For example..
..."he saw beads of melted snow in the fuzz of the glove; they sparkled radiantly once in the light of a car flashing past."
"His shadow rose from under his heels, when he passed a light, and brushed a wall in a long black arc, like the sweep of a windshield wiper."
"He turned his face to the road before him, and he kept his eyes off the mirror which still held, glittering softly, dots of light that moved far away behind him.."
"A white spark of fire flashed like a cold metallic cross in the glass she held, as if it were a lens gathering the diffused radiance of her skin."

My friend Dylan is a very talented writer. Last year he wrote a Halloween ghost story and described how "her earrings glowed in time with every blaze of the cigarette." For some reason, that image just sticks with me. I love it when people can describe things well. I can do this occasionally, but it does take some effort.

Well, I guess I've rambled on far too long.

Until tomorrow (or whenever.)

Notwithstanding Understanding

It is my last closing shift EVER at Starbucks tonight. Rah. Rah. Rah.

I am addicted to Raw Revolution bars. Specifically, the Spirulina and Cashew one. Dee-licious my friends! The new job at Hi-Health is going great - I get to put my expertise on health and wellness to good use. I am already converting the masses into taking Apple Cider Vinegar every day to promote alkalinity. Boo. Yah.

In other news, I did some voice-over work for a short film yesterday. The film is called "Packages From Home" and will be submitted to several Academy-accredited film festivals across the nation. Pretty cool. Also, my last day at Starbucks is the 31st of July. Can you say...Partytime!?! I am currently working about 65 hours a week between my two jobs. I could use a bit of a vacation.

Also, I stumbled across yet ANOTHER amazing vintage/retro/clothing exchange shop in Mesa last night with my sweet friend Rebecca. The evening's purchases consisted of two gorgeous vintage 1950's dresses which I intend to put to good use when I have a Mad-Men themed dinner party. Or for the next time I get asked out on a date. Whichever comes first :)

One of the finest things in this life is having nice smelling sheets. After a long day at Hi-Health, I found myself really wanting to go to sleep that night in a warm, clean bed. So, I came home, stripped off the sheets and my pillowcases, loaded them in the machine, added the organic detergent, organic fabric softener, and 10 drops of essential oil of Eucalyptus, and waited. Patiently. When all was said and done and I pulled those sheets out of the dryer, I found myself in a different world. A world of warm lavender, soft leaves and fresh eucalyptus, and I was lost. It took all that was in me to get up off of the floor where I had wrapped myself into a cocoon of aromatic delight and put the sheets back onto my bed.

It was the best night's sleep ever.

Did you know that the vibration frequency of a cat's purr is the same vibration frequency that our cells make when they are regenerating? So, if you ever feel sick, just keep a cat nearby...

"Beer me that cat, I've got a bruise on my knee."

You Can't Take it With You.

I've been so responsible. How could I allow myself to overdraft in my account? I'm really hangin by a thread until payday. Fortunately, now that I have two jobs, I will make up for that deficit very, very quickly. I'm not worried or stressed about it anymore, although it is slightly perturbing. But, it's only money. I'm not leaving this earth with anything except my soul, anyway.

I do believe, ladies and gents, that I am, well, growing up.

For the first time since, well, 7th grade, I am not being pursued by a man or find myself being interested in a man. It's uh..pretty awesome. My roommate has a lovely boyfriend, and everywhere around me people are getting married or engaged or paired off somehow, and yet I remain still. Completely free. My circumstances and my choices are allowing me to be totally independent. My, it's marvelous.

Sure, I can't help but feel a short twinge of envy every now and then but really, I much prefer my books to any sort of gentlemanly company lately.

I'm healing, I'm growing, I'm learning, I'm moving on, I'm growing up.

I went to bed last night around midnight and woke up around 8:30. I worked on my research, enjoyed a cup of granola and organic yogurt, and got ready for work.I'm working at Hi-Health today from 12:30-9:30. I helped a woman buy a cleanse and some natural herbs for her memory and brain support. I helped a woman yesterday with circulatory disorders, diabetes, and high cholesterol. This job is so rewarding. I'm quitting Starbucks at the end of July. I'm so ready. I love that place and the family that I've made there, but it is time to move on. I can't believe it's been four and a half years.

Somewhere out there, somewhere treading the ground at this very moment, somewhere driving in a car, behind a shop window, in a coffee shop or standing in an elevator, he's there.I hope he likes Shakespeare.

 

A bit of a new beginning.

Hello my name is Ellyn and it's been over a year since I've been in a play....

Wow. Over a year. A YEAR?? This is the longest I've gone without being in a play or some sort of theatrical project since I was in 7th grade. Good gracious. It's amazing, if you're away from something for too long, you begin to doubt if you ever did it at all. I think to myself, "Did I really stand up on that stage and sing Sondheim?? How did I memorize all those lines? How did I not fall flat on my face under those hot lights, wearing that atrociously heavy costume and prancing around in heels on that precarious wooden set?? How did I manage to have that much nerve night after night??"

When I think about it like that, I get real scared. Real scared, ladies and gents. It's time for Ellyn to be in a show. Unfortunately, since I now have two jobs, a new car and I'm living on my own, I don't really have a whole lot of time (or financial wherewithal) to participate in one.

I'm considering taking another year off next year. The idea of failure mildly frightens me, but it's not enough to make me seriously consider ducking my head down and finishing my degree. I'll  never know if I would have failed if I don't try.

That's all for now, folks.


Gettin' a little lonely what with all these marriages and romances going on. Not much, though. I guess, I just, I know that I've felt like I've missed the boat with one guy in particular, but in reality, it just wasn't meant to be. I just haven't met 'the one' yet because he's not done gettin ready for me! And I'm certainly not done gettin ready for him.

As Johnny Bravo would say, "I'm pretty, you're pretty, let's go home and stare at each other."

See ya.

Near The End...

It's nearing the end of the school year. Finally. I've loved many things about the past eight and a half months and not one of them had anything to do with school.

I'm blogging right now for the first time in a while because I'm procrastinating starting my homework/studying for exams. Honestly, I work 32 hours a week and I go to school full-time. By the time I actually have some down time I am NOT motivated to do any sort of homework. I usually get my work done an hour before class starts. I work well under pressure. But I really should start this stuff today. I've got my French oral exam tomorrow, two papers for English due, an extra credit report for Sociology, and a feature story due for my news writing and reporting class. I have to go to work in approximately 3 and a half hours. I have been up for about 3 hours. I have done nothing.

Wrong. I have made a french press. It is delicious.

Also, I have perused the aisles of modcloth.com and vintagetrends.com while listening to She and Him.

Oh! New music!

Within the last two days I have been introduced to these groups and I find them all thoroughly delightful and unique:
-Joe Henry
-The Sunlandic Twins
-Golgo Bordello
-Tom Waits
-Infected Mushroom
-Cocteau Twins

I want to make a film noir set in Phoenix and call it "Desert Heat." I would use Joe Henry for the soundtrack. I've already got the poster visualized. Actually, that's about it. I don't have a story yet. But the poster looks cool in my head!

The Sunlandic Twins have a song called "Death in the Shade of Hue" that's really unique. There's really no structure to the song, and it's just so cooky.

I can't believe I hadn't heard of Golgo Bordello until now. The best way I can describe them is pirate gypsy rock. The lead singer has quite the enviable mustache. Look up "Start Wearing Purple" and "Wonderlust King" on youtube.

TOM WAITS. Where have I been?!? Incredible. Amazing. I spent a good ten minutes trying to come up with a satisfying description of him and his music. So far, I've got: if Heath Ledger's character of the joker was a blues singer on the Mississippi bayou, it'd be Tom Waits. It's vaudeville, it's theatrical, it's haunting, it's Tim Burton, it's Fagin from Oliver Twist, it's a dusty old traveler who sold his soul to the devil for a voice that would make your ears cringe with odd pleasure. That's Tom Waits.

Infected Mushroom and Cocteau Twins are both 'trance' bands recommended to me by my co-worker Cornelia. Pretty cool so far! I'll let you know when I finish the albums.

Welll. My coffee is done and I should probably get started.

I think I'm gonna go blog on Lovely, Happy, Healthy for a bit..Picked up some books yesterday that are awesome! Check ya later.

I could see he was the sort of man a girl would have fallen for.

It was approximately 5:20 pm on a Wednesday. I had an hour to kill before my last class of the day. I gathered my books, newspapers and purse together and wandered over to my favorite hang-out spot: The Phoenix Public Market. After reneging on my subconscious agreement to eat a cous-cous salad, I ordered the vegetarian sandwich and a cup of tomato bisque soup. My favorite single table with the flowers by the window was occupied so I sat at one of the bigger tables by the vegetable stand. Snapping the paper open with one hand and holding a spoonful of still-steaming tomato bisque soup, I noticed a figure out of the corner of my eye approach the table.

He was bent over, with white hair and teeth that, when they were younger and still in their full number, would have been the kind of teeth which, when flashed across a room, would surely cause even the hardest of hearts to soften. He politely inquired if anyone was sitting at the table, and I invited him to join me. He was frail and ragged - I was concerned the plastic-gallon of Arrowhead water he held might snap his wrist. The brown leather wristwatch on his right arm was still loose fastened on the last hole. I can't remember if he wore glasses or not because his eyes spoke for themselves - they were clear and blue, wide and thoughtful. He inquired about the paper next to me, and I told him he was welcome to it but it was from yesterday, to which he replied that 'it's all news to me.'

He asked me if I was a student, and I replied that yes, I was a journalism major. He told me he graduated from ASU 55 years ago, receiving a bachelor's in psychology and communications, and then later returning for his masters, and finally his doctorate in behavioral psychology. I inquired what he did after that, to which he replied "oh just about everything." He'd worked in schools, his own office, written three books, (but, none of them had been published, he said).

He was fascinating. I kept trying to make myself return to reading the newspapers (for my journalism class) but the urge to keep talking and finding out about this extraordinary man was irresistible.

Within a few moments, his friend, a round, sweet-faced woman with a limp and a shock of white hair named Mary Lou joined us at the table. Her warm, puppy brown eyes peeked out above the half-moon spectacles she wore at the tip of her nose. She lovingly set down two salads in front of my doctor friend, and gently prodded him to eat something.

"He was in the ER last week because he was dehydrated but I suspect there's more to it than that. Eat something!"

Ron, for that was his name, gingerly tried two bites of the salad.

"He says I have a strong maternal instinct but I don't think it's that - he just needs to eat more and take care of himself!"

Mary Lou left the table to get a coffee and a scone - and I proceeded to tell Ron how I was always fascinated by psychology and human behavior. I shared with him that I was an actress, and that got us talking about Shakespeare.

Mary Lou returned five minutes later, and gently chided Ron for not eating any more of his salad. But he was done - he told her they could take it home and save it.

Mary Lou told me about her idea to create a sustainable community. She wanted to buy a large property, get 8-12 people together, and create a completely independent, self-sufficient, sustainable community that grew and ate their own food, and used the barter system instead of currency. It was fascinating.

I left them at 6:10, and rushed to my 6:20 journalism class.

I don't know why, but I feel like that was an important moment..Somehow. Someway. I can't be sure. But it was meaningful.

Thankful, Grateful, Excited, Thrilled.

So..whims seem to treat me well. I got the commercial!! We'll be shooting tonight from 10pm-4am. Yes you read that right. Welcome to the wonderful world of film where your body clock will cease to exist and will instead be replaced by a schizophrenic egg timer. But hey, I'm getting paid the equivalent of $383 an hour...I'll have my car in no time! Next up are auditions for GLEE! I'm pretty sure that TV show was created for me. S'rsly.

I promise I'm not a diva. I'm not.

Well, soon enough I'll have the money together for my car - and then I'm getting an agent! I've already sent off headshots/resumes and gotten positive feedback. I've narrowed it down to three. Can't wait to see what happens next!

Re-reading the first few paragraphs of this entry, I've realized I've used a whole lot of exclamation marks. Exclamation points? Which one is it again? I'm so glad I was a journalism major this year and I didn't have to ever worry about using exclamation points/marks... You know..because I wasn't allowed to convey emotion. Real glad.

I'm also real glad I changed my major to theater. I'm going to miss living in downtown, there's a lot of cool little pockets that have grown close to my heart. And I will miss them. But they'll only be a 30-minute light-rail ride away, right? Before I leave next month, I'm going to do a post of downtown and take you guys on a tour of my favorite spots.

I always seem to lose my steam right about here. I feel like it's time I should wrap this entry up, but something tells me that it's not enough. But it's not like I need to keep writing - especially like this - who would want to read this?

Well, I don't have a neat way to tie this up, so I'll just say:

I am so grateful and blessed. I hope today something happens to you that truly delights you and surprises you in a way you wouldn't have expected. :)

Love,

EE