2011 - the year of change and acceptance

It's that time of the year, about ten days till the new one begins, where you look back at what exactly this year has been. How you've changed (if you have), major events, the people, the places and everything else. This year has been like no other. I learned of love and loss for the first time. I learned of weakness and of strength, I learned definition and classification and planning.

For the first time, this year has been a year of uncertainty, where I'm just not sure and I absolutely hated it. I like knowing, and this unknown thing does not excite me, there is no adrenalin rush and there is no love for it. It's been this way right since January, when the SNAP results were announced. Since then, it's been a road of choices, and they were hard choices.

Big decisions - I decided to take the final step that would define my future. Doing an MBA in Communications. This is going to pave the road of my career and there's no turning back. This was huge in my book, because it's not just another thing that people do, it's something that you decide for the rest of your life. There is no room for mistakes and I needed to be absolutely sure, and I am. I'm happy that I took the decision, I'm happy that I know what I want and that my future is not a list of maybes or what ifs.

A turning point this year, I lost my soulmate. This is probably the hardest thing I will ever have to go through. I believe that a soulmate doesn't necessarily have to be of the same species. It's just two souls bound by this thing that cannot be defined. It's been ten years of intense love, something unconditional, that I didn't know I was capable of. I lost my best friend, my rock, my strength and a part of my soul on November 25th, 2011. It is decidedly the worst day of my life. What I gained from it, is the knowledge that though we are not physically in the same place, though I cant hug her or hear her, I know that she is with me, because who I am today is who she made me. Gypsy will ALWAYS be a part of me and she'll always have a part of me with her and I believe, with everything that I am, that we'll meet again.

On a personal level, I grew leaps and bounds. I learned a LOT about myself, some things I liked and some I didn't. Some things I'm going to embrace, some I hope to shed real fast. I exercise now. Regularly. It's an odd concept for me to understand, because I truly loathed it for the longest time. I guess it's like till you get up that hill, you hate it, but once there, the view is fantastic and you never want to leave. Believe me, the view is fantastic.

It's my first time in a co-ed school after like 9 years. Somethings have changed, and somethings haven't. I got roommates this year. I've never had to share a room before so this concept is alien and it's very educational! I am learning two languages (perish the thought!) and I saw a Wonder of the World for the first time! Going to north India was a massive culture shock to me, it showed me that though it is all one country, how massively diverse India is. It's positively insane! I made some fantastic new friends and caught up with a whole bunch of old ones (thank you Facebook). I learned to value my family and I'm still learning to live out of one closet (le sigh!).

So many things have changed this year, my life has literally been turned upside down, I've accepted and loved so many things about myself and have absolutely hated some others (which I'm in the process of eliminating). I unfortunately picked up the tick of shaking my leg when I'm bored or restless, which is so ugly. I'm definitely working towards shedding that! Relationships with various people have changed and taken on new forms. There are times when I just want to go back, before anything changed and before this year began, but a part of me looks at how much upheaval has happened this year and I can't wait for 2012 to begin, so that I can begin again.

2011, you have been a year that I have absolutely struggled with. I have grown and changed this year, more than any other year. 2012, I look forward to you now. Next year will be a year of change again, but this time, change on my terms. 

Never bored!

Sometimes, things happen to me and I go "Of course!", because really, it is so weird, I can't expect it to happen to anyone else. These are such instances. Only, the "Of course" comes after the instance, but during it, all I'm thinking is "Seriously? Seriously? SERIOUSLY?" Grey's Anatomy style.

There are some incidents that happen to you in high school, that you choose to bury deep, deep down and choose to forget, but we all know that you're lying to yourself, because it's right there and all you can really do, is hope like hell that you never have to relive that again.

Since it's me we're talking about, I have to relive it. Many times over.

There is this language called Kannada. I'm not very fond of it (or any other language), but I had to study it at school. On the last few days of tenth grade, I learned that I had an audience of teachers outside my classroom door, who wanted to hear me read Kannada, because I apparently do such a stellar job of it. With my exquisite accent and all. Oh who am i kidding? Let's just say it's unique.

This was a day that was rather embarrassing, and I would give anything to never relive this. But then again, it happened. All too soon. I wish that I'm an old woman with Alzheimer's if this incident has to repeat itself for the third time. Anyway, here's what happened, the second time round.

A child comes up to me and asks me to speak in Kannada so that he can show his friends my funny accent. I politely laugh it off and REFUSE. Now there are other people, important people, around me when this happens, and I have no intention of making a fool of myself. Now, any reasonable person would think that this child would go away. But noooooo. He actually pulls out a toffee from his pocket and offers it to me asking, if I would talk in Kannada for a toffee. Yeah, that's right. It really happened.

I, of course, have to oblige him. It soon becomes the comedy hour as I am made to speak in many different languages. Hindi being my weakest point. But, I have had years of preparation, and while someone else would want to drown themselves, I actually enjoy it! I then show them my uncanny Scottish, Australian and American cheerleader (always a winner) accents and we all have a good laugh.

But seriously, how come these things happen to ONLY me?? I have no other friends who recount such stories, at least not in the frequency that I do! Like everyday!

I now, have been told that I speak "cultured Kannada" as opposed to the Kannada that the ordinary people speak. To further illustrate this, I was compared to Gossip Girl (the second time in as many months that this has happened). Fascinating stuff. Really.

As if this wasn't bad enough, my geyser exploded this morning. Well, not exploded, but there is a nice crack on it! I switched it on in the morning and then went to make myself some breakfast. About ten minutes later, I heard a putting noise followed by a loud spraying noise and I go to the bathroom to see what the hell happened! The entire right side was drenched and it took me a while to figure out what had actually happened. The water was everywhere, and it took my keen deducting skills (honed by the copious amounts of Criminal Minds I watch) to figure out that it came from the general direction of the geyser. I look up and sure enough, there is a crack. My first word was "crap."

I am getting a little concerned though. Yesterday, the eggs exploded. Today, it was the geyser. I'm just hoping it's not my head that explodes tomorrow! The way things are going though, I wouldn't be too surprised if it's the shampoo bottle or something because I just jinxed it.

Life sure keeps me entertained.

One down, three to go!

A couple of years ago, if you had asked me if I would ever do an MBA, I would have vehemently denied it. Vehemently, in the sense, screamed "NO" so loud, that your  toupee would have flown off, like in the cartoons. And don't even try to deny that even if you don't wear one, you want to at least own one.

But, here I am, sitting in my room, one day before the first semester of my MBA ends. Who would have thought that this would ever happen. I don't regret my MBA, because somehow, I found an MBA in Communications which means I can happily skip the subjects like macro economics, finance, etc. The sad part is that I am stuck with Design Technology, Audio-Visual Communication and horribly, Statistics.

Now the first two sound like fun, and I'm sure they are, if you have any aesthetic sense for design and a yearning for technology. Learning about Photoshop and (God save me!) Flash next semester, does NOT make me want to jump with joy. Instead, I'd like to start digging a tunnel to the centre of the earth because that would be easier.

Now, learning about different camera angles and different cameras, is fun. Give me an exam, where I have to write a treatment plan for a short film (based on some excerpt from a story), DRAW a storyboard, write a script (YAY!), make a shooting schedule, plan locations, equipment required and write casting sides in an hour and a half is rather ridiculous! Let's just say my boxes with stick figures and squiggles leaves a LOT to be desired. The only thing worth anything in that paper was the script.

A semester here has taught me a LOT of things! For starters, I was introduced to the concept of roommates. Yeah, I'm an only child and I've only ever shared my room with my dog. And she's small and sleeps under my bed, so it doesn't really count. I'm so not used to having someone around me ALL the time!

Another fun thing, boys in my class! I've never really had those! Girls' school and then girls' college for my undergrad! They really do mix things up!!!

I FINALLY met someone who is as big a fantasy geek as I am, and that is saying something. I won't mention who it is, because that person is a closeted geek! Needs to maintain an image and a reputation and all that!

My friends here are super awesome! I honestly didn't think I'd be lucky to have such fantastic, quirky friends!

There's Supriya, who reminds me of me, when I was 16 and thrown into a world that was so alien to me and I had to grow up really fast to catch on. I LOVE that she still has her innocence, cracks PJs and is wide-eyed at a LOT of things! She is also my tall and skinny buddy and my guard-detail partner (you know what I'm talking about!). She also helps me keep in touch with my super girly-ness and I still feel cool talking Meg Cabot and Nora Roberts with her!

Aloka is someone who I doubt I'll ever be able to describe! She lives on pure instinct, doesn't have a filter (ever) and always claims to be an "introvert" and a "good girl", which cannot be further from the truth. She is one person who can always make me laugh, no matter what mood I'm in and I love freaking her out when I read her mind! All she has to do is smile (Aloka style) and meow.

Shaliny is my literature buddy! She is the one who understands my whining about how it's just wrong to sit in a classroom and not be studying literature. She is also someone who gives me an immense amount of comfort during exams (Shalu, you know why) and she is the most fun to irritate! (Swaliny .......)

Anisha is the powerhouse singer. We all knew Anisha could sing, and then she sang. Shaliny and I were left gaping. She is someone I can talk to about life philosophies and theories, even though mine and her's are polar opposites. She always gives me a different perspective. Other than that, I love the fact that I can mention names like Yael Naim and she knows who she is!

Darren is my entertainment. He was put on this planet for this purpose! He's someone who "gets" me and who I can talk to about a lot of things! Our opinions are the same on a LOT of things which is awesome! We have somewhat similar tastes in music, but our TV/Books tastes match almost a hundred percent! Thank you for coming here dude! I don't know I would have survived Stats class otherwise!

I got luckier I think when it came to my roommates! They are seriously the best I could ask for!

Azmeen is wonderful! She and I have the same feelings about a lot of things. I vibe so well with her. She meows, not like Aloka though, and she doesn't share chocolate. She makes me give her my gulab jamun and tells me that I remind her of her eldest sister. She is someone who I can laugh with, whine with and share gossip with! I love it when she gets excited and jumps up and down and when she leaves notes on the mirror that no-one sees.

My other roommate Jayati is someone who is hyper-active and loud. But somehow she is endearing and I know that life would be rather boring without her! In the beginning, she used to be the one who woke up the earliest and now, she is the last one to wake up! She is someone who plays The Pretty Reckless, followed by Akon in the mornings while taking a shower. If there is music coming out of the bathroom, you know she's in there!

I love our late night talks that leave us rolling with laughter. We all are so different from one another but I can't see anyone else I'd rather live with! It's horrid, because I am going to miss them for the six weeks that we're gone!! And here I thought I would never, ever want to live with a roommate!

I did learn some language skills from people I've come across. Here are some phrases, every person from SIMC-B must have in his/her vocabulary.

"Ai Shappat"
"Sheri"
"You know"
"You getting it?"
"You understand no? You understand?"
"Lordy"
"Basically..."
"As I was saying..." (with gestures)
"Oye listen"
"My friend knows someone who...."
"Okkkay then"

Other valuable take aways include how to sleep with your eyes open, how to talk non-stop, without a breath, how to text in class, how to write emails, a lot of Hindi, how to hide while studying and how to play spy.

It's been a fun four and a half months overall, I've stayed up till 4am doing projects and gone to class at 8 the next day, I now feel like my knees have been reshaped, the amount of times I've rammed them into various tables, I've learned to sleep on what can only be describes as a slab of granite, I've lived in a grey and white building (after ALL my houses/rooms have been multi-coloured) and I've lived without Gypsy (that has been the hardest of all!).

I am so looking forward to going back home to Gypsy, my cupboards, my TV, my books, my alone-ness, my green walls, my posters and all that, but all said and done, I am going to miss this place and all the people in my life here!

A roller-coaster ride!

I would like to write an essay about how much my life has changed in the last month, but will put it in bullet points. A fair warning - some of the points are going to sound whiny!

1) I have roommates! They are fantastic (thankfully!) but I have never, ever shared space with someone apart from Gyp! And they are VERY different from Gypsy!

2) I am now a night person! I was ALWAYS a morning person and couldn't really stay awake past 10pm, but now, even if I can, I can't sleep before 12am!

3) I now speak in Hindi. Well, sometimes. Unconsciously. It didn't happen before!

4) I make PowerPoint presentations. I can see Excel in my future and I'm strongly considering rebelling!

5) I am living without an animal!!!! Feeding the stray dogs dog biscuits just isn't cutting it! I MISS GYPSY!

6) I do SuryaNamaskar in the mornings!!!! This is AWESOME because I can feel my stamina getting stronger! Whoopee! And I can do other asanas easily now!

7) I have GAINED weight! A good 3 kilograms! I'm REALLY hoping it's muscle mass!

8) There are boys here. After 5 years of girls' school and college, it's a change.

9) I sing. Out loud. And people don't run screaming for the hills!

10) I play basketball!!!

11) I study! Statistics. Never did before. Always skipped those five marks in the Psych practicals!

12) I WEAR FORMALS and manage to look GROWN UP and not awkward. Well, some of the times at least!

13) I attended the Art of Living course and actually liked it! See earlier blogpost for details on that one!

14) I make my bed EVERY morning!

15) I've learned to live without a hair dryer. Yes, I had a love affair with my hair dryer, but I think I'm okay with the fact that we broke up and that it's over.

16) I MISS TELEVISION!!!!! And all my TV shows, especially Australia's Next Top Model! :P

17) I question life. I could honestly do without that though! All it's done is leave me thoroughly confused!

18) I am learning to let people in my personal space, but it is HARD! In the words of Achmed, the dead terrorist, (who I am learning to imitate), "stop touching me!"

19) I drink iced tea at least once a day!

20) One thing that has stayed the same and that has kept me grounded, I still LOATHE the rain!

That's about it. I will update this as life changes and hopefully it won't be too drastic!

Dangers of sleep!

So, I've had two major sleep events if you will so far! One happened in at the Art Of Living Ashram (which is now, my MOST embarrassing moment!) and one in my room, with my roommates as witnesses. I'm going to tell you the incident in my room, before the AOL incident. Need courage to share that one!

This morning, I woke up and did my Surya Namaskar, and went online, while waiting for the hot water to come on. My roommate Azmeen woke up a while later, and casually asked me if I talked in my sleep. I froze. I was like "Please tell me I didn't! Please tell me I didn't" in my head, but as luck would have it, of course not. I said that I did sometimes and it was the result of an over active imagination. She said that she heard me talking and called out "Saroma?" and I said "Huh?" and when she asked if everything was okay, I turned on my cell phone for a second and went back to sleep!!!! But she couldn't quite make out what i was saying (thank the Universe!).

I apparently really freaked her out! LOL! And I was, of course, mortified! And here are the perils of social networking.... I posted the fact that I talked in my sleep on Facebook and Twitter and then, proceeded to tell Azmeen and Jayati, my other roomie to not tell anyone! Like an idiot! It then occurred to me that I had already essentially told the whole world and not just my classmates. Nice Romy, nice!

I need to cut down on the Facebook and Twitter, but when something this funnily humiliating happens, I can't not share it! So anyway, lets just say that my roomies are now well aware of my sleep talking habits. I wonder if I should let them know about my sleep walking or just let them discover it themselves! (KIDDING!)

Now, the second incident, aka, my most embarrassing incident!

In the Ashram and the AOL programs, when we do the Pranayamas and the Kriyas, we are asked to lay down and relax, to ground yourself. Because doing the breathing exercises and meditating really stirs your body and mind and you kind of need to calm down. Now, this is for ten minutes, and I am usually awake and conscious. For some weird reason, I totally fell asleep. It wasn't even asleep, because I was dreaming, but I wasn't because it was SO realistic and I truly believed that I was awake. But yes, when the ENTIRE class of eighty people woke up, I still remained SLEEPING! I am so mad at Anisha for not waking me up!!!

I woke up to find the class and the instructors watching me and you can always tell when people are staring, so while I don't remember this exactly, i shot up and said "What's up?". That was just...... embarrassing to say the least. Apparently, four people were hissing my name to wake me up, because you're not supposed to wake a person up, if they "go to sleep" after the meditation and the breathing. I am using quotation marks, because I'm not entirely sure one goes to sleep. It's not a trance, but it's like looking at the world from a third person's point of view. Super weird, but cool. I wouldn't want to do it again though. They couldn't wake me up, because I am the girl who sleeps so deeply that I've slept through an EARTHQUAKE!

Anyway, to sleep and wake up with a "what's up?" in front of your class, that you've known for ten days, and the senior teachers at the Art Of Living Ashram, is something not many can boast about can they?

Sigh.

Art Of Living - An honest opinion

So, as a part of the induction program, we were made to take the YES+ program the Art Of Living. I was honestly VERY sceptical about this, because I usually tend to run away from such organisations.

Our teacher was Arvind Bhaiiya who started us off with introductions and such like. We learnt Pranayama, SuryaNamaskar and a breathing technique called Sudarshan Kriya. We also learnt about positive thinking and how to react to stressful situations and situations we dislike in a positive manner, without panic and just plain old bitching and unpleasantness.

It took me six days for this message to actually sink in. I was one of those girls who alternated between paying attention and making wise cracks and snickering at the back of the class. It was a mix of actually, truly agreeing with some of the points and wanting to look cool. One thing that Arvind Bhaiiya said earlier, but that struck home yesterday at the ashram, was that you don't have to be a cynic, to be dismissive to be cool. And that was EXACTLY what I was doing.

I think I had to come to terms with the fact that I agreed with what was being said and the part of me that didn't like the fact that it had to be told. I am one that fully believes that you need to experience life in order to learn certain things. Like, take for example, yesterday at the ashram, I felt like a total schmuck for not being sincere in the beginning, and I did learn that it's not necessarily cool to be the cynic.

I loved that we did the SuryaNamaskar, because it's been almost ten years since I actually practiced yoga. I used to do it EVERYDAY till I was in the tenth grade and then I stopped. After doing the series for about three days, I attempted some Asanas, that I couldn't do before, but I could do now, with just a little bit of stretching. It made me SO happy and I know that if the Art Of Living and Arvind Bhaiiya hadn't come to my life, I would still be disappointed when I tried and it would hurt like the dickens.

So I thank him for that, and for enabling me to learn a lesson in life. I like that everyone at the ashram was so down to earth, including Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, or Guruji, as he is called there.

There are a lot of things I'm hesitant to sign up for, but I can truly say that I acknowledge and respect his knowledge and admire the fact that he has helped MILLIONS the world over. I can also say that at this moment, I am not a disciple if Guruji. To me, I believe that life is the best teacher and you learn only if you live it! But this is me now, and I have learnt to not say "never" so who knows what will happen in the future.

Another thing that reaffirmed something that I've been trying is for me to look at the positive in all situations and to stop cribbing about things that aren't in my control. There are positives and negatives to every situation and I have to grit my teeth and bear the bad and focusing on the good makes this easier. Hearing this, everyday, for the last six days kind of made me take a decision to cut down on the whining and the bitching and just live life and enjoy it! I'm not saying that I'll never complain, because if I can do that, then I should start my own Art Of Living! I'm nowhere near that kind of peace with myself and life! I have ISSUES!

Another thing that truly touched me is that there were thousands of people in the ashram, just trying to get a glimpse of Guruji and we were just given the opportunity to meet him in an audience of about a hundred people and actually talk to him, just because we joined Symbiosis. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I am truly a lucky person!

For me, apart from all of this, the highlight of this was introducing JeetuJi to berries that grew in the ashram, meeting Maheshwara and Indrani - the elephants that live there and finding out that Rihanna, a teacher there was my neighbour and had seen me walk Gypsy!

All in all, it's been an interesting session, it taught me some things, reaffirmed things that I've been trying to do and opened my eyes to a different side of me. Thank you Symbiosis for this opportunity and thank you Arvind Bhaiiya for making this happen!

PS: I will get permission to post pictures before I do with this post!

When you just gotta go!

I was at PVR cinemas today to watch the fourth installment of Pirates Of The Caribbean. Now, I ordered my usual coke-popcorn combo and settled in. Halfway through the movie, we broke for interval, but I chose to stay in my seat as I didn't really need to do anything. I sat through the crappy advertisements, that seem to air only in movie theatres and laughed at them with my mum.

About five minutes after the interval, I felt like I needed to pee, but it wasn't really anything urgent, so I was sure I could last the rest of the movie. I ignored it, to a point where it became un-ignorable and there was still about half an hour left of the movie. I excused myself, and ducking, so that I wouldn't disturb anyone, ran out of the hall and went to the loo.

Now, in the Gold Class cinemas, there are no stalls, only one loo. There is one for women, one for men and one for the handicapped. I made my way up the ramp, down the corridor and to the women's loo. I, very confidently, turned the handle, because I thought no one would really be in there. There was someone in there. I think I scared her because I jiggled the door a little.

I REALLY needed to pee at this point, so I debated between the handicapped loo and the men's loo. I then thought, what if some poor old dude who was handicapped needed to go, so I opened the men's loo. I peered inside, but there was only a urinal and I can't go on one, so I went into the handicapped loo.

Incidentally, here is some information for you guys. The men's loo smells nicer than the handicapped loo. I think they don't clean out the handicapped loo as often as they do the men's. So, I did wish for a millisecond that I did have a willy and could use the cleaner loo! Sheesh!

It was quite funny when I came out, because I looked under the door, if I could see any shadows that may indicate people standing outside. When I couldn't, I slowly opened the door and peeked and quickly ran out and stood in front of the women's loo, trying to act as if I had just come out of there. I kind of fled the scene, when I heard the door behind me open though. I didn't really want to meet the woman who was, I am sure startled, by the door jiggling earlier.

What would life be without adventures!

Rachel Nichols on "Lauren"!

Rachel was SUPER nice and gave me an interview about "Lauren"! Thank you so much Rachel!

Me: When you guys did the table read, did you guys expect how it would
end? Were there any theories you guys came up with before you got the
script?

Rachel: We wanted everything to be fresh...there was no discussion prior to the table read...or at least not on my part!

Me: What was it like with Gubler as a director? Did you start seeing
him differently after the episode was filmed?

Rachel: Gubler was a fantastic director. I was super impressed. I didn't start seeing him differently, but my respect for him grew exponentially. He did a great job and I applaud him. Wow.

Me: As a relatively new person, what was your reaction to Paget
leaving? What is it like without her now?

Rachel: I adore Paget, as did the rest of the cast. She is lovely, funny, and kind. I wish for her to return, but if she finds other projects that thrill her, then I want her to pursue them and be happy. She is fantastic.

Me: What do you think Seaver must have been thinking when Rossi forced
her to profile?

Rachel: I know what Seaver was thinking: she wanted to perform, but she was scared. She was unsure of her place, but knew she had a profiler inside of her. She's special, but she's new and young. She was insecure, but desperate to be bold. She wanted to say the right thing.

Me: Is it weird for you to play Seaver after playing Rebecca Locke on
The Inside?

Rachel: Rebecca was a kick ass character and she provided vital
information, while Seaver is still learning the ropes. I love both characters. I love both shows. I consider myself very lucky to be a part of both of them. Seaver will find her footing, gradually...she has the insight, she just needs the confidence...and the team will be an integral part of her metamorphosis.

Me: What was the atmosphere on set like during the filming of Lauren?
Was it a little more sombre or were there still a lot of jokes?

Rachel: I wasn't shooting every day...but I do believe that it was sombre, yet fun at the same time.

Me: What was it like working with AJ? A lot of Twitter people have been
up in arms about this, but was there any tension on set?

Rachel: AJ is lovely - exactly the person that every CM fan would think her to be. And she was so kind to me that I couldn't help wanting to hug her. She is stunning and sweet, honest and friendly. Working with her was fantastic. She's a cool chick.

Me: What was your favourite moment in the episode?

Rachel: Impossible question to answer!

Me: Describe each member of the cast in one sentence! :)

Rachel: In real life or on the show?

Me: Did you watch the episode when it aired and do you watch things
that you've been in?

Rachel: I did watch the episode. I don't have a TV, but I do get every CM episode on dvd before it airs. Some of the work I've done, I've never seen, but I tend to enjoy watching the episodes of TV that I'm involved in. I have seen every episode of "The Inside", "Alias", and "Criminal Minds"...

Disclaimer: This interview is the property of Romy Skye's World. Do not quote or reproduce this interview without my permission or providing the source.

Ten Kooky Things

So this is a random list of ten slightly crazy things I’ve done in my life. Read, laugh and tell me things you’ve done!

1) When I was a child, I let my neighbour convince me that a dead rat was a squirrel and I picked it up and brought it into the house quite lovingly. That was the start of giving my grandmother white hair.

2) I have tried and failed, to put toothpaste back into the tube. Many times. I still am determined to do it!

3) Before I had my dog, I sniffed my neighbour’s dog’s breath voluntarily, because I wanted to know what dog’s breath smelt like.

4) I have had a cow pee on me. It was warm and didn’t have a pleasant smell.

5) I have fallen down on a stage, in another country, when I was NOT performing and in front of an actress I truly admire. (cc. Kirsten Vangsness)

6) I tell my dog bedtime stories sometimes. They, more often than not, involve pigs for some reason.

7) I have had geese, chicken, an elephant calf and cows chase me. This is other than the regular dogs.

8) I’ve been slapped by a monkey in fifth grade when I sat next in class, next to a window.

9) I am an expert in exploding eggs on the stove. Really.

10) Sometimes, I tend to announce the fact that I’m falling before I fall. This is because I trip multiple times before actually falling. It’s a warning system. I think I shall start shouting “Timberrrr” from now on.

I do understand that a lot of my kooky things involve animals, but they are just a huge part of my life, so yeah.

Kirsten Vangsness at The Theatre of Note Marathon!

This is the first part of Kirsten's performance at the Theatre of Note Marathon! Sorry it's so late, but I wanted to make sure Kirsten was okay with me sharing it! She is gorgeous, super talented and downright amazing!

Ten Birthday Things!

Ten things I am forever grateful for in my life!

1) My mum and my dog. My mum, who is so much more than my mother. She is my friend, my pillar of strength and my belief system. I believe in her. My dog is simply my heart and soul. She is my everything.

2) My grandparents. They are the reason why I believe in luck, because I feel like I am the luckiest person in the world to be able to call these two individuals that. From bickering with my gran about how I can still go out today, even though I went out yesterday and how I do not need to "rest", to eating her yummy food and watching her reluctantly love my dog SO much, it makes my heart swell with love and happiness. My granddad who has filled in so lovingly for my father, whose hands I used to swing from, whose car I climbed on, to climb a tree, who I argue with about philosophy. You are amazing and I feel so honoured to know you.

3)My aunt, uncle and cousin. Even though you guys are so far away, you are such an important part of my life. My aunt, who's been there since the begining, who's been my go-to person and just that never ending source of love, generosity and support, thank you! My uncle, who accepted me so easily and who taught me that not all men are douches, thanks! You also were the frist one who told me what a "rubber" was at 16. Yeah, I hadn't a clue, so thanks for that! My cousin. I don't even know where to begin! You are my only real sibling and we've been through a lot together! I am so proud of who you are today, and I, would like to take complete credit. Just saying! Thanks for being who you are!

4) Swathi. You will always and forever be my soul sister. You are someone who made high school bearable and who made life that much more special. You are my number one friend. I am so infinitely grateful for your support and amazingness through the years and I cannot wait to see what life has in stow for us! You are fantastic! Thank you for being a part of my life! I would also like to thanks FRIENDS, the TV show, because if it were not for that, I would have never found you!

5) Paget Brewster. You have taught me so much as a person and have been this constant source of inspiration. You taught me to go after life and be the person I am, no matter what people say. You are such an amazing role model and mentor and for that I thank you.

6) Lorelai Gilmore, Lauren Graham and Amy Sherman Palladino. Lorelai Gilmore has been a part of my life since I was sixteen. She was instantly someone who I liked and resonated with. I admired her independent nature and the fact that even though she was a single parent, she had it all together! She was the TV version of my mum, a perfect mix of my whackyness and her awesomeness! I thank Lauren Graham for bringing her to life and Amy for creating her!

7) Vlogging and Janie Haddad. I got to know Janie through her vlogs. I don't know if she knows how much she's helped me by sharing her journey, because she definitely has! She taught me to be honest with myself no matter what and to not give up, because things may not work out the first time round. I started vlogging because of her, to share my life and my story. Thank you Janie, you rock!

8) Rachel Nichols. You are new in my life, but I admire your class and dignity and how you've handled the Criminal Minds situation. Kudos to you. You are so kind and lovely and I am grateful that you joined the show so that I had the opportunity to get to know you! I hope, that should a situation arise, I will have 10% of your class to be able to handle it! Thanks!

9) Internet friends. You guys are lovely. Thank you for the unending amount of support. Thank you for being my friends and thank you for squeeing with me over EVERYTHING! And thank you for being who you all are!


10) This should just say it all - I am grateful for Bath and Body Works, Butterflies, Coca Cola, Chocolate, Cookies, Chips, Jam, Puppies, Kittens, Bandit Louise, Skype, Cell Phones, Twitter, TV Shows, Books, Vampires (NOT TWILIGHT!), LA, Thrilling Adventure Hour, Glitter, Shiny Jewelry and my blog!

My unexpected Theatre of Note marathon performance!

So, it's been a little while since I've had any klutzy event, so I decided to regale you all with my epic LA adventure! This was literally on my last night in LA and lets just say that The Theatre of Note Marathon was treated to an unexpected stunt performance by Romy Skye. It was truly a treat for the eyes.

Let me remind you all that this is the stage that KIRSTEN VANGSNESS performed on. That I performed on, because lets face it, every one of my adventures is a performance on it's own. This just happened to be on a famous stage, with famous people. Yeah.

We had gone outside to watch the awesome fire eaters and we all trickled back. I waited for a bit till most people were inside because I didn't want to trip on them! Imagine the mortification of wiping out in front of Kirsten Vangsness and her friends right? Right. I didn't have to really imagine it. I just lived it in stead.

I made my way across the stage and saw Ella sitting there next to our stuff and I wanted to grab some money to get something to eat and drink. Except, I was so focused on the chair and my bag, that I didn't see the GIANT speaker nailed to the ground. And when I mean giant, I mean GINORMOUS! The thing came up to my knee and was a sold two feet wide, black thing. I walked right into it and WIPED OUT on stage.

I FELL DOWN, on a STAGE, that I WASN'T performing on in another country! Now really, only I can do that! One of Kirsten's very kind friends came forward to help me up, looking quite worried, because it was really, quite a spectacular fall. I just grinned tightly at her, smiled and said "Oh I'm fine!" to her and ran to the seat. I stayed still for 5 minutes, telling everyone how fine I was and then looked at Ella and said "OWWWWWWW!!!!!!"

We hiked up my pants and there was a gash on my shin. More than that, the corner of the speaker had nicely dug into my shin bone which hurt like hell! It was also bleeding, and if you know me, you'll know that I didn't even look to see how much and that I fought hard not to faint! I got me a band aid and Ella was kind enough to put it on me.

Then I went back to ignoring my pain because the lovely Kirsten came on and then the horror of all horrors, that yucky, no good, puke worthy ventriloquist act came on and I was too distracted trying to keep my sandwich in my stomach after!!

It was a night I'll never forget and I have a scar from my little gash! It was fantastic!

PS: The speaker worked after which was awesome! Thank you Universe!

Interview with Rachel Nichols!!!

I got an ALL EXCLUSIVE interview with RACHEL NICHOLS, from CRIMINAL MINDS, who is simply made of sugar and spice and everything awesome!!!! My questions are in bold, her answers in regular font! Enjoy!

Did you watch Criminal Minds before coming on the show? Who is your favourite character?

I did watch CM prior to joining the show, but I never really had a favorite character. Actually, that's what I think makes the show great; there's something to like in every member of the cast.

Did you have to read the FBI manual or go through any training for the role?

As far as training is concerned, I was pretty well-equipped... Given my time on "The Inside" and "Alias" and "GI Joe", I had spent some serious time in physical training... but I'd love to see a manual!

Have you met or talked to the actual profilers who help out with the show?

CM has an unbelievable team of experienced individuals that helps the show be as accurate as possible. There is always someone on hand to help out and make our words and actions authentic. I'm extremely grateful for all of them.

Is there something from the stuff you guys deal with on CM that stays with you? Are you more wary now?

I'm so new to the show that I have not yet had the experience of something specific "sticking with me" although I'm sure it will happen. I've had dreams about certain episodes, but nothing that I haven't been able to recover from come sunrise.

What has been the most exciting scene for you to film on Criminal Minds?

It's impossible to talk about my favorite scenes without giving away crucial parts about future shows. The good news is that there are many great pieces to come... There is a lot happening this season and that, in itself, is exciting for me and, hopefully, the fans. Sorry for being vague... I just don't want to give away any sacred secrets!

Do the cast or crew play any pranks on you? If yes, could you tell us something they've done?

We do laugh a lot, but not necessarily due to pranks. If I get "punked" anytime soon, I'll let you know. I'm sure it has happened in the past!

What has your biggest blooper moment been so far?

I tripped. Nearly fell. It was awkward. Enough said. :)

From your tweets, we can gather that there are some klutzy moments in your life. What has been your biggest klutz adventure?

I am such a klutz. Unavoidably so. Guess I was born with that specific gene. As far as "biggest klutz adventures" are concerned... I once was a waitress on the coast of Maine during the summer and, one day, carrying a large tray filled with food I ran smack into the patio door... Guess it was so clean that I thought it was open! I smashed my head on the glass and dropped all the entrees and then I did the only thing fitting for such a situation; I took a bow, cleaned up the mess... and went to the bathroom for fear that I'd die of embarrassment! Not my best moment. Funny now. Horrific then. I never lived that down!

We can see that you've graduated with a double major in economics and maths from Columbia. With that background, what drove you to get into acting?

I was in the right place at the right time. Education always came first, but I had extremely supportive parents that wanted me to experience everything this world had to offer. Without their love and guidance, I never would've taken the chances that I did... and I wouldn't be where I am today. Their support enabled me to breathe and, in turn, discover a career that makes me happy. They always told me I could be anything I wanted to be (except a singer because I'm tone deaf) and that allowed me to trust my instincts and follow my heart. Yeah, sounds cheesy, I know, but it is the truth. I can only hope to be half as good a parent to my own children someday. They left some pretty big shoes for me to fill!

This is a list of favourites

a) Downtime snack on set: I should probably say something healthy, but, the truth is, I love Cheetos... because there's not always a barrel of cheese-balls handy!

b) Colour: When people ask me this question I always ask: "to wear or to look at"? My favorite color to wear is white. My favorite color to look at is soft, sunshine yellow... It is happiness defined by color.

c) Movie and TV Show: I couldn't possible choose a favorite movie, so here are a few: Silence of the Lambs, Withnail and I, The Sweetest Thing, Casablanca, It's a Wonderful Life, Despicable Me, The Little Mermaid, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, V for Vendetta, Beautiful Girls, Closer, To Kill A Mockingbird, and so many more. As for TV shows, the same goes, so here are a few; 30 Rock, The United States of Tara, Californication, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Alias, Law & Order, 60 Minutes... Good golly, I could go on and on...

d) Place you'd like to visit or have visited: Paris Paris Paris. All the time. Any time. Forever.

e) Award show: Impossible question to answer... :)

Disclaimer: This interview is the property of Rachel Nichols Online and Romy Skye's World. Do not reproduce or quote this interview without our permission or providing the source.

LA Vlog!!

The Good Guys interview with writer Aaron Ginsburg!!!!

Aaron Ginsburg, who is a writer on The Good Guys was very kind and let me interview him! Since I am in Bangalore, and he is in Bogota, Colombia filming the Burn Notice prequel, this was obviously an email interview! Hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I do! Remember, The Good Guys premieres tonight on Star World at 9pm!!!

Me: How did you get involved with the show?

Aaron Ginsburg: Wade McIntyre and I were developing an original series with Matt Nix when he sold THE GOOD GUYS -- At that point, we stuffed that other idea in a drawer and jumped on board with the adventures of Jack and Dan. We were hired to write one of the first two episodes before the show was officially picked up by FOX. That episode ultimately became "SMALL ROOMS".

Me: What is the easiest part about writing the show, like did all the banter come easily?

AG: Don't be fooled by breezy, funny banter - it is handcrafted, each joke over-analyzed to within an inch of its life... The show was always fun to write - but creating the complicated chain-of-events that intersect in each episode took careful planning and many days where we wanted to smash our faces against the dry erase boards... That's writing!

Me: What was your favourite episode that you've written?

AG: I love all of the episodes, including the ones Wade and I wrote. We had a great staff and a show that we all loved. As for my own work... I am very proud of VACATION - which was an idea we had wanted to write for months... and it turned out exactly as I imagined. And our final episode, COP KILLER, was incredibly fulfilling to bring to life.

Me: How long does it take for you to write an episode?

AG: Trick question... As a dear writer friend of mine always says: writing is like a gas, it can fill any space. If we have a month to write a script, it will take us exactly a month... however, if we have only two days... we somehow manage to get it done in two days... On THE GOOD GUYS, both occasions occurred...

Me: How long does it take for you to shoot an episode?

AG: Each episode of THE GOOD GUYS was shot in seven days.

Me: What is the character you relate to the most?

AG: It should be no surprise that I relate to Jack. We have many similar qualities...

Me: Have you ever written something and then someone says, no it cannot be done?

AG: Sure. That is the process. Sometimes, things can't be done because of budget. For instance, once we wrote an opening for one of our episodes where Dan intercepts a slow-speed chase on the freeway (a bad guy going only 5 miles per hour, followed by a trail of cop cars)... Turns out, a slow-speed chase is incredibly difficult to shoot, and incredibly time consuming... So we re-wrote the scene and I love what we came up with... You'll just have to guess what episode that bit was originally attached to.

Me: Have you ever changed lines on the set, last minute?

AG: Absolutely. Art is collaborative, and when the actors get on set and work with the director, the scene often grows and changes - new ideas or jokes develop in the process. I am constantly on set (as were all the writers) to improve each and every moment. If a joke falls flat, we would be there to replace it with a better one.

Me: Is it verbatim or can the actors change the lines a little, so that it sounds more natural to them?

AG: We try to write the lines so that they are natural to the actors... That said, the actors certainly make the lines their own, changing words here or there. If they change them to the point of changing the meaning, or disrupting a recurring joke that plays in later scenes, I would occasionally work with them to keep the line's intention while making the actors happy with the words themselves.

Me: Is it challenging to work with other writers, and keep the dialogue and the feel of the show consistent?

AG: Not at all - in fact, I love working with other writers. The staff of THE GOOD GUYS was packed with smart, funny, talented writers - and when we put our heads together, it was endlessly fulfilling (and hilarious).

Me: Were you involved in the naming of the series? Some of the other titles were "Jack and Dan" and "Code 58", were there any others before "The Good Guys"?

AG: The show began as JACK AND DAN, and we originally switched it to CODE 58 (which is the Dallas Police Code for "routine investigation."). Then when we realized we needed a better title, we had a contest in the writer's room and everyone pitched their best titles... I believe it was our Co-Exec Producer who won with THE GOOD GUYS...

Me: Do you prefer writing movies, plays or TV serials?

AG: TV. I love creating characters and then watching them grow and change over time. With TV, you can constantly put your creations in new and challenging situations.

Me: Tell us a little about IN SIGHT, the movie you wrote with Wade McIntyre? It's out later this year right?

AG: IN SIGHT is a psychological thriller that Wade and I wrote a few years ago. The log line is: After the grisly murder of a young woman, the ER nurse who tried to save her begins to experience the victim's chilling memories of the attack. She desperately tries to avenge the terrifying homicide before the visions of it drive her insane.
Here is a link to the trailer. We are hoping it gets out into the world this year... details to come.

Me: Tell us a bit about the Thrilling Adventure Hour and how you got involved with that show?

AG: The Thrilling Adventure Hour is a monthly staged show performed in the style of old-time radio. I was brought in to direct the madness over five years ago, and we have finally figured out how to podcast the sucker... Check it out on iTunes. I could go on and on about this amazing show, but alas, I must rest - another day of shooting tomorrow.

Again, THE GOOD GUYS, starring Colin Hanks, Bradley Whitford, Jenny Wade and Diana Maria Riva premieres tonight, Feb 12th on STAR WORLD at 9pm! Aaron and some of the cast have Twitters and you can follow them too!

Aaron Ginsburg - DrLawyerCop
Colin Hanks - Colin_Hanks
Jenny Wade - Jenny_Wade
Diana Maria Riva - DianaMariaRiva

Theatre of Note marathon!!!

Wow, this blogging with a glass of milk is becoming a thing that I do! I love it! So, this is my last night here in LA and what a better way to spend it by going to a theatre marathon right?

Ella and I were originally planning to hit up Edison in downtown LA and then I saw Kirsten Vangsness tweet about the Theatre Of Note (TON) marathon they were having and the Edison plan was never made. It was TON all the way!!!

It started at 3pm, but I could only go by about 6:30pm because I had to check into my flight, get some last minute packing done, etc. We started off with Stacy McQueen hosting the segment and it was hilarious!!! She had a Pomeranian, that she found on the street today and was adopting (she wins all the way through for this) and a crafts basket filled with cards, books on Alfred Hitchcock - An in depth analysis of only 5 pages! Or that is how small the book looked! She also had some things Gweneth Paltrow and some other books!

We started off the act with Vinyl Candy, which is a Modern Rock band. They had pretty good music and I found myself catching the chorus and singing along! It was not a bad way to start the evening! Each act was about 7-9 minutes long, so the band played about three songs. They handed out some free CDs and Ella scored one and gave it to me (I love being the foreign visitor! Whaaat??). After that, it was Bill Brochtrup, who was an essayist and read out his essay. It may sound boring, but it made me laugh, even though it wasn't as out there as the rest of the comedy. Betsy Salkind came on and she was a funny stand-up. It was a nice act and it was clean, which I applaud her for!!!

Then the most memorable act was Hiwa Bourne!!! She blew me away!!! She is a lovely hula dancer! The way she danced!! It was amazing, and it made me feel incredibly awkward, because the only dancing I do is bobbing and shifting from one foot to another. I have actually become quite adept at it! She talked about going to Tahiti and performing there. She loved the culture and they gave each of the American dancers a black pearl necklace, which she wore tonight. She then danced to a Tahitian song which was beautiful. The surprise of the night was when she invited her friends to come and dance and Kirsten Vangsness came out with some other people and they all did a group dance for us!!!! It was so awesome!

The other amazing performance of the act were the fire-eaters!!!! Oh my word! We all had to go outside, where they offered us glasses of wine and we had to witness a wedding!! Well, two of them in any case. This was a whole act of fire-eating and it was fantastic, how they did that! Ella and I got good seats, kneeling right up front!

We then had a fifteen minute break, before the next act which was hosted by the delightful Kirsten Vangsness!! She was super funny and so sweet! She started out by handing out candy, always a win, and then introduced Lemon Road, which is an acoustic rock group. They were awesome and had some really nice songs! After their performance, Kirsten came back. She started hosting and then went to the performance gear, because she was the next act! her act was delightful. It was faction piece called Mess. I related to this piece SO much, it was like she was performing my life out there! She started off by telling us what the piece was about where the first bit was a piece of fiction that she had written and the next was a little bit of reading from her one of her diaries that she keeps.

The fun part about her act is that the description of her piece was done to the tune of Poker Face!!! And she was spot on! I love that she keeps her diaries and read a piece of her fiction because I write fiction and keep diaries!!! I felt all "I do that too!" there. It was a cool feeling! I am cool now!

After her performance, it was the comedy duo Ten West! They were simply outstanding!!! I love them! They started off with walking onto the stage with a coffin and walked off it, into the loo! Then they made "No, no" faces and brought it back. They set it down to sad funeral music playing and then one of them went to the mic at the back, turned around and started "We are all gathered here today to remember the diseased.." and the other member ran to him and whispered something and he started again "the beseeched" and went on, till it even became "split peas" till he finally got it "the deceased" and then the show went on about how no one would say something about the deceased and they collected donations, which ranged from actual money to the candy that Kirsten passed out, to candy wrappers, to jewellery and then to purses, that were not willingly donated!

After that, they made all the single women stand up and handed us their businedd cards, miming "call me" which was hilarious! After that act was the awesome Tom Lenk!!! If you are not a Buffy fan, shame on you! He was insanely funny, and talked about Nerdgasm, a play he did in London and Rock of the Ages, which he did in NYC. He also talked about some of his childhood, being a drama nerd and Shemar Moore's hot abs. Yeah. You read it right!!! Can this night get any better???

After Tom Lenk, Kirsten's hostessing duties came to an end. It was Alex Boling's turn!! He was super funny and some of the cool acts that performed in his act were Amy Stiller, from Meet the Fockers, and was funny. She did stand-up and most of her material was about her being an actor in LA (duh! Cause that's what she is!). I really fell in love with the folk band Ampersand. The singer was fantastic and so talented and the guitarist was really good too! She had such an amazing voice! The next act was Jimmy H, who is a magician. He did some cool tricks like mind reading, like he guessed cards that some members of the audience got and then got us to guess a card that an audience member had, which was awesome!!!

The sour note of the evening was Karl Herlinger, who is a ventriloquist. Oh my God, his act was so not to my taste and something that I would have gladly skipped!!! It was dirty, disgusting and vulgar to the extreme! I do not want to describe what it was on my blog because it is bad enough that it's burned in my brain, it does not need to be in yours! Oh well, I covered my eyes for the most part of it. Let's just say that.

To end on a good note, meeting Kirsten was lovely! She is such a sweet person and so freaking friendly!!! Loved it and she wore the cutest outfits on the show!!! Here is a picture of us!

The Thrilling Adventure and Supernatural Suspense Hour!

I'm sitting in front of the laptop, drinking a glass of milk and I really want to write this post, but I don't even know where to begin, the night was so epic! I'm usually not one who's at a loss for words, and those who know me will attest to that, but Oh My God!!!

Ella and I reached Largo at 6:30pm and waited in line, hoping for good seats. It was kind of cold, but under my oh-so-stylish sweater and jeans, I had thermals on, so I didn't feel the bite. Such a good thing. We got our seats (row E, because even though we were early, there were about 30 odd people ahead of us) and then wandered a bit and then went in. I said hello to Michael, who is the stage manager at Largo and was very kind to me and it was only because of him, that I got to hang with Paget backstage in July! I then got something to drink at the cafe and we (Ella and me) sat at a table and chatted.



Ella, who was facing the courtyard saw Jonathan Reilly, who is the official TTAASSH photographer. He and I were Twitter buddies so I went up to say hello. He was very sweet and it was lovely meeting him. He even scored some of Nathan Fillion's cookies from backstage for us :) That was cool!



Then I met Busy Philipps from Cougar Town! She is absolutely lovely in person and so sweet. She signed my card and took a picture with me. She was so funny on stage and I really do not understand how she is able to keep a straight face.



It was incredible to meet the Ben Acker and Ben Blacker, because they are show, all said and done. I got them to sign my poster and they are such an inspiration for comedic writers. I hope, that at some point in time, I will have an iota of their talent. They are both very nice and took time out to talk to me, even though they were so busy.

We also got to say hello to Hal Lublin, who is an brilliant voice actor. If he has done audio books, I want to know!!! He has that voice that is so freaking smooth! I feel like he should move to Bangalore and get on Radio Indigo there!!! Pronto!


(Hal, Ella and me)



I got to say hello to Samm Levine, whose work on Freaks and Geeks I have admired for a long time. He is such a great actor and was awesome on stage. Just before we went in, Paul F. Tompkins came out to say hello!! It was surprising, because I didn't know that he was going to be there! I was glad to see him in person there finally after all the tweeting and the video chat on Yowie.

We went inside for the show. The show itself was hysterically funny, with the usual bit with Sparks Nevada: Marshal On Mars and some other stuff including Captain Laser Beam (the funniest bit in my opinion - Captain Laserrrr Beammmm) and Jefferson Reid: Ace American. Since Paget Brewsterwas working and couldn't make it to the show, the Beyond Belief segment had to be dropped.

I don't know how much I can really say about the show because I don't have permission to review the actual show. What I can say is that, if you cannot go to the actual show in LA, listen to the podcast (itunes and non-itunes), because it is the best thing ever!

I got permission to tell you guys what the play is all about, kind of. Aaron Ginsburg, the director, basically told me that I didn't need permission :P So here gos my review!!

The show started off with Sparks Nevada: Marshal on Mars! It stars Marc Evan Jackson, Mark Gagliardi and Busy Philipps. This was so funny and it had Yvette Nicole Brown as the "troubleshooter". The episode was where Red, Busy's character, had broken up with Sparks Nevada (MEJ's character) and chose Croach instead. It seemed as if Sparks had created a simulation of the two of them, where Red told Croach that she had chosen wrong. Then, the simulations needed an upgrade, where they developed minds of their own after Sparks approved the upgrade. To shut them down, The Troubleshooter had to be called. After trading multiple jibes, they were finally shut down.

The next act was in my opinion, the funniest thing ever! This was the Adventures of Captain LaserBeam! This brought out the talent of John Ennis and Hal Lublin. Hal was hysterically funny with his drawl of "Captain LaserBeammm" and "Richarrrddd" (who was played by Matt Braugner). I laughed so much at this bit that I actually got a cramp in my tummy!

In this episode, Captain Laserbeam had to face-off with his third worst enemy King Mammalwith the spirit of the Adventurekateers egging him on and eventually saving him! This was when the King Mammal (played by Nick Kroll) stole the Platypus and another animal that I cannot remember from the zoo. The episode was brilliantly enacted and written!

The third and final act was Jefferson Reid: Ace American - starring Nathan Fillion as Jefferson Reid, Annie Savage as Agent Abby Adams and Samm Levine as Brownie Finn. In this episode, Brownie was kidnapped and changed into a monster by the evil, dirty Krauts. Then Jefferson Reid was called in, to save Brownie and Agent Adams. The best part about this act was the way Annie Savage said "Dirty Kraut" in this voice. It was laugh-out-loud funny. The other things were the expressions on Samm's face whenever they were talking about Brownie. Nathan Fillion pulled off a cool superhero expression, but it was somewhat reminiscent of Castle's expressions. I guess, it's more a Nathan thing, but he did look adorable!

The entire show had advertisements from the sponsors - WorkJuice Coffee and Patriot Brand Ciggarettes. These were little snippets and jingles. The show ended with the cast singing the WorkJuice Anthem, which I've had stuck in my head for the last three days. (I'm editing this on January 11th).

There is a segment with two cops that I cannot remember right now, but when I do, I will put it in!

After the show, we came out and stood near the stage door, waiting patiently for Nathan Fillion, like good little children. He came out and then ran upstairs, just smiling at us. It was like all the people collectively went "Whaaaa?" until we heard that he went up for an interview and would be back for pictures. Phew, right?

He came back after his interview and we took a picture and he signed my card for me. He was so sweet and stayed for quite a while signing things and taking pictures with various people. He's one of those people who you just know you're going to like and have fun hanging out with. He actually is a LOT like Rick Castle.



We said a quick hello to Yvette Nicole Brown from Community, who was sweet enough to take a quick picture with us. She also had such a fabulous hair-do and was awesome on stage! She told me she did it herself!



We also got to hang out with the very cool Annie Savage. She has an incredible voice and is just so lively that you feel so excited being around her!!! I also found a lucky penny (you all know how I am about those) while I was chatting with her which just ups her cool factor! She also had the cutest little hat on!




(Marc Evan Jackson and me)

Then we went to The Little Room where we hung out with the funny and talented Mark Gagliardi, Marc Evan Jackson (who IS Sparks Nevada) and Andy Paley who's orchestra does the music for the show. It was incredible getting to know these insanely talented people and truly humbling that they took the time to chat with me.

All in all, it was an amazing show and evening!! Now all I need is for them to bring the show to Bangalore! We have a really cool theatre culture if anyone who can make this happen is reading this! Until then, I shall blog about Thrilling podcasts! HA!

Meeting Mesha

While hanging out in LA, I've met some really cool people, who I hope to keep in touch with when I get back to Bangalore. One of them is Ella's neighbour Mesha. I had heard of Mesha for a while and how she liked shiny, glittery things and she made art out of them. Me, being me, who LOVES shiny, glittery things, couldn't wait to meet a fellow magpie.

The minute I met her, I instantly liked her. You know how you meet some people and you just click? Well this was one of them. All I had to go by was that she like shiny things. I got to hang out with her yesterday and Ella, Mesha and I sat for hours making her art boxes. The process that goes into these is insane and she is so dedicated to her work.

She takes the time to go through yard sales and take little toys or trinkets that no one may want and make something arty and meaningful from them. She takes the time to find messages that makes a person think. She gets inspiration from Buddhist philosophy, which I found interesting, because most of the Buddhist messages are universal.

She makes her boxes for adults, people who are just starting out in life (like me) and for kids, who just like fun things! It does take a lot of time and energy because she has to find the right background, the right pieces and the right amount of things to fill the box. She also takes custom orders and will make the boxes specially.

This is one that I absolutely love. I love the simplicity and the message with it.



This one is something that simply stands out. I can't really explain why, but I am attracted to this piece. Say hello to Buddha :)




This one is the Unicorn Disco, which is just so cute and fun.



I think Mesha's work describes her personality and her depth. I think it's amazing what she's doing and how she goes about it. Here she is in the process of making a pre-historic box.



It is fun watching her work and helping her, because it inspires me to get on it with my craft. I may not make pretty boxes or paint pictures, but my craft is writing and I haven't been doing enough of that lately, so this actually inspired me to write my stories and poems! So, thank you Mesha. If you ant to see some of her work, she also has a blog.