Yes, there was an earthquake yesterday. No, I didn't even know it until I saw the news. I was in my car, it shook a little, I thought my car was dying. I pulled over, my car was fine. It was no big deal. I guess now I've experienced everything L.A.

Now I'm just trying to get my stuff together so I don't have to spend ALL day tomorrow packing.  Ugh. I didn't even know I brought this much stuff. Sigh. These last two days are going to be the most painful. I'm ready to be on the road so I'm antsy, but I'm sad to be leaving my internship. I wish I could just bring the internship home. That would be awesome.

Also, now that home is only a few days away, my brain is switching out of intern mode and into teacher/student mode. I'm three papers behind on my internship journals that I have to keep for credit. Plus, now I have to start thinking about writing my HUUUUUGE research paper about the internship. Ugh. That will not be fun. As soon as I get home I have to start getting ready for class too. I have books to buy and lessons to plan.

Oh yeah, I DID actually get my GA approved for one more semester. There was a bit of a crisis there because originally the graduate college said I wouldn't be able to be a GA (I have my own theory on this, but they CLAIMED I had taken too many classes outside of my course of study -- but I'm pretty sure it had more to do with a certain person -- but that's neither here nor there) thanks to Dr. Buzzard (the dept. head, who has been so supportive of all of us students out here interning), Dr. Larson (who's just awesome!), and Diana (also awesome), and my advisor Dr. Bauman (who is always helpful and always seems to have the information I need) the graduate college kindly agreed to extend my GA to include this fall semester, but I do HAVE to graduate in December. So thank goodness for that.

So now my brain is shifting and I'm not really here and I don't think I'm really there either. I'm somewhere in between -- Kansas maybe. HAH!

But I am sad to be leaving. My internship was awesome (though if I NEVER hear the phrase 'flyover state' again it will be too soon, and I'M FROM MISSOURI! Not MIchigan, not Wisconsin, MISSOURI -- I know, I know, it's one of those states you've never been too and therefore in your opinion is just some backwoods yokel farm of no consequence...) all of the people I met are amazing and they had some really good advice to give me on an almost daily basis. It's been nice to be on the inside of this industry for awhile so that all of my future plans and hopes are less about conjecture and a little more practical now.  

I still don't know what will happen after I graduate. I'm just trying not to think about it. I have no plans.

Maybe that's a good thing.

Oh well, back to packing! 

We're tourists again!

Well, we were today anyways.

In spite of the fact that I got some pretty rotten news about my Graduate Assistantship yesterday (grrrrr...), I decided to join Brianna, Matt, and Luke for some sightseeing today. This weekend is the last weekend we are all going to be here. Luke is leaving Monday, then Brianna and Matt are leaving next Friday and I will be heading out the Friday following that. So we went to Hollywood. 

First we had to find sustenance at McDonalds.

But before that we made a pit stop at Sacred Heart hospital (AKA North Hollywood Medical Center) it's the abandoned hospital where they shoot the t.v. show 'Scrubs' and it's REALLY close to where we are staying.

Too bad they were apparently not shooting today (Saturday, duh!) I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Zach Braff....or at least the roof toilet. Unfortunately, neither were there.

From there, we trekked on down Cahuenga and up Passmore to Kathy Griffin's house. Because we, as a hotel room, are now Team Griffin wannabes...

Her house was really easy to find, but the road sucked, it was sooooo narrown and curvy. It was scary at times and I was afraid we would never be able to turn around. But we did. We tried to get Luke to buzz the buzzer and ask for Tom (he IS from St. Louis after all) but he wouldn't. We did see one of her dogs at the top of the driveway. We think someone was home...

From there it was on down to Hollywood. We bummed around Hollywood Blvd. and took pictures at Graumans for awhile.

That one's for you Mom -- it's Mickey Gilley!!!!

This is where the Oscars are held!!!!

Hmmm...the singer or the dog?

I found Wall-E!!!!

ha ha ha ha ha!!!

Betcha' didn't know that!

Hollywood sign from Hollywood Blvd.

Hollywood.

Then we headed out on our great Hollywood sign adventure.

It must have been her Super Sweet 16 -- GAG!

We had vague directions on how to get there (if you count take Beechwood as directions). Another curvy and steep and narrow road. We went too far up Beechwood and ended up above and behind the sign. So we turned around (no easy feat) and went back. This time we veered onto Ledgewood (?) and took it all the way up past the signs that said 'No Hollywood Sign Access' and 'Restricted Area' up to the sign. We got really really close. It was really neat.

 
Then, the BEST part of the whole day -- we found the Scranton Office Park. Also very close to where we are staying. This is where they shoot 'The Office' Again, I was hoping to see Jenna Fischer or John Krasinski. No such luck, though since Jenna Fischer IS from St. Louis (and Kirk (from Gilmore Girls) sister-in-law) I'm sure if she had been there she would have been nice to us. I DO have Missouri plates after all.

After that we met up with Brianna's friend Zack and had a nice dinner at California Pizza Kitchen (thanks for the gift card Mom!) and topped that off with some Ben and Jerry's.

All in all a fun, touristy day. Tomorrow -- probably swimming in the pool.

For now, I have a script to finish and turn in (blech, it needs to be rewritten AGAIN!) and some Com. Theory papers to write. Not to mention a strategy to plan so I can somehow figure out how to regain my Graduate Assistantship -- it's only for one more semester...geez. MSU is not on my happy list right now. Sorry, I know this is an MSU affiliated blog, but I can't help it. I am not happy.

 
MILES TODAY: 40ish

Total Gas To Date: $500ish

Song For the Day: "Prescilla" - Bat for Lashes
 

This was my weekend.

Okay, so that's not a picture of MY tire, that's just one I found on the internet. I forgot to take a picture of the RUIN -- ABSOLUTE RUIN -- that was my tire Friday night.

As I was leaving work, I overshot on trying to get over on the road to get out of the way of an oncoming car and hit the curb. THUMP THUMP THUMP. That's the sound of my wheel bending as I dragged my car over out of the way. Oh guess what! I left my phone at home that day. So that was awesome. Luckily there were still a couple guys at work.

Thank God!

Scott changed my tire for me (THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU) but the little donut spare was desperately in need of air. Not to mention the fact that my tire was DEAD and my wheel was bent and there was no way on Earth I was going to make it much further than home that night, let alone all the way back to Missouri.

So we went back to the trailer, where John was hanging around, to try and find the closest Wal Mart (there's not one) or somewhere I could get my car fixed.  Thank goodness John was still around, he gave me the name of a place that he had used and said wouldn't overcharge me.  Then they printed the directions off for me and I was finally able to go home.  It was about 3 hours after I had initially started for home...

 Ugh.

Everyone was gone when I got back. They decided to go to Pink's - some famous L.A. hot dog place.  Stupid tire. No hot dogs for me. Oh well, I think I'm over the touristy stuff, or rather, I'm just too tired and lazy these days to care anymore about seeing stuff. It's too much of an ordeal to fight traffic. Oh well.

So I had the room to myself for a few hours which gave me a chance to call Dusty and catch up.(Happy late anniversary) And as is usually the case, we talked for like two and a half hours. And then I was just sad. I miss my best friend. It's really sad that we can't hang out and watch SG-1 together in person. The phone is just not as fun.

So the weekend was pretty uneventful because I had to get up early Saturday to get my tire fixed. $134 later, it's fixed for now, but apparently I still probably have to get a new wheel when I get home. Grrr. The worst part was that my back started spasming REALLY bad Friday night, I'm sure because I was stressed out about the stupid tire, but it didn't stop until yesterday and Sunday I had some serious concerns that I was becoming paralyzed.

Oh well, it's fixed now.

Yesterday I worked 12 hours and it was actually a really busy day.  Salli Richardson (Allison on Eureka) came to the office, but of course, because I am now living under the black cloud of bad karma (although John's the one who was speculating on the political leanings of Jesus so I don't know why I'M the one being punished) she came and went in the span of time that it took me to go get lunch for everyone. So I didn't even get to see her, let alone meet her.  That sucked. Oh well.

So all in all, I won't be calling VH1 to tell them about my 'Best Week Ever.'

MILES TODAY -  ZERO! Because the pool is only about 100 feet away from the room...

TOTAL GAS SO FAR - $475ish

SONG FOR THE DAY - 'Incomplete' - Alanis Morissette
 

I now understand why my parents forced me to stop reading Babysitter's Club books in the 3rd grade.

Books are expensive.

Case in point -- the EIGHT books I've cycled through since last Thursday.  It's getting expensive.  This is why I worked at Borders for so long...free books to borrow and an employee discount.

Sigh. 

Bruce Miller writing lesson for the day:

"If you can't sum it up in 6 words or less then you don't know what it is (and therefore cannot write it)." 

This is very true.  You should be able to sum up each beat within 6 words.  If you can't then you really have no idea what story you are telling.  That's according to Bruce, who just minutes after telling me this, proceeded to break his own rule and put up a beat card that had no less than 12 words, thus proving the rule.

HA! Very good day today!

I got to write the cards in the room today.  That means as Bruce and Curtis and Ed and Jon came up with beats for each act, they told me and wrote down what they said on giant index cards which were then put up on the board in order.

We also had some lively discussion about sexual harassment, kiddie porn (we're against it), and Alicia Silverstone in Clueless...

We also took some time out to have Art Class...

Yes, that is supposed to be Earth -- according to Jon, the artist...he was drawing from the perspective of the southern hemisphere and the giant orange thing in the middle is north and south America...and no, he CLAIMS he didn't confuse Florida's coast, but according to him, the Yucatan peninsula is much larger than Florida.

Well, then Curtis had to get in on the action -- hence the Enterprise (yes, it's supposed to be the enterprise - you should have seen the viper he TRIED to draw -- it ended up looking like the Enterprise was pooping out stars, but I digress) which is apparently attacking Earth...and not that's NOT a carrot floating through space -- it's supposed to be a dude, in a capsule...

Not to be outdone by Script Coordinator and Supervising Producer, P.A. Scott had to get in on the art action...

Now this one might be a little more difficult to see, but off to the left of the dueling Enterprise and Earth is a Hot Dog Spaceship...though I've never seen anyone put a hot dog vertically into a bun and why a hot dog spaceship that shoots hot dogs (yes, that's supposed to be a hot dog, not a large piece of bacon) in space, at the Enterprise no less, is needed in this scenario...I have no idea...

Unfortunately my camera missed the "draw a better Earth than John's" action in which Scott tried to best John's artistic ability by drawing the North and South American continents, complete with an Alaska that strongly resembled a chicken leg.

But, kudos to John for at least being geographically knowledgeable enough to even attempt to draw the Earth.

HA!

And that was all the excitement we could handle today.

And all the excitement I can handle relating to you so I leave you today with photographic images of the BEST waffle and chicken breast lunch I've ever had.  Courtesy of last Sunday, Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles (thanks for the tip Matt, I'm still investigating the t-shirt issue), and my trusty iPhone (3G comes out FRIDAY! YAY!)

BEFORE

AFTER

It was mmmmm...Good! (sorry, no mullet lady...) 

Okay...how in the world does THIS happen --

 We are in L.A. -- home of the STARS -- ALL SUMMER...and Matt is the one meeting and rubbing elbows with the celebs! In Springfield!

So not fair...

And speaking of not fair...

That's Crackers...he's up for adoption at Petfinder.  RIght now he lives in Pryor, OK with his foster mom who found him abandoned and abused on the side of the road.  His hair was so matted he had to be shaved and he had some injuries.  The lady has been taking care of him for about four months or so. I was going to adopt him.  I wanted to adopt him anyway.  My Mom (HI MOM!) finally called the lady (because I was whining so much about him) and it turns out that I can't have him.  It appears that he will probably need more vet care than I can afford.  In the last four months he's been on antibiotics twice.  I am poor. No Crackers for me.

But someone should really adopt him.  He needs a home. 

I think the people who work at the Barnes & Noble down the street here think I am insane.  I bought a book, this book...

I bought it because I thought it was the third book of the series (Secret History of the Pink Carnation series) and that's the one I haven't read yet.  Then I started reading it and realized -- I've read this before, so I went back to Barnes and Noble intending to get...

Well, it turns out that this one IS ACTUALLY the second one and the one I bought the other is in fact the 3rd book.  This is just another hazard of working in a bookstore -- I've read the first chapter of about a MILLION books, which always makes me think I've read things when I haven't. ANYWAY the girl at the counter looked at me like I was a blister on her toe when I told her - oops, no I don't want to exchange that book, I'll keep it.  But I bought another book too so she really should have been nicer about it. Grrr.

I've read about 5 whole books in the last 5 days.  That's good, but it's really cutting into my homework time.  I've been slacking on my rewrite and only just today did I finally finish my papers for the last two weeks of my internship and get them turned in...about a week late.

Oh well, I'm really glad it's Tuesday because Tuesday is 'Deadliest Catch' day!!!

YAY!!! Totally my favorite show!! I want to be a crab fisherman in Alaska!

Okay, really I just want to work for Mike Rowe.  I would be a really good personal assistant...or whatever.  I just want to work for the Discovery Channel...well, that's really just my backup plan, I still have faith in Brittany's ability to get me a job at Frontline or The Journal.

Summer t.v. sucks, except for the Deadliest Catch! Thank goodness for the Discovery Channel!

Total miles today: ZERO!

Total Gas so far: Approx: $475 (only 15 mpg on the last tank of gas I got....ugh)

Song for the Day: Citizen of the Planet -- Alanis Morissette 

 I've been a bit preoccupied this week.

You can thank Stephenie Meyer (and Andrea for suggesting it) for writing the Twilight saga.  I devoured all three books in less than 3 days.  And now I am desperately awaiting the release of the 4th book 'Breaking Dawn.'  The only problem -- it comes out on August 2nd.  I will be on the road.  Boo.  But I did call Borders and had Bambi (HI BAMBI!!!) reserve a copy for me so it should be waiting for me when I get home.  I kind of don't want to read it though because then the whole thing is over and I'm stuck waiting impatiently until December 12 for the movie...

Sigh.

Vampires are awesome. Thanks so much Joss Whedon (sarcasm).  I would never have given a second thought to them if it weren't for Buffy...and Angel...mostly Angel...and thanks so much for Angel because as awesome as vampires are now I kind of want to be Temperance Brennan.  Although I guess I could blame that on David Boreanaz and Hart Hanson.

And yes, I did just make a random connection from teenage vampires to slayers to forensic anthropologists.  Don't ask how...just enjoy.

I should be writing my paper for this week right now.  But I really don't want to. I can think of a lot more exciting things that analyzing the details of organizational and interpersonal communication in the writer's room.  Besides, I haven't even been IN  the writer's room for over a week.  I had Friday off and Monday and Wednesday were incredibly uneventful.  That seems to happen when NO ONE is in the office.  

I'm a little uncertain of my footing within the whole social/professional structure of those offices.  I got comfortable with the internship duties and the atmosphere pretty early on, but I'm finding out that maybe my Midwestern sensitivities are a little more prominent than I thought.  Or at least from their perspective.  I don't know. Or maybe I just worry too much about whether people like me or not.  Oh well, all I can do is go in everyday and do the best I can.  And that's what I'm trying to do.  I just hope it's enough.

ANYWAY

There are a lot of things that I am observing and learning from in my time in the writer's offices.  I don't really feel comfortable going into detail here because this is pretty much an open blog and ANYONE can read it and I signed a confidentiality contract that I don't want to violate.  But I'm learning a lot about people, the industry, and maybe even myself.

The summer is starting to wear on me.  The city is starting to wear on me, though I am now pretty proficient in finding my way around.  I still don't understand the seemingly random smattering of sub-suburbs and tiny towns that actually make up L.A. but I understand a little better about the way things are set up and how to get from point A to point B even without directions.
 

Needless to say, as interesting as L.A. is, I am ready to be home and I am still not 100% sold on the city as the place I would CHOOSE to live if given other options.  But, I am resigned to the fact that I will most likely HAVE to move out here for some portion of time.  But I am exploring all of my options at this time.  I'm putting aside the homesickness because I know that's mostly brought on by the fact that I left an ENTIRE life back home and I HAVE to go back now to fulfill my teaching contract and finish my degree.  I'm fine with that.

But I know that December is going to come way too soon.  I still have no idea what to do after graduation.  I don't even want to think about it.

We did nothing for the fourth of July.  That was just fine with me because it was hot.  I have spent the last 4 days at the pool.  I enjoy the pool.  It's relaxing and provides plenty of time for my reading obsessions.

Okay, well, no pictures or celebrity sightings this week, so if you made it this far congrats to you and wow, you must have a lot of time on your hands...

=)

 Well, it's been awhile since last I updated.

Not a whole lot to report.  I'm starting to get really really homesick.  The weather out here is starting to get to me.  I don't care what anybody says, 365 days of nothing but sunshine and 70 degrees weather is just as capable of making someone crazy as is 60 straight days of rain.

Let's see...

We went to the beach this past weekend.  This time we opted for Venice Beach:

Venice beach is home to Muscle Beach (picture 1) and a lot of little shops, mostly touristy (picture 2).  This weekend they were also having some kind of Eco-fest so there were a TON of people there.

Yes, she's holding a baby alligator.  There wasa guy there with a giant snake too.  I don't think you have to guess why I didn't take a picture of that.

It was fun, I swam in the ocean and that was a lot of fun.  It was just warm enough.  But I have had about as much of the beach as I want.  Too much sand and too many people.  At least at the public beaches like Venice.  El Matador is okay because it wasn't as crowded.  Oh, and Venice also has these faux canals, because apparently it thinks it's Italian or something.

They looked kind of cute, but I doubt they they are anything like Venice, Italy.  Venice is a neat area, but it's super crowded with apartment buildings and there is NOWHERE to park, even if you live there.  

Yesterday, Sunday, Brianna and I got to do something really cool.  Thania, one of the EP's  on Eureka is a member of the League of Hollywood Women Writer's -- well she's on the Executive board of it.  She asked me if I could help out with a fundraising event this past weekend and of course I agreed to.  I also got Brianna to come along with me.  We helped check people in and pass out flyers for the next event.  

The fundraiser was for New Hampshire governor Jeanne Shaheen and we got to meet her and shake hands with her, that was really cool.  We also got to "mingle" with a lot of Hollywood writers -- we met writer's for Private Practice, Grey's Anatomy, Battlestar Galactica, Dexter, Law and Order: SVU, and tons of others! We also met Justine Bateman.  That was pretty awesome because when she came to check in I wasn't paying attention.  Suddenly I turned around to check the next person in and I'm like a foot away from Justine Bateman -- Mallory from Family Ties! 

It was a really neat experience, though I am afraid I didn't really use it to my benefit as well as I could have.  That's one thing they REALLY don't teach you in college -- How to network and mingle.  All of these people were mingling and I assume most of them didn't really know each other, but I had NO IDEA what to say to anyone.  It doesn't really matter though because the BIG lesson I learned from that event is that NO ONE in Hollywood is interested in FINISHING a conversation with anyone else.  People are constantly turning away in mid-conversation to answer the phone or talk to someone else, presumably more important.  It's really really annoying because it's so freaking rude!!

But the thing is, people aren't rude about it...everyone is SO nice out here.  Too nice.  So even though they do these really rude things, you never really feel like you've been insulted until later when you start to think about it and realize that in REAL LIFE you would never get away with that kind of behavior. 

I am in BIZARRO-LAND.

Anyway...

I felt bad for not taking many pictures lately so I took some random ones at work today:

I took those while driving the golf cart to get lunch at City Walk.  They aren't very good and really don't mean much unless you know what you're looking at.  Mostly it's just the path on the backlot between City Walk and Post, which is in the Verna Fields building across from the commissary.

Today was especially uneventful, but a crew from a show called 'Tube Tales' came to shoot an interview with Jaime.

That's not Jaime in the chair, he wasn't there yet when I took this, that's one of the crew members sitting in so they could get the light and framing just right.

Yeah, so not much really going on.  It's pretty much the same routine each week, only now I'm starting to count them down.  Only four weeks left after this one is over.  And this one is a short one on account of the holiday.  We don't really have any plans for the weekend yet, but I'm hoping we can go spend a night down in San Diego.  I really really really want to go down there.  Maybe I'll go by myself if no one else wants to.

MILES TODAY: 15 approx.

GAS TO DATE: still around $400

SONG FOR THE DAY:  'Lift (with love we will survive)' by Flickerstick

Tomorrow makes 3 whole months since Mickey died. And I just saw a dog on t.v. that looked just like him. 

I miss him.

I really haven't taken any pictures lately.  We haven't gone anywhere or done anything that warrants taking pictures.  And I just feel awkward taking pictures at work.

But we did go to CityWalk Sunday night.

We went to see 'Get Smart.'  When I was a kid I used to watch that show ALL the time.  It was on Nick at Nite back when Nick at Nite actually played good shows and not JUST Fresh Prince. I think Nick at Nite has kind of become like MTV...it was good when I was a kid, now it sucks.  I blame everyone born after 1985.

I always wanted to be 99.  Well, her and Mary Richards. And I always wanted a shoe phone.  I still want a shoe phone. 

Okay, so in the movie Anne Hathaway plays 99.  She was good in it, and the whole movie was great.  There was a fantastic cameo by Bill Murray.  BUT I don't think Anne Hathaway was the greatest choice for 99.  For one, she WAY too young to be playing Steve Carrell's love interest.  But at the same time I don't think there is any actress that wouldn't be too young for that that would have been good for the part.

My choice for 99 would have definitely been Rory Gilmore...

I think she looks a lot more like Barbara Feldon than Anne Hathaway does.  And I think she would have been funnier as 99.  I don't remember 99 being quite so serious as Anne Hathaway played it.  Oh well, I really liked the movie anyway.

(p.s. Dad, go visit Brianna's blog  to see pictures of Rory and Lorelai's house, Luke's Diner, and Miss Patty's -- she works there!)

Anyway, I spent most of today out at the pool.  It's been really good swimming weather.  So far I haven't convinced anyone to come play in the pool with me, but it's still fun and of course I got a little sunburned. 

On the internship front, the days are getting longer as there are more things to do.  It's a lot of fun.  But it's funny how once you work on something like a t.v. show, it totally changes the way you watch that show.  Now I know things and so when I watch Eureka (season premiere is July 29th!) I will see it a lot differently.  It's still fun though.  Tomorrow evening we are having a "Below the Line" outing.  I think we are all going to CityWalk after work.  It should be fun.

Now I'm just really tired.

I went to Target today and got the entire series 'Firefly' for $18. 

Target here is very weird, it's like 3 stories big and you have to park in a parking garage and the sign for the store is almost impossible to see from the street.  But luckily, even in L.A. Target prices are pretty reasonable! 

Think good thoughts about Mickey tomorrow...and maybe next time I update I'll have some more exciting news and some photos!

MILES TODAY : 15ish

GAS TOTAL SO FAR: $400ish

SONG FOR MICKEY : 'Don't Dream it's Over' - Crowded House (one of his faves!) =) 

Today was a 12 hour day.

I never thought I would have a job where I would be willing to work 12 hours a day.  Now, granted, this isn't so much a job in that I don't get paid, but the fact that I DON'T get paid and am still willing to work 12 hour days says something.  I don't know exactly what that is.  Maybe that I am crazy.  I don't know.

I definitely think that if I do end up working out here at some point then I will have to completely forgo the thought of ever having any kind of life. Ha.  I don't know how those guys do it.  They work pretty much 24/7.

Anyway.

I spent a lot of today in the writer's room.  Not much was going on, but I did get to listen in to a Notes call.  That's where the studio gives the writers notes about their script.  It's kind of like a critique session.  Sort of.  It was interesting.

I think the most interesting part was just listening to the studio exec. talk.  Before today I kind of always pictured studio and network execs as "suits."  Suits who really were only interested in the bottom line, even if that means sacrificing the story.  But listening today I got a completely different picture.  Sure, the bottom line is definitely at the forefront of the conversation as are other practical production elements.  But as I was listening to the comments the exec was making and his explanations for his notes and how his thought process worked in coming up with those notes, I realized this was a guy who definitely has a clue.  He understands how to tell a story and his comments, while not always popular with the guys, at least were based in a desire to really make the story great.

So that was enlightening.  It makes me less scared and apprehensive about the possibility of applying for the NBC Associates program and essentially becoming one of these guys.  

I also learned a little bit about how the "industry" is structured.  I mean I had a pretty good idea about it all, but until you are a part of it, I think it's easy to confuse the process.  So since we had lots of time today, I just started asking questions.  I'm sure it got pretty annoying, but I kind of think that if there are things I don't know, I should ask since that's kind of the point of this whole internship.

So, maybe it's pretty self-explanatory, but here is what I got.  The writer's are at the "production" level, as is the actual production up in Vancouver.  From there up it goes Studio, then Network. Because the show is produced by NBCUniversal, essentially the network pays the studio (itself) to produce the show.  This kind of seems to make the idea of having a network level AND a studio level seem redundant.  But where they split is the point where the show goes into syndication, or the DVD's go in sale.  All of those things are released by and owned by the studio.

It's still very confusing in my head, but whatever.  Also, the network is split into two "departments"  there is a network exec. in charge of production and then network execs who are creative execs.  The creative execs are basically involved in the writing and creation process.  They also schedule meetings and make deals with talent.  Whereas the production side, while  still involved in the creation process, is more involved things like budget and production issues.  They are also the ones who, in the end, actually MAKE the deals with the talent, directors, etc.  Those are people who the creative execs bring in and talk to and then from there if they want to make a deal with them, they go to the production side and the details are worked out.

Wow, that probably makes no sense, but since this blog is SUPPOSED to be about my internship, I figured I should probably post something that is relevant to my classmates and such who are interested in this.  And since I had to sign a confidentiality agreement, there's not always a lot I can talk about, but I'm pretty sure this structure and process is similar across studios and really isn't a big secret so I can share it.

Now you know.

On a completely unrelated note I had my first Pinkberry today.

It looked a little like this:

I had a coffee flavored one with strawberries and chocolate chips.  I was completely unfamiliar with pinkberry and after the guys explained to me what it was I was a little scared to try it.

Basically it's frozen yogurt, only NOT frozen ice cream yogurt, it's actual YOGURT. So it's like really really really cold Danon.  It comes in three flavors -- plain, coffee, and green tea. And you can get a ton of different toppings like Cap'n Crunch, Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Puffs, Chocolate Chips, and tons of fruit.

So I tried it.

It was AMAZING!

I think I could stay in L.A. just for the Pinkberry...

and of course...

the Henry's...(ha ha Dad!!!!) 

 I haven't taken any pictures recently so that's what you get...the cutest baby panda ever.

Scadoosh.

It's soooo hot here in the room.  The air conditioner is on, but it's so hot outside that I don't think the air conditioner is doing much.

Apparently, tornadoes are wreaking havoc back home.  Bummer.

Nothing much to report right now.  I'm elbow deep in my rewrite. We haven't been doing any touristy things, Matt and Brianna were gone last weekend and will be gone again this weekend.  So mostly just hanging out in the room watching t.v. and napping a lot.

The internship is still going really well.  Every day I learn something new.  I'm getting good experience in the room and good advice from everyone there.  It's a good time. 

I can't believe I've been gone almost a month.  That's weird.  I am really starting to miss my apartment.  I am also starting to miss knowing where things are and not getting lost everytime I get in my car.

 Oh well.

It's too hot.  This is all I can do right now.  Ugh.  I HATE hot weather.
 

All in all a pretty lazy weekend here in sunny L.A.

I spent most of it with Stargate SG-1, but I also spent a lot of time doing homework.  I wrote up my first intern journal -- ugh why did I ever agree to do a research paper each week AND a GIANT research paper at the end of the summer?  What was I thinking?  Oh well.  I also finished up my rewrite plan.  Can I just say, I am not a fan of writing beat sheets.  Although it is much easier to write a beat sheet for a script that is already written than it would be for one that is not yet written.

 
That was most of yesterday.

Oh yeah I also read a book yesterday (I guess I was more productive than I thought).

This is the book I read:

Most people know I am a huge fan of Chuck Klosterman.  I realize he has a bit of a credibility issue and a lot of people think he is little more than just another narcissistic hipster with a book deal.  But I am a fan.  Mostly because he acknowledges his own narcissism.  He recognizes the absurdity of the fact that he has a book deal.  And most of all because he has an uncanny ability to put into words the things we all think, but can't say, and he does it through a variety of pop culture references and musical analogies.

Anyway, 'Killing Yourself to Live' is all about Klosterman's cross country road trip back in 2003.  He went to a variety of places where famous musicians had died -- he went to Graceland, he went to Seattle, he went to Alabama where Ronnie Van Zant died and a bunch of other random places and he did all for Spin magazine, back when he still worked there.  It sounds morbid, but it really isn't because death really isn't what the book is about.  It's more about love and life and growing up.  Anyway, I read it this weekend and I enjoyed it.

Today Luke and Ann and I went down to Sunset Blvd.

Ed at 'Eureka' told me about this massive record store down there that I just had to go and see for myself.  It was amazing!

That's it there.  It was MASSIVE.  It will take me months and years to ever get through all the records they have.  Today, in an effort not to bore Ann and Luke to death I settled for the latest The National album on vinyl - 'Boxer.'  The only thing that sucks is that I can't listen to it until I get home because that's where my record player is.  Bummer.

Then we grabbed a quick bite to eat and sat outside and watched people walk by.  We drove around a little after that because it was the Sunset Strip and you kind of have to.  We drove by the Real World house from the most recent season, they aren't shooting anymore so it's just an ugly building now.  But it is the building where 'I Love Lucy' used to film.  That's kind of interesting.

Then we drove down past the Viper Room and Whiskey A Go Go -- considering that I had just finished the Klosterman book, driving past the Viper Room seemed a little more momentous than it probably should be. (It's where River Phoenix died)

Then we drove around a little through Beverly Hills and finally I saw GREEN grass and trees (everything out here is mostly just brown now).  Beverly Hills is beautiful, but I think Bel Air is even better.

That's one of the entrances to Bel Air, they are all gated so our attempts to find the Fresh Prince were thwarted.  Oh well, I finally saw the pretty pretty parts of L.A. so that was nice.

Other than that, it's been a pretty quiet weekend. Matt and Brianna are in Vegas until tomorrow so the room has seemed pretty spacious.  It's good to take time outs from each other every now and then...but I will be glad when they get back.

It's getting late, I'm watching the Deadliest Catch, one of my favorite shows and thinking I should probably get to bed soon since I have to work in the morning.  So more later...

MILES TODAY = 20 aprox.

TOTAL GAS COST = to date approx. $375 (gas is $4.69 out here now)

SONG FOR THE DAY =  Squalor Victoria by the National

Ummm...Bill Moyers is my hero...click the picture and watch the video to learn why...

Tim Russert died today.  It's very sad, he, like Bill Moyers was one of the few journalists out there who still maintained his credibility.  Meet the Press was a Sunday morning staple for me, especially this past spring.  Sad day.

Now on to more random awesomeness...

I found out today that my critique partner for Rewrite this summer dropped the class.  Bummer.  Especially since I already wrote up my critique of his work.  Oh well, it's a crappy deal, but I'll just have to do the best I can.  I secretly suspect my script sucks, but then again, isn't that the point of the class.  Writing is rewriting right?  

The good thing is, I already know what I want to write about for my next script and I think it's a better idea so this will be good practice for getting the process down.

Also, I have to write up my first internship journal.  Ugh.  I spent a lot of the day today researching possible Comm. Theories that I can use.  Ugh.  Can I just say how much I HATE communication theory.  Media theory -- I get.  I understand it and find it interesting.  Comm. Theory -- I don't get.  It's boring and dry and is rarely employed to study situations that I find interesting.

The rest of the day I spent in the writer's room.  I got to listen in to a content call for an upcoming episode.  That was an interesting experience.  A content call (I think that's what it's called...) is basically when the whole production from writer's to set decorators get together and go through a script.  They discussed it scene by scene and broke down special needs and what the final look and feel of each scene was supposed to be.  It got boring at times because the producers and other members of the production would get off track and go into detail about specific sets and whatnot, but it was really interesting.  

Very few people were in the office today so that also meant that there was plenty of time to answer my questions.  I got some good insight into how the process is different on Eureka because of the fact that they actually shoot in Vancouver as opposed to other shows that shoot and are written right here in L.A.

I also got some good advice in general about my future and all from Ed and John.  Those two are some of the nicest people I've met, they are so willing to offer up advice and opinions and so forth.  They treat the interns like real people and it's great.  In fact, it's not just Ed and John, it's everyone.  They are all so helpful and nice and take an interest in us.

I am thoroughly intimidated by Charlie though I must say.  He's one of the smartest people I've met.  But he's super nice and he does take an interest in the interns when he has time.  He's also one of the busiest people I've ever met.  But I guess that's just the life of a showrunner.

Other than that, it was a pretty uneventful day.  I discovered that I absolutely SUCK at XBox, Halo in particular.  Yeah, we played a little Halo at the end of the day.  At least John was nice about beating me though, he did let me get some shots in.  I just suck at it.  I can live with that.

Even more random.  I just have to say, I am really tired of people making me feel inadequate because I happen to hate the fact that the weather here is ALWAYS THE SAME.  IT NEVER RAINS.  I'm sorry, it bugs me.  I LIKE rain.  I realize it's flooding at home and all, but I'm so sick of all the freaking sunny days.  And I don't think I should have to apologize for it and I'm tired of people making me feel like I'm a total freak because of it.  Sorry people, I need rainy days and variable weather.  I do like the lack of humidity because the heat is a little more bearable, but as far as I'm concerned any heat is no good.  I would much rather it be 50 degrees every day.  It's just so uncomfortable to be hot all the time.  And I am ALWAYS hot.  

Grrrrr....so leave me alone, I like rain. 

Yes, it has been several days since last I posted.  I'm sure your lives have suffered greatly from my absence. 

All I can say about that is blame  Diana...and maybe Dusty a little bit.  It's their fault for getting me hooked on Stargate SG-1:

And yes, that is MacGuyver.

I've been teasing Dusty for 3 years about his "man crush" on MacGuyver, but now I guess I have to eat my words because 8 episodes into season 1 and I am totally hooked.  It is sucking up all of my time.  And there are about A MILLION seasons, so I may never see the light of day again.

Other than that, not much to report these days.  I've been spending a lot of time in the writer's room which is amazing.  I secretly suspect they like the other intern better than me and that's a little annoying, but I'm sure it's just my own imagination and paranoia, whatever.  We get to move back to the trailer tomorrow so things should get back to normal soon.

Tonight we went to a taping of the Jimmy Kimmel show.  It was fun.  We saw Mike Myers and Kathy Griffin there and they were both funny.  The guy who was supposed to be the audience warmer upper was completely obnoxious and annoying and we ended up sitting there for like 2 and a half hours.  But it was far more entertaining than Craig Kilborn was in '99 and even more fun than Letterman was in '95(? '96?).  Anyway, it was a fun time and I got to experience my first L.A. parking garage (it goes DOWN not up) and my first parking "validation."  I also discovered that I can take Ventura Blvd. all the way from where we are staying to Lankershim and the gate I have to go through to get on the lot.  That means I don't have to take the freeway, so that's cool, though I don't know how much time it will really save me, I may try it out Friday morning. We'll see.

Okay, yeah I am out of things to say and Colonel O'Neill, the Goa'ulds, and SG-1 await.

 
In the meantime, here are some pictures from our trip down the street to the Galleria.

Random Question - Why does Hugh Hefner ALWAYS wear a stupid robe?  I mean does the man own normal clothes?  Sorry, Brianna is watching 'The Girls Next Door' on E! and that show just makes me wonder...those people are just STRANGE.

Klosterman Quote for the Day: