ZombieNight...

ZombieDay, more like.

First thing that I learned: liquid latex is cold and smells funny, and when it dries it pulls your skin tight and makes it difficult to move normally. I was given a wicked looking burn on my neck, and the range of motion in my neck was cut down by about a third! But it looked cool. It actually freaked some people out when it was fresh -- they said it looked like I'd actually been burned.

Beautiful, isn't it? Kirsten, the artist who did my make-up, was very thorough
(and no, she did not use a 2 x 4 to give me that bruise. Just paint, brushes, and sponges).

Second thing that I learned: wearing shredded, stained clothes and being covered in dirt and fake blood, bruises, burns, stab wounds, bullet holes, and other various injuries really brings people together. Barriers broken, people. So funny that friendships were started by people comparing their wounds and making up stories as to how they got them. Because when everyone looks like crap, it's really easy to fit in!

(side thing that I learned: it is much less awkward to have your clothes ripped apart by a woman than it is to have them shredded by a man -- that was weird)

Third thing that I learned: acting like a zombie takes more energy than a person might think, because pretending not to have control of your body takes a lot of control (I'm a bit sore today, actually -- kinda out of shape much?). Otherwise, you'll trip and face plant in the gravel. And then you'd actually be bruised and dirty and bloody. Funnily enough, I never tripped while being a zombie. Walking normally, yeah, I tripped a couple of times. Weird.

Got this during a narrow escape -- you should see how the other guy looks.

Fourth thing that I learned (or, in this case, was reinforced): filming for a movie is boring. I already knew that, but as I've never been part of a project like this, I didn't realize how boring it truly is. Take after take of doing the exact same thing, each take split up by the crew having to re-position cameras, light adjusters and filters, set pieces -- the other extras that had arrived at 7am and I took it upon ourselves to shout "BACK TO ONE!!!" before the camera crew could do so. It happened so often that we just began to expect it. Hearing "THAT'S A WRAP" on a take was the best moment ever. SHADE! And WATER! Not to mention we could sit down and talk to each other before we were called back to set again.

Fifth thing that I learned: no matter where I go, people I have never met before will tell me their life stories and ask me for advice. And random little children will come sit by me and talk to me about everything (one little zombie child brought a plate of Doritos over to the wall I was sitting against and plopped herself down next to me, then proceeded to tell me all about her school, her zombie costume that she wears at home for a dress-up, how she is "five now. I used to be four, but I'm not anymore," and that she wants a curly slide in her back yard, not a straight one), even though I don't even know their names.

I'm actually kind of surprised that the children on set weren't scared by the way us zombie grown-ups looked. When I was a child, I probably would have been terrified. Then again, Lassie Come Home gave me nightmares, so. Yeah.

Sixth thing that I learned: holding a baby is the best thing in the world. It's the only place that I feel really safe and peaceful. I spent several minutes holding Parker's baby niece, and I didn't want to give her back. She's such a precious little thing -- and for a little while, all was right in my world.

Seventh thing that I learned: don't wait until you're desperate to call someone for help. Just do it (thank you to friends who picked up -- you know who you are).

Remarkably, this all came off pretty easily. Two or three gentle washes with shampoo and presto! Gone.

Eighth thing that I learned: don't tug on the latex (yeah, don't do it) when trying to get it off. Just roll it off and it won't hurt as much (blah).

My zombie time has come to a close. There were good bits and bad bits, and I never quite got used to seeing people walking around with oozing cuts and gashes. But it was overall pretty fun and very different.

You're next.

Wrap it up and send it to a baby on Christmas, folks! This sequence of production is DONE!

a comic...me?

I auditioned for a play today.
It was alright. They had groups of us auditionees go into the studio four at a time. After asking us why we wanted to be a part of the production, they had us get into partnerships. And then they dropped the bomb: "improv a fairy tale for us."

I SUCK at improv.
Seriously. I am so bad at it. Not to mention I got totally confused because the detailed instructions were to act out a fairy tale...but the two girls before my partnership and the girl I was with decided to do storytelling. So instead of creating a scene or having a plot, they told the entire story starting with "Once upon a time" and so forth.

Con-freakin-fused.
I found out later that one of the directors we were auditioning for is the storytelling professor in the theater department. A lot of her students were trying out, so they were doing what she'd taught them. Soooo yeah.

Anyway. So the my partner and I get up to do our improv section. She got into the storyteller groove, and I stood there feeling like an idiot. Then it came time for me to say something, so I went for it and...

they laughed at me.
Not just a polite titter or a chuckle, but a throw-your-head-back, bust-a-gut roar. I was so thoroughly thrown off by it that I looked at them like a deer in the headlights, then realized this was an audition so I just had to go with it. So I kept going and...
they laughed even harder.
Every time I opened my mouth they started laughing their heads off. So while I was up there making a fool of myself I replayed what I had done and said in my early improv attempts and started laughing too because gosh dang it...I was funny.

It was fun. I don't know if anything will come of it, but it was entertaining. It still is entertaining to think back and picture my 5 foot 2 inch self trying to tower over a girl three inches taller than me, ordering her to come to dinner and go on a date with me because "I'm the Beast!"

...
You would have had to be there to appreciate it

nothing...

I've been sitting on my bed for the past twenty minutes trying to wrap my head around all of the thoughts that are flying through my mind. There is so much going on in my head: to-do lists, conversations, memories, song lyrics, problems I need to sort out, frustrations, lists of blessings and people, things I wonder about. And the strangest thing about it is the utter lack of feeling occurring inside me right now. I literally feel nothing. No pain, no joy, no anger, nothing. At this point I'm merely made up of thoughts that are absolutely disconnected from any emotion.

Earlier in the day I was full of emotions. The range was from one end of the spectrum to the other, from the violent, furious reds of rage to the calm, serene violets of peace. I was all over that ROY G BIV mood necklace palette. For example (just a few):

Anger-I am very, very tired of people who I consider friends trying to discourage me from going on a mission. They all say the same thing: "I don't want to discourage you, BUT..." and off they go with all of the reasons they don't think women should serve missions. If it was just one person, fine. That's one person. However, it's more than one, and it's always a man. I shouldn't care what they think, but when it's a friend saying it, I DO care. I finally just tell people that I don't want to talk about my mission plans with them anymore because I don't want to stay angry or say something that will cause an argument.

Discouraged-See above. Money. Worries about going to BYU. Being unable to keep up with housework. Still coping with some health problems that I don't understand.

Sad-See above. I miss Jordan. I miss Shelby. Saddened by the fact that I can't talk to some of my friends about one of my sincerest desires to go on a mission because they think it's stupid and selfish for a woman to serve a mission (yes, they said that). I also don't feel good enough to go to BYU, and I feel that each good thing I try to do isn't good enough.

Happy-I have amazing friends. I have amazing opportunities. I have the knowledge that the Savior loves me and that I am a child of GOD.

Fearless-With God, all things are possible. So why do I feel sad and discouraged, too? Meh.

Hyper-Caffeine...good friends...making cookies...Christmas activities...BBC's Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle...

Now I've gone from all of that to nothing. Just nothing. No worries, no fears, no anger, no sadness, no happiness, not even tiredness. How can a person feel nothing? The absence of emotion is odd. My mind says it should unsettle me, but I don't feel very unsettled. Absence of emotion, remember?

While I don't feel unsettled, I neither feel content. I'm just here, sitting on the bed typing and thinking. And another nothing: no interest in men. That is weird. It's like I just flipped a switch on Thursday night and any attraction to anybody was shut off. Yeah, yeah...it'll last all of one more day at the most, I know. You don't need to tell me I'm silly. You can if you want to though! I don't mind.

day 53...

a picture of someone I think is hot...

Hayden Christensen. The man who made my junior high heart go pitter pat. To echo Jason, thank goodness I grew out of that phase. However...Hayden's still hot.

day 48...

a picture of my favorite actor/actress...
When I saw this one I literally groaned in dismay. Again, how the heck am I supposed to pick a favorite? So I went a couple of my absolute favorites.


Colin Firth, British actor extraordinaire. He truly is an incredible actor. Everything I've seen him in has left me loving this guy and his skill. When he's onscreen, I literally forget I'm watching a movie. That's just how an actor should perform. No more performance--they are the character they portray.


Another guy who makes me forget I'm watching a movie: Alan Rickman. Whether playing a bad guy or a hero, he always does an amazing job.


Now a woman who makes me forget I'm watching a film: Maggie Smith. Gosh, she is awesome! She's funny and clever and has an incredible sense of timing and delivery of her lines and actions. Fantastic.

Hm. All three of these people are British. Brits for the win! :)