Spring and Summer every other day.....

Hey guys

So first a little disclaimer - this is only half done, I'm missing friday, sat and Sunday which (for those of you playing at home) were the days of CTN. I can't remember a lot of what I did so I'm looking around this tiny tiny room for my schedule to remind me... in the meantime I thought I'd put the rest of the week up.. I figure by the time you get around to reading it I would have found the piece of paper I'm looking for...that is... in a few days ^_^

Monday things returned to normality with a good dose of crazy bus travels, moseying around Pasadena avoiding the countless people on the street asking for money (both bums and charity volunteers) then sitting in Cha eating, drinking and drawing. As the dark began to take over the afternoon and the temperature dropped I checked my phone for the time (for those of you who just fell of your chair in shock I'd like to re-iterate that I was carrying my phone and yes it was charged ^_^) It was almost time to meet Tony outside to make our way to the El Capitan for a private screening of Waking sleeping Beauty. We were running late, a fact I was unconcerned with while we continued to play my ipod music through his great sounding stereo. but the reality sat in when we arrived and walked into a packed theatre of animators and industry execs. Turns out we had showed up to a special Disney screening and were incredibly out of place amongst a theater of veterans... But the movie was absolutely phenomenal - funny, sad, moving... everything a documentary usually isn't. The credits came up and the calibre of people in the theatre hit us when we turned to leave to discover Ron Clements sitting RIGHT BEHIND US - I nearly fell over Tony as we shuffled through the isle and only managing a feeble squeak put my hand out to shake his... I vaguely remember saying "Hi, I'm such a fan... can I... can I shake your hand?"
Hanging around in the lobby on the advice of Dawn - (our Disney insider) we spent the next half hour shaking hands with the likes of John Musker, Glen Kean, Ken Duncan, Andreas Dega and much more ^_^

Tuesday I needed a break and decided to chill out at home before work, catching up on emails, putting on some washing and leading a nice quite life till my shift started at 3. I finished that night at 9 - a lucky break as Ms Seni let me go home instead of staying to cash up ^_^

Wednesday was of course another Cha day were I continued to work on some drawings and try and finish my book - Guards Guards Guards... for such a small book it certainly takes a while to get through... I blame teeny tiny writing. But the day on the whole was relatively uneventful, I'd say the quiet before the storm - better known as Thanksgiving ^_^

While everyone was of with Family I woke up late with not a care in the world... Burbank was deserted and eerily quite I noticed as I sat at Thai eating my shrimp dumplings and reading my giant Peter De Seive book (a birthday present to myself from the expo). Now before you get the wrong idea I do have excellent friends that all invited me to their respective family get together's, but after 4 days of networking and practicing impeccable social editicate.. a few late nights and a lot of early mornings... I just couldn't bring myself to do the "good house guest routine" ...That afternoon my spirits were lifted by the countless birthday messages from home flooding my facebook page (thanks again guys!) and a good dose of you tube watching as I drew and coloured in ^_^

Friday the 27th came and left fairly unceremoniously - you know, I miss that birthday feeling you got as a kid. You'd wake up that day and it just felt different, the air tasted better, your had this incredible feeling of excitment, and everyone seemed to know it was a special day, in fact any joy around you you'd assume was directly related to the fact the world was celebrating you were born. You got automatic shotgun on the ride to school, your songs were played on the radio, you decided the games in the playground and best of all what was for dinner. But despite the lack of the feeling I had a great day none the less.. It started by almost freezing my ass of.. or more specifically any extremities exposed to the wind as I rode to work in the dark at 5:30 in the morning. The lines had already started to form outside to mark the beginning of black Friday (a tradition in America of Sales after Thanksgiving). As predicted NO ONE wanted Ice cream at 6 in the morning so things were pretty slow till I left at one, then it was straight down to the 2nd floor for 20% of a haircut (yay for mall employees) and feeling self conscious as my hair bounced around with a newly appointed shine I had lunch, got desert and waited for Tony to pick me up for a FREE screening of Fantastic Mr Fox down in Hollywood. The movie was ok... I fell asleep half way through, but it had some decent lines and some quirky animation. I rounded of the night with eggplant stirfry for dinner and another good dose of broadway on you tube - I'm now completely obsessed with Spring Awakening - the soundtrack is awesome!!

Well I'll be back asap for the CTN update, for now its bedtime... I really need to stop going to sleep at 2 in the morning...

- Your Now 23 year old US correspondent
Lesley

You dropped something.....

Its Thursday morning...I feel tired, a little crusty... and there's this stubborn bit of sleep in my eye that wont come out unless I take out the tweezers- which will mean a sore eye for the entire day, so for now its won this battle... but not the war....

So how is everyone? (you'll have to call it out reasonably loud so I can hear you...) good? I hope your all good - I'm ok myself - a little frazzled at the moment trying to get things organised. CTN is up this weekend and there still seems to be quite a bit to get done... as of yesterday I can check business cards of the list, but my portfolio is far from complete...

because of this ever increasing window of opportunity to finish things this entry will have to remain short - "so what only 12 pages this time instead of 20?" I notice a tone of sarcasm in your voice - don't deny it - and nether do I, I suspect it will end up longer than I want, but such is my nature... and my lousy ability to be direct - I'm a beat around the bush kinda gal.

Before I really kick things of though I'd just like to mention - for those playing at home - that although I'm sure your all eagerly anticipating my birthday coming up on the 27th and want desperately to shower me with gifts of appreciation for giving you this lovely blog to waste your time... PLEASE don't send me things (unless they are money or other things that can be sent electronically - including E-cards - as long as they sing...) I have a VERY VERY small room not to mention taking things back home is going to be tricky...

Ok onto the last week... I've actually started writing things down so I can remember better -
We left of on Friday - a day Hamid says he now owes me for - Once again Hamid - I had a GOOD TIME - not to mention I got a shit load of free food which lasted me the entire week.... could explain my weird tummy though...

Saturday was Halloween, made known by the bucket of "candy" greeting us in Animation class that morning. After an hour of drawing and marveling at the frequency flicker effect... (fancy name for animation) Tony and I went over to the bank to start up my Bank of America account... how our conversation with the teller got onto weird couples and being patient I don't know - I do know that I walked away with 1 dollar in my savings account and the prospect of a new card with panda on it ^_^
I had work till late that day - made strange by the man calling me up on my phone (I had no idea I'd lost it - for those of you that know me this is a less surprising occurrence - more predictable). I rushed from Haagan Dasz at 9:45, got changed into my Bliss costume (skirt over my pants and my bike helmet) then it was of to my first Halloween house party - A night of drinking (no not me) Freezing and chatting with Jesus, Harry Potter (complete with Hedwig - you looked awesome Tony) and some death metal guy... honestly you'd think mascara was more a girl thing... The highlight was seeing a girl that had obviously tried to dress up as a nerd and really just looked like she raided my wardobe... We wrapped the night by watching Aladdin at a haunted house... we ALL fell asleep ^_^

Sunday morning I stumbled out of bed early to meet the guy holding my phone captive - they actually hassled me about not using my phone... I have my family for that buddy! Then it was work (by myself) till 9 and straight home to bed - ok so I may have stopped for yogurt and Taro on the way...

Monday was Cha day - Then just when my bum was starting to loose all feeling from sitting there all day, Jen picked me up and we drove to Irvine to see Josh and any one else from IV floating around (IV - International Village) We stopped into Cha first (another one) for dinner, then it was into campus to watch some live Comedy at the pub - my favourite was this guy that did an excellent song about your "first time" - comic genius!!!
We left shortly after (I felt sorry for the next guy - it was like going to sing on stage after Beyonce or Christina... tough act to follow...) bumped into a few people then got directions home - Thanks again for an awesome night Jen!

Tuesday was errand day - the highlight was getting my legs waxed - not the waxing part but the discount after - only 30 bucks!! agghh nothing like a good discount to make your day - I also had a major scanning session, ate sushi and generally just relaxed ^_^

Wednesday it was back to Cha- the monotony broken only by a big hard sticky thing falling onto my hand then into my helmet - to my horror I discovered it was a lollypop - straight from the mouth of the guy standing over me - GROSSSSS! I pased it back mentioned pointedly that he'd dropped it and amazingly it went straight back into his mouth!!!!!

It is at this point that I would like to publicly apologise for making fun of anyone
that used hand sanitiser in my presence - It definitely came in handy at this
moment - both on my hands AND the inside of my helmet...

That night Alina and I met up to go to a Disney portfolio drop - not quite what I thought it would be, but it was nice catching up with Alina while we waited in line, not to mention meeting Alison - a really sweet recruiter eager to add us on linked in and generally help us out ^_^


Thursdays science class was dealing with Corn starch and water to make quicksand - what it actually made was this weird gloop and a HUGE mess - but the kids loved it and I convinced them to take most of it home - parents were not as happy - muahahaha. Sketch club that night was really fun - especially as Matt and Edd were back - missed you guys! ^_^

Friday I came into burbank early to do some errands - for example waiting in line at the library for the homeless people to finish surfing the internet - pretty sure I saw one checking his emails.... I also got some groceries and had to walk home with them as a nice guy from the YMCA locked my bike after I had told him I didn't have a key... grumble grumble. Hamid picked me up that night for a jamming session back at his - we got through a few songs then got distracted by Who's line - The likeness between you and Drew Carey still freaks me out Dad :P

Class on Saturday was kinda dead as only a few showed up - but we plugged through our Ariel clean up none the less - and I proudly presented my "one perfect drawing" to a pleased Alex, just to show him if I'm not being lazy, my clean up volumes are right on the money.. or model... Tony and I headed to our usually lunch meeting at Pho then it was dessert and work till late.

I Opened again Sunday morning, (honestly I may as well have slept at work) then left at three to do some last minute (slightly panicked) photocopying for a little pamphlet of my work to hand out at the Animation army meet that night. After dinner at a new Thai place - not so much as new as I'd never been there before, and thanking Alina again and again for my cool prezzies (she wont be here for my birthday)
- Awesomely soft bed socks with sticky feet
- THREE cool brush pens
- A whole box of Light blue col-erase pencils
- Wicked ORIGINAL watercolours from her sketchbook
- Chopsticks
- A cute little purse in the shape of an apple
Safe to say you seriously spoiled me Alina!!
Running late from trying to find a car spot we rushed into the studio relieved to discover everyone standing around chatting. We both slapped on some name tags and decided to divide and conquer - I was just finished chatting to Kyle (met him a while ago) and had started talking to some other animators and illustrators when it was time to sit on the floor and listen to the panel of recruiters tell us how to get a job. They had some interesting insights - and even better things to say when I went up after and talked to them individually. Two of the three seemed really eager to get me work before I had to leave - so I left the night on a high.. that was until I discovered I couldn't find my house key...

Monday - I borrowed Heather's key and headed to Cha for some thinking and drawing - finally finishing my God Delusion book along the way(thanks again for the book Dad). Unfortunately in my haste to finish I had it held up whilst getting on the bus - a fact made clear by the bus driver who decided to announce on the loudspeaker to the entire bus that I was an atheist - waaaay to go dude :(
I got a bit done that afternoon then making it home FINALLY got to have a good long chat with mum

I'll leave it there for now as I have to get going - Not to mention I'm actually getting on top of the entries - well until after CTN

-Your faithful (slightly lazy) corespondent Lel ^_^

My New Card - let me know what you think :)

No I'm the teacher...

Ok, the tv is of, I've had lunch and there is now NO MORE excuses for me not to write this blog entry... unless something major crops up in the next half hour I am determined to get this written and of my mind... crap... have to pee... be right back.

Ok I'm back... So you must be wondering what (besides laziness) could have kept me all this time - well single person reading my blog and actually interested in my adventure - thats right, don't bother looking around, your it - the one person reading this and making me feel like these times spent writing a worth while... in fact, take a break - you earned it - you got his far.. go ahead and pat yourself on the back - then grab something to nibble on - I recommend something high in long lasting energy.

I would like to report that a sudden Alien abduction has kept me - while they jabbed at my body and spoke in strange clicks and whurs all I could think of was not my own safety but my lateness of entry to this blog and your lack of entertainment for the hour or so it takes you to read it... hey you could be a slow reader - I don't judge..

But I'm am a sad to report it IS laziness - and the mounting pressure of knowing that with everyday I left it there would be more to write... so without further ado here is the last few weeks (Dad I'm dedicating it to you)

Firstly I'd like to quickly point out that last week entry I forgot to mention that Dad and I spent AGES at the bookstore on Friday and he bought me some new clothes ^_^... I realise this isn't stop the press news but I didn't want you to think that I forgot a second of time spent with him - so thanks again Dad for my books and clothes!

Ok back to it

Saturday we woke up at the usual LA time of 10:30 and headed out to the pier for breakfast at the Ivy - unfortunately it was the prospect of "saying" that rather than the food itself that lured us in - I enjoyed my omelet and its size expanding over neighboring borders but I think Dad would have preferred something with bacon in the title and the smell of waffles - not Tortillas... A word of caution - if its breakfast your after and they're asking whether you want guacamole with that - get out - get out NOW!
Full and feeling refueled we continued to the pier to explore, the highlight was watching a man and his sons ride a parachute ride (ok ready guys WOOOAHHH - no no stick your legs out - yeah - WOOOAAAHH... the thing was a few feet tall). After a lap we agreed it was looking a little tired and decided to head back the promenade to wait for our movie to start - The invention of Lying was great! In a word - Cheeky - you be the judge ^_^
Grabbing yogurt on the way back to the hotel we packed up to move to the West In as it was closer to LAX, then dumping our stuff we caught the tram to the beach for a dinner of steak and Chicken - you can guess who had what. We were almost lured into a quant Italian place offering free bread and pizza to those waiting outside but ended up with something a lot tastier and whole bunch more fancy!

I woke on Sunday (after another brilliant sleep) to an empty room as poor Dad had already caught the plan to Oakland to see the Jets play. Lying for a little longer in heaven (or otherwise known as down pillows) I dressed and headed down for a continental buffet breakfast - soled to me by a guy that honestly looked pregnant - skinny except for a hug rounded belly... An unwary cab driver took me home then it was of to work for my first FULL close (including counting the up the till - its the small things in life).

Monday I was set to meet Dad at Hollywood - so getting the call he was out of the gym (go dad) I caught the bus down and met him outside the Chinese Man theatre - we had an awesome day, walking the star pavement to see who was dead and who had a questionable mention - eating yogurt (I don't think I convinced him of its addictive powers), Spending a creepy hour at the wax museum - taking hillarious photos and spending the longest time in the gift store reading insults and excuses books. We had lunch at a Shabu Shabu restaurant then topped it all of with a screening of Astro Boy in the main theatre at the Mann usually reserved for premiers! All to soon we were looking at swatches and realizing the time - so after a 10 minute hug goodbye and some strange looks from onlookers who thought we could be part of a show I waved him goodbye in the cab and walked slowly to the bus stop for home. Dad - we really did have a blast ^_^

Deciding to move Cha day to Tuesday it was of to Alhambra this morning with my God Delusion book from Dad and some fresh sketch ideas in my head. I spent all day drawing, eating and drinking, then met Tony in Pasadena for a lift to a special interview with Paul Felix in a little place on Magnolia (Felix is a concept designer for Disney). We had a great time that night learning and soaking up the brilliance offered by Felix and his insane "I want to crawl up in a ball and rock myself back and forth vowing to never draw again" drawings. I also met a nice lady from the recruitment centre at Disney and am hoping she remembers me come decision time... Later after a chat with one of Tony's friends we spent 20 minutes looking for the car before it was home and bed.

Wednesday it was Tuesday all over again with a Cha session then a rendezvous with Tony at the end of the day - this time we were of to the Arc light cinema for a screening of Coraline, complete with interview with Director HENRY SELICK agghhhhhh. It took us a while to find the place as we realised sheepishly we'd been going up and down the wrong street, but we found it in the nick of time - parked - and avoiding the circus which was Boon Dogs 2 premier to find our seats in the downstairs cinema and I have my work critiqued by a nice guy who was friends with Brad Bird himself!! The movie was EXCELLENT and so much cooler to see on the big screen. Later at the reception we got to speak to Henry who signed my sketch book (look on my DA page) then feeling sick after numerous Swedish meatballs (what can I say, they were free) and clutching out Free Coraline buckets and t-shirts, we stole a poster from the front and ran out - laughing like lunatics the whole time - Nice one Tony! :P

Thursday I had magnetic car building in class that afternoon, which took waaaaay longer than expected and the reward for completing them was taking them apart seconds later - sorry kids - Not to mention before it started I was mistaken for one of the kids... (no this is not a joke - I don;t who was more shocked me or the lady when I told her I was actually the teacher) The day continued to decline when I realised I'd run out of money for the bus and still couldn't take money out of my card - cut to me asking an old lady outside Ralphs for money like a junky that needed a little extra cash for a fix - totally Humiliating!! the next bus I was able to get on out of sheer pity and a vouch from an indian women that thought I looked innocent (she kept swiveling around in her seat giving me the thumbs up like we'd cheated the system). back in Burbank I was able to borrow 1.25 of Migel for a ride to the sketch club only to discover no one was there as Pricillas was having a mixer - worrying about a ride back I was saved by Ratnar who after a short session of drawing with a few late comers drove me home. (Just want to take the time to appologise for giving you the wrong directions home Ratnar - its not like me to forget my left and rights!)

Friday morning Hamid picked me up around midday for our road trip down to San Diego - based on passed experience I was slightly worried we'd get lost, but after only one minor detour we made it for lunch in the mall were the performance was being held. I chose stuffed cabbage and Golden spoon yogurt for dessert ^_^
Feeling stuffed and happy I nestled myself in the corner of the Persian restaurant drawing, chatting to the band watching them set up. A few hours later they were good to go so with the knowledge we had to be back in a few hours Hamid and I drove down the beach for a walk along the cliffs as the sun set. As the sun sank behind the endless stretch of deep blue sea and moon rose to a chilly night we decided to head back from some dinner. I had baked eggplant with enough rice to feed a small Army whilst Hamid went for a buttery sweet chicken dish. feeling defeated by our meals we asked for a doggy bag and were offered fresh bread to take with us (my breakfast for the last week or so). The performance was awesome, the band was on fire, the lead singer crooning to the crowd in Persian as everyone and their grandma got down and danced - All started by a little girl who was first up and started bellydancing in front of the whole restaurant - MISS YOU LIL - There was also a performance by Silhouette - The persian version of the Veronicas ^_^ After much Dancing and sneaking up to the secret room to check my emails I fell asleep in the car waiting for Hamid to grab his equipment and it was a two hour trip back home... worried the whole time that Hamid was going to fall asleep at the wheel...

I apologise in advance for this late and LONG entry...

Well Folks, I'm back, thats right, for those who feared me dead or suddenly without the use of fingers or the capacity to recall information from more than two days ago, your fears were wasted... thats right wasted as I am only (I regret to say) incredibly lazy and have again left this to the last minute...

So pull your socks up, fluff your pillows, grab a snack and get ready for another installment of my exciting sometimes scarily mundane life in the great big US of A

Just a side note before I really get into the past weeks details - I forgot to mention that I went Salsa dancing with Hamid a week or more ago - we started with some brief lessons which resembled line dancing somewhat then it was lights down, disco saddle up and a live band to take us through the rest of the night. My only advice was a sweaty mexican assuring me to let him throw me around and relax, I responded with a pleading "only if you catch me" and it was smooth sailing from there. The only casualty was my large toe, unfortunately with the prospect of 100 other feet in the room I stepped on it myself which was kind of embarrassing especially as I now have a good portion of my nail missing. But all up it was a great night ^_^

I'll start with Saturday, which of course began with another Animation class, thank god I dIdn't miss the bus this time, and was able to shoot some scenes before class... as well as after (thanks again for waiting for me guys) The guys I refer to are Tony and John who then took me to the zoo where Tony and I went halvsies on a year pass. We spent most of our time sketching Flamingoes then moved onto Lions where the kids were making more of a show than the cats (poor things) lastly it was monkeys then Tony and I got lost trying to get out, that is we went in a big'ol circle ^_^

That Night Matt took me to a big Sketch party were I met heaps of really great people! We ate (I think I stole all their olives) drank (Ed tried to convince me to have a car bomb...) drew and played ALOT of garage band I distinctly recall waking everyone up at 2am (including myself) when the mic was dropped purposefully in my lap and I was forced to sing - I chose Shout it out loud then finishing up promptly fell back to sleep on the couch. We ended up trudging out at 4:30am knowing with a sinking feeling I had promised to see an early morning movie with Gary and that I know only had the chance for 3 hours sleep... The way home was kept entertaining as Matt and I sang along to Jason Maraz's entire album word for word :)

Falling asleep before I hit the pillow, I woke up the next morning to Gary's message about when I wanted to catch the movie "Where the Wild thing are" I agreed to the afternoon session so that I'd have time to shower, dress and more importantly force myself out of bed...or roll out and crash awkwardly to the floor... The movie was excellent, some would say a little heavy for a "kids movie" but I really enjoyed it. I definitely recommend to watch it on the big screen, even if your not a fan of the book ^_^ Unfortunately hi ho it was of to work I go... or went... and to make matters worse I had to close which meant I had to stay back an hour more than I was set to... ~sigh~

Monday was Cha all day, monotony broken up by the unexpected sighting of Edd as I ran to catch the bus at Glendale. But it was a fun day of eating and designing logos as well as a few new Autumn pics that I hope to have up on my DA page very soon :)

Tuesday I woke late and with a considerable amount of effort rode to Burbank for brunch at Octopus. Then refueled and pumped I rode down Magnolia to the guild where I was told that I wouldn't be able to get a refund for the class I missed thanks to an honest misread of the start date. They won't even credit me for a class next semester and had absolutely no sympathy - meanies - to make matters worse, as I rode back up to the shops some guys in a low rider drove passed hanging out the windows howling and sticking their rude fingers up at me. That night I bought a printer/scanner and found out after opening it affectionately that it was without a plug to connect it to the computer - all up, not the best day...

Wednesday was of course my second Cha day for the week then it was Karaoke with Hamid at the Blue something or rather. After beating him at a game of pool (he knocked the white down the hole) he shouted me yogurt then with a flick through the book and a listen of some of the other brave soles that went on stage I banged out The Cilmi classis "sweet about me" and left the a little shaky with adrenaline but on a complete high ^_^

Thursday I had my science class - ROCKETS - then I met up with Dad outside Starbucks and we spent the rest of the night looking around Burbank and Eating at a little Italian restaurant by the mall ^_^ After introducing him to Migel at Bobaloca we continued to the sketch club for my usual thursday night session this time made a whole lot cooler with Dad by my side sketching away. I felt like a kid again watching him confidently place his lines on the page in the familiar stage band composition that I used to colour in way back when ^_^

Friday I woke up reasonably early and caught a cab to Dad's hotel. I was fortunate to get Kevin, a nice guy that knew the area well, and after seeing my furtive looks at the meter agreed to only charge $80 if I paid with cash (it was going to be 115 or more so that was lucky) it was also lucky that Dad was able to meet me outside and cover me as after two stops along the way to get money out, my card was still failing to work. While Dad did his speech at the hotel I was able to mosey around Santa Monica then we met up later in the afternoon after I'd managed to sketch the circus and been chatted up by more than a couple homeless people (I really think I attract crazy people) for a browse around the shops (thanks again for my outfit dad!!!) and a later dinner of lobsters and yummy bread with garlic dip! That night I stayed in the hotel with Dad experiencing one of the BEST sleeps I've had since being here! like sleeping on clouds ~sigh~

Stay tuned for more adventures with Dad ^_^

Hi ho hi ho its of to work I go ^_^

Hey guys

I sit on my now bright purple satin doona (I turned it over) which is now vividly reminding me of the flower girl dress I wore to my aunt and uncles wedding kicking myself that I yet again have another long LONG extremely finger tiringly, head scratchingly LONG entry to write...

Its been two hours since writing the first paragraph, the reason being another event thats cropped up in the last week or so. We have more people, yep thats right, Tabitha is out Lauren, Kim and Bridget are in (I'm pretty sure the first name is wrong but to be fair I've only seen the girl twice). I spent the last two hours having a D and M with Bridget which covered everything from family, to the way we learn ^_^

Last Weekend was jam packed, beginning as always with animation class Saturday morning, where I've now been dubbed "The Speed Demon" . Straight after covering overlap and timing I was picked up by Hamid for a another jamming session. We had heaps of fun banging on bongo's, playing duets on the piano and singing the afternoon away - we were so caught up in the music in fact that I was running late to meet Gary back at burbank for our night at the Derby track with the LA derby Dolls.
Getting to know each other a little better in the car, we stopped for dinner at an old sandwich place thats been around sine the early 1900's, then it was of to the track to watch girl on girl roller action, I'd explain the rules but I'm pretty sure I still don't understand exactly how it works, but I can say with certainty that it is a sport, and does require considerable more skill than just being able to skate on a raised track and knock people over.

Early Sunday morning Alina and I travelled out to the country to get the low down on American war history. Crunching along the gravel covered ground and hugging ourselves tightly against the wind we browsed the many stalls set up by the dedicated participants in "Walking through history" Everything from Roman soldiers to Cowboys, there was a parade, live battles and roasted chickens on a spit. After watching the parade and some sketching we heard our tummies grumble and headed back lunch.
I said goodbye to Alina and grabbing yogurt met Gary at the movies to watch Whip It - an awesome movie directed by Drew Barrymore and starring Ellen Page about Roller Derby and finding your crowd ^_^

The rest of the week was spent drawing at Cha, celebrating the opening of Yogurt Land in Burbank (sometime the smallest things in life make you happy) then after a great science class on Thursday with my new assistant making snow I spent friday morning at the zoo and had my first day working at Haagan Daz. Yes my friends, you read right, I FINALLY have a job... not exactly the one I was hoping for, but its 8 bucks an hour that I wasn't getting before. it went great, only a minor incident with some whipped cream which should have been caught on film.

Saturday it was back to class, unfortunately I missed the bus and had to catch a cab, I learnt the hard way that its illegal to hail cabs in LA... don't ask me why... but I manage to make it only 10 minutes late. After I had lunch with Anthony from class, we spent a few hours in Pho noodle hut comparing notes on the industry geeking out about animation and making plans for a zoo group with the rest of the class. After it was work again, feeling the strain as the un-used muscles in my arm were being coxed back to submission.

Sunday started early again with a trip to Descanso Gardens with Alina for some water colour painting. We were lucky to get in after being told we weren't able to use Alina's family pass as we weren't family, resisting the urge tell him I was adopted Alina pleaded that here we are orphans which seemed to work ^_^
We spent most of our time in the rose gardens, then browsing the rest of the park and saving an earthworm from possible flattening we then hit an art store on the way home and I spent the rest of the day at Bobaloca drawing and hanging with the guys.

Oh I have also found a new show to feed my obsessive personality - GLEE!!! (the name and the way I feel about it ^_^)

This is a picture of me in the shirt I got for free today as well as my new glasses

I'm still here ^_^

Again I sit here in the library kicking myself for leaving this till the last minute again.. the days are filling up so fast I need my diary to remember what I did yesterday!
 
I'll try my best to keep it in order (for my sake more than yours) but I figure as long as most of events get a mention it'll be ok.
 
In fact I may treat it a little like a newspaper article...
 
LESLEY's NEWSY NEWS!
 
The most recent of which is that I've started my science lessons with Creative Smarties, Its down in Encino and I completely lucked out with a great group of kids! the guys that run it are the exact opposite of Danny, they're organised, they care about the work I do and want to COMPENSATE me for any extra work and training! Not to mention theres a couple of girls in the class called Willow so I spent the first lesson staying true to my inner Buffy obsession and making excuses to say their names as much as possible ;p
 
Our first lesson was about wind and the second we got to make bouncy balls - I swear, I think I'm having more fun than the kids ^_^
 
In my days off I have of course been spending time at Cha, running into a lady that told me I was a skinny crack addict that needed to go change my clothes. Theres been a lot hapening around Burbank. In fact I still have a sore tummy from the Taste festival yesterday in which I basically paid 30 dollars to get sick. I ate so much I had meat sweats! All the resteraunts and small food outlets in the area had a stall out so you could taste their best dishes, all the proceeds went to the YMCA and their scholarship innitiatives. After going through all the stalls I spent the rest of the night listening to the live jazz band pumping music from the main stage and doing caricatures, in fact I ended up getting another gig from it so I will hopefuly be doing a party in the future!
 
The house has some new arrivals, one of which being my new roomie Kim, a young studying actress who's so nice she gave me a massive hug on our first encounter as I was waking up in the morning and she was moving in ^_^

We also tried our family dinners - Erin and I proposed to have dinner all together every two weeks. This time it was my turn cook - I made stuffed mushrooms with a Bolognese sauce - it was quite tasty

As usual the weekend was packed with Movie watching (the secret of Kells - a beautiful 2D animated film from Scotland about the Book of Kells and its secret origins. My favourite was a spell binding song sung by an extremely talented 9 year old) My animation class. The opening of the gallery I was in, which went really well despite the weird crowd and even stranger gallery owners. Not to mention the strange guy that made me get him a new straw when he dropped his on the ground, I think he was offended that I hadn't heard of him and questioned why him and his "posy" were in clown suites ^_^

We also browsed book stores of original children's art, I caught up on errands AND did more caricatures around the area. Alina and I got to spend more time together on Wednesday when we met after she'd finished work to have a bite to eat and see Mary and Max at Dreamworks - opened by its Writer/Director/creator Adam Elliot, who surprisingly remembered me from our brief encounter at Cremorne theatre in Sydney ^_^

Stayed tuned for more to come soon
I promise the next one wont be as long!

BUSY busy busy ^_^

Due to procrastination and a busy life I must now attempt to sum up the entire week (and a bit) in this one little entry, I may I'll break it into days like the other to make it easier for myself ... and you hopefully ^_^ here goes..

I'm afraid Monday to Thursday is a bit of a blur - But I'm sure it consisted of the usual combination of Cha visiting/ Taro drinking and general moseying around and wasting time. Thank god Friday sticks out, although starting out slow with an hour wait for the bus (the 222 is a difficult one to predict). You know your living in LA when it doesn't faze you to ride the bus with the incredible hulk in the morning - that would be a guy dressed up as the hulk, not Eric Banner... One of those hug worn costumers that looks like a combination of green spray paint and parts of the couch. We also got a little scare when a guy that was honked at decided to chase after us and hit the bus that KEPT breaking down!... not sure what broke in his mind to think he could take on a bus?? I walked across country to meet Shaun at Starbucks getting almost killed by a bike in the meantime (note to self, ALWAYS look before stepping of a curb, even if the little green man is beckoning you forward ^_^) My meeting with Shaun went great, even with the bizarre presence of the man sitting outside on a deck-chair complete with cup holder.

Later, getting lost downtown and finding an extremely elaborate movie shoot (complete with cranes) I picked up some art supplies, and ran into David and Rob as I made my way to Little Tokyo. I couldn't stay long so grabbed some yogurt for sustenance and caught the 92 to Glenoaks where I sorted through dust and broken wood for a decent frame at the 98c store.

Dave and I saw "Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs" that night followed by Thai and a really long chat where I got some prezzies (so spoiled) which included Richard Williams animation survival guide - basically the bible of animation how to's ^_^ THANKS DAVE!!

Ok I'm tiring already so the rest will have to be an arrangement of carefully thought out dot points ^_^
Friday

Saturday
- Waited an Hour for the bus - again that 222 has it in for me... but I'll get the better of it next time muahaha
- First animation class, drew portraites of how we felt that morning, mine was held up! (as were a few of my pics :) Going to be in-betweening Aurora and the prince and his horse (to which I completely geeked out and squeeled like a big girl) - basically our teachers goal is to have us try for Disney in-betweening at the end of the course an get a job!
- Took three hours to get downtown to the sketch crawl, met Alina in the Bradbury building - (what an amazing place, like a giant fancy escher painting with detail in every corner, including the doorknobs! sketched for a while...
- Went to the markets - talked to a security guard while Alina was in the bathroom (poor guy looked like he had been driven insane by the many hours he has to spend outside the girls toilets EVERY day, had a laugh...
- Went back to Alina's and played piano while she got ready
- Dinner and drinks was at CHA and of course a looong chat
- Strolled down the road to Nucleus for the Terrible Yellow eyes opening - drew on the walls, talked to Brittney Lee, Kazu, Ben and Orion (Disney) had an excellent time - stayed till 11, had a street dance upon running into some of Alina's friends then got drinks and went home

Sunday
- Woke up early
- Alina picked me up for our 3 hour road trip to Salvank - a little replica of country Holland, complete with windmills and lots of friendly old people (so thats where they all went...)
- Strolled around the postcard village, begailed by dancing, the smell of applekirks (definitely spelt that wrong - basically a pancake in the shape of a tennis ball, drizzled with raspberry jam and icing sugar) in the air, smiling faces, ompahpah music. Had meatballs for lunch with saurkrout - not too bad, service was a little abrupt so I took a bunch of crackers and jams to make up for it!
- Explored every corner, browsed all the stores, wound up music toys, tried on viking hats and learnt a little more about Hand Christan Anderson.
- Had a pretzel for dessert, was almost forced into a buying a kookoo clock then tired and eyes just about popping out of our heads we made for the car and the three hour journey home.. to which I proved to Alina that I really do shutdown from 3:30 to 5 then am roaring to go till 2am the next morning!
- Had tea and yogurt for dinner then made my way home with some more videos and a sore belly...

Monday was another Cha day, which saw me catch up to some drawings, designs for the book and my website as well as starting and finished "The Dip" (another present from Dave) a book about Knowing when to quite and when to stick it out - a pretty good read if you stuck in a rut ^_^

Tuesday was my errand day
- Had another Rice triangle for breaky
- Went to Woodbury to ask whether I could use their animation tables- got pushed all around campus and left with still no answer
- Rode to Micheals to get a frame - jackpot! (got materials too)
- Back to ASIFA to check if it was open, met Steve the al knowing boss of the archives and practiced some volunteer work I'll be doing from now on (I'm thinking Saturdays) and looked over the fortune of materials and references they have on offer
- Back up to Burbank for a yoghurt stop then to the Council to FINALLY get my permit so I can draw on the street ^_^ then Library to print notes, taro for extra brain strength and onto Office works to get more supplies. On the way home I stopped by Ralphs for groceries (now officially looked like a bag lady - complete with pillow and made spagbowl for dinner - yum!

Wednesday was another Cha day, the highlight was managing to finally get my hands on Coraline!! woohoo so I watched that along with a few other you tube vids to round of the night.

PHew - if your still there, go get yourself some sort of food reward, you deserve it ^_^

Over and out
Lel





for more pics go to my facebook page

Thats freakin awesome! Your so gonna cry when you see this!!

Ok so it may be another long one - I'll try my best to sum up the last few days, but lets be honest, we all know I really stink at being brief... Not to mention I'm attempting to multi task by watching the MTV VMA awards at the same time as doing this which means I'm extremely distracted... honestly its taken me half an hour to write three lines...

Take 2 - its now the next day, I gave up last night at midnight when I fell asleep on my keyboard.
So where were we, I left of on Tuesday after my glorious debut volunteering for Siggraph and the next days spent at Cha. Thursday night was as always down at Priscilla's drinking tea and drawing with the gang, to which I discovered the barrister there wants to marry me and take home to meet his mum ^_^ Friday I made a trip to Studio city to Meet Shaun and Gary for an interview, the job will be a lot like the one I had at cartoon kingdom except a little less money and only teaching. I actually start training this friday for my two classes starting next week (lego and science... at least I wont have to wear a wig). It took me a while to get down there especially as I decided to walk from studio city - as always it looked a lot shorter on the map. I arrived sweating like crazy and tried my best to hide it as we went through the interview... thank god for long lasting deodorant ^_^
The interview went great and it was a pleasant journey home looking through cute little boutiques and chilling out at Bobaloca.

Saturday Howard and I got to know each other on the two hour trip to Victorville. We were set to join David for a picnic in the city as caricaturists. Howard started first while I grabbed some free food (meat smothered in sauce, beans, bread and corn - thank god I brought something green) then I joined him at 12 and David followed at 1. I was a little nervous as it was my first time doing heads and bodies, but after some really positive feedback and a lot of fun I'm seriously eager to do it again!

Sunday Alina picked me up early to go to the county fair. Imagine the Easter show minus the showbags. The air was cool when we stepped out of the car and the sky dark with the look of ominous clouds rolling in (it was great!) but as always it fined up as we made our way around the park, cheering on pigs at the races, pretending to be cowgirls at the horse barrel competitions (I actually responded with this after a guy knocked a barrel over - GO steve! don't worry cowboy, shake it of, YEEHA!) ^_^

We also strolled through the safari, patted baby animals, rode the sky line, chowed down on smoked corn and were all set to go for a GIANT turkey leg until I was told it cost 10 bucks! We cleverly avoided the most other fair cuisine which included deep fried twinkies, oreos, zuchinies, chees burgers and more! NO wonder people are fat here!

Well thats all for now

Until next time ^_^



Good times ^_^

Its a Mystery!!

Warning: The entry includes strong language

Ok, momentary freak out, thought I lost my date book, I'm not saying its in my list of things to take with me in case of fire, but as my life seems to be getting increasingly busy I do need it for past and future event co-ordination ^_^

I would also like to add a note early in this entry as most of you may not reach the end - I've had a few emails recently that tell me your trying to "catch up" and life is too busy.. Its not a mystery novel people, there's no plot twists, over reaching plot developments or cliff hangers. Just read what ever entry is at the top and you should be ok...

Right, now that thats been said, we can move onto my fabulous life that I know your all vicariously living through (she jokes pathetically).

Monday was extremely educational, Alina and I spent around 5 hours wearing the soles out of our shoes stumbling around LACMA. Imagine all the museums and galleries in Sydney and combine them into one uber museum situated in the downtown area of LA. There was all sorts of cool things to look at, like the giant Tupperware sculpture outside (long lines of Tupperware dangling from the ceiling that you could walk through). We started out in the Pop art section, browsing everything from Warhole to who knows... I think the main criteria for pop art is it has to be HUMONGOUS (love that word) Honestly you could have a blow up toy crocodile stuffed through a ladder (which we actually saw) but as long as its bigger than a car its considered art... The only really cool thing was the Giant doll house... the only thing worthy of being huge, and the biggest 20 dollar bill... but only because it had a little person on it moving around and painting the white house.

Then it was of to the Pompey exhibit.. making fun of hermaphrodite sculptures and others with little pointy penis's and GIANT testicles ^_^ I started this fun little game were we had to make up a caption for each sculpture and painting... We tried to do another building but after making it round the first floor (and seeing a hysterical Dracula silent film) we conked out and had to recuperate outside in the courtyard.

Later that afternoon we had fun moseying around a little area with cool galleries and book stores, then met a friend of hers for dinner at a sleek indonesian restaurant nearby.

Tuesday's highlight was my volunteer work at Siggraph down in the LA film school. We were thanked profusely for helping place biscuits on a tray then spent the rest of the night FREEZING OUR ASSES OF inside the theatre watching 3D animation shorts and adds contributed by some of the worlds best independent and major studios and film makers. One of my faves was "French Roast" I suggest you youtube it if you've never heard of it, the character design work is amazing!! I also loved this really creepy one of a little girl that gets turned into a doll and of Course Partly Cloudy by PIXAR. There was also this brilliant add for the convenience of a particular credit card that showed a guy going from his work to home on a water slide - ALex remember when we hypothesized the creation of a slide that would take us from our beds to the dining table.. well this totally kicked out dreams ass! I was so devastated when I realised it was all 3D so my dreams of a pilgrimage to try it out were ruined...

Wednesday was CHA day (yay) and a massage to finish it all of, then today was pretty much the same... minus the massage. Why am I spending away willy nilly you ask? well I have an actual job this weekend!! thats right folks $200 is commin my way ^_^ I'm doing some caricatures at a festival somewhere I have never heard of...should be fun! Oh and I have a job interview tomorrow for another company a lot like Cartoon Kingdom so wish me luck...

For now I'll leave you with some observations of today...

- Man ran up and hit the bus after he was beeped at for being in the way
- Smokers are litter bugs! I told a smoker to throw their butt away today
- Can a cookie really be outrageous??
- Drawing big allows you to get in more detail... obvious but only a recent realisation

OH and I also got a library card! I'm trying to continue my DVD education so I got Oklahoma (the Hugh Jackman version) West side story and the Animation show - if you have any suggestions send them my way ^_^

And one very last thing (promise) did anyway send me a present recently... that is two limited edition Coraline dolls?? I got them yesterday and have NO idea why... No return address or sender info, if you have any information on this mystery please let me know asap... or I may have to send them back...


These are some sketches I did of a little baby while at Cha... thanks again to Jackie and her baby Elijah for letting me stare at them for an hour ^_^

My new monthly destination...

Well Folks,

I just finished one of the BEST breakfast's I've ever had! Picture this steamed corn, carrots and bright green broccoli florets accompanied by polish dumplings stuffed with sauerkraut and mushrooms, rich melt in your mouth Goulash with tender chewy gnocchi and a perfectly cooked cabbage roll stuffed with lean pork, chicken and rice! I'm salivating just thinking about it!
It was the other half of the dish I chose not to finish last night so that I'd have something special to wake up to this morning ^_^

Yesterday was really great. I woke up late and after a light breaky (was already preparing for my dinner) made my way to the Starbucks near my street to meet Hamid for a little jamming session. I was early so spent some time in Frogen Yozurt for a second breakfast and a cool down in the air-conditioning. When 11:30 rolled round and I hadn't heard from Hamid I started to worry... then after calling to confirm the location we were supposedly both at I realised with a jolt that I was at the wrong starbucks! Luckily he was very forgiving and told me to hang in there while he jumped in the car and came over to pick me up.

Later, after getting lost a few times (always a great way to get to know someone) we spent a few hours in his house playing piano, singing, going crazy on his bongo drums then rocking out to "I will survive". He was trying to teach me to be angry... but I'm not sure it was working out, I tried to explain that I'm just not an angry person ^_^ At three we wrapped up and it was more circles to try and get back to Burbank.. but we made it and after grabbing a few things in Burbank I made my way to Alina's place.

Dinner that night was ay Polka, a little Polish restaurant I'd heard about on the Food network channel. We got of to a late start after our reservation was pushed back about half an hour or so... but once we sat down we were treated like royalty.. or better yet, part of the family. After being offered complimentary drinks we were served our spinach soup and salad - the salad was really fresh with a sweet fruity dressing. then out came our mains (my breaky) followed by a complimentary dessert that was (to Alina's delight) on fire ^_^ not to mention complimentary little truffle chocolates... Safe to say they deserved their large tip, and as the doors closed for the final time that night we shook hands smiled blissfully and piled in the car with our left overs for the trip to the Hive Gallery.

We didn't stay at the gallery long as it was VERY crowded, VERY loud and EXTREMELY hot.. but there was some great artwork, some interesting looking people (you could get in for less if you dressed provocatively) and as always some strange personalities ^_^

Hope you all had a great weekend and to all the dads out there (especially mine) HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!

Catch up

Sorry for the length - but I've saved up a few entries ^_^

Sunday
Stayed at home all day to stay our of the smoke filled air thats slowly creeping round the burbank area like a monster stretching its fingers further and further, licking at the dried bush with delight... Lucky Alina could pick me up from the house today and at 6:30 it was of to the Monkey comics gallery to have a peek at the girls drawin girls exhibit (a nice blog to check out if you have time). After parking round the back we came in through the massive comic store at the front, Alina left me to browse the numerous isles then I met her in the main gallery (very small compared to the shop) for meat flying of the bbq live modeling.
We had fun sketching and chatting then saying goodbye to new friends I reversed the car out of the lot (parking is not Alina's strong point) and we finished of the night in a very disappointing Thai restaurant that charged us 10 buck for a tiny plate of veggies.

Monday
Spent all day at Cha and met some cool artists!

Tuesday
After going to sleep at 3am that morning I woke up again at 10:30 and had to quickly dress and start my ride down to Flower street to meet Tony at Dream Works. Not factoring in that it would be down hill most of the way I arrived half an hour early but was more than happy to sit by the main fountain and soak up my surroundings ( I saw Chris Sanders walking around!!!) After a while I met up with Tony, Joe and Devon and it was onto a free lunch (The studio provides lunch for everyone -and they even have a frozen yogurt machine!! I was in heaven). We chatted about the industry, food and drawing whilst occasionally looking over at the poker game going on in the middle of the cafeteria (the end of a big comp between the whole studio.. looks Like Jeffery K is the one to beat - who I actually bumped into... literally, he was trying to get through the crowd and asked me to move aside.. nicely ^_^)
I Spent the next 3 hours or so in their office chatting with the likes of Chen Yi Chang (lead character designer on Mulan) and Nico Marlet (character designer on Kung Fu Panda) looking at their work, soaking up the atmosphere, picking up tips and generally having such a good time I'm pretty sure half of what happened has completely left my mind. Later that day we had a coffee break (or frozen yogurt break for me) and met some more people (who I've completely forgotten their names, but they were so nice and encouraging!) then after trying to get through to James (I'd met him at lunch earlier and he asked me to stop by) but having no luck I headed back to Tony's office to see some more stuff and finally end the night with a some brilliant words of encouragement and a long ride back home (stopped over for groceries and Sushi ^_^)

Today was another trip to Cha but along the way I took down some interesting observations
- Red sun and red moon
- Had the nice bus driver
- Faces in the trees
- Lady that smelt moldy and dirt started picking hair of her chin and EATING IT!
- Man with a bicycle pump but no bicycle
- Met a nice guy and girl on the bus that want to take me to the zoo... sounds a lot more sinister than it is ^_^
- Saw a plumbing van with the name "Mr Rooter" - no kidding!

Character designer in training

I did these after talking to the guys at Dreamworks the other day... I plan to set aside an hour a day to focus souley on improving my character designs ^_^

Anything thats magic outta be good ^_^

Hey guys

I'm back, thought I'd update you on the great day I had yesterday! ok so it started of mediocre, after riding down to the market and grabbing some groceries I spent the next few hours at bobaloca slurping down a taro slush and hoeing into the food I'd just purchased - the combination of pretzel rolls and "mums spicy magic sauce" with lotus root on the side is sooooo good!
It was soooooo hot yesterday, I mean like really really hot, when I rode down our hill I felt as though I was riding through a fan forced oven as the hot air bellowed in my face (I honestly couldn't breath).
After finishing some drawings the feeling of guilt crept through me, I knew I was putting of the projects I had to do on the computer so with a reluctant sigh I got back on my bike and rode home.... thank god I made it, to be honest for a while there it was touch and go... the heat was so bad I almost keeled over!
After getting home and chugging down 3 glasses of water, I set myself up downstairs and got started on my projects, then finding out I wasn't going to be able to go to the roller derby with Gary (the tickets sold out) I made my way to Alina's to go with her to the gallery.
Found on Silver lake rd, the gallery looked like a house thats been converted, imagine a small two story house JAM-packed with as much art and toys as they could get in there, an eclectic colourful assortment of vinyl figures, paintings, sketches and children's books. The theme was doctor Zeus under the title "Oh the art you will see" Alina had in my opinion one of the best with a beautiful water colour of thing 1 and 2.
After mingling a little and looking around at all the art on display we left with our tummies grumbling for little tokyo. turns out they had a kinokonya (asian book store) so we browsed there first then it was straight to this little hole in the wall noodle hut that Alina claims she's constantly finding excuses to go to. There was a line outside (as per usual) so we had time to wonder around a little before we were seated. We tucked into massive bowls of noodles accompanied with delicious broth, pork and veggies ^_^ mmmm
Then it was onto yogurtland for dessert and a hop, skip and a jump back home, all in all it as a fantastic night! I'm of to another gallery tonight for a closing ceremony which means food, activities and fun!

Oh and I also want to make a shout out to Michaela my lovely room mate for my little kiss band
and my new house mate for giving me a lift yesterday
thanks guys!

Over and out ^_^

Oh and for those of you who are disappointed as I am that I missed out on the roller derby, I'll be able to go in september, I can't wait! ^_^



This is for a blog I'm trying to get into
check it out at : http://www.terribleyelloweyes.com/

God gave rock and roll to you

Yes Dad, I'm sitting here writing this as I listen to all the KISS songs I just downloaded ^_^ I thought you'd be very proud...

It's almost like a warm hug as the sound of live guitars filter electrically through my laptop speakers and Paul calls out to me like a voice from the past... Today was fairly uneventful, well to my standards anyway, I had to catch 7 different buses which was slightly crazy, I saw carpet lady again, not sure I mentioned her before but she's an Asian lady thats gets on to go to China town and has an odd habit of wearing tops that match her bag which looks suspiciously like she's made it out of spare carpet... or rustic curtains.
The first bus also broke down... twice, similar to what our old Laser would do, and mum would quickly try and start it as if nothing had happened.. it may have gone almost unnoticed in this case if it wasn't for the guy down the back that was clearly on drugs (evidence by the sores all over his body) and in a hurry to get somewhere (drug meeting?) "What the (&^%& your &*^$ kidding... I need to (*^&% be somewhere!" it was pretty funny.
They had some great flavours at 21 flavours as well... not 21 as the title claims but 2 were mint with choc chips, junior mints and actual mints mixed in as well as this cinnamon flavoured one with cookie dough and all sorts mixed in ^_^
After spending the rest of the day in Cha trying not to get stuck to the seat (it was so hot today I considered crawling into an air-conditioning vent and staying there forever!).
I realised at 5:30 that I should have got going ages ago then it was a race against time to catch 3 buses in less than an hour and half in order to catch the last 155 from burbank that would take me to the sketch meet... every stop over was agony! But I made it (woohoo) and had a great time with Edd, Matt and the rest of the gang... I may even have a couple of job opportunities from it... finally ^_^
Hope everyone is staying safe and avoiding public transport when they can, I'm of to see J.I.Joe tomorrow

Lel
xoxox

These are from today, I did an emotion for every letter of the alphabet, well almost every one, I got up to V.. Oh and I'll change U, I asked everyone at the meet what I should do (I'd already drawn underwear) and all at once they looked up and said, "uninspired" ... then someone said unmotivated... am I sensing a theme??

al

Is the baby still there??

Hey guys

Things have been really great the last few days, just chilling out, saw Luce today down in West Hollywood which was excellent, we had a free day - that is got free drinks, $10 extra credit on my phone and when a button fell of the pants Luce wanted they were discounted an extra 20% (bargain!). There's also been lots of drawing - A shirt is in the works everyone, the theme is monsters ^_^ (go to DA for some sneak peeks), lots of sitting badly - I got a massage the other day, it sounded like a machine gun going of as she tentatively slid her thumbs across my shoulders, the sound of 1000's of knots scurrying away ^_^... and of course lots of eating, word to the wise: it takes 20 mintues or more to cook a rice pudding wrapped in thick leaf, DO NOT open just because its soft on the outside as you'll find hard uncooked rice in the middle... not tasty :(

And now a little short narrative I wrote on the bus while travelling to Little Tokyo:

I look out the murky dirt stained bus window at tired, dull streets rolling by. The slightest points of difference spark my attention... guy on a bike... washing on the balcony... the faces that greet me are mute, devoid of expression except an innate sense of exhaustion, a sign of silent battles with the heat rippling proudly though the air.
The bus twists and turns, chugging up and down uneven hills, bumping us around in a kind of spontaneous co-ordinated movement. A dance none of us learnt but seem to know the steps to. A baby grabs my hair from behind, cooing curiously, causing a smile that breaks my transfixed stare. I shift uncomfortably on the hard seat longing wistfully for this journey to end, or at least a pillow, I don't know how long I've been traveling or how far there is to go.
The terrain seems to be changing, people outside mingle about, pushing through the heat as they go about tasks of the day. I feel the close of my journey approaching and think longingly of my destination and what's to greet me when I arrive.
It's been another moment of my life in transition, in suspended displacement, on the painful yet necessary mode that is... public transport.

Signing out
^_^

P.s. thanks to Luce for the title idea, that little doozy had me cackling for ages ^_^
Oh and the image is for my display - I'm going to do some caricatures for people... for money...

Hey - you wanna ride?

Hey blogspotters

I figured I should let you in on the spoils and adventures of yesterday, not to mention my harrowing 40 minute jog down glenoaks in sandals and suspenders at 1 am this morning (Dad don't read the last part)

I went to sleep the night before on a high, faced with a jam-packed day to follow I wanted a decent amount of sleep, however as is predictable I finally got to sleep at 2 so waking up late I realised with a jolt I only had 30 mins to grab a handful of nuts, run out the door to burbank and catch a bus to meet Alina.

Half way and sweating I got the call that Alina had finished her hair appointment and was ready to meet me, luckily she took pity on me and decided to pick me up from where I was (thanks Alina!). chatting away, the trip to Alhambra flew by and before I knew it we were settled in a tucked away booth at CHA eating stew and talking about crazy boss's how to accept people telling you your work sucks and basic industry do's and don'ts.

Full and happy we moseyed over to Nucleus gallery to drop of a painting of Alina's they were have on display as part of a "where the wild things are" exhibit. The gallery was really quirky, displaying a shop front and hiding a large opened floor that displayed around 3 to four artists. When we'd finished browsing art and books we headed over to the Valley - a large Asain shopping centre with a massive supermarket boasting live fish, squawking product sellers and lots of taste testing!

An hour later I was being dropped in Pasadena for some yogurt and to catch the 181 to meet David at the observatory. It was a long ride but I made it and joined him for the hike to the top of the mountain. We had a great time getting to know each other, looking at the view of LA, watching the sun go down and then heading in for an amazing trip through space in their dome that made it feel like you were flying!! Stumbling down the mountain after the show I listened as he told me about mountain lions (that are in the park) and other places I should visit, it was then my turn to do the talking at an Italian restaurant as he ripped into a late dinner where things took a philosophical turn as I was told to explain my views on meaning of life and why I think I'm here..

Faced with the prospect of walking home I was seen grabbing a taro slush At 12:30am from Bobaloca. As I slurped down the last dregs of my drink I started to freak myself out with sounds around me so took of running the rest of the way... warn out, red and sweating like crazy I made my way up Cabrini with thongs in hands then wiping myself down with a handtowel (not allowed showers after 11) I lay on my bed and fell straight to sleep!

Lesley's Law

Has anyone ever noticed that an incredibly good day is almost always followed by an incredibly bad one... or bad couple of days - I think its the universe's way of balancing out joy in the world... In any case I'm going to call it "Lesley's law".

With this in mind I had a bad case of Lesley's law the last day or so. Following my great drawing day that saw me floating home with sheer euphoria and sense of gay whimsy.... not that kind of gay people... It was all taken away upon the discovery that my sunglasses are now missing, YES its true, my last ray of hope (and vision) was taken away... and the worst thing... I have NO idea HOW!! I'm absolutely positive I put them on my dresser so in the night they have grown legs and ran away... its the only explanation I have... even Michaela is baffled, we sat on our beds for half an hour staring at each other in complete confusion...

Upset, frustrated and slightly headachy from not being able to focus properly I spent some time moping then went downstairs to make some lunch. To improve my mood I made myself a really nice chicken salad (marinated chicken I made the other night) and upon taking it into my room to watch tv... DISASTER struck... or should I say, Lesley's Law (actually now that I think about it maybe I shouldn't associate my name with something so depressing... ) struck and the salad flew out of my hand and landed ALL OVER my bed.. the floor and my computer!

Later I was seen looking for a firewire cable to back up my computer (as I'm petrified something will happen) and told by every electronic store that no one had any (one place didn't even know what a firewire cable was... how is it he got a job I haven't)... Not to mention my electronic book I bought is locked so I can't print it out and read it normally (its hard to read 60 pages on the computer)

But my law also works the other way - badness must be followed by goodness so after this I was able to print out my other e-book (all 214 pages of it) and got a discount, Had an amazing session with the guys at the sketch club that night, and after biting the bullet and finally getting my eyes tested for a prescription was given a free contact fitting (she felt sorry for me as an unemployed, insurance's person that was at the point close to tears). So with my contacts in I was able to buy myself some funky sunglasses ($5) and found a great deal on belts ($4 each!)

Hope your all well and having a good day.. just watch out for the bad one...
Lel

Always look on the bright side of life - do do di dooo di do di doooo

Hey guys

So yesterday and today are shooting days with Michaela... or should I say WAITING, WAITING, pretending to talk to homeless people days.. I'm serious acting has to be one of the most boring jobs ever! its almost 90% waiting around, and then when you do have to act you repeat the same thing at least 8 times... I had to take soooo many bites of a jam and philly sandwhich yesterday it almost made me sick!

Looking on the bright side of things, I was shouted a nice lunch of chicken and veggie pot-stickers, got to make a few new friends and was then taking out to the movies after... so I guess the life of an actor isn't all bad - especially when your director is willing to give you a neck massage!

We saw "The Time Travelers wife" with Rachel McAddams and Eric Banner - not bad, ATTN: MUM! - do NOT see this film, unless you want to spend an hour trying to compose yourself after, we don't want another "Hours" episode ^_^ but it was pretty decent, nicely acted and considering I was dead tired, reasonably interesting story-line...

Now as I'm slightly lazy (and running late for the shooting today) I'm going to try a new way of writing these - sort of like a shopping list I guess, with little observations I made during the day... (clears throat) here goes:

- Daily Observations but Lesley (if you don't know who that is you may have stumbled on the wrong blog)

- Man holding baby turtles on the train
- Girl carrying a tree in a pot at the bus stop
- Women with a bag made out of curtains - that actually matched her shirt
- NEVER catch the bus if the bus driver isn't 100% positive were he stops - you could end up in woop woop! (as I did)
- The 96 bus does NOT go to Glendale... but it does go past the LA zoo ^_^
- Streets are named after places - this makes giving or asking for directions VERY confusing...
- The moon is red - the moon is RED like bright, shiny seriously freaky red as my glasses RED
- Army guys are nice - until they try and "take you home" - it is at this time that a seat near the bus driver is advised...
- Some bus drivers should not be driving - and others can make your day - "good morning precious!"

Oh and lastly if any one was worried or interested, no luck yet with my glasses... I think I have given up hope

Until next time
Keep reading ^_^

Lel

"Hey Sexy lady"

Ok so no matter who says it or how - that comment is just creepy, especially coming from a 40 year old Mexican riding past you on the street...

After meatloaf for lunch (thanks again for the recipe Gpa) I spent most of the day at Burbank on the corner handing out fliers to families about my cartooning business... trying to do something similar to what I was doing for Danny - besides the occasional "No thanks" I got some good feedback, one lady even smiled encouragingly and told me I was doing a good thing.. yay me ^_^

Next stop was meeting with Alina for a little catch up then sitting in the cinema (still wearing sunnnies) to watch Ponyo. The movie was great - and in true Miyazaki style, kinda weird :) based on a crazy adaption of the original little mermaid it was the charming story of a little fish that becomes human for the love of a boy... not to mention the song at the end - really cute!

After that I sat in Bobaloca for a while drawing fish - well so would you if you'd been watching them for the last hour and a bit... then slurping out the last dregs of chai and waving goodbye I caught the bus home. Homemade chicken and veggie soup for dinner mmmm

Over and out

No glasses matching your description...

Hey there blogeroos

I thought I'd add this little ditty as my memory slowly filters out information I'd forgotten - I remembered why I spoiled myself with a movie - I spent 6 hours on public transport on a journey to the lost and found depot to be told by a very disgruntled women she didn't have my glasses! You know what, I don't even think she looked properly... supposedly there's different boxes for different lines so my glasses could be in any box... bet she only looked in a couple - and to top it all of handed me a card at the end saying - call this number to see if they're there.. THAT information would have been more useful BEFORE I spent so long on crowded extended buses down here, I looked at her eyebrows furrowed and grunted something to that effect, but then of course felt guilty cos I guess its no her fault...

Oh and I included a better pick of my tattoo (which someone thought was real) Its a dragon (I've since been told its hard to tell.. thanks mum) Hope you all have fantastic Mornings, noons and nights

Lel

Oh yeah, and if any one is interested in seeing me in a movie, let me know and I'll send it to you ^_^

Get this party started ^_^

Hey friends and family,

So its been a while between blogs... well a few days, and guess what... not much has happened, yep things have been pretty quiet, in fact I was contemplating whether or not to bore you with an entry tonight but I figured you'd hear about it if I was home so... may as well keep the babbling tradition alive ^_^

Yesterday was toped of by a trip to the movies, (among a few chores... actually not sure if I can call them chores if I create them for myself... seriously people I'm so desperate for a little purpose I've been creating imaginary jobs for myself...) But I fake rewarded myself anyway - with Julie and Julia... that movie with Merryl streep and Amy Adams, it was really nice, had some funny moments, and even made me tear up slightly... there was a bit about sisters and well... (miss you guys) And of course it boasted lots and lots of food!

Today was heaps of fun, I made my way down to Little Tokyo after a browse of Glendale markets (tasted the nicest roast capsicum sauce - "mums magic") and it was going of! there were balloons, jumping Castles (news flash, it just took me 5 minutes to figure out how to spell castle - stupidest word ever...) Kids, stalls and more. I started with a quick browse then straight into the museum for some craft. We were making Kokeshi dolls, which are Japanese dolls originally from Northern Japan- the museum was having an exhibition with over 200 different ones from the originals to pop art infused modern creations. Holding my doll proudly after being told it was the first one of the day to wear glasses, I got my face painted (hey as a fellow face painter I have to suss out the competition) had a browse of the exhibition, then spent the rest of the day drifting around the various smaller festivals sprawled throughout little Tokyo.

On the bus home I had a nice chat with a couple of guys I had sketched at the stop then it was home for master chef time where I made a minestrone soup, meatloaf and began marinating some honey soy lemon chicken... mmmm, the meatloaf just came out of the oven, I guess its time for a taste

Until next time ^_^

Mr blue sky

Today I collected yet more crazy bus stories as I watched one driver yell at us all for having the windows down when he had the airconditioning on - and another lady yell at him to keep his eyes on the road. All this on the way to see China Town (on purpose..sort of) where I browsed crowded markets and navigated push cart trolleys all the while trying to find a bathroom.

A bus ride into Pasadena later, had me snacking on Blueberry muffin flavored yogurt (don't knock it till you try it), and then a four hour sit in cha for a major drawing session to which I welcomed an hour massage after. Its always a bad sign when a masseuse touches your back and says almost instantaneously - "Oh you so tense, your back very scary" but she powered through and did an awesome job - I was so relaxed in fact, I didn't even mind their was no door... although I do wish those people didn't have to walk by just when she had my pants down and was working out my butt...

Refreshed and happy I floated to the bus home, where I and my milk tea were lucky enough to be picked up by Tabitha for a ride the rest of the way, or more importantly up our mountain... I now sit/lie/shift around on my bed listening to Peter Combe's remembering whistfuly the old days and much less scary back times...

Until later
don't forget to stretch and tell me about what your up to

Lel