Donna in Hollywoodland

The blog from Los Angeles and Hollywood by Donna Grayson

Saturday, April 30, 2005


Saturday Stuff



All in all, today was a very quiet day. I had absolutely no plans. And I relish those days because they are so few.
First thing I did was to sleep in until 11:30 am.
Oh, how lovely ....

Then I puttered around on the computer. Trying to update some of my webpages.


A free Saturday night. What to do ? No bars or nightclubs for me, no thanks.
I decided to run out and "visit" a church, which has a Saturday evening service. I drove over to Atwater Village , which is between Los Feliz and Glendale .


The Mosaic Church meets in building behind the Best Buy in the mall on Los Feliz Blvd. At least, I thought it was going to be a building. Until I saw it.
It is a big... huge... Tent. If you could call it a Tent, because it has heat ducts and pipes and carpet and everything. Very unusual. A permanent Tent, set up behind a Mall.

Now, I am not looking for a new church. I like the one that I attend on Sunday mornings . But I really did enjoy the sermon. The pastor at Mosaic is doing a series on "Imagine! Nine Weeks To Create The Life Of Your Dreams".
The topic on Saturday night was "Focus". How to stay focused on the one thing you are supposed to be doing. And not get side-tracked by other things around you.

Gee.. that sounds like me . Acting ? Acting ? What about the Blog, and Volunteering at the Egyptian, and the day job at the music company, and, and , and, and .... geesh.
I have to admit I spend so much time on other things related to the entertainment industry, that I forget to take time to actually "Act". And well, forget about time for just relaxing and having fun - there is even less amount of time for that.

All in all, I really liked the sermon. But the Saturday night group was alittle small for me. Being single, I like to be with a large bunch of people who have alot of stuff going on. I know most people don't go to church on Saturday night anyways. So maybe in a few weeks, I will visit their Sunday night service which meets in downtown Los Angeles.

There is another church that meets on the same lot called New Hope Chapel . They have two services on Sunday morning.
They have a really cool billboard right on Los Feliz Blvd, with a person wearing a name badge that says "Hi, my name is... New Hope Chapel. I'm right behind Best Buy". Its a really catchy billboard.

And as I was leaving the Tent, I noticed in the lobby of the Tent (Yes, the Tent had a Lobby) - that there was a Model of a building. And it says New Hope Chapel Dream Center. Well, I guess they plan to build a Church Campus on that lot. Its great they actually found land in Los Angeles that they could build on. It looks like it will be a wonderful complex once they get it done. Much better than a Tent ....




Weird Mail


I had some mail returned to me today due to a bad address. It was an 8X10 I had cold mailed to a Casting Director.

Not unusual, considering that Casting Directors move around all the time. And the directories that are published on the internet and carried at Samuel French Bookstore have a hard time keeping up with the new addresses.

Since I am getting ready to do some more cold mailings, I thought, "Well, I can recycle the picture and mail it in my next group".

I opened the envelope - and there was a black and white 8x10 of me with blond hair, with my previous agents info on the resume.
What ? Huh ? My new pictures are in color, and I now have brown hair.

I looked at the front of the envelope. I had mailed this back in January 2004 !
And it just was returned to me April 2005 !

The Post Office in the 90012 zip code sure are not keeping up with their jobs.




Goofing Off




I am trying to do some updates to my website pages. And instead I am completely goofing off.

The TV Guide Jedi Quiz says that I am a "Jedi Master". What kind of Jedi are you ?
--- Thanks to Pink Is the New Blog ..

In case you are wondering What Kind of English Do You Speak ?
--- Thanks to Church of the Masses

And I really try not to discuss politics. As a nice church-going lady, I seem always to be alittle bit more conservative than most of my entertainment industry friends. (Nasty comments will just be deleted so don't bother. I'm going through menopause, so just leave me alone - thats my new exuse for everything.) But hey, if you can't laugh at yourself ..... DIYMedia has some really well-done remixes of President Bush speeches, edited and added to music. While I am not sure I agree with the point they are trying to make (if they are trying to make a point) - I have to admit these are really well-done, and some are quite humorous. The artist in me just loves to see people come up with fun, creative stuff, no matter what side of the political fence they are on.
--- Found via Boing Boing

Okay, enough of reading other blogs and lifting their posts. I need to stop goofing off and do some work on my website.
Its rough doing your own thing ... there is no one around to crack the whip...



Friday, April 29, 2005


No Chopsticks Please


Now becoming one of my favorite restaurants Kabuki at the Sunset and Vine complex, is really great.

We had a luncheon thing. I got Teriyaki Chicken. The Sushi my coworkers ordered looked very pretty and delicious - but since I don't know how to eat with chop-sticks, sushi at a business function was not going to happen for me. Fingers don't create that good of an impression.

The free table appetizer is Soy Beans. Pick the peas out of the pod, and put them in the empty bowl they give you. Whatever you do, don't try to eat the entire bean.

The waiters are very efficient and nice. One even brought my coworker her sauce without the sesame seeds sprinkled on top.
And they didn't bat an eyelash when I asked for silverware instead of chopsticks. Very nice waiters.

We kept saying how good the cocktails looked. But it was business and lunch, so that was out for now.
I will have to go by there one day after work and have a drink.



Commercial On TV



I finally saw one of the Commercials that I've auditioned for on TV .

The role was the clerk in a car commercial. It shows people returning things to the store.
The grocery store clerk where the guy tries to return the brown bananas went to a tall African-American.
The liqour store clerk where he tries to return the un-winning lottery ticket, went to a white haired man with an accent.

Well, at least it wasn't another short, plus-sized actress.

Funny, I always wonder what happens to the roles I audition for. It seems I never run across them in their finished form.
I was watching the news, and as the commercials were on, something in my head is going "Huh, why does this seem so familiar?"
Then it hits me.... oh, yeah, I remember the audition .....




How Cute ....


The Los Angeles Zoo has lots of baby animals being born.
It is Spring after all.


Everybody Loves A Baby will be at the Zoo the entire month of May.
Visitors get a special map that takes you on a self-guided tour of all the little ones.

And... if you bring your own baby picture, you get a discount on admission at the ticket booth.

Aaawwww, ......


Thursday, April 28, 2005


More Animal Things


After all the thrill and excitement of seeing those cute little stuffed animal toys while going through the McDonald's window, I looked around the Internet.
Sure enough - you can buy the entire collection already on Ebay .

I am not a collector. Haven't collected collectibles of any kind before . But these were so cute, I was thinking of really trying to get the entire collection.
It was fun to go in McDonalds and see which little animal I could find.
But seeing them all for sale already on the Internet, sort of took the fun out of it.

Nevertheless, I did get one more little animal. Now I have both the Persian and the Bengal. And I made sure I ordered a side salad with my Happy Meal, so the McDonalds employees wouldn't laugh at me for only ordering the kids meal.

Back at the office, I showed the new addition to my stuffed-animal family to my coworkers. One of my co-workers had the beautiful Encyclopedia of the Cat at her desk.
I looked through it on my lunchbreak. Such pretty pictures of cats.

And if you want to look at some pretty cat online, you can browse Petfinder.org. Except all these pretty cats need a home.
You can type in your zipcode, and ask for the local animals.
This is where I found my now 9 year old cat Cinnamon. I found her on Petfinder 3 years ago when she was 6.

In other animal news, The Genesis Awards will be shown on the Animal Planet Channel Saturday May 14. Its a two hour special.


Wednesday, April 27, 2005


William Shatner



I turned on one of those Entertainment programs the other night, and they were interviewing one of my favorite actors, William Shatner

Check out the William Shatner Official Site

The Hollywood Charity Horse Show he does every year is coming up on Saturday April 30 at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center


Not only that ... did you know he did a new album out with Ben Folds ?
Its called "Has Been" . And its getting good reviews. Okay, I have got to pick up a copy that.
And Ben Folds is the musical guest at the Horse Show this year too.

And William Shatner is busy shooting Boston Legal . I looked all over the internet for the premier date, and I can't find it. Word is that the success of "Greys Anatomy" is messing with the network's schedule. I wish they would hurry up and put it back on the air.

And, oh, yes, Mr. Shatner is also in Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous .

Wow - Horse Shows, Music, TV and Movies .... And he was born in 1931 ... I need to find out what vitamins this guy takes.

"Denny Crane"



Tuesday, April 26, 2005


More Older People Stuff


I mean the above title as just alittle light-hearted joke. Yeah, right.
If I seem to be talking alot about getting old, and taking care of myself - well, thats because I am getting old.
Just about 6 months ago I had to get reading glasses for the first time in my life. Then just a few weeks ago, my doctor tells me I am starting menopause . And now that I am no longer dying my hair blond, and am letting it be its natural dark brown, I can see all the grey hairs sprouting on my head.

I am so amazed how 46 years went zooming by so quickly. And what else makes it hard to fathom is that I really don't feel that old. Alittle creaky in the joints and muscles, but I really try to keep my spirit young.

My EN&T doctor told me to slow down, take it easy and start to realize how old I am. My regular doctor had the exact opposite advice: "You are still young, you should be out having a good time." So I guess age is just a matter of opinion.


So it was kinda funny today when the alarm went off, and on our local top 40s Station, Star 98.7 , there was Suzanne Somers - (Official site) talking about Menopause and her new book. I just let the radio play, and layed there and listened.

She was talking about hormones, and disease being caused by hormone imbalances. And one point was to make sure you always get enough sleep.
Sleep helps your hormone balance, and that helps you lose weight, and it helps your menopause symptoms.
As they ended talking to her, it turns out that she was over at the KTLA Morning News , so I turned that on as I got ready for work.

I guess, I have a double-wammy of hormones going, because besides the menopause, I've been hypoglycemic for over 10 years. And I have to say I haven't been really good about taking care of that.

Later in the day, I went to the Los Angeles Public Library website, and requested two of her books - one of them on tape. I figure it would be a good idea to read what she has to say. Besides that, she looks so great for her age, so she must be doing something right.


Monday, April 25, 2005


Little Old Ladies

On the way home from my Sunday at the office, I decide to go get some vitamins. I really wanted some herbal teas. So I go to VP Discount Health on Beverly Blvd.

I love funky health food stores that have all sorts of weird cool healthy stuff. Vitamins and herbs and food that you won't find at any other store.

I wanted to try some Black Cohosh tea . Its the herb my doctor recommended for Menopause. I still haven't tried the pills I bought a few weeks ago, so I thought I would try it in a tea first. They did have just Black Cohosh in a tea. They also had other teas for Menopause , but most of those contained Licorice Root - and that can raise your Blood Pressure, so its really not that good to take Licorice on a regular basis. So
I got the plain Black Cohosh tea.

I also was hoping that I could get Billberry in a tea. But they didn't have it. Billberry is for your eyes. Its especially good as you get older. I found a product, Twinlab Occuguard , that contained both Blilberry and Lutein . Both good for your eyes. And with all the Reading and Computer work that I do, I am hoping it might help. My reading glasses are a pain.

I also got some Almond Butter, A mixture of Wild Rices - all sorts of interesting kinds, Wheat Germ, and Organic Oatmeal Cookies.

As I was shopping, there was a little old lady there. She had a walker. One of the employees was helping her.
She was saying "I need Vitamin E . But I haven't taken it in a few months, so I think I better take it in a smaller dosage. And then I wil increase my dosage back to the amount I used to take".
The guy was really going out of his way to help her. It was something about the difference between Milligrams and Units.
She said "Yes, I want it in Units. But they don't make it that big. So I have to take more of the smaller pills."
She was going from one end of the store to the other, in her walker. She had to be in her 80s.
I felt like following her and saying "Oh, I'll just buy whatever she's buying".



Sunday, April 24, 2005


McDonalds Alert - Cute Stuffed Animals


I was so tired from being at the Festival of Books yesterday that I slept in and skipped church.
When I started to read my Los Angeles Times, I found the entire first section was missing. I had to call them and request another paper. They delivered a new one in about 20 minutes.

Then I decided since I had the morning, that I needed to vacuum and do the dishes.
The Cat knows when it is a non-work day. She just does . And if I turn on the water, she hides under the couch because she thinks she is getting a bath. She never does this on days when I am getting ready for work.

Oh, wait ... I was getting ready for work. Its Sunday, and I was planning on going into the office to do more data entry.
I am just that busy.



On my way to work, I stop at McDonalds.
Red Alert !!!! There is a picture of a cute kitty cat and a cute doggy on the Menu Board at the drive in.
I made my order "A number 6 please".
"Ok a number 6". says the voice.
"Wait, stop - whats the kitty and doggy picture ? What is that ?"
"They come with they Happy Meal"
"But what are they ?"
"They come with the Happy Meal" says the voice again.
"Whats a happy meal" I say, realizing I have never ordered one.
"You want a Happy Meal?" asks the voice.
"Yes, cancel my other order"
"What?!?!?"
"Cancel the number 6. I only want the Hamburger Happy Meal"

I drive up to the window. The girl hands me a doggy. A little stuffed doggy .
"When are you getting the Kitties in?"
She looks at me.
"When are you changing to another animal?"
She leaves the window. It takes a while
A guy comes back with a handful of little stuffed animals.
"We have a grey cat and a yellow cat." He says.
"Oh, wow - you have the cats !" I say, very excited. "I'll take the yellow cat".
I hand him back the dog, and I realize there are 3 McDonalds employees in the background, laughing hysterically.
Yeah, there is a 40-ish woman in your driveway going crazy over your stuffed animals.
And I am willing to bet I wasn't the first one.

The little Happy Meal Box has cute pictures of Doggies and Kitties on it.
I then realize its the Kids Meal. Oh, so thats why I've never ordered it before.

At the office there are - gasp - other employees working on their Sunday. Once of the other employees is also a Cat owner and I run over to show her my Happy Meal. She is as excited as I was. I bet she stops to get one on the way home.



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