rain, rain, comes to LA

Here in SoCal, rain is hard to come by. But as I write this, puddles are forming outside my office window faster than they can be consumed by an unprepared (or maybe nonexistent) storm drain. If someone were to ask me what kind of rain this was, I'd probably say its pouring, or coming down in sheets, or describe it in terms of falling felines and canines. Yet, the more I think about it, this is probably just a sprinkle compared to what any other state in the country probably gets. I mean, theres no thunder, lightning or floods yet. But that doesn't mean I can't complain. Thats what we SoCalers were bred to do when the clouds gather.

Please don't take my whining to seem spoiled or ungrateful. We're just so used to our fairly consistent weather patterns here that most of us don't bother to check the weather report in the morning. We never grew up with any consistent 'rainy day' training. As a result, I'm writing to you wearing a skirt, t-shirt, flats, and jacket that wouldn't hold up against a light breeze. My umbrella is most definitely hiding somewhere in the depths of my closet. Oops.

Now I have nothing personal against rain at all. In fact I actually enjoy the rain. At least in the romantic sense. I love sitting in my apartment with a steaming cup of coffee or hot cocoa and a good book while staring out at the misty drizzle. Rain also means snow in the mountains and nearly 24 hours of smogless sky to follow. Though when I think about it in more practical terms, rain really sucks the life out of LA. People practically go into hiding as if a little water were going to melt them like the wicked witch of the west. All too often I've heard the complaint "I did not come to SoCal for this." Sometimes even from my own mouth. Others daringly venture out onto the highways, instantly get some weird case of drivers amnesia and somehow can no longer recollect the basic mechanics of driving. LA drivers are already bad. LA drivers in rain are just plain stupid. As a matter of fact, I would not hesitate to list a rainy day on the 405 as one of the top ten most dangerous places to be in the country. Its right up there with South Central. But overall, I have to give the rain some credit. I mean, it gives us green stuff, water, and duh: super cool rainbows. It's just rain is really more of an anomaly here than a mundane affair.

And there you have it. Contrary to popular belief, it does actually rain here every so often. And when that precipitation starts its impeding descent, you can bet I'll be one of those idiots in flip flops, running for cover.

extra, extra! read all about it!

I'm not normally a spontaneous person. I generally think things through to the point of over thinking them and eventually convincing myself not to do whatever it was I was considering doing in the first place (got all that?). Well, sometimes you just have to act on instinct and bypass all those voices of reason; the ones that say 'thats so not me' and 'am I just wasting my time?'. It seems that yesterday, I successfully managed to defenestrate those thoughts (look it up... its a fun word).

It began Monday when I decided to explore Venice for a bit. I meandered through the canals and slowly made my way to the beach where I had grand plans for studying the afternoon away. If you've ever tried to study in say Hawaii, then you probably already know that no actual studying really took place that afternoon. Its hard not to feel like you're on vacation when your in Venice. Mostly, I lay out on the grass staring dreamy eyed at the sparkling Pacific, and then the bicyclers, street performers, skateboarders, graffiti artists, hippies, and tourists who passed by. I can't help myself. I love people watching. Well, being the observant person I am, you would think I noticed that on my way to my little patch of grass, I walked right through a set for a show that was filming that day. I didn't actually process this odd congregation of electronics and lighting and people until I had finished 'studying' and started the trek back to my car. Of course this time around, the realization sunk in when I noticed the same twelve beachgoers whom I'd seen an hour earlier were still walking/biking/rollerblading up and down the same twenty foot stretch of pavement. Finally it clicked.

I'm not really a diehard movie/TV fan except on a few occasions of which I'm not the most proud (Twilight), but when you accidentally come across a film set in LA, its hard to tear your eyes away. I may not buy star maps in Bel Air or stalk famous people vicariously through the paparazzi, but I'm still a curious creature by nature. So when I saw this scene, I had to sit back down and observe with a number of other passersby for a while. The scene took place on a basketball court just beyond all the shops and Muscle Beach. I couldn't really tell who were the main actors but after a few minutes, I began to get the feeling one of the guys playing basketball looked very familiar. Finally, as I got up, I asked a nearby tourist if he knew what show was being filmed. His answer was "We're filming the show Private Practice". Before I had time to process the name of the show, I looked around me and suddenly realized that almost all the people hanging out around this basketball court were PART of the scene! And I was obvlivious. Another click. Wait, Private Practice? That would mean those guys out there playing basketball are Taye Diggs and Tim Daly. Click and click.

I was intrigued, so naturally I continued to stand there and chat with the extra (no longer the tourist) for a few minutes about his job. It sounded like such a cool way to experience film making without having to first be an acting prodigy. Granted the hours are long and the pays not spectacular, but you learn a lot and meet tons of people. Sounds like something I would like, but would never actually take the steps to do. But hey, it doesn't hurt to research it a little right? Well, I returned home and proceeded to spend the rest of my afternoon googling 'how to become a background actor'. After extensive reading, I found myself at the website for one of the largest extras casting agency in LA, Central Casting (some of the smaller companies can just take your money and run). They were only open three days a week for one hour to register non-union extras. Wednesday from 10:30-11:30am was apparently my next chance. I printed out the paperwork and started filling it out. I was one step closer to well, nothing. I didn't really intend to go through with it, but it made me feel better to pretend I was doing something.

Turns out all that pretending was a series of nudges towards going through with the real thing. It wasn't until I woke up Wednesday morning that I realized I'd done so much work for this that it would be stupid of me not to give it a shot... or head shot to be specific. I dolled myself up and headed out to Burbank. Three hours, a line of over 100 people, and $25 later, I had my photo in their data base and a phone number in my hand. Thats one hard earned phone number. It was also my ticket to hearing directly from casting directors about which shows were looking for extras. It doesn't sound like its going to be the easiest thing to book, but considering the multitude of interesting people I met yesterday, I really think it would be an entertaining and enlightening experience. It helps when you're not actually trying to break into the acting business, and you don't actually care if you make it on film, or meet the actors. But, regardless, I'm glad I took that leap today. It was worth it. Here comes Katie, the next big thing in the world of unseen extras!

so there's this french maid serving sushi in an art gallery

Haha... you think I'm joking.

I wholeheartedly believe that if you can think up some business idea, no matter how extravagant, you can probably find some manifestation of it here in Los Angeles. And if its not already in existence here, LA is probably one of the few places where your crazy idea might actually fly. Yesterday, my mom came up from San Diego (home to beautiful beaches but lackluster restaurants) to visit for the day. I decided I wanted to give her a memorable taste of LA. Lucky for me, her trip coincided perfectly with DineLA's restaurant week, where over 100 top notch restaurants in the area participate by providing delicious three course meals at set (and decently affordable) prices. I'd spent a good amount of time researching restaurants online, so before she arrived, I picked out an intriguing cafe from the list called Royal/T Cafe. Its located near downtown Culver City in the art district. When we arrived, we realized just how well it was suited for its locale.


The first thing I laid eyes on when I walked in the door was a enormous white dog (think the Victoria's Secret pooch the size of a baby elephant and made of plastic). This and many other Japanese influenced art pieces sat behind a wall of glass. The simple gallery space was dotted with colorful pieces of all different media, and there was a store so you could take home your very own memorabilia. We made our way to the back of the room where we were greeted by a rosy cheeked hostess in a French maid outfit. No joke. I read up on it a little and found out that this is somewhat of a commonality in some high profile restaurants in Japan. French maids serving you coffee and milk tea... Who knew? We took our seats and ordered from a Japanese/French inspired menu ( my appetizer was bruschetta, main course: spicy tuna tar tar). Our meal was deeeelicious. And it looked good too. Of course, I'm one of those people who think presentation deserves a large percentage of the score (I'm going to be decorating cupcakes for a living, remember?). There was art everywhere to make for good conversation as well. All in all, my mom and I had a fabulous meal and a quite unique dining experience. Only in LA, I say. The next restaurant on my wish list: Opaque, where your tire meal is consumed in utter darkness! Stay tuned =).