Addendum

All that story telling and I forgot one thing. (Well, that’s not true… I left out a whole bunch of stuff that my inner 15-year-old thought was totally pertinent and should be shared, but the woman in me realizes should be kept secret, close to my heart and brought to mind by the mere mention of the New Kids and Donnie in particular) (Hell, I’ve even left out the detail that I wasn’t a Donnie fan back in the day. Yep, he stole me during that hug in Las Vegas. What’s a girl to do?)

Anyway, there’s one more part of my story… Because I was able to sneak some footage at three of my four shows, I thought it might be fun to cut together my own little music video. It happens to be of Grown Man. The footage that’s closest to the stage is from Las Vegas. (I told you there were no superlatives that could accurately describe how freakin’ awesome of a time we had!) My best friend and fellow Babe of Us Three, was using my camera and I love her for it. It’s best to go directly to YouTube and watch the video in high quality. I swear Donnie sees us and winks in our direction a few times, but maybe that’s just my inner 15-year-old dreaming again…

My Loss of Immortality

All right, so for this concert, we teamed up with Wendy. Once upon a time when we were all thirteen, I’d shockingly coined the phrase “Us Three Babes” which we still use to this day. So, when us three babes headed to Las Vegas, we were certain to have a great time.

We had no idea that there’d be no superlative to accurately describe the time we were to have.

In fact, we had such a wonderful time that it’d take far too long to blog the entire thing, but suffice it to say that even when this post ends, the time got better that night and into the next morning. And the two shows in November were just as awesome although the fireworks were of a different kind.

Okay, by some strange miracle we ended up at the front of the line. We did not plan any of that. It just plain happened. I was standing right there by the curtain, nervous as hell, but I was dressed as Commando Barbie and she’s got her shit together. She’s not gonna act like a lunatic. She’s gonna be civilized and oh, so sweet-sexy-cool.

Standing there in front of the curtain, I turn to my friends and say, “Sorry girls, Donnie’s mine. I missed him last time, so I gotta get him this time.”

And get him I did.

When the guys were in the room and the curtain was pulled back so that we could go in, I went straight for Donnie…and something kinda funny happened.

See, Commando Barbie gets a lot of looks. While walking around Comic Con this year, she was even photographed by Hustler for their Hot Babes of Comic Con feature. And as the guys had walked in, the curtains were a little split and even according to Jen–who hears stuff when my ears turn off because my mind gets full–both Jordan and Joe said things to the effect of “Damn, did you see that girl? Wow.” and other things alluding to the fact that Commando Barbie’s got her shit together.

So, when it was time to go in and I went straight for Donnie and he grinned like a very, very happy man, it was as though the world stood still for a moment. Just a moment. Just the amount of time it took me to open my arms and walk into his for a hug just as my friend Gina had done a few days earlier.

Okay, this is when it got kind of strange for me…

He wrapped his arms around me so tight–like he seriously wasn’t gonna let go–and then lifted me off the ground.

So what did I do?

I did what any other girl would do if she was really inspired to live the dream:

I WRAPPED MY LEGS AROUND HIM! WOOHOO!

And can I just say that I had a blast, too? Jen tells the story better than I do because being in the hug was one thing, watching it was completely different. Just like watching Gina get her hug, Jen watched me as Donnie spun in a circle all the while smiling and laughing just as I did. Good golly, I had such a fantastic little time for those five or ten seconds. It could’ve been forever as far as I was concerned. It was the time of my life.

I’d lost my immortality, but what’s more, I’d done it with quite an unexpected bang and that is one of the many reasons I love my life and the New Kids on the Block and all the crazy adventures I’ve been on because of them. I hope they never cease to inspire me and Jen without even trying.

And, seriously, I really hope I don’t die before meeting them again!

More and More

Technically, my first gig as an extra was in 1999 when I was in Jordan’s video. I was kinda in Joe’s video, too. But while I was accidentally in frame, I was hiding behind a tree. (I didn’t know they were rolling until it was too late!)

Anyway, since I’d only met Joe and Jordan and Jen had only met Joe, Jordan and Donnie, we’d figured we were still immortal since we couldn’t die until we’d met all the New Kids.

Silly, yeah, but we were fifteen when we’d made the pact. It doesn’t have to make complete sense in order to work.

Now, here we are in 2008, still following the New Kids’ whereabouts, although nowhere near as vigilant as we used to be. But then they got back together. We had opportunities to meet them. Really meet them. How awesome would it be? So awesome, I couldn’t wait to get us tickets. That was months ago. There was still a lot of distance between getting the tickets and actually being at the shows.

In fact, it took months before it actually sank in that we would meet the New Kids and thereby lose our immortality. Hmmm…

“Maybe we should back out.”

“No, we need to go. If only for our inner 15-year-olds.”

“It’s too incredible. I don’t think I could handle it.”

“We’ll be fine. How many celebrities have we met in the last decade?”

“But none of them were all five New Kids in the same room.”

“You’re right. What if we make asses of ourselves?”

“Let’s not go.”

“But we already have the tickets.”

“And we really wanna see the concerts. They’re awesome in concert.”

“Yeah, they are. I guess we have to go, then.”

“Do you really think there was any way that we wouldn’t go?”

“No, but that doesn’t stop the dread, the nerves, the fears.”

“And once we’ve met them, we can die.”

“That’s scary enough.”

This went on the whole week before the first two concerts. I stressed over what to wear. I still have my New Kids T-shirts and the jacket I’d put 250-hours-worth of rhinestones and chains on back in the day (Yes, it’s partially the New Kids’ fault that I’m so into sewing and beads.) but I wanted to wear something else. Something fun, yet casual. I settled on a funky pair of jeans, red ankle boots and a cute little slitted, low-cut top that tied in front. It was technically from back in the day, but I got it at a thrift store about a decade ago so it had never been to a New Kids concert with me.

I felt okay in that outfit, but that was all I was okay with. Our whole journey to the venue was spent in fear, lamenting, prepping for embarrassment or whatever other horrors should find us the moment our immortality was lost and we were in the same room with all five New Kids and actually–*gasp*–meeting them.

All in all, neither of us fell apart. I know I was awkward at times, but all that faded away when Jordan looked at me appreciatively and said, “Damn girl, you’re really workin’ that top.” (Special thanks to Jen for hearing him completely because I was lost in shock at “Damn girl” and didn’t hear the rest.) Basically, we’d survived…and gotten inspired, too.

And did I mention that technically, I was still immortal?

Jen had met them all that night, but me…well, something funny happened.

When I walked in, I was greeted by Danny. By the time we were done, I was about to go to Donnie, but my friend Gina was already headed for him, in fact she cut me off to get to him!

But that was totally okay. Over the last decade, she’d regaled us with story upon story of all the times she’d met all the guys–even Jonathan while innocently walking around Manhattan–except Donnie. Somehow, one way or another, she just never quite got to Donnie.

So when Donnie wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair, I was in heaven with the joy I was witnessing and figured that I’d get back to Donnie later. It wasn’t until I was out of the room that I’d realized I’d missed him.

My big chance and it completely passed me by. Oops. Jen made fun of me while I consoled myself with the fact that I still had three more chances, so therefore the odds were damn good that I wouldn’t screw up again.

In fact, since Jordan had slid me that compliment on my clothing and Jen had heard it, too, it was decided that since our next show was in Las Vegas, Commando Barbie absolutely needed to be in attendance. She has her shit together even though I don’t. She’s met celebrities. She even had her picture taken for Hustler. I may be a complete dork, but Commando Barbie, well, she wouldn’t screw up… Or would she?

A Little About Beginnings

Now that I’ve done over a hundred shows, it’s fun for me to look through all my Tales and reminisce. But there’s one in particular that I’ll never forget. And it’s not because of the show, it’s because of what happened when I was walking to the stage. West Wing.

That was one of the times it hit me the hardest that just walking on the lot was a dream come true. I’ve had a lot of mini adventures getting to and from locations on studio lots and elsewhere in LA, but that particular day was beautiful. I can still recall it with such amazing clarity. There was nothing special about the day, the show, or anything else. It was just the experience of being there.

Just. Being. There.

Would you believe that my best friend Jen and I practically dreaded meeting the New Kids our first time? You’d think we’d’ve seen it as a dream come true and been anxious for the day, the moment to finally arrive when we would be in the same room with all five guys.

We’d met Joe and Jordan when they were solo. She’d met Donnie at one of Joe’s concerts (through a strange twist of fate, I grabbed his ass in the very crowded VIP section at that same concert, but didn’t actually meet him). I’d only seen him on the set of Purgatory before that concert, before I was an extra, too…back when I was a manufacturer’s rep for lighting filters. Yeah, I’d gone through a lot of trouble not only to track down what he was working on, but find out who was doing the lighting. Cross-referencing a few sources and making a few phone calls, I found out when and where they were shooting some location stuff.

Granted, it was my job to know who was shooting what and what filters they had on their lights, but that had nothing to do with my reasons for trying to catch up with this particular show. I wanted to meet Donnie. I worked my ass off sweet talking various people and having a good time. While there, I saw hide nor hair of Donnie Wahlberg. I was disappointed, but since I’d made a new friend in the gaffer, I made sure to get invited back… Okay, so doling out swag was part of my job, not a bribe, I swear it.

Then in an attempt to match Jen’s future magical meeting of Donnie, I–unfortunately as fangirl–finally got my chance.

And blew it.

I couldn’t even squeak out a hello. All I did was smile. Donnie looked at me like I was deranged and I turned and kept on walking before any words could be exchanged, already having embarrassed myself enough for the day, the week, the millennium before I’d even started.

Luckily, our little interlude had a good twenty feet of aesthetic distance. I was safe. He’d never remember me.

But that did not mollify my fears during 2008. Jen is usually the better-spoken of us. I just hide behind her because I’m too shy and far too afraid of actually saying something unless I’m answering a question or agreeing with something that was said. Yeah, it sucks to be shy sometimes, but whatever. That’s me and I’ve learned to be okay with it. But when Jen says she’s afraid, she’s worried that her inner-15-year-old fangirl is gonna wreck the moment, I’m scared. I’m terrified.

We were utterly terrified to be meeting the New Kids even after all these years. We reminded ourselves that we’re adults and should act as such, but good golly that wasn’t helping when all we could think about were all those near-misses back in the day which lead to big disappointments. We only barely had our shit together when Joe and Jordan were touring solo.

[Funny I should mention that… The way I got onto the Purgatory set was the same way I got onto the set of Joe’s first video, Stay The Same…and the same way I got onto the set of Jordan’s first video, Give It To You–except it was all actually a little harder. And being shy, but still adventurous, I actually weaseled my way into Jordan’s video because the director had wished he’d hired more extras. So yeah, I took advantage of that opportunity and I’m behind the professional dancers, in a dark green shirt and I’ve got a light green balloon in my hand as I try not to look frozen while shaking my thang to the music.]

[You’d think Jen or at least myself would be totally okay in a room with the New Kids by now given all the adventures. You’d think we’d be looking forward to it and so excited to finally see them all.]

Did I mention that when we were fifteen, we’d also made a pact?

Yeah, we couldn’t die until we’d both met the New Kids.

But then they broke up in 1994 and we were kind of enjoying the immortality after awhile. It seemed more like as long as the New Kids were alive and we hadn’t met them all, we simply could not die. Not that we tested that theory, but we sure did feel like we’d be in for a very long life…that is unless we were somehow able to meet all the New Kids.

My Inner 15-year-old

Okay, so I’ve already come out of the closet and admitted that I’m a New Kids on the Block fan. Usually when I say that, jaws drop, confusion sets in, sideways looks are tossed toward me followed by, “What?” or “No way…”

Generally, my admission shatters people’s image of me. Well, sorry about that, but it’s the absolute truth. I’m fangirl for very few Hollywood personalities…well, hmmm…make that none others. Sure, there are a few people I’d love to be in the same room with, but for the most part, I don’t swoon or blush while around them. I’m capable of being an adult and perhaps even having an intelligent conversation with those whose work I admire.

My limited fangirl-ness has to do with the way my life is structured…or more accurately, how it unfolded.

The part of my life before I moved to LA in 1996 is when fangirl was alive and well. If the Hollywood-type came into my life after 1996, there’s no swoon. Before I moved, fangirl was, well, a fanatic and she didn’t get out much.

See, as a girl, I never imagined I’d come to LA. I never imagined I’d walk on a studio lot for reasons other than a tour. I never, ever in a million years imagined I’d actually work on a movie or television show. Really. Like, I still grin whenever I read the name of the production on my paychecks for background acting. Yeah, my inner 15-year-old still goes crazy. She had stars in her eyes and big dreams that she never imagined would come true.

Whenever I’m on the 101 heading south and I see the Capitol Records building and the rest of Hollywood, I grin. And when I see Downtown, I always thank my lucky stars that I made it to LA. That somehow, this little girl went somewhere. Where it is that I went still remains to be seen, but then again, I will be seen in movies and television shows for years and years to come–maybe even after I’ve died. I doubt I’ll be remembered by name unless this blog stays up somewhere, but that’s not the point. The point is that I was there and for that I’m so thrilled.

So, when I say that I’m a New Kids on the Block fan, I really mean it. I’m fangirl. When I’m in a room with the guys, my heart beats a million times a minute. I get weak in the knees. All that crazy stuff. And since I’m only fangirl for them, I can put all my focus, all my energy into it.

This past October and November I was lucky enough to get tickets and Meet & Greet passes for 4 shows. Yeah, four. That ties a record from back-in-the-day as well. 1 in 1989, 2 in 1990, 4 in 1991 and 2 in 1994. (And back in the day, that meant saving allowance, extra chores and begging parents to drive us to the shows…I dunno how we did it. I only drove myself to my last show.) Anyhow, because my situation has changed, I figured I’d make up for all the lost time, all the near-misses, by going to as many shows as I could. Yeah, 9 concerts in 5 years and I still hadn’t met the guys. WTF?

Can we say karma in action? Hell yeah.

Come with me on this little journey. I’ll try not to be long-winded, but my inner 15-year-old is going to ramble and I just can’t help it.

I hope February 2009 comes soon

Don’t ask me why, but for some reason today, I was reminiscing about my trips through England and I remembered a certain town we’d driven by, but did not stop. It had one peculiar, somewhat defining feature: the church steeple was crooked.

A quick Google search served up a link to VisitSouthShropshire.co.uk where I determined that yes, that must’ve been the town. We’d driven through that area only once and at the time, I didn’t see a sign bearing the town name…or at least if there was one, I didn’t see it. We drove by the outskirts on our way to a castle, no doubt. Although, I don’t believe we’ve been to the castle nearby at Ludlow, so I honestly don’t remember where we were headed.

Anyhow, on their “Filmed in South Shropshire” page, I found the following trailer and love it. I love British movies, castles, re-enactments (although I’m not active), all that stuff, so I really can’t wait until February 2009 for this movie to come out… Enjoy Faintheart!

Where The Truth Lies update

I believe some of my best adventures were on this show and they didn’t happen during filming! From almost driving through the Red Sea to waving at tourists on the Backlot Tram Tour, this was quite an interesting gig.

Much of what burned on the Universal lot this year was where base camp and the set were, too. When I heard about that fire, I immediately thought of my time on Spiderman II, Superhero and Where The Truth Lies.

Here’s another of my smallest performances. It’s not quite as small as Hollywoodland, but it’s close! This is definitely the kind of shot where I wonder if I’ll actually be seen at all or was I just given a cross there ‘just in case’ the camera happens to see that deep. It’s always nice to make it in frame, though!

In these next ones, boy was I pissed when I tried to do the screen capture and there was some dumbass extra blocking the view of my car…

Yeah, that dumbass extra was me!

The way I could tell was not just by the colors on my dress, but that’s my own purse. I recognized my purse and then vaguely remembered doing this wipe, but hadn’t realized that it was part of my cross heading across the street.

I looked for myself in the other shot, but while I thought I saw myself, I wasn’t entirely sure, so I didn’t do a capture. The finished product was nothing like what was shot.

Unsightly and Peculiar

So, the other day, my husband emails me this image…

Granted, it was with a bunch of other ones, but my first thought when I saw it was “Oh! I wanna shop there!!!!! Where is it?!”

Sadly, it looks like false advertising. I mean, I don’t see anything truly unsightly and peculiar in that photo.

And I should know what unsightly and peculiar clothes look like… This is only a tiny part of my wardrobe:

Not just one ugly polyester pantsuit, there’s three or four there…including one that’s plaid burlap. Oh yeah…unsightly…peculiar… That’s my taste in clothes.

Here’s a section from what I call my “everyday” pants…

Do you see why I got irritated by the costumer who told me “less is more” on Yes Man? These pictures are only a fraction of the clothes I have. I’ve also got a little over 100 yards of fabric in my collection. Some vintage, most not, but it’s all ready to go the moment I get inspired to design and build a garment or two. In fact, I did that last weekend and screwed up pretty bad!

I created a pattern using an existing, well-fitting pair of pants…and then forgot to add the seam allowance! When I went to try them on, I couldn’t figure out why they were so small…so tight I couldn’t even pull them all the way up. My husband started laughing with me as I wondered what the hell I’d done wrong.

Thankfully, I had about a half yard of scrap with which to fashion a peculiar solution to my dilemma. He thinks the pants are still somewhat unsightly, but I haven’t hemmed or put the waistband on them yet. He did agree that my creative attempt at salvaging them went well. They hardly look like I screwed up. They look more like I meant to build them that way. Yay!

This from a man who thinks my clothes are unsightly and peculiar… I don’t know why he’d think that…

And let’s not forget:

 

Okay, so perhaps that pic is best left forgotten. 😉

I wish I could talk about it

I know it has been a long time since my last post. There’s a damn good reason for it–two, actually–but I can’t talk about it. And since I gotta keep my mouth shut, you know it’s gotta be some pretty cool shit.

Wait. I can talk in generics, though…

The thing that has sucked up most of my time is the fact that I’m adding something new to my resume: special effects costuming.

That reads like a really neat thing to do and I assure you, it is. It’s hard work and ventures into the great unknown for me, but I love it. I really do. I mean, it’s even for a major motion picture that’ll likely come out next summer, too. To get jobs like this, you gotta know someone. Well, my hubby has been friends with a particular sculptor/effects costumer since 5th grade. Welcome to Hollywood. Nepotism is fine as long as the person actually can do the job. Yay!

I haven’t work this hard since I built my Leeloo costume, but that was way more me. I had to do a lot of thinking on that costume. For this new venture, I just do what I’m told and when I don’t know what I’m doing, I just ask someone. I’m learning a lot…

I’m basically a costuming grunt. So far, I’ve traced and cut out patterns, hand sewn various items until my fingers turned crimson, discovered new glues and my personal favorite: sewn enough leather strapping for a BDSM convention. I have totally been sewing leather straps in my dreams for the last few days. If it wasn’t so much fun for me, I’d seriously be worried. On top of it all, the actor we’re doing this costume for is one of my all-time favorites. He’s really, really hot and I’ve already met him and I love him and he’s awesome and I still can’t believe that my introduction to effects costuming happens to be on a costume for him and it’s so freakin’ amazing and, and, and… Yay!

The other thing I’m up to hasn’t officially started yet, but the massive upsurge to get it rolling happened last week. It happens to do with writing, which is always a plus, but instead of novels, it’s for a movie. I really can’t say more than that without giving too much away, but it’s something I never would’ve dreamed I’d get to have a part in, let alone for this particular movie.

Things are looking way, way, way up for me right now. I get all giddy and giggle just thinking about it all.

Back in Action

Well, I at least hope to be now that the hubbub of the holidays is over. I’ve got a stack of Tales to add as well as some odd things–such as the cause of the funky scent in my Prowler during one of my Tales…

First up, as half of the Ashleigh Raine writing team, I’m happy to announce that Lover’s Talisman has released from Samhain Publishing as of today. Check it out! Spiffed up and waaaaaaaay sexier, too!

Also, now that I did actually get a miraculous call-back on The Changeling, I’ve posted the Tale. This is a very large budget movie starring Angelina Jolie and directed by Clint Eastwood. It was hard not to be fangirl and even harder to believe that yes, I was on a movie set with Angelina Jolie and Clint Eastwood. OMG! I still get all giddy when I think about it!

2007 was a year for that. I mean, I got paid to drive and evaluate Ferraris, Maseratis and OMG, I just realised I didn’t actually post that entry! Doing it now! Click here!

Store not available