Chaos & Control

There's nothing like food poisoning to remind a gal that everyday without food poisoning is a good day. Today is day 2... I'm at 50%... still achy but I'm able to spend most of the day in other parts of the apartment besides the bathroom.
I haven't written in 2 weeks! Resistance has definitely creeped up with this blog. I keep thinking... who the hell is reading this? And do I want people to read this? What the hell am I saying that's so freakin' important?!? The after effects of food poisoning makes me respond with: "Who the hell cares. Just write." So here I am, sippin' on blue gatorade and finally overcoming resistance.
But while I wasn't writing, I have been active in other respects. I jog now! Holy moly yes indeedy I jog the bridge every weekday morning. And I did my first headstand 2 weeks ago in yoga. It was Luke's class (the magical little sprite of a teacher) and I asked, "Can I go up against the wall?" He replied. "Wall? Nah. Do it in the center of the room. I'll spot ya." Then he proceeded to dance around singing, "Today's the day!" I guess every yogi has those special days when you can finally do a pose you never could before. And sure enough, I went upside down, in the middle of the room, with Luke hardly touching my legs at all. I was shocked at how much control I had over my up side down self.
So my life is like a Kandinsky, I suppose. Chaos, Control, Chaos, Control.
I think I need another nap.
xo

A Grati-cording

"A what?" you say.
A Grati-cording.
Yep. I made it up. And you can check out my first one by clicking below. It features my great friend Jillian Louis and me, after seeing our friend's play and having a drink in midtown. At any given time, one of us would have the handheld recorder and the other would snap the photo. The subject was our gratitude. It's 4 minutes and it's freakin' cute. Watch it.
Happy Monday everyone!
Jack and I had an extremely wonderful and productive weekend in Pennsylvania. We were location scouting for his upcoming feature, Mount Joy, and by God we actually secured two locations. Now twenty or so more to go....
=)
FUN.
xoxoxoxo

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE GRATI-CORDING!!

What you see is what you get

**Spoiler Alert! Please read the last entry (April 2) before continuing to read this entry!
So many of you responded to my last blog and MOST of you did NOT see the gorilla. My friend Mark saw the gorilla AND counted correctly, so 2 gold stars for him. My aunt Laurie commented that Insurance companies use these "attention test" facts to convince drivers that if they're traveling down a familiar road, they technically will not even see a motorcyclist. Scary! So yes, whether it's a safety hazard or just a new way of realizing how our minds really do shape our world... what we SEE is what we GET.
Stay tuned for a special treat, this blog's first GRATI-CORDING, created by me and my great friend, Jillian Louis.
HAPPY FRIDAY and REMEMBER. there are MANY MORE layers to the world around us. Let's keep our eyes open!
xoxoxo
Katie

What do you focus on?

The other day, my pal Namakula and I attended a free acting workshop. I arrived assuming I'd hear the same old stuff... marketing, headshots, resume blah blah blah. But no! These two teachers: Robert and Michelle Colt, talked about THE BRAIN, THE TEMPERATURE OF SUCCESS and FOCUS.

According to Robert and Michelle, we all have a "temperature" for success / love / money / etc. This "temperature" was formed at the age of 3 and solidified at the age of 7. Yep, by 2nd grade we all had a concrete comfort zone that we then spend the rest of our lives making sure we don't stray from. These two told us that your brain will do ANYTHING not to get too "hot" or too "cold"... aka too happy or unhappy, too wealthy or too poor, etc.
Then they showed us a video, and I encourage everyone to watch it. It takes 2 minutes, and if you're like me, it will BLOW YOUR MIND. I won't comment on the video until tomorrow, giving everyone a chance to watch it. If you do watch it, please leave a comment for me (or reply email) and tell me what you think! You don't need sound (Mom and Maddie!).

Click here to watch this video.


Happy Friday!
Katie

Quote Courtesy of Colette

"Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work."
Gustave Flaubert

Today I am tending to my civic duties, as a juror at Kings Country Court House. What will you do today to make your home/personal/civil life more in harmony?

xoxoxo
K

Makin' it up as I go...

This weekend I graduated Level 301 from Upright Citizen's Brigade (UCB). For those of you don't know, UCB is an improvisation theatre based in LA & NY. Improv is basically standing on stage, facing a fellow performer and beginning a "scene" that neither of you knows anything about. Yep. Just step forward into the spotlight and just start talking. Oh, and be funny... or at the very least amusing. Well, I think I performed the best I ever have, which is a wonderful, albeit painful reminder that if you plug away at something for YEARS, you're bound to get a little better.

You know you're in a good mood when...

...You breeze past the market that sells your favorite cookies (and you've been sans cookies for a week!).

Oh joyous day in NYC. I went to 2 auditions. One was for prime time baby, Royal Pains and the other was a callback for Edward Scissorhands. Royal pains was so so... I think on the first take, I overacted. We did both scenes twice, then the casting director handed me a scene for a different character... a bitch in line at a coffee shop. Much less lines & screen time for the second character. But hey, this would mark my debut on the small screen, so I guess I should stand by, even hoping for the little role. My audition for the character of Joyce in Edward Scissorhands went pretty well actually. One of those callback where you say to yourself, "I could get that." The director said I will know by tomorrow. And then, as if I wasn't already grateful for 2 opportunities to book work, my commercial agency rang and told me to be at an audition for Trident tomorrow at 10am.
I am a happy chappy, as my stepfather would say.

More later on the The Thich Nhat Hanh book. ANGER. It's AMAZING.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Swap Job

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhaaaaaaaaawwwwww
I have two auditions tomorrow!!!! One is a callback for the sex pot in Edward Scissorhands and the other is something I'll tell you about when it's over. Both auditions are tomorrow, WED, so keep an eye out for a Wed night update, if you're interested.
So... Jack and I did a work swap.
I've had this gigantic editing project on my hands and he agreed to finish the first pass in exchange for my writing a pass of his script. Last night, we both worked FULL DAYS on each other's projects and LOTS of progress was made. It's amazing being married to someone where this is possible. It even took me time to convince myself it would work, but low and behold, my movie is shaping up big time and his script is too, in ways they wouldn't have, had we continued to bleed our creative juices over them.
Ew. That didn't sound pleasant.
Ok. Lots to do today. Going over lines for tomorrow, recording an old high school pal tonight for a movie project and all the while, I need to get through at least 30 more pages of the script. That's my goal anyway.
Happy Hump Day!
xoxo

G-friends to the Rescue

Can I just say something? This past week was a blast and you know why? It was filled to the brim with some of my best girlfriends. Monday was ping pong and strategic planning with Kula. Tuesday night was a chat with Colette in the UK. Wednesday was sushi with Jillian. Friday was Crazy Heart with Rosina, Saturday was my Stop Kiss girls and today, was Finnerty plus 5 new girlfriends in a clothing exchange. Oh and let's not leave out my little blue girl, Russia the Cat, (pictured above) whose always cheerin' me up. How much have I laughed this week? A freakin' lot! I bounced from one hilarious conversation to the next. Our lives are pretty giggle worthy, I tell you. Nothing cures the casual woes and anxious feelings about life than a week of nonstop girlfriends. So why not call up that friend you haven't seen in a while and go see a movie? Ask a fun co-worker to lunch one day. Get casual and cozy with a friend and boy oh boy it butters you up.

Jack and I have been cultivating a new plan of action, to be implemented shortly. Things are brewing in this household! Next week, here we come!!!!!!!!!

Good night, best weekend weather of 2010! Spring has sprung and I soaked it up.
xoxo

This is it!

Last night while waiting for our friend Chris Corporandy to arrive, my friend Jillian Louis (pictured above with her BF, Zach) and I sat at a sake bar and ordered some yellow tail and drinks. After catching up with what we've missed about each other's lives over the past few months, we dove into this conversation about noticing the fact that we have grown into ourselves a bit more since our days at NYU. Both Jillian and I agreed that it took us a long time to accept our own femininity. And we're still working on it. Let's face it. It's still a bit of a man's world out there, and for all of us ladies. who want to make a career for ourselves, it's a tough ride representing "the other half" of society. Sure, as actresses, we can play the typical roles inside a man's story but the minute the story revolves around a women (or women) it instantly becomes a chick flick, doesn't it? It becomes something else.
My purpose right now is not to preach, or even to be a hater on all the dudes. I love the dudes. Really. Dudes... you know I love you right? I'm just talking about the process of becoming closer to oneself. The process of peeling away the layers of self or society-taught methods of being so as not to be "other." And of course this applies to categories of otherness... race, sexuality, nationality, fashion, finances, body image, aging, etc.



Michael Jackson, The King of Individuality
There aren't many more examples of a true individual than Michael Jackson. To be honest, after he died, and the movie, This Is It! all of a sudden hit theaters, I was like, "Really? They made a movie that fast to bank on the poor guys death?" But no! I was wrong! It's a great film! Rent it today! It's a real opportunity to check in with yourself and the relationship you DEFINITELY have with M J ! You get to watch him through his final dress rehearsals for the tour that never happened. His dance moves are one of a kind, and even at age 50, his moves far exceed the team of dancers behind him. And do you know why? Because those moves came FROM HIM. Not only does he prove himself as one of the most talented beings on earth, but he is undeniably one of the most unique people... you can criticize him until you're blue in the face, but one thing MJ's got (or had) is NO URGE to BE LIKE YOU.

All I know is this: whenever I get closer to who I really am and I act accordingly, I feel good. Whenever I try to fit in to some standard, I get filled with anxiety. Our true selves, our highest selves, won't always be as outlandish or in-your-face as MJ's. But we can always check in with ourselves, can't we? And ask: Am I doing this for me or for someone else? Am I happy right now? If so, make a mental note to do that thing again.

I mean we only get this one lifetime. This is it!!

Click here to watch some of Michael's moves.

So you be you and I'll be me, ok?
K