Orientation!! (and My First Week Without Luce!)

This was one of the most exciting and overwhelming weeks of my life!! AHH! I hardly even know where to begin! It was completely jam-packed, so this might be a long post, but I’m going to tryyy hit on the highlights rather than giving a play-by-play of everything.

Tuesday was move-in day! I checked in then – with much assistance from Mum and Q – got three full trolleys of my stuff to my dorm room!

 I met my roomies, Katie and Sierra, and the three of us get along SO WELL! Which is awesome and has definitely made the adjustment to college life waayyy easier. We all set to unpacking our stuff, which actually wasn’t too much of a challenge because our dorm room has heaps of space! We also have a lovely bathroom with a turquoise theme and a Singin in the Rain shower curtain! The room already feels like home :)

On that first day Mum and Q ran out to Walmart for me to pick up some stuff that couldn’t fit in the car the first time, and one thing they got was the new bike I had picked out! Yay!! I love it! Although I am still getting used to the whole back-peddling instead of hand break situation…

We had dinner with Katie and Sierra and their families, then it was time to say goodbye to Mum and Q for the night and head to my room for my first night at college! My whole floor is Performing Arts kids, so I met heaps of fun people and got to know some of the theatre majors I’ll be spending the next four years with! Everyone from 1st floor west had a meeting that night with our RA, Lord Ryan (yea, that’s his first name, it’s kinda crazy and kinda awesome) then called it a night.

On Wednesday we started off with an Opening Convocation where some of the faculty spoke and our whole class sat together for the first time – it was a really nice ceremony and a great way to mark the start of the year.

(I'm Right in the middle of the front bench facing the camera)

(And this is my room all done!)

After that everyone got into small groups based on our majors for some bonding time, had lunch with our parents, went back into our small groups, then had a big meeting with the COPA (College of Performing Arts) faculty and got heaps of information about the year coming up. Dinner was a welcome reception for COPA families, and it was also the last event I had with Mum and Q before they had to leave to catch their flight! Waahhhh!! It was a tough goodbye, but I know I’ll see them soon – Thanksgiving’s only a couple months away!

Playfair, the next event of the night, got me totally pumped up again!! All the new Freshmen ran through a tunnel of the Orientation Assistants and made the tunnel longer themselves, then we linked arms and the OAs led a charge snaking back down the tunnel – it’s kinda hard to describe but it was fun and loud and exciting! After that we did ice-breakers en masse and met SO MANY people!! It was completely hectic but so much fun!

Thursday and Friday had a lot of informational events but I also got to explore the Orange Circle and its cute shops and restaurants, and there were fun events on both nights. Thursday night was an evening at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts which was INCREDIBLE. The building was SO BEAUTIFUL and they had all sorts of activities and live performances – there was a hip hop class, a Polynesian dancer, arts and crafts, a beat boxer, and (my favourite) a drum circle. Around 1000 of my classmates and I all went into the auditorium, everyone had a percussion instrument, and this awesome hippie lady lead a sort of call and response thing with all of us. It just made such a loud sound and it was really unifying. The best moment was when she had students from different areas of the US stand up and make noise, then students from other countries – so I repped Aus and stood – and because there were so few people she had us say where we were from in front of everyone and I got a huge cheer! Yay!! It was such a boost and really affirming.

On Friday – and also Wednesday - night, Sierra and I got dressed up and went out to a couple parties at houses close to campus!

Friday was the highlight, though, because there weren’t too many people there and the guys were playing guitar and Sierra sang and they had a really cute dog, it was just a really chill vibe. I was pretty exhausted by Saturday, though, so I just hung out and recuperated.

Sunday, yesterday, was great! There was a pool party and the Chapman Radio guys were there playing music and giving away some prizes – I owned at limbo and won 2 tickets to a frat kickoff party on Friday which was a bit of a surprise to me! Man, I went so low, I was actually pretty proud of myself!

I had dinner and another RA meeting to get all ready to start classes the next day! 

Today was my first day of classes and it went really well! I’ll go into detail on the next post, though. It’s been such a whirlwind; moving in and starting to adjust to college life! It’s been tough to be away from Luce but we’re seeing each other this weekend, so there’s a light at the end of the tunnel! A lot of this is still scary and surreal but I’m feeling so fortunate to be at this incredible school with amazing facilities and inspirational faculty! Woo Panther Pride!!

My First Week Without Han!!

This past week was my last full week of background work!! On Tuesday I started off on the show Headlines (which might actually end up being called "Tabloid" - I'm not sure!) and I was with some friends from previous background jobs so it was nice to know some people. It was a crime re-enactment show and the episode they were filming was based on The Bling Ring which was so cool! What was even cooler was that at one point they needed an actress for a one-line speaking part and... the director chose me!!!!!! I was so excited! I sent this selfie to Han when I found out and I think it kind of captures my excitement:

I'm pretty sure I got the line because the director recognized me after I had opened the door for him when he was locked out of the room, so I guess it pays off to be nice to people haha AHH. It was such an amazing experience to have a camera focused on me and a boom mic and an actual director telling me what to do! Definitely a highlight of the week :)

The next day I was on Pretty Little Liars (episode 17) and it was filmed in Warner Brothers Studios which was awesome! It was lucky that I had planned to be half an hour early because I had to walk across the entire lot to get to the sound stage I was meant to be at! After lugging my hangers of clothes in the heat I made it to the trailers with sweat dripping down my back - gross! Once I'd checked in I went through wardrobe and then went to the set. It was so cool to be on the set - the attention to detail on all of the fake buildings and restaurants was insane! It was a relatively short day on PLL which was wonderful, so I went home, cooked myself some dinner, and relaxed.

On Thursday I was on The Mindy Project and it was filmed at Universal Studios! I felt pretty legit to be back at a studio lot - there is something very exciting and professional about it! The Mindy Project was so fun! Alicia was there so it was lovely to see her again as well as another friend Andrew who I had met on CSI. For the first scene we were playing fancy restaurant patrons and Andrew and I were paired together and we sat right behind Mindy Kaling!! The scene that they were filming was so funny and I was having a hard time trying not to laugh when I was sitting so close to them! It was also surprising to me how much of the dialogue in the scene was either improvised by the actors or by the writers who were sitting in the next room over - I was amazed at how quickly the actors could change their lines and do or say something hilarious completely on the fly! 
The next scene was a very new experience for me because it was set in the rain so they had the HUGE rain sprinklers on and completely drenched everyone! After 2 minutes my shoes were sloshing around and my pants were soaked but it was still heaps of fun. We finished right around dinnertime so I went straight home and made dinner and got an early night because....

I had to wake up at 4:30 on Friday!! It was a somewhat stressful morning because I had set out my "casual summer" outfits that the commercial company had asked for the night before so that I was completely organized in the morning.. and then I woke up to an email from the wardrobe department asking for 3 different business outfits, fall outfits, and business-casual outfits!! WHAT. I scrambled to grab everything I had that fit the description and then rushed to shower and get ready on time. I was out of the door pretty quickly and traffic was non-existent at that early hour, so I ended up making it to set with time to spare - phew!! I ate some delicious brekkie at basecamp and then went off to wardrobe. There were only about 10 or 12 background extras there so it was a pretty quick process to get into wardrobe and get on set... I would write about the set/how the day progressed, but they were really strict about confidentiality so I'm afraid to write anything!! The production company had us sign 4 different NDAs as well as taping over the cameras on our phones AND threatening us with a 2 year prison sentence if we said anything... So I don't want to risk it! It was a long day and I was so happy when we were finally wrapped after about 14 hours. Then to add to the stress of the long day my GPS took me onto the freeway when I thought I had picked the route that avoided it!! So it was half an hour of stop-start traffic on the way home... and then when I got home, as I was getting out of my car all of the handles on my clothes hangers snapped off and all my clothes fell on the ground! Since when does that happen!? Haha it was not my day! Anyway, It was lovely to get home and I talked to Han on the phone and felt much better. :)

This weekend has been relatively boring - just running errands and preparing for my first day at college!! I did everything I set out to do for the weekend, so I'm feeling pretty proud of myself. And I have stayed up way too late writing this, so I'm going to go straight to sleep so I can be rested for school! Goodnight!! Wish me luck! xo

A Last Hoorah

Mum and Q arrived in LA on Saturday morning, so we had a few days of fam time before Han's orientation at Chapman! On Saturday Mum and Q met us at the apartment with a fantastic birthday cake, so sweet!

 For lunch we went to a little bakery Han had heard about on set, called Bronzed Aussie, and had authentic, delicious, Aussie pies and sausage rolls and desserts! It was just what we all needed, a little taste of home.

We all made a Walmart run for the stuff Han still needed then we went out to dinner at this amazing Korean BBQ place! So good!! We also picked up a wonderfully sweet birthday package from the post office from Sarah and Izzy! Love you bebes!! We had yummy cookies and sweets, cute purses, and muddy buddies!! The BEST!

Sunday was our day of birthday celebrations with Mum and Q! We decided to drive the pacific coast highway to Santa Barbara with a couple fun stops along the way. Our first stop was for a really yummy brekkie of eggs benedict in Santa Monica at the Georgian Hotel!

 All full of great food and coffee, we headed on toward Oxnard. The drive was beautiful! Looking at the clear, blue ocean on one side and towering, rocky cliffs and mountains on the other, the time flew by! We got to a little harbor with intentions to go kayaking, but walking along the pier we stopped in our tracks for... JETSKIS!! Ahh it was SO much fun! We had an hour on them out in the open ocean and we just had a blast! 

Lucy, a bit surprisingly, was a speed demon! She had it on full throttle most of the time she was driving with Han clinging on behind! We got some great air a couple times - and nearly came a cropper at one point! Kind of terrifying! We also saw heaps of seals hanging out on a buoy and some dolphins playing around in the water, so cool!

We had lunch in a cafe overlooking the marina and hopped back in the car to head to Santa Barbara. In Santa Barbara we explored Stearns Wharf and had dinner on the end of the pier overlooking the ocean at Moby Dick's Restaurant.

Monday was heaps of fun and really exciting too! First off we went to check out mum and Q's future home for if (when!) they move out to SoCal! It was perfect and beautiful and AMAZING! Ahh!! Hopefully it won't be long before it's a reality, we could all totally picture it being home. After that we took Mum and Q to the Americana at Brand - the incredible shopping centre mentioned previously - and had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. We did a little shopping then headed back to the apartment to pack all of Han's stuff into the car, waahhh! We only had a few hours left together because Han was staying the night at Mum and Q's hotel right near Chapman. It was so surreal and crazy; we couldn't even fathom the thought of being apart after 19 years together! We all went out for a last hoorah dinner at Roscoes - which was just as amazing as the first time - then it was time for the two of us to say goodbye :(

A lot's happened since then but we're a little behind on the blog! We'll be writing individually for the most part from now on, and not as regularly once we settle into school. We'll be sure to update with exciting news and fun events, though, and there'll definitely be a lot to talk about over the next couple weeks!

We're Getting Paid for This?!

It's been a while since our last blog and we have been on the go non-stop! We've both worked every day, trying to cram in as much as possible before the start of school! Yesterday was Han's last day on set before going to Chapman and Luce only has a few days left as well! It's been such a whirlwind of an experience and we're feeling so fortunate to've been able to get a feel for and fall in love with being on set! 

-- Hannah --
On Monday I had my first ever fitting! It was at the IMB studios in Manhattan Beach for a party scene on Revenge! I was SO excited to be back on the show again, and this time for a two day call! I felt like a bit of a celeb, getting dressed up in all the expensive clothes and jewelry - who knows when I'll next get to wear Jimmy Choo shoes! - and once my fitting was done I had the whole afternoon to myself. 

Tuesday was a crazy day but heaps of fun. I was on a show for the crime investigation channel called Headlines, and it was our job to reenact murders and crime scenes. The set was in this huge, dilapidated building in a kinda sketchy area. I guess it used to be a newspaper printing place but it was run down and really old. I'd been called as a "college partier" but when I got there they needed a couple more people for a vintage, I think 60's, scene which was super fun! They put me in a really pretty dress and the set and costumes were all very authentic. After that I got back into my rave gear. The extras had a while to wait before they needed us, so myself and two others, Grace and Jordan, decided to go exploring! It was SO fun!! The building was really cool and creepy, and Grace and Jordan were hilarious and really nice, so we had a great time. On our adventure we did bit of a photo shoot haha.

When we got back to holding, the costumers gave us neon hairspray and body paint and told Grace and me to go wild - so we did! Jordan was my personal make-up artist (which was slightly terrifying) but it ended up looking really good, especially on camera under the black lights.

It was a pretty late night, and my call time for Revenge on Wednesday morning was early! Base camp was at the beach, a short drive from Malibu where we were filming on location! Lucy needed the car during the day, though, to get to her job, so Nick - who I'd met the last time on Revenge - kindly offered to drive me there and back for the two days. 

Nick and I got to set around 6:30am and while he went straight to location to do stand-in work, I checked in with wardrobe, hair, and make-up and put my cute outfit on! We drove in vans to Malibu and started shooting soon after we got there. We were at an absolutely beautiful house overlooking the water, the view was incredible!! Ahh it was just magical to be there, especially with such a fun group of people!

The funniest/most embarrassing moment of the day came when I was walking in my 6 inch heels on a sloping grassy area and BAM I rolled my ankle and came SO CLOSE to completely stacking it on the ground!! It was hilarious and very obvious haha I managed not to make any sound though - either gasping or giggling - so I don't think I ruined the shot, but I made sure to be reeeeally careful after that!

The next morning was just as early, but it definitely felt more relaxed because everyone was familiar with each other from the day before. What made my day was that I got some great screen time! It was so cool!! It was a complex scene which took over 7 hours to film, and in it I got to interact with one of the stars! He was so nice and funny and we even had a bit of a chat in between takes which was a definite highlight! The cast and crew were all so friendly and seemed genuinely glad to be there, it was a great group to be a part of! The shoot ended up going all day and then a few people (including me!) stayed on for a night shoot! The last scene was awesome fun as well, and when it airs I'll talk more about it! We were wrapped at 11:00pm, so it was my longest day yet! More than 16 hours!! I wouldn't have had it any other way, though. It was the perfect way to finish up working this summer!

Yesterday I was on a new ABC Family show called Chasing Life. It was an early call but I got to wear casual clothes (which was nice after two full days in seeeriously high heels) and it was also a huge call (so there was much less pressure). I was really lucky and got wrapped early! Yay! So I got to go home and start packing for college!! I also went on a bit of a cleaning frenzy: I cleaned/organized our room, folded all our clothes, did 4 loads of wash, and cleaned the dishes- woah! I meant to stay up and wait for MeMe to get home but I ended up falling asleep in my clothes, with all the lights on, and didn't wake up till Lucy got home in the wee hours of the morning...

-- Lucy --
It's been such a busy week!! On Monday I was up early to work on a movie called The Kitchen Sink. I can't give away much info about the movie (I'll probably talk more about it when it's released!) but Vanessa Hudgens was in it and I walked right by her and she's gorgeous! I was playing a teenager and there were so many fun people my age to talk to - it was a great day! We were filming in a high school in Los Angeles and it was kind of weird to be back in school - walking through the hallways and classrooms was a little too familiar..! I was on that set for about 14 hours so by the end of the day I was so ready to get home and have dinner and sleep.

Tuesday was the coolest day ever because.... I got to be an extra on the show New Girl!!! It's one of my favorite shows on TV and I still can't believe that I was on it!! It was the second episode of the new season and I got to stand right behind Nick! Ahhh it was so exciting and so surreal to be that close to someone that I love to watch so much on tv. I'm really hoping that I was in the shot - I guess I'll just have to wait and see! The episode was also shot in fox studios, so walking through the lot and seeing all of the different sound-stages was amazing and the people were really friendly!

It ended up only being a two hour day on set, so I had the rest of the day free to relax! :)

Wednesday was a crazy day! I was booked on CSI and it was for this wild mosh pit club scene! Wardrobe gave me a badass outfit and I was glad I had tough boots on because everyone (including the camera guys!!) was shoving each other and getting rowdy, and it was super high energy!

Luckily I was short enough that I didn't get hurt or elbowed in the face! I also made friends with a bunch of really great guys and they made sure I didn't get knocked around too much! After the club scene I got a change of costume and some cool special-effects makeup for a new scene that was filming past 1:30 in the morning!! I was completely delirious by this point, which meant that I couldn't stop laughing in one of the scenes! I felt SO BAD. It was a really intense and serious scene and I ended up having to cover my face because I was hysterically laughing - I partly blame the hilarious guy that I was paired with, though! By the time I made it home I was completely exhausted and it took me SO LONG to wash off all of the makeup, but eventually I went to bed and got some sleep before dropping Hannah off at Nick's at 5.
I was booked on a new show called Ironside on Thursday and Friday and it was so much fun! I knew that two of the guys I had met on CSI would be there so it was great to have friends already on set! When I got to set I also met a lovely girl, Alicia, who is going to be in my class at LACC! And we got along incredibly well! Yay! So I'm feeling much less anxiety about starting school now that I have a friend. For the first five hours on Ironside the background actors were hardly used at all - we were sitting in holding and it was boiling hot! Especially because we were dressed as if it were winter in New York!! Eventually it got dark (and cooled down - phew!) and after a delicious dinner we went on set! 
A memorable part of the night was when the Assistant Director called out to the extras asking if any of us knew each other. Ky, one of the guys I had met on CSI, and I raised our hands because we had talked a lot and gotten to know each other that day... It turns out that the AD had asked because he wanted us to play a couple! That was totally fine by me - Ky was really cute! - so for a while we were just being flirty in the background of the scenes until the AD came up to us and said that it would really be great if we were making out in the background! We looked at each other and said "Sure, why not?!" So that's how my night ended... Getting paid to kiss a hot guy on camera haha ;)
After a 13 hour day I got home and fell into bed at 2 in the morning and tried to get some good sleep for Friday!
I had a late call for Ironside the next day which meant that I could sleep in for the first time in a while! At 6:45pm I showed up and found Alicia and we went on set almost straight away! After a lot of crossing back and forth and pretending to talk, it was time for another yummy dinner and then we were back on set! There was a lot more waiting, standing, and walking to be done, but with great conversations and fun people around, the time flew by! I loved being a part of the simulated NYC nightlife and all of the crew were being so funny and kind to the background actors which was wonderful. One of the highlights was having two of the principal actors come up to Alicia and me and start talking with us!!! That almost never happens so it was very exciting! We were wrapped at about 3:30 am and I couldn't wait to take my heels off, get home, and go to sleep! When I got home I saw that Han had completely cleaned our room which was so sweet of her! I went to bed very tired but very happy.

The Working Life

The last few days have been really great! We've worked a lot and are starting to get more familiar with LA! 

-- Hannah --
On Wednesday, the day after our birthday extravaganza, I had a 6:00am call for a commercial Downtown! I was pretty out of it, but it ended up being a really fun and easy day! The commercial was for a Japanese clothing line and all they needed us to do was sit at tables in the outdoor cafe we were shooting in. The commercial was for their fall/winter collection and the clothes were pretty out there haha. I felt sooo bad for the girls who were all rugged up in heaps of layers - I was hot in just jeans and a sweater! It was a pretty short day, though, and I met some really nice people.
Thursday was an awesome day! I was working as a jogger on Criminal Minds with another early call time. I got there at 7:00am and they had an incredible buffet breakfast waiting for us. We got to set at this beautiful park and stayed in holding for a while, just hanging out on the grass in the sun and playing with the cute dogs that were there as background too. We only had to run for about 10 minutes and we were wrapped! It wasn't even 12:00 so I got to go home and have all afternoon to myself!
Yesterday I worked on the show Lucy worked on Thursday - she'll fill you in - and braved the Metro home for the first time! 

--Lucy --
Thursday was an exciting day for me! I was booked as audience for the show Supreme Justice with Judge Karen and it was pretty hilarious! I did have a bit of a terrifying moment as I was checking in, though!! So, in the information the studio gave us, they explicitly said that no cell phones were allowed, but I really needed my phone so that I could call Hannah and ask her to pick me up when filming ended because they didn't give us an end time! So I figured that if I turned my phone completely off and left it in the bottom of my purse I'd be fine... I quickly realized that my plan wasn't going to work when I showed up to see a security guard checking bags AND people walking through a metal detector!! Uh oh. I admitted that I had brought my phone to the man checking people off and as I tried to explain my situation, he cut me off and said, "We said no phones. You have to leave, get out." I was so upset and shocked!! I was looking around for a place that I could potentially hide my phone for the duration of the show when I saw a nice-looking woman get out of her car. I walked over to her, and with a quivering voice, asked If I could leave my phone in her car. She said that it was fine if I did, and she seemed trustworthy enough! We both got in line for security and checked in, and chatted for a while until the show started. Judge Karen was really funny and I was right in the shot in the front row which was exciting! When it was time to leave I went and grabbed my phone to call Han to get her to pick me up, but before I could, the woman who owned the car offered to give me a lift home! I couldn't believe how generous her offer was, and, because it would take Hannah a while to pick me up, I gratefully accepted. It's amazing how nice some of the people are out here!
Yesterday I had a pretty relaxed day because I was working on the same movie that Han had worked on last week and filming only started in the afternoon. I had to drive by myself on the freeways for more than 40 minutes to get to the set and I actually did quite well! I was pretty proud of myself :) Once I got home I made butternut squash soup for dinner and Han and I tried and failed to get an early night haha.

Today we both went to Chambers' bootcamp again. There was a really fun group of people and the time flew by! We went out to the car to leave and OH NO!! We got a $68 parking ticket!! Noooooo :( it was such a bummer! The signs are so difficult to understand that we just made a mistake, ahh so annoying! 
We've had a really nice afternoon, though, watching Summer Heights High and hanging out by the pool. Tonight we're going to Roscoe's for waffles and fried chicken for dinner, should be delish - we're really excited! 

Birthday Girls!!!

Monday was Chanelle's birthday!! The day before ours! We all slept in, Lucy made us a nice brunch, then we went to Santa Monica for an afternoon at the beach! It was so beautiful and we got to meet some lovely people in the Academy at LACC that Lucy'll be going to school with.

For dinner we went to Bubba Gumps - it was SO yummy and our awesome waiter Nate made sure we had a really fun time!

Lucy and I decided to head home early to get a good night's sleep, so we headed back to the car park aaaaand, true to form, the car was broken! The battery had completely died - the engine wasn't turning over at all - so we called AAA and waited for them to come help us out. It didn't take long for the guy (Mark) to arrive and he told us the battery was still the original 2007 one from the dealership! It was completely out of juice, so he replaced it and we were good to go! 

We were actually pretty proud of ourselves for handling it on our own and also, we realized it was a huge blessing in disguise! Mark told us that even if he gave us a jump, the car wouldn't start the next time we needed it which would've been on the morning of our birthday heading out to Disneyland!! We were stoked to finally have the car in full working order, and we got home soon after - where MeMe and Emily had birthday cupcakes from Sprinkles waiting for us, yum!

On Tuesday it was OUR BIRTHDAY!!! YAAAAYYY! We got up early, got ready, and opened prezzies with Mum and Q on the phone. They got us such lovely things! Even though they couldn't be with us in Disney, they managed to make it perfect with gift cards for us to get food during the day and a special dinner at the Rainforest Cafe! We said goodbye and headed out to the Happiest Place on Earth for a magical 19th birthday.

Walking down Mainstreet on our birthday was so wonderful and surreal! We could just tell from the first moment that it was going to be a perfect day.

The first thing we did was get birthday buttons with our names on them which meant that everyone was wishing us a happy birthday all day! We were definitely feeling the love - not only from complete strangers in the park, but also from Dad, Claire, Eddie, and Will who called and Facetimed us! We also got the chance to talk to Tim, one of our best friends, and were showered with loving texts and facebook messages - so special!

We headed over to Adventureland to get FastPasses for our fave, Indiana Jones, then on to Frontier Land to go on Splash Mountain as our first ride. On the way, we bumped into a band of singing pirates who were so friendly and hilarious - they surrounded us and sang us the most ridiculous and funny birthday song, then graciously agreed to take a selfie!

After that we started on the rides! We went on Splash Mountain, Winnie the Pooh, and Pirates of the Caribbean, then grabbed a churro and an iced coffee each for morning tea.

Next up we went on the Peter Pan ride - one of Han's faves - and looked wistfully at the streets of London, trying to think of a time and excuse to go on another trip to the UK! We had lunch at the Bengal Barbecue then headed over to Toontown next and went on It's a Small World and met Minnie!

The next couple things we did were completely new which was exciting! We saw a really well done stage show with little sections from all the best movies; it was a super fun concept and the singing was AMAZING. Then we went over to check out the Michael Jackson Captain EO Tribute which was too funny, ohmygod. The original music, costumes, and 3D technology from the 80's were hysterical and MJ totally rocked the space suit.

It was finally time to use our FastPasses, best ever!! We went on Space Mountain, Star Tours, and Indiana Jones - three of the best rides in the park! - then headed over to Downtown Disney for dinner. On our way out of the park we stopped to watch/listen to the Dapper Dan's and they were SO CUTE! They asked Lucy up to play this weird instrument and totally stole our hearts! A definite highlight of the day.

We had a pre-dinner dessert of warm, sugar coated beignets while we waited for a table, then went in to the awesome Rainforest Cafe! Dinner was great and we had delicious smoothies and birthday cupcakes along with to complete the experience! Thanks Mum and Q! 

After dinner we went into California Adventure to finish the night. We stopped by Ariel's Grotto then went to get the best spots we could to see World of Color. The show was spectacular - made ya laugh, made ya cry. It was the best end to the day we could've hoped for, and we left the park just as the fireworks started going off over Sleeping Beauty's castle, so magical!

We made it home with no trouble and in really good time, so we decided to finish off the night by watching The Bachelorette finale, and even that ended up perfect! It was an amazing day, one we'll remember for many years to come, and it feels SO GOOD to be 19!!!

Living the Dream

Oh man! So much to catch up on, so little time!! We've had an AMAZING but exhausting few days, makin it happen in LA!

On Wednesday we made it out to Burbank early and signed up for extra work. Within a couple hours of signing up, just as we were walking through the front door, Han got a call from Central Casting about a job the next night! We called back a couple minutes later to check if there was another opening for a "female club goer" and they said they were all filled up! Oh no!! We were super bummed cause we'd really wanted our first day on set to be togeth -- the phone rang! It was the casting director and she said someone else had cancelled so she wanted Lucy to take her place!! Yeeee! We got pumped, chose options for wardrobe, set alarms, and listened to the info tape about 20 times before calling it a night.

We slept in Thursday morning because we knew it'd be a late shoot, then got all dolled up - the closest we'll get to clubbin until we're 21! We left plenty early to get to set and made it to the studios with time to spare! It was such a cool, surreal experience! We had to check in, then went to wardrobe and showed them our options for their approval, then on to makeup where the really nice makeup artist did touch ups, then on a van to go to hair across the lot, and finally back on a van to holding.

We met this really great guy, Mike, while we were waiting and bonded over our New England roots. It turned out that he was booked for the same job as Lucy the next night! He offered to give her a lift so our car logistics troubles were sorted! We hung out with him and had a huge buffet meal provided by catering - so good! Then we all hopped back on the vans to head to location.We were shooting in a nightclub (kind of obvious) but we can't say much more than that! It was a super fun night, though, and we met some awesome people, laughed a lot, got sore feet, and learned the ropes of background work! 

We got home around 3:00 and fell into bed, loving the excitement of the LA life! We had different call times yesterday so Lucy got her best attempt at 40s clothes together while Han ran out to H&M for clothes to pass as a waitress.

All ready, Mike picked Lucy up to go to the set of Mob City and Han left shortly after for Revenge... 

--Lucy--

After a couple wrong turns, a complicated parking lot, and a long walk through the train station we were filming in, Mike and I made it to set just in the nick of time! As soon as I checked in it was straight off to wardrobe to get my first outfit! Then it was time for hair and makeup back at base camp. It was really cool to get my hair and makeup done by the professionals - I felt like a celebrity!Once hair and makeup were done with me they hurried me across the street to the set for my first scene! Very exciting! I met some really lovely girls and we snapped a quick picture in our costumes!

 Straight after that it was back to wardrobe to get my second outfit and then hair and makeup again! At this point it was around 7:30 - three and a half hours after I'd arrived - and I was starting to get hungry! But all the extras went into the train station and prepared for more filming. 

The train station scenes were crazy! Extras were walking everywhere and it was a constant flurry of activity. I got to know a few of the other extras and everyone was so nice! There were also periods of time when it was only the principal actors being filmed, so we could sit and watch them act which was amazing! So interesting to see such skilled people and try to pick up on what makes them so great. After what seemed like only a few minutes, it was 12:00 and my feet were aching and my stomach was rumbling! Finally they let us break for half an hour to get a nice dinner. Mike and I made sure to get a photo in our 40's costumes before we went back on set!

We kept working on until the wee hours of the morning when they dismissed some of the extras. At 5:00 in the morning I hobbled over to wardrobe with Mike and we returned our costumes and signed out. Mike drove me home (very nice of him!) and I managed to cross paths with Hannah just as she was leaving the apartment! I got into bed as the sun was coming up and fell into a deep sleep...Three hours later I woke up with a terrible cramp in my calf muscle! Oh. My. God. I guess wearing heels for 12 hours straight isn't the best idea haha. It was pretty intense. But eventually it subsided and I fell asleep again. 
The rest of my day was very relaxed! I slept until 1:30 and then spent the afternoon trying to recover from my crazy all-nighter on set. Eventually Han came home and we finally got to tell each other about each of our wonderful experiences! It was kind of surprising how much I missed her after not seeing her for a day and a half! Makes me a bit nervous for when she leaves to go to her college but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it! 

--Hannah--
I rocked up on set way early but I was glad not to have to worry about being late to check in. There were only a couple extras there when I arrived - one lady who was super nice and gave me some tips on waitressing (for which I was feeling a little unprepared) and a guy, Nick, who was so cool! He was a regular stand-in so he knew all the crew and he was super friendly and easy to talk to. I ended up spending most of my holding time with him and a fellow waiter, Marshall, who was really nice as well! 

After I got my hair/makeup/wardrobe checked out at base camp, we all drove to location! I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to give away, but it was a really classy restaurant and the set was really professional, definitely the real deal. They were filming two scenes and I actually got a fair bit of screen time in the first one! All day I had been playing over and over in my mind my worst nightmare of having a huge tray of drinks and dropping them everywhere, so I was hugely relieved when they gave me a jug of water to walk around with! I had heaps of crosses, the AD remembered my name, and I spent a lot of time up close to the principle actors - they were so good! It was awesome to just watch them and try to learn as much as I could. I was feeling pretty spesh and I couldn't have hoped for a better second night on set! Watch out for me on season 3!! Ahh it was such a surreal and incredible experience, I'm still on a high from it, and the people I met were all so friendly and supportive and fun! 

I got home around 2:00am which wasn't too bad, except that I had a 7:30 call time for this morning on another set - this time for a Christmas movie! That meant leaving, camera ready, by 6:30! I pushed through the tiredness and had another fun day today. It wasn't tricky work and I was there for 10 hours so I made good money too! I'm ready and excited for a good night's sleep tonight, though, and another day on the same set tomorrow!