Pawnee Visit//Oakwood Goodbyes

My last official week of Grady LA was perfect! I was truly amazed to see how much of a routine I had built only to see it come to an end.

Monday I had my internship. It was bittersweet as my time was coming to a close but I got a chance to work on a treatment for a new show which was fun. I felt very official! After that I went to the annual women's summer white party held by C3 Silverlake/Hollywood. Now most of my friends that know me well, know that directions and driving can give me great anxiety and the parking situation in LA can be quite confusing and stressful. But alas, I ventured out and found myself parked and waiting exactly where I needed to be! The party was fun and I was really glad I went. I cherish the connections I was able to make in the place I may one day call my home!

Lovely C3 Summer White Party at NoHo.

The message was beautiful. We referenced the verse often used for young ones on the precipice of an unsure future:

For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for well-being and not for trouble, to give you a future and a hope. - Jeremiah 29:11

- You can't doubt God's promise.

- Compromise comes when the promise can't be seen in our current position

- Determination with desperation and without submission leads to compromise.

- God isn't looking for a stand in or replacement in your life
-- your his plan A NOT plan B


Tuesday we went to the Dodgers/Braves game. I'm not a big sports aficionado but the experience was fun regardless! The Stadium was beautiful. I wore blue so as not to reveal my allegiance, as I technically had none. It will always remain a mystery, which team was I rooting for? Wouldn't you like to know? Technically, so would I...haha.

Dodgers.

Dat field though...

After that we went to a very well-known karaoke bar called "Dimples." It's very famous and many famous people go there to have a good time. But alas we went on a night where famous people there were not. Except for one America's Next Top Model contestant Don Benjamin (and groupies that sang way to well for a karaoke bar)! I freaked out, he sang "I'm Too Sexy," and it was perfect!

Wednesday I continued my research for my internship and when I came home we watched one of my favorite films Pride & Prejudice, which I can quote word for word (much to my roommate's dismay). It was a sweet night.

Thursday was the day I'd been literally waiting all summer for. The day we went to visit the set of Parks and Recreation. All I have to say is many pictures were taken and many freak outs were experienced. And with one of these pictures I pulled a joke on my friends back home that was worthy of applause...

Welcome to the Parks Department.

Council Members.

Conference room.

Pawnee Mural.

April and Andy's living room.

That evening we screened our group projects that we filmed and they were hilarious! We had no idea that each one of our separate films made one giant film as a whole...it was a masterpiece. And as I watched all the different portions of the films edited together a wave of nostalgia rushed over me. It was the sweetest thing to see all the personalities and humor of so many of my classmates. I loved it! Our evening concluded with a group dinner to Umami Burger and a game of superlatives that got all too real too quick. Funny but really real. And then I went with some of the guys to an evening showing of Guardians of the Galaxy which was quite possibly the best summer film I've ever seen! I was blown away. My expectations were high and I'm happy to say they were all met.

My awesome Guardians of the Galaxy poster.

My last day of my internship was very sad. We never truly realize how attached we've become until we reach the end. I'd grown to love all my co-workers and the fun work environment they'd created but alas my time was done. They surprised me with cupcakes and a card. I'm gonna miss A Smith & Co. I am I am....

Sprinkles cupcakes from A Smith.

Saturday, the last official day of Grady LA, started very early and was literally the day that never ended and the day I got to be a soccer mom and cart people around all day. Don't get me wrong, I loved it, it was just a long day. I took a friend of mine to the airport, stopped my Chick-fil-A for breakfast, went the car rental to pick up a friend, got blocked in at Enterprise(it was a mad house), the friend I came to pick ended going back another way but I managed to pick up 3 other friends instead, and I came back to the apartment at 10AM only to find out that we had to move out by 10:30...Our morning became a mad dash to leave Oakwood and after a call persuading them to change our departure to noon we were out of our summer home at 12:30. Then after some car shuffling and confusion we used some Universal tickets procured in various ways(we won't get into that) to spend our last day riding rides and spending time together at Universal Hollywood. It was a lovely day that ended all too quick. And after playing about 20 mins of Ellen's game "Heads Up" (prolonging the inevitable) we said our goodbyes in the Oakwood guest lot outside the gate. Yes, tears were shed.

This summer was incredible. I had a wonderful time experiencing so many great things and spending time with so many amazing people. California has truly stolen my heart!

My musings from Grady LA have ended. But the musings of a post-grad have only just begun.

So until we meet again friends...

West Coast//East Coast

This week. I changed coasts over a period of days. It was kind of crazy but I feel so incredibly blessed that I was even able to do it in the first place. All right, let's get on to my crazy week in LA/GA, shall we?

This week my internship started and ended bright and early with continuing my research for their future projects. Although the work has remained the same I've been extremely thankful for such a chill work environment that makes me feel comfortable and appreciated. Places like that are hard to come by sometimes...Thanks A. Smith!

Tuesday we had class which was composed of our pitching sessions. It was really cool to see how diverse our projects were. They ranged from intriguing dramas to chilling American Horror Story-esque mini series' to complicated stories of futuristic romances, very entertaining. However, I pitched a potential documentary following a girl or guy who willingly chooses not to pay for college housing by moving from building to building living "on campus" but for free. Crazy? Maybe. But if I could find someone passionate enough it could definitely be interesting. After that we got the chance to be part of a studio audience again at Chelsea Lately...once again not very glamorous waiting in line BUT we did get to sit quite close which was super exciting for my roomie Emily. And all too soon it was over and we were leaving. It's amazing how quickly a 30 min show will go by. I swear I blinked and it was already over.

Chelsea Lately!

Later on, a friend and I went to a hang-out at a park for a church called C3 Silverlake. And this church was just so incredibly welcoming that if I do in fact move back to LA I think I would definitely consider making C3 Silverlake my church home. Crazy to think about but exciting! The message I heard the first day was something very powerful all about being rejected because of choosing to follow Christ. We studied in 2 Corinthians 5:16-17.

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  

- Sometimes you will be rejected because you're not what people expected AND sometimes you'll be rejected because you're not what they remembered.

AMEN!

All I have to say is finding a place where you belong in such a big place can be hard but nothing is impossible when you're where God wants you! When I got home me, my roommate Jenna, and our honorary roommate Sam watched The Phantom of the Opera and sang the night away(we all knew the words by heart). Though the songs we sang were not entirely audible or on key it definitely stands out as a highlight out of my many evenings in LA, it was adorable and I loved it!

Wednesday I interned in the morning and came home to pack up for my trip back to GA. It was sad because I didn't want to leave or miss anything but GA called as one of my best friends from college was getting married....So I began to pack...it was an odd experience to pack knowing I still had one week left in LA and to realize truly how fast time had gone. To give you a visual aid....here's a pic of all the tickets and papers I've accumulated from events in the past few weeks...

My junk. My memories.

My flight from LAX was at 6:48 Thursday morning and when it's typically advised to get to flights a couple hours early...guess who set an alarm for 3AM? And guess who woke up 20 minutes late? But alas all things worked out. I've always been leery of plane flights since after this trip I can count on one hand how many times I've actually flown in a plane. However, my bags got checked, I got through security and I touched down in good ole GA at 2:15, greeted by the first rain I'd seen in weeks! It never rains in California. Of course my day was shot due to the time difference but I got a chance to not only get some of my favorite southern fast food at Zaxby's but to also visit my second family and my best friend for the evening. And even though my visit was brief I loved seeing them!

Friday evening was Jodi and Jeremy's rehearsal dinner. It was brief and lovely. Then I went to Zaxby's for a second time to see my dear friends and meet my best friend Mae's Corgi Cap n' Chubs (aka my nephew)!

Church friends and Cap n' Chubs!

Saturday was the big day! I saw my best friend of the past 3 years marry her best friend. We met at community college and all I have to say is, "Never overlook those transitional periods in life. Just because you don't think they're great doesn't mean God can't use them regardless." Anyways, the wedding was beautiful! It was outside at a country club and it was sweltering at the beginning but once time passed by the sun went down and it was relatively cool (I mean we live in GA) for the wedding! It went by in a flash, tons of pictures, great friends, and all in all just a happy day! Congrats Jodi & Jeremy!

My bridesmaid bouquet.

Then all too soon I was back in LA ready to embark on my last week! My roommate picked me up at the airport and then after a quick nap we were off to LA's warehouse district to polish off filming for our group project....it was great fun! After all of that was done we went to Santa Monica to have dinner with my roommate's cousin who was in town. He was the lead singer in the band "Collective Soul." It was super cool and I think I speak for all my roommates when I say we totally felt like groupies hanging with all these musicians for the night and it was SUPER cool!

No words. This is insanely gorgeous. Seriously.

What would a silly group project be without a fun picture, I ask you?