Not Much Going On

I haven't wrote in a bit because our life over the past week has been pretty low key...for once. It is a little strange but I am finding time to look in to things I have wanted to do. For example, I am looking to take some acting classes. Not because I want to be an actress but because the demand for stunt actors is grown. It is important for me to learn what I can in order to stay competitive. I have also been looking at taking a yoga class once a week. I have been trying out different schools looking for one that works for me. I am also looking at taking a martial art class. I think I might try wushu first to see if I like that.

We are finally feeling settled in our new home and our new city. I do miss living in Hawaii full time but I know that I have to be in LA. There are defiantly worse places to be (ie Chicago like Sean and Ben).

On Monk this Friday

I worked on Monk last September and that episode is finally airing this Friday at 9pm on USA.

I have never actually seen the show before so I am looking forward to watching it. I have heard good things about it from people who have seen it (Amy). I will let you know what stunt I did after the show airs.

The glass is always half full

I heard back regarding the audition we went on last week. The director liked us and gave us the ok ie we were in but then the writer/producer wanted to just see who they casted and he said we were two young.

I was afraid that might be the case. The next youngest person at the audition was at least 10 years older than both of us. Call me optimistic but I was just happy to be asked to go to the reading AND be liked by the director even if they ended up using someone else. There will be many more opportunities for us in the future. I can't get up set in this business for not getting the job because I am too young. I know that won't be the case forever, so I will enjoy being too young while I can!

My First Audition

Last night I got a call from a stunt coordinator asking me about both Jon and my acting experience. I said that Jon had some and is pretty comfortable with acting however I had no experience (not even drama in high school) and that I wasn't that comfortable saying lines (because the one time I had to say lines on camera was with two very famous actors who are great at what they do and I had no idea what the heck I was doing). Ask me to get hit by a car, fall on my head but ask me to say lines and I feel like I am going to throw up.

He said there was an audition for two parts, a husband and wife, with a few lines, however they needed to be stunt people because there was a stunt involved. I told him Jon would go but I just don't feel comfortable saying lines.

This morning I was talking to my dad and he said I was an idiot and to call the stunt coordinator and ask him if it was too late for me to go to the audition. Reluctantly I listened to him and ended up going to the audition. It was scary but fun. I am sooooo glad I went. I am not sure how I did but it was good experience. Who knows what will happen but Jon and I did our best.

Swimming with Sharks

I didn't have to work on Wednesday so we went scuba diving. The water was really rough and we got pretty sea sick, but once we were in the water we were great. On the first dive the dive guide told us that sometimes there are sharks in this particular place. I was super excited but super nervous.

When I was in Florida back in November I dove in a 6 million gallon dive tank and there were 9 sharks (I think it was 9). There was one sand tiger shark in the tank that was 8.5 feet long, it was huge and scary. So I had recently dove with sharks but in nature it is much different than in a giant tank.

We got down in the water and immediately saw two sea turtles. We continued swimming and sure enough the dive guide gave the signal for shark and straight ahead there were two sharks at the entrance of a cave. It was super cool to see sharks in the wild. The sharks didn't care about us much and after a few minutes they swam away. It was a very cool experience.

I had a great week in Hawaii and hope that I get to go there again soon.

Enjoying Hawaii

I am enjoying Hawaii. It was so great because my mom and step dad ended up coming out to spend the week with me at the last minute. On Friday I was talking to my mom and telling her I was going to be in Hawaii for 6 days and I only had to work two and I would be lonely. I said that she should just come out for the week and my mom said, "sure, why not". I was so surprised at how spontaneous she was. It is great to have them here.

Tomorrow we are going scuba diving. I think we are going to dive a boat wreck. It should be fun.

Going to Hawaii

I am flying to Hawaii tomorrow to work. I will be there until next Friday. I am excited to spend a week in Hawaii. I only have to work two days so I will get to enjoy Hawaii the rest of the time.

I am not sure what I am going to do with my free time. I know on Tuesday my dad is flying over from the big Island and we are going to hang out. There is a possibility that I may have some guests but at this point that is still up in the air.

Luckily there is another girl flying in to work with me on Monday but she flies out on Tuesday, so I will at least have someone to watch the Super Bowl with. It would be depressing to watch the Super Bowl alone, even if you are in Hawaii.

Law and Order

Jon is on Law and Order this Friday on NBC. He is playing a college student (not doubling anyone) so you may actually be able to see his face. I am sure it will be very fast as it always is with stunt people. He thinks it should be toward the beginning of the episode. It should be good.

I worked on Monday

I worked Monday night on a new TV show called Drive. The show will be on Fox and with premier in April. It was a great night of work. I worked from 6pm to 6am. I was pretty tired when I got home, however, I slept 14 hours last night and feel great today.

Jon's Stunt Reel

I edited together a stunt reel for Jon. This is pretty much only the stuff he did on Lost last year. We will continue to add clips to this as we do more work. It just takes time to get the footage of the work we do. Turn the volume up on your compter when you watch it (for those of you who know me I am sure you won't be surprised I used 80's music for his reel).

Disneyland

Yesterday Jon and I went to Disneyland because we could. We didn't have anything going on and we have season passes so we jumped in our car to go play. We had a great day. There were hardly any people there, the sun was shining and it was perfect.

Today is back to "work". January is historically slow for the movie business (at least that is what I hear) so for work we hang out with stunt people, go visit the sets that are working (mostly just TV shows) and read up on what upcoming movies are going go begin. It is nice to just hang out but honesty I get board real fast and am looking forward to my next adventure, what ever that may be.

My Car Hit

I have had many people ask me what show my car hit was for (except one person who emailed me when she saw my car hit because she watches the show. I won't name names but you know who you are :) It was for the TV show One Tree Hill that airs on what is now known as the CW (formerly the WB). It originally aired November 28, 2006. I forgot to tell you all to watch because I was traveling so much, so I called the production office and asked them to send me a copy of the episode. I needed it anyway so I can add the actual footage to my stunt reel (the footage in my stunt reel Jon took on our camera which I think is better than what they got).

Here it is:

Our First Screening

Jon had a screening tonight for the TV show pilot he worked on back in November where he played Teen wolf. It was great. We were hoping to find out tonight if the show got picked up but we didn't find out. We are not sure when we will know but hopefully soon.

It was fun to be invited to a screening. Stunt people aren't usually invited to screenings but because Jon was a stunt actor he was invited to watch. I met the director of the show and the other actors and they were all nice. It is fun to be on the ground floor of a show where no one is famous and everyone is just excited for the opportunity. (By the way the show was super funny!)

Robbed again...

This time it is not our new car it is my identity. I found out today that someone has been using my social security number in California for the past five years for work purposes. I had to go down to the social security office and prove that my social security number is mine. Bastards! I am so over people steeling things from me.

So let me just recap the last 18 months of having stuff stolen:

1. We had $8,000 worth of stuff stolen when our car was broken into in Hawaii
   
2. We had our car stolen
3. We had another car stolen (the one we bought to replace the other one that got stolen)
4. My identity

Is it just me or do we get things stolen more than most? Please let me know because if this happens to everyone that is just crazy.

Going Blonde...again

As with actors, when stunt people change their appearance it can have an effect on work. Until last August I had been a blond my whole life. I colored my hair last August brown so I would be not have to be wigged when I doubled Michelle and Evi. I have been missing my blond hair ever since and have decided to go back to being a blond. Before I took the plunge I talked to the very lovely hair people on Lost to see if it was ok. They said no problem and that they can use a mouse to darken my hair temporally when I work.

In LA you go to a colorist only, not just a regular hair person. So, I consulted my hair colorist (at John Frieda Salon in LA) and he said we have to do it in stages so I don't ruin my hair. I just finished stage 2 of three. I am finally starting look blond again (it looks a little warm still). Yeah! Once I am the color I want I will have to get new head shots which kinda sucks. However, blonds really do have more fun!

Headed to New Jersey

My friends who call me play the "Where in the world is Heather and Jon" game. I don't think I have been at my new place in LA for longer than 5 days since we moved in last October. Weather it is work or play or both we obtained a ton of frequent flyer miles this pass year.

Once again we are headed away for a week to the East Coast. I haven't been there since last January and I must say I am looking forward to some NJ style pizza. Really they have the best pizza ever. It is almost worth going there just for the pizza.

I am trying to set up some meeting with a few NY stunt coordinators to introduce my self. This is all part of being new in the business. It can be hard but so far all the East Coast guys have been great.

A New Car...Again

Last year I had two cars stolen, yes two with in two months of each other. Our last car was stolen in September and we have been in rental cars since then because we just couldn't decide on what car to get. We wanted something sporty but really didn't want to take the risk of yet another car getting stolen so we finally decided on a brand new Volvo S 40. It is red and super cute.

If this car gets stolen I think I will just ride the bus.

Back to LA

We are headed back to LA tomorrow. We have spent the past week in Washington State visiting my family for Christmas. We have been all over the state trying to see everyone. I wish I could have spent more time in my hometown. However, I was happy to drive through and at least get at D & M coffee (honestly the best coffee in the world even better than in Europe) and get lunch at the Palace Cafe (my friends and I all worked there in high school). I was surprised that some of the same people still work there and they remembered me. It was so much fun. We also had a chance to go skiing while we were in Wenatchee visiting my aunt. It was great fun. Living in Hawaii and California the past year I forget just how cold it can get in the Northwest.

I had a great Christmas at my mom's house. Going to my mom's house is like going to Martha Stewart's house. She goes all out. A few of my Christmas present highlights include : Heely's (the shoes that kids wear that have a wheel in the heel and you can skate around, I have never actually seen an adult wearing them but I figured I should start the adult trend), Sex and the City series (yes all 6 seasons, I am so excited to watch them all), a beautiful picture for my house, People Magazine year subscription, hand painted Italian platter...and on and on. It was a great Christmas.

Going Back to Hawaii

I got a call to work in Hawaii the end of this week. I had planned to travel to my families for Christmas today but due to work I had to rearrange my plans. I was super excited to be able to work on Lost again so soon. I guess it is just show biz that we have to change our plans. It is hard for Jon and I at this point in our careers to make definite plans for anything. Luckily people are understanding. I sort of enjoy the uncertainty. It keeps me on my toes and keeps things exciting. I never know what I am doing day-to-day. Things can change in a moment.

It does make me appreciate the things in my life that are more stable ie family, friends, my husband and of course God.

Christmas Cookie Party

I know it is a bit dorky to have a cookie party but it was such a hit that I think it might become an annual event. The party started at 2 pm and people didn’t start to leave until 1 am. We didn't decorate cookies that long. After we finished decorating the cookies we had a contest on the best cookies and then we played games. It was a great time.