Queenvick

Sigfried

2011-11-07T22:11:00.004-05:00

On Friday November 4, 2011 the most beautiful, energetic and loving dog passed away. Sigfried was the runt of the litter and as he sat on my lap the entire 4 hour drive home (I was a passenger don't worry), I immediately fell in love with him. From that moment on, I knew that he was going to have a special place in my heart. After I moved away from home, I missed him like crazy and would always talk about stealing him back from my Mom. :) When I would visit I would always look forward to seeing him spin in a circle as fast as he could because he would get so excited to see me. I'm sure he did this for other people as well, but it didn't matter to me...I just knew I would get to cuddle him for the rest of the time I spent with him.

I didn't realize that the last time I was back in Minnesota would be the last time I would see him. It is a brilliant reminder to savor the moments with any loved one. It doesn't matter if it's a dog, a child, a sibling, a lover or a parent...you never know and I for one will take live in the world with more awareness and a picture of Sigfried in my wallet.

Victoria

Fowler, Fresno & Beyond

2011-05-31T17:32:00.007-04:00

Hi Everyone!

I clearly needed to recover from the amazing Prince experience...

Marc and I have settled into our lovely new digs, the bedroom is painted, books are on the shelves, birthdays celebrated and so we thought we would take a short trip to Yosemite. I had only been to the edgeof the park and therefore had never seen these amazing waterfalls everyone speaks of. It was spectacular...

We drove up on a Friday afternoon but due to crowded hotel rooms near the park,we got a lovely room in Fowler - outside of Fresno.

In case you're wondering - I had never

wanted to stay in Fresno or even have dinner there but we were pleasantly surprised as we entered the city and ended up in the tower district.

Stepping out of the car we felt like we had been transported in time.

A beautiful old movie Theater greeted us and as we wandered down the street. We noticed cute restaurants and cafes, people actually in them as they enjoyed each other and chatted on...

We decided to get a drink at this Italian/French Bistro...

it was lovely.

We enjoyed martini's and vodka-tonics before eating dinner and wandering back to the car to enter our 2011 Hotel room in Fowler.

And then it wasSaturday...

Yosemite baby!

Let me just say...Marc and I are not big hikers (though Marc looks like a giant getting ready tot tackle the woods in the picture above). I did have hiking shoes on and we trekked up beneath the waterfall which was freezing and invigorating. It took well over an hour to actually drive into the Yosemite Valley but it was definitely worth it. Beautiful waterfalls, luscious trees and winding roads...

All of the pictures above this line are before we actually hit the waterfall

Before & After

I think that sums it up.

Prince.

2011-04-15T12:00:00.007-04:00

It has been over a year since I last posted so I think it only fit that I re-start my life with a post about Prince.

I'm not a Prince virgin by any means. I have seen him perform at Paisley Park in Minnesota with as little as 50 people and a stadium with as many as 20,000; and yet I was not prepared for the 3.5 hour show I would enjoy with 18,000 fans at the Forum on April 14, 2011. It's always a Party. Fear not Fans who have yet to see him: as of now, no set list has been the same.

The stage is slightly lit and as 9p rolled around the Forum is about half full. He teases the audience by dropping the lights and then turning them back on. This happened 4 times before the low rumble began, turning into a funk drum beat, The New Power Generation, Back up singers (who were so much more than that) and finally Prince coming up through the middle of the stage. 5 Minutes later, the Forum is packed, the people are up and dancing but the energy is still not quite as high as I would have thought. He sings the first 2 songs and then disappears, leaving us with his insanely talented musicians jamming when it turns into the intro to Purple Rain. Here's the thing about Prince - he does make you wait for it. He allows so much time to breathe during his shows that one has to go at his rhythm and it all seems like it's made up on the spot. 7 Minutes of Purple Rain Intro before he comes up and blows the Forum pressurized roof off. Purple rain falling from the ceiling - magical.

He hits it back up old school - going through his hits and now the energy is pumping through the space.

In the middle of the set, Prince has disappeared below the stage when we hear the simple tune of the piano when his back up musicians, bassist and pianist all sing "To make you feel my love" in 5 part harmony. A stunning breather and shows everything about Prince.

I could go through each song and tell you about his dance moves and amazing lyricism, his struts and booty shakes, his humour and sly looks to the audience - perhaps I shall simply jump to the end...which last 1.5 hours and brings Sheila E to drum, dance and sing. He ended the show at 11p. The first encore was simply one song. The second encore - which the amateurs thought would be his last got people up on the stage before he descended back down thanking the audience. Houselights came on, but the die-hard fans know Prince and know that he loves his fans and he loves the intimacy of playing for a small crowd. People started filing out by the thousands.

Melina and I moved to the third row and patiently waited - interlacing screams, claps and chants to ensure that Prince would be back. With about 2000 people left - he came out again. He exits - more people file out. 1000 people left - he comes out again - this time with full houselights up. By the time we left the Forum it was 12:35a - 3.5 hours after he started and maybe 500 - 700 people left with us. Leaving the parking lot was a breeze.

Prince is brilliant. He is an artist who embraces everything about who he is. His stature, his love for music, his obsessive perfection...He is the best.

Party in Inglewood...Inspiring.

Woohoo - finally!

2010-01-29T15:16:00.003-05:00

Mini update continued...October

2009-12-06T19:23:00.003-05:00

Observatory, Barbara & Stephen living in my apartment and Oktoberfest...these are the things I'll remember about October :) I'm not sure where my Oktoberfest pics have gone - sooooo we'll get back to that...

A little update....September

2009-12-06T19:19:00.004-05:00

Hi lovelies! I finally got a new computer which will allow me to actually upload pictures and write to all 5 of you who read this blog :) Joking - there are more of you...

September is dedicated to my brother Stefan's Wedding...so so beautiful!

HAPPY WEDDING!

2009-09-26T16:33:00.003-04:00

Okay - seriously - I must have gone through quite the depression after Michael Jackson's Death...okay not really, but I did get laaazy with blogging. It was a fairly uneventful summer - work, some play, a wee bit of travel which led me to September. September has been wonderful!

My oldest brother Stefan (the rocknrollstar) got married to Jacquie on September 19th, 2009. I have to tell you - watching my brother run into the theme from Rocky (suggested by me thank you!) was priceless. The bridal party entered to "Bittersweet Symphony" and Jacquie was greeted by "All you need is love" - it was fantastic.

I believe the highlights of the post ceremony festitivites were as follows: My father saying (please imagine this in a thick austrian accent) "na ja, it's too bad none of my kids became musicians" - uh yeah we had JUST performed during the ceremony, I am a songwriter and my brother Randy was in a band for 10 years. Ummm yeah. We had a chat about that straight away...What else? My lovely boyfriend charming all my cousins...but the winner for me was the rocknrollstar and I doing our interpretive dance to "one more time"...so good.

I tried posting pics - but I'm currently working on a lame pc...therefore it wouldn't let me. rarrr...i'll get a new computer soon! :)

RIP Michael...

2009-06-25T20:16:00.003-04:00

Today has been a very sad day here in LA. Farrah and now Michael. I feel sad for the family and friends of Farrah Fawcett...

However, for me, the saddest news of all is the loss of Michael Jackson. Michael represents a part of my youth. A few years ago I found a diary I had written in 1988. It was the year that Michael Jackson came to Vienna on his Bad Tour and I was going to get to see him! I remember running to get a place in the stadium, I remember thinking "wow, they have a moving walkway on the stage!" only to find out that he was doing the moonwalk and most of all I remember screaming at the top of my lungs trying to sing along. I used to carry my piano books in a Michael Jackson bag. I read a Michael Jackson book at a birthday party instead of participating in the birthday. I sang Whitney Houston (hey even I had to change it up sometimes) songs to the 167 posters of him in my room. I wrote letters to him - which brought tears of laughter to my parents after they came back because they were addressed to "MRS Michael Jackson" with no postage and terrible english. Hey - I tried. Some might call me an obsessed child - but I really wasn't. I just wanted so badly to know this man who made my heart jump with joy when I heard his music. To this day - I can tell you where and when I heard his songs and I can still feel my inner kid hoping to get invited to Neverland Ranch. I know he had controversy surrounding him and I don't give a rats ass about any of it. All I care about is the fact that when I hear "Man in the Mirror" - I feel inspired. When I hear "I want to Rock with you" - I want to do the dance I created when I was 8 and when I see the Thriller Video - I want to hide because it scared the crap out of me when I was little. :)

So, here you go...the moving walkway lives on forever and I will always be blessed having seen him live and having memories that make me laugh, cry and best of all...dance.

My friend Dawn.

2009-04-25T15:47:00.004-04:00

How can I describe my friend Dawn to all of you? She's a beautiful, extremely intelligent super traveler who has been one of my best friends for 12 years now. Dawn has the ability to be surprising at all turns...Just when I think she might kick my ass, she hugs me. If you ever want to know any secrets about me - Dawn knows them but she'll never ever tell you. She's fiercely loyal, wonderfully funny and has this beautiful singing voice -but you have to be in the inner circle to hear it. I am so lucky to have her in my life...and I know I can always be myself around her. I also know NOT to mess with her...'cause she really will kick my ass.

She is also such a wonderful friend that she flew all the way out to LA to see me on my birthday! By far the most "social" trip we've ever had. She has been out to visit me 3 other times, but the first time was spent sightseeing, the second we went from San Diego, stopped in LA and then onto San Francisco (you can view that visit on this blog in fact) and this time we were surrounded by my lovely peeps the whole time. It was fantastic and by far the least amount of sleep I've had in quite some time.

Happy Birthday Natalie...

2009-04-25T15:37:00.004-04:00

My friend Natalie plays in a salsa band called "La Picante" and the night of her birthday I joined them at "Monsoon" in Santa Monica. Hmm that's kind of a boring start to this post...but the night was faaaar from boring. The band is really tight and Natalie sounded and looked amazing - talented girl that one. I must admit I wasn't in much of a dancing mood - but it was quite flattering that shortly after Melina and I sat down men were coming over...Ah yes, we all know I like the attention.
Hal and I decided that a birthday dance for natalie was in order - and if you have seen Hal dance - you know it's very distracting and seeing as it's lead by his belly - pretty funny.

It was so nice to see all you lovely people!!!

Chopped off Hairs...

2009-03-25T16:53:00.007-04:00

Now, you may think it's weird that I'm posting about my hair. It's really not that weird. I went from being nasty crack addicty kind of blonde to a dark brunette to a sort of strawberry blonde - which probably closest to my real hair colour...all within a couple of months. Along with chopping off quite a bit of hair...

The reason I bring this up is because along with the hair changes, I feel like everything else in my life has altered quickly. Shortly thereafter I was in the car accident (in fact - that happened on the day I had my hair chopped off), I got a cat, I got laid off a job, Marc and I broke up... and since then I feel like I've been picking up the chopped off hairs lying lifeless on the floor.

Sounds a bit dramatic right? I've been involved in this counseling class which has taken me on quite the journey...so be prepared - the blog might change a bit. There may be some heavier stuff in here than you're used to, but I promise to still post the fluffy bits as well. Let's call it: Victoria's Growth. No let's not - that sounds a bit disturbing. The Growth Period?

Victoria & Belly Dancing...

2009-03-14T04:29:00.002-04:00

After eating a lot of yummy food with my fingers...

That's right...Bellydancing. I was told by the Belly Dancer that I should definitely take a class...hmmm, any thoughts on that lovely people?

Happy Birthday Melina!

2009-03-14T04:00:00.005-04:00

On the 9th of March, one of my favorite people was born! Lovely Melina celebrated her 25th birthday with pizza, party hats and diamond rings, followed by pirate drinks at the R Bar. It was all quite festive...rumour has it that she was watching The Big Lebowski and suddenly awoke to daylight...it may have been the shots of patron. Maybe?

The Birthday Girl! Peter enjoying his diamond...

Lucas being festive, Jevon (as we like to call her) with BG
Sillyness

Yeah not sure what happened there...so let's move on to blowing.

Pizza Cake and the group at the R Bar

Joey and Fighting Hal.

Holy balls! let's break it down to months...

2009-03-06T20:28:00.006-05:00

Has it really been 2 months since I last posted?!?!
Well, the rollercoaster started in January so let's start there...

New Year's - well we already talked about that...toward the end of January I had a very strange week: It started with me having coffee with my exboyfriend - we shall call him Bob but most of you know him as Greg of whom there are quite a few pictures on here. :) I was a bit nervous to see him after what was a pretty long detox (or he-tox as we called it) but it ended up being great! However, a couple of days later I was in a car accident! I can't say much about it here, but let's just say : I still don't have my car back. A couple of days after that: I randomly got a cat named Scoopy - who I've renamed Cali Scoops Saucelito...
I say that Scoopy is her Korean name since I got her from a lovely korean woman. :)

I then attended the biggest wedding I've ever seen...my lovely friends Bijan and Rachel had a beautiful ceremony here in Beverly Hills . It started off with amazing food stations outside of the main room: everything from Burritos to Sushi, cake and wine...When the curtains parted and we were allowed into the room it felt as though we were entering an Awards Ceremony. The room was beautifully lit with amazing centerpieces on the table. Approximately 470 people attended the wedding with the ceremony starting around 9p, followed by massive amounts of dancing and dinner served at 11:30p or midnight...followed by more dancing. Sadly, due to the accident I couldn't really stay too late, but I heard the party continued on until 4a! Lovely lovely lovely...

Malibu Winery...

2009-01-08T22:39:00.002-05:00

Did you know that Malibu has a winery? It's lovely...my friend Brad - who everyone should go visit because he's great - took great care of us as we tasted everything from chardonnay's to Pinot Noir's...all very nice. :) It was delightful...

to 2009!!!!

2009-01-08T22:21:00.003-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woowooooooooooo!!!

I think the rest of the pictures shall stay in the vault.... :) Hope you all had a good one...

Adios 2008!

2009-01-08T22:04:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year...

So the evening began...

and then it turned....

Christmas in LA...

2009-01-08T21:56:00.002-05:00

My tree...

My date with Schnitzel and the present unwrapping aftermath... :)

Dirrrrty Santa was here...

2009-01-08T21:29:00.003-05:00

Ho Ho Ho...after my show on December 18th, the troop filed into my house to have a lovely Holiday toast before all departed to their respective Christmas/Hanukkah celebrations across the country. I must say that the Dirty Santa Game was quite successful....

Post show Drinking...

2008-12-22T18:15:00.003-05:00

The Delancey - my new favourite restaurant/bar. It's lovely since I can walk there and therefore it seems that most parties end at my place. :)

"Eat the Runt" is closed for the holidays but THANK YOU to all who came to see the show...I will let you know if it comes back in January...Here are some lovely after party pictures...

2008-11-10T16:33:00.002-05:00

An excerpt from LA Weely about my show "Eat the Runt"...playing through December 13th!!!! Get your tickets at www.plays411.net or Goldstar.com.
Is "rudely portrayed" good or bad? :)

"...Lone's over-sexed, sadistic girlfriend, Hammer (Victoria Engelmayer) provides the third link of a triangle that spins almost off the stage in Riechel's hostage drama, because both the rudely portrayed Hammer (a smart, willing “slut”) and Lone's self-evident insanity give long-suffering drama critics a power that exists only in the long-suffering hearts of self-absorbed playwrights, who simply haven't caught on yet that critics don't make much difference. (That's among the reasons their ranks across the nation are diminishing so quickly.) But Riechel hasn't tried to write a play so much about the dire state of the arts as a comedy about the brooding imaginings of one deranged artist, and how any creation can be fairly assessed beyond the narcissism of the creator and the cruelty of the judge. (Leake brings an impassioned credibility to his deep conviction that the world would be a better place if only Lone would stops writing plays.) Riechel has pulled off the rare feat of directing and acting in his own play without running it off the rails. His performance is a terrifying portrait of the walking wounded, with little but vengeance for the critic, and visions in his head of his play starring John Malkovich and being performed by Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company. (SLM) Hudson Guild Theater, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; through Dec. 13. (323) 960-7721. Living Edge Theaterworks and Red Bark Corp.

My new Niece is here!!!

2008-11-10T16:28:00.003-05:00

I would like to congratulate my brother Randy and his wife Jenn on their beautiful new little girl!!!
Anna Lynn was born on November 2nd - weighing in at 8lbs 11oz. Healthy and beautiful...

EAT THE RUNT...Opens Nov 1st!!!!

2008-10-26T14:45:00.002-04:00

Ignore the Dates...The show Opens November 1st and runs through Dec 13th - but beware: I'm not in it November 21st and 22nd - 'cause I'll be visiting my nieces...that's right two!!!!! :)

Please come! I don't know how often you'll see me play a bad ass - and believe me, I definitely play a girl this time. :)

Oktoberfest...continues

2008-10-26T14:12:00.008-04:00

Good times had by all.....if you missed this year - there's always next!!!! :)

One note on Oktoberfest this year: I think the Alpine Village needs to add more tables and keep the coziness from last year...but other than that - it was quite fun.
Perhaps the best part of the evening was the afterparty...Thank you to Joey for bringing 800 beers to my place! What happens at Queenvick's Palace - stays at Queenvick's palace. :)

Oktoberfest Baby! Let me introduce the players...

2008-10-26T13:55:00.002-04:00

me...the fearless leader...and sober cab.

Joey the German Irish and Melina our cutie pooh and Brian the dancer :)

The Great Karen and debonaire Andrew...

Let the party begin!!!!

Camera! :)

2008-10-12T18:57:00.004-04:00

First picture of the night...and then they got mean.

Hola everyone! It came true - I got a camera. : )

As we do every year - my lovely friends and I planned an evening out at Oktoberfest in Torrance, CA. However - believe it or not - it got rained out! It was chilly and rainy all day so we decided to skip it and celebrate my half birthday at the Red Lion instead. Okay - I was the only one celebrating my half birthday but it was quite fun...and we had a camera...that makes everything better. :)

ALL NEW YO! :)

2008-09-29T02:48:00.002-04:00

Hi lovely people...sooo guess what! I ordered a new camera! What does this mean for you? Well, it means that I will be going out and taking pictures of my life...which you're probably in if you're reading this. If you're not in it - well maybe you will be someday?

Loads of things have changed in the last...oh 48 hours, 2 weeks, 3 months...and i know most of you haven't been in on any of it...sorry 'bout that. This all changes the start of October. :)

By the way: I did take a trip across the country once again - sadly I used my travel companions and haven't actually received any pictures. Trust me, it was quite an eventful trip though...there was a Baseball game in Toronto with a gay heckler behind us, a beautiful Michigan wedding, loads of driving, Casino on the Iowa/Nebraska border, a lovely visit to Denver and most important and eventful: me - a mountain bike - and a rock - collided. However, I made it back to LA in one piece...then life turned upside down several times in a row and slowly I am getting my feet back on the ground. :)
So, back to fun entries soon!!!! xo

i know...

2008-08-06T00:23:00.002-04:00

it has been a loooong time since I updated. A lot has changed to be sure...for one thing I'm back in LA after a 6 week stint in NY, second I'm living in a house. yes a house - but it's not mine. :) I'm just renting a room...I will update all this on the weekend...however, my camera is currently not charging...very sad :(

More soon!

Coming to a Theater near you...

2008-06-06T16:16:00.003-04:00

Well - okay so it's actually coming to a Theater in Boston- but yes people - Hanah's Gift is premiering at the Boston International Film Festival on Friday June 13th!

If you're in the Area - please feel free to join us!

Oh the Travel...

2008-05-13T13:50:00.005-04:00

Welcome back to NY....

Hello again! Well - the travel continues! :) In the last month I've been back to NY as well as a week spent in Minnesota. Now, I'm back in Los Angeles packing up my apartment to be a gypsy for the summer and travel to (with an extended stay in NY) Boston, Maine, NY, Minnesota and a road trip across the country in August! Woowoo!

My trip to NY in mid April was quite lovely! For one thing, 'twas a lot warmer for Vespa-ing around. This trip was to me a bit different than the last one. I felt more at ease being back in the city - perhaps it's because when I bolted down the escalator to catch the train, I pried the doors back open and felt like Superwoman. Ah, I remember doing that all the time...Greg and I have also gotten to know each other better and this time were a bit more relaxed and used to each other being around. Don't worry, I won't give my full evaluation here - I'll save it for my regular journal rather than the oh so public internet. :)

So, here's what I remember: late nights, coffee, vespa repair, playing with streetlights (uh you'll have to ask me on this one), cherry blossoms at Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, meeting lovely new people, eating, getting caught with wine ooh the shame, watching softball - you're #1 - Go Diggers, dancing, Art, finally meeting Keith who was so nice and makes the best drink ever and love. more love.

Fun picture...

2008-04-26T15:36:00.003-04:00

Need I say more?

My actual Birthday...

2008-04-26T15:12:00.003-04:00

Continuing on the theme of...well...me. :)

So, on my actual birthday - which is April 6th for those of you who don't know - Greg and I spent the day sleeping quite late. Well, actually I awoke early to open presents (much like Christmas apparently) and then went back to sleep. :) After cooking brunch and enjoying my new presents of Zabar mugs of Coffee made by my new Espresso/Coffee roasting machine and milk frother, we headed out to Pointe Dume. Greg was disappointed as he thought it was called Pointe "Doom" - alas - it was still quite beautiful. With more coffee, some champagne and a picnic blanket, we commenced laying on the beach on a beautiful April LA Day. :)

Happy Birthday...

2008-04-26T14:21:00.006-04:00

TO ME!!!!!!

NY NY NY!!!!

2008-04-25T23:29:00.001-04:00

Arriving in NY to visit Greg...this is what I remember: Flowers at the airport, taxi ride into Brooklyn, Thai Food, Dog Park, Coffee, Vespa-ing over the Brooklyn Bridge, meeting loads of new people, seeing old friends, more food, coffee, wine, vespa-ing, walking on the Promenade, being the Ambassadors of Brooklyn, Creating names like pale like ghost, love, excitement and massages...it was a great long weekend. :)

Merry Ann of Windsor...

2008-02-11T13:23:00.000-05:00

Peter Leake, James Loren, Matt Crabtree and the lovely Melina...and my nostrils

Andrew Graves and Heather Roop...and audience members...

Artistic Director: Geoff Forward and my Fenton - Matt Crabtree

Freaky Greggie...and non freaky James Loren

Greggie...and Terence Rotolo

Saundra McClain the fabulous...

James Loren and Dennis Gersten, Caroline...hmm must look up surn :)

Most of you reading this know that I'm currently in the LA Shakespeare Company's production of
"Merry Wives of Windsor" - I've clearly renamed the play to make it about me. Shocking no? :) The Show opened January 18th and will run through March 1st in Topanga Canyon...it's good - come see it. :) I play Ann and Robin - how many times will you get to see me play a little gangsta boy?

Opening night was quite a success with a full house and a fabulous post show party...So here are the pictures...

Fairies everywhere!!!

2008-02-04T02:00:00.001-05:00

HA - Merry Fairies everywhere....seriously it's worth seeing the show - just for them. :)

Fried Food - woohooo!!!!

2008-02-04T01:50:00.001-05:00

Eating Eating...

POST EATING....

We fried Mango's...need I say more? This turned out to be a great evening! We fried everything from Halibut, Shrimp and Doughnuts...to Schnitzel...that was the best part. :)

Jan 1st...

2008-02-04T01:43:00.000-05:00

Lovely Lucas took me to Wendy's and to retrieve my car...and to take this picture. Life is good.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

2008-02-04T01:24:00.000-05:00

Shall I tell you a tale of New Year's Eve? Oh let me tell you...The night began most innocently with several of us enjoying some drinks at the 4100 Bar. We all went our merry ways to make friends with Strangers and have a fabulous midnight toast...this all happened and then suddenly it turned. When I went back to look for my friends I couldn't find them anywhere so I thought "oh well they must have found some ladies..." so I went outside with my little fire stick things and made friends with the bouncers...who pretty much ended up saving me. I decided that it would be a great idea to walk back to Hal's place even though I couldn't remember which direction I needed to go and apparently a 5'2, 100lb girl walking around isn't the best idea...Eventually, the fabulous bouncers got a cab for me...seriously, he jumped in front of the cab to stop it...'twas impressive and I was on my way. UNTIL I realized that I had no money and had left my card at the bar! So we turned around and eventually I made it back to my apartment after stops at the bank and far too many stop lights. I remember calling Melina and apparently we were supposed to go over there 2 hours earlier...so she asked me "You are still in the cab?" I was so confused and ended up sitting near my toilet with the room spinning around me...needless to say, I did nothing the next day. WOOHOOOO - way to start out the new year!

Oh - the boys ended up making their way home as well - but not before almost passing out on the street and climbing through a window...yeah enough said.

Lovely people...

Me and the Gifts...

2008-02-04T01:18:00.000-05:00

THANK YOU FOR ALL OF MY GREAT PRESENTS!!!!

Christmas Eve 2007

2008-02-04T00:22:00.000-05:00

Ho Ho Ho...I got a Christmas Tree, I ate Ham with the BEST Mac and Cheese, Semmel Knoedel, makeshift Gravy, Veggies, Cookies...It was quite the feast! Thank you so much for all the lovely people who made my year here so special! It was tough to be away from my family but having people in my home to celebrate really helped! We had games, played Dirty Santa, listened to loads of Christmas Carols...Fabulousness all around! THANK YOU FOR ALL THE GREAT GIFTS!!

In no particular order...

2008-02-04T00:08:00.001-05:00

Hello lovely people! YAY for 2008!!!! I hope you are all having a wonderful new year thus far. I have loads of things to catch up on...Soooo - let's start with Pre-Christmas and work our way through...

My lovely friend Melina and I were invited to a fabulous party held downtown...I think it was for a Magazine Launch and some sort of liquor - but really it was just a girl's night out for us. :) The party was quite fun with dancing and some Twin Boys - that apparently I didn't think were actually twins (and we got scared off and ran out)...and the evening ended at Denny's. yes Denny's people! I think the pictures say it all. :)

Random Twins we met and then we ran away :)

Susie and Melina...Susie is the host of the party...

Denny's Goodness...

Who's the drunkards?!?

Actress!

2007-12-19T04:29:00.000-05:00

Hello all! Just a little over a week ago my lovely friends and I checked out a band called "Actress". To be honest - I thought they sounded quite good - but to be honest, I couldn't hear them all that well. I was being very responsible and wearing ear plugs - however - one of them lodged itself waaay too far into my ear. Therefore - everything was extremely muffled but the dancing was quite fun! :)

I do believe that the best part of the night was Hal and I getting these very hot ladies to sing "Busta Move" by Young MC whilst waiting for our car in the parking lot. Seriously - the girl started with "5,6,7,8 she's dressed in yellow, she says hello..." and everyone chimed in with "come sit next to me you fine fellow" - it was quite hilarious. Maybe you had to be there? :) Here are just a couple of pics as most of them turned out to be quite awful!!!

You can check out the band: www.myspace.com/actress

More Random Photos...okay I think we're caught up now!

2007-12-02T01:59:00.001-05:00

Melina and friends...love her!

Our last TMK Shoot...so much better! :)

oh one more thing...

2007-12-02T01:41:00.000-05:00

I did mention that I made a myspace music page right? :) Oh yes I did...well here it is again...
www.myspace.com/queenvickmusic.com

Fun in a Hot Tub...

2007-12-02T01:29:00.000-05:00

Some lovely friends of mine enjoyed a journey to Africa...well, while they were gone I took care of their house and dog. Their place is the quintessential party house...with levels in the backyard and an amazing view - of which I failed to take a picture. Lame me! The highlight of the stay was most definitely the pool and hot tub! Mr. Robert - whose sister is the homeowner had a lovely get together one night so here are some pics...

Did I ever post these?

2007-12-02T01:09:00.000-05:00

So I've obviously been quite bad about posting this year - so I promise to do a full year wrap up...just in case you don't feel like looking through the recent additions (lazy bastards!) :)
Did I post one about Oktoberfest? Well - I think the pictures will tell it all....

Super Fun Yo!!!

2007-12-02T00:51:00.001-05:00

On November 9th I flew back to Minnesota for a 9 day visit. Now, I would have thought that it was enough time to see everyone - but it most definitely was not! I had an amazing time though and I must say that I'm madly in love with my little niece!!! Just in case there was any doubt. :)

Myspace baby...

2007-11-25T19:59:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Well - I finally conquered the gremlins and started a myspace music page...woohooo! So, if you're on there, please feel free to add me or just check it out. Some of the songs are still in process but as I get better I will post new ones. :)

www.myspace.com/queenvickmusic

Thanks!!!

Cute picture of the day...

2007-11-22T18:33:00.000-05:00

My most favourite couple (other than all my other favourites) are celebrating their 2 year anniversary on Saturday...a lovely pic from the trip to Sequoia...

Let's go RED SOX!

2007-11-04T18:08:00.000-05:00

So first of all to all the Yankees Fans out there - especially my friend Hal - HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAH Suckas! The Red Sox won the world series - I'm still a bit confused on why it's called the world series since there is no one from any other part of the world competing but I won't go off on a tangent today. In his quest to bring baseball all over the world, Lucas bought tickets to the Angels/Red Sox playoff game for his Boss...the Boss is French. :) It was qutie fun since Boston obviously won.

Angel Stadium is really huge and it was a complete sea of red! We sat amongst a couple of pretty hard core fans and although a fight almost ensued, most of it was pretty good spirited banter.

Indoors...Speakeasy

2007-10-16T18:41:00.000-04:00

So, obviously there were many many indoor activities over the summer including concerts, parties, films, more parties, dinners...the usual stuff...oh but there is one that really sticks out. READ ON!

This was actually very recently...my lovely friend Steve invited a few people to go to a SPEAKEASY! Yes a proper speakeasy with staircases that look like they are going up - but flip in half and suddenly you can go downstairs. It's an underground party so a password is needed to enter...ah to be cool yo. :)

apparently I didn't take any pics of the stairs...very sad...but self portraits are the best!

Here we go...the recap of the last few months...Outdoors...

2007-10-16T18:09:00.000-04:00

So, I don't even really know where I left off anymore...yikes basically in JUNE!?!?! Balls - that is quite a while ago...okay well let's just show some summer recap pics...

1) Let's begin with the Outdoors...as most of you know - I'm a proper city girl. I enjoy sleeping in a bed and if there's room service - I will probably order it. :) However, I went camping twice and visited Sequoia National Park - although we slept in beds during that one. :) So, we shall go in order: Camping in California - Los Padres National Forest...off-roading in fact. I was really sore!

Then, Camping with the Rock n Roll Star aka my brother, Jacqui - brother's girlfriend and loads of lovely people.

And Sequoia National Park/Kings Canyon...with Jurgen and Elisabeth! this was a fabulous trip...even with the Heavy Metal music. :) I have to say that I thought it was beautiful...but I grew up in Austria and we have a lot of forests there...but Kings Canyon was amazing! Highly recommended yo!

I have more pics but I'll have to upload some of them as silly blogger wouldn't let me take them off the CD. Rarr. Oh well - it's a start right?

Hanah's Gift

2007-10-04T20:08:00.000-04:00

As a lot of you know - last year I shot a movie called "Hanah's Gift" in which I play a young girl with ADHD and some pretty lovely social issues. :) The film was comprised of a pretty great team and has started showing around LA...so I wanted to post a review we received. :) YEA! I'll let you know as things move forward...Hugs to you all!

Charly Shelton of Valley Sun News: "This movie was shot in real time (meaning every minute that passes in real life also passes in the film- the film takes place over 87 minutes of their lives, so the movie is 87 minutes long) which is no easy task. And it was also shot to look like all one shot (the camera didn't stop and change to another view or set, it looked like it was all done in one take) which is even harder. And the camera view is always seen in the first person of a little girl, probably seven years old, so while moving around and crawling through things, into boxes, under low overhangs, it seems like only a little kid could fit into these places. But actually it was a man with a hip mounted camera to give it the right height and HE was maneuvering through those tough to shoot places. The movie was, on the technical side, amazing. This reporter was blown away. Probably the best indie movie for technique all year. Toby (Victoria Engelmayer) was great, all of the energy of a ridiculously hyper active child is stored up in this one actress. And Wise was also great. Her character of the rough, gruff firefighter was the perfect contrast to the overly cheery, hyper Toby, and Hanah's silence. And the bums in the movie, Director Zac Baldwin and Greg Estel, are hilarious. Either fearful of aliens, or fascinated by a small person, they provided great comic relief in a tension packed film."

Holy balls!

2007-09-14T00:45:00.001-04:00

I know, I know - it's been a really long time - 3 months in fact - which seems like a lifetime. I promise promise promise to write a summer wrap up with pictures! :) There are photos from Sequoia/Kings Canyon, Napa Valley, me on an ATV and life in general - oh and niece updates....seriously, she might the cutest thing ever. Also - I have movie updates...one is currently screening so keep your fingers crossed or drueck die daumen!!! :)

Hope you are all well!!!

Stay tuned...

2007-06-09T17:53:00.001-04:00

More to come....i just like this picture. :)

Art Art Art

2007-06-09T17:26:00.000-04:00

no idea why my computer won't let me rotate these...

On June 2nd, my lovely friend Keith and I enjoyed an evening at the Culver City Art Crawl and After Party. Now here's the thing...there are over 40 galleries in that Area - offering free wine and beer...however, by the time we got there, it was all gone. So, we wandered into a few Galleries, ate some food and headed to the After Party - being held inside a huge furniture warehouse!

2 or 3 stores opened all of the doors and basically allowed party goers to sit on sofas, chairs, beds...so the entire it felt like you were in someones (very expensive) living room - and you couldn't set down your drinks anywhere...but hey, at least there was plenty of room to sit. Dj's spun most of the evening, but the main event was a band called "Giant Drag"...They were good - however, it was slightly distracting since we could still hear the DJ music in one of the speakers...but hey, we were in a furniture store.

Oh and on a side note - one of the greatest things was that LA felt very small for a few moments. I ended up bumping into friends at a random event - woohooo! :)

photo booth pics...and more...oh dear.

2007-06-09T17:03:00.000-04:00

yeah I don't know...

I am censoring on these - well - i think you know why. :)

Happy Birthday to Hal!

2007-06-09T16:51:00.001-04:00

Lovely people at the Cha Cha Lounge...photo booth pics are coming up...

the birthday boy is missing in the group pic!

Are they wearing the same shirt?

An evening with a photo booth and a camera - need I say more? Happy Birthday Hally B!

Last Saturday of the month

2007-06-09T16:28:00.000-04:00

So, my lovely friend Eric had this idea that we should have a get together every last Saturday of the Month at a different bar. No rules - everyone can invite everyone...These are pics from our April get together at Barney's Beanery - ah yes, some of you know Barney's. :)

Where to begin????

2007-06-09T16:19:00.000-04:00

Seriously lovely people - where do I begin. It has been 2 months exactly since I last posted anything...I guess we can call it my "Blogging Sabbatical". :) I did get a new camera which I love and now carry with me everywhere - so not to worry - there will be more frequent postings as I take a lot of pictures of ... nights out i guess? So, in the last two months there have been frequent trips to local bars, camping, new headshots were taken, Dawn visited, Concerts, Art Walks, trip to San Diego (for which i have no pictures - shame on me!)...that's about it i guess?

Let me start with nights out :)

Waiiit more pics!

2007-04-09T22:17:00.000-04:00

okay just wanted to post these as well. :)

Happy Birthday to me!!!!! :)

2007-04-09T21:28:00.000-04:00

So, first of all - a huge THANK YOU to everyone who attended my party at Dimples! It was a lovely lovely evening - apparently I had forgotten some details but I promise that I remember most of it! :) Ahem - some of it may be better forgotten though. The rendition of "I'm too sexy" of which I have video and may post on Youtube (privately though as no need to make that public) may be one. :) So here are pics of the evening...if you missed this year, don't worry, you can join next year for my 20th birthday! :)

Let the Countdown begin...

2007-03-22T14:49:00.000-04:00

Starting on March 22nd - you have 15 Shopping Days till my birthday!!! :)

Produced my first Pilot...

2007-03-22T13:14:00.000-04:00

The spa...

This is the first set I've ever "dressed" :)

Woohooo! :) So, here are pics from our shoot on Monday! Sorry for my Venting in the other post - but was quite necessary. :) More to come and everyone send out good vibes on Friday March 23rd at 3:15p (PST).

TMK...

2007-03-21T01:07:00.000-04:00

Guess what!? As some of you know, my friend Hal and I created a new cooking show! Well, the pilot has been shot and will be edited next week!! The shoot went amazingly well - even finishing early in the day with Hal doing a great job. He's the host and Chef of the show so it was quite a bit of work - I'll be posting pics as soon as I have them! :)
Oh and this is just a bit of venting - if you are cast in a shoot and have agreed to be in it - SHOW UP! - or at least call?! Also, perhaps calling one hour before the shoot for directions isn't the best idea - then get them, and still don't show.... Especially if you're friends with one of the people involved. Rarrr - but 'twas probably better without him. :) okay that's it - HOOOORAY FOR Cooking! I'll let you all know what's happening with it...

wow - twice in a month...

2007-03-21T00:57:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone!
Around the beginning of March I enjoyed a lovely picnic in Griffith Park. I joined a German Club which I love - I mean really, is there a better way to spend a sunday? Speaking german and eating sausages? I think not. :) Seriously - approx 60 people showed up and each person brought at least 4 sausages so the grills were packed! Plus kartoffelsalat, sauerkraut, torten...'twas lovely. My good friends "the Caitlin's" joined me with a German friend of theirs - so here are some pics from the day. I actually forgot my camera - so these are courtesy of the organizer. :)
P.S. I did have a group pic but I can't seem to find it :(

I have new eyes!!!!

2007-03-04T23:29:00.000-05:00

Hello hello! So, on February 20th, I stepped into the Kerry Assil Eye Institute in Beverly Hills to receive Custom Lasik Refractive Surgery. Custom Lasik means that everything is done with a laser and maps your eye the entire time of the procedure instead of manually cutting the cornea - if you really want to know more, feel free to ask me. :)

My lovely friend Hal escorted me to the 1:00p appointment and watched as I popped my first pill: a Xanax. Now, most of you know that I don't take anything - rarely even an ibuprofen so we were pretty sure that it would have an effect fairly quickly. I was not convinced of this, but as i became fascinated with a Teddy Bear given to me - perhaps it had started working. Also, during one of my exams instead of saying Red or Green, I said "Left" (with confidence!). Um yeah, maybe it worked. I entered the room fairly calm - only the beginning part hurt as this pressure was put on my eye that felt like someone was sticking a fist in my eye - but the rest was fairly painfree - just weird. The after-effect was definitely a bit tricky. My numbing agent wore off very quickly so my eyes burned like crazy and I got sick on the Gatorade they provided. As we drove home I felt quite ill and I do remember arriving at Hal's - me trying to put drops in my eyes and falling asleep within 10 minutes of arrival. Anyone who says that it's so easy right after = Liars! :) The following day my eyes felt sore but I was able to see well enough to drive! It felt like I had slept in my contacts which was quite unpleasant - but as the days have passed, I'm much more used to it and it gets better everyday!

Waiting to go in and clutching my little pouch of goodies - hmmm have i taken the meds yet? :)

Me loves my bear!!!!

Hmmm - still pre-surgery, just waiting and letting the Xanax work...

Still loving my bear - I think I was trying to poke his eyes out. Yeah, the Xanax wasn't working...

Coming out of the Operating room...eyes still slightly open...starting to burn!

My eyes are burning!!!!! Still smiling though - ha I am tough!

Eyes still burning...Yeah, I got sick on the way home - let's just say I left my mark on Wilshire Blvd. Eew but hey, i didn't get Hal's car. So impressive! :)

and that's it...oh and here's making phone calls, I don't really remember...

I haven't thrown my glasses away quite yet - actually i would donate them, but it's strange sensation that after 20 years of needing help to see - suddenly I can just get up and see! Highly Recommended!!!!! A BIG THANK YOU TO HAL for being a wonderful caretaker and his wonderful Family for taking such good care of me!

More Sharks!!!

2007-02-26T03:19:00.000-05:00

My lovely friend Hal and I enjoyed yet another Sharks game - but this time, we travelled to Anaheim to watch them beat the Ducks! The game was actually really fun as the last two minutes I sat biting my nails waiting to see if the Ducks would tie the game. They didn't :) Sharks won and here are a few pics from the game...P.S. Notice the glasses?!?!? Just waiiit! :)

And also...

2007-02-10T03:16:00.000-05:00

Yeah, so I got a new sweatshirt for Christmas and wore it a lot! :) Hey, it says SuperGirl - how very true no? :)

because I have been getting some heat about not updating my blog I thought I would catch you up on life. :)

So, I spent a month in Minnesota - everyone in LA shakes their head at this point and talks about how cold it is there - to which I reply "Actually it was never that bad!". Well apparently, now it is! My brother's comment says it all "It was 8 degrees above Zero and it felt balmy" Yeah enough said about that.

Upon my return, I was greeted by a couple of call backs for shows, and most recently was signed to a Legit/Theatrical Agency!!! Woohooo - very exciting indeed! I also travelled to Anaheim to watch the San Jose Sharks (Hockey team people!) play against the Anaheim Ducks with my lovely friend Hal. You can check out the game and his Sharkstour at his blog: www.sharkstour.blogspot.com.
There is also a lovely picture of me carrying trash - yeahhhhh pretty great. :) Aside from that, the last few weeks have been a whirlwind of movies, dinners, girls nights, meetings and a bit of work here and there. :) So, a few random pictures just for you!

Stefan's Geburtstag!!!

2007-02-10T03:10:00.000-05:00

So this post was meant to be here on the 6th of February to wish my brother HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! ALLES GUTE ZUM GEBURTSTAG!
Sorry it's 3 days late in posting! Your present will be on its way soon!
Love you!!!!

A night out when it's 4 degrees...

2007-01-21T15:23:00.000-05:00

This is still at Keirans...

Seriously, it was 4 degrees outside!!!! That's without the famous "wind chill" of Minnesota. Our long time family friend Sibin arrived from Vienna (via Chicago) to visit us a few days and we wanted to show him an evening out in Minneapolis. Well, we started the night at Kieran's which was great - but then had trouble deciding on the next venue. The goal: live music. Funny enough, right as we left Kieran's the live music was starting...we chose: 7th Street Entry at First Ave. For one thing, we figured First Ave is a fine venue to show a visitor and 7th Street Entry always has music. My dear friends Dawn, Nicole and I ventured ahead of the boys only to walk in with snot frozen in our noses, paid $5 and found that there was NO OTHER PATRONS in the bar! It was just us and the very nice staff. I tried to get Dawn to beat box on the stage but it didn't quite work...The first band had not yet arrived so the three of us enjoyed our cocktails, enjoying the freedom of being all by ourselves - umm yeah I was apparently quite loud.

All alone in the bar...

as the drink falls... from L - me badass, Dawn - pseudo bad ass and Nicole...drunk? :)

The boys arrived along with some other people so our peace evaporated. Apparently I'm being quite poetic today...anyway, they arrived and shortly thereafter the first band started. Can we really call them a band? As they were setting up, I watched the male member of the band strip off his black jeans to these Zooba-like fitted 3/4 length pants. If you think it sounds bad - well it was. The very sexy cut off black t-shirt completed the ensemble. Did I just say sexy? I meant "not sexy". The problem with the pants was that they were made of cotton rather than any spandex that holds you know what in place...well this one just let it all shake around and I couldn't stop staring at his "just below mid-section"! He threw himself all over the stage, shaking and singing lyrics like "we don't want to kill you, we just want to sell you". It was quite enjoyable! As the second band started and we recovered from the first, Dawn, Nicole and I decided that it was time for "Dance Dance Revolution" at Gameworks across the street. Yeah, I wasn't very good but those two ladies kicked ass! Annd, my lovely Brother Steve (after quite a few drinks) started talking smack as they met us over there...yeah he sucks at Dance Dance Revolution. :) Pics of the evening

Just a note...

2006-12-18T04:03:00.000-05:00

I know you've all been reading a lot...however, I just wanted to let you know that I will be doing a recap of life in 2006 - not to worry - it won't have too many words :)

San Francisco...Part II :)

2006-12-18T03:24:00.000-05:00

The famous Inmates and I'm so amused with self portraits! :)

Dawn's First In'N'Out BURGER!! - Steve - are you jealous?

Dawn - on way to prison :)

I don't think I would do well in prison.....

This road was built on top of Horse tracks that would have to go from one end to the other in order to make it down the steep hills.
Sorry the photos are in a bit of a random order but it's late and I'm too tired to rearrange them. :)

Hi again :) So, after our Monday of touring the city it was time to celebrate ms. Dawn's Birthday on the 21st of November. So, in honour of her birthday - I took her to prison. Alcatraz - the former home Al Capone and other notorious Gangsta's. :) I thought Alcatraz was pretty cool - we took an audio guided tour which was great as it gave you quite a bit of history - though the sound of all the doors closing at once was probably the most eerie. After the closing of the Prison in 1963 the island was mainly abandoned until 1969, when a group of Native American Indians claimed Alcatraz as Indian land with the hope of creating a Native American cultural center and education complex on the island. The "Indians of All Tribes" wanted to show the country and the world the troubles faced by Native Americans. After spending a few hours wandering uphill again (which was nothing compared to the 10 hills of the first night - and for those of you scoffing at the 10 hills - go to San Francisco and walk them and then we can chat) we returned to San Francisco to head out of town...seeing as it was Thanksgiving weekend approaching we thought that getting on the road would help us. Wellllllll, it would have - but then of course I decided to be adventurous and completely focused on getting to Santa Cruz before the sun went down - that we ended up on a crazy mountain drive!! The roads were so narrow that my little YARRRis seemed large! So, our 5 hour journey up, took us almost 8 hours back - oh and the seat belt on the Passenger side broke! I thought Dawn was just being a wuss when she said "Victoria this thing keeps getting tighter and tighter" - well then suddenly it just got stuck...very strange indeed.
The trip was absolutely lovely!!!! We returned late Tuesday night and then continued on with the visits!!!! Ms. Dawn has yet to send me some pictures - therefore this next section cannot be completed until then! :)

San Francisco....

2006-12-18T02:58:00.000-05:00

Hello lovely people! So, now that we've all mourned the loss of my beloved camera, I thought that rather than leaving that sad post - I would continue updating with current photos! :) I still haven't covered Dawn's visit so let me begin :)
My lovely friend Dawn arrived in LA on a friday evening. After chatting the night away, we spent Saturday on a bit of a car tour before leaving for San Francisco early Sunday morning. By early - I mean early! Most of you would be shocked to know that I got my bum out of bed at 6:30am. We made kick ass time and arrived at our hotel exactly 5 hours later! :) It started off being a beautiful morning, sun shining, warm...then as we were driving suddenly we noticed a cloud so low that it could have been a fire cloud - from then on, the fog never lifted!!! It was so foggy that we could barely see out the sides of the windows - but lucky for Dawn she could still see enough to say "what kind of plant is that? What kind of plant is that? What kind of bush is that?" - yeah I didn't know. Apparently she likes agriculture. :)

Okay, on to San Fran: We hopped on a lovely bus to tour the city shortly after our arrival which was great! We got a great overview and decided that we would eat dinner in the Italian part of the city. Ate a lovely meal and decided to hit a bar nearby. We spotted this place with music oozing out and wandered in! It was a little dive bar where all of our drinks were only $3!!!! We sat at the bar enjoying the strange patrons...perhaps strange is putting it nicely. After a couple of drinks we were exhausted so we thought "well, we're not far from our hotel so we can just walk this way" - umm yeah, "that way" did not work!!!!! We ended up walking UPHILL on at least 10 of the 43 hills in San Francisco that go straight up! My thighs, calves and heart were so tired - It took us 1.5 hours to get back to our hotel - but we had a lovely walking tour. The next day we spent wandering around Union Square, Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf and more wandering uphill :) okay time for some pics - more in the next entry...

Notice that something is missing?

2006-12-07T18:12:00.000-05:00

space left open for pictures...

Well lovely people it is the end of an era! At the screening of "The Good German" at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Building, my Camera was stolen. It is particularly sad as there was never any notice of "No camera's" and as people were taking pictures on their camera phones, I wasn't so sure why they made me leave behind. I believe, they could have busted me if I used it, but as George Clooney graciously posed for photos, I think that the loss of my camera was extremely unnecessary. Plus as most of you know, I carry it around with me anywhere so it was quite "used" looking :) Plus the staff was extremely rude - but that's a different story :) So, no pics until I can afford a new one!

Happy Holidays!

Dawn's Visit...Coming soon :)

2006-11-27T03:24:00.000-05:00

Catalina Island...

2006-11-27T03:07:00.000-05:00

So, most people I've talked to in LA haven't even been to Catalina Island! I'm appalled by this - yes that's right, I'm appalled! :) It's only 1 hour away by Express Fairy and definitely worth one trip. Apparently there are two destinations and one of them sucks (Two Harbors), but we ended up going to Avalon which was quite lovely. There are no cars allowed on the island - although there are a few exceptions for workers and such, so everyone drives around in Golf Carts! :) I laughed as some people had pretty pimped out golf carts on the road. We enjoyed a lovely tour around the island (on a rented golf cart - how many times can I say golf cart??), ate dinner at a steakhouse overlooking the ocean, sang karaoake - got kicked out by 11p because there weren't enough people in the bar...then went to another bar where a woman hit me in the face and (accidentally) shoved a straw up my nose. Ah yes Catalina...'twas lovely!

Go Sharks!

2006-11-27T02:55:00.000-05:00

I have decided that I am good luck for the San Jose Sharks. Both times I have seen them play now - once in San Jose at the "Shark Tank" and once at the Staples Center - they have won. Not by one or two goals, but by 4 or 5! So, this was my second hockey game ever. My first one was when I was 12 and I saw the Minnesota North Stars play against the Chicago something or other - well I felt bad that no one was cheering for Chicago so I started...not knowing that it was a huge rivalry. I was 12, I didn't speak much english but I certainly understood when a very drunk man hit me in the back of the head with a beer. That's right - BEER! Well, this excursion was much more pleasant. I could actually see and there was no beer tossing...just lovely food and cheering. :) Go Sharks baby!

This is definitely the longest...

2006-11-27T02:54:00.000-05:00

...I've ever taken to update this blog. Sorry! Things have been so busy here and I've done so much that the whole thing seemed a bit overwhelming. So, I'm doing it in small steps...a couple tonight, perhaps a couple more updates tomorrow with one enormous one of the last week! :) Let us begin...

NY NY!

2006-10-11T03:34:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! Sorry it's taken me such a long time to write anything. Perhaps the trauma of buying a new car was too much and I hid in a hole? Or, I've just been driving around non-stop because my car is so cute. :) I wanted to post a THANK YOU to all my lovely friends in NY for an amazing trip! It really was such a wonderful long weekend. I loved that most of it was spent in my old neighbourhood. We chatted, went on walks, ate Indian Food, Turkish Food, Pizza, had brunches, Coffee and Cake, walked around some more, partied the night away at a lovely champagne bar after stuffing ourselves full of amazing food and uh taking pictures with billboards. :) We even played some Taboo! See? We're sweet and innocent! It was exactly what I needed after getting a bit lost in la la land.
On top of all that, my Mom was in town which was lovely! I got to see our friend Deirdre with whome she was playing for a Memorial. I listened as they practiced through their pieces and enjoyed my private concert! :) THANK YOU SOO MUCH and I MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY ALREADY! So, here are some pics from the weekend!

NEW CAR!!!!!!

2006-09-14T14:29:00.000-04:00

Hi again! After a lot of Research, Stress and dealing with weirdo Sales People, I have finally bought my new car! I know that to some people this might not sound like a big deal - but for me it most definitely is. It's my first "big" purchase but I think most of you would have been quite proud of me. I would walk into the dealerships knowing everything from invoice prices on all the cars (I was interested in - not all of them, that would have been silly) to what what the dealerships advertisement costs were. Ahhh yes, an informed consumer :) Enough on that...the car is:

2007 Toyota Yaris
It's Red (as you can see), spunky and gets amazing gas mileage - I'm still on my first tank so I will keep you updated on that. :)
And hey, it's an Automatic! Halle -freakin-luia because I think my left leg is quite worn out from all the stop and go traffic in LA. Soo, anytime anyone wants to come out to visit me - you can ride in my lovely new car!!!!!!!

P.S. It's not the sales people that suck - but the Finance Manager - man alive, that's the worst part of it.

A year in review...

2006-09-14T01:40:00.000-04:00

Well, being in LA has definitely been a very interesting experience for me. Many ups and downs - filmed a few movies, shot a national commercial, worked at random places such as UCLA - met some very lovely people throughout all this time. I travelled - NY, Minneapolis, Hawaii, Tahoe, Ames, Santa Cruz, Mariposa, Arizona...oh and everything between NY and California on my drive here!

I'm not moving this year - not even out of my apartment which is a huge step as I have moved 6 times in the last 5 years. Maybe I'm growing up...nah, I just don't want to pack any boxes right now :) Plus, my next move will be back to Europe - think I've exhausted my cities in the US. :)

P.S. I'm off to NY next weekend! WOOHHOOO! Can't wait to see everyone there!

My friend Megan came to visit...

2006-09-14T01:31:00.000-04:00

pics from Universal Studios

My lovely friend Megan, whom I met while I was in Hawaii decided to visit me for a few days on her way back to the Island. Sooo lovely to have her here! It's amazing what can happen when you have a girl visit here - I didn't have to do much of anything. My great friend Damon (along with Nathan and Steve) took care of arranging a private tour of Universal Studios, a party at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood and much laughter. I took care of driving around and showing the sights - and driving some more. :) It was really great fun and now I miss her!
More pics to come soon...

A little niece time...

2006-09-14T01:23:00.000-04:00

Wait, that's not Rayna...a picture without her?

After my visit to Ames, Iowa - I went to Minneapolis to spend some time with my family. This trip was interesting as I don't think I went out one time at night! Not one visit to a bar with anyone - I believe there was coffee and dinner, but other than that, I drove to Buffalo, visited with my family and a few friends - that's about it. 'Twas a quick trip, but I will be back in October!

So much to catch up on...

2006-09-14T01:14:00.000-04:00

My pretty Mama and the bride to be! :)

A lovely visit to Ames Iowa! My lovely friend Christine is getting married in 1 month!!!! :) Some friends of the family held an amazing Wedding Shower for her and it happened to work out that I could come back for it. :) It was so nice to see everyone and we had a lovely time! Plus, it was a great bonding time for my Mom and I - isn't she so beautiful in the blue shirt?

On we go to Minnesota - yup I saw my niece! :)

Tahoe...

2006-08-13T15:43:00.000-04:00

People rave about this area of California/Nevada and rightfully so! Lake Tahoe is absolutely f*@*ing beautiful!!!!!! The water is crystal blue and even in the middle of Summer there are bits of snow on the mountain tops that surround the lake. The pictures and words can't really describe it, but I would say that it reminded me a bit of Austria and Switzerland...

It's also a lovely setting for the Tahoe Shakespeare Festival which occurs at Sand Harbor each year. My lovely friend Greg plays Sir Toby in Twelfth night and does quite a delightful job - hmm I may be a bit biased though :) I drove a jet ski for the first time ever - yikes they can go very fast, hiked through some of the hills, ate lots of food and watched the Sunset over the lake. Ah so romantic...

Virginia City...

2006-08-13T15:35:00.000-04:00

Have you heard of Virginia City? It's a small old Western Town outside of Reno - tucked away into these lovely mountains with Wild Horses roaming around. The city was an old mining town and remnants remain even though the city burned down in the late 1800's - but was of course, quickly restored thereafter. You can ride a small train through the hills surrounding the town, see a cowboy shooting show, gamble, eat, get thrown in jail and see the "Suicide Table" - it's an old card table with bad luck apparently. :) Now off to Tahoe...woohooo!

The Taming of the Shrew...or not.

2006-08-13T15:15:00.000-04:00

As most of you know, I was in a production of Taming of the Shrew which has been cancelled due to problems with Building permits and such. Quite sad as it was an amazing group of actors...however, I made a lot of friends from the time spent rehearsing so it's all good. :)

One of my fellow Actors was in a really good show called "Back of the Throat" (not what you think you dirty people!) at the Pasadena Playhouse so a bunch of us rallied together to support him. A very fun evening ensued as we continued the parade to a Mexican Restaurant nearby (I would plug it, but I can't remember the name...yikes I need to write things down!). Of course, there was singing with the lovely Mariachi player and very loud conversation!

Thank you to my friend Scott for organizing the evening and to Stasha and Gugun for singing their little hearts out at the table! :)

Al Green...

2006-08-13T14:52:00.000-04:00

Ah yes, the Hollywood Bowl. Easily one of my favourite venues in LA and I believe I share this sentiment with quite a few other people. On a Wednesday evening my friend/concert goer/music lover Daniel and I bought $12 tickets (there are some as cheap as $3) to see Al Green perform with opening performance by Layla Hathaway. We sat quite far away so unfortunatly the pics aren't all that great, but it was a great show! At first we thought that it was Eddie Murphy doing an impression of Al Green, but no, it was really him. He sang most of his classics (no preaching) with a rendition of Amazing Grace being the only tie to his Reverand Ways. I was definitely disappointed by the fact that he didn't sing "Let's stay together" (I think that's what it is called) but maybe he was just saying f*@# you to Pulp Fiction. :)

Time for some more :) The Red Carpet...

2006-08-13T14:31:00.000-04:00

Who's that guy? :)

My friend Hal and I enjoyed a lovely evening at the International TV Festival - which hosted it's promo party at Raleigh Studios at the end of July. The Festival is intended to promote TV Pilots who do not have the backing of Studios headed up by one nice person whose name I can't remember right this second. Lovely evening with free drinks, food and plenty of dancing. I met some very nice people and hey we have pics from the Red Carpet - that's just cool :)

Okay, just a couple more...

2006-07-27T02:32:00.000-04:00

okay, I'm done :) Well, until I get some new ones...hint hint!

Random Pic...

2006-07-26T02:58:00.000-04:00

Does it look like I'm a lush? :)

OMG they are so freakin cute!

2006-07-26T02:33:00.000-04:00

So lieb! Rayne und Marie-Sophie! :)

Little Summer Bugs :)

Seriously - I don't think it gets any better than those smiles! :)
Can you tell that I'm missing my family? Pictures of Little Rayna cover the walls of my apartment so hopefully she knows that her Tante loves her! Little Marie-Sophie isn't so little anymore so I hope to see her in the Autumn months! I miss her and can't wait to see the rest of my family- pictures the family are all over my walls (I have a lot of wall space) :)

Summer Sundown...

2006-07-26T02:32:00.000-04:00

From my window...'twas a lovely evening sky. Hmm maybe I need to get out more :)

Moca at Night...

2006-07-26T02:24:00.000-04:00

One Saturday evening, my friend Daniel and his cousin Sarah and I enjoyed a lovely evening at Moca - the Museum of Contemporary Art, downtown LA. Cut Chemist dj'd (is that how one would write that?) and basically it's just a lovely way to see Modern Art. The actual Museum is quite small but it packed in quite a nice crowd. Cut Chemist played most of his new album - of which I wasn't a huge fan. The treble was turned up too high and it was much heavier than I thought it would be. Doesn't he usually play a bit more old-school/funk type of stuff...maybe I'm just making that up. The crowd was lovely though - people enjoying drinks, dancing, admiring art - the make up of a lovely Saturday night. :) Highly recommend checking it out - every Saturday throughout the summer months! :)

Wet Rags...

2006-07-26T02:11:00.000-04:00

Hi :) Sooo, LA has had a bit of a heat wave. Now, we all know that I'm not a huge fan of talking about the weather, but this is crazy! I'm in Taming of the Shrew at the LA Shakespeare Company, which rehearses in Topanga...yup Topanga Canyon where the heat index is easily over 100 degrees fahrenheit. Hmm, I just want you all to imagine a bunch of actors, soaked through - looking a bit like wet puppies rehearsing Shakespeare. I shall get some pictures for you soon as I am sure it's quite difficult to imagine. :) We have found some interesting places to stick ice though - but we won't go there as this is a PG blog :)
Here are some pics where we are dried off and drinking - no wait, maybe we're just eating. :)

The Doggie Park Adventure

2006-06-23T00:22:00.000-04:00

So, I felt I should share the story of the doggie park. I was dogsitting Lucy (pictured of course) and decided that we would venture to a lovely dog park so that she could run around like a maniac. Well, shortly after we arrived, two pit bulls and Retriever came in to join the fun. Oh and fun it was...Lucy (an Italian Greyhound and wicked fast!) ran them around the entire area...well at some points I would hear her wincing and wanting them to stop...well the last time she circled the park, she saw and ran directly toward me. She jumped up in my arms and buried her face in my neck - oh so cute you're saying right? Well, she weighs 5 pounds...the three dogs that were chasing her however weighed a lot more and as she jumped in my arms they continued running and tackled me!!!!!! I think I was actually lifted off the ground much like a football player but with four dogs on top of me. Those of you who actually know me...each dog weighed about the same as I do! :) I wasn't hurt and it created much amusement with all other dog owners...I think I received a doggie bath that day...yeah good times. So, here are some pics of Lucy from the next day - no tackling that day!

A lovely wedding...

2006-06-23T00:16:00.000-04:00

I attended a wedding this past weekend with my friend Eric - as he needed a "plus one". It was held at the Paradise Point Resort in San Diego which was beautiful! I actually don't have one picture of the bride and groom as I was really off my photo taking game that evening. I did,however, make some lovely new friends...though not all of them are pictured. Sorry, my photo taking skills were put to use at the bar...yeah Chardonnay and I are no longer friends :)

Whatcha lookin' at?

2006-06-23T00:10:00.000-04:00

Hmmmm...