The Creative Arts Emmys

I was also nominated twice for Emmys for my work on "The Office" and "30 Rock." I ended up losing to "Lost," but still had a blast partying the night away at the ball and then heading to the The Edison in downtown LA for more partying. It's not too bad to lose when you are doing it with a cool group of friends.

After Emmy-madness, I celebrated a birthday with about 50 friends at The Association. A very cool and fun no-name on the bar kind of place in downtown LA.

I am Back... For Real!

After taking a six-month leave of absence from my blog, I am now officially back! Sounds so official. I don't really have a specific reasoning behind the hiatus, other than I just needed a break. Almost like I was doing too much to keep up with. So, I'm going to give my readers a very quick update on what's been going on in a series of entries. Buckle up and take a ride with me.

Starting with: September. I went to the Annual Daytime Emmys and had a blast partying with my "Days of our Lives" crew.

Academy Celebration

As many of you know, from reading my blog, that I was nominated twice at this year's Creative Arts Emmys for my work on The Office and 30 Rock websites. It was a true honor to be nominated. Earlier in the week, I was invited with my dot com team to attend a Grey Goose-sponsored cocktail hour to help celebrate the achievement in just being nominated. That was fun and very generous of the Academy of Television and Arts to hold an event in our honor for just being nominated. Not to mention it was very fun to celebrate with my coworkers and talk to other people who work in my field.

Catching-Up Fast

The title of my blog post is meant to have two meanings. One, being that I know I've been a bit MIA on this blog, I guess just one of the downfalls to having so much to do for the month of September. The second, I wanted to write about a fabulous visit with a friend from news days in Southern Oregon, Natalie. Natalie moved to Italy shortly after she got married a few years ago. She now lives in Naples, but was visiting her parents in Las Vegas. That, being a short drive for me, was a no-brainer of a trip. Any chance to catch up with a good friend.
The visit was lovely. Natalie hadn't changed a bit. She was just as beautiful inside and out, only difference being she was three-months pregnant. So, it was wonderful having a three-day weekend with catching up without all the craziness that some trips in Vegas have turned into. The next day, her friend from school joined us at the suite we were staying in. It was great having a girls' weekend. Natalie's friend, Lindsay, taught me how to play craps and roulette and Natalie won big at the slots. Of course, the girl who doesn't gamble wins big. Always the case. She was sweet enough to take us all out to an awesome dinner inside the Wynn Casino that was delicious. I left on Sunday night, feeling so happy that I made the trip and feeling so blessed to have had stayed in touch with Natalie after these years with her abroad. It's great to have good friends!

Daytime Emmys!

I know it's been a couple of weeks since my last post and I should have done this one earlier, but, hey, I was busy. As you can read from my title, I am blogging about one of my favorite perks about work, award season! I love this time of year because you have an excuse to get dolled up and party. This year's Daytime Emmy ceremony was special because "Days of our Lives" earned a record 13 nominations, including Best Drama. The ceremony took place in downtown LA in 103 degree heat. But, regardless, the red carpet was a lot of fun. I found myself walking it with Elmo! Very surreal experience. Once inside The Orpheum Theatre, we were able to watch history take place as Sesame Street accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award and the audience was encouraged to stand-up and sing with Big Bird, Oscar, Elmo and all the others. So much fun. After the cocktail ceremony and banquet dinner, the NBC crew headed to downtown's Broadway Bar, where we were hosting our party. That went on until closing time and we all had reason to celebrate. We might have not won Outstanding Drama, but Darin Brooks won Outstanding Younger Actor and Tamara Braun won Outstanding Supporting Actress for our show. Gave us good reason to toast a round of drinks or two and commend the cast and crew on what a wonderful job every has done this season.

Coming Home

I just recently came back from a whirlwind trip to my home in Oregon. It had been almost a year since I was last there and it's amazing how much can change in that time. Since my last trip, my parents had fully moved into a new house they had built from scratch. My mom was a proud owner of a new car and my little brother was now a father. Needless to say, there was a lot to adjust to. Oh yeah, and my parents adopted another cat, Sabrina, after my grandma couldn't keep her any longer.
The trip was full of its ups and downs and I tried to not let the downs get in the way of the ups. A relationship that I was banking on really working the second time around, failed. I thought i would be devastated by the outcome, as I was years before, when we ended things. Surprising enough, I was a bit disappointed, then quickly realized that what I was holding on to was something that didn't really exist. I was holding on to memories from 2002 and a recent four-day honeymoon period a few months ago here in LA. Back home, I was faced with the reality that the man I thought was the "one" was also the father to a two-year-old daughter with severe attention issues. We couldn't even have an adult argument without her crying. I left Oregon almost thankful that Peter didn't move out here and try to maintain keeping both me and his daughter happy. It would be the kind of pressure that I didn't deserve, nor him. I am just thankful that during this whole awakening period, one of my best friends from Portland was also visiting. Leaning on friends during times like these tend to get taken for granted.
So, departing Oregon, I felt a little older and a little wiser and a little more cautious. I walk away thinking that maybe I played all my cards in love and maybe it's not for me. Maybe I meant to be the gypsy soul who wonders alone. And would it be a bad thing if that is what happened? I tried, I got hurt, I hated the feeling of getting hurt and I walked away. Maybe it's a feeling of being defeated and I hate that feeling. Wow, maybe Pat Benatar had it right when she said "Love is a Battlefield." And with that note, I can easily say I have been keeping busy every single night since my return back home. Maybe it's because it keeps my mind off of Peter or maybe it's because I want to remind myself of the things I would have set aside if he came out here. I don't know. But, in the meantime, I have a fresher outlook on what keeps me happy. My friends, my travels, my job, and the possibilities that lie in my future.

The Final Wedding of Summer

These last few weeks have been super busy for me on the work front and on the social front, maybe giving me an excuse on why I haven't blogged in awhile. But, those days are long gone and I'm back with a new entry!
Last weekend kicked off with a road trip to San Diego to see my Grandpa and Grandma. It was a beautiful drive and a wonderful visit. It always takes a visit and sit-down with your older relatives to realize the importance of family and to listen to their stories and share in laughs. It also makes me grateful that they live so close to me, giving me a sense of unseen comfort.
After my visit to San Diego, I experienced the joy of going to my very good friend Kelly's wedding in Temecula, Southern California's new wine country about two hours from here. Not only was this a joyous occasion because I consider Kelly one of my closest friends since we met in our dorm days at UMass-Amherst, but because it was going to be, yet another, fun mini-reunion with my Massachusetts girls. Caitlin and Alison made the trip and we all stayed at the very fun Pechanga Casino, where the bridal party was staying the Saturday night before the wedding. After the rehearsal dinner, we all headed back to the casino to gamble, drink and cut loose. Keeping in mind, I never win, never, when it comes to slots, I decided to try my luck. I ended up winning 280 dollars on my ten dollars in the quarter slots. It was awesome, but I immediately cashed out, bought the round a drink and we were back in bed by 2 that morning. Since the wedding was a Sunday evening, we managed to squeeze in some wine tasting before getting ready for the ceremony.
Once the wedding started, it was all very clear to everybody on why were in Temecula in the first place. Not to party, not to gamble or drink wine, but to witness the joyous union of two amazing people, Kelly and Tom. I teared up a little when Kelly's voice cracked during her vows, but it was her father's toast at the reception that had everybody bawling. His speech was so pure and from the heart and his constant sobs throughout were touching. I still remain skeptical if a wedding is my future or not, but I can't help but imagine my father would have the same feeling as he watched his only daughter marry. The entire weekend was magical and lucky. It made me value my friendships even more and open the doors at what love really could do to someone. It was even worth the Monday morning four hour drive on three hours of sleep commute to work.