Malibu. Any former exposure I have had to Malibu was through my Malibu Barbie at that the age of 9. But, on Saturday my friends Erin, Jim, and Mikel and I went to the Malibu Beach. Well, we didn't actually find Malibu Beach because it's really hard to get to, but we found what we thought was Malibu Beach, but it was for "surfer's only". We went there anyway and had a great time splashing in the freezing water and laying out. Surfing is so cool. I have yet to try it, but it has become a goal of mine to try it, and to get up on the board! Hopefully that works out.
On Wednesday my roomates and I are hosting "family night" where all the other students come to our apartment and we make them dinner. We don't know what to make yet, but we're really excited about it. My roomates are so fun and very hospitable.
I love the phone messages I've been receiving. I got one from a ton of people that passed the phone around. Thanks everyone, that made my day and I appreciate that you thought of me! I also received a phone message from Dean Younge (aka Jeff Lookabaugh) saying that I can just stay out here in LA because I'm not wanted back at Malone. Apparently it's gotten around that I listen to secular music. Thanks for the smiles Jeff and Bemis! Oh, the "cone story" has made it out here to LA and is just as funny!
Please keep me in prayer. I have not been assigned an internship and I'm getting anxious. I'm also in need of forming deep frienships out here. I have many amazing surface friends, but I'm missing the deep bonds at home.
Well, that's all the news for now. I wish you all the best day ever!

I've been introduced to a largely underappreciated phenomenon: Smog. This phenomenon is what makes large cities such an attraction. Sunny California may be "Sunny California" but it is nothing in comparison to what could other wise be known specifically as, "Kind-of- sunny- hazy-grey-can't-see-the-horizon-because-of-the-pollution-Los Angeles!" This the what I call home. With out this thing called "smog" I would be able to clearly see the lush vegetation of the surrounding mountains and the wide vallys that house the millions of people. But truly, who would want to do that. Seeing clearly is overrated. If it were up to me, all places would be able to experience the joys and lung destroying benefits of smog.
The past couple of days have been relatively uneventful.
I went to see "About Schmidt". It was a great film and I largely recomend it to anyone who likes to experience any form of emotion. Jack Nicholson did a fantastic job, hense the Golden Globe he received for his performance.
Next thing to buy on my list: The Chicago soundtrack because that was also an awesome movie and the music was to die for (of course this is all my opinion. And when I say "die" I don't really mean "die".)
My roomates and I walked Melrose the other day. There are a ton of great stores, especially thrift stores. As a girl from Ohio, I would consider an expensive thrift buy to be above 5 dollars. But here I barely saw anything for under $15! it was crazy, but we had fun. there are many colorful people here. (That last sentence encompasses many incidents. I just thought it would be good to gather all the weirdness into one safe statement.) Anyway, I'm enjoying it.

[1/19/2003 1:47:52 PM | Kelly Vrooman]
I've been told that if you look like you belong, everyone around you will believe that you do. Kevin Spacey said that he used to sneek onto the studio lot my putting a hammer in his belt and pretending he was a repair man. This philosophy facinated me so when we went to be in the audience durring the taping of '8 Simple Rules' I decided to pretend that I was in charge of keeping the line of people straight. everyone obeyed what I said. It was hilarious. If you look like you know what you're doing, people believe you do. The casing director came up to me and we talked briefly about the show. I had never seen it, but I don't think she ever caught on to that.
Inside the studio I got to see the one an only JOOOOHHHN RIIITTTTTER. Yes, the former member of Three's Company plays the father in this new sitcom, and he's really a funny guy. While we were waiting outside one of the studio people came up to us and asked if we were there to see Nick Carter. Apparently we had reserved the night that Nick Carter (Backstreet Boy) was scheduled to be the special guest on the Show. We all looked at one another and said "...umm..No. We're here to see John Ritter!" She didn't believe us. There was a warm-up comedian for the audience while the cast and crew were getting ready in between scenes. He was not funny. All the LAFSC people were rambunctious, though so we had a good time anyway. For some reason the comedian focused a lot on me and said that I had energy so the crowd needed to adapt itself to the "Kelly Factor". The LAFSC people thought this was funny. Eventually the comedian called me up in front of the crowd to do a talent. I joked with him and told him he had something in his teeth. He didn't but other people thought it was funny. I couldn't think of anything else to do, so I taught the audience some sign language. The only sign language I could think of was how to say "bloody lamb" which I had learned from the play "smoke on the mountain". It was so hilarious to see the entire audience signing "Bloody Lamb". The comedian then said that I will make it in this industry because I'm not intimidated. But I think I was intimidated at least a little.
That was on Friday. Then on Saturday morning my roomate, Katina, and a married couple, Jim and Erin, and I hiked to the Hollywood sign. this may sound easy, but it was one of the hardest hikes I have ever done. (next to the grand canyon) We finally got to it and we were blocked by a fence. The path ended behind the hollywood sign, so Jim and I snuck down when the helicopters weren't around. I touched the hollywood sign! It's actually not that cool. just sheet metal on steel beams. But it was one of the coolest things ever!
Note: Sorry for any spelling errors, I am out of time and am not able to check it.
[edit]

I've been told that if you look like you belong, everyone around you will believe that you do. Kevin Spacey said that he used to sneek onto the studio lot my putting a hammer in his belt and pretending he was a repair man. This philosophy facinated me so when we went to be in the audience durring the taping of '8 Simple Rules' I decided to pretend that I was in charge of keeping the line of people straight. everyone obeyed what I said. It was hilarious. If you look like you know what you're doing, people believe you do. The casing director came up to me and we talked briefly about the show. I had never seen it, but I don't think she ever caught on to that.
Inside the studio I got to see the one an only JOOOOHHHN RIIITTTTTER. Yes, the former member of Three's Company plays the father in this new sitcom, and he's really a funny guy. While we were waiting outside one of the studio people came up to us and asked if we were there to see Nick Carter. Apparently we had reserved the night that Nick Carter (Backstreet Boy) was scheduled to be the special guest on the Show. We all looked at one another and said "...umm..No. We're here to see John Ritter!" She didn't believe us. There was a warm-up comedian for the audience while the cast and crew were getting ready in between scenes. He was not funny. All the LAFSC people were rambunctious, though so we had a good time anyway. For some reason the comedian focused a lot on me and said that I had energy so the crowd needed to adapt itself to the "Kelly Factor". The LAFSC people thought this was funny. Eventually the comedian called me up in front of the crowd to do a talent. I joked with him and told him he had something in his teeth. He didn't but other people thought it was funny. I couldn't think of anything else to do, so I taught the audience some sign language. The only sign language I could think of was how to say "bloody lamb" which I had learned from the play "smoke on the mountain". It was so hilarious to see the entire audience signing "Bloody Lamb". The comedian then said that I will make it in this industry because I'm not intimidated. But I think I was intimidated at least a little.
That was on Friday. Then on Saturday morning my roomate, Katina, and a married couple, Jim and Erin, and I hiked to the Hollywood sign. this may sound easy, but it was one of the hardest hikes I have ever done. (next to the grand canyon) We finally got to it and we were blocked by a fence. The path ended behind the hollywood sign, so Jim and I snuck down when the helicopters weren't around. I touched the hollywood sign! It's actually not that cool. just sheet metal on steel beams. But it was one of the coolest things ever!
Note: Sorry for any spelling errors, I am out of time and am not able to check it.

I would like to clarify, in case my title is at all misleading, that "Kelly Does L.A." does not mean that I think I am taking this whole industry by storm. It does mean, however, that I am trying desperately to do the "L.A. thing" with out making any huge mistakes or really ticking off any powerful people. This is a crazy industry I have learned, and a newcomer has to be very humble or else they will be humbled!
So much has happened in the past two hours, which may lead you to believe that a lot has happened since I last wrote. This is true! I was leaving the library after I last posted and I met a man who is a horse jocky in Ireland but also does stuff here. He just happend to have a business card in his pocket with a small head shot that he gave to me in case I need to use someone older in one of our short films. Everyone's looking for a break.
There is an awesome little coffee shop called Pricilla's. This is one of the hangouts that the industry people seem to congregate. I was doing a project there with some other LAFSC students. I was chilly (it was only 60 degrees) so I went inside and sat at a table by myself. A man at the table next to me said hello and we got into a conversation about what I was writing. His friend came to the table as well and I found out that the man who first said hello, Tony, was a producer, and the other guy, Lee, was a professional screenwriter trying to sell him a script. We talked for a while and they gave me some advice about entering the industry. It's all about the connections! Before I left they both gave me their numbers! I talked to Tony today and the two of us are going to try to meet at some point. This may be a great connection (I've been hearing this word everywhere). This is so exciting.
Yesterday the group went to Hollywood Boulevard ("What's yo dream?" for any Pretty Woman fans) and had a tour of the Egyptian Theater. It was so cool to see the very place where the red carpet was first rolled out! We also saw the Chinese Theater with the footprints and handprints of the stars. It was overwhelming. Several of us wanted to find a local restaurant inorder to get more of a feel for what it's like to live here, so we went to a place called the Elephant Bar. We were told not to look into the elephant's eyes so I didn't, but I touched the elephant to see what it was made of. Later one of the other students, Erin, told me that she thought the eyes were cameras. I'll probably be getting a call from the elephant police to arrest me for touching the sacred scary-eyed elephant bar elephant. Apparently they now have it on film.
There are some things that are hard to remember. BMW's are not a means to salvation. If you don't have a Prada bag, you will still live. And the presence of God is not any less powerful here than it is in the Holy Lands. There were two speakers that came to the school today named Jim and Karen Covell. She is a producer and he is a composer: both very successful and both amazing Christians. They have played a vital role in revitalizing the Christian community here in Los Angeles. Please continue to pray for the Christians out here. They are doing astounding things for Christ. Karen told a story today about an interview she recently had with Hugh Hefner in which he really opened up to her about the pain in his childhood. One of the biggest ways a Christian can reach out here is by being a listener and genuinly caring about the people they work with. It was inspirational.
Well, now that I've written a ton (and will probably think of things I've forgotten as soon as I leave the computer) I'm going to leave. I'm going to go swimming. I'm going to go see Chicago in a stadium seating theater. Oh, the cruelty of my life. Fare thee well.

I'm here! After a really long flight and a desperate search for sanity, I'm here and settled in. My roomates are great. I went shopping today and got tofu and soy stuff. hopefully I will return healthier and probably a little more tan. We haven't started classes or anything yet, but we've met some of the alumni and they had great stories to tell that got me really excited about the next four months. I'm not able to get to my email, because the school is not connected to the internet! We have no access. That seems insane, and it is. Well, apparently, i'm on the computer illegally. I'm at the library and you have to get a card and reserve a spot, neither of which I have done. Oh, before I go, some of the other students and I went driving yesterday in search of the Hollywood sign. we were in the car for two hours before we realized the sign is on the same mountain as our apartments and could be seen from just a couple streets away. Have a nice day!

Well, I'm counting down the days. In fact I leave in 59 hours and counting. That's pretty scarey, but extremely exciting. I went out to eat with 20 friends on Monday for a final 'hoorah'. I'm so blessed to have the friends I do. Thanks everyone! My family is beginning to get anxious for my departure. Not anxious in the "Oh, I can't wait for her to leave" way, but anxious in the "I'm going to miss her" way. I think. I don't have much news for you yet, but I am sure that in a few days this blog will be much more exciting. I'll try to keep it that way! Please keep me in prayer as I search for a car!
Viva Los Angeles!