Life and more life! Not as awesome as Cody, but...

Some possible exciting MS news: Scientists reversed MS in mice. Here and here. Sounds like research is still years away from even trying this on humans, and it says it's only effective while MS is in its earliest stages, but you never know what the future may bring...

Also, more MS/health news.
I've had 7 infusions so far, 5 more to go (the next is on September 8) before going off Tysabri in order to ensure that PML does not infest my brainmeats and turn me into a superhero with x-ray vision. I spoke with Dr. Vollmer about this exciting (?) new transition this past Monday the 24th of August. For the last 3 months of the treatment, I'm going to be overlapping Tysabri and Copaxone in order to avoid a "rebound" effect from going off of Tysabri. In addition, the good Doctor said that there is no problem with going off Tysabri and then going back on it at some point later in life; meaning, the body doesn't build up a resistance to it. Also, the negative effect that I felt from Copaxone is apparently part of how the drug works, and is one of the reasons some people go off of it; the injection sites were so itchy, for me, that I would unconsciously itch deep bruises into my legs and arms. It is an allergic reaction that is part of its effectiveness. I don't know; maybe I can take benedryl concurrently with my injection to lower the effects, or maybe I'm doomed! Doomed to a life of unending itchyness!

By the way, don't try to read patient reviews of MS medication. It makes me want to move into a cave and just let the disease take me because so many people have had such bad reactions... Anyway.

So, everything's going great in our new apartment. It's close enough to being "complete" that we've gotten pretty behind on putting in the finishing touches--hanging pictures, putting the last few things away, etc. Every week we make plans to finish it up but every week something comes up. It doesn't help that the only day off we have together is Sunday. But Eventually, We Will Prevail.

Noah, I'm starting to use the shampoo that you and Cici got me for my birthday tomorrow (I wanted to finish the stuff I was using before switching) and I'll keep you updated on how awesome it is. Though the bottles are so small I may actually end up saving them for travel shampoos. =)

In other news, everything's going well with Branden's job. It's demanded some late nights from him recently, but it's the good kind of working late. He's going to be getting a promotion/raise after they complete the project they're on, so that's exciting.

Branden's brothers are safely in Longmont. Their new apartment is very cute, sort of like a mini-Horizons. The apartment is very small but nicely designed, with in-unit washer dryer and on-site workout facilities, very exciting. I'm so happy those guys are on their feet again and doing well.

Branden and I went up to Placerville, CA a few weekends ago to visit his grandparents. His grandpa is in bad shape; they're pretty sure he has Parkinson's though he doesn't have the classic Parkinson's symptoms. He's not able to walk anymore (really, not able to move at all without assistance), so he stays in his hospital bed all day, except when the nurses come to bathe him. He's pretty demented as well. Branden's grandma spends all day in the house, trying to feed him and make sure he's comfortable. Her life is very focused now, and she doesn't have anything to say that doesn't have to do with Grandpa and his illness, so being there was very hard for me. I only went into Grandpa's room once, but I couldn't stand to see the state he was in, so I left after just a few seconds. It was really sad, more than anything else, so it was probably a good thing that Grandma shooed us out of the house more of the time than we were in it, to go to Lake Tahoe and Sacramento. Those parts were fun.

Work's going fine, nothing really to report there. Squish and Tayler are now allowed out of the house on their own; Squish likes going out at all times of day but Tayler only wants to go out after dark. Last Saturday, Squish killed a bunny on our balcony--a baby bunny, about the size of a hamburger. I heard a weird thump and went to open the door, and there was Squish and the bunny, who was on its side kicking itself around in a circle. We think Squish must have broken its back because we didn't see any blood. It died pretty fast and we cleaned it up; it was with a heavy heart that I named Squish "mighty hunter" and gave him an admonishment to only kill things he wanted to eat. I don't think he got it.

Pretty much every night since then I've had to go out and collect Squish at about 10pm because I hear him yodeling, which is the sound he makes when he's establishing his territory to another cat or similarly large animal that he hesitates to attack outright. Every time I've gone out to get him, he seems pretty thankful that I was able to remove him from the situation without hurting his pride. Silly cat. If he doesn't want to fight, he should be less territorial.

My workout routine has been sporadic at best because I seem to have misplaced my iPod. I don't like working out without it =(

Anyway, that's about all I have to say for now. I love you guys! Hope everything's awesome forever!

Taking this Caveman thing a bit too far . . .

Well, this past Monday was a doosie . . . not as busy as it was supposed to be, but crazy none the less! After getting just a few hours of sleep, I woke up at 2am for a 2:45 make-up call for this "viral video shoot". Two and a half hours in the make-up room, a pot of coffee, and an hour drive later, I found myself in the desert-the crew was hustling to get set up for a sunrise shoot.

The spot was about a caveman who was frustrated by technology (it's for a French Product called "The Hubster"), so he hauls his TV, clock radio, picture frames, and Internet router out into no man's land, and smashes them all with a bone. What a blast. I found myself mostly naked in primitive glory monkeying around and crushing things with the thigh bone of (I'm assuming) a cow. I've always had a sort of daydream/fantasy about being able to smash up a store with a baseball bat . . . there is something so satisfying about wrecking havoc . . . and it was nice to be able to sort of play out that fantasy in the desert.

The shoot went much longer than I anticipated, so I ended up missing another audition (for a student film, no big whoop), and also my first day of the new session at Groundlings. I hate missing class, but this was the first one I've missed out of three sessions. Later in the afternoon, I auditioned for Duraflame, and had a really good audition. This commercial spot felt a lot like the Comcast spot I did last year . . . just a slightly older version. We'll see.

After that, it was up to NYFA (New York Film Academy) for another student film audition, then off to an evening bootcamp.

Yesterday, we spent time getting the house ready for weekend guests . . . still so much to be done! Nothing too pressing, just using this weekend visit from the Lane Ladies as an excuse to finish projects that we seem to talk about, but never quite get around to doing. I got a call from my agent for a same-day audition for Sprint, and hustled out in the early afternoon . . . sounded like fun . . . supposed to dress "like flight of the Conchords" and bring my guitar. It wasn't until I got to the casting office that I realized that I was expected to play and sing . . . "Take Me On" by the Ah-ha's. This was not a good experience. Painful for all involved. Oh well.

Last night, we drove down to Anaheim for a screening of a film I was on in Minneapolis. "Mysterious Ways" was accepted into the "Indiefest" movie festival. Though turnout was very small, and the quality in the theatre was not great, it was fun nonetheless. This marks the third time I've seen my work on a big screen, and though I was nauseous, I haven't left the theatre in tears yet. More, more, more!

Boot camp is over this morning, and it's off to the Groundlings. Will there be laughs today? I guarantee it!

Love

And, oh yeah.....

We also saw "Julie & Julia"on Sunday.
We enjoyed it alot. Very easy to watch...
kind of a break from the usual angst.
Probably be a just fine rental also.
I would love to be able to find the old
J.C. cooking classes that were on TV.
Might have to explore that a bit.

Then on to "Inglorious Basterds". PHEW.
Tarantino all the way and really good, we
thought.

Talk atchyez later Carpe Diem!!!

Blogalicious

Only an Eighteen Month Hiatus!

The Hollywood Sign has a terrifying pre-recorded announcement keeping you away if you get too close!

Elly, Cody, and Noah at the San Diego Zoo!

Hello Family et. al.

Well, I've been wanting to Blog for a while, and I keep putting it off for no good reason . . . so I'm going to try and get better about it. It's been just over 5 months since moving into our apartment, and things are going well. First, some things I've seen from our front window:

A crazy person taking a dump on the sidewalk (day 1)
A fire raging on the hill across the street (amazing and terrifying to see palm trees burning!)
A bomb squad investigation (laterally in front of our apartment-a jerry-rigged car bomb-we were evacuated, but no boom!)
Michael Jackson's funeral procession (actually had to walk to the end of the block for that one)
The Miracle of Life (a birds nest out of our bedroom window)

Bomb Threats aside, this has been a great apartment so far. We're close to a busy street, but the car noise has become less bothersome (read: more tolerated), and the occasional band practice downstairs can be a nuisance, but the space is wonderful. Elly and Branden (and friends) were our first guests, which was wonderful, and next weekend, the Lane Ladies are spending a night or two.

I've been auditioning like mad, and have booked a few small things . . . more details to come. I've also been consuming biographies, both auto and non . . . most recently finishing Montgomery Clift, and moving on to Eliza Kazan. The weather here is constantly awesome, and I've put a lot of miles on the bike. This coming Monday, I start my third session with the Groundlings, and have very much enjoyed classes there. Monday's a busy one . . . Filming a viral video (where I get to dress up as a caveman-complete with facial prosthetics) starting at 3 in the morning, then an audition for a short film, then Groundlings class, then a commercial audition, then bootcamp in the pm. That's the way life seems to go . . . Nothing for days, then EVERYTHING on one day.

Well, we're off to a BBQ in Santa Monica this evening, so I'm signing out. I'm going to make an effort to give more regular and in-depth updates here though.

Love to all, and can't wait to see you again!