I said, WHIP IT!!

Oh. My. Gosh.

Wednesday night I experienced what has to have been one of the silliest, most hilarious things I have seen since moving to LA. I played charity Bingo...…….with some drag queens in West Hollywood. No, seriously.

One of the guys in my ward has been trying to raise money for an inner city LA school, and one of the ways he chose to do that was through this event. A local drag queen bar/restaurant called Hamburger Mary's has Bingo every Wednesday night. If anybody has a worthy cause that they are trying to raise money for, Hamburger Mary’s will host and run an event for that purpose. All you have to do is organize the guests and provide the prizes. They give 100% of the proceeds to the cause – which I think is pretty great.

Our host for the night was "Miss" Bridget of Madison County. And she was feisty. First thing, she explained the rules for the evening. But, she was quick to note that the biggest, most important rule was "NO FAKE BINGOS!!!" And if you did call out "Bingo" incorrectly, there would be consequences. Harsh consequences. She then proceeded to pick up a black leather strap, and violently SLAP it against the wall.

Oh my. We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

As the leather cracked against the wall, the expression on my friend Sterling's face was that of pure shock. "Um, can you go over the rules one more time please," he asked. I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants.

There was only one twit the whole night who was stupid enough to call out a fake bingo. And she was justly punished. The strap was also used to give out birthday spankings to a few different people, including my friend, Brian, who had organized the event. And when Bridget uses that strap, man – she means business!

Well, I had the time of my life. I cant repeat half of what was said during the evening, as pretty much every sentence was laced with some sort of sexual innuendo. And though I didn't win anything, my roomie, Rachel, did manage to score herself a lovely rape whistle when she tied with another dude for a bingo win, and then lost in the draw for a final winner.

All I can say is, if you have trouble getting ahold of me on Wednesday nights, it’s probably because I’m hanging with Bridget.

Better Go Find Your Ice Skates……

…..because I’m pretty sure that hell has just frozen over.

Why, you ask?

Because I have just done something that I SWORE I would never do. Something that friends have been trying to convince me to do for years, but to which I have been vehemently opposed.

I layered my hair.

Okay, okay. I know that to most of you, this may not seem like a very big deal. But to me – a creature of habit and not of change – it is! For years, I have worn my hair long and straight. It was easy to maintain and required little to no thought on my part. It was by no means boring, but it wasn’t necessarily exciting either.

Well, lately I have been on this whole “seize the day” kick, and last Saturday that seizing manifested itself in a crazy (sort of) new haircut.

 

For those of you who don’t see me every day or who don’t know me super well, you may not even notice a difference. And maybe there isn’t a huge one. But hey, baby steps people!

Though I am still adjusting to the various lengths of hair I now have, I am LOVING the new do! And I can’t wait to experiment with it!

Maybe I should listen to my friends more often……

Take Me Out to the Movies…..

So, the two YSA wards out here are full of industry-types. Mostly they are just wanna-be actors (unless you consider being in both an Old Navy AND and an Ice Breakers commercial simultaneously as hitting the big time). But there are a few ward members who have actually been involved in some pretty legit Hollywood movies/projects.

Due to this fact, every July the wards combine to hold a huge film festival. And it is probably the biggest, most publicized, and widely-attended church activity of the year. Seriously. It has become so well known that YSA wards in other states have tried to mimic it – but ours is still the original....and the best. :P

The occasion is strictly formal dress (or costume, as there is always a theme to the festival), and even has a red carpet and paparazzi. Our venue? Well, the Stake Center cultural hall, of course (nothing says red carpet more than a basketball court)!

Members from the wards are invited to make and submit 5-minute short films. Then, at the festival (which is only one night), these films are screened and voted on by the ward members. Winners are chosen, awards are given out. It's a jolly good time.

Most of the films are quite amateur (for obvious reasons), but occasionally, you get one that is so creative that it raises the bar. A film that everybody leaves the festival talking about – and continues to talk about for the next few days.

Such was the case this year.

Meet "Jane Austen's Fight Club." Not only did this film win for "Best Picture" this year, but since it was posted on YouTube, it has gone completely viral – racking up over a MILLION views in just the first two weeks alone! It has been featured on websites like Jezebel, The Daily What, CBSnews.com, Time.com, and its director (my buddy, Emily Janice Card) has even been interviewed by by Entertainment Weekly online. Crazy, huh? See, Mormons do have a sense of humor!

Anyway, for your viewing pleasure......."Jane Austen's Fight Club."

 

 

And while we're on the subject of award-winning films, here's a silly little one that I somehow ended up participating in a few years back. I am NOT an actress, and the only reason I agreed to do it was because I was told that it would only be freeze-frames. But it ended up being  a lot of fun to do – and I’m glad I had the opportunity!

It also won for "Best Picture," and I randomly won for "Best Actress" (There must not have been a lot of female participants that year). Anyway, here's that film....."Time for Teens."

 

And here’s a picture of the cast after we won……crazy bunch of fools we are.

 

My roomie, Rachel, got runner up this year for her hilarious little spoof about cougars......and no, I'm not talking about the ones you find on campus at BYU......or am I?...... Meet, "To Avoid an Attack."

 

 

My BFF Sara was a dancer in this next one. I tell you, sometimes I think that Mormons must look nigh unto psychotic to the rest of the world. I give you, "Late Night Worker."

 

 

Another one of my all-time favorites is this next one, "Do Re Andy." Short. Sweet. Insane. But I love it.

 

 

Lastly, well......I'm not quite sure how to explain this last one. But I thought it was quite clever. Here is "Tom Cruise on Home Teaching." Nuff said.

 

 

Hooray for Hollywood……!!