That One Time I Was A Movie Extra

It happened one night. I was at the market and suddenly a big-time movie producer "discovered me."

Just kidding, I saw an article about how a movie needed extras to be football fans and I thought, okay, that's an easy enough way to cross off "be in a movie" from my bucket list.

So the next day, Caleb and I walked down to the stadium at 9 in the morning.

 

At around 11:00 or so, after signing photo releases and our lives away, we finally got to go underneath the stadium seating to the actors' holding area and dressing room. We did not get to go inside, buuuut we got to stand in a single file line outside while the props lady gave different people props to use.

 

And we got to watch the actors filter in and out. We stood roughly 10 feet away from some dude from Band of Brothers. Let's just say Caleb recognized him, and I didn't. We did see the main actor quite a few times, and every time we saw him, he was imitating Arnold Schwarzenegger's voice. In the dressing room, in between takes, literally every time we saw him.

After receiving props, we were sent back to our holding area until noon, at which point we were filtered in a very small section of stadium seats. We cheered and cheered (without a sound) for a good hour. I doubt Caleb and I will be very noticeable, as we were on the edge of the seating.

 

After they didn't release us for a lunch break or anything, we left. We were too hungry to sit around and wait another two hours. Food > Being a movie extra in multiple scenes in an unorganized movie.

It was worth it, and was slightly fun, when we weren't waiting for 3 hours to actually do something.

21 (Okay, Only 9) Ways to Make People Like You More

In lieu of my 21st birthday (this happened weeks ago) I tried to come up with some kind of creative post. Honestly, I couldn't think of anything that just struck me as appropriate. So I thought that I would come up with 21 ways that could help anyone be better thought of. These are NOT foolproof, and I cannot say that I myself am fantastic at doing all of them, but they are ways to be a sweeter person in general, and lots of people like sweeties. Right?

1. When complimenting someone, make an effort to emphasize the compliment rather than the fact that you are giving it. Emphasize the "you" and not the "I."
     This is something that I read in a Reader's Digest when I was 14 and has stuck with me ever since. Instead of saying "I like that dress," you could say, "You look really good in that dress," or "That is such a cute dress!" Apparently this makes the receiver of the compliment feel better about themselves!
2. Make people think it was their idea.
     This one I learned from 11-12-year-olds at camp. I would play volleyball with them, and kids would yell to each other, "Get over there!" and "Stop! You're in my spot!" After this went nowhere, I would say, "Hey so-and-so, do you think it'd be good to trade spots so you can cover for me better?" What do you know, the kid would do it. Maybe it was because I was a counselor, but I'd like to think it was because he thought he decided to do it.
3. Don't make exclusive plans in front of excluded people.
     I'd like to think this is an everyday nobrainer, but I fail at it so often, and so do a lot of people. If you are in a group of people, and you are planning to do something with one/some of them, don't talk about it in front of the rest of the group that is not included. It could hurt their feelings.
4. Try to be thoughtful at least once a month.
     This means putting someone ahead of yourself. This should happen more often than once a month, but people get busy and forget, so a once-a-month goal is a good place to start. If a friend or someone you know is stressed out because of school, make them some cookies. If someone's parking meter has run out, pay a dime to give them more time. 
5. Make eye contact.
     People like to know they are being listened to. Unless someone is seriously interrupting some of your major essay-writing or something of that sort, it's not a bad thing to stop doing something to look somone in the eyes while y'all talk.
6. Have a response question when someone asks you about your life.
     Don't hog the conversation, unless you're just having a really bad day. Then, feel free to tell them about it. But otherwise, having an interest in someone's life, or even just acting like it, can make someone feel important.
7. Laugh at jokes.
     Maybe you've heard it before. So what? Laugh. People love to feel funny, and they will love that you laughed at their funniness.
8. Remember things about them, so you can tell them how you thought of them.
     Know someone who loves Hugh Jackman? Tell that person about how you saw Hugh's blond look-alike that day.
9. Be happy with yourself.
     Because people like people who like themselves.
10. I may have run out of cool things to add into my list.
11. So I'm just going to cut it off at 9 real things to make people like you more. Maybe this is all my own perception, and these are all things I think are true but no one else agrees with. If so, carry on, I apologize for wasting your time.
12. Just kidding, I didn't waste your time because here's a cute picture that sums up how I feel about summer rolling in:



Oh the places you'll go: Art Museum

I got to go on a cool date with a cool guy Friday. We spent an afternoon classin' it up at the art museum nearby. A Norman Rockwell exhibit was there, and it was so NEAT to see all those different brush strokes and thicknesses that he put there himself so many years ago. I was nerdy for that stuff during the afternoon, and Caleb kept asking me, "What do you keep looking at?"

It was his first ever experience at an art museum, and I may have ruined it for him by spending three hours perusing the works. Caleb did pick out one painting he decided he wanted to buy for his future home; here it is, a fine piece by Alexander Pope:

Guns and birds, the way to get a country man into art.

I found my own favorite pieces as well, not necessarily because of the artist or quality, mainly because they were the most "interesting" or, well, humorous pieces to me.



I don't remember its title, but we'll call it the Grapes of Wrath.



Because everyone needs a cool bear killing everything painting over their sofa to impress guests.

Then there were a few that we just had fun with:


A red lens, it was like instagram in a circle and not on a phone.



I liked red circles a lot today I guess. Here's me holding one.



Andy Warhol and his viewers. I reaaaaaally like this photo.

Then we went through the grounds and found quite a few sculptures. We were more interested in the fish trying to swim upstream and jump over a small metal dam setup, honestly. They made funny noises.

I love art museums. They just make me happy, and they make me want to paint, because seriously, once you get into the moderm section you really start to think, "I can do that..." Just need to become famous first.

Rana Joy.

After a very stressful, worrisome week of my sister-in-law being in the hospital, the Tumlison family welcomed in a new member.

Rana Joy was born seven weeks early. Although with our luck, we shouldn't have expected everything to go "normally" anyway.

I got to meet Rana eight hours after she was born. She was red, warm, and a lot prettier than the picture my brother showed me from right after she was born. My brother sang her the fight song and he's already read her Yertle the Turtle, so she's getting started off on the right foot.

Rana is now about 3 weeks old and looking good. She isn't home yet, but she will be soon!

Rana when I visited her last week.

She held my finger!

Daddy and Rana

 

The happy (and cute) parents at a baby shower.

Caleb getting ready to meet RJ

Little toesies

The first time I met her.

 

Me and my little niece for our first meeting.

She's adorable. Not sure if I mentioned that. I love her.

A look back on 2012

Well, my friends, this year taught me a lot about patience, about getting over myself, and mostly, about Murphy's Law:

Anything that can go wrong, will.

 

There was the first part of the year. After a barrage of family deaths, another one hit the closest to home: my sister's miscarriage. It's not something that we just talk about, but it is something that weighs on us still, I think (though I can't speak for everyone.)

 

Not to mention the one-month long food poisoning/driving-induced stress stomach problems. I could barely make it to class, much less eat. Every night I wondered if I'd get better.

 

Then there were the vehicle problems later on in the year. On a trip to back to my college-town, I had a tire bust on the interstate.

 

Not too far after that, my car was acting funny, so we (well, Caleb and the campus minister) replaced my water pump. A few weeks later, my car starting steaming and overheating, and I had to get my radiator replaced. Then just a few weeks ago, my battery died. So, new battery. I had half a mind to just forget it all and buy a new vehicle.

 

Those are just a small portion of the large picture, but guess what! This year wasn't completely bad. Actually, there was a lot of good.

 

Surprise! My sister is pregnant and due in March, not too long before my birthday! I'm going to have a lovely niece to hold.

 

My friend Jesse saved me from that busted tire on the interstate, since it happened in his hometown. When I say saved, I mean he called his police-officer dad, who was kind and came to help us change tires as my parents drove up.

 

A load of my friends got engaged this year (at an average rate of 1 a week). But two of them asked me to be in the wedding, and I couldn't be more happy for them and for getting to share in their special days.

 

I got a cute puppy, surely you've seen her by now. She knows how to dance and sit and ask Dad for biscuits.

 

I got a job at the school paper, and now I get to write about the sports I go to see! It's possible that I've made the important men in my life sorta proud.

 

The summer camps I worked out were nice and just what I needed. (They also gave me the tan-ish that I wanted.)

 

Caleb and I celebrated two years of dating in October. That was pretty neat.

 

Aaaand now, here are my favorite images of the year!

I got a surprise birthday party this year!

Here are my two roommates. They're pretty cool and pretty pretty.

Our 2-year date to the corn maze.

Oh look, our two most popular players.

 



They are cute.

Christmas Party game.

Me and my pop.

Dwight and Angela



Dottie!

Here is Amy, my first friend to get engaged (it's possible she started the trend last December!)

And here's Cori, who also proposed to me to be a bridesmaid.

If you wondered how I did on my goals for the new year...well...I did about 5.5 of them. Which is terrible, but also good. That's why they are goals, not resolutions!