There’s a time in your life where you just have to go for it. From September to December 2012, I did. Living in LA had been a pipe dream since I was a child, something that I wanted to so badly, yet never thought possible. Thankfully, I got to try it, and had the most amazing experience of my life.

I was lucky enough to do interning while in LA and see the world through the PR world. It was quite a revelation to me, especially coming from Canada where it’s quite different, and small.
Knowing only a few people I didn’t expect to be busy every night. I thought I would be lonely and wind up homesick, instead it was quite the opposite. This is my story.

During my time in LA I was fortunate enough to meet some awesome friends, see great TV shows being filmed, encounter some actors and actresses who I respect (AND my idol!), learn a lot about myself and see what this version of reality would be. I cannot thank my family and friends enough for supporting me during this time. It was fabulous.

The trip started out a bit rough, I had to find a place to live, which I wasn’t counting on. (MAJOR kudos to Brian Wilde, Laurie Graham and her friends for helping me out!!!!!)  The place I found was right in the heart of Hollywood. I got to walk in the hills every day, walked runyon quite a few times (which if you know me is quite hilarious, cause I do NOT like hiking!) (Megan!!), and could easily walk to dinners and my cousins house. The parking situation was tricky as I was given a spot next to a pole… which I came very close to smashing a few times. Thankfully, I didn’t! I also experienced living alone, far from home for the first time. It’s quite scary knowing your family is a good 5000 KM away from you, however I had a great friend within 8 minutes walking distance from me, and my cousin 20 minutes away. (Major thank to my diabetes for actually behaving, much appreciated!)

I also go to learn that I am incompetent at cooking (kinda scared of gas stoves), so therefore I ate out… a lot. Like almost every single meal…. (Note, I have NOT been on the scale since I returned!)

The night I arrived I got to go see the ‘Thrilling Adventure Hour’, which is an AMAZING, HILARIOUS radio show played out as a stage play. It’s FABULOUS. I was super lucky to get to meet the wonderfully talented Josh Malina (who might seriously win as the sweetest guy in the history of the world) and the spectacular Jason Ritter (Parenthood), who will tie Josh Malina for sweetest guy in the history of the world. I also got to meet my first new friend, Brian! Hello Brian!

So you know how some things are just meant to be? This was a very mean to be moment. I really believe in that, and well this just proves it.
The shower in my apartment was horrendous, had no pressure or anything. The superintendent was going to fix it however the day before they changed it, I decided I was going to get my hair done at a salon. So this is by far the best moment of the trip for me. I was booked for like 2:45 or something on a Thursday, but for some random reason I was early (like super early, which is rare for those who know me…) and showed up at 2:15. They had me wait around for a bit and then took me to get my hair washed. They felt bad that they kept me waiting (even though I was the one who was super early) so they gave me a  10 minute hair treatment. When I was finished, I was guided to the upstairs, then to the downstairs then to the front of the salon, where I finally sat facing the door. At about 2:45, I see someone out of the corner of my eye walk into the salon, and I freeze. I am in absolute shock. Standing 6 feet away from me is my idol, Ms. Jennifer Love Hewitt. Now, I have been a Hewitt fan since Kids Inc. (Yea, I do remember her as Robyn). I loved Party of Five, Time of Your Life, Ghost Whisperer, The Tuxedo, Can’t Hardly Wait, Munchie, Let’s Go Bang, Love Songs, The Client List, etc etc etc. So now, I’m sitting in the chair, freaking out, my heart is pounding and of course, this is the ONE day I left my blood glucose monitor at home, and I’m sensing I’m having a low blood sugar. Anyways, the guy continues to blow dry my hair and I’m debating in my head if I should conjure up the courage to talk to her or not. Now here’s a side note. I was on TRL introducing JLH BACK in 2002 (barenaked tour, seaside heights NJ, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ulfq6wxa7ew (3:37) and I have met her once after that. She was in Montreal doing a Barenaked press tour and I was lucky enough to meet her outside a radio station and then talk to her during some MusiquePlus special. So this wasn’t my first time, however her mom had passed away in June, and I had told a few friends that if I ever saw her, I would walk up to her and just tell her how sorry I am and give her a hug. (explanation, my mom is my best friend, and from what she’s said over the years, we have a similar relationships with our moms, so I took it VERY hard when I heard the news of her mom.) okay, now back to where I’m going. So as I’m debating what to do, I ask the blow dryer guy. He tells me he got to do Bette Midler’s hair and that’s his idol so I should go for it. Now, I really didn’t want to bother her, she’s getting her hair done, and like who the hell am I to bother her, but I did it. What was said is private, but she was an absolute doll, listened to what I said, and genuinely cared. It was seriously the best thing that could have happened to me. That first week in LA was rough, and she made it shine for me. P.S When I did get home, my blood sugar was hovering pretty low! P.P.S had I been on time, I would have freaked out in the sink room, so thank god for being early! Also, Thanks for replying to me on twitter that night J. Meant the world to me! So proud of the person you’ve become and stayed, especially in that industry. Can’t wait for you to hopefully one day star in MY screenplays!

I was also fortunate enough to see ‘The voice’ being filmed twice… which means Helllllo Adam Levine! Yes, I sat 6 feet away from Adam Levine for 8 hours. It was heaven.  At the voice taping I got to meet some people that have become true fixtures in my life! My friends Erin, Shanna and Taylor!

I was also able to attend the ‘Women’s Expo’ down at the LA Convention center and meet a new friend names Sam. She was awesome, and boy did we have a lot of fun! I also got to meet Stef, who’s quite the awesome one as well! At the Expo I was lucky enough to meet Valerie Bertinelli. Now let me just say that I LOVE Hot In Cleveland. I had read Valerie’s books in early 2012 and I thought they were great!  Valerie thought that I was there to get an autograph for my mom, which was not the case! Again, I get told daily I look 18. She was So nice and so down to earth! What amazed me is that about 45 minutes later Sam decided she wanted to meet Val, so we went to meet her again, and I was just hanging back and she  said ‘hey! I don’t know you , but I know (my name).’ I was blown away! She had to have met over 200 people that day, yet she remembered my name! Seriously, such a classy lady!

As you know, hockey is one of my passions. The Habs are my boys but the Kings are my 2nd team. My diabestie (diabetes buddy) Dani invited me to some Kings charity game, which featured Quick as a coach (along with Kevin Connely (E) from Entourage), Hiller, Miller, Pha-9 (who I booed), Getzlaf (his mom is super sweet!), Williams, Ryan etc. It was awesome! I also got to meet Dani’s super nice friends, Kelly and Jer. Besides that day being absolutely horrible, I had a great evening, and spend some quality time with my diabestie!

Also, my dear friend Matt and I spend about 6/7 nights a week together. He is SUCH a good egg.  Seriously, I couldn’t have asked for a better friend during my tenure in LA. We saw a LOT of movies, ate together a lot and I taught Matt the finer things in life…. Aka SHOPPING! (How many jeans do you own now matt? Lol)

Kristin Chenoweth was putting on a show in Costa Mesa, CA and Matt and I were able to go and see it. What a fabulous night that was! Besides the fact the drive was a bit long and dark, Kristin was spectacular! I believe that was my 6th or 7th time seeing Ms. Chenoweth live. Such a treat! A few weeks later, I was also fortunate enough to see Ms. Cheno fill in for Chelsea Handler on Chelsea Lately. What a hilarious taping! Kristin is such a doll (met her before in 2004), also such a class act! She even tweeted me back a few times about Homeland and how addicted we are to it!

So many memories were made in LA, so many days were spent dreaming. It really is a fabulous city and I cannot wait to go back there again!

Thanks for having me LA!

Growing up there are always people you look up to, people who are your favorites, people who aspire you to be who you are.
For most of my young adult / early teen life, Jennifer Love Hewitt was my role model.
I used to watch her on Kids Inc back in the day, and I honestly hardly remember it, but I do remember seeing her and thinking she was cool.
Oddly, when Party of Five came onto television, I somehow caught the first ever episode, loved it, and was never able to find it again (JLH wasn’t cast on the show yet, but regardless it’s a cool fact). Coincidentally 3 years later,  my aunt gave my mom a bag of VHS tapes, with seasons 1-3 recorded.
I watched every episode, and loved JLH’s acting.
I remember being 15 and going to see ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ with a group of friends. My closest friend at the time was a HUGE Sarah Michelle Gellar fan, and I, being a JLH fan, joked with each other about who would die, needless to say, JLH went on to make the sequel.
As I grew older and most of my friends succumbed to peer pressure, I was able to adhere to JLH’s ways (which are MUCH harder to do in Hollywood than a random city in Canada), and avoid the drinking in parks, and smoking up behind school moments. To this day, I have never touched a drug or drank.
I was able to meet JLH back in 2002, and it was honestly, to this day one of the most special meetings of my life.
I could ramble on for hours about how JLH helped me in life, but you get the gist.
I know there are many of us out there who look up to people, and idolize them, and I know JLH must hear it all the time, but I just want to say to Ms. Hewitt if she ever sees this, Thank you.
You helped shape me into who I am, and I respect you immensely. To this day (May 29th, 2012) I am proud to call you my idol!

This will be VERY random stuff, just a heads up! and FYI, I called Habs/Kings final in Sept

GO KINGS GO!

Thanks for reading!

A