[Witty Title Here]

A Thanksgiving gratitude roundup

November 27, 2013 by Cassie

For today’s post, I asked the good people of the interwebs to tell me what they’re most thankful for this year so I could include their responses in a Thanksgiving-themed post. I was envisioning a heart-warming, sentimental, feel-good post with a gushy outpouring of love and gratitude.

But that’s not what everyone had in mind.

Now, there WERE a few genuine responses that had what I was looking for:

I am most Thankful for my family and extended family who continue to amaze me with what they do for themselves and others. – Ken

Healthy family, good friends, and a job I like. – Helen

One that sticks out is a supportive group of family and friends. Don’t know where I’d be without the support of those around me! – Jessica

I’m super thankful for my amazing friends, who let me sleep at their houses and have sobfests on their couches. – Brianna

For my healthy little newborn! – Nagehan

That my younger brother is doing well in his first semester at college #TakingOverOneAtATime – Andres

And then there were these guys, who were honest about the little, everyday things that get them through:

I’m thankful for Breaking Bad and for Robert (the guy who fixed our dishwasher two days before Thanksgiving.) – Chris

I am thankful for buttery brie… and oh yeah… wine. – Suzy

I’m thankful for hot water and the ability to charge my iPhone in my car. Oh and power steering. – Erin

The cloud, baby. It’s all about the cloud. And iMessage on my computer OMG. – Jenna

My family; but Neil Young is a very close second! – Stacy

I’m grateful for the wealth of great music and films that came out in 2013. Also, the Internet. – Jorge

That the perfect red lipstick is not a myth and actually turns out to be a total game changer. I know that sounds shallow & superficial but I challenge anyone to find better confidence boost than wearing a perfect red! – Amanda

I am thankful that there have been so many good albums released in 2013. SO MANY. – Martin

This is my answer and you can’t stop me. – Rachel

And then there was this awkward moment when it could’ve been a serious response or a joke:

I’m thankful for baby Jesus. – Todd

In any case, you guys made this post a fun one to read and put together. Which brings me to my next point…

What am I thankful for this year?

Well, earlier this month, I wrote a guest post for Erika about how grateful I am for the change in perspective moving cross-country has brought me. I’m also thankful to have a partner-in-crime for this crazy adventure, and that, so far, we’re doing all right. I’m grateful for my family and friends back home, who I miss dearly. I’m grateful for the opportunities grad school has opened the doors to. I’m so, so thankful for all the wonderful people reading and commenting on this blog that continue to make it worth the effort. And, like some of you, I too am grateful for wine. And the perfect shade of red. And baby Jesus.

So to my friends in the U.S., have a happy Thanksgiving tomorrow! For everyone else having a regular ole Thursday, thanks for being you. Now I’m off to make Cassie’s famous casserole.

Filed Under: Thoughts on Life Tagged With: food, gratitude, holidays, thankful, thanksgiving

Interweb Finds: Houses filled with sand, traveling solo & more

November 24, 2013 by Cassie

black and white DTLA

Happy Sunday, y’all! How was everyone’s weekend? Mine got off to an early start with a party of sorts at the Brewery Art Complex I blogged about a few weeks ago, upping my cool factor a notch. The rest of the weekend was spent sleeping entirely too late and getting oddly psyched about cleaning. Today, we’ll be giving our garden some much-needed love with some pebbles and plants. It was such a sad little garden when we moved in, so I can’t WAIT to do a before and after blog post when it’s done.

And now, for the interweb finds!

Take a look at these amazing self-portraits by a shy photographer. Such originality.

Stick it to the man! The Occupy Wall Street movement spent just $400,000 to eliminate $14 million of a bunch of Americans’ debts. Here’s how.

Erika has a great roundup of handmade Etsy holiday cards. Support small businesses!

To avoid the high cost of renting in New York City, some people are opting to live in RVs parked on the city streets.

This house tour of a converted church is incredible.

These sand-filled homes in Africa are like something out of a dream or surrealist painting.

Bob Dylan’s interactive music video for “Like a Rolling Stone” and Pharrell Williams’ music video for “Happy” are both incredibly addictive, innovative, interactive, and just plain fun.

Finally, Rachel’s post on solo adventures resonated with me SO MUCH. I might just have to drive up into the mountains alone one of these days.

And that’s all for your Thanksgiving week web finds! I just have one class on Monday, and then I have the next six glorious days to spend in my PJs, get work done, make a Thanksgiving dinner for two, and relax.

What are YOU looking forward to this week? Leave a comment telling me what you’re most thankful for, and I’ll include it in a Thanksgiving-themed post later this week.

Witty Title Here on Twitter

Filed Under: Interweb Finds Tagged With: apartment therapy, Bob Dylan, converted church, debt, Etsy, handmade, Happy, holiday cards, house tour, Interweb Finds, Like a Rolling Stone, music video, Occupy Wall Street, Pharrell, photography, RVs in New York, sand-filled homes in Africa, self-portraits, small business, solo adventure

If you really knew me

November 22, 2013 by Cassie

…You’d know:

It takes a couple drinks to get me dancing. But once I start dancing, I don’t wanna stop.

“Theme from Jurassic Park” by John Williams is my go-to whistling tune. I wish I could stop.

The first time I sold a story, it was to then-chief editor of Baltimore magazine. He offered me $2—I brought him up to $3. I was six years old.

I don’t sing karaoke often, but when I do, it’s a Bon Jovi song. Because once upon a time (not so long ago), I had a major thing for Bon Jovi.

Speaking of Bon Jovi, I once got on a Walmart conveyer belt and belted out “Livin’ on a Prayer.” I was sober. It was a dare.

My picture appeared in the first issue of Seventeen magazine with a boy on it (Teddy Geiger). It was my 15 minutes of fame in high school.

Before I got into school for journalism, I was convinced I’d end up getting an MFA in creative writing. Part of me still wants to.

Indecisiveness is my biggest downfall. The smallest decision stresses me out, and sometimes I wish someone else would make them for me.

I wish I were a more musical person. I played clarinet for years and loved it. I played guitar for a few years, too, and regret putting it down.

Uprooting my life and moving to California has given me a serious travel/adventure bug. Not knowing whether I’ll stay here or move for a job once I graduate is exhilarating.

What should I know about you that I might not already? What are your greatest accomplishments, proudest moments, biggest fears, fun secrets?

Filed Under: Thoughts on Life Tagged With: Bon Jovi, creative writing, indecision, journalism, moving to California, Seventeen magazine

Stepping out of the comfort zone

November 18, 2013 by Cassie

Last week, I had a huge undertaking ahead of me. I had what’s called a package due for my broadcast journalism class. The package had to be a two-minute story that tackled a national issue at a local level. I changed my topic to the recent LAX airport shooting at the last minute. I was nervous and stressed. I’d only edited a couple of very rudimentary videos for homework, and I had no interviews lined up. (The airport police spokeswoman just about snorted when I asked for an on-camera interview. Needless to say, they’d been bombarded with media requests and weren’t anxious to help out a student with her homework.)

So I hustled. I ran out to LAX with John to get some b-roll footage and travelers’ reactions to heightened security. One very nice woman I interviewed turned out to be an actress. A man I spoke with made the dubious claim that he intended to become President of the United States. Sometimes cameras attract people like that. Often, they repel people, too.

Broadcast has been one of the biggest sources of my anxiety since starting school. Not only do we have to write the script and conduct the interviews, we have to shoot all the footage and edit the videos, too. That lovely collage of outtakes you see above? That was me trying to come up with a reporter stand-up that would be used in the script I hadn’t even written yet. I did 20-plus takes. I didn’t use any of ’em.

But it all started coming together when I did a little searching for one of the shooting victims, a high school teacher named Brian Ludmer, online. I contacted him, and a day or two later, he responded that he’d be happy to do an interview, and sorry it’d taken him so long to get back to me. (Seriously, the guy was just shot in the leg and undergoing multiple surgeries but apologizing to me for not responding immediately.) Suddenly, the gravity of this story hit me. I wanted to do it justice to honor this kind teacher, the other survivors, and the one man who was killed.

I was nervous going to the hospital. I felt awkward about shoving a camera in the face of someone confined to a hospital bed—someone I’d never even met. But once I had my shot set up, we pretended the camera wasn’t there and just talked. The next day, I went to the public memorial service for TSA agent Gerardo Hernandez, who was killed in the shooting. He had a wife and two kids. He would’ve turned 40 last week. I got teary-eyed when the chorus sang “I Believe I Can Fly.” If journalists are supposed to keep their emotions in check and be stone-faced in emotional moments like that, I don’t want to be a journalist.

After hours of editing and one sleepless night, I’d produced a story I was proud of. It’s not perfect. I’ve identified all its flaws, trust me. But it’s my first real try and success at a broadcast piece that pushed me way out of my comfort zone and showed me I was more capable than I’d originally thought:

Will I enter into a broadcast journalism career once I graduate? I’m not ruling anything out this early on, but let’s just say I’d rather stay on the print/digital side of things. Still, now that I’ve accomplished this, I realize I might very well continue to surprise myself with what I’m capable of. And the more any of us step outside the confines of our comfort zones, the more likely we are to surprise ourselves.

Information about the memorial fund for Gerardo Hernandez can be found here.

Filed Under: Thoughts on Life Tagged With: Brian Ludmer, broadcast, comfort zone, Gerardo Hernandez, journalism, LAX shooting

Found in L.A.: Urban river bike path

November 12, 2013 by Cassie

A couple of weeks ago, John and I took our bikes out for a ride. We visited the L.A. River bike path, just a short stretch of cyclist-friendly road that parallels the interstate.

The bike path is an odd mix of urban jungle with a mountainous view. We went in the late afternoon when it was cool enough so that we didn’t break a sweat. There were a bunch of “real” cyclists out and about, and others out walking their dogs. There were also a few people who seemed to be living and/or scavenging in the trees below the embankment. Los Angeles! It has everything.

The bike path was pretty in a way—we saw a blue heron in the shallow, marshy water, and riding toward the mountains in the distance kind of felt like being out in the wild—if it weren’t for the cars riding alongside you. It’s also grungy in parts, but that’s what gives it its character. Right now, the L.A. River bike path is broken up into two short and unconnected paths. But the river is under a $453 million renovation to make it a 51-mile continuous path by the end of the decade. It’ll be cool to see how it changes in the coming years. It seems L.A. is trying to become more bike-friendly, which I know a lot of people are anxious for.

It felt really good to get out on the bikes. The air was crisp, the sun was bright, and we biked several miles before heading home and immediately stuffing our faces. Yet another round of city exploration achieved!

To any Angelenos (or frequent L.A. visitors) out there, do you have recommendations for where I should visit next?

Filed Under: Found in L.A., Life in Los Angeles Tagged With: bike friendly, found in l.a., LA River bike path, life in Los Angeles, photography

Interweb Finds: Pups to make you smile, advice from Hunter S. Thompson & more

November 10, 2013 by Cassie

Oh, how quickly the weekends fly by. Isn’t that always the way? Still, I’ve had a pretty good one so far. I commiserated with lady classmates at happy hour, basked in the warm temperatures (it’s November?), and made some progress on a big story due for my broadcast class this week. The photo above is from beach camping last weekend. Yes, I slept right where that photo was taken! And I woke up to seals frolicking in the ocean. It’s a good life.

Here are a few of my favorite web finds:

A scientific explanation of why we often don’t like pictures of ourselves. (I can finally stop obsessing over how weird I look when my hair is parted to the opposite side in pictures—it’s normal!)

Weiner dog GIFs to get you through your day.

Bonus puppy find! Dogs saying “I love you.”

Would you like to be Facebook friends with your favorite TV character and get updates on their lives when you’re not watching? Here’s a cool read on the future of storytelling.

A powerful essay: When this man’s wife was battling breast cancer, friends and neighbors kept them well-fed. But, as the family learned later, no one brings dinner when your daughter is an addict.

20-year-old Hunter S. Thompson’s advice on how to lead a meaningful, purposeful life:

And it seems almost ridiculous to say that a man MUST function in a pattern of his own choosing; for to let another man define your own goals is to give up one of the most meaningful aspects of life — the definitive act of will which makes a man an individual.

Part mini-documentary, part music video: Celebrities (including Kanye West, Lindsay Lohan, Olivia Wilde, and Shaun White) explain what they love about L.A.—flaws and all.

That’s all for this week. The next few days will be insanity as I work on school stuff, but luckily, I’ve got margarita mix handy for the end of each long day. What are you up to this week?

Why don't you stick around?

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Through the Lens: Photos from November

Filed Under: Interweb Finds Tagged With: 30 Seconds to Mars, addiction, brain pickings, City of Angels, Death and Taxes, dogs saying I love you, Facebook, future of storytelling, Hunter S. Thompson, Interweb Finds, io9, Jezebel, los angeles, Mashable, Slate, weiner dog GIFs, why we don't like pictures of ourselves