the little film i'm making is going well and will be done in the next few days.
the parks and rec wedding last night made my heart explode. also ron swanson is a boss.
i'm building a human-sized cocoon for a movie and yesterday i took a little nap in a layer of the cocoon skin and it was so cozy. and i emerged with beautiful wings. just kidding. but the cocoon nap was real.
it's my fault it's a doozy.
all of my school, work, and side projects... and i decide to make another film on my own.
man.
beer me strength to make it through the week.
please.
::what is your advice for achieving success in life::
can someone tell me the answer to this!?
i worry a lot about the future. i have really big dreams as far as my career goes, and there are times when it seems unrealistic and i get really down on myself. BUT i don't need to do that because it doesn't really matter where i end up, i just want to be married and make awesome things, like films and babies. they don't even have to be great films. but if i'm making stuff and hanging out with my husband and kiddos, i'll be happy. and if i'm happy, i'll consider myself a success.
::what is your favorite vacation spot?::
i like any vacation spot. because it means i'm on vacation! i super love going to the east coast. the atlantic ocean is warm. ask me the same question in 4 months, though, and i might say england, france, germany, austria, italy, or greece (humblebrag... sorry about it).
::what is the best day of your life thus far?::
i don't often remember entire days, but i remember moments. and some of my favorite moments have been when i'm hanging out with my family. i was blessed with two incredible parents and four hot sisters, and being with them are usually my favorite moments. whether that be all of us crying together at the wizarding world of harry potter, or us just cracking jokes at the dinner table.
::if nothing about time and space were an option, what would your perfect day consist of?::
waking up to NO ALARM, 60 degree weather, hanging out with people i love, eating A TON of good food, staying up really late.
::i want to know your favorite thing about growing up in the grove!::
the grove being pleasant grove, utah. i have lived in utah county my whole life, and haven't had much to complain about. i can hike to waterfalls from my house, i live 20 minutes from a ski resort, and 20 minutes from a lake in the other direction. i've gotten to know so many great people in utah county, i'm comfortable here, and i'm lucky that it's in a place i consider really beautiful.
::if you could relive one moment from your past, what would it be?::
once i ate the best pork barbacoa salad from cafe rio ever, and i'd super like to relive that moment right now. but more seriously, i'd really like to go back to the summers when i was between the ages 4-8.
::who are your role models?::
first and foremost, my parents. they are awesome, and if i can get anywhere close to their level of parenting, my kids will turn out pretty well.
second, my film professors. i look up to all of them so much. i love being in a department where the professors actually know the students by name and are invested in their lives. taking their classes really has made me a better, smarter person. (and i have this dream of being on the film faculty at byu because all of them make it look like the best job in the world).
tina fey and amy poehler. smirk at that if you want. but they are amazing and have done so much for women, and especially for women in comedy. they know what's up.
jared and jerusha hess. they... kind of live what my ideal life would be. and they are nice, hilarious people. i know because i met them last week.
::what is the best advice you've ever received?:: "You did not come into the world to fail. You came into the world to succeed. You have accomplished much so far. It is only the beginning. As you move forward on the trail of life, keep the banner of faith in self ever before you. You may not be a genius. You may not be exceptionally smart. But you can be good, and you can try. And you will be amazed at what might happen when in faith you take a step forward." -Gordon B. Hinckley and that is the end of the questions! that was fun, you guys! for me at least. feel free to ask questions whenever, this isn't a one time deal. as always, thanks for reading this blog and for being my friend. always remember: you're good enough, you're smart enough, and doggone it, people like you.
::i'm not a big movie person, but if i had a movie night, what would you recommend i watch?::
here are a few movies that i like, and that i think have a pretty wide appeal.
so if you aren't a big movie person, you'll probably still like some of these!
a knight's tale (2001)
ocean's 11 (2001)
you've got mail (1998)
fantastic mr. fox (2009)
dan in real life (2007)
500 days of summer (2009)
10 things i hate about you (1999)
the holiday (2006)
::what are your thoughts on argo (or ben affleck) being 'snubbed' by the oscars, and how much attention is it receiving from other awarders?::
so, Argo was nominated for the Best Picture academy award, but ben affleck was NOT nominated for the Best Director academy award, so a lot of people are saying he was 'snubbed.' personally, i think the film will actually win Best Picture (i'm not a soothsayer or an expert, but i think it's one of the most feasible nominees, and i thought it was excellent). do i think he should have been nominated for best director? yeah. but there were so many good directors nominated this year as well, and all of them deserve to be there. also, ben affleck won Best Director at the Golden Globes, and Argo won at the screen actors guild awards and the BAFTA awards, and probably more... those are just a different group of people than the academy, who run the oscars. 2012 was a really great year, and so it was probably really hard to pick nominees, and it will be really hard to narrow it down to a winner in each category.
i don't claim to be an authority on movies at all, because i'm just learning, and the people who are movie authorities are in hollywood and across the world making stuff, and are my professors and they teach me boatloads of new things every single day. but that aside, i have actually thought about writing on the blog about other movies i like. The mainstream ones, the less mainstream ones, ones that are a little off-beat, or that are a little older. or maybe setting up a page on my blog where i have a list of movies i recommend. i don't know. it could be fun.
if you know me, you know that i love tv, and i have my whole life. i seriously can't narrow it down to one show. or even like one genre of show. i like comedies, dramas, reality tv, talk shows, documentary-type shows, etc.
here's a list of my current favorite shows:
30 rock
parks and recreation
the office
new girl
modern family
chuck
friday night lights
how i met your mother
freaks and geeks
friends
arrested development
but it isn't limited to those.
there's something about tv that just really tickles my fancy. it's a dream of mine to be a comedy writer, or a tv editor. it's such a fun, exciting industry, devoted to helping people engage in something that will enrich their lives. or maybe just make them happy. i think that's pretty great. and fandom is fun too, right?
::are you dating anyone? tell us about your love story::
::please tell us more about your darling missionary. kthx::
::tell me about your missionary. because you know. i love that you have one. AND if your life was a movie, who would play you and your lover (yes. i just said lover. awkward)::
::tell me more about your missionary. spill the deets.::
::i really really want to know how you met reese, and anything else you want to tell us about him::
ok ok ok. i usually don't write a whole lot about boys and my feels on here. but you inquired, and this will be good to let myself be incredibly vulnerable for bit...
i am not dating anyone right now. but i do super like a boy named reese who is currently serving a mission in nicaragua. he's been there for nine months, and he's doing great. i'm writing him, and he's writing me back, and it's all good fun. and he'll be home in may of 2014.
i met him last fall semester. he was in my ward at byu, and we started being friends around christmas time. i started thinking he was really great and adorable, and he was super fun to spend time with. we actually volunteered at the provo missionary training center together once a week all winter semester. we both are fluent in spanish, so we were there to help the missionaries who were learning spanish. that was, like, my favorite part of the week. because i love speaking spanish, you know... ha.
the problem was that i was dating someone else at the time. little did i know that reese liked me too, so we secretly had the hots for each other for months.
the relationship i was in was kind of on the decline, so we broke up. and then i was super brave and told reese i liked him, and he said "yaaay" and that's that. the last bit of the semester were some of my favorite times ever. (and our first kiss was on a fire escape. felt like i was in a cool rom-com, what's up!)
he's from sacramento california, so when the semester ended and we both moved home, we skyped a lot (like a lot, ask my mom) until he left on his mission. and now we write. and he's like the most stalwart missionary nicaragua has ever seen, i'm guessing.
whew. so there are the contents of my heart spilled out upon this computer screen. i hope there's some more reese on this blog in the future, but we'll see what happens!
he's rockin the brandon flowers haircut right now.
and who would play me and my lover in a movie?
i think reese looks like a cross between brandon flowers and liam from one direction... so one of them would play him, and i would definitely be played by aubrey plaza (if we could blondify her).
::if you could pick any fictional character to marry, who would it be?::
SO HARD. like, possibly the hardest question, because i'm invested in the lives of so many fictional characters. lately, i'd pick ben wyatt from parks and rec. he is such a sweet, adorable, nerdy, smart, funny guy. and if the way he treated leslie was the way he treated me... yeah.
::5 things i would take on a desert island::
1. a black labrador puppy - to keep me company and for the adorableness (and maybe he could hunt for food....?)
2. all of the seasons of mad men and a dvd player - because i want to watch that series right now, but i don't have the time. i'd have time on a desert island.
3. can i take my family? my family. oops, that shoulda been #1.
4. a hammock. for obvious reasons.
5. the harry potter books. for obvious reasons.
::who is your favorite roomie?::
olivia, obviously, because she's the only one who reads my blog. i kid, all my roommates are babes.
::what made you start blogging?::
i started this blog in 2009, when i was 16. i think i wanted to blog because my sister had a blog, and i also read the rockstar diaries back then. who doesn't love that blog? come on.
writing this blog has been a really good way for me to document parts of my life, and it's helped me find the optimistic parts of each day.
::snog date dump - using your exes::
the author of this question and i made a gentleman's agreement that i wouldn't have to answer that. there's no tactful way to go about that game with real people you know. but it was a question that made me giggle.
::i just want to know if you ever get kind of tired of utah? and where else would you really want to live?::
utah is wonderful, but i do get tired of it sometimes, of course. i'd probably get tired of anywhere if i was there too long. i really don't love being landlocked, and i have a list of places i'd like to try living. at the top of the list are somewhere on the east coast like virginia, southern california (because maybe that's where my dream job is), pacific northwest, and since i've been editing a documentary about a guy from chicago... chicago seems pretty awesome.
::how do you be so fly?::
this question implies that i am fly. so i thank you for that. i don't really know how to be fly, but if i don't feel like i'm going to have a fly day, i watch funny youtubes. this, this, this, this, or this, for example.
::what is your first kiss story?::
i was 16. the legend of my first kiss says that he missed.
and i will say that legend holds up -- his aim wasn't great.
::most embarrassing moment?::
once i fell off my bike in front of the boy i had a crush on. so, that was a major forehead slap.
more recently, i fell asleep watching Pather Panchali in class, and my friend josh next to me said i made sounds in my sleep. i get embarrassed easily, but can usually shake it off a few hours later.
::so i woke up this morning with a text from myself that said "jessie should turn stargirl into a movie." right?::
that book is so great. i'm surprised that hasn't been adapted into a movie yet! great idea, and thanks for thinking of me! once i establish some street cred, i'll get jerry spinelli tor produce, AND I'LL MAKE IT HAPPEN.
::if you could be present for one moment in history, what would it be?::
honestly, i would really liked to have been present at a Queen concert, a Michael Jackson concert, and a Beatles concert. i also think i would have liked to be around for one of the world's fairs in the olden days.
::what is your weirdest pet peeve?::
my main pet peeve is forgetting things. so that's why i obsessively write lengthy to-do lists for myself.
::if you were in a room with a cauldron full of amortencia, what would you smell?::
fresh cilantro and baby shampoo.
::if you had a band, what would it be named?::
hmm.. off the top of my head
tokyo reunion, freedom at best, or hands around spam.
but i'd probably be more of a solo artist. so i'd just be called jessie j.
wait....
just some concept art for a potential album cover i drew up real quick...
::do you like to color?::
yes! i love to color and draw things, especially with colored pencils.
and actually, part of the job i get paid to do is coloring video. my job title is an editor/colorist.
so i really can tell people my job is to color. heh heh.
::does the broadcast building have any fun stuff to explore/good places to nap? i've never been in there cuz i'm a little scurred of it... but I AM SO CURIOUS ABOUT IT.::
the broadcast building is the building where i work. here's edit bay #1 where i spend a lot of time.
so YOU tell ME if there are good places to nap!
i don't nap at work, but if for some reason i needed to sleep over there, hide from an intruder, etc. edit bay #1 is THE place to be.
the the building really is an incredibly nice broadcast facility and i love working there. i love that i get to do something i like and that actually matters and get paid to do it as a college student! it's great. that place also has the cleanest nicest bathrooms.
::which byu electives would you recommend?::
i'm not really the authority on this, because pretty much all of my electives are within my major. BUT. i always recommend intro to film (tma 102). anyone can take it, the professors are awesome, the TAs are just people like me, and you watch a ton of movies. it's good for your soul.
::if you could be any kind of dinosaur, what would you be?::
a pterodactyl. because i'd want to be a bad-a dinosaur, but i'd also want to be able to fly away from confrontation.
::when is the best time to take naps?::
i mostly nap during class. but in general, i like the naps where you wake up and it's still light outside. i wake up from those naps feeling like a fairy princess. but if it's dark when i wake up, i hate everything. i'd say 12-3pm is my best time for naps.
::if your phone had a voice, whose voice would you want it to be?::
jude law's. i want to listen to his voice all the time always.
::do you have a favorite pair of socks?::
i have this pair of ankle socks that say "billabong" on them. they're thicker than the rest of my ankle socks so they feel better on my feet. and also, they are the only billabong product i have ever owned, so i'm living out a seventh grade dream when i wear them.
::snog, date, dump: les miserables edition::
this will be a two part answer.
snog marius, date enjolras, dump thernardier and everyone else gross.
movie version:
snog andrew tveit, date hugh jackman, dump russell crowe.
::will you marry my brother?::
this question came from wyatt, whose brother actually is in this post.
wyatt, i'll marry your brother if he can erase from his memory what a painfully awkward 17 year old i was.
thank you for taking a minute to introduce yourselves! i really like all of your tastes in celebrities too. that was fun!
and thanks for all the great questions. i seriously love every one of them.
i think i'll keep this question thing open for the rest of the day today, and then start answering them tomorrow. i'll break them up into a few batches and post throughout the week.
so if you want to still type your name, place, crush, and/or a question, go for it!
I've never done this before. But I feel like it now. It's kind of fun for me to know who's reading. SO.
Part one:
Leave your name, where you're from, and your celebrity crush (or like top 5 if you can't pick one). Oh, and a link to your blog or twitter or whatevskis.
It will be fun for me to pretend I'm meeting you guys. And if I already know you and your face, tell me anyway!
Part two:
Ask me any question you want to ask.
I've never done that before, but I think it could be fun. And sometimes I wonder if my posts are incredibly vague and mysterious and you wonder about the weirdo behind the words. Ask me anything, from boring stuff like why I ate 7 turkey sandwiches this week, to normal stuff like my favorite kind of donut or about my oscars ballot, to asking me about awkward life stories. Whatever you want to know, or want my thoughts on. You know, anything!
So tell me about yourself and/or ask me questions. Ready set go.
(If no one comments, I'll just be embarrassed and try to erase my memory with that light thing from men in black and NEVER do this again.....)
but i do have a thing on my nightstand where i write my middle-of-the-night thoughts and insights. usually i think these things are brilliant while i'm writing them, (or i am not actually conscious while writing) and always i think they are weird and hilarious and dumb to read the next day.
so here was something i jotted down yesterday right as i was waking up (and probably coming out of a dream...)
i'm glad i decided against giving myself a bowl cut in honor of the super bowl, because i would be regretting it days later (today).
and to that middle-of-the-night insight i say:
wut.
and here's a nail art fail, while we're here.
valentine's day is ruined.
finding an almond joy in my backpack, eating bread with birdseed on it because it makes me feel healthy, cool stripes on the floor of the hfac (yay for the college of fine arts!), that dinosaur who stares at me every day, waking up to mr brightside, the sun found its way back to provo, the fantastic mr fox sountrack, queen b, and cadbury eggs (of course).
do you need something fun to do this weekend?
it's calledincredibox.
i came across this site last semester when i was working on an audio mix for a class.
and it's awesome!
you basically create a symphony of beat boxing, whistling, and other cool mouth sounds.
it's fuuuuun to play with and it's cool because someone thought of it and made it happen.
