And I'm humbled...

I was DESTROYED in an open hip hop class at Millenium Dance Complex tonight! Hilarious! Apparently an "open" class in Los Angeles means anyone can come... including ridiculously good people. And "open" also means really hard choreography learned at an extremely fast pace. I think the fast-paced part is what killed me. I could learn the moves if we just did it a little slower. I'm so glad no one was recording it! Actually. I kind of wish I could see how ridiculous I looked! I will definitely be going back, though, but I might start out with a beginner class. I'm just hoping that wasn't their idea of a "beginner" class. No. It couldn't have been.

Anyway... all that to say that I was humbled and probably needed it. It's always good to fall flat on your face occasionally and learn to get back up. And I face planted big time tonight! Loved it... but definitely face planted.

In other news... I was on the set of "Cold Case" again today. I really love doing that show. The crew is so nice, and being a character from another time is really fun. Today I was a "railbird" from 1963. A railbird is a person who watches pool. Therefore, we were sitting around in a pool hall watching two guys play pool. Most of your time spent doing background work consists of sitting around in a holding area until they need you and then repeating scenes over and over again once you are on set. Strangely enough... I love it. It's just really great being right there in the action, and there's so much to learn! I mean, you're standing there right beside these actors who have been in the business and you get to watch them act right in front of you. So great. I really hope I never take for granted the opportunity to do this sort of thing and get paid for it. Please punch me if I do. In the face. Hard.

Oh. And if you watch "Cold Case" and happen to see me (which you should on the episode we filmed today, which was episode 21, because I was right behind the two main guys for most of the scene) you will notice that I have some of the most amazing glasses ever created. I can't believe I'm going to be wearing them on national television. You're gonna laugh. A lot. And to top it off, my hair was slicked down and parted to the side. Wow. Yeah... I'm not gonna tell you when it's airing.

So, apparently today was the day of humbling from the Lord. Lets hope tomorrow is the day of building up because I have an interview at Houston's restaurant to become a server! I really need this job, so please pray that it will happen if it's what I'm supposed to do. And if it's not, pray the Lord will show me what I AM supposed to do.

Feeling 2 feet tall (and ok with that),
Robby

Is it a blanket?

My friend Danielle is currently house and dog sitting for a friend of hers who lives in the Hollywood Hills. Since we're continuing our LOST marathon and the house she's at has a HUGE tv and surround sound, we've had quite a time watching the show. On Friday night we were at the house, and we saw two blankets. These "blankets" turned out to be Snuggies. Yeah. The ridiculous blankets with sleeves that are really just robes you wear backwards. Hilarious. It's moments like these that I'm so glad I carry around my camera.

You can't tell me this isn't a backwards robe.


Snuggies do make everyday tasks so much more simple... while keeping you cuddly warm!


If this hasn't convinced you to go buy a bathrobe and wear it around backwards, then I'm not sure what will.

Robby

Starting at Zero

I'm now done with all the detail work that comes with moving (dealing with insurance, getting a new license/ registration, furniture, etc), and I'm hoping to now take the steps to get into the whole entertainment business! I signed up with Central Casting, and they handle a lot of the extra/background work in LA. I actually booked extra work for the show "Cold Case" this past Friday night where I played a "party-goer" from 1958. It was awesome. I loved being on set and seeing how the whole production thing works! Even though I was pretty much just standing around/walking around for the majority of the night, I really did love it.

I'm hoping I'll be able to book enough extra work to live off of, but I'm not sure that'll work out. Extra work doesn't really pay the big bucks. Haha! It's a difficult place to be, though, because while I need to make money to actually stay out here, I also need to have the freedom to book auditions and extra work. It's frustrating. I'm just praying that the Lord will either provide me with a job that allows for flexibility in scheduling or that I'll start booking some bigger things to help out financially and provide some great experience. Oh. And you can definitely pray that I'll get my 3 SAG vouchers as quickly as possible. In short... getting into SAG will mean I get 2x's more money and have a lot more opportunities. Which would be HUGE.

Today I actually booked another "Cold Case" background actor spot, so I'm excited about that! I'm not sure if getting booked multiple times on the same show will help to get my SAG vouchers, but I feel like it definitely couldn't hurt. Anyway... I'm just excited to finally be getting paid for doing something that I love. It's fun.

Oh! And Danielle Broome (a friend of mine from Samford who's lived out here for a while) and I started watching the "LOST" series, and we're trying to catch up to the current season. It's been a good distraction so that I'm not sitting around thinking about how far away from home I am. However, the realization that I'm away from family kind of started to hit when I thought about how my family is gonna be at our lake house this weekend, and I won't be there. Thats gonna be weird.

Alright. I'm off to a weekly Bible study now, but I'll keep you updated! As always, thank you for your prayers! Miss you all.

Robby

My Apartment

I was told that it would be good for everyone back home to see pictures of where I'll be living so that they can imagine me there in day to day life and feel more secure about me being away from home. I thought that was a pretty great idea that made sense to me, so here's some pics of the new place!

The outside of our building.


View down the my street. It's a really safe, residential area. Such a blessing.


View from right inside the glass, front doors of the building.


View from the front door of our apartment.


Living room


Living room again.


Kitchen


This is the upstairs bathroom that I use. There's another half bath downstairs and a full bath in the master bedroom upstairs.


My bedroom (It's tiny, but I love it)


My IKEA dresser. Not quite big enough, but it'll do.


I got this bookcase for $10. Booya.


If you know me well, then this picture will make you laugh. Hopefully there'll be a desk right in this spot soon to put this stuff on.


View from my bedroom window. I wish it were a prettier day, but it gives you an idea.


So... there you have it. The new place. It really has been such a blessing having a place to call home right when I got here. And the fact that I have great roommates and love the area is unbelievable. God really has been so good.

Hope to have some fun stories soon!
Robby

Wow... the big city.

It's been a while! I think Los Angeles makes time go faster. Seriously. I can't believe I've already been here a week! And I haven't made one dime! In fact... I've spent quite a few dimes instead. Hopefully that'll change soon. Actually, it has to, or I'll be coming home much sooner than I would like.

Hmmm. How to sum up this past week... overwhelming? I think that'd be an appropriate word. Overwhelmingly crowded/ huge/ difficult/ emotional/ fast-paced/ exciting/ interesting/ humbling/ etc. I think I've gone through more emotions this week than I've gone through in a long, long time. I've had to remind myself 100 times that the Lord brought me out here, so I'm supposed to be out here. That He's in control and is completely sovereign in this situation. That He's going to take care of me as long as I follow and stay grounded in Him.


Dwight was so great in helping me adjust to the city. He helped me get furniture for my room, encouraged me when I got overwhelmed, and accompanied me to all the cliche LA sites. With the help of our incredible friend from Samford, Danielle Broom, who lives out here, we visited the Kodak Theater, Chinese Theater (As the picture shows, my hands and feet are the same size as Mr. Brad Pitt's. Booya), hiked up near the HOLLYWOOD sign, went to Pinkberry and In-And-Out Burger, Beverly Hills, etc. It really was fun to see all of the places you've grown up hearing about. Dwight and I kept on having the realization that we were in Los Angeles, and we would just laugh. It was bizarre. Still is.

We had our first celebrity citing while we were walking down Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Right there on the sidewalk in front of us was Elizabeth Berkley (also known as Jessie Spannow from Saved By The Bell). It was awesome. We actually saw her again at a cafe. She sat right in the front window probably hoping someone would see her. No one did... except us. Apparently Saved By The Bell isn't a big deal in today's society. Sad, huh?

The HOLLYWOOD sign was fun to see. I was sad that you can no longer go right up to the sign, though. Apparently an actress hung herself from one of the "O's" a while ago, and they don't let people near the sign anymore. Sorry for the downer. Oh! And did you know the sign used to say "HOLLYWOODLAND?" I'm still not sure why they took the "LAND" part down, but I guess that was a little long. I wonder where those letters are...

The reality that I was now living in LA slowly sank in throughout the week. I still think it's sinking in and will continue to, and I'll have to remind myself that the Lord brought me out here. He's teaching me something, for sure. A big part is just to completely trust Him. The whole entertainment business here in Los Angeles has been really eye-opening. I'm going to have to trust the Lord more than I've ever had to before regarding where He's leading me. It's a rough business. Very rough. I have to maintain faith that Christ is able to use Christians and impact lives in a field that is extremely opposed to Christianity. He's so much bigger than anything here, and I have to remember that.

Please continue to pray that the Lord will lead me where He desires, and that He'll provide for me emotionally, relationally, and financially. I'm so excited to see what He teaches me in this time of uncertainty. He's so good.

Below are some pictures from our time spent in Malibu. We went there last Thursday to meet our friends Jeremiah and Sarah Wolf Sizemore who are driving their RV all around the country. It was so good to see them and just spend some time relaxing with friends I love. It helps to be in a place like Malibu, too. Such a beautiful place. The last picture is from the Santa Monica pier. I want to go back there when the weather is better and the rides are open.




Appreciating your prayers and encouragement,
Robby

LA Roadtrip, Day 3 (Delux Version)

So, we left our hotel in Albuquerque, NM at around 7am to head off to the Grand Canyon. We were so excited to get there and have the chance to get out of the car for a while and get a little exercise. Of course, when we crossed the line into Arizona another video had to be made. And here it is:



After making that incredible video, we continued on our way to the Grand Canyon. We stopped for gas in Flagstaff, which I think I'll have to go back to someday to stay for a bit. It looked incredible. It was just the perfect little mountain town right at the bottom of a beautiful, snow-covered mountain. While at the gas station I noticed that a fairly large line was forming at a drive-thru restaurant adjacent to us... so, of course, I had to go there for lunch to see what the big deal was. The big deal was their burgers and fries. They really were so good. I love random restaurants. You never know what you're gonna get.

After lunch, we continued on to the Grand Canyon. My GPS ended up taking us through two awesome national parks before we got to the canyon, which I loved. One of the parks was up in the mountains, and snow from a storm in December was still covering the ground. I have a slight obsession with snow, so I had to pull over and play in it for a bit. It was amazing.





After my snow stop, we headed down the mountain and arrived at the canyon. Words and even pictures and videos can't describe how incredible the Grand Canyon is. But I'll try...








We left the Grand Canyon at sundown so that we wouldn't die there. It was so cold. We were just going to drive a few hours toward Los Angeles and stop at a hotel for the night, but I was feeling pretty good and really didn't want to spend anymore money on a hotel, so we just drove the entire 7 hours that night and made it to LA at about 2 am.

LA is huge. Incomprehensibly huge. I'm still not sure I understand quite how large it is, and I drove through it. Well... part of it. I thought I would be completely overwhelmed and somewhat terrified when we actually arrived in the city, but all I really felt was excitement. I really think I'm going to like it here. I know, I know. I just got here. But I know I'm here for a reason, and God has been so faithful to affirm the decision to move here. I know I'm right where He wants me, and thats all I need to know!

I'm currently posting this blog from Malibu where I'm visiting my friends Jeremiah and Sarah Wolf Sizemore. They're incredible, and Malibu is incredible... so, needless to say, it's been a great time! I'll post some pictures from here tomorrow. I don't want to overload you with beauty.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouragement! Please keep them coming as the most difficult part of my move is probably yet to come. I'll keep the blog updated with any exciting news!

Robby

LA Roadtrip, Day 3

I don't really have time right now to write a post that can explain how incredible today was. All I can say is... the Grand Canyon. Unreal. I'll write a good post in the next couple days complete with pictures and videos.

Oh yeah. And we went ahead and drove to Los Angeles tonight! Got here around 2:00 am! Really strange to actually be here.

I'll write a better post soon. Just wanted you to know I'm here safe and sound!

Robby

LA Roadtrip, Day 2

So, Texas is HUGE. Yeah. I didn't understand that until I had to drive across it. And I didn't even go from one end to the other, really. We missed the "panhandle" by going up through what I've deemed the "chimney." Figure that one out.

Now we're at the Holiday Inn Express here in Albuquerque, NM ready for a good night's sleep before we head to the Grand Canyon tomorrow! We're so excited about that! I've been to the canyon once before when I was in 6th grade or so, and it was unbelievable. I imagine I'll have an even greater appreciation for it now, so I'm really excited to see it again.

Today was the longest leg of our trip, so we spent most of the day driving. We did, however, make a random stop at an incredible antique shop. It was enormous and filled with pretty much anything you could think of! The pictures below should give you an idea of what it was like. So bizarre.





Here's a shot out of the front windshield of the sun setting in New Mexico. I can't wait for the sunset at the Grand Canyon!



And, of course... the "welcome to a new state" video.

New Mexico Line:

LA Roadtrip, Day 1

The trip began with an excitement that lasted all the way to Dallas, TX where we stopped for the night. The drive was definitely long, but we filled the time with music, singing, listening to the "Through Painted Deserts" audiobook, and solving riddles provided by my incredible family friend Britney (Dwight and I are quickly becoming riddle masters). At about hour 6 into the trip, I began to realize just how far away Los Angeles actually is from the home and people that I love. It's far. Really, really far. Even though this fact is beginning to hit me, I still have no doubt that I'm supposed to go! Only the Lord could give me that kind of confidence in the face of over 2,000 miles between me and the comforts of home.

Once we arrived in Dallas, we met up with Danielle Greenwade (our wonderful friend from Samford University) who is now attending Dallas Theological Seminary. We went to a delicious restaurant called "Chuy's" and then headed back to her house and hung out with her friends from school. We're excited to continue on our journey tomorrow as we head to Albuquerque, NM (our longest leg of the roadtrip), but we'll be sad to leave Danwade. This just means we'll have to come back to visit her and her hilarious friends in Dallas again soon! Check out a few of our videos from the day below!

Leaving B'ham:


Mississippi Line:


Louisiana Line:


Texas Line:


I'm sure we'll have more videos to come (hopefully some that don't take place in the car). Keep on praying!

Robby