Where did July go?

Seriously. Where is it? How is it already the 20th? This is ridiculous. I've been back in the south for a little over a month now, and life has been pretty interesting. Definitely interesting in a different way than the previous 4 months, but interesting none-the-less.

I've really enjoyed my time in Huntsville and think it's been good for me to be a bit removed from friends and Birmingham so I can think without distraction. Of course I would love to move back to Birmingham to work and be close to all the people I love down there, but I'm just not sure it's time to return. I feel like there's more for me to pursue and obviously more for me to learn. That'll never change. Until I figure out where the Lord is leading I'm just gonna wait patiently here in Huntsville. At this point I still don't have enough money to move anywhere anyway, so that makes my decision easier.

I got a job at Bonefish Grill as a server, and I'm pretty excited/terrified about it. My previous "serving experience" includes the short stint I had with "The Kitchen" in Los Angeles (you know... that catering company), but I've always wanted to try out the whole server thing and feel this is the perfect time. I think I'll love the outgoing personality aspect of being a server, but I'm not sure how I'll do with the fast-paced, multi-tasking side of it. Things could get interesting to say the least. I'll be the first to admit that I'm pretty one track minded, so the idea of having to multi-task scares me a bit Hopefully I won't be miserable and I'll make a little money to save up! I guess we'll see.

I'll be training all this week, and then I think I'll be on my own after that! Crazy. I'm just glad it's a nice restaurant like Bonefish and the people working there seem pretty cool and helpful so far. Other than that I'm not sure what I'll be doing. Thank goodness I have a few friends left in this town to hang out with, or I might have gone crazy. My sister, nephew and her fiancee have been incredible, too. I've loved getting to spend time with them and pray they're not getting completely tired of me being around all the time. It's such a blessing to have this place to stay, and I'm unbelievably thankful.

I wish I had some funny stories, but I don't. Wait. Yes... yes I do. I was fortunate enough to be picked to dress as Maggie of Maggie Moos Ice Creamery (I love how I call it an "ice creamery" and thats not at all what they call it) this weekend for a charity event raising funds for a little girl with cancer. Great event and cause, but this is what I looked like:



Unfortunately (or fortunately), thats not a picture of me, but it's some other poor soul who had to be "Maggie" for a day. A picture of me in the costume would probably show me doing some heel click, swinging on a swing, or interacting with the petting zoo. Yeah. Apparently all you need these days to start a petting zoo are 3 kittens, some sickly bunnies, a goat, a chicken, and some ducks all packed into a kidnapper van. It was lovely. I was just thanking the Lord that it happened to be one of the coolest days of the summer, so I wasn't dying in that hot costume.

Alright. Time for bed. Glad I could update you on my thrilling life. Come see me at Bonefish Grill or Maggie Moos if you're in Huntsville!

Robby

The Waiting Game

I'm glad to announce that today I completed my 3rd day as a cake decorator/ ice cream server at Maggie Moos Ice Creamery, and it really has been a lot of fun. Sadly, I'm not sure how long I'll continue with this ice cream adventure considering I'm only getting paid $7/hour and working around 16 hours a week. My calculations show that even though I'm not currently paying for rent or utilities that amount of money still wouldn't be enough to cover my other bills. Being an adult is crap.

I really am thankful to my friend Andrea for giving me some sort of job, though, and it's been hilarious to work with her and the other incredible Maggie Moo employees. I'm planning to submit an application at a few restaurants to try and get a server job. Hopefully that will work out, or I'm not sure what I'll do. Trying to find a job is hard enough as it is right now, but it's even more difficult because I have no idea where I want to end up at this point. Nashville is still a very good possibility, but I've also been thinking about Birmingham, too. For right now I'll just wait right here in the middle of the two (in Huntsville) and pray that the Lord will guide me.

This past weekend all of my family met up at our lakehouse on Smith Lake, and it's got to be one of my favorite places on earth. Plus, it was the first time I'd gotten the chance to see my entire family together since I've been back from LA, and I loved being with all of them. Sadly, I was slightly under the weather all weekend long (still am), and I couldn't enjoy all the delicious food! Oh well.

Oh! Hilarious story. The day before I left for the lake I did something extremely random and never expected anything to come of it. Well... something has, and we'll just have to wait and see how far things go because of it! Let me explain...

Some of you may know that I worked for a photography company called A Bryan Photo the 6 months or so prior to me moving to Los Angeles, and I absolutely loved everything about my time there. The guys who work there are incredibly talented (check out their work www.abryanphoto.com), and I always thought a reality show following the guys and their work could be hilariously entertaining. A few days ago I decided to write an email pitching my idea to the production company that does the show "Say Yes To The Dress" on TLC never imagining that anything would come of it. The next day I get a response email saying that they would love to call me with some questions about ABP because they're very interested in the idea. Yeah. I'm serious. I talked to someone from their company yesterday, and in the midst of my 45 minute convo I was told that my email came at a very good time because they were currently in the process of trying to develop a new wedding related reality show. Are you freakin' kidding me?! After talking with me, the lady said she would love to talk with Bryan Johnson (the owner of ABP) to discuss the idea further. They talked today, and I haven't heard how the conversation went yet, but can you believe this?!!! How crazy! All the guys at ABP are just cracking up that they're actually going to have to meet and discuss the idea of having a show based around them. Keep in mind that the typical reality show format would not work at a place like ABP. There is very little drama or disunity in the company and to try and make it appear that way would come across very forced. Plus... those always just turn out depressing and frustrating. The guys would only agree to do something if it had a more "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" feel. You know. Something that's entertaining because it's encouraging and tells a good story. We'll just have to wait and see what happens. The fact that anything is happening is hilarious, though!

So... I have a lot to think about and a lot of trusting to do. God is gonna work something out. Hope to have some more stories soon, and I'll try to keep you all updated on the whole show thing. Haha! So random.

Holding down the fort in H'ville,
Robby

Don't fear...

I'm not dead.

I apologize to all of you who were phoning in to Blogger and Rescue 911 to question them regarding my disappearance from this blog. It really does mean a lot. I want to assure you, however, that I am alive and well. The past few weeks have simply been filled with literally thousands of miles of driving, surprising friends, and trying to figure out where my life is heading, so I've therefore been unable to update as I should.

Some of you might have gathered that I'm no longer in Los Angeles, CA. You are absolutely right. It turns out that the city of dreams is also a city that likes to take all of your savings out of the bank and leave you with just enough to make it back to the security of your home. Yes, LA was a bit pricy for this guy, but no one can say that I didn't enjoy the short time I had in the smog city. Seriously... it was amazing. I hope one day I'll have enough money to actually go back there and continue to enjoy the craziness that LA has to offer. For now I must try to rebuild my savings here in the south and spend time with my incredible friends and family.

At this moment I'm sitting in my room at my sister's house in Huntsville, AL. This is where I'll be living for an indefinite amount of time until I figure out what the heck I'm doing with my life... or at least the next step to take. Best option right now is Nashville. Yes, we'll just pray that the Music City has better things in store professionally for me than good ole' Los Angeles had to offer. While I definitely miss LA and the friends I have there, it's good to be back in the south. It just feels like home... cause it is.

I've been bouncing around between Atlanta, Birmingham, and Huntsville so far, so it'll be interesting to see what the next couple months will hold for me. I applied to a job at Belmont University as an admissions assistant for the School of Occupational Therapy, so I'm excited to see if that goes anywhere (if you have some clout there... put in a good word for me). I've also got a potential job lined up here in Huntsville to be a cake decorator for Maggie Moos ice creamery. This is a pretty hilarious opportunity because...

1) One of my best friends since 2nd grade is the manager, and I can only imagine what it'd be like for us to work together. Here we are back in Huntsville a while ago (Andrea... great shot of you. Not that I have any room to talk):


2) These are some examples of the cakes I've made in the past:



Strange enough, Andrea knows exactly what she's getting herself into by allowing me to be her cake decorator. Should be interesting.

I'll try to do a better job of updating all my faithful blog checkers on my thrilling life, but I have a feeling the exciting stories might be fewer and further between. Something tells me living in Huntsville will be quite different than living in Los Angeles, but I'm sure there's good times to be had! Please do pray that the Lord will continue to guide me on His path and reveal the next step He desires me to take.

Cause I'm back in my hometown and the party is just getting started,
Robby

Celebrity Update

There's been a few more celebrities added to my "Celebrity Sighting" list (many of which were seen at the American Idol finale show or at events that I've helped to cater). And here's the full list:

- Elizabeth Berkley
- Dakota Fanning
- David Moscow
- Billy Bush
- Chevy Chase
- Zack Levi
- Matt Wertz
- Cooper Anderson
- Brittany Snow
- Gwen Stephani (plus all of "No Doubt")
- Neil Patrick Harris
- Cuba Gooding, Jr.
- Andy Sanberg
- Seth Rogen
- Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls mom)
- Shane West
- Eric Balfour
- Pamela Anderson
- Jason Castro (American Idol)
- Justin Guarini (American Idol)
- Kimberly Caldwell (American Idol)
- All Season 8 American Idol contestants
- All American Idol judges
- Queen Latifa
- Rod Stewart
- Black Eyed Peas
- KISS
- Queen
- Drew Lewis (American Idol)
- Jason Mraz
- Carlos Santana
- David Cook (American Idol)
- Keith Urban
- Steve Martin
- Lionel Richie
- Cyndi Lauper
- Stevie Wonder
- Amanda Peet
- Jimmy Kimmell
- Michael J. Fox
- Jason Bateman
- Chace Crawford
- Annette Benning
- Mark Wahlberg
- Amanda Bynes
- Lance Bass
- Faith Evans
- Eve
- Seth Macfarland
- Cast of "Entourage"
- Chelsea Handler
- Jonathan Bennett
- Dean Cain
- Rachel Bilson
- Ryan Phillipe

So, there it is. Famous people. The idea of celebrity is still so odd to me. Oh well.

Robby

Mom makes me think... which is good.

My mom and I talk pretty much everyday. And she talks about EVERYTHING... all at one time... mixing it all up until I'm not really sure how we got on the subject we're on. It's pretty hilarious, and there have been plenty of times that I've just started laughing at how our conversations progress. Somehow, I'm usually able to keep up! Because of this we tend to hit lots of topics and cover a wide range of information, and there's days that I'm up for it and days that I'm not. Usually she can tell when it's not really time for one of these conversations, and she'll end things pretty quickly. However, God has an amazing way of showing her the times when she needs to dig stuff out of me. Today was one of those days.

Maybe she knows when to dig because of the fact that when things aren't quite right in my life or I'm thinking a lot about something I tend to get short with people. And my family gets the worst of it. Why is that? Why do the people we love most see the worst of us? I guess we just know they'll still love us when we're miserable. I usually realize at some point in the conversation that I'm being completely ridiculous and apologize for my behavior, but I wish I would just not do it! Oh well. Life is about learning and growing.

I think I get frustrated with people who try to help me when I'm going through a time of tough decisions or stresses because I've always wanted to handle things on my own. I don't want to talk about things until I've figured them all out. Stupid, I know! I don't know why I do it either because I always benefit from working through things with others and allowing them to help carry any burdens I may have. This is something I've been working through for a while, and I'm so thankful that Christ has revealed this flaw in me. Thank the Lord mom forced me to talk through things today, and though the subjects were all over the place and she definitely has the parental viewpoint on things while I come from a completely different line of thought, it was very helpful.

Main thing we discussed... realistic thinking.

I've never really been one to rush growing up. I feel that I've immensely enjoyed every phase of life and fight against the time when the phase must end. I wasn't that guy who desperately wanted to get out of high school or college to move on to bigger and better things. I savored every single day and tried to stretch it out as long as possible. And while I feel this method of living life is good in some ways, I realize that you must move on. It's very good to move on. Healthy and mature to take the step into the next phase of life. To fight it would be detrimental to future success and growth.

Well... I can see one of those phases of life on the horizon, and I don't love the idea of having to cross into it. It's the phase where you finally have to be realistic. I don't mean realistic in a way that limits your ambitions and goals, but just a place where you have to consider a life that might not be exactly what you imagined it would be. A place where you finally accept that the things you'd always dreamed would somehow happen might not come true or might not even be the best thing for you.

Does this mean you have to quit pursuing those dreams? I really hope not! However, I do think it means that you begin to open your eyes to other paths that the Lord may want you to travel. If He wants you to accomplish the things you've always dreamed you'd accomplish, then you will! But what if the things you've dreamed of aren't what He really wants for you? What if His plan is SO much better than anything you could imagine?

I think the hardest thing is letting go of the dreams you've had for yourself and releasing them to the Lord. Trusting that His way is best even if it's not what you had always imagined. I think I'm at that point where I have to let go of my dreams and chase Christ! Not give up on my dreams, but just release them to Him. Giving up on my dreams would just be irresponsible, but being willing to give them up if He asks me to is a completely different thing.

I've never given my hopes and dreams and future up to Christ. I've wanted to control it and make sure it happens the way I see it. I mean, I've released small portions of my plans and have taken steps of faith that I wasn't sure would line up with my plans, but I really don't think I've ever said "Lord, whatever you want to do with my life is fine, and I will gladly give up my dreams and desires for You if You want me to." I've been holding on to plans for my life that may not be best for me and that I definitely can't accomplish on my own, and I pray that I get to a place where I can finally place them at the feet of Christ and trust Him to do with them what He desires. Am I willing to let go of my dreams so that His will can be accomplished? I want to be so badly! I know only then can he most effectively use me.

So thats my prayer. To let go. Lord, help me.
Robby

Weekend/Week Update!

Updates from the past week...

I catered an event last weekend for the Michael J. Fox Foundation (yes, Mr. Fox was there... and he was such an encouraging and hilarious person). Guess who else was there. Hints: He sings. He plays piano. He's written some of the greatest songs of all time. His skin is quite a bit darker than mine. Any guesses? Well, I'll just let you try to figure it out. But I will say that he was UNBELIEVABLE! So surreal getting to watch him perform at some private party. Another hint, you say? Alright, alright. He's blind... and his last name is a brand of bread. No more hints. Some other names you may recognize were at the party including Jason Bateman, Amanda Peet, and Jimmy Kimmell. They all seemed very nice.

Sunday night we got a group together to go to Grace Community Church and then hung out at a friend's house playing games. I love game nights so much. Seriously. It's probably my favorite thing to do. Sit around with incredible people playing stupid games and laughing way too much. I can't believe how the Lord blesses me with such amazing friends wherever I live! It really is incredible. I do miss my B'ham peeps and family so much, but I'm so thankful for the relationships I've formed here.

Monday I spent the day hanging out at a friend's apartment watching movies and reading on her balcony looking toward the mountains. Yeah... it was amazing. You really can't beat California weather. Well... not easily at least. It's been so nice to have time to enjoy the surroundings since I've been out here, but I don't know how I'm gonna transition back into working everyday! Actually, I think I'll enjoy it. I like keeping busy, and this downtime has been silently stressing me out since I've been here. I'm getting to the point where I need some tasks to complete and some goals set!

Thank the Lord, we did find someone to take over my room in the apartment starting July 1st! It will definitely be bitter sweet moving back to the south, but I just really feel like it's the right thing to do. I've loved my time in LA, and I honestly would love to stay here longer, but I feel the things I want to accomplish and the direction I want to head in life will be best pursued somewhere else. Where will that be? I honestly don't know for sure. Nashville seems like a pretty good option, though. That's all in God's hands, though! I've had a hard enough time trying to figure out whether or not I'm supposed to leave LA. I'm just gonna take the steps of faith I feel I should take and trust that He'll continue to lead me to the next one!

Not sure what the next few weeks hold for me (so far it's not any work! Well, I actually have two more parties to cater this weekend), but I'm just trying to wait patiently. Change is on the horizon, and I'm spending a lot of time in prayer about when and how to take steps toward that change.

Keep the prayers coming!
Robby

Still Here

Haven't found someone to fill my spot in the apartment yet, so I'm thinking I might be here in LA for the rest of June. While it kind of stresses me out because of financial issues, I guess the Lord wants me here for some reason so I'll just trust Him. Maybe its because American Idol auditions are here in LA at the Rose Bowl on June 30th, so I'll definitely be going to that if I'm still here! We'll see what happens!

Cause life is crazy,
Robby

Heroine? Yes, please.

I've made it a habit to check Craigslist every once-in-a-while for random jobs that might be available (even though most are big scams). Last night I was enjoying this process and ran across an add saying "need a thin, 18-24 year old guy for feature film." They should have just said "Robby Stone... we need you." I sent my headshot to the email address provided and ended up hearing back from the director and booking the part! Don't get too excited. It didn't pay anything, but I was just excited about the experience. Plus, I had no idea what the part would be. I'd soon have that question answered. Hilarious.

Before I committed to the part, I wanted to get a few details. The film is called "Bones," and it stars Jimmy Bennett as the title character (IMDB him. He's done quite a bit for a 13 year old). I read over the script, and while I like the story line there is definitely a lot of language in it. Thank goodness I didn't have any cursing or even lines that you'll actually hear (there will be a voice over). I will be playing Bones' father in a flashback scene in the film. Bones' father is a heroine addict who dies before Bones is even born. Yes. The flashback scene was that fateful night when Bones' dad was killed! I got to die in a movie! Not sure if it's a good thing that I'm so excited about that.

Lets start with my costume for the scene. I have on light blue short 70s shorts and one tube sock with blue and red stripes around the top on my right foot... and thats it. Got that mental picture? Pretty incredible.

Now lets move on to makeup. Remember, I'm a heroine addict, so makeup litters my arms with needle track marks, abscessed needle wounds, and bulging blue veins while I'm given dark circles under my eyes, sweat, a huge fever blister in the corner of my mouth and sick brown crap in my teeth.

Now put the costume and the makeup together in your mind. If only I had a picture...

We filmed the scene at this disgusting motel room in North Hills, CA called the Good Knight Inn (Yeah. There was a castle theme to the motel that was very well executed... or not). I won't go into all the details of the scene here, but I will tell you that I am choked to death with my tube sock that I'm not wearing on my left foot for some reason. Pretty awesome. Oh! And during the first take that we did I was actually choking and almost passed out. When they stopped filming I stood up and everything was blurry and I was really shakey! Not too fun.

To tell you the truth, I was terrified of actually having to act. Super excited, but terrified. It was my first time to do any real acting, and I'll just say right now that I need a lot more practice before I'll feel confident doing it! Hopefully I didn't make a complete fool of myself, though. The crew said I did a good job, so I'll just trust them. I'm not sure I could have gotten much further from my true life than this character, but thats what acting is all about, right?

And if you don't think it's right that I played a heroine junkie then I'll just say that I feel fine portraying a character like that. It's a completely honest depiction of how some people live, and the life of an addict is not promoted or glamorized in the film at all. It shows the depravity and hurt that drug abuse can cause, and I hope I did a good job displaying that. Just thought I'd clear that up now.

I guess I can actually say I'm an actor now,
Robby

Maybe you're wondering...

"what drink was Robby talking about from Starbuck's in his previous post that only costs $2?" I mean... you probably weren't wondering that, but you should have been. I used to think that any drink worth getting at Starbuck's was at least $4. Not true.

If you're a white chocolate mocha fan I'm about to change your life. Or just make trips to Starbuck's a little less painful. You need to order a misto with white chocolate sweeter added. It's seriously $2, and it taste almost exactly the same (a little less sweet than the mocha... which I like). And if you'd like that same flavor but iced then you need to order a cafe con leche with white chocolate sweetener (its just half iced coffee and half milk with sweetener just in case the barista doesn't know what you're talking about).

There you go. Hope you enjoy that little fun fact. You can thank the one and only Sarah Sizemore for that gem of information. She is a former Starbuck's barista and recent graduate of Samford University's School of Nursing (also the sister of my MIA "Right. Then Left." co-founder Jeremiah Sizemore. Where the heck are you, Jer?).

Making life a little sweeter (and more affordable),
Robby

American Idol Finale

Yep. I was there. It was amazing! Where else can you see Queen Latifa, Rod Stewart, the Black Eyed Peas, Jason Mraz, Carlos Santana, David Cook, Keith Urban, Steve Martin, Lionel Richie, Cyndi Lauper, KISS, and Queen perform all in one night along with the best group of American Idol contestants ever? It still doesn't feel like I was actually there. And I'm SO glad Kris won! I had a feeling he would, but it was just good to hear it. He seems like such a nice guy. I mean... Adam can definitely sing (I'll give him that even though I'm not a fan of his voice), and he puts on quite a show, but I just love Kris' style and voice. Not really what I would call an "American Idol," but he's freakin' good.

I pray one day I'm up on that stage. I would love it. All I can do is audition and pray... which I'll be doing again this year!

I'm pretty sure I'll be moving back to the south in the next week or so. It all depends on whether or not we find someone to take my place in the apartment. I honestly can't afford to pay rent for June, so I hope we work it out quickly. It'll be sad to leave LA so soon, but I just really feel that I need to pursue music or musical theater in a different city. I have so much more I'd like to see out here, but that requires money (something I no longer have), so I'll just have to come back someday and take some travel time.

In other news... tonight is the premiere of perhaps my favorite show on television (besides AI, of course). SYTYCD. That would be "So You Think You Can Dance." Don't laugh at me yet. Have you seen it? I dare you to watch a few episodes and not get hooked. I'm serious. There's just something about that show that grabs you. I have a couple friends (you can probably guess who you are) that I would never expect to like the show, and they love it. Wish I could watch it with all my friends back in B'ham, but I'll be back soon enough for us to catch a good bit of the season! Don't worry.

I'm gonna go decide if it'd be a bad idea to get a cup of Starbuck's. Nevermind. Just decided. It's bad.

Cause $2 is now too much,
Robby