Worth reading all the way through, Taylor Swift’s Commencement Speech at NYU was filled with life’s wisdom.

Here are my 5 favorite quotes:

1. Life can be heavy, especially if you try to carry it all at once.
2. Decide what is yours to hold and let the rest go.
3. Never be ashamed of trying. Effortlessness is a myth.
4. My experience has been that my mistakes led to the best things in my life.
5. And being embarrassed when you mess up is part of the human experience.

As someone who has made my share of mistakes (and keep trying-trying to bounce back) so much of what she said rings true to me. See if it does for you.

embrace it!

I’m a huge fan of Jason Katims. HUGE. His shows have so much heart they always stay with me after. He was a big part of making two of my all-time faves, the faves of so many… Friday Night Lights and Parenthood.

AS WE SEE IT:  a Comedy? Drama? Dramcomedy? Comdrama?

AS WE SEE IT  on Amazon Prime has the heart and soul of Katim’s trademark, but with lots of twists and turns. I’ve never seen a show quite like it. And you don’t have to take just my word for it, it has an audience score of 100 on Rotten Tomatoes.

It’s about three Autistic Twentysomethings trying to figure out how to fit in. And it’s actually played by three amazingly-talented actors who are on the spectrum themselves. I know it sounds serious, but it’s not. It’s funny and charming and very real and relatable… we all want to fit in, right?

AS WE SEE IT’s Harrison, Violet and Jack

Wants and Needs —

• Harrison (Albert Rutecki) wants to stop being afraid to leave house.
• Violet (Sue Ann Pien) wants a boyfriend
• Jack (Rick Glassman) wants to take care of his father who is taking care of him.
  (And I want it to already be the second season, so there’s more to watch, haha.)

Mandy (Sosie Bacon) plays the Den Mother/Aid with never-ending compassion who’s running away from her own life — or at least trying to figure it out. I first noticed Bacon in MARE OF EASTTOWN. With talent-genes from her parents Kyra Sedgwick & Kevin Bacon, Sosie shows all of the layers of Mandy in AS WE SEE IT.

Adapted from the Israeli comedy series “On the Spectrum,” AS WE SEE IT is lightness and laughter as Harrison, Violet and Jack face their fears —  frequently with catastrophic results (something else I totally relate to).

As I see it, everyone should give AS WE SEE IT a look… It’s that good!

I barely feel like an Actress or an ER Volunteer…

Remember how they said ER Volunteers could come back to my hospital last month? Well, we’re still not back.

Waiting for my COMEBACK!

Charlayne, my supervisor, had us take a brush-up written test. Did that. Aced it. Then a health check-up. Did that. Then we had to get a flu shot. Did that.

Then she sent an email about a mandatory Booster. Have that.

Then she added a Zoom meeting to go over all over the new Covid rules. Sat in on that.

We learned how we must now enter the hospital through a tent, then wait in line for a temp check, then pick-up two hospital masks (to be worn at the same time) and then get a daily badge to wear in addition to our regular badge. Haven’t done any of that yet, because Charlayne’s now supposed to tell us one-by-one when we can go back.

This is starting to feel like waiting for a callback…

To make things worse… haven’t heard from Dr. A in forever...

Or my Agent!

I’m SO OVER IT!

Oh, and I can’t take my homemade goodies to the doctors and nurses anymore because now the staff isn’t allowed to eat in the hospital!) But, it seems like the hospital isn’t the only organization that keeps changing its mind because the CDC is continually Covid-confused too.

On the good side…

Since I’m not doing anything I haven’t made any MISTAKES lately. haha.

And since I’m on auto-Purelling as a way of life after working in the ER for so long, I haven’t gotten Delta, Omacron or any kind of Covid yet. Fingers crossed.

Oh, and I’ve been going on okay-during-Covid-WALKS with a really cute boy in my neighborhood whose name I’m keeping private at the moment;) Not exactly romantic, but at least we don’t have to wear masks and he can see my smile:)

Hang in there Evie, haha …

Yes it’s last-minute — Christmas is almost here…  but no, it’s not too late. Here are some great gift subscriptions guaranteed to bring smiles, month after month … just a click away.

Something Special for Someone Special…

FLOWERS-BY-THE-MONTH from Bloomsybox  ($45-55 per as many months as you decide)

Unexpected flowers brighten a gloomy day, spiff up any room, and add a little fancy to everyday life.

SOCKS-WITH-A-CAUSE BY-THE-MONTH from Society Socks($20.00 per month)

Haven’t tried this one, but it looks wonderful and they donate to different charities so it’s a gift for many.

MASTERCLASS-BY-THE-MONTH from Masterclass ($15 per month)

Business, Home & Lifestyle, Music, Design, Science & Tech, Wellness and Style Inspiration from the experts in every field. An awesome gift to give or receive.

CHOCOLATE BY-THE-MONTH from Compartes  @$50 per month

Each month is different: January delivers exotic tastes of gourmet chocolate bars with flavors from all over the world. February brings Valentine sweetness, March bring Easter goodies. Compartes is yummy and addictive for all chocoholics. Don’t say you weren’t warned, ahaha.

FACIAL MASKS BY-BY-THE-MONTH from Facetory in Japan @$19.90 a month

Always different, always fabulous, and it’s so much fun to try all of the different beauty masks. This is an awesome gift for women of all ages — an easy, quick beauty routine that never gets boring. (My friend Rachel is really into skincare — she’ll love this.)

BOOZE-BY-THE-MONTH from Mash & Grape ($69.00 – $79.00) 

I gave a 3-month Bourbon subscription to Niles last year and he totally luvvved it — and it’s not-so-secretly on his Wishlist for this year;) The quality of Bourbon, Whisky and Scotch are the highest and the bottles are beautiful. You must be 21 to order. Hint… be sure you navigate the website carefully because it takes awhile to get customer service on the case.

There are so many more I’d love to to write about, but we are running out of time, so I’d better get this posted.

Happy, Safe, Merry EVERYTHING xx/evie

It’s so hard to get back to —

• Love Connections
• Work Connections
• Friend Connections

It’s as if we’ve been on another planet for what feels like almost two years now that we’re rounding around the holiday bend.

Everything and Everywhere feels DISORGANIZED

I just got back from Austin where a friend had a film premiering at the Austin Film Festival. He was so hopeful about premiering there, but sadly the fest was short-staffed, overwhelmed and underprepared. Some of the panels were really interesting, but the festival “directors” gave  a lot of mixed messages without the proper prep and support. It looked like crowds were light. It was my first time in a movie theater, so I’m sure others were a little scared to go to a film festival after being so careful. I talked to a producer who said it’s been like that for all of the fests recently. She said “SXSW” was a disaster. Guess you can blame it on Covid.

Luckily productions are picking up, so I’m hoping-wishing-praying that some acting gigs are in my future. But the tragic news about Halyna Hutchins puts chills through anyone who’s ever been or will be going on a film set. Sloppiness about protocols, an overwhelmed and underprepared cast and crew… a tragedy that could’ve been avoided…  If only there were more people paying attention. I want to go back, but I want to be sure people are paying attention.

Who knows how long it’ll be before we recover from all of the effects of Covid — not just health-wise but people-wise.

Just got an email from the hospital where I volunteer asking if we want to come back, if we’ve been vaccinated, blah, blah, blah. We’ve been furloughed for-covid-ever, but it looks like we’ll be going back sometime in the near future. Yay! At least I can help people-wise at the hospital and do some good. I need to get back to some sense of normal.

Can’t wait to connect with friends in places other than on screens. Enough with the Instagram, Zoom reality!

I don’t know if I’ll ever feel a sense of normal again. Get me to the hospital STAT! I need a dose of Dr. A to find out, haha!

I wish we didn’t have to live in the movie CONTAGION indefinitely. I wish that everyone would get vaccinated so we can be done with this.

I miss…

• Wearing a cute outfit without a mask.
• Volunteering at the hospital.
• Seeing Dr. A.
• Auditions and Normal Pilot Season.
• Going to movies. In theaters.
• Traveling without worrying.
• Flights without people freaking out.
• Going to Europe.
• Hugging each other without the look: “Is this really okay to be doing this?
• Having a job.
• Eating inside restaurants.
• Parties.
• Seeing people smile.
• Feeling carefree.
• Laughing.

What do you miss?

KINDNESS is our secret weapon

Last week I heard very sad news. I’m still in shock. It doesn’t feel real. A friend, a fellow actor I know, I mean knew, ended his life.

It hurts too much to discuss details. And I want to protect his wife and child’s privacy… they’re devastated…

What I, what we, need to figure out is how to help all of the hurting humans in our country who are “on the verge” or already “acting-out” after nearly 15 months in isolation.

Covid did a number on all of us —

It’s no surprise that after all we’ve been through, we’re freaking-out and blaming one another other in crowds, on planes, at games and at home. So many of us are still stuck without a job, without security, without a way out. It’s a mental health nightmare that isn’t getting enough attention. Depression is rampant.

We’ve got to start connecting with each other, hearing each other, putting ourselves in each other’s shoes.

This was then…

I don’t know how humans handled the pandemic the last time. In 1918 they didn’t have TVs or cellphones, or computers. They couldn’t distract themselves with Zoom.

It sounds even worse than what we’ve experienced, but that’s hard to imagine…

…this is now.

If you or someone you know seems depressed or suicidal, or just has a few worrisome warning signs, do whatever you can to offer help.

We tried in the case of my friend. We got him into a facility, but his good acting may have fooled the professionals into thinking he was doing better than he was.

Suicide is one of those decisions you can’t take back, unfortunately. Questions go unanswered… the people you love most hurt the most, creating an open wound that lasts forever after…

Watch for Warning Signs —

Crisis Help —

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Teen Line Online

Thanks for reading. Take care of yourselves out there <3

xo/evie