My yearly LJ post.
Guess it's time for my yearly LJ post. This year has been...crazy, with some life changes...but a lot of fun.
As usual, I will post some pics from each month....I am not going to set a number because I never follow that anyways. LOL.
January
January started off enjoying two weeks off the road hanging out at home with my best friends.
We rang in the New Year at Ali and Chaz's house...I think this picture represents my BFFs and I (minus Elaina) very well.
After a nice couple weeks off I was back on the road for the last leg of the Chevy Caprice PPV Ride and Drive Tour. We hit Seattle, San Fran, LA, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, Kansas City, and Cincinnati.
I had a couple days off in San Fran which was sweet. I got to explore the city and meet up with a friend for dinner. On one of our days off Scott, our road producer who also stayed in San Fran on our days off, and I went to Alcatraz. It was sweet.
This is prob my favorite picture I took the whole tour
Myself with San Fran in the background...it was a pretty cold day.
We made it to the Golden Gate as well!
Even though it was sad to see the tour end and I really enjoyed it, I was pretty happy to have a break from living in hotels.
For Dallas our venue was Texas Motor Speedway. I will never get over how HUGE Nascar tracks are...I love them when they are just empty.
February
Feb brought me back home. Nothing major went on. I turned 23. I started working again at Community Partnerships, doing a lot of editing for some videos for them and doing Adult Day Services.
Back into my old room, which while smaller than all my hotel rooms, still nice to come back to.
And some snow.
March
In March I made it out to my first Grand Am race of the season at Homestead Miami Speedway. It was a good but busy trip. I was shooting a video for the Mazda MX-5 cup who had their opening race that weekend as well which was an awesome experiance, but I learned that while I might have an awesome idea in my head, executing it by myself can be tough but I think it turned out pretty well. But that doesn't mean I didn't get a little bit of time with my Grand Am guys.
The MX-5 cup starting grid.
The Dempsey Racing #40 taking the checked flag at practice.
Patrick getting ready to get into the car. This is one of the my most favorite pictures I have ever taken of him.
I FINALLY got a picture with Scott Pruett...my only fangirling of the weekend. But I had been trying for over a YEAR
RayRay also wanted a picture.
March was more than just racing though.
We went and visited my brother's family in Utah. I hadn't seen my nephews since September.
The oldest Jordan
Pushing the youngest, Josh, on the swings.
Also I did finish the MX-5 Cup video at the end of March. Here it is.
April
April was a pretty low key month. Just worked away. But my coworkers and I did compete in a wheelchair basketball tournament for a charity.
I totally sucked but it was super fun.
I hung out with the BFFs a lot too which was good. Mostly because a couple of them have kids whom I LOVE.
This is Caleb and I. I was teaching him about hockey.
I did get some races in. But it was a different kind. Meridian has a small 1/4mile oval track. My cousin and I went one Saturday..it ended getting rained out but we still had fun.
May
In May Jace, Dani and Mike's son, turned 1. I was happy I got to go to his bday since I miss a lot when I am gone. He is growing up fast.
May also brought a trip to LA with my dad to find a place to move into in June. It was fun because I actually knew the city this time so I took my dad a bunch of my favorite places. Like Griffith Park.
I ended up getting another place in Culver City. I looked at places closer to my friends but...I just love the West Side and being so close to the beach...and I love Culver.
I also planned the trip so I could fly out of LA to ATL to go to another Grand Am race at VIR. It was a rough race for the Dempsey guys but a good trip over all. Even though it rained...a lot. VIR is a GORGEOUS TRACK. The Ellen show also sent a long a flip camera with Patrick to shoot some stuff because he was doing an interview the next Wednesday, so I helped Jim out on Saturday and ran around shooting stuff with it.
This is prob one of my favorite shots from all year.
Patrick before the race.
Patrick and Joe in the pits before the race.
It was very raining for the beginning of the race.
Also Patrick had a ummm incident in practice that I happened to catch on my camera...the team (Prob minus Patrick) thought it was kinda cool I caught it on video. Leh also thought it was kinda hilarious and told me I had to put it on youtube...which the team was okay with (and Patrick totally mentioned in his Ellen interview).
June
In June I made the move back to LA.
On the way down I stayed with my Uncle I hadn't seen in YEARS in St George. It was fun to catch up and they live on the back side of Zions National Park so it's super pretty.
Once I got to LA things got busy straight off. I worked on a film called Celeste and Jesse Forever as an intern. I worked 16 hour days but it was an awesome experience and cast and crew to work with.
I was able to catch The Civil Wars even though I was super busy. They are amaaaaazing in concert.
And I even made it out to Buttonwillow to hang out with Tyler and Tom Vance at one of Tyler's NASA races. It was so low key and a lot of fun to shoot stuff for him.
And I made some time to hit the beach.
I also helped my old boss out at the end of June. She was doing the PR for a charity gala for the Thirst Project. It was fun to work on and my boss was awesome and introduced me to Chyler Leigh and Justin Cambers.
July
July started with a 3rd of July BBQ with my old boss and some of her friends. It was fun. But I got food poisoning and spent all of the 4th in bed. Ugh.
Then another Grand Am race. This time at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca...my favorite track.
Joe and Patrick...being Joe and Patrick.
RayRay and Ron being...RayRay and Ron in the pits.
I figured I should get a picture with Patrick because it had been over a year since I had gotten one.
It was my last Grand Am race of the season. One thing this season did do was spoil me and get me used to Media Access...which is amazing...even if it's bad on the ears being so close to the cars.
I took these vids on my cell phone...not zoomed in at all.
At the end of July I made a trip out to Vegas for the weekend for Christie's Birthday. It was super fun.
I spent a lot of time by the pool reading what is now one of my favorite books.
And well lets just say we had one of those "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" nights.
I also got in one last NASA race day with Tyler and Tom at Cal Speedway.
August
I got some free tickets to see Taylor Swift at the Staples center. My friend Taylor joined me. We had crappy seats but it was still a lot of fun. Though Justin Bieber came on stage and sang "Baby" with her and I have NEVER heard that much screaming in my LIFE.
I spent some more time at the beach with friends...I really miss the beach.
Thanks to Jim, I was able to go to my first IndyCar race up at Infineon. Taylor came with me. It was weird to be at a race weekend and not be "working" but it was super fun to be a fan again. I did some major fangirling over Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon.
I also helped Jordan with a short film he wrote and directed. I ADed for him, among other things. It was great to have him in LA with me this past summer. We hung out ALL THE TIME.
September
In September I decided it would be my last month in LA and that afterwards I would go home to save money because I decided to go to Grad School. So I enjoyed my last month.
My landlord got a new puppy, which we named Ziggy. He liked watching races with me and using me as a pillow.
Dean invited me to a Motor Press Guild luncheon. It was good networking and it was also at the Toyota museum, which was pretty awesome.
Caro came to visit me and we spent a pretty awesome day together going all over LA and then watching Ewan movies and laughing at the STUPIDEST THINGS till 2am.
October
I headed back to Boise. It was sad to leave LA but hopefully Grad School will be a good thing.
On the way home we made a pit stop in Vegas for the night...and left the next morning at like 6am. Ugh.
Though it was kinda awesome to be home.
I got to meet my friends, John and Destiny's new born son.
I hung out with my best friends A LOT.
I went on some hikes.
I went to see Scars on 45 and Matt Nathanson in concert with Lauren. He totally saw my request of "Wedding Dress" on twitter and played it even though it wasn't on his set list.
And we got to meet Scars on 45
AND MATT NATHANSON. WHO WAS SUPER AWESOME.
I put together a little driver profile of footage I had shot for Tyler Vance for the Mazda MX-5 shootout. This kid will be a pro someday.
November
Nov brought lots of studying for the GRE. And then taking the GRE. I did pretty good.
Riding bikes on the Green Belt
And babysitting Caleb a lot.
And going to visit my nephews again. I taught my 3 year old nephew the different kind of race cars....not sure he cared.
I also got a seasonal job at Target which well...it was a job so I guess I can't complain.
December
I worked....A LOT.
And applied to 5 grad schools: Syracuse, University of Alabama, University of Tennessee, University of Georgia, and Georgia State University.
I hung out with my friends a lot. And let Elaina do whatever she wanted to my hair.
I hung out with my family and saw some awesome movies with my dad.
And tonight I will be ringing in 2012 with my friend Kyri downtown...should be fun.
I am prob forgetting some stuff but this is a good amount.
This year I traveled 21,163 miles, to 16 different cities in 11 different states and have been in both the Atlantic & Pacific ocean.
Over all it was a pretty awesome 2011. Hopefully 2012 is just as good, or better.
As usual, I will post some pics from each month....I am not going to set a number because I never follow that anyways. LOL.
January
January started off enjoying two weeks off the road hanging out at home with my best friends.
We rang in the New Year at Ali and Chaz's house...I think this picture represents my BFFs and I (minus Elaina) very well.
After a nice couple weeks off I was back on the road for the last leg of the Chevy Caprice PPV Ride and Drive Tour. We hit Seattle, San Fran, LA, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, Kansas City, and Cincinnati.
I had a couple days off in San Fran which was sweet. I got to explore the city and meet up with a friend for dinner. On one of our days off Scott, our road producer who also stayed in San Fran on our days off, and I went to Alcatraz. It was sweet.
This is prob my favorite picture I took the whole tour
Myself with San Fran in the background...it was a pretty cold day.
We made it to the Golden Gate as well!
Even though it was sad to see the tour end and I really enjoyed it, I was pretty happy to have a break from living in hotels.
For Dallas our venue was Texas Motor Speedway. I will never get over how HUGE Nascar tracks are...I love them when they are just empty.
February
Feb brought me back home. Nothing major went on. I turned 23. I started working again at Community Partnerships, doing a lot of editing for some videos for them and doing Adult Day Services.
Back into my old room, which while smaller than all my hotel rooms, still nice to come back to.
And some snow.
March
In March I made it out to my first Grand Am race of the season at Homestead Miami Speedway. It was a good but busy trip. I was shooting a video for the Mazda MX-5 cup who had their opening race that weekend as well which was an awesome experiance, but I learned that while I might have an awesome idea in my head, executing it by myself can be tough but I think it turned out pretty well. But that doesn't mean I didn't get a little bit of time with my Grand Am guys.
The MX-5 cup starting grid.
The Dempsey Racing #40 taking the checked flag at practice.
Patrick getting ready to get into the car. This is one of the my most favorite pictures I have ever taken of him.
I FINALLY got a picture with Scott Pruett...my only fangirling of the weekend. But I had been trying for over a YEAR
RayRay also wanted a picture.
March was more than just racing though.
We went and visited my brother's family in Utah. I hadn't seen my nephews since September.
The oldest Jordan
Pushing the youngest, Josh, on the swings.
Also I did finish the MX-5 Cup video at the end of March. Here it is.
Click to viewApril
April was a pretty low key month. Just worked away. But my coworkers and I did compete in a wheelchair basketball tournament for a charity.
I totally sucked but it was super fun.
I hung out with the BFFs a lot too which was good. Mostly because a couple of them have kids whom I LOVE.
This is Caleb and I. I was teaching him about hockey.
I did get some races in. But it was a different kind. Meridian has a small 1/4mile oval track. My cousin and I went one Saturday..it ended getting rained out but we still had fun.
May
In May Jace, Dani and Mike's son, turned 1. I was happy I got to go to his bday since I miss a lot when I am gone. He is growing up fast.
May also brought a trip to LA with my dad to find a place to move into in June. It was fun because I actually knew the city this time so I took my dad a bunch of my favorite places. Like Griffith Park.
I ended up getting another place in Culver City. I looked at places closer to my friends but...I just love the West Side and being so close to the beach...and I love Culver.
I also planned the trip so I could fly out of LA to ATL to go to another Grand Am race at VIR. It was a rough race for the Dempsey guys but a good trip over all. Even though it rained...a lot. VIR is a GORGEOUS TRACK. The Ellen show also sent a long a flip camera with Patrick to shoot some stuff because he was doing an interview the next Wednesday, so I helped Jim out on Saturday and ran around shooting stuff with it.
This is prob one of my favorite shots from all year.
Patrick before the race.
Patrick and Joe in the pits before the race.
It was very raining for the beginning of the race.
Also Patrick had a ummm incident in practice that I happened to catch on my camera...the team (Prob minus Patrick) thought it was kinda cool I caught it on video. Leh also thought it was kinda hilarious and told me I had to put it on youtube...which the team was okay with (and Patrick totally mentioned in his Ellen interview).
June
In June I made the move back to LA.
On the way down I stayed with my Uncle I hadn't seen in YEARS in St George. It was fun to catch up and they live on the back side of Zions National Park so it's super pretty.
Once I got to LA things got busy straight off. I worked on a film called Celeste and Jesse Forever as an intern. I worked 16 hour days but it was an awesome experience and cast and crew to work with.
I was able to catch The Civil Wars even though I was super busy. They are amaaaaazing in concert.
And I even made it out to Buttonwillow to hang out with Tyler and Tom Vance at one of Tyler's NASA races. It was so low key and a lot of fun to shoot stuff for him.
And I made some time to hit the beach.
I also helped my old boss out at the end of June. She was doing the PR for a charity gala for the Thirst Project. It was fun to work on and my boss was awesome and introduced me to Chyler Leigh and Justin Cambers.
July
July started with a 3rd of July BBQ with my old boss and some of her friends. It was fun. But I got food poisoning and spent all of the 4th in bed. Ugh.
Then another Grand Am race. This time at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca...my favorite track.
Joe and Patrick...being Joe and Patrick.
RayRay and Ron being...RayRay and Ron in the pits.
I figured I should get a picture with Patrick because it had been over a year since I had gotten one.
It was my last Grand Am race of the season. One thing this season did do was spoil me and get me used to Media Access...which is amazing...even if it's bad on the ears being so close to the cars.
I took these vids on my cell phone...not zoomed in at all.
At the end of July I made a trip out to Vegas for the weekend for Christie's Birthday. It was super fun.
I spent a lot of time by the pool reading what is now one of my favorite books.
And well lets just say we had one of those "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" nights.
I also got in one last NASA race day with Tyler and Tom at Cal Speedway.
August
I got some free tickets to see Taylor Swift at the Staples center. My friend Taylor joined me. We had crappy seats but it was still a lot of fun. Though Justin Bieber came on stage and sang "Baby" with her and I have NEVER heard that much screaming in my LIFE.
I spent some more time at the beach with friends...I really miss the beach.
Thanks to Jim, I was able to go to my first IndyCar race up at Infineon. Taylor came with me. It was weird to be at a race weekend and not be "working" but it was super fun to be a fan again. I did some major fangirling over Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon.
I also helped Jordan with a short film he wrote and directed. I ADed for him, among other things. It was great to have him in LA with me this past summer. We hung out ALL THE TIME.
September
In September I decided it would be my last month in LA and that afterwards I would go home to save money because I decided to go to Grad School. So I enjoyed my last month.
My landlord got a new puppy, which we named Ziggy. He liked watching races with me and using me as a pillow.
Dean invited me to a Motor Press Guild luncheon. It was good networking and it was also at the Toyota museum, which was pretty awesome.
Caro came to visit me and we spent a pretty awesome day together going all over LA and then watching Ewan movies and laughing at the STUPIDEST THINGS till 2am.
October
I headed back to Boise. It was sad to leave LA but hopefully Grad School will be a good thing.
On the way home we made a pit stop in Vegas for the night...and left the next morning at like 6am. Ugh.
Though it was kinda awesome to be home.
I got to meet my friends, John and Destiny's new born son.
I hung out with my best friends A LOT.
I went on some hikes.
I went to see Scars on 45 and Matt Nathanson in concert with Lauren. He totally saw my request of "Wedding Dress" on twitter and played it even though it wasn't on his set list.
And we got to meet Scars on 45
AND MATT NATHANSON. WHO WAS SUPER AWESOME.
I put together a little driver profile of footage I had shot for Tyler Vance for the Mazda MX-5 shootout. This kid will be a pro someday.
November
Nov brought lots of studying for the GRE. And then taking the GRE. I did pretty good.
Riding bikes on the Green Belt
And babysitting Caleb a lot.
And going to visit my nephews again. I taught my 3 year old nephew the different kind of race cars....not sure he cared.
I also got a seasonal job at Target which well...it was a job so I guess I can't complain.
December
I worked....A LOT.
And applied to 5 grad schools: Syracuse, University of Alabama, University of Tennessee, University of Georgia, and Georgia State University.
I hung out with my friends a lot. And let Elaina do whatever she wanted to my hair.
I hung out with my family and saw some awesome movies with my dad.
And tonight I will be ringing in 2012 with my friend Kyri downtown...should be fun.
I am prob forgetting some stuff but this is a good amount.
This year I traveled 21,163 miles, to 16 different cities in 11 different states and have been in both the Atlantic & Pacific ocean.
Over all it was a pretty awesome 2011. Hopefully 2012 is just as good, or better.