Dee J. Adams's Blog, page 9

You Heard It Here: What Makes You Rant?

Just out of curiosity… What is your pet peeve? What makes you crazier than crazy? What boils your blood and makes you stand up and say, “Hey! That is…” fill in the blank.

 

I’ve discovered I have a couple of things. One is if I see someone kick a dog. Oh man, you do not want to kick a dog if I am in the vicinity, because I will go bat-sh*t crazy on you. My most common response (since it’s happened a couple of times) is, “Hey! How would you like it if someone five times YOUR size kicked YOU?” Or ten times or how ever many times bigger that person is than their pet. Aargh… it really burns me. But, okay, that’s not even my topic for today.

The other thing that chaps my ass (excuse my French) is when I’m at any one of my daughter’s game and opposing parents trash talk the girls on my daughter’s team. Really? Do you really feel the need to scream at a young girl and tell her she needs a hug? Or tell her she’s a meanie? Or any number of words that I can’t repeat here? How would you feel if I did that to your kid? Not very happy, I would think.

I really, honestly don’t get some people sometimes. Is there anyone out there who tries to put themselves in other people’s shoes before they mouth off? Do people ever try to see the whole picture or the other side of the story before they say or do something completely and totally ass backwards/wrong?

Is it ADD? Is it the lack of attention span that makes people act without thinking? Was it never taught? Or is it a lack of brain cells? There are so many choices…all of them terrible excuses for bad behavior.

Tell me, what’s your pet peeve?

You Heard It Here: Hollywood Expectations

It’s been a while since I’ve given you one of my old Hollywood stories, so I thought I’d scour my foggy brain and see what I could come up with.

When I first got my foot in the door (working as a page at KTTV), I greeted the guests for a show called Hour Magazine. (I know I’ve mentioned this before, but many of my stories come from that time.) The guest on one particular day was Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Terminator! How excited was I to meet this guy?! So there I am, at my post at the double glass doors waiting for his arrival. I usually stood in the hallway waiting because the sun was pretty hot on any given day. I kept checking my watch because he was late. Usually the guests had a time frame so I knew when to expect them. Finally, I see a man walking very casually up the long driveway from the lower lot. He’s holding his jacket draped over his shoulder like he’s going for a stroll and he had no urgency at all, which made me think it wasn’t Arnold. And, as he got closer, I realized he wasn’t tall enough or big enough to be Arnold. But I kept my eye on him, because he was the only person in the vicinity and I was expecting someone.

He got closer and closer and closer with my brain telling me it’s not him, it’s not him, it’s not him. He’s too short. Not broad enough, not buff enough. Not Arnold. Let me tell you… Hollywood is an amazing place where illusions are created. Arnold walked right by me before my brain finally jumped into gear and said, IT’S HIM, IT’S HIM! GET HIM! So there I am… chasing down the man I was waiting for who walked right by me, because I expected something different. I was waiting for The Terminator and I got a regular man. His height is listed at 6’2″, but I honestly don’t believe that for one minute. Hey, maybe I’m wrong. But if he’s as tall as 6′ even, I’d be surprised. Or maybe since I expected 6’7″ and I got 6’2″ that made the difference in my head… I don’t know. I just know that I was mega embarrassed that I let him walk by me and I had to run after him to show him to his dressing room. He was very nice and if he thought I was a ditzy idiot he kept it to himself. Haha.

I learned a good lesson that day. Don’t expect to get what you think you’re expecting. It was a good lesson to learn too. (But I was much happier when I got what I expected!)

What about you? Did you ever expect to get one thing and when you got something else, it threw you off completely?

You Heard It Here: Happiness Is… Double Duty

Today’s happiness is working double duty. Sometimes my blog dates coincide and I’m not only here, but I’m also blogging at Not Your Usual Suspects. Considering I only blog (here) 3 times a month, it’s kind of fun when my days meld.

So, because it’s one of those double duty days, I’m going to do something I did a while back and give you both sides of a coin.

The topic stems from my daughter’s trip to Boston where it’s bitter cold and snowing while I’m in Los Angeles, sweating it out in almost eighty degree weather. The question is:

What season is best for love? (Granted, we have four of them to choose from, but I’m going to pick one here and one for NYUS and you can choose to agree or disagree.)

Since I love the warm weather of California, I’m going to answer the question with summer. Summertime means beach weather and (potentially) lots of skin, which we like to see in our heroes! Who can resist a six pack ab and tan skin over hard muscles? Summer nights mean long walks on the beach holding hands and/or sipping wine at a beach side restaurant. Or it could be a long walk in the park with the one you love while the sun sets. How about skinny dipping in a warm pool and canoodling with the one you love under the stars? Just seems like romance is easier in the summertime when you’re wearing less clothes. Haha.

(Doesn’t that look perfect?)

So tell me if you agree or disagree or what season you think is best for love! And don’t forget to drop by Not Your Usual Suspects and check out a different viewpoint!

 

You Heard It Here: I Blew It. Big Time.

With the title of this blog, you may be thinking that I’m talking about blowing something up (as I’m apt to do in several of my books), but what I really mean is I made a big mistake. Not just big, but colossal. Nothing of life threatening or earth-shattering proportions, but big enough to feel tremendously guilty on several levels and for multiple days.

Okay, I’ve built it up. You ready? Wanna hear my screw up? Here it is. Confession time.

I took my daughter for her driving test on the last day of the year, but I forgot an important piece of paperwork. I thought I had everything. I would’ve sworn on my life that I had everything. But I didn’t. So she couldn’t take her test. Trust me, it was a very long thirty minute drive home. I couldn’t apologize enough. But my kid…she’s so awesome that she didn’t say she hated my guts. She didn’t scream at me or rag on me. She just took the whole incident in stride. Yes, there might’ve been a few tears, because she’d psyched herself up to take the driving test and couldn’t, so all that adrenaline crashed and landed in a pile of tears, but she didn’t take it out on me. How much do I love my kid for that? A damn ton, I tell you. She had every right to let me have it. Yes, it was an accident. And God knows I’d never put her through that kind of emotional trauma on purpose. I hated it. I’d have done just about anything to make it better.

But it’s a week later and I’m happy to say that this time I brought the right paperwork and my kid brought her A driving game. So after taking her test — and passing — my daughter is now a licensed California driver. Look out world, here she comes!! I’m very proud of her and she’s a great driver!

Here’s the car she drove for her test. I call her Goldie. (I know…I have zero imagination.) My apologies for the dark pic. I thought I had more daylight than this.

Honestly, I couldn’t have felt any worse if I’d wanted to. I was as miserable if not more so than my daughter. So tell me I’m not alone. Have any of you screwed up really bad where it caused your child or someone you loved a lot of unintentional emotional pain? Or maybe I’m just the worst parent on the planet. (Uh…bummer!) Let me know!

 

You Heard It Here: Hollywood Surprise!

One of the best things about working in Hollywood is it’s such a small town. (Since I’m one of those believers that it’s a really small world, imagine narrowing it down to a city in Los Angeles…) After working here for so many years, I’ve met a lot of people. Moving from show to show and interacting with new casts and guest actors is truly as fun as it sounds. (Don’t get me wrong – it can be nail-biting to not know when the next job will be, but after this many years I’ve learned to trust that work will come.)

The reason I bring this up is because it’s such a kick to see someone I’ve worked with in a movie or TV show, especially when I didn’t expect to see them. I’ve discovered it’s almost impossible to watch anything on television or any movie I go to and not know at least one person in the cast.

My latest sighting was this past weekend watching Saving Mr. Banks. The actress playing “Dolly” (one of Walt Disney’s secretaries) is an actor I worked with on a show called True Jackson, V.P. (for Nickelodeon). Her name is Melanie Paxson and she is one of the sweetest women I’ve ever worked with. She’s amazingly funny and so nice. Easily one of my all time favorites.

Here’s a shot of her from the movie.

Though we’re FaceBook friends and live near each other, I haven’t seen her in about four years so when she popped up on screen, I actually yelped. (I tend to do that when I’m surprised to see a friendly face.) Yes, I was very embarrassed. It’s just a knee-jerk reaction to seeing someone I hadn’t expected to see. I suppose I’ll only get worse with age as all the child actors I work with grow up and get more roles. I’ll get to say, “I knew them when.”

I just hope I get over that yelping thing in the middle of a crowd. I’m thinking I may need to start going to movies with duct tape over my mouth. What about you? Ever do something in the middle of a crowd that completely embarrassed you? Wanna share? I’d love to hear it.

 

 

 

You Heard It Here: Happiness Is…

Happiness is… enjoying the moment. Since this is the last post of 2013, I thought I’d do a little reflection. Juggling writing and show business has been a bit of a struggle, but I’ve learned something in the process. I’ve learned to enjoy what I’m doing when I’m doing it. It’s really a catch 22 for me because when I’m on set, I want to be writing and sometimes when I’m writing, I want to be on set. Only recently have I learned to enjoy  being in the moment I’m in and enjoy it. I know…sounds awfully Zen, doesn’t it? But it’s true and I think it applies to almost anything. If you don’t enjoy the  now, then when will you ever be happy?

Today, December 20, we shoot our last episode of the first season of The Thundermans. It’s the first time in twenty-six years when a season has ended at the holidays so it’s kind of a double whammy. We’re not only saying goodbye (for an undetermined amount of time, since at this time we don’t have a pick-up date), but we’re also saying Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. We all have hope that the new year will bring good health and happiness (and future episodes!) to those we work with.

Here’s what I’ll be saying goodbye to at the end of the day…

These are the kids in our cast plus our First AD. Wednesday is Onesie day and they all got into the spirit! There’s nothing better than working with fun people.

Here’s the Paramount lot at night during the holidays…

The path leading to the tree is full of trees lit with white lights. It’s beautiful! (This picture doesn’t really do it justice.)

So as happy as I am to get back to my writing and all the characters screaming for their stories (in my head!), I’m going to miss my job on set and working with such fun, funny and amazing people.

I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday season no matter what you celebrate! And the healthiest and happiest of New Years as well!

So what about you? Are you good at living in the moment or do you think more about the past or too much about the future? Finding the balance isn’t easy…it’s a learning process, I think. Let me know!

You Heard It Here: Oops. I forgot.

Have you ever found something you didn’t know you lost? I did the other day. And instead of sweeping it under the carpet and not saying a word, I decided to come clean.

What did I find? A card with my husband’s name printed on the front. How old was it? I had no clue. What occasion was it for? Again, I had no clue. It actually didn’t even occur to me to open it and see. I figured if it had my husband’s name on it and it was sealed then it belonged to him.

So last night as we lay in bed before we turned out the lights, I handed him his card. I said, “Honey, I found this. I have no idea how old it is or what it’s for so I’ll guess we’ll find out together.”

He opened the envelope and it turned out to be an anniversary card (above). “Happy Anniversary, honey!” I laughed and kissed him. (Even though our anniversary is early June.) He opened the card and I immediately went to my note at the bottom. “Happy fifteenth anniversary.” FIFTEEN!! Hello, we’ve been married over twenty-four years! LOL. OMG. Talk about a time warp. We laughed. (Okay, I may have laughed a little louder.) It wasn’t like he never got a card, because I used to be famous for planting cards in different places in the house for him to find. This one just forgot to get its place.

So, what about you? Ever find something you didn’t know you lost? How did it affect you or anyone around you? Did you tell?

You Heard It Here: Hollywood Close To The Heart

I usually tell a story from way back when I first started in show biz, but this month’s Hollywood story is as fresh as it gets. This past week, my husband directed an episode of my current show, The Thundermans. He’d met the network executives months ago and knew one of them from our days at CBS, so he had that bridge covered. He knew two of the three executive producers from his last show (Disney’s Pair of Kings). Since all the stars aligned and he wasn’t directing an episode somewhere else, he got to direct my show.

(Here’s a shot of the awesome cast of The Thundermans. From left to right- clockwise- Jack Griffo, Rosa Blssi, Chris Tallman, Kira Kosarin, Addison Riecke and Diego Velazquez.)

How did it go, you ask? Awesome. Actually, is there a better than awesome? If so, it was that. I had told everyone in listening distance that he was wonderful, but after weeks of hearing this, I figured I needed to shut up and let my husband just prove himself. Which he did in spades! The cast and crew loved him, the producers loved him and in general he hit a home run. (Do I sound proud? I hope so, because I am.)

Before shooting the audience show, we have a speed through where the actors run through all the lines in scene/show order. My husband joined us and gave the most wonderful speech thanking the cast for welcoming him to the set and working so hard all week. Granted, I’m a weenie, but I got choked up. After he left the room, I looked around and said, “You guys! Was that the sweetest thing in the world? Don’t you love my guy?” Not to my surprise, the overwhelming response ran along the lines of this. “We LOVE him!!” (Let me also mention that I love this cast! They are an amazing talented group of people!)

Made me happy. So that’s my Hollywood story that’s so close to my heart this month. Not as exciting as some of my others, but very emotionally uplifting… (if you’re me. LOL.)

What about you? Ever been in a situation where someone you loved made a big impression on the people you work and/or interact with on a regular basis? How did it make you feel?

You Heard It Here: Happiness Is

This month, Happiness Is Thanksgiving dysfunction. Because really… let’s face it. Who out there lives WITHOUT dysfunction? Anyone? I’d really like to know. Because as much as I like to think I’m normal and my family is normal…well, we’re just… NOT.

(This card cracks me up! It’s perfect!)

We are as dysfunctional as it gets. I’m not talking about my household specifically, because honestly, I love my husband and adore my daughter and I think in general we all get along and we make an awesome family unit. I’m talking about my extended family. I do love them, but sometimes they drive me a little nuts. I’ll admit that I spilled the whole Thanksgiving story on this blog then promptly erased it.

Really, you have to smile because the right kind of dysfunction is priceless. And there’s nothing more that makes me smile than really good fodder for books. I guarantee you that this story will make its way into one of my books because it’s too laughable to bury. (Not to mention the fact that I don’t think my cousins have picked up one of my books or have ever been here to my blog… but I digress…)

My happiness is three-fold this month because aside from the holiday dysfunction, I was thrilled that my husband is getting to direct the current Nickelodeon show I’m working on, The Thundermans. I’m so proud of him and the great work he does when he directs.

And my last happiness is remembering that one of the very favorite scenes I’ve ever written is a Thanksgiving scene in Dangerously Close, when Mel and Ashley have stuffed their faces, trying to make a dent in enough food to serve 8 people and getting to know each other. They solidified their friendship on that Thanksgiving and as crazy as it sounds I’m thankful that those two characters are kind of always with me this time of year. They make me smile.

What about you? Anything in particular that makes you smile during Thanksgiving? Any family dysfunction that’s so priceless you have to laugh about it? Let me know! I need the company.

 

You Heard It Here: Real Life

I had originally planned to post about NaNoWriMo. For those of you who don’t know what that is, I’ll explain. November is NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth and the goal is to write 50,000 words within 30 days. I’ve found it very inspiring and have participated the last few years, reaching my goal (and usually a little more). In fact, I was so busy writing my NaNo words that I forgot to post my blog yesterday on my scheduled day.

But NaNo is small potatoes in the scheme of things. Seriously. When you think about what’s happening in the Philippines and what that poor country has had to endure, getting in words on a page just doesn’t matter.

I think we usually consider most coastal countries as being paradise, but Mother Nature’s wrath is so brutal that she can make paradise a living hell. It seems like there must be a point to destruction of that level. I ask myself if a storm this big is ultimately people related because of the way we treat our world or if it’s just how the earth turns and the fact that weather is becoming so extreme. I guess we can ask why until we’re blue in the face, but we’ll never really get an answer. It’s up to us to make sense of it in our own way.

This picture is not only scary, but it’s fascinating when you think about all the power generated in that sphere.

I know most every place on earth has their own natural disaster. For instance: as long as I live in California, I’ll be facing earthquakes. I’m not usually a pessimist, but I am a realist and let’s face it… there’s going to be a “big one” someday. It’s inevitable. (Acknowledging the reality isn’t going to change it or make it happen sooner rather than later. It’s just a fact.) The mid west has tornadoes, and other parts of the country (and world) have volcanoes and other natural disasters. Most of us deal with something. Eventually, many of us will face something devastating, though I hope not to the extent that is happening in the Philippines. Hope everyone will take a minute to be thankful for what you have now because you just never know when it will all disappear.

I always feel very helpless in situations like this even when I send monetary donations. It just never feels like enough when so many people are suffering.

What about you? Do manage to make sense of Mother Nature’s destruction or are you left as dumbfounded as me?