"I LOVE MY JOB!!"

for the past two days, i worked for my favorite boss dave who keeps me busy/employed so i don't move back to new jersey. i'm helping to plan/coordinate his upcoming stock photo shoots for infants and children. within one hour of posting the casting call online, we received 150 submissions for the infants shoot (of which, we will choose six infants). and due to a posting error which made mothers believe they will be receiving $300 per HOUR instead of $300 per DAY... we received 650 submissions in one hour for the children casting call!! (of which we will choose ten kids).

usually a shoot will keep me out of trouble for three days but a few weeks ago i had the pleasure of working for dave and his wife mary for a week. i worked as dave's photo shoot coordinator (which consisted of booking/contacting models; building a production book and assisting in wardrobe). the shoot was for the cover of a midway video game called BLITZ 2, a "vice city" style football game where steroids are optional. dave rented a studio and hired an awesome prop stylist who transformed the space into a mini patch of football field. the models who were hired were once athletes, muscle-y football player types.


on the day of the shoot, i served as "girl friday" to the crew - helping the prop stylist lay sod; assisting the grip guy move lights; lending an extra hand to dave and hal (the digital tech); shooting production stills; and writing checks to the crew and models. in addition to all that, i had the honor of rinsing mud off every crevice the prop stylist caked mud into the helmets and cleats. the shoot ran very smoothly (as always) with dave occasionally exclaiming "i love my job!!" between shots (as always). i know i've said this before, but it's so nice to work for someone who actually loves their job. dave's career is a constant inspiring reminder that "work" and "fun" can coexist and that you can get paid for having fun. (yes, it's sometimes hard work and can be stressful at times... but it's well worth it).

after wrapping up production (billing and budget stuff), i worked for dave's wife mary, resizing a plethora of images and preparing them for print. mary works for a london-based clothing company who recently purchased a bunch of worn vintage frames of all styles and sizes for in-store displays. after the images returned from the printing press, i assisted in framing... which consisted of stripping the frames; cleaning the glass; cutting/trimming the photos to fit (usually in odd sizes); and reassembling the frames. the highlight of the day was finding a newspaper from 1923 from england hidden behind a signed artist's proof/lithograph from the same time period - hello, antiques roadshow!! hehe. a cleaning person tried to covet it, but they got it back.

in addition to a generous paycheck from mary's company, mary included some gnomes from their last in-store display!! this little guy was one of three i adopted. on day two of the project, i took home a giant outdoor gnome. so there i was, jena poulain, walking in beverly hills with a giant gnome under my arm... which i may have to do more often. it made a lot of people smile... and point at me. haha. here's me and the gnome in the elevator:
aaaand then on monday of that week, dave took me back to high school. i assisted him while he provided hands-on lectures to five different photography classes. it was really fun!! dave showed the entire process of a commercial shoot: 1. receiving the idea/sketch from an ad agency. 2. the thousands of photos shot during the shoot. 3. the chosen, retouched images. 4. the final product (which in this case was the box/packaging of a video game). we set up studio lights and groups of kids got to pose and take photos of their friends using dave's camera and equipment. everyone seemed to be really interested and having fun!! it was entertaining to go back to high school and see the little cliques and unabashed fashion choices and personalities.

afterward, dave and i stopped at his friend's house for a pair of sunglasses he left behind. his friends live in the neighborhood rick and i used to live in... awww!! so it was nice to be in that area again. (i miss it!!) and that concludes the awesomeness that is my boss and his stylish wife.

lindsay's visit!!

saturday: lindsay arrived at 6:45 pm. rick and i picked her up at the airport then we went to santa monica and walked around the promenade. lindsay dropped $100 in about 20 minutes. (she's a bit of a shopaholic) she bought a cute dress though, hehe. i bought a kewl 80s-looking blue and black volcom sweater in urban outfitters for $9.99. SCORE!! we ate at the gaucho grill then headed to the pier and wandered around until our noses started running. then we headed back to the apartment and i gave lindsay a tour of our apartment and she got to meet the infamous miss gray (my cat). then we sang a belated happy birthday to lindsay and ate bday brownies i baked that morning and i gave lindsay her birthday presents. sunday: lindsay and i got up early and headed to hollywood. we drove up beachwood canyon and stopped at the hollywood sign. then we went to hollywood & highland and Grauman's Chinese Theatre. we took lots of photos. lindsay was wearing a summery blue bandanna-print tank top she purchased the night before and a random guy driving by on a bike said "nice shirt, but it would look better in red!" we assumed his comment was harmless, but in the back of our minds we thought, "oh crap, that could have been a gang reference." we shrugged it off until another guy passed us and said, "good color." so we ducked into a shop and lindsay bought a replacement shirt. then we walked around the open-air market; got our makeup done at napoleon; and ate lunch at pig n' whistle. we tried on wigs with all intentions of buying them, but then didn't buy them (which saved us over 85 bucks... mine would have been $35 and lindsay's would have been $50!!) then we headed to rodeo drive. while i was trying to decipher the fine print on the parking meter, a guy with a dog noticed my jersey plates and informed us we had just missed Bruce Springsteen coming out of Barney's. (i think it's funny people assume all new jerseyians like Bruce Springsteen). lindsay and i walked around and went in and out of shops. i found something for ricardo's birthday. when we got back to apartment, lindsay was ecstatic to see we had spinach and mozzarella raviolis from costco. we watched "the holiday" while eating dinner.
monday: woke up early again and headed to my favorite beach in malibu. stopped at the post office so i could mail a print to someone who purchased one from me on etsy. :) then we ran in a grocery store to buy some beach snacks and lindsay got starbucks. we sunbathed, took photos and chatted on the beach for 2 1/2 hours or so. then went back to the apartment, changed and got ready to go out. rick drove us to the santa monica promenade so lindsay could see the area during the day. we caught the sunset while freezing our toes off at the pier. then we ate at the cheesecake factory in beverly hills. when we got back to the apartment, we watched the hills and brutally made fun of everyone on the show.

tuesday: we got free jamba juice and dropped off lindsay's photos to be printed (98 of them, to be exact). then we took showers/got ready and headed to melrose. we saw Mischa Barton in wasteland -- one of my favorite shops there. i'm not particularly a fan of Mischa Barton but i'm glad lindsay got to see a celebrity and it was interesting (and a bit disturbing) to witness paparazzi stalking someone. they had their video camera lens pressed against the glass windows and waited outside to bombard her after she emerged from the store since they aren't allowed inside. Mischa was wearing a cute hippy-ish floral dress while trying on hideous fur vests but left the store wearing unflattering pink sweat pants (see the paprazzi's photos here). we bought a few things; ate lunch; then headed to CBS studios in studio city to watch the taping of "Secret Talents of the Stars." it's a reality show (already got canceled) that exposed secret talents of celebrities. John O'Hurley hosted accompanied by a celebrity judge panel (Debbie Reynolds, Brian McKnight and Gavine Polone). we got to see Sasha Cohen perform a contortionist act; Clint Black perform stand up comedy (he was so cute!!); George Takei sing a country song; and Mya perform a tap dance routine. we had prime seating among the wives and family of the mentioned celebrities and you should have seen the rocks on the womens' fingers!! holy goodness. lots of plastic surgery too. after the show, we made a special trip to pinkberry. if you're not fimiliar with pinkberry, there are only three flavors and it's waaaaay overrated. i sampled the green tea (awful sour taste) and opted for original, but i wasn't too crazy about that flavor either. lindsay got the coffee flavor with raspberries and loved it.

wednesday: we stopped at denny's before heading to the airport; took more photos (of course); then lindsay went home. :( all and all an awesome visit -- the weather was well-behaved; we packed as much as we could into each day; and we beat traffic every time!! and now we have lots of new photos and memories. :)

my last four ebay purchases

stuff i just had to have...

these adorable vintage fish plaques:

a new roxy bathing suit:

can't wait to wear it!!

61 vintage teeth charms (i got plans for these):

my only regret... this stupid dumb apron i shouldn't have bought:

*sigh* i wish i could go back in time and live in the 50s for a month just so i could hoard a lot of kewl crap to bring back to the 21st century.

HAPPY EARTH DAY/THREE NEW POSTS

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!!

three new posts have been added to my environmental blog: END SECOND HAND SMOKE. check em out!!

I'VE LAUNCHED A NEW BLOG!!

i am starting a new blog called "end second hand smoke" that focuses on global environmental issues and solutions to environmental problems. i will continue to maintain this personal blog but invite you to suscribe to my new blog as well as i am sure you will find the content interesting and important. please read my introduction below:

ABOUT ME AND MY INTENTIONS: although i love blogging about my work/whereabouts/photography, my main concern and passion has and always will be our environment. i'm creating this blog as an attempt to identify, educate and hopefully help solve ongoing environmental injustices which occur daily on this planet. it's about time we accept responsibility and correct the damage we've done. i hope you join my crusade and help create the social/political/environment changes we so desperately need. we all caused these environmental disasters (or "stresses" if you want to feel less of a villain), therefore we should all make an effort to lessen the harmful impact we place on our earth.

ABOUT THE NAME: i am calling this blog "end second hand smoke" because i view air, water and land pollution as second hand smoke -- harmful vapors and chemicals emitted by polluters, consumers, businesses and the government that we are being forced to ingest. how long are we going to allow them to contaminate us???

HOW YOU CAN HELP: at the end of each article i post that addresses a particular envionmental issue, i will post ways you can make a difference. i am hoping YOU will make an attempt to contribute to the cause because i certainly will be. by posting productive counter-actions, i hope you will realize the vital impact they have on society. if you need further proof that one person can make a difference, go watch Norma Rae. that movie ALWAYS inspires me. :)

WORDS TO LIVE BY:
"This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself." ~Chief Seattle, Chief of the Suquamish Indians

PLEASE ADD ME TO YOUR BOOKMARKS: http://endsecondhandsmoke.blogspot.com/

mom's visit, san diego and 3.5 celebrity crushes in 2 weeks

my mom visited me for 9 days. despite me being sick for the entire time, we had a lot of fun. here's what we did...

saturday: ate lunch with rick. took my mom to get coffee then my mom and i slept. a lot.

sunday: ate lunch with hal in santa monica then drove to san diego where we spent three days in mission bay. i took a lot of photos at pacific beach of and from crystal pier. it was neat to see the same area i was in for the first time four years ago. it's interesting how you perceive an area if you've only seen briefly and then to go back to the same area and see it from all sides -- you see it in a new light.

monday: we went kayaking in the ocean at la jolla and saw sea lions (we were probably were a little TOO close to them...) and leopard sharks and dolphins!! san diego feels like a state away from los angeles. actually, being in san diego feels a lot like being in florida or virginia beach. i really like it there. lots of awesome shops and restaurants along the main streets. there's more of a beach town vibe there than in venice or santa monica, maybe because the people in san diego seem more laid back and the traffic doesn't suck as badly.

monday night: we saw the foo fighters at SDSU!! :)

tuesday: we bypassed the gaslamp district because my mom isn't into shopping and went to midway to see the giant kissing statue and military ships. we ate lunch overlooking the bay and wandered over to the maritime museum gift shop (that is located on one of the ships). we stopped at the flower fields in carlsbad on our way back home but they weren't in bloom yet. however, the employees in the ticket booth still tried to get us to buy a ticket to see nothing for $5 (1/2 off ) and tried to convince us to buy a season pass to the fields. but who needs to see a field of flowers more than once??? i wonder if people actually buy season passes there.

wednesday: we saw the foo fighters again (night 1 at the forum!!) and my mom got to meet my boss james.

thursday: my mother, rick and i went to a taping of the craig ferguson show -- amy sedaris (one of my faves!!) was the guest. we ate sushi and walked around hollywood & highland.

friday: my mom got to meet my boss dave!! :) and we went back to hollywood. it should be noted that during my mom's visit, i beat her and rick at scrabble numerous times.

saturday: went to our favorite beach in malibu... but it was pretty windy and cold but we saw dolphins.

sunday: i begrudgingly went back to the beach and was glad i did because it was a beautiful, hot gorgeous day for the beach.

all and all, a fun time!! :D

last week also marked the end of my 3.5 celebrity crushes in 2 weeks spree...
1: nick hexum at the las vegas show 2/22
2: dr. drew at the celebrity rehab reunion show taping (look for me and rick in the audience!! the reruns are being shown on VH1 now) 2/25
3: DAVE GROHL x2!!!! 3/3 and 3/5
3.5: BONUS: amy sedaris at the craig ferguson taping, woo woo!! 3/6

HAPPY 3-11 DAY!!!!

yes, it's a national holiday for 311 fans....

311 at muhlenberg college
Originally uploaded by jena ardell.

i couldn't attend the festivities in new orleans this time around (unfortunately), but check out my tribute.

311 - freak out
Originally uploaded by jena ardell.

over 47 million Americans (over 16% of the population) are without health insurance... and i'm one of them. :(

my myriad of drugs:

perk #321 of being a freelancer: unlimited sick days.
i couldn't imagine sitting in a cubicle surrounded by green phlegm-infested tissues for 8, 9, 10 hours. no way.
disadvantage of being a freelancer: no health insurance unless you buy it yourself.

so i've self-diagnosed myself with bronchitis and i've been coughing my brains out for the past two weeks. this started out as a cold i caught from my boss james and has progressed to whatever-it-is-now. and i don't know if it's because i have a deviated septum or what, but i have not been able to taste or smell for a week now. i am refusing to go to a doctor because i don't have health insurance and i don't feel like paying $100+ for antibiotics, so i am taking amoxicillin that rick's parents brought back from mexico. (they sell 58 or so tablets of amoxicillin in mexico for $30... too bad the united states is a greedy bastard and makes us pay an arm and a leg for the same products other countries sell at afforadable prices).

here's what bronchitis looks like:

i am also attributing this bout with bronchitis to the poor air quality in los angeles... thanks LA!!

if you're a smoker, expect to develop chronic bronchitis... one of the many guaranteed side effects you are paying for with each cigarette. (which is why i will never understand why the facts alone are not enough for people to quit smoking, my mother included). but i regress... as i watch shopgirl for the umpteenth time.

P.S. it also should be noted that while i was sick i threw too many tissues into the toilet (because i felt bad throwing them all away) needless to say the toilet got clogged and impatient me had to try to flush it one more time and the water rose over the seat and spilled onto the floor, covering our little bathroom floor area with 1/2 inch of water. luckily it wasn't enough to reach the carpeting but it was enough to make the downstair's neighbors' ceiling leak. so the toilet fixed itself and my mom ran out to buy a mop because we didn't have one and i managed to break the mop within 5 minutes of using it. don't ask me how. i just snapped the part that connects the mop to the stick. rick felt bad and told me he'd deal with the mess and picked up a mop on his way home. my boyfriend loves me. moral of the story: ever notice how much dust a tissue makes??? that can't be healthy to inhale in between nose blows.