Where Were You Two Years Ago Today?

I know where I was at 10:05pm California time.

I was arriving at the Universal Hilton after a two day drive from Missouri.  The departure from St. Louis was at 5am the day before in 30+ degree weather as snow started to fall on the streets.

Less than 48 hours later I was slightly zoned out from a two day cross country drive.  We checked into the Hilton, went on the search for food and promptly passed out in our room.

Not exactly the most glamorous start to our California life.

We arrived with a TV, an Xbox game system, some clothes, two laptops, a small table and various pots and pans for the kitchen

We spent the first week finding a place to live, meeting with the woman who would become Zach's manager, buying furniture from Ikea, hunting for bargains on Craigslist and learning our way around the area.

Dana came on the road trip to help us get settled in California.  She had to leave after the first week because she still had a contract with her job.  Dana finally joined us for good in September of 2012.

(In no particular order) here's to two years of:

*Teen actors
*Stage parents
*Auditions
*Acting coaches and classes
*Valley girls (and boys)
*Horrible traffic
*New friends (for the kid and his parents)
*Second City improv
*Getting lost
*6 million hours (give or take) in LA traffic
*Parkour
*Watching "The Californians" on SNL as they describe your exact route to Baja Fresh
*Spending Easter Sunday with the freaks and geeks of Venice Beach
*Endless waiting to hear if Zach booked the gig
*Being an extra on "Modern Family" and "Killer Kids"
*Connecting with a band of fellow St. Louis transplants
*Meeting people from all walks of life
*3G and Roman The Porn King
*The endless free entertainment at The Plaza
*The endless free entertainment on Hollywood Boulevard
*The moment I said "Stupid Tourists" for the first time
*Celebrity sightings
*Agents
*Managers
*The comedy church
*Seeing the USA from my truck and Dana's jeep
*Movie premieres
*Getting my California drivers license
*Wearing shorts in January
*Contract gigs that have introduced me to new friends, new experiences and new philosophies
*Quality time and adventures with my kid that I never once imagined when he was born

And one other big salute:

*Here's to you for letting me ramble on, praise my son, make fun of the "beautiful people" of Hollywood and spend my time pursuing this creative outlet!

Thank you.  There's always new stories to tell from Hollywood.  I can't wait to share them with you.

The IMDb page of a certain two-year resident of Hollywood