Contemplating My One Year LA & Disney Anniversary While Sitting At A Table At The Gratitude Cafe

Today marks the one year anniversary of when I started with Disney as the writer and project manager of the Blue Sky Think Tank. A year ago on this very day is when I began working at DCP (Disney Consumer Products) and a few days before that was when I moved to Los Angeles. And by "moved" I mean officially started crashing on couches 'til I found a place of my own. So technically it's also my one year anniversary of living in Los Angeles - crazy! I want to take a moment to reflect on all the change that's happened in the past year and the most importantly focus on - GRATITUDE!


So much has changed in a year. It's flown by but I also feel like I've been here forever. DCP has changed - I'm no longer working there. Still in the Disney family but working at their Children's Center. And though I love working with kids it's not my main passion. I still currently seek a position in a more creative field that aligns with my true passions.


Don't get me wrong I'm extremely grateful to have a job - period. I guess I'm just supposed to type the symbol for period instead of writing the word "period." Period - HA! I'm grateful that I get to play with wonderful children as I watch them learn and grow. When I truly allow myself to be in the moment with them, in their games and their laughter - those are the perfectly blissful and cherished moments. That's what reminds me of why I'm doing what I'm doing and why it's important. It makes me think of the Mac McAnally song "It's My Job." I thought of it and hummed along while I swept on and off stage as an ASM for the Old Globe/USD, while I helped rally kids to perform a play of "Where The Wild Things Are" in an after school program in San Diego, I sang it at DCP during my late, late work nights in the Tank and I have here at the center. A song that reminds me no matter your job you must take pride in the work you do and do your absolute best because it is your job. How can I allow myself
to do anything less than my best? Cause...

"It's my job to be cleaning up this mess
And that's enough reason to go for me
It's my job to be better than the rest
And that makes the day for me."

 But the song also seeks to remind us that your job does not define you. It isn't who you are but merely what you do. That was something I definitely had to come to terms with during my few months of painful unemployment after DCP before the center. If I don't have a "job" than what am I? Who am I? An artist. A nurturer. A dreamer. Countless things I could continue to list that make up the essence of who I am but has nothing to do with my current "job" and sometimes even my passions.


I'm thankful for all of the fantastic, spirited children I've been lucky enough to teach and play with. Thankful to the phenomenal teachers, subs and faculty who work at the center. They inspire me with their level of professionalism and passion for what they do. It gives me hope that teachers and centers like this exist in the world that truly seek to nurture, teach and help children develop into independent, creative and mature adults.


And of course I'm thankful to the Disney employees (former and current) who started it all - my DCP family. The Think Tank. Global Creative. Publishing. The UGA's. Numerous other departments and individuals who helped to truly bless and create my intern experience at DCP. The list goes on and on.

I feel truly blessed to have ever been given the opportunity in the first place. The position I held in the Tank helped reawaken my first true love and passion - writing. It also teased me with the abundance that the Universe has to offer. You can be paid to do something that you love. The work you do can be fun, inspiring and creative and your work environment can be the same, along with nurturing, flexible and unique compared to the typical 9 - 5 "desk"/"office" job we are told and encouraged by society is a "normal" job to have. Staring across the street at DCP I wonder if the Universe is testing me to see if I can still find time and energy to create my art and follow my passions when I work full time at a job that doesn't involve my art. I was spoiled by Think Tank but it surely set the bar high and gave me a standard to aim for. To never settle for a job that doesn't inspire, infect, nurture and intrigue every once of my creative, emotional, intellectual and social being.

My superiors. My peers. All the people, mentors and friends. You are my Disney family. I remember Andy Mooney's last day at DCP. I will never forget his words as he addressed us all. The very words that made me burst into tears, "You're my Disney family. I see you more than I see my real family." Oh how we all can relate to that statement about the people we work and collaborate with.


Time for All Star Shout Outs - (There's a lot so some readers may want to skim to the end. If I forgot to name someone my deepest apologies. There's too many to name and its overwhelming trying to remember all of you who touched and impacted my DCP experience)

First and foremost, the man who started it all, bringing the concept of a Think Tank to DIMG and then transitioning it to DCP, the most wonderful boss this newbie artist could have ever asked for, Chris Takami. His vision, creativity and leadership skills were an inspiration to me everyday. Him nurturing and being one of the main foundation layers behind the concept of a group of recently graduated college students from various backgrounds and disciplines coming together to brainstorm ideas was genius and something every company should learn from. How many people can say that they once held a job in their lives where they were PAID to brainstorm constantly and simply be creative?


My fellow Tankers; my "Erynifying" copy editor ADD social butterfly, Eryne Lagman, one of the fastest, hardest workers I've ever had the pleasure of working with, Brett Long, the eclectic, karmically sound, whirlwind of talent, one of our artist/animators, Jesse Soto, the chic designer illustrator, Jason Shorr, the unbelievably talented, artist/animator who holds himself to incredibly high standards, Ricardo De Los Angeles and last but certainly not least, the incredibly creative and bold, Aleks Mats, whose outside the box thinking, pushed the boundaries and limits of every brainstorm, idea or project the Tank ever had. "Uncle" George McClements, one of the funniest, most spontaneously creative people I've ever had the pleasure of working with. Tricia "Mama/Auntie Goose" Pierce, the hippest, most fun, truly funny,witty and yet efficient project managers that lives. Our "big sis" for momentarily, the social media/communications Goddess, Annjanette Isorda. My mentors, Vickie Saxon and Kim Levario, two of the most amazingly creative, talented and good hearted professional women who bestowed upon me light-years of wisdom. The fun and inspiring fellow tankers mentors; Ron Velasco, Stephane Kardos, Jeff Shelly, John Quinn, Pedro Fernandez, Kevin Gralewski and Nick Jeong.

Honorary Tankers & Tank Allies; Dan Owen, Charysse Jennings, Heather Laing - Obstbaum, Ann Buckingham, Colleen O'Neil, Leah Fonnette, Jen Marie Del Carpio, Tony Colon, Wing Shum, Tiffany Quon, Eric Tan, Hutch, Danny Tong, Hope Goldstein, Rich Tuzon, Kevin Earl, Maryam Urumieh, Dave Zaslov, Kim Ebeling, Marie Garofalo, Regan Forman, Ryan Astamendi, Stephanie Shapiro. THe COI Dream Team; Libby Spatz, Robin Nelson and Cathy Biermann.

Some of the inspiring movers and shakers of Disney; John Gong, Pam Lifford, Andy Mooney, Gary Foster, Marilyn Magness, Sarah Tilley, Christopher Stefanidis, Dave Dickman, Drew Hayashida and of course our spectacular, insanely creative, one of a kind SVP, Luis Fernandez.
My extended Disney family members; Stuart Smith, Gerald Turpin, Magda Loczi, Erica Yu, Graham Barnard and last but not least, the wonderful friendly faces of the front desk & HR reception who brightened my day, Forest Guider, Josh Stoddard and Michael Boyd.

To all of my many helpful and inspiring meet and greeters during and after my DCP time; Stacy Pyles, Tim McNeal, Michael Duncan, Laura Hitchcock, Heather Knowles, Cathryn McHugh, Karen Painter, David Fisher, Jeff Boodie, Ileana Montano, Brett Eliott, Trent Schneidewind, Ileana Montano, Melinda Thompson and Laura Uyeda. 


My intern UGA famillia; Alyssa Munoz, Louie Alvarez, Alex Yee, Alex Horn, Corbin Pickett, Dan Vigorito, David Navar, Atoosa Ryanne, Edward Kong, Elana Altmann, DeCarlis Wilson, Maxwell Ernst, FredEric Pratt, Ruby Chen, the many James's - James Min and James Yoon, Jason Wong, Jeanette Saris, Jessica Lopez, Julia Li, Justin Yu, Katie Sacchi, Lydia Han, Kevin Portillo, Kim Chang, Marques Dawson, Mayumi Miyasato, Mike Tang, Neenet Hairapetian, Peter Seng, Phil Tan, Resham Parikh, Robert Daligdig, Ryan Damodaran, Shawn Orgel-Olson, Tatiana Guerrero, Tiffany Fang, Uchenna Obiora, Vinu Natarajan and Zulema Uriarte.

And last but not least, Spencer Stuard and Siobhan Vanaman, former tankers, dear friends and fellow Chapman Alumni who recommended me for the position in the first place.

To all of you, words cannot express the gratitude that I feel for having met and gotten the opportunity to work with each and everyone you. You positively influenced, guided, mentored and/or helped create my wonderful Disney experience far beyond anything I could have imagined


Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd be working for a company that I respect so highly. A company that helped to shape my childhood. Working to help continue to flourish this iconic, legendary notion of "the happiest place on earth" where "dreams really do come true" that encouraged me to dream and believe that anything was and is indeed possible.


I completely rejected the concept of moving to LA right after graduation. But once I was offered the position with Disney there was no way I was gonna pass it up no matter the location. But beneath the traffic and the smog. The bits of trash and superficiality. I have been lucky enough to find friends, mentors, people I think of as my second family and places that make me feel like this is my home away from home.

So thank you Universe. Thank you to everyone for helping make my Disney and LA experience worth wild.

I'm beyond grateful.

The Importance of the Arts – Is Art Just for the Privileged?

After enjoying a lovely piece of theater presented by the East West Players in Little Tokyo this past Wednesday evening, my wonderful friend, social media/communications/marketing/PR genius guru, Justin and I popped into a random mini 7-11 type market with sodas and chips on one side, condoms and sex gag gifts on the other and Boba behind the counter. We ordered some Boba and sat down to chat because ONE, we literally only had 20 minutes to scarf down our din din before the show and TWO, because we hadn't seen each other in what felt like ages and THREE, because the wonderful production of "3 Year Swim Club" sparked and inspired a fiery in depth conversation about society, different cultures, the arts and social status's. The kinds of convos that leave your head spinning and questioning long after they are over, hence the writing of this blog post at 2AM Thursday morning. (I was still so wired off the Boba frappchino I drank. Caffeine extremely affects me, transforming me into more of a hyper beast than I already am. I thought because it was Boba it wouldn’t be as strong – WRONG!)

The conversation cycled beautifully through various waves and tangents relating to art and society. It’s conversation like this that I truly value when I experience them with mature people. Where both individuals are truly listening and absorbing what the other one is saying with no judgments and responding like intelligent adults rather than defensive children.

We got to talking about the arts and how society usually views "artists" such as painters, writers, actors, poets, singers etc as poor, lazy, frou frou, silly vagrants who fool around and don’t do serious work. On the other end of the spectrum, lawyers and doctors are put on this high prestigious pedestal for everyone to admire, respect and never question or challenge. I’m by no means stereotyping the entire field of medicine or law. I’ve met many great doctors and lawyers (those official and those still pursuing degrees), but from my personal experience with both professions, holding a prestigious title or position does not automatically mean you work very hard, are very smart or actually competent at what you do. Yet we pay thousands and thousands of dollars to these individuals who we hold in such high esteem to save our lives physically and emotionally from death, jail or a ruined reputation because these things are important to us. But does that mean that these individuals are smarter because of their years of schooling or because they hold these positions? Sadly, this is not always the case. We assume that just because they are doctors and lawyers they must be smart, hard working and dedicated, but artists – they are and always will be a bunch of bohemians. (And though I’m using the profession of doctors and lawyers as the main example, this applies to most professions that are considered “real” jobs by society.)

Justin then made a controversial but good point how some people equate artists, specifically actors and singers, to being on the same level as prostitutes because all they have to offer or “sell” is their body. They are technically “selling” themselves as a product.  I responded by saying, "They have more than just their body, but their words, their voices, their presence and essence and vulnerability. They have the courage to get up on stage and share their humanity with an audience in order to tell and share a story. In order that an audience member might possibly be moved to experience catharsis." I have several friends, former theater majors, that discovered midway through college that though they loved theater, they were more passionate about something else. Yet they said they never regretted majoring in theater because it taught them to be human. I don’t know about you, but from experiencing first hand the difficulty of presenting good theater from my training as an actor, director, producer and writer, anyone who has the courage put themselves out there and share their humanity with me just in order that I might experience some catharsis, forget about my current state of being for a while or force me to re-examine my life or an issue in the world deserves as much recognition and monetary compensation as most doctors and lawyers receive.

We’ll (us as individuals and society, our government) pay GOOD money to save our physical lives or to preserve our rights but spend little to no money investing in the future of our children and their development or to expand our mental, creative or spiritual health by investing in the arts?

I work at a daycare where I literally get paid a pittance as a substitute teacher and this is a well established reputable daycare. Despite the fact that the teachers are paid better than most teachers at your average daycare, it is not even close to what they deserved to be paid because they are only helping to care for and shape the future generation of the world. They are helping inspire, nurture and guide the next generations of lawyers, doctors and heaven forbid – artists! This lack of low wages and investment in the arts and our children’s future does not come from the parents. I’m sure every parent and every person in the world would rather see their hard earned money go to funding more schools, better schools than war or other countless things our tax payers money is spent on. Then where does this disconnect between what we want as a society and what we are getting come from?

Arts programs are one of the FIRST things that are cut in schools because it is considered frivolous and expendable. They would never think to cut math or science or (gasp), sports programs because those are "real", important subjects. This is a tragedy. To think that the next generation of children might be raised in a environment where they are never exposed to the arts because it wasn’t "important" enough to allocate money for arts programs in their budget is introducing an entire generation of children to the world who will be less likely to dream, to create, to brainstorm and wander and explore until their hearts and imaginations have found just what it is they are looking for and what it is they want in their lives. Whether its be to be an artist or just to use art as a means of private self expression while they pursue a career in another field.

I read a little bit of this book from the Creative Resource Center while I was at Disney Consumer Products called “The Creative Brain” and it talked about how all human beings are creative and use creativity in their daily lives for problem solving, multi – tasking, etc. Basic human functions made easier and more fun by using their creativity. No longer can people use the argument that the arts programs will only benefit people who are "artists" or who want to be "artists". How can anyone know what he or she wants to become if they have never had the privilege to be exposed to it?

Then it comes down to it why is the majority of art (theatrical productions, art galleries/shows, music concerts, etc) in America for the elite? Why is art usually so expensive and why aren’t there more programs helping to make it available for all? This is an issue in our society and many parts of the world. It creates an unfair class system in more ways than one. I want to walk into the theater where I am not the only young person, or one more white person to add to the 90 % already there and not just there because I studied theater and the arts. I want to walk into a theater with the diversity of a London audience - diverse in age, socio economic status, race, gender etc. Where theater is so much a part of their culture it is just as cheap to buy a cup of coffee, as it is to see good show. I want to walk into a school and see children’s imagination being sparked through theater, painting, writing or spoken word. Where you can see in their eyes that they may have discovered their life’s passion because someone thought they were privileged enough to share it with them.


Justin then asked me, "Whose problem is it?" And I responded, "Everyones." People in this world usually tend to think that because it is a problem that is not directly (or at least they think is not directly) affecting their lives then it is not their problem. This is the tragedy I feel and one of the reasons there are still so many problems in the world. Still so much hunger, poverty and little to no education in certain areas of the world but it’s "not their problem." Problems that the world, our governments, and particular individuals collectively have the money to help remedy but instead they turn the other cheek.

I truly believe that one of main purposes of why I was put on this earth was to help, nurture and inspire others. Whether it be to inspire and help them find their voices as artist’s or as people in general. To nurture, mentor and guide friends, family members and random strangers to grow and become the most prosperous people that they can become. No matter how poor or little one has, you always have enough to give, to aid and to help out your fellow man even if in the smallest way. Whether it be your time volunteering at the organization, giving a homeless person a little spare money or your leftovers on the street because you do have change (even if they do not really look like they need it), to be there for a friend in need or to donate a million dollars to a non profit. It is our problem. Everyone everywhere should have the opportunity to be exposed to the arts from a young age and throughout their life no matter their social economic status.

Martin Luther King Jr. once said "I have a dream" and it sparked so much change and passion in the world and it will forever continue to do so until there is no more world left to affect. One line that encourages people to know that the sky is the limit when it comes to your life.To the basic rights that you deserve as humans on this earth. To the dreams you wish to accomplish. To the world you want – you dream to see.

I want to see a world where this class system with the arts is everyone’s problem. I want to see a world where every world problem is everyone’s problem. And the sooner everyone sees that it’s their problem and not someone elses the sooner we can start to change it collectively as a human race.

PREACH! I’m sure some of you are thinking. HA! I’m stepping off my soapbox and back onto the street with everyone else but I never stop believing this to be true and something that I will continue to fight to be remedied throughout the rest of my life.