So much in such little time.

3 weeks down in LA.

I'm realizing that with this blog I never was a creative writer, but more just a writer because it's what got me through college. But, alas, here I go again!

I found a single grey hair 2 days ago. Please Lord let this not be foretelling of anything that is to come.

First off I have had to learn how to navigate LA freeways quickly. Note to self: when in rush hour traffic, LA drivers get mad when you stop at a red light. I thought it was a law, perhaps one that is mean to be bent at 8 am on a Monday morning. (Don't worry mom, I am still following the rules.)

Experienced my first earthquake. It was mini, and more fun than scary. It mostly felt like a big wave had come under the dock where I was eating. (breathe deep mom.)

I am settling in beautifully to my new job. My bosses absolutely spoil me, and are some of the greatest women to learn from. I am SO thankful! [insert Annie's " I think I'm gonna like it here"]

Flowers from my bosses on my first day!

Two weekends ago I was flown up to Washington to help out with a benefit concert for Haiti. I stayed with a wonderful family who really treated me like one of their own. After my first week in LA it was nice to have a deep breathe of some good clean NW air! Not only that, but my mom and grandma drove up for the concert, and surprised me with a cute little package named Jamie Rae! I was needing a good BF hug. And I cried. And it was wonderful.

Sweet Jamie Rae

The concert went great, and I was super thankful to be a part of a great cause.

Rock star status.

The next weekend was Easter, and my brother Dan came up to lead worship with me and our friend at Malibu Presbyterian. It was so fun to have him around for the weekend, and we ended up getting to stay in a beautiful guest house in Malibu. Not too shabby. :) Easter service was awesome, and I was so thankful that even though I've only been down here for a few weeks that I have opportunity to do what I love. Sing.

Happy Easter!

Later on Easter day a friend in LA offered her guest house to me for as long as I need it. I am SO excited to cut my commute down and hopefully be living where I can meet more people, and get in the swing of things a little more. I honestly feel like the Lord is just rolling out the red carpet for me down here.

And now I'm sitting in Carlsbad sweet Carlsbad. Heart is happy.

No job, no place to live, and a whole lot of peace.

Ok, I'm officially giving in to the bl(ah)gness. I figure this is a good way for me to keep people in the loop of my life, and give me a little creative outlet. After all, I wrote pages and pages of papers primarily during my college years, and I think I'm getting a little lazy. So, here goes nothin'!

I started my adventure down south on March 9th. I made a quick pit-stop in Medford, to hug my sweet friend Aubrie Elaine. I wish it could have been longer, but it was great to stretch my legs for a second, top off my tank before I had to pump my own gas (groan) and most importantly fill my love tank a little bit with the sight of a dear friend (somebody pass the cheese-wiz). Seriously, thought it was great!

Second stop, Pleasant Hill, California! I stopped to stay with my friend Nicci who I met on American Idol, and stayed with her family there.

On my way down to Pleasant Hill, I got an email from my friend Chrissy informing me that a position had opened up at Conde Nast, being the Assistant for the Los Angeles directors of advertising for Glamour and Details magazines. It had been a little bit of an evolution from a ball that started rolling back in February, but basically I was praying that this position would open up. So, I had an interview I had to get to in Los Angeles by 3:30 on Thursday! God thing? I think yes.

Wednesday, Nicci and I ventured into San Fransisco, and met up with my friend Drew from Portland. We didn't know exactly how the day was going to evolve, but we ended up crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, and having lunch on the water looking back onto the city. It was a beautiful day!

We ended the night with seeing Alice in Wonderland- SO. AMAZING. I seriously had to manually close my jaw halfway through the movie after I realized it had been open the entire time.

The next day I got up at 6am, got ready, and headed down to LA. I made it just in time to get a little caffeine in my body, and change for my interview in the car. Ok, yes, I could have taken my clothes into Starbucks and change in a bathroom like a respectable human being, but, I felt like adding to how "hardcore" my day was (driving for 6 hours to make an interview in downtown LA) by changing in the car. Silly, but I went with it.

My interview went well, and I headed off to Malibu for worship practice at my friend's church there. To put the cherry on top of my day, I then decided to drive 2 more hours south to my sisters place in Carlsbad. My sister had a hug, and a glass of wine waiting for me, so it was all worth it.

whew. I'm exhausted thinking about that day again. catching my breath. ok, continue.

I spent the next couple days in Carlsbad, mostly catching up on my breathing, and soakin' in some sister time.

Sunday, we all got up super early and drove up to Malibu, where I was helping lead worship at Malibu Presbyterian. We had a great morning, and then got to play in Malibu for a while. It was a long day, but it ended with a ridiculous sunset!(As seen above. Yes, I am obsessed with turning all my pictures into polaroids.) Despite how tired we all were, it was all worth it.

Tuesday, DISNEYLAND! My friend Jered got my sister and I extra tickets, so we got to go for free! Such a blessing! So, as if going to Disneyland isn't excitement enough, just as I was about to enter the park, I got a call from the HR director at Conde Nast telling me I GOT THE JOB!!! Since I was at Disneyland, my happy dance blended in well with my surroundings, and the news definitely added to the magic of the place.

Today marks week 1 of California.

• Drove 17 hours by myself. *pat myself on the back*
• Pumped my own gas. (As an Oregonian, I never thought I would feel such a sense of accomplishment by this little task)
• Saw lots of friends along the way.
• Got a job.
• Went to Disneyland.
• Still got my peace.

I feel so confirmed that this is where I am supposed to be right now. The Lord is still opening those doors for me, and I'm still having faith for the other details.

You may or may not have seen the “Thank You” photo album that I posted this morning – just in case you missed it:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=147438&id=258640639682

In some ways, I am just getting started with saying, “Thank you”. So much about this entire process is getting the right people on the bus. I literally could not have gone on this American Idol leap of faith without the help of some amazing people.

So here are some “shout outs” and stories…J

Name: Barb Burge

Role: Life Coach from HEAVEN

Story: So, at first I was a little resistant to the thought of a life coach, partially because I was already feeling overwhelmed and I thought, “why do I want to have meetings with someone where I will just cry the entire time, because I’m so stressed out?” Also, because I wasn’t sure exactly what a life coach was, I was a bit apprehensive as to how that would impact things.

Barb and I started meeting/talking about 6 weeks before I left for Hollywood week. She really helped me strategize regarding my schedule, and helped me prioritize my life. Getting ready for this competition I had two options; I was either going to rise to the challenge, or go in knowing I was overwhelmed and just do my best. She helped me put together a mission statement partially for Hollywood week and partially for my life. Want to hear it? I thought you might. J

Mission Statement: To intentionally refine my character and talent in order to make a meaningful impact through the performing arts. To continually claim the joy in the experience, and take what is constructive in the criticism and release what’s not. To be obedient to the purpose He has called me to.

I’m still clinging on to that!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Barb!! Your help was so vital in this process!

http://www.lifeintentionally.com/

Name: Valerie Day

Role: Kick ass Vocal Coach

Story: I met Valerie initially through Elizabeth Day (now Mansell) who I went to elementary school with. I knew she was a veteran of the music industry and I was SO excited that she was able to squeeze me into her schedule. She helped me choose my initial accapella audition song, as well as give me tools to help me refine my instrument. So was so warm right off the bat, and super easy to work with! If anyone ever needs a vocal coach, look her up!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Valerie!!!

http://www.valeriedaysings.com/

And of course I have to say thank you to all my choir teachers and drama/theater teachers whose influence and belief in me gave me cause to reflect that just maybe I could be part of something much, much bigger than myself:

Russ Christensen, Wendy Kivett, Tara Lee, Kari Anderson

Thanks too to all of my fellow musicians who have jammed with me, played and sung with me and loved me in the process:

Chapel band families

Mark and Erin Benjamin

Framework friends

(And honestly so many others – you know who you are!)

And of course THANK YOU to everyone who has taken an interest in this page. I went into the music page concept with great resistance – after all, it does make you think things like, “what if no one wants to join?” “What if only 10 people join?” (well, I have more than 10 members in my family so I figured that I would at least have a dozen or so folks who care). And, how weird it is to have “fans?” Still not used to that one…

And yet, one of things that I’ve seen is how much you can be encouraged by people who know you and even people you’ve never met – just for taking some risks and trying to “Carpe Diem”.

You already know that I love my family – so thanks again to my parents, and grandparents and aunties and uncles and cousins and, and…. I feel like a star when I’m with you!

Thank you to all my friends, near and far! I love, love, love all of you!!

And of course, thank you to those who prayed for me and really carried me through all the insanity of the last seven months… living out my faith in a whole new arena was fun and caused me to grow in new ways I never expected. I couldn’t have done it without all of you!

Sorry this was so long! Seriously, I should have gotten the, “you’re done, we’re going to a commercial break” music after the first paragraph.

So, I was talking with my mom, late one evening this last summer. We were contemplating things such as life, love and other mysteries (as usual). I told her that lately more people had been talking to me about seriously considering auditioning for American Idol. I had shrugged it off, as usual, not thinking it would be realistic. Anyone else out there ever talked themselves out of things that could be risky? My mom suggested that we do a little research just to see what the logistics would be. She called me a little bit later and said, “Good news and bad news. The good news is that there is one audition city left for this season! The bad news is that you have to be on a plane to Denver first thing in the morning as tomorrow is the last day of registration for the Denver auditions.” I was completely exhausted from a long week and weekend, and decided there was no way I could make it happen – not at this short notice, not to mention that I hadn’t even discussed the crazy idea with my boss! So I went to sleep without really a second thought.

The next morning I woke up wondering if I would totally kick myself if I didn’t at least explore the possibility… at least ask, right?! My roommate, and best friend, Jamie Rae, had promised me 5 years ago that if I ever decided to go she would drop everything and go with me. As she walked out of her room to go to work , I said, “ Jamie, guess what? I almost flew to Colorado this morning to audition for American Idol.”
She said, “ Why didn’t you?” I told her it was because I wanted her to come with me. She smiled and said, “ Well I guess we’d better go talk to Mark.” (Our boss)
I hurried and got ready for work so we could go talk with him. As I walked through the office door Mark said, “Bachran (laughing) what the heck is up?”
“Um…I maybe want to fly to Colorado and audition for American Idol?” I smiled, and we all three looked at each other and laughed. And because he’s the best boss in the world, and an amazing musician, he said, “ Well, I’m sure not going to say no. Get out of here!”
Jamie and I looked at each other and started making calls to book flights, and try to find a ride from the Denver airport to the Invesco (sp) Stadium. We left the office at 8:45, ran home, packed in 10 minutes, and were at the airport by 9:45. And by the grace of God we made it on the 11 am flight – even though we were on last-minute stand-by.

The audition process is long and drawn out. And while I can’t divulge all of the details of how the process works, trust me when I say it is a long one, involving several layers of auditions. For example we were in the stadium, in the blazing heat, waiting for 12 hours before I had a chance to sing for the once-in-a-lifetime chance of actually going to Hollywood!

After I sang Adele’s “Right as Rain.”
Randy said: “Yo dawg, you got a little something I like to call po-tential”

Kara said: “ I can tell you are just super genuine, that you are exactly who you are inside this room as you are outside.” (This was my biggest prayer the whole day that I would be able to go into that room and just be myself- probably the best compliment I could receive.)
Simon said: “ I like you, I’m not jumping out of my chair excited about you, but I like you.” (I’ll take that!)

Victoria said: “ You have such a nice aura about you.” (um, ok, I’ll take that too!)

4 Yeses and - I’M GOING TO HOLLYWOOD, BABY!