The Five-0 Experience 05/31/2011
Wow! Do I need to catch up! I feel like I’ve dropped off the face of the planet for several months. But I’m empowered, and I’m back with a whole new outlook and so many more things to fill you all in on! But first, I’ve been meaning to write a blog about my Five-0 Experience for a while now.  Photo Credit CBS Hawaii Five-0 As some of you know, I got the amazing chance to work as an extra on the set of the Lifetime series Army Wives while we were stationed in Charleston, SC. Army Wives was a dream come true to me. It was a show I already loved- and it became very nearly a part time job to me, which I worked nearly every week.  One of my Hump Bar days on the Army Wives set I was usually either an Army wife or waitress at the Hump Bar, but even got to be a soldier once and participated in a classic 1940’s episode where I wore crazy wigs and lots of red lipstick. I got to meet some of my favorite stars, hear the nitty gritty details of behind-the-set gossip, and made some amazing friends!  Army Wives 1940's episode, Season 3- Me on the right- Wigging out & not so blonde! I was unfortunately too late arriving in Hawaii to be part of the LOST TV show. That would have simply been an unforgettable experience. But I was just in time to become part of the Hawaii Five-0 family.  Sunset on the Beach premiere of Hawaii Five-0! Hawaii Five-0 was being remade into a new television series, and I was lucky enough to hear about the casting call early on. My first episode acting as an extra was episode 5. The week after the filming of that episode was the series premiere of the show on CBS. I went with a fellow extra, Sabrina, to the Sunset on the Beach premiere in Waikiki- a screening of the premiere on a blow-up screen on the beach with many of the stars of the show walking a red carpet.  It was a real red carpet event...only it was on the beach Several more times I was fortunate enough to appear as an extra on the TV show. My favorite scene I was in to date was an amazingly fun episode about a group of college kids who were kidnapped by pirates while on spring break. The casting department contacted me about appearing in the scene and told me, much to my delight, that I could pass as a 21-year-old college student. Woot! I started off the morning at Tiki’s Grill- one of my favorite restaurants in Waikiki, ironically enough. Tiki’s was disguised as “Storm” nightclub. Along with a bunch of other bikini and swimsuit-clad “college students,” I was given glass after glass of pink-tinted, fruit-filled Sprite or non-alcoholic beer and given the directions to “get crazy.” Easier said than done at 6am with absolutely no help from the sadly non-alcoholic beverages. However, the day ended up being a blast, as we all got into character pretending to be heavily intoxicated  That's me, hanging out by my lonesome at Tiki's...er, Storm! (Screenshot from Hawaii Five-0) I got an amazing (but slightly lonely) spot by myself at the end of the bar, right behind the two main characters Kono (played by Grace Park) and Chin (played by Daniel Dae Kim of LOST fame). I proceeded to spend the next two hours or so not-so-drunkenly dancing to music in my head and pretending to be a Woo girl (How I Met Your Mother, anyone?). Being the obsessive social media geek that I am, I was of course Tweeting between takes about my experience and about my thrill of standing oh-so-close to my beloved DDK (my petname for Daniel Dae Kim- yes, we’re that cool). Later that day, while awaiting further instructions for the next scene, I was lounging pool-side at the Aston Waikiki with some other bikini-clad extras. (I know, really tough job, isn’t it?) From across the pool I noticed DDK checking his phone and looking across the pool in the girl’s and my general direction. Within moments, Daniel Dae Kim/Jin/Chin was walking toward us. Unaware if he was a single guy or not, I thought, “He’s coming after the ladies, of course.” Never once thinking he might be approaching me. Until he was standing by my chaise lounge hovering almost over me. Oh my!  "Oh, hello there. I'm DDK. I've been waiting for you all my life." Okay...maybe he didn't really say that. :/ “Hi,” he began. Talking to me. Holy crap. “Are you ‘Blonde at the Beach’ on Twitter?” he continued. Wait….what? He was referring to my Twitter handle! These words ran through my head several thousands of times for a few seconds before I realized. Duh. I tweeted about DDK. When I said I was behind him in the scene. Also, I was the only blonde there. And also, Wow! He reads his Tweets! “Yes!” I replied, still stunned. “I’m Daniel Dae Kim. Nice to meet you,” he said, shaking my hand. Wow. Just…Wow. Basically my favorite day on set to date. And that includes the day I got to sprint across a beach in Waikiki several times while dodging (fake) bullets while random streetgoer gentlemen kept trying to take my picture. Okay…nevermind. That was awkard.  That's me in the pink on the left dodging bullets...Hah! Hawaii Five-0 has continued to be a big part of my life and my experience here in Hawaii. My husband and I have become big fans of the show. In addition, I have gotten to meet some awesome people because of the show- both on and off set.  Me and another extra, Jolene on the beach/set Social media, especially Twitter, is a huge phenomenon in Hawaii. I can’t tell you how many awesome people I have met by this medium. Many because of the show. Every Monday night, Hawaii Five-0, or #H50 as it’s shortened to on Twitter, is a trending topic as social-media-obsessed people like me watch the show and Tweet about it. Locals point out the many shoot locations I would never be able to guess and we all crack jokes about the lines and take our best guesses at the whodunnits. Going beyond Twitter though, I have actually gotten to meet several of these awesome Tweeters IRL (in real life).  #H50 TweetUp! Honolulu Star-Advertiser photo by FL Morris copyright © 2011 FL Morris, Mililani, Hawaii Recently, I attended my first ever Tweet-Up, a get-together for Tweeting Hawaii Five-0 fans at local Big City Diner in Honolulu. (Great blog about the event here! The Five-0 Redux.) It was so awesome to finally put some faces to the Twitter handles! And it’s nice meeting people who know their stuff when it comes to Hawaii. I can put up any random Hawaii question- “Where’s a fun place to go on a Friday night in downtown Honolulu with live music?” –and get a response within seconds from one of these amazing people. I recently attended the Hawaii Five-0 season finale at Apartment3 in Honolulu. It was great to celebrate such an awesome season of a great show, which really showcases what a gorgeous island on which I’m lucky enough to live.  Hawaii Five-0 Finale at Apartment3, with friends Brian and Wendie Star-Advertiser photo by Brian T-Seng copyright © 2011 Brian T-Seng Whether you watch the show to take a drink every time a character says the word “Haole” or “Did you learn that in Seal school?”; or if you just live vicariously through observing the gorgeous sunsets and lush greenery of Oahu, Hawaii Five-0 is an amazingly fun show to watch and an even more incredible experience with which to be involved. I know I’m looking forward with much anticipation to Season Two. :) PS. Check out this amazing Hawaii Five-0 blog called the Five-0 Redux my Twitter friend Wendie writes! This blog post is called "Being Blonde at the Beach" and is actually about me and what it's like to be an extra! Wow, thank you, Wendie!  2 Comments Run to Honor 02/06/2011
If you run or enjoy doing various walks and runs like my husband and me, you may be looking for a favorite shirt to wear while participating. I saw this picture on the Naval Academy Alumni magazine recently and fell in love with the shirt in the picture. It's the perfect thing to wear to show your appreciation, running to support all those who serve.  Photo from Run to Honor: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?profile=1&id=161797587203104#!/runtohonor I emailed the organization that puts on the run that had these shirts to find out how I could get one. They must have had a lot of other people also email them because they are now placing special orders for the shirts- for the regular black shirt by Under Armour as well as a special green version for St. Patrick's Day. Run to Honor is a great organization. They just started a fan page on Facebook. Like them to show your support and to keep updated on their upcoming events if you are in the DC area. You can order a shirt for yourself here, but only until February 14th so hurry! Note on Sizing: In case you need a size chart, I found the men's here and the women's here. Just click on the "Sizing" located near the sizes on the page. Hard to top the original Blonde at the Beach 10/07/2009
This week has been awesome. We had the concert this past weekend in VA beach and since this is Nick's last week of work here, he has been getting off super early every day. I was off work today and Nick was out by 10 so we had a great day together. Got to go the dogpark with Maggie and have pretty much been watching TV, napping, or eating while watching TV all evening. The epitome of laziness. Love it. I even got him to watch an episode of Glee with me and he didn't mind it. Hahh. The vet called Monday to let me know Maggie passed her blood test. So now I just have to book a flight to Hawaii. Nick doesn't have his flight yet since the Navy schedules it and I guess tells him sometime right before. Ahhhh Navy and your planning. We have a wedding to go to on Jan 30th in Maryland and he has to report for duty by Feb 10th. I would like him to be there before me...especially since I won't have a car when I get there and all. So I guess I'm going to shoot for as close to Feb 10th as possible. I would like to be there by Valentines Day though. Maryland is coming up rapidly. I'm trying to plan in all my last minute Charleston stuff now. I emailed the girls I hung out with on Army Wives so I hope to get together with them sometime soon before I leave. I also really want to have a going away thing at bar around here. Nothing big. Just a time to come out and have drinks- probably the Sunday before we leave so I can see everyone and hang out a last time. I'm so excited to be coming back to Baltimore for Halloween. I LOVE Halloween. My parents used to be uber religious when I was little..my dad mainly. I wasn't allowed to dress up for Halloween because my dad considered it the devil's holiday. I think I dressed up once when I was 4 or 5 and walked around a mall. But when my parents got divorced when I was about 12 I started dressing up every year. Not actually trick or treating, but dressing up to hand out candy. And of course when you hit college age, you realize Halloween is the best time to dress up and bar hop. Gradually I have been going to more and more things each year and of course I have to do a different costume every time. Last year I had I think four different costumes, the year before was five. I may only have one this year but I'm pretty happy with it. I won't tell you what it is yet though...I always try to keep it on the down low. Last year was my favorite costume so far. On actual Halloween night in Baltimore last year (the week before I moved to Charleston) I went to Fells Point. Fells is an area downtown which is basically a huge court with lots of bars all along the street. They close it off to cars for Halloween and everyone you know ends up coming and bar hopping. There's even a costume contest in the middle of the square. Last year I went as the original Blonde at the Beach- Pam Anderson from Baywatch. I bought a red bathing suit and found an actual movie set Baywatch patch to iron onto my suit. I did my makeup like Pam. I wore blonde hair extensions. I cut apart two Tide bottles and taped and spraypainted them together to form a life raft. And I ran in slow motion for 3 1/2 hours. It was such a blast. I felt like a celebrity because people kept asking to get their pictures taken with me. I ended up being on the local newspaper's website and even made it onto Youtube (See below). I don't think my costume this year will be nearly as amazing. Plus I will probably only have that night to dress up since we'll be packing and moving and cleaning all week. But I'm really excited because it's my first Halloween with Nick. Last year he was already in Charleston and came back the next weekend to come get me and help me move down with him. We met the year before in December so we missed Halloween. Since he has to go to Connecticut he is going to leave with me and follow me up to Baltimore the day before Halloween. So he is going to be with me on Halloween and leave the next day to continue his trip to Connecticut. Not only are we going to be together on Halloween but we're also going to do a couples costume. I've never done that before! Super excited. I will definitely keep you posted. I'm looking forward to spending this month with Nick (he will be on leave starting next week) before I have to go without him for 3 months while he is in Connecticut. :( Then Hawaii is right around the corner! It'll be sneaking up before you know it. Geez, wonder what they do for Halloween in Hawaii. Announced! 09/20/2009
My sister called me back last night and I was able to tell her the good news. She wasn't as upset as I thought she'd be. Actually my mom was way worse. My sister was actually really excited that I'd be moving back to Baltimore for the three months before the big move to Hawaii. I see Baltimore Ravens games and maybe a bus trip to NY in my future before I leave Baltimore( courtesy of my big sis)! So I was able to put up an announcement on my facebook last night about the big move. One of my former managers of a restaurant I worked for in Baltimore actually worked for the same chain in Honolulu last year so she said she can put a word in for me when I get close to moving. :) Now I'm working on setting up a job for the time I'll be back in Baltimore. But in other news- a TV show I have been honored to be involved with and have worked part time as an extra on ALL season has a really cool episode coming on tonight that I cannot WAIT to see. Army Wives is filmed and set here in Charleston. I was in I believe 6 or 7 episodes this season. But tonight was a special flashback to the 1940's in which they had us in full hair and makeup. I wasn't so blonde! Super excited to how all the hard work came together (I had two days in a row- one we went in at 4 am and worked 17 hours and the next day came in at 9am and it was another 15 hour day..a LOT of work!) Too bad Lost is finishing up their show- apparently they film on O'ahu- That would have been a pretty cool show to switch to. Too bad! Army Wives airs Sundays on Lifetime @ 10pm EST. :)  Army Wives in the 1940's (me on the right- Not so blonde!) | BEACH BLOG
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