The Feed

Sometimes all I want is buttered noodles. Nothing fancy, nothing elevated, just warm pasta, butter, and a little cheese. It’s simple, comforting, and somehow exactly what I need. #LiveYourDream #CreativeHealing #ThisIsMyStory #Theater #Musicals #ToxicPeople #StrippedAMemior #MentalHealthMatters #FromStageToPage #HealingThroughArt #VulnerablyBold #Depression #Manipulation #Bipolar #BreakingTheStigma #TheaterAndTherapy

Beaches the Musical just started previews on Broadway and I would love to go see it. It makes me cry every single time, and I love all the songs. I even liked the Beaches remake. Something about that story just always gets me. #LiveYourDream #CreativeHealing #ThisIsMyStory #Theater #Musicals #ToxicPeople #StrippedAMemior #MentalHealthMatters #FromStageToPage #HealingThroughArt #VulnerablyBold #Depression #Manipulation #Bipolar #BreakingTheStigma #TheaterAndTherapy

I was just listening to Lala Kent on a podcast with Danielle Fishell talking about how she no longer speaks to her dad’s side of the family, and my first thought was that’s crazy. But then it hit me. I don’t either. And I haven’t for over 4 years now. And although so of them were my own choosing…they all revolve around my Dad. I’m reminded of something my Aunt Lee (whom I also don’t speak to ) told me a long time ago. She tried to explain why my father is the way he is.

Listening to the Pod Meets World and they had Brian Austin Green on. He was talking about why he uses his middle name, and it turns out he made up “Austin” because he didn’t have one and needed it to join SAG, since no two actors can have the same name. It made me laugh because I had a similar experience. When I joined SAG, I started going by Erik Mario Austin. Mario is my real middle name, but “Austin” was made up, my friend Kristin actually came up with it. At the time, my

Lately I’ve been feeling like maybe the best years of my life are behind me, and that thought hits harder than I want it to. It’s a strange kind of sadness, trying to look ahead and not quite seeing anything as clearly as I used to. I know that’s probably not the full story, but right now, the future just feels a little harder to picture. #LiveYourDream #CreativeHealing #ThisIsMyStory #Theater #Musicals #ToxicPeople #StrippedAMemior #MentalHealthMatters #FromStageToPage #Heal

I was planning to go to the “No Kings” march yesterday with my mom in downtown San Diego, but she ended up deciding to attend a smaller local one instead. I dropped her off and, less than an hour later, picked her back up. There were marches happening all over, and it felt like the world was paying attention, even just for a moment. I really hope that kind of collective energy does something to shift the craziness we’re all living through right now. But if I’m being honest, I

So I watched the Hannah Montana 20th anniversary special and tell me why I’m suddenly emotional?? 😭 I wasn’t even obsessed with the show. Like how did something about a wig and a double life reach in and pull out feelings I didn’t even realize I was holding onto? And it’s not helping that The Climb keeps randomly coming on the radio lately… like excuse me?? Of all songs?? It feels personal at this point. Because suddenly it’s not just a song, it’s every version of me that th

I was thinking about the last two weeks and honestly, Sheila was kind of an unexpectedly great therapist for me. Maybe even more than my actual therapist in some ways. There’s something about having someone you can just talk things out with, bounce ideas off of, and have them relate it back to their own life that makes it all feel more real and less clinical. It also made me realize how much I miss actually talking with a friend like that. Real conversations, not just surface

My mom just got back from Hawaii and brought my nephews these metal “bullet” water bottles from Pearl Harbor… and I swear, why does my brain immediately assume they belong in a completely different kind of adult store? Oh, where my mind goes. #LiveYourDream #CreativeHealing #ThisIsMyStory #Theater #Musicals #ToxicPeople #StrippedAMemior #MentalHealthMatters #FromStageToPage #HealingThroughArt #VulnerablyBold #Depression #Manipulation #Bipolar #BreakingTheStigma #TheaterAndThe

Lately I’ve been struggling with my faith in humanity. It feels like selfishness and cruelty are louder than kindness, and empathy has become conditional instead of natural. I know good people exist, but sometimes the noise of negativity makes it hard to see them. I don’t want to be cynical, I just wish basic decency felt more normal instead of surprising. #LiveYourDream #CreativeHealing #ThisIsMyStory #Theater #Musicals #ToxicPeople #StrippedAMemior #MentalHealthMatters #Fro

Sometimes I genuinely forget I even have tattoos. They’ve just become skin. At this point in life, tattoos don’t seem like a big deal because literally everyone has them. But then you’re filling out an application for something and suddenly you remember that to some people this still means something. To some industries it is still a thing, still a conversation, still a judgment. It’s wild how something that feels so ordinary to you can still read as risky, edgy, or unpolished

Watching Beetlejuice this morning because I’m doing merch for the touring musical next week and realized I barely remember the story and have never seen the stage version. Can’t believe it’s from 1988! Doing a little refresher and honestly, I can’t wait. Seeing the young Catherine O’Hara, who just passed, made me a little sad—she was such a brilliant actress. #LiveYourDream #CreativeHealing #ThisIsMyStory #Theater #Musicals #ToxicPeople #StrippedAMemior #MentalHealthMatters #

I just finished watching Painkiller on Netflix, and it really messed with me. I didn’t realize how many people oxy has killed or how OxyContin was marketed as safe and non-addictive while the risks were completely downplayed. Even crazier, I started thinking about the last year of my grandma’s life. We were giving her little “squirts” of oxy for pain, and now I realize we were basically giving her medical grade heroin and calling it comfort. No wonder she felt good, and no wo

The last time I saw my father, I was living in the apartment I had built in his garage…not metaphorically, but literally carving out a small space for myself because I refused to be his caretaker anymore. I needed boundaries, walls, a place where I wasn’t on call every second for someone who couldn’t see what it was costing me. I made a tiny world in a space never meant to hold one, just trying to survive. One day the garage door opened, and there I was standing in the life I

I just watched Song Sung Blue on Peacock with my mom and I give it a 10. It’s way more emotional than I expected, so get ready. The performances are so good, and I loved the Chicago accents! . Definitely worth the watch. #LiveYourDream #CreativeHealing #ThisIsMyStory #Theater #Musicals #ToxicPeople #StrippedAMemior #MentalHealthMatters #FromStageToPage #HealingThroughArt #VulnerablyBold #Depression #Manipulation #Bipolar #BreakingTheStigma #TheaterAndTherapy

It absolutely poured most of the day yesterday, and California is just not built for that kind of rain. Everything floods so fast. I saw it all over Instagram,cars stalled out, people posting videos of the downpour, and then I walked into my own garage and realized I was dealing with it too. The last time this happened it damaged a lot of my old theater posters that I’ve had for years. They’re priceless to me because they were all signed. Three were completely ruined, which s

Garbage day is Friday, and they usually roll through around 3pm. Yesterday afternoon on Saturday I walked out to my car and my neighbor called me over, pointing dramatically at the ONE trash can still sitting by the curb. I had already taken the recycling one in that had been picked up earlier, and she was informing me that it “needed to be taken in.” This isn’t the first time either. She once literally left a note taped to the can. I rolled my eyes, said “I don’t care,” smil