Cougar Town with Courtney Cox

Hi, I hope this finds you well! 

I'm posting to tell you about a super fun experience I had recently! On May 25, I played 'Lisa' in an episode of ABC's "Cougar Town" opposite Courtney Cox. 

It was one of those lucky things. The casting director, a friend of mine, called me last minute to come down to the audition. He knew I'd acted in a bunch of independent films, and said I should come try out for the role. I did. Days passed, and I thought that there was no way I got it. Then I was getting my hair cut, my phone rang and I saw that the caller was from the L.A. area code. I answered, and just about fainted when they told me I got the part. I freaked.

But then suddenly I was nervous. What if I couldn't do it? What if I freaked out acting opposite a big star? Seriously! What if I lost my ability to speak?? 

A few days later, even more nervous now, I drove to the set. It was up on Oahu's North Shore at Turtle Bay resort. They directed me to my trailer to change. Yes, I had a trailer! :) I felt so cool. Of course, it's hard to enjoy all that when you're sweating bullets. I went to hair and makeup, and they made me feel at home and pampered. The day was long. They called us to the set several times, but then changed their minds as shooting was going slowly on the other scenes. Finally our scene came up.

On set, Courtney was extremely professional and nice. I immediately forgot my nerves, which was great, and was somehow magically able to focus on the task at hand. We were all in the water, and it was a lot of fun. I got the feeling the whole crew was enjoying being away from the studio and on a mini-work-vacation in Hawaii.

What was crazy was the amount of paparazzi. Photographers had rented the hotel rooms looking over the pool, and were leaning out every window with huge camera lenses. On set, PA's held up umbrellas to block the flashbulbs from ruining the takes.

The episode was the show's season finale. Entertainment Weekly ran a small bit about it. I couldn't believe it when I saw my picture there, credited and everything! 

An excellent time all around. 

SURFBOARDS DEMYSTIFIED!

What exactly is the difference between all those boards in the surf shop? What kind should I ride? And do I seriously need to know what a stringer is?

It's time to demystify this once and for all!

The Funboard: 

A Funboard is also sometimes called an Egg. As a beginner, this may be your best bet. I believe it is. It’s what I learned on when I started out. Not only are they fun boards to surf (thus the name), and less challenging than other boards, they can also be a great stepping stone. 

A fun board is thick, so it floats well. It is wide in the middle for balance, it’s around 8 feet long and is shaped like an elongated egg. If you decide that you want to move to a short board, it is easy to do so from a funboard. It is much harder to go from a long board to a shortboard. The other great thing about a fun board is that it’s much less threatening than a longboard size wise. You can carry it, it doesn’t have as much momentum in the water, it can be easier to control both for turns and to be able to sense the water dynamics as your riding.

The Shortboard:

Shortboards range in length from 5 feet to around 8 feet or so. They have a pointed nose and various tail shapes. Within the short board realm, there are various forms–the fish, the gun etc.

The reason they’re not recommended for your first day out is that they sink easily, and they require more power to paddle. No question, they are harder to learn on.

However, shortboards are extremely fun and rewarding to ride once mastered!

They are by far my preferred choice. Shortboards provide riders with endless possibilities for tricks--from tight turns to aerials and endless fast maneuvers. Shortboards are the racecars of the surfing world.

Another plus is that they’re easy to carry around, and they can fit in the passenger seat of your car—with a seatbelt on for good measure. How cool is that?

The Longboard:

Longboards range in length from around 9 feet to 12 feet. They can be made of fiberglass, which is hard and probably the most preferred if you plan to surf it a lot. They can also be made of foam, which is great for learning on. However, in the long run a foam board is hard to surf on as you progress. It’s too soft to execute sharp turns and maneuvers. But it doesn’t hurt when you fall on it. A third form is hard plastic. A fourth is epoxy.

A longboard can be good for building confidence and the ability to stand up. You may decide longboard style is the way you want to go permanently. Some tricks that you can do on a longboard, which you cannot do on a short board, are hanging 10, walking the board, tandem surfing, riding a surfboard with your dog, being able to ride in the smallest conditions, laid-back surfing stuff.

Specialty Boards:

Specialty boards include the extremely long Rhino Chaser for big wave surfing, some special tow-in boards that have foot straps, etc.

The Rhino Chaser:

The Tow-in Board:

We'll get to the stringer some other day. In the meantime, I hope this helps next time you decide to try out a board. 

Happy Surfing!