Fall is Here

It's been a few weeks since I've had a chance to write. In fact, it is a new month and almost a new season. It sure feels like it here in Hermosa, anyway! It's amazing how different the weather can be around Los Angeles. A 65 degree, overcast morning in Hermosa Beach can turn into 80 and sunny in Beverly Hills. It is really nice to get into the city sometimes. Not only the climate, but the terrain and general 'vibe' are quite a bit different. We took Molly (my brother's basset hound) to Runyan Canyon yesterday in Hollywood. It's a beautiful mountainous walk above and through a canyon that overlooks the city. In movies, when you see characters going on hikes or actors in US Weekly, this is usually where they are. It is a great workout and the view is pretty inspirational. Fall doesn't seem to have hit Runyan yet though because it was sooooo hot!

Surgery

Surgery for my sinuses went well. Pretty congested today and will be for a few days.

Personal Assistants

Who knew there was a group called the Association of Celebrity Personal Assistants, also known as, ACPA? My first reaction was, "what for?" but after going to a meeting yesterday (no I've not taken on a new job) it was cool to see what exactly goes on in the lives of these professionals. I attended the meeting, poolside at the Luxe Hotel on Sunset no less, to help my boss promote our tennis company. Everyone was quite hush-hush about who they worked for but a few names were dropped and insight was provided as to what it takes to be a personal assistant. The main purpose of their monthly meetings is to bounce ideas around about ways to make life easier when dealing with celebrity-related issues. For example, which restaurants do the best job of keeping paparazzi away? Is there a company that can help us with lavish party planning? It's also an opportunity to tell and compare stories. Now why was Ojakian Tennis asked to attend? We offer (and currently give) lessons to celebrities and high rollers, so this group of personal assistants to celebrities and high rollers was exactly our market. The planning and errand-running were just part of it and hopefully we added 'tennis lesson scheduler' to their list of tasks!

Another day at the Office...I mean Panera

I'm sitting at a Panera in Marina del Rey with my computer, paperwork and a few books. It's time to start the off-court work to increase the on-court. Since we just opened the Ritz-Carlton to tennis lessons, we now have to get the word out. Easier said than done I'm finding. I can't wait until our classes are jam-packed and there's a waiting list to get in them, but to be honest, I'm enjoying the process of looking for clients. I find business to be really intriguing and I'm having fun thinking from a business point of view. It's a challenge to find new ways to market and continually reassess the product and make it better, but I'm having fun with it. In fact, I like the challenge. My main focus right now is the kids program. Hopefully my experience in teaching in Georgia will help me out! I'm currently putting together proposals to give to principals at private schools in the area. We've met with local parents and are looking for ways to partner with schools and bring tennis to kids in the area. I'm confident we'll have a full junior program up and running by Christmas. Hopefully we'll be hiring by next summer and I have a few people in mind!

Oh those Allergies

If you knew me in Atlanta (or saw me at all the last three years) you probably couldn't find me without Kleenex in hand. I was severely allergic to something down there in Georgia and being in a constant state of allergic reaction triggered polyps to develop throughout my sinuses. To break it down, I became severely stuffed up. Anyway, this stuff doesn't just go away and I've decided to have surgery before the end of the month. Not looking forward to the surgery but for sure looking forward to feeling better!

On a more fun note, I met Tracy Austin yesterday! She co-chairs the celebrity Pro-Am tennis tournament that Ojakian Tennis hosts in November.

Shout out to Trip Elementary- first week is almost done!

Back from the East Coast

Hey everyone! It's been a while since I last wrote. I travelled east to go to a couple weddings and to make a trip back home to Toronto but I'm now back in Hermosa!

Two friends from Ohio State got married the last few weeks. The first wedding was in New Jersey for a college tennis teammate of mine, Sadhaf Pervez. Her family is from Pakistan so it was really cool to see how her wedding weekend was celebrated! See my facebook page for pictures! I went to Toronto for just a few days in between weddings but it was plenty of time to see family and some friends. The next wedding was in Cleveland for my sophomore year college roommate and Ohio State soccer player, Jen Heaney. Both weddings were a ton of fun and let's just say I am looking forward to catching up on some sleep this coming weekend.

Before I left, we (Ojakian Tennis) shot a fitness segment for ABC and it finally aired! Here's the link:

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=7603782&syndicate=syndicate§ion

It was a great few weeks seeing everyone! Please come visit!!!!

Not Just Any Tennis Job

Well, it's been a fun few days! We had our Grand Opening at the Ritz Carlton in Marina del Rey and had a great turnout. Hopefully, the city now knows we're there and will start coming to more and more lessons!

I knew when I was hired at Ojakian Tennis I knew I'd get to do some cool stuff. So far, in two short months, it's lived up to the hype! If you've seen my facebook pictures, you'll know that we shot a fitness segment for the Los Angeles ABC morning show. They wanted to feature Cardio Tennis (yes, that thing I keep talking about!) to show was a great workout it is. We went to a private home in Studio City at 8:30 this morning and ran through a pretty typical Cardio class. The celebrity participant was a girl named Kendra but I'd never heard of her. She was REALLY cool. Super upbeat and the nicest girl you could meet. It turns out she had just completed her first movie, Step Up 3D, that dance one you've probably seen commercials for. When I got home, I Googled her to figure out her last name and, I thought this was pretty cool, she's ESPN reporter Erin Andrews' sister! For those that don't watch ESPN, Erin was on Dancing with the Stars this past season. Anyway, I can't say I was going to go see Step Up 3D for sure, but I will now because like I said, Kendra was great. I'm not sure when this Cardio Tennis class airs but it will be posted on ojakiantennis.com as soon as it does. It was fun to participate in the class with the four guys that are also pros for the company. I'm getting to know them better and they've been awesome. This morning show is great publicity for the company and hopefully it not only brings us new clients, but also introduces people to Cardio Tennis and gets them on the court!

Tomorrow I'm off to a cocktail hour/fundraising kickoff for the Ojakian MS charity, with Tracy Austin (former tennis pro) and then going to watch the night matches at the LA Open mens pro tournament.

Usually it's just tennis lessons, so today and tomorrow's events are pretty out of the ordinary. Gives me cool topics to blog about though!

Thanks to everyone who's been reading! Don't forget to "follow" my blogs!

Busy for the Next While

Busy is good though. Today we have the grand opening for the tennis program at the Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey. Tomorrow I'm running a kids tennis-themed birthday party- pretty cool idea if you ask me. Monday, we shoot Cardio Tennis for the Los Angeles ABC morning show, then Tuesday, it's off to the LA Open to watch the night matches (men's professional tournament) after a cocktail party to kick-off fundraising for the MS celebrity Pro-Am that will be held in November. I'm excited for Tuesday especially because I'll get to meet Tracy Austin- she is a co-chair for the Pro-Am. Things have been kind of slow lately, so this change in pace is welcome!

It's Official...

...I'm starting to get to know people in Hermosa Beach. In the last four or five days, I've "ran into" three people I'd previously met.

Stop the Bleeding- A Case for Lindsay Lohan

One thing I'm trying to use my blog for is to practice my writing. This may read a little like a high school writing assignment but that was the style I was going for. I know it's long! I couldn't figure out how to post a Word link.

The very fact that I have been compelled enough to write about this topic is evidence that I am guilty of exactly what I am criticizing others for. Hopefully, though, I'll make my case as to why I’m on one side of this much discussed and followed topic. Lindsay Lohan reported to the courthouse in Beverly Hills this morning and was taken away in handcuffs to begin her 90 (okay, 23) day jail term. Lindsay has been under a lot of heat lately so I've decided to make a case FOR her and hopefully mediate the feud that the American public has had with her in recent years. I know this is an uphill battle, as Lindsay has done very little to help me argue for her but I hope I can at least prove a few points.

Let’s cut Lindsay Lohan some slack. Aren’t we being a little harsh? Whoa, whoa, whoa- calm down and let me explain. I understand that my position on this topic makes me the minority and as a Lindsay supporter, I stand out like a democrat in Georgia, but let me make a few things clear. I don’t excuse or condone her behavior. I believe she needs to be held accountable and to the same standard as anyone else. I do, though, think she is being thrown to the wolves and unfairly criticized. D.U.I.’s are awful and in my opinion, one of the worst charges one can get but almost one and a half million people were arrested for driving under the influence in the United States in 2006. Lindsay is not alone in her crime but she is alone in punishment. Not a single one of those drunk drivers ended up on TMZ for their choices. It’s become acceptable in this country to criticize and show hatred for celebrities and really, anyone with money and/or power. Our girl, Lindsay, is no exception. It seems that there is a collective celebration for the crash and burn that is Lindsay Lohan these days. People are rooting against her and hoping she continues down the path she is on, rather than hoping our fellow human being gets the help she needs. Is it her money that makes her an easy target? Maybe her seemingly lacsidasical approach to the law. Whatever it is, Lindsay Lohan has made some enemies and is guilty of feeding the haters with plenty of ammunition.

The self-destruction of Lindsay Lohan has fascinated the America public for the last half decade. Her recent downfall, though, has seen the harshest media coverage of any of her recent situations. Why do so many people like watching Lindsay fail? And I don’t mean, take a small spill. I mean this may be the biggest fall from stardom to infamous notoriety in recent memory. People are really, really mad at her and I am left trying to figure out how and when she personally offended those people. You know the old cliché, “we made her this way”? Well, it’s a cliché for a reason. The media onslaught and public attention has helped Lindsay solidify her place as one of Hollywood’s “party girls.” Lindsay can’t solely blame us for her problems, though. No one forced her to go to those clubs or try those drugs. She played a role in her self-destructive behavior as well. I just think we, the public, could help her out some. Fame is a game of give and take. Celebrities need us because without the masses to buy their product, they are just ordinary people. However, there is debate to determine where the line should be drawn. At what point, do celebrities stop owing us for their success? When does the public lose the privilege of invading the privacy of the people we measure so high? With all the money and success, comes an inevitable dousing of spotlight. Some stars thrive while others falter. Can we blame Lindsay for entering the celebrity circuit at the age of 17 (yes, she dated Wilmer Valderamma before she was legal) and making bad choices along the way? Her parents are clearly a train wreck. She had excessive amounts of money and countless opportunities to spend that money in ways that were both legal and, well let’s just say not looked highly upon. What were you doing when you were 17? Most of us probably made some choices that we would take back if we could but that is part of growing up. At least you didn’t have the world watching. I’m not here to make excuses for her and claim she is completely innocent, but I am just hoping that people will lay off the hate and show a little more support. My point is that Lindsay hasn’t done anything that countless other private citizens haven’t done. Yet they’re not being publically hanged for it.

Why do I care? Quite simply, I’m a fan. And I’m worried. 2009 was a scary year for celebrities. I’m just glad Lindsay made it out alive. The same media that puts her in a chokehold and throws her to the mat is claiming she is a safety risk to herself. As of right now, we’ve already lost a talented actress because she has become too much of a liability to hire but we may be on the verge of losing a person at too young an age. As a fan, I’ve stuck by Lindsay while others talk smack. When her choices were being criticized, I just shook my head and hoped she’d make better ones. I will argue with anyone that Lindsay Lohan is one of the most talented actresses in Hollywood. As her personal reputation faltered, her movie opportunities became less and less. This seemingly started a negative spiral of catch-22. Less movies, more partying. More partying, less movies. According to the most recent news reports, sources are scared for Lindsay’s safety and well-being. I care about this because I don’t want to see another young person and young talent fall victim to the very life that propelled them to stardom in the first place. Lindsay clearly has enough to worry about without millions of people criticizing her every move.

Now, Lindsay. Your turn. I’ve stood by you through feuds with Hillary Duff, pictures of you passed out and/or with drugs, D.U.I.s, drug possession, stints in “rehab”, bush-diving outside Samantha Ronson’s house, SCRAM bracelet “malfunctions”, lost passports, and missed court appearances. I’m exhausted, but not giving up hope just yet. I have faith that you can make a Drew Barrymore or Robert Downey Jr. style comeback. You’ve played the role of “crazy” for way too long. America has built you up yet attacked your every move. However, if we’re being honest, the choices you made that America has attacked have been pretty easy targets. You’re past the point of any press is good press. It’s time to give the public good things to talk about. Where your life goes once you leave prison is up to you. Unfortunately, you don’t have the privilege of getting your life in order in private, and fair or not, you are and will be held to a higher standard than the average person. In light of this, you really need to start making choices that make you look good, not the other way around. In order to get your career back, you need to rebuild your fan base and the only way to do that is to regain the trust that you have lost through photographs with drugs, crashing into trees, and making public scenes. No one is going to waste time cheering for someone who is doomed and incapable of helping themselves. It’s like rooting for the Toronto Maple Leafs; until they make a commitment to improve, they are not going to win any NHL titles. Lindsay, you have a lot of life left in you (both career, and well, let’s be honest, literally life.) Use these 23 days to get yourself together and decide you’re going to come back stronger than The Situation after a day of GTL.

As both sides accept responsibility, a compromise must be made. Lindsay can’t do it alone and the American public sure as hell won’t give her a break until she shows she is willing to help herself. America, let’s cut her some slack and root for her to get better, not find satisfaction in watching her collapse. Lindsay, America has no reason to root for you if you don’t make changes. You would be amazed at how your reputation is chiseled by what you are seen doing and who you are seen doing it with. I’m confident that this is the beginning of a new phase in the Lindsay Lohan saga. There’s nothing people like more than a feel-good, comeback story. Maybe someone will make a movie out of it and I know someone who will be looking for work.

LL

I've been working on the Lindsay Lohan article that I mentioned a week or two ago. I'll post it tomorrow, on her 'Check into Hotel Slammer' day. Last night of freedom, girl.

Settling In

The heatwave has finally started!

It's been pretty cool here for the last month but the temperatures have risen the last week or so. This came just in time for our first non-family visitor. My brother's and my friend, Jon, came to visit from Toronto. He'd never been to California so I'm glad the weather warmed up to temperatures expected of the Southern Cal!

Before I moved, I'd been to Los Angeles quite a few times. It'd been a while, though, since I did any sightseeing. Jon was the perfect excuse to get out and explore my new city. The cool thing about Los Angeles is how many famous places there are to go to. L.A. isn't a weekend trip by any means. Jon was here for a week so we made plans to hit all the hot spots; downtown L.A. (which used to be pretty bad but has since seen a resurgence with the building of 'LA Live', a shopping and dining area located outside Staples Center and the Nokia Theater), Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Malibu, Venice Beach, Manhattan Beach, and of course, the hottest of all (haha) Hermosa Beach. We rode the famous farris wheel at the Santa Monica pier, took a trip to Pepperdine and ate dinner beachside in Malibu, drove through Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, had breakfast in Manhattan Beach and drove along the Sunset Strip in Hollywood on the way to dinner and a stop at the Hollywood sign. P.S., if you're ever in town and need directions to a great place to see the Hollywood sign up close, let me know! We bought a $5 map of the stars and got great directions that took us up the winding roads of the Hollywood Hills to a small street that has the sign, basically, in the backyard of a few houses. It's a cool drive anyway- at one point, the map wanted us to take a "hairpin" turn on the way up the hills. It was a lot of fun to see all the sites! We swam in the ocean, played some beach tennis and volleyball in Hermosa. We drove south to Newport Beach to whale watch and took surfing lessons in Redondo Beach. Jon wanted the full California experience and I didn't mind seeing and doing it right along with him!


It's fun being a tourist, even in a city you live in. It Atlanta, I tried to do as much "touristy" stuff as possible and I've even been talking to my mom about doing a walking tour of Toronto when I make the trip back in a few weeks. I love getting to know more about different cities and love trying new things and eating at new places. I'm sure there's much more to L.A. than we even touched upon during Jon's visit, so hopefully more people will come on out and give me another excuse to see the sights!

(Let this be incentive for some of you to come visit...Emily Dove and Lisa McKenna I'm talking to you.)

June Gloom in July?

So the term used to describe the June weather in L.A. is "June Gloom". It's exactly as it sounds- gloomy weather for the whole month. It's been cloudy every morning but clears up by noon or so. No big deal- it's the price to pay to live so close to the Pacific. The problem is: it's now July and it's still gloomy! In fact, I haven't been to the beach since last week and haven't seen the sun since the 4th! Basically, since I've lived here, L.A. has been in a state of gloom. On a positive note, everyone says amazing weather is just around the corner so I'm counting the days. I have to say though, that I might enjoy the "gloom" 70s temperatures better than sweat-when-you-walk-outside summer of the south haha! Probably the Canadian in me!


Aside from less beach time, this cooler weather hasn't been helping my tennis career. Tennis has been slow all week. It's not just the weather though. We've kicked off our summer program at the Ritz- Carlton Marina Del Rey (as opposed to the individual lessons I've been doing there to this point) but so far there haven't been many people signed up. The Ritz hasn't offered a tennis program like the one I'm involved with so I think it will take some time to get the word out. I have been working poolside, trying to talk it up and spread the word. I've gotten a lot of positive responses so far- now they just need to sign up! If it's as big as we're predicting it will be, things will be going very, very well, very, very soon!! Time for some patience and more poolside hustle in the meantime...


Now, I'm not going to let some cooler weather and low tennis numbers get me down, I have some really good news (no, you don't understand how amazing this really is...)- Anyone who's spent much time with me the last few years has seen my allergies spiral as out of control as a night out with Lindsay Lohan. Finally, though, there is an end in sight! It may involve surgery but I'll get into that if and when it comes. In short, I've seen an ENT (ear, throat, nose doctor) who prescribed me a few things (time for another Lindsay Lohan joke?) and I'm pretty much cleared up! I feel better than I have in over two years. Ohhh, no one understands how happy I am more than any kid from my classes haha- it's hard to teach with constant allergies. I'll keep ya'll (shout out to Georgia) posted over the next few months. Now, I want to get back to Lindsay Lohan. As an LL supporter, I'm being serious here, I have a big opinion about what's going on with her these days. Stay tuned for that upcoming rant in the next week or so!

Thanks for reading!
P.S. Please become a "follower" if you've been reading my posts...it lets me know if anyone is actually reading them!

College for Grown Ups

Great weekend! I went out three nights in a row- sounds fun and easy, right? Fun, yes but not so easy. It's a little intimidating to go out, meet new people and try to make friends. Luckily, I had a good start. I went out with my college roommate's friend from high school and met up with a friend from Atlanta who is from Hermosa Beach. The cool thing about Hermosa is it's small (1.3 square miles) and it consists of housing, beach, and bars. It reminds me a lot of High Street and off-campus housing at Ohio State. I feel right at home!

I met up with Jenni (college roommate's friend) at a bar down the street. She was there with a huge group of friends- which came in handy because I've been looking for friends! Everyone was nice and a lot of fun, definitely my kind of people! It was a great first night out in California. Back to that Ohio State comparison, we walked to and from the bars and there were line-ups outside pizza restaurants and Pita Pit at 2am. The next night, I went out with my friend John from Atlanta. He grew up in Hermosa and came back for the Ironman.

The 4th started with the Ironman. It's a race on the beach in Hermosa every 4th of July. Over 300 participants run a mile, paddle a mile on their surfboard, and drink a 6 pack. Clearly it's a blast to watch and even more of one to participate in, I'm sure. From there it was all-day house parties (I still can't get over how busy Hermosa was! The beach was full and people were having parties at just about every house) and eventually, we went to the beach for fireworks. What's cool about fireworks on the beach is looking both north and south at the colorful light explosions lit the sky. Stretching along the coast, we could see the fireworks in Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Santa Monica and Malibu. Pretty incredible.

I don't know that I typically would have gone out three nights in a row (college was long ago!) but I was/am in need of friends and couldn't turn down the opportunity to meet people. It was a great weekend and it's exciting to know that I have many more to look forward to. The best way I heard to summarize Hermosa Beach was in five short words; "It's college for grown ups." Sounds like a great place to meet people.

Tennis Lessons

Teaching tennis lessons in LA has been exciting to say the least! I teach at several different courts throughout the city including private houses, hotels, condos and apartments, and high schools. My main location is at the Ritz Carlton in Marina Del Rey, which is good because it's the closest to Hermosa Beach! When I'm given a lesson, I just plug the address into my GPS (what would I do without my GPS?!) and have just as much fun driving to the courts as I do teaching the lesson. My favorite drive by far has been on Mulholland Drive which weaves through Hollywood Hills and Beverly Hills. It's right out of a movie scene; the houses are all different, from stucco to cottages and can be seen behind ivy-covered fences. One day I'll have to do an actual tour of the city so I can stop rather than just drive by!
The clients I'm meeting are just as interesting as the locations I'm teaching them at. Just today I played doubles with Matthew Perry's agent and I've done Cardio Tennis classes with a lady who works with R&B producer, Babyface. It seems everyone knows somebody! It's taking a while to built a clientele, but after talking to a few of the guys I work with, I think it'll be a few months before I'm working the hours I want. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy the drives!

The Pier in Hermosa Beach

Life Makeover

"Life Makeover" was a term used by my friend, Claudia, when I told her I had decided to move to California. "Exciting", "brave" and "jealous" were other words I heard when I described my plan. "Crazy" was, to me, the obvious one and the word that kept resurfacing in my mind. Of course, no one else mentioned it to me but I'm sure it crossed the minds of some.

After three years in Atlanta, I needed something different and I don't mean in an I'm-bored-with-things kind of way. Something was missing in my life and I needed to find it. I was having some challenges financially and professionally and began to take a look at what other options might be out there. When a very timely and promising opportunity with a tennis company in Los Angeles came along, I knew I had this one chance to jump at it. Financially, professionally, socially, and mentally, I needed this job.

With any change comes risk and risk brings me back to "crazy." There were countless reasons that "crazy" kept creeping into my head as I made plans to move west. I was crazy because I had decided to move 2,000 miles and start over. Crazy for trying to sell my house in the worst housing market in recent memory. Crazy because there were no guarantees that I would succeed at my job, make friends, or even like Los Angeles. Crazy because most people don't take chances. It's tough to willingly putting yourself in a position where things just might not go your way. The decision to move was scary but one that I inevitably had to make. After assessing my life, I came to the realization that I was crazier not to go.

So here I am. It's been one month since the move and I absolutely love it. I'm living in an apartment that I share with my brother (and his dog and my two cats) and I'm working as a tennis instructor at a luxury hotel in the L.A. area. I spent two days working with Anna Kournikova for the production of a reality show. I've seen several filming locations of The O.C., The Hills, and Keeping Up with the Kardashians and if you know me at all, those are a big deal haha! In Hermosa Beach, the bars and beach are within a short walking distance of the apartment and any time something happens on TMZ, it's hard to believe it happened only a few miles away! I LOVE the South Bay lifestyle. It seems that everyone has a dog, a surfboard, a bike and nothing to do on a sunny afternoon but hit the beach, go for a jog or start happy hour a little early. It's what dreams are made of.

So, what do I think of my decision? I love it. So far, it's been very positive. I'm happy I ignored the "crazy" talk in my head and went ahead toward something I wanted. Taking chances, strangely enough, is something I don't think I do enough of and something I've promised myself I'd do more. One thing Los Angeles is teaching me is that if I plan on making it here, I will need to put myself out there and trust that I've done the work to make things fall in my favor. One of my favorite quotes is, "hustle is the new talent." To me, that couldn't be more true in both Los Angeles and the times we live in.

I really enjoy writing, so I hope to post on this blog as frequently as possible and definitely whenever something cool happens! I can't believe I'm actually out here. New city, new roommate, new job, new people, new car, new lifestyle. I would agree with Claudia, that a life makeover is exactly what this is.

Thanks for reading!
Meaghan

p.s. to my teacher friends, I couldn't help but notice the alliteration I used in the title of this blog. Go AKS!