Ok, so 2009 wasn’t my best year. Whatever that means. I lost several people very close to me, including my dear grandmother, and regret spending too much time worrying about things that just didn’t matter.  I worked extremely hard, maybe too hard, and wasn’t able to make it home for Christmas this year because of everything going on.

It wasn’t just me. A great percentage of America felt the pinnacle of economic hardship, surmountable apathy from 8 previous years of disappointing politics, and shock and sadness over the unnecessary, pre-mature deaths of MJ, DJ AM, Brittany Murphy, and countless others.

That said, every year I try to take a step back and count my blessings in a list. A silly, self-indulgent practice, I know, but I think it’s important sometimes to look at the big picture, and be happy and grateful for what we are able to accomplish in our lives.

The irony of this upcoming list is that some of these “accomplishments” could potentially be seen as failures (projects fell through or things didn’t pan out the way I’d hoped, etc)…

BUT I do believe in the mantra – “At least I tried.”

As I sip on my glass-half-full cup of coffee, here are some of my ‘achievements’ in 2009:

1. I secured my first scripted TV pilot deal (based on the web series Private High Musical). It didn’t get picked up, but it was a great experience working with David Zuckerman and MTV.

2. Signed with a wonderful group of folks at ICM. I’m grateful to have agents that get me and are just all around cool people.

3. Joined  Twitter. Thanks, George. Now it’s become part of my routine.

4. Wrote a book proposal (still working on the actual book.)

5. Attempted pole dancing classes. Umm. Going once counts, right?

6. Started a new blog on EQAL  - TarynToGo.com – as a place for all of my random thoughts. Unfortunately, blogging consistency is not my strong point.

7. Initiated a breast cancer campaign called Tit For Tat, which we hope to continue next year during October Awareness Month.

8. Got my own iPhone App - http://bit.ly/taryntogo (even though I don’t have an iPhone.)

9. Acted in a few one-off YouTube videos and web series that earned more than 30 million hits (Wrong Hole, Woke Up Dead, Zombiez, The Temp Life, Lashes to Riches contest).

10. Started hosting a live web show for fun - The Taryn Ten – just three weeks ago. Hoping it will grow next year :)

11. Acted in three movies (Pound of Flesh, Frankenstein Brothers, Battle Los Angeles) and a cool short (Dewana’s Bridal).

12. Moved into my own place. First time living alone!

Beyond this, in 2009 I met some amazing new friends in LA, had a lot of fun with my girlfriends, attended Sundance and Comicon, traveled to Denver, Lousiana, Santa Barbara, Catalina, San Diego and NY (frequently), and dramatically reduced my daily Starbucks coffee habit.

So maybe 2009 was a pretty darn good year :-) Hmm.

Cheers everyone. Happy New Years Eve :)

After months of post-production, it looks like ‘Pound of Flesh’ is almost ready to be screened! The film, directed by Tamar Simon Hoffs, produced by BJ Ford, and starring Malcom McDowell, will be submitted to festivals over the next coming months.

Last week Whitney Able, Lilly McDowell and I finished up ADR and also did a couple of “cinema verite” shots for the credits (see below.)

More news as it comes!

I was forwarded this article from the Ireland Evening Herald about the feature Pound of Flesh, which I just completed in February.

EVENING HERALD

For the past week, I’ve been working on the set of Pound of Flesh, an indie drama about a charming professor, played by the legendary Malcom McDowell (see above), who oversees a small sex ring amongst his smartest female students. It’s a fascinating story (actually based on real events!) and I play Dyonesia, a senior transfer student who chooses to get involved in the ring to pay her way through college.

I am SO excited about the film and am having such a wonderful time with the cast and crew!