It’s been awhile since I’ve done a regular update post, and so while I sit here, happily sipping a vodka/orange juice on my flight to NY, I think now is as good a time as ever.

So what’s new? So many good things!

The year started off with a lot of changes – for one, I moved into my own place (sadly leaving my best friend/roommate after three years of wine and cheese nights, awkward booty dances, and daily hikes.) Living alone isn’t as easy or awesome as everyone makes it out to be, although, perhaps I’m just a slumber party kind-of girl.

My new apartment

I also had a few personal revelations about ‘the career.’ After living in Hollywood for four years, I’ve been fortunate to dip my toes into so many different aspects of entertainment. Acting, writing, producing, hosting, even voiceover work (I’ve been fortunate to do some really cool stuff!!) And come this February, I realized I had absolutely exhausted myself. Not to mention, I had made it very tough on myself to focus on what it is I really want to do, because I now see that not every job offers the path to happiness.

Case in point: if you’re an actor and get stuck on a bad film set, your life is miserable for the next 4+ weeks. As a producer, there are a million and one things that can go wrong and make your job a living hell. As a writer, you can turn in a first draft and get it ripped to pieces. And yet for all of these misgivings, my greatest experiences have happened taking on each these duties. I’ve poured my soul out on paper; through acting and producing, I’ve brought those stories to life, all the while making lifelong friendships.

I didn’t move to Hollywood to be an actress. Or a producer. Or a host. Or to be famous. I moved here because I believe that entertainment is (at it’s heart), the best industry in the world – after all, it is the entertainment industry. There’s nothing I love more than seeing a film on Friday night, or snuggling up to see my favorite TV show during the week. All I want – honestly – is to be a part of the storytelling. Unfortunately, being a Type-A gal, I really beat myself up over the fact that I couldn’t focus on one specific career path once I arrived here.

So I stopped. Focusing, that is. No apologies. I decided that, for 2010, I would just have fun. How many people get to say that about their career goals?

My point is – I stopped trying to focus on ‘moving forward’ and instead tried to focus on having fun. The results? Wellllll, let’s just say the first few months were a little difficult. It took all of my willpower to take a few weeks off in the middle of pilot season (because I wasn’t having fun) to travel. I spent time in San Francisco, Boston, NY, Miami, and Austin – all the while, worrying about what my next strategic move would be when I returned to LA. I returned to LA, feeling only slightly re-energized, but stressed about pre-existing projects. And so I reminded myself again. Just. Have. Fun.

I took on my biggest fear of performing live by agreeing to sing my own comedy set at the Viper Room in Hollywood. It’s a rather famous place for up and coming musicians, so I was thrilled/sick to my stomach that they were so cool about letting me come and perform. And I did it.

Performing Wrong Hole at the Viper Room

I got back into hosting again – for networks like G4 and TV Guide – and booked my first network gig for NBC (the Golden Globes post show). I continue to work certain red carpets (like the Sex and the City 2 premiere in NYC) because the people I work with are AWESOME and I know, that no matter what, I’ll be having a great time.

As an actor, I’ve worked on several web series the past few months – The Temp Life (playing my favorite character, Nancy) and as a not-so-sexy sexy vampire on The Webventures of Justin and Alden – both incredibly fun projects where I was able to work with friends and other wonderful people.

Nancy and Wilson  in ‘The Temp Life’”

As a producer, I have been steadily working to finish post-production on my first feature that I co-wrote and produced. I’m really proud of it – and hope to show it to all of you soon. (Here’s the rough trailer!)

Cast of My Film, “The Co-Op”

As a writer, I’ve finally been hunkering down on a few stories that I’ve been itching to tell – and will be so excited to finally have several finished scripts!

And as for non-work stuff? I’ve been having more fun and taking more risks. Not in an effort to be self-indulgent, but just to recognize that I am much happier and more productive when I allow myself the time to do the things I love. More girls nights. More movies. More margaritas. More trips to the beach. More cooking. More hiking. I finally started planning to take a trip I’ve been wanting to take for years this September – to climb the Macchu Picchu ruins in Peru! I can’t wait.

One of my beloved girl’s nights!

Anyway. That’s pretty much it for now.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend :-)

Taryn

This past March, Nancy Roder was offered the chance of a lifetime – a temp job in NYC.

For those of you who don’t know Nancy, she’s one of my ‘characters,’ although I say this liberally, since my fondness for her voice typically finds its way into my everyday conversations. I even auditioned for Glee recently under the guise of Nancy – myspace.com/gleeauditions – but due to some unfortunate technical problems, her audition doesn’t appear anywhere in their audition gallery (conspiracy???)

Now she’s back, in two episodes of the Temp Life, below:

Nancy had a blast hanging out with the stars of The Temp Life, including special guest star Ileana Douglas, and is so grateful for the opportunity to visit NYC (she had never been outside of Sherman, Oklahoma!) :-)

For those of you who would like to keep in touch with Nancy or follow her on her various social networks, here are the links:  twitter.com/nancyroder, myspace.com/nancyroder, facebook.com/nancyroder. She has also posted more than several video blogs up on YouTube, for example, Nancy Goes On A Job Interview and her original Video Resume that warmed the hearts of over 12 people.

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 :)