Personally, since I’ve thrown myself into auditions and performances life has been moving. FAST! And I like it. I’ve been working hard and constantly filling my funnel with new opportunities.

After returning from Nashville for the first round of the Avon Voices competition. I’m excited for the voting to start on April 22nd! They flew us in and put us up at the breathtaking Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville and we spent the day running between hair & makeup, shooting interviews, and recording our music videos for the next round.

Check out this video from our time in Nashville.

Out of thousands of videos only 80 of us made it to Nashville, and only SEVEN of us performed live at the Gala Dinner event. What an incredible experience! One of the judges, Grammy award winning David Pack from Ambrosia was at the even and the seven of us even ended up singing a song with him onstage! I’ll try and find a video of the performance.

Since then I’ve been going to as many auditions and competitions as I can find.

My most recent adventure took place on a GORGEOUS rooftop in Chicago last night with the best fiance in the world, Jon. (note: Jon is not MY fiance. . Just an awesome fiance.) I met Jon through Craigslist after he posted an ad looking for a singer to help propose to his girlfriend. After about a week of email correspondence between Jon, his friend Nic (the guitarist), and myself, we arranged quite the sneaky surprise.

Jon had called in a few friends and we set a professional (and ultimately quite elaborate) photo-shoot on the rooftop of this funky and spunky artistic studio in Chicago for Nic and his “band” (i.e. – me ). After meeting Nic for the first time about 30 minutes before showtime, we headed up to the rooftop in a funky lift-elevator and ran through the songs a couple times.  When the cute couple arrived, Nic and I found that, despite both of our wide range of musical tastes, the only song we could come up with to pretend to be performing was “Simple Man” by Leonard Skynyrd. Which we proceeded to play repeatedly until they arrived. When we launched into Train’s “Marry Me”, Jon got down on one knee and proposed. I’m very proud of myself for not BURSTING into tears along with the lucky lady. It really was beautiful. After much crying and clapping on all of our parts, Nic and I played James Morrison’s “You Make It Real” for an fantastic slow-dance. Cutest. Thing. Ever! I’m so excited to be a part of such a fantastic proposal! And hopefully will be heading down south to sing for the wedding in June.

Between training at Second City, performing in multiple competitions, and singing rooftop proposals, I couldn’t be happier or more excited to see what comes next.

So if you’re going, going, going at the speed of Charlie Sheen and you feel like you’re repeatedly smashing yourself full force into a brick wall — try a different path. There may just be an open door slightly to the left that leads to a similar destination.

I’ve met some incredible new people lately including a great new friend who has given me the opportunity to become a spokes-model for his clothing line. We’re still in pre-launch, but check out some of the upcoming designs at www.sabaideewear.com

I’ve also been accepted as a contender for Round 1 of the international Avon Voices singing competition! Avon is very generously flying me out to Nashville next week for a 3 day video shoot. I’ll also have the opportunity to perform solo at the Gala Dinner. Guess that means I need to go shopping! I’m excited for a full makeover before the shoot and to meet some incredible performers who will be joining me from around the world. Voting begins April 22nd, so I would REALLY appreciate your vote so I can move onto Round 2!!!!

I have to say that I didn’t take the competition very seriously at first and only submitted my 30 second video for fun at the request of my wonderful Mother. Check out my dorky submission video HERE . Lord only knows why they chose that screenshot……

Ain’t No Sunshine – Rachel Mazza Avon Voices Video.

Rachel Mazza Avon Voices Profile

Between the new photoshoots and preparing for the trip to Nashville, I’ve also begun classes at the Second City Training Center in Chicago. What an incredible group of people! At first I wasn’t sure what to expect out of their acting program since Second City is well-known for it’s improv and comedy. But our instructor Hank Hilbert is an incredible teacher with the perspective of a professional working actor in Chicago’s theater community. I’ve gotten to work on my monologue from Nicky Silver’s play “The Altruists” – (hilarious by the way if you like dark humor) — and am excited for next weeks class!

Pictures and videos of the aforementioned adventures as well as our spring break trip to Florida are on their way!

By the way, Harry Potter World is definitely worth checking out Universal Studios. But don’t drink butterbeer and then go ride the Rip Rocket Roller-coaster. It’s bad for business.

SnOMG

Snowpocalypse

Snowmagedon

Whatever you want to call it, the 2011 Chicago blizzard did one thing that even Oprah’s Black Eyed Peas party couldn’t accomplish — it shut down the ENTIRE CITY for over 24 hours.

Hundreds of cars were abandoned on Lake Shore Drive as their stranded owners climbed over medians to head to warmer environments as 25 foot waves of ice smashed into Navy Pier on Lake Michigan.

Like the rest of Chicagoland, my family spent the day digging out. Although getting to the light at the end of the tunnel (or in this case, the driveway) isn’t quite as exciting when the road is 5 feet high because the plows are buried.

Nothing to do now except pull up a chair and enjoy the show. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many people outside at once in my neighborhood. Ever.

Like this morning, when I told her,  “Mom, I think I want to be an actress!” So she stops what she’s doing and looks to me and says, “Well honey, I guess you just need to move to L.A. then. I’ll call Uncle Jimmy and see if you can stay with him for awhile. “

My friend Jason told me that the main actor from the popular show Mad Men just decided he wanted to be an actor one day. He said he’s always been interested in acting, and gave himself 5 years, and picked a date in the future. He would go at it full force for 5 years, and if he didn’t make it after 5 years he would move on to something else. I love this philosophy because too often we quit JUST before we succeed. Most people who have failed didn’t do so because they weren’t good enough or couldn’t do it, they failed because they gave up too early. Most of the time we have NO IDEA how close we are to success when we quit!

I was talking to my friend Carolyn yesterday, telling her about my thoughts of maybe going back to school for theater and weighing it against the decision to just move out west and give it a try. After saying it out loud I thought it sounded so stupid! I looked at her sheepishly saying, “Well I guess it does sound kind of ridiculous.” And then thought about it for a minute and said, “But you know what? I’ve done a lot of ridiculous things lately!” Carolyn laughed and told me, “That’s right! Rachel you always just go out and DO things where most people would be afraid to even entertain the idea.” Carolyn is so right! How can you know if an idea is too absurd until you pursue it? You could spend forever and a half planning and researching and gathering information but eventually you just need to go do it and learn along the way.

One of my favorite movie lines is from the 2010 production of Alice in Wonderland with Johnny Depp and Mia Wasikowska. When Alice’s father would listen to her dreams and ambitions, he would tell her “You know Alice, I sometimes think of 6 impossible things before breakfast.” When the 6 impossible things that Alice thinks of start becoming a reality, this advice ultimately helped Alice slay the evil Jabberwocky.

At the risk of sounding campy and cliche, we all have our own Jabberwocky don’t we? The first step in achieving your goals, or realizing your dreams is to believe that you can. One of my favorite quotes is from Henry Ford who said, “Whether you believe you can, or you believe you can’t, you’re right.” The second step is just to GO DO IT! Yes you should do your research, and yes you should weigh the pros and cons and make a rational decision, but just take action! And don’t let your planning to plan paralyze you.

It’s okay to go try something, and decide that you hate it. You don’t know what you want! There’s no way you can know what you want until you try some things out. You’ll never know until you try.

Does anyone actually believe in New Years Resolutions? I mean, it’s great to offer yourself a fresh start, but why do you have to wait until the new year? For example, in 2011 I want to work my patootie off to be in the best shape of my life! So I started a new routine at the gym on Dec 31st. So far so good with a little (or an enormous LOT) of annoyance and nagging from my younger sister who OBNOXIOUSLY burns about 100 calories MORE than I do every workout. Curse those siblings. Good thing the new semester starts soon at Loyola. Then I will be rid of her and her unrelenting motivation.

Speaking of the gym, my team has been working hard on expanding our presence at LA Fitness’ Membership Appreciation days several times a month. What a great opportunity it is to be in one place with so many health conscious individuals.  So far Crave Energy Drink has been a huge hit! Congrats to all our team members who have been getting into ACTION and consistent promotion.

New Years Eve was a blast at my house! We had an “open house” potluck and ate ourselves to death! Carne Asada and Vegan Lasagna and other deliciousness. Missing our expat friend Bobby, we had a skype party as well and carried him around via computer screen so he could hang with the rest of us. He even watched the countdown with us from the futuurrre. haha. It was already the new year in South Korea by that point.

Still getting back into the swing of things after the holidays and nice long Christmas spent at our lake house in NY with family. A season filled with good company, good food and incredible grotesque drawings on our Christmas presents compliments of Dad. Happy New Year!

http://rachelmazza.wordpress.com/feed/

I still believe that it is an incredible organization filled with amazing people, and have just found that the restrictions and cloistered lifestyle just aren’t right for me right now. I would still highly recommend the exotic animal training apprenticeship to anyone who wants to make training animals their whole life. Just be sure that you want to commit your everything to working with and caring for these animals, be ready to give up your social life and family holidays, and of course be ready to put in a solid 2 years of grunt work to learn the basics.

I don’t regret the time I spent there and am truly grateful to the people who welcomed me into their homes and gave me an incredible experience! All the hard work was rewarded by being able to eat dinner with tiger cubs rolling around at your feet in the living room, and watch the (completely surreal) and majestic Cheetahs play on the back porch, and wake up every morning to Gibbons ‘whooping’ in the back yard and wolf pups howling at a passing ambulance. I also LOVED hosting the “Wild Encounters Show” at Jungle Island. We traveled with our animals every day to and from Jungle Island to put on a great show complete with us girls playing the tribal drums and making corny coconut jokes. . I was also fortunate enough to participate in a brief, but epic incident where one of the tigers played “free willy” and took an unanticipated stroll about the park. The story was on national news and the experience taught me a lot about how people  handle a ‘crisis mode’ situation.

So I packed my bags and booked a flight on Southwest Airlines (who must be praised as my FAVORITE airline IN the country. 2 free checked bags, 2 free carry-on bags, awesome service! AND you can cancel/change your flight at any time for FREE! — not to mention their low-fare calendar).

Of course I couldn’t leave without seeing a bit of Miami, which I wasn’t able to do previously since we only spent time at the preserve and Jungle Island. About a month earlier I had seen a hostel while going to dinner with my Dad in South Beach. There were travelers hanging out on the porch, loud music blaring inside and “The Fifth Element” projected on one huge wall where there were more travelers sitting with their laptops. The place screamed of the perfect travel experience and, wanting the full-experience, I booked a week in a dorm-style 6-bunk-bed room for $20 a night.

Staying at The Miami International Traveler’s Hostel is probably one of the BEST decisions I have made in my LIFE. Clean rooms and linens for only $20/night, FREE FOOD (yah…i know!), free wifi, daily group tours, nightly group outings to the hottest clubs in Miami and management that will MAKE SURE that you feel welcome and have the time of your life! I wasn’t even there an hour before I had made some incredible friends from around the world. Everyone wanted to know about your and travel experiences and just hang out on the porch having a few drinks and trading stories.  In a dorky kind of way it’s  like being teleported into some instant “cool kids club” where everyone was young and beautiful and traveling the world. Haha

I met some amazing new friends from around the globe including one of my roommates — Freida from Germany, a great guy name Paul who was an awesome beach buddy, and Eugen from Denmark who is probably the funniest person I’ve ever met. It worked out great since we all did our own thing during the day and would somehow connect at night to go out to see free shows on Lincoln Road, and explore the South Beach nightlife as a group.  I also had a great time chatting with the girls in my room like Lisa and her Mom from Australia doing an around-the-world 11week tour. Everyday some girls would leave and new ones would take their bunks, but one of the semi-permanent residents of the room was Mama.

Mama had her own bunk and cooked/served the meals at the hostel. She would come down at night and smoke her cigarettes listening to stories of those passing through the hostel. She’s a tiny little lady who means business! And isn’t afraid to tell you what’s what! I’m so glad I met her and THANK YOU Mama for watching out for me and being “MY Mama” while I was traveling alone in Miami!

Speaking of traveling alone; this trip is the first time I’ve really traveled alone and I loved it! I liked being able to run off to explore  Little Havana or spend as much time as I liked window-shopping in Lincoln Road without having to worry about someone else becoming impatient or bored. And anytime I wanted company it was easy to find great people to hang-out with and chat! I quickly found a favorite breakfast spot in “The News Cafe” where i would drink my Cuban Coffee (I already miss you Cuban espresso) and sit in my corner balcony with the best people-watching view on the street.  I think my favorite morning was spent sipping mimosas with 2 guys that still hadn’t called it a night after bartending late into (the early) morning.  Now THEY had some good stories!

While I had a great time and certainly miss the gorgeous weather at the beach, I’m glad to have made it up to Rochester, NY where the lake is crashing against the pier and the bay is peaceful and serene with its big white swans gliding across the water. I’ve been walking the pier, playing my guitar and catching up on some very patient books that have been waiting for me. My family is also here and I’m extremely excited to spend some time with them! I always say that I have THE BEST family that anyone could ever have, and every-time I come back here I am more and more amazed at how blessed I am to have such an incredible and generous support system. So while I love the beach and amazing new friends that I’ve met recently, I know that it’s still good to come home and get back to my roots.

After graduating from Columbia and loving the city life in downtown Chicago, I was ready for a new adventure. I had plans to teach English in Bangkok for a year and was making preparations to leave when student loans and political turmoil in Thailand encouraged me to expand my list of opportunities. When my friend Mary Jo sent me a video of some people riding and elephant down a quiet suburban street in Myrtle Beach, SC — I knew I had to know how these people lived this incredible life! I googled — haha.  Life is definitely a series of adventures and right now I’ve embarked on an exciting new one! I’ve joined an exotic animal training apprenticeship program with a world-renowned conservation and training organization called T.I.G.E.R.S. I disembarked in port Miami from and incredible Caribbean cruise with my family — and — well, just didn’t go home! Haha. After living here for a few months, I’ve found that I’ve never worked harder in my life! I’ve certainly gotten in touch with my inner “Rosie the Riveter”; power-washing concrete slabs, hand-sawing huge tree branches, hauling debris and gravel — Haha, but it is definitely worth it to wake up every morning and howl with the wolf pups, or watch the tiger cubs roll around in the yard, and feed sweet potatoes to the monkeys.

Not only am I learning a lot about the animals and the conservation efforts here and around the world, but I’ve learned even more about people. Living in a house with 5 women here in Miami certainly has taught me new skills in patience and cooperation! We not only run the 15 acre preserve here outside of Miami but we also put on an incredible “Wild Encounters Show” at a theme park called Jungle Island.  I have been having a BLAST hosting the show, learning to play the tribal drums, and talking with the public about our liger, Hercules, and his friends.

I’ve been reading a great book called “The Traveler’s Gift” by Andy Andrews.  It’s about a man named David who just can’t get ahead in life despite his best efforts! After a reckless driving accident, David finds himself falling into the worlds of some of the world’s greatest leaders at the most critical moments in their lives. These great men teach David 7 lessons on personal success and making your own happiness in life.  In one of the chapters, David learns that you really truly ARE the people that you spend the most time with. You share their habits, speech patterns, thoughats and dreams. If you spend time with those who complain you will quickly find yourself complaining more and more! On the contrary, if you surround yourself with people who actively strive to make the world and their own lives bigger and better you will find yourself moving to a brighter and more successful future.

One of my favorite quotes from the book is:

“If I associate with chickens, I will learn to scratch at the ground and squabble over crumbs. If I associate with eagles, I will learn to soar to great heights. I am an eagle. it is my destiny to fly!”

I’ve found this to be so true in my life again and again. Of course we all know how hard it is to let go of old relationships with people that may not push us onward and upward, but surrounding yourself with people who have something that you strive for, or know what you want to know is one of the most important things you can do to create the life that you want to live.

Finally back in cold cold Chicago after a week in the Caribbean for my first ever cruise! I had an absolutely mindbogglingly incredible time, although I did miss the Windy City as well. (by the way, did you know mindbogglingly is actually a word!)

I’ve posted some amazing pictures up on Facebook so head over there an take  a look! We flew out of Chicago early Monday morning, heading for Atlanta, Ga for our transfer to Miami, FL. Everything was going smoothly and we were on time with several hours to spare before we boarded the ship. We did have an unexpected change when Air Tran transferred our connecting flight to a flight TWO HOURS LATER in Atlanta! Miraculously we made it to the ship with 15 minutes to spare before the boarding dock closed! Phew! Talk about your close calls! Thank you thank you to the incredible taxi driver that FLEW to the Port of Miami.

Life Boat Drill

We boarded the ship, exhausted but ready for fun! Of course, they start snapping photos of you as soon as you board for purchase later. Which, I might add, is COMPLETELY unfair when you’ve just flown two flights and raced to the port in the heat while still wearing midwest attire. Not attractive. Everyone else on the ship (who were on time like good little boys and girls) had time to detox before the life boat drill which we all packed together for on deck. It was worth it though to watch the ship pull out of Miami Harbor. What incredible beach houses people have along the gulf! And we saw dolphins our first day, curiously leaping beside the ship!

My New House in Key West

The View From Our Cabin

After the life boat drill, Chase and I headed down to our stateroom, where we found our bags waiting for us outside the door. The room was small, but totally appropriate for what we would be using it for (which is sleeping.) The funniest thing was that they have a curtained window beside the bed. Chase pulled back the curtain to see the view and there was just a whiteboard behind it! Hahah! Why put a curtain in there at all? After unpacking (and several bouts of Chase jumping out of the closet and scaring me……repeatedly) we went to explore the ship!

Champagne Art Auctions in the Morning!

The Carnival Imagination is one of the fleet’s smaller ships, but was still enormous and packed full of incredible things to do! A casino, art

gallery (yay for Champagne art auctions at 11am!), auditorium stage, disco, 3 clubs, pinnacle bar, karaoke and comedy lounge, and TONS more! I took FULL advantage of the all-you-can-eat sushi bar and the 24 hour food offerings that are on every deck! What an incredible selection of food! I think I might have eaten myself to death in fact.

And that’s not even including the elegant dining room which we eagerly visited every evening for our “formal dining’ experience.

Getting Ready For Dinner with Adri and Tiffany

At dinner we met up with some of my Network Marketing friends including Coach Mark Davis, Mary Jo Leonard and Mike and Tiffany Potillo! It was great to see them and everyone looked beautiful! The food in the dining room was out of this world. They offer you a different menu every night and you can order anything you like (and as much as you like!) Some of my favorites were the Gazpacho (which they think it’s funny to serve in two parts, first you get a tiny pile of tomatoes, and after your look of disbelief at the size of your meal THEN they pour in the gazpacho around it, haha!), Prime Rib and Lobster Tail, Smoked Salmon and Basil, and the sinful Chocolate Melting Cake. mmmmmmmmm. Like I said. Ate. To. Death.

Tuesday we pulled in to Key West, FL which was HOT and WET! Key West is a fascinating place. I’m pretty sure that you can do whatever you want there. Haha, my Dad’s favorite description is from a bumper sticker seen on a lamp post on Duval St. It read “Key West! A work free drug place!”

One of the most curious things about Key West is that wild roosters just run all over the island! Usually a sight I expect to see in Mexico, it was funny to see these birds pecking in the yards of these huge multi-million dollar mansions.

After some tasty conch fritters with key lime mustard, Chase and I walked down Duval St; which runs through Key West, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. We went to a butterfly conservatory that we found there which was breathtaking. These HUGE bright-colored butterflies zoomed around us everywhere in the conservatory, which was also filled with exotic finches, baby turtles and (strangely) tiny quail birds running around. I have some great pictures of the baby quail that just hatched that day. So cute!

After staring at the incredible houses, cool old trees, and various art displays along Duval St., We stopped for a drink at the Hog’s Breath Inn, which is apparently “the” place to go if you’re visiting Key West. This place had…..VERY…… strong drinks. As we were leaving we saw a man sitting in a cafe across the street reading his daily newspaper. This WOULD be normal enough if the man had not been wearing a sequined showgirl hat, a painted on shirt, large black feathery wings and…… NO PANTS! Go figure. That’s Key West. He went nicely with the 3 80+year old women wearing leopard print Vegas dresses who were dancing and singing all the way down the street.

Leaving Key West we sailed west to Cozumel. The same humid heat that was slightly suffocating in Key West was cut by a magnificent breeze once the ship started moving. We reached Cozumel early because, unfortunately, a woman in our group had a complication with a blood clot and collapsed on the ship! I think she’s doing all right now, but I’m sure it was scary (I’m praying for you guys Roberto!) . They airlifted her to Miami from the hospital in Mexico.

Coumel

Cozumel was incredible. We docked at the pier in the gulf next to the Carnival Legend (which apparently crashed into the Norwegian cruise boat several weeks ago at that same pier! — I think it’s on YouTube). Chase and I rented a scooter and cruised around the whole island!

Atlantic Cozumel After Scootering

The beaches on the Atlantic side had much bigger waves and were completely deserted. We bought $3 Mexican blankets because we had forgotten our towels and lounged in the shallows behind  huge rocks. Gorgeous. Meanwhile, my parent’s visited Jimmy Buffet’s restaurant in Cozumel which they said you can swim in the ocean right at the restaurant. People were throwing their tortilla chips into the water and all the tropical fish were coming up to swim with you! Probably the funniest thing about Cozumel is how quiet it is with its small-town feel. In fact, Chase and I were scootering along and we randomly saw my sister Stephanie and her friend sitting outside a little Margarita hut. After telling her that my parent’s were looking all over for her, my parent’s pull right up next to us in a cab! It’s a small world in Cozumel.

Back on the boat for our last full day at sea, we took it easy getting ready for the night’s Halloween festivities. I did some reluctant packing while Chase terrorized the cute towel animals that the steward left for us everyday (they cleaned our room 3 times every day. Now that’s service!) We sipped champagne at an earlier art auction, and caught a 15minute film that Walt Disney and Salvador Dali did together.

The last day was HOT for sure! In the middle of the Caribbean ocean with no reprieve from the sun, the water slide on deck was a welcome entertainment. It was a good thing that it was windy or else it would have been TOO hot. It was so windy that when we went up to the front of the ship, we leaned into the wind and were held up by it! Haha, so much fun.

After lounging around by the pool we ate for the last time in the dining room (complete with ghost-shaped pumpkin cheesecake), where the waiters danced to the ending theme from “Slumdog Millionaire”. We changed into our costumes (Chase was Arnold Swarzenegger and Dad decided on the Dos XX’s “most interesting man in the world”.) then headed over to the Guru Cruise Private Cocktail Party. Afterwards it was off to the disco for some dancing and then on to more kareoke where a new networking acquaintance, Paulie, did a surprisingly accurate interpretation of “The Real Slim Shady and “Baby Got Back”. Oh yeah…..see my YouTube Channel for further details.

What a whirlwind! This past weekend was the first Chicago Leadership Summit! We had an incredible turnout (standing room only!) as Art Jonak, Keith Schreiter and David Bertrand flew out to Naperville for some fast-paced training that left everyone feeling pumped up and excited to use their new skills!

Friday Art spoke for our generic local Meetup group and I had an awesome opportunity to pick his brain afterwards over dinner (well — by dinner I mean great food at 1am). Poor Art! Haha, he must have been TIRED after flying in, teaching all day and then being forced to converse with the crazy Chicago team after the event.

The next day was our Vitamark specific training which was inspiring and innovative!

At Portillo's after the event

My Mom did a great job organizing the event! Although she was a bit NUTS driving all of the speakers back and forth to the airport — seperately…. I’m sure it was a great opportunity to get her questions answered. We took the guests to Portillo’s for a real Chicago hot dog experience and they loved it!

Keith and I sucking in our Portillo's food babies for the picture. haha

 I ordered a mondo meal for Keith (who triumphantly devoured a Dipped Italian Beef with Hot Peppers, a Chicago Hot Dog with everything, Cheese Fries and a slice of Chocolate Cake! phew!) Haha, check out his facebook profile for pictures.

Art and Keith getting ready to devour Portillo's!

Mark, Adri and my sister Stephanie at my house this past summer

Next week we have Coach Mark Davis flying in from Melbourne, Australia to do a session for our Chicagoland Networking meetup group on making money by becoming famous on the internet (or something along those lines. ).

Can’t wait to see Mark again! He’s crashing at our place so I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to catch up.

Ciao for now! I’ll let you know how the cider turns out!