MandiCrocker

Who The Heck Are You, Anyway? Part 1

***Newsflash: Initially this was supposed to be a little blurb about my business & what my plans are. I got overwhelmed in the backstory & kept going farther & farther back. Somehow it has turned into a 125 part series on my life from the start & how I got to this blog. This may bore you to tears, I'm just warning you. So you bring the tissues; I'll bring the pain.***

Sometimes I get in my own little world. The Mandi J. Smith world where I work a ton, work out a ton, come home & call the boyfriend a ton, stay up too late a ton & then sleep for five seconds NOT a ton-- wake up & do it all again the next day. When I get into this routine, I forget to fill my loved ones in on what I'm doing & they get aggravated. Eeks!

I recently had a friend tell me she had no idea I'm starting an online business, something I've been working on for months & months & months. Then it occurred to me, if she doesn't know, then my blogsters (that's you!) certainly don't know. Maybe you'd want to know! Maybe you're wondering if MandiCrocker is really MandiCrockPot!!?? MandiCrackWhore!!?? Or maybe I should be called MandiCrackCornAndNoOneCares!!? So long-winded story short, this is a bit about who I am & what I'm doing. So you know a little about the girl behind the goofy seagull pictures! Word.

I grew up in beautiful upstate New York.

Hey kid, enjoy it while it lasts!

Soon your gonna be selling crack off that bike to pay your credit card bills!

Johnstown: The rich historic land that is privy to some of the most beautiful Victorian homes I've ever seen. The epitome of gorgeous small town America. Johnstown: The land where the stench of the leather mills will rot out your nostrils if you pass by on a humid summer day. The land where Bon Jovi & Def Leppard are still blasted at the 2009 Fonda Fair like 1984 albums were just created. Johnstown is half wonderfully classy & half deliciously white trash. I'm mucho proud to say I'm a little bit of both. :)

Initially, I started out as a dancer. If you didn't know I was in a highly prestigious dance company called The Verlene Tierney Dancers? Yeah. Totally awesome. We had pink satin jackets. We clogged on a Cerebral Palsy Telethon once at six in the morning. I mean, how many people can say that?

I've been playing field hockey since grade school. It's like 'Varsity Blues' in our town. We believed in pride, tradition, dedication and excellence. That kinda sounds like we were part of a family owned, corn-fed sausage company. Huh.

We weren't just players. We were champions.

*cue 'Lunatic Fringe'*

I was also on the Johnstown High school Bowling Team- What! What! I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. The shirt, the shoes, the bangs- ALL OF IT.



My senior year I worked up the courage to audition for the spring musical Godspell. The Johnstown Leader Herald called it 'a treat for the eyes, ears, soul.' Take that, Zac Effron! IN YOUR FACE, VANESSA HUDGENS!

I got to sing "Learn Your Lessons Well" and was part of the duet "By My Side." I always knew I wanted to be an actress but I never told anybody. This was secret validation for me. Kind of a big turning point. And I've gotten more use out of that cloggin' petticoat, I sway-uh! Eventually, I gradutated.

I went to a small Christian liberal arts school outside of Boston called Gordon College. I majored in Communications. Then I majored in Art. Then I majored in Business. Then I majored in Communications & Education. Then I graduated with a degree in Communications. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Communications.

*sigh*

Then I moved back home and miraculously (because a Communications degree prepares you for NOTHING) got a job at the local phone company. People called to ask me about their bills- or if they lived in Minnesota, how to install service in their windmill! Yuperooney.

Note: The Christmas decorations. Note the homemade advent calendar on the left made of peppermints. Note the empty tray of cookies beneath it. This will all be important later when I actually blog about what I intended to blog about & don't run off on any more 30 year tangents!

Oh, size ten, why did you go away? *sigh*

In my downtime I did a play called "Over the River & Thru The Woods." I was an 80 year old Italian grandmother. Looking back on it, I sounded ENTIRELY Jewish. So did our entirely Jewish cast! Oops.

Once again the Johnstown Leader Herald said and I quote- ahem, "...a 23 year old, having the farthest stretch to play an 80 year old Italian grandmother, Mandi Smith gives a stellar performance." Huh!? Huh!? IN YOUR FACE, MERYL!!!! WHO'S PICKIN' BETWEEN THEIR CHILDREN AT THE NAZI CAMP NOW!!??

I knew since I was little that I wanted to be an actor (once I got over those crazy dreams of being a teacher!). I kept it secret because I didn't think anyone would believe I had the talent or believe I could really move so far away. I didn't have a clue about what to do but I knew The Groundlings were in LA & that they had classes there. My seesters, Darci (Darci Farci Ding Dong) and Jodianne (Jo Dianne- cause that's what it always says on her mail?) also lived in L.A. But after riding on the ginormous publicity from the Glove Theater's rockin' performance of 'Over the River,' I knew NOW was the time. I had to make the big move.

But don't worry, I was very responsible & gave a month's notice. Very good.

No really, size ten... WHY? Waaaah.

And thus concludes the end of MandiCrocker's blog: "Who The Heck Are You, Anyway? Part One." Stay tuned for the next installment when Mandi flies to LA. How does she handle it!? Is she successful!? Find out next time on MandiCrocker! (Wow, this really has nothing to do with what I'm up to- HA!)