Laughter makes me come alive. Either being made to laugh or igniting it.
My grandmother always would say, "This, too, shall pass." It is always true.
My first waitress job was at Johnny Rockets in New Jersey, and then I waited tables at a sports bar.
There is always a reason. When I look back on things that really upset me at the moment, I can always see why it happened in retrospect.
I usually need to sit with pain a while. Really feel it. Then I need to talk it out. Luckily, I am surrounded by wonderful listeners who haven't told me to shut up yet.
Dishonesty makes me feel vulnerable.
When I was out of work when I first moved to L.A., one of the first things my husband and I did was buy season's passes to Disney and whenever I was bummed out about work, we would go to Space Mountain, and it was like a physical injection of anti-depressants.
I do yoga daily as well. I need to start the day with some sort of physical activity. That combined with the meditation clears my mind and energizes me.
Meditation is very important to me. I feel off-balance when I skip a day.
When my husband came to my parents' house for the first time, he asked, 'Why is everyone screaming? Why are they so angry?' I said, 'No one's angry. This is just how we communicate.
TV was my life, growing up. I ran home from school to watch television, and even did my homework with the TV on - my mom had a rule that as long as my grades didn't fall, I was allowed to. So it was my dream to work in television.
I was a super shy, shy kid, so that was kind of my way of expressing myself - to mimic what I saw on TV. I was a bit of a weird kid, but luckily my parents encouraged it.
I knew from a young age that I wanted to perform. I went to an arts camp called Brookdale Arts Camp, in New Jersey, from the time I was 6, and then I was a counselor there through high school.
I love an arcade. I love a boardwalk game. But I also love a rollercoaster. Though I think the rollercoaster love comes from the fact that it took a really long time for me to reach the height requirement, so I promised myself very early on that when I reach that, I will not take it for granted.
My fear is that, had I stayed in Jersey, I would have become Snooki because I'm just a bottle of hair dye away.
I was kind of like the Rhea Perlman of the bar. I was like Carla on “Cheers.” People were more afraid of me. There was a point where I got a little surly. There were only so many chicken wings I could serve before losing the smile on my face.
I was a theater dork in high school and did all the plays. My theater teacher in high school, Janet Spahr, was absolutely incredible and mentored me throughout school. She taught me a lot about relying on my instincts.
