Heidi Rittner

[Hollywood Heidi]

Well, I guess you can't really call it a "character" as I'll be playing myself. No, it's not some ego maniacal thing. I just thought it'd be interesting to see how I'd take being stranded on an island. I'll be completely true to myself, so I'm not sure if I'll be very interesting as I don't think I have half the courage of the people in the show or have much to offer, but I hope I'll at least be somewhat amusing to watch. ;D

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Name: Heidi Rittner

Age: DOB is November 7, 1978, so that puts me at 25 (at time of plane crash, 09/22/04)

Occupation back home: I'd like my occupation to be something in the film industry, so I'm just working part time while doing research.

Appearance: Well, I'm just your average girl. I don't stick out in a crowd. I'm a jeans and t-shirt girl and the only kind of make-up I wear is eyeliner and mascara. I also rarely cut my hair, so it's about to my waist. I've got no tattoos and the only piercing I have is in my upper left ear.


Nationality: White (Half Hungarian, half German to be exact)

Residence: Anaheim, California

Skills: Well hm. I can sing and I can swing dance better than average. I'm also good at organizing things. Not exactly skills that will help me while stranded on an island and I have a feeling I won't be of much help, but I can tell you that I will try. I'm also somewhat of a peacemaker and am good at listening to people's problems and giving advice. I'm pretty good at determining people's faults and what kind of person they are even if they try to hide it.

Weaknesses/bad habits: I'm probably the world's pickiest eater, which will probably be my worst weakness being stranded on an island. I tend to trust most people and think that everyone is basically good but at the same time, I'm a bit leery as I've been taken advantage of several times due to the fact I'm sometimes too nice. I tend to avoid emotional attachments as I'm afraid of being hurt, so I unintentionally give off a vibe that I'm not interested. Because of that fear, I tend to run away from anyone who approaches me looking as if they have intentions other than friendship.

Frequent moods/expressions: I'm almost always smiling and in a good mood as I live by the philosophy of living each day as if it were your last. I love to have fun and take every opportunity for it, though I'm not a big dare taker. My mood around groups of people I don't know is usually very shy and withdrawn. But around people I do know and am comfortable around, I am extremely outgoing and love to make people laugh, even at the expense of making myself look like a fool. Around people I don't know, I very easily blush, but around people I do know, well, let's just say I could probably make a sailor blush with some of the things I say, but I'm all talk as I'm an old fashioned girl with high morals which sometimes get me labeled as a goody two-shoes.

Reason for flight: Was returning home after visiting a good friend who had moved to Australia.

Item from wreckage: Luckily, I found my luggage, so I have the clothes I'd been traveling with as well as a couple of books, a few decks of cards, my iPod, PDA, and cell phone. Fat lot of good those last three will do me.

[Hollywood Heidi]

FLASHBACK TRIGGERED FROM HERE

July 2001

I sat in my '94 Toyota Celica, midnight blue, at the stop sign, waiting for the clearance to make my left turn. I always hated those turns without lights so I would take my sweet time and wait until a big clearing. Cars were going from right to left and left to right in front of me. Finally, cars to the right were held back by a red light and to the left, there were no cars in sight. It was safe to go. Still I took the turn slowly.

I was just about through the median when I took one last look to the left only to find the grill of a red truck two inches from my window, the top of the hood practically as tall as my car. (image of license plate reads HF108DI) There were no prior warnings; no horn honking, no sound of breaks slamming. Before I knew it, I was t-boned and my car pushed sideways for several feet.

It all happened so fast. I'd reflexively tensed every muscle and had squeezed my eyes shut. When I opened them again, my windshield was nothing but millions of cracks every which way and my side mirror was gone.

I seemed okay at first, but then my vision started to blur in my left eye until it blurred completely out. I can't see. Oh my God, I can't see out of my left eye! Please, please, please don't let me lose an eye. I put my hand up and when I brought it back down, it was dripping with blood. I looked at myself in my cracked rear view mirror and saw that my vision had just been blurred by blood flowing from a cut right above my eye. I then felt something in my mouth. Actually, a lot of somethings. My teeth. Dear God no, don't let me have broken my teeth. I was happy to be alive, sure, but the thought of multiple corrective surgeries scared the hell out of me. I brought up a shaky hand and spit out the stuff. It was glass. Thank God not teeth. I must have gotten glass in my mouth when I'd gasped, grimaced, or screamed. I had no idea what my reaction had been, it'd happened so fast.

Someone was at my window asking if I was alright. It was a woman passenger from the truck. "Yah," I said shakily as I tried to get my cell phone. I have to call my family. My hands were too shaky to dial so someone helped me as I listed off the number to my mom's cell phone. Voicemail. I gave my sister's cell phone and she picked up. The person spoke into my phone letting my sister know what had happened as the ambulance arrived. They spoke to me, but it was all a blur. The driver's side door wouldn't open. It was crushed in too far. Thank God it had been locked or it would have folded in even farther, probably breaking my left leg. They had to drag me out of the passenger's side door. As I was put onto a gurney, I noticed a crowd of people standing along the shopping center I'd just come from, watching the scene. The next thing I knew, I was at the hospital and my family had arrived, followed by several friends. I got hugs, flowers, and comforting words.

I wept a little, not because of what happened or because of the pain, but because I saw that there were so many who cared about me. Despite what had just occurred, I was a truly blessed person.


(OOC: I made up the license plate number, of course, but the rest is accurate.)

[sugarplumfairy100]

Aww, is that a true story? Where you okay afterwards *sits on edge of chair in suspence*

[Hollywood Heidi]

Yup, true story. I'm playing as myself, so any flashback I do will be real. I'll put any fabrications in parenthesis at the bottom, like I did for the license plate number. Did you figure out the license plate?

And I was okay. I looked like a cat attacked my face and it took forever to settle it, but I won't say much because I might do another flashback on that.

[Ethan Rom]

Aw, poor you... That's pretty damn sad....

[Jack]

Dude that sucks, glad you're alright from it though.

[Ashlee Stone]

I can't work out the damn license plate, though that might have something to do with the fact that my pet parrots are squarking fit to burst *grr*

[Hollywood Heidi]

Lol, alrighty, licence place I made up was HF108DI...

HF, initials of Hanso Foundation

108, 4 + 8 + 15 + 16 + 23 + 42 = 108, also the number of minutes the timer resets to after pushing the botton

DI, initials of Dharma Initiative.

Not exactly that imaginative, but yah, there you have it!

[sugarplumfairy100]

Hey, it made me think! I thought it was something like that...honest

[ana]

~put's on hulk voice~ Heidi smash! He he he....Yeah I'm not sensitive when it comes to things like this.... Or things in general... Good flashback though, and yay me! I got the number plate thingy

[Hollywood Heidi]

Lol, no prob, I'm not looking for any sympathy or sitting here hoping everyone will go "Aw, poor you". I'm just trying to think of flashbacks for myself that are real and are at least a little interesting, but my life is pretty darn calm and laid back. Not much drama so I probably won't have too many flashbacks as I don't wanna bore you guys (or myself by writing out mundane things). ;D

[ana]

I figured you wouldn't have written about it if it was a sore subject, but I'm glad you did. The bit were you think your teeth are broken, but realise you got glass in your mouth was interesting. I don't think I'd expect something like that to happen, but then i've never been in a car crash. Fortunately.

[Hollywood Heidi]

Hey people, I'm not sure if and when I'll do any other flashbacks for myself as I've said before, nothing particularly exciting has happened (well, not on the scale of the flashbacks in the show or some of the ones ya'll have written) in my life. But I'm going to use this post to put more information about myself, details you might not be able to see in the pic, so you guys can get a better mental image of me and I'm also going to keep track of who I've met and about how well I know them. Reading all the posts and flashbacks makes me think I know and have met most everyone but I really haven't met too many people yet so this will hopefully keep me from making any mistakes in the RPG.

MORE ABOUT ME[/b]

Height: 5'7"

Weight: I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you

Eyes: light blue and grey blue

Hair: Medium brown with some red, but being in the sun so much will start to put more red into it.

Okay, seriously, I feel really weird describing myself and I have no idea what else to add. If there's anything else you guys want to know, just ask me and I'll add it on here. But I give you fair warning guys, if you ask me my bra size, I will bitch slap you... ;D Lol, we ladies get enough of that on IMs from random guys.


RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PEOPLE ON ISLAND

ANA LUCIA - Met her on day two, was approached by her with news of the fuselage burning. Don't know her name yet

BEAU - Helped build my shelter, haven't gotten his name yet

BEN HENRY - Met him on night two when he came to see what was happening after Sarah came stumbling out of the jungle

BRITTANY - Met and chatted at the airport, around her a lot on the island, consider her a friend

CYRUS - Met him on day two, approached me when I was about to make the mistake of agreeing to help Ana Lucia move bodies

EDMUND - Met him on day two, accompanied me into jungle to get the tarp which will become my shelter

ELLIOT - Met her on day two, approached us about helping out to collect firewood

ETHAN - Met him the first day, look to him a lot for survival advice, consider him more of an acquaintence, helped me out of two possibly fatal situations (day 1, getting away from plane before it blew up, and day 2, helping me out of the jungle when the monster was around)

JACK - Warned me to get away from the fuselage the first day, but never got his name and never actually talked to him. Met him again on night two, still don't have his name

JINX - Met her on night two when little Sarah brought me over to her during the fuselage memorial

JOHN - Sat next to on the plane, around him a lot on the island, consider him a friend

SARAH - Met her on night two when she came stumbling out of the jungle. Helped her to a fire and spoke with her a while

SARAH APPLETON - Met her on night one when I heard her out in the jungle speaking French only. Helped her out but didn't get to know her until day 2, when she was speaking English and we agreed to look out for each other. Get along pretty well with her and her French personality and I don't know how many others she may have, if any.

WILLO - Met him on day two, chatted for a while and introduced ourselves. Am currently borrowing his newspaper

SONNY - Met on day 3, short conversation on what was happening as far as rescue


************

Okay, I think those are the only people I've officially met or exchanged words with. If I've forgotten anyone, please let me know so that I can update my information.

[LostLuverJemmz]

Hey that's a great idea Heidi! ;D Very organised! Mind if I do something similar?

[Hollywood Heidi]

Lol, that's me, the organizational freak! Not at all, Jemma. Go right ahead. My memory can be a bit dodgy at times and I have trouble keeping track of who I have or have not met yet.

[LostLuverJemmz]

Same here. I forget homework, what I've just done, what I only just said, even where I'm going! My mum's the same so I think it's genetical
lol. Thanke though! ;D

[Hollywood Heidi]

Okay you guys, I told you my life isn't all that exciting so this is more of a mushy flashback but a memory I'll never forget because it meant a lot to me. I wrote it out as best as I could recall. The only one that is fictional is the last flashback which takes place a few days before the crash but I based the conversation on what our conversations usually sound like.


FLASHBACK TRIGGERED FROM HERE


Seven years before the crash

I sat at the front desk of my work, covering the phones for the receptionist's lunch break when my cell phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, I saw it was my aunt.

"Hello?" I said quietly.

"Heidi, can you talk?" After I confirmed I could, she continued. "I need your help with something. Bobby's grades have really dropped. He's not doing his homework, he's not studying, and he won't listen to me."

Bobby was her son, my cousin. His father had passed away from leukemia a little less than a year before. He was only eight when he lost his dad and it had been really hard on him considering how close they'd been. I usually only saw Bobby during family get togethers now, though I had spent a lot of time with him when he was younger, strolling him around the mall next to the salon his and my mother worked at during many summer days and weekends.

Realizing that I had been silent as memories passed through my mind, I finally spoke up. "Okay, what did you need from me?" I asked confused.

"I wanted to know if you could come over and talk to him. He's always listened to you."

I was a bit surprised at that. I always did have an authoritative way about me and perhaps the fact that I usually treated kids as adults was the reason he listened to me. I never babied him much and never made exceptions for his wrong doings just because he was a kid.

"Okay. Yah, I can do that. I'll head over right after work."

After saying our goodbyes, I stared at my phone in thought, still going over it in my mind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Three years Later (Four years before the crash)

I sat next to Bobby at his desk going over his homework with him. I'd spent nearly every single day with him since the day his mom had called me, helping with homework and studying during the school year, taking care of him and taking him places during his summer breaks and weekends. His mom was many times really busy with work and spending time with her boyfriend.

"Okay, so you understand it now?" I asked him after going over a math problem.

"Yah," he said feeling better now as it had been causing him great frustration. I started looking over the next problem when he spoke again. "I wish my mom was like you."

I looked at him, surprised to hear that. It was me who would lecture him and ground him and many times his mother who would let him play and such when he was supposed to be grounded, making it frustrating for me because the kid wasn't learning about discipline that way. But still, it was me who was always hard on him so I sometimes thought he dreaded the times I was there during the school year.

I felt my heart melt and smiled at him, feeling that all the time I'd spent with him over the years had been worthwhile. I was also glad his mom wasn't home to hear what he'd said. I suddenly realized how I'd come to care about him as if he were my own child.

"Don't say that to your mom, okay? It would really hurt her feelings Even if you get really mad at her. She's trying. She's just very busy." I ran my hand over his hair. "I'll always consider you my first baby," I said in all honesty with a smile as I ruffled his hair. "Now let's finish this homework so we can watch a movie."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A few days before the crash

Shelby, who'd I'd come to Australia to visit, picked up her phone as it rang. "It's for you," she said, holding out the receiver. I'd given my phone number to my family in case they needed to reach me.

I took the phone from her. "Hello?"

"Hey mom," was the reply.

I smiled brightly at hearing Bobby's voice. He'd started calling me that sometimes but didn't call me 'mom' very often anymore. "Hey, my baby." He was hardly a baby now that he 16 years old. "How's it going?"

"Fine. Are you having fun? When're you coming back?"

"Yah, I've been having a blast. I'll be flying back on Wednesday. How've you been doing? Have you been doing all your homework?"

There was a pause before he said, "Yah."

"That was convincing," I said sarcastically. I sighed as I thought of having to give him another lecture when I got home. The kid still had problems with responsibility. "So what've you been up to?"

"Just hanging out with friends," was all he said.

I rolled my eyes. No matter what age they were, men weren't very talkative over the phone. "Okay kidlette, I'm gonna let you go. We were just heading out. Be good."

"I won't," he replied back as always.

"I know," I laughed. "See you soon. Byebye."

[ana]

So does that kinda make you a single mom Heidi? ;D

You're quite the sweetheart really aren't you. I reckon all the pervy stuff is a cover.

[Hollywood Heidi]

Lol, yah, guess I kinda can be considered a single mom, though not nearly as much work as actual single moms do. He's not with me 24/7 and I don't pay all his expenses, just for fun things like annual passes to Disneyland and Universal and movies, etc. but his mom sometimes pays me back for it. My baby is 18 now, soon to be 19 (holy shit that makes me feel old) and I started teaching him about responsibility several years ago by having him pay his own way. ;D Of course, now I get the "Heidi can I borrow some money" calls, especially for things he needs to pimp his car (sigh, boys and their cars) but we're keeping tabs and he pays me back.

It hasn't always been smooth sailing however. I was the only one who could tell when he was lying and he eventually got so good at it that I couldn't see through them until his report card came and it was bad. Really bad, as in summer school and damn near having to take the year over again. Made me feel as if I wasted so very much time I could have been out having fun when all I was trying to do was help. There was probably a years length in time that we didn't talk to each other because the deceiving got so bad that I just had a breakdown and walked away. I'd also been getting lectured over the years by several people about him not being my responsibility and that I should be out having fun and meeting people so I came to the conclusion that they were right. I found out he kept on doing worse and felt guilty as all hell that I'd walked away from him for so long.

*Sigh* I know I sound like a friggin' Mary Sue, but I've got my issues and my faults. I used to be a lot nicer but I got taken advantage of so much because of it that I've become more guarded and weary. I just sometimes care too much and tend to meddle, thinking that I can help people to be happier.

But anyway, Bobby and I are great friends now and we hang out once every week or two. As I said, I'll always consider him my first baby. ;D I'm also happy to report that, thanks to my help in raising him, he's just as pervy minded as I. *wipes away tear* I'm so very proud! ;D

Okay, see this is what happens when it's 2 a.m. and I'm still on the computer. Ya'll can put away your violins now and no, I'm not looking for people to shower me with "poor Heidi" comments, especially since I seriously feel like my life is really great. I just, I don't know, felt comfortable opening up and telling ya'll that.

[Jack]

wow, I think its so cool that you did all that for him