All's well ends well

I'm recovered!!!! or at least halfway there. SO HAPPY i ate a cookie today and didn't cough my lungs out.

Work

thank God i got better because i had to go to work on friday, and i didn't wanna be forced to go home again because of my germ-infested body. but i was fine throughout the entire day, except for one or two ridiculous bouts of coughing. YAY i made it through! and i actually got to do some productive work in the office.

i did some filing, then wrote practice breakdowns for characters in a new upcoming TV pilot called... maybe i shouldn't name it, for confidentiality reasons. so anyway i read the script for the first episode and summarized the characters. i was pretty eager to read the script to see what kind of story, among the millions that get sent in everyday, gets picked to actually be aired on TV. BUT... it was such a disappointment. the worst script in the world. well, maybe not. but it was pretty awful. sounded like the lamest story about a boring character that i didn't give two hoots about. i'm pretty sure no one i know would tune in for a show like that. but i guess it caught the network's attention 'cause it's being produced! really have no clue why.

and then i got to do some phone work! i called a whole list of people in the 'reject' pile -- those who sent in their resume and headshot to be (hopefully) represented by my company, but got rejected. for some of them, i had no idea why. they were STUNNING, like seriously very good-looking. i had a very enjoyable time gazing at their photos while calling them. and they had a reasonable amount of experience, some even in popular movies and TV shows! so i don't know why they got rejected. BEATS ME. but anyway, i called them all, some went to voicemail, some answered, but all were generally SUPER nice and thanked me for bothering to pick up the phone to inform them of the news, even though it was bad news. i guess in this town it's understood if you don't get a callback, you're not wanted. harsh reality.

after that there was nothing else to do, so i caught up on homework reading and worked on my script some. really proud of my improvements. i'm one step closer to understanding my characters in greater depth and carving out the plot! in screenwriting class, my prof asked if i was always a 'good student.' i was like... yeah... i guess i am. since i always like to get my work done in advance. although i've been slacking since i got here. there's just something about California that screams VACATION, not STUDY HARD. but he seemed pretty impressed by my work, although i only did it the night before. haha. but i'm determined to work hard now. he really made me feel like i was wasting a great opportunity, being here, because i wasn't making full use of the class to learn.

so i'm gonna spend more time thinking, living and breathing my screenplay. because he said we're competing with film students from UCLA, USC, and all kinds of Ivy League schools. and these people are CRAZY passionate about their work. so we have to be like that too, if we ever wanna make it in this town. i guess that kinda made me think. i'm not crazy passionate about anything, really. i'm fine with anything, as long as it's fun and has something to do with writing. i think. that's why i'm having second thoughts about graduate school. why study something you're not sure u wanna do? and compete alongside all these HARD CORE students who LOVE what their doing to the point where they worship it???

and then i took the bus back, and would ya know it, a fat annoying old man, who felt the need to make weird comments every so often, sat next to me. and took up one and a half seats, leaving me with a measly half. it was an awkward hour, made more uncomfortable by the awful brakes on the bus and the freezing cold air con. couldn't wait to bolt out of there.

Film shoot

Awoke at the crack of dawn to help Faith with her film shoot today. luckily, it was at the center, where we have our classes, so it wasn't very inconvenient. her script took place in a bomb shelter, so we painted walls and stuck newspaper on them and put lots of cardboard and blankets around. it looked pretty dang awesome, especially with the lights dimmed and a greenish light cast on the scene. it's amazing what the camera can do, because our homemade 'bomb shelter' was TINY -- two walls and no ceiling or door. but with all the close-ups and tight shots, you'd never know we were filming in a normal room.

Our actors were AMAZING. two guys - who played brothers - one guy was in his 30s, he was originally from south africa, and he's the only one from his family here in the US. the other was the adorable 15 year old kid, who i found out was from Europe, and he and his parents were the only ones from their family here in the US! it was so funny. because i was the make-up artist, so i also told them i was the only one from my family here in the US! and we shared a bond for a second. it was cool. they totally understood where i was coming from because they've been through it. and they were pretty good actors, too, they got along like best buddies even though they just met.
i think it's crazy how EVERYONE in LA wants to be an actor. so much so that they'd even act in student films for free. but the kid was pretty talented. hope he gets far, 'cause he was so sweet and funny. he chattered incessantly, and was like, in spanish class, after a spanish exam, we watched jumanji! dubbed in spanish!! hahaha.
and he had the cutest big brown eyes :)

anyway, i've finally found my CALLING in life. i want to be a make-up artist!!!!!!!
seriously.
it's so fun! i've always been fascinated by makeup. i should go to beauty school!!! and i could do crazy makeup for films!!! OMG it's perfect!!! shall go research beauty schools now. i did the guys' makeup for the shoot, and it mostly consisted of making them look dirty with dark brown eyeshadow smudged all over their faces and necks, newspapers rubbed all over their arms, and lots of gel in their hair to make it look gross and tousled. it was SO fun. the most fun i've had on a shoot so far. way more fun than holding a boom mic, that's for sure!

oh. and i realized. a Director of a film doesn't do everything. did you know that?? i certaintly didn't. i thought directors were in charge of the entire film! but no. they are the ones with the vision, who tell the actors what to do and what they want the film to look like. very big picture. but the Director of Photography is actually the one operating the camera, focusing on shots, choosing which angle to shoot which scene. isn't that weird? i never knew that!!! and then the Producer is the one who handles all the logistics, like meals, permits to shoot, schedules to shoot, film budgets, all that stuff. and then the Production Designer creates the set and decorates it however the director sees it. and of course there's the sound grips and lights and all that. and then in post production, sound and picture editors cut the film and put it together. isn't it crazy how many people it takes to make one little film???

Mooncake Festival

Today was the annual Mooncake Festival, or Moon Festival, they call it here. so we went to Chinatown to celebrate, cuz that's where the party's at. they had crazy martial arts people from Shaolin temple, a fire breather, acrobats and dancers perform. and then we walked around hoping against hope to find a dim sum restaurant, but failed. hani and i were so sad.

here's the story...

we went into one seafood restaurant and asked if they had dim sum, but they didn't. then i asked if there was one nearby, and the waitress looked at me incredulously, like i was deaf and dumb and had five eyes. she said no, dim sum is only served during lunch (spoke really slowly too, like i was a newborn baby). and she muttered something that sounded like an insult in cantonese.

and THEN, this entire chinese family next to us proceeded to turn around and gawk at me and hani (the only asians in our group) in shock and disgust, as if it were some sort of blasphemy that Asians would dare ask for dim sum in the evening (it was about 8pm). they glared at us like we had somehow violated an asian code of conduct and embarrassed our entire race. all the women shook their heads and muttered under their breaths about the stupidity of asking for sacred dim sum at such an ungodly hour, and gave us the evil eye. then the grandfather took it upon himself to reprimand us. he wobbled up to us with his cane, wagged his finger in my face, and said, 'no dim sum!' repeatedly. he looked upset, like he'd just found out his restaurant business was given a 'B' in hygiene. he was so fragile that i held back my urge to say, 'but the website said: open till 1am!', just in case he died of a heart attack upon hearing my words. i think the entire family thought we were a disgrace to asians, that we would actually think there was dim sum available at night. obviously we fled the scene rather quickly, and got laughed at the entire time by our non-asian friends. we finally found another restaurant and settled down, but alas, the food was even worst than those asian american cheapo buffets.

i really don't like all these asian american 'chinese' dishes. they're not chinese! there's NO SUCH THING as 'beef chop suey' or 'crab rangoon' or 'egg drop soup' or 'moo shoo chicken'!!! even if there is, i've never heard of it!!!!!! so weird.