Finals

I will be a college graduate SOON!!!

I had no final exams today. But I have two tomorrow. And it's 11pm. And I haven't started studying. One of the finals has a 30-page study guide. And I have no motivation to look at it. I did laundry, I went to sell my books back to the bookstore (and made 60bucks), I went to dinner, I went to the library to socialize, I watched Grey's Anatomy and The Vampire Diaries, I went to Starbucks with friends, I went out to the lounge for a cookies and coffee study break, and now I'm blogging. What a great waste of the entire day. I had a Caramel Light Frappuccino, and I think my hands are shaking now because my body's not used to coffee. This is probably the third cup of coffee I've had... in my entire life.

I can't think. I can't do anything. I just want to get the finals OVER WITH. 10am Tuesday morning can't come fast enough. I even changed my Wednesday final to Tuesday at 11am so I could be done by Tuesday at noon. That means I have to hurry through the first final for Web Design, get it done within half an hour, rush to the other final for Contemporary Christian Belief, and get it done. OMG I CANT WAIT. I don't even care if I'm prepared for them or not. I have an A+ in Web Design and 100% in Contemp. Not to brag, but I'm pretty sure my grades will be good no matter what I get for the finals.

I WILL BE DONE WITH COLLEGE TOMORROW AT NOON!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, Ruben, Sungah and I took a trip into the woods behind Bergwall dorm today after dinner to see his artwork for class. It was rainy and muddy and I shrieked everytime my foot squished in the mud. But it was an adventure, and we took pics to document it. haha. He also got poison ivy from god knows where (probably from being out in the woods building his tent thingy), and he tried to spread it to sungah and I by touching us. So we got paranoid and took a shower. I really hope I don't get it. Now I feel itchy all over. But I'm sure it's all in my head. At least I hope so. If I get it during graduation I will KILL HIM!!!


Ruben and his tent artwork (wayyy in the background) made out of sticks and things of nature.


Me and Sungah, being the good friends we are, braved the rain and mud to see and appreciate his work.

Last week of college classes

Megan, me, and Ruben. love them both!


Playing foosball in the Sammy basement while waiting for the surprise party to start


Awesome people :)


Salute to nakhoon, the korean guy who's leaving for the military


RUBEN! I'm seriously going to miss this kid SO much. he's pretty much awesome.


At campus safety waiting to go to Flattop. International students run on international time, as usual.


My two asian boys. i will miss them!!!


Seniors at Flattop.


International students at Flattop

This week's been a mixture of excitement, nerves, and nostalgia. I went to all my classes for the last time. The feeling was a little weird, knowing I'll never walk into a class here at Taylor in Upland, Indiana, ever again. There was joy, yes, but also sadness at the thought of leaving all these wonderful people who have been a huge part of my life for the past four years. A few months ago, graduation couldn't come fast enough. Now, it can't come slow enough. It's just hard trying to juggle finals and packing all my stuff and treasuring every waking moment (haven't gotten much sleep) with all the people I love.

Wednesday was my final theme presentation in my Performing Oral Literature class. My theme was Sisterhood, and I did a narration from the movie 'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,' the song 'Still on Your Side' by BBMak, and an excerpt from 'Little Women' the play. It went pretty well, I think. By now I have no nerves getting up and performing in front of the class. I know I'm not the best performer, but it's actually kind of fun, this acting stuff.
We went to Indy at night... not the best idea. Ended up sleeping in the car and being super tired the next day.

Thursday I went shopping in Indy with claire... didn't really get much, because I already have WAY too much stuff to bring home. I honestly do not know how I'm going to fit everything I've owned this past four years into two tiny suitcases to bring home. I think there will be a lot of donating going on this coming week. I sold a bunch of clothes to this store called Plato's Closet, and they gave me $55 in return! It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.
Then AAA (Asian Awareness Association) had our annual spring dinner in Muncie at Red Sun, this Chinese buffet. It wasn't great, but it was better than most disgusting greasy asian buffets here.

Got back to campus late, and was planning to head straight to bed, but then we had not one, but TWO tornado warnings, and so we all had to go out in the hallway and wait for the warning to be over. So annoying. I was awake for the first, so I went out, but the second one was after midnight, so I just ignored it and stayed in my bed, praying that the tornado wouldn't hit us if not I'd probably be dead. So thank God I'm still alive and kicking. During the first warning I had a good heart-to-heart chat with a good friend who's been drifting away from me the past couple weeks. We talked things out, shared our struggles, ended up crying over the phone, and I felt much better about everything. I guess it just took some understanding on both our parts. But I'm glad we were honest... didn't want to leave here without setting things straight between us. I've done so many things this semester I'm not proud of, and they've damaged some of my friendships, so I guess I have less than a week to make things up and get my priorities straight.

Friday was the last day of classes... EVER. Such a weird feeling. Don't know what to think.
It was also ISS (International Students' Society) Senior Night, so we dressed up, piled up into 3 vans, and headed to Flattop Grille in Fort Wayne. It was a good time just being with friends and eating way too much. We took pictures, talked about memories, got gifts (photo album and photo collage) from others, shared our plans for after graduation... good times.

Went back to campus and hung out for a while at a friend's apartment. Almost went to Indy, but glad I didn't, because we went to Sammy, one of the dorms, for a friend's farewell party. One of the korean guys was leaving next year to go to the korean military, so we threw a surprise party for him. We all hid in the game room in the basement and jumped out and shocked him when he came in. He was touched to the point of tears. It made me almost cry too. But it was such a fun time just hanging out, eating cake, playing foosball and frisbee, and talking.

And then we went to another friend's apartment after that and got thoroughly entertained by a bunch of drunk people talking their heads off. It's funny how different people have different reactions to alcohol. Some people cry, some people start sharing their life story, some people fall asleep, some people laugh nonstop, some people get violent, and some people can't stop talking. So fascinating.

Saturday Sungah and I went around campus with a friend and took pictures for memory's sake, because we realized we didn't have many pictures of us around campus. So that was fun. Then I worked on a web design project... I'm actually kind of getting the hang of doing HTML coding on Dreamweaver. Who would've thought?! And then we had a girls' night out to downtown Indy, but ended up at broad ripple, where we found new places to go to. It was fun... got to meet new people and stayed over at a friend's place.

Today we had our last MuKappa event...ever. SO SAD. Went to the Daudts' house for cookies, fellowship, and worship. I'm going to miss these cozy worship sessions at their house. Got to catch up with friends and talk about future plans and summer plans and everything. Good times.

Dead Week

Pictures...


Carly and me. She's pretty dang awesome :)


ME AND MY TABLE AT THE SENIOR SHOW!!!!!!!!


AWWW I love my friends :)


The group of us at the David Choi concert. He was really, really short.

I think it's starting to hit me a little... that I'm leaving Taylor forever in less than 2 weeks. Kind of excited to never go to school again, but also kind of really sad to never see these people again. I wish we all didn't have to leave. But I guess things change, people change, life changes.

Anyway, Dead Week = A week of zero activities in preparation for finals week next week.
But that's a myth. Dead Week is NEVER dead. It's always FILLED with last minute tests, presentations, projects, events, and all sorts of nonsense. We think Dead Week actually means WE are dead due to excessive stress.

So this past weekend was crazy fun. I totally neglected all my homework, including my Senior Show (which was on Monday), in the name of fun :) We went to Indy on Friday and Saturday, but with a different group of people. Things were a little slow, maybe 'cause some of the universities have let out for summer, but it was still fun. Saw the usual 'loser crew' (old pervert men) there, so that was entertaining. Stayed over at a friend's apartment and got a shock when the parents came the next day.

Went to see Iron Man 2 on Sunday!! I love Iron Man, it's awesome, and the sequel lived up to expectations. Two hours full of action, adventure, explosions, and witty lines. Good times. Then we drove around at like 10 in the night trying to find some place to eat... and everything was closed, except Applebee's, so we went in. And they had a late night special - appetizers for $4! That made us happy. And then it was time to go back to Taylor and start doing homework.

I actually got some coffee from Starbucks (I NEVER drink coffee, EVER) because I was falling asleep and I needed to be up all night to work on my Senior Show. The last time I got coffee was many years ago, and it gave me a headache. But this time it actually tasted alright and it kept me up ALL NIGHT until 6am when I finally went to sleep. Wow. Coffee actually works wonders! But this isn't going to be a permanent fixture in my life - coffee is only for pulling all-nighters. So I finally started doing homework at 1am... putting together my works and writing my senior reflection. I freaked out a little because I had NO IDEA what to write for the reflection, but somehow it came to me thank God, and I managed to get it done and get 2 hours of sleep.

Anyway, the Senior Media Communication Show was on Monday, and I was printing out stuff and gluing the papers to cardboard and trying to make the cardboard stand up... all until the last minute. But everything worked out. TONS of people came to the show (it's a show displaying the works of all the Media Communication seniors), and all my friends came, which made me so very happy. And they were so proud of me, and I was so proud of myself... all my accomplishments in 4 years! Wow. Craziness. After that we had a Media Awards where they gave out school awards and state competition awards for works that people in the major did, and I got some 2nd place award from some Indiana press association for some feature news writing I did last year. Have no idea what it was, but that's cool :)

So glad the show is over and my portfolio is DONE! I have my life back now :) Not that I was doing much work on it before, but... it's nice to know I'm done with that.

My website!

I HAVE A WEBSITE!!!!!!! FOR MY PORTFOLIO!!!!!!!

www.benitaleeportfolio.com

I made it in DreamWeaver and bought the domain name (someone already bought benitalee.com and filled it with pictures. lame) and got a friend to host it and TA-DA! I have a real live website! coolness. the site itself isn't that great, its just a basic layout, but hey. it's a huge accomplishment for technology-dumb me. haha. Had to pay about $16 for the domain name for 2 years, but that's pretty alright.

1 month to graduation

EXACTLY. Time really does fly. I can't believe I'm actually graduating from college IN A MONTH! It's ridiculous. I'm kind of but also not really ready to be an independent adult living in the big bad world out there. This semester I've learned that the world is really big. And full of bad things and bad people. Even in a little Christian college like Taylor, sketchy stuff abounds. The things I've seen/heard about Taylor people has made me rather cynical of Christians in general. I guess we really are hypocrites. We go to church on Sunday and pretend to worship God and be holy and everything, and then during the week we get drunk and have free sex and do whatever we want. That's right, I said it. The thing that bugs me now is, doesn't anyone value their virginity anymore???? Seriously. I think there must be something wrong with me. Despite all the partying, I don't struggle with controlling myself when it comes to getting physical with guys. And I feel like everyone else does... except me. Maybe God really wants me to be a nun. Sigh.

Okay anyway, I haven't gotten much sleep since getting back from spring break; having Cartoon around is like a 24/7 party. haha. We went to the Reject Show, a Taylor performance where people can showcase whatever talents they have - dancing, singing, acting, doing lame stuff. It was pretty entertaining, especially watching a bunch of guys in tracksuits dancing to some kid song called 'Yummy in my Tummy.'

Friday we went with a bunch of random guys we just met to this place called Piere's, supposedly the biggest club in the midwest. Scoff, scoff. It was pretty lame. I mean, there were 5 bars/clubs in the place, and there was a stage with live performances and stuff, but if this is the best place, then I think everything in Indiana is truly pathetic. Can't wait to get out. One of the rooms was filled with black people - we went in for 5 seconds and ran out. Too scary. Not that I'm racist or anything, but they were just so aggressive and kinda really scary. I think we were the only 2 asians there. So I guess we kinda accomplished our 'goal' of dancing with Taylor boys, although they can't really be considered 'Taylor boys' since they were pretty corrupt.

So after being out all night, we slept for like 2 hours and then drove 2 hours to Purdue University with friends. We were pretty much dead the entire day. But it was fun, we went bowling, ate japanese food and frozen yogurt, went shopping at the mall, went to Flattop, and admired Purdue's huge campus. WHY DIDN'T I GO THERE?!?! I would have so much more fun. There's actually restaurants and stuff to do on campus. Seeing places like that makes me feel like I seriously wasted 4 years of my life. My prime years too. Should stop thinking about it.

And then Saturday night was awful. Won't elaborate, but it involved friends with benefits, dip, whiskey, and someone's apartment. Sometimes... people are just too crazy.

Sunday we cooked Thai curry and ramen and had a pretty big party. Then we went to Payne's to catch up with a friend we've known since freshmen year. It's weird to think I've known some of my friends for about 4 years now. Doesn't seem that long. Then we had a party/therapy session in the galleria of the library in the wee hours of the morning. I think the people trying to study there must have hated us. We tried to play a prank by moving some of the benches outside into the building, but in the morning someone moved them back. Sad.

Monday we caught up with old friends again, had Greek food at Trejo's Gyros, which was awesome. And I realized how much we've changed. We've all become more... liberal, I guess, is the politically correct term. And I also realized how annoying it is to have to find places to drink in secret in this school.

Thursday (and Sunday) was another random night of drinking. I guess no one here really cares about the covenant we make not to smoke/drink/sin. Some people are seriously HILARIOUS when they get tipsy. And I didn't know the legal age to buy cigarettes was 18! ohhhhh... fun times.

Sunday we went to Ivanhoe's, just the two of us. I was kinda sad Cartoon was leaving. When we said goodbye on Monday we both were secretly pretending to be okay but I was kinda tearing up and later I found out so was she. It's just that normally we say bye and we see each other the next school year. But now it's like... we're going our separate ways after graduation, and I don't know when I'll see her again. In fact, I don't know if I'll ever see some of the people here ever again. Kind of depressing to think about that.

So anyway, I found out this new AWESOME workout called ZUMBA. OMG it's the best workout in the world!!! It's like dancing/aerobics for an hour to awesome hip hop/latin dance music!!! SO. MUCH. FUN. I've been doing it everyday this week. My dance skills will be improved by the end of this semester. haha.

Yesterday we drove to Ball State University to see Youtube star David Choi in action. My first thought? He's SUPER SHORT, even shorter than me, and I'm pretty short. But his performance was solid. Sung ah was pretty starstruck. haha. We had some time to pen questions we had for him, and I asked 'If you could be any Disney princess, which would you be?' I didn't actually think he would pick mine, but he did, and my friends pointed to me when he asked who wrote it, and apparently my face was beet red. hehe. I feel kinda bad we left the concert early, and not only that, we met this cute Caucasian guy who spoke Chinese, and so all 6 of us were crowded around him, with our backs to David Choi. haha. He was probably like, these girls came to see me and now they're flirting with a random guy?!!? And then they leave early??!?! Sorry, David Choi.

Then we went to Walmart and then MT Cup to hang out and play games - typical Taylor fun activity.

Today was MOSAIC NIGHT! International performances and stuff. This year the turnout was awesome. SO many people came, I was shocked. There was an African dance, a Bahamian dance/song, a Chinese song, an Indian song, a Middle Eastern dance, etc. It was pretty cool, but the best part was this guy from Hawaii who did a fire dance. Totally reminded me of how awesome Hawaii is and how I want to go back there again sometime.

In other news, my portfolio's almost done! YES.

In case you haven't noticed...

I've been trying to blog more often this month, because looking back at previous months/years, sometimes I go weeks without blogging. And I think it'll be nice to be able to read this blog years from now and reminisce and laugh at my immature self.

So... haven't been up to much lately. Just a lot of huge projects and busy work I have to do. I sort of completed my personal website today! YAY! It was an awfully tedious process, made even worse by my laziness. My website consists of an About Me page, a Resume page, and a Portfolio page, and in an attempt to make things easier, I stuffed all the information I wanted onto a Photoshop piece, and then put that image into Dreamweaver (so I wouldn't have to put in any text. just the image). But alas, it did not work; it only created a multitude of problems for me. And so I enlisted the help of my supernice professor. But when he told me to start over because everything was becoming too complicated, I refused to believe him and continued making things even more complicated. But the good news is, I FINISHED IT! Even though the code is 10 times more complex than it needs to be. Oh well who cares. The main thing is, I'm done. Although it might possibly make the top 10 ugliest websites in the world.

Here's the evolution of my website design.


From this...


To this...


To this! I know, it isn't the greatest. But at this point, I don't care. I'm a writer, not a designer.

I also have to work on my portfolio (digital and print), and perfect every single piece of work I've ever done in my life. Okay, maybe not all of them, just 9 of them. But still! I have to do the layout of the pages like a magazine, put them in Acrobat, make the links workable, etc. Apparently this project takes about 40 hours to complete. And so far I have put in 0. Awesome. At least it isn't due till 2 weeks after spring break. So I guess I will be living, eating, sleeping, and breathing my portfolio until April 19.

Other than that (and job hunting), I really don't have much on my plate this semester, which is nice. Because I get to hang out with friends and surf the net while they slog away at homework. We've been having more ramen parties recently, as well as homemade dinners at people's apartments, which is such a welcome break from the DC food.

I think one habit I need to put into practice is sleeping early (or earlier). But this computer screen is just so addictive, I can't tear my eyes away from it. Dang you, world wide web! Another thing I need to do is workout more. Even though I have tae-bo/pilates class twice a week, I need to do more, because I did the elliptical for 45 minutes on Monday, and now I'm suffering the consequences of sore legs. Also need to start eating more healthy, which is hard because of the array of crap they call 'food' here.

Why the sudden talk of changing habits, you say? Well, I've recently learned (in class) that people become set in their ways after a while, and so I want to become set in good ways, not bad ones, if that makes sense. Because people in heaven/hell are maximally set in their ways, and they don't even have the desire to change, which is so weird because you would think someone in hell would see the gross mistake they made and want to go back to God. I don't know, all this learning about hell is so confusing and overwhelming.

I've always thought people who don't accept Jesus and believe in Him will go to hell. But now some people are saying there could be a second chance after death, or when you go to hell you only suffer for a while then you perish, etc. And how much suffering does each person experience in hell? Is it measured by the amount of sins they committed? How is that even calculated? And if God is so loving, why does He send people to hell? Why can't He create us all to be God-lovers instead of self-lovers? I understand that will take away our free will and all, but still. What about those people who have never heard the gospel? Some say they will probably not believe even if they heard, so that's why God didn't let them hear the gospel. But that doesn't even make sense! Why on earth would God create these people if they were going to go to hell anyway?? Why let them lead meaningless lives on earth just to suffer for eternity?

Also, do people in hell repent of their sins? Do they realize the mistake they've made? Or do they just go on sinning forever? How can they not know then that God is the true God?

I feel like we will never know the answers to these questions. All we can do is speculate and live our lives in righteousness, glorify God, and fulfill His purpose for our lives.

On another note, I think sometimes people pick and choose aspects of God that they like, and God ends up becoming somewhat of a 'Stepford God' (like in the movie Stepford Wives where the women were all perfect and in the end it was revealed they were all robots). But we should accept all His characteristics, from His wrath to His love to His grace, because they are all truth, and they are all part of the Christian faith.

Counting down the days

I can't believe graduation is exactly TWO MONTHS AWAY. I've thought about that day ever since I was a measly freshman at Taylor, and now it's actually almost here. Back in 2006, when I just came to the States, 2010 seemed like something in the great distance, something that would never reach me. But here it is, and we're already in March. I seriously don't understand how come time flies by so quickly. How can it be I'm already turning 23 this year? Where did all the time go???

I guess I'm starting to freak out a little, especially hearing other people talk about job offers they have and places they want to live after graduation. It's hard to commiserate with those who don't have jobs as yet, because even if they end up jobless after graduation, they can at least go home and stay with their parents for a while. I, on the other hand, have to find a dang job NOW or else it's goodbye career, hello waitressing (to make ends meet in some city) or hello pizza shop in Perth (and I did not slog four years in college just to end up working at a pizza shop).

In all honesty, I am quite prepared to move to NYC/LA/Chicago/San Diego/San Francisco/Minneapolis/Colorado Springs/Pittsburgh/any major city in the USA and live in a cramped apartment and slave away at some restaurant just to have a shot at chasing my dreams. So many people have told me I should just move out to wherever I want to live, and find a job that puts food on the table first. And then keep looking for jobs I'm actually interested in. Which, I guess, makes sense, because you don't just land that coveted job right out of college. You have to network and climb your way up first. So I really don't mind doing that. Although I think my parents would freak if I moved to NYC and got a job as a shoe salesperson. But... sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. Life is all about taking chances, right? We only have one life, we should live it to the fullest.

I guess I'm a little worried about finding a job, getting a place to stay, making enough money to make ends meet, making friends, finding a community, getting plugged into a church, and all that stuff that comes when you move to a new, unfamiliar place. We talked about things that will change once we leave Taylor in class today, and I realize I'm probably never going to experience this sort of tight-knit community on such a large scale ever again (unless I work for some Christian organization). People in the real world aren't as nice, they don't smile at you on the street, they don't offer you a hand when you fall on the stupid ice. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, and I'm not sure if Taylor has prepared me for that. I can't help but feel a little overprotected in this tiny bubble of corn.

Today in class we also talked about life to-do lists. And it got me thinking, because I have no idea. I know what I want to do with my life next week, and the week after next, meaning I only have short-term plans. But what about in the next 10 years? What do I want to see myself accomplish by then?

So I thought up a list of to-dos for my life in the next decade:

-Travel the world and (perhaps) write about it
-Move to New York City and work for a major magazine publication
-Make a lasting, positive impact on those around me
-Have fun and go crazy and then finally settle down

I don't know. I just thought of it today, so I'll probably be adding other things to this list. And I don't know if my plans match up with God's plans for my life, but I'm not super attached to any of them, and if He wishes to change them, He's welcome to do so. Right now, my number one priority is just to GET A JOB.

Okay, off to apply for more jobs.

Interviews, Flower Diagrams, Friends, and Food

That about sums up my week.

Interviews

I conducted 7 informational interviews this week with Taylor alumnae, and it was a pretty interesting experience. I actually emailed about 20 Taylor alums, in fields like Broadcast Media, Publishing, and Journalism, and shamelessly asked them if I could interview them about their job and the industry so I could gain insight to what it's really like in the real world before I enter it. And I got about 10 replies, which surprised me; I thought most of them would probably brush me off as an annoying senior hunting for a job. So I'm really grateful they took the time to talk to me.

I got to speak with people who work as publicists in book publishing companies, writers in non-profit organizations, editors in lifestyle magazines, writers in fashion magazines, and all that kind of stuff. It was truly eye-opening, and I received a lot of good advice from them. They told me to get as much experience as I could in writing, research companies before I apply to make sure I know what I'm getting myself into, and do something I'm passionate about, so that it will reflect in my work.

It was really helpful listening to what they had to say about their responsibilities, the people they worked with, and all that. Obviously those who worked for Christian companies had 'easier' experiences, because people were nicer and friendlier, but after interviewing all these people, I think I really do want to go into magazine writing for travel/entertainment/lifestyle/fashion. It just makes me excited thinking about it :)

The Flower - "That one piece of paper"

We're reading this book for Senior Capstone called What Color is Your Parachute 2010 by Richard Bolles, and it's a pretty awesome job-hunting/self-discovery book. We have to complete our Flower Diagram, which basically helps us decide what our life calling is. It took several hours to complete, because it consisted of taking tests and thinking about who I really am and what I really want, but it was well worth it. So here are the results.

My top transferable skills:
1. Writing/communicating
2. Researching/information gathering
3. Showing foresight
4. Adapting/improving
5. Helping/being of service
6. Listening
7. Developing rapport
8. Following through on plans/instructions
9. Observing/surveying
10. Imagining

I think the first one is pretty redundant. Of course I would hope to be good at writing, it's what I want to do with my life! But I think overall it's pretty accurate. I realize I'm scarily deadline-oriented. I like to accomplish tasks WAY ahead of the deadline. It just gives me a thrill of excitement to cross off an assignment on my planner. I know, I'm such a nerd, but I just like to work ahead. I also like to be prepared and research things before I get into them. And I like listening to people's stories, helping them in any way I can, and I think I'm pretty good at following through on what I commit myself to do. I feel like I've developed most of these skills at college, because I definitely didn't research Taylor before I came here, and circumstances here have definitely forced me to come out of my shell.

My top people-enrivonments:

1. Artistic
2. Social
3. Enterprising

I like to work in unstructured, flexible environments, using my creative writing ability, and working with all sorts of people. The other people-environments were boring, for math, science and technology people - aka - not me.

My top goals/purposes/values:

1. Entertainment
2. Human Spirit
3. Heart
4. Mind
5. Eyes and Senses

Again, I felt a tinge of shame when everyone else had human spirit/heart as their top, and mine was entertainment. But whatever. So basically I want to bring joy and laughter to people's lives via entertainment; establish more spirituality, faith, compassion, forgiveness and love in the world; inspire greater love for the poor and needy, increase knowledge of truth and God in the world, and create more beautiful things to fill our senses. The other purposes included possessions and the earth, which I realize I don't care much about. I guess living in simplicity and saving the earth aren't my top priorities... but I promise I'm not superficial!

Top special knowledges:

1. Magazine writing
2. Entertainment (movies, music)
3. Travel places
4. Fashion/Beauty
5. Culture
6. Food

I love to travel. My dream job would allow me to travel to every place in the world and write about it. But I've recently realized I like to write and read about fashion and beauty too. There's just so much to learn, but it's all so interesting.

Top working conditions:

1. Laidback/casual atmosphere
2. Good rapport with co-workers
3. Close proximity to where I live
4. Good office space/location
5. Flexible dress code

I think I would also work fine in high-stress environments, as long as I am not intimidated by my bosses, so I can ask questions and make mistakes (but learn from them).

Top factors geography-wise:

1. In a major city
2. Good range of entertainment options
3. Change of seasons
4. Easy accessibility
5. Diverse culture

In other words, goodbye forever, Upland, Indiana.

That's basically it. There's also level of responsibility and salary, but I wasn't too sure about that. Interesting huh. Although... while researching for possible places to stay, I realized all my top choices like NYC, LA, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington DC, were all way above the national average in terms of cost of living. Just my luck. So I've now branched out to Minneapolis, Pittsburgh... basically anywhere that will take me!

Friends and Food

This week was good in terms of spending time with friends (instead of rushing about trying to do everything I need to in 24 hours).

We went to Ivanhoe's (the ice cream place) for senior class on Monday, where we shared about our Flower Diagrams and supported one another. It was so encouraging to hear people affirm my gifts and my direction in life. I also enjoyed learning about others' gifts and talents; I love how we're all so diverse. Some people want to go into non-profit writing, others newspaper writing, international news reporting, sports coaching, PR writing... the possibilities are simply endless.

The entire day Tuesday was spent in the Dining Commons' kitchen cooking for our Asian Wok Night! Affectionately termed 'Super Curry Wok Night,' we slaved away in the kitchen making Japanese, Middle Eastern, and Indian curry for the entire campus. It was incredibly fun though, my very last wok night! The food was delicious, and everyone appreciated a nice change from DC food. I just love serving people. Maybe I should be a waitress instead - my new life goal... Or maybe not.

The rest of the week was spent watching movies with friends while attempting to do homework, having ramen parties, and dance parties. I really can't believe it's the middle of March already. I kind of want time to slow down now that I realize graduation is approaching so speedily.

Mind your 'P's and 'Q's

Etiquette dinner


Random comic on table manners


Another random comic.
I think the little kid is saying, 'Grandma, you have something in your teeth!'

Have you ever been told not to rest your elbows on the dinner table because it was bad manners? Or to chew slowly with your mouth closed and talk after you've swallowed because no one wants to see the remnants of that chicken dish you ordered?
Obviously you have. We all have.

But did you know there is so much more to table manners and good etiquette than that?

Today, Career Development hosted an Etiquette Dinner on campus, and my Senior Media Capstone class participated, as part of class credit, but mostly also to learn the do's and don'ts of table manners in formal situations. With the guys in their suits and ties, and the girls in our dresses, skirts and heels, we strolled over to the Dining Commons (actually, it was more like we ran, because it was so cold) with a little bit of excitement and uncertainty as to what to expect. They said to dress 'business casual,' but who really knows what that means?? Obviously it excludes jeans and a tattered t-shirt, but 'business casual' can mean different things to different people in different work fields. Anyway, it was such a fascinating experience that I was shocked to notice 2 hours had flown by. Seriously, I was enthralled.

We sat around nicely decorated tables, and the first thing that caught my eye was the multitudes of silverware in front of my face. It was like we were in Home Depot or NTUC, at the silverware section, with piles and piles of forks and knives and spoons to choose from. It was overwhelming. But I learned that the outer forks and knives are used for your salad and bread roll, and the inner ones are used for the main course. Oh, and they should always FACE A CERTAIN WAY -- pointing inward. Because, and this stems from medieval times, if you point them outward, it meant that you were challenging the people at your table to battle. Also, you should NEVER take your bread plate and put it in front of you. That space is reserved ONLY for the main course. And soup, I guess. It would be hard to consume soup if the bowl was an arm's length away from you. So we learned a ton of interesting stuff like that.

Like how to take your napkin from the table (gently) and fold it and put it on your lap. And to say 'no thank you' to appetizers and desserts, unless the host offers. And to always offer the breadbowl or the water or the butter or the salad dressing to the person on your left, and hold on to it for dear life, let the person take some, then take your share, and pass it to the person on your right. And when eating the main course, always hold your utensils in such a way that you cover the end of it.
So... in doing these exercises, I learned that I am the only person who holds the fork in my right hand and the knife in my left. Everyone else does the opposite. What is wrong with me?? Recently, I've also discovered that I have been holding chopsticks the wrong way for my entire life; even Americans have chided me because they can hold chopsticks better than I can. But oh well, as long as I can stab the food and toss it into my mouth, I'm happy.

Other things that we learned...

The bread roll remains on the bread plate, and you only tear off bite-sized chunks, butter them, and put them in your mouth gracefully. You don't grab the entire piece of bread and shovel it into your mouth, in case someone asks you a question and you have to chew for 5 minutes before you can answer.
You have to cut up the veggies in your salad, so as to make them smaller and easier to eat.
You also have to eat at the same pace as everyone else, and there's no going backwards. If people are done with the salad and are on to the main course, you'd better be following suit, because if you want a bread roll when people are on dessert, too bad buddy, it's too late.
Oh, and you always have to leave a small portion of your food on the plate, to show others that you're easily satisfied. I didn't really get this rule. Why would you want to do that?? It makes no sense. Plus it's a waste of food.

And the worst types of food to order during a formal business meeting/job interview?
Any kind of pasta, especially the twirly kind like spaghetti, because they're messy. Chicken wings, too, because no one wants to hire a person who gobbles down wings like a barbarian and licks their fingers afterward. And don't ever order french onion soup, because it's so hard to eat, what with all the cheese and bits of onion. Plus it's not like you can gracefully reach into your soup with a knife and cut up the cheese to make it bite-sized (like everything else). That's just weird.

So we learned all that and more. It was such riveting stuff. Although I'm not sure if I'll be able to remember all that. I might just practice it everyday from now on. Go to the Dining Commons, surround myself with silverware, and test it out. But then again, every meal would probably last about 2 hours if I did. Also, I've never really understood the need for multiple forks and knives. I mean, this just creates more work for those workers who have to wash the dishes. And I understand what a pain it is to wash dishes. I've been there, done that (and probably will be doing so for the rest of my life, unless I buy a dishwasher like every other American). Seriously. We should all just use one fork for salads, wipe it off (that's what napkins are for), then use it again for the main course! Or just go straight into the main course! So what if it tastes like salad dressing? It would only last for the first few bites. Plus then we could save water. And spend the precious money on something else.

Oh... talking about money, that will be the subject of my next ranting.

Spring classes begin

Curly hair! still kinda miss my straight hair though. much easier to manage. heh.


This is me bored and not wanting to do any homework at all.


This is my book for senior media class. What Color is your Parachute? It's an awesome guide for job hunting.


And this is me with curly hair! it's so dry it makes me sad.

Anyway, classes started this week. it's kinda weird going to normal classes again and having reading assignments and taking tests and all that fun stuff. haven't done this in almost a year, since my semester in LA was so crazy fun and no work at all. not used to school anymore! oh well. 4 more months to graduation and counting! :)

Monday was TOTALLY overwhelming. i'm taking Aerobic Conditioning, which is like Tae-Bo and Pilates, twice a week. should be fun! but the professor is SO WEIRD. he's this awkward old man who kept teasing this really fat guy in the class.

Professor: So why are you in this class?
Fat Guy: Well, I wanted to lose some weight...
Professor: Hah! 14 weeks isn't going to do anything. Just don't eat!
Fat Guy: Uh... yeah... that could work too... (awkward silence)
Professor: (turns to another student) You're studying to be a dietician, you should help this guy out, he needs it!
(more awkward silence)

So weird but mildly entertaining too. even though i felt so bad for the guy. but he didn't seem to care much.

I'm also taking Performing Literature, which is analyzing literature pieces and acting them out. SIGH. i hate acting. but the class seems to be pretty fun, so hopefully it wont be that bad. haven't done literature (or math or history) in like FOUR YEARS. pretty much forgotten every thing i've ever learned, which confirms the fact that education is useless 'cause you just memorize a bunch of crap and then completely forget it when the exam is over. such a waste of time!

Another tough class i'm taking is Contemporary Christian Belief, another Bible class we're forced to take. this one's the hardest though.. it's a philosophy class and we have FOUR books to read and they're so confusing i don't understand anything. something about faith and reason and.... i have no idea. haha.

And then senior media class, where all the graduating seniors get together and whine about our difficult semesters ahead and how we dont know what to do with our lives after graduation. haha. plus we have to create our portfolio, a combination of the best pieces of work we've done over the LAST FOUR YEARS. omg. have to go dig into my hard drive and find all the crap i've done, perfect it, design the porfolio, make a freaking website.... all that fun stuff. sigh. so stressed. Also taking Web Design, which will help me make a website 'cause i have no idea how.
It was funny during the first day of class, the professor was like, okay, here's a sample website, now go and create it. and the entire class gave him blank looks. and he was like, ALL OF YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO USE DREAMWEAVER (the program to make websites)????? we nodded sheepishly. he went on, EVEN THOUGH YOU'VE ALL TAKEN THE DREAMWEAVER COURSE BEFORE??? SOME OF YOU JUST TOOK IT LAST SEMESTER! we bowed our heads in embarrassment. well, it's not my fault i took the Dreamweaver class 2 years ago and i didn't learn anything from it even though i got an A!

Anyway, i think it's going to be a crazy ridiculous busy semester. spring time always goes by fast. but thank God i have tuesdays and thursdays off. NO CLASS! today i slept in till 1pm. HAHAHA. pretty sure my roommate thinks i'm a pig.
OH! and i actually got an A for Astronomy! i mean A=, but it's still an A and i totally did NOT expect that. i didn't study much for the final exam, and i got a B+!! two more marks to an A! so weird. i totally guessed all the answers too. haha.

OOOH and i'm so glad LOST is back!!!!!! the two hour premiere was INSANE. mind-boggling. i don't know what to think, it's SO GOOD! I LOVE LOST! and i love The Bachelor too! we have Bachelor parties every monday where we all squeeze into my room to watch The Bachelor on TV. haha.

Oh life

Why do i always attract weird people??? Or, why are weird people always attracted to me??? I don't know why. but oh well. I hope this goes away soon. it's... weird.

ASTRONOMY IS OFFICIALLY OVER! FINALLY! Thank God. honestly it might have been the toughest class i've taken here at Taylor. haha. seriously. probably half due to the fact that i missed 4 days (which equals to a month since this is an intensive course over 3 weeks), and half due to the fact that i simply don't care anymore and didn't really listen in class or study for the final. OH WELL. who cares. i'm graduating soon anyway and no one in the real world really gives a crap about how i did in astronomy.

but it was fun talking to friends online during class and skyping. haha. and 'studying' for the final with a friend. omg he was absolutely distracting me the entire time and we ended up taking a ton of breaks the day before the exam. we went to Taco Bell and Starbucks at night, made tons of videos for people in facebook, had dance parties... did everything but study. haha. such fun. and then the final turned out to be super hard anyway. i didn't know the answers to half the questions, so i just guessed, and i finished the test way before everyone else (i was second to finish). and when i turned my paper in, people looked at me like, whoa, you must be a genius to finish this fast!

but i knew i didn't know the answers, and there was no point in thinking about it 'cause i still won't know the answers no matter how long i think about it. so i just chose whatever, turned in the exam, went back to my room and watched 'The Bachelor'. haha. kind of hope i don't fail the class.

although.. the software they gave us to use was pretty cool. its called Stellarium, and it allows you to see the stars, planets, and other objects in the sky at ANY TIME, from ANY PLACE on earth. cool, huh.


you can zoom in all the way to see the details on planets or the moon


you can make the constellation art appear, so like for the constellation Hercules, a picture of Hercules appears over the stars so you can see how it actually looks kind of like Hercules.


you can also make the constellation lines and labels appear so you know where they are.


and that's the view of the sky in Upland, Indiana, today, at 3.30am.

went to eat korean BBQ in Indy on wednesday night to CELEBRATE J-term being OVER!! the food was so good. and then we got more food supplies at a korean market. i bought this instant ramen called 'chapagetti'. i think its 'zha jiang mian' cause that's what it said. but i tried it yesterday, and it tasted kinda weird. so now i have 3 more packets and i don't really wanna eat them. haha.


and this is how it looks like. yes, worms. not very appetizing.

anyway, its been good having the room to myself (my roomie went home for break since she lives like 2 hours away). i mean, i get along well with my roomie, she's really nice and not crazy loud like the other freshmen. but it's just nice to have my space and be able to do whatever i want for a few days. i've been watching tv before going to bed, tossing my stuff all over the floor (which i should clean up before she gets back), sleeping as late as i want, waking up as late as i want :)

btw, she and i are SO different. in some ways. she grew up in Indiana, and she loves the countryside and wants to marry a farmer and live on a farm. i really cannot understand that. at all. how can anyone want to live on a farm for the rest of their life??? why? how? i don't- it's just- i can't understand that. all i know is, after graduation, i am bolting out of here to the city. any city. no more countryside for me. i get too restless and i keep itching to do stuff.

so anyway, yesterday we hung out at a friend's apartment and had a dance party. hahaha. and recorded videos of us dancing. it was so fun. and today we baked cookies... chocolate chip, oatmeal, and sesame. yum. i'm kinda enjoying this j-term break 'cause it's kinda nice not to have the campus overflowing with people. not really looking forward to the spring semester starting on monday, but oh well. it just means i'll be this much closer to graduating!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

oh, snowy cornfields

so i had a terrible time traveling back to indiana, but what's new. i think it was a sign from God telling me not to go back, since there were problems at EVERY place. haha.
first, i couldn't check in at the United Airlines in singapore. they said i needed to show the credit card used to purchase the ticket, i said its with my parents who are in freaking AUSTRALIA, they said TOO BAD, CANNOT CHECK IT. i almost said, ok i'll just go home and unpack my stuff then. haha. but i didn't... and we went back and forth, him saying i need the stupid credit card, me saying i DON'T HAVE the stupid credit card... and after a while he was like, ok, we'll refund you the ticket and you use your own credit card to purchase it.
SO STUPID HUH. it's the same thing! and it took up half an hour.

anyway, then two hours later at Hong Kong, i realized the guy didn't give me my boarding pass to Chicago, and i only had like half an hour till my plane took off. so i got in the super long line for United Airlines and thought i was never going to leave HK since the line was crawling at the speed of a snail. but then the person called for passengers bound for Chicago, so i got my ticket and got in. then i attempted to buy a bottle of water to bring onto the plane (which normally works), but they took it away from me because they checked every single passenger's bag manually before boarding!! so i was thirsty the entire plane ride and i wasted 3bucks. and then the plane didn't have any TVs, so i slept a whole lot. which was good i guess.

then we landed at chicago, and i looked out the window and everything was white, so i thought, oh i guess we're still in the air! but then the pilot said, we've now landed in chicago..... and i was like, WHAT? oh right. all that whiteness is SNOW. sigh. welcome back to winter.
and then i realized the plane landed an hour late, and so i missed my flight. but it was ok because my flight was canceled anyway. darn those snowstorms. so i waited in chicago from 12 till 9pm. the whole time my thought process was... i'm never going to get back to Taylor. but time went by pretty quickly... faith called, then mom+dad called, then andrew called... and before i knew it, it was 8pm! yay. and i was exhausted.

finally got back to indiana and checked in to a hotel and fell asleep at 2am. couldn't go back to campus 'cause there was snow everywhere on the roads. and good thing i didn't, cause apparently there were NINE ROAD ACCIDENTS that occurred that night, as i found out the next morning. so i finally got back to Taylor at 12.45pm, went to the bookstore to get my books, and went straight to Astronomy class from 1-3.30pm. SIGH.

a little overwhelmed with a TON of stuff to catch up on, but it'll be ok. it doesn't seem that bad. i'm almost caught up with homework, except for the lab stuff, which i can only do tomorrow. so i'm good! although everyone was having fun this weekend except me, stuck in the room watching darn videos about the universe and reading about the galaxies. but i got all my stuff back and unpacked, so now i'm good! :)

kinda weird to be back in the dorms, but everyone's cool. my new roomie's really nice, the freshmen seem nice and friendly, got to see old friends... DC food is still the same. bleh. I CAN DO THIS. i can live in the middle of nowhere for 5 more months and then leave forever.



A few days later....

I'm officially done catching up with astronomy!!! YES. looked over my grades for the homework assignment.. not too great, but oh well whatever! at this point i just want to graduate! anyway, learning about the universe and everything in the galaxies has been really informational. makes you realize just how unique Earth is, because everything on Earth, every single property and characteristic our planet exudes, works together to sustain and nurture life, and without even one of them, we would not be here. it's just amazing how God creates things and how small we are, compared to the vastness of the galaxy. but just learning about the planets, stars, galaxies... it's simply impossible NOT to believe that there's a god out there. there's just no way all this could come about by coincidence.

Ooohh and we're using this Stellarium program which allows you to see the stars in the sky at any time, from any place, at any date. it's SUPER COOL. like, i can see how the sky looks like in singapore right now. it's pretty awesome. but we also have to do real observations outside.... in the freezing cold, which we did last night. omg i couldn't feel my hands so i didn't record anything because i was too busy trying to keep warm. haha. anyway, we had our first test today, it went pretty well thank God.

And i got to catch up with more friends and have more reunions, which is always fun :) still feels a little weird, especially when i walk into the Dining Commons, and i don't recognize 90% of the people there 'cause they're mostly freshmen. and then there are a TON of asians on campus now, mostly koreans, and they all look at me like, whoa, you're asian and i've never seen you before? who are you? haha. its weird but true!
And its a little annoying, surrounded by insane, energetic screaming freshmen on the wing all the time, but oh well. only in college, right? i'll never get to do this again, might as well enjoy it now. and the freshmen are really cool, so i like them :)

Almost time to leave :(

Thoughts

I hate how time flies when you're having fun. I've come to know and appreciate this place, despite all its obsession with material, worldly stuff. And I've definitely come to love the people, especially the close friends I've made here. So it's sad to leave, because even though we all swear to keep in touch and visit each other, the US of A is just way too big for any reunion in the near future. So it's very possible I won't ever see most of my friends again. sigh. I hate this whole making-friends-then-saying-goodbye-months-later thing. People really do come and go in life. And I guess you just gotta make the best of the time you have with them now :)

No more classes

YES we're done with classes! Finally! No more ridiculous papers or projects! SO GLAD. Even though this semester has been the easiest so far... hardly any homework, no tests, just films to make. Don't know how I'm going to go back to real school and real classes. UGH. Still having major senioritis. Don't want to do anything of substance. haha. But yeah so glad i'm done till january. And i guess i did learn some stuff.. about making films, what it takes to make them, how the industry works, how HARD it is to actually break into the industry (it's near-impossible. it's like a mix between hard work, talent and pure luck. no kidding). I didn't learn as much as I thought I would, but I had a TON of fun here, so that makes it all worth it. I didn't really have any expectations coming out here anyway, so this totally exceeds my expectations and I'm so glad I came. And to think I was nervous about the program before coming out! :)

So we turned in our final film "Two Hours" on saturday. YES! it was pretty insane. ALMOST EVERYONE pulled an all-nighter, especially the picture and sound editors, because they had to work like crazy to make the films perfect. i got some sleep, but not enough. So it was a pretty intense rush to the finish. And our Executive Producers loved all the other films... except ours. sigh. 'cause we ran into some technical problems and couldn't finish editing all we needed to. but whatever. really don't care anymore. just glad to be done. at least they approved our film! So yeah... we all pretty much slept the entire saturday away. kinda sad about that. what a waste of our last saturday! but we were exhausted. at least we had a mini party/break at the center in between editing :)
And i feel like i'm getting sick anyway, so i needed the sleep.

Lights and Sounds


Pretty lit up Ferris Wheel on santa monica pier


On the pier at night


The pier in the distance. I look like my right hand's missing.


Cheap tourist-y shirts on Venice Beach


Muscle Beach - where hardcore insane people work out all the time. even in the COLD.


Can i just say how much i love my new camera and its beautiful colors (in the day)??


CHRISTMAS TREE!!


The group at Griffith Park.


At Rodeo Drive

Woke up at night and went to Griffith Park with a bunch of people to see the Lights Festival. we were all pumped to see it, but it ended up being pretty disappointing. it was kinda lame and cheesy, in typical Hollywood fashion. ugh. seems like everything about this town is cheesy.

Then we went to Rodeo Drive, supposedly the most expensive street of shops in the ENTIRE WORLD! okay, i don't know about that, probably not true, but it sure has ALL the brands and it looks super upscale and sophisticated. It was all lit up and beautiful. LOVE Christmas lights :)

Sunday we went to Venice Beach to shop around... it reminded me alot of Jamaica, what with all the weed smoking and sketchy looking homeless people around. And they actually have MEDICAL MARIJUANA shops along the beach! I think it's like selling marijuana but legally, pretending its medicine. something like that. since marijuana is legal in california. was really weird.
Then when the sun set, we went down to Santa Monica pier and saw it all lit up. we attempted to ride the Ferris Wheel, but forgot to bring money. haha. it was pretty though.
And then I dyed Faith's hair!!! First time dying someone's hair. it was pretty intense and VERY FUN! i want to be a hairdresser. Her hair's all jet black and glossy now. Pretttyyyy. Like mine! haha.

The rest of the photos are on FB here
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=2042799&id=179202856

Strange happenings

Pics from our film shoot in the mall and in the casting suite.


Our casting suite decked out to be our 'office'. Isn't that dead tree in the corner awesome??? we found it in the trash. hahaha. along with the desk.


CUTEST KID EVER. pretty good actor too. and very hyper.


Actors doing their job in the mall.


Camera equipment all set up in the mall.


The crew of "Two Hours" :)

On the street

So... I've noticed I often get attention from Hispanic/Black guys on the street, especially when I'm alone. No idea why... but it's so awkward and a little creepy.

Scenario: I'd be happily strolling down the street, minding my own business, and then I see this guy in the distance, leaning against the wall. And i'm just like, okay, he's just a dude, no big deal. But then I get closer, and he gives me that look, and I'm like, great, I know you're up to something. And then as I pass him by, and in my mind I'm going 'please don't say anything, please don't say anything.'
But of course, he says something lame and stupid like 'helloooo giirrrrll' or 'what's up baby' or 'hey beautiful'.
 
And sometimes they get really original. One guy said 'oooh la laaaa!' and did a little dance as I passed. And another guy was hilarious. He went, 'Me love you long time!' And pointed at me. So then of course my friends and I burst out laughing, and laughed even harder when he looked confused as to why we were laughing at his confession. hahaha. Such weird people here!

And most of the time I either offer them a sheepish 'hi-you're-weird-but-I'm-smiling-at-you-so-you-don't-stab-me-in-the-back' smile, or I ignore them and walk away as fast as I can. And usually the second approach works better.

So yeah. weird encounters.

2012

Anyway, we finally went to see the newest disaster flick '2012' and it was awesome!!! at first we were going to see 'Armored' for free but we got there too late and all the seats were taken. so we got student discounts ($9 in LA is super cheap!) and it was totally worth it. the theatre was the prettiest I've ever seen, which makes sense, since it was in Beverly Hills.
The movie was a little cheesy at times, but had very relatable characters and totally kept our attention the entire time, even though we were all tired from all-nighters the night before. it was so intense! i was on edge the whole time.
And then we went and got $1.50 ice cream sandwiches!! ice cream squashed in between two cookies for super cheap. yummy goodness :)

FREEDOM!

OMG freedom is so close I can almost taste it. Yesterday i turned in my stupid theology paper (YES, FIST PUMP! Done with that ridiculously useless class) and my script (103 pages in total! FEELS SO GOOD TO HAVE A FINISHED SCRIPT!)... 2 more hours till I get off work FOREVER, and then the producer's notebook is due tomorrow, and then.... FREEDOM! :)

Oh and we have a premiere at an actual movie theater for our films, and I just learned that producers have to INTRODUCE THE CAST AND CREW. in front of EVERYONE - classmates, professors, industry people, actors... omg. major stage fright bubbling up in me now.
But I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's completed films :)

Free time = good

Halloween party at the center (where we have classes) - me and nicole on youtube


Our slate for 'Two Hours' (our film) --- the thing that people hold in front of the camera and say 'Two Hours, Scene 1, Take 1, Action!'
i love that thing. i wanted to steal it. haha.

Now that all the producing worries are gone, the film is none of my concern. so glad. although we did have a meeting with our executive producers, and they were like, you guys didn't follow set protocol, blah blah blah. well, excuse me for running around trying to make things work in the stupid mall. at least we got our shots. and no re-shoots, for the time being. hoping against hope that we won't have to do ANY pick-ups at all. hopefully we got at least some useful shots.
okay, enough about HPW.

Gothic monday

So tas and i were kind of bored on monday night, and we decided to go out. it was a fail. went to universal citywalk, but it was like a deadtown. i guess no one parties on monday nights. we did see a rock band perform, but they were pretty boring. so we ended up at this weird club where everyone looked all gothic and stoned. i was half expecting someone to turn into a vampire and bite someone's neck (no more twilight/vampire diaries for me). the place was just weird. they even had video games. in a club. who does that? but oh well it was kind of fun. we made friends. haha.

Boring classes

Theology in hollywood is without a doubt the most boring theology class ever. she drones on and on about... i don't know what. i'm too busy texting or sleeping. something about films that i've never seen in my life and analyzing them, all that deep stuff. it just goes in one ear and out the other.

Learning

Although.. i will say that this semester has definitely taught me a lot about film. i find myself noticing things i never noticed before. like editing cuts, lighting, audio, background noise, use of music, position of actor in the shot, costumes, set design... even the credits. haha. it's pretty darn amazing how everything works together just to create that one shot. no wonder it takes YEARS to make a movie! from pre-production planning to casting to actual production to post-production editing and stuff. craziness.
I think it would be fun to be a PA (personal assistant) on set, even if it's just to run around and get coffee and stuff. it'd be fun to watch a movie in actual production.