Hard work and pizza days

I don't think I've ever been so tired in my life. Everyday is consumed with work and pizzas.

Sometimes it's just me and mom at work, so we have to do EVERYTHING ourselves - we make the dough from scratch, pull the enormous lump of dough from the mixer, roll and flatten it, flip it in the pans, store it in the fridge, top the different pizzas with different ingredients, bake them in the oven, display them for customers to ogle over, slice them up when people order them, cash in the money, chop up ingredients, stock up the fridge, count the cash, clean the mixer, sweep the floor, clean the entire place... and then collapse on the chair in sheer exhaustion at the end of the day.

I don't know how mom manages to cook dinner, do laundry, clean the entire house, and do the accounts in the evening. Me, I just pass out on the couch in front of the TV after a shower, and remain there the whole night, leaving only to move to the table for dinner.

But at least Cartoon is here now, and that makes work more fun. Plus now I have someone to go party with. Which we did. On Saturday night. At supposedly the biggest (asian) club in Perth. And it was pretty fun to let loose after working hard for a month.

Burn wounds

Burn wounds on my sad muffins, which are hard as rocks now. Even Jedi refuses to go near them. That says a lot, coming from the boy who once licked ice cream off the ground because he didn't want to waste one bit of it.

Burn wound on my arm - one of the various scars scattered around my hands and arms. It doesn't look like much, but it hurt like hell when my arm grazed the scorching lights glaring down on the pizzas. I had to 'ice' it for an hour with rotating cans of Solo (Australia's version of lemonade) so the numbness would overwhelm the pain.

Hopefully the scars go away, because Jedi showed me his battle wounds (they look like he just got them yesterday) and told me he got them months ago.

Stuck in a job you can't get out of

Today we worked from 10am to 9pm, and it was pretty hectic around breakfast time, lunch time, and dinner time. I liked being busy, but not so much the working-for-11-hours-straight part. That... was kind of long.

And as I looked around the food court, I realized I see the exact same faces every single day. The two asian females working at the Chinese stir fry store, the asian guy and girl manning the Japanese sushi place, the indian guys working at the Indian food store, the middle eastern-looking guy taking orders at his kebab place... Some workers are pretty young, probably around my age, give or take a few years. So I'm assuming they're working as much as they can during their school holidays to earn money to pay off school loans and stuff. That's fine, we've all done temporary jobs to get by and make ends meet for the time being.

But then I looked at the older workers, and I wondered how long they've been working there and how they got to this point in their lives. Granted, most of them are probably the store owners or something, but then there's also the cleaning ladies, who are such sweethearts, and other cashiers in huge department stores like Kmart or Woolworths. 

And so I thought, how did they end up working at this kind of dead-end job? I mean, I'm pretty sure no kid grows up thinking, hey, I want to be a cleaner one day, or maybe even a food court worker or a cashier.

I guess for most of them it's probably circumstances in their lives that led them here. Maybe they started working here right out of high school or college, and somehow never made it out to find other jobs. Maybe they settled into a pattern of familiarity and comfort after a while and just didn't feel like taking the risk to do something else. Or maybe they're here because the awful economy affected their previous company badly and they're desperate to do anything that can put food on the table for their families.

Whatever the case, I just felt rather bad for them. I'm sure they had dreams and aspirations once upon a time, and they probably held high hopes for their future... only to have it turn out like this. I wonder if they just gave up on their ambitions because it was the easy way out, or if they were pressured into it, or if they just forget about it gradually. Are they truly content with life as it is? If given the chance to turn back time and change things, I wonder if any of them would do things differently.

Life just happens, I guess. 
But it's kind of a scary thought, because no matter how much I appreciate them and respect them for finding pride and joy in their job, I really really really hope to God this doesn't happen to me. I think life is too short to settle for second best, or even fifth best.

Well, like a friend of mine once told me when I was in LA:

"Shit happens. That's the way life is. You just gotta deal with it and move on."

People watching escapades

Human nature is so fascinating. I love observing strangers and watching them interact with others. Sometimes when I’m bored at Sarpino’s I look at the people in the food court and make up life stories for them, like where they came from, how their childhood was, what career they're in, what they're thinking about... the possibilities are endless.

Also, it’s funny and mildly entertaining to see how different customers behave differently when they stop by Sarpino’s.

• Some of them are on a mission – they know exactly what kind of pizza they want, whether they want to eat it there or take it away, and they sometimes even have the exact change to pay – so they take and go, no questions asked.

• Some of them – I call them the ‘flightys’ – are so fickle that they have to scrutinize every single pizza and its ingredients before picking one out. These people also usually choose the piece of pizza they want, which is normally the one that looks freshest/biggest (so they get more bang for their buck). They can be incredibly polite and friendly – some of them make jokes about their indecisiveness – or they can be taking all the time in the world to discuss their eating plans with whoever they are with, leaving me to stare at the pizzas, the lights, the cash register… anything to avoid eye contact with them for fear of, god forbid, scaring them away by pressuring them with my stare.
  
  I like to predict what these people will choose; it's interesting, watching them stare at the pizzas as if the pizzas themselves will call out to them to help them in their decision-making. You can practically see the wheels turning in their minds as they go from one pizza to the next, and back to the first one.

• Some of them (the more rude or annoying ones,) will walk past, stare for a second, ignore my ‘hi’ and glower in response to my friendly smile, and then walk away as if the pizza has offended them in another life.

• Some of them (the rare ones), are extremely skittish, and will jump nervously and scamper away the moment I open my mouth. It’s as if they think I will devour them if they dare to ask me a question about the pizzas.

• Some of them (also rather rare) are Muslims, and they will walk up to the store in a determined manner and ask me 1001 questions about our halal meat – where it’s from, what it’s made of, and demand to see certification so they can be assured it is truly halal, and not (gasp) pork.

Yeah... that's how I spend my time.

Pizza-making Adventures

It's been... what... 2 weeks since I first came to Perth? I think so. Not sure though. It's hard to tell because the days just pass by ridiculously quickly and it's becoming rather monotonous.

This is what I do everyday:

Wake up at the break of dawn (okay, 9am).
Go to the pizzeria.
Start making pizzas.
Sell pizzas.
Make more pizzas.
Sell more pizzas.
Make even more pizzas.
Sell even more pizzas.
Clean up.
Go home.
Help make dinner.
Wash up.
Shower.
Go online/watch a movie/watch TV.
Bug my brother. Persuade him to use face mask to remove pimples.
Sleep.

And repeat cycle the next day.

Unless I go to the office, in which case it will be:

Wake up at the break of dawn.
Go to the office.
Surf the net.
Do some data entry/filing.
Eat lunch.
Pretend to work/look busy typing on the computer.
Watch a movie while doing more data entry/accounting.
Go home.
Help make dinner.
Wash up.
Shower.
Go online/watch a movie/watch TV.
Bug my brother. Persuade him to use face mask to remove pimples. 
Sleep.

Relaxing? Boring? Happening?

Well, at least today was exciting. We worked from 9am to 9pm because Thursdays are the only days malls in Perth open late (I have no idea why they don't do it on Fridays), and so people kept coming all day to buy pizzas. Which was much appreciated, because being busy is definitely preferable to sitting down all day bored out of my mind (like on Mondays or Tuesdays, when no one apparently is in the mood to eat pizzas).

So minus the burn wounds I got from accidentally touching the blistering hot pizza pans, and my poor, throbbing sore feet, I'd say today was a good day.  
And I thank God for that.

Thankful

Yesterday I read this blog about being thankful for the little things in life everyday, and I've decided to copy it and start a daily thanksgiving post. Because I think having a spirit of gratefulness is essential in life, and I don't want to end up a bitter and miserable old lady one day.

So today I'm thankful for the new experience of learning how to make pizzas. Last week I learned how to make dough, cut it, roll it, put it into trays. I also served customers and handled the cash register. Today I crafted the pizzas, each with different ingredients, and baked them in the oven. It was kind of exhilarating, but it might get old after a while. Oh well. For now, at least, I'm enjoying making pizzas, seeing my finished products displayed in the window, and smiling at people who buy them, while I bite back the urge to point and yell, 'I made that! Yes, me! It's good, yes???'

I'm also thankful that I have food to eat at every meal, and that I have a house to live in and warm water to shower in. Because these two cute little adolescent boys came up to Sarpino's today, and asked me if they could have a pizza for free. They stared up at me with huge, doleful, puppy dog eyes, and I almost shouted, "Yes, take it! Or you know what, you can have all of them for free, you poor little cute things!!"

But I didn't, because we're running a business, not a soup kitchen, and I told them to come back later, when we're closing and when the manager (my mom) was around. My heart sank to my toes when they bowed their heads forlornly and trudged away. I hoped they would return, but they didn't, and I wish I could've given them the pizza. But then mom had already been giving them free pizzas, and doing it on a regular basis might make them dependent on freebies... and we all know in life there is no such thing as a freebie. Everything costs you something. So I guess they have to learn to work for what they want, but still... it kind of reminded me of what I read one day about this woman who didn't want kids, because "what kind of horrid person would want to bring innocent children into this evil, corrupt world of ours?" And while I agreed with her to a certain extent (because I don't want 9 months of absolute physical torture), I think kids make the world a better place.

So I was initially going to do a thanksgiving for one thing per day, but hey, there shouldn't be a limit on thankfulness, right? God knows we can all be a little more appreciative toward others.

So I'm thankful for this experience of working in Australia. Granted, it's not the most happening place in the world, and some people probably look down on me, a college graduate, working at a pizza place, but you can't please everyone. Plus life is way more fun when you travel and take up adventures, instead of going straight to a 9-5 job, holed up in a tiny cubicle, typing your life away day by day.

Anyway, I got to meet this young couple from Italy, Giulia and Enrico, from Rome and Florence respectively. They're so cool, I loved hearing about their life experiences. They had like a year in between undergraduate school and graduate school, and so they decided to travel to Australia and work while seeing the sights. Why they came to Perth, I have no idea. Well, actually I do - it's because Enrico had relatives here. But still. Of all places. (Giulia told me once they went to a pub on a SATURDAY night and it closed at MIDNIGHT!! Oh the horror!!)

So anyway, they worked at Sarpino's and explored Perth for the past few months, and they're going to travel for 2 weeks before they head back to Italy. And Giulia's going to study her Masters in Engineering in Sweden and Denmark. HOW COOL IS THAT. And they speak Italian, which makes them even cooler. haha. And Enrico took up English when he first came here, and his English speaking ability is pretty good. I'm always amazed at people who go to other countries and start picking up their native language, because I stink at languages, well except English of course. Enrico was the one who taught me how to make dough, and he was funny. He said it was a boring job and I should bring an iPod to work. He also said something along the lines of, 'I never want to see/smell another pizza ever again in my life,' which is ironic because he lives in Italy, land of pizzas.

And so I was talking to Giulia for a while, when mom came back (she takes random breaks to go shopping for 'essential stuff'), lugging a shopping cart filled to the brim with pillows and what not. Good to know that while I have been working she went shopping. And then Giulia told me she always does that.

Once she came back hauling chairs to bring back to Singapore, and when Giulia was like, 'Does Singapore not sell chairs?' Mom huffed and puffed and replied, 'Not this kind!!'
Haha. Mom cracks me up sometimes.

Premieres!! Celebrities!!!

AFI Festival


Robert Deniro, Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale!! :)

This week's the American Film Institute Festival, it's pretty much AWESOME! it started on sunday with the premiere of Precious, which we didn't go to, unfortunately. and then we heard all kinds of celebs were at the premiere, including Will Smith, Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey and Jamie Foxx. sadness. OH WELL.

And then monday we rushed from work to Hollywood and Highland to the Chinese Theatre for the premiere of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. we waited anxiously in line for rush tickets, meaning we would get in if the theatre wasn't full. so after 30 mins of stressing out, WE GOT IN! and got to see the movie for free! and we thought johnny depp/jude law/colin farrell might be there, since they're IN IT. but no... the director introduced the movie and told us to lower our expectations (wisely said, because the movie was awful), and Lily Cole (i think she's a model) was there, so was Verne Troy (the midget Mini Me from Austin Powers). So that was kinda cool, but not as cool as it would've been, had mr. Johnny Depp been there!!

Anyway, like i said, the movie wasn't that great. which was sad, this being Heath Ledger's final film and all. visually, it was stunning and very quirky, but it was also weird and too artsy for me. about this guy who sells his soul to the devil for immortality, and he can allow people into his mind, where their imaginations come to life, and they have to choose been good and evil. it was the weirdest thing ever. i almost fell asleep.

And then today, we rushed back to Hollywood and got in line again for free tickets to Everybody's Fine, and we GOT IN!!! and i saw KATE BECKINSALE and ROBERT DENIRO on the red carpet!!!!! SUPER EXCITED.
and then we got good seats too, very near the front, so i could see their faces when the director (Kirk Jones), Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Robert DeNiro came on stage to introduce the movie. i was seriously THIS CLOSE to them!!! the girls were SO beautiful, now that i've seen them in person, it's so weird! it's like they really do exist, and they really ARE gorgeous, no photoshop needed!!

And the movie was really good too, about family and relationships and all. it was a good holiday movie, although it was really sad and emotional too. but best free movie i've seen so far. and definitely BEST celeb sighting. I LOVE DREW BARRYMORE!!!! :)





Crappy pictures, but better than nothing! (from my friend's camera, since mine's not working) Drew and Kate on the side, and DeNiro introducing the movie.


Work

Monday was an accomplishment. i FINALLY finished shredding that MOUNTAIN of paper in the office. everyone cheered and rejoiced, especially me. no more breathing in paper dust! and now... i have nothing to do. haha. it's been pretty quiet around here. wonder where are all the breakdowns. doesn't anyone need actors anymore???

Can't believe it's november already. THREE MORE FULL WEEKS of work, and i'm DONE! YAYYY!

Overwhelmed and overloaded

Producing stress

OMG. if i knew how much of a hassle producing was going to be, i wouldn't have signed up for it. and i know i'm just getting a little taste of what real producers do, since our film is only 10 mins, but even this is driving me insane. i now have tremendous respect for all producers everywhere - they do all the crap work for pre-production, production AND post-production, and they hardly get credit outside the industry. we've all heard of famous actors, directors, sometimes writers. but producers? never. i hope they earn lots of money (they probably do), because doing all this crap for measly pay is not fun at all. not that i get paid.

I'm so over this whole producing thing. can't wait to start filming and be done with it. it's just that producers are the ones who are overall in charge of the film, and anything that goes wrong will probably be blamed on us. so much stress with everything weighing on my shoulders!

We did our casting callbacks on Sunday and THANK GOD we found three amazing actors - the cutest little kid with floppy blond hair and adorable eyes, an old funny british man, and a versatile boss. seriously, i'm so glad we locked them in and got them for the miserable pay of $25 per day. so that part's settled. hope they don't disappear the day of filming (because that's happened before).
also, THANK GOD i finally secured a mall. it's a little on the expensive side, but we really didn't have any choice. so we went to check it out, and our director of photography and production designer really liked it, so YAY that's a huge load off my shoulder.

But then we found out yesterday that our office, which is our main filming location, FELL THROUGH. total insanity followed. now i have to spend the entire day tomorrow calling any and every office in LA to beg for them to let us film (hopefully for free). sigh even though there aren't any exams or tests in this program, this whole internship/producing thing is more stressful than any pop quiz.

I need to go do something fun. soon. if not i'm gonna go crazy, because my entire life has been revolving around this film.

Weekend

We did a service project at the Dream Center on saturday. it's a really cool place that has a few hundred outreach ministries across LA, and we met some people who actually stay at the center and reach out to people on a regular basis.
So even though i think they weren't expecting us, we ended up going to a small community and helped clean the streets, gave out free food and stuff, and played games with the poor kids. it was kinda sad to see this... poorer part of LA.

Then the rest of my weekend was consumed with FILM SHOOTS. three shoots in two days. so tiring.
Helped josh with sound (holding the boom mic again) on sat, helped maggie as an extra in her film the same day, and helped tas (my roomie) with errands and set design and sound on sunday. didn't even have time for church.

But we did have an awesome '80s dance scene during maggie's shoot, which turned into a crazy dance party afterwards for two hours. haha. let loose all the stress. it was funny to dance to no music/sound during the shoot though, since the sound would be added in post-production. we were at a 'party' and had to pretend to be talking, so we all had to converse and laugh soundlessly, and pretend to be dancing to an awesome song when there was actually no sound. funnyyyyy.

Work

Work has been the same. I just wish I would get paid. money is a wonderful motivator, i've realized this. oh well. at least i have a new goal in life now - FINISH SHREDDING THAT RIDICULOUSLY HUGE PILE OF PAPER before i get done with my internship.

Randomness

Flinging my hair in the wind

Holding the sun as it sets

Me and Faith at Venice Beach. we saw DOLPHINS doing flips in the air right near us at the pier!

Me and hani at the Fame premiere at The Grove

At chinatown eating crappy chinese food during mooncake festival

Work

Tuesday my entire day was spent shredding paper. i know right, fun stuff. well, actually it was kinda fun, for the first hour or so, then it just got monotonous. and it didn't help that the shredder was another ancient piece of metal that overheated every 2 minutes and took 10 minutes to cool down. but it was ok, i read magazines and books in between.


Wednesday this script supervisor who worked on all kinds of movies in Hollywood came to talk to us about crafting stories, and she was really interesting, talking about how to structure stories to keep audiences on their toes. you know what i realized? audiences are a tough crowd. that's you. and me. all of us! we judge movies, or any form of entertainment, so harshly and our expectations are so high that people in the entertainment industry have to keep pushing the limits and raising the standards just to keep audiences coming. it's kinda ridiculous.

Went to The Grove at night to chill and read free magazines at Barnes and Nobles, and i tried this dish called Jambalaya at the Farmers Market. it was so good! rice with spicy sauce and chicken and sausage. yums.

Still on the search

Today stressed out more about our film location search. sigh. we start filming in two weeks, and i don't even have the stupid mall permit. why do all these malls have to charge a few thousand for us to film??? do they not understand we're poor college students on a tight budget?! doesn't help that people are breathing down my neck and looking over my shoulder, pressing me to intensify my search.
And then... okay this is going to sound awful, but faith told me everything was gonna be okay, and then she said, 'you need to just trust God that He will provide.'
And i was like, wait. trust. God? so... i realize i've been relying on my own abilities and i totally forgot i could actually pray and ask God for help. says alot, doesn't it. but yeah, now i'm just going to surrender this whole thing to Him and trust He will provide the best mall for us (for a low cost).

New York I love you

Went to the free advance screening of 'New York I love you' today, it was really messy and confusing and i spaced out after a while. so glad i didn't pay to see this movie, because it was so not worth it. sure, it had tons of famous people in it, but it was just a mess of short love stories that didn't have endings. they didn't tie anything up, everything was just mixed into another story and no one ever found out what happened to the characters. very disappointing. although.. it did make me miss NYC. a lot. i've never actually missed a place this much before. sure i miss sgp, but for the people (and the food), not the place. but New York... i'm honestly just counting down the days till i can go back and live there. i love it so, so much! and i don't even know why!

anyway, sometimes crappy films like these make me think there's hope for amateur writers like me, because if these awful movies can somehow make it to the big screen, i'm sure i can write something better than this. i just need the right person to read it at the right time. easier said than done.
although... i thrashed out 7 pages of my script, tentatively titled 'Cut to the Chase,' and brought it to class today. after reading/acting it out, people seemed to really like it, which is awesome. and i feel very relieved, because i was so sure it was a shitty first draft. now i'm kinda motivated to continue and finish the script! 20 pages down, 90 more to go!

Beginning of fall

Crunchy leaves

Fall has officially begun in California. and it's kinda chilly, not as warm as i'd expected, which is fine with me, because i get to whip out my coats, scarves and boots! yay! i think fall is my favorite season. it's cool but not cold, and not ridiculously hot either. although... i've been wearing my winter coat, and it seems like i'm the only one. other people are still in t-shirts and shorts. haha. i guess i just can't take the cold. i'd rather be nice and toasty and have people stare at me weirdly than be shivering in t-shirts and shorts, thank you very much.
I kinda miss the changing of the color of leaves, like in Indiana. it's SO gorgeous. one of the most beautiful sights i've ever seen in my life. the leaves go from green to red to orange... it's so pretty. definitely should be on the list of 'must-sees' in life.

Reality LA

Sunday i tried out this church called 'Reality LA' with a couple of friends, and it was actually really cool. not what i was looking for, because it was all young people, even the pastor seemed to be in his late 20s. but the worship was so awesome, something i haven't experienced in a while. very contemporary and moving. the worship leader's voice was so enchanting and soothing, i totally fell in love. haha. besides that, the sermon was long but good, and they had a long worship session after the word, and everyone just did their own thing, worshipping God in different ways, as the lights dimmed and it was just us alone with God. it was pretty cool. i think i might go back there.

Twilight craze

So... faith, dana and i are officially Twilight fans. we went to Barnes & Nobles, planning to do homework, but instead we sat and read the Twilight magazine, complete with pictures and bios on each character. haha. we're totally going to camp out the night before the New Moon premiere in Hollywood, so we can see Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner!!! and dana was like, you should pretend to be Cho Chang from Harry Potter ('cause apparently she's good friends with R.Pat) and get us into the premiere and the after-partyyy!!!!
i was like, all asians don't look alike!!! now people think i either look like
a) Cho Chang (we didn't even know her real name, so we googled it and found -- Katie Leung)
b) Mulan
c) Pocahontas
seriously??? i don't look like any of them!! oh well. guess i have options for Halloween costumes now. haha.

Working life

Work is getting kinda exciting. i think they're trusting me to do more as they get more comfortable with me being there. everyone's so nice and funny, it's pretty cool. and when i get free time, i usually work on homework so i don't waste time.

This week i got to make more rejection phone calls. it amazes me how no one picks up their phone here. what's the use of having a phone if you're not gonna answer calls??? and then i got to pull more headshots of actors for roles in TV shows. i realize some of the actors they represent have been in a TON of things! granted, they're small, supporting roles, but still! these people got to work with major stars!! that was cool.
OOH i also SAVED MONEY last week! only spend about $20 the entire week, because i brought my lunch to work and ate dinners at home. YAY proud of myself. the temptation to take the easy route and buy food is always there, but i resisted! :)

Today i got to do coverage for a script. OMG. it was seriously the worst script i've ever read. not that i've read a lot. but still. it was just a pointless, meaningless short film that simply emphasized horror and gruesome things.
it was about this writer who goes to the countryside to find inspiration for her writing, and she ends up being assaulted and raped multiple times by a gang of guys, and then she falls off the cliff and fakes her death. so they think she's dead, but she comes back for revenge and kills each and every one of them in gruesome, horrific ways, all the while savoring their suffering. one guy she pulled out all his teeth, one by one, then castrated him!!!! another guy, she pushed into a hole with spikes jutting out (which of course pierced his feet and legs), and then sewed his eyelids to the top of his eye so he couldn't blink, and let crows bite it until his eyeballs were completely gone!!! another guy she let piranhas eat him alive. and then she goes psycho and gets addicted to torturing random guys. WHAT KIND OF SICK WRITER IS THIS??!?!! i was totally traumatized for the rest of the day.

PLUS i was reading Shutter Island at the same time, which is an awesome book but also about psycho people, so my mind was just overwhelmed and exhausted by the end of the day. the twist at the end was major. i think the movie's gonna be awesome. coming out in feb!

Night classes

I hate night classes. walking to the center at night is a little creepy. yesterday we had to watch a movie for class, 'The Lives of Others' -- was a pretty interesting foreign film, about a government spy who becomes attached to the people he spies on and helps them at the cost of his career. and then today we had a guest speaker - this producer guy who was really nice and like a friendly grandpa, but he just went on... and on... and on... and never stopped. it was cool how he met the legendary Walt Disney himself, and Walt actually paid for his tuition for film school!!! and he did lots of other cool things too. but man... the talk was 3 hours too long. my friend was like, if only i had a tomato (to throw at him). hahaha.

Conversations

So every morning and evening i get a ride to work from this guy who works a few blocks away from me. he's pretty cool and we got to talking about a lot of stuff. one day we were talking about homeless people.
there are 60,000 homeless people here in LA, isn't that crazy??? that's a TON of people pushing shopping carts and begging for change on the streets everyday!!! i get at least 5 people asking me for change daily, and i feel so bad but i can't give all my money to every single one of them. it's so sad, i don't know why the government doesn't do more to help. makes me wonder how they ended up homeless and why aren't they doing anything to change that. also wonder how come there are so many more homeless people here than in singapore.

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.

My golden birthday

Thanks for all the birthday wishes, everyone! apparently turning 22 on the 22nd equals a golden birthday. so that was cool :)
it's been a pretty long and crazy week, so get ready for another super long post. haha.

Universal Studios

cartoon and i went to universal theme park on monday, and it was pleasantly not-so-crowded. yayyy :) it was totally how i remembered it 3 years ago, when i was there with the fam. same rides, same shows, except for some new rides. like the simpsons virtual simulator which had a huge screen and totally felt real. but i was kinda surprised they only had like 4 rides in the entire park. the mummy and the jurassic park rides were fun though. i screamed my head off, and cartoon was so silent i thought she died of heart attack or something. that's how we were for all the rides we went on -- i'd be shrieking in terror/happiness, and she'd be pale with her eyes closed. hahaha.

anw the tours/shows were cool. we waited in line for a long time and finally got to tour around the universal lot. they were actually filming desperate housewives on wisteria lane, but we couldn't go in to see it, of course. so near, yet so far!!! we saw the sets from hitchcock's psycho, dr. seuss' whoville, the princess diaries, war of the worlds, and lots more.
and then they had cool shows like the sound effects and shrek and all that. it was the same as i remembered, but it's been 3 years, so it was still fun :)



jurassic park water ride = awesomeness


spongebob!!


the plane crash from war of the worlds


fake central park at universal studios. it's tiny. amazing how the camera can deceive us.

Premieres!

monday night we went to the premiere of The Invention of Lying at the chinese theatre in hollywood!! we saw jennifer garner on the red carpet, and she was gorgeous! and then free popcorn and drinks in the theatre again :) and then jennifer garner came in and sat several rows BEHIND us!!! totally cool! ricky gervais too!! (he's in the movie also)
so the movie wasn't that great (it was kinda blasphemy i thought) but the concept was interesting -- a world where lies don't exist and everyone tells the truth.
and then we saw rob lowe (who's also in the movie) on the red carpet after that!! and then kenny g walked by us numerous times on the escalator!! i think he knew we recognized him, and he was probably disappointed we didn't approach him for an autograph or something. haha. he kept smiling at us.
AND THEN my friend was in the toilet and peed next to matthew perry!!! so jealous!!! and matthew perry sat behind them!!!! UGH i wanna see him. but it was cool and it was the most number of celebrities we've sighted in one day so far :)



this guy looks totally like johnny depp in pirates of the caribbean


at the premiere


one feet away from Rob Lowe!!!


we freakin' LOVE free premieres!!!!!!

Thursday night we went to the free screening of Surrogates, but it was just a screening, not a premiere :(
the movie wasn't that great, it was like any other clone/robot movie, so i was glad i didn't waste 12 bucks on it.

Magical Disney

Tues we went to Disney California Adventure!!! it was right opposite Disneyland, and the difference in the number of people waiting to go into either parks was incredible. there were 10times as many people going to disneyland than cali adventure. which we were totally grateful for, cuz that meant NO LINES and NO WAITING :)
so i got in free cuz it was my bday :) and they gave me a badge to wear that said 'happy birthday benita'. and lots of random people wished me happy birthday. haha.
the rides here were fun too.. tower of terror?? TOTALLY AWESOME. it was like a giant drop but inside a building. this little girl sat next to me, and when we suddenly dropped a few stories, she clung on to my arm in terror and would not let go. it was so cute. haha. california screamin' (the rollercoaster) was awesome too. i remember going on it many times with my dad and bros. but then the mickey ferris wheel was like the most TERRIFYING THING ever. it seemed so innocent, a ferris wheel. but NO. the little container we were in swung back and forth violently, and there were no seat belts or anything to grab on to, so we just gripped the seats in terror and screamed for our lives. seriously, it was awful. here's me terrified. don't laugh.



but we got to take pics with disney/pixar characters, so that was fun. really tiring though. we got to the park an hour before it opened, cuz we got a ride from cartoon's friend (whom she randomly met at an airport a few months ago).


mr. and mrs. incredible were incredibly frisky. haha.


the terrifying mickey ferris wheel. don't let its innocent looks deceive you.


cars!


i love free disney!

Birthday craziness

It was kind of a really crazy birthday. we didn't make it to the jimmy kimmel show in time, but we did see David Duchovny and some famous basketball player in the alleyway, cuz they were going into the studio. so that was cool :)
then we wandered around Hollywood for a while before going to this restaurant called Saddle Ranch on Sunset strip. it was pretty cool -- they had a mechanical bull and a karaoke stage. andrew got to ride the bull for free - it was entertaining. haha. and then they made me sing 'barbie girl' on karaoke IN FRONT of the ENTIRE RESTAURANT. it was pretty embarrassing but i did it. haha.


at saddle ranch

and then after that.. partyyy all night. no details necessary. haha.

Circus

wed was our long-awaited britney spears concert!!! cartoon's first concert ever!!! she was pretty dang awesome. it was like a circus performance, not really a concert. i'm pretty sure she lip synched the entire time, but her dancing was fabulous. and there were crazy acrobats and dancers and magicians the entire time. it was pretty crazy. and jordin sparks opened for her. there were hundreds of screaming girls in the stadium, and the only guys there were either gays or boyfriends forced to attend. haha.


britney's fantabulous circus performance

Casting call

So we've been going out every day and night this week, i totally had no time for homework. heh. lots of last minute scrambling. but oh well.
anw i got to help josh with his casting call for his video project, and that was pretty fun!!! we auditioned several actors for different roles in his script, and i read the other part with the actors. it was a cool experience, cuz the actors were like reacting to me and looking at me as they said their lines, and some of them were pretty dang good. it was intimidating. haha. and then they had to do a crying scene, which was a little awkward. all these grown men crying in front of us. haha.
but it was fun. i like casting :)

Weekend!!

Today was day 2 of work. i was told to shred loads of waste paper, but the shredder hated me. i was having fun at first, laughing maniacally when feeding the papers into the machine, but then it overheated, and it got stuck and wouldn't work. oops. so i went back to filing. haha. but then i got to work on breakdowns and pick out the most suitable headshots of actors (cuz apparently they all have lots of different 'looks' for different parts) for roles in the new drama 'three kings'. so that was cool.
and now the weekend's here!!!!! :)

Visit from Cartoon

YAY i'm so glad she actually made it here! :)

so she came on friday and met me after i got home from work.
oooh work. i got an internship with The House of Representatives, a talent/casting agency in Santa Monica, and it seemed like a really cool place. it was small and laidback, just like my previous internship, and the people were nice. i did tons of filing and organizing clients' folders, so that was kinda fun. i got to see lots of headshots and resumes of their clients, and many of them were in recognizable TV shows/movies like CSI, How i met your mother, Friends, etc. i had a good time looking at all the beautiful people and their beautiful headshots. man, LA is full of adorably cute kid actors! so that was fun. but hopefully i get to do something of more substance in the future.
and thank God i got a ride from one of the guys from the program who's office is near mine, if not i'd have to take the sketchy bus to Santa Monica, which is a half hour drive away but an hour bus ride away. so our schedules are pretty much the same, except he starts work half an hour earlier than me, but it's ok. there's a library and cafes nearby that i can go to while i wait for 9.30am to come.

PLUS my office is on 6th street, a mere 3 blocks away from Third Street Promenade! the awesome outdoor strip mall in Santa Monica! and 6 blocks away from the SANTA MONICA BEACH! how great is that. all my lunch breaks are gonna be awesome :)
and yeah. i went shopping during lunch, and grabbed food to go on the way back. haha. there's a Barnes & Nobles, too, and tons of street performers and interesting people around. this is gonna be so fun! :)

ok anyway, on friday, cartoon got to meet a bunch of my friends, and we went on an adventure in faith's car. haha. drove around and couldn't decide where to go! we're such an indecisive bunch. but it was so hilarious in the car. they crack me up.

so we ended up at, of all places, Drew Barrymore's house, which faith found on the list of celebrity homes on the map! can you believe that? their addresses are on a map that people can buy! there's really no privacy at all for these poor rich people. but whatever. if i had that kind of money, i wouldn't care. haha. so anyway, her house was like 10 mins away from ours, and COMPLETELY SURROUNDED by huge super-tall trees and hedges so we couldn't see anything at all. it was crazy! so we gave up and went to In-N-Out burger. and told cartoon all sorts of hilarious stories about the boys in our program. haha. then we tried to go to a comedy club, but we were too late. then we went to Hollywood, but there wasn't much to do. then we tried going to a club, but we didn't really know where and didn't wanna be out so late in such a sketchy neighborhood (cuz people keep telling me Hollywood's kinda dangerous at night). so we ended up driving back. at midnight. haha. was fun though.

Saturday
cartoon and i took the bus (it really wasn't that bad. apart from a couple of weirdos, the bus ride was fine, and it only took about 20 mins) to Hollywood to go to Madame Tussaud's wax museum. it was so cool seeing all the wax figures of celebrities. we took 160pictures altogether, but my stupid camera memory card got corrupted so only like 10 turned up. sigh. have to go get it fixed. hopefully the pictures can be saved. anyway, some of the figures looked totally like the celebrity and we got kinda freaked out by that. but some of them looked nothing like the real person. it was weird. my fav was Justin Timberlake. haha.


Will Smith


Justin Timberlake


Jennifer Aniston


Jennifer Lopez (and her butt)


Britney Spears


Johnny Depp


Michael Jackson


Beyonce


Obama


On the bus to Hollywood!

then we came back to our apartment and met andrew neel! he's in town for a few days (coincidentally, for my bday too!) visiting from Florida, where he found a job. so that was fun. we got to catch up about our summers and jobs and stuff. then cartoon's friends came to pick us up to go to Little Tokyo. they got lost, and apparently they think i'm super rich 'cause the apartment i'm staying in cost a lot to rent out. i can totally see that, i mean, we're next to an expensive mall and there are tons of grocery places nearby. so anyway, i got to meet her friend and all his asian friends. haha.

anw it was interesting and actually turned out to be really fun. they were hilarious, especially when they blasted 'hotel room service' in the car, at full volume, wound down the windows, and yelled out the chorus. hahaha. and they got along really well with andrew, which was so funny. the japanese restaurant we went to had good food, too. i finally got to eat real rice with tofu :)
they were really nice too, drove us everywhere. haha. went to a hookah place after that. but i'm so over the whole hookah thing. it makes me choke all the time! and makes my throat dry too. don't really like it. but it was fun being there with new people.

Sunday
Went to Grace Community Church again this week, with faith and cartoon. but this time, we went to the youth service. it was alright, a little more contemporary than the adult service, but not what i was looking for. i think i want a place that's middle-sized, filled with a diverse group of people -- families, youth, adults, even old ladies 'cause they're so cute -- it gives me a sense of community when it's not just all old people or all youths.

Then we went shopping! YAY. to good old department stores like JCPennys and Kohls, instead of the ridiculously expensive places here at the Grove and in Hollywood. had to drive half an hour away, but it was worth it. didn't really get much stuff, but it was just nice to get away from LA. i think i wouldn't wanna live here in the city. i wouldn't mind living in another county like Burbank or Santa Monica, but not in the heart of the city, like downtown LA. there's just too much going on. Santa Monica is pretty nice and chill and has lots of cute quaint shops i like :)

Oh and then we tried crashing the Emmys (the awards show for stuff like best TV show/actor), but we totally got the time and place wrong. ended up at the wrong theatre 2 hours after the show started :( so didn't get to see any celebrities. my roomie got to see people like Heidi Klum, Drew Barrymore and the cast of The Office, but oh well! it's just my luck.
so we ended up watching the movie 'Se7en' at faith's apartment with a bunch of people. WORST MOVIE EVER. gross and pointless and disgusting and creepy. don't watch it. it's about detectives trying to figure out a killer going on a rampage, killing people according to the 7 deadly sins. so he overstuffed one man and called it gluttony, etc. it was SICK. and they had to make the man a southern baptist.

WHY DO CHRISTIANS ALWAYS LOOK LIKE CRAZED IDIOTS IN MOVIES??? it's so unfair! makes me so mad 'cause it's so wrong. we're not all extremist psychos!
reminds me of friday, when we saw 'jesus' walking around in Hollywood. was a guy dressed up as jesus. why would he do that?? i don't know. weird. to take pics with people i guess. and then we met a youth group that came to Hollywood to 'preach the gospel' by dragging around a huge cross that said something along the lines of 'jesus died for you', and they were rapping about God and handing out pamphlets. i don't know, but i don't think it was very effective. sigh. oh well!

Free days

Internship interviews

I guess my free days are coming to an end soon. since i didn't get the Fox Features casting internship, i've been super free and happy. but now i suddenly have two upcoming interviews with other talent/casting agencies. one's nearby, in the same building as my classes, and one's in santa monica. so that's exciting, but also... have to say goodbye to my free days. oh well! i'm excited to go check out the companies tomorrow and friday and see how they are. pray they go well and i pick the right company for me :)

The Ellen Degeneres Show

So i got tickets to The Ellen show for today, and got a bunch of people to go with me. had a hard time finding people, cuz everyone either had class or had to work. but in the end i found hani, nicole and jeff, and we went! i actually had standby tickets, but we managed to get in after lots of waiting under the hot sun. in fact, most of the day was spent waiting in lines as buses shuttled us from the LA zoo (where we parked) to the Warner Brothers studio lot (where all kinds of crazy awesome movies/TV shows have been filmed!!!). it was so cool. but sadly, we didn't get to see any celebrities in passing. we did get to see Ellen Degeneres (she was totally awesome and hilarious) as she introduced the Dave Matthews Band on stage, and then they performed 4 songs. they were pretty awesome live. so all in all, a lot of waiting, but the concert was fun. i'm not a huge fan of either, but it was free, so why not :)

Our stomachs were rumbling by the time we got done with the concert, since we'd been waiting for hours on end. and when the rest heard i'd never been to In-N-Out burger (a fast food restaurant), they insisted we had to go there for dinner. so we went. and the cheeseburger/fries were pretty good, but i think they tasted like any other burger i've had. haha.

anyway, Cartoon's coming to visit on thurs!!!! YAY so excited!!!! :)

Week 2

yes, it's already week 2. only 15 more weeks left in LA :(
haha anyway. today i went for my interview!

It was with Fox Features casting department, as in 20th century fox, the major studio that produces all kinds of awesome movies like The devil wears prada, Titanic, Xmen and Fantastic Four. So that was pretty cool, and kinda nerve-wrecking. but the interview turned out to be really informal. the casting director's assistant just asked me a bunch of questions about myself, then showed me around the office, and i got to see the casting room where they audition actors. also got to walk around the fox studio lot, which was huge and on high-security. craziness! and so basically interns do lots of office stuff, filing, logging, researching, running errands on the studio lot, and hopefully sitting in on castings and seeing how the process goes. sounds alright. i wouldn't mind doing that for the next 3 months. besides, it's FOX! who wouldn't wanna work for them?? probably shouldn't talk too much about it 'cause they have this thing about privacy and confidentiality.
anyway, even though it's an hour away by bus, i think i can do it. just have to wake up earlier and sleep earlier too. heh.

So.. i'll know if i get it by friday. fingers and toes crossed.

Ok have to go write my script now. sigh. i think i have a story... about an imaginative, quirky, lonely little boy who finds a watch that gives him the power to go back and forth through time. it's all about staying true to who you are and not conforming to society's expectations.
i don't know how good it's gonna be... and out of 52 scripts turned in by us students, they're only gonna choose 5 to be produced and made into films for our class. so... here's hoping it's good enough!

Last days...

Yesterday was the last day at work. i got to go in late, and the atmosphere at work was so relaxed, cuz it was the weekend, and people wanted the weekend to start as soon as possible. my editor took me out and treated me to a sushi lunch, which was so nice of her :) we got to talking, and i must say, i'm actually gonna miss working with her and everyone else. i thought i'd be jumping for joy on my last day of work, but i was actually kinda sad and not ready to leave. at all. but we did say our goodbyes...
i'll probably keep in contact with them though, so i have a network of people to reach out to if i want to work here in the future. (which i really want to)
i wrote out a list of stuff i've been doing in the office, so the next intern can know what to do. and my editor was like, please don't leave! haha. i have to, but it's been great :)

We went to a PR event after work, and got to see exclusive previews of products from all kinds of brand names that will only be launched in the fall. and i got to TAKE SOME OF THEM WITH ME!



Laura Mercier almond coconut milk body creme (it smells soooo good), Godiva chocolates (we got to sample some there, and bring some back. yum), Cookie smelling shower gel from Philosophy (makes me wanna eat cookies), and perfume/lotion from Philosophy's amazing grace. oh and also perfume from Memoire Liquide, this cute brand that lets you custom-make your scent. it smells SO good.
i love philosophy. they had an entire room of philosophy stuff for the christmas holidays, and it was all sooo pretty :)

the event was so fun. a girl came to take us around to see all the beauty products like makeup, perfume, body lotion... then we went to the fashion section, with clothes galore from all kinds of brands, then to the lifestyle section with all kinds of gadgets and cool stuff. the place was SO pink. pink candy, which i took some of, pink cupcakes and cakes...oh it was so cute. and they had an entire bar filled with free drinks too. i so wanna work here!

Graduation ceremony

We had our Dreamer graduation ceremony last night... it was really sad, seeing all 100+ of us all together again for the last time :(
Kaz, our program director (he's awesome) gave one last speech and told us to go forth and pursue our dreams! they played a slideshow filled with photo memories of our time here, and it was nostalgic. we got a free book filled with inspiring words, and then we appreciated the staff members and got in a circle to toast to an awesome summer in NYC :)

And then i did my laundry and accidentally put in a pink shirt with my other white-ish stuff (like sheets) and now everything is pink-ish/stained with splotches of pink. sigh.

I hate packing. and of course, since i'm leaving tomorrow, my period unsurprisingly has to come now. lovely.

Cupid Shuffle

We danced to that song at the cruise, and it was stuck in my head the entire day yesterday.


at the cruise. i don't know why everyone else's photos turned out better than mine :(


i'm gonna miss these girls.


tried to get into plunge, the upscale rooftop bar at hotel ganzevort, but it was impossible and they wanted us to get a table.
table = $250 minimum. heck no. sad.


so we ended up at ono next door, where there was no cover charge, and it was... a gay party!!! awesomeness. although it was kinda sad seeing all those cute guys and knowing they weren't interested :(
but this guy (in blue) we met, he was the gay-est of gays, and he was hilarious!! omg. he came and danced with us, and put on this mini fashion show for us. hahaha. wonder why gays are so funny.


and then we randomly met these promoters on the street and ended up at tenjune!!!
the exclusive club that lots of celebs go to!! heard it was super hard to get in, but we got in for free + free drinks :) i love being a girl.
although... the club wasn't all that. too crowded + ok music + didn't see any celebs. maybe cuz it was a sunday.

Movies

Went to the midnight premiere of Harry Potter number 6 yesterday.. waited in line for 2 hours, because here in America, they don't have this basic thing called SEAT NUMBERS ON YOUR TICKET. so you have to go super early and wait and rush in just to get decent seats, which we did :)
Although we did meet interesting people while waiting, so i'm not complaining. these girls were wandering around trying to sell 'wands' to people for 2 bucks.
their wands = branches from trees. haha.
and this guy behind us was all dressed up in Hogwarts garb, flamboyantly gesturing and explaining all his theories about Harry Potter conspiracies. and when a reporter came to take pictures, he posed in the most ridiculous poses. it was like his own photo shoot.
and i actually really liked the movie. it was light-hearted and funny and better than the previous ones.

but i didn't like taking the subway back at 3am. it was the creepiest thing in the world. creepy crawlies everywhere, creepy weird-looking train that zoomed by and didn't stop, creepy guys mumbling to themselves, creepy guys whistling... ugh. never again.

Also, i finally saw Wall-E. and it was rather boring due to the lack of verbal communication.
But Slumdog millionaire totally blew me away. i'd been putting off watching it cuz i thought it'd be intense and serious and boring, but i totally sat through the entire thing in rapt attention. i couldn't pull my eyes away from the screen. it was riveting! loved it.

One more day of work

YAY! my manager seems to like me a lot... she kept telling the others what a great job i've done and how she doesn't know what she's gonna do without me. haha. awww thanks.
i really like her, she's awesome. and she asked me to continue writing for them, only this time i'll be PAID! $50 per story!! HECK YES. i'm so glad i met her :)

other than that, i almost fell asleep today and monday at work. haha.