Life in California
There's just something about sunny California that makes me feel like I'm on vacation 24/7. I have no desire whatsoever to do anything school-related or work-related, I just want to lay out on the beach all day long and watch dolphins play around and perform flips in the air (we actually did see them at Venice Beach pier, they were so cute). And can I just say, I'm so glad there's actual ethnic food here. Korean, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, even Singaporean... I'm in food paradise.
Work has been rather slow lately, I shred piles and piles of paper (which is actually fun, but not very productive), pull actors' headshots and resumes for breakdowns, do basic office stuff like filing and mailing and faxing and calling clients, and I wrote coverage for a script once. Let's just say it was the worst script in the world. It was basically another wannabe slasher horror flick that had a poor innocent writer being raped and abused, and then she became completely psycho and started capturing and torturing men for amusement. It was absolutely traumatizing, and it's actually being made into a short film now. It's scripts like these that make me think, if these awful plots and characters are being filmed in a movie, I think I can do better. Or at least try.
But overall it really isn't that bad, I actually enjoy doing things. It's when I have nothing to do that I feel really unproductive and useless just sitting there, so I brought homework with me to the office, and that's been working out great :)
I also got to do the 'rejection calls' where I call actors/actresses who sent in their resumes and headshots for the company to represent them, but they got rejected for some reason, and so I'm the bearer of bad news. It's actually rather uncommon in Hollywood to call up actors and let them know they're being rejected, because most of the time no one really bothers about C-list actors, so what my company does is really rare. And the actors do appreciate the little gesture too, they're so nice and friendly and even thank me for telling them the bad news. One guy even wrote me a CARD to say thanks and to keep in touch! I guess he didn't know I was a lowly intern, but still! It was cute :)
Film shoots
I've had the awesome opportunity of helping out with fellow LAFSC friends' film projects, and it's my very first time watching the filming process unfold, and i love it! it's exciting and new and fun, even if i'm just holding the boom mic and trying not to get it in the shot.
I also love casting calls. There's just something about being the one sitting behind the table, holding the power to decide actors' fates. It's so fun to watch them audition, see all their resumes and headshots, and then decide who suits which role the best. I wouldn't mind doing this for a living. Plus you get to see all kinds of good-looking actors, and believe me, there are tons in LA. I work for a talent agency, and I get to see headshots of beautiful people every single day. It's fun and yet a little overwhelming because i'm wondering why they got all the good genes and didn't leave much for me. haha.
Also wouldn't mind being a makeup artist! I did makeup for a friend's project, smudging eyeshadow all over the actors' faces and smearing gel in their hair to make them look like they've been living in a bomb shelter for a while. It was totally fun and made me think of going to beauty school... for a second :)
Talks
Tony Hale, the actor most known from Arrested Development, came to talk to us about his experiences in Hollywood. He was such an interesting and hilarious guy, and gave us lots of useful advice. Knowing that he's a Christian, and that he stands firm in his beliefs in this crazy industry, was strangely comforting. I liked how he kept saying that in this industry, tons of rejection is normal, but just remember that in the end, everything will be okay. Have to keep telling myself that :)
We also had a lecture from a Jewish lady, who talked about the misconceptions Christians have of Jews and vice versa, and gave us a whole history of the Jews, and announced that about 70% of Hollywood is Jewish, because most of the major studios were founded by Jews. That's pretty cool, although... it makes me wonder - what about Chinese people? what have we ever contributed to the world besides communism and bad chinese restaurants (which are in abundance in LA)?
There were other talks, but they were too boring to mention. and i just don't remember anything they said.
Movies/shows
I love LA and all its free advanced movie screenings they have every week! At least two per week. I'm never going to have to pay for a movie as long as I'm here.
We went to see Law Abiding Citizen (my roommate worked the premiere, because her company produced the film, and she bumped into Gerard Butler at the after-party, and ran away speechless!), and it had an interesting message about the justice system and how justice isn't always served, but the gruesome killings and violence in the movie made it kind of unbearable to watch after a while. I'm just not one for horror movies. Ever. I wouldn't see any of the ridiculous Saw movies, even if you paid me to.
Went to see New York, I love you, and if you've seen the Paris version, this one's going to be a disappointment. It's just really messy and all the stories intertwine, so they jump from story to story, and there's no real ending. Everything's just left hanging, and that really annoys me, because I want to know what happens to these characters. I don't want to imagine it myself!
Also went to see Toy Story 1 & 2 in 3D at the Disney El Capitan theatre! It was the coolest theatre ever, with a stage and box seats and a huge organ playing disney songs while we waited for the movies to start. And then Buzz, Woody and Jess came out and did a little dance! My love for Disney will never die :)
On our day off we got free tickets to go see the Jay Leno Show, and Dana Carvey (the comedian) was the guest star. He was pretty hilarious, but we were really looking forward to seeing Justin Timberlake, who ended up being a 'guest' via satellite -- Jay did the 10@10 segment with him. SIGH. While waiting in line to go into the studio, we were given these cards to fill out, and they asked if we had any special talent no one else had. Mine wrote: 'I have the ability to be where celebrities are, but I never get to see them.' Something along those lines. So sad but true.
Oh well, it was still fun, I got to high-five Jay, and they sat us on the second row, right in front of the stage! It was craziness and the crowd was so energetic and excited.
More Flags, More Fun!
Went to SIX FLAGS this past weekend! I love rollercoasters and all kinds of maximum adrenaline rides! We actually got a discount coupon, so we got into the park for $10 +$30 (for the FlashPass), and it was still cheaper than the normal price :) We got to bypass ALL the crazy hour-long lines and head straight to the front of almost every rollercoaster ride. We went on six rides before lunch, one after another, which made me kind of dizzy. But it was still awesome.
Top three rides:
3. Tatsu -- This ride flips you around so that you're facing the ground and on your stomach, and the only thing that's preventing you from falling to the ground and splattering into a hundred pieces is the little harness. I felt like I was flying, but it was pretty terrifying.
2. Superman -- We were launched out of the tunnel at top speed, and up this vertical tower until we were almost face-to-face with Superman himself, and then we fell back down to earth. So fun!
1. X2 -- This by far is the BEST RIDE and the scariest I've ever been on in my entire life. And I've been on quite a few. But this one was mind-blowing! We were plunged down backwards vertically, head first, lying on our backs, and then spun around 5 times throughout the entire ride, while they threw fire at us. Loved it.
And then at night the park transformed into a creepy place where creatures prowled the grounds, all in the name of Halloween. The Six Flags guy even did the Thriller dance with zombies and vampires. It was intense.
So... this entry is way too long. more updates later, i guess. and i have to say, i missed Taylor a little when i saw airband videos on youtube. i had my last airband last fall and i didn't even know it :(
Friday, October 16, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Fun in the sun
Internship
So i got an internship with The House of Representatives, a talent/casting agency in Santa Monica, about 45 minutes away. But there's another guy in the program who works three blocks away from me, and he has a car, so i get a ride with him to and from work, which works out great, because i have no desire to waste 2 hours of my life on the bus.
Work has been alright, i've only been there twice, and i did mostly organizational stuff like filing and more filing. then they gave me a huge stack of paper to shred - the shredder was this ancient thing that was falling apart, and it overheated after 2 minutes before choking and breathing its final breath. hope i didn't break it. such a pity. i would've had fun feeding papers to the machine, but it totally let me down. so i went back to filing.
So far the best part about work is that my office is a mere THREE BLOCKS away from Third Street Promenade, a quaint place with shops along the street and lots of people milling about and street performers everywhere. it's an interesting place, and i spent my lunch break shopping instead of eating. i'm going to have to resist the temptation to shop all the time.
my office is also about six blocks away from the beach, which is pretty awesome. i wish i had longer lunch breaks. haha.
Cartoon's visit
This past week has been pretty crazy, since i brought Cartoon around LA from morning till night and totally neglected my homework. oops.
We did lots of ridiculous things -- we drove past Drew Barrymore's house a couple of times, but didn't see anyone. i know it sounds totally stalker-ish, but it wasn't my idea. we went to Madame Tussaud's wax museum and took photos with fake celebrities, but my photos got corrupted so that was a bummer. we ate real asian food in Little Tokyo and met a couple of cartoon's friends, who were all really cool, and andrew came to hang out too. after church on sunday, we went shopping and then tried to crash the Emmy's, but we got the time and place wrong. my roommate went and saw all kinds of famous people. sigh!
this week we went to Universal Studios and Disney California Adventure (because any Disney theme park is FREE on your birthday!)... i love theme parks and rollercoasters! we got to tour around the Universal studio lot and see all the sound stages and the places where they filmed movies like War of the Worlds and TV shows like Desperate Housewives :)
We also attended the free premiere of 'The Invention of Lying,' where we saw Jennifer Garner ON THE RED CARPET!! she was so gorgeous, and she actually sat several rows behind us in the theatre! along with Ricky Gervais (who's also in the movie). and apparently Matthew Perry was there too, 'cause my friend sat right IN FRONT of him!! after the movie, we were this close to Rob Lowe on the red carpet. he was really friendly and all, taking pictures and signing autographs. but i didn't really care about him. and then we saw Kenny G, the musician, riding up and down the escalators at the parking garage. he kept smiling at us; i think he knew we recognized him and was probably disappointed that we didn't approach him for an autograph. haha.
On wednesday, we went to the free screening of 'Surrogates,' but it wasn't a premiere, so we didn't get to see Bruce Willis. that would've been cool.
Both movies weren't that great. i wouldn't recommend paying more than 2dollars to go see them. but the experience was awesome :)
And cartoon got to go to a concert for the very first time and see her favorite singer - Britney Spears!! it was a crazy time. there were hundreds of girls screaming wildly, as well as gays and bored boyfriends. Jordin Sparks did the opening act, and her voice was amazing, which is more than i can say for Britney. i'm pretty sure she was lip synching the entire time, but i can't blame her, because her dance moves were ridiculously awesome. it felt like more of a circus performance than an actual concert. there were acrobats, crazy dancers, magicians, and lots of stunts. all in all, a pretty cool experience.
Birthday adventures
It was a pretty good birthday -- turning 22 on the 22nd :)
This is THE most terrifying ride i've EVER been on. seriously. and i've been on many crazy rollercoasters. it's called the Mickey Ferris Wheel (i think), but it really should be called the Mickey Terror Wheel. don't let its innocent looks deceive you. these little containers swing back and forth violently, and there are no seat belts on the seats. i was clinging on to the sides for dear life! don't laugh.
So i got an internship with The House of Representatives, a talent/casting agency in Santa Monica, about 45 minutes away. But there's another guy in the program who works three blocks away from me, and he has a car, so i get a ride with him to and from work, which works out great, because i have no desire to waste 2 hours of my life on the bus.
Work has been alright, i've only been there twice, and i did mostly organizational stuff like filing and more filing. then they gave me a huge stack of paper to shred - the shredder was this ancient thing that was falling apart, and it overheated after 2 minutes before choking and breathing its final breath. hope i didn't break it. such a pity. i would've had fun feeding papers to the machine, but it totally let me down. so i went back to filing.
So far the best part about work is that my office is a mere THREE BLOCKS away from Third Street Promenade, a quaint place with shops along the street and lots of people milling about and street performers everywhere. it's an interesting place, and i spent my lunch break shopping instead of eating. i'm going to have to resist the temptation to shop all the time.
my office is also about six blocks away from the beach, which is pretty awesome. i wish i had longer lunch breaks. haha.
Cartoon's visit
This past week has been pretty crazy, since i brought Cartoon around LA from morning till night and totally neglected my homework. oops.
We did lots of ridiculous things -- we drove past Drew Barrymore's house a couple of times, but didn't see anyone. i know it sounds totally stalker-ish, but it wasn't my idea. we went to Madame Tussaud's wax museum and took photos with fake celebrities, but my photos got corrupted so that was a bummer. we ate real asian food in Little Tokyo and met a couple of cartoon's friends, who were all really cool, and andrew came to hang out too. after church on sunday, we went shopping and then tried to crash the Emmy's, but we got the time and place wrong. my roommate went and saw all kinds of famous people. sigh!
this week we went to Universal Studios and Disney California Adventure (because any Disney theme park is FREE on your birthday!)... i love theme parks and rollercoasters! we got to tour around the Universal studio lot and see all the sound stages and the places where they filmed movies like War of the Worlds and TV shows like Desperate Housewives :)
We also attended the free premiere of 'The Invention of Lying,' where we saw Jennifer Garner ON THE RED CARPET!! she was so gorgeous, and she actually sat several rows behind us in the theatre! along with Ricky Gervais (who's also in the movie). and apparently Matthew Perry was there too, 'cause my friend sat right IN FRONT of him!! after the movie, we were this close to Rob Lowe on the red carpet. he was really friendly and all, taking pictures and signing autographs. but i didn't really care about him. and then we saw Kenny G, the musician, riding up and down the escalators at the parking garage. he kept smiling at us; i think he knew we recognized him and was probably disappointed that we didn't approach him for an autograph. haha.
On wednesday, we went to the free screening of 'Surrogates,' but it wasn't a premiere, so we didn't get to see Bruce Willis. that would've been cool.
Both movies weren't that great. i wouldn't recommend paying more than 2dollars to go see them. but the experience was awesome :)
And cartoon got to go to a concert for the very first time and see her favorite singer - Britney Spears!! it was a crazy time. there were hundreds of girls screaming wildly, as well as gays and bored boyfriends. Jordin Sparks did the opening act, and her voice was amazing, which is more than i can say for Britney. i'm pretty sure she was lip synching the entire time, but i can't blame her, because her dance moves were ridiculously awesome. it felt like more of a circus performance than an actual concert. there were acrobats, crazy dancers, magicians, and lots of stunts. all in all, a pretty cool experience.
Birthday adventures
It was a pretty good birthday -- turning 22 on the 22nd :)
This is THE most terrifying ride i've EVER been on. seriously. and i've been on many crazy rollercoasters. it's called the Mickey Ferris Wheel (i think), but it really should be called the Mickey Terror Wheel. don't let its innocent looks deceive you. these little containers swing back and forth violently, and there are no seat belts on the seats. i was clinging on to the sides for dear life! don't laugh.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Free days
I've been having lots and lots of free time lately, and i love it. but today i got a call from two talent/casting agencies, and i have to go in for an interview tomorrow and friday. wish me luck! hopefully i'll choose the right one best suited for me :)
Anyway, since i was totally free today and yesterday, (and i did nothing but lay out at the pool yesterday), today i went to The Ellen Degeneres show!!! most people had classes/internships, so it was a scramble to find 3 other people to go with me. but i did. and we went. and it was awesome. we had standby tickets, but managed to get in after lots and lots of waiting in line under the relentless sun. finally we got shuttled by bus to the Warner Brothers studio lot (where tons of awesome movies/TV shows have been filmed) and waited some more in the hot sun. we didn't actually get into the studio, we were just the audience for the after concert. so we got to hear Ellen conversing with Jennifer Aniston in the building right next to us, but we couldn't see her. so near, yet so far! :(
but Ellen did come out and introduce the Dave Matthews Band, and they performed 4 songs. they were really good performing live, and i had a great view of them since the venue was smaller. i would post pictures, but all these TV show tapings are annoyingly adamant about the 'no camera' rule. sigh. and since my phone's camera is pretty awful, i have nothing to document the experience. oh well. it was fun while it lasted.
And then i had my first taste of In-N-Out burger. haha. apparently it has the best burgers in town, and the rest were horrified when they found out i had never tried it. so i did. and it was alright.. tasted just like any other burger. haha.
Cartoon's coming to visit on thursday!!! YAY so excited :)
Anyway, since i was totally free today and yesterday, (and i did nothing but lay out at the pool yesterday), today i went to The Ellen Degeneres show!!! most people had classes/internships, so it was a scramble to find 3 other people to go with me. but i did. and we went. and it was awesome. we had standby tickets, but managed to get in after lots and lots of waiting in line under the relentless sun. finally we got shuttled by bus to the Warner Brothers studio lot (where tons of awesome movies/TV shows have been filmed) and waited some more in the hot sun. we didn't actually get into the studio, we were just the audience for the after concert. so we got to hear Ellen conversing with Jennifer Aniston in the building right next to us, but we couldn't see her. so near, yet so far! :(
but Ellen did come out and introduce the Dave Matthews Band, and they performed 4 songs. they were really good performing live, and i had a great view of them since the venue was smaller. i would post pictures, but all these TV show tapings are annoyingly adamant about the 'no camera' rule. sigh. and since my phone's camera is pretty awful, i have nothing to document the experience. oh well. it was fun while it lasted.
And then i had my first taste of In-N-Out burger. haha. apparently it has the best burgers in town, and the rest were horrified when they found out i had never tried it. so i did. and it was alright.. tasted just like any other burger. haha.
Cartoon's coming to visit on thursday!!! YAY so excited :)
Sunday, September 13, 2009
It's only been 3 weeks???
I feel like i've been in LA for months. and yet, i don't want my time here to end. can i just say that I LOVE THE CITY?! (i love every city) so much to do, so little time!
Premiere
On wednesday, faith and i unknowingly went to the premiere of Whiteout, Kate Beckinsale's new movie. I say 'unknowingly' because we thought it was a free screening that we got passes for online. but when we arrived at the theatre, it was crazy! there was a red carpet, with macho security guards, paparazzi and celebrities! I'm not completely sure, but i think i caught a glimpse of kate beckinsale while walking into the theatre. security guards were shooing us in 'cause we weren't allowed to linger. but i'm positive i saw the smaller stars of the movie -- alex o'loughlin (who also stars in three kings) and tom skerritt, because they were swarmed by people after the movie, and they very willingly took pictures and signed autographs. i kicked myself multiple times for not bringing my camera.
Anyway, the movie was crap. predictable and yet confusing. even the beautiful kate couldn't save it. but at least we got free popcorn and drinks.
Concert
Thursday we went to Hollywood to see Pink in concert at the Jimmy Kimmel live show. i have to say that Pink is totally gorgeous and has an amazing voice! although she only sang two songs, it was fine, because i'm not a huge fan and it was free anyway.
after that, faith and i did the whole tourist-y thing and took lots of photos on Hollywood Blvd :)
we had to practice our 'OMG i saw a celebrity!' face. it's absolutely essential in this place, because you never know who you're going to run into!
some of my friends saw jake gyllenhaal, some others saw justin timberlake and jessica biel... where have these people been hiding all my life?? how come i never see them???
but it's okay. i still have 3 months to stalk famous people. haha.
love johnny depp.
Comedy club
Friday was an experience. I went (with a random bunch of people) to a comedy place, called The Comedy Union. Sounds harmless enough, right? Well.. the place wasn't exactly diverse. let's just say everyone there was black, except me and josh. and we were sitting next to each other - the only asian girl and the only white guy in the entire place - RIGHT IN FRONT of the stage. we might as well have been wearing bright, neon 'notice me!' signs on our faces, because we were prime targets for the comedians. the two funny ladies in front of us warned us that we'd be picked on, so i was a little nervous about that. and she was right. everyone kept insisting josh and i were a couple, and you know how comedians can be rather crude with their jokes... so it was a little weird. but all in good fun. they picked on everyone else too, so that was okay :) the show went on for more than 2 hours, and they were all hilarious, so it was totally worth 10bucks. we got to meet the comedians after the show and talk to them, and one of them had been to singapore to perform a few years ago! i thought that was cool :) we also met kim whitley, whom i thought looked really familiar, and turns out i was right! she starred in That's so Raven (on the Disney channel), among other shows.
so yayy i met another famous person! haha.
Film shoot
Today i got up at the crack of dawn and went to Malibu Beach to help bethany with her film shoot. i made myself useful by holding the boom mic, although.. sometimes the boom mic ended up in the shot. so i guess i wasn't that useful after all. haha. in my defense, it was heavy! but i improved as the day wore on. we found this cool little cave along the beach and bravely fought off the hundreds of flies buzzing around the disgusting seaweed to film the digging for treasure shot. and then we filmed in an office... and i fell asleep for a few minutes because i only had 4 hours of sleep the night before... and we met the professional actors that bethany 'hired' for free. they were a little loony and didn't take directions very well... i guess that's why they're still relatively unknown.
so after a day of shooting, we finally got done. yay!
went to watch the new animated movie '9' at this theatre called the Archlight --- it's the coolest theatre i've ever seen. it's enormous, the screen kind of wraps around the sides so it's curved instead of straight up like a normal theatre, and the picture and sound quality was awesome. the movie wasn't that great, but the experience was cool. even though the ticket cost 15bucks. can you imagine?? 15bucks in a recession?? why??
anyway, i'm dead tired now. sleep is good.
Premiere
On wednesday, faith and i unknowingly went to the premiere of Whiteout, Kate Beckinsale's new movie. I say 'unknowingly' because we thought it was a free screening that we got passes for online. but when we arrived at the theatre, it was crazy! there was a red carpet, with macho security guards, paparazzi and celebrities! I'm not completely sure, but i think i caught a glimpse of kate beckinsale while walking into the theatre. security guards were shooing us in 'cause we weren't allowed to linger. but i'm positive i saw the smaller stars of the movie -- alex o'loughlin (who also stars in three kings) and tom skerritt, because they were swarmed by people after the movie, and they very willingly took pictures and signed autographs. i kicked myself multiple times for not bringing my camera.
Anyway, the movie was crap. predictable and yet confusing. even the beautiful kate couldn't save it. but at least we got free popcorn and drinks.
Concert
Thursday we went to Hollywood to see Pink in concert at the Jimmy Kimmel live show. i have to say that Pink is totally gorgeous and has an amazing voice! although she only sang two songs, it was fine, because i'm not a huge fan and it was free anyway.
after that, faith and i did the whole tourist-y thing and took lots of photos on Hollywood Blvd :)
we had to practice our 'OMG i saw a celebrity!' face. it's absolutely essential in this place, because you never know who you're going to run into!
some of my friends saw jake gyllenhaal, some others saw justin timberlake and jessica biel... where have these people been hiding all my life?? how come i never see them???
but it's okay. i still have 3 months to stalk famous people. haha.
love johnny depp.
Comedy club
Friday was an experience. I went (with a random bunch of people) to a comedy place, called The Comedy Union. Sounds harmless enough, right? Well.. the place wasn't exactly diverse. let's just say everyone there was black, except me and josh. and we were sitting next to each other - the only asian girl and the only white guy in the entire place - RIGHT IN FRONT of the stage. we might as well have been wearing bright, neon 'notice me!' signs on our faces, because we were prime targets for the comedians. the two funny ladies in front of us warned us that we'd be picked on, so i was a little nervous about that. and she was right. everyone kept insisting josh and i were a couple, and you know how comedians can be rather crude with their jokes... so it was a little weird. but all in good fun. they picked on everyone else too, so that was okay :) the show went on for more than 2 hours, and they were all hilarious, so it was totally worth 10bucks. we got to meet the comedians after the show and talk to them, and one of them had been to singapore to perform a few years ago! i thought that was cool :) we also met kim whitley, whom i thought looked really familiar, and turns out i was right! she starred in That's so Raven (on the Disney channel), among other shows.
so yayy i met another famous person! haha.
Film shoot
Today i got up at the crack of dawn and went to Malibu Beach to help bethany with her film shoot. i made myself useful by holding the boom mic, although.. sometimes the boom mic ended up in the shot. so i guess i wasn't that useful after all. haha. in my defense, it was heavy! but i improved as the day wore on. we found this cool little cave along the beach and bravely fought off the hundreds of flies buzzing around the disgusting seaweed to film the digging for treasure shot. and then we filmed in an office... and i fell asleep for a few minutes because i only had 4 hours of sleep the night before... and we met the professional actors that bethany 'hired' for free. they were a little loony and didn't take directions very well... i guess that's why they're still relatively unknown.
so after a day of shooting, we finally got done. yay!
went to watch the new animated movie '9' at this theatre called the Archlight --- it's the coolest theatre i've ever seen. it's enormous, the screen kind of wraps around the sides so it's curved instead of straight up like a normal theatre, and the picture and sound quality was awesome. the movie wasn't that great, but the experience was cool. even though the ticket cost 15bucks. can you imagine?? 15bucks in a recession?? why??
anyway, i'm dead tired now. sleep is good.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
5-day weekend
No classes for 5 days? Loving it.
Friday
Got to help out with a friend's video project for class on friday, all day, from 4pm till midnight. it was an interesting experience to help fix up the lights, sound, camera, all that stuff. then she told me she wanted me to actually BE in the short film, so i hesitantly agreed to. and realized i just got myself into a typical asian stereotype character who speaks broken english with an accent. but it was pretty hilarious and i had fun doing it. the video was about a handyman who witnesses a murder, and my friend liked my character so much she ended up changing the ending and making me the murderer. so now i'm mrs. lee, jealous murderer. haha. it was fun but exhausting, and filming (illegally) in the basement late at night was too creepy for me.
Saturday
We went to the beach and to Santa Monica pier, where i heard many movies have been filmed... like Hannah Montana. haha. i'm loving this whole sunny california thing. the beach, the beautiful view, the scorching sun... the pier was filled with people and rides and food and souvenir stands. it was fun to people watch. and then there was a 'muscle beach' where people show off their fit bodies by lifting weights and what not. so fascinating.
At night we headed to the Hollywood Bowl, this huge outdoor concert arena, to see John Williams in concert. I guess he's the composer of many movie soundtracks, including Harry Potter and Star Wars. but after a million harry potter songs, i was bored to tears. i've never been this antsy and bored during a concert! but then again, classical music has never been my thing. watching an orchestra perform songs i didn't really care for was tormenting. i could've sat in my room and listened to those songs, and it would be the same. but oh well, it was an experience. i really want to go to other concerts, like britney spears or the killers!! and i found out miley cyrus has a concert on my birthday. but i haven't sunk that low. i refuse to pay to see hannah montana in concert. haha.
Sunday
DISNEYLAND, here we come! danielle and i were in high spirits as we headed to the magical land where all your dreams come true. and it was exactly how i remembered it 3 years ago, when i was there with my family. everything was the same! except for the Finding Nemo ride, which was a new underwater submarine ride that was really cool, and Fantasy Faire, where we stood in line for an hour to take pictures with the Disney princesses. although we only got to see Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Mulan, and we didn't really care about them. and THEN, just as we left, our very FAVORITE princesses Belle, Jasmine and Ariel decided to show up! sadness. so we tried to cheer ourselves up by going to see the disney parade, which was totally different from what i remembered. it was the 'Celebrate' parade, where random teenagers pranced around to Ricky Martin songs and invited people to join the congo line. i was like, 'WHERE are my disney characters???' oh well.
the other rides were fun. from kiddy ones like Peter Pan, Buzz Lightyear and Snow White's scary adventures to crazier ones like Space Mountain, Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean. thank goodness for Fast Passes, which brought us straight to the front of the line, away from the crowds.
Sleeping Beauty made us do the 'princess pose'. she was a really cranky princess.
Disney parade!
Sleeping Beauty's castle. i want to live there.
Peter Pan ride
On the Finding Nemo ride.
We were too exhausted to stay for the fireworks, so we left in the evening, which on hindsight was a good thing, because we got lost. and ended up in the shadiest town EVER. at only 8pm, it was pitch black, except for dim street lights and a 'topless dancers' sign, every single store was closed with metal gates, no one was around except for tons of homeless people pushing their carts filled with random stuff and chasing plastic bags down the street. it was the single most terrifying thing and we felt like we just drove right into a scene from a horror movie where the people get killed by some mysterious disease or creepy psycho. everytime we stopped at a traffic light, i thought someone was going to come up to the car and stab us to death or something. i mean, looking back now, it was kind of hilarious, but back then it was freaky.
finally we made it back safely, after lots of shrieking and wrong turns.
Monday
Went to Chinatown and ate at the restaurant where Rush Hour was filmed! at least that's what the sign outside said. but the place looked nothing like what i remembered from the movie. oh well, at least the food was good. most of the shops were closed, i guess 'cause it was labor day. but at least i got to buy some asian snacks, which made me really happy :)
We tried to go to the La Brea Tar Pits at night, but after walking around for an hour trying to find it, we realized it was closed. oh well. evening exercise.
Friday
Got to help out with a friend's video project for class on friday, all day, from 4pm till midnight. it was an interesting experience to help fix up the lights, sound, camera, all that stuff. then she told me she wanted me to actually BE in the short film, so i hesitantly agreed to. and realized i just got myself into a typical asian stereotype character who speaks broken english with an accent. but it was pretty hilarious and i had fun doing it. the video was about a handyman who witnesses a murder, and my friend liked my character so much she ended up changing the ending and making me the murderer. so now i'm mrs. lee, jealous murderer. haha. it was fun but exhausting, and filming (illegally) in the basement late at night was too creepy for me.
Saturday
We went to the beach and to Santa Monica pier, where i heard many movies have been filmed... like Hannah Montana. haha. i'm loving this whole sunny california thing. the beach, the beautiful view, the scorching sun... the pier was filled with people and rides and food and souvenir stands. it was fun to people watch. and then there was a 'muscle beach' where people show off their fit bodies by lifting weights and what not. so fascinating.
At night we headed to the Hollywood Bowl, this huge outdoor concert arena, to see John Williams in concert. I guess he's the composer of many movie soundtracks, including Harry Potter and Star Wars. but after a million harry potter songs, i was bored to tears. i've never been this antsy and bored during a concert! but then again, classical music has never been my thing. watching an orchestra perform songs i didn't really care for was tormenting. i could've sat in my room and listened to those songs, and it would be the same. but oh well, it was an experience. i really want to go to other concerts, like britney spears or the killers!! and i found out miley cyrus has a concert on my birthday. but i haven't sunk that low. i refuse to pay to see hannah montana in concert. haha.
Sunday
DISNEYLAND, here we come! danielle and i were in high spirits as we headed to the magical land where all your dreams come true. and it was exactly how i remembered it 3 years ago, when i was there with my family. everything was the same! except for the Finding Nemo ride, which was a new underwater submarine ride that was really cool, and Fantasy Faire, where we stood in line for an hour to take pictures with the Disney princesses. although we only got to see Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Mulan, and we didn't really care about them. and THEN, just as we left, our very FAVORITE princesses Belle, Jasmine and Ariel decided to show up! sadness. so we tried to cheer ourselves up by going to see the disney parade, which was totally different from what i remembered. it was the 'Celebrate' parade, where random teenagers pranced around to Ricky Martin songs and invited people to join the congo line. i was like, 'WHERE are my disney characters???' oh well.
the other rides were fun. from kiddy ones like Peter Pan, Buzz Lightyear and Snow White's scary adventures to crazier ones like Space Mountain, Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean. thank goodness for Fast Passes, which brought us straight to the front of the line, away from the crowds.
Sleeping Beauty made us do the 'princess pose'. she was a really cranky princess.
Disney parade!
Sleeping Beauty's castle. i want to live there.
Peter Pan ride
On the Finding Nemo ride.
We were too exhausted to stay for the fireworks, so we left in the evening, which on hindsight was a good thing, because we got lost. and ended up in the shadiest town EVER. at only 8pm, it was pitch black, except for dim street lights and a 'topless dancers' sign, every single store was closed with metal gates, no one was around except for tons of homeless people pushing their carts filled with random stuff and chasing plastic bags down the street. it was the single most terrifying thing and we felt like we just drove right into a scene from a horror movie where the people get killed by some mysterious disease or creepy psycho. everytime we stopped at a traffic light, i thought someone was going to come up to the car and stab us to death or something. i mean, looking back now, it was kind of hilarious, but back then it was freaky.
finally we made it back safely, after lots of shrieking and wrong turns.
Monday
Went to Chinatown and ate at the restaurant where Rush Hour was filmed! at least that's what the sign outside said. but the place looked nothing like what i remembered from the movie. oh well, at least the food was good. most of the shops were closed, i guess 'cause it was labor day. but at least i got to buy some asian snacks, which made me really happy :)
We tried to go to the La Brea Tar Pits at night, but after walking around for an hour trying to find it, we realized it was closed. oh well. evening exercise.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Movies, movies and more movies
I feel like my entire life revolves around movies now. We watch them in class, we watch them outside of class, we talk about them all the time, and then, of course, we try our hand at writing, directing and producing them. It's a good thing i actually like movies, or i'd be running away screaming right now. So in an attempt to increase what little knowledge i have about film, i went and watched more movies! like The Prestige, Some like it hot, Being john malkovich, Adaptation and Runaway jury. i know, i have a lot of time on my hands right now. and they were all really good! they weren't movies i'd necessarily pick out and watch by myself, but watching them with other people helped. plus they were all really interesting. like The Prestige. such a good suspense thriller with insane plot twists that had me on the edge of my seat. and Being john malkovich, which i always heard was good but never had the desire to see it 'cause it looked weird. but it was so interesting, thinking about what it would be like if you found a portal into someone else's head. and then Some like it hot was the first time i ever saw a marilyn monroe movie... not used to watching black and white films, but it was interesting in a different way.
Anyway, i completed my script for hollywood production workshop and turned it in. they're going to pick the 5 best scripts next week for the class to produce, and... i'm pretty sure mine doesn't have a chance. there are a lot of really talented writers here and it's more than a little stressful trying to compete with them, especially since they have way more experience and passion than me. i've only been here a little over a week, but somehow i'm beginning to get the feeling that i'm not really into this whole film thing. i really couldn't care less how to operate a camera or play around with sound or edit a film. we had to apply for positions for class, so i applied for producer, production designer and 1st camera assistant, since the rest sounded dreadful. i really don't want to spend every waking hour in front of a computer editing a film, i have no desire to learn about sound, i have even lesser desire to be the director and be in charge of everything creative, and i really don't care about lights or how to achieve that perfect shot on the camera.
even screenwriting doesn't really appeal to me anymore. since i've realized there aren't any original ideas left, and everything i come up with sounds like an awful cliche. oh well, i have the next 15 weeks to figure it out and hopefully grow to like it more. it's not like i hate it right now, i'm fine with it, but i don't love it. if that makes sense.
for now, i'll just enjoy laying out at the pool and basking in the ridiculously scorching california sun.
Anyway, i completed my script for hollywood production workshop and turned it in. they're going to pick the 5 best scripts next week for the class to produce, and... i'm pretty sure mine doesn't have a chance. there are a lot of really talented writers here and it's more than a little stressful trying to compete with them, especially since they have way more experience and passion than me. i've only been here a little over a week, but somehow i'm beginning to get the feeling that i'm not really into this whole film thing. i really couldn't care less how to operate a camera or play around with sound or edit a film. we had to apply for positions for class, so i applied for producer, production designer and 1st camera assistant, since the rest sounded dreadful. i really don't want to spend every waking hour in front of a computer editing a film, i have no desire to learn about sound, i have even lesser desire to be the director and be in charge of everything creative, and i really don't care about lights or how to achieve that perfect shot on the camera.
even screenwriting doesn't really appeal to me anymore. since i've realized there aren't any original ideas left, and everything i come up with sounds like an awful cliche. oh well, i have the next 15 weeks to figure it out and hopefully grow to like it more. it's not like i hate it right now, i'm fine with it, but i don't love it. if that makes sense.
for now, i'll just enjoy laying out at the pool and basking in the ridiculously scorching california sun.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Life in LA
End of summer
It's been a while. life has been a crazy hectic rush from the end of summer till now. so... i spent the last few days in singapore happily eating and drinking, and then my family sent me off at the airport. my brother even took time off from his military duties to come see me off, so that was appreciated. the flight to japan and then california was shorter than i expected. most of the time was spent sleeping, and then watching movies like 'coraline' and 'ghosts of girlfriends past,' all of which weren't very entertaining. 'coraline' was a little too creepy for my liking. fluffy brainless movies are more my type :)
Arrival
Anyway, i got to LA tired and totally lost. finally i found a cab, but then the driver got lost trying to find park la brea apartments, where i'm staying for the next four months. but he was nice and didn't scream at me like crazy taxi drivers in new york. so i got there safely, checked in, said hi to my roommates, and collapsed on the bed in exhaustion. but as the days go by, i'm beginning to meet more people (there's 52 people altogether in the LAFSC program), and they're a pretty awesome bunch. my initial apprehension about not really knowing anyone here wore off the first day. everyone's just really friendly and fun, and it's a good group. i already feel like i've been here a month, even though it's only been a week.
The apartments are pretty nice, although my roommates and i got the worse end of the stick. we don't have air-conditioning or carpets, which... i don't really care about carpets, but it is SO HOT here in california that i'm dying in the heat everyday. i keep telling myself that at least it's not humid, but seriously, temperatures go up to 100 degrees, and the sun is relentlessly scorching. so yeah, so A/C is a big deal, especially since the fans move at 1inch-per-hour. but it gets cooler at night, and hopefully cooler as fall comes along.
Too much information
We've been swarmed by overwhelming amounts of information daily, and it's getting to the point where i don't even know what i'm supposed to do anymore. remember how i was on top of things constantly at taylor? well, not here. i still feel like it's summer holidays, and there's this feeling of lethargy that takes away my motivation to do any work. haha. sitting by the pool during my free time and going shopping doesn't help either. i have to write a script by wed, but ideas aren't coming to me. maybe it's because i'm too busy doing other stuff to think about homework. oh well.
also, i got an interview with a major studio (not going to reveal it until i get it for sure) for tuesday, so please pray that everything goes well, and if i'm meant to work there, i'll get the internship. fingers crossed. 'cause it's a really cool company and i would love to work there.
feeling a little stressed about my lack of knowledge about the film industry and films in general, but it was encouraging to hear that a few others felt the same way too. thank god i'm not the only one here without any prior experience in film. although... we're supposed to watch the films on the top 100 list of movies of all time, and looking through it, i've only seen like 5? so... no more crappy movies like 'bring it on' and 'high school musical.' hello 'the godfather' and 'gone with the wind.'
Fun stuff
oh yeah, we live right next to The Grove, an awesome outdoor mall that's just like disneyland, only for adults! it's a magical place, full of shops and more shops. during the course of this week, i keep feeling like this is too good to be true. i get to stay in LA, next to a mall/movie theater, near hollywood, near all kinds of celebrities, in an apartment with god-loving roommates, learning about film and making movies, and doing an internship. where's the catch???
well, i guess as the weeks go by, things are going to be crazy and stressful, but for now, i'll enjoy laying out at the pool :)
haven't seen many celebs yet... doug jones came to talk to us one night, and he was hilarious. i'd never heard of him before, but apparently he's the silver surfer in fantastic four 2, abe sapien in hellboy, and he was also in a ton of other movies (pan's labyrinth, three kings, the benchwarmers, etc.) as some sort of creature with alot of makeup gunk on his face. so that was really cool so get to hear him talk about his experience working in hollywood and dealing with all the politics.
went to the jimmy kimmel live show on friday and saw dylan mcdermott (from dark blue), bj novak (from the office) and some band called the dead weather. it was fun, but also a little disappointing 'cause the celebs only talked for a few minutes before another commercial break came on. i realized there's lots of advertising going on on the show.
Movies
have i said how much i love living in the city? i really do, because i can actually get places without having a car! yay! although the buses here take a ridiculous amount of time to get to places, so that's going to be tough.
anyway, i got to go see '500 days of summer,' which was so cute and unique and quirky, just like zooey deschanel, and i love her. i think 500days is the best romantic comedy i've seen in a long while, and i've seen plenty. it's just refreshing to see a different take on the usual 'boy meets girl, boy likes girl, boy loses girl, boy gets back with girl' formula.
also, and this is really out of character for me, i went and saw district 9 at the chinese theater in hollywood. even though it's about aliens and had lots of gory violence in it, two things i dislike in movies, i actually really liked it. haha. minus the gross parts, i thought the film had some really interesting messages to bring across to the audience. so although i spent 1/4 of the time covering my eyes in fear/disgust, it turned out to be quite thought-provoking and interesting. so go see it :)
It's been a while. life has been a crazy hectic rush from the end of summer till now. so... i spent the last few days in singapore happily eating and drinking, and then my family sent me off at the airport. my brother even took time off from his military duties to come see me off, so that was appreciated. the flight to japan and then california was shorter than i expected. most of the time was spent sleeping, and then watching movies like 'coraline' and 'ghosts of girlfriends past,' all of which weren't very entertaining. 'coraline' was a little too creepy for my liking. fluffy brainless movies are more my type :)
Arrival
Anyway, i got to LA tired and totally lost. finally i found a cab, but then the driver got lost trying to find park la brea apartments, where i'm staying for the next four months. but he was nice and didn't scream at me like crazy taxi drivers in new york. so i got there safely, checked in, said hi to my roommates, and collapsed on the bed in exhaustion. but as the days go by, i'm beginning to meet more people (there's 52 people altogether in the LAFSC program), and they're a pretty awesome bunch. my initial apprehension about not really knowing anyone here wore off the first day. everyone's just really friendly and fun, and it's a good group. i already feel like i've been here a month, even though it's only been a week.
The apartments are pretty nice, although my roommates and i got the worse end of the stick. we don't have air-conditioning or carpets, which... i don't really care about carpets, but it is SO HOT here in california that i'm dying in the heat everyday. i keep telling myself that at least it's not humid, but seriously, temperatures go up to 100 degrees, and the sun is relentlessly scorching. so yeah, so A/C is a big deal, especially since the fans move at 1inch-per-hour. but it gets cooler at night, and hopefully cooler as fall comes along.
Too much information
We've been swarmed by overwhelming amounts of information daily, and it's getting to the point where i don't even know what i'm supposed to do anymore. remember how i was on top of things constantly at taylor? well, not here. i still feel like it's summer holidays, and there's this feeling of lethargy that takes away my motivation to do any work. haha. sitting by the pool during my free time and going shopping doesn't help either. i have to write a script by wed, but ideas aren't coming to me. maybe it's because i'm too busy doing other stuff to think about homework. oh well.
also, i got an interview with a major studio (not going to reveal it until i get it for sure) for tuesday, so please pray that everything goes well, and if i'm meant to work there, i'll get the internship. fingers crossed. 'cause it's a really cool company and i would love to work there.
feeling a little stressed about my lack of knowledge about the film industry and films in general, but it was encouraging to hear that a few others felt the same way too. thank god i'm not the only one here without any prior experience in film. although... we're supposed to watch the films on the top 100 list of movies of all time, and looking through it, i've only seen like 5? so... no more crappy movies like 'bring it on' and 'high school musical.' hello 'the godfather' and 'gone with the wind.'
Fun stuff
oh yeah, we live right next to The Grove, an awesome outdoor mall that's just like disneyland, only for adults! it's a magical place, full of shops and more shops. during the course of this week, i keep feeling like this is too good to be true. i get to stay in LA, next to a mall/movie theater, near hollywood, near all kinds of celebrities, in an apartment with god-loving roommates, learning about film and making movies, and doing an internship. where's the catch???
well, i guess as the weeks go by, things are going to be crazy and stressful, but for now, i'll enjoy laying out at the pool :)
haven't seen many celebs yet... doug jones came to talk to us one night, and he was hilarious. i'd never heard of him before, but apparently he's the silver surfer in fantastic four 2, abe sapien in hellboy, and he was also in a ton of other movies (pan's labyrinth, three kings, the benchwarmers, etc.) as some sort of creature with alot of makeup gunk on his face. so that was really cool so get to hear him talk about his experience working in hollywood and dealing with all the politics.
went to the jimmy kimmel live show on friday and saw dylan mcdermott (from dark blue), bj novak (from the office) and some band called the dead weather. it was fun, but also a little disappointing 'cause the celebs only talked for a few minutes before another commercial break came on. i realized there's lots of advertising going on on the show.
Movies
have i said how much i love living in the city? i really do, because i can actually get places without having a car! yay! although the buses here take a ridiculous amount of time to get to places, so that's going to be tough.
anyway, i got to go see '500 days of summer,' which was so cute and unique and quirky, just like zooey deschanel, and i love her. i think 500days is the best romantic comedy i've seen in a long while, and i've seen plenty. it's just refreshing to see a different take on the usual 'boy meets girl, boy likes girl, boy loses girl, boy gets back with girl' formula.
also, and this is really out of character for me, i went and saw district 9 at the chinese theater in hollywood. even though it's about aliens and had lots of gory violence in it, two things i dislike in movies, i actually really liked it. haha. minus the gross parts, i thought the film had some really interesting messages to bring across to the audience. so although i spent 1/4 of the time covering my eyes in fear/disgust, it turned out to be quite thought-provoking and interesting. so go see it :)
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Time
The concept of time is hard to grasp, at least for me. When i'm forced to do something unpleasant, like listen to a boring lecture or go to the dentist, time crawls by, slower than a lethargic snail that has just eaten a bunch of carbs and cannot keep its eyes from closing. But when it comes to the good stuff, like catching up with long-lost friends or going shopping, time sneaks by, stealthier than a professional thief wearing socks while tip-toeing across a polished marble floor.
Time has flown by again, like it always does when i'm home for the holidays. The last week is always packed with people to meet, places to go, things to do, food to eat, stuff to buy... I find myself stuffing my face with all kinds of local delicacies (even those i don't particularly like, just in case i end up having cravings somewhere down the line), ignoring my stomach's protests to stop before my body spontaneously combusts. I comfort myself with the rationalization that i'll be away for a while anyway, so it's not like i'll be eating these foods anytime soon. I meet different people for each meal, cramming as many as i can into a day. I buy things i don't need and won't ever use, just to fulfill my quota of shopping in singapore for the next few months. Yes, i do lots of stupid things, but no one accuses me of anything, because they know i'm leaving soon, and i guess that cancels out everything else.
It's like my days have been shortened to 15-hour time slots, and i have to fit everyone and everything into my schedule, in my desperate attempt to tie up all loose ends and make sure i spend enough time with my loved ones so they don't feel left behind/left out. It's hard, especially when some stuff takes priority over others.
That being said, i love spending time with my family. I think we've come a long way from when i used to feel like the black sheep of the family -- my brothers had each other to play with and my parents had each other to talk to. We've definitely gotten closer, although it always makes me sad that i don't get to see jeremy, the middle kid, as often as i'd like. Okay, so he has to be in camp most of the time, serving out his 2-year mandatory army sentence, but still... I wish i could spend more time with him on the days he gets out, instead of seeing him for a full 5-seconds before he rushes off to meet some friend or glues his eyes to the TV screen for the rest of the day. I've tried, i've made the effort, but mostly he just mumbles in response to my questions. But i guess boys will be boys. At least i'm pretty close to jedi, the youngest one, the one who actually talks to me about his day and shows me funny videos on youtube so we can laugh together till the wee hours of the morning.
There's just something about my brothers' smiles that never fail to make my entire face light up... Knowing that they're happy is enough to make me happy too.
So... my parents built a deck extending out from the balcony of their room on the second floor, and its become somewhat of a tradition to sit out there in the evenings together, just me and them. Swinging on the hammock, gazing at the stars, sipping a glass of wine, listening to the crickets chirp, engaging in deep conversation... it's nice to just sit back and relax.
One time my dad asked me, 'what are the things you thank God for in your life?' He then proceeded to tell me about the importance of maintaining a grateful heart, so we constantly remind ourselves of God's hand of blessing in our lives.
Thinking about it, i'm tremendously grateful for so many things in my life. I've always felt so incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful family, parents who love and provide for me, friends who laugh and cry with me, good grades, and even something as simple as possessing full use of my limbs and senses. Sometimes i wonder why God even bothers to bless someone like me, when i obviously don't deserve this much goodness in my life, but i guess that's the beauty of His abundant mercy, never-ending grace and unfailing love.
That is something that never ceases to amaze me.
Time has flown by again, like it always does when i'm home for the holidays. The last week is always packed with people to meet, places to go, things to do, food to eat, stuff to buy... I find myself stuffing my face with all kinds of local delicacies (even those i don't particularly like, just in case i end up having cravings somewhere down the line), ignoring my stomach's protests to stop before my body spontaneously combusts. I comfort myself with the rationalization that i'll be away for a while anyway, so it's not like i'll be eating these foods anytime soon. I meet different people for each meal, cramming as many as i can into a day. I buy things i don't need and won't ever use, just to fulfill my quota of shopping in singapore for the next few months. Yes, i do lots of stupid things, but no one accuses me of anything, because they know i'm leaving soon, and i guess that cancels out everything else.
It's like my days have been shortened to 15-hour time slots, and i have to fit everyone and everything into my schedule, in my desperate attempt to tie up all loose ends and make sure i spend enough time with my loved ones so they don't feel left behind/left out. It's hard, especially when some stuff takes priority over others.
That being said, i love spending time with my family. I think we've come a long way from when i used to feel like the black sheep of the family -- my brothers had each other to play with and my parents had each other to talk to. We've definitely gotten closer, although it always makes me sad that i don't get to see jeremy, the middle kid, as often as i'd like. Okay, so he has to be in camp most of the time, serving out his 2-year mandatory army sentence, but still... I wish i could spend more time with him on the days he gets out, instead of seeing him for a full 5-seconds before he rushes off to meet some friend or glues his eyes to the TV screen for the rest of the day. I've tried, i've made the effort, but mostly he just mumbles in response to my questions. But i guess boys will be boys. At least i'm pretty close to jedi, the youngest one, the one who actually talks to me about his day and shows me funny videos on youtube so we can laugh together till the wee hours of the morning.
There's just something about my brothers' smiles that never fail to make my entire face light up... Knowing that they're happy is enough to make me happy too.
So... my parents built a deck extending out from the balcony of their room on the second floor, and its become somewhat of a tradition to sit out there in the evenings together, just me and them. Swinging on the hammock, gazing at the stars, sipping a glass of wine, listening to the crickets chirp, engaging in deep conversation... it's nice to just sit back and relax.
One time my dad asked me, 'what are the things you thank God for in your life?' He then proceeded to tell me about the importance of maintaining a grateful heart, so we constantly remind ourselves of God's hand of blessing in our lives.
Thinking about it, i'm tremendously grateful for so many things in my life. I've always felt so incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful family, parents who love and provide for me, friends who laugh and cry with me, good grades, and even something as simple as possessing full use of my limbs and senses. Sometimes i wonder why God even bothers to bless someone like me, when i obviously don't deserve this much goodness in my life, but i guess that's the beauty of His abundant mercy, never-ending grace and unfailing love.
That is something that never ceases to amaze me.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Decisions, decisions
I don't like making decisions. That's why i'm always the one going, 'i'm fine with anything, it's up to you.' And it's true, i'm just easygoing like that. Maybe that's why, for most of my life, people have made the decisions for me, and i just went along with the flow, happy to drift along and do whatever. Like when it came to applying for secondary school or junior college, i had the grades to go wherever i wanted, so my parents chose for me: a pretty good all-girls secondary school, and one of the top junior colleges in the nation. And then, of course, Taylor, where they figured i'd be safe from the wild party-going Americans that would influence me and take me down with them.
So far, it's been alright. Although going to that horrid junior college was rather traumatizing, because everyone there conversed in Mandarin, a language i have yet to master, even after 10 years of studying and hating it.
(A tiny confession: Part of the reason why i was glad to study in the States was because i thought i'd be free of speaking chinese forever. But, sadly, people still try to speak to me in chinese, and now i've gotten worse due to the lack of practice. Although... being in a foreign country sure makes you appreciate your roots more than before.)
Everyone in that school studied 24/7, and i felt like a complete slacker, only studying a week before exams. But more than anything, the figures of authority were also extremely biased, focusing all their attention and praise on the science kids, and ignoring us in the arts faculty. Because it's like that in good old practical Singapore -- studying science and math will get you far in life because you can become a doctor/lawyer/engineer and make lots of money, but studying liberal arts like history, literature and geography is useless and therefore to be looked-down upon. At least that's how it felt in school. I think that's why i've become strangely passionate about the issue of prejudice. The thing that irks me the most is the feeling of being treated unfairly and people being all biased and prejudiced, no matter what the reason.
Anyway, the place felt like an awful prison, on lockdown every day till a certain time. That's why i've mastered the art of climbing school gates and running off before the security guards can catch up. Oh, the good old days when i was on the track team, running and jumping over hurdles. I know, hard to imagine, right? But it wasn't long before my natural laziness kicked in and i was suspended for skipping too many training sessions. It's ok, i found my true calling ringing handbells in an air-conditioned room once a week :)
Anyway, all this to say... now that i'm 21 and an adult, i have to make decisions on my own. Decisions like which citizenship to choose. Do i want to give up my Amerizan citizenship and take up the inconvenient task of applying for student and work visas, and risk being denied and sent back to singapore anytime? Do i really want to take up a boring, overstressed job in safe and predictable singapore and always have to wonder what could've been if i'd chosen otherwise?
Or do i want to give up the comfort and familiarity in the place i've grown up in, and move to god-knows-where in the States and take advantage of the vast opportunities? Even though i still have no idea what i want to do with my life, i think the media industry in singapore is... not where i would want to be.
Obviously i would love to stay home, be with people i love and grew up with, crawl back into my comfort zone... But, my dad (of all people) told me how, in a survey, one of the things old people regret the most is not taking enough risks throughout their lives. Of course playing it safe is always easier. But i think this time i want to branch out and risk it. Move to the city. Live by myself (or with a roommate). Work in a country far, far away from home. Embrace my freedom. And hopefully.. get to go home to visit time and again.
But then again, my family is here. And you know what they say: Blood is thicker than water. In life, family is the most important thing.
Of course i agree, i love my family to death. I would do anything for them. But recently, this song by sheryl crow has been stuck in my mind: If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad. Feels like a suitable description for me and my... considerate ways. Maybe it's time to start putting myself first over others. Because, in the end, it's my life that's affected, and i don't want to spend the rest of it listening to others and wondering what would have happened if i'd, you know, followed my heart and pursued my dreams and all that stuff. Maybe i should observe the next line of that song (with a little variation of my own): If it makes you happy, then why the he** am I so sad?
At least the decision's been postponed, again. This time until I graduate from college, which is actually not that far from now. And then maybe grad school. But at least i get some extra time to keep mulling over this and let it get on my nerves even more. So for now, i'm still a Singaporean/American.
We wrote a letter to the prime minister, and applied for an extension for me to keep my dual citizenship until i'm done with my studies. I figured, if it makes my parents happy, then why not? And it did. Make them happy. Very happy, indeed. So much so that i felt a tinge of guilt (ok, maybe more than a tinge) for being the cause of their worries the past few months. I didn't realize they were taking this whole citizenship thing so hard. It's tough being a parent and watching your child grow up right under your eyes and realizing you have to let them go someday. Especially in asian culture, where children often stay with their parents until they get married, which can be anytime from 20-50 years old. I guess they didn't think that 'someday' would come so fast.
Anyway, today i finally realized the reason why I went to that awful junior college and suffered for two years. Today i also thanked God over and over again for my continuous good grades. I've always wondered why i did well in school, considering the fact that i did a lot of last minute studying and crapped my way through essays. But know i know. Since i attended that high-ranking prestigious school and got lots of 'A's, i have a better chance of getting that coveted extension.
Like i said, things always happen for a reason.
This issue has been bugging me for the longest time. Sometimes i just wish God would show me, with a crystal clear sign, where He wants me to be. Wouldn't life be much easier that way? I could just follow His plans for me without having to wonder if what i'm doing is right or not.
Also, i wish this issue would just be resolved quickly. Feels like i've been in a transitional period for the last three years, flying back and forth every few months. I think i'm ready to settle down somewhere and get my life together.
So far, it's been alright. Although going to that horrid junior college was rather traumatizing, because everyone there conversed in Mandarin, a language i have yet to master, even after 10 years of studying and hating it.
(A tiny confession: Part of the reason why i was glad to study in the States was because i thought i'd be free of speaking chinese forever. But, sadly, people still try to speak to me in chinese, and now i've gotten worse due to the lack of practice. Although... being in a foreign country sure makes you appreciate your roots more than before.)
Everyone in that school studied 24/7, and i felt like a complete slacker, only studying a week before exams. But more than anything, the figures of authority were also extremely biased, focusing all their attention and praise on the science kids, and ignoring us in the arts faculty. Because it's like that in good old practical Singapore -- studying science and math will get you far in life because you can become a doctor/lawyer/engineer and make lots of money, but studying liberal arts like history, literature and geography is useless and therefore to be looked-down upon. At least that's how it felt in school. I think that's why i've become strangely passionate about the issue of prejudice. The thing that irks me the most is the feeling of being treated unfairly and people being all biased and prejudiced, no matter what the reason.
Anyway, the place felt like an awful prison, on lockdown every day till a certain time. That's why i've mastered the art of climbing school gates and running off before the security guards can catch up. Oh, the good old days when i was on the track team, running and jumping over hurdles. I know, hard to imagine, right? But it wasn't long before my natural laziness kicked in and i was suspended for skipping too many training sessions. It's ok, i found my true calling ringing handbells in an air-conditioned room once a week :)
Anyway, all this to say... now that i'm 21 and an adult, i have to make decisions on my own. Decisions like which citizenship to choose. Do i want to give up my Amerizan citizenship and take up the inconvenient task of applying for student and work visas, and risk being denied and sent back to singapore anytime? Do i really want to take up a boring, overstressed job in safe and predictable singapore and always have to wonder what could've been if i'd chosen otherwise?
Or do i want to give up the comfort and familiarity in the place i've grown up in, and move to god-knows-where in the States and take advantage of the vast opportunities? Even though i still have no idea what i want to do with my life, i think the media industry in singapore is... not where i would want to be.
Obviously i would love to stay home, be with people i love and grew up with, crawl back into my comfort zone... But, my dad (of all people) told me how, in a survey, one of the things old people regret the most is not taking enough risks throughout their lives. Of course playing it safe is always easier. But i think this time i want to branch out and risk it. Move to the city. Live by myself (or with a roommate). Work in a country far, far away from home. Embrace my freedom. And hopefully.. get to go home to visit time and again.
But then again, my family is here. And you know what they say: Blood is thicker than water. In life, family is the most important thing.
Of course i agree, i love my family to death. I would do anything for them. But recently, this song by sheryl crow has been stuck in my mind: If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad. Feels like a suitable description for me and my... considerate ways. Maybe it's time to start putting myself first over others. Because, in the end, it's my life that's affected, and i don't want to spend the rest of it listening to others and wondering what would have happened if i'd, you know, followed my heart and pursued my dreams and all that stuff. Maybe i should observe the next line of that song (with a little variation of my own): If it makes you happy, then why the he** am I so sad?
At least the decision's been postponed, again. This time until I graduate from college, which is actually not that far from now. And then maybe grad school. But at least i get some extra time to keep mulling over this and let it get on my nerves even more. So for now, i'm still a Singaporean/American.
We wrote a letter to the prime minister, and applied for an extension for me to keep my dual citizenship until i'm done with my studies. I figured, if it makes my parents happy, then why not? And it did. Make them happy. Very happy, indeed. So much so that i felt a tinge of guilt (ok, maybe more than a tinge) for being the cause of their worries the past few months. I didn't realize they were taking this whole citizenship thing so hard. It's tough being a parent and watching your child grow up right under your eyes and realizing you have to let them go someday. Especially in asian culture, where children often stay with their parents until they get married, which can be anytime from 20-50 years old. I guess they didn't think that 'someday' would come so fast.
Anyway, today i finally realized the reason why I went to that awful junior college and suffered for two years. Today i also thanked God over and over again for my continuous good grades. I've always wondered why i did well in school, considering the fact that i did a lot of last minute studying and crapped my way through essays. But know i know. Since i attended that high-ranking prestigious school and got lots of 'A's, i have a better chance of getting that coveted extension.
Like i said, things always happen for a reason.
This issue has been bugging me for the longest time. Sometimes i just wish God would show me, with a crystal clear sign, where He wants me to be. Wouldn't life be much easier that way? I could just follow His plans for me without having to wonder if what i'm doing is right or not.
Also, i wish this issue would just be resolved quickly. Feels like i've been in a transitional period for the last three years, flying back and forth every few months. I think i'm ready to settle down somewhere and get my life together.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Life in singapore
After the tiring Bangkok trip, it was nice to be home and chill out for a while, doing nothing. and by 'a while,' i mean a few hours. clar's birthday dinner was that very night, and with no sleep from the night before, i was pretty exhausted, but still managed to drag myself out the house.
but the dinner was fun. she just turned 18, so we celebrated with her very first alcoholic drink. i don't think she liked it much. haha.
The next day, lm and i brought our pastor's adorable daughter, ignez, out fishing at a fish farm.
Isn't she the cutest little thing ever??? the last time i saw her, she was a teeny little baby. now she can walk and talk, and she talks incessantly, about the randomest things. SO CUTE. so anyway, the fish pond was closed for cleaning, so we let her feed the animals instead. haha. she got scared of the huge fishes in the pond, and refused to go near them. i laughed at her, and she asked me to go touch them. i ventured near the pond, reached out to touch a fish, and immediately screamed when it flapped its tail and swam away. she laughed at me. adorable.
Saturday i went to see 'Up' again. it just came out in theatres here in singapore. but it was just so cute, i didn't mind watching it once more with my family.
We went to this semi-new place called Marina Barrage.. apparently its some kind of breakthrough innovation in engineering? i don't know. my dad was extremely excited to show us around, being the engineer he is, and explain all the technicalities of the water reserve and how it works. i didn't really care about the details. i just thought the place looked cool. it was like a mini-park with tons of people having picnics and flying kites.
my matchmaker parents.
my youngest brother, who never smiles for the camera. actually, he never takes photos either. he was forced into this :)
we found this cool-looking pillar of light that said 'sustainable singapore' all over it in the gallery, and spent a while posing because we were fascinated that the photos turned out like this.
but the dinner was fun. she just turned 18, so we celebrated with her very first alcoholic drink. i don't think she liked it much. haha.
The next day, lm and i brought our pastor's adorable daughter, ignez, out fishing at a fish farm.
Isn't she the cutest little thing ever??? the last time i saw her, she was a teeny little baby. now she can walk and talk, and she talks incessantly, about the randomest things. SO CUTE. so anyway, the fish pond was closed for cleaning, so we let her feed the animals instead. haha. she got scared of the huge fishes in the pond, and refused to go near them. i laughed at her, and she asked me to go touch them. i ventured near the pond, reached out to touch a fish, and immediately screamed when it flapped its tail and swam away. she laughed at me. adorable.
Saturday i went to see 'Up' again. it just came out in theatres here in singapore. but it was just so cute, i didn't mind watching it once more with my family.
We went to this semi-new place called Marina Barrage.. apparently its some kind of breakthrough innovation in engineering? i don't know. my dad was extremely excited to show us around, being the engineer he is, and explain all the technicalities of the water reserve and how it works. i didn't really care about the details. i just thought the place looked cool. it was like a mini-park with tons of people having picnics and flying kites.
my matchmaker parents.
my youngest brother, who never smiles for the camera. actually, he never takes photos either. he was forced into this :)
we found this cool-looking pillar of light that said 'sustainable singapore' all over it in the gallery, and spent a while posing because we were fascinated that the photos turned out like this.
Bangkok blast
The trip to Bangkok, Thailand, was short and sweet. Minus the 5-hour delay (darn those budget airlines and their faulty planes!), the scramble at the airport to find an earlier flight, and the nauseatingly jerky landing by the pilot who didn't seem to know where we were going, we arrived safely and Cartoon picked us up.
So instead of going back to put our suitcases down, guess where we headed to first? The weekend shopping market. It was hot, humid and way too crowded. After pushing our way through tons and tons of people for hours, we finally left, and the only thing i purchased was a bracelet. Shopping in such weather is extremely exhausting, i found out. And this set the tone for our entire trip. 3/4 of the time, we were shopping. the other 1/4? eating. thai food is wonderfully spicy and yummy. i'm in love with tom yum noodles and pad thai.
if you think i'm somewhat of a shopaholic, you should meet jo and joce. they were seriously obsessed with buying everything they could lay their hands on. haha. from bags to shoes to clothes to accessories... after a while, cartoon and i gave up and played video games while waiting for them. they were also obsessed with getting their daily dose of thai body and foot massage. which i don't understand. i've always found massages to be either very painful or very ticklish, neither of which i enjoy experiencing.
but it was fun to walk the streets at night and experience thai culture at its best. we also got to watch a thai concert, where wannabe singers pranced around on stage, attempting to sing American songs like 'right now' by akon and 'right round' by flo rida. they completely butchered the songs, and i think some of them didn't even understand what they were singing. but it was entertaining. especially with the random video playing on the screen behind them. it was a documentary on the life of the mongoose. no idea why they put that up there.
all in all, fun trip. we laughed so much, my abs got a good workout. haha.
although... hearing about syndicates that kidnapped tourists and chopped off their arms and legs to make them beg for money on the streets... that was terrifying. i admit, i was rather relieved to be back in good old safe singapore, where nothing happens.
i'm a little sick of flying so frequently. being on the plane with nothing to do and nowhere to go for hours is boring. i guess my parents are fine with me going places alone, since i was the only one who arrived and went home by myself. it's ok, i like being independent :)
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Now boarding
This has got to be the most last-minute trip ever. after planning and discussing for days, jo, joce and i finally settled on the dates for our trip (sunday-wednesday). so two days before we were to leave for bangkok, thailand, we booked our flights. thank god they were still relatively cheap and available. can't believe i'm going to see Cartoon in a few hours! no time for a reunion, though.
bangkok=shopping madness, because everything's so cheap.
YAY :)
bangkok=shopping madness, because everything's so cheap.
YAY :)
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Last days + back home
I guess I haven't been updating this blog for a while. So... during my last few days in the Big Apple, we kind of went a little crazy and hit up all the supposedly cool places in our last ditch effort to experience as much of NYC as possible.
The program put together a dinner and dance cruise for us, which was really nice. We got to sail along the Hudson river and marvel at the beautiful brightly lit city for one last time.
It's funny how we just met this summer, but I feel like I've known these girls for a long time. Also sad to think how we might never see each other again, since everyone's from different parts of the country, and I'm, well... not from this country. haha.
Pretty view of the city from the Brooklyn bridge
The group on our evening Brooklyn Bridge walk.
Random
So. We went to a movie screening at the Hudson River, where they were showing Iron Man and giving out free popcorn. It was fun except for the chilly breeze and the weird old man beside me and the annoying couple behind who insisted on having a loud conversation that lasted through the entire movie.
I love central park. it's so pretty and peaceful.
Went to the Harry Potter movie no. 6 (i forget the title) premiere, and the line was ridiculously long, even though we got there 2 hours before. I think the US needs to learn from singapore and give out movie tickets with SEATS NUMBERS on them, so people don't need to wait around pointlessly just to get good seats. i could've done something productive in that 2 hours, like watched a tv show or something :)
Speaking of movies, i finally saw Wall-E, and promptly fell asleep because there was no talking and i just got really antsy. And then i made myself watch Slumdog millionaire, although what i really wanted to do was to watch another fluffy, brainless movie. but the movie surprised me. it was actually really good. haha. i found myself completely enthralled by the story, and i actually sat through the entire thing without having to fight back the urge to do something else.
We also had a Dreamer graduation ceremony, which consisted of a speech meant to inspire us to surge ahead and fulfill our dreams, but it was too long and i got restless. we received a free book, which i think i threw away because it didn't look too enticing. And then we watched a video of our NYC memories and gave toasts to our awesome summer and the people who made it happen.
Freedom
The last day of work was surprisingly... bittersweet. it was the day i'd been looking forward to since i started working, but now that it was here, i felt... sad. it was a pretty good experience, getting to work for a lifestyle magazine in NYC, and my colleagues were so chill and laidback, they made the office environment fun and not stressful. i think a part of me wished i could stay and continue working, but i guess all good things must come to an end. although my editor did bring me to a PR event, where we received lots of free beauty products. happiness :)
Summer
I think this summer has been, quite possibly, one of the best summers i've ever had. although... i've only had 3 summers, since we don't get 3-month long vacations from our rigid singaporean schools. but yeah. i learned a lot. about myself, about people, about life... it's been a real eye-opener. there were ups and downs, and i admit i went a little crazy with my newfound freedom, but i definitely wouldn't trade this experience for anything :)
Back home
Now that i'm back in hot and humid Singapore, i've never appreciated air-conditioning as much as i do now. it's unbearably hot. i don't remember it being so hot. maybe i've been in indiana, the land of crazy cold weather, for too long. so i arrived home, and promptly fell sick. because everyone around me was sneezing and coughing. i felt like the air around me was brimming with bacteria and germs.
Other than that, it's good to be back. i went through NYC withdrawals for a while, but i'm glad to see my friends and family again, and spend lots of quality time with them. things are still pretty much the same. brothers are still stoic and silent... they mumble an incoherent sentence once in a while, and that's it. parents are still constantly working... at the pizza place, at the matchmaking company, at their ministry. and now i've become the unofficial writer/editor for their new online dating company, as well as the photographer for their singles mingles event. i guess they were pretty desperate, because my photography skills are zero to none, as seen by my attempts in photography 1 class at taylor. but it was really amusing to be at their sushi-making singles event. funny how no matter what age they are, men and women just naturally gravitate to people of the same sex, even at a SINGLES MINGLES event. one glance around the room and i instantly felt sorry for the women. most of the guys were sorry-looking nerds, with similar haircuts, glasses and thinning hair. they were all shy and softspoken too. i guess the good ones are all taken. but it was fun seeing them go from awkward strangers to fast friends, and watching my dad teach them how to make sushi was hilarious. dad has become the instructor of all their singles mingles events. from wine tasting to ballroom dancing to pizza making to sushi making, he's learned them all. it was very amusing. but to his credit, his sushi tasted pretty decent.
Somehow everytime i come home, it feels like nothing's changed. my friendships and relationships pick up right where i left them, and there's always the top three (and only three) things to do in good old singapore - shop, eat, watch movies. it's easy to fall back into the rhythm of life here. but at the same time, everything's changed. people have gone about their lives without me, the church has gone through major restructuring, even my house is undergoing renovation to accommodate my grandparents moving in. i guess life goes on.
The program put together a dinner and dance cruise for us, which was really nice. We got to sail along the Hudson river and marvel at the beautiful brightly lit city for one last time.
It's funny how we just met this summer, but I feel like I've known these girls for a long time. Also sad to think how we might never see each other again, since everyone's from different parts of the country, and I'm, well... not from this country. haha.
Pretty view of the city from the Brooklyn bridge
The group on our evening Brooklyn Bridge walk.
Random
So. We went to a movie screening at the Hudson River, where they were showing Iron Man and giving out free popcorn. It was fun except for the chilly breeze and the weird old man beside me and the annoying couple behind who insisted on having a loud conversation that lasted through the entire movie.
I love central park. it's so pretty and peaceful.
Went to the Harry Potter movie no. 6 (i forget the title) premiere, and the line was ridiculously long, even though we got there 2 hours before. I think the US needs to learn from singapore and give out movie tickets with SEATS NUMBERS on them, so people don't need to wait around pointlessly just to get good seats. i could've done something productive in that 2 hours, like watched a tv show or something :)
Speaking of movies, i finally saw Wall-E, and promptly fell asleep because there was no talking and i just got really antsy. And then i made myself watch Slumdog millionaire, although what i really wanted to do was to watch another fluffy, brainless movie. but the movie surprised me. it was actually really good. haha. i found myself completely enthralled by the story, and i actually sat through the entire thing without having to fight back the urge to do something else.
We also had a Dreamer graduation ceremony, which consisted of a speech meant to inspire us to surge ahead and fulfill our dreams, but it was too long and i got restless. we received a free book, which i think i threw away because it didn't look too enticing. And then we watched a video of our NYC memories and gave toasts to our awesome summer and the people who made it happen.
Freedom
The last day of work was surprisingly... bittersweet. it was the day i'd been looking forward to since i started working, but now that it was here, i felt... sad. it was a pretty good experience, getting to work for a lifestyle magazine in NYC, and my colleagues were so chill and laidback, they made the office environment fun and not stressful. i think a part of me wished i could stay and continue working, but i guess all good things must come to an end. although my editor did bring me to a PR event, where we received lots of free beauty products. happiness :)
Summer
I think this summer has been, quite possibly, one of the best summers i've ever had. although... i've only had 3 summers, since we don't get 3-month long vacations from our rigid singaporean schools. but yeah. i learned a lot. about myself, about people, about life... it's been a real eye-opener. there were ups and downs, and i admit i went a little crazy with my newfound freedom, but i definitely wouldn't trade this experience for anything :)
Back home
Now that i'm back in hot and humid Singapore, i've never appreciated air-conditioning as much as i do now. it's unbearably hot. i don't remember it being so hot. maybe i've been in indiana, the land of crazy cold weather, for too long. so i arrived home, and promptly fell sick. because everyone around me was sneezing and coughing. i felt like the air around me was brimming with bacteria and germs.
Other than that, it's good to be back. i went through NYC withdrawals for a while, but i'm glad to see my friends and family again, and spend lots of quality time with them. things are still pretty much the same. brothers are still stoic and silent... they mumble an incoherent sentence once in a while, and that's it. parents are still constantly working... at the pizza place, at the matchmaking company, at their ministry. and now i've become the unofficial writer/editor for their new online dating company, as well as the photographer for their singles mingles event. i guess they were pretty desperate, because my photography skills are zero to none, as seen by my attempts in photography 1 class at taylor. but it was really amusing to be at their sushi-making singles event. funny how no matter what age they are, men and women just naturally gravitate to people of the same sex, even at a SINGLES MINGLES event. one glance around the room and i instantly felt sorry for the women. most of the guys were sorry-looking nerds, with similar haircuts, glasses and thinning hair. they were all shy and softspoken too. i guess the good ones are all taken. but it was fun seeing them go from awkward strangers to fast friends, and watching my dad teach them how to make sushi was hilarious. dad has become the instructor of all their singles mingles events. from wine tasting to ballroom dancing to pizza making to sushi making, he's learned them all. it was very amusing. but to his credit, his sushi tasted pretty decent.
Somehow everytime i come home, it feels like nothing's changed. my friendships and relationships pick up right where i left them, and there's always the top three (and only three) things to do in good old singapore - shop, eat, watch movies. it's easy to fall back into the rhythm of life here. but at the same time, everything's changed. people have gone about their lives without me, the church has gone through major restructuring, even my house is undergoing renovation to accommodate my grandparents moving in. i guess life goes on.
Monday, July 6, 2009
It's been a while...
The past week has been crazy-filled with stuff to do...
I went and met my aunt, who's an air stewardess for Singapore Airlines, and just happened to be flying into NYC for the weekend. Passed her some stuff to bring home, in an effort to lessen the weight of my overweight suitcases. The idea of meeting her was a little weird at first, because i'm not really close to her, and we've hardly talked the past 21 years of my life. haha. But she was cool, and we ended up talking about a lot of stuff while strolling through central park on a beautiful sunny day. I love that central park is like a little taste of greenery in this bustling, dirty city.
That's my aunt. she looks so young even though she's like over 40.
One of the group of musicians we saw busking in the park. reminded me of that one time when i made the comment to my friend, 'how come people in other countries can do busking for fun and make money, but the only people who do busking in singapore are handicapped people?' (they're either blind, deaf, or have no legs or arms. and they don't earn much 'cause singaporeans are stingy like that.)
Top of the Rock
We went to the top of the Rockefeller Center one evening, and the view was absolutely gorgeous even though this picture is bad.
Embarrassing
Somehow i've been showing people my super embarrassing singapore ID picture, because they just wanted to see it out of curiosity. And of course they tried hard not to, but they always burst out laughing at me with short boy hair parted down the middle and round glasses. It's ok. I'm glad to be there to bring joy to others around me. haha. plus we all go through awkward phases. you'd be lying if you said you didn't. and yes, i used to want to be a boy, but now i'm perfectly happy with being a girl :)
Metropolitan museum of art
We went to the Met and attempted to see every gallery in our short 3 hours there, but it was simply impossible, even though we breezed through the african tribal stuff, the paintings that all looked the same after a while, and the greek/roman stuff (since i've already seen one too many museums in greece and italy).
But the coolest exhibit by far was the one chronicling the changes in the fashion world, sponsored by marc jacobs. it was so fascinating to see how fashion has transformed into what it is now, and to see all the different models and designers who made an impact. that was definitely more interesting to me than any piece of modern art (which i still think i can do. how hard can it be to splash some paint on a canvas and title it some fancy name like 'the boy and the bicycle' and watch while others try to interpret it? haha.)
My very first fourth of july
I felt very American on saturday. haha.
We went to Coney island to see Nathan's famous hot dog eating contest, only to get stuck in line waiting to buy our own hot dogs. we were so near to the contestants, but we missed out on seeing them chow down on 60++ hot dogs. oh well. at least we were there. haha. and they were good hot dogs, too (although my mom's voice popped into my head, saying 'stop eating hot dogs! they cause cancer!')
Coney island was really nice. there were tons of people milling around the boardwalk and playing around on the sand and in the water. we saw a professional volleyball tournament going on, passed by lots of people smoking weed, went through flea markets and carnivals, and went to see the freak show. it claimed to have a two-headed baby and a snake woman and other weird stuff, but all we saw was a lousy magician with card tricks, a woman (who sounded like a man) walking on glass, and... SPIDER WOMAN. oh yes, she had the body of a spider and the head of a woman! gasp.
they flung open the curtain, and ta-daaaa. there was the body of a huge toy spider, and a woman who stuck her head into the hole where its head should be. she wiggled the 8 legs for effect, but the crowd was obviously disappointed and started to disperse.
well, there goes my 3 dollars.
And for some reason, every time i wear my 'save ferris: ferris bueller's day off' t shirt, lots of guys feel the need to come up to me and provide their own opinion about the movie. i think the shirt must be cursed.
Fireworks
We saw the Macy's fireworks along the street! the display went on for a good 15 minutes at least, and it was sooooo beautiful.
My first baseball game ever
This summer is definitely one of many 'firsts.'
Went to the brand new New York Yankees stadium in the Bronx to see the yankees vs. the toronto blue jays (i think). I was excited, because everyone else around me was, too. and we got good seats for a mere 5bucks. But then, when they tried to explain the rules of the game to me and i failed at grasping the concept, i just gave up and cheered whenever people cheered, and booed when they booed. it was easier that way. haha.
It was really fun, even though the sweltering heat was a bit unbearable, and i now have 5 different shades of color on my body.
5 more days of work!!!! :)
I went and met my aunt, who's an air stewardess for Singapore Airlines, and just happened to be flying into NYC for the weekend. Passed her some stuff to bring home, in an effort to lessen the weight of my overweight suitcases. The idea of meeting her was a little weird at first, because i'm not really close to her, and we've hardly talked the past 21 years of my life. haha. But she was cool, and we ended up talking about a lot of stuff while strolling through central park on a beautiful sunny day. I love that central park is like a little taste of greenery in this bustling, dirty city.
That's my aunt. she looks so young even though she's like over 40.
One of the group of musicians we saw busking in the park. reminded me of that one time when i made the comment to my friend, 'how come people in other countries can do busking for fun and make money, but the only people who do busking in singapore are handicapped people?' (they're either blind, deaf, or have no legs or arms. and they don't earn much 'cause singaporeans are stingy like that.)
Top of the Rock
We went to the top of the Rockefeller Center one evening, and the view was absolutely gorgeous even though this picture is bad.Embarrassing
Somehow i've been showing people my super embarrassing singapore ID picture, because they just wanted to see it out of curiosity. And of course they tried hard not to, but they always burst out laughing at me with short boy hair parted down the middle and round glasses. It's ok. I'm glad to be there to bring joy to others around me. haha. plus we all go through awkward phases. you'd be lying if you said you didn't. and yes, i used to want to be a boy, but now i'm perfectly happy with being a girl :)
Metropolitan museum of art
We went to the Met and attempted to see every gallery in our short 3 hours there, but it was simply impossible, even though we breezed through the african tribal stuff, the paintings that all looked the same after a while, and the greek/roman stuff (since i've already seen one too many museums in greece and italy).But the coolest exhibit by far was the one chronicling the changes in the fashion world, sponsored by marc jacobs. it was so fascinating to see how fashion has transformed into what it is now, and to see all the different models and designers who made an impact. that was definitely more interesting to me than any piece of modern art (which i still think i can do. how hard can it be to splash some paint on a canvas and title it some fancy name like 'the boy and the bicycle' and watch while others try to interpret it? haha.)
My very first fourth of july
I felt very American on saturday. haha.
We went to Coney island to see Nathan's famous hot dog eating contest, only to get stuck in line waiting to buy our own hot dogs. we were so near to the contestants, but we missed out on seeing them chow down on 60++ hot dogs. oh well. at least we were there. haha. and they were good hot dogs, too (although my mom's voice popped into my head, saying 'stop eating hot dogs! they cause cancer!')
Coney island was really nice. there were tons of people milling around the boardwalk and playing around on the sand and in the water. we saw a professional volleyball tournament going on, passed by lots of people smoking weed, went through flea markets and carnivals, and went to see the freak show. it claimed to have a two-headed baby and a snake woman and other weird stuff, but all we saw was a lousy magician with card tricks, a woman (who sounded like a man) walking on glass, and... SPIDER WOMAN. oh yes, she had the body of a spider and the head of a woman! gasp.
they flung open the curtain, and ta-daaaa. there was the body of a huge toy spider, and a woman who stuck her head into the hole where its head should be. she wiggled the 8 legs for effect, but the crowd was obviously disappointed and started to disperse.
well, there goes my 3 dollars.
And for some reason, every time i wear my 'save ferris: ferris bueller's day off' t shirt, lots of guys feel the need to come up to me and provide their own opinion about the movie. i think the shirt must be cursed.
Fireworks
We saw the Macy's fireworks along the street! the display went on for a good 15 minutes at least, and it was sooooo beautiful.
My first baseball game ever
This summer is definitely one of many 'firsts.'
Went to the brand new New York Yankees stadium in the Bronx to see the yankees vs. the toronto blue jays (i think). I was excited, because everyone else around me was, too. and we got good seats for a mere 5bucks. But then, when they tried to explain the rules of the game to me and i failed at grasping the concept, i just gave up and cheered whenever people cheered, and booed when they booed. it was easier that way. haha.
It was really fun, even though the sweltering heat was a bit unbearable, and i now have 5 different shades of color on my body.
5 more days of work!!!! :)
Sunday, June 28, 2009
I gotta feeling...
My sister's keeper
Today i went and saw My Sister's Keeper, and sarah and i were bawling our eyes out the entire time. i don't care if critics don't like it or if it's different from the book (i never read it), because i liked this movie. a lot.
i think this was the first time i cried so much during a movie since... Titanic (yes, Titanic made me weep. all 3 times.) haha.
It just seemed so unfair, you know? How can a little girl be allowed to go through so much pain and suffering and then finally die of leukemia? what good is there in that?
And then having another little girl genetically modified and created just for her organs and blood and tissue to give to her sister... it's just... a lot to think about.
I mean, she's a person, too. how can someone create a whole other human being to manipulate and use for the benefit of a sick kid? I don't know how i feel about forcibly holding down and poking giant needles into fragile 5-year-olds just to save another kid.
Abigail Breslin is just about the cutest not-so-little 13-year-old ever. and the most talented too.
Things happen for a reason
THANK GOD i didn't accept BlackBook's internship. i met this girl who did, and she totally hates it. turns out, they hired 13 interns, and since there's so many of them, each one only comes into work about 2 days a week, and they do absolutely nothing.
they just sit around and stare into space, and accomplish nothing productive. at least that's the gist of what i heard.
Wow. so glad i'm at julib, even if it's smaller and lesser known. at least i get to write tons of stuff.
Poor Farrah Fawcett. she just had to die on the same day as Michael Jackson, and now the whole world is grieving over him and no one remembers her :(
Bouts of homesickness always strike me randomly, usually when i see families together, having dinner, walking down the street, shopping together...
When i saw Transformers two nights ago, these two little boys were waiting outside the theater after the movie, and their parents swooped in with their car to pick them up moments later.
and i was like, awww... reminds me of when i'd bring my little bro and adorable little cousins to the movies, and they'd be bouncing off the walls and demanding popcorn and hot dogs.. and of course i'd give in to their requests 'cause they're just so cute (even though my mom's voice would inevitably ring in my ear: 'no hot dogs! it causes cancer!') :)
Thanks MJ, for all the good times.
Friday was karaoke (American: 'care-ree-oh-kee'. Singaporean: 'kah-rah-oh-kay'. hahaha.) night in Brooklyn to commemorate Michael Jackson's awesome contribution to the world of music.
Great songs + crazy friends + fun dancing = amazing night :)
Karaoke was so fun!! instead of little private rooms to yourself like in sgp, here it's like the ENTIRE bar listening to you screech your head off to your favorite song.
we screamed and danced along to every song (whether we knew it or not). i'm pretty sure everyone knew who we were by the end of the night. and then when we finally got the mic, we shrieked along to 'Summer nights' from Grease. And by we, i meant the girls.
The crowd was a good mix of soulful singers and horrible wannabes. some people just didn't know they were off beat/off tune/didn't even know the lyrics (even though they were flashed on the screen.) it was some highly entertaining stuff.
You know you love me, XOXO
Gossip Girl tour bright and early on saturday morning. way. too. early.
The Met, where Blair and her friends gather on the steps for Pinkberry :)
Yes, I was on the very steps that Leighton Meester once sat. haha. apparently she can sing, too. Check out Cobra Starship's 'Good girls go bad.'
At this quaint little neighborhood on the Upper East Side... visiting the 'school' where Serena and gang attend. It's actually a church! what irony. and it's teeny tiny and dirty.
The huge New York Palace, the hotel where Serena lives.
I don't care what anyone else says, I love gossip girl.
P.S. (for hannah) The singer, whose music video i was in, is Killa Kela, some dude from the UK.
Today i went and saw My Sister's Keeper, and sarah and i were bawling our eyes out the entire time. i don't care if critics don't like it or if it's different from the book (i never read it), because i liked this movie. a lot.
i think this was the first time i cried so much during a movie since... Titanic (yes, Titanic made me weep. all 3 times.) haha.
It just seemed so unfair, you know? How can a little girl be allowed to go through so much pain and suffering and then finally die of leukemia? what good is there in that?
And then having another little girl genetically modified and created just for her organs and blood and tissue to give to her sister... it's just... a lot to think about.
I mean, she's a person, too. how can someone create a whole other human being to manipulate and use for the benefit of a sick kid? I don't know how i feel about forcibly holding down and poking giant needles into fragile 5-year-olds just to save another kid.
Abigail Breslin is just about the cutest not-so-little 13-year-old ever. and the most talented too.
Things happen for a reason
THANK GOD i didn't accept BlackBook's internship. i met this girl who did, and she totally hates it. turns out, they hired 13 interns, and since there's so many of them, each one only comes into work about 2 days a week, and they do absolutely nothing.
they just sit around and stare into space, and accomplish nothing productive. at least that's the gist of what i heard.
Wow. so glad i'm at julib, even if it's smaller and lesser known. at least i get to write tons of stuff.
Poor Farrah Fawcett. she just had to die on the same day as Michael Jackson, and now the whole world is grieving over him and no one remembers her :(
Bouts of homesickness always strike me randomly, usually when i see families together, having dinner, walking down the street, shopping together...
When i saw Transformers two nights ago, these two little boys were waiting outside the theater after the movie, and their parents swooped in with their car to pick them up moments later.
and i was like, awww... reminds me of when i'd bring my little bro and adorable little cousins to the movies, and they'd be bouncing off the walls and demanding popcorn and hot dogs.. and of course i'd give in to their requests 'cause they're just so cute (even though my mom's voice would inevitably ring in my ear: 'no hot dogs! it causes cancer!') :)
Thanks MJ, for all the good times.
Friday was karaoke (American: 'care-ree-oh-kee'. Singaporean: 'kah-rah-oh-kay'. hahaha.) night in Brooklyn to commemorate Michael Jackson's awesome contribution to the world of music.
Great songs + crazy friends + fun dancing = amazing night :)
Karaoke was so fun!! instead of little private rooms to yourself like in sgp, here it's like the ENTIRE bar listening to you screech your head off to your favorite song.
we screamed and danced along to every song (whether we knew it or not). i'm pretty sure everyone knew who we were by the end of the night. and then when we finally got the mic, we shrieked along to 'Summer nights' from Grease. And by we, i meant the girls.
The crowd was a good mix of soulful singers and horrible wannabes. some people just didn't know they were off beat/off tune/didn't even know the lyrics (even though they were flashed on the screen.) it was some highly entertaining stuff.
You know you love me, XOXO
Gossip Girl tour bright and early on saturday morning. way. too. early.
The Met, where Blair and her friends gather on the steps for Pinkberry :)
Yes, I was on the very steps that Leighton Meester once sat. haha. apparently she can sing, too. Check out Cobra Starship's 'Good girls go bad.'
At this quaint little neighborhood on the Upper East Side... visiting the 'school' where Serena and gang attend. It's actually a church! what irony. and it's teeny tiny and dirty.
The huge New York Palace, the hotel where Serena lives.
I don't care what anyone else says, I love gossip girl.
P.S. (for hannah) The singer, whose music video i was in, is Killa Kela, some dude from the UK.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Almost famous
I got to be in a music video yesterday!!! my friend here works for a small film production company, and they were producing a music video for this british pop band/singer. so since it was super low budget, they got all the interns (and their friends) to be extras in scenes. and of course i said yes when my friend asked. who wouldn't wanna be in a freakin music video??? even if it's some relatively new and unknown band?? who knows??
he might get crazy famous one day, and i'll get to be like, yup.. i totally knew him way back in the day. haha.
So we got to meet the singer himself, who was a really cool and chill dude. kinda cute but a little older. got to meet the other interns/extras, who were cool too. and they gave us free food, always a plus. so they finally told us what we were supposed to do, and they were actually recreating a club scene in their office! with strobe lights and music and all. and we were to dance (his song was pretty good) and pretend like we were actually in a club full of hundreds of people, when there was only like 10 of us. it was hilarious.
and the attention was focused on, ahem, a transvestite. and a really pretty one at that. she/he made all the other girls feel ashamed. so i guess the concept of the video was about the lead singer who falls for this tranny in a club, and then later finds out she's a guy. haha.
the director was hilarious too (he looked like cranky doctor House).
he was like, 'i want you guys to just have fun and dance, and there should be no penguin sh** or anything like that.' (meaning no moving awkwardly in one position) the way he said it made me crack up. it was funny cuz i was there with this one guy who always comes out with us but never dances. i don't know why he comes and pays the ridiculous cover charge if he's just gonna STAND THERE like a block of wood and watch other people dance. it's a little awkward. but even he managed to move (reminded me of the awkward guy in Hitch), so it was cool :)
so yeah! that was my 5 seconds of fame. haha.
I love movies
I don't know why but i let my friend convince me to watch Night at the Museum, which, as expected, was a huge flop. even the trailer looked lame. it was just too much stereotyping and cliched, over-used jokes. and the historical figures in the movie just looked dumb in their attempt to be funny.
And i saw Transformers: Revenge of the fallen, which was only a tiny bit better than Night at the museum (only 'cause shia labeouf was in it. and foxy megan fox. haha).
Seminar
Yesterday there was a seminar where this woman who won some awards in scriptwriting came and gave an inspirational talk. we learned about the six degrees of separation.
so i guess i'm only six people away from celebrities like shia labeouf! haha.
so the moral of the story... (once again) network, network, network. you never know, someone might know someone, who knows someone, who can be the one to help you fulfill your dreams.
Blah blah blah.
he might get crazy famous one day, and i'll get to be like, yup.. i totally knew him way back in the day. haha.
So we got to meet the singer himself, who was a really cool and chill dude. kinda cute but a little older. got to meet the other interns/extras, who were cool too. and they gave us free food, always a plus. so they finally told us what we were supposed to do, and they were actually recreating a club scene in their office! with strobe lights and music and all. and we were to dance (his song was pretty good) and pretend like we were actually in a club full of hundreds of people, when there was only like 10 of us. it was hilarious.
and the attention was focused on, ahem, a transvestite. and a really pretty one at that. she/he made all the other girls feel ashamed. so i guess the concept of the video was about the lead singer who falls for this tranny in a club, and then later finds out she's a guy. haha.
the director was hilarious too (he looked like cranky doctor House).
he was like, 'i want you guys to just have fun and dance, and there should be no penguin sh** or anything like that.' (meaning no moving awkwardly in one position) the way he said it made me crack up. it was funny cuz i was there with this one guy who always comes out with us but never dances. i don't know why he comes and pays the ridiculous cover charge if he's just gonna STAND THERE like a block of wood and watch other people dance. it's a little awkward. but even he managed to move (reminded me of the awkward guy in Hitch), so it was cool :)
so yeah! that was my 5 seconds of fame. haha.
I love movies
I don't know why but i let my friend convince me to watch Night at the Museum, which, as expected, was a huge flop. even the trailer looked lame. it was just too much stereotyping and cliched, over-used jokes. and the historical figures in the movie just looked dumb in their attempt to be funny.
And i saw Transformers: Revenge of the fallen, which was only a tiny bit better than Night at the museum (only 'cause shia labeouf was in it. and foxy megan fox. haha).
Seminar
Yesterday there was a seminar where this woman who won some awards in scriptwriting came and gave an inspirational talk. we learned about the six degrees of separation.
so i guess i'm only six people away from celebrities like shia labeouf! haha.
so the moral of the story... (once again) network, network, network. you never know, someone might know someone, who knows someone, who can be the one to help you fulfill your dreams.
Blah blah blah.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tiring monday
Freebies
I just love free stuff. can't get enough of it. and today was the ultimate.
We got a box full of free products from Benefit, the awesome makeup brand i've always wanted to try but didn't wanna waste $$ on. isn't the packaging soooo adorable?? Love. It.
So i grabbed it all (after my manager took her share). can't wait to use it! :)
(And random flip flops)
This is definitely better than getting paid! haha.
Today at work
My manager was instant messaging me, and there was something wrong with my computer, and so she told me to ask Jesus for help.
I was like, huh??? is she asking me to pray?? is she being sarcastic?? what the --
And then i realized she meant jesus (as in heh-soos) rodriguez, our IT guy who is hispanic and happens to have the same name as my God. hahahaha. and then i just felt really dumb. good thing i didn't voice my thoughts out loud. that would've been pretty embarrassing.
i don't know why people name their children after a god-figure. it's just weird.
I got to write two more stories today. i'm beginning to get a little sick of writing. after a while, it just feels monotonous. and staring at the computer for hours and hours cannot be good for my eyesight. i think next time i wanna work at a print magazine, and do cool stuff like direct photo shoots and design pages instead of just writing, writing, writing.
Shocking news
So i got home from work, hopped innocently into the elevator, got out at my floor, and received the shock of my life. there were all these posters (i never paid attention to them before) warning us of a burglary and a sexual offense that occurred IN THE DORM. and a HOMICIDE that occurred right outside. some guy got STABBED!!! my eyes were bulging out of their sockets. especially when i saw the homicide part. then i realized that one happened at another NYU dorm, not mine. and breathed a sigh of relief. but still... the other two happened here. i think. so... gotta be more careful. need to find my pepper spray. although.. i don't know how to use it. haha.
I just love free stuff. can't get enough of it. and today was the ultimate.
We got a box full of free products from Benefit, the awesome makeup brand i've always wanted to try but didn't wanna waste $$ on. isn't the packaging soooo adorable?? Love. It.
So i grabbed it all (after my manager took her share). can't wait to use it! :)
(And random flip flops)
This is definitely better than getting paid! haha.
Today at work
My manager was instant messaging me, and there was something wrong with my computer, and so she told me to ask Jesus for help.
I was like, huh??? is she asking me to pray?? is she being sarcastic?? what the --
And then i realized she meant jesus (as in heh-soos) rodriguez, our IT guy who is hispanic and happens to have the same name as my God. hahahaha. and then i just felt really dumb. good thing i didn't voice my thoughts out loud. that would've been pretty embarrassing.
i don't know why people name their children after a god-figure. it's just weird.
I got to write two more stories today. i'm beginning to get a little sick of writing. after a while, it just feels monotonous. and staring at the computer for hours and hours cannot be good for my eyesight. i think next time i wanna work at a print magazine, and do cool stuff like direct photo shoots and design pages instead of just writing, writing, writing.
Shocking news
So i got home from work, hopped innocently into the elevator, got out at my floor, and received the shock of my life. there were all these posters (i never paid attention to them before) warning us of a burglary and a sexual offense that occurred IN THE DORM. and a HOMICIDE that occurred right outside. some guy got STABBED!!! my eyes were bulging out of their sockets. especially when i saw the homicide part. then i realized that one happened at another NYU dorm, not mine. and breathed a sigh of relief. but still... the other two happened here. i think. so... gotta be more careful. need to find my pepper spray. although.. i don't know how to use it. haha.
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