Happy Birthday Me!

Another year older, folks. :) I'm 23! And BOY HAS THIS BEEN AN EXCITING YEAR (wow- they just get better, don't they?).

But first- let's take a look back:

Me a Year Ago at a young 22

Me now!:


Actually, there isn't too much of a difference- just better lighting.

And, for the final unvieling (the semi-worldwide premiere)... everybody meet my baby- my tatto:



Isn't it cute?

"What is it? What does it mean?" you ask... well, I'll tell you. For one thing, it's a crescent moon. For another:

Symbolism:
-I am a cancer (crabs rule!) and the moon is my symbol
-The moon is black in honor of Eclipse (she was black, and when there is an eclipse the moon tunrs black)
-A crescent moon is the sign of youth... it's not complete. It's a reminder to myself that I'm still young, and that I need to have more patience because my whole life is still ahead of me.
-And honestly, I just think it's pretty. :)

Picture this: Small, dank tattoo shop. 2 overgrown mustachioed men with skin graffiti all over, a gleeful Finnish bystander, and a scared Filipino girl.

:)

I'd like to think it would be the type of story you would tell you grandkids. It wasn't. The two guys were really pleasant (they were joking around the whole time), Myra (the Finnish bystander- Miska's sister, here for a visit) was cringing and giggling and taking pictures, and I was sucking on a lollipop they gave me and trying not to look. I had already spent an hour or so drawing, erasing, then redrawing the thing on my wrist (my tattooist and Myra even went outside to smoke while they were waiting) and so by the time he started I was more tired than scared. The whole process took about 2 minutes and there was maybe only a speck of blood on my bandaid afterwards.

And it hurt. Bad.

You know that feeling you get the MOMENT a needle pricks the crook of your arm, sucking your life's blood away? Well, multiply that one mili-second by a billion, and send the sum scratching away at a sharpie pattern on the surface of your skin. Most people say it doesn't hurt, but they have to be lying.

BUT it didn't hurt so much that I was crying or wanted to stop. I even want to get another one!

It was definitely worth it. If you've been wanting one for a while I highly recommend that you go for it- I'll even hold you hand! (I do not agree with spur of the moment ones, though.) :) Anywhoo... some pics:




Okay, so let's get on with story time... I did a lot for my birthday. This year's birthday was so much fun it almost covered up the disappoinment of not being about to spend it with my family (note to self: when rich, bring your family with you).

My group at work (Bryan Yum and his minions) all got together and secretly devised a plan to surprise me on Friday- since my birthday was a Sunday- with a small party and a big present. The present? A black Motorola itunes SLVR phone.

Dream workmates, anyone?

Well, I basically ruined it all. On Wednesday E! Entertainment had it's annual wireless day, where all the local wireless networks sent representatives to offer discounts and (gasp- cheap or free phones!) to us E! folk. I- before I knew of any bday plans and being the ever optimist- decided to stop by and see if maybe a SLVR phone might, just might, be cheap enough for my to afford.

yeah right.

These phones can go up to $300 on the market. At Wireless Day they were half off at $150. My budget? About $5.

So i left it a little disappointed and went back to work, thinking maybe I could get the CHEAPER, refurbished one on cingular.com. Well, good thing I'm a public whiner... Bryan, Grace, and James heard me and barraged me with reasons to stop me from buying it. (They honestly almost had me convinced that it was a terrible phone at one point.)

Apparently, though, aside from not wanting me to purchase the phone myself, the reason why they stopped me was because this was a deal for THEM as well. So they sauntered on back while I was grumbling and tried to buy one for me. No luck. It turns out that the only way you get that deal is if you sign up for 2 more years with Cingular, and since they were not me they could not make that call.

SO, distressed, they came back up and confessed all to me. I was ecstatic.... but poor everyone else was sad. The surprise was ruined... lololol

(but I was ecstatic)

So I got myself a new, awesome, phone. And not just any phone- but an ITUNES PHONE (which means I basically got a high grade phone and a low-memory ipod in one!). SWEET!

They were all nice though... even though i got my present on Wednesday they all still surprised me on Friday. Firstly they make my cubicle look like Hello Kitty and Pink had a throw-up contest on top of it:



then secondly they all gathered in a conference room and surprised me with a devilishly delishious RED VELVET cake from Doughboys (my favorite cake, and Oprah's too).

MMMMmmmm! AWESOME. (I'm actually salivating as I write this)





Honestly- I couldn't get anymore work done that day. I was so happy I could burst. (Thank you again, workmates!)

Then, that night Peter surprised me with an impromtu Chocolate Mousse cake from Marie Callendars! ooohhh yyyeaahhhh...



But that's not all folks. Saturday night comes around, and guess what? At midnight (as I work at my desk at home) I hear singing behind me and Andy, Peter, and Miska come in bearing wine and singing Happy Birthday (see about movie).



And on SUNDAY Miska and Peter take me out for lunch. OMG SO GOOD. We went to Aroma cafe- a cute little place that apparently only the hip artsy type know about- and they paid for everything... I had a burger (which I had to eat with a knife and fork it was so big), fries, and a taste or two of some of the greatest cakes I've ever laid eyes on:


The front is french vanilla w/chocolate, the back is PEANUT BUTTER!!

And, to top it all off, we went bowling!



Flourescent shoes are in style...




Peter was so good at bowling it wasn't even funny. His ball was like machine gun bullet after machine gun bullet trained on one spot. Miska was pretty awful at first, but in the end he almost gave Peter a run for his money... let's say he's a VERY QUICK learner.

And me?

Well... my first time up I got a strike. After that, the only time I even HIT pins was if I fell while throwing... *sigh*


I suck.


Good job Miska!


Look at how FAST that thing is going...

:)

Promises:
-I WILL talk about my trip to New York in the next week. Sorry for the wait :)
-I WILL try to stop listening to the awesome sounds coming from my itunes phone 24 hours of the day... especially while roommates are sleeping
-I WILL NOT splurge any longer on cakes... but that doesn't stop me from looking :)

OMG, I think I've been typing for an hour. I gotta go... but, since I just recently discovered the benefits of youtube, I MUST leave you with some great home videos that show what has happened over the last year :)

Enjoy!


Taylor laughing!


Keianna kicks butt!


Peter is ?playing? with the cat...


Louie and I at work (what else is new?)..

Love ya all! Night!

MY FRIENDS ARE AWESOME!!!!

Thank you Bryan! Thank you James! Thank you Grace! Thank you Raven! Thank you Luis! Thank you Heather! Thank you Phil! Thank you Ryan! Thank you Shivaune!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!


*grin*

Guess what they got me for my birthday!

I was morally offended by X3 and I suggest you download it illegally so that Fox makes no money off of it.



Bring back Singer.

New York is AWESOME!

Summer's Review: 5 Stars! The people are SO NICE, Manhattan is BEAUTIFUL, there's never a dull moment (ALWAYS something to do), there's SO MUCH VARIETY IN EVERYTHING, and honestly- even though New York has a bad rep for being dangerous, I feel safer here than I do in Miami and LA combined. There are always people around, everywhere. The lights are always on (which necessarily might not be a good thing, but for me it was pretty magical). The scenery is, well, STUNNING. And there isn't just one type of it, either- YOU CAN FIND EVERYTHING IN NEW YORK. The ocean, the park, downtown... almost every type of scenery you can think of. THE FOOD IS GREAT (and no one can match the abundance of it).

The only thing I can say that might deter anyone from going is: prepare to walk. Hard. Do not bring shoes you wouldn't find comfortable after 2 hours of being on your feet.

Ok... before anyone asks "Where are the pictures?" I just want you to know that I am still presently IN New York and am waiting an hour til 4AM when I have to take the cab to Laguardia for my flight home. I could sleep, but I'll be doing enough of that on the plane and I need to use my time wisely since my schedule for the upcoming week is pretty insane, so I decided to write. FYI:

Monday (today)
3PM Arrive in LA
3:30PM Drive to work
1AM Finish work, go home.

Tuesday, Wednesday, AND Thursday
8AM Wake up, get ready for internship
9AM Drive to internship
10AM-3PM Internship
3PM-MIDNIGHT Work

Friday
6:30AM Wake up, get ready for work
7AM Drive to work
5PM Finish work, drive to airport
6:50PM Take flight to next trip

Pretty rough, huh? *sigh* The lazy girl inside me is crying. That's why I decided that I should tell you a little about my New York trip now (since it's still fresh in my mind anyway) and LATER, when I get back from my trip next weekend, continue the story and post some pictures.

Actually, I think I'll only be able to tell you about my first day for now.

Ready? Set- GO.

Thursday
Flight to Phoenix:
-Sit between ambiguous Brooklinite Mark with a sensitive side and Anthropolitic Scientist/Catholic Dave on a mission to prove the world is not 6,000 yrs old.
-Mark tells me I will love East Village. He gives me great pointers on where to go.
-Dave teaches me the ultimate way to do Sudoko. It's a numbers game that newspapers & magazines are picking up to replace the usual crossword puzzle. VERY ADDICTIVE. Angel, I suggest you give it a try.
-We start to discuss our desires to help the homeless and eventually agree to meet up when we all get back to LA with Dave's church for some great volunteer work.

Flight to Maryland:
-Boring and uneventful

Flight to Laguardia Airport, NYC:
-It's only an hour connection so we get a small heli-plane flight. I sit next to an active Marine officer who is going home to surprise his dad on his birthday. Very nice. He had a "Learn Tagalog" book with him because he wanted to live in the Philippines. Weird, huh? He also gave me some pointers on where to go in NY.
-Took great photos of NY from the plane.

NYC 1st Day:
-Cabbie who took me to Dave's apartment was very nice. He went an extra 20 minutes out of the way for free to show me Time Square. HOW BEAUTIFUL!
-David and I rush to the Festival's Opening Day party. I get my first taste of the New York streets (Dave lives in the part of Manhattan called East Village). We see NYU, the subway (OH MY GOD HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!) and rush to the club that's holding the event.
-BTW: WALKING. EVERYWHERE. THATS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.

We get to the club and meet up with Peter (who came the day before) and start to mingle with Film Industry/Music/Art types, promoting our film and having a great time. There were two levels to the club and a huge stage, and every single inch of it that night was full of display booths for all of the filmmakers who wanted to push market their screening. (We didn't get a booth because it was *gasp* $600-$3,000 for one). THERE WERE SO MANY FILMS!! As I sold our film I grabbed flyers for some I wanted to check out:

"The Gift of Barong"
A documentary about 2 Filipino-Americans who grew up in the states and were trying to go back to their roots. I met with the filmmakers (all filipino-Americans) and they were so awesome. Some of them were from LA and I exchanged numbers with them so we could meet up when we all got back.

"Getting My Child Back: Fight Autism"
A documentary about a man who explored the world of autism after his son was diagnosed(spelling?) with it. I was a little iffy about that- the guy seemed a little strange to me but I decided I had to see it.

"Grace Quigley"
A KATHARINE HEPBURN FILM!!!! OMG!!! It was the first ever "writer's cut" of any film, and the writer himself handed the flyer to me. Apparently he didn't like the original version of the film and decided to take matters into his own hands. I'm not too sure how I feel about that idea.

Afterwards David (the best tour guide ever, btw) took us to a great restaurant (I'll give you the name later- Dave's asleep right now and I don't want to make a lot of noise looking for the card). I had some SLAMMIN Garlic chicken and got a taste of an authentic Tuna Melt from Dave's plate while Pete's chicken curry was to die for.
Then we went to this awesome bar (again, names later) that had a lounge in the back with red velvet victorian couches, matching walls, ang golden chandeliers and we had a couple drinks and talked. It's nice to see Dave again. (Geez- it's been what, like 2 1/2 years? So you know there was some 'catching up' chatting that needed to be done.)

Well by then you can imagine it was like 4am, and we all had early mornings the following day, so we decided to head back to Dave's apartment.

TO BE CONTINUED...
Next week = tune in for the rest of my New York trip and see some pics! For now, though, I think I'll rest a bit. Night all! See you in LA! :)

Happy Self-Deprecating Day Summer!

8:13AM Wake up 2 minutes before alarm. Go back to sleep.
9:30AM Wake up an hour and 15 minutes after alarm.
9:31AM Step on broken nail by dresser. Explicitly remember reminding self not to step on nail the night before.
9:35AM Speed out of garage. No shower.
9:36AM Hit neighbor's trash bin. Spend 15 minutes putting saturated, moist trash back into bin.
10:15AM Arrive at internship late and smelling. Boss says no work today, go home.
10:45AM Run out of gas on Hollywood Blvd during rush hour.
11:00AM Nice man stops. Helps push car to gas station.
11:40AM Get home. Go to bed.
11:43AM Woken up by call from Vonage Customer Service Agent asking "Do I want another phone line?" when I dont even use the first one.
12NOON Get up. Get ready for work.
12:01PM Step on &#%@! nail AGAIN.
12:30PM While drying hair, gardener comes to door.
12:35PM Let gardener in through back gate. Leaf blower blows dead grass and insects into still-wet hair.
2:00PM Get to work early. Decide to get new ID & reimbursement for parking.
2:15PM New ID will be ready in an hour. Please come back.
2:20PM I cannot reimburse you. Please come back when my boss is here.
3:30PM Access to ALL IMPORTANT/URGENT Drive request cannot be found. Are you sure you filled one out?
3:45PM Access to ALL IMPORTANT/URGENT Drive request found. Was given to wrong department. Will do a rush order for you.
4:15PM New ID ready. Reimbursement ready.
4:20PM Get stuck in 3rd floor elevator lobby. New ID does not work.
4:50PM FINALLY get let into 3rd floor by random person.
4:55PM Cook lunch: Ramon Noodles
5:00PM Access to ALL IMPORTANT/URGENT Drive request cannot be filed. The drive you request does not exist.
5:30PM Finally convince IT drive DOES exist. IT BOSS promises to fix asap.
6:30PM Call IT. IT is closed, could you please leave a message and we'll get back to you in the morning?
6:38PM Ramon Noodels getting cold. Put in fridge.
6:40PM Get a hold of IT night person. We wont be able to do anything for you until the morning.
6:45PM Freak out in front of God and the whole world. Accidentally curse in front of big bossman as he strolls by. Random stares.
6:55PM Bryan and Sherman from engineering fix problem. YAY!!!
7:00PM Find out that new software that goes with ALL IMPORTANT/URGENT Drive is not set to correct preferences.
7:15PM Ask Shivaune how to set preferences. Preferences were set before she got there.
7:18PM Call UK Software company. We are not open at this time. Please leave us a message and we will call you back.
7:20PM Call Alex. No answer.
7:25PM Call Bryan. May have to do it the long way on Poliscript.
7:30PM &#%@! Remember to get keys from garage before they close for the night.
7:45PM Forget about broken New ID. Get stuck in 3rd floor elevator lobby.
7:55PM Go down to security. Sorry, I'm new- I don't know how to get you in. Could you wait until the next shift? It'll be in about 30 minutes.
8:30PM Get back into work.
8:31PM Remember Ramon Noodles! Go to fridge, contemplate ability to microwave noodles.
8:35PM Burn noodles.
9:00PM Spend lunch time writing in blog instead of eating.
9:30PM Motion-sensor lights in bathroom shut off only halfway through. Waving arms does nothing.

Mood : &@#^!&%

On the upside: I get to go to New York in 2 days. Now, if I can only figure out how to survive until then...

$18 = 4 gallons of gas.

bleh

New York here I come!!!

'MY STRUGGLE' MADE IT INTO THE NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL! OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOGMOGMOGMOGMOGM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.nyfilmvideo.com/2006/nymay2006/schedule/ny-may-2006-schedule.html

Go down to 'Saturday, May 6th Screen 6 Village East Cinemas' and it's the first film listed. OMG! So Peter and I are going to New York to represent our film, hob nob with industry folk, and make sure the movie gets good publicity... in a week! And it's going to tour with the festival to San Fran, LA, and other places in the U.S.

IM GOING TO NEW YORK!

I'm so excited. I've never been there, and now MY FILM is showing on a movie screen there. OMG. OMG. OMG.

*breathe*

Oh- and we recently found out that My Struggle was screened to an audience of 100 in Rio De Jinero in January. RIO DE JINERO! 100 PEOPLE! (Who AREN'T family and friends!)


OMG.

If you're in the neighborhood you should go see it. I heard it was pretty good- it got 4 stars :)

20 Somethings

They call it the 'Quarter-life Crisis'. It is when you
stop going along with the crowd and start realizing
that there are many things about yourself that you
didn't know and may not like. You start feeling
insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or
two, but then get scared because you barely know where
you are now. You start realizing that people are
selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you
thought you were so close to aren't exactly the
greatest people you have ever met, and the people you
have lost touch with are some of the most important
ones. What you don't recognize is that they are
realizing that too, and aren't really cold, catty,
mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as
you. You look at your job... and it is not even close
to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you
are looking for a job and realizing that you are going
to have to start at the bottom and that scares you.
Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what
others are doing and find yourself judging more than
usual because suddenly you realize that you have
certain boundaries in your life and are constantly
adding things to your list of what is acceptable and
what isn't. One minute, you are insecure and then the
next, secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest
force of your life. You feel alone and scared and
confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try
and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon
realize that the past is drifting further and further
away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you
are or move forward. You get your heart broken and
wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to
you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can't meet
anyone decent enough that you want to get to know
better. Or maybe you love someone but love someone
else too and cannot figure out why you are doing this
because you know that you aren't a bad person. One
night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap.
Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look
pathetic. You go through the same emotions and
questions over and over, and talk with your friends
about the same topics because you cannot seem to make
a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future
and making a life for yourself... and while winning
the race would be great, right now you'd just like to
be a contender! What you may not realize is that
everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our
best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard
as we can to figure this whole thing out.


GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF US!!!!!

The Washington Mutual Way of Life

IRA - an individual retirement account which lets you set aside tax-advantaged savings toward the time that you retire, savings which slowly and steadily grow to assume much higher levels than the original invested amount.

Longterm Investment - a series of portfolio-based purchases towards small stock percentages that, though prone to regular fluctuations along side the market, develops and grows your base supply with palpitating force.

401K - the thingy you get from work.

*sigh*

My mother is great, and I hope one day I will understand half of what she understands about the world... but I don't get this stuff ONE BIT.




That's why I'll just focus my energy on becoming rich and famous.

Random Thoughts:
- My cat doesn't know it, but seeing her sick makes me very sad.
- I will never name my daughter 'Sally' or 'May' so as to show those &*#%$ at SallieMae how offended I am at my oweing them money.
- On another issue, I would like to thank SallieMae for being there when I needed money to pay for my college.
- If all goes well, and I save up enough money, I think I will reward myself with a holiday trip to Europe. Roundtrip tickets for Sept 1st- Oct 1st are only $700 at Expedia.com! Who's with me?

It's been a strange few weeks.
I'll break it up into two acts, so as to make cohesive the jumble of the last few days.

ACT ONE: Moving on up.

There has been an unexpected wave of possibilities washing over the Filmmaker House. I guess after our 1 year anniversary everybody decided that the freshmen period of life in LA was over. Andy got a job as a director's assistant/behind-the-scenes person for an upcoming feature film (http://thetribemovie.blogspot.com/). Peter is shopping around for production jobs, and may soon be waving farewell to life at E!.

Luis and Miska's show has had some success. Luis is now the rising star at his weekly improv, and the steady stream of good reviews doesn't seem to be slowing. Miska is waiting for a callback from the producers of the show 'Lost' for a possible reacurring role.

And me?

I've snatched up an internship. It's at Underground Films (www.undergroundfilms.net), a small, successful production company that produces feature films and represents the best and brightest of the upandcoming scriptwriters in the industry. In May they start production at Warner Brothers Studios on the new film "License to Wed" starring Robin Williams and Mandy Moore. They also have their hands in a new Chuck Palahnuik film, as well as a teen thriller set to star Mischa Barton. My roll there is as scriptreader and office support. Already I have 3 scripts to read over the weekend (homework), and I am gobbling them up without swallowing- pausing only for fresh air and rocky road ice cream.

I love it.

I've also obtained another job... a sort of 'modeling' job you could say. I'll tell you about that later.

Lastly- After much hesitation and many a sleepless night I have finally begun writing my script. Armed with the silver pen Mommy gave me and my precious friend 'Failure' (c/The Artist's Way) goading me into defeat, I go swimming through the uncharted depths of my creativity.



ACT TWO:And then there were 4.

Namely: everyone has left. First we had a visitor (Rikka! Miska's cousin, who's been here before and decided to come again due to a 'leave of absence' from work), and that was lots of fun because she was much needed feminine company. For a week it was bliss. Then, early on a quiet Wednesday morning, she left.

On that same Wednesday Christian's 3 months of english schooling finished- so, after a boastful round of golf at Griffith Park, he left.

Not to be beaten, on Saturday, due to a failing immigration system and the opportunity to start filming his documentary of 'The Tribe' in Costa Rica, Andy left.

And so here we are. The Filmmaker House. The fridge is bigger, the hallways echo, and those of us left feel the loss of old friends.




We need a new roommate.

It's 4am on a Thursday, the valley is freezing, and I can't sleep.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!

HAPPY 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY FILMMAKER HOUSE!!!!

It's been 1 year! April 1st- 1 year TO THE DAY that we signed our lease and our lives away to the Hollywood dream. Time does fly. We at the Filmmaker House decided the occasion was fit for a celebration, so we held our first 2006 Saturday Night BarBQ followed with the premiere of our roadtrip-to-california documentary "At All Costs- A Strength in Numbers Story."


The Gods and Goddess of the Filmmaker House


My Gift to the House- an upgraded grill!

Luis and I went to Ralph's earlier in the day to prepare. And at Ralph's we found IT. THE STEAK. 12 pounds of big, fat, meaty mess.


An $8 steak... it's bigger than Luis' face. Remember the size of the $47 filet mignon?

. . .


Of course we bought it.

The night was a festivous miracle. We drank, we sang, we ATE, and we got it all down on camera.





Baked Potatoes








We had to cut the big one in half just to cook it- thank god for Christian!

Eating THE STEAK




We ended the night by reminiscing. The documentary was HILARIOUS- it was nice seeing all of the places we've been, all the things we've seen, and all the hopes we had. It was also great to see Darryl's face again :)

We finished it all with some scrumptous Apple Pie a la mode (thanks Luis!) and more memories.





*sigh*

So much has changed in the past year. And yet- so much has stayed the same:

A NIGHT AT THE LODGE WITH MY E! FOLK


Professionalism Abounds

Friday night to me is a blur. The E! Gods found it within their means to reward the minions by paying for a night out on the town, so we in International Operations decided to have some steaks at The Lodge. How fun! I had my first taste of martinis, in the form of a "Snow Bunny," "Chocolate Martini," & "Raspberry Cheesecake Martini." After that I don't remember much...


The glue that holds it all together...


Blasted


A $47 filet mignon.


Raven, Andrea, and Stephen


Grace and Shivaune


Me and James' beautiful fake smile.

I was told that when the waitor came to announce the desserts my response was "Can we just have everything?"

so they said yes...

Ok... montage...








Stephen & Grace with luscious lips thanks to Victoria's Secret


I have no idea what is going on here...


The gals

Again- so fun! The people I work with are awesome... not bad for my first job in California, huh?