Filed under: Happiness is a Warm Gun | Tags: 500 Days of Summer, books, chick flicks, dad, fanfiction, feeding ducks, high-speed Internet, Jack Sparrow, Julie and Julia, little boys, men, Mr. Darcy, park, parties, Pirate English facebook, Pirates of the Caribbean, Pride and Prejudice, Rob Kidd, The Motorcycle Diaries, toilets
Happy happy birthday, la la la la laaaaaa. How exciting. The next party is someone’s wedding, and I can’t wait for that, as long as I can avoid the dance floor and I get a new dress. 
I know, it’s Monday and happiness is supposed to come to you on Sundays. I won’t tell if you don’t.
1. Parties. Now that I’ve tasted heaven I’m never going back. It wasn’t the food or the games or the decorations, although those helped. As cheesy as it sounds, my buddies made it the best birthday ever. The fact that they actually participated in my silly activities was enough to put a grin on my face. I was so worried we’d act like teenagers but we were children for one afternoon.
2. High-speed Internet. How I’ve missed you.
3. Pirate English facebook. Every time I sign in I’m greeted with the worst, cheesiest pirate slang ever. And I smile every time. Ye Olde Facebook brings a smile to my face. The best is when I forget about it and am completely surprised.
4. The Motorcycle Diaries. What a pleasant surprise. I remember when they won an Oscar for Best Original Song, and I was like…when is this performance over. Movie’s great though.
5. Toilets. I just had a moment of appreciation this week when I realized what life would be like if we had to scoop our own poop. Blarrrggghhh.
6. This morning as my mom and I were driving to check out some apartments we saw a dad and his two sons crossing the street to Regional Park. It was so cute because the older son who was like six or younger was holding a bag of bread to feed the ducks. Because Regional Park is a duck harem, we all know that. Old people like to go there to feed them, and Mexican families. Asian families are not fond of feeding ducks. I wish we were. Whell the father and sons were white, but the dad was carrying his little son, like where the kid sits on your arm…? And the little boy had blonde hair and his older brother had auburnish so my mom was like, talking about genetics…and I was just going, “awwwwwwwwwwwwww.” Okay I’ll admit to talking about genetics too. I said, “He must have a recessive gene.”
7. Talks with my mom where we complain about men. I never thought this day would come. We also watch chick flicks now. I keep suppressing the urge to ask her if she wants to see “Julie and Julia” or “500 Days of Summer” with the two tickets I got for my birthday. But I must save them. And I actually don’t really want to see “Julie and Julia”. Last night we watched “Pride and Prejudice”. And I finally understood the symbolism behind Mr. Darcy walking to Elizabeth’s house at the end. I’m too slow.
This was one happy week, but the explosion of the party made all the other little things fly out of my mind. I’m struggling to gather them back, so there’s only seven this week.
On a horrifying note, there is fanfiction for the Jack Sparrow book series by Rob Kidd. Blarklrewkrjwe. At least its not polluting the movie fanfiction section. Although sometimes it seeps in and I shun. No one needs to know Jack Sparrow’s past, and I don’t consider the series canon.
Filed under: Happiness is a Warm Gun, Uncategorized | Tags: Across the Universe, architecture, backyards, Baz Luhrmann, candles, Charlotte Gainsbourg, coral, directors, First Five California, French, Grace Kelly, happiness, hedges, History Detectives, Ils Se Marierent et Eurent Beaucoup d'Enfants, Jane Birkin, jingle, Johnny Depp, Laguna Beach, mattress, Mika, mini DV camera, Moulin Rouge, My Best Friend, Otis Taylor, PBS, Prete-moi Ta Main, Public Enemies, purple, romantic comedies, Russian eggs, Serge Gainsbourg, soda, Ten Million Slaves, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Valet, We Are Golden
This week has slowly slid into the mundane, but I refuse to let myself go back to eighth grade. Eighth grade competes with fifth grade for the worst years of my life. Here’s the happiness post, reliably on Monday even though they’re supposed to appear on Sundays.
1. French romantic comedies. Yesterday I watched “Prete-moi ta main”, which literally means lend me your hand, but they translated it to “I Do”, or “Faux Wedding”. It’s about a man who grows up in a family of all women, and eventually they grow tired of doing his laundry, etc, and try to get him married. He gets sick of their nagging, obviously, and hires his friend’s sister to pretend to be his fiance and then stand him up at the wedding. It gets a lot more complicated than that, of course. These light-hearted French movies always cheer me up. Others that I’ve seen and can remember the names are “The Valet” and “My Best Friend”. Darn, can’t remember the names of others.
2. Charlotte Gainsbourg. This ties in with the above, but indulge me. She plays the “fiance”. I’ve only seen her in this and a few clips of Johnny Depp’s cameo in “Ils Se Marierent et Eurent Beaucoup d’Enfants”. I do know though that she’s the daughter of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, and a singer as well as an actress. With my limited familiarity, everything I say here applies to her character in “Prete-moi Ta Main”. I have no idea if she’s like her. Anyway, she gave off this air of elegance and self-confidence, even if she peed with the door open, among other things. I liked how her real character was in the middle of the perfect and the fiance from hell. In one word, I’d describe her as a juxtaposition. It didn’t hurt that she was tall and thin. Definitely boosted her up in my mom’s opinion. I’ve just realized that this sounds like a girl crush. Whell.
2. My mom’s new mattress. It’s memory foam and it’s soft as a cloud. White as a cloud too. It just smells like chemicals, because she’s just bought it. But sensory adaptation kicks in (gahh psych 101) and you forget it’s even there. I always fall right asleep on her bed, except for last night because new developments had occurred with the stop-motion, and not good ones.
3. “We are Golden”. My, this is a very pop culture driven week, isn’t it? MIKA’s new single came out a few weeks ago, but his video premiered last Friday and I forgot about it until yesterday. So much for staying ahead of the crowd. You won’t find the correct version on Youtube, so if you want to see it look around www.mikasounds.com. If you’ve never seen MIKA before, I’d recommend first watching “Grace Kelly” on youtube to ease into his style. The “We Are Golden” video freaked even me out a little. But it’s all good.
4. Backyards. I may be moving into an apartment for a few months because it turns out my little sister is severely allergic to dust mites, something supremely unlacking in this house. I’m really going to miss my own little patch of green. I lived in an apartment until I was almost seven, and yes, I can still remember it. But I’ve grown accustomed to having some semblance of privacy, maybe taking it for granted. I keep reminding myself that every experience is something to log into my memory for filmmaking/writing reference If I have a nice safe life well then there’d be nothing to write about, right?
5. Coral. It’s my new favorite color. Sorry, purple.
6. Russian eggs. They are so delicate and intricate. I got a necklace this week that had a “Russian egg” on it. Definitely won me over.
7. Mini DV cameras. It’s true, they’ve brought filmmaking to the living room. If it weren’t for my camera I’d have to wait until I was 20-something to start my career. Even if nothing comes of what I’m doing now I’m still learning something.
8. My soda from Taco Bell. It’s emanating coldness and freezing everything within a five inch radius. I’m not kidding.
9. PBS. I watched their celebration of the 50’s music and History Detectives. It didn’t hurt that they used a bit of what sounded like Otis Taylor’s “Ten Million Slaves” in the background. Which is the song they used in a lot of “Public Enemies”. What can I say, history enthralls me.
10. Hedges. I like how square they are and how they make you think of mazes.
11. The First Five jingle on the radio. It’s dorky but pleasing on the ears. “There’s so much I need to knooooowwww. The more I learn the more I groooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwww. Teach me, show me, hold me, and give me loooovvvve.”
12. Inventive directors. I finally watched “Moulin Rouge”, and like “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” and “Across the Universe” I like how Baz Luhrmann didn’t just tell the story but they incorporated symbolism, colors, and angles to make a beautiful-to-look-at film. Miya will be pleased to hear that I liked the movie. It’s her favorite. Speaking of favorites, a viewing of “Arizona Dream” is long overdue.
13. Laguna Beach. I love all the artsy galleries and stores. It’s the beach that never sleeps, I think. And then there are hidden little beaches next to beautiful coves and behind immaculate hotels. I love the juxtapositions of beach houses next to Tudor houses next to a Mr. Darcy-in-2005’s-”Pride and Prejudice”’s house. It’s a photographer’s dream. I see people with easels painting the ocean, and people with dogs, old ladies reading under a rotunda. I see old people having a picnic at these cute four-person tables and they’ve brought their own tablecloth, centerpiece, and candles. That’s paradise.
14. Candles. I’m trying to get a candlelit dinner for my birthday in my backyard. I can’t wait!
I could go on but this post is already ridiculously long. When are my posts not?
Filed under: Happiness is a Warm Gun, Uncategorized | Tags: 80's, breakfast burritos, Finding Neverland, frilly, green tea, happiness, happy, J.M. Barrie, Johnny Depp, lace, makeup bag, Michael Llewellyn-Davies, mochi ice cream, mosquito, Porthos, smoothie, tweezers, vintage
Happy happy happy day. I may soon have to move happiness of the week posts to Monday, but I won’t. Even if I do keep posting them on Mondays.
1. My mom’s makeup bag. It’s frilly, it’s lacy, it’s black, white, and blue. Logically, it’s hideous. But to me it’s beautiful. I told her yesterday, and she told me that she was thinking about getting rid of it. I asked, “When did you get it? Like in the 80’s?” Yes. YESSS. So I (stupidly) said, “It’s vintage.” And now she loves it as well and I will have to wait more years to inherit this floppy thing.
2. Michael & Porthos. Alright, I’m guilty of watching “Finding Neverland” again last night. That movie never fails to make me temporarily relapse into obsession. That said, Michael, the smallest Llewellyn-Davies boy in the movie, is so cute. “Is he in trouble? Because I’ve been alone with grandmother and I know what it’s like.” What a cute little boy.
J.M. Barrie’s dog, Porthos is cute too. A big fluffy mass of gray and white. I love the bloopers where he poops. It’s a lot less crude than it sounds, but still hilarious. Whatever, in the actual movie he’s adorable too.
3. Breakfast burritos. They are delicious in a stupid way. Meaning you should just enjoy its eggy, sausagey, cheesy, peppery goodness. It’s comfort food, not a gourmet dish.
4. Tweezers. Because armed with a pointy thing you can squish between your fingers, you can pluck anything. Plucking is fun except when it’s done on a violin.
5. Green tea. I haven’t had actual green tea in a while, but artificial green tea flavoring’s good too even if tastes nothing like real green tea. Green tea mochi ice cream, green tea smoothie. Guh, it is all so delicious.
6. The dead mosquito on my windowsill. It’s gruesome but beautiful, especially in the early morning because of the sunlight.
That should have cheered you up. Have a great week!
Filed under: Happiness is a Warm Gun, Uncategorized | Tags: ampersand, Arizona Dream, birthday party, challenges, Cuba, digging, directing, film, Sean Connery, shveling, The Diving Bell and the Buttterfly
I apologize for the delay in posting this, but here it is! The happiest post of the week.
1. “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”. You know when you see a great movie, when you realize that you’ve just found one of your new favorite movies? This movie is a real celebration of cinema, using colors, angles, and images to their full advantage. Just like “Arizona Dream”, I keep bringing these movies up when I’m thinking of ideas. Not to steal their plots, but I want to make something as awesome as that.Something that takes your breath away. It is possible for a movie to be visually beautiful. And that’s when you know the filmmaker has a real appreciation for the medium.
And apart from finding a great movie, just film in general. I arranged a speaker session with one of the screenwriters I met with for job-shadowing, and sitting there with other people makes it even more obvious who loves filmmaking and who loves the inside stories about celebrities. Whenever the conversation turns to movies I’m automatically enraptured. I love movies, if that wasn’t obvious already.
2. Birthday planning. The best part wasn’t making a paper chain. It was buying cool looking food at Trader Joe’s to try it out for my birthday. We got sparkling pink lemonade and kettle corn packaged in beautiful “vintage” packaging. Delicious and pretty. This party is moving away from a theme, but I hope it will just be fun and happy.
3. Directing. This week and all of “preproduction” for my stopmotion has been hell. I’ve been worried and there have been times when I really felt it would fall through, but at the same time I enjoyed the challenges and finding solutions. Never has problem-solving been so welcomed in my mind, maybe because they usually come in the form of word problems.
4. Digging. Rather, shoveling. There’s something liberating about loosening dirt.
5. Sean Connery. I saw “Cuba” today. Needless to say, I wasn’t watching so much as listening to his awesome accent. Have a seat! You can do so!
6. &. The ampersand is fun to draw. And it’s pretty. Although mine tend to look more like treble clefs.
Whell. I’ll try to post again soon. Hang in there & have a great summer!
Filed under: Happiness is a Warm Gun | Tags: Audrey Hepburn, Bear in the Big Blue House, Benjamin Franklin, Big Bang Theory, book, Bryan Burroughs, Christian, Colm Wilkinson, concert, convention, cookies and cream, creative, disguise, Drink With Me, Enjolras, Evita, flowers, gift, girl, God, Grantaire, happiness, High Flying Adored, ice cream, Johnny Depp, lego, les miserables, long hair, love, midnight, murder, musicals, On the Road, pack-rat, passion, pee, pen, plastic, profound, Public Enemies, reenactment, robbery, scooter, short hair, shoulder-lenght, silly, soap opera, split ends, style, Sweeney Todd, vanilla, words, wrapping
Good morning for most of you. Enjoy your breakfast, or enjoy it as it digests. This week’s happiness was a lot calmer, and I really had to dig to find some of them because they were so subtle. But here they are.
1. One-man musical reenactments. You can’t help but feel ridiculous, but that’s where the excitement comes from. It’s more fun with an audience. I recommend “Drink With Me” from “Les Miserables”. There’s a great moment between Enjolras and Grantaire in the Concert version – watch that on Youtube first – and another great moment where the women echo the men. “Sweeney Todd” is also great because of the rage. “High Flying Adored” from “Evita” always makes me giggle, mostly because I’ve only seen Colm Wilkinson’s rendition of it and it is creepy.
2. Long hair, how I’ve missed thee. Actually not so much. I’ve been enjoying my short hair, but I’d like to have long hair again by September. And not average shoulder-length hair either. I want it halfway down my back, although I doubt it will happen because I always get split ends.
3. Silly disguise glasses. The kind that comes with a stinky plastic nose.
4. Audrey Hepburn. She says the cutest, yet most profound things. Her words are always inspiring and yet they make you feel like such a girl. At the same time, I am just now appreciating her style – but I think I will remain just an appreciator.
5. Flowers. My dad was lecturing this week and it was longwinded as always. I looked out the car window so I could roll my eyes and not incur another lecture, but instead I saw row upon row of little white flowers swaying in the wind. And everything brightened up again.
6. God. Yes, I did go to a Christian convention this week (which also made me happy), and I don’t want to sound too preachy on here, but more than ever I know that he loves me more than I could ever imagine. Like when you say “I love you this much” but times a bajimizillion. And the thing is, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done or whether or not you conform to what most Christians say is right. He loves unconditionally.
7. “Bear in the Big Blue House”. I’ll never forget that episode where Scooter? the blue mouse had to go pee really badly but he wouldn’t because he thought Bear would cheat in the chess game. Reminded me of how earlier this week my sister had to go badly, held it for several hours, and in the end didn’t make it out of the car.
8. LEGO soap operas. I don’t play with LEGOs like a normal person – building impressive structures and figures. I make a blueprint-style house and I play in it, in the same way little girls play with Barbies. I still do this. Currently, there is a cast of six men. They share one thing in common: their obsession with LaQuisha Jones, the Women’s Wrestling League Champion. Of course this is all fiction. My sisters have told me it is akin to “The Big Bang Theory”, except that instead of nerds they are a mix of disabilities and love for food. For some reason, wittier lines come out during LEGO soap opera time than when I’m sitting at my computer trying to write a screenplay.
9. Public Enemies by Bryan Burroughs. The book is very readable. I’ve enjoyed it a lot, and while sometimes it’s difficult to keep track of everything it’s really changed my perspective on the world. Whenever I see something on the news about a robbery or a murder – I don’t know what it is, but something is different. I put down On the Road for this. Not that that’s the entire reason, but still, I did weigh between the two and found that I’d rather read Public Enemies, and not because of six degrees of Johnny Depp at all.
10. Being up at midnight with the family. I hadn’t noticed that it was already 12:30. But here we are eating dinner, and it’s so warm and festive inside while so dark and cold outside. I love this. I wish right now would go on forever. But at the same time not, because there’s so much to explore elsewhere.
11. Conventions. As I mentioned before, I was at a Christian convention this week. The combination of a shared passion, passionate & charismatic speakers, and intense immersion in something made me really happy. I feel like my life’s been reboosted, haha.
12. A well-wrapped gift. I finally was able to give Sibyl a thank-you gift for helping me out with job shadowing. It was hell while I was figuring out the right combination of colors and the right gift, but I was so proud to hand the finished product to her.
13. Creative people. You guys make me feel not alone in my pack-ratting. Because today as I was cleaning I realized that I keep a lot of papers, and most of them only have a few lines scribbled down. Yet I treasure them. So when I see all those pictures of designers’ and writers’ homes, I know it’s a shared trait.
Won’t keep you much longer – you’ve got work and other things to do, and I’ve got sleep to catch up on. In just a few hours it will be the day my dad and sisters leave for Taiwan – won’t see them for two months!, and my buddies come over for fun time. Just realized I haven’t finalized filming dates. Oh well. Good night, good morning, whatever it is for you. Have a great day!
Oh yes, one more that I’ve just realized. Scratchy pens. The sound makes me feel like Benjamin Franklin, even if I’m only writing “sunday june 19 – scene 1, last scene?” or “bread, milk, chocolate ice cream.” Personally I prefer vanilla – so many possibilities from a blank slate. But I am learning to love cookies and cream too. Really now, get on with your life. I’ll be back later.
Filed under: Happiness is a Warm Gun, Uncategorized | Tags: Annenburg Space for Photography, art, books, city, civilization, Desiderata, fun, greatness, happiness, Jack Sparrow, LA Film Festival, Max Ehrmann, monopoly, nature, office, people, photographs, poetry, pointless, quotes, Westwood
I missed my happiness post this week, and maybe last week too? I can’t remember, but no matter!
1. Reading poetry out loud. Maybe it’s the elitist in me, but I love that I know the “correct” way to read poetry – which is nothing really, just following the punctuation rather than line division. It really helps when you’re trying to figure out the meaning of the poem. Whatever, it’s really beautiful either way. Try it, with this poem that is tattooed on one of the Jack Sparrow’s back in Davy Jones’ Locker.
It’s long, so savor the happiness.
Desiderata, by Max Ehrmann in the 1920’s.
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
2. People. Sometimes I’m holed up by myself, wallowing in misery, and the idea of being around other people is as attractive as eating a slug wrapped in the skin of a raccoon. The thing is, people always do something that makes me lift my head up again. I’d like to add something that I told Miya today, when she was feeling down. First she said “I feel like nothing I do will ever amount to anything.” I said, “I think that even if someone doesn’t do anything great they’ve been a part of so who is great’s life and thus they have contributed to greatness.” There are quotes about going out and doing things, quotes about keeping your head high and not caring about what others think, quotes about being yourself. But where are the quotes for when you feel like life is useless, a feeling that I know a lot of people get. That summarized eighth grade for me. Oh, wow. I had forgotten about eighth grade until this moment.
3. Books. I have more time to enjoy them now. Books hold so much. Everything they say is true, you could experience the world through a book – but it’s always better to live it for yourself. Still, they have the power to inspire you to go out and live what you see.
4. Photographs. I went to the Annenburg Space for Photography Saturday and I realized that in some ways photography is more beautiful than film. In other ways film is more beautiful than poetry – of course, and film may be more of my medium than photography is. The same goes with prose and poetry, photography and painting. But the silence of photography, and the stillness of it – it’s somewhat breathtaking. Portraits are my favorite – someone’s face, whether you know who they are or not, staring back at you for eternity. And you wonder what was happening in that moment, and what was going through their minds. What made them cry, or smile, or react in that way? Portraits make people vulnerable.
5. Days “out on the town” with your friends. Saturday was jam-packed with things to do, and it was just exciting to hang out with friends in the city. It’s not exciting in Cerritos, but Westwood during the LA Film Fest was a lot of fun. Even not during the Film Fest.
6. Shorts. I live in them now.
7. Nature. I never appreciated nature before, it was always something manmade that held my attention. But nature is so much more beautiful than anything we could create, perhaps with the exception of the office buildings where the Annenburg Space for Photography and my internship coordinator’s office is. That place was breathtaking – a grassy picnic area surrounded by three glass towers hundreds of feet tall. I’d love to work there, perhaps. Anyway, nature is just really complex and recently I’ve been imagining what our world looked like before we came and did whatever we did to it. Whenever I see a glimpse of nature surrounded by civilization, like that puddle (literally) of wetland I found at Huntington Beach yesterday, I clone it all over in my head and see what it used to be.
That’s all for this week. I’ve got to go play Monopoly with my sisters now.
Filed under: Happiness is a Warm Gun, Uncategorized | Tags: Anna-Sophia Robb, architecture, bicycles, Bob Dylan, classic, clothing, color, Continuum, elitist, Everywhere, happiness, John Mayer, Johnny Depp, Kool-Aid, Life in Cartoon Motion, Michelle Branch, Mika, mountains, Mr. Tambourine Man, old movie posters, old music, passion, pattern, people, poetry, Saorse Ronan, sleep, Tang, texture, the Beatles, The Horseman on the Roof, Vanity Fair July 09, wilderness
Things that happified me this week are as follows.
1. Poetry – A few well-written poems in English class and the Earl of Rochester’s “Satyr on Mankind” have kindled my newfound like for poetry. I will admit that I did read the “Satyr on Mankind” because of Johnny Depp – but only because I was on a fansite and it was on someone’s signature. It really intrigued me, so I read the whole thing. I doubt I could ever produce good poetry, though. Has anyone seen my poetry landfill? I always forgo meaning and symbolism for a cheap rhyme.
2. Vanity Fair July 09 – Yes, it was Johnny Depp on the cover, but that’s never really been enough to excite me about a magazine. It was the nature of this shoot and what it sort of showed that makes me so happy. The fact that Johnny Depp allowed Douglas Brinkley onto his private island shows that he’s finally really happy in life, and comfortable with his celebrity. Even though I hopped onto the bandwagon fifteen years into his career, I’ve seen a lot of changes. As weird as the following example sounds, it’s like watching my sisters as they grow up. And it’s like watching my parents as they grow old and bitter. Aside from that, the photos were some of the most playful and relaxed I’ve seen him in pictures. With this issue of Vanity Fair, Johnny Depp became even cooler than before. And I can really admire him now, because he’s gotten rid of a lot of the negativity that made me limit my admiration to his acting. It’s great when you can admire someone as opposed to knowing every detail of their lives, that is, obsessing.
3. People – Not the magazine, but almost everyone I’ve encountered. I’m still working on not being angered by a few people, but for the most part I’m not resentful toward anyone anymore. Even the “popular kids”, I see them as regular human beings. They’re flawed, but some of them are very intelligent, or diligent, or whatever it is. They all have some redeeming quality. In 7th grade, people would tell me that we would grow closer as a class, and I never saw that happening. But now I get it, everyone matures and realizes that we are all one group, and we face everything together. Can you tell I’m refraining from saying “we’re all in this together”? I don’t feel a barrier between me or anyone else in my class, because I’m just as cool as they are, if not more. This is where elitism The people at my church, they’re amazing too. They’re the coolest people on the planet, they’ve got their priorities straight, and yet they do all this without ever uttering a cuss word. And they don’t judge you. Yeah, I know they’re not as perfect as I’m describing them, but the best part is that we’re all striving toward these things. Still, they are the coolest. I also love my PE buddies, for being my idea dumping ground. Especially Miya – and I told her this was coming – but she is so open to everything I say. It’s nice to have that there so that my ideas don’t die before they leave the ground. Miya, I can’t wait for our picnic on Wednesday. I’m a little nervous, but excited nonetheless. Also, there’s no ham or turkey at my house. I may have to end up bringing chips.
4. Bicycles – This is not a double entendre regarding Sushi. I really wish Cerritos had one of those rent-a-bicycle machines. It would make getting around much easier. Again, not a double entendre. Sadly, though our city is rich, it is not a major metropolitan area and such an idea would most probably get shot down. Until then, I can only work with haste toward my driver’s license.
5. Old movie posters – They are so beautiful because of the rich colors and the fact that they are not photographs. I’d love to see a PotC poster in a classic style. Good god, I’d love to see all my favorite movies in that style.
6. Passion – You always read about how “men like a woman who is passionate about something else.” I always thought, “Whell then.” But now I really do have something I’m passionate about – film, and it practically reeks off of me, if you consider the fact that the one thing that everyone who meets me says is that they can see I really love the art of filmmaking. Being passionate about something feels good. It gives me something else to look forward to instead of boys and looking nice. I think being a teenager with passion really sets you apart from your peers – and that’s great. It makes you want to yell to everyone else to go after their dreams too, but then you realize that if they do and they fail, it will be all your fault. I have a friend who is clearly naturally artistic – but she doesn’t know what she wants to do. The careers she comes up with are beyond boring – stock broker, pediatrician, etc. I felt sleepy just thinking about doing that for the rest of my life. I want to knock on her skull and say, “Hello? Have you ever considered art?” But I don’t want her to be a starving artist either.
7. Old music – This can be old as in the early 1900’s or old as in from a couple years ago. I recently heard “Everywhere” by Michelle Branch, and forgive me if you are a music snob – but I certainly wasn’t when I was 11, which was when I first heard that song. If it thrilled me, I listened to it. Another old one I heard is even younger, “Heart of Life” from John Mayer’s Continuum album. It brought me back to middle school, when I had just gotten it from MSN for free onto Windows Media Player (along with MIKA’s Life in Cartoon Motion ) and I was up at four in the morning slaving over homework and reading bad fanfiction. Listening to Vanessa Paradis brings me back to the same time. Then again, I really love the Beatles right now, and I’m looking forward to finding some even older music. I also love “Mr. Tambourine Man” by Bob Dylan.
8. Sleep – It feels good. That is all.
9. People who think they’re in the loop – It caters to my inner elitist. What can I say? I love bringing up obscure movies in front of these people and watching them flounder. Nobody’s perfect. I’m gonna work it. See?
10. Deviled Eggs – Thanks, Miya, for reminding me how much I loved eating these things. They’re delicious, how could anyone ever say no to them?
11. Having ice cream in one’s house – It’s great being able to eat ice cream whenever you want. Especially during this schizophrenic weather.
12. Living right beneath the mountains – I went to the Santa Anita mall, and I looked up and the mountains were practically on top of me. It was really beautiful – they were dark and mysterious, and I was sure that they were miles away, and yet they were right there. I imagined myself in the past, when all of California, if not the entire world, was wilderness. And I was riding my horse toward the mountains. That’s when I realized how much I appreciated “The Horseman on the Roof”. We need more movies that take us back to the wilderness. In my utopia, everything would be as in the past – classic architecture, wilderness, but the current equality of people that we have now. I don’t find a beach as beautiful as the wilderness of the mountains and forests.
13. Clothing with texture – I used to think I loved bright colors, but like years before that was just a phase to try to be like my favorite celebrities. Not the case now, because I find myself drawn to patterns and embroidery. I’d still love to have many different colors in my clothing, but more than that I’d love different textures and patterns.
14. Saorse Ronan – She’s in a lot of stuff lately, and while I know that like Anna-Sophia Robb she will probably do something to annoy me in the future, I’m really happy for her success.
15. Tang and Kool-Aid – Didn’t we all grow up drinking this, begging our parents to buy us the plastic Kool-Aid bottles that you had to twist open?
Sho, those are 15 things that made my week. Methinks this will be back every Sunday now.
