Filed under: sweet dreams are made of this | Tags: Alfred Hitchcock, Arizona Dream, childish, college, dances, death, dream, dreams, fans, financial problems, friends, fun, James Dean, Jerry, Johnny Depp, limits, Miya, money, movies, old, premiere, Public Enemies, raven, reality, road trip, routine, sleep, teenage, theme parks, travel
Okay, enough with the “Alice in Wonderland” thing for right now.
Yesterday, in addition to getting a startling number of views, was the “Public Enemies” premiere. Which I had been planning to go to, but last minute Miya said she couldn’t go. There was no way my dad would let me go alone, so home I stayed. I experienced the premiere through twitter, how revolutionary and exciting. Eventually I ran around my backyard like someone who is mentally ill. My sisters found me and weren’t very comforting. Somehow this led to a game of “cops and robbers”. More like, people trying to be stealthy as they run around the house. It was fun though. Definitely took my mind off the premiere.
Why am I freaking out so much? I guess it’s left over residue from my extreme obsession, during which I also managed to miss every event, even if invited. But on top of that I don’t want to keep passing up these opportunities to see Johnny Depp (and even more than that Jerry, his cool bodyguard) until KABLAMMM they’re both gone and I’m one of those mothers who point at old movies and tell their children, “Oh look! It’s Johnny Depp! He was such a great actor!”
To which their children nod but don’t really believe. How sad.
Or, when Miya and I fulfill our lifelong dream regarding the road trip and a certain “Arizona Dream”. But that would be sad as well, befriending Johnny Depp at the end of his life to bury him in a field of corn in Arizona so he can say “This has been…my Arizona dream.” Oh well. I’m sure the opportunity will come. In any case, I really appreciate that Johnny returned to talk to both sides of the line – he really appreciates his fans.
Anyway, running around like a maniac last night was a lot of fun. That is what life should be, but of course it isn’t. Is it just a phase or am I really someone who wouldn’t be happy with a 9-5 job? Who is happy with a routine? Then again, sometimes I worry about ending up struggling for a living, because I’ve experienced – as we all are right now – financial hardship, and it is like a shackle around your foot. How am I supposed to take summer college programs when they all cost thousands of dollars? How can I experience life, when sadly, money really does make the world go round. I can take joy in small pleasures, but there are some things – like traveling and learning, that cost money.
Perhaps the worst time to not have money is when you’re a teenager. It’s the perfect time to go out and experience a bajillion things. I’ve got college looming ahead like a fatteh cliff. Everything is so optimistic and ideal, ideas pouring out of my brain. And yet I’m limited because my parents are low on money.
In addition to that, there are dances and movies and theme parks to go to with my friends, activities that don’t rank high on my priority list but they are my friends, and I do want to spend time with them.
Teenage years are the time of your life when dreams struggle against reality. Goodness, that was deep.
My sisters are pressuring me to play Clue. Sayonara, Japanese goodbye.
EDIT: Last night I had this Hitchcockian dream, which started out as a fatteh food fest. Anyway, James Dean was in it, and he was being a loner weirdo, but actually he turned out to be a creepy evil man. He called this girl and freaked her out with weird questions, and then she screamed. That scream was ungodly. Then he said something again, and she screamed again and again, but at the wrong times. That’s when I started to realize something was going wrong, and I kind of faded back to reality, when I realized it was some fatteh raven outside going “Caw caw caw caw!” Four times exactly each, and he went on like that for ten minutes. Apparently Shannon heard it in her sleep too, because she slammed her window shut. Twas weird.
Gah…have to go play Clue.
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: Uncategorized | Tags: angry asian man, books, bus, camera, camping, Canada, celebrity, Edward Scissorhands, feature film, fevers, French, friends, fun, funeral, garden party, grades, Harry Potter, idealism, Jack Kerouac, jacket, Johnny Depp, knight, love, Medieval Times, movies, nature, optimism, parents, Pirates of the Caribbean, schedule, sisters, stress, suburbs, summer, Taiwan, talent, The Perfect Storm, The Road, Tim Burton, trip
My brain feels like it’s being wrenched inside my skull. Why is the end of the school year such a rush?
I love my parents. Of course as I grow older I start disagreeing with them on many things, but whether that is just a phase of life or a permanent thing is yet to be seen. I say “old and bitter” because that’s what it seems like, sadly. Maybe when I was little I just wore rose-colored glasses, but I do think they were happier than they are now. As a young person I’m full of optimism and all of that, so I’m determined to be happy. Get back to me in fifteen years and we’ll see.
MUSIC – I get the feeling you just turned fifteen. I’m a bit ahead of you, but if you want to round almost an entire year, then yes, we are currently the same number. My sixteenth birthday’s in August. Holy god, I’m more than halfway to thirty.
Remember when I was going on about how I wanted to do everything in the world? It’s too much now, because I’m trying to cram all these experiences into the next few years. Starting a new club about making life an adventure in a school where everyone is mainly focused on academics is not very encouraging. This club thing is such a dilemna – because I feel like it’s too broad. I wonder if it will succeed. But then I get the feeling that if you keep worrying and bringing up possible obstacles you’ll never even start the project.
I’d love to take a camera and go on a trip by foot throughout the city with my friends, just taking pictures.
And right now I’d even just love to kick back in a bus and take a cross-country road trip.
I think what I need now is a trip somewhere away from the city, preferably with some buddies. But I doubt that’s happening – this is not a city of teenagers who spontaneously visit a forest together. Too many safety regulations. I’d like to see what a world without so many safety regulations would be like – where people could camp at the beach without worrying about security guards telling them to move because they’ll get swept away. And if they do get swept away, so be it. Makes for more dramatic stories. There’s a reason people avoid watching “The Perfect Storm”.
PS. I know that that would be anarchy, but allow me my idealism for this moment.
All this daydreaming has made me slack off in school too. My chem grade just slipped with this last test down to a B. That means I have to get an A on the comp to bring my grade back up, which means studying hard this week. I’m resisting so much right now – but I really don’t have much choice.
I’ve also decided that I’d love a garden lunch for my birthday – if not the entire party. The more I look at it the more my backyard, however small, looks beautiful. Maybe it’s because it’s the closest to free space I’m going to get from this computer. I’ve never spent so much time staring out the window…well, maybe at my old house. But all I saw there was a wall, a tree, my Indian neighbor’s house, and occasionally a bird. I remember I saw a bluejay once, and I wrote a poem about it. Or was it a squirrel?
I do love Cerritos, it’s full of people who are different from any you would find outside, and they really take care to keep this city looking nice. It’s partially a mix of all the old white people who like to wash their vintage cars thrice a day and the Asians who wouldn’t really mess with the city for no reason. It’s an ideal suburb – but that’s exactly what’s wrong with it too. I’m pretty sure Tim Burton lived in a place like this, because he retaliated with “Edward Scissorhands”.
Sometimes I think that talented people are so modest because they really think they’re nothing special, not because it’s an act. I completely understand their denial, because people rave about my writing and I don’t see what’s so special about it. The other day my church buddy told me she was really impressed with my “Angry Asian Man” screenplay – that she had been surprised, especially since I was a fifteen-year-old who hadn’t had much exposure to scripts. I had handed to her the worst draft of “Angry Asian Man” – the one I wrote in a day because all I had was the story to get down. I was embarassed of it and determined it would never see the light of day.
If you don’t think your work is much, sometimes it is better than you think. Especially with writing and such, if you grow up like that, you never think twice about it until you see everyone else’s work. There’s always doubt, is what someone told me. And it’s true but I hate it. Although, I do think it makes for better work.
I need a good jacket – not a hoody, although that would also be nice. Maybe I should return that $30 outfit from Forever 21 and invest in some good basics.
I’ve been reinspired to write. I’m currently in the middle of my first feature-length. I don’t want to spill much, but it includes celebrity, old love, and a funeral. Sound intriguing? Old love does not mean lost love, by the way, because lost implies that they still wanted it to go on. I’m hoping that in the flashbacks the hazy polaroid-reminiscent small town feel will be captured. I’m excited for this one and I really want the script to turn out well. Who doesn’t want their screenplay to turn out well, but this one in particular. It could just be the excitement of beginning a new story. We’ll see.
I’ve also been wanting to read The Road by Jack Kerouac. Yes, yet again inspired by Johnny Depp – but it’s my own interest now. It has to be if I’m to attempt such a fat book. I haven’t read anything that thick since Harry Potter. I don’t know how I’m going to do all this though – there are only so many hours in the day, and I’m planning to get my sleeping schedule ready for next year. That means bed ideally by 9 PM and up at 6:30 AM. I have an extra class next year in the morning and I’m not looking forward to the stress of next year. Can I handle a club on top of that, and possibly work?
Who wants to go camping in my backyard? I have such summerlust right now. I hope that’s not a double entendre. Goodness, tomorrow is crazy Tuesday. Thank God. I need the break.
So, summer, now my favorite time of year. Where are you?
What are your plans? I’m hoping to plunk down with some good books and movies, go out frolicking with buddies, and make some good stuff.
Looking at some of my old Word files, it still amazes me how far I’ve come from full-on PotC fan. Yeah, I still usually know Johnny Depp’s whereabouts, but I can stand on my own now, if that makes sense. If you were to pull PotC out from under me, I wouldn’t fall over. Huzzah.
I feel like going on and on. Permit me, s’il vous plait.
That will never be a jumble of words that mean “please” anymore. It will forever be “if it pleases you (polite)”. I love French class and I hope Madame gets better.
I’d love to go rollerblading at this time of day, when it’s pitch black outside. I’d have flashing neon lights on my rollerblades and annoy the heck out of everyone like the fatteh Mexican on the dune buggy who revs by my house twice within five minutes. I wonder if I’ve lost readers because of the replacement of sarcasm by wishful thinking. I wonder if I ever had readers to begin with. Fatteh lurkers. Can’t say anything though, I am one.
Whell. My sister went to Medievel Times today. Good for her, that she went and devoured chicken like a fatteh while watching fake knights prance about below. Like in our time, some of her classmates fell in love with the knight. I think the same colored one too. I must confess, I did secretly scrutinize him as well, but he fell far short of my liking. Huzzah, because there’s no use for an eleven-year-old lusting after some old man who prances about in a green tunic on a horse who spends most of its time behind a glass window.
And both of them have fevers, which means double hand-washing for me. Hopefully they recover soon. I think Jocelyn’s okay now. When did I start referring to them by name instead of my sister and “my younger younger sister”? I wish I had somewhere to go this summer, like back to Taiwan or Canada. I say back because even though I wasn’t born there it’s still a little bit like home. I wonder if my children will feel the same?
That’s it for tonight. I’ll keep on daydreaming but I’ll keep it to myself for the rest of the night. Huzzah, see you later alligator.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: angry asian man, argument, fun, music, pigeons, SAT, school, summer
MUSIC: What do you call little kids who sit down at a piano and start playing tunes that they’ve heard, without taking lessons? Just curious, because it’s a common scenario.
I don’t think that I’ve stopped being good at violin, just that something was lost during those four years. I used that because it’s really been the biggest thing that’s happened to me. Pathetic, but I think we should put the topic to rest, or it’s going to turn into an Internet showdown, and I hate those things.
As to your questions, I just got them a couple days ago. “Out in the open” means I’m pretty honest with my dad that I have a blog, rather than alluding to it. Yes, that’s my name. Yes, I’m Asian. Yes, I’m probably the same age as you. And yes – just kidding. No. Because if you were a 55 year-old creepy man and I were the same age as you I’d be a 55 year-old creepy man.
We now return to our usual broadcast.
I have never been so excited for summer, I’ve usually been indifferent to it. That’s a shame, because I only have two really free summers left, and this is one of them. There’s so much I’ve suddenly realized I want to do and what with SATs and such taking up my summers, that’s a bummer. Huzzah, I’ve rhymed.
Still, school’s almost over and we’ll have fun. I’d still love to make “Angry Asian Man”. Twould be fun and an awesome experience.
There are pigeons in our roof and their eggs just hatched. The sounds above our heads are driving us crazy, especially my dad. I could here the babies going “EEEEH EEEEEHHHH EEEEEEEHHH” And now there are these claw sounds like their learning to walk or something. It’s really annoying, and really, just think of all the germs.
I’m going to cut this post short so I can start working on what will hopefully be a weekly feature.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: anger, angry asian man, banquet, big girl, blog, chinese, cuisine, cultural differences, Dr. Frank, driving, Final Cut Pro, fun, Ghost Town, girls, happiness, ignorance, King Kong, LA, languages, laptop, life, Lyle the Crocodile, mid-life crisis, music, old movie posters, PC, prodigy, record, Ricky Gervaise, stop-motion, the Cowardly Lion, The Wizard of Oz, violin
I won’t hide the fact that as I read MUSIC’s comment my heart rate increased dramatically and I had to take a few deep breaths. I actually tried to find my happy place, an activity I believed only existed in mediocre romantic comedies. The good news is, I found it.
I will say that the point of sharing that part of my past wasn’t for telling the world I was a really good violin player. The heart of that post, in my opinion, is the part about how no one is willing to believe that great things are happening around them. And not just in my case.
I do realize how extreme the word “prodigy” is. I use it lightly, as I do fatteh, ugly, and poop. As I was typing, I paused before putting that down – but I get slightly emotional when I think about violin – as pathetic as that sounds, and decided to go through with it anyway.
It’s gotten better, though. Before I thought that I had pretty much wasted my life – bear with my former self here – because I had been given a talent and, well you know the story. I don’t pretend that I’m the only one in this situation, or the only one given musical ability. But the reason for my premature mid-life crisis was that I didn’t really have any other purpose in life – I was still looking for things. If you’ve been following for the past month or so, you’ll know I’ve found something, if not it.
That still didn’t give my friends the right to roll their eyes at my then mid-life crisis. When you’re watching from the outside everything is belittled. Knowing that, I try to see things from the bereaved person’s perspective – maintaining a balance, so to speak. And it doesn’t give them the right to crack jokes about my behavior then either. What someone did in the past is laced with ignorance – because hindsight and all that. They may know they were stupid, but – well, there’s just something very rude about making fun of it.
Back to the happy. We – HOLY GOD IS THAT “BIG GIRL” ON THE TV NO DONT CHANGE THE MUSIC DAMMIT
A human stop-motion is in the works for this summer, and it’s a lot more plausible than “Angry Asian Man” and other stop-motion ideas I’ve had. Once I talk to my buddy, we’ll see if “Angry Asian Man” is happening this summer. I’m pretty sure of the human stop-motion though. It’s for a teenage cast, and it doesn’t take itself as seriously as “Angry Asian Man”.
We’ll be asking people to be in it starting Monday.
EDIT: We left the house – another false start for the San Diego Zoo.
Anyway, it’s pretty much out in the open that I have a blog now. I hope Fatherman isn’t looking for it. He asked me what was on my blog and presented the story of a Taiwanese girl whose blog won awards for its photos of Taiwanese farmers.
My blog – doesn’t have a point. I don’t really want to have a point, but I’d like for it to be more than just my day-t0-day events. Which is why I try to share my thoughts rather than what happens to me that day. Would you rather it have a point or to go on like this…I don’t know, myself. I think I’d feel restricted if I could only talk about food, or furniture.
Although this is my only record of my life, and for posterity there are some mundane things I can’t leave out.
Last night was the Journalism internship banquet. Being with a group of girls and just letting go, having fun – that was really great. I sort of liked the relative anonymity. They know nothing of my old personality, so I could just start over and be a real girl. Sounds weird, but I’m rather reserved about letting my feminine side shine through. It’s a stigma, I think, that a lot of little girls have to deal with. Because every tells them not to be such a girly girl and suck it up.
Permit me to rant a little here – I just finished watching “Ghost Town”, and while overall an ordinary movie, meaning it wasn’t extraordinary, there was just one part that was a bit unbearable for me to watch. Don’t tell me it’s just a joke, or that I’m overreacting. The part where Ricky Gervais makes fun of the Chinese because we have funny names. He tries to justify it by saying it’s not about our faces, but it still reeks of ignorance. Everyone has different languages, and we should respect that by recognizing that things may sound funny – but it means something else, and to a large group of people it makes perfect sense. I’m not usually one to nitpick about racism or whatever. For the most part, I ignore racist jokes because it’s really not worth my time. And I don’t know why this time it mattered, it just really bothered me. I was squirming in my seat, disgusted.
DR. FRANK IS ON TV MIYA LOOK NOW LOOK NOW
I loathe Chinese buffets. And I am only slightly annoyed at the people who go there for the orange chicken and fortune cookies only. Like the couple who exchanged the following conversation today:
Girl: I saw people eating crab legs!
Boy: Ugh.
Thank you, American couple. Thank you for that enlightening insight. I really don’t know what to say to that. I can’t call it ignorance, because then I wouldn’t be any better than Ricky Gervais in “Ghost Town”. I wanted to pick up a crab leg and tear into before their faces, saying, “Mmmm. Yummy.” But sometimes I think that Western cuisine, while good to eat, really pales in comparison to Eastern cuisine. When I want something complicated and a mix of tastes in my mouth, I go for Asian food. When I want just plain good, I go for steak and mashed potatoes.
Today I realized I wouldn’t mind having an old movie poster in my room. A classic would be preferred, just for their aesthetic. I saw a couple today in K-Mart, but only King Kong, which was cool to look at but terrifying, and The Wizard of Oz, which I was terrified of as a child. The Cowardly Lion still strikes fear into my heart. I once made my family change hotel rooms at MGM because there was a “Wizard of Oz” theme going on.
I don’t really have much more to say at the moment. I haven’t been following my favorite blogs lately because I don’t want to risk letting another virus loose on my dad’s laptop. I really want a laptop of my own. Then again, I really want to learn Final Cut Pro – it’s the industry standard – but my dad insists on getting a PC first.
As my activities get more and more hectic, I realize the need for the ability to drive. I need it now – or my dad’s never going to get a moment of rest. But I’m going to miss driving an hour with him to LA every week – and falling asleep for half the drive.
Whell then. How many times have I ended a post awkwardly? Almost every time. Huzzah, goodbye. See you later, Alligator. I want to read Lyle the Crocodile.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: adult, beauty, Cerritos College, children, deep, Ernest, film festival, fish, fun, grapes, group project, happiness, interview, Japanese game show, Johnny Depp, Karate Tetherball Girl, literature, love life, movie, MTV Movie Awards, nicknames, optimism, orchestra, PMS, Public Enemies, screenplay, screenplays, summer, superpower, Sushi, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Wife of Bath's Tale, thoughts, Vanity Fair, What Women Want, writing
Hold tight, Ernest will be back sometime this weekend.
My sister’s fish went through some sort of mysterious trauma yesterday and now they’re always hiding. It’s hilarious, really, when they all huddle under the filter and try to stealthily swim to the other side of the tank. When you scatter food they hide until one of them gets the courage to dart and nip at the food. Very stealthy, except that as a human, I can see all.
We’re down to six fish, and one of the silver ones tried to eat the last corpse. Silly fish, you’re such a fatteh.
Today was a lot of fun, because I didn’t go to school for half the day. I was at Cerritos College taking the assessment test and enrolling in Psych 101. Now that that’s done with, I’m almost finished with all my summer preparations. Huzzah.
It was also the last orchestra rehearsal of this school year. I’m happy, of course, because orchestra tends to smack you in the face Monday morning, but I think I am going to miss it.
I just slaved away on a group project by myself. It’s been a while since that’s happened, but aside from a twinge of annoyance as I copied an excerpt of “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” paragraph by paragraph, I welcome my group’s unreliability. For one, I’ve been happy for way too long. And I don’t mean this in a sadistic self-harming way, but that I wanted my happiness to be challenged. I wanted to know whether it was the circumstances around me or a real change in my personality that caused my incessant optimism. The only exception to my optimism is around PMS time, when, like clockwork, I get snappy at everyone.
And now that the final draft is finished, I love the way it looks. I love putting together packets like this, the ones that are like written ready-made missions for fourth graders. And what’s nice is that all the while I kept thinking, “This isn’t so bad,” rather than “I hate this. I hate this. I hate this.”
But enough of that. My sister’s computer was down for a while last night and I thought maybe I had lost half of my screenplays. Tomorrow night’s the Whitney Film Festival and I’m debating whether or not to go. It really depends on the amount of homework I have, as everything does. I can’t wait until summer. I’m really hoping this doesn’t end up a wasted summer, because how many more of these will I get? After I graduate high school it will pretty much be all work and little play.
I love how vague we all are on our blogs. Heck, I don’t even reveal my real name on here. Of course, I respond to Grapes in real life, and actually my real name sounds really strange to me, but still. For me, I have to really trust someone before I put their real names on my blog. As for Sushi, I’m just scared one day her Indian family will sue me for the blasphemous things I say about her love life. Not that it isn’t true, everything that she’s done. Like date James Bond and Chiranjeevi.
I like having the nicknames though. Like KarateTetherballGirl. It’s fairly obvious who she is but it sounds like a minor character in an indie movie or a “young adult” novel. God, I hate young adult novels. I like children’s literature, and I like adult literature. Not…”adult literature”. I mean like, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy sort of stuff, not Wild Nights in Williamsburg With Sushi. Good god.
I was just thinking in the shower, not about little Japanese game show boys this time, but about being able to hear other people’s thoughts. Then, just as I was about to get all happy about this new imagined superpower, “What Women Want” popped into my head, as it often does when I wish I could hear people’s thoughts. Stupid movie, it never knows to knock before entering.
I imagine that it would be irritating though, having to wade through “That woman, she’s so beautiful. What a divine goddess. What’s her name? Sushi? Oh, nevermind how it sounds. She’s perfect. Look at those curves.” And so on.
I’m trying to get back to writing stuff other than screenplays. Of course I’ll still be working on scripts, but I think it’ll be nice to stick with some traditional writing as well.
With that, I’ll leave you before I get too profound and deep. I know too much of that tends to get irritating.
Meanwhile, Johnny Depp has appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair, I think the first magazine cover he’s done in a while that isn’t a “Public Enemies” still, and there’s also that clip of “Public Enemies” from the MTV Movie Awards yesterday. First interview he’s done in a while too.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 50's housewife, A Chair for My Mother, actor, amazing, angry asian man, APHG, art, banquet, bees, books, classical music, cool, culture shock, Danny Boyle, director, drama, dressing room, Everyday Lessons, film festival, fish, Forever 21, French, friends, fun, happiness, independent movie, India, interpretive dance, interview, ironing, Keira Knightley, life, magazine, magical, Miya, msn, Nobu, Outsourced, people, personal stories, Phineas and Ferb, Reading Rainbow, shopping, split personality, stick up ass, stop-motion, stuck up, The Duchess, The World is Flat, ugly, ugly flower prints, Vera B. Williams, William Turner, yoga
Whilst shopping with Miya and Nobu Saturday – fun but we got almost nothing done regarding our AP Human project – I suddenly felt like listing things that make me happy on my blog. I know, I’ve done this before, but that list was definitely incomplete. Here are a few more things that have recently made me happy.
1. Ironing. Goodness this is one thing that makes me want to become a 50’s housewife, women’s rights or not. Actually, if I actually think that statement through there is something seriously wrong with it. Ironing caters to my OCD and my love of spraying water with my fingers.
2. Ugly flower prints. I saw plenty of these at Forever 21, and it was while I gazed at Miya punching a mannequin’s ugly flower-print skirt-covered plastic behind when I realized where my desire for an ugly floral armchair comes from. When I was little I read a picture book about a girl whose family goes shopping for a new armchair. They finally settle on this red rose-patterned ugly thing, and her mother loves it. I think they were Mexican. Does anyone recognize this?
Speaking of books that have escaped my memory, has anyone read a book about bees? Not The Secret Life of Bees, but in this book the bees are the characters, like they have conversations and stuff. I read it after waking up from a nasty nightmare.
Oh! I googled it. It’s called A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams. I remember always thinking, “God. Is that Vera B. Williams again? She writes every picture book from ‘Reading Rainbow’”.
Dang, there are all these books I have forgotten.
3. Trying on the ugliest clothes in the store for fun. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures. Most people go to Windsor with their friends and try on the most elaborate, beautiful dresses. I tried on a grayish fish-smelling maxi dress, strapless blue gingham dress, zebra-print electric blue swim shorts, a denim jumper, and a rainbow plaid skirt. Good god.
4. Magazines. When a magazine page is made well, I actually get excited to read it.
5. Interpretive dances set to classical music. It makes for a very humorous scene, at the very least. It’s also a great workout.
6. Pretending you’re going to wake up early tomorrow and do yoga. Makes one feel accomplished. Gives one the feeling of being hip. You don’t say…
7. Meeting someone who is just amazing. Not a guy, but when you meet a new friend or when you look at your friends and realize they are amazing people, it’s makes you happy and want to hang out with them even more.
Gosh, these explanations are getting shorter and shorter. I’ll just stop here since I’m grasping for ideas now. Let’s skip ahead to tonight’s French Club Banquet. I had some fun, but some stuff happened that gave me things to complain about here.
One thing that irks me about some people is their split personalities. They are, in a sense, bipolar. Not actually, but some days they’re your best friend and others they are just real fattehs. Please, I’d rather you make up your mind.
We were sitting at the same table as KarateTetherballGirl and eventually we became too uncool for her attention. And she turned to the one person who would happily gossip with her about her “drama-filled” life. She seemed really thrilled to have drama in her life. Really thrilled, because she said so herself in a very awe-filled voice.
One thing I couldn’t understand was how talking about everyone you know is more fun than making gay “Twilight” references and laughing about forgetting your parent’s anniversaries.
Another thing that irks me is when people have sticks up their asses. There are three types of stickuptheirass people. The first is like William Turner, and I’ve yet to meet another like him. Since he’s fictional I never really get annoyed at him. Yeah, I yell at the screen but I’m never annoyed from the gut. I don’t know if this makes sense. The next kind is like – what was her pseudonym – my French class partner. Where they never really learned to let go and have fun. And they’re hesitant but sometimes you can have a lot of fun saying the most ridiculous things around them. The last kind is like KarateTetherballGirl. The kind who goes through life doing a lot of looking at people and then turning back to their buddy and saying, “Anyway…” or “Okay…”
The ones who savor being “the only sane ones at the table”. The ones who wouldn’t have fun if you dropped them in a field with their friends.
I take that back. They’d have fun sitting in the corner and talking about the guys at school. And no one would stop them from being put in the corner.
She was mad because one of her friends couldn’t make it to the banquet. Get over it and have fun with the people who are there, even if you don’t know them. Why not get to know them?
Enough bitterness. I had fun nonetheless. That rhymes a little bit. The food was delicious and just the right amount, so I’m content.
For MUSIC, here’s your Angry Asian Man update. It’s in limbo right now. In my head, being contemplated every day. If it doesn’t work out, I’m also planning a stop-motion. If it’s not made this summer, it will be made next year. Chances are it’s this summer.
Last night I watched “Outsourced”, which was like The World is Flat transcribed into dialogue while stuff happens to a white guy in India to demonstrate culture shock. It was a very obvious independent movie. I’m guessing it’s a debut film.
I also saw “The Duchess”, on which I have no thoughts except that I read the script during Oscar season and there’s a reason I don’t like watching movies with my mom sometimes. “Yuck! Is this movie for children? Yuck! Don’t look! You’re peeking!” Yes, Mother, because I like watching Keira Knightley’s bony back twist about in candlelight. Whatever you believe about whether she’s anorexic or not, one cannot deny the bonyness of her back.
Ooh. I just read this on MSN. “Everyday Lessons”.
“Watch all the movies by one actor or director
If you love movies, have your own personal film festival. Rent all the movies created by one director or about a place or that showcases one actress you love. Become an expert on the things you love.”
I guess I’m on my way to enjoying my life.
The creators of “Phineas and Ferb” said this:
“One thing I’d love to teach children is the fact that there is no right or wrong way to draw. Draw what makes you happy and never worry about somebody saying, ‘Oh, that isn’t a good drawing.’ There are so many, infinite drawing styles out there. Your work doesn’t have to look like it’s straight out of a comic book or straight out of an art book. As long as you’re expressing yourself and you’re getting a reaction, then that’s good.”
My Danny Boyle drawings are good. Hahaha.
I’d love to go interview everyone in the world right now. I’m sure everyone’s got something interesting to say. I used to hate personal stories because I thought they weren’t as magical as fiction. What a fatteh.
Whell then. Sayonara, Japanese goodbye. My sisters’ fish count is down to six.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 1950's, 3D, Alice in Wonderland, birthday, critics, eloquence, emo, Ernest, feature film, fun, grapes, insteant messaging, l33t, lipgloss stain, Mika, movies, one years old, paper bag, psycho, school, script, Simple Plan, Six Degrees, Songs For Sorrow EP, teen angst, Tim Burton, website
Today was Ernest’s first birthday and I’m so freaking proud of myself for preserving a paper bag for a year. The only injury he’s suffered was that lipgloss stain from Miya’s mouth, and she wasn’t trying to kiss him when that happened.
Bringing him to school today, I sure did run into a lot of critics, and I got those funny glances where one eyebrow goes up and they look at you with their head turned to one side. I do feel like a psycho, but it’s so much fun when you don’t care.
I suppose he’s in for a gift guide as well…I’ll bring it in tomorrow. Today I’m working on a feature-length script that will hopefully be the easiest to shoot, so that may be the first feature I’ll film. And for that one I’m planning to go all out.
I’ve been thinking about my own birthday. It’ll be in the style of a traditional children’s birthday party. Think 1950’s and the mother at the pink stove. But the theme will be six degrees of grapes. Egotistical, I know. Any ideas?
MIKA, your website and “Songs For Sorrow”, while brilliant, scare me with the thought that you have become an emo girl and will now only sing of the teen angst genre, comme Simple Plan.
I love how in movies characters always im each other in long thought-out sentences. With l33t and capitalization, of course. And the other person never sporadically im’s them while waiting for their slow responses.
I’ll leave you with an example of one of my own such elegant conversations. Note the eloquence of our speech. And yes, there is a shameless plug for Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” in there.
[20:02] violetcygne: are you typing?
[20:02] dustgoespoof: no
[20:02] dustgoespoof: oh vell
[20:02] violetcygne: bahhumbug
[20:02] dustgoespoof: OMG ALICE IN WONDERLAND
[20:03] violetcygne: WHATATAT
[20:03] violetcygne: AHWT ABOUT IOT??
[20:03] dustgoespoof: http://theplaylist.blogspot.com/2009/05/first-look-alice-in-wonderland-in-3d.html
[20:03] dustgoespoof: quick! grab your 3d glasses
[20:03] violetcygne: OOH
[20:04] violetcygne: let me pull them out of my ass
[20:04] dustgoespoof: lolllll
[20:04] dustgoespoof: your ass doesnt need help being 3d
