31 December 2008

Delight and disgust

We weren't feeling the long line so we made a night of eating. Went straight for The Gumbo Pot: seafood gumbo, mixed popcorn seafood with creole sauce, sweet potato and creole mustard salads, cornbread. Walked around, admired the lights, realized that The Grove is a rather sucky place to clothes shop, but excellent to food shop at the Farmer's Market, bought some candied fruits and ended with a banana-strawberry-nutella crepe.

Only slight disgust at next quarter's book list, but tack on the internship, other commitments and my inability to manage time and sleep, and the list becomes stomach-churning.

Rosetti, Goblin Market
Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway
Browning, My Last Duchess + other poems
Wilde, Picture of Dorian Gray
Ishiguro, Remains of the Day
Tennyson, Selected poems
Eliot, Wasteland + other poems
Bronte, Wuthering Heights
Ward, WWI British Poets
Abrams, Glossary of Lit. Terms
Morrison, Beloved
Schneir, Feminism in Our Time
Atwood, Handmaid's Tale
Mendelson, Home Comforts
Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication
Stein, Three Lives & Tender Buttons
Beecher, Treatise on Domestic Economy
Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin
Dillard, Writing Life
film book
French book

whew.

30 December 2008

Not quite

Tomorrow shall be token "Reflections 'n' Resolutions" day.

I'll be traveling over to The Grove tonight with dad who seemed most enthused over DEFIANCE--many thanks Kara!! Dinner at Farmer's Market, yes! I do hope it's still decorated lovelily.

Random bit from bowling night. Apparently Ryan is a "face man" and his friend is a "feelings guy." Scoff! "Check out the...face on that girl." "That chick's got nice...feelings." Hm.

Oh, and I cannot advance past unlucky level 13. Darn Tetris.

Have a fabulous day, all!

29 December 2008

Indecisive adventures

I didn't want to see TWILIGHT, had already seen BEN BUTTON and SLUMDOG.
Christine and I were for BEDTIME STORIES and VALKYRIE.
Ryan was for TWILIGHT and AUSTRALIA
Steph didn't want VALK or BEDTIME, was for TWILIGHT
Ryan and I didn't wanna pay for 4 XMASes

I proposed that we all watch four different movies or we all watch DESPEREAUX together.
Then I proposed fruit shaved ice and bowling. Ding, ding, ding!

Picked up socks from Christine's house, ate some shaved ice, discussed spas, then went bowling at a ghetto alley in La Habra. A delightful mix of death metal and classic rock music was playing. We ran into Kim and Jess. I haven't seen them since we graduated, so it was the most unexpected, ironic surprise. Ironic because just earlier today, mom inquired about Kim to see if I knew how she was, to which I answered that I had no idea and I'd probably never see her again, ever. Poof! Two lanes over, there she was.

Bowling was exhausting, we discussed how out of shape and sad we were. Drove to In N Out after midnight for a snack. They mistakingly gave me a double double, a good slip-up. Drove everyone back to Birch to their cars. Finally home, sweet home.

Tomorrow, mom and I brace ourselves for a long day of shopping.
The break goes on...

28 December 2008

Dreams

Such a curious thing.

All I can remember from the one I had last night is that I was helping distribute exactly two tortilla chips per person to a bleacher full of about 500-600 orchestra members who were about to have a long concert from 8pm-midnight. You're not supposed to be eating anything before you play anyway, so was I just sabotaging them? Seriously, what the heck?

Symbolism, interpretation, I doubt this reflects prior happenings or predicts future ones.
- - - - - - -

HD Palladium is one of the greatest channels EVER. I live vicariously through the crisp, clear concerts they air: CCR, Springsteen, J. Mayer, Kanye, Neil Young, awesome.

KOST stopped playing holiday music 24/7

:) :/ :(

--In response to Nick's comment on "Oh my": "it's true. if you don't find a man by the time you graduate you automatically become a crazy cat lady. It's in the bible." Thanks, buddy! Let's see, I'm allergic to cats, so that would just make me crazy lady (with hoards of infomercial products).
I'm watching one for Rug Doctor right now. I must have it. Man just poured chocolate syrup on a white carpet, rug doctor sucked it all up. Amazing! Jolly baby rolling around on a carpet with his father narrating the story of how baby was becoming ill from mold that was on the carpet, but thanks to Rug Doctor, baby is healthy. Must have it!

--Don't worry friends, I plan on going MUST LOVE DOGS status and creating online profiles on multiple sites with different personas. My chick flick man is out there, I swear. But what is up with all the chick flicks on every channel, all break long? I sit, watch, laugh, cry, and find myself constantly wonder who actually says that? at every cheesy, disgustingly romantic line the handsome fellas drop. Le sigh.


Recently saw another infomer on these "It's OK to say Merry Christmas to me" stickers that you can buy in a twelve-pack and stick anywhere your heart desires. They stem from the longstanding controversy of various peoples/companies wanting to ban the possibly offensive MC phrase. Seriously, it's just petty and a waste of energy to become upset over what holiday phrase people throw at you nowadays, unless it is dripping with sarcasm, disdain, or accompanied by the finger.

--On a brighter note, dad and I bought the first volume of Disney-Pixar's collection of animated shorts from Costco. Fun! Some I hadn't seen and I've just finished watching them all with director commentary. I really hope to take the animation courses for film before I graduate. Working for Pixar is my special dream job right now. Finally watched CARS with eyes lighting up at the range of color on screen. Absolutely gorgeous. The colors of the balloon bundle in UP alone could keep me in awe for a while.

--I'd almost forgotten about the best perk of being a teacher. Presents! Mom is back teaching at St. Mark's, but it's been a while since we went through all the gifts she received from student at Christmas and end-of-the-year. Times have changed, everything is in the form of gift cards instead of actual gifts. She has a whopping $120 worth of Starbuck's gift cards. If only it were $120 towards Target. Anyway, I tried again, bought a tall white chocolate moca peppermint twist swirl thing, but even all that crap couldn't drown out the bitter taste of the coffee. Bleck! Apparently coffee helps prevent Alzheimer's? (I'll confirm this with wiki later) That's unfortunate for me, but hopefully I play enough word challenge to keep my noggin in tact. Speaking of Starbuck's and Alzheimer's, a Lewis Black classic

--My most notable use of time: Dad has handed down his DSLR! So much fragile power in my clumsy hands. This occurred shortly after he browsed through my snow album and noted that I'd always had a good sense of composition--aw thanks pop! I'm no prodigy, but I have had a knack for arts since I was a toddler, working with origami before I could walk, Fimo claymaking with dad, sketching/drawing, calligraphy (if that counts), I won't include my passion for putting stickers everywhere. As for photography, well I've always appreciated good photography: composition, lighting, focus, but never really pursued it for myself. I just took ridiculous amounts of pictures of anything because I have an unhealthy obsession for memories. I hope to further develop the skill now, it's a lovely hobby. His Nikon weighed a ton and I certainly don't need such a professional camera for the time being. Sony DSLR will do just fine--this A100 is a perfect newbie model. I'm determined to read through the manual and research along the way, since the manual just explains the physicality and not really the art of taking the pictures. If I'm gonna be living in PJs and sweats all break, at least I'll be learning something cool. I'm even slightly inspired to take out old sketchbook and doodle.
Baby steps, baby steps.

27 December 2008

What to do, what to do

Option 1: drive to Burbank, pay $17 for rink time and rentals, ice skate with the Verdugo buddies

Option 2: drive to the Laemmle on Sunset, pay $7 for a ticket, watch The Room with HS buddies

Option 3: dinner at Outback with my parents to make good use of my mom's $25 gift card

Today, was a nice day at home. I introduced my mother to freetetris.org, now my dad gets to enjoy the blippy noises of rows clearing from two laptops. We've been making foods all day long, and as much as I'm dying to ice skate and watch The Room, I shall be dining with mom and dad, and that's perfectly cool as well.

26 December 2008

leftovers

Make that Christmas dinner four times. Oh my poor stomach.

This will hopefully induce food coma so I can go to sleep at a reasonable hour.
Good evening!

Oh my

I just woke up.
I've eaten Christmas dinner three times since last night's gathering.
Definitely put on a few pounds.
Kid's gift exchange went smoothly, everyone knew what they were getting and who it was coming from.
Two lovely rounds of Cranium where acting out boobs led to Madonna and mermaid.
Kung Fu Pandana came in handy as our blindfold for Sensosketch and also as a good luck bandana.
Grandma and Great Aunt spent ten minutes discussing the need for me to snatch up the right guy at my age. Their exact advice loosely translated from Korean: You must pick out a handsome, smart, good one now. It will be difficult to find them later on when they all scatter away after college.
Slight downer, perhaps contributed to why I ate dinner twice.

I guess I have another seven hours, give or take, until bedtime for today. I must be productive!

25 December 2008

Oh the weather outside is frightful

...not really. It's pleasantly crisp, maybe a bit nippy, but I'm not one to complain after the mountains.

Anywho, IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!
I'm obviously not as starry-eyed eager as I used to be when I laid out cookies and milk in prep for Santy Claus, but I still love the holiday season--as long as I'm not shopping eve or day after. I am forever grateful to my parents for keeping up the Santa Claus gig as long as they did. Flashback. Woosh!

My dad made sure to drink half the milk and bite half the cookies to achieve realism. Mom would sign the North pole gifts with her left hand and use a different set of wrapping paper so I wouldn't suspect anything. They'd both take me to the post office to "mail" my wish list off to Santa. Gosh, that was the life. Until one day, my world came tumbling down, "You know there's no Santa, right?" To which I pretty much freaked out, "Wha??" =..( I was in fifth grade. Glad she finally told me then or I'd be even more lame than I already am. She also revealed the truth about the Tooth Fairy at the same time. What a traumatic day.

Now, we are mutually frugal, lazy, and efficient. Family Xmas gathering is at our house this year, meaning CLEAN WHOLE HOUSE. But we saved ourselves as much labor as possible. Dad put up our fake tree and threw on the net light. I put on the colorful fabric ball ornaments that I took last Christmas while working at the GAP. Bam! Tree done 10 minutes flat.

Since the trip, I've been spending a great deal of time with my love, family room couch. Not to worry, I have been productive, watching just about every film on HBO On Demand, reading books and mags, getting up to help clean house, cook and do some shopping. !!! I've also gone to bed--actually fallen asleep--before midnight for the past three nights. ?!YESTRUTH!, crane sleeps. Obviously right now is an exception.

Mom and I christened the crockpot tonight using a brand spankin' new bag of Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips, Costco size. Nom. Chocolate-covered everything is bad news for my health. I'll be experimenting more soon, melting cheese and dipping things.

Should probably get some beauty rest in preparation for the Family Gathering: Feast of Champions. Can't look too shabby for the guests, so stretchy holiday pants'll have to come after everyone leaves. For now, PJs, here I come!

Merry/Happy Holichrismakwanzukkus___ . . . !

23 December 2008

Big Brrrr




The trip was absolutely wonderful, near-death experiences included! I'm sure Tahoe and Arrowhead are ten times more gorgeous, but having seen snow just once before at last year's BB adventure, this was quite satisfactory. We probably chose the worst time to drive up, through the rain/snowfall, but had the perfect day after, filled with fresh, fluffy snowfall! Susan and I frolicked through the snow like little girls in a winter wonderland--or at least tried to. It was thigh high, rather difficult to move around in, so we dove right in. I also fell in numerous times and slid around on the icy paved parts with my Costco Kirkland "fuggs" (fake uggs), kinda like a dog on wood floorboards.

Snowboarding was a vast improvement from last year. We went to Snow Summit instead of Bear Mt., another good choice because the slopes weren't crowded at all. Luckily, they gave us neutral/generic boards so I didn't have to figure out whether I was goofy or regular. I'd just like to think I'm ambidpedal (if that's even the right term). Conclusion: my actual snowboarding abilities are improving, I CAN get on the lift smoothly, but I'll never be able to get off the darn thing. By the end of the day I just gave up and purposely fell right off the chair so I wouldn't waste other people's time. I learned to duck quickly. The people up top yelled "Stay down!" 'til Susan, Talar, and us other losers who couldn't properly slide off scooted away to safety on all fours. Definitely good laughs. I'm proud of myself for taking a step up to the intermediate slopes. The ride up lasted an eternity and then some. The lift moved up like a roller coaster cranking up before the big drop. I don't have acrophobia (fear of heights) but I was genuinely uneasy being on that lift for what seemed like a mile. This gave me plenty of time to shiver and take some lovely pics, while trying not to drop my camera, hat, and gloves.

Cons: Snow chains. Shoveling. Things freezing.
I really can't thank Charles and Mike enough for working so hard to figure out the snow chains for both Renee's and my car. We saved 80 buckaroos! I managed to sell mine on the way back down at the turnout. Overall, I had fun driving around in snow. I know I could never live through a whole snowy winter, though. Another big thanks to the guys for shoveling out an adorable parking spot for my car. The wipers froze to my windshield once, rubbers shrunk in a concave shape so they didn't wipe so efficiently.

Pros: Everything else! Friends, cozy cabin, icicles, snow like cotton candy, jolly good times!

I also plan on taking future child up to the mountains at an early age because I want to make sure my child is as in the running for cutest kid. There were tiny tots there dressed in the puffiest clothes, like Ralphie, on mini skis. Adorkable.
- - - - - - - - -

Chrismannukuh at the Glassman's was full of good company and plenty of laughs. Annual charades got kicked up a notch with some new faces and very intense competitive personalities. I think my personal favs of the night would have to be Chuck Norris and Justin Timberlake by Jon's cousins, Jenna Jameson so poorly, but hilariously acted by Vincent and the three-second steal of Marie Antoinette. I'd include my split second guess of Britney Spears but I feel like that's something I shouldn't be too proud of.

White Elephant/Yankee Swap is not my buddy. I ironically ended up with the expired Starbuck's coffee beans, but they're vacuum sealed. My parents can enjoy it. All in good fun, I enjoy the gift exchange and catching up with Fairmonters. 'Til next year!

20 December 2008

...

8 hours drive up to Big Bear: 30 miles up the mountain in darkness and snowfall
4 hours of intense snow/boarding-falling-butt bruising-feeling the burn
2 nights of cooking, games, cabin fun
6 hours drive down melting mt. o'er snow/ice, dropping peeps off in San Gabriel, Tujunga, & LA
2 hours driving to Yorba Linda and back for Chrismannukuh
= WOO.

must sleep away exhaustion. more detailed post to follow.

15 December 2008

here's to ingenuity

The Snuggie.
i can haz and look like friar monk for Christmas?

I'm simultaneously horrified and desperately wanting one. Totally had this in the bag when I used to wear my Little Mermaid robe backward many years ago. Too bad I didn't know about patenting and infomercials then.

No, I'm not gonna buy this one, I promise. (but if anyone does, I'm willing to take that free book light off your hands)

upgrade to epic fail and getting the freedom ball rollin'

I certainly earned the upgrade--had five days to NOT procrastinate for two back-to-back Friday finals, so I made sure to waste them away completely. Just waiting 'til the dark day when grades are posted, at that time I'll wallow my sorrows in a lot of nestle cookie dough.

Interning for the Spirit Awards production department is going to be far different from working guest services during the LA Film Festival. I'm ready for the challenge though, and the experience will be rewarding. Again, I don't know if this really contributes much to my future career plans (not that I actually have any), but it certainly can't hurt. If nothing else, these internships are helping me become more assertive in personality, helping my networking skills since those are nonexistent. On a side note, I distribtued parking validations during the orientation meeting and guess how much parking is without it? A whopping $21. Ridonk. The Film Independent office only validates after 5pm so I'll be blue busing for my internship.

Friday night was lovely, well, lovely is a mild adjective to describe the crazy shenanigans that went down, but it was great to unwind after the worst quarter for a majority of people I know. I'm always down for a dance party. Lost my voice as usual karaoke-shouting to all the songs. Megumi and I were playing the weird selection of Queen, MGMT, Nirvana along with Britney and the required baby-making rap. But "dude, I just wanna dance." There were some overly drunk guys trying to make out with everything in the room, yayyy. Minus that and several other eye-muff moments, 'twas fun! Drove some of us to Jack In the Box around 3 A.M., a most satisfying meal.

Now, home sweet home! Hello couch where I veg out, floor where I also veg out 'cause I'm Asian and prefer ground, missed you too HBO On Demand, and kitchen (no explanation needed).

In two days I've gone through I AM LEGEND; P.S. I LOVE YOU; EVENING; DARJEELING LTD.; ANCHORMAN, all in the wee hours of early morning.

I've come to respect the Fresh Prince as an actor. He carried I AM LEGEND the whole way through along with the gorgeous German Shepherd that played Sam. I jumped as much as I cried during the movie. YES, cried. [Spoiler Alert] If you were the last man on Earth with only the greatest dog companion ever, given to you by your adorable, now deceased child, and you had to kill that dog because she too was bitten and infected by a human-turned naked mole rate looking zombie, how in the blazes could you NOT cry. My description does not do justice to the scene, so please just watch it. The film had it's share of question mark situations, opened well, didn't care for the sub-par zombie flick side of it, but I forgave these because of the great performance by Mr. Smith reminiscent of Tom Hanks in castaway. You bet I was bawling when he loses Wilson the volleyball.

P.S. I LOVE YOU. Quintessential tearjercker/chick flick. Loved it. Why? because it's exactly that and gives me unrealistic, unattainable hopes about love as just about any rom-com/drama does and has me eating a bunch of junk food afterward wondering if guys like that actually exist. They do not. Or maybe they do but they're foriegn, out of my league, and I have no luck. Long story short, I want to go to Ireland, get lost, and be discovered by my very own Gerard Butler, or find my own Jeffrey Dean Morgan, or Harry Connick Jr.. Oh, and they all sing too and have nice hair. Blahhh darnit.

Before I get too depressed, winter break to-do list:
[ ] Clean up my crap all over the house
[ ] Sleep? so I don't die
[ ] Piano
[ ] learn guitar if parents have time to teach
[ ] brush up on French so I don't fail next quarter
[ ] write, anything.
[ ] accomplish the "Steph & Megan's Adventures" list
[ ] annual Big Bear. I'm REALLY excited because there will be plenty of fresh snowfall from the rain!
[ ] holiday nomz Christmas
[ ] holiday nomz New Year
[ ] annual Chrismakkuh (or the other zillion ways to spell that) @ the Glassmans
[ ] officially cleanup itunes library
[ ] George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic concert, Nat??!
[ ] uhm...there's more but Smalls just hit the homer with his stepdad's Babe Ruth ball over to the Beast. Damn, I forgot how much i love this movie.

11 December 2008

FAIL.

Truth. I screwed up big time this quarter. I'll say what I always say, "Next quarter will be different." Only this time, I will actually need to follow through on my words and take my resolutions seriously.

It's already 3 A.M. and I've come to peace with the fact that my grades are going to suck, for lack of better words.
No use in trying to achieve the impossible, so I will memorize as much of this quarter's reading as I possibly can in the time I have left.

Come Friday, I will keel over and sleep. Mathematically, if were to sleep continuously through the entire break, (approx. 3 weeks) I would have made up all of my lost hours for the entire quarter. But that's certainly not feasible--unfeasible?

Back to my impending doom.
Expect next post to be a big wonderful bucket of brain vomit: stress/pressure venting, obligatory resolutions, more contemplations and complaints on my extraordinary ordinary life; and of course the token meal intakes.

Good night, and good luck! Unless you are free/moving out/at home already. Then you're currently a frenemy.

08 December 2008

Wait, I have finals?




I chose to take a "study break" and walk to Westwood to stargaze/stalk at the CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON premiere. In my near three years at UCLA, I've seen many a premiere. Cool? Uh huh. Kinda sad? Yeah. It's always interesting to see how each one is set up differently. I've also learned the strategies of prime creeper spots where you can get the best photos, y'know, those priceless pearls of wisdom that you'll never find in a lecture hall. To my surprise, this poor decision turned out to be one of the most efficient and productive study breaks ever! Crane-walked down to the Mann Village, met up with Hanna and Kevin, gawked, expressed our love for the celebs, snapped shots, expressed more love, crane-walked back home, all in an hour!

As for the film itself, watched and loved. Though there were never any real points of suspense, I don't think it was necessarily meant to have them. Trailers already and obviously reveal the mystery (aging backwards), as does the fact that Fincher loosely adapts F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story. So what's left and expected is this sort of pseudo-documentary about Benji Button's curious biological fate and a most touching, impossible love. All that aside, the film is well-acted and gorgeusly shot. Though, Britney Spears may be comeback, but Cate Blanchett is an actual one. Probably one of my favs on Inside the Actor's Studio (James Lipton is my man!). So incredibly eloquent, articulate, intelligent and also one of the best actor-linguists to date. Brad Pitt, I die, always and forever McSteamy status. I thought he gave one of his most subtle and amazing performances.

Since this post is not following any chronological order, I'll just continue on as thoughts emerge.

It's time for "Everything Sucks Because!"

...it's finals week, wahoo!
Ten weeks of joy and laughter have come crashing down because apparently you need to have decent grades to succeed in life, unless you don't mind living in a box. Then you can totez join me on the corner of Hollywood and Vine where I will be residing in my luxury brown one, enforced with only the highest quality duct tape. Yes, I totez just abbreved, another bad habit i'm starting to pick up here at my stay chez UCLA.

...I ate a whole flour tortilla and some pizza rolls at 2 A.M. this morning and have been eating equally awful foods at similar bad times. In the immediate future, this doesn't suck because it's yum, but it certainly will later as my arteries continue to clog.

...I seriously hit my head on freezer door while standing up from loading the fridge. It's become a large bump now, inducing mild headache.

...I locked myself out of the apt., was let into complex but with a stroke of failed genius realized I still couldn't get into my room, Duh. Kim was at home, other two roommates nonexistent--then and always, took nap in the 3rd floor lounge like a hobo, had second stroke of genius to visit our apt. coordinator whose door had vital numbers like Rental Office, walked to Weyburn/Veteran for temporary key, walked back, got mine, drove back to drop off temp key before 5pm so I wouldn't be charged a ridonkulous fine.

To recap mostly exciting happenings:

We (UCLA's Campus Events Commission) screened PIRATES II: STAGNETTI'S REVENGE (sequel to PIRATES, the most expensive pornography ever made) and held a Q&A panel including director Joone, lead male Evan Stone, actress Sasha Grey, and Digital Playground marketing director Adella. The event and the days leading up to it were interesting to say the least. "There's no such thing as bad publicity" might not exactly apply, but UCLA received tons of exposure all over the interweb on blogsites, discussion boards, facebook, polls etc. debating the topic of whether we should be showing an adult film. Goodness me! Honestly, I was indifferent to the screening, but the Q&A was one of the most entertaining and suprisingly insighftul that we've had.

So many celebrations of birth! Everyone turning 20! Been 20 for 'bout five months, but I'm indifferent to my age now, neither depressed nor delighted. I do miss the tween and teen years. The big 2-1 awaits us all now. I'll probably celebrate my half-birthday in Feb. since summer birthdays are depressing and I'll be in London instead travel studying, weee!

CEC holiday party was enjoyable. I can have fun anywhere if there's music and food. White elephant, though small, was amusing. I walked away with the greatest prize, a yeast infection--well, not a real one, but a great microscopic snapshot of one blown up to a mini poster. This was among other amazing gifts like wine & cigs, chia pet, odd-smelling putty erasers, and an IOU herpes plushie.
- - - - - - - - - -
Father visited today, dropped off more foodstuffs for daughter. Love. We ate so much at Acapulco, indulging in halibut tacos and a generous carne asada/shrimp enchilada combo 'cause mother sent over her $25 gift card. More love.

At the end of lunch: "Megan, eat as much as you can from the fridge and freezer before coming home." I think that about sums up the healthy relationship with my parents.

02 December 2008

humdeedrum

My intention was to be productive tonight, so of course, I found it absolutely necessary to elf myself and four others. Way to go, Megs. Fruit of boredom

At 3 A.M. the sky is unusally bright and orange-hued, which is a bit unsettling. The foggy nights are making these two already gloomy weeks all the more depressing. I walked through mist to Kerckhoff and felt like I was living out every scary movie I could remember; Nightmare on Elm Street came to mind first--probably one of the all-time most disturbing films for me.

I accomplished little today. Meeting was pointless, but El Pollo Loco chicken provided so I ate. Kim and I got excited and bought things impulsively during Ralph's run: Oreo's, chocolate pudding, bacon, among other less exciting things. Serving size for bacon, two strips. HAH. That'd be the portion of sissies! Though, it's probably both admirable and frightening that I prefer at least eight strips when I dine on bacon. I'm still confused over how I haven't had a heart attack or keeled over yet based on my diet, lack of decent exercise, and insomnia. My body takes a lot of abuse, but at least I haven't added smoker's lung and drunk liver. That would seal the deal.

I'd completed this survey to set up a phone interview for the Apple Campus Rep position before turkey break. A Richie Rich (that's actually his name?!) was/is supposed to call yesterday (guess not) or today, so hopefully he does. A new, FREE, laptop would be much appreciated.

Happy birthday Britney Spears! Comeback at age 27 with Circus, good stuff.

All right, I'm outtie.

01 December 2008

Ugh.

As my jubilant title reveals, I'm not the happiest camper back at UCLA. To keep up appalling study habits, I will be cramming the past nine weeks worth of reading into a measly two. Consecutive sleepless nights, nothing new except for the fact that (okay, I'm not a senior citizen, but) I'm no longer 13 and sprightly for my age. No offense to Meade or the Stones for "Time is On My Side"; great song, but I don't see my nonexistent baby boo running back to me anytime soon, nor does time seem to be on anyone's side, ever! Is it?

Thought brief, the rest of Thanksgiving went well. I ate steadily and constantly over the four days--pretty sure I packed on a couple pounds as the pants feel a little snug, but SO worth all the tasty nom noms.
Steph and I tried Millie's today. We'd always seen the chain around on our way to eat at other places, so why not give it a try. Verdict: demographic of senior citizens + better quality than Denny's for the same price = Thumbs up!

Attempted the Brea Mall afterward for returns/exhchanges. Still crazy. As much as I love finding a good deal or nice/cute/cool clothes, shopping is too exhausting. I don't have the same drive as the ladies or pre-teens do. Oh, and I think babies are born with blackberries attached to hand now. The girls in front of me in line were planning an event while gossiping about friend trees and who to invite because "so and so is not as close to Becka as Casey is, but Casey knows Jenna so it's cool." Of course they were messaging out the who, what, when, where, why on their shiny Blackberries. What happened to Disney card stock invites from Party City? R.I.P. themed birthday sets: Aladdin cake plates, food plates, hats, invitations, goodie bags and thank you cards. I think it would be a little much to bring that back and at Chuck E' Cheese for my 21st. Wishful thinking!

[Okay, so they're actually really disturbing, but i love skee-ball and have always loved the surprisingly good food]
- - - - - - - - -

"Guess I'll have to roll with the punches!"

BOLT was adorkable. I want to be Rhino, a chubby bundle of joy and motivation. "It is a good day to die!" "I have a ball!" "I'm a master of stealth!" "I eat danger for breakfast!" Ahh, so quotable.
I heart $6 weekend/holiday matinee. It's the only price dad and I are willing to pay for a movie (aside from Costco tickets), otherwise, you might as well just buy the DVD if two people pay $22 to watch it. We also sacrificed the overpriced munchies to save the monies.
- - - - - - - - -

Drive back was good, no traffic but dense fog like a scary movie. @_@
Drive to pick up friend, not as smooth sailing.

I call this one, "LAX can die"
(but lovely to see ya Alex with cookies in hand!)! Kinda looks like a really fun Autopia/Speedzone course for a drunk person, perhaps. It's just a congested mess of an airport, inside and out, and the fam and I tend to avoid it as much as possible. Luckily, unless traveling to Korea, we can fly out of Ontario or Long Beach. Such small, cozy, local airports that I highly recommend for in-state traveling!
- - - - - - - - -

"Your body is your temple--treat it that way."
Another saying I'll never live up to.
I think I might just doze off before sunrise! Wha?! Still a fail, but better than 5am. Since I won't be sleeping for the next two weeks, I'm tempted to try Lunesta or Ambien over winter break, or both together and knock out during break completely. I desperately need to recuperate after years of sleep deprivation.

28 November 2008

scrumdiddlyumptious

Safe to say that I'd been craving a holiday meal for weeks and the family Thanksgiving did not disappoint. I can't contain the excitement for Christmas and New Year's gatherings, more good times and good foods! I'm fairly certain I've already gained a couple pounds over the past two days. Yay.

Of course, I must re-create the savory evening. We arrived and pretty much dove into the turkey, gathered 'round the kitchen island eating pieces as my aunt and uncle cut. None of us could wait. After some discussion, we decided to lay out everything nicely on the dining table for our family pics, then take everything back to the kitchen for buffet style eating, because that is how we do.

Green bean casserole with chopped onion, topped with fried onion crisps! Louisiana style seafood Spanish rice! Apple bread stuffing! Buttercream corn! Rosemary, thyme, and veggie marinated turkey + turkey gravy! Mashed 'taters! Cranberry! Kimchi! Pickled, thinly sliced cucumbers! The last two, we just had to have to fulfill our Korean taste palettes. Dinner finished off with delish Pumpkin bundt cake and sweet potato pie which my aunt made from scratch. I pretty much made myself eat more and more and more alllll night, then knocked out.

To top off the meal I finished my first glass of wine, ever! Still found it disgusting and tasting like dimeatap, but my uncle could not have been more enthused to teach me how to properly receive and drink the wine. I'm glad I know for the future, though, since you're supposed to learn how to drink the right way with elders. Although, he wants me to up the glasses with each gathering. I'll have to let him down easy and turn down the position as his new drinking buddy.

I also faced a harsh reality when my eight-year-old cousin, who has always been peculiar, informed me that he's moved on from Disney, the JoeBros, Miley, Selena, Demi and "all that." He's "into politics and stocks." What is going on?! I still wanna go to Chuck E' Cheese's. =/

I drank two cokes at dinner, so after arriving back home, was unbelievably alert and went through the leftovers for round two. Officially fell asleep around 5am--which was probably long after some stores opened for Black Friday. That's not even the most horrifying; people had been sleeping outside Best Buy since the beginning of the week to get an "early" start. Disgusting. I seriously doubt I have enough energy to compete with the survivor women of shopping on this scary day. I wouldn't have made it anyway, since I slept through it all and woke up at 4pm. Yeaaayuh.
----------

[THE DARK KNIGHT] WHOAMG. Great except for the fact that I fell asleep at some random point in the middle. I also couldn't stand Batman's voice...sounded like someone who'd been smoking for 80 years. Heath Ledger was phenomenally disturbing and it just reminded me of what a waste it is that he is gone. Two thumbs up! I had my jaw dropped for the entire ending.

Semi-films outing after the film was also fun. My chance to indulge in all the Red Mango I could eat since the treat was comped!

[NOBEL SON] Crazy, disorienting film, but I loved the cast and who can say no to Alan Rickman?! It was a successful sneak and an entertaining Q&A. Of course there were the annoying, redundant questions posed to Alan about Harry Potter and Love Actually. Then we had attempted to protect Alan and Randall Miller (director/writer) from the crowd. Fun.

[GRIFFITH] Haven't been here since I was three or four so I couldn't remember anything. Yoko and I had a good ol' time running around like starry-eyed kids, taking pictures of everything, "Oooh ahhh" -ing at everything. I hope to go back on a clearer day and go on the hiking path they have at the base of the observatory. The view is amazing!

I also went to the gift shop, of course, but i bought NOTHING! Self-control! Yes. Though I was tempted to buy everything...giant pencils, mugs, 3d periodic table of elements, spacesuit. Gahh.

[LIFE] as for my life in general, things seem to be moving along okay. All of my classes worked out for next quarter, always a good thing.

I do have the internship with Film Independent for the Indie Spirit Awards in the production dep't. I am sacrificing Dance Marathon, disheartening, but I'm sure the internship will be well worth it. Hopefully I can still set up a fundraising account to collect donations, though I won't be able to dance.

I've also applied to be an Apple campus rep. This one's mainly out of interest, for kicks, and to keep some money coming in so I won't be flat broke.

Mom asked what I wanted to do again. I replied as I always do. "I dunno, I like everything." To which she replied, "That's good, but not good." I'd really like to figure out my life. Sure, carpe diem and living adventurously and spontaneously is great, but there's something to be said about having a plan, or at least an outline/rough draft on life? SIGH.



!!! Breaking news as I wrap up. I just found out that a Wal-mart employee was killed today, having been trampled by a stampede of shoppers. Uhhhhmmmm...

If that's not an indication of apocalypse now, it certainly alludes to the cold, hard truth of how sad people are. I love sales and coupons, perhaps a bit much sometimes, but at least I didn't kill someone because of my insatiable urge to buy something cheaper.

20 November 2008

An Uneventful, Whiny Wednesday

Woke up, dozed off in lecture, killed time in office, trudged through another boring lab, micro-organized office, made/ate Korean comfort dinner with Danny, Ralph's run.

Went all out to end this woefully unexciting day by plopping down in lime green fold-out-chair, fork in hand and 15 inch box of impulsively bought Entenmann's Danish Raspberry Twist cake in lap, turned on the tube, ate a third of it.

Woooo yeah.

In addition to all that mind-boggling excitement, various unwelcome stress and problems have been coming up recently. Commence list of grievances:

1. Almost walked out the door in new H&M top with large, plastic security magnet still attached. I left my superhuman magnet at home so I'll have to take in store to get the darn thing removed.
2. Radio article never got posted by deadline to air. It will probably count as a missed report, which is frustrating because I finished/edited it and cannot figure out the technical glitch that prevents me from uploading.
3. Need to make decision asap about whether or not to take Spirit Awards internship next quarter. Several factors that are up in the air make me hesitate on just saying yes.
4. Is internship even relevant? --> What am I doing? constant stress.
5. Worth missing class and Dance Marathon? (big deal just because it is something I am dedicated to each year to raise the money and kids from camp will be there as well)
6. Petty drama from past has sort of come back for no good reason! I don't ask for things like that. ugh.
7. Den tickets wrongly charged to BAR account.
8. Am I getting sick or not?
9. Weather is too random right now, adding to Debbie Downer mood.
10. I'm poor.
11. Homesick. Thanksgiving is so close/so far.
12. Got midterm back. So-so.
13. Still disturbed by dead squirell sighting from yesterday. It was literally two feet from me, two feet too close.
14. Certain that one of my classes will fill up by second pass, throwing off whole schedule. So, so great.
15. Recently discovered that another HS acquaintance lost home in fires. Humbling.

...realizing how trivial my list seems and that, again, I always have much to be grateful for.

Ob-la-di, ob-la-da. Life goes on.

17 November 2008

weekend update

Technically it's Monday, but whatever.

In about an hour and a half, I'll be watching my fourth, possibly fifth? sunrise of the week. Some may find my ways stupid, some amazing, and others amazingly stupid. A longstanding goal of mine has been to check into a sleep clinic for some serious study. I'd like to think I would make an intriguing test subject.

Besides cleaning, I spent the weekend planning out my life for the umpteenth time.
My ideal schedule for next quarter is set, four classes, doable.
I updated my course plan spreadsheet (xoxo Excel) for the next two years. Whew to graduating on time and to not having to take four classes every quarter!

I'm hoping to get another internship with Film Independent working on the Independent Spirit Awards in February. They only ask for a day a week leading up to the event (and I'm willing to put in at least another) so it shouldn't be too stressful of a workload.

Winter break is looking to be a good time, annual Big Bear trip is set! Last winter was my first time experiencing snow. I know, right? Apparently I have seen snow when I was a baby in Korea, but I don't remember so it doesn't count. Hopefully after having fallen and bruising my butt countless times, snowboarding this year will go much more smoothly. Although, I still can't remember whether I'm regular or goofy. I end up facing front and center at the bottom of the hill either way and when it comes to taking off on a snowboard, my feet seem to be ambidextrous--my fancy way of saying that I haven't figured out which foot is better to start on.

Still researching some round-trip tix to NY for after Big Bear. I'm glad I have lots of family over there and now Kara too! giving me all the more reason to visit besides the fact that East coast = FOOD, glorious food!

As for the summer...what a doozy that's gonna be if all of my plans are realized.
LA Film Fest in June (internship beginning in May) right after school's out, followed by Unicamp (hopefully there is a session early July), Camp Kindle (late July), London travel study (July 31-Aug. 26), and I was hoping to visit Korea but I'd have to go immediately after London if I want to spend at least three weeks there before senior year starts. I can guarantee that this ridiculously ambitious summer plan won't go over well with my parents. Not that they aren't supportive of all these things, but my health comes first and they will freak out about me dying of exhaustion. I am worried too. LAFF is a rather demanding internship, to follow up with two summer camps (physical and mental exhaustion), then try to take Shakespeare for a month in London....Ridic. We'll see what happens.

I SO EXCITE TO SEE DARK KNIGHT FRIDAY!
only four sunrises away!

16 November 2008

backtrack.

I take pride in my irregular blogging. With writing, I've never been a minimalist, always a rambler, but since I won't be submitting this to the New Yorker anytime soon, please enjoy (or don't) the massive update since my last post. That was probably a disgusting run-on with four, likely misplaced commas. Ugh.

[TODAY, accomplished]

I'm fairly certain the other roommate is stealing my magazine from the mail. Not cool, man.

Just did 2 loads of laundry and just realized I never checked the time after I put my clothes in the dryer...crap. Yet, I'm not motivated to run and check because I'm all engaged in my blogging. Also did all the dishes, dustbusted, febreezed, lysoled, clorox wiped, swiffered, and unecessarily micro-organized. So you can easily see the course of my life.

I know I won't be crazy cat lady, since I'm allergic, but I definitely see life in a bubble. These qualities will only get worse. Mom and dad seem to have created an o.c.d./germaphobic/perfectionist monster of a child. Wow, imagine when Alzheimer's starts to kick in and I forget that I cleaned...

Grazi, Maral for generously swiping me into Covel. I basically blanked out about how to use the dining hall, it's been that long. Immediate reaction to the crowd in covel: Ugh, no *shakes head.* It's quite sad how anti-social I've become. Sitting in the apartment all day long, moving outside to the couch, watching tv, and making my meals is perfectly satisfactory.

Not to mention that we ate with some of Peter's HS friends. They are 16. One had braces. All had i-phones. They rave.
Let me just grab my bifocals and 8-tracks and crochet another sweater for myself.
Boy, do I feel old--juniors to juniors, four years is a big difference. Being 20 is still a reality that has yet to sink in.

...god I need some answers.
what am I to do with my life?
how am I supposed to know what's right?

Britney, you said it, sister. Of course this is from "Overprotected," playing as I write this. Funny how despite all the singer-songwriter genius, miss pop princess describes my life so perfectly right now. I too have been overprotected and would like some answers to my vague life questions. Don't hate, Britney speaks truth. Plus, the video (pre-psycho mess) is just entertaining.

I got up to eat, but was distracted by our dirty toaster oven, thus, cleaned it and returned to my desk having forgotten to eat. So I've redeemed my fail by creating a delicious tri-cereal blend of Honey-O's (most underrated cereal!), Honey Bunches of Oats, and Honey Nut Cheerios. All the honeys is just a coincidence.

I now present the past two weeks, descending chronologically for my convenience and for your viewing and reading pleasure.

[TROPIC THUNDER, lolz]
staffed the $2 with Mads. Definitely glad I could watch this treasure again. I almost forgot about the line after line quotability of the movie, and it reaffirmed my infatuation with RDJr. I heart him and forgive his drug and drink issues.

[PUPPY, precious]
(hiding her in a tote to leave the apartment, doggie bag!)
Roomie brought her puppy for a visit. I desperately want a dog, preferably a big dog (generally can't stand the teeny ones that yelp at high pitches or that look like naked mole rats). Penney is an adorkable exception. Had a lovely photobooth shoot with her sittin on my lap. Kim and I had also had a serious discussion about adopting a dog from the local pound and how we could illegally keep it in our apartment. That was pretty productive until we came across this beauty, almost peed our pants laughing.

[SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, rich]
One of the best films I've seen in a while. Rich indeed in color, sights and sounds, story and action. Heck, I even loved the cheesy Bollywood at the end. Highly recommended, whether or not you're a fan of Danny Boyle.

[LACMA, lovely]
Loves it, even the streetlamp display which has been the set of many a facebook photoshoot. We visited on a good, sunny Veteran's day, for FREE. Got in trouble for being too close to the works, also shrieked inside the echoing display because Alex decided to scare me. They probably don't like me very much over there now. I'm going back anyway to see the Vanity Fair exhibition.

[GRIDDLE, comatose]


Why had I never heard of the marvelous Griddle Cafe?! Many thanks, Meesh. New best place to eat larger-than-face sized pancakes and slump over in food coma.

[CINESPACE, woo!]
I'd always wanted to go here and finally made it for Danny's birthday. Overall experience wasn't the best since it was mainly a DSP event and I didn't really know anyone, but the venue itself was fantastic. Multiple rooms, plenty of seating, cool bars. Definitely a place to visit again.

[PETA, perfection]
Props to DLV for finally making the group. This is probably something I've been longing to do since I came to college: share my passion for the art of eating, especially meat, with a crew, embarking on frequent adventures to explore all the foods that LA has to offer. Weee!

[YELP, intriguing]
What an interesting online tool. I never knew how expansive yelp and the yelp community was. Finally made a profile and started reviewing some eateries. I've always used it as reference, but I figure it gives me more opportunity to write and share my thoughts about something I love dearly, food. Since I started mine so late, I certainly won't be joining the ranks of Elite yelper, Noah. Youz krazy.

[KOREAN BBQ, smelly]

I think I still smelled a bit after one shower. So powerful, the stink of grilling meat. Tripe was an adventure in itself, but more a one-hit-wonder. Once you've tasted one stomach lining, you've tasted them all...

[PIZZA PIZZA, fun]
Delightful attempts to make fancy pizza's at Alex's. Verdict: butter + bacon + cheese = everything dericious.
Also gave into the devil of a deal: 10 for $10 chocolate bars during Ralph's run. I rank this as one of the best savings ever, which means it is legit given my freeloading, penny-pinching persona and all the coupon experience I have.

[SPRING AWAKENING, shocking]

Definitely meant to shock and push the limits in subject matter, just like RENT. Love, sex, oppression, innocence lost and gained, masturbation, rebellion, death, interpreted through song and dance. Could be better than HSM3?! Close call.
The set was artistic and simple. The cast had such amazing voices and carried the songs well. Ahmanson Theatre is a great venue with some beautiful architecture in and around. 2 thumbs up! If you love the musicals, go see it!

[PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, hah]
Another quotable favorite I was happy to see again. Staffed with Hanna; had a little too much fun with the Hulk hand trivia prizes. If they release a DVD double pack with this and Tropic Thunder, I'd be ecstatic. Related recommendation: SAVING GRACE, an indie British comedy involving Mary Jane.

[FRAT PARTY, ew]
Haven't been to one since, oh, I don't know, maybe once early last year? Had nothing to do that Thursday night and the brothers of PiKapp are good people, so I went to their Cali Love party with some friends. I was immediately reminded of why I hate frat parties. Went to a bunch first quarter, freshmen year to get the "college experience." Learned the hard way to just say no. Sure, I danced wide with my buddies this time, but there is no need to try to dance among freshmen girls having sex and making babies with god knows who.

[AMI'S, aZn]
Went for Maral's birthday. Nice reunion with friends. Inhaled 3 orders of food. I'd forgotten that Ami's is owned by Koreans. They'd split the tab in two and kept nagging about this one unpaid crunch roll. Maral went Persian on them at the end of the night, accusing them of this and that, which was very amusing. Turns out we did have a second crunch roll, it was just on the other tab. Left awkwardly after her outburst. Ami's = always a good time.

[ECHOPLEX, insane]


Election night party with Telepathe, Abe Vigoda, Boy 8 Bit, and Diplo. The evening was heightened with the announcements of Obama's win. Diplo's set was insane and priceless. He's also kind of a McHottie, but too bad he's not with M.I.A. anymore because she might have made a surprise visit. Echoplex is a chill venue. I like that there is a detached lounging space far back from the stage so you can take a little break and relax in the back if you want. The stage itself is small and cozy. I much prefer these kind of intimate stage venues over stadiums.

[OBAMA, yay]
Still in shock and awe. So many stereotypes shattered. Wasn't my ideal turnout with Hilary knocked so early, but definitely Obama/Biden over McPain. I am anxious to see how and where he will lead us.

[JASON MRAZ, lover]

So he may be mainstream, pop acoustic, or whatever people wanna label him, but there's no denying that Jason Mraz is musically talented and a darn good singer. He's got a sharp ear for music; pitch perfect, complex melodies and harmonies, can do amazing things with his voice. CDs don't do him justice, which is why you see him releasing live/recording sessions of all his songs. He's also a fine lyricist for a modern-day singer-songwriter.

It was good to see Nat and Drew! We had a such a blast at the concert. One of the best I've been to, minus the stacked parking on a grass hill in front of a bathroom and the belligerent drunkards behind us. I definitely recommend catching a show at the Greek Theatre. It's a perfectly sized outdoor venue, rain or shine. I saw Alison Krauss and Union Station there last year sitting in an entirely different area and it was amazing. The acoustics are good anywhere you sit.

The food isn't all too bad. Of course, I had to eat something. Got a might tasty chicken tender basket with fries.

Observation: I'd say the Jason crowd was a good 30-40% Asian. We Asians do love him. He's toured Korea for sure.

Oh, and Toca Rivera is my new favorite. He and Jason are a dynamic duo that create beautiful harmonies, the likes of Simon & Garfunkel.

01 November 2008

HARDly boring.

HARDfest. aakdfhgwuekyhdjbsdomgdjamcrystalcastlesjusticeamazingaksjfkldsfj.

I don't know if I can even listen to my Crystal Castles album. It simply won't even come close to their live set. sigh.

Justice. o m g z.

This was probably the most exciting Halloween I've experienced at UCLA.
Aside from the 5000 gallons of wo-man sweat, a mixture of 102931092 substances stinking up my clothes, and incredibly rude and aggressive people (coachella is definitely a more polite festival, understandable, as it is not a semi-rave), I had a genuinely awesometastic time.

I also admired some of the creative costumes: Ziggy Stardust, Clockwork Orange, of course Cakes and Chuck's Dorothy and cowardly lion. so precious.

Those were a breath of fresh air from the usual:
underwear + ______ = slutty ______
a. badge, cop
b. red cross, nurse
c. cat ears, cat
d. wings, bird/VS angel/regular angel/fairy.

I think I did pretty decently in dressing it up as some sort of neon-80s mismatched nerd, accessorized by Thank You Mart for under $20.

I'm fairly certain I went through almost 100, if not 100 texts today, the majority of those at HARD. Never have I sent/received that many texts within one night. My text speed sucks horribly. In my hurry I sent some painfully misspelled texts which would appear as if a drunk person typed them. My abnormally squat thumbs don't help. Another reason I could never text off an i-phone because I'd probably push 4 letters at once.
--------
Backtracking a bit, I'm glad I was able to spend a little time with old high school friends before HARD. Thanks for visiting me guys! They went off to Weho afterward...which I'm sure was equally ridiculous and fun.

Now, to add to my numerous FAILs of the night, the sun will be rising shortly. oh joy.
Sad thing is, I'm wide awake.

I'll try and get a few hours of sleep, then study until the Jason Mraz concert tonight, a crazy switch from HARD, but just as wonderful in it's own Jason-can-sing-me-the-phone-book-and-it'd-be-lovely kinda way. Lost my voice at the fest, of course, so I shall be that obnoxious girl who sings along to every song sounding like honking donkey. I just realized I'll be driving to the Greek Theatre as well...in Saturday traffic. Going places can be frustrating, but everywhere has been worth the drive.
-------
New train of thought: I just looked at my phone and realized HOW DISGUSTING EVERYTHING IS RIGHT NOW. UNSANITARY. EW. freaking out. =(

Now, I'll be watching the sunrise in it's entirety while I sanitize everything I took to HARD.

Ah, and the Norm's dinner we had about an hour ago is metabolized so I is hungry again. Surprise, surprise.
-----

Whatever happens. Do the dance.

22 October 2008

over the hill

Gettin' too old. Two all-nighters lie ahead, but I highly doubt that my body will be able to handle it. It baffles me how I stayed up for almost a week these past two years; ridiculous. I can't wait for Thursday night when it'll be over for the week.

Coca cola, here I come.

19 October 2008

all the mavericks in the house put your hands up

so very amusing.

The past few days have been very exciting! I am lucky to have met student filmmakers, and am even more humbled and appreciative that I can help out on their projects. Saturday = CMF filming day. Saw about five different crews scattered around the apartments/campus, all trying to complete the difficult task of having to film their movies in less than a week.

Being involved with their films, regardless of what I was doing, was definitely fun for me and made me realize how much I do want to pursue something on the creative side of filmmaking. That's a lofty goal, but I think it is reasonable enough to achieve successfully within the next ten years or so...
I am so proud of Ty and Alex! Congrats on getting your films made, and congrats on Alaska, Alex! Maybe Palin will make an appearance at the festival and you can all shoo out the foreigners together while admiring Russia.

Reminder: MONDAY OCT. 20th is the last day to postmark any voter registration forms!!! So please register! UCLA is sooooooooo close to winning the campus voter reg so hopefully we can get to #1 after tomorrow. Free Death Cab concert in the future???!

My food stock is running dangerously low. I cooked a lot last week so I'm gonna need to go on a Ralph's run soon. For the most part, having the kitchen is working out well. I just need to buy more balanced foods so I'm not just eating sausage, spam and eggs all week long. That, plus I need to cut down on eating out too much...it hits the checking account hard. On that note, while I was driving to Roscoe's the other night, I discovered that there is a Boston Market nearby. Oh dear...

16 October 2008

sausquitoweedilla

Sausage + Taquito + Seaweed + Quesadilla = disgusting/delicious. Smoothie for dessert à la Magic Bullet. A wise decision by mother and me!

So much for Bruin Night Out. We got lazy after the meeting and ditched Acapulco, as much as I was craving their Sea of Cortez and steak fajitas...drool. As you can see from the above equation, I cooked the most random dinner certainly not for six strangers. They came, they ate, shenanigans happened as expected when Allen and Bobby reunite.

Bobby brought up the QuesaNachoRito from Freebirds. yum.
He and Allen attempted Lady and the Tramp with fruit roll-ups. Not romantic in any way.

We also discussed the beauty of a turducken (de-boned chicken within de-boned duck within de-boned turkey), which I'm determined to try this Thanksgiving. Though, I doubt I'll find anyone insane enough to eat it with me. Turducken might just be the last straw for my metabs. I put so much strain on that internal factory, I'm surprised it hasn't shutdown already.

SEBN meeting was short 'n' sweet. Afterward, we basically "vandalized" the chalkboards with any and every equation we could think of, philosophical questions, and yes, me tagging?! It's true. Apparently I have a decent tagging font. True story: I used to write out my friend's names on black paper with gel pens and cut them out for them to stick in their binders. It was a hot seller during recess and lunch. I also enjoyed Shawn's rendition of Bobby as a K-pop anime superhero with the coolest chalk goggles. Looked like a pokemaster.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Yesterday's sneak of Repo! The Genetic Opera was certainly amusing above all things. I was thoroughly entertained. There were some gawd awful moments, but I loved the unintentional Rocky Horror/Labyrinth parallels and Sarah Brightman. I'm probably one of the sad few who knew who she was before the film. She's brilliant, though.

Another successful Q&A followed the film. Seeing and hearing how the filmmakers basically screwed the standard and did what they really wanted to do was inspiring. Just makes me want to quit school and pursue all the random activities I loved doing when I was younger. Draw, play the piano, arts and crafts, read more, maybe a skip-it and lite brite while I'm at it. Sigh. Of course, I can't forget my ultimate dream/fantasy to sing and dance in a musical, but for now we'll just stick with the occasional Miley karaoke-dance party.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It's Blue and Gold week. Rally and bonfire are tonight, as well as Mike's hockey game. I don't really feel like attending any of these festivities. I'm tired, lazy, and Debbie Downer this quarter; I hate that I feel like this. Plus, midterms and papers approach, adding onto the depression.
- - - - -
In other news, I just watched Baby Mama with Ryan. I think it's a film that only Ryan and I would appreciate at 12:30 in the morning over bowl noodles and cereal. Overall horrible, but we laughed anyway. I'm currently writing this blog while trying to watch 2046 and read its subtitles. Let's just consider it all a failed attempt at multi-tasking. Basically, I just want to mail these back asap so I can keep the movies coming. Tsotsi and The Valet are next in queue. Should be excellent!

13 October 2008

ridiculous



The CEC retreat this weekend was insane, tiring, but lovely. I admit I was apprehensive, at first, to all the team building/bonding/ice-breakery, but I'm glad to have met more of the staff and gotten closer to those i knew.

Too many incidents and stories to recount, but I did enjoy the squiggly purple line that took up my entire GPS screen: 30 miles up Big Bear mountain. nausea + pitch black + gusts of fog + occasional spurts of blindness from oncoming car headlights = jolly good time / the opening sequence of Scary Movie 18.

SCENE TWO. EXT. NIGHT.

Humble teens in Toyota Matrix are lost trying to find cabin and pull into rubble driveway of stranger's log home. Shirtless, tattooed-chest, piercings dude walks out, approaches car.

DUDE
What are you guys doing here?

ME
Dougal, get back in the car please!

MICHELLE & RAMEE
This is where we lock our doors.

ME
So sorry, we're lost! (nervous giggle) . . .


Other than that, retreat was a great success. I lost my voice during the Miley dance party including most of films staff + Hannah! + others staring in disgust.

Pirates 2. was as nauseating as the windy road. I'm not sure I wanna staff that one. Sorry, Alex! But I baked the chocolate cake to make up for missing out.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Tempus fugit. Cliché to say, but it's too true. This is Blue and Gold week already! Week 3! What the...?
Classes, homework, sneak, work, applications, concert, meetings, rally, bonfire, hockey game, going out (if there's even time).

I decided to drop one of my classes so I can focus on others, which has freed up my week. Thus, I'm maybe looking for a second job. I might work at Sprinkles, yes, as in the cupcakes!
Apparently they pay $11/hour. I think it might be perfect because I actually don't adore Sprinkles cupcakes as everyone else seems to, so I can't really get sick of it either way. I'll just treat it as a product to sell. Plus, I get to take home any defect cupcakes, i.e. ones I accidentally press too hard and imprint with my fingers. So it'll be me accidentally touching 8 cupcakes in attempts to grab one. Oopsie daisies!

Netflix continues. I currently have 2046 and Baby Mama. Kar Wai Wong! Tina Fey + Amy Poehler + babies? !



Thanks Jarod.


09 October 2008

Bah, Humbug

Everyone seems to be burnt out, over school, unmotivated. I don't know how to go about solving this problem. Midterms are coming up. Winter break could not be further away. I really hope I can change up my attitude somehow, or I'll end up the biggest Scrooge McDowner. Ugh.

In other news, I spent some quality time alone in the CEC office today, admiring the ridonkulous screen on the MAC, answering a phone call from a gentleman who was wondering if we had any events celebrating Yom Kippur. I let him down politely.

Tomorrow is gonna be an arduous work day from nine to five, yes, just like Dolly, except I won't be holding my boss hostage with the help of Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda.
I'll be setting up voter registration forms in the post office, a personal project in my efforts to do whatever I can for this election, and to help UCLA reach the highest percentage of registrants so we can win a Death Cab concert! I even made flyers! I couldn't go crazy with them, since it's the post office, but they get the major points across.

Life observation and pet peeve: people never read instructions when filling out forms. I find myself robotically repeating the speech on "Certified Mail is ...", "Delivery Confirmation is..." and it's frustrating. Even with voter registration, I've had people who fill out the form in front of me, asking whether they need to fill out the next line, then the next, and the next. There are 18 items, two of which are noted optional. Please read.

Tonight holds much potential for fun! We've decided to go all out and have dinner Gossip Girl style, i.e., us trying to put together our snazziest Chuck, Blair, and Serena ensembles. This is probably the only time we'll be going to the Hotel Angeleno for a fancy dinner; might as well dress up and enjoy it.

07 October 2008

odds 'n' ends

I found the Bruincard! Just found it this morning and I can't remember where or when either...

At the moment, I am watching the debates. I find it difficult to stay focused on the topics of discussion. I keep thinking about how nice it would be if McCain were my gramps and Obama my pops, just two nice guys with oddly soothing voices. It's horrifying that we, as college students, have so much power in this election, yet we're still fairly ignorant about a lot of things and have that much power to screw ourselves over. Being part of and seeing all the efforts around campus to encourage everyone to vote is wonderful, though. Many people drop-off voter reg forms at the post office and always ask for them as well. Progress!

Oh, but just now the debates went from friendly to Gossip Girl. They're getting catty on taxes, social security, and medicare. Speaking of drama...I just remember I missed GG last night due to the sneak, but that was much more enlightening. Marianna Palka and Jason Ritter were the loveliest guests for Q&A.

As for fall quarter, I'm worried whether I can keep it up or not. I just feel completely burned out already, and this time for legitimate reasons not entirely because of my insomnia. On Sunday as I was driving back to school, it hit me that this is our third year. In a little less than two years real life starts. What the...?!? That's definitely !-?, for I am not excited about the unknown; same old dilemma, what's my plan? Of course, I do have teaching no matter what and I should probably start looking into the basics like a CCTC credential program and tests like CBEST to basically establish that I'm not a bonehead with the same intellectual ability of your five-year old child. I think not passing the CBEST would qualify for an epic fail.

This Friday we leave for retreat. I slightly regret volunteering to drive now that I know we are going to Big Bear. I'm also sad we are missing Iron Man--I kinda wanted to watch it again. But I know we will be reimbursed for gas and that retreat will be productive. Maybe I'll just stop by my house on the way there, have dinner, fill up the tank and continue on the 210 to the base of the most nauseating mountain drive. Windy roads, wee!

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. I have tons of French homework to catch up on. Meetings galore. I also need to finish up applications for DM Committee and SCA. More time committments which I probably won't be able to follow through on.

Silver lining for the week: using the complimentary dinner for 2 coupon at West Restaurant at the Hotel Angeleno. We will be making the best of that one coupon, the five of us, ordering a few extra appetizers/entrees and splitting all the costs. Our excuse to dress up, qualifying for their requirement of "smart casual"...as opposed to stupid casual? Would that be hillbilly plaid + mocassins? Thankfully the Angeleno is only five minutes away and dinner seating ends at 10pm so we will make it just on time. I'm already salivating over that meal. Excitement!

Oo! and because I'm so in awe with the machine, I must express my enthusiasm over Magic Bullet and the fact that it works! Of course, now, I'll have to experiment like crazy and try dicing, blending, chopping, ___ing whatever I can.

I've upgraded my Netflix to the next, 2-DVDs at-a-time because Jeffries and Myers made me feel lame about my $8.99 plan. It was a good upgrade, though I did discover how misleading "flat fee" is because they charge tax. Oh well.

The debates are very tense now. I'm anxious for upcoming tv, mainly House and Fringe, plus my mind-numbing reality show addictions that I choose not to mention. Kudos if you can guess though!

06 October 2008

douze jours plus tard...

Due to some poor planning, I am taking French IV this fall after having taken French III last fall. The large gap is definitely taking its toll. Thus, I have decided to use some French here and there while blogging, hopefully adding some flair and flounce to these mundane ramblings. For you, the reader, though it will be slightly annoying, it should help you learn some random French, non? Oui?

It's been a while since my last post, and I can't recall every exciting detail, but here are some re-caps that stick out in my mind.

Sproul Block Party. I know, that just sounds lame, but lame it was not! That's how it started, me and Susan, third-year creepers walking up to a dead turnaround with freshmen. We got there a bit too early, found Aldy and Maral, then the party started. We danced and sang like crazy for 3.5 hours. I couldn't even make it back to the apartment so I crashed on Maral's awesome futon <3. Dance parTAY followed up this past Thursday at the most fun Tiger Heat we could possibly ask for, yes, la nuit de Britney Spears!! However, all this dancing and exhaustion has us worrying about Dance Marathon. I think the big 2-0 is showing some signs of wear on my energy. How sad.

Week two is off to a start trés intéressant (cheesy and forced, but I'll continue). Sidenote: these wannabe educational inserts remind me of the SNL parody on Dora. Good times.

Premièrement, I bought a Magic Bullet from Costco! Those who know me can easily picture little Megan jumping with excitement over this infomercial treasure. I'm as happy as I was 16 years ago on le jour de Noël when I opened up my Polly Pocketville from Santa. Now I can finally make my father-daughter smoothie--so named because we "invented" it this summer after much experimenting.

Deuxièmement, Kim and I assembled a rather awesome curtain to cover the open doorway that leads to our space from the kitchen. The project only took dix minutes. We cut a sheet that I took from Sproul this summer in half and scrunched them on the rod--two pieces of plastic cable covers stuck together. Then we evened out the bottom, snip snip, and voila! Privacy! We have more ambitious goals for aesthetics, maybe some tie-dying or painting, but for a makeshift curtain, it does the job. Now, I don't have to worry about the other roommates seeing me walk across to the bathroom in the morning looking haggard. It's not really a self-confidence issue. I'm just not a pretty sight in the morning and would like to spare the other girls from having to start their day seeing a homeless person in their apartment.

Troisièmement, I just got back to the apartment after driving my friend's roommate to the E.R. because of a sudden foot injury. I shall spare you the gory details but let's just say: glass bottle, shatter, shards, foot. Thankfully, the injury wasn't deathly serious, but it will require a few stitches. I will probably receive a call soon to go pick her up from the brand spankin' new Reagan Med Center, which, by the way, is very nice, as Borat would say. As usual, the child within me wanted to explore the lobby de l'hôpital. The chairs were pleasantly cushy, adjacent to a fancy children's t.v. room and vending machines. To my utmost joy, there were dispensers everywhere with super hospital Purell. Also, each bathroom stall had a "pull for help" cord, that I probably would have yanked without second thought had the label not caught my attention first.

In other news, my next Netflix flick is on its way. Queue (same in French!) to date: The Counterfeiters; Tsotsi; 2046. I was considering upgrading to the next plan up, but je sais que je won't be watching more as the quarter goes on.

As for the VP debate, they made me giggle as much as the SNL parodies did. Tina's spot on impersonation becomes increasingly disturbing. Who knew Anne Hathaway had such a lovely singing voice?

Maintenant (now), I am fairly screwed for tomorrow's cours de Francais. Many exercises to do and questions to answer. I'm so distracted by the smell of the newly bought everything bagels. Did I mention that I basically brought back four boxes worth of Costco, Vons, and the Korean market? Om nom nom...

bonne nuit!

23 September 2008

this and that

Discovery: the window in our room makes the most painful noise known to mankind upon opening/closing. Imagine your token "fingernails down a chalkboard," but at a pitch twice more shrill.

Reason for discovery: guy belting out the In-N-Out jingle in a semi-operatic style; guy blasting lil' Wayne; more drunk people walking the streets.

On any other night, I'd be more tolerable of the noise, probably find jingle guy amusing, but I have a migraine at the moment because of my sleep deprivation.

I just realized I missed Heroes and Boston Legal last night, and I have no t.v. yet to watch House and Fringe tonight. Heart sighs.

On a brighter note, Netflix is really as fast as they claim! My eyes actually widened when I saw the red envelope in my mailbox.

Current film: Married Life. I'll watch anything with Chris Cooper.

Getting settled...

It's only Tuesday of zero week and I am exhausted. I think I've slept 11 hours in the past three days, but not without reason.

Saturday was move-in day. Unfortunately random roommate #1 beat Kim and I to the punch and took the significantly larger bedroom, with larger bathroom and walk-in closet also in the room. I cried inside. However, I've come to accept this reality and have settled in comfortably. I do appreciate that the kitchen is fairly spacious (in square footage, but certainly not in cabinet space, which is dreadful) as well as the living room and oddly long balcony. Fireplace, too, with pretty marble frame!

Markus had his birthday/apartment kickback that evening. Four hours of a Filipino karaoke program with very limited American song choices. Not only were the majorty of English songs by Tony Bennett (respect, love him), but the lyrics to any song we chose were also in good old Engrish. I'm sure an Asian person input what they thought they were hearing. So very amusing.
The party went into the wee hours of morning ending with an hour of big booty--I'd never played before, but coming up with ridiculous rules to make the game more difficult was more entertaining than you could imagine.

On Sunday I drove back home from LA for the first time, all by meself! I consider it Megan's driving adventure No. 2: missed the 405, had to go all the way to Pico to catch the freeway again; almost exited off Grand Ave when I got to downtown. Fischerspooner's "Cloud" is playing right now on my speaker, how appropriate for me: "I lost myself...you can't see how..." I'm a generally confused and flighty person. Actually, I wouldn't say flighty, for that implies that I'm irresponsible, which, I think and hope I am not. Maybe a little spacey 40% of the time, awkward 98% of the time. Everything tends to come together, though.

Bruin Bash was a huge success. Wristbanding for the film was a doozy as usual. I've become increasingly more comfortable raising my voice to a crowd and saying no to those who don't make the cut-off. I absolutely loved Eagle Eye up until the last five minutes. Reminded me of the awful ending to War of the Worlds.

As usual, I made my way to the activities fair for my annual "stuff a bag with everything the clubs/orgs are giving away" event. But! I took less crap, I really did. Only THREE pens, two highlighters, two post-its, a pom pom, some candy, and a UN flag. This is a huge improvement from 20+ pens, 10+ post-its, and Ann Rynd's Atlas Shrugged, which sits somewhere at home and will probably never be read. I tabled with Susan for USAC's voter reg.; got sunburned. Now I feel unpleasantly warm and flushed all day.

Had work too early in the morning. Snoozed from 7:30am-8am in three minute intervals, gasping each time because I thought I'd slept through my shift. I have yet to get a grasp on the amount of time it will take me to walk to various places on campus from my new home. Fortunately, I am starting to master the map of apartments and their not-so-parallel streets. I am not looking foward to opening again tomorrow morning. Sigh.

I still don't have pots and pans, but I am holding back from eating bowl noodles 3 times a day. I've been microwaving whatever I can and have been eating a great deal of Honey Bunches of Oats. Thank you Markus for saving me last night and letting me cook in your kitchen! Once I get cooking tools, I'll probably never leave my apartment.

We are having a mandatory apartment meeting tonight, including "fun, games, prizes" and meeting and mingling. I don't really want to go, but I should make the effort. Afterward, I'll be making a driving trip to Ralph's to buy groceries--driving, only because this is my initial stock-up trip and I won't be able to carry everything back. My dad recently gave me the budget speech, so I am nervous about having to be economical and officially manage my finances and spending. Although, I have already been penny-pinching over food for a while, making dinner decisions based on what coupons I have. My wallet explodes with them because I constantly collect. Maybe that's sad, but I is poor.

I plan to enjoy the rest of zero week as much as possible, as exhausting as it may be. Come Monday, the reality of fall quarter will sink in, as well as the burdensome knowledge that I cannot possible do everything I want to do. The activity count is high: CEC, radio news, SEBN, post office, the blogsite that Danny and I are attempting to have up and running by next week, oh, and classes, of course.
In addition to those committments, I desperately want to be more involved with sevice activities--I picked up about eight flyers for different service clubs and projects at the fair. Obviously, to commit to all of them is impossible, but I am set on joining at least one, as well as enrolling in just one recreation class. I have very little faith in myself that I'll keep up pilates in the apartment even though my mat is here. Also, I must force myself to run at Drake at least twice a week so I don't deteriorate into complete sloth this year.

Nap time. Need the beauty rest before I meet and mingle with people? Hah. I just want the bags under my eyes to go down a bit to create the illusion of a person who sleeps.

Note to self: my first Netflix movie should be arriving today! Anticipation! Now, if I could only find my mailbox key...

18 September 2008

Tuesday, Wednesday, happy days!

I hate driving. I drove back home from LA on Tuesday. Seconds after getting on the 405, one has to merge right away, or one will get right back off the exit. I pulled a Clueless-type move and did that thing where I looked wayyy over my left shoulder as my car drifted wayyyy right, almost making that exit! Success!

Freeway merging = scary. Everything else is fine.
Toyota Matrix has wonderful gas mileage, but boy, trying to accelerate past 40 is depressing.
If you see me on the freeway, please, be kind and speed up so I may merge behind you. Trust me, it's best for both of us.
- - - - - - - - - -
Disneyland yesterday was such good fun. My pass expired that day, so Steph and I figured we'd make the most of it. We participated in all sorts of shenanigans, climbing things, sneaking a shortcut back into the two minute line of Space Mountain, exiting through the back path of Minnie's house--a lovely spot for pictures if any of you get the chance. This back way led us to the most gigantic cartoonish gates we'd ever seen. It was one of the highlights of the day, not topping the most delicious $3.00 churro. So hot and fresh and sugary sweet! I only noticed after an hour exploring Toontown that so many sugar granules had fallen and stuck to my arms.I really enjoyed that churro.

I'd also never been in Chip 'N Dale's (haha!) Treehouse before. Even after 20 years of going to Disneyland, there are still new things to do. I love that. Although, I'm sure I've already experienced some of these "new" activities when I was younger and my mom would take me to Disneyland almost once a month; Chuck E' Cheese almost every week. So much dedication, I'm very grateful. I do remember that she used to put me on top of the large garbage cans to dance around during the Electrical Parade since she was neither tall nor crazy enough to put a shaking child on her shoulder for the whole duration of that lightfest. I still cannot forgive Disney for taking away the parade, but at least Fantasia is still there. The new parade song, "Welcome" by Phil Collins and the fireworks show have also helped to ease the pain.

Steph and I had quite a day. We ate lunch at the dumpling house in Buena Park before Disneyland, indulged in In-N-Out for dinner, then had the famous fruit shaved ice, or "ghwa-il-bing-soo" if anyone wants to order it sometime in the future.
- - - - - - - - -
Today will be unbelievably busy. Lunch with Noah, finally! Figuring-out-what-to-do-with-apartment session with Kim. We are meeting at a TBD Target location midway between Riverside and elderly folkville where I live.

Steph and I went a little overboard last night and made ridiculous plans for today. Downtown Fullerton in no particular order: Buffalo Exchange, park, museum, open studio at the vintage jewelry store; Streamer's live jazz cafe, testing out the spa attached to Cafe Java Bru? We do wonder how all the asian people come out glowing and looking so fresh as we scarf down our fruity treat.
Trying to accomplish all of these is unrealistic, so we will be winging the activities based on how far and fast our feet take us around downtown.
- - - - - - - - -
Oh wow, the pungent smell of mom's coffee brewing is definitely waking me up, mostly because I find the scent disgusting.
I've got VH1 videos playing on t.v. The string instrumental on "Viva la vida" is oddly inspiring; the song really gets me going for some reason.

It is now 7:45am.
I've stayed up all night and now I'm actually going to take a nap before lunch.
Surprise!!!! Betcha didn't see that coming! Oh, no wait, i've failed miserably like this before. I do need to get in a good nap before I start the day at 10:45am. Today will be hectic but I am excited to see what will happen as I drive all over the place, freeway here, freeway there.

Wish me luck!