3 Movies

I saw 3 movies this weekend. After hearing many of my friends recommending Tropic Thunder, I decided to check it out. It was very funny. Although there were bits in the movie that didn't work quite well for me. Robert Downey Jr.'s portraying a black actor portraying a soldier was definitely the funniest and borderline offensive part of the movie. I didn't get into the agent bit or the movie mogul bit as much, their segments in the film were kind of a hit and miss for me. What I liked besides RDJ's performance were the scenes poking fun of Hollywood blockbuster films, and self-serious actors. It was pretty funny.

The House Bunny is also a comedy, but it is not as outlandish or wink-wink funny. I think Anna Faris is one of the best comedic actresses now. She was excellent in this OK film. Her timing was spot-on, and she could be hilarious, attractive and very likeable all at the same time. The story was basic and formulaic, but she kept everything moving swimmingly with sparkles whenever she's onscreen. Too bad the movie wasn't as great as her.

Lastly I saw The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants 2. The movie was also on the formulaic side. You could pretty much predict what was about to happen and who the girls were going to pick. By the way, there were lots of guy eye-candies in this movie. So surprised and happy that they cast an Asian actor as one of the love interests - Leonardo Nam's role is kind of a shock for me. Usually in romantic comedies, or most mainstream movies, young Asian guys are never the main lead. Not so in this movie, he's front and center (for one of the girls). Thinking back, the acting talent in this movie is evidently more progressive and diverse than 99% of the summer movies these days. Just for that, I totally LOVE them traveling pants! Even though the stories the girls went through were predictable, their characters were well-developed and the bond between them was strong and genuine. And yes, big, BIG points for casting a multi-ethnic ensemble for a summer mainstream movie.

I was too lazy to blog yesterday. It wasn't like I did a lot of stuff. I just wasn't spending a lot of time on the computer. SO happy tomorrow is a holiday.

Yay Friday

The long Labor Day weekend is finally here! Good! Because I didn't sleep well last night and will use plenty of nappy time. I think I woke up a few times and around 6 AM my eyes were wide open. I tried to go back to sleep for another 10 - 20 min but that didn't work out. Today I was quite productive on the computer. I learned a couple of new things in InDesign: Using text thread and paragraph styles. It felt good to get stuff done and learn at the same time.

We didn't get to leave work early like most other companies, which made me dislike this place even more. Sigh. I went to the gym after getting off of the crowded and very slow 10 Freeway. The gym was half-empty around 6:30. People seemed chilled and laid-back as there were no lines or waiting. I didn't stay long though - I was meeting Megan tonight. I was debating if I should go to Subway for dinner again, then I decided to try Baja Fresh finally. The food there wasn't exactly cheap. The place was kind of empty too. Did everybody leave town, really?

After asking the cashier which burrito had rice and getting a strong recommendation from her, I ordered their Burrito Ultimo, to go. I was surprised to find out that it was actually tasty. Of course it was salty and I am feeling dry now. Probably once a month kind of a treat for me. I met up with Megan afterwards and we went to SingBaLa for their shaved ice. Hanging out with Megan is always filled with big laughs. Now I'm back and feeling stuffed.

I am seriously considering visiting Mom and Dad in China this October. I really want a vacation, and also I feel there might not be that much time in the future that I will get to spend with Dad. I don't know. It's also about damn time that I get out of LA and do some traveling abroad. We'll see.

Recruiter

Stressed somewhat today. I had a recruiter interview this afternoon and I was debating if I should go. Dave said no. Jen said probably no. PK said Dave's probably right. I was just unsure and stressed out about it. The more people I talked to, the more confused I got. It wasn't very smart to invite all these opinions. I was just lost. In the end I went. I wanted to find out what it was about myself. If it was terrible, at least I tried. And I won't do it again.

The traffic was terrible coming back. I had to postpone my dinner with Judy. I was both hungry and in some serious need to use a toilet. It took me an hour and a half to get back home. 10 Freeway was quite painful. Sigh. Dave's mostly right... again.

I liked the PR5 episode last night. Although not as fun as the drag challenge the outfits were innovative and some were almost artsy. I came back home late from Dave's and didn't blog. I had to rehang the shower curtain too. I washed a lot of stuff yesterday.

The big weekend is finally here. I will apply for more jobs and of course, relax.

What to do

I wish I had some kind of a direction or some life ambition or "the ultimate goal." These days I dread going into the downtown building where I work. I think about leaving and getting another job. At the same time I wonder if that's the right path to take. What if the new job disappoints me again?

I want to take a break and travel. I think about visiting dad, who in October will fly to China to celebrate his uncle's birthday. It's been a long time since I saw him. Mom's also in China now. So it will be fun to see them both. Sigh. I don't know. But what if I don't find a job before October? I can't really take 2 weeks off from this new job yet. I don't like working here anyway. I just have a lot of questions and not a good answer to solve any one of them.

I've been thinking about working for myself too. Too bad I don't know anything about money and business. It only brings on more stress. Why can't I just be satisfied with what I have? Ugh. I don't know what to do with myself.

Upset

I am furious. I took a nice shirt and tie to Cleaners Place in San Gabriel / Alhambra last week and went to pick them up today. I didn't check the items when I was there. When I came back and opened the bags, I found my tie got a big hole on the side and worse, they didn't even take the stains out. It felt terrible seeing what they had done to my tie. To add to the insult, Cleaners Place attached this note saying they took "Special Attention" to it. What attention? To deliberately tear a hole on it and purposely not clean it? Cleaners Place... more like Ruin Your Nice Clothes Place. I was and still am upset. It cost like $4 to dry clean each piece too. If I was going to cut a hole on it, I would have done it myself without spending a dime. Seriously. The more I think about this more pissed off I get.

I think all dry clean places are rip-offs. They want us to sign this liability contract before leaving, to agree on their terms, so if anything happens to the garment they are not responsible. It's the worst feeling knowing you cannot do anything about it after they destroy something you love. Cleaners Place will never see me back. I'm so mad.

Picnic Time

Today was very hot. It of course was also the day we had the picnic event. Dave and Jose were already at the park when I got there. It was a lot sunnier than last month's party. I overstuffed myself today. Food coma hit me hard after eating 2 sandwiches and a ton of fruits. I didn't fall asleep though. The sun kept moving towards where I was trying to lay my head. Just kidding. The shade under the tree just wasn't covering the ground enough. Sigh. I did get to play a little bit of badminton, so that woke me up somewhat. We finished and cleaned up our area around 5 o'clock. It was a great success.

No one called

Nobody called me today. I felt like I didn't have any friends. I did call a couple of people though. Of course they didn't answer. Oh well. I got sort of productive. I applied 2 jobs in the morning. I won and bought something online. I had lunch with my lovely neighbor. I finished logo and business card designs for my freelance gig. I went out and shopped at TJ's. Then I went to Subway's and got a tuna sandwich for dinner. After I ate that at home I cleaned up my bedroom patio. I even found time to apply 2 more jobs just now.

Who knew being lonely could make someone super productive, sometimes?

Lots of walking

Today's very laid-back. Work was slow. I took a morning walk with my office-mate to get his breakfast. We sat in Carl's Jr. and finished his chicken burger. Not much was happening after we got back. Then lunch time we walked over to the food court inside Macy's Plaza, I had Chinese and he had sushi. It was not terrible, considering it was Asian fast food. We spent the next 30 min. in Border's Express bookstore before returning to work. Then around 4 pm, I took another walk with a co-worker to World Trade Center to take care of her personal business. Yea I know - I said it was laid-back.

Seriously. It's Friday. So just sit back and relax.

Excitement!

I just got paid from my first freelance job! It's exciting. Someone from work wanted business card designs for her company. I asked if she had a logo, she said no. So I created 3 logos and the business card designs. Dave and Jose helped me with the invoice. After I sent it to her, she agreed to the pricing, and she paid me partially today. I will make another set with different colors and layout for her business card this weekend. Hopefully I will have it completed next week. Wow - this freelance gig sure feels nice!

I came home late last night and didn't get a chance to blog. I really liked the PR5 episode yesterday. RuPaul is always fabulous and hilarious. This week's drag queen outfit challenge is so over the top and so much fun. Let's be honest, this season's contestants are a little on the boring and dull side. So I was happy to see they were forced to be very theatrical and dramatic in their work. I caught the recap again tonight on Bravo and yep, it's still awesome and laugh-out-loud funny. Where would we be in a world without drag queens and RuPaul?

A nap after lunch

Today was a slow and easy day. It was so laid-back that I took a nap right after lunch in the cafe! A co-worker and I ate together and after we finished, we both were feeling the inevitable food coma. "Oh I can really use a nap right now," I said.

"Me too," she replied.

We had about 20 minutes before returning to the office. So I put my lunch bag on the table, then my head on top of it. She just rested in her arms. At first I thought there was no way I could fall asleep like that. Guess again - I quickly passed out and was gone for good 10 - 15 minutes. It was kind of awesome and scary. I just slept with a co-worker, inside the building cafe, on the table with 10s of other people eating and chatting around us.

It was great though. I didn't feel nappy for the rest of the day.

Learning something new

I learned a couple of new things at work today. I was asked to research on how to bring our site to better page ranking in search engines. I really didn't think much of this topic before. Then I started to read up the links our web designer sent me. Boy, who knew this was some type of essential knowledge and there were actual companies whose sole business and main objective was to "optimize" a company's website search results. So I was reading all these pages, and learning about the practices and science behind this SEO thing. Right - Before this morning, I wouldn't know what that meant either. It stands for search engine optimization. And did I mention it's some kind of a legitimate business? It's like when I learned that there were companies in LA that would take applicants who weren't able to obtain driver licenses here to another state to get them there legally, and come back. Yea, that's a business too! Seriously. Who knew?

Another thing I learned today was that the closest Panda Express near my building in downtown was located inside the library. Yea that's right! One of my co-workers said he wanted to have Panda for lunch and I decided to tag along. We kept walking towards the library and I was like, "Um, why are we going to the library?"

"Because Panda is in the library," he said.

WOW! I felt like a tourist everyday! This was the first time where I went into a library to eat, not borrow a book or DVD. It was weird and exciting.

Oh and I also found out one of the girls at work didn't get her parking reimbursement for 2 months, just like me. She has been with the company for a couple of years now, so I figure this isn't an isolated incident. There are probably more than one or two people who are still waiting for their reimbursement checks. I mean I'm still pissed, but knowing someone else is going through the same thing, makes it a little less annoying. Just a little.

Vacuumed

I finally vacuumed! I am so proud of myself. It had been on my mind for weeks and I kept putting it off. I could be so lazy. I only wish I had done more today, errand-wise. I couldn't find a dry cleaner that was open today. I went two different ones after gym today and was disappointed twice. Oh well, I will have to try again this week.

Done not much

So I didn't really do much today. I cleaned the bedroom and shredded some junk mails. I watched a HK movie on DVD called Sound Of Color - it was not perfect, but it was sweet and moving at times. Some of the songs used were a bit awkward. I didn't know if they were Chinese songs or just someone humming along like singing actual lyrics. I was distracted. Other than the score, the movie was a B- for me.

After the movie I went out and got two banh mi sandwiches and had one for lunch. The dry cleaner I wanted to try was closed so I would have to find another one tomorrow. I came home and watched more TV and then took an hour nap. It was a very good one too. I was falling asleep on the couch, and when I did get into bed, I was gone. Nice. I woke up at 7 and cleaned a little more. Then I had the other banh mi for dinner, and my neighbor made hearty beef vegetable soup which I got a big bowl of it. She's awesome, and I am a lucky boy.

Today's job search didn't get very far. This morning I saw two, but the first one's link was problematic, I kept having issues uploading my resume. The second one's expired, or so it seemed. Tonight I visited a couple of other sites and I didn't see any suitable jobs for my skills and interests. Maybe tomorrow I will check back and see.

Oh and I will vacuum too.

Where am I?

Weekend is here again. I am going to focus on job search and perhaps house cleaning. My bedroom is a mess and the carpet definitely needs some good vacuuming. I have been feeling slow and unmotivated. I suppose I have never been the active type. These days it just feels even more so. What is my goal and where can I find the path to true fulfillment? Is career my answer? Maybe it's money. Or is it love? Or is it something like religion and faith?

I think too much. I am bored again.

No need to work!

Yesterday I went with three other co-workers to 4 different branches of the company. It was very hot outside - I was very tired by the end of the trip. Of course it was still good to be out of the office most of the day. I came back and did a couple of quick jobs and it was time to leave for Dave's. I got home kind of late, so no blogging yesterday.

Today our building's electricity went out. The elevators were out of order, then came back to life. The offices however never recovered. I didn't want to stay at all, but we couldn't go home. I talked with some of the people stuck at work, then went out for a walk. Finally TY returned my call and invited me to have lunch in Little Tokyo. I had never been on DASH before. It only cost a quarter! It was fun riding from where my work was to the artist district next to LT. We went to R23 and it was a posh, elegant and charming restaurant. We both had their lunch special, and finished with mochi ice cream and red bean ice cream. Yum! It was a great lunch. Someone from work called to let me know finally the managers decided to let people go home. That was a relief. TY and I rode the bus back to our buildings, and I took off before 2 PM.

Perceptions

My building's fire alarm went off this afternoon. It was false, but it created chaos anyway. We could see and smell the smoke coming from one of the lower levels. It didn't take long for people to crowd the elevators. Luckily it was just a false alarm and nothing serious went wrong. I was with a few of the company people and most of them seemed pretty collected and were calm. We had lunch together and I got to learn more about other people at work. I found out who were crazy, who hated whom, who looked older than she truly was. What can I say, gossip makes the world go around.

Later this afternoon I talked to one of the VPs whom I thought at first was very distant and unwelcoming. She was actually sympathetic and wise. I wish we spoke sooner and she was my supervisor. It would make a difference.

Broiling and Ironing

Wayne is back in town and all of us met up at The Broiling Crab tonight to catch up. It was a lot of fun, and even Jen enjoyed the place. We talked laughed and watched The Olympics. I had a great time.

I ironed a few shirts after I got home from the dinner. I learned that even if the shirts said "Wrinkle Free" they might not be. In fact they were "Wrinkle Always" in disguise. I found the Kenneth Cole Reaction shirts to be the toughest to get the wrinkles out. Wrinkle Free? Please. Who were they kidding?

Group Movie Day

I went to a very good Mexican restaurant for lunch with Dave Jose PK and Yu today. The food was cooked beautifully and very tasty. I especially liked their avocado appetizer. Although my dish was on the salty side I enjoyed the food a lot.

We then saw Pineapple Express in Silverlake. The movie was very funny. The leads are lovable and have great chemistry. The story was on the thin side, but it was a solid B comedy. We came back to Dave's and watched ABDC together. I was glad Dave finally got to see the show after hearing me raving about it for weeks. After PK and Yu left we found and watched the Olympics. It was a mellow Sunday evening.

Tomorrow is Monday again. The long weekend is finally coming in 3 weeks!

New Beginning

Dave Jose and I watched the opening of Olympics last night. What an amazing display of beauty and excess! I was blown away by the group performances and fireworks. How could I not? That was some spectacle. Of course I didn't bother to blog last night. It was all about the Olympics in Beijing.

Today I met my godmother finally. She didn't seem to age. We went to CPK in Chino Hills and then shopped a bit. I came back home feeling completely tired and drained. I chatted with Megan briefly and took a nice nap. I didn't get to eat a proper dinner, but it was ok. I had eaten enough this afternoon.

Oh I started to look and apply for jobs again. It's a new beginning.

Feeling tired

I purchased the second month's parking permit today. No I didn't get the last month's reimbursement still. It's frustrating.

I watched ABDC tonight. It's a great episode. Too bad Fanny Pak was let go. They were always the funnest and most entertaining crew. Who's going to provide the wows and laughs now? Then again, there's always next year.

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday. I am going to finally see my godmother this weekend. She's leaving next week and this will be the only time I get to meet up with her. I'm happy I don't need to drive her and her daughter to Disneyland. By the way, when are we going to get a holiday? It's been too long!

I can't believe it's August already! 2008 is more than half over!

Parking still not paid!

No reimbursement still! The parking fee for August is due tomorrow and I haven't got company's check for last month's yet. It's annoying. I don't know when I will be reimbursed. This is one of the reasons why I don't like working at this company. There's no telling when or how certain responsibilities will get accomplished. Here I go again. Complain complain complain.

Other than this annoyance, today was actually a good day. A co-worker came to share her story about her experiences at the company and I could actually relate. It felt nice to see that other side. It's not always positive and happy. People actually have the same concerns and doubts that I do.

Sigh. When will I get my July's reimbursement though? It's so stupid.

Nooooo! Another one!!!

I just finished watching I Survived A Japanese Game Show finale. It was fun. The contestants seemed to be mega celebrities in Japan. I hope the show comes back next year.

I got another ticket this morning. It's ridiculous. I went on the double yellow lanes to get to the front to make a left turn. I have been doing that for years and I never had a problem before. Of course I had to get caught today. I blamed my tie. It took me 15 - 20 minutes to get it to look right this morning. If I didn't spend that time undoing and redoing the tie, or didn't wear that tie, I wouldn't have taken that route and the cop wouldn't have seen me. It's just annoying. It's my second ticket this year. UGH!

Complainer

I spent some time today seriously thinking about my new job and its prospects. It's been 4 weeks and this is the beginning of my 5th week. I've gone back and forth considering if I want to stay or leave. I complain about this job a lot and it is making me think perhaps it's not the right choice after all. Of course, there is stuff to like. I like my computer. I like ...

I can't name much else. There is a couple of people I like there, and I can genuinely smile when I see them. As far as the work that I've done, mostly it has been OK.

Now the bad parts... I don't like most of the senior executives there. I feel they are either cold or have way too much a showman personality. So I get either immense distance or impracticality from the supervisors, not appealing. Their main objectives feel shallow at times and I don't have a lot of confidence in the overall plan. I especially don't like the parking situation. I still don't know when I will get reimbursed for it. Also I am under a lot of eyes when I'm in the office and it's stressful to sit there and work. Of course I feel I have a lot to prove, however, not a lot of opportunities to gain momentum so far. I can't help but feeling cynical towards the job and I wish I could be less negative.

I don't know if people can be very happy about their jobs. I'm just not very satisfied. Deep down I have a feeling this is the right place for me to be, but why do I feel so misplaced and unhappy? I am going to stay I think, just to torture myself. I need more time to decide if it's wise to let go.

All food no exercising

It's been a weekend of food. Yesterday morning I sent out Sophya's present and then went to the movies. I saw The Dark Knight first. It was indeed dark and very sophisticated. I am not going to give it any more praise than it's already received. It's a very well-made film that happens to be a superhero summer movie. Because it's complex and serious I don't believe I understood everything. Maybe that's why so many people saw it more than once. Then I watched The Mummy 3. That was a serious letdown. The story is as poorly constructed as the characters. It's not even laughing-out-loud funny bad, it's just bad. The special effects were good though, that's about it.

Two movies later I went to a Mexican restaurant and got a chicken burrito for a late lunch. It was only so so. I felt sleepy soon after and took a short nap on the couch - thanks to the burrito induced food coma. Woke up around 5 and took a quick shower. Dave Jose and I then went to Culver City for Indian buffet. It was not what I expected. Govinda serves half salad type items and half hot Indian cuisine items. The place was very crowded. I didn't know Hinduism very well so it was a lot of fun for me to people watch. I liked the food but I thought the salad stuff was just ok. Afterwards we went shopping at TJ's and Dave got a lot of stuff. He was preparing a brunch party tomorrow morning. We came back and had the peppermint cheesecake he got. We ate too much! I left around 10 and told them I would be back the next day.

I woke up this morning at 9:10 and got ready to go to Dave's again. He texted me to remind me to get a bag of ice, so I went to the market first. There were lots of people shopping. When I arrived with the requested ice half the food was gone. No problem, I had to save room for my lunch with Nicole at 1. This was a small brunch party for Bonnie's birthday. It was casual breezy and happy. We all loved the coconut cake Cam brought. After the cake off I went. It was good to see Nicole again. We met at Cafe Sole. I had a calamari steak panini and she had a vegetarian panini. Mine was a little salty. The dessert was good. We chatted for a long time, then decided to go shopping together. We went to Glendale Galleria around 4 and it was a good idea to stay inside the mall instead of walking outside around The Americana. She got a shirt and some accessories. I bought the refills for my pen. They were expensive too. Hopefully they will last me for a while.

I came home, rested a bit, then went out to meet up with Dave and Jose for dinner. We went to Hong Yei again. It's a good choice for consistently good food. We stuffed ourselves again and were very happy. I came back after 8 and decided to actually do some work. I ironed several shirts and remembered to blog again (totally forgot about it last night). I didn't go to the gym yesterday or today. I also ate a ton of food. I felt like a pig, but a happy pig.

The Hammer ROCKS!

Yay! It's Friday! I went to the gym after work, then bought a tuna sandwich after that. I came home and turned the TV on. There was nothing to watch. I decided to watch the DVD I got from Netflix.

What a good movie it was! I was totally surprised. I heard about it on his morning radio show, but I never went to the theater to see it when it came out. The Hammer is an engaging, funny, sweet, and solid movie that I think has just become one of my favorites this year, maybe of all time even. Although the story is simple its script is well crafted. The acting is natural and unforced. Chemistry between the leads are charming and heartfelt. Very well-developed yet uncomplicated movie. A small indie with a huge heart. I truly and seriously love it.

This is a good start to the weekend :)