Award Show Sucker

I'm a total sucker for award shows.  Love 'em.  Judge 'em. Dissect 'em.

Random thoughts:
January Jones' hair was amazing.  I don't think a single strand was out of place.
Chris Colfer's speech was more coherent and to the point than De Niro's "stand-up" disguised as a speech.
I am super duper happy that Jim Parsons won!!
I wonder what Matt Zuckerberg is thinking right now.
Claire Danes should stop using the word "awesome" and "cool" in her speeches...she's in her 30s now.  At least the rest of her speech redeemed her a bit.
Natalie Portman was beautiful and glowing...but I cringed at the fabric choice of her dress.  It draped lovely in the front but the back was super wrinkled!
I think I like Emma Stone better as a red head or brunette.
Johnny Depp looks greasy.  I want to hand him a blotting sheet.

Jerry has no idea why I like these shows so much, and apparently my infatuation confuses him:

"You are the only person I know who doesn't watch updated movies and TV shows and knows more about them than the people who actually watch them!" 

He pretty much hit that on the mark.  I haven't seen a movie in the theaters since summer 2009 (500 Days of Summer), and we cut our cable so I'm not up to date on a lot of shows (plus the best ones that get nominated are always on Showtime/HBO/etc).  But I'm a voracious reader of gossip & fashion blogs, wikipedia, E!, news outlets such as LAT, NYT, CNN, and USA Today, etc, and they do a great job of injecting me with a steady stream of useless information.

Golden Globes tonight:

Jerry: Who's that guy talking?  He sounds like Jamie Oliver.
Me:British Office guy!
I've never seen the British version of The Office, but Ricky Gervais has been around for a while, and I've always enjoyed his humor.  Plus he's hosted before (not that I expect Jerry to remember).

Jerry: Hey there's Mila Kunis! (he only recognized her because we just saw Couples Retreat and Date Night, he's never seen That 70s Show)
Me: Yeah she's in Black Swan
Jerry:  Oh she is?
Me: (thinking) OMG husband what hole have you been hiding under
I probably won't watch Black Swan until it comes out on DVD, but I already know so much about it, the press for the movie is unavoidable if you spend any time on the internet!

Me: Wow, Michael Douglas seems thin
Jerry: He looks fine to me.
Me: Well, he had cancer
Jerry: His voice sounds weird.
Me: He had THROAT CANCER!
Jerry: Oh
The last Michael Douglas movie I saw was Traffic (2000).  But you don't have to watch any of his movies to know who he is!

Me: Ooh I'm so glad Katy Sagal won!  She was snubbed for the Emmys!
Jerry: Who's that?
Me: You know- Peggy...Married with Children
Jerry: Never watched it.  Is she married to Steven Seagal?
Me: Where were you in the 90s?!?!
Jerry is the only person I know in my generation who has probably seen less than a handful of episodes of Married with Children, Friends, That 70s Show, and the Simpsons.  Homeboy has missed out on a lot of TV pop culture references int he last couple decades!  But he still probably has more brain cells than the rest of us. :P

Finally Jerry gave up and left the room.  He didn't even come downstairs when Justin Beiber came on stage to present an award.  Sad.

Phantom of the Opera

Earlier this year, Jer took me to see his favorite musical, Phantom. This was his 4th or 5th time, and my first.

I feel terrible b/c I feel asleep numerous times. It's not that Phantom was boring, it's just that I was so stressed out from the stupid mapping class back then and wasn't really in the mood to sit in a dark theater, and we were surrounded by fat ppl who either blocked my view in the front, or who hogged my leg room on the side, and I ended up not really enjoying the experience. I usually love musicals but I was just not feeling it that night. I did enjoy the music but not so much the acting.

I think this is the last time he's going to a musical with me. I wouldn't want to sit with me either. I was such a whiny, grumpy, and sleepy date. I really want to watch Avenue Q though so maybe he'll change his mind. Pleaaaaaaase?? I was well behaved when we went to watch Wicked! :)

Nutcracker Ballet

Went to my first ballet with Jer, Thu and Andreas. It was just okay- we were all kinda bored. I think I need to watch another ballet, maybe with a real troupe like the SF ballet or the NY ballet. I don't think we can afford to watch the Russian dancers. :P

For more pics you can go to photoist, or here.

Ferris Wheel

I've always wanted to ride the ferris wheel. After having been at SM Pier dozens of times in my life, we finally went!

This is how it looks when you're going up. It goes around pretty slow and smooth, so you kind of have a chance to plan your pictures. I don't remember how many times around we went, but it was more than expected. The ride was cheaper than expected too, only $5. Our friends were predicting $10-$12.

The view is really pretty! This pic isn't bad for being hand held huh. There was also a full moon but none of those pics came out nice so I trashed them all. You get the idea though!

Haha, this pic came out pretty bad but oh well. I kind of like the grainy effect, actually. For most of the ride, we were too busy trying to take pics that we didn't really sit back to enjoy the experience. I think finally the last 25% of the ride we did that. It was nice. Esp since we kept thinking the ride was going to end but were pleasantly surprised when it didn't stop.

For more pics, go to photoist later or here: http://picasaweb.google.com/photoists/SmDinnerFerrisWheel#

Also, Jer told me about the London Eye and I kind of want to go on that even though it seems like a tourist trap. At the very least, I want to at least take pictures of it. For us, it's always about the photography!

Zócalo at the Hammer

Thanks to Jenta, I recently found out about the Zócalo lectures hosted at various venues around LA. I knew I had to go to the foodie one!

Zócalo and the Hammer Museum present

Is There Such a Thing as L.A. Cuisine?

Moderated by Jonathan Gold, L.A. Weekly Food Critic

That's Jonathan Gold at the far right!
The panel was interesting. I got a chance to ask them a question. You can listen to the podcast here. Look for the food panel and I'm closer to the end, maybe the next to next to next to last question. Fun times!

This is how the Hammer looks inside. Can you believe, 4 years of undergrad and 1 year of grad school and this was my first visit to the Hammer? I used to live blocks away and walk past it everyday! Anyhoo, I suppose it's about time. :)

Hollywood Bowl- John Williams

Went to go see John Williams at the Hollywood Bowl for Cam's bday. Her friends go every year- this was their 3rd time to see him conduct! Looks like we may go again next year, let me know if you're interested!

When he conducted the theme from Star Wars ppl busted out their light sabers. We were quite amused!

Happy birfday Cam! Glad we were able to celebrate with you! Mmm, we packed so much food, fruit berries and nectarines, spam musubi, chili, pasta salad, cheesecake, persian rice, etc.

Urban Dare- Santa Monica

We signed up for Urban Dare months ago but since we've had such a busy summer, 8/23 came before we knew it! I'd have to say that it was one of the best things I've done this summer.
Basically, the premise is that you're given a bunch of clues and have to figure them all out, and after you do, you need to go to the location to either take a picture, or do a dare (where you get your passport stamped). I'll walk you guys through ours.

The very first thing they had us do was cross the street and stand in one of 4 squares (A, B, C, or D). Then he read some obscure question and we had to pick one to stand in. Jer and I picked the wrong square so those in the right square got a head start but the second time, EVERYONE got the question right and we all ran towards the hill to find a tennis ball with our team number on it (410). Once we found it, we got our clue sheet as shown above. At first we were trying to figure out random clues and were calling our friends for help (you're sposed to...these clues are so obscure no one can know them off the top of their heads). You're actually not supposed to do them in order b/c some of the clues are in close proximity (like numbers 4 and 6) while some clues are miles apart (like 8 and 9).
So at first we were calling random ppl to get answers to clues. We didn't have all the answers yet but we knew one of clues was at the pier so we headed there first. Along the way, we solved #8: "His poem begins "Listen my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere. Go to the park at the western terminus of the street that carries his middle name for your spellbound dare. Your word is: BARNACLES."
Basically there were all these stakes in the ground with numbers corresponding to letters and we had add up all the values. B was 4, A was 11, R was 8, etc, so we ended up with 104. I should not be allowed to add numbers b/c I got 82, whoops! So Jerry added it again and we got it right.
We ran all the way to the pier for clue #2: "DOUBLE JEOPARDY- On the Santa Monica Pier, get your picture with the machine that made Tom Hanks big. Then go into the establishment behind the machine for your skeeball dare."
We called lots of ppl but no one could figure out what is the machine that made Tom Hanks big! We also asked some ppl working on the pier too. Finally, RAYMOND saved the day and told us it was the Zoltar fortune telling machine! Yay, it was right. Jer also did the skeeball challenge and we were off to our next clue.
At this point, we thought at clue #6 was on the pier. But it wasn't. Bad mistake, we wasted like 15 minutes running up and down the pier!!! :( My fault, sorry babe!! Note, SM policemen aren't the most helpful ppl. Haha.
Anyhoo, so we knew that the next clue had to be at 3rd Street Promenade so we ran over there. On our way there, we stopped by this hotel to ask for help. I figured that hotel concierge have to be pretty knowledgeable about the city they work in right? So we went to some hotel off Broadway and 2nd I think, and the lady was able to help us with clue #1 which stumped many of our friends: "Get your picture in front of the place where the lead singer from the Monkees would store his whiskey." It turned out to be Whiskey A-Go-Go on 4th St close to Broadway. Yay for the old lady that helped us!! Jer said: "I'm not surprised none of our friends know who the lead singer of the Monkees is. I don't know but if you ask me who the lead singer of G-Unit is, I'll tell you!" Haha, he's such a dork.
Sooo, LEO had already helped us out with clue #3 "What in the world is a topiary fountain? Get your picture with one." (It's one of the fountains that's like grass covering bronze by 3rd street.) So we got a picture there and then while we were on the promenade we decided to do the bonus challenge: "Take a picture of a group of four people giving the Shaka sign. They must be non-participants in the this race." So I saw random ppl stand in line for some Sri Lankan food (it was some Sri Lankan festival) so I gave them a quick sales talk and got them to participate. Yay! Jer likes that I have a big mouth and am willing to talk strangers into doing weird things. :) Anyhoo, we did that and jetted northeast for our next two clues.
Clue #10 was "She served as Santa Monica mayor from 1984-1986. Go to her park for your next dare." Jer figured this one out all on his own. It was Christine Reed, and her park is Reed Park but it used to be called Lincoln Park (which coincidentally is the park that Linkin Park named themselves after- as a huge LP fan, Jer knew this, haha.) Anyhoo, luckily, LEO had helped us with clue #11 ("Get your picture with a statue of the mother of Saint Augustine.") earlier on, so we knew that clues # 10 and 11 were right next to each other and so that saved us time running back and forth. For our #10 dare we just had to throw bean bags into 2 out of 3 holes. Easy-peasy. And for #11 we just had to take a picture of the statue at St. Monica's church b/c St. Monica's son is St. Augustine. Whew!
Ok, so while we were in that area, we had to figure out some clues on where to go next. We already knew clue #7: "___ and ___ went up the hill to...open a cafe? Get your picture in front of this establishment." Some quick googling told us that the Jack and Jill cafe was back by 5th and SM. So we should have gone there earlier but we didn't know the clue in time, darn. So on our way there, we were trying to figure out clue #9: "43 years ago this month a ____ started after CHS officer Lee Minikus pulled over Marquette Frye. Get your picture in front of the place that goes by this name." After some quick googling, the only work I could think of was "riot". But how does "riot" relate to Santa Monica?? While running to Jack and Jill Cafe, I called JOHNNY. He found out that there is a company called Riot in Santa Monica off 7th and Arizona, and OMG we were SO lucky because right when he told us, we got to 7th and Arizona. We took a picture and ran off to the cafe. But before we got to the cafe, we saw the library...and decided to get some help with a clue that none of our friends could figure out, clue #5: "This is where someone with foot fetish, who has lived a very good life, goes when they die." WHAT? I know!!! How freaking obscure is that. Anyways, we wasted a good 15 min at the library b/c the librarians were useless too.
Sometime during the process of figuring out and running to our subsequent clues (and waiting at the library), Jer figured out where clues # 4 and 6 were. Clue #4 was "Marcellus, his first name, established Citizens Telephone and made his fortune in communications before retiring to Santa Monica. Go to the park named after him for your wheelbarrow dare." Googling his first name didn't show anything so Jerry started googling his name in sequence with various Santa Monica parks and finally came up with Joslin Park. For clue #6: "Go to the Oneness Sculpture for your golf dare. Fore!" That was very google-able too, at Hodgekiss Park. Since those parks are close to each other, we saved them for last. They were also located over a mile away from where Jack and Jill Cafe was, so Jer made a smart call and said we should take the bus. After consulting the map for a second, we found that the Big Blue Bus #3 would drop us off somewhat near the park (after we had to run uphill, blah). So after we got off the bus, we did the wheelbarrow and the golf challenge (no biggie!) and then we ran like crazy for clue #5 (the crazy hard one!!). Now, while we were on the bus I was running out of friends to call but I decided to call CHERYL on a whim. I read her the clue and then the first thing she said was "shoe heaven?" and so Jer googled it with "santa monica" and toe heaven came up!! I was sooooo jumping up and down the bus at this point all giggly and punching Jer's arm, saying, we got it! We got it! Because...."Toe Heaven" came up, and is a nail salon on Main Street, only 0.1 miles away from our final meeting place, which is : "Go to O'Brien's Pub for your final and most puzzling dare." Yay! So we ran from both parks to Main ST in SM (where all the "hip" stores are at), took a pic at Toe Heaven, then ran to O'Brien's.
Once there, we went to the back room where they timestamped our passport and we had to do a jigsaw puzzle, only 60 pieces though so we got through it quick. Then they timestamped our passport again, and the organizer made sure we got all the right pictures and stamps. Our final time was 2:46:47...with the 5 min shaved off our original time. Then we joined everyone else in the pub and relaxed until 3:45, which was the cut off time for the race to finish. The winners were announced...and Jer and I made the long, long walk back to the car. Even though we didn't win, we were quite proud of ourselves and we had a blast!

This was the path we took (outlined in red)...we covered over 6 miles! We ran for over 5 of those miles, too. I think if we were more efficient in the route we took we could have cut down to around 5. We completed the race in about 2 hours and 51 minutes, but since we completed the bonus challenge we got 5 minutes shaved off our time. The winners (two guys) took only 2 hours! (They did Urban Dare LA last year and got 3rd place) Jer thinks that if we didn't waste all that time at the library or on the pier we could have cut off half an hour off our time. Oh well...next year! We are definitely doing this again and this time we're in it to win it! Who's in with us?? : )
Things that worked for us:
Having internet savvy friends
Using Camelbak to hold stuff, including much needed ice cold water
Map of Santa Monica with pictures of parks and landmarks
Cell phone with internet
Extra cell phone to call ppl while other cell phone is using internet
Hat and sunblock!! And sunglasses.
Wearing comfortable clothing (I saw a girl with jean capris?!)
Pen and paper
Change for the Big Blue Bus
Jaywalking (who has time to wait for lights? Hehe)
Things that didn't:
I printed out some info about Santa Monica landmarks but that didn't help at all. I chucked it early in the race.
We didn't have a p&s so we had to use the cell phone to take pictures. At least Jer was smart enough to not bring the D300!! We would not be able to be as mobile if we had it!
Our map was too big. Next time we print out a smaller and more concentrated map.

Ever since Usain Bolt has been tearing it up in the Olympics, Jerry insists on taking this picture. Urban Dare officials aren't chiding him for excessive showboating though!

OC Fair

Yay, another thing off my list. We went to the OC Fair one weekend. Pictures over at photoist, and c&c (comments and criticism) over at Photosseur. I'm pretty slow sometimes, it took me forever to realize the double meaning of this year's "Say Cheese" theme. I knew the food part of it, which is the cheese, but it wasn't until we were at the photography exhibit that a lightbulb went off in my head. Duh!

The fair was kind of what I expected, but I thought we'd find more things to do. The only really good thing was the photography exhibit, and the food (the bbq sandwiches and waffle fries were yummy!). I was looking forward to eating more fried things, but with the weather being so hot and humid, we weren't in the mood for anything fried really. Luckily we had the Camelbak so we didn't have to spend money on water. Since we didn't trust the rides and didn't want to play rigged games, we basically walked around, ate food, and took lots of pictures. The animals were cute, but I didn't wanna pet them b/c they were stinky and I was too lazy to find a restroom to wash my hands, haha. Anyhoo, it was a nice way to knock off a few hours. If we ever go back, we'll def go at night when it's cooler. Then we can practice night photography!

We're trying to incorporate more public transportation into our lives, which is a hard thing to do in LA, but we do what we can. Jer did some research for the fair and found that if we took the OC Flyer for $2.50 roundtrip, we'd get $2 off each tix. Plus, we didn't have to pay for parking which saved us $5. So if we drove: $18 for two tix plus $5 parking = $23 plus we'd have to find parking in a crowded lot (when we left, there were cars in a queue trying to park), and walk further to the entrance. Since we took the shuttle at Goldenwest Transit Center (plenty of parking at the park & ride lot), we spent $5 for bus and $14 for tix = $19 and we got dropped off at the front entrance. The bus wasn't slow either since there was no stop along the way. Also, since the buses leave on the hour and every half, we just timed it so we wouldn't have to wait for the next bus to come along. All in all, we didn't waste any extra time bus-ing it than we would have if we drove the entire distance (which is why in general ppl don't like buses- it's faster to drive, and in most cases I totally agree). Oh and we saved on a bit of gas: the bus was 18 miles round trip, so with gas prices these days, we saved like $10 on gas too! So if you go, I would recommend this option!

Musical March

Earlier this month we went to see Linkin Park at Staples. They are awesome live!!

Chester has so much energy!

It was Jer's first real concert. He had loads of fun singing along with Mike and Chester. Our favorite song is "Bleed It Out!"

*note* Linkin Park is extra special to us. When he picked me up for our first date, "In Between " was playing in his truck. I really liked his parking spot (he parked right in front of my place), so I decided to hop out and move my car to his spot. When I got in my car and turned it on...the exact same song was playing in my car. Such a coincidence, but I took it as a sign. =)

During finals week, Thu and I went to see Rachael Yamagata at Hotel Cafe.

She is also great live! Her voice is gorgeous. She sang some new songs from her upcoming album, as well as some of my favorites- Worn Me Down, The Reason Why, and Be Be Your Love. Thanks for inviting me out, Thu! We were lucky we got tix when we did, it was sold out soon after. Oh, and Mandy Moore was there too! Rachael is opening for her...so she probably came out to support her. Mandy Moore is soooo pretty in person. Tall too! Btw, I'm digging her new album, Wild Hope.

I think I prefer smaller, intimate venues to larger arenas. Although I think it very much depends on the performer. It was fun rocking out to LP at Staples, but also fun to just chill at Hotel Cafe.

Dali, Thai Town & Y-land

For roomie's bday, I combined all her favorite things in one special night- art, food, and Yogurtland. (Yes, Yogurtland is one category in our books)

First off, to LACMA for the Dali exhibit.

Dali really likes ants, clocks, and boobies.


The exhibit was excellent. I'd definitely recommend it. Go after 5pm and park on 6th Street.

This was one of my favorite pieces. I liked some of his ink drawings too but I can't find them online.

The only pictures I could take were outside and at the exit.
We also stopped by the Grove for a quick pit stop at the Apple Store. Kimmy had her first LA celebrity sighting: "I think that was the Indian girl from ER!" (Proceeds to text her friends, hehe)

I found this place on Laist. (Ignore the review though!) I should really be a food contributor to that site, I eat out so much!

Chicken satay- sauce was yum

Basil noodle...it was delicious!

Pad-thai...I think one of the best I've ever had.

Kruang Tedd
5151 Hollywood Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90027
323.663.9988
Even though it was peaceful and nearly empty when we went (plus it was close to closing) I read that it can get busy and rowdy! The band was practicing when we were there, it was so cute and such a romantical place! :P

It was nearly empty! That's a good thing...LA ppl haven't discovered it yet. I heard that the lines in Irvine snake out the door.

I always dump random stuff in my cup. I think I had 5 different kinds of yogurt and 7 toppings this time. I will keep trying random stuff until I find my favorite combo!

Yogurtland (we skipped out on Thai dessert come here)
5541 Sunset Blvd
Hollywood, CA 90028
323.451.0091
Apparently Y-land is gonna open 3 locations in SGV: SG, Rosemead, and Alhambra. And whole grip elsewhere, even Hawai'i and Cupertino (the lone location in Nor Cal). EXCEPT the Westside. Argh. Looks like we'll be driving to Western/Sunset for our future fixes!

A Day in SJC- Told Backwards

Two things accomplished on my list! Except we didn't cook anything for the picnic so I guess it doesn't really count. We also weren't outdoors but technically we were under the stars. Close enough.

I am telling this story backwards b/c I want to get the bad news out of the way first. Plus Hamlet backwards was really funny so...yeah.

I was so worried that I didn't realize the carpool lane split into 5 and 57. I end up taking 57, which meant I had to double back on the 60 back to the 605 and back to the 10. It just goes to show that when I'm upset I get tunnel vision. I used to make the LA-SD drive quite often so I had that nagging feeling that I wasn't recognizing the exits but I was so mad at that careless driver that I didn't notice until we got to Diamond Bar. Sorry I got super quiet in the car Christina! I was worried. :(

Some asshole didn't secure something in his car and it HIT MY WINDSHIELD which in turn FREAKED ME OUT. It left a dent that looks like a bullet hole on my hood and there are mini chips on my windshield. At least my biggest fear didn't happen, which is a shattered windshield.

There was a bridge fire around Santa Ana. Cars were slowing down so ppl could take pictures. Rubbernecking at its finest.

We watched The Compleat Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) at the Camino Playhouse.

It was hilarious!!!! They did Hamlet backwards and forwards, they put a bunch of tragedies and comedies together, they did Titus Andronicus as a Rachael Ray cooking show, and Romeo and Juliet. And they even rapped! Hehe. I definitely recommend this show!

While we waited for the play to start, we walked around town. We wanted to go to the Mission but it was closed :(

View from the bus stop across the street.

Our super ghetto picnic. We used my yarn basket to hold the food. We got bundt cakes from Corner Bakery Cafe, French Berry Lemonade, hummus, pita bread, coconut macaroons, sesame thins, and edamame beans from Trader Joes, and baked chicken, mixed greens, salad dressing as well as utensils and cups from Ralphs. There were ants all over.

We arrive!
Except for the unfortunate shit flying onto my car while I was in the carpool lane incident it was a super fun day!

LA Film Fest

Finally a non-food thing that I was able to cross off my list! I wanted to attend other films but $11 per film was too pricey! Maybe for the next festival.

Made in L.A.
USA, 2007, 70 min
In English and Spanish with Spanish subtitles and with English subtitles
Directed By: Almudena Carracedo
Producers: Robert Bahar, Almudena Carracedo
Cinematographer: Almudena Carracedo
Editors: Lisa Leeman, Almudena Carracedo
Music: Joseph Julian Gonzalez
In 1946, French poet René Char wrote, “He who joined the Resistance, found himself.” Something similar happens to the garment workers in this documentary when they embark on a three-year odyssey to win basic labor protections from mega-trendy clothing retailer Forever 21. This intimate, vérité-style film chronicles the lives of three Latina workers—Maura, Maria, and Lupe—who came to the U.S. looking for opportunities and instead find themselves working 14-hour days under soul-crushing conditions in the sweatshops of L.A.'s Fashion District.
Their world opens up when they become plaintiffs in a lawsuit organized by the nonprofit Garment Workers Center. Initially the women are euphoric to be part of something bigger than themselves—manning bullhorns in front of the Beverly Center, speaking on college campuses, visiting the Tenement Museum in New York where they discover they are heirs to a 100-year-old fight—and rhythmically choreographed editing gives us a visceral sense of both the tedium of the sewing machine and the exhilaration of protest. But the women's resolve begins to falter as their struggle drags on for years with no results, causing rifts in their families and endangering their precarious livelihoods. Filmmaker Almudena Carracedo perseveres with them, allowing the viewer to experience the tremendous courage it takes to bring about real political change.
- Theresa Schwartzman

Sat, Jun 23 / Noon
Mann Festival Theatre
FREE

Afterwards, most of the cast came out for some Q&A.

I really enjoyed this documentary b/c I can relate to it on some level. Growing up, I remember my mom sewing from 6am to 8pm everyday, 7 days a week to make the bare minimum for us to live on because she refused to go on welfare or use food stamps. Then when I was in 6th grade, I started to help her with the piecework. I hated it, but I sucked it up and helped her sew all the way through high school. I figured that the more I did to help out, the less my mom had to do. Even though my mom worked incredibly hard, she rarely complained (even though I did!). I think she figured that working from home was better than being in the factories. At least my mom had a fair boss who actually paid her and didn't try to cheat her with broken promises. Even then, he would offer her ridiculous prices for completed items and hearing my mom try to bargain with him to give her 5 more cents per piece made my blood boil b/c GEEZ it's ONLY A NICKEL MORE AND HE'S SUPER RICH ANYWAY! So on some level, I'm sure my mom can relate with the women in the documentary, except that they had it way worse than she ever had. And workers should not even have it this hard AT ALL. Sigh. At least they were able to settle with Forever 21. But what about all the other workers out there??
I also interned at the Garment Worker Center back in college. It was really interesting to see the campaign from behind the scenes. I remember helping to make signs for the Forever 21 march at 3rd St. Promenade except that my signs weren't as creative as the workers.

Ooh red carpet! Thanks to Cam's friend for saving us seats. :)

Ooh yeah, Made in L.A. is going to be shown on PBS on Tuesday, September 4, 2007 at 10PM (90 minutes). Be sure to mark your calendars! I want my mom to watch it.

Ratatat

Nikolaj took me to see Ratatat tonight at the Glasshouse in Pomona. I had never heard of them or their music but Nikolaj's friend Sandy and Jenta were pretty psyched to see 'em so I guess it rubbed off on me too.

Since they didn't come on until 10:30, we had time to kill so we went in search of some happy juice. We started at a pizza parlor, where we saw some cool chairs!

Since the pizza parlor only had beer and my 2 coronas weren't enough, we went in search of a bar. I built my happy buzz some more at some sports/karaoke bar called Characters and ended up singing "All the Small Things" by Blink 182 in front of strangers! I really wanted to do "Can't Stop" by the Chili Peppers but they didn't have it. :(


Finally, we walked back to the Glasshouse and after a delay the show started! Very cool music. It was fun to dance to! I got tired though...plus it was stuffy inside. At least I wore comfy shoes.

I should be sleeping now b/c I'm pretty exhausted but for some reason my mind is running like 60 and I can't seem to fall asleep. I better try alot harder to get rest 'cause the Boss is coming to pick me up early in the morn to carpool for work!

For more photos, hop on over to my flickr acct.

My Night at the Opera Went Like This...

7:15- Want to make a quick run to the ladies room. Was told that if I left my seat now, I wouldn't be allowed in for another 22 minutes. Blah.
7:18- Act I starts...and my jaw drops. "Dude, are they really naked?" Well, we were sitting in the nosebleeds; I couldn't tell!
7:19- Person in front of me has huge head. Can't see naked ppl!
7:31- So, are they gonna start singing yet? 'Cause the Venus sex scene is weirding me out...
7:42- There's subtitles? I gotta read? Wah.
8:10- 22 min intermission- I eat Phillipine Dried Mangos. Too lazy to wait in line to pee.


Act II
I took off my boots and propped my feet up. I stopped reading the subtitles. I really liked the scene when this guy was singing. Ate Yan Yan during 2nd intermission. It's already 10pm! I feel like I've been here for ages, haha. Still have yet to go pee.

Act III
I dozed off/stared at the ceiling/went ADD on Nikolaj. I already know how it ends, 'cause I read the nifty program.


The end.

Elia: "So, what did you think of it?"
me: "It was a bit long..."
Elia:"Oh? This is one of Wagner's shorter ones."


11:05- I take this pic
11:50- I finally answer nature's call!

Ok, so it wasn't that bad! I just have a horrible attn span and I am too uncultured to appreciate opera music. But great company really made a difference. I had fun because I got to try something new. Thanks Elia and Nikolaj!

"No One Mourns the Wicked..."

No one ever notices the white part. Haha.

I've never been to a musical before so this was quite a treat!

Opening night was pretty neat. There was an exciting buzz in the air that enveloped us as we walked into the theater. Our seats were amazing. We sat in row RR 301-308. Try to get those seats if you go!

Some little things about Wicked that I didn't know prior to the show:
1. Winnie Holzman, the creator of My So Called Life, is the book writer for Wicked (adaptation of the novel by the same name by Gregory Maguire)
2. The actor for Nessarose (Elphaba's sister) was Libby on Sabrina the Teenage Witch (admit it, you guys used to watch that show!)
3. There is a lot of physical comedy that isn't conveyed through the music. G(a)linda had the best parts in this respect!
4. There are actual tie-ins/connections to the original "Wizard of Oz" (I don't want to give anything away)


Thanks Christina!

I want to go again! Who wants to take me?? :)