"Lots of PB&J"

I finally got internet at SAG today, which--combined with my iPod--made today fairly enjoyable. The week's been pretty routine. Waking up, driving in traffic, sitting at my desk, looking up APIs in the industry, driving in traffic, sitting at home.

My project is pretty cool. I've begun to recognize some major API ballers just from tracking down names of producers, directors, writers, actors, etc. and have complied a list of like, 500 movies I didn't know existed but sound fantastic and feature API actors. Rice Rhapsody, White on Rice, Princess of Nebraska, The Motel, Why Am I Doing This?... and movies to watch out for that haven't hit the market yet: A Conscise Chinese English Dictionary for Lovers, Color Me Love, Seeing Red, Surrogate Valentine, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Almost Perfect.

Something that I've noticed, though, is the methodology which I've been employing. I sit and think to myself "Oh yes, Jackie Chan was in Rush Hour. Let's add that to my list." So Rush Hour and Jackie Chan go on their respective lists, and by clicking on Jackie Chan I can get a huge number of other movies that have APIs in them (because, duh, Jackie Chan's in it at the very least). And, as with any good API persona in the entertainment industry, Jackie's done an 'API film'--i.e. produced, directed, written by and for APIs with APIs cast--and while API films are not independent of non-API help (financing, writing, what have you), those are the gold mines. Generally speaking, if you have an API director like Ang Lee, Wayne Wang, or Gurinder Chadha, you will also find a high concentration of API actors and some of the only API producers. (Save for M. Night. The only connection he has is through the large number of APIs he cast in The Last Airbender, and we know how that turned out for him).

Speaking of which! First protest tomorrow!

But, yes, let's return to the topic at hand before it slips away again. API actors lead you to API directors. API directors lead you to API actors in lead roles. APIs in other movies are movies about Asia--usually centuries ago and across oceans, like Memoirs of a Geisha--and focus on a white character. Think The Last Samurai or The World of Suzie Wong. In my mind, this seems to suggest some sort of problem, although I don't know how to solve it. I'd love to write and produce films, but I'd write about API topics and cast APIs and... I guess you could call me an API writer, falling into the same pattern. Huh. I could pretend to be white and get discredited for not understanding the API experience. I could pull a M. Night and cast whites in hero roles to distance myself from an API genre, if there is such a thing. Yet neither of these options seem that appealing.

Now, don't get me wrong. Wayne Wang, Ang Lee, and Gurinder Chadha have all done non API films. And I think that's freaking awesome. This is probably the best solution I could have come up with. Do both.

But then there's the problem of all these films existing and I had no idea! Films in the last decade, even, not the mid 80's and 90's API film renaissance that I've learned about in school. Another time, another place, I suppose.

And until then I leave you with quote I saw on wikipedia while researching my project: "In reply to a studio executive who said 'I suppose Woo can direct action scenes,' Quentin Tarantino has been quoted as saying 'Sure, and I suppose Michelangelo can paint ceilings!' " (John Woo is noted for his fight scenes in movies like Face/Off and Mission Impossible: 2)

"Fancy appetizers and $1 truck tacos"

Saturday began with sleeping in and a four hour stroll to UCLA's campus. Pretty cute, really huge, and strangely empty.

Then the crazy fun started. Kelley's car broke down so--stepping in at the last moment--Reimar leaps to the rescue to act as my guest and wingman at the SAG Meet and Greet. I assume all the attendees were famous because you need to be in 3 SAG things to get membership into the Guild, but I didn't recognize anyone... at first. Reimar and I got drinks from the open bar (score!) and then managed to be some of the first in line for food. The appetizers were fancy, and while we ate we proceeded to look around surreptitiously at the guests. One guy looked vaugely like LOST's Hurley, but he wasn't. Then, while thank-yous and acknowledgements were being made, I noticed a woman who looked familiar. After some thought, I realized it was like Rose, from LOST. She was introduced on behalf of the EEOC committee. Reimar convinced me to be awesome and introduce myself. So yeah, I met Rose from LOST.

Afterwards we drove to Hollywood and watched Toy Story 3 at the El Capitan. It was pretty cool with all the lights, traffic, and people going out to party. I got to see some of the star walk; there was a big to-do at Michael Jackson's star, due to the anniversary of his death and all. We ate cream puffs and I inhaled too much powdered sugar. Reimar laughed at me (a major theme of our adventure). The line for the movie was crazy long--there were two VIP lines and one general admission--but we got okay seats. Didn't win Disneyland tickets. Boo. The movie made me cry at the end--causing Reimar to burst out laughing for several minutes--but the movie was legitimately sad and fantastic at the same time. Then we drove around and looked at all the lights of LA and ate some tacos from a truck. My car still smells like tacos.

This morning Lulu and I went on an adventure to see Buffy's high school and house in Torrence. Mostly a side-trip on the way to Long Beach, it ended up being one of the more exciting parts of the day. Long Beach was kinda dirty and lame, so we spent less than an hour on the beach, which was still long enough for me to get a wicked sunburn. We did see some freaking huge mansions driving up the coast, and it took us over an hour to find a McDonalds. But oh was it worth it.

"Mochi!"

LEAP training, session 1: Vanna Novak.

Vanna is, for one, amazing. She's engaging and comfortable and enthusiastic and put-together. Clearly a good fit for a workshop on effective public speaking. I think I learned a lot, especially about gesturing, but we'll see how those skills play out tomorrow at the SAG Meet-and-Greet. It's easy to talk to the LEAP intern class--I like them, I respect them, and already know they accept me--so in a situation where I'm legitimately nervous... well, that's a new ballpark.

Afterward, saw a little bit of J-town and hashed out a pretty good start on our project. I think it's top secret, for now. Or maybe I'm just too lazy to detail it here. :P

The SAG movie premiere of "Night Catches Us" tonight was pretty cool. It was at the LA Live/Regal Theaters/Staples Center area. A traffic director man saw Kelley and I and immediately asked if we were going to the after-party. Maybe it was the dresses? I'm glad we dressed up though, because there were quite a few people who looked like they wanted to impress, and there was even some photographers. I didn't recognize the people they were shooting, but they must be famous for something. The director had a Q&A after the film. L.A. is serious business, clearly.

More tomorrow. Bed now. All this famous show-biz nonsense wipes me out!

"And then I start being Awesome."

"Chicken, Gorgonzola, and Pear Salad"

My first day at SAG started out innocently enough. I leave the house an hour early, not to be tricked by the 15min estimate Google maps gives me for the commute. No one honks at me (score!) and I pull of the drive flawlessly except... I miss the street that the parking structure is supposed to be on. No matter. I turn down the next, make a series of three left turns, and assume I'm back on track.

Oh how mistaken I was! I do not know which of the parking structures on the street is the one I'm supposed to be in! I pull into one. No good. It requires a pass code of some kind. I gesture wildly to suggest to the lady that pulled in behind me that I need to reverse because, duh, I can't move forward. She looks angry, but backs out. I pull into the next lot. It has little cards for validation, but you need to pay $9 in cash up front. I have no cash. I have some change, but nothing like $9. TCF is a Midwestern bank, unfortunately, and I hadn't had the time to find an ATM or, better yet, to find a way around paying the charge that will come from a foreign withdrawal. So, once again, I cannot enter. I make a U-turn, park around the corner, on the side of the street in 2-hour parking, and resolve to do something, and soon, because, although I left the house an hour before I needed to be at the office, it took 45min, not 15. While walking toward the building, I notice a third and final parking structure at the end of the street, right in front of a building labelled SAG. There are arrows painted on the ground: SAG Visitor Parking. Great, I think, if I hadn't missed the turn, I would have pulled in here first! So I speed-walk to my car, the backs of my sensible flats leaving blisters on my heels--I had thought about wearing heels as so many of the girls I see walking around do, but decided I didn't want to trip and make a fool of myself. Instead, I end up limping all day because the backs of the shoes rub up against the raw blisters. Gross.

Anyway, I move my car, park it in the lot, and wait to be buzzed into the office. I have a little office, courtesy of the Senior Manager who took maternity leave on Friday, a desk and a computer. I got an ID badge with my picture on it--later, I learned that people with SAG badges often get harassed by the press who want to know about contract negotiations and such, so most people turn their badges so the white side faces out. L.A. is so cool. I read a lot of stuff about SAG's Affirmative Action and Diversity Division, go out to lunch with my supervisor... that sort of thing.

This weekend is the LA Film Festival, so SAG is hosting some events I'm going to. I'm going to a movie premiere! My supervisor told me I didn't have to get dressed up, but we ran into someone on the way out who was talking about heels and dresses.

"So, you're dressing up?" I ask.

"Yeah I am. You can never be overdressed. You don't know who's going to be there, who you're going to meet. You wanna look good!"

Right? This is L.A. people. We're not in Michigan anymore.

I walked to CVS, bought candy and then got cash back. Finally. Not having cash was driving me crazy. And I discovered a 7-11 nearby. Slurpees remind me of Emagine, my movie theater back home. I got a little homesick today, but my roommate gave me a hug. It was just what I needed.

This is going to be a good summer.

"Pork Bone Ramen"

Retreat at Lake Arrowhead for the past couple of days means several things. Meeting amazing, inspiring, smart, accepting, funny, snarky, passionate, dedicated people. It's good to find friends when you're far from home. But it also means lots and lots of ducks--ducks on your pillow in the morning, on the bed, unsuccessfully placed in the hall outside of a certain someone's door--and toilet paper. Not in the bathroom, where there was none, but on the bed. And picking locks and playing spoons and travelling to Ann Arbor in a game of Mafia.

I'm looking forward to getting to know these people and making something amazing together. Already I feel more confident in my abilities and like I belong.