"PB&J and Coke" ...how American of me.

I cannot believe that today is my last day at SAG. It's crazy how fast the eight weeks flew by.

Holy moly.

Graduation tomorrow, my brother flies in on Saturday, I'm outta here sometime between Sunday and Monday. On the road, once again, back to my beloved mitten.

I'm gonna miss you all. A lot.

(Random emoticons of pizza, martinis, barfing, dancing, emo asians, kissy faces and tears)

"Pesto pasta and 3buck chuck"

*Sigh*

I didn't get to see NPH like I wanted. I had prepared myself for it, what with Reimar's brother talking to security guards he knows at the Bowl and finding out that there's like an underground tunnel to get the cast in and out of the Bowl without talking to anyone. Pity, really. Two days ago I was so excited I thought I might faint if I actually did meet him and it felt like the whole reason I'm in L.A. was solely to attend this show.

On the bright side, I do have a ticket stub from the Hollywood Bowl the weekend that NPH directed Rent. Yeah, I was there, because I'm awesome.

Traffic was surprisingly easy getting home.

Wayne Brady as Collins was amazing, just like I had imagined. The Asian playing Angel- phenomenal. The Pussycat Doll as Maureen did a hilarious "Over the Moon" and had the pipes to belt her parts. Vanessa Hudgens... sounded weak and sang a lot of her parts lower than they should have been.

Prize quote from Lina, about Vanessa Hudgens, as seen above- "I've seen her hoo-hah! I can't take her seriously!"

"KBBQ, Dim Sum, Vito's Pizza"

What a weekend of food. I love that about big cities--always so many yummy places to eat (or get champagne poured on you). And it was fun having all the interns together for a whole day, from morning chats to JD lunches, Yogurtland, Manna... a lot of fun. I like our group a lot.

My SAG project's... going. I imagine it will continue to "go" for the next six days I'm at the office.

Two weeks from today I'll be in the car on my way back to Michigan. Crazy how the summer flew by. I already have my "driving out of LA" song picked out: Billy Joel's "Say Goodbye to Hollywood." Haha. I drove in to Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA." What of it?

It occurred to me my blog needs more pictures. I'll get on that when I get home.

(Pictures of Porto's Bakery! Yum!)

"Filipino Breakfast... Longsilog?"

Today Rhommel and I went to Eagle Rock, Glendale, and Historic Filipinotown to get some cards done. It was... harder than TNC. I wasn't much help at all, being shy and an out-group member both physically, culturally, and linguistically. Rhommel, though, was pretty impressive with his tagalog and go-get-em approach. We got seven cards, I got to see Eagle Rock Plaza (on Glee!), and we spent some quality time together. And Rhommel and I agree that one of our participants was pretty cute... he thought I was half Filipino. When I told him I wasn't, he asked what I was doing out in Filipinotown. His logic made sense and I wasn't offended... but it did lead to a pretty serious, soul-searching intellecutal talk about positionality with my partner-in-crime over fried eggs and garlic rice.

I'm gonna miss you... what's your nickname again? Not Sprinkles... wait, was it...

Looking forward to Korean BBQ on Friday!

"Fancy Dinners and Board Luncheons"

What a week.

The LEAP Awards Dinner and Board Luncheon were both... amazing. To be honest, I was scared out of my mind--of being inappropriately dressed, of being an awkward conversationalist, of dropping Bill Imada's award--but by the time things are said and done, I had a really good time.

At both Midwest Asian American Student Union's Fall Leadership Retreat and Spring Conference, the gathering concludes (officially, which overlooks the unofficial, non-affiliated club/afterparty) with a banquet dinner. Everyone gets dressed up, eats fancy food in a fancy room, listens to a keynote and then entertainment. I've always been a little weirded out by this ceremony, like we don't have much to celebrate. Being at the LEAP dinner, though, made me realize that MAASU's banquet is a performance, of sorts. An imitation of the kind of life we'd like to lead, where we are influenial, visible, successful community members who do have something to celebrate. The real thing made me so excited for the future. For my future. Because, as I told Morgan-Stanely table-mate Gilbert Tong, I am going to do great things. I still retain the blinding optimism of youth and believe that I can make a difference. He laughed, said that he was old and pessimistic, but does think he'll hear of me again. I told him he would. Then we talked about Ayn Rand. He likes Ayn Rand.

LEAP's leadership training has made such a difference for me. Meeting lots of new people didn't seem so intimidating. I even approached a couple of people I wanted to talk to, made conversation, made connections. Part of the ease came because I felt good in my dress--Susan Jin Davis complimented my dress (score, right?)--and self-confidence is even better than alcohol at warming you up to new situations.

But, yeah, I'm pretty sure I mastered this networking thing. (Brushes dirt of shoulder) Check it out. If you're not sure who you want to meet, stand by yourself somewhere, preferably with a glass in hand. Look mildy interested in your surroundings, but be careful: Too interested and you appear to be searching for someone; too disinterested and you've become unapproachable. Wait to make eye contact with someone, then engage in small talk about the event, the food, your lime green nametag, the weather, whatever. Pretty soon you're in a full fledged conversation, perhaps discussing Michigan football with John Chiang or Hollywood's influence on American culture with David Ono. Easy, right?

Maybe I got a lucky break. I'm not from here, so people always want to know what's Michigan like, to talk about the Auto industry, football, or cross-country roadtrips, to advise me on the L.A. hotspots I cannot afford to miss. On the other hand, I'd like to believe I'm delightful and charming, and a wonderful reflection on LEAP's LIA program.

Seriously though, I cannot accurately express what an amazing experience this internship has been, how eye-opening and potentially life-changing the dinner was, or how grateful I am that I'm here. It's crazy to think about, but, this is my life.

This is how people should feel all the time.

"chicken salad sandwiches and candy bars"

So, my "landscape" is due today. It was supposed to be due a week and a half from now. I was notified of this change in plans on Monday, so I've been working my tail off to meet it.

Now, for all those C's out there, you might understand my aversion to being "done" with this project. For one, I was doing a SUPER thorough job. And now, I need to rush. What if I'm forgetting someone, some movie or television show, some up-and-coming actress?

Let's count 'em up, shall we?
Films about APIA or featuring many APIs (including their directors, writers, producers, casting directors, and actors): 91
Films not yet released: 13
TV Shows with an API main/recurring character: 42
TV Shows about API America: 4. Maybe. Only K-town is recent/on-air/will be on-air. I counted "American Dragon: Jake Long" because all APIAs can turn into Dragons to fight crime and stuff.
TV Shows with APIs that are sci-fi and/or animated: over half.
API Producers in the industry (not exclusively American): 82
API Directors in the industry (not exclusively American): 37
API Writers in the industry (not exclusively American): 68
Names my friends back home would recognize out of the above three categories: 5. And that's an overestimate.
Names from the Producers/Directors/Writers which overlap on multiple lists: Almost all of them.
Casting Directors, based on "API-sounding" names from a Casting Directory, my (in)expert opinion, and a quick google search for any helpful sites/images: 20
API Actors/Actresses in the industry (although not necessarily American): 198
API publicists: 0. I couldn't find any.
API Media watchdog/advocacy groups: 8
What I had done on Monday Morning: Mostly completed film and TV lists; a half-filled in actor list.

There are several problematic areas of this project. Believe me, I know it.

For the names I found, I collected their agent's contact information. I was supposed to verify it, but I really didn't have the time.

Well, the spreadsheets look nice at least.

"Hot Fries and Gummy Raspberries"

I finished Atlas Shrugged, after five long weeks with it. Granted, I got a little lazy and slacked off for three of those weeks, but it's done.

More on it later, maybe. It's a weird, unsettled sort of feeling currently. Maybe I don't complete long-standing items on my to-do list often enough.