As you may have seen from the billboards and posters at every bus stop, the movie Meet Dave is coming out July 11th.  I worked on it last year for a month, playing a starship crew member.  Let's see if I get any screen time.  (You just never know with editing.)  Keep an eye out for me if you go see it.  Most of the posters just show his head, but I  like this version better:




My brother and I live in a Mexican neighborhood in the valley.  We're probably the only Asians in a 5-block radius.   The rent is cheap but there's no boba for miles. 

You know you live in a Mexican neighborhood when:
1.  The window of the Chinese restaurant says "COMIDA CHINA.  Para llevar o comer aqui."
2.  You shop at Vallarta's because it's closer than Ralph's.
3.  The best place to eat is the taco truck.  (It just sucks that it's not always there.  "My restaurant drove away!!  Waaahh.")
4.  If it's 107° outside and you want a popsicle, all you have to do is sit by the window and listen for the bell of your friendly neighborhood ice cream cart. 
5.  Some of your neighbors hold garage sales daily.  Specializing in vintage clothing from the early-to-mid 90's. 
6.  On Saturday nights, you can count on hearing the tuba rhythm of Mexican Polka music blasting from the party next door until 1am. 
7.  A rooster crows every morning from one of your neighbor's yards.
8.  Fourth of July is coming up, and there's no need to drive anywhere to see fireworks.  Just go outside and look around.

I got acupuncture for the first time the other day.  I also got cupping done -- glass cups being warmed and suctioned to the skin.  It was pretty crazy.

The doc asked me what was ailing me and I told him all of my physical problems.  He said he could fix it all, over a series of treatments.  For this session, he concentrated mostly on my chronic shoulder and back pain, which are the things that bother me the most.  He put about 30 needles into my neck, shoulder, arm, back, and legs while I was lying face down.  It does feel exactly like a thin pin poking you, but only for a split second, and some pins hurt more than others.  It really is nothing compared to getting tattooed, so I took it very well.  Then I lay there for 25 minutes while some heat lamps were on me.  I wasn't too comfortable, mostly because my head was turned to one side the whole time (laying on my back would have felt better).  One pin toward the middle of my back started hurting quite a bit under the heat lamps, giving me a panicked urge to reach back and rip out the needles, but luckily I stayed in control and the pain subsided.



Then, an assistant came in and took the needles out.  The doctor came back and put 8 glass cups on my back, in the areas that bother me the most: left shoulder and lower right back.  For this treatment, they use a lighter to heat the inside of the cup, put the cup on you and the heat suctions your skin into the cup.  It was the ultimate massage I had always wanted but had never gotten.  Kind of painful, but still awesome.  It hurt much more when they took the cups off, like the feeling of ripping duct tape off your skin.  The doctor said this process takes the swelling out of the injured parts of your body and allows them to start healing. 



That's me on the right.  It's been 2 days since then and they've only slightly faded.  =/  They look like giant haw flakes.  (It's a Chinese thing.)  Good thing I don't have any gigs this week!  Wow, my lats look impressive from that angle.

I feel refreshed and good, and it seems like I've improved already.  I'm going back in another week and I'll keep you updated on my progress.

I signed up for a Mandarin class at a local language school.  It's going to be one night a week, starting pretty soon.  Finally I'll be learning my own language!  Yay!  My Mandarin is pathetic and I have to take the very first beginner class.  We didn't speak it at home so I never learned it, other than the few phrases that my mom says, which means stuff like, "time to eat," "time for bed," "very pretty," "yes or no?", and many versions of "spoiled brat!"

Have you guys seen "I Survived a Japanese Game Show"?  It is utterly hilarious.  They actually sent an unsuspecting group of Americans to Japan and threw them into a series of game shows, so it is completely authentic and great.  The people will stay there and compete until only one person is left.  Definitely check it out.  (Click the pic to go to the site!)


And America's Best Dance Crew Season 2 is the sh*t once again!!!  I'm CRAZY about this show!!

I shot a wedding last weekend!  It was my first time being a wedding photographer and I had a blast.  It was a small backyard wedding for my coworker's brother.   I'm going to ask permission to post some of the pics.

My graphic design class just ended and I signed up for web animation for summer.  These photo and design classes have been great at making me feel challenged and productive.  I always need a push or a deadline in order to get something done, especially creatively.  My walls had been bare since I moved to LA three and a half years ago, and now they are full of my art projects! 

(Yes, that's a tv antenna.  Ghetto.)

It's very interesting how your hair can affect people's perceptions of you, despite how you're dressed or how much makeup you have on.  Ever since I cut my hair, people (strangers) have been treating me better and with more respect.  Guys are less creepy when they meet me, and girls are more friendly.  I think the reason is that my short hair makes me look more mature, older than I used to look, perhaps more easygoing, and lower maintenance.  As a result of this difference in people's behavīor towards me, I have become less wary, less defensive, and feel more "free" in general.  Weird, huh? 

Rihanna is the perfect example of this.  See how she can be perceived as a different type of person in each photo, just because of her hair?  Let me know your opinions.


I remember once talking to a girl who had recently gone from blond to brunette, and she said that she noticed a big change in the way people treat her.  People take her more seriously now, and guys are less teasing/flirty when they first meet her.  Although she admitted that blonds do have more fun, for her, it was a welcome change.


I am so addicted to this friggin' game!!  Beware, people.  You will get hooked AND start craving hot dogs and hamburgers.  With onions.



If you happen to be at home when Judge Joe Brown is on (weekday mornings), check and see if I'm in the front row audience.  I've been working on that show sort of regularly, and I saw myself on tv yesterday. 



I just watched Rosemary's Baby last night (Netflix).  What a trippy movie, not to be forgotten.  Great acting too.  It's a 1968 classic, starring Mia Farrow.  Have any of you seen it?  What did you think?  Hm... after reading Mia's wiki page, I found out she was like the Angelina Jolie of her time, with her adopted 11 children from various countries (she had 4 of her own), and extensive list of ongoing humanitarian work. 

Background acting can be awful sometimes.  Last week I worked as a party guest on a movie (starring a very well-known comedian) for 3 nights in a row, all night from 6pm to 6am at a mansion in the hills near Thousand Oaks.  As you know, it's been cold and it got progressively colder each night.  We were outside the whole time, wearing dressy, summery clothes for the scene, and in between shots, would pile on our jackets, sweatpants, socks, hoods, etc. and go huddle under the heat lamps that were scattered around the yard. 

The crew was pretty slow, telling us to take off the jackets and get ready ten minutes before actually calling "Action," and the wardrobe people were telling us to take off our jackets for a shot even if we weren't anywhere near the camera, which was annoying as hell.  If we were between takes and not allowed to go to the heat lamps, we would huddle together like penguins against the wind.  The first night was cold but bearable and we struggled to stay awake until sunrise.  You can believe there was a lot of complaining from the extras about the unfairness of it all.   For me, I'd had worse, so I didn't complain that night.

The second day, a bunch of people didn't come back, which is to be expected.  The only reason I agreed to this job is because I was being paid a decent rate, but not everyone was.  It's completely not worth doing night shoots on the regular non-union rate, which is minimum wage.  (Union rate is double that, and there are higher rates for specialty roles.)  The grass was damp from raining that day, and my feet constantly felt cold and wet.  Around 3am we'd all get pretty delirious and start acting vacant, silly, mostly pissed off.  A wardrobe guy was designated to be the one to make sure we took off all the jackets and warm sweats before "Action."  He got in the faces of some uncooperative people, who were being defiant about the "inhumane" conditions we were working under, and there was a lot of hostility in the air.  I played it pretty smart, staying very quiet and semi-invisible under my hood, eyes down, playing my Nintendo DS, and I didn't get picked to be in every shot.  I'm so glad I wasn't one of the people who had to get in the pool!  (Yes, it was heated, but those poor folks were still miserable.)

By the third night, it was so cold we could see our breaths, and when we thought it couldn't get any worse, it started sprinkling on us!  That made the night just as bad as the worst experience I'd ever had, which was for another freezing cold night shoot on a certain tv show.  It seemed like the night would never end.  I wore two pairs of thick nylons under my dress, which helped out a lot.  There were more fights with the wardrobe guy, more extras trying to stay under the heat lamps and avoid taking off their extra clothes, people being kicked off the movie for being difficult, more whining and bitching.... thank god I had my Nintendo DS to make the time pass faster.  I just wanted to survive and make it back to my warm bed. 

Background acting really sometimes makes me appreciate the simple comforts that we take for granted every day.  Sometimes you have a great day, on a fun set with cool people, etc., and the food is usually great, but sometimes it is utter hell and you never really know what you're gonna get until you get there.  The worst thing about it is when you are too hot or too cold, or if you are otherwise uncomfortable, like having to wear painful shoes and walk back and forth for 10 hours.  And that's why I only do this stuff once in a while, unlike 3-4 times a week like last year!

A few weeks ago I was the hairstylist for a shoot with Adam Saaks and two models for theagencymagazine.com.  I first saw Adam two years ago, cutting shirts on girls at Jimmy's Lounge in Hollywood where I was go-go dancing.  He's made quite a name for himself, working with Ed Hardy, doing a lot of events and appearances on shows like Rock of Love II.  He re-styles regular t-shirts into cool fitted garments by cutting slits and holes, and then looping and braiding the fabric.  The shoot was awesome, it was at a studio and the models were from Next Models.  Here are some of the pics:










In other news, I have never been a comic book or graphic novel reader before but I recently became hooked on the Kabuki series by David Mack.  The art is breathtaking and the stories are intense and mesmerizing.  Check it out if you get a chance.