I won't even get into what a pain doing all those apps in triple time went. I should get first dibs in all those classes. My first choice was Cinematography, second Editing Film Projects, and third Directing. It was ballsy of me to even consider Directing, but I feel ready. More than ever. Whenever I've directed, I've always asked people how they felt about me as a director and the whole experience, from my director of photography to my actors, and I get pretty good reviews. I think Hollywood is due for a short Filipina director, don't you?
So, as you know, I'll be gone for a good two weeks to Italy. Expect little to no interweb updates--I'm going to be too busy having fun/eating food/getting a tan/being awesome. But I thought of some things you should do while I'm away that, maybe, you haven't done in a while or maybe ever. This is specifically for the people back stateside, especially my stressed out/"I don't have any time" friends in CA. You need this. Just one Saturday or a free day you have. Give it a go.
--Have a picnic
--Go to a museum
--Go for a walk in the park
--Sit in a cafe for hours reading or writing or people watching
--Go to the library and get 10 books on that one thing you were always interested in but never bothered to learn about. Skim those books and learn the basics.
--Don't use the interwebs
--Write a letter
--Opt to use your bike or your legs to get somewhere rather than your car
--Eat a tasty meal with someone you've been meaning to hang out with for a while
This trip feels like The Darjeeling Limited. Just me and my two other girl friends. I love it. I think I'd be Jack Whitman since I'm short, and I like to write.
Be safe and well.
love
love
lurve,
Elaine.
jeudi 17 avril 2008
a quick one while she's away
dimanche 24 février 2008
flipside
Went to church at St. Joe's near L'Arc de Triomphe. Most of the churchgoers are Filipino, maybe 70%. Lots of rich Filipinos driving up in Mercedes. Probably diplomats. At any rate it's nice to hear Tagalog once in a while. The wife and husband in front of me were talking Tagalog to each other, and the wife's mother was speaking French to her grandson who'd reply in French. It was flipping weird.
Got home around 2, and realized, man, I could really massacre a plate of lumpia. I could kill for a big plate of Dad's adobo, Mom's pansit, and white rice. That would really hit the spot. I salivate as I write this. Made pasta instead. I guess I could go get the ingredients, find recipes online, and cook it myself, but that would be expensive. And I'm lazy.
The Oscars are tonight, and even though I call myself a film major, I really do not like the Oscars. Asking me to watch the Oscars is like asking me to play Scene It. It's like prom for movies, and I didn't really care for prom. All that, "Who are you wearing?" crap although that didn't really happen at prom. Wait, it kind of did, people did ask me where I got my dress. And now Diablo Cody is wearing million dollar shoes or some crap for the red carpet. What made me especially angry is seeing Juno among No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood (which I haven't seen, but come on, it's Daniel Day Lewis). It was an okay film, it just felt like a lot of it was forced and tried too hard to be cool (film and music references, stupid burger phone that is probably available at Hot Topic).
Three women (Nancy Oliver for Lars and the Real Girl and Tamara Jenkins for The Savages--girl power!) are up for Best Original Screenplay, just please, dear God, any of these women except Diablo Cody. Who says, "Honest to blog" or "This is one etch a sketch that can't be un-did" blah blah? I guess I just like things that are a little closer to reality. I am, odd enough, excited for her future and to see what other screenplays she'll be pumping out.
dimanche 3 février 2008
tips from the 1500s and traveling with my lovely parents!
Found these tips online from Erasmus's De Civilitate. I will try my best to live them out. Found them on theThe Happiness Project blog which is one of my favorite self-helpish blogs. I thought they were interesting just because they're so hard to follow! Especially 6 because I like to ask questions when people tell stories.
According to Erasmus, you should not…
1. gossip
2. tell unkind stories
3. boast
4. indulge in self-display
5. seek to defeat others in argument
6. interrupt people when they tell a story
7. be too inquisitive
You should…
8. be discreet about your own thoughts and actions
Despite occasional bouts of frustration and wanting to stay in my shell, I am happy. I have done more growing and learning (and not the kind you pay for) here than I have ever done in the same amount of time at home. I've become close to people who I admire and whose company I enjoy and who I want to keep in touch with long after this is over. I went to midnight Mass at Notre Dame. I took a train under the English channel. I rode on the back of a Vespa from southwest London to northeast London. So despite the strikes, the sickness and cold, and not quite living up to the "studying" bit in studying abroad...I am happy. I'm really happy! Especially about this next bit too...
Talked to Mom and Pop the other day, and they're coming near the end of the semester to spend a week in Paris and then road tripping it to Spain where Dad will be the tour guide and show all his old haunts to us during the time he was stationed there. I can't wait. At first I didn't think I'd make it, what with classes, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity! A road trip with the parentals in Europe! Sounds like such a cool adventure. I remember going to Thailand with my Mom and riding the back of this old army Jeep in the Philippines with my Dad. Great times.
I've been through that stage where I left home and wanted to be away from my parents and see the world. I mean, I'm living it right now. But now they just seem more dear to me than ever. And they're funnier. I don't know if it's because they're retired and have a lot of free time or if it's just my sense of humor that's changed, but they are funny as heck! And I love spending time with them. Every moment spent with them at home during my vacations is really precious. Even if it's just going to Costco with Mom or doing random errands with Dad. I love this stuff.
So I'm going to let my teachers know that I'm "leaving the country early". I'm sure they won't mind, and I know a couple of students who did this before the first semester ended. I just don't want to miss out on this!
samedi 23 juin 2007
"Then over here, this is the Eiffel Tower, right? It's Paris." -- Bernard Jaffe, "I Heart Huckabees"
I am a Cinema and French major. My focus is on screenwriting. I love the production aspect of film though and once planned on becoming a camera operator or working in depth with a camera crew. I am also a French major, but that is under serious construction. Since arriving here, I've had a love-hate relationship with the French language. I'm from southern California, but I definitely don't have O.C. disorder (if you've seen Arrested Development, then this would be funny). I hope to return there after school.
Likes:
film. photography. books. bikes. food and drink. self-deprecation. making fun of myself. writing. light. walking. getting lost. wandering and talking in ikea. boys. wes anderson. buster keaton. zooey glass. writing letters. receiving letters. organizing. documenting my life.
Dislikes:
studying. fatigue. money. studying. being cold. useless wastes of my time. mean people. politics.
This blog serves to record my preparation for study abroad, my year in Paris, and the subsequent changes that will follow when I return to California to finish my last year at San Francisco State University. I will write as much as I humanly can--one post a day if possible, and it's almost always possible.
I hope you enjoy this life-changing year with me, whether you are family, friend, or stranger. This is going to be history in the making. Or not. I don't know yet. We'll see what happens.
