Thursday, September 30, 2010

charity/ rant/ unclaimed bank account

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2010

charity/ rant/ unclaimed bank account

Sept. 28 Charity: I read in the newspaper that Facebook founder Mark Zukerberg donated $100 million to Newark, New Jersey public schools. That's good. It also reminds me of The Simpsons episode where Homer was falsely accused of sexual harassment. There was a talk show with a bear named Ben and he had a microphone strapped to his head.

Announcer: Mothers and daughters who reunited because of their hate of Homer Simpson.
The bear goes to this woman in the audience.
Woman: There should be less Homer Simpsons and more money for public schools.
Then the bear goes the catering table. The crew had to shoot him with a tranquilizer gun.
lol.

Names: I sent my one page outline to the writer in residence Chris Craddock. He thought the name Rain Fong sounded too much like weather. lol. Seriously, I never noticed that. I'll change the last name.

Sept. 29 Rant: This also reminds me of a time back in 2008 where I passed my resumes to staffing agencies. I didn't know the agencies were bad, but then later I did. I had put a Spherion staffing agency business card on my computer desk. My sister says that she saw the card and how she disapproves of it.

She makes a mountain out of a molehill again. She is lecturing me about a staffing agency business card. What's the big deal? You can make a big deal if you saw a business card from a strip club. Wow, like a staffing agency is a really unsavory place.

She calls me stupid, but she's stupid for overreacting.

That also reminds me of The Simpsons.

Homer: You did what?!
Bart: I borrowed your nail clipper, what's the big deal?
Homer: Nothing, I'm just a little edgy since your mother told me she wants to be a cop.

Matthew Gray Gubler: I was watching Criminal Minds, and the actor Matthew Gray Gubler got a short haircut! This is the first time in 6 yrs did he cut his hair really short. He usually keeps his hair chin length, but he looks really different and really good. He also looks a lot younger too. I loved him when I first saw him on this show back in 2005, and when I emailed him, he emailed me back the same night.

Sept. 30 Psychic: I made a comment on Lisa Barretta's blog a month or so back. She emailed me back saying this:

Hey Tracy,

Thank you for the mention. I am Lisa Barretta the author of The Street Smart Psychic's Guide to Getting a Good Reading and what else does one do on a rainy day in Philly -Google their own name ( how limp is that?)

I appreciate it when my readers give my book a shout out and I like to pass that appreciation on.

Love your blog.

Thanks,

Lisa Barretta

Crazy news: I saw an ep of Oprah where she interviews a woman who fathered her own children. Christine and Lisa a lesbian couple. Christine used to be a man and froze his sperm before he became a woman. Now they had 4 month old twins. Both their families are accepting of them. They met online because C is a doctor and is really busy.

C used to tell people right off the bat that she was transgender, but that attracted a lot of creepy people. So she told people she dated after they got to know each other a bit.

Unclaimed bank account: I was reading the Edmonton Journal about unclaimed bank accounts. Type in your name and you may have some money that you forgot about. Go to this site: http://ucbswww.bank-banque-canada.ca/scripts/search_english.cfm

Festival: On Sunday I went to the Edmonton Urban Festival. I looked at a fashion/ art portfolio. I listened to a rap performance there. I also read a Seventeen magazine.

Fun: The other day I got out of my comfort zone. I went to the Stanley A. Milner library and this woman who worked there told me there was a class for teens on how to use this computer program called Sumopaint. It's on a PC and it's like Adobe Photoshop. There were snacks there.

I went to the 3rd floor of the library which I never have before. I also used an ipad for the first time. There is actually a .com key on the keyboard of it. A girl who sat in the back did some rapping and I thought she sounded good. The lyrics were tight. lol.

I also went to Aviary.com where you can make music.

Acting: I saw Jennifer Love Hewitt on Law and Order: SVU and she is a good actress in this episode. I was impressed.I did see So You Think You Can Dance judge Jean Marc on Degrassi: The Next Generation. He played a dance teacher so it's not much of stretch. It was a transgender storyline, and Degrassi really went there. So good on the writers and producers.

I saw the name Riley Gilchrist in the credits of that episode. It sounded so familiar, and then I recognized him when I saw him. He was on the TV show The Smart Woman's Survival Guide about working on a TV show. It's a funny show that was on Cosmo. This time, RP played a doctor on Degrassi. There was some range there for him.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

music videos/ writing/ Free the Hikers. org

Sept. 26 Music videos: I was listening to Alex Lacasse "Like this, Like that." I finally saw his video, and thought it was really low budget and bad. It was shot in a Toronto high school, and he's dancing in some club. The camera was like something you would use in a reality show, and not a drama.

I'll add this to the list of songs I like, but dislike the video. The other one is Donnie Klang's "Take you There." The video wasn't bad, DK looked hot and all, but I didn't really like it.

Music: Today I found this artist named Guy Sebastian. He has a song called "Like this, Like That" and I really like his songs. It's R&B ballads, with a little adult contemporary in it.

Writing: I think I finally conquered my writer's block. I've mainly been doing my job search instead of writing. Yesterday I revisited something I wrote back in 2005. There were some things I knew were bad about the script back then.

1. Why are the bad guys trying to kill the lead character in an airport? That's the worst place to attack someone because there are video cameras and security everywhere.

2. Why do these two characters get killed by a drive by shooting? What is this? The ghetto? The characters weren't living the ghetto.

It's been 5 years and after getting my college diploma, pitching my script to production companies, talking to writers and producers, I can see even more flaws in it.

3. The characters are thinly developed.
4. How the lead character finds out who's trying to kill him and why is too easy.
5. Why does the sidekick that the lead character meets, helps him?

6. Where does the bad guy get all these resources?
7. Where's the mystery?
8. Why do these two characters fall in love?
9. Why don't the characters go to the police? It could be that the leads are bad guys, or the police are dirty cops. Or the cops tried to help, but couldn't. I didn't use any of it.

Sept. 27 Comfort zone: Sometimes you have to leave your comfort zone and explore what's out there.

I used to watch Who's the Boss? sitcom reruns in the early 90s when I was a kid. It starred Tony Danza. Today he was on Oprah, and he said he went to college to be a teacher. He became a pro boxer and was discovered and got into TV. Now he's on his own reality show on A&E called Teach where he becomes a teacher teaching gr.10 English at Philadelphia public school. I'm not really a fan of his, but it was a fun interview.

TD: None of the kids really knew me because I did the shows a long time ago. One kid said to me: "I think my mom, no my grandma is a fan of yours."
lol.

Then they interviewed tennis star Serena Williams who wants to own a nail salon. She went to nail school and gave Oprah a pedicure. Oprah then gave the audience a manicure, free nail polish and nail care products. SW will release her own line of nail polish.

Actress Angie Harmon went to this forensics academy. That should help my research for my script.

Fun: The last 5 min, Oprah did a "Where are they now?" In the early 90s, she held a model contest and the winner was Leslie Bibb. Then I realized she's this actress on that show Popular in the late 90s. She's the blond woman/ reporter in Iron Man. They talked to hottest guy contest in the Caribbean. He's now in Yale taking drama and opening his own production company. O also had a singing contest in the 90s, and this black woman won. She's now working on her solo album and she sings back up for Stevie Wonder.

Sept. 28 Ingrid Betancourt: I was watching 20/20 a couple of years ago about how there are so many hostages in Columbia, that there is a radio station so that family members can communicate with the hostages. I remember the three men dissed this one woman and said she was spoiled and took more food.

Last week I watched Oprah and I remembered they were talking about Senator Ingrid Betancourt. She was running for the Columbia's president. She made a stop in the rain forest for her campaign and was held hostage for 6 and a half years. The other hostages did resent her because on the radio they always talked about her because she is the most famous hostage, and the radio never talked about the other hostages.

She has released a book called Even Silence has an End. She says she doesn't resent the other hostages, and in fact loves them.

Old job notes: I was looking through my old job notes and it said: "Apply at credit card companies." You have to sell and get people to apply for credit cards. It's really competitive and hard. I applied at JW Research and they said the same thing. I also said with insurance companies. I wouldn't sell insurance, but I can apply as an administrative assistant.

Free the Hikers: Also on Oprah, they talked about three US tourists who are suspected of being spies, and held hostage. One woman was released, but there are still two innocent men there. Please sign this petition. Thanks.

http://freethehikers.org/

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Undercovers/ Tangled/ date

Sept. 23 Undercovers: I saw the premiere of this show last night. It's from Alias, Mission Impossible 3 creator JJ Abrams. This show is like Mr. and Mrs. Smith, but with a African-American couple Steven and Samantha Bloom. It stars Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha- Raw as a spy couple who quit the CIA 5 yrs ago to create their catering company.

They are then recruited back into the CIA when they have to rescue the agent Leo Nash, played by Carter MacIntyre. He's kinda cute. I only recognized Mekia Cox as Samantha's little sister Lizzy. MC was on 90210 season 2.

I read a headline on Yahoo that this show was dull. I thought the show was average. It had JJ Abrams style all over it. Josh Reims also co-created this show. These two worked together before on Felicity. There was action, good dialogue, good story. I would have to pick that the best thing out of this show is Carter MacIntyre.

Dirty Jobs: There's this TV show on Discovery Channel called Dirty Jobs. My little brother watches it. Basically it's a guy going from place to place doing a dirty job, usually cleaning something.

I was watching Tyra Banks months ago, and she talked about people working in dirty jobs. One was a dog food taster. The woman tastes the food for texture and flavor, and spits out the food. She had to go to school for some months to do that job. Another one was a porta potty cleaner.

Tyra: Legal work is honorable work.

Villians: Spike from Buffy is a really great bad guy. He becomes good in the later seasons, but he still remains his bad boy edge and the complexity in his character. Spencer from The Hills is a jerk, that no one likes.

Genres: I was thinking that there are no firefighter dramas because then we would know it's always going to be arson. In cop dramas, it's always murder, but you want to know how it's done. On firefighter dramas, it's always fire.

The TV show The Listener was about a paramedic who's a telepath. They didn't have a medical drama worked into it. It was a supernatural show.

Pharrell: I was watching When I was 17, and the rapper Pharrell said he worked at 3 McDonald's and got fired from all of them. He talked about how he had to be there at 5am to work, and he loved the chicken mcnuggets.

Barristers and Solicitors: I was researching when I was going into an interview for a law firm.

Barristers- lawyers who represent litigants as their advocate speak in court.

Solicitors- preparatory work, reviewing legal documents.

Tangled: I saw this show called Tangled back in July and I took some notes. Then I went on imdb.com and it wasn't listed. I'm always watching TV and checking what's on, and this show never appeared again.

Now I looked it up, and then it shows up. It says it's a TV movie, but how could be if it's only 60min? It should be 90min or 120min. On imdb.com, it says: "A spy working for the North Atlantic Intelligence Agency attempts to change her life and rediscover her own humanity." It was average, but I thought it had really good potential to be a TV series. Good characters, production, writing, and fighting.

Anyway, let's start off that it stars Sarah Wayne Callies (Sarah from Prison Break). She knows how to fight on this new show. I also recognized Felicia from the same show (Barbara Eve Harris). This is so Canadian because they used Canadian currency in the movie.

SWC plays a character named Chloe who is an undercover agent. She marries a bad guy which reminded me of an episode of Dollhouse. I see in my notes that an Asian guy is an agent and it's played by Russell Yuen. It's good to see more Asians on TV. I recognized the Latino guy Conrad Pla from TV movies like False Pretenses and Lethal Obsession. He plays a bad guy here.

Comparisons: Here's another batch of comparisons:

Blind person molds people's faces into sculptures: I saw that on CSI: NY and the comedy The Sausage Factory.

Bad guy holding good guy's baby: I saw Sylar hold Matt Parkman's baby on Heroes, and I saw the bad guy hold Lindsay's and Danny's baby on CSI: NY.

Sidekick is a journalist to cover stories: I saw Chloe on Smallville, Will on Alias, and Beth on Moonlight. Then there are even smaller reoccurring roles like Mac Taylor's stepson Reed Garret on CSI: NY.

The Office: I'm always thinking about jobs. In the episode, Michael tells the intern to buy some ice cream.

Me: What flavors?

If I was asked to buy some at work, I would ask that. The assistant bought soy, one flavor, and not enough for the whole office.

Sept. 24 CSI: NY: I watched the beginning of an ep and realized there is finally an ep that starts without a murder scene. It's called "You only die once", the James Bond homage ep. Det. Flack is chasing a robber down in this unique black car.

Sept. 25 Date: Yesterday I met a guy through this online dating site. First I was 10 min. early and I saw my friend Dan N. as I was on my cell. Then we talked as he bought some cigarettes. He did help me calm my nerves a bit before my date arrived.

The date was okay. I got a friend vibe from him. I did email him today and gave him some tips about how to get more replies on the site. He said it's easier for girls to use this site. Not really, as I informed him about how this guy blatantly rejected me on the site by blocking me. lol.
Remember, the guy who asked me questions and my answers didn't match his?

I was supposed to meet another guy today, but I got a text message from him saying he can't come. Another time then.

Fat Burger: I went and tried out Fat Burger for the first time. The atmosphere was good and it looked like it was from the 1950s. The double jr. cheeseburger tasted good, though it was expensive, $6.29. You should go to the other fast food places like McDonald's because it's cheaper. If you pay $6 for a lunch, you get a burger, fries, and a drink from any other fast food place. At Fat Burger, it can be like $10-$15 for a meal.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Waiting for Superman/ Facebook quiz/ Hawaii 5.0

Sept. 20 Waiting for Superman: I read about this documentary in the newspaper, and then they interviewed the people behind it on Oprah. It's about the education system in America. Have you ever heard of "the lemon dance"? It's what you call a bad teacher. The bad teachers are danced around to other schools where you trade one bad teacher with another one.

At least the episode ended on a good note. There's the Oprah Angel Network which is where the viewers donate money to her charity. Oprah then gave six schools a $1 million each.

Sept. 21 Rant: Yesterday I was dismissed from my job because I wasn't good at it. I wasn't really surprised because my hiring manager called me the day before to meet her. My manager didn't return my messages to give my schedule. I returned my uniform and got my $35 deposit back.

I was angry and used my energy to clean my house. I swept and vacuumed the basement, took out the trash, did some recycling, and washed the dinner dishes. I then went on the internet and continued my job search. It's not until hrs later did I remember that I should call up my friend Mitch to see if they're still hiring at his place.

Family: I told my little brother I was dismissed because I know he doesn't judge me. I didn't tell my sister because she doesn't care. I was reluctant to tell my dad, but I told him. Then he told my mom and grandma, and today they lectured me about it.

Job call: Today this call centre called me, but they were way over in the west end so I asked if there are other locations. He said there were 2 others, but they weren't hiring. I told him to call me when the other locations are hiring. We left on good terms.

Joke: I was watching a Degrassi rerun. Eli and Fitz are enemies. Eli is going out with Claire. Claire wants these two to stop fighting. Fitz says he'll stop fighting Eli when Claire goes out with him to the dance. Cut to later E confronts F.

E: If you hurt her-
F: You'll what?
Pause.
F: Yeah, that's what I thought. And when I have sex with her, I'll be gentle.
F's friends laugh.

I thought it was kind of funny. Then I realized: "Wait, I'm a 25 yr old woman and I still laugh at sex jokes like I'm in high school." lol.

Facebook quiz: My friend Zoe had this quiz result on her wall, and I decided to take it just for fun. The questions were fun like: "You got $1000 unexpectedly. What do you spend it on?"I said I don't. I put it in my savings. I was feeling kind of down about myself, but this quiz cheered me up when it said this:

My Result: 1930's
What Decade Fits Your Personality Best?
You are strong and determined and have what it takes to get through life's storms. You are very helpful to those around you-- be it your friends, your family, or even a neighbor in need. You are a great leader and strong-willed person, and take challenges as a way to be...tter yourself...But you also have a deep sense of warmth and nurturing for those you care about. You are well-rounded and tough because you have to be. You aren't a "diva" but rather a humble person with admirable character. With more hard-working, quality like you, this world would be a much better place. By being able to turn a little into a lot, you know how to make life enjoyable even if it's just through the little things.

Sept. 22 Recognition: I went to a job interview today at a hair salon, and the interviewer recognized me from the Soup place. A few months ago I passed my resume to Sbarro and the guy there recognized me.

Job interviews: Yesterday I had an interview at a restaurant. There are 15-20 people up for 2 or 3 positions. Today there are 10-15 people for 1 position. I think I did fine, but the odds are stacked against me.

Tosh.O: I was watching this show and there was a video clip of a white guy and a Latino guy fighting. The white guy wins.

Cut to the white audience members cheering.
Camera pan to the "other" audience members with their arms crossed.
Daniel Tosh: But the white guy got stabbed.
Cut to the "other" audience members cheering.
Camera pan to the white audience with their arms crossed.
lol.

Sept. 23 Hawaii 5.0: This is a remake of the original TV show that came out in the 60s. This new one stars Alex O'Loughlin as Steve McGarret. You may have seen him in the Jennifer Lopez movie The Back Up Plan. This time he plays a cop and he must avenge his father's death in the first episode. He meets Scott Caan's character Danny Williams who is a divorced dad to a little girl. These two don't get along, and that's what makes it fun.

Daniel Dae Kim plays Chin Ho Kelly who was kicked off the force because he was suspected of taking bribes. You may have seen this actor on the TV show Lost. I first saw him as one of the bad lawyers on Angel. I then got a flashback of seeing him in the forgettable movie The Cave. It got bad reviews. It wasn't really scary and the writing wasn't good. Watch this movie on TV, because you shouldn't bother renting it.

Last is Grace Park who plays Kona Kalakaua, who is Chin's cousin and fresh out of police academy. She is best known for Battlestar Galatica, but I saw her on Edgemont way back in 2000.The episode was about human trafficking of Chinese immigrants. There was fun car chases, gun shooting, and fight scenes. James Marsters (Spike from Buffy) played a bad guy in the pilot.

It also talked about finding people through triangulating a cell phone call. That's a shout out to my script.

License plates: I saw these on license plates: "MY JWEL" and "THE BEE."

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

old scripts/ commercial/ Post Secret

Sept. 17 Old scripts: I have writer's block so I'm going to write down all the old script ideas I had since I started writing in 1999. It goes like this, I write something and then I see a TV show or movie that then does the story idea. I then stop writing it. I could have stopped writing The Fighter as soon as I saw the Never Back Down trailer. However, I didn't because I had started pitching my script a few months ago.

Here are my script ideas that have been produced by other people.

1. Outlier- it was back in 1999, and it was about a family that solve supernatural stuff. I was really into Buffy and Angel. There was also the ABC Family show called So Weird with Cara Delizia as a teen girl and her mom was played by the singer McKenzie Phillips. Her mom is a singer and and she brings her kids and they tour the country together. Through each town they stop, they investigate supernatural occurrences. Actually, you know what, there are a lot of script ideas and that would be too much for one email so I'll save it for later.

There are a lot of supernatural shows out there like Heroes and Supernatural. There's going to be a new show called No Ordinary Family about a family that gets into an accident, and develop super powers.

Sept. 18:

2. Wired- I wrote this in 2000-2001. It's about a group of kids who go to a boarding school to learn how to be spies. There is a lot of movies out there like that. There's Spy Kids and Agent Cody Banks which is more of a family audience. There's Stormbreaker which is based on the Alex Rider books by Anthony Horowitz. I have all the books. It's a 14 yr old boy named Alex who is recruited to be a spy. It's very well-written. The movie was really different though.

There was another book series called Spy High by AJ Butcher. I saw another series at the book store about a teen girl who goes to a school to learn to be a spy.

I was really into Alias and Nikita back then about being spies and working for the govt. I like Alias better (at least the first 2 seasons.) It was about a graduate student Sydney who has to bring down the spy agency SD6 with the help of CIA. She works as a double agent. Nikita was about a woman forced to work for a secret govt. agency and it's all shady and bad. They're both good shows in their own right.

3. Renegade- I wrote this in 2003. It turns out there is a TV show with that title already. It was about spies working for the govt. It's not really an original idea, but I think the missions could be written differently.

Names: I found this site called www.behindthename.com. I'm going to add the name Kerrie is too common. I'm going to delete this out of my script.

HIV re-infection: I found this article through the 16 and Pregnant thread.

Re-Infection: Is It a Concern for People Living With HIV?http://www.thebody.com/content/treat/art5042.html

Hire Ground: Have you heard of this job board? Interesting name. I looked up all the jobs available in Edmonton. There were 4 pages and it's a lot with trades and technician positions.

BDO: I found this company on my job search. It's too far away for me. The website is good though. I like this page where you can listen to this instrumental music and this page is fun and interactive.

http://www.checkoutbdo.ca/

Commercial: I read in the Globe and Mail and the National Post about those Stayfree commercials where a hot guy sells tampons on this perfect date. I already wrote about it saying it's like the Old Spice commercial with a hot guy selling it. The articles said what I said. Now that I saw all 3 of these commercials, I'm kind of eh with it. I don't really like any of these 3 guys. In fact, I think these 3 commercials were all shot in different parts of the same house.

Music video: I then found this amateur music video where guys dance to the Katy Perry's song "Peacock." The editing, acting, and dancing was really good. It was fun to watch. It was very gay and 14+ because of all these guys dancing and undressing. Only one woman makes an appearance in this video. So viewer discretion is advised.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3bRPHPQsOs&feature=related

Post Secret: I found this secret stuck out and I hope it impacts women to report rapes and press charges: "

Prosecuting the man who raped me in college, has enabled me to forgive him."

There's another secret: "I know I'm smart and qualified, but I wear a short skirt...just in case."

I thought that was interesting because I thought some interviewers would think that was unprofessional if the skirt was too short for work.

I found this inspirational: "Go after your problems, you'll feel better."

Then there's some bittersweet: "I got through depression without committing suicide. But now I don't believe in God anymore."

Sept. 19 Productive: Due to the cold, cloudy, and rainy weather, I stayed at home all weekend. I sat in front of the computer and looked and applied for jobs for hours. Everyday I look for a job, and yet I'm not sick of it. Maybe it's about moderation because looking at the classifieds only takes 5 min if that's the only job search task I do in one day. Other days I spend an hr looking for one.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

inspiration/ news/ music

Sept.16 Inspiration: I don't even watch The Apprentice, but I was reading about it in the Metro and 24. Here are some really smart and talented overachievers who lost their jobs during the recession. I read in 24, that Donald Trump is actually helping the contestants get jobs with some of the show's sponsors so that's good.

There's a Canadian woman named Stephanie Castagnier who graduated out of McGill University and is from Montreal. She's a contestant on that show.

News: I read that the police can't take down this website where you can play an online video game where players pretend to be the gunman at the 2006 Dawson College shooting. The designer said he tried to make it as less offensive as possible and he apologized prior to it saying it may offend some people.

Already hundreds of people are writing about how offensive it is. I agree. I don't have a problem with violent video games like Grand Theft Auto and Splinter Cell. This video game is based on a real and tragic event.

Good news: I did read that people are living much longer when diagnosed with cancer these days than back in the 90s.

Crazy day: Yesterday I went to work, and then I was moved to another location on campus. This part was quieter and then they closed at 3pm, so I had to help sweep and mop. I haven't closed for work in months. I met two new people. Today was my day off, but I was still on call. I woke up early and did my job search in the morning. It's a good thing I did wake up early, because I was called in to work from 11am-5pm.

Sept. 17 CSI: NY: I have writer's block, so I'll write about a really good episode of this show. The ep starts with the cops going into a trained assassin's lair. There is a "wall of crazy" meaning there is a wall of pictures and newspaper clippings about murders. Last episode, she had gotten away.

I remember on an Angel season 1 ep, Angel found this vampire that he turned, and he had a wall of crazy. There was pictures of a school bus full of children to make Angel think the vamp was gong to attack them.

Back to CSI: NY. I thought the ep was a little anti-climatic because the first scene was the assassin has been killed. It was a red herring. It's a set up for finding out the assassin who killed her. Then it turns she had faked her own death by kidnapping a woman and did plastic surgery on the woman's face.

If the cops think the assassin's dead, the case is closed. That was a good surprise. Another good surprise was the cops investigating a suspect who may have killed the assassin. There is this mechanic underneath a car, and he used to be in the army. He comes out from underneath the car, and his legs and arm are robotic. You didn't expect that one.

Advice: I was reading Ellie's advice column in the Edmonton Journal. The lesson is: If you know a friend is being cheated on, tell them. Even through an anonymous note. People wrote in saying it's a good thing to tell your friend about it because that person could catch an STD. One guy wrote in saying: "I was about to buy an engagement ring for someone who was cheating on me." So you helped this person save money and time.

Music: A couple of weeks ago I was listening to Timbaland and it had the singer Brandy rapping. Then today I was looking up Robin Thicke because on his album he had sampled the song "It's my Party." I then found Brandy using the chorus and rapping to it. She sounded good. You know the song is actually by Lesley Gore. It goes like this: "It's my party, and I can cry if I want to." Now I just realized how Robin Thicke used it in his "Sex Therapy" song. His lyrics are to the beat: "It's your body, we'll go hard as you want to."

Flashback: Now I'm getting a flashback of going to my friend Christina's bday party when she turned 11. Everybody was singing that song.

Sampling: Robin Thicke sampled Al Green's "I'm Glad You're Mine" for his song "Mrs. Sexy." He also sampled Marvin Gaye's "Trouble Man" for his song "Million Dollar Baby." If you listen to those songs, you can totally hear the beat.I'm surprised that I heard "Sex Therapy" so many times, and yet never noticed that he sampled Lesley Gore's song. It's because when RT did it, he changed the beat and slowed it down significantly. LG's song is faster.

Charity: I was watching Oprah today. She bought a home for a woman who lost her limbs. Her husband has also lost his job. The family (they have 2 daughters) will go house hunting and then Oprah will pay for the house in full so the family don't have to pay the mortgage. Nate Berkus will come to decorate their home.

Sept. 18 Job search: I did the usual job search yesterday and today. I also emailed my friend Angela a few positions she may be interested in. I applied to be a production assistant at this film company.

Script pitch: I was looking for an office job, and it lead me to Kijiji and then it lead to me these production companies. I haven't pitched my Fighter script in a few months. I've only been emailing updates to the producer John Kerr. Now that I found some more production companies, I had to pitch it.

Song: I was thinking about that song "Doing Too Much" by Paula Deanda. The lyric: "Baby, am I doing too much?" In my case: "Am I doing enough?" Am I looking for a job hard enough? Am I applying to as many places as I can?

Rant: Here's a mild rant. MuchMusic used to play Buffy on at 4pm, but they replaced it with Gossip Girl. I see MuchMoreMusic advertising they're playing Buffy at midnight which is too late for me to watch because I have to go to work in the morning. Then it turns out MMM is playing it at 10pm on my time so I can watch it. That's good.

They're playing season 7 eps. But it turns out that I missed the first 4 eps of season 7 when they aired it this week. I was kind of annoyed. The important thing is, I get to watch it now.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

funny videos/ online job search tips/ cute and funny

Sept. 13 Funny videos: My little brother found this video. These 3 soccer players scored a goal, and danced with a Lady Ga Ga song.

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/dirty-tackle/post/Footballer-celebrates-goal-by-unleashing-his-inn?urn=sow-267697

Here's one where a mascot "eats" a cheerleader.

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Video-Tennessee-Titan-s-mascot-eats-cheerlead?urn=nfl-269355

Chris Rock joke: I was on the 16 and Pregnant thread on twop.com and someone said this:"Just wanted to say I saw the Wanda Sykes show last night and she was discussing whether Teen Mom/16 & Pregnant were in any help in regards to deterring teens from having sex or being careful about using protection. Actually she was mentioning an article, I believe, that discussed this topic. Anyways she said if any parent was using an MTV show to scare their teen into not having sex, they are screwed up already. Chris Rock was on the panel and he asked if MTV aired right before 16 & Pregnant, "15 and F***ing". Thank you Chris Rock for that laugh last night."

Dark jokes: I got some dark jokes about abortions. So I'm forewarning you that it may be offensive.

I was watching the MTV Music Video Awards and the host Chelsea Handler was in the jacuzzi with the Jersey Shore cast. She comes out looking a few months pregnant.

CH: I hope there's still time for the morning after pill.

I thought that was funny. My brother Patrick thought it was too, except my sister thought it was too dark.

I checked out the show Lucky Louie some months ago. It stars the comedian Louis CK and the jokes in the promo seemed clean like him saying: "Our bank account has -$50. We need to get to 0 before we can say we're broke."

Then I saw his show and there's lot of dark jokes and swearing. I personally didn't think it was funny. The joke that stuck out for me was about the cons of raising kids.

Louis: Now I know why they throw babies in the garbage.

Job interview: Today I went to a job interview at an office. I think it went well because I did my research about the company, and I provided info when they asked me what I knew about it. However, they said there's a "number of applicants" so there's a lot of competition. Well I gave it my best shot.

Oprah: Today was the premiere of Oprah's final season, so I had to check it out. Oprah took her entire audience of 300 people to Australia for a week trip. They talked old dedicated viewers like Linda from Alberta, Canada. She was inspired by Oprah and then she went to Africa to volunteer at an orphanage. Then she built a house there for all the kids.They showed a clip of Crystal Brooks, who's an African- American 9 yr old girl, and she was on the show 17 yrs ago. She said she wanted to be a talk show host, and then became a teacher.

Sept. 14 Blast from the past: Last week and today I bumped into Jurid whom I worked with at Booster Juice back in June. We chatted a bit as I made coffee at work. He quit his job so he could go to school full-time. I also chatted with my old computer teacher Shawn whom I haven't seen since 2006. He remembered my name. I told him I graduated, but I know that I may not get a job in writing and also because of the economy. I'm not embarrassed to see him or Jurid.

I think I may have bumped into Mr. Bjarenson from high school. He used to be the gr. 10 coordinator as in help people with changing classes and stuff. I don't think he would remember me since I only saw him a few times. I think I may have seen Fred whom was my Eng. teacher back at NAIT.

Sept. 15: I also talked to my friend Ray's boyfriend Josh who came to buy a coffee. He remembered me.

Online job search tips: I was reading the Metro, and career counselors, employment guidebook author Margaret Riley, and Career Potentials consulting firm president Ford Myers all say that job sites like Monster, CareerBuilder, and Hot Jobs don't help you get a job.

Studies in the US show that less that 10 percent of jobs are filled through online ads. It helps a little. The tips are go the nearest Chamber of Commerce, and a LinkedIn company search by industry and location. Go to the company website and apply directly there. I already do the latter.

The other tip is that you should customize the cover letter and a little with the resume. Use the same keywords they use in the ad because it's usually a computer that scans it before a person even reads it.

y experience is that I got the current job I have right now through Kijiji. I did get one interview for Direct Energy through Career Builder. I may have gotten a couple of cell phone companies calling me for an interview from there too.

Job notes: I was going through my agenda where I write my notes. I see that months ago I wrote that I should apply to food courts at schools and now I got one. I also see a note where I wrote: "I don't watch Kitchen Nightmares, don't want to go to culinary school, but want to work in a restaurant."

Cute and funny: I found this cute and funny commercial. First it shows a 4 yr old girl dancing, and then two adults dance with her. Then an entire community dance with her. It's so fun to watch.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/yahoocanada/100915/canada/dancing_kid_the_latest_viral_hit

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

psychopaths/ The Pig Farm/ I got published

Sept. 11 Psychopaths: I found this magazine called Scientific American Mind and the cover article was about psychopaths. They don't have any regrets, low self-esteem, but they don't have any love for anything or anyone. It did say that if you give people with psychopathic tendencies treatment (one-on-one intensive therapy) in juvenile hall, they won't commit murders.

In the regular system (without therapy), they will commit murder within 4 yrs of release. I guess I've had this interest in psychology since I took it in gr.11 and we studied a little about psychopaths. I also watch a lot of Criminal Minds. Throw in Dexter too.

Fun: Today I went shopping. A few months ago I said I was sick of shopping and I stopped for a couple of months. Well today is a Sat. afternoon and since I haven't been shopping for a long time, there's all this new merchandise to look at. Press'd the Sandwich Company opened in City Centre mall. Fat Burger will be opening on Sept. 13. I saw both the restaurants, and they look really nice. I did email my resumes to both, but then I got hired at a grocery store, so I didn't do any interviews with either of those restaurants. I still got a job at another restaurant.

Create a world: I've been writing yesterday and today. On science fiction shows and books like Flash Gordon, Dark Angel, Buffy, Harry Potter, and Futurama, they all live in these supernatural worlds. A little based on reality, but with supernatural elements to it.

I'm even thinking of the book series The Baby- Sitter's Club. They're not sci-fi, but they live in the fictional small town of Stoneybrook. It's a world of it's own.

Comparisons: Here's one:

Sci-fi shows copying old books: I was watching Flash Gordon and they copied The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. I remembered that book in gr. 8 language arts class. It was about a community picking a piece of paper out of a hat, and whoever draws one with an X, has to be stoned to death. In Flash Gordon (2008) though, whoever draws a black stone, they have to leave the village because the village can only sustain a certain amount of people.

Dark Angel copied Mice and Men. I saw Dark Angel first, and then months later I saw the movie of Mice and Men for Eng. class in gr.11. On DA, Max has to kill her brother Ben because he turned into a serial killer. They go into an all out fight and Max breaks his leg. The Manticore bad guys are coming for them.

Ben: Don't leave me.
Max: Tell me about that happy place.
Ben tells her, and then she kills him.

In Mice and Men, the mentally handicapped brother accidentally killed a woman. His big brother tells him: "Imagine that farm that we planned to build together.) Then he shoots him.

The Pig Farm: This is a 2hr documentary about the serial killer Robert "Willie" Pickton who murdered 2 dozen prostitutes in Vancouver. It talked to "Stitch" this prostitute who was attacked by RP first. He stabbed her 4 times,and she stabbed him back. She managed to run and get a car to pull over. This couple stopped and drove her to the hospital because they saw that her left hand had a handcuff on her.

RP also drove himself to the hospital. A nurse found the key in his pocket that unlocked the handcuff. RP was charged with attempted murder, but Stitch was a prostitute so she didn't have any credibility and there was no trial. Later a woman Lisa who's RP's friend told her husband that she saw these women's clothes and IDs in RP's trailer. The husband called the cops, but when they asked Lisa, she denied it. She said she didn't like the police and didn't trust them, and that they will twist her words and will get at RP.

The police can only go onto your property if they have a warrant. They can get a warrant if they have probable cause. Lisa saying there was evidence, would be the probable cause. More women go missing, the director at a woman's shelter was onto it. This one detective was onto it. The families of the missing women reported to the police. This Asian guy pharmacist, he reported a woman missing because she missed her methadone treatments.

This one guy saw that he had these unregistered guns. That's a probable cause, they got a warrant and found all the evidence. This happened in 2002. The murders started in 1997. And maybe prior to that.

Sept. 12 Rant: Here's a mild rant. I went to see what's on the two CSI: NY episodes tonight, and they changed it to Criminal Minds. I've seen all the CM episodes. I have never seen all the CSI: NY eps. But I managed to calm myself down because I can always watch CSI: NY reruns on Fri. and Sun. nights on CTV.

Paula Deanda: I was listening to some Baby Bash on Youtube which lead me to the old artist Paula Deanda. She's this beautiful Mexican-American singer with the mellow song "Too Much" which I really like. Then she released this fun dance song "Easy" feat. Bow Wow. Check it out.

Charity: I sent this to all my friends, but I think you should still forward this to all your friends. It's free. Sign this petition:

http://www.amnesty.ca/iwriteforjustice/take_action.php?actionid=506

Blackout: There was a black out on my house from 6pm- 8:30pm. At least I caught the last 30min of the MTV Music Video Awards, and saw the season 4 premiere of Gossip Girl.

Sept. 13 I got published: I got a letter from the Poetry Institute of Canada. I submitted "TJ's Story" back in May, and they said they will publish my short story. It will go into the final part of the competition and I may even win the grand prize of $250.It will be in the anthology titled Lamplight Tales (National Library of Canada, Ottawa).

Sunday, September 12, 2010

economy news/ Nikita/ actors

Sept.9 Economy news: I read in the Globe and Mail A section that women make 63% of what men make. It's because women mainly work in less lucrative industries like social work while men work in engineering. Women put more priority to family than work, than men do. Also women work more in part-time than full- time.

Then I read in their Life section that as a whole, women make 20% less than men in the US. Single, childless women ages 22-30 make 8% more than men do on average. That's because there are more women in college, and the manufacturing and construction industry jobs have been disappearing due to the recession.

In major cities, the single, childless women make way more.

San Francisco: 11%
NYC: 17%
Atlanta: 21%

Lawyers: In other news, bankruptcy lawyers increase in business due to the recession. I'm sure that kind of adds fuel to the fire for all you haters of lawyers.

Job search: I went to check my college email account, and there was nothing about jobs. The good news is that I have set up an interview for an admin support position at an office. I called them this morning about it. I went to Google maps and went there to the location to check out the place. I did some research about the company.

I then went and looked at the Edmonton Journal classifieds and faxed my resume to another office. It was good today because I got a day off. My manager said that there were a lot of people on the schedule today so that's why I'm using my day off wisely.

Teen pregnancy: I'm on my break and reading 16 and Pregnant. Then I felt like listening to "Pregnant" by R. Kelly, Tyrese, Robin Thicke and the Dream." Here's an interesting comment on Youtube:

AjreamcomeTrue's: "i agree with alot of the comment and happy to see there are alot of teen or people admitting they aint ready to be parents. Make sure before you bring another precious life into this world that you are ready. The shit aint no joke.

I love my baby but sometime it is rough as a mf and im married. I love my baby but it is alot harder than i thought it was gone be. Im 27 and just had my 1st baby. Make sure u ready and thats real talk.This song is 6 minutes but baby is a forever commitment."

I totally agree with her. You can watch her channel here: http://www.youtube.com/user/AjreamcomeTrue

Abortions: I was reading on the 16 and P thread that Addison from Grey's Anatomy/ Private Practice had an abortion and wasn't villified for it. There's also an ep on Friday Night Lights about a teen girl who got an abortion. I think Law and Order: SVU had characters who had abortions, but not a whole ep about it.

So the thing is, is that American network shows do show abortions. Don't count on a show aimed at teens to show it though.

Sept. 10: I read that the HBO show Six Feet Under had someone have an abortion.I got a quick flashback. Melissa Joan Hart guest- starred on Law and Order: SVU. She was raped, and got an abortion on that show.

Nikita: It's that time of year again, where new shows come on and I have to do my review. I heard there was going to be remake of this show. I saw the original TV show Nikita starring Peta Wilson. Her career hasn't gone that well after the show. I did see her in the movie League of Extraordinary Gentleman, a small part in Superman Returns, and the TV movie False Pretenses. The show came out in 1997, but I didn't start watching it until 2001.

The original also starred Matthew Ferguson as Birkoff. I did hear his voice when he played Bobby Lee on the animated show Odd Job Jack. I checked his credits and he was on An American in Canada. There was one season. I totally forgot about that show. The original TV show had Nikita being framed for murder and she had to work for a secret govt. agency where she spies and kills people. It was really good. One of the writers was Luc Besson who wrote the Jet Li movie Unleashed. The show was based on a movie by the same name by LB, but she did commit murder.

Actors: Now onto the new version. It stars Maggie Q (full name Margaret Denise Quigley). She goes by Q because when she was in China no one could pronounce her last name. Her dad's Polish- Irish American and her mom's Vietnamese. MQ looks Asian. This show is produced by The OC, Fastlane, Charlie's Angel's producer McG. This show is about how Nikita was recruited into the secret govt. agency called Division, and she escaped when her fiancee was murdered.

It stars Shane West. He's one of the many actors I see that used to big in movies back in the 90s, but now has to do TV. You know like Mehki Pheifer on the show Lie to Me, Freddie Prinze Jr. on 24. It also stars Lyndsey Foncesca. She's gotten really far from The Young and the Restless, to TV shows like Desperate Housewives, to small parts in movies like Hot Tub Time Machine, to a regular on this show.

I saw Aaron Stanfod (Pyro from X-Men) and as soon as I saw him wearing glasses, I said: "Are you supposed to be Birkoff?" Yes, he was. Melinda Clarke (Julie from The OC) is in it too.

This show has action, mystery, and it's sexy. Alex (Lyndsey Foncesca) is recruited. There is great expository because she's a human trafficking victim. I love the plot twist at the end. It's well- written. I will certainly be tuning in every week.

Sept. 11 Productive: I filed my EI, looked for a job, applied to one.

Friday, September 10, 2010

job questions/ Hellcats/ Rich Cronin

Sept. 7 Job questions: I just got home from a 9am-5pm shift. It's alright, mainly pouring coffee. I learned a little bit of the till today. Last shift I learned a bit about making sandwiches. This is my 3rd day. It was busy in the morning, and really busy during lunch. It got quiet in the late afternoon with a steady, but short customer line.

Today I was reading 24 called the Job Quality Checklist.

1. Are you still having fun? Do you find the job intrinsically satisfying?

Yes.

2. Are you being challenged intellectually?

Not really. Well learning the till and how the sandwiches are made kind of are. I'll give it an average rating.

3. Do you like your colleagues? Do you like your boss?

Yes, though I don't really know them that well.

4. Are you reaching your career goals?

Certainly not. I want an office job and/ or a writing job.

5. Are you achieving the life balance that you desire?

I'm working part-time, so yes. I still have time to look for another job on the side and have fun by watching TV.

6. Are you being paid somewhat close to your worth?

Yes.

If you answered no to most of these questions, then you need to think about moving on.

Job search: I looked at the Edmonton Journal and 24's classifieds today.

Nice: My little brother Patrick bought the new Rolling Stone magazine for my sister because John Hamm from Mad Men is on the cover. She has a big crush on JM.

S: Do you want me to pay you for it?
P: No, you can have it.
Aww, that is so nice. P does get a 10% discount off the magazine because he got it from work.

Charity: I read that Angelina Jolie donated $30,000 to help the people in Pakistan after that flood. I also read that Taylor Lautner got $40,000 from that RV company that was later in giving him his RV. TL then donated it to this children's charity called the Lollipop Theatre Network.

Sept. 8 Hellcats: I just saw this show, and I love it. At first I wasn't going to watch it because it's about cheer leading and Ashley Tisdale is in it. Both are okay, but then I saw that the actor Matt Barr was in it, and I was like: "I have to watch it! At least check it out." I first saw him on Harper's Island. Then I saw him on CSI: NY and Castle. I even tuned into a CSI ep because he was in it. I don't usually watch that show. I wouldn't say I have a crush on him, like I do with the actor David Anders.

Anyway, it stars Alyson Michalka as Marti, this pre-law student. Her mom was 3 months behind on paying for her tuition. Marti finds out she can become a cheerleader to get a scholarship so she try outs for it and gets in. I loved her crazy dancing in the audition. Those screenwriting books have an effect on me. Actions reveal character. At first she did what everybody was doing, following the routine. But then she did her own dancing. That was the best part of the ep.

Ashley Tisdale plays this peppy girl Savannah who at first doesn't get along with M, but then does. M's rival is Alice (Heather Hemmens) because M took her place after A got hurt. Lewis (Robbie Jones) plays her love interest. He's African-American and he plays a really nice guy on the team, who seems to be M's love interest. I saw him on imdb.com and he's mainly been doing one eps for other TV shows. Matt Bar plays Dan, M's friend/ kind of love interest.

I noticed the actor Jeff Hephner, but couldn't place him. Then I see on imdb, that he was Matt on The OC. Sharon Leal is the coach and she's a pretty black woman. I thought I saw her before, but I checked and I've never seen her before. I recognized Aaron Douglas playing the principal (The Bridge). I instantly recognized D.B Woodside who's the team doctor. He's Principal Wood from Buffy season 7. Also played Aaliyah's brother in Romeo Must Die. I loved the dancing and cheer leading, it was really good and impressive. They made a shout out to Bring it On when M rents it on dvd to practice before tryouts.

Also from screenwriting books, the phrase "raising the stakes." The team has to win nationals so the cheer leading team won't get cut from school, and they can keep their scholarships.

Movie: I'm going to admit it, I don't really like the movie Bring it On. I saw some of it on dvd when I was 16 at a family friend's house. It was on TV a couple years after that and I saw it. When I was 16, I didn't like it because the writing wasn't really good. They were trying to be funny, and they weren't. It's like a dance movie. You don't watch it for the story, but for the cool dancing.

Fun fact: At the end of Hellcats, they showed that a lot of unlikely people were cheerleaders like former president Ronald Regan. The actress Meryl Streep. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Teen pregnancy: I was on twop.com about 16 and Pregnant.

Someone: "There’s a story right now about a woman who Tweeted her abortion, and she’s getting backlash (less so “murderer!” and more “Dude, TMI”)."

Me: What? You tweeted that you got an abortion? Why can't you tweet random things like what you had for lunch? It depends on how she actually said it.

Sept. 9: I read a few more pages on that thread and found the link and an interview with her. I do respect her, she sounds intelligent and put thought into her decision. She had medical problems when she was pregnant when she had her first kid. It was very serious, so I understand why she had an abortion for her own well-being.

http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-frisky-qa-angie-jackson-the-woman-who-live-tweeted-her-abortion/

Rich Cronin: You know the boy band LFO and their song "Summer Girls"? It was popular in the late 90s. Well the singer Rich Cronin has passed away at 35 due to leukemia. I know my sister liked them.I did know that he had cancer. He was on this TV show on MuchMoreMusic called Mission Man Band. I had to look that up. It starred from imdb: "Chris Kirkpatrick (N*SYNC); Jeff Timmons (98 Degrees); Rich Cronin (LFO) and Bryan Abrams (Color Me Badd) will live together for one month, create new music, a dynamic stage show and perform as a new pop group."

He did talk about having cancer and how much meds he took. I remember that he had a little brother Mike Cronin and he was the co-manager to the boy band O-town. I watched Making the Band and when I saw Mike I thought he looked like a boy band member, but I don't know if he can sing or dance. O-town and LFO were on the same record label.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

funeral/ crazy news/ scam

Sept. 6 Funeral: I went to my grandpa's funeral over the weekend. I didn't really want to go, but then again is there anyone who actually likes going to funerals? This is the first time I've ever been to one, and it was also the first time for my siblings too.

I was never really close to him because he lived in Calgary, and I only saw him once or twice a year. I did learn that he was a book keeper at a bakery for years. He is also the oldest in his family and has a younger brother and two younger sisters.

I didn't know that my cousin Doris was really close to him. My cousin Jennifer said he was always encouraging and patient with her. I then got to ride in a limo which I have never had before to the grave site. It was raining which was a weird coincidence.

Sayings: My grandpa died at 88 years old which is a long life. There is that saying: "It's not about how much years are in your life, but how much life there is in your years." Or that: "It's not about many breaths you take, but how many times life takes your breath away."

Joke: I've realized I've watched way more funerals on TV than actually attend one. It reminds me of The Simpsons where they go to great aunt Gladys's funeral.

Lisa: Good bye great aunt Gladys.
Old woman's voice (croaks): Bye Lisa.
Lisa runs away screaming.
Then it turns out it was Bart being a troublemaker.

Crazy news: I was watching ABC news, and this nurse Wanda meets this patient, who turns out to be her long lost dad from 41 years ago. He had walked out on her, her older sister, and her mom. She heard there was a patient with her dad's name and she had to meet him.

W asks him if he has any children, and he said yes. She asks what are their names and he says Gina and Wanda. W runs out of the room because she's overwhelmed. She comes back and she says she's his daughter. He says: "I know." They do look alike. Ju Ju Chang says W is very forgiving of her dad, because some would resent him. But W says the past is the past. They're spending all their time together. What a nice story.

Teen pregnancy: I found this on the 16 and Pregnant thread on twop.com: "Reproductive coercion often is accompanied by physical or sexual violence, study finds"

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-01/uoc--rco012010.php

"Minors Access to Contraceptive Health Care"
http://www.contracept.org/minorsaccess.php

Job search: It's a habit of looking at the Edmonton Journal classifieds everyday, and picking up Job Classified every week. Reading my jobserve.ca emails and reading the 24 classifieds. It's a good habit. I don't want to miss any opportunities.

I also signed up and created a profile at Covenant Health. I usually apply to be a food service attendant in person at the hospital, but now I can do this online.

I signed up an account on Epcor. It turns out if you withdraw an application, you can't change your mind and apply again even if the job is still available. Once you withdraw, you can't apply again.

Scam: I read in the Calgary Herald about how since the recession, there are all these Work at Home scams, so be careful.

I was at Career Builder and found United Career Services, which sounds like a staffing agency, which is bad. I googled it and found this site where people say it's a scam.

http://www.indeed.com/forum/cmp/United-Career-Services/United-Career-Services/t141192

Music: I was watching this Robin Thicke interview and of how when he was 14, he sang to his then girlfriend (now wife) Paula some Jodeci song. I then listened to Jodeci for the first time. It's good R&B music.

Robin Thicke: Some say he kind of sounds like Justin Timberlake. I will admit some songs he does like JT, definitely in "Would that make U Love Me." He sounds a bit like him "Wanna Love U Girl."

RT has his own voice when he sings other songs. I love his ballads like: "I Need Love" and "Cry No More." I do like the sexy song "Teach U a Lesson." I like his upbeat dance songs like "Sidestep", "Magic," and "All Night Long" feat. Lil Wayne.

I'm mildly annoyed. There is a deluxe edition of "Sex Therapy" with a few extra songs and I bought the regular cd. Damn. Well, at least I can still hear these extra songs on Youtube.

Sept. 7 Rant: So this morning I called back that bank that called me last week. They called my cell and I missed their call because I was working. Then they called my home, and my grandma told me about it -in front of my sister. My sister than lashed out at me again like yesterday.

I said: "I did give them my cell phone!" I then called them back again and said I'll be working from 9am-5pm for the next two days so call me from 8am-9am. Or call me on Fri. when it's my day off and you can call me on my cell or home.

Sept. 8 Job interview: The bank called me on my cell at 8am, and I called them back on my home phone at 8:01 am and we did a little interview over the phone. The woman then passed my answers to the hiring manager. If I did well, the hiring manager will call.

Then I checked my cell phone after work and someone did call me. My dad said someone called me too. I checked and it's the same person. It's someone from the U of A. Earlier my dad said it probably wasn't legit because they didn't want to leave a message. I then thought: "Wait, it could be a job or it could be that survey I did for them and they have follow up questions." I told my dad and he said: "It's probably a survey."

Monday, September 6, 2010

trip/ cancer signs/ Aaron Ashmore

Sept. 2 Trip: Today I stopped procrastinating and went to this store called Comic King on Whyte Ave to sell a comic book. The guy said they're not buying anything right now. He told me to go Wizards. I did see a t-shirt that said "I heart Buffy" and the picture was a real heart with a stake through it. I walked a bit more through Whyte, and then went home.

New: Today I got a new haircut. I was the first one there when it opened and it costs $18. It's cheap because it's in Chinatown. I then went and returned the dvd Forever Strong to the library. Did you know there is no more 106 bus route? It's been replaced by 94. I didn't know that until today. It's a new month and I feel renewed. New job and new haircut. I have this new energy to look for a job and clean out clutter.

Cancer signs: I found this on Yahoo news. These are signs that you may have cancer.

- Coughing up blood.
- Rectal blood.
- Breast lump or mass.
- Difficulty swallowing.
- Post-menopausal bleeding.
- Abnormal prostate tests.
- Anemia.
- Blood in urine.

Dirty cops: I saw an episode of The Bridge a couple months ago about a dirty cop who works for a mob boss by killing people for him. It was a good episode and storyline. Now that I think about it, murder for hire isn't really creative. However, it's about a dirty cop who's doing it and I don't think I've seen that before.

On Johnny Zero, there are dirty cops who pick up guns from bad guys when they're arrested. Afterwards, the cops go and sell them back on the streets. Now it reminds me of a CSI: NY episode where a cop does that, but with drugs.

Rookie Blue: I'm going to say it. I find this show average. It does have a few good points here and there. There was an episode where a cyclist gets hit by a car driven by a senior. Then it turns out the senior murdered the cyclist because the cyclist was going to tell the cops that he molested him.

Sept. 3: Also when a kid got kidnapped on that show, the kid was reunited with her mom. I got a little teary- eyed watching that.

Names: More about names like Rena, Raina, Rayna.

News: Did you know that 1 in 4 strippers in the UK have a college degree and like their job? It's to pay for their college tuition and they get paid very well.

Good acting: There was this bit on Secret Life of the American Teenager where Ricky says one line with really good emotion.

Ricky: Are you pregnant?

Lie to Me: There was an episode where there were 2 bombs that went off in the show. It was about terrorists. It also had flashbacks of how the characters met. I like this show. It teaches me of what characters are saying, and what they're hiding. It teaches me about how to write dialogue.

Jason Dohring (Logan from Veronica Mars and a vampire on Moonlight) guest- starred on this show. He's the biggest guest- star, so you know he's the guy who did it. However, the episode was where Lightman knows that he's a sociopath and he's been kidnapping and murdering women. L has to prove that JD did it.

The episode was well- written and well- acted in catching a known serial killer. It's how the episode was executed that was important.

Sept. 5 Plot twists: I was watching CSI: NY awhile back, and it can be pretty unpredictable. Towards the end, it looks like the Killer is going to kill the Real Estate Agent. The cops come, and the Real Estate Agent is still alive. The Killer then gets into the cab.

It then sets up the Cabbie Killer storyline. He then kills the Killer. I have seen Criminal Minds where Alex O'Loughlin (The Back- Up Plan) plays the killer and kills the real estate agent in the beginning of the ep.

Aaron Ashmore: I was thinking about this actor and how he became successful. He has a twin brother named Shawn Ashmore (Iceman on X-Men). I'll say it, SA is the more successful actor, because he got successful first in 1998 when he did Animorphs and then in 2000 he did X-Men. SA also won the Best Breakout Male actor in the MTV Movie Awards.

SA said this in his acceptance speech: I want to thank my parents and my brother Aaron.

AA did become successful slowly. He did a few episodes of Veronica Mars in 2004/2005. Then he got a regular spot on Smallville. Now he's a reoccurring character on In Plain Sight.

Character jobs: I was thinking about the now canceled show Melrose Place. These are twenty-somethings and they all have careers. Working at a restaurant, publicity agency, doctor (no medical drama), camera guy trying to make it big, teacher turned model.

I wouldn't say this show inspires me like Oprah does, but it's kind of a example, a guide.

Article: I read this Fox News article about the TV show 16 and Pregnant. It talks about how this show seems to be encouraging abortions so teen girls don't have to go through with having the kid because it's so hard. No one on this show has an abortion, but with some girls when I watch this show, some should have gotten abortions. Or give the baby up for adoption.

Job search: I just got back home from another weekend in Calgary to attend my grandpa's funeral. I'll write about it later. I then went and looked through the 3 days of the Edmonton Journal's Classifieds and applied to 3 places.

Rant: Here's a mild rant. On Fri. I saw that I got a call on my cell, but I didn't know who it was. I was in Calgary and I didn't want to call back on my cell because there would be long distance charges.

I got home, and there was a message on my machine from the same person. My sister and my mom says that I should only put my cell number on my resume because my grandma doesn't speak English so she can't answer the phone. I said I put my cell and my home number so you can reach me on both numbers.

It doesn't matter anyway, because the message said she was in the office only on Mon.- Fri. and when I got the message, it wasn't office hours so I couldn't reach her.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

jokes/ Summer Heights High/ stay positive

Aug. 28 Jokes: My sister was reading the newspaper and she groaned.

Me: What?
: Ann Frank's tree toppled over because it was struck by lightening.
Me: They can plant a new one right?
S: That tree gave her hope!
lol.

I don't know if you find it funny, but you had to be there. It also reminded me of South Park where Cartman had to hide his cat in the attic.

Cartman: Here's a journal so you can write your thoughts in it.

Aug. 29 News: Did you know that getting drunk and high doesn't make you more creative? That's a myth I read in The Globe and Mail. That reminds me of South Park again, but with the character Towelie. He's a towel, with arms and legs. He was getting high off computer duster aerosol cans. His eyes are bloodshot.

Towelie: It's like I'm walking on sunshine.
lol.

Aug. 31 Summer Heights High: I finally checked out this show earlier this month. It's on Australian HBO show and it's mokumentary. I have to say Chris Lilley is a really talented actor because he plays 3 characters on this show: gay drama teacher, stuck up teen girl, and a troublemaker teen boy. He also writes and produces the show.

There was a storyline that kind of pushed it. The teen boy character draws a picture of his dad touching him. He, and his dad talk to the teacher and guidance counselor. The kid fesses up that he wasn't molested, and that he drew the picture so he could get out of English class. Like oh my God, he kind of went pretty far to get out of class by falsely accusing someone of child molestation.

Titus: Actually way back in 2002, I saw a child molestation episode on the sitcom Titus. It starred Christopher Titus. It was about a teen girl who wrote some poem about a rose tattoo on her child molester's privates. The scene was in the mens' washroom and the guys saw the tattoo on the man which is then confirmed that he's the molester. The principal was there, so then he gave the girl a baseball bat so she could beat up her molester in the washroom. It's a sitcom, it has to be kind of light. If this was Law and Order: SVU, there would be an investigation and some court scenes.

Coincidence: I thought it was kind of a funny coincidence that I took out $80 from my bank account to buy a bus pass. Then today I get $80 deposited into my account from EI.

Feng shui: This is a old Chinese method of clearing your home space, which will bring good energy into your life. I then finally threw out the old papers from the grocery store. I also threw out old receipts. I noticed that the price for Paxil has risen by $3.

Safeway: I tried some new food from Safeway. It's called mojo, which is really sliced potatoes that are deep fried. It tastes good. I don't really go grocery shopping, but I see that Safeway prints coupons on the back of their receipts. The coupons are for pizza at pizzeria and minutes at a tanning salon.

Digeus.com: I got this email from Alise Johnson. She wants me to try out this product, and write about it on my blog. I don't have time for that, but I will post it on my blog to help her advertise her product. I'll give her points for emailing me and asking me to try out the software program.

Dating: I found this guy through this online dating site. I put him on my email list, and we occasionally IMed each other since last Oct. The thing is we've never met because he's always traveling. So last week I told him since we haven't met, I will stop emailing him altogether. He agreed and we wished each other good luck. This is kind of what happened with my last boyfriend. It was long distance, we never got to see each other for a year, so I called it quits.

Sept. 1 New job: I was originally going to do full-time, but I don't really like this job so I decided to do part-time instead. I can still keep getting my EI. I would have free time to look for an office job. I did call that law firm back to see if I got the job, and I didn't. That's fine. Since I won't be working full-time, I won't be getting benefits. I can deal with it.

Job search: A good thing about working at a job that I don't like is that it gives me extra motivation to look for an office job. I keep getting emails from Jobserve.ca and Jobboom.ca. I went through the Edmonton Journal classifieds and Job Classifieds.

Stay positive: I was reading the Metro and there was this article that says underemployment happens to everybody. You must remember it's only temporary. Career blogger Lindsay Pollack says: "Everything is an opportunity to show what you're capable of."

Also think it's just a job. You do have a life outside of your work. Workplace advisor Jane Boucher says: "...that their worth is not determined by their work. Do not make that correlation. If you keep yourself open, opportunities will come when you least expect them."

Banks: I went to Servus Credit Union and Scotia Bank. There were positions in Edmonton, but none I qualified for. I applied to some positions at ATB Financial, TD, and HSBC which I haven't done in awhile.

Song: I did find this song called "Push It" by Amerie. It really hopes motivate me.

Commercial: I found this through Facebook. Stayfree pads are selling their products with this hot guy in it. The guys are talking to the camera/ viewer like they're on a date. This then reminded me of the Old Spice commercial with Isaiah Mustafa. Stayfree is unoriginal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_KjAukYrak