coincidence/ names/ lesson

Dec. 27 Coincidence: Today at work, I was talking to Silvia.

Me: Did you go to West Edmonton mall?
S: Yeah.
Me: Today I read in the Edmonton Journal about a new restaurant called the Red Piano on Bourbon Street. It says it's really good, but rather expensive. A salad is $13 and the same goes for a sandwich.
S: I was there last Saturday. It's $10 cover charge just to get in. The bouncer said that we had to be 21 and over, but he said: "Well you look like nice girls, so I'll let you in." All the people there were like in their 40s so it was awkward.
Me: Oh yeah, in the article it said it's for people over 25.
S: I bought a drink and it was like $7 and it didn't taste good. It was raspberry- something.

Dream: I had this weird dream the other night. The Jonas Brothers worked at the Soup place. In my head I was thinking: "Well I guess more girls are going to come here."

Job: I want to add that Lisa quit after two weeks and Ray quit. That will be 10 people who quit for the 7 months that I have worked there.

Names: At work, Silvia told me that she knows a guy named Awesome, but it's spelled Aseem.
Me: Is he East- Indian?
S: Yes.
Me: I know a girl named Harmonie. Guess what her sister's name is.
S: Peace. I'm just kidding. Angel?
Me: Melodie. I know this guy named Alpha. I asked: "What's your sister's name? Beta?" He's like: "No, it's Charlene. Do you know how many times I get that?"

I told my sister this.

S guessed right on Harmonie's sister being named Melodie. 

 I asked my brother P what Harmonie's sister name was and he said: "Joy."

Me: I have a friend named Leslie Simpson.
Silvia: What's so funny?
Me: People always tell her that her name sounds like Lisa Simpson from The Simpsons.
That's rare that she didn't make the connection.

Flash Gordon: Earlier this week, I saw a commercial for the TV show Flash Gordon. I know about this show because it stars Edmonton actor Eric Johnson (Whitney from Smallville.) It was on the Sci-fi channel in 2007. In the summer I heard that it will be on the Space Channel here in Canada. I was excited. I tried to look for when the show will be on, but I couldn't find it.

Then I saw that commercial that the show will be on Space on Saturdays. I looked it up on my TV, and it said it will be on at 5pm. Damn it, I'm at work. All I can say is that this show has been airing since September, and I missed all the episodes because I was at work and that I didn't know when it was on. I'll see if I can rent the first season on dvd. I know the show got cancelled from Sci-fi after one season.

Dec. 28: Today I worked on a Sunday from 10:30am-5pm. It was slow so I was able to do some writing.

Lesson: I learned something from the TV show Made in Canada back in 2003. The show is about a group of TV producers in Canada. It's a comedy. The lesson is you can't force someone to quit their job. Well you can, but you will most likely get sued for it. In the episode, Rick Mercer's character Richard and his friend Victor were trying to get another producer fired.

R calls the Producer in the middle of the night: "You need to delete this character and writer her off the show."
V calls the Producer also at the same time: "You need to keep that (same) character and write more storylines for her."

Producer then sues the company for purposely trying to get him to quit the job. Well R and V were being too blatantly obvious in trying to get him to quit. 

When I worked at the Big Company, they basically said to me: "Shape up or ship out. Become good at your job right now, or quit." They weren't trying to get me to quit, they were trying to make me improve or quit.

I also remembered Lisa who used to work at the Soup place. She told me how she worked at Treats in the Commerce building in City Centre mall, and the boss was always yelling at her over little things. I don't think he was trying to get her to quit. He hired her, and then she quit after a week. That guy was basically a jerk.

Dec. 29 Dexter: Today was my day off so I rented the second season of the TV show Dexter. I borrowed two discs. I watched the first six episodes in a row. I wanted to watch the second season for a long time. First I couldn't get it on TV. I watched the first season on CTV when Showtime was airing the second season. Then I had to wait until the second season comes on dvd.

Then when it was on dvd, I was busy working, and there were all these new episodes of my favorite TV shows like Prison Break and Heroes. I get a day off, and there is nothing on TV all day so that's why I watched it. It's a really good show. I'm sure my friend Leslie will be happy that I won't be emailing her if she can burn me the episodes on a cd-rom or a USB key now. lol.

Look alike: Oh yeah, and there is a new character on the show, Special Agent Ted Lundy. He's the same actor who played a serial killer on Criminal Minds. He looks like my Writing for the Ear teacher Derek.

Movie: I saw March of the Penguins last night. It's Morgan Freeman narrating the movie. It was on TV. I thought the movie was going to be boring, and I was right. I wouldn't pay to see it in the theatres or rent it. I could get to watch this for free on TV. Patrick is always watching animal documentaries on Discovery Channel. This movie is another documentary I could have easily saw on Discovery. If you like penguins or Morgan Freeman, go watch it.

Blog: This is my 100th blog post on www.badcb.blogspot.com. I started this blog in Basic HTML earlier this year. This is also my last blog of this year. Well I didn't start putting up my weekly emails until April. Also in October, I put up all these old emails I saved so that is how I ended up at 100 posts at the end of the year.

news/ job/ funny

Dec. 25 News: Last night I was watching CNBC with Patrick. Did you know that the average man in Russia lives to be 59 years old. In the US, a average man lives to be 75 years old. Russia is the nation that drinks the most alcohol.

Writing: I realized that I have twenty- three 3.5 floppy disks, yet I only have 5 scripts. Only one is truly complete. Yes, I write on scrap paper, but they don't always make it onto the disks.

I learned something from Glynis. Stories need conflict, and I can create conflict in drama. I can't write conflict in comedy. As I was watching The Mentalist, I decided to write drama, with some comedy peppered in.

Music: I borrowed the new Madonna cd called "Hard Candy" from the library. It's an alright cd. It's got some good dance tracks. I don't really like her voice. She's a good performer in music. Not exactly good in the movies. It's like with Mandy Moore and Jessica Simpson. They debuted as music artists, but are more successful in the movies than in music.

Today I saw The Young and the Restless. C'mon, I haven't seen that show since August when I had those days off. It was a Christmas episode. I was eating my lunch and vacuuming and the show was on.

I watched an episode of Tru Calling. Now I'm thinking of rewinding time back to 2003, and telling all my friends to watch the show. That wouldn't make a difference because this show is on FOX, and it would still have been cancelled anyway.

Dec. 26 Job: Today I worked from 9am-5pm. It's the first time I opened by myself. It's a Friday, but it felt like a Saturday due to the stream of customers. I also got to chat with Silvia. She remembered that I used to work at a bank. I also gave her a rundown of all the people who worked here:

"Kristen and Angel worked here for one day, and I never met them. Rashed and Jenna worked here for one day and quit, and I met them. Jennifer worked here for a month and then quit. Dana worked here for a month, and quit. There was a girl who worked here for a week and quit. Mark quit, and Molly took over. Maygen quit three days ago."

Funny: So today was interesting. Silvia said that our co-worker Christine didn't remember her name, even though they have worked for a few years together. Now that I think about, that has happened to me before.

I know this guy Shane Goden since 1999. We went to high school together. I think. Well I know we were in the same gr. 9 homeroom. Then I bumped into him in 2006. I remembered his name, but he didn't remember mine. He did say he knows me.

Then I bumped into Melina whom I know since 1999, and when to high school with. We graduated in 2003. Then in 2005, I bumped into her on the bus. Then in 2006 we met again on the bus. Then a few months ago this year, I bumped into her at the mall. She thought my name was Vivian or something. We've known each other all these years, but the name slipped her mind.

It also happend with this guy Tyler who I went to high school with. I bumped into him 2005. He remembered my name then. Then I bumped into him in 2006, and he was like: "Tracy right?" He wasn't quite sure.

Facebook: Today I gave a Facebook gift to all 54 of my friends there. Omar from MacEwan posted on my wall saying this: "Thanks. At first I was wary of getting virtual cologne--conscientious in fact--and then I realized that everyone was getting cologne, so, I feel better, and delighted too! Merry Christmas."
lol.

movie/ funny/ winter

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2008

movie/ funny/ winter

Dec. 21 Movie: Today I saw the movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It's a great action/ adventure film, and I recommend you all watch it. It stars Harrison Ford. He was in his mid- 50s when he did the first three movies, now he's in his mid- 60s. I also really like Shia LaBeouf who plays Mutt.

My favorite part in the movie, was when Mutt and Indiana are in the diner. They are leaving with FBI and a fight breaks out. I tells M to hit this guy wearing a letterman jacket. The jock is then surrounded by a group of other jocks wearing the same jacket. M is then suddenly surrounded by guys wearing leather jackets like he is. Then pitchers are smashed over people's heads, and chairs are being thrown around with 50s music playing. lol.

There is even a car chase scene in the movie, mixed with a fight scene. It reminded me of The Matrix Reloaded which has a car chase scene and fight scene put together.

Writing: Today is Sunday, my only day off. I must do something productive, so I write. I went and worked on the story about Corrine working for a corrupt company. I opened the disk and see that the last time I worked on it was in August and September. I see so many flaws.

Well especially after I got all those tips from Glynis for my Fighter script, I see that I have to do a lot of editing on this other script. Corrine started off really boring. She applies for a job at a company. You see her pass out her resume, do an interview, blah, blah, blah. Delete that and go straight to the party where the action starts.

James Franco: I saw James Franco on Jay Leno the other night. JF talked about how when he was in gr. 8, he and his friends started stealing tester cologne bottles from the department stores. They did this for weeks. Eventually the stores chained the tester bottles. JF and friends then sold the bottles to gr. 7 boys before the dances. The bottles were worth $50, but they sold it for $25.

JF: If I'm going to hell for something, it would probably be this. If there is a kid we didn't like, we would give him the bottle where we peed in it.
The audience laughs.
JL: That's why they call it "au toilette" (on the bottle.)

JF talks about when he was in jr. high and high school he worked at a golf course to earn money for a car. He bought a used car, and that car had already gotten into an accident with the front.
JF: I was on the highway. Fortunately, I pulled out of the highway to the JC (junior college). I was in the parking lot, and the brakes didn't work. I was driving 60 mph, and I was trying to stop. I drove onto the lawn and it was either I hit a JC building or a tree. I then went and hit the tree. The front ripped like paper. I got out and security was running towards me.
JL: And they said "Nice cologne."
The audience laughs.

Winter: The only thing I like about the winter, is that when I used to work in Chinatown back in 2003-2005. Chinatown is ghetto. In the winter, there aren't any bums standing outside. A couple of times, some scary looking guys entered my workplace and they had to be kicked out. My friend Chamnouer agrees with me. She used to live a ghetto- like area, and she likes that in the winter there aren't any people yelling outside on the streets.

I read this in a magazine years ago. Possibly Cosmoplolitan. Rapes occur more in the summer when women are vacationing. The women are more caught off guard on vacation. Also in the article, it's mentioned that a guy can't get a erection in the cold.

Dec. 22 Funny: I looked up Matt Dallas who plays Kyle on Kyle XY. I found this interview with him on Jimmy Kimmel. MD told us a story about how he was a NY club: "I was standing by myself because one friend was at the bar, and the other was in the washroom. This girl comes up to me and reaches under my shirt and touches my belly button. Then she whispers in my ear: "I touched it." She leaves. I didn't know what to do." lol.

JK then shows his belly button, and MD shows his. On Kyle XY, his character doesn't have a belly button. He looks so hot wearing that gray suit and button down black shirt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY2qry_ggF4

MD tells a knock- knock joke. He's so cute and funny here.
M: Knock-knock.
Girl: Who's there?
M: Interrupting cow-
M: Moo!
lol. I kind of predicted it, but it was still funny,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFfKFfg_idQ&feature=related

Serious: With Youtube, one thing leads to another. I found MD doing a PSA on drinking and driving. Then I found Lane Garrison (Prison Break) doing a PSA on one too. LG was actually arrested for drinking and driving and he got someone killed. He's in jail right now. I'll give him points for doing this commercial.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf1WtKqi6mc&feature=related

Dec. 23: Last week I was watching The Mentalist. My little brother P came and sat down.

P: That woman looks really familiar.
Me: The dark- haired woman?
P: Yeah.
Me: Hello, it's Veronica from Prison Break. I thought the exact same thing too. I saw an episode and after an hour later, that's when I realized who it was.

Today I saw The Mentalist, and I recognized an actress who was on the TV show In Plain Sight.

lesson/ funny/ movie

Dec. 13 Lesson: I don't know about you, but today I learned that you're not supposed to put styrofoam in the microwave. Actually I kind of learned that lesson last Monday, but today it confirmed the lesson. I was going to put styrofoam last week, but my dad and my sister said not to put it in the microwave.

Today I was going to microwave soup in a styrofoam bowl, and a customer said not to put in it. Then my co- worker Don said not to put it in. Now I know. Nothing bad has ever happened when I microwaved styrofoam so that's why I never really learned the lesson.

Michael Trucco: I saw him on Law and Order: SVU earlier this week, and I'm still thinking about him. I went and watched some Battlestar Galactica interviews with him, and even One Tree Hill episode clips of him in it. I only saw a bit of OTH. It was ep where two girls were being held hostage by this psycho guy. The two girls then have to fight back.

It was like a horror movie on this teen drama. I guess that's the only reason I stayed to watch it on that weekend afternoon.

Dec. 14: Today I went and watched my Tru Calling dvd ep "Putting out Fires" where MT plays a firefighter. You can watch a fan video of him here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbTKLEdBU3c

Blog: Today, Michael from MacEwan asked what my blog url was. I was happy to tell him. I always advertise it on Facebook, but I don't know if anyone even checks it out.

Writing: Today there are no new episodes of TV shows I want to watch. I could have went to Rogers Video to rent some dvds, but instead I stayed home. I did something productive and worked on my script. I also checked my 3.5 floppy disks if they are still working because I had to make room for my third version of The Fighter.

News: Cruscoe is getting cancelled. Knight Rider may end up getting cancelled too. There was the original order of 21 episodes and it's been cut down to 17 episodes due to low ratings.

Dec. 15: I did some more writing and editing. Also this girl Cherie from MacEwan accepted me as a friend on Facebook.

Dec. 16: Yesterday I sent my script to Glynis Whiting again. I only wrote 10 more pages to it making it to be 56 pages long. I guess I should go watch Red Belt and Confessions of a Pit Fighter for inspiration.

Funny: Today my friend Dan who I met in the Arts and Cultural Management program stopped by my job.

D: I got a job at HMV at West Edmonton Mall.
Me: Yeah, I did a job interview at the HMV in Kingsway and City Centre, but they didn't hire me.
D: They pay like $9/hr.
Me: $9.10 /hr.

D: Is that the minimum wage?
Me: No, the minimum wage is $8.40/hr.
D: My other job paid way better, but the contract ended so I had to go and work somewhere else.

D: Are you done your Christmas shopping?
Me: In my family we don't exchange gifts.
D: Really? That must be nice.
Me: It is, you should try it. You didn't tell me why you got into that fight at the bar.
D: I was being a jerk.

D shows me his gifts that he bought.
D: I was going to buy some lingerie.
Me: Too much information.
D: I was going to bring a friend to do that, so it wouldn't be so awkward.
lol.

Dec. 17:

Me: So have you been reading my weekly emails?
D: You send me weekly emails?
Me: Yeah.
D: On hotmail?
Me: Yeah.
D: Well send it to me on Facebook. Do you have a pen?
Me: We're friends on Facebook.
D: Oh really? I'm sorry.
Me: Since 2006.

Rant: This is a complaint of mine. The other day I waited for the bus for 30 min. Then yesterday I waited for the bus for 50 min. Then today I waited for 60 min. Fortuntately I got to wait indoors and be able to sit inside the Stanley A. Milner library. It's also for me to go home. It's good that it doesn't make me late heading to work.

Movie: I saw The Polar Express on TV. It's a really good movie. Great animation and story. I recommend you all watch it if you haven't seen it. It's an unpredictable movie. I read this book in elementary school, but I forgot how the story went.

Dec. 18: My life is just like that TV show Free Ride where the lead character comes back from college and bumps into three people he knew from high school in one day. Yesterday I bumped into Dan, then today I bumped into Megan from my Writing program. We sat and chatted for 15 minutes while she drank her soup. We mainly talked about writing.

M: I always bump into you. The last time you worked at the other store.
Me: Xcetera.
M: That didn't work out?
Me: No.
M: How long have you been working here?
Me: 7 months.

Then after work I went to HMV and looked around for 15 minutes. I decided to kill time instead of sit and wait for the bus. Then I went to the library and waited. Then Dan from my Writing program showed up. We took the bus together and chatted about writing.

Dec. 19: I went on Youtube to see the trailers for Red Belt and Confessions of a Pit Fighter. The trailers didn't make the movies look really interesting to me. I'm surprised Tim Allen is in RD. He doesn't really do good movies. I was also surprised to see Flavor Flav in PF.

Last night I saw 30 Rock, and finally saw the episodes with Oprah Winfrey and Jennifer Aniston guest- starring on it. Really good episodes.

The actor Michael Trucco is still inspiring me. I saw him on an interview on Youtube and he said he is friends with the actor JR Bourne. I like Bourne. He often plays the bad guy. You may have seen him as the antogonist in the TV movie Selling Innocence, the bad lawyer in Thirteen Ghosts, and the cheating boyfriend in The Mentalist ep, and the bad guy in Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning.

quote/ funny/ party

Dec. 10 Quote: I was on Facebook and I read my friend Lorraine's status: "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

Funny: Today I was watching Michael Phelps on Jay Leno.

MP: It's funny. When I go out to dinner with my mom, the people who I used to go to school with are now servers.
The audience laughs.
MP: No, that's not the funny part. They say to me: "We used to go to school together." I'm like: "Yeah, and you used to pick on me." Now we're friends, that's weird. Well I was picked on in middle school and high school. In high school, not as much because most of my friends were football players so they kind of protected me.

MP said he had ADHD back when he was a kid. He took Ritalin, and then he stopped. When he started swimming, he put all his energy into it and he was able to control himself. He mentioned about teachers telling him that he will never be successful. JL asked if MP could sign MP's book No Limits: The Will to Succeed.

I'm getting a flashback. When I was 13, I read a book written by Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller. It was a good book. I looked it up on amazon.ca and it was called Winning Everyday.

Here's the amazon.ca description. It's rather inspirational to read:

"When I'm focused, there is not one single thing, person, anything that can stand in the way of my doing something. There is not. If I want something bad enough, I feel I'm gonna get there."

Michael Phelps is one of the greatest competitors the world has ever seen. From teen sensation in Sydney to bona fide phenom in Athens, he is now -- after the Beijing Games -- a living Olympic legend. With an unprecedented eight gold medals and world-record times in seven events, his performance at the 2008 Games set a new standard for success. He ranks among the most elite athletes in the world, and is both an inspiration and a role model to millions. The incredible focus he exhibits in practice and during competition propels him forward to his unrivaled excellence. In No Limits, Michael Phelps reveals the secrets to his remarkable success, from his training regimen to his mental preparation and, finally, to his performance in the pool.

Behind Phelps's tally of Olympic gold medals lies a consistent approach to competition, a determination to win, and a straightforward passion for his sport. Like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, he has learned to filter out distractions and deliver stellar performance under pressure. The road has not always been easy; from the very beginning, Phelps had to overcome physical setbacks and emotional trials. When he was younger, he was diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder; other kids bullied him; even a teacher said he would never be successful. Later, he had to work through injuries that jeopardized his career. In this book, Phelps talks for the first time about how he has overcome these and other challenges - about how to develop the mental attitude needed to persevere, not just in athletic competition but in life.

His success is imbued with the perspective of overcoming the obstacles that come your way and believing in yourself no matter the odds.

No Limits explores the hard work, commitment, and sacrifice that go into reaching any goal. Whether it is on the starting block during an Olympic swim meet or in the weight room on a typical day, Phelps's dedication has led him to unparalleled excellence. Filled with anecdotes from family members, friends, teammates, and his coach, No Limits gives a behind-the-scenes look at the makings of a real champion. One of Phelps's mottos is "Performance Is Reality," and it typifies his attitude toward achieving his goals. It's easy to get bogged down by doubt or to lose focus when a challenge seems out of reach, but Phelps believes that you can accomplish anything if you fully commit yourself to it. Using the eight final swims of the Beijing Olympics as a model, No Limits is a step-by-step guide to realizing one's dream.

Dec. 12 News: I found this on Yahoo news: "More than 30 percent of girls in the United States become pregnant before they reach age 20, and many become pregnant a second time before their 20th birthday, according to NCTUP.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, nearly half of all 15- to 19-year-olds in the United States have had sex at least once."

That reminds me of Tyra Banks show. She did say 1 in 3 girls will get pregnant before they're 20.

Party: Today I went to the Christmas party at work. We went to The Asian Grill House in Chinatown. It was cool and fun. I brought my friend Angela to it. It turns out A doesn't like the TV show Secret Life of the American Teenager either. I got my secret Santa gift from my manager Steven and it was candy and chips, so that was cool. I will end up giving it to my boyfriend John.

That mug I will keep. It's a nice mug with blue plaid pattern on it. I was the secret Santa for Lorraine and got her a $15 Sobeys/ IGA gift card. The Asian Grill House is a good restaurant. Good buffet food. You can cook it, or you can eat the already prepared food. There is the chocolate and vanilla ice cream machine. There is a "twist" where you can put both together.

Fortunately I got chocolate ice cream before it later broke down. I haven't had ice cream in such a long time, maybe months. My family doesn't buy it. Angela and I talked about my weekly emails. A did say that she knew that most restaurants close down within the first two years and not five years. She worked at Mary Brown's when it first opened back in 2000. It's still open. Coincidently the Soup place also opened back in 2000.

writing/ Michael Trucco/ movies/ Religious Girl

Dec. 6 Writing: Today after work I worked on my script The Fighter for one hour. Glynis Whiting gave me this tip that I should use fewer words. I was being too repetitive and having the characters say what the audience already knows. That reminds me of this comment on twop.com on the thread Secret Life of the American Teenager. All the characters talk around in circles.

That also reminds me of the TV show 7th Heaven. Both of those shows are created by Brenda Hampton. I didn't realize that my script did have repetition in dialogue. Now I'm going over it, and Glynis did point out specific scenes to dialogue I could have deleted. I then deleted it.

Dec. 7 Charity: Starbucks is doing the "red thing" like the GAP. Everytime you buy a cup of coffee, 5 cents will go to the Red charity that will help people in Africa who have AIDS.

News: I read this in the Journal a couple of weeks ago. Coca- Cola is obviously trying to sell their products to kids with animated polar bears and Santa Claus. They say they aren't, but it's pretty obvious that they are. At work, we got this big poster board of Santa giving a bottle of coke to a baby polar bear.

The coke people gave us these big decorations to decorate the restaurant with. They let us keep them which is cool.

Health: Last night I took two Gravol pills and I end up feeling more sick. It's like that song by Pink called "Just like a pill." The lyrics: "You're just like a pill/ Instead of making me better/ You're making me ill." Extra strength Tylenol and Gravol aren't working. Gravol says it will specifically stop you from vomiting.

I'm not a hypocondriac, but the other day I thought this may be stomach cancer. It did make me think about life and death. It kind of motivates me to finish that script now. It is done, but it needs to be at least 90 pages and I'm at about 50 pages.

Dec. 8: Today I can say I am healthy again. I got my appetite back.

Dec. 9: My sister said that 80% of restaurants close down within the first 5 years of opening. I can take her word for it because she was in business. I also remember hearing something like that from Desperate Housewives when the Scavos open the pizzeria. Lynette also mentioned on the show that most of the profits are made from the alcohol so a liquor license is important.

Funny: The other day S was ranting to my dad about this classmate of hers: "This was the same classmate who told me about that job that paid $7.50/hr. That happened 4 years ago, and I'm still mad about it." Ha, S is just like me. She is mad about old things. I'm sure we still get mad about things that happened years ago.

Religious Girl: I probably ran this to ground, but I still think about that girl who is in a religion that doesn't allow her to talk to boys. I remember Jeff Woodman asking: "What if a guy starts talking to her? What does she do?" Miss Johnston: "She pretends that she doesn't speak English or didn't hear him."

Now I think about all these other questions:

What if a policeman asks her a question? She can't walk away from him.

Is she allowed to chat online?

What if the other person is a guy?

Can she pick up the phone and if it's a guy on the other line, does she hang up or pass it to someone else?

What if male teacher ask her a question, can she answer?

What if a teacher ask her a question?

She answers in front of the entire class with male students, is that allowed?

Is her mom in her religion?

 If she is, how did she get married?

What if she wants to get a job?

What job can she get when she can't talk to guys?

I doubt Miss. J could answer those questions.

Michael Trucco: Today I was watching Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. I read in the Metro that Michael Trucco guest- stars in it. I don't know who it is. I went on imdb.com and saw that MT was on the show Battlestar Gallactica. As you know, the most well- known actor who guest- stars on the show, is most likely the guy who did it. Yeah, MT did it.

Kelly Hu, the Asian woman from the movie X2 guest- starred in it too. She had the sharp nails and fought Wolverine. MT is hot. Check out his photos.

Here's one in color:
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2616629504/nm0873998

Here are his headshots in black and white:
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm579377664/nm0873998
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3912146176/nm0873998

I feel like these photos don't do him justice. In the episode he looked good. He's also 38 years old, and I don't really like guys that old. He's the exception.

Dec. 10: It turns out I have seen MT before. He was on the old TV show Tru Calling back in 2003. On that show, I had this crush of Shawn Reaves who plays Tru's brother Harrison on the show. He's so cute and funny.

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2561120768/nm0714188

I still remember that old episode where Harrison goes to a job interview.

Boss: You don't have a resume.
H: What is a "resume"? (Uses air quotations.) A list of jobs that didn't work out?

I also want to say that there is an exception to the rule of the well- known actor in a Law and Order episode is the guy who did it: I saw an episode where Stephen Collins (dad from 7th Heaven) guest- starred and he was a bad guy, but he didn't commit the crime.

Movies: Last night I was checking what's on TV and saw that there is a movie called Confessions of Pit Fighter. It's about mixed martial arts. I have never heard about it before and it came out in 2005. Here's the synopsis from imdb.com:

"Confessions of a Pit Fighter is a character driven action film about regret, consequences and the triumph of the human spirit. Eddie Castillo is a quiet man. He has survived seven years of incarceration in the state pen and wants nothing more than to live out his life in relative tranquility. He moves in with you younger brother David who as a kid, idolized him. Castillo soon learns that the "tranquility" he was seeking is shattered by David getting involved in illegal underground fights, the same type of fights that coincidentally led Castillo to Prison. As much as Castillo tries to get David to go straight, he has to make his own way. David eventually gets killed in an underground fight and this sets Castillo on a collision course with destiny. Having no other choice, Castillo goes back into the underground fight game to find his brother's killer. Castillo sets out for revenge and in the process forsakes it for redemption. "From the day I was born I had to fight to survive. I fought everyone and everything that came in front of me. On the streets, confessions are made in Blood. They say that when you confess your sins, only then can you be redeemed. This is my redemption. This is my confession."

I saw Never Back Down over the summer. That movie came out this year. I should check out Red Belt another fighting movie. Here's the imdb.com synopsis:

"Is there room for principle in Los Angeles? Mike Terry teaches jujitsu and barely makes ends meet. His Brazilian wife, whose family promotes fights, wants to see Mike in the ring making money, but to him competition is degrading. A woman sideswipes Mike's car and then, after an odd sequence of events, shoots out the studio's window. Later that evening, Mike rescues an action movie star in a fistfight at a bar. In return, the actor befriends Mike, gives him a gift, offers him work on his newest film, and introduces Mike's wife to his own - the women initiate business dealings. Then, things go sour all at once, Mike's debts mount, and going into the ring may be his only option."

I have to do my research on fighting movies because I'm writing one.

writing/ movie/ health

Dec. 4 Writing: I checked my email today and I read that my friend Jessica invited me to join a group to not have a government coalition. I see that my friend Angela thanked me for wishing her a happy birthday. I then saw Glynis Whiting has emailed me back with her tips on how to improve my script.

I then went on my blog where I keep all my weekly emails. I see that I emailed her back on Nov.19. So it took her about two weeks to read the script and write notes about it. I was so happy that she wrote back. Here are some of her notes:

"Although this has improved significantly since the last draft, it still needs work. More complications would make it more interesting. It reads more like a one hour than a feature film because of the simplicity of the story and character development."

Some good constructive critism. The most important thing she said was: "...improved significantly." I then printed all 46 pages of my revised version of my script. Now I can do some more writing on it.

I have an excuse for not writing. This past week I was sick the entire time.

Dec. 5 Movie: The other night I saw the movie called Dark Water starring Jennifer Connelly. She is a single mom with her 6- year- old daughter. They move into a rundown apartment building. They are being haunted by a ghost of a young girl. It was kind of scary. I think I watch too much of A Haunting and found this kind of boring.

A couple of weeks ago I saw a TV movie on the Women's network called Confessions of a Go-Go Girl. A young woman got accepted into law school, but she really wants to try out that acting school. Her parents don't support her, and she will have to make her own money to support herself. At the school she meets a girl passing out fliers for her boyfriend's photography. Actors need headshots.

The young woman and girl becomes friends. It turns out the girl is a go- go dancer. It's kind of like stripping, but you don't take everything off. Then later the young woman does the same thing to make money to support herself and help with her acting/ performing.

I'll say the movie was kind of creative. The girl does cocaine. She doesn't die due to an overdose, but when she gets breast implants, the anesthesia conflict with the controlled substance of cocaine that was in her body.

Health: I was thinking about how I took 6 Tylenol pills and 6 Gravol pills from the first aid kit at work. I felt kind of guilty, but then again I did give back that Polysporin that they lent me. This is my health benefit plan.

News: I was reading in the Journal that soap operas are competing in ratings against talk shows. The Bold and the Beautiful has decreased by 17% in ratings for the past two seasons. It is mainly women who are the viewers, and they are decreasing because they are at school and work.

charity/ coincidence/ funny

Nov. 29 Charity: The other day, the Mustard Seed charity sent a letter to my house. It wasn't directly addressed to me. They help homeless people. A coincidence was that, the door bell rang, and it's a guy advertising this children that helps children in third world countries.

News: I read in the Metro that the bad economy is making people spend less money on entertainment. It will then increase people watching TV.

Dream: I had this dream a few weeks ago. It's a sign that I have watched too much A Haunting. I watch MADtv now during the timeslot because the show is getting cancelled after this season. My house was haunted, and the ghosts only confront you when you're alone in the washroom. There is a ghost who is a young guy. Then there is his mom who's a ghost.

There was a black guy in my house, and I tell him to look in the phone book to call for some ghost hunters or psychics because when you live in a haunted house, that's what you do. I was trying to get the ghost angry by describing to the ghost hunter that the mom ghost was overweight. The ghost hunters come. For some reason my friend Jessica was in the dream too.

Coincidence: A couple of weeks ago, in one week I bumped into three people I knew. Tyler and Chelsea from high school, and my friend Sonia. Today my friend Daniel Newark passed by and we chatted for a bit. He tells me he's bruised up because he got into a fight.

Me: Was it at a bar?
D: Yeah.
I guessed right on that one. Maybe because I always write fight scenes in my script and it often occurs there. Then again that occurs in real life too.

I remember this one time back in 2006 I saw that TV show Free Ride. It starred Edmonton actor Josh Dean where he plays a guy who went to college for four years. He comes back and bumps into three people he knew from high school in one day which I found unrealistic. I would be lucky to bump into one person from high school or college once a month.

Crazy: Yesterday I watched a little bit of Tyra because I had time. They had Robert Pattinson on from Twilight. I then went to Tyra's website and saw an upcoming episode on Thursday Dec. 4: "Tyra talks to sex workers who are desperate to leave the industry because of dangerous, scary experiences they’ve had. One of Tyra’s most controversial guests, Summer, returns to confront her father -- who pushed her into prostitution and even waxed her bikini line. Summer confronts her dad and the hot new protégé who took her place when she left the business!"

I find the episode description somewhat false. I saw that episode months ago and I remember it. It was Summer who wanted to be in the sex industry, and she wasn't pushed into it. The dad decided to help her. I am shocked that the dad went and got another girl to manage.

I posted the above on twop.com. I had just saw the video preview of it, but it looks like Summer is yelling and crying at her dad that he really did push her into it. The first time I saw that episode, they had other women talk about prositution, and Summer had some part in the segment. It looks like this episode is all about her this time. It shows Tyra yelling at the dad: "Have you lost your damn mind?!" I have to watch it.

I said it before that I only watch Tyra when they discuss teen pregnancy and prostitution. This ep looks really good.

Nov. 30: Last night there was a car accident a couple of blocks away from my house. I was on my way home from work, and the bus had to stop. I walked the two blocks to my house.

Gift cards: Some say gift cards are bad gifts. They aren't. It's like cash, but there is thought put into it because of what store the gift card is for. Last Christmas my parents got a Sobey's gift card. However we didn't use it for months because we use Superstore and Safeway. However, a Sobeys opened in downtown and I went there. They have great lasagna, sushi, and Indian food.

It is a good gift. Today I tried to put money on the card, but it didn't work. Did you know that after you use up the money on the card, the card can't be used again? I had to buy this other gift card instead.

Dec. 1 Sick: Today I had a stomach ache and went home two and a half hours before worke ended. I looked at what I ate: A small slice of cake from a Chinese bakery which has whip cream and a little fruit in it. A ham sandwich, a cup of coffee, half cup of pop, and lots of water. I didn't spend time with anyone who has a cold. I dress warmly and wear my hood to keep my head warm. Did you know that you lose 25% of your body heat through your head?

It was rather warm today, especially for a December and still no snow. Maybe wind blew at my stomach from underneath my coat, and that's how I got a stomach ache.

Funny: I was reading the Globe and Mail and it talked to people who hired bad employees. One person said that he hired this guy who worked for a week, and the guy said he was going to Florida for a week and if it's okay. The boss said no. Then the guy kept calling in sick every day of the week. He comes back with a tan. lol. There was another woman who got hired, and on the second day of the job fell asleep in the CEO's office.

Well it makes me look like a good worker. I remember this one time I was watching 20/20, and they talked to Ivanka Trump who started her job as a Vice- President of the Donald Trump company. I was indifferent with her being there. I figured if the company crashed and burned because Donald put his daughter into the Vice- President position, that's not my problem. I now think if I got hired there, I might end up bringing down the company from the inside like I did with the bank. Well Ivanka said she went to business school, and sometimes works 19 hour work days. She is working hoe s Vice- President would work as.

Green: I was reading an article in the Journal about a family that doesn't buy anything for one year. They were really happy, got out of debt, and put money in their savings. They only bought necessities like food, socks, and underwear, bills, and rent. You can go to this website where they blog about it.
http://www.sfcompact.blogspot.com/

Dec. 3: I'm still sick, but getting better. I took Gravol which makes me really drowsy. I should have read the side effects. I took two pills and I slept for 13 hours. Today I took 4 pills and I took a nap after work and slept for one hour.

Here's another coincidence: Not only am I sick, but so are my co-workers Maygen and Molly.

news/ influence/ movie

Nov. 26 News: The following TV shows have been cancelled: Eli Stone, Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, The Ex- List. That's good, because I don't watch or care about any of those shows. I did read an article in the Journal, and they interviewed my Facebook friend (lol) and actor Ron Pederson. He was on the show MADtv from 2002-2005. He discussed about the show getting cancelled and how he was on it.

The producers told him to write the skits for the demographic. He said he wrote a skit about Neptune, and the producers tell him to write in Justin Timberlake in there. He mainly played Clay Aiken and Woody Allen.

Nov. 27: I read in the newspaper that in Prince Edward Island, it's illegal to go shopping on Sunday from January to May. I thought that was weird, but at least you get to do online shopping on those days.

I was on Yahoo news and: "192 of Wal-Mart Canada's 310 stores will stay open around the clock from Dec. 1 to Christmas Eve." 310 stores doesn't sound like a lot, but it is. In the article it says that Wal- Mart is the world's biggest retailer.

Writing: So I was thinking about how there are all these TV shows about doctors, cops, FBI, CSI, and mainly law enforcement. Are there any TV shows out there that don't have that? Well there is Lost which is about people living on an island, and Desperate Housewives living in suburbia.

I realized that the TV shows 30 Rock, The Smart Woman Survival Guide, and the cancelled show Made in Canada (starring Rick Mercer) are about working for a TV studio. There is The Office about a company selling paper. There was a cartoon about Dilbert and he was working as an engineer. I want to be creative, but look at the shows that are cancelled like Pushing Daisies and Robson Arms that aren't about the work place.

Influence: TV does have a big influence on me. The whole "planting drugs to get someone in trouble" idea is from TV. It worked on the Veronica Mars pilot where Veronica planted a bong in her enemy's Logan's locker. I saw it on Degrassi: The Next Generation where Peter plants weed in Sean's locker. A couple of week's ago, in The Office, the boss Michael plants drugs in this employee's desk. However, it wasn't really drugs at all.

Nov. 28 Movie: I just saw The Others starring Nicole Kidman. I was on Fametracker Forums back in 2002/ 2003 and people were discussing movies. In spoiler tags, the ending was highlighted. I read it. It sounded really good, so when it came on TV today I checked it out. It was good. You should watch it. I was scared. It had a really good plot twist ending.

charity/ rant/ funny

Nov. 24 Charity: Today before work, I got a call from the Children's Emergency Fund, where they feed kids. $1 a day can feed a child lunch and dinner. The woman on the phone said that Canada's government doesn't feed children at school, and that's why they look into the community for help.

News: I read in the Metro that there are classes in colleges that teach people how to blog. Here's how to blog: Type something out, and then post it on your blog. It's that easy. Kind of reminds me of what Ed the Sock from Muchmusic said: "I saw a book on how to make a scrapbook. How much of an idiot do you have to be to buy this book? All you have to do is cut something out and paste into a big book."

Nov. 25 Rant: It was a rough day at work. Weird, too. In this email, I didn't address this to two of my co-workers, because I want to keep this between this one worker, my manager, and me. I did tell this to Jennifer, who did work at the Soup place, and then quit. She emailed saying that she wants to come back. I have a problem with this co-worker.

How I contributed it, may be this: I asked her to help me make the tuna melts and cheese toast, and she tells me to do it myself. I only asked because I thought it would be fun to chat and make them together. So I did it myself.

Then later this customer asked for chilli and a bun, and I backed away letting her do it, because it's her place to serve soup and my place to make sandwiches. Then she tells me that I should help, so I got a bun for the same customer.

Then towards the end of the job, she starts taking these trays.
Me: Wait, I need those trays.
She: Yeah, I know what I'm f---ing doing. You can stop f---ing talking now.She puts the trays on the black cart, and takes the gray cart to put the soup pots on to close.

Then I'm washing the dishes. She comes by and says: "No wonder you had so many jobs, your a such a c--- to work with."
Me: I'm sorry if I offended you.

I'm really upset by this. I could have easily insulted her, but I don't want to have a huge fight with her.

Well I'll tell Stella and Steven what she said, and maybe she will get a warning and be threatened to be fired.

Usually I'm quiet, but really I should speak up on this. I worked here for 6 months and I will admit I did have problems with other co-workers. They were more like rifts, but we worked things out. But I find this absolutely horrible. I worked her for 6 months, and a new employee comes and works here for one week. She then says something so mean to me and I have never even swore at her or called her names. If she says something like this to a co-worker, she should know that I would tell the manager about this.

I read the above and gave that to my manager Steven and talked to him about. He says he will talk to her about it. Prior to it, I thought: "What would my sister do?" S will most likely tell her manager or supervisor about it, because she often complains about her co-worker's behaviour at work. She then tells that to my dad. Then I thought: "What would my friend Angela do?" She's level- headed.

I know that anyone who is in my situation, where a co-worker swears and calls you bad names needs to be told to the manager. Unless one of you would say something differently. I could have sworn at her and used the the information about her past and present behaviour, and dissed her like she did with me. However, I didn't. If I did, I would be just as wrong, if not more wrong than she is.

So I won't tell this to my co-workers, but I will tell all my friends about this. I will also post this on my blog on the world wide web so anyone can read it. Well then again, no one reads my blog, but my friends read my weekly emails. I left her name out.

I'm not trying to get her fired. I'm doing the ethical and honest thing by documenting the event, and telling my manager about it. I could do the unethical and dishonest thing and buy a bong and pot from those weed stores at West Ed mall. I then plant those drugs in her locker, call mall security, and they'll call the cops, and then they will find the drugs and arrest her. I won't do that.

Bad customer: Here's a bad thing that happened at work today. I'll explain it like I did with the other co-workers. This 40 year old guy comes in and Molly makes a sandwich for him. It was after the lunch rush, and slow. I walked over and looked at the sandwich and there were a lot of onions on it. I then looked back at the guy.

Guy (harsh tone of voice): Oh what? I like to make a sandwich a certain way and I'm paying for it.I didn't say anything. My face was dead pan. I may have said: "Yeah."I then drifted to the soup section. He then gets his sandwich and gives me this lecture. I will paraphrase: "I'm a teacher and I know when a student is giving me attitude by their facial expressions. If you don't like your job, quit. That's how the world works."

I didn't say anything to the guy. I will honestly say that I wasn't giving him any attitude with my facial expressions. I know how to be obnoxious. I remember this one time in gr. 11 guitar class, this guy was being a jerk to me. He had his mouth and eyes wide open, and he was gawking at me like a freak. If I looked at the customer like that, then yeah I would warrant that lecture.

I didn't even roll my eyes at him. I didn't even talk back at him and say: "If you don't like how I'm looking at you, then stop talking and walk away." I remember this one time when I was 13 and my sister was 15, she was disrespecting me. As she was talking, I looked at her with my eyes drooping, acting like I was bored, tired, and not paying attention. She got really mad at me, rightfully so because I was giving her attitude. I wasn't giving attitude to this customer at all.

I'll add this to the list of bad customers at the Soup place. There are only three. One was a professional business woman saying that she's "a paying customer" and she was swearing at my co-workers. Then there is this old white guy who bought this soup from and didn't have 25 cents on him to pay for it. The manager lets him buy it and he asks for a glass of water, so she gets it for him. Then afterwards he asks me for water, and tell him to go to the fountain to get it.

He instead gets either peach juice or orange pop because I can see that it's orange and not clear liquid in the cup. My manager talks to him and he says: "I'm not trying to rip you off." He is so trying to rip us off. Later, two security guards escorted him out the mall.

Nov. 26- Yesterday the problem co-worker spoke to me respectfully. Then later today, she was going to Windex the sandwich board.

Me: Wait, you can't spray on the window when there isn't a sandwich board.
She: Do you see me spraying on it?
Me: No.
She: Then get out of my face!

I thought she might spray it on the window, but instead she sprays it on the paper towel. I was only informing her in case she did spray it on the window.

Funny: I emailed my friend Leslie to this Christmas party at work and she emailed me back saying:

"Sorry Tracy but not really feeling up to it.I have 3 different christmas parties related to work to attend to in december.One for our agency, one for our ministry and one for some sort of chirity thing.To many already >.<"

lol.

news/ scam/ saying

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2008

news/ scam/ saying

Nov. 22 News: Last night I saw 20/20. It talked about Safe Haven. It's where you can drop a baby at a hospital, fire fighter station, and police station. You can leave the child there, and not be persecuted for child abandonment. I remember back in December 31, 2007, I was at Angela's house and we talked about it.

In this episode though, the show talked about how parents are dropping off their kids and teenagers at the hospital because they can't raise them anymore. Who would have thought that there was a flaw in the Safe Haven law? People are supposed to leave their baby, and not anyone older like a 5 year old. They discussed about how there are parents who had to leave their child behind. They talked to mothers who had to deal with kids that have bipolar disorder, ADHD, and they videotaped the kids behavior.

The kids were out of control. The woman from Supernanny can't help because she helps with children's behaviour and parents' parenting methods. This needs doctors and other authority figures to help.

There was a segment where Diane Sawyer talked to Ashley Dupre who was the escort who took down Govenor Elliot Spitzer. AD says she wants to say to his wife: "I'm sorry for your pain." She doesn't really feel guilty for taking down ES because if she wasn't the call girl for him, someone else was going to be.

She didn't even know who ES was. She admitted: "He looked familiar. I didn't read the newspaper. I was so involved in my life, I was selfish." The first thing when she found out what happened was when she was watching TV. First she called her mom, then her biological dad. She didn't really have much of a relationship with him because her mom remarried when AD was 7 years old. When she was 12 years old, her 17 year old brother ran away.

When she told her brother what happened, the first thing he said was: "I love you." AD grew up in a normal home. Then she was in high school and fell into a wrong crowd of people. She was doing cocaine, ecstacy, and vodka. Then she drunkingly stumbles into a Girls Gone Wild videotape. She said that she was raped, and she blamed herself and never called the authorities.

She dropped out of high school and lived with her dad. Then she moved to New York and had 3 jobs. She wanted to have her own house and have a place called home. Then she was working at the bar, and this guy gave her a card. It was for an escort service. She put the card away and two weeks later she called the company. She then became an escort and said that it was: "A way to better myself."

She worked as an escort for three months, and then for six months she was a receptionist at a real estate office. Then she went to be an escort for another three months, and then waited tables for six months. She fell in love with this man, and she told him about her past. He said he loved her. Then they put their names on a apartment's lease. It turns out he was married with two kids and then later he called her to break it off.

She had to pay off all these credit card bills and the $3600 apartment lease. She then became an escort again. This time though she was really depressed about it. Before she saw being an escort as a way without getting hurt by guys. Being an escort was kind of like a date. You talk, have dinner, and have sex as a trade off. If she was dating a guy that she liked, later he won't call her, and then she would go to a club and she would see him making out with another girl. So being an escort was a safe way of not getting your feelings hurt. She turned down book deals, and to pose for Maxim.

Fun: Onto lighter news: There is this new woman working at the Soup place. S is 35. I asked her how old she thought I was. She guessed my age correctly on the first try. She said she was bad at the game. A lot of people guess that I'm younger, because I look young. At UP, this girl Meghan asked how old I was.

Me: 23.
M: Seriously?
Me: Yeah. Do you want to check my ID?

When I read that MADtv was going to get cancelled, that's when I tuned into it last week and tonight. I'm also on the internet too, so I'm not really watching it. That's proof that I'm making progress in cutting down on TV.

Job: I went to my job interview at HMV last week, and they still haven't called. I'm guessing I didn't get the job. I could keep hoping that later an employee gets fired or quits, and I will be the replacement.

Nov. 23 Scam: I was reading the Metro and here are some tips about scams:

-Loan scams that ask for money in advance of an agreement or the loan
-Identity theft and credit card scams
-Billing scams that ask for payment, although no service was performed or goods sold
-Home- based business scams
-Pyramid and MLM schemes that require a fee for recruiting people, not for selling products
-Charitable donations for computers, developing countries, etc., that offer tax refunds greater than your contributions.

Stay away from the pyramid scheme that is called Quixtar.

Products: Kirkland batteries are poor. I put a new one into my discman, and it says "Low battery." Go to Shoppers Drug Mart and buy their Life brand batteries. They're cheaper and last longer.

Saying: I was thinking about that saying: "Obsession is the key to my existence and yet the path to my destruction." I found that back in 2002 when I was looking at Dark Angel websites. I liked that quote so much I went and put that on my blurb in my yearbook when I graduated from high school.

I hop from obsession to obsession. I finished reading the twop.com thread to Secret Life of the American Teenager and then went to read the twop.com thread of Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl. Now I'm going to read about Danity Kane's break up on Making the Band 4 thread. Through obsession comes inspiration.

It's been hours since I wrote the above paragraph, and now I'm done reading that thread.

Movie: Today I saw this movie called The Killing Spring. It stars Zachary Ty Brian, the oldest brother in that old TV show Home Improvement. This came out in 2006. I can watch this movie because Desperate Housewives, Gossip Girl, The Simpsons and Family Guy aren't on tonight.

The movie was about a ex- cop turned journalism teacher at a college. She has to find out who murdered the dean. The dean slept with this teacher's wife so the husband is a suspect. The dean slept with this female student, so she could be the suspect. A cop comes and investigates. ZTB may be a suspect too because he wanted to win this contest to become an anchorman, and the winner was the female student.

The ex-cop meets this author who was attacked by these 2 guys, and he wrote a book about it. They hook up. Later, the female student is found dead, and so is ZTB. Later it's revealed that the author did it. He had attacked a prostitute and now she is in a nursing home. She recognizes him on TV as the cop was questioning her. The ex-cop then gets into a fight with the author, and they are outside. Author is about to stab her as the cop points the gun at him telling him to freeze.

Me: Shoot him!
The cop shoots him four times in the back.
It was average. I can tell it was shot in Toronto because the motel even mentioned it was in Toronto. I recognized Canadian actors from Canadian shows.

news/ progress

Nov. 15 News: The following TV shows have been cancelled:

Lipstick Jungle- That's fine by me since I don't watch it.

My Own Worst Enemy- They will air the rest of the episodes, but they aren't ordering anymore.

MADtv- I like this show. They will try to shop it to other networks. When I read that, I actually groaned. It's like that time back in 2003, I was reading that LA Dragnet was getting cancelled. I liked that show.

Job: I have another lesson I learned from work. When I was working at the Department store and Clothing store #2, I learned: "If the store is big, then there is a lot of work."

The new lesson I learned from Clothing store #2 and Clothing store #3 is: "If the store is untidy, then it will be a hard job." When I was working at Call Centre #1, the store was clean. "If the store is mostly clean, then the job would be easy."

Writing: Today I did some writing on The Fighter. I'm going to make it longer and send it to this production company again. This woman there read my script and sent me notes on how to improve it. I took most of her suggestions and continue to improve on it.

Interests: I'm adding "Working at a clothing store" to the list of "Things I used to like and then dislike." On the list are: Working at Call Centre #2, O-town, Dr. Phil, Maury, John Mayer's music, Introductory Rhetoric.

Nov. 16: I'm going to add that I used to like the girl group B*Witched. I bought the second cd and then a couple years later I gave it to my friend Leslie because she has the first cd. I will also admit that I used to like S Club 7.

Progress: I'm cutting down on TV. I don't watch Primetime. The last episode I've actually seen was months ago. I only watch Dateline regulary. I only watch when they do "To Catch a Predator" episode and the last time I saw an ep of that was back in summer 2007.

I also made a lot of progress in my writing. I may be working full time, but I make time to write.

Nov. 19: Today I emailed back that woman from that production company. Glynis had written these notes about the first draft of my screenplay The Fighter. It was 6 weeks ago when she emailed me. Now I emailed her back with my new draft and the notes she gave me. I thanked her for her constructive criticism.

I was going to email her back after I get the script to 60 pages. The first draft was 24 pages. I then took her notes and got it to 46 pages. Then I hit writer's block and stopped. I decided that I might as well send Glynis the 46 pages, and she can give me more tips so I can complete it. It has a beginning, middle, and end, but it needs to be longer.

I figured if her tips got me to write 22 pages, she can read the new draft and give me tips so I can finish it.

Nov. 20: Last night I saw the finale of Secret Life of the American Teenager and finished reading the entire thread of that show on twop.com. I also finally got to post on that thread.

I'm going to add that I like to watch Kyle XY and Blood Ties, but they're not on anymore. Even if they were on, I have seen all the episodes so I am making progress in cutting down on TV.

Nov. 21: Today was my last day at Clothing store #3. This week I worked 60 hours. I have never worked that many hours before. I decided that if I have to work that much to live off of, I will. For now I don't need to. I also don't really like the store that much. People are nice, but I realized that I don't even like helping people get change rooms or interact with customers.

I like interacting with customers at the Soup place. I guess I needed some sort of interlude where I try out a new job.

job/ learn/ job ranking

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2008

job/ learn/ job ranking

Nov. 14 Job:

This guy Daniel who works at Stitches actually came and worked with us for today because we needed him. This is just like Clothing store #2. I expected to work there for 2 months and worked there for 1.

Learn: I learned some things this week. Did you know that Y.M. owns the stores Siblings, Stitches, Sirens, Urban Planet, Raw Edge, Seduction, and Exco? UP does sell stuff from those stores in UP. I learned that I would probably like Clothing store #2, if this was my only job. After working at the Soup place, I rather keep working there than having one full- time job and another part- time job.

I realized that I did work a full- time job at the big company and on Saturday I worked at the Soup place. It's good to have two jobs if one job is a desk job where I can sit all day, and a job where I stand all the time. I can't be on my feet all the time. Yeah, I'm young, I thought I could do it, but I can't.

Now I'm reflecting back on if I worked at Call Centre #1 now, I would be working from 1pm-9pm. Back when I was working there in 2005 and 2006, I worked from 4pm-9pm because I was addicted to Dr Phil and Maury, and I wanted to stay at home to watch it before going to work. Well with Call Centre #2, you can only start work from 4:30pm-9pm on weekdays. They can only give part- time hours to new employees.

Now I'm thinking I would take another job that I can be on my feet in the day, and be sitting and talking on the phone at a call centre at night.

Job Ranking:

1. Call Centre #1- I love that call centre. After 2 years and call centre and restaurant jobs later, that is still my favorite job.

2. The Soup place- I worked here for 6 months. They give me full time, good hours, nice people, good pay.

3. Café #2- This was a good job because I met and became friends with my manager Aziz. It was mostly dead so we got to watch TV.

4. Call Centre #2- The first 3 months were good, until I started hating it. The pay was $9.50/hr and the minimum wage back then was $7/hr.

writing/ coincidence/ government job

Nov. 9 Writing: I asked the producer if he will be paying for the production and he said no. Well he is really a vice- president of the company and not exactly a producer.

Movie: I was watching V for Vendetta last night, but it ended at 1:30am and I was tired and got kind of sleepy. It was a really good movie. Good action and a big surprise towards the end of the movie.

Holidays: Well it's November so that means they have to play holiday commercials now.

News: I saw a picture in the Journal about the economy being bad. There is a picture of a store that has two signs. One that says they're hiring, and the sign right beside it saying they're going out of business.

Job:

Clothing store #1: It paid $7.45. I worked there in 2005, so that's 45 cents more than the min. wage.
Clothing store #2: It paid $8.50, that's $1.50 more than the min. wage. In 2007.
Clothing store #3: $9/hr and it's 60 cents more than the min. wage.

I guess I like Clothing store #1 the best due to the timing in 2005. That was the 3rd job I ever had, and I really liked it and worked there for 5 months.

Clothing store #2 was my 7th job and I worked there for a month.

What's interesting is that there is another Tracey and it's her last day at the job. She's been working there for over a year. Apparently, she is going to work at a bank. Weird coincidence with the same name and getting the same job at a bank. Well at least things won't be complicated with two people of the same name working at the same place. This reminds me of The Simpsons. The family goes to this store that sells stuffed animals.

Eric: We need to get it fixed.
Guy: Call Eric.
E: I'm Eric.
G: Black Eric.
lol.

A couple of weeks ago Manpower called me and my sister took the message. She told me not to call back. They never called again.

Nov. 11 Coincidence: Last night I was thinking about dropping off my resume at HMV in City Centre again, though I dropped it off last month. I guess I didn't get hired at the one in Kingsway which is okay. Then this morning, HMV in City Centre called me. Alright! That revised resume is great. Will this be job #17 for me? This will also be the 5th job this year if I get hired. Well I'm always hustling.

Summer 2007 was 6 jobs in 5 months. This year I had 4 jobs in a period of 8 months. Well I still got the Soup place.

Clothing store #3 told me that I can't wear sneakers, and I have to wear a top from the store. At Clothing store #2, you can wear your own clothes and sneakers. Well my dad told S that I will be going to a job interview at HMV, and she got annoyed with my job hopping.

I am annoyed at her because I am not as lucky as she is to find a job that she likes, and can work there for years. I do like the Soup place since I've been working there for 6 months. Maybe I'm getting too comfortable at the Soup place. I want to try new things. I realize that shopping at a clothing store is better than working at one.

Charity: My friend Sherri emailed me this tip to avoid those charities mailing me things: "you COULD say there is no mrs at this address and please take it off their mailing list....since it IS true, in a way."

Good point. That reminds me of an old article about how telemarketers call for this woman, she then says she doesn't live there because it is technically true. She got married and changed her name.

Inspired: I watched a documentary about the author of James Bond and how he created it. Right now I'm on the computer and have Priveliged in the background because my sister is watching it. It's about a young woman who gratuated out of college and is trying to be a writer. She is also a tutor to two rich girls.

Nov. 12: It turns out I will be working 51 hours a week instead of the usual 48 hours. I went to the interview at HMV today. I think it went well. One of the workers recognized me from working at Clothing store #3. The interviewer Nick said he has to go through a whole box of resumes. I forgot to ask how many people are up for how many positions they're giving.

Analyze: Clothing store #3 pays $9/hr, the discount is 20% off the clothes if you work there, the clothes are cheap, it's close by to where I live. It's better than Clothing store #2 and Clothing store #2 where they don't pay as much and it's so far away. I guess #3 isn't such a good job. It's not bad either.

Government job: I saved this email I got from Leslie in June. She provided tips on how to get a government job. If you are interested in a high paying job, read on:

L: Government jobs are really for people who enjoy sitting at a desk all day and are there for long term my job isnt easy and I only have this position because of the two years I spent at a lower level position.

http://www.chr.alberta.ca/jobs/The posting for the pool is closed right now and they only have Administrative Support level 4 jobs and above which require at least 4 years in an office enviroment. If you want to keep an eye on the page just customize search "Administrative" and "Edmonton" and look for an administrative support 3 posting, that is the "admin support pool" posting they put it up everytime they need more people for the pool.If you want a job like mine where you make a salary you can be prepared to have very little free time and very little energy. If you want a future in a corporate kind of world your foot in the door is having some sort of stayability, if you were to get a government job and quit there is a very good chance you would not be able to get another.

What Love means to a 4-8 year old..

I got this from my friend April, and I thought it was sweet. Here it is:

What Love means to a 4-8 year old.. .
Slow down for three minutes to read this. It is so worthit. Touching words from the mouth of babes. A group of professional people posed this question to agroup of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?' The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyonecould have imagined See what you think:
________________________________

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn'tbend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even whenhis hands got arthritis too. That's love..' Rebecca- age 8

________________________________
'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.' Billy - age 4________________________________

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts onshaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.' Karl - age 5
________________________________
'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody mostof your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.' Chrissy - age 6
________________________________
'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.' Terri - age 4
________________________________

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy andshe takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.' Danny - age 7________________________________
'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you gettired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that.. They look gross whenthey kiss' Emily - age 8________________________________
'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmasif you stop opening presents and listen.' Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)________________________________

'If you want to learn to love better, you should startwith a friend who you hate,' Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)________________________________

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, thenhe wears it everyday.' Noelle - age 7________________________________

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old manwho are still friends even after they know each other so well.' Tommy - age 6________________________________

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I wasscared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving andsmiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.' Cindy - age 8

________________________________
'My mommy loves me more than anybody You don't seeanyone else kissing me to sleep at night..' Clare - age 6
________________________________ .

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.' Elaine-age 5________________________________

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.' Chris - age 7________________________________

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.' Mary Ann - age 4 ________________________________

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.' Lauren - age 4
________________________________

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image) Karen - age 7 ________________________________

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.' Mark - age 6
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'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.' Jessica - age 8
________________________________
And the final one The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, 'Nothing, I just helped him cry' ________________________________

When there is nothing left but God, that is when you find out that God is all you need. Take 60 seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply say the following small prayer for the person who sent you this. Heavenly Father, please bless all my friends in whatever it is that You know they may be needing this day! And may their life be full of Your peace, prosperity and power as he/she seeks to have a closer relationship with You. Amen. Then send it on to five other people, including the one who sent it to you. Within hours you caused a multitude of people to prayfor other people. Then sit back and watch the power of God work in your life.

P. S. Five is good, but more is better.

news/ writing/ fun

Nov. 4 News: My friend Angela replied back about the murder that occured in Millwoods.

Angela: Did you happen to notice the address of the garage where the murder took place? That garage is right by the bus stop I use to catch the bus every day! Talk about creepy!!! There were cop cars and a forensics unit parked there for weeks before the story finally hit the news. I feel sorry for the people living in the actual house… the garage is rented out separately by the landlord and the people in the house had no idea what was happening. Most of them have moved now out of fear.

Me: Well I went on Facebook, and then I saw your status. I was like: "Oh yeah, Angela lives in Millwoods." I didn't know that it was right by the bus stop where you catch the bus though. I didn't know that the cops were there before the story hit the news. Interesting.

Writing: The producer from Toronto emailed me back when I asked if he read my script on Sunday. He tells me to call him. I called him at 7am in the morning. I called him once a few weeks ago at 9am, but he wasn't there. I realized since he's in Toronto, it's a different time zone.

Me: Hi, I'm Tracy Au.
Larry: Oh yeah. Where do you want to film it?
Me: Edmonton. (Well Vancouver or Toronto would be cool so then I could travel. However, I want to represent Edmonton and keep a watch on production in a place I know.)
L: When do you want to film it?
Me: Next May. (After school is over.).

L: How many days do you want it to be shot in?
Me: I don't know.
L: What kind of equipment do you want?
Me: I don't know.
He then gives me this guy's name and number when I figure out what I want. I'm supposed to tell L first, then the other guy.

I went back to bed. Then after work I emailed him with my questions.

Job: At work, the prices have been raised and some people have noticed. I told Cameron my fear that this place will close down by December and lay us all off. It's when I worked at Ipsos, a job that I liked, and I got laid off working there after 7 months. After December, it will be 7 months. It's irrational.
C: Looks like 7 is not your lucky number.

Funny: My friend Sherri emailed me:

"I was erasing old email and reread this one. i was thinking of birth control (and btw a 3 month or yearly shot does not solve emotional problems) and suddenly i remembered an odd youtube film i'd seen, a pms spoof. i hope you can relate to the humor in it."http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCwKbUVyHLY

It wasn't until it got to the end that I actually thought it was funny.

Charity: Today the Salvation Army mailed me asking for donations. I never donated to them before, except drop money into that bowl during the Christmas time. They probably got my name and address from those other charities because they called me Mrs. I'm going to mail it back by saying: "Don't mail me anything anymore."

City Centre: There is going to be a new Starbucks in City Centre. There is already one, but they have to have another location in the other building.

Progress: I'm cutting down on TV. For example Kyle XY and Blood Ties ended their seasons, and I don't watch it anymore. When new episodes come back, then I watch it. I don't really watch So You Think You Can Dance Canada. I only watch bits and pieces of it during commercial breaks of well-written shows.

Nov. 6: I did that with the $1 Store and Chinatown for like one week in 2004. I quit Chinatown. Then I worked at Clothing Store #1 and Chinatown for a bit which is easy when I only work at one place one day a week. That was 2005.

I worked at Cafe #1 and Asian Fast Food Place for at the same time for one week. Hmm... it seems that I only work 2 jobs for a short period of time.

Barack Obama: I am really inspired that Barack Obama won. I had to wait until 2008 until we got a black president. I remember this black comedian on Comedy Network. I saw him in the late 90s or early 2000s. I was watching it when I was in Calgary. He said: "Bill Clinton is the blackest president we're ever going to get. He plays the saxophone and he smokes pot."

I'm also thinking about that music video by the Obama girl. She's singing and dancing: "I can't wait/ Until 2008/ Barack Obama/ You're the best candidate." I'm sure you can check it out on youtube.

Mystery: I was thinking about this story idea. You know how there are financial rewards given to people who find missing people or catch criminals? Does anyone ever really actively try to do that just to get the money? I remember the days I used to watch America's Most Wanted, but now don't because it's like Cops and I'm not allowed to watch that show because it gets me too angry and depressed.

The people who do catch criminals, they just randomly find them. I hear people's stories of how this guy was a co-worker or neighbor of his. Then he watches AMW, and then calls them in with the tip. Well I do remember in season 2 of Prison Break where the prison guard Bellick was trying to hunt down the escapees and collect the money.

Bounty hunters actively catch criminals to make money.

Nov. 7 Fun: Yesterday I bumped into Chelsea who I knew from high school. Today I bumped into Tyler from high school. He and his wife Angela came to the Soup place. I then looked them up on Facebook and requested them to be my friend. I also found Ronald Peterson, this actor from Edmonton who was on MADtv. He confirmed me as his friend.

20/20: I was watching 20/20 and it's about this guy who forced into a false confession about how he murdered his daughter. He was in interrogation for 14hrs and he didn't get to talk to a lawyer. I find that really unfair. Later a DNA test proves that he is innocent. The lawyer who defended him said this: "If you don't do the test, you can't arrest." She's right. They are still trying to find who killed 3 yr old Riley Fox.

This occured back in 2004. Then in 2006, the couple had another baby girl. There oldest Tyler, he was six when Riley went missing. He is now 9.

job search/ interview/ movie

Nov. 1 Job search: Tonight McDonald's in Kingsway called me today. She said that full- time people get paid $9.50/hr and part- time $8.50/hr. I remember seeing a sign by a McDonald's in Capilano and they said something about starting wage $11/hr. I turned it down.

News: I read that King of the Hill will be getting cancelled after 13 seasons. Well it's good that it lasted that long.

Nov. 2: Today I read an article in The Journal that Eminem will be releasing his memoir and later a cd. The last I heard from him was that he was overweight. He wasn't in the public eye since 2006 when he went to rehab for sleep medication and his friend Proof from D12 got shot and died.

I read in The Globe and Mail that 89% of people get their paychecks through direct deposit.

Resume: The revised resume is good. I got the attention of Stats Canada, HMV, and McDonald's.

Blog: I was thinking about creating multiple blogs under different website addresses. I would be putting up all my same weekly emails on all my blogs. However, that would be kind of pointless. I want people to read my blog so if I put up multiple blogs, there is more chance someone will read it. For now, I will keep one blog.

Bloopers: The best thing about Youtube is that I can watch bloopers. I remember showing my friends Leslie, Angela, and John my Dark Angel and the first two seasons of Alias bloopers because I have the dvds. These are really funny.

Interview: Today I went to HMV in Kingsway to do my job interview. It was one minute long. This young guy named Earl asked questions like: "Why do you want to work here? Are you looking for part-time or full-time." The starting wage is supposedly $9.10/hr. I told him that I wanted to work at City Centre and that I gave them my resume and application too.

I went to HMV in City Centre, and there is a new holiday application. I should apply again. It's good to be persistent. I gave my resume and application to a Starbucks in downtown. They open at 5am. I got home and Clothing store #3 called me. I was given a cell phone number to call so I did and left a message.

He lost my resume, so I gave him an extra copy. I read in those job articles to always have an extra resume handy in case they needed it. Months ago when I did the job interview at Dynacor Media, I gave them an extra copy of my resume too. I read in the Careers section in The Journal that George Gromada and Terri Dorn of Dynacor are actually married. The article was about how it was good to have pets in the workplace. There was a dog there when I was in the interview.

My dad and I then had this discussion about why I'm looking for a job.
D: You can't be job- hopping.
Me: This is my 6th month at the Soup place. I only want to work for the holiday season.

I have another job interview at Clothing store #3. I've wanted to work at that store for a couple of years now. That revised resume is good. I passed out my old resume to them a few times before, but never got a call back.

Kingsway: There is a new store at Kingsway called Aeropstatle. That is an American store. It's right beside American Eagle Outfitters in the mall. Usually West Ed mall has American stores like Forever 21, Urban Outfitters, Banana Republic.

Movie: Today I saw the movie called Stick It. It was written by the writers of Bring it On. This movie is about a girl who either has to go to juvenile hall or back to practicing gymnastics. She is forced to go to gymnastics school. Really fun and entertaining movie to watch. I love the soundtrack. I like watching the sport gymnastics. Great editing. All of you should watch it.

Safety: I read in the paper today about this filmmaker has been charged for murdering a man. There are always these safety tips targeted to kids, teenagers, and women about meeting people online. The murder victim met this woman on an online dating site. He was lured into meeting her in a garage, then the filmmaker goes and ties him up to chair.

The safety tip is to meet people from the internet in a public place.

Nov. 3 Writing: Good news. I was writing for a little bit over the weekend. Then I emailed this producer again to see if he had read the script. I emailed him with it 3 weeks ago. Today he replied back saying he wants to talk about it. I shall call him tomorrow.

Today Starbucks called me today at work. This is the first time anyone has ever called for me at work, and I've been there for 6 months. He said they will pay me $9/hr. I turned it down. I felt kind of guilty. The manager and I did talk yesterday and when he calls to set up an interview, I reject him. Well it's temporary guilt.

Today before work, I did an interview with Clothing store #3. It was 5 min. long. It went well. There are 12 people up for 4 part- time positions. Starting wage $9/hr and a bonus. She will tell us what the bonus is once we're hired.

Me: Is it commission?
Boss: No, it's something else. We used to have commission a long time ago, but we got rid of it. Most of the clothes we sell are $10-$30 so you can't really make commission off it.

Progress: I always say I'm trying to cut down on TV. Here's some proof: I didn't watch the last two new episodes of Heartland, and I only saw some of two episodes of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles since the second season started. I only saw the pilot of Easy Money. Half of one episode of that. I read in the Metro that Easy Money is getting low ratings and will be on a break. Terminator got their second season renewed.

Analyze: I'm still thinking about that filmmaker acting out his script by committing murder. I think he wants to create publicity for his film. If an actual event occured like that, and then a movie came out afterwards, then people would watch it. This guy was acting out the show Dexter. That is so messed up. I watch the TV show Dexter, and I like it. I watch Criminal Minds and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.

I will say that out of friends, family, school, or TV, TV influences me the most. When John went MIA on me, I thought about TV. How the crime TV shows solve mysteries and find people. I tried to use those techniques of canvasing the places where he would be.