June 15 Little jokes: This was from a few months ago, but it was from funnyordie.com. It had Justin Beiber do a little video.
JB: I wasn't allowed into a club, so I bought it and turned it into a Chuck E. Cheese.
Stereotypes: I was thinking about how black women often play judges in film. There was a joke about it on 30 Rock.
Tracy was talking to the actress Novella Nolan.
Tracy: Then again, I wasn't credited as a black judge 9 times on imdb.com.
Facebook: There was a newer episode of South Park where they make fun of Facebook and Chat Roulette. Kyle becomes addicted to playing Farmville. Cartman tells Kyle to find friends, he should go on Chat Roulette.
Stan hates Facebook, and his dad Randy confronts him.
Randy: Stan, your grandma poked you.
Stan: Yeah, I know.
R: Well aren't you going to poke her back?
S: Yeah, I'll do that later.
R: When your grandma pokes you, you poke her right back!
Dark jokes: This was when Ryan Phillipe guest-starred on Saturday Night Live. They actually did dark jokes on this show. It was about having sex with a coma patient. The audience goes: "Ohhhh." This is what I get from MadTV, not SNL.
Joke comparisons: Also on the same SNL episode, they did a sketch that was similar to one that MadTV did years ago.
SNL did a commercial about shaking weights to get fit. There was this sexual element to it. After it:
Me: MadTV did that with shaking a flashlight so it could work.
Sister: Oh yeah, I remember that product.
I didn't know the flashlight was a real product. I thought it was a joke that was made up for the sketch. lol.
Writing: I haven't really been looking for a job in the past week and a half. That's because I was reading Story by Robert McKee. In my defense, this is a library book so I had limited time to read it. I put this book on hold for a year, and I had to wait this long to get to read it so it's a priority. The producer John Kerr told me to read it, and then after I read it, we can talk about it.
Job search: I just went to www.teck.com/careers because I read about it in the newspaper. The closest locations are in Calgary. Looks like I won't be applying there.
The restaurant Marcello's in Telus, I have applied there twice this year. They pay $11/hr starting wage.
I read an article in the Edmonton Journal, and then it was on the National Post. It was about being a virtual assistant. It's kind of like an administrative assistant job, but work from home. It will eventually grow more.
June 16 Hotjobs.com: I went to this site, and it's really Yahoo jobs. I set up an account yesterday.
Motivation: I was reading The Globe and Mail last month, and Monster.com said:
"Aim higher. Reach farther. Dream bigger."
"Desire to escape a bad fit to the sense of fulfillment that could come from a good one."
Money phrases: I was thinking about "Top dollar, pretty penny." Then came "Easy money, hard cash."
Job interview: I checked my email, and no I didn't get the job that I interviewed for. They did say the dept. downstairs is hiring and they could pass my resume to them. I then said yes, pass the resume to them. I asked what the company downstairs was.
The other day after I did the interview, my dad, mom, and grandma asked about it. When I told dad that there were 4 other people up for this position, he said I wouldn't get the job. I will give myself points that though I may not have gone to school to become an administrative assistant, at least I managed to get 2 callbacks from companies. This and the funeral home.
Story: I finally finished reading Robert McKee's Story. Today I buckled down, and stayed home to read it. It took me 12 days to read it. I then emailed John Kerr about it.
Now that I finished frying that big fish, I should start on my other priorities. First I'll look for a job, and then start on my Fighter rewrites.
June 17 Feelings: I realized I haven't been doing much of a job search in the past 10 days. I feel anxious that I have to catch up on the days I missed and I'm still waiting on my EI. They haven't reactivated it yet. I have to use this energy and time to look for a job.
I did probably spend about 5 hrs on that last job interview. It took a few hours to get there and back, and the 30 min interview.
Teen pregnancy: Last month on the cover of Seventeen, it said: "Are you being tricked into getting pregnant?"
Me: Oh my God, it's about teen pregnancy, I have to read it!
lol.
I picked it up and it talked to 4 girls. It's about how TV influences you. One said that on Gossip Girl, everybody has sex, and there are no consequences. They don't show them using condoms. Well Blair did have a pregnancy scare in the first season.
Another said that she saw Juno, and she thought that having the kid was a "noble thing to do." Back when I was a teenager, I thought getting an abortion was kind of like a cop out. But you never know about people's situation. I would have told any teen girl to give the baby up for adoption. What I never thought of was that it would be hard to give the baby away, and what your parents would tell you to keep the kid and raise it as your own.
Another said that she wanted to get an abortion, but her friend, and the friend's mom said that God won't forgive you. That you may not be able to have kids later in life. She now works full-time at KFC and lives in a small apartment raising the kid.
The girl then said that on TV shows she watches, nobody even mentions abortion. Then you should have watched Degrassi: The Next Generation where Manny does get one. Now the girl is giving talks about teen pregnancy.
The last girl said that Adriana from 90210 and Amy from Secret Life of the American Teenager, they have kids, and their bodies go back to normal. There are no stretch marks. The closing argument is that if you don't want to get pregnant, don't have sex. If you do, use 2 forms of birth control. Be on the pill, and use a condom.
The Fighter: I haven't been doing much of The Fighter rewrites until this afternoon. There isn't any TV shows to watch, and it's cloudy outside. I went out earlier this week. I stayed home and read yesterday and stayed home today to write.
I'm really proud of rewriting this one scene which is 4 pages long, which means 4 min. I deleted the filler and made it to 2 min long. I kept the pivotal stuff in. I also switched some documents around so I can free up a 3.5 floppy disk so I can put in the new version of the script.
Stress: It's been nearly 2 weeks, and I haven't gotten my EI check. The Service Canada operator did say I need to get all my papers in. I'm going to have to call in tomorrow and ask if I'm supposed to send in my Booster Juice Record of Employment in order to get EI.
I didn't send it in because I thought they didn't need it, or they would finish looking at my EI claim by now and made a decision. But since this much time has passed by, and they haven't given me an answer yet, I will call them. I also haven't been really pushing myself for a job search because I want to get all my EI. I did earn that EI.
June 18: I called Service Canada and the woman said it would be good to give my ROE to them. I called Booster Juice for it, and they said that since I worked less than 65 hrs, they don't give you one.
That's weird. I worked at Call Centre #5 for 2 days, and they gave me one. Service Canada said that I just have to be patient. She did say it's okay if I don't give them an ROE.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
psychic/ time is money/ job interview
June 12 Psychic: I was reading through my old scripts. I wrote The Fighter. Then I wrote Garret right after wards. It's only 25 pages, but if you read it, it's like The Fighter, but the names have changed. It's about the same topic MMA.
Then I read Daniel which has 25 pages. It evolved from Garret, I tried to be different. There wasn't any MMA. I wrote about the experience of me seeing the psychic Nadia back in July 2009. Daniel sees her. The script never went anywhere. Then I wrote Rain. No MMA, and no psychics.
Psychic Nadia: I thought about Psychic Nadia whom I based a character on. I only went to see her on a whim at Capital Ex. I always wanted to see a psychic so I paid $20 for her to read my two palms for 20min. There was an article of her in the Edmonton Journal talking about the 2008 election. It was displayed at her booth.
I thought that she was as reputable of a psychic I could find. She must be good if she got herself published in this newspaper. The article said she does readings at the Russian Tea Room. My friend Sonia told me she went to a psychic at the Tea Room, and she got a good reading. I then looked it up, and found Psychic Nadia's article. Check it out:
http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/news/decisioncanada/story.html?id=c16d1439-86c5-48a2-800c-adce4c1f4226
Psychic Kimberlee Dawn: That then lead me to the memory of psychic Kimberlee Dawn. The Daniel script had a character look for her missing boyfriend, which was also based on one of my experiences. My boyfriend went MIA on me back in 2007. I tried contacting him and I couldn't. His cell phone expired, and he wasn't answering his emails.
I talked to my Legal Issues teacher about it, and he told me to go to the police. I went to the police and they said I had to talk to his family to file a missing person report. I was so desperate I went and called Kimberlee Dawn. I emailed her and she emailed me back.
I then sent the email to all my friends. My friend Angela says don't go to her. My friend Sonia says I should. I think my friend Sherry said I should go to her. I did talk to Kimberlee on the phone for about 15 min. She said she charges $300 for a session. If she suspects something bad, she goes to the police and they will listen to her. That's why I called her.
However, I found my boyfriend and he was fine. I saw Kimberlee in the Edmonton Sun in 2009. It was about how psychic business has increased because of the recession. I didn't spend any money on her because she was too expensive. Though she is a nice lady from the email and phone conversation. I will say she's reputable if she's with the police and in the newspaper.
Scam: Kimberlee did say in the article that you should always give cash to a psychic. Don't give your credit card numbers. I remember talking to my friend Sarah about seeing Nadia, and Sarah says: "All psychics are scam artists."
I was at the book store and saw this book called The Street Smart Psychic's Guide to getting a Good Reading by Lisa Baretta. I read some of it, and it's good. LB says there are scam artists in every profession like pedophile priests and lawyers, so don't go dissing only psychics. Oh yeah, that's true.
Money: LB did talk about money in her book. She says there are some people who won't pay a psychic until the thing actually comes true. Some people say that psychics should share their gifts for free.
LB: But that doesn't pay the bills! When you call a lawyer, they bill you for the time they spend talking to you. You pay them to fight for you in a case, and they don't always win.
I think after a reading, people should pay the psychic. They are using their gifts, and you are paying for their time to read you. You never know when the thing actually comes true.
June 13 Bus: I have a job interview on Mon. and I don't know how to get there. The other day I asked Patrick, and he says to go on Google maps. There is also a bus icon, and if you click on that, it gives you the bus routes to get there. Yesterday I asked if he could help me take the bus, but he had to go to work. He says I should go there today, because the 106 doesn't run on Sundays. Good tip.
Tip: Another tip was from my dad. He tells me that not every job I'm going to get is in downtown. If you don't have a car, you should know the bus system really well. You should know the city more.
He says: "What if you go to the interview on Mon. Then you get hired and start on Tues.? You don't have time to learn the bus route to get there. You either do this now or you might not have time to do it later."
Time is money: Another lesson is that time is money. I could spend $20 to get to the interview by taking a cab. Then another $20 to get home. Or I could take the bus and spend 1.5 hrs to get there, and 1.5 hrs to get back. I did spend $2.09 on a bottle water so I could use a washroom at a restaurant on Whyte Ave. That's certainly cheaper than $40.
I'll add this to the other lessons like the time I was looking for my MIA boyfriend. I probably spent 10 cents to print out a page from a phone book at the library. Then I spent hours looking for him.
Same goes with the days when I was working at Call Centre #1. I was so addicted to Dr. Phil and Maury, I stay home to watch it. I start my shifts from 4pm-9pm instead of 1pm-9pm. By not working more hours, I could have been making more money.
Coincidence: I didn't have a job to go to yesterday. There wasn't any TV shows on that afternoon, so I then went out and took the bus. It was a great day outside. It was kind of weird. I think I saw Bradley from Call Centre #3 on Whyte Ave. Then I think saw one of my friend Michelle's friend at the car dealership.
Then when I was on the bus to go home, I think I saw the customer John from the Soup place walking on the street.
Russian Tea Room: I went on the internet to read comments about this place. I'm still thinking about psychics. It's the 6 month mark for me for me to get a reading. Here's a funny comment from Jeanette B.: "The combination of psychics and cheesecakes make this place unique and worth visiting." lol.
I liked reading people's comments about their psychic readings there. Someone mentioned that psychic Terri is good. Yeah I saw her way back in Jan.
The website is www.russiantearoom.ca/ I find the website unprofessional, but what are you expecting from one restaurant? It's not a big chain so it doesn't have to be good. You can also print a coupon and get a 10% off a food or drink.
June 14 Job interview: I went to the interview and I think it went well. It took me 45min to get there. It turns out I was 45min early. Fortunately it was a nice day outside so I went and picked up the 24 newspaper to read at a bus stop. It was a 5min walk to the office.
The job seems really good. $15/hr. Huge company and could work my way up. It's an effort to get there, but it's worth it. The boss seems good. He did talk about his reservations for me, like how long would I be working there? It seems that I'm trying to be a screenwriter.
I was honest and said that I've been pitching my script since Jan.2008. I had nothing produced, and it's been 2 and a half years of pitching. If I really like a job, I will stay there. I worked at the Soup place for 2 yrs until it laid me off and I worked at Call Centre #3 for 6 months until that laid me off. I told him that.
There are 4 other people up for this position.
John Kerr: The highlight of my day was when I checked my email today and the producer John Kerr emailed me back. I email him once a month, and he emails me once every 6 months. I talked about the book he recommended for me to read Story by Robert McKee, The Karate Kid remake and the EPL writer in residence Chris Craddock.
I'm mildly annoyed that he seems to only email me because it was mainly because I read the book he recommended. He emailed about that I should talk to him about what I read. If only I bought the book off the internet earlier, I'm sure he would have read my changes right away. You never know. By all means, he still wouldn't have read the changes because he was busy.
Then I read Daniel which has 25 pages. It evolved from Garret, I tried to be different. There wasn't any MMA. I wrote about the experience of me seeing the psychic Nadia back in July 2009. Daniel sees her. The script never went anywhere. Then I wrote Rain. No MMA, and no psychics.
Psychic Nadia: I thought about Psychic Nadia whom I based a character on. I only went to see her on a whim at Capital Ex. I always wanted to see a psychic so I paid $20 for her to read my two palms for 20min. There was an article of her in the Edmonton Journal talking about the 2008 election. It was displayed at her booth.
I thought that she was as reputable of a psychic I could find. She must be good if she got herself published in this newspaper. The article said she does readings at the Russian Tea Room. My friend Sonia told me she went to a psychic at the Tea Room, and she got a good reading. I then looked it up, and found Psychic Nadia's article. Check it out:
http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/news/decisioncanada/story.html?id=c16d1439-86c5-48a2-800c-adce4c1f4226
Psychic Kimberlee Dawn: That then lead me to the memory of psychic Kimberlee Dawn. The Daniel script had a character look for her missing boyfriend, which was also based on one of my experiences. My boyfriend went MIA on me back in 2007. I tried contacting him and I couldn't. His cell phone expired, and he wasn't answering his emails.
I talked to my Legal Issues teacher about it, and he told me to go to the police. I went to the police and they said I had to talk to his family to file a missing person report. I was so desperate I went and called Kimberlee Dawn. I emailed her and she emailed me back.
I then sent the email to all my friends. My friend Angela says don't go to her. My friend Sonia says I should. I think my friend Sherry said I should go to her. I did talk to Kimberlee on the phone for about 15 min. She said she charges $300 for a session. If she suspects something bad, she goes to the police and they will listen to her. That's why I called her.
However, I found my boyfriend and he was fine. I saw Kimberlee in the Edmonton Sun in 2009. It was about how psychic business has increased because of the recession. I didn't spend any money on her because she was too expensive. Though she is a nice lady from the email and phone conversation. I will say she's reputable if she's with the police and in the newspaper.
Scam: Kimberlee did say in the article that you should always give cash to a psychic. Don't give your credit card numbers. I remember talking to my friend Sarah about seeing Nadia, and Sarah says: "All psychics are scam artists."
I was at the book store and saw this book called The Street Smart Psychic's Guide to getting a Good Reading by Lisa Baretta. I read some of it, and it's good. LB says there are scam artists in every profession like pedophile priests and lawyers, so don't go dissing only psychics. Oh yeah, that's true.
Money: LB did talk about money in her book. She says there are some people who won't pay a psychic until the thing actually comes true. Some people say that psychics should share their gifts for free.
LB: But that doesn't pay the bills! When you call a lawyer, they bill you for the time they spend talking to you. You pay them to fight for you in a case, and they don't always win.
I think after a reading, people should pay the psychic. They are using their gifts, and you are paying for their time to read you. You never know when the thing actually comes true.
June 13 Bus: I have a job interview on Mon. and I don't know how to get there. The other day I asked Patrick, and he says to go on Google maps. There is also a bus icon, and if you click on that, it gives you the bus routes to get there. Yesterday I asked if he could help me take the bus, but he had to go to work. He says I should go there today, because the 106 doesn't run on Sundays. Good tip.
Tip: Another tip was from my dad. He tells me that not every job I'm going to get is in downtown. If you don't have a car, you should know the bus system really well. You should know the city more.
He says: "What if you go to the interview on Mon. Then you get hired and start on Tues.? You don't have time to learn the bus route to get there. You either do this now or you might not have time to do it later."
Time is money: Another lesson is that time is money. I could spend $20 to get to the interview by taking a cab. Then another $20 to get home. Or I could take the bus and spend 1.5 hrs to get there, and 1.5 hrs to get back. I did spend $2.09 on a bottle water so I could use a washroom at a restaurant on Whyte Ave. That's certainly cheaper than $40.
I'll add this to the other lessons like the time I was looking for my MIA boyfriend. I probably spent 10 cents to print out a page from a phone book at the library. Then I spent hours looking for him.
Same goes with the days when I was working at Call Centre #1. I was so addicted to Dr. Phil and Maury, I stay home to watch it. I start my shifts from 4pm-9pm instead of 1pm-9pm. By not working more hours, I could have been making more money.
Coincidence: I didn't have a job to go to yesterday. There wasn't any TV shows on that afternoon, so I then went out and took the bus. It was a great day outside. It was kind of weird. I think I saw Bradley from Call Centre #3 on Whyte Ave. Then I think saw one of my friend Michelle's friend at the car dealership.
Then when I was on the bus to go home, I think I saw the customer John from the Soup place walking on the street.
Russian Tea Room: I went on the internet to read comments about this place. I'm still thinking about psychics. It's the 6 month mark for me for me to get a reading. Here's a funny comment from Jeanette B.: "The combination of psychics and cheesecakes make this place unique and worth visiting." lol.
I liked reading people's comments about their psychic readings there. Someone mentioned that psychic Terri is good. Yeah I saw her way back in Jan.
The website is www.russiantearoom.ca/ I find the website unprofessional, but what are you expecting from one restaurant? It's not a big chain so it doesn't have to be good. You can also print a coupon and get a 10% off a food or drink.
June 14 Job interview: I went to the interview and I think it went well. It took me 45min to get there. It turns out I was 45min early. Fortunately it was a nice day outside so I went and picked up the 24 newspaper to read at a bus stop. It was a 5min walk to the office.
The job seems really good. $15/hr. Huge company and could work my way up. It's an effort to get there, but it's worth it. The boss seems good. He did talk about his reservations for me, like how long would I be working there? It seems that I'm trying to be a screenwriter.
I was honest and said that I've been pitching my script since Jan.2008. I had nothing produced, and it's been 2 and a half years of pitching. If I really like a job, I will stay there. I worked at the Soup place for 2 yrs until it laid me off and I worked at Call Centre #3 for 6 months until that laid me off. I told him that.
There are 4 other people up for this position.
John Kerr: The highlight of my day was when I checked my email today and the producer John Kerr emailed me back. I email him once a month, and he emails me once every 6 months. I talked about the book he recommended for me to read Story by Robert McKee, The Karate Kid remake and the EPL writer in residence Chris Craddock.
I'm mildly annoyed that he seems to only email me because it was mainly because I read the book he recommended. He emailed about that I should talk to him about what I read. If only I bought the book off the internet earlier, I'm sure he would have read my changes right away. You never know. By all means, he still wouldn't have read the changes because he was busy.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
marriage proposal/ ADD/ change
June 6 Marriage proposal: This was on Yahoo News and it showed a guy creatively propose to his gf. He and 10 other guys danced to Metro Station's "Shake That." The guy changed his clothes during the number. The dancing wasn't too complicated or difficult, but there was a lot of energy in it.
It was so sweet. You have to laugh or at least smile at the performance. It was romantic and fun to watch. I was really entertained because he put a lot of thought into it. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/yahoocanada/100605/canada/with_a_proposal_like_this_who_could_say_no
June 7 Stay positive: Today I got dismissed from my new job. I will give myself points that I worked full-time for two weeks here. That's longer than the last 4 jobs where I worked for 1 or 2 days. I then called Service Canada and had to go online to reactivate my EI claim again.
Comparisons: Here are some more I collected:
Serial killer videotapes murder: It occurred on The Mentalist. Criminal Minds did this with a guy murdering people on webcam, 3 guys videotaping a murder, and a guy with OCD filmed his murder.
Daughter marries, son graduates: I saw this in a commercial. On the canceled TV show Hawaii, a guy breaks out of jail to see his daughter marry. I saw this on Tru Calling too. A guy breaks out of jail to do the same thing.
Woman orders salad in a fast food commercial: I see that happen on Wendy's. Though I saw a Harvey's commercial of a woman buying a burger.
Shows making homage to the movie Rear Window: It was first done with The Simpsons where Bart breaks his leg and suspects Ned Flanders killed his wife.
Tru Calling did the same thing with her seeing a woman commit identity theft. Recently CSI: NY did an ep called "Point of View." Mac Taylor sees a man work on bio warfare. I think I saw a movie review about a guy suspecting his neighbor of terrorism.
Multiple stories on one episode: It was done on The Simpsons where there are 22 stories in one episode. On CSI, there are 4 mysteries in one ep.
Big tough guy takes care of kids: It's the "fish out of water" story. It's been done with Vin Diesel taking care of kids in The Pacifier and then Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson did that too.
ADD: A couple of weeks ago I finally saw the whole South Park episode where they make fun of ADD. I remember watching the first 5min of it back in summer 2002, after I recently got off the drug. Back then I didn't find it funny. One kid gets diagnosed, and he's Timmy who's mentally handicapped.
Then I predicted what's going to happen.
Me: Let me guess, the whole class gets diagnosed with ADD.
That's what happens and I left.
The whole ep did have some funny moments where the kids were getting Ritalin.
Kyle's mom: Kyle is so hyper-active. He runs around like a 8 yr old.
Kyle: Mom, I am 8.
The kids' personalities change by becoming unemotional robots. The parents watch a videotape about how to make your kids behave without taking drugs. Basically the doctor in the videotape was smacking the kids' heads and saying: "Shut up and study!"
It was an average episode. It was unrealistic in how the doctor diagnoses the kids by reading a big book to them and then asking questions about it. It's a cartoon so it's get a pass on realism.
Feelings: I've been feeling really upset all day after I was let go from my job. I did read 2 chapters of my Story by Robert McKee. I emailed my friends and put up my blog post. I wrote this weekly email. I reactivated my EI account.
I knew in my heart that I wasn't going to last at this job, and when I was first let go, I was happy and got out of there fast. I watched 5 hrs of TV today. I did some dancing to cheer me up. This is the kind of thing that I need some time to cool off.
Writing: I remember back in summer 2007, I was watching the Canadian TV show The Best Years. It had these group of guys rob the lead character Samantha and her friend at the bar they work at. S and her friend are locked up in a closet and can't call the police. That show inspired to me to write a scene where the characters fight back. It lead me to The Fighter opening scene.
A couple of weeks ago I saw the first 30min of A History of Violence. This movie came out in 2005, and I saw the trailer. It has the lead character Viggo Mortison run a diner, and he fights back 2 robbers. It was in the trailer. I loved the scene because it's how I would have written it. If you don't want to be spoiled by that scene, skip the next paragraph.
VM uses his coffee pot and smashes it into the head of Robber 1. VM grabs R1's gun and shoots at R2. R1 stabs VM's foot with his knife. VM shoots R1's head.
I remember in Creative Writing class I wrote a scene like that, and the teacher Jannie said I seem very vigilante. Vigilante is good for TV purposes. However in real life, I would just give them the money. Though I will try to memorize their faces if they're not wearing masks.
Funny: That reminded me of something even older, a Malcolm in the Middle ep had that. Lois works at a Shoppers Drug Mart kind of store. 2 Robbers held the employees hostage, and the Nerdy guy who works there won't give the safe combination. Then towards the end, Nerdy guy admits to Lois that he doesn't know the combination.
Lois: But you've been working here for years. How come you don't know it?
Nerdy guy: Because I was too embarrassed to admit it.
Then the Robbers diss Nerd. Nerd gets so mad, he grabs the safe and throws it. Then the safe opens and there is 1 stack of cash. Robbers take it and run away. That was so stupid and ridiculous. At least it's only 1 stack of cash so the Robbers didn't totally win. There is still an uplifting ending because no one got hurt.
This is from years ago, and I remember it. I do remember Nerd admits that he has a crush on Lois, but L tells him that they will never be together.
June 8 Job search: I had taken a break from my job search for 2 weeks when I was working full-time. Then I went and looked for a job on Sat. 2 days go by, and now I'm back on my job search with a vengeance.
I read this week's Job Classified, and there was nothing. I then found last week's issue on my desk and read the articles. I then look at the Edmonton Journal's Classifieds from yesterday. I bookmarked 4 helpful sites.
Surveys: I did a survey for Alberta Job Centre. It took less than a min. on the website. I found an ad in the Metro to do a survey for the U of A and got a $20 gift card at Coles/ Indigo/ Chapters book store. Then today I did an Alberta Views magazine survey. I like giving people my opinion when they ask for it.
I'm helping people and I've been working at call centres for nearly 2 yrs.
School: This email was about a week ago, but I asked my friend Chamnouer about CDI college. She went there and she says I should go to NAIT because it's a recognizable school. This was through Facebook email.
Change: Here's a 180 degree turn in a week. On my Facebook status on June 1, I said this: "Tracy Au has been busy with work since I got a full-time job. I also beat writer's block." My Professional Writing friend Wasan said: "Good for you!"
Now I don't have a job, but I have been reading a lot of Story by Robert Mckee to fight writer's block. I just emailed the EPL writer in residence Chris Craddock my new rewrite of Rain. I think the story progresses faster, and sets up the characters. A couple of characters got deleted.
It was so sweet. You have to laugh or at least smile at the performance. It was romantic and fun to watch. I was really entertained because he put a lot of thought into it. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/yahoocanada/100605/canada/with_a_proposal_like_this_who_could_say_no
June 7 Stay positive: Today I got dismissed from my new job. I will give myself points that I worked full-time for two weeks here. That's longer than the last 4 jobs where I worked for 1 or 2 days. I then called Service Canada and had to go online to reactivate my EI claim again.
Comparisons: Here are some more I collected:
Serial killer videotapes murder: It occurred on The Mentalist. Criminal Minds did this with a guy murdering people on webcam, 3 guys videotaping a murder, and a guy with OCD filmed his murder.
Daughter marries, son graduates: I saw this in a commercial. On the canceled TV show Hawaii, a guy breaks out of jail to see his daughter marry. I saw this on Tru Calling too. A guy breaks out of jail to do the same thing.
Woman orders salad in a fast food commercial: I see that happen on Wendy's. Though I saw a Harvey's commercial of a woman buying a burger.
Shows making homage to the movie Rear Window: It was first done with The Simpsons where Bart breaks his leg and suspects Ned Flanders killed his wife.
Tru Calling did the same thing with her seeing a woman commit identity theft. Recently CSI: NY did an ep called "Point of View." Mac Taylor sees a man work on bio warfare. I think I saw a movie review about a guy suspecting his neighbor of terrorism.
Multiple stories on one episode: It was done on The Simpsons where there are 22 stories in one episode. On CSI, there are 4 mysteries in one ep.
Big tough guy takes care of kids: It's the "fish out of water" story. It's been done with Vin Diesel taking care of kids in The Pacifier and then Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson did that too.
ADD: A couple of weeks ago I finally saw the whole South Park episode where they make fun of ADD. I remember watching the first 5min of it back in summer 2002, after I recently got off the drug. Back then I didn't find it funny. One kid gets diagnosed, and he's Timmy who's mentally handicapped.
Then I predicted what's going to happen.
Me: Let me guess, the whole class gets diagnosed with ADD.
That's what happens and I left.
The whole ep did have some funny moments where the kids were getting Ritalin.
Kyle's mom: Kyle is so hyper-active. He runs around like a 8 yr old.
Kyle: Mom, I am 8.
The kids' personalities change by becoming unemotional robots. The parents watch a videotape about how to make your kids behave without taking drugs. Basically the doctor in the videotape was smacking the kids' heads and saying: "Shut up and study!"
It was an average episode. It was unrealistic in how the doctor diagnoses the kids by reading a big book to them and then asking questions about it. It's a cartoon so it's get a pass on realism.
Feelings: I've been feeling really upset all day after I was let go from my job. I did read 2 chapters of my Story by Robert McKee. I emailed my friends and put up my blog post. I wrote this weekly email. I reactivated my EI account.
I knew in my heart that I wasn't going to last at this job, and when I was first let go, I was happy and got out of there fast. I watched 5 hrs of TV today. I did some dancing to cheer me up. This is the kind of thing that I need some time to cool off.
Writing: I remember back in summer 2007, I was watching the Canadian TV show The Best Years. It had these group of guys rob the lead character Samantha and her friend at the bar they work at. S and her friend are locked up in a closet and can't call the police. That show inspired to me to write a scene where the characters fight back. It lead me to The Fighter opening scene.
A couple of weeks ago I saw the first 30min of A History of Violence. This movie came out in 2005, and I saw the trailer. It has the lead character Viggo Mortison run a diner, and he fights back 2 robbers. It was in the trailer. I loved the scene because it's how I would have written it. If you don't want to be spoiled by that scene, skip the next paragraph.
VM uses his coffee pot and smashes it into the head of Robber 1. VM grabs R1's gun and shoots at R2. R1 stabs VM's foot with his knife. VM shoots R1's head.
I remember in Creative Writing class I wrote a scene like that, and the teacher Jannie said I seem very vigilante. Vigilante is good for TV purposes. However in real life, I would just give them the money. Though I will try to memorize their faces if they're not wearing masks.
Funny: That reminded me of something even older, a Malcolm in the Middle ep had that. Lois works at a Shoppers Drug Mart kind of store. 2 Robbers held the employees hostage, and the Nerdy guy who works there won't give the safe combination. Then towards the end, Nerdy guy admits to Lois that he doesn't know the combination.
Lois: But you've been working here for years. How come you don't know it?
Nerdy guy: Because I was too embarrassed to admit it.
Then the Robbers diss Nerd. Nerd gets so mad, he grabs the safe and throws it. Then the safe opens and there is 1 stack of cash. Robbers take it and run away. That was so stupid and ridiculous. At least it's only 1 stack of cash so the Robbers didn't totally win. There is still an uplifting ending because no one got hurt.
This is from years ago, and I remember it. I do remember Nerd admits that he has a crush on Lois, but L tells him that they will never be together.
June 8 Job search: I had taken a break from my job search for 2 weeks when I was working full-time. Then I went and looked for a job on Sat. 2 days go by, and now I'm back on my job search with a vengeance.
I read this week's Job Classified, and there was nothing. I then found last week's issue on my desk and read the articles. I then look at the Edmonton Journal's Classifieds from yesterday. I bookmarked 4 helpful sites.
Surveys: I did a survey for Alberta Job Centre. It took less than a min. on the website. I found an ad in the Metro to do a survey for the U of A and got a $20 gift card at Coles/ Indigo/ Chapters book store. Then today I did an Alberta Views magazine survey. I like giving people my opinion when they ask for it.
I'm helping people and I've been working at call centres for nearly 2 yrs.
School: This email was about a week ago, but I asked my friend Chamnouer about CDI college. She went there and she says I should go to NAIT because it's a recognizable school. This was through Facebook email.
Change: Here's a 180 degree turn in a week. On my Facebook status on June 1, I said this: "Tracy Au has been busy with work since I got a full-time job. I also beat writer's block." My Professional Writing friend Wasan said: "Good for you!"
Now I don't have a job, but I have been reading a lot of Story by Robert Mckee to fight writer's block. I just emailed the EPL writer in residence Chris Craddock my new rewrite of Rain. I think the story progresses faster, and sets up the characters. A couple of characters got deleted.
Monday, June 7, 2010
The Situation/ Rookie Blue/ MTV Movie Awards
June 4 The Situation: I filed for EI today and reported that I got a full-time job. But, I have a question that I will have to call and ask on Monday. I got laid off, then got a full-time job. What if my job I have now gives me part-time hours, can I still go back to receiving EI?
The con: If no, then I will make less money working part- time, and not be getting extra money on the side with EI.
The pro: I will still have a job. I can keep working there for months so I can put that on my resume. I will still make money. I will have free time to look for a office job.
I'm different: In 2005, I worked part-time, but I was spending a lot of money on cds and dvds. In 2006, I was working part-time, and I saved money. However, on my free time I spent a lot of time watching TV and going on twop.com. I was going to go to school in the fall, so I was having fun. I didn't have to look for an office job.
This time, I won't be going to school. I'm not really interested in buying cds or dvds. I rarely ever read the 16 and Pregnant thread on twop.com. I have kept track, and even when I was unemployed for 2 months, I only read one page a day or one page a week of that thread because I was so busy looking for a job.
The challenge though is to cut down on TV. I am excited that my summer shows are coming back like well-written dramas called Lie to Me, In Plain Sight, and the new cop drama Rookie Blue.
I will save money and keep looking for an office job.
June 5 Break: I was watching a Criminal Minds repeat "Slave of Duty" that aired a few weeks ago, which had Wes Brown guest- starring.
The FBI team is working.
Prentis: We're giving up?
Morgan: We're taking a break.
I took a break from my job search for two weeks because I was busy working full-time. Then today since it's my day off, I went and looked for a job on the internet. A lot of time has passed, and there are all these new job postings on the banks sites so I went and applied to them.
Personality test: There was this other question that was on that Payless Shoes job test:
What contributes to success?
When interested.
When demanded.
I got that Professional Writing diploma because I was interested in writing. There was a little of demand because I really wanted a college diploma. I got a high school diploma because it was mainly demanded of me. Especially with math. I wasn't interested in math because I wasn't good at it, but I needed it to graduate and get into college, so that's why I pushed myself.
EI: I was talking to my dad about how I would work part-time and still get EI.
Dad: Say you make $270. EI will only give you $15 because you already are making some money. When you weren't working at all, you get $300.
Feelings: I spent 3 hrs in the morning looking and applying for jobs on the internet. Then I went to the library to pick my book Story by Robert McKee. I put that book on hold last July. Yeah, that's right it took me a yr to get this book. I met the producer John Kerr and he recommended I read it.
I applied to a hotel. Then I went home and read some of the book. I then went and spent 1.5 hrs on the internet doing my job search. I feel so emotionally drained. I have gotten that familiar feeling when I apply for jobs. I haven't felt that way in a couple of weeks because I was working and not looking for a job.
Stay positive: I have to stay positive. At least Booster Juice is better than Albert's Family Restaurant. I got a call back from Albert's the other day. I would have to work from 6:30am-3pm and I hate waking up early. They pay min. wage because we get tips. I skipped on that job.
Benefits: At least I'm not working at Call Centre #5. There was a benefits plan at that place, and it's $35 a month. I didn't sign up for it because I had a feeling I wouldn't be working there for a very long time and I was right because they let me go after 2 days.
Did you know the store Town Shoes has benefits? I would have to go to West Ed to work there though.
Disk rant: I was working on my Rain script by copying and pasting it onto another disk. I was rearranging it to make the story progress faster. The next day I went to open the document and it didn't work. Interesting how the Microsoft Word doesn't work on the disk, but the Adobe Reader documents work.
Actors: Let's change the subject. I read that Sara Canning (the aunt from The Vampire Diaries) is from Sherwood Park. She was in the Edmonton magazine Avenue. I thought that was cool.
There's an actress Emmanuelle Vaughier. She's on CSI: NY for a few episodes playing Det. Jessica Angell. Then one night I was thinking her, and I realized she was on the 2002 Canadian show My Guide to Becoming a Rockstar with Kate Hudson's little brother Oliver Hudson. Then I went on imdb.com and saw that I have seen her prior to that on Smallville where she married Lex Luthor.
Then I have seen her on Human Target as Chance's love interest. She's from Vancouver.
I was watching The Twilight Zone from the 60s. I saw William Shatner when he was young. I have never seen him when he's young. I only see him when he's old and makes appearances on late night talk shows like Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien. I will say WS was a handsome young man in the episode I saw of him on TZ.
June 6: I saw Debra Wilson (MadTV) on CSI.
Rookie Blue: The show hasn't come out yet, but it stars Missy Peregrym. I read about her being on a new show months ago in Metro. You may have seen MP in the gymnastics movie Stick It. I've seen her in short-lived shows like Life as We Know It with Sean Faris (Never Back Down). It was in 2003. She was also in another short-lived show Black Sash in 2004.
Continuity: I was watching 90210 and I like the continuity of how Liam steals these antique coins from his step dad to give to his father. Then in another ep, Rosa the housekeeper gets fired because the mom suspects she stole the coins. Then in the season finale, Liam admits to the theft.
I was surprised to see Jen pregnant. Her stomach was sticking out a bit and that was a good twist to the story. However, my sister thought it was stupid.
S: How could no one notice that she was that pregnant?
All the shots of Jen were above the chest. Maybe I'll wank it in my mind that Jen was wearing baggy clothes the entire time.
Statistics: I was watching Tyra, and there was that statistics and chances show. The chances of women getting married according to age:
Women in their 20s: 86% chance.
Women in their 30s: 76% chance.
Women in their 40s: 40% chance.
MTV Movie Awards: I was watching this with my siblings. Aziz Ansari (from Parks and Recreation) hosted it and he was really funny. Of course Twilight Saga's New Moon won a lot of awards like last year. I did like that Ken Jeong won Best WTF Moment for The Hangover. He thanked his cast mates for helping him get through a tough time because his wife Tran had breast cancer. She's been breast cancer free for two years and he thanked her. By her ordeal, he took the chance to do the movie.
It was also good to see under-rated actress Anna Hendricks win for Up in the Air. I didn't know her and didn't see the movie, but it's good to see something or someone other than Twilight win.
It was good to see under-rated actor Rain from the movie Ninja Assassin win Badass Character.
The con: If no, then I will make less money working part- time, and not be getting extra money on the side with EI.
The pro: I will still have a job. I can keep working there for months so I can put that on my resume. I will still make money. I will have free time to look for a office job.
I'm different: In 2005, I worked part-time, but I was spending a lot of money on cds and dvds. In 2006, I was working part-time, and I saved money. However, on my free time I spent a lot of time watching TV and going on twop.com. I was going to go to school in the fall, so I was having fun. I didn't have to look for an office job.
This time, I won't be going to school. I'm not really interested in buying cds or dvds. I rarely ever read the 16 and Pregnant thread on twop.com. I have kept track, and even when I was unemployed for 2 months, I only read one page a day or one page a week of that thread because I was so busy looking for a job.
The challenge though is to cut down on TV. I am excited that my summer shows are coming back like well-written dramas called Lie to Me, In Plain Sight, and the new cop drama Rookie Blue.
I will save money and keep looking for an office job.
June 5 Break: I was watching a Criminal Minds repeat "Slave of Duty" that aired a few weeks ago, which had Wes Brown guest- starring.
The FBI team is working.
Prentis: We're giving up?
Morgan: We're taking a break.
I took a break from my job search for two weeks because I was busy working full-time. Then today since it's my day off, I went and looked for a job on the internet. A lot of time has passed, and there are all these new job postings on the banks sites so I went and applied to them.
Personality test: There was this other question that was on that Payless Shoes job test:
What contributes to success?
When interested.
When demanded.
I got that Professional Writing diploma because I was interested in writing. There was a little of demand because I really wanted a college diploma. I got a high school diploma because it was mainly demanded of me. Especially with math. I wasn't interested in math because I wasn't good at it, but I needed it to graduate and get into college, so that's why I pushed myself.
EI: I was talking to my dad about how I would work part-time and still get EI.
Dad: Say you make $270. EI will only give you $15 because you already are making some money. When you weren't working at all, you get $300.
Feelings: I spent 3 hrs in the morning looking and applying for jobs on the internet. Then I went to the library to pick my book Story by Robert McKee. I put that book on hold last July. Yeah, that's right it took me a yr to get this book. I met the producer John Kerr and he recommended I read it.
I applied to a hotel. Then I went home and read some of the book. I then went and spent 1.5 hrs on the internet doing my job search. I feel so emotionally drained. I have gotten that familiar feeling when I apply for jobs. I haven't felt that way in a couple of weeks because I was working and not looking for a job.
Stay positive: I have to stay positive. At least Booster Juice is better than Albert's Family Restaurant. I got a call back from Albert's the other day. I would have to work from 6:30am-3pm and I hate waking up early. They pay min. wage because we get tips. I skipped on that job.
Benefits: At least I'm not working at Call Centre #5. There was a benefits plan at that place, and it's $35 a month. I didn't sign up for it because I had a feeling I wouldn't be working there for a very long time and I was right because they let me go after 2 days.
Did you know the store Town Shoes has benefits? I would have to go to West Ed to work there though.
Disk rant: I was working on my Rain script by copying and pasting it onto another disk. I was rearranging it to make the story progress faster. The next day I went to open the document and it didn't work. Interesting how the Microsoft Word doesn't work on the disk, but the Adobe Reader documents work.
Actors: Let's change the subject. I read that Sara Canning (the aunt from The Vampire Diaries) is from Sherwood Park. She was in the Edmonton magazine Avenue. I thought that was cool.
There's an actress Emmanuelle Vaughier. She's on CSI: NY for a few episodes playing Det. Jessica Angell. Then one night I was thinking her, and I realized she was on the 2002 Canadian show My Guide to Becoming a Rockstar with Kate Hudson's little brother Oliver Hudson. Then I went on imdb.com and saw that I have seen her prior to that on Smallville where she married Lex Luthor.
Then I have seen her on Human Target as Chance's love interest. She's from Vancouver.
I was watching The Twilight Zone from the 60s. I saw William Shatner when he was young. I have never seen him when he's young. I only see him when he's old and makes appearances on late night talk shows like Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien. I will say WS was a handsome young man in the episode I saw of him on TZ.
June 6: I saw Debra Wilson (MadTV) on CSI.
Rookie Blue: The show hasn't come out yet, but it stars Missy Peregrym. I read about her being on a new show months ago in Metro. You may have seen MP in the gymnastics movie Stick It. I've seen her in short-lived shows like Life as We Know It with Sean Faris (Never Back Down). It was in 2003. She was also in another short-lived show Black Sash in 2004.
Continuity: I was watching 90210 and I like the continuity of how Liam steals these antique coins from his step dad to give to his father. Then in another ep, Rosa the housekeeper gets fired because the mom suspects she stole the coins. Then in the season finale, Liam admits to the theft.
I was surprised to see Jen pregnant. Her stomach was sticking out a bit and that was a good twist to the story. However, my sister thought it was stupid.
S: How could no one notice that she was that pregnant?
All the shots of Jen were above the chest. Maybe I'll wank it in my mind that Jen was wearing baggy clothes the entire time.
Statistics: I was watching Tyra, and there was that statistics and chances show. The chances of women getting married according to age:
Women in their 20s: 86% chance.
Women in their 30s: 76% chance.
Women in their 40s: 40% chance.
MTV Movie Awards: I was watching this with my siblings. Aziz Ansari (from Parks and Recreation) hosted it and he was really funny. Of course Twilight Saga's New Moon won a lot of awards like last year. I did like that Ken Jeong won Best WTF Moment for The Hangover. He thanked his cast mates for helping him get through a tough time because his wife Tran had breast cancer. She's been breast cancer free for two years and he thanked her. By her ordeal, he took the chance to do the movie.
It was also good to see under-rated actress Anna Hendricks win for Up in the Air. I didn't know her and didn't see the movie, but it's good to see something or someone other than Twilight win.
It was good to see under-rated actor Rain from the movie Ninja Assassin win Badass Character.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
The Bridge/ layoffs and payoffs/ magical thinking
May 30 The Bridge: This is a Canadian TV show about cops. This episode was on a few weeks ago. It was original with a creative plot twist that I have never seen before. I have never read about it in the news either. At the beginning two cops chase down a suspect in the car.
Cop 1 starts shooting.
Cop 2: My gun's jammed.
Cut to the end, and the lead character Frank Leo tells Cop 2 to shoot at suspect because she has a gun and she is pointing it at them. Cop 2 doesn't pull the trigger, so another cop shoots the suspect.
Frank takes Cop 2's gun.
F: What? It's empty?
That is so bad. Cop 2 didn't put bullets in it because he didn't want to shoot and kill anyone. Cop 1 never noticed it because Cop 1 always went in first, and Cop 2 was always behind him. F then talks about how he has heard about cops carrying empty guns.
The ending was like F being Tony Soprano from The Sopranos. F locked Cop 2 in the cop bar. The other cops put a bag over his head and starts beating him up. Being a cop is a dangerous job, and your partner doesn't have your back if he's carrying a empty gun.
I remember watching the episode that got me into this show. The trailer had F go and talk to these 2 bad guys who were holding people hostage in a restaurant. F wasn't wearing a bullet proof vest so he was risking his life. I saw the ep, and there was more. A cop was in the restaurant and he has been shot.
The ending had the SWAT team in there and the 2 bad guys weren't holding guns right then and there. SWAT team starts shooting and kills them. I thought they were going to get arrested.
Saying: I found this in Edmonton Journal's Sunday Reader: "Getting fired is nature's way of telling you that you had the wrong job in the first place." -Columnist Hal Lancaster in the Wall Street Journal.
Wal-Mart: I was talking to my friend Justin today. I told him that I was going through my notes and I applied to Wal-Mart in March. This must be a sign, because I was reading Sunday Reader. This woman who was a customer service manager stopped a man from stealing a $600 computer by stopping him at the door and asking to see a receipt.
Man fights her, and then he runs away leaving the computer behind. Some people come and ask if she's okay. She then gets fired because only a store manager or a security guard can stop a customer. So maybe I shouldn't go and work there. It's like the saying: "No good deed goes unpunished."
I'm sure a lot of people think: "Well this just confirms that Wal-Mart sucks."
Rant: I was at City Centre and I saw this new place that will be taking over where Cargo James and Tea was. It's called "Press'd The Sandwich Company." I wish City Centre would have forced the Soup place to change the name to Press'd and I would have still had my job. I did check out that Anger Management for Dummies book. It said to rate your anger on a 1-10 scale. I already do that. Right now I'm at a 5.
Layoffs: I read in the Journal that when a person gets laid off from their job, they are more likely to have a step down in pay. Now that reminds me of that old Baby -Sitter's Club book called Poor Mallory! Mallory's dad is a lawyer, and he gets laid off. He gets another job at a law firm, but doesn't pay as well.
It's unpredictable. When I got laid off in 2006 from Call Centre #1 at $8.75/hr. Then I went to G&T for $7.90/hr. After a month, I got Call Centre #2 at $9.50/hr. That was a step up.
This year, I got jobs that paid $1 lower than what I was working for at my restaurant and call centre job. There isn't really much of a difference.
Writing: I finally buckled down and read my Rain script straight through, as I was listening to every Robin Thicke song on Youtube. lol. It's good to read it with fresh eyes since I haven't read it since Feb.
I'm going to say it: All the characters seem 2-dimensional, except the funny sidekick Eddie, and he seems to steal the spotlight.
June 1 Payoffs: I was reading my screenwriting books and learned about "the pay off." In a fight movie, the protagonist learns and trains in fighting. The pay off is the ending where he fights off his antagonist and beats him. Same goes with comedy like the Malcolm in the Middle episode back in 2001. The dad Hal makes this huge painting throughout the entire episode.
The next day in art class, I was talking to my friend Leslie about it.
Me: It was funny and everything, but the only thing I didn't like about it was that they didn't show how the painting actually looked like.
Leslie: Oh yeah, I hated that too!
We laughed.
The payoff should be showing how the painting looks like, even though it may not look good. The ending was that there was so much paint on this canvas (that was as big as the wall), all the pain peeled off and fell on Hal.
A punchline in a joke is a payoff. It's like my favorite joke: "So the other day I bought of condoms.....because my last one was expired."
Bank: I got a phone call from a bank today. It could be about my job. But then it could be about my account.
Magical thinking: This was a couple of months ago, and it was in the morning. I was reading my horoscopes.
S: That's magical thinking. Thinking that how the stars align affects your life. How something that isn't real affects your life.
Me: Like religion? "Dear big invisible man in the sky."
S: Where's that from?
Me: MadTV. They made fun of Kitchen Nightmares, and called it Soup Kitchen Nightmares. Gorden Ramsey remakes a soup kitchen into a restaurant. It was run by a nun and priest.
Psychic: I'm still kind of angry, and it's been a couple of days. While I'm at it, I might as well add that Psychic Nadia and Terri were both wrong. I'm supposed to get an office job by Feb. or Mar. 2010, and I haven't. I guess Terri was right that she doesn't see me working at a call centre long. Well then anyone who isn't psychic, but reads the newspaper, or has friends who works in the industry knows that there isn't good job security.
Job rant: As usual, when I'm mad about one thing, I take out my anger on all these other things. I applied to Thomas Cook Travel Currency and Exchange yesterday. They're hiring at the airport, but that's too far away from me. They just hired someone at West Ed which I'm willing to go to. The thing is, I always have to be on the lookout for another job due to lack of job security and a better office, entry level position is always available.
June 2 Stress: I'm like that "Sex Therapy" song by Robin Thicke. The lyric: "Stressed out, uptight, overworked, wound up." At the Soup place, I can sit and read the newspaper, or just sit. Now I have to work throughout my entire shift. That's fine, I can read the newspaper on the bus to work, during my break, and on the bus to home.
It's like that line on the TV show Human Target: "It's a job, sometimes it's fun, and sometimes it isn't. So stop being a baby." At first there were about 5 or 6 people on the job, and we were bumping into each other. Now there are 4 people working, and there's too much work.
You may think: "You've been off work for nearly 2 months. Now when you're working a full-time job, you're overwhelmed. You have relaxed too much." Not really, I've been pushing myself with a job search for the past 2 months.
June 3 South Park: I heard about that South Park episode back in 2006 when I was reading about Justin Berry on twop.com. Someone said: "The whole time I was watching this, I was thinking about the episode where Cartman writes: 'I'm a 10 yr old boy' and then everybody starts IMing him."
I saw the episode the other day, and Cartman writes: "I'm a young boy looking for older male friends." Then 10 windows pop up and they want to talk to him. lol.
The episode was making fun of NAMBLA (North American Man/ Boy Love Association). It was kind of funny with Cartman going to meet up his internet friends, but FBI keeps coming to arrest them.
Cop 1 starts shooting.
Cop 2: My gun's jammed.
Cut to the end, and the lead character Frank Leo tells Cop 2 to shoot at suspect because she has a gun and she is pointing it at them. Cop 2 doesn't pull the trigger, so another cop shoots the suspect.
Frank takes Cop 2's gun.
F: What? It's empty?
That is so bad. Cop 2 didn't put bullets in it because he didn't want to shoot and kill anyone. Cop 1 never noticed it because Cop 1 always went in first, and Cop 2 was always behind him. F then talks about how he has heard about cops carrying empty guns.
The ending was like F being Tony Soprano from The Sopranos. F locked Cop 2 in the cop bar. The other cops put a bag over his head and starts beating him up. Being a cop is a dangerous job, and your partner doesn't have your back if he's carrying a empty gun.
I remember watching the episode that got me into this show. The trailer had F go and talk to these 2 bad guys who were holding people hostage in a restaurant. F wasn't wearing a bullet proof vest so he was risking his life. I saw the ep, and there was more. A cop was in the restaurant and he has been shot.
The ending had the SWAT team in there and the 2 bad guys weren't holding guns right then and there. SWAT team starts shooting and kills them. I thought they were going to get arrested.
Saying: I found this in Edmonton Journal's Sunday Reader: "Getting fired is nature's way of telling you that you had the wrong job in the first place." -Columnist Hal Lancaster in the Wall Street Journal.
Wal-Mart: I was talking to my friend Justin today. I told him that I was going through my notes and I applied to Wal-Mart in March. This must be a sign, because I was reading Sunday Reader. This woman who was a customer service manager stopped a man from stealing a $600 computer by stopping him at the door and asking to see a receipt.
Man fights her, and then he runs away leaving the computer behind. Some people come and ask if she's okay. She then gets fired because only a store manager or a security guard can stop a customer. So maybe I shouldn't go and work there. It's like the saying: "No good deed goes unpunished."
I'm sure a lot of people think: "Well this just confirms that Wal-Mart sucks."
Rant: I was at City Centre and I saw this new place that will be taking over where Cargo James and Tea was. It's called "Press'd The Sandwich Company." I wish City Centre would have forced the Soup place to change the name to Press'd and I would have still had my job. I did check out that Anger Management for Dummies book. It said to rate your anger on a 1-10 scale. I already do that. Right now I'm at a 5.
Layoffs: I read in the Journal that when a person gets laid off from their job, they are more likely to have a step down in pay. Now that reminds me of that old Baby -Sitter's Club book called Poor Mallory! Mallory's dad is a lawyer, and he gets laid off. He gets another job at a law firm, but doesn't pay as well.
It's unpredictable. When I got laid off in 2006 from Call Centre #1 at $8.75/hr. Then I went to G&T for $7.90/hr. After a month, I got Call Centre #2 at $9.50/hr. That was a step up.
This year, I got jobs that paid $1 lower than what I was working for at my restaurant and call centre job. There isn't really much of a difference.
Writing: I finally buckled down and read my Rain script straight through, as I was listening to every Robin Thicke song on Youtube. lol. It's good to read it with fresh eyes since I haven't read it since Feb.
I'm going to say it: All the characters seem 2-dimensional, except the funny sidekick Eddie, and he seems to steal the spotlight.
June 1 Payoffs: I was reading my screenwriting books and learned about "the pay off." In a fight movie, the protagonist learns and trains in fighting. The pay off is the ending where he fights off his antagonist and beats him. Same goes with comedy like the Malcolm in the Middle episode back in 2001. The dad Hal makes this huge painting throughout the entire episode.
The next day in art class, I was talking to my friend Leslie about it.
Me: It was funny and everything, but the only thing I didn't like about it was that they didn't show how the painting actually looked like.
Leslie: Oh yeah, I hated that too!
We laughed.
The payoff should be showing how the painting looks like, even though it may not look good. The ending was that there was so much paint on this canvas (that was as big as the wall), all the pain peeled off and fell on Hal.
A punchline in a joke is a payoff. It's like my favorite joke: "So the other day I bought of condoms.....because my last one was expired."
Bank: I got a phone call from a bank today. It could be about my job. But then it could be about my account.
Magical thinking: This was a couple of months ago, and it was in the morning. I was reading my horoscopes.
S: That's magical thinking. Thinking that how the stars align affects your life. How something that isn't real affects your life.
Me: Like religion? "Dear big invisible man in the sky."
S: Where's that from?
Me: MadTV. They made fun of Kitchen Nightmares, and called it Soup Kitchen Nightmares. Gorden Ramsey remakes a soup kitchen into a restaurant. It was run by a nun and priest.
Psychic: I'm still kind of angry, and it's been a couple of days. While I'm at it, I might as well add that Psychic Nadia and Terri were both wrong. I'm supposed to get an office job by Feb. or Mar. 2010, and I haven't. I guess Terri was right that she doesn't see me working at a call centre long. Well then anyone who isn't psychic, but reads the newspaper, or has friends who works in the industry knows that there isn't good job security.
Job rant: As usual, when I'm mad about one thing, I take out my anger on all these other things. I applied to Thomas Cook Travel Currency and Exchange yesterday. They're hiring at the airport, but that's too far away from me. They just hired someone at West Ed which I'm willing to go to. The thing is, I always have to be on the lookout for another job due to lack of job security and a better office, entry level position is always available.
June 2 Stress: I'm like that "Sex Therapy" song by Robin Thicke. The lyric: "Stressed out, uptight, overworked, wound up." At the Soup place, I can sit and read the newspaper, or just sit. Now I have to work throughout my entire shift. That's fine, I can read the newspaper on the bus to work, during my break, and on the bus to home.
It's like that line on the TV show Human Target: "It's a job, sometimes it's fun, and sometimes it isn't. So stop being a baby." At first there were about 5 or 6 people on the job, and we were bumping into each other. Now there are 4 people working, and there's too much work.
You may think: "You've been off work for nearly 2 months. Now when you're working a full-time job, you're overwhelmed. You have relaxed too much." Not really, I've been pushing myself with a job search for the past 2 months.
June 3 South Park: I heard about that South Park episode back in 2006 when I was reading about Justin Berry on twop.com. Someone said: "The whole time I was watching this, I was thinking about the episode where Cartman writes: 'I'm a 10 yr old boy' and then everybody starts IMing him."
I saw the episode the other day, and Cartman writes: "I'm a young boy looking for older male friends." Then 10 windows pop up and they want to talk to him. lol.
The episode was making fun of NAMBLA (North American Man/ Boy Love Association). It was kind of funny with Cartman going to meet up his internet friends, but FBI keeps coming to arrest them.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
"Being Charitable is Easy" (shorten article) by Tracy Au
Being Charitable is Easy
By Tracy Au
We live in a society of too much stuff. Our values are about buying and keeping up with the Joneses. Let’s get back to the basic values of sharing wealth and helping others who are not as fortunate as we are. The majority of us donate only during the holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. What about the rest of the year?“
Why donate?” you ask. It feels good to give. If that doesn’t motivate you, you can get a tax receipt if you donate to a registered charity. I want all of you to donate $5 a month to a charity like UNICEF that helps children in developing countries. Women for Women International helps women in developing countries. Amnesty International helps people in developing countries. If you want to help homeless people, donate to Hope Mission, a charity in Edmonton. If you think homeless people will use the money for drugs and alcohol, you will know that the money donated to Hope Mission will be used to feed them. Kidz Kottage provides a home, food, clothes, and toys for abused children. I have donated to the above charities I listed.
You may say, “Even if I do donate $5 a month to a charity, I’m not going to get much of a tax break” or “I’m in college. I can’t afford to donate something as little as $5 a month.” Have you thought of making a little sacrifice like giving up one latte a week and giving the money you saved to charity once a month? Well here are some other ways to donate, without money being involved. You can donate your time. Spend one day a month volunteering at a soup kitchen. You can spend time with your friends that way. Be a mentor like a big brother or sister. You can have fun and help others. It will also look good on your resume if you have volunteer experience. You can go to Amnesty International and write letters to the government and campaign for change and help for people whose human rights have been violated.
You can also write letters to the government advocating more affordable housing and other issues you are concerned about.You say, “I don’t have time. I have work and school.” I’m sure you have lots of clothes and junk in your house though. Clean it out and donate it to the Salvation Army. Donate stuff you don’t even use. Reusing is also good for the environment. Instead of throwing stuff away, give it to someone who can’t afford it. Women’s shelters need shampoo so donate some to them.You can shop for a cause: Support Project Red. If you’re going to buy a shirt at the GAP, you might as well buy a shirt that helps people with AIDS in Africa.
Now you may say, “I don’t have time or money.” I donate for free by going to www.thehungersite.com and other sites listed there: the Breast Cancer site, the Child Health site, the Literacy site, the Rainforest site, and the Animal Rescue site. You can click on the button that says “Click Here to Give- it’s FREE” and they will donate food. The sponsors support the site and fulfill the donations. You can shop online for the stuff that the sponsors sell. More money will go to charity. You can sign petitions at amnestyinternational.com. Remember to give what you can afford and that one person can make a difference. Donating to charity is an informal social network: When you fall on hard times, someone will donate.
By Tracy Au
We live in a society of too much stuff. Our values are about buying and keeping up with the Joneses. Let’s get back to the basic values of sharing wealth and helping others who are not as fortunate as we are. The majority of us donate only during the holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. What about the rest of the year?“
Why donate?” you ask. It feels good to give. If that doesn’t motivate you, you can get a tax receipt if you donate to a registered charity. I want all of you to donate $5 a month to a charity like UNICEF that helps children in developing countries. Women for Women International helps women in developing countries. Amnesty International helps people in developing countries. If you want to help homeless people, donate to Hope Mission, a charity in Edmonton. If you think homeless people will use the money for drugs and alcohol, you will know that the money donated to Hope Mission will be used to feed them. Kidz Kottage provides a home, food, clothes, and toys for abused children. I have donated to the above charities I listed.
You may say, “Even if I do donate $5 a month to a charity, I’m not going to get much of a tax break” or “I’m in college. I can’t afford to donate something as little as $5 a month.” Have you thought of making a little sacrifice like giving up one latte a week and giving the money you saved to charity once a month? Well here are some other ways to donate, without money being involved. You can donate your time. Spend one day a month volunteering at a soup kitchen. You can spend time with your friends that way. Be a mentor like a big brother or sister. You can have fun and help others. It will also look good on your resume if you have volunteer experience. You can go to Amnesty International and write letters to the government and campaign for change and help for people whose human rights have been violated.
You can also write letters to the government advocating more affordable housing and other issues you are concerned about.You say, “I don’t have time. I have work and school.” I’m sure you have lots of clothes and junk in your house though. Clean it out and donate it to the Salvation Army. Donate stuff you don’t even use. Reusing is also good for the environment. Instead of throwing stuff away, give it to someone who can’t afford it. Women’s shelters need shampoo so donate some to them.You can shop for a cause: Support Project Red. If you’re going to buy a shirt at the GAP, you might as well buy a shirt that helps people with AIDS in Africa.
Now you may say, “I don’t have time or money.” I donate for free by going to www.thehungersite.com and other sites listed there: the Breast Cancer site, the Child Health site, the Literacy site, the Rainforest site, and the Animal Rescue site. You can click on the button that says “Click Here to Give- it’s FREE” and they will donate food. The sponsors support the site and fulfill the donations. You can shop online for the stuff that the sponsors sell. More money will go to charity. You can sign petitions at amnestyinternational.com. Remember to give what you can afford and that one person can make a difference. Donating to charity is an informal social network: When you fall on hard times, someone will donate.
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