UGH

I hope you get finger cramps

I hate it when I text and you text and I text and you don't respond.

Text messaging has made communication so much easier but also so much more complicated. Just call me, dammit. But I probably won't pick up.

Oscar 2009

My favorite picture of Oscar night.  The Slumdog kids are sooooo cute!  Especially the one on the bottom row, right:  Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, he played the youngest version of the main character, Jamal. Isn't he a cutie? I caught a clip of Ryan Seacrest interviewing them and I didn't really like how Seacrest handled the interview.  He pretty much perused over them.  View here:

Contrary to most American television viewers, I actually really enjoy the Academy Awards. I get to ogle all the dolled up starlets in their pretty dresses and listen to sometimes touching speeches. But unfortunately, I wasn't able to witness the televised version this evening.

No worries, though. Chicago Tribune had me covered with the Best and Worst of 2009. I liked that their comments describes not only what happened at the event itself (like that Kate Winslet won Best Actress and Hugh Jackman was the host) but also gives background story (I didn't know that Marisa Tomei hasn't been to the Oscars since 2002). Their coverage of the overall event is fast, breezy and comes with pictures! Perfect for the modern television audience. Check out their link here.

Sibling Rivalry

My sister is an aspiring actress.  She's been at it ever since she was chosen out of 300+ kids to play a role in Lethal Weapon 4.  She even has an IMDB page. Check it out here. Feel free to leave a reply about how cool she is.  

So the other thing about my sister is that she is fiercely family-oriented.  She would do anything for us.  So thoughtful her found me going through my quarter-life crisis and said, "hey... why don't I recommend my sister to my agency and see if they'll like her and take her?"

So I talked on the phone with her agents and managers for a while one morning.  They expressed concern that we were too close in age and looks and worried that we would compete against each other for roles.  

As much as I love acting, I know that this wouldn't be the right career path for me to take.  My sis on the other hand, is passionate and good at it.  There's not a doubt in my mind that she's going to be a star.  

So that's exactly what I told her representation.  They should meet with me and if they like me and feel I'm right for their company, take me.  If they think I'm too similar to my sis, don't worry about it.  I'll walk away.  No hard feelings, I'll focus on writing, journalism, food photography, television development or one of the other millions of things I want to do.

This got me thinking, though.  There are plenty of celeb siblings in Hollywood.  Some are more successful than the other.  Let's take a look at some of my most favorite ones (plus or minus a few) and in the Battle of the Older vs. Younger Siblings, who comes out on top?

John and Joan Cusack

He stole my heart when he lifted that boombox up over his shoulders in "Say Anything..." With his boyish charms untainted by time, Cusack is the epitome of the Everyman (even when donning his creepy black trench coat).  His big sis, Joan Cusack, however always irked me a little because she consistently plays these uptight women who always scrunches her face up and is forever yelling and freaking out.  I may be in the minority on my opinion of Joan, though, because she has been nominated for the Academy Awards twice while John has yet to score a nod (a travesty, I say). But who's headlining films while the other is mostly known as, "hey that woman in that one movie!?"  Guess it just goes with the well-known notion that Oscar nods don't mean blockbuster hits.

Therefore...  1 point for the younger bro! Just watch Say Anything..., and then if you still don't get it, watch Serendipity and if you still don't feel anything, America's Sweethearts and if you're still unmoved, you're heartless.

Oldies: 0 Young 'uns: 1

Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal

Jake wins. Need I say anything more? Yea, I didn't think so.

Oldies: 0 Young 'uns: 2

Warren Beatty and Shirley Maclaine

I was surprised when I first found out they were siblings too. Each one has become such a huge star in their own right, her for classics like, "Terms of Endearment" and "Steel Magnolias" and him with "Dick Tracy," "Bonnie and Clyde" and just being an all-around sexy man.  

"There's no way Warren and I wouldn't become stars. It was bred into us by parents who were in competition with each other. One was driven to believe in success. The other was afraid of it." - Shirley Maclaine

I say...let's hear it for both of them.  They're Shirley Maclaine and Warren Beatty, for goodness sakes!

Oldies: 1 Young 'uns: 3

Jamie Lynn and Britney Spears

Big sister Britney started raking in the dough when she danced her way through the Mickey Mouse Club.  She then climbed to pop royalty with "Hit Me Baby One More Time" and has since remained one of the most fascinating American pop culture figures.  There was that whole mess of two years what with the rehab and all but at the end of the day, people are still rooting for her to succeed, find happiness and stay healthy.  Britney's fame allowed the younger (but much older-looking) Jamie Lynn to star in her own Nickelodeon show, "Zoey 101," which was doing pretty well until...she got pregnant. At age 16.

Who's the winner?  Of course it's Britney, bitch! 

Oldies: 2 Young 'uns: 3

Ashlee and Jessica Simpson

Say what you will about Ashlee and Jessica Simpson but I like the two of them!  Jessica's got more of that All-American gal thing going on with the hair and the boobs.  But she was super endearing in The Newlyweds (you call it annoying, I call it endearing. You call chicken, she calls tuna.)  and girl's got the lungs of a mammoth (I just googled, "animal with big lungs" and that's what they gave me. How'd you like them apples?)  My favorite is younger sis, Ashlee, however. Her music is dancey and less snoozy than her big sis' and she also had her own reality show, "The Ashlee Simpson Show" where she demonstrated to the world just how delightfully kooky she is.  That's my kind of girl!

Oldies: 2 Young 'uns: 4

Julia and Eric Roberts

One is America's sweetheart and the other always gets stuck playing creepy guys in Lifetime movies.  I think it's pretty undeniable that although Eric Roberts has made a decent career out of acting, his little sister, Julia has pretty much got him beat.  When Rourke was receiving his Independent Spirit Award this year for his role in "The Wrestler," he kept asking people in the audience to hire his buddy, Eric.  Not that Eric is unemployed or anything, but many just felt that he is far more talented that the roles he's relegated to. I haven't seen enough of his stuff, to be honest but I do feel that younger sister, Julia Roberts is quite overrated.  She was just very smart and wise in her career choices and got pretty lucky.  Nonetheless, money and fame talks and she's still doing better than her big bro.

Oldies: 2 Youn 'uns: 5

Hmm..looks like it's just not in the "stars" for me to become an actress!  Break a leg, Jess. =)

Dr. Penelope

I came down with something last month.  It was a mysterious illness. One I couldn't immediately identify and wrap my fingers around.  

My parents tried to figure out what was up. They would be extra nice to me, and indulge me with special lunch trips and gentle soothing voices.  My sister shed tears for me, mourning my discomfort.  I genuinely appreciate their efforts and I am so grateful for their support but alas, it is still my own fight to face, my own wounds to heal.

I've been walking around with the illness, spreading it sometimes to my friends.  For those friends I've contaminated, I apologize but hey, misery loves company.  

Finally, I decided to do something about it; I decided to Google it.  And you wouldn't believe what I found.

Wikipedia best provided the words to my symptoms.  

Characteristics of quarter-life crisis may include^{[citation needed]}:

• feeling "not good enough" because one can't find a job that is at one's academic/intellectual level
• frustration with relationships, the working world, and finding a suitable job or career
• confusion of identity
• insecurity regarding the near future
• insecurity concerning long-term plans, life goals
• insecurity regarding present accomplishments
• re-evaluation of close interpersonal relationships
• disappointment with one's job
• nostalgia for university, college, high school or elementary school life
• tendency to hold stronger opinions
• boredom with social interactions
• loss of closeness to high school and college friends
• financially-rooted stress (overwhelming college loans, unanticipatedly high cost of living, etc.)
• loneliness
• desire to have children
• a sense that everyone is, somehow, doing better than you

Hmmm...13 out of 16.  Yep, I officially diagnose myself with "quarterlife crisis."  Alright! Identifying the cause is half the battle.  Now let's see what we can do about it.

Lucky for me, there's this whole world out there called, um, the internet and as I was browsing it one day, I stumbled across my doctor.

Penelope Trunk, no M.D. at the end.

"Don't worry, this isn't going to hurt. you won't feel a thing."

Penelope Trunk is a writer, entrepreneur, and blogger who gets that we young people these days will not end up with one career for the rest of our lives. She understands that we will graduate from college with hardly an inkling or a clue about what we want to do. Or that we want to do it all.  She empathizes our confusion over the booming technology trend, the ever-fickle, swiftly-changing industries. She knows that we're often so preoccupied with that flickering computer screen, answering emails from our cell phones and music blasting from the ipod to our ears that we can't see the big picture, the big idea, the big purpose.  

From advising us on how to talk to a friend who's just been laid off (asking "how's the job hunt?" might not be the best conversation starter), to How to Build a Career as an Artist (forget about being a starving artist), Penelope delves on many issues that we face today.  She's also witty, eloquent and damn relatable and I've been having a ball receiving consultations from her on a daily basis.  

Below are some of the other posts that I've found to be super-helpful.

• How to beat the system to get a great job (use other people's resumes to build yours)
• Don't try to dodge the recession with grad school (grad school pointlessly delays adulthood)

And... most importantly...

• How to figure out what you should be doing with your life (give yourself time to do it, time to fail, time to get lost)

I know these are all advice floating around my ears for the past couple of years but because they're all organized, categorized, bulleted, and condensed into one easy-to-read blog which I can access on a daily basis, print out and glance at whenever I feel the need to, little by little, I'm starting to breathe again, my brows are un-furrowing, and my heart is shifting from my stomach back to its original spot.

I understand this illness is stubborn and it's going to stick around for awhile.  But I'm a fighter so bring on the pain! (And the bandages.)

Party at Brett's House

Best part of the evening. 

photos taken January 29, 2009

Mainly because we partied too hard and blacked out for the rest of the night.  The next morning, we ended up outside his porch with Sharpie drawings all over our faces.  Just another night at Brett's, I suppose.

JK...the party was pretty much over by the time we finished our interview.  My friend, Mike and I were only able to sneak in 2 pieces of hors d'oeuvres before they whisked it away.  When we got to Brett's discotec, we were pretty much the only ones shaking our booty there.

Ratner may be famous for throwing wild and crazy parties in his Hillhaven Lodge but this one sure wasn't it.  It's okay though because for a couple of college kids on the outskirts of the Hollywood scene (for now), we were just impressed with the glitz, lights (and boy, were there plenty aglow) and brushing shoulders with Russell Simmons. 

For now.

Ouch

"Men know how to use the phone. If he's not calling you, it's because you're not on his mind."

-Greg Behrendt, author of "He's Just Not That Into You"

Why would I need to watch the movie if I'm already living the life?

Feedback

Woke up this morning to a pleasant surprise in the form of a buzz on my blackberry signaling that I had received an email from one of my editors at APA:

"Hey J,

You might find this interesting:

http://alpha-asian.blogspot.com/2009/02/dats-fine-with-me.html

I don't like that the blogger calls you a "college reporter" but dat's fine since he shows you much love.  and deservedly too.  Ada's probably told you how good your article is and I definitely have to second it and more.  The piece was engaging from intro to freak ending.  I love how you play the straight man to his lunacy.  Worked out great."