The 4th Annual Talent 1 Media Film Festival is going down next Saturday, June 13th and will be a day filled with lots of good stuff. Check out the schedule here.
I checked out the film fest last year cuz’ some of my friends were involved in a few of the short films that screened. There were a lot of really great shorts and all for a good cause! Talent 1 Media is a non-profit org that strives to raise awareness to human trafficking through film. To learn more about their mission, go here.
This year, I actually got the privilege of playing a small role in Andrew Oh‘s “Miracle Mile” alongside Tyler Kain and Marcus Haney. It’ll be my first time seeing the film at the festival… so I’m looking forward to it! If you follow me on Twitter, then you know that I didn’t sleep for a film shoot recently… well, this was the one… so hopefully I don’t suck! haha.
Do I look like I’m in high school? Photo by John Park.
Was a blast! Not only to the past (’80s, rollercoasters, and slumber party), but it was jam-packed with activities!
It all started with a not-so-surprise ’80s prom birthday party for Ray, Vy, and me. Haha, a few people kinda ruined the surprise for me, but it was still fun! Plus, there were a few things about the party that really surprised me, like the whole prom picture setup, certain people who came through, and the amazing vegan cakes! Many thanks to Angela, Becky, Jeannie, Freddy, Ray, Danny, and of course, Daniel!
The next day, Jeannie took me shopping in the Fashion District and at the Forever 21 in Pasadena. Jeannie shops for celebs and knows how to look good with low budgets, so I was def one lucky gal. Here’s a sample of Jeannie’s picks for me:
I didn’t buy that first dress, cuz’ it was too big (notice that I’m bunching it up in the back). That 2nd dress… I have NO IDEA when the heck I’ll ever wear it, but it was super cheap! Here’s a lil’ clip I put together from the day with the rest of Jeannie’s picks:
Jeannie has one of the biggest hearts I know. Not only did she take me out shopping, but she treated me to dinner as well as the BEST ice cream I’ve ever had (and it’s VEGAN!). Scoops. Their Pistachio and Rose Water ice cream is to die for. Mmm…
Friday was my birthday. Since Disneyland has been doing a promo where you can go for free on your birthday, I went to California Adventures for the first time ever with Daniel and it was sooo much fun! We kinda got there late, so we only got to experience a few rides, but every single one that we went on was pretty fun (California Screamin’, Hollywood Tower, Toy Story Mania, Soaring Over California…).
Afterwards, Daniel dropped me off at Vy’s apartment for… a slumber party! I got there really late though (like 3 hours late)… and the girls tried to pretend like they had all left by hiding in the bathroom and under the covers, but I totally heard them on the way to the door~ lol. I guess I’m not an easy one to surprise
Anyway, Vy, Angela, and I ended up staying up til’ 5AM while the other girls knocked out. We were mostly talking, snacking, and drawing on Vy’s wall.. I’m actually really proud of this drawing I did of Vy’s dog, Tian Shi. I didn’t think I had it in me anymore (I grew up drawing a lot)… but I think I still got some skills:
Haha, anyway, you should see all the other things I drew… a unicorn, Hello Kitty, a failed attempt at drawing Vy… hahaha… a failed attempt at a dragonfly (how hard could that be?)…
Ah… good times. Mucho thanks to Linette and Chris for planning the sleepover! And to Vy for hosting! Hadn’t been to a sleepover since junior high! I also wanted to do an ’80s prom party for awhile now, too! So this was a really special birthday for me. I’ll definitely update again when Shinobi posts those prom pics up! To all that this applies to, thank you for the bday wishes!!!
I heart MY NINJA. I seriously rock my yellow My Ninja shirt all the time. Aaand… I just got my hands on a new black one which I LOVE and will prob be wearing A LOT. Here’s a vid that Aiko’s friend, Yasuko, put together:
Last night, Arden invited me to a lil’ preview party for BoA‘s single, “I Did It For Love.” BoA performed the song and they showed a clip from her new music vid directed by Joseph Kahn!
It was pretty cool. The event was hosted by SM Entertainment, MTV Iggy, and Zune. Got to meet Joseph Kahn afterwards and some of BoA’s peeps. No, I did not get to meet BoA, although we did pass by each other (and omg, she is TINY and super cute!).
Anyway, no idea how successful BoA will be in America, but from what I’ve seen… she’ll be alright.
Uh… so I’m REALLY tardy with my recap on the AnD mixer that happened in LA a few weekends back. I was totally going to put together a mini vid from the event (I might come around to it still)… but Sam and Justice have one up, so you don’t need mine:
Anyway, a few things:
If you’re not on Alive Not Dead yet, you should get on it! It’s a great site for Asian artists worldwide with a lot of cool people on it. Also, if you join, you can actually leave me comments on my blog (since I’ve disabled them on my website).
Next, as of today, I’m not featured on YouTube’s homepage anymore, but I’ve been seeing myself on the homepage of AnD (WEIIIRD!!!). Haha, thanks, AnD!
Lastly, I met so many cool people at the AnD mixer in LA. I gotta give props to Annie for being the one in charge. Also, if it weren’t for the mixer, I wouldn’t have met my awesome agents – Avant Artists! Plus it was fun kicking ass…
Final note that I should have posted way back when… DID YOU LOSE A PAIR OF SUNGLASSES AT THE MIXER? If so, msg me and let me know what brand they are and a bit of a description (just so I know they’re really yours ). I was gonna post a “held hostage” photo of me wearing the shades… but I didn’t want anyone to just claim ‘em. SO SORRY I didn’t post about this earlier! I totally forgot about ‘em (actually, I’ve been wearing them everyday since the mixer… haha j/k ).
After a failed attempt at trying KOGI tacos last week, I went to the Miracle Mile location once again tonight with a group of friends and lo and behold, my Kogi taco cherry was popped! Well, not totally… since they did run out of their signature Korean Short Ribs taco by the time we got to the front of the line… BUT! I must say, their Spicy BBQ Chicken taco was quite delicious! I really liked all the toppings it came with and I didn’t think it was necessary to add any extra sauces or toppings.
So a few weeks ago, I started hearing about this “Korean taco truck” from various friends… and I had NO IDEA what people were talking about. It just sounded like a really interesting concept: Korean BBQ + tacos… why the heck not? Even more interesting was the fact that this truck’s location was always changing and you had to be in the know to know where it’d be. Lucky for me, I’m an Internet detective (it’s really not that hard to find) and I found their website and decided to check it out in my neck of the woods. Unfortunately for me, the first time I tried to get my hands on some, there were news crews and the friends I was with didn’t really want to wait in line. But alas, I have had a taste!
For those who are not in the know, I present to you: KOGIBBQ.COM!
Yes, you may have to wait 1.5 hours or more… but seriously, just go with some friends and you’ll have fun! I waited 1.5 hours for ONE taco (cuz’ I had already eaten dinner), but it was worth it! Tomorrow night, I’m going to try getting my hands on the Short Ribs and Tofu!
So I suck and I totally should’ve been plugging MY FIRST CRUSH (short film I produced for Rocky Jo) at SDAFF… but I guess with the recent quitting of the job and the very recent getting of a new job (which I’ll talk about later…), I just kinda neglected to promote it. Boo.
Anyway, here it is! You can also watch it in high quality on YouTube.
So as usual, I suck at updating. Ping Pong Playa ain’t even playing in theaters anymore and that’s the last of my posts! Haha. On that note, I got to meet Jimmy Tsai of PPP over the weekend at SDAFF (although I think we had met a looong time ago before). Besides mingling with a few new peeps here and there, I mostly took it easy and hung out with friends.
Sam Chen rocks. Karin looking glam. Too bad the cam on my phone sucks!
Sadly, I did not see any films over the weekend, not even my own program… but I did attend the Q&A which turned out ok (I was pretty nervous beforehand especially since I was the only person repping MFC and I dislike public speaking!).
Q&A buddies: Jason Fong, Gina Hiraizumi, and Jun Hee Lee.
So while I didn’t attend any film programs, I did attend a few of the events including BLOWFISH (which was awesome). Good job, Daniel Matthews!!! And FM. And Paul Dateh. And yes, all the performers. The house was jumpin’ that night.
With Lillian and Hosanna at the Gala. I’m looking a bit tired here…
Anyway, I am pooped from the weekend. It’s always great partying with familiar film festival peeps… but wow… I am not able to hang lately >_<
For those of you in the SD area, SDAFF is still going on and I highly encourage you to check it out ;]
Random tangent: Karin Anna Cheung says I need a new profile photo on Alive Not Dead. Yah… I do… haha. Oh btw… for those of you who have the urge to leave me comments, you can do so here on AnD (you have to be registered though).
In more recent personal news:
It’s official. I got baptized this past Sunday. It just means I decided to tie the knot with the Lord and live the rest of my life with Him. Doesn’t mean I’m holier, cuz’ I’m not. It’s been almost three years since I accepted Christ (I guess you could say we’d been dating for awhile and I was a little scared to get more serious). For those who know me personally, you might know that I once considered myself Atheist. A lot of things have happened since then and I believe now… for a reason. Anyway, I’m looking forward to the life ahead! An earthquake like the one that just happened today near LA ain’t gonna scare me
Next up…Kollaboration Acoustic 2 + Project Michelle drive this Saturday at the Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood! Come watch a great show and register (if you haven’t already) to donate marrow for a chance to save Michelle’s life.
I have to admit…I totally didn’t know it was Chinese New Year’s until people started calling me last night to wish a happy one to me. And with all the people “throwing firecrackers” and such at me on Facebook, I should’ve known! My aunt even called and asked why I didn’t join them for dinner last night (yikes).
Anyway, it’s my mom’s fault. She told me it was next week! Pssh. And thus, I had booked a trip for next week up north (thinking I’d be able to collect my red envelopes…haha J/K!). Ah well. It’s always good to get away from LA and go somewhere much more chill like the parents’ house.
In other news, here’s a random still from the short I just produced:
“My First Crush” – Dir. Rocky Jo (pictured: Megan Lee and Max Phyo)
