A long time ago, in a galaxy, far far away...

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Ten years ago, my thirteen-year-old self couldn't be more hyped to see Revenge of the Sith. The euphoria lasted for two-three years that I decided to binge watch all the saga, join the fanbases, make friends with fellow Star Wars fans along the way, join RPG and forums, and weirdly enough...write Fanfictions.

In the wake of The Force Awakens, which opens today, I decided to give you guys a revelation:
My Star Wars Fanfiction website.

First Book Signing Event

Zodiac Wikia

For the first time ever, I attended a book signing event!!

How cool is that?

Vromans, the bookstore where the event took place, is located just a few blocks from where I live and it often hosts so many book signing events. That I just discovered lately. As an aspiring writer and avid reader, I'm psyched, of course! Lately, I've been circling some potential Young Adult books for me to read to kill time after The Girl on the Train before finding Zodiac by Romina Russell.

Finding Comfort in a Stranger's Arm - Before We Go Review and Analysis [SPOILER]

A few months ago, I bumped into this indie movie named Before We Go starring Alice Eve and Chris Evans (even directed by him). I never thought I'd like it so much.
It follows a young woman, Brooke, who misses the last train back to Boston and ends up getting stuck in New York City at night. She crosses path with an aspiring musician, Nick agrees to help her return to Boston at all costs. Together they navigate their way through the city that never sleeps and build a chemistry along the way, where they discover about each other's stories and what brings them to the city before the sun rises.

Life at Art School vs Regular University.

“What do you mean you don't have exams?”

That is the typical question I'd get from my friends who go to regular universities. Some of my friends who are unfamiliar with art school might perceive my experience in art school as an otherworldly one. Art schools offer a distinct setting and college life in contrast of that offered by regular universities.

However, the differences are what make an art school experience special, fun, and challenging at the same time. Let's take a look at what art schools typically offer as opposed to other colleges.

A Very Sunny Halloween

Writer's Note: This is a continuation of Halloween at Disneyland.

Jess and I woke up late a day after Disneyland. It's Halloween! But do we have a special plan? Maybe not a specific Halloween-themed plan. We'll figure it out later.

Our original plan to start the day was to have brunch at Central Park Cafe, but we woke up slightly late. So instead of brunch, we would just have lunch. Jess mentioned she wanted to eat at Tatsu. We were initially going to Tatsu Ramen the next day but we switched it to tomorrow. That day was supposed to be a little more relaxing than the day before, since we spent too much time (more than a day) at Disneyland.

Halloween at Disneyland Part 4: Out standing indeed

Note: Due to my phone battery dying at this point during my Disneyland trip, the rest of the story will just be pure text. You'll see one picture at the end though.

* * *

Previously: The whole park turned into a mass chorus of children singing to the powerful ballad. Children are addicted to this song. There's been stories that parents are getting tired of it. So when I heard a mom next to me groan and mumble “Here we go.” I wouldn't be surprised. Jess and I sang along with the other 5-10 year-old Frozen addicts. No need to be embarrassed. Disneyland is the only place we can let go of our inner child.

The firework ended at around 10. We had a couple more minutes before we could use the pass to Indiana Jones. We arrived at Adventureland earlier than we thought despite the people traffic and we still had roughly fifteen minutes before the fastpass for Indy was valid. Jungle Cruise is right next to Indy ride and it only had five to ten minutes wait. So might as well.

My previous Jungle Cruise experiences were always such a bore, but this one was exceptionally different. The skipper, Kim (she's so good I even remember her name) had a good sense of humor, more like sarcastic. She's so good at puns and dry jokes. But really, that's what makes her interesting. She spoke in a lazy tone while delivering the jokes, making you want to go “Ha-ha.” slowly. “Who woke up feeling like I have to go to Jungle Cruise today?” she said. Some people raised their hands. “Yeah me too.” Another one, the ultimate one that she threw right at the end of the ride. “You guys are outstanding. Yeah you'll be out standing on the dock.” Gold!

Halloween at Disneyland Part 3: Let it Go

Previously: We strolled a bit more as the sun was starting to go down. We had spent over eight hours in the parks. We had about seven more hours to spend before we wrapped up (aka the parks were closed). At about six-ish, we went to Astro Blasters as scheduled in our fastpasses. Fastpass schedule varies depending on the availability. We got a late hour for Indy because of how popular the ride was. But at least we still got them.
Astro Blasters was classics. Despite it being slow moving, somehow I found it mildly intense because I was always determined to get a high score. Last time I went here with my dad, I defeated his scores. Now I defeated Jess. I honestly didn't know how it worked. Aiming at the targets is hard, so I just randomly shot all over the place. As I did, my score was just getting higher and higher. So I wasn't sure how it happened.

Getting out of the Blasters, Jess and I went back to Fantasyland. But en route, we spotted The Avengers meet and greet with Thor and Captain America. The wait was forty minutes, which wasn't quite bad. When else would you meet the Avengers? Jess and I kept gushing about the resemblance of the Thor guy with Chris Hemsworth, and how I'd totally wish he really was Chris Hemsworth. The guy who played Thor at Disneyland actually nailed the accent but he looked less rogue-ish than Hemsworth. At least he tried.

Ka-ching: When the (first) salary gets too overwhelming

I remember the first time I got my first paycheck during my internship. I got paid weekly and surprisingly, in contrast of my wasteful, extravagant life in LA, I spent a lot less in Florida. My fellow intern whom I shared a housing with, somehow encouraged me to cook at home on weekdays, and even on weekends instead of dining out. As a result, with the paycheck kept on coming, I came to the my most properous state in my life. Even after spending some on leisure like going to Orlando attractions, the amount kept on escalating it reached to a point I became overwhelmed. “What to do with all this money I earned?”

I was younger (slightly from now) and more immature. It all reached to a peak somehow. Last Thanksgiving, I went Black Friday shopping with my intern friends in Orlando. Wallets loaded. Bills were ready to fly out of them. I texted my mom and dad “I will do some massive shopping tonight. Get ready.” They were okay with it since my spending would mostly come out of my own earning.

Why I Chose to Intern at a Non-Graphic Design Studio

Writer's Note: To protect any names or brands, I will not use the actual names or display pictures that directly show the brand of the company or anything related to it.


September last year, I faced the toughest decision in my entire university period. Three offers came to me all at once. Each of these offers promises a great opportunity for me that would contribute to my future design career. One thing for sure at that point: I would skip Fall semester to do either one of these offers, which was truly a blessing after continuously taking classes at school.

Two of the promising offers were for internship, something I really needed to fill out some blank space in my resume. On early June, I attended an on-campus recruitment event, where I got to sit down and talk with potential employers. Out of four interviews, I scored two of them.

Lift-Off: The Essay

Writer's note: This essay was written as a part of Spring 2015 Type and Authorship class at Art Center College of Design.


At first, there were just hums.

Then the sound escalated. It came off like a purr, followed by a low thundering sound that echoed in the space. Nobody had spoken a word when the sound started. There were just silence filling the air, lenses held up in frozen hands, overlooking the cape. Billion eyes were searching as the thundering sound was continuing to fill the space with its glorious echo. Moments of anticipation had started early that Thursday morning and it continued even after the countdown started. Hearts pounded as the number got smaller.

Halloween at Disneyland Part 2: The Princesses Encounter

Previously: After Radiator Springs Racers, Jess and I went to the Paradise Pier. We dropped by at Boudin Bakery Tour and got a fresh loaf of bread. Then we ended up getting lunch at Garden Grill with a glass of fresh Strawberry margarita from Rita Margarita in a sunny day. Our lunch couldn't be more perfect, and so was the weather. Jess ended up finishing the margarita.

At around 12.30 pm, after we finished our lunch, we headed to the Hyperion Theatre to catch Aladdin Musical Spectacular. It marked my second time watching it. The first time happened six years ago with my mom and I loved it. The genie is and will always be the real star of the show, pulling jokes and pop culture references that we all know, from Patriots football to Taylor Swift.
His jokes never get old and it is even sad to learn that the show would have less than a hundred more before it ended for good on December. Next year, the theatre would host a Frozen Musical to replace Aladdin. I reached the point where Frozen has become increasingly overrated that it has to replace a beloved classic show such as Aladdin. Anyway...

Quote of the Day

"You try. You fail. You try. You fail. But the only true failure is when you stop trying."

- Madame Leota from The Haunted Mansion (2003)
That moment when a floating head encased in a glass ball is wiser than you.

Halloween at Disneyland Part 1: Grim Grinning Ghosts

Two weeks ago marked the second time for me to visit Disneyland in a year. Two weeks ago marked the fourth time I went to Disneyland after three years living in LA, and yet I'm still not an annual passholder. But anyway, it doesn't matter. What matters is about a Disneyland visit is, it'll be a blast as long as you have the perfect partner.

I went on a Friday morning before Halloween with Jess, who came all the way here from San Jose almost exclusively for a Disneyland visit. As someone who barely has anyone to go there with, I couldn't say no. Jess and I woke up at 6.15 am. We planned on spending the whole day there and Disney's California Adventure. When I said the whole day, I really meant from the moment the parks opened until they closed. I have never been so determined to wake up this early before. Waking up at 6 for any other purposes has always been a pain. But Jess and I decided to sleep early last night so this could happen.

Imagine.

Imagine there's no heaven

It's easy if you try

No hell below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the people

Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people

Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one

- John Lennon

Sometimes it takes the worst situation to bring people together; It's beautiful and sad at the same time; Sometimes it takes blood, tears, and loss to remind us that no matter where we've come from, we all stand united - not as white, black, Asian, Jew, Muslim, Christians, Hindu, straight, gay, transgender - but as human beings that share one hope and one prayer only:

May peace be restored to the world.

My heart goes out to those affected in the Paris tragedy and anyone who experiences violence or injustice of humanity.

Tech in a Fast Lane: Confessions of a (Slightly) Tech-Illiterate Millennial

Friend: “Which social media are you mostly active in?”
Me: “Facebook and iMessage.”
Friend: “Line?”
Me: “Not so much.”
Friend: “Why?”
Me: “It isn't so flexible. I can't use it on the computer and I'm not on my phone the whole time.”
Friend: *begging* “Please be active (on Line)! I'm on it. That way we can chat further and longer!”

That was a brief chat I had with a childhood classmate. He's in Indonesia. For your information, most Indonesians are keen of Whatsapp, Line, and Path as their chosen social media.

I left the conversation finally re-activating my Line, which I haven't opened in quite a while. There were over 100 unread messages on my Elementary School and my Taiwan Study Tour groups. There were over cumulatively 10 birthdays that I missed. 80% of the conversation of both groups revolve around birthday wish (and lately 10% was on a friend's wedding). I felt bad. Most of my friends in USA don't use Line and after years, I didn't really see the point of being active in it.

The movie that made me cry

I really like discussing movies lately. I got a trivial question the other day: what movie makes you cry? Although I am less sensitive in real life, I get easily teary when it comes to seeing movies. Like I teared a up a little when I saw the ending of Steve Jobs. But there's always one movie that gets me cry all the time, and that is The Last Emperor.

What is it with me and biopics lately?

Anyway, The Last Emperor is overall not a sad movie, or at least it isn't Marley and Me or Titanic sad. I don't even think “sad” is the word, but “emotionally powerful” is.

Deconstructing a Visionary and a Man - Steve Jobs Review and Analysis [SPOILER]

I haven't done a movie review in a long time. When I do, it's because the movie is worth reviewing and has left a particular impression to me. The last review I did is on Philomena, an Oscar nominated movie starring Dame Judi Dench and Steve Coogan.

On the Halloween weekend, my friend and I chose to see Steve Jobs, a highly un-Halloween-ish movie amidst the release of more relevantly-themed movies like Crimson Peak and Goosebumps. The long anticipated movie directed by Danny Boyle with the script penned by Aaron Sorkin.

Corruption Starts Young

Hey guys,

I just penned an essay about corruption. Due to the sensitive nature of the topic, I decided not to publicize the essay. However, you can access the following link and email me for permission.

Essay link.

Have a great day.

23

Tell 'em that it's my birthday

Tell 'em that it's my birthday

Tell 'em that it's my birthday

When I party like that

- Selena Gomez