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.