penny for my thoughts?

I'm a grouch. And I'm cranky. And I'm also a composer caught in the middle of all the madness in LA.

Thursday, August 31, 2006

rendang

Whoo hoo! Cooked rendang beef today. Haha. Of course, i used some Brahim's pre-packed curry but hey, I didn't get no complaints from my baby. :) But it's still missing some spices. Don't know what though. Will try to throw some stuff in the next time I cook it again.

Oh...and guess what. Just when I thought I was finally free from my copying job, I got a call from the composer today and hey whaddaya know. He missed one piece. Ergh. So yes, I have another short piece to copy and extract and all. Gotta finish by tonight so I can start on my final cue tomorrow. Then I gotta finish my final cue by Saturday so I can go see my doggie for a week! Yay!

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

theme park frenzy

I actually had a whole long blog written out a couple of days ago. But when I tried to add pictures and stuff, my entire blog got wiped out. Yup. Just my luck. So here I am, trying to write about the past two weeks...again.

Anyways, I finally got the chance to visit Disneyland! My bf, roomie and I met up with my bf's sisters there, and had one full fun filled day. Everything there was so colourful and full of life! We saw the classic Disney characters, went on the rides (adult and kiddy), walked from one themed park to another.The Indiana Jones ride was super fun! And ooh, if you ever go to Disney, you've gotta try Space Mountain. Two thumbs up, I say. The ride is not scary, but it's very very nice. It's an indoor roller coaster where you're blasted off into space and go twirling about in stars! And the music really pumps you up. We enjoyed it so much, we went to get Fast Pass tickets for the ride again. Fast Pass tickets are meant to save your time so you don't have to wait in the long line everytime. So they give you a time where you've gotta return to go on the ride, and you go in the special Fast Pass lane. So our return time was between 10 to 11pm.

So we walked around some more, took pictures, and just felt like kids again. And at night, it was time for the fireworks! And that was one helluva firework display! The best I've ever seen so far. Everybody was filled with awe and all you could hear was 'Oooohhs'...and 'Aaaahhhhs'. :) It was really really nice. They had it at the castle, and there were light displays on the castle as well. And Tinkerbell came flying from a mountain nearby too. Haha. Right after the fireworks ended, we started walking back toward the Space Mountain ride. After like, 2 minutes of walking...we were wondering...hey, why is everybody going in the same direction too? Isn't the exit the other way? So we got excited by all the bustle and running, so we started running too. Haha. Looks like we weren't the only ones who had the idea of going on that ride before we went home. By the time we reached, the line was already super long! Good thing we had Fast Passes! Haha. So one last ride...and then it was byebye Disneyland.

The three of us got kinda psyched about the rides and all, so we decided to take it one notch further. Magic Mountain. :) Exactly one week after Disnyeland, the three of us drove to Anaheim, which was about 1 hour away from Westwood. As we approched the park, we could already see the rides from far and *gulp* they looked scary!! We started walking around the park to check out the rides. My bf (who was supposed to be the most chicken of us all) wanted to get on ANY ride we saw...while my roommate wanted to try the milder ride first. So we finally ended up going on Riddler's Revenge. And man, that was a mistake. We couldn't see the ride before we went on, so we didn't know just how scary it was gonna be. This was a ride where you're sorta sitting on a seat as big as a bicycle seat...and your feet juuuuuust brely touch the ground. So you're half sitting, half standing. And before we knew it, we were shot off into the sky. Up up up then whooooaaaaaaaa....twirls and loopy loops and up and down and left and ride. I was so scared I didn't dare to open my eyes!!! And that made me even more dizzy...toward the last 15 seconds, I seriously felt my cereal churning in my stomach! So after that, we were all still kinda dazed by the ride, so my roommie and I decided to sit the next one out while my bf, the daredevil, went on the next ride 'Scream'. He kept calling me chicken after that. Hmph.

After that, we went on rides like Batman, which was one of the milder ones...and then we decided to go to the latest and main attraction, Tatsu. My roommie said no, uh uh and off he went to a differnet water ride. Haha. After waiting for an hour or so, we were finally strapped into our seats. At first it looked like the seats on Batman. Where the car was basically hanging from a rail and you sat on a small seat with shoulder straps and stuff. But before the ride started, we felt our butts being lifted into the air and we were face down! Then we started the slow climb up...usually during this climb, you'd be looking at nothing but skies, since you were sitting facing front. But this time, you could see all the people on the ground, getting smaller and smaller....and there was basically nothing between you and the ground. (!!!!) Before we could even take in the beautiful scenery we saw, everything became a blur. We saw skies, ground, skies, trees, up down, round and round. It was crazy!!! But super super fun. And the shoulder straps were super comfortable and secure. Heh. Anybody who needs some thrills in your life, go ride Tatsu.

We also went on rides like Superman, where you're accelerating so fast and then get shot off into the sky...where you see SUperman right on top of the tower....rides like Ninja, Revolution and oh, also water rides! We got soaked but dried off pretty quickly as it was HOT that day! I got a major tan just from walking around that day. Even after putting on sunblock and sunglasses and all. Heh. Yes, it was even hotter than in KL!! But the weather has cooled down a bit here in LA. Gets pretty chilly at night now. Which is good.

So, yeap. That was my two Wednesdays in a row, back to back. Heh. Work wise, I FINALLY finished my copying gig for the musical thing. After sitting in front of the computer for like 8 hours non stop everyday, I finally finished extracting all the parts and sent them to the composer. And since I ended up doing more work than I was supposed to, he compensated for my time and paid me a lil extra. :) whoo hoo! And I should be getting more work after the musical is done, as he has more songs to be transcribed into Finale and all. So, yeah, I'm pretty much set for a while.

As for my lil doggie, my bf and I finally decided to stay in our current apartment. It was getting too stressful and it was hurting our relationship. But we have a short term plan though. He just started working in school and is going to try to keep that job through school. And I will be starting my internship somewhere around mid September. I will be focusing more on trying to get a job that will actually give me a work permit once my Optional Practical Training is done. Yes, that might mean a 9 to 5 office job, but as long as it's related to the entertainment industry, it won't hurt. Any sorta experience here helps. Once I have THAT secured, THEN I can slowly hunt for composition gigs to do part time. But anyhow I'll be needing the full time job to support myself here...without asking ol Daddy oh for money every few months. Heh. So once I find a job...hopefully sometimes next year...then we can hunt for apartments again, since at that time, I will have proof of income and all. And then we can get Vader back...since my bf's family has been so nice to look after him for now, we plan to get a puppy for his sister when we eventually take Vader back. Heh. Why not get a new puppy myself? Nahh...I'm still attached to my Big Boy...and I miss him so much! But right now, school and work comes first.

Alrightey, I'm getting hungry. So I'll leave you guys with some pictures and I'm off to hunt for food! Cheerios!










Monday, August 21, 2006

very 'chan'

Man, this has been a long long loooonnnggg week. And I'm too tired to write about it now. Will update you peeps in a couple of days...when I'm finally done with my copying gig (hopefully). See ya guys later.

Sunday, August 13, 2006

yum

homemade lasagna with spinach...gooooooood...

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Hooyeah!

I have started running. Haha. Yes, the exercise that's way bottom on my 'Like' list. My bf and I started running yesterday. Down Ohio, Westwood and Santa Monica Boulevard. It's not that far a run...but well, we start small. Haha. Or rather, doable. We still walk here and there, but mostly, we're trying. *pat on the back*

We also treated ourselves to a movie this afternoon. Caught the matinee of 'Pirates of the Carribean:Dead Man's Chest'. It was okay. I actually kinda like the first one better. Funnier. But oh well, Johnny Depp still crack me up anyways. Since finding a parking in Westwood is a pain in the butt, we decided to take the bus. And THAT was my baby's very first bus ride! Haha. He actually enjoyed it. (yeah, wait till you HAVE to take it every single day!)

Oh yes, I have the green light to enrol for my internship at UCLA Extension. Nope, I'm not getting paid a single cent for my internship. What more, I have to pay the school! Just for 4 lousy credits. Ah geez. But hopefully, this experience will be useful somehow later down the road.

And Vader got his balls chopped off today!!! My bf's sisters brought him to the vet to get him neutered. And he's now stilll in Antioch, feeling slightly blue and depressed, and wearing his lil cone! Sigh, I should be there to take care of him...the poor thing. All that manlihood...gone in one day. It's okay, big boy. I still love you all the same!!

Okay. Time to get some dinner. Adios.

Monday, August 07, 2006

...

...Just when I thought things were getting better, it all seems to be going downhill again...last Friday was a good day. Went for the Composer's Expo in Hollywood. They had pretty good panels for the discussion and all. Informative and entertaining. They invited guests like Hanz Zimmer, Mark Isham, Davind Newman and lots more. Hung out with Ken, Boon, Chris and JJ during dinner. It was fun.

I also went for an internship interview at Universal Music on the same day. Reached there a tad too early, so I just basically waited outside for a while before going in. Then, met up with my interviewer, talked a bit...and got offered the internship there and then. So that was a plus point of the day. I will probably be starting my internship in September. Most probably when Fall Quarter begins. And since i'll have one foot in the door, hopefully something better comes along later on.

Sunday was just class, basically. Nothing much. Heard some good news from my baby, about the apartment stuff. We've been apartment hunting since a few months ago. Cos the manager here won't let me keep Vader, my doggie. And being the emotionally attached person I am, I cannot even think about giving Vader away. So here I am...searching for apartments, that has good location, decent price...and one that allows dogs.

Now that I have finally found a few that suits all criterias..another problem crops up. Credit. As students here, we also have no proof of income. Solution? Get a co-signer. Not just any co-signer. Someone with strong credit. Okay. Got that. (Or at least...I think we've got that)

...But all these stress has taken its toll on my relationship with my baby. Quarrels...fights...the works. I'm stressed...he's stressed because I'm stressed...we never know when another arguement will start....It's probably all my doing. All this stress has mad me an impatient, mean and irrational person....Maybe I shouldn't drag him into this. Since Vader is my dog...he is my problem. I should just find a solution by myself...

Should I continue hoping that we will eventually get an apartment, and both my puppies will be with me...but risk our relationship in the process...? Or should I just give Vader up...and be unhappy?

I don't know what to do...

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Home home home

I wanna go home!!! :( I really hope I can go home for a few weeks end of this year. Tentatively, the plan is to go home sometime late November, and come back to LA before Christmas. But that depends on a lot of things. Like, the exact date my program is supposed to end. Whether or not I get an internship this Fall. Whether I'm ALLOWED to go home and COME BACK here during that time period. Lotsa stuff to settle.

But if I do go home, heh, I know what I'll be doing the entire time. EAT, EAT and EAT some more!!! I miss my mummy's cooking. I miss roti canai and maggi goreng. Chicken curry, mutton curry, fish curry. Chinese food!!!! Bak kut teh, soup, all kinds of vegetable!! Noodles, noodles and more noodles!! *drool*

My dear ji muis, if I do go home, you guys had better plan a 'Girls Night Out' okay?? We'll spend one whole day just doing girly stuff and talking girly stuff and all that. I miss you guys so much!!! *Hugz*

Oh yes, today is my daddy's birthday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the BEST DAD in the world!!!! :)

You Da Man!

Ever since my life began,
I realized that "You da man!"
I saw your wisdom, your courage too,
And I learned I could rely on you.

Your tolerant nature was really great;
Nevertheless, you'd not hesitate
To let me know when I'd been bad
It must have been hard, but that's being a dad.

You're strong and smart and filled with love--
A gift to me from up above.
So here's a greeting from your biggest fan:
Happy Birthday, Dad, cause "You da man!"

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Here a freak, there a freak...

It's confirmed. I'm a freak magnet. (!!!!) Every time I take the Metro bus to go to North Hollywood, I ALWAYS end up bumping into some sorta freak or other. First, it was this dude smoking pot in the bus. After huffing and puffing, he shouts, 'MAN, that guy who just got off the bus was smoking pot!!!! Did you see it???!! Man, people these days. Tsk tsk tsk'....what more, it was followed by giggles and laughter from behind. 'Oh man, that was the funniest thing ever!!' More giggles...Good gawd, please grow up.

Today, it was another kinda freak. There I was, sitting in a nearly empty bus, minding my own business, when this dude hops into the bus. 5 minutes later, and whaddaya know, I find my nice lil space being invaded. All those empty seats, and yet he sits right next to me. OK. Fine. It's a free country. I go on being nonchalant, listening to my CD. Next thing I know, he decides to reply my non-existent Dear Abby letter....

Freak (very serious face) : 'I've got some advice for you. You listening?'.......

Me (one eyebrow raised) : Uh huhhhh (What the hell???)...

Freak (still very serious) : 'You've gotta be strong. You can never count on other people these days. You can't depend on anybody but yourself. It's all in you. You've just gotta be strong. Just always remember that okay?'

Me (nodding veeerrryy slowly) : Uh huhhhh...(Freak).

Then he leaves the seat and decides he wants to get off the bus. But not before making a helluva commotion by shouting to the nice decent people outside attending a show at Hollywood Bowl. You don't even wanna know the things he said. Insults, cussing...more cussings...well, you get my drift. Then, he started bugging the bus driver. 'Come on, let me off the bus'.....No, I can't. We're not at the bus stop yet. It's dangerous....'Just let me off the bus. You don't have to care about me. You're not my father. I wanna get off the bus!!' Thank goodness the bus driver had the sense to just stop and let him out. Yay bus driver!

So to sum up my day, I spent a total of nearly 4 hours on the bus. 3 hours of going through little corrections I had to do for my copying gig. Half of which isn't even my mistakes. Met 'Abby' on the way home. Reach home to find that I accidentaly scheduled an internship interview on the same day I was supposed to attend a Composer's Expo.....so yes, I've had a long day.

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