i watched 2 great movies this weekend.

lost in translation is definitely the best movie i've seen this year. i'm sure you've already heard about it. believe the hype. i've got not much else to say.


photo: rottentomatoes.com

i caught about 15 minutes of pumpkin while channel surfing the other day. it's a good thing sundance replays their material around 3 or 4 times. i looked up the next showtime (that didn't conflict with my regular tapings) and programmed my vcr.


photo: mgm.com/ua

pumpkin is a dark comedy about the "impossible" relationship between a very blond valley-girl (christina ricci) and the mentally/physically challenged "pumpkin" (hank harris) she has to coach to make her sorority look good. alot of the reviews say that the movie "tries too hard", but-- for whatever reason-- i seemed to get it. anyways, i bought the dvd (it was only $9). so if you wanna borrow it, let me know.

next on my list: school of rock.

it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all...

how true is this? have any of you really, truly loved someone? and then got crushed? was it worth it?

i guard my heart so closely. i stand behind the door, peering out the peep-hole... so reluctant to unbolt, slide the chain across and turn the knob for anyone.

i've never been in love... never been in a serious (or even not-so-serious) relationship. but i know-- i just do-- that if i get involved with someone that i'd dive right in... head first... and if someone were to get hurt, it'd be me. why? because i'm naive. i'm idealistic. i'll romanticize the love. i'll try too hard. i'll get greedy. i'll hate myself for it. i'll make mistakes and i'll get rejected and i'll hurt.

OR
maybe i'll die a lonely death in a lonely apartment in a lonely city. all alone and unloved.

OR
maybe it'll all click and fall into place and i'm worrying for nothing. but i doubt it.

so i'm playing this computer game online... do my a huge favor and click this once a day. it'll tell you to click the digit that corresponds to the word shown. do that. then you can close the window or "join the war!" if you're into these strategy battle games...

basically, i get a soldier each time someone hits that link and right now i have an army of 4 humans. so click away! (well, only once per computer per day... that's the max).

thanks.

well, that wasn't much of a hurricane. what a bunch of media hyperbole. one of my co-workers said that he was watching a news report from a "stormy" beach. he was holding his hat and warning viewers of the dangerous conditions... meanwhile, easily a couple dozen beach-goers were calmly walking behind the reporter making faces and saying hi to their moms. on a related note, a friend of mine was telling me about one of her co-workers who believes that 90% of all american media is accurate and trust-worthy. as opposed to say, south korea, which is "probably only 40% true".

again, i don't want to get all political here. it just bothers me that people so easily buy into the sensationalism. it's the same thing with pop music and hollywood actors. "j-lo this" and "ben that"... all that "bennifer" garbage. i mean, seriously, aside from the obvious publicity stunt that these two just pulled, why would people even care enough to take the attention away from doing something more productive... like picking one's ear.

i know why... it's because people don't want to feel left out at the watercooler. it's all about being able to carry a conversation on pure small talk. everyone's just reaching to be acknowledged and a part of the accepted crowd. blind conformity for popularity's sake. grown-up life is just like jr. high school.

apparently there's some kind of hurricane headed my way.
i've never been in a hurricane... how exciting.
i wonder if work will be cancelled, like during the blackout.

go to your tv, turn it to mtv and sit there until you see johnny cash's cover of NIN's hurt. what a great video.

I hurt myself today to see if I still feel
I focus on the pain, the only thing that's real
the needle tears a hole, the old familiar sting
try to kill it all away, but I remember everything

what have I become, my sweetest friend?
everyone I know goes away in the end
you could have it all, my empire of dirt
I will let you down. I will make you hurt

I wear this crown of thorns on my liar's chair
full of broken thoughts I cannot repair
beneath the stain of time the feeling disappears
you are someone else; I am still right here

what have I become, my sweetest friend?
everyone I know goes away in the end
you could have it all, my empire of dirt
I will let you down. I will make you hurt

if I could start again a million miles away
I would keep myself.
I would find a way.

- trent reznor (slightly modified by johnny cash)

and another thing...

gross, i know. 2kg = 4.5 pounds. i know girls who work out with weights lighter than that.

(a relevant news slice)

it's 9/11.
i considered writing something "political"-- it'd actually be more of a social commentary-- but it's not something i feel that strongly about... so i'd rather talk about shoes.

just kidding.

i'm going to see the neptunes, o.a.r, talib kweli and slightly stoopid on saturday. i also read that kelis and spymob are also supposed to perform, but i don't see their names on the posters. i'm not a huge fan of any of them, but it'd be a good show, i think.

if i think about it, i'm pretty happy these days. nothing is really bogging me down. or maybe i'm just not letting myself dig deep enough. does that make me shallow?

okay... when you're voting, please consider the following:
1. job opportunities that match my interests
2. a good "fit" for my personality
3. most fruitful place for me to grow
4. potential to meet Mrs. Roboto (haha... just thought i'd throw that in there)

don't just vote for the place closest to (or farthest from) you!

just want to know what you guys think -------------------------->

my face is so dry.
i'd considered applying sunblock on saturday, but the idea was thwarted by my complete lack of anything with an SPF higher than 1. so i got burned at the u.s. open and now my face is so dry, it hurts. do they make perscription strength lotion? my face just sucks up that weak over-the-counter garbage.

i'm falling apart. my face is dry, my arms are burnt, my legs are all eczema-ed out, my in-grown toenail refuses to heal... i'd like to think that God's Job-ing me... maybe i'm just not being high maintenance enough... i have to start moisturizing daily and using all the good (read: expensive) product. how did cavemen survive? they must've had some serious skin cancer issues.

every once in a while, i take a myers-briggs personality test to see if i've changed. (i have a fear that new york is going to irrevocably transform me into some freak). i remember having taken it at the end of my senior year in high school, taking it again a few months later as a freshman in college and realizing that my personality had changed 100%. towards the end of that year, i settled back into my real persona...

INTJ (a/k/a a "Matermind")

in case you're trying to find a free online M-B test, this is the only one i could find. i just took it and, yup, i'm still an INTJ.


2 posts in one day... i must be bored.

TGIF, for real!
it was only a four-day work week, but it seemed so much longer.

i go to the us open tomorrow. it's my first live, pro tennis match ever. i hope agassi makes the semis... my man, srichaphan is already out.

i'm sleepy.

back in new york. i miss california already. it's not humid here anymore... just rainy.

what did i do in l.a.?
ate: carne asada burritos from molcasalsa, in-n-out, fish tacos from el pescador, patbingsu from boba station (we went here every day, literally), enchilada/tacos from cafe el cholo, bbq spare ribs from thai bbq; cheeseburger/strawberry shake at ruby's
watched: battle royale (4 robo-thumbs up, would get more if i understood it), s.w.a.t. (3 robo-thumbs up), 40 days and 40 nights (all thumbs and toes point down for this garbage); rounders (6 robo-thumbs up); hero (4 robo-thumbs and a big toe up for this one)
chilled at: yong's wedding, huntington beach, laguna beach (1000 steps), downtown disney, peter's joint
played: a round of golf at green river; texas hold 'em at commerce