Aspect Ratio Realigned

Moving Day - The Net

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 07:38:54 GMT

I've moved.

www.taichungmonamour.blogspot.com

Close to You

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:34:39 GMT

Hm. Been a while. April.

I accepted a job offer to work in Taiwan today to work at a PBS-ish television station in Taiwan. It's part of the TBS (Taiwan Broadcasting System) network, so it's non-profit and government owned meaning I make less money to do more work. My job doesn't even have an English title; my resume is going to get fucked after this one. I'm working on a weekly one hour English news program, writing segments, editing segments, filming segments, writing news bulletins, correcting scripts, planning and organizing interviews and get this, maintaining some sort of blog. Seriously. That was one of the tasks that was listed to me during the interview... I'm supposed to update a blog once every week. Huh? I'm still a bit apprehensive about everything. Even though I already committed verbally, I still haven't signed the contract (Yes. I need to sign a contract.) and therefore, I still have room to back out. But I don't know... maybe it's time for me to leave. I look at all these little balls of dust-like memories gathering around me and sometimes I just want to shake it all off. Maybe today, I did? It was so weird, unfathomable, surreal. It feels like I just accepted a job in LA... except, it's not in LA. It's in Taipei. Far far far away from so many of the things that I take for granted.

I need to start looking for an apartment in Taipei. A nice little cozy studio with wooden floors. A book shelf in the corner. A bed. A desk for my stuff. A small balcony. If I don't back out... I'm going to be living in Taipei in my own apartment, taking the Taipei MTR (MRT?) to and from work, explaining to everyone I meet I can't read Chinese so they're going to have to order for me, teaching English on the weekends, taking pictures everywhere I go, learning how to use AVID... I start September 15th. How did we end up where we all ended up? Let's see what happens.

First Cut

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 06:42:11 GMT

First rough cut of my editing reel. Suggestions, critiques, advice? All will be duly appreciated as I plan to make my livelihood with these demos, so the stronger I can make it, the better.

Insects

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 08:33:25 GMT

Long time.

- Sold myself to the lowest bidder. It's official. I'm rotting away in the most inner circle of hell. I'm an informercial director.
- Things didn't work out with Anna. I think we both figured it wouldn't work out anyway, so that's that.
- Deciding on whether to take a gig in Taiwan. Offer came, waiting for reply. It would be nice to get out of here. Really, it would... but so so so many cons to the job.
- Turned down a commercial for ethical reasons. Accused of being rich. Didn't think I had any morals left.
- Craving some more of The Wire. 5 seasons is not enough for the greatest television show ever created.
- Really really really fucking tired.

A Spaniard and a MVP walk into a Bar and kill the Western Conference

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 18:31:56 GMT

Shaq is like that ex girlfriend who keeps coming back to haunt you. But this time, she came back and there's already someone else in your life, sexier, more energetic, more intelligent, funnier and can sink free throws. And now you look at her (Shaq) and you just feel sorry, like "damn... I hope the best for her cause she's gone downhill ever since..." Lakers are taking it within the next two seasons, if not this season. Hot damn.

One Question

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 07:21:29 GMT

Do you see colors? Passion glows and burns, embers ever present?

At this point, no. Does it ever feel the same? Staying up past midnight should feel better than this. It should awaken things in the person, stir emotions, string together words that didn't fit together until you. But it doesn't.

Do you see colors?

Brrrrr

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:51:04 GMT

Overheard the best comment the other day. A father and his small daughter walked past me at Starbucks.

Daughter: "Why do they call them polar bears?"
Father: "Hmm... I don't know."
Daughter: "They should call them BrrrrrBears."

HOW AWESOME WAS THAT STATEMENT???!!!

PS - Edison Chen, you've got a case of severe douchebagness. Please get that checked up on by a professional.

Chins Ups

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 05:27:42 GMT

My first English commercial shoot is tomorrow. Actually... my first real commercial shoot, let alone English. The concept is based on the clients (http://www.eblctelecom.com/) demand for comedy and simplicity. I wrote a treatment and they approved! Wish me luck... hopefully it'll play on a channel broadcasting near you soon!

A nice one.

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 04:10:41 GMT

"Lovers have lived so long with giants and elves, they want belief again in their own size."

Smiles

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:59:21 GMT

I feel good and happy. What a weird inconsequential fleeting feeling this is. Things are building themselves into this nice little comfortable abode. I'm pleased.

The Drewster

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:50:07 GMT

http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2008/01/early-word-eigh.html#comments

We have been smitten. Like clockwork, we will be faced with the deafening silence of reality for the next 8 weeks.

Humming along just fine

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 05:02:15 GMT

I sat on my glasses today. :( How in the hell? Anyway, so that's the third pair I've broken in the past 5 years. Is that abnormal? Should I be alarmed by my ability to break most things optical? Or is this a natural cycle of eye wear life and death? Either way, I need new glasses, again.

Post

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 18:51:31 GMT

I love my work (which is altogether different from saying "I love my job or company."). I enjoy sitting in front of my computer and sewing together disparate pieces of footage, like putting together a musical jigsaw. I would choose post over production 6 out of 7 days of the week. What about the 7th day, you ask? Well... that's when I'm shafted into a small editing truck outside Universal Studios, working the switchboard for the Beijing Olympic gala event... I want to see that shit man! But no. I'm inside a truck, working the switchboard... woe is me.

Designs on You

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 00:28:39 GMT

I've neglected my writings; tis very sad and inconsequential.

Music I listen to in my office when I've got nothing to do:
1. Old 97 "Murder (or a heart attack)"
2. Patrick Park "Life is a Song"
3. Carribou "Melody Day"
4. TV on the Radio "Tonight"
5. Tom Waits "Road to Peace"

These 5 songs have gotten me through the boringest of boring work days. (As well as the most stressful of stressful days.)

Notes to Self

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 22:41:50 GMT

- Her smile is nice and warm. She isn't a model, a poet, a writer, a painter and her birthday is far from home.
- Jay Chou is very cool. Working for him isn't.
- Christmas is one of the worst holidays for the Dysfunctionals of society.
- Always. ALWAYS zip up your pants after bathroom breaks. ALWAYS.

Flight 807

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 10:04:25 GMT

Fair play to you
Killarney's lakes are so blue
And the architecture I'm taking in with my mind
So fine...

Tell me of Poe
Oscar Wilde and Thoreau
Let your midnight and your daytime turn into love of life
It's a very fine line
But you've got the mind child
To carry on
When it's just about to be
Carried on...

And there's only one meadow's way to go
And you say "Geronimo"
There's only one meadow's way to go
And you say "Geronimo"

A paperback book
As we walk down the street
Fill my mind with tales of mystery, mystery...
And imagination

Forever fair
And I'm touching your hair
I wish we could be dreamers
In this dream, ohhh
Let it dream

And there's only one meadow's way to go
And you say "Geronimo"
And there's only one meadow's way to go
And you say "Geronimo"

Fair play to you
Killarney's lakes are so blue
High-ho silver, tit for tat
And I love you for that
High-ho silver, tit for tat
And I love you for that, love you for that, love you for that
High-ho silver, tit for tat, tit for tat
And I love you for that
High-ho silver, tit for tat, hah!
Yeah, yeah
And I love you for that

And theres only one meadow's way to go
And I, and I say "Geronimo"
And there's only one meadow's way to go
And we say "Geronimo"
Geronimo
And there's only one meadow's way to go
And we say Geronimo
And there's only one meadow's way to go
And we say Geronimo

Fair play to you

She sat next to me, her boyfriend in the seat in front. She read The Baby by Toni Morrison, he some trashy beach novel filled with spies and espionage. As my eyes closed from fatigue, I caught a small glimpse of her hands reaching over the seat, and with a graceful naturalness, her fingers began to explore the twisted knots of hair on his head, the ultimate destination being a meeting between her fingers and his, all the while neither one of them turned away from their books. It was sincere and tender.

Yes Boyieeeee

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 09:02:55 GMT

www.thekula.blogspot.com

What is the kula?

Embers in the Sky

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 03:21:11 GMT

Be careful, San Diego.

Abandon the Old

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 06:57:25 GMT

At work, this random song by Penny kept playing over and over again. There's this really adorable line in the song that would lose all of it's immediate impact if it were to be sung in any other language beside mandarin and with any accent other than the thick "I'm So Cute" accent that so many Asian girls adopt as a form of emoting. Anyway, the line goes (translated) "I lost to you. So what? I lost to you, but I did it on purpose, so what?" Haha. It's so funny! Can't you just imagine this really ridiculous pouty FOB girl prancing around the room taunting her lover? Funny. Truly funny.

Talking to someone recently brought back a random wave of traumatic memories that I've buried for a very long time. Memories involving my family, mainly my dad. Disclaimer: life is hard. Families are dysfunctional. I know; I'm not making comparisons. Anyway, I remember back when I was really little, like elementary and middle school little, my dad would randomly leave in the middle of the night. He'd sneak out of the house and start his car and drive off. I never knew where he was going. (I know now. Obviously.) Each night, I'd lie in bed waiting for the car engine to ignite, the sound of immediate departure, the echo of a then unrealized guilt and paranoia that the sound of the ignition crackling against the still cold night was also the sound of my father leaving forever. Sounds ridiculos now, but back then, I was paralyzed with fear. He would be gone for hours at a time, and I'd lie in bed awake for all those hours, time unfolding in on itself like the broken wings of a bat lost in flight, and after awhile, it'd be impossible for me to contain my fear of being left behind. I'd need to somehow express my plight physically, reassure my body that what my mind was feeling wasn't disconnected, to give myself a sense of control. So, I'd get up at 2 or 3 in the morning, run to the backyard which overlooked the giant hill leading to our little cul-de-sac, and I'd climb up on the fence and guard over that street. Every headlight was my father, every headlight was my chance to fall asleep again. Many times, I'd fool myself, many times I'd spot a tan MPV van barreling up the street and many times I'd run back into my room, excited that he'd managed to find his way home once again, if only for just one more day, and many times I'd wait for the font door to open only to wait long enough to fall asleep. Obviously, he never left us. But this kind of stuff stays with a son. And god knows the stupid remorse I felt for my mother. It fucking pains me to know that some fucking killer incarcerated in prison gets to see his mother more times a year than I get to see mine. Take a plane back and visit you say? That's relatively easy to do when you're 13 years old. Now, sure... but now isn't important. Back then was. I apologize for whatever grammatical errors I've made in this entry.

Coffee Needs Me as Much as I Need it

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 05:36:52 GMT

Worked with a new host today. She was pretty good, actually. Enunciated words clearly, emphasized the right emotions at the right times, was cute enough to get by when she messed up. The surprising thing was that at the end of the taping, she told me that she was in the running for Miss Taiwan. That totally blew my mind; I don't really know why, though. I always imagine pageant girls to be... ridiculous. Like total divas with big hair, running around with a plastic smile and a shiny gleam taped into their eye. But she was cool, real down to earth, no sense of "I'm hot, don't look me in the eyes." In fact, she even did the taping for FREE... I guess it was kinda like an audition of sorts. I hope she ends up at our channel. Not just cause she's a cool girl (look, she's 29, there is no chance for a relationship, but it'd be nice to have another cool co-worker join the army of slaves at IAVC), but because we are in desperate need of a new show personality. Shelley is awesome and all, but with the departure of Tammie, our channel is down to ONE show personality, so not only is Shelley totally overworked, but the audience, I'm sure, is somewhat tired of seeing Shelley do the news, the game shows and the commercials. So... basically, if you're a cute girl who has aspirations of becoming famous, don't join IAVC, but if you're deficient in confidence, lack moral where-with-all, wouldn't mind sacrificing money for desperation, and really know how to carry a good tune, then come over to IAVC. We just might havea show for you! And now... I need to convince my boss to hire another production person... being the sole reason your company isn't repeatedly showing the "Technical Difficulties" sign is tiring and stressful and depressing. On another work related note, my boss came up to me and rewarded me for all my hardwork. The last time this happened, I was excited because I thought I would receive a cash bonus of some sort. But this time, I knew better. Yup, I got more coupons for random fucking places. Places I will never go to, unless I'm a 50 year old Asian dad with greasy hair and no concept of good taste, then perhaps I'll go.

Out to Lunch

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 05:48:48 GMT

Last time I checked, I get off work at 6 PM. So why is it that I receive calls from our clients about commercials at 10 PM? I want to leave work at work; when I come home, ideally, I would like a few hours of relaxation time before I go to bed, not continuation of the stress that plagues me at the office. Not many people can answer this question for me, but do I grind my teeth when I sleep? I've been waking up with stress headaches recently; stress headaches and crackly noises when the mouth opens and closes are symptoms of bruxism... it worries me.

How Soon is Never?

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 00:11:18 GMT

People are insane. Seriously. Either I'm hitting the shittiest wall of social anxiety ever, or people are just ridiculously insane. I find it hard to venture out of my room these days; talking to people makes me feel all crunched up inside.

Ventured out to Santa Monica yesterday. Again. I don't know why, but I go there way too often. Got a haircut (Takeshi does it right man.), hung out with T, met up with Jeff, swung by the GR store which is awesome not because of the merchandise (although I must say, the Daniel Clowes books are mighty fine indeed), but the people there are so cute. These petite little Asian girls all hoped up on their Indie "Fuck Yeah" cred, snuggle themselves in between aisles filled with Yoshihiro Tatsumi mangas, T-shirts, and small trinkets of Japanese weirdness and just stand there staring at whatever shiny shit is grabbing their attention at that moment. It's a beautiful site.

Then I came home to work on my dad's cursed website. Which I'm still currently working on. Have been since this morning. I need a break. The sad thing? My break is going to come in the form of editing a segment on Korean tourism which is due to air tomorrow morning.

Vacation, it's me John. Can we hang out sometime? Thanks.

The Lizard

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 06:07:12 GMT

What a crappy terrible low down rotted day today was.

I have the biggest crush on the barista who works at the Starbucks near my office. Her name is Annie and she makes the damn best cup of coffe you will ever taste. Yesterday morning, she made a comment about my Pandamonium shirt and said something to the effect of, "that's cute, kinda like King Kong but with a panda." She said it in such a darling way that I had no real response. (Which isn't that unusual for me when I talk to attractive girls. I either get really sarcastic or just flat out awkward. 95% of the time it's awkward.) Finally, after what seemed like an eternally long period of awkward gestation, I replied with (seriously), "Pandamonium." And I didn't even say it in a funny way. And then, another moment of awkward silence passed, which was quickly followed with "Okkk, have a good day, yeah?" Here's a quick list of really embarassing, awkward romantic situations I've been involved in. Consider yourself lucky if you aren't on this list.

1. Telling Steph how I felt about her.
2. As I was clipping my toe nails before a date with a girl I had a mad supreme crush on during college, I accidently cut into my big toe. It was painful as hell. Blood squirted everywhere. And let's keep in mind that this was during my flip flop period, hence I had no real shoes with me. Just 4 different kinds of flip flops. I showed up late, big toe bandaged up, blood stains clotting said bandage, and I took her to watch a movie. Making matters worse, half way through the movie, she leaned over and yawned and said, "I kinda wanna go."
3. When I was in high school, I went back to visit my mom in Taiwan. During the trip, my cousin offered to introduce me to her friend, who was absolutely cute in every possible way. Needless to say, I eagerly accepted her offer. A few days pass, and one morning, I wake up in a groggy state of Chicken/Bed hair, dirty eye crap peeling from the corners of my eyelids, etc. I walk out to the hallway to go the bathroom. On my way out of my room, I spotted my gym shorts and I thought to myself, "I should probably put these on before I go outside." (Yeah, I was sleeping in my boxers.) But I decided that I was too lazy because who the hell would see me beside my mom and my sister? So, I wander out of my room, into the hallway wearing my boxers, bleary eyed and ready to pee. As soon as I round the corner to the bathroom, I hear laughter coming from behind me, and when I turned around, what am I faced with? My mom, my sister, my cousin and her cute friggin friend, all sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast. And rest assured, of the few girls who've seen me without decent clothing on, all of them I can garuantee would agree that Brad Pitt I'm not. I'm gonna let you finish laughing before I continue with this list...
4. 8th grade. Winter dance thingy. After asking Amy out for the first time in my life, I sat with some friends in the playground waiting for a response from her. She walks over to me. I'm kinda nervous. But still hopeful. (Chubby asian boys will never ever lose their optimism.) She sits down next to me and pulls out a torn dance ticket. "I can't go with you cause you see, my ticket got ripped in half."

Anyway, the list continues, but I don't feel like typing anymore. Lesson learned from all this? I hate interacting with girls.

It Doesn't Feel Right

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 09:15:06 GMT

No surprises. You know, just a year ago, I was hell bent on living a life of awesome discovery, the kind of life where every waking day was dictated by whim rather than responsibility. But now, I find myself gravitating towards simplicity, easiness and balance. My working life is just way too hectic to deal with any superfluous dramas. At least that's what I tell myself. I dunno, maybe this is the way I've always been. How is it for all you guys? Has work mutated itself into an all controlling, all dominating, all consuming virus soul sucker yet?

Funny, I was driving on the freeway today, and I all of a sudden remembered Alice. Remember Alice??? Sometimes, these random memories come rushing back to me, like when I'm just about to close my eyes for sleep, I'll get these vague images that ends up nestling itself inside my subconcious for the rest of the night, resulting in moments of random collusion between my memories and my dreams. Pleasant sometimes, nightmares the others.

So Long Today

Sat, 29 Sep 2007 10:01:30 GMT

My co-workers can be pretty awesome sometimes. (With the exception of one or two.) When I walked into my office this morning, I found a breakfast sandwich combo from McDs that Titan had bought for me on the way to work. Random shit like this makes me never want to quit my job.