Friday, January 30, 2009

news/ vampires

Jan. 27 News: I read in the Globe and Mail yesterday that people are using libraries more often. It's during a recession and people use the computers, and free wireless internet to look for jobs. Also more cds, dvds, books are being taken out for entertainment.

In 24, it's discussed about how to cut down on aggressive panhandling. In the article it talked to this guy who can make $400 in one day and lives in a nice downtown apartment. I don't know if you have seen these signs that said: "Don't give money to panhandlers. Instead donate to homeless charities like Hope Mission."

I'm getting a flashback of the days when I used to watch Maury's "Crazy things caught on tape" episodes. There is a woman holding up a sign that said: "Will work 4 food" and then the camera follows her to her Mercedes.

I was reading the Metro today and it said this: "According to Canadian law, bankruptcy is the act of legally declaring that you are unable to pay your creditors. When someone declares bankruptcy, a trustee appointed by the court oversees the bankruptcy process. This trustee acts as a negotiator on behalf of the person declaring bankruptcy and the creditor to try and ensure that both interests are looked after."

Funny: Over the weekend I was reading a restaurant review in the Journal. They reviewed the restaurant in Holt Renfrew.

Me: I didn't know there was a restaurant in Holt Renfrew.
Sister: I told you to stop talking to me!

Cut to later in the morning we were at the bus stop. I pull out my pen an agenda and try to write something down, but my pen wouldn't work.

S: Of course it's not working, it's too cold.
Me: I told you to stop talking to me!

Vampires: In 2003, there was a small aritcle in the National Post. It was in Malawi. I clipped the article out to help inspire me to write. The headline was this: "Journalist released after interview about vampire attack." The article:

"Blantyre- A Malawi court ordered the release yesterday of a journalist charged with causing public alarm after he interviewed a man who claimed his village was visited by blood- sucking vampires. Vampire rumours are rife, apparently linked to beliefs the government is working with international organizations to extract blood from the poor in return for food."

In 2001, I read this interview with a real- life vampire hunter named Sean Manchester. I found it while looking up Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That interview totally inspired me to write the script called Unreal. It was about three teenagers Zoe, Keram, and Ben who encounter these vampires at a party and hunt them down. Zoe was an intern at the police station and was suspicious of these neck rupture cases.

That police internship was inspired from the old TV show called The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. I watched that show when I was 14 years old. It's not until I was 18 years old did I realize that it was unrealistic to hire a high school student to be an intern at a police station. When I was applying to NAIT's TV program, I was trying to get an internship at a TV station.

I was told by the TV station that they only hire college students, not high school students. I feel like Shelby would only get that internship if she had a family member or friend to get that for her, or she must have a really good resume and cover letter. Maybe if she was already accepted into the MacEwan Police Program, then she would be an intern.

Writing: Yesterday I was ripping out old pages from my school agenda and saw that I had written some Creative Writing assignments in it, so I decided to type it up onto my blog.

Jan. 28: This new vampire script is called The Hunter. I would have Michael Trucco star as the lead.

Good: Today I was watching Lie to Me about a guy who is like a human lie detector. I saw the credits and David Anders was going to guest- star. I squealed with excitement. DA played Sark on Alias. I still have pics of him up in my room since I bought that Alias magazine in 2004. I then saw him on Heroes. In both roles he had a British accent. In this episode, he didn't have one and talked in his normal voice. He also had very short hair, almost shaved. I like it when his hair isn't so short.

This show Lie to Me is very good. A character crosses his arm, and steps back which means he's lying. Cut to a film video Richard Nixon who says he's "not a crook" and does the exact same action. A woman is lying, and her lips are turned down. Cut to pictures of Bill Clinton and Anna Nicole Smith with the same facial expression.

This show is informative. You should watch it.

Jan. 29 Joke: I read in the 24 newspaper poll that 95% of people never done speed dating before. That reminds me of The Simpsons where Marge experiences amnesia and doesn't remember falling in love with Homer. M then goes to a speed dating event and asks the woman in charge a question.

M: Is this how you met your husband?
Woman: No, I met him through friends like what normal people do.
lol. I would like to do speed dating. I've already done online dating.

Job: The question is: "Are you sick of your job yet Tracy?" When I got the job at the bank, I was working 32 hours a week for 2 months. Then I only worked at the Soup place once a week for a month. I've been working 48 hours a week for the past 5 months. I need to get sick of my job so I could really look hard for another job. Tomorrow I shall look for that administrative job.

Jan. 30: Today I passed out 10 resumes to: Paul Travel, Bank of Montreal, Dynalife (I learned about it reading Job Classified) Delta Centre Suite Hotel, and Guest Services at City Centre, the Sutton Place Hotel, and HSBC. Throw in Thomas Cook Foreign Exchange, World Health Club, and CBC Radio for the position of television writer. This month in total I passed out 24 resumes.I don't feel like I'm really pulling out all the stops to get a job. When I was looking for a job that landed me at the Soup place, I passed out 21 resumes in one day.

I pulled out all the stops to get a job at a bank the first time around. However, I think I'm blacklisted from that bank and will never work there again. lol. It's a good thing I did try out the job at Urban Planet a few months ago. I will now steer away from working in retail, unless I really have to. I did stay away from passing out resumes to staffing agencies this time around.

20/20: There was a double shot of this show. The first one was about dating. There is this scientist who studies love. When you're in love, dopamine and serotonin are produced into your brain. Did you know arranged marriages have a 5-7% divorce rate? In America it's 50%.

Then they profiled four couples who met a singles mixer. The scientist wrote a book called Why Him? Why Her? It's about why we fall in love with certain people. We watch them go on dates. It was kind of like watching Blind Date, but not trashy without funny subtitles. It's actually informative as the scientist and host analyze it. They see body language like how a woman is tossing her hair as a sign that she is flirting with the guy.

Dream: Last night I had a dream that my mom took a message about some TV production company calling me. Some interest in The Fighter, but they mentioned Underworld Evolution so in my dream it was mixed with The Hunter. It's been two weeks since I pitched and sent my script to Media Masters. I should email them to see if they read it yet.

Monday, January 26, 2009

"Little Red Riding Hood" alternate ending short story

"Little Red Riding Hood" alternate ending short story (Creative Writing 2006)

Little Red Riding Hood enters the cabin. "Grandma? Are you there?" called Amber. "Over here dear. I'm in bed," calls Grandma.

Amber enters her grandma's room and sees a wolf in sheep's clothing. She decides to keep playing along. Amber asks, "So uh... where are your contact lenses?" "I didn't feel like putting them on today," answers Wolf. "You seem to remember putting on your dentures," replies Amber. "I certainly did," says
Wolf.

Wolf jumps out at Amber.
Amber was fast and jumped back.
Amber wasn't fast enough and Wolf clawed her red hoodie off her.
Wolf: You want to play rough eh?
Amber kicks Wolf's neck.
Amber: Shut up.

Wolf chases after Amber through the house.
They stop at the kitchen.
Wolf: I'm hungry.
Amber: So am I.

Amber lunges for the kitchen knives and Wolf paws it away from her.
Wolf hits Ambers face with his paw.
Amber was seeing stars.
Amber crawls to the living room where she saw her grandma's remains. She had been knitting when the wolf attacked her.

Amber was on her back as Wolf climbed on top of her.
Wolf smells her. Then licks her face.
Wolf: You will be my dessert. I know you're going to taste sweet.
As Wolf leans in to bite her, Amber plunges a knitting needle into his eye.
The Wolf howled in pain.

Amber kicks Wolf off her.
Amber grabs a knife and plunges it into the wolf's heart.
Amber: That was for my grandma. And this one's for me.
Amber cuts his throat.

"Tattoo" short story

"Tattoo" short story by Tracy Au (Creative Writing 2006)

Cut to a suana. An Asian guy named George enters and sits by a white guy named John.

George: Nice tattoo.
John: Thanks. I'm studying education in university so I got this tattoo to say "Learn Always" in Chinese.
George: That doesn't say "Learn Always."
John: What does it say then?
George: Beautiful.

John: No, I went to the parlor and the tattoo artist told me exactly what it meant. Great, so I spent $150 on a tattoo that didn't say "Learn Always."
George: Well at least it says "Beautiful" and not "I'm really stupid."
John: Technically it does say "I'm really stupid" because it's not the right tattoo. Well I hope people don't think I'm conceited.

inspired/ shopping/ good

Jan. 24 Inspired: After watching Kit Cope on True Life, I am inspired. Last night I printed out the 4th draft of The Fighter. Then just now, I joined the Facebook group about Kit Cope. Then I added a friend request with a message for him. I also some some UFC (Ultimate Fight Club) on SpikeTV.

Music: I borrowed the Jonas Brothers cd from the library. I heard it a few times. They're talented. Their music is average. Not bad, but I didn't love it. Well to each their own. The last track kept skipping. I tried to fix it by putting toothpaste on a q-tip and rubbing it on the cd and then washing it. It still kept skipping. It has worked before on the Jennifer Lopez cd "Brave" when I borrowed it from the library.

Shopping: Yesterday on my day off I went to West Ed mall. I haven't been there in months. I remember going there last summer and bumping in Michelle from MacEwan. I went to the HMV and the two Source by Circuit City stores, and their 8GB ipods are $160. I went to the Apple store and it was $169. I listened to a couple of songs like Alicia Key's ballad "Ain't Got You" and Justin Timberlake's dance track "My Love."

I've mainly been working, and staying at home watching TV. I deserved a day out. I did pass my resume to the Chan International Model and Talent Agency at the mall. Looks like The General Store closed down. I think there is still one at Kingsway. General store sold antiques. I remember back in summer 2004, my friend Chamnouer introduced me to it.

Looks like the arcade in the food court closed down. Tommy Hilfiger opened at a new location. Lasenza girl store is made smaller to make room for Bath and Body Works. The American store Aeropstatle is also open. There's one at Kingsway. Labels looks like it closed down, unless it's renovating.

I checked out the Bourbon street restaurant called the Red Piano. I remember going out to a Mexican restaurant that used to be there. It was back in 2001. My sister introduced me to the restaurant and fried ice cream. I'm getting a flashback of 2003, I was watching the Ellen Degeneres show and a woman was eating fried ice cream.

Coincidence: Last night my bedroom lightbulb stopped working. Coincidentally three weeks ago my desk lamp stopped working. It seemed kind of weird that both lightbulbs stopped working so close together. That hasn't happened before, unless I can't remember it did.

Job: Today I went to work from 9:30am- 6pm. Last week I was called to come in at 9:30am, so I thought I was supposed to do that again this week. I got there, and then Stella came and said I was supposed to come at 10am. Well at least I got some overtime. Another worker was supposed to come, but she didn't.

I was reading the Globe and Mail and there was an advice column in the Business section. This person writes about how someone wrote a message on the bathroom stall dissing him. I thought that sounded so immature, and what someone in high school or jr. high would do. I was surprised adults in the business world do that. The advice from people also said it was immature.

You should report to the manager or human resources about it. Get them to paint over it. Tell them that visitors who come in here will see it, and it will not only make the worker look bad, but the entire business look bad.

Jan. 25: I went to work today and no one was there. First I called Ray and left a message, thinking she was supposed to work. Then I called Cameron and he called his friend Steve to come. S never came so I was by myself. Every Sunday, it's different. One week it's Vivian, Christine, Steve, Ray, alone.

Writing: Right now I'm waiting until Pauline from Media Masters reads my script and see if she will produce it into a pilot. It's been a week since I sent it to her. Last night I decided that there is a chance that she might not produce it. Well then I might as well type everything up and get Fighter to be up to 90 pages so I could send it to Super Channel to produce.

After work, I typed some things up. The 4th draft had 59 pages. I then worked on it, and now it's 63 pages. I'm getting there. You know the whole saying about quality vs. quantity. I'll get the qauntity of 90 pages and then send it. Afterwards, I'll get some feedback and then work on the quality. That's how I write essays. I write as much as I can, and as fast as I can. After I'm done, I then start working to improve it.

Jan. 26: Happy Chinese New Year! It's the Year of the Ox, my year. Today my manager Steven gave his employees $10 each out of his own pocket. Very generous of him.

Mix martial arts: My friend Daniel read my last email about mix martial arts and Kit Cope. He says: "For the record, Kit Cope is a great kick boxer but a terrible MMA fighter. He actually lost his first and only fight in the UFC to a much smaller and weaker (but much better) fighter in Kenny Florian. Florian actually broke Cope's arm in that fight (Cope refused to submit to the arm bar until it was too late). After the fight, Cope tested positive for steriods."

Coincidently, Kit Cope has confirmed me as his friend on Facebook! lol.

News: I was reading the Metro today and it said that next month, the adult buspasses will go from $66.50 to $74.25. The council wants the 2012 target to be $89. I groaned. Well at least there is still the Upass for college students.

I found this on Yahoo news: "14- year- old fools Chicago cops and goes on patrol." The kid looked older than 14, but he was wearing the police uniform. He was later caught when someone noticed that his badge was missing. He was arrested in Dec. 2007 when he asked a police officer to drive him to the station when he was reporting for duty.

A cop said: "It was a cry out for help." In the article it said: "The boy was fascinated with police shows and had participated in ride-alongs through a community outreach program, Watkins told the Chicago Tribune." TV has had a big influence on him. I may be obsessed with the show Law and Order: SVU, but the only effect it has on me is that I know more about how the law works. When I write something a police officer or a lawyer would say, I think about the show.

Good: In good news, my Problem Co-Worker quit her job a couple of weeks ago. She was the one who called me bad names, and swore at me. I told the manager. What was good, was that my inaction after that was that she quit on her own. I heard from people that she lashed out at a co-worker for asking if she was done her break. She swore at my manager.

She lashed out at another co-worker for taking her locker. Then that co-worker took my locker, but I didn't yell at her. I took another locker. Another co-worker started disliking her too. There are two co-workers that actually like PCW, but they already quit. Then there are two co-workers who don't have a problem with her, but they only work part- time and don't really deal with her. That only leaves one co- worker who actually likes her.

It's good. I didn't talk s--- about her behind her back to my other co-workers. Her behaviour to them is what turned them against her. I only told the truth about her behaviour to my manager and my friends outside of work.

Friday, January 23, 2009

news/ mix martial arts/ dance

Jan. 22 News: I read on Yahoo, that a 22- year- old woman Xin Yang was decapitated at Virginia Tech. Damn. I was like: "Didn't that school have a school shooting?" Yeah, back in 2007 and another tragedy occurs.

Ipod: Onto lighter news, I went to the Source, and a 8GB ipod is $160. I went to HMV, and it's the same price. I'll have to look around some more. If you see an 8GB ipod that is cheaper than $160, tell me.

Dream: I had a weird dream last night. I met Shane West. Carrot Top asked for him to sign this poster. I asked SW to sign my A Walk to Remember dvd. I know how SW got into my dream. Last night I wrote that I liked that movie. I don't know CT got into the dream though. lol.

Something about when I saw SW, his face was filled with acne. In the dream, I was at the Russian Tea Room on Jasper Ave. I asked to see a psychic, but there wasn't one there.

Last night I saw the Law and Order: SVU ep called "Babes." I missed it when it first aired. It ripped off many headlines. I went on twop.com and someone posted this:

"Let's count the Topical References, shall we?
1. Bristol Palin
2. New England pregnancy pact
3. Megan Meier"

Another person:
"4. True Love Waits ™
5. Homeless beatings on YouTube"

Jesse McCartney guest- starred so you know he's the guy the who did it. Well Debi Mazar actually guest- starred too, so she was responsible for some of it. JM is actually a really good actor when he was sweating and crying during his confession. For the first time, I was actually impressed with his acting.

Kind of reminds me of the movie Unleashed. I've seen a lot of Jet Li movies like Romeo Must Die, (some of) The One, Kiss of the Dragon, and Cradle to the Grave. I was never impressed with his acting until he did Unleashed. In his movies, he's usually cool. This was a more challenging role because it's about a guy who was treated and raised like a dog. Very good movie, I recommend you watch it if you haven't already.

Jan. 23 Mix Martial Arts: Last night I saw True Life, this show on MTV. They profile three mix martial arts fighters. I had to watch it for my research of my script. It was a lot of fun to watch. They showed them training and how they live their life as fighters.

One guy named Frankie talked about how he was going to a big competition, and then 10 days later he's going to get married to his girlfriend of 7 years. Well he lost his fight, but the wedding was good. Then they profiled another guy who is studying graphic design in college and balancing his training. He won his fight. He also has a 3.0 which is really good.

I have to save the best for last and that is Kit Cope. He was funny. After he weighed in at the competition, he went to his hotel room and pigged out. He had to weigh 155 pounds to be in the competition. He says: "Now let's eat some fruit and cookies." lol. He starts unwrapping this really nice fruit basket. KC: "It's like undressing your prom date." lol.

All three guys got girlfriends. The epilogue said that KC moved in with his gf, and then two months later they broke up. KC had blown out his knees and there was picture of his opened shoulder wound. I was like: "Ewwww." What was interesting was that after his friends left the hotel, he actually started cleaning up the place. I figured he would let the hotel staff clean it up. I would clean up because I'm a neat freak.

KC: When my friends left, I had to be serious and think about all the situations that could happen in the ring. In the end, I will have my arm being raised at the end of the fight.
Yeah, that's positive thinking. He did win the fight. He was on the ground and he elbowed the guy in the forehead, and blood was spurting all over KC. I was like: "Ewww."

I went on imdb.com and I see that he's 31 years old. Here's his resume and pic. He is hot.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2314576/resume

Job: Today is my day off. For the entire week, I was reading through my old emails and deleting most of them. I found this in my draft folder and emailed to be a sales assistant at sales@lonepublishing.com again.

Flashback: I was thinking about John last night. I've known him for 28 months. I've only seen him for 8/ 28 months. I then did the math on the computer calculator. It's 29%. That's long distance relationships for you. Then I got a flashback of summer 2007. I was talking to my manager Aziz at Treats.

A: So how was your weekend?
Me: Good. I saw my boyfriend.
A: You seem him once a week?
Me: No, more like once or twice a month.
A: And you call him your boyfriend?

lol. Well back then he had school and work, and I had school so that's why we didn't see each other a lot. Maybe the distance is getting to me. I have email and phone calls to keep in contact with him. I don't want to air out my dirty laundry, but I don't like how this relationship is going. I'll leave it at that.

Dance: Today I was watching some of America's Best Dance Crew season 3. I see Jesus (pronounced Hay- soos) and Hok from So You Think You Can Dance season 3 in an ep. They are in the dance group called Quest. I remember Hok did bring his Asian friends to the SYTYCD auditions. They were impressive. I did like how Jesus, Hok, and his friends all teamed up together to go into another dance competition show together. Good luck or break a leg to them.

Another thing is that JC Chasez from Nsync isn't one of the judges, or at least not in the premiere. Instead it's Kid Rainen, one of the members from the winning dance crew called Jabbawakeez from season 1. I remember in season 1, they had the first runner up team that had two guys who auditioned on SYTYCD. I saw them, but those two guys got to Las Vegas but didn't make the Top 20.

I hope that people who watch all these dance shows will get inspired that dancing can get you somewhere. I saw the dance crew Dynamic Edition, and I recognize the guy in the group. It's a group does hip- hop mixed with clogging. That guy was in SYTYCD season 3 auditioning to Missy Elliot's song "We Run This." I loved his dancing. Now I remember his name is Brandon. He also danced in the SYTYCD season finale with the song "The Way I are" by Timbaland and Keri Hilson. Good for him.

Survival tips: I'm watching 20/20 about how to survive in a night club fire. React quickly. Go to the nearest exit and stay calm. If the plane you are on catches fire, do the same thing. In fact the first 3 minutes on the plane, and the last 8 minutes before landing, you should be alert. That's when may airplane crashes occur. 75% of people do survive in plane crashes.

When you get on the plane, look at where all the exits are. Count all the rows to where the exit is. When the plane is up in smokes, you will most likely have to feel your way to get to the exit.

Another story is about the tsunami back in 2004 where 230,000 people died. They interviewed this then- 10 year old British girl Tilly who knew that a tsunami was going to happen. She studied it in school that if the ocean water is bubbling, then a tsunami was going to occur. She was telling her parents about. The dad takes her to the hotel and tells the security guard about it. A Japanese guy heard the word tsunami because it's a Japanese word and says there was an earthquake earlier.

Everybody on the beach went into the hotel, less than 10 minutes after Tilly noticed it. People in the hotel were injured, but no one died. The newspapers call Tilly "Angel on the Beach."

They interviewed a woman who was attacked by a mountain lion. Her head was in the lion's mouth. Her friend was trying to pull her head out of his mouth. Later three cyclists came by and started throwing rocks at the lion's head. The woman survived due to her faith. Faith has a lot to do in these survival situations. It helps people stay calm. The rangers looked around as the woman was taken in ambulance to the hospital. The rangers found a dead man who was the first victim. The lion was then shot.

They talked to a man who's body was cut in half by a train track. He survived due to his will to live. He was thinking about his wife and kids. He called 911 and told the operator that he was run over by a train track. The operator was shocked because she thought it was someone else who got run over, and the guy was calling 911 to help the other person.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

fun/ writing

Jan. 17 Fun: Today I actually went out on a Saturday night. I went to this church with my manager Stella to celebrate Chinese New Year. It's the Year of the Ox, my year. It was fun. S gave me these tickets and I put them in draw to win a pink 4GB ipod. I hope I win it. The last time I won a draw was in 2007 and I won $500 from MacEwan at the end- of- the- year barbacue. I remember the times I put my ballots into those draws at the U of A and MacEwan open houses back in 2002, and I didn't win any.

Then I went to a MacEwan open house in 2005, and did a survey so I could enter a draw to win an MP3 player. Alas, no luck. I also remembered in 2007, I tried to win an ipod by naming a favorite restaurant. I also tried to win an ipod again in this other contest in the same year. Maybe my luck will turn. It's like this time back in 1999/ 2000, I tried to win cds. I entered a post card, and have 1 of 20 or 1 of 50 cds. After entering into 10, I finally won the Mandy Moore cd.

I ate mint chocolate ice cream, rice noodles, chow mein, deep fried wonton with sweet and sour sauce. Then I took the bus home. I was crossing the street. There wasn't any street lights, but a sign with a person walking. A car slowed down, because it was going to turn. I start walking, and another car was coming at me. I ran really fast. It was kind of skidding because the streets are wet. That was a near- death experience.

Writing: My script is 59 pages. I thought up some new ideas and scenes. I was going to type it up. Then I thought: "Wait, 59 pages is long enough for a 1 hour pilot. Well excluding commercials." I decided to go and send it again to Pauline Urquhart at Vicom Media Productions company in Edmonton. In Jan. 2008, I pitched The Fighter to her, and sent the script. She read it and said this:

Hi Tracy;
I read your script materials. Interesting concept. You have a lot of work to bring it to a level that you should show a producer though. If you show a producer before it is ‘production ready” you could do yourself a dis service. It may be harder to get the producer to read another of your scripts.
So now I sent the script pitch, script, synopsis and refreshed her memory. This script is now "production ready" and I want her to read it and produce it.

Jan. 19 Desmond Harrington: Well Desmond Harrington was on Gossip Girl again tonight. He was so good acting all angry and bad and attacking the character Lily. It kind of reminded me of a scene of my Fighter script.

In other news, I talked to Stella, and she said that some young guy won that ipod in the draw. Damn, how ironic. I put in 15 ballots for that one draw and didn't win. I put one ballot in one draw, and win $500.

Clean: I've been cleaning out my MacEwan stuff like registration guide and brochure. I did keep some stuff so I could print stuff on the blank side of it.

Good: I read this article on Yahoo where they list 10 bad reality TV shows that got cancelled really fast. I am happy to hear that they are getting bad TV shows off the air. All the shows listed, I didn't even watch. I mostly forgot all of them. They are: Opportunity Knocks, Secret Talents of the Stars, High School Musical: Get in the Picture, Celebrity Circus, Greatest American Dog, Crowned: The Mother of all Pageants, My Dad is Better than your Dad, Amnesia, Dance Machine, Wanna Bet?

Jan. 21 Quotes: Yesterday I saw some of Barak Obama's inauguration. I found this in today's Metro:

"Rosa Parks sat down so King could walk. King walked so Barack could run. Barack ran so that all of us can fly." - Rev. Elias Mwamba Mutale, Nova Scotia

"This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed... why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath." -An excerpt from U.S. President Barack Obama's inauguration address

Dating: I was thinking about dating today. If you are going to leave someone, you should have someone else in mind to date. Right after that, I thought it was stupid. This isn't a job. If you are going to leave a job, you should have another job set up. If you are single between relationships, that's fine.

I don't know about you, but what is good compatability? I thought John and I had good compatability, but now I don't. He's a metrosexual and I'm a tomboy. At first I thought we balanced each other out. I'm a tomboy because I like sex jokes, action movies, dressing casual, sneakers. I dislike romantic movies (A Walk to Remember, The Prince and Me are exceptions), dresses and skirts, makeup, not interested in fashion.

Toothpaste: I finally finished using my Sensodyne toothpaste which expired back in 2006. I didn't start using it until 2007. Anyway, since I ran out of toothpaste, I used my dad's. He's a smoker, and after I brushed my teeth, I felt like my mouth was an ashtray. Seriously.

In other news, today I had a conversation with my sister, where we weren't arguing. I was watching Criminal Minds and the story was creepy. It's about how a couple and their son kidnap a little girl, and kill her parents. The little girl is supposed to be the wife of the son. Then they are to marry and have kids and keep kidnapping and killing parents for generations to come. S then came by.

S: Is this episode based on a true story?
Me: I don't know. It's not like Law and Order: SVU where they are ripping from the headlines. I could go on televisionwithoutpity.com and ask. One time there was an episode about these two brothers who kidnap people and release them into the forest so they could hunt them down. I was like: "This is so like the short story I read back in grade nine called 'The Most Dangerous Game.' Then someone on twop.com said that there was a true story about a guy who kidnaps prostitutes and release them into the woods and hunts them down.

S: Yeah, but what was the point of "The Most Dangerous Game"? What was the theme?
Me: I don't know. You would know since you're the one who remembered the ending to Animal Farm.
S: Yeah, but there was a point to it. It was a parody of uh...
Me: Communism.
S: Yes, communism.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Resume Rubric

I got this from school back in 2007. I saved this onto a disk about tips on how to improve your resume. You should take a look:

Resume Rubric

Have you…

o …targeted your resume to the job ad?

o …put the most relevant information in the visual centre of the resume?

o …expressed your experience within the language of your potential employer/industry?

o …organized your resume so that it is easy for the employer to see you have the skills and experience for the job?

o …included your current and correct contact information? (And does your e-mail address sound professional?)

o …carefully proofread and edited your resume? Do not rely on spell check.

o …created a visually appealing and professional looking resume?

o …included relevant information and omitted or briefly summarized dated or unrelated experience?

o …written a targeted cover letter?

o …picked appropriate references? Does the employer want you to include them with your resume or at the interview?

o …researched the company/employer?


Top 10 Proofreading Tips
_____________________________________

Print out the resume.

Read it slowly, one word at a time. Focus on:

Dates of Employment
Phone numbers and e-mail addresses
Spelling of proper nouns
Headings
Consistency of formatting

Mark any changes on the proof with a pen (green/red).

Read it backwards, one word at a time.

Make the changes to the document on your computer.

Print it again.

Read it again.

Compare the proof version with pen marks to the new proof. Check off that each correction was made.

Let it sit overnight.

Ask two other capable proofreaders to read it with a critical eye.





















Top Ten Tips cited from the following:

Whitcomb, Susan Britton. Resume Magic: Trade Secrets of a Professional Resume Writer (3rd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: JIST Publishing, Inc. 2007


Top 10 Resume Strategy Tips
_____________________________________

Write like an advertising copywriter, not an autobiographer.

Zero in on what the employer needs by reviewing position postings or conducting informational interviews.

Substantiate your ability to do the job by including results.

Omit extraneous information—employers looking for a graphic artist will rarely care that your degree is in Home Economics (list bachelor’s degree but not the subject area).

Create multiple resumes for multiple targets.

Position critical information (keyword & accomplishments) in the first third of the page.

Briefly summarize or omit dated information.

Prioritize the sentences that comprise your job descriptions—place the most relevant information first and the less relevant information last.

Spin information to be as transferable as possible—frame your experience within the framework/language of your potential employer.

Use your resume wisely. Whenever possible, deliver your resume in person. Humans make hiring decisions. Get face-to-face with employers to get an edge over your competition.

Top 10 Visual Appeal Tips

21.Be consistent in design treatments:
a. Use the same tab spacing or amount of vertical space between every category heading and between every bullet.
b. If you apply bold and underline to one position title, use the same treatment consistently on all other position titles. The same idea holds for treatment of other headings/sub-headings.

22. Avoid starting too many consecutive lines with bullets; fewer groupings of bullets will help guide the reader’s eye to key information.

23. Add white space.

24. Minimize the space between the bullet position and the text position.

25. Reserve bullets for accomplishments rather than responsibilities.

26. Limit the number of tab stops on the page.

27. Break up lengthy paragraphs - use sub-headings.

28. Balance the resume top-to-bottom and left-to-right.

29. Use one font style, possibly two.

30. Design within a logical hierarchy of font-work (bold, underline, point size of fonts) and case (all caps, small caps, upper and lower case) to provide a sense of order and to control the reader’s eye toward important information.

Remember to place your most important information on the visual centre of the page (fold a piece of paper into three sections – like folding a letter for an envelope – mark a one-inch line from the top fold (top and bottom).

Saturday, January 17, 2009

"Ride with Me" short story

"Ride with Me" (dream) by Tracy Au (Creative Writing 2006)

It was night time. TJ was driving and Rain was sitting in the front passenger seat. I was sitting in the back. The killer was wearing the Scream mask and black robe was running towards us. "Powerlock the doors!" I shouted. The doors were locked. "Finally a scary movie where people do something smart," I thought to myself.

The killer banged on the wheels and TJ drove off. We all turned back and looked as the killer was waving his arms and pointing to the right. We shouted at him "Up yours!" We turned around and there was a huge truck and we were about to crash into it. TJ swerved.

I woke up. The car was turned over. TJ was dead. Rain is missing. I struggled to climb out. I stumbled a few step and felt a hand on my back. TJ must not have been dead because I didn't check his pulse. I turned and it was the killer. I ran, but he tackled me down. He was on top of me with the knife aimed at my neck. I'm not going out without a fight. He punctured a hole in my skin. As soon as I saw the blood, I got a hold of the knife and stabbed him in the chest.

"Lemons" short story

"Lemons" by Tracy Au (Creative Writing 2006)

"When life hands you lemons, make lemonade," my dad always said. That's the only way he got through life. My dad worked for the mob. He attempted to leave, but it was hard to turn down money. He had a daughter to take care of. When he finally got the courage to leave, he got shot by the mob boss. My dad had stolen enough money so that he could take us to a far away place from New York, such as Seattle. It didn't happen because he got shot as he was driving to pick me up from school.

My dad never drank. He always liked to be alert. The mob called him any time of the day for him to do work. He often dranked lemonade. It was sweet, just like him. I had to stay in witness protection so I won't get hurt. I had kept a journal of all the times my dad came home with blood on his shirt. I'll be reading it in court as my testimony. Prior to it, I'll be drinking some lemonade to remind me of my dad.

Friday, January 16, 2009

writing/ analyze

Jan. 15 Writing: I emailed Glynis, and she emailed me back on the same night. However, she won't be helping me anymore. Here's what she said:

Hi Tracy,
I'm impressed that you have done so much work on THE FIGHTER and in such a short period. I have left Super Channel to return to making films. My replacement has not yet been contracted. Since a feature length script is usually 90 - 120 pages, I suggest that you work on it until it is closer to that before submitting it to Super Channel again. Although I'm not able to provide feedback at this time due to other commitments, I suggest that you contact Conni Massing at the Edmonton Public Library. She is the writer-in-residence there. Conni is a very accomplished writer and an excellent writing teacher. I'm not sure if she'll have time to read your script but I know she'll provide good advice on what to do next.
Best of luck with your project.
Glynis

Flashback: I'm getting a flashback of 2003. Connie Massing worked on the TV show The Adventures of Shirley Homes. I then met her in 2003, when she was looking for teenagers to act and write for a TV show called LMAO. It stands for "Laugh my ass off." It's about a group of teenagers who attend a performing arts school and they produce a TV show. It's supposed to be a comedy. Well it was never produced. I applied, and I got rejected. That's okay.

I remember that time I was sitting there, as she and another woman, and an actor was talking about it. They asked if we had any questions. I shot up my hand.

Me: Hi, I think you should have the actor Eric Johnson on your show. He's an actor from Edmonton and you may have seen him as Whitney from Smallville. I have his agent's office address and phone number-
Actor: Is it (agent's name)________?
Me: Yeah.
I was thinking: "How did he know that?"
Actor: Yeah, well he's my agent too. We can't have him on the show because he's too old.
EJ at that time was 23 years old, and they were looking for teens.

Actor: Yeah, and not to mention he's like 6'5".
Me: No, he's 6'2".
Actor: Yeah well after he was on Smallville, he just got too big.
They were all like: "No, he's too old."
lol. Well at least I tried. I found his agent's office address number by looking on the internet. I read everything I could about EJ and then I reread an article where it mentioned his Edmonton agent. I put EJ with the agent's name onto google and found the address and phone number.

You may say I'm a stalker. Yeah, well I never called them. I'm a big fan of EJ. I then gave the agent's contact info to the youth magazine Mozaic. They had a website called www.youthone.com which I used to go to all the time since 2002-2003. They did the interview with EJ, and published in the University of Alberta's school newspaper The Gateway.

Charity: Today the Organ Donations called for money. They said I donated back in July 2007. Yeah, I think I remember that. I turned them down.

News: I read that Prison Break is on their last season in the Metro. Four years is pretty good. I clipped out the picture where it has Michael (Wentworth Miller) holding Sarah. I remember this time back in 2007, I was in Distilled Prose class. The first time I saw this guy, I knew he looked like this actor. A few weeks later, I got the courage to tell him.

Me: Do you know who you look like?
Tyson (looks up): The guy from Prison Break?
I start laughing.
Me: I was going to say you look like Channing Tatum, the lead guy in the movie Step Up, but you look way more like the guy from Prison Break. Who told you look like him?
T: My manager at work. She's like, "You look like the guy from Prison Break."
Me: Do you watch it?
T: I've seen a few episodes.

T looks like Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell. All three of them have short dark hair, and a round face. T looks like he's related to them. I started laughing because I expected T to say: "I don't know, who?" But instead he goes and says an actor who he looks way more like. He's got a high level of self- awareness.

Music: Right now I'm listening to music from Ciara's new cd called Fantasy Ride. It's not available in Canada or Itunes so I'm listening to the new tracks on Youtube. Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyxb9g_67W8&feature=related

Analyze: My graduating out of college has not sunk in yet. It's like I have to get that diploma in my hand before it sinks in. Kind of like that time I was surprised I got a job at a bank. It didn't sink in until I was actually at work. Last night I was watching Criminal Minds, and then Matthew Gray Gubler appeared on screen. In 2006, I had emailed him saying that he helped me get into college. He wrote back saying that I had made him feel so special and congratulating me. I always thought that after I graduated, I would email him telling him that.

Now I think back in 2004, when I got a letter from NAIT saying that I was accepted into the Graphic Communications program, I screamed. I was so happy that I got into college. It totally sunk in. Same with getting accepted in the Professional Writing program. Also the time I passed Applied Math 20 and Science 10. I was struggling in all of grade 11, but then I finally passed. The feeling was relief.

Jan. 16: Today is my day off, but I did productive things. I woke up 45 minutes later, but I did shovel the driveway, took out the trash, and vacuumed the house.

Casting: For the record, in The Fighter script, I have casted Michael Trucco to play the character Mason Banks and Eric Johnson to play Alex Donovan. MT can play a bad guy. You can actually watch the full length ep of Law and Order: SVU "Smut" ep on youtube:

http://ca.youtube.com/results?search_query=law+and+order+svu+%22smut%22&search_type=&aq=0

Right now I'm watching CSI: NY. I don't really watch this show, but the actor Kyle Gallagher is in this. KG played Beaver on Veronica Mars, and was in the movie Red Eye. He was also in a Law and Order: SVU ep, and he was a bad guy of course. Well Melissa Joan Hart who played Sabrina on Sabrina the Teenage Witch also was in the ep. She played the victim.

In this ep, KG's character is 23 years old and is writing a news blog so he's kind of like me. lol. KG is in the ep called "Taxi" where he is trying to track down taxi cab killer.

Job search: Today I passed out 11 resumes to banks, and hair salons to be an administrative assistant.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Blog (Creative Writing class 2006)

Blog by Tracy Au (Creative Writing class 2006)

I have learned about blogs in 2001 when I found a website called jennyhyun.tv about a sixteen year old Korean- American girl who wants to be a singer. She posted journal entries about living in New York, performing at clubs, and recording and writing songs in the studio. She then posted her songs on her site so the web visitors could listen to it.

In the MacEwan Paper Cuts article about journals, "...I have never understood the feeling of release they were granted. What's the point of writing something if no one's ever going to read it?" I had kept a journal for year when I was eighteen years old. It was to organize my thoughts. I quit because the things I wrote in it are the same thigns I email to my friends like episode summaries of the reality show Cheaters about how people catch their partners cheating on them.

At first I was really excited about my blog (www.rebel3496.blogspot.com) and worked on it while reading others on that Saturday. By nightfall, I got bored. I decided that all my friends are really busy and won't have time to check out my blog, but they will check their email inboxes. I started my own version of a blog by writing two weekly emails that I send every Friday.

"Cat with 8 Lives"

"Cat with 8 Lives" by Tracy Au (Creative Writing class 2006)

I'm a cat with eight lives. I can be calm as a housecat lying on the couch watching comedy movies filled with sex jokes. I can be a tiger jumping up and growling when getting angry watching guests on Dr Phil. I can be calm as water flowing through a stream when on the internet reading about TV shows. I can be a squiggly line that moves up and down when laughing at the people on televisionwithoutpity.com make jokes like: "Is NSYNC'S Lance Bass gay, gay, gay or bi, bi, bi?"

I am a butterfly, always up and moving everywhere mentally in my mind. There is always the mechanical sound of a computer being booted up. It's like I'm always on. I'm a black car because it's my favorite color and I blend into the night. I'm a pizza, unhealthy because it's fattening, but healthy because it has all the four food groups.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

good/ writing/ resolutions

good/ writing/ resolutions

Jan. 10 Good: Today my old manager Amy from Clothing Store #4 dropped by my job, and she told me that I still have to pick up my paycheck. I thought it was direct deposit, but there was still a leftover paycheck. I'll add that to my income of 2008.

Another thing is, I got to leave a few min. early, and saw the last 20 min. of the TV show Flash Gordon. It stars Edmonton actor Eric Johnson (Whitney from Smallville). It's not on 5pm on Space anymore, it's now 6pm. I also want to add that Discovery cancelled A Haunting. Another show that I did quit, and with the show getting cancelled, it will ensure I will never watch it again. It's not bad, but I'm trying to cut down on TV.

Jan. 11 Job: The other week I started working on Sundays. I worked with Vivian for that one day. Next week, I then worked with Christine. This week I worked with Cameron's friend Steven. S wasn't even going to show up. No one told him that he was supposed to come today. I called S at 12pm when we opened, and he said he's coming. Then I call him at 1:30pm and he says he won't be coming because he's too tired from staying up all night.

Then I called Stella, and she called S to tell him to come to work. I was all by myself for the first two hours. At least it wasn't really busy.

If TV is my addiction, I think overdosed on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. On Tues. I saw an episode called "Stranger" that aired earlier this season that I missed. Then on Wed., I watched the same episode called "Smut" twice. It starred Michael Trucco, so I had to watch it. Well I was on the computer for the scenes he wasn't in. Then on Sat. I had to watch another ep I missed called "PTSD." Then I went on twop.com and read people's comments on the episodes I saw this season.

Funny: In the "Smut" ep, MT says he's going to Bogata. For the four times I saw this ep, I never thought of where that place is until today.

Me: Do you know where Bogata is?
Patrick: It's the capital of Columbia.
I laughed at that. P knows that because he watches documentaries about drugs. Cocaine is big in Columbia.

Jan. 12 Good news: I graduated out of college, I just didn't know it. I thought I needed to get a C- in Proofreading and Copyediting, and I got a D. On Fri. I went to class and talked to my teacher Cheryl and asked: "Do you need to get a C- in this class to pass?" She didn't know, and told me to go and talk to the Program Head Joyce.

Today I talked to Joyce, and she said that I got a D which is a minimal pass. I got the credits. I can graduate and get my college diploma. The first person I told was actually my manager Stella when she asked me about school. Then I went home and told my dad, and then Patrick. Now I'm telling you guys.

My dad then told me to get a job. Retail and restaurants are as he calls it: "Garbage jobs. You throw it away, you can pick it back up again." Now it's time to apply for a bank job, or a administrative assistant job. Now that I got that revised resume from Angela, I can pass those out.

Writing: After work, I actually worked on my script and added to The Fighter. I was working on The Hunter for awhile. I emailed Glynis Fighter, back on Dec. 15. It's been almost a month, and she hasn't written back. If I'm going to email her again, it should be another draft to the script. I sent her the first draft which was 24 pages. Then I sent her a second draft which was 46 pages. I then sent her a 56 page script. If I'm going to email her the fourth time, it should be way longer than 56 pages.

Jan. 13: I went through Fighter, and did some editing. I then put it all onto one document to see how long it is. It was 59 pages. So basically I only wrote three pages in total since my last draft which was a month ago. I can defend myself. I was working 48 hours a week. I was working on this other script called The Hunter.

My dad told my mom that I did graduate. Now she is saying what my dad said: "Get a job." I also told my grandma when she asked if I'll be home for lunch. Okay, okay, I'll pass out my resumes and start looking for another job on Friday. That's my day off.

Jan. 14 The Listener: Some months ago I joined the Facebook group about the upcoming TV show called The Listener. It stars Craig Olejnik as a paramedic who can hear people's thoughts. The group emailed me and it turns out that Fox International Channels will debut the show in March. CTV will air it later in the year though. Damn, I have to wait. Well I have to learn to delay gratification.

Today I talked to my manager and asked for a raise. I got a 25 cent raise. It was because my co-worker Lorraine told me that I should ask for one because I started opening on Sundays. She told me when Maygen started doing that, she got a raise.

I emailed Glynis who helped me with my script. I attached the 4th draft and my ideas. It's been a month, I might as well email her.

Feelings:
 I don't know, maybe me graduating out of college hasn't really sunk in yet. For the past 8 months, I thought I needed to do that one class to graduate. Now that I don't, I still have that feeling. It reminds me of the movie Mr. 3000. It's where Bernie Mac's character is a baseball player, and it turns out there are 3 hits that don't count so he may really be Mr. 2997. I need to read some inspirational quotes to make me happy, instead of making me achieve my goals. Well I still need those quotes as I look for another job. The economy is bad.

Resolutions: My New Year Resolutions are always the same like: Save money. I want to buy myself an ipod as a graduation gift, but that would be like breaking my resolution. I can still listen to my cds, radio, and the internet. I want to rent the remaining Dexter season 2 episodes, but I'm trying to save money, and cut down on TV.

On my day off I have to do something productive and look for another job instead of stay home and watch dvds. Everyday I get off work and watch TV and go on the internet.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Inspirational quotes (Part 2)

“Challenge: Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”

“Persistence: Never, never, never, quit.”

“Determination: Some succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they are determined to.”

“Success: In order to succeed we must first believe that we can.”

“The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure.” – Vince Lombardi

“The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.” –Abraham Lincoln

“Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.” –William Feather

“The value of a man resides in what he gives and not what he is capable of receiving.” –Albert Einstein

“The future depends on what we do in the present.” –Mahatma Gandhi

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” –Vincent Van Gogh

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”-Mother Teresa

“The greatest motivational act one person can do for another is to listen.” –Roy Moody

“Quality is never an accident. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives.”-Willa Foster

“There is plenty of room at the top, but no place to sit down.” –Unknown

“Make failure your teacher, not your undertaker.” –Zig Zigler

“Challenges are what makes life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” –Joshua J. Marine

“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” –Eleanor Roosevelt

“I never saw a pessimistic general win a battle.” –Dwight D. Eisenhower

“Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lessons afterward.” Vernon Law

“Kindness is the noblest weapon to conquer with.” –Unknown

“Wisdom is not a product of schooling, but of the life-long attempt to acquire it.”

“In dreams and in love there are no impossibilities.”- Arnay Janos

“There is no such thing in anyone’s life as an unimportant day.” –Alexander Woolcott

“We do not remember days, we remember moments.” –Pavese, Cesare

“Continuous effort is the key to unlocking our potential.” –Black Elk, Native American

“Constant and determined effort breaks down all resistance and sweeps away all obstacles.” –Claude M. Bristol

“Every time you are not practicing, someone else is.” –Boris Becker

“Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” –Thomas Paine

“The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.” –John Maxwell

“My favourite part of the game is the opportunity to play.” –Mike Singletary

“The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.”- William James

“There are no limits to growth because there are no limits of human intelligence, imagination, and wonder.” –Ronald Reagan

“No one knows what he can do until he tries.” –Publilius Syrus

“The secret of success is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.” –Benjamin Disraeli

“Motivation is what gets you started, habit is what keeps you going.” –Unknown

“History is the record of an encounter between character and circumstance.” –Donald Creighton

“To keep the body in good health is a duty otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.” –Buddha

“One hundred percent of the shots you don’t take, don’t go in.” –Wayne Gretzky
“If you are not big enough to lose, you are not big enough to win.” –Walter Reuther

“The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend.” –Abraham Lincoln

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” –Albert Einstein

“Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living, the other helps you make a life.” –Sandra Carey

“Where you start is not as important as where you finish.” –Zig Zigler

“Courage is the power of the mind to overcome fear.” –Martin Luther King Jr.

“Leadership is based on inspiration, not domination; on cooperation, not intimidation.” –Willam Arthur Ward

“Outside show is a poor substitute for inner worth.” –Aesop

“The first wealth is health.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The true value of a human being can be found in the degree to which he has attained liberation from the self.” –Unknown

“The greatest mistake a man can make is to be afraid of making one.” –Elbert Hubbard

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” –Unknown

“Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” –Henry Ford

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” –Eleanor Roosevelt

“Enthusiasm: a little thing that makes a big difference.” –Unknown

“In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can.” –Michael Korda

“What happens to a man is less significant that what happens within him.”-Louis L. Mann

“Happiness is in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.” –Franklin Roosevelt

“Some succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they are determined to.” –Henry Van Dyke

Sunday, January 11, 2009

To the person who found my business card on the bus

This is to the person who found my business card on the bus: It had my blog address on it. Welcome to my blog and continue to read it to get to know me. I left a business card there, because I don't want to be those people who vandalize the bus by writing what their nexopia address is.

Friday, January 9, 2009

discovery/ writing

Jan. 6 Discovery: Yesterday I used another locker at work because someone took mine. There were all these papers there like ads for car bargains dated in May 2008. There were a couple of old Christmas cards to an old employee Curtis whom I've never met. I came in June 2008, and we never crossed paths. There was even a gift labeled "To: Molly From: Curtis." I gave the gift to Molly.

M: Did Curtis come by and drop this off for me?
Me: No, I found it in the locker.
C actually gave her a wallet. I don't know when this Secret Santa thing was given.

Funny: I was on Secret Life of the American Teenager thread and I said this: "I don't know about you guys, but I know Amy is going to keep the baby and raise it. That's my speculation."
Someone said: "I think she will too. I just think she'd be an awful mother."

Me: If she doesn't keep the baby, then what's the whole point of this show?
Person: To let us know about American Teenagers' secret lives where they run off to their peer's wedding and get fake IDs to act as witnesses to said wedding and not to drink underage.

News: I read in the Globe and Mail Focus section: " 'Our research shows small acts may lead people to unconsciously seek more indulgence,' the authors wrote in the Journal of Consumer Research. They suggested to that retailers may want to use samples to encourage spending." It was about you eat one chocolate, and that's it. That's what you think. After one chocolate, you can't stop and eat more.

Facebook: I looked up Brendan Van Aselstine on Facebook. We have 5 mutual friends on there. I gave a friend request to him and a message: "Hi, it's Tracy Au. We went to high school together. We sat on the bench together. I was best friends with Leslie Simpson in case you don't remember me. I've also been reading your stories in the Metro. Good work. How did you get that job?"

Jan. 7: Well Brendan confirmed me as a friend, and invited me to a protest against the war on Gaza.

Once again I'm on twop.com and it lead me to this true- story of a 30 -year- old guy who was pretending to be a kid. It's a long story, but compelling. He was able to pretend to be a kid by wearing a baseball cap, to cover the fact that he was balding. He also changed his voice and mannerisms.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/08/11/080811fa_fact_grann?mbid=msnbc

Economy: Chanel is laying off 200 people. I went to the Dollarama store in City Centre today so I could drop off this crate for work. I passed by Oriental Home, and they are having a "Closing sale." I remembered they called me for an interview last summer. Looks like I dodged that bullet. I think that store has been there since 2006. At least that's what I remember.

I want to add that Shark, a crime procedural starring James Woods got cancelled. It was on from 2006- 2008, with 2 seasons. I saw a ad for another crime prodedural Raising the Bar, starring Jane Kaczmarek (mom from Malcolm in the Middle.) She plays a judge on this new show, like she did when she was on The Simpsons.

Jan. 8 Writing: I sent my script pitch to Omnifilm back in Sept. 2008, and now Michele McMahone emailed me back with this message:

Hello Tracy:

First I must apologize for the time it has taken to respond to this pitch. We do read every pitch we receive and last year we received hundreds. Also, pitches from known showrunners and/or that already have broadcaster interest tend to jump the queue so it can take a while to evaluate new unsolicited projects.

After reading and reviewing your MOW called THE FIGHTER we have decided that it is not a project that we will be adding to our development slate. The television movie market is extremely narrow and even if ratings are good it is rare that an MOW becomes a series. We produced a Gemini award winning mini series called DRAGON BOYS that we tried for over a year to get made into an ongoing series… without success. Both the writer and Director have been in the biz for over 20 years and won many awards.

Please don’t be too disheartened it is a challenging business to break into.

Finally, I think you have us confused with OMNI TV. The television station OMNI TV has only been around for a few years and we are a production company that has been in Vancouver for almost 30 years.

Best of luck,

Michele

I'm getting a flashback of Dragon Boys back in 2007. Here's the imdb.com summary: "Set in Richmond and Vancouver, British Columbia, DRAGON BOYS, is both compelling family drama and a high-octane thriller. The two-part, four-hour mini-series centres on a Chinese Canadian police detective and an immigrant family who confront a deadly threat from Asian organized crime."

At first I thought this was going to be TV series, and not a mini- series. I was watching it with Patrick.
Me: I like this show and all, but it's Chinese and Canadian, and I'm Chinese and Canadian, and I'm taking it too personal. I can't watch it on a weekly basis.

Right at that moment on the screen:

White cop: You're taking it too personal.
Chinese cop: I'm Chinese, I make it personal.
lol. That is what I just said.

Jan. 9 School: I'm at school right now, before I go to class. I see new art on the campus walls. I also bumped into my friend Sarah at the library there. There is also this huge can that looks like a battery and it's a battery recycle can. I then threw my batteries in there.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

blog/ Desmond Harrington/ fun

Jan. 4 Blog: Blogging about my blog. Yesterday I put my Short Fiction Forms assignments on the blog to show my work.

I read on Globe and Mail Business section with the headline: "Got bad news? Blog about it, fast" In the story it said about blogging about layoffs: "'Today, whatever you say inside of a company will end up on a blog,' said Rusty Rueff, a former human resources executive at Electronic Arts Inc. and PepsiCo Inc. 'So you have choice as a company- you can either be proactive... or you can let someone else write the story for you."

Rant: I have mild annoyances. I called Rogers Video to see if they have Flash Gordon on dvd, but they said they don't have it at that location. I would have to call every location to see if they have the dvds. I might as well throw in that Tyra episode about prostitution was mediocore. I had written earlier that "I have to watch it." It did not meet to my expectations.

Funny: This was unintentionally funny. I see on twop.com that there is a show called Law and Order: Trial by Jury. I have never heard of it so I looked it up on the internet and see that it was on for one season back in 2005. I laughed because it's like: "Ha ha, you are not successful like the original L&O which has been here since 1990 and on it's 19th season. L&O: SVU is on it's 10th season. L&O: CI is on it's 8th season."

I was reading old posts of my blog, and I see that Canterbury's Law got cancelled after one season. When there are too many lawyer and police procedural shows on TV, they will get cancelled. As for CSI, it's on their 9th season, CSI: Miami is on their 7th season, CSI: NY is on their 5th season.

I remember watching Dragnet. It's where I first saw Eva Longoria Parker before Desperate Housewives. I really watched it for the actors Ethan Embry and Desmond Harrington. Dick Wolf who created L&O, also made Dragnet and it got cancelled after two seasons. The first season had 12 eps, and the second season had 10 eps. Now I'm getting all these flashbacks of old shows. DW also made Conviction, which was a spinoff from SVU that only lasted one season. There was another law show called Close to Home that lasted two seasons.

News: The economy is bad. The only ones that are successful are grocery stores because everybody needs to eat. I read in the Globe and Mail Business section that says Wal- Mart, the world's largest retailer is safe because their stuff is cheap.

Jan. 5: Did you know there is such thing as the Canadian Blog Awards? I learned about it today by reading the Metro. Here's the site: http://cdnba.wordpress.com/

Desmond Harrington: Yesterday I read that Desmond Harrington was on Gossip Girl. Today I actually saw him. I squealed when he appeared on screen. He does look like he's related to the character Bart Bass. Here's how Bart Bass looks like (the guy in the centre):
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2721748480/nm0121559

Here's how Desmond Harrington looks like:
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1440059904/nm0004993

It's been a long time since I've seen him in anything. I saw him in Ghost Ship, Wrong Turn, My First Mister, and Dragnet.

Fun: Today I was watching a little Law and Order: SVU, and then I change the channel and see that a star of the show Ice- T was on a show called Where you at Baby? It's really fun to watch him. They went behind the scenes of SVU, and it was during the taping where Michael Trucco guest- starred. I saw him sitting in the interrogation room.

Ice- T created a list of rules as an actor and how to succeed. First rule: "You act. Don't direct the scene." One of the rules is: "Don't assume people know who you are, or even care who you are once you tell them." Ice- T adds: "If you assume that someone knows you, and you are wrong, then you will be embarassed."

I remember reading in Cosmogirl 1999, they interviewed James Marsters (Spike on Buffy). JM said: "I was at a laundromat and I saw these three girls talking and looking at me. I thought: 'They must be Buffy fans, let me go over there and talk to them.' I start to say: 'Hi, I'm James' and stuff like that. It's not until 10 seconds in did I realize something is wrong. They don't mention anything about Buffy at all. One of the girls gave me this look and said: 'Uh, I'm like 13.' They thought I was hitting on them. I walked away." lol.

Another rule is: "The PA (Production Assistant) is your slave." It was crossed out.
Ice- T: A PA crossed that out as a joke. Yeah well, now he's fired.
Rule: "Do background checks on your actors."

Good: On twop.com, people are always dissing the show Secret Life of the American Teenager. Then I talked to my friend Angela, and she thinks the show is stupid too. It's a good thing I found this article through twop.com about another person thinking the show is bad. The comments that follow the article also diss the show so I'm happy that there are a lot of people who watch it because it's bad so that they can snark on it.

http://blog.zap2it.com/tvgal/2009/01/my-not-so-secre.html

Here's another article dissing the show:
http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/reviews/view/2008_01_05_Bestkept_%E2%80%98Secret_:_%E2%8098American_Teenager__is_stupid_and_inadvertently_funny

Here's an interesting article about the show, and how TV and some other factors correlates
with teen pregnancy.
http://www.getreligion.org/?p=5508

Jan. 6 Woolsworth: Woolsworth is a department store that opened in England back in 1909, making it a 100 years old. They closed down today and laid off 27 000 people. There used to be a Woolsworth in the US, but that closed down in 1997. I remember looking at a teen magazine in the late 90s, and I saw a picture of a girl holding a Woolsworth cart. I was like: "What's Woolsworth?"

I remember that time when Eatons closed down back in 1999. I remember talking on the phone with my friend Heather about it.

H: Those customers who shop there now, are like vultures going in after the lions killed the gazelle. When Eatons was open, no one shopped there. Now that they're closing, that's when shoppers come.
Me: I blame the competition. Look at what they have to compete with like Sears, the Bay, Zellers, and Wal- Mart.

Of course, the most recent store that closed down was Music World.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Inspirational Quotes (Part 1)

It's the beginning of the new year. I'm sure you all have New Year Resolutions. Here are these inspirational quotes I have collected. It's not until last year did I type them out and save it onto a disk. I want to share it with you.

“It takes less time to do a thing right, than it does to explain why you did it wrong.” -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“I must do something” always solves more problems than “Something must be done.”- Author unknown

“It was when I found out I could make mistakes that I know I was onto something.”- Omette Coleman

“You win some and you lose some, and some get rained out, but you have to suit for them all.”- J. Askenberg

“The best way to predict your future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” –Winston Churchill

“No man ever looks at the world with pristine eyes. He sees it edited by a definite set of customs and institutions and ways of thinking.” – Ruth Benedict

“We either find a way or make one.” – Hannibal

“Interest and attention will insure to you an education.” –Robert A. Millikan

“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”

“Begin somewhere; you cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do.” –Liz Smith

“Few minds wear out, more rust out.” Christian Nestell Bouce

“Nothing great was achieved without enthusiasm.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders.” -Jewish Proverb

“I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.” –Edward Everett II

“Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane ande the pessimist the parachute.” Gil Stern

“Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.” Raymond Lindquist

“Learn all you can from the mistakes of others. You won’t have time to make them all yourself.” Alfred Sheinwold

“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” Franklin Delano Roosevelt

“Genius without education is like silver in the mine.” Benjamin Franklin

“With every civil right there has to be a corresponding civil obligation.” Edison Haines

“Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?” Author unknown

“It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” Roy Disney

“We rely on cliches, we become clichés.”

“We must not be ensnared by our imagined limitations” Virginia Euver Wolff “True Believer”

“The more you do, the more options.”

“Be down when you lose, but not out. Go and show them what you’re all about.”

“Live life like a firecracker: Light up the sky and go out with a bang.”

“A challenge is worthwhile.”

“Opportunities will always surround you if you know where to look.”

Lessons hard learned, but education worth the effort.

You always miss the shots you never take.

Nothing’s impossible if you try.

The greatest mistake you can make in life is…to be continually fearful you will make one.

Don’t hate the playa- hate the game.

You stay on the ball/ You stay on the wall/ It’s your call/ If you stand of fall

“Cause you’re free to do what you want to do/ You’ve got to live your life and do what you want to do.” -“Free” by Utranate

You can’t start a fire without a spark

“Fear is a mind killer” –Movie “Dune”

“Good judgment comes from bad experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.”

“Blessed is the man who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.” Alexander Pope, poet

“Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need. The remainder is needed by others.” Saint Augustine

“The divine test of a man’s worth is not his theology, but his life.” Morris Joseph, author

“Kindness in words create confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” LAO- TZU, founder of Taoism

“Safety and happiness can only come from individuals, classes, and nations being honest and fair and kind to each other.” C.S. Lewis, author

“When troubles will come, they are always temporary- nothings lasts forever.” Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan

“If a religion does not teach love, respect, and regard for others, it cannot be the religion of humanity.” Swami Muktananda

“There must be a cooperation of all who believe in God, knowing that authentic religiousness- far from placing individuals and peoples in conflict with one another- rather pushes them together to build a world of peace.” Pope John Paul II
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Mahatma Ghandi, Indian spiritual leader and nonviolence activist

“It is the enemy who can truly teach us to practice the virtues of compassion and tolerance.” Tenzin Gyastso, the 14th Dalia Lama

“We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.” Luciano de Crescenzo, author

“9 requisites for contented living

Health- enough to make work a pleasure.
Wealth- enough to support your needs.
Strength- to battle with difficulties and overcome them.
Grace- enough to confess your sins and forsake them.
Patience- enough to toil until some good is accomplished.
Charity- enough to see some good in your neighbor
Love- enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others.
Faith- enough to make real the things of God.
Hope- enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future.”
-Johann Wolfgan von Goethe, philosopher and playwright

“Don not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:2

“A person’s true wealth is the good he or she does in the world.” The Prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam

“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is a beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is a sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song,

as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today.”

“There are a lot of things I learned from animals. One was that they couldn’t hiss or boo me.”

“Trust and belief are two prime considerations. You must allow yourself to be opinionated. You must say, ‘Wait. Let me see.’ And above all, you must be honest with yourself.”

“Only the gentle are ever really strong.”

“To me, acting is the most logical way for people’s neuroses to manifest themselves…”

“I think the prime reason for existence for living in this world, is discovery.”

“The gratification comes in the doing, not the results.”

“I don’t want to be (just) the best. I want to grow so tall that nobody can reach me. Not to prove anything, but just to go where you ought to go when you devote your whole life and all you are to one thing.”

“If a picture is psychologically motivated, if there is truth in the relationship in it, then I think that picture will do good.”

“Being a good actor isn’t easy. Being a man is even harder. I want to be both before I’m done.”

“An actor must interpret life, and in order to do so must be willing to accept all the experiences life has to offer…”

“I also became close to nature, and am no able to appreciate the beauty with which the world is endowed.”

“Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run that outright exposure…life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” Hellen Keller

“Love is always patient and kind, it is never jealous, is never boastful or conceited, it is never rude or selfish: it does not take offense, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes. Love does not come to an end.” 1 Corinthimas 13: 4-8

“The love we give away is the only love we keep.” 9292

“It’s not about what we have, but what we enjoy.”

“To love is nothing…To be loved is something…To love and be loved is everything.”

“Don’t marry a person you can live with…marry someone you cannot live without.”

“Love. One word that frees of all the weight and pain in Life.”

“The friendship ball. A ball is a circle, no beginning, no end. It keeps us together like our Circle of Friends. But the treasure inside for you to see is the treasure of friendship you’ve granted to me. Today I pass the friendship ball to you.”

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Marcel Proust

“Keep true to the dreams of the youth.” Johann von Schiller

“A day without laughter is a day wasted.”

“The stereotype not only saves time in a busy society, but tends to preserve us from all the bewildering effort of trying to see the world steadily and see it whole.” Walter Lippman

From a Starbucks coffee cup” “The Way I see it #17”

“The world bursts at the seams with people ready to tell you you’re not good enough. On occasion, some may be correct. But do not do their work for them. Seek any job; ask anyone out, pursue any goal. Don’t take it personally when they say “no”- they may not be smart enough to say ‘yes.’” Keith Olbermann, brocast journalist

“Children are our most valuable resource.” Herbert Hoover (1874- 1964) 31st President of the United States

“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” Benjamin Franklin

“It takes a special person, with patience and wisdom to share, to unlock the treasure awaiting within children everywhere.” Joan Zatorski, educator

“Education must not simply teach work- it must teach life.” W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) Writer, Civil Rights Leader

“We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.” Mother Theresa

“The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn.” Sir John Lubbock (1834-1913), Business man, writer

“I teach with my heart and my souls and not with my mouth alone.” James Escalante (1930-), educator

“Education is simply the soul of society as it passes from one generation to another.” G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), critic, writer

“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” Booker T. Washington (1856-1915), educator

“Knowledge- like the sky- is never private property…Teaching is the art of sharing.” Abraham Joshua Heschel, philosopher, educator

“After the verb ‘to love,’ ‘to help’ is the most beautiful verb in the world.” Bertha von Suther (1834 -1914), writer, Nobel Peace Prize winner

“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them become what they are capable of being.” Johann Wolfgang von Goette (1749-1832), poet, playwright, philosopher

“Life affords no greater responsibility, no great privelge, than the raising the next generation.” C. Everett Koop (1916-), U.S. Sergeant General 1982-89

Quotes by Malcolm X:

"A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything."

"We are nonviolent with people who are nonviolent with us."

"Don't be in a hurry to condemn because he doesn't do what you do or think as you think or as fast. There was a time when you didn't know what you know today."

"My alma mater was books, a good library... I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity."

"Stumbling is not falling."

"There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time."

“They put your mind right in a bag, and take it wherever they want.”

"We didn't land on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock landed on us."

"Concerning nonviolence, it is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks."

"A race of people is like an individual man; until it uses its own talent, takes pride in its own history, expresses its own culture, affirms its own selfhood, it can never fulfill itself."

"I for one believe that if you give people a thorough understanding of what confronts them and the basic causes that produce it, they'll create their own program, and when the people create a program, you get action."

"If you're not ready to die for it, put the word 'freedom' out of your vocabulary."

"I feel like a man who has been asleep somewhat and under someone else's control. I feel that what I'm thinking and saying is now for myself.   Before it was for and by the guidance of Elijah Muhammad. Now I think with my own mind, sir!"

"The thing that you have to understand about those of us in the Black Muslim movement was that all of us believed 100 percent in the divinity of Elijah Muhammad. We believed in him. We actually believed that God, in Detroit by the way, that God had taught him and all of that. I always believed that he believed in himself. And I was shocked when I found out that he himself didn't believe it."

"I believe that there will ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those that do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the systems of exploitation."

"It is a time for martyrs now, and if I am to be one, it will be for the cause of brotherhood. That's the only thing that can save this country." -- February 19, 1965 (2 days before he was murdered by Nation of Islam followers)

"Without education, you're not going anywhere in this world."

"...I shall never rest until I have undone the harm I did to so many well-meaning, innocent Negroes who through my own evangelistic zeal now believe in him even more fanatically and more blindly than I did." -- on those he encouraged to follow Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad

"When a person places the proper value on freedom, there is nothing under the sun that he will not do to acquire that freedom. Whenever you hear a man saying he wants freedom, but in the next breath he is going to tell you what he won't do to get it, or what he doesn't believe in doing in order to get it, he doesn't believe in freedom. A man who believes in freedom will do anything under the sun to acquire . . . or preserve his freedom."

"You don't have to be a man to fight for freedom. All you have to do is to be an intelligent human being."

"Dr. King wants the same thing I want. Freedom."

"I want Dr. King to know that I didn't come to Selma to make his job difficult. I really did come thinking I could make it easier. If the white people realize what the alternative is, perhaps they will be more willing to hear Dr. King." -- in a conversation with Mrs. Coretta Scott King.

"I am not a racist. I am against every form of racism and segregation, every form of discrimination. I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color."

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Short Fiction Forms entries 7, 8, 9

Entry 7 Oct. 12, 2007

You create landscape by having a vivid imagination. You see more things and experience more. When you want to escape, imagine where you would want to escape to. Think of every last detail. Write it all down. You can start by describing everything that you see in one room. Then move up to a dream house. Or describe a dream you had. The settings are often out there.

Entry 8 Oct. 12, 2007

It’s night time in the forest. It was a small cabin. It was in all one room, except the washroom. There was a fireplace lit up. It was rustic and the lighting was dim. The kitchen was off in the corner. A little furniture was there. A wooden dinner table was two chairs. A old couch across from the fireplace with a coffee table in front. A small used rug was laid out. A bed for two was across from the kitchen. There was a cozy feeling for the cabin for two.

Entry 9 Oct. 19

Entry: Suggestions from Kathie

Stay objective in a subjective world. Help us stay with integrity, values, purpose or beings. Help us get to know ourselves. Life becomes interesting when you’re aware. Connects us to what we are. Write about our dreams, gain insight.

“How would I love to spend my time doing? “I want…” “I can….” Release letters “let it go.”

Describe your house:

My house has a front yard. Green grass, some flowers, big rocks and these broke tiles around it. Gray cement pathway. Large steps to the front door and two large windows. In the backyard, there is green grass, a picnic table, barbecue, two car garage, some flowers, garbage cans. Inside the house there are six bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a basement. A makeshift office is made with two computers and two desks.

Entry: The strangeness of love (Gowdy)

The strangeness of love is that the narrator in Gowdy’s story is a necrophile. Her boyfriend Matt killed himself so that he will be truly loved by her. She only used to have sex and fall in love with only dead people until Matt came. The story was sad and disturbing, but at the same time fascinating. It also reminds me of this old pick up line I read on ecrush.com: “I’m a necrophiliac, do you know how to play dead?”

Entry: “Every action has a reason.”

“Every action has a reason” or so they say. Sometimes, but not always. “Every action has a reaction” is a true saying. You do things you do to get something in return. Sometimes the reaction is no reaction. Sometimes the reason for doing something is inexplicable. It’s not until later, you realize why you do the things you do.

Entry: “Journey of self discovery”

It was the last week of September and the first week of October 2007. My boyfriend John was gone for three months and I hadn’t had any contact from him at all. I learned some new things about myself like how I relied on TV to teach me things on how to use my detective skills I didn’t know I had. Veronica Mars, Angel, Moonlight, Wolf Lake, and Law and Order: SVU taught me to ask the right questions and go to the right places to find the answers I’m looking for. I’m a hard worker and I have a lot of determination to get my work done, including finding John. I have major skills of observation. I know I’m a visual learner.

Nov. 2

Entry: All in Together Girls is an anthology of short stories about girls. I like the book. I wouldn’t say I love it. I would recommend a lot of women and girls to read it because it’s fun and interesting. It inspired me to write short stories and publish it as an anthology.

Journal entry from Gwen’s perspective: I regret having a kid so young. I didn’t know I was making a mistake, but I was. I love my daughter, but I sacrificed a lot for this family. I wish I had gone to college or had a steady job first. I wish I was like Anna. She was smart. She knew things like if she was to live with her boyfriend while he was at med school, she would have gotten pregnant and the marriage wouldn’t have worked out. My daughter’s 10 now, but it’s hard to make a kid. I’m trying to make the best of this situation. I do work full time and so does Chuck, but I want to have more than a domestic life. Chuck and I are in marriage counseling right now. We shouldn’t have gotten married because we had a kid. We should have waited.

Nov. 9

Entry “sound”: The beat is thudding loudly. I felt the music beat in my heart. The drum and bass are thumping. People are shouting and talking. My throat is jumping to it. The lyrics come and the crowd cheered. The electric guitar appears on the track. A rap comes on. There is a pause as if the song stopped. It starts again. There is record scratching.

Entry “review”: Tracy Au’s journal is interesting to read. Her best ones are the stories like “John is Gone”, and Garret doing a dare, and the bully experience. Most of her entries aren’t impressive. She is told what to write an entry about a subject, she does it, but doesn’t write it to the best of her ability. A little more thought and effort would improve it greatly. Some entries are creative, while others are technical.

Entry “reaped image”: The blond girl had her hair in pony tail. The wind was blowing in her face. She was wearing a short pink coat that showed her stomach and blue jeans. She was in the club. The lights were dark blue. There was stage with the DJ. There was a big dance floor filled with people getting their groove on.

Short Fiction Forms entries 5, 6

Entry 5 Sept. 21, 2007

I had one of those dreams again last night. It’s where I meet one of my favorite actors, Eric Johnson. He’s this actor from Edmonton. You may have seen him on Smallville as Whitney Fordman. Since he’s from my Edmonton, I always assume that I will meet him someday.

In the dream, I was working in a professional business building. I learned that Eric works on the 12th floor. I stopped the elevator and ask if he’s Eric Johnson. He says yes and I ask for his autograph. I get my pen and agenda and flip to a page so he could sign it. He signs a piece of yellow piece of paper with words like “Damage” and picture of a star. There were other words on the list. He signed it by this huge aquarium in the building. There was a pink piñata above the aquarium.

Entry 6 Sept. 28, 2007

I told this to my friends before. It was back in grade 11 and I was in guitar class. I was sitting alone and we had to be quiet because the teacher was testing each student to see how well they played the piece. It was boring because we couldn’t talk. We couldn’t play our guitars out loud until we were tested.

Then I accidentally strung a string on my guitar. It was a little noise and no one looked at me. But it got the attention of this guy. He looked at me with his eyes bulging out and his mouth open like a fish. He was gawking at me like I did something really bad. I know he was bored and he thought I wasn’t going to do anything like fight him because I was a girl. I ignored him and picked at my nails. After a few minutes I looked at him so he would stop staring at me. He said hi to me like I was retarded. Here’s a guy who was being a bitch to me and I didn’t even do anything to him.

A couple of times after that he continued to look at me like I was a freak and that I was retarded. By the way he was acting, I thought he was retarded. The good thing was that I was in grade 11 and I could get a spare so I dropped the class. I wasn’t learning anything in it anyway. I wanted to take psychology next semester.

The best part was when a substitute came and he was trying to get the class to be quiet. He said to the bitch, “Do you mind?” The bitch was stupid and said, “No.” The substitute blew up. “That’s it, get out. Go to the office.” The bitch was shocked. The class was beginning and he said one word, and he’s already being sent to the office. Good thing. I’m sure he learned a lesson not to disrespect people or give them attitude when they haven’t done anything to him. I loved the shock on his face.