Day Fifty: I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

8/2/14, 11:05 PM PDT

(Note: This might be my last time I update my blog "regularly," how frequent I post during vacation will depend on how often I find Wi-Fi here. Also, sorry if the format is weird, I'm writing exclusively from my phone.)

Today is the day that the majority of my family will leave for the Philippines. Even though we were planning on leaving the house at 4 PM to head to the airport, we didn't start packing until AN HOUR BEFORE THAT TIME. I don't know what kind of voodoo heebe-jeebe time-stopping black magic we managed to cast, but somehow we managed to fill three suitcases, four giant Balikbayan boxes, and my suitcase full of valuable, valuable electronics in that time, which is AMAZING.

What's less amazing is our drive to LAX it was TWO AND A HALF HOURS LONG thanks to traffic. Normally I wouldn't complain about long that drive was, but I was SO UNCOMFORTABLE during that entire drive. No, it's not because I was being a whiny baby. It was because my chair's incline was at like... TWELVE DEGREES. The official bare minimum chair reclining angle as dictated by the UN Committee of Human Rights is 90 degrees, and considering that I practically had to get in the FETAL POSITION to fit, I'd say that's plenty unethical.

Thankfully, that ride wasn't all doom and gloom. Samantha kept my sister and I entertained via her singing Snapchats and her reenactments of DramaBug. Unfortunately I couldn't record her performances, but at least I saved mine.

(Due to how crappy the Blogger iPhone app is, I'll add my videos later)

We survived the journey to the airport, bought some overpriced airport sandwiches (damn their monopoly), said bye to dad (who'll be flying out after us in awhile), and entered LAX.

Which. Looks. GORGEOUS. Seriously, I took a million iPhone pictures of the new terminal and each one looked AMAZING. Check some of the pictures out.

(Captionless because iBlogger is AWFUL, sorry guys)

They got SHOPS ON SHOPS here.

They also had these MASSIVE towers of display screens that would periodically change designs and would do things whenever SOMEONE PASSED THEM.

They also had big, odd-shaped displays in the entryway. When I took the picture, they were showing some silent film, but again, it changes every so often.

I especially like this picture that I got of my sister...

And this face cutout that we found.

We also ran into a really interesting gift shop. It reminded me a bit of Urban Outfitters except I'm pretty sure that store would never be allowed inside of a family friendly airport. We did find these books though:

And my sister found a Boo doll. This is what we did with it.

Eventually, we boarded the plane. Korean Airlines. And it is BEAUTIFUL.

...But you'll have to wait until tomorrow's entry to find out exactly why because of weird timezone reasons. Sorry guys!

Oh, and concerning these blog entries, I think the only time I'll be able to update this on a regular basis is when I can access an Internet Café with KEYBOARDS and USB PORTS and especially NON-CRAPPY USER INTERFACES. Hopefully my cousins won't mind me using theirs when I'm there, right? Riiiiiight?

RFotD: I'm actually in Korea RIGHT NOW. I'm writing these blog entries technically a day into the future. Oooooooh, spooooopy.

SGAT: Don't you dare talk about summer goals around me when I'm on vacation.

Day Forty-Nine: Hospital Visit

8/1/14, 11:59 PM PDT

This morning, went over to Urgent Care to finally get a diagnosis on this sickness that I've had for three days now. Considering my only symptoms are headaches and fevers, it probably wasn't anything life threatening, but we went just so we could finally know what it might be since my mom had no idea what I was sick with.

"Lung cancer. 6 weeks. Good luck, buddy."
(via shutterstock.com)

Nah, I'm kidding, it was just a mild respiratory infection, they gave me some Motrin, antibiotics, and an inhaler and sent us on our merry way to the local pharmacy to get the prescriptions. While waiting, my sister and I explored the place and found this rack of greeting cards. Here's some of our favorites from the pile.

I liked it just for its sheer poetic power.

I can see it in your eyes...

Of course, I sent this card to Samantha.

We also found these Coke thingies that had people's names on them. I couldn't find one that said "Christina" nor could I find one that said my name, but Angela sent me a picture with my name on it before, so at least I have the comfort of knowing my name's on one of these bottles somewhere.

Kaylatte's cup.

Brand-O-Lakes' beaker.

Notice how Angela's bottle was the only one not
a Diet coke. 

Mom was pretty impressed with these bottles too, because afterwards, we went to Vons just to look for bottles that had our names on it. Along the way, I ran into the radiant Ivan, who grew a beard over summer vacation. Dear Jesus, it looks MAJESTIC AS HELL.

Ladies, Ivan is single and ready to mingle. Hit him up!
(via beautiful-beards.tumblr.com)

In the end, my mom couldn't find Coke bottles with any of our names on it. The closest we had was one that said "Meg."

So now we're boycotting Coke until we get our own personalized Coke bottles. 

Yeah, they'll be feeling our wrath at the end of this fiscal year.
(via advisor.ca)

RFotD: During the summer of 2014, Coke stopped at over 500 places in the USA to give visitors a chance to personalize their own Coke mini-cans.

SGAT: None. I'm on vacation mode, alright?

Day Forty-Eight: The Great 12 Hour Story Challenge

7/31/14, 11:59 PM PDT

So yesterday, I looked up the college admission requirements for USC's School of Cinematic Arts and Caltech (my reach computer science school, even though I have little to no desire to be in computer science). Caltech's admissions were pretty straightforward, it's basically the common app but with six more short answer questions and more standardized testing requirements. But USC's film school, being an art school, has a LOT more emphasis on creativity. Specifically, they mentioned that I send in a five minute clip of a film that I had a major creative role in AND I should list all of the notable creative work that I've created (film related or otherwise).

The former will be pretty easy, I can probably get a five minute clip done during The Update this year or something. But the latter requires me to have notable creative work. Which means publications, award winners, etcetera.

So henceforth, I'll probably be entering as many writing/screenwriting/film contests as I can before that December 1 deadline rolls around. Starting with this one, whose deadline was midnight TONIGHT.

Me. Except that hour hand is pointing to noon so I didn't have to worry much.
(via appliedfinancial.net)

For a story written in less than 12 hours, I'm pretty proud of the end result, especially coming out of a three-plus month slump of not writing entire stories. Samantha offered to proofread it, fixed the mistakes that she caught, paid my 5 dollar entry fee, and sent it over to SDWI at 11:30 PM.

Here's hoping that I get published, huh?





RFotD: Freddie Wong, YouTube celebrity and creator of the webseries "Video Game High School" graduated from USC along with his friend and filmmaking collaborator, Brandon Laatsch

SGAT: Wrote a story in preparation for mu USC application.

Day Forty-Seven: She Knows

7/30/14, 9:44 PM PDT

Sorry about another super late entry everyone, I felt pretty sick last night and writing a blog entry is not on the list of the things I want to do while my head is throbbing. Seriously, at around 11 last night, my head felt like it was gonna explode, so I think this late entry is justified.

So a large part of today was dedicated to editing more of my short film. I'm ALMOST DONE with editing all of the effects, I'm at the very last scene now. After effects, all I'll need to do is sound, titles, and if I still have time before school starts, I'll do color correction.

Since I didn't really leave the house and a text only post would be pretty boring, have some more scandalous leaks.

Wonder what's happening here?

Nick holding the world's sharpest ball of cotton candy.

Oh, and Samantha told her mom about us today.

(via rebloggy.com)

Nah, I'm kidding, she approves, which is a massive relief. Samantha said that her mom actually got pretty excited when she heard the news. Her mom even called up her relatives to tell them the news, which is a pretty typical reaction when one finds out that their daughter is dating the high school equivalent of Fabio.

"Yeah, just google 'really hot guy' if you want to see a picture of him, dad."
(via shutterstock.com)

Samantha still wants me to actually talk to her mom about it though, which I will, as soon as I get better.

RFotD: Fabio is 55 years old. This is what he looks like today.

SGAT: Edited more of my short film.

Day Forty-Six: Exhaustion

7/29/14, 11:59 PM PDT

Went for a run today, as I have been for most of summer now. I've been keeping up with the Couch to 5K program and HOLY CRAP, for some reason, today was a HELLISH run. I mean the other workouts up until today were absolutely no problem, but today? As embarrassing as it is to say on here, I didn't even finish it.

Basically me after rep two.
(via bonzabodies.com)

So potential causes as to why today's run was murder compared to the other days? Maybe the fact that this was the first run where there was more running than there was walking (but still, it wasn't that much more running). Maybe because I missed four days because of Comic Con. Maybe because I tried a new route that had more uphills than I was used to.

Or maybe because I'm just a wimp.

Yeah, probably that last one.
(via fansshare.com)

One thing's for sure, no matter what I'm gonna finish that workout this week.

Oh, while running, I encountered freaking SEVEN police cruisers parked near a house. For a second, I was pretty concerned since all of their lights were on and still flashing and a few of them were just parked hastily in the middle of the street. It almost looked like a police standoff that you see in movies, except the seven, eight cops that are supposed to be aiming their guns at a house and screaming into megaphones weren't really... doing anything.

Seriously, the group of cops were just standing near a chain link fence, talking about stuff. Of course I didn't listen in out of fear that they'd beat me to a pulp or something, but for how chaotic the scene looked, it didn't seem like the cops were having any sense of urgency.

But hey, they're the cops and I'm just a lowly passerby. Maybe they were talking tactics on how to approach the hostage situation or what poses they'd all do when they walk away in slow motion from the exploding house.

"Okay, no one else run their fingers through their hair, that's what I'm doing."
(via cnn.com)

In other news, today pretty much entirely consisted of editing my short film (and complaining about my computer crashing every 30 minutes) and playing the piano. Same old same old. But hey, at least I'm being way more productive than last summer, huh?

RFotD: The "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series has sold over 75 million books in 40 countries. And I got bored of the series after the second book.

SGAT: Edited, exercised, pianoed, yep.

Day Forty-Five: Samantha Crosses Over to the Dark Side

7/28/14, 11:15 PM PDT

Today, my new Gamecube controller came in the mail, thanks to my awesome awesome Amazon Prime free trial, which gave me two-day shipping. Look at how beautiful it is.

The box. The gorgeous, gorgeous box.

Back of the box. All of the text reads "Yes, I'm sexy" in Japanese,
Trust me.

Front of the box.

Fresh out of the box, amniotic sac and all. Just kidding, it's plastic wrap.
I'd be horrified if it came in an amniotic sac.

So white. It's stunning, isn't it?

Why'd I order a new Gamecube controller even though my old one works perfectly fine? Well, it's because if you recall from my Comic Con entry a few days back, my silver Gamecube controller got covered in signatures, signatures which I want to preserve as long as possible. Obviously, every minute I spend using that controller means more and more of the signatures on the handles will be rubbed off, so I bought myself a new one so that I could keep the signatures on the old one.

And I've decided that the only time I'll ever use the signature controller is in some monumental gaming event. Like if I'm in the grand finals of some HUGE tournament or something. It'll be like the controller equivalent of a really fancy dress watch.



So around 2PM, I walked to the library to meet Samantha so we can film a few important lines that I need to finish my short film. Or, at least we were supposed to film a few important lines today. When we finally got around to filming at Panera, her first line ended up making me laugh, which made her laugh, which made acting hard, so I just decided I would film the part myself. Plus, it was pretty awkward to film in a place as public as Panera, especially when the script called for panicked shouting, so I think my decision was a pretty good one.

Bought me a bread bowl (sans bread) while she bought a flatbread sandwich, which we both thought was burnt initially because neither of us had ever seen black bean hummus before. Eventually, Kayla showed up with her brand spankin' new phone in hand. She didn't seem to notice us, so I tried to get her attention by sending her a text that said "Behind you" which creeped her out because apparently, since she got a new phone, she didn't get to keep her contact names so she thought it was a complete stranger that texted her.

"Mmmm yes, Kayla. I'm riiiight behind you."
(via thejrexperiment.com)

Then Christina showed up, soon followed by Angela and Nick. We all then went to the theater to watch Dawn of the Planet of the Apes The Purge. A few spoiler-free highlights of the movie? A massive creepy Mexican dude named Diego that said the words "It's Diego's night!" right before licking a woman's face awkwardly for 30 seconds.

...That's pretty much the only spoiler-free highlight I can remember. All in all, The Purge 2 is waaaaay better than the original, but that's not saying much because the first movie was awful. But give it a watch though, because it's unintentionally funny at parts. Plus the main protagonist is pretty badass.

Later, we went to In N Out, joined by David and Jena. Angela, Christina, Kayla, Nick, and I just kept laughing at the most HORRIBLE things, especially about ████ getting his ████████ ████ removed after ██ years of having one on and imagining how he reacts upon ██████ it for the first time. At one point, Samantha wanted in on our conversations, but David didn't want her to get in our discussion because it'd be like "Joining the Dark Side."

Come on over to the Dark Side, we have ████████ ████s!
(via sbmania.net)

UnFortunately, she crossed over anyway. At one point, we were talking about anime and she just asked us what "Hentai" was. We told her to Google it and immediately realized that would be a bad idea, so we just gave her an explanation of what Hentai is in the most PG way that we could come up with. And even though our (my) definition involved a birthing video, I feel like we succeeded in giving a very PG definition of Hentai.

As if it mattered though, because after Jena and David left, we fully initiated Samantha by showing her the... grapefruit video. 

"Don't do it, Michael! She's too innocent!" -My conscience. I didn't listen.
(via aicr.org)

She (like the rest of us) thought it was HILARIOUS. And if you don't know what the heck I'm talking about with this grapefruit video, just look up "angel grapefruit" on YouTube and click on the link with the most views. NSFW.

Afterwards, we went to Daiso H-Mart, where Samantha and I found a few interesting products.

About half of the stuff in H-Mart had anime style characters on them.

It's It. It's just it, It's It; It's It doesn't need more explanation, it's It's It.

"I want some screw." -Samantha

But... I don't want cream in my colon...

Well at least it's honest.

We also found these weird looking animals in the seafood area.

I have no idea what they are...

But they look disgusting.

After everyone else left, Samantha and I ran into Liya, who absolutely flipped out after finding out that the two of us were dating. But I have to give it to her, she did make a correct prediction in the beginning of the year that the two of us would start going out, so I think that flip out is acceptable.

RFotD: Michael is practically braindead while writing this. He just wants to sleep.

SGAT: Spent pretty much the whole day outside.

Day Forty-Four: Disappointed

7/27/14, 11:59 PM PDT

Was pretty bummed out for most of today. Today was the last day of Comic Con and I was planning on running the Assassin's Creed obstacle course since I didn't get a chance to run it when I went on Friday. The course closes early Sunday, so I wanted to head over to the convention center as early as possible. But, the latest I could go was 2 PM since my dad was busy until then. Well, time passed and 2 PM turned into 2:30 PM, which turned into 3 PM, and eventually we left the house at 3:15, which gave us a little under an hour and 45 minutes to make it downtown.

I was plenty excited for this. You guys already know how big of an Assassin's Creed fan I am and you probably know how much I love parkour, so I was pumped to run this. I even brought my GoPro to hopefully record a POV video while I run it.

But unfortunately, we didn't make the cutoff time for the line. And yeah, I was pretty disappointed. Samantha cheered me up a bit though, which I'm really thankful for since it made today suck less than it would have. And I know it's just a dumb obstacle course, but still, I was really looking forward to being able to run that since I've never done anything quite like it before and unless I run American Ninja Warrior or something (which I'm totally doing the day I turn 21), I don't think I'll have another opportunity to do something like that again.

Sorry if today's entry kind of sucks, I'm still not in too good of a mood to write today. Give me at least one day to recover from the shotdown hype, haha.





RFotD: Ehhhhh, I don't really feel like looking up a new fact today.

SGAT: Edited more of my short film. Reached the halfway point in the film!

Day Forty-Three: Sleeping In

7/26/14, 10:06 PM PDT

Hit 3,000 views on my blog today! Awwwwww yeah. Thank you guys for visiting so often, it means a lot to me to know that my writing is entertaining enough to keep you guys coming back for more. Or maybe it's an addiction and you do it in fear of the effects of withdrawal.

3,019 hits of the gateway blog and counting.

So today, I was supposed to go run the Assassin's Creed obstacle course at Comic Con with Seth. But after I woke up, I was just so exhausted for some reason (probably because the entire time I was at Comic Con yesterday, I didn't eat ANYTHING), so I wasn't really in the mood to run then. Thankfully, mom wasn't gonna come home until 9:30 anyway and I had to be at Seth's house by 9, so I wouldn't have been able to go anyway. So thank you mom, for giving me a good excuse to stay in bed until 1 PM.

"No problem, son!"
(via cbc.ca)

Apart from me being knocked out until an hour after noon, nothing else really happened today. Well, I edited a lot more of my short film, but I can't really include any more scandalous scandalous leaks because the part I'm at right now is pretty spoiler-filled. Sorry, readers. But as consolation, here are pictures of the Assassin's Creed obstacle course that I would've run had I not been exhausted this morning.

Obstacle 1: Slanted wall.

Cannonball run!

Monkey bars but with swinging rings. So pretty much they're
nothing like monkey bars.

Log run.

Exiting the log run to enter...

THE LEAP OF FAITH. Which I thought would look way more
impressive, but whatever.

RFotD: I probably have Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder since I naturally sleep at 3 AM now. But that's okay. I think.

SGAT: Edited more of my short film.