VoxSentia

Not dropping out

I guess I'm still going to go to school next semester; except that I'm only going to take 1 class instead of two. My boss recommended that I do. He said don't sacrifice your education and career betterment for the sake of this company. Sweet. I have a cool boss. One class a week; and now I can practice cello to my heart's content.

Some events around 4th of July

I'm posting some random pictures of a few things I did around 4th of July. 

I went to another expensive restaurant called Asia de Cuba at the Mondrian in Hollywood. Yup, the food was super expensive, nearly $160 for the two of us. It's a Hollywood hotspot, very trendy, all white decor with an amazing Hollywood view, but the food was surprisingly good. I had some salmon dish and my cousin had some Cuban BBQ dish which was excellent. The dessert was awesome too. It was so pretty. My camera phone sucks so it took a terrible picture of a very pretty chocolate dessert called the Opera.

 

For 4th of July, some friends and I BBQ'ed and watched the fireworks like most Americans. My friend Shiela is the best cook in the world. It was just simple BBQ'ing of yellow squash, chicken, and corn but her seasoning/sauce was to die for. Even her salad was heavenly; and I usually don't like salad. She put some real garlic in the dressing which made it amazing. Here's what we BBQ'ed, including the dog. Just kidding...

         

Here's a picture of the bible study group bonfire at the beach near LAX. I think it's called the Dockweiler beach. We listened to the planes take off about every 5 minutes. We could hardly hear the speaker or each other, but I think we got used to it. You just selectively tuned out. My camera phone takes lovely photos doesn't it. I can't wait to replace it once my contract is up.

 

Oh and of course, I saw plethora of movies. I saw "Wanted" which I liked. I'm a big James McAvoy fan. He was great in "Atonement" which I'm also reading right now. And who isn't an Angelina Jolie fan? Also, I saw "Hellboy" which I also liked. I loved "Pan's Labyrinth" so I had high hopes for "Hellboy." It wasn't the best summer action flick, but it was still enjoyable. Below is a picture of the costumes that the Hellboy characters Princess Nuala and Prince Nuada wore which were displayed at the Sherman Oaks Arclight. I love watching movies at the Arclight because the seats are assigned and I don't have to be in a mad rush to get good seats.

   

And boy was "Dark Knight" good. I'm watching it again Thursday on IMAX this time. Heath Ledger's performance was absolutely riveting. His character was very demented and he scared me a little bit. He plays a great creepy crazy clown; ccc--I made that up just now. Sweet. Seriously though, I wonder what state of mind he was in during the time of filming. These are method actors so they really get into their roles. He must have been in a really dark place; which explains his depression and insomnia during filming and the eventual drug overdose. Here's a dreamy picture of Christian Bale who played Batman.

Addendum:

I watched a couple of other movies. I'm a movie buff. I feel like I can't live without watching one almost every weekend. =) And this summer, there has been so many great blockbusters. I see movie watching as a form of art.

Wall-E: So very cute. Worth the watch.

Get Smart: Skip it and watch it on DVD. I didn't think it was that funny.

Hulk: Surprisingly very good. Edward Norton plays an excellent unassuming Dr. Bruce Banner. Worth the watch. I hope Norton stops being a diva and works out a deal with the studios so that he'll be in the next Hulk movie. I don't want to watch it with anyone else playing Hulk.

Inside-Out Conference

I've read "Purpose Driven Life" by pastor Rick Warren and followed some of the principles in that book. It was broken down into 40 mini chapters and it was easy to apply its concepts. Plus there were mini prayers at the end of each chapter. I really enjoyed the book as it took me by the hand for about 6 months when I was coming back to God. I will be volunteering at the Inside-Out conference at the Long Beach Convention center on August 14th (the conference is Aug 14-16). Our very own pastor at Bel Air Presbyterian church, Mark Brewer as well as pastor Rick Warren, will be speakers among many others. Maybe I will get my copy of "Purpose Driven Life" signed by pastor Rick Warren.

Here is a picture(with my sucky camera phone) of me getting my signed copy of the book "What is your spiritual quotient" written by our pastor Mark Brewer. I hardly have time to read these days, but I can't wait to read it.