laura always said i'd be good at this

My husband Jim has told me repeatedly that I have a tendency to take on too much. This time, I think he may be right. We have our art and architectural supply store, Raw Materials, opening in just weeks. We just finished taking down the drop ceiling and are ready to paint, shelving is being delivered as I type this, and we still have inventory to order, electricians and the phone company to deal with, and all sorts of details to be attended to. Additionally, we found a space to house Winstead Adams Projects and are negotiating a long-term lease. I know that doesn't sound too overwhelming, however, we still have our demanding day jobs and our business partner James has been in the Amazon for the past month and unable to help.

With all that on my plate, I take on another big project - clean out my closets, participate in an awesome group yard sale, put the sofa/chair up for sale and decide to redecorate. We're also selling our coffee/end tables, round dining room table/chairs, refrigerator, and a full-size washer/dryer set (putting that up on craigslist is on Jim's list of things to do).

Oh yeah, another tiny detail I left out - in addition to writing feature films, I'm now producing them. Since Bigshot Producer optioned my screenplay over two years ago, I've learned a few things and I guess he noticed. So now Bigshot Producer and I are working together on a slate of films. Although I'm very rusty at raising funds (not having done it since the Internet boom days), I managed to luck into a Mysterious Investor with deep, very liquid pockets. Unfortunately, Bigshot Producer and Mysterious Investor both require a lot of massaging and consequently I find myself on the phone with them and stressing out a lot.

I have to admit, it's very difficult to switch from producer mode to writing mode and my writing time is suffering. But opportunity was knocking and now I'm finding that I'm very not bad at this producing thing. Still, something has to give. But what?

everything must go

I've been cleaning up the loft like crazy this past week, going through boxes, cleaning out closets, rethinking all the stuff we use and the stuff we ignore and let pile up in the corners. We're selling two sofas, a chair, coffee table, end table, several desktop and laptop computers and accessories, a bag of CDs, three boxes of VHS tapes (lots of porn!), two huge boxes of handbags, a small pile of shoes, and enough clothes to fill many many closets. I know I'm leaving a lot out, but you get the idea.

My brother borrowed a truck and we're moving all this stuff over to my friend Happy's house to sell at her yard sale tomorrow. But it's not just any yard sale, it's been branded the "Yuppie Yardsale", complete with a vodka sponsor, Tru Vodka (if the name sounds familiar, they're also known as Modern Spirits and you'll find their flavored vodkas at Trader Joe's).

So if you're not busy and you need more stuff, swing by, sip some tasty vodka, enjoy the company and buy my stuff. Because I need to buy more.


what: Yuppy Yardsale
when : Sunday, August 3
time : 10am - 3pm (no early birds; no stragglers)
where: 81st & kentwood in westchester, 90045

payment methods accepted:
cash, paypal*, visa*, mastercard*, amex*, e-check* (* may include processing fee; id required.)

aging gracefully - not

A few months ago our Prius got a flat, so I went to Costco for a replacement tire. I also needed to pick up some anti-aging face cream (they sell it for a lot less than the $165 that Macy's charges), so already you might have a clue to what my frame of mind was.

It was a weekday, and the parking lot was full of middle-aged housewives. Partly because of the company, mostly because of what I saw looking back at me in the mirror that morning, I was feeling very not young. I walked up to the counter, and despite his facial hair, tattoos, and piercings, the guy behind the counter looked like he wasn't old enough to drive. Actually, he looked like a zygote.

I told him the problem, what size tire I needed, etc. The tires were on sale, it would only be a 2-hour wait, so I handed him my Costco AMEX card, which has my picture on the back. It's a funny picture. I look tough, like I'm posing for my mugshot, but I also look about ten years younger so, you know, I like the photo.

He looks at the picture, looks up at me, then back at the card and again at me.

"Don't I look like I'm yakuza in that picture? Don't be scared."

The zygote laughed, nodding.

"Yeah, you look pretty tough."

He printed out my estimate, then asked, "Can I get your car keys?"

Every time I park valet, I worry that the attendants won't know how the safe key thing works on a Prius. It can be complicated to the uninitiated. I started to hand him my keys, but I pulled them back and before I could stop myself the words just came tumbling out.

"Can you rock a Prius?"

Inwardly, I shuddered. But I remained poker-faced. If Baby Hipster Mechanic thought I was ridiculous for saying that, he didn't show it.

He nodded as he took my keys, "Yeah, I can rock a Prius."

I gave him my keys, signed the estimate - I just couldn't get out of there fast enough. "Can you rock a Prius?" That does it, it's official, I'm ridiculous.

changes to my routine

I am a longtime fan of Jenny Holzer, a conceptual artist whose main focus has been the use of words and ideas in public space. Her Twitters are one of the few non-downtown Twitters that I follow. Today, she sent out one "truism" that resonated with me, especially in light of all the changes that will come with the opening of our new art supply store, Raw Materials:

"Routine is a link with the past."
--Jenny Holzer

I recognize that I'm a creature of habit, so I'm trying to brace myself for the inevitable changes to my daily routine, my work environment, my writing, and my levels of interaction with people. Only thing is, I'm not quite sure how to do that. Do I organize my closets? Take vitamin supplements? Exfoliate?

just in time for the weekend

Photo courtesy of trainedmonkey

tough choices

What does it mean to choose a life of art when success is impossibly out of reach? What kind of person does that? Selfish? Delusional? Or someone who just knows? How can you tell the difference?

I was reading about a woman who gave up a successful law practice to write her first novel. Twelve years later her debut novel was released to Critical Success. So how long do I give myself? Ten years? Five? How about now? Can I have it now?

mothers, lock up your sons

Cousin Angel is in town, visiting from Chicago. He was in San Francisco for another cousin's wedding, then down here to lock down a venue and confirm details for bringing his hit play, Nunsense, to Los Angeles in September.

Much like me, Cousin Angel seems to have gotten a lot of his ya-yas out. But then again, he's full of surprises. I don't know if he's going to be seducing another one of my friends into playing for the other team, if we'll end up drunk in a gay karaoke bar on Lankershim, or if he's going to have sex on my roof again, but we'll be starting the festivities around 8pm tonight at Banquette.

a mime, a breakdancer and a trombone player walk into a bar...

My husband Jim and I were talking to our business partner/brother-in-law James Adams the other day about the July Downtown Art Walk and how we'd still like to participate despite our lack of dedicated gallery space (we'll be getting the space ready for our store's grand opening in August, and our two other exhibits at the PE Lofts come down on June 22nd and revert to other Phantom Gallery LA exhibits) .

I missed the past art walk where someone parked a truck, with art hanging inside, on the street during art walk where it functioned as a temporary gallery. Ideas like that were thrown around, but nothing appealed to us. Oh yeah, there was another problem - James (our jet-set curator) will be in Peru and Argentina during the entire month of July.

My solution? Performance art.

I don't mean Annie Sprinkle, more like Improv Everywhere.

We (Jim, James and I) don't let the each other live down forget that someone else ago, we were once a breakdancer, a trombone player, and a mime. You can guess what I once was, but I will neither confirm nor deny.

So the suggestion was made that the ex-breakdancer perform a set at the corner of 5th and Main during the July Art Walk. Then $100 was offered to the mime to perform the "walking into the wind" or the "can't get out of the box" bit between the hours of 6-9pm, right in front of Bert Green Fine Art or Pharmaka.

My husband, however, has other ideas. I don't think people realize just how funny Jim is.

Any suggestions?

playing catch-up

I realize I've cheated you. A lot has happened between January 10th and May 30th and we need to do some catching up:

Jim and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary in January. Couldn't be happier.

I got my hair cut. It's short. I liked it a lot, but now I think I'm bored with it and want to try something new again.

Wonton was fixed and was a grumpy conehead for a while. But then in April we celebrated his first birthday with a party at The LoftyDog's new space at the Barker Block. Good times. Most recently, he underwent eye surgery to kill off the hairs that were growing inside his eye and poking his eyeballs. Post-surgery he looked like he'd been punched in both eyes, but it was successful and he's recovering nicely.

I finished that screenplay that I had been working on since Jim and I were first engaged, and now I'm halfway through another. I've got a July 1st deadline on this one and then I start outlining the next screenplay, which is based in present-day downtown Los Angeles. Are you ready for your close-up, Historic Core?

I'm taking a film financing/producing class at UCLA Extension on Wednesday nights. My producer is teaching the class and he's amazing. Last semester his class was filled with entertainment attorneys (a partner from my attorney's firm took the class), this semester, not so much. But the case studies and his insights are incredibly helpful. I think I learn more when he veers off-topic.

Jim and I had both been volunteering a lot of our time to the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council, but we've really stepped back from that. We both put in a lot of time, a lot of energy, and because of the leadership we didn't feel like it was a good use of our time to continue. You can read a little bit more in the comments section of this blogdowntown post. It's quite the kerfluffle. I'll continue to support worthwhile activities and volunteer for specific projects, but mostly I hope that the upcoming elections bring about a drastic change in the leadership so that we can remain involved and active in our community.

You've probably heard about Raw Materials and Winstead Adams Projects, our new venture with my brother-in-law James. That's been keeping me very busy, but I'm amazed at how much I'm digging the work. Maybe because I'm spending more time talking to artists than I thought I would. Have you come to see any of our shows? We'll be open for this month's Downtown Art Walk (we're a sponsor!), which is this Thursday. Stop by and say hi if you're in the neighborhood, and take a look at some amazing works of art.

I know I'm leaving out a lot of stuff, but I'll probably blog about stuff as I remember. And I promise I won't let that much time go between posts again.

i've been busy

You may have noticed I haven't been blogging lately. It's not that I don't miss you, it's just... I've been a little busy with this writing thing. And a million other things I don't want to bore you with. So what do I want to bore you with?

Jim and I have been working stealthily on something and now we're ready to let you know - we signed a lease on a retail space on Main Street and together with our partner James Adams, we will launch Raw Materials, an art and architectural supply store, in August 2008. Additionally, we are looking for gallery space to launch Winstead Adams Projects, dedicated to exhibiting contemporary art from emerging artists, in downtown Los Angeles.

Because we don't know any better, we're not letting the lack of a dedicated gallery space deter us. We're producing three art shows in three different gallery spaces downtown - the future home of Raw Materials at 436 S. Main Street, and two corner spaces in the PE Lofts (6th & Main and 6th & Los Angeles Streets):

Winstead Adams Projects presents FIRST | LAST, a group exhibition at Raw Materials in downtown Los Angeles

Winstead Adams Projects and Phantom Galleries Los Angeles present A Deeper Shade

Winstead Adams Projects and Phantom Galleries LA present The Stage, a World

I hope you can come by, check out our shows, say hi and give me some grief about not blogging.

things to do downtown today

1) Bring Wonton to The Lofty Dog for grooming. (Done! Wonton is there now and I think he's liveblogging.)

2) Check out some of my favorite galleries during tonight's Downtown ArtWalk. (Done! Sort of. Passed by Lost Souls Cafe (ube shake, yum!), Art Murmur, and Bert Green Fine Art on the way back. I'm so glad I walked back from The LD instead of taking the DASH. I loved Lost Souls' new menu and need to come back again soon, I loved the new installation in Bert's window and I really really wish I had the cheddar to purchase all of Yun Bai's works in the first room at Art Murmur.)

3) Check out a few comedians performing tonight at the Inaugural Comedy Walk. My vote for the best venue so far? The men's room at the Palace Theater.

4) Have dinner at LiliYa China Bistro and catch up with my soon-to-be-married friend, Helena.

5) Pick up Wonton at The LoftyDog just in time for Yappy Hour.

6) Write.

And not necessarily in that order.

voices4action video

Check out this video from United Hollywood - they have a new video campaign called Voices4Action and the first one features writer-director Tony Gilroy (Bourne Identity, Supremacy, and Ultimatum) speaking about the partnership between writers and studios and about the trust that needs to exist between the two.

universal studios gate 3 picketers

Tomorrow is the first official day back on the picket lines, so tonight the Gate 3 Team (that's most of us in the picture above) gathered for margaritas and Mexican food at the Acapulco across from our new gate at NBC. The rain probably kept a lot of people away, but we had a nice turnout and I got to know some of my fellow picketers a little better. I hope it doesn't rain on us too hard tomorrow morning. Honk if you pass by.

Thanks to Cecile for the photo!

i want to feel like that

I've been feeling a little blue lately. Then I saw this video and felt better.

hello 2008

Jim gave me the Hello Kitty 2008 calendar pictured above, titled, "Hello 2008". So happy. I follow Jerry Seinfeld's advice on writing every day and will continue doing so in 2008, so I'm looking forward to crossing off the days with my neon pink Hello Kitty pen. Silly? Yes. But I do whatever works.

I don't usually make resolutions (though my dog did), and I don't think this year will be any different. However, I might reactivate my gym membership. And eat more fruits and vegetables. But other than that, nothing new because I'm having a hard enough time sticking to my old list of things I'm supposed to be doing (like walking Wonton 2X a day and crossing off the days I write with a big pink X).

In a couple weeks, Jim and I will be celebrating our one-year anniversary. Woo hoo! Take that, all you naysayers who said it wouldn't last! One big year of wedded bliss! A few months ago, our landlord Abe was in the building, checking on the renovations to the floors below. He came up to take in the view from the patio and Jim went out to say hello. Jim said that Abe asked him, "So, how's married life?" Of course, Jim said it's been great. To which Abe replied, "Eh, wait until you've been married twenty."

happy new year

So many options for NYE in downtown Los Angeles, but Jim and I decided to stay in tonight and celebrate the New Year at home on our patio with a romantic dinner and some bubbly.

I hope all my blog readers have a safe and fun New Year's Eve. Best wishes to all for a happy and healthy 2008!

"kill the pigs and drink their blood"

I know, my dog blogs more than I have been lately, I suck. But the days really have been full. Some of you have noticed my Twitter badge there on my sidebar - I usually update that every morning when I show up for the 6am shift of the WGA picket line at Universal Studios. I do realize, however, that my blog readers don't want my twitters, they want stories.

On my first day of walking the 6am shift of the picket line at Universal Studios, this old guy in a black Mercedes approaches our intersection, honking his horn. It had been a little quiet, being 6am and all, so we start waving and cheering. The car gets closer and as he drives past us, he flips us off. Nice. Welcome to the WGA Strike.

I like that our gate doesn't chant. Once, someone tried to chant, "Two four six eight, our chants don't have to rhyme." It didn't take.

Gate 3 was dangerous at times. There were at least three different incidents where I thought I was going to get hit by an angry motorist. Getting flipped off by an old guy on the first day was nothing. One truck full of angry young men drove by and one of them leaned out the window yelling, "Get back to work you losers!" They could've easily thrown something at us.

One morning I watched as one writer stumbled his way to the picket line. It was 6am, I figured he was still half-asleep. He walks to the sign-in sheet, then asks me a question. I couldn't understand him at first, but I was eventually able to understand him.

He slurred, "So, do we have a runner that we can send out for more booze?"

I laughed, "More booze?"

He shrugged, not wanting to appear demanding, "Or weed."

I shook my head and continued walking. He fell in line behind me and immediately started hitting on this cute girl walking behind me. Although I was afraid we'd have to call the paramedics if he fell over and passed out, he made it through the entire shift and came back for many more. That's dedication. That's a fucking writer. Walk that drunk off, baby!

Did I mention how much looser my jeans are after all that walking? Someone brought a pedometer shortly after our shift changed from four hours to three hours of walking - we walked close to nine miles every morning. No wonder I have to eat at least two donuts per shift.

I used to think I was funny. Then I started walking with the writers on the 6am shift Universal Studios, Gate 3. Now, I don't think I'm so funny. The guys I walked with, they're funny. My strike captain? Nonstop funny. Did I mention that he calls me the token Asian on the line? (I'm not. How's that for funny?) At the end of each shift, he makes a few announcements, gives a little pep talk, and then ends with a rousing, "See you all back here tomorrow at 6am, and don't forget - kill the pigs and drink their blood."

Sadly, I won't be picketing at that location in the New Year. On our last day of picketing in 2007, my strike captain thanked everyone at Gate 3 for coming every morning at 6am and making such a strong showing. He mentioned that other strike captains ask him why we get such a strong showing at this gate. Before he could continue, someone shouted out, "We don't chant." We laughed, then of course, began to chant, "We don't chant! We don't chant!" After the laughter and chanting died down, he told us that the organizing committee wanted the picketers at Gate 3 to stay together, but to picket at another studio, "They'd like for us to stay together, so the majority of us will be picketing at NBC." Someone asked, "Just some of us?" He answered, "There are some people we don't want there, you know who you are." Okay, maybe you really had to be there for this to be funny, but remember, we were just coming off the 6am shift.

I attended a training session for those who want to picket location shoots, but I haven't been to one yet. Someone at Gate 3 predicted that I would become this militant location picketer in 2008, but I don't think that will come to pass. I'm not sure if I'll be joining the rest of the group at NBC or Warner Bros. I might decide to picket at Fox. But although the official picketing doesn't start up again until January 7th, I might join the Tonight Show picket line at NBC starting on January 2nd. Anybody want to join me in picketing Jay Leno?

wga strike goes to city hall

On December 18, 2007, I attended the City Council's Affordable Housing and Economic Development Committee's Hearing on the impact the WGA Strike has had on the local economy. I took a few pictures and some video.


Seven-thirty AM and the room fills up with striking writers.


Sitting in the Council Chambers, Kurt Voelker suddenly realizes I'm taking a picture. That's Joan Ling in the background, getting ready to testify.

Jack Keyser, from the Los Angeles Economic Development Office, speaks on the impact of the WGA Strike on the local economy (in three parts):







Then, after Jack Keyser finishes up, an economist from UCLA/Andersen Forecast spoke:





Then Steve MacDonald from FilmLA spoke:



John Bowman gave great testimony at the hearing about the WGA Strike:



As did Betsy Thomas:



Other writers (and below-the-liners) also testified, speaking eloquently about the effect of the WGA Strike on the local economy:



After the Committee Hearing, the writers who filled the Council Chambers gathered outside in front of City Hall to hear Eric Garcetti speak (and for a photo opp). After that short break, it was back inside for the City Council Meeting.

my feet feel like bloody stumps

Sorry for the scarcity of blog posts, but when I get home from walking the WGA picket line, all I want to do is sit on my sofa. BTW, I've been picketing at Univesal Studios from 6am to 10am and will continue to do so. Wonton guilts me into taking him out for a walk when I get home, but Jim has been doing all the heavy lifting there while I just shuffle along for the ride.

I've met a lot of really nice people on the line. Unfortunately, feature writers don't get to meet or socialize with other writers the way that television writers do, so it was good to be able to connect with other writers. I didn't see anyone I knew crossing our picket line into Universal. My husband says that if I am able to keep just those I used to date from entering the lot, then the picket line will be a success.

I'll have more stories from the picket line, but right now I have to get going. I'm heading out to Hollywood Blvd. for the big WGA labor solidarity rally. Hope to see you out there!

november downtown dogwalk

What does it mean when my puppy, Wonton, has a more active social calendar than mine? Hope to see a lot of other downtown dogs and their owners tonight.