I was on the treadmill, watching MTV when this video entitled, “Corona and Lime,” by Shwayze came on. Here is more info about them from today’s LA Times article by August Brown

I’m not really feeling the lyrics, but the melody is really chill, So-cal, and the type of music that you would blast at a Summertime BBQ. I haven’t checked out “Buzzin,” which is the new reality show surrounding Shwayze and that dude Cisco Adler. (former beau of Mischa Barton)

Here’s the music video so you can judge for yourself.

I’ll try to keep this post short and sweet. First, my good friend, Christian is moving back to NYC. Tear. He will be missed, but we HAD to celebrate with a night of karaoke, of course.
We ended up going to Palm Tree for a long night of singing. BTW, if you’re ever in LA’s K-town and decide to come here, make sure you bring at least person who can speak Korean, otherwise, no one will understand each other.
Here are some things to remember:

1) Don’t Let the Background Videos confuse you- In private Korean karaoke spots, your song will play and there will usually be Korean dramas playing on the TV. Don’t be confused, scared, or weirded out. This is just the way it is, so enjoy the random videos of Asian couples who walk in the countryside.

2)Beware of the Quiet, Shy One- Yeah, at karaoke, there’s always that one quiet, shy person who claims to never have done karaoke. Um, yeah, then an hour later, they’re totally hogging the machine. haha…

3) Service- In Korean spots, this means they’ll give you something for free. Again, if you bring an Asian person, they will work it out.

4) Be courteous- In these spots, if you’re not Asian/Asian-American, you will probably feel odd, but hey, just have fun, kick back, and sing. The point is to make a fool out of yourself and have fun. It’s okay, you can rap Biggie, sing like Bon Jovi, or pretend that you’re Britney Spears in her “Oops, I did it again, days.” lol.

Also, check out the following websites that I came across… really funny and interesting.. in case you wanted to know what an Angry Asian Man thinks or perhaps John August, a Hollywood Screenwriter.

Oh, and thanks to Anthony at Ploomy for the t-shirt. Your site rocks.
Peace out,
K

So… I haven’t really written about auditioning and those types of things on this blog, mostly because I’m aware that I work at a tech start-up and you know, I try to write about technology. Then… my right-brain starts to kick in and I write poems about Target and my obsession with downloading yoga classes. haha. But I just wanted to write about it…

Anyway, last week I auditioned for an upcoming TNT pilot called “Men of A Certain Age,” with Ray Romano and Andre Braugher, and everything actually went well. I went in, auditioned, read several times, and they brought me back to read for the role again. The role, by the way, was for a recurring guest star, and the characters was non race-specific, which means that the producers aren’t necessarily looking for a particular ethnicity.

Acting/Auditioning can be strange, especially when you’re in the waiting room and everyone auditioning kind of looks like you, and you’re thinking…
“Wow. That girl looks like me but shorter and with a tan.”
“This girl is trying the hoochie look. I should’ve worn a tighter top.”
“Um. That one is a model. I have no chance.”
“That one is trying to bring back the grunge look”
“Ooohh….cute boots, I wonder where she got them.”
“OMG. I have 20 minutes left on my meter!”

Then…you go inside the room, and usually its you, the casting director and a camera or several producers. This can be extremely nerve-wracking especially when you have a scene when you’re supposed to be extremely sad, emotional, screaming.. and then end it on a soft note.

And then you’re done. You leave wondering if you totally sucked, if you rocked it, or if you got a ticket on your car. I’ve gone on countless auditions and have gotten to the point where it’s not so stressful about the auditioning part, its the “staying positive and creative” aspect that can get a bit dicey. So…that’s my rant for the night.

Oh, and a bunch of new developers started today, and just wanted to give them a big shout-out/Holla/Welcome to docstoc. We’re looking for office space right now because we’re all crammed into the office like sardines at the moment.!

Good night and see you at twisttup tomorrow!

This is a quick post, but I came across Jenna’s blog, a.k.a. Pam Beasley from “The Office.”

She gives great advice on acting, following what you want, and by the way, I’ve met her in real life when I had a role on the show.

Can I just say how friendly and nice she was? I was super nervous and she came up to me, shook my hand, and asked me if I needed anything. SERIOUSLY.

Cool, nice people rock. Holla

Today was one of those Sunday’s when you have a ton of errands to run, and I was seriously considering taking the bus. That’s not considered as strange anymore due to the gas prices, but last year, I brought it up at a party once and everyone looked at me and didn’t know how to respond. (Remember, I live in LA where we drive across the street) haha. Anyway, I was lucky enough to go to “Bold Voices: A Writegirl Celebration,”, which is the end-of-the-year celebration for this non-profit organization that focuses on mentoring teenage girls to work on their writing craft and encouraging self-expression. I went with a friend and was really inspired… I know, I’m so corny, but it was amazing to see these high school girls, some confident, some quiet, some shy, who read their poems or writings to a packed house at the WGA theater.

As you all know, I work at docstoc.com, and though we all know that documents are the bomb, I also love to write and think up ways to make people laugh. I wrote a teen girl sports movie that had interest from several producers, and one recently offered an option agreement, but I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t believe anything until its on paper. Word.
Here are some things I remind myself with to stay motivated:

Don’t knock Technology- I originally started this blog to stay creative and humorous, and had zero knowledge about anything tech-related. I’ve actually learned quite a bit, but I mean, I won’t be writing code anytime soon. Anyway, because of the Internet, you can send out as many resumes as you want via e-mail, check job postings, do research, and oh yeah, you can upload documents to docstoc.com to get your documents highly indexed in search engines. (haha…do you like my plug?)

Increase the tools in your arsenal- Workshops can be taxing and expensive, but how else will you perfect your skills and get feedback about what you’re doing right and wrong? I’m a huge believer of what you put out in the world, you get back. Its just how life is and the more knowledge that you obtain, the more powerful your arsenal.

Keep hustling- Yes, I love hip-hop and no, I’m not trying to be Jay-Z, but this is crucial. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, writer, blogger, fashion designer, or just someone who is trying to make ends meet in this tough economy, you have to stay busy. If you’re not employed, then keep sending out resumes or take jobs that you normally wouldn’t have taken. In my case, I usually come home and fight the urge to veg out and be lazy. Instead, I tell myself to write for at least an hour a night. Somehow I’ve actually written my best scenes in short periods of time because its the stream-of-consciousness, when you’re writing what you’re really thinking about. So, If you want something, you have to be willing to fight for it. So fight. Nothing worth having comes easily.

Be that Annoyingly Positive Person- Yes, we all know that person who smiles 24/7 and though it might annoy us, its actually a really helpful characteristic to have. A friend once told me that when you have negative thoughts, it starts to create brain waves so that you continue to think in that negative direction. You have to make a conscious effort to be positive and think about what makes you happy which might be your boyfriend/girlfriend, trashy reality TV, forms of overpriced frozen yogurt, or …karaoke.

Don’t listen to people who drink Haterade- No, this isn’t an energy drink brought to you by the founders of Gatorade. Haterade is when people try to knock you down with words, and can be toxic. If you’re around this, just step away slowly. Just look straight ahead and focus on what you really want… Crunk Energy Drink, of course.

Get Physical- Go for a run. Do Yoga. Go Hiking. Walk around a block a few times. Endorphins really do make you happy, so go!

Believe in Yourself- Short and to the point. If you don’t believe in yourself, who else is going to believe in you? Even when times get tough, just tell yourself that you rock. Keep saying it long enough and you start to believe it.

Give Back- Helping Others, volunteering, and doing acts of service gives you something real and concrete to be happy about. When you give to others, that’s something that makes you a better person, inside and out.

Hope you guys like my inspirational post today, as the Writegirl event reminded me of why I chose this difficult journey in the first place.

On this Saturday afternoon, I’m sitting here trying to figure out what to write as I’m about to go watch Wall-E with some friends which is great because Pixar usually never screws up. With the latest graphics that transport you to Paris as in “Ratatouille,” or to Anytown, America as in “The Incredibles,” they’ve cornered the market on the family movie that Mom and Dad can actually watch and not cringe. Word.

Last night, I went to the Belmont on La Cienega to celebrate Amanda’s b-day, a.k.a “Aspiring TV writer.” As usual, I didn’t know anyone except my friend BUT after you know walking around several times and acting like I knew someone else, I met a bunch of really cool, smart people, most of whom were future Ari Golds or Studio Execs.

The most entertaining part of the night was meeting a bunch of folks from Philly and we ended up discussing the best parts of our hometown like Rita’s Water Ice, Wawa and how the best Cheesesteaks in Philly are the hole-in-the-wall places that NO one knows about. BTW, Philly was voted as the Ugliest city in America…um… not quite sure how I feel about that.

It was a LONG week and was glad to end it with a friend’s birthday! BTW, I forgot to mention that the most random part of the Rubicon Mixer on Thursday night occurred when one of our investors greeted me with a fist bump. No joke. An actual fist bump. I was..honored. Um… is that a Michelle Obama moment? Word.

So, you guys may have heard, but we’ve hired Sean Percival as our new Content Manager at docstoc. He’s cool, hip, and knows a LOT about social media. Word.

We’re growing and moving offices soon which should prove to be exciting and stressful considering I hate lifting heavy items. Seriously.

I attended the Kick-off meeting of the LA Chapter of the Social Media Club last night at the Rubicom Project and though arriving too late for the pizza, managed to hear the goals of the club including panels, possible ways to increase clarity about the purpose of social media for those who aren’t so savvy, and to differentiate the LA chapter of the club because of the heavy Entertainment focus in this city.

One interesting case study was brought up about the Roxy Club blog, as they were in dire financial straits at this time last year, and then… they started a blog. Nope, not some fancy website, but a blog that was completely community-driven with tons of pictures, fan gripes, interactive comments from Roxy members, and now its up for a VH1 Rock Honors Award for Best Rock Venue. They have a good amount of sold-out shows, and they’re booked every night. How’s that for ZERO marketing efforts, except for having a kick-ass blog?

Sweet.

Gotta love Wednesday. You’re thinking…two more days until you can say its the weekend.
Anyway, so I had an audition today for an Un-Named NBC Show and spent most of my time in the car to get to the casting office.

Its weird b/c auditioning in NYC, you need to filler time just in case the following happens
1) The N/R/1/2/9 trains aren’t running on schedule
2) Its raining and you’re on 35th St/9th Ave and you need to be on 14th St/6th Ave in 10 minutes.
You think: Should I attempt to get a cab and just get poured on or should I try to take the Express N/R and see if I can make it? Getting a cab in NYC on a rainy day? Yeah right. Nice try.
3) You think about possibly power-walking to your destination. Hey, miracles do happen
4) A policeman on a horse strolls by and you think, “Should I make up some crazy story so he can take me to 14th St/6th Ave?”

In LA…
1) You need filler time just in case there’s traffic.
2) Traffic. Traffic. Traffic.
3) Make sure you have good music to listen to. After being spoiled by youtube, its difficult to listen to regular radio.
4) Don’t apply makeup in the car. Unless you’ve parked. Seriously.

Well…I’ll let ya know if anything happens with the role. The good thing is that I made the “People in the casting office” laugh. Perhaps they were laughing AT me. But hey, I’ll take it.

Hey All, So, I kind of look like a freak in some of these photos, but I thought I’d share an interview that I did with Ploomy.com, a site that states that they tell guys, “What they need to know.”

The most tech-iest thing was that our whole interview was done via G-chat. Gotta love technology.
Holla.