Hope you guys had a good Monday! I realize more and more that I’m obsessed with the blogosphere. haha. I love them!

Anyway, I saw this segment on the “Today Show,” about Nerd Girls who are attractive, smart, and breaking the stereotypes that smart women don’t shower and have never applied lip gloss. These women are engineers, and very savvy in engineering, technology, Mathematics, and the Sciences. Very cool, ladies.

Also, I came across this amazing blog post called “How to Be Creative,” from Gaping Void. This guy is a cartoonist who just tells it like it is which is so refreshing and I really related to a lot of the content. It’s true that when you decide to go off and start a “crazy” venture, you’re usually alone for a majority of the time, wondering if you’re crazy and if you’ll ever achieve what you set out to do. Posts like this are so inspirational and amazing. Hugh, you rock.

And… I usually keep my blogs pretty light, but I felt the need to write about this. This past weekend, I witnessed some racist taunting at Asian-Americans, and felt like I was in 6th grade again when a boy named CJ Carson called me a “chink,” and told me to “Go back to where you came from.” All I could think was, “Well, I was born here. What do you mean?” Then I went to the bathroom, cried for an hour, and then got in trouble from the hall monitor for not having a hall pass. Go figure.

I mean, sometimes I feel like we’re making so much progress, especially with the possibility of the first African-American president, and also how technology is allowing us to have a more global society. Then, someone calls out a racial slur, and I’m back in 6th grade again.

When you’re Asian-American in this country, you’re pretty used to being ignored. When politicians speak of the racial issues that divide Whites, blacks, and Hispanics, they rarely mention Asian-Americans. We’re kind of like the iceberg lettuce in a sandwich…you always put it in between the meat, cheese, and toasted bread, but no one actually acknowledges it. Sigh.
Sorry for the depressing post, but I needed to just write this.

Peace,
Kat

Hey all, First of all, Aren’t you glad it’s Friday?! Yes, even though the news is depressing as ever, I try to find things to be positive about.

1) First, its my brother, Andrew’s birthday and I went to Target to find a suitable birthday card that acknowledges his birthday, makes fun of him, and shows that he’s a good bro. I’m also in love with Target, so much that I wrote a poem about it, which I’ll post later. My brother used to terrorize me, growing up, along with his friends where they would spray their water guns at me, make fun of my clothes, put shaving cream in my hair, and all those other things that older brothers do.
I think it’s in their job description. But yeah, I realize that younger sisters just MIGHT be annoying too. haha.
2) Ian Deitman of Strike TV contacted me about pitching some ideas for Strike TV. I hope that I don’t screw this up!!!

I’m blogging right now before we all go out to celebrate my bro’s b-day (a testament to my nerdy nature), and just wanted to write this scene for ya. My brother works as a music supervisor for Bunim Murray Productions and also is a performer, and me… well, you know. I think my mother wished that my bro and I were computer science geeks who listened to classical music all day and had no social skills. Meanwhile, um… I do hip hop karaoke and my bro writes music.

Love you, Mom!!! Here is a scene from our church where bragging about where your kids went to college was a sport.

INT. CHURCH RECEPTION AREA- DAY
MRS. X: So, where are your kids going to college?
My Mom: Well, they haven’t received their acceptance letters yet.
MRS.X: Well, my son just got into Harvard on a full scholarship.
My Mom: Well, my daughter is the secretary of the Horticulture club.
MRS. X: The horticulture club? What’s that?
My Mom: They plant trees and promote the environment.

Awkward silence as I roll up
ME: Hi, Mrs. X.
MRS X: So good to see you. Where did you get into college?
ME: Um. Well, I didn’t get into any Ivies.
MRS X: No Ivies? How will you get a good job? What are you going to do??!
My Mom: I think I need a doughnut.

My mother and I try to escape from Mrs. X, but the woman follows us.
MRS.X: Don’t you want to know my son’s study habits and his extracurricular activities?

I grab my mother by the arm and we SPRINT for the exit. Thank God for my love of running.

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.

One of my favorite daily websites is Careerjournal which gives a multitude of advice about getting ahead, career tips, etc… Here’s a recent article entitled, “In Order to Get Ahead, Get Out of Comfort Zone,” can be applied to anything in life whether its career or personal life.

And as for a completely unrelated analogy to support this argument that you need to face your fears, here is a youtube video from one of my Top 5 “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” episodes when Ashley faces her fears of singing in front of people while Berry Gordy is in the audience. The best part is Carlton and Will in the background, dancing in unison. Hilarious.

The love of a parent for his/her child is one that is unconditional, that has no boundaries. This is something that I’ve learned from my parents, as they worked their hardest to provide for myself and my brother.

My Dad grew up in the aftermath of the Korean War and told us stories of being hungry most of the time, and selling corncakes or Korean pastries on the streets of Seoul, Korea to the passerbys who had a few cents to spare. Even so, he always told these stories in a jovial manner, adding a joke or two, and laughing about how he used to sometimes beat all the other kids in sales. He would always sandwich these stories with anecdotes about how even though he didn’t have a ton of money, all the girls in his class were in love with him. (eye roll) My dad. The salesman.

He came to America in the 1970’s in search of the American dream, which is what so many others have done; it’s that feeling of wanting to make something of yourself in the U.S.A even with about ten bucks in your pocket. He worked many jobs from working at pizza parlors, grocery stores, and saved enough to start his own business; an urban clothing store in Philadelphia.

I remember having to go to the store on Saturdays and seeing people hurl insults at him, usually racist, but he never became embittered. He always found a way to make a joke about it, and eventually a lot of our customers who had insulted him, became regular customers. When Cavariccis were the hottest new clothing items, my Dad over-nighted delivery of them from Los Angeles to Philly, and then once the store opened the next day; he’d make sure that our regular customers were rocking the new style.

I’ve always marveled at people who see the glass as half-full, never complain, and just work hard with a smile on their faces. I’m definitely someone who tries, but then, I’ll do the opposite.
But my Dad never did.

In middle school, my Dad took me to get my ears pierced (much to my mother’s dismay) to the Jersey shore. We went and got Boardwalk fries (really greasy and delicious), Rita’s water ice, and attempted to go in the water, but the water was a murky brown, so I said “no.” haha. He spoke of the importance of being a good person, having a relationship with God, working hard, the importance of family, and also that money was not the reason for living. Considering we live in a world where money seems to rule everything, I always remembered this.

And on this Father’s day, I hope that all of you are remembering your Dads… Check out this old-skool pic of my family at the Rockefeller Center. (Aren’t my pants amazing?…haha…you know you want a pair)

I’m sure that you’ve all heard the tragic news about the death of Tim Russert of “Meet the Press,” and was floored. He was only 58 and really embodied the characteristics of a true journalist, someone who fought to stay objective and find the truth in stories and not trying to manipulate his interview subjects.

I actually studied Journalism at NYU and I recall the lectures of certain professors who would ask, “What is it that makes a true journalist? Is it the fame of wanting to be on-camera or just getting that story no matter what it took?”

Journalism students, at least the ones I knew, were the brainy kids were who trying to figure out how to fit inside the worlds of print and broadcast media. They were getting the latest internships at CNN, MSNBC, NBC, and trying to figure out…”How can I move up?” It was more about status than anything, but there were several students were really cared about the stories, meaning finding the human aspect of every story whether it was a hard news piece, or a soft entertainment piece.

I’m guessing that Tim Russert was that type of student; the one who asked the right questions, the one who asked questions that the everyman/everywoman would want to know. He had the respect of colleagues, interview subjects, and many more. And many quoted his “Passion for politics” and “Persistence,” and talked of the way he strove to remain objective, which is the foundation for journalism. You have to NOT be the story, and instead, let the story tell itself.

Tim Russert will be sorely missed.

I’m not sure if any of you remember that ABC show from the 90’s called, “All-American Girl,” that starred Margaret Cho. I was just a kid then, but it was a big deal to me. I mean, an Asian-American face on TV that wasn’t jumping around doing Kung-fu. And then… I saw the show, and basically didn’t want to watch it anymore.

I applauded the effort that was made to create a comedic sitcom about an Asian-American family, but there were so many stereotypes. Then again, the fact that it actually aired… I guess, that was an accomplishment. I remember that the Asian-American community really attacked Margaret Cho, as if it was completely her fault that there were/are stereotypes about Asians on Network TV. What people don’t realize is that she was only a part of the show. There are writers, directors, gaffers, grips, producers, line producers, casting directors, table readers, Network heads, studio heads… I could go on forever.

I read this Oprah article about how Margaret’s father spoke to her, and I think she’s basically awesome for not caring what anyone thinks, even her family members. It takes a lot of time and guts to get to a place in your life when you’re cool with what you see in the mirror. Ya know?

You should watch this series called “Multi-Racial in America”
I can totally relate to the whole…feeling like an outsider aspect. My cousins’ children are bi-racial and are possibly the cutest kids I’ve ever seen.

This series brings up a true point that our global society will look more and more multi-racial as the years go on. I guess my point is that (Okay, here comes my cheesy self) its what’s inside that counts. (Yeah, cue the corny sitcom music)

I was born and raised in the city of and suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Once my parents’ moved myself and my brother out to the suburbs, we were still wild children with way too much energy for my tired parents’ who were logging 20 hour days at their clothing store.

But my mother always told me something that still sticks with me to this day, “Never let a boy tell you that you’re not good enough, or that you can’t do something!”
She marched me to the Little League sign-ups for softball, tee-ball, and all types of sports camps. And though money was always tight and she could never come to the games like all the other moms, I knew that she saw herself in me.

Things got tougher financially when I was in middle school and high school, and I threw myself into academics. I wasn’t the smartest in my class, but I tried the hardest. And of course, I tried out for all the sports teams, some I didn’t make it, and mostly being benched in Junior Varsity. But I always loved to run. Sometimes it was fast sprints, suicides in the smelly gym, slow jogs, long endurance runs. I’d run in rain, snow, cold, hot, outside, or on the local YMCA treadmill.

Perhaps it was an escape, running away from family and money problems, or not fitting in at my Abercrombie and Fitch school. Slowly but surely, I started to gain confidence from my running ability. I remember a line from one of my favorite movies, “Forrest Gump,” where Jenny calls out to the main character, Forrest, “Run Forrest Run!!.” Forrest didn’t exactly run the fastest, but he just kept going. He didn’t stop until he felt like it was the right time to take off his running shoes.

I, on the other hand, have learned that running won’t make my problems go away. It just gives me a better perspective about life, about working towards a goal, about patience. Most of all, running gave me the ability to look in the mirror and tell myself that I’m okay. Not perfect at all, but I’m cool with being me. Plus the endorphins rock.

Its Wednesday. Nice. I was thinking about a cool, funny post, and was coming up short. But I woke up this morning, and AHA… a tiny flash of inspiration. So here goes…

Coffee really does help make your day better - I actually never drank the stuff until Junior year of college, where my friends’ would always go to Starbucks and order these complicated-sounding drinks. ( I was more of a diet soda person…which is also bad, but anywayz) So one cold winter day, I tried some exciting sounding coffee drink around midterm time and then I was hooked. But it was more than just the beverage, it was just hanging out, seeing friends (b/c at NYU, if you don’t TRY to see your friends, you could actually go the entire school year without seeing them), making a connection. Even now, having a fresh-brewed cup of coffee makes even the crappiest day better. Most days, that is.

People are rude. Deal with it - Okay, maybe that was a crass way to put it, but its true. Some people are mean, negative, and are Debbie Downers. But that doesn’t mean that you have to be the same way. I’ve always marveled at people who have the ability to maintain a positive aura even within the most difficult circumstances. I truly believe that its all about your attitude, and how you approach people in everyday life that is most important.

You’ll Never Forget Your First love - Yes, I’m sarcastic, but also super cheesy at times. This, I realized, is so true because though my first boyfriend and I barely keep in touch, and is soon-to-be married, my heart still jumps a beat when I think of him. My other friends’ can attest to this and they say that its because you’re going back to that time in your brain when life was less complicated and when it was about passing the test, who to go to the formal with, and how annoying your history teacher was. Oh, and you can’t believe that you got detention for falling asleep in class! Sigh.

True Friends are Priceless- Not just a Mastercard commercial, but this is a universal truth that you can bank on. I don’t care if you’re worth $20 billion or have $-3.46 in your account…this is so true. These are the friends that have been with you through the good and bad times, the ones that WILL tell you when your butt looks fat in those jeans, the ones that tell you..”Dude you’re really loud,” the ones that won’t judge you no matter what. If you have people like these in your life, hold on to them.

I Want to Never Work Out and Eat Whatever I want - Yeah, um. No. There are some freaks of nature who have the ability to eat like tri-athletes and maintain a slim physique, but that’s not me. OH SNAP! Eating healthy and working out take time and effort, but it does wonders for your mood and releases exciting things called endorphins. When the world annoys you, I suggest you grab an i-pod and go to the gym. There’s usually a punching bag too, so there you go.

Learn to Live On a Budget- Especially in these lean times, this is a mantra that everyone can use. Pay off your high-interest credit cards, work on paying off student loans, create a financial spreadsheet with your budget so you can keep tabs, make food at home, and blah..blah…blah. Once in a while you should let yourself go though..I mean, go out with your friends, go karaoke-ing (this is me), retail therapy, go on a trip you’ve always wanted to go to. BUT…that’s after you’re done with all your bills. Geez, sometimes I wish I was a trust fund kid.

LAUGH whenever Possible - Life can be stressful, hard, and annoying, but funny things happen everyday. Laughing burns calories, makes your stress go away (for a bit), makes others want to be around you, and makes the day better. I, personally, have zero problems making fun of myself and having a good sense of humor about things has gotten me through tons of tough life experiences. Now, sometimes I think people were laughing WITH me, but they were probably laughing AT me. Oh well.