race you to the oscars.

so the noms for the academy awards were announced this morning, and i'm sad to say i've only seen one, yes ONE, of the five best picture nominees of the year. so i'm on a mission to see munich, capote, crash and good night and good luck hopefully before the golden statues are handed out in march. add to that list transamerica and walk the line. in a year where controvery and headlines overshadow conceptual artistry, i did manage to see my pick (bias as it stands now) for best picture - bareback, i mean, brokeback mountain. where critics see it as the movie that will forever change hollywood, i saw it as a love story, plain and simple. where cinephiles credit ang lee for challenging the religious right, i saw it as a painting where the colors of nature holds breathtaking majesty. it's almost as if the acting was secondary to the visual artistry of the film - not taking away from heath ledger's or michelle william's nuanced performances. i'm not a movie expert by any means, but if a film that tugs at the very basic emotions within each of us and its message dwells in our consciousness beyond leaving the movie theater, then yes, brokeback mountain deserves every trophy this year.

shit hits the fan...but i get roses.

things were beyond stressful and dramatic at work today. it gives me a headache to even think about what happened. it was an issue between two employees that escalated into an entire office problem. i happened to be pulled in the eye of the storm, and still don't have a complete idea why i'm even involved, other than the fact i am here five days a week. so crazy. anyway, the bright part of the day came right before i went to lunch. a package came for me, and it was from romy. two dozen red roses for our anniversary. it was just what i needed, and the surprise definitely blew me away. now i hope he likes what i have in store for him. can't talk about it yet though...

one year ago (tomorrow).

i can't believe it's been a year since jeromy (that's romy to you, bitches hehe) asked me out on our first date and i said yes. it was a wonderful night, we met right outside the arclight cinemas in hollywood and saw phantom of the opera. we had dinner at schwabs afterwards and talked, laughed and enjoyed each other's company. on our walk back to my car, romy even offered me his jacket. i think that's when i realized a new chapter in my life had just begun.
i dedicate this blog to you romy. here's to many more cromemories together. mahal kita!

Date:	Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:45:14 -0800 (PST)
From:	"marC" <*******@yahoo.com>
Subject:	Re: Sounds good
To:	"Jeromy Thompson" <*******@yahoo.com>

JJ Fad,

I work right next to the Arclight so we should
probably just meet there. How's 6:30? That way we can
go chat for a little bit and get our tickets.
Looking forward to it!
marC
(sorry the capital C is just something I do)

--- Jeromy wrote:

> Phantom is my top choice...it is kinda funny,
> because the order of the listing, is my order of
> which ones I am most anxious to see.  LOL  I am
> crazy like that.  I think it sends subliminal
> messages somehow. 
> So we shall do Phantom @ 7pm.  Here is my cell.
> 323-***-****.  ( I go by Ja (Jay) so that is what my
> voicemail says. )  I know we both live relatively
> close to the theatre, so we can meet there, I can
> pick you up, you can pick me up, we can teleport
> there....just kidding. 
> > I am looking forward to it marC!  Let me know your
> thoughts on meeting! 
> Jeromy (Ja)
>
> marC wrote:
> Yeah, any of the 7 to 8 pm shows work for me. I
> wasn't too stoked on Hide and Seek to begin with (I'm such
> a pussy, pardon the word) but I am down to see any of
> the others. Do you prefer Phantom overall?
>
> --- Jeromy wrote:
> marC
> >
> > Thursday is perfect for me.
> >
> > Here are the times for the following movies :)
> >
> > Phantom 7:00 & 10:00
> > Sideways 7:05 & 10:05
> > Finding Neverland 7:50 & 10:10
> > Closer 8:05 & 10:45
> > Hide and Seek 12:01am
> >
> > Let me know which you prefer...or if there are any
> > that I failed to mention.
> > I live really close to the Arclight...I love that
> > theatre. I would prefer the 7ish to 8ish shows,
> > over the 10ish ones....unless you want to see Hide
> > and Seek...but then i might make you hold my hand
> in the dark. hehehehe
> >
> > Let me know which one you wish to see the most. :)
> > I hope you are having a great night. I will chat
> > with you soon! Thanks for accepting!
> >
> > Jeromy
> > heres a pic of me and my niece at christmas...isnt
> > she a cutie patootie...> >
> >
> > marC wrote:
> > Jeromy,
> >
> > I officially accept your invitation :)
> >
> > If you want comfortable seats and a really nice
> > theater, how about the Arclight on Sunset? I don't
> > want to be a weekend Scrooge but I am driving up
> to Big Bear Friday night for my sister-in-law's
> > birthday. We're going snowboarding.
> > So, that gives us tomorrow, Wednesday, Thursday
> this week. What do you think about Thu? I can go
> anytime after 6 pm.
> marC

lyric of the day.

so my friend colleen from the east coast is visiting here until sunday. she's awesome. she interned here two summers ago and that's when we bonded. especially during a upn party where we got to take a picture with missy elliott. funny enough, colleen is wearing a respect m.e. adidas track jacket today. anyway, her being reminded me of a lyric written by tempus, the band she manages. i don't even remember the name of the song, but i know the line well since i wrote it on a post-it and it's been resting on my desktop ever since.
it says "you say your life's over...it's really just beginning."
i don't know why i like this line so much. i don't even have the song downloaded or anything. i just look at it everyday and it puts a smile to my face. i guess it's because i was having a bad day when she was talking about it, and something clicked. everytime i read it, it empowers me not to let sadness overcome who i am. that there will be tough times ahead in many areas of my life, but i will not raise the flag of defeat. it reminds me to keep fighting for tomorrow, because that is a luxury that is, more often than not, taken for granted by so many of us. i admit, i'm guilty of feeling down at times but in the big scheme of things, i have so many reasons to keep going. to keep from saying "my life's over." my family loves and accepts me for who i am. i have a nephew who i adore and makes me appreciate life through his four-year-old eyes. i have a partner who loves me unconditionally and wants to spend the rest of his life with me. we are celebrating our one-year annivesary in two days. i have friends who are my backbone and the source of much laughter. i know it's cliche to feel this way, especially since it's the beginning of the year, but i am thrilled that it is up to me to make sense of the undiscovered. to learn and to grow, regardless of what is out there for me. "you say your life's over...it's really just beginning." i may not be kicking and screaming, but i feel like a newborn child.

tired today.

semi-unsure of myself and my surroundings, uninspired. that's it for today.

vegas, baby, vegas.

spent saturday morning celebrating my nephew dean's 4th birthday. he had a party at my brother's backyard, rocketship themed and even included an air jump for the kids (but big enough for the big kids like me to take over later hehe). hey, i got a good workout from jumping. midway through the party, mike, romy and i started talking about las vegas and how it'd be fun to pick up and just go for the night. it was one of those "are we really going to do it" moments until we convinced romy's mom (who's visiting from ohio) to come with us. she said yes and at 7:30 pm saturday night, we were on our way to sin city. our friends robyn and stinky had a room at the flamingo and they said we were welcome to crash overnight. it was a pretty smooth ride on the way there, with a couple of stops for gas. i took over the wheel in baker (home of the world's largest thermometer hehe) and almost left romy's mom behind. see, i was pumping gas while the rest of them went inside for soda and to go to the restroom. i was last to go. when i came back to the car, i thought everyone was waiting for me so i started to drive off. romy thought "oh he's pulling closer to the restroom so my mom won't have to walk very far" while i'm already looking for the freeway. he realized it and said, wait...for MY MOM! lol i seriously thought she was already in the truck with us. anyway, i went between 90 and 100 (seems fast but this part's mostly uphill) and arrived shortly after 11. gambled, had a few drinks, walked around and had really really late breakfast at the tropicana cafe.
didn't go to bed until 5 am, then woke up around 10, got ready and went to the stratosphere for brunch. ok, it's vegas so the randoms and the freaks are expected. well, our table was next to a family of 8 (even though they sat at a table for 4) who gave new meaning to the word "eurotrash." they piled food on their plates and would take maybe three bites, then go back and get some more. they ashed their cigarrettes on their plates even though ashtrays are provided. i could tell by the look of their server that this was one of the most disgusting tables she ever had to look after. oh, the kicker was one of the women was scooping cereal out of the buffet with a lit cigarrette in her hand. so. gross. anyway, we managed to finish our brunch and head back to the hotel to pack up our stuff. all in all, it was a really fun spur of the moment trip.

exactly.

file this under party photos:::fox winter tca party @ citizen smith (1.17.06)

family guy creator seth mcfarlane

romy and randy "the dawg" jackson

missy pyle...first drunk celeb of the night

ryan seacrest's sugar daddy

romy in the middle...of dewey and reece
we call him "taaaaaaank!"
prison break's dominic purcell and his twin baldy
bald guys = hotness
romy spoke and simon listened (for once)
ryan makes me dizzy

"billy" got screwed last night...

...or how i put together an ikea bookcase all by me-self. things have been starting to pile up at casa de cram (romy's name for my los feliz apartment), books, dvds, computer crap so i decided to purchase a tall bookcase to hold all my shit together. get them off the floor because there's not enough walking space in my humble little abode anyway. so i drove my tired ass to ikea last night and found a 6-shelf tower with dark chocolate brown finish to match my entertainment center and fit perfectly between that and the fugly-ass built in heater in my living room. i love how ikea names their furniture. my bookcase's name is billy. it's like adopting, actually. you have all these choices, find what suits you best and then take it home and raise it from the ground up. although it was more like moving all my furniture out of the way to make room for this monstrous crucifix of a box that i had to lug around from franklin all the way inside. anyway, i turned on bravo and project runway was on, so i felt motivated to get my own bob the builder project done while the designer wannabes rushed theirs. they clipped, trimmed and sewed while i hammered (using a golf club nonetheless, i don't own a hammer), bolted and screwed billy into shape. i am very happy and proud of the finished product. it set me back 60 bucks, but it looks like a million. now my books, tiki paraphernalia and rubber duck collections now have a place to call home.

2 disney stars and an american idol.

if i can sum up my work day today, it'd be the title above. i've been working on two features all morning, one for hilary duff and the other for raven symone. it's interesting to know how they both started the tween market revolution with their shows lizzie mcguire and that's so raven, yet one has been crowned queen and the other is still a lady-in-waiting. ironically, raven's been working longer, starring in the cosby show as olivia. nowadays, every magazine (especially the ones i write for) feature hilary on every cover and celebrates her birthday like it's an academy award party. raven, on the other hand, said in an interview that when she celebrated her 19th birthday, only one paparazzo was there and she didn't even see one flash all night. so sad. i've watched both of their tv shows, and i must say raven has better comic timing and acting talent. i can't say much for either of their music because i'd rather chew pieces of my own ass instead of putting either of their songs on my nano.
on to better things. in about fifteen minutes i'm going to interview american idol season 4 winner carrie underwood. it'll be the third time i've interviewed her, but the first one since her album reached number 2 on the billboard charts. i'm talking just a few sales short of madonna's confessions on a dancefloor. the new season also premiered this week, so i'll be asking her about that - i wonder if she saw the cowboy who auditioned last night and has only sung in front of his turkey. maybe she has an advice or two for him. i know my bf romy's really excited for the interview. it's safe to say he's carrie's number one fan. the autographed pic on his bedroom wall says it all: "thank you for your votes, love carrie underwood." well, i've gotta prepare my questions for carrie. updates soon.

my first blog.

my stomach hurts, possibly mild food poisoning. could have been from the steak sashimi, puff pastry, mac & cheese or creamed spinach i had for dinner last night at citizen smith in hollywood. i brought romy to the fox winter tca party there last night, and we took pics with ryan seacrest, randy jackson, simon cowell, dominic purcell (hot baldy from prison break), bobby lee, kathy najimy, dewey and reese from malcolm in the middle, and missy pyle (tae bo girl from bringing down the house). it was too crowded and the music didn't get good until we were about to leave. i definitely would have had a better time had my stomach not been upset. we came home around 11:30 and watched the season 5 premiere of american idol. i passed out halfway through and had a fever. thankfully, that went away overnight, but i still don't feel good. i want to go home and take a nap, then watch lost and project runway tonight.
anyway, i guess my blog's going to be like memoirs of a media geisha. i write for teen entertainment magazines, so i'll most likely be writing (or talking) shit about hollywood - the good, the bad, and the fugly - and also about my life (which i'm hoping some will find interesting enough to follow). i still have to figure out how to post pics, so until then, enjoy.