July 12

I had my mid-term for summer school. It went okay, I suppose.
Went over to watch two eps of Buffy (Fear Itself and Beer Bad) and one ep of Angel (I Fall to Pieces) with Aaron and Amy. Then I went to Norwalk.

Topics of Conversation: Damn parking, new pants, everyone hates Mario, the ol' sensitive act, motorcycle licenses, just hit him!, traitorous traitor, etc.

-Nate

Hello, Kitty brand Cameras

Watched Shutter Island, which wasn't very bad. I enjoyed it, even if I called most of the movie. The acting was really good, and it was shot beautifully. I recommend it for people who like to have their brains messed with.

Met up with Lainey to help her buy a camera and later watch Lost. We went to Best Buy, and I was quickly sad at all the wonderful toys I could not buy. But Lainey wanted a camera, and by gum, she got one... A "Hello, Kitty" camera.

They saw you coming a mile away, Lainster.

We watched Lost and I found myself getting just the right kind of tired to head home and sleep like a champ.

Topics of Conversation: Leonardo DiCaprio, the drama of the Tomato Family, the bird across the street, donuts, the instruction manual, cute purchases with ugly money for cute reasons, etc.

-Nate

I Doubt The Word is "Nunergized"

So before I even knew it, this was going to be one of the busiest days I’d been involved with in quite some time.

Today I had a video shoot for someone who wasn’t my usual suspects of Norwalk, Lakewood, or PCTA. Nope, it was for a fellow named Joseph, and it was to shoot what I heard was a wedding. Turned out I was wrong about it being a wedding. It was, in fact, the… huh. What’s the word for making a woman into a nun? “Nunification”? “Nunning”? “Nun First Class”? I have no idea, but it was whatever that word is.

I felt like a cool guy during the set up and the taping of the event, because the process wasn’t much different from my usual shoots. Three to four cameras, ton of random cables, and almost indecipherable directions from the director. As it turned out, Little Saigon TV was also involved in the shoot. And after we were done with the morning shoot, I was invited to work on a shoot at the La Mirada Theater for Little Saigon. Apparently, a Vietnamese concert was going on at the theater, with singers, a choir, and a whole orchestra behind them. The whole nine yards.

I said yes. And it was one of the most exhausting shoots I have ever been on. I really can’t get into it, but we had to do a lot of work hauling cables and more stuff. Ask me in person if you want to know more.

After the shot was done, I heard that my cousin Clinton and his wife and two kids were stopping by to visit. I was so tired, I was practically falling asleep into the tacos they had been so nice to buy for me. I felt like such a jerk, but if I had known that Clint was coming by, I would have just said no to the La Mirada shoot. Oh well. I slept like a baby that night.

Topics of Conversation: Panera, Vietnamese, clowning, fiasco, more busy than ever, tangles, common sense is for the bearded, 5-second heads up, running cables, the rituals of religion, etc.

-Nate

July 9

I worked on a paper for school. Then hung out with Lainey for a bit, after which I bought an iPod charger for my car. Probably one of the best purchases I’ve made in a while.

Topics of Conversation: Bella Lagosi vs. Boris Karloff, Gypsy sandwich, weird California, family vs. business, no hot sauce, the need for socks, versus questions, etc.

-Nate

Ape Jam Predators

(Summer School: Day Twelve)

Found out that for extra credit, we could go to a presentation at a Gibbon preserve on the 16th of July. Unfortunately, the preserve was way the heck out in Santa Clarita, which was a good hour and a half away. Darn it. Oh well, I could use the extra credit…

After school, I went on my comic run, which then led into a shoot for PCTA in Fountain Valley for their Summer Concerts series. It was a jam band of some sort, and wasn’t all that great. They’ve had better bands in the past, so hopefully next week’s will be even better.

After work, I watched Predators with Justin and Carissa. The movie was pretty good, and just the right amount mindless violence to cap off the day.

Topics of Conversation: Society as Evolution, Business Predators, 90 minute parking, A-hole poets, the final definition of “Brick,” etc.

-Nate

Tardy In More Than One Way

(Summer School: Day Eleven)

I haven’t been writing about what happened at school that much because I literally can’t remember much of it. Again, a reminder, I am writing all these entries from July to October in retrospect. I have notes for every day, but its hard to differentiate from day to day all the events that transpired.

I met up with Amy and Aaron to watch some more episodes of Buffy and Angel. We picked up some teriyaki from a place called Genkiyaki, which was delicious. I had so much fun with this that I was late to work! ARGH. I should have paid better attention to the time.

After work, I met up with Patrick for dinner. We mostly caught up on life and creative endeavors.

Topics of Conversation: Apes, sister’s jacket, singing monkeys, Luigi, Iceball, Ninja Tacos, grease paint, going to college, selling magazines, etc.

-Nate

July 6

(Summer School: Day Ten)

After school, I met up with Victor for lunch. I then went to work at Norwalk. That’s about it.

Topics of Conversation: Casual white boy, moving out, heart attack, forced nap, Restore Funds, steak, taxi tax, lies about celebrities, good focus, volunteer, bad Twilight ideas, etc.

-Nate

Funny Stuff of Different Types

(Summer School: Day Nine)

I met up with Jamal and Justin and we ate at a Deli, watched “Whatever Works” (starring Larry David), and ended the night with Last Comic Standing. I was at little annoyed because two of the comedians I was rooting for didn’t make it to the next episode. Grrr…

“Whatever Works” was a decent movie that Woody Allen had written a while back, but had never got around to making. Larry David does a really good job with his role, and Evan Rachel Wood is adorable as his cute, optimistic, and unlikely bride. The movie gets a little to wordy at times, but is still pretty good, if a little weird.

Topics of Conversation: Memories of back in the day, McRib, The Dark Ages, good pastrami, unlikable characters, the workings of comedy, Lord Jamal, what’s a knish?, etc.

-Nate

Indy Day

Had a cool shoot for PCTA that was insanely early. 5:00 am early. See? Insanity.

But the shoot was cool. It was in Huntington Beach, and was a marathon/parade celebration. I mostly cable wrangled and crowd controlled, but the crew was still made up entirely of awesome people, so it was an all-around good time.

After the shoot, I met up with Sarah to grab some food at Native Foods. I think I was conscious for most of the lunch. Sarah then barraged my phone with texts and pics to punish me for my acting tired. A good time was had, none the less.

Went home to shoot off some fireworks, dodge a bottle rocket, and then went to sleep.

Topics of Conversation: War paint, too many damn reminders, lettuce in bad places, Reel Big Break-up song, etc.

-Nate

Fireworks

Went on a comic run, which wasn’t really necessary. What was necessary was making sure that Lainey had someone with her to buy fireworks and talk about whatever people talk about the day before Independence Day.

Topics of Conversation: True Wood, vampirates, bake addiction, betrayal pic, Sabertooth, rough life, the Wednesday Addams stare, etc.

-Nate

Really, M. Night?

Argh. I watched “The Last Airbender” today. Argh. God help me, that was a bad idea. M. Night, man, what the hell? Really? You thought that was good enough? Well, it wasn’t. Geez.

Went on a comic run, ate at Portillo’s, and ended the night watching better stuff at Justin’s place.

Topics of Conversation: Ideas to steal, bad student in film class, racist Tehrets, numbers, Invincible, art skills that are rusty, etc.

-Nate

Retro-Writing Begins Here

(Summer School: Day Eight)

School was cool, and led to a shoot for PCTA, in which we shot a concert. Not a bad night.

Hung out with Justin later, and we watched some Doctor Who. A lot of Doctor Who, but that was okay. It was some good times.

Topics of Conversation: Hurry, fries, Airbender, 90210, the PA Gauntlet, iPod test, earned hugs, starts with “F” ends with “urry,” Frisbee optimism, etc.

Nate Note!: A lot of these entries from here on out are gonna be short and sweet. Thus, the “Half-Assed” Journal Entries will lose their purpose. Just kick back and enjoy the reading, and try not to hold a grudge. I’m only a man, and I never get paid for all this Too-Much-Info posts. Remember, I love you. And you always hurt the ones you love.

….that’s too damn dark. LET’S JUST ROCK AND ROLL!

-Nate