Memorial Day

For Memorial Day, our favorite thing to do is meet up with the extended cousins in Monterrey and party on the beach. By party, I mean eat too much food and consume alcohol while sharing (usually embarrassing) stories. This, however, is not a new tradition. In fact, meeting up at Bird Rock Beach has been going on for more than seventy years (so they tell me). This year, only a few of us were able to go, between work schedules and the recent passing of my grandfather. Yano and I drove up from Los Angeles; Meg and Dylan drove down from Santa Rosa. It was almost meeting in the middle. Almost.

Trouble. 

We started our weekend in Monterrey at a local pub called Bullwhackers. By the time Yano and I rolled in, Dylan was drowning his sorrows in Boddingtons as he watched Manchester United lose to Barcelona. It was was the early afternoon and Meg was just happy he still had all his clothes on.  From there we wandered around Cannery Row, finding our way into a forgotten strip mall that had an amazing candy store.

 Have I mentioned that I love candy ?

Mmmm...America.

This tree talked about jelly beans. 

I walked out of the store empty handed (again). I think I just like the look of candy stores; I rarely ever purchase anything. There were an odd assortment of businesses in the mall. Next to the candy store there was a Chinese restaurant and upstairs there was an antique shop. 

There were also a ton of these things:

                                                             
What are these called? Yes, I realize we are too big to play in them, but you should have seen the rocket ship! Also, where else do you ever see anything from Richard Scarry? If you don't know who that is, you should.


Back at the hotel, Dylan decided to exact his revenge (for...something...) by stacking ALL the furniture he could move in front of the bathroom door while I showered. This is what happens when you are the youngest sibling in the group. Next time, my little brother will be forced to go.

This was taped to the trash can, just in case I didn't realize what was going on.

In short, we had way too much fun that weekend; even when Dylan dared me to eat an entire ice cream sundae by myself. Two scoops, with hot fudge and whipped cream, in a waffle bowl. It was the size of my head. The first half was delicious. The second half was...painful. I haven't eaten ice cream since. I might be traumatized.

Suffice to say, I may have found my nemesis.

Everything, All At Once

It is so difficult to keep up with this blog when so much is happening. I don't even know where to begin.

I think that the universe is testing me again. Or maybe it is just making up for the months that I spent sitting on my couch, staring at my computer screen. In other words, January through March. Either way, the past month has been...exciting isn't really the word...more eventful than anything. I haven't written anything in weeks.

Honestly, it is all too much to process, or write about even, so I'm not going to.

Instead, I am going to talk about my new favorite comic book: Chew.

This is my favorite page. 

It is a story about a beat cop who gets psychic readings from whatever he eats, which makes him an excellent (albeit odd) detective. Now, I have only read the first volume, but I am already in love with it. I have every intension of spending whatever little money I have on volumes 2-4.  Luckily, they are only ten bucks a piece.

I found it at Meltdown Comics last week when my younger brother and his lovely girlfriend were visiting. It was the first time that I drove around Los Angeles without guidance and I am very proud to report that I did not get lost. Not even once.

It is always amusing to have my little brother around.

Update on my computer: it finally works! 

I had to reinstall the operating system. Then the wireless adapter refused to work (it worked on my old crappy computer). So I had to hardwire it to the router; meaning my computer gets to live next to the kitchen table. I could run an ethernet cord all the way through my apartment, but then I would be holed up in my room for days on end playing video games.

Speaking of StarCraft 2; can I just tell you how glorious it is to go from the lowest graphics setting to ultra?

 I was literally squealing with joy. 

Lessons I Learned From Script Frenzy

The outside world is so much more alluring. 

1. Writing a script is NOTHING like writing a novel.
Sure, it seems like it would be easier because it is mostly dialogue and action; or the fact that each page only is about a minute of film. It isn't. I struggled from day one, realizing that not much was happening in my script, other than some talking and a lot of walking from room to room. Sounds exciting, right? The ridiculous part is that when I was writing a novel in November, I would write pages and pages of just dialogue and actions. Why couldn't I do that now?!

2. I need to read more scripts.
Before April, I read a handful of screenplays, mostly of movies I love; Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, Garden State, Little Miss Sunshine, and others. During April, I would go back to reference them, to see how mine compared. It was terrible. Why was it so difficult? Then I realized that I had been reading novels my whole life (well since teenage years anyway) and screenplays are new to me. I need to read hundreds to really understand them. So next year, I will be better versed in the art of screenplays.

3. Travel during month-long writing challenges is a BAD idea.
This is the second writing challenge I have participated in. Both times I went out of town for the last week of the challenge. Both times I sorta just...stopped writing a few days before it was over. I know. I talked it up so much about how I was going to be focused and super serious. I should have known that going to Texas for the last five days of April would mean that my script would not reach it's one hundredth page, but I kept telling myself that I could do it, or would do it rather.

4. I love writing gory zombie stories.
My story for Script Frenzy was about a girl who causes the zombie apocalypse with poisoned cupcakes. I think part of the reason I struggled with it for so long was because I didn't get to the zombies until the end. Once I started writing about vegans turning into insatiable flesh eating monsters that devoured beloved household pets, the words poured out of me. If only I hadn't been too busy almost getting eaten by a zebra (seriously) or wandering around Austin waiting for the largest urban bat colony in North America to wake up.

No one should be this close to a zebra. 

I made it to page 75, which isn't too bad for my first try. Next year I will know what to be prepared for. Even though I didn't finish my screenplay, I had an amazing time in Texas (it surprised me too) and look at the cool stuff I got!

 

Please don't burst my bubble and tell me I can get this stuff anywhere. 

Damn You, Technology Gods!

The Technology Gods hate me. Every chance they get, they spite me just for fun. I can't even go near a printer without it malfunctioning and computers...well, we have a mutual hatred. It all started a couple years ago when my faithful desktop was eaten alive by a malicious internet virus. Now, I had never gotten a virus before, but living with boys really tests the limits of your free anti-virus software. It might have been the entire discographies and movies downloaded once they realized the wonders of Bit Torrent, but most likely it was porn. I don't know for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised.

When I moved to Los Angeles, with the help of my resourceful brother, I traded both my desktop and laptop for better models. The newer laptop was great, except the fact that the disk drive stopped working after a couple weeks. Oh, and that it doesn't have a battery so it has to be plugged in all times. The desktop ran, but didn't have a graphics card; which is needed to play any games. Games like StarCraft 2. I managed to install it on my laptop, which only barely meets the system requirements; meaning I can only run it on the lowest settings and it still freezes. I almost cried when I saw how the game runs on my little brother's computer. It was so beautiful.

A friend of mine is letting me "babysit" his desktop while he is away. I suspect the real reason for this is so I can hone my StarCraft skills and stop causing us to lose all the time when we play co-op. So I lugged it through two airports, across three state lines and almost blew out my shoulder in the process. Not to mention the odd stares from everyone wondering why I was carrying around a computer half my size in a harness. Once home, I was so excited to set it up. Finally, a fully functional computer! Surely the Technology Gods would favor me for the amount of suffering I had endured. With a song in my heart and stars in my eyes, I started it up.

-DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER-

God dammit.

Nappy Fester Everyone!

My brother recently switched to a touch screen phone, resulting in humorous spelling errors.

 

That is why you should always go with the full keyboard.

(I don't know why I have a picture of this.) 

I went to Santa Rosa for Zombie Jesus day and celebrated with a trip to the cemetery. For some unknown reason, I had never been to the rural cemetery, despite having lived in the town most of my life. My wife and I went tromping through dead leaves to her favorite spots, where we rested against a headstone and took pictures of our shoes while she tried to convince me to move back.

 

 I feel like this is starting to become a trend.  

Script Frenzy Update:

Six days. Thirty-three pages. This is the moment of truth.

Until week three, I had been doing so well. Somewhere around page fifty most of my motivation and all of my sanity ran off. I often wonder, why in the name of all things holy did I think that this was a good idea? I am trying not to panic. And yes, I realize I should be writing my script right now.

Hopefully my next post will be of a triumphant finish. All I need is five and half pages a day. Ok, time to get super serious.

Oh! I almost forgot! Last week was Tiger Lily's birthday. 

 

At least I didn't put a party hat on her. 

Tired of Script Frenzy? Yeah, me too.

I have made it past the half way mark. Fifty-one pages of cheesy dialogue and boring scenes. I might print out the one hundred pages once I finish just so I can set it on fire. I have a sneaking suspicion that once it is finally done, I will want to hide it deep within the files of my computer, never to look upon it again.

Okay, I am being a bit dramatic. Everything just seems so much better in my imagination only to mutate into something horrible once it leaves my thoughts and is put into words. It is possible that I am being a little hard on myself. Or it could really be that bad.

This weekend I should have been getting ahead on my page count, since I am going up north to Santa Rosa for five days. What did I do instead? I went on another weekend adventure. At least I got some exercise in.

Recently I found out the show Always Sunny in Philadelphia uses a warehouse downtown for all the exterior shots of the bar. So, while wandering around Little Tokyo with a friend, I figured, hey what better way to spend our time than walk around the warehouse district at night? Always a good idea in my book.

So there you have it! Paddy's Pub. Exciting, right?

 I am not giving up on my terrible script, I just need to generate some motivation. It is almost the third week and I have some serious catching up to do. At this moment in time, I am nine pages behind. Ouch. Okay, so here I go, getting serious and stuff. Meanwhile, I will leave you with this:

 

 It didn't come with instructions.

Week Two!

 

Seriously, how sweet is this?

 

The first week of Script Frenzy is over and I am only behind two pages. This is the most dedicated I've been to a project, well, ever really. When I did National Novel Writing Month (NaNo) I steadily fell behind on my word count each day. By the second week, there was little hope of ever catching up. About four days from the end of the challenge, flustered and lost in the chaos of my novel, I quietly resigned. It didn't help that it was the holidays and I had more than enough distractions. 

This time, I am going to not let travel and visiting family derail my progress. Sure, I may be going out of town twice this month, but it just means that I need more focus and determination. Hear that inspiration gods?! I am going to finish this challenge, even if it costs me my sanity. Why, you ask? It is because I need to know that I can actually finish something, even if it is a terrible first draft of a script that no one will ever read.  And let's not kid ourselves, that is exactly what this will be. 

My characters are already rebelling and I am fairly certain that the story will mutate in the next week or so. Today, it is about a girl who accidentally brings upon the zombie apocalypse whilst trying to kill herself with poisoned cupcakes. Tomorrow, who knows.