Sam's Blog

Link: http://www.u2.com/

So I have been having breath problems. I have 4 large holes in my mouth where my wisdom teeth used to be and now that I am starting to eat more food and stuff, they’re really starting to smell wicked. I can still taste the bitterness of blood in my mouth sometimes and it is very difficult to get food out of the cavities. I know it’s gross, but I just wanted to apologize in advance if you see me soon. I can’t help it. I brush my teeth as best as I can. I can’t use mouthwash yet. I can’t chew gum either. I can’t eat breath mints because I’m not allowed to suck on anything, including a straw. (There goes my social life, hehe.) I can’t even use the Listerine strips either. So I guess I am stuck with halitosis for a little while. Bummer.

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Dinner with M was great tonight. I am glad that she is finally branching out and suggested that we eat at Mama Voula's, a local Greek restaurant near her apartment. Her good friend Tina, who is Greek, had taken her there before and she was a fan of the rack of lamb. Everytime I think of lamb, I always hear, "Lisa, don't eat me!" from The Simpson's. I had the chicken kabobs and though the meat was a bit tough to chew with the front of my teeth, I managed just fine. I am glad that M and I don't get sick of each other, especially since we have been hanging out together a lot lately. It's always fun! I got a pleasant surprise while rinsing my mouth with saltwater this evening. A huge piece of the chicken kabob came out and it was actually really disgusting knowing that it was inside one of the holes in my mouth. It's gross, I'm sorry. But this is what I'm dealing with right now! Heh.

I got back home and the place is still very messy at parts. I cleaned while talking on the phone with my other friend Mandy, who lives in Arizona. I filled her in on all of the gossip at work. She's an awesome person and I miss working with her. I spent a good hour cleaning my desk and organizing all of the paid bills that I've been too lazy to file and receipts from months ago. I've been slacking. But it's nice to have a clean desk again.

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Congrats to Lisa. I am glad that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and things are starting to look up!

Kate, be safe in Israel and I hope you have a great experience. I am looking forward to seeing you very soon! I miss you so much!!

I can't believe that Vanessa is going to move far, far away in a few months. I also can't believe that Amy is going to Colorado in a few weeks and then leaving all of us and going to New York. It's going to take me a while to fully accept that.

I really can't wait to see Andrea. She has planned this entire weekend for all of us. Yay!! So much cheesy goodness, I can't contain myself.

S&TC quote of the day:
"You blew me off for a piece of politically incorrect meat?" - Miranda (Season 2 - The Man, The Myth, The Viagra)

Link: http://www.sonymusic.com/artists/PinkFloyd/

This weekend was a bit hazy in that I didn’t have any concept of time or dates or anything like that. I had energy, even when sedated with pain killers. I slept a lot at night and didn’t feel the need to take naps during the day because, well, I suck at it. I don’t take naps well at all. Anyway, on Saturday, I met up with M and her little sister (who really isn’t very little anymore, considering the fact that she is 20 years old already) and we went to Santee Alley again to find some good deals. This time, they had the brown purse that I wanted and I got a good deal on it. We went to The Grove afterwards and ran into Nate randomly. It was a very pleasant surprise and he joined us for a late lunch at the newly opened Cheesecake Factory there. I was able to eat some food at that point. I had some pad thai and the noodles were fine, but the chicken was a bit hard to chew, but I was able to manage because I was so hungry. (Celebrity sightings there included Sean Lennon and Cheryl Hines, from Curb Your Enthusiasm) I later hung out with James that night. I hadn’t seen him since his birthday and it was awesome to see him again. We hung out with some of his brothers from his fraternity and we saw the band Blue Floyd, a Pink Floyd cover band at the House of Blues on Sunset. I love the venue, but it was so loud and the band was intense. They were pretty good though and I was impressed. We also went to Carney’s, right up the street from the HOB and it was a very interesting experience. It was a lot more casual than I thought and a lot cheaper. I wish that I was able to eat something there besides an ice cream sandwich. I am sure that I will go back there again. Their chili fries looked yummy. On our way to the restaurant, we passed by Saddle Ranch and there was a large group of people sitting outside on the patio area, two of which were JC Chasez (who is now my very first N’Sync member sighting and my favorite bandmember) and he was sitting across the table from the actor Shane West, who is now a regular on the show ER. Very weird that they were hanging out together, but they are young and in Hollywood, so I guess they are all friends somehow. Anyway, it’s always interesting hanging out with James. There are so many things that I don’t know about him from the past few years, but his interests always stay the same. I am glad that it is that way. He usually fills me in on the most important details about his life and I guess that’s all that matters. I am glad that he is happier with his life now. He was so unhappy a year ago. But things are working out and I am happy for him.

One of my uncles was visiting this weekend and I went to my dad’s house to hang out and say hello. Since I was still heavily medicated, my brother had to pick me up and I took him to Hurry Curry, since he had never had Japanese curry before. I was able to eat the chicken cutlet curry with rice. I could tell that I was improving and was slowly able to eat more solid food. I went home and hung out with the family. My sister, Nakara, left for Mexico City and since I argue with her the most, it was a relatively nice and drama free visit. I get along with my other siblings just fine. I was able to visit with my uncle and aunt and their daughter (my cousin) who is going to get married next month. Things never really change at home, but I was glad that I was able to sleep on a comfortable bed this time as opposed to the crappy guest bed that I always get when I go home. One major difference was that my family, for the first time in a really long time, commented on the fact that I lost weight. It’s funny because I don’t think that I lost any or much at all, but I haven’t weighted myself in a long time. It was kinda nice to hear because I was so used to them saying that I gained weight every time that I would visit. My family is very straightforward about things like that, especially my grandma. It takes a toll on your self esteem after a while, but then I got used to it. I think it was the no eating solid foods because of my surgery that helped perhaps. Anyway, we didn’t really do much actually. Everyone had their own schedules and I was able to relax and watch some Cambodian TV. My dad just got two Cambodian stations installed on the satellite dish, so he was very excited and always makes everyone watch it. I caught the end of what seemed like a Pol Pot documentary and it made me depressed. This morning, I raided my sister’s closet, or whatever was left of my sister’s closet. She took a lot of clothes with her to Mexico, but I was able to pick out a few cool things. It was just like shopping, but I didn’t have to pay for anything! Though I will have to give them back in a few months, it still feels like new clothes to me. I miss living with my sisters and with Amy and Angela because we all used to share clothes all of the time. Sigh.

I came back to LA today and Nate and I were talking about trying to have a BBQ today at his place somehow. He was still trying to live down the effects of the New Years Eve party and didn’t want to have a huge BBQ or party or anything like that. So we kept it low-key and it was nice. I went with Josh and M. It was a nice turnout considering it was totally thrown together at the last minute. Matt, Mike, Nate, Lisa Lum, Amy, Tripp, Tripp’s friend Andrea, and Kurt were all there and we grilled and hung out and drank. It was nice to see everyone again. We don’t have many get-togethers as frequently as we used to. Andrea was really sweet and cool. It was nice to have M there because she doesn’t really know many of my friends that well. She’s always been separate from them, not purposefully, but we seem to always hang out with just us two instead of with big crowds. I am glad she was finally able to hang out with a lot of them, even though she has met them before. It was just a bit more social and intimate this time and it allowed her to get to know them better. I’m all about bringing friends together. Our conversations were very interesting, to say the least. I was finally able to eat a hamburger, though I had to chew it with my front teeth. I was starving and needed to eat real food.

We stopped by Bob's place (purple t-shirt guy), who is a friend of Josh's in his Animation program. There were a lot of people there that I knew that were in the program also and it was comfortable and nice to just chill. They played video games and drank as I sat and watched in a sedated state. It looked like a lot of fun because they were playing Super Smash Brothers but my hand and eye coordination was not very good. I want an emulator so I can play all of the fun games that I used to play on my Super Nintendo. Hopefully Josh and I will get one soon.

The weekend has been very nice and relaxing. I did have a few extra days because of the surgery, but I am afraid to go back to work because I know that it will be really busy tomorrow. It’s always busy after a holiday. But I will have to grin and bear it and hopefully it won’t be that bad. I still have some pain killers left and I will use them if I have to, but only at nighttime before I go to bed. I know that my sleep schedule is totally off, but the pain is slowly subsiding, so I think that I will be okay, hopefully.

S&TC quote of the day:
“Delicious, exactly what I wanted. I couldn't get enough.” – Carrie (Season 6 – Let There Be Light)

Link: http://www.foxmovies.com/fightclub/

So I had my wisdom teeth taken out yesterday. It wasn’t as bad as I expected. The procedure itself took less than an hour. Josh, being the lovely boyfriend that he is, stayed and waited for me. My surgeon was funny. He made fun of my laugh constantly. He said that it sounded like Woody Woodpecker. That helped me ease my jitters, especially since it took him 4 tries to start my IV. It looks like I have track marks on my arm now, but I don’t really care. I was a little out of it right after I woke up. Josh and I went to pick up my drugs and then went to the grocery store to buy soft and liquid foods. I was surprisingly alert and after popping one of my pills, I felt no pain really. Angela came over and we hung out for hours (she is great). She got me some soup and we were entertained by the first season of Scrubs. The pilot still cracks me up. I forgot about a lot of little things on the show, so it was nice to finally watch most of it in one sitting without any commercials or distractions. Angela left after a few hours and I passed out for a bit. I was worried though because I was still bleeding and I was slowly running out of gauze. I didn’t realize that I would be bleeding so much (though I was expecting blood, but not that much). It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have a sore throat. It hurts a lot and it doesn't help with my liquid diet. The meds don't really help with my throat either. Boo. I eventually ate some soup and some ice cream and it wasn’t that bad, overall. It felt like I was on my way to a speedy recovery. I slept with no gauze in because I didn’t want to drool too much (though I knew that I was going to regardless). The bleeding had decreased a lot, so it wasn’t too bad. All night, I would wake up at random times and I would swallow a mouthful of blood and saliva. It was gross, but then I got used to it. The taste of my own blood wasn’t that bad.

I slept for a really long time last night. I was a bit swollen, but not too noticeable. I ate some yogurt and some more soup. I am already getting sick of soup, it’s sad. Nate was back in town (yay!) and was going to 3rd street and I was feeling fine (except with the being drugged up) and was going a bit stir crazy in the apartment, so I went along with him. It was nice to be out. We met up with Lisa L. and we ate and shopped for a bit. I ate my first solidish type food (mozzarella sticks and potato skins) and it wasn’t too shabby. My jaw feels sore still, but not too bad. I just hope that the food doesn’t get stuck in there and I get dry socket somehow. It sounds way too painful and I don’t think that I can handle it. Nate got a new toy (ipod) and we just chilled at my place for a while and finished up the first season of Scrubs. We had dinner, this time me trying chunky soup, which wasn’t too bad either. Overall, I’m feeling a little loopy and sore, but not too bad. I am mobile at least and that helps a lot too. I cannot stay in the apartment all day. It’s not how I like to recover, I guess. I do miss food, like Tito’s Tacos and random things like tortilla chips and fries. But I am sure I will be back up to eating those things in a few days. Yay! It feels weird to brush over the sockets with my tongue and feel empty holes where my teeth used to be. Strange, but I like it for some odd reason.

I just wanted to say thanks to all of those who have checked in on me. I really appreciate it and it means a lot. I apologize if I didn’t make much sense in some of the phone or IM conversations…I blame it on the drugs.

S&TC quote of the day:
“Just because I don't eat at the restaurant doesn't mean I can't hear the specials.” – Stanford (Season 3 – Politically Erect)

Link: http://www.toolband.com

I never realized how true that quote was until just recently in my life.

I’m getting a bit nervous because I am getting my wisdom teeth taken out tomorrow. It’s not really a big deal because practically everyone that I know has gotten them out without many problems. But still. They’re taking all 4 out at the same time and I am a weakling when it comes to these things. I just hope the recovery period is short and hopefully I will feel no pain if the meds work as well as they should.

My boss turned in her resignation today. She wanted to spend more time with her son and got a job closer to home. I don’t blame her. The commute is horrible, especially after yesterday’s crazy traffic. We were all sad because she was an awesome boss. I’m afraid to think about who will replace her. There are not many options. It will change the entire clinic and I am not sure if it will be for the better or worse. I guess I can’t think about it until it actually happens. I’m going to miss her. She’s still around for a few more days, so I guess we have time to plan a great party for her.

Randy and Amy are working on the next Propergander show entitled “Everybody Dies.” It will be opening tomorrow night through July 2nd. I am bummed that I can’t go opening night because of the surgery, but I am hoping to check it out soon. Please go if you can and check out their website too.

Lunch with Lisa today was nice, but too short. We don’t talk that much anymore, so I am glad that we are able to meet up for lunch frequently. She has many decisions to make and I wish the best for her. It’s tough out there in the job market right now. M is going through the same ordeal. There are so many things involved in choosing a job or quitting a job. I wish there was a better way and I wish that I could help.

Its funny how I can hear from no one for a while and then suddenly I get emails and phone calls from my friends in Japan, London, San Diego, Modesto, New York, St. Louis and San Francisco all in one day. Technology still amazes me. At the wedding this past weekend, we were discussing how back in high school, which was only at least 6 years ago, we all had to wait for our parents/siblings to pick us up from school, Aca Dec, mock trial, band, or whatever and not really know whether or not they were coming because we didn’t have cell phones. We didn’t have ipods, palm pilots, digital cameras, etc. So weird to think about it because it wasn’t too long ago. We take advantage of these devices daily and I would definitely be lost without my cell phone. So sad how I’ve become so dependent on some of these things. It’s also sad that with all of this new technology, they still can’t make shoes that don’t give me blisters when I first wear them (such as the new shoes that I wore today).

Well, I only have about an hour left to eat something before I have to fast for surgery. Fun fun. I’m not even hungry, so I think that I won’t eat anything at all, but I kinda want to because I know that I won’t be able to for at least another 12 hours. Woohoo!

S&TC quote of the day:
“Are you in pain? I'm in pain just looking at you.” – Samantha (Season 3 – Hot Child in the City)

Link: http://www.fatboyslim.net/start.htm

Argh! It took me 90 minutes to get home today from work (as opposed to the 25 minutes that I am used to). I hate traffic. I usually don’t mind, but when there’s a lot of traffic, all of the asses come out and try to congest it more by blocking intersections and honking unnecessarily. I had to go all the way to Beverly Glen (far east) and loop around to Pico and then up Overland. Once I got onto Overland, the traffic was minimal. I long for public transportation sometimes. I am glad that I had my CDs to keep me company. I would be a wreck without them. So I sang and sang until I was able to get home. It’s nice to be in my apartment with no one here. I can walk around in my underwear and breathe a sigh of relief. Poor M is stuck on the 110/10 interchange, which means that we are going to have a late dinner tonight.

And if you're bored, check out Fatboy Slim's new video. It's fun. I like the original version of the song that he samples, but it's not too bad overall.

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Oh, and I really do HATE Gwen Stefani's song "Hollaback Girl" with an extreme passion (and I rarely use the word Hate). Please stop playing it on the radio. I hardly listen to the radio and it seems to be always on when I do, which means that it is popular and people like it. Eek. It's a horrible, horrible song. I'm sorry if I offended anyone with that statement, but please, get better taste in music.

Link: http://www.theclashonline.com/

I was on the corner of Santa Monica and Sepulveda Blvd. this morning on my way to work and I was jamming to the song “Police and Thieves” with the windows down. I was singing along and a young motorcycle cop pulls up beside me. He’s wearing a helmet and I wasn’t sure if he could hear my music or not. It was pretty loud though and it’s not the best song to be blasting next to a police officer. But he stared at me and gave me a thumbs-up. I smiled, but as I drove off, I couldn’t help but laugh at how corny he was. It was cute.

Back to the rest of my weekend. I have so many mixed feelings about going back to Modesto. In many ways it was awesome and in other ways, it was just sad because the people there still think the same. I want to say that we have grown to a little bit over 200,000 residents. I am not sure how accurate that number is since the new year, but it’s pretty close. New huge housing complexes have sprung up so fast and more people are moving in daily (such as a majority of M’s family) that it’s hard to keep track. There are many new shops, restaurants, bars and such and it feels kinda urban. But as in every city, most of the people are lame.

M was forced to go to her 2 year-old cousin’s birthday party after the wedding. She left and I tried to rest for a bit. It was Alisha’s birthday as well that day. I hadn’t seen Alisha in about 4 years. She went to UCSB and I remember meeting up with her at the Moby/Bush concert years ago, but I think that was the last time I saw her. I forgot how tall she was and how short her hair tends to be. She’s doing okay, relatively. We met up with Loretta and Marissa there as well. I hadn’t seen Marissa since December and she looks really good and really happy. She’s going to move to Australia next year. I am so jealous! She told me that she reads this blog frequently, which really surprised me. So Marissa, say hi to Kevin for me and I am hoping that you are doing well in Modesto! I later met up with an old friend that was coincidentally in town this weekend and it was nice to hang out and go out for some drinks and catch up. It’s great to always be able to be so frank and candid about each other’s lives even though we only see each other about once a year.

M and I woke up kinda late and we had to get on the road to miss Sunday traffic. Her mom was so cute and made us breakfast and chai. I am really grateful for their hospitality this weekend. They treated me like I was one of their daughters and it was so sweet of them. I drove a part of the way home, between Fresno and Bakersfield. M’s car is awesome and so nice to drive. I wasn’t stressed at all. It was smooth sailing. It was nice to just talk with M about everything that happened this weekend and who we saw and how things have changed and stayed the same. We can keep each other company very well and I am glad that we can travel together without killing each other.

We got into LA and we went shopping for M’s apartment and I convinced her to get a 32” instead of a 27”-inch television. The only problem we had was transporting it, so we had to postpone the purchase until a later date. But I am excited for her because her roommate moved out this weekend and she will have the apartment to herself until August. The entire living room and dining room is empty, along with the bedroom and bathroom as well. So basically there is only furniture in M’s room. I told her that we should throw a party. It would be nice and we would have a lot of open space. We shall see though. I was exhausted last night once I actually sat down and relaxed. I had dinner with Josh and Wen. I don’t think that I am used to Josh’s vegetarianism. I don’t mean to be insensitive, but I keep forgetting and we can’t share food most of the time. But at least we both eat shrimp. I love me some good shrimp.

I had lunch with Lisa and Josh and Kathi (from Josh’s animation program) at the new Greek restaurant, Daphne’s today. It was yummy. I love kabobs. Meats on sticks are great, which reminds me that Memorial Day weekend is very soon…a BBQ needs to be organized. Too bad Nate is in St. Louis, his house is perfect for grilling and we’ve had BBQs there the past two Memorial Days. Maybe we’ll have one at our place. Our balcony is really small though. I guess we will see! Anyway, it is always nice to see Josh during the day. I am glad that his student schedule is flexible enough for me to see him often. It’s also awesome to hang with Lisa and hear her work stories and catch up on the weekend. It felt like I was gone for so long this weekend. I feel so uninformed. Hopefully I can catch up with people throughout the week.

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A big thanks to Amy P. for sending me treats from her visit to Kyoto and the Heian-jingu Shrine (as seen in the movie Lost in Translation). They were a pleasant surprise. I love getting mail, especially packages. I miss you so much and I am counting down the days until you get back here to the states.

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A big Congrats to Po for passing the California BAR exam. I've known her all of my life and I am so proud of her. Now I have someone reliable that I can turn to in case I get into any trouble. Hehe. Actually, a lot of my friends are in law school right now. Lucky for me!

S&TC quote of the day:
"I love your house. It's so you." - Aleksandr (Season 6 - Out of the Frying Pan)

I'm exhausted. Many thanks to the S's for their hospitality and generosity. (More pics here.)

Link: http://www.sarabmusic.com/

So I am in Modesto. I just got back from a Sokhary's wedding. (Pictures will be posted soon). I've known her since junior high. We lived across the street from each other throughout high school. She's been with her now husband since 7th grade! They've been together for 12 years. WOW. That's amazing. I say that it's about time, finally. They looked so happy together. I saw her mom in the bathroom and said hello and she didn't recognize me. Apparently I've changed so much since the last time they've seen me. Her brother recognized me at least, so I guess it was just the parents that didn't remember. I can't believe that I haven't seen her or her family in so long. It's funny how we found each other on MySpace and reconnected. I guess those services actually work in reuniting people. I went to the wedding with M and we saw Loretta there with her fiance, Vince. I hadn't seen Loretta in about 4 years and it was my first time meeting Vince. He is such a gentlemen and I am glad that Loretta found someone that suited her so perfectly. They seem very happy and I am very happy for them. Their wedding is in October. It seems like everyone is getting married soon, it's crazy.

M and I arrived in Modesto Friday afternoon. I wasn't feeling great and was not looking forward to a 5 hour drive, but it wasn't that bad. We kept each other company and the CDs helped a lot. Modesto feels the same, but is different. I can't explain it. It definitely has expanded and there are a lot more new homes being built (such as M's parents house that I am staying in) and tons of new businesses, mainly corporations. The kids are very typical. Hanging out at the Starbuck's and local eateries, just chilling. Not much has changed. I haven't been back in 3 years, but besides from the buildings changing and such, not much else is new. There's a certain level of comfort that I have from that. I still know where everything is, relatively, and in a sick and twisted way, I kinda missed it. There are still tons and tons of white people and it still is a bit lame, but that's expected.

M and I went to watch Star Wars last night. (After I dragged her to El Rosal, my favorite Mexican restaurant there.) I was impressed because it was better than I expected. They also had booths where they took free pictures of us with Star War characters. I have yet to find it online, I am assuming they hadn't posted them yet, but when they do, I will post it. The whole theater was Star Wars themed. They went all out for it. We were fortunate and found good seats. The plot was very simple and I knew what was going to happen already, so there were no surprises really. The lady sitting next to me was worried that Yoda was going to get killed, but I was like, hello, he's in the next three movies! Anyway, the dialogue was still pretty bad between Padme and Anakin, but I didn't think that was going to change anyway. They had a tendency to overact and there were some definite problems in the script. It was visually beautiful and entertaining. I love the score, but who doesn't? Anakin's dissension into the dark side seemed a bit contrived. I can't put my finger on what was wrong with it, but something bothered me while I was watching it. Obi-wan was awesome (and not that bad looking with a beard) and Yoda and Chewy were fun. The whole childbirth scene seemed a bit rushed, especially when it came time to name the children. I was really bothered by that. But despite some flaws and such, it overall was a very entertaining movie. I hope that you watch it soon, I really want it to beat the Titanic record, because, well, Titanic wasn't a very good movie and needs to be kicked off of the #1 spot. I think I will watch it again at the Fox soon.

Well, it's extremely hot here in Modesto (90 degrees), but it feels so good sometimes. I am off to wander the streets and find some food with M soon. I will write more when I get back to LA.

Link: http://www.sarabmusic.com/

Sara Bareilles (above). Please check out her site and her music. She is awesome and her music is great to listen to while stuck in traffic.

So I finally did it. I cut my hair short for the summer. I have been going through a heated debate in my head and I decided to finally chop it all off. I don’t think it’s that short, but it definitely was at least 4 inches off of my hair, which is a lot shorter than it sounds. My hairstylist was fabulous. He was new and I never really go there that often anyway, but my regular hairstylist was busy with another person. But Rick and I clicked right away and we chatted a lot and he was taking his time on my hair to make sure that it was perfect. We liked the same music and he loved the Beastie Boys, which is always a plus. He even blow-dried and styled my hair for me at no additional charge and the whole process took over 2 hours. He was sweet and I am definitely going to get him again next time. I just have to get used to my short hair now.

Everyone’s been talking about jobs lately. Friends have been quitting their jobs, starting new jobs, looking for jobs, interviewing for jobs, getting offered new jobs, getting fired from their jobs, hating their jobs, loving their jobs, and so on and so forth. I realized that most of my core group of friends opted not to go to graduate or professional school after college, but instead chose to work full time. This explains why we don’t hang out very much anymore because we are all burnt out from our jobs. It’s sad because we know that we will be in the same state in 10, 20, and 30 years. Those in school are just prolonging the inevitable. I cannot see myself working at the same place in 5 years, so I know that I will have to do something to get out. I am trying and in the works with a few things, but nothing concrete. I wish that change will come swift and the monetary compensation be good enough for me to live off of. I need to save up money for a house. I am constantly reminded of this weekly because a few of my friends are looking or already own their own condo/townhouse. It’s crazy and rad all at the same time. I wish that I was that financially set and not have to be a renter for most of my life. But I am slowly working on it and I know that it shouldn’t be a problem after I get married and have two incomes, yada yada. It’s still stressing to think about and also very frustrating sometimes because I know that my friends will own a place in the upcoming months.

I hate that Josh didn’t really want to see the new Star Wars movie and he ends up getting tickets to watch it at 7:30 tonight, hours before the movie officially opens. Lucky bummer. But M and I decided that we were going to watch it on Friday night in Modesto. I hope the crowds aren’t too big. I am thinking that it won’t be as bad because it’s already been released there for over a week. I ran into Jamie today at Starbuck’s (go figure) and she said that she saw it last weekend when she was in Modesto at a Gallo charity drive. Neat. She is done with her first year of film school and I am eager to see how her first film turned out. She was going to screen it at her next party, whenever it is. We have a very interesting friendship, but it works out well.

M and I hung out tonight again. We just can’t get enough of each other. She had good news to tell me and good news about Tina, one of her best friends. I am so happy for them and it looks like things are all falling into place. We ate at Café 50’s and ran into Aussie there with her friend, Ameet, the guy who wanted to kill me all of the time when we played Mafia. It was great to randomly see her. Small world. Well, M and I discussed our upcoming trip home and what we are planning to do. There are a few people that I do want to see and I hope that things pan out for us. But I am only going to be there for the weekend, so I am not expecting too much. I think that it will be nice to see all of my old friends from junior high and high school. It’s going to be surreal, but nice.

S&TC quote of the day:
“I could die, Carrie. With really bad hair.” – Samantha (Season 6 – Out of the Frying Pan)

Link: http://www2.foxsearchlight.com/napoleondynamite/

So I finally watched Napoleon Dynamite. I wouldn't say that it was a disappointment, but it was built up so much that I was expecting a witty and spectacular "surviving high school" ala Welcome to the Dollhouse or Rushmore type movie. What I got was a cute and random movie where I had no sympathy for the protagonist. But it wasn’t a bad effort. It felt like they tried too hard to do something amazing and didn’t quite achieve it for one reason or another. I was definitely entertained, especially with the end dance sequence. They used the song, “Canned Heat” by Jamiroquai and it reminded me of Center Stage because that song was used in that movie as well. I am also amazed by the merchandizing that it has spawned over the past year. I’ve been seeing the “Vote for Pedro” t-shirts everywhere and everyone has been saying “Gawd” all of the time.

And I am happy that they released the first season of Scrubs on DVD. Hooray!! It’s just sitting on the coffee table, taunting me and wanting to be watched.

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M and I had dinner tonight at Q’s because we go there after dinner every week to have one of their salads, so I figure that we may as well eat there too. The food isn’t that bad at all and the fries were extra tasty crispy. M has all of these things that are just falling onto her lap…jobs, guys, new roommates, etc. She is one lucky gal and I know that she is enjoying every minute and she deserves it totally. I think she is recovering from all of the drunken text messaging that went on this weekend (which I was involved in as well). Crazy girl. But she is so much fun. We are going to travel together this weekend and I am looking forward to it. Yay!!

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I hardly talk to Angela nowadays. It's no one's fault. We have totally opposite schedules now that she is in school again. I do appreciate the effort that she puts into calling me at times that she knows that I am available. I do the same. It's scary how much we know each others schedules, but it's comforting. It's just good that we know each other that well period. Word.

I am sending well wishes to Nate because he hasn't been feeling well. I hope you sleep well my friend, you definitely need it.

S&TC quote of the day:
“Oh god, that's so 80's!” – Samantha (Season 6 – The Cold War)

Link: http://www.starwars.com/site/copyright.html

I was walking to work this morning and as usual, I walked by the Fox theater in Westwood. To my surprise, there were people lined up there. I was actually expecting them to already be in line. With the previous two Star Wars, people lined up weeks and even months before. It was the same guys that waited the last two times. I cannot believe that I have been in LA this long to see the completion of the Star Wars craziness. A lot of my friends will be watching it at the Arclight. It is a much better experience in that there is stadium seating and you can preorder tickets online weeks before and the Cinerama dome is fabulous. So there are a lot of shows that are sold out already. I think I will be seeing the movie in Modesto because I will be there for a wedding and it almost seems appropriate in a lot of ways. I may watch it again at the Fox, if it's as good as everyone says it is, especially since Kevin Smith approves. There's a certain sentimentality that I have to the Fox theater. I saw the last two Star Wars there and though it was a bit hectic and time consuming, I was able to get great seats on the balcony and had a great viewing experience, despite the fact that the movies weren't that great. It just feels appropriate that I watch the last one there as well. Or maybe I'm just crazy. I am sure I can find people to go with, so hopefully it won't be too big of a deal.

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"Yay!" (I am so excited!)

Fox Saves 'Arrested Development'

By Charlie McCollum

Mercury News Television Writer

In a major surprise, Fox has renewed its critically-acclaimed but little-watched "Arrested Development" for a third season.

The quirky comedy had been considered a long shot to make the network's fall schedule, which will be announced on Thursday. While it won the Emmy for best comedy in its first season, "Arrested Development" has rarely attracted more than 7 million viewers even though Fox gave it a boost this past season by scheduling it after "The Simpsons."

The show's fate appeared to be sealed when the network cut its season down to just 18 episodes and pulled it out of its Sunday lineup for May sweeps. It was widely believed that the series' only chance for another season was on a cable channel such as Comedy Central.

But on Monday, Peter Liguori -- the new president of Fox Entertainment -- said that "'Arrested Development' is one of the best comedies on television. The decision to order another season becomes easy when you consider its amazing cast, creative brilliance, critical acclaim and advertiser appeal."

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Another reason why I love Natalie Portman: She is always hot, even when she's bald.

Link: http://www.jimmyeatworld.net/index.html

A lot has happened and I’ve been meaning to update, but I can’t seem to sit in one place long enough to do so. Here is a quick recap of my week.

After work on Wednesday, I went to Brew Co. to meet up with Angie and her coworkers and a few friends. It was her last day at work and they all took her out. It was cute. Marty, Kim, Ivy, Josh, Bank, and Justin all came out and it was fun. I finally met the infamous Raymond who has a site where they all contribute to. I think it’s hilarious. Later that night, I met up with Lisa and we went out for coffee in Beverly Hills. We wanted a change of pace and it was nice to finally hang out with her after work. We eat lunch together frequently, but haven’t really hung out in a long, long time. It was very relaxing and nice to just sit and chat for a long time. I notice that we have a tendency to talk about work a lot, so we moved on to other topics and it was lovely. She’s so straightforward and honest about her life. I just hope that it gets better for her.

Thursday was low-key as well. Angela and I went out for coffee and we stayed there for hours. I swear we are like sisters, but without the fighting. We are way too comfortable around each other. It’s great. I was really bothered by a few things that happened there that night though. I had ordered a latin latte and gave them my name. When they called out my name, he handed me a cappuccino. I looked at it and was confused. Maybe it wasn’t my drink. I stood there and he looked at me and yelled out my name again. So I tell him that I didn’t order it and he made me my correct drink, but he was kinda snotty about it. Dude, no need for the attitude. I worked at Starbuck’s for 2 years and I know how it is and I know how easy it is to make another latte. And plus, I never gave attitude to my customers, but oh well, it wasn’t a big deal. It was a big deal later, though because Angela and I went back to the register to order a salad and I left my jacket and stuff at our seats. When we got back, our drinks were gone. I wasn’t even half-way done with it yet and Angela wasn’t done either, so we had to go back and I had to face the same guy from earlier. He was nice this time, but it was a very weird experience there.

I was looking forward to Friday night all week. It wasn’t because we were going to the Abbey, a very trendy gay bar in West Hollywood. It was because Mike was done was his finals in law school and we were actually going to be able to hang out again. We all hadn’t seen him in months. He crawled into a little hole and studied for a few months, so we were excited to see him. It was also a reunion of the gang (minus Amy because she was working). It was nice to also see Matt again and Mike’s cousin Geoff, who is such a riot. He made me laugh all night. We bacame friends with one of the bartenders and he gave us discounts on our drinks. It was nice. Their berry martinis were fabulous still and their vodka gimlets were nice and strong. There were so many beautiful guys there, it wasn’t fair. We were saddened. As usual, we went to IHOP afterwards and sat at our regular table. Hooray for hash browns!

Yesterday, I got up and chatted with Greg and Negin for a while. They were visiting from Texas and were trying to get everything set up for their upcoming wedding. I can’t believe that it’s in two months!! Crazy. They are a great couple to talk to and I am looking forward to their wedding. It’s a shame that they will be living in Austin.

I later went with M to Santee Alley in downtown LA. We ate at The Pantry Café first and it was filled with meat. I had a pot roast sandwich, a bit heavy for lunchtime, but it was yummy. I had never been to Santee Alley before, though I have driven around there many times. It always reminded me of New York because there were so many little shops and people walking around everywhere. It was hot and crowded, but fun. There were so many little shops selling everything that you can possibly want (except Superstar ice cream and we had to find out the hard way). I fell in love with a fake Prada purse, but the zipper was kinda broken and I was bummed. M got a nifty Coach bag that she can use as a carry-on when she travels. There were so many fake purses…Gucci, Fendi, Coach, Prada, Marc Jacobs, Kate Spade, and so much more. It was a shopping supercenter.

After I got back, Josh and I went to Island’s with Shahab. It was nice to see him…it’s been too long. It feels like everyone is becoming more available, especially the kids in school and it’s nice to see everyone again. We just chilled for the rest of the night. It was awesome to just relax and talk to friends and not have to worry about doing anything.

I slept in late this morning. Really late. It was nice to not wake up with the alarm clock. Josh and I stayed in bed talking for a while. It was sweet. We weren’t in any rush to do anything today. We later met up with Nate and went to Costco. I love how we always say that we will never go to Costco on Sundays because it’s always too crowded, but yet we always end up there on Sundays. It wasn’t that bad this time. We later went to Paco’s Tacos and had pretty much the same things that we always order. Then we went to visit Jon because he was pretty sick and he was helping Florence with her car issues. Her car was hit in the back while it was parked on Wilshire last night. It basically was totaled. It sucks. So they were dealing with that, but it was good to see them both again. It was an awesome week full of friends and a lot of relaxing.

S&TC quote of the day:
“We had found fake Fendi paradise.” – Carrie (Season 3 – Sex and Another City)

Link: http://www.inxs.com/

Tired, very tired. I am going off of 4 hours of sleep because I went to a party last night. I should know better. Yes, I should. But it was fun and I am glad that I went, even though it wasn’t for too long. Kurt and Tripp had a somewhat spontaneous graduation party at their apartment. It was jogging themed, along with a “bring a baked good” requirement. So Josh and I went. I was in my yoga pants and Josh was in his, as he calls them, “hip hop hooray” pants. Apparently we were the only people dressed up (or down, if you want to be technical). Awesome. Or not. It was cool, at least I was comfortable. I realized that the hosts have been so busy with their theses that I haven’t seen them in literally months. I couldn’t believe it. It was nice to see them and a few of their fellow classmates that I have met throughout the three years of their program. It was also nice to hang out with Shahab and Wen as well. They are always fun and Wen is such a character and he cracks me up all of the time. Anyway, the party was swell.

I had my regular dinner with M tonight at the Cheesecake Factory (again). I am glad to hear that her roommate situation is finally going to have some closure pretty soon. I was tired and I felt bad because I wasn’t contributing to conversation much, but she had a lot more going on than I did since I last saw her. We went to Q’s because she was craving a salad, even though we had just finished dinner. While we were eating, M got a call from a planning firm and set up an interview with them. She is getting interviews left and right. I am happy for her. Her commute to Pasadena is killing her. As we were walking out of the restaurant, I heard a loud bang from the window. I looked over and saw Michelle Chung waving. I ran back in to say hello and saw that she was hanging out with Dre and Linds. It was great to see them. With a city as big as LA, it makes you wonder how often coincidences like these are likely to happen. But I am glad that it did. They were all celebrating for Linds and I was so happy for her too.

The Scrubs season finale was on tonight, right when I got home. I am sad that all of my television shows are on break from the season. I have nothing to watch anymore. I’m just waiting for all of my HBO shows to start up again. I’m tired.

S&TC quote of the day:
Carrie: Are you two together?
Anthony: No, but I'm hoping we will be around 3:30 [am]. (Season 4 – All That Glitters)

Link: http://www.crashfilm.com/

Me-Jon-Arti-Lisa-Aussie

Last night was nice because I was able to hang out with people that I haven’t seen in a while. It was Jonathan Mendoza’s birthday and it felt like a small Orientation reunion. Arti came and surprised us all. She looks great and fabulous with her new haircut. She may be moving down here if she gets a job!! I’m excited for her. We went to dinner at Taiko, a Japanese restaurant in Brentwood that I have never been to. It was pretty good, but I didn’t try any of the sushi. I had a hankering for some yakitori instead. After dinner, we went to Fubar, a local hangout for gay men in Los Angeles. I hadn’t been there in a while, but it definitely changed since the last time. There was a cover to get in and it was so crowded! Tons of people were dancing and the go-go dancers were a bit risqué with their clothes. I thought they were funny. The drinks were strong, which was a plus and the music was great. A few others joined us at the bar and it was fun. We were all tired and left around 1am. We went back to Lisa’s place and just hung out and chatted for a few hours. It was a jolly time and it was just nice to talk and laugh and stuff with everybody. I didn’t get home until about 4:30am and I was exhausted.

I slept for a really long time this morning. It didn’t care because I had nothing planned. Josh was at home for Mother’s Day and I had the place to myself. I woke up with a headache. It was the type of headache that you get when you sleep a lot, but I looked at the clock and I had only been asleep for about 8 hours. It didn’t feel like a hangover either (especially since I only had one drink at the bar). It was annoying. But I met up with Nate for lunch in Westwood and we had a great old time. I hadn’t hung out with just him in a long time and it was nice because it reminded me of the year that we lived together. We would always eat together all over the Westside and tried to study and such. We always talk about brief justifications for the ontological necessity of modern man's existential dilemma. I am still surprised that he is single…though I am very protective over him in a lot of ways, as is a lot of our friends. Whoever he dates will have to face The Pentaveret (he knows who we are) first to get our approval. It’s not really that dramatic or organized, but I think it’s funny. I still have a headache; it is going off and on. Argh! Time for some more meds.

Link: http://www.crashfilm.com/

I just got back from watching the movie Crash with Lisa. It was really intense at some parts. It was a fabulously written and beautifully shot movie that was filled with a star-studded cast. It forces you to reevaluate who you are and your perceptions of race and culture and how you treat them. It’s really powerful in an introspective way. I enjoyed it a lot and it was nice to have the backdrop be Los Angeles as well. It makes me marvel at the fact that large cities, such as Los Angeles, are able to be so ethnically diverse and yet some are so ignorant still. Ignorance is blind and it affects more people than you think. I see it all of the time. I guess it’s tolerable to a certain extent. What I cannot tolerate is racism. I just hate it. And being technically a person “of color,” I come across it or see a lot of it more often than I would like to admit. But the movie is a fascinating look at the ability of having two sides to a person, no matter what race or gender you are. It is a bit clichéd at some parts, but I find them to be a bit comforting. Anyway, I say watch it if you can. Check out the trailer and see if you are interested. The pacing is a bit on the slow side and there are interweaving storylines, but it’s pretty easy to follow. It’s one of the better movies that I have seen this year.

I went to the dentist today to get my fillings worked on since the old ones were starting to deteriorate. He gives me a shot of Novocain and leaves for like 10 minutes. He comes back and asks me if I feel any tingling. I don’t. Nothing at all. It all felt like normal. So in response, he gave me two more injections and let me lay there for a while and they worked. My whole right side of my face was numb. It was a weird feeling. I saw my oral surgeon too and we are going to remove my wisdom teeth right before the three day weekend. That’s going to be coming up in no time.

It was Rob’s birthday and we all went to Brew Co. to have a few drinks and dinner. It’s nice that I know a majority of Josh’s friends pretty well. It really matters to me. He’s been in the same program with these people for almost three years. I am fortunate enough to know all of these talented people and they treat Josh very good, which is always nice. They’re a fun and loyal bunch and I hope that some of them stick around after they graduate. Corey made an appearance…I haven’t seen him in months and months. It was lovely.

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It's 3:45pm. I just hung out with an old, old, old childhood friend that was visiting from San Diego. Our parents have been friends before we were even born. It’s always comforting to hang out with someone who’s known me throughout all of my 24 years of existence that is not a direct family member. She is doing well for herself and took the BAR a while ago, so she’s on her way to becoming a lawyer. Crazy! It was nice to see her and catch up on each other’s lives. The weather was great and it just made it so perfect.

Also, a big congratulations to Tripp and Kurt for finishing their theses. All I can say is WOW!! Yay!

Link: http://www.illagain.com

I went to the Ill Again show with Angela last night. I hadn’t sent them in a while. They just started their 3-month residency at the Temple Bar. I am excited for them! They will get so much exposure there and hopefully form a much larger fan base. There were a lot of random people at the show, nonregulars, I guess that’s a good word for them. So that is a good sign. Their show was entertaining and fun and they changed a lot of their riffs in some of the songs and played new songs as well. I am glad that I went. They changed up the trumpet part in the song “Figueroa” a little bit, but it sounded really good. I think that’s one of my favorite songs…I know that it is Josh’s favorite. Hooray for strong cosmopolitans as well!

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Yay! It's raining! Free car wash for me and Bridget (my car, which was not my idea, the previous owner named her that). Though the weather may thwart some of my Cinco de Mayo plans tonight, I don't mind it too much. It's actually nice to have some more rain. I'm just looking forward to the "May flowers" that should be blooming soon.

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Anyone want a free G-Mail account? There's a lot of space for you to store emails and such. Hit me up if you or your friends want one. I have tons of invites!

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In an effort to try to clean the apartment, I ended up watching Reality Bites again. It never gets old. It hits home. I always start tearing up at the end when U2's song comes on and Lelaina is running around and looking for Troy and they finally run into each other. My heart skips a beat everytime, even though I know what happens next. I don't know why I love it so much. But I do. I realized that the producer also produced some other movies that I love, such as The Big Chill, Pulp Fiction, Ghost World and Garden State. So not much was cleaned, but that's what the weekend is for, right?

S&TC quote of the day:
Carrie: He's not that young.
Miranda: He's twenty-six. His generation has a totally different letter than ours. (Season 3 - Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl...)

Link: http://www.weezer.com/

These past few nights I have been falling asleep with my contacts in. I awake a few hours later and have really dry eyes. The feeling is so indescribable in some ways, unless you’ve had it happen before. It’s not pleasant. And then trying to get them out is really hard as well. It feels like I am pulling out my eyeballs. It’s stuck on there pretty tight. Anyway, it’s not the best thing to wake up to, but I am trying not to let it happen any time soon. It’s just too easy though, especially when tired.

Dinner last night was great. M and I went back to our favorite Indian restaurant. It’s sad because they know our order right when we walk in. It’s nice to have that sense of familiarity there though. They treat us so good. Anyway, M’s little sister is transferring to UCLA next fall. I’m excited! She’s my surrogate little sister, even though she doesn’t realize it yet. And she will have the 19 premier plan, so there will be frequent brunches in the dorms hopefully. I miss a lot of things there…the omelet Nazi, make your own waffles, frozen yogurt, salad bar, chicken breasts, sushi…we had it so good and didn’t really take advantage of it as much as we should have. Tis life.

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Oi, I ate too much. That's what I get though. I can't help it when it's free Chinese food. I blame the shrimp. It's all your fault, shrimp, damn you!

Link: http://www.theclashonline.com/

These past few days have gone by fast. It was Oncology Nursing day on Thursday and we had a great celebration after work. We went to Napa Valley Grille in the village (my first time) and Genentech sponsored a fabulous meal for all of us. The appetizers were exquisite and the steak was so good! The wine glass was bottomless. I thought that I had only had a glass of wine, but then realized that they kept on refilling it for me. I think that was the best part. I met up with Josh afterwards at Bruin plaza, where The Roots was putting on a free show. I caught the butt end of it and it was pretty cool.

I went to UCLA's Spring Sing Friday night. I don't think that I have ever missed one since I started school there in 1998. It's weird to know that I saw Kara's Flowers [later to be known as Maroon 5] perform there. Eh, they're an alright band, just not my style. I think that they try too hard, but their songs are very catchy and they get a lot of airplay. My favorite performers were The Jazzmen, who did an a capella version of the Super Mario Bros. theme song. It was fantastic. The company was pretty funny, not as good as some previous years, but there were a few skits that were soooo funny. My favorite was balls vs. ropes. It was awesome. I went with Lindsay and her mom and Dre and Mich Garr. It was really fun and it wasn't too cold this year.

Josh was pretty much gone all weekend because he was a judge for this year's Spotlight Festival for the department of Theater, Film, and Television. I missed him, but he luckily was able to come home and sleep at decent hours. So I was on my own and ready for the weekend. Saturday was just a fabulous day all around. The weather was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Sunny with a slight breeze. I met up with Alexis in Santa Monica and we went shopping and ate at Panera Bread, a new restaurant near the promenade. I was sad because it replaced Polly's Pies, a local favorite for decades. But Panera was really good. Sandwiches and pastries and salads. It reminded me of the Corner Bakery and Cosi, but a lot fresher, if that makes any sense. We took advantage of the weather and went bike riding on the beach with a double bike. We are such nerds. It was fun though! We went shopping and I bought 2 new halter tops (which are my favorite articles of clothing this year) and wore one that night. That night we went out to celebrate Jenny's admission into Oxford's doctoral program in Human Genetics. Jenny is one of Amy's best friend from high school. We've hung out periodically these past few years when she comes into town. She may quite possibly be one of the smartest girls I've ever met. She did her undergraduate work at MIT. So yeah, she's very bright and beautiful, a very rare combination. I was happy that night already because Angela was back in LA and though she was only gone for 2 weeks, it seemed like forever. We had a yummy dinner at Buca di Beppo and then walked over to Ye Olde King's Head pub. We met two British guys and Jenny chatted up with them to get a feel for all of the social opportunities in Oxford. We played a few games of darts with them and it was very nice and relaxing and fun. We have to go back there on a Sunday night though because it's karaoke night.

Sunday was action-packed and nonstop. It started off with the monthly brunch that I organize. It was thrown together at the last minute, but I am glad that some people went. I knew that everyone was at Coachella and busy with their end of the year projects and such, so I figured as much. Lisa met Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (the hot soccer coach in Bend It Like Beckham and who will be playing Elvis on CBS very soon) while waiting for us to get there. I saw him when we sat down. He was cute, a bit tanner than I expected, but he's so dreamy! We went to see The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy afterwards. I remember reading the book years ago, about 10 years to be exact. So I was a bit rusty except for vague storylines. I was happy to see that Marvin, the paranoid android, was voiced by Alan Rickman. It was perfect. The humor was very British and I can't see many Americans liking the film all too much, but it was highly entertaining for me. It was so random at times and there are some holes in the plot and some things that didn't make sense to me, but I haven't read the book in so long. Overall, it was a fun movie and a great time. I then had to rush over to the girl's place for our monthly PRO meeting. We talked a lot about issues that we researched on Congress' website. We drafted a letter to Howard Dean regarding the new filibuster law that the Republicans are proposing. It was nice to get something accomplished. After the meeting, we watched Russell Peters do a stand-up show. He is hilarious. He is the funniest Indian/Canadian guy I've ever seen. I highly recommend that you watch some of his stuff. I thank Eva for introducing us to him. I forgot to mention that I watched Control Room (thanks, Aussie) last week and it was a great documentary about Al Jazeera. Please, please watch it.

So yesterday was AWESOME. Alexis and I went to the premiere for the new British movie Layer Cake. It was Matthew Vaughn's directorial debut. He has produced a few of Guy Ritchie's films and wanted to try to direct, so this was his final product. They had great food, cheese, wine, drinks, cake (of course) and coffee before the screening. A few big stars were there including Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Claudia Schiffer (who is Vaughn's wife), Michael Keaton, Daniel Craig (the main character of the film and is rumored to be the next James Bond) and a few others. It was a star-studded past couple of days! The film was smart, but it took a really long time to develop, so it dragged a bit. It was good that they focused a lot on character development, but the pacing was a bit off for a suspense/gangster/thriller type movie. But it wasn't that bad.