June 21, 2006

• Ugh, I went to get my 2nd Hepatitis A vaccine today and the freakin’ nurse didn’t even try to be gentle. She totally stabbed the needle into my arm and now it’s sooooo sore! OMG, my left arm feels like that feeling you get the day after you work out after having not worked out in a long time. Oh well, I guess it’s worth it if it’ll protect me against Hepatitis A in Cambodia…

  Speaking of Cambodia, I’m all clear to go now. I’ve turned in all my paperwork, gotten all my shots, and now I just have to start taking my nasty malaria and typhoid medication. They said that my malaria medication could have side effects like increased sensitivity to the sun. Hmm, I think that’s gonna be a problem, especially since I’m gonna be burnt two shades darker by the time I get back from this trip. Ah well, guess we all have to make sacrifices some how. Why couldn’t I just kill a pig to sacrifice instead?! Oh well…

  So I went down to LA this past weekend to spend Father’s Day with my family and with Paul. The weather was wonderful, albeit somewhat warmer than what I’ve grown accustomed to here in the Bay area, but it was nice. I flew out on Saturday afternoon, got back in early Monday morning just in time to get to work, and boy was I exhausted, but it was well worth it…

  Paul picked me up from the airport and took me home, but not before we stopped by to see Nacho Libre. Let me just say that this movie was hilarious, but I enjoyed it with some reservations. Having been an Ethnic Studies major, there’s still a part of me that doesn’t like the idea of seeing a white man playing the role of a Latino, or any other race other than their own for that metter, especially when they’re highlighting and reinforcing negative stereotypes. I won’t ruin the movie by citing examples for anyone since it is a relatively new film, but feel free to shoot me an email once you have seen it and perhaps we can discuss some of the more unsettling parts of the script. All in all though, it was a relatively good film, good for cheap laughs I suppose…

  I spent a fair majority of the time hanging out with my family. On Sunday, my parents decided to to have a barbecue for some family friends who were visiting from Cambodia. I think we barbecued a whole cow considering how much meat there was. It was soooo good and tender, mmmm, cow…

  So I’ve been reading Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth. I bought it a couple of months back, and have been meaning to read it ever since I studied the film back in my film class at Berkeley, but just never really found the time to read it for leisure until now. It’s a pretty delicately woven story of the hardships and triumphs of man, but I’ve found it to be a bit too chauvinistic for my tastes. I know that that’s how things were back in the 1930s and even now, but a lot of the terms and dialogue that were used in regards to and towards women were quite demeaning and oppressive–I guess that’s what gave the novel more of an authentic feel. If you haven’t read this book yet though, I’d highly recommend it, but I don’t think the film does it any justice…

  As in most Hollywood films of that time, Asians simply just weren’t good enough to play themselves on screen. Forget the likes of Anna May Wong, the trailblazer for all Asian actors to come. These Asian roles had to be played by “real” actors who could be better Asians than the likes of real Asians, people like Luise Rainer, a German. The film went on to win two Oscars, one of which belonged to Luise for her role as O-lan, but that role was supposed to go to Anna May Wong; that should have been her Oscar. That said, I think the film was a joke. Leave it to Hollywood to take a wonderful novel and ruin it with yellow face. It’s movies like these that make me want to make my own version of it, one that’s more racially authentic and appropriate. Well, it’s a thought for now…

  So I’ve been getting really lazy about my health as of late. I’ve not been to the gym in more than 4 months and just yesterday, I had two happy meals for lunch, then a fatty burger from Barney’s for dinner. Yes, it’s true, I’m a fatty with dinner rolls for love handles. I can’t resist happy meals though, I looooooove the toys! I was a weird kid growing up and started collecting them since I was in the 3rd grade. They’re all still in their original plastic bags and everything, haha. Yup, there’s a market for everyone and anything, hehe…

  Alrighty, sleepy time…

  • 1:16 am
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